#dr shojo

[hotwaterandmilk]

Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite! — Kanzaki Meirin ver. Seifuku & Mikofuku Tomy cold cast figures (02/2002)

[classic-shoujo]

Ask Dr. Rin/Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite! (2000) by Kiyoko Arai

[incorrectdrcolette]

one of the funniest things that happened to me regarding this manga was that one time I typed the name "Colette Decides to Die" and one of my friends read the message so fast that he thought that I decided to "unlive myself" and got super concerned

since that day, I started to say "Colette's manga" to not make people accidentally worry about me lol

[bluemoth698]

Double post today, here's my take on Underswap Mettaton, the form on the left, Mettaton EX, is swapped with Mad Mew Mew, and the form on the right, Mettaton PRIME, is swapped with Mad Dummy

Mettaton PRIME was created by Dr. Undyne to assist Alphys in the royal guard, so Mettaton is Alphys's sidekick in the royal guard, and the brawn to her brains. Mettaton likes to be overdramatic when confronting enemies, making a big performance out of the fight.

As for Mettaton EX, with the design I was definitely going for kind of a shojo anime love interest vibe, as i thought that'd fit very well for the mew mew swap. I haven't quite decided what the body is, perhaps it's a fashion mannequin rather than a doll? I'm not too sure on that yet.

I don't have as many pictures as i normally do with these, i haven't drawn him as much as the other characters

As always, special thanks to ChrisTheRaccTamer for his tweaks to the sprites, and as always, feel free to ask me any questions you have about the AU!

[ultimate-anime-tournament]

THE ULTIMATE ANIME TOURNAMENT BEGINS! featuring 384 shows spanning 60 years!

all matchups are listed below the cut, and the first polls will be going up shortly 👍

edit: made a google spreadsheet documenting all matchups and their wins/losses!

left side:

Majokko Megu-chan VS Soul Eater VS Turn A Gundam

Noragami VS Ranma 1/2 VS Shadows House

Captain Tsubasa VS Barakamon VS Ojamajo Doremi

Dr Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist VS Joshiraku VS Concrete Revolutio

Maya the Honey Bee VS Bocchi the Rock! VS Senyuu.

Angel Beats VS Golden Kamuy VS Initial D

Lucky Star VS Mononoke VS Assassination Classroom

Go! Princess Pretty Cure VS Shirobako VS Space Pirate Captain Harlock

Golden Time VS Death Note VS Ao Haru Ride

Food Wars VS One Piece VS Space Battleship Yamato

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K VS Blood Blockade Battlefront VS Poco's Udon World

Space Patrol Luluco VS Yu-Gi-Oh! VS Your Lie in April

Slam Dunk VS One Punch Man VS Candy Candy

Doraemon VS Akame ga Kill VS Black Clover

Space Dandy VS Sazae-san VS Bloom into You

Show by Rock!! VS Pokémon VS Restaurant to Another World

Uchouten Kazoku VS Tetsujin 28 VS Miracle Girl Limit-chan

Sally the Witch VS March Comes in Like a Lion VS Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan

Day Break Illusion VS Heidi, Girl of the Alps VS Zombie Land Saga

Yuri is My Job! VS Kimagure Orange Road VS The Seven Deadly Sins

Akudama Drive VS Future Boy Conan VS Land of the Lustrous

BanG Dream! VS Rin-ne VS Serial Experiments Lain

Snow White with the Red Hair VS Juni Taisen: Zodiac War VS The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Ranking of Kings VS Osomatsu-san VS Odd Taxi

Flying Witch VS Bodacious Space Pirates VS Shugo Chara

Yuki Yuna is a Hero VS Super Dimension Fortress Macros VS Spy x Family

Magic Kaito 1412 VS Kaguya-sama: Love is War VS Kingdom

Aikatsu VS Cells at Work VS New Game!

Blue Exorcist VS Sound! Euphonium VS Ashita no Joe

Re:Zero VS My Hero Academia VS Pani Poni Dash

Ouran High School Host Club VS Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai VS Children of the Whales

86 vs Erased vs Demon Slayer

Mashle vs Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt vs Bakemonogatari

Skip and Loafer vs Shiki vs My-Hime

Laughing under the Clouds VS Naruto VS Sakura Wars

The Vampire Dies in No Time VS Dragon Ball GT VS Fist of the North Star

Shadowverse VS Blue Lock VS Tamako Market

Legend of the Galactic Heroes VS Lycoris Recoil VS Tanaka-kun is Always Listless

Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple VS Sonic X VS Samurai Champloo

Cutie Honey VS Tokyo Revengers VS Parasyte

Kaiji VS Deca-Dence VS Clannad

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss VS Digimon Adventure VS Charlotte

Kageki Shojo!! VS Majuu Senshi Luna Varga VS Stars Align

Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions VS Gintama VS Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits

Bubblegum Crisis VS Air VS Made in Abyss

Touch VS Fire Force VS Love Live! Sunshine!!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer VS Sket Dance VS Himitsu no Akko-chan

Zatch Bell VS Little Witch Academia VS Gal & Dino

Parappa the Rapper VS Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout (Fabiniku) VS Talentless Nana

Nyanbo! VS Bomberman Jetters VS Do It Yourself!

Kochikame: Tokyo Beat Cops VS Nobody's Boy Remi VS Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Chika Ichiban VS Squid Girl VS Anne of Green Gables

Ikkyuu-san VS The Case Study of Vanitas VS Free!

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story VS Chihayafuru VS So I'm a Spider, So What?

Aggretsuko VS Hakumei and Mikochi VS Mou Ippon

What's Michael VS Kimono Jihen VS Kiratto Prichan

Mushishi VS Uma Musume VS Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Sabikui Bisco VS Dorohedoro VS The World Ends With You: The Animation

Un-Go VS The Case Files of Jeweler Richard VS Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure

Sonny Boy VS Tiger & Bunny VS Black Butler

A Place Further than the Universe VS Lupin III (all Parts) VS Tsuritama

Tari Tari VS Maoyu VS Buddy Daddies

Horimiya VS Akiba Maid War VS Cap Revolution Bottleman

Helck VS Play it Cool, Guys VS Revolutionary Girl Utena

right side:

Gegege no Kitarou VS Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood VS Urahara

D.Gray-Man VS Bakuman VS Devilman

Violet Evergarden VS Death Parade VS Speed Racer

Skull Face Bookseller Honda-san VS Mazinger Z VS Planetes

Aim for the Ace! VS Futari wa Pretty Cure VS Saiunkoku Monogatari

Comic Girls VS Galaxy Express 999 VS Dr. Slump

Wedding Peach VS Ronja, the Robber's Daughter VS Haikyuu!

Saint Seiya VS Mahoutsukai Chappy VS Yuri on Ice

Hikaru no Go VS Yona of the Dawn VS Mega Man NT Warrior

Black Lagoon VS Nichijou VS Space Cobra

Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles VS Stop! Hibari-kun VS She and Her Cat: Everything Flows

Space Brothers VS Gakuen Alice VS Dragon Ball Z

AKB0048 VS Kino's Journey -The Beautiful World- VS Musashi no Ken

Flip Flappers VS Hamtaro VS Daily Lives of High School Boys

Another VS Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju VS Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Gurren Lagann VS Hana no Ko Lunlun VS City Hunter

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water VS Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun VS To Your Eternity

Kiteretsu Daihyakka VS Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun VS Noir

Bungo Stray Dogs VS Soreike! Anpanman VS Moomin

Hajime no Ippo VS Paranoia Agent VS Mobile Suit Gundam

Maison Ikkoku VS Yuru Camp VS Sherlock Hound

Great Pretender VS Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress VS World Trigger

Little Princess Sara VS Ghost Sweeper Mikami VS Keep Your Hands off Eizouken!

My Next Life as a Villainess VS Kirby: Right Back at Ya! VS Air Gear

Saint Tail VS Haibane Renmei VS Astro Boy

Crayon Shin-chan VS Tokyo Ghoul VS Hell Girl

Heaven's Design Team VS Neon Genesis Evangelion VS Kiznaiver

Servamp VS Akane-chan VS Yo-kai Watch

The Vision of Escaflowne VS Tsurune VS Sk8 the Infinity

The Promised Neverland VS Hime-chan no Ribbon VS Fruits Basket

Urusei Yatsura VS Dr. Stone VS Shaman King

Star of the Giants VS Cardcaptor Sakura VS Angelic Layer

Berserk VS Kodocha VS Ping Pong The Animation

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's VS Boys over Flowers VS Otherside Picnic

Monster VS Sgt. Frog VS K-On!

