#en scene manga

[levbolton]

You like Skip and Loafer?

Then please try Kenrantaru Grande Scene by Cuvie

It’s a sports series about ballet, there is no big bad guy, no weird sexualisation, cuvie knows how to write strong women

It’s about Kanade and her road to becoming a professional ballet dancer

This series is really nice, refreshing, you see stuff you wouldn’t expect and then go “damn that’s so true”

I don’t want to spoil anything, but please do read this story, it’s good, very, i promise

[ladykyriaa]

My Maolan sisterhood🥹

THEYRE MY GORLS

[enkvyu]

ok it’s a little cruel but I’m excited for my boy yuuta to start throwing fists…IM SORRY GOHO FANSARFFGGHJMK-xoxo pei

PEI 😭😭 THIS IS TOO FUNNY u are the biggest yuuta fan i know !! i hope u see ur yuuta in the next chapter and not whoever tf kashimo is 🫶

the gojo fan in me is ..

[mekatrio]

the best moment in the manga methinks

[acid-ixx]

Dear author,

I love your batfam series SO MUCH. I like the way you describe the feelings, how you use the words, how the depression of Y/N was shown, and the thinking of Batfam when they realize that Y/N had been heavily neglectful. Every time I read this series again, I still feel the hurtful of it and it actually makes me cry a lot T.T. And I love that feeling. And the series makes me want to draw, even though I’m not good at drawing.

The first panel, I draw Y/N in my thoughts ( sorry if you feel uncomfortable) and Conner. This one is inspired from a manga called “ Veil”.

The second one, I draw some scenes from chapter 3 (I tried to draw the ways Y/N calmed themselves down, but I couldn’t 😭).

From your series, I’ve thought about ABO au, where Y/N is a beta, they can’t be marked ; so the yanderes ( romantic one) are more yandere, because they know that Y/N never belong to anyone.

Last thing to say, I VERY VERY VERY LOVE your batfam series and this is one of the greatest fics of Batfam I’ve ever read. I also very admire your hardworking and your inspiration about this series. But I hope that you also stay healthy because I saw that you’re very productive ( how you can write so fast but still focus on the details TvT). No words can reveal the love in my heart to your series.

Sorry if I either bother you or my bad grammar ( English not my native language, this is also the first time I do this ). Thank you so much because spending your time reading this piece of mine. I just want to express my feelings and thoughts about your fic. Hope you have a good day!!!<333333

— masterlist !

a/n: the topic of a/b/o is written under this post. anyways, this comic panel is so absolutely brilliant and breathtaking omg... i love all the thoughts u have compiled here and i'm so sorry I wasn't able to reply to this quick enough 😭 but i appreciate this sm !! "even tho im not good at drawing" YET U SENT ME THIS !! i absolutely love everything about this don't say ur not good at drawing bec u are 😡

so like i said, don't be sorry if u draw the reader as female bec i portrayed them as gn so anyone can interpret them as any gender and it doesn't make me uncomfortable at all as long as i'm the one not being misgendered. anyways, veil is actually one of my fave mangas and if u ask me, i could say your relationship with conner is pretty much akin to that of veil's! which means conner is very touchy-feely with you and is uncaring of their status as a wayne and would rather... have you take his last name very soon, if you know what i mean hehe.

the second scene is absolutely heartbreaking even for me, especially the panel where your mom tries to comfort you by telling you it's all alright made my heart ache real badly because that's probably the last time you have experienced; the love of a parent that's soon taken away from you. your mom's last words would be reassurance, one that both comforts and disturbs you as the memory repeats itself over and over in you head like a broken record </3

and the abo au, for me personally (tho i never have written for it) is just going to threaten more angst with your family because not even your pack is willing to take you in and care for you. despite your hopes due to being a beta unlike your family who are comprised of strong alphas and resilient omegas, you are merely average in their eyes probably, average enough to be forgotten and discarded by a pack you had thought would take you in for you must be a misfit just like them.

yet despite the pain you had to endure for feeling unloved as a beta, it would also deepen your potential with conner as your love interest because although you could never be claimed by any past sweethearts, conner would always, and i mean always make a show that he loves you in a deeper, more symbolical way. he may not be able to mark you as your alpha, but a ring and an always protective hold on your waist paired with his scent and pheromones engraved into every piece of your clothing is enough to tell everyone to "fuck off, this one's mine."

and tysm for loving my fanfic 😭 even tho i have written it impulsively, look where it got now !! yes i am very productive but this is a mere product of my attention span and hyperfixations towards the dc storyline and no my health is very bad but trust me it's not from writing, it's more from me just being very ill every single day but im trying to take care of myself <33

[withered-rose-unbreakable-lotus]

Masterpost: Visual Kei movies & other types jrockers were involved

So, it came to my attention some of you want to watch more visual kei movies so I thought of listing what I know, in case you've missed any of those. Please feel free to add anything I've missed with reblogs or in the comments.

Thank you @kirk-goes-to-gallifrey for the three movie links! ^^ And thank you @waretamado for helping with the titles of Plastic Tree's movies! Btw most of the vkei only movies must still be available on YT guys, however not all of them will be on HD.

Visual Kei movies:

Seth et Holth (1993) (Hide) YT link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx_laJCEpew)

Moon Child (2003) (Gackt & Hyde)

Verte Aile/Bel Air (1997) (Malice Mizer) YT link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdd58pTaK8A)

Bara no Konrei/Bridal of the Rose (2001) (Malice Mizer) YT link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1d_cFRnxs)

BeatRock☆Love (2009) (Takeru ex.SuG)

Number Six (2006) (Alice Nine)

Yuku Pura Kuru Pura... Edokawa Puranpo no 「Ougon otoko」~「Visual bako no bijo」 (Plastic Tree) YT link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Bb-3L4l2E)

Yuku Pura Kuru Pura... Edokawa Puranpo no 「Onan tokage」~「Bishounen wo kuu bijo」 (Plastic Tree) YT link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAha6vDCE0Q)

Yuku Pura Kuru Pura...Edokawa Puranpo no「Angura Kaijin」~「Remon no bijo」 (Plastic Tree) YT link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzt3ai5LSXc)

Ascendead Master (2009) (Versailles)

Onegai Kanaete (2011) (Versailles)

Oresama (2004) (Miyavi) YT link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcBvKQfVKNM)

Soundtrack (2002) (Sugizo) (I don't know if it's a vkei movie but since the theme appears to be music-oriented, I put it here)

Non Visual Kei movies jrockers acted in:

Kagen no Tsuki (2004) (this is a live action of a manga) (Hyde)

There is a movie that Takeru of SuG had played in for only a couple of scenes that was his first ever role, but I forget the name. I remember sth about "blue generation" or sth. If sb remembers it, please put it in the comments. Most people might remember the scene with the fluffy coat, him with blond hair turning to the protagonist with a menacing look, from the distance.

Paracelcus' Homonculus (2015) (this is an artsy film based off a photographer's exhibition) (Takeru of SuG)

Midori: the Camellia girl (2016) (live action of a manga) (Takeru of SuG)

Bunraku (2010) (Gackt)

Akumu-chan (2014) (Gackt)

Karanukan (2018) (Gackt)

Tonde Saitama 1 (2019) & 2 (2023) (Gackt)

Moshimo Tokugawa Ieyasu ga Sori Daijin ni Nattara (2024) (Gackt)

Furin Kazan (2007) (Gackt)

Mr. Brain (2009) (it must have been 1 episode or 2) (Gackt)

Tempest (2011) (Gackt)

Sengoku Basara (2012) (Gackt)

Time Spiral (2014) (Gackt)

BLEACH (2018) (live action) (Miyavi)

Hell Dogs (2022) (Miyavi)

Familia (2023) (Miyavi)

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) (Miyavi)

Kate (2021) (Miyavi)

Stray (2019) (Miyavi)

Unbroken (2014) (Miyavi)

There's a movie with either gangs or bands that Chiyu of SuG played after the disband. Papiko, shed your light cause I don't remember the title.

30-thirty (2000) Hakuei

The Legend of the The Stardust Brothers (1985) (Issay)

溺れる魚 / Drowning Fish (2001) (Izam of Shazna)

Longinus (2004) (more of a short than a full movie I guess) (Atsushi Sakurai)

Other

REPO! The Genetic Opera (2008) (Yoshiki was involved with the music production of this film. Personally I learnt it years after I'd watched it)

Death Trance (2005) (It features many Dir en Grey songs in its soundtracks)

Hamlet (1998) (A rock opera version of the famous play, by Penicillin) YT link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hljXGPsUU1Q)

I hope you can find anything you like and enjoy!

[yuurei20]

Twisted Wonderland the Novel English Translation Review: Excellent

Did a quick read-through of the English-language novel (not a word-for-word comparison with the original novel yet), and: it is an excellent translation!

Some quick notes about the more language-sensitive parts:

・As in the English-language game, Grim is referred to as a weasel in the prologue. In the original game, the original manga and the EN manga, he is called a Tanuki.

