#Salaryman Zero

[world-destroyerdan]

Salaryman Zero my beloved <3

[vonkarma2]

another thing that’s fucked up about isekai is sometimes they start over from zero like they’re reincarnated as a baby, but to avoid having to write about a literal baby with the memories of an adult, they don’t regain the memory of their original life until they are like 7 or 10 or whatever other age. which tbh is haunting as hell like imagine one day your child starts acting avoidant and strange and you don’t know what happened to them. do they ever feel conflict between the 7 year old prince and the 30 year old tokyo salaryman, the child princess and the otaku high school student, wondering which life is real? or is the child’s personality completely overwritten, reduced to a hazy series of memories in an adult’s mind? in a world with no connection to earth, the original life might as well be a hallucination. unless the isekai world is a video game the mc once played and don’t even get me started on that

[lilacxquartz]

OVERWORKED

a jujutsu kaisen & mob psycho 100 crossover

summary: satoru gojo visits seasoning city to look into the reports of strange cursed activity and gets an audience with the world's greatest psychic, reigen arataka.

a/n: i don’t usually post general works or character & character fics on tumblr, but hey, there’s a first time for everything.

tags: crossover, general, no pairings, crack, attempt at humour, one shot, silly, prompt fic • w.c: 1.1k

Seasoning City was never a place that Satoru thought he would find himself in, but there he was; keen to investigate some sort of rumoured unusual cursed activity reported within the area.

Sometimes he’d go and investigate these claims by himself, although mostly it was just to get the higher ups off of his back and especially so that his students (that the responsibility would otherwise be handed to) wouldn’t unknowingly waltz into potential danger.

Besides, Seasoning City has been a jujutsu curiosity for a while now, with all sorts of strange ongoing issues within the vicinity and an investigation was due.

Upon arriving at the site in question, Satoru strolled into an abandoned high rise office building and scoped the whole area out. He could pick up on the trace activity or something, but he wasn’t quite sure what exactly. With curious eyes, he scanned the area and inspected as much as he could before he heard the door crash open, practically swinging off the hinges.

Turning back, he was interrupted in the process by a man with an ill-fitting suit and fiery orange hair. A younger boy dressed in regular school uniform seemed to tag along beside him and although the third presence slipped away just in time to avoid being seen, he could have sworn that he spotted some sort of stink cloud shaped (and coloured) shikigami wafting nearby.

“Worry not, it is I, the great psychic—Reigen Arataka!” the man announced before striking a victorious pose.

Getting absolutely zero read on this guy’s technique and doubting that he even had one to begin with, Satoru couldn’t help but wearily sigh at the company he found himself in.

“A psychic? Oh boy,” Satoru mumbled to himself before adopting a louder volume, “you can stand aside, I’ll take it from here.”

“Pardon me,” Reigen interrupted while rolling his eyes, taking wide footsteps as he confidently strolled over to the white haired man, “you’re the one who should be excused, for I will be the one to solve this haunting.”

“You don’t look like someone who knows jujutsu,” Satoru mused, taking notes of his lack of… everything. The man had zero cursed energy and no technique, therefore he likely didn’t even know what he was looking for.

“Ju-what now?” Reigen blinked while somehow still maintaining that smug expression on his face.

The mop haired boy beside him attempted to answer although his voice was rather quiet, “It’s a type of—“

Promptly interrupting the teen however, Reigen continued to talk, “Watch closely Mob. I’ll show you what a real master looks like.”

Satoru couldn’t help but twitch his eye below his blindfold, astounded by the strange so-called psychic’s audacity. With an almost exasperated gaze, he watched as the man moved around erratically and punched the air, kicking nothing with determined, miscalculated strikes.

In the meanwhile, the actual malevolent cursed spirit showed up right behind him. It appeared to take on the spirit of a tired salaryman, echoing a mantra of jarring words that were just barely coherent through its shrill cry.

“Overtime~! Time is money~! Work work work~!”

While Reigen continued to remain oblivious and make a spectacle of himself, Mob stepped forward and moved his hands to channel his energy, making the whole floor rumble as he focused on the task at hand.

Such display of power didn’t go unnoticed by Satoru, who watched the boy work with what he was very certain was in fact cursed and energy before funnelling it towards the cursed spirit, making quick work of it and weakening it significantly.

Impressed, Satoru then finished off the spirit with his own hands and exchanged a glance with the boy before sighing wearily, noticing that the fraud was still going at it and swatting away at nothingness.

“Hey, you can stop now,” he told Reigen in a resigned manner.

“Yes, we took care of it,” Mob added on.

Stopping mid swing, Reigen took a deep breath before responding, “…It’s gone?”

Nodding, Satoru folded his arms and couldn’t help but softly laugh at the whole situation. A psychic? He knew that there were frauds who had a vague understanding of the world around him, but this guy was something else.

“That’s right,” Satoru confirmed before considering a point, “you know, this kid has quite a lot of talent actu—“

Immediately cutting him off, Reigen burst forward with a victorious cheer, “—aha! You see? The spirit didn’t stand a chance against my special technique: kneading air!”

“Come again?” Satoru blinked. ‘Special technique?’ Did he mean cursed technique or did he truly think that what he did was some sort of attack? The man’s unwavering confidence almost tortured Satoru’s own mind.

