#clamp mangaka

[ayanna-tired]

RG Veda (Clamp), group & chibi

[suguruuuuu-chan]

The difference between Monkey D Luffy and Gon Freecs is that one of them is a good friend

[izartn]

Geto Suguru from Jujutsu Kaisen is like if Sumeragi Subaru from Tokyo Babylon/X discovered that after Seishiro betrayal and his sister death at his hands he couldn't stand the humans who made all the ghosts and harm he keeps being bombarded over and over.

They both got that permeability and empathy, that ended up fucking their lives. Only Geto also got a superiority complex about his power and also is much more in danger of death by the system he's in (the powerscale and the nature of ghosts in Tokyo Babylon make it so the danger is more about emotionally ruin and isolation specifically for Subaru) so he went nuclear on killing not sorcerers when he snapped instead of closing himself emotionally to the world. (He did that, kinda, bc he has to bury thhat part of him that cared, but he did create attachments to other sorcerers in the meanwhile).

Also Subaru is so so empathic. (By design bc he has to contrast Sakurazuka "Tragedies like these are commonplace in Tokyo" Seishiro) He can't rationalise to himself that most of humanity is trash and detach from it although he becomes indifferent when Seishiro dies in X, and pases those 9 years from TB to X in a haze of depression from what we can see, wishing he could give in. Suguru is king of rationalizing what he's doing driving himself deeper into the hole.

Subaru goes numb emotionally and keeps doing his job until he encounters Kamui and sees in him an opportunity to help someone like himself not end like his own tragedy.

I guess what I wanted to say is that although they're very different charas in personalities and about what kind of story they're in, they have that core? Suguru kinda reminded me this afternoon of Subaru, thinking about his downfall, so I had to share. They also share the unlearnt lesson of their less emotive counterpart. Yes I'm comparing Gojo Satoru and Sakurazuka Seishiro; they have the detached vibe and the clinical worldview about power and people. Satoru is like, the bening version of it. They both survive surprisingly well their supernatural jobs with a healthy dose of whatever happens happens and I'll worry about myself (and mine for Satoru).

Thinking again, satosugu is the less gay less extreme opposites version of that chara archetype. May be all the exorcism on the stories and the tragic air; SeiSub of course is the superior version bc, shojo and angst and canon but. Yeah.

EDIT: on retrospect I don't even know how I got here but I'm gonna left it up bc I feel like there's something even though I'm like. Reaching a lot. Bleh.

[rmorde]

By the way, isn't Gege confirmed to be a man? It's just a little confusing because I've seen discourse about him being a woman instead.

Nevertheless...

If you want a dark seinen with CSM vibes that is made by a woman, check out Dorohedoro by Q Hayashida!!!

If you want a shonen made by a woman that is a bit JJK-esque in terms of:

Secret Org/Society vs Supernatural Entities

Entities can only be destroyed in a super specific way

The MC has a Big Bad within them

Check out D. Gray Man by Hoshino Katsura!

[nyssasorbit]

I'm coming to a weird realization that my favourite authors are all Japanese

[kraniumet]

this tragedy needs to hit harder. if what you're making is a love story between two men (american film making canon status quo) don't be embarrassed about it & compromise your vision because you're afraid somebody will make a mocking remark in the new york times

[ousamars]

Please teach me how to draw like you omg your style is chefs KISS

Thank you for your kind comment!!

honestly speaking I still have a hard time figuring out my own style and often just do whatever I want so I'm not the best at giving advice haha, but I take a lot of inspiration from and do plenty of style studies of my favourite genres of work and artists! I am especially in love with 80s-90s and early-mid 2000s era animanga/games because that's what I grew up with and what got me into drawing in the first place, and I've become a lot happier once I started embracing those old influences again 😊 so don't be afraid to get a little self indulgent with it

In terms of general drawing/colouring style, some of my bigger inspirations are Arina tanemura, clamp and mutsumi inomata!

[mysticdragon3md3]

CLAMP Exhibition 2024 +GIVEWAY!!! by SPLATVISION

[meimi-haneoka]

Report of CLAMP's Twitter Space - April 1st, 2024 (part concerning Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card)

As it was quite predictable, CLAMP sensei opened a Twitter Space on April 1st to celebrate this important and special day, which they consider their "birthday" as a creative group. ✨

It is also the birthday of quite a number of characters in their works, but it's hilarious they mentioned later in this Space how April 1st is actually only CCS!Sakura's and TRC!Sakura's birthday, as all the other characters have "ambiguous" situations going on. 😂 I'll delve into this part later.

You will find the full report under the cut, since the post became considerably long once again - it was inevitable since they kept bringing Sakura things up and the Space was almost 50 minutes long! 😅I also wanted to feature as many info as possible, and where I could, I wanted to translate their conversations directly rather than making a summary of it.

CLAMP celebrated April 1st going to a beloved cafè in Kyoto (they later revealed in their IG stories it's called Mont and there's always a cute dog there), spending some nice relaxing time drinking something all four together. That's when they got the idea to open a Space to celebrate with their fans too. CLAMP reiterated several times during the Space how grateful they are for being able to do a creative job like this, even after 35 years. A job none of them really imagined when they were little, as "to become a mangaka" wasn't a specific dream any of them really had.

