#and don't even get me started on finding translations of horror manga

[raviniaraven]

Y'know I love a good horror manga but it really highlights the problem with listing everything somewhat supernatural and gothic into Horror. I literally was just browsing horror manga and it was suggesting JoJos Bizarre Adventure, Death Note, and Higurashi right next to each other. These are monumentally different series and genres. And a lot of the time picking multiple genres doesn't help bc unless you're looking for a specific formula or subset, a lot of manga places just list the majority under solely horror!

[dnangelic]

Get to know the mun ! repost, don’t reblog .

——— BASICS.

[ NAME ] : tsun (short for tsundere)

PRONOUNS : he / him

ZODIAC SIGN : pisces-aries

TAKEN OR SINGLE : single

ANYTHING ELSE ? : my dog is way cuter and more interesting than me

——— THREE SERIOUS FACTS.

you don't have to soften up your muse with me. really. i've written mainly antagonistic/villainous/horror-centric muses in the past so i'd like to at the very last believe i understand at least some of the struggle when it comes to having a muse like that. which isn't to say that daisuke won't still try to appeal to some form of compassion for even the most reprehensible muses because that's just the way that he's built, but nobody has to apologize and worry about hurting me, the mun's feelings for being mean to daisuke. if he wasn't built for helping then he was built for a lil bullying. it's okay. i love to see it <- mean older bro/failboy aficionado syndrome

i don't really do starter calls or memes anymore. the best way to start something with me is to either get at me directly for a thread/plot discussion or if that's too scary just make an ic remark on any random ass post and i'll probably make a new ic post for it. or send me an ask and we can go from there since my askbox is always open. i try to do the occasional inbox call but since i don't like my asks to be overly bland and it takes a whole lotta creativity, i don't do those super often either.

if you don't know something about my muse it's best if you ask. really. seriously. DN 'canon' is scattered in multiple directions and multiple pieces across multiple formats, and most eng speakers have only seen the anime or read the manga, which imo are the two bottom-most "best" formats for grasping what the hell is even going on overall in the series. atp pointing people to either my public vs private knowledge post or my canon divergence post is probably the best i can do to provide a comprehensive list of different 'facts' about how i work my characterization.

——— THREE RANDOM FACTS.

i have in fact been with DN since the early 2000/2010s-ish, around middleschool. i wasn't there when its re-serialization was announced in 2020 or so but the first and second volumes will always be a formative memory for me, and the tokyopop ENG translation set i have (up to book 12) has somehow survived over the course of like at least five different moves. this is also probably why i find sugisaki's original, absolute oldest style the most nostalgic/'best' in a way, if only to me. i've also been a vkei fan since vanan'ice started releasing music, immoral memory lost memory has and always will be my #1 comfort song. no wonder i ended up writing dn charas

i like to cook and bake. baking more than cooking, which is sometimes a problem since i can end up baking more than my family ever eats. i'd love to make DN style parfaits/cake cups sometime, i just don't know who's going to be able to eat all of it laksdjlakgjl. but anything to see icing wiz in a cup for realsies!

my life has been dominated by roguelike/dungeon crawler looter type video games. i've probably got literally like ten billion hours on mabinogi since that was my social system in 2000-2010 range (look i know but it was hot stuff back then ok) and now that elin's been released i've jumped from messing around in elona to there, but put me in front of something in the vein of the whole fate/torchlight series etc and i'm probably clocked out forever

——— EXPERIENCE.

i started a tumblr rp blog as a joke for a friend (now no longer my friend) i'd chat with during ~2015 give or take a year. i didn't even care about the chara at first but i've always loved writing, and i ended up actually getting into said chara and the series they were from to write some more/beyond just sheer crack for my friend. i've never written fic for the same reason that i've never written anything standalone tho, that being i completely lose confidence all the way down to the last drop in my bones

i like deep and firm muse connections. this doesn't necessarily even mean positive ic ones, but i like it best when muses absolutely have something. it doesn't even have to be definite either, like the way satoshi and daisuke's relationship within canon is somehow balancing both a killer rivalry and deep caring friendship and just about everything else they always got goin on in between. it's usually after any sort of dynamic is established that i feel much more comfortable sending unprompted asks too.

i have like 50 tabs open at all times and 600 things in my drafts. i did this to myself. but if i never catch DMs on tumblr it's probably because i never got a notif thanks to the 50 tabs, and if i never catch DMs on discord it's probably because i saw it, got busy, then forgot about it til i checked again and bam it's been like a month and now responding feels too awkward. i'm so bad at personal communication i'm so sorry. use my askbox if it's urgent i swear i've never failed to respond to any of those asap. losing drafts is thanks to the 600 things, but if you want me to dig up something because you miss it and so i can respond to it asap i can always do that too. im literally just too tired to scroll to find shit that isn't my most recent sometimes iawjewahjaiijkrf it's a bad hobby habit i knooooow

