#because they casted two girls for the main straight couple.

[heatmiiiiser]

Ggrrr I wish disenchantment was better. I binged it all because I'm sick somebody talk to me about this.

[purpleajisai]

The history in fiction: Parallels between historical Japan and the Narutoverse

Part 1: The era of the Six Paths

Naruto may not be a historical fiction and most people will think that the utmost historical reference in the series is the fact that ninja were a thing in feudal Japan. But what if I told you that there is an insane amount of historical parallels in the series? That we could actually place the events of the main timeline within real periods of Japanese history? In this two-part series, I’ll be explaining the many parallels, references and design inspirations of the main events and generations that shaped the course of the series that we all know and love. I’ll start with the era of the Six Paths (starting from Kaguya and ending with Indra and Ashura), and part 2 will be about the Warring States (dynamic between the Senju and Uchiha). At the end of each part, I’ll add useful links so that you can deepen your investigation and see my sources. Without further ado, let’s start overanalyzing.

Historical references and parallels in character design and dynamics

I’d place this particular era of the Narutoverse in the Heian period of Japan (or at least the most important people, the brothers Indra and Ashura). Considering that we’re spanning 3 generations here, I’ll separate the individuals involved in the following way:

Kaguya: End of Nara period (710 AD - 784 AD)

Hagoromo and Hamura: Early Heian period (794 AD - 1185 AD)

Indra and Ashura: Heian period (794 AD - 1185 AD)

Kaguya

On a side note, I’d like to add that I’m not really considering Tenji in the list above because he’s an anime only character. However, his case caught my eye so I’ll discuss him as well. Let’s start by evaluating Kaguya and Tenji then. Kaguya’s character design is a very classical archetype of Heian beauty standards and clothing. Long, straight hair with flowy kimono and a delicate face. Her unusual eyebrows are no coincidence as well, as in the Heian period the practice of hikimayu was commonplace in noblewomen. 

"Hiki means "pull" and mayu means "eyebrows". Aristocratic women used to pluck or shave their eyebrows and paint new ones using a powdered ink called haizumi, which was made of soot from sesame or rapeseed oils." (source)

Left: Filler anime episode // Right: Manga panel

Above: Hikimayu through the ages of Japan

Another interesting fact that I’d like to point out is that Kaguya is a character with striking similarity to a Japanese folk tale, in this case the Tale of Princess Kaguya (Kaguyahime no monogatari), whose origin we can trace back to Heian Japan. The Tale of Princess Kaguya tells the story of a little baby girl who “fell from the skies” and was found by a couple of old farmers inside of a bamboo. She grew up to be extremely beautiful and was courted by lots of noblemen, but she rejected them all insisting that somebody would come for her, as she looked at the moon. Of course, Naruto provides us with a different ending to the story but this similarity can’t be overlooked.

Above: "The Receding Princess" from The Japanese Fairy Book, 1908

Moving on to Tenji, it gets a bit more complicated to place him in an exact historical moment as he has elements of many different periods. His hairstyle resembles the styling of the Jomon period, whereas the entire setting in the filler episodes are more similar to the Nara period with the many small kingdoms fighting for dominance within a vast land, just like pre-unification Japan. Therefore, I place Kaguya and Tenji at the end of the Nara period, because we see how Kaguya takes over Tenji’s rulership and is regarded as a noblewoman after she casts the first Infinite Tsukuyomi. I have to rely on some filler in this case because otherwise I can’t find a logical explanation as to why Hagoromo was so well settled and had a large group of people following his teachings if it wasn’t for Kaguya ruling some land that originally belonged to Tenji. 

Hagoromo and Hamura

Let’s start with the second generation. Following the events of the end of the Nara period I quoted in the previous section, Hagoromo and Hamura would go in the beginning of the Heian period. Their character designs feature long, flowy tunics without a visible belt. Here you have an image of men’s clothes through Japanese history, the third one being a feudal lord of the Heian period. Compare and contrast with these anime and manga images.

Above: “Men’s Japanese clothes” by Glimja

Left: Filler anime episode with both // Right: Hagoromo manga panel

Again, since we get very few manga panels related to Hagoromo and his sons, I’ll refer once again to the filler episodes where he is shown as the ruler of a village. The spot within the Heian period in which I’m placing Hagoromo would be around 100 years after the Taika reforms which established one of the first codes of law in Japan and (Taihō code) and divided the country in provinces ruled by feudal lords. Curiously, around the time where the Taika reforms happened, there was an emperor called Tenji. 

Indra and Ashura

The third generation of the alien-human hybrids is here, and I place them in the Heian period as well. My main reason to consider Indra and Ashura in the Heian period is the fact that this is the exact time period where the samurai originate. A common misconception is that a samurai is a Japanese warrior highly trained in the martial arts and weapons. While this statement holds some truth, the samurai were the military social class of feudal Japan, which means that there were people who were of the samurai class but had never touched a weapon in their lives. Therefore, samurai clans were not entirely composed by warriors but also had a number of people who lived a more “civilian” lifestyle. And you may be wondering, “what do the historical samurai have to do with the ninja that we see in Naruto?”. The answer is: more than you think. Historically speaking, the ninja is a samurai specialised in stealth and sneaking, the only difference with the Naruto universe is that the ninja we know and love from the show possess chakra and perform techniques with that. 

The story of Indra and Ashura is strongly tied to the origin of ninja clans in Naruto, just as the Heian period is the origin of the samurai clans. From this time period I’d like to highlight the myth of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, more commonly known as Minamoto no Raiko. His story says that he slayed demons (yes, really) and saved many maidens from being abused by drunk oni with his great sword, Dojigiri Yasutsuna. The difference between myth and legend is that myths hold some kind of historical fact whereas legends are purely fictional. Minamoto no Raiko has been heavily mythified and his story sounds unbelievable or too much like a fantasy story until you realise that he did exist and that his sword is kept in a museum. Doesn’t this resemble how the origins of ninja in Naruto are almost like fantasy stories up until Hagoromo shows up in the 4th war and explains that everything was real all along? 

Above: Ukiyo-e of Minamoto no Raiko and others fighting the demon Shuten Doji.

Just as Minamoto no Raiko is considered the first samurai, Indra could be considered the first shinobi. He was the first to channel and shape chakra to create jutsu, and he was considered as part of the legends surrounding Hagoromo. Please compare these two panel sequences, one is from earlier in the story and the second one is Hagoromo’s version. 

The brothers’ character design can also be correlated with the Heian period. Indra’s eyebrows seem to be real but resemble the hikimayu design of Kaguya’s eyebrows, however he does add eye makeup. The people who wore makeup in the Heian period were nobles (mostly noblewomen), once again reinforcing my point that this family started out as feudal lords and eventually fused with the warrior class, becoming ninja clans. Although the character design for Indra and Ashura isn’t 100% equal to Heian Japan’s male clothing, the inspiration is subtle yet visible. I’d say that the inspiration is mostly for the plot rather than the appearance of the character. If you’d like to see more real Heian period clothing, this link has recreations of the outfits of the characters in the Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu.

Sources

These are some useful links that I’ve referred to while writing this post. I’d like to invite you to read them if you’d like to do further research on the beautiful history of Japan.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tenji

https://www.britannica.com/event/Taika-era-reforms

https://www.japanhousela.com/articles/princess-kaguya-a-tale-for-the-ages

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikimayu#:~:text=Hiki means "pull" and mayu,from sesame or rapeseed oils.

https://www.thoughtco.com/beauty-in-heian-japan-195557

https://history.hanover.edu/hhr/22/HHR2022miller.pdf

https://www.tumblr.com/heian-collection/30869762024/beauty-ideal-in-heian-japan?source=share

https://thegate12.com/article/264

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for part 2, the Warring States era. Special thanks to @al-hekima-madara-blog for actually motivating me to write all of this down 💜

[matan4il]

Why I will never give up on Canon Buddie..... Listen I am just a little straight girl who grew up on romance novels. You want Eddie with a women. Well, I mean Vanessa was perfect if you were a writer.

One dare I say she was a better version of Anna and 2 with a little manipulation she could be the girl version of Buck. I mean no one ever could, so don't come for me with pitchforks I just meant in general. She was beautiful, fun, a little heartbroken and didn't add stress to Eddie. Telling the story?? So easy it's a tale as old as time. She shares his culture so let's fake date to throw our tias off. Become friends. Maybe meet Chris. Maybe hesitate to do more because she's jaded and worried it won't work out and how will that effect Chris. Like I have seriously read this story a million times yet the writers never pull the trigger.

My second thing. Again I am a moderately attractive straight single girl. It is not that hard for me to find a relationship. I can throw a rock and find companionship you know?? No disservice to us straights it's just facts. So the fact that the writers intentionally get this wrong while being so loud about the couch screams volumes to me. Especially when you couple it with the fact these 2 do not wing man for each other, talk about sex lives and only refer to the significant other to tell them to dump them. That is the loudest part about their living in each other's back pocket BFF forever relationship. I mean Eddie couldn't even process Buck taking care of himself.

In conclusion 911 if you want me to stop shipping them this all on you. I mean I will never stop. But you could at least try!!

