#from the seiyuu cast to the plots. very fun

[sexysilverstrider]

one thing i love about fire emblem awakening is that its core element is love. love for a friend. love for a family. love for their beloved. love for oneself. love plays a huge role in the game and is one of the important themes and i love that so much

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group L Round 3: #L8 vs #L2

#L8: Teenage girl and her friends literally hack society

#L2: Girl turns into a tanuki and learns about racism

Details and poll under the cut!

#L8: Yurei Deco

Summary:

In the cyber city Tom Sawyer, society revolves around earning "Love," akin to receiving likes on social media. Citizens of this augmented reality exchange Love for public services and appearance-changing avatars via the Decoration Customizer, also known as "Deco," a hologram device implanted in an individual's eyes from early childhood. Under the government's careful management, the people of Tom Sawyer live a peaceful existence, outside the occasional appearance of Phantom Zero, a mysterious criminal who brings all Love to zero within their vicinity.

Berry, a mischievous girl fascinated by Phantom Zero, lives comfortably in the system of Tom Sawyer until her Deco malfunctions, enabling her to see a camouflaged prankster named Hack. Believing Hack to be Phantom Zero, Berry chases after the suspect and, in the process, begins to uncover society's most well-kept secrets. As it turns out, Hack is not the only person living outside the system's rules—and the vibrant colors of Tom Sawyer hide a darker nature.

Propaganda:

Without any spoilers, Hack can easily be interpreted as nonbinary in some sort of way (whether they’re transmasc, transfem, or otherwise androgynous/neutral/other aligned) and their birth sex is never revealed, which is a plus for me. Furthermore, it’s literally what would happen if you made a fun, hard science fiction series in the style of a Ted Chiang novel but aimed at kids and written rather optimistically. It still has the hard sci-fi elements of critiquing AI and social capital systems and whatnot, but it also has an upbeat, cheerful tone of a children’s show, and you know what? I really like cheerful, intelligent kids shows! It’s something that I could not only watch on my own, but also watch with my conservative family without being seen as inappropriate, and it’s a genuinely cute and fun show!

I also like the colorful, free-flowing art style, thanks to Science SARU’s art, and the diverse characters, not only in characterization, but in race, body type, age, and gender. And the plot twists in this show really excited me too! This is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I genuinely recommend people to watch this show as well! Sadly, it’s not dubbed, likely because of its relative unpopularity, but the Japanese voice cast is another plus, especially Berry’s seiyuu! Berry is genuinely her first voice role, and she KNOCKS it out of the part, especially at making Berry’s cheerfulness stand out. Another good point: the MUSIC. With diverse mixes of electropop, hyperpop, and bit-based sounds, it genuinely has such a unique soundtrack compared to a lot of 2020s era anime’s yakousei and anisong based soundtracks which, while I like some yakousei and anisong tracks, I’m just not fond of both genres.

Trigger Warnings: Unfortunately, as a Science Saru show, Yurei Deco is unfortunately very flashy on the eyes and thus very unsafe for epileptics, the photosensitive, and autistic people who have trouble with eyestrain, among others. There are also depictions of classism that, while shown as wrong and not good in the narrative, might trigger those who experienced class-based abuse.

#L2: BNA: Brand New Animal

Summary:

Throughout history, humans have been at odds with Beastmen—a species capable of changing shape due to their genetic "Beast Factor." Because of this conflict, Beastmen have been forced into hiding. Anima City serves as a safe haven for these oppressed individuals to live free from human interference.

During a festival celebrating the town's 10th anniversary, Michiru Kagemori, a human who suddenly turned into a tanuki, finds that Anima City is a far cry from paradise. After witnessing an explosion in the square, she is confronted by Shirou Ogami, a seemingly indestructible wolf and sworn protector of all Beastmen. As they pursue the criminals behind the bombing, the two discover that Michiru is anything but an ordinary Beastman, and look to investigate her mysterious past and uncanny abilities. Could she turn out to be the missing link between Humans and Beastmen?

Propaganda:

This is one of the first few anime I watched when I was getting into it, so I'm rather fond of it. Though the show is only one season, overall it's pretty solid and ties everything together at the end. I also really like how they utilize color in the animation (it especially makes fight scenes more interesting to watch). The worldbuilding they have with the beastmen is pretty neat as well. This anime is good if you're looking for something quick to watch.

Trigger Warnings: There is some violence, and since the characters are animals, that may fall under animal cruelty. There are a few parts in the show where the colors get pretty intense, so that could be considered flashing lights. There is racism, as the beastmen are discriminated against by humans.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[akkivee]

i made a cross a line live blog post where i rewatched the live and made a bullet point each time i was dYInG needless to say if i posted that it would probably be almost as long as the classically infamous ‘do you love the colours of the sky’ post lol so i limited myself to ONE (☝️) point about each section:

NAME A MORE HYPE MOMENT WHEN THE CAMERA PANS TO THE CAST AND THE MAD SCRAMBLE TO FIND YOUR FAV AND WHAT THEYRE WEARING WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY FREAKING OUT ABOUT EVERYONE THE BAT SEIYUU ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU TAKEUCHI-SAN FOR JOINING IN THE BAT HAIR DYEING TRADITION AND THANK YOU HAYAMA-SAN AND SAKAKIHARA-SAN FOR SLAYING AS ALWAYS

cross a line was really cute 🥺 i appreciate asanuma-san for pointing at iwasaki-san when he got to ‘dialogue’ in his verse and also facing his team during their verses 🥺🥺🥺

LITERALLY HOW DID BB HIT THEIR STRIDE WITH IWBP FROM THE FIRST PERFORMANCE THE HYPEST SHIT BRO IMAGINE THEIR ENERGY IN FRONT OF ACTUAL PEOPLE

BAT COULD LITERALLY MURDER ME IN COLD BLOOD AND I WOULD OFFER TO COME BACK TO LIVE JUST SO THEY CAN DESTROY ME AGAIN AND I WOULD THANK THEM THE ENTIRE TIME WHEN SAKAKIHARA SAN SLID HIS HAND UP HIS LEG AND LIFTED IT I DEADASS YEETED MYSELF FROM WHERE I WAS SITTING TO THE FLOOR AND SCREAMED TAKEUCHI SANS ENERGY WAS UNMATCHED AND THAT IM THE GAME RULER IS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE HAYAMA SAN POPPING HIS JACKET OPEN AND SHOWING OFF SOME SKIN DURING THE CLIMAX LINE AND THE WAY HE WHISPER SANG HIS LOSE YOURSELF IN THE BEAT VERSE THANK YOU SIR AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASJFGJFDHJDSFHJKLJHGS

FCKING SCARFACE LIKE BRUH if asanuma-san wasn’t trending like he always does whenever we lives happen i will be shocked lol

fp being the champions sure has done a number on the order of things i can’t believe mtr is after mtc lmao but they’re so cute i was literally in tears help and hayami-san was absolutely rocking his heels btw!!!!!

IWSK STARTED HIS VOICE MORE POWERFUL THAN THE STUDIO VERSION AND SET THAT MAGIC FROM THE START ENISHI IS SO GOOD GO TF OFF KURODA SAN!!!!!!!! ALSO!!!!!!! kawanishi-san’s hair and outfit looked so nice!!!!!!!!!! so good!!!!!!!!!!!! marvellous!!!!!!!!!!!! fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHIRAIMU PYONPYON HOP 😭😭 SHIRAIMU AND SOUMA-SAN BOUNCING TOGETHER 😭😭😭 SOUMA-SANS RAMUDA IMPERSONATION IN SONG 😭😭😭😭😭😭 TORIMA IS SO GOOD LIVE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

you can tell the fp seiyuu have a great deal of respect for kreva but the way it was super obvious on nozu 🥺 the fp/kreva was fun and entirely worth the watch with shiraimu SOMEHOW managing to rope kreva and sascha-san into world cup talk during a hypmic live alone LMAO

fp mentioning they were nervous to perform kizuato and the sigh of relief shiraimu did at the end 🥺🥺🥺 also lol at the cg confetti!!!!!!!

UNITED EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMMMCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS NOT FCKING READY FOR NB RAPPING TO EACH OTHER STANDING BACK TO BACK DID YALL SEE MCD TOO MY ENTIRE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!!!!!!!!!!

idk if you could tell lol but i can spend a segment’s worth of time talking about lives so a look back on the lives was very appreciated lol and all of their choices were absolute 😘🤌 shout out to kaigen 7th live day 2, death respect, iwgp, black journey 7th live day 2 and bat’s debut in the 4th live (FOR WHICH THEY HAVE NOTHING TO BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT I LITERALLY JUST POP IN THAT DVD JUST TO WATCH IT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE)

if the all cast talk was chaotic then the individual groups were even more so lol and it sounds like to me kuroda-san is making a family and i don’t necessarily mean that in the wholesome way LMAO

THOSE ANNOUNCEMENTS THO????????????? REMASTERED OG DIVISIONS FIRST SOLOS WITH BRAND NEW NAGOSAKA SOLOS?????? NEW NAGOSAKA GROUP SONGS??????? THIS MIGHT BE PLOT STUFF STARTING BACK UP BUT NAGOSAKA ARE ALLOWED TO CATCH UP???????????????????????????????????? AND THE 8TH LIVE??????????????????????????? INDIVIDUAL TEAM LIVES ARE A BRILLIANT IDEA IMAGINE THE ENTIRE BAT DISCOGRAPHY PLAYED LIVE FOR TWO WHOLE HOURS WHAT A DREAM COME TRUE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

having hoodstar➕ and summit ending the live shows exactly what kind of vibe this live had it was so hype and chill at the same time 🥺🥺🥺🥺 i still can’t tell if kimura touched hayama-san’s back as he was passing him by after the leaders talk but if he did and then a little while after we got asanuma-san lightly slapping iwasaki-san’s ass during summit, i can’t believe i just witnessed nb/mcd ‘dynamic differences’ irl LOL

SERIOUSLY THO CROSS A LINE LIVE SAIKOU 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

[gramarye]

A summary of a Higurashi Gou interview

Hello! I made a long-ish summary of the recent interview Ryukishi07 gave about Higurashi Gou.

You may read the original Japanese interview here!

Spoilers for Higurashi Gou.  He touches upon the anime's themes, the creation of it, voice actors, the future of the series, connection to Umineko, etc.

↓ ↓ ↓ A summary in the read more below  ↓ ↓  ↓

- He came up with the idea while having tea with an anime industry person, saying "I wish I could make it an anime again" and they responded with "If it's a remake, why not transform it into a new work in the middle?"

“So I started coming up with new ideas for Higurashi.

- It wasn't what he originally envisioned. He wanted to respond to fans that said that they want to "erase their memory and read Higurashi for the first time again". Making it a different story would serve that purpose.

- When asked if he found it hard to write Higurashi again, he said they were "back in his heart immediately".

- When asked about why Satoko is the protagonist, he says it's because Satoko was much like a "damsel in distress" in Tatarigoroshi with Keiichi being the "prince", so he wanted Satoko to be a real protagonist now. He wanted to really dig deeper into Satoko's mind this time.

Interviewer: Satoko has grown into quite an unexpectedly impulsive child... R07: Ahaha, right. I've already shown the duality of Rena and Shion, so I wasn't sure if Satoko's shift would surprise anyone, but I'm happy it did.

- He said the director and animators understand him well, coming up with suggestions that he already had in mind and only had to correct a bit. He felt as if he'd bought 200 kg of tuna (expensive lol) and handed it over to the animators, and they did a great job with it (as a chef would).

Interviewer: Akio Watanabe's character designs sure are nice, they feel fresh yet nostalgic. R07: Yes, I wanted someone who could make Satoko look as good as possible. (especially fangs)

- The voice cast is the same to create a sense of familiarity. He did not inform them about the plot beforehand, and Hanyuu's seiyuu Horie Yui was shocked that she appeared in episode 2, saying "isn't it too early for me to appear?"

- He did not tell Yukari Tamura (Rika's seiyuu) about her role, but he did consult Mika Kanai (Satoko) and told her "it'll be quite tough to act Satoko this time".

Interviewer: All episodes are broadcast on TV, and people are making a lot of theories. How do you feel about it? R07: I think it's the ideal way to experience Higurashi. Back in 2006, it wasn't quite so easy to access social networking services.  I think it's great we live in a time where exchanging opinions casually is easy.

Interviewer: There are certainly many people watching it, from core fans to first-timers. R07: That makes me very happy. Higurashi was always meant to be less of a traditional mystery all about the murderers and the tricks they used, and more about the investigation and process itself. However, when it first aired, it really was seen as a game of guessing. I appreciate discussing our opinions and communicating over seeking what is the right or wrong answer.

