#cannot believe i put off reading this amazing manga

[dyinggirldied]

[blackstarchanx3new]

FSR Rambles magic 8 ball-

Here we go again, I feel the chemicals kicking in-

Ah, we've arrived at a scene I literally wanted since I read the manga so I might have some stuff to say. X'D Shadow introducing Vio to Vaati. Like I stated on the posts of these updates, it's heavily implied (And even outright stated in the German translation, thx AK for that info ^w^) Vio met with Vaati directly.

Also his "I can't believe I didn't notice..." line when fake Zelda turns out to be Vaati ALSO leads me to think he knew what Vaati looked like/has met him before....?

In English it's vague as hell but the Viz Translation has a few genuine flubs imo compared to what I've seen of other translations. (The German one seems super accurate from what I've heard? but that makes sense because it was directly translated from Japanese to German apparently. English gives off "interpretation not 1 to 1" vibes.)

Suffice to say: I've REALLY wanted to know how their interactions went down. X'D

Shadow feels he has some leverage with Vaati since TECHICALLY him and Vaati are equals? Even though Vaati bosses him around oof.

Because Creatures of darkness can sense fear, despite Vio putting on a blank face Shadow knows Vio's nervous and kinda tries to subdue it. (He cares aww)

He's really excited to get this out of the way so they can officially work together.

I figure he technically doesn't NEED Vaati's permission but is still getting it anyway: Because he doesn't wanna upset daddy lmfao.

Also the lines about Vaati being "Lazy" and using people: It comes up later

Vaati's entrance here was so fun to think of. Bro was napping or smth lmfao. Loved the idea of his weight being so huge it shoves giant gusts of wind as he rises.

The other 3 in FS seem surprised, I think it's supposed to be Green who shouts "SO THAT'S VAATI!?" during the fight. Already mentioned Vio's "I can't believe I didn't notice" rather than HORROR at the Eldridge monster they're about to take on??? X'D

Figured he got the terror out of the way when he MET Vaati. Because Vio is ya know, not experienced fighting DEMONS and virtually ALONE right now he is obviously shitting bricks at the sight of this huge floating eyeball demon lmao.

He also holds Shadow's hand cause it's cute and Shadow Link is the only person who could MAYBE protect him against Vaati.

I can't with eye contact so maybe I'm just a wuss but Vaati's design is so unnerving to me. X'D Also again: If you know my previous fandom work you know I love creepy/scary scenes. You'll notice I virtually always avoid making characters look AT YOU because I literally hate that so much in manga.

Especially in romance scenes I cannot stand eye contact, don't look at me look at your lover lmfao. So if a character in my comics is looking AT the audience: It's because it's meant to be uncomfortable.

Vio tries to dampen his own fears and Shadow not so casually tries to keep things smooth between them and Vaati. Talking about how great this is.

Vaati can see right through that shit though.

Vio tries to pass off his fear as just being nervous to meet someone so amazing lmfao. Stroke that ego Vio, Vaati's a sucker for that kind of thing.

Vaati wants a moment alone with the hero. X'D Shadow again is very adamant on Vio being on their side because he really thinks they are.

He in THEORY has just as much of a say as Vaati and has MORE of a say considering Vio's fate is up to him because Gannon put him in charge of that.

Which is hysterical considering he's like 14 to 15 here at minimum considering Link's old enough to drink in FSR and Link deals with the curse for 7 years tho their ages are really whatever in the flashbacks. Like the idea of Vaati and a 14 year old having the same amount of say on their evil plans is so damn funny to me lmao. Gannon thinks Vaati is as competent and useful as a literal child and that's HILARIOUS.

Vio is quick to realize Shadow's wording here and that SOMEONE is a bigger player. He assumes Gannon because that's the only name he has to go off of.

Something I noticed in the manga: Despite being Shadow's partner Shadow doesn't EXPLAIN a LOT to Vio. Vio has to ask him things lmao. I genuinely wonder if it's a trust issue thing or if it's a "he didn't ask so I didn't tell" thing. I had to be smart about this scene because Vio and Shadow don't bring up Gannon until like...WAY LATER in the timeline of them hanging out. I really try to take into consideration the timeline of the actual manga while writing in-between scenes. I'd love to do an entire rewrite of FS but I do not have the time or patience for that. X'D

Honestly the most annoying thing about writing in between scenes is just how WEIRD it is from like: a regular ass person perspective.

Like it's not natural to be like "Yeah lol Gannon, I'll wait to bring that up like a week after it was first relevant"

This is done a LOT in media. Lmao literally just experianced a scene like that in JJK volume 0. It's like for the audiences sake, always awkward and ALWAYS done for exposition, and it's ALWAYS weird from like: an actual person conversation side of things? Idk if I'm articulating this well lmao.

So Shadow was told to leave the room because Vio brings up Gannon to gain Vaati's trust and I needed a reason for Shadow and Vio not to bring up Gannon here because they do later in the manga.

But I thought it'd be clever if Vio brought up Ganon because: He's already gambling might as well use the fact he THINKS the bigger player is Ganon to his advantage.

Anyways: Shadow's still a bro and gives Vio some advice on dealing with Vaati.

The panel of Vaati's eyeball/body taking up the entire background behind Vio while he steels his mind miiiiiight have a very special place in my heart. UwU It's just so ominous.

I wanted to get across just how much of a threat Vaati is. Mans is TERRIFYING. He's also HUGE.

Vio's rightfully terrified of this thing. I really wanted to show the struggle Vio went through with this plan because it was A HUGE RISK. I feel kinda snuffed we didn't get to see Vio's struggles with this plan in the manga save a few panels of him looking guilty.

We were robbed by page restraints and I'll never forgive whoever only gave Akira 2 volumes for FSA for that, they did SO GOOD for what they had to work with though so don't think I'm dunking on them for this.

I also get the liberty of giving thought bubbles. Smth I noticed is the severe LACK of thought bubbles in FSA?

Also 1 on 1 convos but that's a whole other thing. Again, time and page restraints would be my assumed reason. Pacing in FSA was rushed so I can't really say "For pacing reasons" imo.

So we get to see inside Vio's head as he goes through this, he uses Shadow's assumptions about him here: "Admitting" he always had second thoughts and admired the darkness.

Vaati is obviously skeptical of this nonsense considering who Vio is.

Vio really hams it up.

Bringing up Gannon which surprises Vaati considering NONE of the heroes should even know about Gannon. He is purely there to distract them while Gannon gains power after all lmao.

The fact one of them KNOWS is not only surprising but kinda scary!

Vio continues to show his "faithfulness" by bowing and declaring his loyalty.

His words hit different for somebody who's been through the same shit as Vio's describing, as Vaati's eyes widen and his wings droop as Vio continues to describe how he would have been despised. If you don't know: Minish Cap manga explains Vaati worshipped the darkness and was a bit of an outcast.

Vio's mind is on one person only at this moment: Princess Zelda! :D

Vio cares about Zelda deeply as we'll continue to see through FSR.

I don't like to see it as romantic (Just because I think Vio is gay but that's a whole other thing), but he is DRAWN to her and wants to protect her no matter what, because well a LOT of reasons.

1. He's apart of Link. And this version of Link and Zelda are childhood friends and deeply care about each other. So just on a personal level he wants her to be alright

2. He's apart of the chosen hero destined forced to save hyryle.

3. I kind of like to think Zelda Gannon and Link have the Triforce in FSR at least, and it's drawn to itself. Side note: Would love for the Triforce to appear on Link/the four's hands at some point. Because I love that design motif on Links.

The moment of truth...Did his plan work? Everything is FUCKED if it didn't...

Vaati just silently stares at him as Vio dares to raise his head to meet Vaati's eye.

But Vio can't even tell if Vaati's looking at him in this moment with that thousand yard stare.

Rightfully: Vio is still shitting bricks.

Lol so that blurred word bubble is Vio stating "Lord Vaati?" but Vaati can't hear him lmao.

He's too busy wrapped up in remembering the time he grave robbed-

Jokes aside: You might have noticed smth a tad ODD about being able to see what Vaati was thinking in this moment. But this point is SO FAR from being relevant I'll just leave you to think about it.

If ya noticed it: You noticed. I'll bring it up when it's actually relevant. Which is a LONG time away.

Anyways also if you don't know: Master Elzo gives Link the hat Vaati used to be magical boy at the end of Minish Cap's manga. So Vaati's just stealing it back lmfao.

He is still a demon with magic regardless of the hat, the hat is just a symbol of his bad boy-ness.

Also the idea he "returned" to Minish Cap Link after the dude died was an idea I just could not leg go of.

I maybe have an idea for Minish Cap Link in FSR but I dunno if I'll end up going with it or WHERE. Stuff has changed in the script before so who knows.

Stealing some of Zelda's light force forever fucked Vaati's mind and body up.

You can kinda assume what went down but the general idea is Master Elzo is fucking dead and Vaati's on a downward spiral. Link is dead because the door between the Picori and the Hylians only opens every 100 years. Also the "Using people" line: Vaati often doesn't use his own striength but uses others to achieve his goals. Ya know like a coward. X'D

Nobody ever fully trusted or accepted Vaati after what he did in the events of the Minish Cap manga. Sooooo.

Bro turns back to the dark side.

That's the only thing I could think of after seeing he was "Good" at the end of Minish cap manga I was like "????????" after reading FSA first. X'D

Like did he just wake up one day and decide to be evil again lmfao.

The Zelda manga's reference themselves so I'm under the impression they're all SOMEWHAT connected. SO like- WHAT'S VAATI'S DEAL???

Presumably after this he went on to do the events in the story told at the start of the FS Manga: where he fights the first incarnation of the four hero.

Which holy shit I'd also like to dive into buuuuut mmghhh- It's wild to me OUR Link from FS manga is the SECOND bitch to do this. Like MMHH So interesting to me...

Insanity aside this is my explanation for "Good" Vaati. He just reverted. Like a lot of people would under that scenario.

Lol looking at the same face he did years ago. That must be weird.

Vaati kinda felt a kin-ship with the purple hero cause...YOU KNOW. EVERYTHING I STATED BEFORE THIS. XD

He's a Link-

He's caught off guard by all this so is just kinda like "Oh...Yeah sure you're a part of the team yeah... Yeah...Whatever" Vio broke Vaati by appealing to his trauma lmao.

Shadow spying on if Vio's okay is very funny to me. Dude's worried about his new friend.

Shadow nervously walking up to Vaati after being caught spying is very funny to me. Bro was just keeping an eye on his new Boyfriend. UwU

Vaati asks for Vio's unput well: Because he was on the Four Hero team at one point lol. If he IS evil getting his opinion is a good route to take.

Which he doesn't fully believe considering he's still sus of Vio but doesn't feel like arguing with Shadow, who is the equivalent to his boss's entitled bratty kid.

Vio of course gets leverage to go to Death Mountain, because he's holding onto the idea he MIGHT be able to regroup.

Vaati's still distracted as fuck from the state of his expression. X'D Like he's kinda just, repeating himself/out of it.

Shadow's just like "Yeah yeah shut up we're great yeah yeah It's fine it's fine"

Shadow takes a moment to just walk ever so casually away from Vaati getting enough distance before showing how happy/excited he is.

I just like drawing Shadow trying to touch Vio in some way he's so starved for attention and positive interaction. Not having a bad word to breathe about Vio before the betrayal was always funny to me from the manga. He just admires this boy so much.

Like, I like showing off that "He's not really EVIL" side of Shadow link half the fandom seems to DESPISE.

Cry harder we sympathize with Shadow Link in this house. UwU

Vio's cracking under the welcoming nature a little by making a jokes, and even thinks "Man I used to be scared of this dude"

Shadow is just a little guy in love and I like that about him moving on-

Vio laughs at his dumb joke and Shadow's like "Finally you're not a tense weirdo" X'D

Vio's coping hard lmao.

He's still just a kid during these events so it's HARD to deal with what's going on. I wanted to write him getting his cracking through because how normal he acts in the events of the manga leads me to think he steeled himself overtime.

Laughing his ass off before going into a state of pure raw emotion of "Holy shit I could have just died" comes off as jarring and unnerving.

Shadow can tell SOMETHING's wrong but guesses the cause wrong.

Shadow assumes Vio's having a difficulty with the heat.

This goes off of TOTK/BOTW logic where sapphires ward off heat because I think that's awesome.

If I were rewrighting FSA I'd have him give Vio a different outfit or smth like that.

I DO love the sapphire specifically though because um: Anyone remember what the Zora Sapphire was in OOT?

Lmao an engagement ring- X'DDDD

From that one frame of Blue yanking out his hammer from his hat we know they store shit in there. Freakin' Link From the LOZ cartoon has a magic bag that shrinks his shit and I find that hysterical. I like to think Link's hat works similarly.

Vio's blushing and not unsubtle heart skipping is so funny to me.

If the fact Vio kissed Shadow first didn't already get ya:

Vio's in love with Shadow Link too lmao.

[mtdthoughts]

Migi & Dali Episode 7 Retrospective Reaction

Hello again! As part of commemorating the one-year anniversary of the anime, I'm doing a rewatch and providing my (unorganized) thoughts and reactions.

This time, I'm doing Episode 7! As always, I'll be keeping timestamps in case you want to watch along while reading, and be prepared for another long post below of unorganized thoughts, and of course spoilers...

[00:00] First, the twins sit in the tent and discuss their plans some time after their stay in the Ichijo house. This scene was not in the manga, but I think it's helpful for the viewers.

To me, one of the biggest questions of the story is: Why did Dali decide to remove Migi from the investigation of Eiji? Obviously, the twins work better as a team, so there must be a reason Dali decided to work alone. My theory is that Dali now saw the mission as too dangerous for Migi. Because Migi is not as smart and is very sensitive when it comes to Metry, Dali likely thinks that involving Migi carries a significant risk. This fear is warranted, as Migi has gotten hurt several times physically and emotionally throughout the story. As a result, Dali takes on the mission by himself, believing that it's for Migi's sake. To me, this idea is especially clear when Dali says, "Wait for me, Migi" (「ミギ、待っていろ」) as he clutches the dolphin pendant.