——— MUSE PREFERENCE.

i've tried to find the common denominator between all of my muses in the past multiple times and i've never been able to find it. i've written anything and everyone from, like, folklore ocs to meta knight from kirby. in general i like to have a muse that i don't always have to take too seriously though. or that comes off as comedic on the surface but i can still handle in a serious and legitimate/realistic way, ie just like dark and daisuke being clowns and a singular failboy but still just. kids, teenagers grappling with very real uncertainty about themselves and their futures and identities. muses have to have a voice, and i'm very particular about being able to clearly hear my muses in my head and my writing, so if anything that's probably my largest deciding factor.

——— FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT.

FLUFF : yep

ANGST : yep

SMUT : hell no. idk how many times i have to tell people i don't give a shit how hot you think dark is, he's physically 16-17 and is directly linked to daisuke, who's 14-15. these are minors. there's 2892859864 anime charas who are of age for you to smut with, get away from the middleschoolers!!!

——— PLOT / MEMES : see all the way above. i basically live in my activity notes so it's better to grab my attention somehow through that. i get shy about sending memes and also am just..... not around constantly so checking dash can be annoying. if there's a meme you have a really good idea for and you want me to send it specifically i've got no problem doing that though. love u guys

TAGGED BY : @cherriedrage thanks zaggy!!

[lemonduckisnowawake]

Rating (the translated, not actually OG) titles of manhwa/manga because I was bored

Monstrous Duke's Adopted Daughter/The Monster Duchess and Contract Princess - not egregiously long but boring when the story is actually interesting. 6/10. Rename it with something more snappish like the Adopted Shadow or whatever. idk. Have I mentioned I've been banned from naming things?

My In-Laws Are Obsessed with Me - 4/10. Also not horrible but it's clearly a clickbaity title and I roll my eyes. Better to rename it to like ..... something to do with blood maybe? Or if you want to keep it family-themed. Blood Ties? Also boring and you can tell I'm speaking from a western YA-genre reader

Beware the Villainess - 8/10. This needs no change

The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine - .... it's exactly what the title says, ngl. 7/10. But it could be better and less of a summary. Don't know what, though

The Noble Girl Who Finds a Nerdy and Plain Guy Moe Thinks That the Arrogant Prince Is in the Way - 0/10. I just. Why? The official English title is something like The Lady Likes a Nerd over Princes, which I found weird but the summary was interesting (turns out it was a good manga. But the author just has zero respect for the agency of women. Like. Comically so that it's not even funny as it gets a tad bit narratively frustrating as it's used as a device to drag on the plot) Anyway. Just why?

An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride - 2/10. Not as unforgivable as the previous but horrible all the same. And while the concept was interesting and I gave it a try because it was a rec, it turned out to not be for me at all. The title is dramatic, I'll give you that. It reads like it's a self help book for demon kings who want to learn how to Love and that's basically the manga

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End/Frieren at the Funeral/Frieren the Slayer - 10/10. Look. Any of those titles are good. It doesn't pop out but neither does it force you to hide the title out of fear of being misunderstood

The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World - 5/10. Inoffensive but another summary title. You could have literally just called it the Savior's Otherworld Cafe instead. Or something

I Listened to My Husband and Brought in a Lover - 1/10. Encourages cheating with consent. Actually, the manhwa kinda did too (the husband cheated first and was like you should cheat too). At least people know what they're in for? Don't want to retitle it. It deserves it for starting with decent potential for that premise and kinda failing to deliver.

I Stole the Number One Ranker's Soul - 6/10. Again, it's pretty catchy and not terrible but I still don't like these summary titles. Manhwa is amazing, however.

Can't Stop Cursing You - 8/10. Dying laughing because it reads as someone going "man, I just... can't stop cursing you. Really can't help myself you know? Sorry not sorry" while zapping you repeatedly with curses. Still pretty stupid when the actual manga was REALLY shiny with all that horror and bloody gore and interesting plot

Gingerly in Love - 10/10. Trust me. Once I saw what it was about, I died laughing. Not the most memorable manhwa but the wordplay of the title....

The Tyrant Wants to Be Good - 6/10. Again. Inoffensive but there's something annoying to me personally. The manhwa is great, though. Love me a woman who makes her trauma everyone else's problem, regrets it, and then internalizes the guilt in her do-over at life so bad that she ends up getting aggressively adopted into a found family

I Got a New Skill Every Time I Was Exiled, and After 100 Different Worlds, I Was Unmatched - 0/10. Why are isekai titles actually the worst sometimes. Manga itself is meh, in my opinion. It has potential ruined by the usual commodification of women, so I dropped it despite my interest

Bonus:

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - 3/10. Twain really was isekai titling when he probably didn't know that Japan was even a thing, huh. Not terrible, but it has that isekai style of summarizing the premise.

