#i think about Kazuki more than i should tbh

[megane-sama]

Kazuki finally snapping in the middle of a completely normal dinner because of lots and lots of both repressed feelings and troubles he simply has to try and figure out himself cause he can't go to anyone else is so real.

To Rei and Miri they don't fully get why he's angry in that moment, because they think Kazuki just likes doing those things and it's safe to assume yes he does, but they don't really think about the effort it takes to do those things and Kazuki doesnt really complain right?

He's understanding that Miri is a child and it's an even bigger shift in lifestyle for Rei, because lets face it, if Kazuki is a fish floundering in a new pond, Rei is a a fish floundering in a desert, he understands and so he gives them space and tries to handle a lot of things on his own.

And when he does finally talk to Rei about doing more, Rei says "I'm doing my best" and that is true, Rei isnt lying or intentionally trying to dodge chores or put everything on Kazuki, he genuinely believes he is doing his best.

But these things get overwhelming, to be the one always having to be understanding towards others, to be the one who has to do the excess while waiting for everyone else to adjust, not to count the added stress of it being a sensitive season for him because of his past, those feelings build up till they explode.

To an outside eye, it may look like he's overreacting over them just being picky about food, but to him, its the final fallout of the frustrations he's been piling up for the sake of everyone else.

[rnn11203]

recently i am mesmerized by the idea of Nishiki/Reina + Yuya/Kazuki.. (most delusional yakzua shipper)(perhaps u get convinced?)

i like to think reina is pretty well acquainted with the boys too, they both run buisnesses very close by and both know kiryu well enough. I’m a big fan of onesided feelings too, which is why i like reina/nishiki so much, but i also kinda think the same could be true with Yuya. I think theres a really interesting dynamic to be explored there with Reina and Yuya. Both are kinda blinded by two attractive men with lofty ambitions and goal oriented personalities, both nishiki and kazuki put on acts for their respective jobs and i think its safe to assume they soften around Reina and Yuya which probably only fuels those two unrequited feelings.

i also like to think nishiki was only acquaintances with Yuya and Kazuki (pre killing dojima) I think Kazuki and Nishiki would get along pretty well though. I like to think Yuya and Reina are friends tho, I can see Kazuki off handly commenting that nishiki should quit being yakuza and come be a host for him. I can see them being playful with each other, would nishiki reminding him that yakuza arent allowed in his club and kazuki telling him he could be the exception be too self indulgent of me ^^’’? its interesting that reina calls nishiki “nishikiyama-kun” but calls kiryu “kiryu-san”, is it even more indulgent of me to say maybe Kazuki calls him that too? side note but i always think of nishiki being rather young, younger than kiryu, reina, and even maybe yumi too. but i think its cute to think Yuya is the youngest out of the 4.

After the events of killing dojima and kiryu being sent away, i think nishiki would avoid that area of town for a bit. mostly because hes busy though. i have this headcanon that Nishiki returns to reina right after killing Matsushige, that she cleans the blood off of him while hes dazed, that when nishikis hands are cleaned his forehead damped from the now crimson rag, he kisses her and its everything she wanted but nothing she wants. her own hands are now smeared in blood and the night he came back to her he was different. i still dont think his change would be entirely unwelcomed, hes boldened, ambitious, and isnt that pathetic slobbery mess anymore. its always interested me that whenever nishiki was about to strike her, she sees it in his eyes, of course she has, shes worked at the bar most of her life after all. I dont think hed ever strike her again, not because of morality, but it just wasnt worth his effort. he knows hes already engulfed her. maybe hes always known.

As the nishikiyama family grew i think theyd slowly pop up frequently around Serena. they arent exploiting her though, its half to send a message to other families, and half to watch her, maybe partially to protect her too. that being said, i think theyd bump into yuya often picking fights with him, harass the hosts, and their looming presence bothers their customers. I can see Nishikiyama captians/lieutants trying to collect a protection fee too like back in 0. All would be unsuccessful thanks to yuya, but still them just being there hurts buisness anyways.

I like to think Yuya sees Nishiki standing at the entrance, his hair is slicked back, a pristine white suit, and he’s different. maybe he tells him to get lost, maybe nishiki tells him hes the exception, remember? i could see that really firing yuya up. but before any punches are pulled Kazuki interrupts, I think Kazuki wouldve invited nishiki to discuss the issue their having.

I dont see Nishiki/Kazuki having “real feelings” for each other tbh, i think for them its mostly aesthetics mostly some strange fondness they have with each other. I think they have similar personalities though nishiki more cruel. I think they both admire each other for their work, have similar regrets about how work has consumed them in ways they hadnt realized before. I think kazuki would like that nishiki was cute, that he could be wittled down back to how he use to be, that he was playful, smug, and confident too. theres soemthing about nishiki thats refined. where yuya is sloppier. yuyas cute in his own rough way though. I think nishiki would like the dynamic between him and kazuki, nishikis hard to say no to, kiryu, yumi, reina, even kashiwagi and kazama knew this about him. nishikis alluring, but in a way that a siren is. luring sailors into rocky sea to devour them whole. Nishikis always been greedy though.

i belive the issue would be solved rather quickly, well, quick for them, agonizingly slow for yuya who watched them from the lower floor. i can see his stomach dropping seeing kazuki laugh up their with him. I think nishiki would easily reign in the nishikiyama family, under the pretense that he still remain the exception. i can see kazuki explaining this to yuya but yuya being completely dumbfounded by why. irritatingly, for yuya, it works. the nishikiyama family disperses. though highranking officers pass by to Serena still. even more cumbersome, nishiki takes the offer to heart and DOES show up to stardust from time to time, teasingly requesting Kazuki too. i think their relationship bothers yuya alot, kazukis dismissive of it, saying that nishiki just likes their selection of drinks and menu. it bothers him more that hes so left out of it the most though.

Maybe one of those days yuya goes over to Serena, i think hed notice she looks different, a defeated look in her eyes. she wants to marry him, she tells him thats what she wants, but he only says “if thats what you want”. she tries to ignore it though, yuya notices she has new earrings, a new necklace, and shes wearing nicer heels and a more expensive belt too. it only then hits him that Kazuki had been wearing a more expensive watch, different cologne, a new stud in his ear too. kazuki brushes it off as a particularly wealthy customers gift. but all of the items are too close in taste for it to be such a coincidence……….

ahhh this post is getting way too long and way too self indulgent! ill hurry it up by saying i think yuya and reina would both be involved too but in a more jealous and messy away… i think nishiki would rather like yuya (i can see their dynamic be similar to how i see nishiki and shinji too)

btw isnt it interesting that kazuki says he was funded/helped by kazama !?!? like what was that about !?!?!?

[jiminguuk]

I feel like that line was an ongoing joke within the family. I know damn well my man Kazuki is hitting up bars and bragging about his family and his wonderful, beautiful daughter.

Again I stress that Kazurei could and should be interpreted any way the viewer sees fit. As long as it’s not the main interest of the show I don’t really see the discourse?? I don’t think that line confirms or denies anything tbh. Truly I think their relationship remains ambiguous and should not be boiled to if they are together romantically or not. But maybe that’s just me. 🤷‍♀️

While everyone is freaking out about that I’m over here dying at 1) Kyu being a fashion icon and having a little picture on the board 2) forehead man’s death 3) Rei’s final interaction with his father.

I can’t remember an anime that made me smile more than Buddy Daddies in recent years. I’m truly blessed to have stumbled upon it by accident 💕

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

How confident are you that shoma is gonna win nhk? That competition is stacked with talent and I'm a little worried...

Another anon sended this: I'm a bit worried about nhk now not gonna lie

Don't worry...or at least not about Shoma. I know y'all mean well but don't underestimate Shoma. It's his title to lose.

I am very confident that Shoma will win. 😊

Why? Look at Skate Canada, he wasn't exactly clean in either program and wasn't even judged that nicely (still questioning that UR on the 3A in the free) and he still safely won the competition. At Skate Canada he lacked some of his technical content and still scored higher than all the competitors he faces at NHK. Ok the others weren't completely clean either but - and this is important - none of them has Shoma's technical ability. Contrary to the other competitors he can allow mistakes to happen and still win. He has 5 quads and two 3As with if landed cleanly give him massive GOEs as well! The others have if at all 4 quads. None can compare in PCS either. His personal best scores top his rivals by far and even when he posted those scores for the free he still didn't skate a clean program, means there is still room for more points.

Let's look at the technical ability if the others: For the SP: Kazuki Tomono, Adam and Sota Yamamoto do two quads, but with lower BV than Shoma. Junhwan Cha and Matteo Rizzo do one quad. For the FS: Adam and Sota have 4 quads. Matteo and Kazuki Tomono have 3 quads. Junhwan Cha has 2 quads and a difficult Loop combo. So just from the technical content alone they can't win over Shoma unless Shoma bombs horribly, which I strongly doubt.

And another factor comes to play, sorry to say that but he also faces rather inconsistent skaters besides Adam, who is making less mistakes than the others so far this season. I think at IdF (as sad as I was about it) you could see that neither Kazuki (😭) nor Sota were able to handle the pressure. Both looked fine in practice, but couldn't manage to deliver a good free skate. I don't see how in a competition where there is the GPF at stake there is less pressure for them.

I don't think Shoma is beatable even on a bad day and that's not blind fan love. Shoma may not be the most consistent skater either, but Shoma has still a better success rate on his quads in competition than all of his rivals.

Also Shoma has a good track record for NHK. He entered the NHK two times and he won two times comfortably. He is Japan's top skater and the current world champion and this should play into his favor too. Another advantage is that he doesn't have to travel far for the competition that he doesn't have to deal with timezone change or different food or whatever.

And btw Shoma only needs a 4th place finish to get to the GPF (same for Adam btw) that should make him rather relaxed for the competition compared to the others who obviously know what technical content Shoma can deliver, so know that Shoma likely wins and see their chances of qualifying for the GPF being slim even if they medal.

(I would say all other previous GP medalists are rather on the same level. I would say Adam is a bit ahead as he showed very good results at IdF, but not by much.)

Tbh the one I mostly worry about is Kazuki. He really hardly ever gets it together when it counts. And I am very sad that probably neither of Jun and Kazuki who I root next to Shoma with all my heart will make it to the GPF...*sigh*

[atopearth]

Collar X Malice: Unlimited Part 7 - Adonis Route

Honestly, I find the way Ichika joined Zero's side to be pretty iffy even back then in the original game, so I kinda hoped something like Kazuki dying would have changed here but I guess not.. I feel sorry for Kazuki that they reconciled but she still ended up joining Adonis alongside Akito, it must be a pretty big shock having to deal with that. (EDIT: guess he is gone..) Ichika being at the top and training people in marksmanship and stuff is very interesting lol. She looks all right with short hair but yeah, I agree with Zero, I liked the long hair more. Anyway, Zero wants her to find out if there's a traitor amongst them before the next X-Day (since the one 2 years ago failed) in 30 days. Anyway, it seems like you go through each of the Adonis' executors' stories so that's interesting. I'm just going to go from the ones I least like to the ones I like the most haha, and then leave Mikuni for last I guess. Well, Hana's story first then~

Kobayashi Hana

I guess Hana is as bright as ever. I quite enjoy seeing her try and dress Ichika up and make her cuter lol. On the other hand, seeing her mercilessly cut through that panda cake was pretty hilarious. One thing I enjoyed insight into was hearing that Hana has been avoiding going to Isshiki's concerts to avoid causing any trouble to them with the police just in case they come to crash it because of her or something. Honestly, I was pretty impressed. Like, she's always been pretty selfish, and she's always prioritised her love for Isshiki above everything, but to see that she could stop herself to protect him was nice in its own way. Even though she's a pretty ruthless killer, and even though she's obsessed with Isshiki, I guess she does think things through a bit so that Isshiki won't ever have to suffer because of her. Hmm Ichika seemed to reminisce about Kazuki, does that mean he died? Anyway, these investigations are short? Are they really just segments of story for Ichika to become friends with each person? Lol. I mean, Ichika literally did nothing but talk about random stuff with Hana lol. I actually find it rather endearing that Hana and Ichika can fight so openly about their feelings and understand that they actually do want the best for each other, it's kinda nice how they became good friends under such circumstances.

