#The only comedy i watched was the Ghost Stories Dub

[kage-butt-chin-no-jutsu]

I’m really glad anime dubs are finally starting to get back to taking themselves seriously. I feel like there was a period of time where they tried to make EVERY SINGLE THING funny and it got so embarrassing, but from what I’ve seen of the mp100 and bnha dub, it’s so refreshing to see people like you know, actually ACTING in them and not just doing anime voices

[hoarder-of-stories-27]

In response to your fav ship dynamic, flawd holy being/demonic being devoted to them, what are the ones other than Good Omens? Please and thank you? I love ineffable husbands and need more of that dynamic in my life. 💖

Hey! I checked your profile and didn't find anything about whether you're a minor or an adult (which is super valid! heck yeah practice online safety), so I'm saying this with the disclaimer that these are all adult novels with adult themes including but not limited to sexuality and gore/death/etc. If you're a minor, as a blanket statement, I don't recommend reading them until you're older, though of course reading them would be your choice still and you're the one who knows your tolerance for adult themes.

With that out of the way: Hualian, Bingqiu, Ranwan, and maybe Wangxian fit that dynamic! Those are all canon gay pairings (as in, the books focus on the romance between two men who kiss on the mouth multiple times on the page, and Hualian is the only pairing that doesn't have explicit sex scenes, though it is clear that they do canonically have kinky sex) in novels by the Chinese authors Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and Meatbun.

Here, I'll copy-and-paste my summaries for each novel from this post:

Tian Guan Ci Fu, or Heaven Official’s Blessing (Hualian): a disgraced god meets a disguised ghost king who treats him with a surprising amount of respect, and starts to work on healing from eight centuries of trauma. My favorite book ever. Sweeping fantasy romance with fascinating background characters and themes of criticism of mob mentality. Main content warnings: abuse, gore, suicide. No explicit sex scenes; definitely still an adult novel.

(Note on the dynamic: this is the one I was mainly thinking of, making that drawing. It's SO good.)

Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (Bingqiu): a terminally online webnovel-obsessed Redditor-equivalent isekai’s into his favorite/most hated harem novel, and finds out, to his surprise, that the protagonist is gay??? Comedy that would be angst from any other character’s perspective. Main content warnings: dub/noncon, painful sex, internalized homophobia. There are a few explicit sex scenes between the main couple, including a dub/noncon/fuck-or-die scene.

(Note on the dynamic: Shen Qingqiu, the not-Redditor, is the flawed holy being, kind of. He's a cultivator - something like a wizard, maybe, in Western terms? though of course it's its own thing. Luo Binghe, the protagonist of the harem novel, is the demonic being devoted to him.)

Mo Dao Zu Shi, or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Wangxian): a disgraced dead man who’s definitely straight, trust him, is given new life and proceeds to unravel a mystery with the help of an old friend. Casefic vibes with themes of criticism of mob mentality. Main content warnings: uhh it’s been a while but definitely at least death and torture. There are a few explicit sex scenes between the main couple, including dubcon/drunk sex and CNC.

(Note on the dynamic: Lan Wangji is the flawed holy being. Wei Wuxian is the not-dead-anymore man "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" refers to, though watch out for the differences between how people perceive him and how he actually is.)

Erha/2ha, or Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (Ranwan): an emperor who’s committed every crime, especially rape and murder, kills himself and wakes up as his teenage self, given a second chance with his teacher, the man he wronged most. Casefic vibes with themes of criticism of punitive justice, very dead dove. Biggest, most important content warning: rape. There are multiple explicit rape scenes, and they are integral to the story. I read this book for the rape scenes, and I was not disappointed. Do not read this if fictional rape is a trigger for you. Very good book.

(Note on the dynamic: Chu Wanning is the flawed holy being - another cultivator. Heads up that Mo Ran, the emperor, is very unlikable at first, but there is a happy ending.)

To anyone following me - please feel free to add on with other examples of this dynamic! I'd be interested as well. :D

[pippenpaddlopsicopolisthethird]

Top 5 anime you think are criminally underrated!

This is a really good question, and it was VERY difficult to keep myself to only 5. These are all anime that I think deserve a much wider viewership! (Plus five more!)

I ended up spending waaayyyy longer on this than I thought, I can’t imagine how much I would have written if you’d said top 10. I can literally talk about anime forever. Here’s some I wholeheartedly recommend.

1. Shojo Kageki Revue Starlight (Action, drama, romance)

This is my newest love, as of yesterday, when I binged the whole thing. The best way I can describe it is by mashing up other anime. Take Revolutionary Girl Utena, iron out about three layers of metaphor, and trim off all of the dark themes related to the Rose Bride. Then throw it in a blender with Madoka Magica and Love Live!, add half a cup of Gay Concentrate, and serve up the result: A character-driven drama about girls at a performing arts school, who settle their differences in magical-girl-fantasy duels styled as impossibly gorgeous theatrical stage-combat musical numbers. Beyond the flash and high concept, there’s a well-written cast, solid emotional core, and really engaging plot.

2. The Eccentric Family (Drama, comedy)

This show is my favorite genre of fantasy; mythical creatures living in the modern world, right under humans’ noses. In this series, humans only know tanuki as the cute little raccoon-dogs, but tanuki are really sentient shapeshifters whose goals are to outsmart the humans who live in the cities, pester the tengu who rule the heavens, live a life of freedom and trickery, and not end up on the inside of a hunter’s trap. The story follows a family of a mother and four sons whose widely-respected father was killed to end up in a human’s hot pot, as they try to enjoy their lives, live up to his imposing reputation, and unravel the increasingly suspicious circumstances of his death.

I have called this one “deceptively light-hearted” when describing it. My friend got halfway through the first season and came back to me with the verdict, “consider me fucking deceived.” This show has weight and does not pull its emotional punches, but neither does it ever stumble into becoming grimdark. Its worldbuilding is solid and the characters are all fantastically developed. Plus I wrote a whole post about one of the main antagonists(?) who I hadn’t even mentioned here.

3. Dennou Coil (Mystery, sci-fi)

Dennou Coil is a masterclass in worldbuilding, in my opinion. It’s a near-future sci-fi world, basically if Google Glass had taken off and become as common as cell phones are today. Many people don’t see the real world, they see the virtual textures of the world as they’re rendered through the glasses. Kids in one city have learned to mess around with codes, collecting tradeable fragments that break off the edges where the system glitches, chasing viruses that hide in pockets of obselete code in abandoned areas of the city where the software doesn’t get updated often. They spend their time after school saving virtual pets from being accidentally deleted by the city’s antivirus, trading tall tales about kids who get caught by the antivirus and get their glasses bricked, and spinning urban legends about ghosts waiting just behind anything that’s visibly rendered, waiting to steal kids when they least expect it. Every detail they introduce is critical to laying the foundation for the mystery that forms the show’s plot.

Everything about this world feels real in a way I’ve never seen in a sci-fi anime. It’s all grounded in a clear understanding of programming, and lives by show-don’t-tell. The stakes aren’t life-and-death; the kids tagging glitches like graffiti to distract the city’s antivirus software are only at risk of ruining their glasses, at least at first. The plot and escalation is perfectly-paced, and the mystery is so satisfying to piece together as it unfolds.

4. ID:Invaded (Sci-fi, action, thriller, murder mystery)

This show is like Psycho-Pass meets Silence of the Lambs. To catch a serial killer, you need to think like a killer, and nobody does that better than killers. A contraption called an “id well” can manifest an uncaught killer’s unconscious mind as a bizarre, unique, deadly terrain driven by stream-of-consciousness, and convicted murderers turned “detectives” dive into these wells to try to solve the mystery each well presents and discern the identity of other killers before they can strike again.

This show is a tightly-written, perfectly paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller. The two layers of mysteries inside and outside of the wells balance high-octane, big-screen action with tight, tense realism. Plus the soundtrack is an absolute banger.

5. Ping Pong the Animation (drama, sports)

Imagine if I told you that there was a show that, in 11 episodes, unpacked how patterns of relationships are repeated across generations, how the tradeoff between talent, practice, and who you are outside of your achievements can scar the spirits of kids, and what it feels like to wrestle with the tension between your core understanding of yourself and how others expect you to be. Imagine if I told you that every major character goes through massive restructurings of their fundamental sense of self and how they see others, and that every single arc comes to a well-rounded and satisfying end. Imagine if the animation style pushed the limits of both realism and absurdity, landing somewhere between rotoscoping and caricature, pushing the impact of action and stretching the character’s expressiveness without betraying faces that are animated like real human people. Imagine that it had a dub so fantastic that it sits next to Baccano and Cowboy Bebop in my mind, shows where the cast threw themselves into their roles with their whole hearts.

Now imagine that I told you that this story is told in the context of high schoolers playing ping pong, and that it’s arguably the best show I’ve ever seen. Go watch this show.

[yanderenightmare]

i need to watch another anime that isn't mha what would you recommend?

MY FAVORITE ANIME!

MOB PSYCHO 100

PHOTO: LINK, LINK

MY FAVOURITE ANIME.

There's two seasons out already, but you'll be hellbent on more when you finish.

Basically the theme revolves around spirits and spiritual powers. A pretty common trope in a lot of anime. So there's exorcisms and demon battles and cool magical powers.

Story follows a plain school-boy. Who happens to be the most powerful entity in the entire world. But he doesn't think too much about that. Spiritual powers doesn't make him good at socialising with people after all so what use are they really if they can't help him talk to the girl of his dreams?

If you like whacky comedy. If you like slice of life mingled with saving the world occasionally. If you like intense build-ups to epic boss-moments. If you like important life-lessons given to you buy a certified conman.

THEN THIS IS THE ANIME FOR YOU!

I recommend the English dub because it's a comedy. Jokes don't land if you have to read them.

Similar Anime: The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, One Punch Man.

JUJUSTU KAISEN

PHOTO: LINK

Nice anime to start off with and one of my favourites. It's rather new with only one season, so it's a quick watch.

Plot-line and concept are pretty basic, but it's done so well that you won't mind at all. Like, trust me. Every single character is interesting and leaves you wanting to know more.

The theme is basically that demons "here called curses" are everywhere in the world and they're fought off by what are called "jujutsu sorcerers". Only a few people can see curses, therefor most of the world is ignorant to their existence.

Like most anime, the plot follows a regular guy that turns out not to be regular, who's forced to leave his normal life after being introduced to the world of curses.

And then epicness commences.

If you like epic battle-scenes and no filler-episodes. If you like lovable villains and hate-able heroes. If you like deep and contradicting characters that aren't purely what they're supposed to be. If you like strong female characters. If you like feel-good relationships in friendship and mentorship between both the villains and heroes. If you like epic powers and boss-moments left and right. If you like an intro-song you never skip.

THEN THIS IS THE ANIME FOR YOU!

I recommend watching this in sub. The enchantments hit right in Japanese and are kinda cringe in english. Though the dub ain't half bad either.

Similar Anime: Naruto, Demon Slayer, Tokyo Ghoul, and if you take away the demonology it's very similar to Boku No Hero Academia.

TOILET-BOUND HANAKO-KUN

PHOTO: LINK, LINK

Another nice short anime with only one season out.

What to say about his anime? Hmm...

It's seemingly normal but with underlying strange and dark themes.

If you know of Hanako-san the toilet-ghost then you've probably already guessed that this is another show about demons, ghosts and poltergeists.

Plot is set at a high-school where a schoolgirl is struggling with the fact that she can't get any of the guys she likes to like her in return. So she seeks out the wish-granting ghost occupying the girls bathroom. HANAKO.

Who turns out not to be a girl, but a strange boy.

Our female lead doesn't let that stop her from making her wish of making a guy be with her. Hanako doesn't grant her wish at first, but whoops what you know? The guys she ends up being tied together with in the end is none other than him.

And thus the story begins. We're introduced to more ghosts haunting the school and other new characters are introduced such as villains and heroes and victims etc...

If you like a female-lead that constantly ends up being the damsel in distress. If you like a cheeky guy-hero with ulterior motives as well as a whole-hearted guy-hero with altruistic motives. If you like underlying dark themes. If you like amazing animation and artwork. If you like a child-like creepy villain.

THEN THIS IS THE ANIME FOR YOU!

I recommend watching this in the English dub. The voices are a tad bit too childish for me in the original Japanese is all.

Similar Anime: nothing really... it has similar supernatural concepts from a lot of different anime, but the story and characters are very unique I think.

HAIKYU!!

PHOTO: LINK

This has been an ongoing anime for a while. There's five seasons out so far but you'll be crying for more when you hit the end.

An anime about volleyball doesn't sound too interesting.

And it's not.

It's not interesting.

But is it hilarious? Is it feel-good? Is it emotional?

YOU BET YOUR ASS IT IS!

I swear, this show plunges you into that boys-locker-room atmosphere where dumb teenage boys talk about their hopes and dreams and girls and rivals and insecurities and blablabla...

If you like boys being boys. If you like making fun of boys being boys. If you like boys making fun of boys being boys. If you like boys treating a game of volleyball like a life or death situation. If you like bromance. If you like having a whole myriad of boys to root for. If you like suspense. If you like growth. If you like watching people work hard only to be knocked down flat only to get back up again and try again.

THEN THIS IS THE ANIME FOR YOU!

I recommend the English dub once again. Simply because this is a comedy. Jokes don't land when you have to read them. Nor does that teenage-boys atmosphere.

Similar Anime: SK8 the Infinity, Yuri!!! On ICE

____________________

Yup, those are my favourites. I have watched them all a thousand times. They're fucking great.

But anime is really personal so it's truly to each their own.

There's a lot of great anime out there, but simple things like lay-up, theme and characters either make things perfect or ruins the entire thing.

Tokyo-Ghoul has terrible lay-up in my opinion, even though I really love the concept.

Attack on Titan has an amazing concept as well, but the characters are bland.

Hunter x Hunter and One Piece and Naruto and Dragon Ball are filled to the brim with pointless filler episodes.

Darling in the Franxx has cool concepts and likeable characters, but it revolves around love which makes the entire show kinda sappy, plus it has a bunch of asked questions that are never answered.

Kakegurui is cool, but every single episode is the same and there really isn't any plot outside the one concept.

They're all amazing good anime that I enjoyed. I just don't enjoy them enough to want to watch them again. And that's the case with a lot of anime.

A way that I often use to find and watch new anime is my searching up a specific voice-actor and by watching all the anime they've worked on.

For example, I watched Blue Exorcist, Haikyu!!, Assasination Classroom, Food Wars! and Maid Same! purely based on the fact that Bakugou's voice-actor is in one of the main roles.

Just me being obsessed with him. No big deal.

