#THAT MAKES 2 ENGLISH VAS FROM THIS SHOW WHO VOICED CHARACTERS IN PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER

[toooldforfandom-liveblogs]

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power S01E03 - Razz

Uhm. Maybe “Razz” is a name? It could be the name of that buff woman in the opening. Other than that, I have no idea what the title could be about. There are a lot of things that could happen though, how is Adora going to be received? How is Catra going to explain what happened to Shadow Weaver? How's the horde going to react? Lots of questions so, let's do this!

Wait, wait, wait, where is the awesome opening song? You can't do this to me, She-Ra! You can't introduce a song I haven't been able to stop listening and just take it away like that!

Glimmer may be the one riding that horse but it's 100% Adora's. It _looks_ like she's leading the horse but she's just making sure no one steals it.

"MY HORSE"

This show has an incredible handle of comedic timing.

oh my god

you bet your life I'm singing along

So, is crab lady Razz?

How do they recharge? Is it just about sleeping in the right place, or is it more involved than that?

Huh. I don't remember her name being mentioned in the subtitles before. Angella sure follows the "name as transparent about its meaning as possible" rule.

Is this entire cartoon about teaching kids to charge their mobile phones before leaving home?

Narrator: She won't.

So... would Glimmer just die if she doesn't recharge? Are they bound to their charging stations like an old laptop?

Voice director: Think of a balloon deflating. Embody the ballon. BE THE BALLON, ADORA.

Also, well, that makes sense. Isn't the horde winning the war? At least that's what I remember, considering Shadow Weaver implied that one decisive attack (with Adora in charge) would be enough, but maybe she was lying.

1. This is hilarious.

2. I remember thinking that Glimmer knew something about "She-Ra," would transforming be enough to convince everyone that Adora is indeed on their side now if it's a known legend?

Makes sense.

So it _is_ like the Avatar state!

That's what I've been doing since I watched last episode.

"MY HORSE!"

This is just a love story between a girl and her horse, everything else is just incidental.

I'm sure this is going to turn out _fine_. What's wrong with a disguised horde soldier armed with a giant sword trying to steal horses anyway.

Imagine those beady eyes judging you and your entire life. "You're never going to be enough," he's neighs in my nightmares.

That's _definitely_ not her normal voice.

Welp. Can't believe She-Ra ended this way. Maybe Glimmer can now become She-Ra? There _are_ a lot of episodes left somehow

Exact same energy as this

So... the horse is She-Ra now.

I think this is the first time I see a magical pet being very not okay at being a magical pet.

If she transforms to catch her horse it's really going to solidify that the show is about Adora and her horse.

Welp. Time to make a killing selling pitchforks and torches.

"And my job here is gone, toodles"

And meanwhile Bow and Glimmer are outside the room wondering what's taking so long.

So, why is Angella the only one with an English accent? Is it just because of the VA or does it mean something in-show? Hm.

Aw, c'mon subtitles. She fled "with the help of a winged beast," that's important!

I like that the Queen instantly knew to blame the kids. Maybe how much dumb stuff they have done through the years.

Oh, they were there. Nice touch with that raptor helping his teammate. Just a team on the wrong side of the war.

Welp, direct hit to Catra's insecurities.

Oof.

What an interesting dynamic. I thought Catra would just be angry and feeling betrayed (and she is) but I didn't realize her team would also be a problem.

For some reason she looks like she's from a completely different show and was been rotoscoped into this one.

...I really thought Razz would be the horse.

Huh. So she can see the past and Mara was the previous holder? Maybe Adora's mom?

I thought the "First Ones" were incredibly old, how does Razz know about that kind of thing? Is she the last "First One," still alive somehow?

Is Adora a reincarnation? Hm.

IS SHE SUPERMAN

My heart. It's too early for this.

Exactly what Glimmer was angry about. I like the idea of the new generation being the one pushing towards a more active way of thinking, to protect those left behind.

That's just standard main character procedure when lost.

I thought the light may mean the sword had finished charging but maybe it reacted to Razz? Or the Horde? Hm.

And she really is going to transform to help her horse.

I just realized what was going on with Ma-Ra.

No one has looked more fabulous while possibly murdering a child soldier.

Okay then, that was informative. She-Ra has limits in what she can take and she only seems able to transform to protect people (or horses.)

Can't believe Razz named Adora's horse, that's like against the law or something.

Holy crap that stare from Swift Wind.

"Just follow the moths"

The intense dead stare has to be intentional, right? It's killing me.

Zero emotion whatsover. It's too early to tell but I think that horse is a sociopath.

I'm not sure if it's because everyone else is really expressive or if it's a directorial decision to make limit her range but Angella's voice is probably the one I like the least so far.

Okay, she can transform to protect people and horses and to make absolutely striking entrances.

I wasn't absolutely sure before but She-Ra really is like a foot taller than Adora.

That didn't work out great for the last group that had a prophecy about someone bringing balance ~~to the force~~.

The subtitles omitting "vouch" makes it sound like Glimmer needs to promise to clean the litter box before Adora is welcomed.

"uhm, I'm actually adora now?"

Aww.

I _love_ that they keep giving depth to Catra. She already had a couple of valid reasons to be angry and to make her attacking Adora not feel like it was coming out of nowhere, but they keep building her up. Maybe she doesn't like Shadow Weaver but she just received validation from the most powerful being in the Horde.

---

Another great episode. It's all still mostly set-up for the world, but the characters are so charming and the writers are doing such a good job at keeping the pace that I can't complain.

I'm not sure how to feel about Razz. Including a weird, old lady that knows more than she's telling as moral support/compass is not... unexpected, but I'm worried about what her existence does to the story. I bet Razz knows most of the answers to the current and future mysteries of the show but with the way her character is written I'd also bet that no one is ever going to ask her until it's too late. It's not an uncommon trope but it can be frustrating if it's not handled well.

