#also the manga art improves so much and the there are so many little things the anime doesn’t add and also canonical aus and and and

[asherasgayagenda]

ashe should i read bsd

YES YOU SHOUDL YES YES TES TE SYE YES YES Y!!!! EXCITED YELLING!!!!!!!! PLEASE read bsd it was one of the series that fundamentally changed me as a person and everyone is pretty and mentally ill and the fucking storybuilding is insane and it’s amazing. lookat the little murder and killing and found family and mystery and homoerotic gay little guys!!! lookat them look at the

[just-null]

I just discorvered your blog and whilst I am primarily a choso enjoyer I do think noritoshi is also a really cool character, and I really hope he and choso get a chance for a proper interaction at some point! I'd love to know what your opinion is of choso and how you think he would interact with noritoshi :) also your art is really pretty

[UPDATE] this post was made before Gege revealed that Choso was a shit teacher and before the Kamos ever interacted. This was just my assumptions at the time.

I also want to see them interact... strap in fam, bc I never shut the fuck up

I may describe Choso as a bit OOC since I don't know much of the manga, but I do know bits and pieces!! also what the wiki told me, heh.

[Choso thoughts]

Choso feels like that big brother who's stricter when training/teaching, but lenient when doing literally anything else involving his younger sibs. Although he's wearing a bored expression the entire time, he's actually super happy when around them.

I really like big brother characters so he might climb up my favorites when I see him in action. from that one popular screenshot of him giving Jogo a goofy smirk, I can tell he's got this tiny side of playfulness to him. He can be annoying if he wants to, and he sometimes does that with his brothers. 10/10 guy!

I've seen fanart and some headcanons of Choso, and I can firmly say that he's a green flag. He's the guy who would fix you without trying. HE'S NOT DOING ANYTHING, YOU JUST FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO CHANGE FOR THE BETTER FOR HIM.. OR SO I HEAR

[more details under the cut!]

[Choso + Noritoshi interaction thoughts/headcanons?]

Choso and Noritoshi are like super distant cousins/uncle/nephew right?? They came from the same jujutsu hitler, so Noritoshi is like Choso’s many greats cousin/nephew. Be fr though, if there's someone younger than Choso and is related to him in some way, that's an instant lil sibling of his. WHICH IS WHY, their relationship has two sides to it. (imo)

First up is the teacher/student aspect. 

It's no secret that Noritoshi is weaker compared to Choso, therefore, he'd want to train under him. Choso is a strict teacher, he wants his lil bros to be able to protect themselves if he's unable to be there for them, which is perfect since that's Noritoshi's comfort zone. He wants to hone his abilities to reach or even surpass Choso, so he needs someone who'd nitpick him. 

I can see them sparring, and Noritoshi having an awe struck face every time he gets taken down with a new move Choso has yet to teach him. "How did you do that? You must teach me that next, sensei!"

Choso would probably chortle and lightly nudge Noritoshi with his foot, but internally, he's screaming. Imagine your little brother saw you do something cool, and he's shouting at you to show him how to do it. That's the same feeling Choso would get. Of course, he'd show him eventually, but Noritoshi needs to get the hang of the moves he's tasked with right now before adding more to his plate.

They're both beaming with joy when Noritoshi shows progress. Well- as much as two guys who barely emote can beam. Noritoshi is proud of himself for constantly improving and Choso proud of his lil bro for getting stronger!!!!!!

I imagine they bicker often but when they're in teacher/student mode, they rarely cross each other. Noritoshi knows he's training under a teacher and Choso is teaching his lil bro how to beat ass.

The second half of their relationship is the.. older brother/older(?) brother aspect.

whereas Noritoshi is getting little brother treatment from Choso but doesn't want it and Choso annoys/coddles Noritoshi like the best big brother he is... also my favorite aspect, as shown

Noritoshi is independent. He likes his space and prefers to do things on his own. Because of this he involuntarily became the big brother of Kyoto Tech. People go to him for advice, criticism, help with assignments, and when needing to make a responsible decision, they think, "What would Noritoshi do?" You can say he got comfortable with the role of "big brother." 

So when this new guy comes along who's revealed to be family, Noritoshi deems him as a higher authority. Noritoshi's quick to go back to his old ways of respecting his superiors and it's not that difficult. Choso is older, stronger, experienced, and generally a lot more capable than Noritoshi. However, the downside is that Noritoshi would never grow a close bond with Choso if he kept this up. You can't tell your boss your worries, that's not proper! Choso, knowing this, told Noritoshi to knock off the formalities pretty early on.

I imagine this is the first time they'd ever bicker. Choso tries to get Noritoshi to loosen up a little because they're family, but Noritoshi protests that it's because they're family that he should show extra respect!

Choso probably told Noritoshi to call him brother/uncle or something so they can grow comfortable around each other. Let's be honest, Noritoshi calls his mom "mother," you won't catch him dead calling someone who he currently sees as a superior "brother." They compromise by just using each other’s name without honorifics.

Now that the introductions were out of the way, Noritoshi was now stuck with Choso coddling him. Sure it was nice at first, someone in his family who doesn't yell at him for every mistake he makes and genuinely cares for him, but.. Noritoshi feels… annoyed. Choso reminds Noritoshi of a more tolerable Todo, but he feels like Choso still treats him like Noritoshi needs him. He doesn't need Choso around, but he keeps seeing him everywhere! 

It'd be entertaining to see their dynamic. Noritoshi, the younger brother who doesn't wanna be the younger one and Choso, using that to his advantage to grow close to Noritoshi, by being the annoying older brother. He never takes it too far. just far enough that Noritoshi is saying stuff like “Preposterous!” or “This is slanderous!!” I imagine Noritoshi takes it as a personal defeat when Choso brings him food or treats him to an outing. He allowed himself to get little bro’ed..

Noritoshi would try to take the leadership role again and "big brother" Choso back in a respectful way. Maybe suggesting things he should do. Choso probably lets out breathy laughs and pats Noritoshi's head when he tries this. Then promptly goes back to doing whatever he was doing. Choso sees this as "my little brother scolding me for something." Another defeat for Noritoshi..

I can see these two bickering about the smallest things. And by bickering, I mean Choso annoying Noritoshi because he wants to take care of his little bro!!! and Noritoshi getting upset because he's not!!! little!!! he can do it himself!!!

I feel like Choso and Noritoshi would get comfortable with this though...

Choso would get a side of Noritoshi he doesn't often give to most people. They have a special bond that unites them both. Whether it be their cursed techniques or their similar childhoods or some other third option, they stick by each other. The same is true for Noritoshi, he finally has someone that cares about him and not his status. While yes, Choso can be annoying at times, Noritoshi is growing used to having him around. It would seem too quiet if Choso wasn't making him annoyed in some way.. 

of course, they'd have their calm moments. Having siblings is both a hurricane and shallow waters.

These two are stoic fucks, so I can see them communicating wordlessly. The full fucking package like nodding, shoulder shrugs, huffs, BLINKS, you fucking name it and they just had an entire conversation. They say they make it obvious on their faces, but literally, no one can tell. Some people (Arata) think they speak telepathically..........

I hinted at it in the little doodle above, but Choso would probably help Noritoshi with calligraphy. Choso is OLD so he's got to have seen some old old Japanese cursive... He'd use his knowledge to help Noritoshi improve!!!

The whole thing with Choso cooking for Noritoshi.. Its what older siblings do to coax their younger sibs out of their shell. Who doesn't like free food? Choso learns pretty quick from what i've seen and with coffee being Noritoshi’s favorite drink, he's using that.

Choso: there’s a coffee shop downtown.

Noritoshi: what

Choso: we’re going together

Noritoshi: I never agreed to this

Choso: don’t forget your jacket, it could get cold.

And then they go.

Noritoshi enjoys company if it doesn't bother him. So if Choso walked into his room and sat down to do something quietly, Noritoshi wouldn't bat an eye. and That's how they hang out sometimes, just in the same room and they both have a blast.

this one is just me fucking around but I can see Choso asking for advice on how to approach Noritoshi like a father asking how to approach his teen kid. Noritoshi is similar, but he's asking why this guy is doting on him and being annoying. They ask around because I doubt either of them know how to use a phone. Noritoshi is old-fashioned while Choso is just old.

hmm... I can't decide whether Choso would use Noritoshi's name more often to attach the name to a better person or give Noritoshi a nickname to avoid using it....... I want to lean into the former but hmm......

that's all I got! This could be so ooc but fuck it! I like it. Sorry if this was all over the place, i was throwing spaghetti at the wall!!!!

[my ranting, its not important skip this. theres also slight spoilers]

im sitting here analyzing your wording. youre implying they HAVENT met properly?????? ITS BEEN A FUCKING WHILE. LET THEM MEET AGAIN WHAT THE FUCK IM PUNCHING THE WALL. WASNT THERE AN ENTIRE REVEAL THAT YUJI WAS HIS SUPER DISTANT LIL BRO implying that he also has some relation so to noritoshi too which is super cute now that i think about it.. stoic bitch with a sunshine guy who wont shut the fuck up... wait i love that sm..... but regardless WHAT THE FUCK??? LITTLE BROTHER MY ASS.GEGE YOU HAD NORITOSHI RIGHT THERE. FYM NEW LITTLE BRO YUJI. NORITOSHI IS GOING THROUGH IT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE BUT THIS GUY IS ALONE... I JUST WANT HIM TO HAVE SOME FAMILY BRO. GEGE WHAT THE FUCK. AND CHOSO HAVING THOSE DREAMS AND FANTASIES OF HIS BROTHERS TOGETHER. PUT NORITOSHI IN THERE. BRING NORITOSHI BACK YOU ONE EYED CAT FUCK..... I WONT FORGET THIS GEGE, WHEN I CATCH YOU GEGE WHEN I CATCH YOU GEGE WHEN I CATCH YOU GEGE.....

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

can i ask when you personally became a bkdk shipper? and how long have you been into bnha?

UHHHHHHHH funny story

I first got into MHA in 2017 via the anime. At the time, I was trying to improve my Japanese listening comprehension by having anime on in the background while I worked on art.

I can tell you now that this is, in fact, not an activity I enjoy LOL. I discovered that having my attention split actually put me in a very bad mood. I tended to get really irritated at whatever I put on.

I also happen to be someone who is... not predisposed to action shounen. The hallmarks of action shounen tend to bore me—power scaling, tournaments, prolonged mid-fight flashbacks, all that. I just tap out mentally, I don't find those things compelling on their own so I have to be really invested in the characters to stick around.

With that said, I shipped bkdk immediately.

I found their dynamic arresting and really, really wanted to see where it was gonna go. I found cocky little asshole Katsuki irresistible to watch, I couldn't wait to see him figure his shit with Izuku out. I loved Izuku right away, his nerdy little ass, his sincerity, his batshit insane approach to heroism. I was struck by his "check out how many bones I can break!" shtick.

To me, their relationship was clearly the heart of the series. They were always the reason I came back for more.

The thing is, I, uh, misjudged how slow burn these dorks were gonna be, and how expansive the story is in general. I was impatient for narrative pay-off. Every time Katsuki wasn't on-screen, I got bored.

I sporadically kept up with the anime until the Overhaul arc, which has......... less than optimal pacing and utterly lacks Kacchan, so I wandered off for a while.

Skip forward to 2021, I caught wind of Bakugou Katsuki: Rising and the apology. I was in a weird place in my life; I was trying to figure out how to enjoy things wholeheartedly. Without getting into too much detail, I had always felt too ashamed to love anything honestly and without reservation, and that made me miserable. I wanted to let myself love something without excuses.

I started reading the manga, and it became a conscious exercise in self-indulgence. I was able to enjoy it much more and appreciate parts I had not noticed before. The anime is excellent, but comics are very special to me. Comics are a totally unique storytelling medium. Reading chapters in Japanese, comparing translations, examining small nuances in the language, this became an intrinsic part of my relationship to MHA.

I got into the stage musicals and, already being a theatre fan, it was just heaven for me. They make me so happy. Being part of the subtitling team skyrocketed my language skill. I will never forget when I noticed it: I watched a scene in musical two as a casual first-time viewer in January 2023, and I didn't understand the dialogue right away. My listening comprehension wasn't fast enough, and I wasn't as familiar with the fluidity of casual speech. Five months later, I watched that same scene again and understood it so naturally I couldn't believe those sounds had ever confused me.

Honestly, if anybody is wondering how one might best learn a language, I can confidently say the answer is "find a hobby in that language." Maybe you get crazy into bonsai and start looking up advice in Japanese, so then you research grammar and vocabulary to understand the results you get. Maybe you love drama CDs so you play the tracks at half-speed over and over, transcribing what you hear so you can translate it and figure out the story.

Language learning works best when it is dynamic and constant, which means you have to love what you're doing or you won't do it.

Anyway, that's the story of how I became the biggest bkdk shipper got into MHA.

[popponn]

things about isagi yoichi

i'm keeping a list about isagi for reasons (mostly personal amusement) (please do feel free to add or correct them). contains possible spoiler for manga up to chapter 230 so far and light novel. will get longer, probably, as time goes on. (update, it gets longer and up to uber match ending as of today.)

considerate. almost like a people pleaser. actual people pleaser at first.

pragmatic. thinks very calmly, even when angry it seems, but his words still sometimes get too much.

think things through, sometimes too much.

is confident, but not unaware of his own weaknesses

start pretty insecure.

seems to be sheepish - happy when someone praise / support / pay a large attention to him (pretty humble) (interview, that one kid in station, his family)

how he acts depends on who he is interacting with

switch to a more polite speech pattern whenever nervous (pretty obvious in japanese text, like in the interview scene after bm vs mc).

seems to be less competent on other things other than soccer

looking at his favorite manga / song / shows (most are medias with children as the main audience in mind), either really loves his childhood or doesn’t pay attention to many things after soccer. seems like the latter.

a really healthy family dynamics. his parents are very supportive of his dream.

loves katsu curry.

is a pretty 'normal' high school guy it seems. tissues near the bed, thigh fetish, read manga. speaks normally.

i really don't get why he has a habit of making sure his ahoges stand up in v before a match but god thats cute.

can be really rude and impatient sometimes

is good with people, but seems to enjoy alone time too. seems to be an introvert.

at least on screen, never really talk about how it was in ichinan with the blue lock guys. either it didn't bother him that much consciously or is the type of person who gets along with everyone but no one really knows the background of in details. (put it simply might be more introverted than he appears to be, especially considering how he usually is with people)

seems to be uncomfortable with new people in his personal space (early bachira + kaiser)

while doesn’t ‘like’ rude people, seems to grow ‘used’ to them and even openly admire them (barou + rin)

does not seems to easily prejudice / be judgmental to someone. is really patient (respect to barou, that one chapter with tada from ichinan, still praises kaiser despite the antagonism between them)

his fashion sense is pretty... this is very subjective as i don't have the word for it yet, but yeah, is either not good or pretty old fashioned. (in anime official arts)

when it comes to soccer often looks angrier expression wise

really egoistic. unsurprisingly.

sometimes is pretty self centered in the way that “this is my fault” sometimes, rather than focusing on someone else. but most of the time his self centeredness comes out as “i want this and i will get this”.

on some moments also seems to focus more on what he is not satisfied with rather than what he is satisfied with. might be caused by the storytelling beats, but if taken into consideration how he always wants to improve, it's not unsurprising.

seems to be more goal / result oriented, but is not dismissive towards the process.

whenever he sees someone better than him or something seems to be ‘impossible’ for him, most of the time his responds are ‘i have to work harder for it’. sometimes there are moments of insecurity, but they are fleeting and always went back to ‘i will overcome this / him’ as a respond.

very!!!! competitive. but it’s blue lock.

both in and outside soccer, seems to be very independent

seems to be more analytical by nature rather than intuitive, especially in learning style. complete opposite of nagi.

often starts noticing things from little things and details first before going and getting the bigger picture. detail oriented person? at least in soccer.

yeah soccer nerd.

if the 0 valentine choco, his reaction to seeing live two women getting played in karaoke, and how he didn't immediately went to girls in bowling alley—yeah. definitely 0 experience with girls.

is not wishy washy. knows what he wants and is not the type to change his preference because of his surroundings. did just act as if his preference is different / just doesn't say a thing or walk away when it isn't, back in ichinan these habits are obvious. in blue lock, he doesn't actively try to make other people uncomfortable and even still accommodate some out of the field, but clearly has become more outspoken in his preference or for his comfort. boy really grew more confident (and i love him for it).

he asks santa for ps4 and other than yeah normal highschool boy behavior idk how to dissect or overanalyze this yet give me a sec or a year.

like treats!!!! seems to be partial to sweets, but he also enjoys sour candies according to egoist bible.

doesn't like being ignored. and it kinda shows.

his beef with kaiser is hilarious—but it make sense because kaiser obviously bring it up even out of field (that locker room scene after yukimiya isagi argument), taunts isagi every chance he got (vs barcha, vs mc), and whatever happened in the match. isagi better than some bluelockers and me fr frfr considering he still did not try to punch kaiser's mug.

which bring the point doesn't seems to enjoy fistfight. either shitty at it or just chose not too. but looking at his trend of being shitty at things that are not soccer and his canonically low stats especially before blue lock. yeah might be shit at fistfight (with also a bit of the latter because how do one not try to sock kaiser in the face after *gestures wildly* all that. footnote, i admit the bias). (karaoke, shidou vs rin duking it out pt.1—my guy was dying and he wasn't the one duking it out)

tidy, but not overly tidy to barou level. but realistically comparing it to stereotypes of high school boys? real tidy. (could be seen in blue lock exhib's display of his u20 arc locker and team white bedroom)

wants lil sis or big sis because of my neighbor totoro. idk how to dissect this either but—yeah not a rare thing for an only kid to say, actually.

seems to be more of a street smart kinda guy.

his tenacity in befriending or at least interacting with rin is admirable. shipping lense or not it really is.

he gets along with almost everyone. shipping lenses or not, also amazing especially for an introvert.

he says the wildest shit on field like uh yeah things he said with yukimiya was said to be cencored a little because in jp someone said he was calling yukimiya something else i don't know to say in english.

but is actually not an absolute asshole in field, saw yukimiya broke down and bro actually took a second to pay attention and moved on. until he got provoked, that is.

actually rarely become the one who approach other people first (kira, bachira).

can really got extreme when in high tension (shoving chigiri off, that 100℅ kill you @ kaiser).

turns out he talks about the thigh stuff bashfully. (it's cute.) but i still wonder why he likes lobster. like i feel like something is there. why is his taste in everything that is not soccer makes me wonder what the fuck is up with him. favorite song? cm jingle. fashion sense? honestly casual, but his sense in pattern and color is genuinely so bad im hurting. this point is so full of personal bias feel free to skip it.

seems to be pretty oblivious to things about not-soccer. especially his surroundings. not to the dense point but seems like it stems more from his focus at soccer. but this trait seems to go hand in hand with his self centered tendencies.

(this is bordering to hc, but) it seems like while is indeed obsessed with soccer, more than "oh he is only good at soccer", is more of a "if he wants it he will find a way to get it". but taking in account how his personality used to be in ichinan / pre blue lock, it's unsurprising that he doesn't want that mamy things. even in soccer that he is passionate about, he didn't back then. there is also the fact that he seems to have tendency to hyperfocus into something (i.e.: while still taking into account of others in soccer, think more of them as 'factors' than 'people'), so it may seems like the reason he got or became good at something is like "oh isagi is lucky / specialized in that", but it seems hard work and dedication really does put a big role into it, unsurprisingly. could reach that level in soccer because he is dedicated into it, tldr.

this part also became quite visible if taking into account he wants to play specifically as a striker. he is focused in this very specific thing he wants, that's why he managed to get it / improve in it.

if i did not miscount, he directly has a conversation with ego twice. and in both he is extremely impolite, calling ego names in one (u20 arc). while the other happened after he lost against rin in 4v4, and seems like he is still not happy with the loss. ans it shows. he is pretty rude when ego talk about luck which he himself noted was a big factor there. (man hold grudge.)

so yeah, seems like rather than "possessed in field" it could also be "possessed in everything related to soccer", though fudther research is to be conducted.

is pretty introverted even in blue lock. while sometimes he shares his insight to other people about his play, sometimes he also did not do this (recently you can see this the most in his interactions with ness). but yeah, this is the thing he shares about the most, something related to playmaking and soccer. but other than that nothing—at least on screen.

his pretty peaceful and uneventful background could be factored into, however ichinan highschool is pretty much his tragic backstort and not a peep about that to even bachira it seems. a possibility is that he is hyperfocused towards soccer. not to say his self centered part that is more of "what can i change about myself for this situation" and "i can't change others' way of thinking".

however seeing how that one meeting tada goes (post u20 break) and he said nothing to correct tada, even though he secretly disagrees—then also his parents who seems pretty oblivious to his soccer performance and how he casually acted about his lost against kira despite crying and screaming on public just before that—yeah, seems like a pretty private person. it's not that he is oblivious or do it out of malice, but mostly seems like he just doesn't comment about it and more of the listening type. and even when someone close ask the right question it seems like he doesn't try to show much expression or how he actually feels.

personal bias but yeah this is no longer """being polite""", this is actually being private to a very concerning degree. like the time he opened up about his worry, and still pretty related with soccer, that is completely visibly vulnerable seems like it was with nagi after 3v3 with rin (and see how that ended up. tho this make the fact that he and nagi became pretty close afterwards in such a short time a bit unsurprising. this two indeed kinda have quite a lot bonding moments outside and inside the field, shipping lens or not). like no wonder this guy snaps in soccer field, it's pent emotions fr.

but if how he is after u20 any indication, it seems like he really is very reserved outside of field that it kind of resembles how he was before blue lock. (who knows after nel arc (still bm vs uber rn when i write this, tho the match seems like ending), because boy seems grumpier there. not blaming him tho, it's battle royale inside that team.)

doing a little skimming but it seems like when talking about something he really never put focus on his feelings. it's either what's going on, others' feelings, or an opinion of his but if there are any feelings most of them stays in monologue and thoughts only.

adding to that nagi note, personally found it funny that he nearly get into same team with nagi TWICE (pre u20 team selection, nel choice where he is conflicted between german or england) but he never followed thru with it. this probably has more to do with nagi's motif & such rather than his, which this post wasn't here for sry nagi, and the fact that both that they are protagonists in the main and spinoff. but yeah, personally? it's funny it happened twice. especially factoring the fact they are close enough to have each other's number and isagi admits he has a nice chemical reaction with nagi.

i genuinely wonder how he interacts with kaiser outside of field. like. dude. i know it's funny.

might also add now that it seems the four people he is closest with is bachira and chigiri. was, with kunigami too but yeah. bachira especially, with the two keep being called two side of a coin/a soul. again, shipping lens or not, they are pretty close and isagi really seems to have come to a point where he is okay with bachira's habits no matter how odd. (personal bias, really sweet considering bachira has no friends before this and isagi while is friend with tada WE KNOW HOW IT ALL TURNS OUT). with chigiri, seems like the type of friends who look out for each other (isagi once shown checking his knee and messaging him, while chigiri is the first one jumping into action when shidou nearly kicked him). then you also add that chigiri only ever, on screen at least, opened up about his past to isagi and honestly yeah. shipping lens or not, these two definitely the looking after each other dynamic. kunigami come back, or at least interact with isagi more pls.

WHICH ALSO, seems like isagi is the only one reo kind of opened up to with his insecurities after the 2nd selection—kunigami and chigiri seems to get it too, but at least it was never shown on screen that he opened up the more vulnerable side of his anger at nagi and isagi to them. these two has a pretty good relationship it seems after that screening room scene. (might revise or at to this when epi nagi reach this part)

but this seems unsurprising in some ways because isagi really seems like the listening type. some people said these type of people is good when it comes to getting people opening up. also seems like isagi really never run his mouth so good choice actually. (look at him even he doesnt open up his own emotion how could he do that with other people's emotion. what is this a sign of pent emotion or just a sign of actual limited emotional intelligence when it came to processing them? who knows. blue lock's highly stressful and intense environment is also a factor here but hey, look at how isagi was in ichinan. might be old habits)

he is scarily cold and detached to his bonds when it came to soccer, it seems? like, he is still capable of sympathy even during the heat of the moment, unless you make him angry (both cases: yukki). but for the sake of his play his priority really is on "this is the play that i want" rather than friendships and stuff. on one side, professionality. on the other, yeah egoist.

outside of field doesn't seem to go out of his way to dig up about someone's backstory in "asking and digging and wanting to talk about feelings with them", but will listen if told. (i.e. chigiri acl convo, reo opening up, casually talking about soccer again after noa ego relationship bomb drop, etc.) seems to be more as 'minding his own business and being not nosy', which is kind of in line with his politeness.

then you bring soccer and his ideal play and it gets really cold. he really think of soccer as 'cruel' and it kind of shows with how little he thinks of outside-of-field-relation during a game. (really shows if you compare how most characters personal story, rin and reo for example, has a huge impact on their play) his brain really has an on and off switch with the niceness.

at some point in blue lock, his closest circle is bachira, chigiri, kunigami (could be canon or could be due to the fact these four are kind of the quadruplet of bllk). he is pretty much the guy most of everyone knows and has at least spoken with once after u20 tho.

but other than those 4, it seems that the one he have more highlighted rivalry are niko, barou, rin, and nagi, with yukimiya coming in later in bm. it's funny how isagi seems pretty attached to them in a pretty friendly manner in some ways. barou and rin is just on another level of "i will kill you" getting answered with "sure, okay, geez" (and it's hilarious. with barou, isagi shared meals, was a roommate, and went bowling together once. with rin, he did yoga, laughed at his death threat, and was pissed because rin was impolite. i can go on but moving on). nagi and isagi canonically get along pretty well out of screen. isagi is roommate with yukimiya—i didn't except this combo back then but i really want to know their interactions in that room, especially during and after their conflict.

then there is hiyori, kurona, and nanase's case whose relationship with him is more on the 'supporting side'. with reo, it seems to also fall into the rivalry category—but this guy's relationship with isagi is kind of more about reo-nagi relationship than with isagi himself. with aiku, it's rivalry between defender and attacker (resembles niko the most but the things these two said to each other is way wilder). then there is kaiser—i will wait til nel arc is done.

there are crumbs with some other charas like sae—but these two didn't interact (yet?) in canon. with noa, it's admiration and respect, to put it simply, but it seems it's leaning more into actual mentorship that is more casual compared to how most of bm is with noa (imo, take this part with a grain of salt). with ego, it's...surprisingly complicated on a meta level from my perspective at least.

isagi clearly agrees and thrives with ego's philosophy, but other than taking ego's words/guidance isagi was rude to him. then there is stuff like some part of their design being similar to each other (v hair, eyes on some panels tho this also happens with other charas, beta isagi sketch) and how during nel ego - isagi similarities get commented by noa and snuffy (tho on snuffy case is more of barou - isagi is like ego - noa, who is who tho we don't know for sure). it feels like there is more on these two for the future.

with his family, it's just sweet. his family is proud and supportive of him. and seeing how isagi is pretty independent as in his attachment style is very secure in blue lock, even with how ichinan basically turned him into a people pleaser, yeah definitely and canonically a good family there. he greets them every morning as part of his morning routine, and he is the only character who mention this in said trivia.

enjoys his alone time, based on his trivia. the introvert part is loud and clear.

he doesn't really get jealous easily. like rather than envy, it's more of frustration directed towards himself or straight up being pissed because said someone played a factor in why he couldn't make a goal. but most of the time, when he sees someone's strength, it came out more as an admiration and "i should do more and stand out more too!!!" rather than comparing himself and feels negativity. this especially never happen to his perception towards his capabilities. the closest thing we ever get to him feeling envy is perhaps the parts where he goes "i don't have weapon like them" when talking about chigiri's speed, kaiser impact, and others' specialities. but even then it never really lingers.

and from that probably also shows that isagi is really good at looking someone's strength or specialities. but this seems to also happen in looking at weaknesses and chances. he really does tries to take into account tendencies, skills, blind spots, etc. honestly thinking about this make sense why he immediately collapsed after vs mc, the information loading must be insane. but all in all, the main point is that he is pretty good at reviewing and observing stuffs indeed.

high achiever with an amazing durability. as said word by word by kaiser himself, this guy look at something way more amazing than himself and keep taking it as a challenge. aka his mental strength is insane—or his competitiveness is just that crazy. no wonder he thrives in blue lock where so many people want to him eat alive.

after thinking for a bit and connecting it with the 'not teaming with nagi during the u20 tryouts', it seems like also the guy who avoids his comfort zone, in area of skills and plays in this case. he seems to actively challenge himself.

seriously the type of guy who do and chase what he wants. egoist indeed.

but thinking about that, it also speaks of his adaptability and flexibility. while the part that definitely carries more tension, seriousness, and definitely didn't take shit came out so much in soccer, the way he interacts with those who are friendly with him is so different with those who are antagonistic with him. though so far, with the exception of kaiser it seems, he at some point ended up in a pretty good relationship with some of those—rin and barou are most telling. the antagonism is back on when they are in seperate team tho, but hey this is blue lock.

his moment of satisfaction is really fast—as in he like cheers for a bit, most of the time, then focus on the next challenge. this could be caused by: 1) blue lock highly competitive and rapidly changing environment; 2) it's just how he is build.

[phantasmiafxndom]

Out of all the animes you’ve watch what ones are your favorites

...you know what, you get the serious answer. I used to track my anime watching, so out of the 450+ completed ones on my list, here are some of my top recommendations! (In terms of quality, more so than what I've spent the most time dwelling on.)

. . .

One Piece — I haven't technically watched all of this one, but after falling back into the fandom after an 8-ish year break, I really can't understate the quality. One Piece's story is amazing, and I'm consistently impressed by the author's characters/worldbuilding.

Dominion Tank Police (1988) — I have FEELINGS about the villain in this one... Overall, 80s sci-fi vibes mix with themes of ethical responsibility and societal peacekeeping, and the "don't you just want to go apeshit? :)" protagonist (who's also extremely aromantic-coded) is a hilarious, yet wonderfully earnest little menace!

Kyousougiga — I've been rewatching this one recently, and the sheer detail in every scene is STUNNING. I keep having to pause to mentally scream about the symbolism, and tbh, knowing the plot from my original watch is only improving the experience.

Tekkon Kinkreet — This one's a movie, not a series, but SKLJKHS IT HAUNTS ME. Absolutely chilling, by the time the big plot twists roll around... Beyond that, the overall aesthetic/vibe is impeccable, and the exaggerated, messy art style only adds to that.

Kemonozume — Monster/human forbidden romance with stunning art and a great soundtrack. The plot started out a bit confusing, but all of the scattered story elements came together nicely in the end!

The Tatami Galaxy — The "get your shit together and start enjoying your life" anime. It's plenty good as just a story, but I got some excellent life lessons out of it too. Solid mix of comedy, drama, and charismatic-yet-extremely-bizarre characters interacting.

Monster — Excellent slow-paced, psychological horror packed with ethical dilemmas, traumatic backstories, and so many Extremely Depressed Men. In other words, there's a very good reason why Johan Liebert used to end up on so many "best anime villains" lists.

Paranoia Agent — I have nothing but praise for Satoshi Kon's work, in general, and Paranoia Agent has been my favorite of the ones I've seen so far. Compared to his movies, it really benefits from the extra space for plot development, and the big emotional twist hits hard.

Revolutionary Girl Utena — A true classic. <3 There are enough tumblr essays about this tragic yuri masterpiece that I won't go into detail myself, but yes, it's every bit as good as you've heard.

Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail — The entire Black Lagoon series is excellent, but Roberta is my special girl. Unfortunately, the OAV adaption compresses the manga's version of her arc pretty heavily (and the altered ending is kind of dumb), but I still have to recommend it. Babygirl's breakdown is a REAL mess kjshghs

Claymore — Excellent pseudo-medieval fantasy with badass female characters, lots of body horror, and top-tier monster design. The manga is MUCH better than the anime after a certain point, however.

Kuuchuu Buranko — An episodic series about an eccentric psychiatrist interacting with his troubled patients. The mixed-media animation style and bizarre characters are what sold it for me, along with the exploration of mental health through storytelling tropes.

Cannon Fodder — An artistic short movie that's twenty minutes of aesthetic experience and fascinating worldbuilding implications. I love the vibe, and the "one, long horizontal frame" style is neat.

Flowers of Evil — The art style. The VIBES. The whole thing is incredibly eerie and off-putting, with a plot that's pretty much: "congrats! two shitty teenagers are tearing each other's lives apart!".

[mourniepoo]

🔥+animanga

I asked ppl to do this n then fell asleep im so sorry

ANIME ADAPTATIONS ARE NOTTTTT NECESSARY FOR ALL MANGA OH MY GOD. ACTUALLY IT WLD MAKE A LOT OF THEM WORSE. Anime adaptation baseline for animation has been getting a lot better lately (a very standard studio now could be on par with the most beloved and highly praised studio ten or twenty years ago) but NO MATTER WHAT the art- especially lighting- of a manga will almost always look worlds better than the anime adaptation, simply because more detail can be added when its a still image. Similarly, some things CANT be reasonably added from a manga without it looking weird. Comics can get away with noy having a background on a panel, be it out of ease or influencing the mood of the panel, but animation has a lot harder of a time switching from a background to a solid coor or design without good reason- its not impossible, and in fact very common of you look for it, but its just... not smth you can do as often as in manga

[ID: The manga and anime versions of the "I am L" scene in Death Note. In the manga, lights shocked reaction is visible and ghe background has a flash of white to show that. Both L and Light have more detail.

In the anime, the visuals are a lot closer to L's face, with light not seen at all. There is less detail, but there is a shadow cast over half of L's face /End ID]

Take the "I am L" scene for example. The original manga has more shock to it. More of a creepy feeling, even. The anime maintains that in a way, but it also sacrifices a lot of the original appeal of that panel- the bacground flash, Light's face, etc. I wont discredit the anime and say that they didnt do a great job replicating the feeling with great music and voice dubbing, but visual-wise its. a little lacking. I will give credit to them, the shadow over the face does a more than you would think to improve this scene.

This is a manhwa, but a lot of fans bashed the solo leveling anime for this exact reason- the art of the manhwa had so much more detail and complex lighting than the anime, bcs it would be unreasonable for animators for spend time on the lighting for a minor scene in the show, but its easy for a manhwa artist to do it. And this is DESPITE solo levelling animation and visuals being an INCREDIBLE adaptation of the mood and original panels

[ID: A screenshot of the anime vs manhwa adaptatiom of a character shooting a magic blast. The manhwa has more detail in the character and harsher lighting, and the anime has brighter light and a larger blast /End ID]

Pleaseeee click on the manhwa one to see the full thing. One thing about the manhwa vs anime is the fact that manhwas are often made to be scrolled vetically, where anime is a horizontal screen. The screenshot above of the manhwa isnt even the entire thing, it didnt fit in my screen. Imo the anime is AMAZING and does a fantastic job adapting it, but literally it Cant Do It Perfectly because of the difference in media form.

ALSO !! ppl forget that comics are an art form in of themself- the way the story is told goes beyond just showing the characters doing things. Panelling specifically is an incredibly influential aspect of it. YES, many authors dont put so much into the panels that a major facet is lost if made into an anime, but SOME DO

[ID: Two Tokyo Goul pages. One is almost entrely empty besides Kaneki sitting in a chair saying "Mother". Above him is a text box reading "Instead of a person who hurts others, become a person who...".

The second page shows Kaneki's torture, the words "Over and over" written many times across the page, in various sizes and layouts. Through yhe page Kaneki narrates "When the injections wore off Yamori would give me "food" and wait for the injured areas to heal. Then, he would start all over again and give me an injection. Repeatedly. My fingers and toes regrew as if they were nails and hair, over and over. They. Regrew. Every. Time. and I felt like I was truly a monster." /End ID]

Sui Ishida is a genius in terms of panelling and using the art form to his advantage- I didnt even include my fav page of his here, bcs theres soooo many good ones and I hit the image limit lolz. He utilizes text in a way unreplicatable by an anime adaptation, which doesnt use that. Even if it did, text shown in an animation has a different feel to it than a comic, where thoughts, diologue, and narration all use text. Much like the formatting of Solo Levellinng, TG text cant be replicated in another medium.

[ID: A page from Chainsaw Man, in which all the panels are seperates by arms /End ID]

Fujimoto has some amazing panelling in CSM, in the way he seperates panels. While this is the most notable one, theres SO many worth sharing if I wasnt constrained by an image limit. Utilizing the characters and scenes themselves as the panel borders enhances the atmosphere, and creates an even mote sinister feeling to the page.

[ID: Two panels and a page from Witch Hat Ateliar. The panels are formatted by being indented into a wall. The page has a scenic panel with a complex, storybook-like border /End ID]

Kamome Shirahama is anothet author with amazing usage of panels and formatting- when background or lore is given, the panels have a fancy, intricate border to indicate its a story being told- see the right image. She also uses the parts of other panels to interact with new ones (see left image), and often has characters interact with the borders themselves. There is SO much I can say about her work but actually I think watching this video will do you better.

im getting exhausted writing all of this I may come back and talk abt gnpp since that was the one I actually meant to write abt. Augh whatever take this for now

[trainerbob23]

got any favorite ships? if not much of a shipping person i'd be really interested in knowing what other kinds of relationships and dynamics you're really into ^_^

Well, my favorite Kirby ships/friendships can go as follows

(Please note that I do not support proshipping and this is not a complete list of friendships and if you want to know more about who's friends .)

Kirby ships I like

Metadedede:

It shouldn't come as a surprise because I like both dedede's and Meta Knights dynamic and seeing the art based around the both of them makes me extremely happy,

Kirbfluff (platonic):

like oh my god, I seriously love the idea of fluff coming to dreamland and having such a good time with kirby and both of them seeing new heights like never before, it's such a crime that prince fluff only appeared in one game and that's it.

magoranza:

ok so this was introduced me to a good friend of mine back around 2022 on discord before I became completely active on the site, but seriously this idea is amazing to be honest of Magolor and taranza being together and just seeing the both of them feel so happy after the both taranza and Magolor had gone though (even sometimes it means little slip ups from here and there)

OC x canon:

alright let's get the elephant out of the room here. I love OC x canon and idc what anyone's tells me about it. Yeah it may be cringe, but I think that if you hc your original character is in love a pre existing character is good and it can even be a good idea for those who are starting out with shipping other characters and see where you can go from there.

Metasusie:

Ok it's a moreso of a ship I like to look at perspective and say "I think it's a cute ship". And i know it's a controversial ship, but I personally think that metasusie can be put into perspective how meta knight's and Susie's relationship have changed since the events of the original game, but many people have misinterpreted Susie as more malicious than she actually is and taken things like torture fics to be canon when there's really not that much info to go off of.

Friendships

The main four:

I really love the main four's (Kirby, bandee, King dedede and meta knight) dynamic so so much like it can be considered a found family if you will and I'm so grateful that the new Kirby games showoff this dynamic very well.

The animal friends: I'm surprised how the animal friends have not been in much Kirby games recently other than star ailies, to be frank the idea of them having a great time with Kirby and with them being different pets, Kirby like to play with them a whole lot

Gooey: gooey treats Kirby as a big brother in my hc and also who likes to think about a whole lot about popstar and the entire world around him as well.

Magolor: Magolor is extremely greatful to have Kirby as a best friend After what had happened thoughout the events of rtdl deluxe, He didn't want to ask for forgiveness at first, but he felt extremely guilty for what happened So he proves to Kirby that he can succeed and even change as a person. (even if Kirby has forgave Magolor)

Bandee: he is kirby's bestest of friends and would do anything for Kirby. After the events of super star ultra he would officially become Kirby's best friends and their relationship is so so important to me because both bandee and Kirby often are seen playing with each other or drinking apple juice or he is seen even humming the song to himself.

Marx: he may be a jester but he is good at tricks, in the manga where Marx and Kirby are friends (sorry can't remember the name) he felt extremely sad over the fact that Kirby didn't remember the playdate and even more they were/ still are best friends (well in my hc) (https://www.tumblr.com/kirby-manga-translated/725558045121363968/kirby-manpuku-pupupu-fantasy-volume-7-chapter)

Dark meta knight: I'd like to think after the events of amazing mirror and star aillies, he comes down to popstar more often to either draw with Adeline and to even improve as a person, even if it means being slightly annoyed at meta knight

Meta Knight: I personally think he is mostly Kirby's friend as well, and seeing how this was the first ever Kirby character I liked when I first played as him in smash bros. Him being shy when his mask breaks and in the anime I was inspired to make a fan-made episode script based around him losing his mask (which you guys should read by the way, https://www.tumblr.com/trainerbob23/689281680493723648/hey-everyone-i-just-wrote-a-kirby-right-back-at) this guy was the reason I even got it to this fan base in the first place and I'm really glad that happened

King dedede: originally rivals, but turned to friends and even great allies. I seriously don't know why the anime turned him into such a douchebag when in the games he has definitely changed for the better and I'm so proud of dedede for proving to himself that he can change as a person in his own character arc

I know this is not complete list of characters and that is fine. It will have taken me ages to do so. So if you guys want a complete list of all the Kirby characters. Let me know. I have so much to say about them

[carlyraejepsans]

Out of everything you have read/watched (e.g ORV, Homestuck, I think you saw Mob Phsyco, etc) in the past year or two, what would you say your most recommended is (and even your favourite if you can decide one?)

ORVVVV ORV ORV ORV (< sound of me imitating a seal)

lol seriously though orv is straight up undertale levels of "metanarrative that fucks your entire life sideways". i cannot recommend it enough to at least give it a try. another thing that orv does like UT is that it filters its own audience so that its story has maximum impact. ie: you won't replay the same game dozens of times with minimal changes to the gameplay unless you 1) really love the characters and 2) want to absorb every crumb and bite that the game has to offer -> flowey's story will hit like a truck. in much the same way, orv develops a narrative crafted to emotionally devastate people who dedicate their heart and souls to stories and fiction (especially as a coping mechanism), which... you kinda have to be if you're willing to read a novel so fucking long HAHAHAHA. so hmmmm preeetttty please :pleading: give it a shot? you don't have to read much if it doesn't hook you in but i promise it is SO much better than you can possibly imagine

okay orv screaming fit over. i haven't watched mp100 yet but i HAVE read the manga! which i wholeheartedly recommend. i don't have a good way to express it but the way the plot unravels is so... light? not as in fluffy, but as in it doesn't weight you down. it's FUN to read, and while it definitely has characters that will rattle around your head forever, it doesn't exhaust you with it.

also utena. no cap, no kidding, if more people watched this series it would dramatically improve the reading comprehension of this entire website. nothing, and i mean NOTHING, has sharpened my literary analysis skills quite as much as the symbolism in rgu. one of those few pieces of art where i looked at it, experienced it, and it made me go "i want to create something that affects people in the same way this has affected me"

homestuck was also fun! it eventually lost me when the troll saga was fully integrated into the main plotline, too many characters introduced at once and too little time to care about them enough to keep track (at least for me). i would still recommend it. the early story is still incredibly solid, the sburb reveal is fun, and it plays with its own medium in some genuinely incredible ways. also it is quite funny. alas.

also. read ted chiang's sci-fi short stories collection. one of my favorite authors alive

[kkbardd]

hi! popping in quickly.

I absolutely adore your artstyle and your ocs. their personalities and stories are always so interesting, and I look forward to seeing any type of art you post.

If you take a break from drawing asurei, that's completely okay!! doing things with joy is more important than just doing them. I will enjoy whatever you draw regardless— in fact, I regularly go back to that drawing of the unnamed pink haired girlfailure OC and her "friend" daily. i am mayhaps their number one fan.

please continue sharing your stories and ideas!! I adore your characters and designs so much. I am very excited for your toxic yuri freeloader/assassin story.. they are very interesting!!

also saw you did some dialogue in japanese.. do you speak it ? im quite interested in any language so.. apologies if this is off topic ><!

In any case, thank you for continuing to create. I love your art and hope you continue to draw what makes you happy and what you feel motivated to do. I love all your art regardless of subject matter!! in fact it convinced me to to start watching madoka magica :}

best wishes !! hope you're well!!

wahhh isopod !! u always send me the nicest asks when i need them most!! i hope ur doing well ~ although my last post sounded pretty depressing im actually doing pretty well too! im going to the aquarium next week w some friends so im looking forward to that more than anything >:D

I've been reading a lot of short yuri stories by Toyo Totan & Iwami Kiyoko lately and I'm excited to use that inspiration to improve some of my own OC stuff too! (I recommend 'Last Summer Vacation' !)

And yes I'm fluent in Japanese !! I'm actually an officer in my college's JP language community & I used to translate manga on the side !! I'm completely self-taught through videos though, so while my listening and speaking are fluent I actually suck at reading LOL I'm so bad that when I translated manga I'd use my camera's text to speech to do everything...

I'm a huge language nerd too! I watch a bunch of scientific videos/TED-Talks on how our brain learns languages and tips to learn things more efficiently! For example, apparently when you first start learning a language you should never try to speak it right off! If you try speaking before listening for a very long time, your brain just kinda solidifies your verbal pronunciation and it can have long-term effects on not only how you sound, but also how you HEAR sounds! This is also why some think that children learn languages better, because they spend a long time exposed to it while being non-verbal. I love this fact bc I kinda experienced it myself!

I spent about 2 years just watching JP translated videos of people speaking naturally (not videos aimed at foreigners, nor shows that have acting, more like vlog-type stuff!) and only started speaking when exposed to others who could speak it too ! Especially during COVID, I think I was pretty much spending ~80% of my day listening and thinking in Japanese so I was very immersed! And because of that, I'm a little famous in my community for having the best pronunciation 😤 Going to on a trip to Japan & translating for the people who went with me also boosted my confidence a lot! I'll never forget this guy at an izakaya who asked how many years I've been living in Osaka LOL ("three days actually!")

I think the biggest downside though is that once u learn another language, ur first language skills get bad.. i often think up half-sentences and sayings/metaphors in Jap that just sound wrong when you try to translate it back into Eng ;;; i sometimes trail off when i speaking because i forget the english word for certain things, but my friends are now just used to my weird metaphors so!

I went on such a long tangent!! But anyways!! Thank u for always sending me the sweetest asks, I always save them to my phone and I'm pretty sure all my friends know abt u bc I always show them the nice things u say 😭!! And yes!!! Madoka is so good, especially the movie so im excited ur gonna watch it!! I hope u like it!

and finally for their #1 fan <3 :

[ecargmura]

I Read The First Volume Of The Case Study of Vanitas And Here's A Review Of It

You know when an anime adaptation is great that they basically animate the first three episodes from the first volume without any major changes. Yes, the anime was great, one of my absolute favorites, but the manga is a whole other magical experience. To be honest, my review for the first volume will be short because there’s not much to talk about since it’s identical to the first three and a half episodes. All my theories will probably in a later volume that doesn’t follow the anime.

To give a run down of the story, it’s about Noe, a vampire, traveling to Paris as he heard word of a mysterious grimoire called the Book of Vanitas being sighted there. When a vampire woman goes on a rampage due to a curse, a young human man calling himself Vanitas steps up and vows to treat her for he is a vampire doctor who possesses the Book of Vanitas and is the only one who can activate it. When his abilities are shown to Noe for the first time, Noe and Vanitas goes on many misadventures to cure vampires from their curses.

Mochizuki’s art is beautiful. I especially loved the airship scene and the scene where Noe and Vanitas were falling off and looking at the moon. She really amped up with the designs compared to Pandora Hearts. I love Pandora Hearts, but The Case Study of Vanitas’s character designs really stand out. Vanitas and Noe are my favorites! However, what Mochizuki has improved the most is the comedic faces. Boy, the funny faces she draws for the characters are HILARIOUS.

I guess the only difference from this volume and the first three episodes is noticeable in episode 1. In the first episode, the story of Vanitas of the Blue Moon was introduced in the beginning, while it was introduced in the middle of the chapter in the manga. That’s the only major difference I noticed. Other than that, the anime did a great job with the pacing and making Mochizuki’s art be even more beautiful in animated form. If you’re curious about the anime, I have my reviews of the anime on my blog—you can click here to read the first two episode reviews as the third episode does have Volume 2 content in it.

My favorite character is and will always be Vanitas as he’s an annoying gremlin with something to hide and I like that aspect of him! He’s a very unique protagonist who isn’t afraid of being a jerk. Though, since this story is told through Noe’s eyes, the jerk aspect could be amped up out of bias.

All I wonder is how long the story will be because it is a recollection of Noe’s memories of Vanitas as he did kill him some time after the first episode. The mystery behind Vanitas’s demise is probably the biggest one of the story. Since Mochizuki is the queen of plot twists, I am expecting a very shocking reveal.

Also, the cutest thing about the first volume is that Hiromu Arakawa, the author of Fullmetal Alchemist, wrote a little comment for Mochizuki that can be seen behind the cover when you open the book! Arakawa is one of Mochizuki’s influences, so I’m sure she was thrilled!

Because I am a biased Mochizuki fangirl, this is a 5-star read like the four Pandora Hearts volumes I reviewed. Do I recommend this? Absolutely. My one goal in life is to collect everything Mochizuki has written and make a bookshelf section dedicated to her works. Also, bookstores, why do you never have volume 2 in stock! Wherever I go, Volume 2 is never in stock! What is your thought on the Vanitas manga?

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super Manga ch. 27-29

“Welp, this tournament of power’s not gonna instigate itself!”

I’ve been impressed with Toyotaro’s leaner, meaner versions of the Universe 6 and Zamasu sagas, so I was hoping he would work the same magic on the build-up to the Tournament of Power.  Unfortunately, I’m a bit disappointed.  I think Episodes 68-96 anime took way too long to get there, but Chapters 27-32 of the manga seem to go too quickly.  I guess that shouldn’t surprise me, as there’s a lot of middle ground between 29 anime episodes and six manga chapters. 

So you know the drill.  I’m going to highlight stuff that the manga did differently, starting with this Beerus/Vegeta rematch that happens right before Goku goes to Beerus’ planet and reminds Zeno of the tournament he promised. 

This always struck me as a plot dangler from the anime, because we see Goku and Vegeta get a lot stronger over the course of DBS, and yet we never find out if they‘ve improved enough to match Beerus.  Sure, Beerus clobbered them both in Battle of Gods, but now they know how to do Super Saiyan Blue.  Well, in this chapter, Beerus scoffs at the idea that the Saiyans will ever be his rivals, and the Oracle Fish insists that it’s true, so he challenges Vegeta to see what progress he’s made.

And the answer is “not enough”, though Vegeta does a lot better than he did the last time he fought Beerus, so there’s no shame in it. 

Of course, this doesn’t take into account Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-ken level, but that doesn’t exist in the manga.  Instead we have this “Completed” Super Saiyan Blue form, where Goku learned how to perfect the transformation.  Vegeta reveals he can do the same thing in this chapter, but it’s still not enough. 

We also get this scene in Grand Zenos’ Palace where they discuss the problem of too many universes before Goku arrives.  The Zenos are playing some sort of game involving the universes, and they each note how there’s too many of them, and since the mortals aren’t developing much in most of the universes, there’s little point in observing them all.  So they contemplate erasing eight universes, and that’s when Goku shows up to talk about the tournament.

So we get a bunch of scenes where the gods are summoned to Zeno’s palace for the announcement.  In particular, I’m confused by this one of Sidra and Roh discussing the destruction of a planet.  Unlike Beerus, Sidrah seems to take the job very seriously, and he carefully calculates the pros and cons of his decision before acting. Also, Roh seems very interested in the process.   This would be weird enough, but in the anime, these two are shown to be a lot more craven and opportunistic.  So I’m not sure what to take from this.

At the palace, the Grand Minister asks about the extra guy in the Universe 11 contingent, and Belmod introduces Toppo as his apprentice, as he plans to retire soon.  In the anime, Toppo is introduced as Khai’s bodyguard, and I’m pretty sure the “Candidate God of Destruction” thing will get brought up later, but it’s strange that they didn’t explain it in his debut. 

I guess I’ll talk about it here, since this seems to be the first time it gets brought up.  Beerus and Whis have hinted at the idea of Goku or Vegeta training to take Beerus’ place someday, but the Saiyans don’t seem interested in the job, so it never goes anywhere.  With Toppo, we have confirmation that mortals can be promoted to the rank of Hakaishin, which implies that Belmod and all the other Destroyers were once mortals themselves. 

So the Grand Minister announces the Tournament, but the Zeno from the destroyed timeline doesn’t know what a martial arts match is like, so we get the Zeno Expo.  But in this version, it’s a battle royale of all the Destroyers. 

It starts out as an 11-on-1 fight against Beerus, partly because they blame him for Goku getting them into this mess, and also they’re still sore at him for the trouble he caused long ago.  According to Whis, Zeno held a hide-and-seek tournament, and Beerus fell asleep during it and ruined the whole thing.  The others managed to calm Zeno down, but they’ve resented Beerus for it ever since.

But Beerus does surprisingly well, and soon enough, the other Destroyers begin to turn on one another in an effort to win.

Oh, and here’s this bonus comic where Trunks decides to return to his own timeline, or at least an altered version of it.  This doesn’t make a lot of sense, given how this was Whis’ idea, and Trunks wouldn’t have considered this on his own.

Back to the rumble, a bunch of stuff happens, and it’s hard to keep track of any of it, which is probably by design, since not even the Zenos can follow any of this.

So the Grand Minister calls off the match and disqualifies everyone.  Zeno nearly abandons the Tournament idea altogether, when Goku asks him to give it another chance, since mortal battles won’t be anything like that. 

Fortunately, there’s a mortal in the house who can face off with Goku, and this gives the Zenos a chance to road test some new rules.  No weapons, no killing, and no flying.  Apparently these are all for the sake of making the action more fun for the Zenos to watch.  I don’t get the no-flying thing, but the Tournament of Power was a great time, so I guess the Zenos know what they’re doing.   I mean, you don’t become the Kings of Everything without knowing a thing or two.

Goku transforms, which excites the Zenos, so they want to see all of Goku’s transformations.  He goes to Super Saiyan 2, which is always a treat to see, but the Zenos aren’t thrilled with this one, so Goku has to go to Super Saiyan 3 right away.  Look, Zenos, you may be all powerful, but Super Saiyan 2 Goku kicks ass.  Maybe you’ll understand when you’re older.

Soon enough Goku ramps up to Super Saiyan God, and all the Destroyers are impressed to see him fighting at that level.  Wait, if they’re fighting at the same level, then how is this any easier for the Zenos to follow?

Goku tries to polish Toppo off by turning Super Saiyan Blue, but Toppo takes him to Dick Kick City first, and wins the match by ring-out. 

So yeah, Toppo wins clean.  How about that?

[cold-heart-warm-writings]

Ouran Host Club Members and their Personal Bookshelves

*the bookshelves that are not dictated by their families, and are truly just for them* 

Mori: Mori doesn’t strike me as a huge reader outside of studying for school. Maybe a smaller bookshelf with lots of animal care books, a few gardening tips and tricks books, and a few other ecology books. There’s half a shelf on the history of martial arts in Japan and the different styles. No trinkets (his raccoon would steal them or the chickens might eat them). 

Honey: A shit ton of sweets baking books. Not because *he* is particularly interested in baking, but so he can show his personal chef what he wants to eat next. A *big* collector of cutesy blind boxes, so all of those trinkets are arranged by style and color along the various shelves. Maybe a hidden shelf with a few dark romances look read the manga this dude istg he a frea--

Kaoru: Went through a major self help/self improvement phase recently, and that’s reflected on his shelves. A few books in foreign languages. A solid amount of graphic novels. Went through a big super hero comics phase and was also obsessed with The Walking Dead for a while, so those are all kept fondly and neatly. He has some things he’s bought while out shopping with Haruhi at the commoner’s supermarket that he enjoys seeing lined up on his shelves. 

Hikaru: A respectable amount of manga, his favorite action-y and dystopian books, and video games. Messy, chaotic, series are not lined up together, much less in correct number order. They go on the shelf wherever there’s space, at least they aren’t on the floor, so who cares? Spines? Broken. Pages? Dog eared. Text? Written all over. Fucks? Not given. “They’re my books, I can do whatever I want with them.” Protect him from the booktubers/booktokers. Would absoLUTELY rip a book in half. Never let them know your next move.

Haruhi: Extremely curated. There’s not as much space where she and her dad live compared to the other members, plus books can be expensive. Haruhi is a big supporter of her local library and lending books amongst friends. She has a carefully selected collection of her favorite books from when she was younger and as she’s gotten older. There is also one book dedicated to each host member that she acquired in case they ever surprise pop by to help entertain them if she needs to get anything done. She also has a fair amount of trinkets and fun little figurines to decorate the shelves. 

Kyoya: #aesthetic #pristine #myshelvesarebetterthanyourshelves, look I do NOT see this man as having messy bookshelves. They are regularly dusted, spines are NOT cracked, and filled with classics all from the same publisher so the style of binding is uniform. Lots of Osamu Dazai, and even more Japan travel guides.

Tamaki: Gorgeous shelves. Giant, gleaming with polish, any bookworms dream. The shelves though? A bit chaotic. There is an entire shelf dedicated to The Little Prince in as many editions and styles he could find in dozens of languages. There are picture frames full of Odette and his friends and his mother, more children’s books in French, a shit ton of Japan travel guides, autobiographies on famous piano composers, an expansive music collection, figurines, dead plants that he swears are still alive, and any other means of proof that he is living his life to the fullest and having a good time. 

Bonus

Renge: Manga. You know those collectors who have those perfect white bookshelves, rows and rows of manga, maybe some fairy lights, and the funko pops of all their faves? Yeah, that’s her. *And* she has the volumes in Japanese, French, and English. Honestly, maybe a few other languages too if she likes the covers. Some are even signed. Renge also is not about that ~half completed series~ life, nah, she’s a completionist, and has *every* volume, even the volumes that don’t technically come out till next month. I aspire to be her in this regard only. 

Nekozawa: Japan’s largest collection, both of the personal nature and available to the public, of occult books, some of which date back hundreds of years. He was dark academia before it was trendy. Only light through special panes is allowed to permeate the room in order to protect these books. He also has some of those glass stands with certain books flipped open to his favorite pages. Nekozawa also has a substantial amount of occult artifacts which he sometimes lends out to museums. 

[vypridae]

HOPE YOUR HEAD FEELS BETYER!! HEADACHES SUCK

anywayys requesting mori or tecchou or fyodor for the character thing [or bc you don’t need to do all of them pick and choose <3]

DOING ALL OF THEM i cant do the doodles i dont have the motivation for art rn i lied about that BUT ILL DO ALL THREE OF THEM

under a cut because these got LONG

MORI

first impression

honestly i think when i first met mori in the anime i was like oh hes sweet i like him . then it was the whole "woah port mafia boss!!!!" thing and i was like oh hes sweet and deadly i like him .

impression now

i love him soo much did you know. hes so fun hes just a silly guy . silly !!!

favorite moment

honestly the moment (from the manga specifically) thats stuck with me the most was the frame that he like, put tachihara's hd hat on his head and was like "you dropped something" it just STUCK with me

outside of canon manga stuff tho i love the little intersection in wan ep 11 that hes like "WHAT DID YOU SEND ME DAZAI ... THESE ARE ... SCARY!!!!!" like hes just so silly i love him

idea for a story

genuinely i do not think about story ideas enough to have a solid one for him but if it counts i often think about him accidentally stealing one of fukuzawa's scarves from That Era i forgot how old he was at the time . and then just keeping it . and fukuzawa finds out somehow . i love them shut up

unpopular opinion

uhhh liking mori in general FSJKHASJKHASFJKG like have you seen this fandom . 99% of the people here fucking hate mori with a passion . and just liking him is super controversial . aside from that though ive seen analyses (tending to be like "mori and pedophilia" or something along those lines) and honestly they make me feel like hes just being really uuuh whats the word. really abstract with how he says things i guess? like one in particular i remember was a word in the original manga (jap) and he said a word that means both "wife" and "thing by my side" or something like that, when theres so many different words he could have used if he wanted to be Creepy specifically. idk theres my mori opinion its so controversial i know block me if u'd like but i love him

favorite relationship

HAHA zskk . easily . love those dumbass gayasses

favorite headcanon

uuuuuh . probably trans mori honestly FJKHASDFGHADFG maybe im biased (trans) but like ... idk i am very biased about this

TECCHOU

first impression

genuinely when i first met all of the hunting dogs i forgot all of their names immediately . as chapters went on though i think the two main things i remember thinking "hes adorable" and "hes in love with jouno 100%"

impression now

i . love him . so much . he is the silliest little guy ever and hes also me . also hes still in love with jouno btw

favorite moment

every one of them /j no but fr in specific i love the ant scene (it was one of the only ones i remembered from the manga after i read that chapter i think), the justice speech / kenji fight (GOD hes so cool) and when he gets hit by the car (that was THE FUNNIEST ever)

idea for a story

oh my god okay so imagine jouno is sick and tecchou is taking care of him . that is all

unpopular opinion

i dont actually think i have an unpopular opinion for tecchou . at least not one that i can think of???? like with tecchou i think most of my hcs line up with how a lot of the fandom talks about him

favorite relationship

EASILY WITHOUT A DOUBT ITS SUEGIKU OH MY GOD

favorite headcanon

he can cook !!!!! he can cook really well and i like to imagine even though he refuses to eat anything thats not the same color he likes cooking stuf he knows jouno likes and doesnt force him to eat any of his "weird" food combos because he knows jouno doesnt really like stuff like that so he cooks how jouno likes for jouno and how he likes for himself . UAHUAUAHGUA

FYODOR

first impression

i think i initially went "oh my god" when i saw fyodor . fell for him IMMEDIATELY and also initially hated fyolai???

impression now

still falling . now love fyolai . improvements !!!

favorite moment

YES. /j

in all seriousness, some of my favorite moments with fyodor are uuh

the dead apple scene where hes on the rooftop and goes "this is too much fun :)" because i think honestly that scene made me fall SO HARD . also he just looks really pretty there dont question me

time for happy group counseling hour !!!!!! hmm? hi everybody im your host fyodor dostevsky- okay hold up stop right there. whats the problem? exactly, what? exactly what what? ooooooooh . life counseling . < that whole scene

ALSO THE THE THE the tHE . WHERE HE KICKS NIKOLAI'S BOOMBOX IN THE MANGA. HSE SO MEAN I LOVE HIM

idea for a story

oh my god. ok so basically . connected oneshots but one member of fyosiglai is individually insecure for some reason and the other two are like FUCK NO YOU ARENT and love them and cherish and praise them until theyre like oguhgug

unpopular opinion

hes pretty i LOVE HIM hes SO PRETTY ive seen HUNDREDS of people say hes UGLY hes SO NOT UGLY i LOVE HI

(in all seriousness, ive seen a lot of people say he'd be like, an abusive manipulative awful husband / boyfriend / whatever, and i literally just cannot see that happening . like, i feel like he'd want the perfect world FOR his s/o, he fell for them for a reason sort of thing . idk maybe i just love him but hgjkahfjkahdfjk)

favorite relationship

fyosiglai. or fyodor and me /j (/hj)

favorite headcanon

UUUUUH UH UH UH UH UH OH MY GOD I HAVE SO MANY HCS ABOUT HIM I LOVE HIM hes a cat person thats one of my favorites . if there is a cat on his lap he will not move

i also love the idea that he cannot for the life of him play horror games because he gets jumpscared and screams and he HATES that bc "vulnerability bad" (nikolai likes when he plays horror games anyway he thinks its funny when he gets jumpscared and screams really loud)

actually scratch that . fyodor is just bad at video games because i love that idea . hes good at logic games but when it just comes down to "survive!!!" or "do this objective" or something i love the idea that hes just Dog Ass at it

[jils-things]

happy new year! ; my farewell letter to 2023.

last year, ive written a similar farewell letter to 2022 and i want to make this a little tradition - so here's my second one <3

okay, so - wow. first of all, just wow.

this might be incredibly bold to say, but i think this has been my best year to be alive (i promise you i do not want to sound corny about it, but i really think 2023 was amazing for me.) of course, many things happened. im at my last year of senior high before i go to college, which is very scary but i hope i can be brave for it. school has been actually very generous to me recently, despite a few minor setbacks that looked very major when i was going through it, but overall it was very generous to me. but irl rambling is boring, so let's talk about my selfshipping blog!

last year, i had a verrrry firm grip on a previous f/o that im 100% sure old followers know - though im a little sad I can't find that spark to focus on him again - the shift in media has helped me find new f/os that i can say has been incredibly memorable to me. as we all know, im in a very INSANE pokemon brainrot since november or october(?) of 2022 and it has still remained heavily active in my head right now - which i honestly didn't even know i had the full capacity of doing! I don't know what magic this game did to me but i promise you im so happy i revisited this game again.

i would talk about how grateful i am to everyone has been supportive and sweet about my romantic f/os but i think the best highlight of my blog is my newfound love for my familial f/os - before that, i never had a single one on my list because i was simply quite disconnected to the family love concept, but after indulging myself in pokemon - i would come to discover pokemon adve.ntures, or poke.spe for short hehe. i have so many fond memories of finding myself wanting to read more and MORE - i would have every chapter downloaded beforehand just so that i can read it in my spare time, not even school that demanded my attention would stop me from sneaking my phone to quickly read through the manga LMAOO - but consuming the media itself wasn't enough, i needed people to understand the ROLLERCOASTER of emotions i had while reading and well, i think its very clear who those people were, the ones who came to save my miserable ass from (insert shocking scene in poke.spe) AHSJHSHSJSJS you know who you are and i appreciate you forever and they - i kid you not, helped me create something wonderful!

but of course, the video games were just as amazing. would you believe me if i told you i played gens 1 to 7 in one year? that's how much i adore the game and i still have yet to catch up to other games like the spin offs :] im not sure how to end this statement but. im so happy appleshipping and memoryshipping exists 🥹 i usually don't like thinking that they'll be with me forever because i believe nothing lasts for eternity but i just wanna say that they were just ... im just so contented 🥹 again, all of this actually would not have been so impactful to me if it weren't for my awesome mutuals hearing me out about it and supplying me with even more ideas - these mutuals would also end up becoming such loving friends of mine that helped me get out of my comfort zone and im still happy they're around (hi guys!) 💚

oh! and, what a surprise, i never thought id have an oc f/o! i initially thought that this was so impossible to do but?!??;?! it just happened i guess!!!! i keep surprising myself this year 😭

ok now here's the obligatory art summary for the year 💥

literally the best thing i ever done with my art is try using csp and it actually really helped me change the way i draw, and i even managed to cross out a few items in my last year's resolution thanks to it! i still bounce between using ibispaint and csp but i certainly improved!

the last thing im forever grateful about are the people who has been consistently supportive of my art - especially the commissions, i can't stress it enough how much it has helped me outside and it allowed me to go beyond my comfort zone when it comes to my drawing skills :']] thank you all so much

and finally, big thank you to everyone who sent me nice letters to my tree 🥹💚 its a gentle reminder that im actually ... pretty cool ig 🥹 and if you didn't send one, that's also ok!! you're still cool for reading this mwamwa

again im so bad at ending posts like these but cheers to a new year and let's hope it'll be better for everyone. 💚🫡 goodbye 2023!

[guillotinerot]

Golden Kamuy is the single most respectful anime wrt indigenous peoples that I have ever seen. I am not of these cultures so I might be wrong, and I’m sure it could still use work maybe, but it just seems to have a sort of joy in the way it represents native cultures, without glossing over hardships. Like there’s tragedy and grimness and horror, but at the end of the day I always feel like it is celebrating these people and places; their food and language and customs.

Again, and I want to make this clear, I am an outsider and I don’t know what the team behind the show looks like, so if I’m way off and it’s problematic I would want to learn about it

Oh, it is 100% a celebration of indigenous Ainu culture! Noda is not himself Ainu, he is Japanese, but he worked with Nakagawa Hiroshi a professor of Ainu culture and language. Noda's core message in the manga isn't about assimilation, but rather is about celebration. He treats the Ainu with respect, and has a very delightful way of crossing the Ainu/Japanese cultural divide between the characters. With any story, its not perfect. The ending, with out specific spoilers, is a touch... overly optimistic. However, the culture and language of the Ainu people are very much admired and explained in a way that highlights how important they are to the island of Hokkaido and the northern peninsula.

I also would highly suggest doing a little research yourself- I am just one simple cat on the internet who is blinded by their love of Noda's art and comedy. There are multiple showings of Ainu textiles that Noda has helped sponsor, and a noted uptick in positive interest in Ainu language and culture.

I also highly highly recommend reading the manga, as the anime (while improved from past seasons) misses out on entire arcs. I have so many feelings about Golden Kamuy as a series, and I love the characters and the journeys they all go through.

Also man ass. Lotta man ass. This is a good thing. You see balls, too.

[aquamotto]

I am turning 34 years old!

And I am celebrating this event being utterly sick, unfortunately.

Because of this, you get not a picture of a character, serious or ironic, but simply myself, how I look like, more or less.

As you can see, I have been very stoic. Living in the state of war, enduring constant illnesses and hardships even before the war, I get the highest grade in stoicism and patience. Unfortunately, that's not what I want, at all. I have been at the crossroads lately, feeling too drained to improve my art but also too impatient to become better in order to accomplish something of worth. I have been wanting to make my art feel more 'western' but doing that kind of loses its originality in part and taking it in more 'manga' direction feels juvenile and self indulgent, at least, at my age. I have many things going that I can't mention here because that would endanger other, more valuable parts of myself, parts of me related to my activities in the real world. I want to convey a feeling of "Eastern European anime" with my art, mixing 20s-30s-40s' illustration with some more japanese expressiveness. And as someone from Ukraine, I often feel like I have seriously outgrown any author, japanese or western, because of the profound, uncalled wisdoms the world keeps showering me with everyday.

I can't relate to any living author at all actually which affects my progress - how can I aspire to be someone who is so much younger than me in terms of human experience? I never particularly related to daily troubles of people and now I relate to them even less. People keep telling stories that are so mundane nowadays - like those Sundance and Berlinale film directors with their constant family dramas. People are so navel gazing. Dissecting every little unimportant thing when the Apocalypse is unraveling just over their heads.

Thank you for staying with me and supporting me. Contrary to the popular notion, I actually love the world and everyone in it.