[meraki-sunset]

SSOOOOO what are crow's favourite anime series? or genres in general, maybe he is a soft boi who's into slice of life. (also i suggest john and crow watch girls last tour and cry the shit out of themselves)

Honestly i haven't tough about it, but everything they watch would have to be from 2009 or before that, because of the end of the world (they never got to play minecraft UnU) Crow is probably into shonen and fantasy, John likes comedy and mistery ones Jade loves the anime girl transformations and adores Ghibly movies, she identifies a lot with those two. Also they all find "Ghost stories" horrible dub, hilarious. the three kids would watch it only when nanna wasn't around

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Week

They’ve invented the telephone?

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #35: “Gallagher” | July 25, 1997 | S04E02

Who knew that by the time we got to this episode, Gallagher would be dead, and that these guys would be famous, and that BOB is MORE FAMOUS than DAVID? WHAAA??? It’s important to note that this episode being titled Gallagher is probably a jab at comedian Gallagher, perhaps based on a discarded idea or just the mere connection of them all being comedians. It’s a subtle jab and it’s rooted in irony, but in 1997 it still probably qualified as “punching up”. Bob and David probably weren’t getting THAT rich off of Mr. Show, and Gallagher’s popularity was an unwelcome blight on anyone with a taste in comedy.

There may have been a time when this was one of my favorite episodes of the show, and it was ONLY because it featured Bob and David of “Bob and David” fame. Now I can confidently say that this actually is a better-than-average episode of Space Ghost. Bob and David are effortlessly funny, and carry the episode to a certain extent, but there are so many pure, sublime Space Ghost moments. Like, for example, when Space Ghost asks Bob or David a question and Zorak thinks Space Ghost is posing it to him. When Space Ghost corrects Zorak that he’s asking his guests the question, Zorak angrily demands “Well, quit lookin' at me!”. While Bob and David answer the question, Space Ghost continues glaring at Zorak. That’s just like, the perfect Space Ghost joke, right there. So simple, so dumb, so funny. 

The thing that Bob and David bring to the table is not just being hilarious improvisers, but also they genuinely want to play along with the episode, shaping it significantly. Bob pretends to get addicted to Space Ghost’s laser, and really sells the action of being hit with it. I recall on the commentary that the writers really loved when the guests would take the initiative to do stuff like that.

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell this story, for some reason. I remember a fellow forum poster absolutely got under my skin once because they posted a thread titled something like “does anyone else here think David Cross isn’t very funny?” and the examples that he cited were his two appearances in the Men in Black movies and this episode of Space Ghost. It infuriated me that this guy judged David Cross on such a meager sampling of his work without viewing what I felt were his “main” works: any of his stand-up or Mr. Show. 

I was also incensed that anyone could find David unfunny, which… look, I ran a little hot back then. I still love the guy, for some reason, but can get why he’s not for everyone. I was probably extremely pompous about the fact that I liked him and was supposedly right about liking him. But when I challenged this guy on whether or not he’d seen Mr. Show he shot back with “I don’t watch puppet shows”. This retort, which I THINK was meant to be funny? It baffled me and my friends so much that we, to this day, will reference that guy’s screen name if we are all watching something together and a puppet appears. 

One time we found him on twitter and I think we referenced his anti-puppet take to him and he was completely confused by it. Just one dumb dashed-off post has come to define his entire being for us. I guess the only comparable feeling I have to being on the other end of that is there was one guy in high school who would constantly reference the fact that I used to dub porns for people, and that was his only reference point for who I was. I was so much more than that. I also dubbed South Park episodes.

[nic-spit]

UPDATED (‼️) 10/23 HORROR MOVIES WATCHED 2K22

‼️ Disclaimer ‼️ these are half baked opinions that, in the end, do not really matter, and have no effect nor hold any judgement on if you enjoyed/did not enjoy the same movies. I have no critical thinking skills and the number rankings are frivolous at best. YMMV. Have a good day. I love you drink some water. Be cool.

TO BE UPDATED

SPOILERS AHEAD

COMEDY-HORROR

Not everyone enjoys the hack n slash and brutality of other horror types so let's start with some lighter movies for those folks:

HOLLYBLOOD (Netflix) - 7/10

Spanish (dubbed) Twilight parody turned very very very light thriller. Literally, Hollyblood is the in-universe name for a Twilight movie. Has the most supportive dad to exist. "He's confused but he's got the spirit" in human form. CGI is minimal and cheesy, practical effects are cheesy and silly as hell. A good time. Desperate teen love, and nuns. Guys wearing eyeliner. A+

‼️ GIRLS WITH BALLS (Netflix) - 7/10

Who hasn't wanted to hunt volleyball players in the woods? As silly as it is creepy. Moral of the story: don't let old men lick your face. Has a minstrel.

THE BABYSITTER (Netflix) - 9/10

Always a sucker for an Evil Barbie. Has some of the most bloodthirsty teenagers in it who can also be wholesomely supportive of the kid they're trying to kill. Found Family in reverse. So much blood and a good amount of gore. Loses a point for the kid wanting to be a cop tho.

MY BEST FRIENDS EXORCISM (Amazon) - 10/10

Trauma and backstabbing everywhere, just like real highschool. Adults not caring about their teenage daughters, just like real highschool!! Bash from GLOW teaching kids about lifting weights for Jesus!! Just like real highschool!!!! For real tho the 4 main characters are all pretty insufferable in a realistic way and the more horror the movie turns the less i think Bash from GLOW was told it was a horror movie and not a straight comedy.

CLASSIC HORROR/THRILLER

Blood n gore and monsters and sometimes magic:

THE PRIVILEGE (Netflix) - 0/10

Idk what the fuck even happened in this movie. Nothing happened and nothing mattered. Don't ask too many questions cuz they won't answer them. Maybe ghosts? Maybe demons? What was with the old lady?

BLAIR WITCH (2016) (Netflix) - 0/10

Why did we watch this we hate found footage this made no sense IF EVERYONE DIED WHO FOUND THE FOOTAGE

‼️ THE INFLUENCE (Netflix) - 1/10

Pros: a couple cool visuals, strong lighting motifs

Cons: NOTHING IN THIS STORY MADE SENSE WHY DID ANY OF THIS HAPPEN HOW DID ANY OF THIS HAPPEN NOTHING WAS COHERENT

‼️ THE BOY 2 (Netflix) - 2/10

Definitely worse than the first. Took something that was creepy in it's own right and turned it into a cheesy supernatural flick.

‼️ BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) (Hulu) - 2/10

GOD I JUST REALLY HATE FOUND FOOTAGE literally NOTHING happened but weird sounds, getting turned around, and teeth in a bundle of sticks. Only gets two points because the main character lady's fear did feel real to me. She carried that movie, cuz it's not like there was ever actually a witch to do anything lol. Liked the original more than the remake only because it felt less 'produced'. If i didn't have the internet i could possibly believe this was three kids fucking around in the woods. The new one? Lol no.

Note: i can see tho how with the marketing when this movie came out people would be freaked out by it, but by today's standards it's...weak.

NO ONE SLEEPS IN THE WOODS TONIGHT (Netflix) - 4/10

A Polish (dubbed) kids-at-camp type movie.  Mostly disappointed in how the fact they were at a tech-addiction camp never came into play outside of not having phones, and a lot of the deaths felt anticlimactic. Also aliens? Not much CGI use and one or two of the practical moments was cool. Gain points for hilarious mannequin head toss and Jurek's death scene.

‼️ THE BOY (Netflix) - 5/10

Never thought I'd be absolutely viscerally disgusted by someone saying the word 'kiss' but hey this movie did it

‼️ A CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE (Netflix) - 6/10

I wanted this to be good, after learning the twist. I really did. Loved the premise, but for some reason it just felt sloppy. Coulda been really good if it had pushed a bit further. Will gladly rewatch.

THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE (Netflix) - 7/10

All the gays live. The killer is not who you'd probably expect but exactly who it should be. Kids trying to survive high school. The killers motives made no sense after the first two murders.

‼️ THE WRETCHED (Netflix) - 7/10

This was genuinely a solid movie. Plot was cliche but they worked with it really well! Actually enjoyed watching it and not just making fun of it! THE DOG LIVES

ELI (Netflix) - 7/10

Not really a horror movie? Nothing scary in it but some predictable jump scares. Cool movie anyway tho. Netflix is lying about the 'heart-stopping scares'. Medical horror, maybe.

‼️ OCULUS (Hulu) - 8/10

Definitely had some of the most disturbing scenes we've watched so far, but still just not scary. Are we just immune to scare??? Loved how they did what's real/what isn't. Def had me guessing for a lot of it. Still don't think it's clear what was and wasn't real (in a good way, not a frustrating/bad way). I would trust Karen Gillan to exorcise my house.

INCARNATE (Netflix) - 8/10

Short (84 minutes) sweet and to the point. Did its thing and ended. Inception but Demons, hosted by Mr. Batman Two Face himself. Genuinely want more.

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022) (Netflix) - 8/10

Gentrification Is Bad and Influencers are Fucking Annoying: The Movie.  Lots of blood and screaming, loved the inclusion of school shooting trauma. Party Bus massacre best massacre. No magic no monsters just a pissed off dude committing murders in the name of his mom and town.

THE RITUAL (Netflix) - 9/10

Andy Serkis's movie about why camping is bad and he's right to say it. Fuck hiking. Norse mythology, cool monster, cool visuals, cults, guilt, friends fighting, compasses spinning in circles, all the good ingredients a horror movie needs.

THE OLD WAYS (Netflix) - 9/10

A somewhat realistic take on someone not believing there's a demon inside them. Cool visuals and effects, definitely had my gag reflex activated strongly at one point. The end is not the end and then there's the REAL end that is SO MUCH BETTER than if they had stopped ten minutes before. Main character ends up badass af. Based in Mexico.

‼️ HELLRAISER (1987) (Hulu) - 9/10

Look i really don't think it's the 'masterpiece' everyone else seems to think, but it was weird, grotesque, creepy, and had a goop man covered in lube so high marks for me. Felt disturbing and wrong, in the right way. Has definitely aged, but still loved it. Highly recommend.

HELLRAISER (2022) (Hulu) - 9/10

Confused on the rules but doesn't matter because Jamie Clayton and cool monster designs. Everyone gettin' off on torture. it's a good time. Love all the skin peeling, it's like helping mom with the potatoes on Thanksgiving

‼️ JASON X (Tubi) - 10/10

Jason Voorhees in the future on a spaceship, decides to immediately commit murder. Becomes half-mechanical Uberjason and fights a hot Android babe in head to toe leather with an unfortunate haircut. The vacuum of space can't even stop him. Earth 2. Amazing movie, perfect no notes.

A LIL DIFFERENT

Focused more on the mystery and story than the amount of gore scattered around (not that there's NO gore mind you):

THE BYE BYE MAN (Netflix) - 0/10

Yes we watched this because of the name. It should probably go under the Classic Horror style group but because of how hard it failed at feeling like horror it doesn't deserve to be there. The entire budget went into getting Carie-Anne Moss for the last half hour and honestly she's the best part of it. There's like?? No blood?? Would get two points for the cool little girl who saves her family by not being able to read in the dark but not even that can reclaim how bad this was. 3 college kids dick around and the killer does NOTHING the whole movie.

‼️ BOO BITCH (Netflix) - 8/10

Ghostfacers meets Mean Girls. I'm putting it on this list because it includes ghosts, which is sorta Halloweeny. Loved the look into the boyfriends' side of teenage relationships. Silly and cute.

FEAR STREET trilogy (Netflix) - 10/10

Yes loosely based on RL Stine books. Don't worry, the Gays win in this one. All three movies NEED to be binged together honestly imho, separately they fell weird and disconnected. Great story and mystery, the time jumping is great and reveals so much information, Josh and Martin need to be protected and cherished at all times forever. Lots of violence and blood, gore is few and far between.

[timeless-hollywood-classics]

Ida Lupino (4 February 1918 – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, and producer. She is widely regarded as the most prominent female filmmaker working in the 1950s during the Hollywood studio system. With her independent production company, she co-wrote and co-produced several social-message films and became the first woman to direct a film noir with The Hitch-Hiker in 1953. Among her other directed films the best known are Not Wanted about unwed pregnancy (she took over for a sick director and refused directorial credit), Never Fear (1949) loosely based upon her own experiences battling paralyzing polio, Outrage (1950) one of the first films about rape, The Bigamist (1953) (which was named in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) and The Trouble with Angels (1966).

Throughout her 48-year career, she made acting appearances in 59 films and directed eight others, working primarily in the United States, where she became a citizen in 1948. As an actress her best known films are The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) with Basil Rathbone, They Drive by Night (1940) with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart, High Sierra (1941) with Bogart, The Sea Wolf (1941) with Edward G. Robinson and John Garfield, Ladies in Retirement (1941) with Louis Hayward, Moontide (1942) with Jean Gabin, The Hard Way (1943), Deep Valley (1947) with Dane Clark, Road House (1948) with Cornel Wilde and Richard Widmark, While the City Sleeps (1956) with Dana Andrews and Vincent Price. and Junior Bonner (1972) with Steve McQueen.

She also directed more than 100 episodes of television productions in a variety of genres including westerns, supernatural tales, situation comedies, murder mysteries, and gangster stories. She was the only woman to direct an episode of the original The Twilight Zone series ("The Masks"), as well as the only director to have starred in an episode of the show ("The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine").

Lupino was born in Herne Hill, London, to actress Connie O'Shea (also known as Connie Emerald) and music hall comedian Stanley Lupino, a member of the theatrical Lupino family, which included Lupino Lane, a song-and-dance man. Her father, a top name in musical comedy in the UK and a member of a centuries-old theatrical dynasty dating back to Renaissance Italy, encouraged her to perform at an early age. He built a backyard theatre for Lupino and her sister Rita (1920–2016), who also became an actress and dancer. Lupino wrote her first play at age seven and toured with a travelling theatre company as a child. By the age of ten, Lupino had memorised the leading female roles in each of Shakespeare's plays. After her intense childhood training for stage plays, Ida's uncle Lupino Lane assisted her in moving towards film acting by getting her work as a background actress at British International Studios.

She wanted to be a writer, but in order to please her father, Lupino enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She excelled in a number of "bad girl" film roles, often playing prostitutes. Lupino did not enjoy being an actress and felt uncomfortable with many of the early roles she was given. She felt that she was pushed into the profession due to her family history.

