#Unfortunately i also want bad things to happen to Loid

[twilight-is-dead]

Made a quick little comic with some watercolor brushes, might write something with this later

[hadoriel]

Hi hello my friends and super nerds

I would like to write or do something with a Spy x Family + His Dark Materials crossover... aka ‘what if the Forgers had daemons’ scenario. I’m not great at form finding, especially on fictional characters, so I really hope some daemians can help me out .w.

I’m gonna preface this with two things: - I personally believe daemons would react to trauma and stress in bizarre ways. Most of the cast of SxF is severely traumatized so uh there’s some fun I want to do, like Twilight having never settled, Anya’s never taking a ‘real’ animal form etc - I’d ideally like a mix of symbolic and realistic form stuff. I haven’t been in the HDM/daemonism community too much for a good decade now, but I’ve seen some people say they’re different things so uh... I’d like to just blend it

Twilight (Loid + [REDACTED]): Due to the massive trauma early in life, his daemon has never settled. It basically gives him the master of disguise superpower easily, as it’s extremely rare (and bad!) when that happens. Even so, not many people know of it, just some WISE higher-ups like Sylvia, maybe Franky As Twilight, he’s very independent, detached, meticulous, solitary, detail-oriented, with a brain moving a mile a minute. His ‘default’ form would reflect this. As Loid, however, he’d need something more gentle and approachable, that cares deeply for family, but still very intelligent The fun part would be that he doesn’t realize he’s settling slowly by acting as Loid. I’m not sure if he’d really fit exactly what Loid’s persona daemon is, but we know ‘on the inside’ he’s very loyal, manipulative, crazy smart, anxious

Yor: We don’t know exactly what happened to Yor’s parents, but I think it was likely around settling years (onset of puberty). Having to take over an adult role for Yuri, I’d think she settled early and suddenly. She’s also fiercely loyal (even more than Twilight), cares deeply for family, worried about not being normal enough or not being good enough constantly, act first think later, scary when threatened When we first meet her, Yor’s daemon would be sickly, skinny, mottled. But through the story, they’d get healthier

Anya: Since Anya’s a child, she doesn’t have a defined form yet. I do want to note that, since she’s a human experiment, something is still very wrong with her daemon, though. I’m mostly going with that her forms are always mythical animals and chimeras, never a ‘real’ animal, but open to feedback if anyone thinks something different?

Yuri: His is ‘normal’... relatively. He probably also settled early but not weirdly or suddenly. He’s obsessive, overly protective, uses intelligence as power, aggressive, absolutely dedicated, only vulnerable to their loved ones

Franky: Probably the most normal daemon situation in the whole cast tbh. He’s a jokester but very smart and weirdly wise. He’s like the most typical ENTP ever, if you know your MBTI. Social and savvy, but not very charming

Sylvia (Handler): Her daemon would be quiet and stoic with an aggressive side. She’s a mentor and a leader, who deals with the unfortunate ugly situations, so she’s very dedicated and hard working. There’s a softer side to her, but rarely seen. Not as tunnel-vision as Yuri at all, but probably a form in the same vein

Nightfall (Fiona): Super quiet, super dedicated, super antisocial and unemotional. Except that she’s obsessed with Twilight, of course, just that she never shows it ever. I have an idea that her daemon likes to make ‘weirdly aggressive’ moves at Twilight’s, like laying on them, which Twilight is always slightly alarmed by but it’s just Fiona’s very miscommunicated adoration lmao

Donovan: He’s severed. Nobody knows this. They just think his daemon hides in his suit all the time

Damian: Wants to settle asap and tries to take ‘noble’ forms like lions and wolves and eagles, due to pressure

Becky: Is weird and tries to put accessories on her daemon. The forms are always extra pretty animals

Okay so now that I kinda wrote down the jist of the cast... Anyone wanna help me with form finding for them? .w.;;;;;;;;;;

[tare-anime]

SxF Mission 58-1

(Beware spoilers)

Oh wow, Endo made draft for a chapter, and it ended up waaaayy longer than 25 pages, that he had to divide the chapter??? 👀

Seems suspiscious.

