#ch165

[aihoshiino]

Thanks for pointing out the absence of Ai in ch165 on all things 15YL... The chapter is such an uncomfortable read to me, the last page showing how the finale might be about how the world became better because "Aqua did what he had to ie the noble selfless path"... but it's hard to expect any satisfying storytelling in the final twist when there's only one chapter left.

The absence of Ai, is like a vacuum to the narrative. She is the personification of the entertainment industry in the narrative, representing the hope and the despair. ONK was (is) advertised as a comment to the industry itself, yet the last few characters, including Aqua's death, had nothing to do with the industry at all. It's just about a psychopath murderous villain and a hero who sacrificed himself to stop him. Kamiki's story COULD be a comment towards the industry, but in the end Aka decided it's not. And that in turn made Aqua's suicide (which the story refused to acknowledge as) unrelated to the exploitation entertainers experience. We didn't even feel the prying eyes of the press during Aqua's funeral — unlike Ai's where we saw BKom members crying for the camera and the twins far away in a car, not even allowed to grieve in public. Ai's absence is loud because she symbolised what the story is about, but these chapters didn't intend to include her, and that makes it feel like a different story to me.

YEAH, IT'S SO. JUST.

^ image of me reading those last 2 chapters and realizing all the 15YL promo shit was about aqua and ai was nowhere lol

It really feels like past a certain point Aka either lost his steam when it came to the industry commentary or it just interfered too much with the story he'd already decided he wanted to tell so it was more convenient for him to just arbitrarily have it not affect the characters and world even when really, it should have done.

I've pointed this out re: Ruby but it really is bizarre when you pay attention the degree to which she just is entirely untouched by any kind of systemic issue or friction even when it's actively harming Kana and Mem. It ends up coming off like she's being coddled and protected by Miyako at the expense of the other talents, especially because um. Ruby literally says Miyako is doing this lmao.

But it also pokes its head out in other spots - there's a point made that the drama from the LoveNow incident will almost certainly follow Akane for the rest of her professional life but there's never any indication that it's a continuing issue, even when Kana points out to her like "wtf are you doing posting photos of your current location when ppl were sending you death threads Two Months Ago"

Idk, in general Akasaka has a bad habit of like... rather than letting the world state and consequences of the story have verisimilitude with what has been previously established about this in-universe society and systems, he just kind of forces the story to stay on the course that is most convenient for the beats he wants to hit. He is simultaneously too prone to improvisation while being bad at compromising enough to kill his darlings.

[captainkirkk]

I don't know if you're reading ORV on Webtoon but I'm on ch165 on it. I'm super excited that you started to read it!

I also can't wait for you to see the Nirvana part my favorite part so far was a couple chapters ago and I really want your reaction to it bc it's just so funny

I'm up to chapter 76! It sounds like there's some cool stuff coming once I'm finally in the 100s

[catcas22]

Prince of Death ch165

Prince of Death - Chapter 165 - catcas22 - Elden Ring (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 168

Chapter 168: "Dad"

I know this is the same room Isabella & Peter were seen having their discussion in back during ch165, but to just have two plain chairs in such a large, empty room seems so extra. Regardless of that, I do like the panel of the trio here, even though they're surprised to find no one here due to the fake footage Peter fooled Vincent with that lead them there.

Dunno how all the kiddos are hearing Peter's message since the teams seem to only have one person with a communication device but whatever. Perhaps he's speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.

Although I have a hard time believing the Ratri men were able to tie up the Adam clones without a fight, I guess anyone will yield once you hold them at gunpoint. Also, the absence of Hayato in this panel is a nice hint to his role next chapter.

While the demon guards don't cause much of a problem during the rest of the story, it still would've been better if the kids killed them off instead of put them to sleep. I get that they didn't wanna kill if they didn't have to, but it would've been one less thing to worry about. Hearing about Sonju & Mujika's execution definitely adds to the stress. Not as much as their deaths could have, but we're thankful Peter was stupid enough to actually wait three days.

Along with all the citizens who drank the evil blood being killed, the Ratri clan and the higher-up demons taking control of the government, let's add the plan to assemble a ton of new Lambda farm into the mix as well. Talk about a big time panic. The premium farms don't sound so bad now huh?