Lupino worked as both a stage and screen actress. She first took to the stage in 1934 as the lead in The Pursuit of Happiness at the Paramount Studio Theatre.[10] Lupino made her first film appearance in The Love Race (1931) and the following year, aged 14, she worked under director Allan Dwan in Her First Affaire, in a role for which her mother had previously tested.[11] She played leading roles in five British films in 1933 at Warner Bros.' Teddington studios and for Julius Hagen at Twickenham, including The Ghost Camera with John Mills and I Lived with You with Ivor Novello.

Dubbed "the English Jean Harlow", she was discovered by Paramount in the 1933 film Money for Speed, playing a good girl/bad girl dual role. Lupino claimed the talent scouts saw her play only the sweet girl in the film and not the part of the prostitute, so she was asked to try out for the lead role in Alice in Wonderland (1933). When she arrived in Hollywood, the Paramount producers did not know what to make of their sultry potential leading lady, but she did get a five-year contract.

Lupino starred in over a dozen films in the mid-1930s, working with Columbia in a two-film deal, one of which, The Light That Failed (1939), was a role she acquired after running into the director's office unannounced, demanding an audition. After this breakthrough performance as a spiteful cockney model who torments Ronald Colman, she began to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress. As a result, her parts improved during the 1940s, and she jokingly referred to herself as "the poor man's Bette Davis", taking the roles that Davis refused.

Mark Hellinger, associate producer at Warner Bros., was impressed by Lupino's performance in The Light That Failed, and hired her for the femme-fatale role in the Raoul Walsh-directed They Drive by Night (1940), opposite stars George Raft, Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart. The film did well and the critical consensus was that Lupino stole the movie, particularly in her unhinged courtroom scene. Warner Bros. offered her a contract which she negotiated to include some freelance rights. She worked with Walsh and Bogart again in High Sierra (1941), where she impressed critic Bosley Crowther in her role as an "adoring moll".

Her performance in The Hard Way (1943) won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. She starred in Pillow to Post (1945), which was her only comedic leading role. After the drama Deep Valley (1947) finished shooting, neither Warner Bros. nor Lupino moved to renew her contract and she left the studio in 1947. Although in demand throughout the 1940s, she arguably never became a major star although she often had top billing in her pictures, above actors such as Humphrey Bogart, and was repeatedly critically lauded for her realistic, direct acting style.

She often incurred the ire of studio boss Jack Warner by objecting to her casting, refusing poorly written roles that she felt were beneath her dignity as an actress, and making script revisions deemed unacceptable by the studio. As a result, she spent a great deal of her time at Warner Bros. suspended. In 1942, she rejected an offer to star with Ronald Reagan in Kings Row, and was immediately put on suspension at the studio. Eventually, a tentative rapprochement was brokered, but her relationship with the studio remained strained. In 1947, Lupino left Warner Brothers and appeared for 20th Century Fox as a nightclub singer in the film noir Road House, performing her musical numbers in the film. She starred in On Dangerous Ground in 1951, and may have taken on some of the directing tasks of the film while director Nicholas Ray was ill.

While on suspension, Lupino had ample time to observe filming and editing processes, and she became interested in directing. She described how bored she was on set while "someone else seemed to be doing all the interesting work".

She and her husband Collier Young formed an independent company, The Filmakers, to produce, direct, and write low-budget, issue-oriented films. Her first directing job came unexpectedly in 1949 when director Elmer Clifton suffered a mild heart attack and was unable to finish Not Wanted, a film Lupino co-produced and co-wrote. Lupino stepped in to finish the film without taking directorial credit out of respect for Clifton. Although the film's subject of out-of-wedlock pregnancy was controversial, it received a vast amount of publicity, and she was invited to discuss the film with Eleanor Roosevelt on a national radio program.

Never Fear (1949), a film about polio (which she had personally experienced replete with paralysis at age 16), was her first director's credit. After producing four more films about social issues, including Outrage (1950), a film about rape (while this word is never used in the movie), Lupino directed her first hard-paced, all-male-cast film, The Hitch-Hiker (1953), making her the first woman to direct a film noir. The Filmakers went on to produce 12 feature films, six of which Lupino directed or co-directed, five of which she wrote or co-wrote, three of which she acted in, and one of which she co-produced.

Lupino once called herself a "bulldozer" to secure financing for her production company, but she referred to herself as "mother" while on set. On set, the back of her director's chair was labeled "Mother of Us All".[3] Her studio emphasized her femininity, often at the urging of Lupino herself. She credited her refusal to renew her contract with Warner Bros. under the pretenses of domesticity, claiming "I had decided that nothing lay ahead of me but the life of the neurotic star with no family and no home." She made a point to seem nonthreatening in a male-dominated environment, stating, "That's where being a man makes a great deal of difference. I don't suppose the men particularly care about leaving their wives and children. During the vacation period, the wife can always fly over and be with him. It's difficult for a wife to say to her husband, come sit on the set and watch."

Although directing became Lupino's passion, the drive for money kept her on camera, so she could acquire the funds to make her own productions. She became a wily low-budget filmmaker, reusing sets from other studio productions and talking her physician into appearing as a doctor in the delivery scene of Not Wanted. She used what is now called product placement, placing Coke, Cadillac, and other brands in her films, such as The Bigamist. She shot in public places to avoid set-rental costs and planned scenes in pre-production to avoid technical mistakes and retakes. She joked that if she had been the "poor man's Bette Davis" as an actress, she had now become the "poor man's Don Siegel" as a director.

The Filmakers production company closed shop in 1955, and Lupino turned almost immediately to television, directing episodes of more than thirty US TV series from 1956 through 1968. She also helmed a feature film in 1965 for the Catholic schoolgirl comedy The Trouble With Angels, starring Hayley Mills and Rosalind Russell; this was Lupino's last theatrical film as a director. She continued acting as well, going on to a successful television career throughout the 1960s and '70s.

Lupino's career as a director continued through 1968. Her directing efforts during these years were almost exclusively for television productions such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, The Twilight Zone, Have Gun – Will Travel, Honey West, The Donna Reed Show, Gilligan's Island, 77 Sunset Strip, The Rifleman, The Virginian, Sam Benedict, The Untouchables, Hong Kong, The Fugitive, and Bewitched.

After the demise of The Filmakers, Lupino continued working as an actress until the end of the 1970s, mainly in television. Lupino appeared in 19 episodes of Four Star Playhouse from 1952 to 1956, an endeavor involving partners Charles Boyer, Dick Powell and David Niven. From January 1957 to September 1958, Lupino starred with her then-husband Howard Duff in the sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve, in which the duo played husband-and-wife film stars named Howard Adams and Eve Drake, living in Beverly Hills, California.[22] Duff and Lupino also co-starred as themselves in 1959 in one of the 13 one-hour installments of The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour and an episode of The Dinah Shore Chevy Show in 1960. Lupino guest-starred in numerous television shows, including The Ford Television Theatre (1954), Bonanza (1959), Burke's Law (1963–64), The Virginian (1963–65), Batman (1968), The Mod Squad (1969), Family Affair (1969–70), The Wild, Wild West (1969), Nanny and the Professor (1971), Columbo: Short Fuse (1972), Columbo: Swan Song (1974) in which she plays Johnny Cash's character's zealous wife, Barnaby Jones (1974), The Streets of San Francisco, Ellery Queen (1975), Police Woman (1975), and Charlie's Angels (1977). Her final acting appearance was in the 1979 film My Boys Are Good Boys.

Lupino has two distinctions with The Twilight Zone series, as the only woman to have directed an episode ("The Masks") and the only person to have worked as both actor for one episode ("The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine"), and director for another.

Lupino's Filmakers movies deal with unconventional and controversial subject matter that studio producers would not touch, including out-of-wedlock pregnancy, bigamy, and rape. She described her independent work as "films that had social significance and yet were entertainment ... base on true stories, things the public could understand because they had happened or been of news value." She focused on women's issues for many of her films and she liked strong characters, "[Not] women who have masculine qualities about them, but [a role] that has intestinal fortitude, some guts to it."

In the film The Bigamist, the two women characters represent the career woman and the homemaker. The title character is married to a woman (Joan Fontaine) who, unable to have children, has devoted her energy to her career. While on one of many business trips, he meets a waitress (Lupino) with whom he has a child, and then marries her.[25] Marsha Orgeron, in her book Hollywood Ambitions, describes these characters as "struggling to figure out their place in environments that mirror the social constraints that Lupino faced".[13] However, Donati, in his biography of Lupino, said "The solutions to the character's problems within the films were often conventional, even conservative, more reinforcing the 1950s' ideology than undercutting it."

Ahead of her time within the studio system, Lupino was intent on creating films that were rooted in reality. On Never Fear, Lupino said, "People are tired of having the wool pulled over their eyes. They pay out good money for their theatre tickets and they want something in return. They want realism. And you can't be realistic with the same glamorous mugs on the screen all the time."

Lupino's films are critical of many traditional social institutions, which reflect her contempt for the patriarchal structure that existed in Hollywood. Lupino rejected the commodification of female stars and as an actress, she resisted becoming an object of desire. She said in 1949, "Hollywood careers are perishable commodities", and sought to avoid such a fate for herself.

Ida Lupino was diagnosed with polio in 1934. The New York Times reported that the outbreak of polio within the Hollywood community was due to contaminated swimming pools. The disease severely affected her ability to work, and her contract with Paramount fell apart shortly after her diagnosis. Lupino recovered and eventually directed, produced, and wrote many films, including a film loosely based upon her travails with polio titled Never Fear in 1949, the first film that she was credited for directing (she had earlier stepped in for an ill director on Not Wanted and refused directorial credit out of respect for her colleague). Her experience with the disease gave Lupino the courage to focus on her intellectual abilities over simply her physical appearance. In an interview with Hollywood, Lupino said, "I realized that my life and my courage and my hopes did not lie in my body. If that body was paralyzed, my brain could still work industriously...If I weren't able to act, I would be able to write. Even if I weren't able to use a pencil or typewriter, I could dictate."[31] Film magazines from the 1930s and 1940s, such as The Hollywood Reporter and Motion Picture Daily, frequently published updates on her condition. Lupino worked for various non-profit organizations to help raise funds for polio research.

Lupino's interests outside the entertainment industry included writing short stories and children's books, and composing music. Her composition "Aladdin's Suite" was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1937. She composed this piece while on bedrest due to polio in 1935.

She became an American citizen in June 1948 and a staunch Democrat who supported the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Lupino was Catholic.

Lupino died from a stroke while undergoing treatment for colon cancer in Los Angeles on 3 August 1995, at the age of 77. Her memoirs, Ida Lupino: Beyond the Camera, were edited after her death and published by Mary Ann Anderson.

Lupino learned filmmaking from everyone she observed on set, including William Ziegler, the cameraman for Not Wanted. When in preproduction on Never Fear, she conferred with Michael Gordon on directorial technique, organization, and plotting. Cinematographer Archie Stout said of Ms. Lupino, "Ida has more knowledge of camera angles and lenses than any director I've ever worked with, with the exception of Victor Fleming. She knows how a woman looks on the screen and what light that woman should have, probably better than I do." Lupino also worked with editor Stanford Tischler, who said of her, "She wasn't the kind of director who would shoot something, then hope any flaws could be fixed in the cutting room. The acting was always there, to her credit."

Author Ally Acker compares Lupino to pioneering silent-film director Lois Weber for their focus on controversial, socially relevant topics. With their ambiguous endings, Lupino's films never offered simple solutions for her troubled characters, and Acker finds parallels to her storytelling style in the work of the modern European "New Wave" directors, such as Margarethe von Trotta.

Ronnie Scheib, who issued a Kino release of three of Lupino's films, likens Lupino's themes and directorial style to directors Nicholas Ray, Sam Fuller, and Robert Aldrich, saying, "Lupino very much belongs to that generation of modernist filmmakers." On whether Lupino should be considered a feminist filmmaker, Scheib states, "I don't think Lupino was concerned with showing strong people, men or women. She often said that she was interested in lost, bewildered people, and I think she was talking about the postwar trauma of people who couldn't go home again."

Author Richard Koszarski noted Lupino's choice to play with gender roles regarding women's film stereotypes during the studio era: "Her films display the obsessions and consistencies of a true auteur... In her films The Bigamist and The Hitch-Hiker, Lupino was able to reduce the male to the same sort of dangerous, irrational force that women represented in most male-directed examples of Hollywood film noir."

Lupino did not openly consider herself a feminist, saying, "I had to do something to fill up my time between contracts. Keeping a feminine approach is vital — men hate bossy females ... Often I pretended to a cameraman to know less than I did. That way I got more cooperation." Village Voice writer Carrie Rickey, though, holds Lupino up as a model of modern feminist filmmaking: "Not only did Lupino take control of production, direction, and screenplay, but [also] each of her movies addresses the brutal repercussions of sexuality, independence and dependence."

By 1972, Lupino said she wished more women were hired as directors and producers in Hollywood, noting that only very powerful actresses or writers had the chance to work in the field. She directed or costarred a number of times with young, fellow British actresses on a similar journey of developing their American film careers like Hayley Mills and Pamela Franklin.

Actress Bea Arthur, best remembered for her work in Maude and The Golden Girls, was motivated to escape her stifling hometown by following in Lupino's footsteps and becoming an actress, saying, "My dream was to become a very small blonde movie star like Ida Lupino and those other women I saw up there on the screen during the Depression."

Lupino has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for contributions to the fields of television and film — located at 1724 Vine Street and 6821 Hollywood Boulevard.

New York Film Critics Circle Award - Best Actress, The Hard Way, 1943

Inaugural Saturn Award - Best Supporting Actress, The Devil's Rain, 1975

A Commemorative Blue Plaque is dedicated to Lupino and her father Stanley Lupino by The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and the Theatre and Film Guild of Great Britain and America at the house where she was born in Herne Hill, London, 16 February 2016

Composer Carla Bley paid tribute to Lupino with her jazz composition "Ida Lupino" in 1964.

The Hitch-Hiker was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1998 while Outrage was inducted in 2020.

[cosplayswitzerlandaskblog]

Unlike last time Hetalia got a new season, the response has not been particularly positive, and I’m seeing a lot of twisted feelings towards the show and the fandom to a point where it seems long time content creators are stepping away from it. I know anyone still active who follows me either are or were fans of Hetalia, so it should be relevant for all y’all.

As a fan who never fell out of the show, I find the response sad though healthy, and even if I know I ghosted you all on tumblr (sorry) because of time constraints and mental health, I still make the occasional CMVs. Fact is, I do not let go of special interests very easily. It seems a lot of you all started watching the show at 10-14 years old, where I myself was a bit older – 17 – and had grown a bit more. Long story short, my Naruto phase was your Hetalia phase, and no, it’s not pretty. You’re young and stupid and don’t know much critical thinking and make mistakes, and you have to forgive yourself for those mistakes, especially when the content you consume is associated with the real world in a sensitive subject.

