#daigo i think it just became a matter of 'he's been with me for so long he's like a son to me now' which. HILARIOUS considering y6

[todayisafridaynight]

Who was ur favorite yakuza character before daigo and mine? Since u would’ve had to go through 0-2 until u meet daigo and 3 til mine (unless u didn’t play chronologically)

playing the games chronologically, i dont think i really had a favorite until Y3, and even then i didn't immediately latch onto mine (if anything, rikiya was my favorite for most of my first playthrough). also with Y2 it was more fair to say ryuji was my favorite from that game since at the time daigo was still 'thats my old friend daigo :)' to me

but excluding Y2, i really liked lee and makoto from Y0 :) and date from Y1. my best friend date ........ also haruka was my daughter in an instant and i still love her sooooo

[line-chan333]

Digimon : How Dark Gennai ruined people perception of Gennai.

It's just not the licking Sora cheeks, sure that super freaking bad, icky, disgusting and was unecessary and if I was the owning the movies I would cut off the scene,

What people including me, forget the most about Dark Gennai above his deviancy as a hentai villain r@p#st is the fact he:

-Very violent with poor impulses controls, and genocidal intent (that loud SLAM! when he placate Meiko on the boat just with his hand)

-How he is, contrary the OG Gennai very very emotional, and guided by his emotions, because contrary to what one may think, Dark Gennai is actually far less heartless than what people give him credit for, it's just ....His extreme melodramatic sentimentality are in the wrong place/used by Yggdrasil and he not on the side of the digidestineds. He also a very good speaker, and the points he make are compelling, and when you listen to the tone of his voice, he seem legit shaken up by Digimons so called "enslavery" by humans.

-Which of course, do not make him correct, or less of a hypocrite, he put Meicoomon in a autodestructrive path, when he say to her that she shouldn't have been born and her existence was a mistake, like dude, whaaat? When clearly at that moment at least, HE was the one trying to choke and kill Meiko, HE ALWAYS the one to interfer and trying to pity them against each others ! I sob for the digimons in your charge if Yggdrasil ever manage to succeed.

Dark Gennai say he care for the digimons, but it don't seem to brush him off that much to use others digimons to do his dirty works to attack and kill the kids and litteraly riding one like a horse while gigling like a maniac. H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E.

-And when he say to Homeostasis "but you are not that much different than us" and the infamous meme ish phrase "Home-chan, I dig how your so cruel!" while litteraly wriggling and stomping feet like a five year old agitated and angry kid seem just like projection or transfert of potential guilt 🤦‍♀️The more I write about him in my text, and revisit the scenes in my head, the more it became apparent about how much Dark Gennai is...A kid. A angry, hurt, and immature one, just like the adultes of Umineko, or the characters in class of 09.

Meanwhile you have OG Gennai, while certainly being goofy and dorky while having suspicious moment and sometime losing his temper, was certainly much more in self control of himself, almost too calm and sometime just legit emotionless, which is why I thank the 4thkid version to at least had giving Gennai more personnality and made snarky remarks.

It is very bad that nowadays, no matter where you look, Gennai fanarts is just noexistent, the art dating from a decade ago at best. From what I saw on my little scale of things, Gennai was not that much popular but he wasn't hated either. He was just "there." He was just "meh, ok." And then came Tri, and the rest is history 😞😮‍💨

So no thank and Fuck you Dark Gennai to have ruined Gennai, just how Flipside ruined Nicole, rebellion end ruined Homura (No, I won't take that back 🤭)

I have seen people say that they won't forgive Gennai, even if he redeem, when FRANKLY were not even sure Dark Gennai=Gennai, when Gennai silhouette was shown in the pod with the rest of the 02 cast while meanwhile Dark Gennai made his drama queen AGAIN in front of Taichi and Daigo -.-

Like just imagine being Gennai:

Some random dude shoot you out, and put you in a artificial coma, and take your name and face and also the name and face of one of the kid you were the guardian of, and just behave like a freak out of the psychiatrict asylum, sexually assaulting and trying to kill the others group of kids you had watched over, and when you saved and finally woke up, all the kids while look weirdly at you some in disgust while your like out of here and dissociating from waking up After the whole ordeal.

That only adding to the pile of a clown putting a black ball in your back years prior which forced you to get older and senile and forgetful (a other post I read about on Tumblr here even said it was a psychological TORMENT on Gennai to make him feel small and powerless) about important things, which could led to feeling of guilt, and feeling useless, diminushed, while the kids suffer and struggle around you, and them thinking you don't care about them, that you are insensitive, selfish, stupid and what not.

My poor Gennai. May your honors rest in peace.

[mjm5655]

this was a feisty one for someone who claimed to be a mere civilian. what was it this young man didn't get ? he was the son of a former chairman to a clan, it really wouldn't matter how far he ran from it, the yakuza would always be part of his life. majima just had to think of kiryu as an example really. dude had long left the tojo clan now, & yet, he kept being dragged into whatever drama was beating away at them. daigo was another example, kid ran off when his dad was killed, became a thug, it was actually kiryu that convinced the kid to come back, & even encouraged him to become the new chairman of all things. it was ridiculous in idea, but it somehow worked out well.

❝ yer dad had friends, did he ? sure he did, but kid ... ❞

it was clear as day the other didn't know who he was actually talking to, what majima's reputation was in this world, he's had to have heard of him at some point, right ? the tojo clan's reigning force, right hand man to the chairman. aggressive as all hell, known to some as the mad dog. majima had several thousand men under him, & a good portion of those men sworn their lives to him, that they would die for him ; majima really found it hard to care about threats sent his way.

❝ ya really have no idea who yer dealin' with here, do ya ? ❞

why was the car not moving ? fucker on the wheel doing hell knows what as they sat in there, & had a chat, majima reached forward, placing a hand upon the back of the drivers seat, with a force, slightly pulling it back as he told the other to hurry up, & drive. the man that was on the wheel did as he was told nearly right away, if that wasn't a message to the young man he had in the car with him, he didn't know what. he could see from the car mirror the driver was literally sweating as he had found he had angered his boss with his tardiness.

❝ if the way that fucker isn't near wettin' himself doesn't tell ya anything 'bout me kiddo, i dunno what will. ❞

majima allowed himself to sit back in his seat again, the passing street lights causing a minor irritation to his one eye as they shined into the car. he took out a cigarette, & began to smoke it as he opened the window ever so lightly so that the smoke wouldn't build up within the car. he did decide to offer the other one, it was just out of habit at this point really, it was up to the other if he wanted to take.

❝ name's majima, if ya haven't heard o' me, or at least my family, then honestly, yer head's been under a fuckin' rock, kid. ❞

even regular civilians had heard of majima at one point or another, conflicts with the law enforcement, conflicts with other yakuza, just the man himself, & the way he paraded around kamurocho as if he owned the damned place.

whilst they were concerned with what izunia was doing in the lucis caelum clan, the tojo clan was still one of the strongest, & it was for most part to do with majima in that reason. if the tojo clan didn't have majima & his family backing it, it would definitely not be long of crashing down. he was as targeted if not more so than daigo was.

Noctis scoffed but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't think the man would kill him since he seemed to want information about Ardyn, but he wasn't about to stake his life on it. There were plenty of ways to hurt him without killing him, after all and Noctis was smart enough not to mess with Yakuza. If Ardyn was causing problems for the Tojo Clan, being the son of the former chairman probably wasn't something that would work in his favour right now. If anything, it might make them want to hurt him more to send a message.

There were two reasons he'd allowed Ardyn to take over. The first had been his fear of having so much responsibility – of having people not taking him seriously because of his age and inexperience. The second was more personal though. Life as yakuza was what got his father killed and Noctis wanted to stay as far away from it as possible. It seemed it wasn't that easy though. Even though he wasn't an official member, it was something that would always follow him.

"The hell is your problem, man? I already told you I don't know shit." He grunted as the man roughly took hold of his arm to keep him from going anywhere. He was really starting to regret skipping out on so many of Cor's self defence classes. If he could just slip away, he could call Cor and the man would come get him or at the very least, he'd know something was wrong. He didn't think he'd be given the chance to even reach for his phone, let alone use it. "I'm practically a civilian. This is between you and Ardyn, so just back off and leave me out of it, yeah?"

There it was again – another example of being unable to escape this life. Noctis had done nothing wrong. He'd been living a normal, law-abiding life, yet he was about to become a hostage just because he was important to the Lucis Caelum Clan. It didn't seem to matter that he wasn't an official member, nor that he didn't know anything.

"Is that supposed to reassure me?" Considering the guy had almost choked him to death a few minutes ago, he didn't exactly trust him when he said he took care of his hostages. What happened if they couldn't use him to draw Ardyn out? He'd just taken over as chairman, so would he really risk all of that just to save him? Noctis liked to think he would, but in reality, he wasn't so sure. What would happen to him then? If his usefulness ran out, would they let him go or would they kill him to send a message?

He let out a soft huff as he was led down the street by the arm. There weren't all that many people about at this time of night, but even if there had been, nobody would want to interfere with yakuza business. Within a matter of minutes he was shoved into the back of a car. His first thought was to check the door he was up against, but it was locked and when his kidnapper slid into the seat next to him, he was completely trapped.

"Do you really wanna do this? I might not be yakuza myself, but my dad had friends who'll be real pissed if you mess with me."

Ardyn might not do much in his new position, but Clarus and Cor would be on a warpath.

[naniwa-archive]

ViVi November Issue (Snow Man cover)

Solo Q/A interview

Nishihata Daigo

Q. What do you think about sharing clothes with your significant other?

A. Wonderful, absolutely amazing! Since I am not as tall that's why it might be a bit difficult but, I want her to nervously say “this is too big”. I guess it's a nice feeling for your significant other to wearing your own clothes? Well, I am not sure since I don't have any experience in dating (laughs)

Q. Have you actually shared clothes with someone?

A. Only with my father. With members, rather than sharing, we have matching outfits more. Just the other day I copied and wore the same t-shirt as that of Michieda-kun, I also have matching rings, t-shirt and bags with Ohashi-kun. Good things are good afterall.

Q. At what situation with what kind of girl would you like to share clothes?

A. The first thing that came in my mind is, at home date. I want to do classic things, something like, my girlfriend saying “this is a bit big~” while wearing my sweatshirt (shy). If a girl who is usually calm and caring let's herself be spoiled only by me it'll definitely make my heart race. Also since I am from Kansai, I want to joke around with my lover. Is the hurdle too high? Its totally fine even if she can't make a come back (to my jokes). As long she laughs at my jokes!

Q. Can you straightforwardly tell “cute” to your lover?

A. Of course! I can even say things that'd make one feel shy with no problem. That's why on the contrary, if it's someone who isn't good with this kind of thing, it might be a problem. Is this what they call occupational disease?

Onishi Ryusei

Q. What do you think about sharing clothes with your significant other?

A. I completely love the idea. Getting caught by “Isn't it your boyfriend's?”. It looks cute when the girl takes the clothes to wear. I adore conversations that goes “Ah, please lend me that clothes” “Sure~”.

Q. What is good about girls wearing men's clothes?

A. The little loose creates a relaxed vibe. You get to be fashionable even without being too fancy.

Q. Where would you go for date with your girlfriend who is wearing your clothes?

A. Park! I want to go to a park. I have an image that we will be in a relax mode as that of living at home, while eating home made bento we will have a laid-back conversation. We will also bring our dog. Uwaa~ That'd be so nice~.

Q. Would you borrow your girlfriend's clothes?

A. If I were to go out wearing girlfriend's clothes, in case I feel her smell on them, I might get excited (laughs)

Q. Do you have a type you are interested in?

A. Someone who likes to exchange meaningless texts, I guess? If I receive texts with dumb contents at random hours, I might think it as cute.

Q. With which Naniwa member would you like to share clothes with?

A. Ohashi-kun. Because his clothes usually have a calming smell to them (laughs). Also he is quite particular about shoulder width or size in general. He is a fashionable person who has a lot of oversized clothes. I want to wear Ohashi-kun's clothes ♡

Nagao Kento

Q. What do you think about sharing clothes with your significant other?

A. If my girlfriend says “I wanna wear it” then it's completely fine but, I won't recommend her anything by myself. Ah, but if my girlfriend is complimented when wearing my clothes then I'll go “You're welcome”. Since I prefer ladies pants more than the normal ones, if I try then I might also be able to borrow my girlfriend's clothes. As I am a man who has plaid skirt, heel boots and such, I absolutely have nothing that I don't like!

Q. The fashionable Nagao-san, are girls who are into fashion your type?

A. No No, there's nothing like that. If we have common interests and hobbies the conversation might extend, but it's okay even if it doesn't match my taste. Rather, I might apologize for being obsessed with my own fashion while not paying any attention to the other person's clothes  (laughs). At the end, it's all about self satisfaction. As for the significant other, I would like her to cherish her own colors.

Q. Do you talk about clothes with the members?

A. Not really. I talk with my clothes loving friends from my hometown. I also often talk with salespersons of clothing shops with whom I'm close with about release information of new clothes, new brands and such. On top of that, I am the type who doesn't want to match outfits with the members. Yet it troubles me as I would often match with them! If my favourite pair of sneakers matched with anyone then my excitement would go down like “Ah..”. I don't mean this in a negative way. I mean, when you go and hang out with the members if you see someone wearing the same outfit as you, won't it ruin your mood? No matter how close you are! kinda (laughs)

Michieda Shunsuke

Q. What do you think about sharing clothes with your significant other?

A. I think it's really good! The little oversized-ness is cute, also whenever my girlfriend would try to borrow my clothes in my absence I want to tell her things like “What are you doing, geez~”. I want to fool around while feeling all fluffy inside (laughs). Imagining it alone is fun!

Q. Have you actually shared clothes with someone of the opposite sex?

A. As a child I once wore my sister's clothes without her permission, that time she was quite mad at me, so now we no longer share. On the other hand, now when my sister wears my clothes I really can't think of that as cute (laughs).

Q. If you get a girlfriend would you prefer thing to her way or your way?

A. Since I will not hold my partner, if she prefers to wear the things she likes the. I guess I'm fine with it. But if she's not really careful about wearing clothes that are quite revealing then my eyes might have trouble figuring out where to look at! If I receive requests from my significant other like “I want you to wear this kind of clothes” then I'll try my best to respond to her request.

Q. Finally, what is your type?

A. If we are talking about appearance, a girl with natural makeup and bob to semi long hair. As for what's inside (personality), someone who is able to attract elegant people with her soft atmosphere. Also, If I make any mistakes or there is anything wromg in that case I want her to tell that clearly to me. On the other hand, I dislike girls who likes to control. It's fine to act all cutesy to be perceived as cute but as we can't see her true intentions so that's still a bit... Though personally I can't usually recognise such actions at all. Amongst the members, not only is my score low in terms of love, I think I'm quite simple as a person (laughs)

Nishihata and Nagao: Micchi sure is naive!

Takahashi Kyohei

Q. What do you think about girls who wears men's or unisex clothings?

A. It's my first time hearing that girls wear men's clothes! There has been times when I wore slender ladies pants but, there's an opposite pattern as well... Eh, you don't mean room wear, right? Well~ that's something unknown to me (laughs)

Q. What if your girlfriend asks you to lend your clothes?

A. I am sorry but, I wouldn't prefer it. I would constantly think if my clothes have weird smell to it. I'm totally fine with matching though.

Q. What kind of fashion do you like on girls?

A. Something that's pretty in general. Style like, tucked in t-shirt with flare pants, I like outfits that have a refreshing silhouette to them (laughs). Especially flare denims are the best. Previously I used to like skinny pants but, I graduated from them when I became an adult.

Q. What is your ideal personality type?

A. Someone who's funny. Not funny like actual comedians, for example, someone who is really pretty but has a weird laugh, has a strong tone when speaking, if someone who has a gap that you wouldn't think of would really make me interested in them.

Q. What if your significant other requests “I want you to wear this”?

A. If my significant other dresses as per my ideal form then I would do the same. Anything is fine but I don't like showing navel! Even then if there's a request to show muscles, I will say “sure, at the beach” (laughs).

Fujiwara Joichiro

Q. What if your girlfriend asks you to lend your clothes?

A. I'd totally lend them to her. It'll have this “In return lend me something too” kind of feeling (laughs). Doing things like, lining up all the clothes on bed, like how they do in drama and saying things like, “What should I wear today?” “How is this one?” “Ah that's no good” kinda. Isn't that super good? (laughs)

Q. What do you think about girls who wears men's outfits?

A. Normally, when a girl who usually wears ladies outfit wears men's clothes then the form and atmosphere in general will change, right? That change compared to usual will make men's heart flutter. It's the contrast after all, you know? (laughs)

Q. Where would you go for date with your girlfriend who is wearing your clothes?

A. It's a place that is particularly really admired by the people of Kansai but I want to go to a cafe in Yokohama (laughs). We will take pictures there which are different from our usual ones. Later when we will look at the pictures, I want to talk about memories like, “We did it that time. That was the first time when we exchanged clothes!” (shy)

Q. Do you have any ideal type for girls' fashion or make up?

A. Instead of black hair, I prefer girls with dyed hair. Your eyes will follow the girl who has an  intriguing hair color, like “What's up with that color!?” kinda.

Q. What is your ideal personality type?

A. The type who prepares food first, suddenly buys present saying “This looked nice” even though it isn't their partner's birthday. Someone who expresses their kindness casually through surprises, someone like that is nice.

Ohashi Kazuya

Q. If you get a special person, would you share your clothes with them?

A. I really want to do that!  I want to share my closet completely like, “It's fine to wear any of my clothes”. If we are at home, then I'd have her wear my hoodie like an one piece, something like, it's an appearance that only I know about ♡ When going outside though, as I'm worried/concerned, I'd have her wear pants (laughs).

Q. What kind of fashion do you like on girls?

A. Street fashion. Something like a big top with loose wide pants, and a knit cap to along with it! If I spot a girl like that in the middle of the road, then I will follow her with my eyes.

Q. What is your ideal personality type?

A. Someone being with whom would calm me down I guess. If I were to refer to a member then.. Nope, there's no one (laughs). I like slightly modest type of girl who is generally seen wearing glasses while studying in the classroom. Along with that if she's actually really strong in fighting then I might give into her gap.

Q. Have you actually shared clothes with a girl?

A. I have! It's with my almost 50 years old mom though (laughs)

Q. Is it true that you have a lot of clothing items that match with the members?

A. There's a lot. The most is probably with Daigo. Micchi often imitates my hats, with Jo-kun it's the pants, with Kyohei we match rings and down pieces, like t-shirt and such.

Kyohei: It's because Ohashi-kun would invite me to shopping saying “Let's match”

No, it's you who invites me! I am sorry, this kid here is a tsundere (laughs).

[alinktoana]

~ spoilers for yakuza 0 ~ 4

You know how Daigo has been kinda involved in the yakuza world ever since he was a fetus, and Saejima joined in as a teen? Well, imagine it Majima had joined the Shimano family as a child? This is is a very important part of my Yakuza 0,5 ~project~, and I was obsessed with kid Majima for a while lol I know it doesn’t visually matter as much, but to me it’s a big part of the background motivations and personality traits Majima has on yakuza 0. A lot of people who began with 0 wonder why Majima went insane, others say he’s a villain. Not to be that one who is usually really villains (aka my past self being obsessed with Hannibal and Kylo Ren), Majima *is not* a villain. I understand why some people would say that after having played ps2 yakuza 1, but I feel like RGG didn’t know what to do with him yet so Kiryu and Majima’s interactions are basically Batman + Joker.

But I digress lol Majima basically growing up in the yakuza makes so much sense to me. I’m still not 100% on the how, but my headcanon is 12yo Majima as the kid who crunches numbers for a hotel the Shimano family build to do some money-laundering, and eventually he started dealing drugs (like adhd meds) to other kids in his high school. All that while having a pretty normal childhood, or at least as far as he was concerned. The hotel part is a big deal in the development of his sense of style (think Kamurocho Hills, more on his building motivations on a later day lol).

I still don’t know what to do with his parents. I’m mostly inclined with him being from a poor family with many children and wanting to join so he wouldn’t be another mouth to be fed, and eventually sending them money. That Shimano would actually be an ok father figure, kinda like Kazama, but obviously more deranged. I also like the idea of Shibusawa being around the office and first getting to know Majima when he was a kid as well. Other than ~being sponsored by the Yakuza, I’d gather Majima has a pretty normal childhood, always on the baseball team, even playing the big national high school leagues. Because his activities are more on the ~assistant to the regional manager, he wouldn’t be involved in bloody fights, Shimano would make sure of that, but he would still use him as a mule in high school, he had plenty of time to be a child. Just. A little on the stricter upbringing side because being the surrogate child of a crime boss does things to a person (again, think Ryuji, Daigo, Kiryu, Nishiki and Yumi). Also it’s crucial to his relationship with Saejima bc, in Majima’s eyes, he finally got a buddy, a friend who understands what it is like being a teen in the intensely traditional adult male world of the yakuza, so they became friends real quick, Majima showing him the ropes and Saejima just being his sane self lol they’re such a nice combo <3 I’ve been meaning to draw more kid Saejima as well.

But that’s just an idea lol I really like the idea of bringing the smuggler and his love for baseball to his childhood days too.

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

Hey, it’s me again! ^_^ I hope I don’t bother you too much with my requests, but your posts are so cool I just can’t help it. Upon completing Yakuza 4 I’ve had a lot of thoughts and feels about Daigo and how his character was handled across the series. To be honest, at first I didn’t like him much, because he seemed pretty bland (and his screen time leaves much to be desired), but soon enough he’s really grown on me. What is your opinion on him if you don’t mind me asking?

I definitely do not mind requests! Meta is my bread and butter c: I’ve just been busy for a few days, sorry ^^; And... my opinions on Daigo are not going to be as mindblowing or exciting as my opinions on Kiryu, I’ll be real ^^; And there’s a big advantage in Kiryu being the protag, All of the content is about him ^^; I do love Daigo, I think he’s a super interesting character, but his tragedy is just what you pointed out, he’s underutilized. And he isn’t set up very well to have the position he holds. 

But, so saying, let’s get into my essay on Daigo ^^; 

So, we meet Daigo properly in game 2. There’s little side stories with baby Daigo in Zero which helps build Daigo’s and Kiryu’s relationship and set up for what would later happen, but we don’t really know him until game 2. And game 2 is a LOT about Daigo and his arc and what he’s meant to be! There’s a tumblr text post meme somewhere with a pic of Daigo depressed in his little puffy white coat that says “And I’ll probably become the next chairman of the Tojo Clan. Things like that just happens to guys like me.” and that is totally accurate! Like, it’s a funny thing to complain about, but that’s obviously the struggle Daigo’s having, understanding from a young age that it was obviously his destiny to succeed Sohei, the only problem is uh... well... Kiryu. 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Dojima Sohei never became chairman of the Tojo Clan. And that’s really wild thinking back to Zero and how powerful he was, he was all but a shoo in for chairman. But then, uh... Kiryu. Kiryu happened. Kiryu, and Majima I should say, are the reason Sera becomes chairman, not Sohei. Forever upsetting the wheels of fate. Given where we see Sohei next, I can’t imagine that he ever really recovered from that upset ^^; And I’m SURE it made him bitter towards Kiryu the rest of his life. And considering, again, where we see him next, I think the canon supports this ^^; 

So what becomes of Daigo’s destiny then? His father had victory snatched away, destiny denied, and everything he had slowly crumbles over time, leaving his son with less and less to inherit, but still with the ideology that he should take this over. That’s an awkward position to be in. 

And then Sera dies. Ooh, golly, I wonder who the next chairman’s gonna- it’s Kiryu. Of course it’s fucking Kiryu, how could it not be? It OBVIOUSLY should be Kiryu. He’s the strongest, the bravest, and who inspires the most loyalty. It doesn’t matter that Kiryu’s never been in leadership before, he TURNS people. Kiryu could get anyone on his side through sheer force of personality, which is hilarious to say about a guy with maybe 3 facial expressions. But tell me I’m wrong. I cannot count the number of part-time antagonists who turned on a dime because Kiryu beat their ass. And anyone who can do that can rule the world. Kiryu was absolutely the best pick for chairman and I will fight the world on this.

(Abbreviated for length, this is a LONG post)

But... then Kiryu makes the stupidest decision of his entire fucking life and renounces the chairmanship. And he has his reasons, feeling unworthy, traumatized from the events of Kiwami 1, unsure if he even wants to stay in the yakuza or if there’s maybe something else he wants to do with his life... he’s going through a lot of intense self-reflection and self-doubt and, I hate to harp on it, but fucking trauma. His brother blew himself up in front of him in a bid for redemption after all but telling Kiryu that all of his mistakes are Kiryu’s fault. Yeah, no, I’m sure Kiryu’s doing FINE with that. So, like, I can see why Kiryu said no, but it was still... fucking nuts. And it irrevocably changed the trajectory of everyone in this universe. Which Kiwami 2 goes out of its way to explore. Kiryu’s leaving? Majima fucking retires, Terada’s suspect, there aren’t any old, loyal hands left to lead the families, and we see how vulnerable the Tojo clan is on every side because Kiryu just up and fucked off. 

(I have A LOT of feelings about Kiryu being chairman and someday I will have the strength to write the AU we all deserve where Kiryu stays as chairman)

So... the wheel of fate turns and oh yeah remember Daigo? Dojima Sohei’s son Daigo? The kid who’s been raised his whole life to take over the clan only to be denied at every turn? How’s he doing? Not great! It turns out, not great! Kiryu, his father figure, killed his ACTUAL father, but didn’t really, took the blame for some other weird guy, leaving Daigo with one badass mother and very little direction in life. Daigo’s been brought up thinking he’ll take over a great kingdom but all that’s left now is a broken wreck about to be demolished and picked apart by scavengers. Great, yeah, just what any kid wants to inherit. And he wasn’t trained to fix this, it’s kinda shitty to saddle him with destiny and then not train him for the thing that actually has to be done and then do it anyway. It’s real shitty actually. And not many people help Daigo. 

Daigo couldn’t have taken the chairmanship directly from Sera, he was still just a teenager then. But it probably would have been nice if Kiryu checked in with him even fucking once since getting out of jail. But no, we never explain on screen to Daigo what happened as far as I can remember. Which, I feel, is a pretty fucking big oversight. How the fuck is Daigo supposed to trust you Kiryu? Or we’re supposed to believe he just figured it out off screen and holds no grudges? Like, I’m sure knowing Kiryu didn’t kill Sohei helps, but he couldn’t fucking tell you that himself? He couldn’t trust you with that information or that conversation? Fuck this. Very understandably, Daigo has his own crisis of faith about the yakuza, very much in parallel to Kiryu’s. Why the fuck SHOULD he go to bat for a crumbling organization that has only proven itself to be a dog chasing its own tail, willing to devour itself at the slightest provocation? It took his father, both his fathers, and he didn’t really get either of them back. Why the fuck should he try to fix that? 

And to its credit, Kiwami 2 does a decent job of articulating Daigo’s motivations there. I could have done with even more, but I think they do him credit in showing him as disenfranchised and lost. And I think it’s refreshing to see someone have to confront the consequences of what’s happened since Kiryu left. Because the games don’t do a good job of showing that this is Kiryu’s direct fault. They never like to make Kiryu’s decisions have consequence, which is poor use of a protag. Rightly or wrongly, their decisions ALWAYS have consequence, or they’re not the protag. You can’t have it both ways. If this person is going to matter then, guess what, their consequences matter. Kiryu turned away. Rightly or wrongly, he did that. Daigo will never get that opportunity. Child of destiny. Not only was he bred and raised for this, he doesn’t know how to do anything else either. He doesn’t have other options the way Kiryu does. And we’re in a terrible vacuum of power. Terada’s namely in charge, but no one’s loyal to him. Even if he wasn’t deliberately fostering this, the Tojo Clan can’t survive without faith in their leader. Daigo, by fact of being his fathers’ son, can bind what’s left. And he has to because Kiryu won’t. Which is... really shitty. So either Daigo does this, or we all hang. And we never quite articulate that this is on Kiryu’s say so. Kiryu could still take over now and fix it he just... won’t.

And on top of this already comfortably stressful situation... we set Daigo up to come into a stable situation of power, where his transition would be smooth. We didn’t give him the tools to know how to salvage. He’s not practiced negotiating with hostile entities or even just people who will resent him because he’s young. And he’s lost a lot of faith, without even charisma and willpower on his side, this is a massively uphill battle. If he doesn’t believe, who else will believe him? Daigo knows this. And we watch that struggle go on, all while Kiryu just cheerleads. He hasn’t decided yet if he’s gonna stay in the yakuza either and he’s lowkey depressed after Kiwami 1. Lowkey he’s just suffering depression and can’t do as much as he normally would. Not an excuse, but I think an important way to read how tired and reluctant he is. Some therapy would really fucking help. 

Anyway, we manage to get through Kiwami 2 and install Daigo as chairman, at which point Kiryu fucks off for good. Now, he kinda/sorta leaves some supports for Daigo, in Majima specifically, but also in Kashiwagi and I wanna believe in Daigo’s mom too. She was so cool and then we just... never talked about her again ^^; Laaaame *sigh* So, I guess, Kiryu did try to fulfill his remaining responsibilities as Daigo’s living father, but mostly it was just an excuse for him to leave and not feel guilty. Mostly it was him foisting off his duties onto someone else. He didn’t stay to teach Daigo everything he knew about the people Daigo would have to control. He didn’t teach Daigo and Majima how to talk to each other, a thing which REPEATEDLY comes back to bite us in the ass. He’s not there for Daigo to ask advice and help. Kiryu is full of confidence for Daigo, he’s not TRYING to make him fail, but Kiryu’s so caught up in his own need to leave, he neglects to people who need him. 

And Daigo, to his everlasting credit, does his best to get by without Kiryu’s help. As much as possible, he never calls to ask Kiryu for help. And he does grow into a quite competent chairman! He does successfully rehabilitate the Tojo Clan, he makes them profitable again, he insists on respect and people don’t run amok under him. He does it, he salvages a dying organization. And he may not even really believe in it, but he has such a sense of responsibility, he does it anyway. He knows there’s no one else. He knows if he goes to Kiryu and says I don’t want this, Kiryu won’t help him. Kiryu didn’t mean for it to happen this way, he didn’t mean to be selfish and put others in a bad position. But he wasn’t there to listen. And I think Kiryu eventually comes to rue that. 

The very unfortunate thing about Kiryu is... he is a dragon. Even though he is kind and generous and not greedy in a conventional sense, he is greedy. As much as Kiryu is a powerhouse because come hell or high water, he does what he thinks is right... this also makes him extremely selfish. He can be blind to other people’s needs and refused to be tied down. Again, for the best of reasons, because he’s trying to raise a family, because this environment is triggering for him, but he just hauls off and does things instead of talking to anyone which... makes him impossible to have a working relationship with. He has to learn to talk and to listen and that he can’t make all of the decisions by himself. The great irony being, Kiryu never wants to, but he doesn’t know how to ask for help. He’s so used to have everything put on him, he doesn’t realize it doesn’t have to be that way... but anyway, I’m getting caught up ^^; The point is, he thinks because he ditched the Tojo Clan they no longer care about him. Which is... naive at best. Of course people still care about you dumbass. Which makes Kiryu a massive vulnerability to the Tojo. In 3 and 4, Daigo makes stupid calls trying to protect Kiryu and trying to protect his interests. And because Kiryu hasn’t left open an avenue for them to talk, Daigo has to make these decisions on his own with bad information and he does his fucking best. But... he doesn’t know how to make the best of what he has, not like Kiryu would, and he fucks up sometimes. 

I really, really love game 4 for that reason. Daigo’s fuck up is SO understandable, SO reasonable. It sounded like a good idea, it sounded like peace and harmony. And he was left without a leg to stand on before he knew it. In many ways, it wasn’t his fault. Kiryu himself says as much. And I may never forgive the end of 4 for letting Kiryu REALIZE he defaulted on his responsibilities but then, instead of changing his behavior in any way, he fucks off back to Okinawa. God... *siiiigh* ANYWAY. 

And this struggle, this lack of communication, but unstated loyalty, comes full circle in game 5. When Daigo is literally drowning, literally knows he’s going to fail this time and there’s nothing he can do, and even when he’s with Kiryu, he can’t bring himself to ask for help. He knows Kiryu won’t or can’t. Instead he asks for absolution. He tries to tell his dad he’s just been doing his best and... he’s sorry for the terrible things that are about to happen. How gutting that Daigo can only see himself as a failure because... he’s not Kiryu. No one’s Kiryu. Even Kiryu refuses to be Kiryu. But Daigo knows if he was just Kiryu, things would be better. He’s not a legend. He’s not a god. He’s not all-powerful or crazy or impossible. He’s just a guy, doing his best because he had to. Because there was no one else. And some days Daigo does great, but a lot of days, he doesn’t measure up. And that eats at Daigo like mold. Kiryu would NEVER look at Daigo this way. Heck, most people at that point would never compare them. It’s in Daigo’s head, but it still hurts. He’s still, even now, looking up to Kiryu and he’ll just... never quite get there. 

This is the only good thing I will ever say about game 6, and it was still 2 or 3 games too late, but Kiryu finally acknowledging Daigo as his son was good. Kiryu saying he was proud and saying he was grateful was good. Again, several games late, but... it still mattered. It still mattered that, in the end, Kiryu recognized his legacy in Daigo. That he understood so much of what Daigo did and does and is and was is for him. That mattered. 

Daigo is a great chairman who takes care of his clan. But he was robbed of his relationship with his father. The games never work on the relationships that exist, strong relationships, for reasons I will never understand. Games 3, 4, and 5 would have been SO much more interesting if we had just like Kiryu talk to his fucking friends. Two would have been SO much easier if Kiryu had just been fucking chairman like he was fucking supposed to be and the transition of power to Daigo came later and smoother, with Kiryu helping to make it. Daigo tries his hardest every day and he’s an incredible negotiator and savior after all the shit he’s had to pull the Tojo Clan through, kicking and screaming and fighting to tear itself apart every damn day. The generation above him is all legends, Majima and Saejima and Kiryu. Daigo isn’t one of them. But he’s better because he was here and because he tries and because he succeeds. We need Daigo. We deserve him. 

[aeondeug]

So I’ve been getting into Them’s Fightin’ Herds over the past few days. It’s a real fun game and it teaches the genre well. But getting into that and seeing a post about Smash has made me think about a thing. Namely complaints about ‘you only care about winning’ when it comes to competition in these sorts of games. I suppose, the first thing is to admit that I don’t think there’s anything wrong about playing to win. If you’re being a huge dick to people over losing then there’s a problem, of course. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong about ‘wanting to win’. I do, however, think that boiling down competitive players to ‘just wanting to win’ doesn’t really grasp the satisfaction of playing more standard fighting games or playing Smash competitively for many. So if it’s not just winning what is it then? Why do people give so much of a shit? So in his book The Will to Keep Winning, Daigo points out that a revelation for him is when he changed his mindset from something akin to ‘I just want to win’ and something more focused on small bits of progress and improvement. This I think is the key for a lot of people. It’s definitely the key for me. I’m obviously not a top player at all. I am not someone within the fabled halls of the FGC. I’m merely someone who likes fighting games a whole lot and who wants to get good at them. I had been repeatedly hitting a brick wall though and the brick wall was that it just wasn’t fun to play in competitive settings because all I do is I get my ass kicked and I can’t win. And I wanted to win. I still want to win. Winning feels good. But just wanting to win made learning these games impossibly unfun. I never won save against people who didn’t know how to play at all like me and even when I did win I had like a knowledge of what these games look like at a high skill level. I knew there was more going on here and it seemed impossible to know what was going on here. It just wasn’t fun. And then I stopped treating it just as ‘I want to win’ but instead treating it as ‘I want to keep getting better’. The exact moment of this breakthrough was had with DBFZ, which I no longer play but which helped me get my head on straight. I really liked DBZ and people were getting into it so I decided to try it out and lo and behold I got my fucking ass kicked. So I finally decided to look shit up and what I found was a lovely video from Woolie about ‘beating the flowchart’. In this video, Woolie goes through the standard DBFZ low level player flowchart play. What it looks like and why it happens. And I went ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah! That’s it! That is the thing!!’ And then he explained how to beat it. One of the big secrets is that those intimidating looking dragon rushes that seem to just result in you getting your fucking ass kicked? You can counter those real easy with a well timed 2H, a crouching heavy. Out of all the things in the video that was the one thing that I really took away. So I went out and I played games and still got my fucking ass kicked. Repeatedly. But I was trying out that 2H. And then it started to click. I noticed that I was starting to ‘see’ when the dragon rush was starting and was being able to react to it. I was also noticing that, as I played with certain opponents, I got an idea of when they were going to dragon rush. I still lost a lot. But I saw that I was learning a thing and I had made a small bit of progress, a small breakthrough. As I kept at this I got better at it and became able to more consistently punish that sort of play. With the 2H punish to dragon rush. But that was just one thing to learn. There was also blocks. And learning when the autocombos end. So I had to learn when those strings ended and then how to punish and eventually you get like a rhythm for it. You know what the characters look like during their autocombos. How many hits they’ve got, what those hits look and sound like, when you can react. And these realizations are gradual and overtime. So I’d be able to see that I was ‘seeing’ things that I previously hadn’t been able to. It was like the game was slowing down. It didn’t really, obviously, but I was finally able to comprehend what the fuck was happening on screen. And I still got my ass kicked a lot. But that didn’t matter so much as it had before because winning wasn’t the point. The point was ‘Holy shit, I just figured out how to deal with this thing’ or ‘Holy shit, I could make a read on that dude pretty consistently’ or ‘Holy shit, I can now do that thing without thinking’. Little bits of progress. The journey. This is a big part of the appeal of fighting games and competitive Smash. You are constantly learning and constantly having to learn. The more and more you go, the more and more things you pick up. Sometimes you notice these things and it is this breakthrough moment. Other times you don’t pick up on them at all because it is a series of several very small things coming together. You’re always learning a new thing, you’re always improving in some capacity even if that capacity is just ‘I can do a quarter circle without thinking now’. Fighting games are these constant self improvement vehicles. It’s like realizing you can now do 20 pushups in a row instead of the 5 you started out doing. You can do this same thing with competitive Smash. I like Byleth a lot. One might be able to guess that given that I’ve written some 80 Edeleth poems. So I play Byleth in Ultimate almost exclusively now. And I was watching a tournament before we had the DLC and noticed that like the one player was doing this thing I hadn’t seen before because I knew fuck all about how to play Smash competitively. When you do a neutral a in the air, Byleth takes out the bow and spins it around. This has a pretty cool and big hitbox on it and can be used in a variety of ways. I went ‘OH DUDE’ and started playing around with that once we got the DLC. It’s a pretty neat move! Has applications! And then I learned other small things and made other small improvements. And it is like oh yeah wow that’s rad look at that little thing oh wow we are getting better at the video game. Smash has a lot of these things because all fighting games do. And that’s the beautiful thing about learning competitive Smash tech or about how the game works on a deeper level. You are constantly learning and constantly getting the joy out of realizing you figured out a thing. So maybe it is just about winning but the wins are small victories that don’t necessarily mean the announcer told me I won.

[hellsinvestigativereporter]

Blood Borne: Sanguine Ardente Chapter 1

Daigo made his way down the stairs with the church acolyte leading the way. He only had on small clothes at the moment but that was why they were heading to the tailor and armorer. He stepped into the room once they reached it and looked around. The wall was lined with silver swords, black and white articles of clothing, and a row of simple fire arms. He nodded and got to work. The acolyte left him and he got ready. He put on a pair of black slacks and knee high boots and socks. He then grabbed a belt with slots for holding bullets, vials, and other tools onto his waist to both hold up his pants, but to also insure he had supplies on hand. He then put on a black shirt, vest, long coat with shoulder cape, and also a wide brimmed hat. He put on good sturdy leather gauntlets as well that he sliced the fingers off of so he could have more dexterity with his fingers. He then grabbed a silver sword and sheath, and then grabbed a pistol that he then put into a holster that he grabbed. He now looked like a right proper member of the church. 

As he finished getting ready, Ludwig walked in. Daigo turned to look at the man and held out his arms. “Do I look respectable enough?” He asked with a coy grin. 

Ludwig nodded. “Yes, you certainly pass as a church member...though perhaps you may wish to actually join us someday?” 

Daigo burst into laughter. “No offense Ludwig, but my faith in holy men at the moment is very, very small. Because when push comes to shove, they’ll look out for number one every time.” 

Ludwig shook his head. “A pity that is how you see us. But perhaps in time our actions will speak for themselves.” 

Daigo drew his sword and gave it a few practice swings. “We’ll see. I’m not so jaded as to not give people a chance to show me that they’re better than what I’ve seen in the past.” he sheathes the sword and walks out of the room. “Having said that.....forgive me if I maintain my aloofness.” 

Ludwig nodded in agreement and the two men left the room and proceeded to head out of the building. It was a bit of a lengthy walk but in time they found themselves out in the streets, watching the city of Yharnum go about its daily business. As they walked, Ludwig began to explain more about the city. “This is Old Yharnum. The city’s oldest section. A rather lovely spot in the city with the most history. Its also home to the oldest cathedral in the city. Its a popular visiting spot.” 

Daigo looked around as the man spoke, seeing the old buildings, and people move. It was so peaceful it seemed amazing that there was any sort of beastly plague at all. “I like it. It has a very quaint charm to it.” 

Ludwig came to a stop at one of the doors that lined the street and opened it. “Here is where you will be staying.” He said as he walked in.

Daigo followed him in and was led up stairs of what he could now see was a boarding house. They went to the top floor and came to a large black door with the communion symbol of the healing church on it. “This is your room.” 

Daigo walked in and saw a cozy room with a large trunk, a work bench, a praying altar, a large number of books, and a beautiful view of the main square where the boarding house was at. He took out a cigarillo and lit it, taking a puff and inspecting the room closer. The bedroom was off the side of the main room and a wash room connected to the bedroom on the other side. Once he saw everything he looked to Ludwig. “So...when do I get to work?” He asked. 

Ludwig reached into his belt and pulled out a black pocket watch with a golden communion symbol on it, tossing it to him gently. Daigo caught it with his free hand. “That is a Hunter’s Watch. It will alert you when a night of the hunt starts.”

Daigo opened the watch and inside he saw your typical black clock face with golden roman numerals inside of it. Each arrow gold as well. On the underside of the front clip opposite the watch face was an inscription: Praise the Good Blood. He smirked at that little statement as it reminded him of times past. He attached the chain to his own belt and put the watch away. “And what am I to do in the meantime pray tell?” 

Ludwig leaned against the door frame. “Well, you are to be given a weekly allowance to use as you see fit of 100 gold coins. You can use it for food, weapons, supplies.....or if you so fancy....there are mmmm..... special ladies about town who offer other more..entertaining services.” He said in a straight manner. 

Daigo cocked a very skeptical brow. “Huh...usually religious groups tend to teach its members to stay away from that.” 

Ludwig shrugged. “For what we do...sometimes a good distraction is needed. At any rate, make yourself cozy. The Hunt starts three days from now.” 

Daigo nodded. “Then I’ll have to make sure I’m ready. I look forward to seeing this...beastly scourge of yours.” 

Ludwig grinned. “It will really get your blood pumping.” He then turned and left. 

Daigo took another puff of his cigarillo and then noticed a book on the work bench, A History of Yharnum. Daigo shrugged his shoulders and sat down. Deciding to learn about the history of the city. He sat down, flicked some ashes off the tip of his cigarillo, opened the book, and began to read. 

According to the book, the church had been here for a rather long time, almost a decade and a half. They first came to Old Yharnum when the city was suffering a plague of something called, Ashen Blood. A lot of people had been dying of the disease and there was no cure for it. But then the healing church appeared and began to administer blood healing to the populace which not only healed the sick, but made them even stronger than before. It was no surprise to Daigo then as he continued to read that the church eventually became the true power of the city and built many cathedrals, hospitals, clinics, and other such places all over the city to the point that it surrounded old yharnum and then grew outward. Turning a smaller city, almost a town really, into a metropolis of medical experimentation and progress. Its healing blood being hailed as a miracle from the gods. Now the whole city was dependent on the church’s blood healing for medical treatment, but also for the economy. Apparently blood is made in such high quantities here they mix it into their drinks, and women known as Blood Saints go about distributing vials of their own blood for charity purposes. Daigo looked out the window for a moment upon reading that and wondered if he had not been summoned to a city of vampires. But he shrugged and resumed reading. Certain businesses not of the church were also in the blood brewing business though instead of healing it was in the making of sweets, liqueurs, sauces, seasonings, and any other form of edible goods. Apparently the effects of their healing blood was intoxicating. Though it begged the question...how many people willingly gave up their blood? And even among the willing, do they check to see if they are diseased in anyway? This would be something Daigo would have to look into on the side. In fact, Ludwig said he had three days before the hunt started. That meant he had three days to do what he did best...dispensed the most thirst quenching forms of justice...Frontier Justice. 

His thoughts were disturbed however when he heard a very heavy knock on the door. He went and opened it, and to his surprise he saw a giant of a woman with long red hair tied in a pony tail. She looked down and said in a husky voice. “You Daigo?” 

Daigo nodded. “Indeed...and you are?” 

The woman responded, “Name’s Gratia. I’m gonna be your partner for the time being for nights of the hunt.” 

Daigo took a step back and looked her over more. She was clearly well muscled. Had quite a few scars on her knuckles as well as one on her lip. She had eyes as green as emeralds and on her hip hung a large hatchet. “well, would you like to come in?” He asked her. 

She shook her head. “Sorry, got places to be. Just wanted to stop by and get an eyeful of ya.” 

“And do you like what you see?”

“You’re a bit on the short side. I was told you were a real tough fighter but..then again people think I aint all that smart either.” 

“And are you?” He asked.

“Nah, not really. But,” She held up a first, on it was a lump of metal that had finger holes in it, obviously for punching things. “Brains don’t do a lot of good against a strong right hook.” 

Daigo could not help but chuckle in amusement. “On that we can certainly agree.” Oh he knew he was going to get along with this one. 

“Well, nice meeting you mate. See you on the night of the hunt.” 

He nodded and watched her go. Now that was certainly an interesting encounter. He closed the door and made his way to the window. He opened it to let in a bit of the cool evening air. Down below was a man selling meats. He could hear him crying out to come and buy his fine imported meats. He could hear the slice and dice of his meat cleaver and heard people doing business with him. He sat down in his chair and took off his belt, coat, and hat. He propped his feet up on the window sill and leaned back. Now this was the life. He thought. 

------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, not far from Daigo’s new home, someone watched him from afar with a spy glass. So...they had managed to summon the Pyromancer. That...was going to complicate matters...

[rubiaryutheroyal]

Bite me, Capcom 5

Spoiler warning below the cut: Yakuza 4

--

[As soon as he takes the stand, Daigo Dojima lands a bombshell of a truth, from describing the scandal involving a certain authority figure on the force, to his participation in the framing of Majima, and the crowd goes wild in shock and horror...]

Edgeworth: OBJECTION!

Judge: M-Mr. Edgeworth? Did you have an objection?

Edgeworth: Yes, Your Honor... I find it suspiciously convenient for the defense that this witness just happened to be available to deliver us this supposed truth.

Phoenix: Excuse me?

Dojima: Prosecutor, are you suggesting that you don't accept my testimony?

Edgeworth: That is precisely the case. According to the official investigation reports, this witness was dismissed fairly early on due to potential bias in his accounts.

Dojima: What?

Phoenix: And what sort of bias are we talking about?

Edgeworth: For one, it's obvious he has close relations to the defendant, given the latter's position in the ranks.

Dojima: Er, well...

Majima: Don't think it really means much when I became a scapegoat, though.

Dojima: ...

Edgeworth: For another and more importantly, this witness has collected quite a few scandals of his own recorded in the police archives.

Dojima: ...!

Phoenix: HOLD IT! Mr. Edgeworth, where are you going with this? What would the witness' history have to do with this case?

Edgeworth: It only became relevant to this case because you brought him in as a witness, Mr. Wright!

Phoenix: What?

Maya: I mean, technically Mr. Kiryu did...

Edgeworth: After all, if we can presume that this witness has a strong motive for making claims against the police, then we can't fairly accept his testimony.

Dojima: But I...

Edgeworth: Therefore! The prosecution asserts that this witness is unreliable and requests that his testimony be stricken from the record!

Phoenix: OBJECTION! And the defense asserts that the testimony, regardless of the witness' background, is still reliable!

Edgeworth: On what grounds?

Phoenix: Well, let's put it this way. If you were involved in a police scandal, would it make sense to confess to everything when it would be so much easier to avoid stepping into court at all?

Judge: Hmm, that is a good point.

Edgeworth: However, it's easily explained if you consider that the witness may be covering for the defendant.

Majima: At this late hour?

Dojima: ...

Phoenix: That may be true, but there's one other thing to consider... Would it really be so simple for the Sixth Chairman to even come to court like this?

[The question comes out in such a way that puts the entire court into an awkward silence.]

Judge: Mr. Wright, were you not the one who suggested we summon this witness?

Phoenix: Huh? Yeah, but...

Edgeworth: Wright, I hope you aren't implying that this witness' position means he gets special privileges to void a law-mandated subpoena.

Phoenix: No, of course not...

Dojima: Not to mention, I would think my testimony would be crucial for your case, Mr. Wright.

Kiryu: Uh, was I not supposed to bring him in here?

Maya: Yeah, Nick! Weren't we waiting on these two from the start?

Majima: Prof, you doin' okay there...?

Phoenix: Wait! Wait a sec, everyone! Whatever you're thinking, that's not what I meant!

Judge: Then what DO you mean, Mr. Wright?

Phoenix: I mean... If this witness was involved in a scandal with the Deputy Commissioner, surely that person would be at risk if this witness confessed?

Edgeworth: Hmph. Perhaps there would be, assuming this testimony can be believed.

Phoenix: Well then, I propose a simple solution to confirm how valid this testimony is!

Edgeworth: What? Don't tell me...

Phoenix: Exactly. Why don't we call in said Deputy Commissioner and hear his stance on this case?

Judge: What? Again with the surprise witnesses!?

Edgeworth: Oh, for the love of...

Dojima: Well, about that...

Edgeworth: Wright! This isn't the time to be leading us into another circus of tangents!

Phoenix: Of course it's relevant! For us to confirm one testimony, it's only fair we get both sides of the story!

Dojima: Um, Mr. Wright...

Edgeworth: Oh? And how far are we going to have to tread before we've rounded back to square one again?

Phoenix: This is the last time, I swear.

Edgeworth: In any case, I hope I don't have to explain why the Deputy Commissioner isn’t available at a moment's notice...?

Phoenix: But we have to hear from him, or we won't be able to continue this trial! And we can't reach a verdict like thi-

Kiryu: OBJECTION!!

[The entire room goes silent before the dragon's roar.]

Judge: Um... D-did the defense just object to its own argument?

Phoenix: Uh, yes, Mr. Kiryu?

Kiryu: Before we keep circling around like this, I have something important to tell everyone.

Edgeworth: ...What is it?

Kiryu: That Deputy Commissioner you're talking about... He's already dead.

Edgeworth: What?

Phoenix: Huh?

Maya: Eh!?

Majima: Oh.

Judge: Wh... Whaaaaat!?

[The crowd erupts into murmurs again, and the judge has to declare order. Meanwhile, Daigo sulks to himself on the stand.]

Judge: Order! ...M-Mr. Wright! What is the meaning of this!?

Phoenix: Huh!? Why are you asking me!?

Judge: You're leading the defense, of course!

Phoenix: Oh, right. But I didn't know either...

Kiryu: Sorry about that. I didn't get a good chance to explain it until now.

Edgeworth: OBJECTION! ...

Judge: ...Yes, Mr. Edgeworth?

Edgeworth: Er, that is... Where is your evidence of his supposed demise?

Kiryu: I saw it happen. So did Daigo.

Dojima: Yes, we were both there when it happened.

Edgeworth: Preposterous. Such an event would make headline news! Why have I not heard of this prior-

[At that moment, the bailiff barges inside, waving a newspaper.]

Bailiff: Your Honor, sir! Pardon the interruption, but I have urgent news that may be relevant to this trial!

Judge: Hm? Bailiff? What is the matter?

Bailiff: We've just received reports from a reliable news source! It concerns the Deputy Commissioner, sir!

Judge: Wh-what?

Edgeworth: No...

Bailiff: It seems the Deputy Commissioner has become the victim of a fatal shooting! Currently, the investigation is still underway, but in all likelihood, it appears to be a case of suicide, sir!

Edgeworth: Noo...

Judge: Hmm... That is quite unfortunate. But why did you come here to announce this news?

Bailiff: It was at the request of Detective Tanimura, sir. He had been investigating into the Deputy Commissioner regarding a series of illegitimate transactions between the police department and the Tojo Clan, and it appears very plausibly related to the cause of the suicide.

Kiryu: *smirks*

Majima: *grins*

Dojima: *relieved smile*

Edgeworth: ...

Bailiff: Your Honor, this is the detective's memorandum, detailing the investigation's initial findings. He insisted that this news be delivered to this particular trial while it was underway.

[He passes it along to the judge.]

Judge: ...I see. Thank you, Bailiff.

[The bailiff salutes and shortly departs from the room.]

Edgeworth: ...

Maya: ...Poor Mr. Edgeworth. He looks like he's in shock.

Phoenix: Eh, I'm sure he'll get over it soon enough. This isn't the first time something like this has happened.

Judge: Ahem. Well, given the current developments, it seems we will not be able to hear from the Deputy Commissioner. And if there are no objections to this memorandum, the court will accept it as valid evidence.

[Beat.]

Judge: Very well. If we may assume the contents of this memorandum as accurate and truthful, then it appears to support the witness' testimony.

Phoenix: (Yes!)

Judge: In light of this new evidence, I believe it is no longer reasonable to pursue the defendant's guilt in this trial any further. Are there any objections to this?

[Beat.]

Judge: Very good. I will now announce my verdict...

[Clack.]

Judge: Not guilty.

[Poof! Let the confetti fly...]

--

Finale: https://rubiaryutheroyal.tumblr.com/post/171611263794/bite-me-capcom-6

[fizzingwizard]

So, Kyousei brings up two traditional Digimon themes: one is Sacrifice, and the other is the Big Picture. This is a Fizz Thinks About Things Through Writing post, so other insights are welcome. But it’s Looooong ahahaha.

LOTSA THOUGHTS UNDER THE CUT

First some background.

Adventure

In Adventure, the kids spent the first half of the season fighting for their survival/to get home. That was their goal. They learned things, about themselves and about the world. But after that, they made a decision together, understanding what they’d be facing, to return to the digital world - once again without an assured method for getting home. With the hope and optimism of children, as well as more grown up knowledge of the role they had to play, they returned and faced the Dark Masters.

Immediately they realized the situation was different. They watched a number of friends die one after another trying to protect them. They experienced loss after loss and failure after failure. They started to lose hope. Eventually this contributed to the fight between Taichi and Yamato and the subsequent breaking of the team.

In the end, Taichi learned to keep his eyes on the Big Picture by realizing that it’s made up of many different parts: there would be no victory unless they were united. At the same time, he made himself Piedmon’s sole target, refusing to let Koushirou fight with him. It was strategic - Gatomon was also there, but presumably tired from fighting LadyDevimon, and WarGreymon had a far better chance of enduring Piedmon than Tentomon did. But it also meant Taichi set himself up as a sacrifice in the name of the “big picture.”

Already, he’d learned to see himself not as a hero, not as a leader, but as a piece of puzzle. His expendability balanced with his individual worth. Most of the Chosen dealt with this question in some way in that final arc, notably Sora and Yamato and Jou.

One other relevant bit - Taichi throughout Etemon’s arc. His single-mindedness and desire to power up led to Agumon’s dark evolution. SkullGreymon was born. By a stroke of luck, he ran out of gas before he could do too much harm, but imagine if that hadn’t been the case. The kids were forced to witness one of their own turn against them as a direct result of their actions. On top of that, later Taichi got sucked into the warp created by Etemon/Datamon’s destruction, and while he was fine, the rest of the Chosen were left wondering if he was dead.

02

In 02, the new team was fortunate in that they only faced controlled or replica Digimon for the first half. It felt like Digimon was pulling its punches, until suddenly, with BlackWarGreymon, that was no longer the case. The new team had never killed real Digimon with hearts and struggled with it. Although weakened by lackluster writing, this dilemma became a real focus, and they couldn’t run away from it. I still remember Miyako protecting some dudes by attacking LadyDevimon (I think?? some digimon) with a skateboard, and then Silphymon destroying it for good. It was understandably difficult for Miyako to swallow, though she did. And then Oikawa died too, the show’s first human victim.

Much earlier, Ken lost his partner as a consequence of his own actions. Even before that, Taichi had to square off with Agumon who was under the Emperor’s control, and the reality that they would have to hurt him to save him. The goal was still “save him,” but it easily could have turned into a repeat of SkullGreymon. As a fan, I can’t imagine that Taichi didn’t flash back to that. In fact, even though the show doesn’t make it obvious  - we did see SkullGreymon as a result of the Emperor’s forced evolutions. I never thought about it as a kid, but now that reappearance, followed by having to fight a brainwashed MetalGreymon, seems deliberate and purposefully evocative.

Tri

Let’s start with Saikai.

A lot of fans were surprised/disappointed by Taichi in the first movie. He got easily distracted by the risk of causing more destruction. His fighting spirit seemed gone. He almost called Hikari in for reinforcements against Kuwagamon, but stopped himself. Then, although he hated the way people were talking about the Digimon, he commiserated with them as well, and he was at a loss for what to do. “The more I see, the less I understand,” or something of that nature, he said. Yamato, who wanted him to be the sure leader from the old days, was upset.

Taichi continued to be wishy-washy throughout Ketsui, and into Kokuhaku. Then comes Tri’s first big sacrifice: The Digimon prepare themselves for Reboot.

They do it willingly. They don’t want it to happen, but every one of them is prepared to have their memories wiped if it means saving their partners’ world. When it’s clear they won’t be able to save their partners in time, Koushirou tells Tentomon to go inside the box that will preserve his backup data, even if he’s the only one who can make it in. But Tentomon refuses to leave MetalGreymon, the only other one not yet infected, to fight alone. Good thing too, since MetalGreymon gets infected minutes later.

The Chosen watch helplessly as their partners sacrifice the substance of their bonds, along with all their memories, to save them.

Jumping forward to Soushitsu a bit: We learn that Maki and Daigo are Original Chosen Children. We learn they faced the Dark Masters and in order to beat them, four of the five partners evolved into the Digital Sovereigns who preserve the digital world’s balance. The fifth - Maki’s partner - for some reason doesn’t evolve, and becomes a sacrifice. The world is saved. Homeostasis was directly involved in it. As far as I can tell, neither Maki nor Daigo ever went back to the digital world (at least not until Maki began communicating with Yggdrasil). Maki grew obsessed with finding a way to save her partner, who was rendered unable to be reborn as a Digi-egg. Maybe Daigo joined their agency out of his own desire to know more about the other dimension he’d visited as a child, or maybe it was just to keep an eye on Maki.

Maki couldn’t live with the unfairness of the sacrifice her partner made. It was to save the world, but she couldn’t accept it. She wanted to find another way. Kyousei makes it seem to me like she thought she and her partner could fix the damage she caused in the process, once they were reunited. When that doesn’t happen, when Bakumon shows no sign of recognizing her, she loses it. Everything she’s worked for has failed - and she’s even undone what good her partner’s initial sacrifice did in the first place.

At the end of Kokuhaku, Koushirou works tirelessly to find a way to reunite with their partners. At this time, no one’s seeking to undo what happened - that thought doesn’t seem to occur to them - but they are seeking to influence the future. In the end they go to the digital world, and it’s like the first episode of Adventure in reverse: this time the children are the ones who have to convince the Digimon that they’re partners and meant to protect each other. The allusion is clear as crystal, especially with Sora, whose bond with Biyomon was cemented in the old days by how intently Biyomon tried to protect her, despite her lack of power. This time around, it’s Biyomon scolding Sora for being reckless when she’s “just a human,” and her comprehension of Sora’s love and care for her results in her mega evolution.

In other words, the Chosen were able to rebuild their bonds with their partners. Even lacking memories, they just believed that as partners, they’re meant to be together, and were willing to do the legwork it would take to prove themselves. This doesn’t seem to have occurred to Maki. Instead of trying to teach Bakumon about herself, she freaks him out - maybe she’s already too much under Yggdrasil’s influence or something, I don’t know, but the point is she never makes an attempt to accept Bakumon the way he is after the reboot. It seems like she wanted to go back in time and redo the day her partner died, even though she knew the reboot wasn’t going to make that happen. (By contrast, as far as we can tell right now, Daigo seems to have become resigned to his impotency - I am psyched to find out more about him at last in the final movie.)

So now we reach Kyousei.

The unthinkable has happened and a Chosen’s partner Digimon has become an extreme threat to both worlds. It’s SkullGreymon on steroids. As I wrote elsewhere, although SkullGreymon is never alluded to in Kyousei, Sora did bring him up in Kokuhaku - while talking to Meiko, no less. I can only think this was a deliberate set-up to make us draw parallels. Sora’s message was “but Agumon turned out fine in the end!” But in Kyousei, Meiko has to face the possibility that no, Meicoomon will not be fine.

First, Meiko doesn’t try to dodge when Meicoomon attacks her on the ship. She’s in shock, but personally, I also think she had a split second feeling of “I’m okay with this.” She is overcome with guilt that she’s not enough to save her partner, therefore she can’t bring herself to run from death. At least not death at Meicoomon’s hands.

As many have noted, Meiko’s questioning her validity as a Chosen is akin to what Sora and Yamato in particular went through at the end of Adventure. Why was I chosen, if I can’t save my partner? If my role as her partner has caused this to happen? The others try their best to comfort her by relating their own problems (”I was like that,” Sora says) and telling her to let her friends share her burden.

Meanwhile on earth...

Homeostasis announces that it will take the matter of Meicoomon into its own hands. Meicoomon has a shard of Apocalymon. Though her relationship with Meiko kept a lid on her powers, that is no longer functioning, and Meicoomon is a threat to everyone. Daigo takes this to mean Homeostasis has given up on the Chosen. It seems that way when the digital world itself tries to expel them. But Homeostasis does come upon Hikari and fill the Chosen in on what it’s doing, so maybe it does feel some obligation towards these kids it “used as pawns” as Daigo puts it. It’s also not all powerful, given that Omegamon is able to holds his own against Jesmon.

Homeostasis represents the Big Picture, and no one’s tender feelings towards Meicoomon are going to stop it from eliminating the threat. Jesmon’s attack - “one for all” - implies that sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.

This is a reality it’s hard to argue with. In our world, the non-anime one, unfairness and inequality result in all sorts of sacrifices big and small that can never be recovered. Adventure was not one of those happy-go-lucky kids shows where everything’s always all right in the end. It wasn’t gritty either, but somewhere in between. It acknowledged reality while also building its young viewers up to take risks in the name of those they love.

Which brings me to:

Abandoned by Homeostasis, under attack from literally everyone - other humans, the digital world, Yggdrasil - the Chosen have to decide what they’re fighting for. What’s worth fighting for, when the whole world’s turned against them? No one’s looking to them for heroics now. Not even the power that chose them in the first place has their back.

They decide they are fighting because they care about their friends, their partners, each other, and as Taichi says, “We don’t care if it’s right or wrong.”

That is to say, at this time they have not accepted the Big Picture, at least not as Homeostasis paints it. They are still fighting for the myriad smaller pieces that together form the Big Picture. They’re fighting to bring Meicoomon back to Meiko.

Time out to talk about Taichi again.

This movie is a sequel to Saikai as far as Taichi’s development is concerned.

Meiko is caught between memories of Meicoomon as she was and fear of her as she is now. Taichi overhears Meiko confess she loves Meicoomon, and wonder if she was wrong simply to want to have fun with her friend. Taichi basically explains to her the struggle he’s had since Saikai:

Is it so childish to want to remember the good times with your friend? To value those and wish to have them back? Is willingness to sacrifice them really the adult thing to do? Adults want the same things as children - Maki is living proof. I feel like Taichi is trying to tell Meiko what he learned as a child about balancing your expendability with your individual worth. That it’s possible to acknowledge reality while also valuing yourself. He yells at her for giving up on herself. Agumon makes his move next, and what finally gets Meiko to allow herself to cry? Agumon telling her he loves Meicoomon. The simplicity of his emotion echoes what Meiko truly feels towards her partner, and it makes her break down at last. It must be truly hard for her, wanting her partner back while surrounded by all these kids who are happy with their partners and being tormented by her own. Agumon’s pure emotion gave her permission to feel selfish, if only for a moment.

Agumon “reports” all this to Taichi. Taichi says:

Everything from this point on hearkens back to something Hikari said earlier about “we can never understand what others are going through until we experience it ourselves” or some such. This is the culmination of Taichi’s up-till-now wishy-washy behavior, which was his new adult understanding that there are going to be no take-backs. Taichi wanting to share Meiko’s feelings becomes very important after this.

Homeostasis comes on Hikari now, and for whatever reason, explains to them why what it’s doing is necessary and that their bonds as teammates obstruct the big picture. Hikari tells Homeostasis to get out of her.

This is super important too.

They fight Meicoomon, and are torn because while she’s incredibly dangerous, her battle is driven by intense fear, and while she keeps attacking them without mercy, she also appears to protect Meiko. They still want to believe Meicoomon can be saved, but Jesmon joins the fight, followed by Alphamon. They have to send Omegamon for their side. As four extremely powerful Digimon fight for dramatically different reasons, the children come to the realization that they have very little control over what happens now. All they can do is watch as a violent, heart-breaking, and ultimately pointless battle rages above them.

Meiko then says they should kill Meicoomon.

Meiko had asked this question earlier - if “partner” meant “hope,” then what was that hope as it pertained to herself and Meicoomon? Sora reacts like this. Mimi cries because of how tragic it is. Taichi reflects on Meiko’s simple love for Meicoomon she’d shown the night before when she thought no one was watching... and decides to do as she wishes.

“Meicoomon is one of us. I...”

As strange as it may seem, I think compassion is the motive behind Taichi’s decision, even though it aligns with what Homeostasis said about the Big Picture. They don’t pause to reflect on that, but I do. As long as the only goal was Meicoomon’s eradication, they are playing right into Homeostasis’s hands here. But their motive is different.

Of course this doesn’t go down easy with the others. Yamato, who relies on Taichi to make the big decisions, as well as to balance all of their feelings in the process, takes him to task for it, but in the end he can’t come up with any other plan. He lets out a badly animated anguished howl.

Meiko smiles.

And then she runs directly into battle. It’s the third time she’s let herself stay in harms way, and the first time she put herself there deliberately. Which is why I feel that lack of willpower/resignation to death has morphed into a full-on embrace. I think what ran through her head would be something like, “Yes, Meicoomon has to die, and I, her partner, will be there for her through it, no matter what happens to me.”

Yamato and Taichi run after her, are separated. Taichi makes the next sacrifice: he deliberately becomes a battle casualty so Omegamon can protect Yamato and Meiko. He didn’t do this for the Big Picture. He did it because he cares about his friends first and foremost.

Maybe he wouldn’t have if he knew Hikari would go freaking berserk :P

I am wondering if there is not something Simon & River Tam going on with the way Taichi’s apparent death sets off Hikari. Her words, “I need to be with my brother,” are weird. And the result is a world-crushing monster. Now it’s not just Meiko whose partner is a threat to their survival - through that weird fusion, Hikari’s partner is now a part of that weapon herself. Surprise!

Here is the irony: At the very end, the concept of Big Picture is turned on its head. The key to global destruction was the upset of Taichi’s own very balance of expendability vs individual worth? What should be a small sacrifice, in terms of the Big Picture, has had devastating consequences. Did Homeostasis know this could happen, and that Taichi would trigger it? Did Yggdrasil? He (I mean, the “Mouth of Yggdrasil” that is) sure seems happy about it.

If somehow you made it through this whole long post, you may be wondering “Fizz, what’s your verdict on the Big Picture & Sacrifice thing?” I don’t have one. Now that I’ve written all this, I don’t have any conclusions and need to think more.

The Big Picture Taichi appears to have reconciled himself with is one that both takes risks for another’s desires and makes sacrifices for another’s resolve. Homeostasis’s is colder. Yggdrasil is all negativity, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone at bat who is pure Good, so. That’s interesting. I am not sure where Tri is going with this, only that it’s going somewhere. I’m putting my thoughts here to play with for the next almost full year (auuggghh!!) until the final movie.

One thing in particular: the question of what it means to be Chosen, and furthermore, why they were Chosen in the first place. I feel like everything hinges on this. The children are used to choosing for themselves regardless, that’s not an issue. But there must be a reason that at some point someone, apparently Homeostasis, thought partners was a good idea, as well as a reason why it changed its mind, and that’s what is going to lead the eventual outcome of Tri. It feels to me like maybe the idea for partners was meant to circumvent a big picture outcome that someone didn’t want to accept...

eta: one last note... for the time being, we are left with one partner without a Digimon (Meiko), and one Digimon without a partner (Koromon). [Well, actually two partners - Hikari as well - as a couple folks have pointed out.] I have no comment other than to put it out there...

[flyonmylovee]

A Long, Long Post on Kyousei

A day and one rewatch after Tri 5 premiered, I have to say that I’m one happy fan. I know those sentiments aren’t shared by everyone, but I’m really digging Tri thus far. I wrote out some thoughts about Shoushitsu here and would like to make a similar post for Kyousei. 

I’d like to tell a quick story to start this off. Over the summer, on a whirlwind trip to Europe that had me buying tickets for upcoming legs of my travels after landing in my first foreign country, I got a crest of courage tattoo. My host in Barcelona poured me a glass of sangria, set me up in her living room, and had her buddy, an up-and-coming tattoo artist, give me the tattoo in exchange for a spot on my futon when he travels to Washington, D.C. 

“Why do you want this design? What does it mean?”

I took a sip of sangria to try and suppress my nerves. “Uh, courage. It means a lot to me.”

He nodded, and a half hour later I had a digimon tattoo on my foot. 

In the midst of all this, though, we had a discussion about the risks of getting a tattoo inspired by an ongoing show. God forbid the meaning changes, I should be sure I’d be happy with it anyways. 

I’m sat at my kitchen table right now with my feet kicked up on the chair across from me. My tattoo is staring back at me like it knows our favorite protagonist is dangling in cartoon-character limbo. 

“You idiot” Yamato mumbled in that moment, gripping Taichi’s goggles.

“You idiot!” I yelled at my computer, instantly thinking back to my conversation in Barcelona. 

Perhaps I should have waited. For a split second, I found myself conflicted. Waiting would have probably been smart- the tattoo artist I worked with had plenty of examples of meanings gone amiss- logos of shows that dropped off after a few seasons, symbols of superheroes gone bad, lyrics from artists who turned out to be closet bigots. Back in Barcelona, the tattoo artist passed on his ‘wisdom’ but ultimately, he told me to go with my gut. If I wanted the tattoo, I wanted it, and that was all that mattered. 

I know getting a tattoo might not be a huge decision for everyone, but I was really nervous to make the call. My “gut” has always been a problem. I’m a pretty anxious person, and I’m proud to say that very recently, I’ve conquered it. I went through with the tattoo. I was fucking ecstatic about it. I still am.

The crest of courage means so much to me. 

Yet here we are- in the exact situation my tattoo artist warned me of. Taichi is obviously coming back, but what’s to make of how he does it? What if the sixth movie is a huge disappointment? Would it be possible to look down at my tattoo when I need a reminder of my courage and not get the same motivation I feel from it now?

I don’t know. I guess what I’m trying to say, though, is that I don’t have any regrets. Tri has meant so much to me so far. I’ve loved it, for better and for worse. I love digimon’s commitment to creating new stories. I love the thought put into callbacks. I love Meiko. I love Daigo. I love that the worst snippets of animation may still be better than an average clip of adventure, and tbh, I laugh about it. 

Maybe my expectations were too low. I purposefully kept them that way when this all started. I spent 15 years sure that we’d never see these kids again, the ones we spent our afternoons with after elementary school let out- yet here they are. Tri has blown me away simply because it exists, and to me, the effort is there. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have no fears about the meaning of my tattoo changing. I have faith in this. I have reasons to have faith in this, and fuck, tattoos on my body are not things I take lightly. 

So, that’s the context I headed into Kyousei with. I really believe Tri 6 will pull through, and if it does, this is all going to be incredible. Tri spoilers below the cut.

For some reason, it was jarring to be reminded that Kyousei picks up right where Shoushitsu left off. The start of the movie worked perfectly for me. You’re dropped right back into the walking terror that is DarkGennai, Sora’s recently overcome trauma (please, someone give her a hug), and Meiko nearly dying. The mature tone is set once again. Just like it’s audience, the show has aged, as have the characters. 

There were two overarching themes in Kyousei for me: grappling with what it means to be “chosen” and realizing that the world is a complex and often, a disappointing place. Taichi makes a point of saying that there are things you see as kids, and there’s things you see as an adult. He’s not sure which he’s supposed to see. Later, he’s not sure who the enemy is. 

“Who are we fighting?!” he yells out, seemingly in harmony with the groans of frustration from a fandom left with many unanswered questions. One criticism of Tri is that there’s too much missing information, but to me, that’s turning out to be a key theme of the show. I think a point is being made here- perhaps in childhood, one has the luxury of having clear-cut adventures. Morality is a decision. You are right or you are wrong, and if you are wrong, we have to defeat you. 

Morality in Tri resembles the morality your eyes are opened to as you age. It is a spectrum of different choices, different friends, different enemies. Your enemies aren’t always clearcut and sometimes, you don’t even know why you’re fighting. 

I can’t think of a better way to “age up” the kids than by putting them in this sort of situation. I appreciate the realism of it all. It may not seem like a classic “adventure”, but I do believe if we were given a classic “adventure”, it would have felt rather stale. It is clear that Tri committed to something new, as digimon is prone to do, and their means to an end is Meiko Mochizuki. 

I’d like to make the case that, whether you like Meiko or not, her focus in Tri shouldn’t be as shocking as it feels. We are constantly introduced to new characters that project the story forward. In adventure, it was Hikari. In 02, we witnessed Ken transform and enter the main group. In Hurricane Touchdown, Wallace took center stage. I think Meiko seems especially jarring because these characters have been missed for 15 years and we’d like to get to know them again, whereas the introduction of other characters was rather sudden. While Meiko may not be appreciated, I don’t buy that Tri would be better without her, especially when you acknowledge the character development that takes place parallel to her story. 

We see a flashback from Fall 1999 which now, knowing Meicoomon contains a shard of Apocalymon, makes sense. Meiko’s dad meets with researchers from Tokyo (Maki, I’m assuming? It’s interesting to think she’s been in touch with the family all this time). 

Jumping back to the present day, the world “is falling apart”. Maki’s motivations become clear. “This time... I will be chosen.” Her uh, unrealistic expectation of saving the world with Tapirmon helps me understand why she may have started working with DarkGennai in the first place. Maki gets a “redo” of her traumatic flashback from Shoushitsu, and DarkGennai knows sparking this sort of apocalypse will end in ruin. I do wonder how long Maki’s been aligned with DarkGennai- did she have anything to do with the shard of Apocalymon? Did she need to play a role in Meicoomon’s birth? Either way, Maki is the hero of her own story- I wonder what means she’ll continue going through to be “chosen”.

The meaning of being “chosen” is explored further with Daigo and Mr. Mochizuki. I found this scene really interesting:

If you replace “Yagami” with “Maki” and “them” with “us”, it makes a lot of sense and showcases how traumatic that final battle was for Daigo’s crew. While he is definitely concerned for Taichi and the other kids, his concerns stem from his own experiences, and I wonder how much of his good-natured persona comes from him not wanting the kids to experience what he and Maki did. His natural niceness faded throughout this movie (although to be fair, it sounds like Daigo just lowkey lost his job lmao- “But we’ve been protecting them all this time!”) and his intentions were still A+, but it seemed like Daigo became comfortable using a bit more aggression as the situation grew more dire (i.e. talking some serious smack to the cops). I’m starting to think that Daigo’s repressed a lot of shit too, but was probabblyyy better at dealing with it than Maki was. 

But, that’s fair. The world (almost?) met it’s end on his watch. The love of his life is losing it (and as we’ve learned, he blames himself). Lots of foreshadowing here, lots of questions swirling about what it means to be chosen, so...

On being chosen: I SO enjoyed the conversation in the cave! First and foremost- Sora! In my post on Shoushitsu I voiced my concerns about whether Sora’s character had actually developed. To me, it didn’t seem like she grew. Her issue with Piyomon was temporarily solved but I made the case that if the reboot happened all over again, Sora wouldn’t be able to handle it any better. I was pleased to see everything come full circle in Kyousei. Sora admitted, in front of EVERYONE, that she has a tendency to close herself off, that she’s LONELY, and that she knows what it’s like to have a THORN in her HEART. Piyomon was sleeping while all this went on, but I’m proud enough for both of us. 

I also particularly liked the tidbits from Yamato. It was a nice callback to his cave scenes in adventure, and it’s a small reminder that these kids are developing in ways that aren’t always obvious in the overarching plot:

Takeru seems to instantly get what he’s saying, and the kids continue with their conversation of how they cope with being “chosen” and how they attempt to be good partners. Mimi straight up says that she balances Palmon out, and Sora ponders if that’s what it means to be a partner in the first place. Throughout all this, and throughout the movie, we see Meiko dealing with crippling sadness due to ‘being a bad partner’. I know some folks think it’s overdone and shouldn’t be as much of a focus, but I get the feeling this depression is supposed to be that obvious. Given Maki’s motivations and connections to the Mochizuki family, I wonder if Maki has been gaslighting Meiko, in a sense. I’d bet Maki is incredibly envious of anyone chosen, and if Meiko has a particular responsibility, or if Maki believes Meiko shouldn’t have been chosen, she’s probably primed her over years to be doubtful of her capabilities. 

While everyone knows Meicoomon is to blame for the infections, etc, Maki was the first one to openly admit it, and she did it so dryly. I don’t know. It always stuck out to me. I don’t trust Maki as far as I could throw her, and I’m not very strong. I wouldn’t be surprised if the extent of Maki’s cruelty is revealed in Tri 6 and that the focus on Meiko’s depression serves a purpose. It’s dark, but this is Tri, and we’re all adults now thank you very much, Toei, I get it. 

I’d like to make a case for Meiko’s sadness. I know the fandom is split on whether it’s too much of a focus or not, but I really think it’s necessary. When you go back and watch scenes from past movies after learning new information, everything is so purposeful. After learning that Meiko is meant to be Meicoomon’s balance, it becomes VERY obvious why Meiko was so hesitant and overly-apologetic in the past. You suddenly realize that every time Meiko apologizes for Meicoomon’s destruction, every time she bursts out crying, each day she skipped school after watching Leomon die, it’s because she genuinely believes the death, destruction, and trauma is due to her failure as the Libra’s balance. When Takeru told her Patamon was infected, she freaked because in her mind, it was her fault. I don’t think Meiko’s depression is overdone because it’s realistic. Can you imagine how much pressure she must have been under? From her father? From Maki? She could never fail. What if she got sick? Heck, what if she died? Who would control Meicoomon? That’s so fucked up. SO fucked up. And if her father is being truthful in Kyousei when he seems to just realize how much pressure his daughter is under, it leads you to wonder how Meiko came to understand she was responsible for containing Meicoomon’s powers. My money’s on Maki, and I’d bet a million dollars Maki was manipulative as fuuuuck. Since past movies have given us so many hints about what’s to come in the next installment, Meiko’s sadness leads me to believe we’ll learn the extent of what Maki’s done with the Mochizuki family all these years. What did her gaslighting ential? Why did she help them move to Tokyo? HOW DID HER HANDS “FALL INTO DARKNESS”? Put a pin in that last bit, because I’m gonna come back to it.

So, anyways, Daigo serves as a nice parallel to Taichi, and even Yamato, and I think Maki is meant to showcase a potential future for Meiko and Hikari. Meiko’s potential is obvious- a lost partner, a chosen being unchosen, the list goes on. At some point, though, DarkGennai mentions how those who are the most compassionate or fragile (or something along those lines) are the easiest to break and control. He’s referencing Hikari when he says it, but I wonder if he thought the same thing about Maki at some point. As Homeostasis can speak through them both, I think the similarities are there. 

And the similarities continue for Tailmon and Meicoomon! I’ve discussed the importance of their similarities before, but while watching Tri 5, I noticed some similarities to episode 34 of adventure which seem especially relevant now that we’ve seen hints of Wizarmon on the Tri 6 poster:

If you remember episode 34, or if you’re like me and needed to recently find a terrible streaming site to rewatch it on, you’ll know that Wizarmon is incredibly lonely when he meets Tailmon, that he has a heart of stone from being lonely, and is convinced that he’s going to die from it. Tailmon saved him, and Hikari saved Tailmon. Back in the cave in present times:

(Mr. Mochizuki references Meicoomon’s loneliness when his daughter wasn’t around, and Meiko’s been separated from her partner an awful lot recently. Hackmon talks about how Meicoomon was isolated and feared due to it’s power.)

And then Hikari jumps in all too knowingly...

Interestingly, Wikimon has Meicrackmon VM’s card translated as follows:

And wow, what a Fan Moment™ it would be for Wizarmon to swoop in and fix all of this (which hopefully he doesn’t literally do because THERE’S NO TIME LOL). In all seriousness, though, the meaning of being chosen, of being a partner, will definitely be a huge theme in Tri 6 and I’m excited to see what happens. I’m also wondering if anything will come of Maki’s cold heart- I believe Daigo described it that way in one of the prior movies?

Anyways, let me reel this back in for a second to discuss more briefly some smaller things I appreciated in Tri 5 before jumping in to the conclusion of it all:

The mature tone: I touched on this before, but a part of the movie that stood out to me was Mrs. Yagami’s naivety about her children’s success. She briefly displays some worry, decides Taichi + Hikari will be okay, and starts making them a ton of food. I’m sure half of his is denial, but I also think this scene wouldn’t have been second-guessed in adventure. Of course the kids are going to be fine because the heroes always win. Now though, Mrs. Yagami’s hope seems out of place. This is highlighted further when Taichi talks to her on the phone. Mrs. Yagami lightheartedly states that it’s been a long time since Taichi’s had a summer filled with so much excitement. When she said this, I instantly thought about how Taichi must have been reeling for adventure after returning home from the digital world. I’ve always imagined him sitting in class, staring out the window, daydreaming about what Agumon must be up to in the next world over. I was kind of shocked when his response was “What are you talking about?” This isn’t an adventure to Taichi anymore. It was always serious, but the innocence of childhood is long gone. 

The attention to details: I need to respectfully disagree with the assertion that Tri is lacking details. I’ve found it to be full of callbacks, if you’re looking for them, and I think it’s taking the time to highlight little things it doesn’t necessarially have to show us. One example of this is the Ishida-Takaishi family dynamic. To me, it was unclear whether Yamato’s dad even answered the phone, and Yamato outright denies the chance to speak with his mother. When I was wondering what the chosen children were up to in the years before Tri, these were the sorts of details I was wondering about. The fact that Tri took the time for this scene, amongst others, is what gives me hope about the sixth movie actually being able to wrap things up. 

I also appreciate the details that don’t necessarily involve callbacks. Very pleased about the fanfiction fodder that is Yamato being terrified of ghost stories, and Takeru totally willing to throw him under the bus about it. Uh, I also noticed how unnervingly quick Takeru was to whip up an excuse for the police. He seemed, er, a little too calm when running away.

The Sorami: I mean, did you think I’d make a post about this movie and not mention the Sorami? I APPRECIATE THEM SO MUCH LOL. IT HAS TO BE CANON, RIGHT? They were literally sleeping holding hands. I can’t. I digress...

The cramming of everyone digivolving into one single screen: THANK YOU.

Whew. This is getting long, but this brings me what I really want to talk about: The ending. 

So, the second half of Kyousei is a lot. I may or may not have cried twice. Oh, and, surprise! There’s the dark ocean. I really didn’t mind Taichi & Meiko’s conversation but I also don’t really have much to add about it besides what I discussed before. I definitely noted that Meiko interprets “you shouldn’t have been born” to include both her and Meicoomon, and I’m not surprised Taichi snapped at her. I would also like to note that Meiko & Agumon’s conversation (was super cute) was kinda revealing. Meiko envies Taichi, along with everyone else. She apologizes for scaring everyone early, Agumon says he wasn’t scared, and Meiko flashes back to a bunch of moments in which Meicoomon was scared. That... didn’t sit right with me. I do believe that Meiko yearns for a more typical partnership with Meicoomon, but yet again we have an instance of Meiko seemingly toying with the idea of giving it all up. 

On Yamato: WOW! Okay, so, my absolutely favorite part of the movie is when Meiko asks the chosen children to kill Meicoomon. Yamato’s been pushing Taichi to stop hesitating, to stand with his friends, to do what’s right. After sprinting into the digital world monologueing about the importance of protecting friends, much to Yamato’s satisfaction (...i presume), he makes the decision that Meiko is right and that they should, indeed, kill off her partner. Not only is this in obvious contract with Yamato’s crest, but it’s got to be fucking infuriating to watch your closest ally step up to the plate just in time to kill off someone the chosen have spent a lot of time protecting. I understand Yamato as the type of character to keep his grievances private. He’ll shoot you a glare from across the room and fight back if you’ve hit his temper, but I don’t think he’s the type to let other people see his anger make him weak. This... I think this was Yamato’s low point, and he aired it out in front of fucking e v e r y b o d y. After grabbing Taichi by the collar and pushing him away, Yamato just stands there and screams. I can’t think of a time he’s ever done something like that. He is SO internally conflicted, and frustrated, and sad, and dare I say... lonely? You SAW how sad he was (he blushed!) when confronting Taichi about Omegamon breaking up early. I think this is foreshadowing a major plotline for the final movie. After all, Yamato hasn’t truly had a solo-arc yet. 

On Hikari: Hikari’s another one who will be front and center in the sixth movie. Her arc is definitely not over, and I’m excited for the potential of her plotline intersecting with Yamato’s. I’m reminded of the Vamdemon arc from Adventure and how horribly awkward it was for Yamato to take care of Taichi’s little sister. I hope we see that sorta tension again. And listen, I truly understand everyone’s frustration with Hikari not being the main focus of her movie. I do think it’s a bit problematic that we base our expectations on who shows up on the next poster, but I understand. I do. It sucks. I would have been mad if this was Sora, yet while I understand, I’m not particularly bothered. It’s obvious that Hikari will play a huge role in the final movie. Also, if you can imagine me holding a giant flashing arrow and pointing it towards 02, that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. All you Hikari fans got like, a season and a half and two movies where Hikari played a major role. There’s also the potential that if Tri goes on to Tri 02 (please, hear my prayers, amen), she’ll also play a huge role. I do think that we’ll learn more about older Hikari as Tri finishes up, so this is where I’m at right now. I’m fine spending more time with some of the other kids. I’m fine watching them interact with a new character. Not everyone has to agree with me, like please, be mad about it if that’s how you feel! This is just my two cents. 

On Taichi: You selfless, stupid idiot. Youuu infuriating contradictory little shit. You in all of your poorly-timed nobleness pulled a Jack-from-Titanic and let yourself die when Omegamon could have TOTALLY swooped on over to you and picked you and Daigo up. THERE WAS ROOM FOR EVERYONE UNDER HIS ARMS. Dammit, Taichi. You just killed your sister, broke Sora’s heart, and jump-started Yamato’s looming mid-life crisis all in one go, and beyond the fourth wall, we all know you’re kicking around underground with Daigo having a heart-to-heart about what the morality of adulthood entails, every once in awhile stopping to say “shit, we should probably try and get back up there, right?”

Okay, okay, I’m being unreasonable. I really do love the angst. Taichi falling into a very cartoon-y certain non-death makes me wonder, though, if he had a sense something like this was coming. Once again, the focus on his hesitation and reflectiveness seems purposeful. It reminds me of the way people might act before they die. What am I here for? What can I do? What’s the purpose of it all? It makes sense that he’s stuck with Daigo, as I think he’s been asking himself the very same questions. His easy-going nature conflicts with his role and remembering how got all serious with the police and so on... it seemed unnatural for him (although I was here for it tbh, hey Daigo). Perhaps he’s also still stuck in this kid-adult limbo. ANYWAYS-

In my Loss review, I discussed how it’s actually fairly common for Taichi to hesitate. He truly does go back and forth between being a hot-head and overthinking things, but it’s struck me recently that many of the moments in which he hesitates involve a realization of his own mortality and relative insignificance in relation to everything going on in the universe around him. Going back and watching the other movies, watching Taichi + Yamato bicker about what the right thing to do is, how to avoid the most death and tragedy... it seems sort of cruel. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional but as Yamato made the case for saving more civilians by doing something, Taichi’s blank stare, his hesitation... it’s almost as if he knows he’s stuck in purgatory and yeah, they could do something, but hey Yamato, “I don’t wanna die. I’ll die too.” 

As I type that out, I’m now realizing those are the words I’ve been looking for all of Tri. Taichi’s moving like he’s trying to navigate purgatory and he’s not sure which choices will show him the light. 

As Taichi made the ultimate sacrifice, I was reminded of this scene on Loss:

Taichi did something. And I’ll leave it at that. I felt a lot of sadness going back and watching this scene but I’m not quite sure what to make of it yet. All I can say is that when Yamato demanded that everyone stand, I was glad Sora was the first one who did.

On the ending: As Hikari’s digimon chased after her, calling her name each time Hikari called for Taichi, I wanted to reach out and tell it to be quiet. Hikari was so shocked and mournful, but still, that sentiment is so anti-ethical to who Hikari is. We’ve had all this talk about partners, and I found it peculiar for Hikari to mumble that she was supposed to be at her brother’s side. She over-relies on him so much that even Takeru gets annoyed with it. So what can a partner do? Evolve to Ophanimon FM, I guess. 

Ophanimon, born from Hikari’s despair and closed off heart, Hikari, being the one DarkGennai references as being so easy to manipulate due to her fragility.

Which is all... fine and evil. Just... after the perfectly creepy jogress evolution we saw... what the ffuck digimon is that? It definitely is not Mastemon but it reminds me of Mastemon, given it’s description. It doesn’t really make sense, but I felt like I needed to contribute something lol. It’s listed as being able to evolve from Meicrackmon VM but... I don’t know. I really have no evidence putting this forward as even a basis for what we saw in Kyousei besides “I just think it sounds kinda similar” so I’m gonna go ahead and wrap up with my final thoughts.

The Dark Ocean: Well, they committed! The dark ocean is involved in Tri and is seemingly the third world that the title of Tri may be referencing. If the Dark Ocean is here though, I’m also assuming Demon is too. It would make sense I suppose, him swearing revenge on the 02 kids and promising to free himself as revenge against the ultimate being of good in the digital world.

So, nothing is creepier than Maki standing over the dark ocean, gun in hand, arms outstretched like she’s the world’s savior: a holy trinity all in one person. The waves knock her down and that’s the last we see before flashing to Daigo’s memories.  

I’m left wondering how Maki got into the world of darkness in the first place. I remember Ken using his own darkness to open a portal and am wondering if his image being used as an avatar was some type of foreshadowing. Have the 02 kids been trapped there? Is there where Taichi and Daigo are busy tumbling to? Is the dark ocean’s existence throwing off the balance between the human world and the real world, grabbing hold of the link between them and dragging it down? 

In any case, there’s a lot to ponder here. When the kids don’t even know who they’re fighting it’s difficult for the audience to figure out the players. At first mention of Apocalymon, I wondered if the intent was to bring him back. I then wondered, after seeing the dark ocean, if he manifested as part of the dark world himself, or if he manifested as Maki’s manipulated dread and jealousy. Are her emotions in a sense, Apocalymon, and the source of the shard? I’m now enticed to think about Demon sitting in the dark ocean for years, plotting revenge. Demon originally came to light because Ken dipped his hands into darkness. Apparently, Maki’s done the same. Word. For. Word. I think it makes sense for her suffering to resemble Ken’s. I think she is a true chess piece of a victim and tbh I don’t see her making it out alive. Send Daigo my regards. Movie 6 will be rough and I would not be surprised to see her atone for her sins before a very Oikawa-like death, sacrificing herself to restore balance to all.

As I said in my Loss review, I’m really not that familiar with all the lore in this fandom and most of what I learn comes from my own research (aka late night searches on wikimon). While perusing Demon’s page, I noticed this:

Note that it’s fanmade, but I’m wondering if anyone knows where this came from? It makes sense so in the context of Tri I almost feel like I’m being trolled. Anyways.

I’d like to note that after the “reboot” Maki notes that the net ocean hasn’t appeared yet. I wonder if the overarching goal is to birth a new digital world from this ocean of darkness instead. I can’t really think of anything more guaranteed to throw off the universe’s balance than that.

So here we are. Much like everyone’s feelings about Tri, this review is a mess. I’ve edited it so much and I’m still left with something I’m terribly unhappy with, but I wanted to put it out there before Tri 5 got too far away from me. If you read all of this, thank you? It’s a jumble of thoughts and unverifiable theories that you all can probably debunk in a matter of minutes. See u all in spring/summer 2018 oh my fucking god. Until then, our kids are left on a no-man’s land resembling the place where the original chosen and the 02 kids fell. Meiko, in her envy of Taichi, now carries Koromon in her arms after Taichi’s apparent death. And I don’t want to be the one to say it, but... As we all ponder the meaning of being chosen, whether being chosen matters if you can so easily be cast aside, and how to stretch the limits of being a good partner...

Mrs. Yagami’s food is going to get awfully cold.

[cryingcow]

Character Story - Yayoi [RGGO]

I’m gonna stop simping over Zhongli for now and post this XD For our next beautiful lady: the one and only surviving sword mom in the series! :D

Story: After Terada dies, someone needs to be the Fifth Acting Chairman.

Kashiwagi: “Since Terada got murdered and I got attacked and whoever is the leader now would most likely get killed, I would like your son Daigo to be the Fifth Acting Chairman.”

Yayoi: “. . . You’re not exactly being persuasive here.”

.

CHAPTER 1

.

|In 2006, five years after getting arrested for violating the Firearms and Swords Act, Dojima Daigo went to Osaka to take revenge against God Ryuji. Daigo, who was excommunicated from the clan and abandoned by his former friends, devotes himself to a life of drinking alone.|

Daigo: “Oi . . . I’m out of liquor.”

Waiter: “Y-Yes . . . Here you go.”

Daigo: “. . .”

Yayoi: “. . . Daigo.”

Daigo: “. . . Why did you come here.”

Yayoi: “Even though everything’s over . . . how long do you plan on living like this? It wasn’t Kiryu who killed that person . . . you already know that. Did Kiryu really leave the Tojo Clan? In that case, you shouldn’t be drinking.”

Daigo: “. . . I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please go home.”

Yayoi: “What did you say . . . ?”

Daigo: “Whatever I’m doing has nothing to do with you.”

Yayoi: “Nothing to do with me . . . ? It’s natural for parents to worry about their son.”

Daigo: “Hmph . . . now it’s just the mother’s side.”

Yayoi: “! . . .”

[Daigo gets up and leaves.}

Yayoi: “Daigo . . . !”

----

Yayoi: “. . . Mother’s side.”

Yayoi: (. . . It’s no wonder Daigo says that. Since long ago, I and that person have made Daigo feel very lonely because of the clan . . . Now, I’m not the one who can guide that child. Only Kiryu . . . can do it . . .)

Malicious Catcher: “Good evening Onee-san! What’s with the wrinkles between your eyebrows~? Is something wrong? Do you want to be surrounded by good-looking guys? Huh?”

Yayoi: “Get lost. I’m in a bad mood right now.”

Malicious Catcher: “Huh? Don’t say that, won’t you join us? Well? Come on!”

Yayoi: “Hmph. . . . Don’t complain if you die.”

{Yayoi presumably stabs the guy several times.}

Malicious Catcher: “Hiiii!! M-Murderer!! She isn’t human! Somebody help~!”

Yayoi: “. . . Tch.”

----

Yayoi: (What am I going to do with Daigo . . .)

?: “Guh . . . !”

Yayoi: “Hm . . . ?”

Kashiwagi: “Haa . . . Haa . . .”

Yayoi: “Kashiwagi . . . ?! Kashiwagi, there’s blood on your arm . . . ! Wait right there, I’ll do first aid. Let’s get you to a hospital quick.”

Kashiwagi: “No, it’s fine now. I’m sorry Neesan . . . guh . . . !”

Yayoi: “. . . What on earth happened?”

Kashiwagi: “I was ambushed earlier.  . . . by a killer from the Omi Alliance.”

Yayoi: “Omi . . . ?!”

.

-END-

.

CHAPTER 2

Yayoi: “Someone from the Omi Alliance tried to kill you . . . ? What do you mean?”

Kashiwagi: “. . . Actually, the Fifth Chairman was shot today by someone from the Omi Alliance.”

Yayoi: “Terada . . . ?!”

Kashiwagi: “Yes . . . He was immediately transported by an ambulance, but . . . he died.”

Yayoi: “What’s that . . . ?”

Kashiwagi: “The head family will be happy to have support from you, so I was looking for you with regards that matter. But in the middle of doing that, I was attacked by a hitman, and this is what happened. The Omi is trying to crush us in one go.”

Yayoi: “Is that so . . . so why were you looking for me?”

Kashiwagi: “. . . Neesan, I have something to discuss with you.”

Man with Kansai Dialect: “Found you, Kashiwagi!”

Kashiwagi: “. . . tch. Did they chase me down?”

Yayoi: “Kashiwagi. Is this the guy who hurt you?”

Kashiwagi: “Yeah . . . he caught me off guard.”

Omi Hitman: “This time I’ll stab you, Acting Captain of the Tojo Clan!”

{Yayoi and Kashiwagi kick their ass.}

Omi Hitman: “Damn it . . . !”

Kazama Family: “Boss!”

Omi Hitman: “. . . tch, are those reinforcements?”

{The hitman runs away.}

Kazama Family Member A: “Wait!”

Kazama Family member B: “Boss! Are you okay?”

Kashiwagi: “Yeah, they just got my arm. You guys . . . don’t tell anyone about this. I want to avoid making the flames of war even bigger.”

Kazama Family member B: “. . . Yes, boss.”

Kashiwagi: “Let’s go somewhere else, Neesan. We can’t talk here.”

----

Bar Master: “Take your time . . .”

Yayoi: “. . . So, Kashiwagi. What’s this story you have to tell me?”

Kashiwagi: “. . . I’ll be straightforward. I would like to ask Daigo to be the Fifth Acting Chairman.”

Yayoi: “Daigo as Acting Chairman . . . ?!”

Kashiwagi: “. . . Yes.”

Yayoi: “You . . . after what happened between Daigo and the Omi . . . ?!”

Kashiwagi: “. . . I am well aware of that. The Fifth Chairman was killed, and even I, acting as the Junior Head, was attacked . . . To be the ‘face’ of the head family now would be like walking up to the execution stand.”

Yayoi: “. . . And knowing that, you want to put it on Daigo’s back . . .”

Kashiwagi: “The Tojo Clan is currently a mess. But the Omi will not wait for us. We need someone to be a monolith as soon as possible. To do that, we need a suitable leader. I’m ashamed to say, but it can’t be me. But Daigo is a vessel that people can rely on. He will surely pull the Tojo Clan together. So, I wanted to talk to you about it first. Please . . . please understand.”

Yayoi: “. . . I understand what you’re saying. Then, I have a suggestion. Will you listen?”

Kashiwagi: “A suggestion . . . ?”

.

-END-

.

CHAPTER 3

Kashiwagi: “. . . Neesan, is that really okay?”

Yayoi: “Yeah. I’m not going back on my word.”

Kashiwagi: “. . . Understood.”

Yayoi: “But, can you give me some time?”

----

Daigo: “Oi! I’m out of alcohol! Bring more quickly!”

Man in Black Clothes: “C-Customer, if you drink too much . . . !”

{Yayoi and Kashiwagi appear.}

Daigo: “?! . . .”

Daigo: “Why is Kashiwagi-san here?”

Yayoi: “. . . Daigo. There’s something we want to tell you.”

Daigo: “. . . I don’t want to talk to you.”

Kashiwagi: “Daigo . . . be careful of how you talk.”

Daigo: “Shut up. I don’t want to get involved with anything anymore-”

{Yayoi slaps Daigo.}

Daigo: “Guh?!”

Kashiwagi: “Ah, Neesan . . . !”

Yayoi: “You don’t need to get involved, Kashiwagi. Club Manager, I’m sorry, but I’m going to rampage. Stand up, Daigo. I’m not saying this to you as a parent. I’m just angry with the idiot who drinks alone at this time.”

Daigo: “. . . What did you call me . . . !”

Yayoi: “Come on, clench your teeth!!”

{Yayoi whoops Daigo’s ass.}

Daigo: “Guh . . . !”

Yayoi: “You’re an idiot. You’re so drunk you can’t even walk properly.”

Yayoi: “. . . Daigo, Terada’s dead.”

Daigo: “. . .”

Yayoi: “He was killed by men from the Omi Alliance.  . . . There could be war.”

Daigo: “. . . So what. Are you telling me to go back?”

Yayoi: “. . . I’ve decided to become the Acting Chairman. I came here to tell you that.”

Daigo: “Acting Chairman . . . ?! Are you really saying . . . ?!”

Yayoi: “Yes. I’ll be taking over Terada’s position starting today. I will organize the Tojo Clan.”

Daigo: “What are you thinking?! I don’t think that’s sane . . .”

Yayoi: “Of course I’m aware of the danger. But I have no choice but to do this. So . . .”

Daigo: “You . . . I’m wondering what you can do for the clan.”

Yayoi: “. . . Daigo. I’ve been prepared for all this since I became his wife. Now . . . is the time.”

Daigo: “Guh . . . !!”

Yayoi: “. . . I just came by to say this. Let’s go, Kashiwagi.”

Kashiwagi: “. . . Yes.”

----

Yayoi: “. . .”

Kashiwagi: “. . . Is it okay, Neesan? Not to tell Daigo the truth.”

Yayoi: “It’s fine.”

Yayoi: “Then, I have a suggestion. Will you listen?”

Kashiwagi: “A suggestion . . . ?”

Yayoi: “Yes. The position of Acting Chairman . . . I want to take it on.”

Kashiwagi: “Neesan . . . ?!”

Yayoi: “Am I lacking the power?”

Kashiwagi: “. . . No. The breakthrough of the Dojima Family is only possible with the support of Neesan. Everyone knows that. You have a lot of trust from those at the bottom, and the perfect qualities to stand on top . . . I have no complaints. But . . . is that okay?”

Yayoi: “Like Daigo, I too have the qualities to carry the head family on my back. But for that child . . . he needs time to recover. It’s true that it is the role of parents to help their children.  . . . But I can’t do that. So . . . I want to offer up my life to give him that time. This is what I’ll do as the parent of my child.”

Kashiwagi: “. . . Neesan . . .”

Kashiwagi: “. . . Awkward people, both Daigo and Neesan.”

Yayoi: “Heh . . . that person was the same. Well, let’s go. Isn’t the head family huge? I need to start deciding future policies soon.  . . . I’m counting on you, Kashiwagi.”

Kashiwagi: “Yes. Your humble servant Kashiwagi will do his best to protect you, Fifth Acting Chairman!”

.

-END-

 Masterlist

[engekihaikyuu]

Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu

Prince of Stage vol. 9 - Interview Translation with the new Karasuno cast!

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Part 1: The First Years Hinata Shouyou: Daigo Kotarou Kageyama Tobio: Akana Ryuunosuke Tsukishima Kei: Yamamoto Ryousuke Yamaguchi Tadashi: Oribe Yoshinari

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Full interview translation and more photos under the Read More! Please do not repost my translations or scans.

Please give us a highlight or something to watch out for in the upcoming play. Daigo: The atmosphere and activity that’s in Engeki Haikyuu is really distinctive, and I think it inspires a very unique feeling when you watch it.  This production is going to have few scenes with matches and instead portray more of the main character’s shared emotions.  We’ve changed everyone in the Karasuno cast, and we’re all challenging ourselves at something new!  Right now in this moment, I feel a burning desire to not lose to the previous productions.  I have a hunch that the outcome will be a spirited production.  Please look forward to it as you wait! Akana: Even though it’s a play, it does have the flavor of a live concert.  With the footage, the music, and the acting... it’s a production that has really a lot of realism.  I would rather people come with the same excitement as if they were going to see a concert rather than a play, and then I think they’ll be able to enjoy it even more.  When it comes to the production, I think there are parts that will leave you pondering after you’ve seen it, but I hope that when you finish watching Engeki Haikyuu that you leave feeling refreshed.  Maybe if you can feel like, “Tomorrow I’ll work hard!”  It’s a show that can cheer your up and leave you feeling brighter, and I think that’s something that a lot of other productions don’t have.   Yamamoto: When it comes to enthusiasm, the previous cast have definitely passed that on to us... in that respect nothing’s really changed.  With Worry-san as our director and our chief, we’re gradually taking in new ideas, and trying a lot of new methods that haven’t been used in Engeki Haikyuu before, so I think it’s going to turn out completely different from the previous shows.  And with that difference, I hope we can show off our new “Karasuno colors.”   Oribe: I was able to watch the previous show, but it’s like everyone else has said, we’re going to be a completely different Karasuno from before.  And I really want the audience to see us already.  Rather than a specific highlight, I feel like I want people to really pay attention to all of it.  We want to surpass what the previous Karasuno cast have created, in a sense.  To have inherited something that has this three-year history, it means that we’re the ones who have to keep it going.  So everyone is working together so that we can continue the legacy of those three years.  It’s a promise we have within our team, and I’d like to be able to convey that to the audience.  

Please tell us something about how you relate to your characters. Oribe: Well Ryousuke-kun and I are like the actual characters. (laughs) Daigo: I do wonder if you’re just normally like that or if you’re being in character, as Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, I mean. Oribe: Isn’t it fine if just being normal matches being in character? Akana: …..I think if you were really like them, people might dislike you? Everyone: Hahahah! (laughs) Daigo: But doesn’t Yamaguchi feel the same way?  Maybe. Akana: But he doesn’t hate being that way really? Daigo: But Ryousuke-kun might dislike Yoshi.... Yamamoto: ….I mean if I did, I can't really say so. Oribe: Hey!  At least deny it?!   Daigo: I don’t actually have a lot in common with my character...  I think just about everything is different.   Akana: You aren’t really alike, huh. Daigo: But maybe we’re a little alike in our enthusiasm?  Or at least I’d like us to be.  As an actor, I can really respect how much he loves just that one thing.   Akana: I’ve been told that my face is like Kageyama’s, also my aura.  Or the shape of my head.   Daigo: Your personalities aren’t that similar at all though.   Akana: Some of our circumstances are a bit similar.  If I’m trying to manage a group, people usually hate me at first. (laughs)  But fundamentally our personalities aren’t the same.  I can’t love something to the degree that I’d be that much of an idiot. Yamamoto: For me, I also have bad eyesight.   Daigo: Oh that’s very true. (laughs) Yamamoto: And I’m also very smart, and have blond hair. Akana: Hang on, no you don’t! (laughs) Oribe: You’re also very tall! Daigo: And you can jump really high.  It’s actually really amazing.  He’s exactly like Tsukishima that way.  

If you could pick a favorite character within the series, who would it be? Daigo: Kiyoko-san!  Because I always love the cute girls in anime...  I’m kidding.  In all seriousness, I love Hinata Shouyou.  He’s so bright and energetic, and I love that about him. Akana: For me, it’s Oikawa Tooru.  I mean, he’s popular, right?  Girls are screaming kyaa kyaa for him during matches, so he’s basically like a star.  I kind of want to live my life like that. Yamamoto: My favorite character is... well I kind of end up focusing on my own character as I read? Daigo: Yeah.  That’s really true! Yamamoto: So because of that my favorite character ends up being the character I play.  In the end, my favorite is Tsukishima.  When I’m reading the manga, I get excited whenever Tsukishima does anything.  If I could try playing a different character, it would be Kageyama I think.   Oribe: In all honesty, I didn’t have any favorite characters when I first read Haikyuu.  But when it was decided that I would play Yamaguchi, it’s exactly like Ryousuke-kun said, I started being really aware of Yamaguchi while reading, and in the end Yamaguchi became my favorite character.  If I could try playing a different character, I’d also pick Kageyama.  Kageyama and Yamaguchi are complete opposites and their personalities are completely different.  So I get kind of curious as to, “If I played him, how would I do it?” and stuff.   Akana: ...ohhhhh. Yamamoto: It really doesn’t matter to you, does it? (laughs) Daigo: That was suuuch a displeased response! (laughs) Akana: No no!  I’m actually really happy.  The fact that other people think of my character and go, “I wanna try playing him too.”   Everyone: ….hmmmmm. Akana: Okay, good job everyone! Everyone: (laughs)

Please tell us a story from your rehearsals. Akana: Everyone’s getting to be really good at volleyball now.  Because everyone keeps playing during breaks so our breaks aren’t even breaks. (laughs)   Daigo: Kou-kun is always moving around so much at rehearsals, but even for like 10-min breaks he’s still practicing volleyball.  It’s to the degree where I kind of wonder if he might be an idiot! (laughs)   Kanegae: Hey, I can hear you!  Who are you calling an idiot?!   Everyone: Hahahah! (laughs) Daigo: No but really, he'll always stay super late for more volleyball practice.  He’s getting better than everyone else, so I think he’s pretty amazing. Akana: I mean his athleticism was outstanding to begin with. Yamamoto: And he’s got that shaved head. Kanegae: Hey!  Who are you calling bald?! Daigo: He didn’t actually say ‘bald.’ (laughs)

What were your first impressions of each other, and your impressions of each other now? Daigo: My first impression of Nosuke (Akana) was basically, I thought he was crazy. Akana: Hang on a second... how many times have we had this conversation? Daigo: I mean I’ll say it however many times.  It was my first impression after all.  Because we met during our costume fittings.  Nosuke went first and I went in after he did, and he just went, “Ah!  I forgot to wear underwear!”   Oribe: Ehh?! Yamamoto: Why were you going commando?! Akana: Well, I can’t sleep with underwear on.  And that day was in winter and it was cold, so I had on thermal leggings, and I’d put on my pajama pants over those to sleep.  And leggings feel pretty snug on the body so they’re basically the same as underwear anyway.  That’s why I thought I had them on, and the next morning I took off just my pajama pants and put on regular pants instead over the leggings.   Yamamoto: Do you call them leggings?  Aren’t they long johns?   Akana: Eh?!  Don’t people call them leggings?   Daigo: Yeah, if you’d said long-johns I’d know better what you were talking about.  I don’t know about leggings.   Akana: People from Nara say leggings* though...  Ah, well, then, I was wearing long johns. (laughs)  So then when it was time for costume fittings and I had to strip, I had to say, “I’m... not wearing any underwear...”  

*Akana actually uses a slang word for thermal leggings that’s borrowed from Korean, which is partly why Ryousuke doesn’t really know why he’s saying that instead of the more standard word: 股引.  This is difficult to translate exactly because English doesn’t have a very slangy word for leggings or thermals and certainly not one that we borrow from another language.  Leggings was the best I could do because in all fairness, guys don’t really wear them.  

Daigo: That was before we became friends so it wasn’t something you could really joke about, but you laughed a lot. (laughs)  So that was us at first, but lately I’ve found some things I can even respect about him.  Nosuke’s really really good at dancing.  And he’s really quick to memorize choreography, and then he takes the initiative to teach people who can’t do it yet.  He’ll even suggest like, “Maybe it would be better if you tried it this way,” and so I thought he was really dependable.  I respect that a lot about him. Daigo: Actually, Yoshi and I went to the same high school.  And we used to hang out a lot privately. Oribe: It’s pretty funny.  When we were in school we used to just hang out normally as friends, but now we’re working together.  It feels a little off.   Daigo: It’s not like that anymore, but at first it did feel really strange.  

Please give one final message to people who will be going to see the show. Oribe: I want everyone who’s going to come see Engeki Haikyuu to be able to feel the passion and enthusiasm of the show in person.  I think there are a lot of different ways they can enjoy the show, thanks to our teamwork, and so please look forward to the tour!   Yamamoto: Worry-san said to us, “Let’s make this next productiong while keeping in mind the keywords, ‘connect,’ and ‘entrust.’”  This production is something that’s been entrusted to us by the previous cast, and we have to connect with that in order to continue, it’s important to understand that.  While being mindful, we as the new Karasuno generation will make a new wind blow, this is our starting point, but first we have to take that first step.  I hope we can really burst onto the scene together.  We’ll be working really hard! Akana: Since we’ve had some time at rehearsals now, I can say with 120% certainty that it’s going to be a fun show.  There’s no way it won’t be with this cast.  I’m sure there are fans that are uneasy because of the completely new cast, but I think if they just make their way to the theater to see us even once with all of their expectations, the rest of their time will be spent just enjoying the show.  Please wait for us! Daigo: I want people to feel extra motivated and invigorated because of watching Engeki Haikyuu.  I want to work hard and do my best together with everyone who comes to see the show.  I have this image where the audience can be motivated because of us and that we also work harder for them, and I’m going to work extra hard at the thought of seeing everyone’s smiling faces.  I want to make a show where we all encourage and empower each other.  

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Translated by @nimbus-cloud Please do not repost my translations!  To me, this includes screenshots of bits and pieces taken out of context, especially if they don’t link back to me.

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If you’d like to buy the magazine that features the original interview, you can find it on Amazon JP: (x)

Parts 2 and 3 with the second and third-years will follow!

[sj4iy]

Translation: “Owari no Seraph: Glen Ichinose, the Fall at 16″ Chapter 01 - Translation Summary [Part 2 of 2] (Spoilers!!)

Continued from Part 01:

Glen realizes that the seal is the former technique of the excommunicated Hina family and thinks “The one who would still inherit something like this is…” as he bites his thumb and attempts to write over the seal with his blood.  Just then, the body (with a demon face) comes alive and grabs him around the throat.  It starts screaming “Stop it!  Don’t touch me! If you touch me, you’ll suffer divine punishment!”  The police start freaking out that the corpse is talking as it tries to kill Glen, but he then grabs it by the mask and smashes it against the wall.  He asks if it’s a god, and it replies that it is a god of vengeance.   It says that it gives prideful humans divine punishment just as a large gross hand comes out of its mouth.  For a moment it looks as if it has grabbed Glen, but suddenly he’s behind it.  He says “ugly technique” and rips the hand thing out of the god’s mouth.  It screams and returns to normal.  The police wonder what that was, and the reply is “This is the Onmyouji, the crafter of the “Mikado no Tsuki”…”  Shigure asks him if he knows who the crafter is and he replies that there were clues, but that for now, he will destroy the barrier that the person is trying to make around the city.  He rubs his thumb across and tells the curse to return back to the crafter and go to the grave.  In a house, we see a black stream enter the eye of a girl wearing a fox mask.  She screams “Stop!” and grabs her head.

Glen is looking at the eye of the dead girl, and says “It must have been terrible to die by a curse.  My religion doesn’t believe in an afterlife, but if there is one, rest in peace” and everyone pays their respects.  He then says “let’s go” to the girls.  Meanwhile, Aoyama is walking angrily down the street and complains that the Mikado no Tsuki is a false religion that was eating the town.  But then he realizes that the strange things in town didn’t just start, which is why he left home 10 years ago.  We see him as a kid being thrown into a wall by his dad.  His dad says that “brats should listen to what their parents say!”  His little sister holds him and cries “Big Brother Daigo” and he says “This is strange, dad, why did you start drinking so much after mom died…”  He then says that his dad has been deceived by that strange religion and was ripped off by it.  His dad tells him to shut up, that Mikado no Tsuki will bring his wife back, and Daigo begs his dad to open his eyes.  His dad swings at him.  Time passes, and we see Daigo telling Misuna (his little sister) that he’s going.  She begs him not to leave her there and he says he’ll return so he can take care of her and save her.  We see her crying in the distance as he thinks “I said that and ran away.  I left my little sister.”

We see him looking at the Aoyama house as he opens the door and says “I’m home!”.  A young lady peeks around the corner and asks who’s there so late.  When she recognizes him, she embraces him excitedly (she even says she remembers his smell).  She says “You reall came back” but he says “…no” and that he was just running away after fighting with their dad.  She says she’s happy he came back and he says he’s sorry.  He asks where their father is, and she say’s he’s out.  Daigo asks if he’s still with the Mikado no Tsuki religion and she says she doesn’t talk much with father anymore.  He looks around the house and asks if it’s always so dark, and she says that since she’s always alone, it became a habit.  He asks her why she’s stayling so close to him and she says that it’s been so long (anyone getting weird vibes by now?).  He tells her that when their dad gets home, he’s going to tell him that he is taking her with him and he bought a house in order to do so.  She says “you remembered your promise”.

Later on they are sleeping and she climbs on top of him and says “Hug me, big brother” (with her clothes coming off, btw).  He says “What the hell are you saying?” and she says “people who love each other hug, right?  I guess I’m not attractive enough” and he replies “love each other…we’re siblings!”  She says “And?  Are you unable to hug me because I’m unclean?”  He asks her what she means by that, and what their father did to her.  She says he was too late coming back, and we see a flashback.  Her father comes in with someone and says that the crafter of the Mikado no Tsuki is finally bringing back her mother.  She tries to say that such a thing can’t happen, and asks who it is.  The dad says his name is Tenkon, and that “You and I can birth your mother, Hina-san will help us.”  He grabs her and tells her to get undressed and birth mom.  She resists but he rips her clothes.  She runs away but he says “If your mom comes back, everything will be alright, that’s what Hina-san said!”  She says “No, no!”  He grabs her from behind and she says “Brother, hel-“  We see her swing around and she cuts his throat.  Tenkon just says “oh my” and asks her what she’s going to do (as she sits there in shock and covered in blood).  He says “if you obey me, I can do something.  Even bring back your parents and give you back your former happiness.  But how far would you go for that?”  He gives her a fox’s mask and says “Without sacrifice, there can be no value.  Will you present value in order to obtain happiness?”  She takes the mask and says “So that I can live with my big brother again…” and puts it on “I’ll do anything.”

Back in the present, she asks him to hold her, and that everything will be okay if he sleeps with her.  “Tenkon said we can give birth to father and mother.”  He tells her to get a grip, and wants to know who told her such a thing.  “Was it Mikado no Tsuki, that damned cult…” but he’s cut off as she passionately kisses him. He cries and says that it’s his fault for running away.  She says it’s okay, because he came back.  “Comfort me, unclean as I am”.  Just then Glen opens the door and says “Sorry if your aroused right now, but it’s over.”  He then says “Sorcery of a corrupted relative…it’s prohibited to invoke that here.”  Glen pulls his sword and Daigo shields Misuna.  Glen knocks Daigo against the wall and says “I’ve come, just as I promised.  To end you.”  But once again, Daigo grabs Glen and tells Misuna to run, saying “This time I’ll be the one to stay, so you…”  Then he sees that she has put on the mask and is changing into a monster.  She says “you’re in my way…” and Glen kicks Daigo away and they start to fight.  Daigo says “Misuna, that’s…” and she says “Don’t look at me, brother…at this terrible form…”  She says “I want to die, I want to die already.  That’s why” but then the demon takes over and says “I’ll kill youuuu!”  Glen fends it off with his sword and asks Daigo “hey, civilian, is this your little sister?”  He replies yes, and Glen asks “do you want to save her?” and he asks “You can save her!?”  Glen says it’s impossible for him, that he can only kill her at this point…but he if he can use Daigo, he can do it.  He tells him to “Curse her to live”.  That no matter how corrupt or how ugly, curse her to live.  Daigo asks if that will bring her back to normal, and he replies that he’s not a god, he’s only a sorceror, and that the only thing he can do is curse.  Glen tells him to decide to curse her or kill her.  Daigo says “I want her with me!” and Glen says “I’ll accept that curse” and throws a seal on Daigo.  Glen’s sword crackles and he says “I’ll curse you with real magic” and cuts the ogre away from Misuna.  There’s a rain of blood and Daigo frantically looks for Misuna, who gently floats into Glen’s arms as he stares at a bloody mask on the floor.

Several days later, Daigo finds Glent practicing his sword out next to a river.  They talk a bit about the monster, then Glen asks about his sister.  Daigo says she’s in a Mikado no Tsuki-run hospital and that she awoke from her coma today.  He says that he heard that the person who cursed his sister wasn’t Mikado no Tsuki, that he had been excommunicated decades ago.  Daigo apologizes for accusing Glen and that he came to give his thanks for saving his sister, but Glen says “I didn’t do it for your sake.  The curses in this area are my jurisdiction.  The person who cursed your sister is captured and the incident is over.  Get lost, you’re interrupting my training.”  Daigo asks “for someone like you with status, prestige and power, what do you want from getting stronger?”

Then there’s voiceover over some flashback scenes of Glen’s youth: “That’s what I asked Glen Ichinose on that day.  The world still wasn’t destroyed yet.  On that day.  No matter what it seemed like he had.  But that kind of person wasn’t supposed to exist.  Everyone grasps onto weakness, everyone is frustrated by something, cries and screams.  Despite that, they believe in the future and continue forward.  Even still, it’s not good...and they curse someone-

It is said that a person carries as much burden as they have strength, the stronger we become the larger the reaction, He who hurts another hurts himself.  This is a tale of destruction.

The tale of Glen Ichinose, whose sadness and deep despair caused the downfall of the world, and his own destruction

That’s all for this month.  I will try to continue doing these summaries since Noragami is on hiatus.  As usual, sorry for any typos or mistakes.  Thanks!

[shenanigumi]

The Demons: A Characterization Comparison (Stories vs KW)

Since people have prompted me for my opinions on various aspects of Kyoto Winds, I’ve been thinking a little more over the past week, and I think I may be ready to coherently explain the biggest problem I have the only way I know how: a ridiculously long essay with plenty of canon backup from both sides. Don’t get me wrong; I still think KW is a good game overall, and I still do like it as its own thing, but there are a few pretty significant reasons the KW continuity can never replace that of Stories for me as ‘ultimate canon’. And I can say with confidence that the sequel will fix nothing; as regards the biggest of those reasons, the damage has already been done.

Length, just so you know what you’re getting into: 16 paragraphs, 7 block quotes. Extra salt. (Insert Takeda joke here.)

Okay, so yeah, the translation was pretty subpar. And yeah, I loathe Iba’s route more than any other in any iteration of the game ever. I could talk all day about either or both of those. But the thing that bothers me most is actually relatively minor in comparison: the demons’ characterization.

In Stories, the demons are very much their own people. Being a demon is a part of who they are, and it is even a driving force for some of them, but it is never so significant that it takes over their entire identity. Sen governs her people kindly and wisely, but is isolated from the rest of the demon clans and is known to be somewhat lonely. Kazama is preoccupied with being an honorable demon, but he decides what that means, which is a part of why his personality varies route to route. It is that same ability to choose one’s own definition of what it means to be an honorable demon that causes Kodo and/or Kaoru to go astray. Amagiri prefers to live an honorable life as a person and as a warrior, while his role as demon is secondary to that. And Shiranui, simply put, doesn’t care in the slightest. All of them are fantastic characters driven by their own internal motivations, just like all the humans. The fact that they are demons may influence their personalities, but it never overrides them.

