#WHAT IF MADOKA WAS A WAR CRIMINAL

[they-hermes]

using my god given talent and university wifi in order to deliver this

[sharky-chan]

five comfort characters five tags

Tagged by @lipstickmata <3 <3 <3.

Not 100% sure what comfort characters are, but I'll just take a crack at it assuming it means "I was or am extremely fixated on them and/or I just think they're neat." Trying to avoid massive spoilers, but there may be some minor ones despite my efforts...

Nero tol Scaeva (Final Fantasy XIV) I am pretty sure my first comment upon seeing Nero in RR was "Who is this loser? Looks like a worthless midboss that won't even make it to the end of the game," and boy was I wrong (about making it -- 100% he's a loser and worthless midboss). Now, 4 expacs later, he's my forever baby girl thanks to his incredible arrogance, sassy mouth, and "uncomfortably in love with Cid while also being divorced from Cid"-ness...

Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid) Ocelot is the OG "war criminal loser who is completely amoral outside of being wholly devoted to a single person, for whom he'd give up everything" so I obviously love him for the same reasons I love Nero. Every time Ocelot shows up in an MGS game, it brightens my day even as it makes the day of everyone around him worse <3. Meow.

Akemi Homura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) Hmm...looks like we're just on the "loser who will burn down the whole world to save the one person she loves" train, but it's a good train and I like it here! I wasn't a fan of the movie's take, but Homura's characterization (and magical girl powers) in the original show is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. Is it too much to ask that Homura be happy forever? No, I think it's not.

Sam Vimes (Discworld) I started with the Rincewind books, and while I do love them (and the academia references have only become more real to me over the years), imo the Nightwatch books are the heart of Discworld (yes, even more than the Death books, yes, I know this is contentious). Vimes is such a wonderful combination of rage, cynicism, kindness, and an unwavering adherence to justice.

Trico (Last Guardian) It's probably more fair to say all of the Team ICO games are comfort games, but a special shout out to Trico, who is the cutest kitty-bird-monster of all time despite eating those naughty, forbidden Trico Treats. I definitely had to lie down for a long time after finishing Last Guardian, and I was already emotionally prepared for having to lie down after finishing any Team ICO game ^o^;;

Not sure who wants to be tagged, so tagging @illuminesce, @songofkeys, @thistleburr, @penquinlori, and @poor-punctuation but feel free to ignore if you don't wanna play!

[magicalgirlagency]

You’re right about how rose x pearl and catadora being toxic but majority of people excuse them because it gay. I understand the importance or lgbt representation, however, we should be able to critique the one we get cause it not always the best. When I was in the she ra fandom, I like catadora but looking back catra was being abusive as hell and her trauma doesn’t excuse her actions. After she cause Queen Angella to sacrifice herself, the show should had never put her and Adora together. If a show want a pair together, don’t make characters do actions that are beyond redemption.

Yeah, that's what I've been saying! When you're dealing with representation, you gotta understand that they won't be always 100% legit or good for that matter.

Like, I get it that we, as a community, are STARVING for any kind of representation, and that we'll be taking what we can find; but it wouldn't hurt to have some nuance once in a while.

I mean, Steven Universe was about the irreversible effects of a war and the grief and pain that comes with it.

Netflix!She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was about a heroine having her worldview challenged and changing sides upon learning her masters' true intentions.

And Puella Magi Madoka Magica utilized Goethe's Faust and Nietzsche's philosophies as its main inspirations for its worldbuilding.

You would expect its audience (plus its staff) to treat its characters as a spectrum instead of a binary because the themes they present are much more complex to grasp, but nope!

Let's cut these war criminals some slack just because they're gay! Let's reward them with their girlfriends because they have gone through soooo much! And anyone that dares to criticize them is a wicked homophobe that should be dragged out to the streets and shot!

Like, get the fuck outta here, man. Being gay isn't a Get Out Of Jail card. How do you expect Equal Rights to be achieved, if you want gay characters to get off the hook for committing a crime?

[podlaskazazula]

🖤If you dislike Sylvanas, please don't follow🖤

Hello, feel free to interact with me if you feel that we share thoughts, I answer dms slowly but always do!

Now, some facts about me

I'm 20 years old

I use she/her

I'm slavic, currently studying Bulgarian language and culture in university

I play WoW but don't raid or do dungeons

My name is Aleksandra, but I preffer to be called Zazula

🍉

🖤🖤🖤

I'm #anti_netwitcher and #anti_lauren so if you like netflix Witcher series, better ignore my blog 🖤

I don't like arguing about ships, I believe that we are allowed to ship whatever we can, no matter if it's canon or non canon. I won't harras you for liking your otp and I expect the same. If no, just block me please.

I'm pro zutara and anti kataang or maiko.

From WoW I ship Sylduin and Blightrunner

🖤🖤🖤

I will post drawings, personal and non personal rants. My fandoms:

World of Warcraft

Witcher (books, games)

Bloodborne

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Bleach

Overlord

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

METRO

Avatar (ATLA)

I'm getting into Dungeon Meshi and Frieren recently too 🖤

🖤🖤🖤

And when it comes to Sylvanas,

I'm completly aware how poorly written she was, but I believe that sometimes fanon version of characters can be as good or better than canon. So, mine Sylvanas isn't as weirdly written as in og WoW. In my opinion, she deserved to be what she was going to be from very start – Good leader of Forsaken, antihero, character who does evil for greater good, who uses controversial option to keep herself and Forsaken powerful. I believe that she should be something more that sexualised war criminal, she deserved to be deep character who could redeem herself. I hate her betrayal of Horde and Forsaken, I hate burning of Teldrassil and I refuse to accept anything post Legion as canon. I just want to give her proper story and fix things that I don't agree with.

That's all 🖤

[medea10]

My Review of Sarazanmai

How did I get into this anime? I heard “things” about this anime. 2019 was a weird time to be alive apparently. You know, before 2020 happened! As much shit as I give 2020, at least they didn’t give us kappas eating people’s asses.

Yes, I just said “kappas eating people’s asses”.

Be afraid. Be very afraid!

Kazuki Yasaka is a young boy who must carry around a box wherever he goes and follow specific directions day-by-day. Toi Kuji is a delinquent that breaks into cars and commits other crimes throughout the city. And Enta Jinnai is a childhood friend of Kazuki…He’s there too! These three boys have been chosen by the kappa prince, Keppi to help restore the Kappa Kingdom to its former glory. Kazuki, Toi, and Enta can now transform into kappas by being eaten ass first by Keppi and then shit out. Yes, I said eaten ass first and shit out by a kappa! These boys then must eat the inner-most desires of these kappa-zombies that are causing Keppi trouble. And these inner-most desires are located…in the ass. But there are those from the Otter Empire that cause this trouble for the kappas by turning folks into kappa zombies and causing havoc in the real world.

I would not expect any less of a mind-rape anime from the great Kunihiko Ikuhara.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Even playing a kappa, Junichi Suwabe still finds a way to give me an erection.

Okay, let’s try that again and not make it sound disgusting, Medea.

Right! Let’s talk licensing. FUNimation is the licensors of this fine product. Seriously? Eating ass is fine, but you frown upon the likes of Interspecies Reviewers? Yes, there is a dub to this and believe it or not, I pretended it didn’t exist. Not because it was bad or anything! It’s just that this anime had the likes of Mamoru Miyano, Kouki Uchiyama, Rie Kugimiya, and Mr. Sex-in-a-Voice Junichi Suwabe. Let me state that my infatuation with Suwabe is like John Oliver’s infatuation with Adam Driver.

That…totally doesn’t help my case! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Kazuki is played by Ayumu Murase (known for Minami on Yuri on Ice, Luck on Black Clover, Asuto on Inazuma Eleven: Aries, Madoka on Shounen Maid, and Shinichi on SAO)

*Toi is played by Kouki Uchiyama (known for Yurio on Yuri on Ice, Soul on Soul Eater, Rui on Demon Slayer, Ikuya on Free!, Benedict on Violet Evergarden, Midnight on Fairy Tail, Yuu on Charlotte, and Ichijou on Nisekoi)

*Enta is played by Shun Horie (known for Kazuya on Rent-A-Girlfriend)

ENGLISH CAST: *Kazuki is played by Alejandro Saab (known for Leon on Pokemon Journeys, L’Arc on Shield Hero, Kuga on Food Wars, Yamazaki on Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, and Takezou on Kono Oto Tomare)

*Toi is played by Ricco Fajardo (known for Koutaro on Zombieland Saga, Itona on Assassination Classroom, Karim on Fire Force, Natsuya on Free!, and Kyousuke on Danganronpa 3)

*Enta is played by Justin Briner (known for Deku on My Hero Academia, Yukito on Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Shou on Fire Force, Luck on Black Clover, and Ryouta on Danganronpa 3)

SHIPPING: Well…we got our BL kiss by the third episode. That’s quite early for an Ikuhara anime. Ooh boy, Enta loves him some Kazuki. He REALLY loves Kazuki! There’s a lot to be said of a boy that would sniff and fondle items owned by his lover and kiss his unconscious lover. I can understand why Enta would care for Kazuki. I mean after hearing that he’s truly his first friend after a childhood of traveling around and not making many friends, you want to feel for this kid. Key word here is “want”. But this boy goes too far sometimes and his jealousy does get the best of him to a point where I’m just saying, cut ties with the megane brat. But Enta ends up screwing things up again by taking a bullet for Kazuki and throwing all that anger out the window.

And then we have Reo and Mabu! God damn Reo! We’ve got shark teeth, an arrogant attitude, homosexuality, and the voice of Mamoru Miyano. This is just a Rin Matsuoka of a different color! If Reo and Mabu’s otter dance isn’t a dead giveaway, they totally love each other. To a point where they would sacrifice each other for the one they love.

POLE-DANCE ALERT: I don’t know why I always find random pole-dancing moments in animes so alluring. I guess I can blame the likes of Grell from Black Butler. But this moment was so random that it came right the fuck out of nowhere. Then again, this entire anime is an enigmatic brain-fart that it was only a matter of time before a kappa prince starts randomly dancing on a pole.

