#cg haruhi

[imweepin]

Haruhi

s

[multi-fandom-agereg]

regressor-coded Tamaki 👑

🍼 a/n | honestly bc why not nobody has stopped me yet. Also Tamaki is literally regressor coded I don't know what ya want from me. I don't make the rules 🤷‍♂️

⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝

Prns — he/him

Role — prince + young kid + toddler regressor

char — Tamaki from ouran high school host club / OHSHC

Cws — timeout, being judged for being a little, (being called weird and childish)

⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝

👑 : regresses around 4-9ish. Isn't that consistent with his age. He regresses to a different age everytime he regresses.

👑 : biggest brat in the host club. That isn't a secret— but taking someone who's naturally bratty and them being in a younger mindset will be a wild time for anyone taking care of him

👑 : can regress whenever he wants to, but has issues having control when he's frustrated/upset. But around 98% of the time he'll make himself regress to spite everyone else around him.

👑 : despite mostly regressing to catch his caretakers off guard, he'll always end up crying when he can't get out of it. He struggles to go into a bigger mindset when he's little which leads to alot of tantrums and screaming because he doesn't know what else to do

👑 : when little he makes everyone participate in his roleplays. He loves imagining himself as a prince so he can boss everyone around him.

👑 : he mostly hangs around Honey when little. Afterall, Honey can set up amazing playdates and is more encouraging when Tamaki plays Prince and dragons.

👑 : has a little crown hat he always wears <3 (Kyoya made it for him!)

👑 : safe to assume he spends his time in timeout.. alot. He spits alot, and often resorts him getting a stern talking to and has to stare at a corner for 15 minutes. Sometimes he sits in the "bad boy chair" depending what is decided

👑 : doesn't have a cg but people in the club do their part to babysit this little gremlin.

👑 : once got judged for being "childish" and "weird" by the girls he normally talked to and flirted with when big. Because of his "childish" personality he was made fun of and this caused him to hide for hours and not talking to anyone. (This was before everyone found out he was a regressor)

👑 : probably watches Sophia the First for "educated reasons"

⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝⏝

When everyone found out he was a little:

— Kyoya —

Wasn't sure how to feel when he found out Tamaki was a regressor. He wasn't the most comfortable with it, and whenever Tamaki regressed he didn't catch on and treated him how he normally treats him when he's big. But after awhile he got used to it and began slowly getting into a more of a caregiver mindset.

— Honey —

Honey regresses too! So he adores Tamaki then anything. A little dependent brother who makes sure Tamaki is comfy, and has everything he needs before he himself begins to regress with him. Sometimes he's in caregiver mindset too!

— Kaoru and Hikaru —

The twins LOVE him. The first day they were told he regresses they were the first to invite him to hang out. They adore him and often likes to tease him. Their favorite game is tricking Tamaki that they are the other brother and confusing the heck out of him. They love to hold their arms up so Tamaki can hang and swing from them.

— Haruhi —

Mama Haruhi! Takes care of Tamaki the most. He goes instant mama/Dada mode when anyone in the host club regresses. She is the most patient out of everyone and usually knows how to handle Tamaki's bratty behavior.

[creamedh0ney]

6: is there any fictional characters you interpret as being age regressers or caregivers?

Haha oh well I'm glad you asked! This will be long. Ahem.

Owl House: Hunter(little!), Willow(cg!), Eda(cg!), Lilith(cg!), Raine(cg!), Darius(cg!)

Ouran High-school School Host Club: Tamaki(flip!), Haruhi(flip!), Mori(cg!)

Haikyu: Kita(cg!), Akaashi(cg!), Atsumu(little!), Oikawa(flip!), Iwa(cg!), Suga(cg!), Daichi(cg!), Ukai(cg!), Kiyoko(cg!), Aone(flip!), Asahi(flip!), Tendou(cg!), Kuroo(cg!)

X-men: Wolverine(cg!), Cyclops(cg!), Rogue(little!), Beast(cg!), Storm(cg!), Jean(cg!), Gambit(cg!)

Wild Kratts: Chris(cg!), Martin(cg!)

