#Umi rants

[uminohotaru]

Journey to the Land of the Gods

Banana Fish spoilers warning!

I'm late to the party but yeah, I just finished Banana Fish if you know what I mean. And maybe my heart would rather switch to smth else now and heal but my brain won't stop thinking about that story. So I feel the need to rant into the void, at least. I have no idea whether there are Banana Fish fans among my subscribers but if you haven’t seen it, I really REALLY recommend you watch this masterpiece, and that you better scroll this post without glancing under the cut since I'm going to analyze the end. Or rather, why could that story have had no other ending. 

And it all has probably been said and discussed a thousand times but hey, I’ve told ya I’m late to the party, and I haven’t read any thorough analyses except those in the youtube comments below random videos, so now I need my own chance to rant. 

During my short journey through the BF content (finally I can google it all I want without being afraid of the spoilers yay!) I came across different opinions on the ending. Mostly pain, of course, but then it’s either acceptance or denial. My first reaction was violent denial. But funny thing, as much as I wanted to immediately forget the Garden of Light and drown myself in fix-it AUs (the latter, I still do read), I realized quite soon that I can’t. That no matter how painful it is, the original ending is the thing that MAKES SENSE. No, Ash dying like that wasn’t something that had been decided on for the sake of shock, as some of the most bitter opinions I came across accused. Neither it devaluates the whole struggle and his final decision to leave to Japan with Eiji and have a normal life. No, there was something a lot deeper there, I realized once I’d cried my eyes out. As heartbroken as I was, I just couldn’t bring myself to hate it and reject it, and I tend to do that with the endings I do not like, as it happened with some other stories that I rejected with my whole heart and even devoted a good amount of my time to write the fix-its for. But strangely enough, it was not the case with Banana Fish. Its finale just makes sense. In fact, it makes so much sense that I’d go as far as to say that this whole story is the story of a journey to death which stemmed from the image of the leopard’s inscrutable journey to the summit of Kilimanjaro, the House of Gods. I can almost see the author being captivated with that image, and as someone who’s been writing from the young age I know that often (not always but still) you start the story from its finale. You take some resulting picture that for some reason appeared in your head and mesmerised you, and begin to unravel it, like an investigator: what could have happened? who are those people? why did they end up like this? Of course, it is only my assumptions but if I allow myself to guess, I’ll say the entire character of Ash, him being the wild cat, has originated exactly from that short excerpt of Hemingway. 

Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Masai "Ngaje Ngai," the House of God. Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.

The concept is here. It was never a question whether Ash dies, it was the question of how and why he dies. Just like the riddle he’s been pondering on—what was the leopard doing near the summit? What did it seek there? Was it climbing or trying to descend? And that in either case, it must have realized it won’t return. The direct parallel to that leopard, in the end Ash finds the answers to all those questions for himself, on his own journey to the Land of the Gods.

The Japanese characters for the name Izumo literally mean “out of the clouds,” evoking images of a place where the seen and the unseen worlds blur together.

Long before there was a Kyoto or Nara, this region was the center of what was known as Shinkoku, the Country of the Gods.

This is no coincidence. Japan in Banana Fish, and for Ash especially, is the image of the world untouched by the evil where you don’t need a gun, rather than a real country with the same amount of evil and dirt as any other. The fact that Eiji describes it as the country where there are 80 thousand gods, and that he is from Izumo, the Land of the Gods, of all places, makes the spiritual connotation all the more evident. The white peak of Kilimanjaro soaring over the wild jungle, an impossible image of two different worlds in one--there could not have been a better symbolism. Ash, the character who in one of the early episodes says, “I’ve never repented, not even once”, cannot even imagine himself in such a world, just like the sinner can’t seriously think about paradise, or a leopard about climbing a snow-clad peak, so of course his immediate reaction is “Are you nuts? me in Japan? what I’d be even doing there?” But the invitation is there. And deep inside, he realizes that yes, he wants that. To be with Eiji, the angel, in his Land of the Gods. Yet his hands are stained with blood. He's been ruined and tainted in most horrible ways. Is it even possible? But what Eiji sees is his beautiful, fragile, wounded soul, and he says—yes, of course you can, and I will take you there, let’s begin with learning the language. This is when it starts—Ash’s journey from the jungle and toward the summit, toward the Land of the Gods. Or well, that’s when it becomes more or less a conscious decision. And maybe that is also when he realizes it will probably cost him his life. 

He tries to stop and turn back, more than once. Tries to convince himself that he will never belong there, that his fate is to be just another scum on these streets, in the world he has learned how to survive in, his jungle. Just as, more than once, he understands that no, he would rather die on his way to that summit, having decided to take this journey—but die with love, rather than remain in the jungle, even as the king, but empty inside. He has seen the white summit of Kilimanjaro above the wild forest, and that’s it—he can’t tear his eyes off it. 

He learns to repent. He learns to pray. And he even takes the ultimate step—asking God to take him in place of Eiji. Just like Aslan from Narnia, a representation of Christ, he learns such a deep love that he willingly choses to sacrifice himself for another; and it’s not to say he couldn’t sacrifice himself for his friends earlier—he could, risking his life constantly to save others, not exactly cherishing it too much to begin with. But his bargain, for the lack of a better word, with God in ep.23 was something different. It was a conscious offering, a prayer to the God whom he wouldn’t even consider asking for anything earlier, the scarred soul that he is—take me instead of him. Not in the mess of the fight, say, covering Eiji with his body from a bullet, but through a prayer, in the quiet hours on his knees before that window basked in the rays of light. The difference between an act and a prayer in that sense is the difference between one moment and eternity. I'm offering myself in his place, give him the divine protection, change his fate, please God--I'm willing to pay the price. It is different.

Eiji who had a 50% chance of surviving, I believe, survived exactly because of that, at least we can say that it was implied. Ash’s spiritual journey, from being the one who “never once repented”, through finding the spirit to hope and to say I want that, please take me to the Land of the Gods, and to finally offering himself in place of the one he loves—that journey is simply amazing. 

That's why his life could not be taken simply in the mess of the fight. Narratively it would have diminished that huge journey. So he defeats the strongest enemies and survives. Like Cain says, Ash will only die if he brings it on himself. The leopard dies near the summit, but you are not a leopard, you can choose—says Eiji. And we truly can say that Ash chooses to die—from a non-lethal wound (which is more clear in the manga.) Even then, God leaves him the chance to reconsider, to return to the jungle and lick his wounds. In a way, he is safe while he stays in the jungle. But once he tries to reach Eiji, to reach the Land of the Gods, after that prayer, it is no longer so as if fate says, you've exchanged your life for his, that's it. So Ash chooses to pay and to die, and he dies on his own terms to an extent—in the peace of that library, the only place in the “jungle” that has always been his refuge, a part of another world, and he dies smiling—which implies it is not the Grim Reaper who comes for him unlike back then in the hospital, bringing dead calmness devoid of any pain as well as of joy. No, what Ash sees in that moment is some beautiful and happy scenery, so we can say that yes, he sees the Land of the Gods, his paradise where their souls are together, the exact scene from the ED2. He dies, but he ends up reaching it.

So why does Ash, not the logic of the narrative, choose death? For one, this is his part of the bargain with God: and when he is attacked exactly at the moment when he finally runs to reunite with Eiji, he realizes that. Eiji has been able to live on because Ash offered himself instead. And he should have died exactly because he covered Ash with his body, exactly because there is a price for him staying in the jungle, as well as for Ash breaking from the jungle, and from the beginning, Eiji took multiple risks and he took that last bullet meant for Ash, too, because basically his very residence in Ash’s world was the act of his love and desire to save Ash. So of course, he does. But Eiji does more than just saving his life, he saves his soul—since in the end he provides the chance for Ash to say nope, I will not have that, I will ask God to save you and take me instead. Just like Aslan the lion's sacrifice that results in his rebirth. The pinnacle of his spiritual journey, his ticket to the plane going to the Land of the Gods. No, we couldn’t have had Japan as the real 3D country in this story. We simply couldn't.