Soda Manabu

Honestly, I kinda wish we could just pick one character and continue until the investigation completes because it's sooo annoying having to press on each one like 7 times just to get a couple of lines of story each time Zzz. Anyway, gotta admit Ichika is pretty judgmental towards Soda, and actively tries to "fix" him and thinks what he does is "wrong", which is pretty annoying tbh. Just because she doesn't understand games, she thinks it's useless to Adonis, and then judges him for his eating habits? Lol. Anyway, at least she tried playing his game though lol, and even got lessons from him haha. I see, I can understand why Ichika would go to Zero for "revenge" but not sure about the "sadness" thing if that's what she's going for tbh. Losing Yanagi, Enomoto, Shiraishi, Okazaki and Kazuki is a big hit and I can understand it shattering her world, but going to Adonis is basically breeding everything that killed everyone important to her. Anyway, Sasazuka's pained voice telling Ichika not to go to Adonis really hurt. I'm sure he's really hurting over the fact he didn't notice the weapons that ended up killing everyone, alongside survivor's guilt of being the only one who survived out of the group, and then now not even being able to stop Ichika from going over to the other side.. It's painful to see. Anyway, lmao, Soda is probably a tamer little brother than Kazuki. His words are harsh but you can tell he only talks like that to protect himself, so any time he swears, I don't bother taking him seriously, he's a hurt little kid. It's cute how Ichika mixed his hated eggplants into the gratin and he didn't even notice, but he ate the whole thing happily🤣 He's so adorable lmao, especially when his face went red and he told her he'd eat her stuff again (even though she shouldn't hear it), and then he ran off🤣

It seems like Soda regrets his actions much more than I initially thought. He was able to get revenge, but now he's even more scared of death because of what he had done, and now he's just in this never-ending cycle of fear, needing to have Zero's power to protect himself, doing his bidding so that he won't die, but at the same time being so scared of his life that the only time he probably feels "safe" is when he plays his games. I love how happy he was when Ichika gave him a SS tier rare item and he put it on, locked it and kept it in a special box🤣 That's so cuteee. Definitely enjoyed Soda's mini part more than I thought hahaha, he's such a cute little kid, which makes it kinda sad lol. Soda blowing up and getting mad at Ichika for playing solo and saying she didn't need connections when she made him realise he wanted to start building connections because of her was really...heartwarming. Soda gave up on people and a lot of things thinking that he could never have them because that's how it was considering how people are, but he changed his mind after Ichika so insistently barged into his life, and now to say that it's practically useless would be extremely hurtful to him. I was really impressed with Soda, and I'm happy that he even told Ichika that she can rely on him more, he's such a sweet boy🥲

Uno Suzune

Lmaooo poor Shion, the woes of a big brother. I found it hilarious how Suzune would give him the green peas she doesn't like even though Shion hates them too, definitely something siblings would do🥲 I superrrr agree with Suzune about handwriting diaries instead of writing a blog! I mean, I have both obviously, but I definitely have different feelings when I read my blog and when I read my writing in my diary. Through my blog, I can easily read my exact thoughts and get to the gist of what I'm talking about, but with my diary, I can see stuff like when I started getting tired of writing, when I felt like changing my pen, and a lot of other feelings that can't be seen or portrayed properly in a typed blog, and yes, the memories of me writing all this usually comes back better when I've written it, mainly because I either say it in the entry or because I can actually remember sitting there and putting time into writing about my life/day.

Guess Suzune's pretty yandere for her brother if any kind of possible romantic interest from Ichika gets her other self to come out and threaten her about it lol. Anyway, it's cute how she’s starting to kinda think of Ichika as a big sister. Suzune willingly taking Ichika to Shion and calling Ichika Chi-chan is probably the biggest improvement you can get considering she could stab you as the worst case hahha. Well, Suzune was definitely cuter than I thought and seeing her so vulnerable, shy but wanting to protect Shion and getting out of her shell for him was sweet. Are there endings for each executor? Well, anyway, Suzune saying she would be sad if anything happened to Ichika was really sweet.

Sugawara Rika

Lmao, I forgot Sugawara is obsessed with Zero, this is going to be fun I guess. It's kinda funny that getting a 50,000 yen strawberry entices her lol, I'm surprised Zero approved it as an expense, like dang, can I have one too, I'm curious lol. Lmao when Sugawara wanted to keep the strawberries as a memento instead of eating it😂 She should have been convinced when Ichika said it'll become a part of her hahahah. LOL when Sugawara started lecturing Ichika about dressing better in front of Zero, and then tried to get her makeup to make her look better, but then Ichika runs away😂

Okay, I loved the girls dress up night with Hana, Ichika and Sugawara. It was so funny how they started arguing about what Ichika should wear and then became fast enough friends to recommend each other stuff and then wear it for fun. I loveee that they had a CG for their new outfits because they're all so pretty, I love them! I think Hana's is my favourite because it's so simple but cute in a different way from her usual. I guess it's kinda cute how in Hana's investigation, Hana focuses on Ichika's clothing fashion, but Sugawara takes it further or I guess mainly focuses on skincare, makeup and haircare haha. I guess it's nice that Sugawara is definitely much more open about standing up for herself and other women when it comes to men who try to objectify them or think of them as "lesser". She's become stronger. I think it's kinda sad to see that amongst all the other happy mini endings with the other executors, Rika's one with Ichika is actually pretty sad because it was through them bonding that Rika noticed Ichika's true intentions of revenge, and that's why they can never truly see eye-to-eye and be friends.

Ogata Tomoki

I guess I didn't expect Ogata to be the type to go to batting cages, but I even more didn't expect him to reserve sweets to make sure he can get them hahaha! It's nice that he enjoys wagashi though, I definitely should have tried it when I went to Japan, but I completely forgot😭 Aww, Ogata had such a sweet daughter! Whenever his wife wasn't looking, she would eat his hated tomatoes for him! Such a kind kid😭 I've never heard of monaka before, so I googled it and they look nice!! Kinda like an ice cream sandwich but not with ice cream and has red bean paste and other stuff inside I guess? I would totally eat it. Lmaoo at Ichika's impression of the typical salaryman😂😂 It's true though, I can't imagine Ogata going home to watch comedy shows with a beer in his hand🤣 Aww it was so cute how Ogata did an impersonation of a character in a drama because he got so used to doing it for his daughter. But lmao at Ichika though, telling him what he can improve on since Adonis might have end of the year parties he could use it for, imagine a bunch of terrorists partying for something so normal like the end of the year hahah😂😂

It's actually really sad how Ogata feels like he can't be a father anymore because he knows that he prioritises his current ideals and dreams more than his daughter. And I guess considering how long they've been separated and how much he has changed, it would probably feel awkward to try and be a normal father, but I guess at least through Ichika's encouragement, he's willing to try and reply to his daughter's letter of wanting to meet him. I think the reason why I've always liked Ogata is because he doesn't regret his actions. Like, he knows that he's killed people and that's why he doesn't want to see his family and get them involved with what he's doing right now, because he knows the gravity of his actions. But at the same time, his hatred for Fujii, the police and the whole mistaken arrest that led to such injustice for him and changed his whole perspective on life is something he can't let go of, and that's why it led him to Adonis and to fulfill his "new" ideals. He knows it's a path that will not necessarily have a "good ending" but he's willing to sacrifice everything for it, and I think that's what makes me attracted to his character. Anyway, LMAO at how insistent Ichika was on seeing young Ogata with a buzzcut playing baseball, absolutely hilarious when she was ready to tie him up with a rope and search his room😂😂 It's pretty sad to see that Ogata wanted to be like Isshiki and save people with his justice without faltering in this cruel world but he just wasn't able to do it because hatred was what fuelled him to move forward and not forgiveness or hope. But I'm glad he encouraged Ichika to listen to Isshiki's song and hear Kazuki's guitar, because seeing Ichika show her emotions again, even if just a little bit was nice...

Uno Shion

Aww, it's cute how much Shion cares about Suzune, but also so cute how he's embarrassed to say he likes chocolate🤣 It's nice that he's more cooperative than Suzune I guess hahaha. I never expected Shion to like to paint though, that's interesting. Anyway, it's pretty sad to think that the "outside world" was much more unforgiving to the Uno siblings, and that it was only after they joined this terrorist organisation did they get to feel safe and secure that they have shelter and food without people going crazy on them. In that sense, it's understandable how much more comfortable Adonis would be for them. Aww Shion and Suzune getting excited over a chocolate cake is so adorable. Them saving up to buy a home for themselves is so heartwarming, it makes me really want to cheer for them. I'm dying from how cute they are trying to feed Ichika the chocolate cake too because they really like her and think she's really kind like their mother was before. Shion buying a cheese tart for both Ichika and Suzune was sweet, she's like a part of his thought process when buying stuff for his sister hahaha. Lol when he just shoved it into her mouth instead of giving it to her like a normal person🤣 Lmaoo when Shion drew a portrait of Ichika stuffing herself with cheese tart🤣 To think that Shion was so serious about drawing that he's actually thinking about a future with it after the X-Day stuff..it’s so endearing.

Sera Akito

It must be difficult for both Akito and Ichika to talk to each other. Just seeing each other's faces would make them remember the past and compare it to the present, making their whole encounter just...painful to watch. It's so like Akito to hide that he dislikes shiitake mushrooms so that it wouldn't inconvenience Ichika and make her remove it from the cooking menu. Lmaooo at Akito being so scared of bugs, enough that Ichika has to call cockroaches dark fairies to make him feel more at ease🤣 I'm sure Akito must be hurting too, but his consideration for Ichika above himself really makes my heart feel so warm. Awww, my heart swooned when Akito said his ideal type was Ichika! If only there was an Akito route~ Anyway, I didn't expect Akito and Soda to really interact but lmaoo at Soda having spent millions of yen on in-game stuff, Soda is right though, gacha rates are cruel😭😭 Aww, it was so cute how honest Soda was about wanting to have defeated the boss with Akito instead of dumping him and killing it himself, since what Soda values is playing together with other people. So, Kazuki was stabbed by a guy who was influenced by Adonis into taking revenge against his bullies or something, and I guess Kazuki was killed when he tried to step in? Honestly, I feel terrible for Akito. He was already feeling doubts and guilt over getting revenge for his sister, but after experiencing Kazuki's death, he must hate his choice for joining Adonis even more than before. It honestly broke my heart to see Akito break down like that not knowing how he could atone for his sins in causing Kazuki's death. His heartwrenching screams really cut me and made me tear up from all the pain Akito must have been bottling up all this time. Akito will always be my favourite side character, I think his pain, his feelings and his emotions were portrayed so well.

Sanjo Keisuke

Aww, Sanjo's favourite food being ramen is very him, kinda hahaha. I can't imagine a 7kg bowl of ramen and having to finish that in 30 minutes😱 On the other hand, Sanjo being into arcades is kinda unexpected, lmaooo at Ichika thinking he would play the crane games😂 I didn't think about the fact that Ichika is a former cop just like him now, I wonder how he feels about that or whether he even cares😅 Lmao at Sanjo seriously answering Ichika what his type of woman is and then even describing the body shape with sound effects😂 I can't believe Ichika just tickled Sanjo and made him laugh like crazy, I would have liked to see that😆😆 I think it would have been so nice if Ogata was Sanjo's boss, I feel like their values and ideals of justice back in the day would have matched well since Sanjo probably desired something "pure" back in the day and hoped to be a part of an organisation that helped people, and Ogata was always helping people already, so they would have worked well together. It's just sad that they both got betrayed by their ideals of what the police should have been to them and others.

 The idea that you can't feel any fear because you don't value your life is a pretty interesting and saddening thought. Maybe because I get that feeling sometimes. I agree with Sanjo, Zero definitely doesn't truly care about those ideals of saving the weak that he keeps spouting, he's not like Mikuni, and that's also imo the reason why Zero believes that he and Mikuni will never truly understand each other. Ichika and Sanjo eating ramen together is so cute lol.

Mikuni Rei

Lmao at Zero calling Mikuni an old man for liking fish, disliking carbonated drinks and other junk food because they're not nutritional hahaha. Otherwise, nothing much to say tbh, Mikuni has always been a rather bland character to me? I like him, but at the same time I don't because even though it's interesting to see that he actually has "noble" goals compared to Zero, the fact is that Mikuni as he himself said has been told that he's a "saviour" of sorts, and I think that really exemplifies the type of person Mikuni is. Someone who believes that he can and wants to "save" people in his own way as if he is someone above them all, but at the same time, he is very apparently flawed exactly because he is like that. He's not someone who truly understands the people "below" him and he also doesn't seem to perceive that as something that can be helped, and that's why even though his goals are "noble", he's not really noble at all. But it doesn't really change the fact that Mikuni is kind in his own way though. Mikuni eating shrimp crackers is so cute😂

Saeki Yuzuru

To be honest, I've always liked the chill policeman Saeki, and I personally think Zero likes that version of himself too. I feel like he always enjoyed just talking about stuff with Ichika during their drinking charades, and had fun visiting her. But at the same time, I feel like because of the existence of Adonis and Mikuni, Zero never really allowed his negative emotions to be "accepted" in order for him to move on, so instead it just continued piling up inside to the point of indifference towards the world and others imo. Anyway, it's sad, seeing Zero and Mikuni happily play chess together. They really look like two brothers just having fun in their own way. Hearing them say that they've been doing this since they were kids makes it all the more saddening when they realised that despite how "close" they were to each other, they never really understood each other. In a sense, I feel like in the end, both Mikuni and Zero use Adonis as a way to get the things they want and feel like it's one of the only ways they can do it? I mean, I do feel like Mikuni treasures his relationship with Zero more than Adonis or anything else, because when it comes down to it, I feel like he tries really hard to understand Zero by trying to see things from his perspective and hanging out with Ichika, the one that Zero thinks understands him best and the one Zero likes the most. On the other hand, Zero seems to use Adonis as a way for revenge of his mother and as a way to vent those emotions and scars he got, but at the same time Adonis also granted him Mikuni (a brother), and it gave him opportunities and power.

Zero definitely loves Ichika in an obsessed way, probably the only way he thinks he can love someone, since he doesn't want to become "weak" like his mother was. So if he felt anything like love, he would prefer it to be a love that would destroy him, because in a sense I think I can understand that sentiment of wanting the person you love to solely focus on yourself and no one else, whether that is hatred or whatever emotion doesn't matter, because being the entire focus of someone else's is a sort of "love" to enjoy, so I don't blame Zero for his twisted "love" lol. Especially since you can tell how much he has always enjoyed his after work beers and just chatting with Ichika. I quite enjoyed their little date walking around reminiscing the past and discovering new things they missed out on, now I really want to eat crepes🥲 The ending where Ichika kills Saeki is pretty sad though. Seeing Saeki the most relieved and happy he has ever been is probably what made me kinda happy for him though. He still sucks, but like Ichika said, I can't hate him, because it was true that he did reduce the sadness of many (whilst creating sadness for many others too though) and at the core, he was like in a sense a guy who consumed so much sadness from everywhere around him, always in pain, always sad despite his appearance, and thinking that makes it difficult for me to truly hate him.