But after seeing all these posts explaining all the bad we see from Hetalia, I wanted to make a post explaining what I learned from it – all the good that can come with a show like this if you stay aware of perspective. I am not excusing all the bad that came with it, for WWII is a serious event in history that should never be forgotten nor made fun of, but here goes:

I went from a ‘war-is-cool’ history buff to one who truly delved in and learned the intricacies of history, being fascinated with the ‘hows’ and the ‘whys’ as well as getting an excuse to look at the histories of nations which I’d never otherwise be interested in, and I know a lot of other people in the fandom did the same. This is how history should be known, as that is how we can truly apply it to the real world.

I learned to separate people from their countries. To give an example that’ll hit close to much of tumblr, when I started Hetalia I hated Americans with a passion because of the road “you” had put the world on, and I considered all y’all dumb and bad as a cause of it. Getting that excuse to take an ACTUAL look at how your nation functioned and what communities truly hid behind the borders, I learned instead that your government is corrupt as shit, your society is rigged against you and you have been forced to stand by and watch as chaos happens. It got applied to the world as a whole, where I considered other nations being as dynamic as my own, with people both good and bad, and the actions of the nation is even less of a reflection of the people in the cases of corrupt democracies or dictatorships.

I separated from Colonial world views. I was never actively racist, brought up in a proper home, and already before Hetalia I fiercely protected the rights of Muslims who are often mistreated in my nation and tried to hear them out when possible. But I was a Westerner, and even if the nation I came from had barely participated in invasions, I had learned to consider my culture ‘correct’ and native and African cultures ‘primitive’. While the journey was long, a step wise process of realizing things like there was nothing inherently ethically wrong eating dogs or partially incubated duck eggs, only in how the animals were acquired, that cultural progress is heavily dependent on perspective and that fucking genocide of native peoples still happen in this damn century, Hetalia was the stepping stone which gave me the interest in other nations to expand my world view. I probably ain’t done here – I have a whole life of outside influences to unlearn – but I’m further than most people I know in my near surroundings, and I’ve even managed to move my parents who originally taught me to respect people of all kinds in the first place.

I learned Nazis were people. This is a conversation which often comes up here on tumblr, and the demonization Nazi Germany and its government directly allows actual Nazis and fascists like Richard Spencer a free pass because they look groomed and proper. Until then, I’d simply assumed no one was ‘stupid enough to be a Nazi’ because of the atrocities of WWII and therefore looked at the world naively. Realizing how little true support Nazis had during WWII and similarly anyone could end down that pungent rabbit hole, I became careful of what I excused on social media and allowed myself to doubt seemingly normal people if their behaviour was alarming – such as the police man who is supposed to be a damn ‘hero’ of society.

I learned how to deal with material sensitive to others. A common problem in the fandom has always been the cosplaying and portrayal of Nazis, especially at cons and the like, and in a similar vein – I did blackface once because of Hetalia. The horrible thing about this is that blackface is immensely common in Europe – at least my own country – and blackface frequently happens at schools during ‘international’ events, where whole classrooms are assigned to portray a designated country. A whole of two times – in 6th grade as well as 2nd grade of high school – I was exposed to blackface as my class was given an African nation to portray – Somalia the first time, Kenya the second. No one, adult, teen or child, are aware of the history of race imitation in my country, but by the second time I was supposed to participate in dressing up as an African tribe, I’d understood the issue – thanks to Hetalia. My friend group of white, privileged, European teens discussed what symbolism was appropriate at cons or in videos – could we wear the Iron Cross? The Nazi flag? What if we burned it during the video? These thoughts are not usually a part of the mind of European youth, and I consider that a grave problem which leads to people making fun of ‘triggers’, downplaying racial issues and the like.

It offered me a means to make history personal. The biggest struggle for good history teachers and the reason we are often made to read and write letters from the periods we study is to make it seem real and get a emotional connection to these past, lost peoples. Hetalia offered puppets for me to place into historical contexts to make them truly real – the main driver pushing me away from mere fascination of war, since I suddenly felt the horrors of warfare through the characters that I loved. Things like Elizabeth I’s court, the conquests of Rome, the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, the battlefield of Somme, the invasion of America, damn slavery becomes different when something you already know is a part of it and you can see them in there. Hearing of people of the past should in itself be enough, and for the closest parts of history (WWII and afterwards) it always was for me, but we are human. We cannot understand the size of a billion, and we struggle understanding the lives of those living centuries before us, unless we are offered context.

I’m not blind to the issues of the fandom or the show. I was here for ‘the r*pist, the pervert and the p*dophile’, I know of South Korean and Chinese issues with the show, and I heard the gassing joke in the show’s dub and got nauseous from discomfort and anger. I’ve always been in the fringe of the fandom due to my social disabilities, so I don’t know everything that happened, but I’ve seen many racist OCs and disrespecting of historical sites. It’s not pretty, but I will believe these people, who were likely young, likely learned in time. And I may have been able to learn these things by other means, but not in the same way, and not through personal interest and research that’s helped me become sceptical and analysing of the world around me.

At its core, Hetalia is about watching a normal, nerdy guy learn how to draw, using stereotypic country personifications mainly from the perspective of Japan. It’s natural he chooses Japan, since he’s Japanese, and WWII is unfortunately the automatic historical event for most common people to focus on – but Hetalia doesn’t even solely focus on that, but is an amalgamation of vaguely correct historical situations played out by the characters, and often it is with the intent of comedy rather than the grimness often associated with historical settings which allows a wider audience than merely history nerds.

What I want you all to do is learn from your mistakes and forgive your younger selves for not knowing better. Maybe reflect on what you got from the show, rather than what you lost. A new generation of young Hetalians is likely coming with the new season, and us old timers might be able to help them avoid pitfalls if we stay around to teach them. The best of the show is compassion towards the people of the world combined and love of history, as I believe Hima wanted it – the worst is Nazi apologetics and racial stereotyping. We decide in what direction we take it, and what lessons we bring into the future.

TL;DR: As a lot of media intended for older audiences, Hetalia is a show which has to be watched critically, which makes it dangerous for young people to watch unhinged, but it also opens up for interest in the world beyond the borders you live within. We should be aware of the issues and learn from them, but in and of itself the show has a lot of good to offer in learning compassion for other nations and cultural groups.

[whereisten]

Creature Feature - Part 2

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Preview | Taeil blurb

Summary: You work at your family’s 9-5 nighttime movie theater for the supernatural. Your fling with vampire!Taeyong is just that: a fling.

Pairing: Vampire!Taeyong x female reader

Word Count: 3.5k words

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Smut (just a very brief mention of fingering)

[1:30 AM]

You were furious. You knew that you were being irrational with him. You were throwing a fit because he couldn’t drink your blood? Or was it something more than that?

To be frank, you were mad at yourself. You couldn’t understand why you were so angry.

From the first time Taeyong came into your office to say hi.

To every engagement you had at the 3:00 AM showing of a movie that had been out for weeks. When no one else was around.

To when he left you a box of your favorite pizza in your office when you had a rough night.

To when he slyly helped you manage some rowdy customers. It was a close call that time with the hybrid who tried to break your neck when you told him he couldn’t harass the female customers. Thankfully, he never showed up again.

To when he sang along to “How Deep Is Your Love” as you slow danced in your candlelit office.

He really knew how to charm someone who wasn’t his escort.

Taeyong encompassed your mind more than you let on. And you couldn’t tell anyone. Your parents would disown you for fraternizing with the vampires. Your parents tolerated the presence of vampires at their theater but to befriend them? Out of the question. And you could never figure out why without getting turned away.

“The less you know, the better, y/n. Now go watch a One Dimension video,” your dad told you when you were seventeen. He meant One Direction.

“y/n, vampires are manipulative and cruel. It’s in their core. Don’t question it,” your mom said from time to time until this day. She possessed a haunted look on her face whenever the topic came up.

The supernatural and the human race...For the most part, they didn’t see eye to eye. They were divided to prevent even more chaos from unfolding in this world. Your mother’s side of the family was bound to live among and serve the supernatural for centuries, she told you. Your maternal grandparents founded Sinema. Sinema was a safe space for the supernatural to mingle and escape to in the nighttime when most humans were asleep and oblivious to the world. Sinema could only be seen by the supernatural and their allies like you, your mother, and your father by marriage.

As a child, you attended night classes with some of the supernatural that could pass for humans, like werewolves and vampires. When college came around, you lived those four years as a regular young adult. Adjusting to more of a daytime schedule at that time was a pain so you tried your best to get 5:40 PM and later classes. Eventually, you adjust to earlier classes.

Coming back home to work alongside your parents wasn’t your number one choice but it was your birthright. Maybe when your parents retired, you could find another career endeavor away from the movie theater and still help out the supernatural.

You were obligated, after all.

And you were fond of them. A lot more than your parents were, as a matter of fact. And they weren’t particularly thrilled about that.

Your parents expected that you would marry a nice human boy so he could support you the way your dad supported your mom.

Your parents were so in love it blew your mind sometimes. Your dad worshipped your mom. The adoring looks and the need to please her never faded. Your mom looked at your dad every day like she was falling in love all over again. You couldn’t believe that the love they had could exist somewhere else. Or that you would ever find it.

Your dad must have loved your mom so much to give up the life he had to be with her. He could have been a hotelier and traveled all over the world. He loved the sunlight when he was a boy. But his priorities realigned when he met your mom. So your folks hoped you could find something just like that. A regular boy who could settle down with you and manage a movie theater full of creatures he originally thought were fairy tales.

Your parents hadn’t factored in that you would meet Yuta, though.

When you were away at college, during your senior year, you met a boy with the most brilliant smile and long silky black hair that always left crowds of people stunned. Your class with Yuta ran three times a week. After noticing you on the first day, he moved from his original seat to yours over the course of the next few days.

Lecture 1: He sat across from you as the lecture hall ran circular like a dome. He liked your laptop stickers.

Lecture 2: Moving to your side of the room, he was now four seats away, he sent you handwritten notes. Some were flirty and some asked you to diagnose him with any of the disorders the professor discussed.

Lecture 3: Three seats away, he sent you less notes, instead staring at you and winking when you met his gaze. He was still an excellent note taker, given that he glanced at you several times.

Lecture 4: Two seats away. He deliberately dropped his pencil right next to you so you could pick it up for him. You obliged and handed it back to him. He deliberately ran his fingers against yours. That was when you realized he was a werewolf.

Lecture 5: he sat right next to you. You two exchanged numbers and grabbed coffee after class. You let it slip in conversation that you knew he was a werewolf.

Lecture 17: you two were inseparable. He was a little cocky but somehow his arrogance made him more attractive. You helped him with his transition for the full moon that night. And after it was over, he took you to Waffle House and you splurged on chocolate chip waffles.

Lecture 32: he finger fucked you when the professor played a documentary. At this point, you two migrated to the back of the classroom so no one was the wiser. He told you he loved you that day.

Lecture 47: you two sat at opposite sides of the room again.

Yuta ended up being one of your biggest regrets. As far as your parents knew, he was the human boyfriend that got away. You were okay with that. Better that than to face their wrath for dating a creature.

It’s been a few years since you graduated. Yuta was probably an alpha now with a trophy wife who was in the process of giving him twelve kids. You could only hope he didn’t treat her the way he treated you.

🎥

Two days have passed since you left Taeyong in your office. He was smart to give you time to cool off but he still came to the theater. The nerve.

You’d just finished talking with your supplier for the concessions. They were delivering their latest shipment out back. Employees Mingi and Seonghwa were out back helping them out. You hoped to snag some Sour Patch Bats this time without getting rebuffed by your parents.

You checked out a movie poster for the next Paranormal Activity film, which was dubbed as a comedy in these parts. It was an image of a blank TV screen. You observed it carefully to see if there were any hidden details when a transparent face appeared before you.

“Boo,” Taeil said, with his most malevolent expression. His face pale and almost sucked dry from an eternity of dehydration. Bags under his eyes from sleep deprivation. His teeth rotting and falling at your feet.

“Nice one,” you backed away from the poster, “But that trick hasn’t made me piss my pants since I was three so...you’re gonna have to try harder.”

Taeil the friendly ghost came out of the wall and appeared to you in his transparent form. His horrifying face was a ruse. He reverted back to the form he possessed the moment he died: an elegant young man with a golden tone on his skin. He wore a nice navy button down and black slacks. He was lucky to have died in those clothes since they were the ones he was stuck with until he ascended. You’ve seen ghosts in their bunny pajamas and some in their lingerie.

Taeil sighed, “You’re tough to break, y/n. Think I can try that on Lexa?”

“I thought we agreed she should live with paralyzing guilt all of her life. Not kill her instantly from fear,” you replied. Lexa was Taeil’s ex-girlfriend who cheated on him and told her lover that she wished she could get rid of him. She didn’t realize that her lover would take that to heart and push Taeil off of a twenty story building. Lexa helped her lover hide the body and they skipped town. They weren’t too far from Sinema now.

You offered to help Taeil get justice but Taeil already got his killer incarcerated. Now he paid him nightly visits at the penitentiary and the killer’s fellow inmates mocked him for bellyaching about seeing the ghost of his victim. Taeil was having a ball.

Taeil pouted at your remark. “Oh, she won’t die. It’s not that terrifying.”

You added as you walked back to the entrance, “She’s weak. You told me that..”

“Yeah yeah yeah...Enough about me, how’s it going with Edward Cullen these days?”

“Nothing’s going on,” you said, stuffing your hands into your pockets.

“You two were having a lot of fun on Friday night...Ballsy of you since Haseul was very close to bulldozing the door down.” Taeil chuckled.

You sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you? Even if you can walk through walls, my office is off limits.”

“But not to Edward Cullen over there,” he nodded toward the ticket stand where Taeyong was buying tickets for him and his vampire comrades.

You blushed.

“What would your parents say?” Taeil asked.

“They’d tell me to keep up with the pill and go nuts.” Taeyong couldn’t impregnate you even if he tried. Vampires couldn’t reproduce with humans. Even if you were 99% human.

Taeil sighed. “He’s trouble, you know. You better wrap up whatever it is you got going with him. Before it gets messy.”

“Taeil, I know all there is to know about guys like Taeyong. You think I would ever let it get that far?”

Someone tapped your shoulder and you felt a wave of dread overtake you. You turned around.

Yuta.

“I knew it was you,” Yuta said, smiling at you with his perfect teeth that made every single person want to hit up their orthodontist.

