#i also have samatoki + riou + another ichiro LOL

[h4kka]

u.nhnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhg ghhhhh buster baaalllls

HUYUUU

Buster Bouce.

Buster Bouce.

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Got an unexpected moment of free time, so checking out the next drama track in the line up! Reading a translation courtesy of shinseimcd on Twitter. Thoughts upon initial read below a cut:

"Out of the women sent to Sapporo, please send 100 of them to Kofu." This is a little wild to me, because they're on two separate islands. Surely they had agents who were closer...?

A COUP D'ETAT? WHAT?!

THE TOP EXECUTIVES OF CHUUOUKU HAVE BEEN IMPRISONED?! But Nemu was spared, huh? Guess she was too low rank.

RAMUDA PRISON GUARDS? Wow, this is a fuckening right out the gate, huh. I do think them having True Hypmics is a little silly, considering they can't actually use them without dying. Bumblebee-ass defense system.

Also, I hope that Riou's major is just chillin' with Otome and Ichijiku now. In another universe where MTC won the last DRB, maybe he would have been busted out first...? (I doubt that would have actually happened before this plot event, though.)

Honobono and Rei are both missing, huh? Honobono = Rei conspiracy theory. "Where's the proof?" They both have big tits, Your Honor.

Robber-kun from S1E1 of the anime makes a guest appearance in canon, I see.

"The police are short staffed" Nobody wants to work these days smdh

"I'm not scared of a micless Samatoki" Half the manga is Samatoki beating the crap out of people without mics, so I think whether he has a mic or not is fairly moot.

"leucochloridium" Wow, Samatoki has a dictionary just for worms, I see

Man, this is already not like any block party I've ever been to...

"Samatoki, these are the times we live in. Don’t be so hard on someone who is trying to handle their business." Samatoki, we live in a society.

I can't wait to see all this in the manga. This sounds wild and stupid as hell.

"If we play a cooperative game and get to know each other better, violence would decrease." This is the theme of Hypnosis Mic laid out in plain text.

"Music isn’t just about rapping, they can play whatever genre they want." Oh, okay. Hence the mix of tracks on the CD. Got it. Again, the theme of Hypmic--there are lots of different ways to be a guy/person in general, and it's a mixture of lots of different people that makes the world go round.

"Since music is the common language across all generations!" Also this

"I’ll call on the people [who were in the DRB] I can, and you guys do the same." Ichirou, literally all of their leaders have been your teammates at one point or another. You have their contacts in your phone, no doubt. This should not be hard.

"And I’ll calculate the budget for the festival!" Yeah, good point. How the fuck are they going to pay for this?

"I have memorized [the whole Genbro manuscript]" You motherfucker. LOL God bless

"Jakurai: Yotsutsuji-kun. I thought that if I helped the Party of Words with their experiments, I could unravel the secrets behind the True Hypnosis Mic" I said this last time, but... did Jakurai even actually help them? As in, did he actually do anything?

"I apologize, but I don’t think I can help you with this. I really need to do research on the True Hypnosis Mic…" Not now, Ichirou, I need to bring my son out of a coma. I can't help you recreate Burning Man in the middle of Tokyo.

"He tried to publish this document at great risk, but was deemed dangerous by Chuoku, and purged" Does Chuuouku purge people by putting them into comas... Also, timing-wise, when does this happen? I guess sometime within the last three years when the Party of Words came to power, right? But I wonder exactly when, in so much as "exactly when" exists in Hypmicverse.

"Yamada Rei, a former soldier" Interesting... In the war that decimated the population?

"My brother was eliminated by a special unit called Kotosarai." Lol of course

"I will not inquire about your relationship with Yamada Rei." I was going to say that it's quite obvious, given their name, before I realized that Yamada is a common-ass last name.

"Ichiro: Um, why are you researching the True Hypnosis Mic? If you don’t want to answer… Jakurai: No, this is a good opportunity, so I will tell you. This is a story that took place in the 1st year of the H Era…" Oh, whoa. So Jakurai finally tells people about all the shit that went down with Ramuda and the TDD fallout. I'm curious what Gentarou thinks about this.

"Who attacked Kannabi-san with the True Hypnosis Mic? Jakurai: They were certain pawns of Chuoku." Oh. Never mind. Well, that's kind of Jakurai.

As a side note, this Nancy Drew team of Ichirou, Gentarou, and Jakurai is really doing it for me. What an interesting combination of nosy fuckers.

"Jakurai: I talked to Hifumi-kun and Doppo-kun, and they agreed to help. Ichiro: Seriously!?" Yeah, Hifumi isn't a surprise at all. It's not that I think he's the type of person who would necessarily go to music festivals, but I think his point of pride as an entertainer would make him eager to host one. Also, if it gets Doppo out of the house, then that's a win-win.

"Hifumi: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 people." I literally thought he was about to break out into a Hifumi Gigolo dance number until he said "people" instead of six.

"Jiro: Are you okay!? Doppo: J-Jiro-kun?" Aww, that's cute. They're still homies after that time they worked together in the grasshopper arc.

"In that case, it might be faster to involve a TV station!" I sense a Sasara appearance.

"I’ll contact the comedian Nurude Sasara, and he can help us talk to the bigwigs at a TV station!" Called it. Also, does this mean Hifumi has Sasara's number...?

"Huh, you have Nurude Sasara’s phone number?" Wow, I need to shut up and just keep reading, apparently.

"Yeah, I exchanged numbers with him when we participated in Freestyle Gladiator!" What's that? The Mixed Up drama track? Huh, didn't know that was canon. I guess there's no reason why it wouldn't be, though.

"Ichiro came up with something fun!" I love that Kuukou's down to clown with whatever Ichirou's doing. Homies again.