Overall, I like the Adonis route! Initially, I was a bit sceptical whether it was really necessary and whether it would be interesting at all but I really loved bonding with all the executors. Seeing more of the human and emotional sides, seeing them warm up to Ichika and become friends with her really made me enjoy the "what could never be" part of it all. I think I especially loved Akito's because of how emotional it was tying into Kazuki and everything. But I also really enjoyed seeing the different sides of all of them. It really makes me wish Ichika got an individual route with like Akito and Sanjo and Ogata because I loveee them🥲🥲

Overall Review

I definitely enjoyed CxM: Unlimited much more than I thought I would! In the beginning, Sasazuka and Okazaki's routes kinda made me wonder whether I really wanted to continue this, but I'm so glad I got through them because I enjoyed Enomoto's, Yanagi's and Shiraishi's routes a lot! If I ranked them, I probably liked Shiraishi's the most, then Yanagi, Enomoto, Okazaki and then Sasazuka. It's definitely what I wanted in a fandisk, which is more fluffy romance and just bonding with all the guys even more, and I absolutely loveeee the potential romances with Yoshinari and Minegishi, they were so unexpectedly nice. Definitely no plot but that's okay since it's a fandisc and I think it fulfilled really well what its goal was when it comes to more romance in the story haha. 8/10! I'm definitely going to miss the characters, I'm so attached to Enomoto and them lol.

[cloudstation]

thoughts on ygo gx

Ok so for reference in this post when I'm talking about YGO GX I'm talking about the subbed version because that's the only one I've seen and I know the dub varies pretty greatly.

There's also going to be some comparing and contrasting to the original series because I’ve only seen the original and GX so that’s the only thing I have to compare it to. If I had any significant knowledge of the series that come after (like 5ds, zexal, etc.) I would pull from that as well, but I haven’t gotten around to those yet. Forgive me if I’ve got the details wrong, I haven’t watched GX in a minute.

So, GX as a series starts as a villain of the week scenario, basically every episode Judai must duel someone who we will probably never see again. Which in hindsight, is sort of a confusing choice from a writing standpoint because the anime (that GX is a direct spin off of) didn’t really follow that format, it was almost always about a certain story arc. The YGO manga started out as villain of the week as well, but the anime cut those parts out almost entirely and there's several things in GX that make it clear that it is based on the anime only.

That said, I do not mind that format at all! I loved the early YGO manga and I enjoyed most of early GX as well. The only thing I will say is that I did get bored with some episodes after a little while of watching when 1.) the stakes are usually pretty low and 2.) you know we are never going to see this antagonist ever again. I think that would’ve been a great time to build up Judai’s rivalry with Manjoume more and I think giving Judai one consistent rival to focus on could have done a little to keep the momentum of the show going.

Speaking of rivals, Judai doesn’t really have one clear rival the way Yugi does. Manjoume is supposed to be his rival, but as the show goes on he starts taking a backseat to other characters like Edo and Kaiser. At one point even Misawa. It doesn’t help that Manjoume also becomes the butt of a few jokes about not being a very good duelist and his main goal in the end is more about being a successful pro duelist rather than being better than Judai. Do not get me wrong, Kaiba’s record against Yugi was not exactly inspiring, but it was his insane dedication and off the wall strategies that makes it so you think he actually has a chance of winning. And I don’t think Manjoume should have been more like Kaiba, I just wished he wasn’t shoved in the “comic relief” box because it would have been more interesting in my opinion to have him and Judai be neck and neck. I think you still could have even done the thing where Manjoume is begrudgingly friends with Judai by the end and it would have all worked out fine.

The characters though are the best thing about GX. I think they are very lovable, at least the versions of them in my head. Just wish they had more to do in the first 2 seasons or in Johan’s case, introduced earlier. Judai himself is SUCH a great character when the show finally gives him a chance to show it. There are so many parallels to him and Jounouchi (one of my favorite characters period) that it absolutely KILLS me the earlier episodes weren’t more engaging.

Which brings me to my biggest problem with GX: the actual plot of GX doesn’t really start kicking in until season 3 which is [checks notes] 105 EPISODES IN. Maybe I’m remembering it wrong, but it really did not feel like that much had happened until season 3. I think a large part of that is that Judai didn’t experience a whole lot of character growth during the first 2 seasons. The whole Supreme King plot is a direct result of Kazuki Takahashi thinking that Judai had not grown enough “to beat someone like Yami Marik.” Its like the writers were scrambling for things for Judai to go through that would actually test who he is as a person and they threw everything at the fan all at once. And it worked tbh I was glued to season 3, there were so many interesting things happening AND they gave Judai a friend (Johan) who was a really good match for him and they clicked together really well. Which makes it all the more interesting when they take Johan away and put him in this terrible situation and make Judai deal with it.

My only real problem with season 3 is the way the situation with Yubel is handled. I’ve seen a lot of people say that its romantic that Yubel and Judai fuse at the end and I just could not disagree more. Yes they were in love in a past life I get it. But 2 things: 1.) Yubel says that the love Judai felt for them in their past life now belongs to Johan 2.) After all the torment and grief Yubel put Judai and his friends through, for them to fuse at the end being seen as anything, but self sacrifice on Judai’s part is kind of a slap in the face. I really don’t care about why Yubel did those things, it doesn’t excuse it in my opinion.

That said I will always have a fondness for GX because I love the characters, I just wished they were used more efficiently. Wish we got to seem go through even MORE situations. I want to see how they react when they are pushed to their limit and how they get through it. I think that’s when Judai especially shines. I think the POTENTIAL that GX has is the most frustrating part and I wish they had acted on it more. For now though I will simply be imagining my own version of GX and probably making some art.

[komatsunana]

My Reincarnation Isekai Villainess Rec List

So.  I’ve gone and found myself in Isekai/Reincarnation/Villainess hell.  For those who don’t know Isekai is a genre in which character(s) are transported to a different world.  Initially you might be thinking “oh, she’s gonna share a both a series like Sword Art Online.”  Oh no.  You have underestimated the amount of taste I have.  By which I mean I have none but that SOA is a taste I’m not here for.

Now a very specific sub-genre of that is the reincarnation one, particularly in which a character is reborn as a character from one of their favorite books or games from their previous, modern life.  An even more specific sub-genre of that one is in which the MC is reborn as a villainess from that book or game, thus creating a bit of a challenge as villainesses usually are destined to die in the source material. 

So! Here are my favorites, many of which are all 3 but some combine one or two of the above tropes.  It’s my list so I do what I want.  And most of my faves have a shojo genre tag, or at least a romance tag, because that’s where all the good stuff is: 

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Survive as the Hero’s Wife by Nokki

Canaria is reincarnated as the villainess of a popular cliche novel. Based on the novel, she is destined to be executed but can she prevent this from happening before it’s too late? 

Why *I* like it:  So this one was the one that really got me into the villainess reincarnation isekai genre!  And it remains the top of my list. The huge draw for me in this one is that I actually really like the main couple!  Like not even just lukewarm, I really like it!  I’d read fic for it, if that existed.  A lot of the villainess genre tend to portray the original heroine as vapid, unworthy of their status of heroine, or the actual villainess but in this case Gracie just turns out to be just an amazing strong woman who doesn’t actually need a man.  (In fact I ship the three together full stop tbh lol).  In fact, it’s a subplot that Gracie realizes (because of MC’s words) that if she wants to inherit her father’s title even though the law says a woman cannot... That she just should strive to change the law rather than be a tool with no use outside of marriage.   And not to spoil anything, but she will definitely do just that.

And since I’m mainly finishing the rough draft of this list out of absolute RAGE at being made fun of for being into this genre.... A compilation of the main love interest, Cesar, because he’s absolutely beautiful.  Look at those eyes!  He’s such a great example of the sullen, dark love interest because he’s not those things when he’s with his wife, the MC!!!  He’s so soft for her.  And the whole point is that the love interest shows a different side to their lover right??

And like the great thing is Canaria, the MC, totally doesn’t notice for the longest time.  She read the novel in her previous life so she’s *convinced* that one day Cesar will fall for the novel’s original leading woman, and she makes plans accordingly throughout their early days of their marriage.  She completely hadn’t thought about the fact that since she’s not being a villainess this time around and not abusing him and everyone around her, and makes friends with Cesar... Like of course the course of events change.  It utterly baffles Cesar when his wife keeps bringing up divorce because he’s so completely in love with her and you just gotta eat that shit up with a spoon because it’s so good and perfect drama but also funny.

There’s even a Halloween chapter where everyone wears costumes and basically I believe I was pandered to specifically.

Tbh, the arc going atm is sorta losing my interest but that’s because there’s political intrigue and I’m like just here for the romance lmao.  So someone looking for substance and not just fluff might be more pleased than I. But it’s still on-going so.  It’s just all in all a fun and great introduction to the genre imo.

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I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags by Hidaka Nami (Art) and Yamaguchi Satoru (Story)

Eight-year-old Katarina Claes is the only daughter of a duke, living her life peacefully and without incident until she hits her head on a rock... and then remembers that she is not actually the duke's daughter. She used to be an otaku who died on her way to school after spending the entire previous night playing Fortune Lover, her favorite otome game. After noticing that her current surroundings seem oddly familiar, she is shocked to discover that she has been reincarnated into the world of Fortune Lover as the villainess.

The villainess in the game usually winds up dead or exiled, so Katarina decides to use her knowledge of the game and its routes to avoid any bad situations. But is it even possible for the villainess to reach a good ending?

Why *I* like it:  Ok ok ok, lol. So this one is probably one of the most well-known of the villainess reincarnation isekai genre atm!  Particularly because of the anime currently running.  And for good reason... the MC is so brilliantly stupid in the best of ways.  While she plots on how to escape her fate of being killed or exiled by learning to sword fight and how to garden, she’s more or less seduced every capture target in this dating game... AND all the female rivals to boot AND heroine.  The thing is that she is completely unaware and continues training for the day she is inevitably killed or exiled, as per the game’s original ending.

It’s just a silly, fun series and all the women’s feelings for her are taken about as seriously as all the guys’... Which isn’t much because absolutely no one really has a chance of getting this woman to understand they are all madly in love with her.  Not a series to take seriously which is part of it’s charm, but it retains a lot of heart especially when it comes to the MC Katarina (affectionally called Bakarina by fandom) remembering her friend and family from her past life.  

This series also has a manga spin-off about what if she’d been reincarnated while already in high school and bullying the heroine instead of a child... So basically she’s in hard mode, and yet she still succeeds in getting even more people into her little harem she has for herself.  

Whether you chose to watch the anime or the manga (or the LN, which I haven’t got to) you can’t go wrong.

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It Seems Like I Got Reincarnated Into The World of a Yandere Otome Game by  Hanaki, Momiji (Story) and Setsuri (Art)

As a precocious child, Lycoris suffers from a strange sense of deja vu. On the day her father told her about her fiancé, she realizes that her fiancé was a character from an otome game she once played in a previous life.

“I am the heroine’s rival from the game?

And in the bad ending, I get stabbed to death?

What a joke.”

A story in which the protagonist is determined to avoid a yandere situation.

Why *I* like it: Hear me out! I know what you’re thinking... Yanderes??? But here’s the thing...  Just by the MC being kind and getting 2 of the “yandere” characters out of abusive environments, they no longer end up as yanderes as they grow up.   They aren’t those tropes any more!  While the characters remain protective, they aren’t possessive and are happy to see MC branch out, if a little lonely.  And the yandere that remain aren’t treated as hot, but annoying.   So like sorry to disappoint if you think yanderes are hot but this isn’t the series for you.

Additionally, unlike other series of this trope, the MC is pretty quick to realize she just needs to trust her lover, that he will not turn on her and kill her as he did in the game nor will he fall for the heroine instead of her.  It’s somewhat refreshing, as a huge part of the trope is the MC typically doesn’t realize until it’s spelled out that by not acting as a villain.... the rest of the characters don’t want to harm them... And might even have fallen in love with them.

Another fun aspect is how MC doesn’t remember things immediately, but only remembers things from her past life (and of how the game went) until it comes up.  Additionally, she wonders some interesting things that aren’t even mentioned in other series like... What if she’s destined to be exactly like the game character? Will she be forced to be exactly like her? It’s a fun exploration of some common reincarnation isekai villainess tropes if you have experience with the genre!

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Ascendance of a Bookworm by Shiina You (Art) and Kazuki Miya (Story)

A book-loving student and soon to be librarian ends up crushed to death by the pile of books during an earthquakes and wakes up as a five year old girl named Main in another world where books are scarce only available to the elite.  Main, retaining her memories of her past life, decides to create and print her own books so she can read again.

Why *I* like it:  So here is we depart from solely the villainess sub-genre (but only briefly!)  Because there is another sub-genre of reincarnation isekai and that’s in which the MC uses the things they learned on our planet earth to re-invent things like shampoo and the printing press.  And no other isekai does it better than Ascendance of a Bookworm imo. Main’s love for books leads her to recreating things she took for granted on Earth and starts selling them from a young age... Which might just end up saving her life as she ends up having a terminal disease that ordinarily she’d only be able to survive by being a slave to a noble... But by selling her products she has a chance to save herself!!!  And the products she creates are available to commoners, not just the nobles who of course make it impossible for the poor to have nice things.

Additionally, a majority of this trope centers around nobles and royalty (and all the best ones are historical settings)... The fun thing about this one is that it actually centers around a povert stricken family.  It’s a good break from the noble hierarchy within most isekai.

Finally, this series is the one that hits most closely to my feelings if I were to be reincarnated in another world... Which is to cry at the realization that I will never finish any of the on-going books and manga I had going on.  That’s absolute hell, I don’t know how any of these MCs deal!! ;_;

btw there is an anime and manga both. Also LN but tbh almost all of these have LN.