“Please tell me this is a dream,” you muttered at Taeil.

Taeil said, “I could pinch you but I’m a ghost.” He left you alone with Yuta as he quickly faded away. Probably to go haunt Lexa. You wished you could join him.

“Tae-“ you started but it was too late.

“You’re even more stunning than I last saw you. I’m dying here,” Yuta said as he moved closer into your no-no square.

You backed away, hating how he still had a very small effect on you. You really couldn’t believe that he was here.

Nakamoto Yuta stood before you, his now silver hair running past his shoulders. His rockstar apparel hugging his body tightly. He was always fit but he must have been an alpha now. He always told you that once he graduated from college he would be alpha. And his body definitely looked like an alpha’s. Rock solid and ready to smother you if you rubbed him the wrong way.

You said bring it on.

“y/n, my eyes are up here,” he said as he pulled your chin up to him. He smiled at you the way he did during your honeymoon stage. He loved to do that to you.

But he forgot that he broke your heart.

You smacked his hand away. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you miss me? I sure as hell did,” he said as he inched closer again to smell your shampoo. “Your still using the same shampoo. My favorite.”

“Last time I checked you hated my guts.” But not as much as you hated his.

“I could never hate you,” he said as his flirty demeanor faded. He started to realize that he really did a number on you. And he felt more like an ass with each passing second.

“What do you want?” You asked as your eyes shifted to Taeyong. He was in line for concessions and he watched you like a hawk. His prominent jaw could stab anyone in line at that moment. You quickly turned back to Yuta, who you also prefer to avoid.

“A second chance,” he pleaded.

“Are you joking?” You gaped.

“No,” he said, deadpan.

You had nothing to say. The idea of him being serious was too much for you to process.

He continued. “I’ve come to realize that I was unfair to you. I’m sorry.”

He was onto something. At long last. “Look...That sounded almost sincere.”

He continued, his dark brown eyes never losing sight of you. “You were the best thing that ever happened to me. I was too blind to see it.”

Why? After all of these years?

You sighed. “Did you realize this after you achieved your dream of becoming an alpha? Because Yuta, that was all you cared about. You were going to meet some girl from another prominent pack and unite the packs. It would all be yours. In the end, it didn’t matter who reigned beside you. She would always be beneath you. In status...and in everything else.”

Yuta clenched his teeth in response and you could hear his low growl. He bit back his words. “I-“

“Yuta, no. Spare us both and just leave.” You’ve had enough.

He sighed. “This was not how I wanted this to go.”

You lifted your brows. “How did you expect this to go?”

“To be honest, I was expecting us to reunite at the beach by the end of the night.”

You frowned. “What?”

His face was now flushed with embarrassment instead of anger. “Uh...”

“Excuse me?” You demanded. The nerve of this man.

“You weren’t supposed to hear that...”

“What has gotten into you?”

“Honesty has always been my motto. You know this, y/n. Regardless of whether I’m an ass or not. It seems as though becoming an alpha has amplified that trait.”

After an awkward silence, you said, “That must get you into a lot of trouble, alpha.” Who knew how much havoc he wreaked since graduation?

He boasted, “I’m the most powerful alpha. I can deal.”

“Has your modesty gone up from low to medium? Or is that just wishful thinking?” You joked.

He chuckled. “It’s a little better.”

You shook your head at him. He was such a jerk but he seemed sincere.

“Y/N!” Haseul ran over to you. “I need to break a thousand dollar bill.”

“Come again?” You asked.

“It’s your regular,” Haseul said, winking.

You knew damn well to whom she was referring. Taeyong had an interesting way of trying to get your attention. Irritating but effective. And he was about to get an earful.

Yuta noticed your change in mood. He knew that the inch closer he’d gotten to you tonight was meaningless. It was in your eyes. There was someone else.

You turned back to Yuta. “I have to go. Take care, Yuta.”

“y/n-,” he started with your name but stopped when you rushed off with Haseul.

His eyes darted all over the theater entrance. Who dared approach his girl?

That was when he saw Taeyong at the front of the line for concessions. To Yuta, Taeyong looked presumptuous and arrogant and weak. All vampires were. He was far beneath an Omega, the lowest rank a wolf could have.

Yuta watched Taeyong’s serpentine eyes on you. Taeyong looked at you like you were his impending snack. No respect at all, Yuta thought.

Your taste in men fell off the deep end, it seemed.

You walked over to the counter where the line was growing restless with varying growls and screeches.

“How can I help you, sir?” You gave him your most winning smile.

Haseul piped in. “He wanted to pay for Sour Patch Bats with a thousand dollar bill.”

“We don’t accept thousand dollar bills, sir,” you said, desperately wanting to glare at him.

Taeyong smiled. “That’s fine. I have smaller bills.”

Haseul gaped. “That’s not what he-Oh!” She realized something you didn’t.

You apologized to Haseul and left the register to meet Taeyong. You sat down at the bench by Theater 13, the theater that always played the most popular film out.

Taeyong opened his bag of Sour Patch Bats and offered it to you. You shook your head and smacked his shoulder. “You know Haseul’s stressed enough already. Don’t give her any trouble. If you want to talk to me, just come and talk to me.”

Taeyong dug into his sour gummies. “Seemed like you wanted to get away from that dog so I got creative.”

“Thank you but I can handle him. You didn’t have to do that.” You took the bag of candy from his hands and ate some. He was beaming.

“A friend of yours?” He asked way too innocently.

“He’s my ex from college,” you said.

“I figured as much. Since you didn’t push him away the moment he breathed in your direction.”

You looked at Taeyong trying to get a read for his mood. He was neutral and it unsettled you.

“He wanted to get back together and I told him no,” you admitted.

Taeyong struggled to contain his emotions so he got up and said, “I’m going to get an ICEE. Do you want one?”

You nodded. “The triple, please?”

He nodded and smiled shyly at you. You both loved triple flavor ICEEs: cherry, blue raspberry, and coke.

He came back with your drinks. He handed it back to you.

“Hey, you drank out of this one!” You frowned and tried to grab the other untouched one in his hand. “Give me that one!”

He refused to give it to you and raised it above you so you couldn’t reach.

“Taeyong, come on!”

“How about this?” He asked quietly. “You can drink out of mine and we’ll call it even?”

“An indirect kiss. How...shoujo manga of you. Alright, let’s do it.”

He lifted the ICEE back down and you were going to drink it from his hand when he leaned down and kissed you. Oh, he was good. His mouth was cool on yours. An ICEE never tasted so good. You took advantage and switches your drinks.

He pulled away. “Hey!” He frowned.

“One kiss is enough, is it not?” You teased as you drank from the new cup.

Joking around like this, you forgot that he was a powerful vampire.

Who had swift reflexes

He drank from your ICEE cup in the blink of an eye. He winked. “One kiss will never be enough.”

“You’re so greedy. Why did you claim to buy me an ICEE if you were going to drink them both?”

“y/n I barely drank from yours. You’re just too OCD,” he joked.

“I resent that. I’m OCD? Don’t be such a hypocrite. You wash your hands almost as much as I do.” You two were neat freaks and as a fellow germaphobe, only he could tease you about it.

You went back and forth for a few more minutes before you got called back into work. Things weren’t exactly resolved with Taeyong but you let yourself have hope.

When you returned to your office, you found a jewelry box on your desk. Tiffany and Co.

Taeyong had outdone himself this time, you thought. You still needed to talk to him and tell him what’s been on your mind.

But.

It would be rude to not open his gift.

You were stunned to find a rose gold necklace inside. It was exquisite. You saw that there were two letters at the center. You found your initial and then.

You found a Y.

Y for Yuta.

You quickly put the pendant back into the box and quickly found the note under the box.

“y/n, I know I have a lot of making up to do. But I can promise you that I’m doing my best to be a better man. I want to be a better man for you. I hope one day you can forgive me and we can start again. I love you. Always, Yuta.”

“Oh, boy,” you started.

Someone knocked on your door and opened it. No one else did that except Taeyong and-

Your parents.

“Honey, we’re back!” Your mom, sporting a new tan, hugged you. Your dad hugged you after.

“Kiddo, the place looks great,” your dad said, “Any trouble since we’ve been gone?”

You quickly stepped backwards to your desk to hide the jewelry box and note behind you. You spun around to your desk and pretended to gather some papers so you can hide Yuta’s idiocy.

“Nothing to report,” you said.

Author’s Note: hey y’all! Thank you so much for always giving us so much love! And thank you for waiting for me! I’m so excited to take some time to write! For this chapter, I was inspired by a scene from Gilmore Girls (when Taeyong kisses y/n during the ICEE scene). I was also inspired for the transition to full wolf by Teen Wolf and The Vampire Diaries (Best shows ever). I was also inspired by a scene from @sakuurae’s story “Study Sessions” for the mention of Yuta having fun with y/n in lecture 🌚. I was also inspired by @caiuscassiuss’s story “Sasaeng” for the description of Taeil’s death. It’s an interesting mixture of inspirations. 😂 Thank you for reading!

[jungle321jungle]

Here’s some anime opinions that no one asked for:

Look I watch a ton of anime and I won’t apologize for it but I gotta rant so here’s some random thoughts.

If you’re wondering how I pick which animes to mention I don’t pick it just happens. I’m tired and sick and drinking vodka let’s go with the insanity

I apologize for the lack of cut I’m on my phone

Key:

Awesome

Never watch it

It’s kinda bad (it’s bad)