Oh Vincent, you dunno these kids as well as you thought if you honestly believe they would shoot the adults in front of them. Emma, Ray, Don & Gillian couldn't manage to fire a shot at Andrew back when he held Dominic & Alicia hostage after the shelter raid. You're best bet would've been Oliver. This goes back to that old post of mine wondering who, among the kids, would be able to shoot at another human, but I still believe Ray could manage it, if only as a last resort.

The thought of Norman firing at another person was always a toss up for me though. Of course he showed no mercy towards demons during this WM phase, so even with the clear difference between demon and human, I wouldn't have been completely surprised if that cold persona of his came back with a vengeance once he heard Vincent get shot. Peter's been a thorn in Norman side ever since Lambda, so having this bastard personally hurt one of his friends just adds fuel to the fire. Norman (& Ray) did often mention taking down Isabella & Krone back during their GF days if they wanted to escape successfully, so they have level of brutality, it's just been real lowkey. Thankfully none of the children need to get blood on their hands. They've suffered enough already.

Please never say those words with your mouth. No one in this world considers you as that.

Hell yeah Oliver, let him know what's up!! I love that he, Zack & Gillian feel so strongly about the word "dad" because of the relationship they had with Lucas. The same can be said about Ayshe & her father but I can ramble more about all that next chapter.

Favorite panel/moment:

If you've been around me for a while, then you already know how damn hilarious this panel of Norman is to me.

I mean, in context, it's pretty serious, but thanks to a silly edit I've made years ago, I can't look at this panel anymore and not laugh like an idiot. So, now's the perfect time to upgrade it from a noticeable bad edit I made in the car on my phone once upon a time to something more worthy to use every time I lose my mind.

[toestalucia]

gbf ch165-172

[lovesmcfashion]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: NEW LONG OFF THE SHOULDER STRAPLESS ASYMETRICAL CURVY FIT SEQUIN GOWN CD CH165.

[os-eclipses-tamen-son-yuri]

I JUST READ today's chapter and ohhhh I want to bring this back because ch165 could not be a better thesis chapter for part 2.

And it's extremely elegant how it was delivered.

We have our little group getting on a train to go and find a sushi restaurant where Denji can eat. The setting is apparently mundane, typical for young adults their age. Kids going out to eat with their friends.

After all, Asa is trying to make Denji get his "normal" life back.

The problem here lies in Asa's assumption of Denji's character.

She THINKS Denji has a normal life he can go back to.

And so we see this constant dichotomy highlighted all throughout the chapter: there's barely any sushi restaurants because the workers have died or they have been destroyed, the other people on the train are injured instead of tired from their daily work, the buildings in the distance that frame our landscape are destroyed. Asa clings to a normalcy that isn't even there, not because she is trying to make routine out of a catastrophic situation but because that internalized dichotomy hasn't settled in. She thinks she can always go back.

Because while she HAS a "normal life" to go back Denji has never had one.

This is not Denji's turning point, it's Asa's.

Because her character is a constant contrast to Denji.

While Denji is the only one to aknowledge their situation, the deaths, the destruction, and the fighting, the ridiculousness of it all; Asa is oblivious to it. Clinging to the need of returning Denji to a life he never had.

While he has absorbed Pochita since the beggining, making it difficult to know where Chainsawman ends and where Denji begins (let's remember Makima telling him that how Denji acts as CSM is not how a devil like him should behave); Asa's arc is all about learning to work together with Yoru. There's some prevalence of the "double identity" trope in her character just as in Denji's, just that hers is quite more literal.

And ironically enough, while she has never kept her identity secret unlike Denji, it is her who clings to the compartimentalisation of their lifestyles.

She assumes Denji had a regular life with regular friends and chores. She assumes Nayuta is a regular sister, a normal kid. She thinks their apartment building burning down is an unlucky tragedy that can be fixed and not a fundamental shift in Denji's life. We could even argue that CSM is the only thing that has allowed Denji to have a taste of what a "normal life" for people would be.

Which is why Asa is working with a faulty premise.

Asa has brought war, and that is something she can't even begin to understand.

You can't really blame me for headcanoning Denji's narrative as somewhat trans coded.

There's something about the body horror of Chainsawman thats so alluring to me, not in a purely gorey way. The imagery of ripping your body to shreds to become the Chainsaw. Of people ripping out your heart, others taking your blood. Some your legs and arms.

The feeling brought by the lack of agency in one's body.

Or rather, how people exploit and abuse their external perceived conceptualitation of your body onto you.

Chainsawman the demon.

Chainsawman the hero.

