#grass type doesn’t just have to refer to cute flowers and stuff. nature can be vicious

[goldensunset]

if i were re-balancing the pokémon type chart i’d start with the obvious ones like giving ice and maybe grass more resistances. then i’d move into slightly more controversial territory such as taking certain resistances away and perhaps making fairy only resist dragon instead of being immune. finally i’d do something insane like making grass super effective against fairy. it’s getting too boring around here

[1-mini-1]

My Analysis on Mafumafu’s “Manjushage”

Get ready to learn way more about Manjushage than you actually need to (or want to) know.

In a weird turn of events, I ended up writing my term paper for my Chinese poetry class on Manjushage. I was wondering if the song was more “Chinese-y” just because of the music style and Chinese lines, but learned through my dumb analysis that yeah Mafumafu did an insanely good job on implementing Chinese themes into it. What a smart boi. Anyways, I’m rewriting it here in a more fun to read and more basic format.

So the first reference we have is the “land of paradise” (華胥の国, “Kashou no Kuni”) in the first line, which refers to the land of Hua Xu (or Kashou in Japanese). This land was seen in a dream by the Yellow Emperor (also known as Huangdi, and is a deity/emperor believed to have ruled ancient China in like 2000 BC). In this land of paradise, no one died prematurely and they lived free from attachment, which is a Daoist ideal.

The next couple of lines, “A land of paradise when seasons blossom forth. In splendor, knowing no end / Swayed by the scent of peaches within a waking paradise”, introduce us to the most heavily referenced Chinese work in Manjushage, “The Peach Blossom Spring” by Tao Yuenming. Tao Yuanming is one of the most prominent poets in Chinese history, and is well known for his poems about peach trees and Daoist themes. His prose “The Peach Blossom Spring” recounts the story of a fisherman stumbling upon the land of Shangri La, another paradise of immortality and peace. Manjushage references the same sweet scent of grasses and peaches in “The Peach Blossom Spring” that lead to disillusionment.

“Paradise” is next mentioned in the song as 無���有の郷 (Mukau no Sato). The Japanese dictionary Kotobank defines this as “a natural, ideal village”. So even though I can’t find a satisfactory English definition for this word (cause yeah “paradise” doesn’t cute it) anywhere, I’m 99% sure that it refers to a type of village described in the Zhuangzi, a foundational Daoist text. Unfortunately, I traveled back home for winter break and don’t have my copy of the Zhuangzi on hand to double check and quote from, but one part of it talks about how the ideal village in Daoism is small and natural, where you can hear dogs barking and roosters crowing from the next town over (cause it’s so small and quiet everywhere).

I guess that since I’ve brought up Daoism so much in this I should probably explain some stuff about it for those that are unfamiliar with it. Basically, it’s a Chinese philosophy and is where stuff like Yin and Yang came from. The whole point of it is to become one with the “Dao” or “The Tay”. It’s like The Force in Star Wars (kind of but not really DETAILS ARE HARD). To be one with the Dao you need to be balanced and go with the flow, but if you think you understand the Dao then lol you probably don’t because the universe is complicated af. Also, Daoists are really into trying to become immortal (hence why everyone in these Daoist “paradises” I mentioned before are all immortal and chill). But yeah let’s just go with this basic explanation.

ANYWAYS, seasons are also important in Chinese poetry and are referenced a lot in Manjushage. From what I understand, seasons carry the same meaning in both classical Japanese and Chinese poetry because the Tang dynasty popularized poetry in Japan. Since Manjushage talks about love, let me explain how love is portrayed in poetry using seasons. In spring, you fall and love and everything is dandy and flowers are blooming and everything is perfect. Summer is when you’re actually going out and everything is stable. Autumn is death and falling out of love and pain. And then winter is like your heart has frozen over.

In Manjushage, the peach blossoms represent spring (because that’s when they bloom). Summer is referenced in the lines that say “Water lilies that bloomed, unknowing” and “Amusement reflected on the water’s surface”. These two lines have a crap ton in common with “The Ballad of Four Seasons” written by Li Bai, probably the most famous Chinese poet and also a hardcore Daoist. “The Ballad of Four Seasons” also mentions “Lovely lotus lilies blossom flowers” and a Mirror Lake. Water lilies illustrate beauty and purity stemming from dirty origins (the mud), and the reflections on the water are a direct reference to this Mirror Lake. Autumn is referenced in Manjushage in the line that says “shedding tears with the full moon”. The moon traditionally references Fall because of the Moon Festival that takes place mid-autumn in China and is also referenced in “The Ballad of Four Seasons ohohoho).