It’s kinda good

~~~~

Sword Art Online:

Watching the most recent episode inspired this shit of a post

Its Enjoyable trash

It’s shitty as hell

But it looks pretty

And when they put effort into the fight scenes? Fucking beauty

The harem is trash, and so is Kirito. Everyone other than liz, silica and yui are stronger when Kirito is not around

The Yukki arc will always be one the best

Current arc isn’t bad but god stop sucking kiritos dick people and do your own thing until the power of love and bullshit science wakes him up

Also the stereotypes with the other countries are so stupid I fucking love

SAO Abridged

God tier

Ghost Stories (Dub)

One of the best comedies ever

It’s fucking hilarious

But ya need a certain sense of humor for it

Can be pretty... Uh idk the word but it’s not for everyone.

There’s clips on youtube if you need to understand better

Oh I found gifs for examples but these are the nicer ones

Baccano

The best fucking show. Watch it it needs love and so does my husbando claire

Fairy Tail

Flawed enjoyment

Plot holes big enough to catch planes

I enjoy the characters tho

But the story is shit after a certain point

The only flawless thing in FT Zero

Well no one flaw

It’s not fucking long enough

I pretend that Alvarez didn’t happen

Don’t give a fuck about the 100 years quest either until the gajevy babies are born lmk when that happens

Edens Zero

It’s a manga not an anime but idgaf

It’s too much like FT for me

I tried

I tried

But I can’t

I only like one character and he was the only one with a design not ripped from FT

Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun

Tbh I watched three eps(?) of the anime and hard cut to the manga but it’s still fucking amazing

The art style is so cute and adorable but the story isn’t 100%

In love

Arifuerta

I watched maybe two eps.

Fuck that shit

Blue Exorcist (it’s both really)

The anime starts great

It goes an anime only route which is shitty. But they made a third season which follows the manga again and they adapted a good arc so fuck yeah

I read the manga now and it’s good but weird but good

There’s issues. A good amount of the

But Rin’s current hair makes up for a lot of my anger

The Millionare Detective

There’s only two eps out cuz COVID but like 10/10

Look at the mans

Kings Game

One of the worst shows I ever fucking watched

I finished it

Don’t watch it

Ever

I cried or if frustration over this bitch

To ensure you don’t watch it have some spoilers:

There was a girl on fire

And like she’s typing on a laptop and talking casually

For seven minutes straight

Another girl (I don’t remember her name but I called her megabitch in my mind) took a chainsaw to the back and then still got up like nothing was wrong

They made a teaser for season 2 which won’t happen

What Do You Do at the End of the World? Are You Busy? Will You Save Us?

Another bad show I watched and finished cuz idk why

It’s just bad

So bad

Like the story is typical and shitty

It’s just not good

Divine Gate

Bad

It was good to a certain point

Then it got decent

Then they just introduced Norse gods as characters and let them do things out of nowhere

Yeah idk

it was such a rushed ending

Great Pretender

Still airing but it’s on Netflix in a month. I just kissanime shit

But I fucking love it

Its so fucking pretty for no apparent reason

Like there’s no need to go so hard but they do

The story is great

The characters are funny

It’s just good I can’t say more than that

That’s it. I both apologize and don’t for whatever this is. I’m sorry

[technofantasia]

I’m doing a scientific study about anime for fun and am looking for participants!!

(Specifically, the comedy anime Osomatsu-san)

Okay, now with that out of the way!

SO, WHAT IS THIS ABOUT? If you’re not familiar, Osomatsu-san is an absurdist comedy/slice of life anime about a group identical sextuplets in their 20s that haven’t managed to get to the socially-mandated “adult independence” part of adulthood yet. Not to let my bias show, but it’s, like... really funny.

The English dub of the show came out earlier this year and it’s the kind of dub that changes a quite a bit of the script for the sake of making it funnier in English. Think like the Ghost Stories dub, if Ghost Stories was a raunchy comedy to begin with. A lot of fans didn’t like all the changes that were made, but a lot of other fans found the changes HILARIOUS and totally fitting for the show!

So, my question is this: Is the English dub of Osomatsu-san funnier than the sub to native English speakers? Or is the original Japanese script still funnier, despite the fact the jokes weren’t written with English speaking audiences in mind?

TO DISCOVER THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, I NEED YOUR HELP!!

If you: -Are a native English speaker -Have access to a microphone you can record yourself with relatively clearly -Have access to headphones to listen with -Can spare two sessions of 12 minutes each, a week apart -Want to watch some clips from a funny anime -Want to know the results of this study -Don't want to know the results but want to participate anyway

...Then you can participate in this study!!!

NOTE: you are free to participate regardless of whether you’ve seen Osomatsu-san or not, in dub or sub; either way, your participation is welcomed and highly appreciated!!

WHAT YOU WOULD BE DOING:

Participation would require you to watch a ~12 minute long video in one sitting (a series of clips from the show), then watch another video of similar length a week later (another series of clips). While watching the videos, you will need to wear headphones and set up a microphone to record your reactions with.

NOTE: this is AUDIO recording, not video recording, so you will NOT need to show your face. You will not be required to talk, either (unless you want to), save for indicating when the video has started and stopped.

After the recordings have been made, you will fill out a short form for the purpose of uploading your recordings and sending them to me. The forms will be anonymous; I will not know who sent which recordings, and nobody other than myself will be granted access to them. They will not be used for any purpose other than as data for this study. If at any point you want or need to stop participating, you may do so, no strings attached. Your contribution will only be collected at the very end.

For participating in this study, you will receive: -The results of the study -Access to any write-up I do after the fact, communicating the results of the study in a sciencey kind of way -A THANK-YOU DOODLE TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE!!! It can be anything you want, as long as you're ok with it not being very good. But it will nonetheless contain my BOUNDLESS APPRECIATION!!!!!!!!!

If this has intrigued you and you think you might want to participate, please join this discord server!

https://discord.gg/SB4vwXrcQr

When however many participants there will be have joined, the study will begin, and you’ll be given more specific instructions.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING and, if you decide you may be interested in participating, THANK YOU SOSOSO MUCH FOR THAT AS WELL!! :DDD

[aion-rsa]

Anime For Beginners: Best Genres and Series to Watch

https://ift.tt/2N0s0pf

The past decade has seen anime’s popularity increase in dramatic ways, whether through a much broader spectrum of series receiving dubs, the growing success of anime feature films in theaters, or the sudden prominence of streaming services. There’s never been a better time to be an anime fan and the medium has become more accessible than ever. There’s a lot of anime out there, but the wealth of new series can often blend together or not be given a fair chance. Additionally, there are definitely certain types of anime that are more prominently showcased outside of Japan. 

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For the uninitiated it’s easy to assume that anime consists of giant robots, monsters that battle, and strong fighters and magical girls that transform, but that’s really just a fraction of what the medium has to offer. Words like shonen, shojo, isekai, and even reverse harem are used in reference to anime, which can sometimes feel overwhelming when someone just wants to watch a silly romantic comedy or superhero clone. Here’s a helpful breakdown of all of the major anime genres and where to get started with them all.

Shonen

The shonen genre is by far the most popular brand of anime and the majority of breakout hits and major successes like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and One Piece all fit into the shonen brand. What’s interesting about anime genres is that they’re treated more like demographics and shonen is content that caters to boys with a young male protagonist. Shonen is so accessible because beyond this basic disclaimer, it’s able to cover a wide berth of content and a show like My Hero Academia can be completely different from Yu Yu Hakusho, yet they can still fall back on the same values. 

Shonen anime has largely been generalized to be series that feature lots of fighting and battles, which isn’t always the case, but has become quite representative of the genre. Shonen series are ideal for people that want lots of action and are hungry for a show that has hundreds of episodes to consume.

Notable Series To Watch: Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Attack On Titan

Shojo

Shojo is the female counterpart to the shonen genre that caters towards an audience of girls rather than boys. The shojo genre isn’t entirely bereft of battles, but it’s a style of anime where relationships and emotional drama is the priority or the source of power. There are many eclectic kinds of shojo series that are content to explore awkward relationship drama where there’s typically some kind of atypical supernatural element afoot. 

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However, the most popular style of shojo that’s largely become emblematic of the genre are “magical girl” series where regular girls transform into powerful warriors. There’s also typically a bright and pastoral aesthetic to shojo series and characters, both female and male, are beautified. Shojo anime is absolutely the place where the power of love will triumph over evil.

Notable Series To Watch: Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Fruits Basket, Vampire Knight, My Love Story!!

Seinen

Seinen is the R-rated evolution of the shonen genre that’s geared towards a more adult male audience that can handle mature storytelling. That’s not to say that shonen series can’t be violent or deal with adult situations, but seinen series often center around antiheroes and adult characters who are disenfranchised as opposed to optimistic youth that want to save the future. 

Some of the most sophisticated and challenging anime series come out of the seinen genre and it’s a great place for people to jump in that are looking for a story that’s not overly drawn out and achieves the same dramatic peaks as prestige television. Seinen once more comes down to the viewers’ preferences and there are science fiction, horror, and fantasy seinen shows that all deconstruct their material in different ways. As a point of comparison, major anime movies like Akira or Ghost in the Shell both fit into the seinen genre.

Notable Series To Watch: Kill La Kill, Berserk, Ping Pong The Animation, Vinland Saga, Dorohedoro

Josei

Josei is the more mature version of shojo content and it’s full of series that are designed for women as opposed to girls. Romance is a big component of josei series, but it’s more concerned about the harsh realities behind relationships than the flirtatious courtship that kicks things off. Josei love stories are messy and full of heartbreak and they’re less romanticized than shojo’s interpretation of love. 

A trashy way of putting it would be to say that Twilight is shojo, but Fifty Shades of Grey is seinen. Matters of the heart don’t always have to fuel josei series and there are also plenty of shows that center around adult women as they negotiate through professional and creative endeavors. It’s a place to find less flowery female-driven stories.

Notable Series To Watch: Chihayafuru, The Gokusen, Honey And Clover, Nana, Princess Jellyfish

Isekai

The isekai genre is perfect for fans of fantasy and this style of anime has become wildly popular over the course of the past decade. Isekai anime is any show where a character gets transported away to a fantastical new world. It’s a classic storytelling idea, but anime has been able to run with it in some creative new ways. There’s an abundance of isekai series that incorporate video game aesthetics and there are now just as many series where characters are trapped in a video game world than some alternate fantasy dimension. 

Isekai can focus on the protagonist’s mission to return home, act as a savior in their new world, or simply kill time and enjoy the vacation. There are even reverse isekai anime where a supernatural character gets stuck on Earth and must acclimate. Arguably the biggest most mainstream example of isekai content is Spirited Away, but even something as foundational as Alice in Wonderland would qualify.

Notable Series To Watch: Overlord, Re: Zero – Starting Life In Another World, That Time I Got Reincarnated Into A Slime, KonoSuba, No Game No Life

Ecchi

Ecchi is that brand of anime that’s generalized to be the oversexed content that’s likely to make someone blush if they were watching it in public. Ecchi is any sort of anime series that prioritizes a certain sexiness and isn’t afraid to showcase its assets and indulge in “fan service.” Ecchi anime usually has a lot of skin on display, but it’s far from empty content and there’s an important distinction between something like this and actual pornography. 

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Ecchi series titillate, but they still are concerned about their story and characters. There’s inevitably going to be some overlap between ecchi and seinen content (Kill La Kill is a series that really tows the line between both), but there’s often more of a gratuitous playfulness that drives ecchi content. Sexualized characters may bring in the audience, but the series are still deep enough to maintain their interests.

Notable Series To Watch: High School DxD, High School Of The Dead, Rosario To Vampire, Strike The Blood, Prison School

Mecha

Mecha anime are widely prominent and the visual of gigantic robots locked in combat as they fly through outer space feels like a tentpole of the anime industry. There’s a large awareness towards mecha series and it’s even entered mainstream live-action content through works like Pacific Rim. However, this visibility also makes mecha content easy to generalize and some may write it off without understanding the versatility of the genre. Mecha anime can be broken down further into real robot and super robot series, each of which apply a different level of realism to these unrealistic creations. 

Real robot series might focus more on the humans that pilot the machines and the politics that surround mecha, whereas super robot content can feature robots that destroy planets with giant lasers. There can be a lot of gratuitous action in mecha series, but the human element in shows like Appleseed and Neon Genesis Evangelion, or how various Mobile Suit Gundam properties are dedicated to the casualties of war, is proof that mecha anime can be a lot more than just giant robot battles.

Notable Series To Watch: Mobile Suit Gundam, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Appleseed, Mobile Police Patlabor, Neon Genesis Evangelion

Harem

Romance is popular in any medium and there’s often exceptional tension that’s created from out of a love triangle. One genre of anime takes that idea and seriously exaggerates it in a way that can sometimes be problematic, but has spawned a popular style of anime all the same. Harem series center around a hapless male protagonist who stumbles into some incredible situation where a large group of girls–all of contrasting personalities–fall head-over-heels in love with him. 

Harem anime can come across as baseless wish fulfillment fantasy, but the broad structure allows many other genres to mix together with it in a productive way. A lot of the time these series will center on the actual characters and the complex relationship dynamics involved and try to say something that may not be explored in a josei or ecchi series. There are also reverse harem series, which take the same idea, but flip the genders where multiple men fawn over a woman.

Notable Series To Watch: Tenchi Muyo!, The World Only God Knows, Nisekoi, To LOVE-Ru, Ouran High School Host Club

Gag

Anime series are able to achieve a lot of things that just can’t be accomplished in other forms of animation or programming. Comedy is something that’s able to connect extremely hard in anime and operate at an absurdist level that uses visuals, timing, and premises that are rare to find elsewhere. Many anime series have a sense of humor or are even specifically designed as comedies, but gag anime are a different breed that operate at an overwhelmingly relentless pace. 

Reality and the fourth wall are just things to break in gag series, which often engage in wild parodies and lampshade anime as a whole. Some gag anime have extended storylines, but they often operate in shorter vignette style sequences that allow the comedy to really pop. Gag anime thrive in pop culture references and some of the hardest times I’ve laughed in my entire life have been at gag series like Mr. Osomatsu and Gintama where comedy is king.

Notable Series To Watch: Gintama, The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K, Pop Team Epic!, Mr. Osomatsu, Excel Saga 

Slice Of Life

Slice of life anime are those endlessly soothing series that don’t try to create major spectacles where the planet is at risk, but instead celebrate the mundanity of life. Slice of life series may center around the staff at a job, a group of friends in a high school club, or just a loner that’s moved to a new community. These are series that elegantly display the tiny moments that make life important and the bonds that create eternal friendships.

The stakes are often more muted in slice of life anime, but that doesn’t mean that they’re without tension or can’t dabble in fantastical material. There are still slice of life anime series that involve magical creatures or are set in unbelievable worlds. It’s sometimes even more humbling to learn that some planet in a far away solar system has a struggling chess club or that a dinosaur can be obsessed with different brands of candy.

Notable Series To Watch: The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya, Toradora!, K-On!, Dagashi Kashi, Clannad

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The post Anime For Beginners: Best Genres and Series to Watch appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[unexpected-nightview]

can you recommend some (preferably chinese) tv series to watch after the untamed? i have hard time deciding what to watch next

Okay so *cracks nuckles*

The “budgety+quality” ones Joy of Life : period drama, long but good pacing, COSTUMES BUDGET, intriguing story, lots of political schemes, romance is not that bad, the acting is GODDAMN GOOD (especially for the older actors). Also. The Second Prince. Oh! And Xiao Zhan but he appears later. Winter Begonia : set in 1930, based on a BL and despite Feng Tai having a wife it SHOWS (oh my god they were soulmates). Costumes again are *chef kiss*. More daily life than action-driven but not necessarily slow. Oh and it’s about chinese opera. Acting good (seriously, Feng Tai and Xi Rui’s interactions are just pure bliss). FOOD. The Sleught of Ming Dynasty : detective but in period drama, F O O D. So much food oh my god. The main trio works well and I particularly enjoyed Wang Zhi (but then again that’s my fave type of character so yeah). Pace slows down but then picks up. Based on a BL but does fall into the trap of setting the male couple with their respective female LI. Doesn’t last long, they don’t stand a chance but poor girls suffered from bad writing. However there are some things that were handled with more care than I thought possible so bonus points.

