#but i can't read japanese!!

[dailydemonspotlight]

Mizuchi - Day 22

Race: Snake

Alignment: Neutral

April 19th, 2024

Serpentine monsters are a common sight in mythology; whether it be the great Dragons of yore, the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl, the aboriginal Rainbow Serpent Yurlungur, or even the classical Ouroboros. However, Japan loves snakes in mythology. We've already covered one in Yamata-No-Orochi, but there are so many more, whether it be the adorable and hilarious Yokai Tsuchinoko, or, in the case of the demon we're covering today, the legendary water serpent, Mizuchi.

Mizuchi is rarely seen throughout the tremendous amounts of tales that make up Japanese mythology, only mentioned in the Nihon Shoki (the oldest still-remaining text of Japan's history, dating all the way back to the Yōrō era) as well as appearing in a single Man'yōshū poem. In spite of this, Mizuchi has been the topic of many scholarly debates, eventually being bastardized through history into everyone's favorite root-chakra destroying turtle, the Kappa.

Mizuchi, however, is not originally from Japan- its name is actually a transliteration from several Chinese glyphs, particularly several glyphs describing different dragons, serpents, and monsters of Chinese mythology. Admittedly, I don't know much about Japanese, but one of the kanji used to spell the name Mizuchi implies that it's a snake, but it first-and-foremost means "Water spirit." The word, in English, can be broken down into "Spirit-of-Water," as Mi- means water, -tsu- (the way that it is pronounced) effectively means 'of,' and -chi is a suffix that describes a spirit. Due to this, Mizuchi's origin as a Chinese myth makes it very, very hard to track down much of a solid origin for it, given that it originates from what was effectively a way to match how it sounds to how it's spelled.

Now, in terms of mythology, Mizuchi was first referenced in the Nihon Shoki- as the story goes, under the reign of Emperor Nintoku, there was a fork at a river that contained a great water serpent that would be a very deadly nuisance- it attacked random passersby, spat venom at anybody who came near, broke apart caravans, and was generally just a prick. Eventually, fed up with this, a man named Agatamori approached the spirit with a challenge- he tossed three Calabashes into the water and challenged the spirit to see if it could sink them. If not? Mizuchi would face a swift death. The dragon, perturbed, obliged, yet was unsuccessful, meeting a demise by the hands of the man.

Later on, Agatamori found his way to the fellows of the mischievous snake, and in a move as genocidal as it was unwarranted, slaughtered the entire clan of Mizuchi. The lake below was filled with their blood, later becoming the noted "Pool of Agatamori." However, in spite of how apocalyptic this may seem, it turns out that there are more recollections of Mizuchi in the mix, and this tale was but one of many.

The god of the river recorded in Nintoku 11 is also commonly seen as a Mizuchi. A dam being built along Yodo River was subject to an attack from an unknown force, completely breached. Confused, the Emperor commanded a rebuild of it, only for it to be breached yet again. This happened time and time again, and eventually, the Emperor saw a solution to his problem through a prophetic dream. Bringing two men to the riverfront, he offered them up to the River God, but one refused. Likely recognizing the circumstances, the man demanded to see the divinity of the snake by trying the age-old calabash trick, tossing a set into the river and daring the god to sink them. Unsurprisingly, the Mizuchi failed, and likely grew to resent calabashes for the rest of its life.

The last example of a Mizuchi in classical Japanese mythology comes from the Man'yōshū, a collection of ancient poems that have been passed down from generation to generation. In one of them, a poem composed by Prince Sakaibe, he describes a short and intriguing tale regarding a Mizuchi. In quote, "I could ride a tiger to leap over the Old Shack, to the green pool, to take down the mizuchi dragon there, if only I had a sword capable of doing just that." The story regards a mizuchi dragon as being almost common knowledge, bringing up as many questions as it does answers- however, the way it regards it in such a casual manner may play into why Mizuchi are so scarcely mentioned.

If everyone knew about mizuchi, then they wouldn't feel the need to record it, right? The casual cadence of the poem seems to give light to the idea that mizuchi were a common sight or concept in ancient Japan, and it may have to do with their later bastardization into Kappa. In some areas, kappa are given a name incredibly similar to a mizuchi, such as "Mizushi," "Medochi," or "Mintsuchi." Past this, a common trait in Kappa stories lies in their hatred of calabashes, something which is similar to the distaste Mizuchi have for calabashes in both stories they appear in. Some historians speculate that mizuchi and kappa were in the same general 'clique' of water dwelling monsters.

God, that was a lot. Mizuchi are confusing. However, in terms of the SMT series, there's a lot less to comment on; their appearance as a water spirit in the form of a snake is faithful, and their design is as simple as it is elegant. They appear to be made of clear water, almost like a rushing river in the form of a snake. Throughout the series, Mizuchi are a common sight in the early-mid game, even appearing as a boss in Nocturne. Their specialty in ice skills, the closest thing SMT has to water skills, is almost obvious. However, overall, there's elegance in simplicity, and Mizuchi is just that.

[emilyinhalf]

The butchest woman elves can handle before they start getting scared.

[pink-octopede64]

get in, losers. we're going shopping.

[lordoflucky]

Quick over-analysis of the ways Barok and Albert address one another, because ace attorney loves showing personality through how characters refer to each other, and I love analyzing it.

Easy one out of the way, Albert exclusively refers to Barok as "Barok" regardless of the situation. He is the only character to do this, with every other character referring to him as some variation of "Prosecutor/Lord van Zieks". This establishes their friendship from the get-go, while also being a bit jarring to the audience as literally no one calls him just "Barok". Even characters who are closer to him, like Gregson and Stronghart, still call him "van Zieks". As far as Albert is concerned, that's just his good friend Barok, not the intimidating Prosecutor Lord van Zieks.

Barok meanwhile has two major ways of referring to Albert:

Firstly, "Albert". This one's simple, he's just reciprocating Albert's first name address, and further cementing their friendship. This is used almost exclusively outside of the courtroom, meanwhile within the courtroom he almost only uses "Professor Harebrayne". An exception to this is right after Albert is forced to accept that the experiment is a failure Barok says:

"And as for you… …Albert. You can't ignore this any longer."

It's a sudden departure from the distant, professional address he's been using the entire trial. It's also a much kinder approach than Barok usually takes when referring to defendants (or anyone really), something Susato comments on directly by saying she's "Never heard him speak that way before." He's breaking the Reaper Persona for just a moment to give his friend a firm, yet ultimately gentle, push.

Back to "Professor Harebrayne", while on the surface it seems distant there is one scene that shows an extra dimension. During the "Laudable not Laughable" scene, a sequence dedicated to Barok giving Albert what is essentially a pep-talk, you would expect him to return to the "Albert" address as seen earlier. Instead, he continues to use "Professor Harebrayne". My interpretation is that Barok is specifically calling attention to the fact that Albert is Professor Harebrayne. He has a title which he earned that is proof of his abilities as a scientist. Following that logic, "Professor Harebrayne" isn't just for formality's sake, but also a representation of the respect Barok holds for Albert separate from their status as friends.

However, Barok actually has a third way of referring to Albert that is used exactly once. In the line directly preceding Albert's (false) confession to murder, Barok says:

"What's all this about… Mr Harebrayne?"

Mr Harebrayne. Not Professor, not Albert, Mr.

If "Professor Harebrayne" is meant to show respect, and "Albert" is meant to show fondness, then clearly "Mr Harebrayne" is the absence of both.

He's not "Brilliant Scientist Professor Harebrayne" and he's not "Dear Friend Albert", he is Mr Harebrayne and he is about to do something so, so stupid. And there's nothing Barok can do to stop him.

My chosen interpretation is that this is Barok's desperate attempt to verbally smack some sense into Albert. This is like the Barok equivalent of grabbing Albert by the shoulders and yelling "What the hell do you think you're doing???"

As an aside, this comes right before the "...Albert. You can't ignore this any longer" line. Meaning the latter can almost been seen as an apology for being so harsh moments before.

Just, Mr Harebrayne. It's such a minor change, but I adore it so much. With how much care ace attorney puts into the way characters refer to each other, I have to assume it was intentional.

[blueskittlesart]

Could you maybe explain why the Japanese versions of BOTW and TOTK seem so much less subtle about the nature of Link and Zelda's relationship?

Even when regular folk translate it it seems less subtle, it's almost like Nintendo's localization was deliberately to be as vague as possible

to be completely honest I haven't found many instances of localization altering the nature of their relationship, but I also haven't ever sat down and actually looked at the japanese game as a whole because my japanese reading comprehension is. probably on the level of a preschooler. I can think of a few instances where I know the localization altered specific lines, but only in pieces of the game I've specifically looked at in japanese for other reasons. if you could give me specific examples of places where there are changes to look into I could definitely do it, but im not strong enough to play the whole game with a kanji dictionary on hand just to understand what the hell is being said to me lmfao

[writinredhead]

Friendship with genki has ended - pixiv novels is now my best friend 🤝

[respectthepetty]

I'm glad Yao Shun Yu's mom was rude to rich man president (Xia Shang Zhou), since rich man president's mom was rude to him in the series!

Anon, this is months late, but I was waiting to give you a fun fact about Shun Yu's mom -

She's the producer of ALL the VBL/Vidol shows, the executive producer of We Best Love 1 & 2 and My Tooth Your Love, and the screenwriter for Unknown.

Her name is Cai Fei Qiao and basically, she is fucking amazing! Also, she acted in (and I believe wrote the screenplays for) ALL of the VBL's series:

The mom in You Are Mine

The ghost in Stay by My Side

The Seventh Fairy (with Dong Yong) in VIP Only

The bumper car worker in Anti Reset

She worked on a 2013 show with Sam Lin, so when We Best Love came up, she personally asked him to join the series because she felt he could convey the emotional range needed for the show (drunk kiss, yes!), and she also played an instructor in that series.

You know the scene!

EDIT: @thisonelikesaliens informed me she played the aunt in My Tooth Your Love, which she produced (woman in black on the right).

And I'm sure she played a role in Unknown since she wrote the screenplay for it based on the novel (and did a damn good job of it), but I haven't been able to spot her . . . yet.

She is also working on a second set of VBL/Vidol series, so I'm sure we are going to see this man again since he has already been in two of her series.

She recently did an interview giving more details about the upcoming series, and someone on Reddit was kind enough to translate some bits, but here is the original Japanese interview for anyone interested.

So, everyone, thank Cai Fei Qiao for bringing us our favorite Taiwanese BLs!

[mochiajclayne]

how do I even explain that law had been saying homosexual coded stuff about him and luffy as early as marineford like sir what do you mean your meeting with strawhat was fate 🤨

[magistralucis]

pronouncing the necron 'sz': personal rating list*

broke: /s/ only ('seras')

woke: /z/ only ('zeras')

provoke: /s/ and /z/ pronounced separately ('s-ze-ras')

bespoke: /ʂ/ or /ʃ/ ('scheras')

invoke: tensed fricative /s͈/ ('sseras')

misspoke: /s/ but evil ('ßeras')

(* Further notes in tags.)

[parasitoidism]

Persona 1&2 anthology dust jacket

illustration by Eri Takenashi

[daily-hyosatsu]

Today, a timely shoutout! The surname 皆川 is usually read Minagawa or Minakawa, rarely Kaigawa.

皆 is new to this blog. It means everybody, all, or everything. It's read みな, みんな, or カイ.

川 means river. It’s read かわ or セン.

So what is the shoutout? I've just finished listening to the final episode of Re: Dracula (the podcast version of Dracula Daily), and I have loved this show so, so, SO much. Even though I had already read the book and done DD, I had zero idea I could be so emotionally invested in this story. I thin

So I'm sad that I don't have new episodes to look forward to at the moment, but very happy to realize I had a Mina name in my drafts! And I hear it in their Van Helsing's voice—the way he says "Madam Mina" is just delightful and so loving and charming as all hell (and he says it about a thousand times an episode and you better believe I enjoy it every single time). Also, I am half in love with their Mina, whose voice is suffused with such goodness and kindness, and ALSO, Dr. Seward is Jon from The Magnus Archives, which is very enjoyable and fun too.

Anyway! I will re-queue this post for when it starts up again on May 3. You should listen! It is beautifully produced and sometimes there is singing.

OH, breaking news: I have just learned that they are launching a Carmilla(!!!!). It's available November 17 for patrons, or February 14 otherwise.

[shima-draws]

I've been rewatching all of CJ's Rhythm Heaven Fever playthroughs and AGHHH it looks so fun I want to get it SO bad.......problem is the game isn't in production anymore so any existing copies being sold online are going for over $100 and I'm a BROKE BITCH

[valkyrieres]

Random question but does any of these Fire & Rescue merchs exist out of Japan?

These are from a really old toho web post and the website attached to the post isn't available TvT

Japan always gets the good stuff istg aghhhh

[miwa-soumen]

Koisenu Futari Production Journal ⑩ (translation pt. 1)

part 1 of 3 | part 2 | part 3 |original article here

this is kind of long (and it's only part one!) so I'm putting it under the cut. if you catch any errors, let me know!

Hello, I am Sayaka Takahashi, the costume director of Koisenu Futari.

In a drama, the costuming of a character plays the fundamental role of adding realism to a characterization. In addition to that, however, I think costuming expresses a “background” that can’t be conveyed by the dialogue or storyline alone, and gives viewers the chance to dig deeper into the characters.

I especially tried to keep this in mind while styling the characters for this show.

Like many, I first heard of the existence of aromantic and asexual people while working on this show. Although there were many new surprises in this regard, reading through the script and understanding the characters better helped me to understand that they were all very fascinating. I soon began working on expanding upon the impressions I got through the costumes.

Approachable and somewhat delicate, despite their strong sense of individuality—in order to convey this impression, I used a variety of colors in the composition of each character’s outfits. The costumes needed to be heavily emphasized in order to come across as colorful in a show with lots of location shooting, but I tried to add color freely without getting boxed in by that.

I will specifically explain the costuming processes of Sakuko, Takahashi, and Kazu.

⚫Sakuko’s Costumes

When styling Sakuko, I tried to ensure that she immediately came off as a bright and likeable character.

At first, I developed a soft, fluffy look using pastels and muted colors, and incorporated recognizable trends such as frills, see-through fabrics, and puffed sleeves in order to create the image of a girl who has fun with both her work and her fashion.

I also expressed her sociable nature using the colors of her jackets and the balance of her backpack. However, after her encounter with Takahashi, she begins to realize that she had been subconsciously changing herself to suit the needs of the people around her.

When Sakuko goes from realization to acceptance, we see her world become more vivid and colorful. This is when her clothes and accessories begin to gradually change. We decided that she had liked rather large earrings even before her realization, and used those alongside her backpack to emphasize her individuality.

While the outfit she wears to visit Takahashi’s home for the first time is a normal commuting outfit, the balance of color used to express her joy and excitement at finally being able to relate to someone, as well as the vigor with which she innocently barges into the house, makes it one of her main looks.

And in episode 3, the coat Sakuko comes across during the shopping scenes in episode 3 becomes a vital part of her awakening to a newfound sense. For this scene, we looked for something very impactful and something that, above all else, suited Sakuko the best. Ms. Kishii looks very good in vivid colors, especially red, so we unanimously decided on this bright red coat during the costume fittings. This coat becomes the start of Sakuko’s discovery of a new part of herself as she begins to try out clothes and accessories she had never chosen to wear previously.

Starting from episode 6, there is a clear change in Sakuko’s appearance, where Takahashi’s grandmother’s influence can be seen. Her style begins to broaden as she begins to embrace vintage clothing and accessories, such as brooches, and begins incorporating more masculine elements. Specifically, we introduced elements that we had been avoiding up through episode 5, such as second-hand clothing, denim, primary colors, black, and large earrings.

I hope we were able to convey the relief and freedom Sakuko feels as she chooses to wear the things that she likes without having to care about what others think of her.

thanks to @dollopheadsandclotpoles and many others for their kind words of encouragement - I hope you enjoy!

part 2 | part 3 | original article here

[uwublr]

Tag yourself, I'm ハニーエール.

And Engkanto would have been エンガント. They're nature spirits who can appear human at times, from Filipino mythology.

[marianthereaper]

Anyone wants hotchreid drawing?

I want.

Today was tough.