Bonus again:

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders Who was born in Newgate, and during a life of continu’d Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Years a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her brother) Twelve Years a Thief, Eight Years a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv’d Honest and died a Penitent - -10/10. It was an okay book but you shouldn't have had this power over your book titles, Daniel Defoe. Seriously. My edition just says "Moll Flanders". Never have I wanted to shame a dead author more. It's not even an isekai but it's worse than an isekai title. It's a whole anime opening credits.

[animehouse-moe]

Heavenly Delusion Episode 11: New Territory

It's with this episode that we finally surpass the official print release of Denpa for Heavenly Delusion, and cruise into new territory with the anime for English fans. It surprised me, but I can totally see what they're going for with how they're restructuring events, and I think it works amazingly. The feel of terror and discomfort is really on display with this episode.

Though we don't start with that right away. We actually get a bit with the academy before the opening, and I'd just like to point out that in this scene you can see a new child with similar ears to Mimihime. Nothing special, but it puts into perspective that the mutations amongst students are similar in some cases.

Anyways, the opening comes and goes, and we return to following Kiruko and Maru as they continue their journey towards the goal of Heaven. I wouldn't say there's anything special about their drive, as it's a lot of work that we've already seen, so I'll just glance over it to this scene with the director to draw the pair together.

So I think the very first thing to note here is that everybody is reaching for "Heaven", but for different reasons. Maru's goal is to reach Heaven, while the Director's is to achieve. Similarly, the director does so for self serving purposes, while Maru has been set on the path towards it. Overall, I find it very interesting how this scene sets the two characters at odds.

Also, for those curious, the portrait behind the Director is of Izanami and Izanagi, effectively the heads of the Shinto religion that preside over life and death. It's really cool seeing an anime lean into that side of mythology and religion rather than to default towards something else. Anyways, the point of this being, that by placing Izanami and Izanagi behind the Director, they're effectively telling readers and viewers that the Director wishes to preside over life and death itself (if that wasn't clear already).

Moving past the Director's monologue that explains Takarahara Academy a little bit, I really like what they've been doing with Sawatari to start off with Tokio and Kona's child. In all of the scenes we have of Sawatari looking over it, we have yet to see Sawatari's reaction to it.

Though shortly after this, our time is up with the academy for now as we move back to Kiruko and Maru. I've been really liking how well they streamline a lot of these events, as they cut and (most of the time) paste pieces in different spots, trimming the fat in the process. I wouldn't say there's much of anything wrong with the manga, but that the anime is repurposing this story to be presented properly in its best form as an anime. Anyways, the point I was getting to, I really love the framing with these window shots. Even better is that in the shot where Maru sees the smoke, viewers aren't shown it until it can be placed naturally in the scene. It's a small detail, but it works wonderfully with Hirotaka's direction of the series.

And it's here that we get our massive reveal. The Ibaraki facility, and Inazaki Robin. I never really thought about it before, but Inazaki and Ibaraki have a bit of a ring to it. Same with Inazaki and Izanami/Izanagi. Doubt there's much of a connection, but just something that caught my attention. Anyways, what's more concrete and interesting, is how gaunt Robin looks in this scene. It really makes you wonder about what's changed with him until this point.

We don't linger long on Robin or Inazaki though, as we return to the academy to find Mimihime trying to help out another girl. I'll be straight, when this happened in the manga I thought it was for real and a part of the whole bodysnatcher scheme somehow. And that feeling translates incredibly well into the anime. The terror, the fear, the horror of those precision tools meant to tear her apart slowly encroaching on her. It's incredibly well done, and I love what they add to it. That piece of all the flashes of equipment and stuff is new to the anime, and I think it's an insanely good touch that shows how Mimihime's foresight becomes a detriment to her and something that she fears. What's happened in the future that she's seen haunts in her the present and creates phobias from thin air.

And just to add, because it comes up later as well. The sound design and OST? Impeccable in these moments. That rising tension, the rhythm that it produces with that very low and solid drumming. How it pauses and when it speeds up, the relentless pressure that it provides upon the scene. Just all around great work.

Did you think Mimihime had enough with just that one round? Of course not! She's forced back into more when she meets Kona on the other side of her curtain. I really like how they've used Mimihime's character so far, and pulling from volume 6 to bring moments like this closer together with one another is a great idea for the anime. The added pieces from Mimihime's earlier hallucination go hand in hand in her foresight that reveals Kona as a Hiruko.

I also love the details here. Mimihime is looking away from Kona/the Hiruko, and Kona's Hiruko version starts to loom closer to her so she shies away just that little bit more.