But the man is really busy. I hope he stays healty. 🙏

Anyway, didn't expect we get to see Loid and Bond days out.

As always, love the details!!

Loid looks so at ease, I totally love it. Flopped hair, cozy coat (I can't believe I was hoping to see flower button on that coat 🤣. Me just craving for TwiYor content so bad).

Bond is, as always, the best angel 🥰

So we get to see Bond and his training.

Things that Loid had been want to do, since chp 24!

Bond was so kind that he was not good at barking and biting people.

And it looks like, all this training invoke a bad memory from the dog. I was quite surprised to see that Frankie was the one who realized about this.

While Loid, still trying his best to understand his dog, that unconsciously, was treated like a son of his. (I found that really cute, tbh 🥰)

This tiny gesture: forcing Bond's head to bow, like how he did? So so soooo cute 🥰

Bond is Loid's son. As Anya is his daughter. Unfortunately, both of them gave him headaches 🤣

Now Bond is a really good dog. He always tried his best to help people.

Unfortunately, just like Anya, despite having super power, these two can hardly use them well. The results were not what Bond had expected.

Especially, since Loid cannot read his minds. So Bond also needs to figure out how to comunicate with Loid.

Poor Bond.

This chapter looked like a happy go lucky one, but, as always, there were something happen in the background

"Given the state of things..."

What things? The bombing at the cruise? The missing people? The war?

Or....

Arson?? 👀

Will we entered an arc where Loid had to deal with arsonist?

Will this arsonist so treathening that push WISE and Garden to take care of them? Oooorr??? The SSS? The situation that forced Loid and Yuri to cooperate, while at the same time try to hide their identities, with the brother-in-law awkward relationship? (Just like how @lacrow had theorized)

Or just a simple Loid and Bond saved the day?

So curiouusss 🥰🥰

Well, at least this first part of the chapter already give us Bond the hero.

(Tbh, I thought Daisy was a name of a baby... but no. It was the name of a very cute pug!)

And a very proud Loid's fatherly "heh"

(Squeaaaallllll 🥰🥰🥰) I really love soft Loid. 🥰

I can't wait to read the continuation!!

Btw, during this time, where were Yor and Anya?

Stay at home? Or went shopping? 😏 (I wanna see more Yor-Anya mother daugther moments)

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/30/20

Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, Vol. 6 | By Reai and Suki Umemiya | Seven Seas – Another series down to “once a year” release—I had to jog my memory at the start to recall what had been happening. Many things are going wrong for our heroine, who is trying to be strong and tough but is also starting to break down, and I felt that the scenes with her and Dean struck just the right balance of comforting and letting the heroine cry without making her seem weaker. This sets the stage for her comeback, which is extraordinary. (And also has a corrupt Church, a constant in Japanese light novels, though at least here there are also honest and good religious people in it.) That said, eventually Dean’s identity will come out, and I do wonder how this very good “villainess” isekai will handle it. – Sean Gaffney

The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Jack Flash and the Faerie Case Files, Vol. 1 | By Yu Godai, Mako Oikawa, and Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – A faerie switched at birth for a human child, Jack never fit in in either world. Only in the mortal realm could she earn money for anime collectibles, however, so she decided to make herself into a tough, capable woman like her literary heroes and set up shop as a detective. Together with her fellow changeling, Larry the werewolf, Jack takes on supernatural cases in New York City. In this volume, Lindel tasks them with tracking down a missing dragon egg. I liked the resources Jack uses to obtain information, which include a dapper theatre ghost and a spell with components of rat whiskers and taxi tires because “Nobody out there knows this city better than them.” I still found this a bit hard to get into, though, especially the parts involving a perpetually tearful off-off-off-off-Broadway actress and her pickpocket boyfriend. Still, I will check out volume two! – Michelle Smith

