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shazzeaslightnovels · 11 months ago

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Sword Art Online IF

Authors: Various (see below)

Illustrators: Various (see below)

Label: Dengeki Bunko

Release Date: 10 November 2023

My Score: 3/10

This is what it says on the tin: an anthology of what-if stories set in the SAO universe featuring short stories written and illustrated by different creators. I'll be talking about each story separately for this review so you can find my thoughts on each story, and which authors and illustrators worked on them below the cut.

Story 1: What if Pitohui was involved in the SAO incident

Author: Keiichi Sigsawa | Illustrator: Kouhaku Kuroboshi (Author and Illustrator of SAO Alternative: GGO)

This story is a humorous one in featuring a scene between Pitohui and LLENN as Pitohui reveals the "truth" behind the SAO incident. I get the feeling this would be a lot more enjoyable to fans of the GGO spin-off but I never got into it so I found this story pretty meh.

Story 2: What if Kirito and Asuna played a zombie game

Author: Mato Kousaka | Illustrator: ALmic (Author of I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I'll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time; Illustrator of Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai, a series which is getting an anime adaptation)

The title says it all. In this one, Kirito invites Asuna to play a beta test for a new zombie game. This one was pretty good. The characters never feel too out-of-character and if you want to see Kirito and Asuna take on a zombie game, you'll enjoy this story. While it wasn't a personal favourite, it's a good and satisfying what if story.

Story 3: Dream Game Crossover

Author: Tsutomu Satou | Illustrator: Kana Ishida (Author and Illustrator of The Irregular at Magic High School)

This story is a cross-over between Mahouka and SAO and I found it really boring. In fairness, I have never been a Mahouka fan, but I could have been down with this story if it was a silly cross-over that just has Tatsuya and Kirito fight, but instead the story spends so much time setting up how this cross-over could feasibly happen and it was just so boring. By the time Kirito actually shows up, the story is almost over. I'm sure people who are fans of both Mahouka and SAO will enjoy this story, but it just reminded me of why I was never able to get into Mahouka myself.

Story 4: Death Game Drop-out Arc

Author: Ren Sudou | Ilustrator: Shiwasu Hoshikawa (Ren Sudou has authored a few different LN series, probably the most well-known is Tobakushi wa Inoranai; Shiwasu Hoshikawa is credited as the mangaka for several Bungo Stray Dogs spin-offs)

This story is set back in the Aincrad Arc where we follow a player who gives into despair and jumps off the side of Aincrad, only to find himself in a mysterious area that appears to be a bug that he can't get out of. This story was really interesting and it reminded me of just how good the Aincrad Arc is. While SAO has had plenty of good arcs, the tension and stakes present in the Aincrad isn't something that the series has ever managed to recapture, in my opinion. I do think that this story isn't really what you want from an anthology like this as none of the SAO characters show up, and while the art is really nice, the character designs feel more like they come from Asuka Empire rather than from SAO. Still, I liked this story a lot and it made me want to rewatch the Aincrad Arc (and then I realised that Crunchyroll doesn't have the first season of the anime in Australia for some reason and now I'm like, 'Maybe I should just finally watch FULLDIVE instead').

Story 5: Detective Koyomi/Speckled Cat

Author: Soichiro Watashi | Illustrator: Ginta (Author and Illustrator of SAO Alternative: Clover's Regret)

Title note: it's a reference to the Sherlock Holmes Story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"

This short story takes place in SAO Alternative: Clover's Regret and it was really great to see this world and these characters again. In this one, the gang challenges a murder mystery quest in which they go to a mansion and, you guessed, try to solve a murder. The players are each given a role when they enter the mansion: Koyomi is the detective, Nayuta is her assistant, Clevel is a professor, and Mahiro is the cop. This was a really fun short story. It made me remember how good Clover's Regret could be and made me want to reread the series. I was glad I got to spend more time with these characters. This one was a real treat.

Story 6: at the Children's Steps (this is how the title is written in the book; it's not my bad grammar, I swear)

Author: Koroku Takano | Illustrator: Rin (Apparently the author's written a few different series but I've never read any of them and don't recall any of them getting much buzz online; the artist has a non-search-engine-friendly name so I wasn't able to find much out about them and be sure that it was the same person)

This story asks the question, "What if Kirito was younger?" In it, we get a Kirito who was only 11 at the start of the Aincrad Arc. It turns out not a lot has changed. He's still the hero. It's just his relationship with the girls that has changed. He and Asuna never had their romance, and while the girls are still in love with him, they treat him as a kid and don't act on their feelings at all due to the age gap. The heroine of this story is Silica and I'm sure fans of her will be happy enough with it. Personally, I was hoping for this to be a more fun story with lots of hijinks and comedy, but it ended up being more of a serious reflection on how Kirito feels about not being taken seriously as a man and being treated like a kid. I did like that we got most of the story from Silica's POV though, and Rin's art style is super soft and cute.

Story 7: How do I cure this curse?: Silica and the ghost girl

Author: Keisuke Makino | Illustrator: Karei (Author and Artist of Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut)

Another Silica-focused story. This one takes place in the Aincrad Arc in which Silica accidentally starts a quest that gets her possessed by a ghost girl. This event causes her first meeting with Kirito, rather than Pina's death being the catalyst. Pina doesn't seem to exist in this version of events. I was excited for this one since Keisuke Makino wrote it but it was pretty disappointing. To be honest, it's not that much different from the original Silica chapter, except Kirito is less present in it which leads to more exploration of Silica herself. The story itself is fine and the writing is pretty, but it's not a strong concept for a 'what if' story.

Story 8: If Asuna opened up a restaurant, what would be Kirito's position?

Author: Y.A | Illustrator: Megumi Nagahama (Author and Illustrator of SAO Alternative: Gourmet Seekers)

Yes, that is a terrible title but it is the title. This one takes place during the Aincrad Arc in which Asuna decides to open up a restaurant on a whim and gets Kirito to help her. I found this one real boring. The characters felt out of character and Asuna deciding to open up a restaurant is so random. I also don't know why this was set in SAO. It would have been a lot more fun to set it in ALO and have the other characters get in on it and then it wouldn't have felt quite so random. This one does get points for having a Nishida appearance though.