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Isekai Omotenashi Gohan by  Shinobumaru (Story) and Medamayaki (Art) 

Akane, an ordinary office lady, gets summoned to a different world along with her younger sister and pet dog. There, she ends up treating rare guests one after another with hospitality through meals!! Can she satisfy the citizens of a different world with home cooking...?! 

Why *I* like it:   Continuing our brief deviation from the villainess trope, Isekai Omotenashi Gohan is my favorite example of another subgenre of isekai - one without reincarnation - but one in which a “hero” is transmigrated to another world to save it... The problem? Oppsie, 2 people were taken.  Sometimes in this sub-genre there is a question who the true savior is but in Isekai Omotenashi Gohan’s case they figure that out pretty quickly.  They quickly figure out the MC’s younger sister is the savior.  At first the older sister (Akane) is set aside as unimportant... But her sister only wants to eat the food her sister makes and it quickly becomes obvious that Akane’s role is important.

Akane makes lots of allies and friends by sharing the food from Japan and of course has a very subtle romance going on with her guard.  But honestly I just enjoy this series as a person that likes food manga, like that’s it lmao, so much so that don’t be surprised when I make a best food manga list and yeah sorry Food Wars won’t be on it.

But fr, even if you don’t love the food manga genre try it!! It’s a sweet series and mixes domestic with fantasy in a great way.  Plus only a few series are complete, with the rest being on-going, so if you want a complete and finished series try this one!

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The Duke's Fiancee, Why She Had to Go to the Duke by Milcha (Story) and Golae (Art)

When Park Eunha dies in modern-day Korea, she awakens in the body of Raeliana McMillan, the eldest daughter of a nouveaux riche baron. However, this is no ordinary world; it's the exact same one as a novel she once read. Beloved by her family, it would seem as though she is in a fairy tale. But Raeliana is far from the main character—she is a mere plot device, whose murder at the hands of her fiancé instigates the entire story.

Raeliana has no intention to accept her fate quietly. She sets her eyes on someone in a position of great power—the vieux riche male protagonist Duke Noah Volstaire Wynknight—aiming to completely change the original story. Using her knowledge of future events, Raeliana offers information to Noah on the condition that he acts as her fake fiancé, but the Duke's two-faced nature throws a wrench in her plans! 

Why *I* like it:  This one is a fun one!! It really plays with different concepts that don’t often get explored in reincarnation isekai like where did the original consciousness of the character the MC became go??? Because MC only remembers her life on earth and is otherwise treated as though she has amnesia.... But is it amnesia?  Is she another person entirely?

Also the humor is... great.  Listen I refuse to give the best joke in the series just to make you read it but... the series is worth it just for this running joke.

Of course the romance is good too. The dude is kinda an asshole but she gives as good as he dishes out and it quickly becomes flirting anyway.  I don’t want to say too much and give any thing away... but s’good!

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Who Made Me a Princess? by Plutus (Story) and Spoon (Art)

The beautiful Athanasia was killed at the hands of her own biological father, Claude de Alger Obelia, the cold-blooded emperor! It’s just a silly bedtime story… until one woman wakes up to suddenly find she’s become that unfortunate princess! She needs a plan to survive her doomed fate, and time is running out. Will she go with Plan A, live as quietly as possible without being noticed by the infamous emperor? Plan B, collect enough money to escape the palace? Or will she be stuck with Plan C, sweet-talking her way into her father’s good graces?!

Why *I* like it:  Ok, big sigh.  How do I explain the pull ‘Who Made Me A Princess?’ has on me?  Now a lot of the pull for many people is how cute the budding father daughter relationship the MC (Athy) has with her dad.  But like, her dad is the worst and I want to fight him.  On the other hand, most of the fandom hates Jeanette, the MC’s sister who has done literally nothing wrong except make everyone around her miserable but it’s not her fault ok, and I’ll fight the entire fandom in her honor.  So it pains me to rec this series knowing that more than likely anyone who picks up this series because of me might have Wrong Opinions and I invite you to tell me just so I can shake my head about another wrong person existing in this world.

Never the less, this series is very cute!  All the other series I have recced had the MC remember their past life at early childhood at the earliest, if not as a teenager.  Athy? She has the misfortune to remember as a *baby* and it’s exactly as hellish as it sounds for an adult to be stuck growing up as a baby and suffer through the absolute embarrassment of having people feed and wipe her ass. 

The MC was an orphan in her previous life and the book that she wakes up in is a shitty book even by her standards but then she really only skimmed it it sounds like that’s what interests me.  As Athy makes changes to the original events of the novel and depth is added to the world, I start to wonder if the added depth was in the original novel or if the world had to add its own depth to stand as an actual lived in world?

Additionally, since I made the cover image Athy and her dad you might as well see her with her 2 love interests (and Jeanette!).  People need to know who to ship, I get it.

Also I need a moment to appreciate, up close, the beauty of Athy’s eyes. So gorgeous. 

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Living as the Tyrant’s Older Sister by Aperta (Story) and Chyobab (Art)

When I opened my eyes, I was inside a fantasy novel world! The beauty I see in front of the mirror is the future tyrant’s older sister, Alicia! She’s not even a protagonist or an antagonist, but a character that doesn’t appear much and gets beheaded by the (upcoming) tyrant little brother. My life is all about escaping that fate from the novel. In the end, I seduced the male lead’s merchant friend who also doesn’t appear much and was about to leave the country with him. How-e-ver. The face of the man who spent the night with me was extraordinary, and was the male lead himself!

Why *I* like it:   ……………...keke. Ok so this one is one I like just for the laughs.  The love interest is an arrogant asshole, but see… The important detail the summary leaves out is that the MC’s… cousin (?) wrote the book that she woke up in!  Moreover she’s the one that told her cousin to change the MC of her novel and make him good at everything and also make him a freak in the sack.  Like who is really at fault here??? Lmao.  Especially when she goes out intending to seduce a character she remembers being rich from the novel and accidentally bags the MC from the novel, aka the dude who kills her and her brother in the original novel.

In seriousness though, it really is funny.  The facial expressions of the MC is just… chefs kiss.  She’s got a pretty face but then she makes all these goof ass faces and I love it.  If you need any more reason to at least give it a go, just know that at one point the male lead comes to check on her, expecting to find her crying and instead…. Walks in just as she screams FUCK at the top of her lungs and then begins a tirade of very creative curses including "Bitch oompa loompa ass bitch" which how can you not love her?  Anyway the face the male lead makes after that has me maintaining that’s the moment he fell in love with her lmao.. but this is not Confirmed so it’s not a spoiler!!

EDIT: as of August 2020, I’ve since dropped this series. It remains on the list since I’d still rec it to people looking for a laugh.

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Seduce the Villain’s Father by bia and dalseul

Upon opening my eyes after a bus accident, I found myself in the fantasy world of a webnovel I enjoyed reading... the only catch is, I reincarnated 20 years before the novel begins! Reborn as Princess Yerenica of the small Lebovny kingdom, I'm determined to change the future in order to prevent the series of unfortunate events that will soon occur!

Why *I* like it:   How many times have you yourself had a suuuuuper side character be your favorite in a series and be depressed to see them done dirty?  Well MC has a chance to fix that, to save a character that basically one appeared in prologue and basically prevent the birth of the villain character that later kills his own father… by seducing his dad, before he can marry the villainess!!

Yerenica is just adorable in her attempts to thwart the original novel.  And like, I have to give her lots of respect for seeing the villainess character and having herself a good moment where she had to consider seducing her instead lmao.  She knows when to let well enough alone though so she immediately boards back on the dad train, much to his chagrin because she keeps calling him father……………….. Even though he’s like…. Not a dad yet.

The characters are still relatively early on in their romance, but I have high hopes for it yet!

Edit: As of August 2020, I’ve dropped this series.  It remains on this list because I think it’s a cute series and I think anyone who feels really strongly about the main couple will enjoy it.

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Death Is the Only Ending For The Villainess by Gwon Gyeoeul and SUOL

Penelope Eckart reincarnated as the adopted daughter of Duke Eckart and the villainess of a reverse harem dating sim. The problem is, she entered the game at its hardest difficulty, and no matter what she does, death awaits her at every ending! Before the "real daughter" of Duke Eckart appears, she must choose one of the male leads and reach a happy ending in order to survive. But the two brothers always pick a fight with her over every little thing, as well as a crazy crown prince, whose routes all lead to death. There's even a magician who's enamoured with the female lead, and a loyal slave knight! But somehow, the favourability meters of the male leads increase the more she crosses the line with them!

Why *I* like it:   So this one is another relatively new one added to my list, but it’s shot high up rather quickly!!  The other otome game isekai’s that I have on my list are just like the real world, but the interesting thing about this one, is that it also retains otome game mechanics such as she can see the love interests love meter and also she can chose to use the video game script choices to reply to the characters, in the hopes of raising their love meter.  This adds challenge, since she knows that if she gets any of the dudes to -10 she’ll be killed even as she sort of wonders if she truly would die or wake back up in reality.

What’s interesting also is that while she is the villainess character in the game… It ends up that the character was actually abused for years and that her title as a villain is unfair and that the game can be played as the villainess as even a player as a ‘hard’ mode compared to the heroine character.  It’s up to her to turn things around and it’s actually a fun take on the villainess genre.  I’m really looking forward to how things proceed even as my fears about which dude she’ll end up with continue to increase.

Finally, another layer I enjoy is that the MC lead a similar life in her previous life.  She’d only just escape her own abusive family before she’d ended up here and MC just desperately wants to escape once again… using any means necessary.

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The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass by SanSobe (story) and Ant Studio (art)

With the marriage of her prostitute mother to the Count, Aria’s status in society skyrocketed immediately. After leading a life of luxury, Aria unfairly meets death because of her sister Mielle’s schemes. And right before she dies, she sees an hourglass fall as if it were a fantasy. And just like that, she was miraculously brought back to the past.

“I want to become a very elegant person, just like my sister, Mielle.”

In order to face the villainess, she must become an even more wicked villainess. This was the new path Aria chose to take revenge on Mielle who murdered both her and her mother.

Why *I* like it:   If you thought that this list might be in descending order, guess again!  This one is one of my favorites.  Now this one lacks isekai, but is a reincarnation of a villainess!! Rather the MC was an absolute horrible person in her past life, but finds out at the last minute that her ~pure~ sister had been leading her by nose into acting like a brat just seconds before she is executed.  Now that she has a second chance, she’ll be a proper villainess and turn the tables on her sister.

In her last life, Aria never bothered educating herself so now that she’s a teenager again she actually has to learn things again (it’s not just like she gets to act like she’s a genius and good at everything) but she works hard at maintaining a sweet image and making everyone love her, even as she snickers behind their backs, all the while subtly setting her sister up for failure.

This is a proper revenge story, I’m promised by those who read the LN!! Revenge stories about women are rare to come back, especially one that doesn’t make revenge look like a total evil thing lol.  What can I say, I have my interests.  Anyway, it’s super cathartic to watch Aria slowly unfold her masterplan to foil her sister’s plans and take everything that her sister had cherished in her previous life. And all that not to mention the certain powers that Aria later discovers she has at her disposal... :3c

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Beware of the Villainess by Bbongdda Mask (story) and Pureunkanna (art)

I became the villainess of a novel! Do I hate it? No! I find it rather nice. A duke’s daughter equals a jobless rich person. How can I miss out on a chance like this?! This is the best chance to just enjoy life. I should throw out the main plot and just live life how I want to! Not long after waking up as the villainess, I witnessed my fiancé, the crown prince and the novel’s male lead, cheating. I saw him embrace a lady other than I and he was smiling so bright. I was brought to tears… Just kidding, I didn’t cry! My tears are worth too much to be wasted on that garbage. Instead of tears, I yelled out, “Your highness, are you trash?”

Why *I* like it:   Listen there are 2 ways to react to waking up as a villain of a series you once read… Either you turn the tables and become a good guy OR you can embrace it!  The world the novel is based on has the basic premise of the pure and good heroine winning the affection of 4 bratty, horrible men.  MC is the fiance of one of them and says fuck that.  She also has some thoughts that none of these dudes deserve the heroine of the novel but this one is still pretty early on so the jury still out on if she’s going to save this poor girl from her fate of ending up with any of these absolute assholes.

This one is along the veins of the previously mentioned Living As the Tyrant’s Older Sister, in that the pull for this series is even less of the romance and more about the comedy aspect… Also MC’s facial expressions are…. Choice.  Just so good. Enough with pretty girls making pretty faces!!  We need more girls being ugly.  It’s what we deserve.  Yell at cheaters!!!!!! Tell them to fuck off!! Yes please.

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Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter by Reia (Story), Umemiya Suki (Art)

Although she had reincarnated as the daughter of a Duke's house, by the time she regained her memories, the Ending was already here.

"After he cancels my engagement, the story would have me confined to a church. Where can I find my happy ending?"

Why *I* like it:  I never read or watched Wolf and Spice but I imagine this is isekai Wolf and Spice… Well it’s got a lot about the economy at least lmao.   That’s literally the only thing I know about Wolf and Spice.  Anyway!!  The twist in this one is that the MC remembers her past life just as she’s about to be exiled, the end of the original game.  What the series focuses on is her life afterwards, as she scrambles to grab at any semblance of a good life… And she does so pretty quickly!

Her past life comes in handy as she sets to work managing a dukedom and fixes the economy!!  Moreover, even though it pains my heart whenever two women are pitted against each other… It does a great job of putting into question the original heroine’s pure shtick as she spends extravagantly on dresses and would rather just donate to the poor one day, instead of Iris the MC who sets to work on fixing the economy and creating jobs for the poor and putting money into bettering their lives in the long run, rather than throwing money at them and running.  Also, she’s grabbed the attraction of a mysterious man who takes a job helping her even though he is a prince aka the brother of her ex-fiance who he is fighting for the crown for.

-

And that’s it!! My list for now!! Tbh by next month there’ll likely be even more faves as I continue to add more and more series to my read list lol.  Because this isn’t even a fraction of all the reincarnation isekai series I’m into, just the best for certain reasons.

BTW, if you’re like... wow this list sure is straight then true unfortunately. I’m waiting for the day “I Favor The Villainess” gets adapted somehow.  Also there are several isekai in which a straight girl reincarnates into a yaoi novel but I haven’t found a true gem among them yet.

[prism-rush]

Calling All Butlers! It’s the Butler Championship! (A Prism Rush event summary)

This will be focusing mostly on the main story. The card stories are all about the training each boy goes though to be a butler.

This event is notable for being the first Prism Rush event to feature YMT29 members other than The Shuffle. I will talk about that briefly at the end.

Summary: One day at the office, Over the Rainbow suddenly receives an invite to an annual Butler Championship. This year they are inviting prism stars. The prize is the Rainbow Bowl which is one of one of the “seven tools”, a series of legendary cooking utensils. Kouji clearly wants it more than anything, however both Kouji and Hiro are unable to participate. So, it’s all up to Kazuki, and whoever he can round up to help... 

Kazuki heads over to Edel Rose, where he manages to recruit Minato, Taiga, Leo, Nikkanen, and Sakyo. Meanwhile, at Schwarz Rose Alexander is training as usual when he overhears Aoi and Takayuki, two YMT29 members, talking about beating Kazuki at some kind of tournament. He snatches the entry sheet, misreads “Butler Championship” as “Battler Championship”, and quickly enters himself.

 The day of the tournament arrives. The boys meet a confused Alexander outside who has no idea why people are talking about butlers. But, once he’s forced to realize his obvious mistake, he’s unable to admit it in front of the others. Grudgingly he doubles down on beating Kazuki instead. 

The rules of the tournament are kind of confusing. Everyone starts with 100 points, and points are subtracted as they go along. Since it’s possible to lose a lot of points in one go, this makes it so it’s impossible to tell who’s winning until the very end. 

The first challenge is just to get dressed, but there is a time limit and Taiga, Sakyo, Aoi, and Takayuki can’t make heads or tails of the fancy clothing, Meanwhile, Alexander struggles to fit anything over his muscles. 

The first to finish is Leo, followed by Nikkanen, Kazuki, and Minato. Taiga and Alexander eventually manage to finish somehow. (Taiga comes out with his usual messy hair, and Alexander’s muscles bulge from his jacket.) Aoi and Takayuki do not pass. Sakyo on the other hand just comes out naked and says he’s wearing the emperor’s clothes and somehow that actually works. 

Next up is table setting. Sakyo excels at this, since he can copy anything he’s seen once. Taiga tries a bit too hard and makes mess of things. 

Then, all of a sudden, a big announcement is made. Kazuki will be leaving the competition. 

It turns out the mass media has gotten wind that he’s in the competition and it’s causing a stir at the venue. So Kazuki has decided this is the best thing to allow the competition to continue unhindered. Taiga is devastated, but Kazuki encourages him onward. Now Taiga feels winning the Rainbow Bowl is all up to him.

Next up is cooking. But now that Kazuki has left, Alexander has lost his one reason to be in the competition and isn’t bothering to lift a finger. Seeing this, Taiga remembers Kazuki telling him to make this a good competition, and approaches Alexander. Taiga reminds Alexander how he lost to Minato in the southern island cooking event, and encourages him to take his revenge. Never being one to run, the fire is lit in Alexander again and he returns to the competition cooking a powerful, protein-filled meal.

The last competition involves balance.  The boys must carry a try of water glasses to a goal. Even though they are told the first one to finish isn’t necessarily the winner, of course Taiga and Alexander race for the finish line. Alexander breaks a glass, as was bound to happen. Taiga realizes he too should work more on elegance and tries to focus himself, but then he happens to see another contestant on the ground. Unable to leave someone injured behind, Taiga stops to help. 

Taiga laments that he went over time only to find out that actually... he won. It turns out the fallen contestant was a trap intended to show which contestants had the compassion to help others. After all, a butler’s utmost duty is his master’s well being. 

Taiga brings home the Rainbow Bowl. After returning to Edel Rose, he hands the box containing it over to Kouji. Realizing that none of them got to see this legendary kitchenware during the competition, they ask Kouji to open the box and find... a normal bowl. Kazuki thanks Taiga for his hard work, and the others stare in silence as Kouji and Minato gush over what a treasure they have obtained. The end. 

So as I mentioned before, Takayuki Shinjuku and Aoi Ueno were in this event for some reason. It was their first appearance in a Prism Rush scenerio. 

They... didn’t really do much though hahah. TBH I think they could have used random members of the Shuffle and not much would have changed. 

But. 

They did not do that. 

And instead decided to branch out into the vast library of Schwarz Rose characters. And that’s kinda nice of them. It’s good to know these characters don’t exist for nothing and we will slowly start seeing more of them.   

Both Aoi and Takayuki are also characters you may recognize from SSS episode 5. Aoi was the one who pulled the wire for Joji’s mic.

So far Aoi has left zero impression on me though. (Other than he... likes... taking apart wires... and doesn’t like Joji?) I haven’t been able to get any feel for his personality even with his added appearance in the event. Which is kind of a shame, since he looks so pretty. (But at least I know his name now and can stop calling him “green punk panda” in my head.)

Takayuki though...

In episode 5 he gets whipped by Jin and his partner Hikaru defends him, saying he wasn’t feeling good that day. 

And in this event he also keeps talking about not feeling his best over and over again. 

So I’m like.... is this... his thing....? Does he have some kind of disease....? Is his trademark idol charm being type 1 diabetic or what............? 

Who knows. 

[marshmallowgoop]

What Kumoricon’s Promare Panel Told Me About Kill la Kill

[This post was originally written as a Twitter thread. The Promare cosplay image above was posted on Studio Trigger’s Twitter account.]

Now that NaNo is over, I can finally work on my Kumoricon Promare panel write-up without feeling guilty, but tbh, it might just be another project that never happens. There's also an excellent, beautifully detailed report you can already read right here!

I got my degree in creative writing, not journalism, so my intentions for my own report was (is?) to be on the more personal side. There is a lot I want to analyze and discuss about what was said at the panel, and since I've also had the opportunity to attend three other Promare-y panels in the past couple of years, I've wanted to combine info and sum up what I know.  

Like I said, it might never happen. But there is one thing I do really wanna get out there. And that's what the Kumoricon Promare panel told me about Kill la Kill.

Near the start of the panel, it was mentioned that an early concept for Promare involved a human befriending a fire creature. Through their friendship, the two would be able to fuse together into one entity. The panelists explicitly made a comparison to Kill la Kill here: just as Kill la Kill is focused on the friendship between a human and sentient clothes, Promare was imagined as a story focused on the friendship between a human and sentient flames.

However (and minor Promare spoilers to follow)....

As the panel progressed, it was revealed that this original concept was transformed into the Promare we know now. It was said that collaborations between director Hiroyuki Imaishi and writer Kazuki Nakashima work best when focused on human connections, not connections between humans and creatures. 

The duo's earlier work in Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill were mentioned. Gurren Lagann was described as a "boy meets boy" story (presumably with Simon meeting Kamina), and Kill la Kill was described as a "girl meets girl" story (presumably with Ryuko meeting Satsuki).

Which threw me for a loop! Wasn't it stated only minutes before that Kill la Kill is indeed focused on the connection between a human and a creature? Isn't it all about the friendship between a human and her sentient clothes?

I've written a lot in the past that as much as I love Kill la Kill, its intentions have felt confused and unfocused. This Promare panel validated those feelings. There is a clear tension here. Is Kill la Kill's focal relationship the one shared between Ryuko and Senketsu? Or is it the one shared between Ryuko and Satsuki?

In my earlier writing on Promare, I argued that the film essentially combines the Senketsu and Satsuki character into one. 

And Kumoricon's Promare panel? Well, let's just say that I think the info supplied very much supports my theory. 

Promare's concept went from a human befriending a fire creature to a human befriending a human who had merged with a fire creature. In this way, Galo and Lio's dynamic still has a lot of the same elements as a "human meets creature"-type story. Lio's fire powers mean that many view him as not human. Plus, despite noting that the "boy meets flame" concept was scrapped, a spread in PASH! magazine seems to say otherwise:

Further, like the "human meets creature" story in Kill la Kill, Galo and Lio also "synchronize" and fight as one—an act even Galo describes as the combining of "oil and water." Following the rules of their world, it's a partnership that shouldn't happen. But it does.

And just as Ryuko and Senketsu use their partnership to save the planet, so too do Galo and Lio. In fact, Lio de Galon was even confirmed in a live-drawing session to purposely resemble Kamui.

But Lio has something Senketsu doesn't: a human appearance. While Promare feels very much to me like a "human meets creature" story, it's kind of not because the Burnish are just regular humans who suddenly got fire superpowers. It's not like being born a magical talking shirt.

And on that note, I can see why Promare was changed. There are similarities between Senketsu and Lio, but unlike Lio, Senketsu is easily the most ignored main character in Kill la Kill. I even received nasty messages for comparing the two and their relationships with the hero, which is maybe sadly funny in retrospect, considering that the creative team behind both works have noted this connection explicitly. 

But in any case, the drafted fire creature had the appearance of a cute, mascot-type character, maybe not too unlike Senketsu. 

And that's... not usually the type of character who's half of the focal relationship of a work. It's hard to take seriously. Believe me, I understand this well. 

So, Promare changed. It's ultimately about the bond between Galo and Lio, a human and a human, just as Kill la Kill could be argued—and in fact was argued at the panel!—to be ultimately about the bond between Ryuko and Satsuki, both humans themselves.

And unlike with Ryuko and Senketsu, I think comparisons of the Galo-Lio relationship and the Ryuko-Satsuki relationship have been widely recognized. You know, it's that whole rivals-to-friends/lovers deal. The character archetypes are similar, too: Galo is very much the impulsive Red Oni to Lio's (mostly) calmer Blue Oni, just as Ryuko is the rash Red Oni to Satsuki's calculating Blue Oni.

This post's a little all over the place, but as much as I adore Senketsu and Satsuki and would never wish for either of their characters to be sacrificed in a reboot or alternate telling of Kill la Kill, I think Promare did the right thing by essentially combining those roles.

And I mean, kinda literally, too! The human Lio fused with the sentient fire creature, and it's the fused-human and human relationship that became the core of the work. 

The resulting film thus lacks the tension that Kill la Kill has. Our attention is not split between a "human meets creature" story and a "human meets human" story. As far as I know, there aren't the same conflicting statements from the staff, either, with director Imaishi arguing that the focus is the drama between the human leads and writer Nakashima noting, "You could say that Kill la Kill tells the story of a lonely young woman meeting and losing an irreplaceable partner" in the Kamui Bansho. 

With Promare, I think everyone agrees. It's all about Galo and Lio. There is no debate. Promare is focused in a way that Kill la Kill ain't. 

And I get why Promare changed in development the way it did to give it that clarity. But I also think (obviously!) that Trigger made a fantastic "human meets creature" narrative with Kill la Kill.

In fact, it's my complete and total infatuation with that narrative that got me to the Promare panel at all. I never went to cons before I fell in love with Kill la Kill, and my love for Kill la Kill literally stems from this one frame of Ryuko hugging Senketsu, which I think I made a pretty amusing Tweet about:

Tweet transcription: For real though this one frame made me fall so in love with Kill la Kill that I have since written over half a million words about it, spent like $2,000 on merchandise, and edited like 2,000 GIFs.

Yes, I am really THAT emotional about a girl hugging her sailor uniform.

So, needless to say, I support Nakashima's desire for "human meets creature" stories. I can't speak for anyone else, but it is the "human meets creature" aspect of Kill la Kill that affected me more than anything else about it. I think it's something Trigger should be proud of.

And I would love to see more of those types of stories from the studio—especially if the creature in question doesn't resemble a human! People don't have to look alike for their love to be strong and real, and stories focusing on that... well. They're the reason for this essay.

[verwelktesgedicht]

Special vk moments in Japan (2019)

After 2 1/2 years I returned to Japan. Mostly this time I met friends and went to concerts. Since I would like to make my tumblr a bit more personal again I decided to text a bit about this and write down about the moments and concerts that touched me the most. Well, actually I write a few things about all concerts I went to this time but.. you will notice which one touched me the most xDD If you want to know more about one or anything else.. please just send me a message ^^

First of all, my first concert after returning to Japan: an Arlequin oneman! I actually wanted to see Royz live that day but ticket prices for fan-sold tickets were ridiculous, even for bad numbers. Regular kombini-tickets had soo bad numbers at that time that it was like... standing in the hallway. And travelling to that city where they played would have cost me too much for it being worth standing in the hallway. So I wondered if there is any other concert I might be interested in to go instead and i decided 3 days before the concert that I will stay in Osaka to see Arlequin live instead of Royz in Hamamatsu. Other way I wouldn’t have seen Arlequin while I would see Royz at their 10th anni. So, Arlequin was so much better than expected! It sounds mean but let me tell you: I DID enjoy every of their taiban/twoman I went to so much. Just for some reason the oneman I went to in 2015.. wasn’t the best live ever. Some parts of the live were so boring?! So I realized, maybe Arlequin just isn’t a oneman band but a taiban band for me. Because their taibans were so damn fun! Anyway, I went to see them live in Sep 2019 because i wanted to see them and it was the only chance for that trip! And it was SO good. It felt like they improved a lot - performance-wise and setlist-wise. Aki’s talk improved a lot. He got so emotional?! --> I got so emotional?!? They even made me cry at one point.... I was like wtf. But somehow... it might also because it made me feel like “Damn. I guess I forgot what it feels like. This is it. Live houses are truly my home.”???? “Utopia” was really great because we all messed up the “lalala”-part... 3 times. We could do the melody but not the very ending of it but Aki didn’t want to have any of that shit and let us do it over and over again WITHOUT SHOWING US THE CORRECT MELODY!! It just broke when we didn’t know how to continue. It was so funny actually xD Embarassing and funny. In the end he helped us. I’m still a bit sad I couldn’t see a small live house live of Royz but I am very happy I went to see Arlequin again. I’m fine with how things turned out!

Next was kizu-DIAURA-twoman (with gulu gulu as opening act). It was fun! I wanted to see kizu live so much ^__^ And I’m happy I finally did because them and arlequin are the bands I listen to the most during the past 1-2 years. But after them DIAURA played and I realized how high-quality DIAURA’s performances are xDD They are so GOOD! I took my not-vk-fan-friend with me and she enjoyed it too ^___^ And I got MASTER’s ゴミ aka water bottle.

Then I saw alice nine live?!? Spontanously decided. The live was nice. I’m so happy i FINALLY saw them. After 12 years. And they played shunkashuuto with Tora singing (... trying to sing. xDD). NOSTALGIA kicked through!!!

Then I went to see ACME at a taiban. It was my first live of them and it was great! I ended up in Saizen.. and need to write about this in another entry because holy shit.

GUILD was special. I saw them spontaneously back in 2015 and 2014. once as oneman, once as 2man and once at a taiban. Before that I saw them in 2010 in Europe without actually knowing them. It was 1 year after they formed. So.. it’s quite interesting to see them every 4 years xDD I see their improvement. Their change. The live was very nice and funny. I went with 2 friends. One of them I saw GUILD in 2010 together with. I really like GUILD’s songs and enjoyed the live a lot since.. they were on hiatus for quite some time so there aren’t TOO many songs I don’t know. And even the new songs I knew more or less xD It was a lot of nostalgia. And a lot of fun. I missed GUILD and I’m glad they are back.

We spontaneously saw LEZARD and DaizyStripper live next. I was so so happy to see Sora again. I didn’t since I went to my last ALIVE live in 2015. So it was really nice.... I loved to see him having fun!! I loved to see him being in a band he enjoys and belongs to. I’m really glad he seems fine ^^ That was all that counted for me that day! And Daizy were more fun than I expected. Saw them at an open air live in 2014 and it was.. okay. But this 2man was a blast. I was surprised!

Gazette tourfinal at Yokohama Arena was a cool experience but we stood/sat quite in one of the highest rows and were far (not the most in the back but far) from stage, so.. well, yeah. It was a nice experience but I guess I prefer smaller lives?? Best moment was probably when Kai shout without microphone xD his usual “kakattekoi!!” could be heard EVERYWHERE and I was like “so this is what it sounds like live.” and loved it.

One of the lives that made me the happiest was HELLO. taiban. I wanted to see Aki live, my ALIVE boy xD But then I noticed that Nao (ex-ALIVE as well), would be support guitarist for that live and it couldn’t be better??? I ended up in saizen kami2 because the saizen girl wasn’t there for ALIVE and nobody wanted to be in saizen for the support guy and she BEGGED me to be in saizen when she found out I considered being there. So I was 1st row almost in front of Nao. It was soo great ._. I had perfect view on him and Aki and since at least Nao knew I would be there...... Not gonna brag stuff like “omg his smile was so cute T___T” ... but I loved seeing him smile at me. I loved seeing him kinda happy? He looked happy at least ^^ Nao isn’t in a band anymore but I think he does miss that time. At least it looked like that xD I don’t think they have THAAAT many fans. I mean... saizen was free right of me. But yeah, those were the support-spots, so maybe it was because of that xDD Anyway, I loved it. I loved to see them live again. I would love to see them live once again. I’m really so so happy I could go to this live. I mean, I didn’t know the furi well but I had a great Aki-gya next to me who was sooo nice and tried to help me and showed me the furi clearly while doing them during the songs. She even gave me their new CD as gift afterwards! It was only a taiban, so it was very short and I waited through 6 other bands of which I cared for only one but I definitely count this concert as one of the best during that trip. One of the few ones that made me the happiest. Because I could see the boys of the band smile that once were my (closest to-)honmei.

Another highlight of the trip was R-Shitei’s concert in Mito. I was sick and my voice was GONE that day. Really. Gone. I don’t know if this ever happened to me before but ... I couldn’t have ANY conversation. Anyway, the live was really fun!! And... at one point Mamo pointed at us saying that foreigners are here too today and if we’re having fun........ I screamed inside for two reasons: - First.. mamo-nii-chan noticed us ûu ..... xDDDD - Second: “... I NEED to answer but what if my voice isn’t existent again??” And my friend can’t speak Japanese so she had no idea what was going on...... I shout a bit during the live and sometimes it started working again a bit, sometimes it just died right away, so I took my chances and shout as loud as I could “Haaaaai!!” and ended it here because it came out fine and I didn’t want to tempt fate... xDDD I also met a friend from my year in Japan - by chance! She actually said she won’t go but she ended up there anyway xD Nice girl! She helped me with quite a few important things back then.

Then Royz’ 10th anni. When I went to their 5th anni I told myself I will be back for the 10th one. And I made it. 5 years ago I had no idea where I would be in 2019 and how my life would be and if Royz was even still around. But I told myself... if there is any chance for me to go to their 10th anniversary I would do it. I decided for the time of this trip because of this concert. Tbh, I was a bit pissed it was the very first time they made the anniversary live their tour final and also the very first time they held their anniversary in Tokyo. They always held it in their hometown Osaka. But maybe that time is over now. I wanted it to be in Osaka. But anyway...... You have to go with the flow? The live was nice! And the song Anniversary made me cry. I love the lyrics so much!? Also, they talked about Kazuki and his messages that morning. And ACROSS WORLD made me the happiest. It was the last song (of course?) and I was so happy... And seeing the people around me smile like crazy made me even happier xD I know I am not the best Royz fan anymore. I know maybe someone who is more of a fan should lead Royz-yade. I lost them a bit during the past years. But they are still awesome and I still enjoy their music and their concerts. I have so many memories connected to them and I won’t give up on them ^_^ I still love them. I am still happy for every step they make. For every goal they archive. Also, I talked to Kento!? xDDD Pretty boy.

R-Shitei in Wakayama was fun but Mito was more fun xD So no real review here. Except for... they played THREE ENCORE!

Last but not least, ACME. Nice concert! But the fans were strange... Yes, it was a small concert but nobody really called their names like bangya use to. Nobody shout. Many didn’t dance along. It was very strange?!? The band itself was great though! The songs are great, they are funny, their performance is good - and SHOGO is desperately afraid of guitar solo... xDD

I said last but not least, but actually... there was another concert xDD I went to see ALTL. It’s a tiny idol group with bandmen, one of them I like from his previous bands xD So.. actually I wanted to go with a friend but she didn’t make it so I went alone. And it was SO strange. It was in a club/small live house thingy and it was so strange to be there for an idol group??? The fans were different. The atmosphere was different. THE MUSIC WAS DIFFERENT XDDD But it was fun in the end? Way more than I thought. And you could take 2shots with your favorite member and talk a bit. I took.. 3 ûu” for 3000 Yen xD I enjoyed it but I felt lost xD I mean, I’ve been to many vk concerts alone. Also to very very small ones with only like 15 people. But at least that is my scene ^^” At least I knew what to do and what to expect. With that idol concert I was completely lost xDDD But I’m really glad I still went!

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Sarazanmai Episode 10: “I Want To Connect, But I Can’t”

There’s still one whole episode left and I already want to sue Ikuhara for emotional damages, lmao.

Somehow this episode managed to be even more intense and tragic and shocking than the last couple, and that’s saying a lot.

I was initially worried about whether he’d be able to pull off an 11-episode series, but if the final episode can stick the landing I think this will be cemented as one of this best series.

Thoughts under the cut.

I only just woke up like an hour ago and I already just wanna go back to bed now so I can process all this lmao.

Where to even start with this one. It was such a non-stop rollercoaster of intensity. I actually got surprised when the mid-episode transition card happened because it honestly felt like only a few minutes had passed.

I can’t remember if I ever actually got around to saying so, but I’ve been thinking for a while now that I really wanted to see Reo get his own Sarazanmai no Uta musical sequence, and that’s exactly what I got, and it was just as tragic in it’s implications as I feared.

Even though I technically saw that part coming, I didn’t expect the reveal of them being kappas. I thought that they’d turn out to be otters. But this makes sense in it’s own way. It does raise even more questions about Reo and Mabu’s history, though, especially when you take into account the manga and twitter account. I guess my main source of confusion is that it’s unclear if they’re ‘native’ kappas, or if they’re like the main trio, and they’re just humans who got roped into Keppi’s business and can now transform. The fact that Reo had to have his shirikodama extracted like the main trio makes me lean toward the latter, but the whole thing with them having served Keppi in the past makes me think they might actually be from the Kappa Kingdom.

I’m also still holding out hope that they’ll actually explain how exactly the prequel manga ties into the anime, since they still have yet to explore Sara’s relationship with Reo and Mabu yet. It seems like it’d be kinda bizarre if it doesn’t get brought up at all. It could still just be a prequel and it just hasn’t really come up yet in the anime that Reo and Mabu raised Sara as a baby, but I’m also still clinging onto the idea that the prequel manga might actually be an epilogue [or maybe the result of time being reversed and history changing]. At the very least, the fact that the Tokyo Skytree didn’t exist in the manga might not actually mean it’s necessarily a prequel. Given that it’s the otter’s HQ in the anime, it’s possible that over the course of the finale it gets destroyed, which could allow for an epilogue where it isn’t there.

No I’m not just clinging onto whatever flimsy hope exists that my wonderful gay cop dads might get a happy ending. How could you possibly suggest that? :v

[Fake edit: before I forget, it’s also worth mentioning that even though there’s been hints of Sara being familiar with Reo and Mabu in the anime, which seems to imply that she remembers them raising her, the fact that this episode makes it clear that the two of them were working for Keppi means it’s entirely possible that she only knows them for that reason, and the events of the manga might not have happened yet in the anime]

One way or another, this was the most singularly ReoMabu-centric episode thus far, and oh boy it sure delivered on the emotions, and laid pretty much everything out on the table. There’s still mysteries about their history and what exactly it even means that they’re kappa, but in terms of the more emotionally relevant aspects of their characters and the role they play in the story, this episode ties everything together and brings it to a tragic conclusion.

As I expected, Mabu has always just been Mabu, and Reo’s just been misunderstanding the situation. I mean, Ikuhara’s literally spelled that out in some recent interviews, but still. The show alone makes that perfectly clear, in my opinion. But I wasn’t expecting the whole detail of how Mabu’s mechanical heart was rigged to explode if he ever vocalized his love for Reo. It makes a lot of sense, but I didn’t see it coming. It really goes to show how the otters are just out to mess with people, and that they seem hellbent on destroying people’s bonds.

I initially thought that Mabu just had his emotions impacted by what happened to him, like what can happen to people when they have such near-fatal accidents, and in a lot of ways I think that’s still exactly what his situation is an allegory for, but there’s now a more in-universe explanation for his stunted emotions and how he seems to be holding himself back. Since he apparently literally hasn’t been allowed to express his emotions.

And as if it wasn’t already spelled out enough already, Mabu explicitly declares his love for Reo, before dying. WELP.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, we then got the even more tragic and shocking scene of Reo losing his goddamn mind as he falls into despair while also starting to forget Mabu, which makes him go even more out of control, and then Toi shows up and shoots him to death.

The very fact that they both died is in itself a bit of a can of worms that a lot can be said about, but to put it simply, I’m not genuinely upset about this, since for one thing Enta got revived at the end so that’s at least one gay character who avoided death, and also, the fact that they leaned so heavily into the tragedy and sadness with Reo and Mabu in the second to last episode makes me think that stuff will happen in the finale to give them a more happy/bittersweet ending. At the very least, as I said, the anime still hasn’t concretely explained Sara’s connection to them, and I find it very interesting that they decided to oh so conveniently show off near the end that Sara’s headpiece is a plate. I’ve been wondering for ages if the finale would involve a twist ending of Sara producing a gold plate of hope to make a wish of her own, and I feel like that scene was a huge nod toward that possibility. And similarly to how all of the tragedy with Reo and Mabu happened in the second to last episode rather than the last one, it seems important that Kazuki used the gold plate of hope to revive Enta at the very end of this episode, which makes me think it’s more likely that the actual climax in the finale will involve another wish being made.

Since this episode was so heavily ReoMabu-centric, I kinda ended up glossing over the scenes involving the main trio, lol. They were good and all, but I was way more invested in everything else going on. Thankfully since most of the ReoMabu content was covered in this episode, the finale should be more singularly focused on the main trio, so they’ll still get their time to shine.

The scene with Enta and the Otter felt a little too stilted in how it existed to provide exposition for what the Otters are and what they want, but it worked, and I liked the aesthetic of it all. And at the very least we really needed to get a clearer idea of what the Otters are.

I said above that they seem to want to destroy people’s emotional connections, but it also seems like they want to be the ones to then swoop in and control people by becoming their new objects of desire. So it’s less that they’re against connections, but more that they want to have people for themselves. And so we get stuff like the main otter dude trying to ‘replace’ Reo when he’s with Mabu, while also intentionally trying to drive a wedge into their relationship. And the whole thing with him transforming into Kazuki and trying to seduce Enta. And the whole thing at the end with the otter taking on the image of Chikai to lure Toi ‘outside of the circle’.

I’ve been a little iffy on the otters thus far as characters [or as a character, since we’ve basically only seen the one, lol], but this episode helped clear up the more obscure and confusing parts of their role in things. I never really expected them to be much more than representations of concepts that are important to the story, since the whole Kappa/Otter war thing has always just existed to serve as a narrative backdrop and not to be an actual thing that the show ever planned to dive into.

And having their motivation of wanting to destroy connections and monopolize people’s desire spelled out like this helps set up the emotional stakes of the finale. I imagine it’s gonna involve them trying to launch some wide-scale attack on humanity to destroy everyone’s connections once and for all.

It’s kinda funny that even this late into the anime I still have no idea how it’s going to end. Obviously I have a clearer idea than when the show started, but still. There’s just a lot of ways it can go, depending on what sort of ending he wants to tell.

I’m still leaning toward the idea that the finale will be a lot happier than people expect. Maybe that’s just me being delusional, but it does feel like they intentionally ramped up the tragedy in this episode so that the finale could be happier. I at least remember that Utena had a really tragic penultimate episode, and then a much more hopeful and fulfilling finale.

Plot-wise, as I said, I’m placing my bets on the idea that Sara will intervene and use her own dish of hope to do something like turn back time or revive Reo and Mabu [and maybe then insert herself into their lives]. She’s the biggest wild card in the whole story, so I think she’ll be important one way or another. I’m also still holding out hope for the idea that she and Kazuki might have a more important connection than we’ve seen thus far, but there’s not a whole lot of show left to do anything like that with. I’ve seen some people raise the possibility of Kazuki ‘replacing’ Sara, though, which I think could actually make a lot of sense, especially if the anime ends with Sara making a wish that leads to the events of the prequel manga happening.

Though tbh one of the things I’m genuinely most excited for is seeing what the final episode title will be. They’ve all been really relevant to the events and themes of each episode, so one way or another it’ll probably encapsulate whatever theme the ending is going to have. So it should be a pretty big deal. I have a feeling it’ll be along the lines of episode 6′s title and be a more hopeful title starting with ‘I Want To Connect, So ____’, but we’ll see. It might even entirely break the naming scheme and be something different.

And on the note of episode titles, this one just being ‘I Want To Connect, But I Can’t’ really just sums up the blunt emotional tragedy at the heart of this episode. And it really lays bare how that’s basically what every single episode title, except for episode 6, has been about. It’s always boiled down to ‘I Want To Connect, But I Can’t’.

Whether or not people end up being truly satisfied with the ending that Reo and Mabu get in particular, I think there’s a very good chance that the final episode will stick the landing and be really satisfying as a whole. It’s kinda hard to believe that Ikuhara’s managed to pull off an 11-episode series so well, after the bad things I’ve heard about Yuri Kuma Arashi’s pacing, but he’s done a really good job with the pacing and structure of this series. I’m really curious to see where people who’ve watched all of this stuff end up placing this one on their personal rankings. I’ve only watched Utena thus far, but I have no idea how I’d even try and compare the two. In spite of all their similarities, they’re so different that it’s hard to say I prefer one or the other. I think I’ve had a much stronger emotional reaction to Sarazanmai, but that has a lot to do with how I’ve been watching it as it’s come out.

One way or another, I don’t think it’d be very hard for me to end up enjoying the ending. Everything about the show’s central message makes me think it’ll only be bittersweet at worst. Though it’d really be icing on the cake if we find out that the ReoMabu manga is actually an epilogue, and ends up serving as their ‘canon ending’, lol.

[megane-sama]

I know canonically, that Kazuki is probably in his late 20s, but he has such big 30 year old energy that my brain has proclaimed he is 31 going on 32 and thinking of him as any other age will infact make my head explode and kill me.

[jennibeultimate]

Personal recap Worlds 2018 Men FS

Who the hell could have guessed I was so wrong when I thought the ladies were unexpected....the men were so shocking I still don't know what happened. I was there but still what was this? 😱😱😱😱

The recap from the beginning in order:

I first watched the practice in the morning of the last two groups. Training does not always give you a hint about how the competition will go, but it is always nice to see the training 😊 (only why does this have to be so early 😑?)

The Men FS started very good with Julian Zhi Jie Yee, who made the crowd going for him. Then the rest of the group had some ups and downs but it was still not too bad. Donovan Carillo was a crowd favorit with lots of charme. The next group also had some good performances.

The first unexpected thing I had was when Michal Brezina did a fabulous skate! What? I think I've never seen him this good in years. (Usually he crumbles even in the easiest parts of the program.) Congrats Michal for your 10th place! 👏👏👏

The 3rd group was very pleasing:

A great skate, one of the best performances today was from Kazuki Tomono! In the warm-up he tried the 4S dozens of times with unsteady landings and falls, but in the FS the 4S worked perfectly. 3rd best FS of the day! He really made the 3 spots for Japan happen. And this in his first Worlds, coming in as a substitute. Congrats Kazuki! 👏👏👏

Deniss Vasiljews had the crowd going and his coach Stephane behind the board 😂! Everything worked perfectly! He may not have a quad, but he has beautiful skating with a great interpretation! 😍👏👏👏 His face when he saw the gifted chocolate was priceless! 😂

Misha Ge had a beautiful skate! So passionate! Congrats on earning 2 spots for your own! Misha and his shadow? 😂 Wonder if this is really the end of his career, but I guess so....

Alexei Bychenko was also very good. He always loses points on spins and steps, but he is very reliable and brings Israel two spots again. His best ever finish!

And after some very good groups, the disaster started...I don't know what happened....😭😭😭

It all started with Keegan Messing, who has a wonderful program and a fine Chaplin interpretation, but the jumps were not working, especially his quads. He stayed in the Top 10, thanks to the other skaters who faltered much more, good for Canada...

And then I held my breath for Shoma! It was pure heartbreak 😭!򛑍y heart melted for him even more the way he fought through his program after 3 falls and then his combos all surprisingly worked! Shoma is a true fighter! And not completely falling apart deserves every respect and also for not backing down the content though being injured.

The falls were not that unexpected though, the 4F did not work in training and he did not do any 4Lo in the training. In the end 3 falls, two of them underrotated....

I hope Shoma won't be to hard on himself! He carried all of Japan's pressure through Worlds and all of this season!

Shoma you are amazing!!!!❤❤❤❤ Anyone can have a bad skate, that happens to the best! 😘

I think I cried, but really it is still all a blur, I just know I was emotionally very off...and the rollercoaster was not even over...

Poor Boyang 😢! -9 points for falls only! 😱This was the worst he ever skated. At a point of the program when he did not stop falling I think his stamina just left him. If you fall so much, you may not have enough breath for what lies ahead of you. This was really heartbreaking to watch! 😭 And he dropped so low in the field, thank goodness China does not need two spots with Han Yan retired. My heart breaking made me realize once again that I like Boyang very much.

Mikhail Kolyada was the usual Kolyada, falling on expected quads. But after Boyang this was still much better. And I think Mikhail enjoys his program a lot, his interpretation may not always be shown in full potential, but it is a crowd pleasing program.

Vincent Zhou did not look the most confident in his training, had some falls, so I did not really expect him to get it all together (but in all honesty I only watched all other skaters with half-eyes in training because of monitoring each of Shoma's moves 😉) I still did not expect the performance to be so off! And Underrotations everywhere. I must admit irl it is much harder to spot than on TV but even live the jumps looked off and sorry I don't see much "program" between the jumps. Two spread eagles and some nice music cuts don't count as program. Sorry Vincent! Anyone can have a day off though. Such a shame after a strong SP. And who could have guessed that Max Aaron would place above Vincent?! 😱

So the saviour of the day was Nathan Chen! At least one decent performance in the last group! Deserved winner! Thank you Nathan! 6 freaking quads!👏👏👏

Tbh without trying to pull his achievement down there is not much else beside quads (and a working 3A! Surprise! 😉) in his program. He is skating from one side to another, the jumps are impressive but the rest of the program is maybe only when slow music starts and he does some nice movements with his arms. It is even more obvious live than on TV...And even though I much respect his ability to land many different quads, I really wish he would work on the program more. But well why should he? He still received the highest PCS! And yes ok today I am fine with this, but no skater deserved 90 here. Well I think after 5 lousy performances judges were willing to reward him much higher, because he saved the last group! The win was really deserved, best of the day was Nathan for sure, the points though are another story...

(And before people jump to that conclusion, that Nathan is on the same level as Yuzu, because he got nearly Yuzu's old 2015 WR. Remember one thing: Nathan needed 6 quads to reach the points Yuzu gained with 3 quads! So this says something about levels!)

But anyway congrats Nathan for your World Title! 🎉🎉🎉

The last group just gave us more falls than all of the 3 first groups together 😱😭!

I was so surprised to see Shoma climb the board up so high until he was 2nd place! 2nd place with 3 falls and two underrotations!Wow!😱😱😱 All thanks to equally errorfilled performances from the last group!

Seems like the "always getting Silver grudge" was a blessing today for Shoma! 😉

Congrats Shoma for winning Silver and medaling in all your competitions! 🎉🎉🎉

Congrats to Mikhail for the Bronze! 🎉🎉🎉

So in the end it is the GPF podium again! A circle is somehow closing!

This was exhausting to watch! I am really glad this was the final competition of the season! I don't know if I would survive another rollecoaster of emotions!

And one last thing: The crowd was really amazing! Very supportive of every skater! Clapping along as much as possible! 😊

Sorry for the longest of posts! 🙏🙏🙏 Feel hugged if you made it 'til here! Thank you all for reading!

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

I just realized that there is now the small possibility that shoma, deniss and koshiro make it to the gpf and I very much feel for stephane if that was to be the case.

Puh...well in all honesty I think the only skater with a possibility at making the GPF (or maybe sort of guarantee to make it) is Shoma.

And btw I don't think Stephane would mind that burden at the event to coach 3 skaters, but I think it will be only Shoma and Stephane.

About Koshiro Shimada: Koshiro won't qualify for the GPF. You can already say that after Skate America. He got 0 points for this competition in the GPF qualification standings and not even a win at GP Sheffield would make him get to the final. The last GPFs skaters at least needed 20 points to qualify, which is like a 2nd and 4th place. A win gives you 15 points. Tbf I am not sure if you sended this before or after SkAm as I didn't check my ask box.

About Deniss Vasiljews: Deniss would at least need one podium spot to even have a slight chance and then would still need at least a 4th place finish on his 2nd assignment to make it. Looking at his competition I don't think that's impossible but sadly unlikely.

Let's look at Skate Canada: Shoma medal for sure, then there is Keegan Messing who recently won the Nebelhorn Trophy, Kao Miura who recently placed 2nd at Skate America and has the arsenal of quads to even compete with Shoma, then there are some that are no guarantees for a podium spot but still had beaten Deniss in events before Camden Pulkinen (finished 5th at last Worlds) and Matteo Rizzo.

Then let's look at GP Sheffield: Roman Sadovsky, Morisi Kvitelashvili, Daniel Grassl, Shun Sato, Koshiro Shimada..none of them is stable but could possibly beat Deniss nonetheless as Deniss himself is hardly to be called stable and the others perform more quads. I think a medal is more possible for Deniss there than at Skate Canada but stil it's not easy.

There are only 6 spots available for the GPF, let's assume with high possibility that Shoma and Ilia Malinin take the top two spots. Then there is a high chance for Kao Miura. That's 3 spots...there are a lot more skaters with chances to make it Daniel Grassl (with a podium place at GP Sheffield), Junhwan Cha with a medal place at NHK, Kazuki Tomono and Keegan Messing and Morisi Kvitelashvili (not that I would want that but chances aren't that bad tbh) The places are quite open but one thing is for sure for Deniss to make it the some of the other mentioned above would have to falter.

One thing is also often standing in Deniss way apart from the quad not being reliable, he often gets calls on his jumps and his PCS though he would deserve better marks aren't the highest either to make up for the lack of a stable quad. I wish Deniss all the best and I would love to see his skating at the GPF but realistically his chances are slim.

I don't think we have to talk about Shoma's chances at making the GPF. Unless he bombs completely (and there is no indication for this in his current condition and mindset) he should qualify quite easily.