There we go, Medea’s love for random crap will never die!

ENDING: Throughout the series, Kazuki, Toi, and Enta were gathering these dishes in order to get a wish granted by Keppi. And each time they’ve gone up against a big bad otter, Reo and Mabu are usually the ones to bring out the kappa zombies. But everyone has a plan for using the dishes of hope for their own wishes. Enta wants to use it to stay with Kazuki so the two can remain the golden duo. Reo and Mabu want the dishes to be with each other and save one another after an incident nearly killed them. And Kazuki originally wanted to use the dishes for his baby brother’s own sake, but changes to wanting to help Toi (who ends up leaving with his older, criminal of a brother). And shit goes crazier than what I’ve just mentioned. Enta fucks up by stealing the collected dishes and really fucking up his relationship with Kazuki! Toi ends up leaving town with his criminal brother.

Reo and Mabu, the otter cops shoot Kazuki, but Enta takes the bullet and is hours away from dying. But then we learn that Reo and Mabu were actually kappas who worked under Keppi. It’s just that the otters have been manipulating these two. Mabu is just a hollow body created by the otters because of some accident that happened prior to the events in the anime. The otter gives Mabu a mechanical heart to keep him alive, but in order to stay alive, he cannot say he loves Reo. Unfortunately for these two, Mabu ends up saying he loves Reo and dies right in front of him and vanishing from his memories. Reo is then shot by Toi who comes in at the last minute.

Toi’s back. We all knew it wasn’t going to last. His older brother got shot dead the episode before. So Toi is going to use the dishes to resurrect his brother from the dead. This leaves Kazuki in shambles as he was going to use it on Enta before his body expires in like 10 seconds. In the last minute, Kazuki used the dishes on Enta and he’s going to live. End of story right? No, we still have a demented otter on the loose. And the otters have a dark Keppi that he’s been storing for just this sort of moment. And now it grabs Toi and Toi accepts. He wants to erase his existence from Enta and Kazuki’s lives. Problem is if he does that, Toi erases giving Kazuki the ankle bracelet that’s been a staple in Kazuki and Enta’s relationship when it comes to soccer. But the boys were able to connect, destroy the otters, bring the memories of Mabu and Reo back, turn Keppi into a kappa prince, and save the town from OTTER-destruction.

Yeah, if you watch this series, you’ll hear a lot of puns involving otters. I mean when you’re not smothered in sexualized otters and kappas.

The ending credits show Toi getting sent to juvie for three years. And it’s quite sad to see his dejected face while the ending song blasts. When the lyrics literally say “stand by me” it gets quite sad. Three years pass and Toi’s out of juvie. He goes to the bridge and jumps off. Keep in mind this is an Ikuhara anime, Toi’s not gonna die. Enta and Kazuki jump in and join Toi and welcome him back to society.

Good lord Ikuhara-san! I didn’t think you could out-gay an anime after the likes of Yuri Kuma Arashi. But good fuck, you found a way! This anime was…INSANITY. Pure insanity! Then again, this is the same director that did Revolutionary Girl Utena, Yuri Kuma Arashi, and Mawaru Penguindrum. Yes, connection and desires are a big take in not only Sarazanmai, but a lot of the other animes Ikuhara does. It’s just that Sarazanmai is the strangest acid-trip of them all. And that’s saying a lot because Yuri Kuma Arashi has sexy bears that say “Shaba-da-doo”. ALSO VOICED BY JUNICHI SUWABE! But people getting turned into kappas by being eaten ass first by another kappa and stealing spirits inner most desires, conveniently stored in their asses is some wonky-ass crack-fest. Recommendation wise, I would say watch some of the other animes Ikuhara has directed to get your feet wet in what you might expect in this kind of anime. After that, pop in a few Bakemonogatari episodes just for good measure. And after you do all that, take some CBD gummies and let-a-rip with Sarazanmai.

If you want to watch Sarazanmai, Crunchyroll and FUNimation have it available for streaming.

Okay, what’s next for my FUNimation list?

Okay, boobs! What are we talking here? Are these boobs flat as an ironing board or crimes against nature like in Eiken?

Oh, this can’t end well.

[surprisebitch]

My 10 All-time Fave Anime

I first wanna get it out there that there is still a lot of anime I plan to watch and have yet to finish. This current top 10 all-time fave list is based from anime I have completed. I am currently watching a lot of anime, so this list could potentially change!

Each synopsis comes from MyAnimeList. Here’s my profile if you’re interested, and feel free to send a friend request!

Anyway, onto the list! This is not in order btw, just 10 titles!

My 10 All-time Fave Anime

1. Given (2019)

Tightly clutching his Gibson guitar, Mafuyu Satou steps out of his dark apartment to begin another day of his high school life. While taking a nap in a quiet spot on the gymnasium staircase, he has a chance encounter with fellow student Ritsuka Uenoyama, who berates him for letting his guitar’s strings rust and break. Noticing Uenoyama’s knowledge of the instrument, Satou pleads for him to fix it and to teach him how to play. Uenoyama eventually agrees and invites him to sit in on a jam session with his two band mates: bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji.

Satou’s voice is strikingly beautiful, filling Uenoyama with the determination to make Satou the lead singer of the band. Though reticent at first, Satou takes the offer after an emotional meeting with an old friend. With the support of his new friends, Satou must not only learn how to play guitar, but also come to terms with the mysterious circumstances that led him to be its owner.

2. Rurouni Kenshin (1996)

In the final years of the Bakumatsu era lived a legendary assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai. Feared as a merciless killer, he was unmatched throughout the country, but mysteriously disappeared at the peak of the Japanese Revolution. It has been ten peaceful years since then, but the very mention of Battousai still strikes terror into the hearts of war veterans.

Unbeknownst to them, Battousai has abandoned his bloodstained lifestyle in an effort to repent for his sins, now living as Kenshin Himura, a wandering swordsman with a cheerful attitude and a strong will. Vowing never to kill again, Kenshin dedicates himself to protecting the weak. One day, he stumbles across Kaoru Kamiya at her kendo dojo, which is being threatened by an impostor claiming to be Battousai. After receiving help from Kenshin, Kaoru allows him to stay at the dojo, and so the former assassin temporarily ceases his travels.

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan tells the story of Kenshin as he strives to save those in need of saving. However, as enemies from both past and present begin to emerge, will the reformed killer be able to uphold his new ideals?

3. Assassination Classroom (2015)

When a mysterious creature chops the moon down to a permanent crescent, the students of class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Middle School find themselves confronted with an enormous task: assassinate the creature responsible for the disaster before Earth suffers a similar fate. However, the monster, dubbed Koro-sensei (the indestructible teacher), is able to fly at speeds of up to Mach 20, which he demonstrates freely, leaving any attempt to subdue him in his extraterrestrial dust. Furthermore, the misfits of 3-E soon find that the strange, tentacled beast is more than just indomitable—he is the best teacher they have ever had.

Adapted from the humorous hit manga by Yuusei Matsui, Ansatsu Kyoushitsu tells the story of these junior high pupils as they polish their assassination skills and grow in order to stand strong against the oppressive school system, their own life problems, and one day, Koro-sensei.

4. My Hero Academia (2016)

The appearance of “quirks,” newly discovered super powers, has been steadily increasing over the years, with 80 percent of humanity possessing various abilities from manipulation of elements to shapeshifting. This leaves the remainder of the world completely powerless, and Izuku Midoriya is one such individual.

Since he was a child, the ambitious middle schooler has wanted nothing more than to be a hero. Izuku’s unfair fate leaves him admiring heroes and taking notes on them whenever he can. But it seems that his persistence has borne some fruit: Izuku meets the number one hero and his personal idol, All Might. All Might’s quirk is a unique ability that can be inherited, and he has chosen Izuku to be his successor!

Enduring many months of grueling training, Izuku enrolls in UA High, a prestigious high school famous for its excellent hero training program, and this year’s freshmen look especially promising. With his bizarre but talented classmates and the looming threat of a villainous organization, Izuku will soon learn what it really means to be a hero.

5. Attack on Titan (2013)

Centuries ago, mankind was slaughtered to near extinction by monstrous humanoid creatures called titans, forcing humans to hide in fear behind enormous concentric walls. What makes these giants truly terrifying is that their taste for human flesh is not born out of hunger but what appears to be out of pleasure. To ensure their survival, the remnants of humanity began living within defensive barriers, resulting in one hundred years without a single titan encounter. However, that fragile calm is soon shattered when a colossal titan manages to breach the supposedly impregnable outer wall, reigniting the fight for survival against the man-eating abominations.

After witnessing a horrific personal loss at the hands of the invading creatures, Eren Yeager dedicates his life to their eradication by enlisting into the Survey Corps, an elite military unit that combats the merciless humanoids outside the protection of the walls. Based on Hajime Isayama’s award-winning manga, Shingeki no Kyojin follows Eren, along with his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and his childhood friend Armin Arlert, as they join the brutal war against the titans and race to discover a way of defeating them before the last walls are breached.

6. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (2011)

Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyuubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student.

Kyuubey offers them a proposition: he will grant any one of their wishes and in exchange, they will each become a magical girl, gaining enough power to fulfill their dreams. However, Homura Akemi, a magical girl herself, urges them not to accept the offer, stating that everything is not what it seems.

A story of hope, despair, and friendship, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica deals with the difficulties of being a magical girl and the price one has to pay to make a dream come true.

7. Hunter X Hunter (2011)

Hunter x Hunter is set in a world where Hunters exist to perform all manner of dangerous tasks like capturing criminals and bravely searching for lost treasures in uncharted territories. Twelve-year-old Gon Freecss is determined to become the best Hunter possible in hopes of finding his father, who was a Hunter himself and had long ago abandoned his young son. However, Gon soon realizes the path to achieving his goals is far more challenging than he could have ever imagined.

Along the way to becoming an official Hunter, Gon befriends the lively doctor-in-training Leorio, vengeful Kurapika, and rebellious ex-assassin Killua. To attain their own goals and desires, together the four of them take the Hunter Exam, notorious for its low success rate and high probability of death. Throughout their journey, Gon and his friends embark on an adventure that puts them through many hardships and struggles. They will meet a plethora of monsters, creatures, and characters—all while learning what being a Hunter truly means.