Meanwhile, Migi is clearly unhappy about being sidelined, though he's unaware of Dali's intentions. Although much of the work has been difficult, Migi always puts in 120% effort because he has always viewed himself and Dali as one. Thus, he's uncomfortable with Dali apparently pushing him away.

This is also the first time that Dali's theme (少年・ダリ) plays, signaling that the show is about to head in a darker direction as the twins nearly arrive at the truth of their mother's death. It plays several times throughout this episode, which makes sense since Migi has basically been sidelined from the story in this episode.

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[02:36] Next, Eiji has lunch at school. Note that in the manga, the students have different uniforms to reflect the change in seasons.

It's funny how the girls pretend to be uninterested in hearing about Eiji's type only after Eiji chastises the boys.

I feel sorry for Eiji, vomiting in the toilet without knowing why. The way he tries to compose himself is similar to Dali in Episode 8. I'll talk about it again next time.

I really like how Murase-san delivers the line "Stinky stew". Also, it's amazing how great Dali is at acting like a bad girl.

It's funny how Eiji goes back to the toilet to flush before running after Dali.

Imagine what would happen if Eiji had actually pulled off Dali's wig. Ironically, I think that the story would have ended less violently.

You can tell how panicked Eiji is as he immediately offers hush money. Sure, Eiji can deny any allegation about vomiting in the toilet and most people would probably side with him, but there's definitely a risk of tarnishing Eiji and his family's reputation. Eiji cannot is happen, so he's willing to do anything to buy Sally's silence.

Seriously, where did Dali learn these moves? Books?

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[04:54] Next, Eiji shows Sally his childhood photos. Note that in Chapter 26 of the manga, this scene takes place in the library (Migi and Sally's "paradise"), where there was a close encounter with Migi and Akiyama.

It's quite amusing seeing the smart boy Eiji getting manipulated easily by Dali. When Eiji says "I'm not an animal", it reminds me of Migi's sassiness. Dali has so much experience being a big brother that this kind of teasing is as natural as breathing to him. (But Eiji is actually his brother…)

Eiji must be wondering why this mysterious girl is so interested in his past…

Dali's line about Santa is so sad. You can tell how disturbed Dali was by that question as his real voice partially slips out. After all, Eiji, the prime murder suspect, lived a perfect life in Origon Village without any apparent hardships, unlike the twins. It's no wonder that Eiji's question would anger Dali!

It's interesting how Eiji was being fussy and thought "It's not fair" as he couldn't get any information about Sally. Did he think that he was behaving a bit too childishly? Perhaps he finds it strange that he's so curious about this mysterious girl.

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[06:54] Next, Eiji looks for Sally.

It's interesting that he never mentioned the color of Sally's eyes…

It's funny seeing all the girls fight for Eiji's attention.

Unfortunately, much of Chapter 26 was skipped, so we don't really get to see WHY Eiji fell in love with Sally, which I think is pretty important. Of course, Sally has good looks, but more importantly, the way that Sally approached Eiji was crucial. To Eiji, Sally is a formidable girl who could ruin his reputation, but also for some reason took an interest in him and his childhood. Unlike all the other girls at school, Sally is not in love with him, but rather seems to have contempt for him. Furthermore, Sally is independent, possesses a strong will, and seems to have suffered a tough past. Sally seems to be the only "real" person to Eiji, which might explain why he's drawn to her. Also, the fact that Sally knows his secret might bring him closer to her. In the manga, Eiji sees Sally's genuine smile, a stark contrast to Sally's usual cold image, seemed to be the moment that Eiji knew he was in love.

I think that in some ways, Sally reminds Eiji of Reiko. Since he wanted to become a psychologist to help Reiko, I think that perhaps he wanted to help Sally, who seems to be distressed deep down. And of course, with Sally's good looks and smile, that ensured that Eiji fell in love.

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[07:09] Next, Migi is sulking in the classroom.

Migi is no longer in the mood to commit to the act of being Hitori-kun.

In the anime, this is the first and only time we get to see the twins' teacher!

I like how Akiyama gives Migi a piggyback ride with no hesitation, even with other students staring at them!

Migi's sulking is reminiscent of Episode 3, which shows that he does not like being pushed away aby Dali. He firmly believes that he and Dali are supposed to do everything together. Of course, he's unaware of Dali's intentions.

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[07:41] Next, Migi tells Dali that Sally has returned.

I wish the anime adapted the full scene from the manga, where Dali is frantically looking for the pendant he dropped, and Migi leaps at Dali for a hug. I wish someone could draw that in the anime style…

It's so sweet how the first thing Migi does when he gets home is to hug his precious older brother.

It's interesting how Migi isn't suspicious of Dali's obvious lie, which shows how Migi has absolute faith in Dali's word.

Now that I think about it, the twins' hug is pretty symbolic of the events in this episode. Migi just wants to be together with Dali, though Dali pushes him away and lies to him (albeit with good intentions).

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[08:16] Next, Detective Migi searches for Sally.

Once again, Migi is using his real voice in front of Akiyama. Perhaps this shows how Migi already trusts him!

Still, it's pretty cold to just tell Akiyama to go away.

Don't laugh at your brother's drawing skills, Dali!

What is that string telephone for?

It's cute seeing Migi getting pouty at Akiyama.

I will never understand how Migi draws things… I'm indeed a "commoner"

It's pretty interesting that Migi's drawing of himself looks like Dali. It's probably because he looks into a mirror while drawing himself. Maybe this shows how he tries to see himself and Dali as the same.

Akiyama is very talented at drawing! He's probably better suited to being an artist than Migi

Migi, don't kiss the picture! That's your brother!

It's wholesome how Akiyama is happy to be given such a lukewarm compliment.

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[10:12] Next, Migi confronts Eiji and Sally in the classroom.

It's nice how Migi is considerate towards Akiyama.

By this point, Eiji has already fallen for Sally. He blushes, and doesn't hesitate to answer Sally's question about his past.

Given what Eiji is going through, it seems understandable that he considers his infatuation with Sally (i.e. "sweetness") to be "unnecessary feelings". Nonetheless, it is this warmth and sweetness that provides him relief from all the stress in his life.

Dali almost called out Migi's name with his real voice… I suppose that's what he gets for laughing at Migi's art!

Migi probably has the idea that Eiji will kidnap her and force her to do "education from scratch", so it makes sense that he calls Eiji "dangerous".

Just like in Episode 5, Migi now uses his real voice to talk to Eiji, which is so much different from his sweet voice when talking to Sally.

Once again, Dali is faced with a tough decision, and you can really see the panic on his face. In the end, he picks the choice that he thinks will hurt Migi in the short term but will benefit him in the long run. Of course, it brings Dali no pleasure to break poor Migi's heart…

Also, Eiji's surprised reaction is adorable.

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[11:46] Next, Dali goes to Eiji's house while dressed as Sally.

In the manga, the Ichijos are shown leaving for a concert which includes Eiji's favorite symphony. In my opinion, it's not a very important scene, but it shows how much Eiji likes Sally given how he's willing to lie to Reiko.

It's funny how Eiji wants to make sure his room is perfect for when his crush arrives.

I bet Dali was thrilled to hear that Reiko wasn't home.

Once again, Dali says "Wait for me, Migi" (「ミギ、待っていろ」) as Dali's theme plays.

Dali's voice sounds so soothing while he's doing hypnosis.

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[12:53] Next, poor Migi cries at home.

I wonder if Migi knows where Dali is. He might know that Dali is busy investigating Eiji. Otherwise, he might be worried why Dali isn't comforting him in his time of need.

But then again, wouldn't Migi find the timing (Sally's date with Eiji) a bit suspicious? Well, he's probably in no mood to think.

Anyway, the Sonoyamas comfort Migi in Dali's place.

It's funny how both Osamu and Migi recoil when Youko has a bottle of alcohol.

I'm not sure if I agree with Youko's advice. Anyway, cheers!

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[13:32] Next, Dali attempts to get Eiji onto the bed, which is undoubtedly the funniest scene in the episode and perhaps the whole story.

It's funny how Eiji seems to be oblivious of Sally's rather obvious advances.

What is a "guardian of time"?

Dali's right, how can anyone sleep with a bunch of creepy dolls? The analogy to cults is rather interesting. Also, what happened to Nezu?

Seriously, where did Dali learn these moves?? I have a good feeling that he's been reading too many books, including those that are meant for adults. He also seems to have also practiced those techniques a lot! It's possible that Dali might have a bit of a perverse side to him…

I will never forget the image of Dali caressing Youko's huge bra! This seemingly dirty act definitely tainted Eiji's image of Sally.

Where did Eiji learn about romance and the word "baiser"? I think that Eiji might have read certain books as well… Dali and Eiji really are brothers!

Dali's reaction to learning what "baiser" means is hilarious, as well as his resistance to kiss Eiji.

Eiji's moaning while leaning in makes this scene even funnier and weirder.

And finally, the kiss between brothers! It's clear that for Migi's sake, Dali will do anything, even it means kissing the enemy he wants to kill. I suppose this can be considered a "kiss of death"…

Poor Eiji, if only he knew who he gave his first baiser to…

And once again, Dali says "Wait for me, Migi" (「ミギ、待っていろ」)

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[16:28] Next, Migi is still crying while Youko is passed out and snoring.

It's clear that Youko's advice didn't cure Migi's heartbreak.

Poor Migi, he's crying really hard… he really needs Dali's comfort.

Osamu offers great advice, but perhaps at the wrong time.

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[16:56] Next, Dali successfully hypnotizes Eiji before getting a surprise visit from Migi.

It's funny how easily Dali can lie about a fake lullaby. It would be terrifying if hypnosis worked like this in real life…

I'm impressed that Eiji knows about "molars" at the age of five.

It's interesting how Migi doesn't try to go inside the house but chooses to climb to Eiji's window. I wonder what he's thinking when he sees Sally next to a sleeping Eiji. Probably not much.

Migi's such a sweet, innocent boy. Through the precious dolphin pendant, Migi's feelings have clearly gotten through to Dali, which can be seen with Dali's face and his breathing.

It's funny how Migi's tone immediately changes when talking to Eiji.

Once again, the twins were very close to a "game over" if Dali hadn't caught Migi after Eiji pushed him. If something happened to Migi, Dali would lose his mind, and the story would end very unhappily…

Overcome with panic over Migi's safety, Dali's protective instincts take over as his real voice comes out.

Ah, I feel so bad for Migi. His world must have collapsed after finding out that Sally was Dali. Not knowing what to do, his instinct is to bite Dali and run away. It's kind of like what a dog might do…

Also, Migi's teeth seem to be crooked.

Although Dali's plan ended up causing a rift between him and Migi, you have to admit that it was very successful in awakening Eiji's memories.

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[19:36] Next is Eiji's flashback.

It seems that Reiko did not tell Eiji what Santa is supposed to look like.

Poor Metry. I'm sure she had good intentions, but her judgment was terrible…

Reiko sure is a terrible woman for lying to Eiji about Metry. Because she told him that Metry was a ghost, Eiji thinks that he had a close encounter with an otherworldly being, which I'm sure gave him much trauma as well as his bedwetting problems.

Since Eiji has only just remembered this memory, it's very likely that Reiko might have suppressed his memories, perhaps using "education from scratch". After all, Akira was never aware of Eiji's bedwetting. This family really is scary…

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[21:07] Next, Dali runs home after learning Eiji's memories.

It's interesting that Dali is eager to tell Migi his discoveries, and doesn't seem to realize that Migi finally saw through his ruse. I suppose Dali is too focused on his mission. He even changes his clothes in lightning speed!

I wonder, did Dali ever think about WHY Metry was at Eiji's window? Without any other information, it would seem strange to anyone that this woman would leave her children unattended to climb onto the second floor window of the Ichijos' house. Of course, we the viewers know the exact reason, but Dali doesn't. He would have no other choice but to speculate, and considering that he likely assumes that Metry was Akira' mistress, he might not have a positive image of her.

But this doesn't matter now, as Dali is gradually being consumed by thoughts of revenge against Eiji.

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[23:04] Finally, in the post-credit scene Migi coldly exposes Dali's lie.

It's interesting that this scene takes place during twilight. I wonder if this is a reference to the opening song…

I'm impressed that Migi seemed to have outsmarted Dali with the bite on his hand. For some reason, I'd like to see more of Migi's cold gaze and hear more of his resentful voice…

It must have taken a while for Eiji to reveal his memory to Dali, which means that Migi must have been sitting by the window and stewing in negative emotions for a long time.

Unlike being heartbroken by Sally, being deceived by Dali hurt Migi much more. After all, for a long time Migi admired Dali, trusted him, and relied on him for emotional support. To be deceived by someone you perceived as your "other half" feels like a complete betrayal, as if taking a knife to the heart! (← interesting choice of metaphor)

Migi has always obeyed Dali since he truly believed that Dali was acting in his best interest, but now that faith has been broken. In this moment, Migi might be thinking that Dali never really cared about him and was instead using him like a tool. It wouldn't be surprised if Migi thought this way since the twins lived their lives in Origon Village by deceiving others. This can be seen by how Migi addresses Dali using "omae" for the first time in the story.

Now, the twins' special bond is broken, as symbolized by the dolphin pendant…

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[Conclusion] In Episode 7, Dali confirmed that Eiji really did kill Metry, though at this point, there is still a lot of missing information, especially the reason why Metry returned to the Ichijo house.

Furthermore, the deep-rooted problems in the twins' relationship that were foreshadowed in earlier parts of the story finally rose to the surface, culminating in the collapse of the twins' bond.

Despite the fact that Migi and Dali were together their whole lives, there was ironically a communication barrier between them. Dali wants to protect Migi at all costs, even if it means deceiving Migi, while Migi wants to do his best to make Dali happy, even it means complying with Dali's seemingly unreasonable orders. The twins love each other, but they don't truly know what the other is thinking deep down. As a result of Dali's decisions, Migi felt hurt and betrayed, causing him to lose faith in his older brother whom he once relied on.