“By pushing the air around with my movements, I was able to direct my student’s psychic energy into defeating the spirit,” Reigen began to explain, “and of course my star pupil managed to finish it off.”

“Actually he finished the spirit off,” Mob replied, pointing his figure towards the other man.

“Yeah?” Reigen flicked a glance towards his direction. “Not bad, blindfold. I can sense a lot of potential in you. A little bit amateurish, but not bad. Not bad at all.”

Satoru couldn’t help but just stare at Reigen, feeling more and more worn out by the second. Before he could even say anything in response, Reigen quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small business card and scribbled something on it with a pen that he had otherwise materialised out of nowhere.

Handing it over to Satoru, he dramatically extended his arm. “Here you go, bud. An autograph from the greatest psychic alive. Don’t say I never did anything for ya.”

Taking the card, he glanced at the hastily scribbled out signature. He tried to form a response as he mulled the whole situation over, but was quite literally left speechless.

After a moment, he turned over to Mob who didn’t offer a single word of explanation—just standing by the strange man’s side with a blank look on his face—as if everything was perfectly fine and normal.

“Is he always like this…?” Satoru finally asked with an almost wary tone.

Mob nodded, “Yes, he’s my boss.”

Satoru nervously laughed at that response. Boss? This kid who had an almost masterful grasp on cursed energy was the supposed employee of this conman?

That was concerning to say the least.

And as he watched the two exit the building, Satoru couldn’t bury that nagging worry that there might have been more unassuming people like Mob out there being mentored by the likes of Reigen.

Walking away himself, he glanced behind him one more time, watching the pair walk in the opposite direction.

Satoru couldn’t help but shake his head, feeling amused but also intrigued at the whole situation he just witnessed.

Maybe he would keep a personal eye on this city but especially on Mob.

Just in case.

main masterlist • ao3

prompt idea by @augustwritingchallenge • day 20: crossover/fusion for au-gust 2024

[krankittoeleven]

For @higunanaweek Day 1 - Covert Affection

Higuruma Hiromi/Nanami Kento | RATED M | Canon Divergent (They Meet Before JJK Zero), Salaryman Era Nanami, First Meeting, Awkward & Drunk Flirting, Some Touching, Standard Higunana Age Gap Applies

He’s handsome, Kento’s always thought that; even in his run-of-the-mill black suit and tie, and his cute little lapel pin, which he’s now close enough to realize is a sunflower. Interesting.

“You’re a lawyer,” Kento says, skipping past the man’s opening question.

“That’s right,” he says before his eyes trail over to the empty space beside Kento. It’s a silent request for an invitation to join him, but Kento’s not ready to take the bait yet. He doesn’t want to be left dangling on a hook.

Instead, he settles more into the booth, more confident than he feels, acting more sober than he is. “What kind of question is ‘do you come here often’?”

.....and I'm Feeling Good >>>>>

[aimportantdragoncollector]

For the 5 headcanons game, how about an AU where Hisashi Midoriya is Yoichi's doppelgänger

There are many different interpretations of doppelgänger but I'm going to take this in the real world sense:

Hisashi Midorya is just some guy who looks exactly like Yoichi Shigaraki. There's zero blood relation between them. It's a case of "everyone has at least one person who looks exactly like them."

However when All for One coincidentally lays eyes on this ordinary salaryman walking down the street, he believes he's found his real brother. After All for One does a DNA test and finds no relation, he convinces himself that Hisashi is Yoichi's reincarnation. Poor ordinary Hisashi gets vaulted, which is the real reason he never returned home to his family.

Izuku knows that his father went missing under mysterious circumstances. It fuels his desire to become a hero and investigate the truth. He does not blame his father for leaving because it's incredibly obvious something bad happened. Hisashi Midoriya vanished without taking any money or possessions.

The family suffers without Hisashi's financial support. The insurance company throws up a lot of obstacles to getting access to his life insurance money without proof of death. Inko gets a job as a waitress. They move to a poorer area and Izuku attends a lousy middle school that is actually less lousy than Aldera.

All for One never paid much attention to Hisashi's family because he only cares about his replacement brother. Inko and Izuku are nothing to him. However, one day All for One visits the vault and reveals that coincidentally Hisashi's son became the Ninth One for All holder. Hisashi is terrified for his son's life. Before Hisashi would adopted a defiant attitude, but after that he starts pretending to be Yoichi and playing along with All for One's delusions because he's desperate to obtain even a little bit of influence to keep his son alive. +1 There's a lot of drama in the Void when Yoichi becomes convinced that Izuku is his brother's son. Then the vestiges see a picture of Hisashi and go nuts with conspiracy theories.

[heartvisor]

for fun, a small collection of various instances of donshine and his merch props across ultraman geed‼️

(at the time of this post, there’s an ongoing poll featuring him @obscure-skirmish! maybe consider giving him your vote?)

footage, dvd set, and soundtrack / episode 1: welcome to the secret base

character key holder and gachapon machine / episode 3: salaryman zero

venue hero show / episode 17: the king’s miracle! time to change fate!

cap, trading cards, alarm clock, and various assorted goods / episode 21: pega runs away from home

character magazine feature of princess rem/kisaragi takako! / episode 19: nebula house invasion (related footage from episode 1)

[bonus: the ensemble photo featured in the background of various shots is the credits freeze-frame at the end of episode 17!]