8. Ranma ½ (1989)

Ranma Saotome is a top-class martial artist and prodigy at the Saotome “Anything-Goes” school of martial arts. While training in China, he and his father meet a terrible fate when they accidentally fall into a cursed spring. Now, Ranma is cursed to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and only hot water can turn him back into a boy.

Things are only complicated further when Ranma discovers that his father has arranged for him to marry one of Soun Tendo’s three daughters in order to secure the future of the Tendo dojo. Though Soun learns of Ranma’s predicament, he is still determined to go ahead with the engagement, and chooses his youngest daughter Akane, who happens to be a skilled martial artist herself and is notorious for hating men.

Ranma ½ follows the hilarious adventures of Ranma and Akane as they encounter various opponents, meet new love interests, and find different ways to make each other angry, all while their engagement hangs over their head.

9. Love Live! School Idol Project (2013)

Otonokizaka High School is in a crisis! With the number of enrolling students dropping lower and lower every year, the school is set to shut down after its current first years graduate. However, second year Honoka Kousaka refuses to let it go without a fight. Searching for a solution, she comes across popular school idol group A-RISE and sets out to create a school idol group of her own. With the help of her childhood friends Umi Sonoda and Kotori Minami, Honoka forms μ’s (pronounced “muse”) to boost awareness and popularity of her school.

Unfortunately, it’s all easier said than done. Student council president Eri Ayase vehemently opposes the establishment of a school idol group and will do anything in her power to prevent its creation. Moreover, Honoka and her friends have trouble attracting any additional members. But the Love Live, a competition to determine the best and most beloved school idol groups in Japan, can help them gain the attention they desperately need. With the contest fast approaching, Honoka must act quickly and diligently to try and bring together a school idol group and win the Love Live in order to save Otonokizaka High School.

10. Demon Slayer (2019)

Ever since the death of his father, the burden of supporting the family has fallen upon Tanjirou Kamado’s shoulders. Though living impoverished on a remote mountain, the Kamado family are able to enjoy a relatively peaceful and happy life. One day, Tanjirou decides to go down to the local village to make a little money selling charcoal. On his way back, night falls, forcing Tanjirou to take shelter in the house of a strange man, who warns him of the existence of flesh-eating demons that lurk in the woods at night.

When he finally arrives back home the next day, he is met with a horrifying sight—his whole family has been slaughtered. Worse still, the sole survivor is his sister Nezuko, who has been turned into a bloodthirsty demon. Consumed by rage and hatred, Tanjirou swears to avenge his family and stay by his only remaining sibling. Alongside the mysterious group calling themselves the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjirou will do whatever it takes to slay the demons and protect the remnants of his beloved sister’s humanity.

I hope you find something you like here and will check some of my faves out!! ❤️ Let me know if you do and what you think!!! x

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Rinne no Lagrange, Episodes 4-6

In which things get too complicated for Madoka’s simple mindset, but simplicity is still more of a problem than this show realizes, and I make comparisons to another show that did this shtick way better.

The Plot Thickens

Over the course of these episodes, we learn a lot about the bigger picture of the war Madoka’s been embroiled in. It turns out, La Garite and De Metrio used to be allied planets, working toward a common cause. It’s not clear what went wrong, but for some reason, their alliance caved in on itself, and now the two powers are fighting each other. Meanwhile, one of De Metrio’s old royals, an Evil Genjirou- looking motherfucker by the name of Lord Villagiulio, has split off to form his own faction, a roving band of space criminals known as Kiss. This group is at odds with both warring planets, but at the moment, he’s decided that allying with De Metrio is the best way to advance his interests, whatever they may be. Considering he used to be friends with Lan back when she was a child and their planets were still on the same side (side note, child Lan is fucking adorable), she’s none too happy at the prospect of facing him as an enemy now. And complicating things further, Villa’s sister Muginami has beamed down to Earth without his permission in an attempt to hijack the final Ovid for her dearest brother.

Suffice to say, there’s a lot going on here, and poor Madoka’s too stupid to really grasp the complexities of it all. It takes her two full minutes to process her teacher’s suggestion at which point the conversation’s already left her far behind, she is not ready to untangle this complex galactopolitical snafu. Even Muginami basically calls her out on this by the end of episode 6: her Jersey Club commitment to helping people is barely surface level, and she’s more doing it to make herself feel good than actually understand and solve the more complex problems the people around her are dealing with. She doesn’t know who Muginami is, what kind of life she’s lived, what her relationship with her brother is like, or what decisions have brought her to this point. All she’s doing is yelling out basic Power of Friendship stuff with no consideration for why that’s so damn difficult for Muginami, or if it’s even the right call to make at all. I hope this idea gets explored in more detail, because Madoka’s stupidity really is holding her back, and an exploration of how our conception of “doing good” can get tangled in selfish ignorance would be a fascinating direction for this story to go in.

Shallow Waters

Actually, that brings me to my biggest issue with Rinne no Lagrange: it all feels very shallow. The reason I’m hoping for Madoka to undergo some serious introspection is because as is, the show itself is incredibly lacking in introspection. The conflicts are mostly basic and uninspired: Lan gets jealous of Muginami because Madoka’s being friendly to her as well, Muginami puts on the act of an airhead to hide the fact she’s actually a schemer with ulterior motives, the brother she dotes on is nowhere near the paragon figure she thinks he is, Madoka don’t want to give up on Muginami even after finding out she’s a traitor because the friendship they made was real, wasn’t it? It’s all just very pat, cribbed from countless other stories that handled these tropes better. The only moment that really struck me was when Villa crushes Muginami’s heart by calling her out of her laziness and telling her that stealing the Ovid won’t make up for how apathetic she’s been toward the war effort at large, especially when she’s too much of an amateur to pilot it well. It’s an unexpected turn that challenges the Pretend Airhead Who Thinks She’s Above It All archetype in a way I haven’t really seen before; when you act like you’re too good to care about anyone else, why should they care about you? But even so, it’s a little awkward to try and wring emotional drama out of Muginami supposedly betraying her friends’ trust when she only just showed up last episode.

Honestly, the more I watch this show, the more my mind goes back to Symphogear, which, funnily enough, aired in the same season. Symphogear wasn’t technically mecha, but it its plot structure and mechanics were clearly mecha-inspired, so it and Rinne no Lagrange share a lot of similarities in how their stories develop. Like this show, Symphogear was also fairly shallow and surface-level at times, with conflicts that played out in big melodramatic fashion and tended to stumble whenever subtlety was required. So why did Symphogear end up being one of my favorite anime ever while Rinne just isn’t clicking with me? Simple: Symphogear was built to be unsubtle. It was big and loud and flashy and bombastic and presentational, Wagnerian opera by way of Michael Bay. The simplicity of its emotions was magnified by the majesty of its presentation, turning the whole show into a gigantic beating heart that spoke directly to your basest desire to feel and did so magnificently. Rinne, in contrast, is actually trying to be subtle. Its more atmospheric and deliberately paced, with toned-down color palettes, more realistic environmental design, and even uses of abstract symbolism like the repeated shot of the three chairs in front of the ocean waves representing the three Ovid pilots. It’s no more emotionally or narratively complex than Symphogear, but it’s asking you to treat it as if it’s got more going on. And it results in a distracting dissonance where the timbre of the narrative asks you to engage your brain more seriously while the actual substance of the narrative tells you to turn your brain off.

Grasping Through Mud

This issue has serious consequences for my level of engagement with Rinne as a show. Symphogear absolutely had dumb, nonsensical moments, but everything was so damn entertaining and unpretentious that it was easy to let yourself get swept up in the flow. I could probably point out a hundred plot holes or logical leaps in Symphogear if I tried, but I don’t care enough to do so, because I got to watch a screeching hamster girl punch the world’s tallest mountain down to the world’s second-tallest mountain while hugging her wife who is also god into submission as a metaphor for never giving up on humanity’s ability to try and understand each other, and it was awesome. But when the thrill of watching Rinne isn’t enough to sweep me away with that same wonder (excellent though the mecha action may be), when the show is actively forcing you to slow down and think about it more closely, you quickly start to notice all the frustrating things that don’t add up. Why was Youko so dead-set against Madoka piloting a robot in the first two episodes, but then became the most gung-ho about her continuing to pilot the robot with no obvious character development? What’s with the weird school motto about girls “remembering war in peacetime and remembering peace in wartime”? Is this world supposed to be somewhat futuristic or post-apocalyptic like Symphogear’s? If so, it’s done a really poor job communicating it. Hell even that chair metaphor I mentioned is odd and unfitting. Why chairs? Are they purely symbolic or is something literally happening with them? Why does the show need them at all? This isn’t like a Shaft show where the visual abstraction is pushed so far to the limit it becomes part of the meaning in and of itself, this is just a weird, out-of-place symbol in an otherwise incredibly grounded visual presentation.

And that goes double for the fanservice. Turns out, I was too quick in calling it not that big a distraction last time, because it’s getting really frustrating really fast. The weird thing is, though, outside of Muginami’s huge boobs, there’s not a lot of actual blatant “shove sexy bits in the audience’s face.” It’s all in very heavy-handed implication. Like the girls all going for a swimsuit race with some suggestive camera angles, which gives one of the military guys a convenient excuse to talk about someone being attracted to the underdressed girls. Or Muginami and Lan becoming part-time waiters at Madoka’s uncle’s restaurant and everyone commenting on their moe appeal from the sidelines. Or Villa getting a peek under Madoka’s skirt and commenting on the color of her panties. Or that one dude constantly getting horny over Youko doing mundane things that just so happen to allow for you to imagine sexual connotations for them. Or all the girls’ special “This means I’m a robot pilot” symbols appearing in suggestive places- the lower back, right beside the boobs, right over the crotch- that encourage your focus on those areas. Not much is really shown off, but it’s full of all these winks and nods and nudges to make you imagine all the juicy bits it’s holding at arm’s length. And somehow, that’s almost even more aggravating than if it just did traditional fanservice. It’s like it’s standing behind me with its fingers two inches away from my face going, “I’m not touching you, I’m not touching you!” and pretending that I’m not allowed to get mad because it’s not actually touching me. Sorry, but pandering is pandering no matter how honest you are about it, and this half-assed plausible deniability bullshit only makes it harder for me to take you as seriously as you want me to.

