#do any of my followers know or like aikatsu???

[sunberry-strawflower]

[hanaruri-tunes]

Humiliating Leviathan (Levi x reader)

My first try at some smut, so MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. And here are the warnings I could think of: Degradation, crying, masturbation, usage of underwear, usage of sex toys, going down on MC, two dicks (I gotta follow the common agreement that Levi has two dicks haha), snake tongue (again, common agreement), petting, praising

OKAY. I think that's it. Don't hesitate to tell me if I forgot something. I know all those warnings might make it seem hardcore but I promise it's actually quite a cute fic. Subby and pathetic Leviathan is the cutest. PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO LEAVE COMMENTS please please this is my first try at smut in the obey me fandom (if ever, actually) I would really appreciate the support.

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You knocked on his door three times. No answer. Knowing Leviathan he was either passed out in his bathtub after binge-watching an anime or playing games non-stop... Or he miraculously decided to go out somewhere. Probably to buy some merch from a limited-in-time store that has no official website from which Leviathan can order. Although he could definitely find some second-hand merch online he refused to do that. He would go on and on about how buying second-hand isn't supporting the franchise thus he MUST buy it directly from the source.

Seeing how there was still no answer you decided to go in. Usually his door had a spell on it that would send intruders into another random place in the devildom but he lifted that spell for you specifically. You were the only one who could enter at any time without any disturbance.

As you did so, there was no Leviathan in sight. Not in front of his gaming set-up, not in his bathtub, not passed out on the floor. So he's out, huh? You wonder why he didn't invite you or at least warn you that he'll be out today. Usually, especially if it's for a limited time anime café, you're always the first one invited. Well, you probably shouldn't pry but as you're about to step a foot outside his room... You stop. This is a pretty rare chance to look around his room without him pestering you.

It's not like you'll pry *too* much though. Just a bit, for curiosity's sake. (That was a lie you told yourself.) You inspect his figurines more closely. He's mostly into magical girl shows and moe blob shows. How cute of him. But you've always expected that he might have some secret sexy figurines as well. Or else why would he be so protective of some of the packages he orders from Akuzon? He's usually so unenthusiastic and slow when getting out of his room for breakfast or dinner and yet he rushes to the door when it's for a delivery.

After checking some of his drawers you find the fabrics and materials he uses for his cosplays. It's all mostly different hues of pink since he prefers cosplaying female characters- how cute. At one point you also accidentally come across his underwear in one of his drawers, it's all mostly black with some funky colors mixed in from time to time. He even has one of a limited edition HanaRuri-tan underwear collection.

And just as you think that you've struck gold... it's just some old stuff. Probably from some of his past obsessions. That includes precure dvds, aikatsu cards, manga magazines, et cetera. Again all cute shows mostly targeted to young audiences. Really, you can't see Leviathan as anything else than a completely adorable dork. People often don't get him for his specific tastes and hobby but all you see is a pure little guy who's still in touch with his inner child and who loves mostly light hearted shows. Surely anything he might hide won't probably be even THAT bad. Or even if it is... that's still cute in another way.

After looking in all of his drawers, no sign of any sexy figurine, of any sex toy or even erotic manga... This is way too suspicious. But then again Levi is smart, he probably wouldn't dare hide any of this stuff in his drawers knowing that Lucifer frequently comes to his room begging him to clean it, only to start off doing it by himself before Levi hurriedly joins him and kicks him out. If he had to hide something dirty where would he... ... You look under the bathtub. Nope. Too easy? Then...Reaching for his blanket and sheets inside the bathtub, you raise them, uncovering some sort of trapdoor?You slide it open and there's a huge box inside of it. If you had to guess, he used the same spell as the entrance of his room. Except this one always leads to the same space: the place where his hidden box is, wherever that is.

You pull it out, open it and there it is. Almost all of the stuff you had imagined him hiding was in here. Sexy figurines, erotic doujins, even some sex toys. Two in particular were bigger than the others. Fleshlights... But why two? Looking at it closer one's a smaller size and the other one is bigger. Did he get the size wrong the first time he ordered so now he has two of them? But more than that, there was something you really didn't expect to find here. A pair of panties. *Your* panties. You thought that maybe you had just forgotten it while moving back and forth between the devildom and human world but here they were, in Leviathan's precious box.

In some way this awakened something in you, a strange feeling of amusement while you realized that the cutest and purest guy you knew turned out to be a filthy underwear thief who most likely used it to jerk himself off.As you started to think that, a loud noise came from behind you. It sounded like some object had fallen to the floor- ah. Probably Levi who just came back and dropped his phone after realizing what you were looking at. Quickly, you wiped off the amused smile you had on your face before turning back to face him. You faked a look that was a mix of disappointment and worry.

"Levia-chan..."

The poor guy looked frightened, as if the sky had fallen on his head, as if his life was over. Even that pathetic part of him, you found it just so cute.

"Ah... ah... That- uh. I-"

Not even taking the time to close the door behind him, he dropped on his knees in front of you, lowering his head.

"I can explain! S-So please don't- please don't freak out o-or agh, I mean-"

His heart dropped when you walked past him. "It's over." He thought. The friendship you guys had built was done for. There's no way you would ever love him now or even want to look his way. There's no way a kind, beautiful, strong person like you would ever even spare him a glance. No way an amazing girl as pretty and genuine as you would give a second chance to a gross creepy piece of shit like him.

As the worst possible scenarios started to play in his head, he came back to his senses slightly as he understood that you had just closed the door in order to have more privacy in here. You slid his seat in front of him as he was still on his knees, sat down and crossed your legs, taking on a haughty tone. Almost commanding.

"So? You said you could explain but I don't really see what is possibly left to explain here. It all speaks for itself. All this filthy shit and even two fleshlights weren't enough to satisfy your dick so you just *had* to have a go on my underwear, huh? You slutty thief."

As you said that last bit you flicked his forehead that he was trying so very hard to keep fixated on the ground, but it was almost impossible anyway since you had your bare legs crossed right in front of his eyes. You know Levi loves it when you wear short skirts, it's hard for him to not look, even in a serious situation like this one.

"Agh. Well, uh. Ahh..."

After about twenty seconds during which he couldn't come up with anything plausible or even any attempt at an excuse he started to tear up. Completely lost, he lowered his forehead to the ground, bowing and apologizing profusely.

"I'm- I'm so *hngh* s-sorry *hic* please don't hate me. Y-You're right, I'm a pervert but please, I beg you for forgiveness *hic* at the very least please don't ignore mee- *hnghg*"

You felt chills down your spine. Was it horrible of you? While this little baby thought that his entire life was over just because you might hate him, you were just thinking how fucking cute he sounds when he's crying while genuinely in distress. You were feeling conflicted. One part of you wanted to pat his head and raise it, kiss his cheeks full of tears and caress his back while assuring him that you don't really find him that gross or creepy. In fact finding this dirty side of him made you giddy.

And yet, the other side of you wanted to play around with him a bit more before giving him ultimate bliss.

"Levi... Are you serious my darling?"

You gently pressed your heels on the back of his head as his forehead was still stuck to the ground.

"You really think such a lousy excuse will cut it? You know just how outright creepy this is, right? You went out of your way to steal underwear from me so you could rub it all over your dick and cum in it and yet all you have to say for yourself is just "I'm sorry, please don't hate me"? You'll have to do better than that."

Still sniffling, you could feel Levi taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Y-you're right. Crying about it won't solve anything. I know just how much of a disgusting lame little fuck I am, it's already a miracle how someone as beautiful and amazing as you even considered me your friend. I've been blessed a-and so honored to be called that. So please, please give me a second chance Y/N. I'll do anything, really."

You took your heel away from him. Full of expectations on what the two of you were about to do if you played your cards right.

"Anything? No way. That's just empty words."

"It's not! I'll really do anything. I'll even be your b- um. B-Bitch if I have to."

You command him to raise his head up, he does. His eyes and cheeks are still wet from the tears he just shed and his face is all red from embarrassment.

"A bitch, really? So you'll even accept corporal punishment? If I tell you to lay down on your stomach on my lap, you'll do it? You'll let me spank you?"

For a split second you see it his eyes, this little fucker really feels like he'll get a kick out of this. "It's not a punishment at all!" He must be thinking. He would love to be treated so poorly by you. In fact, one of his occasional turn-ons was to imagine you degrading him, insulting how much of a perverted little shit he is.

"I- I'll do it. Anything you want to do to me, I'm fine with it so..."

You lightly tap on your thighs two times, telling him to get on. Obediently, he does... and immediately receives a slap on the ass.

"You're supposed to at least lower your pants idiot. Or else it won't even hurt that much."

"A-Ah, yes."

You saw it again. That glint in his eyes. He's excited and is just so barely managing to not display a shit eating grin on his face.

As soon as he does as you told him to, you spank him again. Harder this time. He lets out a little yelp. And as he does you grab his hair with your other hand to pull him up a bit and whisper into his ear.

"You think I didn't notice that? The corners of your mouth keep rising upwards you fucking pig."

Finally he completely gives up on the façade he is trying so hard to keep and lets out a huge unrestrained grin, the kind he has when you hug or kiss him on the cheek suddenly. Looking dumb and genuine, though this time it looks cuter as he's obviously enjoying the pain you're inflicting on him.

"Aaahh. I-I couldn't hide it after all, you're right Y/N. I'm a dirty fucking pig who even enjoys it when you're being mean to me. Bully me, hit me, spit on me. I don't care, if anything I love it. I'm so sorry for not even being able to be properly punished ahh I'm so so sorry~"

He says while not looking sorry at all. Pretending to ignore his stupid monologue you spank him again.

"Slut."

"Hnghh~"

He shudders and keeps grinning widely.

Only does he get a bit nervous when you decide to pull down his underwear.

"Ah- wait! ACk-"

You spanked him again, this time your hand made direct contact with his skin.

"Shut up you filthy bitch. Isn't that what you promised? You even said that you'll be my bitch so that's just what you are right now."

Rapidly the nervousness he had displayed a second ago dissipated.

"Ahhh~ y-yes, I'm your bitch. You can use me whoever you want, I'll even drink your spit if you ask me to ehehe- OW-"

"Quiet. Or- No. Actually, keep moaning. It's cute."

"Ehehe I'm sooo happy you said I'm cute Y/N."

"Master."

"Master~ ehehe..."

He was really digging this roleplay type of set-up you had invented. But while he thought you weren't performing and really wanted to punish him, you on the other hand were truly aware that this is all a sham from your part just to turn him on.

As you continued to spank him a couple more times, you noticed something odd. It wasn't that you felt poking against the side of your thighs since you had fully expected him to get a hard-on. It was that the poking sensation was double.

"... Levi, get up for a second."

"Um, w-wouldn't it be better to continue to punish me?"

Another slap made him yelp.

"Don't be difficult."

And so he did, and you finally realized why he owned two fleshlights. It wasn't that he had the size wrong and had to order a second one, it was that he has two dicks. One on top of another on his crotch, with a pair of balls for each. You can't help but wonder just how much more sperm he can produce than an average "person."

As you closely observe his two rods, Levi can't help but squirm under your gaze. Elated at the amount of attention and your focus on his private parts as his pants and underwear are now out of the way.

"It's weird isn't it? I'm so fucking gross that even my genitalia isn't normal. I'm impressed you can even look at it directly haha."

Silently, you keep staring. Utterly turned on by the many ways you could use this part of him when you'll inevitably fuck eachother. Seeing how you're keeping quiet, Levi keeps degrading himself, obviously wanting the same treatment from you.

"I mean what kind of weird monstruous fuck would have two dicks, right? S-So you can tell me, tell me just how fucking gross and creepy it is..."

He keeps smiling, his face flushed by the titillating humiliation he's feeling by having his cocks out in front of you, the girl he loves the most in the world. So you decide to humor him a bit.

"Hmm... So you constantly hide these? Is it why you always try to wear baggy pants? So people won't notice how much of a creepy fuck you are."

"Y-yeah haha. T-Tell me more..."

He's so docile and pathetic, you can't help but strive for more.

"No. That's enough. Even after a couple of seconds looking at it, it makes me sick of it. I'm bored. Won't you show me how you play with them when I'm not around?"

Leviathan's eyes light up at your suggestion. He can't believe a day would come when you or anyone for that matter would ask him to masturbate in front of them.

"R-Really? You wanna see that?"

"Well, you don't want me to be bored right? And you really reaaaally want my forgiveness for being a gross fuck."

Excited yet mortified, Leviathan takes two of the fleshlights and rummaging through the box, he finds some lube. You watch him start off by filling the two holes with lube, all while both of his dicks are still erect from earlier. You're honestly still amazed at how they look.

Just before Levi sticks his first cock into one of the fleshlights you get an idea.

"Wait a sec. Hand it over."

Obediently, he hands the sextoy over. You spit into it, your saliva mixing with the lube and you give it back.

"Here. Hopefully it'll enhance the experience?"

"Ah- S-shit! Had I known I wouldn't have used the lube at all..."

He looks down, disappointed but still ecstatic. He carefully places the tip of his shaft on the entrance of the toy and slowly starts pushing it in, his dick opening up the walls of the toy as he shudders from the sensation and your piercing gaze. He jerks himself off like that for a little while before you ask him if he's not going to play with his second shaft.

"Well... I can either use the other toy or... I can show you how I do it with your panties..." Seeing how silent you are he retracts his statement. "-JUUST kidding ahaha it's already gross enough to see me jerk myself off so disgustingly with a sex toy, n-no one would like to see their own clothing used like that..."

You smile, uncrossing your legs and leaning in.

"No, that's a good point. Show me how you've been using my underwear all this time you dirty fuck."

"A-ah! Yes... ahaha~"

Taking your panties carefully, he wraps it on his other dick and starts pumping it with his free hand. As he does, he starts explaining.

