#episode 12 Tadaima Okaeri

[soleilequinoxstories]

THESE FUCKING KIDS ARE GONNA BE THE DEATH OF ME

WHY DID THE SERIES HAVE TO END AUGHHHH

IM SO HAPPYYYYY

[bengiyo]

Tadaima, Okaeri Ep 12 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

Last week, Mochizuki accidentally ran into Hiromu, but didn't piece together that he was Masaki's husband. Later, while in heat, he and Hiromu reacted to each other and both felt embarrassed. Hiromu remained polite, but Mochizuki was upset and left with Michiru, saying they would never be back. However, our hero Hikari is expecting to see his friend, so we're gonna fix it.

Hikari is being so brave and not falling apart.

I get Hiromu. It's hard to care too much about what everyone thinks.

It's the last episode! Are Yuki and Matsuo going to figure it out?

Okay, we confirmed that Yuki is a beta.

I adore Yuki so much. He just wants to help.

It really is a good summation of the core themes of this show that even buying into the stereotypes and presumptions is harmful for those on the worse end of it.

He took the present!

I love how much their circle has grown. Masaki thought he'd be alone his whole life, and now he's got to cook a huge spread for everyone.

Hikari remains so adorable until the end.

Oh no, the twins both want Mochizuki.

Final Verdict: 10, This Is The Married Gay Dads Show I Didn't Know I Needed. This show was so delightful for 12 amazing weeks. We got to see two guys who faced a difficult path to be together build a home and family they could love together. It was so joyous to see two men in love with each other, and have that love grow even more because they got to be parents together. There are some really solid themes about acceptance and healing from rejection in this that are handled with such care that I will never stop thinking about this show. If omegaverse isn't a hard no for you, this is the best show you've ever skipped if you care about what married queer joy looks like.

[halliescomut]

Can we talk about Tadaima, Okaeri?

I'm not going to get into a deepdive here (hopefully) but I'm watching episode 3 and I just want to know if anyone else is seeing what I'm seeing? So there's gonna be kind of spoilers for eps 1-3, but not really because I want to talk about one specific scene in ep 3.

I wish there were gifs up already, but I know that takes time, so we're gonna have to go mostly off description. Somewhere around the 12 minute mark we have the conversation between Hiromu and his dad. They're sitting in the living room. Tell me how the ANIMATORS were able to convey that thing where when a character is confronting their parent as an adult they sort of feel like teenagers again?? In live action(?) media usually an actor conveys this through body language, like slouching and stuff, or if it's very intentional by the director for the story then they might slightly adjust the actors makeup. There's a bunch of different ways to go about it, but I'm not talking about them reverting to a younger version of themselves through the use of a different actor, I'm talking solely through acting.

I truly wish I could show examples. I'm gonna try with the gifs available. So looking at the gif below you have from left to right Hikari (clearly a toddler), Yuuki (a young adult/teen) and Hiromu and Matsuo (two adults) . You can see there's slight difference between how the adults are drawn and how Yuuki is drawn. He's a bit softer in the face, shoulders are a bit more narrow (though I know from this angle you can't tell that) but there's differences.

And even in the case of Hiromu and Masaki, even though Masaki is meant to be a smaller, more slender man (Yaoi tropes gonna trope) he still looks like an adult.

But in the moment where you see Hiromu talking to his father, he looks more like a young adult/teen version of himself. It's so subtle, but it's there. I already know that animators are insanely talented and that show creators pay attention to detail so well, but I was truly blown away by this very small detail.

If I can find good images to help demonstrate, I'll update this post, but until then I would definitely encourage watching the show. It's very cute. I'm not the biggest fan of omegaverse in general, but when the story is good I can overlook the aspects of the trope that bug me, and the story here is good. It's quite fluffy and escapist (at least so far, I never read the manga, so lord knows what's in store) and just makes for a fun relaxing watch.