・Much like the EN manga, the original game/manga’s use of the word “egg” has been changed to “fledgling.”

・The incantation for Riddle’s unique magic is: EN Novel: "Are you ready for your sentence? Sentence first! Verdict afterward."

EN Manga: “Are you ready for your sentence? The verdict comes afterwards. Any last words?”

・The conversation where Yuuya explains where he is from is very similar to the original novel:

"I'm from Nihon," Yuya told him. "Ni-kan?" "Umm. Ja-p-an." Yuya tried the English name of his country, but that apparently did not click for Crowley either.

・The references to Japanese schools beginning in spring and NRC being more closely related to schools in Europe and America have been retained.

・Curse words have been changed into things like “punk,” “dunce,” etc., with Ace repeating “dodo” fairly often.

・The line where Ace tells Yuuya to drop the honorific from his name was changed. Instead, Yuuya thanks Ace by saying “I really appreciated your help yesterday” and Ace responds, “This isn't some highfalutin rich-kid school. You don't need to be so polite."

・The line where Deuce tells Yuuya to drop the honorific from his name was changed to Deuce protesting against Yuuya thanking Ace first instead of thanking him first.

"How come you said Ace first?" Deuce protested. "I'm first."

・Cater consistently refers to Ace, Deuce, Yuuya and Grim as “Acey, Deucey, Yuey and Grimmy. At least once he refers to Riddle as “Riddley.” No nickname for Trey.

・As there are no honorifics Yuuya refers to Riddle by his first name only, Ace refers to Trey by his first name only, and Deuce refers to Cater, Trey, Riddle and Malleus as “Diamond,” “Clover,” “Rosehearts” and “Draconia.”

・The incantation for Trey’s unique magic is: "White to red, red to white.”

・In the original novel Ace says “Thank you,” in English, while in the English translation he says “merci.”

・”Beastpeople” are called “beast people” instead of “beast men.”

・Yuuya reflecting on how Chenya does not use an honorific with Riddle was changed to, “Yuya had only ever heard Trey talk about him so casually.”

・The line about Cater using honorifics with everyone except Trey in serious situations was changed to, “He usually sounded so lighthearted when he called Trey's name…And Cater only said his name so seriously when it was truly important.”

・The EN game switched from “magical healers” to “medical mages,” and the novel went with ”magical healers.”

・Ace refers to Riddle without an honorific just once in the original novel. This is commented on in a line changed to, “You’re already bossing him around.”

・(There is a typo where Cater and Trey are talking about Riddle’s upcoming duel, and a line that Trey says is attributed to Deuce. Deuce is not in the scene.)

・(There is also a typo where Enchanted Mine (changed from ”Dwarf Mine”) is written as “Enchanted Mind.”)

・Ace’s original line of “the way a kid turns out doesn't determine the value of their parents” was written backwards in the EN game, but the EN manga and novel are both accurate to the original game/manga/novel.

・Cater’s line in the original game/manga/novel admonishing Trey for hiding his true feelings has been upheld in the novel as well as the EN manga, with only the EN game rewritten to Cater admonishing himself, instead. (This was possibly subject pronoun confusion.)

・Much like the EN game, Leona’s “Be prepared” was rewritten in the EN novel.

[mysteryshoptls]

In book 3, yuu and grim seem to single handedly defeat 3 savanaclaw students in hand to hand combat, is this different in the JP version or is Yuu just built different?

love your work btw <3

Hello! I started chuckling seeing the ask of whether Yuu is "built different" knowing that the manga Yuu is literally a different Yuu every chapter. It's the smaller joys in life. Funny enough, Yuuta (Octavinelle Yuu) actually doesn't have a fight sequence in the manga, but instead is able to get into Leona's good graces by his cooking. As for game's Yuu, both the JP and EN game does make it seem like Yuu and Grim defeated the three Savanaclaw students on their own. If that's the way you want to interpret it, that's perfectly valid. We can also take into account the choice of supporting character that can be brought into the battle.

The "guest characters" for each battle chapter tend to be someone that is in the scene with you that is available to help. For example, Book 3-5, after Ace, Deuce, and Grim have been anemonized, Jack is there as your support for the first battle in the Mostro Lounge. Book 3-27 has Deuce, Jack, and Grim as possible support against the Merfolk guards inside the museum, because Ace was left outside to distract some other guards. Book 3-28 has the whole group including Ace as support against Jade and Floyd, since they've all made it out of the museum. So, Book 3-13 (as shown above) shows Jack has your back during the fight. That being said, since the way you play the game is up to you and it's not necessary for you to bring the guest characters, you can always interpret it as your Yuu single-handedly beat 3 Savanaclaw students.

[plague-of-insomnia]

Ch 212: That Butler, Going South

Please respect the spoons (time and energy) and money I invested into this post. Do not use my content without credit.

16 pages including the cover.

Basically, the chapter covers Sebastian and Ciel traveling by train to Brighton, discussing the servants’ missions as Ciel enjoys breakfast in the dining car.

(Remember that all the missions are happening simultaneously more or less, so Ciel doesn’t know how successful or not they all were.)

It’s actually quite brilliant of Yana and her team to time things like this. This chapter is a great way for fans who may have lapsed during the servant arcs to catch up again, or even for new fans lured in by the anime to get a taste of the manga.

It’s also interesting to see a how a some of the scenes mirror panels/moments from previous arcs.

For example, the shot of Sebastian and Ciel on the train together is akin to the end of the circus arc. (And admire how much her art has improved!)

Later, we get a (shocking, to me, anyway) shot of Sebastian sitting at the table with Ciel as equals, reminiscent of when they ironed out the details of the contract.

The chapter begins with the two of them on the train in their first class compartment, en route to Brighton from Reading.

Sebastian, ever the conscientious butler, notices the time and mentions breakfast, but Ciel is cautious: they’re fugitives, after all. Sebastian points out that most people wouldn’t expect a criminal to be casually taking a meal in the dining car. Seeing his point (and since Ciel is driven by his stomach lol), they go to have breakfast together.

They then discuss the servants’ missions and what they expect. For example, Ciel brings up the point that Lau can only be trusted so far, and he is the one who first brought their attention to the whole mess back in the Campania arc with Karstein Hospital. And he is a mafia boss.

But, both of them acknowledge that Bard is the smartest and most capable of the four servants (Bard, Mey, Finny, Snake), and that he managed to make it to the UK all the way from America alone. Plus, he’s trustworthy. Ciel points out that’s precisely why he paired them up. (Seeing them compliment my man 😭😭… Take that, Bard haters!)

They also discuss the mission Ran Mao and Mey are undergoing and ofc Snake and Finny. (I’m sorry but I’m tired and I don’t care as much about the other servants as Bard so I’m… not going into detail on their pages. Maybe tomorrow if I have time and spoons I’ll make an add-on to this going over those pages.)

This panel is one of my fave moments in the chapter… it translates more or less like this:

Mey: For our lord

Bard: With pride

Snake: With my life on the line

Finny: I do the assigned work and see it through to the end

Despite initially being wary of leaving their compartment, when Sebastian suggests they leave the dining car, Ciel wants to stay and stretch his legs. It’s only a few hours to Brighton by train.

Looks like next week we’ll start the arc in earnest and maybe learn how they plan to infiltrate the hotel.

Please respect the spoons (time and energy) and money I invested into this post. Do not use my content without credit.

Note: The last panel is actually Ciel speaking, so apologies for that error in translation.

[levbolton]

Don’t you love it when you open a manga and girls are friends?

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Falin's Back! Everything Will Surely Be Okay Forever, Now

the bath scene is so good and not just for shipping reasons, honestly. Falin going, "I hope you guys didn't go to too much trouble to save me? That magic circle looking kind of fucked up..." and Marcille going, "NO IT'S FINE, EVERYTHING IS FINE NOW AND WAS WORTH IT, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK BACK AND LAUGH."

And Falin going directly to offering mana, in a way that's clearly standard for either mages in general or at least Falin to Marcille, and Marcille very reasonably freaking out because by all logic there's no WAY Falin should have any energy to spare right now - she must just be being self-sacrificing! And even if she does have a smidge of energy, who knows how soon she'll need it again! She died in her last fight!

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Lolll Laios (twice Chilchuck's height, width and weight) is more of a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.

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*delighted jazz hands* Practical Worldbuilding & Considerations By The Characters! See, THIS sort of detail is why I'm reading the manga.

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Consume! That! Which! Would Did! Consume! You!

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I love this casual dinner discussion. They're all so deep in the weirdness now. Of course, Laios immediately proves that he still has them all beat, but it's really been a full-party descent into being absolute freaks by the standards of basically everyone else in the world.

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Chilchuck's side-eye game is really impeccable.

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That's such a fond little big brother smile, I'm gonna cry!

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LOOK THEY WERE HAPPY AND TOGETHER, EATING DINNER AND HOLDING EACH OTHER FOR UP TO LIKE THREE HOURS! I could just stop here...they'd be happy and reunited if I just stopped here...