Other than that slight worry about the future, this episode had a lot of interesting lore and world-building drops.

Who's Mara? (Was it actually Ma-Ra?) Was she Adora's mom? If that's the case, how would that work with the flashback being what I assume was Adora's crash into Etheria?

The flashback has 

Light Hope, which could be either from the past or from her touching the sword 

A quick zoom to a planet (Etheria?) which could be a spaceship crashing into it 

Bright Moon, which looks _exactly_ like it currently does. So, either Bright Moon hasn't changed in... how old is Adora again? Or the vision is not exactly a flashback. 

Something crashing into the desert. I thought it was a meteorite or something similar, a disaster to avoid, but it probably was Adora crashing into Etheria. Was it there where Shadow Weaver found her? 

A temple, which seems to be where Adora and Razz went picking berries but many years in the past. 

A portal, in a place with crystals growing out the ground. 

A baby looking out... a pod? To a planet that looks a lot like Etheria. Especially considering there's another moon in the sky.

So the timeline would be: Adora is born in that moon, something happened (the portal?) and to help her survive she's sent to Etheria, her crashed spaceship being found by Shadow Weaver who "adopts" her into the Horde. This doesn't explain the Temple or Bright Moon but it's something.

Another alternative would be that the flashbacks are not Adora's, but someone else's. Maybe Mara? And Adora is getting them because of the sword. This would explain how Razz knows Mara, since if Adora was the one who escaped the moon, how would Razz know her predecessor?

For a second I thought about a third alternative: "maybe the Adora finding the sword is an accident, Adora really was born into the Horde and her past is not really a mystery, she gained her destiny only after touching the sword," _but_ I checked the previous episodes and Light Hope calls her by her name so I kinda doubt that's the path they are going to take.

So, Adora was special from the start. We just don't know how yet. She either escaped a doomed moon(?) or maybe she's the child of whoever escaped the doomed moon. In any case I'm intrigued.

But, I'm more intrigued by Catra. No matter the mysteries behind Adora's past, she's the hero of the story. She may waver or doubt herself but there won't be any radical changes in her path. But Catra... Catra can do and be anything. 

"Brave, loyal but afraid" is how Razz described Adora, but that description fits Catra just as well. She may be _really_ afraid of the Horde considering she chose to stay with them instead of going with Adora, and she may be feeling incredibly betrayed by her best friend and almost sister but even then she refused to tell them where and what Adora is now. But after a life of being in the shadow of Adora (because Shadow Weaver obviously prefers her) there's finally someone that believes in her, enough to make her Force Captain. It's a great origin story and there's so much potential in her character and where it could go that I hope it doesn't stop here.

Some unrelated final questions:

Angella never addressed Adora by her name. That's... worrying. Is she just using her to have She-Ra? 

Something that has been nagging me since they revealed that the princesses charge by sleeping under a magic light: What happens if Bright Moon is destroyed? Do they all die after they run out of charge? They have been putting a lot of emphasis in the limits of their magic and how it works so it really feels like it'll be a problem.

I think that's all, until next time!

[yorozuya-aki-chan]

Gintama Seiyuu Radio Translation: Ishida Akira Guest Appearance

Translator's Note: I was searching for random Gintama-related videos on Youtube and happened to stumble upon a series of Gintama radio broadcasts by the Gintama voice actors (seiyuu). These are very nicely transcribed, and have a lot of pictorial aids that make understanding the random references the seiyuus talk about much easier. These are in Youtube channels such as: 

声豚TV【文字起こし】: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbz0J8IAJv_GGgSBJPidbfA/featured

https://falchion9.com

文字起こし番組ＣＨ: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVx4X0xeiiae4Iyl-wGpZkQ

As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be any English translations for the radio broadcasts yet. Since I'm relatively free at the moment, I decided to try translating them. This is my first time translating anything at all, so if anyone spots any errors/ have tips on how I can improve, feel free to let me know! 

Finally, before I move onto the translations, I just want to say that me translating these would be near impossible if not for the transcriptions and the picture aids. So please do show them your support by subscribing to their channels as well :) 

Please do support me by buying me a cup of coffee (link of the left side of the page) :D Enjoy~! 

First up: The Old Man in Elizabeth Contest! 

Radio Hosts: Sugita Tomokazu (Sugi; Gintoki's VA) and Sakaguchi Daisuke (SD; Shinpachi's VA) 

Guest Appearance: Ishida Akira (Ishi; Katsura's VA) 

Sugita-san and Ishida-san compete to see who has a better understanding of what Elizabeth actually thinks of various Gintama characters. 

Video by 声豚TV【文字起こし】; Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wF5YK18rs 

00:00

SD: Well then, together with our guest Ishida Akira-san, let's move on to the next segment!

SD: The first run of - 'the old man in Elizabeth contest'!

Now, let's also evolutionize the person inside Katsura's cute partner, Elizabeth!

Sugita-kun or Ishida-san, who is more fitting of becoming the second generation old man in Elizabeth?

Let's battle it out.

Both of you, do you want to become the old man inside Elizabeth?

Sugi/Ishi: Oh~~~

Sugi: Sadaharu

0:33

SD: The one who just said Sadaharu was Ishida-san

Ishi: Eh? That’s not- Ehh?!

Sugi: Good evening, I am Ishida Akira.

Ishi: Uwa~

SD: This is so bad.

Ishi: I am Sugita~! Please treat me well~~!! I’ll do my best~!! I am Sugita!!

Sugi: Sugita-kun is always so energetic.

SD: This energy level (lol).

Ishi: I am as per normal~!

SD: I have never met a Sugita-kun that is ever like this!

Sugi: Erm, yesterday I forgot about my cup noodles and it became soggy. But it was still delicious.

SD: So long! This tale is so long!

Sugi: The one that tasted nice when it became soggy was seafood noodles.

SD: Are you still continuing. I got it about your seafood noodles, Ishida-san. Yeps. Now i will hand over the Elizabeth signboards to the both of you. Here you go~

1:10

Ishi: Yes, thank you very much!!