"A-at first, I would only sniff them but I couldn't resist the urge to use them like this. And now that I've used them too much your sweet smell has completely been overwritten by my disgusting stench so there's no use sniffing it anymore ehehe. That's so fucking creepy isn't? I-I'm such a creepy bastard."

There he goes again, degrading himself while expecting a follow up from you. But you give him none of that this time. Instead, you look at him with anticipation and give him a challenge.

"If you do a good job of putting on a show for me I'll let you go down on me."

The air surrounding him turned to a deep purple as he took on his demon form, his scaly tail wagging around like the one of a dog's. Then he started to pant like a pup as well, elated by your suggestion.

"Ah. Ahh. N-no way? Seriously?! I'll do it, I'll seriously do it. So please watch closely!"

All this time he was on his knees, but now he stood up, making sure you have a close look at his dicks. They were right there in front of your face and you had to hold yourself back from taking one of them into your mouth. He kept mumbling and stammering some intelligible stuff, but you're pretty sure it was something along the lines of "I'll do it" and "look at me."

As he was getting close to release, you could feel him lose himself in the pleasure as his knees looked like they were about to fold from the lack of strength he was putting into them. Probably not used to jerking off standing up, he most likely does it either sitting or lying down like most people. In an effort to keep him standing in front of you, you placed your hand on one of his knees then slowly brought it up, caressing his thighs.

"Do your best to stay standing~ I'll be disappointed if you fall."

"Ah! Yes, of course!"

A literal couple of seconds later, the fleshlight was leaking of his cum and your stolen panties were dripping with his seed. Not only was the quantity overkill but the texture and thickness of the liquid looked quite rich. It was like warm condensed milk. As if on instinct, you placed one of your hands under the dripping liquid, allowing a couple of droplets to land on the palm of your hand.

"Y-Y/N??"

You lick a droplet off, tasting it. Seeing you do that, Levi's knees finally give in and he falls to the ground again, looking at your lips and mouth closely while wagging his tail, overly fixated on how your mouth moves while your tongue is probably pressing those drops of *his* cum on the walls and ceiling of your mouth. Savoring it.

Despite it looking like condensed milk it tastes more like a nectar, sweet and unnaturally good. Is it a special characteristic for a demon's cum to taste sweet and good? Maybe it's to push each other to fall into lust... makes sense. Delicious cum would easily push demons or humans alike to fall deeper into the sin of lust.

"W-wah... I can't believe I just saw you do that. Am I in heaven? N-no that sort of erotic scene would never happen in heaven. Aha I'm so glad I'm a demon and that we're in the devildom..."

Satisfied, you open your legs and raise your skirt.

"It tasted pretty good, surprisingly. But I'm sorry to say mine probably won't taste as good as yours."

Levi crawls towards you like an obedient puppy. He closely looks at the small stain that had formed on your underwear due to his performance. He feels like one grateful and lucky bastard that you're allowing him to do that to you. Frozen for a bit by the sight, he drools slightly before snapping out of it and placing his hands on the side of your underwear. Sliding it down as the stain leaves a bead of your warm liquid behind. Levi looks at it stretch and break as he pulls the panties further down, up to your ankles. You get your feet out of them and kick them to the other side of the room, allowing yourself to open your legs better than if they had stayed around your ankles.

Placing your hand on his head, you gently push him towards you and pet his head.

"Will you start or are you too busy drooling?"

Not making himself be begged any further. He starts by so very gently kissing your clit, it's so soft that you can barely feel it. He wraps his hands around your thighs, preparing himself to eat you out. He's so adorable. As he sticks his tongue out you notice how he has the tongue of a snake. Not that you hadn't noticed before, he would try to hide it from you at first but when you told him that it was so unique and cool he wouldn't try to keep it away from you anymore, boldly opening his mouth when he would yawn or when he was complaining about something. Now there he was using his devious tongue on your sweet spot.

He was greedily tasting you, it made you wonder if you actually tasted as good as he was making it seem. Though you're pretty sure you don't have enchanted cum like demons do. He would sink his fingers into the soft skin of your thighs, feeling you up, probably wishing that you'll let him hump your thighs next if he does a good job at making you feel good. You start to mewl and as you do, you can feel his tongue double down on his efforts, desperate to make you feel better just so he can hear you whimper and cry out his name.

You look down, a bit overwhelmed at how good his tongue is at exploring your insides. You see him looking up at you expectantly, a happy glint in his eyes, full of love for you. It's funny how one moment he begs you to degrade him and the next he asks for praise with his shiny eyes. Appreciative of his efforts, you place one of your hands on his cheek, caressing it with your thumb.

"Good boy Levi."

He wags his tail and his eyes light up some more as he hardens his tongue, pushing it further than you thought he could. You let out another whimper, this time mixing in his name. And as you do, you realize how close you are to climax. You grab his horns and cross your legs around his head, trapping him in front of your pretty pussy. Not that he minds, in fact he wouldn't like it any other way. Feeling you come while you call out his name some more, he suckles on your juices, gladly letting it spread all over his tongue before swallowing it all.

As you let him go, he rests his head on your right thigh, his cheek against your bare skin. He keeps looking up at you in awe at how pretty your face looks just after you've come. He rubs his cheek against your thigh hoping to get your attention back at him.

"Did I do a good job? I can um, I can do other things as well~ Oh if the idea of taking me back as a friend immediately is too gross for you I can keep being your fucktoy for the time being ehehe..."

You smile at him kindly and scratch him under the chin. He wags his tail again and displays his signature wide grin. His laugh is so cute. As he did a good job you figure it's time to stop the charade and let him have a real go at you.

"I wasn't really mad at you by the way."

He lifts his head up from your thigh, eyes wide open.

"Huh?"

"I was just fucking with you, I'm not grossed out or anything. You're still my cute little Levia-chan."

You pat him on the head. His eyes well up in tears from relief.

"R-Really? You won't abandon me?"

"No baby, I just thought this was the perfect excuse to push you to do dirty stuff for me. You're not mad right?"

Leviathan jumps into your arms, crying.

"I'm so grateful that a perfect girl like you would choose *me* to make you feel good. H-Had you not forgiven me, I would even be okay with being your sex slave if you'd like to."

"Don't be stupid, I'll let you be my one and only boyfriend. What about that?"

Levi lets you go, then while still grabbing your shoulders he looks at you, his eyes full of hope.

"Really? You'd allow me? You would take a lame fuck like me as your boyfriend?"

You pull him back in, kissing him on the cheek, near the corner of his lips.

"Don't say that. You're my cute little baby boy. Everyone has an ugly and filthy side to them, but beyond that you're a sweet cutiepie who watches magical girl shows, sews cosplays and easily cries at any sad scene in an anime. I mean, look at me, I just tricked you into thinking that I find you gross and pushed you to jerk off then suck me off. Isn't that objectively pretty terrible of me?"

Levi stays silent for a while before you can feel his two dicks poking at your stomach and pussy.

"N-Now that I know you weren't mad, that was probably one of the best moments of my life."

"Perv."

You kiss him again.

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Was initially planning on making them fuck at the end but it got too long. Though I'm not against making a part two if people like it ahah. AGAIN please don't hesitate to comment, I would love to read your thoughts!

[rebelwhodoesntknow]

Obligatory Aikatsu disclaimer for the people who aren’t following me for that. Okay moving on!

So you know how I questioned why the livestream performances contained the whole song instead of just a portion of it? Well the Aikatsu Academy channel just posted two new performance videos, both of which only did a verse and chorus like every other Aikatsu series in existence!! So why in the world did they do the longer ones in the first place?

Either way, the two videos were Akogare Sky and Never Give Up, both of which featured Pairin as the center, lending more credence to my theory that she is the true main character here. She leads all the transformations, too.

Akogare Sky as a song has definitely grown on me and will probably be added to my Aikatsu playlist soon. The stage was still very uneventful and no auras or appeals were seen, rip. You can definitely see how they’re making the choreo work with the models when compared to Never Give Up, but it doesn’t look bad! It feels like they’re getting better with more fluid movements at points.

Never Give Up was always a song that I wasn’t a fan of, lol. The repeated ‘never give up’ with the pronunciation (I’m sure Yuzu was trying her best) always killed it for me. That aside, I think everyone sounded vocally strong here!! Mieru’s voice continues to grow on me, (she sounds good in any type of song and it’s cool to hear) and Meh sounded like she had a better handle on things. The stage and choreo itself really displays the limits of what these models and environments can do, though, especially when you compare it to the Stars performance. It’s just kind of stiff and uneventful. Again no auras or appeals, rip. At least they look like they’re having fun!

I do wonder if the Academy girls will ever do runway-style lives or not. I was thinking about it because their skirts in Never Give Up reminds me of the Resort Cancer skirt, and I wondered if they would ever do Otona Mode as a performance. All I can think is that if they want to keep using old songs and stages, they’re going to run out of non-runway ones eventually… but I also don’t know if I trust the models or environments to really work with it.

From what I’ve gathered, their next big event is a brand muse festival, so maybe they will start getting new coords after they each have their own brands? Maybe they’ll have appeals after that too! I have a crack theory that they didn’t want to animate base appeals like Cute Flash if they were just going to be swapped for brand appeals later, so they’ll start doing appeals once they’re in their brands. Plus if they’re designing new brands with new appeals they can work with the models more, though I suppose designing new type appeals could have done that as well…I’m probably wrong though. Either way, I’ll keep staying tuned!!

[millepara]

waccha primagi episode 28 spoilers (yes. yes. yes. yes. ye)

Matsuri’s dad Michihito is magic?! or at least he has a magic stone? omg if he’s magic then Matsuri should be able to use magic at some point, like I’ve been kind of hoping since the beginning, and like it kind of seemed like they might be hinting at in the first couple of eps... wow I hope so

AH cut to him in magic clothes in the magic world!! oh my god ok so he is magic and he’s never around bc he’s in. the magic world. oh wow ok ok

“every time I look at this accessory, ...”

subtitle: “it sparkles with magi” (implying that Matsuri knows and has always known it’s a magical item. despite Myamu being the first to tell her about all that. esp with the “your dad” line from Myamu after this making it sound like she knows her dad is magical..)

actually what she said: “I feel stronger” (as in she remembers her bond with her family and it gives her strength, a totally non-magical phenomenon that we in the real world can experience. not to mention that she’s talking about herself (I) and not the brooch (it))

also on the subject of subs I think it’s very funny that they felt the need to change manamana to treasured partner or w/e and yet they leave magi as magi. wow I am in a mood today aren’t I

:o ! this is much earlier than I thought they would introduce the concept of magic users as idols!! I was thinking that’s season 2 territory but here we are

AHH they unshadowed Ryuume!! she’s so pretty. and her bodice really is just like Myam’s.

there is 0 hint of Myamu being put on stage in this op though. I wonder if maybe they just talk about it and it never actually happens in this season.

Bad End: the My Precious One in the ep title is Touma and Huyiui talking about Matsuri and Myamu respectively and not each other :( pretty sure that is what it is though

just did a spit take at the thought of Matsuri following Hina around the track staring straight at her with that :D!!!! expression the whole time

oh, I thought Michihito’s logo was slightly different from the Omega corp logo, but it’s the same as this fancy one on either side of the screen. guess they have different versions of it. interesting that he’s apparently a member of both the magic world and Omega, or has been at different points possibly

6 elements!! we know three, and two of the remaining ones are the same symbol flipped, which I’m sure would be a good hint if I had any ideas about it. air and.. wind....? ;;; the last heart one is different from the Smile Element symbol, btw, so Smile might be just an arcade-only gimmick or a secret later-season reveal.

ah! so Euphoria is a goddess. maybe the Captain Planet to all of these elements?

wtf the ep isn’t even halfway over

I recognize this flower-and-column stage, it’s the same one Karen Aikatsu used in her solo songs. wow the pieces are all coming together

Hugheyi, if Omega wanted you instead of Myamu, couldn’t they have just said so. you are always over there after all

‘money can be exchanged for goods and services’ - Chimumu

if Matsuri’s next song doesn’t have her doing acrobatics I swear

so this is the first time a magic user’s been on stage, I was wondering.

canon spelling of Hughie (and Toma).... fine I will stop misspelling it now haha

ah, they even get a unit name. Truth. it’s whatever

LIPSTICK! EYESHADOW! HANDHOLDING! this primagi’s got it all

isn’t this just the bit before Kanon and Keke did Tiny Stars

WOW Toma really got a makeover too. red hair huh... not a fan but I like the rest of his look

the moment of truth (hrrgkh pun unintentional kill me)... will this look decent or will we have to relive the spider-limbed dance of WiTH

I am going to be laughing for the next 100 years at Hughie’s wolf howl

LMAO WHAT IS THIS SLOW CROTCH GESTURE. chilling

a cyclone... king of prism reference (<- person who’s only seen kinpri before)

ooh! interesting how Hughie is both performing and acting as the manamana before the illusion, def a hint as to how a magic user might go on stage solo

this illusion is cute. it’s vague enough that I can pretend they’re talking about each other for sure lol

not a bad song! not that I believe primagi could make a bad song anyway. the models weren’t upsetting either and overall it looked good. tbh most of my excitement was used on plot stuff so that I have little left now but even though I’m not screaming I really am delighted and amazed that we got a boy performance 1) this soon and 2) this plot-relevant. also last but definitely not least 3) this gay thank you primagi

the first primagistas to be visibly out of breath in cgi. is it bc it’s supposed to be sexy or w/e

so this is how everyone gets the duo bug! more of that next week + more Miruki misfortune... yes. yes, good. I wonder if she’s going to get a brand dress or a unit dress first--wait, no, her brand dress is in the game currently, it’s gotta be that one. wow, maybe next week even? hope so!