"That’s true. Music is perfect for improving the mood of this world right now. But I have work…" Hitoya is so real for this one.

 “There are two things I can’t stand. First, strawberries inside shortcake." WHA- The audacity of this bitch. Hitoya is no longer real.

"Jakurai: Let’s go out for a meal once things settle down. Hitoya: Sounds good." HELL YES you get that friendship

"Jakurai: And maybe I can see your drum performance with dishes and chopsticks again…" Middle school Jakurai moments. I greatly appreciate how Jakurai is so earnestly "Wow! :D" about Hitoya being a dweeb. Theirs is such a fun dynamic.

"Gentaro: You have a really great friend. Jakurai: Yes, I really do think so." Jakurai hyping up the homies. You love to see it.

"Sasara: I’m home! Rosho: This isn’t your home, you know." Domestic... bliss? It's a romantic trope for characters to do the "I'm home!/Welcome back" exchange with one another to indicate that they've found a sense of home and family in each other, and I highly predict that by the end of Hypmic Roshou's going to give in and say "Welcome back," thus prompting a flood of Twitter fanart.

"And Saburo-kun is just a middle schooler, but he’s really something." Aww. It's nice to see Roshou coming around on Saburou too.

"during their school closure" Ah, so it's like the pandemic lockdown level of fucked-up society. Okay.

"I can only sing 70s pop songs." lmfao this is so Roshou. He would be a kayoukyoku fan, huh.

"Where’d [Rei] go?" Yeah, good fucking question

"From my perspective, just using a knife for cooking is impressive…" Doppo........ You were living on your own before you moved in with Hifumi. Do you really not know how to cook?

"Well, as long as it’s tasty, it doesn’t matter!" My philosophy tbh

Tumblr's not letting me put more text in this list, so making a new one.

"Hifumi, don’t provoke a fight while we’re eating! Hifumi: Nyahaha! But the quarrel between them is so entertaining!" Delighted to find that Hifumi is as fond of chaos as I've always hoped

"Because I direct my own shows every time, and they’re well-received. I’m a professional who’s asked to direct plays and events too!" Ramuda is apparently the only literal MC in the whole cast

"Even if you find a good designer and commission them, there’s no guarantee they’ll accept." Facts

"If I offer enough money, they should do it!" ...Also kind of facts (speaking as a freelancer)

"Katengumi underling: Yes? Ichiro: This is Yamada Ichiro. I’m here to see Aohitsugi Samatoki." LMFAO, JUST SHOWING UP AT THE YAKUZA BASE, HUH?

"It’s Samatoki-san, idiot." Can you shut the fuck up? lmfao

"Shut up!" Yeah, you tell him

"Fine, since I’m not exactly free either" God, these are a bunch of three-year-olds. Love them for that

"I want them to feel that the solution doesn't lie in senseless violence but in empathy and helping each other!" This line is directed at Samatoki in particular, huh

"Is this a matter of great importance, like a crucial mission to rescue hostages?" I love Riou's comedic relief so god damn much. There's nothing better than when he comes in spouting some extremely serious stuff with a totally straight face in an otherwise less serious scene. There's a manga moment when fangirls are squealing over MTC, and Juuto's going "Ugh :/ I feel like an animal at the zoo being watched like this" and Riou's all like ":) We are all animals in the eyes of Chuuouku." Fucking hilarious. Man's killing it.

"The Special Prison has been infiltrated!" Oh, okay, so we're back in batshit plot territory

"Captain Keitouin led the Kotosarai and infiltrated the prison." Good for her.

"Thank you. What happened to the puppets? Kotosarai Member: The Amemura Ramuda clones were only guarding the Prime Minister’s cell, and they had no interest in us." Pleasantly surprised to see no meaningless clone deaths for once

Whew! That's one hell of a track. I'll have to continue with part two the next time I get a free hour, so if you've read this far... thanks, and see you then.

Hi Slug! If you've listened to the full songs in the new EP, have your opinions of the trailers changed? Also, the new dramas are HEAVY, so if you've listened to them, I'm curious to know what you thought of them. As always, thanks for the translations!

I like listening to Hypmic music on shuffle during workouts, so I've most of the new songs in full by now. I don't think my opinions have changed majorly. I really enjoy Black and White, and Move Your Body Till You Die is a phenomenal work of art.

As for the drama tracks... truth be told, I haven't even listened to the one that came out in April, so I'll read through some TLs now and record thoughts below the cut:

No One Lives Forever, translation courtesy of shinseimcd on Twitter

"Anti-Party of Words faction" Huh, like a government faction? I'm surprised the PoW allows other political parties or at the very least open dissenters. There was talk in some chapters of the manga of them punishing protesters, not to mention the way they crushed the TDD rebellion in its primacy. Either way, interesting, and I hope we learn more about this as time goes on.

Ichijiku and Nemu baking together is really cute lol

I love the way Ichijiku's whole personality shifts around Otome. Gap moe (????)

It's a cool tidbit that Nemu tends to prefer plainer outfits, as that tracks with how she dresses in TDD. Also, Nemu and Ichijiku shopping together is kind of bittersweet, since Ichijiku is clearly using Nemu as a replacement figure for her deceased sister...

Ichijiku secretly wanting to fall on the cute side of the cute/elegant spectrum is a pretty classic trope but a fun detail that's been hinted at already, since we've seen that she keeps a bow collection.

??? Rei's lab is on Battleship Island? Ohhhhhhhhh this is why Twitter was blowing up with controversy right after this track released... The IRL Battleship Island was home to forced labor of Korean and Chinese citizens during the twentieth-century push of Japanese imperialism which was later, iirc, denied in part or totally by the Japanese government to immense international backlash. Using this as a setpiece for Hypmic is oddly provocative, and I can't think why the writers would want to do that. On a much lighter note, this is also a headscratcher to me because isn't this a UNESCO World Heritage Site? The whole point of that is conservation, and I don't think building a clone lab counts as conservation... Unless they're implying the clone lab was built prior to the 1950s? Hm. Let's not go down this rabbit hole.