R07: "I think social media has changed the way we enjoy content, and while it makes me happy there are people who are seriously thinking about (the logistics), I'm happy there are many ways to enjoy it.

- He says there are people who already have it all figured out, but whether or not your theory is right or wrong, the most important thing is to have fun while thinking about it. Wrong or not, it is a wonderful thing.

- He loves the old Higurashi anime and appreciates what Studio DEEN did, and does not want people to compare them and say "I liked this better" nor to make them uncomfortable.

- On the connection of Higurashi and Umineko: "I think people easily misunderstand it. Higurashi is a work that is complete within itself, you don't need Umineko to enjoy it. It's just that when you add Umineko to it, it may give you a new interesting perspective to think about.

- They compare it to Osamu Tezuka's "Phoenix". They are independent stories, but the same characters appear in the stories. In his head, they are a connected integrated world, but that's just how he views it. So, Umineko is not necessary, but of course, he would like you to read all of his works.

- He discusses how things go differently between the characters in the arcs, a tragedy occurs nonetheless, ie. Keiichi handing the doll over to Mion but things going awry regardlses. It's all original from Nekodamashi-hen on. He likens the end of the anime to how Matsuribayashi explains how Takano came to be the way she is, but this time, it explains Satoko's perspective. He says Satoko is certainly a hindrance to the future Rika wants, but he wants you to try and understand her emotions.

- The themes of the previous games were communication and relying on your friends, but this time, he does not want to reveal the themes out loud.

- He says the series is not over, and that he would love to expand on it if he ever came up with more Higurashi related ideas.

- One idea for a new story is Keiichi's children.

That’s it. Thank you for reading!

[rantheon]

the bakarina anime is done! it’s just a drop in the ocean that is the otome isekai genre so these are some recs + what you need to know about them. i just listed most of my favs otherwise it’d be too long :p

in no particular order. includes some non-isekai ones too. needless to say most of these aren’t completed yet

my next life as a villainess: all routes lead to doom

using this to plug that there’s more bakarina content in the form of light novels, manga and 3 spin-offs

an observation record of my fiancee - a self-proclaimed villainess

told in the pov of prince cecil, whose fiancee bertia straight up tells him she’s a villainess of an otome game from her past life

if you ever wonder what jeord from bakarina might be thinking half the time, this is probably close. cecil is the same kind of prince who initially finds things bored and predictable until they met the mc

the things cecil would get up to for bertia? hoo boy

also the way the mangaka draws hair is addicting to look at

the villainess cecilia silvie doesn’t want to die so she decided to crossdress

the title speaks for itself~ after remembering an otome game she played in her past life, cecil (previously cecilia) is now the one capturing the hearts of the academy ladies instead

it’s fairly new so there’s not much of it yet :c but it’s pretty interesting

the original otome game had a whole rpg combat system going on and i’m hyped to see how it’s gonna lead the story

the Angelique vibes are strong in this one

the villainess wants to marry a commoner

isabella used to play an otome game in a past life, but she was really only interested in a side character named ursch. and then one day she finds him in her mansion garden

her past life self is such a mood - i too have 100% otome games in hopes of side characters getting hidden routes but alas

definitely deserves the ‘video game’ tag. isabella can see status screens and character stats/skills etc, and all the gacha rewards and grinding transferred over after her reincarnation. she’s the isekai female protag we’ve always wanted

seriously the main ship is too op for their own good aha

deathbound duke’s daughter

in a past life, erika only managed to finish 2.5/7 scenarios of an otome game thanks to an unlucky encounter with knife-kun. with the different flags of her impending doom approaching, she takes things into her own hands years before the game events start

very fantasy-oriented (the most on this list) and pretty action-packed, once you get past the game exposition in the first 3? chapters

the world building is brilliant, from the hafan mages to the aurelian alchemists, and there’s beasts and wands and spells and dnd stuff sprinkled in

the cast has quite interesting dynamics and interwoven plotlines, and they’re all dorky in their way :>

beware of the villainess

melissa remembers a novel from her past life and desperately tries to cut off contact with the male leads, but they still make her life hell & she rages

she’s just so done with everyone and you can’t help but relate to her

definitely the funniest on this list XD melissa and her reactions takes the cake but even the shit characters are hilarious in their own way

there’s also a lot of parodies to memes etc & best of all, there’s cussing. all the shits and fucks. a whole lot of it

it’s great

death is the only ending for the villainess

penelope wakes up as the villainess from a game she’d been playing in her past life, only right now it's on the hardest difficulty where death is literally everywhere. thus she tries, well, not dying

what’s cool about this is that penelope has access to the original game system. she can see menus, choice options etc. the male leads even have affection percentages floating above their heads :> which is always cool to see (and what i’m a sucker for)

but it’s definitely one of the darker ones on this list. iirc there’s depictions of violence, abuse, drugs and then some. just a fair warning

the daughter of albert house wishes for ruin

upon realizing that she’s the villainess from a past-life otome game, mary decides to stay as one. chaos ensues

i love this manga so much, everyone is so quirky and there’s something to laugh about on almost every page. the story almost feels self-aware of itself and just lets the characters do whatever. like ride bikes

addie is so cute ;o;

it’s definitely something everyone should experience

i’m a villainess daughter so i’m going to keep the last boss

one of the finished ones!

post-annulment, aileen pulls a Lisa Tepes and asks the demon king claude to marry her. he refuses. hijinks ensues

mostly on the fantasy side, as it builds on the world of the monsters

the cast is pretty fun! aileen’s smart, funny and pretty competent in her own right. plus she and claude are positively adorable together

milady just wants to relax

post-annulment, ronia decides to open a cafe in the countryside. it later becomes the frequent hangout of a beastmen mercenary group, who are intensely feared by the townsfolk

well... beastmen. that’s all you need to know /wink

okay, that aside, it’s just as chill as the title suggests. ronia slowly makes friends she can trust, and the beastmen find a second home in the only cafe that’s willing to accept them. it’s pretty wholesome

the banished villainess! living the leisurely life of a nun making revolutionary food

despite actively trying to change her ‘villainess from a past-life otome game’ fate since childhood, elizabeth gets annulled, her noble title stripped, and is sent to a church in a neighboring kingdom. she enjoys it more than expected, despite the appearance of the ever watchful leonid

there’s plenty of 21st-century food like sandwiches, cotton candy leonid’s muscles <3

the entire cast is lovable, and can chris get an f for all the heart attacks leonid keep giving him

seduce the villain’s father

yereninovica (or just yerenica) realizes that she’s in the world of a novel she read in her past life, but as the aunt of said novel’s mc. after thwarting a kidnapping that’s basically the mc’s origin story, she takes it upon herself to also prevent the tragic death of emperor belgoat

a bit different since it switches the roles around (side character x side character) and goes into the “parent generation” of the original work

there’s also an interesting bit where the world seems to recognize her as a hijacker, and where that takes her, we’ll see in due time :o:

plus the way yeni habitually calls him ‘father’ cracks me up every time

transferred to another world but i’m the savior of an otome game

after a ritual gone wrong, “yamada tarou” (fake name) is stuck in the world of an otome game. the only way back is with a magical ring, normally obtained after becoming the lover of one of the male leads. he of course says no i’m going adventuring but the game doesn’t like that

it’s absolutely hilarious - the leads treat our mc like a heroine, and there’s a lot of otome tropes that are called out on/parodied. like the seiyuus’ names oh my god

tarou’s reactions are great and his appraisal skill is the funniest thing alive

endo and kobayashi’s live commentary on the villainess

in modern japan, endo and kobayashi start their playthrough of an otome game, which becomes a bit glitchy and odd. they discover that siegward, a male lead in the game, can hear what they’re saying. they use this chance to finally give lisolette a happier ending

much of the story’s focus is on the characters slowly warming up to lisolette, and a bit on endo/kobayashi’s irl relationship. despite being the primary drive of the story, lisolette herself hardly moves the plot - if you know what i mean

regardless it’s undeniably adorable

tearmoon empire

no isekai, more of time travel? chronoskimming?

mia wakes up 10 years in the past after being sentenced to death. now afraid of guillotine-kun, she strives to solve the issues in her kingdom that had previously led to her doom

a bit similar to bakarina in terms of concept: avoid death flags, unknowingly recruits the people she meets into her little saintess cult. the misinterpretation is very strong, and in brilliantly funny ways

it has really fun narration ngl especially in the light novel

of course, i’ll claim palimony!

to prepare for her annulment, yulia starts scheming recording her fiance’s meetups with the heroine to use as evidence. if you’re gonna lose a suitor, might as well get some money out of it, right? along the way she gets involved with rudonik, one of the male leads

no reincarnation. rather than an otome game, the villainess story comes from a book written by a side character, and the “heroine” just decided to play it out in real life

the cast together is a riot, and it’s entertaining to watch yulia only think in profits and every connection she can make to achieve it

the villainess’ slow prison life began with her broken engagement

no isekai, just a plain old villainess

post-annulment, rachel is sentenced to imprisonment. which she enjoys and is thoroughly, hilariously prepared for

everyone’s a little afraid of rachel and for good reason. it’s better to find out yourself through the LN or manga, but let’s just say that even the king doesn’t want to deal with her XD

the holy grail of eris

now this one is interesting, putting the villainess trope into a mystery ghost story. that said, no isekai either

our innocent heroine constance attends a party and encounters scarlet, an executed villainess from ten years ago. a body possession and some public embarrassment later, they decide to team up to solve the mystery that might be behind scarlet’s death

i mean, ghost villainess? sign me up

+ some honorable mentions

i favor the villainess (the heroine goes for the villainess- girls? girls? yes)

a bellicose lady got reincarnated (a delinquent reincarnates as a heroine; what a concept :o unfortunately there’s not a lot of english content for it yet)

it seems i got reincarnated into a yandere otome game (i like that the mc actively makes it so that game can’t ever happen the way it should; plus, yanderes are always interesting to study)

inso’s law (modern isekai, and quite cute!)

the reincarnated young lady aims to be an adventurer / holy guardian tiger (similar to deathbound duke’s daughter in that there’s more of a focus on the fantasy aspect)

expecting to fall into ruin, i aim to become a blacksmith (so far the only one with a shounen tag that i like; its main charm is probably the cast and their interactions with each other eliza best girl)

since i’ve reincarnated as the villainess’ father i’ll shower my wife and daughter with love (big big wholesome vibes)

level 99 villainous daughter (severely op lady who takes no shit from the people looking down at her, and regularly thinks about blowing up the academy within the first 4 chapters? hell yeah)

may i please just ask one last thing? (post-annulment, the mc literally punches everyone in the room; it’s great)

this is getting long now oops

edit: i also made a visual-friendly personally-tagged-by-me bookshelf here!

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 63 Poll (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 253 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

---

RATE THE CHAPTER 244 Responses

In contrast to episode 62, this episode got a lot more of a positive response, with no one rating it a one, and well over ¾ rating it as a 4 or better. The anticipation for the upcoming events surely has a part to play in this!

I love it! Wholesome and thrilling all in one!

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I think they did an amazing job. The animation was even better than before too.

Pacing was great! The best so far.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 247 Responses

As expected of the fandom, Falco leading Reiner to the basement to meet Eren got the largest chunk of the pie as what was probably one of the most anticipated moments from the episode. In second was the daytime festival with Reiner spoiling the kids to some good food, with the third place going to Eren meeting his grandfather at the hospital. 

They animated Dr Jaeger’s breakdown incredibly well, I felt extra bad for the guy.

WOULD YOU SHAMELESSLY EXPLOIT REINER FINANCIALLY IF YOU HAD SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY? 242 Responses

The majority of respondents say they would definitely exploit Reiner financially, with 31% saying they would feel bad about it, and 26.4% truly being shameless about it. 17.8%, on the other hand, would never even entertain the thought.

WHICH FOOD WOULD YOU WANT REINER TO BUY YOU? 246 Responses

Naturally, pizza gets the majority with nearly 60% of the vote (c’mon, who doesn’t love a good pizza?). Behind that was dessert at 22.8%, followed by those who prefer a good sandwich at 17.1%. A couple of commenters were just plain thirsty for other characters. 

All of the above ;)

Ereh abs 

1 drink with 2 straws so we can share while romantically staring into each other's eyes

EVERYTHING

erwin's t*ts

All. We make reiner broke

WHICH KID HAD THE CUTEST “BEGGING” EXPRESSION? 244 Responses

Gabi says she’s cute, and the fandom agrees! With 67.2% of the vote, Gabi takes the number 1 spot as the most adorable beggar. This is followed up distantly by Falco, who took in 25.8% of the vote. Zofia and Udo got a small amount of love as well.

WHAT DO YOU THINK - DID MAPPA DO WILLY TYBUR JUSTICE? 245 Responses

Overall, respondents are very happy with MAPPA’s rendition of Willy Tybur, with nearly 50% simply appreciating his design and seiyuu, while 38.8% find him quite dashing. A small amount think MAPPA got his design down just right, but not so much of a hit with the seiyuu. 

As expected of MAPPA! That's exactly Willy!

His shoulders look so small its weird

They did a good job casting and drawing him but I don't personally think he's attractive at all

I couldn't take him seriously since his voice is the same as kakashi's

He is fine and MAPPA animated him well. I don't look at him from sexual way. 

They really nailed Willy and I appreciate his character way more than in the manga

MAPPA MANAGED TO FIT IN THE STAIRWELL SCENE WITH PORCO AND PIECK. WAS IT EVERYTHING YOU HOPED IT WOULD BE? 247 Responses

MAPPA gave some of us a good surprise by repurposing the stairwell scene with Porco and Pieck (and I think most of us agree they’d have been fools to omit it completely). 38.1% were very grateful for it’s inclusion. 37.2% think they executed it well and had a nice chuckle from it. 9.7% were disappointed in the adaptation of Pieck’s ass, and 10.9% actually didn’t care about this scene anyway. 

Everyone's making too much of a fuss over it. Nice scene though

I wish they had actually animated her scurrying around

My bisexual ass simps for Porco AND Pieck 

It was everything I hoped for and more. Thank you Mappa

I always knew MAPPA wouldn't dare cut the scene where Pieck scares the crap outta Porco 😂. Poor guy could have fallen down the stairs.

That was a cute and fun scene. Pieck is really sweet and Porco was more friendly and open hearted than his manga counterpart. I really loved it!

YES! YES! YES! YES! Y E S!

Pieck Ass

MAPPA INCLUDED AN ANIME-ONLY SCENE OF A DRUNK TOWNSMAN PRAISING ZOFIA (MISTAKING HER FOR GABI), WHICH INCLUDES SOME SYMBOLISM ABOUT BAD LUCK. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ADDITION? 244 Responses

Anime-only scenes are always hit-or-miss with manga readers, and this one seems to have been no exception. Overall, 32% of respondents thought it added a nice layer to the life of Eldians on the mainland. 18.4% were appreciative of a little more Zofia content. 16.4% liked the scene well enough, but didn’t feel it was necessary. 12.7% feel that it will serve as more fodder for Gabi’s characterization. Smaller amounts either didn’t care about it, or felt that it was completely unneeded and pointless. 

I don't remember it not being part of manga, but this scene was good.

They skipped so many scenes from the manga and then add this... really not necessary

I've appreciated every little addition they've added so far, but I wish we could all quit associating black cats with bad luck. It's a major reason why they have a hard time getting adopted in real life. :(

Yet another bitter reminder of why I despise Gabi so much

OOF

I really liked the additions they made, they’re really making us like all these characters more and it’s going to hit even harder when things go down.

UDO’S SARCASM IN THE ANIME IS MUCH MORE PLAYFUL THAN HIS GLOOMY CYNICISM IN THE MANGA. DO YOU THINK THIS MAKES HIM MORE LIKEABLE? 243 Responses

Udo shows a lot of distaste for the way that Eldians are treated both in the manga and in the anime, although it seems to have gone a bit more overlooked when we initially met his character. The anime team upped the sarcasm in Udo’s fatalistic views and the fandom seems to be very receptive to it! 44.9% of respondents feel that it makes him stand out a lot more than it did in the manga, and 34.2% are simply enjoying this more lively rendition of his character. A handful of others prefer his demeanor better in the manga, while others really don’t care about Udo at all.

I adore him in the anime. It’s gonna hurt seeing him squashed.

The answer is: Yes! 

It hurts more 'cause he'll die

To me it kind of felt like anger disguised as playful sarcasm, which actually made it scarier to me because you never know when he's gonna snap like he did last time.

MAPPA OMITTED THE SCENE SHOWING ZEKE AND COLT PLAYING BASEBALL. AS MANGA READERS, THIS ONCE SPARKED A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WHETHER EREN AND ZEKE WERE WORKING TOGETHER. DO YOU THINK ITS REMOVAL WAS A GOOD MOVE? 243 Responses

Overall, there doesn’t seem to be much panic in the omission of Zeke and Colt playing baseball, although some write-in responses indicated that they were more saddened by the lack of development between Zeke and Colt, rather than the foreshadowing of the Yeager brothers working together. 39.5% feel that since we already know Zeke has an affinity for baseball, the foreshadowing works well enough without this extra scene. 28.8% feel that we should simply wait and see if MAPPA rearranged this like it has other scenes. 13.6% think that this will make things even more of a shock for anime-only viewers, while a smaller handful feel that it ruins all ability to even speculate about it.

It would be too obvious if it was in the same episode and I think Eren's scene is enough for people to make a conection between baseball and Zeke

I missed it because it fleshed out Zeke and Colt’s relationship. Specifically the thing Zeke says about being a big brother. 

I'm more sad because it was cute than for the potential foreshadowing. The foreshadowing is at least partly still there without it.

It's looking like a "show it later in a flaskback" angle.

It would probably be too obvious in an anime format

I'm more disappointed about the content of the conversation between Zeke and Colt

Since it was obvious last episode that the injured soldier was Eren, it’s good to actually hold another plot twist in the air that nobody will see coming as a replacement

WITH KIYOMI NOW INTRODUCED, HOW DO YOU THINK MIKASA WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THE AZUMABITO SYMBOL? 240 Responses

The symbol on Kiyomi’s kimono is the same one that is branded on Mikasa’s wrist in the manga. But the anime team retconned this detail and Mikasa’s mother showed her the symbol through embroidery instead. So it begs the question of how this will be acknowledged in the anime, given Mikasa doesn’t (knowingly) walk around with an embroidered Azumabito symbol on her clothing. 41.7% feel that she will verbally acknowledge the symbol as something her mother showed her when she was little. 25% are anticipating MAPPA retconning things back to having the symbol branded on Mikasa’s wrist again instead. 15.8% think she will have the symbol embroidered on a piece of clothing she is wearing, and others feel it will be acknowledged in a different way, or the scene will be omitted altogether.

Either canned entirely so they can focus more on adapting the more labor intensive parts or acknowledged in another way

Anyone who thinks they’ll retcon to a tattoo is super wrong. Japan has a huge taboo on tattoos because of the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) so they’re 100% keeping with the embroidery 

I don’t even remember where Mikasa first saw the symbol…

I think it would be fine if they use the embroidery but they could just change where the tattoo is located

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE INCLUSION OF PIECK AND PORCO DURING THE DAYTIME FESTIVAL? 245 Responses

With Pieck being a fan favorite and Porco lacking in as much screen time in comparison, we asked how you all felt about the inclusion of them in the short festival scene. Most responses were positive, with 38.8% getting a kick out of the implication that they, too, were mooching off of Reiner for free food, 35.1% just loving that they’re getting more screen time altogether, and 17.1% feeling that it was a huge improvement over Reiner being solo in the manga. A small chunk of respondents felt it was better the way it was depicted in the manga. 

Doesn't matter, Falco is really the only one who deserves to live

I preferred it in the manga when Reiner was alone with the kids, but it's a nice addition to give them more screentime. Especially to Porco

Their moments together show the close-hearted bonds they have.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE ADAPTATION OF CHAPTERS 99 AND 100 WILL GO? 100 IS ONE THE COMMUNITY’S ALL-TIME FAVORITE CHAPTERS. 244 Responses

The Declaration of War has been one of the most anticipated animated episodes since its chapter’s publication. With MAPPA at the helm, we asked how confident you guys were in how it will be adapted. Nearly 70% of respondents are wholly confident in MAPPA’s ability to pull this off, regardless of whether they’ll have to cut some lines or are able to keep everything in. 25% remain cautiously optimistic. 

I'm really scared, but hope that they can make it justice 

No idea how they adapt that much dialogue in one episode

I hope the declaration of war gets the best adaptation possible.

IN A RECENT INTERVIEW, WE GOT A GLIMPSE OF SOME NEW MUSIC THAT HASN’T YET BEEN IN THE ANIME. COMPOSER SAMUEL KIM MADE A WONDERFUL FAN COMPOSITION BASED OFF OF THE SNIPPET IN THE INTERVIEW.... DO YOU THINK THAT HIS MUSIC IS WHAT WILL BE PLAYED DURING THE BUILDUP TO THE DECLARATION OF WAR? 228 Responses

For those of us who are OST nerds, we wait in anticipation of which track will be used for the iconic Declaration of War scene and how it will impact the overall execution. 37.3% who listened to the fan composition of a new song feel that no other song would suit the scene and are hopeful this is, indeed, what will play. 22.4% are hanging on for YouSeeBigGirl/T:T (or at the very least a rendition of it) due to the significance it has between Eren and Reiner. 19.3% feel it will play during Willy’s play, but not the Big Moment itself, and 11.4% simply aren’t invested. Some write-ins indicated they don’t want to be spoiled on any of the new music until it’s paired with the appropriate scenes. 

I hope that it will be Vogel im Kafig but this track fits great too, and I think that this track is more likely to play during the buildup scene

Not gonna listen. If this is indeed the DoW music, I want to hear it first during the scene itself.

It'll be edited around for the play but the climax at the end could very well match the trailer they used it in for DoW

Whatever MAPPA decides to play, I'll be content with I'm sure. 

I prefer to wait and be suprised by the ost than listen to it before and it feeling like deja-vu

YouSeeBigGirl would be great for some nostalgia but this new soundtrack seems intriguing, maybe MAPPA has more surprises for us

Im thinking the ost might be completely different but i am open to it being played because it does sound nice

No ost spoilers for me

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT EPISODE? 243 Responses

The top three most anticipated clips from the preview include Eren starting to transform, Willy declaring war and Eren and Reiner’s conversation in the basement. Of course, these are all more or less interconnected, so the vast majority of respondents are looking forward to the buildup toward and the climax of the DoW (as expected). A small number are looking forward to smaller scenes such as Falco realizing he’s been used and Willy’s play in general. 

I'm hyped for the declaration play!

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I LOVED IT MAPPA IS DOING A GOOD JOB!!!!

I loved the humanization of all the characters

The perfect calm before the storm. Everything from here on out will be an unstoppable train

I'm just so happy to see the story animated! 

It was a mandatory filler episode for the declaration of war, important stuff happening but pretty boring overall.

This episode seemed shorter and kinda empty, but considering what's coming, I totally forgive and understand it. 

Its just a really great episode The pacing was perfect I was actually more invested with Magath's and Willy's interaction in the anime rather than the manga The visuals for the scene when Eren and Dr. Jaeger were talking were beautiful Udo's character was fleshed out more I'm still waiting for Armin It just presented things differently from how i read into those scence, and i liked that. Overall just really exited for the next episode and for chapter 136 to come out

The ending got me so HYPED for the next episode!! It was really well done.

the eyeshots of Eren's grandpa were epic

The episode was trully wonderful and I enjoyed every part of it. MAPPA is doing great job and I get a feeling that with the new soundtrack the episodes feel more serious than the ones created by WiT. I love Pieck. I never understood what was so ""cute"" about her in the manga. I saw her only as intelligent, skilled, tough warrior woman. Now I finally see her cuteness. I love how sweet and calm she is. Pieck reminds me of Tsuyu from MHA. They share similar energy. I'm grateful to MAPPA for making the bonds between the warriors stronger. This way the anime onlines will feel more sympathy to them. Pieck and Porco won't be just cold warriors, but nice folks.

Watching Falco and Gabi together is so satisfying to watch after knowing he confesses his love before inheriting the jaw Titan oooof love them so much

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 232 Responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again next episode!

[kagemajaya]

So much to watch, not enough time in the week - What does Fall 2020 look like?

A list of what looks interesting in the next season and silly reasons as to why

I’m not the sort of person who likes finding out too many (in some cases even a smidgen of) details about anime I’m going to watch, so this will be a spoiler free preview of the season. Here is a list of anime I will try and you can expect to hear about on Kagemajaya.  

Click on the show names to be taken to their MAL pages for more detail.

Hype

Taisou Zamurai

A male cast gymnastics anime from MAPPA (the studio of Yuri!!! on Ice.) Enough said.

Watch the trailer here.