[somereaderinblue]

Ultraman Geed: Fatherhood

Right from the get go, Zero was introduced to serve as Belial's foil. Upon rewatching Geed, I noticed the writers once again applying this trope but in circumstances of the present instead of the past.

The circumstance: fatherhood.

SPOILERS FOR ULTRAMAN GEED UP AHEAD!!!

Belial is the 'father' of the MC, Geed/Riku. He created his 'son' with the sole purpose of using him as a pawn. You'd think the evil mastermind would personally raise the boy to groom him into the perfect obedient underling, right?

Wrong. Bro handed him off to Kei & both of them decided the best course of action was to leave the baby at the observatory.

Belial intentionally, fully consciously created a child (him being a clone doesn't change the fact that said clone at the time was a baby in need of care) with no intention of taking responsibility for him. In other words, he's a deadbeat dad.

Zero on the other hand couldn't have been anymore different. His host is Leito, a salaryman & a father. However, there's no way he could've known about the second part before choosing Leito as his host. Mayu was a variable that just happened.

He was taken off guard but took it in stride. Now, he could've remained apathetic to Leito's role as a father & what it entails (i.e. the bond a father shares with his daughter) afterwards but he doesn't.

He sees what it's like to be a parent. He learns to understand how precious humans are as individuals who are a sum of a family instead of a species. When Mayu is threatened, he doesn't just protect her because it's the right thing to do or for Leito's sake. He does it bcz Mayu, the 'daughter' he never thought he'd meet, is someone Zero cares for.

Zero is the dad that chose to step into the role when he didn't have to, when he had the choice to choose not to & face no repercussions for it.

[not-the-tie-youre-looking-for]

choose tye’s on-shot fic to write before their salaryman job begins

(fair warning i haven’t mentally retained anything star wars related since andor lmao so i have zero ahsoka show or acolyte knowledge and on god im hoping it stays that way 🥴)

[all-eyes-no-dragon]

How about we try reincarnating/isekaiing someone who isn't a salaryman or otaku NEET

Let's isekai a jock who cant believe this shit is happening, someone who doesn't know about anime or game tropes and doesn't immediately assimilate to the new world

Someone who won't just ignore their past life to the point where viewers even forget they're from another world because it just isn't relevant

Isekai has a lot of potential but they keep using the same rinse and repeat tired dry formula

Isekai people and not have others swoon and randomly fall at their feet for absolutely no reason despite the MCs having personalities as flavourful as the sand in the sandbox at the play park

Isekai more women, old people, little kids, uh college students maybe? I don't think I've ever seen a college student be isekaied before

Where's "I Just Wanted To Get My Degree In Archeology But Now The Prince From Another World Won't Stop Proposing Because He Thinks I'm A Goddess"?

Where's "Grandpa Retired But Fell Down A Hole So Now He's The Ultimate Baker In Another World"?

Where's "My Parents Hired A Fairy To Come To My Birthday Party But It Ended Up Being The Real Deal And Now I'm Stuck In Another World"?

Where's "I Scour This New World, Searching For A Way Home"?

Personally, "I Don't Have Time For An Adventure, I Need To Be Back By Dinner" sounds like a charmer to me.

Down with lookalike bland harem protagonists with no personality, dimensions and the exact same jobs (or in the case of the lack thereof)/hobbies (gaming, or however they want to spin it). Heck, these guys are basically all going to the same worlds as well so they've basically all got the same stories too. A shame.

This is why people hate isekai, which I think is a shame really, cuz I love the concept. Just,, I prefer to cherry pick the genre for gems

Side note: let isekai protags say weird shit that no one understands because

👏 cultural 👏 barrier 👏

C'mon, this is a different world, there's gotta be some basic stuff the protag might say and be met with blanket stares

Like in re zero apples are called appas

Totally small stupid and inconsequential but u look stupid af if u call it anything but an appa

Now, if u were reincarnated and had to grow from a child, I suppose u would have time to assimilate to the culture.

Ugh, but I wish they would let reincarnations stay kids longer. If their old world is gonna become obsolete, I want to see them slowly lose that. Forget people's faces, the names of their coworkers, what street they lived on. Forget the smell of their favourite flower, the taste of their favourite food. Forget what the texture of jeans feel like. Make me feel emotions.

Let's see them weird out their new parents by not being used to the New World's culture. Let's see people shrug off them accidentally talking about stuff because wowiee, kids say the darnest things

Stop having isekai kids gather 10 wives at the tender age of 9 :)

I like the MC of the webcomic "The Beginning After The End" 's stance on the dubious subject of having romantic relationships as a reincarnator (or at least, I like it so far. I'm mid 100s into the comic so idk if they about to switch up)

Basically the MC died as an adult so he sees all the kids "his age" as children and he even said a line about how he would be a criminal if he got romantic with one of the girls who like him 🤣

I guess it's up to self perception? Like, this body is 13 but my brain is 45. Which am I actually, then?