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Obsessed with how the cover of the next volume implies that Falin is going to be, like, a real character now, rather than almost immediately resuming her role as elusive mcguffin/white whale/sexy lamp.

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This is so fuckin' cool, and creepy for them to wake up to. All the flesh is just melted off!

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The dragon ribs and giant pool of blood, with monsters forming out of it. the floating book, single gesture and en pointe pose. Falin helpless and somehow corrupted in the background... AESTHETIC.

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Nothin' but #thatbitch from my "school's first ever genius student"!

Srsly I could spend all day watching Marcille ancient magic!counterspelling these blood pterodactyls one by one. Her research is validated, and not just with an arguably self-serving resurrection! She has skills that are vital to saving all their lives! She's so fucking good that the Mage drops them all in a pit rather than continue to uselessly throw monsters at her!

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

have you ever gotten a chance to read some the 03 creator commentaries? saw a translation floating around and it's interesting https://docs.google.com/document/d/13LxWEZiPfbZwTUyhgx1ausapBMGSHdJn79XBj8_Dppw/

I've never had a chance to read their commentary, no. But getting a small look into Sho Aikawa's and Seiji Mizushima's perspective and processes was really interesting. I appreciate you sharing this with me! If there are other translated sources where they, or anyone else involved in the creation of the 2003 anime, speak on their experiences I'd love to read more.

So many things stand out to me. The fact that the anime was initially slated to be 24 eps alone, but was confirmed for 51 as the production progressed makes me so grateful for what we ended up getting. Most of my favourite arcs and character moments are post ep.25. This anime wouldn't be nearly as impactful without the its other half (which isn't a knock against the first 24 eps at all, I love 'em too).

We always have to remember how fraught the animation process is, with numerous parties making decisions that can cut down or hamper a production. When we get anything, be it an animated short, an independent project, an animated show, or a film, so much labour and last minute decisions were made to get any of it out into the world. And we see the devastation that capital and shareholders have over animation industries globally. So many projects scrapped even when the work has been completed and ready for syndication; or cancelled mid-production; changed and micromanaged to oblivion; or churned out en masse just to make a buck for execs while the workers languish. Looking back on all of the animation that I have enjoyed over the years, I really respect the people behind each of them. And since fma 2003 has a special place in my heart, I'm particularly relieved we got 51 episodes rather than ending prematurely at 24.

(And hell, even animated shows I dislike, such as Brotherhood, still generally get my respect for the animators, writers, and actors for how much work all it took to make it.)

Diving into all of details that caught my attention [not spoiler-free naturally]:

How often Aikawa explicitly points out that he wanted the anime to deviate from the manga. We can already see all of the evidence of these decisions from the outset at episode 01, but this puts a finer point on the fact that this was an adaptive story, not merely a transfer of a story from one medium to another. (People have an astonishingly difficult time grasping that there is a difference between these approaches, often reducing the former to a generally pejorative/diminishing descriptor of being "AU fanfic". 😮‍💨)

Mentions of Al's subtle emotional landscape and how that weaves into his existential crisis.

The intent on making Izumi's contrasting care and rage against the brother's as highlighting her weakness. That she can love them, see them as deserving of her retribution for carrying the same sin as her (which they now carry in part due to her tutelage, no matter how much she tried to dissuade them); how this flaw of hers comes into play with how she attempts to handle Wrath once he too becomes sinful.

LOL at Mizushima insisting on practicing his cat anatomy by including the dying cat scene, despite Aikawa not being comfortable with the cat death due to his love for them. (Very Scar coded :p)

Wrath is introduced as a rival for Ed, since they felt Ed wasn't at Envy's level for that to be the rivalry just yet. Interesting! I see this as showing where Ed needs to mature, or more specifically harden himself, to the deeper truths of the world. Wrath is how they learn how homunculi are 'born'. From the one who was made a homunculus soon after his human birth (and death), unique compared to the other homunculi. And this is yet another example of the weaknesses of all the people who have guided the Elrics. Envy is a much older, harsher truth even beyond this reveal. (The reality of "equivalent exchange", who he is and what Hohenheim had done long before creating a family with Trisha, that Ed will have to resort to the sin of murder when there seems to be no other way.)

Which makes Wrath revealing how humunculi are created, while everyone is gathered on Yok Island extra tasty. This is where the Elrics were trained to learn One is All, All is One. That to be in sync with the rhythms of life and death, to respect your place in this grand tapestry thereby maintains a fraught but interconnected harmony. That alchemy should not be the way to lead your life, should not replace honing your other skills, nor should it dull your understanding for how your actions impact everything and vice versa. Something that Izumi tries to live by after committing the greatest taboo on her deceased infant, and that she hoped would sway the brothers from making that same grave mistake. And here they all are, gathered around the proof of their collective hubris. Their failures standing before them in the form of a feral child grinning at their horror. The body of Izumi's child, Ed's arm for his mother, Ed's leg for his brother, and Al without a body whatsoever, in union on Yok Island. Furthermore, creating a homunculus creates a being who is a slight against life and death, one who cannot fit into a "natural" One Is All order. They are rejected by their creators, by people, by society, by death and by life itself.

The obvious inspo for Wrath being a famous "feral child" case. Again, it is obvious, but I appreciate having that spelled out with even the exact name of the kid Wrath's character is based off of.

How Izumi's sin and flaws, her weaknesses, how they all prevent her from finding the path that makes things right with the world, with Wrath, with herself, and with those Wrath impacts (such as the Elrics); all serving as a necessity for the brothers grapple with, in order to grow as people. That things can't be made all right by a convenient contrivance that absolves them both in one fell swoop coughcoughmangahoodcough

The way writing for the Dublith Wrath Arc split the writing team supervising for said arc, while Aikawa supervised Dante's intro. Also how they wished they could have done more for Greed's story, but the decisions regarding the length of time for the series' syndication meant they couldn't keep him around longer than necessary for the story they were telling.

Mizushima appreciating the strength of Greed's self-identity against all odds. Which, in contrast to Greed's story in mangahood, he loses and has to regain and grow from.

How the entire staff put their collective pussys into Greed's final episode, resulting in the iconic showdown between Ed and the homunculus. 🤌

The craftmanship with the Lust-centric ep (and one of the best in the show imo) "Reunion of the Fallen" is *chef's kiss*

Woof, I'm glad they didn't go with Rick and Leo wielding a firearm against the Elrics and subsequently getting Rick killed in the ricochet. 😬 However I appreciate that they were aware of the potential to make Ed's speech about discrimination come across as Ed acting self-righteous, so the voice actor's duty is to sell his humility. The realization of his internal bigotry is such a pivotal moment for his character development. That being said, it's absolutely wild that Aikawa mentions some people seeing this scene and proudly proclaiming it has no affect on them because they "don't feel any discrimination." 🚩🚩🚩

Mizushima acknowledging Al's petulant transmuted poo 🤭

Aikawa talking about how he was reminded of (or perhaps referencing) the Sino-Japanese war regarding Amestris' invasion of Liore, and how others saw the USA's invasion of Vietnam and Iraq reflected in this arc. He acknowledges Japan's imperial history and the rampant atrocities it committed, and this arc does not allow us to turn away from this fact in-universe either.

That Aikawa not only originally considered having Lust remain memory-less of her past life, but that he specifies this past as "the person who was her source." I love this! The phrasing is so important, as he appears to be avoiding fully 'solving' the existential questions around the relationship between homunculus and their human origin. Though this doesn't stamp out individual interpretations based on the text by fully Word of God'ing an answer, he does show his hand just enough to reignite theorizing. The mysteries around the homunculi and their existence is one of my favourite topics in this show. Aikawa offers some credence to what Ed had asserted to Scar, that she isn't Her; which Scar echoes back to Lust in his final moments, leaving her with a poignant rejection in her one moment of vulnerability and hopefulness that someone from a past she can't fully grasp still cares for and loves her. MAN 😩💔

I'm glad Aikawa was so keen on how Martel's murder was done in the manga that he made sure to have it in the show too. It's a damn memorable scene, and the 03 team really nails the shock and heartbreak of her demise, with Bradley's reveal hitting just right.

That Aikawa implies that Rose's presence what held Scar back from potentially reigniting the fight he and Ed were having is interesting here. Because it feels as though that skirmish simmered down into a verbal, ideological front. With Ed arguably being the instigator, given his initial goal of investigating Liore that night in order to stop whatever Scar was planning. Given that Scar frees Ed from the holding cell he gets thrown into, quite calmly too, and the proceeding discussion between them and "Lyra", though heated particularly from Ed, Scar never came across as teetering on the edge of breaking into another (physical) fight. I wonder if this is a matter of something lost in translation? Language certainly, but perhaps production too? (The internal workings of the goals of the creators is not necessarily always conveyed or achieved in the final work.) If Scar wanted to serve Ed a beatdown, he had ample opportunity while Ed's hands were shackled. I dunno, I just don't see this intent on Aikawa's part as present or relevant to this scene. And frankly, after Scar forces Ed to visit the massive gravesite for the fallen Liorans, he could have easily reneged on his decision to not kill him and gotten retribution for Ed's (unwitting) act as military saboteur. But he doesn't. He merely asserts that nothing will stop him from luring the army into their own slaughter. As I noted, an ideological fight is certainly being waged between them, for which Rose, even in her mute state, contributes and argues as well. Her trauma and child as an argument is something Ed cannot rebut or deny with any self-assurance.

