#her hair in vol 4 is SO hard to draw and i feel like i fucked it up so i drew her with the vol 333 extension hair instead.

[foster-the-moths]

bird au evelin :D

[hamliet]

Chemical Weddings in RWBY

So once upon a time Hamliet said she’d write a meta about ships in RWBY, and then arrived months later without Starbucks. 

The central tenet of alchemy is solve et coagula: dissolve, and then coagulate. The process (RWBY appears to be following Ripley’s 12 Gates) repeats, rinses, and repeats again and again throughout the steps, “each time at a more refined level.” The point of a chemical wedding is to reconcile opposites, which is something I touched on in my pseudo-quick meta here. Lyndy Abraham, the author of A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery, describes the chemical wedding as: 

a crucial operation in the creation of the philosopher’s stone. The alchemists were ultimately concerned with the union of substances, the reconciliation of opposites.

Basically, it unites opposites (fire and water, air and earth, sun and moon, passive and active,  etc., etc., etc.) and then the opposites start to take on each other’s qualities, creating the “Rebis,” or a person both male and female. 

The first chemical wedding is usually somewhat violent, primitive even, whereas the second one signifies the creation of the stone. However, characters can have more than two weddings, and chemical weddings do not inherently have to be romantic--Sam and Frodo aren’t, for example--but most often are, because it’s the most obvious way to show a union between separate people (the old adage “two become one” in marriage, for example). 

If we look at George Ripley’s 12 Gates, chemical weddings tend to be focused on in the fourth stage of conjunction (which I wrote about here) and in the ninth, fermentation (which is probably going to be in volume 10--maybe a little in volume 9, but traveling between worlds seems to be a hallmark of sublimation in fiction so I’m guessing we’re stuck there for the time being). But in a lengthy series spanning eight years and counting, there is going to be overlap. 

So let’s talk about chemical wedding imagery historically. It tends to involve dissolution (via water or fire--keep in mind metal was associated with fire in olden days, so stabbing with metal was considered liquid fire, or so it was believed to be by alchemists) and then coagulation (healing/coming together). 

Four of the five ships--two of whom are definitely happening, one of which I think is happening and one of which I think has a good chance--reference historical alchemical artwork and symbolism in key moments. (RWBY does reference alchemical artwork; see here and here.) So let’s dive in and examine potential chemical wedding allusions in RWBY:

Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie (Renora)

Let’s start with the most obvious couple: Ren and Nora. Their first chemical wedding occurs when they are children. In alchemical art, birds are often used to show the volatility/primitiveness of a first chemical wedding:

The raven is replicated in the Nevermore which forms a similarly threatening pose over Ren and Nora when he unlocks his semblance to protect her, thus honoring his father and mother’s legacies. 

You can even see earth (trees), water (river), fire, and air (the bird flying) in the scene as it pans out. After this, Ren and Nora become “Ren and Nora,” as Nora herself says in Volume 8. They’re inseparable, because they’re on their way to becoming one. However, unification doesn’t mean that they’re literally the same person; in stories like these, it’s more like they become better versions of themselves through growing towards each other and adopting each other’s traits (like Nora’s courage for Ren, and Ren’s caution for Nora). 

Their second, elevated chemical wedding is in the same place as their first, when in Volume 4 they return to the village and defeat the monster they were too young to defeat last time. This time, Nora is the one who protects Ren by telling him he could not sacrifice his life by pulling Ren back, in a reversal of his running to her in their first moment years ago. 

Like the first, there’s water involved--Ren and Nora hide next to a river, watching as the Knuckelvee advances on them. I talked previously how I thought this looked like a possible allusion to this alchemical image (look at the moon symbol on the head of the aggressor): 

The moon symbol actually shows up quite a bit in this scene, first when Nora and Ren discover the Nuckelvee is still alive in the cave: 

And then in the moment when they defeat it: 

While I am certain this is a chemical wedding, I’m not certain why the moon symbol is so prominent in this, though I do think it is possibly in reference to this image and how Nora and Ren are united now: 

Yang Xiao Long/Blake Belladonna (Bumbleby)

Firstly, the alchemy image is somewhat of a creepy image, right? In this, Mercurius has united the two principles by beheading them (amputation is a Thing in alchemy), leaving them to putrefy and then coagulate.

Like the Nuckelvee for Nora and Ren, Blake and Yang have a somewhat antagonistic Mercurius who unites them: Adam Taurus. He doesn’t cut off their heads, but he does seriously injure Blake and cuts off Yang’s arm in a scene that is romantically charged (you have Blake’s possessive ex telling her he’ll target someone she loves and specifically chooses Yang). 

While I have my issues with how Bumbleby is written, it’s hard to interpret that as anything other than him seeing Yang as a rival for Blake’s affection.

Their second chemical wedding also involves Adam. There’s no one direct image that seems to have inspired it, but it does take place in a place full of waterfalls (fountains and flowing water in general, like the ones in Nora and Ren’s village, are common elements of chemical weddings’ settings) and by the ocean (the “mercurial sea” is where the elements dissolve to make the Philosopher’s Stone, so it’s also a common hallmark for chemical weddings).

(To briefly address this: this is where my complaints about the writing pile in, because you can also make a damn strong case that Blake and Sun fighting on the ship to Menagerie is a chemical wedding, which it is, but I think it’s clear at this point that Bumbleby is endgame. Either both were written for a reason, like if they weren’t sure if they could do Bumbleby, or a narrative reason, in which case Black Sun should have been dealt with rather than hand-waved away, or they were just teasing, but baiting fans is never, ever good writing; it’s cheap. All that to say that while I think there’s a compelling case they were interested in pursuing Bumbleby from the start, Black Sun shippers have a right to feel tricked and not all criticism thereof is based in homophobia or a lack of narrative understanding, or even in a dislike of the ship.)

At the beginning of this scene, Adam makes it clear that this is a redo of their previous chemical wedding by reminding them of it: 

Blake stabs Adam with a silver weapon; Yang with red. We have earth, air (clouds), water, and weapons as a stand-in for fire.

It’s still somewhat of a violent wedding, which makes me wonder if Bumbleby will have a third (and Renora as well). But it also parallels Renora in this: returning to a pivotal scene where they were traumatized, but this time being able to overcome it because they’ve become more like each other. Blake is in many ways Yang’s trauma stretching far beyond Beacon (Blake runs away, as does Raven, Yang’s mother who abandoned her), and likewise Yang for Blake (she’s hotheaded and holds grudges, like Adam). But Blake and Yang have been working on becoming better versions of themselves. 

At the end of this scene, they even exchange quasi-wedding vows (since Blake’s promise is to not abandon Yang): 

And the artists drive home the point by drawing Blake’s hair far bushier than normal (more like Yang’s), and Yang’s far tamer than normal (like Blake’s). 

Jaune Arc/Weiss Schnee (White Knight)

Weiss and Jaune have had one chemical wedding thus far (possibly two but not sure) and I didn’t ship them at all until I saw this scene. Like Bumbleby and Renora, they have an antagonistic Mercurius: Cinder.  

(This one I’ll be arguing a little bit about why I think it’s set up for romance as well.)

In this scene, Cinder directly compares Weiss to Pyrrha in regards to how Jaune feels about them (and we know Jaune and Pyrrha were romantic--you can also argue Cinder was an antagonistic Mercurius uniting Pyrrha and Jaune). 

When Weiss screams, Cinder gets an idea and slides her gaze from Weiss to Jaune. 

And then reenacts this: 

As I also mentioned previously, Jaune then plays the role of the Prince to Weiss’s Snow White (which is an alchemical fairy tale). Like when Ren unlocks his aura to protect Nora, Jaune unlocks his to save Weiss. Weiss looks as if she is in a glass coffin that gets more and more golden, symbolic of refinement. 

It’s also probably an allusion to this image of a chemical wedding presided over by Saturn (Mercury in this scene, since he’s there) and Death (Ruby and Qrow, who are also present in the scene with Jaune and Weiss). (For more on this image, see here.)

Weiss and Jaune also have some oppositional imagery and arcs: Weiss starts Beacon with a deep family legacy and an inherited semblance, she chooses to go to Beacon on her own and is the favored child (at first). Jaune too has a family legacy of warriors, but instead of feeling empowered because of this, he is insecure and  literally cheats his way into the school. He doesn’t have a semblance until season 5. After this incident, Weiss and Jaune spend some time recreationally together (seeing a movie in vol 7); Jaune becomes more confident as a leader, and Weiss continues her arc in becoming more sympathetic to those from less privileged backgrounds.

Arguably, what happened at the end of volume 8 could be seen as having some symbolism of a chemical wedding for Weiss and Jaune too, but I don’t think it actually is one since they weren’t focused on as characters enough (if this was intended to be the start of one, we’ll get something next season, I’d imagine). The only reason I’m mentioning it is because it does function as an inverse of the previous one, which is the case for Renora and Bumbleby’s first and second weddings too. Cinder again almost kills Weiss (she falls in the exact same position as in vol 5), but Jaune saves Weiss when he screams after killing Penny. Instead of saving Weiss by healing, he kills. There’s also some distinctive red and white imagery. 

And then Winter arrives with a six-pointed star and birds before telling them to run together:

But again, I wouldn’t really call this one; it just has some imagery of one and fits a pattern, so I’m including it as a potential lead-in to an actual one in the void or later. 

Ruby Rose/Oscar Pine (Rosegarden)

Like with Weiss/Jaune, I’ll be arguing a little bit about why I think this one is likely to end up romantic, too (for example, Cinder most recently in volume 8 used Oscar to taunt Ruby in a callback to using Pyrrha and Weiss to taunt Jaune).

Also: oh look, finally a wedding that isn’t violent. They just... meet. Which is also normal for a chemical wedding but less dramatic.

Behold, the bird uniting the solar king and lunar queen: 

(Fun fact: unless CRWBY came up with ship names which I highly, highly doubt, this is pure coincidence, but it’s a funny one: the art series this image is taken from is called Rosarium Philosophorum--which literally means “rose garden philosophy.”)

Let’s look at the scene where Ruby and Oscar meet for the first time. What makes this a chemical wedding is in part how obvious their markings are and the overall imagery is in the scene.

They are united by Qrow (who in addition to being named after a bird can literally transform into a bird):

Oscar asks about Ruby specifically (yes, I know because Qrow’s her uncle, but the writing is telling us to focus on his relationship with her): 

And immediately notes/is in awe that she has silver eyes (i.e. the moon): 

Qrow seems to realize he’s done something momentous in a way that almost doesn’t entirely work within the frame of the narrative (but he is drunk, so). 

The scenery of this room is also telling. The table is literally an Emerald Table, the legendary foundation of alchemy itself. 

Once they sit and talk, behind Oscar are the elements of earth and water, which he represents, and also the moon, which while traditionally associated with earth and water, he does not (at least not as strongly as he’s associated with the sun/gold):

Similarly, behind Ruby we have the elements of fire and air (like, if you zoom in, they actually drew air), which she is marked as, and the sun, which again, she’s not as strongly associated with as she is with the moon:

In Splendor Solis, which CRWBY has referenced before, the Solar King does eventually end up grounded in the moon, and likewise the Lunar Queen in the sun:

Oscar and Ruby also do have oppositional arcs and roles: Ruby starts the series in the very first episode by being invited to Beacon two years early because of her leaping into action to stop Torchwick. She’s scolded for her recklessness, but immediately picked out as special because of her silver eyes. In contrast, Oscar is reluctant to leave his farm once Ozpin inhabits him; he refuses at first, and then once he does leave, is nervous and timid.

Anyways I wouldn’t be surprised if Qrow arrives in Vacuo with RWBYJ in tow and this time reunites Ruby with Oscar in an inverse. We’ll see. 

I do want to say that I also see potential for Emerald Sustrai/Mercury Black, in that they often act as one and share a theme song, but I haven’t seen any actual visual references to a chemical wedding for them... yet. 

[antiloreolympus]

11 Anti LO Asks

1. Zeus would make a much more compelling character if RS grounded his obsession with gaining respect in the context of his childhood: He could’ve been Rhea’s favourite kid and grew a huge ego/sense of entitlement as a result while feeling deeply under appreciated by his brothers and Hera for his instrumental role in rescuing them and his care for her respectively, unable to look past his own trauma and ego to see that they too are struggling with their own demons rather than neglecting him.

2. I’m gonna have disagree with that one anon saying narrators are always a sign of weak storytelling because that’s not always the truth. Hades the game for example has a narrator and it’s used very effectively to give it an fairytale-like feel, a funny thing for zag to comment on because he can hear them and he will often comment on the rude things they say, and also provides a bit of world building. A narrator is also good if it’s established beforehand who is saying the narration, such as a storyteller or prophet, and it can establish to the audience they are viewing something from the past, and they can speak when there are major shifts in the story, not throughout the whole thing. A narrator in LO isn’t even a bad idea, the issue is it should have been established much earlier, maybe even episode one is we’re being honest, instead of just coming out of nowhere to speak of stuff in the future? It’s also pretty purposely only being there to be a cliffhanger instead of even putting in effort to make it interesting enough for anyone to care or come back without the narration there basically begging them to care what’s going on. It’s very strange and shows a lack of confidence and effort in her writing to be so literally spelled out like that.

I agree with the other comments too. The font is atrocious. LO is usually really good with fonts and they picked one that was visually very ugly and hard to read with an even worse color. I didn’t even think the fonts would degrade too like the art, and yet here we are!

3. I love how rachel dropped the cover for vol 2 of LO and its just a treasure trove of book design failures. her name is on top, giving the impression both she is the title and she cares more about getting her own name out there over the actual story, empty space where the title should be, the title covering most of hades, the title being cramped so much to cover him, persephone being covered by volume two, the list goes on. the first cover wasnt much better, but this is much worse.

4. RS is willing to change aspects of the story according to fan speculation but isn't down to do anything that would retcon out the offensive stereotypes, the homophobia, or the character-assassination of apollo.

5. I’m pretty sure Hera and Echo will have an infidelity arc followed by betrayal thanks to Echo’s role in Zeus’s meddling. It’s already established that Hera is just as willing to cheat as Zeus is and Echo’s blue colouration and short hair is clearly reminiscent of Hades. Given how RS has stated that character colour palettes are symbolic, I wouldn’t overlook this detail (the one instance of RS actually sticking to her colour rules lol). Also, Ares’ comment just seems to imply it!

6. Yo I just saw RS Insta story- SHES ALREADY MAKING A VOLUME TWO BOOK???? When the first volume isn’t out yet?????? Tbh, I never expected this 

7. Daphne has more personality than Persephone. Though both came from the same deprives mortal realm background, Daphne is thriving. Unlike Persephone, she’s confident and willing to take control over her own life (though this is only illustrated in the context of her dating life which is sad af, female characters never get any other kind of agency in LO). Perse would be a more interesting protagonist if she had Daphne’s (still limited af) personality.

8. There seems to be a lot of infighting here regarding Myth Hades and Persephone and it's 'modern retelling' or butchering by RS.

All fighting aside on whether Hades was a good husband and Persephones role (or lack of agency) in the myth of the Kidnapping - what is actually wrong with appreciating the myth as is?

(Isn't the myth there to give an explanation as to why the seasons change? As well as being a story of a mother in grief over her lost daughter? And her fight to find her?)

Also, in that context, is there really something wrong with liking the... lets say more "modern" adaptations of the Myth where Hades and Persephone loved one another, so long as one understands and respects the original canon (sources) and culture from which it originated?

9. The way Daphne is drawn went from sweet girl-next-door to model with overfilled lips and too many surgical alterations to increase her sex appeal.. Her lips look like they’ve been stung by several bees in the latest FP what is up with that? It’s especially irksome since RS normally draws very nice looking full lips (I.e Persephone) but they just look so off on Daphne.

10. So Minthe being in the story so early on (and already dating Hades) is lets say an "interesting" narrative choice. Mainly because it feels like RS did this because she doesnt want to acknowledge that Hades may have loved someone other than Persephone.

Because (as far as I am aware) Minthe does not show up until after Hades and Persephone are already married. And Hades did care about Minthe (as I believe one anon mentioned - he named a mountain after her?) - and she was stomped on by Persephone for daring to say that Hades liked her more.

It feels like RS made this narrative choice because she wanted to (mess with the myths) showcase that Persephone is Hades 'One True Love' and the only way she could think do to that was to make Minthe a vicious abuser. Which is unfair.

11. Uh …. Why are they already publishing a volume 2 or LO only four months after the first one? If they keep that rate up won’t they catch up really quick to the actual comic and run out of stuff to publish? I would be pissed to get a book with a cover with effort put into it just to get rushed nonsense in the actual book. Girl take a break.

Also the logo is literally covering up half of the couple while there is a giant empty space above them so her name is the main focus. Either Rachel is shit at book cover design (likely) or she needs to stroke her ego real bad and make sure her own name is the main focus. Good lord. 

[aros001]

First time read through light novel vol. 4. Random thoughts.

So this is where mayonnaise came into the story. I still remember my sheer utter confusion over the mayo bath in the Memory Snow OVA, having no memory of the anime ever bringing up any of Subaru's love for the condiment. As a positive for him at least, it's cool that Emilia apparently really likes it too and that he's the one who figured out how to makes the stuff in this new world.

“The lad’s eyes interested me ever so slightly. They said he has crossed the boundary of death. Many come close to the line, stop, and draw back, but...” Wilhelm lowered his lids in thought as his words trailed off. “Those are the eyes of one who has crossed once, no...several times, and returned. I know of no such being. You might say I was compelled by curiosity.”

How would he know what the eyes of someone like that look like if he's never met anyone like that before Subaru?

“Listen and be amazed, look and be astounded! Behold, the ultimate combat technique—RoSciPer!!”

“What is that...thing?! You did not inform me such a hand was possible!”

“Shut up! I didn’t mention it, but it’s your fault you didn’t ask! That part is rock, this here’s scissors, and over there is paper! In other words, my hand’s beaten your rock!”