Let reincarnators be confused about this as well, cuz even irl people debate this a whole lot (cuz it's just one of those "well, technically" things. I think the fact that we even have to go "technically" to excuse it is a bit of an ouch tho)

I'm open to other views and counter arguments on any of the things I've just said, tbh. These are just some things I think are missed opportunities. Like, people will keep watching and watching it even if it's the same thing (why do you think there's so many "Peter Parker's Field Trip To Stark Industries" fics? People will continually consume the same thing slightly tweaked if they like the premise enough). I just think changes to how we approach isekai might bring in some new viewership and increased positive opinions on the genre

Also, the comically long titles are a fun thing but I know some people abhor them. They want titles that are creative and don't basically just summarise the show's premise. Because, with a title like that, it shows a lack of creativity and ingenuity. Not to say that it needs to be toned down all the way, just reduced to keywords.

"Undead Unluck"

"Spy x Family"

"Dragon Ball"

"First Night With The Duke"

"Little Shop Of Horrors"

"Villain To Kill"

"Pride & Prejudice"

"Cirque Du Freak"

"Mirror Image"

(Yes, I did just write down the names of random things I like. 3 animes, 3 books, 2 webcomics and a,, movie/play(?) I watched it as a play, anyways. okay, the 3animes is kind of a lie, I'm impatiently waiting for undead unluck to come out as an anime. ive never consumed any content for it but the trailer)

These titles give you a vague idea of important symbols/things in the narrative, no? But you don't know exactly was going to happen.

But I'm only speaking for some people, I find the long titles to be funny and a bit intriguing. Of course, I wouldn't mind some good old fashioned original names being brainstormed. These thoughtlessly long titles allow all these different producers to just pump out what is, at its core, basically the same ideas, just switched up a bit so the homework doesn't look copied

[lizhly-writes]

Do you have any orv fic recs

You know, I was setting aside this ask for a nice day where I would tear through the novel and the entirety of ao3 like a ravenous animal, but after six months, I am starting to think that day will always be tomorrow – some moment, always indefinitely in the future -- so.

Certainly there are some things I’ve forgotten, and certainly there are some things I’ve missed, but here I am. Here are some things that stick in my memory, despite uh, 2-3 years of not properly reading orv fic.

Some authors you probably know: stuffandsundry, SonaSona, zxrysky, featherx. They got some bangers in there.

In the Telling by Lisse

A OC oneshot, about a character who supposedly got one line in WOS. Plays around with certain meta themes that I find it really, really intriguing.

all the stars you couldn't see by succubused

A Nier au that I read with zero knowledge of Nier. Nevertheless, a very beautiful story with lots and lots of layers. There are only two chapters. I subscribed to this author specifically for this story. It has been three years.

you got me starstruck by virotutis

Oneshot. Kim Dokja begins the scenarios as a tired idol instead of a tired salaryman. The idea of it amuses me greatly, and so does the fic itself. Prepare to be entertained.

Rewind Our Broken Clockwork by AVFran

Kim Dokja/Yoo Joonghyuk. In which Yoo Joonghyuk regresses to before the scenarios begin and decides to aggressively befriend Kim Dokja. I loved watching terrified salaryman Kim Dokja run around.

Study Reveals: You can’t suffer if you’re dead by IceBreeze

Kim Dokja/Yoo Joonghyuk. I remember rereading this at least three times in one setting. Very much a crack fic that nonetheless goes into some beautiful places.

a million little things by HeavenlyDusk

The Yoo Sangah Kim Dokja friendship fic. I think of this one whenever I think about Yoo Sangah Kim Dokja friendship, actually! Yoo Sangah aggressively befriends Kim Dokja! It’s great!

■■% by crowsnesting

Fucking hell, this one. Just read it.

[nflstreetsanimereviews]

The Great Cleric Vol. 1 Review

Welcome to my latest edition of ‘Reading Isekai Light Novels’ – today’s edition is for Seija Musou Salaryman Isekai de Ikinokoru Tame ni Aymu Michi, known in English as The Great Cleric. The Great Cleric is due to have an anime adaptation air this summer. I know, another isekai anime, woo…anyways, there’s no reason the judge a book based on its cover. I mean, The Great Cleric’s cover is pretty good by light novel standards, but illustrations rank pretty low when it comes to what makes a light novel good. ‘Isekai’, while often garbage, doesn’t have to be garbage. The same can be said for light novels in general.

The Great Cleric’s main character, whose name on Earth is unknown, is known as Luciel in Galdardia. He’s isekaied to Galdardia after being shot and killed in Japan. Imagine being killed by a firearm in Japan! Talk about horrible luck! Even worse, Luciel, a salaryman back on Earth, was just about to get promoted! His death is seen as so unfair, the powers that be reincarnate him in Galdardia, a magical world that resembles one from an RPG. Luciel is spawned in this new world with close to zero information about its society and how it functions.

Luciel, with decades of experience in real life in the business world, decides to become a healer, since his goal in this new world is to ‘die of old age’, and because being a healer sounds like a safe job. What Luciel didn’t account for is that the reputation of healers in Galdardia is at rock bottom. Healers in Galdardia are known for their sky-high rates, which many adventurers can’t afford. Those who can pay can. Those who can’t pay don’t get healed, or are sold into slavery as repayment. In short, the most prominent healers have decided to maximize their profit margin, charge extortionary rates, and use social control in order to maintain the status quo. Good thing that only happens in fantasy worlds…well and in America too.