Chuan Shu Zijiu Zhinan

This one’s a bit of a cheat as we’ve already seen 2 episodes of it (3 for those who have VIP accounts on weTV.) However, I was indeed hype for it before it started. Based on a BL novel by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, the author of Mo Dao Zu Shi, this one promises a lot to people who enjoy transmigration, cultivation and a bit of gay. It is also a quite funny isekai parody. The only downside is that it doesn’t share the same visual quality as MDZS, and is entirely 3D. It’s a good thing I’m not much of a stickler for hot visuals.

Watch it here on its official stream. 

Tian Guan Ci Fu

Another donghua based on a BL novel, well-known among the danmei fans also by its English name of Heaven Official’s Blessing. Also written by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (boy, are they busy.) And a big plus: it’s not 3D, so really looking forward to watching handsome men cultivate together in pseudo-historic China. Beautiful setting, beautiful boys. Now one can only hope for an interesting plot too and we are set.

Watch the trailer here.

Cautiously Expectant

Yuukoku no Moriarty

I saw manga adverts for this one all around Akihabara and Ikebukuro last year when I went on a little trip to Japan. The bishie Professor Moriarty was an immediate pull, and as a Holmes fan, I feel attracted to most of its adaptations, despite almost always being let down. The one thing that makes me cautious about this one is that it is published by a shounen magazine that is not GFantasy, so I’m not sure if the bishie designs and the male cast actually mean what I want it to mean. Fingers crossed.

Watch the trailer here. 

Giving It a Shot

Inu to Neko Docchi mo Katteru to Mainichi Tanoshii

A cute looking comedy short about a dog and a cat.

Jujutsu Kaisen

A mostly male cast Shounen Jump affair. Spring 2020’s Kakushigoto also implied that it has a fujoshi fanbase - let’s see what that’s all about.

Maesetsu!

A female cast gag comedy sol created by Lucky Star’s Yoshimizu Kagami. I watched Lucky Star fairly recently and found it quite entertaining with many sweet/funny characters. I suppose we will see if Yoshimizu still has it. Fingers crossed.

Adachi to Shimamura

I try to watch all queer anime as they come, and this comes in from the shoujo ai quota. Looks like a pretty straightforward romance. Hopefully it will have heart.

Kaeru no Pickles: Kimochi no Iro

All I know about this one is that it has a chill looking poster and has a slice of life tag on MAL. I’m not entirely sure whether we’ll get this subbed, but if we do, I’ll give it a shot. 

Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko

Fell for the slice of life tag once again. This one is an isekai with a soft looking MC. Not entirely sure it’ll be up my alley, but no harm in trying it, maybe for a pleasant surprise.

Sore dake ga Neck

This one seems to have the cool setting of a convenience store. I did initially think this was going to be a sol as well, but seems like that might not be the case. Either way, cool setting.

Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle - Rhyme Anima

Another anime whose source project I saw plastered all around Tokyo. I’m not a huge fan of idol shows but the rapping bit makes me a bit curious.

Noblesse

A manhwa massively popular among female fans which has also received one off adaptations before, it’s finally getting its turn for a full cour among the hype the industry seems to have for Korean webtoons these days (Kami no Tou, God of High School, etc.) I did watch one of the OVA’s years ago, and wasn’t entirely impressed but then again I can’t judge a whole work based on one arc adapted into a single episode. Male cast action stuff. We shall see and judge.

Magatsu Wahrheit: Zuerst

This was chosen entirely on my shallow criteria as usual: visuals with two dudes on them. Now we’ll see whether the German name is a cringe factor or it’s actually interesting.

Sequels

Osomatsu-san 3rd Season

Osomatsu-san has been a consistently high quality production for me since the beginning. The humor is definitely my cup of tea, though as with any episodic gag comedy, some sketches do miss. It is more often than not a hit. The seiyuu cast is a huge huge pull, as this is not them only acting out an already written character but you can actually hear them having fun as the sextuplets. It is also one of the rarer shows where I, as a person who isn’t great at focusing on visuals, appreciate the impeccable quality of animation. So hype for another season of this majorly fun series and to welcome Matsuno’s back home - coziness, here I come.

Quanzhi Gaoshou 2

I watched the first season of Quanzhi Gaoshou (or King’s Avatar) because it was made by the studio of MDZS, and it was the first time I had seen a good looking Chinese animation production. And it didn’t disappoint. Production quality was similar and more importantly, it had a very engaging plot - pro MMORPG players playing MMORPG,  their personal dramas and the actual (surprisingly fun for me) gameplay and action. Its most important quality is still its charming cast for me, a successful ensemble cast, where with the exception of the antagonists, everyone and their relationships are lovely. Mostly a male cast show, it does also have nice ladies. Looking forward to going back to them. My only personal issue (definitely not a flaw on the show’s part but my attention span) is that it has so many teams and characters that I forgot most of who was who. Fingers crossed it’ll be easy to get back into. 

Haikyuu!!: To the Top 2nd Season

Haikyuu is back again, to finish off the “To the Top” arc. The first cour of this season was probably the season that took me out of the Haikyuu hypnosis state where I assumed everything that came out with the name attached to it was great. It was still enjoyable in its second half but I do feel like the magic has worn off now. I hope I’m wrong and the tournament hype will bring it back again. Haikyuu is at its best when it’s tense in-match and funny with character interactions, so fingers crossed for that.

Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 4

The Chinese comedy short is back! As mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago, gag comedies are always hit or miss with their sketches, and this one is also mostly a hit for me, though definitely not at the level of Osomatsu-san. The pull of this show is the cute boys and their dumbassery. Looking forward to its easy fun and more Kai Xin. 

Also continuing...

Mo Dao Zu Shi Q, Great Pretender

Have been enjoying both these shows greatly so far. 2 more cours of MDZS Q to go with their cute chibi fun, and Great Pretender’s last case (9 eps) is already released on Japanese Netflix so now we wait for Laurent and the gang to reach us. Really looking forward to the emotional drama of Laurent and hopefully some proper addressal of his feelings for Edamame. Either way, it’ll look gorgeous and will be heaps of fun if the first three cases are anything to go by.

I might pick up other shows and most likely drop some of these throughout the season but here’s hoping it will be enjoyable overall despite the small number of shows I’ll start with. What are you guys planning to watch?

[yamujiburo]

I am soooo stoked for the new anime! Words cannot describe!!

For one I like Ash again. I had a hard time watching BW and XY for this reason. He just felt watered down from what he used to be. I wanted to like him so bad but he was just so boring to me. I was at the point where I’d watch the anime solely for Team Rocket (yeah I was one of those). But Sun and Moon remedied that for me. The reason I liked Ash so much in OS-DP was because he was EXTREMELY flawed and kind of mean which made for fun character dynamics. I think the writers felt he was too mean and unlikeable for a protag and dialed it back which just made him a kinda generic good boy. While Ash wasn’t mean at all in Sun and Moon they found a good balance of flawed/stupid but still sweet and excitable and interesting. I cared about him throughout the series and was always rooting for him. Judging from the previews, it seems like that Ash is being carried over!

I’m already a fan of Gō. I can already tell he and Ash are gonna have a great dynamic. The writers purposefully made him the opposite of Ash. Cool, cocky but more level-headed (very Gary-esque imo). I love the fact that they’re a duo also. While I do enjoy a good ensemble cast like in SM, having a smaller cast will allow for more time to focus on each character. 

We don’t know much about how the region to region thing works so far but based on the episodes we know about they’ll already be in Johto and Sinnoh which is NUTS. I fully thought that the series was gonna be divided up by region. Like they’d be in Johto for like 20 or so episodes then move to the next but no, they’re just hopping around back and forth from the looks of it. I dunno how that’s gonna play out over the series but I’m eager to see how they pull it off. Going to different regions also means there’s potential to see old characters/Ash’s old traveling companions. I don’t know how likely this is but regardless, it will be nice to go back to other regions and see Pokémon who haven’t been in the show for a while. 

What I’m most looking forward to is the fact that this series is supposed to be more episodic. I know a lot of people won’t agree with me on this but I just loooove shows with self contained stories. Most of my favorite shows are episodic with exception of like... Steven Universe. When you have an episodic show there’s just sooo much more freedom to explore characters and you’re not limited by an already set story. When you have a story, all your characters have to be a specific way at a specific point in time for everything to flow properly which depending on whether it’s done properly or poorly, can make or break a series. In my opinion and based on experience, there’s just more room to change things up and be improvisational with an episodic series. If there’s an episode that goes well or a fun character that shows up just once, you have the power to revisit that character or story without having to worry about how it’d fit in the overall plot. Idk, I work on an episodic show and some of our best bits/jokes and episodes (in my opinion) came from revisiting a character we all liked decided to build upon. I’m excited for this new way of storytelling for Pokémon. 

The only thing I worry about is Team Rocket. BUT. I’m equally as hopeful. Worried because of that interview where one of the seiyuu said that they haven’t been in the booth a whole lot. But hopeful because of the supposed episodic storytelling. Why? Because in the past I feel like the writers just never knew what to do with Team Rocket when actual plot was introduced. Case and point, Sun and Moon. Team Rocket was always around in the self contained stories but as soon as the arcs picked up, they just kinda disappeared because like... what else are you supposed to do with them? They’d serve no purpose being there so why put them there in the first place? Buuuut with something so episodic there’s opportunity to do fun stuff with them. Backstory for example! My theory on why they haven’t touched on any of TR’s backstories since like... DP is because BW and XY were so linear and plot heavy that focusing on Team Rocket would just derail the whole thing. There was just no time to shoehorn them in because they had characters that needed to be developed and a story that needed telling. Now, the writers could just throw in a Team Rocket episode if they felt like it and it wouldn’t disrupt the story in any way. Or I could be totally wrong and they’ll just hardly be present in the series which I would have been much more sad about a few years ago but I’m cool with them not being there all time now that the anime made me care about Ash again. 

UM ALSO??? THE ANIMATION??? I feel like this the perfect in between of what everyone wanted. Fans of the old look get the sharper designs and fans of Sun and Moon still get the fun, yet simple designs with GORGEOUS animation!

I just feel so good about this series. All the promo art already has me hyped. We’re straight up being launched into some big ass episodes. Like damn we get to see Lugia and Ho-oh already and get Pikachu backstory to kick us off? GIVE IT TO ME!!!!

[nimbus-cloud]

Yu Yu Hakusho Stage Review!!!

Before I start going over the show I want to stress just how INCREDIBLY lucky I got, because I got to see the show via a same-day lottery ticket, after failing EVERY lottery and general sales, and it was INTENSE!!!  On the Thursday when I lined up twice, there were easily 400 people in the line for both the matinee and soiree shows and even when my number was drawn, it was actually 2nd on the waiting list, not one of the original winners, and I may or may not have been seriously contemplating throwing some people down the escalators to move up on the list.  But three people canceled or didn’t show so I got to get in and I was bouncing off the walls inside, WHATEVER POWER WATCHES OVER ME, I owe it my eternal soul for the opportunity!

They opened the show with HOHOEMI NO BAKUDAN and I almost screamed from the nostalgia honestly.  They basically did an opening sequence with the song, mimicking the anime opening by having them fight one by one against a group of enemies... which is why a lot of those press release photos have Kurama fighting with his rose whip (when we don’t actually see his rose whip until later in the story that’s not in this play [ALSO HOW DOES HE MAKE FIGHTING WITH THE WHIP LOOK SO GODDAMN COOL INSTEAD OF AWKWARD?!?!?]), and why there are shots with Hiei letting out the Black Dragon or Kuwabara dual-wielding spirit swords.  I know some of us were curious how much story they were going to cover or how much they were going to skip, and it’s not because of some massive skip.  The story runs from the very beginning with Yusuke dying, spending time as a ghost, and then to just after retrieving the three artifacts of darkness.  They give us a hint of the four of them about to enter the castle of the Saint Beasts, so that might be where the next play (crosses fingers) will pick up the story.  

The format of the story has Koenma (adult ver.) narrating (sometimes with Genkai) as he’s watching “old” videos of the group and reminding himself how far Yusuke has come.  Based on his conversation with Genkai at the beginning, the “present” in the play is just before the Dark Tournament, and everthing else in the play is Koenma watching those videos (also why there are press photos of him with a remote control).  This is also why they could fit the Kurama and Hiei meeting backstory, because it’s Koenma watching old videos and wanting to look back on them too.  

And also Arayan as Koenma is SO FUCKING FUNNY we were all cracking up a LOT.  He can actually enunciate quite well with that pacifier in his mouth!  And he’s always changing back and forth between his adult version and baby version because he’s either watching/narrating or in the flashbacks himself as a baby.  He also really liked breaking the fourth wall while narrating so for some of the cute Yusuke-Keiko moments, for example, he was like, “What a cute young romance—WHO EVEN HAS A ROMANCE LIKE THAT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL HUH!?”

I haven’t watched Arayan live since 2015 when I saw him as Lao in a Kuroshitsuji Musical, so it was wonderful to see him again and in a role that allows him to do so much more and be such a ham.  

Tsubasa as Yusuke was amazing, fantastic, splendid, show-stopper.  I liked his Renji from when he was in the 2016 Burimyu, and so I thought I had some idea what his yankee characterization would be like (because obviously his Ishikirimaru isn’t a great reference point lol), but it’s even better!  He was so funny and so warm, and when he had the scene making the little kid laugh, I have NO idea how he was able to pull those faces.  He looked basically exactly like anime Yusuke pulling faces and I was wheezing so bad in my seat.  Mostly, I just couldn’t believe that he really unzipped his pants (while turned away from us) to stuff that kid’s ball into his crotch and dance around with it.  

Speaking of the little boy, we gotta give props to Genkai’s actress because she played so many side characters throughout lololol.  She couldn’t be Genkai for very long or often, so she was also Keiko’s shy, glasses-wearing friend in school, she was also Maya-chan (Kurama’s classmate that he and Hiei have to rescue) in the Two Shots scene, she was the little boy Yusuke saves (she tries not to talk as him), and she’s also obviously young Genkai.  Because she plays so many roles, there’s a narration bit where Koenma tells Genkai, “You know, in these videos, I keep seeing a lot of kids that look like you.”  And she tells him he’s imagining things.  

Plot-wise, they did skip one major scene from when Yusuke was a ghost, and that was the scene where his apartment caught fire and he had to “sacrifice” his spirit egg to save Keiko.  

Oh but I loved the bit where he had to possess Kuwabara to go tell Keiko not to cremate his body, because the way they did it was to have Tsubasa and Naoya do everything in unison together.  So all the choreography has Naoya as Kuwabara fighting all the guys that come at him, and Tsubasa just a little ways away doing the exact same thing, only he’s not hitting anybody.  And although it had been Naoya doing all of the talking so that we hear Kuwabara’s voice, at the point when he’s talking to Keiko and the lines start to get sentimental, they turn up Tsubasa’s mic so that they overlap for a little bit, and then they turn down Naoya’s mic so that at the end, we only hear Yusuke’s voice asking Keiko to wait for him.  He was also slowly moving off-stage while Kuwabara(‘s body) was talking to Keiko, so that the end of that scene has just Kuwabara and Keiko on-stage, but we hear Tsubasa-Yusuke's voice.  So I really loved how that was done because it mimicked the anime really well.  

I loved being able to see Kuwabara’s promise-between-men played out on-stage.  His squad was cut down to just two guys instead of three, since you really only need Okubo for that bit, and they needed to divide the ensemble cast between Kuwabara’s boys and the other punks who want to beat on Kuwabara all the time.  Naoya as Kuwabara was everything I wanted and more.  His voice, his expressions, his everything was just SO. GOOD.  And it was so funny to think how long I’ve been a fan of Naoya (since 1st cast Tenimyu days basically) and how I’ve never actually seen him live in a show until this.  So that was a real treat and a real blast of nostalgia on multiple levels.  I’m so happy he was the one to bring Kuwabara to life on-stage, he was wonderful, and I’m so grateful I got to see him.  

Yuka-tan's Botan was SO SO SO CUTE?!?!?!?  Oh my gosh she felt so perfect to me in every way, and I loved her dynamic with Yusuke and Koenma, there was so much cute banter.  I liked when Yusuke was laughing in Koenma’s face and Botan kept spanking him because, in case we forgot, he’s like actually 14 years old at this point in the story.  Sometimes she was the one watching the old clips together with Koenma so she also switches between being in the story to being part of the narration.  

If you wanted a critical review, this is not the place to look because I pretty much only found it wonderful and amazing and nostalgic and amazing but I do have one minor criticism and that is that Yusuke’s post-resurrection outfit for helping Kuwabara rescue Eikichi was not his fashion icon look from the anime.  He just had a regular color jacket instead.  Ugh, way to make him look “cool” stage staff. Lol  

The Two Shots scenes were interspersed between Yusuke’s ghost antics and I really do think my heart stopped when I first hear Hiroki speak.  I haven’t been a fan of Hiroki for as long as I’ve been a fan of Naoya, but he’s another one that I’ve seen so often in so many shows, but this was my first time seeing him live and he just has such a presence that it’s no wonder we call him HiroKing.  It was also fun to see Shouhei again since I haven’t seen him live since his last show as Noya for Haisute, and he’s as amazing as I remember.  Pretty sure he’s having a lot of fun playing early evil Hiei honestly.  Since both Hiroki and Shouhei have a lot of experience in other shows with sword-fighting (*cough TKRB/Hakuouki*), those bits looked really fucking cool.  

But YYH is heavy on hand-to-hand combat, not sword-fighting, and I have to say that they did a nice job with that too!  There were places where I felt like they got nice and creative with it, and it’s fun to see Naoya give Kuwabara a little extra flair with his.  The ensemble cast were integral to all of those fight scenes, and they had to do a lot of falling and flying around, and they also need a loud round of applause.  

Gouki’s actor ripped off his shirt TWICE!!! Not once, but two times!!!  And I mean RIPPED, like not stage rip, like he RIPPED that shirt.  So I’m assuming they just ordered a box of cheap t-shirts for him to rip through for the rest of the tour.  Mind you, I was not complaining about the shirtlessness.   It was also interesting because after Gouki’s defeat, they put him in spirit world as one of Koenma’s ogre servants as a replacement for George in the second act, so he and Koenma have some fun moments since he’s quite reformed once dead.  

As I mentioned, they do give us a sneak peek of the four of them meeting up just outside the Four Saint Beasts castle, with Kuwabara picking a fight with Hiei and all.  However, we did skip over Genkai’s tournament, which comes just before that so it’s possible we might not get that little arc on-stage even in the next show.  Maybe to avoid rushing Liz into Genkai’s old lady makeup, maybe because nobody cares about Rando anyway.  

The closing bows were also done to Hohoemi no Bakudan (I was maybe a teeny tiny bit hoping for Homework ga Owaranai), and during the closing remarks, Tsubasa very excitedly told us that during the afternoon show, Yusuke’s anime seiyuu, Sasaki Nozomu came to see them!  He was wiggling side to side and said, “I got a picture with him yaaay~” and then he asked us to come see them again in the Spirit World, to which Naoya started making confused faces.   Naoya: Sp-spirit world? Tsubasa: No?   Naoya: The story’s mostly in the human world, isn’t it? Tsubasa: Ahhh.... yeah! Naoya: You’re exhausted, aren’t you?

And that’s my review/summary!  Feel free to ask me questions about it or to just scream at me how much you love YYH~

[megaboy335]

Mega’s 2019 Top Anime List

Another year of anime has come and gone. This year I ended up watching a lot less due to the over saturation of Isekai and light novel anime, but there was still plenty to enjoy. As usual I consider any show that ended this year as a contender to be on my list. This is simply my opinion and there will be spoilers below.

1) Pokemon Sun & Moon

Starting this list with a show I watched for 3 years, Pokemon Sun and Moon was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had with the Pokemon anime. It took the best aspects of XY and added loose animation to the mix. Ash and friends have never had so much personality as each episode brought the characters to life in new ways with funny facial expressions. As an adaptation of the game, Pokemon SM did better in some areas compared to others. The trials were simplified or restructured to account for Ash’s classmates being trial captains in the game. While the Kahuna battles were spaced out very far apart in the anime. I always thought it was strange that in-between major story battles, Ash barely ever thought about the challenges.

The two major story highlights of the anime are Lusamine’s arc and the Pokemon League. Lusamine’s story was the main plot of SM and it played out almost exactly like the game. Her downfall to her Ultra Beasts obsession and then Lillie knocking some sense back into her mom is still an emotional highlight of the series. In any Pokemon anime, the Pokemon League is what brings meaning to Ash’s entire journey through the region. SM’s league is similar to the game where it’s the first league of the region. The rival pairings and matches were completely predictable, but it ended with two big surprises. First, Ash was actually allowed to win for once (matching your character becoming the first champion in the game), and secondly he had a full 6 v 6 match with Kukui. It spanned 3.5 episodes with Ash’s Litten completing its character arc by reaching its final form during the battle. It was a rare match where both parties are battling it out for fun and it ended with a flashy finale of two hype Z-moves. Pokemon SM will be remembered for its simplicity, yet ambitious approach in always showing something new week after week.

2) Mob Psycho 100 Season 2

Mob-Psycho continues where it left off in season 1. The main protagonists have come away from a battle with Claw and now daily life resumes. This season featured a love story, Reigen’s arc, deeper exploration into psychic powers, and the return of Claw. Just like in season 1, Mob continues to excel in two major areas. First is of course the animation. An average episode of Mob is literally that one stand-out episode of a one cour anime. Psychic power usage is often a reflection of emotions and they are animated in different ways depending on the characters thoughts in a particular scene. There were so many highlights this season that it would be impossible to list them all.

Mob’s second strength is the character writing. In season 1 Mob was a boy struggling to create his own identity. This season Mob actively tries to break out of his shell and become his own unique person. We see this through his efforts with the fitness club, again when he separates from Regien, and again as he shows everyone that having psychic powers is no substitute for personal growth or status. Mob is no longer a timid boy like he was at the start of the series. He can now stand on his own two feet and help others who are struggling to get up. Considering there is still a little more manga left to cover, I can only hope it gets one last season to finish out the story.

3) Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

In order to understand the appeal of Kaguya-Sama, just for a second imagine if Death Note was a romantic comedy. Both of the protagonists are locked into a battle of wits to outsmart the other in the events of daily life. The mere act of choosing a vacation spot, going somewhere, or giving an item to each other suddenly becomes a high stakes duel. Kaguya-sama follows Kaguya herself and Shirogane as they try to avoid being the first to admit their love for each other. The side characters only help to add wildcards to each battle such as Chika being able to change the tide of battle with a single phrase.

I enjoyed seeing how absurd each battle would become week after week. The presentation is simple, yet very effective in this anime. Resources were definitely allocated for use in certain places for maximum impact. The voice acting also helped a ton in selling just how important each battle was in the minds of the characters. Overall, the series knows how to play with your expectations. Some battles turn out as expected, some with a twist, and others end on some kind of middle ground. However, each battle brings them a little closer together. I can’t wait for the next season in April.

4) Run with the Wind

Almost all sports anime revolve around high school students trying to become as good as possible and win nationals before the 3rd years graduate. However, Run with the Wind takes a different approach to this formula. It focuses on a group of college students who, at the start at least, would rather do anything else than run. It takes about half of the show before our group of characters even get on the same page about running. I enjoyed how this anime put us into the heads of each character. Some have personal reasons for not wanting to run, while for others it was something trivial. However, by committing themselves to the team they each gained a new outlook on themselves and those around them. It was quite literally an uphill for the team to reach the level of success they got at the end. The final run brilliantly showed how each character learned from the experience and how the time they spent on the team was a positive life changing moment. Run with the Wind shows that it's never too late to try something new.

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind

Jojo is back on the list after an extended break between parts 4 and 5. Compared to previous stories, Part 5 is most similar to part 3. There is a quest to clear and it involves the main group traveling across the land and defeating enemy stand users each step of the way. The differences between part 5 and its previous stories becoming apparent right away. First off, the protagonist is not a traditional Joestar. He is the son of Dio born from when he had Jonathan’s body. Secondly, the group of main characters are not exactly good guys. As mafia members they display a sense of unity, but lack the high integrity of previous Jojo characters. A connection they all share is being looked down upon in society, but placing a place in the world through Bucciarati’s squad.

The aspect that makes or breaks a JoJo story for me is usually the villain. I consider Diavolo to be the weakest of any villain across the various JoJo stories. During the early arcs of the story, Diavolo comes off as an interesting character. He has a mysterious personality and will clearly stop at nothing to keep his identity hidden, including killing his own daughter. The series then adds layer of complexity when we meet his alter ego Doppio. The two personalities are clearly distinctive, but the line between which one is charge can be murky. However, his character intrigue quickly comes crashing down as the final arc fully brings Diavolo into the limelight. The story comes down to who can control the stand arrow, which is a sharp contrast to previous villains who drove the final arc on the back of their eccentric personalities. While JoJo part 5 is still a good anime, it will always come near the bottom of my favorite JoJo parts.

The Year of High Profile Weekly Shonen Jump Anime Adaptations

As the 2016-17 hits from Weekly Shonen Jump have aged up, all of their anime dropped in succession this year. I am a huge fan of the magazine, so here’s a section with some quick thoughts of their anime.

The Promise Neverland - The anime changed the escape arc from a mental battle to a horror series. While animation is definitely better suited to playing with the idea of show don’t tell, the result ended up being telling the story through a different lens. While I appreciated the idea, I feel it came up short. The loss of Posuka Demizu’s art was another major blow to the mood they were trying to create.

Kimetsu no Yaiba - When the manga first began, I never imagined it would become a 1+ Million seller. Ufotable brought their top class digital effects to a manga that at a quick glance would make anyone think it would be the last series to get such treatment. The anime brought a lot to the table and greatly helped to bring the manga to life. It was a great experience from start to finish (episode 19 is a major highlight of the year). I’m looking forward to the upcoming film.

Dr. Stone - Compared to the other Jump anime this year, Dr. Stone’s animation and presentation stuck very close to the manga (if not even inferior to Boichi’s creative spreads at times). The aspect that sold this anime best was the voice cast. They brought so much life into the characters and conveyed the passion each one has for science and learning. I enjoyed seeing Senku create his inventions in animated form.

Bokuben - This might not exactly be considered “high-profile”, but I can’t help but find myself impressed by the anime week after week. It adds a few touches here and there to better tell a cohesive story and occasionally adds a scene or two. I appreciated the heart the anime brought to the series through the seiyuu. Introducing a new seiyuu unit from the cast was also a nice bonus as well.

Best OP/EDs of the year:

1) One Piece Opening 22 - The One Piece anime has changed dramatically under Tatsuya Nagamine. This opening is fast paced and filled with future story teases. It changes the format by cutting the op run time down to 2 minutes and includes clips of the episode. The final sequence of Luffy vs. Kaido always gets me hyped each to watch the episode each week. 

2) Mob Psycho II Opening - This opening feels like a natural continuation of the first season opening. It once again showcases how the show is full of creative animation and unusual characters.

3) Mix Opening 1- Mitsuru Adachi is known for his nuanced writing of giving characters the space to convey their thoughts. This opening fully shows these traits through its sequence of character shots that feel like a natural usage of his writing style. 

4) Kaguya-Sama Chika Ending - Cute song and amazing choreography. There’s a clear reason why this swept across the internet last winter

5) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Opening 2 - Not only is Traitor’s Requiem a very cool name for a song for this part of the story, but the plot teases are perfectly timed in the song. The opening animation also kept on giving with the villain version and Giorno later recapturing the opening.

This brings 2019 to a close and another decade comes to an end. As my way of recapping the decade, here is a list of my top shows in each post I have made since I started posting them in 2014:

Space Brothers

Hunter x Hunter

Kill la Kill

Nisekoi

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3

Sore ga Seiyuu

Death Parade

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3 (Second Half)

Hibike Euphonium 

One Punch Man Season 1

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4

Mob Psycho 100 Season 1

Yuri on Ice

Konosuba Season 1

Sakamoto Desu Ga?

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Tsuki Ga Kirei

Re:Creators

Ero-manga Sensei

Owarimonogatari (the Monogatari series in general)

Hugtto Precure

A Place Further than the Universe

Yuru Camp

Dragonball Super

S.S.S.S. Gridman

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (April 26)

I haven’t made one of these for a while, and after the first draft went and deleted itself, I wondered whether it was worth making another one (I make these primarily for myself then get really surprised whenever people notice these). During harsh times like these, I find myself being drawn to the cheesiest and the most cringe-inducing shows, but maybe I just like them because you can put them on double-speed without missing a thing because you know what’s going on. It’s like instant noodle broth: satisfying, warming, but you know it’s going to kill your insides with self-crisis. Seriously, I didn’t come to terms that I really, really like romance as a genre until a little while ago. 

With that being said, I want to take a short break from romance now. 

I often ask myself, “Why are you watching these when you can be watching really good anime?” Well, that’s probably because I don’t want to have my analytical brain on right now. I want to watch an anime that takes two brain cells to enjoy. I only have two. Once I garden some more, maybe then will I get into the stuff I know I will enjoy like Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Things that I just started but couldn’t get into

NHK ni Youkoso! (1/24)

For one, I didn’t want to watch this before because it would’ve hit too close to home. The show’s about a NEET aka a freeloader (not in employment, education, or training), and I’m... almost that description (but that’s mostly because of the pandemic). Really, this show is riddled with paranoia, and it wants you to really know that with its changing art styles to its cynical script lines to its main character honestly needing some help (seriously, he needs help). I read further (aka spoilers) and realized that I probably won’t have fun with this anime right now, and I will never touch the manga because that stuff is even more insane than its adaptation. NHK ni Youkoso is about people who fall between the cracks of normal standard society and their desire to seek their own normal by any means necessary, and during stressful times, I think it belongs on the backburner.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (2/12)

After seeing how much I enjoyed Kakushigoto (which will be mentioned later, I just thought, “Wow, I want to see that other really famous work!” I didn’t enjoy it at all. I forgot why I put the series on-hold. It’s about a suicidal teacher who will stop at nothing to die then ask people why they almost killed them. Through a bunch of errors, he ends up becoming some sort of a harem king to his students (and he attracts the weirdos). I enjoyed the lengths Studio Shaft went to to make this anime appear the way it does (which helps in a lot of ways), but I just can’t continue with it until a much later date.

Appare-Ranman! (2/?)

I just lost interest after looking at the rest of the cast. I’m all for being vibrant and out there, but some of those character designs imitate more of a “racial stereotype/caricature”. I’m not saying that I dropped the show only because of that (I’m quite dense when it comes to that), but I didn’t like the characters either. I can’t get behind a show that won’t let me enjoy it a single moment over two episodes. 

I’ll pick it up again later (probably)

Free! (5/12)

I feel like they’re shoving fanservice a lot. I try to skip every fanservice scene, and I managed to watch up to episode 5 in less than an hour, and I didn’t even get through them all. But I will say that ending is stuck in my head now. (humming)

This show has taken me at least two attempts to watch so far. Let’s see how many more it takes before I finish/give up!

Darker Than Black (18/25)

I’ll probably finish this one for the sake of finishing it. I just find that the episodic nature gets stale after a while, and the overarching story is often disregarded. In exchange, we do get some fun side stories, character development, and world building, but I’d like to settle down too, you know?

Clannad (1/23)

Yeah, I’m doing that now. I’m going to see whether my feels bones are as strong as they were before... after I take a hiatus because I’m not sure if I’m in the appetite for that kind of romance now that I’ve watched two shoujo in a row. 

Sousei no Onmyouji (20/50)

I bet you, someone was like, “Let’s throw all these shounen cliches into a pot then see what comes out!” Bruh, this is bordering that story I wrote when I was 14, and I’m not even dissing this anime. I enjoyed it but need a break now. It’s very cliche, predictable, and honestly, I can see why it has such a low rating. Studio Perriot likes cutting corners sometimes with their long-running series (*stares at Naruto*), and this anime is no exception. Sometimes, it feels like a visual novel. “We don’t need to animate anything if she’s so fast that no one can see her.” Dang, but it gets repetitive. It also has a magical girl power that only works when the main couple does it? Cool, but that also gets repetitive. I just didn’t see myself watching the same thing another 30 times (at least right now).

Maison Ikkoku

I’m actually on the fence about continuing this one. It’s really sweet, but I’ve had my fill of romance. I have been wanting to watch some more Rumiko Takahashi works though. There’s no reason for me not to continue this. It gives me strong Princess Jellyfish vibes (which I should also finish). 

Recently Finished

Itazura na Kiss

Just... end my suffering. It’s not worth it. The thing about shoujo anime is that I watch it late at night when my brain is at its worst when it comes to analyzing or taking in any emotional circumstances. Then I asked myself, “Would I want any young, impressionable people to watch this?” And my first thought was “F**K NO!” This anime was an absolute trainwreck. As my Discord friend put it “It’s so bad, yet you can’t look away!” But what makes this anime unique? What sets it apart? It shows life after high school. Just like Clannad, it shows that life is more than your secondary education. There is more to life than just being a teenager. I’m not saying these characters ever grew though because that’d be a FAT JOKE. 

Episodes 1-13: Girl gives boy a love letter. He laughs and doesn't even want it and goes "no thanks". Girl gets upset. Then they find out they're living under the same roof after the girl's dad made them a house out of popsicle sticks (because the dads are childhood friends). She keeps trying to push herself onto him, and his mom joins in and is plotting so much more than you'd expect. The best part is that this main girl already has a childhood friend who's like "please marry me. I'll cook for you, work for you, take a bullet for you, slice my head off if it means you won't chip a nail--" then the girl replied by chasing after the guy who calls her stupid on a daily basis and genuinely believes she can't do anything. 

Episodes 14-25: Guy gets dragged to his own wedding and generally does not care for the girl unless she’s either not looking or is on death’s bed. He practically deserts her every other time, and we’re supposed to think it’s romantic when he finally gives a crap about his wife (even when she’s pregnant). The show constantly reminds you that even other characters have doubts that our main character cares about anyone other than himself and his aloofness. They have a bunch of missed affairs including a hoe that tries to leave her husband on her honeymoon to get with Mr. Aloof and a nursing student that genuinely cares about MC and the fact that her husband doesn’t care about her at all.

The moral of the story of this anime: If you chase after somebody long enough, they will cave in and marry you even if they don’t like you, want you, insult you, bully you, or generally show all the signs of an unwilling partner.

Anyway, this anime is crap. I can’t believe I watched it. I want those few hours back (I fast-forwarded a lot, okay?) I can’t believe I finished it. Looking back makes me want to press undo. Having this under my history is a shame to my family. Even if I was sleepy and generally out of it, that’s no excuse for choosing this. Sayonara

 I will say that Daisuke Hirakawa and Nana Mizuki did give good character voices despite the circumstances. That, and I haven’t heard from Hirakawa besides those couple of scenes from School Days (which... is a different type of romance), Free! (which I dropped when his character joined), that gumball scene from Jojo, and that introduction to him being the new Demon Slayer villain. I didn’t realize he was that old though.

Special A

This is one of the anime that my sister watched, and I thought, “I need to be reminded of what a somewhat healthy relationship can be” I wasn’t disappointed because the last anime left such a bad taste in my mouth that literally anything could’ve soothed the aching wound which was bad decision making. Even under regular circumstances, I probably still would’ve enjoyed it, but since it came at the right time, I give it an extra nod of approval. I also never realized that the second opening was inadvertently drilled into my brain because I kept overhearing my sister watching it. Now that I’ve grown up, I realize I was listening to the voices of some of my favourite seiyuu. Go figure. 

The story was really sweet with characters that I genuinely liked by the end (not my favourite cast by a very long shot, but it was slightly above average). It was slightly above average for me in a lot of ways (ironically), and it was enjoyable. The art is very fitting for its time, the music was very... ordinary, and the story was simple enough that you knew exactly what was going to happen at any given moment. This show should be titled: Special A(ppreciation for those brave people who have fallen in the friendzone; we’ll get ‘em next time). 

Akatsuki no Yona OVAs 

Unlike the actual TV series, this stuff actually ends conclusively without ending on the CLIMAX OF THE BIG ARC. SERIOUSLY, I WAS ROBBED. You can say, “There’s a perfectly good manga right there.” Shut up. I want my fight scenes animated with a big helping of a strong female lead. It gave me a sudden appreciation for Hiro Shimono and his character Zeno who literally just inserted himself in last minute in the anime (but these OVAs perfectly explain everything). You probably shouldn’t watch the anime without watching these OVAs because they’re canon, funny, and touching at times. It enhances the series.

According to the animation, we know it can do fight scenes. Give us another season, cowards! Actually, it’s Studio Perriot, so if we ever get it, it might be two stickmen duking it out. 

Haikara-san ga Tooru Movie 2

You know, I really enjoyed the movie. The first one. This one? Not so much. Actually, I felt so done. I was looking forward to this so much. It’s like going to a restaurant, expecting really good pasta, and then being served some leaves from the weeds out back. Eventually, it tastes better when you add some dressing and cheese, but it still isn’t a bowl of pasta. This show casts aside everything I like about it (present-tense because they didn’t kill everything of it) and leaves one little inkling of its valued ideas. Instead, we get a romance-chasing movie that feels a bit more like an amnesia fiction that’s slightly higher quality than usual. I can’t say I regret watching the movie. There were some redeeming qualities, but they jumped from a 9/10 to a high 6/10 that managed to squeak itself into an overall 7/10. 

(This gif is from the first movie, but I can’t find any from the second movie anyway)

Currently Watching (Not Seasonal)

Samurai Champloo

This anime is a staple of Shinichiro Watanabe, and after this, I will probably watch Cowboy Bebop, Carole & Tuesday, and Space Dandy. I did enjoy Sakamichi no Apollon and Zankyou no Terror. 

Plus, after all that romance, I need some samurai slaughter. The fight scenes and the music get me every time. I don’t even need to say anything else about the anime. The fight scenes are enough to watch alone.

[medea10]

My Review of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

[venus-says]

Kamen Rider Zero-One Episodes 01-09

The biggest gag of this whole thing is that I don’t have a punchline to talk about a show with a comedian as the main character.

⚠ ⚠ Warning! Very long post ahead, be prepared. ⚠ ⚠

Yes, I’m bringing something weird, kinda unrelated, and very random again to the blog, but seeing that precure is taking a break this week and that I had some free time I thought, why not?

Kamen Rider was something I always wanted to get into but I never did just because of the huge amount of things in this franchise (much like what keeps me away from Idolm@ster, and pushed me from Doctor Who for so many years). But I was babysitting in the weekend and I had to sit down through 5 hours of power rangers on netflix, and that kinda revived this flame on me. And seeing that he newest season of Kamen Rider is still in its early days I thought it was a good time to start.

I’ll go back and watch the older seasons (at least the ones from the Heisei Era) because *spoilers* I enjoyed Zero-One quite a lot, and it also would fit with a project I’m planning for next year, but I won’t give much detail on that just yet. For now, let’s just focus on the task at hand and talk about Kamen Rider Zero-One.

Since this is a review/first impressions post instead of talking specifically about each episode I’ll talk about some specific topics. Starting by the plot.

This setting is very entertaining, I don’t know if it’s the future, or if this is some kind of alternate reality where humanity has progressed faster than our reality or whatever, but I like the futuristic vibe. The concept of Humagears isn’t anything new, it’s what you expect from a futuristic show, but it is somewhat decent. I don’t know if talking about machines getting conscience is a concept that’s easily palatable to kids, and I have a feeling that the show will lack in this discussion, but I’m okay with it.

I’m okay because this show does an amazing job when it comes to being emotional. In every episode, they make us sympathetic to at least one character and when this character gets caught between fire or is turned in the MOTW we feel for them. I was especially touched by Mamoru in Episode 2, the kid from episode 4, the seiyuu Humagear played by Karen Miyama and her father in episodes 5 and 6, and especially the coach and the basketball team from episode 7. In a very short amount of time, they made me feel attached to these characters and I was really invested in their stories and that’s a huge plus for me.

The plot regarding the company is probably the least interesting and the less believable IMO. Maybe it’s just me being dumb, after all this is a show where dudes transform in mecha armors with animal motifs using belts, but I find hard to believe that in any parallel world a successful and respected businessman would hand their very important company in the hands of someone unprepared for the business. Yes, the protagonist being the head of the company gives him an interesting plot point in episodes 8 and 9, but that was really the only time I saw it as being used in an interesting way in all of these episodes.

A.I.M.S. is a thing I have mixed feelings. First they seem to be the police, then they seem to be like a third (shadier) private organization, still they seem to use things as if they’re the government, they seem like they can play a very interesting role but this beginning is just so confusing I don’t know what to think of them. Though I have a major problem being that they seem to be huge, very important, smarter than the other, above everyone else, Still on episode 8 they let themselves be invaded without offering that much resistance resulting in loss of equipment and valuable data, and after all shit is done, they didn't run any kind of scan in their giant robots to see if nothing happened to them. That was really dumb.

The part I like the least is the villains' plot, they are boring as hell and I can’t care enough about them. The reveal on episode 8 that they’re also humagears is very rushed and very dumb because it shows that the protagonist has been wrong all of this time. I genuinely would like more if this was a revolution created by a maniac with a god complex rather than another story of machines rebelling against humans.

I can’t talk about Plot without talking about Characters. While this is a show that does one-off characters wonderfully, the majority of the main cast I have issues with, at least for now.

Aruto is the regular protagonist of any sentai show, I feel, so I don’t have strong feelings about him so far. Though, the characteristic that is supposed to differentiate him from the others makes me not like him as much. I don’t know if it’s because his jokes are lost in translation or if it is the style of comedy that doesn’t resonate with me personally, but to me he’s not funny he’s just very cringe. I also don’t like how this is overused and more often than not it ruins beautiful, touching or emotional moments. Though Aruto has something great in his favor that is his companion Izu. Izu is a delight and she makes Aruto be way more bearable as a character. Yes, her gag when she has to explain Aruto’s jokes is overused and after nine episodes I don’t think it’s very funny anymore, but I still enjoy her a lot and episodes 8 and 9 showed a lot of potential for her.

A.I.M.S flagship characters once again show my mixed feelings about the organization. While I love Yua (she’s probably my favorite character), I hate Fuwa to death. Yua is very interesting, she shows signs of humanity but she’s not afraid of using the resources she has at hand to fulfill her missions, she’s the gray character in the sea of blacks and whites and I love this, it’s still very shallow but it gave her character some level of complexity that put her above the other to me. Fuwa on the other hand… I may be wrong about him, he may pull a Bakugou on me and make me sympathetic towards him later on, but for now his hot-blooded, hard-headed, stubborn personality gets under my skin and seeing him loosing in Episode 8 was probably my favorite moment of him so far. (PS.: I know Fuwa’s first name is Isamu but I don’t think he was ever referred by his first name so far so I’ll stick to calling him Fuwa)

Like I mentioned before, I don’t care for anyone in MetsubouJinrai.net. Jin had something going on for him in episode 6, but instead of using that to build him as a character the show just threw that away by revealing that he’s not actually Horobi’s son, he’s just a Humagear he made and they took away all the things that made him interesting. Horobi seemed like just the generic villain, then he raised his status with the whole “I made you Jin” thing, but once again they lost any kinda of dept to his character when they made him another Humagear instead of a human going against society.

Tied in with the characters talk there’s the Rider aspect of the thing. I can’t judge them in level of efficiency or anything since I don’t really have some reference point to compare them to, but I can talk about designs!

Zero-One has a pretty efficient design, when you look at it you can immediately recognize that this is from Kamen Rider yet it’s still unique enough to differentiate from its predecessors. His power-up forms are also very decent, though I wish in some of them we had less of the grasshopper design and more of the animal the power-up is evoking. My favorite forms are Flaming Tiger and Freezing Bear since these are the forms that keep less from the original design. I don’t know if he giant mammoth mecha is considered a power-up but I’ll mention it here, that thing is very goofy I can’t take it seriously.

Vulcan and Valkyrie are pretty similar and bland in their basic forms, though I enjoy the touch of half of them being more mechanized and the other half share more similarities to their animals. In terms of power-ups, Vulcan’s Punching Kong isn’t very imaginative and there are not enough changes for me to like it. Valkyrie’s Lightning Hornet, however, is my favorite form of all of them, I love how it feels like a completely different design from the original and the colors work pretty well together.

I don’t know if they’re also considered Riders but I’ll talk about them anyway. I love Jin’s Flying Falcon, the shade of pink is very pretty and to me it has a better design than Zero-One’s form. Horobi is basically just a recolor of Jin, but it works I feel, maybe it’s just my love for purple and the fascination for scorpions and poison-related powers but I enjoy it. Talking about the Magias I feel that their designs are very hit or miss, more misses in my case, but I can’t deny that some of them are very funny.

The transformation devices all look kinda silly, if I was a kid I wouldn’t see myself interested in any of them. Though I’m all here for the progrise keys designs, it’s simple, it’s colorful, it’s fun, they look like cassette tapes and I love them. The briefcase weapons I also dislike, they seem like a very fun design for a toy in scale of a figure, but in the show hey seem way too big and don’t work as well for me, though I like Horobi’s arrow version. Zero-One has a very cool looking bike, but I gotta admit when it falls down from sky looking like a cellphone I can’t help but crack at it because it just looks way too goofy.

The last thing I have to comment on is production. Though I don’t have the knowledge to give a proper analysis I gotta say the show looks very well produced.

The locations are very pretty, the action, for the most part, is very impressive, the soundtrack is decent, and sometimes they take some styling decisions that are very impressive – like the “attacks animations” and when they’ve put these comic borders during a portion of the fight in Episode 5 to seem like it was part of a manga. The characterization is also pretty spot-on, we have the futuristic elements yet there are this similar present days vibe that makes things more relatable and easy to connect with this world, I especially love the earphone thing the Humagears have, is such a nice touch.

The actors are all pretty good as well. Yes, there are some moments where they go way overboard IMO, but overall they do very well with what they’re given to work with. Props to Noa Tsurushima for being able to pull out an amazing Izu that is very robotic but still has this very human aura to her. I also checked them out in their social media and it seems that the cast get along very well and they always seem to be having a blast in the backstage pictures. Also, did you know Fuwa’s actor has a youtube channel and he apparently does lives every single day? I was very shocked when I found out about that.

And the biggest thing that deserves praise is the special effects and CGI that, aside from a few moments like the giant mechas fighting in Episode 9, are amazing and a delight to the eyes. It’s very rare for me to find a show that is heavily dependant on CGI that doesn’t tickle me off and this one managed to pull it off wonderfully and I can’t wait to see more of it.

And these are my thoughts on the first nine episodes of Kamen Rider Zero-One, I really enjoyed the show and this is now part of my fixed weekly schedule of shows to watch. Have any of you seen it, what are your thoughts about it? One of the things I liked the most during the symphogear season was interacting in the comments and discussing the episode and I haven’t seen much of that recently so please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts as well. In any case, thank you so so much for sitting through this very long post, and I’ll see you a next time. (guess is finally time for me to aikatsu again after an entire month)

[dewbond-blog]

The Summer of Love: The English Dub of High School DxD

We will be jumping into the second half of season one next week with a look at the “Raiser Arc” and all it brings to the table, but this week I wanted to steer the Summer of Love into a topic that many people don’t really discuss: The English Dub, and my overall thoughts and feelings on it. There is a good, a lot of good, and some slightly not so good. So join me after the cut as we jump into our next chapter of The Summer of Love, the dub! This is another long one, so be ready!

To discuss the English Dub of High School DxD, it is important to give some backstory about English dubbing of anime in general. If you grew up in my generation, (late 90s, early 2000s)  then you are very familiar with the 4kids of era; a time in which the american company 4kids entertainment pretty much had a stranglehold on the western anime market. Simply put, they called the shots and every anime that was actually on television had to go through the 4kids “Americanizing process.” Needless to say, this was a bad thing.

Cardcaptor Sakura had it’s entire yuri/yaoi subtext removed and whole episodes removed. Dragon Ball censored and omitted world building, Yu-Gi-Oh became a “so bad it’s good” mess of a dub. Vision of Escaflowne became a shadow of it’s former self. Monster Rancher went from a 50+ episodes series to only a handful, and of course what they did to One Piece. The list just goes on and on. The 4kids era of anime was not a good time for the youthful medium, and frankly the wounds inflicted by this era are still fresh in many minds of my generation.

Things have gotten far better since then, with companies like Funimation, Sentai Filmworks and Aniplex taking over the dubbing market and delivering quality dubs of anime that are true to form and (sometimes) even superior to their Japanese counterparts. Yet despite this massive improvement there are still many who refuse to even give an English dub a chance, whether it is loyalty to the “authentic’ Japanese version, or trauma for the scars of the 4kids era.

Now how is this connected to High School DxD? Well not really that much, but I think it is important for readers to understand why people are somewhat hesitant on English dubs, despite a whole new generation growing up with them. There are old wounds that have yet to heal, and in this era where censorship is a hot button issue, I wanted to explain why.

Anyway, let’s get into the dub itself, and let’s start by talking about the cast.

The Cast

The English cast of DxD is frankly very strong, though it has been a cast that has had a few replacements. Akeno has been voiced by two different actress, as has Asia, and the while voice changes are noticeable, they thankfully don’t differ too much to make much of a difference. What I can say is that Asia and Akeno are both voiced excellently, with Asia being played with that cute innocent perfection, and Akeno with a level of sultry seductiveness that, while not on par with her Japanese seiyuu, gets the job done well.

The biggest voice change though has to be Issei himself, who was voiced by both Scott Freeman and later Josh Grelle, and while the change over in season 3 is a rather noticeable change (unlike Akeno’s voice change in the same season), with many people being initially put off by the sudden shift in voices. I can both say that they play an excellent Issei and bring a-

Wait..what’s this?

Fuck…do I have to do this? Do I really have to bring it up? REALLY?

ALRIGHT FINE…FINE..I’LL FUCKING ADDRESS IT.

In 2015. Scott Freeman, the voice actor of Issei and several other Funimation dub roles, was arrested, convicted and imprisoned for the possession of Child Pornography. Funimation rightfully and subsequently cut all ties with him and his roles current and future were replaced with new actors, hence the sudden change to Josh Grelle in season 3 and later 4.