However, in KW, it seems that they’ve made being a demon a lot more significant, to the point that this emphasis starts eclipsing their personalities and even individuality as people. Sen is not only a princess of her own people, but is hinted to have some sort of authority over other clans. Amagiri and Shiranui are a lot more restrictive as regards Kazama’s attempts to kidnap Chizuru, actively preventing him from making a move on the streets of Kyoto (on Sakamoto’s route) as opposed to reluctantly cooperating—which in turn makes no sense, because this time around, they seem to alternately help and hinder with no explanation. The mention of ‘stray demons’, whom have deviated in some way from a never-before-mentioned code, is also introduced with reference to Kodo and Kaoru’s scheming (on Kazama’s route).

Sound familiar? It should, because Kyoto Winds has cannibalized itself trying to encompass the entire Hakuōki franchise in a single continuity… which unfortunately contains Demons’ Bond. DB as a prequel-spinoff of Hakuōki has never made sense to me in the first place, and it makes even less now. There’s just too much friction. I’ll own that in the Venn diagram of the two games, there is some overlap (the amount of which varies person to person and is very little for me personally), but there are still two separate circles in that diagram, objectively speaking. There are too many direct contradictions between Stories canon and DB canon for them to logically be set in the exact same universe with no changes.

However, to my dismay, KW seems to value DB highly enough as part of the continuity to sacrifice some of the very canon that originally contradicted it. The problem with this is that the reason I love Hakuōki is the original canon, because it explains just enough for everything to make sense without going into so much detail that any holes are readily recognizable. Since KW seems to alter that canon to try and accommodate DB, there are now too many in-universe alleged facts that do not add up. So, without further ado…

Although something had been bothering me in the back of my mind for some time, what first caused me to consciously realize the difference in the demons’ characterization is actually the contrast in Shiranui’s personality, because I love him enough that I am more sensitive to his quirks. In Stories, there’s an automatic bad ending on Ch4 of Harada’s route if you choose to run:

Shiranui: “Whoa, not so fast!”

I heard the crack of a gun firing, and my body shook as if I’d been punched… If I’d just been shot, then the wound should have healed itself already, but with every heartbeat, I could feel warm blood pouring out of my body.

Shiranui: “Even a demon can’t heal a shot through the heart… You’d run off and let a human fight your battles? You don’t have any pride at all, do you? I’m disappointed.”

But in KW, not only does trying to run have no effect (and in fact it seems implied to be the Right Decision this time???), but on an actual bad ending:

Shiranui: “What? You want some too? Sorry, but as it goes, female demons are a rare sight. So I can’t kill you just yet. Give it up.”

Then she runs off and someone else kills her, but that interaction still jarred me. Since when does Shiranui, of all demons, care? At all? Ever? Is this because “killing another demon is a punishable act that makes the offender a ‘stray demon’” [Kodo, KW Kazama Ch5]? But Shiranui is already breaking the code by interfering with human history, and besides that, he never values demonic culture more highly than what he himself thinks is right. He has a mind of his own—a wonderfully wayward mind. For him to suddenly decide “oh, you’re a Female Demon and that’s Really Important so I can’t kill you” completely undermines the fact that the issue of race is secondary to him. As far as he’s concerned, demons are better than humans, but he’ll still call demons assholes, and he’ll still befriend humans. Sparing Chizuru because she’s a female demon is something he would never do.

Now, back to the concept of interference with human history being taboo, because that was the biggest issue I had with DB, and it has now also seeped into KW (both the below quotes from Iba’s route):

Kimigiku: “Although demons are forbidden to interfere with human history… now that you have received the Demon’s Arm, you are no longer a human. You will receive no mercy from me.”

Sen: “…The life you had lived as a human would cease, for you cannot interfere with human history.”

If it is forbidden for demons to interfere directly in human history, and if Sen has the authority to banish demons (more on that later), then why does she permit Shiranui to continue fighting on behalf of Choshu when he is not acting to repay a debt, but according to his own will? Why does Sen not forcibly take Chizuru away to prevent her from getting caught up in human history, as she already has been? And besides all that, what are the consequences of being a ‘stray demon’—that is, why exactly does everyone consider it such a fearsome punishment? 

This is a direct contrast from Stories (“A Meeting of Demons” DLC):

The demons who’d settled in Yase had always been close to the emperor and the court from the moment they were granted permission to live at the base of the mountain. Those ties became stronger over the years, and from time to time, they worked in the shadows to advance the emperor’s agendas, starting during the reign of Emperor Go-Daigo. That had been the beginning of the Genkou era… Relations between Go-Daigo and the Kamakura shogunate had become strained. Eventually, they devolved into open conflict. The emperor and his supporters were driven from Kyoto and fled to Mount Hiei, where the demons of Yase protected them. As thanks for their loyalty in a time of need, the emperor granted them permanent exemption from land taxes, and granted special dispensation for some individuals to serve the emperor in times of emergency. Since then, the demons living in Yase had been inextricably tied to the imperial court. This meant that the village leader was expected to maintain relations with the court in addition to protecting the village. The demons of Yase had great respect for Princess Sen, the imperial court, and the emperor, for it was through them that they could live a life of relative peace and happiness.

And do you know what? That all makes sense! If Sen and her demons keep to themselves and expect all other demons to do the same, there would be no reason for Kimigiku to have undergone training to be an oiran in Shimabara. The point of that job is to gather information that can’t be easily obtained simply by listening to the gossip of the times. What point would there be in uncovering more confidential intel if demons are expected to live apart from humans and stay out of their conflicts? In Stories, it is because information is their trade in their service for the emperor. That’s a lovely little loop with no real holes.

Edit: Come to think of it, if demons are supposed to stay out of human matters, what reason does Sen have to come to Kyoto personally if she doesn’t already know about Chizuru? If she just wanted to hear the talk of the town, she could send other, less important people to listen in on conversation. And don’t tell me it’s because of her tomboyish personality, because one of her main points is that she weighs demonic custom much more highly than her own happiness. Or maybe they retconned that trait out of existence, too.

See, Stories paints a picture where demons and humans coexist (or don’t!) on their own terms, unique from clan to clan and demon to demon, practically symbolic of how and why conflict affects everyone, even those who are technically neutral—and it all hangs together. Even Kazama’s assertion at the end of his route that he will go back to living in the shadows is ultimately a personal decision, and although it is implied to be common-sense custom, it is never stated to be law. KW tries to squeeze all demons into the same mold, under a single overarching idea of What It Means to Be a Demon, which (in a hilariously bad line) Amagiri refers to as “the rules of being a demon”. There is no longer any room for individual interpretation, and although the writers removed that nuance, they did not remove some of its effects, such as Kimigiku having trained to be a geisha. There is no longer an adequate explanation for why the universe is the way it is, and it is very hard for me to suspend disbelief when I can see so many holes.

To circle back to the matter of Sen’s social standing, she and her predecessors are revealed (also in the “A Meeting of Demons” DLC) to have earned the title of ‘Princess’ because the clan has been led by female demons whom have protected Yase for generations, like any other clan leader. In other words, for Sen, ‘Princess’ is a title, not an even further elevated social status. In addition to her isolation, social and otherwise, this explains why she is not particularly famous among other demons. She has no authority over them; only over her own people. Suddenly saying that she has some kind of jurisdiction over other demons apart from her own village makes no sense, considering that several of them don’t seem to recognize her or her position. If she were really that powerful and well-to-do, you’d think she would be more influential. Instead, Kimigiku has to explain more precise details about who she is to Kazama on Heisuke’s route.

And that brings us to the retcon I hope to make infamous:

Sen: “Have you forgotten the law that we are not to become involved with human politics? …Using the power of demons to interfere with, if not destroy, the shogunate is out of the question. That means, of course, that attacking the men of the Shinsengumi with the intention of abducting this one here is out of line, as well.”

No, it’s not??? No, it literally isn’t. Kazama is working for the Satsuma to repay a debt, like the honorable demon he is. Attacking the Shinsengumi falls well within the lines of acceptable behavior as far as that debt goes, and nobody said anything about helping bring down the shogunate. In fact, Kazama tells her as much himself, but—without offering any legitimate counterargument—Sen simply says that even if leaves the service of the clan, it doesn’t excuse him from what he’s already done. Then she starts ranting at him about how she’s going to banish him and disband his clan if he doesn’t agree to leave Chizuru alone. (I’d include more of it in the block quote, but the translation was so shoddy I couldn’t stomach it.)

Now, keep in mind that Kazama barely knew who Sen was at the start of this conversation, and that she has never demonstrated the capacity to follow through with her authority. That is, even if she banished him and split his clan, who would carry out that command? And on what grounds? Yet, despite every reason to continue the argument or even attack, Kazama just… gives up. That’s right, Kazama. Gives. Up. For no comprehensible reason. At all. This interaction doesn’t hang together with anybody’s characterization as I understand it, not to mention the fact that Sen’s assertions don’t make sense. Furthermore, if she really can force Kazama to stand down like that, and his alleged crimes really are so grievous, why does she not confront Kazama and force him to stop pursuing Chizuru on every route? And, come to think of it, why doesn’t she do it earlier? Like, as soon as she knows who Chizuru is earlier?? This plot point doesn’t make sense to begin with, let alone as a replacement for its Stories equivalent:

Kazama: “I see. Well, if you will bear my child, then that is certainly more than I could hope for. However, I see no reason to abandon my current—” Sen: “You insolent, ungrateful knave! Know your place! …What clan could possibly offer you a more prestigious lineage than mine? Your child would be a descendant of Suzuka Gozen! You could take as many wives as you wished, but you would never sire the like again! To even consider any other woman as mother to your child is utter folly. You are the head of the Kazama clan. Surely, you have the foresight to see that.” Kazama: “You have an impertinent mouth… Nonetheless, this is an interesting proposition. I see you have not inherited the elegance of your predecessor, however. Very well. Once the Satsuma have overthrown the shogunate, I will come for you. I suspect that will be soon.”

See how Kazama now has an actual, specific incentive for leaving Chizuru alone—because Sen offered a sufficiently enticing alternative? See how he’s still not including himself among the Satsuma who will overthrow the shogunate? See how nobody mentions interfering with human history or what it means to be a demon? And do you see why I’m not just unhappy about this scene because it de-canonizes my OTP? Even if they choose to make KazaSen possible later, it will make even less sense in this already nonsensically altered context.

…And that reminds me of all my fears for the sequel in general. Because I know for a fact they’re including a certain CG in the sequel, Kazama will still be working with Heisuke and Chizuru, presumably to rescue Sen. Why would he rescue someone who earlier threatened to banish him and destroy his clan? Even if it’s only for the sake of saving a fellow demon and/or eliminating the furies, nothing could realistically entice him to work so closely with people he still considers enemies. His promise to leave Chizuru alone is extremely tenuous, since there is no longer an alternative proposition to attach him to Sen; only the threat of banishment keeps him in line this time. In fact, if Sen is indisposed and unable to enforce her threat, what exactly is keeping Kazama from taking Chizuru anyway?

Basically, the progression of Heisuke’s route—and Sen’s subplot in particular—relies on an incredibly delicate balance of characterization, which has now been upset because they removed the one factor that ties everything together. In general, KW appears to have significantly altered the basis of several interactions and added a few more explicit implications and undertones, but does not actually follow those changes and additions to their logical conclusions. Therefore, as far as demons are concerned, the game tries to shed more light on their culture, but that light creates more visible shadows where the newly created holes are.

In short, because of the changes KW has made to the demons’ culture and characterization, however minor they may be, the newest version of canon provides far more questions than answers—and therefore, I will always prefer the more complete, deeper, and better-translated Stories.

[fizzingwizard]

ok I’m still dead tired but I gotta do some sort of reaction post before I forget everything that made an impression on me. If i can find it, I’ll watch it again tomorrow, and think about it more carefully. It’ll be more relaxing to watch with subs. I plan to have a Sushi & Kyousei night in :D But I had such a good time at the theater so I gotta put something down before I go to bed.

First of all, I think getting to see it in the theater improved my reaction to it. Kyousei is mostly battle, when you get down to it. The first half is so fun, has that crazy “on the run from the government with aliens!” shtick that is so popular, I kept thinking how Digimon could easily have been X-men or the like and it’s probably to our advantage that Adventure is nothing like that. Makes Kyousei more interesting. But the second almost half is a reeeeally long battle scene. An epic, awesome battle, but in the end all one scene with a lot going on. In the theater, the sound is just so impressive, the emotion in the characters’ voices so loud and powerful... Idk, I have enjoyed all the Tri movies I’ve seen in the theater much better than when I only saw them online. So there’s something to be said for that.

Trying to remember and compile my thoughts but this is a very random stream.

I really enjoyed the opening scenes in the digital world with the landscape constantly changing! It was scary and hilarious at the same time.

I was really happy that we were SHOWN Meiko getting a new pair of glasses! I wear glasses and it always bugs me how cartoon characters whose glasses get smashed, or even just covered in rain, seem to have no trouble getting around without them. I cannot see a blessed thing without mine. If I don’t have an umbrella when it rains, I will walk into a wall. So i just really appreciated that detail xD

Maki is so creepy, she really seems like she’s broken inside, and she probably didn’t intentionally end up in the dark ocean... I’m curious to see what her fate is. I am certain she and Bakumon will be reunited in some fashion, but I’m kind of hoping it’s bittersweet rather than just sweet. And I want to see Daigo meet his partner again.

Speaking of Daigo... he was kind of hot in Kyousei. o.o I haven’t felt that way towards him before even though he’s voiced by Namikawa Daisuke xD

One reason to think Wizardmon is connected to Maki’s Bakumon is they both appear in similar semi-hidden positions on their respective posters. Now that I think of it, that seems very suggestive. But I’m most intrigued by the possibility I mentioned in this post.

In the poster for Bokura no Mirai, Hikari appears to be clinging to Taichi’s arm. Could mean nothing. They are falling after all. But given how Kyousei ended, I think it’s a hint that Hikari’s story is far from done, so those of you who were disappointed about how she was handled, I get it, and I think you should expect to see much more developments with her in movie 6. Think of movie 5 as a red herring. Of course, I can’t guarantee you’ll like her developments...

In addition... was anyone else creeped out by the way Hikari said “I have to be with my brother”? Or however they translated it? Why? Why does she need to do that? I would expect her to express love and need for Taichi, sure... but the way it goes down here is... creepy. Aside from what actually happens to her. Is it possible... this is going out on a limb, but is it possible that all the way back in the very first Digimon movie, Homeostasis imprinted Hikari with something and Taichi either was chosen as or became simply by virtue of being close to her a seal that kept a lid on it? Yet another sort of symbiotic relationship? Total speculation based solely on hikari’s creepiness.

I really did love the battle, to my surprise. It was long but I was so into it. Seraphimon was hella cool in it, as were the others.

Takeru was hysterical in the ghost stories scene. Yamato was too, but Takeru... he was just killin it. Also enjoyed how Yamato didn’t want to take the phone from Takeru... clearly he still has issues with his mom.

The scene where the Digimon watch Taichi talk to Meiko and get all gossipy!! That was so cute and ridiculous. I love how they’ve all become such huge fans of their newfound partners.

The fact that the Digimon have lost their memories had no bearing on this movie. That was weird. It ought to matter. In particular, I had predicted it would matter a lot for Tailmon, but nope. Nothing. Maybe next movie? That and lack of development for Hikari were my complaints for this movie, along with the pace being a little off but unfortunately that’s what is to be expected with an anime movie budget at this point in the storyline.

Raguelmon’s design was meh to me at first, but after a while I got into it. The Evangelion-wannabe that appeared at the end was not at all what I was expecting and majorly cool. I know it leaves us with a lot of questions, but I love that, it drives me up the wall wanting to know, and I am so looking forward to movie 6. I don’t mind at all that in the end Ophanimon didn’t do much :P

Loved every teeny scene with Jou and Mimi! and Takeru and Hikari! Was thirsting for more Koushirou though.

Meiko’s emotional crisis really moved me. I felt like she became a team member at last. Really contrasts with how Takeru worried about her being such a “normal girl” in the previous movie.

Taichi is so good in a crisis. So fricking good.

And the way he comforted Meiko. The questions he struggles with. His realism. His banter with his mom. Right before saying that they should kill Meicoomon as Meiko said, he thought about overhearing her express sadly and brokenly how much she loves Meicoomon. And yet he made that decision. The reason? He knew it was not made lightly, and that Meiko and Meicoomon’s suffering was extremely deep. He tried his best to take her every feeling into account to be sure she could accept this reality.

On that note, though. I really think the reason Meiko ran off like that at the end was because she intended to die with Meicoomon. Yamato being the quick protective type he is immediately rushed after her. Taichi, being more goal-oriented, took a beat to follow. I can easily believe that Yamato would be the one to key in to Meiko’s distress, while Taichi would key into her resolve.

The ending went very fast. I was on the edge of my seat in the theater. As soon as the ground split between Yamato and Taichi, I knew it was time for the foreshadowed “Death” XD I’m sure none of us believe Taichi is really dead, but I’m so psyched to see where he is and what will go down between him and Daigo. And Taichi sending Omegamon to save Yamato and Meiko was so cool. And Yamato deciding his role now is to see Taichi’s goals through and taking his goggles was amazing. It was all too fast and not as nicely animated as I would have liked (though the Taichi running on falling rocks scene reminding me of Legolas in Battle of the Five Armies xP). But it was awesome.

I am incredibly excited for the last movie, though it will be bittersweet because I’ve enjoyed Tri to pieces these past couple years. Digimon is such a gift.