[animecreator3000]

About the Boueibu iceberg

@delphoxqueen asked me to explain about my list for the iceberg so here it is. I might update this from time to time with links and stuff if I stumble across the original posts. This is all from what I know so feel free to add new info. Also, spoiler warning for RobiHachi and the Boueibu manga and novels. (This is like a masterpost it’s very long)

1. There’s a theory in tumblr about which decade the series is set in, using data like the friday the 13th calendar in s2 ep11. In HK we got a second number for when the next monthly Pretty Boy Contest was happening and using the one from Love it was theorized that around a decade had passed since then, which ended up being true.

2. The stage play had a few original songs and characters exclusive to it so unless you watched the full performance, you probably weren’t able to witness all of them. One of the characters is called “Robato Deniro”, as romanized in the stage play booklet I own.

3. The nurse and the cafeteria staff from the s1 mobile game appear in the background in around the first half of s2 ep3.

4. S2 had an unfinished manga that was only available online and was never released on physical format; it was centered around the defense club and sometimes the conquest club and Beppu brothers. All that’s left from what I know are the scans linked on magicalgirlsandcerulean’s blog.

5. This isn’t that obscure because it’s talked about in the anime, but I’m mentioning it because I think many people dropped it before the ova, where right at the beginning it is revealed that the alien that resucitated Mr. Tawarayama twice was, as described by Io, a “mulberry-colored naked mole rat-looking thing”, and was nicknamed “Moley-san” by Yumoto. At least in the anime, we had never heard before of who this was and it never appeared on screen nor was mentioned again.

6. In HK ep8, Karurusu promises the knights to grant a wish if they show him how earthlings spend summer. Kyoutarou reveals at the end of the episode that he wished that summer lasted one more day so he could spend it doing nothing, which prompts Ichiro to theorize that it’s the 32nd of august, and the next day is the second 1st of september.

7. The stage play was was held from march 10th to 13rd, of which the latter is Ryuu’s birthday. There’s an additional recording of a small celebration with cake focused on Ryuu and Io.

8. Atsushi mentions his older sister in the flashback at the beginning of s1 ep4, but she never appears or is mentioned again.

9. There’s a few posts on tumblr theorizing about what happened to the Hakone parents since Yumoto only says in s2 ep3 that according to Gora, “they are busy with their hot springs tour”. En mentions that it’s a bit suspicious, but it’s all the information we have from the anime. Posts talk about the parents perhaps passing away from an accident or an illness, thus the reason why Gora was so worried about Yumoto’s cold in s1 ep10, but from another post I think it’s implied in the second novel that they actually left their home when Yumoto was still a toddler.

10. It’s no secret that the surnames of the characters are all real onsens in Japan that even the seiyuus have visited, but apparently the Arima onsen has two different kinds of water, “kinsen (gold hot spring)” and “ginsen (silver hot spring)”, with different properties each, and the Kusatsu onsen water also has certain properties, both that were used to build the characters. Additionally, Ryuu’s favorite food are Sato Nishiki cherries, which are grown in the same prefecture, Yamagata, as his onsen, Zaou.

11. The press club lose relevance after s1, with only Kinosaki and Tazawa reappearing briefly in s2 ep2 to interview the Beppu twins after they arrive at the school. Tazawa doesn’t even have lines. Hireashi is mentioned by Zundar in ep11.

12. What the heck

13. Exclusively in the manga we see that Arima met Kinshiro and Atsushi when they were little and they were good friends, but when they met again as adults, Kinshiro seemingly didn’t remember Arima. Atsushi, however, stated that Kinshiro’s talent is remembering people’s faces and names, so Arima wonders if he’s just trying to distance himself from him. He also explains to Akoya that he follows Kinshiro and obeys him because as a child, he was fascinated by his radiant smile. This is never talked about in the anime.

14. Like the previous point, the anime never shows Akoya being bullied, at most just a slight dislike of his full name, but the manga shows that he was made fun of for it and how he actually hates his surname, to the point of introducing himself formally to the president and vicepresident of the student council as “Holy Angel Akoya”.

15, 16, 17, 19. Batonama lives were the livestreams done through the franchise by the defense club seiyuus on youtube and niconico. They’re all on youtube, without any kind of translation.

Love-ko is a girl with a shell bikini drawn on a piece of cardboard that was used as a girlfriend in the Batonama Love! lives, acted by the seiyuus themselves.

RobiHachi has one episode full of official Boueibu artwork and a parody of the series too, a Love-ko doll appears, and Wombat appears as well, named “The Don”. It received an english dub, so for a bit, people were excited that Wombat was going to speak in english too. Also, various mechas appear in both Boueibu and RobiHachi.

18. The director of Fairy Ranmaru (Masakazu Hishida if I’m not wrong) revealed in an interview that he was inspired by Boueibu and aimed to make a show like that.

20, 21. The website super-groupies.com has results for defense and conquest club lingerie sets, dc and VEPPer tote bags, the Beppus’ scarf rings, dc bath sets and the pumps magicalgirlsandcerulean mentioned. I’ve found the s1 Loveracelets and Caerula Adamas’ ring on different sites, the True Loveracelets on TheChara’s twitter and the Happybraces (apparently called “Hapibure”) on broccoli.co.jp but I’m not sure where exactly they were all announced and sold, so I’ll just drop that.

22, 33. Boueibu was originally pretty much a copy of Sailor Moon, I think they were all going to be called “Lackluster Moon” and that stuff and be literally Sailor Moon genderbent. They were all different from color palettes to physical features (except Yumoto’s), and Ryuu was a shota, even smaller than Yumoto. Their names were also very reminiscent of the five Sailor Senshis’. Even if they made it more original, the show is still clearly inspired by Sailor Moon (just look at Caerula Adamas lol) and Pretty Cure. It has also referenced, very blatantly, animes like Doraemon, Detective Conan, Aikatsu and even Vocaloid, when Kyoutarou tries to guess what Karurusu is saying with ““Just Google It, Asshole”?” in ep1.

23. Wombat’s real name and the name of his planet sound like gibberish to the earthlings and ends up being named after the Earth animal, but Zundar, Dadacha, Karurusu and Furanui all have original names. And I think Hireashi means “goldfish”?

24. If you google “zundar technology”, it’s actually a company in Shanghai, China. Aren’t Wombat and Zundar always talking about “advanced alien technology”?

25. Zundar and Dadacha are siblings, so are Karurusu and Furanui, and so are their father King Kamopapa and their uncle minister Wao, but neither are the same species and, except the first two, not even the same color. But they are supposedly related because they share birthmarks or something like that...

26. Everyone who’s in this fandom knows about the pixel blur and voice pitch censor from s1, but I’ve added it anyway because it’s so rare for mahou shoujo and shounen animes to explain why the heroes aren’t recognized when transformed.

27. A good while of s2 ep11 is spent discussing Zundar’s ex-wife and his problems to give child support. Naturally, he gets mad at this.

28. “Money doesn’t betray” (s1 ep6) and “The despair hidden behind your smile that comes from not being understood” (s3 ep11) are sentences that came out of nowhere and implied that the people they were said by (Io) or about (Taiju) respectively had some kind of angst going on but were never explained at all. They’re famous for just that.

29. The Beppu twins’ house in Andromeda shown in flashbacks had strange green circles that apparently are from another anime I don’t know but honestly I didn’t get it very well... It was revealed on a tweet from Takamatsu.

30. Alien language mostly appeared in s2 due to the many flashbacks of Aki and Haru in Andromeda, but in Boueibu s1, it appears on the Zundar Needle before it is shot on the human. It appears a lot through RobiHachi as well, due to being a story about travelling through space. There might be an alphabetical chart somewhere, but I can’t assure it exists, I might even have dreamed it.

31. Hikaru Midorikawa as the melon monster, Kousuke Toriumi as the bishounen monster, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as the kotatsu and panda monsters and Takuya Eguchi as the remote controller monster in s1 and 2, before going on to voice the main cast in HK. Keisuke Koumoto voiced Hatchi Kita in RobiHachi as well as Akihiko in Boueibu, and the characters look similar.

A new addition is that so far Boueibu is the only anime I’ve seen where children weren’t voiced by female seiyuus, but by actual children. Personally, it’s charming and makes it so much more realistic, specifically since no women appear in the franchise at all either (not counting Protag-chan in the game).

32. Speaking of seiyuus, Can I Destroy The Earth? had a dub shown in ep11/12 (?) that made Gora the villain that wanted Earth to stay the same and not progress, against the monsters that supposedly wanted to bring good things to earthlings. Aki and Haru quickly dismissed this dub as fake. (I made a mistake in the title in the previous post btw)

34. As seen in the glossary in the Boueibu Mook (I think, but might not be the mook), Caerula Adamas’ speeches are based on an old japanese detergent commercial that went “Gold, silver, pearl, gift”.

35. In the manga there’s a short parody of the first chapter of Sailor Moon with “Pretty Boy Guardian Gakuran Akoya”. The conquest club manga was released before the anime, so I remember reading somewhere that a fake website appeared for the Gakuran Akoya manga, before turning into the conquest club manga website in the day of its release.

36. Cgi was used a few times in the anime: s2 ep10 for a short sequence of the defense club on a rollercoaster and the carousel monster, ep11 for a cenital shot of the Battle Lovers singing, and HK ep12 for the Honyalaland soldiers and the Wao mecha.

37. The toothbrush incident in s1 ep7. (It’s definitely well-known but it’s so weird lol)

38. “We hope we can see each other again someday!” Something along those lines was the last text to appear in the last episode of HK, implying a s2. We all know how that went.

[prettyallfriends]

Aikatsu! Cinderella Lesson English Translation Part 1

Before the readmore, I would like to thank everyone who has followed me and enjoyed my Pretty Series translations, unfortunately I am hereby cancelling them. I know this is disappointing, I hope you can all understand that it's hard to translate these games and having low motivation makes that 100x harder. So instead I'm moving over to Aikatsu

(If you just want to read my extended goodbye to Pretty Rhythm, scroll down to the last paragraph)

(This game isn't as much of a visual novel as the Pretty Series 3DS games; you can't re-read the story etc. and you progress the story by choosing where to go in the school. New scenes will be in (bold and italics in brackets), while transitions within the same scene, as well as notes, will just be in (italics in brackets). Choices will be clearly laid out, chosen choice will be in bold.

You’re asked for your full name at the start. Henceforth we shall be known as… ‘Character Player’ (Japanese name order). I guess. Sorry I know this is ‘Player-chan�� x500. She’s a singer (you can choose between actress, singer and model, IDK if the choice has any effect.)

Part 1: My first Aikatsu!

(At the Starlight School park)

Player: Wow, so this is Starlight School!? Gosh, it’s gorgeous! I really didn’t expect to get in since I kinda just entered on a whim… Even so, I’ll be taking part in idol activities from today on. I’m work hard and become like my favourite idols! ...Wait, is that… No, it couldn’t be Kanzaki Midzuki!? That top idol!?

Midzuki: …….

Player: This is so cool! So idols really do attend this school just like anyone else! Will I… be okay here…?

(Corridor)

Player: Hm? Wait, where am I…? I need to greet the Headmistress as soon as possible… but I’m totally lost.

???: Oh, would you happen to be the transfer student?

Player: Huh?

??? (Orihime): So you’re Character then. I’m glad I was able to find you. I thought you might’ve gotten lost, so I was looking for you.

Player: Oh, um, th-thank you very much.

??? (Orihime): You’re very welcome. I’m just glad I could meet with you before having to start at work.

Player: (Okay, cool, except… who even is this?)

??? (Orihime): This is a very large school, so you’re not the first to get lost. Try your best not to get lost again tomorrow, though. You’ll find rooms that regular schools wouldn’t have, called salons and lesson rooms, in this area of the building. It would be a good idea to go around and familiarise yourself with the area.

Headmistress: Oh, I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I am the Headmistress of this school, Mitsuishi Orihime.

Player: (Wait, so she’s… the Headmistress!?)

Headmistress: Welcome to Starlight School. From today onwards, you can consider yourself a member of the student body. Today will also mark the anniversary of starting your idol activities, or in other words, your Aikatsu! First of all, I’ll give you this Aikatsu! Card to mark the occasion. Cards are the lifeblood of entertainers. All of your peers in aiming to become top idols self-produce with these cards. Coordinate with these cards, and aim to create a coord that reflects who you are. Should you pass auditions using your cards, you’ll surely become even more motivated. Cards are the most important item to Aikatsu! So make sure to treasure each and every one you collect.

Headmistress: And next is this. (Received Student ID and Aikatsu phone) It would be best to keep your Student ID on your Aikatsu phone. You can also put your AIkatsu! Cards on your Aikatsu phone, and create your own coordinates whenever you want.

Player: (I can’t wait to give it a go later!)

Headmistress: To check your Aikatsu phone, just tap the Aikatsu phone icon. It has a lot of other functions too, so be sure to check them later. Oh, that’s right. You should know that we’re holding our culture festival soon. I know that this is quite sudden as you’ve just transferred, but make sure to take this chance and enjoy yourself, okay? You’ve only just entered the world of idols, so do your best from here on out. I have high hopes for you.

(And she zooms away)

Player: Ah, the Headmistress was wonderful… Well, next I should be getting to the classroom!

(Classroom)

Player: Was someone meant to have told me what to do…? But no-one’s here yet…

??? (Deformed Johnny-sensei): Sorry, sorry! Hope you haven’t been waiting long. Nice to meetcha, I’m this classes’ base teacher, Johnny Beppu.

Johnny-sensei: You’re obviously Player, the transfer student, right?

Player: Huh? Oh, yes, that’s me! (This guy’s my base teacher!?)

Johnny-sensei: You prob’ly have a lot of stuff you still need to find out… but it’s better to learn from doing! Do your best! By the way, did the Headmistress already tell you about the culture festival? Our class is doing a play, but we don’t have enough people yet. So, you’ll be taking part! Here’s the script. I already highlighted all of your lines for you, so you can’t back out!