Story 9: If you can smile

Author: Reki Kawahara | Illustrator: abec

I mainly got this volume for the Reki Kawahara story but it's so short that I don't know if it was worth it. This is a what if story in which Raios and Hubert eat a poisonous crab and get hospitalised, thus avoiding the whole Ronye and Tiese get assaulted and Eugeo and Kirito get thrown in prison plot line. I definitely wish this story was longer and explored the implications of that change more. As is, we only get a brief scene with Kirito, Eugeo, Ronye, and Tiese having a picnic. It is is cute though and I'm glad we got to see these characters being happy. It's a good way to end the volume.

I thought this was a pretty good collection overall, but there weren't a whole lot of stand out stories. I think my favourite story ended up being the Clover's Regret story. I really didn't have anything to complain about with that one. It's been such a long time since I read the trilogy that I didn't even mind the romance with Clevel and Nayuta as much as I used to. In terms of a what if story, I think the zombie game story fit the theme the best. It was pure wish fulfillment, did exactly what it set out to do, and the characters never felt too out-of-character. I'll also give a honorable mention to the Death Game Drop-out Arc for being really interesting and memorable, even if it didn't quite fit the what if theme of the volume.

I do find it annoying that most of these stories take place in the Aincrad Arc though. SAO is such a long running series that it's bizarre to focus so much on that one point in the timeline, even if it is one of my favourite arcs, second only to Mother's Rosario. Speaking of which, why wasn't there a single Yuuki Konno appearance in this volume? "What if Yuuki Konno was in SAO?" "What if Yuuki Konno lived?" "What if Aiko Konno lived?" Or even just a story focused on the Sleeping Knights on one of their other adventures. I would have loved a short story like that. Actually, if we have to be in the Aincrad Arc, "What if Sachi lived?" or "What if Sachi and Asuna met?" would have been so interesting. "What if Mito was in ALO?" also would have been cool, given that there have been no announcements for another Progressive movie. I guess this volume did succeed in getting my mind thinking about SAO again and thinking about all the possibilities for what if stories so it served it's purpose.

SAO Alternative: Gourmet Seekers came out in November too but I have no intention of reading it. The plot just doesn't interest me at all. There's another new Alternative series that's released this month though that sounds much more interesting: Mystery Labyrinth. It looks really cool and I'm definitely excited to read it.

#sword art online #anthology #dengeki bunko #3 stars #2023 releases #December 2023

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trashfireswan · 9 months ago

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i do think the rest of sao (the series) is comparatively not as well thought-out compared to the first arc. talking more about the overarching ideas, not the detailed writing elements, which are just kind of broadly-flawed if youre looking from outside the young-japanese-male-demographic perspective.

but the way the whole series is (seemingly) written is that sao (the in-universe game) is a catalyst. its the first actually good vr game, using revolutionary technology, and it turns out to be a death game. the story arcs that follow are supposed to be explorations of the fallout of sao and the implications of the very-advanced vr technology. when you consider that the series was self published online and only published in light novel form after reki kawahara got well-known from accel world, i think it is more clear that there is some real intent in the subsequent stories and that it wasnt just driven by a need to put out more stuff to drive a popular series (less the case now). that said, the first one was written with the intent to enter it into a light novel contest, so a lot of the more deatiled plot elements are probably driven by attempting to follow the popular format.

i think that the premise of ggo is not actually bad, if you read it as an attempt to explore the traumatic fallout of sao on some of the characters. through that lens it is somewhat less about trying to write another death game arc (comical attempt to recapture the elements of the first, most-popular arc) and more about exploring the difficulty of some of the victims to move on from the first death game (attempt to make poignant commentary on the impacts of trauma related to future technology). is it brilliantly written? no. is the idea bad? also, i think, no.

i wonder how much reki kawahara has struggled with balancing actually-not-bad sci-fi concepts with writing a light novel series. like its clear that the series would be objectively better as sf if he hadnt included all the harem shit, but it would be less popular with the target demographic as a result because boy protagonists are supposed to have a lot of girls inexplicably-interested in them so that boy readers can fantasize about being in that position. the whole thing ends up being most interesting as like, a study in the conflict between a creator's ideas and their chosen medium or whatever. or im wrong and he doesnt know what hes doing and its a fluke that the ideas look more interesting if you look from a different angle. i dunno.

my experience with SAO was being aware of the premise of series 1 and asking a friend how series 2 could have another death game after that only to immediately find out that the loophole was "yeah they just come to your house and kill you in real life now"

which kind of made it impossible for me to ever believe anyone involved had any ideas left about where the series could go

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moontheoretist · 5 years ago

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Just an observation. Nothing really serious here. Just fun.

You know what is funny?

That battle between Holy Sword and Maple Tree can be also understood as battle between typical modern isekai anime and atypical modern isekai anime.

Typical modern isekai anime: The protagonist is mysterious men, who is the strongest, the most awesome person in the whole game world, in which his most important role and job is remain the most awesome and cool person alive either on purpose or by accident thanks to either lone wolf approach (SAO) or some advantage they had over other people in the world (SAO: ALO/GGO, Re:Zero), while their ultimate goal is leaving the world they ended in behind and come back home even though with time they grow fond of the world and would rather stay. His guildmates/teammates are usually either mostly women who grow to like him with time and fawn over him, while always being considered waifu material for fanservice’s purposes; or mostly men with one token girl, who ended there due to her significant abilities, but is still overshadowed, forgotten about, shown on the screen in weird places (like the one in example above, she is barely visible) and marginalized more than any other person in the team. (Of course in Bofuri Frederica isn’t marginalized, but you know what I mean as we saw similar layout not only in isekais, but in a lot of other shounen animes).