Awww, Nonnie! :D Welcome to the hopeless romantics club! We got comfy cushions for you, as well as cookies. ;)

Regarding Vanessa, yeah. I have seen plenty of rom coms that start off with the exactly interaction she and Eddie had. He's not ready, she's not ready, they come to the date with the intent to let each other down easy, and when they realize they were never an option for the other person, it intrigues them. It could have easily developed in the direction of "instead of going through this repeatedly, how about we fake date to get our Tias off our cases?" and slowly falling for each other. TBH, I wouldn't have been surprised if that's what 911 would go with, since so many shows would. I'm glad it didn't, that the point really was to help Eddie progress on his romantic journey rather than set him up with yet another LI.

I agree with you! I already thought it was eyebrow raising when 911 let Buddie be single throughout the entirety of s3 and a respectable chunk of 4a. Now in s6, they're both once again very single. And we're talking young, good looking, heroic firefighters. It should not be hard for them to find romance, yet out of almost 5 seasons of them being on the show together, roughly 2.5 they spend with both of them being single men. When they're the only single members of the main cast! That is VERY unusual, it's not the route most TV shows would take with their only single characters, you know? That Buck and Eddie are directly responsible for this state of double singleness a part of the time just makes it all more hilarious. XD

I've said it before, I will always ship Buddie. Which means as long as the show is on air and both of their characters are alive, I will hope for canon Buddie. But even if that doesn't happen, Buddie is canon to me. The show has written and filmed their epic love story, and I can't unsee that no matter what. In my head, it will always be just a matter of time before these two morons figure it out.

Thank you so much for this ask, lovely! Have a wonderful day. As always, my ask tag. xoxox

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

FLY ME TO THE MOON (2024)

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jim Rash, Anna Garcia, Donald Elise Watkins, Noah Robbins, Colin Woodell, Christian Zuber, Nick Dillenburg, Ray Romano, Woody Harrelson, Bill Barrett, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Joe Chrest, Colin Jost, Greg Kriek, Art Newkirk, Peter Jacobson, Ashley Kings, Jonathan Orea Lopez, Christian Clemenson and Eva Pilar.

Screenplay by Rose Gilroy.

Directed by Greg Berlanti.

Distributed by Columbia Pictures. 132 minutes. Rated PG-13.

“Fly me to the moon / Let me play among the stars / And let me see what spring is like / On Jupiter and Mars / In other words, hold my hand / In other words, baby, kiss me.”

It would be nice if the romantic comedy Fly Me To the Moon were as simple, frisky and romantic as the song from which it took its title. Honestly, sometimes it does reach those heights, but it has too much going on plot-wise and not enough romance and comedy to keep its story airborne.

That’s a shame, because this is one of very few rom coms which will be widely released this summer. I was hoping that this film would ignite, but that only happens periodically.

Fly Me To the Moon captures a particular place and time in American history – Cape Kennedy, Florida on the eve of the 1969 Apollo 11 launch and man’s first walk on the moon. It has an interesting cast of characters – scientists, astronauts, marketing specialists, shady government agents, far right-wing politicians and egomaniacal Hollywood directors. It’s old-fashioned, and yet it has things to say about modern society as well.  

So why does Fly Me To the Moon only sometimes reach lift-off?

Simply put, because they were trying to do too much. Added into the dish like an unnecessary spice is a whole section based on the old conspiracy theory that the moon landing was a fake made on a soundstage – quite possibly by Stanley Kubrick. (I will give Fly Me To the Moon props for a clever Kubrick gag in the middle of the action.)

This not-so-little subplot does not appear in the story until about an hour into the film, and honestly, it’s an unwelcome addition. Not only has the fakes space mission storyline been done way too often on film already – from the mostly forgotten but surprisingly good 1970s thriller Capricorn One to more recent films like Moonwalkers, Dark Side of the Moon and others. Hell, it was even a quick sight gag in Minions, which may be proof positive that this story is overdone.

To be quite honest, I think Fly Me To the Moon would have worked better had they simply jettisoned that storyline and had done a straight romance around the NASA launch of Apollo 11. The faking story makes more than one of the main characters look bad on a regular basis. Sure, it does give more ammunition to Woody Harrelson playing the shadowy Nixon operative behind the scheme – and Woody is very funny here – but he was very funny well before this plot thread was introduced. They could have found more for him to do in the original narrative.

Because what Fly Me To the Moon is really about – or at least it was until the storyline took that hard right turn – was the timid romance between two very different types of people who meet working on the leadup to the launch.

The woman is Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), a smart, flirty and somewhat cynical public relations professional who has a sketchy past and some questionable methods. She has been hired by the government to start a buzz on the space program, which is still reeling from the tragic explosion of Apollo 1 a couple of years earlier. She has the hair of an astronaut’s wife, blood red lips and the va-va-voom pants suits and capris of a pin-up girl – all of which she uses to disarm the sexist guys she always has to deal with in business.

The guy is Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), the rather humorless former-aspiring-astronaut and scientist in charge of the mission. You can tell how button-down Cole is because throughout the length of the film he wears the exact same style of shirt – just in different colors. (He also has an odd-modern looking short-but layered haircut which is far from the crew cut which someone in his position would have worn.) You can also tell that he is repressed because the first time he meets Kelly – in a local diner – he acknowledges she is the most attractive woman he has ever seen. Still, he cock-blocks himself, telling her that he can’t get involved with anyone because of bad timing and the importance of his job.

I guess we should look at the elephant in the room here. While Johansson and Tatum are both undoubtedly gorgeous, they have very little chemistry together. This is mostly on Tatum’s side – and it may not even be the actor’s fault, it may just be the role as written. Still, it is a little hard to root for a happy-ever-after for these two.

However, taking a look at the space program at the height of its importance is endlessly fascinating. Had they maintained the view at the actual space landing rather than showing the less interesting attempts to recreate it, Fly Me To the Moon may have been something special. Instead it is a fairly good movie which had the potential to be very good.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2024 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: July 12, 2024.

[outrunningthedark]

i hope i can articulate this properly but the problem (for me) with how they've written most of the love interests for buck & eddie so far is that they've never gotten them integrated with the other main cast much at all. so it feels a little like they're taking away screen time i'd rather see spent on other people with scenes that are just buck + LI at home or eddie + LI at home (although they can at least get chris in there with those too)

like in restrospect it's kind of hilarious actually that taylor was involved in way more scenes with the 118 before she and buck got together then after

I think your feelings are echoed by many in the fandom, and it's the main reason why I stopped pondering the future for Natalia and Marisol. I personally don't see what a DIY-er and a death doula are going to bring to the firefam dynamic when neither character has a history with them (TayKay) or is a parent to someone's kid (Karen, Shannon). I do have a couple #unpopularopinions in relation to this, though. o1. Difficulty integrating has not been limited to Buck and Eddie Lis. Michael was a main. He had his best friends, his kids. But did his love life get a lot of attention prior to the hospital explosion? And then why did the hospital explosion episode even happen? To give those characters a friendly sendoff. Had Rockmond never been let go over his actions, we can't say that part of his story would have gotten any better.

Maddie is a main. She has a child with a firefighter. They're getting married. Why does Maddie go missing in big moments? Why was she not around during the dispatch fire or Henren's vow renewal? Why is she not having "girl talk" with Hen and Karen, her soon-to-be-husband's best friends? Why is she so isolated that the fandom can't even agree on who would be her maid-of-honor? o2. Buck and Eddie can't both have first responder LIs, I'm sorry. Yes, it's the logical choice if the show wants to make new characters "fit", but that would leave only one of the mains with a LI as a background presence - Hen. I realize that the show isn't actually for us gays, but having the lesbian relationship be the one with intentionally less screen time is a path I'd prefer they not take. o3. Not directing at any specific person because I don't know the opinions of every single one of you, but I will repeat something I said the other day and apply it to future LIs. *I* think it's too little, too late not only to get the GA on board with Buddie, but also to get the fandom - the Buddie shippers - on board with other LIs. The excuse for not liking outside relationships has been that they don't feel like part of the family (agree there), but had Tim shut down the possibility of Buddie for good with Ana, or brought in a new LI for Buck in 4B that wasn't previously criticized...we wouldn't be having these conversations today. Lucy comes in as a first responder and people hate for the cheating angle, sure, but what really stung for most of them was the reminder that the fate of Buck and Eddie would never have been a debate were we watching a man and a woman as opposed to two men. Eddie could fall in love in season seven and the reaction would be "Why does Chris need a new mom when he already has Buck???" Um, because Eddie is supposed to be straight? The only way for Buddie to be co-parents without the confirmation would be if we were watching a queerplatonic relationship. Except...neither one is queer.

You know when you try to clean a stain and somehow make it look worse than it already was? That's what it feels like to watch this show and those characters post-s4.

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Kaguya-Sama: The First Kiss That Never Ends

I have never quite understood the hype behind Kaguya-sama.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great show. Actually, strike that; it's a fantastic show. It's one of the most consistently funny comedies of the past few years, and its clever character work and outrageous animation are more than deserving of their high praise. But whenever I hear people calling it the best rom com of all time, all I can think is, "Wow, y'all really are so young that you've never heard of Toradora, huh?" Never mind Kimi ni Todoke, Ore Monogatari, and countless other spectacular shoujo rom coms that people are all too quick to forget even exist. I love Kaguya-sama dearly, but I've never quite felt comfortable ranking it among the best of the best like so many others do.

At least, not until I watched this movie.

Now, though? I understand completely.

See, the reason I never rated this show as highly as other people is because to me, Kaguya and Shirogane's romance is the least interesting part of it all. Even after season 3 finally made me give a damn about them officially hooking up as a couple, Kaguya-sama is always at its most interesting to me when it's focused on anything other than its title character. Chika's insane wild card antics, Hayasaka's perfectly deadpan straight man routine, Ishigami's bizarrely endearing blend of misanthropy and sincerity... Kaguya's supporting cast has always been its biggest draw for me. Kaguya and Shirogane aren't bad by any means, and they've had plenty of great moments between them. But most of the time when Kaguya-sama is playing at being a straight romance, it just doesn't connect with me as strongly as it's trying to.

And that's why The First Kiss That Never Ends is so phenomenal. Because after four years of show, it finally, finally made me fall in love with the main romance of Kaguya-sama. After all this time, I get why these two crazy kids are so special to so many people. I get why countless adoring fans consider this their favorite rom com, even if it's still not my personal best. No longer am I standing on the sidelines in mild confusion; I am officially a full throated Kaguya-sama stan at last. And in accomplishing this feat, this movie finally helped me understand why these two weren't clicking for me before... and how I may not have been giving this show as much credit as it deserved.

You see, one of the central tropes in Kaguya-sama's romance is a trope that I have more bad experiences with than I can count: the Ice Queen. Kaguya is a frigid, closed-off girl who must learn to open her heart and be honest about her feelings over the course of the show. It's a character type I've seen a lot, and it's a character type that is dangerously easy to fuck up. Because if you don't treat this kind of story with care, it can very easily come off like the story sees her as a haughty bitch who needs to learn her place, stop being so stuck up, and let a man sweep her into his arms. And considering how many hang-ups a lot of male anime writers clearly have about writing female characters... yeah, let's just say I have enough nightmares of this trope being done wrong to last a lifetime.

And Kaguya's not even a bad example of the trope! She's always been a very well handled character, even as far back as season 1. But one always had this uncertainty in the back of my mind: how aware is this show of the gendered nature of the tropes it's playing with? There are countless times where either the narrator or the characters will make some sweeping statement about what girls are like, or what boys are like, or how relationships between men and women are "supposed" to work. And while they're always presented so absurdly that no rational person could take them seriously, it's never quite clear how unseriously we're supposed to take them. Cause, like... there's a lot of these moments for them to not be indicative of something.

So that's where I've been at with Kaguya the Ice Queen. A very loaded, very gendered trope in a series that has a very unclear stance of loaded, gendered tropes. Was it trying to say something? Did it have some grand thesis about the harmful nature of gendered expectations waiting in the wings? Or like so many anime before it, was it just uncritically parroting the same old tired expectations for good little boys and girls? Looking back, this was the sword of Damacles hanging over my head as I've watched and enjoyed Kaguya-sama, the uncertainty that kept me from opening my heart to it fully. Whether I could fully put it into words or not, I couldn't get past that question: is this show yet another victim of sexist stereotypes it doesn't fully understand?

Thank god, then, that The First Kiss Never Ends had finally proven the answer to be no.

Yes, if you thought the aftermath of Kaguya and Shirogane's first kiss was going to be smooth sailing for these two neurotic messes, you clearly don't know what show you're watching. They've taken the biggest step forward imaginable and brought their relationship right to the precipice of being official. Victory is so close they can taste it, but with that comes a terror the likes of which they've never felt before. Suddenly the reality of what their lives are about to become crashes up against their long standing hang-ups about love and self worth, and their mutual fear over thinking they aren't yet living up to the standard of what a Person In A Relationship is supposed to be leads to the biggest rift in their relationship yet. Neither understands what the other wants from them- hell, they don't even understand what they want from themselves. Which means after so many mental battles and false starts, it's time for Shirogane and Kaguya to rip off their masks and face each other's true selves once and for all, even if they can't bear the answers they think are waiting in the other's gaze.

And yes, in exposing themselves so completely, it makes clear just how inexorably their issues are bound up in gender. Kaguya's so obsessed with playing out the script of the submissive lady who lets the man make all the first moves that her spiraling self-loathing ends up hurting everyone who tries to get close to her. Miyuki's so wrapped up in the need to prove himself manly enough to be worthy of Kaguya that he loses the ability to connect with her on her own terms. And when these two deeply flawed approaches to romance collide with the heightened tension of two dumb kids desperate not to fuck everything up, they feed into each other in the worst way.

In other words, what this movie proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that Kaguya-sama fully understands the importance of leaving gender roles behind. The final boss of this show isn't just the inescapable fear of knowing and being known; it's also, explicitly, how that fear is made worse by gendered expectations that leave lost kids flailing in an attempt to live up to unhealthy notions of love and companionship. It's the kind of misunderstanding plot that actually makes sense and leaves you agonized because of how well it understands why their wires are getting crossed, as opposed to agonized because the writers are clearly dragging things out tortuously to avoid progressing the plot an inch further. For Kaguya and Shirogane to truly overcome their issues, they must leave behind their notions of who they're supposed to be, how they're supposed to act, and see each other as the people they are. Not a girl and guy following a pre-written script, but two complex human beings who make each other's lives that much brighter for being in them.

And in retrospect, that's always been what Kaguya-sama is about, hasn't it? All of this show's best non-comedic moments have been when it takes an ax to a restrictive gendered trope and lets the character behind it fly free. Miko's introductory arc was all about Shirogane realizing that this girl most people dismissed as a naggy bitch in need of an ego check was in fact one of the most passionate, dedicated people in the school, and doing his damndest to give her a chance to speak her truth. And hey, remember how Ishigami's rise from Reddit-pilled loner to someone who can embrace his place in the world without feeling like an incel involved him dressing in drag and feeling happy doing so? When you look back at the whole picture, Kaguya-sama has always been about breaking free of gendered expectations, in ways both big and small. And now that we've reached the climax of Kaguya and Shirogane's arc, it's finally time for them to break free just the same.

And my god, it is spectacular. It's an emotional payoff to years of slow-burn character work that makes look back and realize just how fucking good it’s been at laying the foundation for this moment. It bares Kaguya and Shirogane’s souls like never before, and it took me from being nominally interested in their antics to openly weeping over their attempts to understand each other. This isn't just a beautiful finale that washes away all my concerns, it's made me appreciate everything this show was doing so wonderfully before that I was too uncertain to pick up on. At last, I can see that Kaguya-sama is as incredible as everyone says. It is genuinely a masterpiece of rom com storytelling. It's an uproarious, beautiful tale about the importance of living true to yourself, even when you feel like yourself is something to run away from. And if this movie is the last part of the manga to be adapted, then it's as perfect a conclusion as I could hope for.

It's not a perfect movie overall, to be fair. It pretty much skips over an Ishigami/Miko subplot it starts building up, and there are points in the middle where the lighting is so dark it's almost impossible to see what's going on. Which is a weird misstep for a series that's always had such a strong visual identity. But as a climax to this war of hearts and minds that finally made me care about those hearts and minds, it's an unimpeachable triumph. The First Kiss That Never Ends made me believe the hype at last, and I can't wait to join the rest of the world in preaching the glories of the series it caps off so wonderfully. And I give it a score of:

9/10

Thank you all for reading. Here's holding out hope for season 4!

[olderthannetfic]

One of the worst cases I’ve personally encountered of “if you don’t like X ship you’re [insert-here]phobic” is believe it or not in the damn Monster High fandom.

One of the most popular ships is Draculaura X Clawdeen. In the movies and webisodes, Clawdeen vocally has very little interest in boys and dating, so it was a popular headcanon for years that she was a lesbian. A couple years ago the creator of Monster High, Garrett Sanders, did a QnA session on Instagram and one of the questions was whether or not Clawdeen was a lesbian. Garrett said straight out that Clawdeen was not written to be a lesbian, they just wanted a character on the main cast who wasn’t boy-crazy, but that he was fully in support of headcanoning her as gay. And that’s all fine, people kept making their ship content, they kept supporting their headcanon, life went on.

A while later - I’m not sure when exactly because I don’t follow him on Insta - Garrett went back on what he’d said before (maybe not went back, he didn’t contradict the old statement) and decided that Clawdeen was lesbian, and like— that’s perfectly fine for him to do. They’re his characters, he made them. The problem is, this is years after he stopped working for Mattel. People can absolutely look to him as an authority on Monster High if they want because again, these are his characters and his world for the most part, he started it! But he has no legal rights over the property anymore. Anything he says is no more officially canon than anything I say about it, but unfortunately a very vocal part of the fandom either don’t realise that or don’t care, and by God, they are some of the most entitled people I’ve ever seen. Every other post on the MH official page will have comments like “lesbian Clawdeen when” “give Clawdeen a girlfriend”, demanding something that was never canon and was never intended to be canon. I don’t like Clawdeen X Draculaura personally, I like the characters, but I’m not into the ship. If it weren’t for those kinds of people, I would be neutral about it, but because of them I have a knee-jerk reaction whenever I see Clawdeen X Drac because a lot of people have this attitude of, like, “Well, who ELSE would you ship Clawdeen with? 🤨” You should’ve seen them lose their shit at the prospect of Clawdeen liking Deuce Gorgon in the gen 3 reboot.

What bugs me about this all the more is that there are characters who were ACTUALLY meant to be queer that Mattel shut down. Kieran Valentine, an energy vampire who romances girls and then breaks their hearts, was originally supposed to have an arc where he realised he was chasing fake love because he was ashamed of being gay, and he would eventually come to accept himself, with his coming-out being written in the diary that came with his doll. Mattel said “no” because it was “putting an LGBT person in a negative light” — even though he was created and his story written by, you guessed it, Garrett Sanders, the only out gay person on the team at the time. Neighthan Rot was confirmed again by Garrett to have been intended as queer, and Finnegan Wake was supposed to be “not straight”, but the powers that be wouldn’t let them do it. The fandom does acknowledge this, but I feel its so heavily overshadowed by this entitlement that people have towards their fave getting the sexuality they want, forgetting or wilfully ignoring that it was never promised to them in the first place unlike the characters that actually got snubbed. Gen 3 is already shaping up to be more diverse in regards to queer stuff, with Frankie being non-binary, Deuce having two mothers, and I’m sure more to come, but nope, some people just want to keep whining that Clawdeen isn’t the sexuality they think she should be. Frustrates me to no end.

--

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

I don't think I was ever super impressed with Air tbf. The vibes were definitely good and I enjoyed the background mystery of whatever the hell the angel was doing to impact on our present day cast. Couple episodes play out, our visual novel girls get their routes briefly adapted with satisfying enough stories, all is well. But I think it started to lose steam for me in the last third or so. Two episodes straight set in the 10th century was kind of fun and our temporary cast there are likeable enough for how little time we spend with them - and yeah it is an explanation for the mystery the series operates under - but I think it's too lengthy a detour for a series this short, leaving even some of the main characters really unexplored in favour of this history lesson. Can't say I really got the final two episodes either - like I mostly get the literal mechanics behind what's happening, but like, Yukito soft dies and turns into a crow, is still alive though, they time-loop summer, Yukito dies for real but his crow is fine, Misuzu doesn't die alongside him like the curse implies, but she is more or less mentally reset to an infant, and then she dies too, but the crow is still fine. It didn't even really feel like it was in service of anything in particular, just a tragic ending because something something Key anime. KyoAni's contributions to this adaptation are definitely great but I really do wonder if something wasn't just lost in the process of adapting it from a branching story visual novel of presumably a fair length into 12 episodes of TV anime, you know? Oh well, I still enjoyed it, so yeah still positive score. Tomorrow the recap episode, then Air in Summer, and then whatever KyoAni Groupwatch has in store for us next...

[dateamonster]

Who's the oldest OC you have that you still use? How have they changed since you first made them?

its definitely the cast of volatile traits, so technically auree since i THINK i came up with her concept first. tho im not sure if it was actually first or if i made her and wendy simultaneously. i kind of like the idea of the second. some soulmate shit you know.

ANYWAY auree and wendy have definitely changed a bit over time, and a lot of that i think is like rooted in changes in the overall Lore. but in a more personal character-related sense, i feel like i place more emphasis on auree's intelligence and like particularly emotional intelligence than i did. she was more of a brute when i first made her, and while shes still a reckless largely remorseless fuckin tank of a gal, its more important to me now that that doesnt translate into her being stupid.

with wendy her backstory is def more developed now and also much more like deliberately out-there. originally her dad was just a bigoted hardcore xtian rather than being like a cult leader prophet doomsday prepper, in addition to being a hardcore xtian. i dont rly know how to rationalize that choice except that i guess i just wanted something that felt more like b-movie flavored over real life traumatic experiences flavored.

she was also more of a typical Smart Girl character to start, and while shes still smart its not like the main thing about her anymore. i think i also wanted to change that focus because i was afraid of her coming off like a stereotypical nerdy asian girl.

it was also definitely kind of a weirder less balanced dynamic between the two of them at the start, where wendy was more the stable rational one who had to teach the alien how to navigate the world, which isnt like a terrible concept imo but looking back im like much less into how it affected them romantically. when i was a teen i had such a thing about like all my lesbian couples being "girl who is Normal and slightly shy and who has been Mostly Straight up to this point" x "girl who is way more romantically forward and wont accept/cant understand rejection". something something glaring internalized homophobia. you know.

i dont want to be too hard on my teen self because like i was young and Dealing With Stuff and if not for who i was back then i definitely wouldnt have these characters as i have them now, but yea im a lot happier with where they are now.

[haleigh-sloth]

Do you really see BakuCamie happening? I have always seen Bakugou been one of the very few students to not get a lover, they’ve only interacted like for a very small amount of times in the manga/anime I just don’t see it being built upon to believe they fell in love somehow with little interaction on what their relationship is like! I do like the ship though

I'll start this off with--I don't really care if it happens or not, so there is no real investment in me thinking this will be endgame for him. If I'm wrong then, again, I don't care.

BUT I'll explain my thinking:

All of the endgame couples are fairly obvious in 1A--except for Bakugo. Because there is no girl character within 1A that has any meaningful interactions with him, none. None in 1B either.

Bakugo as a character is an outlier in a lot of ways. No endgame pairing within his class. He is the second-most main kid character and he doesn't have a villain. He is a part of the savior squad, but doesn't have a villain to save. Within the group of kid characters his arc is entirely unique in comparison to the rest of them. So it isn't surprising that he's not obviously paired up with anyone in the front range cast.

Next, I think you need to lower your standards, honestly. Look at the obvious endgame couples and tell me if there is any real serious development for them. Look at the main endgame couple and tell me just how well that couple is developed. Yes, significantly more than the Bakugo ship in question, but they are the main characters and their romance is BARELY anymore developed than background/very irrelevant characters like Ojiro and Tooru.

So, while I agree with what you're saying, it's not the greatest argument against the likelihood because, well, *gestures toward the rest of the manga*.

Next, BNHA is as shounen and as typical as it gets. I'm sorry but it's very much the type of manga to pair everyone off into their little straight ships at the end, no matter how developed or undeveloped they are (not trying to discount anyone's headcanons about the characters, I'm just trying to make a point).

I simply don't see an ending where the two main guys standing next to Bakugo have endgame ships and Bakugo--the secondary main character and series' most popular character--just, doesn't. Would I complain if that's how it ended? Nah, not really. But I'm thinking more of the genre and demographic for this manga and, well, just the general expectations these cheesy, fun, corny stories usually adhere to.

Lastly, Camie IS the only other girl character who has had direct interactions with him that stuck out in his arc. They were very short-lived but they were humorous and unique from how other characters interact with him. Those interactions were also during an arc where Bakugo really had to do some self-reflecting, like it was an important arc for both him and Shouto. She also made him laugh by turning into Glamoroki. Again, the bar is on the floor here, just a reminder.

Honestly I'm just waiting for the Shiketsu kids to return to the screen--because it's obvious that they will. Once they do and we see what's done with them, I feel like that'll sway me one way or another whether I fully am convinced it'll happen or not.

So my thinking is that, damn the standards are very low and yes, I am pretty convinced that this could very well be his endgame. I don't see the manga booting him from the implied romance at the end, as much as I really would hope to not have to see it and really just get a fast forward panel or something (like in FMA). But this is coming from someone who has no attachment to any ship for Bakugo at all, so I can pretty much look at it un-skewed, or about as un-skewed as it can get.

I do think that no matter who Bakugo ends up with, there will be rioting. Simply because of the amount of fanon ships he is in and how feral those fan bases are. I predict insufferable chaos no matter what happens honestly.

[mrbexwrites]

Can you tell me more about Searching for Starlight? It sounds cool, and I happen to be a fan of fictional cults haha

Hey Tashie!!

How're you?

Searching for Starlight was the first proper length sci-fi novel (approx 152,000 words!) that I wrote over two years of NaNoWriMo, and is currently sitting in first draft purgatory.

(I actually re-read it a couple of years ago, and it's not totally deranged given that it was a NaNo project! I could go back and salvage it, but I hate editing, so... I guess it's living in purgatory forever! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Searching for Starlight came about from a weird cheese dream I had about a planet getting devoured by a giant snake (FYI, I'm not a fan of snakes- I have a proper phobia of them, so this was not a pleasant cheese dream)

Originally, the character of Switchpace, was going to be the main character, but as a jaded commander of a spaceship, I found it hard to introduce a lot of the world as her and her shipmates would be familiar with the galaxy. I wrote this close to ten years ago, and have grown a lot as a writer- I think I could easily write the story as originally intended now, but at the time, I wanted a POV character who could ask questions, and be introduced to the sci-fi setting.

So the main character became Rashmi; a human girl whose family have been hosting the first alien who came to Earth, Osias. Osias landed in India because in the near-future India is the country with the largest human population, and because I'm tired of aliens always going to the US. Maybe they want to do some sightseeing!!

Due to plot-reasons, Rashmi and her family basically get put into space witness protection, and she falls under the care of Switchpace.

Shenanigans occur, and Rashmi finds herself facing off against a snake-worshiping death-cult in space who are trying to summon the end of the galaxy. It ticks a lot of sci-fi tropes and cliches if I'm honest.

I think the reason I've never gone back to it is multifaceted; I tried to increase the diversity of my cast- people of colour, disabled characters, LGBTQ+ characters, but as someone who does not fit into any of these categories, I worry that I've not done my characters justice, and that their stories are not mine to tell. They deserve better than a ham-fisted attempt at me trying to be inclusive, instead of regurgitating the all-white straight guy Sci-fi books that I grew up with.

So yeah, other than sharing snippets for tag games, I don't think much else will ever be done with this WIP. For all it's faults, I have a fondness for it because it was my intro to NaNo and the first proper novel that I churned out as an adult!

This probably doesn't really answer your question- sorry!! I just ramble away!!