Unknowingly, Luciel throws a wrench into the Healing Cartel by being isekaied. Along with joining the Healer’s Guild AND the Adventurer’s Guild, he decides to start training under the tutelage of Guildmaster Brod. Brod’s training makes boot camp look like recess, but Luciel is up to the task and ready to receive daily ass-kickings. He’s doing what it takes to not get killed in this world–something he couldn’t prevent in the other world. Also, it helps when you’re able to track your progress numerically (remember, this is an RPG world). Brod, seeing what potential Luciel has, gives him a residence at the Adventurer’s Guild. For only one silver, Luciel will heal your wounds–sure beats paying thirty gold for the same treatment. Luciel’s cheap healing and non-discriminatory practices make him a favorite within the guild’s quarters. 

Unfortunately, the analysis of the internal healer-adventurer struggle is only at a surface level. I can’t deny, it’s certainly interesting–but it takes a backseat to the development of Luciel. I understand why, since Luciel is the main character and all, but I can’t help to find the guild dynamics to be more luring than reading about Luciel’s months-long grindfest. 

If I had to pick one thing from The Great Cleric that turned me off the most, it would be how predictable most scenes went. Luciel spends most of this volume training under Brod, which doesn’t sound bad at first–but considering each day goes about the same, it does get tiring at a point. Each day Luciel:

Gets the shit kicked out of him by Brod

Drinks ‘Substance X’, which is a grotesque concoction that’s supposed to give you a skill buff

Has a conversation or two with the ‘beastwoman’ clerks and has the same thought every time (“oh nooooo people are staring daggers at me for talking to two beautiful women for what’s probably the 400th day in a row, hope I don’t get my ass kicked!”)

The first point actually isn’t bad, considering it’s the only action that really happens in this volume. Slapstick will never be boring to me. Repetitive, but not to a point where it gets grating.

‘Substance X’, an unknown drink made by ‘The Sage of Time’, is supposed to ‘help ya grow’. Well, thankfully it does! Having the ‘Access Mastory’ skill, Luciel can see that Substance X does actually give you buffs! The only downside is that the smell and taste of Substance X is putrid–and The Great Cleric makes sure you know that every time Luciel takes a swig of it. You’d think the surprise of Luciel being able to drink what apparently is too revolting for any other person would die down after the first year of him being there, but nope. Oh well. I’m being a bit nitpicky here, but I didn’t really care to read what’s pretty much the same conversation several times.

The last point is what drove me up the wall about The Great Cleric. Luciel, despite mentally being middle-aged, has the same temperament about talking to pretty women that timid teenage boys have. Perhaps he was one at some point, but he’s a grown-up now and should know better. This is a bit of conjecture since we don’t know how our MC talked to women back on Earth. For all we know, he could be a virgin that’s never had a girlfriend! Who has time for women when you’re a salaryman? Either way, the fear that Luciel has is largely unfound. Those who ‘discriminate’ against Luciel do due to the assumption that he’s the standard money-grubbing healer that discriminates against beastpeople, something completely understandable given the reputation healers have.

All together, Luciel has pretty much recreated his salaryman job in another world. Yes, healing those for cheap is way more virtuous than being a cog in a corporate machine, but ostensibly it’s the same structure. Considering Luciel’s goal in this new world is to die of old age, this isn’t a bad deal for him. Does sticking to this routine for months on end make for good entertainment? Well, it’s a mixed bag–altogether it makes it hard for me not to give The Great Cleric the moniker ‘The Mid Cleric’, but it would be dishonest to say that it’s bad. 

The Great Cleric does have the potential to be one of the isekai series to stand out from the rest–you know, like Re;Zero and Konosuba. It’s hard to see since this volume was little more than an introduction to the series, but there are genuinely some interesting parts about this series that I hope the author expands on. I have a feeling it will, since by the end of this novel, Luciel’s existence is such a thorn in the side of other healers that some attempt to get him assassinated. Luciel is pretty much a walking Urgent Care–he’s apparently the only healer that sees healing as a virtue and not as a cushy job. Again, parallels could be drawn to the American healthcare system, but that’s a whole other conversation that’s way more complicated than the way healers screw over adventurers in Galdardia.

Most of the things I complained about above (the last two points in particular) should resolve themselves as the series progresses. This volume was Luciel’s grinding time–of course reading about someone grinding isn’t that fun. It’s rarely fun to grind in games! With a change in location, Luciel’s daily routine should be shaken-up. Well, I say should. There’s always a chance that Luciel finds another Brod to train under, continues his daily routine of gulping several cups of Substance X, and continues to be frightened when attractive women talk to him. Being a light novel, I wouldn’t be surprised!

The Great Cleric does have the potential to be a good series, but I personally would wait until the anime airs to consume it. I’ve been betrayed by light novels before, so there’s no telling if the quality of the series plummets after this volume or if it actually progresses in a fashion that is engrossing. The anime will clear that up for us. Personally, I’d like to see Galdardia’s society to be expanded on. We get a nibble of it in this volume, but with Luciel being cooped up in the Adventurer’s Guild for about 90% of this volume, we’ve only explored a tiny sliver of this magical world. As I said above, this should sort itself out as the story progresses, but I’d wait until it’s animated.