Tangled: Rapunzel(flip!), Flynn(flip!)

Edward Scissorhands: Edward(little!), Kim(cg!)

My Little Pony: Twilight(cg!), Fluttershy(flip!), Pinkie(little!), Applejack(cg!)

Thank you for the ask! Clearly I have a problem with headcannoning characters I relate to as different things.

(The highlighted ones are the ones I'm absolutely certain on)

[littlewobbles8]

OHSHC headcannon is that the host club (minus Honey) are great CG's. Tamaki calling Haruhi little one and looking after her, everyone looking after Honey, and Honey being a little due to his Teddy and behaviour. Just makes sense to me

[agerefandom]

Ouran High School Host Club (agerefandom masterpost)

To Weather The Storm: fanfiction where Tamaki finds out that Haruhi regresses (cglre terminology)  Taking Care of Mori: fanfiction about regressor!Mori and cg!Hunny, ft. observant!Haruhi Fancy Tuna and Frantic Texts: fanfiction with regressor!Haruhi, cgs Tamaki and Kyoya (cglre terminology)  flip!Tamaki Suoh headcanons

regressor!Tamaki art cg!Tamaki moodboard

[ridley-was-a-cat]

What I Watched This Week – 7/9-7/15

Initial D First Stage - I am not very knowledgeable about cars or particularly interested in racing, so I really only added this to my watchlist because one of my cousins loves it, and because it's so often referenced by other anime. Imagine my surprise, then, when it totally got its hooks into me and I had a great time watching it. I was the same age as Takumi when this aired in 1998, and the janky CG, the Eurobeat soundtrack, the fashions, the lack of cellphones, and everything else was just nostalgic af, taking me right back to the summer after high school graduation, and doing dumb shit with my friends. The way Takumi casually falls into the role of street racing phenom, his dad's quiet enabling, and Itsuki's high energy cheerleading all charmed the pants off me. I can't wait to watch more. 8/10

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya - I liked, but didn't love, the previous series, but this movie sequel worked really well for me. It undoubtedly helped that the titular character was absent for most of it, as she is a difficult character to watch, and the focus was instead on Kyon as he desperately ran around trying to figure out what the hell happened, and if he even wanted to go back to how it was. I liked the way the forked timeline situation showed how comfortable he was with his crazy situation despite his protests otherwise, and forced him to own up to it to himself. In a weird way, seeing Kyon admit out loud that he has fun being part of Haruhi's nonsense made her more palatable to me as the viewer. All in all, a fun adventure to watch, and a good conclusion for the series. 8/10

[fandomregression]

Ooo you do ohshc!!! If it's okay could I maybe get some regressor Hikaru and Kaoru hcs :0??

:0 i love these twins sm yesssss i have so many ideas for these two

hikaru and kaoru didn't start regressing at the same time

in fact, hikaru regressed first. he was frustrated and tired and he felt so lonely since his brother started making more actual friends than him, and he didn't cope very well

kaoru came home from an ice skating date with some friends, only to find his twin curled up in the middle of their bed crying and sucking his thumb

needless to say it broke his heart. so, kaoru tried to do something that would help hikaru feel better maybe. he put on one of their favorite movies, toy story, and curled up with hikaru, hugging him close

as the movie went on, hikaru started to feel better and kaoru started feeling fuzzy in the back of his head. by the end of the movie, they were both sucking their thumbs and cuddled so tightly together no one could separate them

after that, the two start acting Weird(TM) at the host club. they're acting more like honey senpai when something doesn't go their way, and they're even more pouty and clingy than normal, and haruhi absolutely notices

when they explain how they've been feeling to her, she ends up taking care of them when they're in club or hanging out, much to tamaki's horror. she plays with them, especially when they bring toys to school, and she knows all of their stuffies' names

when the twins are regressed, they loooove to make up plays for their friends. they'll come up with them on the spot, and it's obvious, but their friends love the little plays no matter what.

they really regress because of their hard childhood, and when they're little they love to be surrounded by other people. they honestly can't stand being by themselves when they're little because they have been alone so much of their lives.

just as much as they love physical affection when they're big, they love it when they're little. constant hugs, piggy-back rides, kisses on cheeks and foreheads, whatever they can get from whoever, if they don't get they might Die (and that's a threat).