And then, Ohkawa introduced the part of the Space where they talked about CCS Clear Card, starting by the mention of the release of volume 16 (which happened precisely on April 1st)!

Ohkawa: A serialization that lasted 7 years and a half, isn't it? Mokona: So long, right? Ohkawa: Yeah, quite long! Satsuki: Elementary schoolers have already graduated by now. Ohkawa: Yeah, the readers who were in the first year when the serialization started have graduated elementary school long ago. We had decided that Sakura would start middle school when Clear Card Arc began, and readers of her same age reached adulthood by now. Satsuki & Mokona: Ah, it's true! Ohkawa: They've stayed with us for long time, right? And now the final volume is out. *they all applaude* Mokona: It's quite a happy end, isn't it? Ohkawa: Uh? Mokona: a happy, happy, happy end. 🥰 Ohkawa: 😨...you mean, an APPEALING end, right? (Nekoi echoing her: right?) (note: happy and appealing start with the same pronounce in Japanese) Nekoi: 😅(to Mokona) What are you talking about? Ohkawa: What do you mean, Mokona? 🙃 *Mokona laughs nervously* Nekoi: Is that your headcanon or something? Ohkawa: Is this okay to say? Nekoi: Or rather, is this your conspiracy? 😂

Of course they all joked like this because they wanted to avoid spoiling how the story ended 😂 Ohkawa thanked all the readers for sticking with this story for such a long time. Long time after Sakura Card Arc, when the right opportunity came, they were able to draw this "Clear Card Arc". In that regard, Ohkawa mused that she can't even recall why the previous arc is called "Sakura Card Arc", despite no one actually calls those cards as "Sakura Cards" in the story itself (she said the characters do call them "Sakura's Cards", but not "Sakura Cards"), and Mokona seemed to agree with her, but here sensei was simply forgetting that it was Tomoyo herself the one who named them that way in volume 7 😅(in the beginning she wanted to call them "Sakura-chan Cards", then she settled for "Sakura Cards"....unforgettable Sakura's comment: "It sounds like the name of a credit card..." 😂) It was long ago, we can forgive them. 😉And they made sure to repeat the same thing with Clear Card Arc, since in this story NO ONE ever calls those as "Clear Cards" but actually just "transparent cards" or "new cards". 😂

Ohkawa added that middle schooler Sakura grew up a bit more in the last part of the story, and people who have already read the last chapter can understand what she means by that. She also said that she'd like to leave a more in-depth talk for another time, when they get the right opportunity, but the biggest reason why they decided to open this Space was to talk about unknown "behind the scenes" trivia that the fans could ask about using the hashtag of "CLAMP day" and those of the campaigns organized by Kodansha (in particular, the one to win the big A4 size clear bookmark). She also said that she wanted to give this opportunity to Satsuki and Nekoi to say something about Clear Card since the last time they all talked together, they didn't get the chance. Ohkawa also brought up the last CLAMP Kanbukai podcast, where she talked about the trivia of Fujitaka's iron kettle and that shocked both her colleagues, cause they didn't know about that detail! 😆

Ohkawa: The story I'm about to tell you is something me and Mokona know very well, since there's a precise reason behind this trivia. In Clear Card Arc there's a "key character" called Akiho. Akiho's last name is "Shinomoto" and that was decided ever since the very beginning, but her first name was originally Sairi! Her full name was Sairi Shinomoto. Mokona: It gives off a different vibe, right? Ohkawa: Indeed. I had already decided the kanji for it and all, but at some point, before we even started to draw chapter 1, whenever I talked to Mokona...(to Mokona) please explain what happened. Mokona: Whenever I tried to write the hiragana for あいお (aio) in our conversations on Line, the autocorrect on my phone would change it to 秋穂 (Akiho). (Note: another reading of the kanji in Akiho's name is indeed Ai'o) Whenever I tried to write those hiragana characters, the autocorrect would change it to akiho once the message got sent, and I was like "what's that akiho?? I didn't want to write that". I couldn't understand, because it's not like I had ever used that word with other people (note: she means the autocorrect didn't learn it from other conversations). Ohkawa: The first 2-3 times it happened I was just perplexed, but then as this "akiho, akiho, akiho" kept happening every time, I just asked her "Mokona, are you doing this on purpose??" and she was like "no, not at all!" 😂 She told me "Look what (the phone) converts this into!", but when we tried to do the same on our phones, it didn't come out to any of us! Mokona: But I did show it to you, right? That it came out like that to me. Ohkawa: Yeah, you did! I found it strange cause she said she doesn't even have any friend who's called Akiho-chan, she even tried to recall if there was a character of any series that's called like that... Mokona: Right, but I didn't know any! 😅 Ohkawa: So we started to think about it...Akiho seemed like a really cute name, it combines the characters of "autumn" (秋) with the ear of rice (穂), we pondered about it for 0.02 seconds and then I said "Let's use 'Akiho' for her name". And that's how she became Akiho Shinomoto. Satsuki: You thought that the ear of rice was a nice "opposite pole" to Sakura's spring. Nekoi: What were Sairi-chan's kanji? Ohkawa: Well, it doesn't really matter now but initially, I had designed for her name to bear a kanji only for the "ri" part, and leave the "Sai" part in hiragana. In CCSakura all the characters have their name either in hiragana or kanji, and there isn't any character who's got a name that mixes both. So I thought to do that for her. Ohkawa: Speaking of Sairi-chan, it's a good moment to mention that there's this morning drama show on NHK starting right today, called "Tiger with Wings" where Sairi Ito is starring. I really love her as an actress and I think Sairi is a really cute name, so I had decided for Akiho's name to originally be Sairi, just like hers. It's not like I created the "Akiho" character in Sairi Ito's image, but I just thought that Sairi was a really good name and there was a time when I thought that it would be better for her to have a name closer to Sakura's one, so I had initially decided for that one. But thanks to Mokona's fated intervention, she became Akiho.