...One of the distinguishing features of Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine: the shimenawa, or immense straw rope hanging from side to side in the front. The Kaguraden building shimenawa is the largest of its kind in Japan, measuring eight meters in diameter at its largest hanging parts.

It is a reflection of the main god enshrined here, Okuninushi-no-Okami, the god of human relationships. The Japanese word for this is enmusubi, which we can translate literally as “bound fate.” 

[oyster-sauce-tart]

oh god can ppl please tag imposter au

[umihoshi]

I guess I'm spoiled with good anime. there's nothing really grabbing me this season... (I say as I continue like 15 of them)

Akuyaku reijou lv 99

Yubisaki to Renren

Dungeon Meshi

Loop 7-Kaime

30-sai made Dotei

Majo to Yajuu

Gekai Elise

mahou shoujo akogare

Himesama goumon no jikan desu

momochi-san chi no ayakashi ouji

kyuujitsu no warumono-san

nozomanu fushi no boukensha

isekai de mofumofu nadenade

oroka na tenshi wa akuma to odoru

nothing can outweigh my absolute love of this season:

The dangers in my heart season 2 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

they need to get married this instant, they're such idiots omg, I'm gonna puke rainbows

[starry-milkshake-fan]

Why I hate Umi Monogatari (and how’ll I’ll fix it)

We follow 2 magical girls named Marin and Kanon, one from the sea and one from the sky.

Marin’s little sister Urin also comes to the sky.

it started out good, the first episode was a good way to introduce the characters, despite the fact they don’t get their powers until episode 2, the episode was fun and enjoyable.

episode 2 was fun, I loved their transformations and Kanon’s hair is amazing, however I hate Matsumoto, i’ll get into that later.

episode 3 was my favourite episode, it was funny and had good development for Kanon, also Urin’s hair was cute, I love her pigtails, it also had the best battle in my opinion.

episode 4 was okay, Warin and Sam are fun characters, Matsumoto dragged this episode down, I feel bad for Urin, Marin x Kanon is amazing but I hate how they didn’t make them canon.

episode 5 was okay, I love how the eclipse made Marin act different, I felt bad for Urin despite the fact she was being a bit rude, spooky ring at the end.

episode 6 was the beginning of the downfall, “emo” Urin was boring, also I found the ending scene to be funny, though Kanon was amazing, I love Kanon a lot.

episode 7 was horrible, I get why Marin wanted to be alone but she was being a bit reckless, Urin is trapped in a cocoon and is going to be in it for a couple of episodes.

episode 8 was adorable during the flashbacks, but it fell off after a bit, Urin is still stuck and Marin couldn’t save Urin, but the shield made me laugh, it wasn’t serious in my eyes.

episode 9 was extremely boring, Marin regaining her powers was amazing though, also Kojima is boring in my opinion, I did not feel any threat at the end.

episode 10 was funny, Urin’s butterfly form was horrible, I liked her personality in this episode though, it’s a shame it changes in the next episode, I prefer her more sinister side.

episode 11 was annoying, Ichikawa, Warin and Sam’s corrupted sides were bland, Urin had another personality change and Sedna was the sorrow in their hearts despite the fact she can talk, this is very awful.

episode 12 was AWFUL, I liked Urin’s new form and the updated opening and also Marin and Kanon’s confession but the ending sucked, Sedna is confusing and Urin HAS ANOTHER PERSONALITY CHANGE WTF?!?!, also the separation bullshit at the end, I fucking hate this.

the designs suck as well

Urin’s design is so awful that I made a redesign, her outfit is extremely revealing for A CHILD, A FUCKING CHILD! her hair also sucks, I prefer her pigtails, it looks better, also when her eyes are blank they look so fucking horrible, also I hate her tiny eyebrows.

Marin was okay but her bangs are weird.

Kanon would be fine…if it wasn’t for the weird hair, her hair is so weird, I hate her hair.

Marin’s miko design was cute.

Kanon’s miko design is fine but…those boots are horrible.

Urin’s evil design was bad, it’s just her with red eyes and butterfly wings, her episode 12 design was better but her outfit still sucks.

the rest of the designs also suck ass, my eyes were in pain. (besides the lady who sang the song, I liked her)

the music was fine, wasn’t a fan of the ending theme but the opening was good, I prefer the episode 12 version though.

some of the background music was okay but some of it felt too calm for the scene or was too overwhelming and I couldn’t focus on the scene properly.

now onto the OVA

IT’S FUCKING FILLER! THESE CHARACTERS DID NOTHING! THE SEA CHARACTERS JUST RETURN AN ANIMAL TO IT’S FAMILY! NOT IMPORTANT!

Kanon was boring in this OVA, Urin has reverted back to episode 1 Urin, I fucking hate this.

the OVA sucked, I honestly wish this wasn’t made, it serves nothing to this story.

now…

here’s how I’ll fix it

first, rename Urin to Rin, Rin is a better name and Urin…don’t add an e after that, WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE

fix the designs please, mostly Urin’s design, I hate it, and maybe make Urin’s evil design different, don’t just give her red eyes and slap wings on her.

please no more fanservice, it was creepy and weird.

make better music also, I’d recommend lowering the volume of some of the music (but make it a bit a louder in the soundtrack so people can listen to it) I couldn’t focus on some scenes due to the music.

make Sedna a spirit rather than the darkness of people’s hearts, that plot twist made no sense.

let Marin and Kanon visit each other because that parting scene sucked.

Matsumoto needs to be erased, he makes the show worse and isn’t even a good mentor.

same with Ichikawa, remove her, she serves no purpose.

Kojima sucked, don’t keep him, the romance drama is fucking awful.

Ooshima deserves better so please do more with her rather than just simping for Kojima.

Suzuki is fun so keep her.

also make Miyako less annoying, I hated her.

also keep a personality for Urin, her personality changes a lot and I hated that.

have the weird lady who sings that song be more of a character, I actually liked her. (also she had the best design) and also what if she was Sedna, that’d be cool.

make Warin and Sam do more please, I want more from these 2.

and lastly…please make Marin x Kanon canon, I love these 2 and we need more yuri that isn’t just making them objects for men’s pleasure.

this concludes my rant, Umi Monogatari: a fresh new story will be worked on, I’ve already finished Rin’s normal design so I’ll be uploading that soon, until then…stay safe everyone and goodbye :)

[umi-adxhira]

TWTPTFLOB WITH AN ADORED SIBLING

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Other than Jeremy and Roxana, we don't really see them interating with the other siblings as someone they love, so what if they had a sibling they cared. Only doing Roxana, Jeremy and Dion because I can

I. ROXANNA AGRICHE

Despite the fact that she loves you, she keeps you at arm's length, similar to Jeremy

Since Ashil died, you were the only fully blood related sibling she had, sharing the same ruby red eyes, so naturally she'd want to keep you close

She would try to keep you safe from the rest of her siblings, often behind the scenes, so you wouldn't know it comes from her

She had a stuffed bear Ashil gave to her when she was young, and she gave it to you a few years ago to keep Ashil with you forever

She does your hair, regardless of your gender. Brushing it gives a sense of calmness to her

II. JEREMY AGRICHE

We've all seen how he acts with Roxana, and it's no different with you, even more so since you're fully related

After your mother killed herself, he stays attached to the hip to you, so you don't leave like she did