Odds and Ends.

-”Nowhere in our school regulations does it say a student is allowed to fight in a robot.” Teach, you’re cool with me.

-”Mr. Tadakoro, you can speak now.” pfft

-”I’m terrible at everything...” Madoka go comfort your gf I swear to god

-”In the language of flowers, Lagrange stands for freedom, charm and blunder.” Oh, that’s definitely important.

-”Pluto’s in retrograde... no wonder bad things keep happening.” kdfhsdfks okay then

-”You’re one step ahead of Youko now.” So Youko was Jersey Club back in the day. But only now are they getting a club room, lol.

-”There’s no need to argue over something that’s just lying around.” That’s probably telling.

-Okay, why the random Shaft-ism right there?

-”Knowing your enemy starts from stuff like this.” I knew I liked Kirius.

-”This planet truly cannot be underestimated!” sdkfhsfkhssdkljfdskl

-This shot of the planet’s horizon at dawn is beautiful.

Now let’s see what’s going on with those Rin-ne flowers that just blossomed from Madoka’s emotional outburst. See you next time!

[upfrog]

So I finished reading Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

This isn’t so much a review, as an attempt to cement some of my thoughts, and to at least write something down, the better that I will not look back in a year and not be able to remember a thing of what I thought of HPMOR. But overall... that was quite a thing.

HPMOR is long. Longer (by word count, which isn’t a perfect method of judging this) than War and Peace, the normal benchmark for “really long books”. I don’t consider getting through it to be an accomplishment, in the sense of say, getting through Homestuck, though maybe that’s only because I have tried, and failed to do the latter several times. It may also be because the plot is, for all it’s time travel and scientific tangents, less complex than Homestuck. I do not expect it to stick in my mind the way the canonical books do. While I do not consider them to be high literature, the canonical Harry Potter books, in addition to being entirely an entirely decent story, had a certain... Depth, of sorts, to them. Some of this may come from the midi-chlorian effect; the workings of magic are never discussed greatly in the canonical books, but much of HPMOR Harry’s efforts are devoted to understanding magic from a scientific perspective. I think it is more likely that it is because HPMOR simply had a more limited scope.

HPMOR set out to be a puzzle, an encouragement of rational thought patterns, a demonstration of how they might be applied to great benefit. And it does this. While potential plot holes and inconsistencies exist, it does this fairly well on the whole. But there isn’t that much beneath it, at least not that I have seen. It’s a good enough story, and the way it chooses to fill in the unfinished coloring book of Rowling’s world creates a compellingly interesting universe, albeit not a pleasant one. It has some good humor at some parts (more on that later), many clever moments, and some moments that are, frankly, just plain awesome, though these often contribute to the monstrously overpowered being that Harry is. Both versions shared the core theme of (spoiler warning: the rest of this paragraph. If you’re interested, I’d really advise you to just read it so that you don’t have the dramatic tension reduced) Harry ultimately triumphing by virtue of who he is. Triumphing by being, as we would describe it, a better human being than his opponent. The difference is that in the canonical books, this is a much more theological process. By the final book, Rowling is pretty much bashing us over the head with a crucifix. I still maintain that, unless the hill you wish to die on is unmarried teen snogging, declaring Harry Potter as heresy for the simple fact that it includes magic is to foolishly ignore the veritable flood of Christian messaging the books contain. I thought I’d made a post about that, but apparently not, so I’ll divert myself to that briefly. 

Spoilers for the whole canonical Harry Potter main series in the following paragraph:

The entire story is based on an innocent child who was permitted to live because of the intensely real power and protection offered by the selfless sacrifice of another to protect said child. So there, straight off the bat, right in the premise. And then in the 7th book, Harry does the exact same thing, but more so, and pretty much pulls an Aslan, “dying” willingly to protect others, but not by this being truly killed. And it’s not like the Christian messaging in Narnia is obscure. And at the end of the first Harry Potter book, Dumbledore, the most “good guy” character that the series has to offer goes off explaining how “to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure”. Then, in no particular order, having not done anything like a read through specifically looking out for these: the primacy of the soul over the physical, the specifically soul-corrupting nature of evil and killing, the power of redemption and forgiveness, the ultimate triumph of good over evil, the concept of powers that, while attainable, will damage your soul forever, and the existence of life after death. Anyway, back to the main matter.

HPMOR lacks any semblance of this depth (not that this is the deepest thing in the world mind), at least that I have been able to detect, and this makes it a lesser story to me.

The first ten or so chapters of HPMOR were pretty great as comedy. Harry constantly befuddling the wizarding world, and being befuddled by it, makes for some great laughs. Later on it undergoes a pretty significant tone change, and I had a very hard time adjusting to it, and enjoying the latter portion (which makes up most of the fic) for what it is. I did ultimately reach that point, but it was jarring.

This fic has some pretty obscure references. Have any of y’all read “Negima!?”? The author of this fic has. ( or at least, he’s watched some of the show.) It also had an offhanded reference to Madoka Magica, which is less obscure, but I still appreciate it. 

HPMOR Harry just keeps on getting more and more powers. (potential spoilers ahead, less severe): It seems like every month he’s making some discovery of how to do something that the entire wizarding world “knows” is totally impossible. It makes a certain sense, in context, but it certainly does contribute to some Mary Sue-like feeling. But on the other hand, Harry routinely oversteps his cleverness, failing to think things through enough, missing obvious points that would have counter-indicated his action. And some of the consequences are rather severe, so I don’t knock too many points off for it. Harry is powerful, but he is also rather a child genius in this telling, and all things considered, most of his discoveries don’t seem too ridiculous. 

I earlier mentioned that the world HPMOR painted was rather interesting. It (mostly) doesn’t directly contradict the wizarding world as portrayed in the common, but it does color in many of the blanks, and this author paints in dark colors. Wizarding britain, as portrayed in HPMOR, would be considered barbaric to most of the people reading this. Or perhaps it would merely be considered “medieval”. It certainly has some things going for it. It is portrayed as a place with relatively little history of institutional sexism, or racism amongst wizards. Even the stodgiest pure bloods find it silly to discriminate based on skin color. Wizarding Britain sees little wrong with homosexuality, and it is entirely un-taboo. But things get worse from there.

It is implied, or at least, I took away the message from my last reading some years ago, that the Wizarding power structure in the canonical books is... incompetent. That the benchmark of being a “fully qualified” witch or wizard does not in fact entail very much true competency, and many of the more powerful figures are somewhat dumb. HPMOR confirms this, and brings it into the light, offering more examples of just how useless most wizards are in matters non-magical. Wizarding Britain is controlled by an incompetent government, which is primarily controlled by one or several “Noble and Most Ancient House(s)”. The extent of Lucius Malfoy’s influence is brought up often in the canonical books, and the same is true here. This is a world where (minor spoiler for something before chapter 10-ish) a young noble raping a girl, and yes, girl is the proper noun here, repeatedly, and getting away with it indefinitely, is an open secret. Where this young noble’s security is secured by: a) the victim and her families’ fear of his familial power, b) memory charms, and c) a court system where the interests of the Noble Houses are often a primary concern. 

Wizarding news is minimal, and it seems to primarily toe the ministry (which is to say, aristocratic) line, save for the Quibbler, which... on the whole, isn’t great news either. There is no particular concept of a fair trial at play in this world, especially if your crime was committed against a noble house. Less than three days investigation is considered enough to go from crime to a sentence of ten years in Azkaban. And then there’s Azkaban itself. For all it is a prominent feature in the books, and Dumbledore’s opposition to it is often mentioned, Azkaban doesn’t get much light shone on it in the canonical books. This is likely in part because it is such an incredibly, ridiculously cruel place that it becomes very difficult for many of us muggles to imagine it being an appropriate punishment for anyone. I won’t go into great detail, but there are very few crimes capable of causing enough pain that, even working from a perspective of vengeance, instead of justice or rehabilitation, it becomes very difficult to mathematically justify Azkaban. 

To clarify, by mathematically justify, I mean, what percent of the pain a criminal inflicts by his misdeed can fairly be unleashed upon the criminal as punishment. Is a beating a proper punishment for beating someone? What about two beatings? Or three? At what point does the severity of the punishment become so much greater than that of the crime that it stops being sensible? If you slapped me, would I, absent any concerns about self defense or ensuring my future safety, be justified in immediately shooting you? Or boiling you? Or beating you to death? The murders who are so successful that we stop calling them murders and start calling them statesmen might have a shot at a mathematically (if not necessarily ethically) justifiable cell in Azkaban. For everyone else, it’s pretty difficult. And in both versions of the story, wizarding justice is NOT perfect. Innocent people go to Azkaban, and are exposed to this as well. Azkaban is pretty terrible, and most of the wizarding world just sort of... accepts it.

Anyway, I probably have more to say, but I really need to wrap this up. This probably wasn’t very coherent, so sorry about that. 

[recentanimenews]

Celebrating Everyone's Favorite Anime Butcher, Gen Urobuchi

  There was a city that purged its citizens of emotions in the aftermath of a great disaster. Many years later, an enforcer of justice stalks the streets with his partner and eliminates those who defy society's rules. But after he encounters a man reading classic literature, his outlook on life changes completely. Can he overcome the cruel, oppressive world in which he lives?

  If you’re an anime fan, you’re probably thinking: “Oh, I love PSYCHO-PASS!” But this was Equilibrium, a 2002 box office flop starring Christian Bale just a few years before his star turn in Batman Begins. The film received middling critical reviews, but clearly someone had their eye on it. Just one year later, a scriptwriter at the then up and coming visual novel studio Nitro+ co-produced an unofficial sequel to the movie: Jouka no Monshou.  Only a few hours long, it expanded on the themes and worldbuilding of the original film, particularly fleshing out its infamous, fictional martial arts style of “gun kata.”