Indeed, the twins believed they understood each other, but they were sadly mistaken.

This episode also explored the triplets' personalities as described earlier, especially Dali's. You can really tell that Episode 7 is Dali's episode, since his soundtrack (少年・ダリ) plays multiple times throughout the episode, and the words "Wait for me, Migi" (「ミギ、待っていろ」) resonate in my mind. Although Dali is willing to resort to any means to obtain revenge, you can really tell that Migi is at the center of Dali's mind. After all, he's willing to kiss his enemy if it's for Migi's sake!

Finally, Migi and Eiji's interactions with Sally reveal some similarities between them (they're brothers after all!). For example, Sally served as a distraction from their problems, with Migi pouting after being sidelined in the investigation, and with Eiji suffering from his repressed trauma. Furthermore, I think that Sally also reminds them of their mothers, as Sally has Metry's blue eyes, and also carries a hidden suffering like Reiko. This makes sense since it is commonly said that boys fall in love with girls that remind them of their mother.

That's all I had for now, and I hope to do this again soon for Episode 8~

[shiny-jr]

Hello! I’m the one who mentioned following you since Buttons, and I’m glad to see some people giving you compliments on such an amazing story!!

I just wanted to say, thank God someone else hates the Shogun!!! It pissed me off so much when they tried to play it off as, “No, Ei and the Shogun are separate, and the Shogun was really the one to blame all along.” As if Ei wasn’t the one who set things in motion and then neglected all of Inazuma?! I felt like I was being gaslit SO hard over this, especially since she’s so popular. As a massive fan of Kazuha, it really degrades all the trauma he went through for us to just casually forgive Ei.

I really feel like she should have faced much more dire consequences. For the Archon of a land to actively hurt citizens by stripping away their Visions (which was shown to have devastating physical and psychological effects), allow war to flourish, and say she doesn’t care about her people as long as her selfish ideals are fulfilled? That’s abuse on so many levels, especially because she knows the amount of devotion people have towards her. After Venti and Zhongli went out of their way to show how they care for their people, it left such a bad taste in my mouth.

Sorry for the rant, but thanks for making me feel sane again! I’m surrounded by Ei simps in my friend group, lol

PERIOD. Read this during a break but I only just now am getting a change to respond.

Okay, first off, thank you for reading my works! Younger me would be screaming if they found out that people still know me for that silly button man story I wrote two years ago. Very happy, thank you!

Secondly, go off, my liege. The booba cannot excuse the crimes. Okay, let's put it like this, even if it was all the fault of the Shogun and not Ei, Ei made the Shogun knowing fully well that it would be in control of everything from how situations are handled, to how people are ruled, to what laws are made. She instilled the Shogun, so it is technically still Ei's fault if you want to try placing all the blame on the Shogun. You're right, Ei literally neglected her nation and placed a puppet in charge, just to meditate and stay preserved in her sword. All because she didn't want things to change, she wanted eternity. But, let's be honest, Kazuha is way better. Not only does he actually have a good story and is a good character, but he's not perfect. I believe in one of his voice lines, he says he cannot forgive Ei but he tries to no longer hold resentment towards her. Short king.

Again, I agree, I think she should've faced consequences too! But let's be honest, who's going to punish a god? I hate when people have the gall to compare her to Venti and Zhongli, and say "well they were bad gods too!" No, let's talk about it. I will say that all three of them are flawed in some way, shape, or form, but Raiden is much worse than the previous two. We all know what Raiden did, so let's talk Venti first.

Venti is carefree and shirks from his duties sometimes, but when he's truly desperately needed, he pulls through. His belief is that his nation should have freedom, that means he has no command over them. Freedom is his main theme. It fits with how he tends to avoid responsibilities. But like I just said, when he is really really needed, he shows. Like in the manga, he appears to help free Mondstadt from the tyrannical rule of the nobles. Then in the main quest, he helps calm Dvalin when the dragon is wrecking havoc. Venti may shirk his duties, but he remains there for his nation should they need him.

Zhongli is a peculiar case. I found his take on the situation with Liyue very interesting. He had ruled for so long that he figured he was done, there was nothing left for him to offer to his nation. So that's why he fakes his death, and remains among the people as a human. Then when Childe resurrects Osial, Zhongli sees this as an opportunity to test the strength of the nation he had fostered. More importantly, didn't Zhongli state afterwards, that if he saw Liyue was not strong enough to defend itself from the attack, he would've come back to its defense? Like they said in the dialogue, him leaving Liyue was much like a parent leaving their child once they were old enough to fend for themselves. And don't forget, he's much older, and part of the reason he may have done what he did was because when he truly dies, he'll pass on in peace knowing his nation will thrive without him.

[lilover131]

Clear Card Chapter 63 Analysis

AHHHHHHHH!!!!

 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Sorry, I had to get that out of my system first before I talk about this chapter. The second I saw that Syaoran and Sakura were not just on the cover of the Nakayoshi (the first time ever!) but also the color page, I knew we were about to get an exciting chapter!

 Without further ado, let’s jump into it! Under the cut due to length and spoilers!

The color page is SO beautiful. I always love any pages that have SyaoSaku on it, but this one is incredibly symbolic in several ways. The first thing to point out is of course the outfits. Sakura’s has star symbols on it, which show her power of the stars, and Syaoran’s has moons to symbolize his moon magic. The blue and purple colors compliment each other very well, but I especially love the gentle touching of their hands. Since they cannot touch right now, it’s been a while since we’ve actually seen this. It’s nice to see it, even if it is only in a color page. They are also standing beside a bare tree, but they are surrounded by orbs of light in the darkness. This is a rather similar looking image to a previous color page with Kaito (I recognized this as well, but Cinzia pointed it out first and brought up good points), who was entangled by the tree and holding only a single orb of light in his hands while surrounded by glass shards. I believe this is symbolism to how their love lights the darkness, whereas with Kaito he is afraid to not just be loved but to love himself as well.

 The chapter starts with Fujitaka entering the school and looking rather worried. Touya reminds him that they are headed to the right place and he does not need to be nervous as he has checked many many times already. Fujitaka is so precious here wanting so desperately to make sure he doesn’t miss a moment. Touya reassures him again that they’ve got Yukito on filming duty, so he will for sure not miss a moment. Fujitaka is grateful but still seems to be worried about what will happen if his camera fails, thinking about every possible thing that could go wrong. Fortunately for him, Sonomi is ready to go with several professional grade cameras manned by her security detail, and this is such a nice callback to the second movie!!

 Fujitaka and Sonomi both express how excited they are to see the play, and Nakuru comments on how amusing the both of them are. They follow the signs leading to the play, which I think has an adorable reference to Alice in Wonderland like the little signs that would say ‘Drink Me’ or ‘Eat Me’. Hehe. When they finally reach the destination, they are lead to the courtyard that Syaoran and Kaito had their epic battle on Parents day! But this time, the courtyard looks completely different with dangling banners, lights, and lovely flowing curtains around the stage. It obviously took a lot of work to set all this up, and while everyone shows their amazement at how beautiful it looks, one of the teachers states that the students put all of It together themselves. The teachers adorably talk about how hard everyone worked and that they are doing their best to show everyone around, but can we please talk about how fucking MIKE FROM PORTLAND SHOWED UP?!!!

I didn’t even see him the first time I read this, but @meimi-haneoka​ pointed out that he was there, and holy shit she’s right! Mike from Portland (the English teacher from the first episode of the Clear Card anime) has finally shown his face in the manga, and right before the climax no less! Maybe the jokes about how Mike from Portland is the true enemy is actually to be taken seriously? Lol, just kidding. Nonetheless, it’s incredibly amusing.

 The play begins rather quickly once the setting is introduced, and it starts off with Yamazaki playing the piano and Tomoyo singing! <3

 The lyrics of the song are finally being heard for the first time, and it’s such a sweet song! Reminding Alice that she is unique and special and to never forget who she is! Tomoyo starts things off with the first line, saying good morning to Alice, and Sakura wakes from her slumber on the big fluffy bed (that looks quite a lot like her own bed!). The story starts off like we have heard before of Alice being in a world very close to our own yet very far away and how she could sometimes dream of the future.

 The black cat appears in the bed, or rather a prop being controlled by a mysterious person who just was hiding away under the covers of the bed. Lmao. Sakura carries the cat off stage and makes a quick costume change. The dress is really cute, but I honestly had hoped for something a bit more glamorous? This does not appear to be the final battle outfit though, as CLAMP teased us with the sleeve of what Sakura will wear when she meets the cloaked figure back in chapter 61.

 While Sakura talks to her ‘parents’ in the play, the stagehands shine a logo and title of the play on the curtains and it appears that Naoko has made a last minute change to the title. Now, instead of “The Twin Alices”, she has changed it to “Alice in Clockland”, just like Akiho’s book! This is very surprising, and I’m not the only one who was surprised it seems. Momo and Kaito are watching from the rooftops, and Momo asks if Kaito had anything to do with the title change. He states that it was purely a coincidence and had nothing to do with him, but in classic CLAMP style, it is mentioned that there is no such thing as coincidence; only inevitability (hitsuzen!).

 It's important to note here that the outfit Kaito is wearing has a dragon design on the bottom of it, which looks very similar to the border used on the storybook style backstory shown for him before. I’m not sure if this will be the last outfit we will see him in, but it does seem to further emphasize the importance of what is about to happen.

Kaito states it is time for Alice to arrive in Clockland, and while Sakura is chasing after the black cat, there is a big whoosh of the curtains, which seem to be black now, whereas they were white before. It is very subtle, but I think here, magic is being used to actually transport her to Clockland. 

Sakura is now in a new costume that is absolutely ADORABLE, and she asks where she is.  This outfit also does not appear to be the final battle outfit, but there is a little clock-bolt brooch on her big bow that resembles the one on Momo’s ring crown, so it seems to be possibly reflective of her truly being in Clockland. The setting still look like that of a stage for a play, and a wall with a moon on it opens up to reveal….SYAORAN?  A BLACK CAT SYAORAN?!!!

I was completely stunned to see this for a few different reasons. The first one is because Syaoran is not supposed to be on stage, and his outfit and demeanor seem so different from what I recognize Syaoran to be like. Because of this alone and the big whooshes before, I am 99.9% sure this is not actually Syaoran and is a magically created version of him either by Kaito or Clockland. I am absolutely intrigued to see where this goes and why in particular Syaoran’s form is being shown here. I understand some of you may think that this is still part of the play and that Naoko managed to badger him into taking an actual role on the stage, but I really really doubt it.  I feel like Syaoran would be incredibly embarrassed acting this out with his legs crossed and seeing so much more casual than usual, but who knows? Maybe he’s a much better actor than anyone realized. Hahahaa!

 The second reason I’m surprised here is because in late March on 2017, I had a dream that the CCS group was planning a school play and that Tomoyo was making the outfits (of course). I don’t remember how anyone else was dressed, but I specifically remember seeing Syaoran looking a lot like Ciel Phantomhive with the boots, stockings, shorts, and a eye patch over his right eye. And I gotta say…this outfit looks damn close to a Ciel Phantomhive outfit. He’s not wearing an eyepatch here like in my dream, but he is wearing a monocle over the same right eye (because of fucking course it’s the right eye), so I’m considering this another extremely weird dream coming to reality situation. STAY OUT OF MY DREAMS CLAMP, THIS IS GETTING WEIRD.

 The chapter ends on that whopper of a cliffhanger, and I’m so so so stoked for the next chapter. I want to know who this is that shares Syaoran’s form. Is it MIRROR being used by Kaito? Is it someone else entirely who looks like him or has stolen his appearance? Or is it actually Syaoran and I’m totally overthinking things?  I guess we’ll find out! But I can’t wait to see where this goes and how Sakura interacts with this black cat Syaoran!! I imagine she’s going to be very confused and continue to interact with him like she’s still in the play, wondering why Syaoran is on stage, until she eventually realizes she’s not on the stage anymore. 

We’ll just have to wait to find out! See you all next month! 

[polandspringz]

Thoughts on “No Longer Human”

So, like every other BSD fan right now, I went out and bought No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai in order to better understand the way he is written as a character in BSD and also just because I’ve always wanted to dive into Japanese literature. Since senior year of high school, I have been changed from reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (not because of BSD but for class) and so I was very excited to delve into another classic novel with similar themes.

And I was not disappointed.

In short, No Longer Human reads as a sad tale about a man who feels so ostracized by society, and is ostracized by said society, that he is drawn to such terrible fates. While reading, it is not lost on me the similarities between the main character, Yozo, and Osamu Dazai’s own life. By looking at the time period the novel was set in and the way Yozo acts, while I cannot draw any conclusions on the author himself, the novel captures the life of a man who is undoubtedly (at least to me) neuro-divergent and unfortunately is so during 1930s Japan. Therefore, he is extremely misunderstood, lacking in social skills and desperate to truly connect with others. Because he fails to ever feel “human” he finds the only way he can get attention, or connect to others, is by making them laugh. It’s not my place to say that definitively that Yozo can be read as an autistic character, however I would understand if someone identified traits in him that matched. Ultimately I believe that Yozo was neuro-divergent from birth, and coupled with the assault he suffered at a young age, he was extremely traumatized which with no support from anyone around him, led him down a destructive path. You watch as he goes through manic episodes of highs and lows, seeks out connection through sex, attempts suicide multiple times, and eventually falls into alcoholism and drug addiction before being sentenced to live in a mental hospital. The saddest parts of the book are undoubtedly in the ending, for when Yozo finally opens up and feels like he can trust two people in his life enough that he might just be human, they trick him into bringing him to a mental hospital where he definitively feels in his soul that he is “disqualified as a human being”, forever branded as different and discarded from society even when he is released from the institution. Although Yozo partakes in sexual activity and affairs frequently throughout the book, the true turning point of his downfall is likely when he witnesses his wife being assaulted, as it might have triggered a flashback of his own assault as a child (although not explicitly stated in the book, his reaction to it and the stress it causes him is enough of an example of PTSD for me to believe this).