Many fans who were listening started to try to type "aio" on their phones and uploaded the screenshots of how their autocorrect would suggest "Akiho" as a conversion! Ohkawa and Mokona looked at the screenshots and commented that the same result can be obtained both on an iOS phone and on a Mac computer. Mokona felt relieved that it wasn't just happening to her! 😆 Ohkawa: It might be that Mokona-san unilaterally changed her name for us, but...😆 Mokona: it's not like I was scheming for it or anything! 😆 A fan also brought up the fact that in the prefecture of Yamaguchi there's an onsen facility called "Aio Onsen" written with the same kanji of Akiho's name, and CLAMP were quite surprised to find that out.

Ohkawa: If you look at the story you'll know what I'm talking about, but in the finale Akiho reveals her true name as a 'final move', and I did think in the past that the spoiler about her true name would show through the fact that we gave her an autumnal name, but Mokona writing that 'Akiho' all those times was just so guided by fate, to the point it shocked us. And it came from writing something trivial like "Yo!" (note: Mokona wrote "ai" as a colloquial way to say "yo", "hi!") 😆 Mokona: It seems like it's quite an unusual name but don't worry, it's not like I was scheming for it! 😅

Then, Ohkawa asked Nekoi and Satsuki if there was a particular scene or part of the story they liked or if they had a fun episode to tell about...while she was waiting for their answers, she said they received lots of praises for the cover of volume 16, with many comments saying how beautiful it is, and for them it's already enough if people can even just look at the cover on the internet.

Ohkawa: By the way, you said the tone used for Kaito-san after his eyes changed was quite bothersome to you, right? Nekoi: Yeah, because I kept forgetting it! Satsuki: I wonder if people will notice...his eyes are so tiny, right? Ohkawa: Were his eyes huge, before? Satsuki: No, I mean, when turned into a tankobon his eyes look so tiny... Ohkawa: Ah, I see, I see. Nekoi: it's because we're used to see it on a screen. Ohkawa: Lots of stuff happened to Kaito-san in volume 15, and....lots of stuff happened to his eyes too, as a result. Because of that, we added a tone finish to his eyes, and it would make me happy if people noticed it. Mokona: There's quite a non-human feel to his eyes, now. Ohkawa: Indeed, indeed.

Ohkawa then asked Satsuki for her own tidbit about Clear Card, and she mentioned a color spread she really liked was the one of chapter 55, with Sakura and Akiho seemingly springing out of water, each on a side of the spread. Satsuki commented it's "a pose quite common in our artworks". Ohkawa recognized it and said the spread was actually two pieces drawn separately (as it's quite deducible by how the spread is composed). Satsuki added that in general all the art of the last volume is quite cute.

Ohkawa: What about you, Mokona? Mokona: As for me.... As you know, right in the middle of the play written by Naoko-chan, they end up in the world of the book. Well, it's not like they really go to another world. When we reach the part of Syaoran's action, both Sakura's POV and Syaoran's POV progress simultaneously...and I think if this were a video, there would be a way to portray it smoothly, but when we were working on it, Nanase told me "I want you to find a way to portray it that is fitting for a manga". So when I've got down to draw the storyboard, I've arranged the panels in a way that was quite understandable to me, but I started to have doubts whether people would be able to get easily what was going on...💦 I could understand it completely because I knew the story, but what about somebody who was seeing it for the first time...? Would it be okay...? I was quite worried about that. Ohkawa: Ooh, I see. I think somehow they were able to understand it.

After this, Ohkawa mentioned Motoko Kumai (Syaoran's, Sumomo, Nataku's VA)'s quote-retweet of their announcement of the Space, where she wished them a happy CLAMP day and said all of the meetings with those characters are a treasure to her. She added "Thank you for pouring your heart in everything you do". It was very funny to hear Ohkawa say "I wasn't the right person to read this, I get embarrassed with these praises! 😳But no, really, thank you very much." ✨

Ohkawa then said "We've been told by Kodansha that they've never had a single manga that continued for two volumes after the end was announced...well, this is our volume 16 that was extended twice 😁"

Ohkawa: I say this every single time, but in my heart, this was the story where Sakura-chan acted as a proper main character, till the very end. I think this is the story Sakura painted for herself, following her own feelings. Sorry, but this is how I feel. Of course I think it's possible to not see it this way and you're absolutely entitled to it, but we think our Sakura-chan really did her best. Mokona: She truly did. Ohkawa: Also, we got lots of comments saying that Touya used too many cheats 😆But I would like to remind everyone that Touya was a "cheater" since long time ago. Mokona: Despite not appearing often, we stacked on him many strong points. Ohkawa: He was really a cheater all along. (note: of course here with "cheater" they're meaning his abilities that allow him to do unexpected and powerful things in the plot, in order to help Sakura at the most convenient moment) I'm talking about Clow Card Arc right now (note: this is a part concerning Sakura Card Arc, actually), but to have a magical power that allows you to transfer all of it to a magical being created by Clow is already a cheat to begin with. Satsuki: he can also see (non-living beings). Ohkawa: Sakura-chan was refusing to do so, but she's also someone who can see them.