So all of that’s really cool and stuff but what’s REALLY cool is how Mafumafu uses this symbolism in Manjushage. Instead of having these seasons as mutually exclusive, he blends all of them together to create a new meaning that works perfect for this song. Manjushage is all about falling into temptation for a temporary happiness. He constantly contrasts purity and depravity (such as when he asks, “Am I a peach blossom? Or a red spider lily?”) but also shows how everything is a cycle. This can especially be seen when he states, “The coming of spring, shedding tears with the full moon”. Spring could not come without the pain of Autumn, but likewise “The bitterness of the peaches today- brought by a spring nourished by tears” shows that while young love appears sweet at first, it is ultimately bitter because it is always destined to fail. What a Mafumafu thing to think. This use of opposing symbolism (spring and autumn, peach blossoms and spider lilies) reinforces the strong Daoist theme in the song because, similar to Yin and Yang, there is a balance and cycle to all things.

Ok, finishing up this long rant, I just want to mention some other small things that showcase how well Mafumafu researched his stuff. Funnily enough, most classical Chinese poetry,especially in the Tang dynasty, was written about women and courtesans, so Manjushage hits that nail on the head. Also, I’m not sure if this was intentional, but the line, “Cast it all away, until dawn steals away night” shows an ellipsis of time, which is a common literary device in Han poetry. For those unfamiliar with Chinese geography, the Yellow River mentioned in Manjushage is the second largest river in China.

So yeah. My conclusion is that Mafumafu’s smart lol.

[bahamutgreen]

A hyper analysis of the Mario Stages in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Hey I took the liberty of spending too much time of my life going through some of the Mario stages in Ultimate to find pretty scenes and interesting secrets. I go through each stage one by one in this MASSIVE text post so it’s all hidden under this readmore link! Enjoy the post if you have the time and energy to read it all, haha!!

Super Smash Bros. 64 (2 stages)

Peach’s Castle

As one might expect, the Smash 64 stages don’t have too much to talk about. But I tried to find as much as I could! For starters, here’s a very pretty scenic shot of the background, which is a bird’s eye view of the starting area in Super Mario 64.

Secondly, there are these trees, which are taken directly from Super Mario 64 smushed down a little bit, and had the colors desaturated a bit.

And, just for fun: This isn’t the first time this tree appears on the Nintendo Switch, as this same tree sprite was used in the recreation of the courtyard in Odyssey!

Mushroom Kingdom

Again, not much to talk about but hey here’s something everyone already knows: You can see the blast zones in this stage. I believe this is actually in each iteration of this stage (64, Melee, Ultimate) I also think the fake 2D pipe is a little interesting to look at. It doesn’t blend in very well but it’s cute.

You can also get a glimpse of how far down the vines and mushrooms go

And lastly, here’s a picture of the cute Buzzy Beetle on a spring. Rumor has it that this was added in by a developer without permission in the N64 version? I don’t know if that’s true but it’s a neat story. Also, Buzzy Beetles don’t usually appear above ground, so there’s some trivia for you

Super Smash Bros. Melee (4 Stages)

Princess Peach’s Castle

This is the first stage to get an HD remaster! Look at the beautiful recreation of the Peach Mural in front of the castle!

You can also see the bridge over Peach’s Moat, which I don’t think you could see before

Also, this isn’t intentional and is surely a coincidence but if you clip under Peach’s castle, it looks like there’s a hole in the water which is almost what it looks like if you clip under Peach’s Castle in Super Mario Odyssey.

Lastly, here’s a nice scenic shot of the waterfall behind the castle

Rainbow Cruise

So, this stage opens up with a really beautiful scenic shot. And to the left of the lake, you can see a little town! This was also in the original Melee version of this stage.

Interestingly, if you move the camera you can see that the whole stage is already loaded while you’re on the airship, and the airship is actually stationary.

Yoshi’s Island

OKAY this is a Yoshi Stage cause it’s based on Dinosaur Land but it comes from Super Mario World which is a Mario game so I’m putting it here.

The walk off part of the level actually has grass on it

And the level has been updated to have cute New Super Mario Bros. flowers!