[atopearth]

The Fruit of Grisaia Part 5 - Suou Amane Route

Well, I definitely didn't expect Yuuji to just take Amane as his girlfriend just like that and even tell her he thinks that he loves her because I honestly don't feel it lol. Anyway, interesting that he's okay with her being his girlfriend but also told her that he can't be her boyfriend, which I guess is understandable since in this route he seems to be in the state where he enjoys being with her but he doesn't want to hurt her or make her too attached so he wants to kinda keep his distance. But it's kinda useless imo, because if she likes him enough to agree to his weird conditions, she's already way too attached to him. LMAO, I love how Makina is the one teaching Amane to give Yuuji some space and not to go overboard with the flirting and trying to spend every waking moment with him, because it's true, Amane can be quite overbearing and sometimes I need space away from her and I'm not even Yuuji😅😅

Aww, Amane is so mature, Yuuji was late for dinner for over 2 hours and she just took it in stride, and just told him that a phone call next time would be good. She even bothered to make a mapo tofu changing the meat to beans because she knows he would prefer that. She's so attentive. On the other hand, Yuuji is quite weirdly affectionate to her compared to the other girls' routes imo lol, especially when he told her to go ahhh so he could feed her, like dang. It's nice but so weird haha. Well, I guess I should have expected Amane and Yuuji to be the route to move the fastest in terms of romance lol, they've already had sex and it's barely been a day or two lolll. Omggg when Yuuji just told the whole world he had sex with Amane last night and that's why she was spaced out enough to destroy her cooking. It's just so cringeeee imo LOL, I'm sorry Yuuji. Honestly, I hate to say this but dang Amane can be so...weird, creepy and obsessed??? LOL. I wanna say she's cute but alot of the things she does is so over the top loll. On the other hand, it's kinda weird and awkward how serious the Yuuji in this route is, even thinking about something like the possibility of marrying Amane lol. It's like completely different from how he treated Michiru, I demand justice for Michiru!🥲

Honestly, I thought the Yuuji calling JB thing to show Amane she's not his girlfriend was too much already, but now he's like he doesn't want to spend too much time with Chizuru just in case Amane gets anxious is just so..frustrating? Like, I understand it's the start of the relationship blah blah, but c'mon, he's with Chizuru for work, he can't accommodate Amane's suspicions for everything, does he plan to always limit his interactions with women just because? Personally, I think it's ridiculous rather than caring. And omg I don't mind how sexually forward Amane is but I actually find her relationship with Yuuji very boring LOL, they just have sex, eat together and make jokes, which is nice but the way they go about it is just very uninteresting and I just feel like I'm always reading the same thing with them. It's even more boring than Yumiko's route was for me tbh. Something I really like about the girls is how supportive they are to whoever Yuuji chooses in that route, it's so sweet to see how caring they are. Lmao at Amane having a diary detailing what she cooked for Makina and Yuuji, she's really dedicated to properly recording what they like and their nutritional balance. Seeing Yuuji and Amane so clingy to each other is so... weird LOL. Yuuji just feels so not like "himself" imo. Lmao at everyone just smacking Amane's ass when she's wearing the yukata🤣

I didn't expect Amane to actually have been Yuuji's sister's classmate😮 and to be the only survivor in the incident where a bus carrying the basketball team members back from summer camp "disappeared". I guess when Yuuji confronted Amane about her past and wanting to worry about her, he didn't expect his own past to be relevant. Oh the bus plunged off a cliff and Amane survived?😮 Oh wow, I didn't expect Kazuki to have white hair and be so short haha. She always sounded so mature, reliable and cool, so I always thought she would be kinda like Yumiko, black hair like Yuuji and mature. I guess it's pretty amazing how Amane still kept up writing in her diary even in a life or death situation. I always thought Kazuki would have lots of friends considering how reliable she seemed in her parents' and Yuuji's eyes, so it's kinda cute how she refers to Amane as her best friend now haha. It's sad that everyone had to see the dead bodies of their friends, that's tough. I also feel sorry for Ochi, he's a young teacher, the only guy, and the only adult so he has to be the "responsible" one, it's hard. Or not, since he seems to have just left everything to the Captain. Honestly, even though the Captain isn't the greatest leader, I really can't fault her in this situation because I don't think I would do any better knowing that people are relying on me in this life or death situation. The only thing I'm worried about is how screwed they are tbh lol. Btw I'm so glad we have Kazuki because I really wanted to give up on Amane's route before this, it was so boring lol, the story is so much more interesting with Kazuki.

Lmao at Kazuki getting flustered over Amane saying she likes Kazuki the most out of everyone, she was so cute. Honestly though, Amane and Kazuki feel like a better match than Amane and Yuuji lol. I can't really comment on it being weird for Yuuji and Kazuki to still take baths together at their age because I don't remember their age difference lol but I assume Yuuji is like 10 years old since this incident was 5-6 years ago, so I guess it is kinda awkward for kids their age to still be bathing together🧐 Lmao at Kazuki taking baths without telling Amane that there was a place to all this time🤣 The more they talk about food and how the captain girl and the teacher have the food reserves, I feel like someone's going to kill them for either hiding food or having eaten all the food tbh.. I see, so Ochi ended up leaving to try and find a way out of the forest. I think what's most saddening is Hirooka's situation. I would honestly rather die than to be in her situation. Her legs are broken, she can't do anything herself, she's unbearably itchy, in pain, no appetite etc, I can't imagine even wanting to live in her situation. 

Anyway, things happened as I expected and I'm kinda disappointed that it went with the most basic ending I thought lol. On the other hand, considering how "smart" Kazuki is, I found it very dumb of her to show Amane Ochi and the captain cutting up human meat to distribute to the others. Honestly, Amane was very silly to not realise, but she was probably too hungry to be able to think so I don't blame her, I just kinda blame the writer for the typical ending when Kazuki was a very cool character that could have "died" in a better way. But I guess if it didn't go as we all should have expected, then Kazuki might not have been able to predict it, and Amane wouldn't have been able to escape. Anyway, Kazuki and Amane definitely have the greater romance, but I guess that's to be expected since from the beginning Amane has been wanting to do whatever she can for Yuuji so that she can believe being alive is okay, especially since she is living for Kazuki's brother, the person she loved the most in this world. But yeah, it's still saddening to feel and see that even though Amane survived such hellish days, she couldn't fight against the emotional turmoil of the people around her judging her on their own morals and thoughts with no regard to her as a person. I think if her parents could have properly expressed their happiness that she was alive, it would have helped her mental health alot. But really, she's pretty sane in her own right considering how traumatising the whole thing was during her time in the mountains and after it. 

Anyway, another thing I wanted to talk about was the "ghoul" thing where Kazuki said to not see the others as humans anymore, which felt kinda weird imo because eating their friends was basically inevitable and even Amane thought about it. I'd say the only thing that made them truly "inhumane" was them wanting to kill Amane and Kazuki for knowing, and possibly to eat them for meat too, otherwise I really couldn't blame them. I wanted to say that it's kinda crazy how the captain kept up her "responsibility" feeding and caring for the others, but I guess she needed others to do the same thing as her to justify her actions more than she actually cared about their well-being. I kinda wish we got to know more about each girl's "ending" though because I really liked all their different personalities, and I honestly enjoyed the interactions between them. Sakuma and Ibuki were cute, and they all really grew on me so I kinda wanted something more instead of them dying eventually because of the ill prepared meat etc.

Yuuji telling Amane that she can stay with him forever as her "punishment" and hoping she'll learn to forgive herself as she stays with him is kinda nice I guess lol. Well, guess the dead captain's dad wants "revenge" on Amane for being the only one who survived that ordeal. Anyway, the good ending had things solved very easily lol. Honestly, I would have preferred more and "better" romance between Amane and Yuuji than just kinda having time pass and they having lived their whole lives together, only for Amane to only truly let go of things by the time she was like about to die lol. Like, I know she still had a happy life but it just felt very unsatisfying for a good ending. On the other hand, I quite liked the bad ending! Amane's desperation in trying to save Yuuji from the crazy guy was really admirable and it really felt like her responsibility and love bursted out enough that she refused to let anyone do anything to him. It was also more satisfying because in this ending, we get to see the message Kazuki left for Amane, whereas I was annoyed they didn't go check again in the good ending.

Overall, the only thing I enjoyed about Amane's route was her past with Kazuki. I honestly enjoyed Amane and Kazuki's relationship much more than Amane and Yuuji's because it had proper development and I loved how fun Kazuki was. She definitely carried this route for me haha. The past and the route itself had a lacklustre ending but I guess Kazuki's existence makes up for it lol. Anyway, I just felt that Amane and Yuuji's romance was very forced, and yeah it was supposed to be like that in the beginning because she wanted to make up for the fact that she felt like he lost his sister because of her, so she wanted to be a sort of replacement out of responsibility for her death, which was understandable, but I don't buy the part where she "really fell in love" with him. I feel like even until the end and in both endings, Amane's "love" was more responsibility than anything else. As for Yuuji, I think his love is pretty much how he says it is tbh, he considers her a "convenient" woman that everyone would love in one package for a wife, someone who cooks, waits for him to come home, is sexy blah blah, so it's comfortable for him considering his work and crazy life. But it really never felt like romantic love for me and I think that's my biggest problem with this route, that I just couldn't feel their love for each other. So yeah, Kazuki and the flashback is great but the rest was meh imo.

[neni-has-ascended]

I noticed on your anime list that you’ve completed Yu-gi-oh! Dark Side of Dimensions & the old Sonic the Hedgehog OVA. May I ask for your opinions on these movies? I’d love to hear them!

Ohhhhhhh boy… Heh Heh, alright.

Yu-gi-oh! Dark Side of Dimensions

I love Trading Card games. I used to play YGO and the Pokemon TCG, I regularly play Weiss-Schwarz and WIXOSS and, well, recently I’ve gotten into the Duel Links version of the YGO TCG too. I may not be very good at this sort of games or most games, but I get hooked on them very easily. 

So really, as much of a guilty pleasure of mine YuGiOh is, it’s still a *pleasure*, so as soon as I learned (by accident) that the DsoD movie exists, I decided to check it out.

I… honestly got a lot more than I expected, not gonna lie. I was kinda blown away in a good way. Like, it wasn’t a Master Piece, but by the standards of someone who grew up with the 4Kids version of the Anime, it might as well have been.

The movie was written in the Manga continuity by Kazuki Takahashi, and it actually really shows. A lot more effort is paid to highlighting the characters’ humanity and a lot of fluffy and slow character moments, which were almost always cut out of the Anime when the Manga was adapted (yes, even in the Japanese version and season 0; the anime adaptations were both kinda really bad, regardless of language), are fully present here. Like, Joey/Jounouji, Tristan/Honda and Tea/Anzu get to do things other than badly playing card games and being friggin’ cheerleaders. Heck, even poor Human!Ryou gets some actual screentime! It’s kind of impressive. And the way in which the movie elaborates on Sato Kaiba’s unhealthy obsession with Atem to the point he fails to be able to continue his life with the guy gone, while Yugi is able to move on perfectly fine (albeit with some residual grief) is downright scary and haunting. It kinda feels like a dig at the fanbase too, in a way; going all out saying “Look, you guys, the story is over. You can stop reviving the poor guy in your fanfics now. Don’t be a Kaiba.” 

The weaknesses of the movie come in in two forms: A) How it deals handles having multiple card battles on-screen over the short time span given to the movie, while still having a proper story and B) Diva Aigami. (I know, those are technically two names, but his disguise is never given a proper first name, so I’ll just use it as one game.) 

Okay, so Dimension Summoning. Works on no level, and like, I mean NO level. It claims that the stats of a monster are decided by the willpower of the person summoning it, but thanks to this movie being set after the end of Duel Monsters, everyone’s will-power is already so far off the charts, this detail never even begins to come into play. All the other extra rules are just excuses for bullshit plot twists and to speed up the games. By the end of the movie, the progression of the card games is harder to follow than in the WIXOSS Anime, and I don’t use that insult lightly. I guess that it’s hard to make a less than 2 hours long movie featuring several fully-played card games with a working story, but like. Just don’t. Cut down on the number of card games played, if it really doesn’t work otherwise. I’m sure nobody would have minded that. 

Then there’s Diva’s story which is a mess, from beginning to end, tearing gaping plot holes into the established lore of the Manga, mostly by virtue of making Shadi Shin look like a total and utter moron in retrospect (it’s almost like his Abridged Series portrayal is supposed to be canon now.) The concepts introduced with the Plana are cool and could make for a great plot point, but they don’t really fit with the established lore of the Manga’s Universe, coming across as more science-fantasy than the outright fantasy the manga mostly went for, which makes the Plana’s connection to Shadi, one of the most outright “magical” characters in the Manga all the more puzzling. All in all, the Plana feel like something that would fit better in the worlds of YugiOh GX or 5Ds, but not the original Duel Monsters. Makes you wonder if Takahashi’s tastes just changed over the years.

Diva himself is an utter mess too. His whiny-ness and sense of entitlement make Shinji Ikari look like friggin’ Kamina Jiha. He had every chance to take a moment to breath and think about how stupid what he doing is and he just failed and let the Millenium Ring- the very thing he SHOULD have been angry at from the start, rather than Yugi,Ryou&Co - take control of him. In the process, he ruins paradise for his sister and everyone else involved, for no other reason than screwing things up so badly that Atem is *forced* to exercise some divine intervention, lest everyone he knows is to join him in death prematurely. Ultimately, Diva’s entire character boils down to: “Brother, why did you ruin shit for everyone else?” “BECAUSE UWEHHHHH”.

However, all in all, I still really enjoyed the movie a lot for the way it portrayed Yugi&Co. It really did feel like a tearful reunion with old friends and I appreciate that. The Animation was amazing too. If they re-adapted the Manga with this overall style of quality (in characterization of the main characters and in animation), I’m sure it could easily become one of the best merchandise-driven Anime out there. Not that I need that in my life, but it’s a nice thought. It’s definitely a better candidate for re-adaptation than friggin’ Sailor Moon …*COUGH COUGH*

Sonic the Hedgehog OVA

I… don’t have as much to say on this one. It’s a weird, weird take on what, at the time, was a weird, weird game. I get that it was supposed to be the pilot for a Sonic Anime that never ended up being made (which is a good thing, since I’ll take Chris Thorndyke over Princess Catgirl ANY day- YES I SAID IT.) but it does have merit. The characterization of Sonic as a bit more of a morally grey character, rather than a Shounen Hero who’s overly apathetic to anything that moves slower than 180mpH was a nice take on the character, and Tails’ characteristics as the genius gadgeteer were used well. I don’t get what they were going for with Knuckles, tbh, if Sonic Boom didn’t exist I’d say this was the weirdest take on him I’ve ever seen. I think if Sonic Boom Knuckles were to put on the hat of Sonic OVA knuckles, the Master Emerald would implode in shame somewhere out there. 

The story is nothing to write home about. It’s kinda cool to have a version of Metal Sonic that ends up redeemed, but that plot point was kinda poorly explained and also sort of horrifying. Like, think about it, if the reason he was redeemed is because his AI is actively an exact copy of Sonic’s Soul, does that mean SONIC DIED IN A FIRE? Just… think about that…

(Some people would love to, I’m sure.)

All in all, it’s yet another strange, strange, animated takes on a series with loads and loads of strange, strange takes on it. One of these days, there needs to be a joking crossover where all the different animated Sonics meet one another. It’d be utter chaos, I’m sure.