#hagane kuroi

[sinful-liesel]

Aizoku Blood Birth

» Title: 愛属ブラッドバース » Label: NiNO » Type: R18 Drama CD » Release Dates:

2017.04.18 Aizoku Blood Birth Vol. 1 Riku Takatsuji (CV. Noboru Tetrapod)

2017.05.02 Aizoku Blood Birth Vol. 2 Fumiya Kyougoku (CV. Yotsuya Cider)

2017.07.04 Aizoku Blood Birth Vol. 3 Junichirou Kuze (CV. Manaka Sawa)

2017.09.05 Aizoku Blood Birth Vol. 4 Yasusada Konoe (CV. Gunsou Hatoman)

2017.12.26 Aizoku Blood Birth Vol. 5 Haruto Ichijou (CV. Hagane Kuroi)

2018.01.30 Aizoku Blood Birth Vol. 6 Akito Kitaooji (CV. Masato Sakurai)

Synopsis↴

Read Full Post on my Wordpress Blog 💕 (link below↴)

[animebw]

Man, I was on some wild shit when I talked about M3.

[cottoncandiesandtears]

Villain 02 ～The case of trickster～

♡  Unicorn Tears: Villain 02 ～The case of trickster～

Publisher : HOBiGIRLS Link : ☊ Sample voice ☋ CV : Kuroi Hagane(黒井鋼) aka. Higuchi Tomoyuki(樋口智透) as Mito Kaname(水戸要)

✧  Download CD. ✧

[sidlyrics]

Void

Letra / Lyrics: luz & Aki Música / Music: Aki

Void

'キレイ'を演じた　貴方に赦されたかった 穢れを隠して　私を殺し続けてた

飾れない程に　ユメを見させて頂戴 触れた痛みが私を曝け出す

壊れて　壊して　磔にしてよ 本当の私を暴いて 咎めて　剥がして　離さないで 愛してよ　気付いて　全て虚像

A feeling of both love & hate 貴方はどちらも知るでしょう I don't want to see anything 真実はどこにもないこと

花瓶に刺した　枯れた薔薇のように 捨てられてしまう　いつかと同じね

愛して欲しいの　どちらの私も 虚像の世界へ堕ちましょう 孤独という名の黒い灰が舞う 教えてよ　貴方に映る私を

汚れるほどに　綺麗でいたいの 掴めない心なんていらないわ

壊れて　壊して　何が見えたかな 本当の私は暴けない 咎めて　剥がして　離さないから 気づかない？　もう戻れない

愛して欲しいの　全ての私を 虚像の世界へ堕ちましょう

孤独という名の黒い灰が舞う 教えてよ　貴方に映る私を

Void

"kirei" wo enjita　anata ni yurusaretakatta kegare wo kakushite　watashi wo koroshi tsudzuketeta

kazarenai hodo ni　yume wo misasete choudai fureta itami ga watashi wo sarakedasu

kowarete　kowashite　hakitsuke ni shite yo hontou no watashi wo abaite togamete　hagashite　hanasanaide aishite yo　kidzuite　subete kyozou

A feeling of both love & hate anata wa dochira mo shirudeshou I don't want to see anything shinjitsu wa doko ni mo nai koto

kabin ni sashita　kareta bara no you ni suterareteshimau　itsuka to onaji ne

aishite hoshii no　dochira no watashi mo kyozou no sekai e ochimashou kodoku to iu na no kuroi hai ga mau oshiete yo　anata ni utsuru watashi wo

kegareru hodo ni　kirei de itai no tsukamenai kokoro nante iranai wa

kowarete　kowashite　nani ga mieta ka na hontou no watashi wa abakenai togamete　hagashite　hanasanai kara kidzukanai? mou modorenai

aishite hoshii no　subete no watashi wo kyozou no sekai e ochimashou

kodoku to iu na no kuroi hai ga mau oshiete yo　anata ni utsuru watashi wo

Void

Pretending to be "pure", I wanted to be forgiven by you. I hid my defilement and kept supressing myself.

Please, allow me to continue dreaming because I can't embellish it. The pain I experience exposes me.

Get me broken, break me, crucify me. Expose my real self. Blame me, tear me off, don't let go of me. Love me, notice all the pretenses.

A feeling of both love & hate, you'll know both. I don't want to see anything. The truth is nowhere to be found.

Like a dead rose stuck in a vase, I've been abandoned, the same as ever, right?

I want you to love both sides of me. Let's fall into a world of pretenses. Black ashes called loneliness dance. Tell me, I'm reflected in you.

Is it so pure and painful that it gets corrupted? I don't need a heart I can't understand.

Get me broken, break me, I wonder what you saw. I can't expose my real self. Blame me, tear me off, because I won't let go. Didn't you notice? I can't go back anymore.

I want you to love all of me. Let's fall into a world of pretenses.

Black ashes called loneliness dance. Tell me, I'm reflected in you.

Vacío

Fingiendo ser "puro", quería que me perdonases. Escondí mi mácula y seguí reprimiéndome.

Por favor, permíteme continuar soñando porque no puedo embellecerlo. El dolor que experimento me delata.

Haz que me hagan pedazos, hazme pedazos, crucifícame. Desvela mi verdadero ser. Cúlpame, hazme trizas, no me sueltes. Ámame, date cuenta de todos los engaños.

Un sentimiento tanto de amor como de odio, llegarás a conocer ambos. No quiero ver nada. La verdad no está en ninguna parte.

Como una rosa muerta clavada en un jarrón, me han abandonado, como siempre, ¿no?

Quiero que ames mis dos caras. Caigamos en un mundo de engaños. Unas cenizas negras llamadas soledad bailan. Dímelo, me reflejo en ti.

¿Es tan puro y doloroso que se corrompe? No necesito un corazón que no puedo entender.

Haz que me hagan pedazos, hazme pedazos, me pregunto qué viste. No puedo revelar mi verdadero ser. Cúlpame, hazme trizas, porque no te soltaré. ¿No te has dado cuenta? Ya no puedo dar marcha atrás.

Quiero que ames todo de mí. Caigamos en un mundo de engaños.

Unas cenizas negras llamadas soledad bailan. Dímelo, me reflejo en ti.

Kanji, romaji, English, español: Reila

[stanninghigedan]

Choral A

I think it's been almost a year since my last translation (Filament was, I think, the last song I translated, and that's almost a year ago!), so I'm a little rusty. Forgive me and please tell me if I get the translations in this wrong huhu I really need to go back to translating :)) :((

Anyway, yeah Higedan released their new EP today!! And it includes two new songs - Choral A and Hagan! Not sure if I will be translating Hagan (I'm planning to, tho! But no promises H A H A).

Idk I just got the urge to translate Choral A today. I love the song so much it sounds like the old Higedan songs (which pulled me into the fandom!) And I have no regrets translating this because I feel like the lyrics for this song were words I needed to hear at this point in my life.

Oh and yeah, the song is gonna be used as a theme song for a movie! The lyrics of the song, as well as the composition for this, was all made by Narachan! This reflects the experiences he had as a past member of the police force marching band in their place - which is basically the plot of the movie where the song will be used :)) wbk this is Narachan's life story HAHA jk

Anyway, Imma stop talking because this might become too long and I know you guys are just here for the translation :))

As usual, translation may contain inaccuracies/mistakes. I apologize for them (as I am still learning Japanese) and if you know which ones are mistakes, I would greatly appreciate it if you would point them out so that I can improve on my Japanese.

「つまんねぇと嘆いたら　誰かが心を乾かしてる」

冷えたグラス持った友人が　疲れを浮かべ今日もつぶやく

「もうやめにしよっか」「まだやれそうさ」

いつかの子どもらの夏が浮かび消える

街を過ぎた雨と　それを待ってたような綿毛が

風に飛ばされ運ばれて　今、たどり着いたひとひら

「きっとここで会えた意味がある」と　言ってるみたいに囁くよ

「こたえておくれ」と

ふとした時に顔を出す後悔　目では見えやしないけど

それは涙や笑みに寄り添って　離れぬように語り出す

いつか思い出して　ひとつ数えて

何度もここで待ってるから

胸の宵かがりは　黒い髪を縛ったあなたが

古い写真機に閉じ込めたままで誰にも見せてないけど

次に開く時は声に出して　小さい靴を指差して

「もうやめにしようか」「まだやれそうさ」

何度も同じような夜　でもその声が繋いでいるんだ

迎えに行かなくちゃな　この想いを忘れないようにしないとな

街を過ぎた雨とそれを待ってたような綿毛が

風に飛ばされ運ばれて　今、たどり着いたひとひら

「きっとここで会えた意味がある」と

言ってるみたいに囁くよ

「こたえておくれ」と

--

"Tsuman ne- to nageitara dareka ga kokoro wo kawakashiteru"

Hieta gurasu motta yuujin ga tsukare wo ukabe kyou mo tsubuyaku

"Mou yame ni shiyokka" "Mada yaresou sa"

Itsuka no kodomora no natsu ga ukabi kieru

Machi wo sugita ame to sore wo matteta you na watage ga

Kaze ni tobasare hakobarete ima, tadori tsuita hitohira

"Kitto koko de aeta imi ga aru" to itteru mitai ni sasayaku yo

"Kotaete okure" to

Futoshita toki ni kao wo dasu koukai me de wa mieyashinai kedo

Sore wa namida ya emi ni yorisotte hanarenu you ni katari dasu

Itsuka omoidashite hitotsu kazoete

Nandomo koko de matteru kara

Mune no yoi kagari wa kuroi kami wo shibatta anata ga

Furui shashinki ni tojikometa mama de dare ni mo misetenai kedo

Tsugi ni hiraku toki wa koe ni dashite chiisai kutsu wo yubisashite

"Mou yame ni shiyouka" "Mada yaresou sa"

Nandomo onaji you na yoru demo sono koe ga tsunaideirunda

Mukae ni ikanakuchana kono omoi wo wasurenai you ni shinai to na

Machi wo sugita ame to sore wo matteta you na watage ga

Kaze ni tobasare hakobarete ima, tadori tsuita hitohira

"Kitto koko de aeta imi ga aru" to

Itteru mitai ni sasayaku yo

"Kotaete okure" to

--

"When someone says "it's boring", I become uninspired*"

A close friend, holding a cold (drink) glass, expresses their weariness and murmurs about today

"Should we give up?" "I think we can still do this"

Memories of our summers as children comes in and goes from our minds

The fluff* that seemingly waited for the rain to pass over the city

It struggled and (eventually) succeeds to reach its destination as it flies and gets carried away by the wind (called) the present

I'll quietly answer your "please answer me" with "Surely, there's a reason we met here"

On the unexpected times regrets show up on the face, though I can't see them with my eyes

It will be nestled in with the tears and smiles, and won't seem to leave when I speak

Someday I'll remember and count them one by one

Repeatedly, because I'll be here, waiting

The evening bonfire that warms my heart is the you who has their hair tied up

But I've had it locked up in an old camera without showing it to anyone else

The next time we open it up, I'll say it out loud and point at your small shoes***

"Should we give up?" "No, we can still do this"

It might end up like that night again and again, but that voice will keep us together

I need to go and see you, because I should never forget this feeling

Like those fluffy wool that seemingly waited for the rain to pass over the city

A petal struggles and (eventually) succeeds to reach its destination as it flies and gets carried away by the wind (called) now

"Surely, there's a reason we met in this place"

I answer with a whisper

As you say "please answer me"

T/N:

*Literal translation for kokoro wo kawakashiteru is "heart dries up". Reworded the phrase as such to make it short or to make it more understandable? Like imagine when someone else discredits your hard work, saying it's boring, or it's ugly, or it's not worth it, it will affect you so much - self-doubt consumes you and you become unable to do anything, no matter how much you try, nothing comes out. Your heart's dried up.

**fluff from trees (kapok?? or the likes). Its those white cotton-y/wooly thingies you see along the road at times.

***I feel like what this is trying to say is that when the topic of him capturing the other person in an old camera comes up/when they do open up/revisit the images on the old camera, and the other person knows about what the speaker did, he would try to change the topic by pointing out how small the other person's shoes/feet are to maybe hide his feelings or just to tease the other person.

[lostmyurl]

I'm not sure of the meaning of the word “nakama” (sp.?), but by context, I'm assuming it means “ally.” Mh, no subtitles is a meager price to pay for bootlegging the entire series, eh? Anyway, I'm really mad that they consistently use “burakku skai” for Black Sky and “aian fisuto” for Iron Fist. It just… the concepts were known to the Japanese far before they were known to any English-speaking country. Hell, isn't the Black Sky from Japan in the first place? They could've done the MINIMUM and simply said 「黒い空」 (kuroi sora) and 「鋼の拳」(hagane no ken), both of which are literal translations. Or they could've gotten poetic with old Japanese and sky metaphors, heck! But no.

[sinful-liesel]

Title: Teransera ~Depend On You~ 

Release Date: 2019.02.18

CV: Hagane Kuroi

Circle/Label: KZentertainment

Type: R18 Drama CD

Synopsis↴

You are in a relationship with Aoi. One day, you offer him to have sex with a certain drug...

※Purchase link @ source. Please consider shopping using my affiliate links if you enjoy the content in my blog. It’s greatly appreciated! (◕‿◕)♡

[sinful-liesel]

Title: Teransera ~Depend On You~ Forbidden Symptom

Release Date: 2019.03.01

CV: Hagane Kuroi

Circle/Label: KZentertainment

Type: R18 Drama CD

Synopsis↴

When you return home, Aoi seems to be acting a bit strange. He says that there is a bug infestation in his room, but it's in the same state as always...