    That December, in 2003, Nitro+ released the visual novel Song of Saya. Advertised as a charming college romance, it was instead a gruesome and disturbing horror tale that took influence from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft and video nasties like Possession. And the man who wrote the script? The writer of Jouka no Monshou, our friend and birthday boy Gen Urobuchi. Less than a decade later, with a successful light novel prequel to Fate/Stay Night under his belt, he was brought on to write 2011’s late night smash hit Puella Magi Madoka Magica and became one of the most famous scriptwriters in the anime industry.

  Standing out as an anime scriptwriter is no mean feat. The medium is so collaborative that directors, producers and animators often have just as much say as the person who’s been designated for “scenario writing” or “series composition.” Of the handful of writers who have managed to make a name for themselves outside of the creative staff they associate with, perhaps only Gen Urobuchi and Mari Okada have made a mark for themselves this decade as figures so singular that they’ve been given the keys to direct work of their own.

    If Mari Okada’s brand is melodrama, creating plots where characters overcome societal expectations to loudly express their feelings, many have claimed Urobuchi’s specialty is “tragedy.” His stories are full of great men laid low, young women whose innocence is shattered, decent people transformed through hardship into depraved monsters. Vicious worlds governed by amoral gods, where the strong prey upon the weak and those who are not strong must struggle to survive.

  Those who love his work compare him to Dostoyevsky, or to classic Greek tragedy. Others despise his sometimes schlocky violence, frequent reliance on the same character archetypes, and—most of all—the number of women in his work who end up strangled to death, among other horrible fates.

    But I brought up Jouka no Monshou and Song of Saya earlier in this piece  to reclaim Urobuchi’s career: not as a writer of tragedies, but a writer of pulps. Urobuchi is not an original writer. By his own admission, his work borrows heavily from others. Madoka leans heavily on past, meaner seasons of Kamen Rider and the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft. Fate/Zero greatly expands the universe of Fate/Stay Night, but many of its cruelest twists are extrapolated straight from the latter routes of the original game. PSYCHO-PASS in particular features just about everything Urobuchi enjoys writing about: a dystopian city right out of Equilibrium, freaky body horror involving brains in jars and shocking murders, and a battle of wits between a conflicted agent of the law and an amoral criminal mastermind.

  Urobuchi’s great skill at a writer is taking these complex plots built of recognizable parts, and then streamlining them into vicious and efficient suspense machines that surprise even when you know what horrors are coming. The big reveal of Song of Saya—that the little girl the main character befriends is really something horrible and other—is brought out again and again in his later stories, from the secret origin of the squid aliens in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet to the symbolic fruit trees in Kamen Rider Gaim. Nearly every time, it works like gangbusters. Maybe it’s that Urobuchi is always careful to give us at least one character who is in on the take, bending society around them to fulfill their dreams. The assassins, obsessives and professionals, the ones who cut through the universe like butter and know exactly what kind of story they are in. When Kiritsugu obliterates an opponent in the Holy Grail War with a dirty trick, we nod along because in that situation we would have done the same thing. But then Kiritsugu is laid low, and we are shocked. If Kiritsugu knew the axe hanging over his head, and was still crushed when it fell, couldn’t the same happen to us?

    My favorite recent work by Gen Urobuchi is the first season of Thunderbolt Fantasy, which represents everything I find appealing about his creations. First, it’s a labor of love, spotlighting a puppet troupe that is hugely popular in Taiwan but unknown elsewhere. Second, it’s a classic story of good versus evil that trims away many of Urobuchi’s excesses while remaining distinctive and flavorful; the puppets suffer extreme bodily harm up to and including decapitation, but there’s a refreshing lack of sexual or sadomasochistic violence. Third, despite being a wuxia story where powerful martial artists beat the tar out of each other, success is determined by trickery and guile.

  The most dangerous force in the story is not the memorably named Screaming Phoenix Killer, or the ruthless Mie Tian Hai. It’s the thief Lin Xue Ya, who despite being the most talented swordsman alive would rather lie and cheat his way through life, humiliating people who think they have the world figured out. After all, it’s far more entertaining that way!

    But Lin Xue Ya makes a serious mistake at the end of Thunderbolt Fantasy, putting the fate of the world at risk and endangering his life of fun and amusement. It’s ultimately the wandering monk Shang Bu Huan, a truly decent human being, who saves the day. Just like Madoka saved Homura from succumbing to despair, or how Akane surpasses even Kogami as the greatest threat to the Sybil System. Urobuchi caters to the bloodthirst of his fans, throwing them for a loop again and again. But at the end he’ll give us a hero. Thank you Gen Urobuchi, and happy birthday!

  Are you a fan of Gen Urobuchi? Are you looking forward to his most recent project? Let us know in the comments!

  ---

Adam W is a Features Writer at Crunchyroll. He sporadically contributes with a loose coalition of friends to a blog called Isn't it Electrifying? Did you know that Gen Urobuchi, Kinoko Nasu, Romeo Tanaka and Hoshizora Meteo are all friends? The more you know. You can find Adam at: @wendeego

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[akaluan]

Masterpost By Month: March 2018

Dragon Eclipse:

Karakura Crew Part 9 - Sado Yasutora (Tiger Cubs Ch10)

Meeting Ryuuken Part 1

Meeting Ryuuken Part 2

Tatsuki Requests Training Part 1

Tatsuki Requests Training Part 2

DE Side Story: Shiro Sews

Post DE: Relaxing Together Part 4

The ability to ‘see’ the heart of the enemy during combat

Kaito’s survivor’s guilt and consequences

Kaito and Ichigo both suffer from depression

Kaito AND Ichigo have issues, this is no surprise

There are times when Kaito Just Can’t, and that’s okay

Kaito learns to have fun, and Kisuke’s thoughts on seeing Kaito begin to mimic him

Ichigo specifically doesn’t want to front around Tatsuki

Ichigo doesn’t front around the other teens until a lot later

What if the teens get confirmation that Kurosaki is like Kaito’s dead best friend

World-hopper Kaito in a canon-style universe

Kaito enjoys the chance to be silly and explore himself

Shining Eclipse:

Kaito treads carefully with AU!Urahara, and tries to pull the teens into the man’s orbit more firmly

The first night of Kaito’s arrival is a bit... murdery

Lilacs from the Dead Land:

Lilacs basic concept (why muse, why)

Lilacs Fragment 1

Lilacs Fragment 2 (potential future fragment)

Lilacs Fragment 3 (potential future fragment)

First Spar between Erich and Kisuke

Kisuke realizes Erich can Actually Fly

On memory loss and Soul Society in general

On how Erich survived four decades in the Rukongai as a Quincy

Erich stays on the move during the first weeks in the Living World

‘Hide in Plain Sight’ is part of that survival

Erich thinks the teens are criminally undertrained and is completely unimpressed by nearly everyone in Karakura except the teens

Erich is absolutely unimpressed with people, and believes that dirty fighting is 100% fair play

Erich is an old fashioned mage, but “old fashioned” actually means “experienced war mage” here

Uryuu is almost entirely self-taught, and Erich sets out to fix that

Erich is wary of Kisuke, and Kisuke is fascinated by Erich

Kisuke learns how to mix magecraft and Shinigami arts, and Erich is... wary

On Erich relearning how to use a computational orb, modern version

Erich and his chosen weapons

Erich and Zanpakutou

Zanpakutou are PART of their wielder? Erich isn’t sure he likes this implication

Erich has experience with over-powered individuals with Unique Personalities

Erich is Not Impressed By Much

Erich accepts that Kisuke is worthy of some respect, and is utterly Done with the ‘undercover’ Shinigami

Erich trolls the Shinigami

As a military man, Seireitei offends Erich so badly

If Erich wanted to be, he would be a terrifying enemy for Seireitei

Erich is also So Done with everything to do with Shinigami, the Wandenreich, and would-be conquerors in general

Erich is Completely Unimpressed with the Wandenreich

You really think Mayuri is surviving this story?

Of course, this has consequences

Still, the best revenge is living well

“Erich vs the eldest shinigami 4: fight! -w”

Erich doesn’t particularly like the Vizard, either

Erich on the Vizards

Erich and Ryuuken and how little they get along

Ryuuken really doesn’t appreciate Erich’s presence

Quincy uniform? No thanks. (He’ll wear it for the Impact if he has to)

On why no one before Erich combined magecraft and spiritual energy manipulation

Family relationships and the loss of the Quincy Mage skill tree

Uryuu discovers his relation to Erich

Uryuu learns German to feel closer to Erich

Uryuu makes Erich his emergency contact

The teens track down images of WW1 Erich

Uryuu makes a photo album for Erich

Erich is Uryuu’s role model, and proof that Quincy abilities aren’t lesser or worthless

Erich and Uryuu form very similar friendship groups

Erich is dangerous when he cuts loose

The very start of Erich and Kisuke’s friendship, and Erich’s opinions on Quincy Pride

Erich and Kisuke are surprised by friendship

Erich has his Dark moments, and many regrets about his life

Erich trusts Kisuke enough to be drunk in front of him

The Evolution of Erich and Kisuke’s Relationship

Yoruichi squirms her way into Erich’s regard as well

Kisuke likes to troll, and Erich really can’t imagine himself in a relationship with the blond (yet)

Lilacs From the Dead Land: A Revelation

Erich and Kisuke’s relationship (Orihime thinks it’s AMAZING, the Shinigami disagree)

The Shinigami are NOT HAPPY with this romance, and Erich takes working with Kisuke easily in stride

Kisuke and consent issues

Kisuke Doesn’t Get People

Erich and relationships

Kisuke is a Troll to the teens re: his relationship with Erich

Erich hopes Tanya isn’t still hanging around as a spirit

Erich will eat basically anything edible, Yuzu isn’t okay with this and invites him and Uryuu to dinner all the time

Erich prefers tea to coffee

Discovery of Ichigo’s Quincy heritage

Uryuu finds out he’s related to Ichigo

Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu consider Erich a parent

Erich doesn’t like how under-trained everyone is

(He is absolutely not adopting the kids. He is not.)

