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ijustsitinacorner · 1 year ago

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Each Black Butler Arc + Valerie Phantomhive

Warnings: Many Black Butler manga spoilers.

(From what I can best remember :’))

Pre-Black Butler Verse:

- Valerie was born in 1872

- Valerie was only 13 years old on the December 10th, 1885 incident.

- Being so busy with her enthusiastic and helping preparations that she had forgotten to get a gift for the twins. It led to her leaving the manor in secret and lost track of time in which when she returned; the manor was already in flames.

- Stayed with the Midford’s for the time being of the month O!Ciel was gone. She was absolutely depressed and devastated throughout that month.

- Was probably the only one that questioned what had happened to the spare. But knew Ciel would definitely not want to talk about or even go into details of what happened so she never asked.

- She assumed the worst had happened to the spare, Valerie loved both equally but was still grateful at least one survived.

General Black Butler Verse:

- Sebastian felt off to her, too good to be true vibe obviously.

- learned how to play the piano by Sebastian within the 3 years.

- Sebastian sometimes makes Ciel while in his violine lessons make the two duet together

(Totally did not think of Omori when I had this idea for Valerie).

- Valerie finding out Ciel named Finny “Finnian” it made her chuckle a bit.

Ciel: Is something funny?

Valerie: No…just the name you picked for our new servant is what I hadn’t expected.

Ciel: Why do I sense some judgment in the name I had picked out for him?

Valerie: Of course not. In fact, I find it sweet. Knowing you bestowed a name for a servant as unique as him after Fionn Cumhaill from Fenian Cycle. It was your favorite, you always read it over, and over again.

While Mey-Rin:

Sebastian: The sniper, is biologically female.

Valerie: …

Valerie: She’s hired.

Ciel: AFTER SHE JUST TRIED TO ASSASSINATE THE BOTH OF US?!

Valerie: YOU DONT UNDERSTAND CIEL WE DO NOT HAVE ANY MAIDS AND SHES PERFECT.

Sebastian: My lady does have a point; but hiring her immediately is not very wise…

Valerie: Then neither of you men understand.

Then, there was Bard:

- Valerie questions how the hell Sebastian managed to find an American man so quickly and how far a travel like that would have been.

Red Butler/Jack the Ripper Arc:

- Liked Charlotte at first but not Grell(e) causing such chaos and mistakes…

- Had to tolerate the mess.

Ciel: “Just why do I have to be your niece?!”

Madam Red: “Because dear, I’ve always wanted another girl!”

Ciel: “You’re kidding! Isn’t one enough?!”

Valerie: “Don’t you dare drag me into this!”

- Violence is never the answer; until someone inappropriately touches Lady Ciel.

- Sebastian had to reassure Valerie that the plan was going smoothly and to follow along.

- Valerie looked up to Madam Red, they both had a great relationship up till her death

- Dislikes the reapers.

Indian Butler Arc

- Someone as strong as Sebastian? That’s possible?

- Enjoys, and is grateful of Prince Soma’s company to Ciel. She believes that Ciel is in denial with their “friendship.”

Book of Circus Arc:

- Missing and brutally murdered women before, now missing children?! The hell is going on in the underworld?!

- Nothing seems too suspicious about this circus; just what are we supposed to look for?

- Valerie: there goes Sebastian putting on a show…say, can I also pet the tiger?

- Ciel: Are you insane?! Absolutely not!

- Valerie: I hate your allergy to cats sometimes Ciel..

- Stage name: ??? (Could not think of one for Valerie 😭)

- Yk that “WHAT?! THIS IS A MOMENT IN HISTORY. TAKE A PICTURE!” Audio?

- That’s how Valerie felt when Ciel was pressured into forcing a smile.

- Valerie: Pft- So… smile…?

- Ciel: Don’t. You. Dare.

- Sebastian chuckling and muffled laughter heard as Ciel struggles TERRIBLY on that tightrope while Valerie’s anxiety has never been so high.

- Freckle face is Doll?!

- But then again Ciel did cross dress in the past so it’s not as strange…

- BUT HER PROOF OF BEING A LADY WAS NOT NECESSARY.

- *The Phantomhive siblings reading a whole lot of information in just one piece of paper*

- Are they a bunch of stalkers?! What kind of obsessive lunatic does this type of behavior?!

- The event in which Vincent Phantomhive took the twins when they were 8 and met Kelvin; 11 year old Valerie felt a gut wrenching unease about him and never understood why.

- Until now.

- Massive disgust, Ciel kill him now.

- Valerie: Pass the pistol Ciel.

- Ciel: Wh-What…?

- Valerie: I SAID PASS THE PISTOL.

(Safe to say Baron Kelvin was not only shot once :3)

(Jk Ciel wanted to be the first to kill him so Valerie didn’t get the chance, but this is a nice imagine)

(Exciting the Kelvin manor: in flames as ordered by Ciel to burn everything).

- Valerie felt terrible towards Doll, but it did not excuse the fact they were kidnapping children and supporting their “father’s” disgusting obsession.

- Doll did attempt to attack first, so if anything…it’ll be reasonable to eliminate what’s left.

Book of Murder Arc

- Learned French has its perks

- The Queens knights? Why would they be over here?

(Don’t remember much from this arc :’))

- Oh? A new servant? His name is Snake?

Book of Atlantic Arc:

- Valerie really thought it was going to be a family holiday but then realized it was another investigation ordered by the queen she was disappointed.

- Valerie pulled Ciel’s ear and scolded him for being cruel and impatient with Lizzie after he forcefully he ripped a layer of Lizzie’s dress. Lizzie did reassure her that it was also her childishness that he had a right to be upset.

- To not make Elizabeth feel lonely with her cute act. Valerie made a promise to Elizabeth when they were children. Both agreeing to wearing low heeled shoes and appearing fragile and weak.

- When on the deck and after Lizzie was knocked out. Valerie and Ciel almost had an argument since Ciel insisted on staying on the ship but promised to return alive and well.

- She hugged him and let him go, telling him not to do anything stupid while she went on the life boat.

- Valerie has faith in Sebastian, he himself reassured her that Ciel will be protected.

Mini-Easter event:

- Stared at Lizzie in shock of her mischievous idea of putting her egg on the top of the damn chandelier

- “Don’t you think that’s a bit unfair…?”

- “No, of course not! I have faith in Ciel and I trust he will win and get my egg!”

(I don’t remember anything in this little event :’) except Charles Grey breaking the window for a dramatic entrance-).

Public School Arc:

- Hearing the idea of going to a pubic school undercover sounded exciting to Valerie until she realized she had to do something about her chest.

- Faking her voice with only few days of practice before heading to the actual school since she as well as going undercover

- Seeing Ciel act like a boy his age felt strange yet reassuring to Valerie

- Valerie: Don’t you believe you’re overworking Sebastian? He’s a professor and he can’t be doing your tasks-

- Ciel: Don’t worry; he’ll be fine

(When Soma pulled up on an elephant)

Valerie: Ciel isn’t that your friend?

Ciel: SHHHHHWHDHDH

(That one second time Ciel had committed arson)

Valerie: Well…would you look at that.

Valerie: You have skills in throwing a lantern through the violet wolf house window from this distance, but don’t have the skill for knife throwing?

Ciel: Darts and knife throwing are two different things, Valerie.

(During cricket idea and strategies)

- Valerie “Laxatives in the meat pies?! Wouldn’t that be-”

- Ciel: ��Cheating? Yes. But do you have any other better ideas better than the A to Z?

- Valerie: “You mischievous and cunning yet clever boy…always somehow getting what you want.”

- Valerie: “He reminds me of father honestly.”

(Midnight Tea Party)

- Undertaker being the headmaster was NOT what I had expected…

Emerald Witch Arc:

- Learning German with Ciel was an interesting thing to imagine.

- Seeing him struggle to properly speak and understand Sullivan was amusing to her

(She knew damn well she shouldn’t be laughing because hers was also equally as bad).

- Sullivan grabbing Ciel by the…yk definitely shocked both siblings.

- Valerie questions what the hell these women have been teaching this girl.

- Had the most smug smile on her face seeing Ciel offer a hand to Sullivan and his offer of friendship, he’s finally making friends.

- During the Emerald Witch Arc when Ciel wasn’t really acting as his earl self; she was beside Finny and helping him take care of Ciel (she also cried because it had been so long since she had seen Ciel cry as well as seeing him in such a hurt state).

- When after hearing the idea of Ciel wearing Sullivan’s dress to trick the ladies in the plan of fleeing the village, she was covering her mouth and snickering the entire time.

- Women in tanks?! The hell did they get the war equipment from?!

- Valerie and Elizabeth had the times of their lives teaching Sullivan the ways of a lady.

(For those who remember; Ciel was also dragged into it).

- She secretly adored Sullivan, and was a bit taken back when she had cut her hair till chin length.

Blue Cult Arc:

(FROM WHAT I CAN REMEMBER 😞)

- When Valerie heard Ciel’s idea of creating the Phantomfive, has he officially gone insane?

- Withdrawal of blood plus a music group…putting two and two together it doesn’t sound as bad.

- EDWARD IS APART OF IT? WHAT TYPE OF BRIBERY DID CIEL HAVE TO INCLUDE HIM TOO?

- Oh when aunt Francis finds out she is pulling that boy by the ear for being improper…

- When Valerie found out about R!Ciel, of course she was in denial at first.

- Shamefully also lied Elizabeth’s whereabouts and was helping her actually.

- She didn’t exactly turn her back on O!Ciel instantly. As mentioned before she loved both of her younger brothers equally.

- If Valerie was given more time to critically think, more time to speak to O!Ciel and understand why he would do something like that.

- Maybe things would have been different.

Blue Memory Arc: (just some of Valerie’s memories rather than Ciel’s)

- Did get spanked by Rachel Phantomhive/her mother for sneaking into the kitchen and grabbing dessert for herself and the twins before dinner. Tanaka also probably scolded her.

- Valerie when she was younger always found her mother’s hair to be gorgeous. She didn’t like inheriting the current color from her father…

- “I COULD HAVE HAD MOTHER’S BLOND HAIR?!”

- Valerie was once that little girl that wanted to marry her father, in which when told that logically she could not, little Valerie refused to marry anyone else

- Was going to be in an engagement with Edward Midford but Lizzie and Ciel were already enough.

- her mother and aunt Anne were amazing role models too

- Despite Undertaker’s strange appearance and behavior; Valerie when she was a child wasn’t too frightened since he cares about all the Phantomhive’s and was friendly.

- When O!Ciel was diagnosed with asthma; he had to stay inside most of the time. In which Valerie was also inside due to lessons/tutoring.

- Was very much a victim of Elizabeth’s dress up games even when she was younger.

- Fencing with Lizzie when she was old enough was fun since Lizzie was just as much of a natural prodigy as Valerie. Making their levels equivalent and more of a fun experience.

- (Edward is terrified of both of those girls when together).

- Valerie whenever she could, would spend time with O!Ciel so he wouldn’t feel too lonely. O!Ciel would feel guilty because it would impact her schedule; but she said she would rather spend time with him than those “boring” lessons and tutoring.

(^ It was most likely chess they play, in which O!Ciel would win most of the time).

- Despite her aunt Francis being as equivalently strict with her, Edward, Elizabeth, and Ciel(‘s). It sometimes felt as if she was the strictest with her since she is the current Lady Phantomhive. Valerie is aware that her aunt was the previous Lady Phantomhive.

- Supported ??? idea of creating a toy company and found the idea to be adorable! But Ciel on the other hand didn’t take it very well…after some comforting from Valerie and their mother, the worries slightly went away.

- Daddy’s girl or Mama’s girl? Nuh uh she was both.

- O!Ciel and R!Ciel (when they were kids) when not clinging onto their mother or father, would cling onto their older sister.

- Days when mother, father, and Sirius were alive…it felt more lively…

- I was happy…yet…why am I not know after finding out something so major?

- Am I that terrible of an older sister?

Blue Revenge Arc:

ERROR…ERROR…

Where did the Lady Phantomhive go…?

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thatdarnblogagain · 3 years ago

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Shuumatsu No Valyrie: A bittersweet masterpiece?

It goes without saying that I like a good martial arts or action movie, manga, anime, comic or book. Anything that has some nice fights in it is probably going to get my attention. One manga that sparked my interest was Shuumatsu No Valkyrie or Record of Ragnarok as it is called in the west. This manga has some of the most beautiful art you will ever see to date, with a thoroughly engrossing but simple plot, capped off with unique characters. But let me show you how simple that story is.

