#asta's self worth issues

[wessie-in-pjs]

So many opportunities for angst..... and NONE of you guys are taking them.........

[idkman-ijustwannamakeatournament]

Loser's Bracket

Round 1: Match 2

"Two Sides of the Same Coin"- Two things that are regarded as part of the same thing. Even if they're very different, they have at least one common thread that helps them fit into this trope.

Propaganda (under the cut):

Yuno and Asta:

"Yuno and Asta were raised at the same orphanage and both dream of becoming the Wizard King. Yuno has incredibly magic talent & joins the top guild/team (I forgot what it's called) while Asta has none & is only accepted into the "misfit" one. They were made for this tournament idk what to say"

Bojack Horseman and Diane Nguyen:

"Their tumultuous friendship is arguably the core of the whole show. They are similar to one another, both having serious self-worth issues stemming from abusive childhoods, which is what initially draws them to each other, yet also means their friendship could never last. Not only do they both hate themselves and have dysfunctional depression, they try to cope with their respective traumas in completely opposing ways: Diane, with moral rigidity; Bojack, with sex & drug related hedonism. A lot of conflict comes from the fact Bojack wants Diane to "fix" him or make him feel better about himself even though validating/excusing his harmful actions is something she's vocally opposed to. Later on, Diane often gets defensive when others point out that she's similar to him, and deliberately distances herself as his harmful actions continue to escalate. By the end of the show their friendship is over, and that's where it was always headed, because of their respective personalities being so similar in some ways yet still completely incompatible."

[tjemegames]

HSR: Character Build Archive - Harmony

Xipe

An Aeon that hails from multiple harmonious celestial worlds. THEY preside over the Path of Harmony. THEY are the amalgamation of thousands of entities that preaches the joy of human harmony and unity.

Certain character descriptions may contain story spoilers: Bronya, Sunday. If you’re not caught up to the most current version of the game, please read them at your own discretion.

Asta

The lead researcher of Herta Space Station and a lady from a renowned family. She's an astronomer overflowing with curiosity, and excels at managing the disparate staff of the space station.

she’s been sitting at 159.2 spd since 5.10.24. can't tell you how many hp bodies I've rolled in attempts to get more spd since then; trying to min-max spd is a pain

need to farm better planars; want to ditch the def/break subs to go for more eff res

latest upgrade - 7.16.24

Bronya

Belobog's current Supreme Guardian. She possesses pride befitting of a princess, but also the determination and integrity of a soldier.

working towards hyperspeed build: still 16.7 spd away from 160.1

did a simple swap of bronya & hanya's spheres; this current sphere was meant to be for sparkle (as were the head/hand pcs) but I've decided to give everything to bronya instead

relevant stat change(s): +.6% cdmg, +8.6% eff res

score change: +12 (SS+)

need to farm messenger (spd boots), wuthering snow (hands); will probably end up switching out the keel sphere if I can get one to roll a decent amount of spd

thinking about buying sig (btbio) from the starlight exchange; I'd prefer to get it from standard, but I'm running out of time bc I don't currently have enough jades to pull sparkle + sig

latest upgrade - 8.2.24 | changelog

Hanya

outdated build: recently rolled the def sphere but everything else is old/has been swapped to her while I was min-maxing other harmony units

will be permanently benched once I've pulled sparkle

latest upgrade - 7.12.24

Imaginary Trailblazer

A [person] who boarded the Astral Express. They chose to travel with the Astral Express to eliminate the dangers posed by the Stellaron.

it would be nice to roll some break on a character who actually needs it

need to farm 4pc watchmaker (hp/def body + spd boots) & talia (def/hp sphere + break effect rope)

would also be cool if I could get some more copies of motp but I'll keep my hopes in check on that one

latest upgrade - 6.8.24

Robin

A singer renowned across the cosmos, regarded as the superstar of the Starry Stage. Her captivating voice serenades Harmony to audiences across the universe.

unowned: adorable, I love her character and the fact that she sings; however, that love didn't surpass my love for boothill, whom I was saving to pull when they both were released in 2.2

will pull for eventually because Honkai: Support Rail is true and real. she's worth the investment since she'd be the perfect third slot for my Feixiao team

Ruan Mei

Member 81 of the Genius Society. Jointly developed the "Simulated Universe" with Herta, Screwllum, and Stephen. A master in the field of life sciences, she has an emotionless disposition and is only obsessed with research.

there used to be a time when she had 98% cdmg because of just how badly my rolls had been going; thankfully, they've gotten better since then

will be switching to slow mei (120 spd)

need to farm watchmaker (head + hp/def boots) & vonwacq (def/hp sphere + err rope)

latest upgrade - 7.1.24

Sparkle

A member of the Masked Fools, passionate yet unpredictable. She roams between major factions, amusing herself by turning the world upside down on her own.

mostly built: 5/6 maxed relics

set up on 2pc wuthering snow, 2pc messenger; would prefer to run 4pc messenger

need farm messenger (head/hands) & keel (err rope); bronya's messenger pcs are lacking spd - swapping them would not help w/spd tuning issues

currently at 147.8 spd & 201.1 cdmg; 12.2 spd needed to hit 160

latest upgrade - 7.29.24

Sunday

The benevolent and self-disciplined head of the Oak Family. In order to fulfill the promise made to his younger sister in childhood, he ultimately embarked on a path diametrically opposed to hers.

unreleased (2.7)

pounds fist on table I NEED him to come home to me so bad. I don't care what he does, if I have a dps that can take true advantage of him, or what relic and planar sets I have to farm to get the most value out of him. unfortunately, I don't currently have the savings to guarantee his arrival (gotta pull DHIL's cone in 2.6), so I'll be skipping the debut banner. however, once his rerun comes around, both he and his cone will be mine!

Tingyun

Amicassador of the Sky-Faring Commission of the Xianzhou Luofu. She travels with business delegates, forging trade relationships and alliances with many worlds.

took a year but she's finally fixed

somehow, she ended up with slightly less atk than she had when I still had half a set of 4-star relics

should probably keep trying to min-max survivability, but I really cannot be bothered; if she dies, she dies ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

latest upgrade - 7.12.24

Yukong

Head of the Sky-Faring Commission on the Xianzhou Luofu. Yukong was a seasoned pilot and a deadshot. Since heading up the commission, she's been buried under mountains of paperwork.

unleveled: lvl 1, e6

The most recent version of a character’s build(s) will be listed here; older build versions can be found on their designated changelog. To avoid word/image limit issues, information on a retired build will be removed from the path archive and a link to the build’s changelog will be provided in its place. Changelogs will only be created and maintained for the characters that I actively use; they will be updated whenever significant relic upgrades/changes have been made. Characters that have multiple builds (i.e. additional builds that are non-traditional, niche, or memes) will have a dedicated changelog for each one. Return to Navigation

[mahvaladara]

Wyll's romance feels sooo... lackluster. I don't know. I was expecting more dedication. I feel like every other character got so much love given to their romances.

I'm not even talking about the evil inclined romances. I am talking about the good inclined ones.

Karlach's romance is such a big thing, she can touch, she goes on a first date, she has a heartfelt conversation with you where she tells you she wants to ride you. Asta... well, what hasn't been said of Astarion's Romance that is both the longest and the most well defined. He learns to know what is true love and true care and not be used ever again. He learns to trust and it's such a big thing.

Gale's journey through love is a journey of finding self-worth, finding himself and what made him worthy and a prodigy, find his worth besides delusions of godhood and ambition. You fuck in the fade like gods, or in a bed, he makes stars for you, he teaches you magic.

Lae'Zel it's a story of valour and vulnurability, of accepting love in a harsh life, finding someone her equal and allowing herself to be vulnurable with them. (I never followed her romance, that's what I read XD).

And Shart it's about facing her fears, and finding herself and love. You two drink wine together, go for a swim, make plans of a simpler life with her family or finding herself without her family. Going beyond what a goddess tried to mold her into.

Wyll you get to dance, then he asks you to marry him over an acorn. His personal quest doesn't feel like it connects to his personal story. It feels like he gets to just, hey, have a chapter from fairytale. Hero gets the girl or guy.

I like that love isn't a cure all for their personal quests, but I love the connection of it to their personal quests. Love isn't a cure all but it sure helps you face a goddess if you have someone who loves you by their side, or brave the hells of Avernus against Zariel.

Heck, even Halsin's romance, which is reduced to him going bear on you feels more fleshed out. At the end, Halsin gets to start a new commune, and you can go with him (now for what I understand). Halsin's story is about facing your past, what you left undone, and solving it, love with Tav is Halsin finally letting go of his past and starting anew, and in his own way, showing that love isn't a cure all, rather you romanced him or not he's ready to start a new chapter, a new circle, and you can come with him and be part of this new chapter in his life.

Wyll... proposes with an acorn. Oh, and dances with you.

Nothing wrong with a fairytale romance, but it feels shallow and it feels like it doesn't contribute in anyway to his personal growth other than give him a textbook happy ending.

While with every other companion I feel like we helped with their growth and our love made us grow as people, with Wyll it's more like, yey, you got over your daddy issues, he sees you're a hero, here's your hero's "and they lived happily ever after".

[ridasverkisto]

So as promised, a follow up to this monstrosity of a post, now talking about my top ten favorite characters.

So as I’ve said before, I tend to not have one favorite character but rather a herd of them that I love for a variety of reasons. So the following list and gushing is in no particular order, as I can’t really rank them bc I like them all for different reasons.

1. Noelle

To this day, Noelle remains the ONLY character I have ever yelled at a TV screen for because I was so hyped for her. During the Sea Temple Arc I was literally yelling at the TV for her to kick ass and take names, I love her so much. 🥺

Does she have issues? Yes! But that’s okay—she’s had an amazing character arc so far, and watching her go from insecure and hiding behind arrogance to actually having confidence in herself and her abilities has been so amazing. More than anything she feels real to me, and is one of the few characters where I have had the visceral urge to squish her cheeks and tell her she’s doing great honey, keep kicking ass. We stan Noelle in my house 😤

2. Luck

I love this kid, for both his antics and the fact that I can relate to how he’s basically repressed his negative emotions for so long that he struggles to express anything but cheerfulness, even when murderously angry. He goes from equating his worth to being able to fight and win (see his fight with Lotus) to valuing his found family with the Bulls so damn much. His breakdown during the Reincarnation Arc wrenches at my heart every time!! I love this chaotic destruction child.

3. Langris

He’s a gremlin trashbaby. He’s an awful entitled asshole who always got whatever he wanted when he wanted it, and was that one Gifted Kid who always had everything come easy. And...he gets knocked off that pedestal and starts to grow as a person, however reluctantly. He’s one of those characters where if I were to ever meet him in person I’d either hate him immediately or want to troll him relentlessly, but I still love him as a character because he’s interesting.

In a lot of ways, I relate to Langris. Younger sibling with so much pressure to be the best, from both yourself and your parents, and your older sibling—who’s supposed to be better than you, someone for you to look up to—just...isn’t to your parents’s standards. And that makes the pressure worse, until you’ve been swallowed whole by the pressure and expectations and you don’t know who you are without that.

It’s three parts the asshole grew on me like a fungus and one part projection, but I love him anyway.

4. William

I have a soft spot for William that’s born from a) the fact I’m a huge sucker for the mysterious masked guy who’s Soft for his people, and b) he’s a coy troll and I deeply appreciate it.

