#hot manga javert

[bobcatmoran]

We've reached Chapter 1.5.5, "Vague Flashes on the Horizon," of Les Mis, and you know what that means?

It's Hot Manga Javert time!

Pages 363–373 of the first English omnibus of Arai's manga introduce Javert and his suspicions of Madeleine (aided, in this case, by a seed planted by Fauchelevant), but it isn't until much, much later, in Volume 7 of the Japanese manga (presumably part of the 4th English omnibus eventually), on pages 6–11, that we see where he came from: "As he grew up, he thought that he was outside the pale of society, and he despaired of ever re-entering it. He observed that society unpardoningly excludes two classes of men,—those who attack it and those who guard it." This page below is where he made the choice whether to attack or to guard the society he was excluded from. (also featured: Javert's dogsona, as associated with him in the manga much in the same way that Valjean is shadowed by a lion)

[b-else-writes]

The Great CLAMP Re-Read Part 2: Man of Many Faces

Part 1 (RG Veda)| Part 3 (Tokyo Babylon) | Part 4 (Duklyon) | Part 5 (Clamp Detectives)| Part 6 (Shirahime)| Part 7 (X)| Part 8 (Chunhyang) | Part 9 (Miyuki-chan)| Part 10 (Rayearth)

Onto the next work in CLAMP's oeuvre, Man of Many Faces (technically the translated title should be 20 Faces, Please!!). This ran from 1990 to 1991, and it is wild to think that it was running concurrently with RG Veda (and Tokyo Babylon!) because it is SO tonally different. It is also technically CLAMP's first foray into shonen, running in Newtype magazine, although it feels like it's aimed younger. I had never knew it existed! It's one of the few CLAMP manga with no anime adaptations (it did have 2 drama CDs).

It's out of print and was released in English by Tokyopop in the early 2000s, in two volumes comprised of 11 chapters. I read this entirely online and would probably only hunt down a physical copy if I'm feeling like being a completionist. Spoilers? I guess?

Synopsis: Ijuin Akira is a precocious 9 year old at CLAMP School who leads a double life as the gentleman thief 20 Masks/Faces. As 20 Faces, Akira steals beautiful objects to satisfy the whims of his kleptomaniac two mothers. One day, Akira ends up in the bedroom of 5 year old Okawa Utako, sparking off a romantic comedy due to his double life and the nature of love!

The Story: There really....isn't one. Whatever it bills itself as, this is not a heist story. Man of Many Faces is pure fluff, basically a gag manga, which is what makes it so crazy that it was concurrent with the dark, fatalistic fantasy of RG Veda and the tragic urban fantasy of Tokyo Babylon - did CLAMP need a cute comedy as a mental break?

The chapters have a similar structure: Akira's two mothers spot something and cry "we want it!". Akira goes after the object and ends up entangled with Utako as they overcome the next (very low stakes) obstacle in their relationship. Akira often gets advice from his uncle and school pediatrician Akechi Shigetaka, while narrowly escaping his next door neighbour Kobayashi Ryusuke, who acts as the Inspector Javert. Along the way, he and Utako mediate on love and what makes a good man and good bride.

The story ends with the two getting married and still working to make sure that their relationship is always loving and new. It's a light, charming read (I was able to read the whole thing in about an hour) and it did make me smile a few times. The Christmas episode is particularly cute. Otherwise, the story is fine, just enough to string together the story that it doesn't implode from meandering fluff.

The Themes: Despite being so divorced from their serious works, I'd actually say you can see a lot of what would come to be CLAMP's attitude towards love - what makes a good love? Can love last forever and overcome all barriers? Are people destined for each other, and if so, does that make love easy? Some of the waxing poetic is very silly (Akechi once quotes the plot of Some Like It Hot, yes, the Marilyn Monroe film, to give advice) and very questionable, but there are some surprisingly nuanced takes too.

Namely, you are entitled to your feelings (very CLAMP), that nobody can fully know another person's heart (hello Tokyo Babylon) so we must remember we are two people and not lose ourselves in each other (X 1999??), be understanding and kind, and that love and people will change, and love is about meeting that new person each day, which is shockingly mature for CLAMP, who I had always taken to be rather fatalistic and immature in their romantic attitudes. I definitely walked away thinking that I hoped these two kids made it.

The Characters: It's an 11 chapter gag manga - the characters are thinly written. That doesn't mean they aren't charming. Utako is a rich brat but an adorable one, and Akira's maybe polyamorous mothers are very funny. Akechi and Ryusuke are especially funny, and Akira's father definitely leaves an impression. Akira himself is rather boring, he's a Mamoru with even less personality (interestingly this predates Sailor Moon by 2 years, but you can't read it without thinking of Tuxedo Mask!). They all serve their purpose, are funny and cute enough, but you're not going to be left contemplating them either.

The Art: It's very 90s shojo in style (despite being marketed for shonen) so it is competently drawn, comprehensible visual storytelling, and nice to look at, but it is not particularly transcendent, especially by CLAMP standards. The only time they really shine is in the splash pages, which are sooo delightfully sweet. Akira's mothers are very pretty, and Utako is cute, but the character designs are unremarkable despite the nice outfits. It also hits one of my irritations, which is that the backgrounds are very ill-defined and replaced by patterned screentones. In short, it is fine.

Questionable Elements: The way gender roles was discussed did not sit right with me. This was written in the 1990s in Japan so I am not surprised it is so "woman are emotional and crazy and end up as housewives" and shojo like it or not has a lot of sexism baked in so it didn't shock me, but it is disappointing and can make some of the advice and comments touted unpleasant. Also I see you CLAMP with Utako's first love being her teacher - at least he rejects her!

Overall: A little sidetrack in CLAMP's oeuvre as sweet as the pastries our couple enjoy. It's got enough genuine charm to get it across the line into enjoyable, but it's also perfectly obvious why it remains one of their most obscure works - you'll end with a smile, but it won't change your life. I wouldn't personally recommend it to anyone except diehard CLAMP fans. It's a nice sugary treat for a quick read and doesn't overstay its welcome, but only just.

[secretmellowblog]

As someone who has seen 500000000 Les mis adaptations: It depends on what your friend is into, and what kind of media they generally like!

It also depends on your focus: are you looking to introduce your friend primarily to Les Amis, to Jean Valjean and Javert, or to Les Mis as a whole? (Also: consider how you got into Les Mis, and what your first adaptation was!)

my recs:

1. The 2012 film is the easiest and most accessible adaptation for a general audience, in my opinion, even for someone who isn’t a huge musical fan. (In fact, the movie kinda suffers as an adaptation for trying so hard to appeal to people don’t like musicals haha XD.)

Having tried to introduce people with other adaptations, I’ve found 2012 is the one that always grabs the people who aren’t already fans, even if they’re not super into musicals XD. The stage musical recordings are confusing to people who don’t already know the plot, even though the music is handled better. Other nonmusical adaptations are either Terrible, like the 2018 miniseries …..or they’re sadly often kind of boring to people who aren’t already huge fans of the story. Saying “72 is interesting for focusing on Marius” or “82 is interesting for featuring more of Les Amis” doesn’t interest the kind of person who doesn’t know who Marius or Les Amis are. I’ve noticed that while I can say things like “the 8 hour long 1925 silent film is the superior adaptation that captures the novel better” it’s only because I’m already emotionally invested in the story.

2012 isn’t the best adaptation but it is one of the most accessible to new viewers imho. It’s short short and conveys the emotional beats the most clearly for someone who has no pre existing familiarity with the plot of the novel. The settings are clear, the characters are clear, the general emotional thrust of the plot is clear— and there are enough fun weird choices (some good some hilariously bad) to keep people entertained even if they’re not familiar with Les Mis at all. The problem is that uhhhhh it has a lot of serious goofy flaws, mainly the director’s inability to understand how music works and the baffling cinematography choices. However the flaws are funny and it fun to talk about them during a watch party.

You say your friend doesn’t like musicals, which is fair— but If she’s willing to try 2012, try going with the “this is a very awkward goofy flawed imperfect adaptation, but it kickstarted a lot of fandom stuff and can give you a general idea of what the emotional thrust of the story is like.”

I also think 2012 is unique becayse most Les mis adaptations start out with a decent first half then fall apart after the convent time-skip, but 2012 starts out pretty meh and then gets really energized after the time-skip when the story moves to Paris.

The stage musical and recordings are what I recommend for “musical theater snobs” (affectionate) who care a lot about music being done well in a way that it isn’t in the 2012 film, and are willing to use Wikipedia or something to help themselves follow the plot. It doesn’t sound like your friend is super into musicals tho XD.

The Takahiro Arai Manga is an excellent excellent manga adaptation that everybody should read, a great loving thoughtful take on the story that deeply understands its messages and characters, and is a passion project of its writer. While it can be very over-the-top sometimes, and makes some of its own dubious changes, its probably the next best thing to reading the brick! Its really good!!! It’s split into four volumes though and will take longer to read.

(Just make sure you’re getting the Takahiro Arai manga specifically, not the other American “classics for Kidz” manga that are much poorer in quality. XD)

I think you should also show your friend 82 and watch it while explaining why you’re passionate about it— even if it’s not the first adaptation you guys check out together.

Anyway, these are my hot takes! Also if your friend is interested in trying to tackle the novel in bite-sized pieces, the @lesmisletters readalong of Les Mis is happening again next year! ^_^

What is the best adaptation to introduce my friend to Les mis?

So like the title said I want to introduce one of my friends to Les mis bc I know she will really like it and loves the themes of the story, she agreed to let me show her an adaptation to get her into it, but idk with which adaptation I should choose to get her into it

I've heard the shoujo cousette is good and complete (I've only watched the first episode for now) but I worry it might be too long for someone completely new to Les mis? Ik the musical is probably also a solid entry point but my friend also isn't really into Musicals so I'm not sure it's the best to get her into it but I could convince her to watch it she's not that much against them, but if there's a better entry point I'll take it

My favorite adaptation is the 1982 one but it's also very strange and I'm not sure how book accurate it is compared to other adaptations so idk if it'd be a good adaptation

So I'm not sure what adaptation to show her first and would appreciate any input to with what adaptation to introduce her to Les mis!

[javerts-truncheon]

Les Miserables Graphic Novel Review

I just discovered this gorgeous French adaption of Les Miserable! So far only the first two parts have been adapted, covering all the way up to Valjean and Cosette's sanctuary in the Petit-Picpus convent. I would highly recommend purchasing the electronic version for yourself, if it's within your means. I got both novels for under $10 on Google Play Books!

After a brief overview of The Bread Incident and Valjean's imprisonment we are treated to a sexy lumberjack Madeleine (his facial hair is absolutely dreadful though)

Please let Javert be hot please let Javert be hot please please please-

SWEET MAMA!!! HUMMINA HUMMINA BRRRR RAWR *pants* AWOOGA AWOOOOOOOGA!!!!!!

It looks like the artist made an effort to portray Javert as ethnically diverse (compare his facial structure/features with Valjean).

Fantine is absolutely lovely, which makes her descent all the more disturbing. I just wanna protect her 🥺

I'll review Part II (Cosette) in my next post!

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

Every time I read Les Misérables or its manga adaptation by Takahiro Arai (which is, without hyperbole, a masterpiece and the BEST, most faithful and most moving Les Mis adaptation that I know of) I am just SEETHING that the BBC series was allowed to exist. Even Shoujo Cosette (2007) is closer to the spirit of the books, and Javert and Gavroche and the little brothers survive Shoujo Cosette.

Like, oh, the musical is *bad* and we need to "free the legacy of the book from it" and "finally make a faithful adaptation"? Tom Shankland, you pretentious, arrogant, self-deluded wanker. Kiss my French copy of the book as it flies into your stupid head, because a Japanese man understood it a million times better than you who's from one our closest neighbor countries.

Seriously, what were you thinking making Javert black? - that it checked out because he was kind of a social outcast? You wanker. The whole point of his character was that his 'otherness' couldn't be seen. His origins - being in born in prison to vagrants - disgusted him because they tainted him, because he hated to be associated with filth and crime - not because he was visibly 'different'. If you make him black in 19th century France you make it impossible for him to become that anonymous cog in the machine of justice he prides himself in being, AND you superficially equate the alienation he would have suffered as a black man with his book-canon SELF-alienation, where he essentially considers himself a dog and has no ambition of rising in status, but finds his self-worth in being a well trained, efficient hound instead of the rabble. How could the two experiences POSSIBLY be similar? What even was your thought process? ‘Oh, this character has no friends and we need more diversity, let’s slap some melanin onto him?’ If anything Javert can be read as Romani, so congrats on erasing that because being Romani and being black still wouldn’t be remotely the same experience, and it’s still important thematically that he passes as white. 

And also, making Javert attracted to that hot, sexy, sexy Jean Valjean body? You imbecile. Javert takes pride in the fact that he has no moral flaws or 'twisted desires' to speak of - which is how he would have perceived any unlawful attraction towards anyone, be it a married woman, a man, or, and especially, a convict - and the whole thing is that he is right about that: he doesn't desire. (In fact, he and Jean can both easily be read as asexual.) Javert is not some repressed Catholic-guilt-ridden hypocrite à la Claude Frollo, he is utterly passionless except for the pursuit of justice, and he doesn't have *anything* other than his hatred of crime and criminals lurking beneath his stone cold exterior. That's his whole problem! He can't conceive of living for anything other than the law (so again in relation to my previous point: he hated his origins because his parents were criminals - rooting his identity issues in race first and foremost is huh maybe not the best choice) to the point than when his worldview is turned upside down and he can’t rely on the law as his absolute moral guide, he kills himself. 

The POINT of Javert's dynamic with Jean Valjean is that it's not personal to him - even though countless adaptations have gotten that one wrong - it's about The Law. He's not obsessed with Jean Valjean, they just happen to cross paths serendipitously over and over - he's obsessed with The Law. Why would you make him attracted to Jean?! 

ALSO, yeah, faithfulness to the book, that’s why you made Fantine a brunette and Cosette a blonde - exactly like in the 2012 musical movie you hate so much - WHEN IT’S THE OPPOSITE IN THE BOOK. You gigantic, self-sufficient prick. 

AND FINALLY because I can't bear to think about this travesty any longer: making Jean Valjean angry 24/7. Why. What. Have you read the book at all. You butchered the Petit Gervais scene and that alone would take too long to explain, but how could you DARE make Jean a violent man and borderline abusive father when he hasn’t been angry since THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE STORY. Seriously, Jean doesn’t act out of anger at all after his encounter with Bishop Myriel, not even with the Thénardiers, that’s his whole character!!! How could you Dumbledore-“he said calmly” his scene where he endures torture for Cosette’s sake - when he is *supremely calm* the book and you make him act like an animal. 

I hate that this thing exists. I hate it so bad. Jean felt SO GUILTY for entertaining for half a minute the hope that Marius would die, and you made it look like he regretted dragging him through the sewers. Wtf. Oh yeah, and possessiveness? From the guy who IMMEDIATELY lets the most precious person in his life go the second he knows she’ll be fine without him, because he feels like he doesn’t deserve her and should under no circumstances tarnish her happiness with his dark past?? WHAT?! 

Jean Valjean is the kindest, most loving, most gentle, most compassionate shining beacon of goodness of a character ever written, who was able to completely turn away from his rage and bitterness and love his fellow man so much that he gives money to people trying to rob him, and spares the lives of his worst enemies, and throws his life away to save one innocent, and dedicates his whole being to a girl he owes nothing to, and you wrote him as an angry, possessive monster. F*ck. 

Congrats on making the Thénardiers mixed race, btw, love how going for race-blind casting because you wanted forced diversity resulted in you perpetuating awful racial stereotypes. That’s the kind of representation we needed, the money-hungry, thieving, child-abusing f*cking Thénardiers. Like it makes any sense whatsoever. (HEY, REMEMBER THAT THENARDIER - THE GUY YOU CAST AS A PAKISTANI-KENYAN MAN - BECAME A SLAVE-TRADER IN THE BOOKS, YOU IDIOT?)

Who even authorized any of this 😭😭

I can forgive The Musketeers, because the show didn’t even attempt to pretend for one second that it was going to follow the books, and it’s entertaining enough to make up for it, but BBC shouldn’t be allowed to touch French IP ever again after this pretentious self-aggrandizing trashfire. 

[secretmellowblog]

WHAT DO YOU M E A N VALJEAN’S FURSONA IS CANONICALLY A CAT

I mean what I said!!!!!! It’s canon and I have proof!!! (Although this is just my personal Hot Take and @lawisnotmocked is tumblr’s resident Les Mis animal symbolism expert)

Javert’s fursona is canonically a dog-- we all know this, everyone knows this. Hugo literally tells us he is the “dog son of a wolf” and reiterates that on every page. There is no argument there. But I argue that Valjean is a cat, it’s just more subtle.

The first animal he’s compared to by a peasant in Digne is a “Tso-Maraude,” or marauding feral cat. When he steals the bishop’s silver he’s describing as creeping into the room as furtively as a cat, and then leaping away like a tiger.

In Javert’s introduction he’s described as realizing that Madeleine is Valjean because he is a Dog and can feel that Madeleine is a Cat:

A sort of incorruptible and imperturbable instinct kept (Javert) on the alert and uneasy. It seems, in fact, as though there existed in certain men a veritable bestial instinct (......) (that) secretly warns the man-dog of the presence of the man-cat.....

Javert canonically starts to suspect that Madeleine is Valjean because “I’m sensing ..........his fursona is the opposite of mine!”

Imagine Javert walking up to the prefecture like “Here’s my evidence against Madeleine: My fursona is a dog. And my dog senses are picking up that Madeleine’s fursona is a cat! And Valjean was also a cat!”  And the prefecture’s like “what” but Javert is actually Right. Modern AU where Javert suspects Madeleine after he posts a fursona on his instagram and Javert’s like ”only one man would have a fursona like that” And everyone thinks he’s crazy but he’s Right)

Valjean is compared to a wide variety of animals throughout the book-- owls, bears, etc-- but rereading the book I feel like cats/wildcats are the most important one. When he’s stealing the silver, he’s described as being “stealthy as a cat.”  When Javert collars him he’s described as being like a “lion.” etc etc.

In the arai Manga (where every character has fursonas) Valjean’s fursona is a lion. In special moments where the other characters are seeing into his soul, his soul appears as a magnificent white lion. Here’s Cosette meeting Valjean for the first time:

(KITTY)

@pilferingapples has done a longer post on the meaning of Cat Imagery in Les Mis (which I can’t find at the moment) but cats are generally used to represent sympathetic characters, while dog imagery tends to be used on Disasters like Javert.

But the biggest thing for me is that Valjean.....acts like a cat????????

He really does act like a cat.

I can’t stress how much Valjean acts like a cat.

The most obviously cat-like thing about Valjean is how he’s always Climbing Around Paris. Just  hopping around, stealthy and cat-like. He’s always doing rad stunts at 3am. He’s doing “reverse cat burglaries,” where he breaks into people’s houses to leave them money. He’s doing parkour and climbing around weird places, clambering on the hulls of boats and scuttling through the sewers. Climbing up a sheer convent wall like it’s nothing.

The duality of Valjean’s character is that he’s quiet, gentle, shy, thoughtful, peaceful, solitary, and soft...........until it’s 3am and time to do some RAD STUNTS!!!!!!

It’s very cat-like!! It really is. The way Valjean is just, this quiet gentle creature who does wild parkour stunts.

Valjean climbing into the convent and getting Stuck because he doesn’t know how to climb back out===has the exact same energy as a cat climbing up a tree and then getting Stuck because it doesn’t how to climb back down.

Valjean is also an escape artist who doesn’t like being confined in spaces and will do ridiculous magical stunts to get out of it. Honestly, that reminds me of how my cat always seems to find elaborate ways to escape the house. If a cat wants to go outside, they will GET outside. (Even if they have to bury themselves alive in a coffin in a truly wacky coffin heist!)

He also has a lot of very cat-like habits and behaviors, especially in the way he interacts with people. Like- he’s very solitary and doesn’t like being around crowds. His favorite hobby is pacing the streets of his neighborhoods alone. He tends to wander from place to place, from one home to the next, like a stray cat. He shies away from people--- unless it’s the One or Two People He Knows, at which point he becomes Extremely Clingy. And his way of socializing with Cosette is often like..... “we’re in the same room together, but we’re both doing our own separate things. :D”

And also like..........in every town he’s in, Valjean gets treated like the neighborhood’s friendly stray cat. Because Valjean’s favorite hobby is to walk around the neighborhood, people start recognizing him- and because he’s shy/reclusive they always end up giving him cute little nicknames, the way you nickname a stray cat. Like when Valjean goes to the Luxembourg gardens all the time, the students nickname him “Monsieur LeBlanc” because of his white hair. In Paris with 8-year old Cosette he gets nicknamed The Beggar Who Gives Alms, in Montreuil-Sur-Mer he gets nicknamed Father Madeleine. (In M-sur-M kids also used to follow after him because he’s nice to children/gives them gifts-- which reminds me of the way kids will excitedly follow around a friendly stray cat hoping it will let them pet him.)

But yeah the villagers always seem to talk about Valjean like a stray cat. “Oh that’s Monsieur LeBlanc/Father Madeleine/The Beggar Who Gives Alms! He just showed up one day, and likes to walk around the neighborhood! :3 We don’t know where he came from, but he’s just the sweetest thing!!”

[ellevante]

Yooo Les Mis for the fandom ask set 001?:D

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: feuilly and enjolras

Least Favorite character: I don’t really have one…yeah, wow that’s really funny because in my other fandoms I have at least one character who I have a strong dislike for but even the “worst” ppl in les mis have a viewpoint that’s worth exploring just for a moment

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): I luv any ami/enjolras ship

Character I find most attractive: feuilly and enjolras

Character I would marry: fantine

Character I would be best friends with: bossuet

a random thought: can’t believe I’m back wow…it’s been a long 5 year absence

An unpopular opinion: kinda wished there were more ppl from my shitposty corner of the internet joining in or w one foot in so we could think about stuff like R doing messy kfc mukbangs and meditating on how hot “bahorels bara tits” would look like in a waistcoat that’s 3 sizes too small…but also. I think I can think about that kind of stuff w most of my friends here

My Canon OTP: amis/enjolras and valvert, also joly/bossuet/musichetta

My Non-canon OTP: me/the paris sewers

Most Badass Character: éponine

Most Epic Villain: the paris sewers

Pairing I am not a fan of: haven’t really thought about this 

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): none but damn I wished enjolras got more content like maybe a spinoff 1500 pg novel about his daily life that would be cute 

Favourite Friendship: les amis but also courfeyrac and marius is cute

Character I most identify with: bahorel

Character I wish I could be: feuilly and maybe hot manga javert

[pilferingapples]

@bobcatmoran replied to your post: @oilan replied to your post: ...

Hot Manga Fashion Cop Javert turns up at the barricades to arrest Arai!Enjolras for whatever the heck he’s wearing.

the one case where I might think a Javert has a Point vs an Enjolras

[qrhymes]

Death Note (2017) –What means being a good adaptation?

Keep the soul, the spirit of the original work.

I know this answers is vague and not really a factor in the goodness of a movie ‘cause you can still be faithful to the original themes of a work and still suck (The suckiness can take a plenitude of forms), however I firmly believe that the first step to be called a good adaptation (not necessarily a good movie or series or whatever) is breath the same air and meaning of your source material even if the plot, the story or even your character change in the process (That’s the reason that the so called “Spiritual adaptations” are a thing).

So, what are the elements that this movie needs in the first place to be called a good adaptation?

The original Death Note, to me at least, it’s a story about how “absolute power corrupts absolutely”; you give the power to decide who lives and dies to a teenager that subsequently becomes, in the spawn of a few day, in a full time sociopath (And yes, one of my absolute problems with the original is the lack of a natural transition between Light and Kira, but you can argue that that was the point) with a god complex.

I know that a lot of people see the series as a study of morality, a conflict between ideologies; the means justify the end, etc. However I have never been able to see this part of the conflict because the series never explore it’s moral dilemma beyond the superficiality of “Is It right to kill criminals?” that is and interesting and deep question that could sustain an entire work however the thing gets reduced to a “if you are not with me you are against me”.

Death Note is juvenile work and its simplicity in how develop its main question proves it…however, even if its wannabe main theme its underwhelming, Death Note still has a lot of goods and greats during its run.

The hypocrisy and the delusion of Light are great pieces for a tale how power corrupt, the entirely Kira cult, our perception of justice and the hypocrisy in those system it’s another interesting point, Ryuk as the wild card of the series is fantastic, the entire Kira task force is amazing and, at least for me, the great savior of the series.

L becomes what Light never could, a morally gray figure, that actually have weight in a morally ambiguous story of the meaning justice and what is right. L may be in the role of the traditional good guy, however he’s selfish detective that only take the cases that he finds interesting, a man that keeps in line with the law but is not afraid to push that lines to its limit, despite his gimmicks and status as a Sherlock Holmes 2.0 L comes along as a very flawed individual, not really seeking justice for the hundreds of thousand, but just challenge for his intellect. The Kira case is a passion project from him…Not really what you could call a hero, however in this kind of work it’s exactly what we needed, a hero antagonist with a lot of shades of black, whose sheer charisma and personality make, maybe not a paragon, but a compelling and lovable character that a lot of people, me include it, fell in love with.

Finally Death Note is a great mystery series, a tense police drama with genuinely thrilling mind games, an incredible pace and an overall fun ride with a ton of memorable scenes and twist, Death Note is a lot of thing and addictive as fuck is one of them, the flow of the series is so good and that is one of the better aspect of the series, what makes it so accessible is a well put and enjoyable show…so how many of these points got checked in the movie.

…Well Ryuk was…actually pretty great…

Ryuk is easily the best part of this movie, he is creepy, unsettling, menacing but also a lot of fun to have around and his character is the closest to his counterpart. I also like how the movie treats him.

He is different; less cooperative, less friendly, more malevolent but still this guy that it’s doing what it’s doing just for the lulz, and his final delivery “You humans are so fun” close his character in a really high note.

And yes, a lot of the credit goes to Defoe’s performance. I don’t know if he gives a fuck about the source material but it doesn’t matter, he is having a blast with role and so are we.

So Ryuk was fantastic…the rest of the film not so much.

There are a lot of issues here, but in general we can summarize all in two great issues. First, the movie it’s afraid to actual challenge the audience, is a tame product, one that goes for the secure route, lacking a lot of the boldness of the original material.

Even if you want to think the best of Light, he still was playing at least the role of anti-villain, someone that has do what he has to do to accomplish his objective, it’s his choice to use the Death Note, to kill criminals, the people that chase him and even his own followers when they stop being useful to him (And don’t we forget the sheer placer that the guy has with out-smarting his opponents. Yes you can argue that some kills were a necessary evil, however he enjoy some of those kills too much for someone that was still claiming that was doing all of that for the greater good). And yes, the ultimate power to kill is a factor of seduction, of course. However is still a choice that Light makes on its own…here he has to be convinced to use the note, first from Ryuk invoking dream like sensations and power fantasies and then by Mia which apparently is getting off from using the note…I mean, leaving aside that Light was probably asexual and aromantic, him using the note here feels more like he trying to impress her that trying to clean the world from criminals and yes, I don’t buy that part of his characterization in the original work, but that part built up in his hypocrisy.

Meanwhile here Light it’s treated more like a victim of circumstance, that tries to avoid targeting innocent people and just going as far as I goes just because the influence of Ryuk and Mia

Apple anyone?

This what I mean that its more tame or secure, the movie goes all the way trying to make Light likable, justifiable and innocent that forgets to add the aspect that make his original counterpart interesting, either as the idealistic young man that falls from grace trying to make the world a better place or the hypocrite, self-centered teenager that justify his murder rampage with delusions of justice. Both are great in the own right, Light Turner however, he is just another protagonist.

However trying to make Light good is just one side of the badness of this movie, the other side is, well, make L look like the bad guy.

As I said before, the magic of L is that he pulls out the character that Light never could and it is just painful seeing get butchered in this version.

L in this version is just a weirdo that likes sweets a lot, seats in weird positions and covers his faces, and yes the original L was that…in the surface.

That’s the second biggest problem of the film; it’s an adaptation of Death Note, but just in the surface.

L was great not because he was quirky or adorkable or hot, he was great because he has a role in the story, he was a contrast to Light (A contrast that doesn’t exist in this version), a perspective in the meaning justice (a side that not is precisely completely innocent or even all that lawful or good) and an interest take in the hero-antagonist.

In the movie L gets stripped from his “sympathetic inspector antagonist” and demoted to a full “inspector Javert” trying to murder Light in the quart of the movie. L it’s just another detective, there is not substance to his character, he wants to resolve the case ‘cause this is what he does. The only attempts to go with something with him is his breakdown after Watari is killed but that twist just make his character even more cliché, becomes it striped him completely of his anti-hero status to become the villain…I mean the secondary villain for the sake of…the Hollywood Formula?

This L is not really a bad or a shitty character, his problem,  in the same way that with Light, is that he is just another character, unmemorable, bland and lacking any kind of role or meaning aside of being a secondary antagonist

I would talk about Mia/Misa, but her character it’s so far away of her original depiction that it would be pointless.

Mia is a weird thing really. Not only is her introduction forced as fuck.

I mean the whole scene was something like “Hey wanna see me kill some random people”.

But the really confusing part just comes in her character. I mean what is she? A sociopath? Is she drunk with power? Is she using Light for that reason? Or the Note just makes her wet? And then the movie makes her the Big Bad, with a really stupid plan and a death also kind of stupid. A twist for the sake of a twist that only serves to cement Light as a great schemer in the last minute…as a character she was the worst in the whole film. She was in the movie because she was Misa counterpart but she has no purpose other than make Light more likeable.

…

Do you remember how tense a suspenseful the anime/manga was? There is not of that here.

Death Note was thrilling supernatural drama, with a lot of twist and turns, mind games and, overall, a great police series. As I said in the begging one of the best things of Death Note is how its flows.

Death note 2017, it’s not a mystery, it’s not a police drama, even the supernatural elements are reduced to their minimum…And it comes down to the begging, the great problem is that this is just a very tame superficial adaptation, the note, the candies, the shinigamis, the KEIKAKUs, but without the substance or the style (Even the genre) that make the original first half so great.

[bobcatmoran]

Oh hey, it's chapter 1.5.6 of Les Mis, "Father Fauchelevant," and you know what that means?

Well, more Hot Manga Javert, yes, but also, THE CART SCENE.

(a reminder to buy the manga, because this is a whole 2-page spread and the art is AMAZING in person rather than on a dinky tumblr)

Fauchelevant shows up earlier in Arai's manga than he does in the Brick, first as part of the nosy group of townspeople who want to see the interior of Madeleine's house, and then again when Javert first shows up in town. Arai uses the latter scene to establish how Fauchelevant hates Madeleine and also how Javert knows some of the pieces of how Madeleine arrived in town.

The cart scene in particular, though, runs from pages 374–390 of the first English omnibus, and pretty much exactly mirrors what happens in The Brick.

[kaleran]

.

[javerts-truncheon]

Les Miserables Graphic Novel Review II

Dilf!Valjean rescues Cosette from the suspiciously hot Thénardiers

This adaption does an incredible job covering the parts that are usually glossed over in abridged adaptions such as:

-Thénardier's rescue of Baron Pontmercy

-Valjean's reimprisonment and rescue of the capsized sailor (as well as his subsequent escape)

-St. Nick Valjean putting the golden coin in Cosette's shoe

-Thénardier chasing after Valjean to squander more money off of him

-Beggar Javert

-AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THEY INCLUDE THE PART WHERE VALJEAN ALMOST GETS BURIED ALIVE, WHY DOESN'T ANYONE EVER TALK ABOUT THIS?!?!

Cosette literally too precious for this world 😫

Okay, back to our scheduled Javert simping session now with a Sexy Lip Scar ™️

LIKE LITERALLY, HE'S SO HOTT AND FOR WHAT?!?! AND HE AGES LIKE FINE WINE

Bless the historically inaccurate ponytail 🙏

Forgot to mention this in my last post but Looky is a BIG fan of those closeup mouth shots, the more saliva-slinging the better!

Also plot twist apparently Valjean was wearing a wig or something because he goes completely bald after entering the covnant..

It's okay though because now he's got GILF energy! 🥳🎉

There is SO much more that I wasn't able to cover (curse the 10 image limit!) Looky and Siamh's character/costume designs have this awesome, almost steampunky-appeal to them brought to life by Parada's coloring, and based on my (pathetic) understanding of French L'Hermenier was able to abridge Hugo's writing while still retaining most of the rhetorical artistry.

I've attached the links to Looky, Parada and Siamh's Instagram pages, check 'em out! 🌟

[irenydraws]

i wanted to draw hot manga fanart but my tablet wasn't working so i had to use my mouse

so sexy

[javerts-truncheon]

Reblog for a hot anime Javert dating sim ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[javerts-truncheon]

On the outside I'm a baddie-

But on the inside I'm a saddie ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ

[bobcatmoran]

While I wasn’t looking, back in February, Takahiro Arai posted this to his twitter, with progress pics as he completed one bit a day on his lunch break, because he is, in fact, ridiculous in the best way. 

Also, FYI, he now has a new manga, Tenshou no Quadrable, being published in Shounen Sunday.