Aria VS The Rose of Versailles VS Beyblade

Natsume's Book of Friends VS Planet With VS Detective Conan / Case Closed

Nodame Kantaabire VS Kyou Kara Maoh VS Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

Duel Masters VS Shounen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru VS Hunter x Hunter

Mahou Shoujo Lalabel VS Carole & Tuesday VS Powerpuff Girls Z

Big Windup! VS Heartcatch Pretty Cure! VS Fighting Foodons

Gosick VS Ace Attorney VS Inazuma Eleven

Given VS The Prince of Tennis VS Cowboy Bebop

Code Geass VS Teppen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VS FLCL

Wolf's Rain VS Reborn! VS Princess Tutu

Magic Knight Rayearth VS Romeo x Juliet VS Oshi no Ko

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo VS Bakugan VS Jujutsu Kaisen

Yu Yu Hakusho VS Love Live! School Idol Project VS Trigun

Kimba the White Lion VS Waccha Primagi VS Toradora

Ultra Maniac VS Mahou Sensei Negima VS Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight

Visual Prison VS Steins;gate VS Inuyasha

Vinland Saga VS Assault Lily Bouquet VS Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Pop Team Epic VS Gingitsune VS Tokyo Mew Mew

Blue Period VS Higurashi When They Cry VS Fairy Tail

Chargeman Ken VS Shin Sekai Yori VS Chainsaw Man

Beyond the Boundary VS Silver Spoon VS Hyouka

Stitch! VS Mobile Suit Gundam SEED VS Symphogear

Kuroko's Basketball VS Pokemon Horizons VS Gatchaman Crowds

Ghost Stories VS Non Non Biyori VS Samurai Flamenco

Fushigi Yuugi VS Psycho-Pass VS Azumanga Daioh

Bleach VS Dragon Ball Super VS Ace of Diamond

My Neighbor Seki VS Mob Psycho 100 VS No. 6

Full Metal Panic VS Princess Principal VS Ya Boy Kongming!

Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei VS Puella Magi Madoka Magica VS Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song

[skyflyinginaction]

Clamp Art Style Analysis: Part 2: Series styles and Compare and Contrast

Series Styles

Over the years the Clamp art style changes constantly depending on the series, and the art direction always changes depending on the work and magazine. Clamp’s art style always changes to suit the genre of the magazine the work is running in.  When I researched I noticed when I look at their earlier works and recently it's in that their art style changed over the years  I saw that the art of these series improved due to different works' sterilization and the hiatus this is seen in a few series that I am going to talk about.  I am not going to go over all of their works just choose these series and discuss them in this segment, I am going to be heavily biased and choose this series to talk about the art style, lines, and materials used while drawing the series 

X1999

I don’t know the art style with x as I did with the other series since there wasn’t much to talk about in the interviews.

Mostly I think this is the beginning of Clamp’s early years when the art style looked this way. The art style Clamps early years as artists. The one in charge of X's art direction is Nekoi, Nekoi is in charge of the art direction of x with Igarashi assisting, The art in X changed with the art shifted to Nekoi’s delicate style.  

The art of X changed expeditiously compared to how the art looked in the first chapter,

The art at the beginning of X had thick ink lines and more dramatic shading in the early volumes and is more or less gone. X is drawn in a more ornate style characteristic of shoujo manga, noting that x is a series intended for a female audience.  X takes on a shojo style bolder and more intense art for drawing X there is a heavy use of screen tone. While drawing X, they used straight lines they drew with Thick lines in the beginning, X had a lot of colored backgrounds in the illustrations, and manga X is one of the series in that they had trouble applying screentone. 

If you compare x it has changed a lot due to Clamp working on other series though mostly it's because it ran the longest in the magazine. X was sterilized during Wish, Card Captor Sakura, Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth,Suki, Legal Drug, Legend of Chun Hyang and Angelic Layer. 

When it came to creating for x it was the original character profile, Clamp drew all the aspects they wanted to include in the final character in a bulletin-type chart they drew it like a New Year's greeting card.

Unlike with other sterilization, they didn’t decide on the materials they would be using so X doesn’t have any specific material for drawings. Nekoi and Mokona did a lot of experimenting with materials in x. Clamp used many different materials and a variety of techniques when drawing X the colors in x they painted with a lot of new materials and a lot of contrasting colors. There was a lot of experimenting with materials with x. You can see it in the illustrations. 

The materials that are used for x are color screentone. Colortone is a type of colored screentone called overlay, their usual color ink, gash, and pastel products X has many different kinds of illustration paper used for coloring from wrapping paper and cardboard to tea wrappers.  

I am going to go over the materials they used in their color illustrations from 1992-1996 and 1997-2004

1992-1997

Paper: Kent Block, BB Kent, BB Kent rough surface, Kent paper, sand textured paper, Shinden shi paper, Feather Waltz, Arches,  parchment paper, manuscript paper, Watson paper, wood free paper  

Lines: Holbein Color Ink (Special black), Photocopied pencil lines, Pigma Graphic pen, Pigma Graphic ink pen, color pencil, pencil, Holbein Color Ink (sepia), poster color, color pencil, Winsor and Newton Drawing Ink (nut brown), Dr. Ph. Martins Sepia Ink

Color: Dr. Ph. Martain’s Color Ink, Acrylic, airbrush, modeling paste, gouache, color tone, poster color, Liquitex, Acrylic gouache, color tone, white out, Copic markers, Lumocolor Ink pen, Lumocolor

1998-2003

Paper: Watson paper,  BB Kent, copy paper, Sheet of paper with a light brown color, hotel stationery paper, 

Lines: Pigma Graphic ink pen, India ink, Ballpoint pen, Sepia black ink, 

Color: Lumocolor ink pen, modeling paste  Lumocolor, sepia, copic marker, airbrush, poster, Acrylic gouache, airbrush, color ink,  Liquitex,  Dr. Ph. Martains Color Ink,  Gold brown Ink, Poster color, color ink,

If you looked at the materials and techniques in the comments used for drawing the illustrations of x they 

put a lot of work in the color illustrations for x. The materials used in the illustration change the impression.

For the illustrations, There were a few comments about it, A 2002 comment that Fuuma's head looks a little big; this is a drawing habit they had while working on Chobits at the time.

When it came to illustrations sepia ink was used for outlines of characters with pale color profiles since the lines stand out too much in black in illustrations sepia ink was used for characters with pale color profiles. Hinoto, Kakyou, and Kotori have Saphia outlines. Yuto is the only exception. He has a light color profile but looks good with crisp outlines so he is drawn with black ink.  When Clamp drew Kotori they always made sure to draw her with a very faint and soft touch when it came to drawing her in illustrations they used Sephia instead of black for her lines.

X is a shoujo manga that ran in Asuka for some time. It has a lot of action scenes that attracted male readers, Asuka gave the team the freedom to create what they saw fit.  

There is a difference in colors between the first and subsequent printings as seen in the volumes of X. The volumes up to 4 were a lot tidier but on volume 5. Clamp started to get busier and messier. 

Everything in X is written by script, even the details of the collapsing and the destruction of the buildings look like the destruction of the buildings is written from the script from Ohkawa. The backgrounds and destruction of the city were mentioned by Ohkawa. While Clamp is drawing the destruction of the buildings they have reference photos taken beforehand which Igarashi finds tiring and painful. 

In Kamui’s character design, Kamui has Tsuri-me-type eyes like Ashura from RG Veda Clamp considered Kamui's hairstyle and uniform average. 

The character that Clamp had a hard time drawing appearance-wise is Kotori,  Kotori was the character that Clamp found trouble with drawing. When Ohkawa looked at the manuscript copy of chapter one Ohkawa was a little shocked at the drawing of Kotori even considered her like udon. Mokona did her in pencil in the rough draft, Kotori looked soft and sort of limp when she added a pen she looked thicker by thinning down the lines her body became less solid making her float around she became lighter and more impermanent so they used the tip of the pens instead when inking her.

Another one of the difficulties that came with drawing X was drawing all the characters from the dragons of heaven and the dragons of the earth in one picture in the same illustration. They are parts of the character that give you trouble that you confuse with others but individually they are easy. 

Clover 

Clover has a different sense of atmosphere and techniques. The art in Clover has a feeling of decadence or nostalgia, the wing design looks like older Mecha Ohkawa was influenced by the movie “1984” she made Mokona watch it to recapture its mood. The buildings in Clover reference old movies made to resemble German and European countries. They also used European photographs as references, like photos of German factories.  

Ohkawa made modifications to Clovers' art style since it ran in a magazine for young girls the intended audience for Clovers was older so the art style is made to look prettier since it's for girls.  

Mokona is in charge of the art in Clover even the story paneling was planned out by her Both Mokona and Ohkawa planned the panels in the manga Clover. The distinctive layouts and layouts of the panels are created with music videos and movies in mind. The panels in Clover look like frames from a movie. Ohkawa had a hand in it with half having to plan the width of each panel. It wasn't easy and took more time. Clamp found the layout the most challenging and most fun they had in the series, for Clover has dialogue or scenes with big spaces between sentences. Clamp used thinner frames to look pretty.  

The art material they used is gayoushi paper which is used to emphasize the bounciness of Sue's hair. Gayoushi paper is a type of cartridge paper in Japanese. They used drawing paper for clover the drawing paper here is contrasted with other, more common media. Clamp used different paper for clover which is cartridge paper or gayoshi paper for drawing the manga but the screentone kept slipping off and was annoying to Clamp. They used the copy machine to give Clover a picture book blurred look they had a hard time getting it right and tried many times.

Card Captor Sakura

For the art style of Card Captor Sakura, Clamp wanted to create something really cute.  

It focuses on the cute factor so the lines and use of ink are to give it a soft and cute feel Card Captor Sakura uses thin, curved lines the manga Mokona the one who makes the lines thin in Sakura and doesn’t use a lot of ink making the pages light and to make it look soft feel. It is a shoujo manga with a magical girl genre so it would make sense that the series would look soft. Card Captor Sakura uses color ink for the illustrations the color ink is used to create a clear image. For materials Card Captor Sakura and clear card Arc used copic markers and modeling paste in the illustrations. 

For designing the Clow cards, the design of borders of the cards was created first. Mokona filled in the illustrations, and the rest determined the card name and functions in the story. Clamp didn’t have problems with designing characters but the expressions changed from the plan. 

Chobits 

The materials of Chobits are based on Ohkawas decisions for materials. Clamp uses ball pens for drawing. They used ball pens since they wanted something drawn by pencil. The illustrations for Chobits have Clamp use acrylic gouache and more gouache.  

In Chobit's art style the character has shorter arms and legs and the shoulders aren't wide. the character designs for chobits for Chi, Chi’s design is the most detailed one.

Legal Drug

Legal Drug came after Suki, Clamp was into underground crime dramas so the manga has serious and dark tones. The series went on a hiatus so the art style changed compared to when it was first run making the art style similar to XXXHolic. 

Clamp used digital computer equipment for Legal Drug, Legal Drug is the first series that Clamp drew colored digital for the first time. Clamp drew all the CG color illustrations for Legal Drug. They wanted to use CG as a tool so they learned how to use CG from Katsuya, Okazaki Takeshi, and Takashi Yamazaki. Clamp struggled using the computer for the first time they ran into problems like the power ran out of the computer before saving. 

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle

The drawing methods changed with Tsubasa and XXXHolic, two series that worked in tandem; this goes with the drawing style of both series since the art style has been changing. Both scripts of XXXHolic and Tsubasa have a lot of difficulty, Tsubasa was supposed to be for a younger audience which caused it to increase complexity but it gave the team complete creative freedom. Clamp didn’t want to make the pacing too complicated due to being about a young man's journey. 

Tsubasa had thicker lines and simple page layouts, Clamp used a marker with thick lines that could be drawn while printing on rough paper since the frames did not work well the fine lines looked blurred Clamp had a problem making the lines too thin, and didn’t have the impact they needed to stand out the lines need to be bold and popped out since it's a weekly manga series said readers tend to forget. The thick lines in Tsubasa are to make the art be seen in the magazine printings since thin lines are too delicate and will make scenes hard to see in the printing of the magazine

Since Tsubasa is running a weekly magazine the thickness of the lines affects the visibility of the magazine printing.

Tsubasa started the trend of drawing thin vertical borders and thick horizontal ones, the difference between the panel borders Clamp separating the panel in the layouts to link it to XXXHolic.  

The art style of Tsubasa was based on a suggestion from the editor The editor asked the group to make the drawing style attractive to readers of Shonen magazine Tsubasa is a shone manga drawn to fit that genre Clamp already had design decided and materials prepared.  

For materials they are seen using when drawing, Tsubasa is a monograph mechanical pencil used for pencil drafting in their manga. The Clamp uses a marker with which thick lines can be drawn to make it pop out on rough paper in printing the ink markers they use to fill in the large spaces. Clamps have Copic markers for colored illustration in Tsubasa. 

Ohkawa directs the art style of Tsubasa, she tells the members to draw the male characters with vigor and take more care of the female characters. Mokona is the artist who crafts the characters and storyboards she draws most of the characters in Tsubasa, female characters have soft fluffy hair and look like they are drawn with soft touches, and male characters are drawn with a rougher touch. Ashura wasn’t easy to draw since they have a feminine beauty and it wasn’t easy to draw those with loose eyelashes. They decided not to draw lower lashes which made the faces stiff, evident with Emeraude they changed her hair and put curls in her hair to make her more graceful. They used their normal style to get the readers to pick up the story. When accustomed to the new style they thought of slowly returning to their art style during the country of Oto.

The script of Tsubasa takes 5 hours, the storyboard 10, and the drawing for the manuscript takes two days for 20 pages. If not going well, it could take three days.  

XXXHolic 

The drawing methods changed with Tsubasa and XXXHolic Two series worked in tandem compared to the two series XXXHolic was the series that Clamp found was easy to draw. 

The characters of XXXHolic are drawn to be very tall and have long limbs; they are thinner and longer in the drawing. It makes characters more expressive in the manga. XXXHolic and Tsubasa have similar proportions for characters The reason is that they cross over Tsubasa is linked to XXXHolic the proportions of the characters are similar to be meant to cross over to Tsubasa.

The materials for XXXHolic they use for drawing are felt tip pens since human characters are drawn by 2 people if they used a regular pen the brushstroke strengths would be uneven Clamp members have strong drawing pressure so having the same pen can even it out. Clamp decided not to use screen tones for xxHolic, XXXHolic is drawn without screen tone to give more of an impression of occultism. 

They used mechanical pencils for the drafting stage when drawing in xxxHolic and inking markers to fill in large spaces.

There are a lot of Japanese and Chinese in XXXHolic The style Clamp uses for XXXHolic is similar to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e paintings, a Ukiyo-e art style that dictates longer proportions for the characters. The character looks tall and lean. xxHolic looks more like a wood block painting and has Japanese prints and Alphonse Mucha with an art nouveau in it. The female characters in XXXHolic are drawn by Mokona and the male characters are drawn by Nekoi who are also Yokai and spirits that aren't in human shape and animals.  

The covers and color pages are drawn by Nekoi and Mokona together, the base colors of the covers are never white, gold, or silver then color printed over it.

The storyboard for XXXHolic takes 6 to 8 hours done by Saturday.

Kobato

Kobato's art style is similar to Card Captor Sakura’s. The lines used in Kobato are similar to the lines in Card Captor Sakura, and the lines in the manga are thin, like a shoujo manga. The colors of the illustration are pale with a touch of watercolor. 

Kobato was made into a brighter series since Tsubasa was heading into a dark development, Kobato's story is loose and not too dark and is meant to be more relaxing.  

Comparing and Contrasting the panels of these series 

X/1999 & Clover 

Clover and X are two old shoujo manga done by Clamp though Clover was drawn during the run of X 

making X the longest-running series. Each of the members of Clamp is in charge of the art direction of the manga

with Nekoi in charge of the art direction of x and Mokona in charge of the art direction for Clover.

The lines that are used to ink and the line thickness in the two series are different along with the amount of pen pressure seen in the manga. The members of Clamp have strong drawing pressure. You can see it in the way they drew the lines in the ink and the line weight in the ink in the manga. You can tell the amount of pen pressure used in both the manga series is a testament to how strong the drawing pressure is. 

For the line thickness for both series, the lines in X have straight bold thicker lines. The lines in Clover are thin and along with the panels the lines have thin frames.

X uses a heavy amount of screen tone whereas Clover doesn’t use too much screen tone.  

They use a different sort of paper for clover that is gayoushi paper which is used to emphasize the bounciness of Sue’s hair.

These are two styles. The art style for Clover is made to look pretty since it's for girls and drawn with an air of decadence to give people old-fashioned feelings when they read it. The style of Clover stands out due to how it's drawn. The frames of Clover are supposed to look more like a movie. The art style of X went through huge changes due to a long year run so its art style changed to be more defined and detailed.

Both manga series have different art styles to suit the atmosphere of the manga  X used a heavy atmosphere where Clover has some sort of emptiness that the characters in the manga face to symbolize how bleak their situation is though someone pointed out that a large amount of negative space for clover is drawn to emphasize for the characters loneliness. The atmosphere of X gives a more foreboding sort of feel since it's near the end of the world.

Tsubasa and Card Captor Sakura

These two manga series went through two second series there is major art development compared to how it was first runned here to properly focus on the current art style.

When you put the two together they are radically different.

The art styles for the two series are created to fit the genre with Card Captor Sakura being a shoujo manga and Tsubasa being a shonen manga.

For the lines of the series, Card Captor Sakura is thin curved lines and doesn’t use a lot of ink The lines in Tsubasa are bolder and thicker with simple page line art.

The materials used when drawing Tsubasa for which thick lines can be drawn is a marker with thick lines as stated before the impre.ssion of the series can change depending on the materials used this is true for Tsubasa and Card Captor Sakura

The characters in Tsubasa are drawn differently by different artists the female characters have soft fluffy hair drawn with soft delicate touches and the male characters are drawn with a rougher touch to emphasize masculinity. 

The eyes of both series are different. The eyes in both series have different textures in the irises with the upper eyes in Card Captor Sakura being thin and dark. The eyes of Tsubasa are angular and thick there are no lashes in the eyes of Tsubasa

Sakura and Syaoran

If you need to compare the series the styles would be seen best in the designs of the two characters of Sakura and Syaoran. Looking at them together the impressions of these two characters do change depending on the art style of the series they are drawn in. Sakura and Syaoran are drawn differently in Tsubasa than they were in Card Captor Sakura Even though Sakura and Syaoran are drawn the same there are a few differences that set them apart seen in the hair and eyes. 

The designs of Sakura and Syaoran are re-used in Tsubasa in designs. I would notice a lot of small details in their designs that make them different and stand out as their hairstyles and eyes differed when you put the two of them together. The new designs of the characters convey the impression of their characters.

There a different impressions of the two characters when you look at the art style how they are drawn with thin lines and how they are drawn with thick lines the impression of the two characters are There different when looking at the different art style and how differences there are in their designs

In the Card Captor Sakura Syaoran looked more like a boy fitting since he is in elementary school so he's drawn to be much younger. The syaoran in Tsubasa gives an image of a young man between boyhood and manhood Tsubasa’s syaoran design highlights maturity in contrast to Card Captor Sakura Syaoran. The height is obvious in the designs drawn with the Tsubasa design. 

If I compare the two Syaoran together their expressions are different, Card Captor’s Syaoran looked dour and moody 

whereas Tsubasa’s Syaoran spots a determined, serious look. Card Captor’s Syaoran looks like a little kid while Tsubasa’s Syaoran looks like a bright honest, sincere young man. The only difference between the designs of syaorans would be their expressions conveying their overall look and personality in their design. Syaoran is designed based on a shonen protagonist it answered with what would happen if Card Captor Syaoran is the shounen protagonist with Tsubasa Syaoran as the answer. 

For Syaoran’s hair: Syaoran’s hair is a crew cut with the end shaved. Both Syaorans have the same hairstyle drawn differently from the series. In Card Captor Sakura there are a lot of lines and details in the hair of Syaoran’s with his bangs being thin lines.  Tsubasa’s Syaoran hair is simplified and doesn’t have too many lines his hair and bangs are drawn simply and look blocky and rough he is drawn with rough edges as seen with his hair that emphasizes masculinity.

For Sakura's hair, both the Card CAptor and Tsubasa have short hair. She does have the same short hairstyle; there are a few noticeable differences. Card Captor Sakura’s hair looked straighter in the art, Tsubasa’s Sakura hair has soft fluffy hair and looks bouncy and floofy. her hair moves in different directions to emphasize the bounciness aspect and there are a lot of strands in Sakura's hair. 

Card Captor’s sakura is designed based on one of Clamps nieces and Despite them being designed as normal girls, they have this cuteness to them that makes them appealing with Tsubasa sakura designs being reused but still have an image of cuteness like with card captor’s sakura still retains her cheerful and lively personality as she had in Card Captor Sakura.

Card Captor Sakura and Kobato

The two of them are both shoujo mangas but have different audiences with Card Captor Sakura created for a younger audience and Kobato for an older audience in mind.

The two series have different tones Kobato is focused on drama and is more serious but light and loose. Card Captor Sakura is a lighter series than Kobato but is drawn with a soft cute-like feel in mind with Kobato being a focus of reality and the supernatrual in the manga. 

The amount of lines when inking at Kobato has a similar style to Card Captor Sakura with the series both using thin lines The lines in Kobato are thin and shojo manga like Card Captor Sakura use curved thin lines and don’t have a lot of of of ink. There are different textures in eyes when inked, Kobato has a lot of lashes in her eyes Sakura has a few lashes 

Card Captor Sakura and Chobits

Card Captor Sakura is a shojo manga intended for a younger audience in mind, Chobits is an ecchi manga drawn for an older male audience in mind the art style is appealing to a male audience. 

Though the genre of the two series has different art styles they are both drawn with the same thin lines the series are drawn with the use of thin lines and both look soft. Card captor Sakura Doesn’t use a lot of ink and has thin curved lines.

The difference is the materials that are used for the series Chobits uses different materials from Card captor Sakura, for materials for Chobits Clamp use ballpoint pens to make it look to be drawn by pencil The thickness in the eyes of Chobits have a thin line drawn, the ballpoint pen has something to do with it changing the thickness in the eyes.

Tsubasa and xxxHolic

Tsubasa and xxxHolic are both manga series that are drawn in tandem so it wouldn’t be a surprise they have a similar art style. Holic and Tsubasa have similar proportions for the characters this is supposed to show they are both linked. The characters in Holic are drawn tall and have long limbs which are thinner and longer in the manga.

Holic is styled as more of a woodblock painting. Holic art style resembles Japanese ukiyo-e paintings with ukiyo-e longer proportions. Holic is drawn without screentone to give more of an occult feeling.  

Clamp uses different materials for the two series, Holic has members draw the characters they use felt tip pens to match Clamps' strong drawing style and use an inking marker to fill large spaces. For Tsubasa the materials they use are a marker with thick lines they used a marker with thick lines to make it pop. Since Tsubasa is more action-oriented since it is a shounen the art needs to pop.

Comparing the thickness of the lines in the series, I would say that Holic has thin lines to contrast with Tsubasa's thick bold lines The eyes of Holic look like there drawn using thin lines and the eyes of Tsubasa have heavy lines in them.

Prev/Next

[themattress]

From this interview.

First off, seeing one of the old-school masters of shonen praise shojo is delightful.

Secondly, Toyotaro is kind of being hypocritical here since the Dragon Ball fan manga he made before being brought on in an official capacity had West Kai of all people turning evil, so the idea of a god turning evil isn't actually a new thing for him. I guess he's just shocked that Toriyama would consider it, since as both men point out, it's not in Toriyama's usual style.

And finally, the main point of this post - Toriyama himself actually acknowledges that when he was writing the series, Cell was the Big Bad with the most psychological depth to him!

It absolutely tracks: Tao Pai Pai, Commander Red, King Piccolo, Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, Freeza, Dr. Gero, Babidi, Majin Buu....they were all written very one-dimensionally. They wore their over-the-top evil personalities on their sleeves and acted entirely according to those personalities. Yes, of course Vegeta ended up getting more depth once he was no longer the Big Bad and got positioned against Freeza, and even Freeza as written by other writers has gained more depth. But when it comes to the big villains that are just there to be fought and ultimately killed, Toriyama's philosophy is "it's easier to just have them be straight-up bad guys", which he contrasts against Cell by saying that he "found him to be a bit of a hassle" since while occupying that exact role, he needed to have more psychological depth to him because of the nature of his creation and existence. He actually goes through a character arc: fixated purely on doing what he was created to do because that's what Dr. Gero's supercomputer programmed into his brain, then successfully, achieving it only to be left empty inside which necessitates he fall back on the qualities of others whose cells are inside him in order to create a reason for living, and finally following a mental breakdown and momentary "death" discovering a purpose that is purely his own: destroyer of the universe. (Which is a purpose so extreme and dangerous that Toriyama tellingly had to constantly invent new universe-destroying villains to match it ever since; Cell was a tough act to follow.)