Buys you stuff whenever he goes put on missions, since you don't go out as much

You are often the victim of his ranting, either whining about the blue bastard or his older half brother, he tells you almost everything

Will proudly flaunt everything you make him. Whether it's a hoodie or a flower crown, he will brag to everyone in a 50-meter radius

III. DION AGRICHE

Doesn't stay around you too much. He sometimes looks your way if you're in his peripheral vision

He does care about you, quite a lot. You spent a lot of time together as kids, until he had to go outside for missions, then you both sorta drifted apart

His way of loving is not letting you get irritated or hurt by your other siblings, also without your knowledge

He also buys you trinkets on his missions if they remind him of you. You'll randomly go back to your room to find a cute red hair clip with a small jewelled butterfly, knowing full well he's the one that bought it for you

Also sneaks you sweets when you had to watch your weight when you both were younger. At night, he'd sneak into your room with a hand full of sweets, and you'd eat them together. Now he just hands them to you in the halls and leaves abruptly

©️umi-adxhira [06/11/2024]

[romiantic]

DATING THE SPIDER CREW

��� INCLUDING hobie, gwen, miles, miguel

→ READING: black!fem!reader

→ GENRE + WARNINGS: fluff + ooc for gwen

→ A/N: ngl gwen + miles was my fav to write <3

𖦹 ₊˚. HOBIE BROWN

— when I think of hobie with his black partner, I usually think of opposites attract but with a hint of alt. like you would be an earthy person or a pink person and you’re just wandering town with your tall, punk bf. but you guys match so well, you guys compliment each other’s features and everybody (jokingly) question how you two ended together

— hobie very touchy-feely with his partners. I can imagine him teasing you any time, any day. you two could be chilling with tv playing in the back and here he goes leaving his hands on your stomach or poking your thighs. also, hobie is not super specific on who he dates, he’s a personality over looks type of person

— dating hobie is quite interesting but in a good way! very adventurous, daring, colorful? yeah colorful! when I say this, I mean trashing the rich neighborhoods, spray painting your initials with a heart on random walls, and sneaking into concerts. especially late night, this man’s energy is on ten when the moon is out but it’s all spent on you, don’t worry <3

— hobie can be loving and such a tease. like he’ll pull you in for a kiss and walk away out of nowhere ?? he finds your reactions hilarious and won’t stop teasing you cause of it, it’s too much fun for him. for example, he’ll start touching you softly, massaging your shoulders, you’ll lean into the touch and he just stops. like he’ll keep going until you’re too into it and then let go out of nowhere….pls I can’t stand him

— his favorite pastime is swinging through the city with you in his arms. it’s so much fun and the adrenaline he gets from it escalates by ten. especially when he faked to drop you but catch it right after, it gets him going and keeps him laughing until you end up on a random rooftop

— hobie also likes to take lots of pictures! I can see him always sneaking a pic when you’re not looking and definitely having a huge collection of polaroid photos. these photos are precious to him, it’s like him having small pieces of you everywhere he goes <3

— hobie can be very chill as well. hobie isn’t always down for adventures and some days he just wanna do what you’re into or just chill with you. he’ll tune his guitar and strum something new, lay on your thighs and let you rant on whatever obsession you have or how your day is going

LOVE LANGUAGE: physical touch !

𖦹 ₊˚. GWEN STACY

— dating gwen is very mellow, she has her moments of excitement but rarely. at first gwen shy herself away and was quite hard to break apart, she would only communicate through her music or body language

— not gonna lie, communication with gwen is quite rough but does require patience. she’s not a girl of many words unless you’re close with her or she’s ultimately at her breaking point. but with you, she does try more and more to speak out how she feels; her small sentences become longer and she doesn’t bottle up everything to scream into a pillow

— gwen would try to find a spot during her time as spidergirl to find new spots for you two to hang out at (while still fighting crime). her go to would be new pizza places, thrift shops, or rooftops of restaurants, the aroma of food puts her at ease

— being a music lover would mean gwen showing you her extensive collection of music. her range is large but it is quite fascinating, it can go from pop punk to conscious rap. she does indulge in rnb (sometimes) but more on the sabrina claudio, umi, and Q type of rnb, like indie rnb

— for hair, gwen can be quite indecisive so asking her on what to get next won’t be the best idea. she think protective styles + wigs are so creative and can get overwhelmed on what would look best on you. the best she can do is pick three of the best options sorry :(

— intimacy with gwen is very important to her, whether it be cuddling while watching a movie or playing with each other’s fingers. it gives gwen a sense of serenity that she always longs for and can’t live without. especially working as spider girl, that piece of serenity can ease her nerves. she reminds herself of the calming days you two share with each other

LOVE LANGUAGE: quality time !

𖦹 ₊˚. MILES MORALES

— dating miles is like living in a rom com movie. he’s so dorky, so cute, but also funny. dating miles is like taking a long walk on flower field, he makes you feel ecstatic, happy, blissful even

— because miles is a bit of a dork, he can get a bit slow on things you talk to him about (especially girl things). when you first explained what a period is he didn’t take it well and thought it was some disease only girls had. oh goodness miles-

— another difficult thing to explain to him is hair, he knows something about protective styles but not much. you don’t have to explain the difference of a loc and a braid but you do have to point out to him the difference between butterfly locs and soft locs. he’ll get the difference soon, don't worry!

— like gwen, miles is a music lover so he always singing whenever he’s around and not picky to music either. this boy can go from singing Billie Holiday to Ice Spice, I don’t know how tbh. btw, miles is definitely an ice spice stan ! but also, you and miles going to concerts (local or stadium) could be become a very consistent thing, consider it y’all favorite dates <3

— miles has a lot of playlist for scenarios of the both of you. scenarios of y’all first kiss, dancing at homecoming, y’all first argument, talking a walk through the busy streets of brooklyn, playing video games, etc. I promise you, if he thought about it, there’s definitely a playlist for it

— chill days with miles would consist of playing music through his record player, going record shopping, or watching old cartoons. on some days, if miles is too tired he’ll plop on your bed and just sleep away until you wake him up for dinner. the boy goes through a lot everyday, please don’t mind him

— there are times when miles does get quite stressed but doesn’t really know how to explain until he’s at his breaking point. the weight of being a good student, a good son, and spiderman can be too much to bear and can potentially crush him. therefore he will go silent some days and become more slumped throughout the day, he tries to hide it with a smile but couldn’t last once he was in your room. seeing him at such vulnerable moments made you see a different side of miles; fragile, small, and more open

LOVE LANGUAGE: acts of service + words of affirmation

𖦹 ₊˚. MIGUEL O’HARA

— not gonna lie, dating miguel is like having another parent as a boyfriend. he can be quite nagging but in a loving way, like he won’t pester you too much but does want better for you. he’ll talk with about your health, whether physical or mental, communication between the both of you, and even set boundaries for the relationship. it’s the bare minimum I know, but it’s something miguel cares about deeply

— miguel can actually be quite affectionate. when there isn’t much to do on both of your agendas, he’ll have you both laid out on the couch just holding you still and peppering kisses to your neck and face

— there are a lot of quiet times with miguel, he gets too deep into his thoughts and think about all the terrible mistakes he has made. the loss of his family, the disaster he has caused, they all come tumbling down and leaves him more like a villain than a hero. as much as he loves being spiderman, the consequences weigh on him heavy, so please comfort him when he’s unusually quiet or distant

— I feel like miguel is the perfect person when it comes to hair, like he has some sort of secret power for hair. some odd reason, his choice of protective styles for you are always perfect and you look so good after your appointment!