Atypical modern isekai anime: Protagonist can be man or woman as much as their gender can be unknown, unimportant or androgynous in nature. The protagonist is the most bizarre/creative person in the universe, who change their biggest flaw received after appearing in the world their greatest asset. Their only desire is either to help people in the world around them (Tate no Yuusha, Slime) or just enjoy themselves in there (Bofuri, Hataage! Kemono Michi). They gain advantage over their opponents thanks to creativity and/or bizarre nature of them as irregularities in the game world, who defy logic by default or are just stunningly bizzare. Their teammates/guildmates are usually as bizarre as they are, thanks to what they stand out and share the sense of bizzarity together. Female characters aren’t reduced to stereotypical tropes and are generally more important, more visible and their problems and lives matter to the audience.

In the second example I mentioned some titles which blend with the first category like Slime, Tate no Yuusha and Hataage! Kemono Michi, but all of them had atypical elements which in my head make them different than regular isekai. I probably should also mention here SAO: GGO Alternative as it also blends both and makes something unique out of the mixed tropes and schemes it uses.

#bofuri #bofuri spoilers #it is just an observation #not a rule or something xD #hataage! kemono michi #gun gale online alternative #tate no yuusha no nariagari #sword art online #tensei shitara slime datta ken #there is more anime which blend #both of those categories #but there is also some which cleanly fall in one of them

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mrjoelgarcia9 · 6 years ago

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Let’s Talk #SwordArtOnline Alternative #GunGaleOnline: (Belated) Final Thoughts

This spinoff of Sword Art Online had several major negatives: Notably, Kirito was not in this show.

Say what you will about him as a character, but he could have at least improved what quickly turned into really dull fan fiction with a lame antagonist.

For my (belated) final thoughts on Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, feel free to keep reading. There will be spoilers.

For those unaware, this spinoff of the popular Sword Art Online franchise centers around a new character named Karen. She is a university student who struggles with her tall height, and at the recommendation of her best friend Miyu decides to join a VR game.

After going through several games which make her avatar just as tall as her, or fat, she winds up in Gun Gale Online where she is given a smaller avatar. As LLENN, she becomes a recognizable player due to her speed and distinct pink camouflage. One day, she gains the attention of a fellow player named Pitohui. While at first everything seems fine, someone from the game confronts her in the real world about Pitohui’s dark obsession.

When it first began, the spinoff had potential. It could present a different story with new characters within the same universe. In addition, setting it within Gun Gale Online made sense due to the current rise and popularity of Battle Royale games such as Fortnite.

While it only ran for twelve episodes (and an additional clip show), there were two main story arcs. The first five episodes center around Karen joining GGO and how becoming LLENN changed her in the real world.

The sixth episode transitions to the next story arc where the show falls apart.

The revelation that Pitohui was a beta tester for SAO was a badly shoehorned attempt at tying the spinoff back to the original show. It is a lame twist right out of bad fan fiction, like Star Butterfly finding out she has a long-lost evil twin brother called Sun Butterfly or Sailor Moon being confronted by a long-lost stepsister from her past life who also happens to be Sailor Earth.

(On a related note, Mamoru is technically Sailor Earth.)

Pitohui/Elsa’s motivation does tie into both the original’s first and third story arcs but comes off as hollow. She never met Kirito or interacted with his family and friends. She only knew about the two situations as an outsider. Her jealousy was badly underdeveloped, especially since M/Goshi’s explanation lacked details and she only appears in person in the very last episode (more on that later).

It seemed odd how the spinoff would acknowledge the original show yet never call anyone by name. When it was referenced, Kirito and the others were shown in shadows as if they were unable to afford their likenesses.

To get ahead of any rebuttals, the spinoff did not need Kirito, Sinon, or any of the original show’s characters to work. It just appeared to be unable to stand on its own by how it was both attached and detached from the original show.

If anything, it could have benefited with a cameo from either Kirito or Sinon. He would have probably been seen as either intrusive or a showoff, but she could have shown up to talk to Karen/LLENN about her own experience in GGO.

The second story arc is a chore to go through due to how predictable it becomes. Pitohui becomes a lame crazy villain, while LLENN turns into every shonen character ever by being the only one who could beat her. The surprise twist that Pitohui was actually Karen’s favorite singer Elsa was not at all surprising due to the show’s small number of characters.

Frankly, it would have been far more unexpected if it turned out Leafa was Pitohui all along.

While she was the show’s biggest flaw, there were several positives.

Karen/LLENN is a great character. She goes from being someone who hates herself for being tall and unable to socialize to someone who can easily socialize with others both online and in person.

M/Goshi is distinct by how he acts and looks tough but is clearly desperate by how he is willing to do everything to keep Elsa alive.

The animation by Studio 3hz looks great and exactly like the original show. The fight scenes are enjoyable, especially by how LLENN takes advantage of her miniature height to take down everyone.

Eir Aoi’s “Ryusei” is yet another great opening song for the franchise. Tomori Kusonoki, the Japanese voice actor for LLENN/Karen, does an excellent job performing the closing theme “To see the future”.

Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online starts off with a lot of potential only to then squander it all by desperately trying to tie it back to the original. The antagonist was lame, the rest of the characters ranged from great to OK, and the themes were just as great as those from the original show.

I cannot recommend the show due to its steep decline in quality. If you would like to watch more Sword Art Online content besides Alicization and Ordinal Scale, then this spinoff is worth watching.

Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online is available to watch on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix. A really good English dub of the show is only available on the latter two services.

Until next time, thank you for reading!

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miyoron · 6 years ago

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Miyo’s Anime of Note 2018 Rainbow Edition

2018 was some kind of a year wasn't it? It was long and a pain in the ass but there was some anime out this year I really enjoyed. I'm here to write down a bunch of shows I enjoyed in no particular order. I might put them in the order I watched them in, or I might not. I guess we'll see huh?

