#harukas songs go so hard dude

[blitz0hno]

My special talent is that i was a choir kid pre-t so I was trained forced to sing soprano/alto so I maintain that vocal register to this day if I practice. And I've been practicing lately so idk what's more embarrassing

hurting my throat because no amount of techniques will save me from Skipping The Warmup (especially now that I incorporate screaming bc I wanna write music like that)

or that fact that I was singing goddamn All Knowing All Agony bc it's fun ok it's a banger

[lethesomething]

Yakuza and coping mechanisms

Yakuza has been my on and off hyperfocus for years now but also in particular the past month, so let's talk about it. And particularly, how many friggin coping mechanisms are in this game.

Disclaimer: I do literary analysis, not psycho analysis, don't come for me.

For all its silliness about fighting roomba's and disco minigames, the world that the Yakuza games is set in, is fucking brutal. They are, at their very core, crime drama's. People get murdered a lot, lives are ruined in various ways, a good third of protags spend large amounts of time in jail, usually for a crime they didn't commit. Most politicians and police are corrupt, racism is blatant and if you don't have a place in the very strict hierarchy of society, it's hard to get back on your feet (hence all the crime). I tend to read a lot of indictments of Japanese society in these games, partly because they are so clearly based on old school yakuza crime drama's.

This means that the characters go through some shit. And what's fascinating, is how they deal with this.

Spoiler warning for, uhh, almost all yakuza games except Song Of Life (since i never played that)

Pretending it's not real

Kasuga Ichiban

The direct reason I'm even making this blog post because he's the most blatant about it. Kasuga is Peak Himbo in that he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he manages to take being beaten down Repeatedly and overcomes that with a sense of genuine good nature and optimism that is… honestly kind of hard to believe. The way he deals with any of this, is that he's a nerd who pretends to be in a video game. It's the whole premise of Yakuza Like a Dragon.

And to be fair, Kasuga suffers from an amount of mistreatment that makes me Very Angry in his stead. He has every right to be upset! He is literally homeless in the beginning of the game. If he requires the escapism of going around pretending to be in a jrpg to survive, more power to him. Especially since it works. Dude goes around helping people and making friends. Which is a good thing, because there's no way he'd make it out of Yokohama alive if he didn't have some back-up.

Side note: something similar happens to at the very least Majima, i think, in the admittedly non-canonical events of Yakuza Dead Souls. (yes i played it solely for Majima, no i do not recommend it, the game is garbage and you get more Majima in Zero anyway). In Dead Souls, Kamurocho is overrun by zombies. As a lover of all things Horror, Majima decides he may as well have a good time mowing them down like he's in an FPS while he trudges through the wreckage of society.

Self sacrifice

Mostly Kazuma Kiryu and  Saejima Taiga

If you hate yourself, at least try to be of use to someone. Let's be honest, a lot of the plot of Yakuza games is driven by self sacrifice or at least following some code of honor to its ludicrous ends.

Kiryu is the main example here. The game kinda glosses over this a lot, but he is, at least in Zero, a criminal. He goes around extorting money from businesses. He consistently solves problems through violence. It's kinda the point of the games. But he's also borderline a saint and 80% of the shit he gets into is because of his need to throw himself to the wolves for any person he cares about. He voluntarily does hard time for Nishikiyama, for one. He picks up a stray kid that he will now protect with his life. And it just goes on from there. See, Kiryu may be the famous Dragon of Dojima and the Fifth Chairman of the Tojo Clan and all that, but he would very much prefer not to be? Dude wants to live a quiet life and raise some kids, it's just that he's the protag of a game series about how hard it is to say goodbye to the yakuza life. So the plot keeps finding ways to bring him back, usually as a reluctant warrior to save the Tojo clan or Haruka  or whatever. If he was a little less honorable, he could still be chilling as a taxi driver with an unreasonably hot girlfriend, I'm just saying.

Saejima is very similar, but somehow even worse? Much as I love the guy, he's an idiot. He suffers from the same loyalty and selflessness as Kiryu, but he doesn't even get a cute daughter out of it. He spends Twenty Five years in prison for a crime he (we later find out) didn't commit. He escapes months before his parole to solve the convoluted plot of Y4. Then Goes Back to Jail to atone for (again) a crime he only thought he'd committed, only to escape (again) when he thinks Majima, his sworn brother, got murdered in Y5. As far as i can tell he goes back to jail one last time to finish his actual sentence, and to like, protect the name of the Tojo clan or some shit. My dude. My friend. Come on.

As a side note, acts of selflessness are kind of a big deal in the Yakuza games and one of the main ways to tell if someone is a good criminal or a villain. Kasuga and his crew are pretty big on the whole 'acts of selfless kindness' thing. It also seems to be one of the traits of Daigo Dojima, whose whole being screams 'I don't want to be here but who else is gonna fucking do it'. But in the case of Kiryu and Saejima it's very much verging on reckless self-endangerment.

Fabricated identities

Majima Goro, baby!

The Yakuza games really love this one, but I'll start with the big guy, everyone's favourite character: Majima. This dude has seen some shit. We see him throughout several flashbacks and the span of the games, but most tellingly we see him in Zero, at his rock bottom hero stage. And he's intriguingly unlike the other times he shows up. This is a Majima that's recovering from torture and backstabbing, and forced to do some dude's bidding for scraps. He's a chained dog (pun very much intended) and he's about to lose it.

What's fun about Majima is that he has So Many of the traits in this list. He has a lot of the reckless endangerment and self sacrifice that his buddies Kiryu and Saejima have. He gave himself up a few times for Haruka, he keeps trundling back to save Tojo and Dojima, but there's also a whole other layer of … Flamboyance to him.

And while Majima probably started out as comic relief, the games make clear that it's not all he is, and we get several glimpses of 'old Majima' throughout the series. He'll be in the middle of a self inflicted fight and drop some wisdom, for instance. He acts erratically, he is blunt, violent, exuberant in his dressing up. When given a task his first thought seems to be 'how can i make this Extra', but that doesn't mean the guy is unstable. You don't become a successful businessman with a building company, or a patriarch of your own family, without being smart and strategic. A lot of classic Majima behaviour, i feel, is a case of a mask he constructed to hide the severe depression, that became more of a second nature to him. Majima is one of the clearest examples of 'do what you need to do'. He's a survivor, through and through. Somewhere in there is a decent human being, but Majima will kill people to survive in a harsh world. It just seems like he constructed an extra layer to shield himself from all that.

Joon-gi Han (Like a Dragon): This is more a case of stolen (inherited??) identity, but again, if you don't want to be you, just be someone else. In this case someone he admires. Again: super tragic backstory, questionable life choices. As an aside, Joon-gi is fun because he is both a deadly assassin with someone else's name and face, but also  a Knight stereotype who would do everything for his queen and I think that's neat.

Zhao Tianyou (Like a Dragon): Somewhat more subtle, but Zhao is also a dude that was at one point confronted with a Situation, namely 'oh shit my dad died and now I'm in charge of a violent gang'. And to deal with that he decided to construct a persona that gives exactly zero fucks. He is very joking and very avoidant but we do learn that a fair amount of his laid back attitude is just veneer. Dude in fact gives several fucks. You don't decide to give up the throne and become a homeless sidekick to Himbo Supreme because you don't care. You do it to stop him from getting ultra-murdered by the parade of heavily armored gangsters he keeps storming into.

Akiyama Shun (Yakuza 4-5): I debated putting him here, because part of me believes Akiyama is just kind of a dick. A dick I love as a character, but still, ya know. At least some of the dickish persona is a front, though. Akiyama is another one that just saw his life's work destroyed at some point, and decided that emotional detachment was the way to go. Akiyama is different because he was never actually a proper criminal. He was homeless for a bit, and then came into some money (through Extremely Convoluted Plot Means) and now he's a moneylender. And like Zhao, he mostly pretends to be completely devoid of feelings, while having a fair amount of feelings. Enough to get into like… fist fights. With actual gangsters. Who have guns.

Vice

Sex, drugs and everything in between

The preferred way for noir drama's to show someone is Going Through It, is by giving them a classic addiction and Yakuza isn't any different. It's why several characters are shown mournfully smoking, in particular Kiryu and Majima. Yes I know it's because it looks cool and harks back to old crime movie atmosphere. That doesn't make it a healthy coping mechanism.

Another obvious one, considering the setting of the games in several red lights districts, is erotica. Both Adachi, the ex-cop from Like a Dragon and Shinada, the ex-baseball player from Y5 and also my least fave protag ever, are both in various stages of obsession about porn, sex work and the likes.

Tanimura, the cop from Y4 has a pretty severe gambling problem in the actual canon, though gambling games and casino's are a general mainstay of the Yakuza series. It's just that when Kiryu interrupts his busy day of solving the convoluted intrigue du jour to gamble in an illegal underground casino, it's not a character flaw.

Also: almost everyone drinks ludicrous amounts of heavy alcohol in these games. Both in canon and as part of the gameplay. 100% ing the games usually involves drinking tons of whiskey, but the whole Ichiban crew, sans I think Eri, is shown drowning their troubles at various times.

Violence: I mean, that's kind of the game, but an unhealthy amount of characters consider fist fights to be a good way to resolve conflict, bond with people and generally reinvigorate themselves. Particularly Majima is shown to get a real kick out of doing damage and being beaten up. There's just a lot of reckless behaviour, which is what makes the games good.

Karaoke: fake it till you make it, man.

Extra note:

You'll notice there's no women on this list, and that's because honestly the game is kinda sexist. So while there's already Very Few women in the game, the ones that are present don't exactly have super complex characters.

Mukoda Saeko, the hostess from Like a Dragon, drinks like a fish but that's about her main flaw.

Other notable female characters are Kiryu's kid Haruka, Kiryu's love interest Sawamura Yumi (Kiwami) and Kamataki Eri, the business lady from Like a Dragon. They're all stereotypical Good Girls who have no flaws apart from indecisiveness and an unhealthy tendency for selflessness.

Saejima Yasuko is ever so slightly more complex: her main trait is self sacrifice. The story promptly fridges her for it.

[otakebi-cam-wao]

Produce 101 Japan The girls ep 7 by a harowota

y'all know how it goes, my mind flowing under the cut

their words at the start dude!!!

will a performance be muted due to copyright?! or just on the episodes preview?!

okay, Rap & Vocals, Bijin first

Uchira, they named it Uchira

WOW TSUKUSHI GOT BANGS

ohhh they got the Chanmina visit

wow keiko main rapper

Rinon is open with being annoyed bout the amount of lines she would get, that's nice

poor Rinon tbh

i'm scared i won't listen the Bijin performance, c'mon Chanmina, let them play it!!!

nice the Chanmina to tell Rinon to be more herself or a chara that fits her more, no need to rap as she isn't comfortable

i'm feeling so sad at the

Chanmina said "Look at this Bitch" right?

i cannot even express but Rinon is getting into my feelings

wow the change they had

Ken the 390 relaxing them to free style, nice nice

lol, the girls rapping bout Yumeki being scary

IF I WON'T LISTEN I'M GONNA CRY!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

i can't say anything, i just hope they did nicely (haven't looked up the solo shots, so idk if i can listen those)

ofc Rinon 3rd, sadly

Keiko 1st!!! nice

but feel bittersweet not listening

a dance one now, another one i cannot talk a lot

antifragile okay, antitititipeony or peony?

i saw Rimika... i'm :/

let's go Nano and Miyu for me, mainly Nano (from this team) and Ema

I don't want to sound mean, but i want Rimika to be last

AWWWWW NANO NOT BEING ABLE TO CLAIM A PARET CUZ SHE DOESN'T WANT OTHERS TO LOSE THEIRS

awwww Ayaka giving a candy to everyone in the room, and Ema's "magic spell" to make Rimika more energetic the next day

AWWWWW EMA WANT'S TO HELP RIMIKA BEING MORE "SEXY", her duty is helping Rimika (i mean she was an HKT48 member, HKT is the more cute 48g, right? so it's a big work for Ema to take that off Rimika)

Nakasone being mother, i can't, but also LET'S GO NANO!!!

oh it's just peony

let's go nakasone, we want to see their evolution

now performance, no writting

well, Ema did it, Rimika didn't look that cute here

NANO! AYAKA! MIYU! EMA!..... rimika....

positions?

RIMIKA LAST!!!!! HAHAHAHA (sorry), and Ema 3rd, me happy

NANO 1st!!! (Miyu 2nd, Ayaka 4th)

rap & vocal again

Shut Down, THIS IS THE KASSA AND KOTONE GROUP

track beat, nice name

excited for this journey for my dear Kassa, big baby is also leader here

Kotone, i get it, i wouldn't like to compete against Kassa either

what i'm seeing now is so cute from Kassa, with the "if everyone is okay with it", i think is the Ayacho education in her heart

Momona's rap wrote by herself get me in the memories of her Anju self

poor Ayano having troubles writting a rap, and all that

Ken the 390 is so nice to them i think

that's so you Kassa

they're freaking out with the Chanmina arrival, and Kassa trying to calm them down (specially Kokona)

Kokona is fangirling so hard lol

i'm so moved at Kassa's thought process to make the choreo easier for the others but also give a good performance

but yeah, as Kokona said everyone wants to go their way

i want all this team to stay (Momona is a sure one tho)

Kotone opening sabdfbsd

nice everyone

omg Kotone

omg Kassa, who's that one

nice nice Ayano

Kokona cool!!!!

i got the chills with Kassa's rap

the "aishiteru wa" was nice, but after that, something seemed off, got the same honglee expression

oofff, Honglee and Thelma seing all different

positions, okay

i want no one last

Ayano 4th then Kotone, kinda expected

Kassa first, expected, anyways, but aaaa cute

Vocal this time Omokage

HERE'S KOKORO AND MOMOKA AND HARUKA!!!! And Mena!

Realize, nice name

they look so cute

awww Haruka asking what Kokoro meant with making the song more cheerful

Haruka is so chiikawa!!!!

nice ideas Kokoro!!! loved it

Momoka wants to add rap!!!

this group it's so cute!!!!!

ohhh Kokoro wants to keep the rap for everyone, cute

awwww Momoka!!! want to hug my husky voice girl

Chanmina helped her to get rid of the frustration

I like Momoka's husky voice so much

aaaaaadbuiadfasdgfyugsdu Haruka!!!! so cute

SO CUTEEEEE

has a complex on her voice, nooo my dear!

you can do it Haruka!! (i'm getting too attached to Haruka)

surprise thelma class for Haruka

Thelma and Haruka look like old mama cat with bby kitty

HARUKA MY DEAR I ALSO WAS SHOCKED AS HONGLEE

you can Kokoro, you can do it

singing in the dark to give more freedom to Kokoro, sounds fun Thelma

I like Mena, but it's the one i'm least excited here

they're so cute!!!

AAAAAAAA Momoka's voice is soothing in the first line

HARUKAAAAA YES!!!!

LET'S GO HARUKA!!!

everyone let's goooo

kawachii Haruka and Mena

Kakkoii Momoka!!!

Nee-san Kokoro, i just love this group!!!!

oof Kokoro and that adlib went off, and Mena a bit in the acapella (i think)

YES NAKASONE BOUT MOMOKA AND HARUKA

Karuka chiikawa

No one last, but if one, Mena pls

MENA LAST, HARUKA 3RD, YES

Momoka 1st, i'm crying

you see, your husky voice caught our hearts

Kokoro, you did good!

Dance again.... Rocketeer

Space 7, nice name

Ran's here, and Hana, and gyaru Sakura, who else? Suzu, yes

Ohhh Suzu here has confidence problems

Oh right, Rio isn't blonde anymore! i forgot

OH RIGHT KOTONE (nakamori, the twin girl)

I'm mainly excited bout Hana, tho i like Ran and Kotone more, oh here's Aita Rin as well, right also her!!!

Yumeki is so scary, and harsh, waiting for the Nakasone class soon

okay, Yumeki makes it go harder on that for Suzu, i see

oh so Suzu isn't good to express, i get it, i saw it, but thought was my idea

Suzu adding karate for... Ran? or both?

oh for everyone!

oh yes, it seemed like rio did better (idk tho... idk bout dance), but i forget she's not blonde anymore so i forget is her

OH RIO HAS NO DANCE EXPERIENCE, important to know for this team

wana pat pat Rio for all this then

it's not Run Run but seems like an INTENSE song, so yeah, wanna pat pat Rio

let's see and not talk

ok, they look so cool!!!!!!

i liked this team more than the run run one (as a whole)

NAKASONE LOL!!!!!!

they looked so cool! danced cool!, all cool

no one last pls (impossible)

Kotone last, nooo sad, but Hana 5th!, Rio 6th

Gyaru 4th and Rin 3rd

all to Ran and Suzu... lowkey want Suzu 1st (and i don't like her that much)

Ran 1st as expected

LAST!!!!

First Love

here's Ayane and Nagomi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Final Love, nice name

"have you been throught a heart break?" hard question Thelma

cute group as well, but Kokona and Nagomi too quiet

ohhhh so Kokona doesn't know

Nagomi worried bby

and kokona as well

Ayane hardworking (i get the harmonizing thingy)

slaying in rehearsal

offff, the meanings thingy

back to "have you been throught a heart break?"

no one, lol

reinterpreting the song time

i like this!!!!

new class with more emotions

lol they close their eyes too much

Kokona not knowing how to express things on face, understand sometimes

can't keep eye contact dsauihdfyiuhgasd this is a group of introverted girls

many practices, randomly with thelma's methode

24/7 practice lol

i'm excited bout this group cuz song me likes

show time

AYANEEEEEEEEEEEEE i wanna cry now

so touching her voice

Rino too, that lower tone is calm

OMG Kokona

NAGOMI AND AYANE HARMONIZING

OMG NAGOMI BBY!!!!!!!

lol nakasone standing up w nagomi

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL

I WANNA CRY

i'm crying now, i cannot even talk bout the performance, got in my feels somehow

they slayed!!!! my introverted girls slayed!!!!

everyone is crying from the girls watching!!!

AYANEEEEEEE NAGOMIIIIIII KOKONAAAAA RINOOOOOOO

Kokona is crying because she's happy for the team!!!

no one last pls (impossible) fr no one!!!!

no one deserves last

is Kokona last nooo

Nagomi 2nd!

Ayane first i think!

no?! Rino 1st?! shooketh

no bby

i get it, i'd feel the same my dear Ayane, but i swear you all did so good, hard to even think there was more than 2 places

okay groups positions battle now?

vocal first, all groups except for Miu's (shine a light) were so good in general... but who'll get the 110k points

Momoka got 492 votes wow

Hero, Yui how many?

479 votes, Momoka stays first

Hina how many? 475

omg will Momoka win here?!

Rino? i can't think Rino can win, but...

MOMOKA WON!!!! OMG I'M SO PROUD

oh lol Tsuzumi tied with Ayane

Rap now

but i can't say bout Keiko

Keiko has 479 okay

BUT MOMONA?!

OMG Kassa 473, that was close (but idk how Keiko did personally)

NOW DANCE!

not Ranka pls!!!!

I say Joa, or Ran!

how many got Ranka? 467?

Nano???? 462 nooooo, i don't want Ranka to win

Joa?!!!!! she can get 220k.... pls, Joa win over Ranka!!!! and pls not 0

how many for Joa?! 494!!!!!! yes!!!! get Ranka far from there!!!

now Ran? Ran tell me you won against Joa, i don't want her to stay w 0 votes

noooo 509

poor Joa!!!!! Ran ran over Joa, and the Run run group

i'm so sad for the run run team, even tho only Joa and Yurara shined

this is so sad.... move on, i want mbti lab to not cry

i can't accept that the Run run team is staying w less (0) votes than Ranka and Rimika!

omg Haruka stop being cute i wanna be sad for the run run team

Rinon is wise with words

concept evaluation next week? 5 original songs?

MBTI LAB!!!!

was fun, yes mood the xNxP girls (i'm INTP as Ayane and Haruka)

[ramblingsekai]

Here’s Part 2 of my review/thoughts on the April Fools Event groups. In Part 1 I talked about Aoharu/Friends, so now I’ll be talking about YUME YUME JUMP! I put the links in the Part 1 post of what video translations I’m using for the event since there are like 3 area conversations for each group and a character comment for each character. So let’s gooo.

So Yume Yume Jump. From the start, there are a lot of major differences compared to OG timeline. For one, Shizuku didn’t give up on being an idol & retire, and the presence of this mysterious manager (I say mysterious but that’s just bc we have little info on them). So I guess Shizuku does leave her old idol group but instead of completely retiring, she asks her manager or something to help her make a new idol group. Somehow, Shizuku and her manager convince Shiho to try out being an idol and Shiho actually goes for it. She says she’s a temporary member, but that she’ll still take it seriously. But still, her being an idol is also her putting her time into something other than going pro as a bassist in a band. Though Shiho seems to also recognize idols as being a professional musician. Shiho also doesn’t seem to have made up with Ichika, Saki, & Honami since Leo/need didn’t form. Still, she didn’t seem that standoffish when meeting An and Kanade, but maybe that’s just because she knows being in a group requires some sort of bond. And then An. An mentions being a limited-time trial member for the group as well. From the sounds of it, the manager encouraged her to try it out and knowing An, she’d consider it. Especially since in this AU, An doesn’t seem to have met Kohane. And without a partner (which is sorta vital in Vivid Street), maybe An started losing some confidence in her dream of surpassing Rad Weekend. Though it’s also hard to tell because An doesn’t mention Rad Weekend at all here. Still, I can’t help but wonder if she just decided that ‘hey maybe the experience from being an idol will help’ which isn’t a bad idea. And finally, Kanade. So the biggest change we’ve seen before, is the fact that Kanade and Mafuyu did not form 25ji. And without 25ji, Kanade seems to have joined the idol industry as a song composer. So idk if maybe Mafuyu just never heard Kanade’s song and never contacted her, or this manager seems to have contacted Kanade earlier in this timeline, but it’s hard to tell. So yeah, this manager I guess just tells Kanade like ‘yeah you can save people with your music here’ and just encourages Kanade to get on stage and dance too. Idk if maybe the manager was just desperate to help fill Shizuku’s group or not, bc if you just look at Kanade you’ll see that she’s frail. Composing songs, no sweat for Kanade, singing & dancing on a stage, she’s gonna die dude what are you thinking. Like I’m happy that Kanade is getting exercise for once, but I’m also concerned. I also wonder if Honami is still Kanade’s housekeeper in this AU. I’m gonna lean towards yes just bc the rest of YYJ can only do so much. Still, Kanade seems happy being in the group since says the other 3 are shining bright and inspiring her to make more music, which I think is sweet.

Ok, so we all love 25ji, but you gotta admit that Kanade might actually be in a better headspace here. She still has her saving people complex, but since she is becoming an idol, she has to make healthier lifestyle changes (exercise). An suggests that she jogs every day and mentions her close friend (Haruka), so that still seems to be the same. Plus, An also mentions an upperclassman making power suits or something and suggests trying it out, & freaking Shizuku goes along with it lol. Thank god Shiho was there to stop that train of thought. Still, An, Shiho, and Shizuku offering to go jog with Kanade in the mornings (also probably going to her place to wake her up) is a nice gesture, and ofc Kanade crumbles under how nice they are. Still, they manage to get Kanade’s stamina up enough so that she can perform a song on stage for their debut and hey that’s a win with someone as unhealthy as Kanade.

If you couldn’t tell, I really like the idea of this group. I think Kanade has a good group of friends here and they all might be able to help her with her savior complex if they ever learn about her backstory. The different thing between this AU and the OG timeline is that since Kanade never met Mafuyu, she doesn’t despair about not being able to save her (yet) with her music. So she never seems to reach that brink that we sometimes saw in the main story and events. The only thing though, is that in this AU, I’m not sure if she’ll ever be confronted about this ‘issue’ since the others seem to admire her desire for saving others. Not to say that’s a bad thing, it’s a nice goal. However, unless Kanade reveals how she even reached that idea, they won’t know the tragedy and obsession behind that goal. If Kanade does ever reveal her past, I think the others would point out the unhealthy mindset, but I’m not sure if they would discourage her obsession with saving others, bc I’m not sure if they would realize how serious Kanade’s issue is. I honestly think that if An knew everything she might be the one to sit down with Kanade and talk about this with her. She knows what a healthy relationship with a dad is like and would probably tell her that her father wouldn’t want her pushing herself so hard (to the brink of exhaustion and putting her life on hold). I don’t think An would necessarily ‘save’ Kanade, but I do think she’d be the supportive friend who tries to help her at least and encourage her to live her life and seek help. Shizuku and Shiho would also definitely help Kanade though and make sure she’s alright at the end of the day since they are both caring of their friends (we’ve seen Shiho around Saki when she’s sick and Shizuku is the doting type).

It’s kinda interesting too with this group that they all have such a range of different relationships with their fathers. Kanade having a tragic relationship with her father (loving, but ultimately leaving her with problems yet to be solved). An having the healthiest relationship with her father out of everyone in the game. And then with Shiho and Shizuku. We only hear mentions of their father, and I get the feeling that he’s a pretty absent father figure. I’m not even sure if he’s still with their mother. He inspired Shiho to go pro as a musician, but I have no idea if he left any impact on Shizuku since she doesn’t really seem to mention him at all. He seems to be on tour since I think a conversation in the game mentions it, but other than that, no idea about him.

But yeah, even though I really like this group, I can also see issues remaining unsolved or left with unsatisfactory endings. For one, it seems like Shizuku will be the leader of this idol group and that must be stressful for her. With MMJ, it didn’t really feel like there was 1 designated leader since it was 3 experienced idols and 1 rookie, but here Shizuku is the one with the most experience, so the others will probably look to her for guidance. Not to say she’d do badly, but Shizuku can get stressed pretty easily if she feels like her perfect idol mask is shaken. Though another big difference in this AU, is that this group is under a manager and with a company so maybe Shizuku won’t have to deal with as much as MMJ had to. But I also wonder if the company will still end up being bias towards Shizuku like in the past, which might make Shizuku feel guilty and scared of a repeat with her old group (not that the 3 would care in reality, but it would still be troubling for Shizuku). Also even though Shizuku finally has a good group of friends in this AU for her idol group, they’re all still just temporary members. Shiho seems to stlil want to be a professional bassist, so it’s only a matter of time before she leaves. I’m not sure if An still wants to surpass Rad Weekend, but if she does, it’d only be a matter of time before she leaves too. She seems to enjoy being an idol at the moment and admires how much they do, but I also don’t think An would want to do this permanently. Vivid Street and the music there are important to her and based on the 1.5 anni card story for An, she is trying to like revive Vivid Street since I guess musicians went into a slump after her dad’s group disbanded and no one thought they could surpass RW (based on machine translations and twitter summaries). So if she still has that drive to surpass RW, then she’d definitely go back to performing at Vivid Street. And Kanade would probably stay as long as she can, but I can see her leaving at some point to focus on composing again. Even if she acknowledges and tries to fix her savior complex, I could see her stopping after awhile due to her health. I’m not sure if she could keep up with the mental and physical stress for years and years. This isn’t a dig at Kanade, but just genuine concern bc of how much the physical activity seems to be impacting her. Who knows though, maybe her mind will change on it. But I can see her going back to composing music as her main focus again after awhile. With MMJ, I always got the feeling that they’d be together for awhile bc of how well they work together and bc they share the same dream. So it’d be sad here to see Shizuku by herself towards the end of their journey. They’d still be friends, but idk if Shizuku would like performing alone on a stage without her friends. But who knows. Also, like I said in the previous AFE post, it’s kinda unfair to compare the OG timeline to this AU since there’s way less material here.

I’m going to be honest, I don’t really like how this post came out bc I don’t feel like I conveyed my thoughts as well as I’d have liked to. Maybe I’ll come back to it at some point, but ultimately I just want to move on. I’d been sitting on this draft all day and going back to it, but I just gotta post it. Bc I’m scared it’s gonna delete itself again and like I said, gotta move on, there are still 3 groups left.  So let me know your thoughts and thanks for reading!

[mono-blogs-art]

when u get this u have to put 5 songs 🎵 u actually listen to, publicly. then, send this to 10 others (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) ✨

tagged by my cool frend @qbert0 !!! you asked so now i will subject you to my favourite anime music (jk)

Live Like You - DeWolff

I heard these three dudes live a few weeks ago because they opened for TOTO, and their stage presence was kind of insane?? Also their music is really, really funky. I love this song a lot.

2. No scenario - Kudou Haruka

KDHR's latest release, her first full album Ryuusei Ressha, is so far my favourite album of 2022. It honestly perfectly hits my taste from beginning to end, and I can just listen to the whole thing on loop. So it's hard for me to choose a favourite song on it, but No scenario is just a fun little song that's catchy and sweet but still holds some melancholy in it's lyrics. It's a vibe. I truly recommend listening to the whole album though (and KDHR's older EPs have some bangers too) and read Rachael's lyric translations for the full experience. Especially my Revstar & Bandori tumblerinas who only know KDHR through her work as Yachiyo/Sayo/Roselia's guitarist, her singer-songwriter talents are kind of insane and I'm super excited for all the stuff she does in her solo career in the future!!

3. S'il vous plait - Otoke Beaver

Despite the French title, the song is in Japanese lmao. I randomly discovered OB through spotify some time ago and really love their sound. Absolutely slaps. Who doesn't love a good indie girl rock band. The aesthetic is great, too!!!

4. Machi Bhasad (Expect A Riot) - Bloodywood

Going into a totally different direction now with Hindi Metal??? A friend showed me Bloodywood a few months ago and I have been positively obsessed with their music ever since. Machi Bhasad also has a pretty cool MV on youtube. I plan on going to see them on their Europe tour next year hehe. Their entire debut album Rakshak is insanely good and again I had a really hard time choosing a song for this. The Raj Against The Machine documentary on their youtube channel is also a must-watch!!!!

5. Aijou Karen (Koyama Momoyo) & Kagura Hikari (Mimori Suzuko) - Super Star Spectacle (from Revue Starlight The Movie)

Last but not least the mandatory Revue song!!!! And it's my absolute favourite insert song!! Super Star Spectacle is just... Idk man I cried when I listened to it for the first time, before we could even watch the movie. It's everything I love about Revstar in one big climactic musical song. It's sad and dramatic and hopeful and jazzy and beautiful. It's my favourite Revue song.

That was it for some song I actually listen to lmao thanks for asking, I'm not a music expert by any means but if it hits it hits. You know.

Tagging some moots @transimailisa @leefi @flibbityflob @middsummmer I know u guys are insane about music so please. Share

[tsuki-sennin]

Taro Tuesday, bitches! Revice might be ending, but that there Momoi Taro's gonna be haunting my dreams until the day I die!

Spoilers, I guess...

-Ah yes, Jirou.

-Look! It's Kijino! He's a Superman!

-He buildin'

-Here to blow my tears away as always, huh Donbrothers?

-Fired out of a cannon.

-Ohhhh, she can tell.

-Look Tsuyoshi, you have to be honest with her. Miho might know somebody who's looking for your skillset...

-Awwwww, an anniversary :)

-Man...

-Hero Profit.

-Guess not. I mean, he is doing charity work, and after the Dragonfires incident, I can't imagine Kaito's too willing to shell out.

-Twink pain.

-Ohhhhh, here he comes!

-Talented employees is code for kidnapping victim.

-Oh shit, he clownin'

-OH GOD

-"IT'S DANCING TIME BITCHES"

-OH MY GOD SHINICHI'S SINGING THE THEME SONG

-HARUKA JHKLHGLG

-Oh yeah, Tsuyoshi's in pain

-:(

-Some mother problem!

-...I mean, Tsuyoshi's probably called Miho mommy a few time.

-Well, at least Haruka's not getting ostracized so much anymore. That's nice.

-Deliveries!

-Ahhhhh, the good ol' fashioned Inoue misunderstanding.

-Haru-Corn.

-You've never had a job a day in your life, huh

-"Go read haiku, bitchboy!"

-Peddling his poetry in the middle of the road.

-Ayyyy, they remembered the money allergy gag. Epic.

-Oh my god, they're bleeding him dry. The fuck, man?

-This is immensely horrifying, and it's in such a clean and lovely looking office.

-Holy shit Tarou, you look like you're about to die.

-Oh god, Haruka too!

-Mmm... really wanna go for a bowl right now myself...

-"OH MY GOD MY FRIENDS ARE DYING BECAUSE OF ME"

-Enter the Dragon.

-Tryna be sneaky with Romi Park belting her lungs out, huh Jirou?

-Won't lie, it's super cute. Kinda like a fun little throwback to Riki and Cutanner last season.

-OH GOD TRAFFIC SAFETY

-Jirou-san :)

-:D

-OH SHIT

-Tiger Man appears.

-TSUBASA'S HERE!

-Shef.

-"Geez, you guys look like dogshit. Man, and I thought this place shutting down stressed me out..."

-Oop.

-Ofukuro.

-Our bond has formed to perfection!

-Dog shef!

-Let's do it!

-Saucy Taro!

-Good job!

-:D

-Donbrothers labor~!

-Awwwww :)

-This is such a nice episode.

-Matsuri matsuri da~!

-Don Don Donbura going~!

-Damn, Tsubasa's sheffin' so hard!

-Ganbare, Jirou-san!

-The whole Ideon gang is here~!

-I see Tiger's halfway ready to go wild.

-:)

-So, we have Tarou and Sonoi the swordsmen, Sonoza and Jirou the spear masters... wonder if we'll see an archer to round them out with Sononi?

-Man, that long shot was so cool...

-"Where're you goin', cupcake?"

-Hell yeah, a double finish!

-Let's see... getting Goggle Red vibes off this dude's ribbon...

-Dai-ki? That's almost a normal-ass name!

-Okay Tiger sure, but with the way you're goin' the only way you'll ever beat one of those guys is if they drop dead laughing from your Cookie Monster voice.

-"Down boy."

-"...okay..."

-OH SHIT INSERT SONG

-Hell yeah!

-God, this footwork...

-So cool.

-WE FIXED IT

-Everybody's back!

-There's a certain kinship to be had when you've hit your emotional limit and let your desires run free.

-No I have not forgotten Tsuyoshi, you literally thought you helped killed a man.

-Thanks Haruka, very cool.

-Oh. I guess we're ending the series next episode.

-Oh my God, they censored Revice.

-Damn you, Reviiiiiice!

-...I wonder how many cameos we'll see?

-Anyways, join me on Sunday and Monday, where we laugh! And where we cry!

[chibimyumi]

Hey I hope you're doing well!

Have you watched Furukawa Yuta's Mozart live stream? And if you have watched it could you you make a little review if you have time?

Thank you for answering

【Related post: "Mozart!" 2021 Live Stream】

Dear Anon,

Yes I did watch the Furuzart Live Stream! As said before, I am actually no big fan of "Mozart!" as a show, but I was ecstatic about Furukawa's reprise as Mozart because it'd be such a milestone for him. Last time in 2018 Furukawa underperformed according to himself and critics, so 2021 was his "redemption arc" for him, so to say. And boy he did!

In 2018 a main criticism about Furuzart was that his voice had no power, no volume, in 2018. Furukawa also admitted that as the musical prodigy W.A. Mozart himself, he could not afford to miss any note. One of Furukawa's weaknesses is his singing, so he underwent a new Spartan training back in 2018 just for this role. He even learnt playing the piano within a few weeks, just to do Mozart justice.

But in the end... well yes, he did hit all the notes... but he basically whispered most of his songs, and often he was so hyper focused on just singing the notes right, his emotional range varied between: "mildly nervously happy" to "extremely nervous". This time however, Furukawa shared in the press conference that for the first time he feels enjoyment in showing off his skills, rather than just anxiety.

This time round, Furukawa has improved his vocal range significantly, and singing high pitches comes with convincible ease now. The high transitions are smooth, and the belting/shouts are powerful! 

Mozart is a very child-like character. He is spontaneous, and has this tremendous talent and energy his human body fails to contain. In 2021, Furukawa really excellently managed to show how Mozart is just always bursting with unkempt passion, but has no outlet.

Mozart is employed by very high ranking people, so he always has to watch his manners. He however, is also strongly of the opinion that none of the nobles deserve his respect. It is amazing to see how Furuzart is always being in a state of: "I know I have to be polite, I will try a BIT, but you don't deserve any more than this much effort 👌" Honestly, this look of him wearing his locks with that... powdered situation on his head is the PERFECT representation of what Furuzart is. Even when sticking to the rules everything is just wrong.

When Mozart was fired for example, he had a small moment of: "dude, you're firing MOI? (ÒAÓ)" But then very quickly he realised that he was finally free, and his proclamation of freedom was the most genuine glee I've ever seen on stage.

Mozart's life is of course not a walk though the park, however... and very soon tragedy after tragedy strikes him. The moment the shit starts hitting the show though, Furukawa's Mozart is best described using just one word: "devastating".

During the special curtain call of the Final Performance, Director Koike Shuichiro was really emotional, and said that while in the spectators seats he was struck by how hyper detailed Furukawa’s acting was. Koike said: “It might be arrogant, but I think for once it is alright to say how proud I am of our work. I have always known Furukawa Yuta for his attention for detail, but today I learned just how precise, how detailed his acting can go. Now I’m a bit angry with him though. Why didn’t you show me this during the rehearsals?”

Furukawa has always had this incredible skill of devastating his audience with something so...complex, so subtle, and yet overwhelmingly heart-breaking to the audience. I think in Mozart we really see the full extent of Furukawa's skills. Especially because Mozart is so child-like, you just can’t help but feel like you want to protect him.

The “world of adults” was so bitter and unforgiving, and Furuzart really showed how he was trying so hard to compute everything... but was given no space to explore anything. (Honestly... isn’t that all of us right now?)

Though I still find “Mozart!” as a production flawed in many aspects, the piques are phenomenal piques. I think with the newly edited version of “Mozart!” 2021, the show is more coherent than before, however. I think “Mozart!” really is a coming-of-age-failed story. In Furukawa’s words:

The Grand Musicals written by Kunze and Levay are cultural markers in the Japanese theatre world, and they are known for the empowering female leads. Mozart however, I think is the only male lead among the Kunze & Levay productions? I feel tremendously honoured to be allowed this one role. Mozart is known only for his greatness, but this musical shows that no greatness is ever simple. Behind greatness is always just a human being. For me, I think the question this production asks is: “What is talent?” Is talent something that resides in the body, or the soul?   - Furukawa.

Other cast

Mozart is really 80% of the show; once he shows up, he hardly ever gets off stage again. This means that the side characters REALLY need to shine in order not to be forgotten.

Constanze - Mozart’s Wife

In 2018, the Constanzes were pretty badly received by the public. From left to right are Kinoshita Haruka, Hirano Aya and Ikuta Erika. Out of the three, only Hirano’s Constanze was what the show and TOHO’s reputation promised. Kinoshita and Ikuta were both described as: “they sing well, but they’re little girls trying on mommy’s high heels”, one of the harshest criticisms in public domains in Japan I have seen.

In 2021, Constanze was played by just Kinoshita, and I was very worried that the only reason she’d be there in the Imperial Theatre again was because she’s pretty.

Then I watched the show, and to my pleasant surprise there was significant improvement!! Kinoshita spoke and sang in a much lower and stable voice, she wasn’t forcing it, and she did have a little bit of zest this role demands. She is still not the power-house of a Constanze as Hirano and Sonim were in 2014, but Kinoshita was honestly not bad. I would still not have cast her myself, but that level of growth was incredibly enjoyable for me to watch.

During the Final Performance curtain call, Director Koike even stepped forward to say he was shocked to see how much better she had gotten.

Leopold Mozart - Mozart’s Father

Ichimura Masachika has played Mozart’s father for many years, and every time he manages to amaze me.

I think “Mozart!” does a great job at showing what fatherhood can entail: “everything awful to awesome.” Mozart’s father is unambiguously a loving father who is deeply invested in his children’s wellbeing and talents... but he is human nevertheless. He loves his son but also hurts him. Sometimes as a father he makes decisions he thinks is best for Wolfgang, but “the best” might not always be fun, “the best” might not be Wolfgang’s best, or “the best” might be “Wolfgang’s best” but not “Wolfgang in this world’s best.” Leopold is not a super big character, but I think in the glimpses we do get of him, he has portrayed the difficulty of parenthood, and the trickiness of “love and protection” better than many other portrayals of parents.

Nannerl Mozart - Mozart’s Sister

Nannerl was played by an absolute nightingale Kazune Miou, and she was just suchhhhhhh a blessing. What also does help I admit, is that she is not Hanafusa Mari. Kazune was amazing in her own right, but ESPECIALLY juxtaposed against Hanafusa, she was a blessing.

Kazune really manages the range between young girl to ripe adult woman very well, and this immense true love she has for her brother is just heart-warming to see. With Hanafusa it was just obvious that a 50 year old was trying to play an 18 year old who is actually 8 years on the inside. As rambled in detail in this post, my hatred for Hanafusa’s acting style is that she only has two modes: Whiny toddler girl, or whiny victim woman.

Kazune however, really managed to capture the many complexities of Nannerl’s character. How she is just unconditionally loving towards her brother, but also can’t help but be sad that the greater attention for “the miracle child” came at her expense.

Prince-Archbischop Colloredo - Mozart’s Boss.

Colloredo was played by Yamaguchi Yuichiro. Erm...... Yamaguchi is a great person, he is SOOO kind..........but everything about his singing and acting style just rubs me the wrong way... I always think his acting an unfortunate mix between a slapstick-comedy banana and a pompous opera ghost... ermmmm......... sorry, not for me.

Click here for the official PV.

And click here for the subtitled curtain call of the first day performance.

[bbdaydreams]

Courage My Love// Semi Eita

Pairing: Semi Eita x Reader

Summary: You like Semi and come up with a plan to confess to him, unfortunately it takes a turn. You meet again a couple years later by chance.

Chapter Four: Disappear

Warning: suggestive nsfw. Nothing explicit at all. STORY TAKES PLACE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL MEANING THEY ARE NO LONGER MINORS.

Series Masterlist•<previous•next>

—————

“Does he sing to all your music while you dance to "Purple Rain"? Does he do all these things, like I used to?”

“Eita! Stop! You’re making us depressed with all the sad songs you’ve been writing!” Ranmaru told the lead vocalist.

Semi put his palm over the strings of the acoustic guitar so they’d stop ringing and let his body relax against the cold wall behind him. “Sorry, can’t help it,” he mumbled.

Semi never got his chance to talk to you after graduation. He did notice that you only blocked his number and not his social medias but that was all he needed to know that you didn’t want to talk to him. He didn’t want to send you a direct message, solely because he was scared you’d end up blocking him on whatever platform he used. The last thing he wanted was to be completely out of your life. Even though he isn’t directly in your life, he still wants to support you from the side lines. Funny how things used to be the other way around.

“Guys, we should make him a tinder,” Subaru spoke.

“What? No! I don’t want one! I’m not ready,” Semi huffed.

“Eita, it’s been like three years. You’re twenty one now. I’m sorry but we’re tired of seeing you like this all the time. We can’t relate to what you’re going through but we can empathize with you. We can imagine how much pain you’re in and we want to help you,” Jiro argued.

“I’ve gone on a couple dates already and they were all bad. What’s talking to even more strangers gonna do?”

“Show you that there’s other people out there. I know you’ve seen me in an out of relationships a lot but I don’t regret a single one. They’ve each taught me something. Also I’m gonna be very blunt, you can’t miss what you never had. You’ve got to let go dude,” Ranmaru added.

“But I-“

“No Eita, you didn’t have them. You were only friends. Just give a chance? Please,” Subaru finished.

Semi took a look around the room before nodding his head yes. He could guess that his band mates were probably tired of dealing with him. They’re in college now trying to finish their education to have a back up plan since they still haven’t taken off yet but at the end of the day he knew the band comes first. It always has but the band is only as fun as you make it to be. They could play their instruments all they want but they have to play them in a way that fits the mood of the song and since Semi has been struggling with writing more upbeat catchy tunes, the sad boy crap gets repetitive. The others had to accommodate to him because of how much trouble he was having.

“I’ll download it now.”

-

“Y/n! Smile!” Tendou yelled before snapping a picture of you with his phone.

“Tendou, stop!” You laughed while reaching for his phone. He raised his arms to increase the distance and joined with you in your laughter.

“I’m sorry but you’re just so cute.”

You and him were currently walking back to your place from a date. After graduation, Tendou continued school and you moved into a small house with your band mates to make your living situation easier for all of you. You guys have gone on tours and such but you still haven’t had your big break through.

When you got to your home you invited Tendou inside and since no one else was home you didn’t have to greet them all before going into your room. “Whatcha wanna watch?” You asked him as you sat in your bed while flipping through channels.

“I’m down for anything,” he responded, getting into bed with you and attempting to lay on you. Picking a random show, you set the remote down before relaxing and combing your fingers through his hair which was now quiet long and down, different from how he had it in high school.

You two stayed in that position for a couple minutes while your mind started to wander off. Three years since you and the girls, two for Haruka, graduated and chose not to continue with school because the label seemed promising. Your band is currently working on an album after having multiple demos made and working part time jobs to have a more stable source of income. But also three years you spent with Tendou as your lover. And all of that was going to end soon because he was moving across the world for his career.

Three years is a lot of time to spend with someone romantically, especially when you’ve known them for longer. It’s not something you can just up and forget but unfortunately the both of you will have to move on. Tendou was still laying on you peacefully until he left a wet droplet on his face. Immediately he looked up and saw you with your eyes closed in at attempt to stop your tears. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he spoke softly, reaching a hand out to cup your face. You opened your eyes to look at him and gave him a sad smile that he returned. “Even when you cry, you’re beautiful, my paradise.”

Words of comfort was something Tendou never lacked. There was never a single time you’d consider him a bad boyfriend. And you were grateful to have him in your life. “I’m sorry,” you apologized for crying.

“It’s alright,” he laughed before sitting up to kiss you. This was your last day together before he left. Knowing that, you both gradually intensified the kiss that lead to more kisses. Kisses that lead to wandering hands. Wandering hands leading to the action that you both know would be the last time you were intimate together before Tendou left to his home to grab his luggage before heading off to the airport, to take a flight to France.

Once all the aftercare was done you slept in his arms for a good two hours until he woke up from the alarm he set on his phone. He knew better than to leave without saying a word so he woke you up too. “Paradise, wake up. I gotta go.” You unwillingly opened your eyes and rubbed them before focusing on him, his form already up and out of the bed. “I’ll miss you,” he started when he stood at your door, “thank you for giving me a chance.”

You looked at him with glossy eyes as he looked at you with his. Getting up from your bed you managed to make your way towards him to give him a kiss, your guy’s final kiss. Your relationship was now mutually over.

-

“I had so much fun on our date, Semi! You really are a great guy!”

“Thanks, I try,” Semi laughed as he lead the girl he was seeing to his dorm. Semi has been seeing this girl from his government course for about a month now and things seem to be going pretty well so far.

When they got to his dorm, she noticed his guitar and a couple of papers that had scribbles on them. “Oh? You play guitar? And you write music?” She asked innocently.

“Yeah I do.”

“Could you play me a song? Please?”

“Sure. I’ll even sing you one inspired by you,” Semi spoke smoothly. Being in the scene, Semi did pick up a thing or two on how to talk to girls, Subaru called it fan service.

Picking up the acoustic guitar on its stand, he gestured for her to take a seat on his bed while he sat down in a chair across from her. With the pick he retrieved from his pocket he proceeded to pluck each string to make sure it was tuned before playing a couple chords to make sure they sounded good as well. He looked up at her and took note of the smile on her face before looking back down at the guitar and playing a song he had finished writing about her two days ago. When he had finished, he looked up and was greeted with a frown. “What’s wrong?” he asked immediately setting the guitar down and walking towards her to cup her face. “Did you not like the song?”

“Semi, don’t touch me! Who is that song about?” she asked him, standing up so they were more level.

“It’s about you, babe-“

“Don’t call me babe either! Semi, we’re done!”

“What? Why?”

“What do you mean why? There’s clearly someone else! There’s no way that song is about me! My eyes aren’t that color and neither is my hair! I sound nothing like the girl in the song that you claim to love!”

“Let me explain-“

“There’s nothing to explain, Semi! Good night. We’re done,” she finished before walking out and slamming Semi’s door in the process. Burying his face into his pillow, Semi let out a grunt, not realizing his roommate had come in.

“I stopped by the cafeteria after my study group. I brought you a juice,” Subaru offered when he saw the ash blonde face down.

“Not in the mood, dude.”

“Fine. No juice for you.”

-

About two months after you and Tendou split up, your band’s album was released. All four of you were in awe when you first saw your first album in a store.

“It’s like.... our baby,” Haruka stated while looking through the glass.

“I know, right! Our first little baby,” Izumi added.

You and Yui were a couple feet behind them trying to contain your laughter but you had to admit you were just as amazed as them.

“C’mon! Let’s get our own copies!” Yui announced, leading the way inside. The rest of you followed and each picked up a copy ready to purchase it. “Not gonna lie, it makes me feel real fuzzy seeing our name and faces on this.”

“No kidding. We really worked hard for this, didn’t we?” You asked aloud. “Our first of many. Let’s hope Courage My Love can keep up with it.”

Walking towards the counter to pay one after the other the cashier put together that you guys were the ones on the album cover. “Is this you guys?”

“Yep! That’s us,” Izumi smiled. “It’s our first album!”

“Oh my! Congratulations! I recognize this as one of the new ones we got in last nights shipment. I’ll play it throughout the store today to listen,” the cashier told you all.

“Thank you so much, we’d really appreciate that,” you all spoke before heading towards the exit.

Walking through a park on your way to the grocery store, Izumi had a burst of energy she couldn’t help but expel. “We should take a picture!”

“But we have-“ Yui started before she was shushed by the tallest one from the group.

“Shhh- excuse me, sir? Could you take a picture of my friends and I?” she asked sweetly. The older gentleman agreed before asking Izumi how to use her phone. Once she explained to him she told the group what pose they should do. “We should hold them up and just pose with them together!” Complying with her idea, your amateur photographer took a couple pictures before handing the device back to its owner. You all thanked him and looked at the pictures he took before posting it to each of your social medias.

So excited to announce that our album is finally out! You can pick it up anywhere that sells cds or check it out on any music streaming apps. Thank you so much for your support!

-y/n<3

-

“Yo, this music kinda slaps. What band is this?” Ranmaru asked Semi who currently had the aux cord.

“Courage My Love,” Semi responded which resulted in Subaru letting out a loud groan.

“The hell is your problem?” Ranmaru asked the drummer.

“That’s fucking Y/n’s band! No wonder he’s been listening to it on repeat for the past week!”

Ranmaru immediately stepped on the breaks before turning around in his seat to look at Semi. “Eita, I’m only gonna ask once, give me the aux.”

Giving a small glare to the spikey silver haired bassist, Semi spoke, “no.... I don’t wanna.”

“Eita!” Ranmaru roared before leaning his torso to grab the other’s phone.

Jiro sitting in the passengers seat with wide eyes opted to grab the other end of the aux cord and unplug it directly from the source, resulting in everyone else getting quiet at the lack of music. “No more tunes till we get to the venue.”

Even after taking away aux privileges from him, Semi was quick to find a solution and use his headphones instead. He continued listening to your band’s new album, blown away from how much you’ve changed. He regretted everything he did to you but was also inspired by the woman you’ve become.

—————

a/n: just when I think I’m done with angst I write more and I just say oops to that. Also do you guys like the addition of songs for the chapters? Also sorry for all the jumping around during this chapter

Taglist:

@pluviophilefangirl @yourstarvic @sunaswife @mynscorner @syaziahvg @discountkiyoko

[notsuchasecret]

Ai and your choice with: touching foreheads after their first kiss.

This turned out so much longer than I expected, because your little shit tried to steal the show.

Anyway, here we go, two characters forcibly extracted from the groupchat as usual, let Rei say fuck agenda, you know the drill.

The thing about Haruka-senpai and Nitori-kun was that they were both absolutely fucking gorgeous. Rei knew he had a bit of an obsession when it came to beauty. He knew that physical form was important to him. He knew that there was more to romance than that, but the fact still stood that he was surrounded by obnoxiously pretty people far too often.

It didn’t help that, on top of being pretty by themselves, Haruka-senpai and Nitori-kun were pretty together. They were the world’s most attractive couple, two pairs of big blue eyes, a contrast of light and dark hair, smooth pale skin. Nitori-kun’s bubbly personality just barely disguising a depth of snark that rivaled and complemented Haruka-senpai’s.

“Fuck my entire fucking life,” Rei groaned, to no one in particular. Nagisa answered anyway.

“Not that you’re not pretty, Rei-chan, but you and I both know you gotta be at least a level twenty-three friend to unlock my unpicked flower garden.”

“Your euphemisms need work,” Rei commented.

“Excuse you, my euphemisms are perfect, and you’re deflecting,” Nagisa countered. “Why are you asking for an existential deflowering?”

“The usual,” Rei said with a shrug.

“Dude. You gotta ask them out already. This is getting hard to watch.”

“Right,” Rei said, rolling his eyes. “Because that’s the way to solve all my problems. Tell the two most beautiful men on the face of the fucking planet that I want nothing more than for one of them to suffocate me by sitting on my face while the other rails me into next week.”

“You wanna hold their hands and make them breakfast, don’t lie to me and pretend this is all sexual, Rei-chan,” Nagisa scolded.

“Feelings are disgusting,” Rei said.

“I mean, I’m not disagreeing with you there, Rei-chan. But it’s just gonna get worse if you keep this up!” Nagisa’s voice went sing-song, a clear sign to Rei that he was not getting out of this conversation unscathed.

“What do you want to make you drop this?” Rei groaned.

“You don’t really want to know.” Rei glared at him, and he put his hands up as though to calm Rei, though all it did was trigger a pavlovian rage. “I’ll drop this, if you go up to one of them right now and kiss them. Don’t care which one, just. Grow a pair and do it.”

Rei was about to tell Nagisa in no uncertain terms that he already had a pair, thank you very much, when he was interrupted by the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. It was not uncommon to hear Nitori-kun laughing. He giggled as easily as Rin-san cried. Usually it was accompanied by a smirk or even occasionally a snort from Haruka-senpai. But this time?

Oh, this time.

Haruka-senpai’s head was thrown back, his eyes scrunched shut, and music incarnate was pouring from his lips, babbling like water from a Roman fountain. Rei’s mind went blank in the center and fuzzy around the edges. He knew Nagisa was smirking at him, but he couldn’t focus on anything other than the universe dawning from Haruka-senpai’s mouth.

“Fuck,” Rei whispered. Nagisa snorted.

“You got it so bad,” he said.

“Yeah,” Rei agreed.

“So, what’re you gonna do about it?”

Rei saw it all laid out before him, the two paths diverging. One leading toward some fairy-land nonsense where all his dreams came true, and the other rooted in harsh reality. He didn’t bother answering Nagisa. They both knew he would do nothing about it.

Nagisa watched him, watched the doors shut in his eyes, watched him strengthen his resolve to live his life pathetic and unloved. He rolled his eyes and cupped his hands around his mouth, then shouted, “Ai-chan! Haru-chan! Put me out of my misery already!”

“What do we get out of it?” Nitori-kun hollered back.

“A gorgeous hunk of man?” Nagisa answered. “Or, well, another gorgeous hunk of man?”

Nitori-kun shrugged, said, “Mkay,” and sauntered up to Rei. Rei’s life flashed before his eyes, a series of images of his worst mistakes and most mundane triumphs. He knew his face remained utterly passive as Nitori-kun approached, planted his hands on Rei’s shoulders, and leaned in slowly. He bypassed Rei’s lips to brush his own against Rei’s ear, whispering, “Consent is sexy, Ryuugazaki-kun. Is this how you want to do this?”

“Yes.” It was a thready, breathy thing, barely there at all, but Nitori-kun heard it. He pulled back to smile at Rei, his eyes swirling with something as unnameable as it was utterly familiar. He leaned in slowly, slowly enough to give Rei time to back out, to lose the game of chicken they were apparently playing. Then Nitori-kun’s lips quirked, and then they were pressed to Rei’s.

As kisses in reality went, it was probably pretty damn average. But as kisses in Rei’s life went, this one? This one was magic. This one was fireworks and fireflies and everything that first kisses were supposed to be. And then it was ending, Rei letting out a soft whine and trying to follow Nitori-kun’s lips as they pulled away from his. Nitori-kun breathed a gentle giggle and rested his forehead against Rei’s.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hello,” Rei replied. Nitori-kun’s eyes were full of laughter, and light, and maybe something else, maybe something that Rei had only ever seen directed at Haruka-senpai, because he had never let himself look for it directed at him. Never let himself imagine, because his daydreams would destroy him.

A pissy huff drew Rei out of the bubble that had formed around the two of them and he looked over Nitori-kun’s shoulder at Haruka-senpai, standing with his arms crossed and his lips pouted.

“Ai,” he growled, and Rei’s blood went cold.

“Fuck off, Haru, I told you I had dibs.” Nitori-kun didn’t pull away from Rei to say it, still staring into Rei’s eyes. “You can have the next one. If he wants it.”

There was a question there, a question that Rei wanted nothing more than to answer in the affirmative. But all he could say, all his scrambled brain would let out was a distressed little, “Fuck.”

“Not yet, beautiful, but we’ll get there someday,” Nitori-kun said, giggling again. He pulled away from Rei at last, just enough to clamber into Rei’s lap and nuzzle his head against his shoulder. One hand reached out behind him and with a huff and a roll of his eyes, Haruka-senpai strolled over. He took Nitori-kun’s hand and settled in beside Rei, leaning against the shoulder not occupied. Rei closed his eyes against the onslaught of emotion welling up in him.

“Hey,” Haruka-senpai said, bumping his shoulder more firmly against Rei’s. “You good?”

Rei clutched a little harder at Nitori-kun’s back until Haruka-senpai reached out and claimed one of his hands for his own. He breathed, and it seemed all he could manage to do just then. Then, against all sense, against all knowledge that this couldn’t possibly be real, he relaxed. A snort burst out of him, and it was a breaking of the dam that held back the hysterics. By the time he realized what was happening, the laughter was mingled with tears.

“Sweetheart,” Nitori-kun said, but whatever he was going to say after that was lost in the frantic way Rei leaned up to slam their lips together again. Nitori-kun made a confused noise, but relaxed into the movements of the kiss, one hand threading through Rei’s hair. Rei pulled back only when he heard the petulant whine coming from Haruka-senpai, laughing still in little fits and stops. He turned his head, ready to say something snarky and probably profane, only to have it cut off by Haruka-senpai taking his turn.

“Finally,” Haruka-senpai said, still sounding petulant, but he was smiling. Rei found he rather liked that smile, would like to see it some more.

“You know you could have kissed me literally any time from the day we met, right?” Rei laughed. Haruka-senpai said nothing, only pouted deeper when Nitori-kun started giggling. “That goes for you too, you know,” Rei said, jostling his legs to bounce Nitori-kun a bit off-balance.

“You say that, but had I done that any earlier, you would have run,” Nitori-kun replied.

“Well,” Rei said with a shrug, “I’m not running now.”

“No,” Nitori-kun agreed. “You’re not.”

And, Rei knew in that moment, he probably never would.

[keyofjetwolf]

Bonus Question Answers! (non-anime animated noms)

This was SO. FUCKING. HARD. This question went so much better than I expected, and I’m only sad I lack the artistic skills to make it all a reality.

Below, my PAINSTAKINGLY selected top answers, If yours is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

---

Q: The Senshi suddenly find themselves in a very different animated world. Which cartoon power (think Looney Tunes) do they each now possess?

*  Usagi can make literal rainbows happen when she smiles.  Rei can set anything on fire with her mind (she feels a bit cheated because she can do that at home too).  Ami can write down anything in her special notebook and it literally changes reality around her (she does not share this with her fellow Senshi, because she knows the full weight of this power.  She did, however, write Michiru having a bad hair day for just one day.  Just one.)  Makoto has the ability to pull out any ingredient she wants from any pantry/door/closet.  She usually uses this for cooking purposes, so she won't have to purchase groceries.  Minako has the ability to mimic any voice in the world, whether she has heard it or not.  Hijinks ensue.  The Outer Senshi sensibly escaped from the new animated world right after Michiru recovered from her bad hair day.  They don't speak of the experience. -- @amberlilly  [The whole thing was so solid, but what absolutely sent it over the top for me was Ami using her powers to fuck with Michiru in the most petty benign way, which is EVERYTHING.]

*  Usagi is definitely rocking the exaggerated tear gushers.  Ami can pull charts/diagrams out of nowhere at any time.  Rei combusts when she gets sufficiently mad.  Makoto has birds fly around when she sings while cooking or cleaning.  Minako breaks the fourth wall to make jokes and asides to the audience.  Chibi-Usa is somehow able to walk through ludicrous danger without getting touched, because the censors won't allow kids to be hurt in this show. Haruka can make girls melt into puddles of goo with her flirting.  Michiru can summon a servant at any time to take care of an unpleasant or potentially dirty task for her (including to take the slapstick comedy for her).  Setsuna has access to the script.  Hotaru just sort of appears sometimes, just standing there, silently and menacingly, but never does anything on-screen (though you may hear the occasional off-screen screaming).  Oh, and while I'd like to say Mamoru gains the power of inexplicable entrances... he kinda already has that one.  --Darkcloud k'California  [Again, I loved all these, but particularly Chibs saved by the censors, Michiru’s poor hapless slapstick avatar, and everything about Hotaru, thank you.]

*  Usagi: The power to be found charming by every character she encounters and somehow escape all consequences and damage by simply remaining oblivious, a la Tweety Bird.

Rei: The power to explode, reducing her surroundings to charred wasteland, but remain relatively unscathed (perhaps a bit singed)

Ami: The power to grow multiple arms, hands, and hundreds of fingers in order to do tech stuff

Makoto: The power to punch someone through a brick wall, possibly several, and into someone's family dinner. It's always some surprised-looking family's private event. Often the same family.

Minako: the power to, Bugs Bunny style, apply lipstick and seduce ANYTHING. Which, according to her, is a power she already has.

Haruka: The power to run off a cliff and keep going until she looks down. She never learns to not look down.

Michiru: The power to stick a pin into any other character and cause them to deflate like a balloon

Hotaru: She just gets to actually be used. It is thrilling.

Pluto: She will observe this strange planet from afar with her huge telescope and breathe the Martian air and look great in a kilt and Roman-style helmet. --  @incorrecttact  [Your set-up and punchline delivery style on all of these was perfection, and I legit lol’d at Mako and the poor family she continually interrupts.]

* to make dynamite go BOOM (Rei obviously); to have their opponent chase them to the point where they're floating in midair and then their opponent falls 5000 feet but they calmly walk back to land (like Wil E Coyote & the Roadrunner) (Usagi); the power to blow kisses to their opponent (which are clearly poisonous and end up killing the chap) (Minako); the power to have their opponent's entire arm shattered if they try to even punch them lightly on the arm (Makoto - this is canon anyways, but moreso exaggerated here hehe); to open a book and start reading it out loud and words start showing up on screen, confusing tf out of their opponent (Ami - also canon already)  --@midnightdrops  [Each of these were great, but Usagi and Mako as you described them totally sold me.]

* usagi: can now float on yummy aromas, so long as they lead her somewhere tasty! the others play a quick tournament of jun-ken-pon each time it happens to determine who will be responsible for steering her from blissfully drifting into traffic. again.

ami: is now possessed of x-ray vision! only she can neither turn it off, nor control its intensity. she is working on developing a set of goggles to dampen the effect, and secretly hopes they will make her look like geordi laforge.

rei: rei-chan is now blessed with the power of song! her heartfelt melodies soften the malice of even the most one-dimensional baddie, and influence public policy on a global scale. international success life, yo! i guess she's really a hard worker!

makoto: has become something of a cartoon cupid! in a poorly-ventilated room, her mere presence has bystanders declaring their love for one another within minutes*; and her decadent wedding cakes are the hit of second marriages across the country. *all of them so like her old senpai, and none of them falling for her, alas!

minako: employs her considerable powers of confidence and charm to convince the others she now has access to Plot Manipulation, mainly by engineering and taking ownership of a series of happy accidents. her real power is to literally jump out of her skin when she's startled*, and she has no intention of EVER letting the others know about it.  *minako discovered this new ability while she was changing a roll of toilet paper, and a spider dropped onto her hand. the leader of the inner senshi had never been so horrified. her bones were so slick and cold, her skin a hideous unwiped pile, and then THE SPIDER CRAWLED INTO THE PILE and she STILL doesn't know if it ever got out and sometimes her skin itches REALLY bad and you know what let's stop talking about this right now okay???

setsuna: can now manifest a giant pencil and erase the enemy! but doing so would be breaking The Greatest Taboo, and leave her impaled upon the pencil.

haruka: her new empathetic ability is remarkably similar to Ma-Ti's "heart" ring (Captain Planet and the Planeteers, 1990 - 1996). basically, she's just like really soft at you, and it inspires you to take more positive actions toward yourself and the world at large? she protests about wishing she'd received something tough and intimidating, but secretly is very moved by being made an instrument of kindness.

michiru: her intuition has mutated into fourth wall awareness, and the subtlety with which she makes this known to you is SO GODDAMN UNCOMFORTABLE OH MY GOD

hotaru: can now not only communicate with inanimate objects, but also render them permanently animate! you should have been there during the princess tutu crossover episode when she met lamp-chan - they're STILL inseparable, and chibiusa is SUPER jealous. speaking of which,

chibiusa: can now use hammerspace to store her endless series of magical geegaws and weird animal boyfriends.  -- @rasiqra-revulva  [Dude, you have got to stop making me snort laugh, it’s RUDE. Pure solid gold, every word, with a special nod to Haruka, MICHIRU, and Minako’s extended tragic cartoon backstory.]

* Usagi - like her name suggests, she is now Bunny. By which I mean she is now a very pink and blonde bunny (somewhere between Bugs and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit), but with super-elastic limbs to accompany her new form. Ami - Magical Science Powers up to and including ‘mix one brightly colored liquid in flask with another brightly colored liquid in flask, explosion, get hammer.’ Rei - An infinite supply of dynamite she can pull out of nowhere. This shouldn’t be as useful as it is. Mako - Literally suplexed a giant metallic youma not just untransformed, but before she has Senshi powers at all. I fully believe she could lift an anvil in canon. Minako - While Usagi looks like a rabbit, Mina now has the supernatural trickster abilities of Bugs Bunny. Implausibly effective bad disguises, persuasion, showing up out of nowhere. Chibs - Now that gun from her first appearance is a real gun, but it shoots anything from normal bullets to pies in the face to live birds. Pluto - The fourth wall is a real and tangible thing. Pluto can not just break it, but control it. If she wants to remove a layer of cel or suddenly turn things into sketch, she can do it. If she wants to teleport, she can skip in the animation. If she wants to suddenly appear as a Roger Rabbit-style cartoon in a live action field, or vice versa? Yeah, she can do that too. She basically uses this power to warp the layers of her cartoonish reality for pastry acquisition. Haruka - You’d think it would be Roadrunner speed. Haruka thinks it will be Roadrunner speed. But no, it isn’t. Space Jam is Looney Tunes, and Haruka’s power is Basketball. Michiru - Another power that’s just canonical: Wealth. Ridiculous, tremendous wealth. Hotaru - The funniest thing for Hotaru to be in a zany cartoon world is Even More Spooky. Nothing changes except the artstyle and a ridiculous supervillain cape.  -- Regalli  [Pluto, man. Fantastic and brilliant and I legit WANT THIS. Also though, Hotaru with a cape.]

*  Usagi gains the ability to eat anything and everything like the Tazmanian Devil, though she shares none of his aggressive personality; Minako enjoys fucking with people by bending reality (you know, diving into painted tunnels and stuff like that); Ami is able to utilize and test unreal technology without harm, like jet boots, massive bombs, tornado seeds, etc.; Mako uses body manipulations to change her size and shape--especially for blocking attacks to protect people or grabbing people (coupled with her immense strength); and Rei is the only one aware of the audience beyond the Fourth Wall... She tries not to talk to them but sometimes she just can't help it, especially when Usagi is getting on her nerves.  -- @thehubby  [I said pander to me, and you absolutely did. I can’t stop thinking about Rei trying not to make fourth wall eye contact, then just whirling around all “CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE THIS SHIT??!?” and as it turns out, that IS precisely what I wanted.]

---

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry, so keep those answers coming! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

[aikatsu-motivational-posts]

Before I begin, I’d like to think all those who liked/reblogged my posts and even followed me!! Thanks so much for 210 followers!!

So I logged into an Aikatsu server in Discord and I found this challenge that I could do (credits to  𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊, 𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚎'𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚢 #0615 for the image). It’s supposed to be for 31 days, but I have classes so I’ll just answer all these questions in one go to honor the 8th anniversary. (of course, my ask is open in case y’all wanna get to know more about me)

Of course, Aikatsu is one of my most favorite anime series ever. To the point I even dedicated a blog to it. It’s cute, it has good songs, and so inspiring that it lifts me up when I’m feeling down.

Yikes, ok. Her birthday is October 2, same singing voice as Ran, a student from Dream Academy, brand is Bohemian Sky, and catchphrase is “Cutie, cutie, spin, spin!” (did I get these right?)

Harsh, but I’m gonna have to go for Haruka Ruka. I find her so annoying.

I’d say her aura?? She gives off that Barbie vibes, mature but also pure of heart. I love her voice too.

Definitely Mirai.

Damn I ship the main ones though?? HAHAHA I guess Hibiki x Alicia because they’re... definitely lesbians.

I’m gonna have to say Akari x Any Character in the Show. Sorry guys, she’s for Sena.

Cute - Oozora Akari, Cool - Kiriya Aoi, Sexy - Kasumi Mahiru, Pop - Saotome Ako, Gothic - Shirayuri Kaguya

Starlight Queen

S4/M4

Diamond Friends

Rainbow Berry Parfait -  Rainbow Étoile Coord

This question is a bit hard LOL but I’m gonna choose WM. *mwah* Legendary songs.

 Don’t underestimate the power of Johnny Bepp, y’all.

Come on, we already know what colors they are. Good in being imposter, either Aoi or Chi (they got big brains). Most sus, probably Yurika-sama simply because.

Good at being imposter, most likely Madoka because if you notice, there are times she’s mean despite acting cute (love that about her, though!). Most sus, I think Koko because she seems too outgoing??? IDK how to describe it.

Maybe Koharu?? Because she looks too innocent. Most sus, I’d say Elza since she does what she wants.

Definitely Karen, talented as hell. Most sus probably Ema because she seems like she’s good at playing games.

Seriously?? I gotta pick one main song ever from 200+ songs?? Yikes. I’m gonna choose one on the spot, because I literally love them all - The Scene Above 6 cm.

Yurika’s songs are one of the best, but I think Sumire is better as a character.

Definitely Calendar Girls. It’s the first ED song, and the lyrics itself just scream the word “nostalgia”. Makes me feel like crying every time I listen to it.

Definitely Sakuraba Laura. Give her more love and attention!!!

Who else would it be if not the one and only Kanzaki Mizuki?

Hanazono Kirara. Okay, she’s got a great voice and songs. But personality-wise, very annoying and narcissistic.

Ooh, I think it would be Kanata from M4. He looks like that one dude in K-Pop groups who doesn’t seem like he could rap, but is actually a god rapper,

It was around April 2019, I believe. I discovered it in one of the comments in Episode 1 of My Shining Star, where they were like “This is just a rip-off of Pretty Rhythm and Aikatsu anime”. So I was like, “Aikatsu? Pfft, Pretty Rhythm is definitely better.” So my first opinion was disgusted because Pretty Rhythm is one of my favorite childhood anime, and I am totally wrong.

Definitely take pictures and autographs of my favorite idols!

Mahiru, she’s so cute and just underrated.

Sumire - Mismagius, Madoka - Luvdisc, Hikari - Nidoqueen, Maria - Miltank, Rei - Aegislash, Ema - Jolteon

Akari - Castform, Ichigo - Alcremie, Mizuki - Lunaala, Hime - Audino, Yume - Musharna, Aine - Palkia, Mio - Dialga

Monsters Cat Coord

[osakaso5]

IDOLiSH7 4th Anniversary Special Story: Best Wishes...

Chapter 5: An Ultra Happy Four Years

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Yamato Nikaido: I wonder where everybody went.

Mitsuki Izumi: Maybe we should've just stayed put and waited?

Yamato Nikaido: Yeah, but I bet Riku and Tama are scared. We can't just leave them be.

Nagi Rokuya: Alright! Let us all sing while we look for them!

Nagi Rokuya: Our song will shine a light in the darkness, and bring our comrades to us!

Mitsuki Izumi: You think so?

Yamato Nikaido: But if we sing one of our songs, won't people recognize us?

Nagi Rokuya: OK! We shall sing the song of Cocona! "Magical Power", the ultimate song!

Yamato, Mitsuki, & Nagi: Magical Girl★Cocona, Magical★Cocona I Love You♥Cocona, If You're by My Side We'll Have ∞Power♪

Yamato, Mitsuki, & Nagi: Magical★Cocona, Magical★Cocona, 100 Times the Happiness!! An Invincible Angel♪

Gaku Yaotome & Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Love Love♥Cocona I Love You♥Cocona, If You're by My Side We'll Have ∞Power♪

Mitsuki Izumi: They're here..!

Yamato Nikaido: It really did bring us comrades!

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Sorry, sorry! We heard a familiar tune, so we couldn't help singing along!

Gaku Yaotome: Do you guys work around here?

Mitsuki Izumi: Uh... Yeah, pretty much! What about you? I feel like I've heard your voices before...

Gaku Yaotome: I'm a soba delivery guy.

Mitsuki Izumi: A soba guy! You mean the one who always delivers to us?

Nagi Rokuya: OH! Thank you for all your hard work!

Yamato Nikaido: What about the other guy?

Ryunosuke Tsunashi:  Ah, um, I'm the owner of the soba restaurant.

Yamato, Mitsuki, & Nagi: The owner!

Gaku Yaotome: Hey! How come you're higher up than me!?

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: S-sorry, I came up with it on the spot!

Mitsuki Izumi: I thought the owner was a old guy, but I guess they must've replaced him with someone younger.

Yamato Nikaido: This dude's always hard at work.

Nagi Rokuya: YES! Please reward him!

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: O-of course! I'll reward him plenty later! But do I know you from somewhere, too?

Gaku Yaotome: I feel like I've heard your voices before. Especially the guy who who's speaking with a weird accent...

Nagi Rokuya: Is that so?

Gaku Yaotome: Huh!? Maybe I was just imagining things... Sorry for saying you had a weird accent.

Nagi Rokuya: It's quite alright. I don't mind.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Where are you headed?

Yamato Nikaido: We got separated from our friends, so we're looking for them.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Same here. Maybe we can search together.

Mitsuki Izumi: Sounds good! We'll all have extra helping hands if there's trouble!

Nagi Rokuya: OK! Just as we did before, we shall hum the song as we search!

Gaku Yaotome: You sure you don't have a weird accent?

Nagi Rokuya: Let's go!

Yamato, Mitsuki, Nagi, Gaku, & Ryunosuke: Magical Girl★Cocona, Magical★Cocona I Love You♥Cocona, If You're by My Side We'll Have ∞Power♪

- - - -

Yuki: Do we have to walk more?

Tamaki Yotsuba: I'm tired of walking just to be polite.

Minami Natsume: If we can reach the staff floor, we should run into other people.

Torao Mido: Oh... Seems like there's benches around here. Should we rest up?

Yuki: Let's. I'm already tired from flying back here from Hokkaido.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Did you bring souvenirs?

Yuki: I guess? Momo bought something.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I hope it's some kinda snacks. Nagicchi likes cookies.

Minami Natsume: These people have no intention of hiding their identities...

Torao Mido: Good thing this blackout happened today. At least it won't cause trouble at the re-opening.

Minami Natsume: It seems the trouble we're in right now is doing nothing to diminish your usual optimism.

Torao Mido: As long as the actual event goes okay. Events like these always come with a hiccup or two. That's how it was in the student council, too.

Minami Natsume: What happened, for example?

Torao Mido: I couldn't go to the event myself, but we were volunteering at a bazaar and one of our reps messed up.

Torao Mido: They came back crying. At times like that, the people who did nothing to help are quick to blame whoever was in charge.

Torao Mido: After that, I stopped being the responsible one. Though Toma seems to like doing that stuff for some reason.

Yuki: I'm not very responsible myself, but people like that are reliable.

Torao Mido: ........

Tamaki Yotsuba: Totally. Though I'm not responsible, either. What did you say to the person who cried?

Torao Mido: "Don't sweat it. I'll take responsibility."

Yuki: So you protected them. You're a pretty nice yanki.

Torao Mido: And I'm telling you that I regret doing that. I don't take on bothersome roles like that anymore.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I bet the person who cried is still thankful for what you did.

Minami Natsume: ...Hopefully this blackout will be fixed soon, and nobody responsible will get in too much trouble.

Minami Natsume: I'm sure whoever was entrusted with the electronics for so many faculties can't have been too irresponsible.

Minami Natsume: I'm sure they wanted to do their job properly, just like everyone else.

Yuki: Right.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I hope they have a successful opening party tomorrow.

Minami Natsume: .......? Can you hear singing?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Totally... It's some kinda weird song...

Yuki: Let's go check it out.

Torao Mido: Yeah.

- - - -

Riku Nanase: We're lucky that strange person didn't follow us, but...

Momo: Now we're really lost. I don't even know which way we came from.

Ryo Tsukumo: Who's responsible for this!? I won't be satisfied until I insult them into having a mental breakdown!

Toma Inumaru: That's not gonna change anything. We're all in trouble here.

Toma Inumaru: Besides, even if we're lost in this darkness, we might find a surprise landmark.

Riku Nanase: A surprise landmark?

Toma Inumaru: Yeah. There was this one time when I got lost and couldn't find the place I had work at.

Toma Inumaru: Someone who was there was giving me instructions through the phone, but we didn't have any ladnmarks to help us with.

Momo: Ah, I get what you mean. This city's roads can get pretty complicated, and a lot of the stores look identical, too.

Riku Nanase: How did you reach the right place?

Toma Inumaru: A whole bunch of colorful balloons flew up into the sky. Maybe they were from a marriage ceremony or something.

Toma Inumaru: Thanks to that, we were able to figure out which way I was supposed to go.

Toma Inumaru: It was a job I really couldn't afford to be late for, so those balloons saved my ass.

Toma Inumaru: If I hadn't looked up to the sky back then, I might not have gotten I am now.

Riku Nanase: That's a very nice coincidence!

Toma Inumaru: I know, right?

Momo: Something like that happened in a movie I saw with Yu... my partner. It was a horror movie, but the ending will totally make you cry.

Momo: The balloons that fly into the sky at the end look nice and solemn, but apparently they were caught on camera completely by accident!

Toma Inumaru: Wow!

Momo: Even my partner, who hates horror, liked that ending.

Riku Nanase: Maybe I should watch it, too. What's the movie called?

Momo: Uh...

Ryo Tsukumo: Shh...

Toma Inumaru: W-what is it?

Ryo Tsukumo: I can hear strange singing...

Momo: ...Singing? Ah... You're right, someone is singing! It sounds kind of familiar, for some reason..?

Toma Inumaru: Seems like there's people that way, so maybe we should go check it out.

Riku Nanase: Yes! Haha... You were right, Mr. Shopkeeper's Brother.

Toma Inumaru: Hm?

Riku Nanase: We found a surprise landmark!

Toma Inumaru: Yeah! That's true.

Riku Nanase: Ah...

- - - -

Riku Nanase: The lights are back on!

Yamato Nikaido: Riku!

Mitsuki Izumi: Riku! Thank goodness! Are you okay?

Nagi Rokuya: We are reunited! I wanted to see you so..!

Riku Nanase: Yamato-san! And Mitsuki and Nagi!

Yamato Nikaido: Where were you?

Riku Nanase: I was with these people... Huh..?

Riku Nanase: ...They ran off somewhere...

Tamaki Yotsuba: Rikkun!

Iori Izumi: Nanase-san!

Sogo Osaka: Riku-kun! Everyone!

Riku Nanase: Ah! Guys! Over here..! 

- - - -

Mall Broadcast: ...This is a message to all employees.

Mall Staff: Ah... The speakers are on.

Mall Broadcast: The electrical issues have been resolved. We're sorry for the delay.

Mall Broadcast: Please resume your preparations for the re-opneing.

Mall Staff: Oh, finally.

Mall Staff: Alright, let's get to work!

Tsumugi Takanashi: Thus, Sky Blue Mall overcame its electrical trouble and had its re-opening ceremony.

- - - -

Sky Blue Mall Manager: Well then, it's time for the re-opening of Sky Blue Mall! 

- - - -

VR LAND Manager: VR LAND is opening with its new attraction, A Date with IDOLiSH7! 

- - - -

Soba Chef Matsuda-san: My second store has been opened successfully. I look forward to your patronage! 

- - - -

Anniversary's Owner: Welcome to Café Anniversary. 

- - - -

Ryo Tsukumo: A happy four years to you guys, too.

Torao Mido: I'm still not sure what we're supposed to be celebrating...

Haruka Isumi: Who cares? It's all connected.

Torao Mido: What's that supposed to mean?

Haruka Isumi: A sushi chef told me that.

Toma Inumaru: Ryo-san you did make that call yesterday, right?

Ryo Tsukumo: I did. I certainly did. Minami, where did you get that balloon?

Minami Natsume: I got it after participating in the A Date with IDOLiSH7 VR experience. Here you are, Isumi-san.

Haruka Isumi: ...Don't you think balloons are kinda childish?

Minami Natsume: I think they're lovely.

Ryo Tsukumo: If you don't need it, can I pop it?

Haruka Isumi: No! I'll take it.

Torao Mido: A Date with IDOLiSH7, huh. Who'd you pick?

Minami Natsume: It's a secret.

Torao Mido: ........ Yamato Nikaido.

Toma Inumaru: Don't you mean Nagi Rokuya? Mina seems like he'd like his face.

Haruka Isumi: Don't you think he picked Sogo Osaka?

Minami Natsume: It's a secret.

Mall Event Staff: ŹOOĻ, we'll need you on stand by soon!

Mall Event Staff: Also... Happy 4th Anniversary!

ŹOOĻ: .........

ŹOOĻ: Thank you. 

The end.

[guess-ill-die-again]

top ten kagepro songs?? 0:

*rubs hands* u now i read your whole wall of text about this? well now its my turn c:

warning half of this post is just about Shinigami Record bc i’m looking WAAY too deep into it but honestly i love doing that gbdhsg that part has over 500 words and im not sorry

Disclaimer: The first few don’t have numbers bc I just CANNOT choose a favorite ok ngsdhjgs

Shinigami Record - I’m gonna start with this one because i was already planning on making a post about how underappreciated this song is… half of this post is probably gonna be about this song alone so i might as well put it as nuumbr one tbh

Musically it’s really simple and just so amazingly gentle. I feel like the slow piano and the way its played in the verses helps to convey Azami’s feelings really well. It starts as just a bunch of lonely piano notes, but then as Azami finds someone who loves her, feelings grow and change, so does the guitar replace the piano for the second verse. Then the harmonies for the part when Azami creates the Kagerou Daze make it feel not only more mystical but also give it more emotion. She creates it filled with love for her family after all, this part needed to have a lot of emotion in it! But then it quiets down and the lonely piano returns.. the guitar and piano interlace each other(i cant find a good english word for it im sorry) while Azami’s voice is growing more unsure and then ‘gasps’ with the realization, in a way. The harmonies return and we hear both the lonely piano and the love-filled guitar. Azami is really conflicted and u can HEAR that!! Then it bursts with the pitch change and you can just hear how heartbroken she is! the highest note really reminds me of when people are trying to sing but they’re crying so their technique is egh but it has so much emotion?? idk maybe its just IAs voice… and then after she sings “I still love you” theres a drop that sounds like slamming doors and the guitar is GONE. It ends on the same lonely piano we started with(different pitch blahblah i know ok) but there’s also the added noise that you can either hear traffic in, OR the sea/ocean waves. I KNOW im reading way too much into this but traffic could allude to our time, where the main story is set and the fact that what Azami did has consequences reaching much further than she could have ever imagined but also that despitwat happened, most people don’t even know about her story and everythings… well, normal. The sea waves would be just like the world she’s come to love and she’s leaving it all behind i guess lolThe way this song tells Azami’s story is uh, very simplified, but i think it works well. It gives you enough information to feel sorry for her even if it doesn’t really explain much. We only see Azami’s perspective so i’m not surprised or disappointed that reasons behind Tsukihiko’s disappearance arent really stated. Also i’m kind of glad it doesn’t delve deeper into the story, because i personally really didn’t like these chapters of the manga at all lol bc i didnt agree with the characterization and it didnt show Azami’s loneliness as much and kind of ruined the magic. I like Azami’s story when its still told as a kind of fairytale…This is also probably THE best Kagepro song in terms of tuning, too. idk what happened but i feel like here it’s much more soft than the other songs which makes it all the more enjoyable.

one day i’ll write a full essay on this…

I’m not gonna go that deep into any of the other ones dont worry

Remind Blue - Easily the best song on the Mekakucity Reload album. While i adore Additional Memory as well, my heart belongs to Remind Blue. Because the range isn’t that big, Miku’s voice and Jin’s tuning of don’t get overbearing. Im also a sucker for lyrics connecting to past events or symbols so the whole time reading the translation i was just lying in bed like kermit surrounded by heart emojis. I may or may not make a cover of this one…

Lost Time Memory - I feel like all that could be said about this song has already been said so I’ll just say i love it. I was introduced to it through Juby’s english cover(Classical Rock Arr. version!! thats important, i love this arrangement probably more than the original but the dude who made it just doesnt have a nice voice for this song… Juby’s not perfect but this cover’s good enough) an really this is the song that made me want to learn about Kagepro so there’s a lot of pure nostalgia connected to this one.

4. Ayano’s Theory of Happiness - whenever i tell someone new about kagepro i always say this is the song that makes me cry and laugh the hardest. I laugh a lot because of the tv anime version bc lmao every time i see it i LOSE IT gndnsdgs The reason i cry is quite obvious i think, but i still feel the need to specify it’s because of the lyric “so I hope you can love tomorrow”. It’s just such a simple thing but it makes me tear up 99% of the time. And like the thing is, the last couple of lines aren’t directed at any particular character either so its like she’s singing to us. She hopes we can love tomorrow as well… and just for you Ayano, I will try.

Also MARiA’s cover is the best one i barely listen to the original now lmao

5. Summertime Record - did i mention im a sucker for lyrics where the character is looking back at what happened? bc yeah i am. This song is really dear to my heart for some reason so much so that when at a camp with the choir ive been in for like 6years we were supposed to make a little song about it for the last campfire, i managed to get my friends to write the lyrics to this song with me and i think that in itself is very fitting to this song. and just.. yeah the whole thing just feels very welcoming and I love Haruka so

6. Children Record - BOYS👏 AND👏 GIRLS👏 yeah this song staight up slaps and i love it (altho i mostly listen to the version with MARiA bc the tuningin this one :’) its realy good go listen) and uh yeah its just a really good opening to the series! idk what to say exactly so uh really lets not drag this out

7. Additional Memory - so when this song came out i had to lay down for like a week bc just… woah yeah ok!! all the motifs and melodies from other songs just hit me so HARD and THE PV OH MY GOOOD i was SCREAMING! and youre absolutely right about the lyrics!! “if this were all a misunderstanding, i don’t want to hear it” just HITS and HURTS and GOD YEAH

8. Kagerou Days - ahh classic above classics…. the one where you’ve set your expectations for Hibiya to just be a good childhood friend only to have it be crushed by other media… its just a great base for angsty AUs for anytwo cahracters that care about each other really and i love it! also like when i first listenedi was like what and when i realized whats happening i was just…  poetic cinema guy but with hearts i really love angst huh

9. Headphone Actor - I don’t know what to say apart from I love Takane, I love the whole Harutaka story, I love the metaphor and the music and I have a little lesbian moment every time i listen to LiSA’s version of the song(THE WAY SHE SHINGS “Dokoka e to mukatteru”??? IM TOO GAY FOR THIS SHIT I CANT) and its 3:30am so i cant think anymore okbut god i love LiSA’s voice

10. Never Lost Word - ah the kinnie really jumps out here lmao this is the song i listened o and was just !! it me!! which… NOT a good thing if not for the last verse lol but yeah i just identify with kido a lot so like…i just really felt this song back when i first listened to it and even now i still do… just… yeah. and i just really like it in every way i guess lol

ALSO Shoutout to Gunjo Rain and Dead and Seek for beeing other tragically underappreciated Kagepro songs bc they dont have PVs

[tompen94]

Ranting about Kingdom Hearts (cuz I just got into it)

Oh boy... where to begin...

I guess I should start by saying I wasn’t a fan of this series. I had barely heard of it growing up (try being a nerd in Portugal, it’s the worst) and by the time I did all I was hearing was about how convoluted the story was and how it had Disney characters with JRPG ones and I just thought it was weird af.

It wasn’t until the hype for KH3 started building up and one of my friends started showing me trailers for the thing that I got interested myself. As such for the last couple of weeks I took it upon myself to catch up with the series lore-wise. Now I’m caught up (not really but fuck if I have to go through that mobile phone game), so I have some thoughts to spew out.

I should note that KH3 will be my very first experience in gameplay of the series. I only went through the story of the other games, watching their cutscenes. (All-in-one does sound like an appetizing package but I wasn’t willing to spend 100+ euros on something I wasn’t even sure I was gonna like).

I will be going on a game-by-game basis.

Kingdom Hearts

When you wak away~ you don’t hear me say~ (God this song is so good)

What I took from this game is that despite the ridiculous looking premise, it works. I don’t know how putting a FF-looking dude along with Sora and Goofy works, but they made it work. Bravo.

The story was pretty straight-forward. I like that Riku and Sora have very much the same goal throughout the game, only that Riku ended up hanging out with the wrong people and had to pay the price for it.

I really like the scene where Kairi is revived, almost like a reversal of the beginning of the game. She goes to grab Sora and he poofs out of existance. It actually hits pretty hard.

I love that they kept Mickey to just one cameo. They build him up so well and in the end he just appears and basically solves the situation. Great stuff.

Also did I mention how good Simple and Clean is?

Kingdom Hearts - Chain of Memories

This is where some questions start popping up. The rigmarole around Sora’s memories was a bit confusing to me.

Other than that though, this was pretty harmless. Namine is a nice addition to the cast and I like how Sora and the Riku-replica argued over things.

I also like Sora’s final decision to go back to how he was.

Kingdom Hearts - 358/2 Days

Yes, I went through this game before KH2. No I don’t regret it.

I really like Roxas, Axel and Xion. Probably my favorite trio as a whole in the series. They spend a lot of scenes together and they really sell the friendship between them.

Yes they’re always eating ice cream but why is that bad?

Kingdom Hearts II

Omoidasuka~ Haruka harukaaaa~ Mirai wa~ (God this music is so good)

Oh my god this game was looooooong.

I almost forgot the non-plot stuff of this game completely. It’s not to say that it’s bad, but that it is a lot of stuff to remember so I chose to keep the plot-important stuff. Thankfully, that plot-important stuff is really really really good.

I think the final world is worth every pound of a full-price game on its own. I mean, seriously. Kairi and Namine’s escape and rescue by Riku. Ansem’s sacrifice. Xemnas’  questioning (and his voice, so soothing). Sora’s reunion with Riku. And how about that final battle. Oh my god the hype.

I do have a question though. How did Riku obtain his keyblade? It looks like his old bat wing sword so I thought it had been turned into a keyblade, but then in DD he summons the sword so he still has it?

Still, probably my favorite entry in the series.

Kingdom Hearts - Birth by sleep

This one kinda felt like the Star Wars prequels, what with Xehanort constantly goading Terra into using the darkness.

This game’s pacing was weird. One minute we’re trudging through the remaining worlds not explored in KH1, then suddenly Eraqus is attacking Ventus and we’re on the path to the Keyblade Graveyard.

This was the game that started interconnecting the plot too much. There’s no need for Mickey to be here, much less in the finale. Kairi now ended up Destiny Islands because Aqua gave her a charm or something. Sora and Riku got the Kingdom key because Riku was bequeathed by Terra now. The only one that kinda had to happen was the rigmarole with Sora’s and Ventus’s hearts, in order to explain Roxas’s appearance.

Still, the finale was pretty good and it did a good job of setting up Xehanort as the series’ big bad.

Btw, Aqua’s VA was shit. It really distracted me... Like can you at least pretend that you care? Really bad performance.

Kingdom Hearts - Re:coded

Apparently this one’s important to the plot now.

My least favorite entry in the franchise so far. Most of the game is inconsequential, it goes on for too long and for no good reason.

There are a couple of good moments between Data!Sora and Data!Riku, and I like that this game actually gave Sora a goal to achieve in KH3, that of rescuing every other MC trio, but those points are not enough to redem this game.

It felt like a chore to go through this one.

Kingdom Hearts - Dream Drop Distance

This one was mostly fun, but it is also responsible for the meme-status of the franchise’s story. Oh my god...

I actually don’t mind the complicated exam. I also like the idea of a mishap turning Riku into Sora’s guardian angel. However it’s when the Xehanorts start running amok that the plot starts to literally fold in on itself.

It does a decent enough job of setting up KH3 and hyping it up, but this really was where the story started to get convoluted. Before this point it was actually pretty easy to follow for me.

I’m also not fond of the retcon on Organization XIII’s goals.

Also I guess Riku is more special than Sora now? Not that I’m complaining.

Kingdom Hearts - 0.2 Birth by sleep -A fragmentary passage-

This game fixed Aqua and ruined Mickey. I mean, it’s pretty. And Aqua is life. But what the hell did you do to Mickey, Nomura?

You mean to tell me that Aqua was there the whole time and Mickey didn’t try to get her out of the Realm of Darkness? WHAT?! He was there with Riku, and Mickey didn’t even so much as mention Aqua to him? She’s literally there on the beach!

On the other hand though, Aqua’s VA now does a pretty decent job. Aqua herself is given a lot more to do and think about. Her character really benefits from this title. She’s not my favorite character, but I totally get why she’s a fan favorite.

Also terrible excuse to get Sora back to Lvl 1 is terrible.

Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover

On its own, I actually like this. It’s a pretty solid story on how the Keyblade War first sparked.

Yes, the foretellers are idiots who were obviously being played by the Master of Masters, but I think the way they fell out is nicely told. I also think that was the intent of the story. To show how dependent these guys were on the Master and how incompetent they were, so much so that the moment the Master disappears everything goes haywire.

I am a bit reluctant on this as a piece of the Kingdom Hearts story though. More specifically when it pertains to the Dark Seeker Saga. I don’t like how this was shown to us before KH3. Because even though I’m new to the series, I can tell a crazy storyteller when I see one. And Nomura’s incessant need of referencing every single piece of content in KH will rear its ugly head in KH3.

This shit is gonna matter, but it clearly has no place in the story told so far. Yes, it shows the beginnings of the Kayblade War, which is Xehanort’s end goal. But now we have ANOTHER bad guy to look out for in the Master of Masters and what the hell is in the black box, cuz I can assure it will appear in KH3. Isn’t this a bit too much to tack on just before the release of the game that supposedly ends the saga?

And don’t get me started on the fuckton of continuity problems the whole mobile game shabang brings.

Looking onto Kingdom Hearts III

On the whole though, I’m getting this game. If I had to equate it to something it would be to Infinity War in how it is going to converge all of the currently ongoing plotlines. Everything is leading up to this.

That in and of itself is good enough to generate hype, but there are other things that I’m looking forward to in the game.

- The gameplay (again, haven’t actually played any of the games yet, this will be my first experience)

- Playing as Kairi (wasn’t particularly happy with her lack of screentime despite her status as a MC)

- Sora’s goal to help Roxas (and I believe the others connected to him by extension)

- Visiting the Pixar worlds (this stuff looks so good, it looks exactly the same as the movies)

- The epic team-up of all the trios

- The music (of course)

- And probably some other stuff that I can’t remember right now.

May your heart be your guiding key

[zukadiary]

The Sky is on the Banks of the Red River / Citrus Breeze -Sunrise- ~ Cosmos Troupe 2018

For the first time ever I’d been here a full month without seeing any of *my* ladies, and while BADDY was an absolutely thrilling experience worth the sacrifice, my first viewing of Soragumi felt so much like a long-awaited return home I teared up as soon as the prologue started.

Amazing prologue aside, Red River was not my girl Koyanagi-sensei’s best work. Watching it I can imagine why it was tempting for her; Soragumi must be a tricky troupe to write for right now. Not only are they absolutely stacked with tracked talent, tracked?? talent, and non-tracked upperclassmen who nonetheless never fail to land high-profile roles, but they’re unusually stable. With Kiki’s move coming right after Maa’s taidan, essentially the only spot to open up in the last 3+ years has been top musumeyaku. Everyone—particularly 95th downwards—is 3+ years stronger, more polished, and more charming... but they have nowhere to go. Take that and add the retiring Magee and it’s an even bigger conundrum. Red River has A LOT of characters, and it definitely succeeded in giving every one of those people a solid principal role. However, it’s also a very long manga, and in an effort to give everyone a juicy character I think Koyanagi tried to stuff way too many storylines into a measly hour and a half. I got everything because I read the manga ahead of time, but I think it would have been difficult to understand even for a Japanese person who has not read it (it almost felt like watching the shinko of a 2-act, where they abridge it on the assumption you already know the whole story). Also unfortunate: while the characters’ storylines do all ultimately intertwine, they unfold very much separately, such that it often doesn’t make sense to have them on the stage at the same time. As a result a bunch of the major roles, while distinctly juicier somehow, wound up with less actual stage time than some of the more minor roles. On the plus side it was visually nice, pretty good for some unexpected people, and definitely gets a passing grade for stage fighting, which, I’ve recently come to appreciate, is something that gives certain troupes a great deal of difficulty, making it oh so satisfying when it’s done well (I assume? It’s possible it was only done well in my very narrow Soravision). Makaze and Madoka have also DRAMATICALLY improved their harmony sound since West Side Story. It hit me right in the chest.

People will be quick hits, as there was not exactly room for deep character exploration in this show:

Makaze seemed to relish all the campiest parts of playing a shoujo manga love interest, from her delivery of the ridiculous lines to her execution of the overly aggressive “romantic” gestures. Plus she’s just downright handsome, and absolutely believable as the greatest warrior prince given her stature. 

I thought Madoka was absolutely wonderful given the limitations of the role, which winds up fairly badass but is still a sixteen year old girl. Madoka played Yuuri with amazing strength, and she’s such a natural actress even the groan-worthy manga lines came out passable. Someday I hope they let her play an actual adult though.

Kiki was a favorite less in terms of Ramses as a character and more in terms of this continued evolution of New Kiki. It was not as much of a shocking portrayal as some of her recent characters (Bernardo, whatever that dude’s name is in Yamataikoku), but still definitely a progression for how effortless it came off. Even as the nibante she’s not exactly on stage all the time, but outside of the prologue she gets the best song. A+++ on the visuals too.

Aichan as the Prince of Darkness and Akkii as Nefertiti kind of fall into the same category for me (I just realized writing that that they play siblings, but that’s not why). I feel like they both had extremely minimal stage time and storylines stuffed in at great pains (especially Aichan), and relied entirely on the wow factor of their visuals to give their roles weight—Aichan as the stereotypical dark sexy dude in an impressive floor-length wig, and Akkii as a very glitzy queen. If we hadn’t had to send off Magee and thus had one more prominent role open, I’d say the story would have benefitted from cutting the Prince of Darkness storyline entirely.

Seiko as Queen Nakia and Magee as her sidekick Urhi are the real villains of the manga, and in the rushed storytelling I think we lose a bit of how truly diabolical they are. I think I’m less frustrated with Nakia simply because I’m delighted that that’s the role Seiko landed, but Magee’s involvement felt extremely subdued. 

Zunchan is once again the perfect little brother, but is betrayed and killed fairly early.

To my VERY PLEASANT SURPRISE, Riku, Sora, and Makise, who I assumed would wind up being Nobodies 1, 2, and 3 respectively, somehow wound up benefitting from the storyline battle among the principal characters; while they weren’t exactly blessed with a wealth of lines, they were on stage a lot, and actually contributed quite a bit to the general progression of things with their wordless background acting. No idea how much of that will show up on the DVD, but in the theater it was a joy to watch. Special shout-out to Sora slow-motion kicking Moeko’s ass all the way on the right wing of the stage while Makaze and Kiki have their dramatic final wrestle in the middle.

And a few people really lucked out! I have no idea who Mitsuki Haruka bribed to land Ilbani, but that’s the most I can ever remember her doing in a Grand Theater show (not complaining, I adore her). Fuuma Kakeru was a disheveled old man, but got her OWN! SOLO! and a very passionate one at that (more solos for Kakeru 2k4ever). And Manami Hikaru, armed with youth and shortness, benefitted from the fact that Tito, a fairly major character, is a literal child.

I LOVE CITRUS BREEZE WITH ALL MY HEART.

I remember thinking right around when Tsukigumi started in the Grand Theater that Citrus Breeze is the perfect thing to follow BADDY, because one has no choice but to forgive its lack of innovation in light of Soragumi’s 20th anniversary. I TAKE IT BACK because that implies that there is SOMETHING TO FORGIVE. It’s old, and it’s definitely on the wholesome side, which is not usually my thing... but it’s perfect. I love the songs, I love the dance numbers, I love the costumes, I love the big round 1970s music variety show light bulbs screwed into the sets that radiate nostalgia. Much of it is the same old Citrus Breeze, but—and it’s possible this is because I’ve only seen past versions in the form of mediocrely rendered Sky Stage recordings—this one felt so bright and polished and perfected. I’m pretty certain it’s my favorite.

Highlights, though it’s hard not to just say all of it:

Kiki’s Paradiso scene, basically only as long as it takes to saunter across the ginkyou once, but plenty to take in in that short time (I was most struck by how expertly she spread her hand on her hat at the final pose)

Mr. Bojangles, a shoo-in for favorite if Asu e no Energy didn’t exist, for a) Kumichou center b) SPATS and c) Sora dancing on a level so OTHER that it hurt my stomach

The chuuzume, which instead of being the fire-up type is just beautiful in a heartbreaking way

Madoka’s opera. I knew she was talented but I didn’t know she had that in her. She’s so stunningly beautiful in that scene too (and something about a heartbroken Kiki throwing down a glove to duel just kinda makes you wanna cry).

Chiaki hamming up the center of the rockette with these knowing expressions that are mostly fun but definitely also a little dangerous

Asu e, I bawled through it both times and listened to it on loop through my full 8 hour work nights 3 days in a row. The old Japanese lady next to me the second night screamed WOOOO all by herself at the end of it and I was so happy. Sora’s dancing, once again, a whole other level.

More than one lovely sendoff scene for Magee

And the SUNRISE bit, a very classic otokoyaku dance in bedazzled white tails in front of a burning sun, not out of place in the wholesomeness of the rest of the revue but with just enough fire to melt you the exact right amount. 

I’ve SEEN IT and I knew I’d LIKE IT but I didn’t expect to love it THIS MUCH. I could watch it 1000 times. 

[natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk]

3rd Seiyuu Awards (2009) - Thoughts

Unfortunately, I still haven’t been able to find a full list of both nominees and winners, so I will just be commenting on the winners. I noticed that they introduced an “Overseas Fan Award” as well, so even though I didn’t get an image for it, I’ll list who won it below. For the full list of award shows (via Wikipedia), here’s a link. I’ll put everything below the “keep reading” line because a lot of my favourite seiyuu won awards in this show.

Best Lead Actor: I’m proud of Hiroshi Kamiya for getting this one. Natsume is a character that isn’t over-the-top like a lot of Hiroshi’s other roles, and he’s much more understated. The rest can be said about the series. It’s not the thrill-ride that gets you hyped like My Hero Academia or something; it’s the type of series where you sit back and watch these characters grow as they share their stories, and I thought Hiroshi Kamiya did a great job in that role. I wouldn’t have wanted to character to be portrayed by anyone else.

Best Lead Actress: YES. RIE KUGIMIYA. The Toradora dub isn’t bad. Let me get that out of the way. But Rie Kugimiya was such a standout role. It’s one of her most iconic, and nobody can nail that tsundere voice as much as she can. She portrayed her to a perfect standard, and unfortunately, the dub doesn’t do it quite the same way (partially because her voice is really unique). She portrays her sadness, anger, and cuteness really well, so I’m proud that she won an award for that. I haven’t heard of her other role.

Best Supporting Actors: Tomozaku Sugita has my respect, but I don’t know any of those roles. None. Haven’t even heard of most of those. I would’ve liked to see his speech though because I really don’t see him as the type to be good at formal speeches. He can barely keep a straight face at events. Kazuhiko Inoue deserves this though because Madara is a character that goes from a cute plushie cat to an epic wolf-creature-thing (don’t know the word for it). He’s epic and has quite the attitude which is different from most of his roles, yet he pulls it off really well. Plus, Kazuhiko is just a good dude altogether. He has been known to raise money after the earthquake that happened and does other work.

Best Supporting Actresses: I’ve somehow managed to skip all of Aya Endou’s lead roles. She plays a lot of cutesy characters though and is very accomplished. But I surprisingly haven’t watched any of these Miyuki Sawashiro roles in their entirety. BUT SHE STILL DESERVES THE AWARD.

Best Rookie Actors: YES. THESE TWO ARE BOTH AMAZING. YES. I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY WERE STILL “ROOKIES” BUT YES. Nobu did a spectacular job nailing the Accelerator’s craziness. The fact he still has his voice too. He’s also the lead in that Persona anime. If it wasn’t so lowly rated and if the series was easy to follow, I would jump on the chance to watch it. Miyuki Sawashiro and Nobuhiko Okamoto? Now that’s cool. In terms of Yuki Kaji’s roles for this award, I haven’t watched Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji), but I’ve watched a few scenes with Finnian in it. He’s such a pure dumb idiot. I haven’t heard of the other anime, but I searched it up. Looks like a superpower shounen harem.

Best Rookie Actresses: These two are both really cool. Kana Asumi usually plays a little girl or things like that. Haruka Tomatsu plays practically everything from Morgiana (Magi) to Asuna (SAO, which I will never ever watch entirely) to Genderbent Gintoki (Gintama). I have a hard time recognizing her because her range is so vast. I weirdly don’t know these roles (for the both of them). But I respect them both.

Best Personality: Dear Girl Stories (DGS) can be funny at times especially when they are at the hosts’ (Hiroshi Kamiya and Daisuke Ono’s) expense. For example, they tried a durian, and it was hilarious. Or when they semi-broke into Hiroshi Kamiya’s house for his birthday and Nyanko-sensei made an appearance on the show (not the character; that’s Hiroshi’s cat’s name). To be honest, I haven’t watched him host a show without his counterpart (Daisuke Ono) so I wouldn’t know. 

Best Musical Performance: I haven’t watched a lot of Megumi Nakajima’s roles partially because she is more of a singer than she is a seiyuu. I haven’t listened to a ton of her songs either, but I like the OP of Net-juu no Susume. I also respect her a lot because she acknowledges and embraces her mixed heritage. She’s half-Filipino (from her mom) and half-Japanese (from her dad). I never noticed this growing up, but I find that sometimes in foreign countries, being Filipino isn’t the greatest thing. 

Overseas Fan Award (no image): Jun Fukuyama deserves it. He has so many lead roles in anime that have been a hit overseas from Code Geass to Assassination Classroom. He has a distinctly unique voice, and I truly think that he’s a big name in the industry.

On a small side note: I was talking to my sister who was watching a Korean reality series where they follow mixed-race couples and families because it’s so taboo and rare there. I kind of looked oddly (being the sheltered Canadian I am) because I never thought how weird it was being mixed-race. You sometimes go through a little bit of an “identity crisis” because you don’t know where you fit in, and it’s one of the reasons why I don’t know a second language. The outside world speaks English, and my parents speak English because one was born here and the other has been here most of her life. Not to mention, it’s common ground between the two of them (since my mom doesn’t know Cantonese and my dad doesn’t know Tagalog). Filipinos are known for taking “low-status” jobs and such too. I was recently reading an article on the adversity that Filipino and Filipino-Japanese people go through. For a foreign race that takes up such a large number of the population (4th overall), I found it surprising. I was never ashamed of my heritage growing up because I was surrounded with people who weren’t majorly racist, but I’m starting to learn more and more of the racism that occurs outside of my own life.