Orihime also like Erich as a parental figure

Things Erich likes about the Living World

Erich gets a job? Idk frankly

Erich does not like remaining idle

Potential hobbies Erich might have

Erich picks up clockwork as a hobby

Erich finds a hobby (fic version)

Erich likes to gift people things he’s worked on with his own hands

Disney movies are an unexpected interest of Erich’s

Erich’s favorite Disney movie

Culture shock isn’t unexpected, after coming back from the dead four decades later

Uryuu also experiences a version of culture shock, and Erich teaches the teens war

Modern magecraft and why mages aren’t as well known in Bleach

Further thoughts on magecraft in the modern era

Maybe this Uryuu has secretly wavy hair

On what the European Continent looks like to a spiritually active person after two world wars

Seeing Europe doesn’t do good things to the teens

Urahara does what he can in Europe, but it’s precious little

Erich forged his self-control in the crucible of war, and even now it’s difficult to let go

Minor Crack: Quincy enablers -- Ryuuken

Minor Crack: Quincy enablers -- Byakuya interacting with Ryuuken

Evil by Neglect verse:

The main theme of We’re Listening is Healing

As Worlds Overlap (Bleach/Log Horizon):

On potential guilds and whether the teens know each other ingame

Oneshots:

Bleach/Madoka crossover: Tatsuki contracts with Kyuubi

About the Bleach/Madoka crossover

Meta:

On Tanya and how she perceives the world

Tatsuki and Powers

Tatsuki and Powers 2 (maybe I’ll use these ideas? Still undecided)

Tatsuki and Powers 3

Opinion: Isshin is a worse parent than Ryuuken, but they both suck (cw: abuse, alcohol, bad parenting)

Opinion: fanon trope of Isshin urging the other teens to avoid Ichigo has a basis in real life actions of actual abusers (and I’m always salty about how that gap time is portrayed)

On non-shitty redemption arcs and Ryuuken

Original Fiction:

Luminous Flame verse: Defining Characters

Luminous Flame verse: Primary Setting

Luminous Flame verse/Selverat’s Story: Rat’s story is canon bc I’m a crossover geek, and Nekir has a shit family life too (but not as bad)

Selverat’s Story: genders, self-crossovers, and why do I always write shitty home lives for my chars, ugh

Selverat’s Story: elemental characters, bad home lives (WHY), cw: death, attempted murder of a child, death via being set on fire

Selverat’s Story: elemental characters with bad home lives

Selverat’s Story: traumatized kid becomes living torch via elemental powers because MIGHT AS WELL

Selverat’s Story: Learning from the Myrsilk

Selverat’s Story: No, his mother didn’t know who she was having an affair with

Selverat’s Story: Bad as his home life is, Selverat does love his mother and she does her best by him

Selverat’s Story: And I’m serious, his home life is Bad, cw: brief discussion of various ways Selverat’s ‘father’ tries to kill him

Selverat’s Story: Selverat doesn’t make many friends, but his best one does survive

[yumeironogenesis]

Alternative War Part 1: The Buddies’ Bonds

Part 2 | Part 3

My first translation! As would be usual, I took artistic liberties with this, but I made sure to keep the meaning as close to the jp text as possible! Everything is under the cut, including notes!

Morning, on the way to the theater

Subaru: Morning, Madoka!

Subaru quickly catches up and suddenly stops beside me, greeting me a good morning

Madoka: Why are you hurrying like that? It’s still a while before the meeting.

Subaru: I’m not in a hurry, I’m running to build up stamina. The next musical number is quite hard after all!

Subaru: One more round then I’m coming to the lesson room, ok?

Subaru smiles and waves his hand, then runs past me.

Madoka: Because Subaru-kun is the lead role, he’s more pumped up than usual… It is indeed a difficult number… I have to do my best too!

The next Yumeiro Company musical number, “Alternative War”, will be the company’s first Sci-Fi superhero number.  Action scenes with laser guns and fireworks, psychic battles using projection mapping, and even battles utilizing wire action to further express the characters’ superhuman abilities. With these three possible battle scenes, teams of two buddies will fight, drawing out the strength of their bonds. It will be a challenge.

Kyoya: Everyone, gather up!

At Kyoya’s order, the atmosphere in the room quickly goes on edge.

Kyoya: It’s one month until opening day. That’s why today, I was thinking of doing a dress rehearsal.

Madoka: We have just barely practiced the buddy scenes in the story, will it be okay to do a dress rehearsal so suddenly?

When I see the looks on all 7 of their faces…

Kaito: Dress rehearsal? Just what I was waiting for, ‘cause I’ve perfectly memorized all the face-off scenes!

Iori: Kaito and I will be doing stunts using a lot of props. I’d like to do it just like it would be done on the stage.

Jin: We’ve also perfected our dance, right, Hina?

Hinata: I’m not confident everything will go according to my mental image, but I’ve nailed the dance!

Kyoya: Me and Subaru will also be doing the scenes with the wires. We’ll have to practice on a stage or we won’t get all the moves right for the performance…

Subaru: Leave it to me! I’ll just fire it up with as much vigor as a real performance!

Sousei: I have no actions scenes, so I mostly practiced alone. It has been a while, so I’m looking forward to joining you all.

Kyoya: Ok, so we’re starting at ten! Make sure to warm up and confirm your positions on stage!

Everyone: Yes!

--- And so, the dress rehearsal begins

The stage is set in a future city, Geoelectro City, where science and technology has greatly developed. The rate of criminal acts utilizing advanced technology is increasing. Protecting civilians from these acts are the heroes affiliated with the Crime Guard. The story starts with rookie hero, Jake a.k.a. Crimson Sun, played by Subaru, challenging his first mission. He teams up with his buddy, Silver Moon, played by Kyoya-kun. They are heroes with special powers that enhance their physical capabilities.

Kyoya: “What are you doing, Crimson Sun?! We should escape this place ASAP!”

Subaru: “B-but, Silver-san! My new power glove is still inside!”

Kyoya: “The safety of the civilians should be our priority! Our purpose as heroes is to protect the people, after all…!”

Hinata: “That’s true. But it’d better if he could punch stuff, right?”

Subaru: “You are…. Sunshine!”

Jin: “Your power glove is right here.”

Subaru: “Rain, too… W-when did you guys get here?”

Jin: “Did you forget? Me and Sunshine are psychokinesis users. Something of this size should be…”

Kyoya: “Easy to maneuver in the air, right? You saved us, I appreciate it.”

Mr. Sunshine, played by Hinata, and Mr. Rain, played by Jin-san, are buddies with psychic powers. And the last ones to appear are---

Iori: “With this, it should be over. There should be no reason to stay in the enemies’ territory. We should escape.”

Kaito: “Wait a sec! I’m leaving them a parting gift. Eat this…!!”

Kaito-san pulls the trigger of his huge bazooka---

BOOOOOM---!!

Kaito: “Heh! You should all plunge into the darkness. I’ll pull the trigger a billion times if it’s to annihilate enemies…!”

Iori: “That’s enough. Retreat!”

Madoka: *Cough cough*

Sousei: Madoka-san, are you ok?! *Cough* W-wait, stop! Turn on the ventilator!

The ventilator is turned up to maximum power and the smoke in the room finally cleared up.

Hinata: Wait, why are you using smoke in the lesson room?!

Kaito: Why, you ask? I thought you all said we’d do it just like on stage.

Iori: If by “just like on stage” you meant using smoke in such a small room, then of course this would happen.

Kaito: Geez….

Sousei: But, hey, we stopped at a good time.

Having not made his appearance the whole time, as Sousei said those words, the other 6 stopped and turned to look at him.

Sousei: Everyone, you did perfectly on the powerful action scenes. But you are sacrificing the details in the emotions.

Madoka: Yes…. The characters themselves are likable, but the expression of the buddies’ bonds could be a little more…

Kyoya: You’re right. This bothered me too when I was acting. If both you and Sousei say that, then it must be true.

Jin: If we can’t properly express the buddies’ bonds, then the climax’s impact will be halved.

When everyone is lost in doubt, Subaru quips on a whim.

Subaru: Um… We made that trailer for the web commercial, right?

Subaru: Let’s just leave the action scenes for a bit and watch the trailer to try to reconstruct our characters.

Kyoya: I see, going back to our roots, huh? That might be a good idea. Madoka, please give a commentary of the characters as the trailer plays.

Madoka: Understood!

Sousei: I set up the DVD. We can start anytime.

Kyoya: Got it… Alright everyone, gather up! Let’s review the story and the characters!

A new number that leaves Yumeiro Company with no effort to spare… Will they succeed in the end?---

To be continued....

Notes:

1) I really wanted to color code all their names but desktop tumblr doesn’t have that feature and mobile tumblr doesn’t have the colors I need so you’ll have to put up with bold for now :( 

2) Also, Kaito, you dumbass slkdfjsjdf

3) Sousei being the token Intellectual Dad. He’s so good to his children. 

4) If the dialogue feels more like a localization than a translation, then I’ve achieved my goal. I hope I managed to express the characters personalities’ through their speech!

Thank you for reading, I hope you had fun!

[magicalgirlagency]

Don't you think you're overreacting about this whole precure situation? We all know it'll eventually be solved and Sora will return to heroing and be able to find a way to save Captain Shalala; can't you just return to blogging? There are so many other magical girls out there, you know better than that.

Yeah, but none of them are like PreCure. I mean, what else I'm supposed to talk about? There aren't any other Magical Girls series (or adjacent) that are still on-going to this very day.

With PreCure, I at least had something to look forward to every week! But now that Sora is gone, what will I do? I'm not saying magical girls aren't allowed to be depressed, but this was just so shocking, I can't help but feel like this is REALLY the end, considering that she is the MAIN Cure this year.

Plus, HiroPre goes at a slow-burn pace; it took 18 episodes for the main squad to be fully assembled, just to give you an idea. And I'm not a very patient person.

I've seen this happen before; Boku no Hero Academia got so unbearably angsty, that it had Deku become a highschool dropout AND a war criminal, give up on heroism, leave his friends and family behind, and transform himself into a hideous beast à la Todd McFarlane's Spawn as a vigilante.