But just as significantly is Aikawa mentioning that Rose's contribution, and Scar's steadfast adherence to the plan to mass transmute the Amestrian armed forces lead Ed to finally abandon the military. That he cannot act as though he can remain in an apolitical, self-centered bubble while carrying the State's badge after everything he has witnessed. Because Ed's white Amestrian position as, in essence, a cop is not the moral arbiter here, nor can it be conveniently ignored with his soap boxing. It is a blinder that had to be shed if he wants to stop directly participating in a system of human misery. Yes, this is to solidify the motivations needed to pit Ed against, and then in-line with, a soon-to-be renegade Mustang, but Ed's own motivations have nothing to do with reforming someone he otherwise was in an antagonistic subordinate position with. He and Al deserted the military for themselves and to avoid having the Stone fall to the State. The fact that Mustang would choose to abandon the military in order to squash the dictatorship is a happy aligning of their disparate goals.

Queue the obvious "Wow, this is infinitely superior to inverting Ed's moral positionality in 03 to one as standing above Scar AND successfully """"""""""reforming"""""""""" Scar via Ed's white, Amestrian, military chauvinism, AND while having Mustang staunchly remaining pro-military while receiving the career boost he always ruthlessly gunned for. And all for the low low price of degrading Scar into a perfectly whipped 'savage' who renounces his 'terrorism'" rant that bubbles in my soul when I think of the absolute contrast between 03's and mangahood's philosophies. I'll spare us all any further ranting for now. It's well-trodden territory by this point.

I'm charmed when artists refer to characters like they're actors to be negotiated into or out of the spotlight. "I've politely asked Ed and his friends to take a backseat," ha. It shows a fondness and intimacy with his work. Anyway, "His Name is Unknown" is yet another excellent ep and it centering Lust and Scar is 💯/💯.

Again I appreciate the openness about which parts of the manga were simply drafts, and how that led to the 03 team to devise their own goals with a character. Hohenheim of Light isn't Van Hohenheim because he wasn't meant to be. Van was hardly a solidified character in the manga at this point, and how he would go on to be articulated within Arakawa's work would never truly fit in the world and plot of 03 anyway.

The commentary for ep.44-! So it's fairly well known that not only did Arakawa ask the team when the anime was first greenlit to create their own story from her materials, but she (and Aikawa here) has mentioned that they did keep in touch for details here and there. (Sometimes with disagreements, as she notes in one of her diary-comics.) But here we get the admission that Dante's role (perhaps even her existence itself) coalesced by Aikawa tapping Arakawa for some input. As he points out in the next segment, Dante was introduced in ep.32 and that aligns with their decision for the show's final villain. (Please note that this isn't the same as "Arakawa wrote fma 03" as some folks have sometimes misinterpreted this as. She had some involvement, but she is not a writer or producer for the show.)

Also of note: that Aikawa feels some of Dante had been 'wasted' via the body transfer. Fascinating! Did he feel she needed more time to cook first in the body we initially meet her in? That the visage of the elderly woman living a stately hermetic life had more to impart before she jumped ship to a new body? Hm. This is my interpretation, so I want to be clear that this isn't necessarily what Aikawa's perspective is. The statement is vague enough to mean anything. I wonder tho. Anyone else have any takeaways? At the very least I think most of us can agree that Dante could have used more time to develop pre-Lyra bodysnatch. I quite liked her elderly form and how that weaves with her misanthropic 'wisened' paradigm. Lyra's youthful physicality does lend a symbolic renewal of Dante's energy, that a new philosopher's stone is at hand and this time- This time it will be key to an eternal, rejuvenated life.

It makes chronological sense within the show's production timeline that Lyra was created before Dante, given that we are informed that Dante was decided as the villain coming up to her introduction in ep.32. This places Lyra as 23 episodes older than the woman who would kill and embody her. Neat! And with Aikawa mentioning how Lyra wasn't originally intended to be reintroduced into the show (she was meant to be a one-off), but the strength and range of her Japanese VA swayed the decision to offer up Lyra to Dante is serendipitous!

The admission that FullMetal Alchemist is a show about philosophy, about conflict via paradigm rather than a typical action shonen that communicates via battles. Love it! Ep.46 could have been an Al vs Tucker smackdown, but Aikawa knew that this isn't in the spirit of what he and his team had created. I'm with him on this and I'm glad that they took the route they did, both broadly for the entire show, as well as for this episode. Show the tragedy and sin of Tucker and those like him (ruthless scientists who view others only via their utility for their own goals/purview), that the disastrous and tragic consequences of those actions speak for themselves. A fist fight or alchemic battle would be superfluous, if not a detractor. (It would definitely have been a distraction imo.)

OUGh, now this is something I actually never tapped into, and it feels foolish on my part for somehow missing this all these years: Wrath and Selim both are the unwitting child who brings the homunculus parent's remains to them, leading to their downfall. Dude! Yeah! And the contrast here is fun, as Selim believed he was helping Bradley. He was trying to be a thoughtful son and paid the price. Wrath, on the other hand, though he intended to help Sloth he was also wild and fully lacked forethought and impulse control. He took her weakness into himself, and through his imposition of motherhood onto Sloth as she actively tried to end that reality with Trisha's/her own children, gets her killed. And his merging with her being symbolic of the return to the womb, from the dead infant transmuted and stolen into the void? Who hates his true mother and wanted to force another to be his replacement mother, who herself lacked the wherewithal to rebuke him (plus it was a useful control over his erratic behaviour)? Beautiful, horrendous, poetic, gutting!

Aikawa admits that he regrets the decision to offset Sloth's full death scene to the next episode as it less gracefully blends into the ongoing plot and character presences to come. Tbh I never felt this to be too janky or tone-eroding. It works, though I understand how more room to breath would enhance the emotions that emerge from Sloth's death and final words. For the Elrics (and Wrath) to really writhe in it, before Envy steals Al away and Izumi retrieves Ed.

But bless, BLESS them, for writing Mustang as a defector rather than a reformer and power grabber in the end of it all.

A confluence of reasons for Archer's transition into TerminArcher. It does explain the wonky execution of Archer's presence in the story this far in. Tbh he should not have survived being sagittally severed by Scar's alchemy, but hey. I've mentioned wishing that the body horror and human experimentation via bio-industrial processes rather than bio-alchemical had been better examined. Because the potential was there! The design also needed work, lbr. Still, I embrace 03's janky bits alongside it's quality and often brilliant sides altogether. The fact that they're running up against the final eps and being unable to organically introduce a new character this far out does make sense. They had to compromise by having Archer fill a necessary role rather than explore anything new with the in-universe methods that kept him alive (and what that says about non-alchemic sciences and systemic dehumanization via weaponization).

Here it is, the truth that the writers did not mistakenly forget about the laws of conservation, nor were they ignorant or accidentally stumbled into an explanation for why Ed's (and many alchemist's) dogma did not match the reality we were so often presented with throughout the entire show! So many people watch 03 (or, y'know, half pay attention to it and then dismiss it as they originally intended to anyway) and somehow miss Dante's grand obliteration of the 'Law' of Equivalent Exchange. They miss that this is the show's way of affirming that, yes! We know this has never been true, we have been showing you this in innumerable ways! Al's opening narration before the intro song was telling you the same thing too! If you were paying attention and noted that something wasn't adding up, this is because we were leading you as well as the Elrics to this destination! Now grapple with what that means across the themes and events we have been presenting you.

This next line shook me: Aikawa does not view the Hohenheim-like, youthful face that Envy dons to get Ed to slip up in their fight as his true face! Holy shit! There has been so much debate over the years about whether this is what Envy truly looked like as a human; whether this could even be possible given that Hohenheim's most current body could not have survived through centuries. (Envy being the oldest homunculus at around 400 years, therefore Dante and Hohenheim had him 4 centuries ago.) And here's Aikawa, saying he doesn't see this as Envy's truth! Goddamn. If we take this as Word of God, then Envy was not lying earlier in the series when he states that he has long forgotten what his original form looked like. Thing is, I don't think we have to completely abandon creating interpretations for why Envy presented this face (beyond the pragmatic shock that allows him to overcome Ed), since Hohenheim's current face does not look wholly unlike his original visage before having to jump into a new body. I personally enjoy the idea that Hohenheim tends to seek out men who have some resemblance to his original self, unlike Dante who wears human beings for the novelty of each of their unique selves. Envy may not remember what he looked like precisely (and given Dante's control over humunculus embodiment she may not allow him that recollection) but perhaps he could have been unwittingly close enough. Regardless of interpretation, that Aikawa sees the serpent form as more true to Envy due to its symbol as the Ouroboros to me underlines that Envy has drifted so far from humanity so severely. His contempt and pain buries the past that fuels his rage all the same.

