#epic the musical my beloved this is amazing op

[branches-and-thorns]

Listening to EPIC on shuffle liveblog

1:35pm: we’re on Ruthlessness! It’s a vibe I’m enjoying it.

1:38pm: …FULL SPEED AHEAD! Just got asked what I’m laughing at, oh boys you are not getting home. And an alarm just went off and paused the music like that was the source—

1:43pm: MY GOODBYE! Honestly one of my favourite songs. I think I should draw it at some point. I have several OC-related thoughts about it. Turning it up a little bit, completely ignoring the outside world :>

1:46pm: Just a Man! Spotify’s giving me all the songs I associate with OCs and frankly I’m not mad. And god this version sounds so more tragic than the original. Idk if that’s the retrospect or the singing tho. Also I swear I can hear roaring at one point?

1:49pm: STORRRRRRRRRRRRM!

1:52pm: MONSTER MY BELOVED!! So this song has BIG oc associations for me but the much funnier story is that I had my pre-op appointment right after this saga came out and in an attempt to deal with blood drawing I fucking BLARED this song through my headphones and it actually worked and frankly there is no bigger mood rn. Hands down favourite song of the show.

1:55pm: THE UNDERWORLD! THE MUSIC! I AM VIBING SO MUCH RN! Okay now it’s on the mom bit and I’m just glancing my own mum and…emotions. OKAY BACK TO MUSICCCC

2pm: THUNDER BRINGERRRRRRR!!! This will be two minutes of vibing and the rest will be screaming internally NO. OKAY I AM SCREAMING NOW. WHY IS THIS SONG SO EMOTIONAL I CANT. God this ending music makes me wanna cry. These characters are not real why am I like this.

2:05pm: NO LONGER YOU ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. SEE I LOVE THIS SONG BUT LIKE NOT NOW IM STILL DEALING WITH THE PROPHESIED EVENTS PLEASE. OH I CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE SCYLLA AND SIREN SONG IM SO DONE RN

2:08PM: OH THAT WAS A SQUELCH THIS IS DIFFERENT BEAST OHHHHHHHHHH. Okay I’m having character thoughts putting a pin in that for after the live-blogging.

2:12PM: WELCOME CIRCE ITS THERE ARE OTHER WAYS! God this song is such a vibe. God she’s such a vibe. And look more character associations! Funny story I was listening to this song while drawing a masquerade and the music in the first half really reminds me of a dance. The tapping beat. Idk how to explain it.

2:18PM: DONE FORRRRRRR!!!! I love this one sm I just. CIRCE. THE SINGING. THE MUSIC. EVERYTHING. I AM IN HEAVEN RN

2:20PM: WARRIOR OF THE MIND! This is just Girls time now I love them sm. GOD Athena’s singing in this is AMAZING. And what is that beat it sounds like a heartbeat. Actually it sounds like a heartbeat a lot what’s with that is that just me.

AND IM CUTTING IT THERE SINCE THE WIFI IS NOW BACK ON

THANKS FOR COMING THIS WAS FUN

[lav-and-roses-answeringquestions]

The Mousai

After doing a lot of research, divining, and asking questions to everyone, I finally felt ready enough to reach forward to the Mousai!

Z20.2 PORTRAITS OF THE NINE MUSES The nine circles of this mosaic contain portraits of the nine Muses. The goddesses and their attributes from the top left to the bottom right are Calliope with a scroll, Euterpe with a flute, Thalia with a comic mask, Melpomene with a tragic mask, Terpsichore with a lyre, Erato with a cithara, Clio with a writing block, Urania with a globe, and Polyhymnia without an attribute.

I was definitely afraid that this was blaspheming God with this doing this. That this was the final nail in the coffin. I was agonizing forever on this one, even with reassurance from Lady Sophia and Our Holy Mother.