Player: Huh!? (My role sure has a LOT of lines! What do I do…!?)

Johnny-sensei: I did a play too when I was your age, and had a tonne of lines too. Acting lessons can really help! I’ll give you this card, so give it your all. Well, for now if you practise for the culture festival, your efforts will also help with Special Auditions.

Player: Um… what are Special Auditions…?

Johnny-sensei: Hey, hey, c’mon now. How could you have missed such an important part of being an idol? Well, I’ll explain for you. This school allows you to take Special Auditions during normal class periods. You can get idol work this way. Your upcoming Special Audition will be “Acting Recruitment”. This is your current objective, so good luck!

Player: So I can take the audition even though I’ve just transferred?

Johnny-sensei: ‘Course. By becoming a Starlight student, you’re just as much of an idol as any of your classmates. As long as they meet the entry requirements, anyone can take an audition. The entry requirements are to have Aikatsu! Cards and to increase your Tension Gauge. Your Tension Gauge raises when you challenge yourself in lessons. If you want to do your best and pass auditions, taking lessons will help raise your confidence and help your performance. What cards will you need for this audition… oh, the Headmistress should know that, actually. But first of all, let’s make the culture festival a success! The culture festival and your Special Audition both involve acting, so if you do well in the festival you’ll definitely pass your audition with flying colours too! Well, you should get going and take a lesson. You should be able to take a lesson in the salon now.

(Salon)

Player: So this is the salon… What kind of lesson do they put on here…? Hm? That girl…

??? (Ichigo): Oh! Hey, you were in the assembly hall during the transfer exam, right?

Player: Yup.

Ichigo: I’m Hoshimiya Ichigo, I’m a transfer student too!

Player: I’m Player, nice to meet you.

Ichigo: Yeah, nice to meet you too!! Oh, hey, did you know? Well, I just heard about it myself, but we’re doing a play for the culture festival, right? Well, everyone who’s acting in the play has to do their own makeup!

Player: Huh!? I’m acting in the play, but I don’t know the first thing about makeup!

Ichigo: Right? Me neither. Which is exactly why I’m here for a makeup lesson. Hey, wanna take the lesson together?

Player: Yeah, sounds great!

(Makeup lesson minigame)

Ichigo: Woah, you’re amazing, Player-chan! You did so well for your first time! I’ll try to follow your lead!

Johnny-sensei: You did pretty well, huh? Your reward is this Aikatsu! Card. Looks like you’re all set to do your makeup for the culture festival. By the way, the cards you’ll need for your Special Audition are special rewards like the one I just gave you. You can also get Aikatsu! Cards by working your ass off in lessons. When you get heaps of Lesson Points, you’ll get a card. Work hard and collect a lot of Aikatsu! Cards! And now it’s time to work hard for the culture festival. Later!

(Classroom)

Johnny-sensei: Hey, Player. Workin’ hard at your lessons?

Player: Ah, y-yes!

Johnny-sensei: Hmmm? You’re acting kinda suspicious~…Well, don’t over-exert yourself!

(Corridor, after using the password system in the Aikatsuphone to unlock Kaede, Sakura and Midzuki)

Player: Hm? That person over there… No way, is that Midzuki-san from Tristar!?

Midzuki: Hello. You must be Player-san.

Player: Oh, uh, yes!

Midzuki: My name is Kanzaki Midzuki. It’s nice to meet you! I feel like we’ve met before. I think we bumped into each other when you’d just transferred. I thought you weren’t quite like everyone else… and that you’d become a wonderful idol!

Player: Th-thank you so much!

Midzuki: Let’s take a lesson together sometime, okay?

(Corridor again; these introduction events just happen without player input)

Player: …ah!

??? (Kaede): Woah, careful! You alright? We were super close to bashing into each other, huh.

Player: Oh, yeah, I’m alright. Thanks. …Wait, you wouldn’t happen to be Kaede-san from Tristar!?

Kaede: Oh, you’re that girl I’ve been hearing about!

Player: Wait, you know who I am?

Kaede: Yup! You really stand out, being a transfer student and all, so I kinda remembered you. Um, so, I’m Ichinose Kaede. Nice to meetcha!

Player: Oh, so that’s why you recognised me. I’m Player!

Kaede: Player… huh. Gotcha. Hey, so we should be friends! Let’s take a lesson together when you’ve got time!

Player: Really!? Wow, that’s so nice of you! I’d love to be friends!

(Would you believe it… we transition into the corridor once again)

???: Um, excuse me!!

Player: Hm? Who was that?

Sakura: Um… My name is, uh, Kitaooji Sakura. Would you be so kind as to tell me yours?

Player: M-me? Uh, I’m Player.

Sakura: Player-senpai, then! I’m so glad I could talk to you. I have seen you around recently, and noticed your beautiful skin. Perhaps we could take lessons together, if it wouldn’t trouble you? Well then, I hope to see you soon! Until then, please excuse me.

Player: …Aaaand she’s gone. What a polite girl…

(Special Hall)

Headmistress: Ah, Character. Have you come for a lesson to prepare for the culture festival play? Because you won’t find that here. Here is where Special Auditions take place. Should you do well in the play and clear your objectives, come back here to take a Special Audition. And if you still need to improve on something, I can let you know what to improve on. You’ve been preparing for the culture festival, so have you taken any acting lessons?

Player: No, not yet.

Headmistress: In that case, I’ll make preparations for an acting class you can take. Let’s go to the lesson hall.

(Lesson hall)

Headmistress: This is the lesson hall. You can take acting lessons here whenever you like. I’ll be watching from over there for now, so please do your best.

Player: Acting lessons, huh? I wonder what that’ll involve… Hm? That girl… Hey, nice to meet you. I saw you at the transfer entrance exam, right?

??? (Aoi): Nice to meet you. Yeah, we were in the same classroom for the written exam, right?

Aoi: I’m Kiriya Aoi.

Player: I’m Player. Is it alright if I just call you Aoi?

Aoi: Of course! So, are you going to take an acting lesson here, Player?

Player: Yep! I have to practise for the culture festival so I thought I might as well.

Aoi: Makes sense. I’m also here for an acting lesson. Hey, why don’t we take one together?

Player: Sounds great!

(ok so this minigame is um. U need to remember your lines (in pink) and then just choose the 2 options that make up ur lines. So if ur playing along at home, just take pics of ur lines i guess)

Aoi: You’re amazing, Player! You might even be top idol material!

Headmistress: You did well, Character. Looks like there’s no need to worry about your acting skills. I’m looking forward to your performance at the culture festival. Here’s a reward for your hard work.

Player: Yaaay! Thank you so much. I think I’m ready for the culture festival now! I should probably head to the classroom.

(Ooooor talk to Midzuki in the corridor)

Player: Ahh… What should I do next? A lesson might be good…

Midzuki: Player-san?

Player: Ah, Hello, Midzuki-san!

Midzuki: Are you free right now? If so, would you like to take a lesson with me? I have a gap in my schedule right now.

Player: Y-yes! That would be great. (I get to take a lesson with a top idol like Midzuki-san! But will it go well…? I’m super nervous, but… it’ll be a great learning experience.)

Midzuki: Hehe, then let’s get going.

(Lesson hall)

Midzuki: Well, let’s start our lesson. Are you okay with an acting lesson?

Player: Yes!

Midzuki: Great answer. I have high expectations for you, so do your best.

(hell. Aka acting lesson. I will forgive u for this transgression miduki but sleep with one eye open)

Midzuki: Thank you for that. Doing a lesson together sure is fun, right? Let’s work hard at our lessons from now on.

Player: Th-thank you very much!

(...........sakura wants to hang out in the corridor too. Are we never going to do the culture festival)

Sakura: Player-senpai… You seem quite busy.

Player: Yeah, I’m working hard at auditions lately.

Sakura: Is that so? I’ll take a leaf from your book and do my best too, Senpai!

(corridor)

Midzuki: You’ve this really intense look on your face, Player-san.

Player: Oh, Midzuki-san…

Midzuki: …Listen. An idol can’t forget to smile, as a smile is what makes an idol. Our smiles have the power to make everyone happy, after all. But idols are human too, and we have hard times just like anyone else. And in those times, I think it’s best to tell our friends about our troubles. It’s like, if you’re not smiling, I’ll also start to feel sad.

Player: Midzuki-san… I’m sorry for looking all bummed out. Thank you for your advice!

(FINALLY. Bunkasai babey. In the classroom)

Johnny-sensei: How goes your prep for the culture festival?

Player: I’ve taken makeup and acting lessons.

Johnny-sensei: In that case, you’ll be totally fine. I’m looking forward to the festival.

(It is now the day of the culture festival)

(lesson hall)

Ichigo: Hmmmmmmm… It’s almost upon us! I hope I haven’t forgotten anything. Hey, Player-chan, does my makeup look okay?

Choice: Yeah, it’s perfect! / Oh, your lips are a bit, uh…

Player: Hm, the product’s a bit thin? Did you put on enough lipgloss?

Ichigo: Oh, I forgot lipgloss! Thanks for telling me!! I’ll just fix it real quick!

Player: Okay, seeya in a bit. I wonder if my makeup’s okay too? I put on lipgloss, and my foundation’s even. Okay, looks like I’m good.

Aoi: How are ya feeling, Player?

Player: I think I’m alright.

Aoi: You should probably practise reading your script beforehand.

Choice: I already know all my lines! / Thanks.

Player: I’m so nervous I’ve been worrying about insignificant things instead of my acting.

Aoi: Well, I’m pretty nervous too, y’know. So let’s do our best together!

Player: Okay, I’m fully prepared thanks to Ichigo and Aoi! Gotta do my best for the real thing, too!

Player: The culture festival was a huge success thanks to the help I got from Ichigo and Aoi during our lessons!

Johnny-sensei: Okay, quiet down, guys. You all did well, we put on an amazing culture festival. Here’s a reward for everyone in the class.

Player: Wow, a new card!

Johnny-sensei: With that card, you now have three, right? Those are the required Aikatsu! Cards for the upcoming Special Audition. Since you now have all the cards you need, head on down to the special hall once you raise your Tension Gauge. If it’s not full enough, just do some lessons first. The culture festival’s over and done with, so now you can focus on your Special Audition.

---END OF PART 1---

and end of everything april fools pretty rhythm for life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the way i couldve just put 'april fools' under a readmore lmaooooo. honestly though this games kinda fun... maybe ill keep going someday if anyone is interested in a badly written story that doesnt even introduce new characters?? anyway in my defence of translating this instead of pretty rhythm, all for a april fools joke, um. i have no defence

oh also!! so. midzuki and beppu. yea so a lit of ppl would spell it mizuki, but that would kinda suggest ず, when its づ, japanese ppl would typically romanize the second one as 'du' so i took the middle ground i guess? and yea i didnt actually know johnnys surname was beppu like the prefecture, i kind of thought that Might be it but this games the first time i actually saw his name in kanji. anyways yea stickin to my guns on these romanizations 😤😤

[ayuuria]

Yashahime Translation: Animedia January 2021 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

I do apologize if some of the translations feel awkward. This one was slightly technical so I had to do some research on the side.

Animedia Education Lecture

You think you know but you surprisingly don’t

Working in Anime

— ­Editing Edition –

A corner where we delve into the work of anime production. This time, we ask Nii Kazuhiro of (share) IMAGICA Lab., who handles the editing for “Hanyō no Yashahime”, about editing!

The job of “editing” is vital not just in anime but also in live movies and tv dramas. People who like films may be able to vaguely imagine the burden of having the big role of organizing the scenes. However, exactly what sort of work do they do in anime production? This time, Mr. Nii Kazuhiro of (share) IMAGICA Lab., who oversees the editing of the action packed “Hanyō no Yashahime”, makes an appearance! We had him discuss editing and the special work process unique to “Hanyō no Yashahime”.

Tell us Nii-san! Let’s learn about “Editing”

Q: What kind of job is “Editing”?

It is a job that manages the flow of the whole film by connecting scenes or shots together. For example, how well a signature move in battle or sports is executed is dependent upon the tempo adjustment “editing”. Other things like scenes where shots are divided effectively by the placement of songs or music in an important work, will always have an editor’s hand (adjustment) involved. Even if the animation is created to flow exactly like the storyboard, a lot of times the timing of those scenes is fine-tuned with editing. Timing is just as important as properly moving images after all.

Q. During what phase of the anime production do you work?

Typically in anime, shots are edited at a phase where the color and sound have not yet been added and is completed as each phase in the production moves forward. Editing takes place before the audio work. Basically, it occurs twice: before voice recording and dubbing (translator’s note: Dubbing here does not mean voice over! Dubbing is the phase where they mix the voicing, sound effects, and music together to match the images). There are many works where color is added after dubbing has concluded, but in “Hanyō no Yashahime”, in order to allow for dubbing with the color, colored images are used as materials when editing. Since the images are colored, we can confirm the fine details with the director and production supervisor and then make adjustments.

Q. How does one become an “Editor”?

I entered a vocational school focused on film making and learned not just about editing but film making as a whole such as filming and lighting. There wasn’t any convenient editing software at the time, so I joined my current company that does film production thinking “Editing is something that can’t be self-taught so I want to learn on the job”. If you want to pursue editing, then you should watch as many different types of films as you can. You can’t notice things in production like direction and the camera angle of a shot if you don’t have interest in it, so I think it’s best to study it for the sake of knowledge.

Q. What abilities are needed for “Editing”?

Communication skills are an absolute must. Especially in animation which has a lot of detailed work itineraries and staff members creating it. To ensure that there are no mistakes, you must ask the director or production supervisor on anything you are unsure of. Of course, you can’t keep asking questions on every single shot so there are times where you will need to understand past productions and make decisions yourself. However, being able to muster up the courage and ask when necessary is important. You need communication skills for that purpose.