Black Clover, Vol. 22 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – At long last, this interminable arc comes to an end. I enjoyed a lot of it, but I cannot deny it should have been about two volumes shorter. Most of the book is taken up by shonen battles, with the villain being nigh unkillable, the heroes almost breaking themselves to stop him, etc. Fortunately, the day is saved, and even the Wizard King turns out to be… sort of alive again? Shota fans should be happy. Asta fans perhaps less so—the sheer amount of damage done to the kingdom in this arc means someone has to be blamed, and give Asta has the “dark evil magic” it’s gonna be him, especially when he takes the incredibly obvious bait they use to get him to fight. Oh well, if Asta were smart, this wouldn’t be Black Clover. – Sean Gaffney

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Vol. 3 | By Nanashi | Vertical Comics – Part of the problem with titles like this and the other teasing works (Takagi-san less so as Nishikata doesn’t fall into the category) is that they are, at heart, the classic “extroverted girl acts overtly extroverted to bring introverted guy out of their shell,” and that’s not really a plot that feels comfortable in the Gen Z days, where you’re more likely to say “why doesn’t she just let him be in his quiet, safe space?” And by she I mean they, as Nagatoro’s two friends appear far more often here, which offers some good two-way teasing action, as they clearly see her crush on him, if not why. It’s still sort of hard to read, but if you pretend he’s more OK with it than he actually is, this is cute. – Sean Gaffney

Failed Princesses, Vol. 1 | By Ajiichi | Seven Seas – The concept of “popular girl meets unpopular girl” is a common one in yuri manga, and we do indeed hit several of its tropes in this first volume. The amusing thing is that Kanade, the shy outcast girl, is perfectly aware of how things are supposed to go, and keeps pulling back a bit to try to save Nanaki from, well, making herself an outcast by associating with the wrong people. The best part of the volume is that Nanaki really doesn’t give two shits about any of that, and seems set on making Kanade her best friend… and also making her over, which backfires a bit as Kanade cleans up nicely. I hear this gets a bit dramatic later, but for the moment it’s a cute and fluffy proto-yuri story. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 12 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – The first story in this volume is another “Rikka tries to make people understand Kotoko is an evil Machiavellian schemer,” this time with one of her ex-classmates, but again the response seems to be “we know she’s a manipulative bitch, but she’s a good person anyway.” The larger story, which will continue into the next book, seems to be a chance to write Kuro and Kotoko as an actual romance, as the man we meet here and his relationship with a yuki-onna… as well as his penchant for attracting misfortune… very much parallel them. That said, they’re very cute together, which is why I hope he avoids the murder charge he’s now being investigated for. Still a favorite. – Sean Gaffney

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 8 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – The author knows what people want to see, but also knows that the best way to get readers is to drive them crazy by not showing it. We finally get what we’ve been begging for here, as Tetsuo asks Sakie out on a date. (This is after rejecting Kyouko’s love confession, both because she’s his student and also, as he is forced to admit, as he likes Sakie.) The stage is set for the date… and the rest of the book is thus spent with the three main student girls going to Kyouko’s for a fireworks viewing and meeting her family. They’re good chapters, and I really liked showing how difficult Kyouko has it as a dullahan in terms of everyday life, but GOD, please get back to the teachers, I beg you! – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 16 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The series has gotten to the point where the more rewarding chapters are the ones as part of a larger arc. Not that the one-shot chapters are bad—though Maki’s journey to India may be the most pointless thing in this entire series to date, we do get Chika’s iconic “shut up or I’ll kill you” here. But the larger arcs, featuring Miyuki and Kaguya attempting to date without interruptions, and setting up Ishigami and Iino for a romance—though given the number of limbs broken in this book, and Iino’s own horrible lack of self-awareness, it may be a ways out—are better. This series is still hilarious, but we’ve come to read it more for the heartwarming moments. Heck, there’s even some serious drama here. Very good. – Sean Gaffney