— miguel loves loves loves throwing out compliments! any time, any random day, he’ll call you “gorgeous”, “beautiful”, “princess”, and any other compliments in his native tongue. miguel adores the way your face heats up and your face glowing when he compliments you, your reactions brighten his day/night more

— this man loves to cook as well! he loves cooking food in his culture and loves even more when he shares it with you. not gonna lie, he does pride on being your favorite cook but then again the amazing aroma of his cooking always have your stomach flipping

— if things get too stressful or worrisome, miguel would book a vacation for the both of you, local or out of state, he doesn’t mind. his go to for vacation are always a beach house on an island to enjoy the outdoors or the countryside of a European country

LOVE LANGUAGE: words of affirmation

⭑ EEEEEEK THESE ARE ALL SO CUTE IDC IDC

⭑ there’s def gonna be a part 2 for prowler!miles cause I don’t have anything written for him yet….

𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐃 💗: Ephesians 4:32

SPIDERMAN: ATSV MASTERLIST + MAIN MASTERLIST

© 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟥 𝗉𝗇𝗄𝗐𝖾𝖻. 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗏𝖾𝖽

[masodemic]

[Eroica Musical Rant] The Case of the Missing Caesar Gabriel and the Character Assassination of Tyrian Persimmon

(Series masterlist)

When the Eroica Stage Show Twitter began announcing their casting choices, there was one in particular that shook an entire fandom: Tyrian Persimmon.

Or rather, it wasn’t so much about who played him, and more about the fact that he is played. Although Tyrian is the protagonist of El Halcon and Nanatsu no Umi, Nanatsu no Sora, by the time of Eroica, Tyrian is long dead and almost entirely forgotten, save for a very flattering portrait.

And that’s all Tyrian ever is in Eroica: a gorgeous painting, a MacGuffin. He, as a character, plays no role at all in this story. So why, for the love of Aoike, is there an actor playing Tyrian? For about a month leading up to the performance, my Eroica discord was confused and concerned as to wth they would use Tyrian for. Like is he going to pop out of the painting and sing? Are they trying to ride off the success of the Takarazuka Revue’s El Halcon?

After having watched the full show and spent sleepless nights contemplating, turns out the answer has to do with a character we’ve all sorta forgotten about as a fandom: Caesar Gabriel.

Caesar Gabriel

If you remember reading Eroica for the first time, you might remember that the first chapters were told from the perspective of and in relation to Caesar Gabriel – super-genius university professor at age 18, Art History expert, who's extremely frail, innocent and naïve. It was through Caesar that we as the audience were introduced to the fascinating specimen that is Dorian Red Gloria AKA Eroica. Who takes an interest in him, and whisks him away in a dramatic – illegal – fashion before letting him go, already hopelessly in love.

In the second chapter, Iron Klaus, it was due to Dorian’s effort to bargain and rescue Caesar from Klaus that they end up with a tank on their tail. Thus, beginning Dorian and Klaus' enemies-and-lovers relationship. Afterwards, Caesar is never seen or mentioned again.

So, although Caesar Gabriel might have been written purely as a functional character, his role is important in those chapters.

Caesar fills the role of the proxy through which Dorian is introduced in all of his … Gloria? By using a second-person point-of-view, Dorian first comes off as mysterious, unpredictable, and almost other-worldly. Audiences get to see Dorian’s IMPACT first, and it draws them in to this wildly charismatic character before diving into him in later chapters and arcs.

By removing a functional character, the musical has to compensate the plot-holes that the character filled. And they did that, by reviving Tyrian Persimmon from the painting. But hey before any Tyrian stan gets too excited, they gave him the personality of Caesar Gabriel. Let me tell you why this is bad.

First of all, because Caesar is the POV for the 1st chapter of the manga, it’s almost impossible to reconcile his absence. So, they skipped it. Which … fine, whatever. The big issue, though, comes up in Dorian’s plan to get the 2-in-1 painting.

In the second chapter, Iron Klaus, Dorian and Klaus meet for the first time and decide that they despise each other. Klaus refuses to sell Dorian The Man in Purple. So Dorian, being Dorian, decides that if he can’t obtain it the legal way, he has no qualm with obtaining it the illegal way. Sensing that Dorian might try something, Klaus orders tight-knit security to protect his family’s cultural treasure. Which Dorian and his gang manage to by-pass by mingling into the security unit and filling every room with sleeping gas. Eroica’s first heist is resounding a success.

However, Klaus still has “custody” of Caesar, and he calls Dorian to demand an exchange of “hostages,” to which Dorian gives his verbal agreement. On the day, though, tension is high, and Klaus begins suspecting the unknown guard stationed around the premise. Another guard rushes over and yells that the first one is Eroica, and in the commotion that ensues, the actual Eroica – revealed to have disguised as the second guard – grabs Caesar and speeds off in his red Lamborghini. Eroica’s second heist is a success – for now.

With the removal of Caesar, the plan becomes convoluted. In the musical, Dorian - using the strategy from the first heist - disguises himself as an art appraiser. With every agent out of sight, he fills the room with sleeping gas, which knocks Klaus out. Dorian, James and Bonham take the painting and drive away, feeling victorious.However, he quickly discovers that the painting is a fraud intended to trick him. Hence, Eroica’s first attempt is a failure.

He makes a U-turn - using the strategy from the second heist - disguises himself as a security guard, frames another as fake and steals the real painting right in front of Klaus and his agents. An extremely flimsy patchwork of the second heist, that also makes Klaus’s unit and instincts look slow and weak.

While in the manga, the structure of Iron Klaus is as follows:

Attack (1st heist) => bargain => attack (2nd heist) => to retaliation (tank)

In the musical, it goes like this:

Failed attack (1st attempt) => fix (2nd attempt) => lukewarm retaliation (tank)

There is no tension, no excitement, where it’s supposed to be a confrontation, where 2 characters are one-upping, mind-gaming, out-maneuvering each other. Now, it’s just a single over-complicated mess, because the 2 MacGuffins – Caesar and painting – have been reduced down to 1.

Towards the end of the manga chapter, Dorian willingly gives Klaus back the painting in exchange for Caesar’s well-being. But he steals the tank. The symbolic meaning of his actions can be read as Dorian being satisfied with Klaus’s self-expression. And to show his respect for one with a different viewpoint, he keeps the symbol of Klaus’s ideal beauty, while leaving Klaus his own.

Klaus certainly doesn’t view it as such, but like I said, different viewpoints. It’s a great note for 2 characters who have recently gotten tangled up into each other to part, promising much more to come. But in the musical, Dorian’s heist of the painting is, ultimately, a sadly failed plan, as Dorian is forced to give up on The Man in Purple. And although he does steal the tank, it seems less like a conscious action, and more like an attempt to provoke Klaus.

Tyrian Persimmon

So, in the Aoike Cinematic Universe, Tyrian Persimmon – or The Man in Purple – is Klaus’s ancestor who lived in the Elizabethan period. In Eroica though, he’s been loooooong dead, and it seems that not a lot is known about him. Although his painting is a MacGuffin, Tyrian himself doesn’t play any role, and if one only reads Eroica, it’s just a really nice painting, and that’s all it has to be. The interesting bit comes from a meta viewpoint.

If you have read El Halcon and Nanatsu no Umi Nanatsu no Sora, you would know, that Tyrian was a vile motherfucker. Murderer, rapist, traitor, and so ambitious he cares about nobody’s life but his own. Almost every character who crossed path with him died some kind of gruesome, unjust way. He’s irredeemably terrible even if entertaining. So, what’s the significance of this in the context of Eroica?

