#and the bottom line of this manga is love. and everything else that happens is a question about

[ddenji]

“you didnt know what you were guarding?”

what if i said that blind faith. or blindness to others actions and intentions. or something along those lines is a hugeee theme of part 2 (not that it wasnt in part 1) and fujimoto is constantly reinforcing it!!! in part 1 i feel like instances were more intentional (ie makima manipulating everything to destroy denjis happiness and denji going along with it because he didnt know any better) whereas in part 2 we see a lot of characters (like katana man here) who were just pushing forward blindly. the chainsaw man church kids not really knowing the extent of fami’s plans. sugo just going along with the other hybrids and then trying to justify why burning down the building was right to denji. even asa in the most recent chapters as we can see how like fami and more particularly yoru convince her of a truth for their own ends. like everyone here is blind to what anyone else in the story is trying to achieve and how it might affect them!!! and in this instance with katana man, we can see how he’s actually been working against the goal that his “heart beats for” because someone else told him to do it and withheld their true intentions from him. this (plus all the stuff about blindly following goverment or religion) really is shaping up to mold fujimotos ideas about human connection and relationships from both parts in really interesting ways!!!

[violetbutterflix]

Kiss and make, kiss, kiss and make up

Character: Osamu Dazai.

Warnings: beast!dazai, dazai and reader are married, sub!dazai, dom!reader, make up sex, pegging, dazai cries and moans, mentions of multi verses and beast manga spoilers.

☆Being the wife of the Port Mafia boss has pros and cons, just like two sides of a coin. Sure, your husband is the richest and most feared man alive, and he can get you everything you desire without any problem. Just say the words, and they will be yours. However, it's not material possessions that your heart craves, but rather his presence.

The clock strikes two in the morning so quietly that nobody in the bedroom can hear it. You can hear your own breath as you lie on the bed, eagerly waiting for your husband's arrival. But nothing happens; the bedroom door knob remains closed and untouched on the other side. No sounds of footsteps approach. You bite your lip bitterly, thinking about the last time you saw him. The last time he was here with you—his arms around your waist, his mouth on yours, your head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat as you fell asleep on his body.

How many nights have you spent waiting for him to come back home, yearning for a warm embrace and kisses, only to be met with loneliness and disappointment? Every day, you wake up, hoping to see him, yet he’s never there. The other side of the bed is empty and cold. It has been a month of this pattern, and you haven’t seen him once. It makes you sick to your stomach. You reach for your phone, hoping for a new message from him, but there’s nothing. The last message you sent is still there, marked as ‘seen.’ You sigh; you can’t do this anymore.

—

“Osamu…” You called his name, the sound escaping your lips in a bittersweet way. The man in front of you smiled softly, waiting to hear what you had to say. His eyes are a dull, pure black, yet there is a light of hope at the bottom of them whenever you're around.

“Yes, bella?”

You take a long, deep breath before continuing, your eyes fixed on the table. You can’t look into his eyes at this moment. “I… I think we should take a break.”

Dazai drops the drink in his hand, and the glass shatters into pieces on the floor, creating a loud sound. You can feel his eyes on you, suffocating you with that silence. One second, two seconds, three seconds… Three long seconds pass, yet not a single word escapes his lips.

Your eyes glance up, and—gosh—you’ve never seen Dazai with that expression before. His pupils are dilated with disbelief, and his face carries a hurtful look, as if you’ve betrayed him again countless times. You—his world—seem to be destroyed all at once cruelly.

Dazai's lips part slightly, finally being able to speak. “Why?”

The simple yet painful question stabs at both of you, an unpleasant ache spreading through you as you try to explain your reasons. “I… I don’t feel like we should be together anymore. I’m tired. You don’t pay attention to me anymore. You've buried yourself in work for so long that you don’t care for me.”

A frown appears on his handsome face, disapproving of your accusation. If only you knew how much he cares about you-how much he loves you in every universe. How much he hates being the leader of a dangerous organization but he has no other choices. He does all of this for you.

“But that’s my job. Being a Port Mafia boss is never easy. I have my responsibilities—”

“Then what about your responsibility as a husband? What about me?”

“[Reader]…Please.”

The word 'please' from him sounds so desperate, something you’d never expect him to say. Desperately, he adds more, trying to please you so your sorrow will go away, like a hopeless little boy begging for forgiveness and redemption for his wrongdoing.

“I’ll do anything for you; I’ll give you the world. Just name your price, Bella. Please…”

“I only want my husband..I don’t need anything else.” You admit, which makes Dazai smile a little until he hears the next line.

“But since you said you’d do anything…” An idea suddenly runs through you—a risky plan that feels almost too good to ignore. This opportunity could be your one and only chance. How can you possibly let such an offer slip away? Before you realize it, the words are freed from your mind. “Then I want to peg you.”

A simple sentence from your pretty lips makes your husband pause. Dazai stares at you, his expression unsure and confused. He didn’t expect this from you on a Sunday night. Dinner is where you can talk about every topic in the world, but that so casually?

Oblivious to his confusion, your face remains serious. “I said what I said.”

“May I get to know why?”

“I just do. So…Please?”

Dazai hesitates a little. No, it's not because he doesn't want that, it's just he's not sure and he's not too fond of the idea. But he does want to make up for you for the time he has been gone, he can't bring himself to oppose you. So, he lets the ‘best’ of him agree.

—

Dazai finds himself beneath you, naked, just like the day he was born. His face buries against the pillow, gripping the bed sheet as he waits for you. A small kiss is planted on his dark hair as a finger slowly enters his hole to create a gasp from him. A sudden urge to tell you more grows inside him, yet he’s too prideful to admit it.

“Let me hear your pretty sounds, Osamu.” You whisper against his ear, continuing to finger him at a slow pace to test his patience.

A small moan slips out from his lips: “Ah…[Reader]...mph...”

At his cute and pathetic plea, you add another finger and then follow by another one to stretch his tight hole, causing his entire body to twitch. Dazai bites his lips to prevent any loud moans due to embarrassment, but fails. He has always been the one in control, but the sudden switch between you two and you're ruining him completely makes him feel surprisingly good.

Your fingers pump in and out at a faster and harder pace repeatedly, hitting the spot to make him squirm. Just before he hits his orgasm, you pull your fingers away. Dazai turns his head over his shoulder, whining and sulking. Before he can complain, you swiftly push your strap into him. He lets out a muffled yelp of surprise, his eyes widening in shock as the sudden force pushes him back onto the pillow. Your free hand grabs both of Dazai’s hands, gripping his wrists above his face as you move your hips back and forth, fucking him crazy like a wild, starved beast devouring its captured prey.

Your lips travel to his ear, biting on his earlobe as you eagerly thrust deep inside him while your hand drops down his chest, playing and rubbing his nipple. Your hips crash against Dazai’s ass, causing his moans to get louder between each thrust. Your hand switches to his other nipple, giving it the same treatment as the other one. His back arches at a perfect angle, plus his long legs are spread wide open for you to fuck him more and better.

After you’ve abused his sensitive nipples, your hand travels down to his cock. Your hand perfectly wraps around Dazai’s cock, caressing it before you mumble against his ear. “Such a good boy for me, taking my dick so well.” Your lips reach his shoulder, taking a bite of his pale skin as you rapidly stroking his dick.

Dazai’s head rolls back as he moans your name shamelessly over and over, as if you were the only thing his mind could think.

“You’re so beautiful like this. A beautiful mess because of me. Am I the only one gets to see you and fuck you like this?”

“F-fuck y-yes. Only my dear wife…ah…mph…gets to see me like this and fuck me as much as she wants.” Dazai curses; his eyes flutter close as he tries his best to speak between moans. The pleasure builds inside him more and more, filling him fully. “Gonna c-cum…I’m gonna cum…”

“Yeah? Cum for me, Samu. Let me hear you scream my name and how good my dick is.”

Tears are formed on his reddened cheeks when he cums on your hand, painting his stomach and up to his chest with hot, thick, creamy cum as he screams your name out loud so that it can wake up the neighbors. Your strap continues to enter deep inside him, and the way the harness rubs against your cunt this entire time is enough to make you cum as well. Dazai collapses straight into bed, breathing heavily after his afterglow.

Dazai turns his head over, looking at you affectionately with tears falling down the corners of his eyes. “I love you, [Reader], more than anything in this world. I’m sorry that I wasn’t around much. But I’ll try to spend more time with you. So please don't ever doubt my love for you ever again.

Your lips curl to a smile. “I know…I love you too, my dear husband.”

The way you call him ‘dear husband’ brings an indescribable feeling of happiness to his heart. In this cruel world, where his life is filled with darkness and misfortune, you are his only hope—the reason he cherishes his life and the one and only treasure he protects with all he has. He brings his hand to your pretty face, caressing your cheek before it moves down to your neck, pulling you close for a kiss. He kisses you as if it were the last day of his life, as if this were the final kiss you two would ever share.

[shiro-s2e2-erukinzu]

Anime only watchers and people who aren't caught up with the Manga, BEWARE... Cuz I'm about to discuss Spy X Family Mission 99... You have been warned...! 👌

[SPOILERS AHEAD FROM THIS POINT ON]

*Ahem...*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! THIS CHAPTER!!!! 😱 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

S-Sorry about that folks, but uh... There is A WHOLE LOT to talk about with this chapter, so uh, let's into it shall we...?! 😵 [Aggressive Thumb SHAKING] ((👍))

So, to start things off... What happened at the end of chapter 98 was apparently just a false alarm, but it still managed to end the the graduation party after everyone ran to the bunkers... So, Henry asked Martha about what she was going to tell him, and well...:

...She decided not to tell him the truth... 🥲

After this, Martha is seen crying her eyes out at her home...!! 😭 But after receiving a letter in the mail, she has a wonderful idea to write letters to Henry while she's away...!! 🥹

The first thing she writes to him is to see her off before she departs, but because the letter contained her exact location, these assholes "lovely gentleman" had to black out almost EVERYTHING MARTHA WROTE!! 😫 Which meant...:

...Henry didn't show up... 🥲🥲

(Why Endo...? Just, WHY....?! 💔)

But even after that mishap, Martha would continue to write to Henry, and he even wrote back to her...! 🥹 But eventually...:

Aw man... This image is just... It breaks my heart, man... 😔

Soon after that, Henry started to yearn to hear from Martha once again... But then, Martha and the rest of her group got some unexpected news...:

AND THE WORST PART IS THAT THEY CAN'T ACTUALLY DECLINE TO JOIN THE FRONT LINES BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE LABELED AS DESERTERS AND KILLED!!! 😡 (SUCH FUCKING BULLSHIT!!! FUCK WAR!!! 😠😠😠)

While the girls are panicking, Martha steps up and says that she'll fight...:

...And now Herny knows about it... 😞

Y'know... This chapter already had some crazy stuff in it... But nothing, AND I MEAN NOTHING, could've prepared me for THE VERY NEXT PAGE...!!!:

MOTHERFUCKING YOUNG DONOVAN DESMOND!!! 😵😵😵

AND BOY, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHIN'...! When I read what he said at bottom, that "Human beings are simply liars"... The first thing that came to my mind was...:

...HE HAS TO BE A FREAKING TELEPATH JUST LIKE ANYA!!! 😱

I MEAN, it's the only thing that makes sense, why else WOULD HE SAY THAT...!?!? 😵 He also could've been raised that way by his parents, BUT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT ONE CHIEF!!!!

My goodness... THIS PAGE HAS GOT ME LOOKIN' AND ACTIN' LIKE THIS:

Anyway, Young Donovan continues to speak about how as long as everyone hides their true intentions from each other, war can never truly end... And I just... I can't accept that...!!