It wasn't until I cried out for a sign in my room that Big J himself said in my ear that no matter what he'd still love me. I actually cried then, scrunching up my covers and sobbing. My tears seemed to wash away my worries- or rather his words did. I told you all before how much of a Big Brother Lord Jesus is, but I never cried like that before him and felt his arms just circle me in an embrace like that.

It was such an amazing feeling! Which is why I'm feeling a lot more confident to put this down!

Now onto the Mousai below the cut!

The Mousai, more readily known as the Muses are the goddesses of music, poetry and inspiration in Hellenism. Led by Calliope, their role was expanded to encompass a variety of arts including rhetoric, philosophy, mathematics, geography, history and astronomy. They were also goddesses of knowledge, who remembered all things that had come to pass as daughters of Mnemosyne, who is the Titan Goddess of Memory and creator of language.

Numbered among them are:

Calliope: Goddess of Epic poetry and eloquence. The mother of the poet Orpheus and the leader of the Mousai. Her name means "Beautiful voiced" from the Greek words kallos and ops.

Clio: Goddess of History. Her name means "To make famous" or "celebrate." from the Greek verb kleô. As a history nerd, I thank her greatly.

Erato: Goddess of erotic poetry. Her name means "lovely" or "beloved" from the Greek word eratos.

Euterpe: Goddess of Lyric poetry. Her name was derived from the Greek words eu- and terpô, meaning "giver of much delight." She might explain where I get all my sudden bursts of inspiration for song lyrics throughout the day!

Polyhymnia: Goddess of Hymns. Her name was derived from the Greek words poly- "many" and hymnos "praise" or "hymn." Invoking her with my hymns and prayers helps me a lot! Same thing with making devotional playlists!

Urania: The Goddess of astronomy and astrology... and mathematics. Definitely mathematics! Praying to her and Lady Sophia for discernment has helped my Pre-Calc grade more than anything else! Her name means: ”Heavenly" or "of heaven".

Thalia: Goddess of Comedy. Her name was derived from the Greek word thaleia meaning "rich festivity" or "blooming." I see myself as a (hopefully) funny person so, I can thank her and My Heavenly Mother for that!

Melpomene: Goddess of Tragedy. Her name was derived from the Greek verb melpô or melpomai meaning "to celebrate with dance and song." She's also the mother of the Sirens! Definitely have been getting inspired by her with my track record for putting my darling ocs through the wringer. Suffering builds character I'm afraid.

Terpsichore: The Goddess of choral song and dance. Her name means "Delighting in Dance" from the Greek words terpsis "to delight" and khoros "dance". While I haven't sung in a choir in a while, I still appreciate how so many people coming together for a common goal can sound heavenly.

If I could describe what I think these Inspirers of Poetic Thought are in a few simple words, I would say that they are, like My Holy Mother and Lady Sophia and Jesus and the Archangels, are Emanations of a large deity- God, that is everything, everywhere all at once. They mix and intersect into each other's domains sometimes while still being their own individuals, but all come from the same source above all. The one that created and is the universe and all living things. The one who slumbers as creation. Our Heaven Father. Khaos. God. It's all the same at the end of the day to me at least. Divine offshoots created from a single unifying source.

I'll send more stuff in the future and try to update more often so don't be spooked if I pop up from time to time! Promise!

[lavenderboneswrites]

top 5 animes ❣️

1. One piece

Of course it’s one piece. Critically I wouldn’t say it’s the best adaption, it’s definitely got some pacing issues and I definitely recommend binge watching instead of the torture of week-by-week (also the manga is god tier #1 manga). Apart from that though, one piece is an absolute epic that has my entire heart. It really be a life commitment cause once you’re in, you’re in for life. Honestly not too exaggerated to say one piece changed my life for the better. If you like stories about found family, adventure, comedy, amazing characters and character develop, absolutely epic world-building on par with Tolkien and G.R.R. Martin then please give one piece a go. And if not, still give it a go I promise it will change your life ❤️❤️

2. Durarara!!

Drrr, specially season 1, is such an amazing adaption. The characters, the art style, the music, my beloved shizaya ❤️ One of the very first animes i watched I still love to rewatch season 1 🥰🥰

3. Fruits Basket

😭😭😭🥰🥰🥰🥰❤️😭❤️❤️ The perfect anime. Bittersweet slice-of-life, tragic and poetic, heartbreaking, yet hopeful. FB grabbed me by the feels and didn’t let go. Ngl I sobbed through most of it, tears of pain and tears of joy 🥺🥹 Critically speaking, in terms of character driven story telling FB is definitely my #1.

4. Hunter X Hunter

HxH is extremely underrated in my opinion. It was my first anime so it has that special place in my heart. Along with OP it’s an absolute pinnacle of Shonen. Most of the time I get annoyed with Shonen anime but when it’s done right boy does it go off. Amazing characters, character development, story-telling, and world building 🥰 critically i would say hxh is my #2 just for how tight it’s story-telling is, it has good pacing too which is such a bonus. Honestly bad pacing is so tedious it’s such a turn off

5. Jujutsu Kaisen

This was such a hard decision to make 😭😭 I didn’t really like JJK at first. It was okay but it was very Shonen and I wasn’t that invested in the characters. What really drew me in was Sukuna. I love his design, he’s an amazing villain and possession trope is 😮‍💨😮‍💨. Another thing that interested me actually was Kugisaki. So this was tying with Naruto for #5 but when I was comparing them I of course looked at the similarities of the main trio. I absolutely despise Sakura, not as a character, I actually want to like her so much, but just how bad kishi has written her honestly she deserved so much better. On the other side, Kugisaki, along with the rest of the ladies of JJK, are absolutely AMAZINGLY WELL WRITTEN. Like i love her so much I think she’s so interesting, three dimensional and it’s nice she’s not just a love interest for the men. A fully fleshed out character who’s a woman in this day an age? In my 2022??? Anyway besides Sukuna and Kugisaki, I decided to watch it for the animation alone, it is absolutely STUNNING, and that is why it’s beaten some of my other favs. It’s worth it for that alone. What really got me hooked was after I watched it I went straight to the manga and it’s one of those stories that just gets better and better with every arc. I am so absolutely ravenous to see the arcs of season 2 animated I apologise for the person I become when that happens 😅 Anyways, after I had caught up with the manga and was properly hooked I rewatched the anime a further two times welp 😅

6. Bungo Stray Dogs

I COMPLETELY FORGOT BSD EXISTED FOR A MINUTE THERE NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Probably this is more so tied with #5. Anyway I love love love BSD. The first season was a lil eh and I wasn’t totally on board but DARK ERA SNATCHED MY WIG and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Up to date with the manga and very excited for season 4. Dazai alone to me is such an interesting character (kind of like Izaya that way). Also my beloved soukoku. And rare pair Ranchuu.

Honorary mentions: Naruto (very soft spot in my heart for Naruto it gets #6), BNHA (season 1-3, beyond that is a butchered adaption and a rant that needs its own post), Banana Fish, Haikyuu!!, Given, KuroBasu, ugh I’ve watched too many animes I can’t even remember them all. Also does this count movies? cause if movies count, NUMERO UNO ICHIBAN FOREVER AND EVER KIMI NO NA WA MY BELOVED 😍😍

(Also Shizaya your name au anyone???)

[recentanimenews]

CR Features Argues About the Best Opening Sequence of 2018

Anime Awards voting starts TONIGHT and WE'RE SUPER EXCITED! However we have gotten so loud with our individual opinions on who we think should win that we’ve been told to duke it out via written words instead of continually disrupting our coworkers (sorry fam).

  We’ll hit each category by the time we hit the evening of Anime Awards! Today’s piece gets down to the nitty gritty of Best Opening Sequence, Best Ending Sequence, Best Animation, and Best Character Design. Let’s down to business!