The gods want to destroy humans but are forced into a tournament to decide the fate of the latter when Brunhilde, a valkyrie who seeks to seemingly protect humanity intervenes. She lays down a challenge! Humans versus gods in fights to the death. What ensues is a whirlwind of nail biting fights with huge stakes as every loss puts one side either closer to relenting on their will to destroy the other or for said other to be annihilated. And from there, no punches are pulled by the authors, Fukui Takumi, Umemura Shinya and Ajichika or the story’s combatants.

(All of these fights were insane but do not get attached to any of the fighters.)

That sets the tone for the series. As amazing as the characters are, and believe me, they all are pretty amazing, this is a gladiator type of series. Two fighters enter and one leaves. It is a tournament arc but akin to Mortal Kombat as if you lose, you die as well as the idea of one side possibly losing their way of life if the other wins but in this case that is just losing their lives all together. There is no mercy here, despite the sometimes comedic tones the characters can have. Every fight so far has had a death of one of the fighters, whether human or god.

Now you may think that humans versus gods sounds like a mismatch but the authors make sure that the former are insanely strong to the point that superhuman is an understatement. It should also be added that the characters are technically being pulled from death so they are actually dead humans coming back to life but still, seeing them possibly die is nonetheless harsh. Ever more amplified by the inclusion of a technique that grants them power boosts when a Valkyrie pairs with them. Which means if a human dies, so does the Valkyrie they were paired with. Yeah, the stakes are high!

(The list of fighters are history lesson all on its own.)

Also! This manga does not just make up random characters. No these are people from history and gods from lore or religion. Jesus shows up at one point, I kid you not. Not as a fighter mind you but the fact he is present is insane. You see characters such as Adam, the first man instead fighting or Jack the Ripper fighting in the manga! Yes Jack the Ripper! Heck Lu Bu shows up and throws some hands! Against THOR!!!! If you enjoy a nice look at legends and myths, this manga is easy to enjoy.

Fighters pull off techniques that would be impossible for any other human but themselves such a swordsman deflecting strikes that are near the speed of light or another human so strong that his body needs special limiters or he will grow to insane proportions. But even then, it is not enough sometimes.

(4 versus 1...seems fair.)

Several human fighters have died in pretty depressing ways with one of my favorite characters literally being decapitated in front of his parents after losing. I legitimately have shed tears for most of the dead fighters, maybe except two but that is because he went out so manly that tears might have been a disservice to him. And all the characters have gone out pretty manly but his was just a whole other level. The other characters was just a straight up villain.

But my favorite character’s death was further amplified by his mother’s wailing in the next chapter which crushed me even more than when he was killed. But that is beauty of this manga. It imposes on you that ever floating stake of humanity’s destruction. It brings you the highest of highs when humanity wins but then makes you question if the next fight will see a crushing defeat for them in return.

I read the first fight and was cheering for the action and loved every panel but when it got to the ending I was thoroughly reminded this was a fight to the death as one fighter was left headless and armless. That is an image that is just haunting. This is a manga where victory can be snatched away in an instant and what seems like a certain win is never that simple. Every blow that is exchanged could shape the history of the humans for either a long and prosperous one or a very short one.

(This chapter after the end one fight in particular was painful.)

Now what makes this even harder as a reader is that I like quite a few of the gods too. This is thanks to the authors’ backstories for each fighter. Everyone gets a deep dive analysis which makes you relate to them quite a bit. Even the vilest of villains on the human team somehow becomes sympathetic but so is the same for the most on innocent of gods on the other team.

There is really no way to explain except just turning things on their heads as you find yourself wondering if you should root for a murderer fighting for humanity or a heroic demigod fighting for the gods. It is a well crafted narrative that makes you worry for the fate of the fighters whether human or gods because a character you once hated can become quite a tragic figure, who you do not want to see die.

(No idea how, but I had sympathy for this character after the backstory given.)

Bottom Line:

(Loki pretty much said what I was thinking after that first fight.)

Would I recommend this manga? Yes. Highly. But I also put the disclaimer that if you do not enjoy knowing that no one is safe from death and that your favorite character could die then I would say give this a pass. I am personally dreading upcoming fights because there are characters there that I do not want to lose...like most of them but that is not the case as this manga shown.

This is a labor of love and you can see it in every detail and the time it takes for reach chapter to be released. It is a painful but refreshing read for anyone who wants to check it out.

Pros:

.Amazing story.

.Amazing Art.

.Amazing Characters.

.Tournament Arc!

.Nice mix of myths and history.

Cons:

.Getting attached can be a painful idea.

.Can be depressing

#record of ragnorak #shuumatsu no valkyrie #manga #review #highly recommend #recommend #comic #anime #loki #thor #hercules #heracles #adam #zeus

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chibimyumi · 4 years ago

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Kuromyu 2021 - First Review

So, yesterday 05-03-2021 was the First Day Performance of Kuromyu 2021, “The Secret of the Boarding School”. It is no secret that I am no fan of the Boarding School Arc, but even so I was very, very curious to see this arc being translated to a stage media.

This review shall not be without spoilers. Not just the story itself, because I think by now most people know how the story unfolds. I mean the execution of the stage play itself.

I shall not lie and admit that my review WILL contain my opinions, meaning it is by no means objective and might influence your opinions. For people who wish to experience the production entirely objectively for themselves, I recommend NOT clicking “keep reading” to reveal the spoiler section.

For now, I shall give my spoiler-free rating per category.

Faithful to canon: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Script: ⭐⭐ ★★★

Acting: ⭐ ★★★★

Singing: ⭐ ⭐★★★

Music: ⭐⭐⭐★★

Dancing: ⭐⭐ ★★★

Stage & Costume: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hereunder I shall give the spoiler-section first preceded by “First Impression”, and then followed by the categories listed here above.

First Impression

The stream started, and seeing the Kuromyu logo in present day again after three years really was very exciting. Since 2010 on as always, Kuromyu opened with the contract scene, and I was positively surprised to see the stage set being quite elaborate! This set was the largest and most elaborate one so far without TOHO’s help.

After the contract scene the prologue gave a very quick recap of the Jack the Ripper, Circus, and the Campania Arc. I am not sure whether it was necessary to show the Jack the Ripper and Circus Arc as they provide no information needed to understand Weston Arc. But I think it was mainly inserted to speak to the nostalgia in Kuromyu fans, and as a Kuromyu fan myself, I have to say it did work. It did not take much time, I think maybe 1 minute per arc, so it was fine.

The recap of the Campania Arc was important as it served to equip the audience with the information that there’s a reaper who creates zombies. Undertaker was shown as the main antagonist of the Campania Arc and responsible for the bizarre dolls.

There was a short brawl between Undertaker and Sebastian, which is in fact a very good choice in my opinion to showcase the dynamic between these two supernatural powers...............except that only 10 minutes in, and the musical already MASSIVELY screwed up by portraying the fight as though Sebastian beat Undertaker. The ONLY reason Sebas is still alive is because Undertaker decided so. Normally I wouldn’t care that much about errors in a recap, but this time it serves as the exposition of Undertaker and Sebastian’s dynamic: It should have shown that Undertaker is an incredibly dangerous foe and that Sebas is scared shitless because of that. Especially because this ties in with how this arc was concluded.

“But okay, fine. Maybe the script has other plans, so I shall let it be,” I thought. Moving on. But it did “plant a seed” in me that this musical is either going to contradict itself, or that it is going to defy canon. That was the first impression.

The prologue transitions into the setup of the case quite smoothly, and I have to say it was skillful. You very quickly see Ciel change into the Weston uniform and the admission ceremony was swiftly started. Immediately you get introduced to Agares, the prefects and their fags, and the musical does a good job defining the atmosphere as: “something is off here”.

Faithful to canon: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★

The overall musical was really quite faithful to canon. Most plot points were as they were in the manga, and enough so that I would recommend anybody who doesn’t understand Japanese to first re-read the arc as homework. If you have the arc fresh in your memory, it is very easy to trace every action back to the canon.

There are some details that were omitted or changed, probably done so in consideration for the stage medium or run-time, and done reasonably so. Unlike the previous Kuromyus, 2021 adds very little new elements that were not there in the manga. No added extra depth, but also no unnecessary additions.

There were a few things that were very off-canon, namely the characters. But I think that falls under the “acting” header, rather than this header.

Script: ⭐⭐ ★ ★ ★

The script was a real disappointment. You might wonder how faithfulness to canon can be 4/5, and yet the script only a 2/5 in my opinion. WELL, most dialogue was based on the text in the manga, but told as dry as possible. It was also as though the script writers didn’t trust its audience intelligent enough to understand things on their own, or even remember something that was said literally 5 minutes ago.

Exposition Ad Nauseam

There was a tremendous amount of exposition, exposition, exposition, ad nauseam. There was exposition about who Ciel is and what the Queen’s Watchdog is and what his job entails, and that is entirely fine. That’s necessary background information for spectators unfamiliar with Black Butler. However, there was also a lot of exposition that could easily have been left out, or concluded through context. For example, there were quite many expositions about the history and status of the Weston College. In my opinion, a competent script writer could have let the audience known that the Weston College is really important just by giving the information that the blood relative of the QUEEN attends the school, and by showing the Red House, since their entrance is based on social status.

In this post I wrote about my following concern:

Unlike tennis, cricket is a very foreign sport to most people. Cricket cannot be shown without explaining the rules. So if Kuromyu were to happen, these expositions that were dry in the manga to begin with, are going to be even dryer on stage. Does an actor narrate the rules? Do we want Sebastian to sing us the rules??? Or do we want the kids to sing us the rules themselves while they are batting the balls?

And alas, true to my fear, Sebas indeed narrates the rules to us... But even worse, he also explains cricket by using baseball analogy... This is an incredibly ineffective and time-wasting method, because:

it takes the audience out of the moment,

it assumes the audience knows enough about baseball to let it help understand cricket,

and it assumes the audience actually cares about the name of every single strike....

Repetition Ad Nauseam

Then there is the problem where many info-dumps sounded like: “LIKE I JUST SAIDDDDD, DON’T FORGET!!!”. The script for Sebas is the biggest offender. There were many moments Sebas was just saying the same thing twice. At times he repeated the same information, and there were some moments where he regurgitated already given information. (Sorry I’m just being nasty here, but that’s what it felt like (;;≽▽≼;;) )

Sebastian has this obsession with constantly proclaiming himself an omnipotent, one hell of a butler, which makes him capable of doing anything... and after a while it just gets a bit tedious. I have the feeling the scriptwriter really has the hots for him, and therefore can’t shut up about how powerful he is.

While Sebas is the biggest offender, he is by far not the only one. This musical is guilty of doing a lot of very unnatural lines that no person would ever say. Soma for example, seems incapable of saying anything without shouting that he is the Prince of India and Ciel’s BFF. First time, FINE. But the entire time? My god....

Characterisation

Then there is the characterisation of characters in the script. Of course in great part the characterisation is dependent on the actors too, but no matter how amazing an actor is, you do as the script demands.

As discussed above, Sebas is done dirtiest by the script. This script also makes him incredibly arrogant and a bit too happy to be in his master’s service. Similarly, Ciel is also written entirely dependent on Sebastian, and equally happy that Sebas is happy to serve. In the first song between Ciel and Sebastian, without any prompt Sebastian asks his master for his orders, as though that’s what Sebas is looking forward to all day. And the first thing Ciel says in response is: “can you take on this reaper [Undertaker] and the large number of moving corpses?” to which Sebas responds: “Leave everything to me, because I am the Phantomhive butler.” ........and then he proceeds to defeat Undertaker effortlessly.........!?!?!?!?!?! When fighting Undertaker, Sebas also says: “what a bother” as though it’s just a bit of an unpleasant chore rather than a life-threatening fight. And just before Undertaker disappeared all the way at the finale of the arc, Sebas seriously says: “I really don’t get along with you”. SERIOUSLY, WHO WROTE THIS?!

Myu!Ciel is CLEARLY the master of this Sebastian as he seems to be on a permanent power trip. He “it’s an order”s Sebastian for the most trivial of things. At the beginning when Sebas was fighting intruders already, Ciel “it’s an order”s Sebas to take down the intruders.... HE’S ALREADY AT IT!!!

In chapter 70 where Sebas and Ciel simultaneously think of Soma, Ciel doesn’t give Sebas an official order. This shows the audience that there is a certain level of trust between master and servant that they’re on the same page AND that Sebas has come to a stage where he will actually do what’s necessary.