"I would like all of the True Hypnosis Mics. As well as all the Amemura clones." Oh? Are there more still alive? I thought Honobono ordered the death of the last remaining three... Well, that scraps a piece of writing I was working on LOL

"Your biometric data is required to access the mic storage facility" So how did the PoW get in?

Her? Heart stop beating? Oh for fuck's sake, is Rei's wife also in a coma? How many fucking characters are in a coma in this series... Whichever mfer invents a device that restores people from comas with no significant brain damage will make a fortune in this universe

"And I won't try anything funny." I do not believe this for one instant

Hmm, the framing of Otome planning this and the way she brushed past talk of countermeasures for the anti-PoW faction implies that Rei is heading this faction.

Oh, so they couldn't get past the biometric locks after all, I see.

I strongly dislike the idea of thirty clones for thirty mics and the nonchalance in which Rei goes, "Yeah, I'll ship them off to Chuuouku" like they're a parcel and not human beings, but that's my personal bone to pick w/ this character and setting.

I was intrigued by the notion of the PoW holding caucuses, implying there's some sort of democratic process in terms of choosing their own party members or positions, but the JPN audio doesn't specify that exactly.

"We no longer require the cooperation of Jakurai Jinguji." I know that this took like four years in real time, but in terms of the Hypmic universe... I mean, Jakurai didn't even do anything for them, did he? He went through all that moral dilemma for nothing, as far as I can tell. (I get that it sets up the reconciliation with Ramuda, but that's it? Seriously?) That's disappointing to roll it back so quickly.

"During the Division Rap Battle, the people of our nation will be focused on the tournament, giving us the opportunity to use the True Hypnosis Mics to mind hack the Anti-Party of Words faction who stand in our way, ultimately pulling them over to our side." Otome always has the most batshit plans. God bless. A consequence of her needing to drive the plot forward is that she'll say some of the truly silliest things I've ever heard. What a complete misappropriation of government funds lol. Also... is this stating there are only 30 dissidents (????), or can the True Hypmics brainwash more than one person at a time?

"Once that is complete, we will move on to other countries. And when we have taken over the world, then, in the true sense of the word, peace through the power of words will be achieved." LMAO? I'm sorry, this isn't very considerate of me, but in my initial impressions of this, I am well and truly gobsmacked. What in the actual fuck. How many clones will die for this? How much money will it cost? How does she think she stands any chance at governing so many people across such an area, even with a downsized population after WWIII? Homie... Never change, Hypmic, you are the wildest.

I can't believe Ichijiku is so whipped she's willing to go along with an absolutely nonsensical plan for world domination. Ma'am, Otome is not going to fuck you, and even if she is, it's not worth it! Ma'am!!! I'm sorry, I'm being petty and not giving this a lot of in-depth thought but LORD this is a trip on first read.

A FUCKING CLONE UPRISING AT THE HANDS OF REI? HAHAHAHAHA.

"World domination, huh, what a joke." Man after my own heart.

I'm actually quite interested in how this "mics are disabled forever" thing works. I guess the mics have a kill switch in them? I vaguely recall someone saying that in the manga years and years ago... Oh yeah, it was Ramuda in TDD 12. Huh, interesting if that was intentional foreshadowing (I'm not sure if I want to be that charitable). At any rate, can't everyone in the room just get new mics? Or does it affect their speakers and such too? I'm curious how that works, like if you build an affinity with a certain mic or some nonsense.

"looks like we won't be having any Division Rap Battles from here on out." Ah, and this is why the other half of Twitter was up in arms like "No more DRB??? End of Hypmic??" I guess.

The Block Party tracks are quite long, and since it's getting rather late for me, I'm going to leave off here for the moment. I'd like to continue this at my next available opportunity... WHAT a ride. Not sure when that will be, but I will add to this with a reblog when I can. And I know it's been months since this track came out, but I would love to hear other people's thoughts. I wasn't around much when it first launched, so I missed most of the commentary on it.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Yet another AU

Since I need this fem!HypMic AU to explain how I came up with some assorted headcanons I was planning to post, you might as well have it. (It's SFW, because I don't think I'm capable of writing NSFW.)

Notes:

In my head, this genderswap business is brought about by the psychic powers Gentaro has in this AU.

In MTC's case, the exact storyline I have in my head for this is quite clear - Jyuto gets transformed first by Gentaro, then Samatoki is attacked by a (female) psychic-type user who takes issue with an offhanded comment he makes about fem!Jyuto, then Riou takes an attack from Gentaro meant for fem!Samatoki and fem!Jyuto.

In FP's case, Gentaro transforms himself and his teammates out of curiosity.

BB unapologetically took their names from Gotoubun no Hanayome/The Quintessential Quintuplets, so to distinguish themselves, they changed Jiro’s name to “Nina”…That’s all they did...

Notice that I didn't change a lot about the characters - I wanted to keep them as close to their original characterisation and appearance as possible.

There is one character (more?) used to dealing with women who helps their division members out with the swap: BB help each other out, for MTC it's Samatoki (because of Nemu), for FP it's Ramuda and for MTR it's jacket on!Hifumi or Jakurai where necessary. (I don't know about DH and BAT.)

Due to the swap, BB changed their division name temporarily to "Buster Babes".

Ichiro -> Ichika (一花)

An unapologetic bishonen chaser and former delinquent who likes music (particularly rap), but also otome games, anime and manga. Secretly a fujo (?).

Has the shortest hair of the sisters.

Jiro -> Nina (二奈)

Sporty and outgoing, also an anime and manga fan. Unapologetic fujo who shares shipping content with her sister.

For her appearance, see the ARB event where Ichiro and Doppo become temporary hosts.

Saburo -> Miku (美玖)

Unlike her sisters, Miku is just an ordinary riajuu (normie), albeit a smart, smug one. Likes classical music.

For her appearance, see the ARB event where Ichiro and Doppo become temporary hosts.

Samatoki -> Makoto (誠, which means “sincerity”) (LOL)

A trash-talking, chain-smoking wakagashira of the Katen yakuza with boyish short hair. She wears men’s clothing because women’s stuff doesn’t always fit her and so she only takes interest in vintage men's clothing.

(How a woman got this far in the yakuza…no one will ever know. Maybe she's a dansou wearer...?)

Jyuto -> Touko (桃子, a play on the fact Jyuto was born in spring while also retaining the "to" sound)

A long-haired policewoman, who is never seen without some kind of rabbit accessory, including phone background and phone case (although those don’t really count as “accessories”…?).

Has terrible eyesight. Typically wears pantsuits.

Riou -> Ouka (桜花, the middle name is still "Mason"...like Jyuto's, the name's carrying over sound while changing kanji)

A former navywoman who is constantly seen toting around what appears to be a hunting rifle, despite weapons being outlawed by the H Act.

Hairstyle does not change (pixie cut, probably?). Ouka is significantly shorter than Riou, but tall for a woman her age.

Ramuda -> Kazuko (数子)

A bubbly, short fashion designer who likes to holler at her “oniisans”…much to their consternation…

Might be bi (?) It's hard to tell.

Gentaro -> Akiko (晶子, from Akiko Yosano, much like “Yumeno” may be from Kyuusaku Yumeno)

A demure author, dressed in a school outfit from the Taisho era (red andonbakama, or undivided hakama, as opposed to the black umanori hakama Gentaro wears). Has a design on her hakamashita (the kimono that goes under the hakama), unlike Kuko. Has longer hair than Gentaro does, but only to keep a (red) bow in it.

Constantly procrastinating before deadlines.

Dice -> Nana (奈々, sounds like the Japanese word for "seven")

A gambler who would gamble away everything...but her undergarments.

Jakurai -> Teruko (輝子, meaning “shining child”, playing on both the holy imagery and the “thunder” in "Jakurai")

A genius doctor with a mysterious past. Occasionally ties up her hair when treating patients, but is not known for braiding it. (Therefore, any braiding is probably Kazuko's fault.)

Teruko is shorter than Jakurai, but tall for a woman.

Hifumi -> ひふみ [just change name to hiragana]

A popular hostess at a hostess club. Seen as extremely shy because she can't really handle her coworkers without her jacket.

Hifumi faints upon first seeing the transformation and has a much harder time getting used to the genderswap than the others.

Doppo -> Ayumi (歩) [could also be called Tokiko (国子)] (both are puns on Kunikida Doppo)

A long-haired office lady who has no notable characteristics (see the Delinquent Policeman ARB event for what she looks like).

Sasara -> [no change, because apparently Sasara's name is feminine as it stands]

A manzai comedienne with long hair, pinned up at the back of her head with a large clip. Typically seen wearing gaudy dresses and even gaudier shoes.

Rosho -> Sumire (菫, meaning "violet (flower)", pun on the “azalea” in the surname, since azaleas are normally pink and Rosho is purple-themed)

A maths teacher and former manzai comedienne with Sasara. Looks old-timey, but is actually only 26. Wears round glasses for cosmetic/sentimental reasons.

Rei -> [no change] [could also be called "Reiko" (零子)]

A self-styled “conwoman” and the mother (?) of the Yamada sisters.

Kuko -> 空子 (same pronunciation, one different kanji) [Possible spoiler for the Harmonious Cooperation drama track: if you don't mind overlapping with Hitoya's brother, you could call her "Sora" (空)]

A former delinquent lady, currently in training to be a shrine maiden. Seems like a bit of an airhead (<-pun on her name), but would never be unfaithful to anything she's dedicated to.

Jyushi -> Tsukiko (月子)

A timid visual-kei (dansou-wearing) vocalist who occasionally hams it up with chuunibyou. To the fans of Argo Kushii Gakudan, it’s a secret that she’s a girl…

Hitoya -> Yui (由衣, a pun on 獄衣 gokui (prison uniform))

A money-grubbing lawyer with a bob and a pencil skirt. Seems like a strict obasan, but is actually kind (LOL).

Update: Tweaked various things around to better work with the AU plus to mark a spoiler...Also, I know I changed Kuko's entire raison d'etre, and apparently there are female Japanese Buddhist monks, but...can you see a female Kuko being one? No? Didn't think so. That's why, despite my best efforts, fem!Gentaro and fem!Kuko's outfits overlap to some extent, although a shrine maiden has a haori while a Taisho schoolgirl has a hakamashita.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Moriarty 8 - 11 (FINAL) | HypMic 12 - 13 (FINAL) | Taiso Samurai 7 - 9 | Akudama 9 - 12 (FINAL)

Hopefully I’ll be able to get on to all that backlog soon, because...I don’t want it to keep accumulating and Skate-Leading Stars (first winter 2021 anime) already has an advance 1st ep. up...

Moriarty 8

(Moriarty 8 notes deleted accidentally…)

Moriarty 9

If you want a modern equivalent to the Baker Street Irregulars, then I’d suggest you look this way *jabs finger at Odd Jobs Yamada (from HypMic)*.

These CGI background horse and carriages are…kind of distracting…

I’m guessing back in those days, the Irregulars were better than Google at finding info…because Google didn’t exist until the internet did.