SD: your energy level is so high!! Now try to put yourself in Elizabeth’s frame of mind. Now, answer my questions as Elizabeth and write your answers down on the whiteboard. This is of course a radio show, so you can talk alright?

Sugi: Ok

Ishi: Even though you are Elizabeth? Are you going to talk even though you’re Elizabeth?

SD: This is the first time I’ve seen Ishida-san getting so into it! What should we do? Conversely I’m gonna blow my fuse here (lol)

Sugi: Excuse me, someone just called- Hello, this is Ishida. Eh? Ah, I see. I think it’s still too early.

SD: What is? (lol)

Sugi: Sorry, Z is (that??) so when I finish up here I will go to the scene.

Ishi: You can’t do this, please off your phone during the recording~!!

SD: Uwa this tale is so troublesome!!

Sugi: Sorry, Sugita-kun.

SD: Are you really continuing, please. Let’s move on to the questions.

Ishi/Sugi: ok.

2:02

SD: By the way, what does Elizabeth actually think about Katsura?

Sugi: What does he think?

SD: What does he think? What?

Sugi: Er, Ishi-, erm.

SD: ‘Ishi’, ‘Ishi’

Ishi: (lol)

Sugi: Not about Ishida-san.

SD: Elizabeth.

Sugi: Katsura, katsura.

SD: What does Elizabeth think about Katsura.

Sugi: Whenever Eli talks, he always uses placards right? ‘Talk!!’ It was really interesting when Katsura cut him off (lol) ‘No!! Talk!! I know you’re super chatty whenever I’m not around!’

Sugi: That was really the best. Katsura’s comment.

Ishi: I know right~?

Sugi: There was that one frame that Katsura looked like a fervent idiot. The drawing was super good at that part.  

Ishi: lol, fervent idiot. This is so nostalgic.

Sugi: It’s about what Elizabeth thinks right?

SD: Yea, what does Eli think. What do you think, Sugizabeth and Ishizabeth? What do you think? Alright! Let’s have the answers please. First, let’s start with Sugizabeth. Do~n!!

2:55

Sugi: Erm, if I put it in a graph it’ll look like this.

SD: Great. J-Gundam. Sleepy. What on earth is this?? (lol)  

Sugi: Well, I think that a small proportion would be that Katsura is great.

SD: Ah, a small proportion.

Sugi: And then, a bit more of him would think that Katsura is like Justice Gundam.

SD: Justice Gundam, right? Yeps yeps yeps.

Sugi: Well the rest of it would be sleepy. If somebody asks him about Katsura he would get sleepy.

Ishi: Is he a guinea pig?

Sugi: Well more or less it would be justice gundam.

SD: Well well well, so it’d be justice gundam right? In other words?

Sugi: Katsura kind of has a bit of justice down there, the bottom kind of resembles a lifter.

SD: Putting himself on a lifter. Going like swish swish, wielding it around like Gyan- ah nope Gelgoog.

Sugi: Wouldn't it crash then?

SD: Crash (lol) [1]

Sugi: I think it's really hard for people to make it.

SD: Yeps, my Gundam was also like that

Sugi: Whenever there's a lifter craftsman around, he'd say, "are you gonna break that again?"

Ishi: It's handmade by the craftsman.

SD: He'd say something like, "I didn't make this for it to get broken."

Sugi: Probably-

Ishi: It was made by a craftsman from Hida Takayama.

Sugi: Probably only one or two lifter craftsman in the universe are frantically making them.

SD: (lol) lifter craftsman. I get it. I get your justice gundam answer. Ok! Moving on to Ishizabeth.

3:58

Ishi: Yeps, I think it’s probably like this. "Oh, this person. If I’m not around he can’t do anything <3"

SD: Uwa- he’s so affectionate!! He’s unexpectedly affectionate!!

Ishi: Normally he wouldn’t say it out.

SD: Yeps

Ishi: But that’s what he would think.

SD: So those are thoughts that he wouldn’t vocalize.

Ishi: He wouldn’t vocalize it.

Sugi: Eh~?

SD: That’s unexpectedly affectionate.

Sugi: Did he have such a cute side to him?

Ishi: He usually doesn’t show it though.

SD: This, I can’t show it to the listeners but at the end there’s a heart mark.

Sugi: Yea, that’s right. Eh wait a second.

Ishi: (lol) What is it

SD: I don’t know why but Sugita-kun is getting excited.

Sugi: really… £$*£@)($*£?! A really unexpected answer just emerged. I don’t think he’d show this kind of cuteness usually.

Ishi: He wouldn't, so... If he really shows it to Katsura, it would be during Katsura's last moments. On the brink of death.

SD: Being shown a heart mark on the brink of death would be kinda annoying.

Sugi: U~wa~! Gosh~! This is horrible!!

SD: A heart mark on the brink of death would be so annoying. Let's move on to the next question.

Sugi/ Ishi: ok

5:00

SD: Hey hey, what does Elizabeth think of Gin-san?

Sugi: Gintoki?

SD: What does he think about Gintoki?

Sugi: Ah~...

SD: What does he think about the Gintoki that meets the eye?

Sugi: Ah~...

SD: Ok~ Are you done?

Sugi: Yeps I'm done.

SD: So you're done.

Sugi: Yes, I'm done. *imitating Tominaga’s voice

SD: Oh, Tominaga Ichirou-sensei (manga artist). Let’s start with Tominaga Ichirou-sensei’s answer.

Sugi: Beside me would be Suzuki-sensei (manga artist). [2]

SD: Suzuki-sensei. Yoshiji-sensei would be after that. Ok, let’s start with Tominaga-sensei.

Sugi: Ok. Ok, this is my answer. “Silver ranking: Third would be silver chariots. Second would be the princess. First would be samurai.”

SD: This is ridiculous (lol). Isn’t this ridiculous! What are we going to do with this?