While looking at the hashtags, I can't understand if this was Nekoi's personal comment or the comment of a fan, but she said "It's good that it wasn't Touya the one finding the Cards", mocking the way he would've said the incantation to capture the Cards, and Ohkawa replied "Well, he would probably be 'Cardcaptor Touya' now. But he was an high schooler! Feels a bit off..." and Nekoi along with Satsuki mused even more on the possibility of him having a transformation scene like shoujo heroines or if he would just go capturing cards in his school uniform 😂 Mokona: I don't really think Tomoyo would put that much effort in creating costumes for anyone other than Sakura-chan 😂 Ohkawa: Yeah, Tomoyo wouldn't make a costume for him. Therefore, despite it would be quite troublesome because I don't really think Yukito is particularly skilled in sewing, what I can think of is that he would make for him some kind of awkward outfits that don't even look like cosplay costumes. Satsuki: He'll make them by himself. Ohkawa: Well, it's not like Touya would make them... Nekoi & Mokona: There's no reason for him to do it, after all. Ohkawa: He wouldn't be doing this with a serious spirit. Nekoi: So he wouldn't feel a particular reason to change clothes. Mokona: What if he wants to hide his face? What do you think? Ohkawa: Ah, you mean a mask? Nekoi: Well, it's not like Sakura-chan herself had ever any eyewitnesses, after all... Nekoi: He gives me the vibe of someone who would go and capture cards swiftly like he just dropped an item...and hey ho! It would end immediately like a yonkoma (note: four panel manga)! Mokona: He might just pay attention to not get his school uniform dirty. Ohkawa: Then, if Sakura was in Touya's place, she would just go like "Oh, I think I've heard a noise" Satsuki: "There's some rustling" Ohkawa: But I don't think Touya would try so desperately to hide it from her, like she did with him! 😁

Then, Ohkawa tried to bring the topic back to the theme of the day, Clear Card and the release of volume 16.

Ohkawa: it was the first time we happened to draw again for one of our series after almost 20 years. Of course there's been a change in the design, it was impossible for us to keep it the same. I'd be happy if you could enjoy nonetheless. Moreover, at the end of the story, the front and the back of all the Cards changed. We were able to show the back of the Cards when the special chapter was published on Nakayoshi, after the story was over, but as for the front of the Cards themselves, we have just shown a peek. Mokona: Right, and just a few of them. Ohkawa: Truth to be told, we have modified all of the Cards in their manga version. (to Mokona) It was hard, right? Mokona: Yes. Ohkawa: Mokona has rewritten all of their names, too. Because the design is different. Mokona: Yeah. I had colored them too. I thought I would die. Ohkawa: Nekoi and Satsuki worked really hard on them too. Despite that, the truth is we have no opportunity to show the new designs of all the Cards in their manga version! Mokona: It would be good if we could show somewhere the colored version of even just one Card... Nekoi: Since we worked so hard...

Many people in the "CLAMP Day" hashtag suggested for them to show them at the CLAMP exhibition of this summer. Then, back on the topic of volume 16:

Ohkawa: I know there might be people who won't think in that way about volume 16, and everything we're talking about might be a spoiler for others, but I personally think that both Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun matured little by little during this last volume, and I'd be happy for you to see it. Eriol ended up being that kind of character, as usual... (note: she impersonated him saying something, but unfortunately I can't really understand that line) Mokona: Beside him, the "camera" of the story focused properly on all the other characters, including the Kinomoto family. Ohkawa: This is something I wanted to do since long time ago, but...Fujitaka himself didn't have any powers, and although he didn't understand very well what was going on, he trusted Sakura-chan and in the end told her something like "I knew you were going out of the house at night!" 😁 I'm really glad we could draw that scene for him. I've always wanted to portray at least once what the characters of the "parents generation" did inside the story, it's not like Fujitaka-san was spacing out in a corner oblivious to everything...and I'm glad I could portray that in the story. Satsuki: He's collected lots of suspicious books too, right? Ohkawa: Yes. There's something I asked my three colleagues to depict long time ago, and it's connected to what happens in the end. Akiho-chan in the end says something like "I want to aim for a job like this in the future!", but not only that, she also looks for rare books while travelling to many countries around the world. The first time I wanted to portray what kind of rare books she would be collecting was in a scene of long time ago, when the girls visit Fujitaka's library. I asked to please put an homage to Cthulhu over there. Mokona: It's true! Please look for it! If I remember correctly, they were some kind of grimoires that appear in the Cthulhu mythos. We have included them clearly so please everyone, have fun looking for them! Ohkawa: We have intended all of those as homages, so I'd be happy if you could look at them. (note: the chapter they're talking about is the 26th one)