Cell was incredibly, irredeemably evil from start to finish, but he still had an interesting inner conflict which put him a step above Toriyama's usual fare. It's part of why he's so beloved.

[tokidokitokyo]

2023年5月31日

TL;DR: Don't feel inadequate if your language learning journey is not the same as that of others. Your path is valid and you are doing great!

May seemed to just speed on by! And now it's time for my monthly Japanese study log. I think this month I felt a lot of shame for not having time to do the big goals that I have set for myself, and seeing people on langblr or studyblr accomplishing a lot of big goals makes me feel inadequate. It's important to remember that your language journey is your own, not someone else's, and there is no shame in going at your own pace. I try to focus on the things that I accomplish and not make the journeys that other people are on into some kind of impossible standard to hold myself to. Look at your own learning through the lens of how far you have come, and you will feel less like you are lacking.

つまり、自分なりに言語の勉強を続いてね。周りの人の道は自分とは違っても、自分でも成長していますね。これからも続きましょう！

5月はあっという間に終了です！今からは日本語の勉強日記を書こうと思います。今月は大きいな目標をなかなか進まなくて辛かったです。それに、タンブラーやインスタグラムの勉強垢をよく見てて、なんか自分が足りないって感じていました。日本語や言語の勉強は自分のやり方で自分のペースで進んだ方がいいと覚えた方がいいと思いますから、それを頑張って思い出そうとしています。他人の成長を見ながら自分の成長が足りないなと思うことはよくやりますが、それを辞めるように努力します。一か月や一年前の自分を見たら、今まですごく成長してきたと気づいたら、足りなくないとわかるかもしれません。

My 2023 Goals Progress

I laid out some broad goals for my Japanese study in my 2023 Japanese Language Goals post, so, as always, I start off my update with my progress towards these goals.

1. Read one page a day of 日本の歴史366 (にほんのれきし366) everyday in 2023.

How is it going? Good! I am finally getting back on track after setbacks from late work nights, illness, and vacation time. Since this is a page-a-day study book, I would have preferred to keep reading in order and to catch up on the days I missed reading, but that was physically impossible due to a lack of time in general. So I am continuing on even though I skipped some days because it's good reading practice and I still learn vocabulary and kanji daily.

2. Finish 日本語総まとめ N3 (にほんごそうまとめ N3) workbooks.

How is it going? Good! I have been doing one workbook daily entry per day for at least 2 days a week. There are 4 workbooks (Vocabulary, Kanji, Grammar, Listening) with 6 weeks and 6-7 daily entries per week. I am still on Week 5 out of 6 weeks, but I am progressing much more than I did last year (or the year before that lol).

I take my time with each lesson, reviewing the vocab/kanji/grammar points meticulously, so that I absorb the information rather than just rush through it. Sometimes I already know most of the vocab or kanji or grammar, but other days require more focus. I feel like I am retaining more information by doing it little-by-little, rather than just trying to get as much done as possible in one sitting. In May, I didn't review the lessons afterwards and throughout the week, so I might take some extra time to do that once I finish the series.

3. Review and learn the first 6 levels of the 常用漢字 (じょうようかんじ), specifically the 教育漢字 (きょういくかんじ) up to grade 6.

How is it going? Okay. I have been trying to focus on Joyo Kanji in my kanji reviews, so I went back to Grade 1 kanji to start my review. It helps me to figure out which ones I know well and where I am struggling. Goal: Review through at least grade 3 during the month of June.

4. Read at least one book every two months.

How is it going? Not great. I haven't had the time (nor the motivation) to pick back up the books I stopped in March, and I'm trying to be okay with that ^^; I would like to pick back up one book in June and try to finish it by July. One thing that I am continuing to read is the Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun manga series (in small chunks, usually before bed).

5. Improve my speaking and writing by finding a tutor.

How is it going? It could be better. I am going to set a deadline for finally finding a tutor. I just worry that if I find a tutor I won't be able to commit to a regular schedule and I'll just drop off like I have before. I keep thinking if I had more time to search for a tutor it'd be more permanent, but I think I am just procrastinating (shocked gasps from all). There's also a small worry about the financial commitment, but I am going to try to be frugal in other areas to allow for this luxury. Goal: I will find a tutor by June 30th (or at least start making regular appointments with tutors).

I've also added on to this goal that I would like to start writing sentences on HelloTalk so that I can get feedback without needing a tutor. This might help me to get motivated to improve instead of being terrified of making mistakes. Goal: Write one sentence a day on HelloTalk in June.

6. Study Japanese for at least 10 minutes every day.

How is it going? Good! Thank goodness I have been studying Japanese every day for so long that it's not even something I have to think about trying to fit into my schedule anymore.

May Study Log

This month my top study areas were Vocabulary, Kanji, and Speaking. I spent the least time studying Grammar and practicing Writing.

Study Methods I Used in May

Social Media

Not only did I use apps like renshuu.org (flash cards) and Easy Japanese (articles in Japanese) to study in May, I also used Instagram and started back up on HelloTalk. The idea is to interact with social media in a meaningful way by reading and writing in Japanese. I commented on other user's posts and reached out to some of them as well to start a conversation. The only drawback to this method is that you can get lost in endless doom scrolling if you don't focus on what you are there for (i.e. interaction) and just get lost in the algorithm.

Conversation

I speak Japanese daily (with my husband and son) and since my son is starting to speak in 3-4 word sentences and to copy our speech patterns, I am more mindful of what I am saying to him and how I am saying it (for example, using 大変 instead of やばい ^^;). However, when speaking with my husband it is easier to fall into a Japanglish routine with him, to drop formality and be lazy with sentence construction, and to speak in a more masculine way (because I tend to mimic the speech patterns of those I am speaking with). I have recently made a few Japanese mom friends with whom I can practice Japanese conversation. So I try to utilize our play dates by speaking both formal and casual Japanese, being mindful of my interactions, and trying to utilize new words or grammar points. Using Japanese is the best way to improve it, after all. The only drawback is that the conversation practices can be spaced few and far between, so spending time mindfully speaking at home is also important.

Reading

I have been doing far less reading than I was at the beginning of the year, but I still try to read something for just a few minutes a day to practice reading. Either an article, manga, or even just social media, just to keep myself practicing. Like conversation practice, the best way to improve my reading skills is to keep reading. The drawback is that if I try to read a book but then I have to put it down for a while, I forget what was happening or I lose my motivation to keep reading it because I feel like I am not making progress. If reading books is just not feasible due to a time crunch, I find it much better to read something shorter (articles or part of a manga), and I try not to be hard on myself for not reading a whole book when it seems like everyone else is reading tons of books every month.

Going Forward in June

Be continuous with 日本の歴史366

Focus on grades 1-3 of 教育漢字

Start regular italki tutor sessions

Write in Japanese on HelloTalk

Read one of the books I started earlier in the year by the end of July

I've been studying Japanese for a long time and I still feel inadequate a lot of the time. If you have studied Japanese for any amount of time, please be proud of yourself. You've done something that a lot of people only wish they could do. As always, I wish you much success in your language endeavors, and I hope we can continue on this journey together (no matter where our paths take us)!

長い間日本語を勉強しててもまだまだ足りないと思てます。今までちょっとでも長い間でも日本語を勉強している人に伝いたいことは、よく頑張ったね！日本語を勉強したくても勉強したことない人もたくさんいますので、勉強している人はすごいと思います。そして、自分なりにつづいてください。これからも、皆さん勉強の成功と成長を願っています。どんな道でも、一緒に勉強を続きましょう！

[pink-heart-jam]

Do you mind if I ask you some random thing? I used to love shounen and shoujo manga equally. But ever since I found BL & GL manga/manhwa a few years ago, my interest in shoujosei (especially het romance) decrese a lot, and what I search for is just the dynamic between mc (male) and male lead or mc (female) and female lead. Like, I don't want to read mc (female) and male lead or mc (male) and female lead. What I want to read mostly are just mlm or wlw stories for romance....

What do you think is happening to me? Is it really weird?