In Eroica, everyone fawns over Tyrian’s portrait like he was a god-sent beauty. It is even said that on first glance, Klaus might look like The Man in Purple but he lacks a certain “grace and charm,” attributes that could be considered heroic, or even angelic. The magnetic power of the portrait drew many of the conflicts in Eroica as characters seek to possess his image. But those who worship his beauty knows not the monster beneath the canvas. For an audience looking for meta-reading though, the fact that the portrait is still eliciting so much trouble is a reflection of Tyrian’s own life as the bane of existence. Even Klaus once wonders if they were being played like puppets in the sadistic theatre of The Man in Purple. This combined dramatic irony is severely damaged when the portrait is suddenly personified like a character.

And what’s worse is that, not only did they reanimate the portrait for the musical, they tried to give him a caricature Caesar Gabriel’s personality. This … vile, manipulative, murderous narcissist is now a bubbling, naïve and confused 18-year-old coddled child. It’s comical in the worst moments.

Like in the tense scene of the Autobahn chase, all my attention was directed to Tyrian trying to chase his hat which had flown off the vehicle, while trying to hold the portrait frame around his face. Or during, what I still maintain as the best scene in the entire musical, the cuddling in the tank scene, the budding bond between the two main characters are constantly distracted by Tyrian’s antics.

And to top it all off, they didn’t even give him his PUMPKIN PANTS!!

[justafriendlystranger]

"At least I got you..."

Headcanons for pink skies~!!! (Cause god damn I missed them too soooo much :,])

- If Noth sky sees Kema in a new cute dress, he'll definitely ask of a lot of "hangout picture" of them together just so he can look back and have a remembrance of that cute outfit Kema is in! <33

- Kema would have a two bento boxes for lunch in school and would give the other to North sky claiming "she made too much and would hate it go to waste." While blushing, not admitting she intentionally made some for him too

- Star gazing at the rooftop? Of course~!! If Kema is having a rough day and she's telling North Sky about it through the phone, I imagine he'd also sneak out just to see her on the roof already waiting. He'd let her rant about her Aunt and how much of a bitch she's being. And then when she finally calms down, they'll sit alone in silence looking at the stars while North pats her hair, telling her she'll be ok and he'll always be there for her :,))

- I imagine North sky would have a playlist song on Spotify about kenma and his relationship with her to listen to when he's not hanging out with her. ("I'm glad you're evil too" by Rachie!!!!)

- North would definitely get jealous and would need constant reassurance from Kema after she hangs out with Trickster like, he'd be quiet but not in a silent treatment kind of way! He's just quiet when he's unsure and when Kema ask him if he's ok, he'd just be like

"hmm? Oh yeah, yeah. I'm fine heh.... So that Trickster girl,, she's just a friend right..? Nothing more?" (COMFORT HIM PLEASE!! T^T)

- If Kema and North would have a study session in one of their houses and North fell asleep on the desk first, I imagine that Kema would somehow show affection towards North when he's not aware (of course, she's a tsundere. What did you expect? She still cares for him, she's just shy! :,33) like taking off his glasses to not disturb him, cover him in a blanket or might say how much she appreciates him. All the things that she can't say when he's awake.

----

I swear- This two needs some more attention like right now cause these two are my second comfort ship. They're just so wholesome and so sad that they really need each other to be there for one another, they found comfort in each other's company that distracts them from their miserable life that I'm just- AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I also really love the last one and might even make that a scenario story!! But please do tell me if I mischaracterize any of them Rin! If so, I'm truly sorryyyyy qwq

----

Both North Sky and Kema Umi belongs to @alcohol1maid !

and Trickster belongs to @boiling-potato !

[halfetirosie]

☁ I lied. I fucking DESPISE this Rural Town Fuckery™!!! ☁

(Scales 05 - 07 React-os!)

TIME TO RANT!!!

🚨🚨🚨I'M ALSO GONNA DO SOME KUYA-HATING IN HERE, BUT KUYA HATED ME FIRST SO IT'S FINE 🚨🚨🚨

1) What the actual fuckity FUCK???

What "flesh" are they talking about? Are they cutting their hands and bleeding out into the basin or something???

Also---I think I was wrong in thinking that the villagers' attitude towards yokai is different from the Wood Territory tribe. These guys may act like they like the "merfolk," but they're actually terrified of them to a manic degree.

This scene is disturbing as hell...

2) Nooooo!!! Poor Yakumo!!!

I feel so bad for him, for real! He has issues with controlling his yokai powers like ALL the time; poor babykins can't catch a break!!!

...

...His scales do be looking really pretty, tho...

3) Ohhh, yeah, this makes a lot of sense. I feel dumb for not predicting this earlier.

I mean, the whole reason Eiden and Yakumo came to the island was to inquire about the recipe that included merfolk meat as an ingredient.

It makes no sense for the villagers to have a whole-ass ceremony to "honor" the merfolk; unless their true purpose was to appease the merfolks' anger.

I'm guessing that these villagers' ancestors hunted the merfolk in the surrounding waters---like a fucked up version of whaling. When they thought they hunted merfolk to extinction, they then feared that that they'd return and take revenge.

That's why, instead of being happy to see [what they think is] a merfolk, the villagers get scared and angry...

4) We interrupt this depressing event to bring you a Yu-Gi-Oh! reference! :D

---Yes, I know that "Umi" is the word for "ocean" in Japanese. But I'm a pathetic dork that will always associate that word with the Yu-Gi-Oh! card of the same name. (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

5) ......Bruh.

Okay, two things!

FIRST:

......Eiden, sweetie? I love you, but how have you not figured out the reason for the villagers' freak-out by now??? I feel like the talk of "revenge" is enough for the average person to put context clues together..🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Am I wrong? Am I just being a jerk??

SECOND:

I'm sorry, but I am getting REAL sick of Kuya's bullshit. These last two events he's been an insufferable DICK.

This bitch always has something mean to say about everyone and everything, without even being provoked first. And he has the audacity to accuse others of hypocrisy when he's the worst offender?!?! Why can't he just shut up and leave people alone?!?!?!

Lately, his character seems to have gotten worse, and every scene he's in makes me feel miserable. It's just too much.

I really hope the devs will dial back his toxicity soon.

6) That's kinda weird...?

I'm confused about the rules of this fish-scale relic.

Why was Yakumo the only one that had strong side effect from touching the relic? It's not like he was the only one touching the relic; all of those human villagers + Eiden touched it an prayed over it, too.

Does the relic only react to all yokai essence?

Why was the relic designed to react to anything other than merfolk essence in the first place??? That seems highly impractical.

7) Ugh.

Look, I get it. I'm not saying he's wrong to point out that Yakumo's a special case---that most yokai would have too much trouble to live alongside humans without issue.

But he really didn't have to word it so rudely, or insult Yakumo by calling him delusional. 🤦‍♀️

---His nasty attitude aside---

Am I crazy, or do I detect a hint of jealousy here? 🤔

I know the intended interpretation of that second sentence, "But not everyone is as lucky as you are," is supposed to be in reference to Umi.

But idk, man; something about it (maybe his expression?) makes me think he could also mean himself? After all, as we see in the Forest Carnival event, over his long life Kuya has gotten acutely aware of the issues of human/yokai relations, and he is super pessimistic about it.

What if, part of the reason he's so pessimistic and disrespectful to humans is not just because he's experienced human cruelty, but because he wanted to get along with humans at one point and failed?

It's just a theory. 🤷‍♀️ If nothing else, that context would make for a good fanfic.

8) OH, FUCK!!!!!!

(⊙ᗣ⊙)

I knew the history was bad, but somehow this is even worse than I thought. Instead of the merfolk living around the island, they lived on the island, and those humans straight up committed genocide and stole their land!!!

It's safe to say, I'm certain of what the social commentary this event is aiming for now...