Moriarty 10

Just this ep and one more until the end…at least, until spring 2021.

Wow, the use of colour here is really striking!

White lilies mean…purity/chastity…?

I’ve never heard of “bending someone’s ear” until now. It means to talk to someone, especially to ask a favour or to talk at length.

Probatio diabolica: the devil’s proof. I didn’t even know that was a concept until now…(I never once studied law, as you can tell.)

“William” isn’t normally shortened to “Liam”…It’s normally “Will”…also, notice all the footprints on the floor…

Moriarty 11 (FINAL)

Last ep. before spring 2021.

LOL, kabedon.

The fishy thing about Brits is that they’ve named things across the world names from Britain. I know there’s a Doncaster which isn’t anywhere near Britain, for one thing…

Observe the weird finger-like marking made by one of the bloodstains and the scratches on the suitcase. The latter was probably forced open.

Considering the number of signs the killer left, he was clearly in a hurry…

Well, based on that shoeprint we can find the killer if we can find traces of blood on his shoe.

“Duram” (sic).

Ah! If it was raining in Durham, then there would be traces of mud on the killer’s shoes. I remember early on in Detective Conan Shinichi, then newly shrunk, deduced Agasa was running in the rain based on the mud on his pants…this is similar.

Chloral (hydrate…?).

The “washroom” (apparently a Canadian term, the British term is “water closet”) has privacy and a place to get rid of the evidence, to some extent.

What about the rest of Eddie’s clothes?

Considering there are still 5 minutes of the ep. left…there’s going to be some kind of stinger for the next season. I can feel it.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait…Director Holmes??? Y’mean, Mycroft?! That is a good stinger! See you next time.

HypMic 12

“Ever since I was born, there was never a time I’d felt I’d accomplished something.” – Aw, Doppo, sweetpea (<- this blogger calls people “sweetpea” when they’re feeling lots of moe feels for them). Please don’t say that. You’ve accomplished more than enough in your life!

…Oh, almost didn’t notice it until Hifumi hid behind Doppo and the angle changed to confirm the jacket was on the bed, but Hifumi doesn’t have his jacket on.

I think I saw a tweet that said something about a wall being wrecked (specifically “Wall: Ow…”) but I wasn’t sure of the context, so I saved it in my bookmarks…LOL, so that’s what it means?

Samatoki, I know you don’t like Ichiro…but please stop trying to preach what his 2nd character song says in the title…(i.e. Break the Wall, LOL)

Jyuto’s very much a “I’ll leave this problem to the other guy” guy.

When the Funi subs say “dame”, I think Samatoki is just referring to an “onna” (woman). It’s a bit of an odd choice, really…although I can’t go and interrogate whoever was responsible for it. I don’t have the authority or the contacts that will allow me to.

This is not the time for fighting one another!!!

Notably, in the manga, Jakurai was going to chaffeur Hifumi and Doppo to their place, but then he had to go to work and so they rode the train with their prize money. This “run from Special Forces” ending is better, I think, since people got grumpy at Jakurai for having to abandon them with the money.

“…permission to cover a story.” - Permission from…who?

*screams* I was thinking Tom, Rex and Iris worked for a foreign government! They work for Ichijiku – why didn’t I think of that?!

LOL, I couldn’t even tell what Tom was saying until I played it back…it’s English, just…said in a spot where you don’t expect it.

“…that scares me.” – This may be nitpicky of me, but osoreru is actually a derivative of osore (fear), so “it strikes fear in me”…? “It strikes fear in my heart”? What would sound right…?

Go, host mode Hifumi! (...but does that imply host mode Hifumi is the only “version” of Hifumi able to rap? Certainly, he was able to do Wrap and Rap without his jacket, right…?)

You can tell Tom still respects Jakurai after all this time because he (the former) calls him (the latter) “Sensei”. Also, this’ll be interesting, we haven’t seen many mics and speakers beyond the standard bad guy ones (depicted in both the anime and the manga).

My gosh! All I knew of this song was that m-flo, also responsible for Human Lost’s theme song (and notably they’re a hip hop group with techno influences), was responsible for this song. Man, this s*** slaps! It’s great! (Sorry, I’ve just never really had the chance to capitalise on all the info I gathered on EDM DJs when talking in terms of things from Japan…m-flo is basically the only act I know which does that, so I’m really excited…can’t you tell from how verbose I’m getting in this note?)

That’s interesting that Matenrou won and Tom still took the gold chair symbolism to represent him and the Secret Aliens as the victor instead.

Iris’s parts are awesome. M-flo has a female vocalist and so I’d assume Iris takes on Lisa’s (m-flo’s vocalist’s) parts.

…Hmm, Gentaro’s made a reference to the track “Me Against the World”, has he?...Maybe.

I’m not quite sure, but I think Ramuda said “majo” (witch) when he was referring to Beauty and the Beast in the English subs.

…gosh, what is up with that airhorn…? Still, next time is the last time. See you on Christmas…no, Boxing Day.

HypMic 13 (FINAL)

This is the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning…y’know, considering how stuff trended on Twitter, I’d say this anime’s gonna get a 2nd season, but you can’t really say that until it actually happens. I mean, Boueibu is much less popular than HypMic and that got a 2nd season…

This is the 1st episode where I woke up early enough to watch without spoilers and had no obligations to place over it, so…this is exciting, in its own sense, but in a sense, it could also be called “profoundly disappointing” because this experience is only available to me as of the final episode.

One of the tweets I saw a few weeks back came to mind – someone became interested in sakuga houkai (terrible animation, literally “animation collapse”) because of HypMic…I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing…

…Dude, you probably shouldn’t answer a call from someone who just revealed themselves to be a traitor last episode…*sweatdrops*

(Spoiler for rest of franchise) Hmm…Dice’s face is pretty straight. Assuming at this point we knew Dice was Otome’s son, this is a good poker face from him…!