[curiosghostie]

Thinking about Ouran in these trying times

[cutiecorner]

Some old doodles of little Haru + Twins with CGs Tamaki and Kyoya! I think it would take some master level negotiation to get the twins down for a nap, and Haruhi seems like a little sib who would just copy whatever their siblings are doing

[momorabu]

18.11.2017

B-Project: Muteki*Dangerous - Event Card Illustration CG - Let’s Shoot! Rainbow Sparkle

One of the events that I really enjoyed since my luck really shines here to give me the SSR Haruhi card that I actually really wanted~! I also got myself a R card of Kazuna from the photoshoot too~ The rest of the card illustrations were from the cards I’ve gotten from the event rewards, unfortunately I still did not get enough points to get Yuta TWT TWT

[agerefandom]

Agerefandom 2022 Masterpost

This is a belated collection of my content from 2022! If you’re interested, here are the previous years: 2021 and 2020! 

In 2020, I wrote eighteen fics: In 2021, I wrote twenty-two. In 2022, I only wrote five full fanfictions, but that’s probably because I was writing so many more headcanons this year! Here are the fanfictions I wrote last year: 

Angels At The Window (Hazbin Hotel, caregivers!Charlie and Vaggie, regressor!Reader) As Sleeping Amber  (Phantom of the Opera, regressor!Erik, caregiver!Christine)  Flourishing In Sunlight  (Avatar: The Last Airbender, postcanon, regressor!Katara, careiver!Zuko)  Fancy Tuna and Frantic Texts  (Ouran High School Host Club, regressor!Haruhi, caregivers!Tamaki and Kyoya)  Natasha Is Young (Great Comet of 1812, regressor!Natasha, caregiver!Helene)

In 2020, I wrote thirty-two headcanon posts! In 2021, that went down to nineteen, but in 2022 I wrote forty-three headcanon sets! 

regressor!Gary King (World’s End)  caregiver!Jareth (Labyrinth)  regressor!Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel)  flip!Sans (Horrortale)  regressor!Adam/creature (Frankenstein)  caregiverse!Sundrop and Moondrop (FNAF Security Breach)  regressor!Brahms Heelshire (The Boy)  regressor!Severus Snape (Harry Potter) caregiver!Pennywise (It)  caregvier!Annabelle Crane (Magnus Archives)  regressor!Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice musical) regressor!Jade Harley (Homestuck) caregiver!V (V for Vendetta)  caregiver!Val Frizzle (Magic School Bus)  regressor!Stanley Pines (Gravity Falls)  caregiver!Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)  caregiver!Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)  caregiver!13th Doctor (Doctor Who)  regressors!Anna and Elsa (Frozen)  regressor!Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)  caregiver!Count Dooku (Star Wars)  caregiver!Caleb Widogast (Critical Role)  caregivers!Ruby and Sapphire (Steven Universe)  regressor!Dana Scully (X-Files)  regressor!Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein)  regressor!Stevonnie (Steven Universe)  caregiver!Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)  regressor!Sam Winchester (Supernatural)  regressor!10th Doctor with caregiver!Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)  regressor!Eleven (Stranger Things)  regressor!Bea and caregiver!Mae (Night In The Woods)  regressor!Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club)  regressor!Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club)  regressor!Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club)  regressor!Natsuki (Doki Doki Literature Club) 

Disney Caregivers Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)  Belle (Beauty and the Beast)  Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)  Bruno (Encanto)  Tiana and Naveen (Princess and the Frog)  Oogie Boogie (Nightmare Before Christmas)  Ariel (The Little Mermaid)  Captain Amelia (Treasure Planet) 

Under the ‘keep reading’ I’ve collected links to my thirteen favourite moodboards from the seventy-three I made in 2023, and some of my favourite art and edits as well! 

