#also has anyone read the latest manga chapter?

[2day4u-2morrow4me]

Bungou Stray Dogs

I just have a thought about why BSD is such a great anime. Or I guess why I like it especially now in my life.

It is so fucking inspiring. I’m watching the Beast movie right now and these bitches I just don’t get it. Every single person in the show get’s kicked down again and again and again. Physically, emotionally, mentally, morally. You can’t honestly say that there is a single person in this show who isn’t struggling. But they get the fuck back up and keep fighting.

Where do they get the drive to pick themselves up one more time? I have faced a lot of struggles, especially mentally, this past year and these past few years and every time I want to give up one way or another but these bitches just keep doing it.

Everything you saw as morally right or wrong gets twisted around so you don’t know what to do? Well better finish this fight. Had people around you confirm everything you have ever though about yourself about how worthless you are? Get the fuck off the ground. Question if there is even a reason to keep on living? Humor life and see if we can find something worthy in it. 

That’s what makes it so appealing. So many different types of characters with so many different personalities or struggles it is impossible not to relate to at least one of them. And seeing them get up off the ground and keep fighting these battles against the monsters in the world and the monsters in themselves? Phenomenal. 

If any of y’all relate to this, pls tell me I’m not going crazy.

If I am going crazy I apologize for my sleep deprived, anxiety ridden rambling!!

[shadesoflsk]

      LULLABY FOR A BROKEN HEART

pairing: Leon Kennedy x Gn reader.

summary: After a mission, Leon musters up the courage to ask for one thing he's always wanted.

warnings: hurt/comfort, a bit of angst, fluff, Leon is touch starved, no consumption of alcohol but there are mentions of it, injuries, mentions of trauma.

word count: 2.1k

author's note: Hello! So... I had prepared some dad leon headcanons but after reading DI manga latest chapter... I knew I had to write something about it. I wrote this with a platonic relationship in mind but you can also see it as an established relationship! I just wanted an excuse to write about Leon because he is literally an angel ueueueue. He deserves the world.

      masterlist

With heavy and wobbly steps, Leon’s blurry vision—from the lack of sleep— could make out the frame of your door, your apartment’s door. A part of him knows that he may be a burden—or that’s what he believes. Fatality, sorrow, and overall bad outcomes are the only things his mind can register.

He doesn’t want to bother you. Hell, he doesn’t want to speak to anyone right now. The fact that he somehow made it safely to your front door was enough for him to know that you would be so angry at him. You shouldn’t drive after a mission. You shouldn’t—... let yourself die. He knows all those phrases by heart. 

He’s getting better. He’s a lot better, to be honest. He no longer drinks, but he may as well look drunk right now. His head was hurting like hell, but he blamed it on his mission. He’s getting too old for that shit. But, a healthy improvement doesn’t mean that he can’t fall. 

Recovery isn’t a straight line of betterment. There are nights when he can sleep like a baby. But then again, some days, he goes to sleep knowing that a nightmare may attack his dreams. 

His fist bangs against your door, at first trying to be quiet. But after a few seconds, some desperation came within his knocking, and a louder sound filled the already silent night. 

The melancholic feeling of being alone lasts a couple of seconds before he hears some steps inside your home, those get even closer until he sees the door opening. The sight he admires before him is far from comforting. The eyebags under your eyes, your disheveled hair, and the quiet yawn that escapes your lips say it all, you were sleeping. 

At first, you don’t say anything, letting the silence in the air fill the lack of response from both parts. Yours and Leon’s, two souls that are aching right now but for different reasons.

Leon, who is hurting because he doesn’t want you to see him like this. And yours because you’d give him the world just for him to stop blaming himself. Ironic, but in reality you’re two sides of the same coin.

Amidst the countless things you want to tell Leon, you step aside allowing him to enter your apartment. The one he knows as his cozy getaway. His second home. The first one is your mere existence. 

Physical things last no more than a few weeks, months, or years. Everything is doomed to cease existing. He has witnessed it through the years he has worked as an agent. Those gigantic and marvelous houses politicians love to brag about? A bomb would destroy them. That motorcycle he loves? Yeah, that one…. No more than a few pieces remained.

But the simple fact that you were alive and breathing meant so much. He wasn’t a stranger to death. He knows that he has become desensitized to those topics as much as he denies it. But even if someone were to die, their proof that they belonged to this world would live in those who loved them, those who were close to them. 

And that’s why you’re his home. The kind of home that served as a refuge when life got too much, when life stopped basking him with its sunlights but rather sent him a blizzard. Your presence was enough for him because you granted him the affection he has long forgotten he could have.

As he enters your apartment, the normalcy and everydayness of the living room embrace him like a thick and warm blanket. The usual smell of your scented candlelight also brings him back to the reality where he could feel safe.

He’s alone for a while, you let him sit on your couch even though he might stain it with the dirt on his pants and whole body. You don’t exactly care, you can clean it after. 

His eyes are unfocused as he waits for you to come back. At that moment, the memories of his last mission came to his mind. They don’t haunt him like they used to do in the past, where he decided to stop the voices from getting louder by drowning in alcohol.

Now, they replay in his mind like a Deja Vu, like a movie he was the main star in. However, it doesn’t mean they stop stabbing his heart knowing that he had taken lives. 

He used to be a religious person. Right now if someone asks him if he follows a certain God, he would respond with a simple no. But when he sees the bodies of those whom he had to kill, he would offer a silent prayer, asking whoever hears him that their souls could rest in peace.

Leon kills, but he’s also a lover of life. He loves the world and its people. He wants to believe that he'd be reminded as the one who fought for those who couldn’t, even if he didn’t want to be associated with that type of job.

In his mind, it may sound corny but he has started appreciating the simple things in life. The way someone would smile at him in the supermarket, the way a random stranger would greet him even though they don’t know him. It was a nice reminder that he was, in fact, alive.

Your steps break the silence—once again. In your hands, there’s a first aid kit. 

There’s a certain urgency in the way you sit next to him to treat his wounds. Your eyes never leave him as you try to make sure that nothing is hurting him. Even when he has awoken you from your sweet dreams, you’re the same caring and compassionate person as always.

An alcohol swab touches one cut he had on his temple, a bruise already forming on the skin. Proof that his head was literally slammed against a metal tube. Not his proudest moment, if he had to be honest.

“I’m not going to break, you know…” Leon finally speaks as your hand seems to slightly shake out of fear of bringing more pain to him.

You manage to let out a chuckle at his words. “I know. But I’m not taking risks.”

His eyes continue to remain fixated on your face, like a puppy who is looking at a treat. But rather, he’s like a homeless man admiring one of the prettiest houses he has ever seen.

There are no questions asked, nor complaints about anything related to his late-night visit. He appreciates the fact that he’s welcomed no matter what. Nonetheless, he can’t help but thank you for your hospitality.

“Thank you.” He murmurs as you clean another injury that was just above his eyebrow. “You’re too good for me.” Leon's words show a moment of raw sincerity.

Leon’s humanity is palpable, even when he doesn’t notice it. There’s a childlike glimmer in his eyes when he watches his favorite movies, a hint of regret when he talks about his missions, and a big sense of empathy when he speaks about the victims who died at his hands.

Leon’s kindness knows no limits. And you wish everyone could observe what an amazing human he is.

“Why is that?” You asked, scooting closer to hear him better. To pay full attention to what he’s about to say. There’s nothing Leon loves more than knowing he can really talk with someone about his feelings since he has mastered the art of closing off.

“For this…” He admits as his hands gesture your first aid kit, to your apartment as a whole. “I’m not used to being… pampered like this. I get hurt and I fix myself up.” His expression darkens slightly.

“Well… I’m here, aren’t I?” You give Leon a warm smile before pinching one of his cheeks making sure not to touch any of his cuts. “You don’t have to be alone all the time, Leon. You can rely on me.”

Leon’s lips turn into a shy smile as you pinch his cheek. “Yeah, I know.” He’s grateful for your hospitality and overall care. But it’s hard for someone who has always been in solitude to think that it’s okay to rely on someone, that it’s okay to need a person. 