Hi anon! I can definitely relate to that and I don’t think it’s weird at all. I think it is natural to see our preferences shift over the years and I fully believe that we get different things out of different types of stories too - especially as we get older and our world view matures. I cannot speak for everyone else but as a queer person myself, I feel like mlm and wlw ships can fill in emotional gaps that het romance cannot, and vice-versa. Because my interest in reading queer dynamics is connected to my queer identity, I tend to find those stories more cathartic, thought-provoking and satisfying than het romance. I relate to the characters in a different way, their inner conflicts and emotional journey resonate more deeply with me. Often times I don’t relate at all with the characters

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy shojo and shonen anymore, just that I’m a bit pickier these days. I prefer to read mature, complex stories but every now and then I still crave the adventure/fantasy elements and I just want something simple and entertaining. I am particularly into “coming of age” stories (which sometimes have no romance at all) and it’s always fun and nostalgic to revisit my favourites, especially shonen anime. In that case I’m either a) not particularly interested in the romantic aspect or b) end up shipping non-canon pairings at my heart’s content 😂

Tl;dr I wouldn’t stress too much about this change of heart, I think it makes a lot of sense to gravitate towards more mature stories as we get older, or to start enjoying romantic dynamics with an extra layer of complexity, which is usually the case with mlm/wlw when compared to het romance (at least as they’re depicted in media). But of course these are my two cents based on my personal experience I’d love to hear more from fellow BL readers on that topic!

[uweiy]

My Fairy Ghost (2022)

Ok it's already way past my planned bedtime but. I need to talk about this show.

Summary:

Aizawa Riko is a struggling author who wrote a critically acclaimed first novel, but can't seem to find inspiration to write her second. As she walks out dejected after yet another unsuccessful meeting with her Editor, she meets Kei, a ghost.

SO.

The characters

Aizawa Riko: our author mc, who has little self confidence, and thinks the success of her first novel is solely due to luck and that she has no talent.

Kei: Ghost. Bright, sexy, kind,bisexual. Need I say more? No? But I will. She really does her best in helping Riko through her struggles which is super heartwarming to see.

Meanwhile Riko is like. *I am so gay😳*

The Editor: the editor. That's all u need to know.

The show

This show — mini drama— can literally be injected in my veins plz and thank you. It's like, a speedrun of all the emotions that doesn't feel rushed at all.

It has tropes. So many tropes. Outgoing pretty girl falls for nerdy girl. Ghosts. Tilting ur head for a kiss. Cohabitation. Fake dating. AND I AM LIVING FOR IT. Somehow they are very well incorporated and it doesn't really feel like "I've seen this before?". And tbh even if they weren't, I wouldn't care *insert Will Smith meme here* pointing to GIRLS

Like yes please give me what 12-y/o me read in shojo mangas and daydreamed about but with GIRLS.

Now if I say Shojo mangas it's associated — falsely tbh the genre is like every genre diverse— with cutesy and lack of depth. It isn't. It's not cutesy at all for one, or like in a way that doesn't feel over the top. And really it pretty accurately for the short time it has describes problems writers/creative people might have with self doubt, and I definitely think that the writer(s) poured some of themselves into Riko and Kei because. Some lines hit home.

In the super short time it runs, it manages to have you invested and like the characters, be happy with them, feel the heart twinge, and hope for a good ending.

And also, it is so. BEAUTFUL. I mean LOOK AT THIS

Now here comes the crazy thing. Things.

It runs for exactly 4 less than 10 minute-long episodes.

How tf is that possible???

Secondly

It's literally FREE.

No need to create an account. No need to purchase a subscription on a platform you would use for literally no other show . It's just. Here. on YouTube. And yes, it's the official version.

TL;DR:

If you are one of the ones that want more girl-focused stories in the drama framework we all know and love, all I ask is you give 7 minutes — the duration of the first episode — (7 minutes!!!! I can't get over it.) of your time to give this a shot.

That's all 😊

[brainbuffering]

12 Days of Manga (2022)

Day 1: Favourite Ongoing Series - Snow White With The Red Hair by Sorata Akiduki from Shojo Beat (T: Caleb Cook L: Brandon Bovia E: Karla Clark)  

[ID: English cover for Snow White With the Red Hair Vol 19 by Sorata Akiduki. Kiki wears a burgendary psudo-european-medievial style dress with long flowing sleeves. In on hand she holds a wine glass, and in the other she gently clasps her sword. She sits sideways but looks knowingly at the viewer. Behind her, a festival at dusk is in full swing and we see the backs of Hisame (left) and Mitsuhide (right)]

This year (as of writing) the UK has been gifted Volumes 17 - 19 of SWWTRH*, covering the Bergat Arc which finally gave some more time for our beloved Kiki to shine and the return of everyone’s (read: my) favourite beloved arsehole Hisame Rougis. This more action and romance based arc was a nice return to form last year’s Orimmallys arc. As wonderful as it was to see the STEM elements of SWWTRH come to the forefront, with no doubt Cook’s experience on Dr Stone helping him translate all that psudo-science, I’m a simple Blogger who likes to see some swords and swooning.

That said, this combination of genres and themes really does highlight what makes the series so good. Anyone who tries to tell you that Shojo is all the same really needs to read this series because it will swing from mystery to romance to action adventure to science explainer in only a few chapters. I’ve said it elsewhere but I will say it again: it i also just so nice to have a manga I can confidently recommend to literally anyone! It’s a great starter for those looking to get into Shojo, be they a 10 year-old who has some book tokens to use up, or a 40 year old who wants to finally branch out beyond the Shonen Jump Sphere of Influence.

The series is also beautifully unintentionally queer, and that was highlighted again this year. Well, I say unintentionally. Some of SWWTRH’s contemparies in LaLa include explicitly queer stories such as Ouran High School Host Club, so who is to say how it will end? I can hold out for my bisexual polyamorous ending in which Obi, Zen and Shirayuki end up married with 2.5 children, right? With lines like this, it’s starting to feel more like text than subtext. 

[ID: Zen smiles widely. “You might have a trio who lived completely separate lives... ... but came together in the palace... ... to now spend their lives together, side by side.”]

But I digress. As I said! This was the year of the Kiki. We got to get more of a glimpse into her role as heir to the Seiren Family, and what expectations that holds. She got some closure on her relationship with Mitsuhide that, without spoilers, was very afirming from an Aro/Ace perspective, and started to see her take new steps with Hisame in a way that allows them both some character development and encourages world building! We also got to see her beat people up with a sword, although perhaps not as much as I would have liked. She did get her own dramatic “I’ll be shooting for my own hand” moment, with all the paralels and metaphors of working hard to choose your own fate and your own destiny, and to not get thrown by romantic rejection but rather remain to stay true to yourself no matter what. So I suppose I can’t really complain. 

[ID: Two manga pages of Kiki shooting arrows in the middle of the night, the range lit by fire light/beacons. The first ten arrows have missed the center of the target completely. Kiki looks disapointed and uncertain about everything. Then she appears to center herself and manages a bullseye.] 

I’ve said many times before, that I don’t think there is any reason for a series to go beyond 30 volumes. I can’t imagine any story that needs to go on for that long without it becoming far too repetative. However SWWTRH is one of those series that I will happily be buying for the next ten years! For one, unlike a lot of ongoing series, SWWTRH is not restricted to a time scale (e.g. three years of high school) or singular goal (e.g. entering the olympics). Shirayuki and Zen confirmed their romantic feelings early on, and whilst we want to see their relationship develop the pace it is going at feels realistic for people of their age, and in their situation.

Why should they get married at age 19? Shirayuki becoming a well respected court herablist will help her standing in marrying him, sure, but it’s also the goal she wants to achieve without romance being on the line either. Heck, even if her only goal was marriage, it’s perfectly reasonable to want to finish your studies before settling down! The story is not lessened by its slower pacing, but rather enhanced by it. Much like real life, it takes its time with each arc, meandering rather than steamrolling. Yet it doesn’t feel repetative, it doesn’t feel as though Akiduki dragging things out for the sake of it, but rather just allowing the characters to take moments to breathe inbetween events.

The characters are allowed to grow and change with the narrative, and have that be reflected within the story. There’s a whole time skip that takes place without it feeling like some big terrifying event, rather just the nature of what happens in adult life where you just spend a year focussing on your work and your studies, and so naturally don’t get up to the sort of major adventures that you might tell your grandkids about.

The series finds strength in the age of its characters, young adults growing into themselves and finding a purpose in life without fear of falling and failing. Obi is allowed to find comfort in the mundane, and not having to go on life changing ninja adventures all the time. Shirayuki’s focus on her studies living away from Zen doesn’t mean that their romantic relationship must come to an end, and she is allowed to develop completely independently of their love whilst still having that love be incredibly important to her! Mitsuhide is happy to live a life without marriage and kids because he cares more about the platonic relationships in his life, and wants to put his time and energy into those. Kiki is still working out what to do next now that her initial plan for life has turned side ways, and that’s good too! She has a support network in place to help! Zen meanwhile continues to be the perfect prince, the white haired anime boy all white haired anime boys should aspire to be, and I hope that he is able to move back in with his girlfriend and boyfriend full time. 