Step 1: Invade a territory

Step 2: Murder the people native to the land

Step 3: Retroactively mystify the culture of the people that were murdered

Step 4: Make cowardly attempts to "appease" those from the group you murdered, without returning what you stole in the first place

*depresso-s in American*

9) Oh my GOD, they couldn't be more hypocritical if they TRIED!!! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

(New drinking game that would kill me: take a shot every time this event makes me facepalm or shake my head)

Talk about poetic INjustice---I wasn't even rooting for them, but I still end up indescribably disappointed.

Why do people like this never learn???

I don't care if this island is cut off from the outside world; that isn't an excuse for this bullshit.

This village has had plenty of time to think about what they've done, and how to react if a merfolk showed up in the future.

And the BEST they came up with was to do the SAME THING (attempting to murder the merfolk) THAT MADE THEM SO WORRIED AND SCARED IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!?!?!

THEY ARE SO STUPID AND EVIL!!!!! I FEEL LIKE I'M GONNA PASS OUT FROM FRUSTRATION AND ANGER!!!

💢 (╯🔥 ᗣ 🔥)╯︵ ┻━┻

🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

🔥 End of report 🔥

[ramonathinks]

ABOUT RAMONA.

“he wanna moan with mona”

(runs @blkwriters) ao3 under the same name (ramonathinks)

ramona ཐིཋྀ— black. 23. (18+ only please). i interact with dark content. i don’t condone any of the dark content that i may interact with. i don’t care if someone ages up characters tbh! & all my y/n’s are black.

hottest girly in town. may taurus. lesbian. satoru’s girlfriend. english-creative writing major with gender-women studies minor. 5’4. owner of too many purses and resident lover of hello kitty.

octavia butler lover. legendborn supremacy! recommend me books <3 and i’ll add them to my ongoing list.

i suffer from a lot of chronic pains and sometimes rant about it!

MUSIC ENTHUSIAST.

beyoncé. mariah carey. ariana grande. sabrina carpenter. normani. fauna hues. sza. victoria monet. megan thee stallion. pinkpantheress. amy winehouse. loona. cleo sol. renee rapp. esperanza spalding. umi. chloe x halle. dua lipa. flo. monaleo. flo milli. joyce wrice. mitski.

ENTER RAMONA’S MUTUAL LIST

[taehyungfirst]

No but I'l legit confused about the manufactured hate over there. As a black army Tae bias, I'm not about people suddenly saying this "behavior" that suddenly has to be addressed is because he's anti-black. One account @jaykaygf is out here with being a proud anti-tae/ot6. Claiming he needs to be held accountable for the durag and the non-existence nword mentions. But four posts early talking about how historic Tae's Squid Game moment was? And before that plugged Umi's post about Tae's teaser.

And then there's this mixed message of fans doxxing other fans. But also his behavior is why black people don't like him. Since when? This is just a way to try and reframe and weaponize US army's lack of public support-- which has been happening long before any stupid durag nonsense.

Setting aside that rant, this seems just nuts. Why is this happening? I know there were moments, like the follow or the leak, that sparked hate. But what? This level of organized hate for what? Because he's popular and hot and booked and busy?

There’s a lot of discussion around the durag situation, I’ve taken in every single opinion from black armys (yours included now) and the majority all said that it wasn’t anything disrespectful. He did just show a gift, put it on the correct way, and then took it off. Didn’t do anything crazy that would make people think he’s racist. Not even gonna address the n word thing because if YOU think he said that after multiple people clearly showed you slowed clips where he didn’t, then it’s on you and you just wanna hate. I feel like lots of people were just waiting for some sort of “mistake” on his part, so that they could cling to that and justify their hate over it. So crazy to me, they hate him for non-existent reasons.

In short, Us armys hate that he’s popular, hate that he always steps outside the box they put bts members into. We need a cleansing before 2025.

[aura-bug]

What is your favorite yokai(Both from Yo-kai Watch and real mythology) ?

YIPPEE TIME TO RANT

My favorite yokai from YKW are Unfairy, Wobblewok, and Arachnia, and they all have one thing in common: gremlin behavior

unfairy is a stupid little rat thing that took down two war generals and then got defeated by a hose. wobblewok is a fucking Thang sealed inside a giant kamameshi rice cooker who lurks the deepest pits of hell and has killed hundreds. and arachnia is arachnia

as for my favorite MYTHOLOGICAL yokai, it'd probably be any of the creechers originating from buddhist lore. tbh that hardly narrows it down but I'm specifically talking about dragons/any of the 8 legions, since a majority of my OCs revolve around those yokai in particular and I think theyre really cool aaaaaaaaa.

the 8 legions (hachibushuu) are a group of 8 different celestial species that reside in the Buddhist version of heaven (<- using that term VERYYYYY loosely, also technically one of the legions don't live in Tendo, they got kicked out, it was a whole thing). They're super cool and powerful and they serve Buddhas/Bodhisattvas and whateva.

The 8 legions are made up of the Ten/Devas (buddhist equivalent of angels but not really), the Ryu/Nagas (dragons), the Karura/Garuda (bird people that eat dragons), the Magorakas (half-snake people), the Kinnara (half-bird musicians), the Yasha (heavenly warrior demon guys), the Kendatsuba (artistic spirits that eat scents), and the Ashura (scary demigod guys that are angry and violent and aren't allowed in Tendo anymore boohoo).

The 8 legions are actually Hindu in origin, but then the Buddha told them all to join his cool kids club (buddhism) and then they did

I could talk at length abt each of these guys but then this would be like 500 paragraphs longer than it already is. so I wont but I WILL do so if prompted

If we're talking about yokai that are SPECIFICALLY japanese in origin, there's a lot of ones that are extremely silly that I love a lot so I'll list them off rapid fire

-ghost that tells you to kill yourself (itsuki)

-rat that fucking explodes (kodama nezuki)

-water behemoth (umi bozu)

-eyeball ass jumpscare (shirime)

-literally any of the women (all the yokai ending in "onna")

-big spider (tsuchigumo)

-tamamo no mae (tamamo no mae)

-any of the several ridiculous prophet yokai that appear once and tell you your crops are gonna die unless you like their image and share it with the rest of the village. it was like the origin of those superstitious chain emails (this includes yokai like Amabiko, Arie, Kudan, Jinja Hime, etc etc, but my personal favorite is Amabie, SIMPLY because it originated from a misspelling)

-any chimera yokai (kotobuki, nue, baku, rokugyo, etc. I just think theyre neat)

but my FAVORITE yokai of ALL TIME

IS THIS THING. NANJAKA.

ITS NAME LITERALLY MEANS "WHAT"

IT ORIGINATES FROM THE BAKEMONO TSUKUSHI EMAKI (1820) AND IT HAS NO DESCRIPTION. NO STORY. NO EXPLANATION. NOTHING. IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE AN UPPER HALF. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TO EVEN GUESS WHAT THE ARTIST WAS THINKING WHEN MAKING THIS GUY. I DON'T EVEN THINK THE AUTHOR THEMSELVES KNEW WHAT THE FUCK THEY WERE DOING BECAUSE ITS NAME IS JUST "WHAT." ITS LIKE THE AUTHOR WOKE UP AFTER BEING BLACKOUT DRUNK, SAW THIS DRAWING, AND WAS LIKE "ok what the fuck is this"

I ADORE IT. PEAK YOKAI WEIRDNESS AT ITS FINEST

[fizzingwizard]

hello!!

Fizz | she/her | over! 30 | US expat in Japan

Writing stuff:

AO3

Tumblr

Fanfiction.net

Community:

Moominvalley Tumblr Community - feel free to join!