Perhaps the only part of the book where I felt I could relax and enjoy it, not falling into the despair of the narrative was the short conversation regarding Crime and Punishment itself. The translator notes talked about Dazai’s writing being closest to Dostoevsky, so I was already thinking of how the author of BSD had used that idea in making Dazai and Fyodor interact frequently, but it was even more solidified by Yozo himself talking about the book (like how they also bring up Natsume Soseki’s works as well). I don’t want to sound like I am only interested in reading the Japanese classics because of “some anime”, but rather I am constantly amazed and impressed by the level of detail and research the BSD author must put in to make the characters accurate to the people and works they are referencing. Sure, one can watch BSD and enjoy it simply for it being an anime that is fun and action oriented with interesting characters, as I once did when I first watched it, but it is equally enjoyable and opens up new avenues of thought to understand how the pieces fit together. (I am not caught up in the manga at all but I loved theorizing about Fyodor and his powers back when he was introduced in the anime). To cap off my thoughts on No Longer Human, I just wanted to say that after reading it and finally seeing inside Osamu Dazai’s head, I don’t think there is a scene in BSD that captures the true sadness of this novel except for in BSD Wan. That fireworks scene and Dazai’s lines delivered in that ending scene was the closest to the feeling of depression and lowness that I felt throughout the novel, and it’s probably because all the “goofy” endearing character trait aspect of Dazai’s goal of suicide are stripped away and shown for what it really is. Suicide.

[meeko-mar]

Can I just compare Bakudeku to Korrasami for just a moment

Not as in, their relationship, but in terms of fandom experience, perception and how it became Canon.

So, some years ago, LOK was on it's 4th and final season. So of course, shipping discourse was high. Who would Korra end up with? Would she end up single, be back with Mako?

Or....there was a big calling for the couple Korrasami, that is, Korra and her female friend Asami, to get together.

Now, up until the point of the finale, (and grant that I haven't watched in a while so I'm speaking in an overall sense and recalling my experience) Asami and Korra had been teaming up more and more. Korra had been really, badly, injured in the last season, leading to her isolating herself in the SWT for about 2 or 3 years to heal with Katara, and upon heading back to Empire City, she takes an abrupt turn to spend more time isolated and on a sort of spirit journey in the wild because she didn't feel ready to face her destiny and her friends and was suffering from PTSD. She later returns to EC, and to Asami, and they are close together for the season.

This all caught the attention of the Korrasami shippers who had, at the time, kind of only been casually shipping them because, hey, wouldn't it be nice? and they were slowly and steadily getting more crumbs, and the ship gathered momentum as the seasons progressed.

But lo and behold, everyone else was saying such things as:

"they're a female/female ship, it will never happen, even if you want it to" (even shippers of Korrasami were resigned to this because the precedent in youth animation in western cartoons at the time, was of course, not inclusive of same sex couplings).

We SAW the subtle development between the two and DARED to hope and dream that it might one day become canon, even though we thought it unlikely because of the trend towards heteronormativity. We saw their interactions and toiled over if they were trying to hint at something more between them.

"They're just friends. You're reading into it"

Because the "just friends" behavior of Korrasami in later seasons were:

-Asami being deeply supportive of Korra when she was injured (and for a time, disabled) Like, literally, getting on a knee, putting her hand into Korra's and saying "I'm here for you, for ANYTHING you need" kind of supportive, even offering to COME to the SWT with her. (Korra sacrificed her desire to have Asami close because she didn't want Asami to drop her duties as basically a CEO to tend to her)

-Korra receiving letters from all of her friends during her healing period, but ONLY responding, in a very beautiful letter, to Asami's.

-Korra honestly apologizing for being gone so long without writing more than one letter or sharing more of what was going on or where she went

-Asami complimenting Korra's new hair and Korra BLUSHING and looking SO charmed(and returning the compliment of how amazing Asami always looks) --there is no hetero explanation for this.

-being battle partners and constantly having each other's backs

-Asami protecting Korra from pursuing enemies while she's in the Spirit World(leaving her physical body vulnerable)

-other characters in their circles being literally like "What's going on with you two??"

-Culminating in the final episode after the final battle with Asami breaking down, confessing that she wouldn't know what she had done if she had lost Korra in that final battle(she'd even lost her father the same day) AND THEN Korra comforting her and suggesting that they, the two of them, alone, take a trip together, to get away from it all for a bit.

-It ends, when They literally walk into the spirit world portal holding hands and staring lovingly into each other's eyes as the camera pans from them into the spirit portal

Which, LET ME TELL YOU, watching this when it first premiered, for the first time, WAS AN ALMOST TRANSCENDENT EXPERIENCE. It was a soft scene, emotional, beautifully animated, and the MUSIC just hit you right in the heart. Like, they didn't even kiss to really hammer it in that THEY ARE IN LOVE, however, it was an EMOTIONAL PAYOFF and there was NO arguing that they were not a couple. Creators soon after confirmed, yes, they are both bisexual women, and they are in love.

And so, you could definitely say that Korrasami could have been interpreted as just "Very Good Friends" behavior, of "Gals being Pals", and many people DID argue that, and would later claim that there wasn't "enough build-up to the relationship". And part of the atmosphere in media back then(esp. Nickelodeon at the time) they really couldn't be blatant about it up until that ending. It was even a thing that Nickelodeon had been kind of shooting them in the foot for a while with switching around air times, and eventually taking it off air and putting it only available to view ON THEIR WEBSITE. There was a lot of fuckery with the studio at the time, and It wouldn't have been far off to think that they had issue with the idea of this series ending with two girls together romantically.

..

It just kind of makes me think of people telling BKDK, not only "They're m/m, it'll never happen in shonen manga" but ALSO anything from "they hate eachother" to "They are toxic because Bakugou bullied him(blatant disregard for any current development of Bakugou's character) and so it can never ever happen" to "Ok sure they're becoming friends again, but that doesn't mean they love each other or will by the end of the story"

When arguably, Korrasami was basically given the same dismissal.

And my dudes, it's only gonna get more intense from here.

Like, Bakugou and Izuku are friends now(again). There's no denying that. They would literally die for one another. Their relationship, and the emotions between the two of them in the coming arcs will only be compounded, with how the last arc left off and how Izuku SUDDENLY left and how Bakugou has so many unresolved feelings, and how, like Korra being the Avatar and having to save the world multiple times over(and the PTSD she got from it), Izuku is carrying a heavy burden that Bakugou is determine to help him see it through to the end without LOSING Izuku in the process. Their stories are so closely tied together and they are SET to return to each other, and it CANNOT end WITHOUT them being together, in some capacity, even if it is just platonic.

So...I wouldn't write BKDK off just yet. We're at the same spot right now that Korrasami shippers were when they were starting to seriously think that there was something canon about Korrasami.

So, Am I saying that I for sure, 100% believe that BKDK will become romantically canon? Not really; the hurdle of it being a Shonen-oriented manga being actively marketed for boys, is admittedly a huge hurdle to overcome, and I, as an American, cannot begin to understand all of the cultural barriers, or implications breaking any of those barriers would have to a Japanese audience or for Horikoshi/his career as a manga-ka.

I still don't know what Horikoshi is thinking when it comes to BKDK, he's obviously very private and all we can do is speculate on what he feels about it; there's still a possibility, however small, that he may actually be the biggest BKDK of us all, and "telling the story he wants to tell" may yet include BKDK becoming canon(that quote may also have nothing whatsoever to do with any romance, but we don't know)...But, much like I was at the point in the Korrasami tale, I'm still painfully aware of the precedent that remains in the way.

Like the Korrasami tale, though, I suppose there is that possibility that we will see something completely amazing and groundbreaking, and I will once again have that transcendent experience where an unlikely ship suddenly becomes reality. At this state in the Korrasami tale, I had NO IDEA that we were shipping the real, canon deal, and it honestly surprised me, being that I usually attach myself to something that never becomes canon, lol(*cough*Zutara).

We're in the thick of it now, we just gotta wait it out and see.

[iamnightduchess]

SnK 139 (A personal thought on Reiner & Mikasa's ending)

We have finally reached the end. For those who began this fandom since 2010, it's been 11 years of happiness, tears and heartbreak, on top of character discourse with our respective favorites. This manga is rich with amazing life values that requires more than just a quick zip through of every chapter. It requires a thorough, repeat reading. Hajime Isayama weaved his universe in a way that never cease to blow all of his readers' minds away but still touched our hearts in an emotional way.

(Special thanks to @pethellhounds for the key pointers for this post!)

No doubt, I love all of the characters, each of their flaws, strengths and growth but my two favorites have always been Mikasa and Reiner, individually.

Upon the first two reads, I was saddened, I was devastated and I allowed my emotions to filter the absolute value of the final chapter; in particularly to my most favorites. All thanks to the discourse we had in our RK discord, my brethren offered me a different perspective on how we could truly perceive ch.139 for what it truly is: a bittersweet farewell which only leads to new beginnings.

Reiner Braun

Armin was destined to save humanity, Eren confided on that himself. Even if it was Mikasa's personal choice on ch.123 that is the ultimatum that had saved humanity by eradicating the power of the Titans from the world for good. As referenced on this post, it has been Mikasa that was destined to free Ymir all along through her selflessness.

Upon first read, the following panel seemed to portray the remaining alliance members in a different light. Everyone looked amazing, happy as they exchanged banter just like how old friends with shared traumatizing experiences do. After all they're all celebrated world heroes - living with possibly an upgraded lifestyle, fame and wealth even within those 3 years. But upon several more reads and deeper observation, one could not entirely disregard the rather dark and gloomy atmosphere beyond the bright surface. In particular Jean and Reiner, who seemed to be a bit more noticeable.

Jean somehow is putting on a front as a skirt-chaser (having preference for younger girls) while Reiner seemed to be simping over his old crush (who's already married & has a child in Paradis).

The above panel seemed comical because the actions & lines seemed a bit "out of nowhere", but beyond the surface - everyone's hurting secretly from within, some are masking their pain, though some remained unaffected because they all shared a heavy burden of guilt towards Eren's death & Mikasa's withdrawal from the group to lay their friend in his final resting place all the way in Paradis. Jean and Reiner both are putting on a front.

Do remember that during the Marley arc, not even once was Reiner shown to reminisce about Historia very specifically. Not even in a fleeting thought, thus why it could also be deduced that she did not actually have a huge impact on his memory or his genuine affections beyond just a fleeting crush to hide his tormented mental state from within. How could someone who has been shown to have tremendous emotional growth and a consistent, albeit shaky psychological regulation during his primary arc was reduced to a typical simp archetype in the final chapter? This is not, a "Reiner can finally be his real self who's free of his burdens & he is someone who's enjoying his new life" moment.

The last time he portrayed this "simping" behavior? When he was 17 years old during the 104th's first SC excursion and when his psyche was almost teetering on its edges as his Warrior!alter is wrestling control against his soldier personality in Utgard Castle.

Reiner's simping (which was an intended joke) was also an indicator of a bleak truth: his DID regressed, from his regulated state and his psyche was completely torn apart from that day. In Marley, he had been extremely depressed but he was a loyal, strong and steadfast soldier who had only his duties in mind. To see him do a complete 360 & reverted to a creepy old behaviour, is truly saddening. He's been masking his pain with this front. Even Pieck could be seen sending him a silent, understanding look of concern for his letter-sniffing action.

In 139, despite having a new chance at life, having his mother's genuine love and acceptance & achieved his original dream in becoming a respected hero who is recorded in history, one could not entirely rule out the possibility that Reiner's DID has regressed to the point that either he reverted back to his soldier persona as a facąde or he'd might have developed a new alter altogether after having to experience Survivor's Guilt for the second turn. Yet this time, with no known time limit since the Curse of Ymir had been eradicated. DID is a lifelong condition. It does not go away, it cannot be healed even with modern medicine but yes, could be managed. That letter, the mentioning of Eren's name and their impending arrival on Paradis - the place he felt the happiest of his life - could be his trigger to put on that front. He, (along with the rest of the alliance on that ship) had to live with the fact that his and his family's new life and future had been at the expense of two people's livelihood; Eren & Mikasa. Eren sacrificed his life. Mikasa chose to bury Eren at his final resting place in Shinganshina and remain there to honor his memories on her own, without anyone by her side despite having fought together & almost on the verge of dying together.

(Thank you @lancerofdarkness for pointing this out!) We can see the banter between Reiner and Jean is very reminiscent of Reiner and Bertolt, where the latter cautioned the former on "not getting too carried away". Where Bertolt had a filtered approach, Jean had a more direct, head-on snipe. This dynamic had been initially observed much earlier in this post.

The alliance members could possibly have made a silent pact between them on not mentioning either Eren or Mikasa's name out of respect for that 3 years. Or if they, as well as the others, were not divulged of the real truth by Armin. With or without this knowledge, Eren's death and Mikasa's silent departure from the alliance do affect everyone. Some are more obvious than the others.

Once again, I feel compelled to share an unpopular perception that Reiner's simping is not his true self's behavior. It is a mask. A fake persona. It is a front to hide the real pain from within.

He cared about both Eren and Mikasa respectively, as much as the others do.

Mikasa Ackerman

Upon first reading, I was initially devastated for Mikasa's conclusion. It was her decision and selfless act that had saved all of humanity and won Ymir over, which completely destroys the Paths as well as removing the titan powers together with its curse. The woman who had been at the frontlines, placing her life at stake, almost dying first to protect the men in the alliance; she who had sacrificed everything ended up with nothing but only memories of the one who could never be and loneliness.

To throw salt into the wound, we saw Eren uttering in Paths on how he refused to accept the notion of Mikasa being with another man, he wanted her to only love him and have him in her heart even 10 years after his death. It was indeed a last spur of the moment declaration that ironically contradicted his plea in 138.

Their relationship was never meant to take off by riding into the sunset together, they are not destined to be with each other, even if their feelings are mutual. Despite my personal observation of their relationship as a form of enslavement in itself: Mikasa still sees it as her devotion & commitment to Eren. I have to respect her perspective on this.