The Romance of Tiger and Rose : romance and action-y (more like buffoonery), period drama. It does have an interesting setting premise and some things I genuinely thought were “clever” or worth a conversation. Qianqian and Han Shuo have no business being so cute. Nor does Pei Heng (ot3 for the win fight me). Zi Rui is just the best character ever. Periodt. For real tho : for a romance-focused story I was surprised by how much I like it!

The Ghost Bride : Taiwanese-Malaysian (1890), have watched only 2 episodes (out of 6) but so far so good. So for a short one it could be nice. The Lost Tomb Reboot : like I said, at the very least the first 11 episodes if you enjoy Indiana Jones-esque stories.

Now, the “not that good+lower budget+bless their hearts they tried” who can be enjoyable to watch

My Roommate is a Detective : detective premise (duh), Shanghai in 1920. The costumes are not bad, the acting is a bit mismatch but bearable. Honestly Chu Sheng/Lu Yao/You Ning do work (give it time). CS sugar daddy of LY. The Bromance™ that ends up with a panicky het couple out of fucking nowhere and one dude staring sadly in the distance (don’t watch the final episodes, not worth it). Oh. And not so subtle hints of PATRIOTISM. But it’s funny (ridiculous). Once upon a time in Lingjian mountain : period but fantasy. Bonkers like It don’t even know where to begin with this one. I had me confused. Wang Wu is queen and that’s it. The dubbing is all over the place but weirdly funny. It’s mostly comedy but it does have it’s angsty moments (the last scene had me SAD okay). Costumes and props...they tried. Altho I’m pretty sure Wang Lu wears a thin jacket that looks suspiciously like plastic? IDK. Confusion. Guardian : I mean at this point this one is just iconic. The only good acting comes from Bai Yu and Zhu Yi Long. Bless their hearts they tried. I cannot in good conscience be too harsh with the wigs. Also, based on a BL but yet again, not that subtle (the lollipop pop pop pop). The ending differs from the novel and it sucks so hard that the author of the novel had to make like a short story thingy to fix it. Pretty wild. The Lost Tomb 1 : *circus anthem*. PATRIOTISM. CGI that screams in agony. The tomb feels like a liminal space??? Wu Xie best boi. Still have to see Pangzi again (he is about to enter the scene I just know it). Emo!Xiao Ge with Evanescence on repeat. DRAMATIC MUSIC at random. All very intense, we don’t what or why but it’s all VERY INTENSE. 10000/10 would recommend. And because I cannot go making recommendations without adding these two

Psychopath Diary (kdrama) : it’s one of those that you feel the people working on it had fun and IT SHOWS. Really, really, REALLY satisfying ending. No romance shoved up your throat. Male and Female lead work well and establish a solid friendship. Seo In Woo dancing in his murder room. Strangers from hell (kdrama) : look this shit is scary af but doesn’t rely on jumpscares. It’s just a perhaps not so slow descent into madness and it’s amazing. If you enjoy that genre it’s a must watch.

[mikewytrykus]

Carl Reiner: Write What You Know

When I was a student at Columbia College Chicago, I had a Studies in Television class about The Dick Van Dyke Show. What follows is the essay I wrote for my final paper about its creator, the recently passed comedy legend Carl Reiner. It’s about 1,700 words. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.

I have been a fan of the work of Carl Reiner for a long time – longer than I had, until recently, realized. I had never noticed before that he was the director of such movies as Oh God!, as well as the early films of Steve Martin (not all of which I have seen, but I have enjoyed those that I did see). And even before I knew who Carl Reiner was, I was a fan of the work of his son Rob Reiner. I watched All in the Family long before I had ever seen an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show. And The Princess Bride, a classic of the fantasy-adventure genre, remains one of my all-time favorite films. Later on, when I began watching The Dick Van Dyke Show, I did not immediately realize that the actor playing Alan Brady was in fact the creative genius behind the entire series. I did not notice that this one man scripted the bulk of the episodes, including many of its best. I had not yet come to fully appreciate the talent and brilliance of Carl Reiner. That is something I have only achieved through this course. I have a new respect and admiration for the man, truly one of the great comedians of our time. The series he created has been a favorite of mine since I discovered it through reruns on Nick-at-Nite and will remain one of my favorites for as long as I live. I will examine Carl Reiner’s various roles throughout the production of The Dick Van Dyke Show and show that this actor turned writer-producer was truly a force to be reckoned with in the field of comedy.

When I began watching The Dick Van Dyke Show, I slowly became more familiar with the work of the cast and crew of the series. Once I had learned who Carl Reiner was – the creator of the series as well as its chief writer and producer – I discovered his early work on Your Show of Shows. I knew, for the most part, who Sid Caesar was. I was probably most familiar with him from the classic comedy film It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – which also featured Reiner in a small role as an airport control tower operator. I knew of Imogene Coca and Howie Morris – the latter more from his cartoon voice over work. I had never seen the show, but I knew it was a landmark television series, essentially the Saturday Night Live of its day. I’ve since learned that it was Reiner’s experiences on this series and with the people that have worked on it that formed the basis for The Dick Van Dyke Show. It was through Your Show of Shows that Reiner began a long lasting friendship and professional partnership with the great Mel Brooks, who I should not have been surprised, was the inspiration for the human joke machine that is Buddy Sorrel. Reiner was primarily a performer on the show but eventually became an uncredited contributor in the writers’ room. However, his alter ego on The Dick Van Dyke Show would be the series’ head writer, an embellishment that I’m sure delighted Reiner to no end. 

It is the creation of this series and Reiner’s alter ego Robert Petrie that most impresses me about the man. Trying to break into the arena of television sitcoms, unable to find a vehicle fitting of his talents, Carl Reiner took it upon himself to create his own series – partially at the urging of his wife Estelle. Reiner believed in the old adage “write what you know” and thought about what experiences he could draw upon that others might not. It occurred to him to base his series on his life and career as a performer and writer on Sid Caesar’s television series. It also occurred to him to not only draw upon his professional life, but his personal one as well, and show the two worlds his main character would inhabit: the world of his job as a television writer and his world at home as a husband and father. Reiner then proceeded with the unprecedented endeavor of writing thirteen complete episodes for this series in a single summer. It is this feat of dedication and productivity that most inspires and encourages me. It shows what a creative individual can accomplish when he or she sets his mind on a task, a goal, and commits to it. It remains a grand accomplishment in spite of Reiner’s initial setbacks in getting the series off the ground. Reiner’s series, dubbed Head of the Family, would make it to the pilot stage and, for at least a time, no further. It’s rather ironic that one of the biggest problems with this incarnation of the series is the performance of Reiner himself. One would think that a man would be most qualified to play himself, but apparently this was not true in Reiner’s case. 

We can thank the efforts of executive producer Sheldon Leonard for salvaging Reiner’s fledgling series and setting him onto his true path, as the show’s writer and producer. It is was here that Carl Reiner truly shined. The shear workload that Carl Reiner endured throughout the first two seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show is striking, one might even say Herculean. As producer, Reiner’s responsibilities included the supervision of casting, staging, scoring and editing of each season’s thirty some episodes, in addition to his duties as writer and story editor. Nearly two-thirds of the episodes aired in the first two seasons were written by Carl Reiner, and there was almost no episode that went completely untouched by his creative hands; many of these episodes were polished or rewritten by him as well. How Reiner was able to endure this staggering workload is nothing short of amazing, almost miraculous. However, it was not something the overworked creator could endure forever. Fortunately for Reiner, and for fans of the show everywhere, help arrived in the third season in the form of screenwriters Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. It is because of these unlikely saviors lessening his burden of responsibility that we were able to enjoy Reiner’s efforts in front of the camera as well as behind during the series’ final two seasons. It is here that Reiner was able to return to his first desire – performing – as the vain, egomaniacal, overbearing television star Alan Brady.

If Rob Petrie was the alter ego of Reiner himself, then Alan Brady represented Sid Caesar, as well as many other vaudevillian stars of early television. When one considers what kind of a man and a boss that Reiner was – he only lost his temper on set once and was a genuinely gracious person to work for – it’s a testament to his acting abilities that he delivered such a believable and hilarious performance. Alan was loud, domineering, arrogant, self-centered, often cruel, but always funny. He was the living embodiment of every big shot television star that was completely full of himself, and added a welcome dynamic to the show. As if beleaguered producer Mel Cooley hadn’t suffered enough thanks to Buddy’s constant insults, he now had his belligerent brother-in-law to contend with. But Mel was not the only target of Alan’s pompous anger. I doubt anyone on the cast avoided being walked all over by Alan, and I would say Rob suffered more than anyone. Everyone was terrified of Alan Brady, and with good reason. He held the collective destiny of our favorite characters in his hand. The threat of being fired loomed constantly overhead and led to some great comedic moments, even when the threat was idle or completely non-existent. Whether it was Rob forced to ghost doctor the lackluster play for Alan’s Broadway debut or the whole staff offering their writing services to a snail, the prospect of unemployment was never funnier. Not even friends and family were safe as Laura, Millie and Jerry were all caught in the wake of hurricane Alan. 

Writer, producer, performer, Carl Reiner was at least a triple threat. Like nearly everyone in the cast of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Reiner was as multitalented and versatile as they come. Always a class act, forever striving for excellence and devoted to bringing to life “one man’s reality”, Reiner worked fervently for over five years to make the series he had created one of the best television shows ever to grace the airwaves. It is for this reason that he and Dick Van Dyke chose to end the show after its fifth season. Like any good showman, Reiner wanted to go out on a high note and leave the crowd wanting more. It may have been the end of his sitcom, but it was hardly the end of his career. 

Carl Reiner would continue to be a driving force in comedy and moved on to become a writer and director of feature films, including the movie based on the novel Enter Laughing that he wrote in the late 1950s that was a precursor to his work on The Dick Van Dyke Show. He kept working in television as well and even reteamed with his former star in the 1970s for The New Dick Van Dyke Show. It was, however, not as long lived or anywhere near as successful as their previous endeavor. Reiner would also continue to work as an actor and, in fact, continues to work to this very day in both television and movies. His role as Saul Bloom in the Ocean’s 11 films was one of the highlights of that series.  He has even reprised his most famous role as Alan Brady on sitcoms like Mad About You, a Dick Van Dyke Show reunion special and even an animated program titled – what else – The Alan Brady Show. 

Carl Reiner has crafted a legacy that I believe will withstand the test of time, and he will be remembered as one of the giants of comedy, a true creative genius. He has certainly inspired me to continue working hard on my own creative endeavors and to commit myself to the things that I am passionate about. If I could achieve even a fraction of his success, I would be a very fortunate man indeed.

[medea10]

Medea’s Top 20 Animes of the Decade

Hey all! Disappointed in some “best of” lists of this past decade? Well…prepared to be possibly disappointed some more because I’m doing one now! Here’s a top 20 list of my favorite animes that came out in the 2010’s. I seriously couldn’t do 10 this time due to how many awesome animes came out this decade. Unlike my anime superlative list, I’m going to be stricter here. Anything that aired in Japan before January 2010 is stricken from the list (which sucks because that means Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood & InuYasha: The Final Act are disqualified). And these are going to be MY favorites from this decade. Be aware that there will be popular animes I leave off the list due to my own personal opinions and the fact that some of them I have not watched yet. So I’m just going to tell you right now, don’t expect My Hero Academia, Hunter x Hunter, or Demon Slayer on this list because I have not watched any of that shit! Let’s get cracking!

20. Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (2018)

After nearly 20 years since the end of the first series, Cardcaptor Sakura returns with a sequel no one asked for and no one expected to come back. But it definitely brought back the nostalgia for those who grew up watching CCS. This story gives a continuation where Sakura is in middle school and ends up collecting a whole new set of mysterious cards. And the series is what you would expect with the cutesy feel whenever Sakura is with Li or it gets really intense when Sakura’s up against a really powerful card. While the ending leaves us on a bit of a cliffhanger with no continuation in sight, this series was one of the best reboots I’ve watched in recent years.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu Coming soon to home video

19. The Rising of the Shield Hero (2019)

This is my first (modern) Isekai and I gotta say I really enjoyed the story. Unlike other anime characters that travel to another world, the main character Naofumi is not praised as a savior nor put on a golden pedestal. Quite the opposite, this guy has to fight for even a shred of respect from anybody. Because after watching past protagonists like Miaka Yuuki, Kagome, and Kirito, that trope gets boring. Despite many of these episodes making me physically ill as I watched Naofumi being shit on by the other heroes and everybody else, it was great to watch this struggle with Naofumi to become a great shield hero.

P.S. Myne is still a raging cunt!

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & FUNimation

18. My Love Story!! (2015)

One of the BEST rom-com animes out there! The story of a gentle giant boy named Takeo falling in love with a sweet, petite girl named Yamato and their story as a couple. Yeah, the big difference between this anime and a bunch of other anime rom-coms is that Takeo and Yamato reveal their love for each other in episode 4 in a 24 episode series! By anime standards, that’s unheard of because most love stories want to wait until the finale for something like that. This anime is just a cute story of watching Takeo and Yamato bloom with their budding relationship. Yeah, I admit some of the stories can be a little boring. Sometimes the beginnings of romances have a slow-start before we get to the good stuff. But even when they’re doing little things, they’re just so cute to watch.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, HI-DIVE & Hulu Available for home video

17. Durarara!! (2010, 2015-2016)

This story is a complete cluster-fuck, but I don’t care. The stories that come from this anime and the characters make this one of my favorites. Durarara follows the strange stories that happen around the town of Ikebukuro with a headless motorcycle rider, super-human strengthed men, an internet troll who loves to mess with humans, otakus, a mad scientist, a parasitic carrier, and gangs of different sorts. But if you would ask me what’s my favorite thing about Durarara (because there’s a lot of random things for anyone to choose), it would of course be any time Shizuo Heiwajima is on the screen. This guy is just pure rage in a bartender’s outfit. He’s able to casually pick up and throw a vending machine at a person, he can punch the clothes off a guy’s body, and even kick a mid-sized car down the street.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu & Netflix Available for home video

16. Daily Lives of High School Boys (2012)

If you’re looking for something random and hilarious to watch, look no further with this one. Each episode has random segments, mostly featuring three boys, Tadakuni, Hidenori, and Yoshitake in some of the most absurd moments ever showcased in an anime. Just to name a few fun moments; being caught experimenting with women’s underwear, finding a clever way to kill a hornet (indirect kiss), intellectual talk with a cute girl, using your jacket as a soccer ball replacement, and how to unzip your fly without using your hands! That last one still confounds me. But the show also expands to other characters around school and town. I know this series is severely random to have a coherent plot, but sometimes I prefer randomness. And that’ll continue with the next entry!

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll Available for home video

15. Nichijou (2011)

Yet another random segment anime (only this time with girls)! I know the official title is “My Ordinary Life”, but there is nothing ordinary about an anime where you have a six year old professor, a talking robot girl that was created by the six-year old professor, a talking black cat, high school girls capable of body-flipping police officers, a young boy who rides a goat to school, a high school girl capable of firing a bazooka, and a principal who fights a deer. That last one is just epic! If for no other reason to watch Nichijou, just watch the scene where the principal fights a deer! Much like Daily Lives of High School Boys, this series relies more on the random shenanigans of many of these characters (but mostly the main three girls, Mio, Yuuko, and Mai). It’s silly and fun! Check it out and give this anime a little love. Because there’s no way it’s getting a second season (Japan showed no love for this one)!

Available to watch on: FUNimation Available for home video

14. ERASED (2016)

I don’t care what manga readers say, this was a fine anime, you anal-rententive fuck-wipes (soooo not sorry for that statement)! This murder-mystery captured my attention when it first aired. The story is about a man named Satoru who has this ability to go backwards in time (usually a few seconds or minutes) to prevent a tragedy from occurring. But after an incident involving his mother, he ends up going all the way back to his ten-year old body in 1988 in order to prevent a tragedy from his childhood. This included saving his classmate, Kayo from her premature demise. It was a catchy time-leaping mystery that would enthrall me week after week…up to a certain point. Yeah, you can already guess who the culprit was early on. But all the suspense leading up to this was still a great tale.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Hulu Available for home video

13. Panty & Stocking w/ Garterbelt (2010)

GAINAX, you wishy-washy, crazy-ass, can’t give a full conclusion to a story to save your life, leaving us on a decade-long cliffhanger bastards, YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN!