I acknowledge—he has his flaws. He’s a coward and indecisive, but he’s learning to grow past that. That’s a huge part of what makes his character interesting and compelling to me, because he’s always been fiercely loyal—his problem was being torn between two conflicting loyalties and being unable and/or unwilling to decide between them.

5. Leopold

Fuzzy determined lion son, who is determined to surpass his brother? And wholesomely competitive? We stan!! I want to hug this kid 🥺

6. Dorothy

She’s fun, bright, and determined. There’s also a lot of implied depth when you look at her comments to Reve in the Reincarnation Arc—aside from Reve, she literally says “we finally have someone to share our dreams with!” And that breaks my heart a little because that’s such a lonely thing to say.

Overall she’s just great and I love her, and I really want to see more of her and her magic.

7. Asta

He’s a cinnamon roll, what more can I say? I love him, even if I didn’t rly like him at first. He’s a loud cinnamon roll and I will protect this boy with my life 💕

8. Finral

Anxious self-sabotaging boy!!! He reminds me a lot of a lot of people I know, and of facets of my own personality. And he works so hard to grow, his role and growth is amazing and I love him. I just wish his womanizing weren’t portrayed the way it is—and that the fandom could also note that he’s also not a damn sexual harasser. He tries really hard to get a date while being respectful—and it really doesn’t feel in character for him to sexually harass people, so I don’t know where people got this image of him being one. He’s a flirt, but for the most part it’s harmless and he respects boundaries. 👀

9. Patry

Okay so this is a bit of a fine distinction to make: I love and appreciate him as a character, I think he’s an excellent villain, and I appreciate that so far he hasn’t been exonerated from his crimes and mistakes, because he shouldn’t be. He needs to atone, and that takes time—and he may never earn forgiveness. That’s fine and in fact that’s the point!!!

He’s an excellent villain: he’s charismatic, intense, and he feels real. He’s understandable, even when he’s going to such zealous extremes. And as a character, I love him.

And here’s where the line is, because he’s the only one on this list that I have this sort of opposing opinion about. I adore him as a villain, as a character, and how he’s dealt with. It’s on point, amazing. As a person? He’s fucking despicable and if I ever met him in person I’d want to break his damn jaw. And it’s not the same as how I feel about Langris—Patry is a despicable person, and even if he grows and works to atone, he still did those things. He still decided to go through with those actions, and he shouldn’t be forgiven for it. He’s intense and complicated and real, and that’s what makes him interesting.

He’s on this list because I feel so strongly about him—he’s one of my favorite and my most hated characters in the show.

10. Marx

I’m not going to lie, I love this man purely based on that fact that I first saw him yelling at Julius and went “ah, the overworked secretary trope” and then he met Asta and I went “OH. Kind soft man who is also overworked secretary and cares deeply? Sign me the hell up!!!” What more do I need to say? He’s great 😊

[pinkbelugacollective]

I'm afraid to say, but Asta is the closest thing the black bulls have to a therapy. When Nacht showed up for the first time, I told myself that he's /the/ therapist the bulls always needed but never had... I was so, so wrong. This troll really just came to destroy Finral and Vanessa's self-worth, worsen Gauche's trust issues by blaming him for things aren't his fault, and then bluntly told Grey to fuck off while trashing their friends. He hates Yami why it's them who have to deal with his shit?!

See, as much as I like seeing Asta inspire camaraderie in the troupe because of the sheer fact that he is just a bottle of sunshine, I also think it’s sad that they needed his positivity to be the reason why they all got some semblance of their shit together. But like, I also respect Tabata for making it clear that Asta isn’t really their therapist. I think he’s good inspiration, but with Nacht entering the chat, I think it further proves that the depressed portion of the squad is still very much in need of help, and I’m sad that they’re not getting it. Like, resolve is one thing, and they’re all very powerful, but not a single one of them knows how to channel that power properly because they’re all clinically depressed and emotionally volatile. Power is useless if you don’t know how to use it, and for them to spectacularly lose to Dante and watch Yami get kidnapped as a result just proved that no amount of power is gonna save them if they can’t get medicated and therapized first. They need help!!!

As for Nacht, he really was too cruel with his words, and if Henry does turn out to be his brother, I hope he beats him up for making fun of his friends. It’s very unfair!! They did nothing wrong!!! Someone please call a doctor!!!

[loosesodamarble]

Top five fictional men with long, luscious silver hair GO

Argent, must you constantly come for me like I'm a demon and you're a slayer?/lh

slams head on desk

Well! I can't back out now though! Here goes!

..........

5. Prince Lotor from Voltron: Legendary Defender. I have mentioned only once before that I watched the show. And when I watched, I was introduced to Lotor and all his scheming, broodiness and his beautiful, flowing, white alien hair. I thought he was pretty neat. ... Until he was ruined by the series' inability to pick a villain and stick with them! His chemistry with Allura felt a little forced but I understood what the creators were trying to do. In the end, though, he ended up kind of wasted. His appearance and aesthetic are pretty cool but I wish they were used better.

4. Aavaros from The Dragon Prince. What a mysterious elf he is. There's not much known about him except facts like he's confined in a magic mirror, he knows dark magic, and the mirror he's in was guarded by the most powerful dragons. He's also helping the current antagonist so he's pretty bad news. And since Dragon Prince is still ongoing, there's still a chance for him to not be a flop like Lotor.

3. Jihae from Dandelion: Wishes Brought to You. My favorite guy from Dandelion. He's a charming man and so very considerate. I think the reason he's my favorite love interest is because he is always trying to his best to do right by Heejung. Taking up a job, running errands, doing chores around the house, etc (yeah, a bit of domestic vibes helps his case, so you know). I think part of it stems from his self-worth issues and his habit of serving but I think it's also him genuinely wanting to help Heejung because of how hard she works accommodating him and the others. Jihae acts politely and treats her respectfully at all times which sometimes makes it hard to get a read on his romantic feelings but once they come out, it's fine. Let me be honest, I always swoon a bit whenever he says "My Lady." Also, Jihae's ending is one of the better ones since he and Heejung are unambiguously reunited and appear to be re-establishing their relationship. Very wholesome.

2. Lance from Nameless: The One Thing You Must Recall. The very first otome guy I romanced. He's got a special place in my heart because of that. His story is interesting. Despite being a doll-turned-human like the other guys, he doesn't have anything he's naturally inclined towards because he was a blank slate doll. However, he's not a blank person. He's competent with academics, reliable with tasks given to him, and he looks out for others (mostly Eri but in Yeonho's route he shows concern for the yellow chick's reputation). While he worries about not being special, I thought he was pretty distinct from the other LIs considering he started out cold and distant while the others were flirt, friendly, or just generally more approachable. Eri's connection with her grandpa and friends also gets addressed better in Lance's route compared to others (in my opinion at least).

1. Licht from Black Clover. I wish Licht got more attention! He was the leader of the elf tribe and everyone adored him. Even when faced with discrimination from humans, he wanted to reach out and make peace with them. He resisted corruption long enough to make a plea to Lumiere and prevent Zagred from fulfilling his plan. Skip to five hundred years later and we see that even with his soul sealed, he still looks out for his loved ones and will fight for their sake. And boy does he fight. I admit that during the Asta and Yuno vs. Licht fight, I found myself rooting for him because he was just that cool. The force of his magic and ability in battle is admirable indeed. Favorite moment from him is when he came so close to obliterating Zagred by blasting him with an attack powered by all the reincarnated elves'. Kind, empathic, dedicated, and protective; that's what I saw in the little time he was given. I wish he could've stayed to see what became of the future he protected and help establish a new elf tribe. But I am happy with what I did get of Licht.

[datesoma]

                   Why you should get into Black Clover.

I know some people are undecided on whether or not they should give Black Clover a try, so I came up with a list of reasons why they might like the series, and why I think it’s worth the time. If you have any to add, feel free to!

1. Asta is an amazing protagonist. He was born without magic in a world where everyone had it to the point that the only means of transportation are magic-based (spatial magic, brooms that you have to feed your mana to etc), and as an orphan in one of Clover’s outskirt villages to boot. Yet Asta worked hard every day anyway, and through his own efforts became the 2nd physically strongest character after Yami. Because of this, he got a Grimoire from which (so far) three swords can emerge, and which allowed him into the Magic Knights. Asta’s main sword cannot be held by anyone else both because of its massive weight (which Asta can easily endure because of his physical training), and because the sword sucks the person’s mana out of them (which doesn’t affect Asta since he has no mana).

Despite always seeming cheerful and headstrong though, Asta actually suffers from deep-seated insecurities and depression. Being the only person without magic in the world, he was subjected to ridicule, discrimination and comparisons ever since he was a young child; and in the beginning of the story he almost had his breaking point, had it not been for Yuno’s words helping him get back up, which is when he swore to never come close to giving up again, as well as made sure that his personal issues wouldn’t interfere with his self-image and relationships.

Asta also tries to understand his enemies, where they come from and what drove them to act that way, as well as tries to help them. He doesn’t like going straight into the fighting, and would much rather settle it verbally, since that wouldn’t result in any casualties. He values life, and doesn’t want to see others throw theirs away for something that could be easily resolved with words; so every time one of his enemies dies of their own volition, Asta is shaken by their actions. He also has respect for most of his enemies, and was even seen picking flowers and putting them at the enemy’s grave while being saddened by their death, even though he had no obligation to.

However, Asta does want to hold bad people accountable for their actions instead of symphatizing with their backstory right off the bat. He will understand their motivations, but if they’ve already done the evil deed, they’ll have to deal with the consequences and make sure they’ll never do anything like it again. Like I hinted above, by “consequences” I don’t mean death. Asta never stands for the death sentence, and instead tells his enemies that they’ll have to spend their lives making up to the people they’ve hurt, both by serving time in prison, and by apologizing and outright helping others. After they atone for their sins, Asta is also wholeheartedly fine with becoming friends with them and helping them be better.

Asta is a truly inspiring and refreshing character, and has come to be one of my favorite characters of all time, even though I don’t usually fall for the protagonists. He’s humane, kind and has a certain charm that drags you in; and he’s per overall a feel-good character who motivates you to be your best self.

2. Black Clover has the best fleshed out female characters in all of Shounen so far, and they’re not sexualized. It was made obvious in the latest popularity poll, where we had 5 women and 5 men in the top 10. The only issue I’ve seen from the fandom regarding Black Clover’s female characters is that “they all have a crush on someone”, but that’s wrong. Black Clover has some great female characters that don’t have anything to do with crushes and romance, and the most striking example is Mereoleona. Other than her, we also have Theresa, Puli, Dorothy, Fragil, Nebra, Grey, Mariella, Kahono, Charla, Elf Fana and the Witch Queen.

Noelle may have a crush on Asta, but it’s not her defining trait. She has her own personal issues that stem from her backstory, and she works through them as the story progresses. She gets plenty of character development, and a lot of screentime. The anime tends to exaggerate her crush on Asta for the giggles, but the manga handles it pretty well. Mimosa, Charlotte and Charmy are all strong women whose crushes only come in second place to their actual parts in the story. Their crushes aren’t there solely for the trope either, since they serve as one of the girls’ motivations to get stronger.

To top it off, the women fight on equal grounds with the men, and some of them are even stronger than the best male fighters in the series. Mereoleona for one, is done so well that even the men watching the show had to admit she’s probably stronger than Yami, who is one of the strongest people in the entire series, Asta’s mentor and one of the fandom’s favorites.