Mokona: It looks like something terrible is going to come out at any moment from a corner of Dad's library....💦 Ohkawa: Yeah. But Fujitaka is like "any kind of book is welcome here!", even with books like those ones. Ohkawa: And then, there's the matter of the chocomint. There have been questions like "why do you keep bringing chocomint up?" before. Among CLAMP, the ones liking chocomint are Nekoi and Satsuki. Mokona, what about you? Mokona: I've recently started to be able to eat the chocomint ice cream from Häagen-Dazs. Ohkawa: You didn't really like it before, right? Mokona: Yes. People from the "chocomint side" will probably think it's pretty mild tasting, but...😅 Ohkawa: As for me, I can't really eat it. 😅But I feel like when a person you love eats it so eagerly, you can't help but wanting to try it too. That's the reason why we employed chocomint in the story. Maybe people who like chocomint will disagree with me, but to me it's quite a divisive kind of food, you either love it or hate it. Mokona: Its color is so overwhelmingly cute too. I always end up wishing to eat it. Ohkawa: Are you like "ugh! This was a mistake" or "well this is quite good" when you actually try it? Mokona: If I do my best, I can eat it till the end. Ohkawa: Well, we have Lilie, an older character appearing in the story, whose person she fell in love with started to like chocomint precisely because she likes it too. That's something that can happen too, right? Mokona: Indeed. For Syaoran it was the same. Ohkawa: Uhm, right, didn't Syaoran dislike it? Nekoi: Yes, but when he tried it he actually started to like it. Mokona: He could eat it because it was something Sakura made for him! Ohkawa: Isn't that amazing? Mokona: It is 🥰

After this, CLAMP started to read some messages from the fans, and also mentioned that the word "Sakura-chan" ended up trending on Twitter. Ohkawa: We have realized it today for the first time, but among our characters, Sakura-chan is the only one whose birthday is TRULY on April 1st! Satsuki: The double Sakura-chan, right? Ohkawa: Right. First of all, I'm not sure we can consider as a 'birth day' what happened to the existence of xxxHolic's Watanuki. Then we have the birthday of Tsubasa's Syaoran, which was decided deliberately by princess Sakura, so even in his case it's ambiguous. Another one is Seishirou from Tokyo Babylon, and in his case the birthday is a lie. So that leaves us basically with just Cardcaptor Sakura's Sakura and Tsubasa's Sakura as the only characters who are truly born on April 1st? Mokona: In the case of Sakura from Tsubasa, I wonder if we should consider her calendar the same as ours. Ohkawa: Ah, right!! Because she lives in another country, right? Mokona: And another world too.

After reading some more messages, Ohkawa said that she's very happy even just with fans of the old Clow Card and Sakura Card Arc loving the new arc too, but what makes her the happiest is to know there are people who have discovered the CCSakura series thanks to Clear Card Arc, and will keep treasuring it from now on. They also mused over the fact that they've been in activity as authors for more than half their lives and the time they've spent working together is far longer than the time they've lived at their parent's home. All four of them are extremely grateful for being able to do this artistic job as a creative group for such a long time.

Taking the opportunity of a fan mentioning the CLAMP Exhibition in July, Ohkawa gave a warm suggestion to try to visit the exhibition if possible, because judging by the current condition of their original artworks and the difficulties they're having moving them around, they don't think there is going to be another opportunity to do this again in the future. 💦

Then, a fan sent them a particular question: "Do you have plans for another arc of Sakura and Syaoran from CCS? Maybe about their wedding?" Ohkawa: Hum, in my idea it'd be best for everyone to imagine Sakura and Syaoran's wedding in their own hearts, but if there's the possibility of a continuation after the events of the last volume, we will certainly let you know.

The person asked about an xxxHolic continuation too, which of course Ohkawa re-confirmed (they're currently preparing everything to resume the serialization) and asked us to wait just a bit more for the announcement from the editorial team of Young Magazine!

After some more messages from the fans, CLAMP gave their final greetings on such an important day!

Nekoi: We only have you to thank for reaching this anniversary on this day. Thank you very much. (they all clap their hands) There will be lots of things to enjoy ahead, and I invite all of you to gaze at the pink color of Tokyo Tower. Ohkawa: It seems we'll be able to watch it from Youtube too, so please don't miss the chance. Satsuki: I want to thank everyone for your support. Just as Nekoi mentioned, we have plans for more things ahead, there's the return of xxxHolic too, and...I wonder if there'll be a new work too? Ohkawa: (laughs) Well, more than anything, there's the Clear Card anime adaptation too. I think it will take some more time but surely, without fail, the announcement from Kodansha will come, so please stay tuned. Mokona: This one volume marks the end of Sakura's story. (note: the term Mokona uses, 区切り, seems to not be a "definitive end", but rather seems to be indicating more a point of "break", a "delimitation", a "place to stop"; there's still a marked sense of "end" - whether it's just to an arc or the entire story is not clear, so I chose that translation but I wanted to point out the other nuances in the term). I am extremely grateful to everyone who watched over Sakura-chan's growth and even those who grew up along with her! We look forward to your continued support. Also, I would like to add something that is probably a bit off topic, but there are also some anime projects we have created character designs for. Ohkawa: Oh, right, of course!! That's very important. Mokona, I knew I could count on you, thanks for reminding me. Netflix announced the "The Grimm Variations" series, then Code Geass, which we've been making character designs for long time, will have a new series: "Rozé of the Recapture". Moreover, the new season of the Vanguard D anime series was announced too. Please watch those too. 🙏 And then, as a leader, this is my turn for the final greetings. I truly feel like you've been watching over us in many, many ways for the past 35 years. Whether you've liked us before and now you're taking your distance from us, or on the contrary you weren't interested in us before but now you're following us, please know all of you are still very precious to me. If you stopped reading our works, it's all right. I hope we can be reunited with you again one day through another work that you'd feel like you want to read. For the moment, I would like to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for all of your efforts, your strength and lots of energy that allowed us to carry Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc to the final act. I'm sure Tokyo Tower will shine with a bright pink color tonight! Please make sure to listen to our podcasts, and to other Spaces we'll open when we can. Thank you very much! ✨🙏