So this bizarre-ass anime is about two bitch-angels kicked out of Heaven, named Panty and Stocking. One likes to fuck men and the other gorges herself on sweets! In order to get back into Heaven, they must exterminate ghosts with the help of a black priest named Garterbelt, a fanboy named Briefs, and an Invader Zim knock-off named Chuck. And did I mention Panty and Stocking use their own lingere as weapons to take down ghosts? This story is balls-to-the-wall insane! And it gets crazier when you pop in the English dub! Dick jokes, fart jokes, and a whole lot of fucks! As any superhero show will do, this anime does stay to the villain of the episode trope with a few leeways here and there. This included a segment dedicated to the late Satoshi Kon and a music video. All of this leading to an ending NO ONE expected to happen leaving us on a cliffhanger that is now going on 10 years. Regardless, this absurdity in a thong is a treasure to behold. I would also advise not doing a drinking game whenever one of them says “Fuck”. You’d be dead by the end of the first episode!

Available to watch on: FUNimation Available for home video

12. Attack on Titan (2013, 2017-2019)

*singing incoherent Japanese*

YEAGER!!!

Get ready to get hooked on two of the catchiest opening themes of all time! I thought it was just about a young boy taking revenge on a race of titans for the death of his mother. No one expected there to be a twisted, messed-up origin to the titan race where the main character is connected to everything! That’s all my messy thoughts coming out after witnessing the climax portion. As for the rest of you, Eren Yeager’s world is turned upside-down when the town he lived in is demolished by titans. As a result, the entire town is demolished and left for dead and Eren watched as his mother is eaten by a titan. Eren ends up joining the Survey Corps along with his friends Armin and Mikasa to take down titans and prevent another town to suffer the same fate as Eren’s home.

Going into this anime, I SERIOUSLY thought this was going to be a comedy. You would too if you were going off of all the memes that emerged in 2013. But this anime takes a sharp left turn when Eren discovers a horrifying secret involving his own body. After that, this lead to more unbelievable discoveries involving people we all initially thought was the supporting cast. And this is as cryptic as I can be without delving into severe spoilers. The only way to get my meaning is if you watch this series. It’s just…WOW!

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Hulu, & Toonami Some seasons are available for home video

11. Kill la Kill (2013-2014)

A girl with a giant pair of scissors picking a fight with the main bitch at school, all the while wearing a sailor suit that talks to you! That is the balls-to-the-wall insanity Studio Trigger gives you in a show like this. Ryuko Matoi enrolls in Honnouji Academy in search of the person who murdered her father. There, she comes face-to-face with the potential murderer, Satsuki Kiryuin. Satsuki rules over Honnouji as she has a special uniform capable of giving her super-human strength. But what Satsuki doesn’t know is that Ryuko is about to get a special uniform to give her that as well. A talking sailor uniform named Senketsu helps Ryuko in her journey of finding her father’s murderer. Yeah, this series goes all-out with the special powers brought on by certain clothing. Then again, it’s Japan and fanservice is a must in at least 75% of animes! I mean, there are moments where Senketsu gets skimpier on Ryuko, not leaving much to the imagination. As absurdly off the wall this anime was, I enjoyed every frame of it and it’s easily one of Studio Trigger’s best works.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Netflix

10. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma (2015-2019)

You’d think with my picky-ass, I would have never watched an anime about cooking (and if my family is reading this, close this page now and play a wholesome game of shutting your gobs). But Food Wars never fails to increase my appetite. Yukihira Soma ends up in Japan’s most elite cooking school (with a 10% graduation rate) where he finds himself up against Japan’s and even the world’s greatest up and coming chefs. And every now and then, he ends up having to go up against one of these chefs in a cook-off known as a Shokugeki. If it wasn’t for the food orgasms, I would easily tell my cooking-show obsessed family members to watch this. I know no normal person would ever strip off all their clothes and have a raging orgasm when eating delicious food. But hey, it’s Japan! Gotta stick in fanservice somewhere! With inventive ways to spice up a regular dish, I may one day broaden my taste-buds into more exotic food-stuffs. Just, keep the peanut-butter squid away from me.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, HI-DIVE, Hulu, & Toonami Some seasons are available for home video

09. Your Lie in April (2014-2015)

Grab your tissues, children. We follow Kousei Arima as he regains his ability and passion for playing the piano with the thanks of new-found friend Kaori. What can I say about an anime that’s so beautifully animated with likeable characters and music to die for? OHHH…I shouldn’t have said that last thing! Yeah, the main character Kousei goes through quite a bit in his life dealing with the aftermath of his mother’s death and having to relive seeing someone he cares about die the same way. There’s just so much you wish would happen with these characters and watch as it’s dashed away during a Chopin piece. OHHH…I did it again! Well folks, if you’re into tear-bait and classical music, definitely watch Your Lie in April!

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu, & Netflix

08. The Promised Neverland (2019)

One of the newest entries with one of the most shocking first episodes in recent history! I know in the past decade we got a lot of first episode hookers like Attack on Titan, but if you came in this blind-folded, get ready for a trip. We follow orphan children Emma, Ray, and Norman as they plan to escape their home before they become food for hungry demons. In a weird way, this anime is almost like the 2000 film Chicken Run. I know I’m not the first person to think that up, but yeah, gotta say it here. This was one of my favorite animes of this year and I was hooked week by week with what was going to happen next. It got so intense that immediately after the series ended, I picked up the manga to find out what happens next. And let me tell you, it gets more insane after the events of episode 12. But one thing that always astounded me was watching all of these kids plot an escape so elaborate when all of them range from ages 6-12.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu

07. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (2017)

What would you do if you opened the door one morning and found a dragon standing outside? Not just that but what would you do if you were living with more than one dragon and you now find yourself hanging around other dragons?! Kobayashi’s world changes for the better as she meets a dragon (named Tohru) that loves her so much that she would happily become her maid. And given the stigma for eons between humans and dragons, this series we see cute interactions with humans and dragons. Up to a point that it feels like all these characters are becoming family! There’s a dragon named Fafnir who finds humans horrible people, but ends up changing for the better when he finds himself hanging with a human that plays video games and creates manga. But I’m always so drawn to the relationship of Tohru and Kobayashi. Kobayashi was never really close to her family and when she moved away she mostly spends her nights drinking alone. But once Tohru and Kanna move in, it’s always a fun day with their cute shenanigans. It’s definitely brought Kobayashi out of her shell and gave her a family of dragons to live with.

And there’s this cute little dragon named Kanna! She’s so cute and adorable! Look at her nom at just everything she eats. She’s so adorable! Who’s a cute wittle dragon? Yes you are! Yes you are!

As a final note in this particular entry, I want to mention one particular member of the staff. Yasuhiro Takemoto! This man was the director for Miss Kobayashi, as well as many other animes from Kyoto Animation and I feel the need to thank this man for all the hard work he had done. I’m thankful for all of your work in the anime community and we miss you.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Funimation Available for home video

06. Pokemon XY (2013-2016)

It might be cheating a bit to put a Pokemon series on this list since they’ve been around since 1997. But it’s not a continuous shot like Detective Conan and One Piece, so I’m counting the XY arc for this list. Even though this series didn’t show me my favorite character and it gave me a shipping that’s worse than Herpes (with a cult for that ship that’s on par with MAGA), this was one of the best arcs to the Pokemon series. And I was excited for this series when it first came out because with the introduction of Mega Evolution, I was hoping for Ash to delve into that. While Ash wasn’t the one using Mega Evolutions, we did see him grow more through a synchronization method with Greninja that brought about so much in terms of battling. Just to name a few awesome moments with these two, he took down an iceburg pokemon, went toe-to-toe with a champion, and even made it all the way to the finals of the Pokemon League. Now did he win that league? That’s not important! What is important is that these were some of the best moments this series had to offer.

But it wasn’t just Ash we followed, but an anime-only character introduced named Alain as we followed his journey to becoming stronger through Mega Evolution. It felt risky following a different person for 5 or more episodes (without mentioning Ash), but it was all worth it when we came to the climax of the series when Team Flare came from the shadows. Listen guys, I know Pokemon has given some disappointing seasons before (especially the arc prior to XY), but if there’s any season you should watch, it’s definitely this one.

Also, Rica Matsumoto sings this one song called XYZ. I don’t know if you all have heard this song, but I think you should. It’s so bad ass and always pops up in some of Ash’s best battles in this series…in the Japanese version! I love it so much that I always feel the need to bring up XYZ whenever I talk about this arc.

Available to watch on: Disney XD, Hulu, & Pokemon TV Available for home video

05. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)

I will always be a sucker for magical girl animes. Especially since Sailor Moon was the very first anime I watched fully! But Madoka Magica was…different and edgier. The premise is that a cute, white animal asks you to form a contract with it so you can become a magical girl. Magical girls defeat witches that cause havoc! Better read the fine-print on the contract ladies, because what the little rat doesn’t tell you is that you eventually become a witch yourself and will end up dying a horrible death, thus repeating the cycle. This anime would always leave me in a state of awe when watching it, whether it was the shocking deaths or the clever animation used when a witch emerges. But when you’ve got Shaft Studios animating this, expect some trippy moments. I think it’s because episode 3 was a big turning point that many of us were caught off guard by what happened and were scared of what happens next. Although thanks to Madoka, many other magical girl animes are following down the same path and trying to make it edgier. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I gotta say Madoka has definitely set the bar on edgy magical girl shows.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu Available for home video

04. Violet Evergarden (2018)

Prior to this anime’s release, Kyoto Animation had a reputation for putting out anime that was geared to the “moe” genre. But with recent releases of A Silent Voice, Miss Kobayashi, and Violet Evergarden, their style has evolved into something I can’t describe in just one sentence. This anime is just beautiful to look at. The animation is just stunning, look at it. Now, I was a bit turned-off by the main character of this series, Violet. First of all, she literally looks like Saber from the Fate series and has arms that rival Ed Elric of FMA. Secondly, her almost robotic personality really turned me off. But it wasn’t until later in the series where we watch her interact with the people she was helping in each episode that made me truly appreciate what she’s doing.

Violet was once used as a tool for war and would always obey her commanding officer. But once the war was over, she found herself as an “Auto Memories Doll” where she’s writing letters people want to send to someone. Many of these episodes, we watch her see the world outside of the war and hell she was put through in her past. Her words were able to bring people together, heal two fighting nations, bring a family closer together, give closure to a grieving family member, and so much more. Add to that, this series gave out one of the most heart-breaking episodes I’ve ever watched in anime. It made me ugly-cry and that rarely happens! Not just me, but litereally everyone who ever watched this episode, but also Violet herself. This episode (that’s episode 10) was like the first time where she felt actual human emotions for anyone other than the person she once loved. This episode felt like a turning point in how I felt about Violet as well as the show in general.

I feel I have to say a little more on this entry. This anime is without a doubt, the most beautifully animated anime of this entire decade (despite what OTHERS have to say). And it couldn’t have gotten that way without the talented folks at Kyoto Animation. I can’t express enough how much I’m blown away by this series. Only now when I think about it, I get horribly depresssed due to the recent tragedy that struck KyoAni. Only now, do I appreciate all the hard work to put this masterpiece into action. And I wish it didn’t take me until a tragedy to watch this anime. But I’m glad I was able to watch Violet Evergarden. And I wish for you all to take the time to do the same!

Available to watch on: Netflix

03. Assassination Classroom (2015-2016)

Stand. Bow. Kill your sensei! Middle school students being trained by professional assassins to take down a yellow-tentacled monster (who is also their teacher)! These students must assassinate their teacher within one year, otherwise the world will blow up. Now I had my reservations watching a cast this big! I mean, we’re watching an entire 28-person class try to shoot their teacher. Thankfully, I didn’t grow to be annoyed by the concept like with Negima. I loved nearly all of the students and remembered many of them. One of the biggest drawing points with me is that, all of these students were seen as the ones to give up on. They were in the lowest-level class where school, family, and society have just given up on these children. Being in a much similar situation in middle school, I can relate. That’s why when I saw someone like Koro-sensei teach these kids so much more in the world of academics, it made me happy to see these kids have someone to look up to. Many of these episodes were fun to watch. Koro-sensei is a laugh-riot sometimes when the class has to do an activity together. Add to that, one of the hardest to watch goodbyes in recent history. For a good laugh and a good cry, Assassination Classroom is the way to go.

Available to watch on: FUNimation & Hulu Available for home video

02. Yuri on Ice!!! (2016)

AAAAAAHHHHHHH! *random screeching noises*

Why yes I love this series! It is so beautiful. I wish to see more of this in the future. I would like for Viktor to have Yuri’s babies. Don’t at me! I didn’t expect this series to give the female viewers an actual loving relationship between two of the main male characters. But halfway into the series, we get the kiss that cemented the deal. So besides the gay relationship, we’ve also got a beautiful soundtrack, animation that’s stunningly gorgeous, a story about an underdog working his way to receive a gold medal with the help of his hot, Russian coach…God, I just love this anime!

I’m a sucker for a root for the underdog story. And Yuri Katsuki definitely fits that description! Before Viktor came along, he was coming off of a humiliating defeat at a previous competition where he came in dead-last. But throughout the series, we watch Viktor mold Yuri into something audience members have overlooked in this boy. Viktor taught Yuri what love really is in more ways than one. But Yuri isn’t a total zero-to-hero in a span of 12 episodes, but at times he does come damn-near close. Every week, I’m amazed at how much Studio MAPPA put so much effort into this. While the quality did take a slight dip in some of the final episodes, so much has happened before that I’m willing to let that go. Watch Yuri attempt at making history with Yuri on Ice.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & FUNimation Available for home video

Before I get to my anime of the decade, how about I quickly do my TOP 10 ANIME MOVIES OF THE DECADE? No commentary, just announcing them quickly.

10. The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014)

09. When Marnie Was There (2014)

08. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)

07. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)

06. Kizumonogatari (2016-2017)

05. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010)

04. Pokemon: I Choose You (2017)

03. Your Name (2016)

02. A Silent Voice (2016)

01. Wolf Children (2012)

CLOSE CALLS FOR THE LISTS: Black Lagoon – Roberta’s Blood Trail, Sailor Moon Crystal, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Fate/Zero & Fate/stay night: UBW, Angel Beats, The Wind Rises, Parasyte, One Punch Man, Aggretsuko, Steins;Gate, Inu x Boku SS, and Dragon Ball Super.

And now, #1…oh, you should already know what it is by now. One of my favorite animes came back with the vengeance in 2019 that no other anime can touch it. Rightfully so! You know it, I know it, let’s get it over with! So say it with me now, three, two, one…

01. Fruits Basket: 1st Season (2019)

Thank you! Just…thank you! In a time where I hate reboots, this one was handled with the utmost care. What can I say about this anime that everyone else hasn’t said already? This anime is like warm soup on a cold day. The nice pick-me-up when you had a shitty day on the job! That beautiful rainbow you see after a rain shower!

Coming upon a family with a terrible secret, there’s much hesitation on who (if any) can be let in without being hurt. Tohru Honda accidentally learned of the Sohma family secret, where if one of them is hugged by someone of the opposite sex, they’re turned into an animal from the Chimese Zodiac. These people have had to live with this stigma their entire lives. Because of this, relationships are put in turmoil, obtaining friends was damn-near impossible, and everyone has to be on a constant state of worry in case their secret comes out. But Tohru loves and accepts everyone, no matter what. In many of these episodes, we see Tohru reach out to the members of the Sohma family to tell them that she sees the good in them and that they are loved. To reach out to the hurt, silent tiger, Kisa! To reach out to the mentally-scarred rat, Yuki! To reach out to the heart-broken dragon, Hatori! And to give a hug to Momiji…when his momma won’t!

All of these individual stories always gets to me! Even re-told, these stories have improved 100%! And in some cases like Ritsu’s story, done better than the original! I watched the original story God-knows how many times! But with the remake, I found myself re-watching random episodes in my off-time when I should be watching something else. I always have to go back to watching everything from this series. From the good and the sad! From the ultra-laughable moments, to the jaw-dropping moments! In a time where many of us yearn to be accepted for who we are, an anime like this feels absolutely necessary. I know it might be biased of me to pick something from this year and cheating a bit considering at the beginning of the decade I was heavily into the original series. Regardless, this is still my pick for Best Anime of the 2010’s.

Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu