#but i really do feel for Kousuke and again i think that is the best part of ily

[trashlie]

ILY FP 220

CW for abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, etc. Sorry for the minor spoiler, but we’re digging into the way Yui has manipulated and abused Kousuke since he was young and that might be triggering to some readers. 

Whoo BOY! Idk about you guys but I loved this episode (I keep saying this every week lmao). Again, there’s so much confirmation of things I’ve been saying/believing, and I find it really funny that this arrived on the cusp of a related discussion I’ve been having lol. This time, I’m also going to link to some interesting posts/threads from the 220 discussion post on the reddit, because they are presented really well, and while I’ll talk about them in this post, I want to highlight the comments that have furthered my thoughts and commentary! The reddit discussion posts are really what helps me put my thoughts together!

I am a big fan of this comment and the subsequent replies between them and cheeselounge; good explanation of exactly how Yui’s manipulation/gas lighting/abuse works and why it maintains a compelling hold on Kousuke, as well as some good food for thought about black and white vs shades of grey, the ableism that runs rampant when people on a whole talk about Kousuke, and how harmful it is to view characters as 100% innocent or guilty. Also really fantastic points on the parallels of how Shinae, Nol, and Kousuke are shown waking in the hospital. Just an all around top tier comment!

This is my own comment lol but what is important is not the comment itself but the discussion in the replies. I’m not a medical person so everyone’s input on what it means for Yui to shut down Hansuke’s tests is invaluable to me lol. Someone also brought up blood type - and while I don’t think that’s something Hansuke would be testing, it does bring up interesting thoughts re: Kousuke’s parentage. 

So let’s get into it! 

I know it’s tacky to be an “I told you so!” person but this episode, besides making me feel incredibly unsettled and angry, absolutely made me feel I TOLD YOU SO! Yui is SO skilled at manipulation it’s like second nature to her. Every now and then I still see people defending Yui as loving Kousuke so much that the way she treats him can’t possibly be manipulation, and that you can’t prove it’s manipulation - and like. THAT’S THE THING LOL Textbook abuse is often met with people who don’t believe it because they’ve never seen it, because you’re being so dramatic, because it’s not big deal. That’s how abuse WORKS. The abuser is seen as someone who couldn’t possibly be abusing you, because they do so many nice things or they seem so lovely and they just don’t seem like an abuser~. That’s why it works!!!! Because they have created a reasonable cause of doubt. Because they make YOU look like the liar, like you’re dramatic, like you’re just making a big deal out of things that aren’t. 

Also, people can say they love you and still abuse you, still hurt you, still use you for their own gain. And Yui does just that. 

It’s been a source of great ire to me that so much of what Yui has done has been swept under an umbrella of “she just loves him so much of course she wants the best for him”. But it’s not about him, and we can see that now! Yui doesn’t respond to Kousuke with love or affection. She has NO CONCERN about what happened to him. In fact, even as Hansuke tries to argue in favor of running tests on Kousuke, Yui tries it on him. “He’s dramatic, you know that. I know him well, and I know he’s fine. You are making a big deal out of nothing. We don’t want to make him think something is wrong with him do we?” Hansuke is the only one showing concern for Kousuke. It’s not just about him hitting his head - it’s about the unresponsive state in which he found Kousuke. It’s that HE knows Kousuke and HE knows something happened, something set him off, and that he responded to it in a worrying way! 

Yui SHOULD be concerned about Kousuke. She should want to understand, she should worry that something is going on with him. Instead, she just tries to pretend it’s nothing, to sweep it under the rug, to hide it not just from everyone else but from HIMSELF. “We don’t want him to think something’s wrong with him, do we?” 

But it’s not just that, it’s the way she operates! For so long I’ve been trying to say that while Rand is very much responsible for his choices, I believe Yui absolutely has affected his relationship with Kousuke and encouraged/fostered the distance between them. If Kousuke ever got close to Rand, maybe he would have laid off, calmed down, felt that he’d reached his goal and now he didn’t have to run so hard. But as long as that goal is unmet, as long as Rand is distant from him, Kousuke would have to keep pushing until he reaches the top, just like she wants. 

It’s the way she took Rand’s real gift and threw it out and replaced it with some random cardigan that looks like it’s not up to Kousuke’s standards. “How sweet of him” so sweet that he doesn’t know what his son likes, right? So sweet that he just got you whatever and you’re supposed to like it. She’s further fostering that divide. Not only has Kousuke not reached Rand, but he looks like he doesn’t know anything about him, like he doesn’t even care. And that’s further supported by the reality of the night - Kousuke knows Rand is with Nol and while on some level he understands why (even he was concerned about Nol being hurt) eventually he might internalize it as “Father chose Nol over me.” 

How many times has Yui intervened? Swapped out gifts? Relayed the wrong information, just FORGOT to relay the right information. How convenient, that Rand was never around for Kousuke’s birthday because he had meetings elsewhere. How convenient, that Rand never knew when Kousuke’s recitals or EVEN GRADUATION were. I want to reiterate I think Rand deserves critique. He has made his choices, he could have reached out to Kousuke, could have inquired about when his events are. But also as we’ve extensively discussed, Yui absolutely has and continues to weaponize what Rand loves and cares about against him. She’s weaponized it against Kousuke in how she commodified the concept of love and Rand’s love. She’s done it to Nol. At some point, people give up. There’s only so much misery they can endure. It’s very likely that Rand made efforts, in the beginning. We’ve seen him talk to Kousuke before about how he doesn’t have to follow in his footsteps, that he’s allowed to be whatever he wants. We’ve seen him try to instill little life lessons in Kousuke, only for Yui to swoop in and contradict him. At some point a person is going to burn out, grow tired. It’s unfair to Kousuke, because as his father, Rand still has a duty to him. But he’s also a human and we can only take so much. 

Rand and Yui exist in a toxic relationship, and Rand has spent so much of that time in a state of misery. We’ve seen it in Nol, how at some point he thought maybe he should give up, maybe there’s no point in fighting, maybe he just needs to let it go. We’ve seen it in Shinhan, who was overwhelmed by stress and his job and schooling and didn’t have the time and energy to be a present father and at some point turned to alcohol for comfort even at the expense of their funds. 

People can only endure so much. That’s the tragedy of Rand and Kousuke - that Rand was eventually worn down to such an extent that he didn’t have it in him to keep trying, that he was sapped of everything, that it was used against him time and time again, and that in the end it hurts Kousuke. That there were two children involved and impacted by this and both have come to meet danger and harm. 

I have so many thoughts about Rand, and Rand and Yui, and I’ll have to save them for another post. I don’t want to absolve Rand of his crimes against his children, but I also think it’s important to consider the circumstances, because at the end of the day that’s why this is so tragic. It’s so real. Yui is not the first parent to ever pit her child against her spouse, she isn’t the first person to manipulate others in her life. It doesn’t absolve the other parent, but we have to acknowledge the circumstances, because I don’t believe this is the father Rand wanted to be. I think he wanted to have a relationship with his son, but that Yui made it a difficult task, and after some time, he gave up on it. 

Anyway that’s a whole sidebar lmao the point I REALLY wanted to make was: seeing Yui pull this, swap out the gift, replace it with something that is unsuited for Kousuke just further fosters that distance between Rand and Yui. And because Yui is the one who is here when Kousuke wakes up, it further perpetuates the belief that Kousuke is not good enough for Rand to care about him - especially given the circumstances in which Rand found Kousuke. 

Do we ever get to know what’s going on in Rand’s head? What did he think, when he found his sons out there in the snow? What did he think, when it looked like Kousuke was running away from Nol left bloodied and bleeding out in the snow? What did he think about this scene, after the phone call he had earlier that night with Kousuke and what he overhead. We still don’t know what Kousuke said the night he was drunk and left his father a voicemail, but we can deduce that it probably had to do with this - with his relationship with Nol and the hate and the jealousy and the fear and the desperate want to be loved, to be good enough? 

The blood is on his hands both metaphorically and physically. 

Something I want to stress is how grey I find this. Kousuke acted on Nol’s goading. If he hadn’t pushed Kousuke’s buttons, Kousuke would not have done it. Punching him as he was leaving the room was a fight or flight response - I don’t think it was his intention to knock him off the balcony - but I also think in that moment he didn’t feel guilt. Likewise, when Nol left the party, Kousuke chased after him, caught up in his fears and jealousy, the paranoia that stems from it. In so many ways, Kousuke does believe Nol is better than him. Nol’s ability to walk away and not fight back not just at the party, but even after he chased him, infuriated him, because he was goaded into chasing and attacking and yet Nol didn’t even choose to defend himself. Did he intentionally slam Nol like that knowing the glass shards would dig in and tear him up? Did he even register the glass?

What really strikes me is that when Kousuke realizes Nol is injured - badly - it doesn’t come across to me like he’s afraid of getting in trouble for it. He seems genuinely concerned that something has happened to Nol, that he’s bleeding. He wanted Nol to fight back, but I don’t think he wanted to HURT him like that? His reaction is so different from back at the party, where paranoia clouded logic and that flashback returned to him. I think yes, Kousuke wanted to hurt Nol, but I don’t think he wanted it to be like this?

Idk they’re complicated and it’s why I enjoy getting to see these kinds of scenes. 

But again, this is a tangent I didn’t mean to go on, but I think it’s important to state so that you guys understand how and why I interpret the scenes as I do. There is no one who is 100% guilty or innocent.

I definitely think we are meant to dig in to Yui’s actions and understand the manipulation and gaslighting that has gone on for the entirety of Kousuke’s life. That it isn’t solely about Nol, that even before him, she was doing this, that Kousuke as her son has always been a means to her self-serving goals and ambitions, that he was never a child to her but this extension of herself, this opportunity to go after what she wants, a way to cut Rand out of the picture so that everything falls back into the hands of her family. Though Kousuke she is able to orchestrate everything she wants and needs because he is solely at her mercy. 

Look at how deftly she discredits Hansuke while ensuring she is seen as the one who has the most concern for him. Look at how she makes it look as though Hansuke was trying something shady, to run tests on him without his consent, how can he overstep those boundaries - as if she doesn’t do that very thing at every opportunity. That’s how it works! You isolate your victim by making them believe everyone is out to harm them, that no one is trustworthy - no one except yourself, of course. It’s how she remains that safe shelter to him. Even though she does overstep his boundaries, even though she inserts herself into his business, she’s also the one who brings him “comfort”, the only one who he can trust. And it’s why he is unable to part ways with that manipulated reality he adheres to. It’s why, when other people speak the truth to him, he cannot believe it if it contradicts what he knows and believes, and that’s why no one is able to get through to him. 

Kousuke is a textbook victim of manipulation - he can never grow and progress as long as Yui exists. 

And something that someone pointed out (in the first link I included above!) is the visual progression of that. While we knew Kousuke would likely regress and everything he confronted and admitted would be out the window if Yui shows up, it’s further illustrated at the beginning of the episode and how it’s juxtaposed against the last scene we saw. 

From Nol and Shinae standing together, hands clutched and Nol resting on her shoulder with the sunrise and light, the clocks turn back and grow darker and darker, until Kousuke awakes. His moment of illumination is over, he’s back to the dark. Yui’s arrival represents that darkness, and how it undoes every moment of truth he had prior. 

As long as Yui remains in Kousuke’s proximity, he will always be in the dark, unable to reach the light. 

In that same comment, they talked about the parallels in how we were shown Nol, Shinae, and Kousuke all waking up in the hospital. 

Shinae woke to her father and his love and care. There was never a moment she had to doubt him. I still can’t get over that little snippet of Minhyuk in the hospital before she’d fully woken, how feral he sounded, how upset he was about what happened - that he knew he was one of the only people who actually cared about her and his anger at how she was hurt. There was never a moment that Shinae had to doubt these people. Even though her mom has left and took her sister, too, Shinae has never had to feel entirely alone. 

On the flip side, Nol didn’t wake up to relatives, to his parents. He woke up to panic and fear and his fight or flight senses kicked in - until he noticed Shinae asleep at the foot of his bead and realized he wasn’t alone. His friends showed up despite the way he had treated him to celebrate him, to make him feel special, to make him feel better in the ways that they can. Nol has spent a lot of time alone, but he’s not. He has people at his side. 

But Kousuke also wakes up alone - no peace, but instead a hard to make out argument outside his door. Isn’t that awful? At least Shinae and Nol wake up to a sense of comfort, but Kousuke wakes up to people arguing about him. When he fully wakes and sits up, there’s no one in the room. Just him. And then in sweeps Yui, paying off a nurse to trash Rand’s gift, ready to spin a new web to further ensnare Kousuke. 

As long as Yui remains that safe place, that comfort to Kousuke, he cannot be free. 

That’s the power of isolation, that’s the power of discrediting the people around him, of ensuring he believes only her words, convincing him that only she knows him well enough, that only she can help him, only she will tell him the truth. 

“They were all superfluous. Don’t worry, I told him to stop. It’s best to save resources on patients that actually need it, right?” 

We know Hansuke is in the right mind, wanting to run tests on Kousuke. He is rightfully concerned that something is going on with Kousuke and hopes tests could be indicative of something. He’s a doctor and thus believes in science and if there’s scientific evidence, maybe THAT could sway Kousuke, maybe THAT could convince him to listen. But not only does Yui put a stop to it, but she manages to discredit his intentions. She conveys to Kousuke exactly what she needs to - of course there’s nothing wrong with you you’re just fine don’t listen to what anyone else says because they don’t know you like I do. They’re all just being so dramatic. 

And the next time Hansuke dares bring up to Kousuke that maybe he needs to get checked out, Kousuke will double down against him, will continue to believe Hansuke has a vendetta against him, will add him to his growing list of paranoia. The one person who is actively fighting for Kousuke is a big threat to Yui, so she has to ensure that Kousuke won’t trust him.

But that begs the question then. Is she putting a stop to the tests in effort to discredit Hansuke, or is it more than that? I am not a medical person, so this is not my area of expertise and I can only go off of the input others have put out there. I do personally think that whatever Kousuke is dealing with is not so much a mental illness as much as a response to the various stressors in his life, and while I do think a psych evaluation could at least better pinpoint a way to help Kousuke, that’s not the kind of test that Hansuke could have run while he was out. 

But what could be gleaned from simple labwork and urine analysis? If what Kousuke is dealing with is his stress levels and his response to internalized fears and jealousy resulting in paranoia, if it’s his body’s reaction to dealing with a past trauma, if it’s his body shutting down when he can’t deal with something, that’s not something blood is going to show right? 

There’s a lot of theories.

The first assumes both the rules of the mukoyoshi theory and that Kousuke is not, in fact, Rand’s child. It would go like this: because Rand was adopted into the Hirahara family by his marriage to Yui, it means he is treated as much as a blood relative as Yui is, and because the family business passes through the males, it means Rand’s progeny are the next in line for heir. This theory can branch off a couple ways. 

The first is obviously if it’s found out that Kousuke isn’t Rand’s child - but from simple labwork, would that even be possible? Unless Hansuke is checking Kousuke’s blood type AND knows the blood types of Rand and Yui, how would he be able to uncover the truth? But still, Yui would want to cover that truth at all costs, so maybe stopping Hansuke before he gets further and digs in deeper? 

But there’s also the fact that if it was believed Kousuke was not fit to be CEO, that his mental state was worrying or they couldn’t trust him to carry out the necessary duties, he could be stripped of his role - and it would go to the next in line, and as a blood-relative of Rand, that would be Nol. Thus, it would be very important to cover up any indicator that Kousuke cannot handle his role as heir. While we know Kousuke’s stress responses are directly related to unassessed psychological triggers, it would be easy for someone on the outside to look at him and go “He can’t handle stress and he lashes out at people, he isn’t fit for this.” And I don’t think that stress response is new to Kousuke. Though we didn’t see it really take affect until Nol and Kousuke were working closely together and Kousuke’s fears and paranoia were reawakened, we can assume from what little we saw of Kousuke’s recollection of the night Nol was taken away that this was another time he reacted to psychological triggers and shut down. 

@poisonheart pointed this out and it really put a lot of things into new light. It would also lend credence to Nol being unstable - ensure that he never stands a chance, that no one will ever think he’s fit for the role. 

Anyway, that brings us back to: Yui cannot have anyone, and especially not Kousuke, thinking there’s anything wrong with him. It’s not that she believes he’s perfect and thinks anyone who wants to run tests is insulting. It’s that she knows Kousuke is not perfect and she cannot let anyone find out. It would be so easy for the company to swing to one of her sister’s husbands if it turned out Kousuke and Nol were unfit and she absolutely cannot have that. That’s HER fortune, that’s HER business and she will not let it fall into the hands of another man. 

I want to make it clear that when I say something is wrong with Kousuke, I mean that when his triggers stress him out too much, he goes on spirals. I don’t think it’s something like “Kousuke is bipolar” because we can see clearly WHAT affects him, WHAT sets him off, and why it sets him off. I think, in an ideal world where it as easily possible, Kousuke was able to make peace with his feelings about his father, he’d be able to make peace with his feelings about Nol, and he’d be able to eventually reduce the probability of getting swept into these spirals. If Kousuke had no reason to fear Nol, to feel jealous of him, the intense need to best him at every opportunity, if he didn’t see everything Nol does as being an attack against him, as him plotting against him, as him trying to overtake him, he wouldn’t get so worked up. 

I also think making peace with Rand and Nol means whatever it is Kousuke is protecting himself from, whatever it is that happened in his falsified memory, would have less power over him. It’s not that Kousuke would act like this regardless - it’s that he is actively responding to things that trigger these reactions. 

I think I lost track of where I’m going lmao the point is: Kousuke is a direct result of the manipulation he’s experienced, and every time he experiences a truth that goes against the world Yui has gaslighted him into believing in, he cannot process it and it breaks him down. It’s a normal reaction! He’s not reacting like this because there’s something “wrong” with him, he is responding to high levels of stress and his brain wants to maintain the truth he knows. Certainly he needs therapy, but we all do. They all do. 

And this episode illuminates WHY and HOW Kousuke remains trapped in this state, and why any attempt at showing him the truth goes awry. Kousuke doesn’t put his beliefs ahead of other peoples’ solely because he has superiorlistic feelings about himself - it’s because he has to, in order to continue what he knows. 

Yui offering him tea is also a chilling moment, because we know the way Nol reacts to tea. He knows - he understands. But on the flipside, Kousuke doesn’t have the same reaction to it. He may even associate tea with comfort. I think this difference is VERY important, because Nol is aware of the witch Yui is, he probably is aware of the ways she has hurt him. Kousuke, though, isn’t. He still seeks comfort from her, and the tea theory, that maybe it’s laced, that maybe it is something his body responds to in order to placate him, is an important one. I don’t think this theory goes as far as some people think - I don’t think he’s being constantly drugged by his personal chef, for instance, nor do I think he ate or drank anything that night that would have triggered how he acted this night because a. Yui was surprised when he showed up to the party at all and b. Again, everything about Kousuke’s reactions are perfectly in line with the things that tip him off. He didn’t get worked up because he was drugged, he got worked up because he was responding to the dissonance between what he believes and what he sees, the stress of what Nol did and how Kousuke fears it will reflect on him, and his desperation to never disappoint Rand. 

HOWEVER I AM very much on board with the idea that after very traumatizing moments, perhaps Yui has placated Kousuke with a special tea that would calm him down and interrupt the dissonance, something he would come to associate as calm and safety, and thus further push her goal of ensuring Kousuke only feels safe with her, that she is the only one he can trust and seek refuge in. Everything going wrong and then mommy shows up with nice special tea and suddenly he’s calm and all those questions have been tucked away, there’s a new memory in its place; that’s not how that played out now is it, dear, wasn’t it like this? 

Something else about Yui worth noting is that she is VERY unhappy. There’s something so jarring and uncomfortable about the way she reacts when Kousuke tells her he was looking for Nol and Rand, that Nol has been hurt. That eerie smile mask of hers and how it closes in on her, that she came not because Kousuke needed her but she needed something from him - she needed to know Nol’s whereabouts, she needed to know where her scheming husband has gone. And Kousuke has no information for her. She is ANGRY but it’s also an opportunity to further drive that wedge. Rand isn’t here - not only does that mean he’s not here to check on Kousuke but it also means someone lied, whether it was Rand or Jayce, and it doesn’t matter which it was because Kosuuke will internalize it in the worst possible way. Why didn’t they come here, why did they hide their location? As readers we know exactly why - Rand is protecting Nol from Yui. But in doing so, it looks like he’s hiding things from Kousuke and he will not be able to rationalize it any other way. 

Even his reaction to the fact that Rand isn’t here shows that - he’s starting to get worked up again, he’s agitated, he doesn’t know where they are and Nol was hurt and Yui is grabbing his injured hand and trying to placate him. There’s something about Kousuke’s “You don’t believe me...?” that REALLY hurts, because it’s all a part of her manipulation. He’s in a vulnerable state, he’s confused and instead of receiving clarity, Yui is muddying the waters. If Yui doesn’t believe him, does that mean he could be wrong? Does it mean that Jayce was wrong? 

Again, in the end, he can rely on and trust only Yui. 

I really love that we also got to see Meg and Jayce! What an unlikely duo! I have this hope that one day Meg and Kousuke can become unlikely friends - as much as anyone can be friends with Kousuke lol. I think we’ve seen that, like Hansuke, she is someone who at least likes Kousuke for something attributed to who he is, rather than chasing him for the fortune and power. I think that could have added fuel to the fire, but we’ve seen that Meg’s interest in Kousuke was rooted in him being one of the only people in her life to cheer her on, to make her feel seen and like she can do what she sets her mind to, unlike her parents who encouraged her to give up and go for something easy. I don’t want to downplay her harassment and stalking, because it was very much so out of line but I’m glad she seems to be coming around and I think from that, if Kousuke can ever learn to be comfortable around her, we could see a really interesting dynamic of friendship. I think Meg has a lot of potential to have a similar relationship as Kousuke and Shinae have had, where Shinae calls out Kousuke and tries not to let him push her around and make her feel small. Clearly there’s a lot of things Meg and Kousuke both need to work through and it’s not something that would immediately happen, but I think it might be a series of incidents that could build up to them being able to trust each other, maybe? 

Meg finding the gift that was thrown out fuels that hope, at least. I know right now she takes it as Kousuke choosing to throw it out, but I wonder if we won’t get to see a scene where Meg mentions the gift he threw out and makes Kousuke go “Excuse me? What? I would never throw out something from Father” and create that little seed of doubt. That’s the biggest issue with Kousuke being caught in Yui’s web - no one can get through to him. But if that seed of doubt is planted, if could lead to Kousuke questioning the things he needs to. Because if she’s thrown out this gift, what else has she thrown out. What else has she prevented? What else has she lied about? Maybe he can reach that conclusion that it wasn’t that he was never good enough for Rand, but that she continued to make that gap wider and wider and to destroy every bridge before either Kousuke or Rand ever had a chance to cross them. Even if it’s not the case and she hasn’t actually interfered as much as we think, it still creates that doubt, because it still means she lied and that she isn’t the only pillar of truth in his life, and there’s still a question of what else he’s lied about. 

I love that we get to see Meg hanging around that long, too. I mean, I’m glad she’s getting a wuber and will go home, but I just can’t help but feel like we will get to see a lot more of Meg and Kousuke - after all, just like her unlikely appearance with Yujing, they DO have a lot of mutuals, and Meg has become much more important to the story than anyone could have accounted for. Now that she holds the actual key to possibly unlocking some doubt in Kousuke’s mind, I think we will get to see more of her. Again, I know at the begnning her harassment was treated as a tasteless joke, but I love Meg because of how much we’ve already seen her change and grow, her decision to love herself and stand up for herself. I think in time we might get to see Kousuke develop a sense of respect for her, as he kind of has with Shinae. I like to hope that she might be able to eventually bring some comfort to Kousuke, in the way that maybe she can be someone who brings him truth and honesty. I don’t mean this as a shippy thing, but just in the sense that Kousuke is very much alone. Shinae has people who love and care about her. Nol has people who love and care about him. Kousuke doesn’t have that as much. Having someone who has your back is vital. That’s what makes it so hard for victims to leave - where do they go? who do they turn to? When for so long their abuser has been their only sense of comfort and shelter, when their abuser has made everyone view the victim as hysterical and dramatic, when they are left all on their own, isn’t that scary? 

This isn’t a “they can fix him” thing, but rather for Kousuke to grow he needs to escape his mom, and for him to do THAT he needs to understand who she is and what she’s done to him. Hansuke is doing his best, but maybe having someone else on his side would be beneficial. These are complex stories and it’s not enough to just have someone at your side, there’s a lot of psychological recovery for Kousuke to work through - but it’s not as daunting when you aren’t alone. 

Idk, I say it every week but I just. I have a LOT of feelings. I’ve really enjoyed the complexity of the pain train that is Kousuke (I took that from @poisonheart lmao) because it’s so well done. He is a man who has been manipulated his entire life, he’s felt neglected by his father, he’s been isolated, everyone who cares about him has been discredited, he’s been trapped in this web and haunted by his jealousies and fears and he’s lashed out every time he feared he was losing his place, every time he worried Nol would best him. Just like how tragic it is that Yui was able to drive that wedge between Rand and Kousuke, it’s tragic that Yui has been able to do this to Kousuke, that as a result of the seeds she’s sown, he’s grown up to be this kind of person, to do despicable things, to break someone so that they never had the chance to grow.

Nothing ever happens in a vacuum, nothing is ever black and white. Kousuke is both a victim and an abuser. Rand is both suffering from Yui’s games and a bad, absent parent. Nol was hurt over and over by Kousuke and still reached out, still tried to help, tried to bond. I think we absolutely have to acknowledge that Kousuke is dealing with something that is very difficult to escape, that is very psychologically damaging. That’s why we can’t look at him and go “I can’t believe a grown adult is acting like that.” There’s always more to the story, and it’s unfortunate that the pain inflicted on these characters has caused them to hurt someone else.

Rand’s misery led to him giving up and hurting his son, which lead to his son living with so much fear and jealousy that he hurt the only person who tried to reach out to him over and over again, which lead to that person hurting the people who loved him and wanted to help. It’s an endless cycle, and even though it begins with Yui, I’m sure she has her own hurt, too, that she’s turned on everyone else. 

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

Dazai Osamu is in your bed, and he demands love, protection and cuddles

Self-Aware! Dazai Osamu x GN! Reader

Description: You really should have think twice, before giving kids "Clifford, The Big Red Dog" book and ask Dazai to look after them.

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Warning: OOC. English is my second language. Fluffy.

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You can't tell, for sure, how long you have been in a shower. But, you have a feeling, that it wasn't that long. Still, somehow, Dazai not only managed to get into your room. He also managed to stole your blankets, and hide them somewhere in a house.

"How?" was the only thing that you managed to say. You know, that you were supposed to feel angry, or, at least, irritated, but, you have your curiosity, and you want to satisfy it.

Dazai, dressed in his pajamas, and who was now laying on your bed, looked into your eyes. At least, tried. Because you, in return, try not to look at him.

"I have my ways, Iris Flower. So, listen to my demands, if you want to see your blankets again!" Dazai patted the mattress near him. "I demand cuddles, love and protection! If I didn't get them, you will never see your blankets again!"

You probably could go to someone else's room and ask to spend a night with them. Then, in the morning, go with Fitzgerald and buy new blankets, then ask Oda to help you install a locker on your wardrobe, where you kept blankets. For a few hours your blankets will be secure. Then Dazai will pick up the lock and everything will start again.

Dazai reached his arms towards you. His smug grin was replaced with a pout.

"Please, My Kind Iris Flower, I was searching for a sanctuary! Please, let me stay! And give me love and cuddles! Come on~ Look at me~!"

You rubbed your temples. You need to stay focused.

"Why do you even need to a sanctuary?" asked you, looking at your chair. It was a good chair. Interesting chair. You will look at the chair. And not at Dazai.

"Well…"

__________

Earlier, today

__________

"Uncle Dazai, can you read us this book?" Sakura was holding one of the books you recommend Oda to get for his kids. Yuu, Katsumi, Kousuke, Shinji and Aya were standing behind Sakura, making their best puppy dog eyes. Dazai rolled his eyes, but took the book from Sakura. You asked him to babysit kids, and he will do his job perfectly. For you.

"Clifford, The Big Red Dog." Dazai read the title.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the bad. This idea was on his mind ever since he started reading that book. Bad idea. And a golden opportunity.

Dazai smiles, looking at kids.

"Kids, you know, that Clifford became big, because Emily Elizabeth loved him so much? Do you want to help a red chihuahua pup became as big as Clifford?"

Kids eagerly nodded, waiting for Dazai's instructions.

______________

"You asked kids to pamper Chuuya?!" You turned your head towards Dazai, staring at him. Big mistake.

Dazai came to you prepared. He did his best to look adorable and cuddly. He brushed his hair, and it looked extremely fluffy. His pajamas have a cute cat paw print and looked cozy and warm. He was constantly doing a puppy dog eyes, pouting a little. You could swear, that Dazai apply something, to make his eyelashes look extra thick tonight. And on his cheeks. Otherwise, you can't explain, why he has blush on his cheeks. Dazai rolled on his back, opening his arms for a hug. He stuck a tip of his tongue.

He literally made a "blep face". Is it your payment for comparing Dazai to a cat?

"I knew, that Chihuahua Nakahara won't yell at kids~ And the opportunity was rare and golden! Yet, I didn't expect kids to get busted and told Chihuahua about me!"

Dazai smiles, closing his eyes. You probably should look away and broke the "Dazai's cuteness" spell. But you can't! His hair looked too fluffy! His chest looks too comfortable to lay on! He looked squishable!

Now, you will say no to him, you will get him out of your room and make him to deal with the mess he has created!

"Comfy, [Y/N]?" asked Dazai, stopping showering you with kisses. He was laying on top of you. His body pressed tightly against yours. You were trapped. You can try to wiggle out of Dazai's grasp, but he has you pinned firmly enough down that only a burst of effort could free you. And you don't want to hurt him. Or stop cuddling.

"Mhm" mumbled you, running your fingers through his brown hair. With your second arm around his waist, you move your hand down from time to time to dance across his side.

Dazai's grin became bigger, and he returned to showering your cheeks with kisses.

"Good. I can't let my benevolent savior be unsatisfied with cuddles."

Suddenly, Dazai rolled down from you, laying on the opposite side of your bed. He, asked, looking deep into your eyes.

"Now, it's your turn. Remember, I still hold your blankets hostage!"

He lay his head down, looking at you. His eyelids were half-closed.

"Be grateful, that you are cute." You huffed, getting on top of Dazai. Now you were pinning him firmly against the mattress. Dazai's quiet laughter was your answer.

You nuzzle against his neck, leaving a trail of kisses. Dazai's laugh end in a cough. You knew without looking, that now he was blushing again. You lift your body a little, so you can put both of your hands on his tummy, while having access to his neck and face.

Your hands roam around his chest and stomach, while you planted kisses on Dazai's cheeks, temples, nose, forehead and chin. Dazai left out a soft moan, before putting his hands around you, pressing you against him. Dazai turned on his, still holding you.

You two were laying face to face. Dazai's hold on you was firm. You can feel the warmth coming from him.

Dazai pull his face into your hair.

"Heaven..." whispered him. "True bliss..."

He yawned, pressing you even closer to himself.

"Thank you, [Y/N]."

You also yawned, nuzzling against his neck.

"You are welcome. Good night, Osamu."

In the dark of the night, quiet words were your answer.

"Good night. I love you."

[crehador]

brother crab's summer 2024 parting thoughts: a bunch of stuff

i've been falling behind on jotting down my thoughts this season and if i don't do it fast i am 100% going to forget what i watched lol so here's a bunch at once

tasuuketsu:

YEAH. GOOD. PLEASE. LET IT BE OVER

unfortunately this isn't actually over but you know what it is? bad. it's bad. worst death game series in A While. there are some... maybe? faintly compelling ideas here? but the execution is just a mess. the cast lured me in but i should have been more discerning umu

what's worrying to me is it feels like it could have ended in ep9 but then propelled itself straight into an incredibly unnecessary second arc (i mean in fall fairness the first nine episodes were also unnecessary) and there's still no episode count on anilist. i pretty much never drop anything but if this somehow ends up being two cour i might bounce

it's so so so rare for me to not have something good to say about a series but... yeah. not good

boku no tsuma wa kanjou ga nai:

if i turn my brain off this is a pretty cute, funny, and fun show! i had my reservations at first but after a few episodes wound up enjoying it quite a bit

if i think about it even a little it becomes completely frustrating to me that this show doesn't get deeper into the psychological and moral aspects that could have been explored here, which isn't fair to the show because that's not really what it set out to be

to its credit, it does kind of get into that sort of thing. not too deep, but in ways that were reasonably satisfying to me. i guess my mehness comes from the fact that this premise would have been more interesting to me if it had been played as a psychological/existential horror instead of a romcom, but again that is not the fault of the show itself, it can be whatever it wants to be

and seriously, decent romcom! mamoru is especially adorable. just leave your brain at the door

shikanoko nokonoko koshitantan:

i will admit that no episode of this was as gut-bustingly hilarious as the first episode to me, like it came out the gate strong and maybe floundered a bit along the way

but overall i still enjoyed it immensely! i'm a fan of surreal, absurdist humor, and while i wouldn't say this is one of the best in the genre (there are definitely better) it was a fun ride

the girls were great and i'm also a huge fan of a) narrators who get to be funny little assholes too and b) toriumi kousuke so the narrator here was a double win for me

[dia-souls]

DIABOLIK LOVERS DAYLIGHT Analyzes [ Vol. 2 Sakamaki Shu ]

Original title: 自己満足

Source: Diabolik Lovers Daylight Vol. 2 Sakamaki Shuu

Seiyuu: Toriumi Kousuke

Analyze by: Admin Afra

Admin’s note: Sakamaki Shu is one of my favorite boys and also one of the most disappointing characters 😭. But I personally love this CD and how Shu receives karma for all the words and behavior he had with Yui and that he realizes that no matter how hard he tries to will not dear anyone to himself, Yui has entered Shu's heart without him realizing it, and Shu cannot live without her.

The story begins with Shu complaining about how long Yui has been asleep or in a coma. This is very funny for a boy who sleeps 90% of the time.

But as he said himself, he never thought he would put himself in trouble to take care of Yui, or at least that's what he thinks because the evidence shows otherwise from Shu here.

Shu's main trauma is losing his first and best friend, so it makes sense that it would be a nightmare for him to lose someone he loves. This is the most important reason why Shu tries not to get attached to anyone so that he doesn't get hurt if he loses them.

Shu and Yui's usual roles seem to have been replaced. Now that Yui is in a coma, Shu takes care of her and gives his blood to keep Yui alive.

But as Shu said, the days of living without Yui are driving him crazy. Shu does things that he would never normally do, so he feels crazy after what happened to Yui and what he did to her.

When the flashback ends, we see the usual story of Shu and Yui's relationship. Shu, who is sleeping as usual, and Yui, who tries to wake him up so that he can get to his daily work such as school and attend his classes, and Shu, as usual, finds Yui's efforts useless and annoying.

We can say that this is the normal state of their relationship. But in my opinion, there is something obvious here. Shu thinks that if Yui doesn't do her job properly, she will be blamed by Reiji, which is why she is worried.

Well, this guess can be true to some extent. But in my opinion, Yui just simply wants to be with Shu. In many CDs, Yui has already noticed the bad condition of her heart, and I suspect that it is the same in this one. Maybe she knows she doesn't have much time left and she just wants to spend the last moments of her life happily with the man she likes. But unfortunately Shu does not cooperate with Yui in this matter.

Honestly, it's always strange to me how he can be so tired despite his long sleep time. But Shu chooses this method only to spend his days. Even from his own point of view, he is alive but not living.

He has chosen a life without excitement and monotony so as not to get involved in trauma again, and this can be somewhat smart from Shu's point of view.

When Shu meets Yui again at night, something is very clear about Yui, and that is that Yui resents Shu's cold behavior towards her. Yui is not an expectant girl and does not expect much from her partner. All she wants is affection and love.

Maybe it's hard for Shu to understand this because he is a vampire and has an eternal love and he doesn't know how valuable this little time he spends with his favorite girl can be.

But when Shu told Yui, all I need is your blood, I'm sure Yui was hurt more. It may not be easy to understand that only her blood is important to the man she loves, especially since she doesn't have much time left to live.

Shu thinks it's nonsense, but all Yui wants from life with her partner is pure and simple love.

In the second part, it was really funny that Shu didn't even bother to sleep because he didn't want to be tired of being woken up again by Yui.

Unlike last time, Yui gave in to Shu more easily this time because he was not feeling well and Shu was surprised by this but ignored it as usual.

It really broke my heart when I found out that Yui had put her blazer on him so that he wouldn't catch a cold. I always knew that Yui is a kind girl, but I really wish that she would think a little more about herself, especially when she is not feeling well and is sick, because in any case, it is impossible for a vampire to catch a cold.

Undoubtedly, Yui knows this and even her purpose of doing this was not to try to warm Shu, but to show her love for Shu.

But I really wanted to bang my head against the wall when Shu took this issue and called it a nuisance again.

The thing that upset me the most was that when Yui was in the hospital and Shu hugged her, he noticed that she had lost weight and looked thinner, but still ignored it.

It was very sad when Yui asked him what her existence meant to Shu and Shu again disappointed her with his cold words. It is true that Shu is a bloodsucker and only the blood of humans is important to him, but here something is suspicious about Shu's words.

Shu claims that Yui's blood is the only thing that matters to him, but when he left the hospital, he muttered to himself, "You should never expect or wish for me."

Here we can understand that Shu really values ​​Yui.

But he doesn't expect Yui to feel this way. In a way, we can understand Shu's words that he expects Yui to ignore him. Because he ignored Yui all the time. He just simply doesn't want to become Yui's dependent, and the same goes for Yui. He doesn't want Yui to wish and hope for him because even Shu himself considers himself useless in this matter.

No matter how hard Shu tries to ignore Yui, he eventually realizes that she has a problem, and when he complains about Yui's distraction, she backs to sleep. He tries to take her to his room, but this time Yui's low weight attracts his attention.

But when Yui doesn't wake up, Shu realizes that this is really not normal anymore, and when Reiji explained to Shu about the abnormal condition of her heart, it was not really expected that Shu would not be surprised. In any case, he tried to ignore her all this time. Even he finds it funny how he realized this so late when he spends most of his time with Yui.

It is from this moment that the place of these two people changes and Shu cannot sleep without hoping that Yui's voice will wake him up.

Maybe this was something that was bothering him all the time. Worrying that this voice, which wakes him up every time and he calls her a nuisance, will stop one day. As he himself said, he cannot sleep when he knows that there is no one to wake him up. Shu has always longed to hear Yui's voice even without realizing it. Maybe he always denied it, but Yui had entered Shu's heart for a long time and Shu even dreamed of hearing her voice in his dreams. This is what Shu himself admitted.

Playing the violin for Yui because he knows she loves him, giving Yui his blood because it might keep her alive, and talking to Yui because he misses her are all things Shu does to take care of Yui.

As Shu himself admitted, their usual roles have changed and this is how Shu gets karma. He tries to wake up the one he loves but she still ignores him. Shu now realizes how much his behavior towards Yui has hurt her when someone keeps calling him but he still ignores her.

The fact that Shu missed the same behavior that he always found annoying from Yui shows that none of Yui's behavior was annoying to him, but even Shu was always waiting for them. Because Yui is the only one Shu has given his heart to.

When Shu tells Yui that he misses Yui being loud, we realize that Shu never hated being woken up by Yui. Maybe on the surface he was trying to show that he doesn't care about her, but in reality Shu was not honest with himself either. Even with this pretense, he tried to lie to himself because he thinks that not being dependent on others and having a monotonous life will not cause him to get hurt.

But the truth is that Shu is guilty of not taking advantage of the short time he had with Yui. He now realizes that Yui is not worth just because of her blood. He used to claim that he can survive without Yui, but now it turns out that this claim was just a lie so that he wouldn't try to depend on Yui.

Shu realized his lie to himself and tried to save the person he loves.

Bring back the person he cares about, even if it means staying awake for hours and not sleeping for several days in a row and just studying and researching. surprise The lazy boy who is always tired is ready to not sleep for a few days or even a few weeks to save his lover. A great sacrifice.

But when he knows that this work is useless, what is his reaction? Knowing that he won't be able to see Yui anymore makes Shu panic, so why doesn't he give Yui the last drop of his blood?

This is what Shu himself said. If all options are closed, be willing to let all your blood and being flow into your lover's body so that her heartbeat will never stop. When did you become such a gentleman Shu?

If Yui has entered his heart without Shu realizing it, Shu has no other choice. Playing the last violin piece and expressing his pure feelings to Yui is the last thing this boy can do.

In any case, he claimed that he can live without Yui, but now he accepts his lie and wants to join Yui.

Shu has experienced this trauma before with Edgar. But this time is different. Edgar's death made Shu depressed, but Yui's death makes Shu want to die too. This simply shows that Shu loves Yui even more than his own life, so that he is willing to donate his last drop of blood to Yui. Even if this does not bring Yui back to life, Shu will be sure that his existence and his blood will always be in Yui's body, at least Shu will hear the heartbeat of the girl he loves until the last moments of his life.

What does Yui mean to Shu? If you ask Shu this question again, he will say that Yui is the only girl that Shu doesn't want to lose. Before Yui, he didn't hope for anything and just passed the days. But after Yui came, he slept with the hope that someone would call him. Someone always looks at him and someone always loves him.

Yui simply made Shu no longer involved in a repetitive life and spend the nights hoping to see the day and hear Yui's voice and live again. All this is because he loves Yui more than anyone else.

When Yui regains consciousness, he tells her these words. He will never repeat the mistake of the past because he has already realized that he failed in his decision not to love others. Now that there is a dear person in his life, he will cherish her forever and dedicate his love to her, because without her he will neither be alive nor live.

[thefloatingstone]

Hi C-puff. Since you know your manga/anime, do you have any suggestions for a person feeling nostalgic for Chobits but not looking to re-read it?

hmmmm~ 🤔

I think it depends what it is you liked about Chobits itself. A Magical Girlfriend anime (not to be confused with magical Girl anime) that I quite like but which is a little all over the place with its anime adaptations is "Oh My Goddess" or "Aah My Goddess" depending on how it's translated. it's a lot lighter than Chobits in tone, but it does have a weird mix of magical girlfriend romance... and a SEVERE interest in motorcycles. The laborious detail the manga has on its machinery is ridiculous. Fujishima Kousuke just completely indulging himself. It's great. Also it has one of the most interesting concepts for how its whole "Goddess" system works. I recommend the movie from the 2000s (which wasn't attached to any specific anime at the time) which if only in aesthetic is one of my favourite "easy to watch" anime movies. It also had a proper anime tv series made for it around 2005 I think?

For something a little grittier that really explores relationships and especially heartache a little more in depth, I'd recommend "Video Girl Ai" which is a 6 episode OVA which is based on the manga Denei Shoujo. It's far more mature (in themes, not in adult content) regarding loneliness and relationships as experienced by normal Japanese teenagers in a way that focuses on the emotional side of things. So if you need something a little less wish fulfillment and a little more personal I'd recommend it.

If you don't mind an ecchi, there is Mahoromatic: The Automatic Maiden which I still have to watch myself past the first 3 episodes, but I find the plot synopsis extremely juicy;

Mahoro Andou is a powerful combat android designed by Vesper, a secret organization protecting the world against alien invaders. Unfortunately, her remaining operational time is running short. If she continues to fight, she will shut down in about one month. However, if she chooses to avoid combat, she can live freely for over a year.

Suguru Misato is a high school boy who lives alone in a large house left behind by his late parents. Like any other boy his age, he has trouble taking care of the house on his own, so he decides to enlist the help of a maid. His problem is solved in the most unexpected way: when a couple of thugs hijack the bus he is riding, a young, beautiful girl wearing a maid outfit saves the day. It turns out that this girl is Mahoro, who has chosen to live her remaining days as Suguru's new maid.

Mahoro makes the best of her remaining time and develops bonds with Suguru and his friends during their peaceful yet lively everyday interactions. However, Mahoro is hiding her true intentions behind becoming Suguru's maid, that being that she is the one responsible for his father's death.

Again, just be aware it IS an Ecchi and as such has a lot of adult humour, however if you're familiar with the Chobits anime it's about on par with that (although the Chobits manga is not as sexually focused as the anime is). Mahoromatic is also a show created by Gainax around the same time as Chobits but before the studio had made FLCL. (it also has some INSANE sakuga in it). Just be aware you're in for a lot of anime tiddy.

Then there's DearS but I wouldn't recommend DearS because it's literally a Chobits ripoff. They have the exact same plot except DearS is even more of an ecchi than Chobits with none of the interesting meta-human commentary and more "look at my hot alien waifu who has the intelligence of a child" thing.

I see a lot of people on MAL also recommend an anime called "Plastic Memories" but I am not familiar with it myself. It's got a pretty decent score tho, and the premise seems interesting as another Android/human love story which also has the plot point of the robot girl's lifespan being on a short timer.

I hope one of those might be what you're looking for!

[youuuimeanmee]

My ILY 219 Thoughts

When I first read this chapter on fastpass, my head was in mush the whole day, it feels like I've fallen in love. Even after today, 4 weeks later, I still can't put this chapter down. Everything was so intimate, it might be more intense than any romance media I've read so far. (I swear romance in slice-of-life genre is the best). With all that mush, there's also a silent dread in the back of my head, like, if tonight is the peak of Nolan's happiness since forever, what kind of pain and torture that awaits him in the future? Hhhahah let's stop thinking there.

1. I was pleasantly surprised when Nol was about to apologize to Shinae about the whole awkward-morphine-thing! I thought he's gonna use this opportunity to let her stay away from him, but nope. I forgot this is The Nolan Who-didn't-shy-away-from-Shinae-because-she's special Lochlainn. I should've known, despite the dread of loving (and losing) someone again, he also couldn't let her go easily.

2. The trio! YESS!! I was hoping they'd come! "How are you doing, stranger?" Damn right Shoushi, Nol hasn't introduce himself with his real name yet. "Oh shut up, let us have this!" Damn right Shinae. Just let them love you for God sake.

3. Awww that red blush! That crooked smile! It's the similar crooked smile Yeong-Gi had when Shinae gave him ointment for his scratch!

Nol really is touched by Shinae who doesn't give up on showing her care, despite him pushing her away many times 😭And Daww look at Lil Buddy on Nol's side ready to protect him!

4. Nol:

Also Shinae on ep 2, the first time she met Nol:

😏 Nice throwback Quim 😏

5. Soushi. "It's not like anyone's stealing my lunch money anymore." Is it because Soushi's high school is better than his junior high? Because he has friends who can kick ass now? Or because he kept receiving benefits for being Kousuke's spy? Kinda sus there. BUT! Since he finally realized just how severe Kousuke's relationship with Nol, I should trust him. Plus, Lil Buddy didn't attack him tonight! I trust Lil Buddy who trust Soushi.

6. DUCKIESS!!

If he wasn't impressed before because Dieter only described "Yeong-Gi," not "him," he definitely is now 😭 'Cause the boy who wondered where the duck is in the pond? Now that's Nolan. No wonder Nol is so touched 🥺

7. SoachRoach? Daww Soushi nooo :( I don't want you to consider yourself as a pest! Well, if being a pest means he won't leave Nol alone and continue to be his friend then I don't mind, but still-

8. The "I love you guys!" that Nol exclaimed at Dieter and Soushi, and the silent "I love you so much" that gaze straight into Shinae's eyes is *chef's kiss* 🤌🤌

9. "Shinae! Why are you standing so far away? You're a part of this group too!"

No Dieter, Shinae is a league on her own 😏

10. Haha, the "It's a Girl!" balloon that were changed into "It's a Gift!"? Nice save Shinae, real smooth. And oh, almost forgot. Fun fact, Quimchee said on her cc that if Nol were gonna have a child, he'd definitely want a daughter. Surprise surprise, the balloon Shinae brought on this ep is a gender reveal balloon, with "It's a Girl!" written on it. Quim, are you teasing us? Or is it a foreshadowing 🤣🤣

11. Ngl the panel where Nol is staring at his friends with red/pink sunrise and snowfall is soo pretty it's like shoujo manga. I'm soo sooftt 😭

12. Oh boy. That burger analogy he made is definitely dark. So his birthday is definitely:

1) getting stepped on by Hirahara; and

2) he found his birth/birthday leads to his mom's death/disappereance.

I really hope #2 is just some bs nonsense Yui has told him, but idk. Yui is the master of manipulation, some of what she said might contain some ugly truths, which, could be hard to counter :((

13. "Luck? Maybe bad luck..." Oi Nol, Shinae wouldn't know it was your birthday if it's not for the bible. You won't be able to celebrate your birthday in a good mood if it it's not for the bible. And you definitely wouldn't chase after Shinae in the first place if it's not for Nessa's letter in the bible. So it IS a good luck. How could you forget that?

14. Haha I knew she'd pick the orange! 🤣 But that doodle! I didn't expect her to do that but it's genius 🤣 And that message!

Not only it's a nod to Shinae's line when they first met (Humans suck), it's also the answer of his question earlier!

And it must mean so much to Nol cause, ugh, how do I explain it. For Nol who hate himself so much, hearing "you're a good person" might be a bit too much since it's hard to believe. But "you don't suck that much"? To me, at least, it's easier to take because it means Shinae acknowledged his downsides, but she accepts it anyway. Because she sees some good in him. Because he's special to her. For someone who were used to be told he's nothing? For someone who were told to disappear just a few hours ago by certain someone? That, UGHHH 😭😭

15. Oohh that tapping hand! I remember Nol said he knows how to do scales, so maybe he's playing imaginary piano in his head? Maybe he's reminiscing how his mom used to teach him christmas songs? Don't know if that's really the case but I thought it'll be a nice headcanon :) Shinae must've noticed how lost he is in his own world, so the way she brought him back using a finger dance, it's like she's saying "Don't go. Just look at me." 😭

16. The whole finger dance is so cute, but Nol's darken facee. It's like he's thinking, "Why do you think we can't dance? I don't care how much pain I'm in, I can dance with you. I want to." I swear, Nol's "take your shoes off" is much hotter than any "take off your clothes" from any ML in romance manga.

17. I see Yeong-Gi when I see one. With that smile, that happy remark, and that peek-a-boo? Definitely Yeong-Gi, alright. After he decided to live his life as Nolan, just this once, he wears his mask again to ease Shinae's worry, because he won't let her know alll the pain he felt (maybe I should write an analysis/theories about his motive in the future). He doesn't want to scare her, he wants to see her smile for as long as he could because By Gods he needs it. Their dance is like a sweet, silent goodbye, and they both know it.

18. Lastly, I wanna mention how good Quim is with gestures? Nol is holding only 2 fingers, like he still has a wall that says "I'm only asking you this as a friend. Not that I try to hit on you or anything." Almost like he's scared to invite her, afraid she might be scared of him.

But she's not. She accepted him with her full hand. Yet, he doesn't fully hold her hand because he's not ready to completely accept it, he's not ready to open up yet.

Despite all that, he holds what he can (Shinae's fingers) with all his might, because he's unable to let her go?

QUIMCHEEE 😭😭😭

I wanna write more but it's getting long and there's a pic limit, so I'll continue in another post! I'm gonna dump all my thoughts about what Nol might be thinking the moment he's alone with Shinae. Thank you for reading this far! 😆

[poisonheart]

Replying to @trashlie and @hotdamncomics for their reblogs on this post under a cut so I can spare my friends the walls of text of a comic they're not reading lol.

Trashlie, friend, reblogger of theories and fellow Thursday night feels partner absorbing all the details... you bring up such great points.

But on the other, Yui has spent Kousuke’s entire life gaslighting and manipulating him; it’s only natural that it would be difficult for him to reconcile these two versions of her, and sometimes he’s unable to in the end. 

Every time Yui makes a move she says she does it with either his or their family's best interest in mind. Over and over. Kousuke has seen himself benefit time and time again from her unorthodox methods. And we know that he's not against life being unfair in his favor.

He has never had reasons to doubt that was her only motive, but he isn't a child anymore. He has seen and experienced things she has done that are worse than merely giving him an unfair advantage.

I'm actually curious about how Kousuke would respond if he realized his mother is trying to ruin and remove Rand from the picture.

This is why I so desperately want Rand to connect to Kousuke that evening. Even if Kousuke doesn't immediately believe him and thinks any mushy words mean Rand is disappointed in him (as he thought earlier that night when Hansuke took the call sneakily) the seed will have been planted.

Kousuke might see that he is been a pawn in a power struggle he's never signed up for. He didn't want to reach the top to ruin his father, but to meet him. He didn't want to reach the top to be to busy to spend time with his father, but rather if his father's burden were less, then maybe they would have time to spend together.

Yui's played a game that can backfire on her.

Because if Kousuke doesn't end up resenting Rand for his neglect, for having another family, then she can actually lose her pawn to him.

Especially if Kousuke uncovers that his mother sabotaged whatever closeness they could have had.

I really need Rand to be able to reach to at least one of his sons before the time skip. Even if it's just to plant a seed.

If Yui wanted to ensure that Nol never stood a chance against Kousuke, then damaging not only the way others see him but also the way he sees himself was a sure fire way to do it, wasn’t it?

Indeed, psychological manipulation in the hands of professionals with the intent to harm instead of helping is very dangerous.

And it makes me think back on the formal.

We know that Yui could not have predicted Nol's involvement or how things played out with him entirely, but she took the chance when it presented itself.

She knows damn well that Nol doesn't like her touching him, so she crept up on him deliberately to cause the rest of the events to unfold. She's so threatened by his existence that she'd risk her precious heir in order to cause another situation—a very public one—for Nol being unstable and malicious toward Kousuke, the heir.

After all, her son could have sustained far more serious injuries, but she didn't care. Yui was willing to risk it if it meant ensuring Nol had another mark against him.

She could always blame any lingering health issues after that accident on Nol purposefully hurting Kousuke.

Of course, the one who got hurt was Shin Ae, which she could still use against him to at least trigger him to go back to whatever state kept him down and defeated before.

Either way, she took a huge risk, which means she is actually very concerned about Nol's existence.

He is the one who truly gets under her skin, as we've seen.

[That lip quiver at the Christmas party was so satisfying...]

/ / / / /

Okay, so hotdamncomics, yes! I remember you from the kdrama life. Glad to see you have similar taste in comics. You bring up interesting points! I think the formal arc really helped us see the personalities, as well as "core" values (at that time) of the major characters.

Kousuke who didn't help Shin-ae when he tripped her at the formal is his real self, someone concerned foremost by how people see and perceive him than someone else's comfort or safety. He's not a nice and proper gentleman at core. That's a mask, one he put on when he invited Shin-ae to dance to prove a point that he was a gentleman. Even here he's failed to act in her interest regardless if he was genuine. He took priority. Let me fix my previous blunder by offering that poor girl a dance and not so much about proving he wasn't embarrassed of her.

He knew someone like her wouldn't know how to dance but he put her on the spotlight because repairing his image was more important than proving he wasn't ashamed of her. He could have chosen to play the piano with her by his side. It would still draw attention, still show her he's not ashamed of admitting he knows her, but would have placed her comfort ahead of his image.

This is actually a fantastic observation and you proposed a great alternative to inviting her to dance that would have conveyed the sentiment that he knows her and doesn't mind being seen with her without further embarrassing her by offering to partake in an activity he should have assumed she wasn't accustomed or knew how to do.

But, we see this again when Shin Ae's falls. Yes, he is the one closest to grab her when she falls over the railing, but once they hit the pool, he's first concerned with getting himself out and then remembers she's fallen too which is entirely different from Nol's eventual choice.

Nol comes up to air with Shin Ae.

And after the Christmas party arc we were aware that he was dealing with suicidal thoughts in that moment—he wanted to remain there, essentially drown, but seeing her pushed him to go back to his hell.

He didn't deserve the "peace of death."

It's not that I think there is something wrong with people who will prioritize themselves, but it does serve as a contrast between just how different Nol and Kousuke operate.

There have been so many hints that prove Kousuke isn't in fact that kind gentleman—that is part of the persona, of the expectation of a well-rounded heir and the type of man his father would admire.

Kousuke often slips out of that mask, particularly when stressed, to show who he is. A man who says more than he should under the veil of honesty, often hurting or insulting those around him.

"I don't mean to offend," is always said by those who will offend.

Yujing's actions feel too personal and led by revenge to be something shallow. Someone important must have urged her to try for a story that can ruin her career if she doesn't execute it perfectly and with no room for a counter defamation lawsuit.

I think this is actually quite right. We don't know what kind of "terrible situation" Rand helped her out of—but he had a hand in getting her to where she is. Someone who has tasted defeat or loss is protective of security and more prone to self-preservation.

She does have a strong ethic and she mentions she wants to restore faith in journalism by exposing the truth no matter how ugly. It'll be interesting to see what prompted her to take this risk to bring a very powerful woman like Yui down. Perhaps Yujing isn't meant to hit the knock out, but weaken her enough where the others on the board (if we go back to the chess theory) can act.

[pmkscanlations]

PMK DVD Booklet Interviews 3

Thanks to @/pmkloveadmin and their kind friend yuunsoba who provided the raws for these interviews! Here’s the third set; please enjoy!

INTERVIEW 7 SHINPACHI NAGAKURA ( Voice actor: Yamaguchi Kappei)

Please tell us your genuine reaction to the announcement of the movie project.

It was a work I really enjoyed, so I was happy to gather together under the flag of sincerity with everyone once more.

Please tell us your genuine reaction to your first read-through of the script.

”Less work!!” And what I thought after that is~ a~ secret. It can’t be helped, since it’s a story that happens after Aburanokoji, you know?

How was it, revisiting this character after so long? Please tell us your impression of the performance and anything you kept in mind while acting.

Shinpattsan is a role I really cherish. I was a little tense since it had been a long time, but I was able to speak every line from my heart, and I really enjoyed playing my role.

What scene do you think has the biggest impact, and what scene do you want people to pay attention to?

I hope that as you watch the scene in the summary montage at the beginning, you can feel the friendship, tragic parting and overflowing emotions coming from Shinpachi, Sanosuke and Heisuke in every part of it.

This is a story about the Shinsengumi’s great ambitions. After this, what sort of challenges do you want to tackle?

I want to do my best at rakugo!!

Finally, please leave a message for the fans who watch this series.

I’m incredibly grateful to be reunited with everyone and work on this series again in the form of a theatrical release, all thanks to the ongoing voices of everyone who has supported us. As the Shinsengumi, there’s a sad fate ahead of them, but I’d appreciate it if you could watch over their future together.

INTERVIEW 8 HEISUKE TODO (Voice actor: Toriumi Kousuke)

Please tell us your genuine reaction to the announcement of the movie project.

It’s been some time since the TV series, so I was initially quite surprised to hear about it. I was also really happy to get the chance to work with everyone and play this character again.

Please tell us your genuine reaction to your first read-through of the script.

The lively and fun memories of those earlier days popped into my head, you know? But since it’s set in stone historically-speaking, I know what lies ahead for them…

How was it, revisiting this character after so long? Please tell us your impression of the performance and anything you kept in mind while acting.

Well, I’m up first… (laughs). I got to dive into the role straight away.

What scene do you think has the biggest impact, and what scene do you want people to pay attention to?

Since the whole story flows alongside passage of time, please focus on the entire piece instead of one single point.

This is a story about the Shinsengumi’s great ambitions. After this, what sort of challenges do you want to tackle?

I wonder… On the other hand, is there anything you want to see me try?

Finally, please leave a message for the fans who watch this series.

They’re all still running forward, so I hope that you all can run alongside them and keep an eye on them on their journey.

INTERVIEW 9 SANOSUKE HARADA (Voice actor: Nomura Kenji)

Please tell us your genuine reaction to the announcement of the movie project.

I was really happy! There was some nostalgia, but for the most part, being reunited with everyone again raised my spirits the most. I’m sure that the big screen will really bring the soldiers to life~ I’m honored to play Sanosuke there. I hope many people will watch this story!

Please tell us your genuine reaction to your first read-through of the script.

It felt like the part of the story going into the Shinsengumi’s decline had finally started. At last~ Kondo-san got injured~! After that, everything just starts falling apart… There was a scene with Heisuke that made me sad, too. I wanted to do more with the Idiot Trio, you know?

How was it, revisiting this character after so long? Please tell us your impression of the performance and anything you kept in mind while acting.

Since Sanosuke is the type to express himself honestly, I want to convey his emotions in an easily understood way! It’d be great if we could have fun as the Idiot Trio as a result, but… Well, the story’s like that… It’s rough~ But Sanosuke values his friends greatly, and he’ll carry on living as the Shinsengumi’s 10th division captain! Please watch him express his way of living with your own eyes and ears!

What scene do you think has the biggest impact, and what scene do you want people to pay attention to?

For Sanosuke specifically, there’s a scene where he tells the soldier that killed Heisuke that he didn’t do anything wrong. I thought his feelings as a captain were expressed well there. Please pay attention to Sanosuke’s one cool scene!

This is a story about the Shinsengumi’s great ambitions. After this, what sort of challenges do you want to tackle?

Unlike the warriors here, I don’t have any big ambitions, but…In the future, I want to discover more possibilities for myself. I can’t say how things will go for sure, but I want to be involved in as many works as possible, and I think it’d be great to create a play that would stick in everyone’s hearts.

Finally, please leave a message for the fans who watch this series.

How was it? It must have been fun! I’m sure it was thrilling! The Bakumatsu period is really interesting! We can’t experience that sense of urgency in the same way these days, after all. Let’s dive into this unique world view together. Please look forward to the next part!

INTERVIEW 10 SAITO HAJIME (Voice actor: Matsuyama Takashi)

Please tell us your genuine reaction to the announcement of the movie project.

“It’d be nice if it gets a movie someday, right?” That’s a common conversation for works that have just started, but very few of them actually make it that far. It’s thanks to everyone’s strong feelings that this series got a movie, even after all this time. Thanks! And congratulations!

Please tell us your genuine reaction to your first read-through of the script.

Saya and Tetsunosuke, Tetsunosuke and Tatsunosuke, Tatsunosuke and Yamazaki, Hijikata and Okita… It’s a script bursting with plenty of things to think about.

How was it, revisiting this character after so long? Please tell us your impression of the performance and anything you kept in mind while acting.

Saito Hajime. He locked away his heart due to the pain of seeing the future. With his quiet and cold manner of speaking, he thought he was going to get through all rough times ahead with ease, but… Ichimura Tetsunosuke... I wonder if I’m overdoing it…

What scene do you think has the biggest impact, and what scene do you want people to pay attention to?

I think everyone should pay attention to Saya. As a character who doesn’t speak, it puts a lot of pressure on everyone around her. Of course, the strength of the viewer is also necessary in these cases.

This is a story about the Shinsengumi’s great ambitions. After this, what sort of challenges do you want to tackle?

Sorry if this is totally out of the blue, but I want to try operating a drone!!

Finally, please leave a message for the fans who watch this series.

What did you think? What’s the summary of everyone’s thoughts on Peacemaker Kurogane? I’d be happy if you liked it even a little. I’d be even happier if you continue to love this work. Saito Hajime is looking forward to the day that we can meet again.

[angrykittykrys]

"This isn't the first time, and it won't be the last."

For Masakou >:)

For you my friend, I'll deliver on the Masakou! Silliness and a sulky Masahiro ahead!

Why had he ever thought that living in the Ohshiba house with the open door policy and constant flood of people coming and going would be a good thing? While it was true that he loved Ken and Mom and wanted to feel like he was part of such a strong, loving family, it was equally true that he loved Kousuke most of all. And how in the hell were they supposed to find any alone time when every single kiss or touch was interrupted by some friend or family member randomly walking into a room? Even their room wasn’t safe! Ken had a habit of knocking once and then just flinging the door open when he wanted to talk to him about something. Masahiro didn’t really want to do it, but he was considering asking Kousuke if they could get a lock for their door.

“This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last,” Kousuke said with a sigh as they left the house after one such interruption. “As long as we live with Ken, privacy isn’t really possible.”

It was almost comical that Kousuke was the one comforting him. Usually he was the one tasked with calming down the older man’s sullen attitude after being stopped from enjoying some intimacy. But he couldn’t help himself! It was the first anniversary of the day they had officially gotten together. He had made plans and done his best to make sure he had gotten both Ken and Miho out of the house for the night. A romantic dinner followed by him taking the lead in the bedroom, that had been the plan! But Hasekura had come down with a cold and Ken had come home… and then flung open their door to announce his return. Thankfully both of their pants had still been on, more or less, or it could have been a lot worse. But still! It just wasn’t fair.

“But it’s our anniversary,” he grumbled, lengthening his stride as he walked faster down the street. “Just because Ken doesn’t care as much about these things doesn’t mean other people don’t! And now the mood is ruined!”

Kousuke was quiet as he followed at his side. He kept pace easily, but kept sneaking glances at him between puffs of his cigarette. “I know we haven’t done it in awhile, but we could always just stay at a love hotel for the night,” he suggested.

Masahiro stopped in his tracks and turned a wide eyed stare on his boyfriend. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Probably because most of the times they had stayed at a love hotel had ended in embarrassment and worry that they might be seen. But… at least they wouldn’t be interrupted by a sweet, but air-headed Ken. And even if all his preparations were laying on the bedside table in their bedroom, the love hotel would probably have most of what he wanted anyway.

“Only if we turn off our phones so we don’t get interrupted again.”

Kousuke looped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into his side. “I didn’t even bring mine with me. All I could think about was that look on your face as you were telling me all the things you were planning to do to me.”

“Do you think we can find one close by?” A blush was staining his cheeks, but not because he was embarrassed. He too was now thinking about all the things he had been planning to do, and he wanted to get to them as soon as possible.

A grin spread across Kousuke’s face. “I just so happen to know one that’s only a block away.”

“As long as the door has a lock, and we can get there in under ten minutes, I’ll take it.”

Kousuke sighed. “Yeah, yeah… I’ll buy a lock after work tomorrow.”

He didn’t even have to ask! What a great anniversary gift that would be… the promise of uninterrupted lovemaking with the person he loved most in the world.

[kouslut]

He hated it- he hated having to feel bad about things that were hardly his fault or his responsibility, he hated seeing other people in discomfort or distress and, most of all, he hated that he could never, for the life of him, just leave it the fuck alone. He always had. And on some level he was aware that all of his insistence and friendliness that morning had had nothing to do with Masahiro being his co-lead and everything to do with his need to feed his own ego so he could reach the end of the day, sink his head face-first into his unwashed and at that point straight up dirty pillow and not hope to suffocate into it just so he would not have to repeat the usual routine on the following morning. Just so he could have some form of comfort, something that would allow him to think that somehow he wasn't only contributing to a vicious cycle, but a virtuous one, too.

And that was exactly why hearing the boy's little excuse, his very obvious lie regarding the brief but... uh... intense exchange with Tsunehito almost set him off. "I hope I didn't insult him." Because Kousuke and Tsunehito both clearly had had the tact to think that about him. Of course it wasn't actually his own fault, but the man was still quite upset by the idea that he had contributed to making the kid actually leave out of awkwardness. And on top of that... he could definitely sense something heavy there, some unsaid but evidently implied envy of sorts that- once again, despite not having done anything actually wrong, or having anything to actually apologize for- made him feel outright guilty.

But what was he going to do? Pretend he was also some rookie who knew nobody on set just so Masahiro could have someone he might relate to? With some effort, Kousuke might have achieved that, yes, but what would the point even have been? To get some boy to feel a little more at ease? He was nice, yes, he was pretty good for the role he'd been cast for, he was... not entirely terrible as a conversationalist and definitely more than a little funny to have around. Still not worth the hassle of pretending to be insecure and friendless on top of the ongoing pretense of decency he was already barely upkeeping (major thanks to Tsunehito on that front, once again). They already probably had one thing they shared, to be fair- though he wasn't actually about to fully admit to it, not even to himself. Seemed like going a step too far for his caffeinated rather than inebriated self.

The thing was that, when he actually opened his mouth to respond to the words with some half-assed reassurance while they headed to their unofficially pre-assigned seats, he found he wasn't all that insincere, much to his own surprise. He might have normally been irritated at Masahiro for reacting in a way that forced him to feel bad, but he simply wasn't. Not more than he was at his best friend. "No, I get it," he muttered. "He's in a league of his own, for sure. It'd have been stranger if you'd managed to actually talk to him. I'd say very few are genuinely fond of him." Which, of course, went for himself, too. But that hardly needed to be said or known- Tsunehito was just someone who wore his worst traits on his sleeve. Kousuke was the exact opposite. The fact that they got along simply said a lot about both, a lot more than either was willing to actually express in words.

The boy was quick to change registers, and a minute later, after a great dose of observation of his surroundings and soon-to-be colleagues, he was already smiling like a child. And then the reason why Kousuke hadn't actually felt any ill will seemed obvious. The guy was really just kind of adorable in both how expressive he was and how unaware of that fact he seemed to be. He didn't look like a cast member, but rather like he was someone's little brother who dreamed to one day work in the industry and had been brought along for a day after months of begging. He looked so genuinely happy it was disarming. And Kousuke very much did not mind sitting next to that, even knowing full well how equally disarmingly awkward the guy could be.

He very much didn't mind being thanked either. Maybe he was in too good a mood, honestly.

He suppressed a laugh as he responded to the candid gratitude of the other. It felt undeserved, admittedly, but still very much appreciated. And he couldn't but be glad that he'd succeeded in one of his objectives: that of making a good impression. Along the way, it seemed he'd been charmed a little, too, but he could live with that. He'd known from the start that he tended to gravitate towards those with, uh. Situations, to put it nicely. And that he tended to take to them more quickly, too.

"Not at all," he smiled. "I mean it. We're co-leads, I just happen to have more on-hands experience. Helping out is only natural." Whether Masahiro would believe that or not was up to him. Of course it wasn't common, but some actors could be genuinely nice rather than always on their toes about rates and popularity and competitivity. It was a matter of perspective and experiences, he supposed. And it seemed he'd supplied a good one, luckily.

His smile only widened as he finished talking. "It's entirely my pleasure. For anything and everything, feel free to come to me."

It was at that moment that the director and the rest of the main creative crew walked in- they'd clearly had their own coffee date, and they all seemed rather cheery. So the production was probably going to be a rather pleasant one to work on, huh. No conflict that he could see- not from the get-go. That was a huge plus, frankly. The first speeches boiled down to a lot of nothings: "Good morning, pleased to meet you," "Thank you for having us," "Thank you for coming," "We are very happy to be here," blah blah blah.

A round of introductions followed and he was, of course, the one to start. In cases like this, brevity was indeed the soul of wit.

"I'm Ohshiba Kousuke, I'll be playing the role of our teacher, Yoshiki, though I can assure I have as much to learn from you as you do from me," he announced as he rose from his seat. "I'll be looking forward to working with you as well as getting to know you all. If you ever need anything of me, all you need to do is ask." The short speech was met with the customary round of applause, a surprisingly tame: "Wow," from Tsunehito and, finally, silence. And the beginning of Masahiro's turn to speak up.

As the man doubled down on his relationship with Kousuke, Masahiro found himself growing increasingly uncomfortable. He wanted to dart, to run as far away as he was able, even if it was only to the open door a few feet away. Even if neither of the men said it, he was clearly intruding on their… well, whatever it was they had together. Whether they were friends, partners, lovers, it didn’t really matter much. The point was that they were clearly close, and Masahiro was a very awkward third wheel. He had walked in on his mother and her clients enough to know when he was in the way, and he definitely knew it now. Strangely, even though the situations weren’t really the same, it didn’t change how he felt at seeing something intimate happening before his eyes.

He hated it.

Before the jealousy and discomfort could fully show on his face, Masahiro gave another meek attempt to slip out politely and then turned on his heel and rushed for the door as quickly as he could manage without appearing rude. Thankfully, no one seemed to pay him any mind once he left Kousuke’s side, so he slid into the room with a minimum amount of stares. 

Unfortunately, once he was in the room he came upon another issue… he had no idea where he was supposed to sit. Was it assigned seating? Could he just sit in a corner and hope everyone would ignore him until they started introductions? It would have been so much easier if there had been some kind of name cards or something to indicate how it worked. Did everyone else just know what they were supposed to do? He watched as two guys about his age walk in and take seats on the right of the table, chatting and laughing quietly together. He rocked back and forth on his heels for a moment, wondering if he should walk over and ask, when Kousuke came into the room and tapped his shoulder.

How did this man always know when he was struggling? How did he manage to sweep in to his rescue at just the right time? Now, and during the audition when he had clued him into the real story going on between the characters. Was this just the kind of person he was, willing to rush in and help at the drop of a hat? Or was he just particularly pathetic enough that the man felt like he had to lend a hand?

When he apologized about his friend, Masahiro wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Part of him wished that he could just say he understood and it was all good, but he didn’t understand. Never having had a friend close enough to joke (he assumed they had been joking by Kousuke’s reactions but still wasn’t entirely sure) around with, he couldn’t say that it was fine. He felt like he had somehow been the butt of the jokes without fully understanding why. Maybe because he was always worried about that sort of thing, that he was on the outside looking in and others could not only tell, but thought it was humorous. He doubted it was actually the case and was just his social anxiety cropping up, but it still didn’t feel great. He wondered if he’d ever be able to interact with someone like Kousuke’s friend without feeling at least slightly uncomfortable.

“It’s okay,” he lied with a smile, “it seems like you guys have been friends for a long time. I hope I didn’t insult him, I just wasn’t sure what to say.”

Could he be any more awkward?

Instead of trying to explain himself more and digging himself into an even bigger hole, he went and sat next to Kousuke at the table. Now that he was actually sitting at the table, he could feel a small spark of excitement begin to grow inside him. He was actually here, sitting with a whole cast and crew, getting ready for a real project. It wasn’t a dream, wasn’t some hallucination brought on by hunger, or even some scam by his sketchy agent. Somehow, someway, he had actually been cast in this drama and it was getting started. 

Masahiro turned to Kousuke, a wondrous smile on his lips. He wanted to ask if it was really okay that he was there, but having already made such a fool of himself earlier, he just let out a soft laugh as he gazed down at the script on the table. “Thank you for this morning. You could have laughed at me, but you’ve been a huge help. I really am looking forward to working on this project with you. Really.”

[radiostaticcc]

Drifting Home

I’ve just finished watching Drifting Home and i am absolutely shattered. I cried like 5 times?? 

The whole movie just felt so? I don’t know how to describe it. It’s just, it hurt so much but it also made me feel happy? The movie felt like a dream idk. And all the characters are so good, like actually, all of their friendships made me sob in the best way possible. Especially Natsume, Kousuke and Noppo’s bond???? It was so heart wrenching, like?? Genuine shivers. 

The story in itself is also REALLY interesting. The whole concept of an entire building suddenly floating on the sea and no one know how it happened? And everyone seems to see stuff from their memories? And again, the relationships between the characters are so well done. Like, they do act and feel like 11 year olds, and that just made it 100 times more intense? methinks. Like they’re so young, they’re literal babies. /affectionate

And also can we talk about the ANIMATION????? Absolutely fucking gorgeous, i’ll never get over it. It had this Studio Ghibli atmosphere in some moments, especially this one!!

The color palettes, the lights, everything!!

Honestly i suck at reviews, simply because most of the time i can’t describe how i’m feeling, but yeah, this movie was so good, genuienly. It made me feel so sad for so many reasons but a good kind of sad? Is that even a thing? 

YES also the character designs??? They all look so cute ahh! My favorite one was definitely Noppo! Second fav might be Taishi?? THEY ALL LOOK GREAT IT’S HARD TO CHOOSE!!!!

Btw i’m pretty sure Yuzuru’s voice actor is also Izuku’s??? WHICH MADE ME MELT especially since they kinda have the same personality?? 

Um idk what else to add haha. I could add on about everyone’s relationship with each other and the whole found family trope that i absolutely adore, and how they’re all blushing all the time which is also super adorable!!! And uh Noppo pains me like i love him so much he’s my blorbo!!!! He needs to be hugged. THE LOVE HE HOLDS FOR KOUSUKE AND NATSUME PAINS ME SO MUCH!!! It’s soooo i don’t even know anymore. I think i should stop writing or i’ll go on forever and no one will want to read all that!! Sorry!!

[trashlie]

[‼️fp 237 spoilers] ahhh ashlie we're always on the same wavelength <3 sorry for going off a bit in the last asks, i can get a little fiery ehe 😅 and right it's absolutely understandable why nol is the way he is, why he acts the way he does why he's walking in circles and if anything i'm frustrated FOR him because he is in such an unfortunate situation and you can tell he's absolutely terrified ;; the stronger his feelings are, the bigger the fear that something terrible is gonna happen to her, the stronger the urge to keep his distance to avoid that. because how could he live with himself if/when that happens? especially after what happened at the formal? like... i get it, i really do ;A; but you are also correct, nothing can be done about yui for now, but he at least can change the way he treats her! and, if shinae is willing to deal with the risks and danger that he brings, then it's her choice! and she is responsible for her own actions and choices!!

and i've been thinking the same thing! if they were supposed to part on bad terms, it could've happened after the dance. but instead we have the 3 day extension leading up to christmas (there *are* medical facilities in prisons so they could've taken him in but no), the "convince me", shin's bandana that she *still* has to get back, and also why are we moving so fast with nol barely able to hold back and the focus on her lips and shin being so feral? why these realizations and desires *now*, when they could've begun after jailtime?? it's obviously leading to *something*. otherwise it would be too anticlimactic. ILY has never been about quick reward so i'm not mad the buildup is taking its time. nol had the talk with dieter next is kousuke and then mayyyybe (big maybe) alyssa? since he's gonna get his phone back? and we might also have the shinae-dieter talk and then shinae-nol will probably be last. i would not be surprised if she shows up on the last day and that will be the climax. and quim is dangling it right in front of us so let's just hope she eventually gives us what we want, what the story needs, instead of yanking it away because then what were all these episodes even for? we'd be taking 10 steps back and for what? a gotcha moment?? sdghdgh GRHHH YELLS. 💥

and 1000% agreed shin is gonna have to do the heavy lifting and if she convinces him with a kiss then so be it. if she has to be a lil morally gray and break her own rules and kiss a taken man (no matter the nature of his relationship with alyssa, it's still a relationship), so that *he* can break his own rules, then fine. and look we know the effect of resting on her shoulder had on him, a kiss would completely undo him. convince me this is not what you want convince me you can throw me away now. HE CAN'T. GAME OVER. there is no way he'd be able to argue. seriously if the "convince me" comes back this time from shin i'll explode. 🤸🏾 and i KNOW she has it in her girl you can't keep letting him push you around you can't keep getting flustered under his gaze forever stand up and give back the energy go get what you want!! and ALSO "i don't have time for this" "it's not going to happen" yadda yadda that's FINE nothing has to happen mutual feelings and even a kiss don't mean you gotta start a relationship just talk and come to an agreement. be on the same page. GOD.

-slightly more optimistic lil anon 😼

ah sorry to add on to my prev ask: to clarify, IF we're heading into a kiss as a means to convince nol, to change his mind, then it will really depend on how quim executes it, how the conversation goes what the circumstances are... and i want shinae to give her best effort and not back down but i really wouldn't want her to force anything physical on him. consent is important! again, just to clarify, because i realized what i said could be potentially controversial. no forced kisses, that's not how i meant it! my apologies! -lil anon 😼

PLSSSS you are right we ARE always on the wavelength so no need to apologize for getting fiery because SAME! You should have seen me going through the stages of grief and denial after that episode lmao It was.... intense I have so many feelings alkfjakfjkafkajfjafj

also don't worry I know what you mean, huhuhu! Maybe someone out there might have misunderstood but I think we're both on the same page when we talk about that and, frankly, given that this is fiction and it's a controlled environment.... a kiss in this scenario would yeah be something that is welcome! I'm trying to think of how to explain this lmao but I'm sure you understand what I mean! Because it's like.... it IS something he wants, but he's trying so hard to deny himself that.

Like yes this is basically where my shred of hope remains: there HAS been too much build up, our guy keeps focusing on her mouth, he received that 3-day extension and that ABSOLUTELY provides narrative purpose, he still has her bandana, "convince me", etc. etc. It absolutely would be incredibly anti-climatic to send him away without them talking. Like you said, I'm not even here urging them to get into a relationship! That's fine, the circumstances are *not great* and if he's that afraid maybe that could be a compromise. That "This isn't going to happen" at this time because he's so afraid of the consequences, but that it CAN eventually happen. To me, the important thing is that they TALK about it. Acknowledge their mutual feelings, don't deny them. Acknowledge that they want each other!!!!! Okay!!!!!

Like, I guess at this point the conflict is this: Nol and Shinae have incredibly strong feelings for each other, but Nol feels both like an asshole because Dieter likes her too, but also afraid because he is very convinced that terrible things will come to those he cares about. He can't turn off those feelings, though, so he can only feign apathy, but at this point, it doesn't matter. Shinae is in Yui's clutches. He doesn't know this though - yet. But this is our conflict. Shinae is afraid that Nol is throwing her away and she absolutely refuses to let him do this. This has happened before and this time she will not stand for it! This time she will prevent it.

Now she knows that she has feelings for him. Maybe when she wakes up, we'll get to see her dwelling more, because Maya already told her "maybe he likes you and he's being mean so you don't find out". Shinae, bless her little heart, thinks that Nol can't possibly like her because he has a girlfriend - a hot, gorgeous, famous, talented girlfriend - but she NEEDS to sit down and think about everything that lead up to that argument. His insistence that he cannot be alone with her. The intense way he asked her to dance. His fingers in her hair leaning so close to listen to her music, the finger dancing, his finger hooking around hers, the way he looked at her, his head on her shoulder so calm he could sleep! She doesn't even know he wasn't on the morphine drip!

Shinae's whole goal is that she doesn't want to lose him, and now that she knows what she feels about him, why she can't lose him, that perhaps Maya is right, I think she'll be very determined to talk to him, to fight back. Something we've seen so far is that Nol tends to have the advantage. He was the one who figured out his feelings and began to suspect hers first. There's so many things he's never let her in on, leaving her in the dark. But likewise, there are things he doesn't know about her, too. I feel like her pure determination and fear of losing him will be a worthy adversary of his own fear, that even as he tries to put those walls up and push her away she isn't backing down. We saw her try to break down his door!!!!!!!!!!

So yeah, I feel like a convince me kiss is a really good option, because much like when Nol held Shinae in place at the Parks' place when she tried to run away and avoid her feelings of vulnerability, I think she needs to hold him in place, too. Stop running away, stop lying, stop trying to deny what he can't. Does all of this really mean nothing? Can you really throw all of this away? It feels like that would come before actually talking, because yes they kind of need to get those walls down, she has to make him contend with what he's pushing away. I love the idea of the turn tables, where he was the one trying to make her realize, now it's her turn to do the same, especially because he was trying to make her realize. Like.... "Why didn't you deny it then?! Why are you still trying to push me away when you know how much that hurts?! Why won't you let me have a choice?!"

JUST YELLS

I just... yeah I feel like they gotta argue a little, she's got to plant a kiss - that I absolutely imagine him reciprocating because like you said, even the head on her shoulder thing was making him crumble. In my head I see it like her asking if he can really ignore this and kissing him, and as she starts to pull away he leans in, following her, pulling her back in and just.... mauling her. lakjfkafjkafjkafjk I feel like the moment she makes contact it's game over his brain is switching off and it's pure want and instinct and a touch-starved man falling apart at the seams, hands on face in hair pulling her impossibly closer, so hungry, so needy for something he's denied himself at every opportunity. Every time he thinks about her he keeps focusing on her mouth LMAO he wants SO BADLY and I need her to use that against him and force him to contend with what he's trying to deny. He insists that maybe this can pass but CAN IT? DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT?!

And THEN they can talk, THEN she can reiterate what she's been telling him, what Rand has told her, what Yui has done what Yui has said. I WANT HIM TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS TRANSCENDS HIM. I WANT HIM TO UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS NOT PROTECTING HER BY LEAVING HER BE, THAT HE IS, IN FACT, LEAVING HER MORE VULNERABLE. I WANT HIM TO UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO IS HURTING HER ;A;

There's something about the way that like.... he wants her so much and he's so scared of losing her that he can't have her, because of how much he cannot lose her. Like, no matter what HE LOSES HER ;A; And no matter what SHE IS GETTING HURT. SCREAMS

I'm just talking in circles because yeah we all know this we all know what we need LMAO we all know what it happening but AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH JUST FEELINGS FEELINGS FEELINGS ;_____________;

and quim is dangling it right in front of us so let's just hope she eventually gives us what we want, what the story needs, instead of yanking it away because then what were all these episodes even for? we'd be taking 10 steps back and for what? a gotcha moment?? sdghdgh GRHHH YELLS. 💥

This is really what it comes down to, though, yes, and I keep repeating this, too. From a narrative writing standpoint, doesn't it feel like we'd just be taking 10 steps back? If he was going to leave and all of this would be unresolved, we wouldn't be hashing into it now, he wouldn't have an extra 3 days, he wouldn't be stuck at the hospital, Shinae and Nana wouldn't be interacting like this, the talk with Dieter wouldn't be happening, he wouldn't have "convince me"'d her. If they weren't going to approach this, to talk about this, to hash out their feelings without some kind of resolution, he WOULD have left. He wouldn't have gotten injured, he never would have been there. We just... gotta go down a bumpy road to get there. Like you, I think it could be that she doesn't go til the last day, too. Or.... idk. I have played with the idea that maybe she'd wake up and go immediately to the hospital having to sneak in, but again, narratively, it feels like we have a LOT happening with Kousuke there right now.

Also I just can't shake the fact that 3 days brings us SO CLOSE to Christmas and it feels SO VERY POINTED, right?

We absolutely could have had Shinae realizing her feelings while Nol is gone, after "losing him" but.

I'M CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC. SHINAE IS SO DETERMINED and she's so FERAL about her feelings and she's SO INTENSE!!!!!!!! She WANTS HIM SO BAD and she is SO SCARED OF LOSING HIM I JUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONVINCE HIM. SHOW HIM WHAT A FOOL HE IS. REMIND HIM THAT TWO CAN PLAY THIS GAME, THAT HE DOESN'T GET TO MAKE ALL THE CHOICES THAT SHE, TOO, HAS FEELINGS INVESTED

RAKAFLJKAFKJAFKJAFKAJF GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRR RJRRGJ GRRRRR GGR FKAFJJF GRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ;A;

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS VANDEAD CARNIVAL Animate Tokuten Drama CD ”Who’s the Number One Hottie of the Demon World? ~A smart Vampire hides his Fangs~”

Original title: 魔界イチのイケメンは誰だ?～能あるヴァンパイアはキバを隠す～

Source: DIABOLIK LOVERS VANDEAD CARNIVAL Animate Tokuten Drama CD ”Who’s the Number One Hottie of the Demon World? ~A smart Vampire hides his Fangs~” [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Toriumi Kousuke, Takashi Kondou & Kimura Ryouhei

Translator’s note: A CD featuring my two favorite boys and the bias of my bestie? It’s like this was meant to be! I have listened to this track before in the best and got a good laugh of it back then. It’s not the funniest tokuten out there, but I will never pass up on an opportunity to hear Kou tease poor Tsunbaru. :3 Also Shuu’s popularity is canon even in the DL universe, I suppose. Not only does he win every popularity poll, but he’s number one with the Vampire girls as well, haha. 

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

Subaru and Kou are walking around the Carnival. 

Kou: Subaru-kun...You’ve had that grumpy frown stuck on your face this whole time. What’s wrong?

Subaru: Che...Is that even a question? Why do I have to walk ‘round this place together with you!? 

Kou: Don’t blame me. Reiji-kun’s the one who asked us.

Subaru: Again, that’s the thing pissin’ me off!! Why do we have to look for that darn Shuu!? 

Kou: Don’t complain to me! ...Anyway, we’ll get scolded by Reiji-kun if we fail to successfully drag Shuu-kun back, so we better make haste and find him!

Subaru: Fuck...This is annoyin’...

Kou: Oooi~!! Shuu-kunーー!!

Subaru: Shuu!! Show yourself already, goddamnit! 

Kou: Haah...We’re not making any progress. ...Anyway, Subaru-kun! At least make a valiant effort!

Subaru: Shut up! Don’t tell me what to do!

Kou: You’re Shuu-kun’s brother and not me, remember? Try a little harder while looking for him!

Subaru: Hmph!

Kou: Actually...Shouldn’t you know best where your own brother might be? 

Subaru: Beats me...How am I supposed to know where that guy takes his naps? ‘Somewhere’ is the only answer I can give you. The dude will sleep just ‘bout anywhere after all, from the bathtub to the hallway. 

Kou: Ahー Now that you mention it...I’ve spotted him asleep in the music classroom as well. 

Subaru: That’s why trying to look for him at this huge venue is basically madness. Do you understand now?

Kou: Hmm~ Well, I guess you have a point.

Subaru: In that case, let’s juーー ...Hm?

They notice some commotion. 

Subaru: What’s that?

Kou: Seems like something is happening closeby? Is wonder what it could be?

Kou turns towards one of the bystanders. 

Kou: Hey, hey mister~ What’s happening?

*Flip*

Kou: Hm? A flyer? Let me take a look...Hm...Heeh~! Subaru-kun! They’re holding a ‘hot guy contest’, apparently!

Subaru: Haah...? ‘Hot guy...contest’...?

Kou: Here, check it out!

*Flip*

Subaru: Ugh...Fine! No need to push the darn thing in my face! Che...

*Flip*

Subaru: What is this shit?

Kou: Like I said! It’s a contest to decide who is the number one hottie of the Demon World! Let’s enter!

Subaru: Haah...? 

Kou: I’m suggesting we take part as well! It says here that spontaneous participation is much welcomed!

Subaru: Haah!? And why exactly!?

Kou: Well, it’s obvious that I’ll be getting first place, but we have some spare time on our hands so why not? 

Subaru: What do you mean ‘why not’!? Besides, what happened to lookin’ for Shuu!? 

Kou: Shuu-kun is...somewhere around here, right? Which means he might just be at this event’s contest hall as well!

Subaru: Hmph. I doubt he’d be at such a noisy place.

Kou: We won’t know until we go and take a look! Ahー ...I get it. 

Subaru: Hm...? What?

Kou: Subaru-kun...You’re scared of losing to me, aren’t you? That’s why you’re using Shuu-kun as an excuse to avoid participation!

Subaru: Excuse me?

Kou: I mean, I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I? You clearly couldn’t be bothered to look for him mere seconds ago. But don’t worry, I understand why you’d feel that way.  I’m an idol as well, so I bet you aren’t very confident in your odds? My bad~!

Subaru: Che...You really think I’m gonna keep quiet as I let you run your darn mouth ‘bout me!? I’m scared of losing, you say? Hmph! Fine by me!

Subaru turns around.

Subaru: Fine. I’m gonna enter that stupid contest as well, and you better believe I’m not losin’ to the likes of you. 

Kou: Hehehe~ Now you’re talking! Well then, let’s not waste any more time!

*TIMESKIP*

*Rustle rustle*

Shuu: Nnh...What’s going on...? It’s loud...Or rather...Where am I...?

��� Shuu sits up.

*Rustle*

Shuu: Pwaah...

Subaru and Kou approach him.

Kou: Huh!? 

Shuu: Hm...?

Kou: I knew it! Shuu-kun, spotted!

Subaru: Oi, oi...You were seriously over here...?

Shuu: What?

Subaru: ‘What?’, my ass! For whose sake do you think I came all the way here!? 

Shuu: Oh shut up...I just woke up and your voice is ringing in my head...

Subaru: Fuck...This bastardーー!

*Rustle*

Kou: There, there! Calm down, Subaru-kun. We came looking for you after Reiji-kun asked us, you see. 

Shuu: Ah, I see. In that case, you found me so it’s mission clear, right? I’ll head back after getting some more shut-eye. You guys can go ahead and return. Nn...

Subaru: Not a fuckin’ chance! We’ve been told to bring you back, okay!? GET UP ALREADY!

*Rustle*

Subaru: Oi, don’t sleep!!

Shuu: Nnh...Pipe down, will you?

Subaru: Shuu...!!

Kou: Ah! You guys, I have a suggestion!

Shuu & Subaru: Hm? What?

Kou: Subaru and I are going to take place in a contest first, so Shuu-kun can take a nap here until that’s done.

Shuu: A contest...?

Subaru: Haah...They’re hosting a ‘hot guy contest’ on that stage over there.

Shuu: Ah...No wonder it got so noisy.

Kou: Want to enter as well, Shuu-kun?

Shuu: What do you think? Too much trouble...

Kou: Figured~ ...In that case, just sleep here until we return, okay?

Shuu: Be my guest. 

Kou: Okay, it’s settled then! Subaru-kun, we’re rivals now, okay? 

Subaru: Hmph! I’ve never even considered you competition at all.

Kou: Heeh~ You’re sounding awfully confident considering I’m an idol. I refuse to lose. 

The two of them walk away.

Shuu: Ah...They finally left. Pwaah...A ‘hot guy contest’, huh? Who cares...

*Flip*

Shuu: Hm? What’s this? A piece of paper...? Oh. The rules of the contest, it seems? 

*Rustle*

Shuu: Heeh...Having to say this in front of a crowd, huh? Hehe...Oh well. I guess it’s none of my concern. 

Shuu goes back to sleep. 

Shuu: Zzーー...

*SCENE SHIFT*

Kou: Heeh...There’s quite a crowd. 

Subaru: Che...We made it to the stage but what do they expect us to do now?

Kou: Seems like we’re supposed to take turns and say something. I wonder the lines have to follow a certain theme?

Subaru: Lines...?

*Flip*

Kou: It says we have to enact a love confession!

Subaru: The fuck!?

Kou: It’s a hot guy contest after all...It can’t be helped. Ah! Seems like ours turn!

Kou turns towards the audience. 

Kou: Hello, everyone! Mukami Kou here~! Nice to meet you! Um...I have to say my lines, right? In that case...

‘You are the only one in my eyes.’

The girls in the crowd squeal in response.

Kou: How was that~? ...Here! It’s your turn next, Subaru-kun!

Subaru: How am I supposed to say that shit out here in publlic!? 

Kou: Just think of the girl you love as you speak. I obviously had M-neko-chan in mind when I said my line~

Subaru: ...Her?

Kou: Yeah, yeah, now stop getting so embarrassed. ...Okay, everyone! Please allow me to introduce my friend to you next! This is Sakamaki Subaru!!

Subaru: Haah!? Who are you calling your friend!? Fuck off!

Kou: Subaru-kun, come on! Hurry!

Subaru steps forward.

Subaru: Ugh... Fuck... 

(mumbles) ‘I...love...you...’

The crowd cheers again. 

Kou: Fufufu~ 

Subaru: Oi, Kou! Don’t be lookin’ my way!

Kou: Sure, sure. Come on, you were the last contestant and they’re going to announce the results, so keep it down okay?

Shuu gets dragged on stage by some of the staff.

Shuu: Nnh...Excuse me? What do you want? Let me go...!

*Rustle*

Kou: Eh!? Shuu-kun...!? 

Shuu: Kou...Subaru...Perfect timing. Could you shut these guys up?

Kou: These guys? You mean the staff? 

Shuu: Who else? ーー For the millionth time, I’m not a participant. 

Subaru: I guess they mistook you for one since you were napping backstage? 

Kou: I mean, you’re here now, so why not share of couple of words with the crowd? 

Shuu: Haah...? Why should I? Ridiculous. There’s no point in confessing my love to someone other than the girl I love, is there? My words don’t come so cheap. 

Kou: Woah...!

Subaru: This guy...

The crowd goes crazy for Shuu. 

*Clap clap clap clap*

Kou: Eeeh...!? What!? Shuu-kun is the winner and not me!? 

Subaru: HAAH!? But this guy didn’t do a darn thing!? He was snoozin’ the whole time!

Shuu: ...Heh. This shows that both of you are still wet behind the ears. 

Kou: Eeeh!? 

Subaru: I don’t get it...

Shuu: What? My thoughts on my victory? Nothing in particular. I want to just sleep so can I go home now?

Kou: Shuu-kun never changes, does he? Ah-aah~ What a shame. 

Subaru: Shuu...After I poured out all my feelings...FUCK THIS SHIT!

*THUD*

Kou: Wah! Subaru-kun snapped!

Shuu: Haah...Shut up. 

ーー THE END ーー

[dennou-translations]

Mekakucity Actors Audio Commentary #5

Act 5 – Kaien Panzermast

Translation of the second audio commentary that comes with the DVD/Blu-ray of Mekakucity Actors. Raw version here. Please consider purchasing the original copies and feel free to message me about possible corrections. If there happens to be any issues with the link, please contact me on my main blog!

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Jin: Hello to everyone listening to the audio commentary of “Mekakucity Actors Act 5 – Kaien Panzermast”. Eh, I’m the creator and screenplay writer, Jin.

Hoshii: Yes! Aaand... eeeh, I’m the voice of Seto Kousuke, Hoshi Souichirou. Pappy~!

(T/N: For those unfamiliar with it, “pappy” is Hoshi Souichirou’s catchphrase. He’s been using it as a greeting since the late 90’s.)

Jin: ‘Ello~!

Hoshii: ‘Ello!

Suzuki: And I’m the process supervisor this time as well.

Hoshi: Oh!

Suzuki: I’m Suzuki Kenta from Aniplex. Please take care of me.

Hoshii: Counting on you for it!

Jin: Please take care of us!

Hoshii: Yes~!

Everyone: *claps*

Suzuki: It’ll be a pleasure.

Hoshii: Yay! For sure!

Suzuki: We have Hoshi-san with us.

Jin: He came over!

Suzuki: Actually, no, you made me come over!

Everyone: *laughs*

Jin: So that’s where we’re starting from? That’s where we’re starting from?

Suzuki: Nope, nope, nope.

Hoshii: Not really. I think the listeners don’t know what we’re going on about. Welp, thank you very much.

Jin: Anyway, this is disk is the fifth volume.

Suzuki: Yup!

Hoshii: Ah, wait! It’s been a while.

Jin: It sure has! Ah, ‘cause the recordings are over, right?

Hoshii: Yeah. After they ended, I became like this.

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: Like this?

Hoshii: Is that okay? Is it? Hum, about Seto-san in the main story...

Jin: You’re the one who voices him!

Hoshii: For the people who know him, this must be one hell of a sudden change.

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: That’s okay! It’s okay! This is a corner where we can enjoy more and more of these things.

Hoshii: ‘Kay!

Jin: All right! We’ll be in your care.

Suzuki: We’re in your care.

Hoshii: My! Ah, I’m so nervous. We usually do these things with fellow cast members.

Suzuki: That’s right.

Jin: Yes, yes.

Hoshii: When it’s between cast members, the topic can get dumb.

Jin: Yes, yes!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: But if we’re with the creators or directors, as expected, they explain the story very properly, so I get super nervous and clam up.

Jin: Nah, nah, nah.

Hoshii: Therefore, I guess I’ll keep quiet today too.

Suzuki: No, no, no. It’s best to do things like you usually do.

Jin: Do it like you always do! Seriously! I have been invited to all the other four volumes do to the audio commentaries.

Hoshii: Yep!

Jin: And we’ve hardly had any chance to do any proper talk!

Hoshii: *laughs*

Jin: Basically, the topic disconnects all of a sudden and then we go, “Ah, time to wrap up! Byeee!”

Suzuki: Aaah, true. There’s no difference. Hoshi-san, you should act like you usually do.

Hoshii: Ah, but actually, right before this audio commentary started, I talked to Jin-san about this.

Jin: We had a general discussion.

Hoshii: There was a little bit of wait time, after all.

Jin: We’ve already asked what we wanted to ask at large.

Hoshii: We had a separate talk.

Jin: I already asked what I wanted to ask.

Suzuki: But if there’s a part of it that we can deliver to everyone, that’s good too. If you could talk about it once again...

Hoshii: Yup, yup.

Jin: The cast-off skin of it.

Suzuki: The “cast-off skin”!

Hoshii: “Cast-off skin”!

Jin: Like, the evil part of it.

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: We’re hoping to hear about it from you!

Hoshii: All right. So, how did you like Mekakucity’s—erm... fifth episode?

Jin: Yes, fifth episode.

Suzuki: We’re in the fifth.

Hoshii: How was it for you?

Jin: About the fifth episode... the previous one was precisely “Kagerou Days”.

Hoshii: The rumored one!

Jin: Exactly – the one that happens within a sort of mysterious place.

Hoshii: Yes, that one.

Jin: It became a bit serious but the scenario has changed once again to the protagonist, Shintarou-kun.

Hoshii: Now it’s a peaceful everyday life, huh~!

Jin: Yes, a peaceful everyday life. Ah, here’s Ene-chan. She shows up in this one. Anyway, it’s a slice-of-life episode. Everyone’s frolicking about.

Hoshii: And then... hm? Seto had a pretty normal amount of lines in this episode, I guess. Didn’t he?

Jin: Probably, in the third episode, when they went to that department store—

Hoshii: Ah, the third episode?

Jin: They all went there together.

Hoshii: Ah, that’s right! Yes, yes, yes!

Jin: He did have lines back then, but this time, his cute side is on display.

Hoshii: So he has a cute side, huh?

Jin: I hope the people listening to this audio commentary will have expectations for Seto after this episode.

Hoshii: Oh! That’s great.

Jin: It’s kind of a goal. I want them to enjoy him.

Hoshii: That’s right.

Jin: We’ve ended up talking about this earlier, but...

Hoshii: We did.

Jin: Seto-kun is not only in the anime, but also in the novels, music and other mediums.

Hoshii: Yes.

Jin: Yet he doesn’t show up much.

Hoshii: He doesn’t?! Aaah!

Jin: He doesn’t.

Hoshii: I see. If I were to say it, I guess he has less appearances than the other characters.

Jin: That’s right, he’s a bit retreated to the background.

Hoshii: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jin: He’s kind of—oh, it’s the opening sequence.