Ymir mistaken Stockholm Syndrome as love, she perceives enslavement as love. Being used as a tool of war and breeding, surrendering all her will to her captor, yearning for his validation - she saw those as love. Now the glaring parallel between Ymir and Mikasa are truly obvious. Because of love, Ymir tethered herself to Paths or purgatory for 2,000 years and in exchange of Mikasa's decision & action, Mikasa remained tethered to her love for Eren & his memories for at least another 10 years if not for the rest of her life on earth. That is truly heartbreaking.

I was devastated. I personally believe she deserves better. She too deserves to have her happy end, to be loved and have a family of her own.

When Armin had dreams of seeing the world beyond the walls, Mikasa has always been a simple girl with simple dreams: i) to go back home within that forest in Shinganshina and ii) to be by Eren's side forever. Once we realised this, Mikasa actually had everything she ever desired after all. She's back home in Shinganshina, living in solitude and in peace with no burden of world peace, diplomatic affairs on her shoulder and has no need to put on a facąde. She's been grieving and she still cried for her yearning to see Eren's face again even after 3 years that she might not stop shedding tears in the next 7 years just like Eren wanted. That is how psychologically and emotionally affected she is with Eren's words, actions and death. She chose to remember Eren and keep her in her heart that it is almost seen as an imprisonment but she's also free from other wordly responsibilities unlike the rest of the alliance members.

Did I wish she would have a better ending than this? Absolutely. This young woman has never been on her own ever since she was born, it's heartbreaking to see her having to process her grief alone without even a single companion by her side. She lost all of her incredible physical strength and had to learn how to fortify her emotional strength through her grieving process. She has only learn on how to love and be loved by Eren, which has major missing components left to be desired. Mikasa deserves to be loved, to receive that affection openly in return from someone who would be ideal, respectful, trustworthy, expressive, equally devoted, the raindrop to her seed, the sun to her cold days and loving towards her and maybe one day, eventually would be able to grow a real family from that genuine love.

The last two bottom panel above we can actually observe the innocent kid!Mikasa just like Isayama promised. She is ready and curious to once again, learn more about the beautiful but cruel world. She is ready to leave the forest upon realizing that no matter where she goes, Eren will always be inside her heart.

She is at peace. Even if she looks way thinner, fragile that she should be and could be seen collapsing as she was hit by another wave of strong grief. But since the members of the alliance are coming to Paradis for a potential negotiation, it is been stated by Mikasa that they are also coming to see Eren's final resting place to pay their respects. She will be meeting her friends after 3 years for the first time and I could really hope that they can be the support that each other needed for true healing. I am holding on to the possibility of her being ready to move on and start living again after putting the course of her life on hold by mourning for Eren the moment she is reunited again with Armin, Annie, Reiner, Jean and Connie.

The bird flew over the ship carrying the alliance as it is heading towards Paradis before heading towards Mikasa's location, giving his answer to her "You're happy right?" question by wrapping that scarf around her neck for one last time. He wanted her to be free after 3 years of grief. He wanted her to move on when she meets their friends again because she does not deserve to be consumed in her grief not even another day. Not even for another 7 years. Not even for the rest of her life.

Anything that we envision happening after 139 is valid in this universe. I believe Mikasa will begin living her life to the fullest as the end of the series is also the beginning of her next journey. But this time, she will be doing it in the company of her loved ones. Together.

[ngscoffeecupcommentary]

KHR - Chapter 4: Expulsion Crisis

I remember how ludicrous I found Nezu - and yes I still remember his name - let's see how angry this makes me now, as an adult.

Who let this guy anywhere near a teaching position. Wouldn't trust him with a pet rock. Calling a child 'a burden on society' and saying 'is there any reason for such trash to exist?' in front of the whole class with a smug look on his face. I mean I know things are rough in Japanese schools, but would this actually happen? Or is it a comedy exaggeration?

 Either way, Nezu is not fit to be a teacher.

Gokudera immediately being threatening and spilling sensitive information out in public...oh dear - making things even more difficult for Tsuna (let's face it tho, that's his purpose this early in).

I love how Tsuna's greatest problem with getting expelled is that he won't be able to see Kyouko again - very teenager of him!

And here's Leon's first significant appearance! Showing off his suspiciously magic abilities as well as Tsuna's observation talent - something that will become Hyper Intuition (and it's kind of supported by canon that other people don't notice Reborn is Reborn when he's wearing his various costumes, but Tuna does...so this is also and example of something that started out as comedy and evolved into a power in a magic fire shounen manga)

'Reborn is teaching me all the basics of assassination' I wonder if this will ever come back? Just the image of Gokudera stuffing himself in that small cupboard with Reborn probably drinking coffee and looking smug is hilarious.

Gokudera is so earnest in wanting to help Tsuna ;o;  still can't read the room and actually do what Tsuna would truly like, but he's trying! (more than anyone else so far) - also, doesn't listen to Tsuna when he protests immediately…*sigh*

Nezu setting them up and getting praised by another teacher for it… ugh...the standards in Namimori Middle are real low.

Tsuna's despondency may be selfish, but this is also a situation he's not at fault for, Gokudera got him into this trouble (and Reborn and Nezu) so I don't blame him for being fourteen. Gokudera is also thoughtless and casually dismissive, but somehow I expect more from him - maybe due to knowing he's had more actual life experience? Hmm.

Reborn is here to threaten (and shoot) Tsuna into trying!

Leon hops on no problem and Tsuna in his Dying Will state intuitively knows how to use Leon's transformation? Interesting…

I love how Gokudera just goes 'I was waiting for you Boss!' no doubt that Tsuna would follow him despite his protests. (though that may be putting on bravado). And then getting amazed at Tsuna using Leon dowsing rod, 'sublime' indeed Gokudera!

Interesting to see that depending on the area you're shot at, the Deathperation bullets have different effects - though I assume this is only when you're in Dying Will mode...I do believe that these specifics never come into play again after the initial introduction chapters.

Nezu going back on his word does not surprise me at all.

Neither does Gokudera's cool-headed verbal smack down.

Gokudera's lack of self-worth shows it's face for the first time, as does his actual intelligence and academic smarts.

Tsuna complaining about a 'pack of idiots getting bigger' and Kyoko staying away because of that, but Tsuna, my boy, it's not like you were doing well on your own haha.

Reborn telling Tsuna to learn from Gokudera is funny knowing Gokudera can't teach - if I remember right he's too technical and cannot figure out how to explain to someone at Tsuna's level or of Tsuna's type of intelligence.

Vol.1  . ch1 . ch2 . ch3 . ch4 . ch5 . ch6 . ch7 . 

[huayno]

from neon genesis evangelion, vol. 12

The Mysterious Stranger

The Anime, the Manga, and the Mark Twain Novella

"God will provide for this kitten." "What makes you think so?" Ursula's eyes snapped with anger. "Because I know it!" she said. "Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His seeing it." "But it falls, just the same. What good is seeing it fall?"

—from The Mysterious Stranger

There is a short novel by Mark Twain, written near the end of his life and published posthumously, entitled The Mysterious Stranger. The tale is set in a small village in 16th century Austria, where three boys one day meet a young man different from themselves: "he had new and good clothes on, and was handsome and had a winning face and a pleasant voice, and was easy and graceful and unembarrassed, not slouchy and awkward and diffident, like other boys."

The mysterious stranger starts to do small but amazing tricks for them—causing water to turn to ice; conjuring grapes and bread out of air; even making birds that can fly out of clay. At last one boy, the story's narrator, works up the courage to ask the stranger who he is:

"'An angel,' he said, quite simply, and set another bird free and clapped his hands and made it flyaway."

The angel then proceeds to really impress them by making an entire toy castle, complete with five hundred miniature soldiers and workmen that move around by themselves. Naturally the boys get involved with this ultimate playset, making their own knights and cannon and cavalry, and although they get rather nervous again when the angel reveals his name is Satan, he assures them he is not that Satan, but only named after the fallen one.

"We others are still ignorant of sin; we are not able to commit it; we are without blemish, and we shall abide in that estate always." Distracted by two of the miniature workmen, "Satan reached out his hand and crushed the life out of them with his fingers... and went on talking where he had left off: 'We cannot do wrong; neither have we any disposition to do it, for we do not know what it is." Horrified as the other boys are, "he made us drunk with the joy of being with him and of looking into the heaven of his eyes, and of feeling the ecstasy that thrilled along our veins from the touch of his hand.'"

Yes, Kaworu Nagisa made quite an impression on the fans of Neon Genesis Evange/ion, despite the fact that, in the original broadcast version of the TV show (before it got all director's-cutted, box-setted, special-editioned, and platinum-lined) he shows up for only slightly less than thirteen minutes of total screen time, the climax of which being an entire minute where nothing happens at all.

That's what being a beautiful angel will do for you, especially when you make the most of your thirteen minutes on Earth by having a Whirlwind romance with the main character that ends in a lover's quarrel with Prog Knives and finally a voluntary martyrdom at the hand of your boy here. Relationships don't come any more tragic than that of Kaworu Nagisa and Shinji Ikari, and when fans (including this one) first saw it on TV, the affair was so brief and shocking the story logic of it didn't click in until much later.

In the anime, Kaworu is acknowledged as the Final Messenger, and, of all the Angels Shinji has to fight, this is the most ruthless battle, won at the highest possible cost to himself. It took even longer for me to realize that the showdown in episode 24 had also taken us full circle from Shinji's first fight in episodes 1 and 2, which emphasized his personal helplessness against the looming Angel Sachiel. Against Kaworu, it is the Angel who becomes the small, helpless figure, while Shinji is represented only by the gargantuan, frightful helm and arm of his Eva Unit-O1. We never see Shinji's human face once throughout the whole final minute of decision.

So as Col. Trautman would have said instead of Major Katsuragi, "It's over, Shinji! IT'S OVER!" Kaworu v. Shinji (or Kaworu x Shinji, in the doujinshi) was the big final showdown between humanity and the Angels. And with the outcome leaving Shinji at his most wretched ever, wouldn't it be nice if everyone just died—your wish being Eva's command, as it turns out that fortunately humanity hardly ever needed the Angels to slaughter itself.

"I am perishing already—I am failing—I am passing away. In a little while you will be alone in shoreless space, to wander its limitless solitudes without friend or comrade forever...But I, your poor servant, have revealed you to yourself and set you free. Dream other dreams, and better!"

—from The Mysterious Stranger

Satan's words near the end of Mark Twain's story also uncannily prefigure the end of the world and the Instrumentality project, both of which follow his death in the TV show in such quick order you picture Anno as a hairnetted fry cook dinging the counter bell. By now you see Sadamoto's handling of Kaworu, and perhaps nothing illustrates the different experiences of the manga and the anime better than his handling of this critical character.

No longer the last Angel to be fought, Kaworu actually becomes an active Eva pilot and fights an Angel—the dude even has the nerve to observe the fight is fixed, based on his knowledge of SEELE's prophecies. Sadamoto of course introduces him at an earlier point in the narrative—at the equivalent of episode 19's end—and then sends him to NERV near the equivalent of episode 22's beginning—before certain important events, to put it mildly, can occur. When one notes this kind of thing, of course, it's important to restate that the Evangelion manga has always been a separate but equal "official" version of Eva, with no particular obligation to align itself with the anime, and indeed it was with Book Five, the first released after The End of Evangelion, that Sadamoto began to truly seem free to go in his own direction.

Nevertheless, as the "other" official version of the Eva story, it is reasonable for fans to view it as an "alternate history" relative to the anime, and the way Kaworu has been introduced makes us realize the manga may end very differently indeed. Despite the fact we know here that Kaworu is an Angel from the very beginning, he appears destined to at least hang around long enough to pick up a few paychecks. It's not clear when your health benefits kick in at NERV, although if Ritsuko is your primary caregiver it might be best to forego them.

Sadamoto's remarks upon visiting the U.S. in 2003 indicated that the Eva manga might (might) be planned as a twelve-volume series in all. There is still plenty of room for speculation, as the slow working pace to which the artist himself often refers has of late become almost relativistic—as of this writing, it has been eight months since Sadamoto has drawn a new installment of Eva in Japan, and hence a Volume Ten is nowhere in sight. It may be small comfort, but those of you reading this are pretty much in the same drifting boat as the Japanese fans.

"An angel's love is sublime, adorable, divine, beyond the imagination of man—infinitely beyond it! But it is limited to his own august order. If it fell upon one of your race for only an instant, it would consume its object to ashes. No, we cannot love men but we can be harmlessly indifferent to them; we can also like them, sometimes."

—from The Mysterious Stranger

And with Book Nine we see the most staggering difference thus far between the manga and the anime; Sadamoto's Shinji doesn't even like Kaworu, much less love him. Of course, you could say the less-ethereal Kaworu of the manga is harder to love. I can't believe Sadamoto had him tell Rei he thought she'd be "heftier." And yet he did.

I don't think any A.T. Fields actually got penetrated in the anime; while I do think Shinji felt sexually attracted to Kaworu, and that you the audience are supposed to feel that he felt it, what Kaworu himself thought was a very different matter. Like Rei, I believe Kaworu to be innocent—coyly, he appears not to be so, because while Rei needed to be reached out to, Kaworu has come to reach out; whereas Rei has spent her existence being observed; Kaworu has come to observe.

Indeed, in the manga, Shinji's irritation about Kaworu's invasion of his personal space seems almost a parody of his attitude in the anime. In the TV show, when Kaworu put his hand on Shinji's, he flinched but did not pull away; whereas in the manga it's easy to imagine Shinji slugging him. Instead he goes to run after Rei, hoping to get closer to her again.

I hardly think the change reflects any phobia on Sadamoto's part (after all, we even get to see Shinji's "Unit One" in the manga), but the fact the manga Shinji is less emotionally bleak and empty, and hence less vulnerable. Shinji's just as negative in the manga, of course, but it's an active variety, rather than the passive negative creep (in the best Nirvana song sense) we know from the anime. We don't have to imagine him slugging Gendo; from the look of surprise on Dad's face in Book Seven he would have smacked the beard off his face if Kaji hadn't stopped him.