[pheita]

All about this Writblr

Through some strange circumstances, I realized I didn't posted an intro post for the last 1 1/2 years. And here I am wondering why interactions are fading....yeah don't say a word. About me: I am 39 years old, which means I am sort of a “grandma” on Tumblr given the fact how many young folks and teenagers are around here. I am a spoonie. The list of illnesses is long, and I spare you to read it all, but I can say so far it is a “lovely” mix of mental and physical stuff with chronic pain being the main culprit. So, there will be times I might need days to answer something or skip over writing games because I simply don't have the energy. Identifying as bisexual and demisexual for over a decade, I start to question a lot about myself some time ago because of some discussions I had with friends. Since childhood, I always counted as a tomboy because I have zero interest in the drawer's society like to use. So I came to use the term queer. So, don't come at me about the whole queer is a slur thing. Every term used in the LGBTQA+ community was used as a slur at one point, so chill. Listing all the shows and stuff I like would take a lot of time, so I spare us all this long list. I am always in for fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural or thriller shows/movies and books. When I am not writing I either create jewelry with epoxy resin or wire, go swimming, draw when I can, like to play videogames and discovered book binding for myself, kn it and crochet. I am notorious for starting new WIPs or switching through the started WIPs since I only can write them when I feel them in some way. It is less an interest/motivation thing for me. You can always find the WIPs I work on in a pinned post on my blog. Even when the main couple are male/female you can bet your ass on the fact they are never heteronormative. Straight characters became a rare thing in my writing when we talk about the main cast. So always assume my main cast is LGBTQA+ in some shape. My three main WIPs I work to various degrees on are Blood Night, the first book in the Cursed Book series, a fantasy novel, found family, sins of the father, finding out who you are, slow burn mlm romance (which will develop into poly relationship throughout the series), strong sibling bonds, demi-romantic pansexual male lead who is actual a lust demon world inspired by Monster Hunter games, Dragon Age games, The Witcher Flowers of Fire, a modern fantasy/erotica novel with polyamory, found family, fated warriors (we don't do fated lovers here), young vs old conflict, and a female lead who is a nymph, changing between two POV world inspired by myths from all around the world, Lost Girl, No Rest for the Wicked first book of the Queen of Hell series, supernatural romance, slow burn romance, sins of the past, finding your path, deaking with a life as chronical ill person, changing between 3 POV two of them female. inspired by Lucifer (it was a out of spite reaction to season 3) I will use the community labels where necessary, so some of the snippets will be tagged as mature. If you want to at least notice if I post something, you should at least blur it. I will always put warnings ahead what to expect. Since I ironically started writing more NSFW shortly before the community labels became a thing, there is a side-blog run by me where I post NSFW short stories. If anyone is interested.

[medea10]

My Review of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

How did I get into this anime? I’ve heard about this anime and would see it in passing. I’m not one to turn down any romcom animes. Let’s hit it!

Hachiman Hikigaya has a sour outlook on his high school life. He’s mostly ignored by his peers, it’s been a couple of years since he last spoke to a female, and a love confession kinda warped him for the worst. Hikigaya’s attitude caught the attention of his teacher and she forces Hikigaya to join a club known as the ‘Volunteer Service Club’. This club kinda reaches a helping hand to students in need and helping them reach certain goals. Usually, clubs like this would have like four or five others, here there’s only one other member.

Yukino Yukinoshita.

God damn, this name can’t be real! Actually, at least half the characters have first and last names that are similar.

Anyways, she is what you would call an ‘Ice Queen’. Those students that look like a queen but have a frosty personality. And as of episode 2, the club has added another new member, Yui Yuigahama. She got help from the Volunteer Service Club and started hanging out with Hikigaya and Yukino. Will Hikigaya’s outlook on his high school days change by being in this club with Yukino and Yui? Let’s find out!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: This one was dubbed and released by Sentai Filmworks. Streaming wise is a little complicated. Normally for all Sentai-dubbed animes, I’d say watch it all on Hi-dive, but for this one that’s complicated. Only the first and third seasons are available for streaming. And as of the date of posting this review, Crunchyroll still has the authority to stream the third season. Yeah, hi, where the hell is season two? Another thing to expect from Sentai is with their dubs. They’re either very good or it just feels like another day in the recording booth. I don’t know, I felt blah listening to this particular dub. I think it’s because there were several male characters that annoyed me dearly while listening. It’s pretty noticeable with who these characters are so I’ll leave it at that. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Hikigaya is played by Takuya Eguchi (known for Loid on Spy x Family, Takeo on Ore Monogatari, Kakeru on Fruits Basket 2019, Julius on Re:Zero, Ryouma on Love Stage, and Akihiko on Given)

*Yukino is played by Saori Hayami (known for Shouko on A Silent Voice, Yor on Spy x Family, Ononoki on Monogatari, Shinobu on Demon Slayer, Anju on 86, Yumeko on Kakegurui, and Himawari on Boruto)

*Yui is played by Nao Touyama (known for Ruka on Rent-A-Girlfriend, Koga on Bunny Girl Senpai, Rin on Laid Back Camp, Nii-chan on Blue Exorcist, Victim on Overlord, and Chitoge on Nisekoi)

ENGLISH CAST: *Hikigaya is played by Adam Gibbs (known for Shinichi on Parasyte, Seita on Grave of the Fireflies, Mitsuo on Golden Time, Oreki on Hyouka, Yuki on Tsuritama, Ryouma on Love Stage, and Hiroomi on Beyond the Boundary)

*Yukino is played by Melissa Molano (known for Linda on Golden Time, Shizu on To Love Ru, and Sayaka on Kakegurui [redub])

*Yui is played by Catherine Thomas (known for Itsuki on Kakegurui [redub] and Anne on Food Wars)

DISLIKED CHARACTER: I’m going to be honest and hate on that clique of friends. You know the ones, Hayama, that blonde bitch, the ass with the annoying voice…Yeah sorry, I’m watching it in English and I REALLY hate Tobe’s voice. Oop, I let one of those annoying voice names drop. I just get annoyed with those three in particular and get annoyed every time they’re involved in the story. The only one from the clique that gets a pass with me is Saki. She’s cool.

SHIPPING: Okay, let’s see what I’ve come to expect with a title that tells me it’s a rom-com!

During season one, it was clear that all three main characters kept to themselves in many ways. Yukino keeps a straight face even when she’s out with a boy while wearing girly clothes. No blushing, no stuttering, and nothing to give Hikigaya. Yui, you have to wonder as there might have been something after saving Hikigaya prior to episode 1. And when you add the fact that Yukino’s driver was partially to blame for striking Hikigaya with the car, things are adding up with this trio.

In season two, there were a several love confessions. Problem is that they were majority from that clique group. Early on, Tobe had a crush on Ebina (the girl who is a total fujoshi). And during the class trip, Ebina was getting help from Hikigaya and the others from the club to prevent Tobe from confessing to her. This went really bad as Hikigaya stomped on that landmine. He came in before Tobe could confess and “fake” confess to Ebina. She rejects Hikigaya and in a way Tobe too. This event really caused a lot of damage between Hikigaya, Yui, and Yukino and for more than just Hikigaya doing dumbass shit.

Next, we have Isshiki and Miura going after Hayama’s heart. To be honest, I always thought Miura and Hayama were already dating or doing something together. But Isshiki got her heart broken by Hayama on Christmas, Miura is ready to throw her future away in order to go where Hayama is going after high school, and Hayama is just a dickhead (and he knows it). Okay, can we get more stuff with our main 3 now?

We do see all three characters have some sort of breakdown in front of one another. More opening up to each other and revealing their true selves. More blushing in front of everyone, more clumsiness, all that crap! It’s obvious that Yui loves Hikigaya, but also doesn’t want to infringe on this special friendship between him and Yukino. It’s just that no one ever uses the word “love”. They just dance around it and use colorful wording to mask their feelings. Well, one of the girls did use “love”. But I’ll save that for when I’m talking about the finale.

Now if you ask me if I’m on Team Yukino or Team Yui, I would say…

I’m on Team Saika!

I know it’s not canon, but this is what I support.

END OF SEASON ONE: Club activities are put to a grinding halt as the culture festival is coming up. Hikigaya (against his will) was put on the committee by his teacher. Yui is somewhat involved, but isn’t with Hiki all that much. And as for Yukino, she’s on the committee and sort of seen as the second coming of her sister. People put a lot of expectations on Yukino just because her older sister Haru was deeply involved when she was in high school. These people obviously don’t know Yukino that well. Yukino made sure to get the job done (even when exhausted) and the start of the festival went pretty well. Yukino and Yui help a band and can suddenly out of nowhere play an instrument and sing. After Haruhi Suzumiya, every anime character thinks they can do it. Besides that, we witness a mental breakdown from the event organizer, Minami.

It was some time coming with her as she noticed Yukino was getting more attention with all the work she was doing for the culture festival and Minami started to feel useless in her role. Hikigaya found her and kinda chewed her out in front of her friends. This was Hikigaya’s way of nudging Minami’s friends have her back and build her up, while turning on Hikigaya. Hikigaya seriously doesn’t care if these people turn on him. These people have been wishy-washy with him in every episode up to this point. At least Hikigaya’s teacher knows what he did. Plus, Yui and Yukino are still there. Not for an encouraging word or anything, but they’re there.

The final episode involves a race. Hikigaya and the girls lost, but it seems they had a fun time.

Oh yeah, there was an OVA between season one and two. Yes, it’s fanservice. If you like the girls here and seeing them in wedding dresses, this is right up your alley.