Side blogs:

Witchwood Pipes - forests, simplicity, camping, witches

flowers and convicts - thrills, travel, extravagance, rebellion

minu ga hana - Japan, east and south-east Asia, soft, girly

About:

My hobbies on tumblr are ranting about stuff no one cares about but me, and hoarding pretty pictures and quotes. You’re welcome to follow and interact! Just don’t feel bad if you find me not very social - I’m like that.

These are my fandoms - I don’t care if ships are platonic or romantic just as long as they’re sea-worthy.

Digimon Adventure/02/Tri: Taichi; Joumi, Takari, Taishiro, Taito, Taiora, Kenkeru, Daiken, Miyakari, Taidai

Sherlock Holmes (books, Granada, BBC, etc): H/W

X-men (comics, Evolution): Nightcrawler; Kitty/Illyana (yeah I know)

Star Trek TOS: Kirk/Spock

Lupin III: Jigen/Lupin, Lupin/Fujiko

Revolutionary Girl Utena: Utena/Anthy

Gilmore Girls: Luke/Lorelai

Full Metal Alchemist: Ed; Ed/Winry, Ed/Ling

Lord of the Rings: Legolas; Legolas/Gimli

His Dark Materials

Tsubasa Chronicle: Fai; Kurofai

Moomin: all forms; Snufmin

The Adventure Zone: Balance: Taakitz

Sailor Moon: Mars; Rei/Usagi

Bleach: Ukitake, Rukia, Kyouraku, Yoruichi, Hitsugaya, Yumichika; Tatsuori, Ichiruki, Shunuki, Yorusuke, Ikkayumi

Gintama: Katsura, Kagura, Gintoki, Tae, Nobume, Sakamoto

Cats musical: Rum Tum Tugger; Tugger/Misto

Twin Signal: Code

Firefly

House M.D.: House, Wilson; H/W

Rurouni Kenshin: Kenshin; Kenkao

Harry Potter: Hermione, Sirius, Luna

Yugioh: Atemu/Yami; Puzzleshipping, Prideshipping, Polarshipping

Magic Knight Rayeath: Umi/Clef

Lackadaisy

Mandalorian

The Witcher: Yennefer (Netflix series)

[christine-ye]

Howdy!

I'm trying to get used to being on here but hi! I'm Christine, nice to meet you! 🎶 Basic info (more in my Strawpage) 🎶 -She/her -21 (ADULT) -Ace/asexual -Autistic

🌺 Things I like 🌺 -Magical girls in general (mostly Sailor Moon and PreCure/Pretty Cure nowadays with some other titles sprinkled in like Magic Knight Rayearth, Tokyo Mew Mew, etc.) -Evangelion -Super Mario (and occasionally other Nintendo series like The Legend of Zelda) -Tokusatsu (mainly Kamen Rider and Super Sentai) -History and mythology (currently majoring in history with a classical humanities minor in college) -Music (mostly anime and video game music)

🌈 Guys I'm very normal over (💙 means main/current favorites) 🌈 -Shinji Ikari (Evangelion) 💙 -Hibiki Hojo/Cure Melody (Suite PreCure) 💙 -Kazuma Kenzaki (Kamen Rider Blade) 💙 -Misato Katsuragi (Evangelion) -Umi Ryuuzaki (Magic Knight Rayearth) -Luigi (Super Mario) -Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn (Sailor Moon)

♠ Media I'm currently watching (will update as I go, * for shows currently on hold) ♠ -Kamen Rider (1971): started 8/25/23* -Kamen Rider Hibiki: started 8/27/23* -Kamen Rider Ryuki: started 8/28/23* -Star Twinkle PreCure (rewatch): started 10/1/23* -Kamen Rider Geats: started 11/10/23* -Choujin Sentai Jetman: started 11/22/23* -Kamen Rider Fourze: started 1/19/24* -Kamen Rider Kiva: started 1/19/24* -Wonderful PreCure (latest PreCure): started 2/3/24 -Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger (latest Super Sentai): started 3/2/24 -My Adventures with Superman season 2: started 6/14/24* -Ultraman Arc: started 7/6/24* -Ultraman Blazar: started 7/6/24* -Kamen Rider Gavv (latest Kamen Rider): started 8/31/24 -Hana no Ko Lunlun: started 9/21/24* -Acro Trip: started 10/2/24 -Magilumiere Co. Ltd.: started 10/4/24* -Kamen Rider Revice: started 10/23/24 -The Rose of Versailles: started 11/23/24

⚡️ Plan to watch (TBD, may change) ⚡️ -Kamen Rider Kuuga (after I finish Fourze and Kiva, will watch alongside OOO) -Revolutionary Girl Utena (been wanting to start it for a while) -Kamen Rider OOO (after I finish Fourze and Kiva, will watch alongside Kuuga)

🍃 Tags (may add some if needed) 🍃 -#christine's ramblings of the day: for general talk and/or random thoughts -#christine watches/rewatches [show name]: for shows I'm currently watching/rewatching (not necessarily actual liveblogging) -#christine reviews stuff: for media reviews -#christine answers: for answering asks -#christine's rant/vent: for any time I vent/feel negative (I suggest muting it if you don't want to see me be pissy on main) -#shameless self reblog: for self-reblogs (don't use often) -#incorrect quotes: for any incorrect quote posts I come up with based on my interests

⚠ Important things to know ⚠ -I'm very sensitive and shy and often suck at social interaction, so don't be too worried if I don't respond quickly, misunderstand a joke, or don't follow you back -Please DO NOT INTERACT if you're the following: bigots of any kind (racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.), NSFW (or any weirdos in general), pr0sh1ppers/"pr0-f1ction" people, Zionists, and crypt0/EnEffTee/A.I. supporters. GET AWAY FROM MY BLOG OR GET THE BLOCK -If I interact with or follow someone/something problematic, please let me know -Ask me stuff! I don't mind answering asks :) (but I will delete certain asks that make me uncomfortable for any reason) -Yes, I am that idiot on Twitter (username is @/Christine__Ye if you want to follow idc) who won #1 Cure Melody fan back in October 2023 before you ask -My Discord is @/christine_ye in case you want to keep in touch with me there -You should watch Kamen Rider Blade actually please and thanks

I'm generally nice and trying my best (most of the time lol) so hello again and welcome! ✨

[umi-adxhira]

hi this is my first ask :D what about an mc who's also cursed 0-0?

𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒 | 𝐌𝐂 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐒𝐎

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐃

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒: ᴡɪʟʟɪᴀᴍ ʀᴇx, ʜᴀʀʀɪꜱᴏɴ ɢʀᴀʏ, ʟɪᴀᴍ ᴇᴠᴀɴꜱ, ᴇʟʙᴇʀᴛ ɢʀᴇᴇᴛɪᴀ, ᴀʟꜰᴏɴꜱᴇ ꜱʏʟᴠᴀᴛɪᴄᴀ, ʀᴏɢᴇʀ ʙᴀʀᴇʟ, ᴊᴜᴅᴇ ᴊᴀᴢᴢᴀ, ᴇʟʟɪꜱ ᴛᴡɪʟɪɢʜᴛ, ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀ

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: I know that Jude can make people fall asleep when he taps their forehead, and Ellis can like move stuff idk... so, for MC, you can bend the elements like my boy Aang from Avatar, but when you use it, it comes at the expense of your own consciousness, making you faint or just drained

𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊

#𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐗

Woah, you're cool. He never really expected a simple writer to have control of something so powerful, but he was pleasantly surprised

He often asks you if you did something cool with those powers of yours, like a cool trick like bending water into a cool shape or something

He enjoys listening to you talk about whatever you discovered with your curse, he finds it calming that you don't see your curse as a curse but rather as a superpower

#𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐘

Was literally like: "oh wow you're cool, I like you 😏"