60/100

[conflagrate]

Winter 2025 Anime Season

Ranking the autumn shows...dang I watched more than usual.

Top Shows 1. Natsume Yujincho S7 2. Dandadan 3. SAO: GGO S2 4. Magilumiere 5. Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Shows completed: 13

OMG IT’S A NEW YEAR😱The new shows start today orz orz orz

Must Watch: Zenshuu, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto S2, YAMI SHIBAI S14 WHYYY (3) Sounds Interesting! Hope It Doesn’t Suck!: Ameku Takao no Suiri Karte, Sorairo Utility, Medalist, Maho Tsukai no Yakusoku, Hana wa Saku Shura no Gotoku, Baban Baban Ban Vampire (6) 3episode Taste Test Needed: Kisaki Kyoiku, Kono Kaisha ni Suki na Hito ga Imasu, Tasokare Hotel, Honey Lemon Soda, Douse Koishite Shimaunda, Nihon e Yokoso Elf-san, Ubel Blatt, Okinawa show Do I Have To…? (No I Don’t): Momentary Lily (bloody GoHands!!!), Kuroiwa Medaka, Farmagia, Sentai Red, Sequel/Spinoff/Remake Hell: Grisaia, Solo Leveling S2, Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon S2, Unnamed Memory S2, Dr Stone, Sousei no Aquarion, Precure. Cardfight Vanguard whatever, UniteUp, Hanako-kun seaeon waterver, Mashin Sozoden Wataru, Kazillion Girlfriends, Kinnikuman S2, Ishura S2, 0saiji Start Dash Light Novel/Isekai/Villainess/Mecha/Sentai/Harem/Magical Girl/Cross Dressing/Video Game/Aidoru Hell: S-Rank Behemoth, Hazure Skill, Izure Saikyo no Renkinjutsushi, Salaryman ga Isekai ni, Class no Daikirai na Joshi to Kekkon suru Koto ni natta, Botsuraku Yotei no Kizoku Dakedo, Magic Maker, Ara-40 Otoko, Fugushoku Kanteishi, Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Oji-san, Guild no Uketsukejo desu ga, Bandori Ave Mujica, A-Rank Party Continuing: Chi Chikyuu no Undo ni Tsuite, Beastars Final (I’m watching this sloooowly)

Expected Load: 8-9

TV & Streaming

I remain irregular & inconsistent with my TV watching....here's what I watched in the last quarter

Disney+/Hulu: Only Murders in the Building S4, The Old Man S2 Netflix: Tokyo Swindlers [JP], The Lincoln Lawyer S3, Heartstopper S3, Black Doves Apple TV: Silo S2*, Pachinko S2, Bad Monkey, Slow Horses S4 HBO: The Penguin CBS/Paramount+/Showtime: Tracker S2*, NCIS: Origins*, Lioness S2, The Agency* ABC: High Potential* NBC/Peacock: The Day of the Jackal Gameshows: Only Connect S20* Others: From S3 (MGM+) JP/KR: Chaser Game W S2 (TV Tokyo), Occhan Kitchen (TVer), Kimi no Tsugu Kaori wa (Tokyo MX), Gezan Meshi* (TV Tokyo), Tendering Resignation (Vigloo app)

Total series completed: 15 Ongoing: 6 Full-length films watched: 19

Coming up in the next 3 months....:

Disney+/Hulu: A Thousand Blows, Gannibal S2 [JP], Paradise(?) Netflix: Ashura no Gotoku [JP], The Night Agent S2, Zero Day(?), When The Stars Gossip? [KR], Cunk on Life. Apple TV: Silo S2*, Severance S2, Prime Target, Dope Thief(?) HBO: The White Lotus S3 Prime: Reacher S3 BBC: SAS: Rogue Heroes ITV: Playing Nice Channel 4: Patience(?) CBS/Paramount+: Tracker S2*, NCIS: Origins* ABC: Will Trent S3, High Potential* NBC/Peacock: The Hunting Party(?) Gameshows: Only Connect S20* JP: Call Me By No Name (MBS/Gagaoolala), Tokyo Salad Bowl (NHK), Kujaku no Dance, Dare ga Mita? (TBS), Futari Solo Camp? (Tokyo MX), Mikami-sensei? (TBS), Alice-san’chi no Iroribata? (BS-TBS), Vanilla na Mainichi? (NHK) Shows I still haven’t had time to start: Bad Sisters S2, Disclaimer, Teacup, Dune: Prophecy, The Devil’s Hour S2

*: ongoing

I feel like I'm already doomed! So many movies & shows on my 'to-watch list' too...as Oscar season is coming....😤

[albireocountdown]

you cannot make your luck good | but you can make your luck bad

Despite the increasing erratic nature of her clubmates and verbalization of their anxiety, she had thought herself exempt to this. Or more like, wasn't this all just peer pressure-- no, not peer pressure, the cat wasn't a peer. Psychological proproganda? Power of. Suggestion. Yeah.