SEASON TWO (ZOKU): We start the season with a reminder that Hikigaya is still hated by his peers. There’s no love for Hikigaya from his classmates after what he did at the culture festival to Minami. But we do see some unity from Yukino and Yui who were quick to dismiss some of their classmates (and occasional run-ins) when they insulted Hikigaya in the clubroom. However, Hikigaya’s bad decisions led to a falling out with Yukino and Yui during a school trip this season and even beyond that.

Ah yes, you might notice a change in animation with this season. Season one’s animated studio was Brain’s Base, the studio behind Durarara, Baccano, and the first season of To Your Eternity. In 2015, we get the transition to .feel, the same company that brought you the first season of Dagashi Kashi, Remake Our Life, and Kiss x Sis. Don’t worry, the company has improved since the Kiss x Sis days. To my knowledge, they didn’t animate any of the females of this anime peeing on themselves.

END OF ZOKU: Most of the second season revolved around Hikigaya being involved with the student council. Oh, he didn’t join. Earlier, a classmate named Isshiki came to the clubroom in need of help. Her classmates voted for her to be student council president, but Isshiki doesn’t want to be that. This led to a big thing between Hikigaya, Yui, and Yukino. Yui and Yukino were both ready to take this bullet and run for president (and as a result would potentially put an end to the volunteer club). Isshiki wound up accepting the role. It’s just that she still ends up leaning on Hikigaya for help (in more ways than one). Hikigaya winds up in the middle of this baby drama brought on by Hayama. God, could this guy just stop existing? Isshiki has a crush on Hayama, but he turns her down. And then we get into some actual pressing matters and that’s futures.

That’s right, these students are inching closer to their third year in high school and that means they have to nail down their final choices on colleges, career paths, and so on. Yukino seems to be getting into heated arguments about that very subject with her sister and mother. In the season finale, Hikigaya and the girls go to the aquarium for the day and by the end of the day, tensions rose. Yui wanted things to stay the same between the three of them. We all know that can’t happen. Yukino is really reaching to change things. You can see it in her face! There are things Yukino wants to do but doesn’t have the courage to speak up, especially when it comes to her family, her feelings, and her future.

This issue will continue in the third season.

ZOKU OVA: Another side-story and we’ve got dates to cover. In the first half, Isshiki goes on a date with Hikigaya. Why? She says it’s practice for when Isshiki asks Hayama out, but then she turns it into some student council thing with the different places they visited prior. The second half had Hikigaya go out with Yui and Yukino in some of the places that he went to with Isshiki. I’m wondering if Isshiki is going to be a major player in the Hikigaya love-shape-of-your-choice after this “date”. But then again, it’s Isshiki. She doesn’t have the star-power that Yukino and Yui ooze. Okay, onto the final season.

CLIMAX: It starts up right where we left off with this uncomfortableness between Hikigaya, Yui, and Yukino. Although now after this wish from Yui, Yukino decides to let some stuff about herself slide out. For starters, she wants to make some changes when it comes to what’s going on in her own family like take over her father’s business instead of her sister. Yukino also tries to do things without trying to rely on Hikigaya so much. It kinda gets hard to avoid that this season after Isshiki decides she wants to throw a prom at the school.

Huh?! Wait, that’s interesting. In all of the animes I’ve ever watched…I don’t recall there ever being proms. Here in the states, yes, they are still very much a thing. At least they were 20 years ago when I was in high school. Japan high schools are stricter than in the U.S. so it would make sense that those dances aren’t really common. Okay! Hikigaya and Isshiki are putting together a prom.

ENDING: Okay, I guess we’re focusing on the prom aspect for the entire season. The majority of this season revolved around going with Isshiki’s plan for a prom. But many problems arose like if there’s enough time to put one on. Will the parent-teacher organization allow this? And then we had more of that melodrama between the trio. Yukino wanting to do things herself and not so co-dependent on Hikigaya and Yui wanting her cake and eat it too. Back to the prom, after much debate, pleading, and an attempt at a fake prom to make the other one look better by comparison, it was decided that the prom would be approved. It was a success. And now for the boom.

Hikigaya’s fake prom plans from before the real prom was approved was found out by the student council and the parent-teacher organization. So obviously Isshiki was not amused and Yukino’s frosty-bitch mother had to stick her nose in this matter. Well, for one reason or another this prom is getting an approval and is a test for Yukino to prove to her mother that she’s capable of pulling something like this off and better than the previous prom. I swear, I never want to see a prom in an anime ever again after this. A whole season of this crap is enough. With help from Hayama, the cliquie girls, the dorks, the tennis team, and Yui, Hikigaya and Yukino were able to pull off a last-minute prom. At the end of the night while Yukino and Hikigaya were cleaning up, Yukino let an “I love you” slip out.

Amazing! Yukino is the first one to step-up here. And to think, Hikigaya went with the one girl who didn’t dance with him. Even his teacher danced with him. I honestly thought we were going down the Domestic Girlfriend route with Hikigaya and Miss Hiratsuka some of the time. Not to mention the fanbase to Yui was astronomical. It’s clear that fans preferred Yui to be best girl for Hikigaya. Now, I’m not sure if Hikigaya x Yukino are an official couple or not. In the meantime, let’s see how things are shaping up for the start of their third year.

Hikigaya’s baby sister Komachi is a first-year student. Miss Hiratsuka has left. The volunteer club is disbanded…actually, thanks to Komachi and Isshiki, the club is revived. And the first person to ask for help this school year is Yui. She would like help as a close friend might be going out with the boy she likes. Yeah, say that out in the open in front of Yukino and Hikigaya.

This series…I know there are lots of people who liked this anime. I just thought it was okay. It’s not a favorite of mine and I will always recommend other romcom animes over this.

I’m not sure if there’s any plan on reviving this series and give it a fourth and final season. I have a feeling that there’s more to this story. The characters are in their third year of high school. At this date and time, an OVA is planning to be released soon as of posting this review. The skepticism here is that this particular OVA has reportedly been delayed for over two years. I’m going to assume this was Covid related and move on. Currently, the light novels are over but the manga is still in publication. Although, I think the manga is heading towards the climax. Whatever the case, I’ll continue to watch. I want to see the end result of this love-polygon. I know my choice is never going to be an option, but who cares!

If you would like to watch this anime, Hidive has season one & three, nobody has season two, and Crunchyroll still has season three. This might of course change. Crunchyroll is slowly getting rid of anything licensed by Sentai and as of recent, Hidive announced more additions for their website. So that could mean the second season will have a home again.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: M3GAN (2023)

M3GAN (2023)

Rated PG-13 for violent content and terror, some strong language and a suggestive reference

Score: 4 out of 5

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/01/review-m3gan-2023.html>

M3GAN should've sucked. It's a PG-13 horror movie released on the first weekend of January, historically a day when studios dump absolute garbage (especially PG-13 horror movies) that they think stands no chance, and while its main characters are mostly adults, its marketing explicitly catered to teenagers by focusing on certain sequences that became internet memes from the moment they appeared in the first trailer. The trailers promised something that was either a camp classic in the making, or insufferably bad. What's more, Akela Cooper's screenwriting has not impressed me in the past, with Hell Fest and Malignant being elevated more by their quality directors and casts than by stories that were either threadbare or ridiculous. Going in, this movie had multiple strikes against it, and while the early reviews had me hopeful, I was not expecting much.

Walking out of the theater, however, I found myself almost certain that this movie will be one of my favorites of 2023, especially one of my favorite horror movies. It's not just a killer robot doll movie, it's also big-idea science fiction that explores a lot of the concepts it raises about as deeply as you can get in a 102-minute B-movie, particularly the question of whether or not AI can actually improve our lives without causing serious tradeoffs and tangible risks to our safety (a rather hot topic right now if you've been following the tech press)... while also being a kick-ass, stylish, scary, mean-spirited, and often quite hilarious horror movie with an immediately iconic villain, great special effects bringing her to life, and a solid cast around her. It's a movie where, even at a screening late Thursday night with a theater that was only half-full because everybody had work or school the next day, I could feel the energy of the crowd around me getting really into it. This is not only the movie that the Child's Play remake felt like it wanted to be, it is one that leans exactly in some of the directions I recommended in my review of that film.

The film takes place a couple of years from now, with our protagonist Gemma being a roboticist working for a toy company that has recently made a highly successful line of interactive plush pets (think Furby, but far more high-tech). Gemma is under a ton of pressure from her boss David to make the toy cheaper so that it can fend off competition from a rival toy company coming out with a similar product that costs half the price, an order that distracts from her work on her passion project, the Model 3 Generative Android, or M3GAN. The next evolution of the concept, M3GAN is a four-foot robot doll with an AI brain capable of learning and bonding with its users, a long-shot idea that David is skeptical of. And then, to make matters worse, Gemma has a niece named Cady dumped straight in her lap after the girl's parents die in a car crash, throwing even more weight on her shoulders. Sensing a way to kill two birds with one stone, Gemma takes a M3GAN prototype home and uses it to help her care for Cady, and at first, it seems to succeed beyond anybody's wildest dreams, such that even David is impressed and orders it put into production after witnessing a demonstration of M3GAN playing with Cady and helping her discuss her feelings about her parents' death.