Neither is Shinji in a positive emotional situation where we leave him here, either; indeed at this point in the manga there's arguably no one he can turn to—the more brutal fate that befell Toji has cut him off from his school friends, Rei has become hesitant, Kaji is dead, and his perennial self-esteem booster Asuka is going to need to rebuild her internal supply before she can even get back to calling him a loser and idiot.

So, like Misato trying to put her own hand on Shinji's, all I can do for now while we wait for Sadamoto-sensei is to recommend for your winter vacation reading list The Mysterious Stranger, which I can almost guarantee will give you new angles to think about Kaworu, and may even earn you class credit besides. A quick look at the novel's comments on Amazon list a teacher who says fundamentalist students walked out of his class when he taught it; another compares it to The Matrix; those who dislike it call it "sick," "bitter," and "twisted." Sounds like good old Evangelion to me!

—Carl Gustav Horn

[a drawing of Kaworu holding a kitten]

Although The Mysterious Stranger can also be found in a number of print editions, including The Portable Mark Twain from Penguin (haw haw), the story, being from the days when mp3s came on shellacked cylinders, is legally available online at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/TwaMyst.html. The same site has a book called The Holy Bible, King James Version, which fans of Evangelion might also enjoy, although it's technically "Editor's Choice."

[sa-tou]

Chapter 139 + ending opinion

Okay..where do I begin, I already wrote something yesterday but now having read the English typeset I have come to this conclusion regarding the ending of SNK. (It’s a long post, may have some typo’s, which I will try to fix while editing the post)

Disclaimer: Isayama has my respect, even if I may not agree on all points I want to thank him for years of hard work and bringing us a beautiful story, that being said his story is not immune to criticism and so I will write this with my fullest and honest opinion. (Do not send Isayama or any of the voice actors and anime production staff any hate, if you didn’t like the ending that’s fine! But do not harass anyone else because of it)

Here goes:

Chapter 139, what can I say, even after reading it in English I cannot seem to like it.

Why? First of all, Ymir’s love…oh god I dreaded writing this but, her love it’s not comparable to Mikasa’s, that’s why I am unable to link the two, but at the same time I don’t see them as very different characters either. Let me elaborate, Ymir was a slave who had her whole family killed by king Fritz, had her tongue cut out and was impregnated at a very young age because she has the power of the titans, Ymir falling in love with him is nothing short of Stockholm Sydrome. Sure Mikasa being able to kill Eren and end it, was something Ymir couldn’t do but WHY and WHEN was Ymir ever in love with King Fritz…back to Mikasa, she let go of Eren, but in the end she really didn’t (Eren wishing she’d never move on came true). Yes you can mourn your loved ones for how long you want but, why did Isayama have to put her in a position where she is always tied to Eren, she never had her own character growth, because when we thought she finally let go of Eren, she returns with the scarf and ends up crying at his grave for the last 3 years (kind sounds like how Ymir started off wandering alone in Paths no?) regardless the EreMika built up came out of nowhere and it was to sudden for me to actually believe any of it. Opinions may differ but, it’s lackluster and well, to me SNK was never about romance, so this whole romance subplot was meaningless and shat on every character who died in this manga.

What also irked me is, Reiner’s character. SUCH A GREAT character, so much build up, so much amazing storytelling and he ends up not dying, nor sacrificing himself, no instead he ends up sniffing Historia’s letter… I still like Reiner but, this development went straight down the trash bin.

Also Historia having a baby, but why? We’ll never know. She supported Eren’s rumbling plan, but why? We’ll never know. Paradis turned into a dictatorship with fascist leaders, but why? Fuck it I don’t give a fuck.

But what I do wonder is, is Armin this naive? Does he think nations will just sign a peace treaty? No way, geopolitical relationships don’t work like that, look at the real world, we are constant war because people can’t set aside difference, now people want to tell me that after Eren stomped on 80% of the world’s population, they want to just be at peace? I don’t think so, especially now that Eldians no longer have titan powers, have zero advanced technology in weapons..Makes no sense.

The worm…wtf was it, why was it there, who stopped it and where did it go? It had a mind of it’s own and even after Zeke and Eren dying it still kept going so my question is, what was the purpose of introducing this shit and then not to further elaborate on it? Why did everyone have to turn into titans for them to turn back into humans in no time? Why not just take the sad route and have every shifter die and have Ymir reborn as a free girl, because I thought Ymir was shackled to paths because she couldn’t be a free human, that’s why the rebirth theory sounded so plausible, but now all Ymir is, is a Stockholm syndrome patient who was waiting to…..what the hell even happened to Ymir? Where’d she go, why did she leave, what was her fucking purpose in the end. You want to tell me that she put so many people and teenagers under stress because King Fritz wanted more women than just Ymir? Jfc.

Now to Eren, so we know Eren was always a crybaby and never fully mature to do what he did, but what the fuck was this chapter? Sure he loves his friends and wants them to be save but, how did you go from “I know what I need to do and this is why I must start the rumbling” to, “I don’t man, just felt like it, I love Mikasa and you all so I don’t want to die but I don’t know Ymir wanted this and I don’t know what Ymir wants”, like did Yams stop remembering his own story here?

Regardless, Eren dying is a good thing, he could not and should not be redeemed for mass genocide, I think we can all agree on this. But my whole issue is, why put the warriors, especially Reiner, through so much shit, when you started the whole massacre on your own. One chapter was all it took to butcher Eren’s persona, then again he was never my favorite so I couldn’t care less about him.

Another point, he says he will give everyone their memories back once he dies, they will learn about his plan. Sure, but why do Mikasa and Levi experience this? Is this the cause of their headaches? I don’t get it, wasn’t the whole plot that Ackermanns under no circumstance could be mind manipulated…so how the fuck did Eren pull this off? It just took that subplot and flushed it down the toilet.

ZEKE, the only man with an actual plan and he died for no reason, just like Porco, Marcel, Ymir, Marco, Erwin, Hanji, Shadis, Colt, Magath and every other character that died for no reason.

The ending to me feels like a bad EreMikaMin fanfic, it just left so many plot holes untouched and now we are left wondering wtf all the other 137 chapters were for.

To end this post, up until chapter 132 I really really really liked the story, after that I feel like Isayama just wanted to finish the story and just did what the shippers wanted and finished the story in a wholesome way without really tying up any loose ends. It’s a shame but, it is what it is.

[loveijun]

Can we hear your thoughts on KnT Soulmate? English chapter 7 just got released yesterday.

omg hii 🧞‍♀️ ill probably talk a lot more about it later when i read the new chapter but these are some of my thoughts 💗 1 im so glad kurumi gets her own story because after the whole situation with her and sawako in high school, they had such a weird but delicate balance of friendship and i became curious abt what would happen with kurumi later on but the story moves past it and we have to forget about her sadly... 2 i just think the soulmate chapters are amazing and beautiful and I HAVE TO MENTION that it basically confirmed for me that ms karuho shiina did in fact do the questioning of sexuality type of undertone throughout the manga on purpose.. it didnt start off with the typical kurumi and eiji falling in love but with kurumi and sawako being together + kurumi in this umm head space where she's thinking of sawako from so many different perspectives (romantically 💖‼️, as a rival and a peer to learn from, a monumental figure in her life since sawako basically helped her grow as a person and guided her unknowingly to a much healthier mindset, and a close friend she actually felt comfortable with for the first time since elementary school) and coming to the conclusion they are soulmates regardless of anything else. it's also obviously kurumi's personal redemption story but not as some evil villain becoming good... she was never really evil but just a very misguided teenager who at the time made decisions with consequences. this is her chance to... almost like what happened to ayane when she finally let herself go (not a 1-time complete healing but the beginning of it: she took a step out her shell and stopped devaluing herself for deserving love) and redeemed herself in her own mind - is what im waiting for in this series for kurumi. she's confident and loves herself somewhat but is constantly quesitoning her motives, thinking she didnt deserve to be forgiven, and is full of doubt so she clashes constantly in her mind and ends up numbing her sense of urgency, gentleness, and care when dealing with herself. i really want her to cherish herself as fast as possible but she cant just overcome it on her own (omg that theme keeps coming back - you can't grow [to love yourself] in solitude) and it's lacking for her to just suddenly become better when a guy shows up and at the same time rush a discovery process like that so i really love the bit with sawako in the beginning. alsoo i cannot forget im so happy and proud that sawako matured from her intial earnest but unsettling awkwardness to a hmm not mellowed but a more transparent ease with communication and presenting herself while still retaining her honest character. i love love loveee the fact that shes also a lot more secure with kazehaya and when i saw them joking around with each other i had to pause for a moment bc in the beginning shes such a precious and selfless person and that's great and all but she didn't believe in herself at all.. like when the high school class pulled the dating prank on her the way she handled it is hard to watch and very telling of how she sees herself.. she underestimates gestures of love towards her as mere kindness and at the same time overestimates the effort she needs to put in to repay it while also setting a thick boundary and voluntarily putting herself on a level lower than others. but the way that she's now able to understand favors that ought to be repaid, the difference between that and a gift - defined a thing given willingly to someone without payment, helping others without hurting yourslef, being a healthy amount of selfish and etc ❤️ i cant get enough. she even set up a blind date for kurumi can you imagine how far we've come??? now for when eiji appears i was just observing in the beginnig but i love his personality so much it feels like he was gonna be a classic romance mc just rude and insufferable or a stuffy/overbearing kind of nice but his moments of vulnerability and unpredicatability are GENIUS bc kurumi has never met someone like this before (she gets so flustered and is so cute when shes around him sometimes

i feel like crying aww). oimg and i cant forget how interesting this is just becasue its a college setting and not highschool so its more (i hate reusing words 💢 but mature is the word and theres more oppurtunity for things and various situations i think. 'real' dates and staying over at each other's place... and i want to see them in those^ types of situations so badly but i dont think we'll see much 💔). also their dynamic is everything i love how unique their character is and shes (the author) definitely put a lot of effort into every single one of her characters but i did not expect her to give eiji that much depth (i know hes from one of her other works and i need to read it soon and i want to know what happened before he met her so bad 😭.....) ^like at all. i dont have much more to say but i hope kazehaya shows up and meets them all again bc im want their reactions, and i think kurumi is so adorable and eiji is the hottest guy of the series excluding sanada. the end 💗

[jangpoo]

I’ve been meaning to post on here in forever but like I just have had so much going on. But I’m starting to get into Daiya and anime again, so I want to talk about it.

It’s glaring to me that some people haven’t actually watched or played baseball before. And if they have, maybe there isn’t a great understanding of the nuances. And this isn’t me gate keeping or saying I’m better than anyone, but simply an observation based on what people say. But anyway I just want to talk about it.

Terajima does an EXTREMELY excellent job of portraying the sport. The issue I find with baseball is that it’s really fucking boring at times. There are so many times you watch a game and think, nothing is happening (and this can be true of any sport but I especially see it with baseball). However, I believe that many times, if you actually understand the sport or have experienced it before, you find a lot of the nuances come off the panel even better in this story.

I have seen so many people, especially on Reddit and Twitter talk about how this current game is going to be another “come from behind win” and “a cookie cutter version of what terajima always does.” My issue with this is how people are not talking about why this arc is by far the best representation of what baseball looks like and feels like at times and why people consider pitching duels to be the most exciting display of the sport. Sawamura has had this game coming for the past 10 years. All of this build up was for this moment.

From a writing standpoint and story standpoint, I understand it’s fucking FRUSTRATING to see how many times Sawamura has come into a game and done poorly or been given a handicap. Even his first game as an ace was so incredibly frustrating to read. You want him to win. You want him to succeed. Especially after seeing everything he has gone through. I’m tired of watching him come into a game, doing spectacularly but wondering, what would he have been like if he didn’t have the yips. Or what if he could actually hit? Or what if he was given the same opportunities as other players? There has been so much disappointment. So people wanted him to become the ace and suddenly have this outstanding game where he is dominant and amazing and just having an out of body experience. But the truth is, you don’t just get that. You don’t just start a game as an ace and have it go your way. And I hate that shit so much. But it’s the nuances. It’s the small things that makes Daiya so special and realistic.

The reason this whole arc has been so incredible is because we see an accumulation of EVERYONE buying into ace-Jun. First, before this game even begins, we see Miyuki FURIOUS that he couldn’t get Sawamura relaxed enough for the game. He’s angry that Sawamura feels strained enough to put the team on his back and overpitch. And he couldn’t get him out of it. He couldn’t help him the way he is supposed to as a catcher. We see Kuramochi understand that when Miyuki is gone, HE needs to step up. He needs to be the one that coach can rely on to help the team grow and thrive. He wants to be trusted to the team completely. And in this game, we FINALLY see the team get angry and frustrated at not backing Sawamura up. I mean, despite how they act, they never outwardly do that. They believe in him. They’re impressed with him time after time. But they never really back him up the same way we saw them do with Tanba and Furuya. It’s always like he provides some miracle, hypes up the team, but then is the butt of the jokes again. They quietly support him and work with him outside of games. But for the first time in this game, we get them buying in. We get them trusting him and working for him. Getting frustrated for him. And I believe Kanemaru’s “anticlimactic” at bat is the absolute most obvious display of that.