Also, I think there's WAY more this year than usual which means I either like things easily, there were a lot of good shows, all of the above or some other reason. Hope I don't get too long winded on you! Also I'm using whatever names I feel like for naming things off, translated, still Japanese...whaaatever~

Pop Team Epic

Pop Team Epic was everything I wanted it to be and more. I've been a fan of Bkub's work since the early days so to see these two shitty girls finally show up on the anime screen week to week was a pleasure and a delight. The decision to make two separate half episodes with different voice actors for Popuko and Pipimi was a wonderful decision that let us experience things like Aoi Yuki as Popuko and Norio Wakamoto as Pipimi. It also shot the wonderful team of ACBU into the spotlight. Their Bobunemimimmi segments were so disgustingly perfect and fit the tone of the show perfectly. It also gave us one of the best moments in anime this year:

Needless to say, I really hope they are doing a season 2 like it's been rumored. I'm on board for SO much more.

Yuru Camp

This was a show I actually watched twice this year and have subsequently watched multiple episodes just on my own. It is one of my favorite things this year and maybe it's just because of how unassuming it is. There's honestly nothing deep to the show. Cute girls dress in warm winter clothing and go camping. However, the way everything is paced with nice warm colors and chill ass music nestles its way into your heart and fills you with a nice cozy feeling. It's like a blanket, the anime. Just wrap yourself up in the wonderful friend times and maybe you'll learn a thing or two about camping and friendship along the way.

Mitsuboshi Colors

Are adults letting you down? Sure, they're not up to the challenge pretty much all the time. But that's why you should just stay out of the way and let Colors come in to save the day! This trio of girls are ready to save their town and to let shitty cops know what's up. Seriously, it's a cute show with a cute group of friends getting into big adventures, even if those adventures are often due to their own misconceptions. It's a good show with kids who act like kids and are always either talking about poop or are sucking at video games. It's a nice show and has some good performances, as well as the best sunglasses of 2018 in my book.

Karakai no Jouzu Takagi-san

A series about a boy and a girl who are totally crushing on each other, even if one likes to keep it deeply hidden and the other would never admit it really. Oh, also she owns him every chance she can get with teasing. It's like a reverse Tonari no Seki-kun if Seki was not in his own world and was actively trying to make Rumi blush or stumble over herself. This premise may sound mean but it's honestly all in good fun and there's something really cute about the pair's friendship with each other. The way the manga apparently goes makes me really want to check it out sometime too.

Oh also there's a great side trio of friends with and I love how dumb of a baby one of them is.

Hinamatsuri

What happens when a yakuza becomes the dad of a psychic girl who crashed in an egg in his apartment and broke all his vases? This series! Hinamatsuri was a show that got me really hard this year at a couple points where I know I had to either fight back tears or take a few minutes to sit their with a quivering lip and watery eyes. It's an incredibly funny show from the premise alone but when you have the put upon character of Nitta having to take care of the force of nature that is Hina it just escalates it. On top of that though, there's a good heart to it as well. Anzu is a wonderful character and I love her story and her many grandpas. Also Hitomi's story actively hit me hard to where I felt bad for a fictional child to please just be a child for a little while. It was powerful stuff and I loved it.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

I hate Sword Art Online. I've only watched the first series with the original and faerie times, but I hated it so much. That being said, hearing that the new one was actually good made me seek it out and...thank God it is. Llenn/Karen is just a much more compelling character than the power fantasy that is Kirito. The story of a woman who does not like herself in the real world, but finds a new home and life in virtual reality is a nice little story. On top of that, ditching the stupid "if you die in the game, you die in real life" really helped the show out in my eyes. This show is not about stop some huge over arcing villainous plot to fuck over the whole world or whatever. GGO is about trying to save someone from hurting themselves and honestly, that's a lot more relatable. A recap episode in this day in age IS silly though for what it's worth.

Let's take a short break shall we? For a little section I'm gonna call, Fuck, You Let me Down Man.

Amanchu Advance

I put Amanchu on my list two years ago of Anime of Note because I really enjoyed the tale of friendship it told. Amanchu Advance continues that story and shows Teko slowly becoming more of her own person thanks to that friendship. She wants to become a stronger person, a better version of herself and it's through her friends she's able to do this. The series is still very good at showing these moments but the last few episodes of the show are bogged down in a weird supernatural plot with a ghost boy that I wish they would have just tossed down the shrine steps. The twist at the end with it was not worth sidetracking the story for three episodes in a 12 episode story and soured my experience as a whole. I've been told the author likes doing these sorts of things and I didn't mind the lucid dreaming episodes, but this bit just did not land for me and it's a big bummer.

Here's Another Side Category Called Old Anime I Watched And Enjoyed. Yes, that's the full title.

G Gundam

I don't know why it took me so long to watch this series, but I am glad I did. Maybe I just needed friends to be there to watch it with, who knows. Either way, I'm thankful I got to join Domon on his journey searching for the man in the photograph and to experience the Undefeated of the East in his most powerful form. G Gundam is a goofy setting with a bunch of weird but fun characters and their even weirder mobile suits. I don't know how much I can really say on it since I'm sure most people have probably checked it out years ago on Toonami. It's still fun and good and it has a Gundam who is a boxer and a football man at the same time. Gundam Fight, Readdddddy....GO!

Back to my normal list, though I have grouped the next couple shows in a block I am calling the "I wish these had a full 24 episodes even though I understand why they didn't but please make more I'd love it, ok thanks" block.

A Place Further Than The Universe

This show had...a lot of moments where I was sitting there and just processing all that was going on. A group of girls become friends and join a civilian expedition to Antarctica, one of whom is going there to basically go where her mother had spoken of years ago and never came back. It's a show that I felt compelled to keep watching even though I knew I should have stopped for the night, telling myself "I can watch one more episode..." . It just gripped me and sank its penguin fangs into me. Shut up, I know what I said. Seriously though, the cast of secondary characters are just as fun as the main ones and I enjoyed every minute of it. It definitely destroyed me in one of the more heavy moments near the end though so keep a box of tissues handy ok?

Wotakoi

Love is hard for otaku. It's in the show's translated title and everything. Let me tell you, I'm very happy seeing so many anime featuring adults in the work place these days. Wotakoi is a show I felt a very personal connection to, especially its humor levels. Not going to lie, I am a Kabakura through and through when it comes to my anime watching and purchasing habits. It's a cute love story with a couple of characters getting together out of convenience before realizing maybe there's something more than that to it. The interactions are great and it's very relatable if you've ever had a friends' game night or anime watching session. It's a show that just feels like it knows just how to speak to you if you've been a fan of anime for a long time.

Hisone to Masotan

Hey, you into dragon vore? Then have I got the show for you buddy. All joking aside, Hisomaso is a show with one of the more fun protagonists I've run into in a while. Hisone's blunt and to the point to the detriment of anything that comes out of her mouth most of the time, but there's something about her honesty that's very endearing. The show's pilots are a great cast and their dragon friends are just as charismatic even if they spend a lot of the time cosplaying as aircraft. This show has a nice story about trying to find just where you fit in within the world and sometimes that's hard. Sometimes the best thing to do is dive into the gullet of a big scaly F-15 and ride the free skies to your heart's content. I love you Masotan.

Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight

This show I think more than any others in this block I wanted more of, even though I know why I don't have more of it. From episode one, I got Utena vibes with the music, the auditions, Hell, even the prefight wardrobe transformations. Stage girls do battle with all of their shine to prove who is truly the top star. That's the basic premise and the cast of characters really helps to flesh it out with their own motivations of what makes them keep going to be the very best they can be. I loved all of the imagery in the auditions and the music and the big doofy giraffe just watching from the stands and enjoying the whole thing. Revue Starlight is a stylish show with some amazing animation and choreography that puts most of the things I watched this year to shame and I need more things like it.

STOP IT'S PRECURE TIME

Go Princess Precure

This is me and Cheapsteak's "old Precure" of the year and it's wonderful. It's a story about dreams and fighting for them. The Princess Precures are maybe not the most relatable of characters as they attend a very prim and proper high class school. One is a business conglomerate's daughter, one's a super model, one's a Princess from another plane entirely. But there is something wonderful how they all work together as friends and work to save everyone's dreams, I don't know there's something very good and wonderful about that. I love that even when it comes to one of the villains, a character in the show goes out of her way to help him with his self esteem (and make up). I don't know, I've got a few episodes left but I just love it. Haruka is my favorite Pink Precure I've met so far and she is gonna be tough to beat.

Hugtto Precure

Very similar to Go Princess is Hugtto, with its message of hope for the future because you can't just stay in the present. There's a great cast of characters and they all work so hard to cheer each others' dreams on, all while taking care of a baby and a hamster from the future. I think this show also has the best mid-seasons Cures I've met so far and just...everything with how supportive and good everyone is to each other has me smiling the whole time. Also in the episodes leading up to the anniversary movie this year, we got some of the best big moments I've seen in a show in a while. A lot of the episodes have some amazing animation work as well and just...I like this show a lot especially what it did to show Hana's pre-show back story as well. Pink Cures are really good huh?

Back to business!

Asobi Asobase

Along with PTE, this was one of the weirder comedies that I watched this year. It's often crass or just outright weird, but that's one of its strong points I think. The show's opening is a giant fakeout from what seems like your ordinary "cute girls doing club things" chill show because you're soon hit with some of the weirdest faces and shrieks that I've run into in a while. The characters are a troublesome group of weirdoes who try to do activities like a normal club but fail horribly at it, often due to one or more of them sabotaging it with their own dumbness. It really says something that the sweetest and most relatable characters are the witch girls who practice curses all day. They're really the best though but so are all of the fucking weirdoes in this show. Also there's ass lasers so if you're into that...

Cells at Work

Learn about the human body while dangerous viruses and germs get fucking iced like they walked into the wrong anime. Follow a red blood cell make her way through the blood stream and lose her way every single time. Thrill at the amazingly adorable platelet crew as they get to work each day. Cells at Work is a weird science shounen show with some great character designs and interactions. The way the cells just are working hard and doing their jobs as best they can is great and you want to root for them so hard. Those Killer T and White blood cells and Macrophages just love killing SO much. It's a fun show that teaches you about biology and anatomy in a somewhat rudimentary but enjoyable manner.

Plus I will stress again, the platelet design is beyond cute.

Skullface Book Seller Honda-san

Honda-san is a cute little series you could watch in an afternoon due to its episode count and length, but it's one I could see myself watching multiple times easily. It's a fun window into the window of book store retail and the Japanese publishing industry. The characters have fun designs, mostly normal bodies with some kind of weird mask/helmet on but they're very relatable. Honda-san does his best to help out the customers, even when their requests tear at his very sanity some times. But that's retail huh? It's fun though, go check out this good skeleton!

Bloom Into You

I think this was the show that intrigued me the most this year because I was just hooked on the relationship between Yuu and Touko and seeing how it advanced. Yuu is a girl who wants to be able to fall in love like everyone else her age seems to be able to and when she finally meets a girl who she thinks feels similarly...that darn senpai falls in love with her. It's a very relatable tale even if you haven't been in a lot of relationships. Seeing Yuu realize her own feelings slowly grow towards Touko and the issues that come up because of was something that had me wanting to find out more each week. It also was the show that took me the longest to come to my final thoughts on too due to its ending but ultimately, I'm glad I watched it.

Zombieland Saga

Honestly, I'm glad to start and end this list with certifiable bangers. The concept of zombies becoming idols sounds like it could just go so wrong but it doesn't. It's so good and fun and goofy. The characters are all really fun and goofy but still have depth to them, even zombie brained legend Yamada Tae. I love this show and every character in it and if there were Franchouchou concerts done like a Hatsune Miku tour, I'd go so hard. Zombieland Saga is a good and powerful show and it even has a good ending with a sequel hook. Watch these girls and cheer them on, that is an order.

I normally do a "Shows I'll Watch Next Year" section but I realize I never end up doing it so I'm just going to add one of my current ones I know I'll continue watching.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind

Come on, you knew this was going to be on here right? I'm curious where this gangster plot line is going and can't wait to continue next year.

So that's my list, I hope you enjoyed it. For a special treat to go into 2019, I leave you with the best moment in anime 2018. Peace!