He’s silent for a moment before asking a question that’s been nagging him for a while now. “But… Don’t you get tired of it? Of taking care of me?”

You instantly shake your head, responding with a blunt “Nope, never.” In fact, you would be awake all night long just to make sure he was alright. 

“You’re a God’s sent… I swear.” He chuckles as his gaze moves towards his own hands which are fidgeting. As if he was looking for something to grab, to hold onto. 

He hesitates for a few seconds, he doesn’t want to overstep boundaries but then again… He’s not used to being touched let alone hugged. But right now… he craves feeling the tender and intimate affection that a hug brings.

When was the last time he was touched? He doesn’t remember. The sole thought of admitting it’s been months if not years that he hasn’t been hugged brings embarrassment to his already troubled mind. 

You notice, you know Leon a little too well. You recognize every little quirk he has, from the way he sometimes sticks out his tongue when he’s focused on something to the way he looks at everyone before delivering a punchline.

But you wait for him, you want him to be comfortable. 

As a sigh leaves his lips, he finally speaks. “Can you hug me?” His words come out hushed, as if ashamed of himself for asking something so… banal, so simple. “I really need it.”

The way he speaks, the way his voice suddenly cracks and the way his fingers twitch even more tell you enough.

“Come here.” You encourage him, opening your arms. He wastes no time getting himself closer and wrapping his arms around you. The kindness that you’re showing him could bring him to tears, but he doesn’t let them fall. Right now, he just wants to be embraced.

He was bigger than you, being an agent built his body to be ready to fight, to kill. Of course his muscles would basically bury your frame as he curls himself into the hug. But funnily enough, he feels like a kitten that found solace on a rainy day. He feels getting even smaller and almost disappearing from the catastrophes of this world.

He could easily rest his head on your shoulder. But instead, he decides to bury his face in the crook of your neck, feeling even more at ease in this peaceful moment. Closing his eyes, he lets the warmth of your body soothe his aching soul.

He always takes care of everyone, his mind and soul are connected to people he may as well never see again. He feels too much, he feels everything. Nevertheless, there are times when he wants to be the one being doted on, to feel safe.

And right now… he is safe.

“You may think I’m stupid…” His words are muffled as his face is pressed into your neck, his stubble ever so slightly brushing against your skin.

“I sometimes think you’re stupid.” You tease him, trying to bring some humor to the situation as you sense that Leon is starting to doubt himself. Your arms hug him closer, tighter. Letting him know that you aren’t going anywhere. “But right now… I think you’re the most amazing person ever.”

Leon doesn’t say anything for the moment. His breathing is steady and calm, drowning in your so familiar scent. His fingers caress the back of your head, touching your hair reminding himself that you were there, as if the hug wasn’t enough.

“You’re the most selfless person I’ve ever known.” You murmur, pressing a kiss on the top of his head. “You fight so much, you’re so important to many people. You don’t even know how much I thank life for having a Leon Kennedy next to me.”

Your words break his heart a little. Not because you said something wrong, not at all. But rather… he can’t imagine how his existence could bring happiness to someone. Chris, Rebecca, hell everyone has helped him a lot. But you are like an anchor which he clings to.

“Don’t feed a stray dog…” He tries joking, but his voice is barely a whisper. You’re used to his jokes. Most of the time, they are harmless and light-hearted. However, sometimes they served to hide what he was truly feeling. “They’ll always come back.”

“I don’t want you to come back…”  You respond. letting your hand rub his back. “I want you to stay.”

And Leon is definitely going to stay, he’s going to stay with you and with everyone else. He will fight off every bioweapon, he will succeed in every mission. Just to come back to his home and to his life. A life he’s learning to love and enjoy.

[rosemaryreality]

So like i know i just posted about the "You're so reliable Fushiguro" scene with itafushi lenses. But i want to talk a little more seriously about from Megumi's pov.

Look, I know that we itafushi fans usually interpret it as a scene of Megumi being down bad for Yuuji. After all after the compliment his irritation subsided and he looked away. And i loved that interpretation, I really, really did, but then I read a tweet that completely changed the scene for me.

I cannot find the tweet, trust me i tried, but basically what it said was that the scene was actually Megumi being unable to respond to the compliment, not out shyness or tsundereism, but because Itadori praised him for "saving a lot of people" (by giving them a escape route for both them and the possible survivors), when Megumi didn't have any intention of saving anyone at all.

Which makes a lot of sense, honestly, the tweet also pointed out that while Nobara agreed with Yuuji about saving the woman's son, Megumi kept quiet.

And this paints the scene, and Megumi's reaction in a very different light. In the anime it feels more lightheaded because we see a chibi Megumi go from annoyed to surprised, but in the manga...

The way he looks down and changes the subject. I could be wrong, but I wonder if part of him feels guilty, maybe not for not being interested in saving the prisoners, but for "deceiving" Yuuji into thinking he's a better person than in reality. I joked about this in the "simptadori" post but Yuuji basically did call him a hero (his hero).

Megumi sometimes feels like a very conflicted character to me because he genuinely seems to believe in his own beliefs about who deserves to be saved, to the point it causes conflict between him and both Tsumiki and Yuuji, and he genuinely seems to be frustrated with them, yet at the same time, he clearly admires the goodness in them.

This might be a hot take, but i sometimes wonder if Megumi wishes he was more like Tsumiki and Yuuji. Yes, he thinks their kind of thinking only causes pain, yes, it frustrates him, but idk man... he tells Tsumiki he finds her goodness disgusting, but was the disgust he felt actually towards her, or himself? Megumi has never thought very highly of himself, especially compared to the pedestal he puts Tsumiki and Yuuji on.

Even before Jujutsu Kaisen as we know it, back in Sousen when Megumi was the MC, he thought highly of them, and little of himself.

I kinda wonder if he might resent himself for not being able to be more like them, someone he could see as "good" and deserving of the carefree life he wanted for Tsumiki.

Even in the latest chapter, Megumi pictures Tsumiki and Yuuji walking side by side, with their backs to him and talking about "sending her off" alongside someone like Itadori. Like, even in his dream world he pictured Tsumiki leaving his side, alongside someone like Yuuji, someone "good" that would "deserve" it.

Actually...what if that whole thing wasn't about a romantic partner for Tsumiki (??) or even my own belief that it was about Megumi simply wanting Tsumiki and Yuuji to be side by side the way they are in his heart, but about Megumi being replaced instead. Like, between the image in the panel and the expression used, it gives that vibe of a goodbye. As if Tsumiki was moving on from Megumi, with someone just like her to keep her company. Like in his own fantasy, Tsumiki would be freed from him.

[hamliet]

Less of a question but I was never an avid manga reader till 2019 and mha was the first manga I kept track of weekly, and I read Tokyo ghoul after it ended, and seeing everyone be dissatisfied with how Tokyo ghoul ended after keeping up weekly is something I’m reminded of after seeing the latest chapter of mha. So this is what it feels like to witness 6 years of a character you hold in high regard be undermined(to put it lightly). I’m rather sad, but I can’t help but feel fondness for shigaraki even if the way he ended wasn’t satisfying, how do u feel about how mha has gone?

Yeah it does feel very reminiscent of Tokyo Ghoul in that they just went "ah yes, killing the right people is actually how we solve world issues." Which I find morally reprehensible, but also genuinely bad writing because the story as a whole doesn't support this message.

@linkspooky explained in her meta yesterday why Deku has completely failed as a character, and why the manga has failed thematically as a story. I'm just gonna say I completely agree with Link.

To be fair, I'm not sure Shigaraki is dead dead, but either way, it's bad writing and it doesn't conclude his arc with any sort of satisfactory element. Like, why would Shigaraki see Deku as different than anyone else who tried to punch him? That's nonsensical and written from the POV of an audience, not from Shigaraki's POV. It's like in Star Wars when Rey calls herself "Rey Skywalker" when she knew Luke for 3 days and none of the people she was actually close to (Leia, Han, Ben) were Skywalkers. That's writing for the audience, with their perspective, ignoring the logic of your story. It defies believability because the character does not have that perspective. It's "forced" because the audience can see the hand of the author.