Nineteen | By Ancco | Drawn & Quarterly – Although it was translated and released second in English, Nineteen is a precursor to Ancco’s internationally award-winning manhwa Bad Friends. The volume collects thirteen short comics originally published in Korea over a decade ago which absolutely remain relevant to today’s world. While understandably not as polished as some of Ancco’s later work—one can observe her style evolving and growing over the course of the collection (which is fascinating)—the comics still carry significant emotional weight and impact. Nineteen includes diary comics, which tend to be more lighthearted, as well as harder-hitting fictional stories, many of which also have autobiographical inspiration. As a whole, the collection explores themes of young adulthood, growing up, and complicated family relationships. In particular, there is a compelling focus on the relationships among daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. Some of the narratives can be rather bleak, but a resigned sense of humor threads through Nineteen, too. – Ash Brown

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 8 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Shoujo manga that has couples getting together BEFORE the end of the series is inevitably going to have an arc dealing with how far the lead couple should go now that they’re dating, and this is Ran’s turn, as she and Akira and their friends go to a beach house Ran’s family owns and have some beach fun. Unfortunately, the cast gets winnowed down one by one until it’s just the two of them… and her overprotective father, who arrives in time to provide the cliffhanger and no doubt ensure that nookie does not ensue. Not that I think it should—these two kids are even purer than the couple from Kimi ni Todoke, and I think they should mature a bit more before going further. Plus, watching them blush and kiss is wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – Having spent our first volume establishing that our found family can really come to love each other deep down, this volume shows off how they are also, at heart, fundamentally awkward and unable to socialize normally. This is unsurprising—hints of Loid’s life we’ve seen show him as a war orphan, Yor is a contract killer, and Anya basically grew up being experimented on by bad guys. As the school soon finds, this leads to issues. The second half of the book introduces Yor’s sister-obsessed little brother Yuri, who turns out to be a torture expert for Loid’s enemies. As always, half the fun is that everyone except Anya has no idea who their real selves are, and the cliffhanger tells us we’re in for some hilarious family fun. I love this. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 | By Tatsuya Endo | VIZ Media – After a brief spell atop the waiting list, Anya officially makes it into Eden Academy. Loid is anxious to progress to the next stage of his mission and, believing there’s not much chance in turning Anya into an elite scholar like his agency wants, focuses instead on having her befriend the younger son of his target. It does not go to plan, of course. Anya is very cute in this volume, and I also really appreciated how Loid genuinely listens to Yor and values her input. The arrival of Yor’s brother, a member of the secret police, is going to be a fun complication, and another cast member with a secret, but my favorite part of this series is probably always going to be how much love these three are already feeling for each other. So unique and good! – Michelle Smith

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, Vol. 6 | By Tomo Hirokawa, based on the story by Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – The weakness of this manga is the same as always—it’s written to tie into the games, and features several characters I just don’t recognize, which can be a problem given this is the big final let’s-save-the-world ending. That said, this is still a decent SAO title. Kirito gets to be cool and badass, but because this isn’t written just by Kawahara others do as well, and it’s a nice balanced effort that focuses on heroine Premiere. I also really liked the point where all the NPCs are worried when everyone has to log out for several days for maintenance. While I’ll still remember this as the “SAO only everyone is alive” manga, I enjoyed reading it, when I wasn’t confused. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 5/4/22

Minami Nanami Wants to Shine, Vol. 1 | By Bana Yoshida and Yuki Yaku | Yen Press – For most of the volume, this feels like a typical side-story spin-off from Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, focusing on perpetual second-best Minami, and her frustration with being the perpetual second-best. The plot involves her mother, who works at a modeling agency, suggesting that her daughter model for them. Minami is a bit taken aback by this, partly as I don’t think she really sees herself as pretty, but also because it’s not anything she had thought about before. The surprise comes when she chooses NOT to run against Aoi for student council—as in the books—and goes for the modeling instead. Will she succeed? Will she start to like herself? Can’t wait to find out. – Sean Gaffney