The “Hanyō no Yashahime” Production Site Packed with Fixations

— Please tell us the details on how you came to oversee the editing in “Hanyō no Yashahime”.

I had the opportunity to work with Director Satō (Teruo) on “Aikatsu Stars!” and he reached out to me. Since the story was connected to “Inuyasha”, which was broadcasted when I was a child, I felt a lot of pressure at first. While I was nervous when I heard the that main staff hadn’t changed much from “Inuyasha”, I felt “That’s all the more reason I have to work hard”.

— In regard to the editing work, did Director Satō make any demands?

I touched on this earlier in my response to “what phase we work” where I discussed how the director requested “Please have the images close to completion before the dubbing, where the music and voicing will be decided finalized, takes place. I would like to have editing done just before the dubbing as well.” This is what makes this so different from other works.

For example, in action scenes when the image is unfinished, it’s hard to understand the small movements or context. Hence, it’s difficult to take a “Maybe make the tempo like this” sort of editing approach. In typical animes, there are a lot of times where the final images solidify after the sound is completed. When that happens, there’s not much room to make edits for the most part.

However, in “Hanyō no Yashahime”, the images are mostly done before the dubbing so we can make adjustments with the director while matching the images with the voice actor’s lines. I thought it was a good idea. This is a trait unique to this work.

— Was there an aspect that you yourself focused on when editing this work?

While it’s a work with a lot of serious developments, what I focus on during those scenes is the “the interval between emotions”. In live film works, for thinking scenes, the actor’s “thinking act” is included so there’s an interval. However, in anime, the movement simply stops and there are no lines, so a lot of times you can’t measure the interval. Nevertheless, those serious scenes are important in “Hanyō no Yashahime” so I think it’s important to have “intervals” which is what I’m careful about. On the other hand, there are comical scenes, so I’m careful not to destroy the tempo. In anime, the tempo can change if it’s off by 6 frames*

*1 frame = 24 frames per second

The Feeling of Fun in Doing “Editing” Work

— In anime editing, does the work’s genre make a difference?

It does. Lately in action and sport (animes), materials included are not just from the storyboard but also from 3D CG as well, so we’re careful to make sure the connection between that and normal image (2D) scenes don’t feel out of place. When I first started, I couldn’t get the hang of it and was at a loss. The 3D CG portion is done by a different production team instead of the animation (drawing) team, so during my edits I couldn’t visualize the complete final form and fumbled as I worked.

In terms of idol anime, there’s “Aikatsu Stars!” that I worked with Director Satō on, but I was still a novice then… In work that’s geared towards children, I focused on making the tempo of the conversation scenes as steady as possible. If the tempo is too fast, it will end with everything being breezed through and a child will become unable to follow. I remember being careful of that.

— Are there times where you have to edit multiple episodes at the same time?

I mainly only work on one episode at a time. It’s just that periodically I have to confirm and make adjustments on a line-by-line basis in another episode at the same time.

— What part of “Editing” do you feel makes the jobs worthwhile?

In anime, images and CG shots that have been completed at each phase of the process are gathered individually as materials for editing. Updating those materials into one new episode and getting to see the finished product first is what “Editing” is. I think this is what makes the job of “Editing” fun the most. I get a sense of responsibility that I’m managing not only the shots but the entire work as a whole. Also, because I’ve seen the production process, I feel happy and simply moved like “That’s amazing” when all the phases are completed and the whole anime is finished. This is when I feel worthwhile as an editor. Also, I don’t think there’s much opportunity to take part in the production of the character movement and camera work in live filming, so I think this is what makes editing anime fun.

— After going through all the work, how do you feel when you watch the broadcasting of the finished version?

I end up watching it from different angles but when I watch it as a regular viewer, I become happy nonetheless. Of course, there are times where I personally think “I should’ve done this” at the little things. Now with social media, I know the viewers’ reactions in real time, so when there was a huge response to episode 1 with Inuyasha and the others, that put pressure on me going forward (laughs).

The Charm of “Hanyō no Yashahime” That You Personally Enjoy

— Of all the episodes that have been broadcasted thus far, which episode left the biggest impression on you?

Episode 3 where the three heroines (Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha) came together. I got to watch the (voice) recording for that episode and the battle scene was really cool. Also, I was able to properly draw the first conversation between the three so that left the biggest impression on me in that sense.

Then there’s episode 7. It’s the episode where you return to the scene of the three of them that at the very beginning of episode 1. The composition of back tracking up to episode 1 left an impression on me, so even as I was editing episode 7, I admired how it felt like the mystery was being revealed or rather feeling like “I see. This is where it connects”.

— By the way, who is your favorite character personally?

Moroha. She’s fundamentally an energetic character, her skills in action scenes are cool, and the way she seems to mimic the movements of her father, Inuyasha, is entertaining as well. While she behaves in a manner that makes you wonder if she had a tragic past, she’s a character whose emotions are easy to read so that’s why she’s my favorite.

— Including upcoming highlights, please give a message to our readers.

Going forward there will be more episodes regarding the three heroine’s past which I think is a highlight. As I was editing a future episode, I felt “We’re approaching the true nature of the story”. Please look forward to the cool action scenes and the episode where the three’s past will become clear.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Madoka, Wonder Egg Priority, and the Future of Late-Night Magical Girl Shows

  Beware! This article contains spoilers for the beginning of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

  It is January 21st, 2011. In the shadows of a witch’s labyrinth, two girls named Madoka and Mami form a close bond. Mami is a magical girl, powerful but lonely. Madoka decides, then and there, to fight by Mami’s side. But then, in the middle of combat, the witch Charlotte transforms into a giant worm and bites off Mami’s head. Madoka’s eyes widen in shock. A broken china cup seeps tea on the ground. Smash cut to the wails of goth rock trio Kalafina as black clouds roil and a single flickering shape strides toward oblivion. Three episodes in, Puella Magi Madoka Magica threw down the gauntlet. Over ten years later, the mark it left is still there.

  Puella Magi Madoka Magica was special. But why? Not because it was the “first dark magical girl series.” Sailor Moon, the modern magical girl standard-bearer, became popular not just because of its charming characters but because the show could do things like briefly kill everyone during the series finale. Even magical girl series aimed at younger audiences, like Ojamajo Doremi, tackled subjects like the death of a pet or the aftermath of a divorce. Not to mention the infamous 46th episode of Magical Girl Minky Momo from 1983, when the titular heroine was hit by a truck! Truly, everything has been done before.

  The secret to Madoka Magica’s success is that it is not really a magical girl show. It is a suspense thriller cunningly disguised as a magical girl show. It has as much in common with Kamen Rider Ryuuki as it has with Sailor Moon, and was written by Gen Urobuchi, a former eroge game writer who ran in the same circles as Kinoko Nasu and Hoshizora Meteo. Madoka Magica is not interested in the slow process of endearment by which magical girl series ease you into the daily routines of their characters — the weekly monsters, transformation stock footage, holidays, and very special episodes. It presents as such only as long as it takes to put you off guard, and then (clad in the gorgeous raiment of art team Gekidan Inu Curry) it goes for your throat. 

    So it was that Madoka Magica became the standard-bearer of a new kind of late-night anime. Rather than “cute girls doing cute things,” let’s call this genre “cruel things happening to cute girls.” Take something charming and unassuming, like a magical girl story or a high school slice-of-life show. Populate it with fun, marketable characters. Then set those characters screaming when the real story pops out like a jack-in-the-box. The frisson between cute and scary hopefully generates enough charge to catch the attention of audiences, but  — most importantly  — audiences don’t have to reach that far to engage with it. That is because these shows are built off those same conventions that anime fans are familiar with. Those conventions just happen to be evil this time.

  As often happens in the entertainment industry, the success of Madoka spawned many copies. These projects did not have Gen Urobuchi, and they were often not lucky enough to have an art team as singular as Gekidan Inu Curry. All things considered, they tried their best. YUKI YUNA IS A HERO brought a different former eroge game writer, Takahiro, on board. Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka made its team of magical girls a proper military unit. More recently, GRANBELM added giant robots to the stew. I’d say Granbelm is my favorite of these, if only because the giant robots were pretty cool! I’d love to see them in a Super Robot Wars game one day.

    Some of the more interesting entries in the “cruel things happening to cute girls” genre didn’t have any magical girls in them at all. Selector Infected Wixoss was a card battle show about teens fighting for wishes; writer Mari Okada smartly changed focus from the cruel system tearing the characters apart to the way that individual selfishness keeps cruel systems running perpetually. SCHOOL-LIVE! featured a group of schoolgirls continuing their slice of life activities within a world devastated by a zombie apocalypse; the anime production was bolstered by a murderer’s row of writers from Nitroplus, Urobuchi’s former stomping ground. Episode 3 — a flashback to teacher Megumi on the day of the outbreak — is a genuine triumph, precisely because it is so earnest. Rather than pushing hard to shock or disgust the viewer, it allows the characters to breathe in the moments leading to disaster and lets the horror come naturally.

  Traditional magical girl shows, in the meantime, have been doing just fine. We’ve seen several good seasons of Precure and two fantastic ones, the all-rounder Go! Princess Precure and uneven but groundbreaking Hugtto! Precure. Sailor Moon’s Crystal remake seasons and movies have steadily improved after a rocky start. The first few seasons of magical idol series Aikatsu are charming and introduce a fun legacy quirk that ties together characters from different seasons. Even Ojamajo Doremi has seen a follow-up film that puts the spotlight on the generation who grew up watching it.

    Madoka’s successors, on the other hand, are in a trickier place. Some of them have been successful, others have been good, but none have recaptured that lightning in a bottle that made Madoka a hit. Even a recent Madoka Magica series based on a phone game, written by Gekidan Inu Curry themselves, came and went without much buzz.

  In the years since Madoka aired, there have been plenty of folks who have expressed their reservations about the “cruel things happening to cute girls” genre. After all, magical girl series can be revolutionary or transgressive without being cruel. Hugtto! Precure introduced the series’ first male Precure (equally comfortable wearing dresses as skating outfits) and featured a romantic partnership between two of its female leads. Go! Princess Precure’s best fight scenes are as spectacular as anything in this year’s Jujutsu Kaisen, yet remain perfectly accessible for its target audience of young girls. Madoka's progeny may have been targeted at older — and often, male — audiences, but outside of some blood and gore just a few of these series were more genuinely mature than the children’s series they riffed upon.

  Image via HiDive

  I do still see a future for late-night magical girl shows. In 2016, a weird magical girl series called Flip Flappers aired. Directed by animation wunderkind Kiyotaka Oshiyama, it featured two girls in love traveling through many strange and colorful environments in search of macguffins. Hidden inside a candy coating of marketable elements was everything from the Freudian fairy tale theories of Bruno Bettelheim, to architectural oddities such as thomassons, to occult figures like Jakob von Uexkull. Flip Flappers harnessed some of Madoka Magica’s sense of danger, putting its cast into intense and scary situations from the very first episode. But it was not a show about girls being tortured by an evil system; it was a show about girls exploring surreal dreamscapes. A new genre had been created: “cute girls doing weird things.”

  Here are the cornerstones for the “cute girls doing weird things” genre: you need girls of course, maybe even magical girls, but the rules behind their magic are nebulous. Rather than take children’s genres and corrupt them, you build out atmospheric settings, drop in the characters, and see what happens next. You give the cast room to express themselves within the bounds of the story, rather than leading them down an assembly line to their doom. The malevolence of Madoka is not off-limits, but more useful still than malevolence is uncertainty. The goal is to unsettle the viewer rather than disgust them.

  Image via Funimation

  Five years after Flip Flappers, a new show walks these same steps: Wonder Egg Priority, an original series from CloverWorks. Of course, Wonder Egg Priority is aiming at something totally different than Flip Flappers. Its spooky environments are incidental. Its main aim is, through riffing on the work of Kyoto Animation and famed director Naoko Yamada, depicting in full and uncompromising detail the difficult emotional lives of teenage girls living in the modern-day. Those lives just happen to be filtered through an anime lens of trauma manifesting as horrific creatures that have to be destroyed, and girls that need to be saved. Yet to me, Wonder Egg Priority captures the dreamlike atmosphere that Flip Flappers achieved in its best moments — the means by which characters exploring unfamiliar spaces reveal themselves in new and different forms. Despite being made of familiar parts, in execution, I think it is something new.

Somewhere between Flip Flappers and Wonder Egg Priority lies the future of late-night magical girl shows. They should not ever replace the ones made for kids; those do perfectly fine on their own, thank you very much. But in their embrace of uncertainty, I recognize a ghost of what I once felt when I first saw Charlotte’s gaping maw. The sensation that the ground had disappeared, and that — like magic — anything was possible.

  What's your favorite recent magical girl show? Are you excited for the newest season of Precure? Does Wonder Egg Priority terrify you on a weekly basis like it terrifies me? Let us know in the comments!

      Adam W is a Features Writer at Crunchyroll. When he isn't reciting lines from Revolutionary Girl Utena, he sporadically contributes with a loose coalition of friends to a blog called Isn't it Electrifying? You can find him on Twitter at @wendeego

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Adam Wescott

[aikatsu-motivational-posts]

Before I begin, I’d like to think all those who liked/reblogged my posts and even followed me!! Thanks so much for 210 followers!!

So I logged into an Aikatsu server in Discord and I found this challenge that I could do (credits to  𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊, 𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚎'𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚢 #0615 for the image). It’s supposed to be for 31 days, but I have classes so I’ll just answer all these questions in one go to honor the 8th anniversary. (of course, my ask is open in case y’all wanna get to know more about me)

Of course, Aikatsu is one of my most favorite anime series ever. To the point I even dedicated a blog to it. It’s cute, it has good songs, and so inspiring that it lifts me up when I’m feeling down.