Anyways, it's not all terrible for Mimihime, even if she has to experience that hallucination once more, because she does it in the name of the young girl who can't be friends with anyone because of her ability. I do find it quite interesting though how they set it up between the person that's used to having hallucinations, and the one that causes hallucinations.

Alright, just a few more pieces, I promise I'll fly through em to make this one short since I drew the previous episode out so much. Aoshima and Sawatari are working together to plan to get Tokio's child away from the Academy, and I like how they stand on opposite sides of the painting. It could be that rather than reign over both, they each represent a side between Izanami and Izanagi. Or it could be that they both exist outside the director's desire for a Heaven. Regardless of that, I find it really interesting that it's only in this one scene that we see Sawatari taking care of Tokio's child that we see their facial expression and hear them talk to them. Especially because they go through the trouble of showing us that they've fed both the babies that appear in this scene.

And I find this really interesting. One is labelled Tokio Jr, while the other is labelled Jr. C. The very first thing that popped into my mind was that one of the two babies is to be used to swap out for Tokio's child when Sawatari and Aoshima attempt to get it outside of the academy, but I'm not too sure.

Now, the last real piece to talk about is the "test" being undergone at Takahara Academy. The up and mention the word Hiruko to the kids, and that sets all of them off. Not freaking out or having some crazy realization, but in a more, "I don't feel right and this doesn't feel right" way. I already talked about how good the horror is, but what about the foreshadowing? When they mention the word Hiruko, the characters we know of are only ever shown in pairs. And thanks to Mimihime, we're able to establish a pattern. We know from Mimihime that Kona becomes a Hiruko (though he's not shown with Tokio, and Tokio's only shown at mention of "outside of the outside"), and we know from previous episodes that Mimihime will turn into a Hiruko. So what do you think of Taka and Anzu being shown together? Probably the same thing I am, that one of the two of them will turn into a Hiruko. I think it's a really subtle piece, but an incredibly interesting and important one. Why does only one person in these pairs turn into a Hiruko? Why is it that these pairs only form romantically? What about Tarao?

This episode works wonders on all fronts, shifting material around and condensing it to play right into the horror and discomfort of an unavoidable future. Just as those countless tools closed in on Mimihime in her hallucination, the walls are closing in on these children, time is running short for Sawatari and Aoshima, and Kiruko and Maru close in on their goals. It's incredibly well organized for translating this impressive story from manga to anime, and I absolutely can't wait to see what they do with the next episode.

[dreaminpeaches]

Paracosm: Honey Love Love ☕( Masterpost/Aesthetic/ Intro)

(While reminiscing about my Hetalia days I came across this Hetalia dating sim I used to be obsessed with and I decided to turn into a paracosm/au!) Here's the game its based in question: (Click ME)

(I don't have a moodboard or trailer for this yet, but I'll prolly edit in one soon..)

(This based on a rough translation, my Japanese is okay but its not that good but I feel like got a good understanding of the story anyways)

The story:

"Indigo graduated from a vocational school dreaming of becoming a pastry chef, but she couldn't find a job. The staff at the cafe "Regenbogen", who are rich in individuality and nationality, are seeing if she changes her mind about helping out at the cafe. The unfortunate handsome owner Gilbert. Ludwig, a quiet and strong cook. Arthur, a gentleman's tea wholesaler (whose popular with the ladies ohh~), and his younger brother, Alfred, a college student working part-time at Regenbogen, And the extremely mysterious extremely handsome and extremely chaotic, Antonio ... When she meets them, she'll be smitten.  

Can Indigo focus on making sweets or will her heart melt for one of the guys like chocolate?

Who knows where this story will go?"

Characters:

Ludwig (Germany)- "The younger brother of the owner, Gilbert. He started making Kuchen, a german sweet, and it really caught on later becoming the selling point of "Regenbogen". Ludwig has gone on to learn more recipes and sweets from his diverse group of friends and hopes to make the bakery a place where one can travel the world one plate at a time. While Ludwig has a sizeable friend group, he's really bad at talking to women, which is why he keeps mostly to himself at work and works in the kitchen in the back, but when Indigo arrives and starts spending just as much time in the kitchen as him, things begin to change."

Gilbert (Prussia)- "The owner of the cafe "Regenbogen", and he's also the face of the cafe as well. The complete opposite of his quiet brother. Gilbert is very loud and boisterous, he's mainly in charge of customer service at the counter, he meets Indigo in a pinch as she just moved to town and is now the cafe's benefactor and has come to save it, because of this action Glibert is very grateful and treats Indigo like the sister he never had. Gilbert always seems to be up to something and cruses regularly, but is his bravado just a mask to hide his true intentions?"