I know PreCure's nothing like Madoka or any of its godforsaken copycats, but having your main character's transformation vehicle to be DESTROYED and then declare that they're GIVING UP on their heroic duties?! Talk about an atomic bomb, man!

[writtenbyjenn]

Masterlist

Click on the name to be taken to the masterlist of that specific fandom! If there is no link, nothing has been written for it yet, feel free to request something :D New fandoms are constantly being added, if you don’t see something you want me to write for, just ask!

Adult Animation American Dad ||| Archer ||| Bojack Horseman ||| The Cleveland Show ||| Clone High ||| Daria ||| DC Animated Universe ||| Disenchantment ||| Drawn Together ||| Family Guy ||| Futurama ||| Harley Quinn ||| Invincible ||| King of the Hill ||| Rick & Morty ||| South Park ||| The Venture Bros |||

Anime Angel Beats! ||| Attack On Titan ||| Beastars ||| Black Butler ||| Boku No Hero Academia ||| Castlevania ||| D. Gray-man ||| Death Note ||| Durarara!! ||| Fairy Tail ||| Free! Iwatobi Swim Club ||| Fullmetal Alchemist ||| Haikyu!! ||| Inuyasha ||| Kuroko’s Basketball ||| Little Witch Academia ||| Madoka Magica ||| MEGALOBOX ||| Naruto ||| One Punch Man ||| Ouran Highschool Host Club ||| Sailor Moon ||| Seven Deadly Sins ||| Soul Eater ||| Tokyo Ghoul ||| Yuri!! On Ice |||

Cartoons 3 Below ||| Avatar: The Last Airbender ||| Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse ||| Carmen Sandiego ||| The Dragon Prince ||| Gargoyles ||| Gravity Falls ||| Invader Zim ||| Kim Possible ||| Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts || Miraculus Ladybug ||| My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ||| Next Gen ||| The Owl House ||| RWBY ||| Samurai Jack ||| She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ||| The Simpsons ||| Star vs the Forces of Evil ||| Steven Universe ||| Teen Titans ||| Total Drama ||| Voltron: Legendary Defender |||

TV Series The 100 ||| Arrow ||| Bones ||| Breaking Bad ||| Brooklyn 99 ||| Containment ||| Criminal Minds ||| Daredevil ||| Dexter ||| The Flash ||| Friends ||| Gotham ||| Hannibal ||| Hemlock Grove ||| Law & Order: SVU ||| Lucifer ||| Malcom in the Middle ||| Merlin ||| The Middle ||| Modern Family ||| NCIS ||| Rosewood ||| Quantico ||| Sherlock ||| Sleepy Hollow ||| Stranger Things ||| Supernatural ||| That 70′s Show ||| The Umbrella Academy ||| The Vampire Diaries ||| The Walking Dead ||| What We Do in the Shadows ||| The Witcher |||

Movies & Books Atlantis ||| Avatar ||| Beauty and the Beast (1991, 2017) ||| Big Hero 6 ||| Brave ||| Brother Bear (I, II) ||| Coco ||| Disney Descendants (I, II, III) ||| Frozen (I, II) ||| The Greatest Showman ||| Harry Potter ||| Heathers ||| High School Musical ||| How To Train Your Dragon (I, II, III) ||| The Incredibles (I, II) ||| Lord of the Rings ||| Maleficent (I, II) ||| Marvel ||| Men in Black (I, II, III) ||| Moana ||| Onward ||| Star Wars ||| Wreck it Ralph (I, II) ||| Zootopia |||

Video Games Borderlands Series ||| Danganronpa Series ||| Dragon Age Series ||| Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen ||| Fallout Series ||| Legend of Zelda Series ||| Life Is Strange ||| Mass Effect Series ||| Skyrim ||| Sleeping Dogs ||| Stardew Valley ||| Thief ||| Undertale ||| VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action ||| Watch_Dogs ||| Witcher Series ||| Yandere Simulator |||

Dating Sims Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club ||| The Arcana ||| Be My Princess ||| Blush Blush ||| Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator ||| Doki Doki Literature Club ||| Katawa Shoujo ||| Monster Prom ||| XOXO Droplets

If you would like to see me write for something else, I would love to watch/play it! 

[prezaki]

what is the most underrated ship, in your opinion?, what is the most overrated ship, in your opinion?, aaand what’s your favorite headcanon of ShuDaina and/or KumiWaki?

.... hrrrm, most underrated is hard. Mostly it’s my ships from fandoms that have no fandom? And it doesn’t even count as underrated if the entire issue is ‘nobody is aware it exists’, lmao. 

No wait, actually it isn’t hard. The lack of Vader/Tarkin in the Star Wars fandom is criminal and I will never stop complaining about that.

Within Beyblade fandoms I’d say Benkei/Madoka. Like, seriously.

Most overrated is ShuValt............................ It’s difficult for me to see them work as a romantic couple at all so seeing the amount of fan-content is forever baffling. 

AND HEADCANONS. I’m terrible at having set headcanons tbh, I just shuffle stuff around a lot BUT.

ShuDaina: Daina constantly fights the urge to pet Shu’s hair. Looks so soft... Nobody will ever know this.

KumiWaki: Wakiya loves sleeping over at Rantaro’s place and hanging with him and his dad. He thinks it should just small and cluttered and uncomfortable, but he has a fantastic time being accepted into a family that is as close-knit as he could never imagine.

[craveanimeblog-blog]

The Best Animes of 2019 that You Must Watch Before the Year Ends

Every season there are new anime series released. Checking them all out can be very time-consuming. If you are looking for a longer-running series or shorts, you will find something here. We've compiled a list for your reference.

Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is heavy on atmosphere, character development, and plot. The characters are grotesque titans who devour their victim. Nobody is truly safe in this anime.

Dragon Ball (Z, GT, Super)

The Dragon Ball series follows the adventures of Son Goku and friends. It has been the subject of anime memes, jokes, and parodies. The fighting genre of anime began with Dragon Ball. It started as a light-hearted take on Journey to the West but transformed into the genre that influenced much of what was to come. Goku and his foes spend a lot of time on their attacks, the abridged Dragon Ball Kai is a bit of a different take.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

This unique fantasy world has real consequences. It's about the brothers Elric. It has great animation, fantastic dubs, and engaging stories. It's a great choice if you like more drama, action, and a faster pace.

Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo has a hip-hop aesthetic, fantastic dub, slick visuals, and a great sense of style. It offers an alternate version of Edo history.

Madoka Magica

Madoka Magica is about a group of girls who discover how to use magic to transform and fight. It is aimed at children, particularly girls. But it's dark and mature enough to appeal to a wide audience.

When They Cry

When They Cry has a creepy the atmosphere and a touch of mystery, gore, and psychological horror that many Western horror fans look for.

Steins: Gate

Steins: Gates deals with time travel, exploring the concept in an interesting way. It establishes how it works and features a time loop plot that is excellent.

Gurren Lagann

This giant robot anime is fun and packs a strong emotional punch as well.

A Place Further Than the Universe

This coming-of-age tale of four teenage girls on a boat to Antartica. Mari Tamaki doesn't want to skip class, Shirase Kobuchizawa finds her long-lost mother, Hinata Miyake is a drop out looking for adventure before taking her college entrance exam, and Yuzuki Shiraishi is a child actress who posts vlogs of the trip. It's the story of the friendship between the girls and is noted for its gorgeous animation and genuine heart. There are 13 episodes in Japanese with English subtitles.

One Piece

One Piece is aimed at kids and it's shounen anime. It has been on the air for 20 years and creator Eiichiro Oda creates a world complete with its own culture and history making it fully realized.

Laid-Back Camp

This anime follows Nadeshiko as she discovers her love of camping and her new school. She figures out how to enjoy her time in the outdoors and her new friends. This series also offers actual camping tips. There are 12 episodes in Japanese with English subtitles.

Pop Team Epic

This is a mash of animated shorts with the antics of protective Pipimi and violent Popuko who are best friends. The episodes are split into two, one with the characters voiced by women and one by men. They share the same jokes. All 12 episodes are in Japanese with English subtitles and on Funimation with dubbed English voices.

Violet Evergarden

Kyoto Animation brings Violet Evergarden to life, the main character shares her name with the series. She is a young girl who was used as a killing machine by the military during the war. She lost both of her arms and they were replaced with metal prosthetics. She integrated back into society as Auto-Memory Doll a trained ghostwriter for letters and books. She learns to deal with complex emotions which is both satisfying and sweet to watch as well as the beautiful animation. There are 13 episodes in English and Japanese with English subtitles as well as with dubbed voices and subtitles in other languages.

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby

Uma Musume is about horse girls. They attend a special school and train to race. The story is about Special Week who want to the #1 horse girl in all of Japan. While she is racing she sees Silence Shizuka, another racer who is unbeatable. The two become rivals and friends. This is both fun and wholesome and the girls are all named after actual racehorses. There are 13 episodes with English subtitles.

Lupin III: Part V

Arsene Lupin III, the master criminal, first appears in Monkey Punch's Lupin III (Kazuhiko Kato) in 1967. Familiar characters Fujiko Mine (Lupin's occasional girlfriend), samurai Goemon Ishikawa II and marksman Daisuke Jigen are part of the adventure. The season focuses on technology and ways that Lupin III is impacted by it. There are 24 episodes in Japanese with English subtitles.

Megalo Box

Megalo Box is about Megalo Boxing. This fictional sport is about using technology along with their fists to enhance strength and speed. Yuri is the current champ who scouts Junk Dog from an underground ring. Junk Rat enters Megalonia under the name of Joe, to compete in a worldwide Megalo boxing tournament to challenge Yuri. This is a The 50th-anniversary celebration of Ashita no Joe that has a low-resolution style right out of the 90s. It makes it stand out in the world of hi-definition. The 13 episodes are available in Japanese with English subtitles.