As for the sexualization, there have been three instances in over 200 chapters that I can think of, one of which was in the anime and I am fairly sure Tabata didn’t even want to add them in (I’ve read a post once that said Shounen Jump probably has an agenda of a minimum amount of fanservice they push onto all their authors, and it’d make sense if it's true).

3. Yuno is different from the typical Shounen rival in a refreshing way, the rivalries shown in Black Clover are generally healthy and the show makes a point of showing you’re always stronger when you’re supported by and working alongside your friends. Yuno doesn’t “turn evil” & isn’t on bad terms with Asta; instead, he’s supportive and genuinely wishes for Asta to thrive and become his best self. Their rivalry is based on mutual respect, friendship and trust, and they’ve known and lived with each other since their early childhood.

While Yuno does encompass the “gifted kid” trope, he never once thought he was better than Asta, and instead of gloating about his magic, he continued to work hard magic-wise and physically (which many wizards tend not to, especially the gifted ones). He holds similar values as Asta, and wishes to become the Wizard King to make the country more accepting, equal and overall a better place. Because of this, the end of Yuno and Asta’s rivalry could go either way, since both of them deserve the title of Wizard King, and there’s no way to tell which one of them will become the Wizard King for sure, even though Asta is considered the main protagonist (I sure hope Asta will, though).

Other important rivalries are Luck and Magna’s, two misfits who prank but nonetheless still respect each other and who would go to amazing heights to make sure the other is alright; Asta, Yuno and Leopold’s, which helped Leopold grow; and Nozel and Fuegoleon’s, who have a slightly more tense rivalry, but who have competed since their childhood and who care for each other despite some of their moments of animosity.

The Black Bulls are a prime example of the found family trope, and their relationships with each other played major parts in each of their character stories.

4. Black Clover deals with several issues we also face. One of the main themes of the show is classism, and the way the poor and the disabled struggle in the corrupt system made by the rich and abled. Despite being orphans from the country’s outskirts (meaning one of the poorest places with the least amount of magic in the entire kingdom) Asta and Yuno’s goal is to attain the title of Wizard King, who is the strongest and most beloved wizard in the entire kingdom. To do so, they have to gain the citizens’ support and approval, and tear down the walls that oppress the poor and uplift the rich; but because of several centuries of discrimination, most royalty and nobles believe they are superior to the peasants, and that’s painstakingly clear from the moment Asta and Yuno leave their village and head for the more noble-populated cities.

Family problems and abuse are present in a good chunk of the Black Bulls’ stories, but the blame is never put on the victims. Instead, each of them gets their own arc in which they deal with their trauma, and it’s all handled well. Their issues don’t magically stop in their respective arcs either, but rather that’s the starting point of the change.

There are also several instances thorough the show that deal with suicide (mostly from the enemy’s side), as well as Asta’s great distaste of it and attempts to stop his enemies from killing themselves for their cause. Asta’s speeches on this topic are always positive and motivational, and I like reading them since they make me feel better, too.

Another shared issue is the racism, which also delves further into genocide. I won’t say too much as to not spoil it for those of you who will read/watch Black Clover, but this theme is related to the humans and the elves.

5. On that note, there are several races in the Black Clover universe that we know of so far. They are the humans, who the series is mainly focused on; the elves, who play a very big part of the show’s first saga; the devils and the dwarves. It’s likely that we’ll also get introduced to more races as the story goes on, and so far all of them have been done nicely.

6. The art style of the manga is stunning and the anime is also getting good. Per overall, I’d say the manga has the better aesthetics, but the anime does come in clutch with some of the fights (a couple of them were also extended in the anime, which was great; and Black Clover is known for its use of different animation styles in fights), while the music also helps add a certain feeling to the scenes that didn’t hit so hard in the manga. The Black Clover anime’s openings and endings are by far one of the best in all of anime. Even if you don’t plan to watch the show, you should definitely watch those. Currently we have 8 ops & eds, and they’re all bops. They’re one of the many reasons why Black Clover has become famous, anime-wise. 

Also, since I’ve seen a lot of complaints about Asta’s voice in the earlier episodes, it does get much better. The VA was new so his voice acting wasn’t too good, but it’s really come a long way since and it now fits Asta’s character perfectly. You should give it at least ten episodes before you make an opinion on whether to continue or drop the anime version (although I’d say it gets really good after thirty).

7. The series lets you choose what kind of pace you want. If you’re into faster paces, then the manga’s the perfect fit for you. Some people complained that the story moves too fast in the manga, but I personally like it. If you’re into slower paces, you can try checking out the anime. Since Black Clover’s an ongoing anime rather than one split into seasons, Studio Pierrot had to try and stall for time so the anime wouldn’t close in on the manga too soon; meaning the original content got stretched over a couple episodes, but nothing too bad.

8. Black Clover doesn’t have many fillers. People complain that it does, but it doesn’t. As of right now (ep. 96), there have been 5 purely filler episodes, out of which some were recap episodes. Other episodes have had some filler mixed into them, but it’s not obvious and it does add well to the story. We also got Yuno’s first mission (ep. 13) and the Light Novels animated (ep. 55-56 & 85-86), and those are to be considered canon.

9. The mystery of Asta and Yuno’s backstory pre-canon. The series takes a different approach with the protagonists’ backstory, and instead of telling us everything outright, it only shows Asta and Yuno as babies, left at the door of a church in Hage village at around the same time, 15 years prior to the story. At the time, they only had their names written on their clothes, and Yuno also had a necklace. Right now, we still don’t know who their parents are, what were the circumstances of their birth, if they’re blood related or not, and how come they were both left in the exact same spot, nor why there out of all places. I’m assuming this will be important later on in the series, since one of the arcs has already teased a possibility that was denied by the end of said arc.

10. The story mainly takes place in the Clover Kingdom, but there are three others that will become a focus later on. Diamond Kingdom, a hostile country that deals with black magic, human experimentation and wars; Heart Kingdom, a neutral country rich of mana that prefers to remain unseen and whose citizens use an unique style of magic; and Spade Kingdom, the most massive of the four, and also supposedly a militant country of winter. So far in the story we have learned several bits about the Diamond Kingdom, while the information on Heart and Spade is still very new and brief. This does for a nice change of settings. 

Also, since I’ve brought up the ‘unique style of magic’, Black Clover has a great power system, based on the elements and their subtypes, and even the most bland-sounding magic you never even thought of, can do wonders.

11. Black Clover is a funny show and it has various types of humor. Not only does it have comedic relief, like with Sekke, Yami and Gordon, but in the anime we also get Petit Clover, which is a short and usually amusing chibi-styled moment at the end of each episode. This was derived from the manga’s omakes in the same style and I’m guessing it had some success, since earlier in the year we also got an entire Petit Clover-styled series, named Mgyutto! Black Clover.

I’m a fan of both the manga and the anime, so I’d recommend reading and watching the series, but it’s fine no matter which you choose, and I hope I convinced at least some of you to get into this great show!

Credits for some of the points: 1, 2 (spoilers), 3 (spoilers), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

[cherry-valentine]

So here’s what I’m watching in the Fall 2017 Anime Season:

Juuni Taisen was the first new series I tried this season and it’s become one of my favorites. It’s an action show that pulls no punches and really enjoys messing with audience expectations. The ending of the first episode was a genuine surprise, and the following episodes have refused to fall neatly into overly familiar or tropey territory. Even when something tropey happens, it happens in a fresh and unexpected way. The art is great, with a nice variety in character designs. I was extremely amused by the fact that the most scantily-clad character is a man (a bunny man at that, wearing almost nothing). It’s little things like this that make the show fun. The opening and ending themes are very catchy (I especially like the art that goes along with the ending theme, showing all these crazy, violent characters in their normal, everyday lives and doing a nice job of humanizing them). High on my watch list. Black Clover is something of a disappointment, if only because it had been hyped up so much in the fandom circles I’m part of. If I had gone into it with zero expectations (and, honestly, if this had been a slower season), I might have liked it a lot. But as it stands, I went in expecting something amazing and was underwhelmed. I’m still watching, don’t get me wrong. The show has its good points and I’ll get to that. But overall I’m not super impressed with it. So the good things are the art, the interesting take on a magic-based society, and Yuno. In that order. My main issue with this series, and this might sound petty to some people, is the fact that the main character, Asta, is so damned annoying. He never speaks. He screams. Constantly. Incessantly. It literally hurts my ears. It’s to the point that I keep the remote in my hand so I can push mute when he starts screaming. It’s that bad. To some people, it’s not that big of a deal and isn’t that bad. But for me personally, it’s a major pet peeve of mine. I just can’t stand the constant screaming. Maybe it’s because loud, abrasive noises trigger migraines for me. Anywho, I’m also a little disappointed that I’ve been able to accurately predict every single thing that has happened in the show. And it’s not that I’m particularly good at predicting things. The show is just that formulaic. Of COURSE Asta is going to be the underdog who can’t use magic. Of COURSE Yuno is going to be a magic prodigy. Of COURSE Asta is going to end up with a grimmoire that’s different from everyone else’s (and probably more powerful). Of COURSE he’s going to end up with the outcast squad of magic knights that no one wants to join. Of freaking COURSE. And oops, I spoiled some things there but not really because anyone with a brain would see these developments coming a mile away. I’m still watching, but it’s dangling from the bottom of my watch list. Sengoku Nightblood is a very pretty otome series that basically takes all the famous warlords and soldiers from the Sengoku period and turns them into clans of vampires, werewolves (pretty boys with cute wolf ears!), and various other mythological creatures. Did I mention the show is pretty? Because it’s SUPER PRETTY. And that’s basically why I’m still watching. The series is a little low on plot and the heroine is bland as hell (to the point that she might as well not even be there) but dang, those vampires and werewolves and fox boys sure are pretty! Not to mention the gorgeous backgrounds and outfits. The show is basically a treat for your eyes, and not much else. But boy is it a tasty treat. Evil or Live is a Japanese dubbed Chinese series that falls in line with previous Chinese series I’ve watched over the past several seasons: an interesting concept, a few cool characters, and subpar animation. This obviously doesn’t apply to all Chinese shows (the amazing Quan Zhi Gao Shou from the summer season is a notable exception), but it’s the trend I’ve noticed, especially among Tencent productions. This time we have a show that’s almost scary in how possible it is to actually happen. It’s about a super strict boarding school where teens are sent when their parents think they’re too addicted to the internet and/or their smart phones. And from the start, we’re not presented with a clear-cut, black and white situation. There’s a huge moral gray area, which is refreshing. The school, and the people who work there, are depicted as ruthless and oftentimes cruel. But at the same time, the students are shown to be no angels. Even the protagonist, whom we’re rooting for, was revealed to be a rude, ungrateful little asshole to his mother in flashbacks (though he does regret his behavior once he’s at the school and has time to reflect on why he’s there). Many of the other students are manipulative or just downright mean, and many do display clear signs of actual addiction, which makes it hard to totally condemn the school as evil. Overall, it’s a compelling setup that makes you think. Unfortunately, the show is marred by lackluster art/design and the typical low budget animation I expect from Tencent. The art isn’t bad. It’s just unremarkable and unmemorable. If you can look over that, however, the show is definitely worth watching. Tsukipro is apparently a spinoff series to the very fun Tsukiuta from a few seasons back. I would have preferred an actual second season for Tsukiuta but oh well. This is better than nothing. Instead of two cute, well-developed boy bands, we get four not-quite-as-interesting boy bands. What I liked about Tsukiuta was that it took a fairly serious, realistic look at what it meant to be in a boy band while also throwing in some light supernatural elements that somehow fit (we had a ghost, aliens, and the fact that band leader Shu is an actual demon lord, albeit a very nice one). So far Tsukipro has had no supernatural elements and is a tad bland. I’m also finding it hard to connect with any of the characters because there’s just too many of them to keep up with and it’s very difficult to keep straight who is who. Some of them even look very similar to each other (and not just the band that has a set of twins). I’m hoping the characters get more development as the series continues, and I’ll be waiting for those quirky supernatural elements. King’s Game was one of my early favorites and is still very high on my watch list. It has a great hook that puts a fresh (and supernatural) twist on the “group of teenagers forced into a deadly game” concept. Instead of being forced to kill each other, an external force does the killing if they fail to obey the orders that are sent to them via text. The series doesn’t shy away from violence or sex (several characters get sex-related orders, including one poor guy who is ordered to have sex before midnight, but the order comes in so late that he only has a few minutes to obey). The show is tense and dramatic, with nearly every single scene having dangerously high stakes. It puts you on edge in the best possible way. There’s also that mysterious, supernatural angle, as the characters try to figure out who the King actually is. The only drawback, so far, is that the art and animation are fairly generic. This is easy to overlook, considering how strong the story is. The music is great, particularly the ending theme. A major contender for favorite of the season (and almost definitely my favorite new show of the season). Kino’s Journey is something I’ve heard a lot about, but I’ve never watched the older anime or read any of the manga/novels/whatever. Still, I’ve been in anime fandom circles long enough to know the basic concept so I decided to try this new series. I was surprised by how pleasant the show is, and also by how violent it is. The series does an excellent job of balancing the (mostly self-contained) stories of each episode between mild, sweet tales and action-packed gun battles. There’s also a very interesting mix of settings, with some “countries” Kino visits being quaint Victorian-esque towns while others are technologically advanced modern cities. I was also surprised by Kino herself. While a generally nice and pleasant person, she can be quite ruthless and often ignores the plights of others. She’s also badass to the point that fights involving her are almost boring. But the show really is about exploration and expanding horizons rather than who wins a shootout. Even the more violent episodes leave you with a sense of comfort and satisfaction. It’s enough to make anyone want to go out and travel the world. Dies Irae is a series I’m conflicted about. It had an “episode zero” prologue that was awesome and made me think this was going to be a favorite, but the following episodes have yet to live up to the prologue’s promise. They’re not bad at all though, so I’m not sure how to judge the show. I’m a bit mad at it for getting my hopes up, but I’m still enjoying it. The art and design are awesome. The characters are cool. The back story for the villains (basically the prologue) is very interesting. The ending theme is badass. My main issue is that it seems to be taking forever for things to get going after episode zero. I don’t know how many episodes this show is going to have, but I’m guessing it’s 12-13, and at this rate, absolutely nothing is going to be resolved. It also occasionally creeps into harem territory (a byproduct of being based on a game, I suppose). So far it’s avoided being an outright harem series but there are a few too many lady characters being flirty with the protagonist for my taste. This is just a persona preference thing though. It still has a solid spot on my watch list. Garo: Vanishing Line is something I was excited about. I’ve watched and enjoyed previous Garo anime (though I haven’t tried the live action shows, sadly). They took place in more historical settings, so in my mind, I tend to associate Garo with that type of story. That’s why Vanishing Line, with its futuristic, sci-fi setting, seemed so interesting to me. It’s a quality show, with some great action sequences and a memorable visual style. My only problem with the show is that I’m just not as into the characters as I was in previous Garo anime. I like the protagonist, Sword (gotta love that name), and it’s nice to have a more cheerful, upbeat hero in the Golden Armor, but I don’t know enough about him to really care about him as a character. We’re almost halfway through the season and I don’t know a single thing about him that I didn’t know at the end of the first episode. The supporting cast isn’t much better. They seem cool and they look awesome but with the exception of the plucky young girl sidekick, I don’t know anything about them. Still yet, the show is a fun, wild ride. Net-juu no Susume is probably my second favorite new show this season behind King’s Game. It’s about a group of characters playing an MMO, but in this show it’s very clear that the game is a hobby that they enjoy, and not a death trap or any such nonsense. We also get a lot of scenes of the characters outside the game, which is nice. It’s basically a sweet and funny love story about a lady shut in (an adult! wow!) playing a young male character in the game and growing attached to a cute young girl in the game, who is secretly being played by a handsome but shy adult man. The show is adorable, and it’s so nice to see a romance anime involving an MMO that stars adult characters. The art is colorful and cute and the music is peppy and fun. It’s very much a feel-good show that’s highly entertaining. Super high on my watch list. March Comes in Like a Lion Season Two was such a nice surprise. I hadn’t even heard that season two was airing this year, so I was really happy to see it pop up on Crunchyroll. This is the show I almost didn’t watch because I didn’t get the first half of episode one. Thankfully I kept watching and realized how amazing it was. This series would be a great example to use to explain how animation can be a powerful storytelling medium, and to demonstrate how animation can accomplish things that no other medium can. The way the show conveys emotions with various color schemes and simple imagery is just beautiful. If you can sit through a whole season of this series and not cry at least once, you might be dead inside. It handles a lot of complex feelings and relationships with care and tact. It’s slow paced and very introspective, so it’s definitely not for everyone. But if you like this sort of anime, you need to be watching it. Code Realize is a steampunk otome series where famous fictional people like Victor Frankenstein and Van Helsing are reimagined as, you guessed it, romantic pretty boys! It’s actually not as stupid as it sounds, and there’s a sense of adventure flowing through the story. The character designs are great and there’s some lovely steampunk scenery. The heroine is actually interesting this time, with a mysterious past you’ll likely want to find out more about and a strange “curse” that makes everything she touches dissolve as if dipped in acid. I also liked that she is taught some basic self defense moves so that she won’t be completely helpless in a fight, something I wish more otome heroines could do, since they tend to get attacked/kidnapped/harassed a lot. It happened in a fairly realistic way too, since it didn’t automatically make her a badass, but she can provide support in a pinch. The guys are a mixed bag, covering some of the usual types but none of them being reduced to JUST their stereotypes. One of the better otome series I’ve watched in the past few seasons. Kekkai Sensen Season Two, or as the much more awesome English title calls it, “Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond”, is currently at the top of my watch list (King’s Game is my favorite new show, but overall BBB&B is the best). I absolutely loved season one with its over the top craziness. It had violence and humor and outlandish settings and characters, all grounded by a likable, down-to-earth lead and a fun, casual vibe. Season two has all of that as well. So far this season seems to be avoiding an overarching plot in favor of fleshing out some of the characters who didn’t get enough development in season one (I was so happy to finally get a Chain-centric episode and to find out how awesome she really is). I kind of miss the moments of poignancy that were scattered through season one, but we’ve still got time for some of that to show up in season two. I was also wondering how they were going to top the season one ending theme, which is still one of my all-time favorites. The new theme isn’t as good (though that’s an extremely high standard to meet), but it’s definitely fun and quirky and probably my favorite of the season. And this is something I said about the first season, that still holds true: this show is FUN. It radiates FUN. Even when things get relatively serious or dangerous, it’s FUN. And all that fun is infectious. Gintama is on... what season now? It all gets a bit muddled when the show has been going for this long. There’s not a lot to say about the Gintama series as a whole that I haven’t said before. All I can do is strongly, firmly, with all of my being, recommend it to everyone who likes anime. Gintama is one of those shows that will change your life. It’s a show you’ll wonder how you lived without. That being said, this season is more of the same. I think it could have opened on stronger episodes, but this is a series in which even the weaker episodes are extremely entertaining. My one real complaint is that the stories being animated now apparently came before the major story lines of the last season in the manga, as there are characters in this season that died last season. It was a little confusing, to be honest. I’m not sure what they could do to fix this problem, and I guess most viewers in Japan are familiar with the manga and so it’s not an issue for them. It’s not a huge issue but it was a little jarring. Despite this, the show as a whole is still one of my all-time favorites.

[th3enchant3d]

The reason why i told u all the things about myself is to prove that i can change. I can improve myself to meet your expectations and i want to be more for you. Be better for you. The haircut, rahul, dresses. Everything i told you about was to tell you that i am accepting you. I have accepted you the way you are. I have no more issues with rahul. I have no problem grooming myself for your moods. I am learning to choose dresses for you. I am adapting to meet your expectations. To your desires. And that's not something I'd randomly do for anyone because i have time. I did those all things to impress you.

"Let the bygones be bygones" They say. But all you do is rub your nose in the past. I mean, is it really that hard to trust someone who has a crush on you? Here, That's me who has a crush on you. But unfortunately i already have you. You belong to me now. And now.. I ask for some understanding.. Some faith. Some love that actually is love and not anger presented as love. I want you to be the one that always ends the fight by being mature and not me. I want you to think before you act like a stupid bitch you are. Be smart. I am always yours. Truthfully, it's a promise i made to myself a long time ago to not fall outta love because it's easy to find someone and get involved but it's takes courage to walk away like nothing's worth trying for. 

The goal was to be in love. To be loved. To grow old together and to grow together as a couple and as individuals also. 

But what you did? Everytime i tell you to love me.. YOU SHUT ME OUT. You break me and then expect me to come back to you with what!?? A happy face? I dont have a happy face and you turned me into a monster i always feared I'd be.

You say it's easy to find another girl n have sex with her and reinvent all the feelings of love? It's easy for you to get under someones bed and have sex. You have done it ones. For me? To sleep with someone other than you is to shame my love for u n insult n disrespect you. And i am never gonna do that bcoz i don't have that much guts to get over you. 

I know u don't understand a fucking word i said and that's the point of every word.. If u cant understand me when we are talking in our native language now you won't be able understand english.

I have no problems with rahul. I have problems with you. Understand that. You are the one that kicks me away everytime he shows up. You are the one that makes me go through hell. He never asks you to leave me, but you do. By yourself. And that hurts.

There are problems n misunderstandings between every couple. I know. They go through all.. Together. But i am walking all alone. Even when you are by my side. 

You can be you. You are you. But i am not myself anymore. I have changed too much to be accepted by you. And it's insanely stupid. All i asked you is.. To be more kind to me. To be more in love. Maybe than me. 

Bcoz.. Fuck it. You don't care for me otherwise you'd have loved me from the beginning. 

It's been a year and i have begged you to love me. Bcoz i love you. And you say you love me then how are always ready to leave me. Do i not mean anything to you ??? 

Earlier yesterday. I wanted to say something clever. But what did u reply! ???  Breakup. What are we? Teenagers.? You dont heart princess. You have a big rock inside your body... Otherwise you'd have loved...

Anyways. 

I cant change you and i cant change either. Fhckyou princess.. Id never be your soft toy.. 

You can do anything wifh your life.

You don't need to be or be near me. 

And you are smart and if u think we are better apart maybe we are...

I can not leave you bcoz i am in love.. With a such a dead person like you. Not bcoz i am scared of some pills n some doctors. I am helpless against you. You won't understand such things or feelings. You are dead inside. And you'd have understood me if you knew what love actually means but sadly you don't. There's no love inside you. 