Yikes, ok. Her birthday is October 2, same singing voice as Ran, a student from Dream Academy, brand is Bohemian Sky, and catchphrase is “Cutie, cutie, spin, spin!” (did I get these right?)

Harsh, but I’m gonna have to go for Haruka Ruka. I find her so annoying.

I’d say her aura?? She gives off that Barbie vibes, mature but also pure of heart. I love her voice too.

Definitely Mirai.

Damn I ship the main ones though?? HAHAHA I guess Hibiki x Alicia because they’re... definitely lesbians.

I’m gonna have to say Akari x Any Character in the Show. Sorry guys, she’s for Sena.

Cute - Oozora Akari, Cool - Kiriya Aoi, Sexy - Kasumi Mahiru, Pop - Saotome Ako, Gothic - Shirayuri Kaguya

Starlight Queen

S4/M4

Diamond Friends

Rainbow Berry Parfait -  Rainbow Étoile Coord

This question is a bit hard LOL but I’m gonna choose WM. *mwah* Legendary songs.

 Don’t underestimate the power of Johnny Bepp, y’all.

Come on, we already know what colors they are. Good in being imposter, either Aoi or Chi (they got big brains). Most sus, probably Yurika-sama simply because.

Good at being imposter, most likely Madoka because if you notice, there are times she’s mean despite acting cute (love that about her, though!). Most sus, I think Koko because she seems too outgoing??? IDK how to describe it.

Maybe Koharu?? Because she looks too innocent. Most sus, I’d say Elza since she does what she wants.

Definitely Karen, talented as hell. Most sus probably Ema because she seems like she’s good at playing games.

Seriously?? I gotta pick one main song ever from 200+ songs?? Yikes. I’m gonna choose one on the spot, because I literally love them all - The Scene Above 6 cm.

Yurika’s songs are one of the best, but I think Sumire is better as a character.

Definitely Calendar Girls. It’s the first ED song, and the lyrics itself just scream the word “nostalgia”. Makes me feel like crying every time I listen to it.

Definitely Sakuraba Laura. Give her more love and attention!!!

Who else would it be if not the one and only Kanzaki Mizuki?

Hanazono Kirara. Okay, she’s got a great voice and songs. But personality-wise, very annoying and narcissistic.

Ooh, I think it would be Kanata from M4. He looks like that one dude in K-Pop groups who doesn’t seem like he could rap, but is actually a god rapper,

It was around April 2019, I believe. I discovered it in one of the comments in Episode 1 of My Shining Star, where they were like “This is just a rip-off of Pretty Rhythm and Aikatsu anime”. So I was like, “Aikatsu? Pfft, Pretty Rhythm is definitely better.” So my first opinion was disgusted because Pretty Rhythm is one of my favorite childhood anime, and I am totally wrong.

Definitely take pictures and autographs of my favorite idols!

Mahiru, she’s so cute and just underrated.

Sumire - Mismagius, Madoka - Luvdisc, Hikari - Nidoqueen, Maria - Miltank, Rei - Aegislash, Ema - Jolteon

Akari - Castform, Ichigo - Alcremie, Mizuki - Lunaala, Hime - Audino, Yume - Musharna, Aine - Palkia, Mio - Dialga

Monsters Cat Coord

[techouspeaks]

Star Twinkle Precure: Final Thoughts

Just some quick final thoughts of what I thought was a fairly decent series.

First, I apologize for not doing Precuruary this year and other years I’ve skipped it. It seems like whenever February comes, I’m just either not in the mood to do full reviews of Precure stuff or I have been busy with other things or even both and this year was definitely on the both side, but more so on the busy side. I just moved to my new place and it has been one of the hardest moves we’ve ever endured. Just now did we get all of our stuff and we moved in here weeks ago, back in late January. So, I apologize greatly for not being as active in Precure. I do love Precure and I do want to keep up with Precuruary because this is the one subject besides Hazbin Hotel and Winx Club, that I have a lot of passionate theories and thoughts on. Until my passion comes in Febuary, Precuruary is gonna be a little bit late and inconsistent in the dates.

With that being said, I’m gonna be quick or try to be quick about my overall thoughts of Star Twinkle Precure. Overall, I think I enjoyed Star Twinkle more than Hugtto, even though, I do think Hugtto did a better job at morals and story, Star Twinkle has been more of an enjoyment to watch. Perhaps is because the characters are just more likable, not that Hugtto’s wasn’t, but I got more into the side characters than the main characters in Hugtto. The only Cure I really cared about in Hugtto was Cure Etoile, but the other cures did seem more of stereotypes or caricatures we’ve seen a million times. The side characters were also just more interesting than the main characters.

Star Twinkle, we do get more of variety, though I do agree that Madoka doesn’t seem any different from the soft, but firm feminine anime type. What I mean is Madoka reminds me too much of characters like Hime, Karen, (Aikatsu Stars and Aikatsu Friends) and pass cures like Cure Beauty and Cure Rhythm. She’s an elegant lady who works hard, is rich,is from a strict noble family and her out bringing changes with the help of her friends. I do rant on about using archetypes we’ve seen a million times. Like it is hard to be 100% original, but it doesn’t change the fact that there are a lot of these types and unless they do something new with it, it’s really hard for me to care about said character.

(I do ADORE her design though.)

We also have another happy go lucky lead and yes, ultimately everyone grows with her, I think it would have just been nice if she was more of a nerdy shy type, with a strong passion to help and still have a great imagination. I mean, you can be helpful and be full of imagination without being the clumsy, hyper stereotype that is Hikaru. It would have actually made more sense if we had gotten a nerdy girl over Hikaru. 

Hikaru developed I think the least of the cures. She didn’t go through anything that life changing and her back story, as someone from Angryanime wrote, wasn’t that realistic or relateable. If I had a dad that went around looking supernatural creatures, instead of taking care of the family, there would definitely more family strain than just the grandfather hating him.

 Hikaru is not a bad character and she does go through some bullying, but so did many characters in the passed, including Haruka/Cure Flora. A bullied character can be fine, but they need to be interesting too and she’s just another happy go lucky character. She doesn’t necessarily have the charm as Hikaru nor the realistic, understandable back story that Nodoka/Cure Grace has. She’s just another Hana and Ichika.

The Princesses were also disappointingly dull in personality. There’s actually no excuse on it either. They could have easily based the personality of the princesses on their respective Zodiac. Like have Scorpio be moody or stern but emotional inside. Have Aries be easily angered and want things done her way. Leo a hot shot like Cure Gelato that she was obviously inspired from. Taurus like gardening and be the gentle one. That was another reason why the Zodiac was made. To understand people’s behavior and how to deal with someone that you may clash with or are more compatible with. I guess because the Cures don’t spend enough time with them, they just made them with a dull personality, but they could have. Like the Zodiac is basically not only a way to tell your fortune, but to learn from in terms of learning about yourself and others.

However, we do get characters like Lala/Cure Milky and Elena/Cure Soleil. I know people kept saying Elena was under developed and her development came way too soon. For me, personally as someone who has Autism that caused my growth to be slow. Like mentally, I’m younger than my physical age, I felt Elena’s development to be fine. Not perfect, but not everyone grows the same way, the same speed and like I said, for a while, I didn’t know what she could possibly learn being she is the most mature and responsible already. 

Compared to the development of other characters in the passed (Mirai/Cure Miracle, whom, while I relate to somewhat in that child likeness of hers, I agree I don’t think she developed as much as leaders in the passed did and most of the characters in KiraKira Precure, especially Akira and Yukari!), Elena at least developed and was the most realistic of the cures. I relate to her wanting keep others happy but hiding your own feelings and pain in doing so. I do that even now, though I do try to be more open when something is really bothering me.

Lala, by far definitely grew a lot and is my second favorite of the Star Twinkle Team. Though, I dunno, both Elena and Lala I like pretty equally. I guess I do relate to Elena just a bit more though.. I think in truth, Lala was more of the main character than Hikaru because it seemed like the creators really liked her the most. There was a lot of focus on her and she seemed to develop the most than the other girls .I guess that does give a bit of a negative feel towards her for some people, which I can see, but Lala is pretty likable enough, that I kinda let it slip like most people seem to. She’s just a real nice, likable character!

As for Cure Cosmos, I honestly don’t know how to feel about her. I like her design and character, but I can’t say I like or dislike her. Pretty much on middle ground when it comes to her. She didn’t really leave a huge impact on me, negative or positive. I love the police puppy girl, Mary Anne, that was following her and I love their overall chemistry together! XD

The story did get a bit clunky towards the end and I would even argue a bit confusing. Like, okay, these princesses gave all their power to the pens, the cures, Fuwa and the rest of the world, it kinda made it seem pointless in reviving them anyway. The Notraiders and their story was touching and I like how they did touch upon issues like racism with Kappard and his people and an example of someone being born different from others like Tenjo and her people.

I will agree though, Eyewarn was the most annoying and hard to deal with. Her voice even got on my nerves! I didn’t care if they redeemed her. Her sudden change in attitude didn’t make sense and I think they would have done us all a favor and offed her somehow. I mean shoot, they weren’t afraid to full on kill the fairy mascot, they could have done so with Eyewarn easily. Who actually cared about the cyclops Trollz reject? I sure didn’t and I know a lot of people didn’t either!

Overall, I know this is review is all over the place, but I’ll do more of proper review later but I will rate Star Twinkle 7 1/2 stars out of 10. It’s not perfect but it’s been an enjoyable ride in the spaceship. Now we’re headed back down to earth and our usual stick with Healin Good Precure!

[precure-stuff]

Aikatsu Dream Chapter 2

This is an AU that take place in the Friends universe. The characters from canon are seen below. Any interaction appreciated. Also let me know if there’s typos or grammar issues

02. Beginning of Dreams

The successful applicants arrived at Star Harmony in the early morning. May twirled about in her room, “So these are the dorms! Aren’t these wonderful?’ She turned around to see Wanda unpacking with her face away from her. An awkward silence passes and she tries again. “Did you know these dorms weren’t always here? When my mother went here they had to go home, isn’t that strange?”

Wanda stood up and turned to face Maya, she looked straight into her eyes with a cold stare, “You know since your mother went here, didn’t you technically cheat your way in?” Maya averted her gaze, “Your idol interview was on her, wasn’t it? Won’t it be suspicious if you get a perfect score?” She moved Maya aside as she shoved her suitcase under the bed. “You should probably keep her being an idol a secret.” With that said, Wanda rolled over on her bed and clutched her pillow.

“Nice to meet you too,” Maya muttered, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get our test scores.” She left the room and ‘accidentally’ slammed the door shut. As she walked toward the office, she passed Kagami who she waved at. Once there, Tamaki handed her the results. Apparently they were all going to receive them, thus she was given Wanda’s results as well.

In her room, Maya waved the results over Wanda waking her up. She sighed and grabbed her own from Maya’s hand. After briefly scanning them, she shoved them in her school bag on the floor. Maya took her results out optimistically but grimaced as they were revealed. “A perfect score in the interview quiz…on my own mother,” She hears Wanda snicker.

“Not much else I’m assuming…” Wanda muttered. Maya whined as she read the other results. A high score in the idol quiz, a mediocre time in the race and a poor score for the performance. Maya thrust herself on her bed and pounded the pillow. As her tantrum ensued Wanda felt touched. “Fine, if you feel that bad I can help you out,” Maya sat up excitedly. Wanda pulled out her phone.

“What? I thought you were gonna help me.”

“I am. Pose a little for some quick pictures.” Wanda said. Maya let her hair down and stood with her back to the plain wall. A few snaps later, Wanda suggested they go outside. “If you get some good pictures early on, people might pay attention to you.” Wanda led Maya to a spot outside with some flowers and carefully placed them in her hair. Maya appreciated the skill Wanda offered and posed accordingly. Wanda then had her wear the Mint Feuille Coord from her entrance performance. As the shoot continued, Maya grew more confident and tried out a few outlandish poses.

“Thank you,” Maya said as they looked over their pictures. Wanda nodded in acknowledgement. “Aren’t you glad we did this?” The pictures got Maya’s account a few likes and they laughed together. From her office at the top of the school, Tamaki watched over them in amusement. The bell rang and they headed off to class.

In the empty class Tamaki briefed Ken on his first lesson. As they looked over the seating arrangement Tamaki pointed at Maya’s name, “Oh, I didn’t know that idol’s daughter was here. Didn’t she do the quiz about her mother then?”

“Ah,” Ken began to panic, “Well I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

“Leave her be. If she doesn’t belong, we’ll know soon enough.” Tamaki took a closer look, “Besides, I think there’s someone else of interest here. A possible candidate to fill the void after her departure. Once the phantom idols left the spotlight, neither was ever seen again. Her daughter’s presence her does interest me however.” Tamaki left once the students started streaming in. Ken introduced himself to the class and had Maya and Wanda sit at the back of class. He then proceeded to review the entrance exam results.

“The highest score was obtained by Cress.” Ken announced. A girl near the front stood up. She had grey, shoulder length twintails held behind her head in a giant red ribbon. Maya looked at her in awe. The golden star earrings she wore added to her elegance and it was clear she would have a lot of fans. Cress arrogantly flipped her hair and took her seat. The lesson resumed and came to an end with the bell. As the other girls headed to the café Wanda slept on her desk.

Ken walked up to her and twirled her hair. “Wanda, don’t you think you should have a snack with the other girls. It’s not good to go hungry.” Wanda saw through him and ignored him. Her eyes looked empty from his perspective. “Look, I…” he shook his head, “I know about all the applicants here. You’ve been chasing your dream longer than any of them haven’t you?” Wanda began to walk away, “You know what failure is like, but you can’t give up yet?”

“It’s a waste of time.” Wanda retorted.