Arthur (England)-"An old friend of Gilbert and Ludwig. He's not officially part of the cafe staff, but he's the one who buys "Regenbogen" tea, and he's even assigned shopkeeper. He's a true gentleman and is very smart. He treats indigo like any other lady he encounters, but when he gets closer, he starts to let his emotional side show a little bit more... "

Alfred (America )-Arthur's younger brother, (to Arthur's embarrassment), He's an active college student, and working at "Regenbogen" is just ONE of his MANY part-time jobs. He was as excited as a young puppy to know that a new person would be joining the staff, Alfred finds Indigo to be cute and likes to tease her about her height and carry her around princess style. While he's a goofy guy, he's willing to protect and defend Indigo at all costs like a true hero!"

Antoño  (Spain) "A mysterious Spaniard, who shows up from time to time when Indigo needs him the most. He's been helping her out ever since she moved to town,  he comes out of nowhere and takes care of her problems in any way that he can. He's a very strange guy and super unpredictable and whenever it seems like indigo is getting to know him a little bit more, he vanishes again!"

Kiku (Japan)-The landlord of the house that Indigo rents from Sadiq. He is an old friend of Sadiq, and cares for  Indigo who lives alone while Sadiq is away on a business trip. No one seems to know how old he is.."

Feliciano ( Italy)- "Old friend of Gilbert and Ludwig. He is a helper in the kitchen of Regenbogen only during busy hours. He is friendly and especially good with women. She has a good sense of cooking in general and gives Indigo advice on everything."

Sadiq (Turkey)- "An old friend of  Indigo's father, whom Indigo has called "Uncle" since she was a child. He advised Indigo, who was lost in her future, to move out and offered her his vacant house as her new home. He is currently on a business trip overseas."

Indigo (Parame)-A young woman who dreamed of becoming a pastry chef, (she even went to school for it too) , despite her small appearance and seemingly soft-spoken nature, she's a hard worker and is super creative. She's pretty patient when comes to making sweets but she's also a perfectionist and will keep making a sweet over and over again until she gets it right! she can be her own worst critic as well and also has a serious presence to her. When not stressed about her baking skills, Indigo's actually quite the jokester in the right mood, in her downtime when she's not practicing her skills, she can be found drawing up ideas for cute sweets (or just drawing in general), she's also a big nerd for anime, manga and video games (mostly visual novels and dating sims, but she does love playing a horror RPG game even now and then), she's also a sucker for cute animals and children, and likes to sit at home and watch cheesy teen dramas while eating a tub of her fave ice cream, cake batter."

Setting:

"Regenbogen" which is the German word from Rainbow, the cafe got its name from for all of the vast and wonderful variety of sweet treats it holds from around the country, or at least that's how the owner and staff would like it to be. While Regenbogen does have delicious sweets, its also know to be a very slow cafe since they only have one chef in the kitchen on a regular day, the waiter, while he is friendly, can become easily distracted and sometimes lack tack in the way he starts conversations with guest, while the place does have customer service its not very good,  the owner can be very insensitive to customer's issues and will boast about how awesome he is, instead of actually helping and listening to their problems, he's also known to be very rude and blunt and customers can often hear him spouting inappropriate jokes and cursing. Good looking staff and well-made delicious food doesn't seem to be enough to keep business afloat, it's as if Regenbogen is missing something or more likely missing someone...."

[jackcinephile]

L'Inferno (1911) Movie Review!

As promised, we're gonna be celebrating this Spooky Season with a Devilman Crybaby headcanon! In order to fully express my HC, I will be reviewing icons of horror cinema and literature that helped contribute to many of the themes and ideas that are prevalent in Go Nagai's original manga. So, without further ado, let us descend into the Blind World. Put all fear and cowardice aside. I will be your guide through this eternal place, where you shall hear the shrieks and see the tormented spirits who all bewail the second death.

And how appropriate? Because our first film is the 1911 adaptation of The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. I suppose it's only right to begin this saga of horror films with one of the first horror films ever made. Okay, "first horror film" is actually debatable, so keep in mind that I said "ONE of the first." In any case, it remains one of the most important landmarks in horror cinema.

"Stopped, in the middle of what we call life,

I looked up and saw no sky, but rather a dense cage of leaf and tree and twig,

For I was lost."

The film opens as the iconic poem does. Dante Alighieri is a middle-aged man who finds himself lost in a dark, gloomy forest. This opening of the story always had a way of making me feel somewhat lonely and isolated. In my interpretation, I always saw this forest as being symbolic of how Dante felt after the death of Beatrice. Allow me to explain...

For those who don't know, Dante met a young girl named Beatrice when they were both nine years old. The young boy immediately fell in love with her, even though they hardly interacted. Despite their lives continuing in separate directions, Beatrice had always and forever held a special place in Dante's heart. When he received word that she had died, Dante was absolutely devastated. He felt that she deserved to be immortalized in what he intended to be his magnum opus; The Divine Comedy.

I believe that this opening to the Inferno is actually Dante going to a journey to find Beatrice so that he could say goodbye to her. Along the way, he got lost, both literally and spiritually. That, in my opinion, is what this forest symbolizes. In many ways, this opening kind of reminds of the opening to Silent Hill 2, just from how dismal it is.

Having said all that, I think the film does a very poor job of conveying those emotions. Sadly, I just don't feel any of the despair that was present in the original poem. He just wanders around for a few seconds, then steps out into a clearing. But don't worry! As soon as Dante steps into the clearing, the film IMMEDIATELY gets better. Upon entering this clearing, Dante finds himself at the base of, what I believe to be, Mount Purgatory. I can only assume that's where he is, because the gates of Hell are at its base, and Dante seems to suggest the gates of heaven are at its summit, just like Purgatory. Unfortunately, his path is blocked by three ravenous beasts: a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf, all representing different Earthly sins. He runs back the way he came, before being rescued by a strange apparition. It's here that the film begins to remind us all of why the original poem is regarded as a self-insert fanfic...

Upon introducing himself to the apparition, Dante learns that it is the actually the ghost of Virgil, author of the Aeneid. The significance of Virgil being in the story is that he was Dante's favorite poet of all time, and Dante always longed to meet and interact with him. It's literally a self-insert fanfic of Dante meeting and interacting with all of his inspirations. It's honestly a mystery to me why I love The Inferno so much, because it's everything I hate! It's a Catholic's fanfic about why he sees himself and his friends as morally superior and why everyone he ever disagreed with is going to Hell. Somehow, in spite of all that, I still love it.

So why did Virgil even decide to help Dante in the first place? Well, remember when I talked about Beatrice dying? It turns out, she descended from Heaven into Hell to ask him for help, because she knew how important he was to Dante. She tasked Virgil with being Dante's guide, after seeing that he has gone astray.

This is where the film's innovation starts to take shape. Beatrice has often been drawn as having a halo around her head. The problem is, how do you show that in a film made in 1911? The effect was strikingly realized with, what I assume to be, spinning rods covered in reflective material. I can only guess this is how it was done, but it appears right to me, because that's how a similar effect was created for the lightsabers in the original Star Wars. It looks like the rods were placed behind the actress, so that the rig couldn't be seen, making it appear as if the light was emanating from her head. This scene also displays an early appearance of wire work on film. In those days, that shit wasn't easy. It was even harder to hide the effect, which this film does fairly well.

So, Virgil explains to Dante that he must take him on a pilgrimage through the three different stages of the afterlife. To be perfectly honest, I never understood why. Maybe I'm just an idiot with little to no reading comprehension. It's also a factor that I haven't read parts II and III of the Divine Comedy, so maybe it's elaborated better in there. From what I gathered, since Dante is going on a journey to find the literal Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin intensifies) Virgil needs to take him to Hell and Purgatory, so he can face his sins and better appreciate Paradise. And thus, Virgil's pilgrimage to lead Dante through the Afterlife begins!

"Through me, the way to the City of Woe

Through me, the way to everlasting pain

Through me, the way among the people lost

Divine Power made me

Eternal I endure

Abandon Hope, all ye who enter here"

That is the inscription above the Gates of Hell. It is here, that Dante is already planning on turning back. Virgil literally tells him to stop being a pussy, and I was satisfied. Once they enter the gates, it becomes apparent to the viewer, if it hasn't already, that this isn't just an adaptation of Dante's work. This film is actually a cinematic translation of the ICONIC illustrations by Gustave Dore that were created in the middle of the 19th century. So much care and detail was put into recreating his AMAZING artwork, that many consider to be his magnum opus. This film was basically the Zack Snyder's Watchmen of its day!

Those familiar with the story will recognize this iconic scene that is being recreated onscreen. Dante and Virgil have come to the shores of Acharon, where the souls of the damned board Charon's vessel to be taken before Judge Minos, who lives in Limbo.

Speaking of Limbo, that is the first spiral of Hell Dante visits. This is where good people who weren't Christians come to face eternity. Their punishment is meant to be the denial of Paradise, but if you ask me, it doesn't seem so bad. Apparently Dante felt the same way, because this is where he meets his other great inspirations, such as Homer and Ovid! The poets all enjoy their visit together before Virgil must take Dante on his way. This is honestly the part that makes me cringe the most. Nothing reeks of self-insert fanfic more than meeting your idols and being greatly respected by all them. This is exactly why I abandoned my Silent Hill fanfic.

Anyway, Minos's throne lies at the lower boarder of Limbo. The king himself appears as a giant naked bearded man with a snake tail. The tail is used to determine the punishment of sinners by wrapping around Minos's own neck multiple times. However many times the tail coils determines which spiral the sinner is sent to.

And here we get to my favorite scene in the whole film: Lust! This spiral perfectly displays the true innovation of special effects. In this spiral, sinners are punished by being caught in a tumultuous whirlwind. The wind symbolizes the tumultuous feelings that arise between lustful lovers. It's one of Dore's best illustrations, and it blows my mind that the filmmakers were able to recreate it so well!

Our two pilgrims move onward to the Spiral of Gluttony, where we come across Cerberus. He guards this spiral, but Virgil subdues him by throwing a clump of dirt in his face (still more respectful than Lore Olympus). Honestly, Gluttony is nothing to write home about. It's just a raining landscape with people laying in the mud. Still, I have to give credit for the meticulous recreation of Dore's art!

Down in Greed, who else do we find guarding this spiral, other than Plutus?

SIDE NOTE: I've read a very strange "translation" of his dialogue. The original line reads, "Pape Satan, Pape Satan, allepe!" Strangely, no one seems to agree on what exactly this means, so most translations are different. Particularly, in the case of Douglas Neff, he translates "Pape" to "Papa," which is strange because "Pape" means "Pope" in Itialian. Then, he changes "allepe" to "you are my king." Let's also not forget that Plutus was also occasionally used as an epithet for Hades and/or Pluto. This means Douglas Neff literally wrote Hades to say, "Daddy Satan, I worship you" (still more respectful than Lore Olympus)!

In the Spiral of Greed, the sinners are forced push heavy sacks of gold around for eternity. Once again, this scene is nothing special, but still an admirable recreation of the illustrations that inspired it.

The next scene, however, shows off more of the innovative talent that makes this film so amazing! Virgil and Dante move on to the Spiral of Anger, where the sinners are punished by being submerged in the black sludge of the River Styx. The only way across is by boat. This is where Phlegyas comes in. The two poets stand by a giant tower which they use to signal for passage to the City of Dis. Along the way, the boat is stopped by Dante's political and intellectual rival, Philipo Argenti. It's here that one realizes just how petty Dante truly was. "Oh, I disagree with you politically. Therefore, you deserve to drown in sludge for all eternity!" He sounds like people I used to know. Hell, he sounds like me in high school!

All while this is going on, we see an amazing special effect of a double exposure of Dis in the background. It's an amazing miniature of the city's outer wall, optically printed to take up the entire top half of the screen.

Finally, they make it to the other side of the river, where we actually get a cameo by Hades' and Persephone's children! No, not Zagareus, Makaria, and Melinoe. None of those people were Hades' and Persephone's children. I'm actually referring to the Erinyes (also known as, the Furies). They block Dante's entrance to the city's gates, so Virgil calls upon the aid of an Archangel to rid them of the Furies. It is here that Dante asserts the superiority of Christianity over the Hellenistic faith (still more respectful than Lore Olympus).

Within the City of Dis, Hell begins to look more like how we always imagined, with fire and brimstone. In the Spiral of Heresy, sinners are stuffed into eternally burning ovens embedded in the ground.

Beyond that is the only omitted sequence from the poem. In the original Divine Comedy, the Spiral of Violence is originally guarded by the Minotaur! Beyond that are sinners, stewed in a boiling river of blood (The Phlegethon). On the banks, we see a heard of Centaurs practicing their archery on them. These are the individuals who were violent towards other people. In order to cross the river of blood, Dante and Virgil must ride on the back of one of the centaurs. You know, having heard of centaurs' notorious reputation for being horrible rapists, it makes me concerned for the sake of our Pilgrims. Maybe they didn't include this in the film because they couldn't figure out how to make a centaur?

On the other side of the Phlegethon, Violence continues into the suicide forest (*Logan Paul reference here*). Here is where sinners, who were violent against themselves, are punished. Once judged to this spiral, they grow into trees. The symbolism being that trees are a symbol of life, of which these sinners have deprived themselves. I'm surprised this scene isn't more controversial. After all, seeing as how seriously mental health has been taken recently, it's fucking awful to tell someone they're going to Hell for committing suicide! As a peice of horrific imagery, I love this scene, but knowing that Dante actually believed this makes me despise it.

In addition to being a horrifying concept, this scene also includes one of the first instances of bloodshed in a horror film. Virgil explains to Dante that he can speak with the sinners if he breaks one of their branches. When he does, blood sprays out of the tree like a drinking fountain!

After a brief conversation with the sinners, Dante moves on to the final section of violence, where people were violent against God. Here the sinners are punished in a desert that perpetually rains fire.

Now, not every special effect in this film is good. Because when Dante rides down to the eighth spiral on Geryon's back, it is such a stiff, unnatural, badly puppeteered marrianet that they couldn't even keep stable for the shot!

"There is a place in Hell called the Malebolge..."

Now, we get to my favorite part of the whole poem: The Spiral of Fraud. Here the deceivers are punished in a myriad of ways, depending on how they lied to others.

In the first Spiral of the Malebolge, those who pander towards others are mercilessly whipped for all eternity. This marks the first appearance of the classic image of the winged demons that we all know and love.

In the second spiral, the flattererers bathe in a stagnant pond of their own feces and vomit. This symbolizes the value of the words that they spew at other people. I think this might be where the expression, "You're full of shit," came from. Think about it; you say that to people whom you think are lying to you, and this is in the Spiral of Fraud.

Incidentally, this punishment was referenced in a Turkish horror film called Baskin -- a film about a small group of off-duty police officers who crash their car and wake up in Hell. In that film, the main characters realize they're in Hell when they find demon raping someone, while shoving her face in a bowl of her own face and vomit. Baskin is not a part of this HC, so I'll have to talk about it later. For now, I'll just say it's one of the best horror films I've ever seen!

In the third spiral, those who joined the Catholic Church for their own personal gain are buried head first, with their feet sticking out in the air.

In the fourth spiral, fortune tellers have their heads turned backwards. This prevents them from looking forward, symbolizing their attempts to see into the future.

In the fifth spiral, the sinners are repeatedly dipped in boiling tar. This scene is especially interesting because it shows that the demons we see aren't actually monsters. They're just creatures doing their jobs, punishing sinners. In fact one of the demons named Malecoda assigns a group of demons to help escort Dante and Virgil through the rest of the Malebolge. That, unfortunately, doesn't work out, however, because the demons are distracted by a sinner trying to escape, so Dante and Virgil move on alone. What's also unfortunate, is that other demons, who assume that Virgil and Dante are also sinners trying to escape, chase them into the next spiral. Luckily, each demon is confined to their own spiral, so they can't keep chasing them.

In the sixth spiral, the hypocrites are forced to wear robes made of solid gold. They also find Caiaphas nailed to the ground. As someone who has Jesus Christ Superstar on his top three list of favorite albums, I was happy to see Caiaphas get referenced.

In the seventh spiral, the thieves are bound by snakes, whose venom causes them to burn to ashes. One thief in particular gets attacked by a giant lizard that makes him into a lizardman (someone tell Alex Jones).

In the eighth spiral, the false advisors are eternally engulfed in flames.

In the ninth spiral, the sowers of discord are viciously mutilated. My favorite part about this scene is that it's one of the first instances of gore in a horror movie. The prophet Muhammad has been cloven from his belly to his throat with his guts spilling out all over the place. That's right! Muhammad is depicted in the Inferno. Not only that, but Gustave Dore drew him. Damn. Dante has no chill. Hey, the founder of the most homophobic religion in the world rots in eternal Hell? I'm not complaining! This kinda makes up for the portrayal of suicide victims.

In the tenth spiral, the falsifiers are punished with enternal leprosy.

At last, we make it to the Spiral of Treachery, at the center of the earth. Here, the traitors are frozen within the Lake Cocytus.

"Lo! Dis Himself!

Emperor of the Kingdom of Woe"

Finally, at the climax of this horrific epic, we see Satan, and it's not what you're expecting! He is in the very center of the lake, frozen up to his waist in ice, and forced to eat the three greatest traitors of all. His body is covered in course fur, and he has three heads and six wings. Satan's appearance in this story is disarming and almost pathetic in a way. You'd imagine Satan to be this fearsome king, but he's just shown to be suffering like everyone else. It's kind of sad, really.

The film ends with Dante and Virgil climbing down Satan's leg fur and ending up at the base of Mount Purgatory.

L'Inferno is one of the first true masterpieces of horror! It's hard to believe that this movie is almost 110 years old! Just think of how it would have been to see it in theaters for the first time when it was new. We owe it to this film for proving the language of Cinema could be used to tell the most epic stories possibly conceived.

You can watch the film for yourself here:https://youtu.be/cMUPbPOGPdM

Now, you're probably thinking, "What the Sam Fuck does any of this have to do with Devilman Crybaby?" Well, for starters, in Go Nagai's original manga, the character Asuka Ryo implies that Dante's Divine Comedy might have been based on a true story. This is futher validated when the demon Xenon appears and bears a strong resemblance to Dante's description of Satan. But beyond the surface-level details, let's discuss some of the deeper implications of what Hell actually is. Within this headcanon, the Afterlife is an entirely separate dimension, occupying the same space as our Earth, but invisible to our eyes. There is a way, however, to see and explore this separate dimension. You see, when different dimensions intersect at certain angles, they sometimes leave gaps through which we can come through and cross over to the other dimension. It was through one of these gaps that Virgil was able to find Dante. These angles and gaps between dimensions will be further explored in a later film.