This thing about gangs was mentioned in their profiles (although the words used implies they “went delinquent”), so it actually doesn’t surprise me.

I wonder if this subway exists in the mainline story…?

According to the next ep. preview I saw on Twitter, TDD will reform to take down the Secret Aliens. I’m not sure if that was a guess or whether that’s true, so I’m waiting for the shoe to drop on it.

Samatoki-san, not -sama. Hmm…

There was definitely the word “team” in Dice’s line, so it’s “what the legendary team was made of”.

…oh gosh…they’re still using that airhorn…?

Again with the play on “lonely thunder”. It’s a really fun pun, but one I’d like to see in the rest of the series more.

Notably, Iris’s rap in English missed the word “charisma” where it could have fit (unless I missed reading it the first time).

Note Samatoki does actually use the word “shinsensa” (freshness), so there’s no lie there.

I still love how much they went in on Rex’s theme, even in his raps.

Huh, that’s new. Never seen a tag team like this before.

It seems Tom’s signature is using a lot of English, which makes it easy for us English/Japanese pair translators.

Saburo didn’t actually say “Ichi-nii”, did he…?

…based on the rock intro, this is Rhyme Anima, the OP, or something that sounds similar. What I’d need to confirm this is the “nautilus” line and the “ends corruption” line, which are the OP’s two biggest tells for AMQ.

“rainmaking” – Hmm, another link from Gentaro to Rei. This might be a different part of Rhyme Anima (OP) that wasn’t used as the OP proper.

“this white light invites and heals” (<- paraphrased) – Sounds like Sensei, alright!

…now that (rainbow bit). That’s sakuga!

*a silhouette appears* - Oh nooooooooooooooo! Now they‘ve done it! They’ve included Rei! That’s more than enough spoilers to last a lifetime for y’all anime-onlys!

I wish someone would work on this collaboration between Saburo and Riou…

Hmm…what is the series endgame? Putting in Dice as the new ruler??? I mean, Dice is the worst possible politician ever. He’s far too lax about things.

*Nemu enters* - No! Nemu!

Not only is Iris a “ramen shop owner”, it’s Tom’s favourite food…No wonder ramen has significance to her.

…ooh! A new song! Update: I don’t know what this song’s name is, although it probably will become clear what its name is on the 13th. I’ll keep my eye on Twitter in case the answer is there.

…I knew it was far too early to say if there was an s2 – the DVD’s live events go until September 5th and the 2nd DRB finishes in March. That almost felt like a stinger right there. Oh well, I’m more than happy to call this anime a success, even if I would call it the worst of the arms of the franchise. All HypMic’s anime had to do was deliver fun, before anything else, and it delivered on that front. See you around!

Taiso Samurai 7

Anime burnout means I’m coming back to the anime after the day it finishes.

This dancing scene is kind of like the one at the start of ep. 2 of IWGP, except it has the owl to represent the setting as well as the dance stage.

Leo doesn’t seem to know kanji or katakana, only hiragana.

Even though this part of the anime is set in London, the characters are still speaking Japanese (lel…?).

LOL, Edward Scissorhands much?

LOL, these background gossips are like the Plastics from Mean Girls…haha.

…LOL, that’s not one of those dismounting moves, is it? It’s just kind of…jumping off the bar.

Lookit how Leo’s sticker is 90 deg. sideways from what it should be, haha.

I don’t think it’s true that Olympic gymnasts have never failed. Like other people at the top of their game, they’re probably failed millions of times, but only outside the view of most of the world. Persistence and passion are what’s key to becoming the best at what you are, no matter what field you’re in.

Now Aragaki’s what I call a “determinator” (see TV Tropes on what that is).

Taiso Samurai 8

Notably, the word used for “clothes” is specifically for Western clothing, like dresses.

Well, now we know why Leo can do those stretches…

They’ve clearly sped up the dance here, but…it’s basically the same sort of movements Yuri on Ice used to suck me in. I’m here for it!

Leo seems to be the type who tries to push away his worries by distracting people (including himself) with other things…I see. I didn’t have much of a grasp of his character beforehand.

Britney! F*** you, Britney!

Ah, that must be the (a?) fabled owl of Ikebukuro. I’ve never actually been to Ikebukuro…the closest I got was Akihabara (to memory) and even then, that was for electronics, not anime…so I’ve never seen the owl statue I’ve been talking about close up.

Rei does kind of look like her mother like this.

Ah! Rei and Kitty have a pair look now! “Twinsies”, they call it.

Amakusa’s head is located right next to Leo’s butt, so I end up staring at it…LOL.

The Hoover mission.

“I <3 Ninja”, LOL.

LOL, “Nyapoo!”

*sighs* The problem with being multi-talented is that you’re going to be told to one day put one passion above the others, even if you don’t want that.

LOL, you can be a ninja with this WikiHow article. (I was looking for Kitty’s quote, but found that instead. It seems to be a quote from one of Tomoyo’s movies.) Update: I was right.

There’s a movie in the back where the title is “Black Rainmaker”. (Tomoyo, I presume) Mifune is the 1st person credited.

Considering this is 2003…you won’t be on Mars in 2013, Kitty.

Wow, a tape! That brings me back to 2003, indeed.

Charlie’s Angels…so that’s what the tape was.

LOL, a shoebill.

“blade in your heart” – That would refer to the character for “ninja”, which has a blade over a heart. Y’know Kiss Shot Acerola Heart-Under-Blade (from Monogatari), yeah? Like that.

…you might think emails were out of place in 2003, but a virus from an email caused me to be an avid reader and that virus was unleashed around the late 90s – early 2000s.