[maoam]

do you think kishimoto writing haku and zabuza's relationship as romantic makes him 'problematic'? i've seen people say that they aren't even written romantically because if you think haku and zabuza loved each other like that it would make kishimoto a creep

Haku definitely had romantic feelings for Zabuza.

I mean this pretty much speaks for itself... He used the word "kirei = beautiful/lovely" in Japanese while blushing on top of it. I could pick up on the vibe of this scene when I was younger already (same with Oro calling Sasuke's face and body beautiful while stroking Anko's face and asking if she's jealous).

I mean this comment pretty much summarizes my thoughts as well. I immediately went "hmm?" even when I was younger. I noticed their relationship is also something many men pick up on.

And what's this... we always talk about the importance of angles, and how Kishi himself said he often redrew pictures and made sure the angles of his drawings were such that they would convey the message. I think everyone can see what I'm referring to here. It looks like an indirect kiss.

On top of that, Zabuza was Haku's precious person he died to protect. Zabuza wished they could go to the same place. I don't see any reason to make Haku's feelings romantic other than for it to be mutual. Something that couldn't be because of the way Zabuza was brought up.

It's not like Japanese mangakas/manga fandoms care about this. They don't see anime characters the same as real people. Which is why they also don't think 15 year old anime character is equivalent to 15 year old real person.

I mean look at CLAMP, one of the biggest franchises, they wrote Syoran/Sakura right? Very sweet puppy love romance. But they also wrote two of Sakura's friends have a love interest with a big age gap. Sakura's brother also dated his teacher in the past and they are later shown to be friends after breaking up. Sakura's father was the teacher of Sakura's mother. Not to mention the stuff in CLAMP's other works that could make its own list. And in Yashahime (which was approved by Rumiko Takahashi) Rin is the mother of Sesshoumaru's twins. And do the Japanese fandoms mind any of this? No. Actually, Japanese fans love Sesshoumaru/Rin, and it's about as popular as Inuyasha/Kagome. Even their voice actors approved of the ship. I mean I don't care about Yashahime, but the ship is generally approved and even the Japanese who don't ship it tended to say it makes sense they ended up together.

Kishi is no different than the general Japanese manga audience or mangakas, instead of being some exception. I actually got an ask about the differences between East asian fandom and American (or western? I think different western countries have different views on this) fandom. I will answer it at some point. Even if it's ages old and I don't even know if the asker even follows me anymore lol.

Here is post by another person (where I also got that comment from)

[otomegamesandme]

Em's Personal Favorite Shoujo and Josei manga!

Since one (1) person mentioned they would like a recommendation list of shoujo and josei mangas, I decided to throw one together of my personal favorites! Some of these are well known, some aren't. I also kept it short, so it's more a sample of my tastes. Future lists will probably revolve around themes/genres, but for now here's this!

My Lovesick Life as a 90s Otaku

Demo: Josei

Genre: Romance, Slice-of-Life, Historical

This is a short four volume series about a middle aged mother who reflects back on her teen years and being a big otaku in the 90s. I honestly loved this? There were so many cameos of classic series, and I enjoyed the characters and themes in this a lot. It did make me cringe, just because it reminded me how me and my friends used to be as teens in all the good and bad ways. That relatability is also the reason I was a big fan. It does wrap up pretty quickly at the end, but for a short series, it's one of the josei series I've read that left an impression on me!

Magic Knight Rayearth

Demo: Shoujo

Genre: Fantasy, Isekai

It feels like a crime to not mention Clamp when talking about any of my favorite manga (Tsubasa Chronicles is my favorite Shonen and Chobits is my favorite Seinen, so they're really just winning). Choosing between this and RG Veda was difficult, but this is such a classic. I loved the characters, the world, and how the story reveals itself to be a gut punch at the end. If you still haven't read it, here's yet another rec post telling you to check it out.

Children of the Whales

Demo: Shoujo

Genre: Science Fantasy, Tragedy

This follows a group of people on a floating island, the Mud Whale, which is trapped in a sea of sand. One day, when they send people out to search one of the sunken islands in the sand for resources, they find another human, and through meeting her, learn the truth about their home.

The story telling in this is gorgeous. The mangaka said she was inspired by a lost journal she found, and you really get that feeling while reading it. This is also a series to read if you just feel like being Really Sad. It's one of my all time favorite series, but I did have to read it with breaks between volumes (for reference, I normally binge like five volumes a day when I'm really into a series). There's a rich world and history in this, and each detail feels so carefully considered and thought out. This is one of the series I wished more people talked about.

Dokuhime

Demo: Josei

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Tragedy

A group of orphan girls are raised to be living weapons by consuming poison. They're then sent out to enemy countries to seduce and kill the men in charge, as their bodies are all poisonous.