My Love Mix-Up! Vol. 3 | By Wataru Hinekure and Aruko | Viz Media – This series has settled into a groove of being a heartwarming romantic farce and I am here for it. Aoki and Hashimoto deal with a survival-style ski instructor on a school trip and manage to get a little closer to their respective crushes. Aoki in particular manages to experience the heights of romantic hope and crushing despair as he pursues the perpetually stoic yet still sympathetic Ida. The illustrations easily capture Aoki’s ugly crying, joy, and the time when he feels so depressed he metaphorically turns into a slime. Highly recommended for anyone enjoying romance hijinks. – Anna N

New Game!, Vol. 12 | By Shotaro Tokuno | Seven Seas – This is the penultimate volume, and you know what that means: it means we’re going out with some drama. The team finds out that their game has lost its funding and they need to either find a new company to bankroll them or give up entirely. The obvious answer is Catherine’s company, even if that means groveling a bit. But the carrot comes with a stick, and this means that, once AGAIN, Aoba will not be the lead character designer. As this is about the third time this has happened, I suspect the final volume is probably going to have her questioning her ongoing life choices—she’s a perpetual “not good enough” designer. With all this drama, will we ever find out if Kou and Rin are a canon couple? – Sean Gaffney

Skip Beat!, Vol. 46 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | Viz Media – Skip Beat! is still nowhere near finished, and so the fact that Ren has confessed to Kyoko does not mean that things are wrapping up in a neat bow. Kyoko is stressed about anyone loving her—still—and also has not told him that she is Bo—still. Fortunately, the author knows the other reason that we’re reading this, which is the acting, and the next volume promises to focus more on that. Unfortunately, there are still many parts of Ren’s past that have yet to come to light, and they also promise to show up in the next volume. With all this going on, can Kyoko still find time to go on a date to an amusement park with her real true love, Moko? This was shorter than most volumes, but still worth the wait. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 18 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – It’s really a rare shoujo series that makes me wonder “OK, maybe they *are* going for a threesome ending?”, but Snow White with the Red Hair comes close. The romance between Zen and Shirayuki gets some more focus here, as they get to reunite in a big romantic scene. That said, Obi is not only intertwined damn near permanently with Shirayuki, but also with Zen, and it doesn’t help that the end of this volume has the author teasing about the two of them sleeping in the same bed. This series has a whole lot of Teasing Creator to it when it comes to the romance, and while I doubt Obi will be an official partner with Shirayuki—or indeed Zen—he’s still one of the best reasons to read this. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 7 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – I feel like a bit of a bad fan for saying this, but I will admit that I love Spy x Family better when it’s focusing on the antics of Loid and Yor than when it’s Anya’s Adventures at the Academy, and that’s what the majority of this volume is. That said, it does give some much-needed depth to Damian (and also a cover shot), as we see how much his insecurities stem from a desperate need to please and be noticed by his uncaring father. Elsewhere, Bond helps Loid to survive a mission, and we see that Yuri, while dedicated to stamping out subversives, is not without a heart. Most importantly, we kick off the next arc, at last focusing on Yor, who must protect rather than kill. Keep reading this great and extremely popular series. – Sean Gaffney

The Walking Cat: A Cat’s Eye View of the Apocalypse | By Tomo Kitaoka | Seven Seas – Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a virus ravages humanity, turning millions of people into zombies and leaving small, scrappy bands of survivors to fend for themselves. That’s the basic premise of The Walking Cat: A Cat’s Eye View of the Apocalypse, a middling horror story by newcomer Tomo Hideoka. The idea of experiencing a zombie plague from an animal’s perspective sounds promising, but in practice, Yuki feels more like a gimmick than a thoughtful exploration of how a human pandemic might effect other species. Yuki is barely a character; he functions mostly as a plot device, providing continuity between the series’ three main storylines and chasing the occasional butterfly. The humans aren’t very compelling either, as their stories are too rushed—and cliché—for the reader to feel much investment in their fate. Personally, I’m rooting for the zombies. – Katherine Dacey

By: Katherine Dacey