What was she saying?

Despitetheincreasingerraticnatureofherclubmates, she had thought, she was convinced she was above it all, that she was #built_different. Maybe that's why she wandered alone over to car 6, just shy of 2 am, accompanied only by the wretched doll sewn to her crossbody bag. They were cut off from the world and she couldn't get her dopamine fix from her useless phone and those music videos were the closest thing.

(Past the disaster in car 5, because hey sometimes things get messy when you're hungry at night, right? She just steps over the pots and pans since it wasn't her fault. The smears on the cabinets when she walks into the arcade do give a small pause, but are not fully comprehended in this moment.)

"Hey-- you're that radio host! I didn't recognize you below eye level!"

There was some part of her brain that dully wriggled around trying to remember where exactly she had seen that particular combination of round red glasses and maximalist fashion. That can't have been just anyone right?

The interview was a hazy memory, with Cornelia having done most of the talking and Venetta zoning out, trying not to reach out and fiddle with the equipment (Mary poking her in the side under the table occasionally to keep her in line).

Something gives and she realizes oh, maybe she had been slowly overcome, with a feeling probably like anxiety. Happened so gradually she didn't even notice she was saturated with it until it was all gone-- but rather than relief, it's more like an uncomfortable emptiness takes its place. Why did it go, anyway?

She blinks.

There's an announcement . Stupid cat's sayin something, she should probably pay attention.

She blinks again.

Or maybe-- maybe someone else'll explain it to her later.

A third time, eyelids dragging a little bit.

The body's still there, unlike the professors.

Other people move past her, into the room. When'd they get here? Barney says something about murder the POM and dully she slides her hand in her bag and pulls it out, light searing away the scene in front of her.

When she came around to the side, the nametag that was basically at her eye level said Kelly. Their eyes were focused upwards, on the tv upon where Cher was playing tennis.

Orb [blink-blink] Fuff? Dumb fuckin cat didn't even know--

About...

Her eyes focus back on the scene. That's not. That's not. No, she was bad at details but she knows that they weren't that tall.

She had sent off the picture of the hotel couch after asking them, without asking Tali first, if they wanted to stay in her suite too. Lucky probably wasn't gonna fit on those tiny beds that the club had reserved for them all, right?

And plus-- that wasn't how their face looked. She's seen them eat.

The end of a very long night for her, but morning to others, spent sitting in the living room splitting a tonkatsu bento (that was probably meant for a salaryman's lunch) for breakfast.

Their limbs weren't that long.

Redbull is cradled in one arm while the other points around the space, and she follows their observations, typing a note to herself in her POM.

Their nails weren't that sharp.

She said it as a joke, but watching them grip, then barely lift a barbell with zero weights attached, maybe it was for the best they started here. Nevertheless, their achievement is given a whoop and applause.

So it couldn't be. It can't be. But who else.. could it be?

'I do not know how to answer. I do not want to be knocked over. I do not want to be strong. Is that... wrong?'

Other people speak, cry, approach.

'I do not want to need to be strong. I want to be... me.'

But Venetta is silent and still.

[hoshizorax]

We know Noriko is incredibly special with her abilities. What Kaito and Kimiko? Do they have anything like such?

kaito and kimiko are "normal". i use that term loosely because they are still the children of lily and satoru lmao. their mother is a vessel while their father was literally the strongest sorcerer in modern times. they got zero jujutsu capabilities. noriko is special because well, she was conceived after satoru was in that awakened state after being sealed. i feel like that was likely a factor in noriko's abilities.

the gist is no. they don't have any special abilities. they can barely see curses. kimiko went on to live a normal life. marrying a salaryman and having three kids with him. kaito is basically grasping onto the memory of his father at times.

[robotfish123]

Blog Post — Eden of the East

I really enjoyed watching Eden of East since it had really interesting plot of drawing change in already stagnant work culture found in Japan. The anime used a like significant event where to represent some change in stagnation of Japan. As noted from lectures and readings, the salaryman work culture is found in the success of Japan’s economic growth through its economic boom. One key aspect of the salaryman is the lifetime employment that give salarymen then idea if they work at a single company would grant better incomes and path to a prosperous life. In reality of modern Japan, this culture of salaryman creates an healthy environment where work become too much since lifetime employment became for greed and exploitative for higher labor productive which often led to instability among each individual following expectation.  

The social issue is heavy represents within this anime since event called the “Careless Monday” demonstrates the severity of the issue. Careless Monday was a missile attack on Japanese cities that resulted in zero deaths. One of the main characters named “Saki” voiced their opinions of how the missile strike could had some kind of impact for better reforms to society. The certain main issue that the story attempts to tackle is the people who are consider NEETs or hikikomori of Japanese society who are withdraw idea of getting a job or joining back to society. The main protagonist “Takizawa” had a mission or goal to help and save all NEETs from the expectation of reality thrown upon them in Japan. Often this mission had its problems where NEETs were considered leeches or deadweight neoliberal society. Essentially the outcasts and losers were mainly shamed for Japan’s unemployment crisis and Takizawa's plan seems to be eradicating that whole group of people to save but had more meaning. Takizawa became primary the advocate for the NEETs as way to lead them to save in Japan which indeed inspiring. Creating sort of company “Eden of the East” hence the name of the anime by use policy called the “Eden System” which become a safe haven for all NEETs to find there self-worth and purpose through commit of enough work to help Japan.  