My Hero Academia: Season Three

Harry Potter in superhero form, the hero is studying at an elite school for the gifted with a cast of characters. The superheroes, known as pro heroes, are everywhere. Everyone one of them has a particular power, quirk or super-strength such as a tape-dispensing elbow. This series is about fun, the character design is interesting, and the powers are inventive and strange. Both the characterization and the plot will keep you interested. Episodes 1 through 55 is available in English subtitles. Seasons one and two have dubbed English voices.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

The series is set in a world where individuals can immerse themselves in their favorite games. Asuna and Kirito are gone in favor of Karen Kohiruimaki who is a college student concerned with her abnormal height. All 12 episodes are available in Japanese with English subtitles.

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku

This relatable romance anime is about Wotakoi and her four friends who work in an office and are otaku, or hardcore game and anime fans. The series is filled with relatable moments. The main characters Hirotaka and Narumi deal the dating struggles and tastes. Available in Japanese with English subtitles.

Aggretsuko

Retsuko releases her frustrations through Death Metal karaoke about her love life, her misogynistic boss, and her dead-end job. She navigates being single, misogyny, and loneliness less than gracefully. Everyday tragedies are handled in a way that is familiar to us all. It dwells in imperfection and is adorable and funny. There are 10 episodes in English and Japanese with English subtitles as well as dubbed voices and subtitles in other languages.

Hanebado

Hanebado explores the world of badminton and two girls, Nagisa Aragaki, whose goal it is to be the best payer in Japan, and Ayano Hanasaki, a prodigy who has no desire to play. Hanebado makes badminton look cool with the all-female cast in a male-dominated genre. The characters can stand on their own while showing a genuine passion for the sport, done in fluid animation. Episodes are in Japanese with English subtitles, there will be 13 episodes.

Banana Fish

Set in the streets of New York City, Ash Lynx is a 17-year-old gang leader who is groomed as a sex worker and mob successor. Banana Fish is the name of a drug she was given by a dying man along with a note. Eiji is a 19-year-old photographer from Japan who is investigating gang activity in New York City and encounters Ash. The writing is excellent, and it currently has episodes 1 through 5 streaming in Japanese with English subtitles. The current season will have 13 episodes.

[24heavven]

When was the last time you didn’t have a single thought in your head? When you weren’t worried about running here, or calling so and so, or replaying a conversation you had earlier in the day over in your head. Presence is the enemy of your mind. The more you absorb yourself in the moment, the further your brain gets from the concept of time. Anxiety over the future, regret over the past. Constantly stuck in a pendulum swing from one end of misery to the other. If you’ve ever meditated, you know this process can be reversed and even stopped all together. The process of emptying your mind allows for you to differentiate between the voice inside your head and your true self. Ever hear the expression, “i think, therefore i am”? That was Descartes, and to this day many people still believe this. But to be defined by your mind and thought cages you. How could you ever believe in an afterlife if the only thing that defines your existence is your thoughts? In the last 30 seconds of someones life, their brain will go through a series of events, ending in just the pure “self”. The same feeling you get when you’re meditating.

“OUR SENSE OF SELF, OUR SENSE OF HUMOUR, OUR ABILITY TO THINK AHEAD — THAT STUFF ALL GOES WITHIN THE FIRST 10 TO 20 SECONDS. THEN, AS THE WAVE OF BLOOD-STARVED BRAIN CELLS SPREAD OUT, OUR MEMORIES AND LANGUAGE CENTRES SHORT OUT, UNTIL WE’RE LEFT WITH JUST A CORE.” says Shaw.  

I myself have had plenty of incredibly rewarding experiences meditating. After you get good enough at it, you feel a distinct slip between reality and pure consciousness. Its more like “I am, therefore i think”. You are the watcher of your thoughts, and your emotions represent how you truly feel about them. By not identifying with “the voice in your head” and identifying as the observer of them instead you can begin to let go of anxiety and depression. Eckhart Tolle really said it best - “Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the love and joy beneath the pain.” The mind is the strongest tool of all and it’s a pity less people aren’t using it to its fullest potential. 

Everyone knows that Nietzsche popularized nihilism in philosophy. This is the concept that life is inherently meaningless and none of what we do matters because we’re going to wind up dead in the Earths inevitable heat death anyway. There is no heaven, there is no hell. There only is what we’re experiencing right here and there is no grander plan outside of what we can see plainly. This could be likened to a darker version of realism, where morals don’t matter and you’re skeptical about everything. Although there are many versions of nihilism like existential nihilism and moral nihilism, this is the “gist” so to speak.

But what if we are actually living in a truly meaningless world? Would it be beneficial to submit ourselves to this mindset? To abandon hope and reject the prospect of a brighter tomorrow? If the world is truly a dark cold place, the only thing you can do is light up the darkness. If nothing you do maters, why not do better? We may be small, but the difference between 0 and 1 is the same as the difference between 1 and infinity. The universe is incomprehensibly huge and it is likely that our whole history as humans wont mean much to the grand scheme of things. When you look at life in this way, your own interpersonal problems look silly. We are here for a very, very short time. Too many people get wrapped up in day to day trivialities. You only get one chance as yourself and to waste time that could be used to bettering your future is a tragedy. At the end of the day, we are all humans. At it’s core, our experience here on Earth is the same and life is such a miracle to begin with. You’re here on Earth at the same time as the people around you that mean so much, doesn't that, if nothing else, give your life meaning? The chance of that happening was infinitely minuscule and yet it still happened. 

This is called Anti-Nihilism and it can be found in many forms of media if you’re looking for it. It’s the characters out there who bravely give their lives up to a greater cause. They recognize we’re all doomed, and give away all they have to make the world a better place for everyone surrounding them, even if that means dying for it. Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Madoka from Madoka Magica, Solid Snake of Metal Gear Solid, Ralph and Piggy from Lord Of The Flies. This idea that nothing matters, but order is important nonetheless is present everywhere. The world would devolve into anarchy and violence if everyone abandoned their hope. Hope is really the only thing in this world propelling any of us forward. 

This strikes the middle ground between classic organized religion where youre promised the gates of heaven and eternal bliss, or being an atheist where you go in a box in the ground and its blackness forever. It’s acceptance of the grey area. Life is not black or white, yes or no, on or off. Life is not binary. Many people who have been to the depths of depression and self hatred cling tightly to this. When you’re surrounded by darkness, the light becomes hard to find. But once you see a flicker you do anything to keep it. Accepting life simply for what it is - is freeing. The minute you accept your dissatisfaction with a situation you transmute that dissatisfaction into peace. People walk around everyday searching for their purpose when it’s been under their nose all along, giving your life meaning is the meaning of life. I staunchly believe you are brought into this world to have an amazing time. Your circumstances can be what you rise from or succumb to. 

Esther and Jerry Hicks have written many self-help books. At the time of their writing careers inception, they claimed to have had a spirit called Abraham contact them through meditation. Weather or not that bit is factual - they have a message that rings so true it is hard not to believe they are accessing the “other side”. Through Abraham, they have changed lives and inspired many people to be deliberate thinkers. What they mean by deliberate thinker is someone who consciously chooses better thoughts as they see them happening in their mind. The vibrational power of your thoughts is that which shapes your world around you, and whatever you are looking for you will surely find. The mind is a tool of creation, and not a file cabinet. They speak of manifesting whatever you desire through the power of your mind - and that life can be blissful if only we should choose every day to believe it is. The quintessence of their teachings is emptying your mind through meditation. 

At the other end of the spectrum, we have people like Mitchell Heisman. He was a 35 year old Harvard student who made news back in 2010 for taking his own life as a grand act of destroying self preservation. Beforehand, he had written a 1,900 page document detailing his journey to this conclusion, aptly titled “Suicide Note”. His outlook on life - or rather death - is peppered with religious and political inquisition and the nature of man. Heisman speaks heavily about nihilism. That it is simply in the nature of mankind to want to survive and choose life, a Darwinist knee jerk behavior. That this day in age, the question can be posed - “is choosing death irrational? and for what reason?” Maybe choosing to die is freedom, liberation, the next grand adventure. He goes into detail about his “Me Theory” at the end of his manifesto. His want to know his own nature so greatly overcame him, he began looking at his life experience in abstracts. Mitchell questioned everything so much so, i believe, he became depressed. He states “Disillusioned of belief in my own subjective experiences, at rock bottom, I turned to completely destroy myself. If life itself is without ultimate meaning, and is not fundamentally rationally superior to death, then perhaps the test of the worth of life is found in willing death and self-destruction.” He references Neitzche multiple times, citing that in his journey to self discovery, he can no longer believe anything. The text reads as the ramblings of a madman philosopher on the verge of an epiphany. This is the epitome of a cluttered mind. Heisman thought his way into and out of madness, ending in a bang, taking his own life. 

Our world is one of at least 10 trillion planetary systems in our known universe. A mere grain of sand on the beach of the cosmos. Yet here, on our Earth, we have seen triumph and we have faced heartache as a species. Does our insignificance in size, make our existence insignificant? The short answer is no, just because we are an infinitely small part in the grand blueprint which is the universe does not invalidate us. Much like us humans can see and study and understand ants and yet ants cannot grasp human existence, their conscious experience here does not lack meaning. Paramahansa Yogananda was the first person to come to the West and popularize freedom from the concept of the “self”. Before his coming here we did not even have the language to describe the spiritual teachings he had already mastered. His impact on American society was so profound people began to fear and vilify him as a cult leader or a criminal. He forced physicists to expand the language of physics as they were, introducing consciousness into the equation of matter and energy. He feared that without a radical internal shift towards love and selflessness, we would not survive the atomic age as a species. A concern being brought up every so poignantly again today with nuclear war not far off on the horizon. In the dark landscape set before us today, all we can do is come back to the very basics of whats important here, love. 

Self help literature, Movies, Music, Television, Spirituality, Philosophy. Anti-Nihilism can be found everywhere. Use the space between where you are and where you want to be inspire you, give you hope and excitement. Don’t become a victim to the uncertainty of the unknown. Letting your mind control your life is akin to the tail wagging the dog. The mind is a mechanism, a tool of creation and power. If used improperly, it becomes a cage, a nightmare. Life truly is, what you make of it. “For this is your world. Its the form of realty you perceive.”(Anno, Ep 26)