The joy here is in the journey, not in the destination, and i’ll happily continue on with these characters for years to come!

*The Americans have up to Vol 21, but the ongoing supply chain crisis and paper shortage are out to get me personally.

[icaruspartharmony]

I accidently hit post the first time so TAKE 2 BLOG INTRO and EDIT HERE i do update this

Version 3.8, updated Jul. 13, 2024

-Racist, ableist ("dIFFeREnTly AbleD!" Counts as ableist btw), pro cop, zionist, or Xenophobic

Who am i??

Hi!! I'm Joey, Joseph, whatever, but Nik or Icarus are perfectly cool too :) my pronouns page is at the bottom if you wanna scroll down there, there's more info. I live in the United States

DNI

-Transmed, Truscum, Exclus

-Royed (FMA) bakudeku (MHA) shippers

-Transphobic ("CiS iS a SluR") or Homophobic (not agreeing with that lifestyle counts btw)

-"give me money please" centered blogs

-Conservative, or Pro-life, people who call others Narcissists as an insult

Fandoms i sit in

No. 6 (Manga)

NANBAKA (Anime and Manga)

Mp100 (anime)

BSD (Manga)

TPN (anime and manga)

Naruto, Shippuden, Boruto (Animes and mangas)

TBHK (Anime)

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (Anime and manga, half of 03 and brotherhood.)

The Owl House (show)

Gravity Falls (show)

Homesick, Weak Hero, Lost In Translation, Teenage Mercenary, Flawless, Windbreaker, Eleceed, Brimstone and Roses, City of Blank, Not So Shojo Love Story, Uriah (Webtoons)

Lookism (Webtoon and animated show)

I can talk movies and books 1-7(8) Harry Potter with you but i fucking loathe JK Rowling

Lord of heroes (game)

Haikyuu kinda (anime)

Hunter x Hunter (anime)

IDW Sonic (Comic)

Fruits Basket (Anime)

My Hero Academia (anime)

Dr. Stone (Manga and first season anime)

Howl's Moving Castle (Movie)

Sally Face (Watched Jacksepticeye play it through at ungodly hours of the night, through a podcast on spotify that did videos.)

I'm not a helluva boss/hazbin hotel superfan but i have watched it (Hazbin hotel pilot, know what happens in-series, keeping up with HB). Problematic media, but to each their own ig

Maybe a few more im forgetting

Stuff you might want to know

-this blog will contain swearing, maybe a sex joke here or there, some caps.

-spam likes and reblogs are 100% ok with me. I do that sometimes.

-if you fit my dni or if i fit your dni, i wont take it personal if u block me. Like if you've been my mutual for a year and suddenly block like maybe ill take it a little personal but dont feel obligated to interact or keep interacting.

-i can come off confrontational and as a jerk but im like a bug, im annoying and im more scared of you than you are of me

-im still learning. Everyone is always still learning. I request your patience in this trying time

-im not the brightest bulb in the box.

-i adore asks and questions because i am self centered

-i do take art reqs and i take them very well

-i have a huge interest in music and i do have a lot of character playlists on spotify! If you have a fic in a fandom i like that isn't pure smut, i will likely make you a playlist for it.

-most of my poor spelling and grammar is just set in for personality.

-do not imply or accuse me in that i am a pedophile. Try not make too many lighthearted pedophile jokes with me directly. I have intrusive thoughts and this will occasionally (and frequently) set them off. It's different if humor is your coping mechanism, I'm not gonna tell you how to cope.

Other socials

AO3: JoeyPartHarmony

Discord: JoeyPartHarmony

Spotify: Deeply Unserious1590

Pinterest: @.LivedAndWillMakeItTheBaneOfAll

Feel welcome to reach out at anytime! You're always welcome! Never a bother! Any questions you have are welcomed.

(Dazai's Bolo Tie :])

[teashadephoenix]

How do you cope with Rose’s Existence while also being a doctor x donna truther (and rightfully so) I just sort of think of her as a high school sweetheart. Very important, but not the love of his life (there’s also River, who i feel like people forget about sometimes) just wanted to hear your thoughts tho!!

i go back to my roots in shojo manga and write really cheesy scenes where he confesses he loves them both. (i wish i was kidding.)

I'm not gonna tl;dr about how frustrating I find Rose's character development, or River's... everything. (I still cannot believe they took the absolutely brilliant idea of a time traveller with a wife he meets out of order, cast the gorgeous and amazing Alex Kingston to play her, and then. did. that. *facepalm* It's so disappointing.)

But yeah. He can love all of them. People move in and out of his life, and I write the Doctor as being hesitant to throw himself completely into relationships because he knows they're going to end and he doesn't want to get hurt again and again and again and again-- but he can't help himself, he does love them and that's the nature of living. We meet and we love and we die and we grieve and then we meet again, in an endless loop. It's just his loop is longer.

[thedevilsrain]

Wait From Eroica with Love had an influx of male readers?????? Do you know why??????

yes! there's a few different reasons, but eberbach really is the main one

as naoki urusawa (of monster fame) said in his documentary about yasuko aoike, eberbach was a big standout in shojo manga - while male heroes were usually, by 1970s standards, gentlemanly and gallant (except andré grandier from rose of versailles but we can talk abt him another day), eberbach was crass, rude, conservative, and didn't even like women

he still appealed to female readers of course, even with this personality, being a handsome and long-haired agent guy, but the attention from male readers really was a new thing, and the story begun to change as aoike found she simply liked writing/drawing more for that crowd

the focus of the story slowly changed from "eroica wants this thing, let's see him steal it, and the major has a mission related to that thing, so they bump ways" to "eberbach is doing a mission, let's see him do it, and eroica randomly shows up and helps him/makes it worse". despite never having any character development himself, we also see more of his background - his home and work life - and his backstory, while eroica's men show up less and less until only mr bonham and mr james are left

a standout for me are the chapters "vacation orders" and "midnight collector" - the first is about eberbach's past, and we never see dorian once. the second is about dorian's past, and eberbach has his own side story inside of it

the story itself also changed a lot more from the usual shojo demographic, appealing way more to male viewers - at the beginning, it was an action shonen-ai (action with men kissing lol), with dorian talking about the beauty of paintings and statues and kissing a couple of men along the way; and in the last few chapters, its entirely become a spy action story. the last time dorian kisses a male character is literally on the 6th chapter

and lastly, the art itself. just compare the cover of the first volume to the cover of the 23rd

(scan of the cover on the right by @/vampyrlig, ty queen)

the characters were made a LOT more masculine/less androgynous; no more skinny fingers and long eyelashes, now they just look like normal dudes with weird long chins. even dorian loses his wardrobe of long robes, skinny jeans and high heels and chokers/bracelets in favor of more business-like suits as the series goes on

lastly, yasuko aoike really just seemed to enjoy writing these spy stories rather than the art thievery going on in the first few chapters. she puts a ton of effort into researching them and it shows, theres like five chapter arcs with intricate plots spanning multiple nations and characters, and she pays so much attention to drawing the right uniforms, tanks, and airplanes.

i personally know if i ever take a trip to germany and see a lufthansa plane i'm gonna say "oh it's that airline from eroica". it's just the kind of thing that makes dude go "oh hell yeah"

TL;DR spy stories focusing more on the NATO military officer than the gay art thief, the art style becoming less "girly"/shojolike, and a ridiculous amount of detail when it came to depicting military equipment such as planes, tanks etc.

[isekai-crow]

Doctor Elise Ep 3-4

I cannot express enough how fun of a potato chip this show is. I had a fever this week and this was a great lil show to watch that didnt require me to think.

As a self proclaimed shonen bro whose not normally into shojos, I enjoyed the manga, and the anime is doing a good job despite not being one of the "big names". It might also be my love of medical dramas from the early 2000s peaking in. I can turn my brain off to watch it and just have fun by going "WTF w h y", and poking fun at how broken some aspects of this world are while still thoroughly enjoying it.

It's definitely the kind of show that probably won't hold up to scrutiny for the world building, so. Just. Don't think too hard about the specifics of what's happening! Then the power fantasy pieces won't break through your suspension of disbelief! Because IV bags did not exist during the Crimean War in the 1800s which seems to be where this fantasy setting is taking place.

But I'm gonna go and point out all the broken bits below because its so much fun (not bashing at all!).