If Shigaraki is dead dead... Not gonna Star Wars this one again, but since I also hated the ending of The Rise of Skywalker, I must make a comparison. The idea that Deku may have saved Shigaraki's heart but couldn't save his body (which to be honest, nothing in the actual chapter supports, but if he stays dead might be the argument) is still bad writing. Why? Because to Shigaraki didn't even make the decision himself. He didn't sacrifice anything. How can his heart be saved if he had nothing to do with it? Saving an object is easy as pie. Saving a person is different, and that's what the whole story has been about. Like, in TROS, Kylo Ren gave his life for Rey! Was it stupid? Yes! But at least his "saved heart" did something. Shigaraki's saved heart did what exactly?

So then, is the message that Deku failed? Then why isn't it framed as a failure? Why was BNHA never set up to be a grimdark tragedy? If he failed, then shouldn't he have a miserable ending? Unless it's "heroes always become bad guys and life is unfair," but then shouldn't Deku be framed critically?

Basically, Horikoshi can't come back writing-wise from this in BNHA, and it's sad to see.

Horikoshi's biggest flaw throughout the entire story was that he kept flip-flopping on what he wanted to say, and made the characters more about his trying to please every single fan than about being, well, characters to explore important questions he has that are worthwhile. And you can do this while still having a "cool" factor!

Instead the characters tell us one thing while cocooning Deku in the sweet bliss that no one ever has on this earth--being 100% right all the time. And it's sad, because BNHA had so much potential as a story to challenge its audience and entertain too.

I thought even if it flopped in some aspects it'd at least get this right. It's disappointing.

Anyways every day that goes by I want to send Isayama and his editors flowers for actually writing a thematically coherent ending, even if some aspects were dropped or messy along the way.

[tamathestoryteller]

Inheriting dreams

I've been thinking a lot about a lot about Buggy's dream of being the Pirate King for a Buggy origin fic I am writing. Also I was watching @melonteee videos and I got my thinking cap turned on. This is basically my explination for how Luffy can become King of the Pirates and Buggy will still be able to fulfill his dream.

Many Egghead spoilers under the cut.

With the latest One Piece manga chapters it showed us the closest people to getting to the One Piece/ The major players for the final part of the story. Buggy, Blackbeard, Luffy, Shanks, Sabo, Koby, Figarland, Aokiji, Imu, Dragon, ?Mystery swordsman?, and Akainu.

It is made clear that whatever is on Laugh tale is going to be the thing that can turn the tide of battle between the Celestial Dragons and inheritors of Joyboy's will (pirates and revolutionaries). A battle that 99.9% of the world did not know was going on until Vegapunk whacks everyone over the head with a few chapters of exposition. (I think it is really only the top of the top or the celestial dragons)

And Vegapunk points the finger at the Roger Pirates, asking why didn't they tell anyone? Well, despite Vegapunk's ability to transmit a message to the entire world, no one else in the world could do that! We've assumed up until this point that Roger handed himself over to get executed to be flashy and go out with a bang, ultimately inspiring a new generation of pirates. But now I believe that Roger was probably used his notoriety and his last words at the execution to spread the message that the next generation needs to get their butt to Laugh tale. Because of how many people were there and there was no way for the military to suppress the message. The same thing happens when Whitebeard and Ace die, their will is passed on by word of mouth from all the people that were there and it re-ignites the message to go to Laugh tale.

Honestly, despite Marineford being devastating to read, the World Government ultimately lost the battle over all. Their impenetrable prison was completely put to shame, and they got majorly manipulated into doing Blackbeards dirty work. If the 5 elders were being strategic they would have never fought that war or announced to the world that Roger had a son (something that no one knew at that point).

Anyway... Back to Buggy, when Buggy finally admits at the Cross guild that he wants to be King of the Pirates, at first I thought it was a little sad. Because based on everything that One Piece is about, it feels like a certainty that Luffy is going to be the next pirate king. And that must mean that Buggy can give it his all but will ultimately fail... right?

Wrong. Because Buggy and Luffy's dreams are fundamentally different even though they are both inspired by the same person. Luffy's believes being Pirate King is the person who is the most free, according to what he says to Rayleigh in Sabaody. But Buggy's dream is ultimately to be respected and loved like Roger was. Which is why when he is a kid he things that Shanks is destined to carry on Roger's will for their generation. Buggy percieves that everyone respects Shanks in a way that he feels he could never achieve. So why even try? By the time we get to Chapter 1121, Buggy has a huge following of people who admire and adore him, but its not worth it to Buggy because he doesn't see himself as worthy of that admiration. Because mostly of how he got into that place was through a series of hilarious self- serving accidents and misinterpretations of what really happened. In actuality, he keeps "failing upwards" because of unintended but reasonable predictable consequences of his actions. ie. Buggy lets the prisoners out to cause a distraction because he is trying to cause as much chaos as possible to get himself out of Impel Down. The result is most of those prisoners getting out and being really grateful. Then he tries to placate Crocodile by advertising for the Cross Guild, but because he is so admired by his men that they assume he is the head of the new organization. And by the time he admits he wants to be King of the Pirates, he has inadvertently built himself up so much by "faking it until you make it" that he is able to strong arm Mihawk and Crocodile by telling the entire island that they are going after the one piece. It is no coincidence that this is a turning point for Buggy because he is courageous in his vulnerability and admitting to himself and the world what he really wants.

In One Piece, being brave isn't the absence of fear, in @melonteee's videos about Luffy and Liberty she reviews how Luffy hates cowards. At the very beginning of the series Luffy tells Koby, to his face, that Koby is gutless and worthless because he is not trying to get away from Alvida even though he has a legit dream. This sort of sets the stage for how the reader is supposed to view people in the story who don't go after their dreams. Because not going for your dreams is the true cowardice, not running away from battles because that is more for laughs. In that context it make total sense that Buggy is introduced as a villian. Because at the point he meets Luffy, he has been practically paralyzed by the death of Roger for 20 years. In Buggy's introduction (even though we didn't know it at the time), we were being introduced to one of the biggest themes of the show; you can't just stop living because you've experience loss. You don't give up on your dreams because they are hard. Keep pushing no matter what. Even though Roger (and Luffy/Shanks/Ace) get all this respect because he is adventurous and courageous, what we learn from Garp after Marineford, is that courageousness came from a place of vulnerability because Roger could never run from a fight when someone he loved needed to be protected. Buggy fundamental fear is that he is not worthy of respect; so admitting his real dream is a form of courage, and what is going to continue to catalyze him forward in the story. I think Buggy's dream can still come to fruition even if Luffy becomes King of Pirates, because to Luffy's dream is something big and world changing. All Buggy wants is to be just like his daddy >.<

[yntaro]

Let’s talk about Romance Mangas!

My say to those I have read and loved: (not ranked)

1. This Manga hurts my heart. I read it while on high school and it kinda hit me with how lonely I am because I never had an Ayane-chan and Chizuru-chan, and Kazehaya-kun to downright change my life to better. But I did enjoy those time because I had romance manga to begin with. Kimi Ni Todoke might be the one that get me into read romance mangas. I liked it because I somewhat relate to Sawako, being outcasted and all. I grew to love their story, and found myself hoping that maybe love will come to me too.

Kimi Ni Todoke (From Me to You)

2. In this spin off featuring Kurumizawa Ume (a character from Kimi Ni Todoke) and Sawako’s cousin Eiji Akahoshi, my hope for meeting love blooms even greater. They were soulmates as the title suggests so they were literally speed, but then I haven’t read the latest chapters yet because I can’t find them (if anyone know, pls let me know). As I was saying, they literally skipped the slow burn but still works because we can now root for the former second leads. (Yes, Eiji is from another romance manga from the same author: Crazy for Love)

Kimi Ni Todoke: Soulmate

3. What do you do when you accidentally married a man twice your age?? Some may not want age gap romance, especially when the age gap is 20 years, but you might change your mind reading this manga. It’s wholesome and you can actually find yourself smiling and rooting for their relationship to work. This manga has been going on the internet, it’s popular so you may had heard of it, it’s where I heard of it, so I think I don’t have to had any say except I enjoyed it and I am finding or accepting manga recs similar to this.