In the musical however, Ciel gives a full “Sebastian, it’s an order, get the procedures done to get him here, to the Weston College.”

This is also an example of how unnatural and repetitive the script is. Who would EVER say “get the procedures done to get him here, to the Weston College”???? Of course procedures need to happen first! And “here” alone would have sufficed, scriptwriters. We KNOW where “here” is! We didn’t forget since 5 seconds ago!

Lyrics

The lyrics are technically not the script, but they are ridden with the same problem as the script itself, so I shall take the liberty of discussing these under the same paragraph.

There is a LOT of repetition in the lyrics as well. The P4 especially sing “Weston” and “tradition” like the ENTIRE time. One song literally goes: “this is Weston, Weston, Weston, Weston, at Weston we uphold our traditions, traditions, traditions, traditions.” The other song is: “It’s cricket, it’s cricket, it’s cricket,” and another “I am Ciel’s BFF, BFF, BFF, Ciel, lord Ciel, lord Ciel, lord Ciel’s BFF.”...... *shudders* ((ﾟﾟ((Д))ﾟﾟ)) AAAAHHHH!!!!

Acting: ⭐ ★ ★ ★ ★

The acting was by far the most abominable in the musical safe for two gems: Chesslock and Derek. There are too many characters to discuss, so I shall keep it to the main/noteworthy ones.

The gems

Chesslock has this tremendous energy and something very wild about him, and his jumps are so incredibly precise it’s amazing! Derek has but a very small role, but the moment he showed up as the zombie you already immediately saw there was something “off” about him. It was very subtle, but still clearly unhinged. When he was acting living-Derek, you also clearly saw what type of prick he was. Amazing! These two were the brightest stars of the show.

The....... not gems

The most unwatchable ones were Soma and Harcourt. Soma doesn’t have a big role, but he bothered me so much he is ironically the most memorable one. It’s like Okada saw “loud and obnoxious (in a good way)” in the manga, turned it up to 12, and gave the worst portrayal possible. As said above, the script making him repeat “Indian prince” and “BFF” the entire time doesn’t help, but blaming just the script would be letting Okada off too easily.

Harcourt...... gave me so much secondhand embarrassment I literally got a cramp looking at him. When the diarrhea happened he was screaming like a pig about to be raped and slaughtered... and I am NOT making a rape-joke here. I would never. He really did sound like he was unwillingly aroused and terrified at the same time.

Sebastian

Let’s start with the good things: Tateishi’s Sebas did have his presence and his movements were fairly neat. He was never just standing there. He is quite elegant, and not swaggering or pulling spasms on stage unlike a CERTAIN someoneeeeee. He could work a BIT on the coordination of his extremities, but that’s only when I’m nitpicking.

But otherwise.... he was a bit underwhelming to be honest. The main problem is not necessarily Tateishi’s acting-skill maybe, but his interpretation I think... but I can’t say his acting was amazing even at knife-point. The way he acts Sebas makes him look like a complete fanboy of Ciel... which is just not Sebas. He is incredibly eager and at times I could almost see a puppy tail wagging. Whenever he is getting an order from his master he is just beaming. And with Undertaker there was not a single hint that Sebas is scared of the only foe who managed to mortally wound him.

His interaction with Ciel was also very SebaCiel heavy. In the manga where Ciel challenges Sebas why he didn’t go after Undertaker, Sebas is clearly emphasising the importance of the contract, and half-threatening his master not to dare “it’s an order” him to go after Undertaker.

In the musical however, Sebas is all UWU, as though saying: “I couldn’t let the big baddy hurt you... uwu”. Without exaggerating, Sebas caresses Ciel’s face THREE times and then embraces him.

Ciel

Ciel was very unbearable to watch in my opinion. Not as bad as Soma and Harcourt, but otherwise an “honourable” third place after them. In the manga it was a bit cringey to begin with because he is supposed to fake being (*ÓωÒ*), but seeing a 20 year old man do that... and play it up to 11 was just jarring. Ciel is like “tehe” very often, but never actively skipping like a forest fairy.

This Ciel also has tremendous mood-swings! He is either UWU or actively a ice-cold diva... and at times he is also being UWU when he’s not around others???? There was also not a single moment where I could see him cooking up a plan. No hint of intelligence or cunningness to be found.

Unlike with Tateishi I can’t really come up with anything good to say about him.

Undertaker

Undertaker was the best among the main three (not that the bar is very high). He is making efforts to tease-threaten Sebas, which I think is a very nice added detail (it’s just that Sebas reacts to none of them... sad.) and even though his role is pathetically small (he doesn’t show up as the principal), he still managed to present himself in the spotlights.

Greenhill had his energy, he was funny, and something really funnily militaristic about him. Though, I was missing nuance in his acting because at not a single point could you see Greenhill might have a trauma for killing people.

Redmond was Viscount of Druitt light and he had a very strong emphasis on the BL aspect with Maurice......which was just personally not my cup of tea. But I have to admit that aspect was played up too in the manga. So I guess he was faithful to canon.

Violet was quite charming and eccentric. He did play up the gothicness of the Violet house, which was actually kinda nice! He also had a deep friendship with Chesslock, which I really liked. When Violet didn’t do shit during the tournament Chesslock was really miffed about that, and challenged him. And then Violet showed Chesslock a portrait he drew of him, saying: “you just looked so cool I had to capture that.” That was amazing! He is a bit bitchier and sassier than in the manga, but I really don’t mind.

Bluer.... William light. He was the least memorable of all of them.

Singing: ⭐ ⭐ ★ ★ ★

Nobody really hurt my ears, but also nobody quite hit the notes... and the notes weren’t that hard.

Music: ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★

Eehhhhhhhhhhhh I’d say the songwriter played most songs a BIT too much on the safe side. Not a single song was memorable, but they didn’t offend me either. The main theme was fairly nice actually, but only when just the instrumentals played. I think it might have been the singing just being too chaotic for me to actually hear the music.

Dancing: ⭐⭐ ★ ★ ★

Chesslock is an tremendously good dancer, his movements were precise and energetic. But otherwise.... nobody really popped out, but there was nobody who looked like a noodle on stage either.

The main problem is choreography; with some exceptions they were very underwhelming and messy. There were a lot of group dances, but often enough people were just a bit out of sync and messy.

Stage & Costume: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stage Set

The stage set was VERY good. It was well made and mobile; they could be moved around and functioned as different props. Examples include the cellar in which Derek and his gang were committing crimes, and the boat of the parade even. The set also had this really magical aesthetic about it which communicated the glamour of the Weston College well.

Costumes

The costumes were well made. The logo on the uniforms for example were actually embroidered rather than those iron-on plastic things. The wigs were .... very messy after jumping around a bit and they looked very greasy. But that’s fine. They did their job and I realise I’m just spoiled. TOHO makes their wigs using real human hair, and that’d be an astronomical sum for any normal 2.5D company.

My ONLY problem is Ciel’s “lord costume”. This photoshoot photo underneath is doable, but trust me, on stage it is a nightmare. There are no clear photos of this costume on stage, and I think I understand why.

It was glittery velvet which just SCREAMS cheap Halloween costume, it was ill-fitted, almost like it was 2 sizes too large. The costume makers didn’t take stage-lighting into account, so the fabric and details glistened all over the place. Under the limelight the “golden” aiguillettes were PISS yellow. And the suddenly black sock suspenders protruding from his white boots were just...... distracting.

BUT, this was just one costume and he only wears it in the prologue and the finale of the show. Even though it’s God-awful, the rest were well made enough to compensate for this abomination.

Conclusion

So now finally the conclusion! The musical was..... fairly faithful to canon, but the execution leaves quite a lot to be desired. The interpretation/acting of the characters were the most disappointing one, while the stage/costumes were the most charming.

Do I recommend buying the stream/DVD/BD?

Stream: Yes.

I personally do recommend buying the stream as it’s only 3800 yen, especially if you like the Weston Arc itself, and/or are curious to see how they did it. Even though I myself really hate the Weston Arc in and of itself, I was very curious to see how it’d be translated to a stage medium. Despite my mostly negative opinion of the musical, I don’t regret buying the stream at all!

The best reason in my opinion to buy the stream though; it’s a very good and legal way to get a “preview” to see if you want to spend approximately 10000 yen on the proshot.

DVD/BD: Depends on you.

I myself have decided not to buy the DVD because I don’t think I’ll be rewatching it after the stream-archive period is over. The DVD/BD are the most expensive so far, and to me the final product is just not worth that amount of money.

But if you like the Weston Arc, or the performers, or you think you will be rewatching it and you are a collector, I think it is a very nice addition to your shelve.

#Kuromyu 2021 #Kuromyu #Secret of the Boarding School #Review #Weston Arc #Musical

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irelandseyeonmythology · 3 years ago

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Now, you might be saying to yourself "Surely, the bitch has learned the vital lesson from the Sentient Four Treasures book and has given up."

...unfortunately, all I learned is that I need to read more Irish mythology-inspired books, but I decided to take a break from romance and delve into the world of the occult, with the help of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

So, while I was searching for an old ff.net story where Bres is trying to bring back Balor and...I think he tries to sacrifice Buffy at some point (?) and definitely had a thing for the Lady of the Lake before he killed her, I came across THIS. An actual, licensed novel. Set in the world of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, shortly after Buffy's return from the dead.

And this novel has everything.

Implied Spuffy Bondage.

An evil leprechaun trying to fuck Willow.

Badly written out Cockney accents.

Bad written out Irish accents.

Human sacrifices.

Tuatha Dé VS Fomoire drama.

Jack the Ripper trying to bring back Balor.

Pseudo-AU-Bres BEING Jack the Ripper. (He's not called Bres, he's called the very Irish name of Thak...but he's totally Bres. If Bres was ugly and had mommy issues on top of his daddy issues.)

It's like someone read my mind close to twenty years ago and created a novel specifically geared to two of my niche interests (it's a relatively little known fact that I've been quietly doing research on the Whitechapel Murders since I was twelve -- never in large doses because it gets to be a little overwhelming.)

And...here's the thing....the writing style is GOOD. Or, at least, not as bad as what I'm used to. It's not, say, Toni Morrison, but it does its job. Everything flows together nicely, there's some genuine bits of haunting imagery in there, the characters are well-done. I found myself really feeling for the Slayer Elizabeth in the Victorian arc, even though we got to know her briefly. There are times when things are either not explained or under-explained, but I can still tell that this is a professional, polished work. It has almost NOTHING to do with the actual myths, but that's partially why I can forgive it a lot. Nemain is Balor's consort (poor Cethlenn), but....that's a normal amount of batshittery. It can't top "Tailtiu is a dragon" for me, I'm sorry.

The names are. Hm.

-Besides Thak, we have the Tuatha Dé king, Banshee. (It would have been. So easy. To NOT do this. Even in the early 2000s.)

- Flinn the leprechaun.

-MacNair. As a given name, not as a surname.

- The Season of Osiris being the scary time when the sacrifices must be made for Balor to re-enter the mortal world. (Yes. Osiris.) It would have been. So easy. To just do what every other dime store novelist does and use Samhain, but I have to appreciate the innovation.

-The following ancient Irish spell (Little known fact: All Celticists are required to take an extended study in Ancient Irish Curses. Not medieval. Ancient):

As you can see, it looks suspiciously Lovecraftian.

-Have I mentioned the accents?

...this.

I realized, when I nearly did a fist pump when King Banshee™ lost his hand, that working on CMT for as long as I have has kind of. Ruined me.

Oh my God....it's Bres the Ripper....and he has....VANTABLACK. (He is ultimately defeated by Anish Kapoor wielding a steel chair.)

The story is a little grimdark for my tastes -- Personally I enjoyed the psychological horror aspect of the Ripper's fog causing everyone to become terrified and paranoid more than the loving descriptions of disemboweled bodies, which were...a little distasteful, all things considered, and over the top given everything else. It felt like the author wanted to scale everything up so that it was MORE, MORE, MORE (the Ripper needs 12 victims, even though historically he "only" killed five, maybe six women.) I've actually never watched Buffy, so I don't know how dark it actually got, but this sometimes struck me as a little more slashery/15 year old on FF.net-esque with the gore than a 1990s TV show. King Banshee™ has a throne of human skin and bones and like...I'm not saying that the Tuatha Dé wouldn't for MORAL reasons (Never forget Midir demanding a sacrifice of puppies and kittens in Tochmarc Étaíne like WHAT THE FUCK MIDIR) but because..............it doesn't really suit their interior design. Like, that would clash with the whole "glorious halls fit for a king" vibe they have going. It strikes me as being extra just for the sake of being extra, to establish that ACTUALLY these guys are creepy, when there are subtler ways you could do that.