Also my favorite boy shows up! Doctor Graham!! We love a boy whose not there to be a rival or love interest, and respects the Lady and they get to be bros!

Look at this silver haired ponce of a bishonen, he's delightful, ascot and all!

He's voiced by Hosoya, Yoshimasa - Rainer Braun from Attack on Titan, Nezumi from NO.6, WOLFWOOD FROM THE NEW TRIGUN STAMPEDE!! Tokoyami from BNHA, and Sousuke from Free!

DAMN THEY PICKED A GOOD VOICE FOR MY BOY.

More spoilers/screen shots below the cut!

Elise shows up for work as Rose at the No Cultural Touchstone For Mother Teresa Hospital, the genius young doctor Graham is supposed to take care of her but he's busy and assumes like everyone else that a young well-off lady will run from the sight of blood soon enough, and so sticks her in the HOSPICE WARD.

HHMMMM I WONDER WHY ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE ON THEIR DEATH BEDS???? COULD IT PERHAPS BE... UH... SANITARY REASON?? SHOULD HOSPITALS BE SANITARY??? NAHHHH THE DIRTY ROTTING BANDAGES ON THE FLOOR AREN'T MAKING THINGS WORSE, NO WAAAAAAAAY.

These poor overworked shift nurses seem to have no idea what they're doing, but thankfully we have a returner with concepts of modern day sanitation who cleans the place up!

She then finds a dude with bed sores and realizes no one knows what SEPSIS IS, and is like. Get me a scalpel, it's my first day, I've never held a scalpel in my read:this life, I'M DOIN' A SURGERY TODAY. I'VE GOT GALAXY BRAIN TO HELP ME.

I love these shots they're great.

SHE PROCEEDS TO CUT INTO THE DUDES BACK LIKE SHE'S DRAWING FREE FORM SELECTION ON MS PAINT AND THEN JUST HITS CTRL-X DELETE.

That's not A tissue, that's HIS (necrotic) tissue! I sure hope this dude has pain killers or is drunk off his ass with vodka because DAMN.

All the other in-patients are so happy she's here, they feel better already with her bright and happy personality! Normally this would feel really creepy and sexist, but this juuuuuust squeaked by as not coming off that way.

Jump cut to the King! Only 12 people in this world know what diabetes is! How is Elise going to get away with having known about it?? Probably more hand waving!!

Now, we either get a time skip, or she's literally been working all night, but Dr. Graham walks in on her dozing, thinks he's got the wrong place, and proceeds to scold her for performing surgery without permission. But then he takes her on rounds and we're in a medicial show!!!!

IS THAT A FUCKING IV BAG?

IT IS!!!! THOSE WEREN'T INVENTED UNTIL THE LATE 1800s!! At least its a glass bottle, and not a plastic bag like I initially assumed?? But I guess the Crimean War was in the 1850s and this type of open glass bottle IV was from the 1900s so... Wooo Fantasy Europe!! -waves hand rapidly to shoo you on-

This man is having a time trying to figure out what the fuck. But he's pretty.

It takes him a bit to come to terms with her abilities but then he's just so happy to have another Doctor Bro who Actually Cares that he's behind her with full support! Which yay! But also becomes a tool of sorts, to kind of hand wave away the concept of sexism in the medical field to the point where it doesn't seem to exist. Which is also what makes this such a light show, because it doesn't even try to handle said topics, it just erases them completely with regards to medicine.

Equal numbers of men and women as doctors! The women aren't relegated to nurses! Yay! No critical thinking needed here.

My favorite part of this though, is that they DO tease at it. When Elise makes a different call from the doctor she's following in Ye Olde ER, he kind of stutters and is flabbergasted and panicked, while the female doctor is immediately like, I GOTCHU SIS, and steps in to help her as she proceeds to STAB A DUDE IN THE CHEST WITH A SYRINGE.

She's so pretty with blood on her face.

We're in episode 4 by this point, and its the "Festival Episode" common to many isekai romance manhwas, but of course, Elise is a doctor and so she's working the ER instead of attending.

However this is the episode that proves there is magic in the world, and WE GET A SECOND VA FOR THE PRINCE. He transforms into "Lord Ron". We also get a glimpse of his tragic back story!

His bodyguard gets a knife pulled on him and THEN A GUN. New Technology Discovered: Guns! I should hope they had those figured out before IV tech, but you think they'd know about general sanitation being important as well.

Dude's been shot in the SPLEEN!!! OW MY SPLEEN! They don't have a splenectomy in Fantasy Europe, oh no!

Elise puts up such a persuasive argument, and the dude is dying, so they might as well let her try to save him. And look, the prince Lord Ron has field surgery experience and offers to help!

SUDDENLY THERE IS ELECTRICITY. WHAT WERE THOSE OIL LAMPS IN THE GRIMEY DEATH WARD???

MS PAINT SCALPEL FTW!! It's not bad for the limited time they likely had to anime each episode, and the fact that they're putting more emphasis on the conversations. For comparison, this scene in the manga ↓

Surgery is a success! Yay! Elise is asked to write up a report abotu the surgery as it will be the first ever recorded splenectomy.

and then. Blushing Prince is Adorable, even in disguise. Love us some blushing boys.

But by far the most accurate part of this show so far...

Even in a Fantasy Europe Hospital the doctors have shitty handwriting lmfao

[kurxn]

Truthfully , we all are entitled to our opinion , but the only reason you were satisfied with that ending cause it gave zero and Yuki their fairy tale ending with no kaname in tow. Nothing more , nothing less just your fav couple getting their fav ending, while others can be satisfied with their leftovers , shoujo logic .

Seriously hino should have just killed him off entirely , i would have preferred that ending much better, this ending just makes me irritated at Yuki's two timing attitude, kaname was truly an idiot and will forever be, but whatever, i am the one who is writing, this is just a vent of a frustrated fan whose fav character was just two timing, no matter what i just hate the fact that she just lead kaname on , but at least now that she has repaid her debt , having pity night with him , birthing him a so called daughter who fell in love with her lover and then finally her life that was no longer useful , giving that good for nothing life so that he could once again have a good for nothing life and once again he could sing praises of her and her true love . But for him to die peacefully, but seriously if only his body has not preserved he could have easily died after the fire was extinguished he could have been reunited with hooded woman in his afterlife, someone who loved him 55 Percentage, more than Yuki but nope . I mean now it's good she can finally love zero wholeheartedly in the afterlife , finally free from the curse called Kaname.

This is just my vent. No need to seriously answer this shitty ask. This is nothing but a stupid vent.

Bro bejddbnd stop acting like the ship aspect is the only reason I’m satisfied with VK. I love Kaname like. I LOVE Kaname. I also love Kaname’s sorrow and all of the feelings he has. His love, guilt, etc are all what make him.. him. I don’t think VK is the typical shojo in the sense that it doesn’t simply follow a love story? Like there’s so much more to the story than just the love triangle shit. Zero and Yuki had an incredibly rough path together. There was no time where they weren’t fighting a war outside of their relationship, and while working through the turmoil of their personal relationship.

Kaname cannot die. He can’t. Cant fully die. We’ve seen this over. And over. Him becoming a human is the only way he can truly die.

Yuki’s feelings are so complicated and belittling her by saying she’s a two timer is just.. wrong. Yuki is allowed to have feelings for her family and for her best friend / lover. She’s allowed to not move on from the love she felt for Kaname while loving Zero as she always has. Kaname and Zero both accepted her feelings and knew she was partial to the other. They knew why she felt that way. They accepted her as she was, and she was very open with the both of them about her feelings so they could accept or reject her.

She did not lead Kaname on. She loved him so desperately. That’s why she fought and fought to be with him. He was the one who initiated the sex. She was desperately hugging him and wanted to keep him close, and he was like ‘I’ll teach you how to love’ or some shit like that lol. I do think Kaname wanted to leave Yuki with someone to look after and love. Ai was the fruit of their love.

And Kaname’s body being preserved has little to do with his death. His body never fully died when he was rotting away in that coffin for 10,000 years, so I doubt it would now. Yes, his heart was gone but his blood was still there and he was still a pure blood.

And Kaname was never a curse?? She loved him to the end. She literally went back to him after Zero died. He was never a hinderance to her. Kaname was the one who was worried he was ruining her chances at being truly happy. There is no clean cut for them.

TL;DR: pls don’t use my ask box to vent dump while bashing the fact that I ship Zeki. I don’t support incest. Yume is incest. I don’t support it. BUT I do love Kaname. I love all of the characters.