Best Opening

Pop Team Epic from Pop Team Epic

    The opening so nice you saw it twice every episode, and it was a banger every time. It wasn’t just the song, either--the OP was full of little things to keep looking for, so you never skipped it unless you were a total monster.

-Nate Ming

Black Rover by Vickblanka from Black Clover

  The music for Black Clover OPs and EDs has always been top notch, but Black Rover is on another level. The sequence put together by the animators is also the perfect combination of cool, goof, and heart. It’s probably the opening I’ll associate with the series forever.

-Peter Fobian

  UNION from SSSS.Gridman

    This song, like SSSS.Gridman itself, made me so happy. It was light and deft, but somehow perfect for the opening of a show about kicking the crap out of kaiju. For a genre that can sometimes feel as tired as “robot man saves the world (and his friends),” this OP, along with the rest of the show, proved that SSSS.Gridman was going to pay a lot of tokusatsu homage, while still being a breath of fresh air.

-Daniel Dockery

Rightfully by Mili from Goblin Slayer

    I’ve been following Mili’s works since I played Deemo, and their songs always have a way of worming right in and refusing to leave. So when I heard that they were doing Goblin Slayer’s opening, it was a very welcome surprise! Mili delivers a powerful performance that has a calm, yet a very vicious tone to it. Combined with the opening visuals, it really ties it all neatly together to set the mood for the show.

-Nicole Mejias

Adabana Necromancy from ZOMBIE LAND SAGA

    Dapper dancing zombies. Super sentai action scenes. Idol dancing. ZOMBIE LAND SAGA’s opening sequence somehow manages to straddle several disparate genres without losing its own unified personality. Set to the theatrical “Adabana Necromancy” performed by the main Japanese cast, main character Sakura’s defiant proclamations of chasing her dreams and the truly unprecedented amount of explosions meld into something strange and charming--a perfect fit for this series.

-Cayla Coats

Best Ending Sequence

Hibana from Golden Kamuy

    You always heard this one warming in the background as an episode would come to a close, and the striking imagery of  “Hibana” just made me more excited for what the next episode of Golden Kamuy had in store.

-Nate Ming

  Pulse from Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -

  Although I’ve still got Hizuru Basho bumping in my head from Fall, no ED in 2018 was as much of a thematic masterstroke as Asobi Asobase. After a misleading opening giving the series the appearance of a serene high school slice of life and a very confusing episode featuring mean-spirited pranks and Hanako shrieking, the ending dumps you straight into hell.

-Peter Fobian

  Book-end, Happy-end from Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

    I feel ya, nervous skeleton man. You had a hard day, and then you just go sit on the floor and read manga. And then you lay in the bed and read manga. What a beautiful life.

-Daniel Dockery

Hibana from Golden Kamuy

    Banger alert! This song is incredibly GOOD! Not only is this song catchy, but the lyrics are a pretty good representation to what Golden Kamuy is all about, with lines about an “erased destination” and “accepting everything, pain and all.” If you skipped this ending, I don’t even know what to say; it’s too good of a song to skip!

-Nicole Mejias

Pulse from Asobi Asobase - workshop of fun -

  Peter pretty much nailed it. After the fake-out cutesy pop opening, Asobi Asobase presents us with three middle school girls who make heinously ugly expressions and are just really, hilariously terrible people. The death metal anthem “Pulse” is a perfect fit for the horrible little nightmare children that comprise the show’s main cast.

-Cayla Coats

Best Animation

Violet Evergarden

  You don’t really expect TV anime to look this good--and then it does, and you’re treated to gorgeous, theatrical-quality animation every single episode. I wasn’t invested in Violet Evergarden, but just witnessing it made it worth the watch.

-Nate Ming

Violet Evergarden

    This one is really difficult to argue with. It’s Kyoto Animation on their absolute A game. The studio doesn’t often delve into fantasy but their backgrounds and character designs were breathtaking. Kyoto is always top shelf but they maintained damn near movie quality animation for the entire series run. Even their 3D integration was something to behold.