It was your choice to split up. 

Seriously? You are a dead hearted person. 

Murkhpna sodun majhj bnli asti ti tr sobt ayushya kadhla asta mi.. Pn akad ahe tr bs akdt tshich.. 

And all you care is your own lame self.

Fine. I will find someone else. I will sleep with her and i will find love again. If i can find love in someone like you then i can find love anywhere!!! In anyone.

Just not you because you lack the potential to be a good wife.

I already pity your future husband and the people's who already love you. 

Thank you for not loving me and sorry for loving you.

Love you. Though. Everything. Bitch.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/26/19

Black Clover, Vol. 17 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – As predicted, friends are fighting friends in this one, as a good deal of the cast have been Possessed By Elves. Not Asta, of course; he’s our hero. But Yuno seems to be affected… except he proves to be the only one with the mental strength to throw it off. I’d roll my eyes at this if it weren’t Black Clover, a series that runs on clichés. Speaking of which, remember that nun from chapter one? The one Asta is theoretically still in love with? She returns here as the villains go after the orphanage, allowing Asta and Yuno to return and show off how much they’ve grown. Black Clover loves to run on things we’ve seen before, but this volume may have had a bit TOO much of that, as it was unsurprising. But still fun. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2 | By Mika Yamamori | Viz Media – I will admit, this series is going to live or die on how far it takes the teacher student romance—I don’t THINK it’s endgame, but as with most shoujo it’s hard to make sure. (Shonen romances are nice enough to telegraph the winner in the first chapter.) It’s well-crafted, and the author seems to be aware of the issues it involves, but we shall see. Till then, I do enjoy the kids hanging out with each other, particularly when Suzume manages to be so sleepy during a study break that Yuyuya’s mask slips off and she starts berating her in front of everyone—though the masochistic guys she then starts to attract are less welcome. I enjoy the sense of humor and characters in this, despite some issues. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2 | By Mika Yamamori | VIZ Media – Daytime Shooting Star continues to be far better than it seems like it’s going to be, with a student-teacher romance at its core. The important factor, of course, is that Suzune’s love for Shishio is unrequited, though he does finally become aware of it at the end of this volume. One thing I really love is that there’s drama—Suzune has made friends with Yuyuka (who has a subplot of her own in which she slips up and shows her true belligerent self and gains some masochistic devotees as a result) and is attempting to shield her from the knowledge that the boy Yuyuka likes (Mamura) instead likes Suzune—but no cartoonish, over-the-top villains. There’s just complicated circumstances and likable characters and it’s all really great. I hope it doesn’t spoil it all by doing something stupid like hooking up Suzune and Shishio, at least while she’s still a student. – Michelle Smith

Emanon, Vol. 2: Emanon Wanderer, Part One | By Shinji Kajio and Kenji Tsurata | Dark Horse Comics – This is two large short stories continuing the story of a young woman who has memories going back to the dawn of time. We get a better understanding of what happens when she moves from mother to daughter, and what happens to the mother—it’s disturbing and a bit terrifying, no surprises there. The current Emanon also has a twin brother, something that’s never happened before, and their reunion is as awkward as you can imagine. As for the first story, boy howdy that is a lot of nudity. It’s absolutely gorgeous—the art alone is worth buying this for. But boy howdy, that is an AWFUL lot of nudity. Interested to see where this goes next. – Sean Gaffney

Golden Kamuy, Vol. 11 | By Satoru Noda | Viz Media – This volume gives us the Golden Kamuy equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde in two lovers, now reunited after he gets out of prison, who love to make love and also love to kill people. Naturally, they run afoul of the 7th Division, but the action sequences are absolute gold. Meanwhile, Sugimoto and company are running into a new outlaw running around defiling animals. Biblically. If you’re the sort to be bothered by a two-page spread of a man screwing a deer… well, you likely stopped reading Golden Kamuy long ago, but I feel I should give the warning anyway. It’s also sort of hilarious, like a lot of Golden Kamuy‘s grossest moments. Even for a series that runs on pure “what the hell?” this volume was pretty bonkers. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 3 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – Even when our lead couple have successfully coupled, there’s still intrigue. Zenjiro NOT taking a second lover is proving to be, you’ll pardon me, a royal pain, and his pretense (which is somewhat true) that he’s so gaga over Aura that he can’t even look at another woman will only take him so far. Worse, once Aura’s pregnancy gets out, it turns out that Zenjiro’s ancestors may actually ALSO be from this world, which means trouble if the two magical powers combine in their child. Fortunately, our hero is also really good at contractual language, something we rarely see in an isekai. I’ll be honest, this is a LOT more interesting than I was ever expecting. I want more. – Sean Gaffney

Queen Bee, Vol. 1 | By Shizuru Seino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I read Seino’s Girl Got Game back in the day, but truth be told, I didn’t like it very much. Queen Bee is definitely an improvement, though I continue to not love Seino-sensei’s approach to zany comedy. (I just think too hard about where random chainsaws came from, for example.) Anyway, the premise here is that Mihane Hirata is an aggressive girl with a scary face who’s in love with the class prince, Toma. He thinks she’s interesting and wants to get to know her, but doesn’t want her for a girlfriend. What I didn’t like was all the background characters who keep popping up to comment about how hideous Mihane is, but what I do like is both Mihane’s self-loathing and Toma’s insistence that she should just be herself. If this were longer, I might pass, but as it’s complete in three volumes, I will probably finish reading it. – Michelle Smith

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!, Vol. 1 | By Take| Seven Seas – Given the titular heroine, all puns intended, and the fact that the book literally has a raised cover so you can see her boobs stick out, you would think this would in fact be pretty lewd. It’s not. Aside from one or two accidental gropes and a brief shot of Uzaki in the shower, this is not a title about boobs. What is it? Well, picture Teasing Master Takagi-san if she were actually bad at it. Uzaki really likes her sempai and wants to hang out with him all the time. He finds her overeager personality and ludicrous breasts to be rather exhausting, but doesn’t dislike her per se, so they do in fact hang out a lot. Slice-of-life then occurs. If you like that sort of manga, and can tolerate the breasts, this is worth a look. – Sean Gaffney

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 | By Kousuke Oono | Viz Media – One of the manga debuts that I was most looking forward to this year was The Way of the Househusband. The premise is simple enough—a legendary yakuza boss known as The Immortal Dragon has left the underworld behind and now lives a his life as a stay-at-home spouse—but Oono’s execution is brilliant. The intensity, fervor, and complete earnestness of this former yakuza in his approach to household chores, shopping, and all the rest is magnificent to behold. I would certainly be interested in learning more about The Immortal Dragon’s wife and the story behind them settling down into marital bliss, but even if that is never more than hinted at, I expect The Way of the Househusband will continue to be immensely satisfying and ridiculous in the best sort of ways. I was not at all disappointed by the first volume and am eagerly awaiting future installments. – Ash Brown

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 | By Kousuke Oono | VIZ Media – Tatsu used to be a revered yakuza known as “The Immortal Dragon,” but now he’s given up that life to pursue happy domesticity. Seldom has a series won my heart so quickly. It actually wasn’t the “cozy yakuza comedy” aspect, though that offers plenty of amusing scenarios, from Tatsu thoroughly intimidating an unscrupulous door-to-door salesman to drafting rival thugs to help him at a bargain sale to taking cooking lessons with a bunch of ladies to exclaiming “hot damn” over a great deal on cabbage. No, it was the cat, curiously sauntering into the background to survey the goings-on. The kitty has the best reactions (and some bonus chapters of his own). Tatsu’s career-woman/otaku wife Miku is great, too, and I look forward to the story of how they met. This short volume goes by swiftly, but it is quite the treat. – Michelle Smith

Why Shouldn’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love? Vol. 1 | By Nekomata Nuko and teffish| Sol Press – This book is like just eating pure sugar from the bag. For once the demon lord is the one summoned to another world. He’s fine with that, as a) everyone hated and misunderstood him in his own world, and b) his summoner is a hot young woman raising two cute orphan children. He’s nice. She’s nice. The kids are nice. Even the tsundere kid is really nice. There is an evil lord and his evil assistant, and they are the standard “I have no redeeming features” brand of evil, but you get the sense they were put in by editorial decree. The author just likes writing sweet married life scenes. I don’t know whether this deserves more volumes, but it was pretty good. – Sean Gaffney

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 3 | By Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics – It’s titles like these that make you realize the sorts of things Harry Potter didn’t do. After resolving the cliffhanger of the previous volume, Coco continues to learn how to be a witch, helped by a young man in a potions workshop who can’t see colors, which makes it hard to, well, tell potions apart, as absentminded folks don’t really label them well. He’s a smart cookie, though, and shows her a shortcut that might help save her mother. Meanwhile, a lot of forces are making things more difficult for her—both actual antagonists, giving her secret powerful ink, or her own teacher, who may be more of a smiling villain than anything else. One of the best new titles this year. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

[whybotheranyway-blog]

the feeling that surrounds me right now is "i am not worthy" true that.

I woke up breathing heavily cos its too cold, im glad that my two younger cousins slept with me on christmas day. Merry christmas to my old dizzy and lazy self.i can still remember once my nanay told me that "ang pasko literally ay para sa mga kiddos lang" wa ko ka gets high school pa ko why ana iyang ginaulit ulit na ginasulti..i often got jealous with my younger cousin cos her gifts is actually gaarapaw sa iyang bedside. Honga nman, im too old for that stuffs..the hanging of socks on the window, tapos pagka ugma mai 100 na, pero wa jud ko nituo about santa kai i once read about his bio sa isa ka karaan na book sa tacurong.. SANTA IS A BIG HOAX. as in! Stupid ra jud ang gatuo ana, i kept on arguing my seatmate during my elemntary days kai murag obsess kaayo xa ni santa, sige kog tell na si papa nya lang ng gawrap sang gifts for her and ga butang ug bills sa mejas.. And she would really get mad kai tinuod jud daw si santa.. Maalala pa kaya ni tiffany un? Lol ah basig gipamana na to nya sa iyang anak iyang belief sauna😂😂😂 Okay ke haba haba ng intro.. Wala nman kasi akong maisip na isulat.. I dont want to write my "chaotic feeling tonight" wala akong maayos na sasabihin din sa issue ng feeling ko now.. Its christmas day.. Well, anyway Happy Birthday my King! Salamat sa another year na binigay mo.. Salamat pa rin sa mga bad news and heartaches.. Me tanong ako, mejo quota na ako sa bad news this year.. Mula sa umayos ang bones ko hanggang sa hindi nman pala talaga okay kasi mas delikado..ang sama nman ng hugot ng 2017 sa akin.. Anong meron kaya.. Ingon pa sa akong inahan, at least you can still read even if the force comes to worst.. As in nay? I love reading pero lahi ra.. I cant be my own old self kng malason next year.. Kaluoy sa bata.. Basta bitaw mai balasahon lahi ra.. Unta ra.. June 2018 is my deadline.. Haha huy duol na.. Naunsa.. Kumusta ang november chenes kai gayaya ra akong progress sa health.. Porbida.. Kadaghag issue sa lawas.. Maau pa tong buang na always nako makit an sa bulaong banda nagkabulingit nman jud to xa oy pero murag healthy kaayo sya tan awon kai kadaog pa kaayo xa sa iyang mga plastic na mga stuffs na ambot unsaon to nya. Pero na sad ko namayat xa lately and worst sige na lang xag higda didto banda sa mga van.. Kaluoy.. Talawan kog buang pero the nerve sa pamilya na nagpasagad ato nya.. Ginoo na lang bahala sa mga pabaya na kapamilya ato.. Hayyys.. 1.04am na.. Jusme.. Ano na bon magsleep ka na kai mai tambok goals pa bya ka next year.. Haha feeling ko mamayat ko ani.. I have a strong feeling.. Wala lang bakit.. Masama mag give mg fearless forecast sa sarili? 😂 chenes ra man na.. Haha di man tanan cause of death sakit.. Naa mai natulog ra pero namatay.. Di man pare pareho.. Haha kng pede pa lang ron ma deads na.. Kng di lang sala.. Mahadlok man kog Ginoo oy.. Kng i feel so worthless sa isa ka tao today..mafeel ko pa man na worthy ko sa Ginoo kai miski bad news na nov. Pa ang target month sa op at least me petsa na.. In a short span of time na nag effort akong tita.. Salamat japon kaayo.. Unta next year malagpasan na ni tanan.. Para ka bwelo na ko sa life.. Hehe.. Kng nasakitan man ko this year ug a lit of times tani next year puro nman happiness.. Hangyo lang.. Nagstrive man ko na mag okay sa isa ka tao.. Pero di man enough tanan.. Dala dalahon ko ni asta sa maayo ko.. Himuon nako ni na challenge para mag ayo.. Kung dili man ko worthy para sa iya.. Kabalo man ko Papa God na when i get the chance to live in tjis world kabalo na ko sa akong worth sa imuha.. Salamat sa gift of life.. Salamat sa mga trials.. Salamat sa imong kaayo.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN MY KING.. -bons