“Then why are you here? To keep doing the bare minimum? I saw your test scores and know you know more than that.” He restrained himself. “Enjoy your break,”

In the Star Harmony Café, Cress’ table was full with girls fawning over her. She ate with poise and spoke with a certainty the other girls admired. Maya sat among these girls and noticed Wanda walk in. As Cress relishes the other girls’ attention, she snickers at the thought of Wanda ignoring her.  When Maya left the table to greet Wanda, this drives her up the wall as she loses the others’ gazes as well. “If there’s a single girl here who I haven’t charmed yet, then I’ll be sure to.” She said. “I’ve decided!” Cress declared. “I’m going to perform at once!” She walked over the table and out of the room taking her new fans with her. In the ensuing chaos, Wanda and Maya were pushed along with them.

In the halls, Ken blocked their path, “Where do you think you’re going?” His tone implied more frustration than he let on.

“I’ve decided! I’m going to perform. If you don’t enjoy it, then do whatever you please!” Cress replied. Ken clutched his head in frustration as the other idols followed after her. He decided to head after them tracing the nearest auditorium. Outside, Tamaki was waiting as she tapped her foot in anger.

“What’s going on here? It’s barely been a week and they’re doing whatever they want.” She begins to rant but music interrupts. Their attention is drawn instantly.

“I yearn to unveil my true self before you,” Cress’ sung the first line from Gost Coaster. Her voice brought their argument to a stop. Her aura appeared and glowing red circles appeared around her as black diamonds rained down. She was performing far above her level and relished the attention she got. As Maya watched starry eyed, Wanda felt uncomfortable and decided to leave. Cress performed her appeal, Wicked Garden. Purple flames rose above her and rained down red jewels in a black, barren garden.

“Tamaki, that’s the girl you were referring to isn’t it?” Ken asked. Tamaki smiled and nodded. All her anger had faded. As the other girls fed Cress’ ego as Maya looked around for Wanda but she was nowhere in the room. In Wanda’s dorm, she was curled up in bed. Her eyes were teary but she wouldn’t let herself cry. As Maya walked in, Wanda wiped her tears away. She faced her with a forced smile and sad, “I’m fine.”

[venus-says]

Aikatsu On Parade! Dream Story Episodes 01-02

A new dream is the start of a new journey.

It is finally time to talk about Dream Story!

If you follow me on Twitter you know I wasn't necessarily excited for Dream Story and a huge part of that was because I never had any strong feelings about Noeru while watching OGkatsu so bringing her back as the new protagonist for this web series wasn't really that appealing to me. I always knew I'd watch it because after all, this is Aikatsu and I love this franchise even with all of its flaws, but I wasn't anything I was celebrating.

And it's with a lot of joy that I come here and say that I was gladly surprised and I enjoyed the hell out of this web show.

Yeah, it has its problems like being too short, not having the best animation or art direction, some of the things are rushed, and the odd and irregular release schedule. But for what it is, it is a pretty good show, it's very wholesome, and I don't know I just had a very good time watching it. not gonna lie, kinda wish they had more of these to flash out other characters that were left behind by their seasons (but I know this is asking too much so I don't have my hopes high).

I pretty much enjoyed everything about this anime, and I'll get to that in a moment, but there's one thing that really bugged me, and yeah, it's a very minor problem, and considering what I wrote for the finale of the TV anime I know I shouldn't be complaining about this, but like, I can't deny that is very confusing with the continuity to have this happen so casually after the end of On Parade where technically the worlds were split again. Like, it is a very minor thing, and I know that as short as it is this show doesn't have the luxury to waste its time to give us lore explanation, but I feel like I had to note this otherwise I'd feel very weird. In any case, let's move on.

To begin with, I've fallen in love with Noeru, it was a very short time we spent with her as a protagonist of her own story but I really got to like her in this period. Because she had left a very small impression on me in the original anime I wasn't sure if they would have enough to build her as a strong character, but they had plenty to use for her and I really enjoyed the experience of rediscovering this character through new lenses but with information that was already there and that I just didn't pay much attention because I was focusing in other things whenever she appeared in the anime.

Two scenes in particular sold Noeru as a very good character to me. the first one is the one right before their performance where she tells Seira that Ichigowas what inspired her to be an Idol, but Seira is the idol she aspires to be, it's a short moment but the impression it gave me it was that she had more to her than just being another of Ichigo`s children XD. The second scene is when she goes talk to Amahane-san to thank her for the dress she got for her performance, the relationship between idol and brand designer is one of the aspects I miss the most of OGkatsu so seeing it here really hit the spot for me, and it was also very sweet seeing the admiration Noeru has for Angely Sugar and how Amahane-san sees her as worthy of being able to lead Angely Sugar to a different path from the ones Ichigo and Madoka did. That's a lot of good stuff for two episodes that don't go over 15 minutes each and I was very impressed.

The "main" thing for this series, the goal everyone is reaching for, is the Dream School Grand Prix which is a very interesting concept. To starters I like how this is a competition to decide which is the best idol school and not who's the best idol, I think this is what they originally wanted to do with Dream Academy in season 2 but that they dropped because the story took itself to another path, and I'm glad they're using it here. I don't know why they allowed graduated students to participate, but it's not that big of a problem to me, I mean if they wanna show how good each school is showing off their graduates is the way to do it, that's why colleges are always using people who already studied there to do their ads, I guess this is just another variation of this.

In terms of participants, I pretty much agree with everyone that was chosen by each school. Starlight obviously chose the Starlight Queens, Neo Venus Ark brought in the only other main characters that weren't Elza, and Star Harmony brought the actual Diamond Friends and one member from the past unit that holds that title, I would've rather see Mirai instead of Karen just for type diversity but it makes sense that Karen is there. The chosen ones from Four Stars were probably the ones I was most unsure about, but if this is in canon with On Parade, Ako is in Hollywood and Haruka is just a side character so only Yume and Mahiru were available from the current S4 generation and Hime is the choice that makes more sense out of the 25th generation so... good choices overall.

I just think the way they made the thing work was just a bit weird, like in the first episode they announced who their representatives would be, then they had a performance, and then at the end of the second episode they had the formal presentation to the public, and I don't know it felt weird. I think they should've made the announcement in the press release, THEN have the announcement ceremony from episode 2, and the performance should come after that as a way to showcase the participants, but I guess they had to have a performance in episode 1 so they had to do it in that way so...

And since I mentioned the performance, let's talk about it. I really love this song, I love this stage, I love everything about this, even the weird CGI. I think the only thing I don't like here is Maria's dress because I think that skirt is pretty ugly, but HNoeru and Sora's PRs more than compensate for that. I also really like the special effects, they were obviously added there to cheapen out the think and don't make it so obvious that this isn't the best CGI ever but I enjoyed them anyway, I especially like the transition when the stage goes from day to night, it was all very beautiful. But I think the more important thing of all is: WE FINALLY GOT A FULL FITTING ROD SEQUENCE!!!! Yeah, it's not as charming as the original, but honestly? WHO CARES? I'm just happy that after 25 episodes of nothing we finally got this back. Sadly no special appeal yet. :(

The final thing I have to comment on is in the rivalry between Akari and Noeru that started here. It was a very nice surprise to see this being implemented, I never saw this as a possibility before, but when you go beyond the surface level you can see that they share more similarities than what one would think and I'm really happy to see this being explored here.

And I think that's all I had to say, I'm genuinely impressed that I wrote so much about such short episodes, but I really liked what I saw and I'm just very glad we have Dream Story. What are your thoughts in the first two episodes and Drem Story as a whole? Let me know in the comments down below. Stay healthy, stay safe, never stop resisting, thank you so much for reading until this fr, and until the next time. Bye-bye~

[millepara]

waccha primagi ep 1!!!!!!!! spoilers (this is so long it took me multiple days to finish writing. what else do you expect from me though)

god I really should have waited for the official youtube upload before watching this for the first time... as it was I kept mentally editing/getting irritated by/making alternate translations for the subs and though I did enjoy it despite that it wasn’t nearly as much as I would have otherwise... but now I’m going to fix that!!

zamasu.... it’s not pretty series without gobi.

is Myamu a student or just there bc her grandfather works there? she could just be skipping the assembly to pull off her heist, but she does seem younger than the other students and is obviously not in the same uniform. anyway before I get any further

I!! LOVE!! MYAMU!!

wtf she’s sooooooo cute and a huge pain in the ass... one of my favorite types of character...... I feel like there will be a lot of Myamu hate out there bc I know how fandom can get abt characters that show characteristics that could be interpreted as neurodiversity, or children acting like children, or basically anything that could be applied to Myam. but I think she’s neat :) I will defend her to the death

when I first saw Jennifer’s design, I thought her coord was p plain compared to the other idols? I guess I still think that but I’m more ok with it. I love her lady lovely locks hair a lot. can’t wait to hear more of her song!!

I like Matsuri’s voice a lot too! here, and in the other songs.

(unrelated) I just remembered another reason I like Myamu which is that it’s easy to tell from her twitter presence/appearance in the Primagi special/ciaofes that Myamu’s VA Koike Riko loves Myamu as well. I’m a total sucker for that (also really enjoy how this messy sentence I wrote makes it seem like I’m talking abt Myamu’s twitter presence at first)

LMAO Amane’s fucking pose near the end of the op

I like the pink/brown Valentine’s combo of Matsuri’s uniform but the silhouette looks really frumpy :( in the animation at least, it’d be cute irl...

so... everyone in this world knows what primagi is, but not that it’s actually magic, as stated in the primagi tagline. still, it’s weird that Matsuri doesn’t follow what Myamu’s saying at all? I think it’s implied that once you become a primagi star, you’re in the know about magic and whatever (Myamu: “Once you try Primagi, you’ll understand!”), so it’s hard to believe that no one like... leaked it or whatever. like if irl idols were secretly using magic to perform there would at least be rumors about it

the way that magic users have to collect waccha in the human world via primagi performances using normal humans really reminds me of sugar sugar rune’s heart crystal system! (not in a bad way, nothing is new etc etc, it’s just very magical girl of them in a series that I’m not used to thinking of as a magical girl series)

that ‘snow, moon, cosmo, flower, star’ on the cover of the Jennifer magazine is clearly referring to 5 of 6 symbols on the primagi magic circle, right? it’s a relief to get names for something in the Lore this early haha. I wonder if that also corresponds to the different colors of the coord mates (like how the one Matsuri gets her card from in this ep is pink)

I’d assumed that primagi was a place like pripara or an activity like prichan, but the fact that primagi has an entry deadline means that it’s a competition? that’s more in line with the pretty rhythms. also in that it means that not everyone is able to participate in it anytime like in pripara/chan... kind of an odd step back (?) if so imo

clearly there’s some sort of romance subplot (more PR similarity!) on the horizon with this childhood friend here, but tbh I don’t mind because Matsuri looks and acts older (/more like a real teen) than everyone in prichan/para. don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking forward to it either, it just seems less forced than say the aikatsu ones. I know it’s just the first ep, but primagi feels more like a traditional shoujo story to me than the past two series. except for every time Myamu is there lmao

the first time I watched this ep I didn’t have much of a grasp of Matsuri’s character and her sudden embrace of primagi felt so melodramatic, but I’m more ok w it the second time, and it feels like that is what’s characterizing her. is it bc I’m in the shoujo mindset after watching it once already? am I just in a better mood?

huah! hweh! (tantochan noises)

the Magical Gate seems like it’s just a magical fitting room to go to change your appearance and coord, as opposed to a portal to another place. more pretty rhythm similarity! and unlike pripara it seems not to age them up at all based on what I’ve seen in the anime so far... they just think 13-15 year olds look like that huh :I also how do they hide the secret of primagi being actually magic when their hair color and stuff changes...

they’re presenting this Omega corp meeting like it’s something shady but they don’t actually say anything suspicious... also Jennifer's Oh No makes no sense here. love it when they insert pidgin English for foreign characters in a way that makes it obvious no one near the writer’s room speaks a word of English

I was actually really surprised by the declaration that Myamu is rumored to be a powerful magic user. I thought she was going to be like a screw-up who has to work extra hard as is the usual protag trope, so I found that pretty interesting!

Matsuri’s friends who were all excited abt getting her to enter are, now that she has entered, all like wow I hope she’s ok :/ .... make up your minds lmao

at no point is it explained why everyone is in Lovely Melody tshirts

big kinpri vibes from this magic guy. no one in particular that he reminds me of, just the weird pervert expression and ominous aura. also def the wolf in human form, right? but it seems like he’s courting Childhood Friend as his chuppi partner, right? but the way he was talking to Myam earlier implied he already had a partner, right???

is this fairy tone thing with cat ears what Myamu turned into, or is she inside of it??

I really like Matsuri’s song! it feels quite modern for priseries, but not in the kpop way that aikatsu did for a while in friends. I think the dance is pretty stupid and basic, but... that actually does make sense for a girl who’s just starting out as an idol, so I also begrudgingly respect what might be an attempt at realism... but I’ve literally never cared about realism in kids idol shows before, and would actually prefer LESS realism, so I’d rather see a dance that I like better imo haha (also update as of my billionth or so repeat of Ma(g/j)i Waccha Parade: I still don’t like the dance, but it has grown on me some for sure)

it would be really cute if all of the solo songs had the idols’ magic user partners being their hype man in the bg like Myamu is here.

pretty series always has the best cg and it’s true here too except for the way her hands move. or don’t move, rather

this primagi illusion is so cute!! so many rainbows!!! I’m a fan 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

I’m still unclear where this coord mate thing is Myamu or not. like I was 100% entirely sure it wasn’t and then Myamu spoke... from inside it?? more Lore to learn about later I guess

so... everyone’s coord book holds every coord ever inside it?? seems OP. wish the irl one did that

...except for Matsuri’s?? it seems to only have the one card she just got in it. maybe it’s every coord after you get the book?

and that’s the ep! wow, it really was better the second time.

it’s just the first ep so I don’t wanna get into thoughts abt the magical girl-ness of it or anything deep or w/e but I will say... I like it! I’m really excited for the next one!! and I didn’t feel this way about prichan ever except for a little while in the second season. I know this is 90% bc I still dislike the premise of prichan and the premise of primagi is what would happen if the creators were like ‘how can we create a pretty series show SPECIFICALLY for Biscuit only’.... but that’s fine with me!! more shows like that, please, haha

for now I’m excited to see Matsuri interact w other non-main characters, which is good bc it seems the next ep’s about meeting Hina. I wonder if her getting introduced first means she’ll be Matsuri’s bff? (aside from Myam, I guess) she’s not at all the typical best friend archetype, so that would be pretty neat....