-Peter Fobian

Violet Evergarden

  LOOK AT HOW PRETTY EVERYTHING IS. Look at the backgrounds! And the shadows! And the way that the hair is animated! I know that that seems like a really small thing, but it irks me sometimes when everyone seem to have immovable Super Saiyan hair (though there’s nothing wrong with your hair, my beautiful shonen bro’s). Violet Evergarden was a bounty to look at.

-Daniel Dockery

Violet Evergarden

    I’d be crazy to not pick Violet Evergarden for this category. I mean, just LOOK AT IT! Absolutely GORGEOUS and BEAUTIFUL animation! I initially thought this was a movie, but nope. Kyoto Animation weren’t playing any games when it came to showing off their amazing animation skills, and my goodness, was it ever a sight to behold! Just look at how they animated the characters’ HAIR! Amazing stuff!

-Nicole Mejias

  Pop Team Epic

If you asked me two weeks ago, my answer here would have been Violet Evergarden for sure. But then my mind was changed when I saw our own Noelle Ogawa argue for Pop Team Epic’s stellar animation in this article. Pop Team Epic employs a wide range of animation styles--from 16-bit video game sprites to the horrifying, MS Paint-esque Bob Team Epic sequences to the use of unfinished storyboards seen above. The series is practically a showcase for experimental animation, and that suits the surreal humor quite well.

-Cayla Coats

    Best Character Design

  Devilman Crybaby

  Akira Fudo and Ryo Asuka are some of the most iconic, memorable, and legendary characters in anime and manga, so seeing them (along with Miki, Siren, and the rest of the cast) get clean, modern redesigns for Devilman Crybaby was a real treat.

-Nate Ming

DARLING in the FRANXX

Just based no sheer amount of fan art, it’s hard to argue with this prediction. Masayoshi Tanaka has developed a well-earned reputation for his designs, in fact one of Atsushi Nishigori’s motivations for working with TRIGGER was the opportunity to work specifically with Tanaka. The character designs are great and so much work from accompanying DARLING in the FRANXX designs to multiple uniforms went into it. It’s probably my favorite part of the series.

-Peter Fobian

Hinomaru Sumo

There’s not a lot of amazingly intricate variety among the characters of Hinomaru Sumo. But I appreciate any anime where all the main characters look like they’d be equally at home being lackeys in a separate anime that get the crap kicked out of them in an alley by the Kenshiro-esque main character. Also, I love this show and so should you.

-Daniel Dockery

Cells at Work

Cells at Work is so beloved for the way it illustrates our hard-working cells as they work night and day to protect our bodies. Keep on kicking ass and taking names, cells! But on the other end of the spectrum are the threats and bacteria that invade our bodies, and some of them are depicted in very frightening ways. Remember to take care of yourself to avoid illnesses! Your cells are counting on you!

-Nicole Mejias

Laid-Back Camp

  There wasn’t a show I watched in 2018 that had more effective character designs than Laid-Back Camp. Everything visual choice made about these characters conveys something about their personality. Nadeshiko’s downward-sloping eyelids and messy pink hair are the perfect compliment to Rin’s alert eyes and neatly tied up hair. These choices echo how the characters themselves play off of one another, and gosh, it’s just delightful.

-Cayla Coats

    Anddd that's all folks! Check back in to see us argue about who else we think should win the rest of the Anime Awards categories. Don’t forget to vote for your favorites starting TONIGHT!

  Do you have a super intense devotion to a 2018 show or character or want your opinions shared to the world about Anime Awards? Send us an op-ed in written or video form. The nitty gritty details are in here and you may get published in a future article!

Who do you think should win: Best Opening Sequence, Best Ending Sequence, Best Animation, and Best Character Design? Tell us in the comments below!

Ricky Soberano is a Features Editor, Script Writer, and Editorial Programming Coordinator for Crunchyroll. She’s the former Managing Editor of Brooklyn Magazine. You can follow her on Twitter @ramenslayricky.

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

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com