Call me a dreamer, but I believe that we as people can make a difference if we speak up & fight back against ideals like Donovan's...!! I know that there is awfulness all around us and not everyone is in it for the betterment of others... BUT THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO FIGHT BACK; THAT'S WHY TWILIGHT, YOR, ANYA, AND OTHERS IN THIS SERIES ARE FIGHTING FOR PEACE!!! So that we all can have a better tomorrow...!!! ✊

Anyway, back to chapter... And boy, it does not get better for Henry and Martha... 😔

After Martha writes a letter a telling Henry that she wishes that she could see him, it brings him tears and the only thing that he could muster to think of saying to her is "I wish I could see you too"... 💔 Then when going to mail another letter to Martha, Henry over hears on the radio...:

THIS PAGE IS JUST SO HEARTBREAKING!!! 💔

Later at an assembly, Martha's group was brought up as valiant for giving their lives for the cause, but Henry was having none of it:

...and then, they beat him up an locked him away...!! 😠 Then Henry's dad shows up and tells him that if he keeps this up, he'll never teach in another classroom again... And of course, Henry folds... 💔 AND I THINK THAT HENRY'S DAD NEEDS TO GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE!!! 😡

Time passes, Henry has a his famous monoclonal now (most likely due to be badly injured in his eye when those bastards beat him up) and is forced to marry someone for his family... Then, it cuts to place near the East-West border and...:

Martha's still alive, obviously, but WHO TOOK HER IN AND SAVED HER!?!? 🤔

Could it be someone from the Blackbell's, someone related to Twilight, Shopkeeper or McMahon...? I DON'T KNOW...!! But, we'll have wait and find out in CHAPTER 100 BABY!!! 😆

And that was Mission 99, and it was FANTASTIC AND HEARTBREAKING ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!! 💔🥲💔 This why we LET 👏 ENDO 👏 COOK!!! 👏👏👏

But anyway, before I go....

SEASON 3 OF SPY × FAMILY WAS ANNOUNCED BABY!!! 😆

I am SOOOOOO EXCITED for this!! 😄 But when it releases, I'm not sure if I'll continue to do reviews of the episodes as they come out... Near the end of season 2, I got quite a bit burnt out from writing my anime reviews, so I never talked about the last 3 episodes of season 2... 😩 But, we'll see how I feel by the time when the anime returns...!! 😁

Okay, that's it now...!! 😄 So until the next Mission; take care, be safe out there and be kind to one another...!! BYE!!! 👋😁

[sashi-ya]

𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

⭒ pairing: dr. trafalgar law x f! reader. R 18+ ⭒ requested by @anniee-ya ⭒ inspired on the song: 𝄞 moonlight by Kali Uchis 𝄞 ⭒ tw: explicit. oral. vag. alcohol. fingering. cream pie. public. I made the manga edit mixing Law's face with a panel from Team Medical Dragon manga | wc: 0.9k

Strong dark circles, and a tired façade. His shoulders so tight, not even your skilful hands could ease the tension.

“What happened?” you ask, murmuring by his ear as he takes the white coat off. “As always, a hell of a shift (Name-ya)” Law sighs, cracking his neck. His tattooed hands grab yours, pulling them towards his chest. They sink into the blue scrubs he wear, sliding through his collarbones.

The bumps of his sternum, the muscles of his pecs reacting to your soft touch. Law is the type of man where words aren’t needed, and you, are the type of woman to understand what he needs with just the signs of his body.

“Yeah, baby, it's been a hell of a day… but I know a place we can escape”

You caress his lower lip with your thumb; while Law reacts with a smirk, because he knows exactly where you wanna go…

He could have picked the car, but, he chose the bike. Fresh air on your faces, it was something he needed.

With your arms wrapped around his waist, and your cheek resting on his back, he drives you both to the beach.

A beautiful spring night, that’s almost a summer one. Moonlight shining on the coast, with its silver glowing strings over the crashing waves.

The lonely path to a secret place you only both know. With still some traces of the footprints that once were yours.

His hand pulling from yours, running and giggling. The sound of some cans of cheap alcohol and perhaps something else that feels a little bit illegal. Like those teenager days, once again finding shelter with each other, from those days where life gets too heavy.

The dry and bitter taste of those cans run through your throats, burning everything inside you. Your tongues meet, mixing the taste of the alcohol and your own, in sweet kisses.

Little moans slip in between those seconds in which you two take time to breathe. You feel dizzy, Law feels his head is in the clouds.

“Take this off, (Name)-ya” he whispers, kissing your neck as he tries to lift your shirt.

The little abandoned cabin that once seemed to be a beach house still has some spare humid cushions and the lantern of your phones are the only source of light besides the moonlight.

Your skin getting bumpy, as the soft breeze kisses your naked shoulders. Law does the same, kneeling on the ground, kissing your belly with butterfly pecks and with his hands resting on the small of your back.

“I am already feeling better, (Name)-ya” he whispers, licking the line down your belly bottom to the hem of your jeans. He unbuttons it with great expertise, sliding them down to discover your thighs.

Oh, your legs. The place where Law would love to perish, his favourite deathbed.

The little spot of wetness covering your panties, growing bigger the more Law bites the inner side of your thighs.

“God, you are like a drug to me… look yourself into the mirror… don’t you see a doll?” he sighs, pulling down your lingerie to uncover your now dripping sex and moving you to the side so that your profile could reflect on a piece of and old mirror.

You take a look at the most beautiful piece of erotic art ever depicted and is to have such a devoted man about to devour your whole entirety.

His inked fingers spread your labia, like the professional he is. The tip of his tongue, receives the little drop of the elixir he would like to indulge in forever. The warmth of his breathe reaches your sex, making you tremble.

“La-w, you- you were the one stressed out…” you stutter, as his whole tongue reach your core and his golden eyes fix in yours.

He slowly blinks, and you could even sense the smirk he holds as he buries his mouth into your femininity.

Throwing your head back, you wrap your fingers on his spiky hair. Pulling more and more as he goes harder with his tongue, sucking everything out of you.

And just by the peak of pleasure, he stops. “Come here…” he orders, helping you out completely from your clothes and walking you outside where your skin receives the shine of the moon like a holy silver mantle.

Law grabs your wrists and in a swift quick motion he turns you around and pins you against the decaying walls of the cabin.

His chin on your shoulder, whispering from behind for you to get ready to be fucked until you drop.

“Be a good girl to me, help me destress… yes, (Name)-ya?” he whispers into your mouth while grabbing your trembling chin in between his fingertips to face him from the side.

You nod, with eyes semi closed and enjoying the sound of his jeans’ zipper going down.

Freed his sex, it gets absolutely smashed against your dripping core. Alone, and as hard as it is, it slides right in ripping a moan out of your mouth.

The surgeon’s hand passes to your neck, and while he impales you he squeezes your carotids to the point of almost shutting the bloodstream from your heart to your brain. Leaving you stupidly on the verge of climax.

High, high you go. He goes as high as you, with your cheek pressed against the wall and your breasts now squeezed in between his fingers.

“Come, sweet one” he commands, giving you the last thrust that has never been violent but rather deep and slow… so slow that could be enough to break your spirit and mind. You obey, bathing his shaft with your orgasmic explosion. A splashing sound that reverberates into your ears as he keeps slamming himself to finally finish, under a beautiful moonlight, so deep inside of you.

[reeama-the-mage]

Hey hey does anyone wanna see my headcanons about how the dead boy detectives crew and the Find Us Alive crew would interact? *vibrating at the speed of light*

Too bad ur getting them anyways!!!!!! U clicked on this read more uve become a willing participant can't leave now, only the main crews or else this post would really get too long

Generally I think Lancaster and Love might b the only ones actually able to see the ghost boys? But I'm saying they all can bcuz being in site 107 couhts as enough supernatural experience

OK ok first of all my favs!!!!!!!!! I think Charles Rowland and Nari Love would b besties bcuz pls❤️❤️❤️❤️ uhhhhhh in actuality I think there'd b alot of conflict there bcuz Charles would b trying to exude nice and polite energy and Love would Not Trust It she gets loud and shout and Charles would not react well methinks I don't think they'd start like physically fighting a. because Charles has a decent amount of restraint and b. because Love doesn't have any iron (shed try to punch him tho, love her) and eventually theyd figure it out and eventually I think they'd b making real bad jokes 2gether and talking about how weird (affectionate) their partners r

Harley is adopting Edwin as soon as he finds out about this boy and his languages, Edwin resigned himself to this fate w/ his even ancient Aramaic is easy w/ a bit of study line, Harley is explaining mandarin conjugation to him and Edwin will deal w/ it politely while having no idea what he's talking about bcuz this boy deals mostly in languages 4 magic and mandarin is not one of them!!!! (or maybe it is let Edwin and Harley b nerds 2gether 2k24)

Niko is #1 Kleinves shipper ik this in my heart she is getting 2 the bottom of whatever happened there and trying to make these ladies communicate!!!!!!! (She'd also b a harlanc shipper but this ain't about them) After she figures out that she can't force them 2 communicate she and Klein r watching anime/reading manga 2gether, Klein has been in the site 2 long!!!! She needs more to read and probably Nikos stuff isn't to her usual taste but she will read it

Poor girl Crystal is over here in the corner trying to make conversation w/ Raddagher and thoroughly failing, eventually they end up comparing experiences of being a surveillance officer (knowing everything about everyone) to being a psychic (knowing everything about everyone) they're akward but get along well enough

Lancaster and Charles would b friends :D Charles would like Lancasters ugly jorts and they would both b trying 2 b very smiley literally they're both trying to keep spirits up and pushing their own problems as far back as possible they're so similar and they're NOT calling eachother out on the hypocrisy (Lancaster is taking some time for himself and Charles is not a therapist he's just emotional support)

Edwin would find Raddagher endearing like he finds Niko endearing, but to a lesser extent, I think he'd like to chill out in the surveillance room (I think Crystal and Niko would like it too, at some point Love starts banning ppl 4 Raddagher cause it's getting too crowded 4 her) Raddagher might talk about sailing and Edwin might talk about sea monsters and they'd both nod and be like cool. and then move on

Crystal and Harley r swapping so many stories ik it Harley is like the stories guy Harley would tall about some weird bullshit that happened on site five years ago and Crystal would pull up a chair like tell me more until she has all the gossip, and then Crystal will complain to Harley about how annoying Charles and Edwin are and about the time she tried to go to hell and it didn't even work but hey she got her memories back atleast but like her memories suck and Harley would nod along while internally freaking tf out

Niko and Lancaster r teaming up, what r they teaming up 4? No one knows (Lancaster is telling Niko about Raddlove and Niko thinks they're very sweet) I think Lancaster and Niko as a team could b scary and chaotic and they deserve to be

Charles and Raddagher r not saying a word the entire time they interact Charles will try, Raddagher will react grumpy and then Charles will do his own stuff in her presence for like an hour before fucking off, they both think the other are okay (Raddagher's thought on Charles "He's fine", Charles' thought on Raddagher "she's aces") I feel like there's a mutual understanding of Don't mess w/ my ppl I don't mess w/ ur ppl while the groups interact

Charles and Harley r complaining 2gether, Charles complains about not being able to eat spaghetti while Harley understands this as The Worst Thing that can happen to a person and Harley complains about botany while Charles swears they're evil and tries to hold back a laugh

Edwin and Klein in eachothers presence would b a little bit unbearable❤️ I think Edwin would b interested in what research does and Klein would b interested in magic rocks and theyre badgering eachother 4 information at very high speeds

Lancaster and Edwin r having v deep emotional conversations about repressing who u r and how it hurts u in the long run and how they'd go thru everything bad in their life again as long as it brought them back to this point w/ these ppl, or Lancaster is trying to give that ghost red bull (who doesn't want to see a ghost on red bull? and tbh this ghost could use it)

Niko and Love would b so cool, I think Niko would LOVE Dumptruck (Edwin would find Dumptruck fascinating, Charles would b a bit put off by him, Crystal wouldn't care) and I think she'd help Love remember words when she's having a hard time

Niko and Raddagher would respectfully not interact that much, I don't think they'd dislike eachother theyre just both way too blunt to develop deep emotional connections I think

Charles and Klein keep accidentally stumbling into emotional conversations they don't MEAN to but one second theyre chatting shit about "kids these days" and talking about the 80s and the next Klein is talking about how her impulsiveness endangers ppl whenever she's put in charge and Charles is talking about how he's scared he's just like his dad and holy shit it's 1 am and one of them needs sleep

[haleigh-sloth]

What are your thoughts on Gran Torino calling Tomura a “thing” and saying that his death will be his salvation, so Deku shouldn’t try that hard to save him? I’m worried that the story is going to end up agreeing with him in the end.