I feel like the thing that it actually does RIGHT when it comes to medieval literature, and that I'm fairly certain it did accidentally, is in the way that the Tuatha Dé are treated, where they're beautiful, described as being like Legolas from LOTR, but distinctly Off, and still harboring a deep hatred for humans. This is pretty much exactly what you generally see in medieval sources, with the Tuatha Dé being none too happy about losing Ireland to the sons of Míl. The druidical sacrifices are mentioned, early on, as being a way to placate the Tuatha Dé, which again...seems like a relatively decent explanation, given that one of the few examples of human sacrifice actually described in a medieval or early modern Irish text, Echtra Airt meic Cuinn, does feature a human sacrifice in response to a blight in the land. (That is to say, sacrifices were not necessarily for a positive result, but for undoing a negative, if that makes any sense, via placation. Though we do have some examples given by the Romans of seeking a positive result, such as curing an illness via human sacrifice in the hope of one life being restored via the sacrifice of another.) I feel like ultimately, the thing that this does REFRESHINGLY, and the thing that redeems it, is that the Tuatha Dé are very much presented as just as much a threat as the Fomoire.

I also thought that them living beneath a cemetery which, again, might have been accidental, is actually a really nice equivalent to the síde. Again, possibly (probably?) accidental, but it was enough to make me happy.

#reviews #long post

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transsexualhamlet · 4 years ago

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predictions for yuumori s2 (as a manga reader)

No matter what happens, this is probably gonna end up aging badly, but i’m hyperfixating and I’ve decided to make it everyone else’s problem so I’m going to predict where they’re gonna go with s2 of moriarty the patriot (keep in mind i’m writing this as of episode 2) and what I think would be the ideal scenario, in the likely situation that this is the last season.

So we can tell a lot about what they’re going to cut/include from the opening and ending, and the first two episodes.

Observations/Conclusions:

-moneypenny and most likely von herder are gone, already evidenced by the first 2 episodes, which is :( but understandable bc there’s only so much space and they’re definitely cutting the arcs where they would be important

-so that means no moran backstory because duh, there’s a point in the backstory and i see value in it, moran slaps when he’s not being an ass lmao, but again, time constraints

-no matter what I can’t see them keeping in the like, child hunting thing 2 electric boogaloo, even tho it did further Fred’s and Louis’ characters, since they’ve previously cut out stuff considering them and. You know. That’s how it be.

-You can see they’re including jack the ripper arc (considering, jack is in the opening) and I have faith that they can downsize the arc without butchering it if they do it right. This is good that they’re keeping it in, considering it’s one of the... main arcs not involving milverton that advances the plot.

-Major thing we can tell is that, yeah, Milverton is nowhere to be seen. It seems like this would fuck things up bad since he’s like, the only kind of “main villain” we get here. But honestly? I agree with that. Fuck Milverton. He has no character or motivation and is like my one and only bone to pick with the manga. He’s just there to suck ass and create plot convenience?? I don’t like him and he never needed to be there if he wasn’t at least going to do something interesting. I support the anime cutting him.

-That DOES fuck over their ability to do the white knight arc, since, well, milverton is the cause of all of that. And this is the one thing I really don’t know what they’re going to do with that to connect jack the ripper directly to the final problem. I can’t predict that, but I do think there are ways it can be done that won’t be Awful.

-So considering that, Mary’s arc is definitely axed, which doesn’t bother me that much since by that point i so impatient for gay people and really didn’t care about watson’s fiance even tho she is a lovely lady. For anime effect, she does not need an arc, though I could see them having her show up a few times so watson doesn’t seem too gay either lmao.

-They’re definitely shooting to end with the final problem, considering without it there’s no big culminating event between moriarty and sherlock, which is obviously the big sell. And well. It’s. Um. The final problem.

The season says it’s slated to be 13 episodes, since s1 didn’t have enough time for 12. I honestly think they can manage it all, if they play their cards right.

Outlook:

This whole potential situation does sound familiar, I’ll point out that I just arrived here after the shit show of the promised neverland’s second season. But I don’t think it will get bad like tpn did. Because in Moriarty, they could afford to cut things because there are many stand alone and disposable arcs, whereas tpn really shouldn’t have, since they pretty much all contributed later to Major Main Character Plot Things. And the important points of the arcs that they’ll probably cut can actually be written into existing ones without looking like plot convenience, in my vision of it.

Honestly, I’m pretty optimistic for moriarty, it works better for this kind of adaption than in a lot of other manga that end up getting these most likely two season adaptions. I’d love to get those arcs for the servant’s and other character’s developments of course, but trying to stick that in when there’s really only time to focus on the main characters would suck up time better spent on really getting deep into the main storyline. Even if there are less characters, in a situation like this a streamlined and nuanced story will look elegant, whereas shoving as much content as possible into a few short episodes makes everyone cringe.

The situation does end up looking like the promised neverland, but it has a chance to be significantly less fucked considering,,, well,,, tpn is an insanely low bar, and they will hopefully not make the promised neverland’s same mistakes of Shove Seventeen Plotlines Into One Episode After Realizing Belatedly They Actually Needed Those Parts.

Obviously I don’t know what will happen, and this will be outdated by sunday lmao, but my projection looks something like this for 13 episodes to conclude the show.

Predictions:

(Episodes 1+2: A Scandal in the British Empire)

Episode 3: I’m very anxious for 3 considering this will probably make or break my opinion on the anime. Ideally, this episode would wrap up the scandal arc and go over the whole James Bond thing, it could be pretty baller and fit well into an episode. But though there’s plenty of Irene in the opening, there’s no sight of Bond, so considering anime as a whole is fucking transphobic, they might try to change it, twist around bond’s words or just, gloss over it altogether. If they cut it, they might have time to squeeze in another arc but I don’t think they honestly need to? With what they seem to be keeping in, they’ll have ample time to get to everything, and it would be shorter anyway considering the smaller amount of servants.

Here, we do definitely need to cover Sherlock’s “receiving the name of the lord of crime and deciding to burn it and find it out himself because he’s extra”, no matter the status of irene/bond’s gender. If they do that right and possibly change a few things so it’s more important, this could play into them moving forward his whole discovery of their secrets.

Episodes 4-7: These will most likely cover jack the ripper arc. There’s a lot to go over here, and I’m confident they can cut it down, because tbh Moriarty is pretty long winded for a manga and cutting things is good to an extent. This covers most of the major expansions on William’s ideas and plans, and definitely has the holes to stuff in more of the points made in the arcs that will be cut out. Though I have my reservations, they could plausibly take most points in white knight and integrate them into here.

Episodes 8-10: These are the ones that are going to take the most work and probably be the most changed. They should finish up the ripper arc in 7, give or take a few episodes, and then here, If Sherlock has a little more figured out from episode 3, he can look deeper. I think it’s honestly a good idea for the one to discover the Incriminating Records to be him, as it again gives them more connection. There needs to be some other reason Moriarty’s secrets are in danger of getting leaked to the paper, but I’m sure they can put something together with scotland yard or something, or even like, Mycroft. I see that. But if that happens, then we can spend an episode or so on the merchant of london, aka little liam commits girlboss, which can be woven into the idea of everything Coming Out.

Episodes 11-13: Final problem. I see this going mostly unchanged, up until 55. Truth is they’ll probably end up cutting something but hmm. I don’t know. They should keep the fred stuff in, since they’ll cut his other development. They should keep the squad asking sherlock for help, since they cut the other parts that highlight the crime squad’s care for him. But I think they could montage most of the William Goes French Revolution On You Hoes, even the part where the kids come in front of one of them, if you see what’s going on right. But everything can proceed as in the manga pretty smoothly, I think, it all makes sense if they put it together in 7-10. You know, you got somehow, the worst case happens, and boom, scandal, final problem enacted. Killing spree. William reveals he’s been emo this whole time but it’s too late now. Everyone scrambling to catch up with his damn plans. Gay boy knocking on 221B with a fucking love letter. Shit gets found out. And then... well, yuh.

Disclaimer I still don’t know everything about this, bc I cannot find a translation of 54, only the raw with no context, and I know there’s content after 55 but I can’t find that either. But I’m sure as hell an english major and can understand where things are probably going. I don’t know what’s involved at that point, and if there’s some plan detailed to save him or something. That’s the main thing I don’t know, and if there is one detailed of course that kind of changes everything, but for now I’m going on the assumption that 54 is “sherlock runs to the bridge and yells at liam to stop being a dramatic whore while london burns around them and the murder squad watches anxiously with mysterious intent, until it is chapter 55″. (IF Y’ALL HAVE THE ENGLISH PLEASE HMU) They better not TOUCH anything in 55 or so help me god.

But as to after 55, things are going to be different. Besties, I’m an optimist, but there’s no way they’ll make a season after this. It does appear that they’ve mostly wrapped up, and they’ve gotten through what Big Revals they plan on doing. The shit hinted from the beginning has happened, and there probably won’t be enough to create another, unless the author plans on fucking shit up again, which I don’t approve of. There are a few things still left unsaid, like, Liam’s real name and everything, but if it’s supposed to be important, things that small can 100 percent be written into this.

And as something that’s intending to finish up a story, depending on what manga canon really is (BESTIE I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS) they might change it. There’s two options, a bittersweet/hopeful and a tragic one, but either one will end up open ended, because of my extensive knowledge of 2 season animes with significantly longer mangas. (done badly: tokyo ghoul and tpn, done well: owari no seraph and mob psycho) Either we have it like well, oh damn, everything was destined to be Sad but well you’re with him now you’re probably dead, but you know there’s something hinted at and you don’t know for sure so that’s the catch. So you get a vague and bittersweet but possibly hopeful ending. OR something that takes,,, whatever ends up happening in the manga or whatever the plan is and turning it into an epilogue infodump.

I can see either going well depending on how they handle the messages of the story. But yeah, as far as to my extent of the understanding of the show, that’s how it’ll probably go, and what my opinion of how it should is.

To What Extent Will The Gay:

You know, this is my ideal scenario within these time limits, but you know they could always go The Wrong Direction if the anime team took a look at some of the later chapters and went “holy shit this is a bit too gay” and try to axe some of the sherliam content, which I wouldn’t put past any corporation.

In the case that they do, I see lot of good shit going. They’re clearly trying to do the final problem, so they obviously can’t cut out 55, which is good :). But though 55 is clearly, uh, really fucking homosexual, the most romantic shit goes down in 53, as far as I can tell? (keeping in mind i still haven’t found 54′s english version, if anyone would like to direct me to a translation, that would be LOVELY.) I unfortunately can see them cutting Liam’s letter almost entirely, and that kind of scares me.

You know, even if i’d hate and slander them for it, cutting out james bond would be something i would understand. But messing with sherliam would fuck them over, not just cause that would be awful, but like, because it’s like... kind of the main point.

So I’m not really too worried about them messing with it, mostly because the content itself is holding them at gunpoint, sherliam holds the whole plot structure in place, especially if you’re shooting for final problem. And even in the manga they never, like, actually say they’re in love with each other even tho historically gay lovers would probably call each other “friends” lmao so it’s not like they have to greenlight gay sex or anything lmao it’s just Very Romantic (No Homo)

And apart from that, yuumori has actually been pretty decent to the gays so far?? Damn shawty, they certainly haven’t toned down the gay yet and it’s clearly their main source of fans, and what they’ve decided to emphasize in both openings and a significant portion of the s2 ending. We’re all here for it, and they’re catering to it, so I can at least give you that.

#moriarty the patriot #yukoku no moriarty #rowan's hyperfixation essays #sherliam #Holy Shitte this is long #watch me find 54 and immediately change my stance on all of this #or something idk #watch this whole thing be irrelevant in half a week #HHHHHHHH #if it doesn't go exactly like this i will lose my mind lmao

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thebellekeys · 4 years ago

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I Love Matthew Fairchild aka Incoherent Thoughts about Chain of Iron (2021) by Cassandra Clare

I made one of these rant-rave reviews for SJM's book so check it out if you want, no pressure tho lmao.

Aight so I finished Chain of Iron last night and OMG I HAVE TO YELL like I loved it sooo much like yooo, I have a lot to say. I know the book is new so... beware for spoilers plebs.

Also context: I been reading the Shadowhunter books since I was 12 and I'm 19 now *insert dead emoji face* so yeah, I'm just so happy rn with where the Chronicles have come and the fact that they’re still ongoing *insert uwu face*. I remember when in like 2014-2015 or something when Cassandra Clare teased that Will and Tessa's kids' generation was gonna get a trilogy set in Edwardian London, loosely based on Great Expectations, and holy hell? I think that was perhaps one of the best days of my life considering how much I adore The Infernal Devices (that trilogy really changed the way I see YA literature... don't ask cus I won't shut up about it) (also yes I read TMI and loved it too but there's a “generation gap” between TMI and the other Shadowhunter books stylistically so don't ask me about that either cus I also won't shut up).

Anyway, shoo from here if you want a critical essay on Chain of Iron. I'm not providing that, this is just me raving here for the fun.

Listen... I want the bulk of this to just be two main things: The Matthew Situation, and then all the literary and judeo-christian meta aspects of it.

BUT I ALSO NEED TO TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE SO FRICK LET'S JUST START WITH THE OBVIOUS SHIT LIKE THE PLOT AND WHATEVER

Okay, the plot and writing and shit, let's get that out of the way:

The WHOLE Jack-the-Ripper-esque ambiance was just sooooo good man wow like I did not expect the book to take this cold turn but it worked so well. There was such a contrast between Jamie and Cordelia's warm little house and then the cold winter and the stabbings and shit and it felt like a nice little callback to the actual Ripper phenomenon that preceded them and a nod to the Whitechapel Fiend story from Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

Bitch OFC that whole thing with Wayland was a set-up like nawww that was too easy to spot and I get why Cordelia feels like shit about it.

Dawg Lucie was just the Among Us imposter here in that my girl was just venting and sneaking around with dead people and I was like nooooo girl run, don't deal with Fade this is a set-up THINK ABOUT JULES LUCIE THAT'S LIKE YO GREAT-GRANDSON *sobs* but yeah anyway my girl has death powers she gonna kill some bitches next book.

You see that confrontation between Lilith and Belial? MASTERPIECE DIALOGUE like this was the point within which I was just like "yo is this the book of Genesis or a YA Fantasy novel" like when Lilith said "I may have been cast out but I did not fall" like??????????????????? I YELLED she did not have to END Belial like that. What a bad bitch.

More on Lilith and Belial... "You, who brought nations into darkness? Shall I finally be able to tell the infernal realms you have gone mad, lost even the image of the Creator." HAHAHHAHAHA SHE SAID "YO BELIAL GO GET SOME THERAPY AND GET OFF MY ASS" LIKE??????

Ughhhh yasss Clare has improved writing diverse characters in this book compared to in The Dark Artifices in my opinion... I'm not gonna expand on it cus ain't nobody got time for that but like, I enjoyed how she wove Persian poetry and tales into the story and the way in which she writes Cordelia and Alistair. They're not caricatures of Persian people but rather multi-faceted beings who also happen to be Persian and I appreciate that. Also, Alistair and Thomas and Anna and Ariadne were just so fun and interesting to read as coupbles but also as individuals. She really higlighted diversity in a very natural manner. All I need is a hijabi character and I’ll die a happy woman lmao.

The level of META man like the references to Classics and art (I swear, she might have compared Matthew to angels out of Caravaggio AND Rosetti AND Boticelli paintings and I Am Living For It) and just all the quotes from holy books and shit omg I love it here like you really feel catapulted into the time period, she draws reference to external art and philosophy so well and I feel like she upped the notch on it in this book (didn’t know that was possible but it was the prose is BEAUTIFUL, archaic, but not pretentiously so). No, like the characters live in their OWN worlds of literature and art and history in the way we are living in THEIRS. They quote Wilde and Milton while we'll quote Clare. It's awesome.

This is an unusually structuralist take even from me but: I like the way the milieu social of the book, i.e., the high society Edwardian circles and their values, have a direct influence on the plot. James and Cordelia got married because society’s values essentially forced them to, not a demon. Cordelia abandons Jamie at the end of Iron because her shame as a woman in society and fear for her reputation made her, not a demon. Thomas and Alistair can't be together solely because of how Alistair tarnished the reputation of the Fairchilds and Lightwoods by using the horror of infidelity against them. Issues relating to marriage, gender roles, etc, stemming DIRECTLY from the time period rule the sequence of events to the same degree as the epic fantasy aspects (demons, Princes of Hell, the lore itself) do and I LOVE that dear God above.

OKAY THE GOOD SHIT LET US TALK ABOUT CHARACTERS AND SHIPS (N.B. but imma discuss Matthew and the Fairstairs situation separately below this portion):

Alistair's redemption arc: No, cus Alistair's redemption arc is honestly amazing. He really did change and it's not like his betterment as a person was linked to any one heroic deed but rather he simply decided he wanted to be better especially for his family and he decided to become a proper protective son, a caring brother, and an amiable friend. He fully owned up to his Malfoy tendencies and apologized without expecting forgiveness. He shows how he cares in the little ways and omg it's so sweet and tender. I really do want him to love himself now and be embraced by Matthew especially and the rest of the Thieves.

Dawg Lucie and Jesse are so funny to me like it's so hilarious how this girl fell in love with a whole ass ghost that no one else knows about like HHAHA. Are Lucie and Jesse my ult ship ever? Nah, but it's nothing to do with Clare, it's just that their relationship happened pretty quick and feels quite like something epicly romantic that Lucie herself would write. I just like slow burn and friends-to-lovers the most from Clare. To be honest part of me just wanted Lucie to not have a romantic arc all together but like, it's all good, I'm not complaining.

Okay Grace- like yooooooooooo I never hated her yunno. She has been abused and isolated all her life. It's not that she is a bad person, but rather that she does not know what being a person even entails. Can't even say she's a “doll” of a person cus she's never even been pampered like one by her family. I really started understanding her motivations since when they gave us her half-childhood with Jesse. I want better for her but cmon can she REALLY be saved???

GRACE X CHRISTOPHER *pretends to be shocked*... Okay, sometime in the middle of the Dark Artifices series some big brain put together a very thorough family tree of the families and like, it clearly showed that Grace and Christopher got married so like, lmfaooooo, I knew this was coming one way or another, but the journey to this ship is more important than the destination. Like in a way Christopher is such a cute baby lamb that it makes sense he'd end up being immune to her Grace-ness when he's just a cute little Einstein boiii. Like this is just so funny to me cus he's so oblivious to social conventions while she makes the milieu social her entire life so OFC it's gonna work. Like, this is such a worlds-colliding trope like just Give It To Me.

James and Grace - aw mannn Jamie just had me fricking wanting to hit a wall every two seconds cus like yooooooo every single time I think he and Cordelia are gonna stop being emotionally-constipated spouses, Jamie says some kinda shit like "omg me and Daisy are just friends uwu" like DO I NEED TO HIT YOU?????????? See I can't blame him for not slamming the door on Grace's face even tho he totes should- Jamie is so cerebral and kind that even if Grace wasn't using the enchantment on him, I think he would always be soft for her even if it isn't in a romantic way. There's just so much miscommunication cus like he said "Thank God" when she broke off the engagement with Charles and lowkey embraced her but it also wasn't his fault cus it wasn't even romantic BUT OFC IT LOOKED HORRIBLE TO CORDELIA like James literally never told the woman at least once that he loved her so OFC she thought she was back to square one with him dear God above what a mess. Not his fault, but she DID set down one rule for him: don’t cheat with Grace. And yeah even tho he hasn’t properly cheated, it must FEEL horrible to her cus she’s just been enduring the pain of their unrequeted love for so long :((

See imma just say it but if Cordelia thought that James didn't love Grace then she def would have confessed to him about her feelings right but like James, on the other hand, was delaying his own romantic confession cus he was BEING EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED and I can't even say the bracelet was solely to blame cus like my boi was just being so difficult omg I believe he should be lightly spanked by his three parents aka Will, Tessa and Jem *cries*.

Cordelia is such a MOM like she's so mature and stable and her self-preservation instinct? OFF THE CHARTS I love this woman like James definitely treated her well as a hubby but like I JUST WANTED HER TO HAVE CLOSURE ABOUT SOMETHING and boy oh boy she did get that closure she got it good but not from the person she expected in the LEAST *hehe* *pelican screeching*... like Lucie was being sus with the whole ghost business and James was being just, quite a case, dealing with Grace and Belial right and I don't blame them at all for their secrecy and shit but her FATHER DIED and her friends were hiding a lot from her so in a way she turned to Alistair for help but he could only do so much cus of his own pain (she couldn't even talk to her mom cus she's pregnant and she doesn't wanna stress her right) and then there was this emotional block between her and Jamie, Lucie was often absent and conspiring with the dead... the last person remaining was HIM (imma discuss this soon), but yeah my heart just went OUT to her cus she's tryna save herself and her family and she just doesn't know what to do. That's why I love the way her mom told her to stop holding herself back for others and live her own life. Like Cordelia grew on me so much cus in Gold she undoubtedly was a strange Elizabeth Bennet-wallflower hybrid and I... do not usually get attached to wallflowers but in Iron I feel like I finally understood that she was just tryna be unproblematic and self-preserving all along and nottt put her family and friends in a tough situation.... she reminds me of my mom personality-wise so yeah I’m totally rooting for her now that her *situation* in the past seems clearer.

Anna, Thomas and Matthew are such a SQUAD lmfaooooo like united in their gayness they'd be so unstoppable.

Will and Tessa are the most in-love of all the in-loves in this story and I respect that so much.

I lost a year to my life every time the romance between James and Cordelia got cockblocked. Like they were MARRIED and I thought they were gonna at least sleep next to each other at least once BUT NO James couldn't take a hint omg I'm actually gonna eat my fist and sob (but in retrospect, I think this serves a bigger purpose in terms of the narrative structure i.e. the interruption of all the spicy James and Cordelia action serves a bigger purpose which I think brings me to my next section, *exhale*)

Welcome to the Matthew Fairchild Enthusiast Club (this section is me talking out loud; it makes no sense):

bitch.

LISTEN TO ME LISTEN WELL I LOVE THIS BOY SO MUCH IMMA SCREAM I REALLY AM GONNA SCREAM MY FIST IS LITERALLY IN MY MOUTH *BACKFLIPS OFF THE ROOF WITH LANA DEL REY PLAYING*

Okay like where to BEGIN I think the Shadowhunter boy who I'm most attracted to is Julian while the one I love the most is Will but I think I see myself in Matthew the most. Like ever since that first story where the Thieves all met at the Academy then got expelled, I think that I just KNEW Matthew was destined to be epic. Plus the whole Wilde obsession? I’m no libertine myself but I just love his chaos and passion for life.

NO CUS HE'S SO WITTY AND SWEET AND EPIC AND YET SO SECRETIVE AND DEAR GOD ABOVE AHHHHH WILL HE SURPASS JULIAN FOR ME??? Ion even know but this is just sodjsgdwsdygyegydgef

Hear me out but I said after finishing Gold last March that I wanted this book to be Matthew's healing arc right so halfway into the book when I realized that we weren't getting all that good healing arcing I was confused just cus I thought it seemed natural to address all of his alcohol issues and sadness by now. LITTLE DID I KNOW CASSIE WAS SETTING UP A WHOLE OTHER ARC WITH HIM THAT I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED WTH.

At first I thought Matthew didn't have feelings for anyone at all, and if he DID develop feelings unexpectedly, I fricking thought that maybe he's catching feelings for James, if anyone??? I mean, I did have some suspicions about Matthew from the get-go: like he's so secretive and as readers we think we know everything there is to know about him since we were all privy to the truth potion incident in his short story right BUT NO I GOT PLAYED AND I DESERVE IT SO BADDDDDD.

Listen I hadn't shipped him and Cordelia simply because I never thought it in the realm of possibility but it MAKES SENSE as a ship... think about it: he never says what he feels, he flirts with her like he does with EVERYONE, he is kind to her in the way he is with EVERYONE. Really, Matthew is shippable with everyone, doesn’t matter if they’re taken cus that’s just what his Matthewnes allows for ya feel. There is such a beautiful irony that CORDELIA herself did not see this coming. Even the little teasers and hints in Gold have only NOW started making sense to me likejhss. I just felt like the hints in book 1 did not indicate to me that Matthew really harbored real romantic feelings for Daisy. I thought he was upset that James and Cordelia were being fakes, not a developing CRUSH on the woman fgs.

Not to mention that you usually sense a ship building when the emotional connection or sexual tension between the characters is made clearer but to me their FRIENDSHIP grew right but it didn’t feel like Cordelia was thought that she liked him or he liked her so that means me and Cordelia are clowns *together* 😤

Okay I was lowkey having SUSPICIONS but I immediately shut them down right... like firstly when he took her to the White Horse in his car and she went OFF and OFF and off about how she felt free for the first time? I thought Cassie was just tryna develop Cordelia's self-liberation arc through Matthew there. Heck, I didn't even think ANYTHING of it when Matthew confession to Cordelia about the "truth potion" incident at all cus I was like they're FRIENDS??? BUT now it's adding up now...

See when they were at the inn place and he was telling her that she doesn't in the least seem like a 100 year-old married woman? I was like hmmmm he's so sweet but why did Cassie phrase it like that like??? When Cordelia later reiterated that she thought Matthew's flirting was “meaningless”?? I was like hmmm kinda SUS tho. And then when he and James had their fight over the way Jamie kissed Grace like again I thought he was just like? ion know? mad at James for it but I didn't think he was in LOVE with Cordelia??? So I immediately put aside my slight suspicions. The probability that he had a crush on James at that point seemed more likely to me.

BUT THEN it started hitting me that every time Matthew drank, even before he explained his issue with the truth potion, that Cordelia would note it, she would worry about him, she would think of her father which seemed so poetic to me, history repeating itself and all that but this time you can FIX it??? Yeah, but again I didn't think the L WORD would be involved man???

Now imma sound like a delulu shipper here but it just makes sense they would develop feelings logically- reason being that it definitely is possible based on the way Cassie set up the story, like there's a combination of little “friend things” that can turn this into a proper ship: Matthew rescues Cordelia in the ballroom when Grace captures James' attention in Gold. Cordelia sees her father in Matthew all the time but knows now she has a chance to be there for him in the way she couldn't have been there for Elias (classic “history repeats itself” trope, she doesn't want Matthew drinking in Paris like dhshghdfhdhch). Cordelia tastes freedom for the first time when driving with Matthew. Matthew caught James and Cordelia making out in the room and was pissed but not even HE properly knew why then??? Umm, when she thinks James is forreal cheating with Grace on her she subconsciously goes to Matthew??? I also found it funny just how every intimate marital moment between her and James got interrupted somehow. Like, it's as if the narrative is just a living force REFUSING to let James and Cordelia as a ship be consecrated. Heck, every time Matthew is scantily clothed Cordelia notes it. LITTLE CRUMBS I TELL YOU LITTLE CRUMBS.

I tell you when Cordelia showed up to Matthew's flat I thought they were gonna f*ck as friends but I got SOMETHING EVEN BETTER SOMEHOW

THEY ARE GOING TO PARIS LA BELLE EPOQUE PARIS THE PARIS OF DREAMS AND ART LIKE??? FRICKKKKK I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING AT ALLLL MAN? I deadass thought the story would be restrained to the UK but like it MAKES SENSE the trope subversion MAKES SENSE.

“In Paris, with you, I will not need to forget.” SHITTRGEGGGDG

BUT CORDELIA LOVES JAMES TOO LIKE I CAN'T DENY THAT... where are we GOING with this like Matthew wouldn't lie about his feelings and yet Cassie wouldn't give us Matthew and Cordelia crumbs to only end it in the next book immediately for her to just ditch him for James. I mean she was clearly holding back on fleshing out James and Cordelia as a ship for this but to WHAT END??? Daisy feels wild and free with Matthew and she feels warm at home warm with James. I can’t advocate for the sinking of ANY ship here.

Imma say what we're all thinking: Is she gonna give us a Will x Jem x Tessa type situation where Cordelia gets both of them cus I'm not strong enough for this but I also think it'd be really funny if James gets a surprise bi awakening in the next books and then we get POLY even tho this would never happen, it’s actually impossible, because of the whole parabatai thing.

Listen I ship Cordelia and Matthew much more than Cordelia and James, not that I dislike James in any way tho. It's just: Matthew is so unrestrained and she's so composed. They seem like an unlikely pair so it makes sense that they hit harder for me. James and Cordelia have such similar personalities but I ALSO don't ship James with Grace at all so like?? Poly would be... ideal... but it can’t happen especially cus they are fricking parabatai... a Will-Jem-Tessa situation seems more likely but mannnn ion know what to expect. I just want FAIRSTAIRS to have their moment in Paris. I mean James and Matthew clearly don't abhor each other for this.

Take everything I say with several grains of salt, take everything I say with the whole Dead Sea actually, cus I damn well know that Matthew is so flirty and whatnot that I’d have shipped him with anyone in their little circle but now that she set him up with Cordelia it all feels so right?? I have wanted this man in a good relationship since he walked onto the page in Nothing But Shadows so-

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I can't believe Cassia duped me like this omg, Matthew is gonna have his healing arc in Paris with Cordelia by his side like- THIS IS ALL I HAVE WANTED AND SO MUCH MORE. Question to yall btw: are you all as surpised at Fairstairs as me or did yall see it coming all along like smart people? Am I a lone clown? 🥺

BRUH okay criticisms of CC?:

Lmfao a part of me feels like I GOTTA say something bad about CC or the book but honestly I have no objective complaints about it as of now. Am I saying that it’s the PEAK of Young Adult literature and Urban Fantasy? I mean, I make no such claims tbh. I’m not here to be critical when I read as a hobby and when CC’s writing makes me happy regardless of how flawed some people see it.

Okay what next?

So like I’m excited for the adult high fantasy she’s releasing in the fall and whatever other works she might be releasing outside of Chain of Gold within the Chronicles.

As for TLH itself? Man I’m just VIBING like I suspect I will reread Chain of Iron soon and maybe one of the anthologies just because I am happy that this series actually happened after me waiting like 6 years for it when it was just a concept: a Dickensian retelling filled with poetry and culture and history and the conventions I so loved in TID at age 12. This is all I been wanting tbh. I’m just enjoying watching this series come to fruition for it to inspire and transform me in some way. I feel like in a way my coming-of-age aligns with that of these specific characters yet I ALSO feel like I raised Jamie since infancy. Wack.

MATTHEW AND CORDELIA IN FRANCE LA BELLE EPOQUE TO BE EXACT IMMA CRY I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING AND AHHHHHH. ALSO WILL AND JAMIE GOING TO CORNWALL TO GET LUCIE AND MAYBE BOND I LOVE WILL. HE WAS ONE OF MY DILF AWAKENINGS AT AGE 12 AND NOW HE’S HERE AGAIN IMMA CRY. I WANNA SEE MATTHEW GET HAPPY. AHHH.

Ending with a fun quote: “In the wise words of someone or other, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Maurice.” 😉

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chibivesicle · 4 years ago

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Golden Kamuy chapters 247 & 248; Asirpa’s self doubt and how to catch a killer

With the realignment of the factions, yet again, Asirpa is back with Hijikata and his ‘lofty’ goal to establish the Republic of Ezo.

Hijikata leverages as much control as possible by only allowing Asirpa to look at his collection of tattooed skins. The chapter starts with her inner dialogue as she examines various skins and outlines that there is a rule that is shared between ones that are confirmed to belong to a convict.

She importantly highlights skins that are on still living people as it is the best proof that they were indeed tattooed by Wilk.

She then continues to examine ones that were verified to be legitimate from convicts that Hijikata skinned himself; Sekiya and Youichirou. All of the paper copies as well are correct. Things then become interesting as she turns to another skin.

Hijikata explains that it was the skin that Ogata found during the showdown in Barato. She then immediately questions the authenticity of the skin because Ogata procured it on his own.

She asks Hijikata if he knew who this skin could have belonged to but he’s unable to confirm the convict. Therefore, Asirpa thinks that Ogata’s skin is untrustworthy.

This is a huge change in attitude by Asirpa towards Ogata. It is clear that when he lied to her about Sugimoto on the ice floe, she yelled at him that she couldn’t trust anything about him. He went from someone she could trust and rely on to a complete liar.

I can only see this as the influence of Sugimoto on her in regard to Ogata. She’s watched Sugimoto lie to people all the time, but she’s never doubted him. Yet, now anything Ogata has done is 100% suspect.

But as she analyzes the skin, it follows the unspecified rule.

Therefore, Ogata did indeed procure a legitimate skin though finding the hiding place by lighting the fire and freeing the poor son from his oppressive parents.

She questions the skin that Kantaro got since it does not follow the rule but Hijikata thinks it is real since Tsurumi was after it as well. She’s unsure of the skin as it doesn’t follow the rule but she at least can read one of the kanji now. But she’s confused as it can be also read as “u” contributing to the code.

Hijikata thinks the skins that Ogata and Kantarou are legit. Based on things, it seems Asirpa should go with her gut on the skins and really not worry about the identity of the person who acquired the skins, it is just a detail that will bias her opinion of it.

Hijikata assumes all of the skins that Ariko delivered to them are fake. That is thinking too simplistically in my own opinion b/c it would be too obvious. However, that is enough to confuse Asirpa and fill her with doubts as she assumes that Hijikata is telling the truth about something that he can’t actually confirm.

Since, some of the skins follow her rule. This contradicts Hijikata’s own hypothesis.

This means that she panics as she thinks it can’t be correct and perhaps her father’s name is not the key. Since the fakes follow her rule. Honestly, I’m a bit saddened that she doesn’t consider the option that Tsurumi threw real skins in the mix, since he took all of the ones that Sugimoto had in the first place.

I think that Hijikata is manipulating her on purpose. He wants her to break and just give him the information he’s looking for. Obviously, Ogata is not Hijikata’s favorite person, but he has enough reason to believe some of the things that Ogata says, since he’s clearly more knowledgeable about Tsurumi than he is.

So, Hijikata goes for the highest pressure tactics by stating Ogata told him that she knows the key to the code. Her panicked response is more than enough to give him the means to push harder.

She’s nervous and anxious and he wants the code. Since he can read all of the kanji he certainly can figure it out.

So at that point, she lies. She has come to doubt her own rule and wants to see all of the skins and know which ones are the fakes before she will trust in herself.

I’m sure Hijikata knows that she’s lying and that she knows the code. But since she hasn’t told anyone this, there is just a bunch of men who know that she knows but they don’t actually know what it is.

There are then two pages of Tsurumi heading to Sapporo by horse and we get the confirmation what I had already suspected. That Tsurumi mixed in fake and real skins to try to confuse Hijikata’s team. So, Asirpa is right, but based on her reaction in this chapter, she’s going to be unsure of her confidence in herself and her ability to decode the skins.

The chapter’s action then turns to all of the boys getting wasted. I do not understand at all what is going on with Shiraishi and Sugimoto discussing Vasily - Shiraishi is polite enough to inquire about him while Sugimoto thinks he’ll be a magical Ogata repellent. Sugimoto, do you even understand Ogata? Nope, b/c Vasily certainly won’t keep him away, he’ll likely just be aware of him now more than ever.

We see again the dis-jointed nature of the group, Ariko sits alone, Sugimoto and Shiraishi are together, Young Kantarou hangs back with Toni, Kadokura and Kirawus are close and Boutarou and Ushiyama are off to the side.

Boutarou asks others what they will do with the gold and their answer aren’t unusual, Ushiyama just wants to fight and Kantarou wants to raise sheep and make lots of money but Shiraishi gives him a hard time. He is rather hesitant with his reply. Again, there is an odd interplay between these two indicating that they know each other a bit better, he seems almost surprised by Boutarou’s question and he replies with what he already does . . .

We then get a very thoughtful look from him as he reflects on what he wants. I’m sure our pirate is watching him closely.

Asirpa approaches the isolated and socially distant Ariko to ask him about his father also being killed in regards to the gold. Ariko tells her that he had no idea that his father would be the type of person to be involved in fighting and collecting the gold. She then shows the coin to him as she tells him that she does not believe her father killed the other Ainu. He seems nervous as he looks a the coin - I’m sure he realized something here.

But, we don’t get any info other than stating that Asirpa is truly strong. Ah man, what will happen to Ariko caught between, Tsurumi, Kikuta and Hijikata?

Nagakura then tries to get all the boys to calm down and go to bed and Sugimoto rages back at him drunkenly.

Usami is out trying to find our killer with his ‘magic’ hand but it is failing him. Thankfully, our journalist is investigating and he is spotted by Usami, who is getting desperate for a break in the case to not let Tsurumi down. It is clear that the reporter has figured it out and his conversation with himself is loud enough to attract Usami’s attention.

So of course, he’s in trouble based on Usami’s known skill set.

Chapter 248 starts off with Usami clobbering our morally questionable reporter and the two of them immediately recognize each other.

He needs the info and of course he’s too vain to immediately give up the info for his own story. Usami begins to beat the crap out of him as he wants the map. He even tries to eat it to prevent Usami getting the map. Usami isn’t smooth though when he gives away where he’s from and who he’s working for by using the pistol. This is likely a mistake on Usami’s part as Hijikata will now know that the 7th is in Sapporo perusing our convict.

He’s able to escape and hide while also tearing up the map. He knows that he needs to relay this info to Hijikata and he manages to evade capture/horrible pain at Usami’s hands.

“Team” Hijikata is out the next day questioning as many different prostitutes as possible to get more information. Some think it is a government official trying to target illegal prostitution while the group try to tell women to stay off the streets tonight.

We also learn that the convict is humming the tune ‘Greensleeves’ and has sharp knives and of course a tattoo. There are some funny bits as the group talk to women and figure out a plan.

Kadokura is holding on to Kirawus’s hand to not fall over as he looks uncomfortable. Ushiyama tells the women to stay home as they are charmed by him and Nagakura is with a nervous Ariko while he says all of the targeted women were looking for customers while streetwalking.

This is a little bit of humor that seems more fitting that the previous chapter’s drunken Sugimoto antics. As time runs out the group is unsure what to do, but Nagakura of course finds Ishikawa our obnoxious reporter in rough shape.

He was able to let them know that the 7th is after them and he was beaten up also by the 7th and he pathetically hid in a ditch for which he decided to strip down to his underwear for? Okay. The good news is he has figured out that the killer is copying Jack the Ripper and he’s figured out the next murder location! As his original map was torn up, he got a map of London and used it to overlay with Sapporo. When they compared the London map with the Sapporo map, they are able to determine the next location in reference to the local church. The brewery!

We also get the face of our killer finally!

And he appears to not be Japanese, unless we see otherwise; he’s got a fancy mustache with light colored eyes (though Hijikata also has them) But based on the size of his nose, I would say a foreigner.

I wasn’t not thrilled by the ending where our pervy reporter is called out for his hopes to score a meeting with a famous geisha in Tokyo . . .

Honestly, I’ve been stuck with meta writing as I’ve been distracted by other things and also the fact that it is dwelling on topics that don’t really interest me much. . . . I’m really ready for this arc to be over and to move forward with the great confrontation of a few of our parties.

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #ASIRPA #sugimoto saichi #Shiraishi Yoshitake #hijikata toshizo #nagakura shinpachi #ushiyama tatsuma #Usami Tokishige #ariko rikimatsu #kadokura #kirawus #kantarou #Toni Anji #boutarou the pirate

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cathygeha · 4 years ago

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REVIEW

The Hate Project by Kris Ripper

The Love Study #2

Adored this Carina Adores romance! It had me smiling, caring, chuckling, and hoping for the best for two rather prickly characters. I will say that the story grew on me and I was not enamored at all by the end of the first chapter BUT by the end of the second chapter I was invested and wanted to know what would happen.

What I liked:

* The slow build of the relationship

* That the two men were not “easy” to love from the first moment you met them

* The group of friends that go by a name that would be censored if I typed it in her…they are there for one another no matter what.

* Being able to read and understand this book without having read book one in the series first

* Stepping into a world that is not my own

* Oscar: anxiety plagued, quirky, caring, organized, interesting, a person that as explained helped me understand better someone I know.

* Jack: bright, cautious, caring, loves his grandmother, a person with potential that is tapped in this story.

* That both characters became more and more real as I read, I was invested in them and their HEA was something I truly wanted them to achieve.

* Evelyn: Jack’s grandmother is a character and oh so lovable!

* The way the hoarding aspect of the story was handled

* Finding out what “The Secret” was

* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:

* Having to say goodbye to the characters when the book ended…

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Adores for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

The Hate Project by Kris Ripper is available in eBook, trade paperback and audiobook formats on April 27th!

BOOK DESCRIPTION

This arrangement is either exactly what they need--or a total disaster

Oscar is a grouch.

That’s a well-established fact among his tight-knit friend group, and they love him anyway.

Jack is an ass.

Jack, who’s always ready with a sly insult, who can’t have a conversation without arguing, and who Oscar may or may not have hooked up with on a strict no-commitment, one-time-only basis. Even if it was extremely hot.

Together, they’re a bickering, combative mess.

When Oscar is fired (answering phones is not for the anxiety-ridden), he somehow ends up working for Jack. Maybe while cleaning out Jack’s grandmother’s house they can stop fighting long enough to turn a one-night stand into a frenemies-with-benefits situation.

The house is an archaeological dig of love and dysfunction, and while Oscar thought he was prepared, he wasn’t. It’s impossible to delve so deeply into someone’s past without coming to understand them at least a little, but Oscar has boundaries for a reason—even if sometimes Jack makes him want to break them all down.

After all, hating Jack is less of a risk than loving him…

The Love Study

Book 1: The Love Study (available now!)

Book 2: The Hate Project (available April 27)

Book 3: The Life Revamp (coming November 30)

Add The Hate Project to your Goodreads!

EXCERPT

I’d never had friends until college. And even then, I wouldn’t have had friends except that Ronnie and I were freshman year roommates (before she transitioned, obviously), and she was friends with Dec and Mase and Mia, and they came around a lot and just sort of looped me in. It happened slowly over that first year and suddenly I had…friends.

What’s that thing with snake poison, where you take it in small doses every day to grow your immunity to it? That’s what happened with the Motherfuckers. Eventually I built up a tolerance to their, like, happiness and friendliness and optimism. Now my brain just recognizes them as a part of me. The same thing probably happened to them: eventually they built up a tolerance to my moods and freak-outs.

The most important thing you need to know about my friends is that they’re all way better people than I am. You can tell because they threw me a pity party. There’s the aforementioned Declan and Sidney, who got together during the commission of a video series called The Love Study on Sidney’s YouTube channel. Then there’s Mia and Ronnie, disgustingly married to each other. And the last of the official Motherfuckers is Mason, who once tried to get married (to Dec) and was left at the altar (by Dec). Which was awkward for a while, but now it’s fine. Though of all of us Mase is the one who wants a white picket fence and 2.5 kids.

Sounds fucking awful to me, but to each his own, I don’t judge, whatever floats your life raft, et cetera.

Since I didn’t want to get my impotent rage-slash-panic germs on anyone, I took up a seat in the corner and didn’t leave it except to use the bathroom and acquire victuals. By which I mean vegan, gluten-free, cauliflower-based pizza that turned out to be delicious. It used to be that my friends had an informal rotation for who’d sit with me, trading off for the duration of the social event, but that was before Jack. Jack was new to the group. Dec had collected him from work, and for reasons I didn’t understand (I would have suspected sexual favors if I didn’t know better), he kept mostly showing up to drinks with the Motherfuckers. And was now also on the invite list for ad hoc gatherings to celebrate catastrophic job loss.

Jack and I had no other setting with each other than arguing. Since neither of us was all that nice (and everyone else in the Motherfuckers was very nice), it worked out. He thinks he knows everything, I definitely know everything, and even though for the most part we would arrive at the same point from different angles, we spent most of our fights poking at each other’s angles to prove they were incorrect.

I probably shouldn’t have been surprised when it turned out bickering was actually foreplay.

Since the party was in my honor I was obligated to stay through dinner, and I did. In my corner. Weathering the well-intended reassurances of my friends was hard enough, but when Dec brought out one of those quirky adult card games where kittens exploded I had to get the hell out of there. Too much goodness on a bad day.

Jack apparently had a similar thought. It wasn’t the first time we’d made our escape at the same moment. This time, instead of parting ways on the sidewalk with a lukewarm we know each other through friends wave, both of us stopped.

He stopped a second before I did, which I immediately decided made him more desperate. It wasn’t charitable, but I believe in keeping track of who has the advantage in any encounter. Even a one-off.

“I live ten minutes away,” he said.

“Good for you.”

His lips twisted a little, from not-smile to not-impressed. “This is a pity fuck, Oscar. Take it or leave it.” With that he turned and made for a black two-door something-something on the other side of the street.

I hesitated. For about five seconds. But following up a pity party with a pity fuck sounded about right. “Just to clarify,” I called as I caught up with him, “I don’t do relationships.”

He hit a button that unlocked his car. “Just to clarify, I’m not offering one.”

Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories featuring beloved romance tropes, where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.

A new Carina Adores title is available each month in trade paperback, ebook and audiobook formats.

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Buy The Hate Project by Kris Ripper Links

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kris Ripper lives in the great state of California and zir pronouns are ze/zir. Kris shares a converted garage with a kid, can do two pull-ups in a row, and can write backwards. (No, really.) Ze has been writing fiction since ze learned how to write, and boring zir stuffed animals with stories long before that.

Connect with the Author

Website: https://krisripper.com/

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Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kris-Ripper

#Kris Ripper #The Love Study 2 #NetGalley #Harlequin #Carina Adores #romance #RomCom #Anxiety #Frienemies #M/M romance #LGBTQIA

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namelessarcher · 5 years ago

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Gilgamesh (Caster) | Is that a mistletoe?

Chaldea has been absolutely lavished and furnished with ever semblance of Christmas decorations possible ever since the first Christmas event occurred some time in early November. It was early November for god’s sake.

You sighed as you tried to untangle yourself from the amount of garland that has been strung around in your room. The younger child-like Servants have decorated it and filled it to their hearts content after spending a good hour or so pleading for your permission. It was hard to say no to them when they were so enthusiastic about it. And yet a part of you couldn’t help but regret it a tad bit. After all, when your entire room is like this… it’s really hard for you to walk around, let alone get out of your room. As soon as you manage to escape your room and open the door, you nearly groaned in frustration upon seeing the doorways leading to other rooms in Chaldea.

“Are those mistletoes…?”

“Unfortunately.”

You turned around in confusion, only to come face to face with Mash. She gave you a small smile and answered, “It looks like every room has a mistletoe hanging from the doorway except the command room. Da Vinci immediately took care of that situation.”

You absentmindedly nodded and muttered, “How are we supposed to get through Chaldea safely if it’s this bad? I don’t want… I don’t want to just go around like a k-k-kissing fiend.” Saying the word itself felt like taboo to you, and you can't stop yourself from blushing at the thought of it. Sure, there were many handsome and beautiful Servants that were now a part of Chaldea, but the thought of interacting with any of them in that sort of way…

Nope. Don’t go there. But… You paused and couldn’t help but think of one particular servant. The blush on your cheeks grew a deeper shade of red and you frantically attempted to chase those thoughts away. Do not entertain those thoughts, you fool. You shake your head in an attempt to get rid of the strange thoughts entering your mind. You glanced around and asked, “They aren’t around right?”

Mash nodded in confirmation and gave you a quick thumbs up, “I made sure to keep them busy elsewhere, Senpai! You should be safe to make it to the dining hall.”

“Thanks Mash!” you shouted as you made a mad dash to the dining hall. You really didn’t want to get involved in any of the strange shenanigans that could possibly happen from the mistletoes scattered across the doorways of Chaldea. You stutter to a stop though upon finding the dining hall doors infested with not one, but two mistletoes.

“Seriously?”

“It’s just decorations, now move aside.”

You turned back and upon seeing Caster Gilgamesh you sighed in relief. He cocked an eyebrow in your direction at the response. “What?”

“I was trying to avoid certain Servants, I’m glad it’s you and not them.”

“Is that so?” Gilgamesh drawled. The two of you blocked the entrance to the dining hall as you both decided to have a conversation there. Gilgamesh crossed his arms across his chest and asked, “Why do you think so?”

“Why?” you dumbly parroted. Your brows furrowed in confusion and you stated, “Why wouldn’t I be relieved? How would you feel when you have stalkers like Kiyohime?”

“Well then, do you fear having your lips stolen away by someone?”

“Of course I do! I’d rather have it saved for someone else I like… you know?” you weakly answered, and you couldn’t help but feel butterflies in your stomach. It was kind of embarrassing speaking about these kinds of things with your servants - especially with Gilgamesh.

“Hmm, I guess there is such a simple way of thinking about it,” he shrugged and asked, “Well, are you going to move, or should I force you to?”

“Ah, well, go ahead first,” you stepped aside, and Gilgamesh smirked, “Not going to come in with me?”

“What- I mean- Gil look- There’s mistletoes and-”

“Excuse us!”