The main takeaway for from this anime is there’s always a second chance and hope at the end of the tunnel. Even though NEETs are portrayed as unless in Japan but are a part of the nation and shouldn’t be ignored since anime supports the idea that there is hope in changing to be better and always striving for happiness. I for one relate to the anime a lot since I kind of been a loner for a while after COVID-19 and was isolating to meet or even say hi to people. I basically resigned myself to believing this is who I am and can’t change it. And I really didn’t care and kept walking forward, I guess. But eventually, I ended up finding myself connect other people through hellotalk, and definitely opened my view of the world. Just world is so much bigger than one place and I enjoy every bit of it. Through calling or text, I met people from UK, India, China, Vietnam, Japan, Sweden, Nepal, Indonesia, Turkey, Singapore, Philippines, Texas, and California. Remember small steps forward can be brighter💡 each time and be hopeful🍀:) 

Thank for Reading hehe^^ 

[yukitokujpnblog]

A story about a large Japanese corporate "salaryman" who got a "basic income" when he quit his job to do what he truly loves(3)

I was carefree before I left the company, but after I quit, the reality of being unemployed suddenly hit me. My annual income had been over 12 million yen(80,000USD), reduced to zero. Moreover, there was no prospect of funding my next challenge.

As the Japanese saying goes, "poverty dulls the spirit," and material scarcity leads to mental malfunction. Although I had enough savings to live for the foreseeable future, the mere fact that we have no regular income makes us hopelessly anxious. When I saw how I was shocked beyond expectation that my salary was not coming in every month, I could see how stability-oriented I was.

Even if I start a business, it will only generate income if there is a prospect. Even if I change jobs as hard as possible and find a job, the conditions will probably be worse than my previous job. Moreover, I may not do what I wanted even by risking own position. If that is the case, why did I quit that company?

I began to blame myself, thinking that I had made a foolish decision , even though I decided to quit. I lost my appetite and started having trouble sleeping.

As I spent sleepless days, I realized that I had been able to live a stable life because I had a foundation. Because of my income, I was able to buy what I wanted every day, go out to eat frequently, and travel abroad. When the income is gone, I can no longer take any action.

This means that my life depends on my environment. My health, my family's happiness, and other factors are usually invisible, but these factors contribute a lot to my internal happiness.

In the face of such a harsh reality, I was powerless to do anything about my ability to get out of my clogs. I felt ashamed of myself for being so arrogant.

I also realized how admirable my parents were for working until retirement, even though they probably went through many hardships, and my friends who make living as freelancers without belonging to a company. I had mistakenly thought that joining a large company had raised my level, but I was still me. I realized that I was being kept alive by something.

However, after a round of languishing, I thought, "I lost a lot, but I gained a lot, too. First, I now have more time and space in my mind. Before, even on weekends, I could not stop thinking about work, and I had never been able to relax genuinely.

Second, now I can devote my time to blogging and cultural activities without worrying. I challenge myself to the fullest in the things I like to do. Because of this, people around me have told me that my personality has become more open-minded since I left the company.

Above all, by taking time to reflect on myself, I have come to look at things dispassionately and realize that I had been obsessing over things more than necessary and neglecting things that should have been priceless to me. I could have these thoughts because, after all, I left the company.

In the end, the question in the previous article, "Do you take what you love or take a stable job?" is straightforward, and it may be that you can still have something hard either way and also that you can gain something either way.

However, I am sorry to ruin the atmosphere in which I talked about good things. But, I wouldn't say I liked it.

I didn't want to work a job I wouldn't say I liked while saying, "Well, that's just the way life is," or to struggle with my daily meals while saying, "I'm chasing my dream".

Moreover, in my case, rather than pursuing my dream, I was doing something that I was convinced would be important for Japan and the world, so I thought, "If I could just focus on my activities, my performance would improve tremendously. I could do more for others." I thought to myself.

A reference point is the so-called "athlete hiring system". Major companies in Japan are hiring sports athletes. When athletes the company supports are successful in Japan and the world, it gives the Japanese people dreams and serves as publicity for the company. It is a very excellent system.

On the other hand, I also wondered why this employment is limited to sports. There are different types of jobs besides sports that can give dreams and hope to the world. Some people work hard behind the scenes doing important social contribution activities that no one else does.

Of course, there are reasons why more media exposure is more beneficial to the sponsoring company, but it is all about what the company perceives. Some companies may consider something other than media exposure an attraction.

If so, there may be a company that understands the purpose and intent of my activities and would be supportive.

About six months before I left the company, I came up with the idea of this hiring system and discussed it with several management acquaintances. They all described it as an "interesting mechanism," but none would hire me. When I asked them why, they said the benefits were the bottleneck.

They said, "You are doing a good job, but not good enough for my company to pay for it.

This was a frustrating but valid statement, and I failed to convey the value of my efforts. That's all there is to it.

I decided to stop playing the lottery and work diligently, and made up my mind, "It's time for me to start looking for a new job," and that's when I met Mr.A.