Some people call it anticlimactic but they just don’t get the point. I need us to think back to the very beginning of the story. Kanemaru absolutely could not stand Sawamura. He always said that all he did was talk and had nothing to show for it. But slowly and surely, Sawamura showed Kanemaru that he was dependable. He could be amazing. And little by little Kanemaru showed him more respect. Helped him with bullpen sessions. Helped him study. Cheered him on. He even, at one point, would become so distressed for Sawamura he’d make an error and feel terrible for it. Yet each time, Sawamura proved to him, it’s okay. I’m going to work my ass off. my hard work, your hard work, it won’t be for nothing. It will mean something. And so, in this moment, Sawamura is pulling this team by himself. That’s all he can do. The other pitcher is JUST as amazing. He’s just as talented and hard working. He can do what Sawamura does. And so the team fails time and time again. And like, let’s not pretend we’re the most frustrated in that situation. The team is livid. They can hit here and there but can’t connect. Can’t string together hits to score (which is how most pitchers duels go and is super realistic). And at the peak of this, when the captain cannot hit, Kanemaru comes up to bat with vengeance. He comes up to hit the shit out of the ball, no hesitation in his mind. He wants to kill it. But the part that borderline makes me want to sob, is that it’s not for himself. He wants to do it for Seido and he wants to do it for Sawamura. He wants him to know “I have your fucking back. I am going to hit the shit out of the ball. I’m going to score a run for our ace so it can put less pressure on him.” And that’s the mindset you want as a player. That’s what a good team does. And despite hitting a ground ball and getting out, it’s that effort. It’s the will of running as hard as you can down the line. Because yeah he got out, but who fucking noticed? Sawamura. He saw how hard he tried. He saw how hard he ran down the line. So yes, he didn’t score a run, but he did everything he could. And sometimes that’s good enough. Sometimes that’s what a pitcher really wants to see. So ofc Sawamura says “That hyped me up.” It was not failure. The feelings, the will and that connection came through. And Kanemaru understands immediately and says then let’s fucking go, let’s go out there stop them and hit again. It’s such a small moment and seemingly there to keep the score tied in the story, but the meaning there is absolutely what matters. Because yes, Sawamura is the only one in that moment that can turn the disappointment around, but what it also means is that Sawamura still believes. He tells wolf-boi, “I’m not worried. I believe in the hitters. We won’t go down without a fight” and he’s right. Because he can still believe the team hasn’t quit. Because someone like that, who wanted nothing to do with him at one point in time is working incredibly hard for him.

And it isn’t just there. We see it with Nori. He’s injured and we know how hard he’s worked to be starting games. We’ve seen his hardships and now he’s injured. But he believes. He trusts Sawamura. The team trusts Sawamura. They’re frustrated for him. They’re frustrated on his behalf. He’s bought in. And that is the beauty of a pitchers duel.

To be honest I’m flashy. I like high scoring games. But a show of true competition is always present in a pitchers duel. It’s 2 guys going head to head and the one that breaks first loses. It’s exciting and stressful. And I believe that many people are feeling that in this arc. And that’s why so many people are pissed, thinking this is just another show of the same shit. When Seido get past this, they’re going to Mei. It’s gonna be the same shit. We have progressed past a point where inconsistencies no longer are acceptable. You have to be on or you lose. The other team is just as good as you. And despite how well we want Sawamura to do, we also have to accept that he won’t always be unhittable. He will revert back to bad habits at times. But the Sawamura we’re getting this game? Absolute fucking monster level shit. (And our lord and savior Chris senpai is there to watch)

There are so many amazing moments that show how well Terajima understands baseball and truly loves it. From kids purposely throwing their futures away to finish out the season despite injuries, to having kids having long crises where they have to be demoted to lower strings to get out of the funk and the loneliness that goes with it, to kids fighting about the team and prioritizing winning over friendship. The frustration of the yips, losing games you were supposed to win, feeling like it’s your last chance to win before you graduate and never play again, having to move on with life. It’s all so well done and that’s why I’ll always love this manga. I love Haikyuus story other sports mangas and characterizations but Daiya will always hit different for me.

But anyway, that’s my dumbass ramblings that probably don’t translate well into written form. If you made it this far, why? Lol

[clownao]

Rereading Korosuu Chapter 4 (the ChibaHaya chapter) from the perspective that Hayami has feelings for Chiba

And boy, is it a ride.

Check out the previous post

Listen, I’m a big ChibaHaya shipper but I never believed they liked each other romantically in canon. One of things I like the most about their dynamic is how great they are even without the typical shippy stuff like blushing, stammering etc. They work well both platonically and romantically.

So I never tried to go MiDDLe ScHOoL cHiBaHaYa is CanOn but then I read the Chinese translation Ch4 of Korosuu. And boy oh boy did it make me think Hayami has ✨feelings✨ for Chiba. (And he doesn’t.) I literally did not expect that, but once I saw things from that perspective, I can’t stop lol.

Keep in mind I’m analysing a Japanese -> Chinese translation in English, and I don’t have the Japanese raws, so the word choices may be off. And I am probably overanalysing but yes, I will eat these ChibaHaya crumbs for the tiniest bit of information.

Also keep in mind manga Chiba is more social than Hayami (you can check Fumiko’s posts for more information, she’s the Chiba expert haha). So while these two may have the same responses (eg. smiling because of what the other said), it weighs differently.

So Hayami was originally going home, but stopped when she saw Chiba trying to figure out a problem. And so she helped him pump the balloons to act as Chiba’s targets. They discussed for a bit, then they both said they were surely getting closer to their “answer”.

And then they both smiled. The translation is “速水露齒而笑。千葉也回以微笑。” which is “Hayami grinned, and Chiba returned with a smile”. But notably, the translator used “露齒而笑” (literally: grinning with teeth) for Hayami and just “笑” (smile) for Chiba. “笑” and “微笑” (which also means smile, but a little softer) are used five times in total, and considering they’re interchangeable in Chinese, the translator probably used them to add variety. But “露齒而笑”? That’s different. That’s the only time the translator used this term to describe someone smiling. And “grinning (with teeth)” feels more joyful than “smiling”. And it’s used to describe Hayami’s reaction.

Hmm.

By the way, let’s count how many times they smiled in this chapter. Hayami smiled 3 times, Chiba also 3. And literally every time they smile it’s in response to something the other did/said. Chiba smiles more than Hayami in the manga, so the fact that Hayami is smiling so much in front of Chiba... hmmm...

As mentioned before, Hayami stuttered when Chiba praised her. In the translation, she barely stuttered anywhere else. Hmm.

After a very long time, Chiba lifted his head and turned to Hayami.

“Hayami, you’re brilliant! So it was like this all along! Why have I never noticed something so simple?”

“Wh-what?”

Yeah. She stuttered after Chiba called her brilliant/amazing.

And then, of course, the most telling paragraph follows.

Hayami felt bewildered upon seeing the suddenly agitated Chiba. Even though she had always been looking at him in E class, she hardly recalled seeing him so delighted.

She had always been looking at him. Whoa.

The Chinese translation is “雖然一直在E班看著他”, special focus on “一直” (always) and “看” (look). Like, okay, it could mean “from her daily observations, she didn’t recall seeing such an expression” or “looking after him” or “knowing him from school” but this phrasing just makes me think she’s staring at him in class. And you know what, Chiba actually sits behind Hayami in another row. So she has to turn around to “look” at him, which is a deliberate action. Of course the translation used “E class”, which also means training and other misc stuff and not just conventional lessons.

Either way, she’s been observing him. She’s ALWAYS been observing him. Continuously. And she knows she’s never seen him so joyful. And the translator (and maybe Matsui?) felt the urge to point it out.

After complimenting Hayami, Chiba proceeds to explain his new theory. And thus the passage:

“So what do you think?”

Chiba turned to Hayami, a smile quirking on his lips. He lightly prodded the pages of his notebook with his mechanical pencil.

“That’s brilliant!” Hayami also used an excited tone to reply as she looked down at the diagram.

“If you weren’t there, I probably wouldn’t have thought of it. Even though it’s really simple once you notice it...”

Hayami used a smile to respond to his words.

The word “也” (also) is used in Hayami’s happy response to China. Granted, it may be a translator thing, to add word variety and connectives, but the sentence makes perfect sense without the 也.

From this we can infer Hayami’s mood is affected by Chiba’s, and probably vice versa, but Hayami’s case is specifically mentioned.

Next day, Chiba stays behind to practice again. And he looks sad because he’s failing.

Hayami thinks “I suppose even people like Chiba will feel uneasy when thinking about official operations” (一旦設想正式行動，即使是千葉這樣的人類也會感到不安吧。) This makes me !!!! because it sort of implies Hayami thought Chiba won’t be nervous. She thought of him in a positive light, only for him to disprove it. Also, the use of “吧”. “吧” is commonly used in dialogue, so here it implies Hayami is thinking the whole line despite the lack of speech bubbles, not some omniscient narrator saying it.

Then Hayami tries to encourage him.

“Relax. If you think it’s right, then it has to be.”

“Even though hearing you say that makes me happy...”

^ this is one of the most mutual shippy moments in my opinion. Hayami has total faith and trust in Chiba, and Chiba literally told her that her trust in him makes him happy. It just feels... kinda shipbaity. The sentence structure “雖然你這麼說讓我很開心啊……” (Even though hearing you say that makes me happy...) feels like something out of a romance novel (especially in Chinese), even though the words don’t exactly have a romantic meaning.

Chiba says Hayami’s words makes him “happy”, but he’s still troubled by the shooting problem. Hayami trusting Chiba despite Chiba not trusting himself makes him happy. Oho. That... can be interpreted in a shippy way.

When Hayami sees that Chiba is still troubled, she “nonchalantly” says “to fill in the gaps using intuition” (看著無法消除不安情緒的千葉，速水若無其事地說。”無法確定的地方，用直覺填補就好了喲。”)

I believe there’s a typo here, since the next line is “千葉帶著的表情抬頭看著速水”, which is “Chiba lifted his head to look at Hayami with a xxx expression”. So the translator accidentally left out his expression (the sentence doesn’t make sense otherwise), but we can easily infer Chiba’s feelings from the following lines.

Chiba basically thinks “Intuition? What? She’s talking about things unrelated to this shooting problem again.” He doesn’t say it out loud (no speech bubbles), but he probably shows his doubt through his facial expression that the translator unfortunately left out.

And Hayami wants to prove him wrong.

So Hayami roughly glanced around the classroom, and quietly uttered, “Vase, tape, Korosensei.”

Before Chiba could ask “what are you talking about?”, Hayami swiftly pulled out a pistol from her thigh and shot three bullets with surprising speed.

Hayami hits all three targets without aiming precisely. Naturally, Chiba is in awe, calling it a “miracle”. Chiba says even though he, out of everyone in 3-E. can shoot the furthest target using calculations, he can’t imitate Hayami’s perceptual(?) type of shooting.

And then:

Hayami shot a stunned Chiba a smile.

The word for “stunned” (目瞪口呆) literally means “eyes wide, mouth frozen”, but that’s just a Chinese phrase for being stunned.

Honestly, to me, I feel:

Hayami wants to help Chiba -> Chiba is in doubt -> Hayami wants to prove him wrong and show off -> she quickly shoots her targets based on intuition/emotion, not even waiting to hear what Chiba has to ask -> (she wants to show off lol) -> when she sees he’s in awe, she smiles (smugly?)

ALSO, Hayami may have gained confidence after Chiba praised her by saying she’s brilliant, and that may be why she shot so quickly (since the adrenaline rush or something.)

Hayami then says something:

“And if at that time, you’re not confident in your theories, in the end, I’ll still shoot according to my gut feelings. (Basically saying if you can’t do it, I can do it for you.) We can do what the other cannot do. If we team up and become partners, there’s no target we cannot hit.”

Chiba gazed at Hayami’s face for a moment, then smiled and said, “Thanks.”

Wow. What surprised me is that Hayami’s the one with the speech— she’s the more serious and reserved out of the two. For her to say something so “sentimental” when she’s usually like “I respect you”, wow...

By the way, “凝視” (gaze) is used. It can mean stare, but it usually means gaze. Also he gazed at her face (臉). This is specifically mentioned. Mmmmm.

And I can’t get over “將兩者合為一體的話一定能順利地進行”. It means “if we combine two into one, it’ll definitely proceed smoothly”. They’re... MERGING lmao. It’s so shipbaity.

There’s also more stuff, like how they agree on something without speaking, but that’s... typical ChibaHaya stuff. And that’s it.

SO:

Possible hints of Hayami’s feelings towards Chiba:

1. Hayami immediately helped Chiba with practice even though she was intending to go home

2. SHE LOOKS AT HIM IN CLASS. Bro. I can’t make this up.

3. Hayami is happy when Chiba is

4. SHE STUTTERED WHEN HE SAID SHE’S BRILLIANT

5. She wanted to prove him wrong by showing off (this is a stretch)

6. She low-key put him on a pedestal (?) because she thought he won’t be nervous (this is also a stretch)

Possible hints of Chiba’s feelings towards Hayami:

1. He was very noticeably happy, perhaps a side he only shows to people close to him

2. Chiba says Hayami praising him makes him happy

3. He gazed at her face. Yes, her face.

But I don’t think Chiba likes Hayami that way. Like, he didn’t stutter when she praised him, he just said he’s happy. Hayami is usually very chill and calm, and even quieter than Chiba, so when she stutters because of Chiba, hmm...

Of course all of this is immediately disproven by the mini comic, with Ritsu claiming they reply to their emails a day late and their heart rates don’t go up when next to each other. Psssh. Okay, Ritsu. I mean, we can always hc Ritsu is protecting her friends’ privacy by lying about them. And of course Chiba and Hayami can stay as purely friends. I like their dynamic either way.

This concludes my rambling overanalysis of them. If you read till this point, I congratulate you <3 also reblogs appreciated :DD

[turkeyspamsandwhich]

With all of the new information from chapter 290, I was thinking about what could happen after the arc. And I don’t have anyone to talk to about my thoughts so I’m posting about them. This will be long and probably won’t want to read it but I hope that you enjoy it!

Even though everyone probably already knows *Spoiler Warning*

All of the debate about Dabi/Touya and what’s to happen to him, is he going to die, get consequences of his actions, or be redeemed? Honestly having him killed off would be a lazy route, since Twice is gone and Shigaraki mostly is going to die as well. And personally I wouldn’t like it because I feel Endeavor wouldn’t actually face his past. Kinda like punishing the abused and rewarding the abuser.

I also feel like the LOV will be done after this arc in a way because they’ve lost a lot of members and it may be set for the time skip after this arc with Shigaraki and AFO gone. So the idea of Dabi/Touya becoming the new main threat doesn’t make sense to me, but it’s still a possibility.