Ah well I got copyright striked so here’s a mirror

https://streamable.com/87z73

#MiyosAOTY2018

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winchesterlockll · 6 years ago

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#SAO #SAO GGO ALT #GGO #anime #These are actually from 2 different series in the same universe

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italicwatches · 6 years ago

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Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online - Episode 02

Okay, let’s get into this a little deeper. It’s Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, episode 02! Here we GO!

-It’s July 2025. We come in on Karen, who’s been attending university in Tokyo for the last three months. She thought things might change, but…They’re not. She’s still awkward, and shy, and taller than any of the other women in her classes. She’s still having no luck finding a job, and spending her days going from apartment to school to apartment if she goes out at all.

-A gaggle of schoolgirls pass by, and Karen can’t help but be deeply envious of the tiny adorable things. Made all the more real when she tries to walk past, and cracks her head on a hanging sign. The pain is real.

-Opening! Which, the more I watch it it’s very interesting how much…*fulfillment[i] they wrap into the game environment. This is very clearly a space where not just Karen/LLENN, but a lot of the people around her, find themselves.

-August. Karen went back home for the summer break. With nothing better to do, she ended up getting curious about VR games after seeing a news report on the new, next-gen hardware made to simplify the VR connection and block off a lot of the safety problems with the SAO-era gear. And something about the idea grabbed her…

-Which is how she ended up snaring an old acquaintance to learn about the things…An acquaintance who was, of course [i]very* eager to tell her everything about her passionate hobby.

-She got the gear, and a copy of Alfheim Online, and settled in to try it back at her place….And it was in! She picked the name LLENN for the first time, went through the creation process….

-And became a tall, graceful elf.

-She was NOT into that. At all. It freaked her out so bad that she actually tripped the safety sensors and got forcefully logged out.

-And learned from said acquaintance, Miyu, that the whole system automatically creates characters for you…She could try again, or try shifting her account to a different game in the same engine. Which is not how game design works, but, you know what, okay. So Karen tried something else…

-And again and again, her characters kept being big. Racing game? Tall sexy racer. Flight game? Thicc pilot. Sci-fi game? What a halloween store would call “Sexy Chilled Alien” because it’s off-brand Frieza race. Fantasy games? A buff-ass barbarian queen and a…I think they’re going for orc there but the Western and Eastern ideas of ‘orc’ have diverged so fucking far it’s hard to tell. Sexy mermaid. And finally Karen was just pushing on through sheer god damned stubbornness.

-When she stumbled onto Gun Gale Online.

-And it put her, after 37 different games attempted, as like three and a half feet tall. At that point it officially stopped mattering what the game was about. It officially stopped mattering what kind of crazy mechanics she’d have to learn. All that mattered was being a tiny adorable waif of a girl for the first time since she was a child. The identity of LLENN ended up filling her heart that day…

-And then she did the tutorial. And got to learn that her true LLENN was in a shooty shooty game and being taught by a dominatrix drill sergeant. This was not what LLENN planned on doing on this day. She learned of the two core gun types, laser guns and slug throwers.

-Side diversion! This is actually an interesting thing to be using in a representation of an online shooter, because shooters tend to divert into two key types of handling their bullets; Some games(or even some guns in games that use both) use hitscan, where at the moment you squeeze the trigger it instantly draws a straight line and sees where it hits, while others use projectile based systems where a bullet is actually spawned and sent at high speeds with physics and time applying. Both of these are entirely valid systems, but which one you’re dealing with has strong implications for higher level play.

-But here in Gun Gale Online, another core difference was put into play; namely, laser guns(or as they call them, optical guns) could be defended against by energy fields. Live ammo’s a different story.

-So LLENN got to learn about the Bullet Line, the singular warning sign that an attack is imminent. She got to shoot her first gun, and learn about the system’s Bullet Circle idea to model the randomness of bullet spread…Which would be fine if LLENN could keep the fucking pistol steady enough for the Circle to stay in a single place.

-She got to try pistols, and sniper rifles, and submachine guns…And at least the submachine gun was vaguely suited to her skills.

-Cut to September. LLENN’s decided to stick with the game. Because being this tiny adorable figure was just too good to give up. She ended up doing PvE, just learning the systems. The whole time she was playing solo, just thrilling in the experience of being LLENN…But she hit a bit of a problem.

-A distinct lack of cute and adorable outfits in this grim serious game. …On the other hand, they had a color palette system. So she took her drab green military garb, and turned it BRIGHT PINK. She even had her optical gun done! And hearing comments from other players, was enough to keep her playing…

-Until one day she was out in the field, had set up a trap for some monsters, and put on some tunes while she relaxed. It’s at this moment that I realize they keep using the same artist name, so I have to imagine that one Elsa Kanzaki is either a really neat reference I don’t get, or going to be relevant. Either way, I should probably note it.

-She could eat cookies and drink tea as much as she wanted, with no worries of calories…But, this trap she set up was in a free-for-all area. And another group of players spawned in. She considered running, or logging out, and ultimately ended up hiding…Not noticed…Her trap went off, and in a panic, she raced in and started firing wildly!

-That whole time, she’d been cranking her SPD stat through the roof with her XP, needing it to deal with giant monsters solo…And so she tore through the three in a flash…When LLENN had enough time to stop and think, and notice that her pink outfit was actually almost the same color as the sunset-lit desert sands…

-Within a few weeks, people were talking about the Pink Devil in chat. A PKer who operates the desert field, ambushing anyone who gets close…A tiny, speedy little demon with two submachine guns.

-Because, indeed, LLENN had thrown some currency into a pair of live-ammo guns, and had turned the desert into her domain to roam freely in, to run far and wide on her tiny tiny legs…

-Until one day, someone caught her and put a gun to her head. A woman in all black, who liked the Pink Devil’s style…Enough to not shoot her. To think the infamous Pink Devil was so teeny and adorable. And she offered a trip back into town to get some tea, since this game didn’t have anywhere near enough female players…

-That was how LLENN met Pitohui, or Pito. Who, true story, added those tattoo cosmetics to her face to reduce how many guys were hitting on her in the game. And played GGO since launch day. While LLENN had only been in for about three months at this point.