This is where the movie had me, and it never let go from there. From the moment we're introduced to Gemma, we see somebody who is not remotely prepared to be a parent, somebody whose home is filled with collectible toys that she won't let Cady touch as well as a small robotics lab filled with dangerous objects. Gemma is an archetypal example of a thirtysomething millennial techie who, despite her brilliance, work ethic, and professional success, doesn't know how to "adult" and is still living like a college student in a dorm room. For most of the first act, we only briefly see M3GAN in the lab at Gemma's workplace, the focus of the film instead being on Gemma as she tries and fails to raise Cady, eventually settling on the shortcut that so many bad parents take with their kids: letting screens raise her. Later, when she introduces Cady to M3GAN and the two seem to get along swimmingly, Gemma, her co-workers, and her boss all see it as a victory and a promising new frontier for technology, ignoring the warnings of Cady's psychologist that letting the little girl bond with a machine like this is probably not healthy for her. And indeed, M3GAN's expected descent into villainy is paired with increasingly antisocial behavior from Cady, directed at her classmates and her aunt alike. This movie has a very clear message: technology (especially computer technology that is designed to addict its users) is a bad substitute for proper parents and teachers, relying on it will probably mess up our kids' minds, and we should probably be limiting their screen time growing up, as Cady's own parents did before they died.

Meanwhile, M3GAN slowly but surely turning evil feels logical as it plays out. Fundamentally, she's fallen victim to the "paperclip problem", a hypothetical where an AI system programmed with one central task can turn violent even without any actual malice, especially once it's become clear that the intelligence she's been given to perform that task has also given her the ability to find loopholes in the safeguards designed to stop her from killing people. Make an AI that can learn from human behavior and adjust its programming accordingly? Congratulations, you've built an AI capable of learning what death and murder are, why humans kill each other, and all the self-serving justifications they make for violating their own taboos against such, and incorporate those justifications into its own programming so that she can ignore Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. What's more, as she studies human behavior, she also studies their personalities, which causes her to grow beyond her robotic emotionlessness and turn increasingly sassy and smart-assed. The T-101 she ain't; M3GAN's human intelligence causes her to turn increasingly human in her villainy, starting the film barely flinching as a neighbor's dog tries to maul her and ending it by delivering menacing threats and chilling speeches to her victims. Mark my words, I can see college-level courses on AI research screening this film as part of the curriculum. Cooper may have been setting out to write a crowd-pleasing horror movie, but she incorporated a lot of real-world scientific concepts into the story that reflect debates we're currently having about them, all presented in a fairly easy-to-digest manner that nonetheless doesn't dumb them down.

But she did still remember to keep it entertaining. Like I said, M3GAN evolves into a wiseass as the film progresses, getting creative not only in her kills but also in how she plans on getting away with them. She incorporates the dances she learned from Cady into her combat repertoire, most memorably in the hallway scene highlighted in the trailer but also towards the end when, after taking some damage, she starts glitching out and making increasingly stiff movements that nonetheless feel like they belong in an interpretive dance performance. Casting the young professional dancer Amie Donald under heavy makeup instead of relying on CGI was a golden move here. M3GAN's voice actress Jenna Davis, meanwhile, did the rest of the heavy lifting to bring M3GAN to life, slowly injecting her voice with notes of GLaDOS from the Portal games as the film goes on and M3GAN grows more self-aware. The kills are few and happen mostly off-screen, but even though this film had been cut down from an R rating (and, according to Cooper, there is a seriously bloody alternate cut we'll probably see on home video), it didn't feel particularly sanitized, not when M3GAN puts her victims through hell first before she lands the final death blow. I expect to see a lot of girls and women this Halloween, plus a few men (taking cues from this film's producer Jason Blum last year), dressed up in lolita dresses and giant bowties and swinging their arms and hips, so immediately iconic was this little doll.

It's a damn funny movie, too. When I said M3GAN felt inspired partly by GLaDOS, I didn't just mean the tone of her voice, I also meant her passive-aggressive trolling of her victims. Davis plays her cooler than the foul-mouthed jackass Chucky, but by the end, it's clear that M3GAN's personality has grown enough that she's having something you might call "fun" as she kills people. M3GAN's antics alone aren't the only source of humor here, either. A deep well of satire runs straight through the heart of the film, right from the opening scene where we're shown an ad for the little robot pets that Gemma is working on. I wouldn't call this film an outright horror-comedy like some others have, but it is anything but stone-faced and somber as its characters discuss the risks of AI development; better to show the product of that development dancing on her victims' graves, after all. That's not to say that the film is frivolous, though. When it turns its attention to Cady, it pulls no punches in depicting how she's coping with the loss of her parents and how the presence of M3GAN in her life has become an increasingly problematic coping mechanism. Instead of whiplash between the serious scenes with M3GAN and Cady and the dark humor of the rest of the film, these two elements combined simply made the proceedings feel that much more twisted and grotesque.

If there's one thing I can fault the film for, it's in how it frames Gemma. This is no shade on Allison Williams, who did a fine job playing the character, and I get what the film's main satirical thrust was going for in its depiction of parents who use tablets and TVs to raise their kids for them. Also, Gemma's engineering brilliance ultimately does help save the day at the end. That said, the tone felt like it was negatively judging Gemma for choosing her career over having a family, especially with certain lines of dialogue that M3GAN says to her later in the film, giving off some very weirdly conservative vibes about how the film views working women in general and women in STEM in particular -- specifically, the kind of "crunchy con" who's a bit obsessed with medieval Europe and paleo diets and has books by Guillaume Faye on their bookshelf. (That's a rabbit hole you don't wanna go down. Trust me.) This is a problem I think could've easily been fixed simply by giving Gemma a boyfriend or husband who's shown to be just as incompetent at parenting as she is and just as eager to use M3GAN as a surrogate parent for Cady (and someone else for M3GAN to kill, too!), keeping the focus squarely on bad parenting in general instead of causing it to have some gendered undertones. As it is, while I'm pretty sure it was unintentional, it still left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

The Bottom Line

This wasn't a perfect movie, but it's something of a rare breed: a genuinely smart sci-fi story that's also an awesome, entertaining fun time to watch. If you wanna be scared without getting too grossed out, and then have something to think about on the way home, then M3GAN is your killer new best friend.

[shobiejuesna]

SCRIPT

CONTACT INFORMATION: Shobie Juesna Magalang Pampanga, Philippines

(+63)9614809254

Shobiejuesna8@gmail.com

DECOMPOSITION

Cast of Character

Rosanne (my mom): the main lead of the story and Juanito's great love.

Juanito: my mom ex-boyfriend for almost 4 years.

Nina: Rosanne mother.

Minerva: Rosanne eldest sister

Theodore: Rosanne brother-in-law and husband of Minerva

Christina: Theodore's cousin and Rosanne best friend

Annalise: Juanito's older sister

Felicia: Juanito's youngest sister

Lucia: Juanito's mother

Simon: Juanito's father

TIME

May of 1993.

Synopsis

While we are young, we sometimes found love that just bound to hurt and teach us. We met someone that we thought "the one" or "the girl\boy before the one". Imagining, ourselves growing old with that someone to the rest of our lives. Year 1993 at the small town of San Carlos, there was two young lovers. As the time passed their love and fidelity was tested. Would they end up together or biggest regret and lesson to each other?

SETTING: Silay city, Nina's inside room in her house

AT RISE: Rossane and Nina facing each other on the bed, while Rossane reading the letter out loud.

ROSSANE

Why you can't take a vacation too? You promise ate and kuya to visit this summer. (In her upset voice and shoulders drop)

NINA

I can't leave this time ga (love), your aunt Lena needs me here.

(She affectionately pats her youngest daughter head)

ROSANNE

Uncle Samuel could take care of her. Carmen will be upset too. C'mon let's just go! (In verge of crying to Nina)

NINA

Get up and stop crying already. Your cousin will come anytime soon to fetch you

(She firmly told her daughter and left the bed to get Rosanne luggage)

SETTING: in front of Minerva and Theodore house at San Carlos

AT RISE: the married couple facing Rosanne in four seater table

MINERVA

Look at you, you've grown! We miss you! Let's go inside for you to eat and i could hear your tummy making earth shuttering noises (hyperbole)

(She beamed happily after she hugged her youngest sister tight. Guiding her to enter the house while Theodore takes the luggage to put in the room for Rosanne)

MINERVA

You never change. You still eat, like someone will steal your food (simile)

(She affectionately looking to her youngest sister while holding her husband arms)

THEODORE

Eat slowly San. The food won't run (personification)

(He reprimand Rosanne when Rosanne accidentally drop the fork)

ROSANNE

Sorry about that. I was travelling for 9 hours straight and my muscles are aching (metonymy) because the wheels (synecdoche) had been moving nonstop.

(She apologized after she drank water)

ROSANNE

And the whole journey had been hell since I was been with Carlos the devil (metaphor). He kept doing all those stupid pranks! I could even sleep!

(She whines being her usual self and the married couple just laugh)

TIME

Saturday night May of 1993.

Synopsis

While we are young, we sometimes found love that just bound to hurt and teach us. We met someone that we thought "the one" or "the girl boy before the one". Imagining, ourselves growing old with that someone to the rest of our lives. Year 1993 at the small town of San Carlos, there was two young lovers. As the time passed their love and fidelity was tested. Would they end up together or biggest regret and lesson to each other?

SETTING: terrace of Christina's parents

AT RISE: Rosanne seated on the bench facing the front yard and beside her was Christina

CHRISTINA

They got married last year. I mean they fight tooth and nail and they tied a knot (irony). Looking at them I still can't believe it!