LOL, Kitty’s cat belt buckle.

You said it, Rei. You said it.

Taiso Samurai 9

Lausanne, Switzerland.

I noticed one of the boxes at the start of the OP says “Horizontal Bars”, rather than some random name to make the boxes look like they were discarded.

Someone encoded the video funny…

LOL, BB’s getting possessive of his territory.

Fuku-chan the fukurou (owl) in Ikebukuro…LOL.

LOL, randomly there’s a skeleton with a hat in the background of Britney’s clinic.

Notably, one of the wall hangings says “heart” on it – alternatively, “soul”.

Notably, Atlanta was the 1996 Summer Olympics…there is no 1997 Lausanne Olympics, as far as I know.

Akudama 9

I watched the part where it glitches twice and I can’t quite figure out what that circular symbol is…maybe it’s Hacker’s symbol…?

Ah! Only now they properly confirm Swindler used to work in the Seal centre.

“Life that never dies is defective.” – Doctor

Does that mean Doctor is actually older than she looks, due to plastic surgery…?

Marker? What marker?

Apparently that flower is a cherry blossom…according to Detective Conan.

…I know this anime wasn’t made in America (it wouldn’t be “anime” otherwise), but Anime Feminist is going to have a field day with this one…if they haven’t abandoned it already due to their idea of morals.

…now I can even see parallels between HypMic’s authorities and Akudama’s. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

“Why did this have to happen when I’m chief?” – Sounds like…basically every authority during COVID and BLM, to be honest.

See? Akudama likes the S word. I told you.

I haven’t watched The Shining, but reading the synopsis, you can figure out why Cutthroat is the way he is…sort of.

How does the iconic quote go? “Heeeeeeeeeeeere’s Danny!” (or something…?)

They even copied the iconic eye shot! There you go!

Way to take a guy out (with the door, LOL).

…with all this killing, I can see why Akudama Drive was only in one magazine now. (Then again, HypMic was in basically all of them and that also has a tonne of problems…)

Akudama 10

万死 literally means “10000 deaths”.

Babel.

That police chief is such a mood, LOL.

I can see why people didn’t recognise Swindler, but Courier never changes his look, so…uh…

You can’t become a police chief without a sense of justice, no?

“Since when did you know that I’m not-“ - *facepalms*

Is this what they call an “ass-kickin’ Christmas”? (LOL)

Y’know, Sister, you could just do the whole “wherever you are, I’m also seeing the same sky as you” thing some other anime do.

Notably, there are shide (the paper strips) and a rope over the vault…they really do treat the shinkansen and its immortal children as a single god, huh?

Hmm? They don’t care about Sister anymore? Just Brother? (Somewhere along the way, the priorities must have shifted.)

In the end, the best ship is Brawler and Hoodlum (lel).

Akudama 11

One more ep after this. I’m gonna miss this anime, even if it was crazy over-the-top and I didn’t finish it until after the day it ended.

I think the scariest scene in all of Akudama Drive is the one where the “cleaner” tosses the girl aside.

“This nowhere place!” – Around this time, the bunny and shark’s shirts say “morning”/”afternoon” (shark) and “evening” (bunny).

The blue bird of happiness…literally. That character on the birds is the one for “happy”.

…LOL, that one glitched Courier looks more like Cutthroat.

Hacker’s drone matches Courier’s head angles, LOL.

I guess if you think you’re falling in Kanto, you’re falling in Kanto and if you think you’re floating (like Courier did), you float. I always liked that concept.

War Games. Now the title makes sense!

…but they can be together if they stay here in Kanto as vessels for the citizens? (That sounds mighty antagonistic of me, but…that logic does compute.)

Maybe swindlers play games with the truth…? (What an interesting concept.)

“Just fine.” – I think Hacker needs a “This is fine” meme.

“We can hear your heart talking.” – It means something like “We can hear you spouting your true intentions.”

“…worth every last penny…” – That’s a weird thing to say for someone whose life got changed by 500 yen…Just goes to tell you how American the subbers can be sometimes.

Swindler’s smug face is so good, LOL.

Akudama 12 (FINAL)

This episode isn’t named after a movie. It’s named after the anime itself.

The TV says “Please watch away from the TV”, i.e. stand back from the TV while you watch.

“They came and stole the offerings…” – At this point, bunny’s shirt says “freedom” and shark’s says honpou, meaning “wild, uninhibited, rampant, extravagant”.

…where did Shikoku come from? Is that where Swindler and Sister landed after they tried going to the moon?

Ohh! That Christian imagery! That’s scary!

Is Akudama Drive a tragedy? No, I think…on the contrary, it’s a story of hope.

LOL, “s*** guy”.

I thought the girl had a bomb. Turns out she has a gun, which is…far worse, come to think of it.

Instead of red characters which say things about the situation, now Shark and Bunny have Hacker’s symbol on them.

There’s no way anyone who wasn’t immortal would survive the attack Courier took…

…why is it that falling over represents vulnerability in children in all of these stores where a war has happened and/or there’s a chase? Hmm?

Wow, Sister did everything with heels on…?!

Anyways, that was a fun time. See you next time!

[hyphypmic]

Can you do a prank war between divisons? You can choose whichever division you want to be apart of the madness

THIS IS SUCH A BB vs MTC KIND OF THING

Pranks taken from google because I’m not that creative lol… well I did some but the ones on google are so cool.

—

No one really knows how it fucking started, but really when there was a fart bag inside the cushion of Samatoki’s chair and he sat down on it during a meeting…. And it released that sound…

Samatoki had stood up and ripped the cushion open to find a fart bag with the Buster Bros logo on it.

He had such a look in his eyes that the people he was meeting with did not dare to laugh.