Gomashio to Pudding (Sesame Salt and Pudding)

4. WHOLESOME IS THE WORD. This manga is fresh breath of air. I’m pretty sure most of you guys have heard of it as it’s one of this month’s anime. I just love how cute they are in each chapter, even the other couples. And I thoroughly enjoy Himuro’s monologue. :)) If you guys were bothered by random pacings, you should watch the anime instead. They swept up the plot.

Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi (The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague)

5. Wahhhh this is really addictive, I can’t stop myself from thinking that the whole time I am reading. A combination of slice of life, comedy, and romance genre, huh. Who knows it will all work beautifully as in this masterpiece. (Also, Sousuke Shima’s character design reminds me a bit of Miura Kento from Kimi Ni Todoke)

Skip and Loafer

6. HOT. I have no other words. Some may misunderstand though. But it’s what I think of it, like will you look at them!!! They’re attacking me. I hope we got to see how their relationship progress soon. Btw, I’m all in for Ichi, I’m sorry dear Oji.

Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki (In the Clear Moonlit Dusk)

Aaaand I just rumbled my thoughts on the last part. I may edit it for a more serious discussion later. Thanks! :)))

[stepmarchen]

first off my apologies for this as i feel it's an overrated thing for the ASM fandom, but i would love your take on the historical fashion shown in the manhwa, the references to real life and the anachronistic choices to boot. i hope you're not too bothered by this! also love your thoughts on asm lol

no worries at all! i'm not the greatest history buff so i'm going to have to say sorry in advance too

anyway, i just looooove the historical world building/fashion in ASM! I think it's one of the best period-inspired comics in the "historical" genre despite it being inspired by multiple different historical time periods. get ready because... i have a lot to say.

now i wouldn't call myself a huge stickler for historical accuracy but personally, i like to feel totally transported to another time when i'm reading a period piece. And a lot of "princess" manhwa often take loose inspiration from history given that they're also in the fantasy YA genre.

here's what i mean.

the isekai genre inherently caters towards young women and selling "the fantasy" that is "we want to make you feel like a princess". While historical accuracy is super cool, there's a certain amount of modernization needed to appeal to the modern audience.

Changes might include: modern hollywood curls over a powdered wig with ringlet curls, the hourglass silhoutte over the historically accurate higher waister silhouette, or stylish stilettos over buckled mules (you get it)

a huge percentage of isekai/fantasy manga/manhwa do this (even to the extreme) and most of the time, it works (some examples below).

The problem is when it isn't intentional. ie: Artists going for the "historically accurate" route and fail to use props that suit the intended setting (not going to show examples, sorry)

ASM does a wonderful job at keeping to the historically accurate theme with the 19th century inspired fashion. And the only real anachronistic choice is the "anime hair" (which I think we can all stand by).

In particular, this panel of Theo trying on his new outfit for the gala really surprised me. It's the first time I've seen a male character wearing century accurate justacorps, breeches, and heels.

Something else I love is the style preferences between different characters, in relation to their age, status, and personality. It's even mentioned vocally by the characters! ie: Rachel wishing she could wear a bustle like Shuri, Shuri opting for "younger styles" now that she has been reborn, and Nora/Jeremy dressing freely (because boys will be boys).

The Empress (and Heidi) wear larger, more extravagant silhouettes, politically symbolic jewelry, and updos fitting of their high status. You can really feel the weight and layers that they're wearing, making them clear figures of power. It's an excellent design choice while staying true to the time period.

Meanwhile, Shuri often wears lighter dresses with less volume and simple accents as opposed to the flair of the royals or the youthful embellishments (like ribbbons or bows) of younger unmarried girls like Ohara.

HOWEVER! I have a growing theory that ORKA likes to use dresses as a narrative device. I think that ORKA styles Shuri in ribbons and "younger" styles instead of her common looks during romantic scenes to remind us readers that she really is just a girl inside, not anyone's mother.

I'm super eager to see how the fashion evolves as we move through Season 3! In the latest chapters, Shuri is starting to wear narrower silhouettes, suggestive of the coming turn of the century.

Also, with the characters growing up, we will probably get different male outfits (as opposed to Jeremy's typical knights training uniform and Nora's basic look).

Thanks for listening to my rant!

[sherylhooper]

BSD rant? (MANGA SPOILERS!!)

When will BSD fans stop babying Dazai? When will they finally understand that they are projecting themselves on him and don't really "kin" him? (Cuz if you kin Dazai, then ya'll should be in mental hospital).

When will they understand that Dazai is a nihilist person who doesn't care about life or death, good or evil? When will they realize that Mori didn't abuse him or experimented on him (where did that idea ever came from?)?

When will they learn that in BSD no one is good or evil? It's a place for morally grey characters!!

Kunikida and Ranpo were ready to let Atsushi die when he was kidnapped by Akutagawa. Tanizaki was very murder happy with killing Mori. Even Fukuzawa used to be an assassin!!

ADA Dazai is still PM Dazai cuz he doesn't care about anything else besides Oda's wish for him to be on the side that saves people (see how he doesn't say "be on the "good" side"?)

Oda himself said that for Dazai good or bad has same meaning, so why do these so-called fans and "kinnies" pretend that they know him better than Oda? As if Dazai won't kill someone in cold blood? He tried to drown Dostoyevskiy to win against him in latest chapters!

He doesn't hate the mafia, he hates Mori because Mori killed his friend!! That is a reason why he hates Mori.

"He left toxic and abused place" — Dazai is toxic and abusive himself. That toxic relationship between Dazai and Akutagawa and Akutagawa and Kyoka began with DAZAI, NOT MORI! (Unless Asagiri tells us it was Mori.) He didn't care about Akutagawa. No one went and forced Dazai to shoot or beat the shit out him. He did it on his own!

When will they stop babying him? As if Dazai would let anyone abuse or manipulate him, let alone his boss. He did what he did on his own.

It gets so annoying reading BSD fanfics cuz most of writers have him written "sad uwu boy who didn't want to be in Mafia but because he was abused, experimented (simetimes even SA'd) by Mori, he finally left the toxic space, hates Mafia and really wants to be a good person" 🙄

Do they even understand that all these are just "headcannons"? To them if you even say that you like Mori, you are a p*do excuser and abuser lover? Like, do these people even know how to think???

None of whatever they have deluded themselves with is Canon! Dazai is in ADA because of Odasaku. Mori isn't a p*do cuz Asagiri hasn't confirmed anything. Chuuya isn't a feminine uwu boy who can't function without Dazai and Mafia is actually very important to Yokohama.

"Mori doesn't deserve Elise" — Elise is Mori!! She is like Demon Snow and Golden Demon. She doesn't even have a personality unless Mori gives her one. She doesn't have feelings on her own. She isn't a human being.

"Mori said she was his wife" — well she is a part of Mori, so he can call her whatever he wants. Mori probably had her since he was a child. I wouldn't be surprised if he were to love her 🤷‍♀️

"The name of his ability is sus" — well, if they had read real life Mori's book "Vita Sexualis" they would have realized that the book is about a man who has very low s*x drive, probably an asexual — there, a simple answer. So, no we don't know anything about how his ability works and wiki page that says Vita Sexualis is projecting his own sexual wants on Elise isn't canon!

"He said he like his women below 12" — yeah, as a joke, both with Kouyou and Fukuzawa. Elise calling him a "lolicon" is Mori calling himself a "lolicon". Elise hating Mori is also self hatred 🤷‍♀️ Because, once again, Elise doesn't have a personality on her own, do we even know if she can think on her own? BEAST and Yosano’s past kinda raise this question.

They can hate him for what he did to Yosano but if my country was in a war, I, probably, would do the same if someone had that ability. It's one person versus a whole country. It's called necesasry evil.