Hoshii: He’s at the side.

Jin: We did things like, for example, right there on the anime’s title, the first syllable, “Me”, is painted in his theme color.

Hoshii: Yup, yup, yup.

Jin: Hum, in the anime, we’re...

Hoshii: Ah, so you’re sort of—

Jin: We’re sort of... lifting him up a little as a character in the anime, so to say.

Suzuki: I see. You were trying to make him stand out.

Hoshii: Ah, as expected, this green color is pretty nice.

Jin: “It’s pretty nice”! Well, we’ve already talked about this earlier, but as a character, he’s kind of like a big brother.

Hoshii: That’s right!

Suzuki: Aaah...

Jin: He’s a character who has it together and who goes “there, there” when something happens, and yet...

Hoshii: Hm?

Jin: ...he’s a character that doesn’t come forward much.

Hoshii: He doesn’t play dumb too often, huh.

Jin: Exactly, exactly! We can’t make him act dumb that much. He’s the one that has common sense.

Hoshii: Yes.

Jin: Now, as for the opening song that’s playing at the moment...

Hoshii: Yes?!

Jin: ...I just recently released a CD with it. And there were autograph sessions for it.

Hoshii: Autograph sessions!

Jin: I went around to some areas of the country to give out my signature.

Suzuki/Hoshii: Oooh!

Jin: And, hum, when I’m writing down autographs, well, I feel like chatting.

Hoshii: With each person that comes, right?

Jin: This time, I keep throwing them the question, “Do you have a favorite character?”

Hoshii: Eeeh~?

Jin: And it turns out...

Hoshii: Yes?

Jin: ...nearly all of them answered “Seto-kun”!

Hoshii: For real?

Suzuki: Oh! What a surprise.

Hoshii: That makes me happy.

Jin: Seriously, there were so many Seto-kun fans that he’s by far the decisive favorite!

Hoshii: Even though Seto-kun is so inconspicuous!

Jin: Despite that!

Hoshii: *laughs*

Jin: I wonder what it is that—it’s probably the way he makes people feel.

Hoshii: Heeh? Aah, he’s comforting to them.

Jin: He is.

Hoshii: Ah, indeed, just looking at him heals you. He can comfort people even without talking.

Jin: He can!

Hoshii: *laughs* As long as there’s an artwork of him. Just an artwork!

Jin: You can heal just from looking at it.

Suzuki: So Seto is popular, huh?

Jin: Absurdly popular.

Suzuki: Heeeh~?

Hoshii: Ah, I’m so glad.

Jin: Therefore, I wanted to report this huge popularity of his to you.

Hoshii: Aaah, thank you! I’m so happy!

Suzuki: That’s wonderful.

Jin: I thought of using this occasion for it, but I ended up revealing it earlier, actually!

Hoshii: Ah! Yeah, I heard about it just now.

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: No, but it’s okay, hearing it twice. Two, three times even.

Jin: You’d wanna hear about Seto-kun’s popularity two, three times!

Suzuki: Because it’s a good topic.

Hoshii: It’s a good topic. I wanna hear it as many times as I can. And next time, too, I wanna hear it as many times as I can.

Jin/Suzuki: *laugh*

Jin: So in the sixth audio commentary too?

Hoshii: Oh, but speaking of Seto-kun, at the beginning...

Jin: Yes?

Hoshii: I honestly had no idea how to go about him.

Jin: Ah, I see, I see.

Suzuki: Oooh...

Hoshii: During the recording of the first episode, the art wasn’t in very good condition, you know?

Suzuki: Ah, that’s right.

Hoshii: Which is normal nowadays. That’s the state that the recordings are in lately.

Jin: My deepest apologies!

Hoshii: But for some reason, even though this most certainly never happens, there were no facial expressions on the characters!

Suzuki/Jin: *lose their shit*

Hoshii: Is this a thing?!

Jin: It’s not!

Hoshii: Just impossible, isn’t it?

Jin: Impossible.

Hoshii: The facial expressions are decided in much earlier stages!

Jin: Right.

Suzuki: *still losing it*

Hoshii: There were no expressions on the characters, so I looked at the illustrations of the original work and other such things for reference.

Jin: Ah, geez, I’m so very sorry for that...

Hoshii: But to be frank... at first, I was just fumbling around.

Suzuki: Oooh...

Hoshii: Like, “Whoa, what should I do?”

Jin: Hmmm...

Hoshii: But when I watched it on air, surprisingly, it matched.

Jin: Ah, that’s right!

Suzuki: As expected!

Hoshii: *laughs*

Suzuki: You’re amazing!

Jin: Yes, amazing!

Hoshii: I was relieved. Glad that I went for that approach.

Jin: Ah, so something like that happened?

Hoshii: It did!

Suzuki: Hoshi-san, you did ask about it later, didn’t you?

Hoshii: Ah, right, right.

Jin: I was like, “That’s exactly how he should be!”

Hoshii: I’m glad. Well, I was sort of uncertain about it.

Jin: Yes, yes, yes.

Hoshii: So I asked the sound director, Tsuruoka-san, “Is it okay like this?”

Jin: Yes.

Suzuki: Ooh...

Hoshii: I did it after confirming that with him.

Jin: Yes!

Hoshii: So, well, I thought it wouldn’t be too out of place.

Jin: Yes.

Hoshii: But... but, you see...

Jin: Yes?

Hoshii: Something I was at loss about is that, right after this, we recorded a promo.

Jin: That’s right!! The... the one for the CM.

Suzuki: Yup.

Hoshii: Well, I did record it, but... his personality was different.

Jin: *laughs*

Hoshii: I was like, “Eh, is this okay? He’s a completely different character!”

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: It was pretty quick.

Jin: That’s right.

Hoshii: When I thought about it, I got a really bad feeling.

Jin: I see.

Hoshii: I was like, “Could it be that it’s okay for him to act like this in this situation?”

Jin: Yes, yes.

Hoshii: Like, “Will he go this way or will he go that way?”

Suzuki: Oooh...

Hoshii: It was the hardest time I’ve had amongst all of my job experiences until now.

Jin: Ah, I see!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: The possibility of you getting a terrible job!

Hoshii: Yeah! In regards to stamina, I thought to myself, “I’d hate if this job turns into a hassle” and had such a bad feeling, but when the series started, turns out he was an uplifting character.

Jin: Ah, that’s right.

Hoshii: Maaan, I sighed in relief.

Jin: I’m sure.

Suzuki: He might’ve been the character that shook you off the most!

Jin: He just might!

Hoshii: Back then, y’know, I kinda... on Nico Nico... Nico Nico...

Jin: “Nico Nico Douga”.

Hoshii: On Nico Nico Douga, they were writing terrible things about me!

Jin/Suzuki: *laugh*

Jin: Just like that?!

Hoshii: Honestly, even though I did so much for this character all on my own... it was the first time I got such horrible comments!

Jin/Suzuki: *still laughing*

Jin: I’m truly very sorry.

Hoshii: No, no, no! Well, the result was just fine in the end, so it’s okay.

Jin: Yes.

Hoshii: But, hum, everyone made me super anxious. *laughs*

Jin: They were like, “‘Deer’? ‘Deer’?”

Hoshii: Indeed.

Suzuki: The promo was supposed to be like a series of character studies.

Jin: Yeah, that was the plan. And, well, also to promote the anime.

Suzuki: Going by order, Seto was... hum...

Jin: Erm, if I’m not mistaken, he was the eighth.

Suzuki: The first ones had already done their promos properly, but the ones that came later were gradually... *laughs*

Hoshii: I mean, I wasn’t told anything! Especially about his attitude and such.

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: I didn’t know when the episodes would be coming out.

Jin: True.

Hoshii: And hadn’t done any publicity for it before.

Jin: Yeah. Especially the “It’s a deer! A deerrrr!” part was rather...

Hoshii: I turned all of the fans of the original work into my enemies.

Jin: Eeeeh?!

Suzuki/Hoshii: *laugh*

Jin: It’s not like that! The fans of the original were like, “Aight. It’s okay like that.”

Hoshii/Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: Me too! Hum, when I watched it on TV, I went to Twitter and such to see how it went, and it was just... all about this “deer” thing!

Hoshii: *laughs*

Jin: My timelines in my social media were all like, “deer”!

Suzuki: It was trending!

Jin: It became a trend!

Hoshii: Ah, but Mekakucity trends a lot with every episode, doesn’t it?

Suzuki: Yeah.

Jin: That’s right. It’s a mess in many ways when it becomes a trending topic, though.

Suzuki/Hoshii: Weeeell...

Jin: But it does trend.

Hoshii: Maaan, I’m so happy that I voice such a popular character...

Jin: Ah, hum, you had your worries, but now that the recordings are over, turns out you voice the number one favorite character!

Hoshii: My, my, thank you very much. So this is what “godsend” means.

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: That’s right. And the people who come to the autograph sessions are, as expected, very hardcore fans.

Suzuki: Oh...

Hoshii: Ah! Must be.

Jin: They not only buy the CDs but also want them signed, after all.

Hoshii: I heard that the fans of this work are incredibly hooked into it.

Suzuki: Yuuup.

Jin: Ah, true!

Suzuki: They’re very passionate.

Jin: I’m very thankful for that.

Hoshii: Ah, crap! What should I do? I ended up saying these things in the audio commentary...

Suzuki: Oh?

Hoshii: It might be too late to ask, but should we have gone with this route?

Jin: Eh, what?

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: What’s gotten into you all of a sudden??

Hoshii: Maybe the people who didn’t know about it would be like, “Eh, he’s different from what I’d imagined” when they listen to this.

Jin: That’s not gonna happen! Not at all.

Suzuki: If it’s now, you might still have a shot at taking it back!

Hoshii: *laughs*

Jin: We only talked about good things, yet you want to redo it?

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: Like, “Okay, anyways—”

Hoshii: If I do that, I might be able to hear from the autograph sessions again.

Suzuki: Ah, that’s right.

Jin: Ah! So that’s what it was about!

Suzuki/Hoshii: *laugh*

Jin: “Seto is so popularrr!”

Hoshii: Ah, I’m so happy.

Jin: You are? Thank you very much!

Suzuki: Hoshi-san has been recovering his HP several times by now.

Hoshii/Jin: *laughs*

Hoshii: Like, “Oh, is that so?”

Suzuki: Just flat-out.

Jin: Just flat-out! *laughs* But, well, Seto-kun is a memorable character for me.

Hoshii: Aaah, thank you so much for creating him.

Jin: Hum, I couldn’t flesh him out much in the original work, so I hoped he could have lines in several parts of the anime at the beginning.

Hoshii: He didn’t appear much, but at the end, it was pretty good.

Jin: It waaas!

Suzuki: Yuuup.

Hoshii: That’s what I thought. But it’s hard to get him out there.

Jin: It is!

Hoshii: Yep.

Jin: But that’s because I think he’s one hell of a fine man.

Hoshii: He really is. And surprisingly big, isn’t he?

Jin: If I’m not mistaken, he’s two—I mean...

Hoshii: Two meters tall?!

Jin: Ah, no, no! The second tallest of the Mekakushi Dan.

Hoshii: You said “two”!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: You said “two”, so...

Jin: The way he’d be viewed in the series would change a lot.

Hoshii: If he were two meters tall?

Jin: He’d be in the basketball team or something.

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: The character named Konoha is probably the tallest one.

Hoshii: Ah, yeah. You’re right!

Suzuki: Hmmm...

Jin: And the second is Seto-kun.

Suzuki: Ah, I see.

Hoshii: But Konoha is voiced by Miyano-kun, so it’s no shock that he’s huge. However, the mic is positioned too high up when Miyano-kun is there, so I can’t go into the booth with him!

Jin/Suzuki: *laugh*

Hoshii: Gotta avoid that spot at all costs!

Jin: If I’m not mistaken, this happened on this episode too. With Kaida-san, I guess.

Hoshii: Yes.

Jin: Hum, her shoes—Ah, no, it was Nakahara-san, maybe? She said that the mic is too high up when when Miyano-san is around.

Hoshii: It is!

Jin: So she puts on high-heeled shoes for it. She said something like that.

Suzuki: Ooh, I see, I see.

Hoshii: But Kaida-san is quite tall too, so she can fit.

Jin: Right.

Hoshii: It becomes Miyano-kun and Kaida-san’s mic.

Jin: Aaah, man!

Suzuki: I see, I see.

Jin: A mic for two people.

Hoshii: And I go to the shorter people’s side. Hum, like... Hanazawa-san’s mic.

Suzuki/Jin: *laugh*

Suzuki: To that side?

Hoshii: Ah, but, when it comes to conversations between Seto and Mary, we gotta avoid that.

Suzuki: Ah, that’s right.

Jin: Right.

Hoshii: Like, “Whose turn is it now?”

Everyone: *laughs*

Jin: “Should I go to the right? To the middle?”

Hoshii: “Whose mic should I go to?”

Jin: “Whose mic”! “The middle one, maybe?”

Hoshii: *laughs*

Jin: Ah, this is it. Speak of the devil, the tall Konoha-kun has come up.

Hoshii: Yep! Man, this one was terrible for Miyano-kun.

Jin: It sure was!

Suzuki: It was the worst.

Hoshii: The result was good, but he had a hard time.

Jin: It was horrible for him...!

Hoshii: Sure was.

Suzuki: He had to voice three characters with different personalities, after all.

Hoshii: He did. Man, I’m so glad I didn’t get Konoha!

Everyone: *laughs*

Hoshii: Seto is great!

Jin: And on top of that, the characters didn’t have facial expressions! Yet it’s three characters!

Hoshii: Right??

Jin: He must’ve been so busy... Ah, but, about this episode... for example, during the promos and the main story, a lot of characters come up.

Hoshii: Yup!

Jin: I was very uneasy as to whether or not I’d be able to explain to you guys what each of them are about. And I was wondering if you wouldn’t find it super difficult to understand, no matter how much I explained.

Hoshii: Aaah...

Jin: But it was amazing how, on the first try, all of you performed the characters exactly the way I imagined they’d be like.

Suzuki: Hmmm...

Jin: Yes. So I’m very sorry about that and, as expected, I wish I’d explained properly!

Hoshii: No, no, no! The way you did it was enough!

Jin: But, aaah, it was wonderful! I was like, “It’s perfect like this!”

Hoshii: I see.

Jin: Yet, in contrast, Miyano-san was like, “Is this all right?”

Hoshii: I guess we actors do get iffy about it, like, “Was it really okay?” because we didn’t yet have a proper image of how it was going to turn out.

Jin: My, it must’ve been truly hard. And it was over in a blink of eye.

Hoshii: Exactly.

Suzuki: Yeah.

Hoshii: The songs were also finished in a blink of eye.

Jin: They were.

Hoshii: It went by so fast.

Jin: It did!

Hoshii: I kept looking forward to it every week.

Jin: Ah, thank you very much, really!

Suzuki: Thank you so much.

Jin: I also kept looking forward to it every week.

Hoshii: Hm!

Jin: Oh, here it is. The scene we were talking about earlier. The one that’s kinda cute.

Hoshii: Ah!

Jin: It’s coming up. The one where Seto-kun...

Hoshii: That’s the one I did for the audition.

Suzuki: Aaah!

Jin: *laughs*

Hoshii: That was the one.

Jin: This... This... Hum, yes, yes. We had you do it in the audition and for the radio commercials. It was exactly this scene.

Suzuki: Right, right.

Hoshii: Yeah. So, since he’s different from his usual calm self in this scene, I was wondering if it was okay like that.

Jin: Aah.

Hoshii: I might’ve performed the wrong side of him.

Suzuki: Hmmm...

Hoshii: So I was like, “Are the people who like the comforting side of Seto-kun going to be okay with this?”

Jin: Well, the older female audience was like, “He’s so cute~!”, so...

Hoshii: Yeah... but he leaves!

Jin: That’s right!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: He offs to somewhere! Like... he goes away to see some nature.

Jin: He kinda fades out.

Hoshii: Yeah.

Jin: Hum, after this, in the eighth episode, everyone goes back to the hideout and there’s a part where they’re talking.

Hoshii: Yes.

Jin: In it, he says, “I’m gonna go looking for him” and just like that...

Hoshii: He leaves.

Jin: ...he goes away.

Hoshii: That’s right...

Jin: During the course of the main story, both in the anime and the novel, he’s always like this.

Hoshii: Hmm...

Jin: In some way or another, even when he should be there in the novel, everyone’s like, “He isn’t here right now because he has work today.”

Everyone: *laughs*

Jin: All the time, it’s like, “He’s got work so he isn’t here.” *laughs*

Hoshii: Well, there are people like that.

Jin: He doesn’t show up at all!

Suzuki: *laughs* No, but maybe it might be best to keep people in suspense about him.

Jin: Right.

Hoshii: Like, to make them use their imagination?

Suzuki: Exactly. Like, “What’s he doing behind the scenes?”

Jin: I wonder what.

Hoshii: “Went out to see some deers, maybe?”

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: If he did go out to see deers, people would say he isn’t around but in the joke kind of way. There are fans who enjoy this gag.

Hoshii: Yes.

Suzuki: Hmm.

Jin: On the other hand, since he’s so absent, some people are like, “Isn’t he the mastermind behind all of this?!”