※Purchase link @ source. Please consider shopping using my affiliate links if you enjoy the content in my blog. It’s greatly appreciated! (◕‿◕)♡

[sinful-liesel]

Telanthera: Depend on You (CV. Kuroi Hagane) Sample Voice

Release Date: 2018.04.10

**Please note: May contain NSFW Audio. Please wear earphones. I am not responsible for your sins. ^_^ **

[sinful-liesel]

Telanthera: Depend on You

Title: テランセラ～Depend On You～

Release Date: 2018.04.10

CV: Kuroi Hagane

Label: KZ Entertainment

Type: R18 Drama CD 

Synopsis↴

Read Full Post on my Wordpress Blog 💕 (link below↴)

[sinful-liesel]

Aizoku Blood Birth Vol. 5 Ichijou Haruto

-Black Prince x Twin Idol (Older Brother)-

CV: Kuroi Hagane Release Date: 2017.12.26

Aizoku Blood Birth Vol. 6 Kitaooji Akito 

-Sexy Prince x Twin Idol (Younger Brother)-

CV: Sakurai Masato Release Date: 2018.01.30

Finally! My beloved twins!!! (Yes, they have different last names, but they are brothers, TWINS to be exact I bet that was obvious) Someone send help, I’ve just gone to heaven 💦  Seriously, their moaning voices are perfect 👌

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: M3: The Dark Metal, Episodes 7-9

In which we dig deeper into the heart of this mess, every character is a fucking asshole, and I examine exactly why this show’s cynicism is so repulsive.

Second Look

It rarely takes a single look for someone to get the full measure of a story. Looking at a piece of fiction at different times, in different environments, even just after a break for a glass of water and some exercise, can lead to drastically different outcomes. That’s why it’s so important for me to keep an open mind while writing for this blog. There’s no telling how my opinion of a show will evolve over the hours and days I spend watching and thinking about it. Something that really amazes me at first might lose its luster as it fails to capitalize on that promise. Something that seems kind of lame might build itself stronger than I ever expected. It’s not until a show’s over that I can be fully confident forming an opinion on how the whole thing works together. So as much as I absolutely fucking despised the first six episodes of M3, I came into this session willing to give it another chance. I put all my preconceptions at the door and gave myself permission to see this show with fresh eyes. Who knows? Maybe with enough distance from my last session, I’d be able to see this show in a new light that changes the way I think about it. So let myself go into these episodes with no expectations, and now that I’ve had a second look, I’ve come to the conclusion that M3... really is kind of terrible, yeah. Turns out, first impressions can be right some of the time. That said, these episodes did give me more to think about in terms of how and why it’s terrible, and with my rage somewhat abated, I feel those aspects are worth discussing in more detail.

The thing is, M3′s badness is the kind of badness that’s so revolting precisely because the show itself isn’t actually all that poorly constructed. Sure, the animation isn’t the best and the designs are kind of ugly, but the overall direction is strong. Scenes flow with natural camera work and editing, the nightmarish design of the Lightless World is pretty cool on its own merits, and I think the soundtrack is genuinely kind of excellent. This isn’t like Shield Hero, where the animation and direction falls completely apart as the show goes on and everything just mushes together into slow-moving slop. It’s not like Fire Force, where shots are so haphazardly thrown together that it’s impossible to get a sense of where anyone is and why. From a production standpoint, this show is basically competent, with effective cinematic storytelling techniques employed on a regular basis. The problem is that all this effective cinematic storytelling is in service of an absolutely atrocious story. The story’s texture is effective in communicating its text, but the actual text so repulsive that it only becomes more agonizing for how well it’s presented. If this were an Arifureta-level disaster, it might be funny watching how incompetently this show flailed about with absolutely nothing working. But because it’s actually capable of getting its point across, it’s like being locked in a room with Ben Shapiro as he sneers at you for hours on end thinking he’s saying something profound when all you want to do is make him shut the fuck up.

You All Suck

And frankly, Ben Shapiro would fit right in with this cast of self-serious assholes. It is astounding to me how unlikable these characters are, how so few of them have a spark of anything that could be considered decent or endearing. And to be fair, the show is well aware of what assholes they are. That’s what I mean about M3 being basically competent; the fact that all its characters are so punchable was exactly the intention. There’s a point where Heito calls out Akashi’s callous dismissal of Emiru, and it very much feels like the show itself calling Akashi out for being such a dickbag. But the fact this admonition is coming from by far the show’s most hateable character suggests that just because we agree with Heito in this moment doesn’t mean we’re supposed to like him. These characters are perceptive enough to call out each other’s assholery, but they need to learn to conquer their own. They’re supposed to be hard-edged and cynical and broken so they can suffer and grow over the course of the show, presumably to become better, more likable people.

And I’m not opposed to a cast of initially unlikable assholes learning how to be good people. But when Every. Single. Person. is this much of a walking shitstain, then I have to ask: why should I care? What’s supposed to make me want to see these people get better? What’s supposed to make me want to root for them, instead of, say, leaving and never dealing with them ever again? None of them are sympathetic enough for me to want to see them get better, because none of them have given me reasons to think they deserve to get better. Consider Kyouko from Sangatsu no Lion: even though we’re shown all the ways her presence is toxic to Rei and given plenty of reason to despise her, we’re also made immediately aware of how vulnerable and broken she is under that harsh exterior. We see the shards of glass and unresolved trauma that turned her into such a monster, and how she’s more dangerous to herself than she is to anyone else. Thus, despite knowing she’s a bad person, part of us still feels sorry for her, and we hope she’ll find away to put her demons to bed for everyone’s sake, including her own. These kinds of characters can be written well; M3 just throws a bunch of assholes on screen and says “Cool, here’s your cast, have fun.” And the fact that the show assumes I’ll have sympathy for them, despite so few of them being worth a single drop, says a lot about how broken its worldview is.

Hidden Agendas

And this brings me back, once again, to the prevailing sense of sexism that pervades this show. The fact of the matter is, cynicism and sexism often go hand in hand when “dark” stories go wrong. If you’re writing what you think is a mature, edgy narrative that deals with Adult Emotions(tm) and you actually have no idea what you’re doing, it’s almost a guarantee that the women are gonna have the worst of it. And thinking about it in more detail, the way M3′s cynicism manifests speaks volumes about the way it treats women. Put simply, this show wants you to get invested in its asshole male characters and not give a shit about its female characters.

To explain what I mean, I present to you the case of Heito the psychpath. In summary: this guy murders his family, escapes from prison by slaughtering a guard, is actively antagonistic and dangerous to his classmates, outright sexually traumatizes and abuses Emiru into self-destructing, gloats about it whatever chance he gets, tries to murder the step-brother of one of the most important scientists behind the project, and leaves enough evidence behind to confirm all these evil deeds. He is the very definition of a walking liability. So how does the show respond to these criminal acts? Is Heito locked back up in prison? Do his classmates turn against him? Does he suffer an ignoble breakdown and pass away in agony? Are any consequences visited upon him at all for actions that should rationally get him sent to the electric chair? Nope. Instead, he’s allowed to roam freely with no supervision. He’s able to run away because nobody put in countermeasures for the very likely possibility of this dangerous man not wanting to play by their rules. After trying to kill Akashi, instead of being locked up, he’s allowed to pilot the second Big Super Robot alongside the guy he just tried to murder. This monstrous, despicable excuse for a human being is elevated to deuteragonist status, made one of the most important characters in the show. And when someone points out, “Hey, maybe this guy’s an asshole and we should just let him die out there,” she’s immediately met with “No, he’s one of us!”

I want you to stop and think about that for a second. Over the course of this show, Heito has done nothing but attack and endanger every single character in his reach. He’s a clearly unstable, violent menace that has irrefutably made the situation worse for everyone involved. But when someone actually tries to point that out? The show shuts that line of thought down by telling the audience directly that he’s Nakama (translator’s note: nakama means friend). It tells you to disbelieve the evidence of your eyes and ears and treat this obvious psychopath who’s caused nothing but harm like he’s a blood brother bound by the sacred bonds of friendship. Now ask yourself the question: why? Why is M3 so insistent on asking you to care about this character on at least a superficial level, to the point it outright ignores everything we’ve seen him do? The answer clearly isn’t based on story logic, because there’s no logic to be found here. Whatever’s going on with Heito is a result of the creators’ attitudes coloring how they wrote this story, however unintentionally.

So think about it. Think how Heito’s allowed to do whatever he wants with no punishment. Think about how he’s allowed to torment Emiru and destroy her life. Think about how he’s rewarded for doing so by getting to side a super-awesome robot that runs on her soul (side note, did we really have to steal the Rei Dummy Plug idea from Eva too?), so he can always be next to her fear just as he wanted. Think about how Emiru is systematically dismantled and turned into a literal prop for this abusive creep’s satisfaction. And now, think about how Emiru herself spend the vast majority of her time alive being slut-shamed by the show and the characters within it. Think about how we’re asked to understand the man who assaulted her far more than we were ever asked to understand her.

I don’t know about you, but to me, that says a lot.

The point is not necessarily that you’re asked to “sympathize” with Heito, because the show still knows he’s an asshole. But you’re asked to understand him. You’re asked to treat him and his struggles as important, while the girl he drove to metaphorical suicide is just a prop in that understanding. Just as you’re asked to treat Akashi’s man-pain as important, how his angst over failing Emiru is given far more explanation than why Emiru was in love with him in the first place. Just as the crazed researcher is the one in charge of the project, driving all the action and chewing the scenery like an impotent manbaby (”No criticism! No criticism!”) while his female assistant can only make horrified expressions in the background. Just as the show lets this same crazy guy test Raika in the Reaper cockpit despite already knowing she’s not compatible just to make her suffer, and the show indulges us in watching her writhe and scream. Just as Sasame’s growing connection to her mysterious other self is entirely framed around her feelings for Akashi and Minashi’s support of her. No matter how cynical or cruel, it’s the male characters in this show that M3 wants you to think about. They’re the ones put on the front lines, driving the plot forward, getting involved in all the important moments. The female characters? They’re just there to make sad expressions in the background, get chewed up and spit out to make the guys’ stories more interesting, or be endlessly shit on by forces outside their control.

That’s the heart of what makes M3 so repulsive. It’s not just that it’s an unfathomably cynical trudge through aggravation. It’s that it cynically asks you to get invested in even its foulest men while encouraging you to think of its women as livestock to be slaughtered for their sake. It lets the guys take all the action while the girls do little but watch trembling from the sidelines until it’s their turn to suffer to make the guys’ stories more interesting. Because when all is said and done, the only thing these kinds of so’called “serious” stories are actually serious about is ugliness and bile. And it deserves to be flayed apart for just how noxious it truly is.

Odds and Ends

-Okay, what the fuck was he trying to say? Akashi abandoned Emiru because... he was obsessed with Kasane? What? Since when?

-It occurs to me we’ve never followed up on Raika and Akashi’s unexpected meeting in the first episode. You’d think her saving him as a civilian would lead to some sort of interesting relationship between them.

-WHY ARE YOU STILL WRITING YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS ALSO HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK AGAIN

-”That song’s creepy. But for some reason, it calms me down. Can you sing it again?” You know what? That’s a nice moment. I like that moment. Maybe if we can build something off of Akashi learning to process his unresolved feelings towards his brother by piloting his soul, we can find something salvageable in this mess.

God, let this be the longest post I ever write for this show. It doesn’t deserve any more of my time and effort. See you next time!

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: M3: The Dark Metal, Episodes 16-18

...

........

.................

what

...WHAT

I think this show may be driving me insane.

I have seen many bad shows in my day. I’ve seen many horrible shows in my day. I have watched anime that have been so painful to sit through I started questioning my life choices halfway through. I have watched anime that fail at even the laxest standards of quality and good taste. But watching M3 crash and burn over and over again, I’ve started to feel myself lose touch with reality. I’ve felt my grip on this show loosen more and more until my experience with it is nothing but a giant red blog of anger and disbelief. Is this show even real? Are we sure it’s not an elaborate prank that wants you to hate it? Or a research experiment to test just how long an audience can sit through the hottest of hot garbage before it breaks them? The more I’ve sat with this show, the more my mental image of it has continued to fracture and distort. It’s like I’m spiraling down a whirlpool of tar-slick black water, my vision blurring and my nausea rising with each successive turn until I’m not even sure which way is up anymore. I don’t think I’ve ever lost my sense of orientation to this extent while watching anime. Things are falling apart. The center cannot hold. Something, somewhere, has to break.

And break it does, as this spiral of insanity reaches its peak with a single unexpected, utterly baffling line:

“We were the ones who created the Lightless World.”

...

No, sorry, go back. Rewind. Play that again. I’m certain I misheard you.

“We were the ones who created the Lightless World.”

...

*ahem*

WHAT.

WHAT. EXCUSE ME. BACK UP. HOLD ON. YOU’RE JOKING. NO. THIS ISN’T REAL. THERE’S NO WAY THIS IS REAL.

WHAT.

Folks, I am broken. I am completely and utterly broken. This twist is so bizarre, so jaw-dropping, so out of nowhere in its disregard for common sense, that I straight-up lost my ability to process what was happening. I just stared slack-jawed at the screen, my mouth hanging open in shock, mouthing words I no longer remembered how to say, half-certain I was about to pass out from sheer mind-numbing confusion. This was actually happening. All this time, the Lightless Realm was the product of an island cult full of telepaths called Linkers who were set upon by IX researches and turned into unwilling guinea pigs by the shitty Dr. Ver wannabe who’s been training our kids in the present. It was born from divine artifacts, the Corpse was some sort of nature spirit brought to life to exact vengeance, and Sasame and Tsumugi were the twin sisters who carried it to the mainland, along with their friend Minashi, to cover the world in darkness to avenge their fallen kinsman. It turns into ET with ESP for a moment, then they met the rest of the kids, and they proceeded to... do fuck-all and have sleepover camp while the world was being corrupted outside. Yes, really. The reason everyone got sucked into the Lightless Realm in the first place is because for some reason, they were perfectly fine forgetting about their parents and all holing up in the same tiny little complex for god knows how long.

I wish I was exaggerating, but that’s literally the explanation we get. THEY JUST ABANDONED THEIR FAMILIES AND HOMES TO HANG OUT WITH THE CULT KIDS FOR NO GODDAMN REASON BECAUSE THAT’S THE ONLY WAY THE PLOT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. It. Is. The. STUPIDEST fucking thing I’ve ever seen. Even when they first meet under the glowing tree thing, their first instinct upon noticing the world start to turn black and ashy all around them is to act like it doesn’t exist and have a meet-cute with one of those balance-ball toys. I... I have no words. I genuinely don’t. If I try to put in language how little sense this entire fucking mess makes, I think my brain would explode.

Stone Cold Stupid

So instead, let me gape with astonishment at how phenomenally this ends up butchering the Main Bad Guy reveal. Yes, Sasame’s sister Tsumugi is the main villain, the girl still leading the Corpse to rip the world apart. And the reason she’s doing it is... because her crush dumped her for her sister. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT FUCKING IS. She got a big jealous ladyboner over Akashi falling for Sasame instead of her, and then everyone ran away because they finally realized they’d been living in Hell for the past few weeks without noticing, and she didn’t follow them because... why? Seriously, what the fuck was stopping her from leaving with the rest of the kids when they ran? She literally had no good reason not to. But instead she stayed behind, and in ten years of self-imposed loneliness she somehow decided it was their fault for leaving her alone instead of her fault for not following them like any sensible person would do. So I guess that’s our bad guy: a Jealous Girlfriend(tm) motivated to destroy the world by a lost childhood crush and a lack of critical thinking skills who blames everyone else for her being dumber than a bag of rocks. Because apparently we’re supposed to think it was a “betrayal” to leave Tsumugi behind, despite her having every chance not to subject herself to this hell. But noooooo, this show is about Serious Things(tm) like people afraid of being left behind, so the plot has to contrive reasons for everyone to get left behind and thus develop trauma no matter how fucking disastrous and nonsensical the logic behind it is. Wonderful. Perfect. Just what I’d fucking expect from this titanic pinnacle of human drama.

Autoimmunity

But you know what the craziest fucking thing is in the midst of all this? We actually got one twist that makes sense: Natsuiri the mad scientist was the bad guy all along! Wow, who would’ve fucking guessed that the obviously unhinged screaming lunatic who constantly physically and sexually assaulted his female test subjects and underlings might not be the most trustworthy guy on the block? Like, Jesus, between this fucking asshole and Heito, every single conflict in this show would’ve been solved if there was a single sentient character somewhere in the cast who could say, “Hey, these guys are obviously dangerous and unstable and they’re making everything fucking worse, maybe we shouldn’t let them have such important positions of power.” But only does nobody fucking point out such an obvious thing, It forces Raika to outright defend them against these accusations for no good reason just so she can be proven wrong when the turn out to be exactly as scummy as they seemed. Seriously, I was just about to cheer when the jock kid decided not to save Natsuiri from the Admonition attack because he was a bastard, but then Raika just had to swoop in and save the guy who’s caused her and her nominal friends nothing but torment. Because everyone in this show is the intellectual equivalent of a fucking sea slug.

But at least there’s one fucking silver lining here: at long fucking last, it’s finally okay for this shithead to die. Turns out, our heroes were working for the bad guy all along, he was the one who genocided the psychics’ island and led to the Lightless Realm being birthed in revenge in the first place, and he has every intention of continuing to use everyone around him as disposable meat to be shoved around and torn apart for his ego-driven research. Which means there are no more excuses not to skewer him like a fucking pig and twist his internal organs until he screams like a bitch. I swear to fucking god, if this cunt-blaster doesn’t get a suitably vengeful demise that lets me relish in his agony, I will be done. I mean, even more astronomically done than I am already. But right now, my voices are right in line with the vengeful spirits of the slaughtered cult rising from the dead in a chorus of “FUCK YOU” against the monster responsible for this whole mess. Fuck you in your fucking ass, freak. I can’t wait to watch you SUFFER.

Odds and Ends

-OH SURE JUST STAND THERE AND GET SKEWERED WHILE THE OTHER GUY RUNS

-Okay, between saving that jerk and that awful confession, Raika’s officially on my shit list. Get bent.

-OH SURE MORE LOVING PANNING SHOTS OVER NAKED SASAME BEING SEXILY BEAT UP ALL THE FUCKING PANNING SHOTS IN THE WORLD

-:Why am I the only one going through all this?” Dunno, but if you play your legs out wider, maybe your vagina will speak to heaven and divine the answer for you.

-WOOOOOOOW YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOU EARNED THAT INSERT SONG DROP

what shall we do with a drunken sailor what shall we do with a drunken sailor what shall we do with a drunken saiLOR EARLY IN THE MOOOOORNING

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: M3: The Dark Metal, Episodes 10-12

In which I pinpoint what this show is trying to be, and how its one genuine success is only dragged down by its endless unforgivable failures.

Lost and Left Behind

At this point, I’ve given M3 a pretty thorough raking over the coals. I’ve slammed it for all its mistakes, the ways it pisses me off, how its story falls into bullshit and agony over and over again with the most cynical, sexist driving animus imaginable. But what I haven’t spent much time discussing is what M3 is trying to be. After all, few shows set out to be utterly miserable experiences that make you want to smash your screen in anger. There’s an attempt to tell a compelling story here, and while intent always ends where execution begins, its still worth taking a look at where this show is coming from. Because on the surface, M3′s narrative didn’t have to be a wash. It’s tackling some interesting ideas and using its trippy sci-fi mechanics to theoretically explore those ideas in more detail. In another universe, perhaps if Okada had fewer additional writers making a mess of things, this show might have been worth something. And this means it’s worth pulling apart the story this show was trying to tell... and why it ultimately doesn’t work.

At heart, M3 is a story about feeling lost and left behind by the people in your life, and the trauma that inflicts upon us. Akashi drifted away from his family after his stint in the Lightless World as a kid; they were too scared of what might have happened to him to give him the same love and affection they used to. Only his brother Aoshi still treated him the same, but even that only made Akashi angrier. He grew to see Aoshi as a source of shame in his life, someone who was always praised for having the courage to “deal with” his helpless little brother. This resentment built up so much that Akashi began wishing his brother would die and follow their parents to the grave. But then, he got his wish: Aoshi died in the Lightless Realm, and now, as we know, he was made into the fuel source of the very machine he once piloted. And suddenly, Akashi was left with unresolved trauma he was never able to process. He spent so long believing there would never be anyone waiting for him that it turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy, and he started pushing people away on principle. As long as he didn’t get close to anyone, he didn’t have to worry about them hurting him. But as a direct result of disengaging from the world around him, he was too slow in reaching out to help someone who clearly needed help. Emiru’s death is the catalyst that shakes him and forces him to start re-considering the viability of locking himself off from the world. And now that he’s in active communication with his brother’s lingering memories inside the Argent, he’s able to find closure for the hatred he was never able to repent before.

Forgotten Excuses

This is all theoretically compelling character drama, and it leads to episode 10 being easily the show’s best episode yet. Seeing Akashi finally process everything he’s been repressing is the first time he’s felt human. He’s able to emote, to be unsure of himself, to realize all the ways he was falling short and come to terms with how his trauma’s defined him. He realizes that Aoshi was a person just like him, full of hopes and fears and desires that were cut short out in the endless night. He realizes that despite how much he grew to resent his brother, Aoshi was always there waiting for him. And he realizes that if he doesn’t want to be left behind and alone, it’s up to him to reach out and stop running away from people. He has the power to help them just as they help him, so he needs to buck up, swallow his fear, and learn to be okay with standing side by side with his friends. And it climaxes by invoking two powerful bits of symbolism to drive the point home. First, Sasame’s song echoing in Akashi’s mind is a physical manifestation of the voice of his friends leading him out of his solitude, just as it pulls him back into the normal world and out of danger. And as he stares up at the blue sky, he realizes that it’s as ridiculously blue as the sky when Aoshi carried Akashi on his back. Only this time, Akashi has no shame about letting his brother’s spirit carry him out of danger under that brilliant azure sky. This all track emotionally in a way this show just hasn’t before. For the first time in M3′s entire run, I actually gave a shit about what was happening and why.

But there’s a fundamental issue at the heart of this arc: we should have known this shit before. It’s not until we start getting these flashbacks to Akashi’s past in episode 10 that we understand why he’s such an asshole, why he resented his brother so much, why he’s become so closed-off and reclusive. Until then, we just had to take it on faith that there was some reason behind his abominable attitude. Which means until we get that explanation, we’re just watching an unrepentant asshole be mean and miserable for episodes on end, and it cripples any ability I have to sympathize with him. If we’d known at least some of the reasons behind his angst before now, we could’ve started to understand him as a person behind his abrasiveness. But instead, we’re forced to suffer through every miserable second of his unlikable presence without any good reason given why we should care, and by the time it finally gets around to humanizing him, my investment is already spent. I simply don’t give a shit about Akashi anymore. He has made my life too frustrating for me to care about him getting better beyond a surface-level “Thank GOD he’s not as much of a shit now”. All this show had to to was drop in that missing puzzle piece earlier, and it might have made a genuine difference. As is, it’s far too little, far too late, barely managing to pull this show up to the surface so it can stop drowning and catch its breath for a brief moment before it sinks back down.

Fuck You, Show

And no sooner does episode 10′s unexpectedly good turn end than M3 falls right back into old habits. See, now that Akashi’s learned the lesson that he needs to value the relationships he has, it’s time for him to put that knowledge into practice by being there for his friends who are currently struggling. And unfortunately, this manifests in quite possibly one of the worst examples of the Save the Special Girl romance I’ve ever seen. God, I fucking despise how condescending this show is to Sasame. She’s given nothing to do but stand around and make scared faces while Akashi runs around trying to save her. She’s an empty shell of a character who exists for no other reason except to be a prize for Akashi to fight for, a trophy he can claim once he proves he’s learned his lesson like a good boy. But there is no connection there. The interpersonal relationships in this show are so lifeless and perfunctory that watching M3 try to pretend Akashi and Sasame have some magical, beautiful connection honestly makes me want to gag. And you can tell the show itself knows how empty this bond is, because at least half of episode 12 is devoted solely to flashbacks of Sasame and Akashi’s interactions. It knows it doesn’t have a strong emotional bond in place, so it tries to force-feed it down your throat by shoving in every single dull moment they’ve shared, practically screaming at the audience, “See? This is meaningful! You should care about this!” It even outright invents new flashbacks to scenes we didn’t see to try and convince us that Sasame totally had a good relationship with the rest of her classmates, honest! Never mind the fact that we barely ever fucking saw these kids when they weren’t at each other’s throats, they were totally all conveniently getting along every time the camera wasn’t on them! Promise!

Yeah, you want to know how to actually tell this kind of story right? Just watch Charlotte. Seriously, Yu’s arc of learning not to take his relationships for granted and make an active effort to be with the people he cares about succeeds in every way this show fails. Not only do we get to see Yu in all different shades of good and evil throughout his arc, understanding him as a complete human being, his friends and family are all compelling characters in their own right. That show’s entire cast had incredible chemistry together, and you got to see all the ways they made each other’s lives better, happier, and more interesting. So when he finally confesses to Tomori and promises to help her like she’s helped him, it’s a genuinely fantastic moment that’s justified by all the care that’s gone in to making their relationship feel so meaningful. M3 is so fucking charmless and lifeless that even comparing Akashi and Yu’s arc feels like I’m dragging Charlotte’s name through the mud. But don’t worry, in place of lovable chemistry and well-realized character arcs, it’s got scene after scene of Sasame being sexually assaulted to drive home just how much Big Dick Akashi needs to save his precious source of warmth. Because this show just loves taking any fucking excuse to humiliate its female characters in often fanservice-heavy ways. Because that is, was, and always will be the measure of this atrocious fucking garbage fire. Fuck Akashi, fuck that fucking scientist pisshead, fuck the way Sasame’s treated, fuck how all the female characters have been treated, fuck M3: The Dark Metal. Thank you, check please.

Odds and Ends

-”If you won’t say it, don’t imply bits and pieces.” Okay, I like this chick.

-It’s honestly kind of insulting that as bad as this show is, it’s genuinely got some of the best CG mecha action I’ve seen.

-”No matter what’s happened, we can’t let Heito and Emiru die.” Only one half of that statement is true.

-Also, why is the editing so weird suddenly? We’re cutting from one scene to the next without seeing how we got there.

-SERIOUSLY HOW DO THESE DIARY POWERS WORK AND HOW HAS NO ONE FOUND OUT ABOUT THEM

-Um... what? What was any of that? What were those flashbacks supposed to be?

-I feel like retching every time this scientist is on screen. Please tell me he dies miserably.

-Sure, random orgasmic shower fanservice. Why the FUCK not at this point.

God, how do we still have twelve fucking episodes left? I just want it to be over.

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: M3: The Dark Metal, Episodes 22-24

IT’S OVER

Nothing Left

I can’t fucking believe I caved.

“This show suddenly got not shit”? “Now that Natsuiri’s gone it’s finally sorting itself out”? I had no fucking excuse for being so optimistic. I should know better by now. After everything this show has put me through, every godforsaken, wrongheaded, agonizing decision it’s made from start to finish, how could I possibly fucking believe it was suddenly gonna even out? How could I possibly have any ounce of hope left that M3 wasn’t going to dick me over one last time? Am I really so fucking naive that I’d give this show the undeserved benefit of the doubt one last time despite every available piece of evidence screaming for me not to do so? I shouldn’t have buckled for a second. I should have braced myself for the worst and buckled down for one last vomit-inducing spiral down the whirlpool until my lungs finally burst and let me drown. But I gave in. I let myself hope. For just on single, pathetic moment, I thought that at the very least, M3′s ending would be okay.

What a goddamn idiot I was.

Of course this was gonna happen. Of course M3′s ending would plunge right back into the fetid, sexist bowels of this misbegotten disaster and belch out one last tsunami of black bile. Like this show’s misogyny was ever contained to the worst of its offenders. M3 was never broken because of Natsuiri or Heito or any one character. It was broken from the very depths of its core, fractured and misshapen and abominable in every single facet of its being. The bastards of the hour were merely the most obvious symptom; the infection itself was already incurable before the first episode was even over. And in these final episodes, M3 kicks its female cast in the teeth over and over again, one last pathetic burst of spite and spittle before the story mercifully collapses in an exhausted heap. Camera shots linger on Tsugumi’s exposed cleavage until you feel sick watching it. Yet more rape imagery accompanies Minashi violating Tsugumi’s mind. Tsugumi’s pathetic excuse for a villain motivation is once again made horrendously wretched, suggesting that a childhood crush gone wrong is more than enough reason for a girl to become jealous and spiteful enough to destroy the world. And just when you think this story couldn’t treat her any worse, she’s violently wrenched from her position as chief villain and replaced by an out-of-nowhere bad guy turn from Minashi. Because this story hates its female characters so fucking much that not even the main female antagonist is allowed agency over her own trauma without some guy stepping in and literally telling her to step aside and let him take over her role. Just like Mahmu’s potential moment of triumph in standing up to the corpse is robbed from her by thrashing her against the pavement and letting Akashi save her quivering, useless lump og a body once more. Just like Heito is somehow allowed to fucking survive and facilitate Akashi’s growth without any regard for almost driving Emiru to death, showing no signs of having learned his lesson (I literally threw the pencil I was holding when they brought him back). Because apparently, even ONE scene where the girls so more than scream and whimper as their bodies are violated and the guys do all the heavy lifting is too much to fucking ask.

*ahem*

GO. FUCKING. FUCK YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FUCK you, show! FUCK you! Fuck your shitty fucking characters! Fuck your toxic, misogynist attitudes towards everything! Fuck your stealing the “We need to connect all humanity” villain plot from Evangelion so shamelessly! Fuck you for still not explaining what the fuck was up with Mahmu’s storytelling somehow predicting the future! Fuck your being so fucking atrocious that I couldn’t even get excited for the giant carnivorous nightmare fortress! Fuck your sympathizing with rapists and abusers while battering every last female character against the wall until she breaks for fun! Fuck your miserable fucking cynicism! Fuck everything you stand for and everyone responsible for your creation! Fuck every last agonizing second I wasted on you! FUCK! THIS! FUCKING! SHOW!

FUCK YOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And good fucking bye.

Odds and Ends

-I should probably mention, if they were trying to build a strong bond between Mahmu and Emiru, they failed miserably. They had all of two antagonistic encounters before she got chewed up.

-”Why the hell didn’t I take Tsugumi with me back then?” WHY DIDN’T SHE GO WITH YOU??? WHAT WAS HER EXCUSE???

-”We’re going to rescue Minashi!” FUCKING WHY

-”Won’t hands do?” Sir, you are no Symphogear, kindly shut the fuck up.

It’s over. It’s actually over. Just one last series reflection, and we’re done. WE’RE ACTUALLY DONE. 

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: M3: The Dark Metal, Episodes 19-21

In which I hash out why this show’s second half is so weird, I pinpoint the difference between a good bastard and a bad bastard, and somehow, somehow, things finally start to improve.

Uno Reverse Card

I have struggled to put my thoughts into words regarding this show’s back half. Hell, I’ve been struggling to put my thoughts into words regarding this entire show. But as the increasingly wild ravings my posts have descended into probably suggest, M3′s second half has been such a weird experience that I don’t even really know how to process it half the time. What was simply fucking abysmal has spiraled out into something a lot more confusing, with so many different trains of thought hitting me from every direction I haven’t always known how to respond. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it, but the show’s overwhelming badness has stymied my efforts time and time again. No matter how hard I work my poor stresses noggin, I just can’t break through the barrier of suck to get at the heart of what’s going on in these final twelve episodes. At least, that was the case last session. But with a little space and a blitz late-night binge session to get the creative juices flowing (as of me typing these words, it’s a few minutes past 3 AM), I’ve circled back around to things with a new perspective. And I think it’s finally helped me see what’s going on: M3′s back half almost feels like it wants to agree with some of my criticism.

See, one of the biggest sources of my anger towards this show, as I’m sure you’re aware by now, is why characters like Heito and Natsuiri are just allowed to be assholes with no consequences. These are clearly unstable individuals who are causing the protagonists nothing but harm, and yet no one just does the sensible thing and relieves them of their considerable positions of influence and power. So much of the problems in this show would be fixed- both the in-universe conflicts and the writing flaws- if someone had just taken a look at these dangerous men and realized they had to be stopped. And in a weird way, it almost feels like the second half agrees with me. We’ve already gotten confirmation that Heito’s attempt to coerce Emiru’s soul into dancing to his tune was misguided and led to nothing but trouble, and only healthy communication between pilot and pod person can lead to a bond strong enough to pilot a super robot (oh hey, it’s like a metaphor for relationships or something). In other words, M3 has canonically acknowledged that Heito was a scumbag who just made things worse. And now it’s done the same thing with Natsuiri, revealing him to be the ultimate asshole whose pride and cruelty led to this whole mess in the first place. The obviously unhinged scientist leading IX’s efforts was, well, obviously unhinged and a danger to everyone involved. And for those crimes, Natsuiri is slaughtered in the most fittingly gruesome manner imaginable. First he starts turning into necrometal, then his soul girlfriend rejects him because he’s a loser creep, then he throws a baby’s tantrum just to make himself seem even more pathetic, and just to cap it all off, he’s swallowed by the souls of all the people he murdered, rejected once more by Mimei joining their chorus of vengeance, and getting ripped limb from fucking limb starting with his head being torn off. Jesus Christ, I cannot describe how hard this made me laugh. After all the atrocities this fucker’s committed, all the ways he’s dragged this show into the muck, the prodigal asshole finally gets his just deserts and exits the show screaming like a bitch because he somehow couldn’t fit his head through a necklace hole. Good. Fucking. RIDDANCE

Wasted Efforts

So that’s why M3′s second half has been such a baffling ride. Despite still being as bad as ever, it felt like the show was also speaking to me through the screen and saying, “Okay, you hate these guys? Boom. They’re done. Kaput. Zilch. They can’t hurt you anymore. We’ll even acknowledge you had a point about what fucking bastards they were. Happy now?” And in retrospect, it was obvious. Of course such obvious assholes would turn out to be, well, assholes. Of cuorse Heito and Natsuiri would be bad guys in the end. They were too despicable to be anything but. But that begs the question: if it was so obvious that they were bad guys, why was it still so infuriating to watch them be bad? It’s not like bad guys being bad and getting away with it can’t be fun. Just look at Dr. Ver from Symphogear, who Natsuiri very much feels like a bargain-bin knockoff of. Dr. Ver is a complete and utter bastard who exists for no other reason than to cackle maniacally and get up to all sorts of evil shit. And he’s fucking amazing. He’s the most entertaining villain in a show that lives on dies on his exact brand cheesy, operatic bombast. It was never frustrating or annoying watching him screw around with the characters we liked, because he was just so much damn fun doing it. So why does Ver get a pass from me, while the jerks from this show inspire so much unholy rage?

The answer is twofold. Answer 1: as much shit as Ver pulled, he never really did anything vile. He dreamed up monsters and dicked over his supposed allies and laughed at their suffering, but he never, like, sexually assaulted Maria or Nastajja. He never subjected them to constant psychological or physical torment that cuts too close to home to be entertainingly monstrous. He was just an egomaniac having fun being an egomaniac, and the characters he dicked over always had enough, well, character not to be doormats in the face of his dicketry. They pushed back, they voiced complaints, they considered breaking ranks, they had understandable reactions to realizing they were being led by a madman.

Which leads me to the second answer: nobody made excuses for Ver. Ver was a danger to everyone in his path, and neither the show nor the characters pretended any different. They all knew what kind of scumbag he was, and they treated him like the dangerous, unstable wild card he was. They didn’t make heartfelt speeches about how he’s “really one of us nakamas!” They didn’t ignore the obviously fucked-up shit he was doing. They didn’t give him free reign to be a dick without at least some sort of intervention and acknowledgement that what he was doing was shitty. Symphogear has (lots and lots of) fun with Ver, but it its reality doesn’t bend over backwards to let him run amok unchallenged. M3, on the other hand? Not only does nobody voice anything more than surface criticism about the way this whiny incel is behaving himself, he’s allowed to assault and degrade and terrify pretty much anyone and everyone he wants to, most often women who’s suffering and sexualization is trotted out for our sick voyeuristic pleasure. The show makes excuse after excuse for him to be an asshole and get away with it, all so it can keep traumatizing its female characters and shoving their suffering in our face. Even in his dying moments, it gives him Sad Backstory Flashbacks to let us know that his entire history of abuse and assholery is probably because Mommy didn’t even love him enough. Because in M3, even the sexism and abusiveness of the male characters is somehow a woman’s fault. And no amount of acknowledging “Yeah, this guy’s a jerk” after the fact is enough to wash away that foul stench.

But a funny thing happened at this point. Because once Natsuiri was officially splattered across the pavement, we were left with... none of the characters who I’ve had this problem with. Heito’s dead, Natsuiri’s dead, Akashi’s grown up enough to be at least reasonably respectful towards other people. We don’t have any characters left whom the show’s let fuck around beyond all logic and make everything worse. Nobody’s left to keep dragging this dead horse through the mud. One of the worst things about this show is now gone.

And in its absence, by some impossible miracle, M3 is starting to... work.

Redemption Arc: Begin

Yeah, turns out if you get rid of the characters who’s express purpose is to make the show worse, the show is no longer as bad. No, it’s not just not bad; it’s functional! It makes sense! We get to see Akashi keep processing his brother’s loss and how similar he’s come to feel about going into the Lightless World, Kasane and her general friend get a decent scene in the bar where they just chat about their shared trauma and open up emotionally, there’s understandable stakes set for the final battle with the powers and players and emotional contexts all in tow, Iwato has an understandable emotional breakdown as he realizes he’s not brave enough to risk going full LIM to give the gang a better fighting chance, Kasane gets possibly the show’s most emotional line as she begs Aoshi’s spirit to ”Do what I tell you at least once!” as he risks leaving her again, this time for good, and Jesus Fucking Christ on a hot-dog hopscotch court, it all works! For the first time in this show’s entire history, M3 is managing to pull off consistently solid character work and plot progression without shooting itself in the foot every other second. We even find out Natsuiri’s been hiding yet more solutions to long-standing problems in a locked server, and now we get to use this jerk’s data to save the day instead of keeping it sealed away forever! Seriously, it’s like a metaphor for the show’s entire post-Natsuiri upswing! Now that this bastard’s out of the way, everyone and everything is able to stop fucking around and get shit done! I’d... I’d forgotten what this feels like!

It’s... beautiful.

*silently weeps*

Okay, I don’t want to oversell this, because it’s not like this show suddenly fixed everything else that was wrong with it. The characters are all still pretty bland and lifeless, the Iwato/Raika romance can suck a fat one, and I’m just now realizing how little of the character establishment we got in the first couple episodes led to anything. Seriously, Raika being an ace pilot, Akashi being friends/rivals with Iwato, Mahmu’s vengeful streak... all those potentially interesting dynamics were dropped pretty much right away. It still baffles me how astronomically this show managed to fuck that up. But against all fucking odds, I found myself for the first time not hating M3. Imagine if this show was bring this to the table from the very beginning. Imagine if it never had Natsuiri or Heito or Asshole Akashi or anyone given unrealistic free reign to be a sexist asshole with no consequences. I don’t think it would’ve been any kind of masterpiece, but at the very least, there’s a version of M3 out there that might have genuinely worked on its own merits. Maybe I could’ve been able to at least appreciate what it was doing all the way through, instead of just breathing a sigh of relief that it’s no longer outright torturing me. Or maybe it would’ve still sucked. I don’t know.

All I know is that for the first time since I started watching this show, I no longer feel like I’m drowning.

And my god, folks, it feels fucking good to breathe again.

Odds and Ends.

-”Mahmu, it’s all up to you!” Five seconds later: Mahmu eats shit and stops being relevant for the rest of the episode. Good job.

-”Phone numbers for candy companies?” “I tried that too.” sdlfksdf

-See, Minashi, your problem is that you somehow haven’t watched Evangelion. Go fix that, it’s a damn good show.

-God, it just hit me that she was a student. She was a college student who became the girlfriend of an adult researcher. For fuck’s sake.

Just one more session. Just three more episodes and this show can kiss my ass goodbye. See you next time for the grand finale of M3!