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: A Slovenian Biennial that Breaks the Mold

Jelsen Lee Innocent, “As If Our Bodies Were Built To House Your Bullets” (2017) digital print installation (photo by Peter Rauch)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — This summer has seen a European procession of art behemoths — Art Basel, Venice Biennale, Documenta and Sculpture Projects Münster — a mammoth confluence that happens only once a decade. Challenging the selection protocols of the art system behind these emporia is the satisfyingly lean, poetically charged, curatorially radical, and venerable (it was founded in 1955) 32nd Biennial of Graphic Arts: Birth as Criterion, in Ljubljana (pronounced: loo-be-yana) Slovenia. There, I came upon a heterogeneous assortment of gripping graphic art frequently focused on identity politics as auto-curated by diverse artists whose work thematically deals with issues of multiplicity. This organization and theme is the result of an interesting curatorial experiment spearheaded by chief-curator Nevenka Šivavec.

More than two-thirds of the work is by North and South Americans, and most of this focuses on identity politics and autobiography, which runs the risk of falling into self-involved parochialisms. Worse, such default identity fixations may even be used to fortify those opposed to the ideal of a world without division: bigoted far-right xenophobes and rabid nationalists. But here in EU-member Slovenia, within the continental climes of folkloric Ljubljana (a petite municipality near Venice on an alluvial plain dating to the Quaternary era), the Americans’ art took on oddly gallant, almost fairy tale qualities of transcontinental value.

Performance still from Meta Grgurevič’s “Silenzio: Eternal loopholes and braided lines” (2017) MGLC (photo by Urska Boljkovac)

Certainly, heroic risk is evident in the Slovenian organization of this biennial, which goes so far as to adopt the chance-based cadavre exquis (exquisite cadaver) as a model. Nevenka Šivavec and her eight curatorial team members (Irena Borić, Miklavž Komelj, Yasmín Martín Vodopivec, Breda Škrjanec, Lili Šturm, Vladimir Vidmar, Asta Vrečko and Božidar Zrinski) were bold enough to reconsider and change the generic protocols of curating a typical biennial. Instead of centralizing choice of participation by having one person (The Curator) determining the process for the realization of the exhibition, this collective functioned as a catalyst: setting up a curatorial mechanism that intertwined with the philosophical concept of the rhizome as developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari (itself based on the botanical rhizome). The biennial collective thus embarked upon an uncertain and uneasy path where the only foundation was its determination to follow the initial convictions.

The collective kicked off the selection process by inviting five previous biennial awardees to name the first five participating artists, thus launching a generative structure in which further selected artists also become selectors. This ideal of flowing concatenation was formally emphasized in the lush, demanding opening dance performance: Meta Grgurevič’s “Silenzio: Eternal Loopholes and Braided Lines.” The piece interlinked electronic and ritualistic live music and chant with a stringed mechanical kinetic apparatus and mesmerizing dance choreographed by Sanja Nešković Peršin that blended ballet and contact improvisation.

Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses, published 1680 by J. W. Valvasor, (photo by the author)

The main exhibition, entitled Criterion as Birth, consists of 27 artists in spaces they largely chose for themselves at the MGLC Tivoli Mansion and at the newly renovated Švicarija Creative Centre. Setting the historic-conceptual-poetic context for the work of these 27 artists is a small but important show at Škuc Gallery entitled This Is Not a Name. Key referential works here include a beautiful rare book of Publius Ovidius Naso’s Metamorphoses published by J. W. Valvasor in 1680, Karel Destovnik Kajuh’s cyclostyle-printed Poem (1943) from the Slovene National Archive, a copy of Tomaž Šalamun’s first edition poem “Namen Pelerine” (Purpose of a Cape) from 1968, and an anonymous sculpture of the head of Achelous, a man-faced bull god, from 37–68 AD courtesy of the Museum of Ljubljana. This robust Greek mythological god of rivers and marshlands is often depicted as a mature bearded man with horns. In his battle with Hercules over a nymph, he is transformed into a bull (to no avail, alas). Figures of Achelous are often found in Roman settlements near rivers and marshes, such as Emona, the Roman town which preceded today’s Ljubljana on the same site.

For Birth as Criterion, the recipients of the Grand Prize of the past five Biennial editions — Jeon Joonho (2007), Justseeds (2009), Regina José Galindo (2011), María Elena González (2013) and Ištvan Išt Huzjan (2015) — were invited to each propose one artist to participate in this year’s event. The resulting five artists were then invited to nominate the next five. The process consisted of several rounds, a procedure that transformed not only the art content but also the biennial’s structure, resulting in a 57% male to 43% female participation ratio. Šivavec seemed pleased with the results of these shared contacts, but told me this year’s venture did not signal a permanent change in curatorial practise for the Biennial of Graphic Arts going forward.

Jess X Snow “Unstoppable by Borders” (2017) digital print wallpaper on wall (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

This year’s non-hierarchical sharing of power is also echoed in its title Birth as Criterion, which alludes to the poem of modernist twentieth-century Slovene poet Jure Detela that was provided to each artist. As I understand it, Detela’s anti-anthropomorphic poetic philosophy is a predecessor of the recent speculative realism turn in continental philosophy and aesthetics that defines itself loosely by its stance against the dominant forms of post-Kantian philosophy a.k.a. correlationism. So even as the 32nd Biennial of Graphic Arts rejected the framework of a thematic exhibition, it clings to an important (if vaguely defined) philosophic-poetic attitude that questions the anthropomorphic polarity of human vs. non-human by offering a multitude of potential connections and interactions as a means of rearticulating the question of the conditions of humanist-centric art. Speculative realism, like Detels’s poem, attempts to consider art, politics, nature, and thought beyond the confines of human finitude.

Just a few of my favorite individual contributions to this media-diverse show include Christopher Myer’s “Detritus of Dreams” (2016), an installation of delicately hung embroideries that traffic in the surreal turns of phrases found in contemporary hip-hop music, made in collaboration with a group of Vietnamese embroiderers.

Christopher Myers, “Agriculture” in “Detritus of Dreams” (2016) fabric & thread (courtesy of the artist)

Wild whimsy is also apparent in Kaitlynn Redell’s installation of works from her series Supporting as Herself in which she explores how film stills of Anna May Wong (the 1920s Chinese-American actress) carry a sense of historical weight for her, and serve as a contested foundation for Chinese American identity politics. As she explained to me, “the manipulated representation of Wong’s public image, the stereotypical roles she played, and my proximity to her birthplace in Chinatown, Los Angeles,” compelled Redell to view and interpret Wong “as a lynch pin for what it means to be both American and foreign ‘othered’ simultaneously.” This serious matter is transmitted through joyful (almost dizzying) baroque figurative collages and drawings that depict twists and turns of flotsam and jetsam: fragments of Wong’s hair, muscle fragments and/or body-hugging clothing. The rendering is meticulous and realistic, but ambiguous, in a liberating way.

Kaitlynn Redell “Supporting as Herself (Unknown 1)” (2013), courtesy of the artist

Japanese-American artist Asuka Ohsawa’s installation “Inventory of a Life in Progress” (2017) was grid-oriented: made up of a bevy of colorful, charming screen-print and letterpress cards that visitors may take away with them in exchange for leaving a note on what makes their lives worth living. Grappling with grief over the loss of her father to cancer in 2016, Ohsawa drew inspiration for the vibrant grid from the last letter her father had written. The pop images on the postcards were gleaned from travel to Ohsawa’s childhood home in Japan where she dug through boxes of remnants from her past. Her exchange project’s emphasis on time and worth and gladness made for a joyful and thoughtful pause, complimented by a chair where one may rest one’s feet.

Asuka Ohsawa, “Inventory of a Life in Progress” (2017) (detail) screen-print & letterpress (courtesy of the artist)

Norwegian artist Johanne Teigen’s installation “Light not Heat” (2017) filled a room with huge, shinny digital prints on fabric. She loosely bunched some of them on the wall in an informal manner that brought back memories of my artist friend Steve Parrino’s work. Alberto Rodríguez Collía’s “Jus ad Bellum” room installation (2015–17) was also good, mixing the virtual with the actual by sculpting flat, silver gun images that had been plucked from a first-person-shooter video game, sprinkling them around the room. Jess X. Snow, a self-identified queer Asian-American artist, filmmaker and poet, astonished me with a digital wallpaper mural called “Unstoppable by Borders” (2017) of flat fleeing immigrants integrated into a flock of birds. It is stunning, well makes the point of the artificiality of national borders, and made me want to see her poetic animation work “Migration Is Natural” (2017). The other wonderful wall-mural here was made by Ebecho Muslimova. It clownishly depicts an auto-erotic masturbation machine powered by the sun and rain pleasuring her corpulent alter-ego FatEbe. By jumping into the wacky pataphysical tradition of drawn Rube Goldberg machines, the comic, exceedingly complex devices that perform simple tasks in very indirect and convoluted ways, it nicely picks up the generative automatism at the heart of this biennal. The mural’s title comes from a line of Jure Detela’s hermetic poem: “How the Sensuality in Me Scatters” (2017) even though it appeared to me that sensuality was being collected. It is monumentally naughty and I loved it.