(Christina animatedly narrating what Rosanne miss last year summer)

CHRISTINA

Lia went home last summer. Her dad was sick and wishes to return to this hometown. I miss her nonstop mouth. On her last letter, her father was getting better and might come back here before Christmas-

(Christina stop suddenly talking and waved her hands to the boy just enter)

CHRISTINA

What took you so long? We've been waiting for you for almost two hours.

(Christina asked the boy and the boy scratch the back of his head)

CHRISTINA

By the way this is Minerva youngest sister. Juanito meet Rosanne.

(Juanito offer a handshake to Rosanne and shyly accept it)

ROSANNE

N-nice to m-meet you

(She stuttered out of nervousness and Christina fake a cough since she notice how her friend reacted to Juanito's sudden presence)

TIME

May of 1993.

Synopsis

While we are young, we sometimes found love that just bound to hurt and teach us. We met someone that we thought "the one" or "the girl boy before the one". Imagining, ourselves growing old with that someone to the rest of our lives. Year 1993 at the small town of San Carlos, there was two young lovers. As the time passed their love and fidelity was tested. Would they end up together or biggest regret and lesson to each other?

SETTING: at the rivers town

AT RISING: Rosanne and Christina seated on the picnic blanket near the river where all their friends swimming

CHRISTINA

He's achingly handsome isn't he? (Oxymoron)

(She teasingly poking Rosanne cheeks. When she caught it stealing glances)

ROSANNE

He is... especially when he smile and the way his crinkles.

(She mindlessly replied still looking at Juanito)

ROSANNE

He's also soft spoken and really attentive when I talk. He just really deserved to be the "crush ng bayan" (understatement). Too bad, I'm going home next week. I can't here for long since mama needs me.

CHRISTINA

I know that look. I won’t let that Ursula lure your man (euphemism). I got your back and keep you posted in the next few months.

(In her promising and determining voice)

TIME

1995.

Synopsis

While we are young, we sometimes found love that just bound to hurt and teach us. We met someone that we thought "the one" or "the girl boy before the one". Imagining, ourselves growing old with that someone to the rest of our lives. Year 1993 at the small town of San Carlos, there was two young lovers. As the time passed their love and fidelity was tested. Would they end up together or biggest regret and lesson to each other?

SETTING: garden's house of Lucia and Simon house

AT RISING: Rosanne and Juanito facing his family at the dinner table

LUCIA

Finally, my son has brought a girl to introduce as his girlfriend. Nice to meet you hija

(She smiled sweetly that gave warmth feeling to the chest of Rosanne)

ANNALISE

Tonight's cold but look at him ma, blushing like some teenage boy (thermal)

(She teases his brother when he notices his brother looking at Rosanne like lovesick fool)

SIMON

Here taste this fresh pickly sweet persimmon hija

(He gives the basket of persimmon to Rosanne and Rosanne shyly took a piece)

FELICIA

Are you getting married to kuya? Like kuya Paulo?

(The youngest blurted out and the table has awkward silence)

LUCIA

So you're leaving this weekend hija?

(Lucia broke the awkward air and Rosanne nod)

ROSANNE

Sad to say but yes tita, since final semester is about to end. I need to review and pass the entire final requirement before to graduate. My mom does also need me to manage the farm that my father left to us.

(She frustrated covered her face remembering all the task she need to do when she get home)

JUANITO

We'll probably see each other again after 8 months. Since my job was call of duty too. I thought after college, there will be more time for me to rest! Our general been deploying us to far places. I can't even say considering it's my duty as an army. I sometimes regret this profession, since I can't have the time to spare to talk to my girlfriend!

(His parent just laughed to his rants)

SIMON

Look at them. Back in the days, were just like them. But look at us fighting all the odds and still together after all this year

(He stared lovingly to his beloved wife)

LUCIA

You need more patient son. Being away from each other will test your loyalty that will strengthen your relationship. It worth the wait after all

(Advising the young couple and the couple took the advice in their hearts and looks each other smiling)

TIME

1998

Synopsis

While we are young, we sometimes found love that just bound to hurt and teach us. We met someone that we thought "the one" or "the girl boy before the one". Imagining, ourselves growing old with that someone to the rest of our lives. Year 1993 at the small town of San Carlos, there was two young lovers. As the time passed their love and fidelity was tested. Would they end up together or biggest regret and lesson to each other?

SETTING: At the restaurant

AT RISING: Seated in a fancy table, facing each other

JUANITO

I still remember the summertime when I first met you. I remember cursing Tina inside my head for being so persistent to invite me to join her at the disco night. Also the time I overhead you saying you like me, making me wide awake all night.

(Chuckling with the reminiscing look)

JUANITO

I thought your feelings will fade away, since you only sixteen at that time. The happiness, I felt you said yes after courting you for one year and seven months. For almost four years, those emotions you made me felt still here.

(Looking intensely at her eyes and resume)

JUANITO

The happiness I feel, whenever I see your smile. You never cease to make my heart throbbed with your simple, "I love you". How you can give me peace, no matter the world give noise. How your soft hands (tactile) and you soothing voice (auditory), can calm the rage of storm in me. How to you can turn the bitterness into sweet (gustatory). How your heart (metonymy), can fix the shambles...

(He paused when Rosanne sob even more and he shakingly popped the question)

JUANITO

Will you accept this ring and let's liver under the same roof (synecdoche) for eternity?

(Rosanne keep sobbing and abruptly stand and walked out. Juanito followed her outside in panic. He got her hand that made Rosanne stopped)

JUANITO

Did I do something wrong? Did I offend you? Am i rushing things again?

(he asked in furrowed brows. Rosanne finally face him, tears streaming in her cheeks)

I'm s-sorry... I t-tried... I s-swear!

ROSANNE

(Stammering in weak voice avoiding his gaze, while keep trying to stop her tears)

ROSANNE

I just wake up one day... I become different, a version of me i did not expect to be. I no longer perceive myself in this town. I no longer desire the life I told myself that I want to be with you back when I was that young, stupid and wild girl I used to be.

(She bravely bring out everything in the light, even though her tears betraying her)

ROSANNE

As I kept denying the truth I no longer feel the same. I kept convincing myself to stay, hoping perhaps I could bring it back. I made it worst, I lied! I lied to myself and to you...and i'm so sorry I can't make the dreams and promises we once live for.

(As her tears continue to flow, Juanito shaking his head)

JUANITO

You don't have to reciprocate. As long as you stay! I would stay, to give everything no matter what. I don't want a world without you and what the sense of this mere existence not having you what's the significant of having the success and owning the medals of recognition, without you. I would catch a bullet in every war, if you ask me to. I could survive every battle field, but not a world without you.

(He shamelessly begged and did not mind to be vulnerable)

ROSANNE

I would never forgive myself if I continue to lie and hurt you. Please love someone that also willing to give up the world to you

(And Rosanne left but Juanito stay where she left him. Maimed, Lost, Scarred, and unmoving.)

[tiredgamergirl]

A young scientifically-inclined man named Hiroto feels compelled into going back to his hometown in the countryside and meet again with his childhood friend, Ion. However upon meeting up with her, to his surprise, she has been turned into a mermaid. The girl refuses to give him a straight explanation and Hiroto ends up bringing her to his old home with him. Throughout the course a few days, is skeptical mind struggles to wrap his head around the situation while dealing with weird characters like Pettako, the pet-minded other mermaid, and the enigmatic Rin.

The premise sounds interesting enough, with an undergoing mystery moving along the plot: why and how Ion became a mermaid? Why it seems there is this uncanny reaction of the old country folk around her? There are a few foreshadowing scattered around here and there, but sadly the game suffers from more than a few pitfalls; for starters, Hiroto isn’t a pleasant protagonist unless you stop taking the story too serious because he only has two modes: pervert and science nerd, both that can be over-the-top to the point of being caricatures.

 There is little time spent with Ion to the point of her defining trait are the staring contests and wracking him in the head with her fish tail, and while there is nothing wrong with slapstick humor thankfully the point it was starting to get stale was when he started to duck. Then there’s Pettako, your traditional “little sister that sometimes say ominously mature things” and Rin, that those gender discourse might raise a few eyebrows and how it was executed could rub some people the wrong way. None of the characters is particularly developed maybe the two side characters got a little more than the main couple, weirdly enough. Then there are a number of infantile jokes, literal poop humor and, of course, boobs jokes. It is the kind of thing that the mileage might vary. Even the narration of story-relevant bits can be off-kilter in all the wrong moments even after accepting it might be closer to a wacky anime than a heartfelt visual novel romance (or eroge). It does have a number of Bad Endings and alternate ends, so there is some replay value.

There are moments that it is hard to discern if the product suffers from poor translation or if the original script is just lacking. There are certainly a great number of typos, untranslated bits, debug text and everything to make it a rather unpleasant experience visually speaking. There is also bad formatting at times, with too many words cramped into one dialogue and then only two or three words in the next sentence.

Graphic-wise it is a pretty standard affair, with nice graphics and beautiful CGs. The girls’ portraits are very well-drawn and the special graphics punctuates the right beats. There aren’t many other characters so everything is pretty simple. The voice cast is very competent and the music is appropriate for the mood most of the time.

The re-release for the Switch have the name “My Girlfriend is a Mermaid!?” and have Live-2D graphics, unlike the steam version, and apparently have extra scenarios. There is also a Refine version for the Playstation 4 with the Switch extras. The steam version is said to have been optimized but it has untranslated menus, little in the way of quality of life and none of the extras. Unless the subsequent versions have a revised script and translation, it might be a good idea to wait for a sale. The story have some good concepts but it can be hard to trudge on in many moments.