And this stage has cute 2 paintings of the Sprites from Super Mario World AND a shot of nice HD Yoshi Fruit. These fruits have a much more berry or persimmon look in modern Mario titles but the apple look isn’t too far off.

Mushroom Kingdom II

A sequel to the first Mushroom Kingdom Stage, this doesn’t have a lot to talk about either but there is some stuff! It looks very pretty with the All-Stars sprites

And if you look, the tops of the platforms are just a very... neat looking solid green color

And you can even get a peek at where the stage’s background cuts off!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (4 stages)

Delfino Plaza

My favorite Smash Bros. Stage ever! I love all the detail put into this stage, particularly all the stages you can see from the plaza itself. Like Ricco Harbor and Bianco Hills

Pinna Park and Sirena Beach

And even the Airstrip!

There’s also tons of cute details in the Plaza, like the manhole covers and the overhang that contains the Pachinko stage!

Even the open windows have been updated to have fully rendered rooms inside them! Although the camera can’t zoom in very far to see them.

And here’s a fun glitch, you can clip the camera underwater just like clipping Mario under the water in the original Sunshine!

Also I noticed that the fire from Mario’s Final Smash leaves a special burning effect behind when it touches grass

Mushroomy Kingdom

The spinoff to Mushroom Kingdoms I&II, it has a TON of fantastic visual detail. Being a realistic, worn down reimagining of the original 1-1

You’ll notice in the last one that the pipes have covers on them, so you can’t enter them. The castle itself also has a fantastic visual wear and tear

Here’s a cute detail! 6 blocks away from this pipe is a hidden box. Just like the original Super Mario Bros.! In the original game it had a hidden 1-up inside!

Also here’s a nice shot I got of Mario grabbing the flag pole!

Figure-8 Circuit

Most people already know this but you can almost see the full track just out of reach of the screen

You might notice a cute garage and even stands for the audience! However, the stands are filled with humans instead of Mario characters. I think they’re recycled from the Punch Out arena stage. But there’s a screen that keeps track of where the Shyguys are in real time! Neat!

Speaking of which, here’s a close up on the Shyguys. They use the Standard SG Kart just as they would when playing multiplayer mode with 1 cartridge in Mario Kart DS. Which is where Figure-8 Circuit comes from, of course.

Lastly, one of my favorite details in this track is it’s use of Mario aesthetics and platforms as set pieces to build the environment. You can see large mushrooms, hills, checkered floors, and the block platforms seen in Mario Bros. 3!

Luigi’s Mansion

A really nice detail in this stage is that all the rooms you can see are actual rooms from Luigi’s Mansion! In order, left to right, top then bottom, the rooms are: Nursery, Foyer (1F), Study, Kitchen, Foyer, Ballroom.

And by stepping out of the Mansion you get a good look at the front!

But don’t worry, you can still see the cross section if you turn the camera

Some other cute details include the well where you first see Mario’s fate in Luigi’s Mansion, there’s a lot of tombstones around the mansion which take designs from Luigi’s Mansion’s graveyard. And even the chimneys at the top of the mansion are right where they should be!

And lastly here’s some of the Boos that spawn when you destroy chunks of the mansion

Mario Bros.

I only have one thing to talk about with this stage, and it’s that the POW Block has a strange amount of detail to it. It’s updated with this cool, cybernetic design.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3 Stages)

3D Land

This stage is GORGEOUS, in my opinion. Here’s some good shots that show the detail of blocks, flip panels, Peach’s castle, and spike pillars, all with their 3D Land designs

You can also see a little visual thing where this mountain isn’t exactly in the water

An interesting developer trick is that when you go into the pipe to restart the stage, tilting the camera will show you that almost the whole stage unloads around you

And now... Here’s just a ton of really pretty scenic shots I got from this level. I just think it’s a really nice looking stage. It also does a good job of incorporation Mario elements and platforms into the environments.

okay I’m done sorry

Golden Plains

Some really nice recreations of Mario props in this stage. Here’s the 3 types of coins that appear in the stage, Gold, Red, and Blue. Gold/Blue count as 1 and Red counts as 5.

The little sign at the bottom appears when the stage starts scrolling. Also here’s some other Mario set pieces.