Wants to see you reach your limit, he wants to see your full potential until you drop dead, let's see if you overpower him (you do slay bestie)

I feel like he’s the type of person to see worth (in the Crown) based on how useful/powerful your curse is

Is happy to carry you back if you're spent from using your curse too much

#𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌 𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐒

Gets worried for you whenever you use it. It could literally be making a soft breeze if it's too hot and bro will be on your ass

He doesn't want you to use it too much if it's gonna hurt you, so you have to calm him down and explain that you wouldn't do anything if it hurt you

Loves to hear you rant about your curse like William, he finds it so cool, he wishes he had something cool like that

#𝐄𝐋𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐀

Bro's gonna start making you commit crimes

If he finds something he likes, he'll probsbly ask you to use your wind breathing (slay Shinazugawa) to help him take the little trinket without paying

That man is in crippling debt it's not even funny anymore. At one point you stop... but he acts like a grumpy kitten

#𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄 𝐒𝐘𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀

Interesting... muahahahhahaa

Uses you (if you wish so) in his schemes, mostly in pranks

He didn't realising it was taking a toll on your body until you fainted on the streets. He felt partially guilty, but then again you didn't tell him, so this was also on you I guess

#𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐋

Will force you not to use it. No need to get your pretty hands dirty, he'll take care of all the dirty work

If you didn't have the side-effect, he wouldn't really mind if you use your curse (just not in front of people), but you do, so he cares

Will allow you to rest on his shoulder if you're tired... but next time he'll punish you

#𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐄 𝐉𝐀𝐙𝐙𝐀

This man could not give less of a shit

Only until he sees what you can do he's like "wtf they can do that??"

You probably fainted on him one time, so he huffed and carried you back to the manor and let you sleep on his bed until you wake up

#𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

He always has a cup of water on his bedside. Whenever you can't sleep, he asks you to bend the water and make it swirl above your hand, making a ring. He holds you close and lulls you to sleep by kissing your face lightly (I would know I'm his wife)

When you're knocked unconscious, the water splatters down on your hand and possibly his lap, so he takes a flannel and wipes it until its dry

Also likes listen to you talk about your curse, it makes him happy :)

#𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑

Doesn't really care. Will probably only mention it if you use it in front of him, maybe he'll ask a few questions if he's curious

Don't really know what else to say... maybe he'll ask you to wet his hair if he's too lazy to take a shower?

©️umi-adxhira [09/07/2023]

[conchelle]

I completed all the routes of Yoru no Umi de Otsukisama wo Tsuru and man. I do have things to say about it.

To start things off, this game is a bit unique in terms of Towelket games. It actually plays more like a visual novel/dating sim with multiple paths to choose from and multiple endings based on those choices.

There's 11 characters to choose from and 4 endings in total (I think). All of the dialogue and scenarios for each of the characters are all unique, which just goes to show just how much effort was put into this game...but there are some issues that come up as a result of this which I'll talk about in a bit.

This game is kind of pseudo-remake/remaining of Towelket 4. It's a bit similar to how Warau Warawau is kind of a remake to Towelket 6, but unlike that game, Yoru no Umi still retains some aspects Towelket 4 such as locations and plot points though a lot of things have changed as well.

Since Towelket 4 was kind of like the only game in the numbered series that actually served as a sequel where you would have to play the other games to really get it, Yoru No Umi is very much its own thing. Though, for the most part, the parts in the game that are directly lifted from Towelket 4 just are just a bit confusing? It feels like certain plot points happen just because they happened into TK4 except without the context of why said plot point happened in the first place.

For example, early in TK4, Moochasu becomes a pirate after getting into trouble when he's led into Barrieland by Warawau. He stays a pirate for the rest of the game, and it makes sense why that happens.

However, in Yoru No Umi, the same thing happens, and it just kind of goes nowhere? Like Moochasu becomes a pirate for a brief moment and then goes back to how he was before offscreen with only a vague explanation you hear about a while later. It's a moment that has very little bearing on the plot aside from getting a certain character to stop talking for the rest of the game for...reasons. Anyone who went into this game without playing TK4 would be utterly confused on why that even happened in the first place.

Then there's Koucha's character in general, which I would go on a full-blown rant about if I had less restraint, so I'll get sum it up as, her significance in this game just makes less sense compared to TK4. It feels like her character is only as important as it is because she was the love interest in TK4 and nothing else.

On a more positive note, I do think the story this game is trying to tell is intriguing. I liked piecing together everything with each new piece of information granted in each ending. The villains are actually a lot more present this time around, which was a huge pain point in TK4 where Furi Kusukusu showed up out of nowhere towards the very end. This time around, she has a fair amount of screentime, and her motives actually make sense.

Though ironically, I kind of have the opposite problem with Yoru no Umi that I had with TK4. I really like the final act in this game, and I really wish the rest of the game was more like it.

The midpoint of TK4 was easily the highlight of the game for me. I really enjoyed the exploration aspect. Yoru no Umi's midpoint is kind of painful.

Now, this is half of my own fault since I decided to go through every single route like a maniac. I'm not sure if the game was intended to be played that way or if Kanao just wanted to give the player the option to pick their favorite character to pursue.

Regardless, all of the Barrieland residents have pretty straightforward routes and similar standard endings.

The first time around, I decided to go for Smile.dk's route because since she's a new character and it was pretty amusing.

All of the Barrieland routes are just that. Pretty amusing. The middle segment of this game is a bit less plot focused than the rest of the series. You're mostly just hanging around another character and going through their little gags and eventually helping them overcome some kind of problem. But unfortunately, I feel Kanao's character writing just isn't quite there for this format to really be interesting.

If Kanao were to make a game like this today, I would be 100% down for it since I think their character writing has improved significantly since this era. Like I remember when I was playing Yorumoru 2, and the whole time, I was thinking about just how cool it would be if there were some extra content that wasn't really integral to the plot. Like some small side-quests where you could go with a character of your choosing and get to know them a little more and solve some kind of conflict they're related to.

But the characters in this game just didn't really do it for me. I didn't hate them, but I can't say they're particularly memorable, either. It doesn't help that characters like Roppenchu, Nyanyamo, and Nekoashi Otome all have counterparts in Yorumoru 2 that are just a lot more interesting to me.

Characters like Warawau and Nekojita have a little depth to them, but their stories overlap pretty heavily, and unfortunately, you don't really get to spend much time with them compared to the other characters.

Overall, as much as I appreciate the effort, I don't see why there had to be this many routes in the first place. Again, it was probably my own fault for attempting to get through every single one but eh. (The game is 40 hours long for pete's sake)

Visually, I think this game looks really good! It has a distinct look to it, there's a couple of CGs that are really cute. The music was alright, mostly the typical Towelket MIDIs.

Overall, I liked the story the game was trying to tell, but after going through two routes, this game reaaaally starts to drag, which is unfortunate. I really enjoyed playing Warau, Warawau a couple of times despite it being a very linear game. Just getting to recontextualize everything after the ending was enough for it to be replayable. It really doesn't help that a lot of the things that happen in the midpoint of Yoru No Umi fails to have any real significance to the ending or even recontextualize it.

At the very least, I cant say that I didnt have fun the first few times around.

Also, this isn't really a criticism, but this game directly quotes Richard Chase, an actual real-life serial killer. For like. No reason. It's so jarrring

This is a game that references Smile.DK, the Swedish band that gave us classics like Butterfly and Richard Chase. An insane serial killer who actually existed 💀

Towelket is amazing

Anyway here's the Towel rating.

Warau Warawau > Yorumorukimiri = Dekapari > TK1 = TK2 > Nekoashi Otome > TK4 > Fury > Yoru no Umi de Otsukisama wo Tsuru > TK6 > TK3 > TK5