-Pito found her more than interesting enough to send her a friend request, and the two ended up in an obscure shop in the corner of town, with rare drops from the PvE segment…Which is how LLENN found her P90, a hot new arrival sitting on the shelf for mere minutes. She bought it right then and there…And with Pito’s encouragement, she named it.

-P-chan. She named that gun P-chan. And let me tell you there is nothing that has made me laugh quite so hard as LLENN enthusiastically saying she’ll do her best to kill lots and lots, while the swelling meaningful-moment music plays.

-Anyways, she and Pito became a squad, and would go hunting and PKing a lot. But aside from having enough real-world money to keep dropping premium currency on fancy shit, LLENN barely knew anything about Pito.. She barely ever listened to music, didn’t watch a lot of movies…And of course LLENN still had lots of anxiety about any talk of real life.

-So Pito ended up putting down a challenge. Take her down in the PvP mode one day, rookie. Get a kill on her, and she’d made sure they could meet in real life. Take that challenge and live up to it. And LLENN was fired up about it, as they made a woman’s promise!

-January came, and they celebrated together in the game. And LLENN learned about the new battle royale mode, the Squad Jam…

-Credits!

I did not expect this much feels from my cute-girls-shooting-cute-guns anime.

#where I watch #recap #anime #sword art online #gun gale online #sao alternative

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atlantis-blog · 5 years ago

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CT Scans Can Determine Severity of Coronavirus

As phrases like Social Distance and Self Quarantine become daily vernacular worldwide, all conversations seem to turn to the coronavirus or COVID-19. In the world of medical imaging, there’s news from a team of Chinese specialists who retrospectively analyzed 73 patients with varying disease severity, zeroing in on their CT Scan imaging finding. The results of this analysis appeared in the European Journal of Radiology on March 12 and suggests that CT scans still play a critical role in managing COVID-19.

Patients with a severe coronavirus infection show different features on their computed tomography scans compared to those with milder cases. Experts believe that pinpointing these subtleties will help clinicians improve their screening efforts and stratify patients according to their risk.

Kai-Cai Liu, with the University of Science and Technology’s China Infection Hospital, and colleagues wrote, “CT imaging can demonstrate typical features making the diagnosis of COVID-19 quite likely, which can help to rapidly screen patients and to stratify the patients' severity to quickly develop effective treatment strategies.”

The gold standard for diagnosing the new virus continues to be reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing and gene sequencing of sputum, throat swab or lower respiratory tract samples. However, these takes hours to complete and can’t assess the disease’s severity. Liu and his colleagues noted that chest CT scanning provides rapid screening and assess the severity of the disease. That’s why the team had three senior radiologists analyze the initial and follow-up CT features of patients with the virus who were examined at six Chinese hospitals. They ranges in age from 5-86 years old and 74% had a travel history to or from Wuhan.

These are their findings:

Six patients had mild pneumonia and no “obvious” abnormal CT finding, or mild changes of long infection.

43 patients with common disease severity (signs of respiratory infection and fever) had multiple ground-glass opacities in the periphery of their lungs—with or without “interlobular septal thickening.”

Twenty-one patients were diagnosed with sever COVID-19, with 16 cases revealed extensive GGO, with five containing pulmonary consolidation.

Three cases were considered severe, with scans showing an extensive “ White lung” with a complete or partial collapse of the lung or in only one area of the lung—along with pleural effusion.

Researchers noted that the study did have limitation, including an uneven scan time between patients. This could have led to bias in image feature descriptions but despite this, they argued that CT could be a big help in the fight to control the growing pandemic situation.

Liu said, ““In conclusion, CT imaging can play an important role in the early diagnosis and disease stratification of COVID-19,” the authors added. “Patchy ground-glass opacities and large consolidation located in the peripheral part of both lungs are the typical CT manifestations. The size and type of CT abnormalities are related to disease severity.”

If your hospital, healthcare facility, clinic or practice is looking for medical imaging equipment, remember that used and refurbished CT Scanners can deliver the performance you need, while honoring your budget. For more information, contact one of the Atlantis Worldwide experts today.

#atlantis worldwide #covid2020

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airevast2090-blog · 7 years ago

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OX TANG CLAN: Was Formed In 2003 When I Toured The United States With Gza/Genius & Brother Ali Promoting My 'Look Mom No Hands' Lp. Shortly After This ODB Died And Dreddy Called Me To Set Off The 'Think Differently' Project (Wu Meets Indie Culture) The Rest Is History (read the credits of that LP). ____________________________ Crimson Godz Are Connected To WU/GGO Due To Me & My Brother Kenyattah Black of 'Black Rose Cartel aka Rose Family 🌹 7+U- (7 Universal) & Maccabes Fam By Way of 'Sunz of Man'. ____________________________ So I Had To Stop By The 'Wuseum' (wu-museum) of Venice Beach! Everybody Showed Loved As I Rocked Wakandan-Wutang T-Shirt. Always When You See Me You See The True & Living! Vast Aire Is Wutang Forever! Wakanda Forever! Prince Forever! King T'Challa Forever! The Blackman Is God & Shall Be Raised By One Who Has The 'Masters Grip'. The Kaba Shrine of Mecca (One of Our Holy Cities) Is Black & Gold. The African Killer Bee's 🐝 Are Black & Gold Just Like The Original Man...Just Like The Sun! Song of The Day Is 'Thors Hammer' By Vast Aire Feat- Raekwon & Vordul Mega *****************************#WutangForever #WakandaForever #WuWednesdays #GGO #WingzUp #RulerSteps #ThorsHammer #SlowBlues #WuMeetsIndieCulture #CannibalOx #CrimsonGodz #IGC (at Los Angeles, Venice Beach)

#wingzup #wakandaforever #rulersteps #cannibalox #slowblues #thorshammer #igc #wumeetsindieculture #ggo #crimsongodz #wutangforever #wuwednesdays