Also this stage isn’t as pretty as 3D Land, it does have some nice background shots

And here’s a screenshot of the stage gimmick, getting 100 coins will turn you into a gold version of your fighter!

Paper Mario

this is another stunning stage to look at. The detail in the paper and crafts are so amazing. 

In the first area, based on Hither Thither Hill, if you look to the side the walk off part of the stage actually has the same walk off between areas that Paper Mario games have!!

Here’s a close up of the fan

The 2nd area, based on the S.S. Flavion, has a super cute references to the reoccuring Big Blooper bosses in Paper Mario and the Whale from Paper Mario 64

The 3rd area, based on Bowser’s Castle in Sticker Star, is just pretty. And when the stage transitions back to the 1st area it actually closes like a story book, how cute!!

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U (4 Stages)

Mushroom Kingdom U

A really underrated stage in my opinion. This is the most recent entry in the Mushroom Kingdom series of stages, based on the New Super Mario Bros. series this time. The first area, based on Acorn Plains, has some very cute environments in it.

You can even see trees containing Super Acorns, which naturally grow in this area! The 2nd area is based on the Meringue Clouds world. It’s so pretty and I even got a shot of the icicles that fall periodically through this stage. Sadly I couldn’t get the beanstalk to spawn? Maybe it’s not in Ultimate’s version of the stage. But I don’t know.

The next area is based on the games’ fortress stages! It has REALLY complex machinery for the center platforms, and you can even move the camera to see down the tower. It’s a LONG drop. I also got close ups of the multiplying blocks

The final area is based on Sparkling Waters and Rock-Candy Mines. It has pretty backdrops and sea urchins!

Lastly, some nice pictures of Kamek!

And Nabbit! Who, interestingly, has a visual glitch on his bag. The top of the Mushroom emblem is incorrectly doubled right underneath it.

Mario Galaxy

Another super pretty stage. It has gorgeous set pieces

Here’s a closeup of Starship Mario and one of Bowser’s airships. Starship Mario has Lubba, the Lumas, and all the trimmings. The airship doesn’t seem to have many crew members, though.

And here’s a closeup of a falling starbit

Mario Circuit

This, like Figure-8 Circuit, is a recreation of Mario Kart 8′s Mario Circuit. It has all the same details (minus an audience to watch)

Also, some of the towers you land on have staircases that go a lot further than you’d think

And lastly, here’s a close up of the shyguy racers. They’re now decked out with the Standard Kart design from Mario Kart 8. If you look closely, the Shyguy’s clothes are also far more detailed than the Shyguys in Figure-8 Circuit.

Super Mario Maker

This is a neat stage because it can shift artstyles mid battle. Here’s a picture of the 4 art styles: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U!

I also got some shots of the hands that will appear to fix parts of the stage you break during combat! I’m sure there’s more hands but we do have human hands, animal hands, and Mario hands!

Mario also has a cute Mario Maker alt. to go along perfectly with this stage!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (1 Stage)

New Donk City Hall

We finally made it! Here’s the end of this massive, way too long post! Here’s some nice shots of the city, a shot of the park, and I even tried getting most of the sky scraper in one shot

Here’s some nice shots of the Odyssey! You’ll notice it has 21 Power Moons, as the official art for the Odyssey has. But it actually takes 55 Power Moons to reach the Metro Kingdom.

Some bonus stuff: A lightbulb, the New Donk City players (plus poster), and even a shot that shows how much of New Donk City was rendered.

And look! It’s Captain Toad!!! I love this fella so much!

His arm looks very weird and long when he puts it in front of his face. But you wouldn’t notice that during normal gameplay anyway

And now... I have no other way of saying this. I have a million shots of Pauline. She’s so gorgeous. I love her so much.

A really nice detail about this is that we get a good shot of Pauline’s back! You don’t get a good look in Odyssey because when you get to her during the festival the camera is locked.

AAAAAAND that’s it! That’s all the little snacks and secrets I found in the Mario stages. This was very fun and very tiring. I hope you enjoyed what I found. I know there’s a ton more stuff I missed. I do also have screenshots from the Mario spinoffs, like Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario. So if people wanna see that too I can share them. But hey, for right now. I’m going to sleep. Let me know if you wanna see the spinoff stages or if I should share nicer quality pictures of the environments. That’s all for today. See ya later!

[jinjojess]

Opinion on each zanki zero character?

While I’m here, I should also answer this fantastic ask:

Anonymous said: Are the Zanki Zero characters names as stupid as Danganronpa character names? ‘cause one of the characters is named after a type of tractor

I also need to post my feelings on ZZ in general, but so far it’s pretty cool. The characters aren’t really out of their introductory shallow stages yet but they show promise. I don’t care what the haters say, I find Extend TV amusing. The game’s premise is cool, the 3D character models look nice, and the system of exploring new islands that wash up as dungeons to gather resources and get story beats is cool.

This may be the closest thing I get to DanRon Mystery Dungeon.

While I normally don’t like stories where death is impermanent, this seems like it will tackle more the psychological strain of immortality and the goal will be to get your zanki (extra lives) to zero, linking the end/goal of the game to the way it started: with suicide. If so, I’m here for that.

Anyway, my thoughts on the characters.

Minor Spoilers!

Higurashi Haruto - Basic SpikeChun VN protag so far: kinda bland, ahoge, etc. I do like his glasses, though, and the fact he was an editor. That’s a unique detail. Aside from oversleeping once, hasn’t exhibited much slothfulness, unless you count his inability to act when he and Susukino took a ride on the Tentacle Express. As for his suicide attempt (completion?), I suspect that’s true of everyone, not just Higurashi.

How Stupid Is That Name?Low. Higurashi means living hand-to-mouth, which is very on the nose for this situation (also likely a reference to that other VN series…). Haruto, like all the given names in this game, doesn’t have kanji, so it’s a bit tough to assign specific meaning to it. You could write it as 温人, for instance, which would mean “warm person”. Both names are real names, and fairly common at that.

Hirasaka Sachika - All I can say is, thank god she has a side besides “adowable widdle gurl!” because I am not a fan of that. It is cool to have a disabled character though. So far aside from Higurashi being a bit tactless and presumptive, it’s been handled fairly well? Sachika’s clearly extremely intelligent, likely playing everyone (she’s the one who urges everyone to go inside Mashiro Garden Tower), and appears to be the only character who doesn’t age. Since she’s original sin, wouldn’t that make her knowledge? Interesting…

How Stupid Is That Name?Moderately stupid. Hirasaka is a real name, but if it’s written that way, it’s pretty rare. The kanji used are “compare, good, hill” which you could take as comparing how well the others reform and atone for their sins. Sachika is indeed a name, and it could include a bunch of different kanji, including the ones for “happiness” or “knowledge”. Sachika’s name is what I’d consider to be the DR standard level of stupid.

Mikajime Ryou - His design was one of the ones I was the least interested in, but so far he’s been pretty amusing. I hope he doesn’t end up typecast as the “protag’s best buddy” type from DR. Real jealousy explored in a game like this would be pretty dope though.

How Stupid Is That Name?Well, as far as I know, Mikajime is not a real name, so we’re already treading pretty silly waters. The kanji basically come out to read “three flowers tied up” which is fitting the theme. Ryou is a very, very common male name, though if I had to hazard a guess here, I’d say it’s in reference to 量, which means “quantity” (as in, how much you have in the way of resources, and could feed into the envy theme).

Susukino Rinko - As is often the case with things like this, I like her design but her archetype is one that puts my teeth on edge. Please shake this Yamato Nadeshiko BS please, girl. Also, assign Lust to the beefcake dude, you cowards! I did like that I chose her and Higurashi as my least faves that I’d be cool with killing to complete the cloning mission, and lo!

How Stupid Is That Name?Susuki is the Japanese name for Chinese Silver Grass/Zebra Grass, which is already pretty silly given that she’s a florist. The “no” part means field, so duh on that, but it often gets used in dumb animanga names to stand in for the particle の which will make it a possessive. The reason I bring this up is because susuki is sometimes called “maiden grass” and Susukino’s sin is Lust. While Susukino isn’t a real surname as far as I can tell, it is the name of a neighborhood in Yokohama! Rinko’s a pretty normal lady name with the ko almost always being “child” while the Rin part can be all kinds of stuff, like forest, cold, and interestingly enough, ethics. …it also rhymes with one of the Japanese words for “penis”.

Kubota Zen - I am sad that this guy will likely become the Cursed Character of this game, because I actually find him pretty interesting. It’s always great to have a wild card in the mix, and while he’s being a little too openly Komaeda/Ouma-like in this instigator department, it seems more clearly to come from a distinctly different place than either of them. I dig it.

How Stupid Is That Name?Look at this fucking normal-ass name. Sure, the Ku part of Kubota isn’t the usual one, instead being swapped for the legal version of 9 (…suffering…), and yeah, Kubota is a brand of tractor, and okay, it’s a bit openly ironic to have your Wrath character named Zen, but honestly this is one of the least surprising names here. (It could also be one of the other zens, like the one from nature or something.)

Setouchi Minamo - The only thing stopping me from fully embracing this character as my fave is the fact that Nate likes her best. Design? Fantastic. Lady cop? Hell yes. Speaks in Osaka-ben?! FUCK YEAH. I like that she’s Pride, too, which is considered the worst one of the bunch (aside from knowledge, I guess) since she seems like she’s so…Asahina-like. Setouchi is a fucking cutie and I love her, the end. Pride Month, baby.

How Stupid Is That Name?I swear to god, her last name has to be a reference to the Seto Inland Sea since it’s written in Japanese as 瀬戸内海 and is even colloquially referred to as “Setouchi”. It also just so happens to be located…in Kansai! In fact, it feeds into Osaka Bay and is a major transportation hub around the Kansai region. Minamo is a common girl’s name, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it written with kanji before. I mean I guess the Mi could be “beauty” which might fit the Pride theme? Or you could read it as a pun that means “and everyone else too” or something? The jisho is telling me that it can be an alternate way to read the word for “water surface” which could fit with the theme of being named after a sea.

Ichiyou Mamoru - Right now he’s leaning a bit too hard on the Gonta gap-moe thing, where he’s an intelligent sciencey type who’s also mega buff, but I like the idea of him being actually really anxious underneath his go-with-the-flow exterior. As long as he develops into a more round character, I will like him a lot. Also, he’s tied with Setouchi as hottest character. Not really sure how the Greed thing comes in yet though. Ugh, he should’ve been Lust, SpikeChun, get it together.

How Stupid Is That Name?Not very. Ichiyou means “one leaf” which evokes (in me at least) the idea of an Adonis statue with a single leaf over its groin. Ichiyou is a real surname, and Mamoru is very much a real given name. The most obvious meaning being 守る, “to protect” which in this case can mean his patients or maybe his dragon horde because Greed. 

Mashiro Yuma - She is my favorite character right now, because hot damn, do I relate. This game is so fucking diverse for a Japanese game–a disabled girl and a chubby chick?! God, it’s like Togami and Celes had a daughter who was raised by Sagishi and I fucking love her. The Gluttony thing is pretty surface level right now, though I suspect that she’s going to be fairly relevant to the story given how important the Touwa Mashiro Group is in this world. She’s right behind Setouchi and Ichiyou for character I’d be most attracted to irl, cause I like thicc girls. Not a big fan of her fashion sense, but everything else is fucking great.I especially appreciate that she’s not really that spoiled or nasty, either? Like she’s snarky, yeah, but not the full Togami. Anyway I love Mashiro.

How Stupid Is That Name?Mashiro means “pure white” which could refer to a lot of things–being free from sin, being ironically NOT free from sin, etc. Pretty sure Mashiro is a real last name. Yuma is pretty uncommon, though. The kanji that you can use for it often include ones for “freedom” or “friend” or “kind” and so on for the “Yu” part, while the “ma” could be “center” (making her name end the way it begins), “hemp/cannabis”, or “jasmine”. It would be really funny if her given name was written as “freedom cannabis” since it would be like “free to be high”.

Terashima Shou - He’s a boke and I think his unnervingly Tezuka-like art style is kind of fun. I dunno, like I said, I don’t care what you kids think, I love manzai.

How Stupid Is That Name?I need to assume that they intend to write the surname as 照島 (illuminated island) considering the catchphrase and the locale, though I guess you could also interpret it as like “tereru” for “embarrassed”? Shou’s usually written as “soar”, but I suspect that this is just a pun based on the English word “show” (as in, TV show). Might also be a little nod to best friend Genocider.

Mirai - The straightman of the manzai team. I like her too–I think she does a great job of being expressive and her comedic timing is pretty good. She’s also fairly cute, so like Nate said, I wouldn’t mind merch of her.

How Stupid Is That Name?tHe jApAnEsE wOrD fOr FuTuRe