And as though ep.50's revelation wasn't big enough, ep.51's is a sledgehammer to my brain. Aikawa describes the process Ed had to undergo in order to successfully bring Al back to life and I am !!UNWELL!! Holy shit. The Gate did not necessarily comply with the transmutation! It did not follow through with that exchange, as if to put the finest point on Dante's speech possible! Though perhaps one could argue that it did allow the opportunity for Ed to do what he does.

"The only way he could prevent himself from decomposing inside the gate entirely was to leave his body behind. During this process, he came across Al’s body and soul while in the gate, just as he left it at age ten. As Ed crossed to the other side of the world with all his memories intact, Al could only regenerate by losing those same memories of the last four years."

EXCUSE ME. AIKAWA. ED WOULD HAVE DIED AND ROTTED IN THE GATE?! HOLY FUCK. He had to encounter Al's body and soul himself! Which was being protected in stasis, the Gate staving off death and decomposition from the younger Elric, unlike Ed's! I'm devouring bedrock, omfg. And yet, had there not been an exchange of Al's memories post-body loss for keeping Ed's memories as he crossed universes, there's an implication that Al would not have survived returning to the world! I am now consuming magma from the Earth's core. The Gate truly toys with lives in unfathomable ways.

The Elrics reaching to the sky, to each other, inspired by a shot in the first opening! That they're happy, in spite of their separation. Aikawa emphasizing that the ending is not wholly tragic, but, as many people have interpreted, it is bittersweet. (Interesting then how CoS modifies, contradicts, and replaces this ending.)

Man... my appreciation for the folks who made fma 2003 has been renewed.

Once again, thank you so much for sharing this with me, anon! I'm sure this is old news to a lot of fans, but for those who haven't read the commentary, please do!

[bnhaobservation]

BNHA Observations, speculations and assorted info: The facts taking place during the year that ends with Rei's hospitalization and Tōya's assumed death

So, in order to write my fic, I spend much time observing canon scenes, comparing the manga and the anime version, take note of details, translations and info in them as well as finding out how are some things called.

Since what I noticed/speculated/found out can be of use for other fic authors I thought to share as well.

Resources:

Chapter 31 The Boy Born with Everything (全てを持って生まれた男の子 Subete o Motte Umareta Otoko no Ko) Chapter 39 Todoroki Shōto: Origin (轟焦凍：オリジン Todoroki Shōto: Origin) Chapter 44 Relaxing Day Off (休め振替休日 Yasume Furikae Kyūjitsu) Chapter 93 One For All's Ember (残り火ワンフォーオール Nokoribi One For All) Chapter 166 Be Proud, License Trainees (ホッコれ仮免講習 Hokkore Karimen Kōshū) Chapter 187 Flaming Roar! vs. Nomu: High-End (燃えよ轟け！VS脳無：ハイエンド Moeyo Todoroke! Versus Nōmu: High-End) Chapter 188 Your Father, the Number One Hero (父はNo.1ヒーロー Chichi wa Number One Hero) Chapter 192 The Todoroki Family (轟家 Todoroki-ke) Chapter 202 Match 3 (第3セット Daisan Set) Chapter 204 Tuning Up (チューニング Tuning) Chapter 249 The Hellish Todoroki Family (地獄の轟くん家 Jigoku no Todoroki-kun-chi Chapter 250 Ending (エンディング Ending) Chapter 290 Dabi's Dance (ダビダンス Dabi Dance) Chapter 302 The Wrong Way to Put Out a Fire, Part 2 (火の不始末 後編 Hi no Fushimatsu Kōhen) Chapter 350 Bound to a Fiery Fate (エン En)

Episode 19 The Boy Born with Everything (全てを持って生まれた男の子 Subete o Motte Umareta Otoko no Ko) Episode 23 Todoroki Shōto: Origin (轟焦凍：オリジン Todoroki Shōto: Origin) Episode 25 Todoroki vs. Bakugō (轟VS爆豪 Todoroki versus Bakugō) Episode 49 One For All (ワン・フォー・オール) Episode 88 His Start (始まりの Hajimarino) Episode 90 Vestiges (面影 Omokage) Episode 95 Match 3 (第３試合 Daisan Shiai) Episode 96 Match 3 Conclusion (第３試合決着 Daisan Shiai Ketchaku) Episode 105 The Hellish Todoroki Family (地獄の轟くん家 Jigoku no Todoroki-kun-chi) Episode 106 The Unforgiven (許されざる者 Yurusarezaru-mono) Episode 124 Dabi's Dance (ダビダンス Dabi Dance) Episode 130 The Wrong Way to Put Out a Fire (火の不始末 Hi no Fushimatsu)

Series 4th Outro2 "Shout Baby" by Ryoku Oushoku Shakai

My Hero Academia: School Briefs I (僕のヒーローアカデミア 雄英白書 I Boku no Hīrō Akademia U.A. Hakusho I) - Part 2 Notice from School My Hero Academia: School Briefs V (僕のヒーローアカデミア 雄英白書 祝 Boku no Hero Academia Hakusho Iwai) - Part 3 Awkward Year's-End Soba

OBSERVATIONS, SPECULATIONS AND ASSORTED INFO:

Fundamentally the year that lead to Rei's hospitalization and Touya's death is narrated into two different moments, chap 31/39, in which we've a retelling of how bad it was from Shouto's point of view and chap 290/302, in which we learn instead of Touya's side.

However, there's a fundamental difference in the two narrations. When the story tackles Touya's side, we can more or less pinpoint the dates of when this is happening, the same can't be said for when the story tackles Shouto's side. There's probably a narrative reason for this, Touya's whole story (which covers much more than just this year) is a progression of things going from good to terrible, while Shouto's story is likely meant to narrate the constant horror in which he and his mother lived until Rei lost it. So there's not really a need to pinpoint when a scene took place because that scene likely kept on repeating in similar variants for days, until Rei became unable to take it any longer.

As a result I'll narrate some fact that are part of Shouto's side first, so as to give the idea they likely repeated over and over through that year, while I'll follow the timeline of Touya's side of the story more closely.

So anyway let's dig on what happened that year.

Warning: as tumblr now has an image limit (no more than 30 per post), I had to turn more images into a single one so as to show the full scene. The result is that the image quality in some scenes is pretty low... Please, use the images solely as a visual reference of which scene you need to look at and, for the text check your own copy of BNHA.

TIMELINE

January 11: Todoroki Shōto is 5.

January 18: Todoroki Tōya is 13.

April: Todoroki Tōya starts his second year at Middle school - Todoroki Fuyumi starts Middle school - Todoroki Natsuo starts his 3rd year at Elementary school. - Todoroki Shōto attends preschool.

[Preeschool in Japan isn't mandatory but we know Shōto attended to it as Chap 166 shows on its cover the photo taken at the preschool entrance ceremony... the photo might not be necessarily taken in this year as kids can start preschool from when they're 3 but it just confirms Shōto went at it]

Sometime during the year: Endeavor and All Might talked for the last time.

A note on the translation:

‘Chō hisashiburi! 10-Nen mae no taidan furi ka na! ? Mikaketakara aisatsu shi tokou to omotte ne.’ 「超久し振り！10年前の対談振りかな！？見かけたから挨拶しとこうと思ってね。」 “It’s been a long time! It's from the talk/conversation show from 10 years ago, right! ? I saw you and thought I'd say hello.”

Endeavor and All Might's conversation is called ‘taidan furi’ (対談振り) where ‘taidan’ (対談) means “a discussion between two people which is usually set up as a special occasion and whose topic is set in advance”… while ‘furi’ (振り) is “show”. So basically, 10 years ago they didn’t have a casual chat but ended up together in some sort of talk show / combined interview. The anime makes it even more obvious because in it the sentence is:

‘10-Nen mae, media de taidan shite irai ka na! ? !’ 「10年前、メディアで対談して以来かな！？！」 “I think it's been since we had a conversation on the media 10 years ago!?”

During the year: Shōto watches All Might on television when his father isn't around [shown in chap 39 and 206. We see that Shōto's clothes are different in the two scenes and so is his position, meaning he did it more than once which "School Briefs" also confirms]

“You always were a fan of All Might, weren’t you, Shōto? But you had to wait until your father wasn’t around to watch those video clips in secret. Remember?” [Rei from "My Hero Academia: School Briefs I"]

During the year: Shōto's training is so severe it causes him to throw up. Rei tries to get in between him and Enji protesting he's only 5 and gets hit. [shown in chap 39, 202, 204]

Actually we don't know if Chapter 202 & 204 are placed in this same year (Shōto is still small but Rei isn't present and Shōto and Enji are dressed differently so it's not the same time as chap 39... and likely chap 202 and 204 show two different scenes as well since in one Enji has his moustaches on fire while in the other is his beard... never mentioning in chap 202 Shōto already has his scar so this likely happened post him being burn and could as well take place in the following year, though the fact that Enji has long sleeves might imply it's still winter...) but they seems to show other scenes of Shōto's training which still sees him throwing up and crying, which surely confirm an abusive pattern.

A note on the translation:

'Tōya wa oshikatta. Ore ijō no karyoku o sonaete irunoni. Rei no taishitsu o motte shimatte… Aitsu wa… oshikatta' 「燈矢は惜しかった。俺以上の火力を備えているのに 冷の体質を持ってしまって… あいつは…惜しかった」 “Tōya was close/disappointing/something I feel regret for/deserving better. Even though he has more firepower than me. He had Rei's constitution… That guy… was close/disappointing/something I feel regret for/deserving better.”

Oishikatta (惜しかった) has quite a bunch of meanings like to feel regret for, to find something a pity/pitiful, to mourn but also to cherish, to love dearly, to be precious... and is used to express pity/regret of an "almost but not quite" situation, in "a damn it, you were so close" kind of way.

Very likely the emphasis in the sentence isn't that Tōya could almost do it, but that it was so unfortunate Tōya couldn't do it.

This doesn't necessarily mean Tōya was already dead because it was decided Tōya couldn't fulfill Enji's ambitions way prior his death and way prior Shōto's birth.

BTW, Tōya started burning himself before Natsuo was conceived. In order for their age difference to work, it means Enji started training Tōya when Tōya was 3 (yeah, it's possible he started earlier than this age but I find difficult that a child of 2 could pull it out successfully). As a result it's possible he started training Shōto at that age as well. In case someone doesn't remember it, Quirks don't appear when one is 4 but can appear even earlier (luminescent baby anyone?), Shōto could freeze his own snot as an infant and it's implied that Enji knew Tōya had a fire Quirk when they conceived Fuyumi (meaning when Tōya was 2 months or younger) so starting their training before 4 wasn't impossible.

During the year: While Shōto is scared at the idea of becoming like his father, someone who abuses his mother, Rei comfort him saying he can decide who he'll become. [Chap 39... I pieced back the scene for better visual]

During the year: Tōya is desperate because he can't figure his reason to exist and search comfort in Natsuo [Chap 290]

Likely in sprind, anyway prior to July (as Natsuo isn't 9 yet): Tōya, Natsuo and Fuyumi play together while Shōto can only watch them. Enji refuses to let him join them saying he needs to train and they belong to different worlds. [Chap 302 & 39 & 250]

July 1: Todoroki Natsuo is 9.

Likely summer, though it could be still spring: Natsuo refuses to listen to Tōya’s complains during the night, telling him to go talk with Fuyumi. [Chap 302]

August 8: Todoroki Enji/Endeavor is 36.

Likely autumn (Rei's sleeves are longer): Rei tries to stop Tōya from leaving the house and the two have an argument. [Chap 302]

During the year: Rei begins to break starting to cry way too often to the point Shōto will end up remembering her solely crying and will forget her smiling. [Chap 31]

December 6: Todoroki Fuyumi is 13.

Winter: Tōya’s flames turn blue. [Chap 302]

A note on the translation:

'Hayaumare no chīsana karada ni yōyaku otozure hajimeta nijiseichō’「早生まれの小さな身体に漸く訪れ始めた二次性徴」 "Secondary sexual characteristics have finally begun to appear in the small body of the hayaumare.”

'Hayaumare' isn't a premature kid but someone born between January 1 and April 1. In Japan this is relevant because in order to start school you need to be 6 by the time the 2 of April comes around, meaning the Hayaumare are the youngest kids in the class as they're born in the year following the one in which the other kids, or ‘Osoumare’ (遅生まれ "born in between April 2 and December 31"), were born.

Winter (likely in a different day as the black bars on the corner hint at time passing by... possibly because when Tōya came back home Enji wasn't there yet?): Tōya asks his father to come to Sekoto Peak with him his next day off. [Chap 302]

Winter (likely in the same day): Todoroki Enji/Endeavor hits Todoroki Rei for not stopping Todoroki Tōya from training. [Chap 302]

Winter (the morning of another day as Todoroki Shōto has just woken up): Rei snaps and burns Shōto. [Chap 31, 39, 249, 302]

“Shōto?” he said, facing the sliding fusuma screen. No response. Natsuo slid the screen aside, not expecting to find his brother inside, but there he was-fast asleep on the Futon that he’s clearly plopped down onto without much care, all askew. Moving quietly so as not to wake Shōto, Natsuo crept over and peered at his brother’s face. He looked surprisingly young, despite the burn scar that sat heavily on his face like a shadow. Having been abused by Endeavor-who’s been fixated on his own ambition. Todoroki Rei had snapped one day and thrown scalding water in Shōto’s face. Natsuo would never forget the pair of tear-filled screams he’d heard that day. How painful it must have been, he thought. Natsuo caught himself extending a finger toward the scar but quickly curled it away when he realized what he was doing. Shōto’s scar probably wouldn’t exist if only the boy hadn’t inherited aspects of both his parents’ Quirks. Maybe Shōto could have enjoyed a normal childhood, full of carefree days playing with his siblings. And yet I couldn’t do a thing… Natsuo had been in elementary school when it had happened. Their father, Endeavor, had ignored his family well-being in pursuit of his ambitions-ambitions he’d projected onto young Shōto. Even now, Natsuo would beat himself up over how he used to be before the abuse really began, recalling the period in his life that had made him feel pathetic and ashamed. Before Shōto was born, Natsuo had sought his father’s love and care, and when Endeavor was around, he would turn into an excited ball of energy, eager for attention. But that love never came. It was only thanks to his warm and caring mother that Natsuo had survived those early years and learned to cope with rejection from his other parent. But after Shōto was born, even their mother grew distant, though not out of indifference. Natsuo could sense how much energy she had to devote to protecting her youngest, her baby, from her husband’s so called training-which most would label abuse- but at that age, Natsuo couldn’t help but feel that his mother had been stolen from him. After witnessing his mother and brother crying and screaming on that horrible day, Natsuo had been overcome with crushing shame. [My Hero Academia: School Briefs V]

Winter (the same day or the one after it... Shōto's clothes are different but he might have had to change because he got wet... on the other side it's also possible that Rei's hospitalization wasn't done the same day but Enji had to do preparations for it): Rei is consequently hospitalized and put in isolation. After learning about his mother's hospitalization Shōto decides to blame his father for this. [Chap 39]

A note on the translation:

'Omae ni kigai o kuwaetanode byōin ni ireta. Mattaku… daijina tokida to iu no ni…' 「おまえに危害を加えたので病院に入れた。全く…大事な時だと言うのに…」 "I put her in a hospital because she hurt you. Good grief... even though it's an important time..."

Enji is actually more specific in what he says to Shōto about Rei's fate, saying he put her in a hospital and didn't call her a fool but uses an expression of general exhasperation 'mattaku'.

Winter (likely on Todoroki Enji/Endeavor’s day off, Tōya's clothes are also noticeably different from the ones he had when he asked his father to go with him on Sekoto Peak): Tōya goes on Sekoto Peak, waiting for his father. When his father doesn’t arrive and the lights go down he ends up setting himself on fire losing his lower jaw before he manages to enter in a stream. He is then found and taken away by All for One. Enji reaches Sekoto Peak but can’t find his son except for a piece of his jawbone. Tōya is assumed dead even if Enji at first claims he didn't want to accept it. However this will lead him to focus even more on Shōto. [Chap 291, 302, 350]

Winter (after Tōya's death): After Rei's hospitalization Shōto will never visit her until he'll be in U.A. High school. Rei's psychological condition will get worse. Fuyumi, despite knowing about her family's sad situation was and will remain too scared to do anything beyond keeping up appearances. Natsuo will gradually forget things but will keep on resenting Enji for what happened to his mother and to his siblings. [Chap 39, 187, 250, 302]

TIMELINE CONSISTENCY PROBLEMS

Either Horikoshi didn't plan the Todoroki timeline or decided to change things along the way as, occasionally, what the characters say happened in a chapter get contraddicted in another... or make them seem uncaring of Enji's neglect of Natsuo (and Fuyumi) and of how he eventually casued Tōya's death.

Mind you, I'm sure they all cared about Tōya's death and about the neglect Natsuo and Fuyumi suffered because otherwise the characterization wouldn't make sense. This is likely a problem in the narration, not an attempt of the narration to deny the care.

Anyway I'm gonna list the problems in narration now. Do with them what you want. I'm sure plenty of people has headcanons that solve them just fine. This though isn't a page for theories so I didn't list any of mine either.

Not all of the problems are terrible (the only ones really bad are the ones that consistently change the timeline/why things happened) but some of them can undoubtedly confuse a reader about the characters' feelings.

Let's start with chap 350.

For start this establishes that Tōya assumed his father didn't come to him on Sekoto Peak because he was too busy with work... so the fire took place not after the discussion they had (which fits with how the timeline decided Rei needed to be hospitalized before Tōya were to burn) but neither on Enji's free day apparently... unless Tōya assumed his father gave up on his free day to work some more which is something he had already done in chap 301, when Enji left and refused to train Tōya even though it was his day off... and this can be Tōya's own way to excuse his father for not coming to Sekoto Peak.