[ecargmura]

Tadaima, Okaeri Episode 12 Review + Final Thoughts - Rekindled Bonds

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS THE FINAL EPISODE? No! I demand a Season 2! This show is way too cute to end. It’s way too hard to part ways with this show after these three months. I hope you don’t mind the rather long review of the finale. I’m just trying to cope with the fact that my Mondays won’t be the same anymore.

I love that while Masaki is a little bothered about what had happened last episode, Hiromu cheers him up with encouraging words. Hiromu really is an S tier husband. Seriously, he knows what to say when Masaki is down and he always does a success job in cheering up his spouse. He tells Masaki that not everyone will be understanding, and while he really only cares about his family, he still wants to see Masaki do his best when it comes to other people because he loves that part of him. He respects Masaki to let him do what he wants, but if things get hard, that’s when he’ll step in. Since he also likes Aoto like Masaki, he wants them to reconcile because he knows it’s worth it for them both. Damn, if I don’t have a man like Hiromu in my life, then I don’t want to get married.

The conversation with Masaki and Yuuki shows that what Masaki is afraid of isn’t the prejudice directed towards him that makes him become timid and overthink, but rather how it affects his family. He doesn’t want his family to be rejected for asinine reasons—that’s his biggest fear. He loves his family and doesn’t want anyone to harm them. Throughout the story, Masaki’s biggest support has always been his family, which is why he’s hurt that someone rejected his family because he loves them so much. I do like that he’s a very loving person but it’s not portrayed in a poor way.

The conversation with Masaki actually encourages Yuuki to confront Aoto when he saw him and have a talk about the Fujiyoshi family and everything he knows about their relationship from Matsuo. Apparently, Hiromu and Masaki have been dating for ten years but only became mates around three years ago. There was a time where Masaki was okay with being mates with Hiromu and he didn’t mind not being his most important person given how omegas were usually treated. Hiromu actually hated that thought and eventually learned something very important: respect. Yes, the reason why Hiromu is the way he is now is because he respects Masaki, omegas and himself. Masaki is the way he is because of the same reason as well. That’s why they’re willing to accept Aoto and want to let him know that they’re fine with his pheromones because Hiromu can control himself. I love that Yuuki is the one who tells Aoto all of this and it’s because he respects the Fujiyoshi family and sees them as the ideal couple; like Masaki, he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to their family as well.

It’s because of Yuuki’s words that Aoto does confront Masaki. I really like the chain reaction. It turns out that Aoto’s behavior from before was due to having a condition where his pheromones leak out a lot more than usual and he cannot suppress or control it as he hasn’t found the right medication for it. It also affects his mood, so he was uncontrollably anxious and afraid back then. Because an omega couple have a hard time conceiving children together, Michiru was actually born from luck and Aoto is worried that he might inherit his condition, hence why he was afraid of being around alphas because of this.

Aoto does feel like what Masaki could’ve been if he didn’t have Hiromu in his life: fearful of others, constantly anxious and lonely. Aoto’s spouse is no longer alive, so he always believed he had to protect himself and Michiru because of this. Fortunately, Masaki reassures him that he’ll be here to help because they have to support each other as fellow omegas, like how Aoto mentioned back in Episode 9. He also tells him that what’s important is to be able to express his love for others because, for Masaki, what hurt him more than the discrimination was not being able to tell the people he loved that he loved them. That’s why he wants Aoto to be able to learn how to love others even as an omega. This is really sweet. Masaki is right, though. It’s better to love others than to put a wall around yourself because there might be others out there willing to love you if you’re willing to do the same. Hikari also teaches him this. Hikari says that he loves Michiru and wants to play with him and Michiru is able to receive that love back. That is the factor that helps Aoto realize he’s not alone and that he has people he can count on and also protect Michiru. Hikari really is like a guiding light.

Fortunately, their issues are all resolved to the point that Aoto is invited to their Christmas party. Heck, I love the difference between the Christmas party in Episode 1 where it was just Masaki, Hiromu and Hikari celebrating it on their own. In this Christmas party, everyone’s invited. The Christmas party is actually much different from the manga as in the manga, only the Mochizukis, Yuuki and Matsuo were in the house while Hiromu’s parents and the twins came at the end. Here, they’ve invited Iwata and her dog Ran, Yuuki’s mother comes, Kazuhiko sends flowers, and Hiromu’s two colleagues show up. Hiromu’s parents and the twins show up at the middle of the party too so they get some screen time. It was funny to see the twins fall for Aoto at first sight because he’s exactly their type—they like people similar to Masaki. Compared to the quiet Christmas in Episode 1, I loved seeing the liveliness of this party because it shows that they’ve broadened their horizons and have their own found family in their community. It’s such a heartwarming sight.

Because this is the finale, not many things are resolved. Yuuki and Matsuo have mutual feelings for each other, but they’re not dating. The twins fall for Aoto in this episode, so that’s never going to be resolved unless a season two is announced. Yuuki and Matsuo actually become official in Volume 4 while the twins and Aoto have their moments sprinkled out in that same volume. Despite that, I do think this was a good closure for this story. What do you think?

Final Thoughts

It’s still crazy how I live in an era where Omegaverse stories are getting anime adaptations. Given the craziness of the genre, I’m actually glad they chose the tamest story of the bunch to be the first. Hopefully, Tadaima, Okaeri will be a stepping stone for future potential adaptations of the genre.

However, despite me loving this story, this anime does feel like it’s intended for those who are more familiar with the genre because it was written at a time where the genre was still new to Japan hence why the conventional rules are so different here. Because of that, I can see why people do tend to get confuse when the omegaverse lore comes into play. I’ve read a lot of omegaverse stories, so I’m familiar with its rules and conventions, but someone else may not be as familiar with it. I would say that this anime is like a deconstruction of omegaverse stories in a way. If I do have gripes about Tadaima Okaeri, it would be that it could’ve explained the omegaverse lore a bit more to help first-timers understand the genre.

Despite the omegaverse lore, this anime is perfect as a feel-good heartwarming story about a family and those around them. It’s perfect healing for the soul. Even as a slice-of-life family story, I do like that it does do things not many stories of similar genres have—that would be aging the characters. Hikari goes from almost 2 to 2, then to 3 after Hinata is born and him getting older is shown as he looks less chubbier than he did in Episodes 1 to 3; his personality also develops a lot, so it’s like watching your neighbor’s kid that you’re so fond of grow into his own person Time also changes as different seasons are shown throughout the story, which is a detail I like.

For a story like this, characters are vital. Omegaverse stories relies on characters a lot. Fortunately, these characters are great for the type of story they’re in. While the main couple look like a typical BL couple, it’s how they behave that sets them apart from others in omegaverse. Alphas are usually written as domineering and rather toxic, but Hiromu was never that. He’s practically a gentleman in an omegaverse setting. He loves and respects his spouse and family so much and never gives in to prejudice, stigma and discrimination. Masaki is a bit self-loathing and had a rough past, but he’s willing to accept love and affection from his family and friends. The story was also Masaki’s journey into accepting and respecting himself not as an omega but as a person, so it was nice to see him grow alongside Hikari. What I love most about the main couple is that they’re not afraid of PDA. They kiss and are physically intimate all the time. Sometimes, BL stories in general like to have a character shy away from affection. While Masaki is a rather shy character, he goes in for the intimacy as much as Hiromu and it’s so nice to see. Yuuki is probably the standout character of this story. He’s a beta, but he also grows through growth too. His personality helps him stand out as he’s the youngest of the adult cast, so he’s the type that can get along with both the kids and the adults. All the other characters are really good too and fit the setting well.

To be honest, for a BL anime, this cast is STACKED. It helps that a majority of them are or have been active in the genre, so they know the nuances of what to bring for stories like this. The biggest BL veterans are Toshiyuki Morikawa, the BL emperor, and Kosuke Toriumi who had been active in BL in the past—he was Akira in Togainu no Chi! They both do great jobs in delivering their characters’ emotions. Because the anime has babies, female voice actors are also casted and the voice actresses they use are actually rather well-known names too; I think they did the best job. Hikari is voiced by Atsumi Takezaki who is extremely versatile. She’s known for voicing Anya from Spy x Family and Frieren from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. Gosh, I think she did the best out of everyone here because her baby voice is super convincing. Kaede Hondo as Michiru was also a great performance because Michiru started off as very soft-spoken but in later episodes, he has a more assertive voice. I’m also amazed with the baby babbles Konomi Kohara did; by the way, these three actresses were in Gakuen Babysitters, so they’re very familiar with how to voice babies.

I really like the animation! Studio Deen may have some misses, but they never miss when it comes to BL adaptations. It’s crazy that they got the director of Sasaki and Miyano and the character designer of Given and meshed them into this extremely cute story. Did you know that the character designer also did the character designs for the Gakuen Babysitters anime? The adults look similar to Given characters while the babies look like Gakuen Babysitter babies. It’s like a good blend of both. I also love how the studio colored this anime. Everything is so soft that it matches the vibes.

The music is great too! The opening song is addictive and the ending song is a nice way to end an episode. The OST was really nice to listen to! At times, I’d like to replay some scenes because I really like some of the music they play in the background. Some highlights include the little marching song that plays when Hikari does something cute and the soft guitar piece that plays when Hiromu and Masaki have a heart-to-heart.

I know that people have their own stigma towards omegaverse, but the moral of Tadaima Okaeri is to look beyond stigma and accept things deep within one another. Yes, the genre can be icky at times, but I assure you that this is a really good story if you’re able to put aside your biases. The heartwarming aspect is perfect for any first-time BL consumers too. I would totally recommend this not only as a BL anime, but as a slice of life family story as well.

[jruthphipps]

Tadaima, Okaeri episode 12

I'm happy with how nicely they resolved the conflict with Mochizuki. Ultimately the most important thing for everyone was the safety and happiness of the children. As parents, they can't resolve everything in the world for them but they can support and guide them. I like how fundamental Yuki was for bringing the two families back together and addressing some of Mochizuki's prejudices.

[turtlycute]

2024 Anime Watch List

June:

This post is part of my ongoing record for the new (to me) anime I watch in 2024. I'm excited to see what new shows and films I discover as this list grows through the year.

Tadaima, Okaeri (2024) episodes: 12 started: 4-8-24 finished: 6-24-24 rating: 9.5/10

A Condition Called Love (2024) episodes: 12 started: 4-8-24 finished: 6-20-24 rating: 8/10

Black Butler: Public School Arc (2024) episodes: 11 started: 4-13-24 finished: 6-22-24 rating: 8/10

Kageki Shojo!! (2021) episodes: 13 started: 6-11-24 finished: 6-12-24 rating: 7.5/10

Love of Kill (2022) episodes: 12 started: 6-13-24 finished: 6-15-24 rating: 8/10

The Story of Saiunkoku (Saiunkoku Monogatari) (2006) episodes: 39 started: 6-17-24 finished: 6-26-24 rating: 8/10 note: I really enjoyed this show. I'm so disappointed that season 2 never got a western release

Previous Months:

January Watch List

February Watch List

March Watch List

April Watch List

May Watch List

[lindsaydoeslanguages]

Why I Love Reality TV for Language Learning (+ how to make the most of it)

Reality TV is my favourite type of TV for language learning. Read on to find out why + learn how to make the most of it.

Your Personal Netflix Language Study Pack

The thing I don’t like about Netflix is how stuff gets lost in my Watchlist and then I end up watching the same stuff.

And when it comes to using it for language learning, sometimes you want to sit down and really use it well to improve my languages. But it’s tricky to know where to begin.

I figured you might have the same problems from time to time. So, I made a printable and digital Netflix Language Study Pack to help you really use Netflix for language learning.

Click below to get your personal Netflix Language Study Pack now.

I grew up in the Big Brother age. I was around 12 when Big Brother first launched in the UK.

At that time, it was tame enough for a 12 year old to watch. They had chickens, they had to budget for their weekly food together, and with the exception of ‘Nasty Nick’, it was all very lovely and calm.

As I grew up, so did Big Brother.

Now it’s gone and here in the UK we have Love Island that seems to have replaced it. Not quite suitable for a 12 year old, I imagine. But I’ve never watched that. I guess I grew up too much. (That said, I do still watch Made In Chelsea…)

So reality TV, at least in its modern guise, has very much been a part of my life from my formative years.

However, when it comes to language learning, it was something I’d never really considered until the arrival of Netflix, and one show in particular: Terrace House.

Terrace House is a Japanese reality TV show that’s more like the Real World than Big Brother. But it’s also not like anything else at all. Here’s a trailer for the latest series at the time of writing: Tokyo 2019-2020.

Cameras film 6 young and aspirational Japanese people (and sometimes ‘half’ Japanese, but more on that later) both in the house and out and about living their daily lives. The daily life stuff often involves modelling shoots, and extreme sports training, or performing gigs. So, you know, typical everyday jobs.

Typical for reality TV it would seem, right? Not exactly.

You see, the beauty of reality TV in different languages is that by default, that involves different cultures.

I’ve learnt more about Japanese customs and etiquette from Terrace House than from any textbook.

Like how you say ‘tadaima’ when you come home and will always get a ‘okaeri’ in response.

And like how it’s totally normal to ask someone who looks a little less Japanese if they are ‘half’ mere minutes after meeting them.

And like how holding hands is a much bigger deal in Japanese dating culture than any Brit on Love Island would have you believe about British culture.

But, spoiler alert, my attitudes to dating were never like Love Island would have you believe to be totally normal for every single Brit. That’s where Terrace House becomes incredibly useful as a cultural resources.

The beauty of Terrace House is that it’s kind of like two shows in one. As well as the main show of the people in the house, there’s also regular cuts to a group of comedians and presenters watching together. This means that when something happens that does seem a little unusual, they’re there to not react or be like “Woah! That was weird!”

This video nicely sums up Terrace House if you’ve never seem the show.

Recently, whilst learning Korean and looking for something to watch that’s not K-drama (I’m sorry, other than Boys Over Flowers, I’ve just struggled multiple times to get into one) I found Hyori’s B&B.

Hyori’s B&B has become my Korean equivalent to Terrace House. It’s giving me the same cultural education that only reality TV can give, it seems.

There’s no second group of people watching to clarify when stuff is “normal in Korea” or not, but there is a slight divide between Hyori and her husband (and to some extent their celebrity staff helpers), and the guests. So sometimes, they discuss each other’s actions in that sense.

Also, differently to Terrace House, Hyori’s B&B has text pop up, obviously added by editors post-filming, which tries to assume how people felt in certain situations.

Here’s a quick intro to Hyori’s B&B if you’re new to that one. This is a random clip but it gives you an idea of how different it is to Terrace House with text and sound effects etc, yet alike in the mundane simplicity of the whole thing.

So with that in mind, how does this really work? Can reality TV really be used for language learning? Let’s dive in…

How to Use Reality TV for Language Learning

Most of the suggestions would work just as well with any type of TV, but I really just wanted to make the case for reality TV as I know, like me, not everyone loves drama shows!

Cultural Insights

Reality TV can be a great in context introduction to many aspects of a culture, giving you some base knowledge to research further and ask your tutors and language exchange partners about.

For example, I knew from the start of learning Korean that honourifics and respect for elders is a big deal in Korean culture. However, with Hyori’s B&B, I saw this in action when an elderly couple visited the house.

It’s also great to see attitudes to food and drink, for example.

Hyori and Sang-Soon make tea in an almost ritualistic way, with a full tea set on a tray that includes a cup for the initial bloom among other things. Of course, this could just be them or a small number of Koreans that do this, but it’s still an insight into something I don’t imagine many people doing at home in the UK.

Key Phrases in Context

The easiest way to use reality TV for language learning is to listen out for those key phrases that you hear again and again.

With Hyori’s B&B, they say ‘yeobuseyo’ when they answer the phone, which contradicts what I’d heard on a YouTube video!

I hear them say ‘kaja’ when they get ready to leave the house or walk the dogs.

With Terrace House, I noticed the words they say upon entering the house, and the response that everyone already there gives.

These things happen a lot in these types of shows. This means there’s plenty of chances for repetition without boring rote learning!

Read interviews or reviews of the show

A great way to expand beyond the show itself is to find interviews or reviews of the show online to read.

You might even find YouTube videos or podcasts here too, which would work well as extra listening practice. This is much more appealing because it’s on a topic you enjoy.

As I mentioned, I’ve noticed as well with Hyori’s B&B, there’s lots of text that comes up on the screen too.

Onomatopoeia type words and also these presumptuous statements about how the cast are feeling, such as “He’s sad because she’s sick.”

How they know for sure he’s sad and that her being sick is the reason why, I don’t know. But anyway, there’s extra text with that show as I watch, which is a nice bonus.

Stimulus for Free Writing

TV, whether it’s an entire series or an episode, or even a scene, can make for a great stimulus for a free writing piece.

Write a summary of what’s happened, what you think will happen next, or what you’d like to happen next. (See those chances for using different tenses there?)

Write an email, a review for a magazine, a script for a play. Get creative with the format and pick one to help give you some direction and structure.

Maybe even write a poem about the show! You’ve got complete creative control here.

If you’re looking for some inspiration for writing, here’s All The Writing Resources for Language Learning That You’ll Ever Need

Record Your Spoken Opinions

What do you think of the show? Record your opinions spoken aloud.

Of course, this works well as a follow-on activity from the free writing because you can simply record what you wrote.

Alternatively, if you’re feeling confident enough in the language to do it, go in with no plan and just start speaking as soon as you hit record!

Related: All The Speaking Resources You’ll Ever Need.

Change Tenses, People, Gender etc to Test Your Grammar

Pick a topic, any topic.

Just been reviewing how a certain tense works in that language? Watch a clip from the show. Pause it. Change the sentences you’ve just heard to that tense.

You can even expand to create further sentences related to the ones you’ve just switched.

Mindmap Vocab

With my current level in Korean, this one’s my favourite.

Simply watch a clip of the show until you catch a word/phrase you want to learn more throughly.

Start to mindmap that word and do some outside research to learn more related words.

Remember those onomatopoeia words I mentioned that always show on screen in Hyori’s B&B? I spotted one that led me to learning many more through this activity.

To show you how this works, I recorded myself doing it for this video too.

To catch more videos like this, be sure to subscribe to my channel on YouTube.

Free Netflix Study Pack

Ready to use TV for language learning? I’ve got a free Netflix Study Pack just for you to help you work through something. You’ll find this especially useful if you’ve never studied with TV. Click the image below to download it now.

How do you use TV for language learning? Do you like watching reality TV or is there another genre that works better for you? Share in the comments!

The post Why I Love Reality TV for Language Learning (+ how to make the most of it) appeared first on Lindsay Does Languages.

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[bengiyo]

I can say with confidence that our collective favorite show, between you and me, is What Did You Eat Yesterday?, the GOAT BL, and an exemplary example of a slice of life drama. What are your other favorite slice of life dramas, BLs and non-BLs?

Thank you for this ask. I have been trying to stay out of a bunch of discussions about this, but it seems that people feel really strongly about how people talk about a mid-tier BL produced by the largest producer of BL content in the world, currently sold as a premium product exclusively on a Chinese streaming platform, and currently receiving almost universal acclaim from its viewership on this platform. So, since I am possibly the only person who has posted publicly how much this show doesn’t work for me, I will continue with my task and clear up some confusion I’m having with the discourse.

We Are…Struggling With Definitions

Thankfully, @lurkingshan provided a good framework to discuss what slice-of-life even means. While I am willing to accept that a strong episodic structure is not inherently required for a good slice-of-life drama, the bite-sized nature of an episode lends itself to enabling clear stories about the complexities of mundane human existence. It’s a very popular genre, especially in anime. As I said in an earlier post, this is a mature genre with a long tradition.