I've talked a lot about that line. Of course I can't find the most recent post I did where I talked about that line, love tumblr.

My bottom line is: It won't happen.

There are only a handful of characters who I have doubt for in my mind in terms of their arcs being satisfying to the max potential, and Tomura, Touya, and Toga are not on that list.

Gran Torino said that in chapter 309/310 (can't remember exactly which one and I don't feel like checking), and he has not been remembered/acknowledged by the protag or the narrative as a whole since.

I might be wrong and he may have shown up once?? But I'd even go so far as to say I think he's literally had 0 panel time since then, and we're on chapter 385.

Meanwhile in comparison you have Izuku remembering Tomura's pain in that one moment where he realized it was there, and remembering what he said he would do in chapter 305 MULTIPLE times, over the course of 80 chapters later. Now, which one has more narrative importance?

The thing is, the question of "can he be saved" is already there. Tomura's done a lot of damage, left a lot of death, misery, and mourning in his wake. The only positive force he's had in the manga is bringing the League together so none of them died alone, and which has resulted in half of them meeting their about-to-be-heroes. It's really not HARD to wonder "CAN HE BE SAVED??" The question is already there. Which, to me, explained why Gran Torino has been so ignored since he said that.

I know a lot of people try to play the argument of "oh the author did this good writing thing on accident", and no. He didn't. Everything in BNHA is intentional, that is a lesson I've learned. A frustrating, painful, but much appreciated lesson lol. Gran Torino saying it in the first place was intentional. Yes you are supposed to wonder if Izuku might think he has to let Tomura disappear or die. There's gotta be some level of doubt, even if it's not very convincing (and to me it's not lol). And then, Gran Torino being ignored for 80 chapters after is also intentional.

Izuku thinking about Tomura multiple times, asking if he's still there in his own body, knocking him out of his "tomb"--which Izuku referred to it as and emphasized the fact that it was a tomb--and falling to the ground with him to face him in the security of not having everyone else who wants to kill him around, is intentional.

The art is intentional. Look at the most recent panels with the two of them, and look at Izuku's general attitude toward Tomura in comparison to what it was during the PLF war arc. It's a complete 180, it's entirely different and way more full of determination than it is rage and anger. That wasn't on accident.

Anything that involves Tomura dying results in the main protagonist's arc ending in complete failure. The story has not once validated the "kill to save" take, nor has it once validated Gran Torino on anything, ever.

I use this same argument when I talk about Touya. Ochacko saving Toga--which lots of people seem to be more accepting of now, finally--will not happen without Shouto saving Touya and Izuku saving Tomura. None of those three will succeed while one of them fails on the side and mourns their failure to save someone who was crying---which those three villains are all crying. It just won't happen.

Obviously I'm not Horikoshi. But this is seriously one of the things where I am 0% concerned about where the story is headed. Tomura is the best written character in the manga, he's been rewritten time and time again, redrafted time and time again. My confidence that his arc won't be trashed at the end is really high. I am not worried.

[pendulum-sonata]

16, 22

Hey there! Well, let's get onto this:

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

I'm gonna be honest, I'm starting to get a little tired of the mean girl syndrome.

What do I mean with mean girl syndrome? I mean the tendency to flock towards the "mean girl" female character, you know the one, she's a bitch, she's posh, she's fashionable, there's a good chance she is rich too or privileged in one way or another, and seems to have a serious personal problem with the resident "loser" girl for whatever reason, she usually also a bully, you get the idea, and you'd think this character is only found in teen dramas, but when you look at it closer, almost every piece of media has a mean girl character, even anime and manga, although usually as a secondary or side character or sometimes the antagonist.

That's not a problem on its own, even if it's not necessarily my thing, I'm not condemning people liking her, or wanting to be her, or being attracted to her (you know the whole "I'd let her step on me" deal)

What is annoying in when people go like:

"Yeah, we took your resident mean girl, we enshrined her and washed away her flaws, we also made her lesbian or sapphic or some other queer identity for brownie points, because obviously the real problem all along was the other girl, who we've also took and forcibly fit her into the mold of the true monster, because if she didn't antagonize mean girl, if she wasn't a goody-two-shoes and boring, then mean girl wouldn't be troubled and wouldn't have to make her miserable, yeah sorry, no we can't take it back."

Notice what I'm talking about here? The mean girl in question is a mean girl because she's tormenti- sorry I mean, she's giving her well-deserved punishment to this other girl character who for one reason or another people can't project onto, so that means they dislike her, and in turn, they warp everything about both of them so the mean girl, is actually right all along, and honestly does that even make her a mean girl anymore? IDK.

And I make emphasis on the fact that despite switching the dynamic, people still very much pitch them against each other, because, again, people can't handle girls having bad feelings about men, so the mean girl is only mean to other girls, or alternatively the men she's mean to, are the ones who aren't likeable enough for the fandom to care, and even when they make the mean girl a queer character, they end up both warping ans justifying the meanness by saying the loser girl is "obviously" gender-conforming and cis, so that makes it okay? I guess?

Idk, I feel like I'm rambling a lot, bottom line, I usually don't like this type of character and I don't care for this part where fandoms kiss the ground they walk on, and then turn around and demonize the "good girl" like, it's a very weird version of the madonna and the whore complex if you ask me, so I'll stop here and get to the next question.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

Mmm, what could it be? I can't say it's the synchro arc because even if a lot of people dislike it, they very much spent way too much time talking about it, a lot more than us, tbh.

Mmm, I know, people don't talk enough about the aftermath mini-arc!

I know because of what happened, Yuzu doesn't appear until the end, and i wouldn't call it flawless (*cough* Shun's duel *cough*) but I genuinely love how despite having their airing time cut short, the staff still kept this part, it would have been easy to just end it all after Zarc was defeated, but Arc v rarely went down the easy route.

Every single lesson Yuya learned in the series comes around full-circle, and closes the few loose ties left by the battle, literally, because as Yuya travels around to each duel, the remnants of the dimensions are closing and becoming one.

If I had to choose a favorite moment of all time for the aftermath, it would be that moment where Yuya fibally wins against Reiji, and he smiles! He smiles! A tiny little proud smile and what follows is so awe-inspiring, and then the whole arena is silent for a couple seconds, except the laugh of little Reira echoes all over the place and is slowly joined by a beautiful score, and then, as if wasn't already great, we get the shot where the dimensions are finally uniting and in turn Yuzu is starting to come back again from the limbo form she was trapped as and she says "I'm back home"

Beautiful, inspiring, great.

And people want me to buy into the narrative that the ending was ruined because *checks notes* the counterparts didn't get their bodies back.

Please, you're all weak and didn't deserve a series like Arc V.

[tofangirlornottofangirl]

ya know chances for gojo having a loving partner in the manga have died alongside geto no literally, i could never realistically imagine him with anyone else, even he never showed any interest besides geto if we gonna interpret it that way? but at least i can rest easy that his fangirls got him covered in fanfics

like listen, as much as i try to avoid them, i've seen some pretty good and well characterized fanfics where he actually finds love in another person (aka self inserts, ocs, readers you name it)

bottom line, this is kinda outta nowhere but i've seen one of ur posts about him so i just wanted to share, hope u okay with that :)

if we go super realistic, then unless his partner is super strong and capable of protecting/defending themselves, they will automatically have a target on their back. like gojo had bounties on his head as a child, but he became stronger and basically unkillable when he got older. anyone he is too close to is a target for people who want to get to him somehow, we even see this with people who are under his care/his students. the people in power playing politics will use these people to hurt gojo because they can't get to them. ie realistically gojo's biggest weaknesses are the people he chooses to let in. (this is literally also canon with the sealing, flashbacks and basically everything that happened with geto, and what not). so like, realistically the best option would have been yuki if they were attracted to each other. i suspect gojo keeps most people out either consciously to keep a distance or because he has emotionally just developed that way and unconsciously keeps an emotional distance. hence the playboy appearance but i don't think that's him being an actual playboy, just personally. it feels more like he doesn't go much further than light-hearted banter and flirting, and it's pretty clear to anyone that he's not emotionally attached (if we're talking short term relationships/dating or something like flings even. he's not breaking hearts by being deceptive, if he's breaking hearts it's because people want him but can't have him. just what it seems like to me personally)

[Also I've literally never thought about this before. this is just what came to mind right now after reading your ask.]

If we disregard any of those things and give gojo a little bit of a nicer hc world to live in where things didn't go as wrong, it seems like geto was basically the only person he ever learned to rely on for anything, someone to share his burdens, and he was the only person who got to him as a person, not the strongest, not a weapon, not the power ceiling size eyes user but as simply satoru. he probably learned to be emotionally vulnerable for the first time ever with geto because geto was strong and capable of taking care of himself , but also saw satoru as the lost and lonely teenager he was (look how serious/scary he seemed as a kid. that kid saw and knew too much. the "fun" personality he developed is probably a result of some kind of nihilism to deal with the reality that he would be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders). so no matter what the nature of their relationship was, it was likely gojo's strongest bond and the one that had the most impact on him. and then he couldn't save geto, despite being the strongest, which made him question what that power was even good for if he couldn't even save the people closest to him. he decided he needed allies that would be just as strong if not stronger than him. because then he wouldn't have to keep saving or losing people alone.

[as an aside, personally, power dynamics in a (romantic) relationship, ie one person having significantly more power over the other person in a relationship, is my personal biggest nightmare/pet peeve. i hate unequal relationships. if the person with power isn't a narcissistic manipulative asshole, then the relationship sucks for both people. sure you can probably learn a lot but there are other ways to do that]

anyway, I'm glad we get to discuss some of the emotional and relational aspects of jjk because there's so much subtext. most people in the story have heavy heavy trauma in their lives. more than half of the cast don't even have a family or, well, anyone other than the people at jujutech to rely on. and it was understood from the character dialogues that a lot of them (aside from gojo's students, who are specifically being taken in a different direction) choose to keep their distance from other sorcerers so they don't have to keep mourning the deaths of their friends and peers all the time. so yeah.

sorry your ask seemed light-hearted and this got a bit heavy. i'm just at a point in life where i have to consider relationships with other people way more than i want to so these topics have become relevant in my life now

I don't even remember how we got here lol. Sorry

[kitorin]

"The strongest"

genre. comfort/angst

warnings. manga spoilers (nothing too major + mentions of suguru), I'm not good with dialogue in writing , possibly ooc Gojo, not proof read since I did this during science

Born with all six eyes, and the strongest sorcerer ever, his birth altering the balance of the world, Gojo Satoru was capable of so many things, whether it was quickly disposing powerful special grades or reducing his cursed energy output to zero. His complex character made him hard to properly understand, unsympathetic and cruel to sorcerer executives but nonchalant and awfully playful with his students, constantly teasing them and messing around. Rich and confident in his reputation, power, and even his looks, Satoru seemed like someone who was happy, he had pretty much everything an individual would want, money, power, an immense amount of cursed energy, and he `always had a joyful demeanour, constantly smiling and joking around.

That was what you foolishly believed.

"Satoru?" You called out to him, wondering why he hadn't already embraced you in a tight hug, he was usually affectionate the moment you came home, showering you with love and attention. You made your way to your shared room, looking for your significant other.

"Y/N?" You heard his response as you arrived in your room, seeing him sit down, taking up a bunch of space like always. He was less enthusiastic than usual, maybe he was tired, after all being a teacher did require plenty of effort.

"Oh 'toru, how were your students today? Is Yuuji doing fine with Sukuna?" You asked him about his day as you plopped yourself right next to him.

"He's, fine. Doing great, he'll be a great exorcist at this rate. Megumi, Megumi's doing great as well, his mindset is improving and his hand to hand combat's impressive. Nobara's has improved as well, Panda's been helpin' a lot"

You could barely detect the usual confidence and stability of Satoru's voice. Something felt off, he almost never paused when it wasn't needed. You noticed how his blindfold seemed a bit damp, so were his cheeks. Was he, crying?

"Satoru, are you okay?"

The question was simple, but it still seemed to have a huge impact, as if he suddenly been slapped in the face.

"Mhm yeah, as always, I'm the strongest Y/N we both know that.." His shaky words confirmed your suspicions, something was definitely wrong.

"Satoru what happened? It's evident you're not alright,"

Gojo paused, biting his lip, "It's nothing,"

"Satoru, just because you're the strongest doesn't mean nothing's wrong. Of course I'm not going to believe you if you've been crying,"

With shock written all over his face, Satoru froze, burying his face in his hands, removing his blindfold.

"I can't trouble you with this, I'm not meant to feel this way it's been so long-" The words tumbled out of his mouth, barely coherent.

"Satoru, it's alright, your feelings are just as important as anyone else, take a deep breath," You patted his back, in attempt to alleviate his distress. Worry and anxiety churned in your stomach, you've never seen the Gojo Satoru vulnerable before, he always had unwavering confidence around everyone. "You can tell me anything you want, let it out if you want to,"

He took in a sharp breath, bottom lip quivering, "Am I the strongest because I'm Gojo Satoru, or am I Gojo Satoru because I'm the strongest. Is being strong my only value and purpose?"

It suddenly hit you, how lonely Satoru must've been, being the first person to be born with all six eyes in centuries, simply being born had a massive impact on the world.

You gave him a hug, tears ready to fall, "I'm sorry Satoru, you're more than your six eyes,"

"Suguru, I should've noticed how isolated he was, stuck with his thoughts. I'm his best friend but I didn't do anything while I could... What happened to him... I'm meant to be the strongest yet I couldn't protect my best friend" His diamond like eyes were lined with tears, and were swollen from crying.

You didn't know the details of what happened with Suguru but you knew the incident took place back when Satoru was in high school. Curiosity pleaded you to ask, but you pushed it aside, prioritizing Satoru's current state.

"You were young and inexperienced, just because you were born with six eyes doesn't mean you have to be perfect." Your hug became even tighter, it felt so suffocating and painful to see Satoru in this state. "Gojo Satoru, you are human, no matter how many cursed techniques you master, no matter how strong you get, you're still human, you still have a heart." You tapped his chest, emphasising your point. "You'll feel things, everyone does, and that's perfectly fine. You have me on your side, you have your students, you have Nanami and Shouko and more. 'Toru, you're going to be fine," You buried your face in his shoulder.

At this point he was a bawling mess, sobbing while muttering out thank yous. You stayed where you were for a while, letting him let out all the bottled up emotions he had kept inside of him. He may seem like an individual who's arrogant and has everything in life, but you knew deep down he was just like anyone else; a human who craves reassurance, validation, and the best for his loved ones.

[absolutebl]

Just watched Bad Buddy and oh my! Tipping my tiny hat to episode 1 and super excited for what’s to come. It got me thinking about Chinese BL novels that I’ve read and enjoyed and wish to see made into series or movies. But what I don’t want is what happens when China gets their hands on the script and make them into bromances (sigh). I know China will only give me the innuendo of a relationship but do you see Taiwan, Japan or Korea being able to produce a Chinese BL novel that is true to the actually novel. I know Thailand and Japan do for their own (haven’t read any) but some of the most extraordinary BL novels I truly enjoyed are written by Chinese authors. Would love your thoughts on this.

Chinese BL Adaptations

Are you talking about the Chinese BL wuxia historical/fantasy stuff? Like Priest etc...? Or is there a massive tradition of contemporary Chinese BL waiting to be picked up, too? 

Either way....

Do I see Taiwan, Japan, or Korea picking up and producing a Chinese BL?

HELL NO 

Politics politics politics. History history history. 

Taiwan can’t possibly do such a thing. Even if they could/would they don’t do adaptations (or at least they haven’t for a BL) and they certainly couldn’t afford to do historical costume dramas. Taiwan does little to no historical stuff for obvious reasons, quite apart from everything political their industry is tiny they don’t have the funds. 

Korea has its own historical traditions for romances and they will set a long form BL in their own historical context, should they ever fund such a creature. (See Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding as the seedling of what might be.) Nothing that glorifies China or Chinese history will ever happen out of South Korea, it would be politically impossible and against all principles of Hallyu. Can you image trying to raise the funds for a CHINESE WUXIA BL in SOUTH KOREA? 

Japan, erm, well... Japan also has a RICH cinematic tradition of its own martial arts historical dramas. I mean it can be (and has been) argued that Kurosawa started it all. Also they have a huge back catalogue of historical set yaoi manga - the 90s loved a gay ninja. Which they haven’t touched. It’s wide open for them to tap should they ever wake up and smell the sausage. I’ve been arguing for ages that they’re sitting on a goldmine in this regard. They haven’t even done anime of any of them! But Japanese cinema as always been about something else - some other kind of art exploration and self examination and peacock display, not necessarily the bottom line. 

There’s something else going on too.

China vs IP

China has a history of ignoring the copyright and IP of other nations. Or at least not bothering to enforce it. Most film production companies outside of China will not pay out to acquire Chinese adaptation rights (options) on principle because of this. (Nor would the Chinese government allow it to be sold, I imagine.) It’s pretty much a given, at some point, any established production house will have had their most popular (and lucrative) IP stolen outright (or bootlegged) and distributed to the Chinese market on a massive scale, if not with the tacit permission of the Chinese government, at least with them turning a willfully blind eye. Only the very largest and most popular franchises have any luck selling through for distribution over there, and even then it’s messy af. 

I shudder to think what it might be like to negotiate an option for movie production with a Chinese citizen. But I also don’t know of any acquisition proposition that even tried to get to that point. 

Even with a contemporary set Chinese BL, the only way I could see it happening is if the author is an expat (or a defector). And even then the origin story would have to be insanely popular for any of the three countries you named to consider it. Like Boys Over Flowers level popular. And then I would bet my bottom dollar they’d change the setting to the country of production (as they did with that IP). 

Will I be eating crow on this post? 

Anything is possible. Give it a decade or so. 

But this is one of the few instances where I’m pretty confident China itself is more likely to slap a gay kiss back into its BL before South Korea, Taiwan, or Japan would adapt one single sentence of a Chinese gay novel. 

[dropintomanga]

Anime NYC 2022 - New York Be Back, Y’All~

What a return. What. A. Full-fledged. Return.

After last year’s chaotic line mess, Anime NYC returned with a new panel queue system and revamped health check. This year's event was a possible glimpse of a full-on NYC anime convention would be like, post-pandemic emergency times. They were front-loaded with guests from top to bottom - one of which was the creator of Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayama.

While it’s impossible to check out everything, I had a fun time.

Friday was somewhat chill as I got to avoid the line for regular pass holders. It sounded like a bit of a mess from what I heard, but things apparently got better as the day went on. After the Press check-in, I went up to check out the riichi mahjong gaming area held by Riichi Nomi NYC and bought a lanyard from them that matched my now-mahjong state of mind. I did play with the group for a little bit before heading down to the Exhibit Hall.

At the Exhibit Hall, I bought some manga from Denpa Books and checked out their panel. What’s nice this year about the Denpa panel was the promotion of the BL imprint, KUMA. So not only it was Ed Chavez of Denpa fame talking, but also Andrea Donohue, the head of KUMA, who promoted a good amount of BL titles that I actually want to take an interest in. Especially a title called Crappy Happy Life because a gag BL manga is something I would eat up in a hurry. Ed would then talk about current and upcoming Denpa releases like the final volume of Inside Mari, the first volume of Under Ninja, TabeGirl: The Art of JUN, and the first volume of March Comes in Like a Lion. What really impressed me the most is the community that supports Denpa and I noticed how excited fans at the panel were about their books. There’s something else that happened there that I want to talk about, but that will be the main topic of a later post.

I also checked out the return of Anime for Humanity, the anime-centered mental health NPO that I volunteered for back in 2019. They got a booth this year and were still giving out Anime Therapy Kits. I caught up with the main guy I worked with there and talked about many things, anime and manga-related. I would see them through the whole weekend and donated to them as well. It was good to see AFH back.

After that, I just straight up left the convention because I wanted to go home and get my Kaname Date (AI: The Somnium Files, a game franchise which I wrote about) cosplay ready for Saturday and Sunday. While the Exhibitors’ Hall was packed, I never felt that it was congested as in years past.

Anyway, on to Saturday, busy, busy day. I went to my first ever Yen Press panel! It was nice to see the a good sized crowd show up and even writer TurtleMe (of The Beginning of the End fame) stopped by to talk about himself for a bit. There’s way too many books Yen Press announced and I won’t mention them all here. But Yen Press did mention an upcoming Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun box set and they licensed the Elden Ring gag manga that I heard about, so now I’m intrigued. I also wish them luck for their print release of Oshi no Ko.

I later checked out a Yakuza/Like a Dragon/Ryu ga Gotoku Studio meetup and it continues to amaze me to see how much the franchise has blown up since 2017. As a fan of the franchise before it became mainstream, I think Westerners like myself are super-spoiled with what’s to come. I don’t think it’s a bad thing because I think everyone should play RGG Studio games.

I next went to the Dark Horse Manga Panel. And they really did not disappoint. The big news was that Innocent by Shin’ichi Sakamoto is coming to the U.S. around Fall 2023. I would have never foreseen the day that this work would get licensed here. There’s a really good video of Sakomoto and his thought process on Archipel. He has made an emphasis on promoting about the value of manga despite Japanese readers treating it as “one and done” most of the time. Also, Carl Horn (who I love hearing talk about comics) mentioned how much manga has made a significant impact in America. He talked about how he brought a group of Japanese manga editors to a Barnes & Noble bookstore one time to check out its manga section. The editors were amazed that manga had its own unique section in a store that’s known for Western-centered material. It’s funny because a month ago, a friend and I were at a Barnes & Noble checking out the huge manga shelves on display. We had a conversation about how different it was back in 2009-2010 for manga fans like us in terms of promotion (Spoiler: it was dark times). To see how far we’ve come, it’s a bit surreal. We don’t get every manga licensed, but damn, the Americans who appreciate manga and work in promoting it know how to give the titles we do get the spotlight they deserve.

I also won a free NieR: Automata artbook at the panel too! I was the 1st winner out of 6!

I would later take part in a Zero Escape/AI: The Somnium Files meetup. There weren’t many people sadly including myself, but we all made the most of it. I was also amazed at the amount of people who recognized me as Date at the con. I’m so glad that there were fans who have played the Somnium Files games and I will always recommend the franchise whenever the games are on sale.