BSD fans have to realize that what they want to sell as canon is just a headcanon, not everyone has same headcanons and that they are reading a Seinen not Shounen.

[dyaz-stories]

With the latest chapter out, what are your thoughts on it? Other than how they mentioned Gojo. I remember hearing something about a faceless(hidden) character that kind of looks like Kenjaku/Geto at the end.

Spoiler-free opinion is that I generally enjoyed the chapter! It's very in line with what to expect from a shonen epilogue. That's what I thought we were going to get immediately post-Sukuna defeat, mostly because that's usually how that goes.

We're starting to close the curtains on the characters, we see that life goes on, what's changed, etc. It's cute, it's a sweet farewell to the characters. I don't care about some of the ones we see in the chapter, but I love most of them, so I'm happy about that! I'm still really upset with the way Gojo is handled, so I'm going to get a little more in depth with all that under the cut.

We conclude really quickly on Tengen but it's not super clear to me what's going on, nor do I care too much to be frank. We do see Gakuganji telling Utahime and Nitta 'not to worry' because they're still young, so that's a definite shift from the beginning of the manga — less urgency, less responsibility on their sole shoulders, the cycle is broken, all of that.

(peep the really cute panel of Noritoshi with his family — he wasn't my favorite but I thought that was sweet. He's no longer chained to his clan, yet another change from the beginning of the manga.)

Then we close a few plotines with characters I, honestly, didn't care for (the mangaka Hakari fought with, Yuuji's acquaintance who used to be a bully, the sumo/samurai that helped Maki have her awakening), but there is an interesting line about how they've gone public with the existence of curses.

So things have changed, and with the public knowing about it, maybe a future where humans learn to channel their cursed energy, like Yuki Tsukumo hoped for, is an option? There's hope.

(It is quite random since we hadn't heard about that before, but I can accept something like that because clearly a lot of weird stuff had happened and there needed to be some explanation for the non-sorcerers)

I like the Megumi and Angel interactions we get — she was always an interesting character to me and I wish we'd seen more of her. I also like the idea of characters deciding to help each other out. It seems that Megumi does it partially out of guilt, which I'm not a huge fan of, but supporting a character who's lost an arm in battle feels, again, like an evolution from the start of the manga. She's not going to be left to fend for herself like Geto was, and isn't that a great thing?

And I like that the chapter ends up with them taking up a new mission — we know that curses couldn't disappear, so life goes on. Yuuji goes back to helping people, like he's always wanted to do, and honestly I'm quite happy with that. There wasn't a permanent solution to curses unless people were willing to commit a genocide, but there were ways of making things easier. Because non-sorcerers know about curses, they can reach out directly to sorcerers before anyone dies (...well we'll see about that next chapter, but that's what it looks like), which should in turn limit curses' opportunity to get super strong undetected. Ijichi actually starts by talking about a "victim", but then we see everyone's okay and they take the cursed person to get a physical, so they should be fine. Lots of evolution shown in the chapter!

(the trio back togetherrrrr, they're so cute!)

Now, to the things I wasn't a fan of.

Like you said, there is something about Kenjaku. I don't know if you'd read this plotline, but there was this character, Fumihiko Takaba, who was this unfunny comedian. He's the one who fights Kenjaku and distracts him enough for Yuuta to kill him without too much of a struggle. Kenjaku has this whole thing about how this was the first time he'd had this much fun in centuries, being in a 'comedic duo' with that guy. Now it was a really weird couple of chapters, and it looks like he gets someone to join his duo. We don't see his face, but yeah, it looks like Kenjaku in Geto's body.

Now I don't think that's him but it is imo something about... idk, reincarnation, cosmisc alignment, whatever. I'm pretty indifferent to that — I didn't care about that guy nor about Kenjaku. However, to see both of them get a closure that I don't feel we've gotten for Gojo kills me. At this point I feel confident that Gege feels the airport scene was all the closure needed, and I just... yeah I just disagree.

The chapter actually opens on a gravestone — Tsumiki's. Shoko and Megumi are there, paying their respects. But we don't see a headstone for Gojo or a funeral of any king, which I'd been hoping for if it's because he's alive I'll eat literally all of my words but at this point I think there's a 0% chance of that

In fact, we're told that Shoko dealt with Tsumiki's remains, which were cremated. And then this.

...I'm just tired of this at this point. When I was reading the manga, I was talking to a friend and said that it didn't feel like anyone liked Gojo. People can have respect for him, admire him, hate him, etc. but it never felt like anyone liked him. Even the characters that I think would have had the better chance of having some reaction to him (Shoko, Yuuji, Yuta, Megumi), from what we see, just... didn't care for him that much, you know? [I think there are solid arguments against that and I know for sure that's not how I'm going to write them, but imo that is what we are seeing play out at the moment] So, in turn, it's making me feel silly for caring as much as I do. It just... feels like he never mattered. He's been erased from the narrative, and I hate it.

The scene ends with Shoko throwing away her cigarette. It probably has a lot of symbolical significance — we know that she stopped smoking in high school and picked it up again in Shibuya because she was nostalgic of her high school days.

I guess this means those days are fully behind her now. Because there's no one left.

[kozachenko]

Some thoughts on some of the newest CDS chapters below the read more tag for spoiler's sake, since I have read the newest one and have some thoughts

As flawed as Cheating Detective Satori is, one thing I will give it is how it shows the reactions of the spirits and Youkai living in Former Hell to the whole "sealing it up" thing. While I was initially annoyed about the whole "sealing former Hell" thing, I feel like the newer chapters have kinda made the whole thing make more sense, especially in the newest one where Parsee mentions how in the case of a vengeful spirit making too much trouble, Former Hell is just gonna seal right back up and become Hell again, which is a system that has been around since Former Hell was established. I think what this little addition does well is that in retrospect it makes the whole decision of sealing up Former Hell make a bit more sense. Also, the mystery that the latest chapter left off with (Parsee's realization that Former Hell must have been sealed from the outside) is really interesting, and had that bit of realization not been included by Parsee, it probably would've been a major plot hole that Parsee's tunnel also got plugged up when the whole system was made years ago when Former Hell was first established. Also, would Parsee know who Mizuchi is? Or have at least heard of her? Or is Mizuchi kind of treated like an SCP in Former Hell and is kept a secret from everyone else, even though in the earliest chapters of CDS, Satori mentions that Mizuchi has been a bit of a problem before, and Yuugi also knows her sooooo is this a writing mistake or intentional? Although there are a lot of vengeful spirits in Former Hell so knowing who each and every single one is is probably giving the denizens of Former Hell a bit too much credit lol. But still, Mizuchi seems to maybe be a more well known vengeful spirit so I'm still a bit confused on that, or maybe it could just be as simple as Parsee having never met Mizuchi when counseling vengeful spirits.

Maybe certain people aren't allowed to even see Mizuchi since they could be prime targets for her to possess people and escape. Which could also be related to the reason why she escaped in the first place, maybe she possessed someone with a grudge against Reimu or anyone in the Hakurei bloodline and used them to get out of Former Hell?

Also, when you think about that and the fact that Zanmu is the one who proposed the move, it gave me the headcanon that Zanmu also put that system in place since she wouldn't just leave it carelessly unattended. Since it's in her character to think ahead and meticulously plan things, why wouldn't she put this safety measure in place?

Utsuho and Koishi were also really good in this chapter, and Utsuho's title is so fucking good, I love it. Koishi also trying to get the other vengeful spirits to chill out is also a fun detail. Her point about the vengeful spirits not even being allowed to leave regardless is also something interesting to think about. Though it is explained in the manga that the vengeful spirits just needed a reason to attack, the idea of someone getting mad about the loss of a freedom that they would normally never use is very interesting to me.

When the manga is finished I'm most likely gonna do a full review on it, since my last one had way too much swearing and I was also really tired and wanted to sleep and I am just overall not happy with it. Plus, the manga seems like it's starting to get better, and with ZUN himself saying that he's aware of the criticism towards CDS, I'm gonna stay optimistic with this manga. Also, it would be really interesting to see how the people in New Hell react to the restoration of Former Hell, especially Zanmu due to how important she is in the actual creation of Former Hell, although a small part of me thinks that she would just go, "not my Hell, not my problem" and leave it at that, the other part of me thinks that would maybe be a little out of character for her. Like, I don't think she'd be panicking, but at the same time she's not gonna treat it like a non-issue. Though that could just be me since I like Zanmu a lot lol.

All in all, just a lot to think about with this new chapter.

[blooxorsista]

Blue Exorcist - 3x09: Rin, Izumo, & the Rescue Scene

Okay, I was reading the comments under the latest episode (3x09), and I wanted to type something out, but it ended up being pretty long and I decided I'd just post here instead.

Basically, this post will address Rin and Izumo's character development in this arc, and the importance of the rescue scene in the most recent episode.

I've already mentioned that this arc is probably my favorite in the whole manga (although I'm not currently caught up), but the scene where Izumo cries for help and Rin comes to her rescue is probably one of my absolute favorite scenes in the series.

The scene was just so impactful to me as a reader, which I wrote about in my analysis from when Chapter 60 came out.

So needless to say, I was SO excited to finally see this scene animated! I was also especially excited to see the Nine Tails dance from Izumo, and was slightly disappointed that they may have adapted it too faithfully to the manga, with still shots instead of a moving dance. Maybe they didn't want to assume what it looked like and chose to play it safe. (It's fine, not a deal breaker!)

It wasn't totally apparent in the anime episode, but manga readers know that Rin noticed Izumo crying from the vent. That's why we saw his wide eyes right before he exploded through the ceiling. It was seeing Izumo that caused him to move into action.

It may be easy to overlook since it moved so quickly in the anime, but that scene is extremely important for both Rin and Izumo's characters. Up until that moment, Rin had been struggling internally about fighting humans. When he's trapped inside the giant zombie, he can hear the voices of the humans that were inside (in the same way he could hear Kuro). That's why he was having a bit of a mental breakdown, asking his father what he should do.

He KNOWS that he has to cause harm to humans in order to succeed in this mission. But it's easier said than done for him, because as someone who has been constantly demonized and struggled with his sense of self, he has drawn himself a red line in his own personal code of ethics. To him, the zombies ARE human. And hearing their voices just confirms that for him. They are still conscious inside of their experimented bodies. So in order to fight them, he would have to harm these humans who were essentially innocent victims of this organization.

For Izumo, she finally accepts her true feelings about others, and asks for help. Up until this point, she's put up a strong front, thinking she had to handle everything on her own and couldn't trust anyone. Now she lets all her walls come down and accepts her vulnerabilities.

And it's exactly in this moment that both Rin and Izumo have a synchronous realization. For Rin, seeing Izumo crying, asking for help, in her most vulnerable state -- it's the catalyst for him to resolve his own inner conflict.

In an instant, he has made his decision and strengthened his resolve (either consciously or subconsciously) to harm humans because all he cares about in that moment is to save Izumo.

It's enough to snap him into action. And that's HUGE development for his character. We even see him hesitate slightly at the end of the episode when the zombies fill the room, before ultimately slashing through them with his sword, because he knows that that is what's needed to save Izumo and her mom. In fact, I'd probably argue that this hesitation is due to Rin having to consciously decide to attack them, meaning that when he moved to save Izumo, he reacted subconsciously.

I just felt the need to point this out after seeing so many comments complaining about Rin and Izumo's actions and character development this season. In truth, their actions and motivations align.

Another common complaint I saw was about how Izumo should have taken Rin's offer for help the first time (on the bridge). I'd like to point out that running away wouldn't solve Izumo's problems. Even if she were to be rescued and escape with Rin and the others, Gedouin still has her mother and has already threatened to use her little sister if Izumo refused. In her mind, staying was the only solution, because her goal was to protect her family at all costs.

Despite what we know of the Nine Tails, Izumo believes that she can take control and use the possession to her advantage and destroy her enemies. That way she wouldn't have to worry about them coming after her or her loved ones again.

And for Rin, he's coming to learn that "good" and "bad" are not so easily distinguished. His view of the world has been turned upside down after realizing that not all of the "bad guys" are demons.

And as a side note, I also want to mention the animation style. I know it's been a bit of a controversial topic this season, since the style is so different from seasons 1 and 2, and that a lot of people have complained about some of the episodes. However, I had a feeling that the animation team was just prioritizing the more important scenes over the others (after all, there is a limited amount of time and budget, so it would make sense to spend more time on the biggest scenes, if you have to choose).

And I was glad that this seems to be holding true up until now. I was happy with the quality of the scenes that featured Izumo this episode (much like how I thought her backstory episode was high quality), and especially the rescue scene. And I loved that we finally got to see posessed!Izumo colored and animated!

I'm also curious as to how the next episode will be adapted. I was reading through an old rant of mine from when the corresponding manga chapter came out, so I'll be curious to see if I feel the same way after watching the next scenes play out.

All in all, I'm still enjoying this season and getting to experience the manga come to life with animation and voice acting!

[aussie-the-hedgehog]

*Do not read this if you aren't up to date on the MHA manga with the latest leaks. You have been warned.*

I am so hyped man. Looking at the leaks for the latest MHA chapter has me buzzing.

Not only am I hopeful for Izuku to get into Tomura's memories and restore him, but there was also a certain nugget I read in the leak description.

It was noted that Ochako was rescued and is on her way to getting treatment for Toga's wound to her stomach.

Many in the MHA subreddit were theorizing now that Ochako is rescued if Eri will use rewind on her to go help rescue Izuku. There was also a theory that Kurogiri warps the healed Ochako to go help Izuku with Aizawa and Yamada doing their work to redeem him.

If Izuku happens to lose his float quirk and he is falling to his demise (which he very well could), Hori could use her to save him akin to the entrance exam. It made me think something like this could happen:

(All credit to Kohei Horikoshi and anyone else affiliated with the work)

Granted, it would be the other way around. When this piece released, Horikoshi mentioned something like this could happen, so we'll see what happens.

Obviously, as an Ochako fan I'd love to see her come back and save Izuku from falling to his demise. Yet, as an IzuOcha fan it would make me happier to have these two have a scene together to wrap up the war arc. It would most likely lead to them becoming a couple of course.

Now, all of this could be wishful thinking. I know it may not happen, but reading the speculated theories of what could occur makes me very excited for what's to come.

[amaru-sage]

About Ivy and canon divergence in the latest Engage manga chapter…

So with the recent release of chapter 11 of the FE Engage manga, there has been complaints about how Ivy was handled and how the manga is diverging from the game’s events

While I understand that different people are gonna have different interpretations of things, that still not gonna stop me from telling the people who are saying “ Ivy is being put through the damsel in distress treatment !1!! “ that YA’LL ARE BEING RIDICULOUS ❗️❗️❗️

Ivy is NOT and I repeat, NOT being put through THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS TREATMENT

Ivy may have gotten arrested and defended by a MAN 👨 but that doesn’t necessarily mean she has been damsel-in-distressed™ 😭

NOT ONCE has Ivy been weak, pleaded for her life nor hid behind a man when she was in danger during the recent chapter.

I read a thread on Twitter where someone compiled their issues with the chapter and it mostly had to with the obvious-but-not-completely-in your-face Ivy booba fanservice (which is true ngl) and Alear’s gender 😭 bffr

During the chapter Ivy got taken down by the protag™ (like in the game) and moments before she got arrested, she pulled a valiant-sacrifice-of-a-true-leader move, and took the chance to make a leeway for her army and retainers to escape at the cost of herself.

Ivy being imprisoned isn’t something to make her look weak, but actually strong because she got herself into that place to protect her people.

OF COURSE SHE WAS GONNA GET PROSECUTED FOR HER ACTIONS AS SHE IS AN ENEMY THAT ATTACKED THE CASTLE 😭 AND THREATENED THE LIFE OF THE NEXT IN LINE HEIR ( SHE ALMOST BARBECUED DIAMANT YALL )

CONSEQUENCES OF ACTIONS™

And then comes in Alear. Y’all should know by now that Alear is a very kind hearted person and will defend/be kind to anyone as long as they see good in the person, even if the person doesn’t deserve it. And comparing his last fight with Nelucce, an Elusian army leader who used his own men as shields to protect himself, Ivy was different.

Which is why Alear goes to visit her in the dungeons, delivering her food and tells her he doesn’t think she’s a bad person (despite her actions being unforgivable; his words not mine), pointing out that she allowed her allies to escape instead of herself and put himself on front of her to stop King Morion from killing her.

ALSO JUST TO POINT OUT AGAIN that Ivy didn’t plea for her life or looked to someone (or Alear or Diamant when he was pleading his father not to kill her ) for help when King Morion pointed his sword at her.

INSTEAD she stood strong and still at the face of death with her head held high and a cold front, like the true badass she is and just accepted her fate then and there ( pretty much going ‘ whatever 😒’ not only at death but even when Alear suggested she should be put on trial )

SO IN CONCLUSION

NOT ONCE HAS IVY EVER BEEN A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS THAT’S JUST YALL DOING HER LIKE THAT 😤

(Besides, there’s still a lot of chapters left for Ivy to grow and be her cool and badass self)

And as for the manga diverging from the game’s events….

LET 👏🏽THEM 👏🏽COOK 👏🏽🗣

( I WANT TO SEE THE CHARACTERS PULL SOME ACE ATTORNEY SHIT NEXT CHAPTER)

I think the manga deviating from the source material is a good thing ACTUALLY!! as it gives its own identity and more time/space to explore the world building and characters of Elyos that the game could not

I mean we got to find out how long Clanne and Framme worked as stewards, that there exists a village around Lythos Castle, got to learn a bit of the nobles in Brodia, that there are some Fell Dragon worshippers in Brodia (and Elyos) and not just Elusia, more on Yunaka’s, Alcryst’s, Diamant’s and Ivy’s backstory/childhoods, etc., through the manga, so I’m happy and curious with the direction the manga is heading to.

Also Mama Lumera gets to live longer so LET HER HAVE THIS!!

Anyways, that’s all I got to say PEACE OUT BITCHES ✌🏽

[rabbityshen]

not sure who this post is for.

i think i just needed a way to get out some of my brainworms about genazo and some of the observations i've made about it as a movie and fandom phenomenon that's big in japan but basically not at all here. it was originally gonna be a pitch post on my Main, Professional writing blog but it came out kind of too.....silly for that. which is why the grammar and capitalization are generally proper and the tone is more formal (and has images). i wrote most of it back in august/september but have edited it so it's relatively current to right now.

it's mostly a bunch of rambling and info tidbits about genazo. cant imagine who would be interested in it, except genazo fans, but then it's also written as if to be read by ppl who don't know what genazo is. again, very confusing post. my bad. if u wanna read it go ahead, but lol (lol).

but if ur like "what's genazo?" well then this the post for you. maybe.

edit: added some more fun images for myself 😊 and some (spoilery) CWs for the movie at the very end

They say honesty is a virtue so I might as well start off by saying that my curiosity about this movie was not sparked by the anniversary productions being made for Shigeru Mizuki’s 100th birthday or through keeping tabs on the latest anime films coming out, but because I saw fanart and I thought the main character, Mizuki, looked hot.

After some sleuthing, I tracked down the source material and was surprised that it was from a movie, Kitaro Tanjo: GeGeGe no Nazo (which I'll shorten to GeNazo), part of the GeGeGe no Kitaro franchise.

If you don’t know of GeGeGe no Kitaro or Shigeru Mizuki, I’ll pause here to give a little bit of background info. Shigeru Mizuki was a mangaka born in 1922, who made manga at the same time alongside other influential artists like Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy) and Shotaro Ishinomori (Kamen Rider). Mizuki would ultimately become famous for GeGeGe no Kitaro (which I'll shorten to Kitaro from here on out), a manga series following a yokai boy named Kitaro and his adventures. Kitaro is on par with Asto Boy in terms of being a national icon. He’s credited with popularizing yokai stories for the modern masses, his imagery becoming what people would most associate with the classic folklore. Besides the 2023 movie, there was an anime adaptation that aired 2018 - 2020, which was also a 50th anniversary production based off of the first anime adaptation that first aired in 1968.

I had some passing, bare minimum familiarity with Kitaro, as much as anyone who’s liked anime and manga for decades would have, and I had never seen a character from it who looked like Mizuki. Clearly, the movie wasn't a straightforward adaptation, even if it was taking one of the manga chapter titles as its own (“The Birth of Kitaro,” which shows the origins of the eponymous character). Not only that, but the promotional material was fairly bloody and dour, obviously aimed at a more mature audience than the usual child demographic the franchise was geared towards, as with the 2018 Kitaro anime. The character design for Kitaro on the movie poster was very similar though, so I figured they likely shared the same continuity.

(i don't have enough relevant images to adequately disperse throughout this post so im just adding random screenshots of mizuki for enrichment and personal indulgence 🙂)

Since the anime series had been officially licensed and subtitled by Crunchyroll, I assumed the same had been done for the movie but that was not the case. It had been released in Japanese theaters back in November 2023 but as of April 2024 at the time, there was (and still is) nowhere official and legal to watch it with localized English subtitles. I had little interest in Kitaro otherwise so I shrugged and decided I would let my shallow interest taper off. It did not.

Instead it plagued me for months (my friends can testify to this). I can't exactly articulate why; The heart wants what the heart wants I suppose. So I finally caved in and found…other means of watching it. I'm not sure if I expected that to sate the brainworms already festering in my head, but basically the opposite of that happened. Now having context for what I was already seeking out on Twitter, new depths of investment were opened up. And that's when I discovered this movie was quite popular.

Now granted, this is still in relative terms. This was the year that other animated hit films such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Boy and the Heron came out. Even other anime franchise films such as Case Closed: Black Iron Submarine and Spy x Family Code: White were much bigger domestic and international hits from around the same time. However, while GeNazo never reached the status of being the #1 movie in Japan for the week, it was one of the top five grossing movies for four consecutive weeks (and in the top ten for a consecutive 11 weeks), making over two billion yen (~$17 million). It was also selected to be shown at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in the Countrechamp category. A new version of the film called the “True Version” (真生版), which contains redone cuts and rerecorded dialogue (but no changes to the narrative), as well as bumps up the rating from PG-12 to R15, was released a few weeks ago.

And when you zoom in closer from a fandom subculture perspective, its popularity is undeniable. The doujinshi made for the GeNazo fandom and sold through the retailer Comic Toranoana is not only numerous, but has dominated the female-targeted section rankings for months (both “All Ages” and “Adults Only”), alongside doujinshi for much more internationally popular series like Jujutsu Kaisen and Slam Dunk. (Another way to compare this, Kitaro has a total of 2500+ listed and Delicious in Dungeon has a little over 40 items listed.) In the 2023 poll for yumejoshi (similar to the concept of “self-shipping” fandom) to pick their favorite characters for the year, the two main characters made it to the top twenty (Gegero at #15 and Mizuki at #9), even though the movie was released quite late into the year. Then in Animage’s annual Anime Grand Prix, GeNazo was voted as the top favorite anime for 2023, with Mizuki and Gegero also voted as the top favorite characters. At COMIC CITY SPARK 19, a popular Tokyo doujinshi event held last week, GeNazo is the third most popular fandom represented (above other fandoms including Haikyu!! and Honkai: Star Rail). Several months ago, a film concert event was held and it must've done more than well enough if they're holding the event again for two days in November.

So obviously, I was very much not the only one infested with brainworms! But in comparison, no one over in English-speaking anime fandom circles knows anything. On Archive of Our Own, there’s a tag for “GeGeGe no Kitaro (Anime)”* that only has under 50 works in English when accounted for the movie’s release. (In comparison, there are over 2,500 works in the tag for “ダンジョン飯 | Dungeon Meshi | Delicious in Dungeon” in English when accounted for the anime’s release. For possibly a more equivalent comparison, there are a little under 200 works in the tag for “Bang Brave Bang Braven (Anime)” a show that did receive an official English translation and was ranked second in the Anime Grand Prix.) Every time I peek into Japanese fandom, I feel like I’m stepping into a parallel universe. The gap is striking.

Anime has never been more accessible to foreigners, specifically Americans. Piracy still reigns supreme in terms of frugal personal finances, but it's less convenient and full of pitfalls, requiring some sophistication in navigating platforms and torrents. As a thirty year old with a full-time job, the low-risk convenience on its own is worth the money of subscription. It’s also easy to think in the age of streaming and simulcast—with plenty of titles getting licensed but then instantly buried under the oversaturation of Content and lackluster efforts at marketing—that we have legal access to everything, or at least everything notable. But similar to this year's cult hit Girls Band Cry (until the official English language translation available through Hoopla and, soon on November 6th, Crunchyroll as well), GeNazo fell through the license cracks. 

I shouldn't be too surprised though. While Kitaro is an iconic series with a deep cultural legacy in Japan, its popularity in the USA is much milder. In my experience, people who do know about Kitaro tend to regard it as a piece of classic manga history rather than engaging art or storytelling in its own right. As an older, episodic children’s series fundamentally focused on traditional Japanese folklore, its potential appeal to international audiences is less universal and it's less likely to be taken seriously by manga fans invested in more serialized storytelling. So it is a shame that this movie isn't licensed and officially localized. Tomohiro Harafuchi, the director of Mizuki Productions, said in an interview at the Annecy Festival that he hoped that screening GeNazo there would “inspire the international audience to discover these universes” since Kitaro is less well known outside of Japan. Especially since it stands out as fairly unique work among the other Kitaro movies, series, and other related media.

At this point, you might be wondering what GeNazo is actually about and what my pitch is for watching it besides Hot Anime Guy.

The version that's short and to the point: A nice horror mystery with some decent fujobait and anti-nationalist themes.

The version with a premise like you're reading the back of a DVD case: Mizuki, a salaryman working for a blood bank during Japan’s postwar era, is tasked with visiting a remote village. He hopes to curry favor with a powerful family whose patriarch has just died, causing a power struggle, as well as find out the secret of the miracle drug that they manufacture. Along the way, he meets a mysterious man searching for his missing wife. Violent, strange deaths begin occurring however, and Mizuki soon finds himself wrapped up in a disturbing conspiracy he never anticipated. Find out the twisted origins of one of Japan’s most beloved characters…

My actual, extremely condensed opinion: A fun 3/5 stars movie that I'm kind of ambivalent about.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” you may be wondering, “You wrote all of this about a movie you rated 3/5 on Letterboxd?” The answer is “yes” and I wish I had a better one.

That'll be for another post though, since I can't discuss it without really getting into spoilers.

Note [possible spoilers]: Content warnings for GeNazo include gore, war trauma flashbacks, non-graphic and referenced incestuous CSA, alcoholism, child death.

[maroontragedy]

hi ive never read manga before but im rly interested in bsd after watching the anime, but i have no clue where i can read it online !!

hii fren!! i believe you can find it here (as well as other bsd mangas, light novels, rl authors' works, and other fun sources if you're interested):

https://bsd-bibliophile.tumblr.com/?source=share

you can also check these out (especially since i think some of the first chapters are missing there):

• https://w8.read-bungoustraydogs.com/

• https://bungo-stray-dogs.online/

some of the other websites i used to read manga online got taken down, and i'm not really sure if these are safe (or if they can be accessed from everywhere). if anyone else has more info, pls help a fellow bsd fan out :)

of course, for the latest chapters, @nineofscans is your (and everyone's) friend ♡

hope that i helped (and that these links actually work :D). lmk if you're having trouble accessing them or just wanna chat about bsd <333

[skania]

I just binged the whole manga and the anime of onk after I saw a clip of Akane. She is my fav character and I love reading your takes. Like this manga is so nuaced like it's tiny small details you need to look at. Did aqua like Kana? It isn't clear non of his feelings are clear for anbody. It is clear he cares for them, he cares for a lot of people but when it comes to who he loves romantically nothing is clear because most of his actions steem from guilt. At first not letting Ruby be an idol was so he could protect her because he felt guilty about Ai, distancing himself from Kana also steemed from his guilt of not protecting Ai. Because he made Kana an idol and if he got closer to her the same thing could happend to her as it happened to Ai. It's his guilt of not protecting Ai that made him not want to repeat the situation again. This is harder to apply to Akane because while she is in the entertainment industry she doesn't share the traits of the idol life and she is ultimatley the only one tigwther with the director that sees how guilty he feels which adds layers to their relationship. I kinda feel robbed we actually didn't get to see much of them together, they were together for almost a year after all. But back on track it's clear he cares a lit about Akane by breaking up with her to protect her which parallels how he didn't want to hurt Kana either. But spoilers for the latest manga chapters, Akane has declared she is going to stop him and it seems like the feeling he had for Kana really became more platonic or even less. Because while he always was about protecting her he now ropes her in and puts her in center of the danger while trying to push Akane out. It's so hard to figure put what he is thinking but it used to be clear he cared a lit about both of them and now he's gone of the rails and it will be interesting to see if anyone can bring him back. I am worried about Akane as she had been given the white flowers and, I do think ruby will get the role as Ai, if by chance Akane actually gets it would be terryfying to see aqua and akane mirror the love between ai and Hikaru. Even if we don't know much about ai and hikarus love story I feel like it parallels Aqua and Akane in many ways minus the urge to kill part. Sorry this got long but I just really love your takes about Aqua and Akane and needed someone to talk to about the show and quite frankly I just need more Akane and hopefully I'll get that in the upcoming arc as she declared war but also I'm terrified of her actually getting hurt now that the other actress got killed.

I just binged the whole manga and the anime of onk after I saw a clip of Akane.

I love how we're all in the same boat! Akane is just too powerful 😂

because most of his actions steem from guilt.

Aqua's guilt and how it feeds his self-destructive behavior is something I've been meaning to talk about in the context of his relationship with Akane, because there are so many moments when Aqua completely overplays the ways in which he has "used" Akane, and it's all because guilt is such a big part of him that I'm not even sure if he's capable of having a single thought that doesn't end up relating to it lol

I kinda feel robbed we actually didn't get to see much of them together, they were together for almost a year after all.

Me too. Honestly, that sucked, specially because the two or three times we got to see them were fantastic. The way he off-screened their time together actually made me think of his previous manga and how he handled the dates between Tsubame and Ishigami, which doesn't help matters any 😩

Because while he always was about protecting her he now ropes her in and puts her in center of the danger

Honestly, Aqua is such a liar that I wouldn't be surprised if he's just gaslighting himself into thinking that he's okay with using her. I'll believe it when we actually see him have an use for her lol

while trying to push Akane out.

This though is fantastic development and the biggest testament as to how much Aqua has grown to care for Akane. It's so funny how he couldn't help himself so he ended up going to see her anyway 😭 he's such a clown.

I am worried about Akane as she had been given the white flowers

I don't know why, but I'm confident Akane is safe. I feel that if Aka were intending to kill her or put her out of commission, the chapter were she got pushed down those stairs was the perfect time to do so. It had Aqua having a monologue about how much he wants to be with Akane, Akane having a heroic moment, etc. It would have been the perfect lead-in to Aqua losing himself in his revenge too, in fact it would've been better than what we got.

But instead of that, Aka just had Aqua break up with Akane to achieve the same result. So I'm not really worried about her for now. Even less so because it'd be very anti climatic for Akane to be set-up as the L to Aqua's Light only to die right after.

Sorry this got long but I just really love your takes about Aqua and Akane and needed someone to talk to about the show

Nothing to apologize for anon, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts and I get you completely! I'm having tons of fun talking about the show with fellow Akane fans like you.

and quite frankly I just need more Akane

Truer words have never been spoken. GIVE US AN AKANE CHAPTER AKA 😭