Ebecho Muslimova, “How the Sensuality in Me Scatters” (2017) sketch for wall mural, (courtesy of the artist)

Jelsen Lee Innocent’s powerful installation “Pickets of Purpose for The People of Perpetual Protest II” (2017) imagines a stark tradition where elder black Americans have handed down their picket signs from generation to generation as a rite of passage and a sign of ethical stagnation. It makes a pertinent and necessary point, but his delicately constructed piece on police brutality “As If Our Bodies Were Built To House Your Bullets” (2017) is even more emotionally devastating. The numerous round graphic puncture holes that riddle the two images of magnified dark human skin (produced by the artist by photocopying the back of his hand and scaling it up to the pixelated realm) hanging loose over an elegant metal structure that makes them look like beach towels, are a punch to the gut. It effectively mixes violence with delicacy — and thus encourages empathy. It could be a defining work of art of our current time where Black Lives Matters still very much matters. (On the night of the opening a Latino Minnesota police officer, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted of manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black motorist, shot dead seconds after informing Yanez that he was carrying a gun.)

Also founded in a history of blackness in the US was the performance and resultant expressionistic paintings by Jarrett Key. He creates them by flamboyantly dancing against a hung canvas with black tempera paint soaked into his robust (brush-like) ponytail straightened with a hot comb. Imagine Bob Fosse choreographing an homage to Nam June Paik’s “Performing La Monte Young’s ‘Composition 1960 No. 10’ to Bob Morris (Zen for Head)” (1962). But Key told me that the work “examines tensions found at the intersection of the four pillars of his identity: blackness, queerness, southern-ness, and family.” It does so in a highly entertaining and deeply personal way that exudes love and respect for his Georgia grandmother Ruth Mae “Poke-A-Dot” “Ma’Dear” Giles.

Jarrett Key performing “Hair Painting 15” (2017) (MGLC photo by Urska Boljkovac)

Another successful homage, this time to artist Dieter Roth, is Jennifer Schmidt’s poetry monotype print installation “Reviewing the Review, Everything for Review” (2017) that uses offset printing on newspaper and was executed at Seydisfjordur, Iceland using Dieter Roth’s own etching press. As she explained to me, “the word play of the titles refers to the work of Dieter Roth, and his inclusive publication Review for Everything where every artist submission was accepted without jury.” Schmidt drew the monotype multiples using her finger in black ink and ran the plates through Roth’s old press to refer to his collaborative artistic process involving his friends and children and questioning the role of the singular artist. She also spent a lot of time in Roth’s Icelandic studio holding and studying original copies of his artist books while dwelling on the concept of analogy. Indeed, her resultant poetry prints are analogies, invoking relationships between things, allowing reflection on how meaning is produced by comparing and understanding relationships between things.

At the Ljubljana City Art Museum, I also took in the quirky, body-based work of Ištvan Išt Huzjan, the winner of the Grand Prize of the 31st Biennial, in his show Measures, smartly curated by Alenka Gregorič. Gregorič first lays out various

Maria Bonomi, “Ballad of Terror” (1975) woodcut, MGLC (photo by Željko Stevanić, IFP)

projects tied to the artist walking, a constant in Huzjan’s questioning of social systems, historical facts, and relationships between individuals. Exhibited on the second floor are objects made in the artist’s studio, where we see the enjoyable play with basic physical things and properties enhanced by the fragility of materials used.

Nearby, and also of major interest to me, was Brazilian Maria Bonomi’s impressive print retrospective Printmaking for Ever at the Jakopič Gallery. I vividly recall the rugged feel of clasping the hard-working artisanal hand of Bonomi upon meeting her. Her woodblock prints are large, abstract, and powerfully expressive — yet they convey the feeling of fragility. In masterful woodcut prints, such as “Ballad of Terror” (1975), she contrasts bold, abstract (but symbolic) images with pale, thin, rice paper so that nervy color inks may filter through. This sizeable blood-hot print, made the same year that Bonomi was jailed for two days for suspicion of insurgency, expresses the pain of torture one of Bonomi’s friends experienced under Brazilian dictatorship in the 1970s.

Leja Jurišić, “The Most Beautiful Moments are the Shortest” (2017), (photo by the author)

I also took in the dramatic moment when Leja Jurišić kicked away the chair in her “The Most Beautiful Moments are the Shortest” (2017) presentation at the Ministry of Culture building, leaving herself, angelic-like, taped to the wall. With this work she accomplished an appropriation-transgression of Maurizio Cattelan’s “A Perfect Day” (1999) piece by performing it as an anti-masochistic escape act; arduously working her way free of the self-imposed tape trap.

So as you might glean, there is a lot included here of worth, but not so much that it can’t be seen in a full day. On the other hand, the idea of challenging petrified art world hierarchies and protocols of exclusion with active contemplation never ends.

The 32nd Biennial of Graphic Arts: Birth as Criterion continues in Ljubljana Slovenia till October 29th at the MGLC Tivoli Mansion, the Švicarija Creative Centre, Škuc Gallery, the Ljubljana City Art Museum and Jakopič Gallery.

Editor’s note: the author’s travel expenses and accommodations were paid for by the London public relations firm Rees & Company.

The post A Slovenian Biennial that Breaks the Mold appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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[pinkbelugacollective]

Damn there’s a lot to cover so it’ll be in a few parts I’m anon bc I think ur cool and I want us to be on good terms but I’m not sure yet if we can disagree politely ;(

I got to disagree with you on some parts like Julius callously just straight up collecting ppl like Pokémon. He simply selected people who he thought had cool magic and a potential to be good warriors. He is both childish and ambitious. Simple as that.

He knew he had to create a strong squad so he could be WK one day and he did it in the nicest way possible. He helped Yami become more acquainted with the language and culture and made him a strong knight. He did the same thing for William. He showed kindness and respect when William had none and helped with his insecurities. William knew that realistically speaking, not everyone is going to accept his visage as graciously as Julius so he was content with at least one person(whom he regarded highly) knowing and accepting him. Giving someone a purpose and the will to live not a bad thing yk?

But at the same time, he achieved his goal to be Wizard King without stepping on anyone.

Though I have to agree that he flopped as WK to achieve what he wanted.

So I will preface this with four things:

Really, I am just a Siberian sheep farmer, and thus you are welcome to post a dissenting opinion at any time. I do not bite!! The rest of your asks are under the cut. :D

I have never read the light novels.

My knowledge is 75% anime, 25% manga. I started the anime and watched all the way to the beginning of the Heart mini-arc. Then I stopped and read the manga from where the anime stopped. Therefore, I only have knowledge of the story through the anime up to volume 23. Volumes 23 onwards, I’ve been manga-exclusive until recently, now that the anime is adapting from the manga.

I am a crackhead.

So for the Pokemon part, I was referring to Yami, but like... How you describe Julius is exactly how I’d imagine a Pokemon trainer. He’s a forty-year-old man and his passion in life is to look at shiny magic things, and that’s OK! Julius is an eccentric man, and there’s never anything wrong about being passionate about the things you love.

But at the same time, Julius’ passion is also one of his primary weapons because he did recruit William and Yami specifically because they had interesting/rare magic, and despite how passionate he is about magic, they were recruited for the military. They were also, arguably, at their most vulnerable when Julius came along. Yami was poor, illiterate in the Clover language, and not ashamed to walk off with a stranger for a simple meal, whereas William was basically the Clover equivalent of weird lil forest boy. Now, do I think Julius recruited them because he planned to take over the world? Absolutely not! But he did manage to recruit them into a system he would, eventually, go on to oversee, so it’s very difficult for me to view Julius as some flighty old man just asking cool magic people to join him when he’s shown to be one of the sharpest and coldest people in the room, and intelligent enough to forecast what power he needs to be able to leverage in order to maintain control.

And I agree - he’s ineffective as a leader, and incompetent at his job in general. However, I don’t think his incompetency is just because his head is in the clouds about magic. I think it’s also because of his privileged birth, his aimlessness in life before Zara came along, etc. In any other world, Julius would probably be your favorite archeologist living off daddy’s trust fund, but he’s not that. He’s the head of a military force and the face of a nation, and I truly believe he’s failed both.

As for toxic loyalty.... I would have to disagree. I think superficially Yami is just a dude going about his day, squatting in Mr. Legolant’s house with his Pokemon, but I don’t think Yami is so dumb that he doesn’t recognize how much he’s despised for being a migrant. You’re right, he doesn’t have to be a beacon of change for any other immigrants, but I think it depoliticizes his character and does an overall disservice to his narrative when race/species conflict, class conflict, and genocide are all key themes in the story. You’re right, Yami doesn’t give a fuck most of the time because he’s just not interested in social justice or bringing any meaningful impact to Clover politics, but it’s because he doesn’t give a fuck is the problem. Yami’s complacent in upholding Julius’ institution, just like William is complacent in Patolli’s acts of terror, because regardless of how Yami feels, he’s part of a larger military complex seeking to uphold the Crown, a crown Julius controls as leader of the military.

And I heavily disagree that William wasn’t focused on equality, discrimination, and all that jazz. William’s grimore was not dedicated to Julius pre-elf reincarnation. If it was, William’s struggle in deciding between Patolli and Julius would never have existed because Patolli would have either been contained and or exorcised before it got to the point that it did. More than that, William’s betrayal runs far deeper than the moment he receded to let Patolli chop off Fuegoleon’s arm and put him in a coma. No - William’s betrayal was a decade’s worth of actively building a squadron of bodies that would be fit to hold the souls of the elves once the reincarnation began. I’d argue that William implicitly chose Patolli from the start, even if he explicitly made the case that he didn’t really have a choice. In addition, William was aiding and abetting a terrorist whose entire motivation hinges on the genocide of his people. Sorry to say, but I can’t agree that William didn’t have these things in mind when he was making his choices.

For Fuegoleon and Nozel, I won’t argue they’re seeking to fulfill political ambitions. It’s true! They want the Crown because they want the power and can strive for it due to their position on the hierarchy.

As for overthinking Yami’s behavior... I like to overthink. Lemme tell you why. Yami being aware of Charlotte’s feelings aint the problem, and neither is his him getting into fights with Jack. No, the issue is Yami has a habit of collecting people like Pokemon when people shouldn’t be treated as such!

I make jokes that Yami never got management training, but lemme expand - he hired an ex-con, a mage whose true visage he didn’t learn about until the Underwater Sea Temple arc, an alcoholic with mommy issues, an anxiety-ridden taxi with daddy and brother issues, etc., basically all of the members have some kind of issue that stems from trauma/violence/etc and Yami just invites them to his squad like, literally, it’s a halfway house. Now, the people he recruits are grateful and all, but they’re all fucked up! Every one of them, except Asta.

And that’s why I say Asta was the wake-up call Yami needed, and the character that will drive Yami’s development, because Asta has something Yami doesn’t have - and that’s clarity. Asta’s history, his rise to power, his ambition, all of that hinges on a childhood raised with love and warmth even if he was born with what the kingdom could view as a disability (ie. no magic). Asta knows what he wants because his goals benefit more than just him. Asta wants it for Hage, for his adoptive father, and for his foster family. Asta has his eyes on the prize because his circumstances allowed for him to keep his eyes on the prize.

Yami does not have that level clarity in his life. You said it yourself - Yami isn’t the type to sweat the political stuff, he’s living because he can, and he surpasses his limits because he wants to and not because he has to. He leaves his squad to his business, and he expects them to get their shit together when necessary, but besides that, it’s hands-off.

And that’s where the issue is! Yami is detached from his own squad emotionally. Part of the reason why it’s easy to parentify Yami as the team dad because it’s assumed his detachment is a regular shounen-dad trait, not present but he loves you anyway. I don’t think that’s the case with Yami. I think it runs deeper than that, and part of the reason why Yami can’t bond with his own teammates and actually lead the squad is because he’s overcompensating for his own insecurities and inability to have a clear and necessary vision for his future.