Anyway, Issei’s work in the English dub marks the first, but not the most significant change in the DxD anime. While the script plays him true to form, Issei’s performance in the dub is markedly more “american” compared to his Japanese counterpart. While it is 100% loyal to the authentic story, there is a lot more ‘sex jokes’ and ‘western references’ that peek out from time to time. I’ll get into this when I discuss the script, but I did find it worked quite well for the story, and both voice actors are able to ‘get serious’ when the time comes, especially in season 4 when Josh Grelle gives his best performance as a harem lead, and this guy has MANY to his name.

However the biggest and frankly best change has to be Jad Saxton as Koneko Toujou, who completely re-invents the character for the English dub. In the Japanese version, Koneko is the quiet little kouhai who seems to only have one single emotion, very much in the veins of the Rei-clones that had a stranglehold the industry for years. The English dub however turns this completely on it’s head. Koneko becomes a motor-mouthed little girl who, while still holding true to the character’s spirit, adds far more to the plot and group chemistry than her Japanese counterpart. I just find Jad Saxton’s Koneko to be a far more interesting character, acting as a sort of the reality foil for Issei for many season, and still willing to call him out on his perverseness even after falling in love with him. Frankly, the difference between the two voices is astonishing, just watch this comparison clip.

The rest of the cast do a find job. Jamie Marchi as Rias is an excellent casting choice, and while I prefer the Japanese voice, Marchi’s signature voice is able to play both sides of Rias’ personality well and she only gets better as the seasons roll on. Kiba, Gasper, Xenovia and Rossweise are all again done very well, but it is only really characters listed above who are the real stand outs.

The Script

Remember how I brought up 4kids at the start of this post. Well I did also bring that up, because the English script of High School DxD does feel very much like a bit of a holdover from that era of anime dubs. There is more than a hint of the adapters putting in their own lines and having some fun with the dialogue than compared to other shows. It was clear to me that the writers were having some real fun trying to adapt this show for an English dub, and while some may grumble by only  being a 90% authentic script, the show does give us some great memorable one-liners like:

“I’m gonna make you eat those words like a kid doing the tide-pod challenge!”

“Cunt-tuckey fried chicken over there is in love with you”

“Forgive dat ass, don’t spank it!”

“Her milk-shakes are all over my yard”

Those are just some of the examples of the fun bit of humor that is injected into the series via the English dub and yes, it is not for everyone and yes, it is going to turn some of the purists off. Yet the voice actors give it their all and when the time comes for the show to “get serious” like with the Akeno break down, Asia story-line, the Issei/Rias fight, and more, those actors absolutely step up to the table and deliver excellent performances. So I can forgive them for having just a bit more fun with a show that is, again, about busty big boobed girls fawning over a perverted idiot.

What I do NOT forgive though, is the “president gaffe,” which undermines a vital and important plot point.

See, there is a very clear reason that Issei calls Rias “president throughout most of the anime’s run.” It helps show the class and social difference between the two characters and how, despite Rias falling truly deeply in love with Issei, her social status and his role as a servant make him hesitant to step up. It is only when that issue comes to a head that does Issei finally start calling Rias by her full name, and it is a great moment to cap off four seasons of development.

The dub however ignored that completely for the first four seasons and admitted that they weren’t aware of just how important it is. While they do address it in the season 4 dub, making an offhand comment that “Issei has been calling her President a lot lately” it doesn’t really fix the problem and remains an annoying nitpick for me. Is it a deal breaker? No, but it is a pretty glaring problem when looking at the series as a whole.

Final Thoughts.

Overall, the English Dub of High School DxD is a great one, and I honestly love it to death. As i said in my primer, I would have watched the series dubbed to do this event, but I wanted to be faithful to the Japanese release. The dub is still my go-to way of watching DxD and I suggest anyone to give it a show after watching a bit of the OG Japanese version. It’s not perfect, but it’s made with love and affection and doesn’t stray too far from it’s routes, but when it does what 4kids never could do to anime. It adds something without taking anything away.

[snknews]

Summarized Translation: Mantan Web Interview with SnK Seiyuu Kamiya Hiroshi (Levi) and Yamaji Kazuhiro (Kenny)

Shingeki no Kyojin: The “Master & Apprentice” Conversation Between Kamiya Hiroshi & Yamaji Kazuhiro; A Look at Uncompromising Situations and the Ongoing Struggles of Notable Seiyuu

Translation by @suniuz & @fuku-shuu of @snknews; Please credit if used!

In his season 3 interview, SnK Chief Director Araki Tetsuro's commentary on Yamaji Kazuhiro's performance is, "He will enthrall you just by saying a single word." "His performance is very convincing."

Kamiya Hiroshi's reaction to Yamaji being cast as Kenny is, "I was very happy. When Kenny first appeared in the original manga, my mind already envisioned him with Yamaji-san's voice. It's truly destiny..." Yamaji: "Isn't this a really interesting role? One that makes someone smile? Even though [Kenny] has his paranoid side, one can see that he still has feelings of fondness within. For Levi, Kenny's existence is a colossal one."

Kamiya also received stimulation through Yamaji's performance: "It was even more intense than I imagined. He brought a sense of believability to Kenny's character, which was really, really impressive! From Levi's point-of-view, Kenny is an adversary he must fight against, but he is also his master/mentor, so the relationship is quite complicated. When the one he least wanted to confront suddenly appears, he also feels the urgency of the situation. Even though up to that point, Levi never revealed any authentic feelings, he must showcase a different side in season 3, since his position is one that meets certain death if he doesn't react immediately. Yamaji-san's presence as this insurmountable "barrier" is really inspiring for me. Even though this is a barrier one must surpass, can it actually be done? I am constantly considering this."

Yamaji was quite surprised at how strict the production team was with all the seiyuu. "All in all, the production team was very detail-oriented during voice recording, to the point where they would give us directions from word-to-word. This is the most meticulous process I've ever experienced in studio - very rare, in fact." On the other hand, he also mentions, "There were many moments where I felt 'Wow, so fun/interesting!' During the recording period, I also had sudden realizations of 'So that's what that means...' The production team is so impressive!"

Kamiya: "While working, there were often challenging times, but Yamaji-san's feelings of 'fun/interesting' made me happier as well. When it comes to plot developments we don't yet understand, it can be hard to perform our best under such mysterious circumstances. But in our studio, the production team was constantly prepared to answer our questions, help us analyze different scenes...they patiently explained things to us over and over until we were fully satisfied. Things could get difficult, but we could still concentrate on performing - that was truly a fun/interesting aspect. The result was that we weren't just blindly working - we were putting in efforts toward an ideal result."

For example, when Levi battles in the air, there is a scene where he is simultaneously trying to defy gravity while paying attention to what's happening up ahead. Kamiya excitedly ad-libbed there, which infused a sense of Levi enduring the force of being dragging downward. However, the production team said, "You don't need to improvise here. Levi fighting against these physical forces is a given, so you should focus on what he 'noticed ahead of him' instead."

While acting as Levi and Kenny in one-on-one scenes, the two seiyuu also discovered some deeper meanings within the original work. Kamiya: "When we intricately performed these moments, I also reflected back to any misunderstandings I might have had while reading the manga. Now I really grasp the power of the series." Yamaji: "No matter how many times I reread the original work, whenever I watch animated adaptations, I always want to reread again."

Yamaji's commentary on Kamiya: "He can allow himself to look calm as he does everything successfully, which is extremely impressive. Even if it's Levi, for him to use a voice like that is not an easy task. His delivery and instincts are both so astute."

Yamaji: "For me to take on the role of a brand new character is something I'm definitely enjoying a lot. I'm 64 this year - I remember when I was in my 40s, I looked at those in their 60s like they were Gods. Of course, now that I'm in that generation, I realize that I have not changed much from my 40s (Laughs). I'm still experiencing infinite amounts of struggle - what an infuriating line of work we are in!" Kamiya: "During my 20s, I also looked at my seniors thinking, 'So amazing! Like Gods!' But now that I'm also older, I realize, 'So this is what they were struggling with.' [The challenges are] truly never ending..." 

Related News: Interviews || Season 3 || Seiyuu Archival News: Interviews || Seiyuu

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 107

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 09 - “Don’t Interfere With Our Recital!” Date watched: 3 March 2019 Original air date: 2 April 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/uQF2ZTj Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

all I’m saying is that that table is really high for what they’re doing.

This is a nice, wholesome, feel-good episode that’ll get you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Here’s the rundown:

Saki is late for school. She sees her teacher, Ms. Shinohara, in the hall and they both rush to the classroom. Ms. Shinohara wants to declare her late, but the class says she should be safe so she relents. The class representative, a boy named Manabu Miyasako, tries to have everyone stand and bow to begin class, but he mumbles it so quietly that nobody hears him, so the co-representative Andou Kaya does it instead. During a break, Kaya comes over to Saki and sternly tells her to leave earlier in the morning, as she’s always arriving late and disrupting class. While she’s doing this, Miyasako comes over and asks her to take over the commands at the start and end of class, as he’s too shy. She refuses to cover for him, however, feeling that it is a shared responsibility. Saki encourages him to overcome his shyness by just taking deep breaths, and makes a silly face in the process.

this is exploitable

That day as Mai and Saki walk home, they notice Kaya in the library reading to children and poke their heads in to see what she’s up to. She explains to them that she likes to read to calm them down, and they enjoy listening to her. Unfortunately, one of her favorite listeners is moving, and she wants to make his last day extra special. Mai suggests a puppet show, and Kaya likes this idea so she writes the story of how she and the little boy, Tomoya, met and became friends while Mai draws a bunch of animals to be used for the puppets. At school the next day, they work on cutting them out, and even enlist the reluctant Miyasako to help them. Kaya remarks to Mai that Miyasako is actually very polite, forgiving, and compassionate, and he’s a good choice for class representative, he just needs more self confidence.

They manage to finish making the puppets, but Saki and Mai need to make a detour before they can make it to the library, so they instruct the class reps to go ahead of them. While they walk, Kaya admits to Miyasako that she used to be shy about public speaking as well, which is why she started reading to children, and he’s surprised that she could ever have been shy like him. They finish setting up at the library, and the kids are getting antsy with Mai and Saki nowhere to be seen (guess why) so Kaya begs Miyasako to help her with the puppet show. He’s afraid that he’ll mess up but she tells him it’s fine and gives a great speech about not letting your fear of mistakes overpower you. He agrees and they go through the show.

As you probably guessed, our heroines are running late because they ran into Moerumba, who is determined to defeat Precure and reclaim the fountains. They put up a strong fight and defeat him, and make it to the library in time to see the end of the show. Kaya stands up and tells Tomoya that she was really glad to have met him, and they hug. Saki reveals what she went out of her way to get: special panda and cat-shaped bread, after the protagonists of the puppet show. Miyasako tells Kaya that he’s willing to give the whole class rep thing another shot, and she encourages him to do his best. Then the episode closes on the protagonists, who were watching this exchange, giving V signs.

and they all lived happily ever after

It’s a pretty basic plot, but it helps to flesh out the girls’ class a bit, and as I recall the two class representatives become recurring characters after this.... and I think they continue to do library readings and puppet shows? I might be misremembering on that point. Incidentally, this plot about two characters finding themselves by performing for small children was also seen in another Toei series, Kamen Rider Hibiki, the year before this aired. I can’t help but to wonder if they took inspiration from that show. If they did, it might be the best contribution Toshiki Inoue has ever made to either series (only 5 people will get that) But that’s a big stretch and it’s not a very foreign idea to think that the writers came up with this idea independently, and it’s implemented differently so I’ll end the comparison there.

Unlike a lot of the supporting cast for FWPC and Max Heart, you actually get some decent character growth in this episode. Miyasako makes progress towards bettering himself and overcoming his shyness, which is a pretty good arc in and of itself but like I said I think he gets more.

Moerumba sadly doesn’t have a lot to say or do in this episode, but he does ham it up for his short scene in Dark Fall, which I admit I didn’t talk about. He took a shot at Gohyaan, which is always worth it.

Also he does this little cha cha dance and it’s the best.

I’m about out of things to say about this episode. Next time, we get to meet Kenta’s family!

EDIT: Oh yeah here’s a fun bit of trivia! Miyasako and Kaya are both voiced by seiyuu who would go on to play main characters in future seasons. Miyasako shares an actor with Nuts from Yes 5/GoGo, while Kaya is none other than Yamabuki Inori, AKA Cure Pine!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari, during the preview. I’ve decided to start counting these since the dialog isn’t actually from the next episode.

Miracle Drop Count: 2