I did find out what happened in the Hajime Isayama panel that I didn’t get into. I heard that fans at the panel had a positive reception to Isayama ending Attack on Titan the way he did and that their reaction almost made him cry. Isayama wrote a message on Kodansha’s website prior to the event saying he knew the ending was controversial and that people should be kind to him. I wish he didn’t had to write that because the internet isn’t always real life despite what social media says otherwise. But I do get that for every few positive comments that get you hyped, there’s always that one nagging negative comment that overshadows all the positive ones. I’m glad that Isayama got a chance to meet people from the one country that really ate Attack on Titan up when it became mainstream.

Finally, as I left for the day, Saturday night was banging with DJs blasting hip-hop and fans dancing in front of the main exhibit hall entrance. I even recorded a video looking from above and it was, as the kids say, lit.

So onto Sunday. I went up to where the Community Stage was for the “Defending Manga” panel hosted by the brain behind Manga in Libraries, Jillian Rudes (who I finally got a chance to talk to in person at the Dark Horse panel). Unfortunately, it got canceled. I was really looking forward to seeing it too. It’s possible that someone might have gotten sick and given that COVID/RSV/cold/flu cases in the U.S. have gone up the last few weeks, it’s understandable to not let something spread at the con. I gave up on going to the Kodansha USA panel due to mental exhaustion, though I did hear what they announced and Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, The Darwin Incident (I’m interested in this one the most), My Lovesick Life As a ‘90s Otaku, Limbo the King, a Magic Knight Rayearth paperback release and an upcoming Blue Period box-set stand out to me.

So I just decided to play mahjong with the Riichi Nomi NYC gang. Originally formed in 2020 by a small group of passionate New Yorkers interested in riichi mahjong, they have become a juggernaut in the North American riichi mahjong scene. Ever since I became a part of the club in the summer of 2021, Riichi Nomi NYC has gone from doing organized meetups to hosting multiple tournaments at their leader’s apartment and running a huge 2-day tournament of 70+ players in NYC in July 2022. They also made their anime convention debuts in 2022 at Anime Boston and Otakon with huge positive reception by both convention fans and staff. I felt that Anime NYC would be the perfect way to end the year for Riichi Nomi NYC and the culmination of all their 2022 success. This was the also the first time Anime NYC ever officially had mahjong in all of its 5 years of existence. 

Riichi Nomi NYC absolutely killed it. They ran a 12-person tournament on Friday and a 16-person tournament on Saturday with little-to-no problems all while teaching newcomers and selling great merchandise. The gang did an excellent job in ensuring beginners weren’t frightened and that players already skilled in the game had a great time. I got a chance to play with 2 Cantonese-speaking players and I got a chance to show off my Cantonese outside of talking to family. We all felt a sense of communal/cultural pride that was wonderful and only something I could experience via mahjong, so huge props right there. I’m so proud of what Riichi Nomi NYC has accomplished and I’m looking forward to see what they do next year!

I finally went to Artists’ Alley and got some Spy x Family and Chainsaw Man goodies. The crowd over there wasn’t super-packed like last year’s. I also got a chance to check out the big Hajime Isayama “Thank You” message wall at Kodansha’s booth and I wrote something too.

Overall, I thought Anime NYC was fine for the most part. They really addressed the line problems last year to check-in at the con and for panels. The staff enforced an attendance cap for all 3 days and it showed. With only 4,500 3-Day passes sold, it wasn’t crowded to the point of being super-congested. I got to walk around crowds with little to no problems. I also liked how bag checks were replaced with walkthrough scanners unlike in previous years. Mask enforcement was hit and miss for the most part, but I felt comfortable because I wore a KN95 mask the whole time I was there, kept to myself a bunch, and was in parts of the convention center that were well-ventilated. I think the last part is key here because I honestly think great indoor ventilation on par with outdoor air levels makes going mask-less bearable in my opinion. Let’s not have the Anime Expo 2022 Artist Alley mess here.

I do notice that the Anime NYC panel lottery now makes panel hopping not as hyped as before. I know people sneaking into the biggest and coolest panels even when they were jam-packed was a thing and it was great. Those days might be over for the most part. But I do wonder about the after-effect since lines for other panels might become jam-packed as fans want to see what other options are there. However, I haven’t heard anything of that sort at all. I might be talking out of my butt here. I think the Community Stage helps to alleviate concerns and having panels there is refreshing. They provide a more fan-perspective view that’s needed and is sometimes missing in a industry-focused con such as Anime NYC.

I’m also now curious about Anime NYC’s continued co-existence with New York Comic-Con. This year’s NYCC gave a huge spotlight to anime and manga - arguably the best ever. VIZ Media did show up at Anime NYC, but there were really no manga promotions from them. Those seemed to be now saved for New York Comic-Con. I don’t think NYCC will supplant Anime NYC with regards to anime-related experiences, but I will admit that there’s things about NYCC on the manga side of things I want to check out now compared to Anime NYC.

Yet I will say, after cosplaying as Kaname Date, I still think Anime NYC is a good spot for underrepresented Japanese-related series. I found a small group of fans for AI: The Somnium Files (which wasn’t a hugely marketed franchise) somehow. Anime NYC still has some issues, but for me, it was worth going. The experience I had this year was far better than last year’s and this was due to all of the various people I connected with and the friends I already made who showed up.

So much love to the Anime NYC staff and here’s to 2023!

I will have a follow-up post (if anyone is interested) about a fan Q&A moment at the con that made think and reflect, so that will be up soon.

[booksweet]

Expectations

starring: Gojo Satoru x fem!reader

Synopsis: what If your favorite character became real the moment you needed the most?

Warnings: fluffy, probably shibuya incident arc spoilers (not too much), grammar mistakes, both reader and Gojo are +18

Word count: 2k

A/N: hello! Here's me again bringing you the sequence of "Real" (please don't forget to read the first part, okay?). I was so glad you enjoyed chapter 1 that it turned out as a series and I can say I'm BEYOND happy!! Hope you like it 💛

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

tagging: @noritoshiikamo @iwaizumini

“So… Tell me about your powers,” she asks him when they stopped their tour through the city together. “Did they remain? Or you lost them when you came here?”

She knew she should’ve already spoken to him about this matter, yet she was scared of his answer, yet she frightened that if he got his powers, maybe he would go back to his world and let het behind. She would be all alone. Again.

Being alone all the time was tiresome, she had been tired for so long since her parents died, and she moved away from the town she was born and rose by them. After all this time without them, she got used to living alone, eating alone, existing all by herself, everything was so mechanical to her that she didn’t even notice how the way she was living affected her perceptions of her surroundings.

And then, he suddenly appeared. That night was marked inside her memories. She was fond of many things, reading her favourite manga above all, but if someone asked her what she expected getting from reading one, she would answer just some comfort and relief from stressful days, not her favourite character scaping from his world and popping up inside her room.

“Hey! Y/N? Are you even listening to me?” Satoru’s voice takes her out from her reveries, again she got lost on her own thoughts about him and what happened. Is it selfish not wanting you to go back there?

“Sorry” She apologizes with a shy smile, his eyes hidden with sunglasses probably focused on her. “What were you saying?”

“You are a little absent-minded, aren’t you?” His voice in an amused tone makes you release a loud laugh that make he smile eye-to-eye. “I was saying that my powers are still here with me…” He repeats as he takes you by your hand walking somewhere else, his slightly narrow when he sees something that caught up his interest. “Is that… Ice cream?”

By his answer to her question, her heart flickers a little. He could do anything he wanted; he was the strongest above all. Why wouldn’t he just go back to his world? Why would he still be here with you? Your mind going whirlwind with a thousand questions unanswered.

“You lost it,” He says once more, now with her favourite ice cream flavour in one extended hand as a signal to give it to her. “Again. Am I that much a bad company that you can’t concentrate on our date?” He fakes a heartbroken and sad tone seeming like a boy who was crying over his first love.

“Satoru, what?! No! And this is not a date!” She did get lost in thoughts again, but hell no, this wasn’t a date. “Don’t you dare smile like this to me, don’t you dare, Satoru Gojo!” Her flustered tone mixed up with an angry one as a cocky smirk grew upon his face.

“Whaat? Me? Smiling?” He walks closer to her, his height almost towering over hers, and when their faces where almost touching each other, the smell of ice cream surrounding them when he says “How? Smiling like this?”

She could’ve fainted right there, yes, she could. One could say she was almost having a heart attack the faster her heart was beating and that idiot in front her knew how much he affected her, and, for God’s sake, he was doing it way to good not to care. Still, she wouldn’t give up to him so easily.

“As you said…” She started stepping back and eating her own ice cream. “Your powers still remain, so how does it feel?”

“Little one…” He begins to say, but he seems to reconsider his words while looking at her face. “I can feel everything. I can see everything and nothing at the same time. The beginning and the ending. Infinity and beyond.”

She remained silent by his side, waiting for him to continue whatever he was thinking about to speak of. She couldn’t imagine how heavy must be the burden of carrying power like his, powers that were both a blessing and a curse.

“Your world does have curse energy like mine,” He finally continue his line of thought. “Even though it doesn’t change into spirits or something more tangible to exorcize. I still don’t get how you get rid of it here, it’s a mystery.”

“And…” He suddenly stops, narrowing his eyebrows in a confused expression, it was like he realized something he didn’t know how to explain to her.

“And?” You give his arm a soft touch, without words saying to him I am here, you can say whatever is on your mind.

“And” He eyes at her so deeply you imagine if he could reach her soul, his hand placed above hers. “I can see you. Your everything. I can sense your presence, your heartbeat like it is my own. Is it strange? Is it strange that I feel you like you are a part of me, and I am a part of you?” He holds her hand tighter. “Is it strange that when we hold hands everything seems right again? Is it strange that-“

All at once he lets go of her hand. She gives him a strange look, What’s wrong? Was what she as thinking. Goosebumps running through her body, wild butterflies flying on her stomach made her lips dry of nervousness. I feel you like you are a part of me, and I am a part of you. Everything seems right. He must be kidding, no one never…

“Gojo,” She says when she can catch her breath again, his eyes never leaving her face. “You shouldn’t play with things like this.” She pinches her nose, feeling her face warmer and warmer each second. “We must go, there are other places I want to show you.”

“But, Y/N,” He tries to say, she could feel melancholy following his words. I don’t want to hear, I don’t.

“Let’s go, Satoru Gojo,” she fakes a smile and an excited tone. “There’s more of my world that those pretty eyes of yours have never seen.”

They went through many of her favourite places such as the park, that café closer to her loved library, she showed him her favourite restaurant, the places she was used to go when feeling unwell with herself. And there was this moment, this specifically moment, that his eye’s light changed.

The way her hair flipped towards the wind, the way her smell invaded his nostrils, the way he was just all eyes only to hers. Every little detail unmissed to him. Despite their last conversation ending, he’s been constantly aware of her, of how she makes him feel in this odd world. He didn’t lie when he said all those words, he meant each one of them, but he was still wondering why she dismissed him that way. He was afraid that fright would make her run away from him again.

“Hey, you enjoyed our stroll today?” She was resting peacefully on her place’s couch, head laid softly on a cushion and eyes looking at him eagerly. He felt she was still fluttering because of what happened between them before, and he wanted so bad to stop that growing unease feeling his mind twisted every second.

“You don’t know how” He says with a genuine smile, knowing more of you, of how you lived, and your habits makes him avid to get closer and closer to you. His keen voice loud when he laughs “I’ve never though of not trying to defeat monsters and curses while eating a good, sweet cake or ice cream and…”

“And?”

“You can say I’m a good partner, can’t you?” His keen smile turning into a cocky and teasing one. “Afterall, how could I not try my best having such a beautiful lady by my side?”