Dabi/Touya isn’t mentally well. He’s dealing with PTSD of his past and because of never getting mental help, his mind only got worse. His sense of reality is not right and he hasn’t had anyone to help him for years. Even during his abuse he had Natsuo, but after his death there was no one. His abuse broke him so severely, he only thought of ways to hurt the person who caused it and how he could get revenge. He wasn’t thinking of his family and the actions could affect them. He just wanted the world to know what Endeavor did to him. And he has every right to expose his abuser, he is the victim when it comes to the past and Endeavor cannot atone if he’s going to hide what he did. Still it does hurt the rest of the family, because it seems like they didn’t want it to go public, except maybe Natsuo but he was willing to try for Fuyumi. Does that mean Dabi/Touya doesn’t care about them? I think he does in a sense, he couldn’t stop his negative feelings for his father, so how could he stop his positive ones for the rest of his family. He may have surprised them but not gotten rid of them. I believe he cares about Natsuo the most. I’m unsure about Rei, it seems he does care with the information we have but still eh. Fuyumi, I have no idea honestly. And we know he sees Shoto as a puppet. Just because the way he outed his abuse in a selfish manner doesn’t mean he hates his family. I also feel Natsuo would play a big part if there is a redemption.

Now some of the things I’m thinking could happen. He faces the consequences of his actions. He may go to prison, because he did murder innocent people. His abuse doesn’t cancel out the wrong he has done. Thirty people lost their lives because of him. Even if those people were villains as well, doesn’t mean he had the right to take their lives. If he does go to jail I could see it similar to Overhaul, chained up forever. Or maybe the family’s influence/money could help him out and instead he’s put in a mental ward. He may be stuck there forever but he would get the much help he needs badly. I feel this is likely if he’s not killed in the arc, just like Overhaul.

Redemption. That’s a huge conflict with many people. Personally.......I want to see it, I want to see the victim get help so badly. I want to see them get help and become a better person. He still would need to face consequences of his actions of murdering people, and every terroristic act he has done while in the LOV. His actions are still his own regardless of the trauma he has faced, but if he didn’t have this trauma he wouldn’t have done any of these things. He was a broken child turned into a broken adult, all he knows is his pain of the past, he can’t move on and now he’s stuck in the cycle of abuse.

He has a problem with Shoto due to him becoming Endeavour’s new “favorite.” He doesn’t see Shoto as a person but a doll of his father’s, and he had planned to kill him, because he thought it would get him his father's love and attention. Which isn’t that strange, because I’ve seen that happen with children in abusive households. They still crave their parents' love and want it regardless of the parents hurting them. They turn their anger towards the person they think is taking that away from them, example the favored sibling.

Yet even though he's done and planned horrible things, that doesn’t mean he can’t get redeemed. Horrible people have been redeemed in anime before, ones that have done even worse things than Dabi/Touya. It’s possible for him to become a better person, maybe a good person, I don’t see him changing over to the hero’s side but more neutral. I think it’s possible, I don’t know if it will happen though. But we have seen it before and the character that came to mind was Gaara.

Now despite being a huge Naruto fan, I haven’t read the manga since the ending which was a loooooong time ago. And I’m not watching Boruto like at all, I refuse. I still remember a lot of it and there’s so many complex characters in Naruto that have done terrible things, but we’re saved and redeemed. Some even become fan favorites. Most of the characters I’m going to get into are from Naruto but I’ll get to them in a bit but right now I want to focus on Gaara.

Neglected by his family, and hated by everyone else. He was taken advantage of by his village and abused to become the perfect weapon. He killed so many people, regardless of who they were, if they had a family or not. No he wanted bloodshed and chaos, because that’s all he knew. Gaara became a psychotic killer whose goal was to everyone in his way to prove his own existence. It could be argued that he was a child at the time he did these things but that still doesn’t excuse his actions. Plus he mostly killed many more than Dabi/Touya, yet he was still redeemed. Naruto saw the pain in him and could understand why he became the way he was, even admitting he could have ended up like him if it wasn’t for his friends. He saved him and Gaara became a new person free from his past and pain. He got to have a family and gained friends. He became the Kazekage and was loved by his people, who once looked at him in fear and disgust now looked at him in admiration. He did unspeakable things but he got a second chance and did amazing things with it.

Itachi killed his whole clan, yes he did it so they couldn’t start a war but that doesn’t erase that he murdered innocent people. Even though the reason he couldn’t kill Sasuke was because he loved him too much he still left his little brother with no one and trauma. That’s horrible for a child to go through. Sasuke had nobody to turn to now he lost not only his family but he got to see his brother, who was the one person who he idolized the most. And yes later on, both the audience and Sasuke learned the truth about Itachi. He really was such a good person regardless of him being a good person he did bad things even if it was for the greater good. Once the truth was out people could relate to him, understand why he did the things he did, and he also became a fan favorite and now is seen as a hero. His trauma made him want to do good and his motives were different than Dabi/Touya’s but he still took innocent lives.

Now I want to touch a bit on this character, because they were a favorite of mine. However, I wasn’t the biggest Soul Eater fan so my knowledge isn’t as good. Crona actually had a very similar situation to Shoto and Dabi/Touya, their mother experimented on them and made them into her perfect weapon kind of like how Endeavor wanted to make his children into the perfect tool to dethrone All Might. They were mentally unwell and were made to kill people, and took many lives. Still Maka and her friends, spared them and took them in and showed them love.

The last one I want to get into is Zabuza. He was a killer for hire and did unspeakable things for money. He was willing to kill the team Kakashi, which had three children for his mission. Killing children is one of the worst things. During his journey, he met Haku and formed a bond that I don’t think he noticed until it was too late. And while his redemption doesn’t seem as grand as others, he got a pretty amazing one for what kind of person he was before. After Haku’s death, he turned on Gatō and his gang, and killed them. That saved the village directly even though he just wanted revenge. At the end, as he’s dying he gets to lay next to Haku and have a moment and that changed the way people viewed him. It left an impact on Naruto as well. His story has similarities to Dabi/Touya, they both killed to get their goal even though it wasn’t right.

There are so many more characters I could get into like Vegeta, who literally destroyed planets with whole civilizations. Isabella from the promised neverland, who fed children to demons. Obito and Nagato, who tried to end the whole world. So many JoJo characters, I can’t even begin to think of, but the point is redemption is possible.

So honestly a redemption isn’t that far fetched for Dabi/Touya, even with his crimes, and it would be nice for a villain to be redeemed because we haven’t really seen that in this series. And yes I’m a bit biased but I enjoy his characters, but now it’s mostly because I want the victim to find peace and be able to let go of the past. He is still a victim of Endeavor’s abuse, because he is still trapped in it. I want to see a victim get a second chance, but he still has to face the consequences of his actions. He doesn’t get a free pass because he was abused, it’s a reasoning not an excuse.

Also you could say the same for Endeavor deserving a second chance, but I can’t get behind a child abuser and wife beater. That’s the same reason I don’t like Overhaul like many others, touching a child in any way doesn’t sit right with me. So I was never behind Endeavor’s redemption, but I supported and understood the people who were into it. In the end, it’s up to Horikoshi about what will happen to both Dabi/Touya and Endeavor. I know either way it will be an amazing story.

Thank you to anyone who actually read my ramblings. Sorry if the formatting is weird, I typed it out in my phone. I hope you enjoyed this too long rant. And to anyone who disagrees with anything I said, I understand and respect your decision. But don’t be immature and rude about it, it’s not hard to debate people in an adult manner. We all have our own options and it’s fine to disagree but don’t be hurtful to those whose opinions differ for yours.

[mk-wizard]

Optimus Primal: Analysis of a bot who achieved “Nirvana”

Hello. It’s been a while since I’ve done a Transformers article, so to make up for lost time, I am going to do one on a character who was not only famous for their various bodily transformations, but also their spiritual transformation. I am talking about Optimus Primal.

So to get started, what exactly is Optimus Primal besides a Maximal who shares a name and helmet style with Optimus Prime? If you’re thinking that he is the Maximal equivalent of Optimus Prime, you would be dead wrong. Despite his name and looks, Primal is a great hero by his own merit who achieved greatness through grit, hard work, self sacrifice and inner growth on his own and without standing even for a moment on the shoulders of any giant. If anything, he is the reason Optimus Prime lived to make his own legacy. To understand and appreciate all of this, one must delve deep into the life story of Optimus Primal.

In the beginning, Primal was an average ranking leader of an exploration ship called the Axalon and his mission was to observe and collect data on other planets and their life forms. He was intelligent, honourable and not above having a sense of humour. However, he can turn and be very stern. The fact that he was young and inexperienced also showed in how he would have slip ups like making bad decisions, making one too many speeches and even losing his temper. All the same, he was the type who would learn quickly from his mistakes and constantly grow. He is also a skilled fighter with guns, swords and he is shown to be a martial arts master of some kind. He also seems to be part of the air force hence having the ability to fly in robot mode.

One fateful day, he was tasked with following and apprehending Predacon Megatron who stole the golden disks. The pursuit led them to getting stranded on prehistoric Earth though at the time, neither faction was aware that this was Earth yet because it was so different from the Earth they were informed of in the history books. At first, Primal chose a gorilla as his alt mode which proved to be one of the most useful beast alt modes in the series. As the Beast Wars (though here in Canada, the series was called “Beasties” for some reason) progressed and after several encounters with some mysterious aliens who intended to destroy prehistoric Earth, Optimus Primal unintentionally sacrificed himself to save the planet, Maximals and most of the Predacons. In the aftermath, the planet was changed and everyone could now see that they were on prehistoric Earth and with time, Primal was restored to life by having his spark transferred to an transmetal body. He could still transform into a gorilla though now he could fly even in his beast mode as he now had a hoverboard similar to the Silver Surfer’s.

During the second half of the war, the series became progressively darker and Megatron’s deeds became more sinister if not homicidal as he was now not above killing his own and even going as far as attempting to kill a comatose Optimus Prime in the Ark after he discovered it. Primal also clearly lost a lot of his innocence as he became less optimistic, more tense and while his honour remained intact, his hesitance to fight with full force with gone. In order to save Optimus Prime, he temporarily held his spark into his own body though holding the spark of a Prime had side effects on his own spark and body. Primal underwent a powerful change of which he became a giant quadruple changer, his firepower was at its peak and it can be theorized that a part of Optimus Prime’s divine connection to Vector Sigma was transferred to him.

In this new powerful form and now gaining clarity on the severity of the situation, Primal was more motivated than ever to defeat Megatron and return to Cybertron so history could no longer be tampered with. And while he did succeed at defeating Megatron who also underwent his own upgrade after exposing his own spark to the spark of the Decepticon Megatron, this victory was not without a price. When the Maximals returned to Cybertron, Predacon Megatron managed to take over the planet forming a new faction of mindless drones known as Vehicons which he controlled through a cybernetic psychic link, and in the process, wiped out the memories of the Maximal team and reduced them back to their beast forms’ lowest level.

Luckily, Primal managed to gather his team and find Vector Sigma and the entity/program known as the Oracle which purified them and gave them new upgraded techorganic forms which they all retained for the entire run of the Beast Machines series. At this point, Primal was no longer a naive mech of science and had become very hardened as well as fanatical without how he believed the Oracle was guiding him towards wiping out all technological life on Cybertron which also put him at odds with Cheetour who used to look up to him. After the devastating loss of Rhinox who was reprogrammed into the evil Tankor, Primal fell into a depression which affected him on both a physical and spiritual level, but he was brought to his senses after speaking to the spirit of a now purified Rhinox and with the support of his team. He now also realised the Oracle wasn’t guiding him towards eliminating technology. It was guiding him towards finding a balance between technological and organic life. With this new mindset, Primal stayed on this spiritual path though he now handled it with a cool head and a more enlightened tone until the final face off with Megatron. In the final face off, Primal sacrificed himself by plunging himself and Megatron into Cybertron’s core allowing the entire planet itself to transform for the better into a technorganic state and also reawaken the entire population. While the heroic deed did cost Primal his life, his spark was at peace as it joined the Allspark and it is hinted that he became something even more in this state.

Since his time in the Beast Wars and Beast Machines CGI cartoons, Primal has made some appearances in the comics, several Japanese mangas and animes, and may make a debut in the final season of War for Cybertron.

Out of all of the character in the Transformers lore, I find Primal is the one who had the most growing up to do and he not only did grow up, he stepped out of a large shadow he didn’t even know he was in and became something amazing. He is also one of the few heroes who I initially didn’t like. And even now, I didn’t like the naive, long winded immature person Primal was initially as he did feel like someone who was copying Optimus Prime, but as he grew up and dropped the naivety, my feelings towards him changed (pardon the pun). By the time Beast Machines rolled around, I outright loved him and I loved his newfound spiritual Buddha like approach. He found his own identity and it was inspiring. It was also this version of Primal that convinced me to look at the Transformers as being more than just machines. Showing that they had a religion, a culture and more made me see the Transformers in a new light that stayed with me for life.

I admit he is not like Optimus Prime, but in his defense, you simply cannot compare the two to each other because they are so different and their journeys were different. Prime’s war was more political and social, and he was much older and wiser. Primal was really just a young scientist who was asked to do a job though circumstances dragged him into a battle. With time, that battle became a rebellion. And also, Prime and Primal’s personalities are just vastly different. The very point of each of them is that they are not like each other and that is something to be celebrated not scorned. Optimus Prime was the leader for the team, era and war of his time and Optimus Primal was the leader for the time, era and war of his.

My overall analysis is that I can see why people are not initially endeared by Primal as I myself was one of these fans who wasn’t, but as his life experiences mature him, you fall deeply in love with the person he becomes and I think that was the point of him. I think that the writers purposely made him to rub you the wrong way because he was so immature and I think that makes him a cleverly written character. And also relatable. I’m sure by many people’s standards, we weren’t as likeable when we were immature and had a tendency to talk too much and not listen enough. Perhaps Primal could be seen as a Transformers character who embodies a metaphor for how growing up and gaining wisdom can change a person.

With all that said, Beast Wars and Beast Machine is worth watching thanks to Primal if not for the story, to at least see the journey of Optimus Primal, but that is all my opinion. What is yours?

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