That is so freaking petty. But on the other hand, maybe Priscilla would respect him for it anyway? I could see her having no problem with winning however you can, even if it's by being unfair and tricking your opponent, as long as you keep your own pride.

“—But I wonder what Master Roswaal is thinking?”

She inclined her head slightly as she voiced her doubts about the instructions her master had left that morning.

“He said, ‘Do not stand in Subaru’s way no matter what Lady Emilia may say to you.’”

It was as if he’d anticipated Subaru’s actions and had instructed her accordingly. She also wondered why he was valuing Subaru’s opinion above Emilia’s.

Hmm...now that's curious.

“That’s right, bro. It’s been eighteen years since I got summoned here. I lost my arm around the same time... Right around the age you are right now.”

Just like that, Al confessed to Subaru that he’d experienced the same situation.

...Wait...WHAT?! If this was in the anime then I completely forgot about it because holy sh*t, Al is from another world too?! And according to him he arrived 18 years ago and was about the same age as Subaru is (and Subaru is roughly 17, isn't he?). No idea if he can Return By Death and if he can he might have the same penalty for trying to talk about it as Subaru does, so he obviously couldn't talk about it, but this is a huge deal. It's a great bit to add to Subaru's story, showing off what could have happened to him and what he could still eventually become. It probably deepened his obsession with Emilia a little bit too, since she's the main difference between him and Al.

“Unfortunately, Lady Emilia, this is not the time or place for you to argue. If all the facts become clear, Subaru will be staying here...for a very, veeery long time.”

Okay, Roswaal f**king knows and is planning something.

They talk about a Dragon Tablet handed down by Holy Dragon Volcanica, which has given predictions and warnings about great disasters that did actually occur. Naturally, my first thoughts are that this Holy Dragon (or whoever wrote the tablet) might have had abilities like Subaru's RBD and that he'll have his own role to play.

Felt might be a long lost princess of the royal family that was wiped out in a strangely specific plague and Subaru met both her and Emilia first in this world because she stole for her the thing that proved she was a worthy candidate for being a Dragon Maiden. It kind of feels like the Witch of Envy is like the Force from Star Wars with how well she made the destinies and chance encounters line up.

I never really liked Ferris that much, and not because he's a cat-boy trap. It's more the way he talks. I like things that are cute but I can't stand things that are cutesy.

While Crusch's idea for the future of the kingdom is nothing that should be rushed, and most certainly should be done with care as not to piss off the dragon, I get where she's coming from, that they are too reliant on the dragon's blessings and not doing enough for themselves. It's a classic argument I've seen plenty in superhero stories. There's no denying the heroes have done a lot of good but when the people become too dependent on them and if/when the heroes can't help anymore, what's going to happen then? It's one of my favorite plot points in My Hero Academia, where common citizens thinking "It's fine, a hero will show up and take care of it." and not helping where they should have eventually gave rise to one of their world's most dangerous and infamous supervillains.

“A-and now you make threats. These words and this show of force convey, ‘Do as I say or you shall be an icicle.’ If this is not blackmail, what is...?!”

Then, Emilia wholeheartedly affirmed his suspicions.

“—Yes, I am threatening you.” She continued, “I shall make my case to the esteemed members of the Council of Elders once more. My name is Emilia. I spent a long time in the Great Forest of Elioor, the World of Eternal Frost, and am served by Puck, the Great Spirit that governs fire mana. I am a silver-haired half-elf. The people of the nearby villages called me...”

Emilia paused, surveying the faces of the Council of Elders on the dais.

“...the Freezing Witch, born in the Frozen Forest.”

Holy sh*t, I am way more into Emilia's character here than I was in the anime! That was awesome! Her whole speech after too and her finally being given some respect. It's not like she didn't have any personality or agency in the anime. It's not like she could have just been replaced by a sexy lamp and nothing would be different like you could with the heroines of other series. But she definitely feels like she has more here, like there's more fire to her. Like hot damn, even I want to see her become queen now!

...And then Subaru opens his mouth again...and promptly inserts his foot.

Yeah, I suppose Subaru white knighting for Emilia in front of all the actual white knights is probably one of the more infamous scenes of the series, huh? It's one of those weird things where you feel you know what Subaru should have done but at the same time, if he hadn't snuck into the castle, we wouldn't have gained his relationships with Priscilla and Al or have seen as much of the meeting as we did. It's good for the story and eventually it's good for character development but it's hard not to wince a little at everything Subaru does in this part, especially because he himself reflects and feels guilty at a few points about how badly he could have messed everything up for Emilia and Roswaal.

I've thought a lot more about Subaru's white knighting ever since I watched the anime, mostly because of characters like Motoyasu from Rising of the Shield Hero and Mitsurugi from Konosuba; two LN series I read before this one. Chivalry isn't a bad thing. Trying to stand up and fight for someone you care about isn't a bad thing. But like Emilia points out, she never asked Subaru to do any of that for her. She didn't want him to do any of that for her. In fact, he deliberately went against what she did ask of him to go and do all of that. With these three characters, the problem with their white knighting is that they're doing it with no regard to what the person they're white knighting for actually wants. In many cases, like Emilia also points out, Subaru wasn't really doing it for her. He was doing it for himself. To make himself feel better. To place himself closer to her. And she's not exactly wrong that their relationship seems to be entirely just two people repaying their debts to each other, even though she has no idea what debt Subaru feels he owes her.

The ironic thing is, if Subaru wanted to get closer to Emilia and have value to her, he already found a way to do that in one of his previous lives. On his second or third loop in the mansion arc, Puck told him that Emilia doesn't have a lot of experience with friends and really wants some. During that loop, Subaru and Emilia are just hanging out, enjoying each other's company, laughing. It's made clear she does genuinely like having him around. Just being her friend was enough for her and there's still plenty of ways her friend could have helped her through such a trying time, without embarrassing her in front of everyone in the castle or making her think it's her fault he keeps getting hurt.

I think Subaru's big problem, and what he needs to grow out of, isn't that he's an idiot (though he can certainly do dumb things) but rather that he's immature. Not immature like he's a child (though sometimes...) but immature in that he hasn't developed enough to properly react to certain situations. He was a shut-in who constantly skipped school. He doesn't have a lot of experience with other real people and doesn't know how to properly interact with them, defaulting too often to what he's seen in fantasy stories. I think that's a problem both he and Rem share to an extent. They don't know what it means to be in love. That's not to say that Subaru's love for Emilia isn't real or that Rem's love for Subaru isn't real. Rather that they don't know what to do with it. They don't know how they should act towards the person they're in love with or how to show their love, so too often they default to either obsession or devotion or both. And so if they want to have a healthy, happy relationship with the person they love, they have to acknowledge and address their own immaturity and basically grow up a bit.

Nice little detail that Julius beat on Subaru to keep any other knights from going after and possibly killing him...and because he was at least a little annoyed by Subaru's words. He's a good guy...but still human.

And again with Roswaal working things behind the scenes. He gave orders for Subaru (or at least a servant bearing his family crest like Subaru would be) to be allowed to pass into the castle. I imagine he did have a back-up plan for if Subaru never showed up but the man definitely knows or suspects something about Subaru and/or what's going on with him. I mean, benefit of the doubt, if he doesn't know about RBD, from the outside it does look like Subaru has some kind of prophetic abilities, as twice now he's known about future events that would have destroyed everything Roswaal's been working towards and used that knowledge to prevent them. Making things easier for Subaru to act just in case he had another "vision" would have been in Roswaal's best interest. He might be thinking Subaru is like the Holy Dragon, thus Roswaal has his own personal Dragon Tablet. But I can't help but feel things go deeper than that. At the very least I'm glad Subaru's outburst and Roswaal trying to smite him with fire was apparently part of the plan. 1, Roswaal is just a really fun character and I don't want to lose that, but 2, he definitely seems like a guy you don't want to have against you.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Re_Zero/comments/gontd5/novels_first_time_read_through_light_novel_vol_4/

[mrsmarymorstan]

Now Furuba S2 is over, what now?

I’m already seeing a lot of people asking for recommendations now the S2 Sub is over; so this is a list of series that I think you’ll enjoy if you like Furuba! 

All platforms listed are true for the UK, but might not be for other residences. More viewing options may be available in other territories. 

Unless specified, All Manga/Comic recs are available from regular bookstores and EBook Stores. If you’re in the UK I’ll suggest checking out Hive, which is an online store where a potion of each sale goes towards a Local Independent Bookstroe of your choice! They also have flat-rate free shipping! 

Okay, so the actual recs! (I got lazy in some places and used the official synopisis) 

Romance

Convenience Store Boyfriends Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total 

“Six high school boys hang out at a local convenience store where they talk about their daily lives. Haruki Mishima and Towa Honda are first year students looking forward to the high school experience. Alongside them, there’s Nasa Sanagi, the only member of the cooking research club. Natsu Asumi is a loner but has third year students, Mikado Nakajima and Masamune Sakurakoji, looking out for him.“

Kaguya-sama: Love is War S1 - Crunchyroll, Funimation (Sub) S2 Funimation (Sub/Dub) 24 eps - Ongoing Manga: 18/20 volumes available in English 

“Known for being both brilliant and powerful, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya lead the illustrious Shuchiin Academy as near equals. And everyone thinks they’d make a great couple. Pride and arrogance are in ample supply, so the only logical move is to trick the other into instigating a date! Who will come out on top in this psychological war where the first move is the only one that matters?”

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Netflix (Dub/Sub), Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 12/12 volumes available in English 

“High school student Chiyo Sakura has a crush on schoolmate Umetarou Nozaki. When she confesses her love to him, he mistakes her for a fan and gives her an autograph. When she says she wants to be with him, he invites her to his house and has her help on some drawings. Sakura discovers that Nozaki is actually a renowned shōjo manga artist working under the pen name Sakiko Yumeno. She agrees to be his assistant in order to get closer to him. As they work on his manga Let's Fall in Love they encounter other schoolmates, who assist them and serve as inspirations for the story.”

Snow White With the Red Hair Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 Eps Total Manga: 9/22+ volumes available in English. Anime ends Vol. 8 

“In the kingdom of Tanbarun lives an independent young pharmacist named Shirayuki. Shirayuki is a plain girl, save for her shock of beautiful apple-red hair. Her stunning mane gets her noticed by the prince, but instead of romancing her, he demands she be his concubine. Shirayuki chops off her lovely locks, and runs away to the neighboring kingdom where she befriends a handsome stranger.”

Tsuruedure Children Funimation (Dub), Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga (Ebook only) 12/12 Volumes available in English

“Short and charming comedic vignettes offer a quick glimpse into the unique and funny situations, misunderstandings, and all around confusion that can happen in a high school romance. For starters, there’s a story about a delinquent girl and the student council president, and one about a stoic boy confused about an emotional girl. Relive the charm of high school romance!”

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku Amazon Prime (Sub) 11 Eps Total Manga: 4/9 volumes available in english 

Looking for a slice of life romance but you’re an actual adult now and don’t want to read about teenagers? Try Wotakoi! It combines office romance with childhood friends-to-lovers. Narumi is a Fujoshi who doesn’t want anyone to find out the truth of her ways, Hirotaka is a Game Otaku who doesn’t care what anyone says about it, together they go about the ins-and-outs of dating as an adult. 

Coming of Age

BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt, so I’ll max out my defence Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Ongoing 

“She may be new to gaming, but Maple has found the secret to invincibility! Just put all your skill points into defense until you can't even move. That works, right? She doesn't want to experience any pain in the VRMMO game she started playing, and somehow it works better than anyone expected. Now she's got followers??”

Brand New Animal Netflix (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

“Set in a world where humanoid animals (known as beastmen) inhabit Earth, the series centers on Michiru Kagemori, a young teenage girl who one day suddenly starts turning into a tanuki beastman. Running away, she seeks refuge in Anima City, a city built for beastmen to be able to live peacefully as themselves, and ends up meeting a wolf beastman named Shirou Ogami. Together, they investigate how and why Michiru became a beastman, becoming mixed up in even stranger events in the process.”

Hyouka Funimation (Dub/Sub) 23 Eps Total 

“A worthy addition to any animation fan's collection, Hyouka is a stunning masterwork that spins a charming tale of high school romance and mystery. After disenchanted student Hotaro Oreki joins his school’s Classic Lit Club, he meets Eru Chitanda, a kindhearted and inquisitive girl with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting him caught up in all sorts of trouble.”

Koto Oto Tomara! Sounds of Life Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 Eps Total 

“Down to its last member, the koto club will accept anyone who is interested in the traditional Japanese instrument. But when a delinquent and a prodigy player sign up, finding harmony isn’t going to be easy—especially not with ensemble competitions looming around the corner. With enough time and some incredible skill at the strings, perhaps this motley crew can strike a chord with the judges.“

O Maidens in your Savage Season HIDIVE (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 7/8 volumes available in English (8th available for pre-order) 

The series follows a High School Literature club as they make their nervous first foray into the nature of sexuality. What is the difference between sexual attraction and romantic attraction? Does watching porn mean wanting to have sex? What are these strange feelings I am having down below? Why are boys so gross and girls so pretty? Each girl undergoes their own journey and finds their own destination, a brutally honest yet heart warming look at teenage female sexuality. 

CW: Sexual Assault, pedophilia (both portrayed as BAD AND TERRIBLE things) 

Our Dreams at Dusk Manga: 4/4 volumes available in English 

IF YOU ONLY CONSUME ONE THING ON THIS LIST MAKE IT THIS!!!!! The series is the VERY DEFINITION of “It Gets Better”. 

After his classmates discover some gay pornography on his phone, Tasuku Kaname contemplates committing suicide. Just as he’s about to jump, he spots a mysterious figure parkouring down a mountain. Shocked out of his moment, he decides to go and investigate what��s happening and finds an LGBT+ Drop In Centre. The series follows the lives of the people in the drop in centre, from Haruko who wishes to marry her closeted girlfriend, to Misora who is still trying to figure out what their gender is but has the threat of puberty hovering of their shoulder. 

It’s very clear that Kamatani-sensei has written this story FOR the Queer Community. It’s a truly beautiful story. Please give it your money if you can, so that Kamatani-sensei can actually earn some money, and so that Seven Seas know that there is a viable audience for these stories! So that we may get more content!

Reverse Harem 

Fruits Basket is NOT a reverse Harem, but i figure there’ll be some fan crossover. 

Kiss Him, Not Me Cruncyroll (sub) Funimation Dub available on DVD etc. 12 Eps Total Manga 14/14 volumes available in English

“Kae Serinuma believes one thing—princes belong together! As an avid boy’s love fan, she loves nothing more than fantasizing about faux relationships between the boys at her school. But when she loses weight due to the stress of her favorite anime character dying suddenly the boys want…her?! From pretty average to prettiest girl, Kae just wants these boys to date each other, not her!”

Sub uses an irritating “Silly Fat Person” voice that the Dub doesn’t. CW for Sexual Assult, though it is depicted as a BAD thing and used for Kae to question why she is so into it when reading BL, when IRL it is terrifying? 

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom Crunchyroll (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

A TRULY Bisexual harem! After bumping her head, young Katarina Claes awakens with all the memories of her past life... and promptly realises she’s been re-incarnated as the antagonist of her favourite Otome Game! Determined this time to live past the age of 17, Katarina starts to make plans to turn all her enemies into allies through the power of kindness and understanding! Throughout the series, she tries harder and harder to avoid her doom flags... without realising that she’s turned those doom flags into romance flags! 

Katarina lives out the fantasy of going to magic school and eating cake as all the pretty people fall head over heels for her. A pity she’s too dim to notice.

Ouran High School Host Club Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 eps total Manga: 18/18 volumes available in english 

Set in the high class elite private school of Ouran High, the Host Club exist to provide entertainment for the ladies of the school. Looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi Fujioka, stumbles across the Host Club and in their haste to leave they knock over an ¥8,000,000 vase. Now she must earn that money back by working for the Host Club, all the while disguising the fact that she’s a girl. Not that she ever felt much like a girl before hand anyway. Along the way, she gets to know better the Cool Kyoya, the flamboyant Tamaki, the Mischievous Hikaru & Kaoru, the Strong and Silent Mori-senpai and the adorable Honey-senpai. Comedic Hijinks ensue! 

Slice of Life

The Emperor and I Manga: 4/4 volumes available in English on Shonen Jump App 

One day Kaho returns home from school to find an Emperor Penguin in her fridge. He quickly becomes a beloved part of the family, but a secret to the rest of the world who would want to take him away from them. Hijinks ensue. 

Kakushigoto Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total 

Doting single father, Kakushi Goto, is determined to hide the fact that he writes echhi humour manga for a living. He couldn’t bare it if his daughter were to ever find out the truth, the shame of his profession only alienating her. A laugh out loud series that will suddenly cut you deep as it explores the nature of grief and familial love. 

My Brother’s Husband Manga: 2/2 volumes available in English 

“Yaichi, a stay-at-home single father, lives with his daughter Kana in suburban Tokyo. They are visited by Mike Flanagan, the widower of Yaichi's estranged twin brother Ryōji, who has traveled from his native Canada for three weeks to learn about Ryōji's past. Kana is fascinated by Mike and is immediately accepting of him, though Yaichi is hesitant to accept Mike as family.

While Yaichi is not overtly homophobic, Mike suggests that his tacit discomfort over his brother's sexuality drove a wedge between them that led to their estrangement. Mike's interactions with the family and neighborhood over the subsequent three weeks prompt Yaichi to confront his own prejudices around sex and sexuality, as his growing tolerance and eventual acceptance of Mike parallel his overcoming of his own homophobia.”

Whilst the trope of “the gay brother dies and the heterosexual brother learns not to be homophobic” might be over done in western media, the same is not true for Japan. It’s a heartfelt and honest look at grief and acceptance, as well as how the nature of family is changing all around the world... but attitudes are maybe conservative attitudes aren’t as quick to catch up. 

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life Funimation (Dub/Sub) 

So apparently everyone went “this show is undubbable! It relies too much on puns and untranslatable humour!” and then Howard Wang said “hold my beer” and did it. A bizarre comedy series set in a high school. It’s probably best known for the ongoing fight between the deer and the principal.  

Way of the Househusband Manga: 4/5+ (ongoing) volumes available in English  

After he meets and marries the career driven Miku, Tatsu AKA The Immortal Dragon decides to give up his life of crime to commit to being the worlds’ best husband. You’d be surprised at the transferable skills between a Yakuza enforcer and a house husband. From knowing how to efficiently cut up a slice of meat, to how to perfectly clean a bathroom of all evidence. Hilarious and heartwarming, Taki and Kyoko would be best bros. 

Slice of Life + Supernatural 

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K S1 Funimation (Dub/Sub) 24 episodes Netflix S1 (Dub/Sub) S2 & 3 (Sub) 50 episodes total 

“Saiki Kusuo is a typical 16-year-old high school student… except he has psychic powers. He can use them to get whatever he wants, but he also knows everything that people are thinking. Everything. No surprises, no secrets, no normal human experiences. He’s kept his powers in check since childhood, but with the temptations of high school now on his mind, he’s bending the rules—and spoons.“

Sabrina The Teenage Witch (2019)

Writer Kelly Thompson wears her magical girl influences on her sleeve in this new take on the Archie Classic. Sabrina is your regular teenager, except she is also a witch and so are her aunts. Hijinks (and Card Captor Sakura References) ensue. 

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 eps total Manga 13/13 Volumes available in English 

“Kamome Academy is rumored to have many mysteries, the strangest of which involves the mischievous ghost of Hanako-kun. When occult-loving high schooler Nene Yashiro accidentally becomes bonded to him, she uncovers a hidden world of supernatural beings. Now the two of them are conspiring to keep the peace between student and supernatural—that is, if they can only stay out of trouble themselves.“

Jughead (2015) 4 Volumes total

Bought to you in various parts by the creators of Squirrel Girl, Jughead combines slice of life with spy thriller, time travel and the joy of a good burger. Hilarious and heart warming, this run holds a special place in my heart as the one where Jughead was confirmed as canonically asexual and continues to express various aro/ace moods throughout the series. There’s a REASON my friends say I’m a Real Life Jughead.... 

Weathering With You - available digitally/physically 28th Sep. 2019

In June 2021, first year high schooler Hodaka Morishima leaves Kōzu-shima in order to get to Tokyo. When his ferry to the city is hit by a rainstorm, he is saved by Keisuke Suga, who runs a small occult magazine that’s looking for an assistant. As Hodaka becomes broke and struggles to find work, he meets Hina Amano, an employee of a McDonald’s restaurant. She takes pity on him and gives him food. After agreeing to work with Suga, Hodaka learns about the legend of the “sunshine girl” who can control the weather! It turns out that the newly unemployed Hina is a sunshine girl! And with her little brother, they start up their own business to bring sunshine to the never-ending rain of Tokyo. 

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Crunchyroll (Dub/Sub) 12 Episodes Total Manga: 22/28 volumes available in English 

After tripping on the stairs, School Bad Boy Ryu Yamada and Top Student Urara Shiraishi discover they can swap bodies with a kiss! They then learn that they’re not the only ones with magic powers in the school, and with the help of the Supernatural Studies Club they begin to track down the identities of the 7 witches of Suzaku High. 

This series really stretches my limits on fan service, but at least it does proceed to get a little even in terms of gender. It’s still a really rather sweet and romantic series, once you get past the boobs and panties. 

Your Name Netflix (Dub/Sub) Spin Off Manga “Your Name: Another Side: Earthbound” - 2/2 volumes available in English 

A modern take on the Red Sting of Fate mythos, Mitsuha and Taki are two teenagers tied together. Three times a week, Mitsuha will wake up in Taki’s body and live the life of a Tokyo School boy. In turn, Taki will wake up in Mitsuha’s body and learn what it is to be a Rural Shrine Maiden. A look at the bonds that tie us, and how fate won’t let two young people fall apart before they can meet. 

Also the animation is BEAUTIFUL and it made me cry. Like a lot. There’s a spin off manga called “Your Name: Another Side” that follows the same story but from the POV of Mitsuha’s friends and family. It really brings new light to the events and made me very emotional.

Mental Health 

Green Lanterns: Rebirth (2018)

Jessica Cruz suffers from PTSD and severer anxiety, seeing her utalising her will power to overcome those problems and harness that energy to help save the universe is so incredibly powerful and moving. 

Hawkeye (2012-2015) 4 Volumes 

The Fraction/Aja/Wu/Hollingworth Hawkeye run is widely considered one of the best superhero runs of all time. Fraction and Aja perfectly capture “functional depression” at its finest, and we watch as Clint Barton slowly burns all his bridges before being forced by his friends to sort his shit out and put them back together again. There’s also a whole issue that’s primarily written in sign language too. 

My Roomate is a Cat Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 12 eps total 

“Mystery author Mikazuki would rather live in total isolation than deal with others. Getting a roommate is the last thing he’d ever do, until a stray cat sparks an idea for his next novel. After plucking the little killer off the streets, this four-legged muse inspires Mikazuki in ways he would have never expected. And for the street-wise cat, this human just opened the door to a whole new world.”

A Silent Voice (Manga/Movie) Movie: Netflix (Dub/Sub) 

“A former class bully reaches out to the deaf girl he’d tormented in grade school. He feels unworthy of redemption but tries to make things right.”

CW Attempted Suicide, bullying

Please watch the dub. Lexi Marman Cowden, who voices Shoko, is an ACTUAL hard-of-hearing actress. It makes for a more real and vulnerable performance that avoids the mild ableism of the Sub hiring a Hearing Actress and robot-ising her voice. 

Yuri!!! On ICE Crunchyroll (Sub) Funimation (Dub) 12 eps total 

“Yuri Katsuki makes his way to the Grand Prix ice skating competition as Japan’s top representative with his eyes on the prize. However, instead of celebrating, Yuri walks away defeated and ready to retire for good. But a run-in with champion Viktor Nikiforov and rising star Yuri Plisetsky ignites a new fire within him. With the two of them close by his side, Yuri will take to the ice once more.”

Yuri’s defeat sends him into a very relatable spiral of lack of self belief that he slowly starts to regain thanks to the help of Viktor. Part sports anime, part love story, all full of feels. 

The Dub is considered hit or miss depending on whether you like accents or not, but honestly it’s worth it for Sabat’s Christophe giacometti. Ayame walked, so Christophe could strut. 

Generic 

I’m gonna start by recommending the Shonen Jump App, it’s £1.99/month and gives you access to all their recent publications as well as their back catalogue in English! So you can read all of Boys Over Flowers, Nisekoi, Naruto, One Piece, Haikyuu, Assassination Classroom, My Hero Academia etc. for a fraction of the cost of buying the physicals! SO much manga at your finger tips! No, they don’t sponsor me but i wish they would. 

Astra Lost in Space Funimation (Dub/Sub) 12 Eps Total Manga: 5/5 volumes available in english, available on the Shonen Jump App

A group of teenagers on a school trip become Lost In Space and quickly discover a conspiracy is a foot. Part thriller, part comedy, saying anything more about this series would count as a spoiler given the number of plot twists throughout. 

Radiant Funimation (Dub) Crunchyroll (Sub) 42 eps total Manga: 13/13+ volumes available in english (ongoing series)

A french manga turned into a Japanese Anime.

“Seth, a sorcerer destined to find Radiant, sets his sights on Caislean Merlin for answers. He’s desperate to find out what the Knight Sorcerers know, but can he trust them? In the wake of all that is unknown, he digs deep within himself for the wisdom and confidence to control his powers. And as the world around him continues to grow with more magic and power, he gains strong new allies.”

The series has BIG Saturday Morning cartoon vibes. My 12 year-old self would have been ALL OVER this.

Batman Ninja (Netflix)  

What if a Japanese animation studio asked DC if they could make a batman movie? And then just threw a Japanese history book at it? What if there was time travel? What if the main batman villains were all feudal lords in Japan? What if everyone were Samari? What if Damian had a small animal companion he could communicate with using a flue? What if Jason’s hood was made out of wicker? What if Penguin had a penguin shaped mecha? 

A wild ride from start to finish that makes no sense but really, do you care? 

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 6/20/21

As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 12 | By Matoba | Yen Press – When you have a main couple as innocent and naive as this one, it’s going to take a lot of struggle to get them together. Indeed, even figuring out what love actually is is tough for Miss Beelzebub, much less that she’s in love with Mullin. And then, just as she’s ready to tell Mullin how she feels, he’s seized by self-hatred and doubt, thinking she’s far too high a station for him. This leads to her being depressed and avoiding him, which… repeat as needed. Thankfully, they do eventually manage to confess to each other. The series may not end with the wedding on the cover, but this is good enough. It was sickly sweet at times… but that’s why everyone read this series in the first place. – Sean Gaffney

BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 4 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – While the series is based around the premise of a teenage girl and an elderly woman bonding over BL, it’s become apparent that this is Urara’s book. Which makes sense—she’s the one searching for a goal. The creation of the doujinshi is very much an up-and-down process, one which we see throughout this volume. It ends at “Comitia 128,” with our unlikely friends manning their own booth. Sadly, said booth—at least so far—has no actual buyers. Honestly, I would have hoped the sheer oddity of the pairing behind the table would have been a draw, but I suppose it’s hard to look beyond the tables. I think this ends with the next book, so it’s time to binge before the finale. – Sean Gaffney

Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry, Vol. 1 | By Kou Yatsuhashi | TOKYOPOP – This seems to be a classic case where I’m really intrigued by the ideas this brings to the table, but the execution is not as stellar. A young woman has it all—powerful magic, her isekai’d-from-Japan boyfriend, and a kingdom who loves her—then it’s all destroyed and she’s killed. When she wakes, she’s in the body of a noble far into her future. Magic is a sad shadow of its former self, and she herself is, essentially, a villainess. Most of the book, unfortunately, then sort of slips into standard shoujo romance, but I like the idea that she doesn’t HAVE any memories of her current self, and has to fake it and deal with everyone’s hatred. I might check out the second volume. – Sean Gaffney

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 12 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – It amazes me how this book can still be so funny even after all this time, and I credit this to its central premise, which is that everyone in it is a complete dumbass—but never all at the same time. It’s a comedy rule; there has to be someone to react. Sometimes it’s Sakura, despairing about a relay novel that gets out of hand. Sometimes it’s everyone else in the cast watching the continuing car crash that is Seo trying to get Wakamatsu to recognize her feelings. And sometimes it’s Hori and Kashima, where his confession turns out to be, perhaps appropriately, a giant excuse for drama. These kids are all terrible at life, and are all so endearing, I don’t know what I’ll ever do without them if this ever ends. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 13 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – It’s good for you! Builds character! That’s what it feels like most of the first part of this volume feels like, as Shirayuki is off to the North, meaning she and Zen will be spending a long time apart. That said, it’s as much about their little group of five than it is about the couple, as it’s clear Shirayuki is going to miss Mitsuhide and Kiki just as much. And as for Obi… well, the love triangle that dares not state its name comes pretty close this time around. (It’s a well-known fact that a majority of the series’ fans, at least in the West, want her to hook up with Obi instead, so the plot twist is not surprising.) All this plus a long, unrelated short story to pad out the volume! Still great, though. – Sean Gaffney

Spy x Family, Vol. 5 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – A large chunk of this book focuses on Anya and her difficulties at school—not only is it an elite private school, but she’s a girl who spent her life as an orphan, experimented on and abused, and she’s lied to Loid about her age to seem older. So, needless to say, schoolwork is proving tough. Normally she can get by by using her powers (i.e. cheating), but that doesn’t work during the new moon—which matches with exams. It’s tense, but also leaves us plenty of choice hilarious bits. Elsewhere, Yor attempts to learn to cook, and we introduce a colleague of Loid’s who is obsessed with him and VERY upset she was not chosen to be his fake wife for this mission. Everyone should be reading this Eisner-nominated manga. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 11 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – One of the reasons that folks seem to be more tolerant of Takagi than they are of Nagatoro or Uzaki is that, for the most part, Nishikata enjoys hanging out with her, and while he finds the teasing frustrating, it’s not because she’s bullying him, it’s because he’s so competitive. Half the time Takagi doesn’t even need to tease him—he shoots himself in his own foot. Even when he literally ends up fanning her like a queen, it’s on him. And, once again, the fun comes from realizing they already ARE a couple, it’s just he can’t really admit that. The most interesting chapter has one of their friends briefly ponder using Nishikata as a fake boyfriend, but it doesn’t even last long enough for Takagi to ponder jealousy. – Sean Gaffney

What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 15 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical Comics – The back cover blurb for this volume says, “A hard-working middle-aged gay couple in Tokyo experience new challenges both at work and at home.” Really, that about sums it up. Kenji has taken over management of the beauty salon and must figure out how to delegate some of his new responsibilities so that he’s still able to have dinners at home with Shiro. Most of Shiro’s story is about his parents, who are considering selling their house and moving into a retirement home. In between, there is some shopping for ingredients, a lot of veggies getting chopped, many burbling pots, and incalculable TBSP of soy sauce. Oh, and also everyone tries not to eat too many carbs, which is extremely relatable. I’m particularly keen for the next volume, as Shiro will be meeting Kenji’s family for the first time. Good, as per usual. – Michelle Smith

By: Sean Gaffney

[heavenlydragon]

Part 2: The First Among the Knights

Go to: PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4

Authors’ Notes: This is an English translation of the first chapter of Vol 4 of the Escaflowne NewType Novels, affectionately called “the Marlene Chapter”. Translation was done by Fayrinferno and scanning/beta reading/editing was done by Pikafwance (Escaflowme).  Please note that the chapter will be posted in four parts between Escaflowme and Heavenlydragon. Please enjoy our hard work!

“It’s good to attend these kind of events from time to time,” King Aston’s younger brother, Nueva [1], said as he raised his arm in a gold-embroidered tunic sleeve and gestured to the stadium below. Marlene’s uncle, sitting in the center of the honored guests area, relaxed and dressed in a loose-fitting garb, leaned his well-built body forward. His glossy face shone with entertainment as he watched the knights get out of formation and scatter at the end of the opening ceremony.

“Yes, thank you so much, Lord Nueva,” Marlene nodded and smiled, seeing nothing of the knights from behind Nueva’s large, round back.

The weather was clear again, today.

In truth, Nueva had become worried about Marlene’s withdrawn behavior recently and took it upon himself to take his niece out to the central stadium to see the Great Martial Arts Tournament.

...Not that it improved Marlene’s mood at all. Marlene simply had no interest in martial arts from the start. Rumours of war reached her ears from foreign countries, but her home country had been peaceful for a long time, so she did not feel the necessity of martial arts in her immediate vicinity. The never-ending rivalry between the countries, however, had made it so this so-called Great Tournament never quite became just a formality. Moreover, because bloody scenes were sometimes unavoidable, Marlene usually kept away from these types of events. What reason would she have to come here, if it wasn’t for her kind uncle, and to dispel his worries?

Maybe I should not have come after all…

The colorful garments of the knights coming and going to the field added a gorgeous flare to the gleam of their sword and spear blades. Tension before the battle and strange exaltation filled the air. It was transmitted to the watching people as well, as the audience became more and more excited.

But Marlene watched this, unaffected.

Taking a measured breath, she pointed her indifferent look at nothing in particular. The late-morning sun gave sharp shadows to everything it reached, and the illuminated field stood out as if white.

The packed stadium stirred unanimously, transfixed. Seemingly none wanted to miss any of the starting matches. The knights waited for their names to be called, standing further away from the square drawn in a white line in the centre of the stadium.

“Look, Marlene,” Nueva suddenly turned back to her. “Everyone is in high spirits because they can see this. It may be a great tournament today!”

“It is entertaining, isn’t it?” Marlene said, smiling at her uncle.

Nueva nodded in good spirits, stood up and lifted one hand: “Let us begin! Knights, show the skills worthy of that name, sharpened by regular training, and seize the honor of victory!” After saying this, Nueva motioned towards Marlene. “As a sign of honor, appreciation will be given by the First Princess!” Oh, what a commotion that stirred among the knights and in the audience as well. Although she sighed inwardly, on account of her uncle’s behalf, Marlene gave smiles in all directions. “Hohoho,” laughing in a strong voice and lowering his sizeable body, Nueva gently clapped Marlene’s shoulder. “My Princess, how reliable our people are!”

“Indeed,” Marlene nodded, honestly this time.

The first lesson of a princess was that the country was its people. A monarch must be judged foremost by their prosperity and safety. Whether she liked it or not, Marlene could never forget the lessons she was taught.

At the high-pitched sound of the trumpets, the knights stepped forward. One had a black armor with red tassels, the other wore an emerald-green cloak. His armor was silver. After saluting in their direction, their running attendants provided them long-handled lances. From this point, Marlene lost interest in the scene. “Hohou!” looking at the entertained face of her uncle, Marlene’s mind roamed. The shrill sound of weapons crashing and the commotions of the crowds did not matter to her. This way, time passed without doing anything, without anything happening. She watched mindlessly as the cup of liquid before her threw shadows like stained glass in the sunlight.

I wonder if I will succeed this country…

Even upon hearing the screams of awe, Marlene did not once lift her head.

Who will father choose to rule the country with me? The current king, Aston, only had three daughters, and no male heir. In a rare situation such as this one, the royal consort would be chosen to rule first. Otherwise, if left unwed, Asturia would be left to one of its three princesses.

Whichever the case, it would likely fall onto the shoulders of the eldest daughter, Marlene.

Then, who could father possibly choose?!

Without really looking, her gaze dropped at the field. The two riding knights were clashing their lances. Both of them rough and red-faced strong men, closer to a bear rather than human in appearance.

With a small sigh, Marlene turned her gaze away.

King Aston had probably already made the decision about her husband.

Another country’s royal to strengthen the relations, or possibly a domestic noble or knight?

For me, it’s all the same… Marlene thought disinterestedly, as if this was somebody else’s affair.

It was natural that her father would choose her groom, and besides, she didn’t have any particular preference herself in that regard.

But…

Watching the knights’ dazzling colors, Marlene’s mouth parted slightly.

If love appeared in my life… She knew it only from books and legends, and sometimes from the talk of the handmaidens, but that did not mean she was not interested in it at all.

Love’s beginning was meeting the destined partner...

Love made one weak, crazy, and even miserable...

Love could only be found in a beloved person’s eye, heard only in their voice...

Love made one beautiful, but also foolish...

It was full of such contradiction, but people could not help but lose themselves in its sweetness.

Could there really be such a thing in this world?

Laughing unexpectedly, she shook her head.

It had to be a drop of a rare liquor given to people by the gods on a whim.

Marlene started to even forget such a thing existed. Though even as she made up her mind about it, her uninterested self felt a sense of pity.

Or perhaps it will happen with the person father chooses...

Marlene pondered the topic while sipping at her drink, occasionally nodding when Nueva made an appreciative sound. Before she knew it, the sun crossed the horizon and shadows covered the white-reflecting field.

The sky remained cloudless as usual. Reflecting the battle of the knights, the excitement of the audience came and went like waves.

Marlene started to contemplate if it wouldn’t have been better to lose herself to the soft cushions and refuse the invitation altogether with some made-up excuse.

And then…

“Oh!” A remarkably huge cheer sounded in unison with Nueva’s raised voice, and Marlene returned to herself.

“Hohho! Hohho!”

From the ruddy profile of her still cheering uncle, Marlene moved her gaze to the field.

Everybody seemed to have held their breath as silence fell on the scene.

Something shone against the sky. In a moment, it became a sword, drawing a large arch before it pierced the ground near the white line.

On the opposite side of the square, another thing shone brightly. Marlene blinked and realized it was long golden hair with widening eyes.

Strands of hair fluttered in the wind as the knight, dressed in a simple blue garb, turned in fluid motion and sheathed his sword. His opponent stood still in shock, holding at his right arm. The referee lifted his arm towards the knight as the cheers burst out across the stadium.

“What exquisite skill,” Nueva’s features relaxed as he clapped his hands.

Who’s that?

“Victory is yours,” Marlene murmured unconsciously. The tall knight crossed the field, walking in Marlene’s direction. His long straight hair shone visibly, the blue coat and crisp white shirt dazzled the eye. Suddenly attacked by a tightly gripping feeling in her chest, Marlene bit her tightly-pressed lips.

The face of the approaching knight became backlit and Marlene had to squint her eyes to make out his features. A slightly slender face with nicely shaped jaw, surprisingly muscled neck, and tightly pulled lips were revealed by the shadows.

By the time the knight’s handsome features were revealed to Marlene’s eyes, he had reached the front on noble guest seats and got down on one knee to receive the knight’s honor.

“Hoho, masterful technique, worthy of the reputation of one of the Asturia’s chivalric order. That certainly pleased my eye. Splendid, Allen Schezar.”

Allen Schezar.

Marlene repeated the name. The stir in her chest was subsiding. “I am deeply honoured by the compliment.” A slightly lowered, but strong and carrying voice reached Marlene’s ears. As he said it, Marlene glimpsed the rising knight’s face and her breath caught.

Clear, incredibly deep blue pierced stubbornly through the fluttering shadow of pale-golden eyelashes. Transfixed, Marlene felt as if the knight's unwavering gaze filled her entire being. From her tightened chest, something swelled up in the back of her throat, making her unconsciously squeeze her hands in front of her breast.

Allen Schezar.

She continued to watch him as she could not tear her eyes away. While Allen’s eyes did not remain on her, a quick glance passed her before dropping back to his feet.

Without noticing anything, Allen bowed again and stood up with a blank look on his face.

The first among Asturia’s knights.

A fitting title for you, Marlene thought as she kept her eyes on the knight. She felt like she had never before seen such personality and nobility in a knight before. The sunlight in the hair of the retreating knight still dazzled the eye.

“Isn’t it truly remarkable for someone so young?” Momentarily lost, Marlene immediately returned to herself and turned back to her uncle. Nueva faced her with a satisfied smile. “Having such a skilled young knight, we may need not worry about the future and peace of our homeland. Promising, truly promising, that one.”

“Yes,” Marlene nodded with a serious face.

“We have many skilled knights in the land, but this one is truly exceptional.”

“Uncle, where does that knight come from?” Marlene asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Nueva nodded with a grin.

“Oh, it’s no wonder that you don’t recognize him. That’s the heir of the Schezar family.” Marlene tilted her neck a bit.

“The Schezar family, isn’t it a prestigious clan that held the position among the Heavenly Knights?”

“That’s true, but…” Nueva paused as stern expression settled on his narrowed eyes, “there was a certain issue with the previous head of the family, the boy’s father.”

Knowing it was probably useless to ask, Marlene waited to see what else her uncle would share.

“In the absence of the knight himself, and in neglect of the duties of a Heavenly Knight, the chivalric order stripped him of the title.” So it seemed that Allen’s father had disappeared. Marlene recalled his cold expression from not too long ago [2].

“But the son, though still very young, returned after a rigorous training somewhere, or so I heard”.

Nueva smiled softly again. “No no, it’s truly a splendid thing, really. Now the Schezar family need not worry anymore. Perhaps the title of Knight of Heaven, should none be against it, will be recognized as an inheritance for this fellow.”

Marlene nodded as her eyes sought out the small retreating figure of Allen. “I look forward to see what work he has yet to show us,” Nueva said, seeing Allen off together with her.

“Indeed,” Marlene said, agreeing from the bottom of her heart. Before disappearing into the darkness of the stadium’s side entrance, there was a quick glimmer of golden hair. For a moment, Marlene felt him clearly watching her. This time, the deep blue eyes caught Marlene’s directly. It may have been less than a second, but it recaptured Marlene completely. From her unblinking sight, the figure in blue and gold disappeared momentarily, leaving her behind.

The sound of the trumpet was shrill. Marlene dazedly looked around, as if in a dream.

The knights had lined up in the white field to participate in another round of the tournament.

The audience rippled like a wave and the vibrant colors of the knights were fading. Marlene slowly turned her head around, taking in a deep breath. The brilliant light was diminishing, giving way to the bottomless dark blue. The passing wind brought the scent of dry grass to Marlene. At the rising awed screams, her gaze returned to the field. The multicolored armor decorations of the knights, the shine of the glistening blades and clouds of dust kicked by the colliding knights... The vibrancy of the scene, not really different from before, finally reached Marlene’s eyes.

Something changed.

Something is different.

She placed both hands on her chest to make sure, clutching, as if not letting it escape. With each and every breath, she was reassured again.

I am alive, Marlene told herself. It was the first time she realized that.

A twinge of pain filled her chest, as if in reply.

Marlene took another deep breath.

The air was cool and dry. It refreshed Marlene's throat and smelt sweetly as it entered her chest.

It was soon after that Allen became a Knight of Heaven.

Knight of Heaven.

That title was given only to the twelve most excellent, most honorable knights of the country. The twelve were each given a powerful guymelef and it was their sworn duty as guardians and honorable warriors to protect the kingdom.

Initially, they used to be picked by the ancient kings themselves, but recently it has become a clan system, so that almost all the positions were filled through inheritance by the major families.

It was also the case of the Schezar family, with the temporary absence caused by the misconduct of the previous generation, before Allen managed to recover the position. Once a prestigious house, the name of the Schezar family was all but ruined, and among the clans who inherited the title of the Heavenly Knight, many were unwilling to accept Allen’s reinstatement.

“Must be jealousy,” Ditoa sighed, tilting her head as Marlene brought up the topic. “After all, becoming a Knight of Heaven, and the honor that comes with it is something extraordinary. Anyone who calls himself a knight would like to hold that title one day. If you acquire the power of one of those twelve guardian melefs, there probably won’t be a strong enough enemy for you anywhere.” Having seen the guymelefs in question, Marlene nodded, understanding Ditoa’s point. “If you thought there was an opportunity for you, and suddenly that became impossible, that can also cause frustration.”

“The clans already holding the title have no reason to say that,” Marlene said, frowning.

“Those who already have something often desire more,” Ditoa shrugged. “Such is the way of life,” she said smiling at Marlene, “But for someone who was raised as a noble like Your Highness, it is hard to understand such lowly way of thinking. Looking at it from your side, it must look shameful.” Ditoa placed the vase full of freshly-cut flowers on the windowsill. “And it’s not like property alone would get you to that position. We should not forget about that.”

“Right?!” Marlene surprised even herself with her excited exclamation and hurried to shut her mouth.

“Ho ho ho, as always, Her Highness is concerned about the peace in our country. It’s alright, all the twelve Knights of Heaven are strong enough after all!” Ditoa nodded approvingly to convince her and put the gardening scissors away in the basket.

Marlene recalled the faces of the men holding that title into mind.

Galleison, Widgate, Narcy…[3]

All holding ministerial positions, all middle-aged or older. All of them skilled, war-weathered veterans. There is no other youth like Allen among them.

Still…

Marlene smiled unconsciously.

The one who fits the title best, is still him…

“Oh? What I said seemed to have eased your mind, Your Highness!”

“Yes, really.” Turning around, Marlene smiled brightly, and Ditoa narrowed her eyes a little. Neither Marlene nor Ditoa herself realized there was a hint of worry in that expression.

Allen Schezar.

Just repeating that name caused a strange inner turmoil in Marlene’s chest. Why was it that each time his name was brought up, a strange pain shot through her heart?

But Marlene did not consider the painful sweetness that came again and again as cruel. Rather, the pain got deeper, and yet, the thought of losing it became almost unbearable. Why was her heart so affected after seeing him only once, and  why did he occupy her mind no matter what she did? She could not find the answer.

If we meet again…

What would happen to that pain?

Would it torment her even more, or would it disappear with no meaning?

Whether she did not want to lose it or wanted it to end, both options led her mind astray. Before coming to that decision, Marlene wanted to know more about Allen. Then she may be able to understand this strange sensation.

No.

Marlene stretched her neck to look out of the window. The low afternoon sun painted the sky pale blue, throwing the shadows of a few passing birds on the ground.

What can be seen by just looking at the surface?

She only knew of his family standing, his reputation as an excellent swordsman [4] and the various rumours that Allen, same as Marlene, could not really help. Allen seen through the eyes of someone else bore no meaning to Marlene now. Even if she didn’t hear anything about him at all, she would know. She would recognize a vile person at glance.

Even though it’s been said that looks can be deceiving, the character or true nature still found ways to manifest in the appearance somehow. Especially with an upbringing such as Marlene’s, it had often proved difficult for an adversary to deceive her. Even at a glance, she was confident in her judgement.

She already knew what people were saying.

But there was far more to know.

And she wanted to know.

The more she thought about it, the more the need to know perplexed her.

If I meet him again, I’m sure I’ll understand…

As she thought that, she smiled broadly.

I want to meet him.

As abrupt as it came, her bright expression disappeared from her face again.

But…

Once we meet, this sweet pain may disappear. And she would return to those listless, tiresome days again.

Marlene feared that a little.

If that happened, it would be better to stay like this, even if just for that rush of being alive.

Then, what in the world should I do? Marlene asked herself, a bit frustrated.

This indecisiveness was strange for her. For Marlene, born and raised as the first daughter of a royal family, ambiguity was not an option.

Things were always black or white, and the idea of leaving things undecided (or Jeture forbid, considering something gray) was generally unacceptable. Until now, nothing was indeterminate. As a true princess, she would do anything to get out of such uncertainty as soon as possible and would have made the decision a long time ago.

Instead…

Marlene, for some reason, had a hunch that this situation might go on for a long time. It felt as if she discovered a new self she had not recognized until now. Without her knowing, another Marlene existed, one who was not a princess.

It’s just my personal problem…

It’s nobody else’s concern. Even if I’m confused by this, nobody else need be troubled by this. Even with this reassurance, Marlene already knew things would not stay like this forever.

And the chance to meet again came up unexpectedly early.

Allen eventually came to Palas to serve as the royal palace guard. Needless to say, it was a result of Marlene's clever planning [5]. At his inauguration ceremony, Allen stepped before king Aston, looking far more refined than Marlene had imagined.

“You’re the heir of Schezars.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” kneeling Allen’s head rose at the words. At the sight of the serious, yet faintly flushed expression on Allen’s pale face, the corners of King Aston’s cheeks rose slightly.

“I expect good work from you, worthy of the name of the Knight Caeli.”

“I am prepared to lay down my life in the line of duty,” Allen said, looking straight at Aston. His gaze did not even brush Marlene at the side of the king. Yet Marlene’s chest still throbbed at his mere presence. The feeling for him was so vexing, she wondered if she would be able to stand looking into his eyes face-to-face.

As he looked down at Allen, a shade of pity crossed Aston’s eyes. “The prosperity of your house also depends on your earnest service. Work hard and valiantly.”

“I will.” Marlene did not miss the bitter look that passed Allen’s face during Aston’s speech.

There was no need to say that, Marlene thought, sad at the thorns in her father’s words.

As if he had heard her thoughts, Allen’s  eyes met Marlene’s for a fleeting moment.

“Very well, off to your duty now.”

“I’ll take my leave then.”

Before she could open her mouth, Allen turned around like wind, his cloak floating behind him.

“Hm, surely, that is one smart youth,” King Aston said stroking his chin as he watched Allen’s back. “If he does not make a mistake, he may very well rise high.”

“Father?” Aston’s features relaxed as he looked back at Marlene. “I called him because you wanted, but it seems he is indeed a good man to be stationed nearby.”

“I hear he is a very skilled knight,” Marlene said, smiling. “I heard some horrible stories of nighttime robberies recently, and felt nervous and unsafe. That is why I asked to strengthen the guard.”

“Hohohoo, really?” Aston tapped her shoulder lightly. “Is this enough relief for you then? Anyway, I would not have anyone so much as lay a finger upon you three.”

“I know your heart, Father,” Marlene said, but half of her own heart was already elsewhere.

Because just a while ago, their eyes met.

It wasn’t a dream.

Even if she smiled bitterly, deep down, she was a bit relieved.

With her thoughts of him becoming so inflated, her belief that such a person even existed in this world started to waver.

Even though it was surely impossible...

Once more, Marlene trusted her own judgement of people.

Looks like I was not wrong.

Marlene thought a bit proudly.

Allen’s nobility, deep prudence and youthful innocence she glimpsed were all appealing to her eye. She could not say what Allen’s own feelings towards Marlene were, but at least, there was no hatred or disgust in his eyes.

Marlene left the hall, with a small tinge of anxiety and the sweet pain still grasping her heart.

——————

[1]  ヌエバ 

[2] This may not necessarily mean that Leon held the title of Knight Caeli for some time while he was younger. Later, Marlene says that the order consists of middle-aged or older men, which is why it could be that Leon’s predecessor held the title until old age and Leon left his family at about the same time as he was supposed to accept the title and responsibilities.

[3]  ガレイソン、ウィダゲート、ナルシ

[4]  The text just mentions Allen’s reputation. But at this point, it does not have anything to do with his ladykiller image or other things he became known for later.

[5]  It is not exactly clear in what way Marlene schemed to meet with Allen again. Based on what is said later in the chapter, she probably referred him to King Aston, who later picked him for the Palace Guard or just requested more guards for the castle and Allen was chosen. The decision to accept him into the order seemed to be a different matter, this was rather the question of his first posting as a Knight Caeli.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Kasumi’s PT Outfit Analysis

Tell me what do these two have in common?

If you said “Cat theme” you are correct! If not, well then buckle up my dudes cause this is gonna be fun~! :D (I also want to take the time to point out, while this isn’t want I’m talking about, I do like this fan artist’s perspective on her gloves :D)

I know what you’re thinking, and no I’m not smoking anything I don’t do that, but Kasumi really does have cat thief themed origins (and no not because of the fan art, didja click on it? it’s cute!). I realized it after realizing she was a gymnast and was like “Why? Why does she get a gymnast theme? How does this fit with the outlaw theme? Has there been a thief who had gymnast outfit?....wait....could it be.....omg it IS!” AND THE ANSWER IS YES! 4 thieves actually, 3 are sisters in one series, and 1 is an expy of those sisters by the same author in his other work. If you know who I’m talking about I’m talking about.....CAT’S EYE! (and Phantom Thief 305 from City Hunter, I dunno the meaning of the name tho)

Let’s start with Cat’s Eye (not a 100% expert in it, but I know more than City Hunter tbh). Cat’s Eye is about a trio of sisters (Hitomi the middle who is the main character, Rui the oldest sister, and Ai the youngest) stealing things using their multiple skill sets (such as gymnastics), partially because they want to contact their missing dad who is also a thief (and their attempts to contact him are through the calling cards and stealing the items in hopes he comes as well). And....that’s basically it I think (been awhile since I read the manga and I’m in the process of re-reading it now). Movie wise, it seems they are in the process of trying to rescue him (hard to find info, no eng subtitles for me to watch so efsljdfl;aj).

Anne and Kasumi are the biggest shout outs to Cat’s Eye than anyone else (tho you could argue Cat’s eye is probs the reason Makoto drives a Motorcycle and Futaba is an semi-orange themed tech genius, and Haru who is “Noir” tho I don’t feel like looking up who came first, her or the Cat’s Eye Pachinko machine cause it’s not important). Anne’s outfit is more a shout-out to the Cat’s Eye Movie version while Kasumi’s is more a shout-out to the original manga/anime. Let’s focus on the Cat’s Eye movie for a second tho.

This isn’t the first time Cat’s Eye movie was used as inspiration for Persona. Back in P2 Tamaki Uchida dressed as Ai (the youngest sister of Cat’s Eye, but is the lead role in the movie), as the actress she is based off of (Yuki Uchida) played Ai in the movie.

Anne, however, seems to be based on Hitomi outfit with some Rui flare to it (they differ slightly)

(btw the movie opens up with an anime sequence before going full live action, Hitomi Left, Rui Right I think for both pics, Ai is in the middle for the bottom pic, and recolored Anne for better comparison and also because I can 8U)

I know what you are thinking, “But what about Catwoman????” I think she’s still related to Cat’s Eye tho. Catwoman came first in creation, and Catwoman was the first to use the leather outfits (tbh, mask wise, Tamaki’s mask/ears seem to draw from the Catwoman 60s tv show outfit), and it seems she/Batman were the inspiration for the movie costumes. Also considering how Persona likes to use Batman, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the cat theme stuff was also Batman/Catwoman related as well as Cat’s Eye. So there’s still a connection to Catwoman esp with the movie! 

Another possible connection to the movie is Anne’s name, specifically “Anne,” as the person who went by the stage name “Anri/杏里” (I mean Anne is just the  杏 kanji but still) who sings the theme song “Cat’s Eye 2000″ for the movie. Fun fact.

Now let’s look at the manga/anime, where it’s Kasumi’s time to shine (tho Anne will come back up).

As you can see they’ve been redesigned a few times (btw Hitomi’s colors in the first vol of Cat’s eye is actually blue with an orange ribbon, it was changed to yellow later it seems, also the top right is a spinoff manga of Cat’s Eye called Cat’s Eye: Ai where Ai is the MC)

As you can see, the girl who is mostly in the blue is Hitomi, and she has a tendency to wear a chocker with her leotard. Kinda like.......Kasumi! 

Recolored with blue to highlight the comparison (also because I NEED COLOR IN HER DESIGN ATLUS LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH DX) 

Fun fact, Hitomi I believe is a gymnast and she utilizes her skills as a thief (and thus where we get the gymnast as a thief outlaw theme and why it only works for Kasumi/gymnasts and not runners like Ryuji). 

But Kasumi also has similarities between her and Ai, both have red in their theme, both I think are first years. Also, while Ai isn’t as strong or skilled as her older sisters in fighting, she is the most agile (which we don’t know if Kasumi is in the same boat but it’s worth noting just in case). Another thing about Ai, is her connection to Tamaki up above, Tamaki who is based off the actress who played Ai was in the fencing club (which Yuki Uchida was also a fencer), and what weapon does Kasumi wield? A one handed sword similar to other fencers in Persona (like Mitsuru), so woot we’ve come full circle on that! (also if Kasumi is Hamuko reincarnated, or Hamuko’s younger sister, it should be noted that one of Hamuko’s theme colors is orange along with pink and red so fklsdjfsajf; bonus points if that comes true!)

Kasumi’s mask is also probably based on the Cat’s Eye calling card (or at least it follows a similar pattern):

Same point pattern, same eye shape and design (it’d also explain why it’s so thick, cause the emblem is thick looking too 8U)

So I mentioned we’d come back to Anne, and here we are! There is one last thing that is similar to Anne and the Kisugi sisters, and it’s that they are all hafus! The sisters are all half german, and Hitomi looks just like her western grandmother if Hitomi had blonde hair, and later dyes her hair blonde for her thieving:

Also *cough* a pink/red outfit I wonder who that reminds us of? 8U

Now onto City Hunter, which....I think is the biggest evidence that Kasumi was based off these people. And it’s this girl:

The girl with the glasses is the same one as the girl in the same girl in the green leotard (the one in the red isn’t a thief, but was wearing one to match the other girl while they stole a flower). 

This is the first episode this girl shows up (only one I’ve seen too tbh), she’s actually 17/a 2nd year iirc.... And guess what her name is? Kasumi Aso. Kasumi is spelled the same way too (aka only in hirigana)! From my research she only steals what is commissioned of her (I think she steals back what is stolen from other people). She has connection to flowers like Kasumi Yoshizawa (Aso is connected to the [black] tulip, Yoshizawa has flowers on her belt). Both are pretty unassuming in their civilian outfits too tbh. (tho slightly off topic, fun fact, there was a Japanese hafu rhythmic gymnast named Kasumi, I’ve been wanting to post about that for awhile but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s who IRL Yoshizawa was based off of)

Sadly I don’t know much else about Aso, I need to read more of City Hunter to find out (even tho she’s not a super main character), and tbh this is where I kinda end with the Kasumi/Anne and Cat’s Eye/PT 305/Catwoman analysis. But I’ll use this time to talk about a few misc stuff and maybe a few theories related to cat themed thief ladies:

P5 probably got the “Thief who works at a cafe during the day (and the Cafe name also is a reference to their thieving as well as possibly housing a cat)” from Cat’s Eye and City hunter (which take place in Tokyo/Shinjuku, tho in different locations), as the Kisugi Sisters work at their cafe called “Cat’s Eye,” and Aso being their expy, also works at a cafe by the same name (tho it’s run by different people cause it’s in a different/parallel universe). 

I wouldn’t be surprised if Tamaki’s tendency to house a Nekomata in her workplace to be similar to the kitty (Tiger I think it’s name is) that Ai has at the cafe (esp considering, again, Yuki Uchida played Ai). 

According to the Japanese fan wiki of Cat’s Eye, in the sequel “Cat’s Eye: Ai,” the Cafe is moved to a new location, which is Kichijoji, which is the new area that has been unlocked in P5R (maybe a certain cafe will be available for us to wander into? :0 Or maybe Kasumi works at a cafe XP or maybe is connected to the billiards place, tho that DARTSLIVE3 screenshot seems to have a “cafe” poster in the background so maaaaaaaybe that’s a cafe XP)

Part of me wonders if Mitsuru’s Arena outfit is related more to Black Cat, due to the signature “white fur” both characters wear. 

Kasumi Y’s hairstyle (aka if her hair was down, so basically we are going off her bangs) is similar to Hitomi (at least the Pachinko machine ver)

Anne’s circle zipper designs might be more of a shout-out to Marvel’s Black Cat, not that Catwoman hasn’t had that as well, but I don’t feel like figuring out who did the circle zipper first 8U 

Satomi Tadashi dressed up as Zorro and was romantically involved with Takami. Anne who is a Cat’s Eye expy is crushed on by Mona (who wields Zorro). And Kasumi, another Cat’s Eye expy, looks like a Hamuko Expy, while Mona’s human form looks like a Minato Expy. 

Kasumi has a similar black mask with silver line design (not the mask shape itself, the line design) as a woman named “Noir”(?) who appears in the Cat’s Eye Pachinko Machine (yes I did come across interesting things, no I don’t know what her deal is or really who she is tbh cause I think she’s a pachinko original 8U ;w;)

So yeah just gonna kinda end it here awkwardly. FYI this doesn’t mean you HAVE to like her outfit (you have every right to dislike or like it tbh), it’s just a history lesson, and explaining how it fits the outlaw/PT theme, where’s Ryuji’s track or Haru’s ballet doesn’t.

Oh! Edit cause I forgot, if you push her mask up over head, it might look like cat’s ears, just a theory tho (of course it might look like devil horns but so does Anne’s so fklsjdfk;aj;faj;f take this for what you will):

[jadekitty777]

Sun Wukong, Mercury Black, and Ruby Rose for the character ask thing?

Sun Wukong

(Definitely not the blond-haired, blue-eyed guy I was expecting to beasked about, but let’s get right to it!)

 ·        Favorite thingabout them: His general attitude. I’ve always got a soft-spot for optimisticcharacters like Sun, and his upbeat, laid-back nature can really bring a lot ofhumor and cheer to a scene. He’s also got a really kind heart. On a shallowernote, the casual way he uses his tail for like, everything.

·        Least favoritething about them: Dude. Stop leaving your team behind. Seriously.

·        Favorite line: “Pff that’sdumb! You should always get friends involved!” Has always been a big favorite.Also, not a line, but his tiny squeal when he realizes where Blake lives isjust fucking precious.

·        brOTP: Definitely hisfriendship with Neptune is one of the most entertaining in the whole show. Theyhave that kind of buddy-buddy ‘I’ve always got your back’ relationship that I’malways a big fan of.

·        OTP: So, when itcomes to shipping characters, they generally have to be pretty high up on myfavorites list for it to really be something I invest time thinking about. Sunreally isn’t that high on said list – but, for just a passing answer - Blake/Sunor Neptune/Sun are both kind of cute. I also rather like the potential Yang/Sun/Blakehas.

·        nOTP: So, mind youthere is no hate to this but, some people ship Ruby and Sun together; that onehas always been a little weird to me. It’s always been a ‘What, why?’ kind ofresponse when I see it.

·        Randomheadcanon: True to his Vacuo nature,Sun likes to do little, harmless crimes just to see what he can get awaywith, Stowing away on boats is his favorite. He never does anything with theintent to harm; mostly he just wants to give everyone a story to tell.

·        Unpopularopinion: Him going after Blake in Volume 4 was fine. I’ve seen lots ofarguments claiming he was being a stalker, but I feel the context is oftendanced over – he was trailing her not because he was trying to be a creep, butbecause he assumed that she was going after the White Fang and knew she couldn’tfight them all off alone. His assumption just happened to be wrong, but theintentions of his actions was noble.

·        Song Iassociate with them: Honestly I have no talent for this kind of thing so I’ll justpick something random: “Stickerbrush Symphony” from the Donkey Kong Countryseries, particularly the SSBrawl version

·        Favoritepicture of them: 

What can I say. I’m a sucker for sunset background with sexy,smirking blonds in the forefront.

 Mercury Black(The emo boy of Team Salem)

·        Favorite thingabout them: Honestly, I’m going all shallow for this, but I like his hair. He’sa total pretty-boy. His snark is a close second though.

·        Least favoritething about them: It fits his character but, that sometimes his snark turns intobrattiness and that can get kind of annoying (but it works well if people pointit out). He’ll go from being clever to sounding or acting like a 5-year old.

·        Favorite line: “Oh Doc, tellme! Will I ever walk again?” Got to love the fake melodrama and the linedelivery on this one.

·        brOTP: I rather likehis and Emerald’s friendship – even if it is a rollercoaster at times. I kindof feel they have this sort of brother-sister relationship going on. Not wherethey are actually sibling-like, but more so where Mercury plays the role of asnooty older brother who just tries to do anything to get on Emerald’s nerves.

·        OTP: Eh, definitely don’thave one for him.

·        nOTP: Yang and him. Idon’t really know why, but that one is just a lot of nopenopenope for me.

·        Randomheadcanon: Mercury is not a strong reader and knows almost none of Remnant’sfamous fables. When Emerald and Cinder found him, he actually couldn’t read atall. His father was obsessed with keeping his son weaker than him in every possibleway – from fighting skills to his intelligence – and thus never invested timein teaching him his basic education. Mercury now can read enough to get by, butthe more complicated the words, the more he actually struggles with it. Anythinghe knows now Cinder and Emerald taught to him during their travels together.

·        Unpopularopinion: Overall, I know he’s actually a huge favorite in the fandom,but Mercury is extremely low on my personal list. Not in the hated category oranything, I just really don’t care much for him one way or another. Writing outthis is actually the most attention I’ve ever given to his character.

·        Song Iassociate with them: Another random choice, but “I am Machine” from Three Days Grace seemsa fairly solid choice. Particularly the lines ‘I wish I knew what it was like,to care about what’s right and wrong’ and ‘I don’t like what I’m becoming, Iwish I could just feel something’.

·        Favoritepicture of them: 

I’m sure this is rather a weird choice, but I like this shot overall for the companionship and somewhatprotectiveness Mercury shows here.

Ruby Rose(The precious child we all want to protect but don’t need to ‘cause she’ll kickeveryone’s ass)

·        Favorite thingabout them: Ruby is actually a high favorite for me, so there’s tons of thingsabout her I love. From her fashion, to her skill with her weapon, to hersemblance, to her connections with people, to her attitude, there’s a ton toadore.

·        Least favoritething about them: RUBY. SEND A LETTER TO YOUR DAD ALREADY. FOR MAIDEN’S SAKE, HE’SGONNA HAVE A HEART ATTACK. (Also, still not really into that speech she gave toQrow in Vol 6, Chp. 9… but the one following it in chp.10 was WORLD’S better andtotally made up for it)

·        Favorite line: I have to pickjust one!? Well. I will always adore her little cheer of: “You came back!” whenWeiss returns to be her partner. Also, not a line, but the high-five she andWeiss share over their combat skirts.

·        brOTP: … Everyone? Caneveryone be a choice? Okay, no, it can’t. But some big favorites are her andWeiss, Yang, Jaune, Penny, and Oscar.

·        OTP: Speaking ofOscar… Yeah, definitely in the Rosegarden club. I was fond of Ice Flower onceupon a time, and still find her and Weiss cute, but if there’s any ship of Rubythat I’ll invest time in, it’s unquestionably one with Oscar. More so when theyget older though (and maybe if the war ends and Ozma is finally allowed to passon) – not because of age of anything, but simply because Ruby doesn’t seemsuper interested in any romantic pursuits right now.

·        nOTP: ON THE SAMETOKEN, HER AND OZPIN IS A BIG NO-NO-NO AND I SEE SO MUCH FANFICTION OF THIS? Imean, okay y’all do what ya want, fanfiction doesn’t hurt anyone in the end.But for me personally it’s just too gross to consider.

·        Randomheadcanon: I’ve talked about this one before, but Ruby hates Raven.Probably more than she hates anyone, even Cinder, simply because despite havinghad no physical presence in her life, Raven’s still managed to ruin so much init. She had to grow up and watch arguments unfold between her dad and hersister, with Qrow sometimes ganging up on Tai with her if he was drunk enough, wheneverYang would try and dig for more information. It was equally painful for her tosee Yang burning herself out because of her one-track minded pursuit oversomeone who couldn’t bother to love her like a mother should have. Sometimes,when Ruby is standing in front of Summer’s grave, she’ll tell her that eventhough she’s proud of what a great huntress she was she sometimes wishes she hadn’tbeen one at all, because if she was there, maybe Yang wouldn’t feel like shewas missing something (and, on worse days, Ruby would add “Or me either.”).

·        Unpopularopinion: I really don’t think Ruby is as weak of a protagonist aseveryone makes her out to be. I’ve heard the complaints, and while thearguments sometimes have merit, in general I think she’s fairly well rounded.Did some of her attention get shafted the past few volumes? Yeah, at times. ButI’ve still never found myself disliking her.

·        Song Iassociate with them: Red like Roses?! Okay that’s cheating. How about “The Rose”(Westlife’s version), because I can certainly draw comparisons to every lineabout a character that would fit and Ruby being the central figure – the ‘seedof love’ that was so simple yet so impacting to those more bitter or hurtaround her and, in turn, found solace in knowing her.

·        Favoritepicture of them: Ruby has so many good ones that again it’s hard to choose butfor right now:

“Bitch, youthought.”

[the-god-of-nihon]

Semblance of Self: An Analysis of Characters’ semblances in RWBY

Semblances are a more tangible projection of a person's aura, which is the physical manifestation of their soul. As far as semblances go, we've been told that semblances are commonly thought to: develop from a person's character, influence a person's growth as they develop, or have no real correlation. What I'd like to do is analyze some of characters personalities, and origins to determine the reasoning behind their semblances. Obviously these will just be pieced from information I find, and research myself, and how I interpret the characters, which are by no means canon.

Ruby: The subject of Ruby actual semblance is a point of discussion. On two occasions we've been told differing definitions for Ruby's semblance: first by Pyrrha saying speed, and then by Qrow claiming it is the ability to, "burst into rose petals." Back in vol 1 Pyrrha, was someone who likely didn't know Ruby super well at the time, and was working on limited information, while Qrow is not only a more experienced, and knowledgeable huntsman, but has known Ruby for a considerably longer time. I’ll be doing analysis on speed, because I’m not really sure on the mechanics or logic of how or why Rose Burst would be her semblance. Maybe she wants to emulate the words on her mother’s tombstone. Maybe the grief of growing up without a mother tore her to pieces inside, or she wants to blow away in the wind like rose petals to escape.

Speed – I think a speed semblance is a manifestation of both Ruby’s desire to run away from her problems, but also towards the problems of others. When Ruby is running and the world blurs into colors and shapes, and the wind whistles past her, the world’s problems seem like an afterthought. The pain and bad things seems smaller and less important. The hurt of the past is left far behind her, and all that awaits her is what lies ahead. If she doesn’t slow down, she doesn’t have to think about all that she’s lost, and all the people who are gone. Looking towards the future is good. Unyielding determination towards a better future has its own merits. A hero rushing forwards towards danger sounds about right doesn’t it.

Weiss

Schnee Glyphs – We’ve been told that the Schnee family is one of the rare instances in which a semblance is hereditary. And given the family’s history, that couldn’t be more clear as to why. Just by Vol 1 Weiss we can see that she was so twisted up into her family’s reputation, growing up as an heiress her family was her identity, and as a Schnee she will always be a representative of their values; and all she is and will ever be is both because and for the Schnee family name. The control of her surroundings, and self is also a representation of desire for agency, and even when controlling things with her semblance, the shadow of her family never disappears. The fact she is so reliant on dust,the product her family’s fortune is built on, is just another indication of her much her family is a part of her identity. However, she is so much more than just a Schnee.

Blake

Shadow Clone - Leaving a shadow to take a hit, and running away. Blake claims her semblance is indicative of her desire and urge to run away. She ran away from home, when she felt her parents had given up on the cause. She ran away when the White Fang/Adam turned down the wrong path. When things don’t go the way she thinks/wants, she runs. She’s confrontational, and stubborn; but runs away when things turn bad. Some may consider retreating cowardly, but you can run away and recollect yourself and come back stronger than before. We’ve also seen Blake’s semblance evolve the most aside from Weiss. In vol 1 Blake’s clones had no definite shape, and looked more like black smudges, and disappeared just as quickly as they appeared. In v2 they had more definite shape, and she used her elemental clones, and in v3 Blake’s clones are practically identical to her, and remain for several seconds. By the time of V4 Blake’s clones can appear to move autonomously. Growing alongside her own journey, Blake’s semblance has evolved far beyond what it used to be.

Yang

Damage Empowerment "Guts" - Yang can take damage, and turn it into raw power. The more hits she takes, and harder she hits back. It’s powerful, but dangerous, even stupid. High risk, high reward but she can take it, can’t she? Yang didn’t give up like her dad when Summer died, she stepped up and became the mother Ruby needed. She doesn’t need a mother, she can handle things on her own. She can fight harder, and harder, she can take all of it on herself, it just makes her stronger. Until it’s too much, maybe she takes one hit too many, maybe someone so overwhelmingly strong comes along, that she can’t fight back. Now she’s spent, hurt and out of options. Yang’s semblance I believe is a reflection of Yang herself, she’s strong and she’s used to taking care of other. Used to taking things on alone, and turning her pain into strength. But like her semblance when she falls, she falls hard. And she’s not used to being weak, not used to relying on others. She’s so strong, not just in terms of combat. She takes on so much to spare those around her, but hardly spares a thought to what might happen to her. Recklessly fighting through everything until she’s burnt out like a fading flame.  

Jaune

Aura Amplification "Rally"- Getting down into the nitty gritty Jaune’s semblance is using his own aura to enhance the natural properties and abilities of others’ auras (and presumingly semblances). When you think about it he is using his own soul to empower those around him. I believe this sentiment, as many things about Jaune’s personality originates from his lack of self-worth. His very essence, his soul, and he gives it to others, to make them stronger. It’s indicative of his new mindset, he’s willing to give everything for his friends. Born from his desire to protect the things he cares about even at the cost of his own life.

Pyrrha

Polarity – I once read a theory that Pyrrha’s semblance comes from her desire to draw people to her, to attract becomes her ability to bend, and control metal to her will. Despite her desires all she can draw to herself is cold, unfeeling metal. And for the most part I’d agree. There isn't much parallel to her origins, but the invincible body of Achilles could translate to the ability to manipulate metal in a world of metal weapons, creating a façade of being untouchable.

Nora

Supercharge – Nora’s semblance allows her to enhance her strength by generating and stimulating her muscles with electricity. Obviously a direct reference to her inspiration the god of thunder, Thor. Nora’s semblance is an exercise in her uniqueness, taking an element that would be harmful to most people and turning it into power. Harnessing a force of nature and bending it to your will, to make you stronger; but being as the mercy of the weather’s fickleness. Nora has taken what most others would fear and tamed it, to survive. It’s a testament to her difficult past, growing up homeless, without family other than Ren. Despite her hardships, or perhaps because of them, that she faces life with near unwavering optimism, and fervor.

Ren

Emotion Masking "Cloak” - Ren’s semblance first activated during the destruction of his home, and the death of his parents. The overwhelming emotional pain, and grief he felt was suppressed, rendering him effectively invisible to creatures of Grimm, it’s what he needed at the time. But ignoring, burying feelings is not confronting them, or growing past them. Until vol 4 it seems Ren’s losses were largely untouched, preventing his progression forward. Ignoring hurt, and emotional strain isn't good. But sometimes it can be too much, and allowing yourself time before tackling your traumas is fine. Very few people cope well with their traumas, and even fewer immediately after they develop. There’s also a possibility his inspiration as Hua Mulan hidden under the guise of a man, influenced this ability.

Velvet

Mimic – Given fanon characterization of Velvet as a shy little cinnamon bun, it’s a bit hard to separate fan perception to the little be of canon we’ve gotten. In the maybe two interactions Velvet’s had with other characters that have been actual conversations, she doesn’t seem particularly shy or reserved. But I’ll roll with it, because otherwise I won’t have much to go off of. Velvet’s copy ability could be a play on people watching, which would tie into her camera “weapon,” and photography. If Velvet were a shy, wallflower, observing those around her would be a common thing. Mimicking other’s moves could also tie into her inspiration from the Velveteen Rabbit, the toy rabbit’s desire to be, “real,” could be twisted into Velvet wanting to copy those around her.

Sun

Light Clone "Via Sun" – Similar to Blake’s shadow clones, Sun has the ability to create and remotely control clones made of light/aura. This has a clear draw from his inspiration the Monkey King, who had the ability to create clones from his hair. And due to the lack of information on Sun’s back-story, one can only guess why he needed to have more hands. Possibly Sun grew up an orphan and initially the clones were his only source of companionship, or he used to steal growing up to survive. What can be noted is that his semblance seems to work better during the day in direct sunlight. On two occasions we see Sun create two clones during the night/indoors, when using more would have been advantageous. And the one instance of him using more than two at night, he employs four and visibly strains against a physically weaker opponent, and then depletes his aura and appears exhausted. Despite the fact we see him using three clones at once in the Fei Long fight, and he seems completely fine both during and after. Having grown up in Vacuo, perhaps Sun developed a semblance to take advantage of the most abundant resource (aside from sand) the sun.

Adam

Moon Slice – Adam’s semblance is similar to Yang’s minus the getting hurt part, he receives energy from attacks, stores it and releases it through his weapon all at once. Due to the more concentrated nature of his semblance, and not needing to get the shit kicked out of him, his semblance could be considered a superior version of Yang’s. It’s unknown if Adam needs his weapon to use his semblance, or if he can use is unarmed like Yang. He seems to be able to charge it on his own, but absorbing energy from attacks is much more effective. Against someone who fights smarter, or can get past his defenses, it’s considerably less effective. I believe Adam’s semblance is a representation of his perceived persecution, and his nature of overt violence. His power is most effective when under attack, and allows him to turn his opponents power back onto them. And his ability is channeled through a weapon, and without it we might infer he’d be less dangerous. Much like how without the fear and control he had over Blake, and the White Fang, he’s little more than just a violent man who’s too big for his britches. The theory that Adam is Gaston rather than the beast, lends itself to Gaston being full of pomp, and full of himself; but when things don’t go his way he becomes unhinged and savage. The facade of power, and righteousness hides an ugliness that is as much bestial as it is man.  

Hazel

Pain Nullification – Hazel’s ability to ignore pain is tied into his inability to let go of his grief over his sister. By not allowing himself to acknowledge and feel his pain, he doesn’t have to address it or move past it. In a sense Hazel has halted his own progress, because he refuses to look past his own anger.

Glynda

Telekinesis(?) - This semblance could be a manifestation of a desire or need for control, as we've seen Glynda is easily the strictest, and more rule oriented of the Beacon staff. This could have been a common trait even as far back as her childhood, which could have her to develop a semblance that allows her a wide range of fine tuned control over any situation. In some versions of The Emerald City of Oz Glinda the Good Witch is claimed to have, "command over the spirits of air." Possibly her semblance is an allusion to such abilities.

Emerald

Illusions: As a “street rat,” who we can assume grew up without parents or a home, Emerald can use the perceptions of those around her as a way to a weapon. Twisting her own image, and the images of others for her own survival. There are some that believe that Emerald’s inspiration is Aladdin, and one could draw parallel to Emerald’s illusions, and the djinn’s magic or perhaps the magic of the sorcerer that attempted to trick Aladdin.

Cinder

Glass Creation – Unconfirmed, but I think Cinder’s semblance is turning dust (regular dust, not elemental dust) into glass, and manipulating that glass. Compressing particulate matter into a glass like substance, such as the dirt from the road against Amber, or the molten rock from the fight against Ozpin. Tying into her inspiration as Cinderella, in a sort of rags-to-riches ability to turn literal dirt and dust into glass.

Neo

Illusive Appearance "Mirror" - The specifics Neo's semblance are unknown, but what it appears to be is the ability to create mirror like illusions of herself and her surroundings. Unlike Emerald's semblances this ability seems to be limited to her own appearance, and her immediate surroundings; but can be seen by everyone. Granted how little we know about Neo and her past it's difficult to say why exactly she developed such a semblance, but a past similar to Emerald wouldn't be too farfetched. Given her appearance, the power of deception is all too fitting.

[hypeathon]

RWBY - Volume 6, Chapter 2 Production Analysis

Vol 6, Ch 1 Production Analysis

It’s very safe to say that between the last production analysis post and every other response and feedback from the fan base in every corner of the internet, the volume 6 RWBY premiere started on an overwhelmingly high note. A lot of notes and criticisms (some more helpful than others) were taken to heart by Kerry Shawcross, Miles Luna and the rest of the production staff and to great effect through a combination of action scenes and comedic character acting. For the chapter that follows, aspects of the production have been applied to arguably just as great of a effect but for different reasons due to the admittedly heavy story beats provided. Let’s dive into all of that.

We can start with one part of Cinder’s scene in the beginning: effects related to water and rain. The first thing to note is the sheen on Cinder’s hair. It’s very fascinating because of how unclear it is as to whether this has anything to do with a new simulation in some plug-in tool or if it’s a small effect done in post-production or something else done together. Could it be something similar to how the process for this bit in episode 7 of season 1 of RWBY Chibi was done or something different is honestly hard to say.

The other effect to touch on is rain. Whether or not this is due to technical limitations or creative choices (or lack thereof), rainy weather started to occasionally be in the show since volume 4 when CRWBY primarily used the Autodesk Maya software as their animation tool. Since then, interactions between the character and environment models and rain have varied slightly such as ripples being faintly seen on raindrops and footsteps. However, this chapter made rain felt more “defined” so-to-speak. Water ripples are more visible and small splashes have appeared for the first time. Unlike the sheen on Cinder’s hair, these instances can more safely be presumed as having been done by the VFX team or Compositing department. What pops-to-mind about all of this is something mentioned in the previous production analysis post, that being the new 2-D FX artist position. When using the term “defined” to describe the rain effects, what this is referring to is how flat they look. This is similar to the smoke and wind effects already seen in the show in latter volumes which were presented specifically to help RWBY further resemble various anime, the medium RWBY is heavily-inspired by:

“The hardest parts were figuring out what kind of effect we wanted. We had a wind effect which drawing air can be a little hard to figure out. I spent a lot of time watching anime and looking at different ways in which people had drawn air and trying to come up with something that would resemble 2-D but have a very 3-D feel to it. We also had some fireballs that had to be developed from scratch that required not only coming up with the base of it, but also with some anime-esque flares so that was kind of neat to explore.”

- Jeff Yohn, VFX Artist, CRWBY Behind the Episode Season 1 - Anima Skies Fight.

It’s possible that Myke Chapman, as the 2-D FX Artist may have had something to do with this in particular. The push to make RWBY feel like an anime but in 3-D in as many appropriate ways as possible is definitely an admirable goal. There was a small concern regarding the possibility of the same visual effects, 2-D or 3-D, becoming reused a bit too frequently since not all effects in anime look the same and that’s largely to do with the animator in charge of cuts. However, this concern has been covered but more on that later.

Next is the setting everyone loves, the Mistral house. In all seriousness, It’s no secret that most of the fandom have expressed frustrations with this setting to some degree, even Nora made a tongue-in-cheek comment about it. But this scene is at least worth comparing to previous ones in the same setting throughout volume 5. The reason has to do with the character models. One big change made to volume 6′s overall aesthetic was the choice of overall lighting, being brighter compared to volume 5′s softer, warmer look. But a smaller change made were the inclusion of more line art and shading on certain physical features of most characters. When comparing between the same characters in the same setting, certain characters like Jaune and Qrow will have lines to form the collarbone unlike the last couple of volumes while other characters like Yang and Oscar/Ozpin have shading the present the folds in parts on their tops not previously seen. Even Weiss when looking back at the previous chapter will have a bit of shading on the rib cage area of her clothing to hell sell how tight they are.

This is not the first time this sort of thing has been done in RWBY as this was done to more of a much greater degree in volumes 2 & 3 when Poser was the primary animation software. The differences being that now there’s likely more of a simulation applied for the shading as oppose to being directly painted on to the models in earlier volumes. As a result, the line art for the physical features are applied more subtly. That’s the key word here, “subtly”. They are used just enough to define physical traits but not so much so that they risk coming off as distracting. When line work on characters were more heavily applied in volumes 2 & 3, the results varied. Sometimes they worked out okay while other times the line work were weird and confusing regarding how the bone and muscle structure even worked. To get a good idea of how much line work, shading, and overall form can make a difference in character design, 2-D or 3-D, Anime Ajay made a comparison of the character designs of Broly for the Dragon Ball Super film and in various Dragon Ball projects in latter years. I can only imagine how much of a broken record I am being for using Anime Ajay’s videos as go-to means of illustrating some points, but his insight on anime production and design and animation principles are worth paying mind to whether one cares for the Dragon Ball franchise or not.

Next are a couple of other things within the house scene, first being the relic. Many fans questioned and speculated why the artifact changed size from scene-to-scene and it’s through the shot of Ozpin how this happens. The seamless size adjustment is not at all bad, but the way handle grew bigger on Ozpin’s hand made it a bit too seamless. Perhaps if one close-up shot of the handle was shown first to indicate how Ozpin needed to adjust the way he held on to the relic and then followed with the original medium shot of the relic as a whole would have helped the size change would’ve been a bit better. But this is all just a nitpick. The other thing to touch on in the scene is Nora’s brief manic moment. There’s not a whole lot to say on it since such scenes have been done before with Nora’s character to great effect, but this probably most crazed version seen yet. The timing on this one is much more rapid than in previous instances with split-second cutting between characters, spontaneous reactions, smears in the animation, the one extreme close-up shot of Nora’s eyes and the tea kettle sound effect just cranks up the comedic nature. What probably sells it though is how Ren and Ozpin’s calm and easy-going personalities serve as the perfect juxtaposition to help immediately bring down high energy. I have no idea who animated the scene and I can’t say much about the editing besides the fact that Connor Pickens is still the lead editor despite also being a co-director. But whatever the case behind-the-scenes, the humor was perfect here.

With all of that said, here comes one of the biggest highlights of the episode in terms of breaking down the presentation and speculating the production. What most fans talked about this episode were the animation and Jinn’s design more than anything else. Both cases are very much worth paying mind to. The snowy scene where everyone’s hair and clothes flowed strongly in response to the wind and much of the character acting was top-notch, especially since Asha Bishi was confirmed to have animated it (her knack for creating expression through animal ears and other traits I’ve mentioned before here). And Jinn’s design is definitely otherworldly in terms of how she’s animated and the particle effects done on her model. However, what made this episode were the storyboards.

There are many resources about the production of RWBY throughout the volumes. In terms of learning about the various animators, the ending credits in each volume are a great starting point and from there, blu-ray audio commentary tracks, animator demo reels, tweets, convention panels and production diary videos are all constructive ways to familiarize oneself with the animation styles. It’s the main reason I managed to make the Animators Spotlight series of post in the first place. However, finding the same quantity information from other departments is scarce in comparison and thus a more challenging task. It’s one thing to at least learn the general process behind how a stage in the show’s production is approached in a given volume. But it’s a whole other thing entirely to pinpoint who exactly is responsible for a certain trick in the visual effects or an intricate-looking prop in an environment design. The same problem can especially apply to the storyboards and camera layouts since both departments share some of the same people but one person working on the boards in a scene may not necessarily also be doing the layouts in that same scene. It’s also hard to indicate when one the task of boards change from one person to another in a given chapter. Unlike storyboard artists in anime which are usually assigned to one person per episode, making it easier to indicate the choices in visual direction and cinematography, the number of artists assigned to board an episode of RWBY have varied between 2-6 people. Without much evidence to indicate who exactly did which parts of the storyboards, it can be near impossible to tell the visual languages different artists have brought into the show.

There is one exception however. One storyboard and camera layout artist that has been around in RWBY’s production since volume 3 contributed a great quantity to the show and there’s much evidence out there to suggest it. That person is Rachel Doda, whose name has been referred to in previous posts. Through most of the same sources mentioned earlier to learn about which cuts different animators have done, there is quite a bit of confirmation as to which scenes she provided storyboards or camera layouts for. The aftermath of Shion village, Qrow and Raven’s talk at the tavern at Higanbana, Weiss in her father’s office, Yang confronting the bandits, the entire Weiss character short, the volume 4 opening, Tyrian’s breakdown moment and Oscar vs Leo, all to name a few have been confirmed to be handled by her through either storyboards or camera layouts. Between these scenes and the patterns seen in them, it’s possible that she did the boards and/or layout for the snow scene in this chapter of volume 6.

Certain visual techniques can be seen between these examples alone, one of which were actually confirmed from Rachel’s mouth herself via episode 11 of RWBY Rewind for volume 5:

“I work as a story and layout artist and in particular for this episode, I was a final camera artist. So what you’re seeing right now is the animatic with storyboards done by Kevin Harger of this little moment that happens in the episode where Oscar goes up against Leo. Then after it goes into animatic, it goes into pre-layout and animation and what was cool about this moment was this was a moment where we had to be collaborative with the animator and with camera.

I got the animator stuff (animator was John Yang) and I looked at it and compared it to the boards and I thought, “this is the first time I believe that we get to see Oscar use Ozpin’s cane in combat!” So for me, I was like, “let’s show off the cane as much as we can.” I’m a sucker for stuff that comes up into the foreground a lot and that shot where he raises it (the cane) right into the foreground, I like really resonated with that because to me that was like, “oh, it’s like fencing!” Or in particular, like epee. I want that to be a huge focus so, depending on where the camera goes, it’s like “hey, I want to lead your eye from one point to the other.”

I grew up with anime a lot when I was a kid, so seeing that stuff come to life is amazing.”

Having the viewer’s eye be drawn to a certain object closer to the camera can be seen in various shots she did boards or layouts for. Sometimes it’s to make the shot dynamic while other times is to provide a sense of staging or blocking. Certain other techniques that have been seen in her boards are rotation shots and panning shots that put a character in the background in focus. There are also long shots where the camera pans from a much farther distance to indicate the different kinds of relationships between characters or who is more dominant and submissive respectively or which characters are otherwise the focus of the scene.

Again, the long-winded point behind studying Rachel Doda’s approaches within her line of work in particular is to help compare to the snow scene with the main cast this chapter. It’s all to be on the same page in order to speculate how some of the shots may have come from her. Instances such as Ruby looking at the relic in the foreground or this shot where it aptly shows how Ozpin is pressured to defend himself against the members of Team RWBY through the use of height in the terrain can be compared to some of her other faraway panning shots. Of course it follows with a more high angle shot where Yang, Weiss and Blake are framed to surround Ozpin as he further attempts to defend himself. Then there’s one instance where the camera pans to showing Ruby possessing the relic and it follows with a clever shot of Ozpin’s hand being lowered after his arguments were questioned. Next is Oscar’s hand towards the camera as he tries to restrain Ozpin which is similar to the types of foreground-focused shots quoted from Rachel that she has done before. And then there are the moments of hair and clothing flowing in the wind for dramatic effect. In the first instance where Ozpin talked about Leo, the comparison can be made to Qrow telling Raven why it’s important to be told of the Spring Maiden’s whereabouts as a visually-timed period to their sentences. Now there is a strong possibility that all of this speculation could be way off and Kevin Harger, Cassidy Stone, or Veronica Valencia could have done the boards for this snow scene or even the next one. Whatever the case, hopefully, this will at the very least further entice food-for-thought and discussions regarding the various techniques in visual direction and who may be responsible for what.

Moving on, this would be a good time to talk about something rarely ever mentioned in any of these RWBY production posts before: voice acting. By now, many fans have been made aware of the fact that more and more of the ensemble cast in the show have been voiced by talent who spent their careers dubbing anime in Dallas or Houston Texas via titles from Funimation or Sentai Filmworks. What not as many people may be aware of though is how remarkable for casting choices like this to still happen given the current anime dubbing climate. Since the success of Space Dandy on the Toonami programming block on Adult Swim, Funimation started doing “broadcast dubs” or now called “simuldubs.” This practice is a similar but more time crunch approach to simulcasts where the episodes are provided from whatever licensing companies in Japan to premiere an anime dubbed within either a few weeks or some cases like My Hero Academia and Re:Tokyo Ghoul, the same day. This same practice recently started earlier in 2018 with Sentai Filmworks and HiDive under the name “dubcasts”. Whatever the name, it has made for stressful scheduling on voice directors, script writers, voice actors, and engineers and has led to sometimes cases of voice actors initially cast to not being able to do a part due to being sick or other matters.

In the case of My Hero Academia’s voice director and the voice of Momo Yayorozu, Colleen Clinkenbeard, not only is the scheduling especially tight, but when she started voice casting and dubbing the movie in July, she had to give the responsibility of dubbing the rest of season 3 to Clifford Chapin, the voice of Bakugo and Shay D. Mann from RWBY, to name a couple of his roles. Similarly, another voice actress named Luci Christian, who voices Ochako Uraraka from My Hero Academia, also does quite a bit of voice acting between Funimation and Sentai Filmworks and is also involved in various simuldubs and dubcasts. So for both of them to manage to record the voices of Jinn and Little Miss Malachite respectively in this chapter is astonishing to say the least. Casting of anime dub voice actors in the show started since volume 3 and went full force in volume 4 when Marissa Lenti of Sound Cadence studios started providing additional casting. And it has definitely brought the attention of those who have played a part such as Cherami Leigh as Ilia Amitola and those who want to play a part like Cristina Vee. But back in 2016, same-day simuldubs had not yet been done since Space Dandy and only a lot more shows have gotten that close scheduling treatment since then.

Lastly, there’s the scene that ends the episode to breakdown. More striking shots of the stance and side between characters were definitely well-framed in this last segment. But this is also a good time to revisit the matter of visual effects and compositing. The smoke effect when the tower and props appeared in a white void helped address the minor concern brought up earlier about whether the VFX team would resort to using the same kind of look for certain effects. Where smoke has generally been presented to be more cel-shaded in latter volumes, here the smoke emitted from Jinn is a lot more wispy and grainy. This is to help further indicate how the overall post-production process requires just as much creative input as it does technical. And then there’s Salem herself. Her surprise reveal definitely left an impact on viewers but it also served as an example of a callback to the shot that revealed her current design. One example is more stoic and menacing while the other is more innocent and melancholic. This is far from the first visual callback in the show as Cinder stabbing Weiss in chapter 11 of volume 5 was another instance as explained by Rachel Doda in the same RWBY Rewind episode quoted earlier:

“So for storyboards, what we’ll do is we’ll go in and talk with the director and we’ll see what their vision is and what they want, we’ll give them options, we’ll give them thumbnails. Sometimes we’re given enough freedom where we’re like, “oh we can just do whatever we want and then come back to the director”. In this case, I believe Kerry was very specific about what he wanted for this moment. And for me personally, looking at this, you get a bunch of callbacks to Pyrrha’s death. But you also get a callback to Amber’s.”

And that is the end of chapter 2′s production analysis. The action was definitely absent this episode, but that is not at all a bad thing. The cinematography and character expressions this episode were the definitely what helped make the story as engaging as it was for fans, with staging as the primary means to create tension and rift between Ozpin and literally everyone else. The vfx and compositing also played quite a secondary role, specifically with Jinn’s character and her overall presence in the story. And of course, the contribution of the Dallas voice acting talent pool continues to be a pleasant treat, despite tighter schedules due to the growth of simuldubs. With the episode setting up what may potentially be a hefty backstory, it’ll be interesting to see what creative and technical choices are to be shown in chapter 3.

[areyouthereyaitsmecriticaltheory]

The Reach of Desire is Forever: Judy Blume and Anne Carson’s Eros the Bittersweet

The Beatles said “love is all you need,” but Anne Carson would say desire is all you have. In reading Judy Blume’s Forever, I often found myself questioning what exactly Katherine and Michael felt for one another. Their relationship goes 0-60 after one, brief conversation at a New Year’s Eve party, and ends almost as fast as it began. So, if not love, what is Forever really about?  In their article “‘You Can’t Go Back to Holding Hands.’ Reading Judy Blume’s Forever in the #MeToo Era,” Jenna Spiering and Kate Kedley interpret Blume’s contested work as a “cultural artifact”, of which they view through the theoretical lenses of Critical Youth Studies and Queer Theory (Spiering and Kedley 2). Spiering and Kedley’s article focuses upon reading the portrayal of relationships primarily in terms of sex. However, I would like to introduce another critical interpretation of Forever in terms of how it represents desire. In order to do so, I will employ Anne Carson’s account of eros to explicate the relationship between Katherine and Michael. Departing from Spiering and Kedley’s reading that accounts for Katherine’s first time having sex and being in love, I will read Forever as text that represents Katherine’s first time acting on and experiencing desire. 

Synopsis of Critical Theory

In Anne Carson’s Eros the Bittersweet, Carson meditates on eros, or desire, primarily through ancient texts. Carson identifies, “It was Sappho who first called eros ‘bittersweet.’ No one who has been in love disputes her. What does the word mean?” (Carson 3). Using Sappho as her point of departure, Carson then goes on to delineate how and why eros has been represented traditionally in order to detail the qualities and nature of eros. First, Carson considers the implications of translation on an understanding of the term: 

“Sweetbitter” sounds wrong, and yet our standard English rendering ‘bittersweet’ inverts the actual terms of Sappho’s compound glukupikron. Should that concern us? Ih her ordering has a descriptive intention, eros is here being said to bring sweetness, then bittersweetness in sequence: she is sorting the possibilities chronologically. Many a lover’s experience would validate such a chronology, especially in poetry, where most love ends badly. But it is unlikely that this is what Sappho means. (Carson 3-4)

Carson, therefore, argues that Sappho did not entail for the connotation of the word to indicate chronology. Rather, Carson insists that the bittersweet quality of eros is simultaneous. Eros involves “splitting desire into a thing good and bad at the same time” (Carson 9). 

Then, Carson questions why this is so. In order to do so, Carson draws upon the Greek definition of eros as “‘want,’ ‘lack,’ ‘desire for which is missing.’ The lover wants what he does not have. It is by definition impossible for him to have what he wants if, as soon as it is had, it is no longer wanting” (Carson 10). Desire, thus, cannot be felt for what is present, but only for what is absent: “Who ever desires what is not gone? No one” (Carson 11). Carson posits that eros is predicated upon what is absent: “there is the core and symbol of eros, in the space across which desire reaches” (Carson 25). Ultimately, Carson concludes that eros, as a verb, is this very reach which is “defined in action: beautiful (in its object), foiled (in its attempt), endless (in time)” (Carson 29). Did you hear that? Carson said ‘endless (in time)’ sounds awfully similar to forever to me...

Application 

Through Carson’s notion of eros, Forever by Judy Blume can be read as a representation of Katherine’s desire. Throughout the work, the object of Katherine’s desire shifts from Michael, to loss of virginity, to Theo. Katherine’s desire is never consistent or stagnant. Akin to Carson, Katherine demonstrates that desire is a state of being that can never be fulfilled. Desire is predicated upon an absence of that of which is desired. Once it is fulfilled, it ceases to be desire. Therefore, Katherine’s desire is always beyond what she currently possesses. 

In Forever, Katherine first feels desire for Michael. Similar to Carson, Blume exemplifies desire through the action of reach. When Katherine initially meets Michael, she thinks, “He wore glasses, had a lot of reddish-blond hair and a small mole on his left cheek. For some crazy reason I thought about touching it” (Blume 2). Katherine expresses desire to touch Michael, to reach towards what she desires. The desire is reciprocal, as Blume also depicts Michael’s reach towards Katherine: “‘Look…’ and grabbed my wrist. ‘I came over here because I wanted to see you again”’ (Blume 6). According to Carson, in this moment, Katherine and Michael’s desire for one another would cease to exist. The reach is met with contact: “He was still holding my wrist” (Blume 7). 

Although Katherine and Michael’s desire to date one another is quickly expelled, given that they do begin to date one another, their desire then reaches towards a different end: having sex. Blume continues the motif of the reach to depict desire: “If Erica and Artie hadn’t been there I doubt that I’d have stopped Michael from unbuttoning my jeans,” and “We lay down on the rug and after a while, when Michael reached under my skirt I didn’t stop him, not then and not when his hand was inside my underpants” (Blume 28, 50). Katherine’s desire to have sex depends upon the fact that she has never had it. Her desire is for what she lacks, what is absent. Katherine wonders, “What would it be like to be in bed with Michael? Sometimes I want it so much–but other times I’m afraid” (Blume 52). Blume employs the dash as a means to syntactically represent the reach of desire. The dash, like desire, extends towards something beyond. In this instance, Blume portrays the paradoxical nature of desire, as something which Katherine ‘want[s] so much,’ but is also ‘afraid’ of. Blume continues to use the dash to convey Katherine’s desire: “I wanted to do everything—I wanted to feel him inside me” (Blume 102). Katherine finally decides she is ready to have sex with Michael, to fulfill her desire. Her desire reaches towards the end of itself. Once Katherine has sex with Michael, and her desire is attained, she is met with disappointment as her desire ceases to exist: “‘Everybody says the first time is no good for a virgin. I’m not disappointed’ But I was. I’d wanted it to be perfect” and “I’m glad—I’m so glad it’s over! Still, I can’t help feeling let down” (Blume 106, 107). Katherine’s internal conflict represents the irony of desire: once one has achieved what they thought they wanted most, they no longer want it.  

Ultimately, Katherine’s fulfillment of desire for Michael and to have sex inevitably leads her to desire beyond him. Once Michael no longer is an absence for Katherine, in terms of a boyfriend and the opportunity to lose her virginity, she no longer desires him. In the letter she never sends to Michael, Katherine confesses, “I’ve met someone who’s got me very mixed up. No, that’s not exactly true. I mean it’s true that I’m mixed up, but I can’t blame him for that. I know this is very hard for you to understand. It’s hard for me, too. I made promises to you that I’m not sure I can keep” (Blume 199). Katherine herself does not understand her own desire, but nonetheless she realizes that her desire to be with Michael is obsolete. Katherine can no longer promise to be with him forever. Her reach towards Michael has been met, and her hand extends beyond him: “Theo and I were standing side by side, both of us dressed in cut-off shorts, him with no shirt and me in a halter, covered with sweat, smudged with dirt and still holding hands, which we dropped immediately” (Blume 200). Katherine’s inclination towards Theo has nothing to do with Michael himself, but only reflects the nature of desire: “‘Look,’  I told him, ‘it’s not you. You haven’t done anything … it’s me… it’s that… well…” (Blume 203). Katherine’s desire for Michael can no longer be, because it has already been fulfilled. Once desire has been fulfilled, it no longer is desire. Thus, Katherine’s desire reaches towards that which she does not already possess. Due to this, Katherine’s desire is never satisfied in the text–her desire always reaches beyond. 

Through Carson’s notion of eros, Forever is not a representation of first love, loss of virginity, heteronormative relationships, or second-wave feminism reproductive health rights, but of the reach of desire. In Forever, Blume exemplifies Carson’s notion of the reach of eros as ‘endless (in time)’ through Katherine’s various desires throughout the text. Despite the fact that Katherine and Michael’s relationship ends, she is no longer a virgin, and her relationship with Theo will likely expire, Katherine’s desire is forever. 

Discussion Questions 

To what extent does Forever exemplify Carson’s conception of eros? 

How does Blume portray the reach of desire? 

What does it mean to read the text as a representation of desire rather than love? 

Works Cited

Blume, Judy. Forever. New York, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014. 

Carson, Anne. Eros the Bittersweet. Champaign, Dalkey Archive Press, 2009. 

Spiering, Jenna and Kate Kedley. “‘You Can’t Go Back to Holding Hands.’ Reading Judy Blume’s Forever in the #MeToo Era.” Study and Scrutiny: Research in Young Adult Literature, vol. 3, no. 2, 2019, p. 1-19. 

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 21 August 2017

As I write this, the gulf coast of Texas is being battered by hurricane Henry. I can only hope that everyone was able to evacuate and that those who couldn’t, or were and are caught in unexpected turns of the storm, are able to stay safe and sound. My thoughts go out to everyone effected by this disaster.

My two favourite books of the week were Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 by Carly Usdin, Nina Vakueva & Irene Flores and War Mother #1 by Fred Van Lente & Stephen Segovia. Published by BOOM!/Boom! Box and Valiant Comics respectively.

Hi-Fi Fight Club is essentially Empire Records or Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity recast with an all-female staff. And, well, the staff also has a secret, but it’s not revealed until the end of the issue really, so I’ll leave that out for you to figure out.

The first issue is from the point of view of Chris, Vinyl Mayhem’s newest and youngest employee, as she struggles with her identity and finding her place in the world/at work. Carly Usdin does a good job of presenting the setting and characters through Chris’ eyes.

One of the main draws, though, is the art. The art team of Nina Vakueva & Irene Flores with colours by Rebecca Nalty are a joy. Vakueva has a style that reminds me a lot of Veronica Fish mixed with a bit of Terry Moore, leading to some fairly expressive faces and overall some very pleasant art to convey the story.

I’m really looking forward to how this series deepens.

And then there’s the return of War Mother.

I’ve been waiting for a follow-up to the War Mother one-shot that was part of the 4001 AD crossover from last year by Fred Van Lente and Tomás Giorello, and this doesn’t disappoint. Van Lente is back for this new mini while he’s joined by Stephen Segovia for the artwork.

Van Lente does a good job of getting the reader up to speed on what occurred in the previous one-shot, while giving a concrete introduction (or re-introduction depending on if you’re a new reader or not) to the characters. I’d have liked a little more about the time’s overall current state, but I’m sure that will be addressed whenever Valiant gets back to a new Rai series, and isn’t really necessary to enjoy this issue. 

War Mother (Ana) and her people’s biome, The Grove, is failing and she’s searching for something new before they run out of food completely. In doing so, she investigates a broadcast of a safe haven and goes to check out its source and the viability of the building claiming protection. This leads her to a confrontation with a couple other factions fighting to survive in this world, and a revelation that perhaps not everything is as it seems. It’s fairly compelling to find out what happens next.

Stephen Segovia also is a great addition to the book, giving the futuristic world a distinct lived-in feel. His depiction of the Urbanites is a suitably creepy addition to the world.

Quick Bits:

Archie #23 is kind of an “after the big event” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, focusing more on character ramifications and fallout of the horrible accident in the previous issue. It’s rather morose, but Mark Waid tries to alleviate that a bit through some of Archie’s natural clumsiness.

| Published by Archie Comics

Black Hammer #12 reminds me that David Rubín really deserves to be a household name. His panel transitions and page layouts are gorgeous. His art just flows. It also helps that Jeff Lemire’s story is quite compelling as well.

| Published by Dark Horse

Doctor Strange #24 concludes the Secret Empire tie-in story-arc from Dennis Hopeless and Niko Henrichon. Overall, the arc was decent, even if the victory is less than satisfying. I would have liked to have seen more from Hopeless & Henrichon, because they seem to have a good grasp on Doctor Strange himself and his magical world, but I’ve liked what they’ve given to us. Henrichon’s art is joyful in itself.

| Published by Marvel

Edge of Venomverse #5 closes out the prequel mini-series of mostly one-shots before the Venomverse event can start proper. Every issue of this series has been incredibly well done and this issue is no exception. 

This may be the best, not necessarily due to the story of Deadpool working to stop an alien worm parasite from invading Earth--although Clay McLeod Chapman’s altered “Sound of Silence” lyrics are fairly humorous--but because of the truly incredible artwork of James Stokoe. I think there’s probably nothing that Stokoe can’t elevate with his art.

| Published by Marvel

Generation Gone #2 still feels like a new take on Akira to me. I don’t know if it will shape up to have nearly as much impact as that, but it’s very good so far. Aleš Kot and André Lima Araújo are doing something interesting here.

| Published by Image

Generations: The Thunder #1 is another that reminds me that they’ve never quite lain out what Generations actually is, how or why the modern heroes are being thrust wherever or whatever this “Vanishing Point” is in what’s mostly been various pasts, but still manages to deliver a decent story. Mostly winding up feeling like annuals or possibly an extended version of those old fifth-week events where every one-shot special followed a specific theme; like everyone was turned into an ape or all of the heroes rocked ‘80s mullets and big hair. Okay, maybe that last one didn’t happen, but you get my point.