The few times Yami has had to surpass his limits is when he’s had to protect his squad, people who are mentally ill and generally incompetent themselves, and it’s because Yami knows he’s the only one capable of doing it. And that’s a problem! Yami doesn’t offer them the tools to get better mentally and physically. It’s not even a joke anymore because Henry has tried murder-suicide twice in order to win a battle, and it’s for Yami. Before Asta, the Black Bulls were a fractured mess of people with Yami holding them together for dear life, but with Asta, they were able to see life beyond the comforts of the Black Bulls den. Vanessa and Finral faced their traumatic pasts. Grey finally found the courage to enhance her magic. Henry finally came out of the attic. In a way, the Black Bulls are also toxically loyal to Yami because Yami? He’s not a good leader either! Now, is that Yami’s fault? No, but he is responsible for the health and wellbeing of his squad, and his kidnapping by Zenon was testament that he’d ultimately failed in the only real responsibility he’s ever had. Maybe that’s overthinking Yami’s character and motivations, but I think that’s fine.

As for the civil war, that’s just something I would love to see because Bleach never did a Rukongai civil war when we were ripe for it. It’s pure self-indulgence! Of course I know neither Fuegoleon nor Nozel will start a civil war, but I like to think something will, and sometimes I think it will be Asta’s trial... and sometimes I think it will be something completely outta left field, but the concept fascinates me because much of the story is predicated on the ongoing issues of social and political injustice, race/species conflict, even if it’s all fluffed up with cool character designs. Now, a lot of why I want to see Black Clover attempt a civil war is because I hold Tabata to a standard simply because he claims his work is Berserk but for babies. Now, I never thought such a concept would come to light, but as a Berserk stan... I just wanna see if he’s worth his mettle! I think there’s a lot in the story that’s ripe for inter-Clover conflict, but I also understand his limitations. Yes, because it’s shounen, he can’t expand on certain themes, but like, he teases it well enough that it makes it, quite frankly, annoying as heck when he doesn’t pull through. Perhaps it’s my own fault for holding him to the standard, but like, if you gon say you gon write bootleg Berserk, then write bootleg Berserk!!!

I digress. Now, if a civil war were to begin, I honestly think it would be one mainly driven by what happens to Asta post-Spade. If Damnatio turns around and paints him as a hero for having saved the kingdom, then there won’t be any need for a civil war because uwu Asta will become Wizard King and do policy change from the top-down (trickle-down social and poltical justice).

But if Asta were to be charged and jailed anyway, just so he could take the fall for the amount of destruction that’s about to go down, then it doesn’t make sense for there not to be a civil war. Because once Asta goes down, who’s gonna become Wizard King? Yuno? The guy whose birthright is the Spade throne? Even if Yuno remains a Clover citizen, the chances of him becoming Wizard King are next to null because his parentage would be viewed as a conflict of interest.

So really, it’s not a question of who starts the war, but what propels the issue. We already know that in the context of the story, kin punishment exists, so if Asta has to take the fall, who’s to say his family won’t take it too? That the family in Hage and Yuno won’t have to bear the brunt of the blame in order to bring “peace” to the nation.

I’d like Tabata to go the route of a civil war because then he’d be forced to show that the issues in Clover run way deeper than just Augustus and the nobility. It’s their caste-like social structure, lack of infrastructure and resources for the people living in the “outer” areas, their discriminatory practices towards those of lower birth, racism, etc.

But again, that entirely depends on if Tabata wants to tell such a tale, or if he prefers Asta take the assimilationist route, save the day, and become the uwu hero. He can! It’s an easy way to frame things, and mirrors Lumiere’s Big Battle well enough, but I think a war would also be great so that it can really put Asta in a position to exercise his brain in the face of absolute loss, and spark hope from nothing. Asta is my favorite of the new generation of Shounen Jump protags because he has a level of potential I just don’t see in others. He has a drive, but he also has critical thinking skills, and he has a support system when shit gets real. I want to see Asta feel the weight of decisions beyond his control, so that he can experience decision-making from a place of true helplessness, which I honestly think will help him see that there’s more to the dream of being Wizard King than just climbing the ranks. It’s advocating for real change. It’s not only knowing how to empower the people, but also being able to actively challenge injustice in every form. It’s not full-on anarchy like Liebe, but it’s not just assimilationist politicking he was doing earlier. I think with a civil war, Asta will understand that there’s more to his world than just magic, and that he, as a non-magic person, can make change that doesn’t hinge on him following the rule of the law, because the laws have to change, and they can’t change when Asta’s forty and finally Wizard King, they have to happen now. A civil war will expose a lot of the underpinning issues and offer the cast a change to work through them! Also, it makes for good conflict uwu.

But that’s entirely my opinion!!! I’m a HUGE fan of historical political thrillers. Absolutely LOVE that shit. I wanna see it in Black Clover because selfishly, it would make me happy!!

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 5/21/18

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 8 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – This was more of a band volume than a romantic triangle volume, and I appreciated that. Momo and Yuzu have to learn here that in order to survive, they have to write songs that are for other people, as well as songs that occasionally make compromises—such as being easier to sing. They do this by running into two annoying idols whose annoyingness turns out to be half front (and half being annoying). Elsewhere, Miou is having trouble dealing with being in a relationship when she’s still in love with Yuzu, and tries to deal with both issues at the same time, with limited success. And as if that weren’t enough, BATTLE OF THE BANDS again. Shojo’s Beat’s most addictive potboiler. – Sean Gaffney

Baccano!, Vol. 3 | By Ryohgo Narita, Shinta Fujimoto and Katsumi Enami | Yen Press – This final volume of the manga is a relatively straightforward adaptation of the first volume, with a few Easter Eggs thrown in for hardcore novel fans, such as a flashforward to Firo and Ennis’ wedding (Christopher! Rail! People blocked by an annoying arm!). Of course, the manga is cagey about when that wedding takes place—trust me, it’ll be a while. As for other aspects of the adaptation, it’s worth noting that Enami more than the anime or the novels is making Isaac and Miria explicitly a romantic couple rather than a mere comedy double act. There’s some really sweet moments here that shows off their love. Baccano! fans who saw the anime and read the novels will want this too. – Sean Gaffney

Black Clover, Vol. 11 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – There’s a lot going on here, and as always with Black Clover very little of it will take you by surprise. We see brainwashed villains overcoming it (as well as villains in love), Asta manages to control his anti-magic and become more powerful, and an arrogant sneering villain gets to apologize. We also see Vanessa face off against the Queen of Witches, which gives us a nice opportunity to talk about how much Jump loves found families. A whole lot. The whole is not greater than the sum of its parts—honestly, the whole is about the same as the parts—and I suspect I’ll forget what happened in this volume before the next. But I do enjoy Black Clover as I read it. It’s dumb fun. – Sean Gaffney

The Bride Was a Boy | By Chii | Seven Seas – It probably isn’t much of a surprise that The Bride Was a Boy was one of the manga releases that I was most looking forward to this year. It’s fairly rare in translated manga to see realistically portrayed characters who are transgender, but rarer still is the opportunity to read a manga that is both about and by someone who actually is transgender. The Bride Was a Boy is the autobiography of Chii. It’s an adorably sweet manga about her experiences as a transwoman in Japan, including aspects of her transition and her marriage to her wonderful husband. Some may criticize the work for being too free of conflict–that it doesn’t adequately show the hardships that so many transgender people face–but it’s incredibly refreshing to see such a charming and positive work. Happy, hopeful stories about transgender lives are valuable and important to have, too. – Ash Brown

Chihayafuru, Vol. 11 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Mizusawa’s karuta club has earned a spot at the national tournament no matter what happens in their final match against Hokuou, though it’s still a disappointment when they don’t come away with the victory. Part of the problem is that Chihaya is looking ahead to her next game against Shinobu and spends the entire first half trying to improve her accuracy rather than relying on her real strength—having a higher number of “one-character cards” than anyone else. I love that her resulting funk is short-lived and that her perseverance also serves as an inspiration for her sister, who’s having a bit of a career crisis. After a nice bit of encouragement from the wind instruments club, the gang is off to nationals. I consistently love this series more with every volume and don’t foresee that ever changing. – Michelle Smith

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 5 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – The joy of getting Falin back lasts for about five pages into this fifth volume, and I hope you weren’t looking forward to her as part of the team. But no, instead we get a new villain, the “Lunatic Magician,” who shows the reader what they had guessed all along—Falin came back wrong. Hopefully we’ll see more of her later, but for the moment our heroes have to go back to the surface—they’ve finally gone as far as they can living off the dungeon. We also meet a few other groups, some of whom are familiar with Laos and company, and learn that Laos and Falin are viewed as… rather creepy by everyone else in the area. The series is getting darker, but I’m still enjoying the places it’s going. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 8 | By Izumi Miyazono | Viz Media – The series proves to be very good at looking at multiple aspects of a long term, non-married relationship, and that’s good news for the reader but bad news for Asuka, who has to deal with her workplace hearing she’s involved, and thus demoting her as they expect her to leave to be a housewife. This is so very, very Japan and it’s sad that everyone treats it as “yeah, that’s what happens.” Asuka and Ryu try their best, but she’s also hammered on by the folks in the United States that they need Ryu to be there—and not with Asuka. As such, the end of this volume is sad but inevitable. Fortunately, it’s not the end of the series. This was a bit excruciating, but well told. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 23 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – This is the second volume in a row not to deal with the main Karasuno club, as we’re still playing out Nekoma’s match for the majority of the book. It’s a good match, but I must admit it does not exactly lend itself to new things to say in a review. Cool things happen, people learn about volleyball, their are heartfelt flashbacks, and eventually a team is the winner. The next volume definitely looks like it’s heading back to Kageyama, though, as he’s been picked as what sounds like the equivalent of an All-Pro. Can be do actual teamwork with a team other than his own, though? And what does Hinata feel about this? Fine out next time, same Haikyu-time, same Haikyu-channel. – Sean Gaffney

Tales of Wedding Rings, Vol. 2 | By Maybe | Yen Press – There’s a bit of fanservice here, but for the most part Tales of Wedding Rings impresses me by not going for the obvious harem fantasy tropes. We travel to the country of the elves to meet the next princess (described in the blurb as well-endowed, presumably to separate her from the well-endowed main heroine). Unfortunately, Nefritis is a massive introvert with a fear of others, and her brother not only has a massive brother complex but also seems to have a hate-on for the ring bearer—the two may be connected. There’s some emotional scenes and a nice battle in among the cliches here, and while I’m expecting more well-endowed girls next time around, I still think this is worth your time. – Sean Gaffney

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 4 | By Megumi Morino | Kodansha Comics – Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty has always been good, but I was not expecting so many feels. It all starts so well. Shizu has come so far as her true self, and has a lovely evening with Tetsu at the summer festival. Tetsu patches things up with Chihiro, whom we learn sees a lot of himself in Shizu. With Chihiro’s encouragement, Tetsu begins to ask the spirits occupying Shizu about their lingering regrets, hoping to maybe help them move on. It’s so hopeful! And then evil dad returns and we’re plunged into bleak darkness. Thankfully, it’s brief, as Tetsu has come to care too much about Shizu to let his guilt over being paid to befriend her keep him from helping her escape her dad’s clutches. Evil dad won’t be happy with this turn of events, but I personally can’t wait to see what happens next. – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith