#Taiga is included in that apparently

[ghoulie-gal]

Is he?? Going to hibernate????

Also I assume he's taking you to Jabberwock hfjdjdbdj poor Haru

[agoraphobic-artist]

Ryu Ga Gotoku ~ Statues and Figures ~

It has come to my attention that some of the merchandise coming out for this series isn't getting the hype it deserves, so I thought I would share some of the pre-orders I have already thrown money at.

I have decided to showcase these in order of price range.

(I will also be sure to separately review the items once I have received them)

GOODSMILE - Nendoroid Figures

The Kiryu Kazuma and Kasuga Ichiban figures are due to be released in October 2025.

As with all Nendoroid figures both come with several faceplates and accessories for dynamic posing. Kiryu has options such as, a cigarette, a traffic cone and a microphone to go with his singing face.

Ichiban on the other hand comes with his baseball bat, a smartphone and a Staminan X bottle. He also has extra pieces to pose him with his hands away inside his pockets.

DIGSTA - Taiga Saejima PVC Statue

It came to my attention that hardly anyone is talking about this release, so I figured I would.

Due for release at the end of October 2025 to coincide with the rerelease of the Goro Majima statue.

This Saejima appears to be from the standard clothed series. I am personally hoping that they will make a "Fierce Battle variant" in the future, so that he can proudly show of his Irezumi along with the others in my collection.

KOTOBUKIYA - Kiryu Kazuma Statue

Spooky month is apparently also the Month for Yakuza Merch as this is also due in October 2025.

Love the attention to detail on the statue, including the base that is made to resemble to roads of Kamurocho.

I especially love that his base is minimal; A lot of statues I've seen lately have opted for unnecessarily large bases that take up way too much space in a display case.

It also seems based on recent promotional images, that although they don't physically fit together and attach, the future Majima statue will also be able to pose with the Kiryu one.

CHOCOBO STUDIOS - Kiryu Kazuma (Yakuza 0)

Due for release by the End of the Year, with two options available for pre-order. I opted for the classic white suit but there is the alternative option of his Black suit as seen in the beginning of the game.

Although Chocobo Studio offers a few different Kiryu's from various games, I really wanted his younger look as it is rarely in the limelight.

The statue is made of PU and Resin and is 1/6 Scale.

CHOCOBO STUDIOS - Majima Goro (Yakuza 0)

Due for release by the End of the Year, I missed out on the original 2023 release but he is being reissued this year and so I have jumped at the chance to have him in my collection.

In his Cabaret Grand manager outfit from Yakuza 0, I look forward to receiving and reviewing him as if the promotional images are anything to go by, I will have a lot of details to take note of.

The statue is made of PU and Resin and is 1/6 Scale.

I will keep updating as I pre-order any new Merchandise!

[nyssasorbit]

Theories on what the ghouls wished for:

I've been compiling this for a little while, so I added some explanations too. I think part of why they received the abilities that they have has to do with the specific way they worded their wish, so I tried to make some of them "accurate" to what I think they would be + some variations that it could have been instead.

Note: I don't think all of them made wishes that were intentionally malicious in nature, but they must've had enough darkness in their heart for the demons to prey on, at least at the time of summoning them. Since at least some of them seemed to be kids when they summoned demons, they probably didn't fully understand the gravity of summoning a whole ass demon, and weren't necessarily evil people.

Jin - For people to listen to him, maybe because he felt undervalued despite possibly thinking he was capable of great things. Or maybe he was more vindictive with it, and wanted to be able to make people obey his command to show them what he was capable of?

Tohma - To make a change, ie. "To shake the world in waves". I firmly believe his Vagastrom nature wants to make some kind of change, and he's using Jin as a way to see it come to fruition (though I think he does still appreciate Jin as a person).

Luca - To protect people (canon as far as we know). Maybe to protect his brother specifically? (Did he summon a fucking genie?) Not sure why his brother would be taken though, since as far as we know, no one else has had to sacrifice something/one upfront to have their wish granted. Maybe his brother was in danger and he wished to protect him, so his brother was removed entirely and Luca absorbed the demon because of Weird Pact Things or whatever? Maybe his assumed absorption of the demon is what caused his brother to disappear in the first place? (Yikes...)

Kaito - Not sure. Maybe something like being able to understand others/their emotions, or be able to detect liars/deceivers? Maybe smething about enhanced vision/being able to see things he/people in general ordinarily can't see? I think he was the one who mentioned his pact was "forced on him" so idk.

Alan - For the strength to get revenge. //chill Alan..

Leo - To hear what people are saying around him. (I have a headcanon that his wish was mostly innocent in nature/intended to be malicious for only one big thing, but having the ability, maybe + being under demonic influence, turned him into a monster.) Maybe his wish wording could have also been something along the lines of wanting to know the secrets of the people around him, or something?

Sho - To push someone/something away from him? Not sure what "jams things" entails entirely. Maybe to get away from his brother, or maybe he was physically trapped somewhere when he made his wish? Maybe he was being bullied?

Haru - To be able to move quickly, maybe either to help someone or to save himself? Or just to keep up with the hustle, lol?

Towa - No fucking clue. Is he even truly a ghoul? The closest thing I would think for all he's got going on is "to be able to understand nature" or "to be one with nature" or something to that effect.

Ren - To be able to clean without water? (Is this how he bathes?) No fucking clue.

Taiga - To have good fortune/favourable odds? To have things "go his way"? Maybe he was an unlucky bastard in his youth? Maybe he was trying to help repay family debt? Romeo has defined his ability as "luck", but I don't know if his stigma has something to do with his apparent ability to see the future/other time loops. It's possible that's something outside his stigma entirely, considering his opening dialogue possibly implies he was incapable of seeing the future at the time.

Romeo - Not sure. Maybe something regarding revenge? Like wanting to take down his rivals? Maybe his specific wording included "I'll do anything" hence things closer to him emotionally having a bigger blast. Something something "wanting to make an explosive comeback"?

Ritsu - To be capable of holding his own in court? I can't think of the wording I want to use, but basically to be an indestructable force in the court room, whether that wish is for himself or so he can honour his family/father.

Subaru - Not sure. Maybe he wanted to find out the truth about something that was hidden from him? Maybe he wanted to uncover some kind of scheme amongst his acting peers or whatever? Maybe he wasn't always sus as fuck and he just wanted to understand people better, to know how to help them?

Haku - If I'm going with the shapeshifter theory: To change, to be someone else, anything else, to be something that isn't "Haku Kusanagi" that's part of this big family and weighed down by all these expectations. Otherwise, no fucking clue.

Zenji - No fucking clue. If I'm going with the "Jiro time traveler" theory, maybe he made a wish something along the lines of wanting to protect/watch over Jiro, which is why he is the way he is now?

Ed - No fucking clue. Is he even a ghoul or just a vampire?? If I'm to guess his mist is his stigma, then maybe something along the lines of "to have the ability to charm/persuade people"?

Rui - To help people/to ease people's pain specifically? Could he have maybe been capable of healing people by touching them before, but obviously can no longer do that?

Lyca - Maybe to find his way after getting lost? Maybe to ensure he didn't lose/get separated from anyone he was close to? Not sure. Could also be to capable of hunting something down?

Yuri - To be a genius!! He's a visionary that just needs the brainpower to bring his thoughts and ideas to fruition!! (Not sure how he worded his wish though.) Maybe he needed this brainpower to save his mother or otherwise to prove himself to his mother?

Jiro - No fucking clue. If I'm going with the time traveler theory: to go back in time and save the presumed baby third Kirisaki brother. Maybe Jiro was capable of doing this but traveling back too many times caused his health to deteriorate, both from his power and his own personal neglect?

[aayakashii]

Leaving the fact that apparently Towa and Haku talk a lot about MC aside, it's interesting to me how Towa is able to see ghosts without an outside aid.

I honestly feel like among all characters, Towa is the most explicitly inhuman. His eyes look like a goat's, he is only able to talk during the night and he seems to have very loose morals (which could be attributed to a worldview largely different from our own – much like Fae have wholly different morals as well).

We usually assume he has the power to control the weather due to him being able to use lightning, but what if his actual ghoul power is something entirely different (´- `ก).｡ we've never heard him say his spell out loud and, if he is actually UNABLE to speak during the day (if it isn't his choice to be nonverbal), then his stigma probably isn't related to him being able to control the weather – if I'm not mistaken (please tell me if I am!!!), the ghouls have to say their stigma out loud for it to work, so his inability to speak during the day would render him incapable of using that specific power...

This is all pure speculation on my side though and I'm not sure about the whole having to say the stigma's name out loud thing, since Subaru's stigma apparently works without his will, just by touching someone.

But anyways! During the quiz section in the beginning of the game, Professor Hyde asks which power would we prefer and, in there, both elemental powers and gravity control are included. The gravity thing is Haru's, but what if the elemental thing isn't Towa's

It has been discussed already how most of these powers can be attributed to a specific ghoul and how it influences which house you'll be appointed to, so it's a bit weird to me how there would be two options related to Jabberwock in this question (although Taiga could either be Extreme Luck or Time Travel......... allegedly lol)

Anyway, I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I just think Towa is a very interesting and mysterious character and it's good that he likes MC so much, otherwise they'd have a real hard time going against someone as fickle as him 💀

[akehoshimystar]

Takeru SSR

Here's to Aporia!

Part 1

Ito: (Is Ichikawa-kun okay? I heard from Tsukimoto-san that he hasn't eaten anything since the morning...)

As I was heading to the guest room while remembering the message of help from Tsukimoto-san, who was busy with some business. Then I found a figure leaning against the wall in the hallway.

Haruhi: …….

Ito: (! Ichikawa-kun.)

I saw him staggering as he tried to walk, and I was about to rush over to him when….

Takeru: Hello, this isn't a bed.

Mika-san appeared dashingly and supported Ichikawa-kun's shoulders. Feeling relieved, I walked over to the two of them.

Ito: Ichikawa-kun, looks like you're still seasick.

Takeru: Did you know, young lady?

Ito: I just got a message from Tsukimoto-san, and he asked me to go and check on him.

Takeru: Oh, I see. He doesn't seem to be in a condition to move. Shall we carry him to the guest room?

Ito: Yes.

(I'm glad Mika-san is here.)

Haruhi: ……..

Ichikawa-kun didn't respond to our conversation, his brows furrowed and his eyes closed.

Takeru: Come on, let's go.

Mika-san carried him on his back. Ichikawa-kun was muttering something, and finally surrendered himself.

Haruhi: Ngnn……

Mika-san quietly put Ichikawa-kun down on the bed in the guest room. Not long after, Ichikawa-kun's eyes finally opened.

Haruhi: ...Ah, it was Mika-san after all. At first, I thought it was Shinkai or someone like that.

Takeru: Fufu, I'm sure Soyogu can be counted on just like me. Anyway, are you feeling okay?

Haruhi: I feel a little better after lying down. Thank you.

Ito: Do you feel like eating something now?

Haruhi: Hmm... Not really.

Ito: I just got a message from Tsukimoto-san.

Apparently, you haven't eaten anything since the morning, so I was asked to bring you some food if you’re ready to eat...

Haruhi: I don't really care if you leave me alone.

Takeru: Maybe you’re dizzy because your stomach is still empty.

You really should put some food in there.

Ito: Do you think you can eat something?

Haruhi: ...The food smell was really icky before, but now I might seriously need it.

Ito: In that case, I'll get something from the buffet. I think it's better to eat when you can.

Haruhi: ...Yeah. If I don't eat anything, Taiga will scold me anyway.

Takeru: I'll help carry some stuff. It'll be hard for you to do it alone.

Ito: Are you sure?

Takeru: I have plenty of time, don’t worry.

Ito: Thank you.

Part 2

The hall was packed with gorgeous Japanese, Western and Chinese dishes. There was also a wide variety of desserts and fruits, so it was hard to choose.

Ito: It's best to pick something that doesn't put too much strain on his stomach.

Takeru: That being said, we need to take his preferences into account too.

If we get a variety of dishes in small portions, he’ll probably be able to eat at least one of them.

Ito: That's true... Let’s see, it seems like he eats a lot of chicken salad.

Takeru: Chicken, right?

Ito: I've also heard that he likes mentaiko rice crackers, so maybe mentaiko as well.

Takeru: Okay, this and this… Let's include these as well.

Ito: (Wow, the plate really turns out beautiful.)

Plate presentation is a challenge of taste, but when Mika-san put various dishes together, it turned into a magnificent one-plate meal.

Takeru: This should do.

Ito: It looks so delicious for some reason. The colors and appearance are really gorgeous.

Takeru: Fufu, thanks. May I ask for a drink, young lady?

Ito: Of course.

After getting some water and soft drinks from the drink counter, I returned to the guest room with Mika-san.

Takeru: Sorry to keep you waiting. Here's a special one-plate dinner.

Haruhi: ……..Did you really go to the buffet?

I could understand what Ichikawa-kun was trying to say.

Ito: Mika-san arranged the food. Pretty, isn't it?

Haruhi: You could literally serve this menu in a restaurant as is.

Takeru: That's the highest compliment I could get. So, do you think you can eat now?

Haruhi: Well, maybe a little.

After he said that, he picked up the fork and started eating, which made me feel relieved.

Haruhi: You can go back, I’m fine now….. Thank you very much.

Takeru: Nope, let me watch over you until the end. I'm sure Taiga-chan will feel more at ease that way.

No, I shouldn’t have mentioned Taiga-chan's name. I myself am worried about you. 

Ito: Umm, then I'll stay too. Please let us remain here.

Haruhi: ...Do as you like.

Takeru: …….

Ito: (Come to think of it, Ichikawa-kun and Mika-san don't seem to have a common ground that could lead to interaction.)

I was wondering for a moment. After facing the silence that fell on us, Mika-san spoke with amusement.

Takeru: Haruhi and Soyogu went to the same middle school, right?

Haruhi: We weren't that close, though.

Ito: (Right, the only connection between them is Shinkai-san.)

Takeru: I’m a bit curious about his middle school days... 

Haruhi: It might be rude to say this when he's not around, but he's not that different from now.

Tall and good at sports and studying, the sports clubs asked him to help out and people around him relied on him.

He was big and stood out, so he caught people’s eyes naturally.

Takeru: Fufu, I can imagine that. I wonder if it's the same when he assists Sei.

Haruhi: I'm always holed up in my room, so we don't see each other all the time.

But from what I've heard, I don’t think so.

Part 3

Takeru: ...It's nice to meet someone you've known for a long time. It must be destiny that led you two to work in the same place as adults.

Haruhi: But in the end, isn't the intensity of a relationship more important than the length of time you've known each other?

Mika-san and Shinkai are much closer, right?

Takeru: Oh, that’s one way to put it.

Thinking back, the Watchdog Dept. originally consisted of me and Soyogu.

From that time on... I may have lost to Haruhi in terms of length, but I guess we've been friends for quite a while.

I listened quietly to Mika-san as he began to speak with a gentle expression.

Takeru: I was the leader back then, but we both had the fighting skill and quick decision making skill, so we were able to move around with great judgment when needed to some extent.

We could say anything to each other directly, so we trusted each other a lot. Even if we didn't have a detailed strategy, it didn’t hinder our work at all.

Haruhi: Well, that’s what you call a telepathic understanding.

Takeru: Fufu, that’s true.

Now that we have more members, we have been supporting the team under Shizuka’s command even more.

We started supporting the team in a different way than we did back then, but we are still trustworthy teammates.

Also, Soyogu is quite a strong drinker, so I often ask him to join me for drinks ♡

Ito: (I guess the reason he trusted Shinkai-san so much is because of what they’ve built up over the time.)

Takeru: Of course, it's not just the two of us. The current Watchdog Dept. with new members is very important to me.

I'm going to continue to do what I can to protect it.

Even in his light-hearted tone, I could feel his affection for the Watchdog Dept.

Takeru: Oh no, I'm the only one who talks now.

Besides, this is not the kind of topic that helps getting over seasickness, right?

Haruhi: Don't worry about it. I just finished eating anyway.

Takeru: Oh, you ate quite a lot. That's good.

Seeing the empty plate, Mika-san looked pretty content.

Ito: I'll report it to Tsukimoto-san.

Haruhi: You don't have to go out of your way to do that, you know?

Takeru: I'm sure Taiga-chan will feel at ease too.

Mika-san’s eyes softened as he saw that Ichikawa-kun's complexion was better than before. I could feel the kindness that enveloped his gaze…. Not just strength, I thought that his gentle demeanor when he watched over someone was Mika-san's way of protecting others.

[tokiro07]

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2025, Issue #2: Catch-Up Week

One Piece: Saul collapses just as the Straw Hats approach, but Robin realizes that he's simply recreating their first meeting; the two share a tearful reunion. Easily the sweetest OP chapter, I'm so happy for Robin

HxH: Borksen's "Yes" is revealed to be a forced response because she tried to cheat at the card game; Benjamin declares martial law in response to the bioweapon that Balsamilco was planning to release on Halkenburg. Apparently Benjamin got exposed to it, but I don't remember the gas actually being released? I feel like I missed something and I know I'm going to be even more lost after this hiatus

Yozakura: Taiyo gives a heartfelt speech about family as he defeats Asa, but at the cost of his own life; Kyoichiro arrives as Taiyo's body crumbles. Looks like my bet from last week is about to make me some money

Undead Unluck: Andy refuses to give into angst and gleefully agrees to rip out Fuuko's heart with everyone's help, including the return of Anno Un!!!; the cost of using The Heart is revealed to be Fuuko's memories of her loved ones, but Andy resolves to just make new memories in their place. It is taking all of me not to go ahead and reread all of UU this very second to appreciate all of the memories she's going to lose

Roboco: Miyazaki saw Chojo do an Among Us chapter last week and felt left out, so he had Roboco beat up Gorilla in the dark twice. I mean obviously this isn't a reaction to that, the chapter was already written before last week's issue, but what a coincidence

Sakamoto: Tenkyu figures out Shin's powers and removes his power-limiting eyepatch. Tenkyu's fighting style is so goddamn cool I'm legit jealous I didn't come up with him myself

Witch Watch: Ibuki gets a prophecy that someone is going to die; the team defeats Hibana, but she turns out to have been a decoy for Kokuryo to complete the portal and summon Jura. The natural assumption is that Taiga is the one that's going to die, but I'm getting the feeling it's either Hibana or Kokuryo

Blue Box: Chinatsu becomes frustrated with the gap in skill and motivation between her and Yumeka, but feels better after venting to Taiki. Taiki's investment in Chinatsu's hobby/career fills a void that her distant father created, putting the premise of the series into a bit of a different light

Akane: Issho first official performance goes great, but is abruptly ruined by the revelation that he, Shiguma and Kiroku have all been expelled; Kiroku stays optimistic and decides to found his own school, the Arakawa School. The idea that they've lost everything, that they have to build a new life from nothing, is a beautiful metaphor for Rakugo as an art form

Kill Blue: Thanks to some encouragement from Juzo, Noren gets over her distaste for tsukemen and wins the eating competition, winning the sales rankings for the Home-Ec Club. I guess this was just a breather arc before something really bad happens, that makes sense

Nue: Not to be outdone by Astro Royale, Shiroha kisses Gakuro to keep him from drowning; Shiroha is taken back to the Fujino family and tells Gakuro she hates him to keep him from coming after her; this obviously fails. What was the point of fighting Rido and having Shiroha confess if it didn't prevent her from going back to her family? Perhaps I'm just not invested enough to appreciate the turns

Kagurabachi: The Kamunabi strategize on how to deal with Samura; Chihiro's temporary death severs his contract with Enten, but he resolves to continue fighting to learn the truth about his father and the Swordbearers. The idea that an Eternal Contract can be severed implies that a Swordbearer can regain their original sorcery, I hope this mechanic will be explored later

Chojo: Mr. Guy opens a curry shop and Chojo helps make it a success with his love of curry. I want curry

Astro Royale: Hibaru hears the voice of God(?) and learns that there are six Daybreak Ores; one is supposedly a prize for some kind of event that Hibaru and Shio both decide to enter, meaning four pieces will already be gathered in one spot. Wait a minute, that's just a Behelit!!!

Kiyoshi: Kiyoshi and co. have a nice relaxing visit to the hot springs and meet up with Concordia. I'm so glad Hitsugi's back, I love his dynamic with Kiyoshi so much

Hima-Ten: Tenichi and Honoka have their stargazing date; Tenichi gets so close to realizing how Honoka feels but takes her excuses at face value and writes off his perfectly accurate assumptions. A lot of chemistry in this chapter, but damn these kids are frustrating

Ichi: Ichi uses Kumugi to set a trap for Kindake; Togeice swoops in to steal the kill, but Ichi suddenly abandons the competition in response to detecting much stronger bloodlust from elsewhere; the mysterious figure from a few weeks back turns out to be a Magik! Togeice is probably going to win the bet, but Ichi's fight with this human-shaped Magik will likely prove his capabilities to Togeice and save him from School Hell

Shinobi: Mukai suggests that she and Yodaka expand their friend circles so they aren't alone when not together, leading Yodaka to worry that he'll be replaced as her friend; after it becomes clear that Mukai cherishes Yodaka, the Operator changes course and decides to plant Yodaka as Mukai's love interest. I hope this plot point resolves with them insisting on just being friends, I feel like they won't work as lovers

Hakutaku: the still unnamed dev team decides to submit Hideout Plan to a game festival, and travel to Kyoto to expand on the design. Once again, I'm liking the ideas, just not the execution; Noto reminding Hikuma that Hideout Plan isn't ONLY his and that other people are responsible for and invested in its development is a fascinating use of Friendship and Effort

Syd Craft: Syd meets Lulu Chatnoir, a fellow lover of romance novels, but fails to realize that she's also the unmotivated Phantom Thief Mistcat; Syd casually thwarts her attempts at a heist, igniting her passion for their families' historic rivalry. Lulu's my favorite girl so far, can't wait to see how the rivalry develops

This week's top 3:

Undead Unluck simply does not miss and somehow keeps managing to only get better

One Piece makes me cry all the time, but man this one hit different

Syd Craft will stop getting votes from me when it stops introducing endearingly stupid girls

[sasaranurude]

Coly, the company behind Mahoyaku and Stand My Heroes, have announced a new game. Some friends and I realized that despite looking somewhat generic at first glance, it's got a handful of intriguing things going on with it! So here's a quick kind of long introduction to/my thoughts on Break My Case!

First: the website! The music on the site is really good! Go listen while you read this post!! There are 12 people listed as composers in the credits page, and it seems most every VA involved has at least a bit of experience with singing or music projects. The tone is a bit dark for a rhythm game (though I'm not ruling that out entirely), but otherwise it seems like there's gonna be a music focus. Cool! As far as other staff goes--the main scenario writer is also the writer of Stand My Heroes, and the character designer is Utako Yukihiro, who also did some work for B-Project.

The story concerns a cafe with a myriad of eccentric employees that runs an after-hours service where they solve problems. The exact nature of all this is left pretty vague.

And the draw for a game like this: The characters! Interestingly, they're divided into different departments at the cafe. What exactly those departments do isn't clear yet. As for the characters themselves--the more we looked at them, the more we liked them, lol. Quick summaries about what intrigued us about each guy. Note that these are not translations, none of us are fluent in Japanese (we all know just enough to get by with the google+jisho combo lol), and this should all be taken with a grain of salt.

The Main Office, consisting of Ai Kosaka, Yuzuru Kise, and Roka Suoh. (Names are listed in western given-family order because that's what the site uses for romanized names.) Roka is the one who owns the cafe, is the oldest character in the bunch at 36, and is that fun "mysterious guy with unknown backstory and an endless amount of weird acquaintances, who acts incompetent but might actually be hypercompetent" type of trope.

On account of the whole acting-incompetent thing, Ai and Yuzuru run the actual cafe business. And normally I won't be including fullbody character art in this post but I have to make an exception just this once.

Anyways.

Tumblr won't let me put four images in a row. Come on man. I wanna maintain the BMC's site style. Why are you mean to me. Anyways. The Simulation Department, consisting of Kou Ayato, Mao Ukyo, Akehoshi Hinomiya, and Yuragi Kanno. "Simulation" is its English name given on the site, but the Japanese given would probably read more like "relationship department".

Kou is a footloose playboy and Mao is a serious intellectual type, but apparently Kou will ask Mao to pretend to be his girlfriend so that he can avoid trouble with women. That's gay. I love that. (Mao is a guy [as far as we know], he just likes makeup--he's not the only one in that cast who does, either!) We all want Mao's outfit.

Akehoshi was a sleeper hit in the group chat, because his bio has a sentence about how he's the most normal-looking-yet-dangerous employee at the cafe, and also explicitly describes him as being like a dog, and naturally we all went crazy for the silly puppy as soon as we realized that he was in fact a silly puppy. Yuragi, on the other hand, likes cats. Such a classic for his character design trope, lmao.

The Administrative Department, consisting of Taiga Tsukimoto, Haruhi Ichikawa, and Sei Okiya. Taiga looks cool but if you look at his fullbody he's wearing awful sweatpants and apparently he cries while watching anime. I love this for him. Haruhi is a streamer because that's like an obligatory character trope now I guess. Sei was very popular in the group chat for being the single most suspicious character in the cast. What's his problem.

The Watchdog Department (or enforcement department, if you translate the jpn) consists of Shizuka Fushimi, Takeru Mikado, Soyogu Shinkai, and Shinobu Aizawa.

My friend described Shizuka as a "wet looking glasshole" and yeah. ok. unfortunately he does look like that. But it's ok he's allowed because his bio says he prefers quiet, orderly places with plants and no people and keeps to himself in common spaces but his own room is a complete mess. AKA he's an autism king. So I like him.

Takeru was obviously a hit because look at them. Takeru and Mao talk about makeup together, apparently. CUTE! Shinobu is the most fashionable guy in the cast and his bio says he has a few screws loose, which is amazing. Good for him. I have nothing to say about Soyogu I think I forgot he existed until I was putting this post together and I only looked at these all guys a few hours ago

The Negotiation Department, with Kiho Arima, Kyoya Shido, and Riku Tateshina. I described this group as "grandma, grandpa, and Columbo" and then the group chat couldn't call any of them anything else. And I do mean grandma. Because. ok. another fullbody. Because oh my god we have to look at Kiho.

GIRL. WHAT. IS. THAT. YOU'RE WEARING A CARPET. YOU'RE WEARING A COUCH. kiho is apparently a fortune teller and my friend acted as if this excused the outfit but i DONT agree i don't think anything excuses this. WHAT IS THAAAAAT

Kyoya is an artist and Riku is a psychologist so honestly this is a really fun bunch of jobs going on in this department. Riku is described as someone who falls in love easily, and he's most interested in Ai (from the Main Office, the very first guy in this post). We couldn't tell if the implication there is that he's in love with Ai, or if he falls in love with random people and yet his true attention always drifts back to Ai. Both of these options are gay.

The ST (special tasks) Department, with Yomose Onda, Yu Nina, Kamiya, and Urara Manami.

Yu had his life saved by Tomose and has now dedicated himself to him, to the point of being ready to die for him. YOU GOTTA LOVE THAT. INCREDIBLE TROPE. UNBEATABLE. GAY AS HELL. All we know from Tomose's side is that he's "fond" of Yu. That's fine I'm sure you can learn to love him. Or learn to hate him. Whatever's more entertaining.

Kamiya has no memory, hence the singular name. I'm sure whatever's going on there is weird and interesting. Urara is the youngest character, at 20. THAT'S RIGHT. THE YOUNGEST CHARACTER IS 20. THERE ARE ZERO TEENAGERS! THE AVERAGE CHARACTER AGE IS AROUND 26. THIS SHOULDN'T BE AS NOTABLE AS IT IS BUT THAT'S GACHA GAMES FOR YOU. Anyways I like Urara because I think he looks like an angry kitty.

Anyways, that's the gist of what we know about BMC--or BreMai, if you wanna go for something closer to the jpn abbreviation--right now. More info might drop at/around Animate Girls Fest, since they seem to be giving out game beta codes there. I don't know if I'm completely sold on it just yet--coly did just have a detective-themed gacha game fail a few months ago with &0. But we're not even completely sure it is a gacha yet, or what kind of gameplay it might have otherwise, so... there's a bit of hope. Maybe it'll be a weird cool dark rhythm game! Who knows!!!

[lumilasi]

UPDATE: Since her band no longer exists, I changed her job into an airship mechanic. I don't have an idea for her work clothes yet, but will add them once I do!

Note: Max has no ears on purpose even in human form, also they can transform only partially where their upper body still looks like the human one.

Bio below:

Name: Max Karuna

Nicknames: Snakes (Chouma) Maxie (Franziska)

Nonbinary, uses She/they

Age: 28

Height: 167 cm (human)

Occupation: An airship mechanic/mentor to mechanic student Marisa

Family: They apparently has a MASSIVE family, but she rarely sees them due to her job (not relevant to the main story either)

Love Interest: Franziska Belmont (A sith cat/cat witch)

Friends: Chouma (A moth spirit), Marisa (her apprentice, also a moth spirit), Taiga (Arctic kitsune)

Powers:

Aquatic abilities: They can breathe underwater, dive into the depth of 4 km, swim 50 mph, and send supersonic signals through water and has some water elemental powers, though she needs to be in contact with water to do so, unlike actual elementals.

Excellent drumming skills: Self explanatory

Shapeshifting: They can switch between a human, a half or full-naga, as well as a full snake form. The latter is the size of a normal python snake, whereas her naga form can be up to 10-15 meters long.

Snake hair: She can turn her hair into snakes that have very sharp teeth, and can choke or crush things. (Being a python type, Max is one of those rarer Naga with no poison production, most Nagas are venomous snakes)

Venom: She can produce venom from her fangs and clawed hands that can either sedate, paralyze or kill a target. They aren't the most poisonous type though, so typically the venom doesn't work lethally on most healthy humans, let alone nonhuman beings.

Sixth sense for treasure: Her kind generally are well known for finding anything lost that holds importance, and she is no different. If something is missing, their bandmates often ask them to find it.

WEAKNESSES:

Max can be easily coaxed for shenanigans, which can cause some issues and messes to be cleaned. She, as a snake, is not fond of cold climates and can get the flu extremely easily during winter.

PERSONALITY:

Max is confident, outgoing and friendly person, who makes friends easily and is generally seen as a bit of a sunny personality to be around. They have a mischievous side despite seeming very chill and mature at first glance, and tends to pull pranks on people a lot. They are also very attuned to people's emotions and vibes, and she can tell when someone is having a bad day and what could perhaps help, or when is not the right time to talk about something.

They can be a bit of a potty mouth, but they tries her best to censor themselves when around kids or people who don't like swearing (at least, if they like said people)

EXTRA FACTS:

Her snake colors and pattern is inspired by the banana/coral glow python

Max enjoys ridiculously sugary and sweet drinks and freakshakes.

Max loves action movies and silly goofy b-movie horror movies, finding them hilarious

They can't sing, at all. But they do make sick beats with the drums, and she is a hobbyist drummer. (She is banned from taking part in karaoke)

Max largely follows punkish/grunge style, but also tends to enjoy including something really bright and colorful to it.

In general she tends to wear one really eccentric statement piece with almost every outfit, or at least one with a very strongly contrasting color.

Max's favorite style of party is treasure hunting, and anytime they celebrate her birthday or something, their friends arrange a hunt of some sort.

She has a habit of jokingly saying "oooo, Shiny!" about anything she likes, not just actual Jewels. It could be a friend, their girlfriend, clothes they like, etc.

Their kind tend to not have ears by default in human form, so if trying to blend in with actual humans, they have to remember to shapeshift their head to include those.

[lanymme]

So if you haven't heard, the recent chapter of the FGO SERAPH manga has revealed more details about Kiara's cult in Emiya Alter's world. Not only did it include people in positions of power around the globe

it also seemed to function as an aid and relief organization, providing medical care and (presumably highly suspect) remote therapy.

(seriously, look at the guy in the chair. what Ten Thousand Colored Stagnation does to a mf)

And following from this, the tidbit that's really hitting the fate fan news cycle right now is that we've gotten more details about the situation where killing cultist Taiga caused EMIYA Alter to become who he is. Apparently, she received medical care from the cult for her son, and after he was saved she stayed on. And when EMIYA went to go eliminate Kiara, Taiga shot at him.

That's really sad and fucked up as is.

But I want to add another little tidbit here that might not be common knowledge.

At the beginning of CCC, she introduces herself as Taiga Fujimura, taking the spot of homeroom teacher before Shit Goes Down and everyone gets taken to the Far Side of the Moon.

Kiara... isn't this just a little tasteless??

That said, I do want to add a little disclaimer: CCC Kiara is most likely not the Kiara that Emiya Alter fought against. I'm having a hard time recalling which of my sources that was in, but I'll link it if I can find it.

[thekaijudude]

Blazar 2nd half Catalog Leak

Ok I'm gonna cover the most important information first, which is Blazar's upgrade form here:

Even color809 posted about it so it's basically legit

So this is the design drawn by one of the toy conference attendees

And apparently it's name is "Ultraman Blazar Furdran Ultra Armor"

From the catalog leaks, it looks like Blazar is only gonna have a single upgrade form for the series, which is consistent with the hack we got from the Blazar Brace.

(Also for the next ep, Blazar will also reveal his original form in his rise sequence if yall haven't heard it alr by now, will talk about more in the commentary tmr)

And with that covered, onto the rest of the catalog leak:

1. DX Chilsofard Lancer (Combines with Chilsonite Sword)

2. DX Blazer Stone 05

- Ultraman Taiga Stone

- Glitter Trigger Eternity Stone

- Ultraman Decker Dynamic Type Stone

- Earth Garon Stone

3. DX Blazar Stone 06

- Ultraman Z Delta Rise Claw Stone

- Ultraman Geed Galaxy Rising Stone

- Ultraman Ribut Stone

- Gavadon Stone

4. DX Blazar Stone 07

- Ultraman Ginga Victory Stone

- Ultraman Reguluss Stone

- Ultraman Orb Specium Zepellion Stone

- Ultraman Zero Beyond Stone

- Sevengar Stone

5. Ultraman Blazar Great Battle Set

-Includes a Blazar and a Brood Gebaruga figures

(Brood Gebaruga is rumored to be a 3-headed kaiju)

UHS and UMS Figures:

Ultraman Blazar Furdran Ultra Armor

Gavadon (a)

Alien Reinas

Mogujon

Irugo

Zugugan

DX Figures:

Deltandal

Valaron (This dude is the final boss of the series)

Ultra Monster Advance Figures:

Fadoran

Earth Garon Mk.III Upgrade set

Miscellaneous:

(These are kaiju figures but not sure at this point what line theyre in)

Zangir

Gongirugan (Apparently a modified Zegan suit)

-

Looks like TsuPro really be spending all their ShinU revenue on Blazar lmao

But this means that we would most likely see all these suits being reused in subsequent series as well

[peculiarmarsu]

"Something completely different" continues, as I was about to throw away a comic reading challenge sheet that I snatched from Keski-Suomen Sarjakuvaseura, but decided to think through the prompts before doing so. So under -read more- you'll find some musings of mine about comics I ended up reading this year. There's some pics too!

I'll start with some comics that were the topic for book talk meetups arranged by the aforementioned comic group. I've never attended such meetups before, and these turned out really interesting! Even I babbled away my thoughts despite usually being on the silent and shy side. Way to go me!

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck - Don Rosa Prompt: The protagonist gets older during the events of the comic. Donald Duck comics were a part of my childhood, and I especially loved the works of Don Rosa. It's been ages since I read any though, so it was neat to jump back to this big chronicle and read it properly in its entirety. This time I read it in English, which was something with the different accents.

Valotusaika - Avi Heikkinen Prompt: Features a pet/other house or farm animal. I had read this before but had another go for the session. Interesting comic that uses edited photos, yet not in any stiff way I think - the posing and expressions are great! It tells a story about a man who's been kicked to the head by life a lot, who finds a camera that can show the past. The first part of the comic has quite heart-wrenching climax ;u;

Anne Frank's Diary - Ari Folman, David Polonsky Prompts: People oppose the leading powers & the comic tells of loneliness. This was my first touch on Anne Frank's Diary, and I think the comic form works well here and helps to visualize things such as how cramped the attic space really was. The art is really pretty too, and many panels look like frames straight out of an animated movie (which there later was).

Now onto comics I read outside of the book talk sessions.

This shelf used to contain art supplies...

4. Bird in Wonderland - Taiga Sassa Prompts: Comic is a travel story, comic is relaxing, comic where people are nude, comic where sweets are eaten, comic where something embarrassing happens, comic where a celebration is held. Many prompts... They started releasing this in Finnish this year, and I thought to give it a go! This year in general has felt like I wanted to try out more comics, and find new ones to follow to fill slowed down schedules of some. I hadn't heard of this series beforehand, but it's been a nice travel story to read, based on real journey by Isabella Bird. So far emphasis is definitely on comic is relaxing, as it really is joy to read.

5. Emma - Kaoru Mori Prompts: Includes a speech or public performance, comic that's been on your reading list for long, comic includes cleaning or laundry (definitely!), visit in a park or garden, includes hugs or kisses, includes travel by train. Many prompts again! This got a new release this year in Finnish, and I wanted to catch that because I was too much a teenager in its first run. I actually just today read the last two books :D This was another comfy read. Emma as a protagonist is fairly odd and distant as we hardly get to see her thoughts, her antics are rather followed from the view of the myriad of other characters. Yet I was still as invested how her love story develops as her maid colleagues and others :'D I was suprised to find out the later volumes were mostly side stories, some quite whatever but couple more interesting.

6. Night of the Living Cat - Hawkman, Mecha-Roots Prompts: Released 2023 (started 2022 but on-going... :D), series has an interesting name. A comic that I ran into here on tumblr, just from seeing one page with cat paws, that intrigued me enough to seek where this art was from. Amazing zombie parody, where people turn into cats upon contact. I love this, probably my THE COMIC of 2023. Apparently someone who's worked on the English publication is here on tumblr too *waves*

7. Hevosjumala - Sami Makkonen Prompts: The events aren't told in chronological order, interesting name. The name means 'horse god'. This randomly caught my eye in a book store, and on first glance I was little sceptic about the art style if it looked little too messy to comprehend, but took it with me anyway. Aside couple character mess-ups, the art didn't prove a problem after all, fits the feeling and themes definitely! And by that I mean it's a paranormal horror story with some nice folktale twists.

8. Candy & Cigarettes - Tomonori Inoue Prompts: Protagonist is a child/youngster, includes a crime. This was actually a recommendation at a panel in Tampere Kuplii. I'm not normally one for crime genre, but the art style spoke to me in this. Some of the goons remind me of early Toriyama's work :D Protagonist duo is made of a child assassin and an elderly ex-cop who has to join forces with the former to earn money for his grandson's treatment. Graphic violence and heavy themes, but also a lovable protagonist duo trying to help each other out.

9. Ilmarin Koijaiset - Jenni Välikangas Prompts: Features rainbow family or couple (is that term commonly used in English?), less than 100 pages, features pet. I got interested in this comic after seeing the original pages up on an exhibition - the paintwork is GORGEOUS. Tells a story of a guy who moves onto her aunt's island to take care of it and the dog while aunt is away. Turns out the island isn't quite what it seems!

10. Delicious in Dungeon - Ryoko Kui Prompts: Includes hunting/fishing/foraging, something surprising happens in the comic. Yep, been reading this too, and the volumes 11 and 12 are ordered. Idk what to say here, great and interesting story and worldbuilding, lovely and distinctive characters and great art! Even with the rather "monster of the week" style the chapters often have going on, the in-depth approach makes it interesting.

11. Fullmetal Alchemist - Hiromu Arakawa Prompts: Comic features a border, travel via train, features a pet. A classic that I re-read again this year after scavenging all the books from my folks' attic :D But I.. sure don't like... how the title is upsidedown when stacked like that... and it doesn't make sense to me to have the back up.. augh.

I read other titles too as well, but these listed here were the ones that came to mind for the prompts. Annnyway, congrats I guess if you read all that? Feel free to comment and babble your opinions if you will~

[great-and-small]

Okay I warned y’all this would be a lot but here we go. As background you should know that for many birders, the hobby is a lot more than just going outside and watching birds. There is a competitive angle where the goal is to spot as many bird species as possible and record these sightings on your personal “life list”. As some bird species can only be spotted in remote locations across the globe, it takes a decent amount of time, dedication, skill, and money to fill out life lists that number in the thousands. As can be expected, many of the individuals with these mega life lists become quasi celebrities in the birding world. Chief among them is Peter Kaestner, a lifelong birder who has been meticulously recording his life list over decades as the de facto top birder. As he has added to his list bird by bird, thousands of interested avian enthusiasts have been following along and celebrating his milestones. Most exciting in recent months is his intrepid journey towards becoming the first birder to ever record seeing 10,000 different species. The entire birding community has been watching him creep towards 10k with growing excitement. Kaestner is deeply respected in the birding community and there is great trust for his well-documented list.

So now the twist. Just as Kaestner was getting closer and closer to 10k, a previously unknown birder named Jason Mann suddenly joined an app called iGoTerra (not the most common app for birding records) and all at once added observations of close to 10,000 birds. Suddenly, Kaestner being the first birder to reach this milestone isn’t such a sure thing, and both he and mysterious newcomer Mann seem to be scrambling to count as many birds as possible as the race narrows.

On February 9th Kaestner announces he’s hit the milestone and seen his ten thousandth bird, the Orange-tufted spider hunter. The birding world rejoices! As a ~crazy~ coincidence, Jason Mann just so happens to announce on the same day that he has also hit the milestone and he actually did it before Kaestner. He writes an article about himself that is somehow both shamelessly masturbatory and also has that weirdly impersonal AI generated article feel.

Well obviously the birding world is a little skeptical of this random ass dude suddenly swooping in to snag this milestone that has been years in making. Naturally, people started looking a little closer at Mann’s list, and it has some… let’s say interesting observations. It appears from his own reports that Mann has casually rediscovered several species of birds and not bothered to tell anyone. Some of the most ludicrous observations include:

New Caledonian Nightjar- has not been seen since 1939

Manipur Bush Quail- only one suspected sighting since 1932

Zapata rail- Unbelievably rare, and largely inaccessible due to environment

Taiga bean goose- Not the rarest goose in the world but Mann’s reported sighting was from North Korea. And it was apparently the only bird recorded there. So he just went to NK, saw this goose, and that’s it? Weird.

These are just a few examples of many, many fishy recordings. The issue here is nobody knows who Mann actually is, and the only places providing information about him (such as his LinkedIn) are really bizarre in a way I don’t have time to dig into here. Mann (or someone claiming to be him) actually took to BirdForum.net to defend himself, where he offered a long-winded and somewhat fumbling explanation for his life list. He claims that all of these mythical bird sightings were erroneously counted by the iGoTerra app, and he hadn’t meant to include them at all. He assures us that the rest of the recordings are entirely legitimate. Mann said in his post that in light of these mistakes he is ceding his victory to Kaestner, but was quick to say he has still totally seen more than 10k birds- even if they’re not all recorded correctly. He sent Kaestner a vaguely condescending email that Kaestner responded to with, in my opinion, far too much grace.

So now the birding community is left trying to figure out this bizarre and unexpected outcome. Is Peter Kaestner in fact the first birder to record ten thousand birds? A shadow of doubt has been cast on a title that everyone has expected to be his for years. Some birders are sincerely congratulating Jason Mann for his accomplishment in the field, and others are suggesting he isn’t even a real person but in fact some kind of artificial intelligence birding psy op. It is absolute chaos, and nobody in my life wants to hear me rant about this

Do y’all wanna hear about some absolutely crazy shit going down in the birding world right now

[foxstens]

i suddenly want an fsn remake

[muire-lo]

I wasn't able to find an image description for Baru's map, so here's one! Feel free to copy, paste, and share.

[ID: A map done in black, sketched outline, featuring mountains, sea, rivers, major cities, and borders between duchies. 

The very north of the map at the top of the page shows a mountain range in a horizontal line across the top of Aurduynn, labelled Wintercrest Mountains. 

South of the mountains is the northern duchies, from left to right Erebog, Lyxaxu, Vultjag, and Oathsfire.

Erebog is rectangular shaped, with a river running from the Wintercrest mountains south into Duchy Nayauru. Baru’s point form note reads, “THE CRONE. Clay. Landlord problems. Probably going to starve.”

Duchy Lyxaxu is also rectangular shaped. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE HIGH STONE. Quarries. Smart man, write back!”

Duchy Vultjag is a thin rectangle, the second smallest duchy. A tributary of the river Vultsniada runs through the duchy, feeding Oathsfire to the east. Baru’s note reads, “DUCHESS OF COMETS. Nice scenery. Utterly unimportant.”

Duchy Oathsfire is rectangular in shape, bordered to the east by the river Inirein which runs south to Welthony, in Unuxekome. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE OF MILLS. Lots of money. River trade. Awful beards.”

The next row of duchies includes Sahaule, Nayauru, Ihuake, and Pinjagata. Next to Pinjagata is the Duchy Unuxekome, which runs fully south to the coast. 

Duchy Sahaule is a thin rectangle. It’s labelled, “THE HORSEBANE. Good soldiers. Client to Nayauru. What’s the name about?”

Duchy Nayauru is rectangular at the top and more round at the bottom. A river flows in from Erebog and ends in many dams. Baru writes, “THE DAM-BUILDER. Reservoirs. Cavalry. Stupid feudal marriage politics.”

Dugy Ihuake is the largest duchy, wide and broad, with Mount Kijune in the north (labelled “climb me!”). It includes a sketch of walled Freetown Haraeod, with one very large building in the centre. Baru’s note reads, “THE CATTLE DUCHESS. Herds. Cavalry. Huge!”

By comparison, Duchy Pinjagata is merely a slice of land, even smaller than Duchy Vultjag. Baru’s note reads, “DUKE OF PHALANXES. Best soldiers. Bad at names. Client to Ihuake.”

The last row of duchies borders the Ashen Sea: Autr, Radaszic, Heingyl, and finally Unuxekome.

Baru’s notes on Duchy Autr reads, “DUKE OF BRINE. Good salt. Large muscles. Client to Nayauru.”

Duchy Radaszic simply contains notes that read, “DUKE OF WELLS. Grain. Olives. Complete moron.” Bordering Radaszic and Heingyl is the city of Treatymont, right on the coast, and it is sketched to show a large walled city with many towers. Notes on Treatymont read, “Apparently Duch Lachta? Best port, federal capital. Naval base. Stay out of northarbor.”

Duchy Heingyl has notes that read, “THE STAG DUKE. Cavalry. Grain. Hates joy.” 

Finally, Duchy Unuxekome, at the bottom east (right) of Aurduynn, bordered by the Ashen Sea to the south and the river Inirein to the east. The south of the duchy is labelled Sieroch floodplain. Baru’s notes read, “THE SEA GROOM. Good seaport. Pirates. Seems pleasant.” Where the river Inirein meets the sea is the city of Welthony, which has many small buildings and one large building with a tower. Baru’s note of the city reads, “Unuxekome’s capital. Second-best port.”

Baru has made notes of the areas outside Aurduynn. 

At the very top of the map, north of the mountains, is a blank area with an arrow pointing up, labelled Stakhi Empire? With a question mark. 

To the west (left), a blank area labelled GRASSLANDS, TAIGA, AND DESERT. Baru’s note reads, “What’s over here? Look it up soon.”

South is the Ashen Sea. Baru’s note reads, “Sail only in summer!” There is an arrow pointing south/down and a note from Baru that reads, “south to Taranoke and Oriati Mbo. south to SOUSWARD and Oriati Mbo.”

East is an arrow pointing east/right. Baru’s note reads, “EAST to AWFUL MARSHLAND and NORTH FALCREST. Completely useless in winter.” 

In the top right of the map is a compass decorated with the silhouette of a cormorant. End ID.]

[omgcoffee-and-murder]

Riley noticed as the other took a step into her personal space, but she wasn't the type who got scared easily. "I can handle myself. I don't need a babysitter, but if I want to get in on action and hunt anomalies, apparently you and Lulu have to come with me for a little bit." Riley said as she used his own nickname to hopefully drive a point home to Taiga.

"As much as I hate having people with me, I have no other choice but to play by the rules, and unfortunately for you and I, that includes the three of us stuck together in the same proximity." Riley said, her amber eyes glancing off to the side.

She hated to admit to herself, but having someone that she deemed attractive like Taiga in her personal space was causing her to become a bit flustered.

@blundering-thoughtless-hooligan

Riley sat at the poker table, looking at the person she had bet against. The other looked like they were about to piss themselves, which made Riley smile. "Pay up....you lost." She said as she grabbed the massive amount of poker chips in the middle of the table.

She was supposed to meet the captain of the Sinostra house Taiga Hoshibami, and word has it he was quite frequent at the casino so she decided to try her luck there.

"I don't get why I have to go on a mission with him anyway....I can handle my own shit....just because I'm new, don't mean I don't know how to handle myself." Riley said as she played with a chip and then looked over at her helpless poker partner. "Want to play again?" She asked, watching the shaking student shake his head in refusal. "Awwwwh, no fun...." She murmured a pout forming on her lips. "Fine, have it your way." She said as she turned around to leave.

[karigarihakase]

Pazudora- A Guide

What’s this massively-long-running kids anime, reaching near 250 episodes that you’re probably not following?

This is a guide I’ve been meaning to write for a while for Pazudora, a neat kids show which has been ongoing since 2018 and basically no one talks about.

Pazudora is the second anime adaptation of the Puzzle & Dragon mobile game, following Puzzle & Dragons X. And yes, they take place in a shared continuity, but familiarity with one is not at all necessary for following the other. The two series are vastly tonally different, with X being a rather-serious story set in a fantasy world. Pazudora is mostly a comedy, but can get serious when it wants to, and it’s set in our world. But then wait, how do they share a continuity? Because it turns out one of the main characters was Isekaid from the world of X to our world. And yes, there is a crossover episode at some point and various references to X scattered around.

As you might be guessing from that explanation, Pazudora is bizarre. How should I describe it? If you’re at all familiar with the Battle Spirits franchise, it’s a lot like Heroes, but on even more acid. Pazudora is centered around various tournament arcs, where pro gamers intend to become the best in the world. But when they’re not in the middle of a tournament (and heck, sometimes when they are), the rest of the show is pure ridiculous filler. After about 100 episodes in, the series switched to short format episodes (rather, half is a live-action variety show where a bunch of comedians play Pazudora and Ninjala.) This lack of screentime for serious plot apparently led the writers to take a plan B. Make it even more ridiculous. It actually worked to great effect. Although, many characters suffered greatly reduced roles as a negative side effect, including some who were quite prominent previously.

And now, a brief introduction of the cast. 

Starting with the Pazudora Club: 

Taiga Akashi (cv. Asuna Tomari)- The main character. His family runs a takoyaki business, and he dreamed of being no. 1 at takoyaki-making. After seeing a Pazudora match with the popular pro-gamer, Matsuhara-Pro, he becomes enamored and decides to switch fields... not losing his objective at being the best in the world. And to be fair, it’s not like he drops takoyaki for Pazudora. He still takes the business very seriously. And he’s able to utilize his skill at flipping balls of flour and octopus to help him become better at playing mobile games. Yes, seriously. Taiga is also ridiculously smug, and it’s funny. He’s not a goody-two-shoes hero, which does make him stand out from some generic shounen protagonists.

Toragon (cv. Tetsuya Kakihara)- Taiga’s partner. He’s the character in question who was isekaid from the world of X. His normal form is that of a tiny round tiger (but he’ll insist that he’s a Toragon- part tiger, part dragon) and he eventually evolves to a more mature looking form that he only takes during battle.

Sakura Uzuki (cv. Honoka Inoue)- Taiga’s neighbor and childhood friend. Her family runs a cake shop. Sakura is a member of the Pazudora club along with Taiga, and while she does initially strive to be a pro-gamer, she decides she doesn’t want to, and plays more of a support role as team captain. She’s quite good at the game, and will still play on occasion, but rarely does these days. Sakura begins the series with a crush on Matsuhara-Pro, but gradually develops feelings for Taiga, and a lot of her character arc is her coming to terms with. Many of the ED animations focus on this relationship. An interesting note- Sakura is voiced by Honoka Inoue, daughter of Kikuko Inoue, who voiced Sakura’s mother.

Whip- Sakura’s partner monster. Whip is initially one of the only monsters besides Toragon who will appear out of battle. She’s cake-themed, and something of a glutton. Unlike many characters who got reduced roles when the show switched to short format, Whip actually landed several focus episodes, which tend to be trippy even for this show’s standards.

Yukichi Tokuzawa (cv. Chie Koujiro)- Taiga’s friend, and co-Pazudora Club member, who is incredibly rich. He admires Taiga like a brother. Although not as skilled in Pazudora as others, he does eventually get his pro-gamer license. Still, he rarely makes it far in the tournaments. His main rival since childhood is Tsukasa Oujo, who is another rich kid. His partner monster is some sort of thunder god thing. It doesn’t appear enough for me to remember its name. It gets a chibi form that can appear out of battle when the series switches to short format.

Ryuji Matsuhara (cv. Yusuke Kobayashi)- The main rival character, and kind of an edgelord. To be fair, Ryuji has a serious inferiority complex going on, being that he’s the younger brother of the great Matsuhara-Pro. So he grew up always being second best, and when he ends up with the Pazudora Club, he also finds himself being second best to Taiga. Throw in the writer’s love for pulling the Warf-Effect on him, and he gets messed up to the point that he temporarily leaves the team and goes off to America to work out issues. With a little help from Oujo, he comes back a lot better. His family business is calligraphy, and his partner monster is a blue sea dragon. Like Yukichi’s, it’s not very relevant.

The Adults

Gen-san (cv. Taketora)- A fellow restaurant owner in Taiga’s home town, and the most frequently appearing adult character, even in the short episodes when the rest of his idiot trio get demoted to extra. He still gets a somewhat reduced role, it’s just not as bad in comparison. Gen is, as I’ve implied, not-too-bright, and he’s basically one of the kids, often joining the Pazudora Club on their adventures. His archrival is Maeken, who he sees as a rival for Yukiko-sensei’s love.

Ken “Maeken” Maeyamada (cv. Anri Katsu)- Taiga’s homeroom teacher. If you only watched the short format episodes, you would not even realize he’s a character, as he barely exists anymore. He’s a lot like Gen-san, and the two have a mutual rivalry (and mutual love for Yukiko-sensei), although they actually do really see each other as friends. They’re just tsundere about it.

Yukiko-sensei (cv. Yukiyo Fujii)- The school nurse at Taiga’s elementary school. If not for the fact that she’s referred to as “sensei”, you’d be forgiven for not even realizing she’s an adult, as she’s one of the most childish characters in the show, is oblivious beyond reason (she has no clue that Gen or Maeken are crushing on her hard), and has a tendency to just be doing silly stuff that makes no sense even in context. She does in fact have a split personality, but her evil side is only seen on one occasion. She loves Taiga’s takoyaki, although her favorite food is actually strawberry cake, and she later becomes bros with Musashi, who actually trumps her in the braindead department.

Toki (cv. Taiten Kusunoki)- A grumpy, reclusive old guy who becomes the eventual coach of the Pazudora Club. He’s something of the “big good”, if this series actually has one. This due to the fact that he’s the longtime rival of the “big bad” Kashiwaki. Despite their rivalry, it’s really not hard to mistake the two as exes. The fact that Toki is voiced by Taiten Kusunoki (Number Nine) and Kashiwaki is voiced by Sho Hayami (Garudos) makes it hilarious. And yes, there’s one episode where the only relevant characters are the two of them and the omniscient announcer voiced by Rikiya Koyama (Otherworld King). It’s a Battle Spirits villain convention.

Kashiwaki (cv. Sho Hayami)- A shady guy who’s trying to revolutionize pro-gaming. He coaches a team consisting of Shin, Death Binen and Black Rose. While obviously ambitious and portrayed as the ultimate “villain”, it’s more that he’s misguided, and he gradually comes to care about his team and shift priorities.

Chisato Akashi (cv. Akemi Okamura)- Taiga’s mother. She’s the one mainly in charge of the takoyaki shop. She is married, but her husband is usually away.

Hitomi Akashi (cv. Miki Narahashi)- Taiga’s grandmother who also runs the takoyaki shop. Actually a pretty cool old lady.

The Rivals

Ryuichi Matsuhara, a.k.a. Matsuhara-Pro (cv. Hirofumi Nojima)- Older brother of Ryuji, and known as the strongest pro-gamer. Taiga admires him, and this eventually becomes a mutual thing. He cares about Ryuji a lot, despite tensions in their relationship.

Iwao Harima + Gon + Yasu (cv. Kimiko Saito/Iwao + Miki Narahashi/Gon)- Local bully and his groupies. Iwao has a big crush on Sakura, who just finds him repulsive. Fortunately their appearances are rare these days, as they were just a particularly annoying Team Rocket. However, it is noteworthy that Gon looks like Akira from Drive Head. And that Akira’s seiyuu Takashi is one of the comedians who appears on the live action parts.

Nekota Nekoyama (cv. Ayumu Murase)- Basically the pre-teen boy equivalent to a crazy cat lady. Becomes one of Taiga’s early opponents when he tries to kidnap Toragon, due to him being a cat, technically. His partner is another cat-like creature like Toragon. I don’t think he ever became a pro-gamer, but might’ve just blocked it from my mind. Either way, he’s not at all relevant these days.

Tsukasa Oujo (cv. Atsushi Abe)- Our resident rich pretty boy. He has fleets of fangirls who follow him to every tournament. He definitely has the tendency to be a pretentious snot, but does show a kinder side now and then. Eventually gets his pro-gamer license and becomes a tournament regular.

Honoka Himeno (cv. Nanami Yamashita)- The idol pro-gamer. She loves to be in the spotlight and can definitely be manipulative. She values her career as a pro-gamer just as much as her idol career, which has led to problems with her management. However, her two teammates are also idols and pro-gamers. Also, she’s a massive butt monkey. Notably, she’s an expy of Garnet from X, down to the same seiyuu.

Eina (cv. Chika Anzai)- One of Honoka’s teammates. Mainly just notable due to getting a win in on Taiga, something Honoka’s never managed.

Zi Chao Li (cv. Kazue Ikura)- Some Chinese martial artist pro-gamer whose existence I completely forgot. Needless to say, he doesn’t appear much anymore.

Shin Kanzaki (cv. Natsuki Hanae)- The psychic pro-gamer. Yes, on Shin’s debut he’s shown to have the power to mind-control his opponents into losing, making him way too OP for his own good. He starts to play fairly later. He’s the strongest member of a pro-gamer team assembled by Kashiwaki.

Death Binen (cv. Kenji Nomura)- The second member of Shin’s team. A brutish man who speaks in grunts and displays animal-like behavior. This is actually all a stage persona. He can talk and behave like a normal person.

Black Rose (cv. Natsuki Aikawa)- The third member of Shin’s team, and the lone female. Nothing is known about her. She never even gets a speaking part until well over episode 200 and is relegated to off-screen matches.

Musashi (cv. Jun Fukushima)- The most brain-dead pro-gamer ever to live. Seriously, I don’t know how he’s a pro-gamer, because he’s a total joke character. Does a lot of funny stuff through his cluelessness.

HIDETO (cv. Tatsuhisa Suzuki)- A rock-star gamer who writes his name in all caps. Completely irrelevant.

Hayato (cv. Takuto Yoshinaga)- He’s one of the first rival pro-gamers Taiga faces after getting his license. Despite being made out to be a main rival, he quickly fades into the background, but sometimes turns up in crowd scenes.

Shinsengumi (cv. Chiharu Sawashiro/Soji + Masafumi Kimura/Isami + Makoto Furukawa/Sanosuke)- Another rival pro-gamer team, where all the members are named after the Shinsengumi members. Although competent and make a good showing for themselves when they appear, they mostly get ignored these days.

Hibiki Kobe (cv. Kokoro Kikuchi)- A newbie player who admires Taiga. Appears in the short-format episodes only. Some of the earlier stories there involve teaching him the game. He partners with a bastet monster who always follows him around out of battle.

Leo Hashiba (cv. Ryohei Kimura)- A major character who doesn’t show up until the short-format episodes. He’s roughly Taiga’s parallel, as a smug-but-generally-friendly pro-gamer and restaurant owner who uses a lion theme rather than tiger.

Black Toragon (cv. Tomokazu Sugita)- Leo’s partner. Exactly what it says on the tin, he’s a Toragon but black. However, he’s much more stoic than the zany Toragon.

Minami Mido (cv. Ami Nakano)- Leo’s assistant, and fellow pro-gamer. She’s kind of like his much-more-serious handler at times. Ends up becoming friendly with Honoka. Sadly, she doesn’t go into space with most of the cast, so hasn’t been relevant for a while.

Ginga (cv. Minami Takayama)- Initially a minor recurring character, but later becomes part of Taiga’s main circle. He’s an alien, but a very human-looking one. Like Ryuji, he has a bit of a complex involving his much-more-competent older brother.

Void (cv. Hiroki Takahashi)- Ginga’s brother. He’s a cold and stoic type, and an extremely powerful player. Serves as the main antagonist during the space arc, but it seems there’s a larger threat at play.

Dusk and Rip (cv. Koji Ishii/Dusk + Fumiko Orikasa/Rip)- Void’s only two named teammates so far. Dusk is the one who trained both Void and Ginga in the past. Rip is Void’s guard and she has a huge thing for him.

And yes, there are lots more characters I didn’t include here.

.....

Where to watch: And here lies the problem. There are torrents up to about ep. 123. Then nothing since, barring maybe one or two episodes someone randomly released. The episodes are streamed on YT every Thursday, but deleted after two weeks. I do have some saved, but probably only dating from less then a year back, so I’m still missing a chunk myself. I might upload those to a Mega when I get the time.

The show airs Sundays at 6PM Japan time. For how much longer I have no clue, but it can easily be live-watched.

There are also no subs except for one episode, which features a cameo of Potato from Pui Pui Molcar.