This doesn't have any official English translations and I came across it randomly one day and just fell in love. It's an older series, and there's plenty of triggering content here (violence and SA being major). But I loved this world and characters so much? My summary does not do it justice, but the dynamics with the main character and the three princes in the country she's infiltrating is so interesting. It also reads very much like a dark fairy tale, especially with how it's structured and the way it goes through each scene and chapter. I know this is likely too old and unknown to ever get picked up officially, but maybe if I get more people to read it, we can all bother seven seas via their licensing survey or something-

A Condition Called Love

Demo: Shoujo

Genre: Romance, Slice-of-Life

I don't think this needs a summary since it's a recent popular one lol, but I love messy characters who face consequences for their messy actions and are forced to grow as people!! I love when bad habits in a relationship get challenged, and it doesn't automatically lead to breaking up but trying to fix things. Hotaru and Hananoi just have my favorite relationship in any modern shoujo series I've read, and while the series isn't over yet, I can imagine them remaining a favorite for a long time.

Chihayafuru

Demo: Josei

Genre: Sports, Slice-of-Life (and romance in the background)

If you know about Chihayafuru, it's that everyone who talks about it is Not Normal about it lol I have never encountered a series with such a large cast where each one is given such weight and brevity as this series. I know it's about such a niche Japanese sport, but listen, the growth and story arch of these three main characters, and how they're affected by the people they meet and how they affect others and grow is just...so good. You want God Tier character work, this is the series you read.

Prince Freya

Demo: Shoujo

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure (and romance if you squint)

I love brutal shoujo. The first chapter of this was not what I was expecting, and it's probably because I went in blind. Anyway, this follows the story of Freya who lives in a kingdom trying not to get conquered by an Empire taking over the continent. The only person keeping the kingdom standing was the Prince, who was poisoned and killed. Since Freya looks almost exactly like him, she's forced to pretend to be the Prince of this country in hopes the kingdom won't fall to the empire.

Freya's character growth in this is a lot of fun to witness play out. I also really have been enjoying seeing the way the world keeps expanding and growing with each volume. I will say, the first few volumes have pacing issues, but by volume 3/4 it was all smooth sailing. I also really enjoy how unflinching it can be, and it doesn't shy away from death or violence when needed, but it also doesn't overdue it either. It's just a solid shoujo fantasy series, and the only bad part about it is waiting for the next volume to drop (Viz it's been 6 months, please-).

[ayanna-tired]

RG Veda (Clamp), Kendappa-ô & Soma

[yuzurujenn]

[2023.10.30] JAPANDIGEST - The story of figure skating prince. Hanyu Yuzuru's GIFT

Japan is home to many talented artists and athletes, but few enjoy as much international popularity as Hanyu Yuzuru. With two Olympic gold medals and numerous competition victories under his belt, the 28-year-old figure skater from Sendai has made a name for himself worldwide. So it is not surprising that Hanyu continues to be on the ice and enjoys great recognition even after the end of his competitive career. (Text: Maria-Laura Mitsuoka)

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For many sports enthusiasts, Hanyu Yuzuru is and remains the prince of figure skating. He was the first Japanese skater to win the gold medal at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics and was the first athlete in history to attempt the quadruple Axel (the most difficult jump to date) at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. With numerous records, fantastic costumes and emotional choreographies, he ushered in a new era of figure skating and inspired many young athletes to emulate him.

Hanyu is one of Japan's most esteemed personalities not only because of his masterful technique, but also because of his artistic programs. The ice surface is his canvas, his body the brush with which he paints stories. With his emotional performances, he not only opens portals to distant worlds for the audience, but also elicits storms of enthusiasm. He is considered one of the most important benefactors, especially for northeastern Japan, because after the great Tohoku earthquake in 2011, in which large parts of the country were devastated by a tsunami, he gave strength and new hope to the people of Fukushima and his home prefecture of Miyagi.

Just a few months after the end of his competitive career in July 2022, Hanyu opened the show PROLOGUE, and in February 2023 he finally opened the next chapter of his life with his project GIFT in front of 35,000 spectators in the Tokyo Dome. Now the journey through Hanyu's artistic worlds is taking a new direction with the picture book of the same name, which will be published in December in collaboration with the mangaka group CLAMP, which is also famous in Germany. He will also begin his first Japanese tour in November entitled "RE_PRAY", in which he stylishly combines figure skating with the world of video games.

Q: You made history in February and performed a one-man show called GIFT for the first time in front of an audience of 35,000 people in the Tokyo Dome. That is also the name of your picture book. What is GIFT about?

I wanted to put all the experiences and things I value in my life into a story and present it to the audience as a gift. Even if it was just a tiny fragment, I wanted to pass on all my thoughts and words to the people who were watching me and needed support at that time. The feelings and words in this story may be mine, but I am sure that many other people share them with me.

Q: During the show, you used the expression "to give colour to the world." What did you mean by that?

I’m sure I’ve had many experiences throughout my life, and the meaning I attach to things has changed. For example, as a child, I never hated the rain or associated a cloudy sky with a gloomy feeling. But as I got older, rainy weather made me feel more melancholic, and when I looked at the cloudy sky, my heart grew heavier. To describe days that I had attached such meaning to, I used the word “colour.”

Q: For the show GIFT, you worked with MIKIKO, the choreographer of the Japanese pop group Perfume. What did you take away from the experience?

After meeting MIKIKO, my way of expressing myself and my perception of everyday life changed. Expression has always existed, and I realized that as soon as you communicate something, words and body language (which are used in figure skating) are also means of communication. I don’t have much confidence in my choice of words or my way of speaking, but I’ve come to believe that I can express myself through these very words. And I believe that there are feelings and thoughts that are particularly strongly conveyed through my figure skating. I think I feel the music more intensely than before, which makes it easier for me to express my feelings honestly. In order to convey my emotions even better, I want to continue working on my technique and learn many different forms of expression.

Q: Why did you choose CLAMP as a manga group to realize your project?

I really like CLAMP's works and am impressed by their worldview. The depiction of the background and characters is bubbling with emotion. Each of these depictions carries an encrypted message. Additionally, I like stories and images that don’t come about randomly but emerge from the situation. Therefore, I wanted my GIFT to be brought to paper by CLAMP, and I asked them to illustrate the book for me.

Q: This interview will certainly arouse the interest of many German readers. Do you have a final message for them?

I will continue to work hard to reach people abroad - including in Germany. And I will continue to channel my emotions into figure skating. Thank you very much for all the support!

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Profile and important achievements Hanyu Yuzuru was born on December 7, 1994 in Sendai (Miyagi Prefecture) and is considered one of the most successful figure skaters in the world. He won numerous national and international competitions in the men's singles discipline. He ended his competitive career on July 19, 2022.

2012-2015, 2020-2021: Japanese Champion 2013-2016: Winner of the Grand Prix Final 2014: Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014, 2017: World Champion 2018: Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang 2020: Winner of the Four Continents Championships 2022: Fourth at the Winter Olympics in Beijing

Source: JAPANDIGEST No.23 October 2023 issue, pg 16-18 https://www.japandigest.de/moderne-kultur/sport/hanyu-yuzuru-interview/

[cardcaptor-lisia]

as someone who has read and loved the original cardcaptor sakura manga herself, and only watched bits and pieces of sailor moon in general, the vibe i get from sailor moon is that it's a bit more 'serious'...? the mangaka draws literally everyone in it so prettily, which i admire lots, and it even extends to the anime, like it feels like a perfect world in a way? something i could never measure up to, kinda, because it elicits an 'i wanna be pretty and effortless like miss usagi and everyone' feel...

it's similar with cardcaptor sakura, but ccs feels more 'grounded' and calm, i suppose? maybe 'realistic' is a better word, like, everything is very cute in comparison? the character design is so so so appealing to me, it just feels very 'at home'. i just love clamp LOL. and a bit more lighthearted and hopeful, even though of course there's loss and sadness and fear in it, too. the portrayals of it i can understand and empathize with really easily... i feel like i can be just like miss kinomoto sakura in my very own way, and it's so so so reassuring, you know?

it's just my random thoughts as i'm attempting to watch through a sailor moon episode on tv for fun, but i have a feeling that i like cardcaptor sakura more for quite a few more reasons? also probably because i can relate to sakura... sailor moon is a classic for a reason, though!

[retro-friki]

1 and 15 from the top five female characters meme

Top 5 protagonists

1.Utena Tenjou: If I wrote what I like the most about her, we would be here all night. She’s great and gender. 10/10

2.Hikaru Shidou: Very earnest and brave. 9 year old me was impressed.

3.Saki Asamiya: Yo-yo detective cop with Great yo-yo and detective skills + a tragic past full with mommy issues.

4.Catra: Well, she’s the deuteragonist, but whatever. I like that she’s a mess and somehow managed to get better.

5.Suletta Mercury: Something she said has been permanently stuck in my brain and now I have a little tanuki in my head encouraging me to get things done. I hate it.

Top 5 Female characters I want to rescue from their horrible narrative

1.Saki Asamiya: Just horrible things keep happening to her and then she fell in love with some older dude because the readers liked that ship even if the mangaka didn’t really care about romance. Also I know she doesn’t end well, so that’s why I haven’t gotten myself to read the rest of the manga.

2.Kaoru Orihara: WHAT! THE FUCK! WAS THAT CHARACTER ARC!???

3.Ericht Samaya: My Roman Empire. So much potential and she’s not even a character but a plot device. And while we're at it, I think that Miorine was also done dirty in cour 2. I'm not talking about the divorce (I endorse it, makes sense to her character), but about how she wasn't able to do much during the second half of the show.

4. Princess Sakura from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles: Spends all of the series being a damsel in distress and a plot device for the main male character. This wouldn't make me so mad if it weren't for the fact that TRC was written by CLAMP who made Rayearth and CardCaptor Sakura. Why would you give your female characters the "shonen manga female character syndrome" only because you're writing shonen now?! Wouldn't you want to change things? (actually their first shounen manga had a female protagonist! this doesn't make sense. I hate Tsubasa).

5.Every single female character from Naruto: As capable as the guys but never as relevant. Condemned to be housewives.

Extra: 6.Manga!Juri: How come she fell in love with Touga of all people?!! Save her from herself!

[noa-ciharu]

Why are the CLAMP men such hot, handsome people though what

My reasoning is they're hot cuz ofc mangaka of 4 women wouldn't waste a chance to make their characters hot af