“You-“She starts, but the growing reddish upon her nose and cheeks reports how nervous she gets when he talks like this, how he teases her and her blood runs wild through her veins. “You know it wasn’t a date, Satoru!” Placing a hand in front of her pretty face to hide whatever her expression could speak for her that moment. “And yes, you’re also a good companion, I can say that.”

“Hey, Y/N,” Satoru’s voice wakes her up from her dreams late that night, she was on the couch covered with her bedsheets. Did he picked them and then covered me up? Her heart bounced inside her chest and she felt her hands damp with sweat with that thought of him caring about her.

“Uh… What time…?” She opens her eyelids slowly, yawning hard as she stretches herself to wake her body. By the time she catches the sight of him, he’s sitting down right on the ground in front of her, his hands towering over her legs like he wanted to touch her but is not allowed to.

“Can I show you something?” His voice says nothing to her, no opens to reveal his feelings behind his tone. Suddenly, she feels cold running over her body. She nods slowly to him. “Do you trust me?” Again, another movement of her head. “Little one… I need to hear your voice.” His bare eyes stare at her fondly, she will never understand why he does this to her. Doesn’t he know that he will break my heart?

“Yes, Satoru, I trust you.” Her voice is hoarse from sleep, but this is all he needs to place one arm underneath her legs and the other on her back to carry her bridal-way. “Wh-what?! This is really necessary?”

“Hold on, I got you” His thumb moving around the bottom of her back, his movements, and the feeling of his warm body closer to hers making her relax. “I’ll show you something, breath and don’t scream”

And suddenly they weren’t at her living room, but at the rooftop of some skyscraper. So high she could feel her sight twisting.

“Hey, hey…” His muffled voice was calm against her ears, his soft grip tightening a little in reassurance of her safety. “I’m here, I’m here, it’s okay.”

“F-fuck! Why? Why are we here?”

“I need to show you” His tone didn’t hide he was nervous, worried about something. “Please close your eyes.”

As she does what he requested, his arm on her back loosen his grip and a hint of panic stars to grow inside her. I’m going to…

“You are not going to fall. I will never let something bad happen to you.” His voice is bold and so sure-footed that she decides not to complain, even thought she knew that it wouldn’t be their reality sooner when he’ll get back to his world. His fingers gently touching her eyes and she feels something changing in the air. The air around them shaking and heavy. His powers…

“Open your eyes, Y/N, please.”

As she opens her eyes, she knew something was different. In front of her there was still the night city, above her the skies. But she could see energy, colourful energy arising from each place she could catch a sight. “What- WHAT?” She screamed in disbelief. “What did you do to me?!”

He bit his lips in a worried expression. “I did nothing. I had this theory but…” He couldn’t look at her anymore, it was painful. “I just managed to unlock your own cursed energy, I don’t know how, I had these feeling and it just…”

They remained in silence for what seemed like hours, even though night were still ruling hard the skies up them. Their bodies close to each other, their warm protecting them from that cold night, from that scary truth. What the hell I am?

“Y/N”

“Uh. What?”

“I need your help to get back to my world. I need your help to get back to my students. You do know what happened to them after my arrive, don’t you?”

main navi | masterlist

[marrys-dream-world]

About Chloe, anon doesn't think her fans are EVER going to acknowledge how mean she actually is, and there's a reason for that: Tumblr "Woke" culture is based on Karl Marx's "conflict theory", where all conflict is between The Oppressors (men, white people, adults, etc.) and The Oppressed (women, black people, kids, etc.). Here's the key: both teenagers and girls are classified as Oppressed, so Tumblr fandoms can't allow teenagers to actually be monsters, because The Oppressed Can Never Be Evil.

Hi, anon, I let this ask stew a little cause I wanted to think about it a bit.

Sooo… I see your point, I really do, but I kinda do disagree with you. I don’t think the fandom immediately latches on “the oppressed” and become character apologists. Lila is a woc and the fandom loves to write fanfic of her completely humiliated and ruined for the rest of her life. Sure, she’s a villain and all, it’s just that people go a little too far (in my opinion) and her being a teenage girl of color doesn’t stop anyone. (Hell, Kagami is awesome and she still gets an incredible amount of hate for… *checks notes* being 14 and liking a boy). Your theory is just too simple, I think it’s something else: people like a character and, because of purity culture, they think they can’t stan a character without them being Completely Good™.

I was in the ML fandom in 2016 and there just weren’t Chloé apologists around (if there were, they were few because I didn’t see any and I was on tumblr and AO3 a lot). Sure, people liked Chloé back then and some were very invested in writing redemption arcs for her in fics. However, they rarely set aside the things she did or even that she deserved an arc like that. We were already aware something was going on with Chloé’s mom and a lot were sympathetic, we just didn’t let the things she did go. When I came back to the fandom in the beginning of season 4 (I had only heavily participated in the fandom during season 1 and a few episodes of season 2), I was surprised at her fans saying she was robbed of a redemption arc.

I can only guess that Chloé got sympathizers after we met her mother and started her redemption arc and that’s fair enough. The problem is: Chloé got a little better, but she was still mean and arrogant and seemed to sincerely believe that she deserved to use the bee miraculous. Most of her development didn’t seem to stick around and yeah, we could say that’s because the show is inconsistent. Still, it doesn’t seem so. Chloé’s arc is still going on, only stronger than ever (without the Queen Bee crutch), and Season 4 proved it (Queen Banana is right there). So saying that her arc was ruined and that she wasn’t that bad is flat out lying.

Anon, I'm sure you said it in your complementary ask (that’ll answer separately bc I want to talk about fanworks too) because you KNEW that I would bring it up, but I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna talk about B/akugou. He’s the epitome of privilege in the world of b/nha. He has a great quirk that allowed him to get away with everything he did with Izuku, he’s a man and he’s seemingly wealthy. Yet, a lot of the fandom still bends over backwards to defend him and leave his victim to rot (or say stuff like “I/zuku is a K/acchan stan :3”, like, Fuyumi isn’t angry with End*avor and we can still be angry for her but not with B/akugou for I/zuku? And it’s like they don’t know how trauma works smh). They act like 10 years of bullying is not that serious. I’ve seen a baku///deku fan that said B/akugou’s suicide baiting I/zuku in the first chapter wasn’t a big deal because they didn’t have a real bully/victim relationship. I wish I could unsee that.

(Yes, I’m aware of what’s happening in the manga and I still think his arc sucks <3. Nobody come in my inbox with B/akugou defenses)

Chloé is just like that. She’s really privileged in the world of ML, like B/akugou is in the world of b/nha. So I don’t think it’s a problem of the fandom defending who they see as the oppressed, they’ll cherry pick what they like most and defend anyways. It’s just a thing that happens and it’s not exclusive to any media. Watch any kpop fandom react when they faves get accused of bullying, suddenly the victim is an attention-seeker wh*re. In book fandom too, one my friend recommended me has the male romantic interest torture the protagonist on screen and the fandom is completely in love with him.

Bottom line: the fans will just defend who they like best, they don’t have a formula for who they choose.

(This post isn’t anti-Chloé bc I like her character and her place in the narrative, some fans just piss me off, specifically. This is anti-b/akugou though. Chloé’s ongoing redemption arc >>>>>> B/akugou's redemption arc. Maybe I’ll explain this someday, I don’t know.)

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Manga Review - Fragtime (Complete Series)

I recall reading the first few chapters of Fragtime on Manga Cross and not being very impressed. I did not care for it much, as, other than the time stopping element, it was mostly generic and had a few too many unsavory elements. I was content to let it rest and be forgotten along with a hundred other girl-meets-girl school Yuri romances until Tear Studio and the people behind the excellent Kase-san and Morning Glories OVA announced an anime adaptation of the work, a full five years after it ended. Inevitably an English adaptation of Sato’s original manga was announced, and so here I am, somewhat reluctantly reading and reviewing the two-volume series. It may sound like I am pessimistic or already had my mind made up, but that is not true. I went into Fragtime with as open a mind as possible, and I am happy to say that I did find several favorable aspects that appealed to me. Sadly, the manga mostly lived up to my poor initial impressions from all those years ago.

Fragtime follows timid high school student Moritani Misuzu, who can stop time for three minutes a day. While using her power, she attempts to look up the skirt of one of her classmates, Haruka Murakami. To her horror, Moritani discovered that Haruka is the one person immune to her ability. The two form an unlikely friendship and spend those few minutes when all others freeze together. As Moritani’s feelings for Haruka grow, her powers begin to fade, throwing their time together in jeopardy.

At first, this story appears to have some promise, along with some obvious issues. The supernatural aspect of Moritani’s powers and its connection to her emotions and relationship with Haruka provide excellent possibilities and avenues to explore the series’ romance and characters. Sadly, Sato delivers an unwieldy story with unlikeable and inconsistent subjects, a poorly paced narrative, and far too many sleazy moments to excuse. This last point is the most prominent of all and will be a turn off for many readers, myself very much included.

Moritani begins the story by “upskirting” one of her classmates. It is later revealed that she reveled in exploring the time-frozen school to pry into people’s most intimate moments, many of which frankly do not happen in schools nearly as much as the story would like to believe. Following this event are multiple scenes with characters flashing each other their panties, or else stripping to whatever the opposite of readers’ delight is. These moments are not sexy, and while a few of them appear to have been attempts at comedy, they will elicit few laughs. These factors create an overwhelming blanket of immature perversion that stifles any enjoyment in the audience and characters.

Another egregious element is a plotline where Haruka is continually sexually abused by her teacher, something used by her to manipulate Moritani, then joked about, and never resolved despite being referenced a good half-dozen times throughout the manga. More than anything, this speaks to Fragtime’s inability to treat its characters with any respect or focus on a plot arc and complete it satisfactorily. For indeed, even if one undergoes the arduous task of shrugging off the uncomfortable fanservice, there is not much noteworthy content left underneath.

Fragtime’s highschool Yuri romance plot is pretty unextraordinary. Even though it did attempt to include a few interesting plot points, like when Haruka and Moritani begin dating partway through the series, it is not awful, but too often, these plots are picked up and then never resolved properly, such as Moritani struggle to avoid the ping-pong club, and her discomfort after finding out about Haruka’s boyfriend. Yet, there were some positives along the way, sweet moments between characters or satisfying actions taken by them. It is just hard to find one uninterrupted by an unwelcome twist or panty flash. The one unconditional plus I will give is that I really liked the ending. There is a fantastic scene of role-reversal where the usually quiet Moritani confesses all the mischief to her and Haruka committed to the class and reveals the truth of their relationship and her feelings for Haruka. Afterward, a stunned Haruka is forced into a crisis of character and her true self is seemingly revealed. It is appropriately dramatic and delivers a fulfilling ending for the characters. Sadly, these revelations and character arcs are not supported by the rest of the story.

A manga like Fragtime lives or dies by its characters. Readers will sympathize with likable characters met with appropriate challenges and growth, or else they will laugh with endearing figures who try their best despite their flaws. Sadly, Fragtime’s Haruka is neither. Haruka is instantly dislikable, manipulating Moritani upon their first meeting, and does little to improve. She often jumps between ignoring Moritani and controlling her, demanding that she only use her powers at her command. These traits are never addressed, and the whole time readers are expected to accept that she is an unreachable beauty, and we should love her alongside Moritani. She is hopelessly inconsistent, apparently changing personalities and acquiring new traits at the drop of a hat so that Sato can shoehorn a new element of drama into the convoluted romance. The ultimate motivation behind her character, how she tries to please everyone and do what they want her to, is contrary to half her actions, and everything we have learned about her up to that point, making the reveal in the penultimate chapter, which is well-executed, feel forced.