Chainsawman the monster.

Chainsawman the idol.

Chainsawman the heart.

Chainsawman the reaper.

What about Denji.

The brother, the caregiver, the classmate, the son, the friend.

Are these separate? Which one is fake? Is there a fake one? Are they the same or is one a shadow of the other? A front?

Is chainsawman denji? Who is Denji?

This separation of self, the compartmentalization of Denji's reality as seen by everyone else.

If Part 1 was about creating Chainsawman

Part 2 is about who is Chainsawman, the idea of him.

And not what he is for other people only, Denji too.

How it reaches a point in which it even becomes a maladaptive coping mechanism, self harm.

Denji craving the blood and violence and pain not because of hunger, but to numb out the dissonace.

How that dissonace is boosted even further by the fact that all the people that have seen Denji as he is have long left him or suffer because of their closeness.

There's a certain parasociality in all this mess.

How people latch onto their false constructed idea of the Chainsaw, of what it's supposed to be, what it's supposed to do; even if that's not reality, if it's not the truth, even if they dont fully believe it themselves.

How Denji is forced into it even if clearly it's not something that he especially enjoys. Not in a healthy way anyways.

How one becomes a symbol, whose meaning is given to them by others, not by oneself.

That objectification: the creation of an idol, myth. Fiction.

[nagirambles]

Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 165

So it’s something that’s bothered me a bit-- Aries has a belt and pouch in the manga, and it makes her look a little more resourceful and workman-like than her anime counterpart. I like the contrast between it and her simple white fluffy dress, because it gives her a good design balance. 

(She has it in the Angel fight and in her Edolas appearance in the anime, but I don’t believe she has it anytime else including all future appearances and the Karen flashback. She always has it in the manga.) 

It makes her look a little younger and cuter, I think? 

As it is in the anime, her scenes are always more emphasized on her offshoulder top and curves which annoys me because, she’s so cute and sexy already, you don’t need to emphasize her boobs and hips, geez. It’s like “wooly cute wooly cute” was the only thing they wanted to tell the audience about her, not the literal work pouch she has to express her sincerely hardworking side. 

It’s a different appeal, you know? The cute thing about her is how meek and shy she acts, so she doesn’t need three times of badoonkazoonkas. Her first appearance in the anime looks kind of wonky because her boobs were bigger than her face, and she had a One Piece reminiscent pencil waist. That is not a good thing. 

Her later appearances are fine, they fixed the proportions to look more reasonable and petite, but first impressions matter, you know? 

Anyway, with the belt in the manga, it’s almost like she’s actually here to work, and I like that. She emphasizes firsthand, in both of her appearances thus far, that she takes her job seriously despite the odds (against Leo) and she is not here to do things outside her job description like service men (against Karen). 

I wish that this part of her personality, which shows she’s not just a damsel in distress but also a genuinely earnest worker, was developed further. But alas. 

Anyways, I went off topic. I wanted to talk about everyone. 

Can we talk about the fact that Scorpio’s tail is clearly a fucking machinegun???

I think he uses it to shoot sand, but, literal ability-type magic looks like that. He could have been shooting it out of his tail and we’d believe it because we’ve seen hands and vases shoot out similar vortexes of elements, so why does it look like a machinegun? Heck, Lucy can do all this with just her hands in her star dress, too! 

I want to see him prepping and charging up a energy laser blaster of sand, at least.

I understand now why the Scorpio-Aquarius dress went in the mecha direction, but in the exact same way, Like, you can make it look like a gun or a mech all you want, it doesn’t feel like it works like one, you know?? Scorpio has a gun that doesn’t need to be a gun. SxA has huge machine limbs, but Lucy can’t even heavylift or efficiently tread terrains in it, so what’s the point? A cool design is pointless if it's clearly just a whimsical decoration! 

I kinda want Lucy to have sci-fi laser guns in her star dress, if only just to shoot sand blasts with. Honestly that would have been better than the weird clunky metal parts. And it would feel like Rebecca, with twin guns, so it's in Mashima's nature to do as a reference for readers of both.  

[fadyoopies]

Don't always joke around, because when you're serious, no one believe 💫

Lol, these duo never forget to be clown 🤣

[mqfx]

The group of them finally came before the last painting. The colours of this mural were an enormous contrast to the previous one. It had returned to bright and vibrant, filled with holy light. However, with just the first look, Xie Lian was shocked to the core. He widened his eyes.