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vongolaprima · 7 years ago

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Cosplay Bullying & Why it Hurts

This is a very sensitive topic among MANY cosplay communities all around the world. I was once told 4 years ago while in the middle of a photo shoot (when I cosplayed Sinon from GGO) that my cosplay was nice and all BUT if I wanted to be an even BETTER Sinon then I should consider dropping a few pounds to better portray her characteristics. I was totally and utterly crushed and heart broken. At that time (and still to this day) cosplay was a coping mechanism for me to help battle my depression and portray a specific character that way I see them. I did not care if I was the Saber with the Yellow ribbon instead of the blue ribbon, If I was the Asuna holding a frying pan instead of a sword or even then Madoka with the pink flat shoes because the pink pumps were hard on my little feet. Cosplay to me was the art and freedom of expression. Taking a character from something that perhaps inspired you or even caught your interest and showcasing that persona and character in your own unique way. There is always going to be at least 1 other person cosplaying the same character as you. I believed to be different and stand out. To cosplay the character how I saw them, even if that means the cosplay itself is not accurate. I have some scars on my arms and would sometimes even modify areas to hide them. Cosplay is something that made me feel....beautiful, As I am 110% sure it makes others feel the same way. I am 5′3 and weight about 128Lbs. That is Totally normal for my height and I am super healthy and active (with a bit of a gut because your girl loves beer) On my way to an Anime Convention wayyy outside my country (I traveled 10 hours) and decided to make that Sarahah account so many people were buzzing about to kill the time. I fully was aware that things could go badly, but I wanted to see possibly how others viewed me. I was happy at the 32 comments of kind gestures, but saddened by the 12 other comments in regards to weight and my cosplay. I never once have viewed myself as fat nor have I ever once shamed another person. I am a twin. My twin sister spent her entire life being bullied due to having larger feet compared to most and being larger than others. Always being called the “fat sister” and the “little sister” I never understood why others feel the need to bestow upon others labels and nicknames that can be so hurtful to another. I am existing in a world where cosplay is all about who can be the hottest, who can put the most lewd photos on patreon, who can anonymously throw shade and vulgarity to another. Some of my cosplays are made, some of them are bought, some are even half and half and I get called a fake cosplayer for not always making my own. We owe nothing to others and we owe everything to ourselves. It’s most certainly an expensive hobby, a fun activity and a personal life explorer. I have met so many amazing people from this gift we call cosplay and even after the shame and the hate I can’t stop loving it. I love myself more every time I am able to put on a new cosplay. Whether it barley zipped up and I am sucking in everything I have, falling apart and I am hot glue gunning it as I am walking to my shoot or even outside in -11 and trying to deal with my tears freezing from the cold just to get the perfect shot. We do what we love and we love what we do. I know it’s hard to turn away from what others say but you know deep down you don’t cosplay for them, you do it for you. So if you ever find yourself with hate and insults just smile. Thank them for the feedback, thank them for taking the time to let you know how they view you and continue TO.DO.YOU. I studied English in university. Always being told my “opinion” was wrong or my topics were boring hurt. I took things always too literal and bitterly started to hate myself. Through this experience I learned to take things as they are. This is why the world has wars, this is why we have so many different and unique cultures. No one will always agree with you and not everyone will have something nice to say.

If anyone ever needs someone to talk to I am here. If anyone also has this issue I am still here, If anyone feels they need to stop cosplaying because of the comments of others, I will ALWAYS be here to listen.

Please, If you have a Sarahah account and keep getting bad feedback, delete it.

I love you all and I hope you can love yourself too!

Sincerely,

Anne Mitsuki

Vongolaprima Cosplay

#cosplay #cosplayer #femalecosplayer #cosplaygirl #cosplayagainstbullying #bullying #cyberbullying #bodyshame #sarahah #cosplaybullying

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moontheoretist · 5 years ago

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Kirito’s Avatar (M9000) Mayu’s Avatar (F8000)

Theory 1: Every avatar with M/F and full thousand (like 1000, 2000, 3000 etc.) in GGO is rare avatar given to the player who is the “lucky 1000th one” - each time when number of gamers reaches new 1000 someone gets a rare avatar thanks to avatar randomizer. Male version is probably androgynous trap character, while female version usually looks like small cute girl. (Though I found that Kirito was said to get his thanks to the fact that he had a lot of hours in VRMMO games, so it may also be possible that gamers who transfer their avatars from different games with a lot of hours are treated as special and then randomizer gives them one of those rare avatars regardless of number of players in game).

Theory 2: Every M9000-M9999 and every F8000-F8999 avatar is a rare avatar in GGO given only to players who transfer their avatars from different games or thanks to the amount of hours they spent in other VRMMO titles. It is a special gift to players who enjoy more than one VRMMO universe then. (Same note as in previous theory, as Kirito’s infamous trap character avatar creates problems).

Edit: Ah, it looks like both of my theories are false. Why? Because I found a video on YT which claims that there is also rare androgynous female avatar F1300, which the Avatar Buyer thought Kirito had, but the person in GGO who actually got that avatar was Clarence. So those avatars must be made as a series in low numbers. All avatars have the set number like Terminator series and are mass-produced, but those three types M9000, F8000 and F1300 are made in certain numbers only, that’s why they are so rare and that’s why Avatar Buyer preys on every person who so happens to get one of them.

#sword art online #i just had to put it somewhere #gun gale online alternative

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atlantis-blog · 5 years ago

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CT Scans Can Determine Severity of Coronavirus

These are their findings:

Six patients had mild pneumonia and no “obvious” abnormal CT finding, or mild changes of long infection.

Twenty-one patients were diagnosed with sever COVID-19, with 16 cases revealed extensive GGO, with five containing pulmonary consolidation.

Three cases were considered severe, with scans showing an extensive “ White lung” with a complete or partial collapse of the lung or in only one area of the lung—along with pleural effusion.

Follow Atlantis Worldwide on Twitter: @AtlantisLLC

#CT #CT Scan #Coronavirus #CT Scans Can Determine Severity of Coronavirus #Atlantis Worldwide

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