Most of my favorite approaches to slice-of-life are from Japan. When America does slice-of-life, you get it more as sitcoms than thoughtful dramas about everyday life. One of my favorites would probably be Midnight Diner. As Shan defined before, a good slice-of-life drama could go on forever, and in so many ways Midnight Diner has. 

I’m actually currently watching Three Star Bar in Nishi Ogikubo because Machida Keita and Fujiwara Kisetsu are in it.

We Are…Already Familiar With Slice of Life QL

We’ve actually had a few QL projects cover the slice-of-life feeling before.

You and I are both big fans of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, a show I loved so much we had to do a whole podcast episode about it.

On the lesbian side of the equation, we have the lovely She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat.

We also had Naked Dining, which I had some mixed feelings about.

There's the gay dads drama from Taiwan in Papa & Daddy.

For people who seem to struggle with non-Thai productions, there’s also Ingredients with everyone’s favorite singer Jeff Satur.

Besides, I argue firmly that Tadaima, Okaeri is the only true slice-of-life BL airing right now. It’s the married gay dads show we’ve been asking forever to get, and it’s even in the omegaverse!

We Are…Possibly Suffering From Recency Bias

It’s surprising for me how hard everyone has fallen for this show, considering the long history of reactions to New Siwaj’s work. He’s been in the genre for over a decade.

I am intimately familiar with this man’s work, and have been a Make It Right Apologist for years. I’ve been with this man since I got into the genre. This isn’t even his first attempt at 16 episodes about boys in college.

Everyone else watched My Engineer at the time, but I watched EN of Love and was not surprised when Love Mechanics got its own full series afterwards. I’ve been with this man working through gay angst in Make it Right, examining intergenerational queer trauma in Until We Meet Again,  fumbling through Between Us, trying for something in Dear Doctor I’m Coming For Soul, hustling in Even Sun, still crying with him over Love of Siam (2007) in My Only 12%, and squandering everyone’s time in Absolute Zero. 

It’s kinda baffling to me that I’m catching strays over not liking New Siwaj works in 2024. It feels weird that the show I’m getting heat over not liking is the least-queer thing I think he’s ever made. I don’t know what that says about current BL tastes. I will say this plainly every time: Queer Truth is Non-Negotiable For Me In a Genre About Boys Kissing Each Other. If that statement bothers you, please swerve on.

We Are…Not the Only Examples of Queer Fun

While we’re here, I wanna talk about how there really is a whole gay world outside of BL. I feel very strongly that Western viewers are extremely rude and often racist when it comes to their disdain of BL. However, there is all kinds of fun to be had in queer cinema if you can handle projects made more than a few years ago. 

If you want silly fun, you can always go to TLA Releasing. They funded an entire gay parody of the American Pie franchise. They’re great for the types who want to see pretty people smile at each other and have sexy times. 

If you’re in the mood for something a bit more serious and heartfelt, you can dip by Strand Releasing. They have one of the best coming-of-age queer films I’ve ever seen. They also picked up a really melancholy Japanese film called Egoist. 

My favorite studio, who shows up repeatedly on my BL Syllabus is Wolfe Releasing. They have my all-time favorite Big Eden (2000), and many others. 

My point is that there is a huge world of queer media out there well beyond the latest mid-tier BL from GMMTV designed to keep the boys working. We also don’t need to argue that some of their shows are more queer than they actually are, especially when Cooking Crush is right there.

Thanks for the ask!

[jruthphipps]

Tadaima, Okaeri episode 12

I love the Fujiyoshi family so much. They are absolutely beautiful; communicative, honest and so utterly deeply in love with each other. They're the light in each other's lives and that radiates out to warm everyone else around then, including us watching.

[turtlycute]

2024 Anime Watch List

April:

This post is part of my ongoing record for the new (to me) anime I watch in 2024. I'm excited to see what new shows and films I discover as this list grows through the year.