Even through all the misery, convolution, and smut, there were, thankfully, some great moments sprinkled throughout Fragtime, mostly from Moritani. I loved seeing Moritani in the moments when she struggled with jealousy and accidentally stopped time, or else was uncertain about how Haruka would react when she confessed something to her. It was really human and relatable, and if only she were not going around looking up girls’ skirts, she would have been an excellent character. It also helps that her journey is also much more believable than Haruka’s, as Sato mostly keeps her story and development moving at a steady pace.

Moritani is much more consistent than Haruka. She starts the series as a timid and quiet girl, using her ability to run from confrontation or frankly, any form of human interaction. Once she meets Haruka and the solace of those frozen minutes is taken from her, she is understandably confused and traumatized. She even has a few moments of growth through the series, taking more confidence in herself as she plants a pair of panties (yup this again) on Haruka’s cheating boyfriend’s head. It is almost enough to sell her eventual ending and deliver a complete character.

Finally, we come to the art, which is good though not extraordinary. Characters have distinct designs and are consistent. Backgrounds and details are well managed, and nothing ever caught my eye as warped or out of place. However, there is not much that jumps out either for its quality. Sato uses very basic paneling, which is easy to read by also just slightly dull. The time-stopping elements were crying out for some sweeping panels of objects frozen mid-movement, but we never got any such content. In fact, there is no noticeable change in the art during those movements when time is stopped, other than Misuzu and Haruka acting like a pervert and exhibitionist respectively. If the writing did not specify when time was stopped or started, readers would have no idea.

Fragtime has an interesting concept but neither the grace nor charm to pull it off completely. The story is meandering and clumsily tries and fails to incorporate heavy topics and complex characterization into a generic Yuri school romance. The characters, particularly Haruka, are mostly unlikeable and wildly inconsistent, and readers have to force themselves to cheer for them or event finish this two-volume series. Most of all, Fragtime leaves an unpleasant and unsettling feeling with all its sleazy fanservice and perverted set pieces, clearly attempting to cater to specific audiences while utterly misunderstanding how teenage girls, or frankly, sane human beings, act. Any silver linings in its more relatable moments and competent presentation are whisked away by a mixture of contempt and disgust. Sadly, I do not recommend this manga, although I do appreciate that Seven Seas published the whole series in one omnibus volume so that it takes up less space on my bottom shelf.

Ratings: Story – 3 Characters – 4 Art – 6 LGBTQ – 2 Sexual Content – 7 Final – 3

Review copy provided by Seven Seas Entertainment

Purchase Fragtime in paperback and digitally today: https://amzn.to/32mzVmg

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[stillness-in-green]

If it's any consolation, I'm sure that the Advisors and the rest of the MLA (Re-Destro, Trumpet, Geten) will show back up sooner than the final arc, just because we're going into Year 2 and the students would find great 1 on 1 or team opponents with the Advisors. Re-Destro and Geten are heavy hitters (and Geten could be tied to Dabi, Shoto and all that somehow) and they were locked up with Mr. Compress and Machia, but who do you want to see first from the Advisors?

Thanks, anon; I certainly do hope we'll get to see more of them.  Admittedly, my main concern is that I so liked what was going on with the Paranormal Liberation Front that even if we do see all of the MLA types again, if it's only in the context of speedbump battles for the students, that's still going to be a letdown.  Better than nothing, to be sure, but I really do want them to join back up with the League, even a League that's confused and out of sorts under All For One's hand.  I love RD's big spiritual-awakening-flavored crush on Shigaraki, the cross-organization tensions and relationships, just as much as I love the depth the MLA brings to the world outside of just what's going on with the heroes.

I'm fairly frustrated with how the MLA fared during and after the raid, largely because it's awfully hard not to conclude that, if what we have right now is all the erstwhile-MLA are ever going to come to, Shigaraki would have been significantly better off if he'd just killed them all and shacked up with Ujiko for four months.  And that would be such a waste!  The end of My Villain Academia was such an enormous triumph for Shigaraki! I want his victory to amount to something more than what we've seen, something that shows that both his strength and his mercy will pay off for him in the long-term, will be a concrete benefit to him rather than, with the benefit of hindsight, the reason everything went so wrong.

Particularly with Re-Destro, since Horikoshi saw fit to have Dark Shadow all but one-shot the man, and Edgeshot defeat him off-panel, it's really not going to mean much to me for him to have a big fight with students unconnected to anything else.  The drama's rather gone out of it at this point.  That's particularly the case since, if he's no longer connected to Shigaraki's plot, it's that much easier for him to just be off-paneled and forgotten about.  But, if Rikiya gets looped back in with the League, if his gratitude and admiration of Shigaraki mean he still has a role to play in Shigaraki's arc, that makes it much easier to get invested in any fights that role will lead him to. Ditto the MLA more broadly; it's categorically ridiculous to present that organization with the kinds of numbers, breadth of influence and legitimate grievances they have, only to try to sweep them back under the rug exactly like Shigaraki accuses heroes of doing with everyone they can't save. 

To say the least, I'm pretty invested.  But I appreciate your consolations and am trying to hold out hope that we'll get some good stuff with them yet!

My anxieties aside, and to hit the other portion of your ask--who would I like to see first among the Advisors?--hit the jump:

(All nicknames and shorthand are taken from this post.) 

Well, it'd be nice if they could all get at least as much to do as the Eight Bullets back during the Hassaikai arc, seeing as they got a similar splash page spread introducing all their faces.  There are considerably more than eight of them, of course, but even if they never get more attention than e.g. Galvanize or the hose-faced guy who iced Midnight did, at least then we'd have some idea of their power sets and at least one angle on their personality.

Assuming we aren’t going to get full breakdowns on every single one of them, there are still four things I'd really like to see happen with the MLA/the Advisors: the student fights we're expecting, the jailbreaks we're being told about, the reunion with the League I'm praying for, and for literally anyone in the in-world media to try and get their side of the story.

Student Fights: Seeing the guy who killed Midnight again is as sure a bet as any of these get.  Momo is an important enough character, with enough sustained arc, that she will have to get something else to do before the series is over.  Taking command of a group battle against real opponents--ones with more responsiveness and agency than Gigantomachia--would be in-line with what she's been moving towards so far.  I would, however, love it if that fight would be more challenging than a straightforward battle of tactics.

I headcanon Hose Face and Scarecrow as, respectively, an ex-con and a dude with physical disabilities--both people who have ample reason to want to change the series' status quo irt human rights abuses in prison and overly restrictive quirk use laws.  I'm not expecting the canon to validate me on what amount to wild guesses, of course, but I want those Advisors in particular to have motivations more nuanced than, "They're quirk supremacists; who cares why they're willing to put their lives on the line over this?"

A feel-good revenge match in which a bunch of teenagers lay the smack down on characters whose humanity the audience is asked neither to know nor care about would be lazy, and counterproductive to the series' current thematic concerns. Give Momo her victory, by all means, but don't give it to her easy.  A confrontation like this would be a good way for the less central Class A students to begin wrestling with the question of who, exactly, heroes "save" and what it is that people need to be saved from, exactly the way Deku and Uraraka and Shouto are now wrestling with these questions.

As far as other fights go, I'd also love to see Brand and The Question pop up again. They're probably the two I'm most curious about purely in terms of what their quirks are.  Why does The Question wear a mask, and what's he like that he wound up in Mr. Compress's chain of command?  And with Brand, what kind of quirk does he have that's powerful enough to land him a ranked position in the Guerilla Warfare Regiment but indirect enough that he fights with a sword?

Prison Breaks: I wouldn't expect this to be particularly involved, probably more of an aside than anything, but I want the Bindi Ladies to spring Hole Punch Face, thus getting us an angle on what's going on with that particular trio.  Aviator Teeth can come too because I want at least some hints about what his deal is.

I'd also love to watch Horikoshi even attempt to retroactively justify some of the logistics of the single-day capture and subsequent detention of 17,000 super-powered, combat-trained people.*  I mean, I don't think there are any feasible explanations for that, but I'd be curious to see what he'd come up with, especially if every possible answer just makes Hero Society look worse! We have only ever seen Tartarus as an example of the prison conditions in this country; I'd love to hear more, and an MLA-focused jailbreak would be a great way to show it.

PLF Reunion: Of course, my number one thing to see with a reunion is Re-Destro being just as dismayed as Spinner is over Tomura's possession.  I crave more serious attention being paid to Rikiya's profound awe over Shigaraki's freedom, and would love to see his reaction to Shigaraki apparently losing that freedom.

Aside from the obvious, though, if the PLF does start piecing itself back together, I expect to see Sanctum again, given the attention he's gotten so far, and the fact that he's now the highest-ranked member of the Tactics Regiment.  It'd be great to get some explanation for how he can possibly be "the longest-serving member of the Liberation Army," given that the Army was generations old already when Re-Destro was just a child.  (If we do get that information, I imagine my own explanation will be jossed hugely, so I would also be happy to take time with Sanctum that doesn't explain the discrepancy but also doesn't invalidate my headcanon.)  

In the context of the regiments reforming, I'd also like to see Nimble and Aster, both because this manga needs more women, and because I'd like to see more of how Spinner and Toga interact with the people they were nominally commanding.

Media Attention: Trumpet's my number one hope here--the lack of any look into the state of the government in HeroAca Japan has been a total let-down since his introduction**, but I was particularly annoyed that the last time we saw him he was smiling (albeit in a fairly haggard way), giving me hope that we might next see him doing his part to portray all of this in a light that would sway public opinion.  And then literally one chapter later, we get prison guards talking about how the Hearts & Minds Party, a perfectly legitimized political party with representation on the national level, has been perfunctorily dissolved less than twelve hours from when the raid started.  How is there even an argument that the system heroes were upholding desperately needs to change?

I'm very tired of the media in BNHA only ever showing up to beg for/demand that heroes tell them what’s going on, particularly those damn press conferences. Journalists do investigative work! Newspapers employ reporters to actively seek out news!  Reporters in free countries don't just sit around waiting for the government or heads of major industries to graciously hand them press releases!  For heaven's sake, Trumpet was the head of a major political party.  People should be foaming at the mouth trying to get a statement from him!  

Especially with public trust in heroes breaking down, there should absolutely be intrepid reporters out there looking to get to the bottom of any of the layered conspiracies the public's just been hit with and told to just write-off as a bump in the road on the return to normalcy.

Anyway, Trumpet's the obvious choice, but if I could be sure the manga would validate my headcanons about Nimble and Scarecrow's disabilities, I'd be happy to put them in this position, too.  Trucker Toad would be another good candidate, if there's any basis to my idea that he is or used to be a transport driver who's seen a lot of the country outside the areas e.g. the Top Ten Heroes are patrolling.  He's obviously a good candidate for getting back to that idea of anti-heteromorph bias, too.  But really, I'd take anyone who can give a cogent explanation of the MLA's position on self-determination and the various ways Hero Society has exacerbated quirk-based discrimination.

Anyway, that's about where my thoughts are on where I hope the MLA people are and what we might see of them.  Thanks for the ask!

--------------

*Or as many as 100,000 more than that, depending on how through the statement, "Their bases around the country were also attacked, and their supporters rounded up," was meant to be.  An influx of 116K people, incidentally, would triple Japan's current carceral population.

**Why! Why would you introduce a politician and then never even glance at your setting's political situation??

[aj-anime-blog]

Deca-Dence - Review!

Wooooo Deca-Dence!

Deca-Dence was a summer 2020 anime, and that’s when I originally watched it! I've watched it about a dozen times since, as it landed itself right on my roster of my favorite animes, if not my favorite of all time.

Deca-Dence is an original piece, so no manga source material (whaaat!) and comes from the genius brain of Yuzuru Tachikawa, the director of other fan-favorites like Mob Psycho 100 and Death Parade (a review for Death Parade is in the making!). Original mangas are such a hit-or-miss recently, and I think that this one got the bullseye!