Pei Ming took a look. “My god, is this the idea the Crown Prince of Wuyong came up with? Ha! Daring. Worthy of admiration.”

On the third mural, at the bottom of the painting was the Kingdom of Wuyong. The Wuyong River flowed wildly across the earth, and the crown prince with his four guardian deputies were also in it. However, they weren’t the focal point. Within this painting, the most prominent object, what was at the centre, was a bridge.

A giant bridge, shining with white light, was held up by the Crown Prince of Wuyong and his four guardians, and the people on the ground were swarming towards the bridge with smiles covering their faces.

This Crown Prince of Wuyong had built a bridge that connected the heavens and earth, with the intention of bringing his people to the heavenly realm!

[every-sanji]

Sleeby

[new-romantic-sailors]

😳👀

[opbackgrounds]

We don’t know how long the Straw Hats have been walking before Luffy plops down at this tree, but I get the impression they haven’t gotten far. Personally, I think Luffy waited until they were out of eye/earshot of Yuba and then just sat at the nearest bit of vegetation he could find. 

As for the timing of this fight, it’s not as random as it seems once you stop and think about it. All this time the Straw Hats have been going off of what Vivi’s said about Crocodile and the rebellion--Yuba was really their first time seeing up close and personal the destruction Crocodile has wrought, and Toto the first native Alabastian other than Vivi that they’ve interacted with. 

Luffy is academically stupid, but he’s good at understanding people and can cut through the bullshit to see the heart of a problem almost immediately. He’s had an entire night to sleep on the new information he’s been given and is addressing the problem that Vivi has been too blinded to see as soon as he possibly can

[abybweisse]

Ch165, A bluff and a sniper’s aim

Ran-Mao is apparently still being drugged to keep her knocked-out.

Mey-Rin could possibly die before she gets Ran-Mao out of the manor. Even if that’s the case, she might still be able to help Ran-Mao anyway.

She was trying to get to Ran-Mao’s side when Jane attacked. Perhaps she can still manage to get to it and ruin the equipment that is keeping Ran-Mao drugged.

It occurs to me that even though Mey-Rin told Jane her former master bought her the pair of glasses she’s wearing, she never said whether she was nearsighted or farsighted. Here’s from ch153:

Jane might assume nearsighted, since Mey-Rin explains that the polish mixup was carelessness, not an inability to see up close. And now Jane is standing somewhat close to Mey-Rin... and Mey-Rin has her glasses on her hat. This might be even more of a bluff than I previously said.

Is she trying to make Jane think she is nearsighted, instead of farsighted? If Mey-Rin is in a position where she’s too far away from Ran-Mao to pull out the IV drip, maybe that’s why she has her glasses off... so she can aim that pistol with enough precision to destroy the IV tubing and other equipment.

Jane would be too busy dealing with Mey-Rin to care about Ran-Mao just yet, so maybe... just maybe... Ran-Mao could wake up, collect her thoughts... and save herself? Maybe she could even wake up in time to help Mey-Rin?

Thoughts?

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 162

Chapter 162: "Musical Chairs"

From humans to demons, there are so many of them in this series who go to such great lengths in order to give those who are dear to them a better life by sacrificing so much of themselves. Hearing how the high priest and the four sages allowed everyone to eat the meat from farms while they pray silently for a thousand years without eating anything is serious dedication.

These owl cameras are starting to become a big nuisance to us, though I do find it somewhat comical that the Ratri clan relies on technology while Norman and his crew use live owls to deliver messages. The real owls might not be the best option out of the two but I have no doubt if the kids had more time to deal with their problems that Norman and Vincent could've possibly trained their birds to survey areas than just act as messengers.

He's right, unfortunately. I mean it's great knowing that Emma & the others would never give up on their family, but not being able to pull off a surprise attack is a bit of a disadvantage.

Favorite panel/moment:

Of fucking course it's her. I went through many emotions upon seeing her actually alive and being promoted to Grandma, as I'm sure all the children did as well, but I can safely say that I'm now beyond happy to see this wonderful woman return. What an epic comeback.

(Looking back, I think it's because of Isabella that those old chapter reviews of mine started in the first place. The first one I ever wrote out was for ch161, then I rambled on about her being alive with this chapter, but actually skipped a couple until ch165 where we learned more of what happened to her post-escape and then the posts were constant after that.)

[simkjrs]

saiki panels that really make you think