Tadaima, Okaeri (2024) episodes: 12 started: 4-8-24 finished: TBD rating: TBD

A Condition Called Love (2024) episodes: 12 started: 4-8-24 finished: TBD rating: TBD

Alice & Zoroku (2017) episodes: 12 started: 4-9-24 finished: 4-11-24 rating: 7.5/10

Black Butler: Public School Arc (2024) episodes: 11 started: 4-13-24 finished: TBD rating: TBD

Kaze no Yojimbo: A New Face in Town (2001) episodes: 25 started: 4-15-24 finished: 4-19-24 rating: 7/10

Nabari no Ou (2008) episodes: 26 started: 4-22-24 finished: 4-25-24 rating: 7.5/10

Previous Months:

January Watch List

February Watch List

March Watch List

[halliescomut]

Masterpost (Under Construction)

It will likely take quite a while to get this off the ground, so please be patient.

I will also be slowing instituting a new tag for my meta posts (because if I had been using one all along this would be infinitely easier). Said tag will be #HallieSMeta.

Until there's something more interesting to look at here, please enjoy Jeffrey being a little punk:

Look at this motherfucker!!!! How dare he be so goddamn adorable!!!

Be aware that many of these posts are written months apart and so sometimes information is repeated...it happens.

KinnPorsche

KimChay MixTape- This is my post-canon KimChay fic- as of 10/10/23 it's at 88k words and will probably be 100k by the time I wrap things up. The links below are lil preview posts I do when I update. This is the Google Drive link to the first 3 chapters (which is a complete arc in itself. Otherwise it is posted on AO3.

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11 Ch 12 Ch 13 Ch 14 Bonus Chapters

KP Season 2 Unhinged Wants- these are a bit of an amalgamation, but all original posts should be link here as well and will be posted as I start to curate.

KP Week 2022: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

Meta-Posts:

Kim-Vegas and Main-Minor family relations: 1 2

Porchay: Post Break-up Behavior

Acting: Tong and Jeff

Porsche & __: Hugs Vegas Queer awakening (?)

VegasPete Sad Hours: 1 2 3 4 5

PrettyBoy ship (TankhunTay): 1 2

Kim-Hannah Montana theme song Kim-Kimhant-Wik

Masquerade Ball: KinnPorsche Pete Bodyguards

Pete and Morality

Theerapanyakuls and musical instruments

Jeff Satur Music

Song Theory part 1

Lucid MV Discussion

Lucid costar-Nene

You can also search the tag 'jeff satur menace' to see many posts of Jeff looking handsome as fuck.

BL Industry Musings

2022 BL opinions

Colorism Fanservice Assumption of Queerness

Faux Incest in BL

BL Botany 1 & 2 Jeff

My Personal Weatherman

Mashiko Atsuki appreciation

No-subtitle watch throughs (eps 3-8): 3 4 5 6 7 8

Ep 2 Ep 5 Yoh's drawings 1 Yoh's drawings 2 Finale thoughts

Minato's Laundromat S2

Midseason check-in I have feelings Amnesia trope

Asuka and Shu

Our Dining Table

Please watch this show: 1 2 3

Costuming Analysis

Kiseki: Dear to Me

Ep 5 Ep 8 Ep 9

Mame/MeMindY BLs

Love Sea: Intro to characters

Boy Next World: Intro to story and characters

Wedding Plan: They met as Children Lom Nuea

Love in the Air

Payu & Rain Conspiracy Theory

1 year Anniversary video

Sky becoming soft for Prapai

Pai/Sky oneshots

Prap-Eyes gifset

We were robbed

Prapai/Sky and boundaries

Prapai & Reformed Rake character type

Sky/Prapai thoughts

Episode 8 thoughts

Sky in the One Night Stand

Noeul’s acting

Rain is not a bad friend

Payu and having his hair down-hair care as a show of affection

Love in the Air is a Character-driven story

Naughty Babe

Ep 4

Tadaima, Okaeri

Eps 1-3 kind of intro

Ep 4- Meta discussion, discrimination allegory?

Ep 5- Meta discussion, portrayal of parenting

It's not letting me add the links right now, so I'll try again later.

Stray Kids

Social Path MV Analysis

Hallie is TOO honest on Tumblr:

Broad backs

Discovering my Asexuality

Human Imperfection