[tsunflowers]

no one asked or cares but I did finally match songs to all my idol ocs so I will be sharing those with you

basically they are inspired by underrated (? maybe not) idol anime akb0048, I never gave them a unit name and just refer to them as “space idols.” officially they travel between planets and space stations performing concerts but secretly they also smuggle items and information into areas that have harsh governments. all their names are stage names/codenames so I haven’t thought about surnames for them. also I didn’t draw these I made them in a dollmaker

ako - accha koccha game (idol time pripara)

ako’s a dancer who puts on really energetic performances with a lot of audience interaction. I think her voice is probably a little less cute than nino’s but the energy of this performances matches the energy I imagine for ako. ako’s one of the original members of the group and was chosen for her heartwarming backstory of growing up on an impoverished planet rather than a specific skill that would aid in their secret espionage mission. she’s very engaged with fans and usually wears a handmade item from a fan in every performance. she’s part of the main trio with hime and yuki

izumi - identity (aikatsu friends)

izumi was really hard for me to place bc she has more of an adult image than most anime idols but is also quirky and silly. so I went with the quirky image for her and matched her to mirai’s song about how it’s good to be weird. I hate the outfit in this performance and it doesn’t suit izumi anyway but the vocals and dance are good. izumi joined the group in the second wave once the main trio had gotten some popularity and while she’s a great singer and looks good in everything she is also an engineer who specializes in a) robots and b) breaking into places. she’s a trans woman with cool big sis energy and is dating hikari. the two of them are in robo trio along with ayame

hikari - cutie breakin’ (prichan)

cutie breakin’ was the first boyish idol song that came to mind and it suits hikari bc their specialty is dance. I can’t see them wearing a joutfit like suzu does though. they joined in the second wave as a hacker and intended to stay offstage as much as possible but they came to really enjoy dance to their surprise. the idol image isn’t really for them so they tend to look annoyed when dolled up for concerts and photoshoots but some fans think that adds to their charm. they’re nb and dating izumi, and they’re in robo trio with her and ayame

ayame - dream colored energy (prichan)

I picked this song for ayame mostly based on the lyrics about being a guiding presence and helping others but I think rinka’s soft voice suits her. ayame is the one who gives robo trio their name bc she herself is a robot. btw robo trio is not an official or even a fan nickname, it’s a nickname used by me and the idols themselves bc ayame being a robot is a secret. there are not a lot of lifelike humanoid robots in the setting and since ayame was liberated from someone who bought a robot that looks identical to a human woman for nefarious reasons they just pass her off as a human. it’s working pretty well bc no one expects you to steal a state of the art robot and put her in a popular girl group, especially without advertising her as being a robot. she’s really sweet and caring with mom energy but she can be super weird about it bc she’s fascinated by human bodies

yuki - do you remember love? (macross)

I was like “i cant just say my character is voiced by iijima mari” but for yuki I definitely imagine her having the voice of a retro idol and one whose voice is soft but resonant. lynn minmay was the first character I could think of fitting that description. yuki’s the vocals of the original trio and has a surprisingly arresting stage presence on her own but prefers to fade into the background a bit when performing in a group. she, ako, and hime actually grew up in an orphanage on the same planet and were already friends before joining the group. she’s pretty quiet unless you get her going on one of her favorite subjects, namely her hobby of building and collecting figures. everyone else is always arguing about whether or not they can let her talk about it openly to fans bc they don’t want nerdboy fans to latch onto her in gross ways but also they are sick of hiding her gunpla every time they do “backstage” videos

aoi - I am the best (2NE1)

aoi is kind of the main character to me. she was the last to join and they tried to market her as a naive new girl briefly before realizing that she is loud and knows too much so they just let her be annoying and sexy. since she has a sexy image I had to go for something outside idol anime but I don’t know any idol music so I had to go for this one which is iconic to me. idk if aoi would wear any of the outfits in this mv but she would certainly rap about being the best. her previous dance experience was actually all ballet so she loves to pull out ballet moves with no warning. her defining character trait is that she has fun. although she also has a darkness to her past bc when her mom fucking died she revealed that she had been one of the secret donors behind this idol espionage project and she wanted her daughter to help with the project any way she could so of course aoi was like “I will dance in stiletto heels and high waisted shorts. to honor my mother’s memory.” shes in chill/newbie trio with tsuki and rie

tsuki - dreaming bird (aikatsu stars)

I also thought about a yurika song for tsuki but yurika has a rock edge that tsuki lacks. tsuki is a singer above all else and has a powerful voice. she can dance but she prefers to simply stand onstage and sing. her family was really rich with millions of credits or whatever but they lost their entire business in a spaceship fire during which tsuki was trapped under burning wreckage and ended up damaging her legs and lungs. now she’s a cool cyborg with artificial lungs that let her sing without breathing but she has no money and no family. so she was like “I’ll make it big using my one talent!” and ended up getting noticed by the space idol project

hime - open your heart (aikatsu friends)

hime may not be the protagonist in my eyes but she has the energy of an idol anime protagonist and is the glue holding this group together. so I had to pick a protagonist solo for her. she probably has that kind of cute singing voice too. I liked the lyrics to this one so I picked it. hime is kind and loving in a way that’s kind of unreal. she’s always positive bc she’s like “I got out of the rough situation I grew up in, I made eight great friends, I have literally millions of fans, how can I not be grateful?” her quirk is to always wear a crown. she was picked to be the center of the group at the very start and that hasn’t changed. she is the center of the nine person group as well as the main trio

rie - hip (mamamoo)

rie’s another one who’s too cool and sexy to get an idol anime song so I gave her a kpop song I know and like. it’s really catchy and danceable and I think rie would wear pretty much any of the outfits in the mv. rie is actually mostly paralyzed and primarily interacts with the world through an experimental robot izumi built that’s basically a mobile hologram projector. either she can control the exact movements of the robot while making pre-programmed gestures with the hologram or have the robot stand still or follow a programmed path while controlling the hologram as she would a real body but she’s become really adept at using it. she’s really stylish and loves designing clothes for everyone but she has to be extra careful about her own so the accessories don’t clip through her body while onstage

[feitanswife]

ANIME BINGE RECCOMENDATIONS SINCE WE HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS OR SO

(Tldr’s in bold)

IF YOU LIKE GIRLY STUFF:

Precure- megaseries of ~50 episode independent magical girl anime seasons. Go Princess, A La Mode, and Huggto are the best ones imo but there’s DOZENS. The formula is always the same but hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! And trust me, they do not need to deviate from the formula in order to continually surprise and impress us! (Huggto fans you know EXACTLY who I’m talking about!!!! We Stan, forever)

PriPara- the supposed premise (it’s never that simple 👀 you will be surprised) is that every girl will one day obtain a ticket to enter a magical pocket dimension known as PriPara, where every girl can become a famous singer. Your appearance changes the moment you walk in, literally leaving behind who you are on the outside. And when everyone you’ve ever known is balancing a double life? Things can get pretty crazy! Plus the music is AWESOME, consistent bops the entire time! (The ending kinda bugged me juuuust a lil bit but it’s more that a character I was really hopeful about kinda went the opposite direction I was hoping, but really, were they gonna give me TWO perfect characters? Probably not. Still, incredibly progressive for the genre and medium, happy surprises around every corner, beautiful to watch and listen to, I was impressed all around!)

Aikatsu- welcome to the motivation station cause nothing will ever motivate you to work your butt off like watching a group of plucky young hopefuls tackle a hyper competitive idol school where the worlds best singers, actors, and models hail from. There’s at least 3 looooong seasons (like 100 episodes) set up in the Precure style of each series being a completely independent story, so you can watch them in any order you want! I finished the first series and now I’m 14 episodes into Stars and I adore this series so much! Again, the bops are consistent, you’ll get these songs stuck in your head till we’re free to walk the earth again! It’s nothing off the walls crazy but the characters are heartwarming and you’ll leave the series motivated and content

IF YOU WANT ACTION

Hunter X Hunter, it’s long, it starts slow, and you’ll never fully understand what’s going on but holy hell will it captivate your mind forever. Truly this is a work of fiction where no one is entirely good, no one is entirely evil, and everyone has a secret or five, or ten, or fifty. And weird superpowers, they have those too.

Nanbaka- one of my all time favorites! Marketed as a comedy, the genre seems to change over time as the rose colored walls of this world peel away to reveal the truth of the matter. This is the end of the line, a prison so tremendous that only those who’ve been there even know it exists, the place where they send those who cannot be kept anywhere else, and who that actually is... might surprise you! This is a micro world for those who cannot exist anywhere else, and what ties them all to this place is a mystery that began before they were ever born, and chased them across the globe to meet back where they started. Now are they trapped in here with that secret? Or is it trapped in here with them? WARNING: the actual anime is only a tiny fraction of the content, but the webcomic is in full color and a lot is translated! And so worth checking out cause the original art style is lovely!

Servamp- it’s a 14 year old girl’s fever dream up in here! Shapeshifting hotboy deadly-sin themed vampires created by a mad scientist must deal with the consequences of actions from long ago, forming bonds with humans to increase their power as they are hunted down by one of their own. WARNING: a little hard to follow at first watch because is very much is Off The Walls Batshit™️, give it a second go to really understand it, then check out the manga for more! Also there’s a part that might make you cry, be prepared. ALSO: fun game, drink every time someone gets kicked or stepped on. Yup.

IF YOU WANT... OTHER SHIT:

If you haven’t watched Bungou Stray Dogs by this point what are you even DOING with your life? Three seasons of literature inspired intrigue and shenanigans with one of the most unique superpower conventions I’ve ever seen! You’ll actually want to read books by the time you’ve finished!

The Devil is a Part Timer is a ridiculous mix of slice of life, fantasy, and drama in which Satan himself has to deal with a stalker, poverty, and his younger coworker having a crush on him! It’s the best six hours you’ll waste this week and unfortunately there’s -3 fandom presence around so yeah that’s it.

[allenhavens92]

Patience is a Virtuous Bitch (aka, Waiting for Netflix Anime)

I am proud to admit that I’ve been doing well when it comes to viewing anime in the most legal way possible. For now, all I have are subscriptions to Crunchyroll and Funimation, so there are cases where shows from somewhere like HIDIVE, I have to go elsewhere. By that, I mean torrents, because never will I step foot in those shady streaming sites (you know the ones). And yes, torrents are still a no-no, but it’s the only better option in certain circumstances. However, in these recent seasons, Crunchyroll has brought in HIDIVE simulcasts, so that’s a plus. For the Spring 2019 season, the only thing I have to torrent is Aikatsu Friends, which (unfortunately) isn’t licenced in my region, where I’m given no other choice.

But Netflix remains the biggest offender in this whole deal. Sure, it’s fantastic they’re providing original anime (meaning, “exclusive”), allowing animators and people of other staff positions more opportunities in the industry (though, that’s a whole nother can of beans I won’t be discussing). Yet, the company seems to forget there’s other markets than Japan. Normally, a series will air on Japanese television, with each new episode being put on Netflix soon after, but only on Japan’s servers. Releases to servers in other countries will happen either once the series has finished airing, or some months following it’s initial completion.

Granted, not every show does this practice. There are a good number of titles that will have a global release, providing several dubs that match your preference. We’ve gotten some good ones like Devilman Crybaby and Aggretsuko, but that’s besides the point. For a viewing purist as myself, it bothers me when I have to hold back on any show. However, I will say it’s not every Netflix anime that interests me. The ones that do are a small percentage, and they turn out to be the true heavy hitters. Whether I’ll watch them until the end or not, I’d like to try out what is given to me, but not have to wait a while only to inevitably drop it.

Last year had Violet Evergarden, a highly anticipated series I had waited a good year for. Yet, Netflix pulled a fast one and declared, despite providing a simultaneous week-to-week English dub, to keep it for the Canadian servers, then just dump it all elsewhere once it was done airing. Deciding on if I should just torrent the dubbed episodes as they came out was hard on my moral values. I ultimately chose to do so, all for the sake of keeping myself in the know.

Which brings me to this current season, Spring 2019. The big one Netflix has now is Carole & Tuesday, the newest original work from Cowboy Bebop mastermind, Shinichiro Watanabe. From its initial announcement to all the information we got prior to its premiere, I was super excited for it. All except for the fact it was going onto Netflix. While I have watched fansubs of Netflix titles because of impatience or curiosity (Dragon Pilot and Kakegurui S1, respectively), this will be my first attempt to fight the urge. As much as I want to indulge in Watanabe’s new series, I will challenge myself and avoid it, including seeing any clips, GIFs or images online (go figure I catch glimpses on this site). Might sound stupid to some, but I’m trying to make a statement here, and if you can’t comprehend what that is, why are you still reading this?

Who knows? Perhaps the delays could be due to the scheduling of all the various dubbing companies. It’s more than obvious they’re not doing the same thing Funimation is doing with their SimulDubs. Whatever the case, I don’t wish to point fingers or put the blame on anyone. What I simply hope is for Netflix to step up a little. They’re underestimating the worth of the anime communities across the globe.