The meeting ended very quickly and Samatoki immediately called Jyuto and Riou.

—

To be fair, the fart cushion was an afterthought when they battled in Yokohama for you know… fun. BB and MTC did makeup already after the entire thing with Nemu had been resolved… but of course, petty things have to happen.

It was Ichiro’s suggestion of course and entirely supported by Jiro and rejected by Saburo. Of course they also had to fucking put it in his favourite chair.

It really should not have been a surprise when the Buster Bros came home and opened the door, triggering a rope that was tied to a bucket attached on the ceiling and spilled iced water all over them.

Mad Trigger Crew had also ran a string all over the apartment, making it impossible to pass unless The Buster Bros untangled it, and Samatoki made the effort to tie it around their very valuable and precious collectibles.

They managed to untangle, finding the start of the string with a note written in Samatoki’s scrawl.

Good luck you bastards.

Ichiro had crumpled the note. All this for a fart bag? Oh it was so on.

—

Yokohama had it coming for them, it was easy to split the Buster Bros into three, making it a nuisance for everyone.

Ichiro of course rigged Samatoki’s apartment with a cream pie launcher (when Nemu was in school of course, and only in Samatoki’s room.) He texted Nemu to tell her what was going on, and she just sent a smiley face… so everything would go to plan.

Jiro broke into Jyuto’s place and drew bunnies everywhere in erasable marker. He also put red dye in Jyuto’s shampoo.

Saburo knew it was going to be hard to trick Riou, so he covered all of Riou’s tools in gift wrapping paper. He disassembled the tent and wrapped it up.

—

When Samatoki came out of the room roaring and Nemu did not even looking up to see her brother’s face covered in whipped cream, he angrily stalked over to the sink.

“Did you know about this?” He growled at Nemu.

She turned a page in her book. “Know what?”

He wiped his face and groaned when he found whipped cream in his hair. “That bastard brother is going to pay.” He slammed his hand on the counter.

“Personally I think this is childish.” Nemu said and Samatoki flicked whipped cream at her.

—

Jyuto just sighed when he saw all the bunnies, it would be a pain to remove, but he wasn’t surprised, considering Jiro’s delinquent status.

However, when he came out of the bathroom to find his hair fucking anime red he stilled in front of the mirror and screamed. That kid was going to get it.

—

Riou didn’t really care actually. He just removed the wrapping paper methodically, however he would never admit that his eyebrow twitched at it. The little kid had potential, perhaps he should respond in kind.

—

Jyuto knew how to break into apartments because, really why wouldn’t he. While the Buster Bros were sleeping, Yokohama crept in stealthily. They set up the most elaborate plan yet, including the string that would trigger when they shoot up when they blare the airhorn.

The stuck all of their schoolbags on the ceiling with duct tape, placed dye in the bottles of their shampoo, and stuck their pictures everywhere.  

They also tied up things again and Samatoki brought his video camera.

Oh… and the alarms on their phones were disabled.

Samatoki waited for a while then he blew the airhorn.

“WAKE UP IKEBUKURO!” He shouted and blew the airhorn. Riou played the military bugle noise.

All three Buster Bros woke up and they found themselves entangled in string. Jyuto then (starting with Jiro) practically slammed ripped cream on their faces and laughed triumphantly. “45 RABBITO IN THE BUILDING YOU BASTARDS!”

Really. He isn’t 29 if he’s antagonising a fucking 17 year old.

Mad Trigger Crew tried to run after that, but Buster Bros are a lot faster than they estimated. Ichiro tackled Samatoki. “YOU MOTHERFUCKING SISCON!”

Jiro launched himself and Jyuto, but was held down by the lonely only rabbit pretty quickly. “This is what you get for dying my hair red you brat!”

“ITS A GOOD LOOK!”

“NO ITS NOT YOU CHILD!”

Saburo and Riou just watched the chaos.

“There’s hair dye in your shampoo.” Riou said as he gently wiped Saburo’s face. “I advise against using it.”

“I figured.” Saburo shrugged. “This is fun though.”

“I agree.” He looked to Samatoki and Ichiro rolling on the floor. “I’m not opposed to continuing this.”

Saburo smiled. “Me neither.” And he flicked whipped cream on the soldier’s face.

—

That fight ended with Samatoki’s hair having blue highlights (somehow the leftover dye spilled), Ichiro’s hair was partially green and the whipped cream caused his hair to stick up like Samatoki’s. Jyuto’s hair was still red, but Jiro now sported pink hair. They were all tangled up in string and messed up with whipped cream and water (how that happened, no one knows)

Meanwhile, Saburo and Riou were calmly making breakfast.

The four then later went to the table grumbling, summoned by the smell of frying eggs and bacon.

Samatoki wasn’t an ass, so he was sure not to really make the Buster Bros (well two of them) late for school, because he knows how hard it is to put one and yourself through school, what more another brother? So he woke them up an hour later.

This Ichiro noted with thanks, and a shove.

At the table Ichiro ripped Samatoki’s face off the wall and looked up at his brother’s school things hanging on the ceiling.

He sighed at the apartment in disarray and he started chuckling. Then that chuckle turned into a full out laugh.

Samatoki raised an eyebrow, but he caught the eldest brother’s eye and he started laughing.

The laugh was infectious, and Jyuto and Jiro got into it and even Riou and Saburo did.

Ichiro clapped Samatoki’s shoulder. “Next time, I’m getting you.”

Samatoki scoffed. “Good luck with that. I have a plan to make it backfire.”

“Bring it on.” Ichiro smirked and smiled at Riou and Saburo as they set down the food.

—

Suffice to say, this prank war still continues, and the pranks are either big or small…like toothpaste in Oreo, post-its all over the office, bikes wrapped in cling wrap, bikes in statues…

But all in good fun.