The other three (Hulks, Jean Greys, & Wolverines) haven’t been bad, by any means, but they do feel kind of inconsequential with character points that have either already popped up in their source series or look to be brought more to the fore in upcoming issues. Jason Aaron’s work here with the Thors feels a little bit more like another important wrinkle in his ongoing Thor saga, as well as laying some groundwork for the upcoming Marvel: Legacy #1.

It also has some great art from Mahmud Asrar and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

The Hard Place #1 is a solid first issue, very nearly rising to one of my favourites of the week. Doug Wagner pens a fairly standard man-out-of-prison story that you see in film and television, complete with the temptation to get back into crime, but he does a great job of making AJ Gurney feel like a fully realised character.

Nic Rummel’s art is also compelling. He has a style similar to Shawn Martinbrough’s with angular features and heavy use of thick lines and solid black shading. The muted colour scheme from Charlie Kirchoff adds greatly to the feel and atmosphere of the issue.

This one comes highly recommended if you like crime dramas.

| Published by Image / 12 Gauge

Incidentals #1 is the first of the Catalyst Prime series that I’ve read since picking up the Free Comic Book Day issue back in May. I gravitated toward this one solely because Larry Stroman’s name was attached and I was in no way disappointed by his work here with Rob Stull inking his pencils and Snakebite Cortez providing the colours.

I’m not as sold on the story. The concept is fine, one of a team being gathered out of those transformed by “The Event”, but Joe Casey’s execution leaves a little to be desired. He’s got several plates spinning in following the different characters, but he provides very little in terms of exposition and narrative context. It leaves you wondering a bit as to who some of these people are and in some cases what exactly is going on. I normally tend to like Casey’s work, so I’ll give it a chance to grow on me, but I can’t say that I was won over by the story in this first issue.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Redneck #5 gives us the revelation of what really happened in the first issue and, well, all I can really say is “Ah, hell.” Donny Cates and Lisandro Estherren can really do no wrong here. 

| Published by Image / Skybound

ROM vs. Transformers: Shining Armor #2 is every bit as dense as the first issue, even as we focus more on the initial battle between the Autobots, Decepticons, Space Knights, and Dire Wraiths. We also get to see what happens when a Cybertronian is taken over by a Dire Wraith, depicted in all its terrifying glory by Alex Milne.

| Published by IDW

X-O Manowar #6 closes out the “General” story-arc, but, like “Soldier” before it, it’s less a hard story break, and more of an end of an act. There’s some nice forward momentum in regards to the monoliths causing havoc on the planet Gorin, who’s behind them or at least allied with them, that looks like it’s going to come to a head in the next arc.

This issue also has some very beautiful shots of the landscape and the monoliths from Doug Braithwaite that break up the pace of the action and intrigue.

| Published by Valiant

Other Highlights: Conan: The Slayer #12, Daredevil #25, Dept. H #17, The Dying & The Dead #5, Eternal Empire #4, First Strike #2, I Am Groot #4, Lazarus: X+66 #2, Letter 44 #35, Lumberjanes #41, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #18, Plastic #5, The Punisher #15, Red Sonja #8, Renato Jones: Season Two #3, Shipwreck #5, Shirtless Bear Fighter #3, Sisters of Sorrow #2, TMNT: Dimension X #4, Underwinter #6

Recommended Collections: The Beauty - Vol. 3, The Few, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mother Entropy, Sif: Journey Into Mystery Complete Collection, & Snowfall

d. emerson eddy is really, really bad at Quake Champions. Like “your grandma is probably better at this” level of bad.

[b0ne-marrow]

General Sketch Dump

First off: Patreon hasn't been working for me as of late. I really can't do much, cuz even logging into Patreon off of postybirb I still can't post stuff. Ugh. Also, DA's been having trouble posting, so here's to hoping that it posts there. My horrendous Mcnuggets photo did because OF COURSE IT WOULD: https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic/art/Meep-Meep-805231092 Soooo, here's the sketch dump I've been talking about lol I wanted to add more to it but I just have had the worst time trying to think of anything else to add lol I've also been working on some adopts I need to get to people too so maybe that's getting to me as well I numbered them cuz it'd be easy to explain/write about them So, I guess I'll get into it: 1. I doodled Ami, one of my RWBY ocs! I wanted to doodle her with short hair to see how she'd look in it, inspired by the recent debut of the RWBY vol 7 Poster. Every time they change their designs around I wanna change my ocs's designs around too LMFAO To me, of team AURA (Arrosa, Umbra, River, and Ami) Ami was the most likely to have short(er) hair in my head, so I doodled it. I'm half and half on it? I like it better than her current hair but that's also because I drew her ref back in 2016 and looks bad lol. https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic/art/Amitolah-602174140 2. OOF This is a quite a bit into the future of AURA+ (the metaphorical comic/ask blog with my RWBY ocs) so its spoilers and I'm trying as hard as I can not to spoil anymore than I already have so I gotta be quiet, lol. Kieran bbyyyyy whAT HAPPENED I mean I KNOW BUT BBY https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic/art/Kieran-637420325 3. Speaking of RWBY and the Volume 7 poster, Blake has short hair! I LOVE it! I wanted to doodle it but had a hard time, but made myself finish it cuz I didn't feel like trying to think of something else to draw lol. So, I don't like it but I don't necessarily hate it either. 4. My little sister and I were having fun with that ol pokefusion webpage and I saved this horrible monstrocity. It's a fusion of a Slowbro and a Nidoran Male and I just HAD to draw it lol I have more saved, but IDK if I wanna draw them (Fun fact, this is how I ended up making/figuring out my Pokesona, which is a Ninetales and Cubone/Marowak fusion.) https://pokemon.alexonsager.net/80/32 5 and 6 are related to each other, lol. 5 has a young Amaya with her dad, Vasco. I recently adopted Vasco from imartist22:devimartist22:! After some thought I've decided he is a vampire bat pony and is kinda big. like Big mac-ish big. He tries to get bigger animals (andofcourseafewwillingorkinkyparticipants) that won't just straight up die after he gets enough blood to eat. I'm stuck between having him be with a loving partner and having him be a bit of a prick that got a mare pregnant and just had Amaya randomly dropped off at his doorstep one day LMFAO. Loving family or fuckboi turned into good dad... HMM. In this image I imagine that Vasco liked to sit under trees a lot to relax, and he brought Amaya with him to do so around the time she was dropped off at his place. he happened to be sitting under an apple tree when one of the apples fell, startling poor little Amaya but kicking her insticts into gear. This apple must pay for it's delicious looking crimes and Vasco is 100 percent amused and isn't gonna stop her. Amaya's a Fruit bat pony (thanks to her mom's genes), and her heckin huge canines make it hard for her to feed on anything besides mushy/old fruit usually, but of course, it didn't stop little Amaya from trying. 6 is an illustration that takes place mere moments after 5. she pounced the apple, trying to suck the sweet juices out of it. Vasco has to take it away from her and juice/mush it lol You can see Vasco here: https://toyhou.se/2561820.vasco AND you can see more pics of Amaya here, as she's a rather old oc I've had for a while now: https://toyhou.se/628481.amaya OLD ART WARNING OOF https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic/art/Ze-Bat-Poneh-525079939 https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic/art/Amaya-bat-pone-535836955 https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic/art/Getting-Used-To-Things-597913100 https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic/art/Static-623480499 That's all I really have for now I think, so yeah lol. Enjoy <3 A special thanks and shout out to these lovely people for supporting me on Patreon: -TBA If you like what I do on here, please consider supporting me on Patreon as well as the other websites I'm on, as well as commissioning me or donating! Every little bit you can do to help directly supports me. Patreon Perks include: - Early Access to all my works. -Access to WIPS and a special shout out on every post I make. - Being tagged whenever I post a new adoptable/auction! - Drawings of your choice linked to how much you contribute! - Getting up to a 70 percent discount on your next commission from me! - Early notifications to when my commissions are opening and the ability to reserve a slot! The websites I'm most active on are Deviantart and Tumblr, so please message me there if you have any inquiries!! Commission Information:https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic/art/Commission-Information-OPEN-797509905 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Musicalmedic DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/musical-medic Furaffinity: https://furaffinity.net/user/musicalmedic/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Musical_mediic Tumblr: https://Musical-mediic.tumblr.com

Posted using PostyBirb

[tartagyu]

92 questions ✨

rules: you must answer these 92 statements and tag as many people as you like!

tagged by: @bamethyst ; thank you for the tag nora! 💖 tagging: @astonishowell, @ggukgf, @chaiteasuga, @ttae, @agustboy, @cypherr, @sprxngday, @gayminyoongi ,,i know we don’t talk much but i regard y’all as my mutuals ☺️💗

THE LAST: 1. drink: water 2. phone call: with a group mate from one of my classes 3. text message: asking my friend a question about school work zz 4. song you listened to: critical beauty // pentagon 5. time you cried: i nearly cried when i reread a letter to myself written from my 27yo self’s perspective from a week ago but i dont rmb when i actually cried. i think a month ago? like i cried myself to sleep?idk 6. dated someone twice: no 7. kissed someone and regretted it: never kissed anyone i liked y ikez 8. been cheated on: never properly dated people so nope; but if u mean in terms of friendship, yup 9. lost someone special: yea 10. been depressed: ye i think so  11. gotten drunk and thrown up: nope, underaged y’all

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS: 12-14. pastel blue, any shade of purple, grey

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. made new friends: not rly; only early this year bc i transitioned from my secondary school to a polytechnic 16. fallen out of love: kinda?idk if changing biases counted as falling out of love? 17. laughed until you cried: i think so;; now i miss my old friends 18. found out someone was talking about you: not rly but i always think that someone does 19. met someone who changed you: yeah 20. found out who your friends are: they’ve been there since 2015 so nope 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: um,, my mum?lol

GENERAL: 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: majority of them. i used to be a Swifitie so i talked to the Swifties on there and make friends with them but not anymore ofc 23. do you have any pets: no :( i want a pet cat 24. do you want to change your name: yeah, it’s too common. that’s why i’d rather be called “lish” :) 25. what did you do for your last birthday: i don’t rly remember? i think i was preparing for my o’s last year so i didn’t have a very fun bday party 26. what time did you wake up: 10am 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: watching dan and phil play “dream daddy” 28. name something you can’t wait for: for got7 to come to singapore!!!! they came last year but i wasn’t that big a fan :( 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: about half an hour ago? she went out to buy lunch and run errands 30. what is one thing you wish you could change in your life: i wish i could be more self-motivated 31. what are you listening to right now: down // fifth harmony 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: holland 33. something that is getting on your nerves: i get so anxious and my brain feels like it is going to explode whenever i near the deadline for assignments  34. most visited website: tumblr, youtube, twitter 35. moles: one on my ear that looks like a piercing, one on the side of my left hand near the pinky 36. marks: tuans; jk i don’t have them, i think 38. hair colour: black?dark brown? 39. long or short hair: long 40. do you have a crush on someone: yugyeom 💕💞💓💗💖💘💝 41. what do you like about yourself: um, i can draw?i think // follow my art instagram (gotta get that promo)  42. piercings: nope; but people always mistake my mole on my ear for one 43. blood type: idek,, a? 44. nickname: lish (which i prefer people to call me; i’m grateful for that friend who made it but we don’t talk much anymore), alicia cheese (bc my last name is chee,, this is such a primary school joke), ciacia (sher-sher; my mum used to call me that) 45. relationship status: single  46. zodiac: dragon (chinese zodiac), taurus (if you mean my star sign) 47. pronouns: she/her 48. favourite tv show: shadowhunters, riverdale (these series are so problematic idek why i like them so much but i love shadowhunters bc i’ve read the mortal instruments and it’s lit af);; i don’t watch a lot of tv series now though 49. tattoos: nup 50. right or left handed: right 51. surgery: nope 52. hair dyed in different color: ashy colour or light blue 53. sport: i like badminton but i don’t play it much now 55. vacation: i went to hong kong, taiwan, japan and malaysia (too many times to count, especially genting) before but i want to visit london and south korea 56. pair of trainers: i wear my school shoes (they are like sneakers) to play sports if that’s what trainers are for

MORE GENERAL 57. eating: not yet 58. drinking: my saliva 59. i’m about to: finalise what i have to present with my group on monday sighh 61. waiting for: my mother to buy lunch 62. want: to get this semester over with 63. get married: i will probably be single with my apartment full of cats 64. career: psychologist!! 65. hugs or kisses: both 66. lips or eyes: eyes 67. shorter or taller: taller (i mean, look at yugy) 68. older or younger: older 70. nice arms or nice stomach: nice arms 71. sensitive or loud: sensitive 72. hook up or relationship: relationship  73. troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant

HAVE YOU EVER: 74. kissed a stranger: no, im smol 75. drank hard liquor: no, im smol 76. lost glasses/contact lenses: nope; but i stepped and sat on my glasses before and i’ve never worn contact lenses before 77. turned someone down: nope; no one has ever asked me out before, it’s always me who confess to them (i don’t do that now) 78. sex on the first date: no, im smol 79. broken someone’s heart: no 80. had your heart broken: i guess? 81. been arrested: no 82. cried when someone died: ofc 83. fallen for a friend: i liked him before i was even friends with him but yeah, i got over him now?i think? i still have dreams abt him u gh

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. yourself: i want to ,,but idk 85. miracles: kinda 86. love at first sight: n o 87. santa claus: i didn’t believe in him since the beginning, i think; i mean he is a white guy and i live in an asian country so when i was little, i thought i never rly saw these kind of people where i live (is this offensive,, sorry) 88. kiss on the first date: depends; i’ve never gone on a date with anyone before 89. angels: i mean jimin, yugyeom, hoseok and jackson exist so yeah

OTHER: 90. current best friend’s name: i have a couple of close friends now but not rly best friend? it’s too early for that, i’ve only just known these people for a few months 91. eye colour: dark brown?black? 92. favourite movie: currently my fav movie is split (when dr fletcher was like what if people with D.I.D. have unlocked the full potential of the brain, i was positively shookt) and guardians of the galaxy vol i. and ii. (gotg never gets old, it’s the shit y’all)

[alexdrawsagain]

tagged by @the-solar-surfer

and have been meaning to do it for some time and forgot about it.

1. How tall are you?

5'........uhm something’’ (Honestly i forget and am too chicken to check my state ID) All I know is I grew up with a bunch of people taller than me.

2. What color and style is your hair?

Jet Black and spiky. It’s also hard to grow out to a combable length without it becoming a big spiky puffer fish. I finally grew it out to the length I like now. It looks mostly the same way Dre draws it.

3. What color are your eyes?

Dark Brown

4. Do you wear glasses?

Yes but I like thinner frames. I absolutely hate wearing thick frame glasses and think they should go back to the 1950′s and stay there.

5. Do you wear braces?

Nope. My dentist keeps bugging me about it and I am considering it though.

6. What is your fashion sense?

Never really thought about it other than I favor cold weather since it lets me wear pants (jeans or khakis) long black turtleneck sweaters. Okay i either dress like steve jobs or a random dude with graphic t-shirts. I hate skinny jeans and v-neck shirts. I love button shirts. I mostly wear walking shoes since i cover a lot of ground in my day to day.

7. Do you have any siblings?

Yes an older brother who can alternate between decent and flat out jerk. Still love him though.

8. What kind of student are you?

I’ve been like several kinds of student over the years. Underachiever, honors student, rebel design student, upstanding student, and last in place student. Now i’m an art student of my own curriculum teaching myself new things, man.

9. What’s your favorite subject?

I recently graduated college and honestly the funnest class i ever had those four years was Spanish for beginners. I loved that group of people and had a crush on the teacher. The constant stream of homework sucked though. Good times.

10. Favorite TV shows?

Doctor Who (Series 1-6), Pushing Daisies, The Office, Community (Seasons 1-3), Samurai Jack, Bruce Timm DCAU stuff, The Big Guy and Rusty. Cowboy Bebop, The Big O (Yes. Even Season 2.) Samurai Champloo, and Spice and Wolf.

11. Favorite books?

Mostly graphic novels.

But if we’re talking novels it’s Frankenstein, Farenheit 451, and The Illustrated Man.

Graphic Novels: Space Riders, Fear Agent vol 3, DC The New Frontier, Frank Millers Ronin, Essential Fantastic Four vol 3, All Star Superman,

12. Favorite past time?

Anything that relates to making comics or reading them. I also love to go used bookstores and places that resell movies and music.

13. Any regrets?

A lot of stuff that makes me sad and angry a lot. I’ve been getting better at moving on though.

14. What is your dream job?

Like Solar: To not need a job

Comic book artist and Writer with a shelf filled with my works. In another life a filmmaker or animator.

15. Do you want to get married?

Hell Yes.

16. Do you want kids?

Definitely, but I’m conflicted since often adults have to give up their dreams in order to support their kids. And I don’t know but that sounds frickin’ scary. Especially the steep responsibility. But even so, i think it’d be worth it to have a son or a daughter.

17. How many countries have you visited?

One. Mexico. But with all the crap going on in the world I’d rather stay home until things die down a bit.

18. Scariest dream you’ve ever had? 

One when I was very little and watching my father die and then being at his funeral. There aren’t words to describe how awful that was and how terrified I was when I woke up.

19. Do you have any enemies?

Several. You make a lot of enemies when you think differently and defend people that cliques deem undesirable. Or when you don’t give the arrogant asshole his praise and attention. Or when the class b!tch decides to make you her enemy just because being friendly in the morning warrants a death sentence. And especially when you call out peoples bulls#!t (class b!tch liked to make my friends feel like crap during critiques while praising her friends half assed efforts). I used to let that slide but my college experiences made me say “i’m not having any of that anymore“.

20. Do you have a datemate?

I agree with solar. That’s a new phrase. Nope. I’d love a girlfriend though but I have that terrible luck of everybody already being taken and the few that aren’t are also not interested. I try not to let it get me down.

I tag @willhernandezdraws and @therandomninjakitty but only if they want.