Favourite Moodboards: 

caregiver!V 

regressor!Will Graham

regressor!Dipper Pines

regressor!Erik/Phantom

regressor!Peter Parker

regressor!Kylo Ren

caregiver!Count Dooku

regressor!Charles Xavier

regressor!Cal Strider

caregiver!Bakugou 

regressor!Shigaraki 

regressor!Noah Czerny 

caregiver!Jasper Cullen

Favourite Art/Edits: 

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow

regressor!Jade Harley

regressor!Angel and regressor!Charlie edits

regressor!Himiko Toga

regressors!Mae and Gregg

regressor!Ashton and cg!FCG

regressor!Bruno Madrigal

[fandomregressing]

Hihi!! Its so nice to see more fandom agere blogs!! If you're open for requests, could I maybe get some host club headcanons? Any that you have, or specifically regressor kyoya and/or carer tamaki would be awesome!! Tysssm!

Thank you so much for the warm welcome!! I actually have a little OHSHC post in my drafts right now, I'll post that right after I post this! For now, here's some regressor!Kyoya and cg!Tamaki!

Kyoya regresses to cope with stress, and he's very quiet about it. Nobody outside the Host Club knows, and he intends to keep it that way. When he accidentally regresses in public, he's very good at hiding it.

All the regressors of the Host Club have matching deco pacis with their rose colors on it, so Kyoya has a paci with a purple rose centerpiece. He also has other pacis, some plain and others deco. Overall he has about 6ish pacis.

He doesn't really have a favorite caregiver. He's the closest with Tamaki, but Tamaki's caregiving methods aren't always what Kyoya needs. The entire Host Club takes care of each other though, so whenever Tamaki isn't an appropriate caregiver one of the others can step up, usually Haruhi or Mori.

Kyoya likes reading or doing activity books when he's regressed! He doesn't really draw or color too much, but he'll do some drawing or coloring activities in books in between doing the other activities. He's really good at spot the difference activities since he's so attentive to details. He also likes reading children's book, let him read to you so he can show off how smart he is! Or read to him, since even smart babies shouldn't have to read a book by themselves.

He likes tea with lots of milk and honey when he's regressed, but he forgets how much caffeine he might be drinking so his caregivers have to pay attention to that.

He gets embarassed when he's called nicknames, but he does like it. But feeling like he's being made fun of pulls him out of his regression and makes him defensive, so overly sweet or cutesy nicknames should be kept to a once in a while thing.

Tamaki is a really enthusiastic caregiver! He's really energetic, and although he can tone it down a bit if his regressor needs him to it's difficult and he's still a bit high energy. He loves doimg activities with his regressors, and talking about the things they're doing and what they plan to do next!

He spoils his babies. You want that pretty deco paci you saw online? It's yours. New stuffie? It's already on it's way. Just need a hug? He'll cuddle you as close as possible until you can't dream of being anywhere else. Anything his baby wants, his baby gets, so long as it's nothing bad for them, and they're being good (and even if they're not, if the puppy eyes are convincing enough he'll break pretty easily. But shhh, don't take advantage of that, he gets sad if he feels like he isn't being stern enough).

He loves being called nicknames! Anything from daddy to Tama-chan gets him smiling brighter than the sun and squeezing the life out of you in a hug. A sweet nickname from a cute little baby is the way to his heart 🥺

He loves taking his regressors out! Parks, toy stores, anywhere! And he doesn't take it lightly when someone tries to make his babies feel bad for enjoying themselves. He's protective, that's for sure.

I really hope you enjoyed this! And again, thank you so much for the welcome and for the request! I hope you enjoyed!

[agere-fandom-time]

can you please do a age regessor mori senpi fic?

Sorry this one took so long! I threw in a little cg!Honey because I think that’s cute: I hope you enjoy it! 

You can read it below the ‘read more’ below or on AO3 here! 

-Mod Stella

Everyone at Ouran knew that Mori took care of Honey. The two of them were inseparable, together unless their class schedule separated them. They were always touching, Honey sitting on Mori’s shoulders or curled against his side. One of Honey’s hands was made for his stuffed bunny and the other hand was made for holding Mori’s.

Most people didn’t notice that sometimes Honey took care of Mori.