Hoshii: *gasp* Reading between the lines!

Jin: Like, “Isn’t he the leader of the bad guys or something like that?!”

Hoshii: Reading too much between the lines!

Suzuki: I see...

Hoshii: That kind of thing is possible.

Jin: They conclude that it’d be bad to put him together with everyone else.

Hoshii: It happens sometimes.

Jin: So maybe he’s a villain.

Hoshii: It happens, it happens.

Jin: But that’s not his case at all!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: Let me borrow this space to say it – he’s not like that at all!

Hoshii: There was no such thing. I’m so glad! I’m so glad that he was a good person!

Jin: He is.

Hoshii: I’m also glad that he wasn’t killed in the end!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: He almost got killed, though.

Jin: He almost did.

Hoshii: Also, during that flashback about the past...

Jin: Yes?

Hoshii: ...I voiced one of the villagers.

Jin: Ah! The villager! The villager!

Suzuki: Aaah...!

Hoshii: I think a lot of those people were just villagers.

Jin: Yes, yes. I believe they were ordinary villagers.

Hoshii: Even so... I was asked to voice one.

Suzuki: You, Hoshi-san?! *laughs*

Jin: WAS THAT OKAY?!!

Hoshii: No, it’s fine! I’m okay with it!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: It’s nothing much! I can do it! I can voice a nameless character, no problem. I can, because he does have a relation to Seto.

Suzuki: Everything here has a proper reason behind it.

Hoshii: He’s related to Seto-kun, everyone! Think about it for a second.

Jin: Looking at the character name “Villager C” must’ve been the worst!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: Their faces look alike, don’t they?

Jin: Yes, yes. They look exactly the same.

Hoshii: Don’t misunderstand, everyone.

Jin: That’s right. That was, hum... something like an ancestor.

Hoshii: Yeah. Is it okay to reveal that?

Jin: It’s totally okay! So, this was an ancestor and—

Suzuki: Like I said, everything has a proper reason behind it.

Jin: Yes, yes! I also thought this was in order.

Hoshii: Thank you very much.

Jin: But for some reason, I felt like being playful when writing the screenplay, so I granted Seto’s voice to Villager C.

Hoshii: Right?!

Jin: I should’ve made it Villager A.

Hoshii: *laughs* Indeed!

Jin: I put him in a sort of low position on purpose.

Hoshii: Aaah~!

Suzuki: I see, I see!

Hoshii: Eh, but there’s no helping it. A is the leader, as you’d expect.

Jin: Yes, A is the leader. And B is the second in command.

Hoshii: No helping it.

Jin: Hence, Villager C.

Hoshii: I can totally voice just a Villager C, though!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: That’s riiight!

Suzuki: As expected, there’s a proper meaning to it.

Jin: Yes, yes.

Hoshii: Right.

Jin: But when you do an audition and people instruct you on how to voice a character, it’s not so that you can be “Villager C”!

Hoshii: *laughs*

Jin: That Villager C really did have a meaning to him.

Hoshii: No, hum, thank you so much, really! Speaking of auditions... I only did it for Seto.

Jin: That’s right.

Hoshii: For these kinds of things, you usually get, for example, the protagonist... some sort of main role.

Suzuki: Ah, that’s right.

Hoshii: And only then do you get another character. So this pin-point was kind of rare. Was it like that for everyone?

Jin: Ah, erm, I created the images of all the characters from the very first chapter of the original work.

Suzuki: Hmm.

Hoshii: Oh!

Jin: I did a lecture expressing how each character was supposed to be, like, “This is how I imagined them.”

Hoshii: Heeh...

Jin: I also had the names of all of them.

Suzuki: That’s right.

Jin: Yes, that’s how I asked them to perform.

Hoshii: Hm.

Jin: Back then, I also had several discussions with Tsuruoka-san – hum, the sound director, Tsuruoka-san.

Hoshii: I see.

Jin: And ultimately, we decided to have Hoshi-san do it, by all means.

Hoshii: No, no! Thank you.

Jin: That’s how it went.

Suzuki: So actually, Jin-san, you and the others had the image of the characters so clear in your heads that there wasn’t a single person who messed up.

Jin: Ah...

Suzuki: Each and every one of them did well.

Jin: No, but it was hard for them, wasn’t it?

Hoshii: For real...

Suzuki: Hm, indeed. But it paid off, right?

Jin: Yeah...

Hoshii: Honestly, it was the first audition that I passed in a while, so I was very happy.

Jin: Eeeeh??

Suzuki: No way!

Hoshii: *laughs*

Jin: For a moment there, I was kinda like, “Ah?! Ah!!”

Suzuki: That’s not possible.

Hoshii: It’s true, it’s true! To tell the truth, I don’t get approved very often.

Jin: Ah, is that so?

Suzuki: Aaah...

Hoshii: It’s because there’s actually a lot of people who take part in auditions.

Jin: Ah, thought so.

Suzuki: Hmmm...

Hoshii: So I hardly pass them.

Jin: But Hoshi-san, as expected...

Hoshii: I was happy!

Jin: Ah, geez, thank you. And yet, you got Villager C! It’d make anyone go, “Hey!!”

Hoshii: *laughs*

Jin: I’m really sorry.

Hoshii: No, no, no! It’s okay, really.

Jin: But, well, other than the Villager C, Seto-kun had quite a few appearances in the anime.

Hoshii: Ah, well, I was always there for the recordings of the latter half.

Suzuki: Yuuup.

Jin: Right. But if we’re speaking about just Seto-kun as a character, there was also a mini-arc in the past where a small Seto-kun had a lot of screen time.

Hoshii: Ah, that’s right! But voicing a small Seto-kun would’ve been difficult for me...

Jin: Well, yes. We did a voice switch.

Suzuki: Yeah.

Hoshii: I didn’t do an audition for little Seto or anything like that!

Jin/Suzuki: *laugh*

Hoshii: It’s not like I auditioned and failed! I didn’t audition for it at all!

Suzuki: Indeed.

Jin: Tsuruoka-san had decided on from the very beginning.

Hoshii: Yeah, yeah. Although, depending on the anime, they use the original voice actors for that.

Suzuki: Oooh...

Hoshii: There’s actually a ton of problems with that, but they’re like, “Can you do it?”

Suzuki: I see, I see!

Jin: Hum, Hoshi-san, I have watched some of the works that you’re in. There’s one that has several episodes set in the past. It’s a series that I’m quite fond of.

Hoshii: Ah, I see! That one. That one, right?

Jin: Everyone performs in the flashbacks just like they do in the present! *laughs*

Suzuki: Aaah, I see...

Hoshii: Well, how should I put it? This way of doing it is also a thing.

Suzuki: Hm, hm.

Hoshii: It’s like a gag.

Suzuki: Hmmm.

Hoshii: It doesn’t go the realistic route. So it’s okay like that sometimes.

Suzuki: Yep.

Hoshii: But man, this series is so mysterious. The atmosphere of it, that is.

Jin: Ah...!

Suzuki: Hmmm...

Hoshii: I also feel that Director Shinbou’s direction matched it very well too.

Jin: Indeed, that’s right. Not even I thought it’d turn out like this.

Hoshii: Right?!

Suzuki: Yuuup.

Jin: Hum—Ah! Anyway...

Hoshii: Ah, it’s over!

Suzuki: The ending song...

Jin: The ending arrived in a blink of eye!

Hoshii: In a blink of eye!

Jin: We really couldn’t talk about the main story at all!

Suzuki: *laughs*

Hoshii: We did, a little.

Jin: At least till the part where Seto gets startled.

Hoshii: And leaves.

Jin: That’s right.

Hoshii: Aah, it’s going to end.

Jin: It is.

Hoshii: But there’s still more.

Jin: There’s still the C part.

Suzuki: There is, at the very end.

Hoshii: Speaking of the ending, LIA-san’s voice is so graceful that it heals you.

Jin: True.

Suzuki: Ah, that’s right.

Jin: The song is mine, by the way.

Hoshii: Ah!

Jin: I think I managed to create a good melody with it.

Hoshii: Yup! That’s right!

Suzuki: As expected!

Jin: But y’know, hum, we always cut right through the story every single time and arrive to this point.

Hoshii: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jin: So the image I have of this song is always like, “Eeeeh?!!”

Hoshii: Ah, I see.

Jin: It’s become a song that makes me go, “It’s already here???”

Suzuki: *laughs*

Jin: It’s unbelievable... So, we have reached the ending theme song of the episode once again. About the people who watch the series, I wonder how they do it. Do they listen to the audio commentary right after watching the episode?

Hoshii: Ah, but it might be like this, for example – when they buy the DVD, they first of all watch the series. I feel like that’s the majority.

Suzuki: Ooh...

Hoshii: Like, they watch the episodes on TV first.

Jin: That’s right. Maybe that’s it.

Suzuki: Yeah.

Hoshii: That’s probably it.

Jin: Indeed. Well, with that being said...

Hoshii: Yes?

Jin: Hum, if there’s anyone who’s going to watch the series once again after listening to this, we’re sorry for not elaborating on the contents of it!

Hoshii: Yeah!

Suzuki/Hoshii: *laugh*

Suzuki: Well, time has gradually come.

Hoshii: Yes.

Jin: Yes!

Suzuki: We’re going to be doing this over again, but please, do leave a message.

Jin: All right!

Suzuki: Could Hoshi-san go first?

Hoshii: Yeah! Eeeh, I’m happy to have participated in “Mekakucity Actors”! Eeeh, it really was a blink of eye, but as expected, I myself would like to get involved with Seto-kun even more.

Jin: Aaah...!

Hoshii: And with everyone else. I wanna get involved with them, so I’ll do my best. Jin-san, too, by all means, please take care of me from now on too.

Jin: Ah, thank you very much!

Hoshii: Everyone, thank you for your support!

Jin: Thank you so much!

Suzuki: Jin-san, you too.

Jin: Yes! Well, let’s see... Just like Hoshi-san said, I would like to have everyone gather up once again after this.

Hoshii: Yes.

Jin: If there comes a chance for it, I’d love to do it too.

Hoshii: Yes!

Jin: Is this really something we should be saying at this point in the game?!

Suzuki/Hoshii: *laugh*

Jin: But we already said it, so...

Suzuki: No problem, no problem.

Jin: ...I want to do my best till this opportunity arrives!

Hoshii: Yes!

Jin: So anyway, thank you very much.

Hoshii: Yes.

Suzuki: Thank you very much. And this C part also has a meaning to it.

Hoshii: That’s right!

Suzuki: If you keep it up – if you keep watching it like this, you should be able to tell.

Hoshii: At the beginning, I really didn’t get it, so I watched them all in sequence.

Jin: Ah, thank you very much.

Hoshii: It piques your interest, doesn’t it? When you don’t understand something.

Suzuki: I hope people will watch it over and over.

Jin: That’s right.

Hoshii: Yeah.

Jin: I want them to watch it lots of times and go, “I see, I see.”

Hoshii: Yep, exactly.

Suzuki: Well, that being said...

Hoshii: There’s lots of fired-up songs in it too.

Jin: Yes!

Hoshii: Waiting for everyone.

Jin: Please keep looking forward to what’s to come as well!

Hoshii: Yeeah!

Jin: Yes.

Suzuki: Thank you very much. Well, this has been the audio commentary of Act 05.

Everyone: Thank you very muuuch!

[spatio-rift]

His feelings for the team run deeper than anyone else’s!

Kurofes: Imayoshi | Wakamatsu | Sakurai | Susa

Wakamatsus kurofes pages (2!! wow!) now fully translated and put together all nicely!! because i love him and he deserves it!! using alisayamins scans again for the pages above!

Below the cut is the transcription + some notes and comments!! Hope you enjoy it!!💝

The short-tempered, hot-blooded, aggressive center!!

PROFILE ●Height: 193cm ●Weight: 85kg ●Birthday: April 16 (aries) ●Blood type: A ●Motto: Where there is a will, there is a way ●Favorite food: Yakisoba ●Hobby: Cycling ●Special skill: Chugging milk (i really do love that its specifically milk. He could just be good at chugging drinks but it has to be milk) ●Best school subject: Geography ●Committee: Disciplinary committee -> if youre curious about what they do like i was, according to a quick search, their main tasks seem to be checking uniforms, belongings and tardy students; acting as security during school festivals by patrolling the grounds; organizing bicycles every morning (checking if theyre in the right spot for each grade and class); giving traffic safety instructions at the crosswalk next to the school; greet students in the morning like the student council... theyre generally asked to act as role models to the students or to substitute for homeroom teachers so apparently theyre not very popular ●Family: Father, mother, younger brother ●Not good at: Getting along with Aomine ●Special skill (basketball): High post -> spin move ●Type of girls he likes: Slightly airheaded girls -> i dont know if 'airhead' would be the exact word, but when i looked up the term online i found an article calling these people similar to the exact kind of people imayoshis profile says hes not good with, so im using the same word (i think its absolutely hilarious). its apparently more like, someone who looks smart and reliable but is actually quite clumsy in reality. People who often make mistakes without any bad intentions and despite their best efforts. A little careless. ●How he spends his time off: Cycling ●Why he started playing basketball: On a gut feeling ●Player he has his eye on: Kiyoshi Teppei

This center supports the team's offense and defense with his strong body! He's a player full of youthful vigor who wears his emotions on his face.

A center combining speed and power! He's a player who can boast of both height and a strong body! The combination of speed and power makes him a formidable opponent who not only provides a stable defense for his team, but is also quick on the counterattack—his scoring ability is not to be underestimated!

Wakamatsu Kousuke’s memorable line: During the first round of the Winter Cup, he takes possession of the ball with a unique shout in a rebound battle against Seirin's Kiyoshi! His burning fighting spirit shines through his words!!

Fans’ favorite characteristic: He tends to rush forward recklessly, yet his simple character fires up those watching him! Although he can't see eye to eye with Aomine, he still gives his all for the sake of bringing victory to the team.

His feelings for the team run deeper than anyone else's His love for his team is strong, and he always pays attention to those around him. He is set to become the new captain after the 3rd years' retirement.

Power that rivals Kagami's! His reaction speed and strength under the hoop are top-class.

He hates Aomine... He can't stand Aomine's selfish behavior, but he acknowledges his skill when it comes to basketball.

A word from Fujimaki-sensei! You could say I like him the best out of everyone in Touou. I hope he can get along with Aomine. -> his comment in wakamatsus character bible entry was also like 'i like that hes simple. ah, but he really is noisy.' i love that hes loved by fujimaki haha

KUROtter!! I love him!!! (Mx. M, Kanagawa Prefecture) Doseeei!! I love passionate characters! (Mx. K, Akita Prefecture)

[tartagilicious]

different types of male characters

that we all thirst over regardless

you love at least one character that fits all these categories, don’t lie 😭

1. I would die for you

- 🥺 everyone has a soft spot for him if they don’t at least have a crush on him or an appreciation for him

- think men can be thoughtful or caring or reliable, but not all 3? well think again, because this guy’s all that and more. 

- still lowkey a kid at heart, and he loves to joke around or poke fun even if it’s not how he projects himself all the time

- in a relationship he tends to be the protecter, hence the title of this section. will literally do anything to keep the heroine and/or those around him safe. 

- is usually working towards some type of big goal. and I just?? he’s the sweetest boy?? ever?? give him a break.

examples: gavin (mlqc), shon (siren’s lament), hideyoshi (ikesen), stefan (tvd)

2. the boss™️

- always seems cold at the start, and is very intimidating. but, later it’s revealed that he’s a huge softie

- trusts the heroine a whole lot even if he won’t normally admit it

- ‘you wanna get to her you gotta get through me first’ kinda guy

- literally is so in love and it’s often funny to see the ways he deals with the changes that come with it

- it’s likely that the heroine is the first person they’ve ever romantically loved.

examples: victor (mlqc), lucifer (obey me!), jumin han (mysmes), kousuke (i love yoo)

3. he’s a joke, ok?

- probably has a tragic past (or at least something that screwed them over for a bit)

- either is really joking, flirty, easygoing or all three

- doesn’t open up to people because he’s afraid to hurt them, or of them leaving (really it’s situational)

- but if he does open up, he’s a completely different person! most likely a bit toned down and more affectionate.

- I always feel bad for these characters. protect that baby boy 

examples: arthur (ikevamp), saeyoung (mysmes), oikawa (haikyuu), devil no.4 (devil no.4)

4. dumbass

- not a himbo

- I mean the kind of person who knows that an idea is stupid, but does it anyway because it sounds fun 

- looking at him and the way he acts, you’d swear he’s a really simple minded person, but in situations where he needs to be serious…. get scared. he can be very sharp and even dangerous (again, depending on what he’s from)

- not the best at expressing his feelings, but he tries his goddamn best and it’s adorable

examples: natsu (fairy tail), fenrir (ikerev), mammon (obey me), syd (mayday memory)

5. I would slap you if I didn’t love you

- a cocky little shit. it’s his main personality point and he’s probably proud of it. he loves to tease the heroine a whole bunch.

- can probably know all of your secrets just by looking at you

- still, very considerate and even insecure at times

- the sweetest person ever. would do anything for those he cares about even if it doesn’t seem like it

examples: shaw (mlqc), mitsuhide (ikesen), atsumu (haikyuu), damon (tvd)