What's our concept?: Set in the future, the world is now plagued by monsters known as Gadolls. In an attempt to keep humans safe from them, mobile fortress Deca-Dence was constructed, where Gears, who live near the top, fight the Gadolls, and Tankers, who live at the bottom, provide support from inside Deca-Dence. Our protag, Natsume, is a Tanker who wants to fight with the Gears, but her prosthetic arm keeps her out of battle. That is until she meets Kaburagi, an older Tanker who seems to know his way around fighting and might have more to him than he lets on.

It's gonna be hard to go through this without spoilers, but I promise that I'll keep it spoiler-free until the section at the bottom!

So overall, what do I think?: 10/10! I've already said it, but Deca-Dence is one of my favorite animes of all time, and it deserves the spot! It has incredible characters, a story that keeps you hooked even through twists and turns, and a pace that manages to cram so much plot into only 12 episodes without feeling overwhelming or rushed! Deca-Dence presents ideas that, at the surface, may seem overused or old, but spins them in such a way that they're completely original. It follows through with character relationships, making them worthwhile and fulfilling.

Let's start with the story this time!: 10/10!! It's going to be really hard to explain the beauty of Deca-Dence's plot without spoiling it, but I'm doing my best! I really do recommend just giving the show a try, though, as it's really worth it! (Don't just drop it after episode 2, like a lot of people did :( That's just judging it wayyy too early!!)

Deca-Dence has a story that's thrilling and new. Everything that happens builds off of itself in a way that's natural and smooth. The elements of the story, no matter how different they may seem, play their part and work together well. The show isn't predictable either - don't go in thinking that you know what's going to become of it. Each twist feels surprising and new without feeling like they're coming out of left field.

I won't say much more in fear of ruining it, but Deca-Dence's story holds up well, and with its strong cast of characters supporting it, it becomes absolutely suburb. I think a lot of people fell into this pit of seeing only the beginning and tossing it aside, but no matter how strange the concepts in it may be, they wind together to form something really unique!

So those characters, huh?: 11/10, I love them so much! I'm a character nerd through and through, and Deca-Dence sends my little character-obsessed heart wild. The protags, Natsume and Kaburagi, are both fascinating, have incredible development, and engage in a character dynamic that is so natural and well-written that I never doubted it.

To be honest, Natsume doesn't have a personality that's anything new. She's young, determined to a fault, naive, and a complete sweetheart. She wants to fight the Gadoll and she'll do anything to achieve that dream. She's not a natural at fighting but her motivation to do so makes her believable and relatable. She's looked down upon because of her prosthetic arm and forced into a job that she doesn't like, but she never gives up on her goals. Even though she's so simple, her interactions and energy make her lovable and a wonderful protagonist.

Kaburagi follows the washed-out warrior trope, as he's an older man assigned to clean-up duty who keeps to himself and never shows too much emotion. While this type of character can sometimes get annoying, the show gives Kaburagi enough time to show his real feelings and explain how he got to his position. This proper development keeps him down-to-Earth and shows him as even more flawed than Natsume. Kaburagi's motivation, which I can't explain for spoiler reasons, is entirely believable and explains perfectly why he decides to put up with Natsume, even though she's his polar opposite.

The relationship between the two characters is balanced and beautiful. It's given the proper time to grow, mature, and ends up being extremely worthwhile. Natsume relies on Kaburagi, as he sees the potential in her and continues to support her in ways no one else ever has, and Kaburagi understands that Natsume is everything that he's trying to rebel against. Their relationship is emotional, runs deep, and leaves you wishing that there was more of them to watch, even after the show has ended.

The villain! The villain. I cannot talk all that much about the villain at the risk of spoiling. He is evil. I really really hated him, and that is a very good thing because it means that he's well-written. His motivation makes sense, his actions make you want to strangle him, his design was really really good! He's not the most interesting thing in the show, as his character is really only there to move the story along, but not every villain needs to be incredibly deep for a show to be good.

Lastly, our supporting characters! While none of them are as wonderful as Natsume or Kaburagi, they're still interesting and hold their own. They play important parts in the show and all of their interactions with the main two feel natural. Their conflicts make sense, their resolutions feel well-earned, and their personalities are all unique! For a 12-episode anime, there's a larger cast of supporting characters than you would think, and nearly all of them are memorable and loveable.

Time to shut up about characters, what about the art?: 9/10, ooooh yes the art! Deca-Dence is gorgeous! It's animated by studio Nut (bwahahhaha), who haven't done that much else in the anime world. Still, for a relatively new studio, it's absolutely amazing! The characters all have unique looks that make them stand out and the fight scenes are to die for. They lose a point on the CG, since it's a little bit less than amazing, but again, for a new studio, it's definitely not the worst I've seen!! (Admittedly, I also don't like CG much at all, so I'm always harsh towards it when it's used).

Deca-Dence switches between two styles that vastly contradict each other, one which is a colorful, happy-go-lucky style, and one that's the more typical anime style. I'll speak more about them in the spoilers section, but they do a wonderful job at maintaining the tone of the show, as to not let it get too dark, and forming a clear divide between the events of the two parts.

Oh goshhh the Gadolls look so cool. I'm so obsessed with cool monsters in anime and woah they look awesome!! They're original, with cool designs that I haven't seen elsewhere. The show could've so easily slapped in some pretty typical-looking dragons or wolves or whatever, but they instead spent time on these epic creatures, and it's so worth it! It makes the setting that much more unique and allows it to stand out from other animes.

Surely there's a flaw in this anime? The pacing, maybe?: 9/10. Yeah, I would argue that the pacing is Deca-Dence's weakest point. Not that the pacing is particularly bad compared to other shows! I still think that, for a 12-episode anime, it does a wonderful job of fitting in a large amount of plot into only about 5 hours! But, at some points, parts felt rushed or confusing, as the show would zoom into them. I never felt like I was truly lost, though. Even if I did wish that there was a break from the action, I never found myself really thinking that the show was leaving me behind in the dust. It's not the kind of show that you can turn on and leave running while you multitask, though. Blink for too long and you might miss something important, which can ruin some of the hard-hitting twists that the anime works so hard to build up.

OK! Time for spoilers! I beg you, go watch the anime before you read past this, because it's totally worth it!!

Woahh episode 2 am I right?? I thought that I clicked into the wrong anime when I began it, it took such a wild turn, and so soon in the anime too. This is what I really mean when I talk about a show not being what it appears to be! Again, I really encourage you to watch it for yourself, but if you're that stubborn on reading this through before you turn it on:

Deca-Dence is not about the heart-wrenching battles between Gears and their desperate attempts to keep humanity alive, because Gears are just avatars for cyborgs! You see, there's a civilization of cyborg people who are living above the Earth, who log in to fight in mobile fortress Deca-Dence as a game. So the Gadolls are genetically grown as prey for the Gears and the entire story surrounding Deca-Dence's battles are scripted. Crazy right!? The best part: the Tankers aren't in on this at all. You heard me: Natsume and her human friends have no idea that Deca-Dence is staged.

From here, Deca-Dence has two distinct parts: we'll call them "Natsume's half" and "Kaburagi's half". Natsume's half refers to the mobile fortress, the Tankers who live unaware of the cyborgs, and the art style that premiered in the first episode. Kaburagi's half is the Solid Quake organization, the Gears who are avatars of the cyborgs, and the goofy, stylized art style with big lines and bright colors.

The twist and the diverging sides of the story set this show up as not your typical sci-fi anime, but as something a little deeper. The stakes are the same, as humanity is in just as much peril as it was before - it becomes abundantly clear that the Gears and cyborgs don't care about them - but the name of the game completely changes as you realize that our so-called "heroes" aren't really all that heroic, and there's a lot more going on.

Kaburagi is, of course, one of these cyborgs, cursed to live among the Tankers because of a mistake he made while playing as a Gear. Now, he's in charge of eliminating "bugs", or mistakes that the system finds. He's upset with his life, frustrated at what he's doing, and contemplating suicide. But when Natsume walks into his life, a little girl that the system considers legally dead, Kaburagi sees a chance to rebel, even the slightest, against the system. He's supposed to kill Natsume, but instead, he takes her under his wing, determined to protect what he's been instructed to eliminate. This development gives their relationship a deeper meaning, even if Natsume doesn't know it.

Deca-Dence does a wonderful job at showing the watchers both sides of the story but keeping Natsume's side in the dark. Even though we see scenes from Kaburagi's side, Natsume knows nothing about them. When Kaburagi leaves after Hugin kills his avatar, Nastume doesn't know where he's gone and has no reason to believe that he hasn't run away. There's no way she could guess that Kaburagi's new form - his weird orange Gear avatar - is the mentor that she once knew. And when Kaburagi, back in his original form, is killed in front of her, she really believes that he is dead. When Natsume finds out about the truth of the Gadolls - that the world she knows is fake - her horror is palpable and realistic, because there's no way she could've known any better.

Kaburagi's world has a goofy style to it, with the cyborgs looking cartoonish rather than realistic. While it might initially seem off-putting, I think that it ends up balancing the tone of the story much better. Consider the hellscape that is the reform facility that Kaburagi visits. Imagine how dark it would've been if it was not in a silly style! By keeping the style cuter rather than realistic, the show doesn't dip too far into dark and gritty, and I really liked it!

It also set up this harsh divide between Kabruagi's half, where things are easygoing, done for pleasure and fun, and not nearly as harsh as Natsume's world (Look at the name of the series! Decadence literally means living in excessive luxury!). Even when the cyborgs are in their Gear forms, which are drawn in Natsume's style, they're still a lot more colorful and vivid, showing that their lives aren't as harsh as that of the Tankers. The art styles reflect the differences between the two halves and give them both distinct tones and personalities!

& finally, let's take an in-depth look at one scene!: I had a really hard time picking what I thought summed up the series in a single scene. In the end, I think that Natsume and Kaburagi's discussion at the end of episode 7 was the best. Here, we see a culmination of a lot of the character development going on. Kaburagi, in this scene, is in a Gears avatar that Natsume doesn't recognize, meeting her for the first time since his normal avatar was killed. Natsume's been working with the Tankers to protect them from Gadolls that infiltrated the fortress, and she's motivated them all to rise up and fix the hole in the fortress themselves.

Kaburagi has encouraged Natsume to be a stronger person, even though she had to be independent and not rely on him any longer. His pessimistic view on the world - that they'll never defeat the Gadolls - has rubbed off on her, but it's only made her more determined to be stronger to stand up to them. In this scene, we see her breaking down as she considers that Kaburagi might be right, and that she'll never kill them all, but that she needs to continue fighting.

Though Kaburagi previously doubted Natsume and her endless determination, he now feels filled with the same motivation. Natsume has convinced him, time and time again, that he can't give up, and so he decides that he's willing to do anything to make sure that she never loses that hope. He wants her dreams to come true, and he knows that she can't accomplish them alone.

This perfectly shows the effects that they have on one another. Natsume is now stronger than she's ever been: independent, able to take down Gadolls on her own, and determined enough to patch up the hole that no one else thought could be fixed. Kaburagi, in stark contrast to his suicidal thoughts from episode two, is now completely devoted to make the world a safe place for Natsume. Their relationship has shaped one another into being the best versions of themselves, and this isn't even the end! They still complete their growth in the last few episodes, but I've rambled about them enough.

We're done!: That's my review of Deca-Dence! I really believe that it's one of the masterpiece animes in recent years, and I wish it got more attention. I'm sure that there's plenty of anime out there like this one - forgotten diamonds in the rough - that I'd love to dig up and fawn over. Tell me if you know any! Or, if you disagree with my review, tell me where you think I'm wrong!