Haruhi wasn’t most people, and she watched the members of the Host Club closely. She knew when the twins switched hairstyles, and she knew when Kyoya was only pretending to care about numbers more than Tamaki, and she knew when Honey was taking care of Mori.

It was subtle, the way the two of them changed. Honey’s voice got a little quieter, his eyes flicking to Mori more often. And there was something in Mori’s expression that Haruhi learned to recognize, a distant look in his eyes. It wasn’t any more than that: Honey still rode on Mori’s shoulders, and curled into his cousin’s side, and babbled on while Mori occasionally nodded. But still, there was something different about them, and Haruhi watched with curiosity.

---

It was after school, in late January, and Haruhi was late for calligraphy club. She wasn’t particularly fond of the activity, but extracurriculars were good for scholarship essays, and calligraphy club didn’t demand too much time away from her schoolwork.

She was running through the hallway now, thankful that it was empty. Most of the students had already gone home, and she had lost track of time writing in her notebook. Her school shoes clicked on the floor, her breath echoing in her ears as she spun down the stairs and into the hallway on the first floor.

She almost ran straight into Mori, only just managing to scrabble to a halt in front of him.

“Sorry, Mori-senpai!” Haruhi squeaked, trying not to pant too much. “I’m just, uh-” she hesitated. Haruhi hadn’t told the other host club members about her other extracurriculars. Word always got back to Tamaki when she confided in one of them, and she knew he wouldn’t understand why she couldn’t just write about host club for her scholarship essays. “What are you doing here?”

It dawned on Haruhi that it was strange to see Mori afterschool without his older cousin. She didn’t want to blatantly ask where the shorter boy was, but couldn’t ignore her confusion.

Mori stared back at Haruhi, his eyes squinting for a moment as though he was trying to recognize her. The confusion passed across his face slowly, leaving behind his usual placid expression.

Haruhi paused and looked at him again, recognizing that slight distance in his eyes.

“Are you… okay, Mori-senpai?” she asked, reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder. Mori was the host that touched Haruhi the least, but they had still shared space in their share of group cuddle piles, and it didn’t feel like an unfamiliar gesture to reach out to him.

Mori placed his hand over Haruhi’s, patting it twice. His gaze drifted over her head, and into the distance.

“Mori?” Haruhi ventured again, and his eyes meandered back to her. “Hi.” She smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. Mori seemed… zoned out. She had never noticed him being so disconnected when he was with Honey in this space, but then again, it was usually hard to tell how much attention Mori was paying at any given time. “Do you know where Honey-senpai is?”

That got a reaction: Mori’s eyes widened, an uncharacteristic show of emotion, and he shook his head slowly.

“Do you want to try and find him?” Haruhi offered. “I can help you look.”

Mori reached out and took hold of Haruhi’s hand, wrapping his larger hand around hers.

“Okay.” Haruhi did her best to hold Mori’s hand back, his fingers laid over hers. “Do you remember where his last class was today?”

Mori shook his head again and cast his eyes towards the ground, shoulders slumping.

“That’s okay!” Haruhi reassured him, squeezing his hand gently. “Do you have his number on your cellphone? We can give him a call.”

She watched Mori think that through, his forehead creasing for a moment before he reached into his pocket and handed Haruhi a plain grey portable phone. Haruhi didn’t have one of her own, but she used her dad’s sometimes, and it was easy enough to flip it open with one hand and find Mori’s contacts. It looked like he had missed a few calls from Honey: the whole Host Club kept their phones on silent when they were together, and Mori must not have turned his ringer back on today.

Haruhi clicked ‘dial’ and held the phone to her ear, smiling at Mori as she did. His eyes were fixed on the wall to his left, seeming unaware of Haruhi beside him, but he hadn’t let go of her hand.  

“Takashi!” Honey’s voice came through the speaker, a mix of concern and relief. “Where are you? You weren’t by your class, and you haven’t answered your calls, and-”

“It’s Haruhi,” she interrupts. “I’m with Mori-senpai, we’re on the first floor by the bulletin board.”

“Is he okay?” Honey asked tearfully.