Sugi: When the silver samurai in the first place throws a big shuriken, he’d go “Ya-, Ya-.”

SD: Only the users would understand that! Is this really ok?!

Sugi: The princess in the second place has never watched anime. She only remembers what she did on a Sunday morning.

SD: That’s right, that’s right. Sunday~, Asahi Television~. Yeps. Then, chariots would be cool.

Sugi: Yeps, that’s it. So with that, let’s move on to Ishizabeth’s answer. Do~n.

6:05

Ishi: I wrote this down actually, is it ok to say it aloud?

SD: Oh, it’s fine. I think it should be fine.

Ishi: It’s fine? Erm~. “The fact that he eats so much sugar but doesn’t get fat is strange, isn’t it? Is he *beep*? *beeeeeep*?”

SD: Yeps, I think it’s hard to understand what was being beeped out, but you should be able to guess that easily. Everyone, please just try to imagine it.

Sugi: Ishida-san, is your health ok?

Ishida: Health? I'm unhealthy.

Sugi: Eh?!

Ishi: I have confidence in my unhealthiness.

SD: Ishida-san has a reputation of being picky about what he eats.

Sugi: Really?

Ishi/ SD: Yes.

Sugi: Eh? Ishida-san, eh? What do you usually eat?

Ishi: Usually? Meat.

Sugi: Meat!

Ishi: I don't get the vitamins I ought to get from vegetables.

Sugi: Oh.

SD: There we go. This kind of lifestyle indeed exists. I'm following it. Ishida-san's way of living, I'm definitely following it.

Sugi: So every night Ishida-san is fighting with those wasted ghosts. While saying something like "You're meant to be thrown away!!" Mounting up those wasted ghosts, vegetables, and then Ishida-san punches them relentlessly.

SD: Oh~. The vegetables are being punched relentlessly.

Sugi: While saying, "DISAPPEAR FROM HERE!!"

Ishi: That's right. I'm fighting everyday.

Sugi/SD: With the wasted ghosts.

SD: Ah I see. Now let's move on to the last question~.

Sugi/ Ishi: ok.

7:26

SD: What does Elizabeth think of Shinpachi?

Sugi: Shinpachi.

SD: What does Elizabeth think of Shinpachi? Ok~, are you done?

Sugi: Yes

SD: Then we'll start with Tominaga-sensei. Please go ahead~

Sugi: Ok, this is my answer *imitating Tominaga-sensei's voice. "Eh? Including lenses will be 1280 yen?"

Ishi: Another ridiculous answer (lol).

Sugi: Isn't that really cheap?

SD: That's really cheap.

Sugi: Being able to get a glasses with lenses at 1280 yen.

SD: That's cheap. That's indeed cheap. I can't help but think of that spectacles shop in Unsho-san's commercial.

Sugi: (lol) that's indeed Unsho-san.

SD: That's the feeling that I get. I see. Next up is Suzuki Yoshiji-sensei.

Ishi: Yeps, this is my answer. “Shinpachi? Who is that?”

SD: Uwa that’s realistic. That was a realistic answer.

Sugi: So that means that he didn’t even realise the existence of that character? I’m sticking with the spectacles answer.

SD: So it means that its either spectacles, or he doesn’t have an existence. There’s nothing about Shinpachi himself. Well, I guess so.

Ishi: That’s kind of like Hasegawa-san.

SD: It’s the same as Hasegawa’s sunglasses.

Sugi: Yes.

SD: So ultimately (Shinpachi’s body) is just a accessory. The glasses are the real thing. So if we were talking about Shinpachi’s real body it would be like the bud on top of Char’s Gundam.

Sugi: No no, there’s a meaning to that, isn’t there? That’s believed to be an antenna-sort of thing.

SD: So there’s no meaning to Shinpachi!!

Sugi: Eh? Eh?

SD: What should we do? This is getting sad.

8:54

Sugi: Erm.. Er. Does Ishida-san like girls who wear specs?

Ishi: Girls with specs? I think girls with specs are great.

Sugi: Ah really?

Ishi: Yes.

Sugi/SD: Ho~

Sugi: So that’s your favourite look.

Ishi: But it’s not that I don’t like it when girls don’t wear specs.

SD: Ho~ So that’s playing it by ear then.

Sugi: Playing it by ear.

SD: My preferences are more fixed. How about Sugita-kun?

Sugi: Specs?

SD: Yes.

Sugi: For those people who suit specs, it really makes them look really great.

SD: Ah~.

Sugi: But Daisuke-san, I think spectacles has other uses than that.

SD: There isn’t. Stop it (lol)

Sugi: Like in just now’s Love Plus.

SD: Don’t say it with such a smile. If we’re talking about Love Plus, erm… If it’s done well everyone will be wearing specs.

Sugi: If we’re talking about Manaka’s visuals, people would be really getting into other parts of her, right?

SD: That’s not true.

Sugi: Ah, I see.

SD: Tehe~ Ishida-san, which parts (of a girl) would you like?

Sugi: Probably the voice.

SD: Don’t give any suggestions!!

Ishi: The voice?

SD: Which parts would Ishida-san really get into?

Ishi: Eh?

SD: For example, in a girl.

Ishi: Actually, I think the voice is important too.

Sugi/SD: Oh~

SD: Here it comes. Here comes a like-minded person.

Ishi: You know~, this… how do I put this. There are voices that just grab hold of you, isn’t there.

Sugi/SD: Yes, there is.

SD: (lol) What is with this sense of unity. Yes, there is. This mood is so real it’s a bit scary.

Sugi: That’s right. This is becoming a relatively serious conversation.

SD: This is totally like the nights of a school trip.

SD: You, who do you like? *whispering

Ishi: Whose voice do you like! *whispering

Sugi: Whose voice actor do you like?

Ishi: CV

SD: Who is the voice actor?

Ishi: I don’t like that feeling~. I don’t like doing things like that together~.

Sugi: That's really awful.

10:17

SD: Now then, we have completed all three questions. Now I will decide who is the winner.

Sugi/Ishi: Ok.

SD: The one who is chosen to be the second generation of the old man inside Elizabeth is… *drumroll*

SD: Baban. Suzuki Yoshiji-sensei! (Ishida-san was imitating him just now)

Sugi: Ah~.

SD: Now Suzuki Yoshiji-sensei will receive-

Ishi: Yes?

SD: Manga Dojo’s special edition Elizabeth cap!

Ishi: Ah, thank you very much~!

Sugi: Oh~, you did it. Tettere~

SD: Tettere~.

Ishi: It seems that entering the earthen pipe (the mario pipe) and working long and hard was worth it.

Sugi/Ishi: Lol

SD: This, this is an Ishida-san I have never seen before.

Ishi: Right?

SD: Uwa~!!

Ishi: Thank you very much.

SD: This, this is great.

Ishi: This is a great laurel.

Sugi: I think it’s kind of like how we got to see a bit of Muscle Man’s real face.

SD: Kind of like a face flash.

Sugi: That aside, this is kind of great. This is not like the polluted rivers, but somewhat like the feeling of Ishida-san's dirty room becoming clean.

SD: Oh~. This is really great. Who knows, the day might come whereby the old man inside Elizabeth might become Ishida-san or Suzuki Yoshiji-sensei so please wait in anticipation!! That's all for the first run of the 'Old man inside Elizabeth' contest!

11:23

Sugi: Unfortunately, it's time for us to part with our guest, Ishida Akira-san.

Ishi: Yes.

Sugi: Today we got to learn about some secrets, and you got to wear the Elizabeth cap.

Ishi: Yeps. I'll get through this winter using this.

Sugi: Really?

Ishi: It really warms my head.

Sugi: Really? It's indeed great for the upcoming season. Somehow, this, this cap...

Ishi: What is it?

SD: This feels surreal (lol)

Sugi: Instead of a cap it kind of looks more like a mask.

Ishi: Eh? Should I pull it more over my head?

SD: Uwa-!! Uwa-!! Scary-!!

Ishi: Like this? You mean like this? Is it like this??

Sugi: Ya-!!

Ishi: I can do this anytime!! Who am I imitating actually?

Sugi: Wouldn't this be a masked wrestler. Ishida-san, Ishida-san.

SD: Isn't this Hirada?? You are Hirada, right??

Sugi: Before the air becomes thin, before the air becomes thin.

SD: Friend! It's Friend! Friend is around! [3]

Sugi/Ishi: Friend.

Sugi/SD: Let's play~~.

Sugi: This is awful. Today, Ishida-san-

Ishi: Don't apologize, isn't it going to end??

SD: Ue~i! Ue~i！

Sugi: Ishida-san voicing Friend from 20th Century Boys anime is great.

SD: The voice of Friend is decided.

Ishi: I don't want to let this program end, yeps.

12:23

Sugi: We just got to know a few secrets, such as how Ishida-san is really good at drawing.

SD: Oh!

Sugi: I've seen his drawings before. For example, I've seen a picture of the dog which pissed on a bike and got scolded, "Dog, come out here!!"

Ishi: Ah~ You remembered such an old story!

Sugi: That was really good! The drawing of the dog and the bike!

SD: A bike and a dog.

Sugi: I was really surprised! Did you draw anything recently?

Ishi: Not recently, I don’t have the tools to draw.

SD: Ah~.

Ishi: I’m not a manga artist.

SD: But you want to draw.

Sugi: Ishida-san’s drawings are really really good.

Ishi: Nah, I’m not as great as you say.

Sugi: I was really surprised. Next time, with Kobayashi Yuu-san [4]

SD: A contest.

Ishi: (lol) I can't win~~!!

SD: Let's have a face-off between the two manga artists.

Ishi: I definitely can't win. I can't win.

Sugi: Ishida-san will be the big brother master of the ceremony. Big brother. Then, I will do the voice of the evil soft toy.

Ishi: I am Kasshi with white on the side of 'Ki' [5]

SD: (lol) Young people wouldn't get this joke!

13:12

Sugi: So last of all, Ishida-san has a message for all of you listening to this Gintama CD.

Ishi: Today, in this Gintoki's room, ah Sakata's room. Thank you for inviting me to Sakata's room. It was fun. Thank you very much. Yeps. Next, I will aim for Otose's room.

SD: Uwa~(lol) This is becoming a Kuroyanagi-like development, I'm sure. [6]

Sugi: That was 'Sakata as he is Evolution''s guest, the CV of Katsura Kotarou, Ishida Akira-san. Thank you evolution.

SD: Thank you evolution.

13:46

SD: From a fan with the radio name 'It's hard to speak in the middle of an operation': My younger brother uses a lot of tissue. Why is that so?

Sugi: Why not just take away the tissue? And then, next time just take a long bath.    

--

Translation Notes:

[1] I’m not very certain of the translation for this part, due to my lack of knowledge regarding Gundam. If any one of you realise that the translation is wrong, or have some input regarding what is being said here, please do message me and I’ll edit the post. Thank you!

[2] Tominaga Ichirou and Suzuki Yoshiji are Japanese manga artists. If I’m not wrong, both of them were active in the mid 20th century.

[3] Friend is the main antagonist of 20th Century Boys.

[4] Kobayashi Yuu is Sacchan's CV, who is really good at drawing.

[5] Referring to Kashimura Takeaki, a freelance announcer. The Kashi in his name is written as 柏. White in Japanese is 白, whereas 'Ki' is 木. 白 on the side of 木 would be 柏.

[6] Kuroyanagi here is probably referring to Totto-chan's author.

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Weekly Media Roundup

-The Little Vampire (Movie) - Watched this as part of a side project I’m doing and while it wasn’t the worst I can’t say I really enjoyed it much either. The target audience it’s aiming for is obviously very young, which is fine, but the plot is pretty slow with the characters having very awkward, inhuman dialogue. So while I appreciate the human/monster friendship I don’t think I’ll be watching this again.

-Project Runway (TV) - I’m less “watching” this so much as just fasforwarding to the dress reveals so I can see cool fashion but hey I’ve appreciated a lot of the outfits so far. I tend to disagree with the judges fairly often though.

-Yu Yu Hakusho (Anime) - Started watching this in combination with JJBA at anime night, surprised how well the animation holds up considering it was made before I was born. It’s shockingly watchable and giving me all sorts of nostalgia.

-JJBA: Stone Ocean (Anime)- Yes new Jojo! I know very little going into this one so I’m pretty excited about the surprise.  Love that there’s a mostly female cast this time around and that it’s set in Florida, which is hilarious. Also that like 2 episodes in we’ve already heard someone sing “Jolyne”. 

-Blue Period (Anime) - Now that the show has everyone taking exam tests it’s basically a tournament arc and honestly episodes can’t come out fast enough. It’s fun watching it with my sister who will comment every episode that she wishes Yaguchi was her boyfriend. Fair.

-Sleepy Princess in The Demon Castle (Anime)- Making my way through this slower than most, as I enjoy it as a wind-down anime and will only watch an episode or two at a time. I might pick up the manga after I finish as the characters and their wholesome antics are very endearing. 

-Animal Crossing (Video Game) - My island is still a mess but I am slowly getting it to look presentable. Finished my farm and Hidden Lake Island, currently working on a Cafe and Park area. 

-Heaven Official’s Blessing (Anime) - Keeping up with the English dub as it comes out. I like everyone’s voices so far (especially Xie Lian, who shares a VA with Langa), though I feel like San Langs voice is a little too deep for his younger appearance-It works for his true form just fine though. Ling Wen is also great. 

-The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Video Game) - Maybe I shouldn’t have finished this game so fast, as I already miss these characters. Watched some youtubers do playthroughs of the first case and I love that every one of the 1-agreed that Ryuu is a hilariously twitchy little soft boi and 2- understood within moments of meeting Kazuma “Oh, that’s his boyfriend”. Good play everyone. 

Not Pictured but Golden Kamuy, The Vampire Dies In Not Time, Lost, Danganronpa and Land of the Lustrous also were media I indulged in these past 2 weeks.

Listening to: No Body, No Crime by Taylor Swift, The Interrogation Song from The Muppets, People I Don’t Like by UPSAHL, Bright by Echosmith, Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur, Blinding Lights by The Weekend, Sad Machine by Porter Robinson, Ruler of Everything by Tally Hall, Deku Palace (MM OST)

[sejinpk]

Top 5 pre-2000 manga/anime, for the ask meme?

Thanks for the ask! I’ve read almost no manga, so this is gonna be all anime. Instead of just making a list, I thought I’d go into more detail on what I like about these shows that makes them my top 5. I actually keep going back and forth about which I like more between my #1 and #2 picks, so you can probably consider them a tie for #1.

1. Great Teacher Onizuka

Great Teacher Onizuka is easily one of the funniest things I’ve seen, whether animation, live-action, Japanese, or non-Japanese. Onizuka’s faces and the noises he makes are absolutely priceless. Uchiyamada’s (the Vice Principal) faces can be equally priceless. The English dub isn’t *good* (and they have a handful of VAs doing multiple roles), but that just adds to its charm for me in this case (I haven’t seen the Japanese dub). I like how Onizuka helps his students through their problems by teaching them how to become good people, not just good students, even though he’s not necessarily a good role model himself. I like how he views them as people, not students. I like how the show keeps its characters around, and doesn’t sideline them after they’ve had their feature episode(s), so we can see how they interact differently with each other as they grow and change.

FWIW, Urumi Kanzaki and Onizuka are tied for my favorite character from the show.

2. Belladonna of Sadness

Belladonna of Sadness (Kanashimi no Belladonna in Japanese) is an absolute visual treat. Its visuals can be incredibly surreal and metaphorical/symbolic, which I tend to find inherently interesting aesthetically. They can also be pretty psychedelic/mind-trippy at points. The movie was released in 1973, and had never had a U.S. theatrical release until last summer (apparently it had a limited screening here in 2009), when it was restored and shown in 4K. Unfortunately, no theaters in my area showed it, which is a huge shame, as I think it would’ve been incredible to see on the big screen.

I like how the movie handles misconceptions of sexuality as inherently bad: The setting of the story is feudal, so its world’s ideas about sexuality, especially for women, are incredibly limiting. The main character, Jeanne, has internalized that mindset, so she views her sexual awakening as being brought on by the devil. There’s a lot that I’m leaving out, but eventually she makes a pact with the devil, and expects to be thrown into a world of fire and darkness and evil, etc. etc. as a result, but she wakes up and it’s springtime, and it’s lush and green and vibrant. I love that way of conveying Jeanne’s misconceptions about (her own) sexuality and her realizations that her previous mindset was wrong.

Jeanne’s journey and growth and change over the course of the story is something I really enjoyed watching and found very gratifying, both emotionally and thematically/ideologically.

I feel like there’s a lot more I could say about the stuff I mentioned above, including about the movie’s source, and how that informs the movie. I’ll probably write a post about it at some point.

I should also mention that this movie is INCREDIBLY sexually explicit. It had a red band trailer, and is rated Rx on MAL (that’s the rating they give to hentai). I’ve heard it also inspired Kunihiko Ikuhara, one of my favorite anime directors, to work in anime, though I don’t think that’s something he’s confirmed.

3. Mega Man

Mega Man is the first anime I ever saw, well before I even knew what anime was. I remember getting up super early before Sunday school literally every week when I was a kid (I wanna say it was like 5 a.m.), just so I could make 110% sure I was awake when Mega Man started. Like, it was usually about an hour early, because I distinctly remember watching episodes of two other shows before Mega Man came on.

I don’t think it holds up well in terms of “objective” quality, but at the same time, I also don’t think there’s really anything bad about it. It’s a very average, typical, episodic kids’ show. The animation and (especially) art quality can vary wildly from one episode to the next. The one-liners can be pretty bad, though I have a massive tolerance for (read: love of) bad puns, so that doesn’t really bother me. XP

It’s simple fun soaked in nostalgia, but I also love some of the really silly/doofy absurdities here and there. For example, in one episode, a vampire robot created by Dr. Wily hypnotizes a human character into believing she’s a vampire robot. And she actually turns into a vampire robot somehow, even shooting lightning from her fangs. XD In that same episode, Dr. Wily creates a werewolf robot that actually transforms based on moonlight. In another episode, a robot dinosaur lays an egg, which hatches. And in yet another episode, there are lion men who shoot eye beams that turn humans into lion people.

This isn’t the case anymore, but when I was a kid, my favorite episode was the one where Mega Man X, Vile, and Spark Mandrill from the Mega Man X video game make an appearance. As a kid, the Mega Man X games (at that point it was just the first three on Super Nintendo) were my favorite, so I thought that the episode with Mega Man X was the best thing ever. :’D I still want a full-fledged Mega Man X cartoon/anime, preferably based on the earlier games (up through X4 at the latest).

My favorite bad robot used to be Elec Man, because I thought he looked really cool, and also Vile and Spark Mandrill when they had their one-off appearance. More recently (yes, I do still re-watch this show from time to time), I’ve come to really like Proto Man. In general I enjoy his attitude, and I find it amusing that he compliments Mega Man from time to time. I’ve also come to like Roll quite a bit.

4. Yu Yu Hakusho

Of the really long-running (70 to 80+ episodes) shounen stuff I’ve seen, Yu Yu Hakusho is easily my favorite. I love the English dub (I’ve never seen it in Japanese), as well as the English-dubbed versions of the OPs and EDs (man, I miss when companies did that). I really like how much character work and moments there are in the relationships between characters. For a show that has the oft-used theme of friendship that so many shounen shows have, I like how Yu Yu Hakusho handles it, where it’s not just characters supporting each other, but it actually feels a bit more…real? Like, I can easily see these characters hanging out or interacting in very normal circumstances. It’s not just, “Yeah, you can do it! Keep going!”

These are the relationships that have stuck out to me the most:

Yuusuke and Kuwabara

Yuusuke and Keiko (mainly in the 4th season)

Yuusuke and Genkai

Yuusuke and Younger Toguro

Genkai and Younger Toguro

Yuusuke and Raizen

Kuwabara and Shizuru

Kurama and Yomi

There are just so many good moments, too. Some of my favorites are Genkai’s “final” words to Yuusuke in season 2 about having to fight with time to find your place in the world; the stuff between Genkai and Younger Toguro (especially in Spirit World) and their backstory; the stuff between Yuusuke and Keiko before he leaves for Demon World in season 4; Sensui’s final moments; the stuff between Yuusuke and Raizen.

I love how the characters all have such distinct voices and perspectives. Like, Genkai’s views of Toguro, what he did, and why he did it are different than Toguro’s views of those things, and both characters’ views of their own past and present are surprisingly nuanced and complex, given the rather limited screentime those things get. And I love how they both, in their own way, sort of become surrogate parents to Yuusuke. And then, at the end of the series, he also has Raizen, and I love the dynamic the two of them have.

I think maybe the best I can explain what I like so much about Yu Yu Hakusho is that it has the fun stuff that a lot of shounen shows have, the fighting and the superpowers and overall energetic tone, but it also has a lot of meat under the surface, and that meat is woven throughout practically all of the character work in the series, which I think is part of what makes the character interactions and friendship themes in the show seem more real and true to life, somehow, than many of the other shounen shows I’ve seen (I think the English dub helps with this a lot, too).

For a long time, Kurama was one of my absolute favorite anime characters because he embodies what I think is sort of the pinnacle of humanity: he has great intelligence, wisdom, and logical abilities, but he also has tremendous warmth, empathy, and caring. And he sort of uses them to augment one another, like a synthesis/harmonization of these two general aspects that we all have.

5. Princess Mononoke

(Sorry there’s no video here. I couldn’t find an AMV I liked, I can’t think of a particular clip that would be fitting, and I wasn’t too fond of the movie’s trailer, either.)

It’s been a long time since I last watched Princess Mononoke, so this entry is shorter and less detailed and/or in-depth than some of the others.

Generally speaking, I like how the man vs. nature theme is handled. It wasn’t simply man = bad, nature = good. Both sides are given depth and nuance. Further, I like how the nature side is depicted as such, where the animal gods behave more…beastly? animal-like?, if that makes sense.Like, I’m thinking of the way that Moro talked to Ashitaka the night after he’s saved by the Forest Spirit. Nature isn’t humanized, but it’s still presented in a way that you can empathize and sympathize with it.

I like how the movie doesn’t sugar coat anything, as well as how the ending doesn’t tie everything up nice and neat with a bow. The way it ended felt very realistic, which I thought was very much in keeping with the movie’s overall approach.

Honorable mentions:

-Revolutionary Girl Utena

-Serial Experiments Lain

-Neon Genesis Evangelion

-The Vision of Escaflowne

These aren’t actually “honorable mentions,”but I couldn’t think of a succinct way to put it. Rather, the first three of the abovetitles are shows that I feel like, based on my first viewing, if I understoodthem better, could very likely have made it into the list. I think this isespecially true for Revolutionary Girl Utena, based on my first viewing, as well as things I’vecome to understand in retrospect about both the show and itswriter/director/original creator, Ikuhara. As for The Vision of Escaflowne, I’m currently watching it, though I’m only seven episodes in.

Again, thanks for the ask! I had a lot of fun writing this! :)

[anastasiaserya]

more stuff saved from deviantart

SMC and PPG 2016 comparison (written in 2016):

I love both Sailor Moon and The Powerpuff Girls. Both are awesome shows that feature superpowered girls fighting evil while still having a normal life with friends and other stuff. Both were successful franchises, and were known across the globe. Sailor Moon was dubbed into English in 1995 by DiC Entertainment, and was aired on Cartoon Network (later moved to Toonami). Powerpuff Girls was one of CN's most popular shows, and even got an anime adaption in Japan. So, both shows were destined to receive a reboot one day. Sailor Moon's was announced first, back in 2012, and was slated to release in the Summer of 2013. This was pushed back to 2014, a year later, and with barely any news released, the fans were desperate. There were rumors that this reboot would be a remake of the original anime, some said it would be full on adaption of the manga, some even claimed it was to be a continuation set in Crystal Tokyo. Sometime in 2014, the title "Sailor Moon Crystal" was announced and a key visual was released. It was confirmed to be an adaption of the manga. Everyone was happy. Manga purists were happy because they were finally getting their holy manga properly animated. Everyone else was happy because more Sailor Moon. A trailer was released, before episode debuted on Crunchyroll on July 5, 2014. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Ft3v… (trailer link) Everyone was impressed by the animation and how faithful it was to the original source material. Some people were critical of the character designs but they were a minority and were written off as "nostalgic haters". Then episode 2 was released, and the discourse started. Animation errors started creeping in. There weren't enough to make everyone go nuts but they were there. Here's a page that has most of them: sailormooncrystalfailures.tumb… People were still faithful to the reboot and just assumed the staff had a low budget that week. Critics were still written off as "haters". Most people were happy. Episode 3 was released, and that episode was LITTERED with animation blunders. They were extremely noticeable. The writing quality was beginning to weaken as well: sailormooncrystalfailures.tumb… By now the critics were no longer a vocal minority, they were a majority of Sailor Moon fans who recognized this blatant trolling by Toei Animation. I was one of the fans that stuck around for most of Crystals original run. For the first few episodes, i was enjoying it, until it got to episode 9, the episode where Princess Serenity awakens. Usagi did nothing but cry the entire episode, and it really got on my nerves. I began to hate Crystal, and went over to the critics side. The episodes got worse and worse, animation wise and story wise. The only reason i kept watching was because i wanted to get to the episode adaption of my favourite chapter and see if they screwed it up or not. Thankfully they didn't. Now, onto the Powerpuff Girls reboot, which was announced in 2014 with a key visual of the girls being released. New voice actors for the girls were also announced, which made a lot of people wary, especially since Cartoon Network didn't even bother contacting the original VA's. Not much info on it was released until early 2016, where the premier date (April 2016) was announced and the episode titles were leaked. A couple of clips were shown. People seemed to remain optimistic. The first episode, "Man Up" premiered. Most people didn't like it, but refused to completely judge the show until more episodes were released. More episodes were released, and animation errors began popping up all over the place, along with poor writing quality and outdated memes. What really made PPG fans snap was the fact that The Powerpuff Girls, who were 5 year old kindergarteners, WERE TWERKING. The reason why i decided to compare these two reboots is not just because of the similar production quality, but also the fandoms reaction. The Sailor Moon fandom became extremely divided when it came to SMC: On one side we have the critics, the people who went full WTF and noticed the awfulness and trolling from Toei. Then on the other side we have the defenders. People forcefully loving Crystal not because it has a good story or good characters, just because it’s the holy anticipated manga version and therefore perfect and superior to everything else in the franchise.They loved bringing down the classic anime (which made them fans) in order to make Crystal look better, and turning a blind eye to every flaw. There were also people in the middle so i'll touch on them quickly: - People recognizing it’s shit but they’d love it and support it anyway because it’s Sailor Moon. - People who were happy about Sailor Moon coming back to life regardless of the crap Crystal turned out to be but still being able to acknowledge it has its flaws. - People who were happy about Sailor Moon coming back to life regardless of the crap Crystal turned out to be but being unable to acknowledge its flaws. - People forcing themselves to love the show no matter what. Every single defender  was a manga purist by the way. And here is a collective list of things they've done: - Tried to force the fandom to stop calling out Crystal on its blatant laziness. - Try to convince people Crystal is the best thing just because it’s THE STORY STRAIGHT FROM THE MANGA ZOMMGGGG - Said we are all blinded by nostalgia and used that to dismiss dissenting opinions. - Bring down the classic anime for not being faithful to the source material therefore just because of that it is shit and Crystal is better. - Created this odd parallel world where not even valid criticism towards Crystal is valid. Only positive reactions and blind praise was allowed.  - Came up with pointless and quite frankly lame excuses for Crystal’s flaws. - Said the show is better because they follow Naoko’s art (which is 100% not true) - Actually think the development in Crystal is awesome because THAT’S HOW IT HAPPENS IN THE MANGA!11!1! - Attacked people on a personal level for not being grateful that because of Crystal the franchise has come back to life and that’s all because of the manga. - Said we were bad fans (or not fans at all) for not supporting Crystal - Sent death threats to Crystal Critics for not liking the show A similar reaction is taking place with the Powerpuff Girls reboot, and already we're seeing two different sides: Critics and Defenders. So far, the defenders have: - Try to convince people that the reboot is the best thing ever - Said we are blinded by nostalgia and are 90's kids/"cartoonaboos" - Made it so not even valid criticism towards the reboot is valid. You are only allowed to praise the show and post positive reactions. - Came up with pointless and lame excuses for reboots flaws. - Said the show is better because it's newer while constantly shitting on better shows like Adventure Time and Gumball. - Attacked us on a personal level for not being grateful that because of the reboot the franchise has come back to life and that we were just whiny brats. - Said we were bad fans (or not fans at all) for not supporting the reboot. Thankfully, Toei got their shit together and revamped the show for Season 3.