However, after this the chapter has Tōya say he has to go back home because he did and say some awful things so he should apologize to his mother and the others and shows his father what he can do.

The problem is... we didn't really see him doing something awful. Yes, he argued with his mother but this was PRIOR to his flames turning blue, as for his siblings his argument with Fuyumi dated to PRIOR Natsuo's birth and the one with Natsuo to PRIOR his argument with his mother and wasn't even a real argument. He just begged his little brother to hear him out.

If there was an argument that day before Tōya left for Sekoto Peak... if he did something... well, this is completely discharged by the plot. It won't even be mentioned when he and his siblings will meet again... not even mentioning his mother was hospitalized and put in isolation PRIOR to him going on Sekoto Peak, so if he had an argument with her we didn't see, it still was way prior to that.

And the same goes for whatever he did of awful... as I've hard time thinking he's referring to accidentally burning down the peak.

Even his discussion with his father doesn't seem to fit the description and if he blames himself for how his father hit his mother... well, that just feel messed up especially since he wasn't even shown being there to see.

Going on.

Chap 39 said Shōto didn't visit Rei because he blamed himself, while chap 250 says it was due to Rei's psychological condition worsening after Tōya's death... to go back on chap 302 volume version which said she was put in isolation PRIOR to Tōya's death (and therefore likely couldn't see anyone even if she wanted to) and then, AFTER Tōya's death she got even worse.

In the magazine version of chap 302 Horikoshi had Rei state that Enji basically became abusive AFTER Tōya's death, and this is what eventually lead Rei to snap and be eventually hospitalized... the whole thing was corrected in the volume version so now the volume version too agrees that Rei was hospitalized FIRST and then Tōya died.

While the thing got 'fixed', the whole correction was done in a sloppy manner... it would have worked much better if the dialogues in whose two scenes were swapped because, if Rei was already hospitalized and put in isolation, she wouldn't have known if, after Tōya's death, Enji got worse. It's hard to think she's referring to the time prior Tōya's death because it feels like a non sequitur since they were talking of the time AFTER IT.

Since the narration was changed retroactively it's possible that in the first planning for the chapter Tōya's flames turning blue, him telling his father, his father abusing Rei and him running to Sekoto Peak (instead than waiting for Enji's day off) took place all in the same day... or better all in the same night as it's dark when Tōya's flames turn blue and it's dark when Tōya burns on Sekoto Peak.

This however becomes impossible when it was decided Rei was hospitalized PRIOR to Tōya dying.

It doesn't help how Rei in chapter 39 focus especially on how she shouldn't stay with Shōto due to his left side being repulsive to her, when chap 302 magazine version also implied Natsuo's look was repulsive to her and the volume version instead change things and made it all about the way they looked at her (but Shōto never looked at her in such a way though okay, she might have been losing it but she should have still worried more about Tōya who glared at her like Enji and also about Natsuo). Of course the problem of chap 39 is likely that what happens in chap 302 was likely not planned and the story was possibly meant to focus solely on Shōto so, of course, she wouldn't want to be near him and wouldn't be troubled by the other kids.

Shōto is supposed to be kept isolated by his siblings, which is also why Natsuo had no idea Shōto liked Soba as, evidently, they never ate together before. However, when Enji attack Rei from the furniture we see they seem to be all in the same room, the television one.

In chap 291 Enji claims he kept searching for Tōya, unable to believe in his death... but chap 302 presents him as resigned and completely focused on Shōto.

Either because Tōya's storiline wasn't planned yet or to keep the secret, the story in its early stages avoid mentioning him... with confusing results.

Shōto, in chap 39, won't mention to Midoriya how his father might have lead to his older brother's demise. The manga will try to excuse it by saying

'Sotsu-sen shita hanasu mon ja nēdaro' 「率先して話すもんじゃねエだろ」 "I wouldn't take the initiative to speak (about it)."

Only... during his first discussion with Midoriya Shōto:

Asked Midoriya if he was All Might illegittimate son

Told him about his father buying his mother for Quirk Marriage

Told him about his mother's depression and how she ended up burning him

Told him about how he was raised to fulfill his father's expecations and how he hated it and how he'll deny his father by refusing to use his Quirk

That's quite a lot he decided to mention, but the fact he didn't mention how his father also lead his oldest brother to his demise made it seems as if Shōto didn't see Enji responsible for it... which also seems confirmed by how, when Fuyumi asks Shōto how he feels about Enji, he replies he blames him solely for his scar and driving his mother to madness, not a word for his dead older brother or for how his siblings suffered of neglect even if Natsuo made clear he still suffers for it.

Shōto is a VERY caring boy. This narrative choice seems to imply he didn't care about his siblings when it's likely the opposite. He cared for Natsuo and likely for Tōya and Fuyumi too. The way the story is told though, is misleading because it makes him look like he only cares about himself and his mother when I don't think that's the case.

Probably though, back in chap 31 Horikoshi either hadn't planned Tōya's storyline yet or wanted to keep it secret and here he didn't want to repeat the whole narration or give too many hints about Tōya's death so he had Shōto skip it and focus on Rei. It's a choice... but it's not a great one.

Enji also for a long while won't show concern for how he caused Tōya's death.

In chap 93 Enji thinks at how his despair lead him to ruin his family... only again there's no mention of Tōya not even visually, again likely because Horikoshi either hadn't planned Tōya's storyline yet or wanted to keep it secret. Still it seems as if Enji doesn't care he lead his son to death for his own ambition.

Chapter 188 is a little better as, at least, Tōya is shown along with his siblings... but it's still not great because, even though Enji is in the middle of his attempt at being a better person, here he worries about his overheating and seems to focus solely on how he married Rei and with her he had three kids who didn't have the Quirk he wanted and then to a kid who had the Quirk he wanted to fight the over heating, and doesn't concern at all with how, in the process, he also abused his family, lead Rei to madness and Tōya to death, but it can work narratively... even if it's not so great because it remarks something we already knew and doesn't focus on his regret (which would have been more important since Enji is trying to be a better person). But okay, it can work.

Probably the worst part is chap 192 because by then Enji is making clear he plans to atone but when he worries about the lives he had cut short, even though Tōya was mentioned, the visual shows us only Rei, as if she were the only life he had cut short (as she ended up in a hospital), skipping the one of his son WHO DIED.

Yes, this is probably to keep the mystery about Tōya but it's still not a great choice since he doesn't seem concerned.

Also probably because Horikoshi either hadn't planned Tōya's (and Natsuo's) storyline yet or wanted to keep it secret in "Ultra Archive" it was said Fuyumi became a teacher solely because she felt bad about the mistreatment Shōto suffered, apparently not caring about the neglect Natsuo suffered or of how Tōya ended up dead.

Fuyumi is also showed 'not caring' when no changes are done regarding to her in chap 302.

In the magazine version Fuyumi saying "I knew our family was broken" with an image of Enji dragging away Shōto and her mother trying to stop it, can be read as "(After Tōya's death) I knew our family was broken" and this allows her to sound like she's in pain for Tōya, Shōto and her mother.

However when the manga version changes things and have Rei hospitalized before Tōya's death, showing her having a flashback of how Enji was dragging away Shōto and her mother trying to stop it, remarks she knew her family was broken PRIOR to Tōya's death but not her feelings in regard to it. This combines negatively with how it was said she became a teacher for what Shōto suffered and paints her as uncaring for what Tōya suffered.

Again, I'm sure Fuyumi cared. It's just when "Ultra Archive" was written either Horikoshi didn't think about this part of the storyline or we weren't meant to know about it so he skipped it, and in chap 302 he merely adjusted things poorly so they ended up having implications he didn't plan.

Shōto going to preschool, where other children are, but being kept isolated by his siblings because they aren't part of the Hero world, seems a contraddiction in the story. While part of it can be due to Tōya's actions when Shōto was a baby, even after Tōya's death it will be said Shōto was kept apart from Natsuo (it's unclear if the same applies to Fuyumi) but then we see that when Shōto is in U.A. he's free to also go out without supervision so it becomes weird how (or why) Enji managed to keep him apart from his siblings, when he was allowed to spend time with whoever he wanted outside of his house... and even in his house he apparently wasn't controlled.

It also doesn't speak so great of Natsuo never attempting to connect with his little brother even if "School Briefs" tries to excuse it by saying it was due to Natsuo's grief.

When giving the green sign to "Vigilantes" Horikoshi likely completely forgot that All Might and Endeavor supposedly didn't meet for 10 years as, in chap 122, the two will cooperate to stop a Villain attack. Since “Vigilantes” takes place AFTER All Might and All for One’s big fight that injured both, it can’t be more than 6 years at the very best but, much likely, it’s less as this takes place at the end of “Vigilantes”. It’s true they didn’t really talk but still, they met.

Also both the anime and the coloured version of the manga give him red hair when, by then, his hair were while.

Credits when it's due though, I don't know if Horikoshi is behind the coloured manga version or another person does the colouring and that person took the anime as inspiration. In the black and white version Horikoshi's design for Tōya is consistent as his hair aren't coloured (while he colour red hair in black), so this could be not Horikoshi's fault.

The anime seems to confirm many scenes took place during night (except for Endeavor searching for Tōya after Sekoto Peak burned)... clearly no one was keeping an eye on Tōya if Enji never noticed how late his son got home and Rei, despite knowing Tōya went on Sekoto Peak to train, never worried about her son being up on a peak alone till late at night...

That's all I could remember/find for now.

The Todoroki storyline remains my favorite in the manga but there's no deny it was handled in a way that ended up contradicting itself, likely sometimes by mistake and sometimes due to change of plans or plot reasons. It's still a great story so don't think I believe the fact it has shortcoming means it's not enjoyable.

[houjicha]

So I was rereading the 1927 manga for the millionth time and noticed a translation error:

Specifically, Claire's line "He's a popular guy."

I'm pretty sure this was just a misreading of 持てる (moteru)--just one letter off, which does mean that he's a popular guy.

Buuuut the actual Japanese is 持ってる(motteru), which makes this line hit very differently in context:

This means more like "Firo's a guy who has..." something! "It" as @toushindai put it when we talked about it recently (thank you!). When this verb doesn't have a clear object, it has certain connotations.

There's a term 持ってる人 (motteru hito), which literally translates to "a person who has"...it. According to one Japanese article, it's like someone who is able to pull through when it really matters, as opposed to people who crack under pressure, and is generally capable and dependable. "They've got it" is a pretty good translation, although if I can be super nitpicky, 持ってる人 is a general type of person, so "it" would be more like "the set of qualities needed to succeed" rather than "this particular situation." Jisho.com calls it "that special something."

The main focus of Firo's arc in 1927 is his insecurities and feeling unsure of who he's going to be. He's constantly comparing himself to Claire and the Gandors and the Martillo family executives, and wondering how he can stand out and find his place.

There's a similar sort of phrasing here in the Japanese, too:

It's not the same phrase, but the literal translation is "What do I have?" (Official EN is "Where does that leave me?") Like "What do I have going for me? What's my 'thing'?" He's not sure if he has "it," but he wants to.

After Firo chased the priest off the roof, Claire saw a bit of that insecurity--but he certainly sees Firo as capable, even if Firo himself doesn't.

So...Claire's line is actually a response to that arc. Claire returns to the Gandors and lets them know about how Firo helped Keith. The Gandors' first response is to be like "Is he okay?" which is totally understandable, but Firo would probably take it the wrong way. (That's a guess, of course, but this feels related to the reasons Firo didn't join the Gandors and the vibe between them in their earlier scene.) But Claire pushes back by saying "He's fine. He's got what it takes." This discussion isn't about whether the Martillos will take Firo back; it's about Firo himself, and it's like a little cap on his arc.

(ちゃんと (chanto) is the other word in this sentence, by the way, which means like "properly" but is more a way of saying that something is as it should be, or properly qualifies. He's calling Firo a bonafide 持ってる人)

Anyway as someone who really loves the little scraps of Firo and Claire's relationship that we get I needed you to know about this one thank you for your time

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Wakamiya, Yukiya and the lady ravens

So far, I’d like to commend the series composition writer Yukiko Yamamuro for reinterpreting Chisato Abe’s novel and patching up the first two volumes of the book series (and the others maybe) into one cohesive narrative while altering some things to make it more comprehensible.

If you haven’t seen the 12th episode, beware of spoilers from here on:

Yukiya

In the manga, he only showed up when Wakamiya asked him to assist him on how to demonstrate the utility of the Ue, their raven suit, concerning Samomo’s death. (Of course, it is given that he might just be in the background the whole time.) While in the anime, he’s become the stand-in for Hamayu. The writer altered the dialogue and scenes to fit to Yukiya, a sort of Jiminy Cricket to Wakamiya. His assistant through and through.

The barriers

Instead of setting up a screen between the Prince and the princesses, Anime*Wakamiya has once again broken the protocol that he can see them and talk to them without the bamboo curtains. (He is allowed to break the rules, but the candidates cannot.)

Shiratama

Honestly, this is the most heartwarming scene in the 12th episode. It is not a big smile, but Wakamiya has done so, perhaps relieved, seeing that Shiratama has finally listened to her heart, while Yukiya is beaming watching his cousin reunited with her lover Kazumi. The bluffing has worked, even though Yukiya thinks it is an overkill while Wakamiya insists they haven’t done the deed yet. Anyway, he has done the scrutiny with so much care and respect. He was not as brutal as in the manga where calling her out was actually a push for her to think of her own mind.

He is exercising his right to be a just ruler here, which he at first was not so sure of how would it turn out.

Yukiya: What are you trying to get out of this choice?

Wakamiya: I wonder. Heaven knows how this will go.

But in the end, he’s begun to weigh both sides, give advices, tell it what it is, and encourage Shiratama and Masuho no Susuki to see what are their other opportunities other than marrying him.

It is true that he also doesn’t have a good opinion on Sakura Blossom Palace due to what transpired and/or is transpiring there. For him it stands for prison, of human follies, a snake pit, of the way humans drag each other down to the point of wishing the other harm, powerful men using young women as mere tools to advance power and influence. He knows it because his own mother had been one.

From the novel:

The wind was fluttering the young master's black hair. His face was white in the moonlight. A handsome, unpleasant person. But affectionate. Yukiya looked at the prince for a long time and spoke cautiously a little later.

“I know that my words will sound cowardly now. But Shiratama from the North House is my cousin... When I found out that Your Highness cares about the hearts of the daughters of the four houses, I felt lighter in my heart. After all, you don't consider them as tools in the political struggle.”

He's wilful, no doubt. Sharp, often misunderstood. But being with him turned out to be not bad at all.

(Note: this isn’t an official EN translation)

Masuho no Susuki

Because they changed so much from the manga, I guess we have to wait what will happen in the upcoming episodes concerning Masuho no Susuki.

(In the novel, she wrote to Wakamiya to personally come to the Sakura Blossom Palace, asked Sumio to find Hamayū and when he did Masuho kept her in her entourage secretly.)

The way Wakamiya asks the candidates if they can foresee a future with him as his empress is devoid of romanticism. He doesn’t mince words nor let them expect heaven when it is not.

One gets the impression that he really doesn’t want to get married. It is just a stupid rule that he must have a consort when he ascends the throne.

Did I say that I love Masuho’s hairstyle? Yes, I do!

Asebi

It is amusing to read the shocked comments from the Team Asebi fans. (Sorry!) The Girl has fooled many with her demure and innocent, yet naive, face.

From Asebi’s VA, Rina Honnizumi:

Asebi is very lovely, and it makes you think, “This kind of child is called a princess,” and has a charm that makes you want to protect her. But when I auditioned, I read the original work and said, “I see, this kind of girl!” The way she looks is quite different at the beginning and at the end.

Many people still don’t want to believe that she is not what everyone thinks she is. Behind this face is a wily young woman ready to crush everyone who is on her way. And we all thought it was Shiratama.

On the other hand, her half sister, Futaba, has entered the list of characters officially. Poor girl, who suffered in the hands of her own sister.

The way Asebi answers Wakamiya, “no matter what the cost,” her cunningness, and her clear discrimination between the court ravens and hill ravens, you cannot simply excuse her ignorance. Neither Wakamiya. He hates her from the bottom of his heart. We will find out more next week the reasons he does. And it seems that it is ominous as the sound director posted on X that they “deliberately left out the music for the preview of the next episode.”

Hamayu

I am curious how will they reintroduce her to the story. Are they preparing for her mini-arc? Will they follow the novel/manga but with a different twist?

The fluttering cherry blossoms

They symbolise two different things and always in tune with the music. They can be flying softly, dancing around the characters (a positive realisation) or hitting them harshly when the wind blows (signals danger, distress).

What a nice touch.

[darkkittenneko]

[English/Español]

In the anime, we have the scene where Ryonnosuke tells Takao (again) about the family relic, “the sword of the blue dragon”, which is their pride as the Kinomiya family.

Ryonnosuke tells how one of his ancestors forged the sword he used to kill a powerful dragon, whose soul lives inside it.

In the manga, the sword does not exist, but Ryonnosuke tells about the ancient technique “Dragon Heart Sword” taught for generations in the Kinomiya family as their special sword technique, which is used by focusing energy to defeat enemies.

——————————————————

En el anime, tenemos la escena dónde Ryonnosuke le cuenta a Takao (de nuevo) sobre la reliquia familiar, “la espada del dragón azul”, la cual es el orgullo de la familia Kinomiya.

Ryonnosuke cuenta como uno de sus ancestros forjó la espada que usó para matar a un poderoso dragón, cuya alma vive en la espada.

En el manga, la espada no existe, pero Ryonnosuke cuenta sobre la técnica ancestral “Espada corazón de dragón” enseñada por generaciones en la familia Kinomiya y es su técnica especial, la cual se usa enfocando la energía para derrotar a los enemigos.