“He’s fine, Honey-senpai. I’ve got him.” Haruhi tightened her grip slightly on Mori’s hand, as if to reassure herself that she was telling Honey the truth. “Do you want us to come to you?”

“No, no, I’m on my way!” Haruhi could hear Honey running, footsteps echoing in the stairwell. “I’ll be there!”

Mori’s head turned towards the stairwell, probably picking up on Honey’s footsteps in the distance as he came towards them.

“He’s almost here,” Haruhi murmured to him, holding the phone away from her mouth. Mori turned his attention to her, blinking again as if he’d forgotten about her presence. “Honey’s coming,” she repeated.

Mori nodded, and something like a smile curled at the corner of his mouth. Haruhi smiled back at him, relieved that the problem had been so easily solved.

“Takashiiiiii!” Honey pelted down the last few steps and flung himself into Mori’s arms. Mori caught him easily, hoisting him up and cradling him in his arms like a baby. Honey flopped his stuffed bunny on top of his chest, freeing both his hands to reach up and cradle Mori’s cheeks. “You were gone! You made me worried!” Tears were brimming in Honey’s eyes. “Don’t wander off like that!”

Haruhi couldn’t see Mori’s expression, as he’d turned away to catch Honey. But she could tell the two of them were looking at each other, for long moments of silence.

“I love you,” Honey sighed finally, bringing his arms back to cradle his rabbit. “Let’s go home, Takashi. I want cake, and you can have applesauce.”

Mori made an agreeable hum to that, and lifted Hunny up to his customary perch on the larger boy’s shoulders. They turned towards Haruhi, who awkwardly held out Mori’s phone.

“Thanks for finding him, Haru-chan!” Honey chirped, rubbing his cheek against Mori’s spiked hair. “Don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“Of course.” Haruhi handed the phone to Mori and watched him tuck it back into one of his blazer pockets. “You’ll be okay getting home?”

“The driver’s still waiting!” Honey assured her. “Easy as pie!”

Haruhi had forgotten that most of the students had personal drivers that picked them up from school. She shouldn’t have worried.

“Be safe, you two,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Haru-chan!!” said Honey, waving as Mori walked towards the doors. “Have fun at calligraphy!”

Haruhi stared after them as the doors closed behind their backs. There was so much more to the two of them than what met the eye.

[fandomregression]

You said you did ohshc so I was wondering if you had any headcannons for regressor Tamaki and if the rest of the club members were his cg’s. Like, individually. If that makes sense.. 😅

Age Regressor Tamaki

if you think he's dramatic when he's big, you haven't seen anything yet

hes super whiney and dramatic and so particular

honestly the only person who can do no wrong is his mommy haruhi

everything haruhi does is perfect and magical and amazing to tamaki. the way she slices sandwiches? perfect. the way she fixes his bottles? perfect. the way she arranges his stuffies for naptime? ...okay maybe she could do that better. clearly only best friends can be together and she put mortal enemies side by side more than once

kyoya is his daddy (though he barely puts up with that title) and while he talks a big game with rules and restrictions... he has too big of a soft spot for tamaki to follow through most of the time. he fusses over the little things like healthy snacks, but lets tamaki get away with covering a table in stickers

tamaki loves playing with the twins a lot more when hes little. he loves their energy and loves their games so much.

honey is the perfect playmate though. the two of them can play with toys and play pretend and have the Most Fun. and when all is said and done and it's time for a nap, mori is the Upies Master

tamaki is a baby regressor to toddler, so he is very needy and very small. he loves bottles and always has a paci, and he loves loves loves stuffies

he also loves dressing up in onesies and overalls to feel extra Babie

overall, hes a handful, but he's the host club's handful and they love him dearly

[newtwolf]

acc guide :)

bungou stray dogs:

cg dazai/ranpo/chuuya

little atsushi + cg dazai/kunikida

cg fukuzawa + little ranpo

cg jouno + little tecchou

little dazai + cg chuuya/kunikida

genderfluid ranpo

young trans ranpo

noragami:

little yukine/yato + cg yato/hiyori

ouran high school host club:

cg haruhi/kyoya + little tamaki

alice in borderland:

trans arisu

moon knight:

little steven grant

general little/cg textposts:

1 | 2 |

[animebw]

Last Exile: Series Reflection

Sometimes, I wonder how anime survived the early 2000s. In the space between when Cardcaptor Sakura ended in 2000 and huge smash hits like Death Note and Haruhi Suzumiya ushered in the golden age of 2006, the anime landscape was almost completely barren of good, high-quality shows and films. Former champions like Gainax were going into debt-ridden tailspins, everyone was struggling to make the jump from cell animation to digital, the effects of the 90s market crash were settling in for the long haul, and the first wave of genuinely interesting, thoughtful shows inspired by Evangelion had given way to half-baked, bargain-bin imitators that mistook obtuse plotting and edgy misery porn for depth and meaning. So few anime from this time period made any sort of impact, and fewer still have stood the test of time. Were it not for the rare masterpiece like Wolf’s Rain or Mushishi (and the rise of the shonen big 3, I suppose), this entire five-year period would pretty much be a bust. I could probably count on both hands the anime from this period I’ve seen that are worth checking out. And far more often, I’ll come across an anime from this period that starts off promising and exciting, only to eventually buckle under the weight of all the same issues so many of its contemporaries share.

As you’ve probably surmised from my previous analysis, Last Exile is sadly one of those shows. It starts out with so much promise, detailing a richly realized steampunk world where every worldbuilding and environmental detail feels like it’s telling part of the story. It hooks you on the promise of exciting adventure soaring through the skies, of characters like Lavie with strong, lovable personalities you can get behind, of themes exploring the corruption of power and the unequal distribution of war’s atrocities among a society. It’s exciting, it’s fresh, and it’s thoughtfully constructed in a way that makes even the smallest details seem to matter. Even studio Gonzo’s usual awkward integration of early 2000s CG is handled better than usual, giving the aerial combat a real sense of majesty and momentum. All the pieces were in place for this show to be something worth remembering. And then, little by little, its charms sputtered out like matches in the rain, until I could barely remember the joys that drew me to it in the first place.

I wish I could point to one specific thing that explains why this show fell apart, but it’s not really one individual issue that dooms Last Exile. It’s the entirety of what once made it good falling by the wayside, everything that used to be so carefully considered eventually given up on with a half-hearted shrug. The lived-in environmental detail gives way to confusing, unexplained magic anime bullshit. The promise of lively characters is kneecapped when Lavie is unceremoniously shoved into the background for the show’s second half, leaving nothing but astonishingly bad love triangle bullshit in her absence. The strong themes that made an emotional connection with me never quite slow down and sputter to a stop  before reaching a satisfying conclusion. The wonder and whimsy of this high-flying world is eventually buried under episode after episode of dull, lifeless animation and aesthetics. And over time, it gradually sunk in that the life leaking out of this show with every passing moment was never coming back, that it was just going to keep deflating like a balloon until there was no air left. Not dramatically shooting itself in the foot and going up in a spectacular trainwreck, but slowing down like an engine running out of gas before finally stopping in the middle of the tracks, unable to muster up the energy to keep moving forward.

This one hurts, because I really wanted to like Last Exile. The strengths of its first half, the excitement of coming into this show and being swept away, stayed with me long enough for me to forge a real connection with it. But once it started losing steam, it never recovered, and a show I was genuinely enjoying eventually became a show I couldn’t care less about. And for that crushing disappointment, I give Last Exile a score of:

5/10

Man, that makes me sad. On the bright side, though? We’ve finally reached the last leftover show from my summer of suggestions! We’re almost free to move on to other things! HUZZAH! Thank you for joining me on this ride, folks. If you’ve enjoyed my analysis and want more of me, be sure to ask for an invite to my Discord where you can hang out and chat about the shows I’m watching with me and fellow anime fans! And I hope you’ll stick around for the show that will take its place:

Problem Children are Coming from Another World, Aren’t They?

Now there’s a light novel title if I’ve ever heard one. See you next time for the start of a new adventure!