You didn’t turn around in time to see that Nursery Rhyme, Jeanne de Arc Alter Santa Lily, and Jack the Ripper were actually using a food cart to travel around Chaldea. You felt a hand on your forearm as they pulled you away from being trampled. You were expecting to get slammed against the wall with the amount of force they pulled you with. But instead, you found your back against something a bit softer than a wall.

Was your back support sturdy? Yes.

Was your back support soft? Strangely yes.

Was your back support warm? Even stranger, yes.

You slowly turned back around to find Gilgamesh being the support to cushion your impact after that forceful pull. He had a slightly amused look on his visage and he asked, “Getting run over my children now, Master?”

“Huh? N-No! Of course not!” you attempted to take a step back, but instead found yourself face to face with the King of Uruk. There was a smug smirk on his face and he casually asked, “Where are you rushing off to? You haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“I, I kind of lost my appetite after that,” you lied. You averted your gaze because this was the one situation you were hoping not to happen. As you averted your gaze away from his handsome face, you felt a blush creep onto your face as soon as you realized your predicament. Gilgamesh followed your gaze and teasingly asked, “Is that a mistletoe?”

“Gil don’t you dare.”

“But it’s tradition, Master.”

“I’m not ready for this!”

“It’s a simple kiss,” Gilgamesh teased, but upon seeing how flustered you were, he sighed and instead decided for another option. He gently pressed his lips against your forehead. It was a fleeting kiss, but a kiss nonetheless. Your eyes widened in surprise, and you felt as though your cheeks were on fire. The smugness on his face never did completely go away, and yet the hint of fondness was present in the way he gently patted your head.

Though the gentle affection he showed you was only temporary before he not-so-lightly flicked your forehead and walked past you. It might not have been an actual kiss, but Gilgamesh truly did make your heart skip a beat or two, and he definitely made you question if you could get through the rest of today safely.

#gilgamesh caster #fate grand order #fgo #santa jenn delivery 2019 #mod jenn #drabbles

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deltaengineering · 5 years ago

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Fall Anime 2019 Part 4: also, he has a gun for a head

Beastars

So here’s the CG anime that everyone for some reason decided way in advance would be the best show of the season, more or less by default. I was very skeptical of this for a multitude of reasons. First of all, that is a bad name for a show and you can’t convince me otherwise. It’s actually even worse because you’re supposed to write it in all caps, but I refuse. Second, it has a terribly on the nose conceit in which all sorts of animals live together in a high school setting and it’s all metaphorical ‘n shit. The main character is a wolf but get this, he’s actually all sensitive and quiet! Yeah, this is definitely rated D for Deep. And finally it’s by Orange, the CG studio that got an inordinate amount of acclaim for making Houseki no Kuni, the show that everyone thinks looks great and finally made CG anime worthwhile (actual real fact: HnK does not look great most of the time and CG anime was worthwhile well before it).

But enough about my preconceptions since Beastars is... pretty good, actually. If you ignore the setting, which is indeed terribly on the nose. And there’s not much else to say about the story so far besides it. However, it looks significantly better than Houseki no Kuni because it actually has really good character animation throughout instead of a one-minute action scene with flashy spinny camera tricks every other episode. The directing’s strong too, even if the show conspicuously mainly consists of obvious manga panels. I’m still not too hot on the animal stuff but the general writing seems to be sufficiently competent it would work simply on a character level. So I don’t love it, but it seems solid enough to see if it goes somewhere with its “Zootopia but also Beverly Hills 90210 but also they eat each other sometimes″ plot.

Rifle is Beautiful

Remember the whole “anime about some assorted anime girls joining a club doing an oddly specific activity” thing? This is another one of those, and now it’s about air rifle sports shooting. Except it’s not about air rifle sports shooting because that’s apparently way too violent, so they use rifles that look like exactly like air rifles but are actually based on lasers or really bright flashlights (they can’t keep their bullshit straight between scenes, sorry) instead. I just don’t think “girls doing activities” anime should blatantly misrepresent their subject matter like that, you know? With the possible exception of idol anime that is, ain’t nobody who wants to hear about that shit. Apart from that it’s nothing special, so if you are really into air rifles and wish to watch an anime that’s not about those, knock yourself out. It goes through a whole “club needs 5 members” arc in the first half of the first episode, so I really can’t say where it goes next. Nowhere much, I would guess.

Oh right, there’s one more thing: They frequently render the bodies in CG and the heads in traditional drawings, and they do it every time when they’d actually have to draw a rifle otherwise. It’s a weird effect that I think I haven’t seen anywhere else before, and it’s not great but also not terrible. And it’s the most interesting thing about the entire show.

Kabukicho Sherlock

“Let’s take a bunch of public domain characters and put them into a hip modern setting” seems to be its own genre at the moment, and not only because the BBC did that with S. Holmes, Esq. already. Obviously this show is influenced by that (besides other public domain namedroppers like Bungou Stray Dogs), mostly in Watson and his relationship with Sherlock, but Sherlock-san is rather different here; he’s neither the classic Victorian bohemian nor the abrasive sociopath of the BBC version, and tends more towards a bumbling 90s pop culture version of autism and/or general wackiness here. These two are surrounded by a bunch of campy transvestites for some reason, and I’m not quite sure whether I’m supposed to find this particular stereotype offensive or empowering this week, but it sure is annoying. And it has the same character designer as Joker Game, so if you like chiseled, angular anime men, you’re in for a treat here - even if they tend to wear a lot of makeup and dresses sometimes. I don’t know man, it seems sort of okay-ish for the most part but it’s neither as funny as they think, nor as weird as they think, nor is the murder of the week intriguing at all. Oh yeah, he’s hunting noted public domain character Jack the Ripper. Because of course he is.

Shin Chuuka Ichiban!

I am told this is the sequel to episode 19 of a 52-episode anime TV show from 1997. Okay. I am also told to not dare watch this without the important setup therein, which makes me think I should pay less attention to what I’m told because understanding Shin Chuuka Ichiban and its backstory is not hard at all. Kid is superawesome cooking champion in ancient China and goes around clowning on lesser cooks, got it. It’s not a complicated setup and it’s not a complicated genre either: This seems to be mostly about sick shounen cooking duels. Besides the setting, the main difference between this and Shokugeki no Soma seems to be that SnS goes for ridiculous and Chuuka Ichiban goes for epic - which is to say that it fancies itself emotional as well. Apart from that it’s what you’d expect from a cooking shounen, big moves, big reactions, huge twists and so on. One notable thing is that this show looks really, really nice. Production I.G seems to be establishing a sideline in taking stuff from the 90s and updating it with smoother animation and shinier lighting, while keeping the overall look intact; They did it for Mahoujin Guru Guru, and this looks much the same. Still, I’m just fundamentally not really interested in what appears to be a very straightforward cooking shounen from the 90s.

Assassins Pride

Straight from the Department of Chuuni, we have this light novel masterpiece about a cool as fuck teenage assassin who teleports behind u and nothin personells fools all day. He then meets a princess he’s supposed to off but just kinda decides not to, probably because she seems to be smitten by his m’lady act. Now he has to use his sick skillz to keep them both alive. It’s awful and terrible and no good and also kind of adorable. This truly is the most 13 AND A HALF MOM years old anime in a while, and it’s not even isekai! The writing’s just so amateurish and corny you can’t help but smile when princesses exposit their backstory for no reason while being accosted by pumpkin monsters (without knowing that Awessassin McCooldude happens to be listening in, which is certainly convenient). Or when the episode ends with the man just reading the synopsis of the show out again, in case you were too fascinated by this plot to pay attention to what it’s about. Yeah I’m not going to watch this in a thousand years, but it sure made me chuckle. Your mileage may vary.

Mugen no Juunin - Immortal

Speaking of 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔢𝔡𝔤𝔢, another anime adaptation of Blade of the Immortal appeared! You know, the manga for the cultured and historically minded guro fan. The first episode of Blade of the Immortal runs with this and is an arthouse production that someone most definitely directed the shit out of. I don’t think I’ve seen this much directing since, well, Sarazanmai, but “Ikuhara amounts of directing” is pretty much the idea here. And most of the time it even works! The quickly edited, disorienting style gives episode 1 a feeling closer to horror than to a cool swordmen action show, and that really brings out the best in the material, which is grotesque splatter bordering on the comical - It’s somehow a better Junji Ito anime than the actual Junji Ito anime. I think it tries too hard in a few places, but at least it does try.

But then I watched the second episode and that one’s a fairly conventional splatter-comedy swordin’ anime. I am not at all pleased with this development. The third episode was better again and seemed to split the difference between 1 and 2, even if it mostly uses the tricky editing to save on effort in the action – I would much prefer actually readable fights and the wacky mannerisms in the more psychological stuff, thank you very much. Based on episode 1 I thought we might have something special here, but as of episode 3 I’d already merely call it pretty decent. I guess I’ll still stick with it but man, that’s a real bummer.

No Guns Life

No Guns Life is a neo-noir thriller about a guy who has a gun for a head. That’s fuckin rad and exactly the kind of silliness I am totally down for. He also has a gun for a hand, and there’s also some battle nun’s who carry revolvers with two cylinders, so in short I think the title is false advertising. This sounds very wacky (and it is), but it also takes its noir very seriously, down to details more wannabe neo-noirs tend to neglect (like being set right after a big war). The look and feel is pretty excellent, with sharp design and high-contrast artwork, and the music goes all in on the moody saxophone as you’d expect. And there’s some really adorable “look mom, I’m writing” stuff about how Man With Gun For A Head really “needs someone to pull his trigger” and so on (which is, as the astute reader might remember, at the back of his head). It feels like a throwback but then I can’t really think of many 80s/90s shows like this, so it’s actually more like the sort of faux-retro idea Trigger/Imaishi would come up with on a lark. Trigger/Imaishi would, of course, make a far worse anime out of it, so it’s all good. Well, it has some pacing problems and as always it’s a fine line between amusingly camp and not so amusingly camp anymore, but No Guns Life seems to have enough real qualities that it can probably stand on its own even when its conceptual gimmick eventually doesn’t suffice anymore. I give it a two gun’s up.

Hoshiai no Sora / Stars Align

And finally, here’s an anime about middle schooler softboys playing a tennis just as soft as themselves, while being henpecked by the elites on the girl’s team. This is not an “actual” sports anime though: for starters, it’s not based on some shounen manga and is an anime original with quite some staff pedigree instead. It’s also more of a character drama that already goes to some surprisingly real places by the end of episode 1, reminiscent of the recent and quite good Run with the Wind. Furthermore, it looks delicious, with minimalist but distinctive and varied character designs and animation that’s both extremely detailed for a TV anime and also not trying to shove that fact into your face with flashy stunt cuts. In short, this show seems very simple at first glance but every aspect of it just oozes quality. If nothing else, it’s already worth watching just for the excellent ending sequence where the characters show off their “best” dance moves and the chunky student council president dunks on everyone. This one caught me by surprise and it’s an easy pick for most promising show of the season.

#anime #impressions #Beastars #Rifle is Beautiful #Kabukicho Sherlock #Shin Chuuka Ichiban!#Assassins Pride #Mugen no Juunin - Immortal #No Guns Life #Hoshiai no Sora #stars align

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argentnoelle · 6 years ago

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Alternate Endings: Butlers & Masters in Black Butler, and how they parallel Sebastian & Ciel

read on ao3

There have been four butler/master pairs established so far: 1) Sebastian & Ciel 2) Grell & Red 3) Agni & Soma 4) Wolfram & Sieglinde Each of the other three relationships serve to parallel Sebastian & Ciel in interesting ways, and when they are introduced, how Sebastian & Ciel react to the pairs, and what happens in those parallel stories may even serve to elucidate the ambiguous nature of the relationship between the main characters.

Partners in Crime: Grell & Red

The first pair introduced is Red and Grell, alias Jack the Ripper. This is the darkest of the four pairs to be sure. The duo are on a murdering spree driven by the righteous idea (on Red's part) that she is in some way dealing out justice, motivated by an obsessive personality and a trauma that she can't get over—that of losing her family. It's a clear parallel to Ciel at his darkest; in fact it becomes even more complicated when you realize that (spoiler) among others, including the man she loved, Red lost her sister, just as Ciel lost his brother. What is established at once is that this is an unequal relationship—unequal beyond, and in a different way than, you might expect with one of them being the mistress and one the servant. In fact, their story is presented almost in the mythical way of a god becoming interested in a mortal due to some particularity of their character, or amazing talent; of course, one way or another, those stories usually don't end very well for the mortal. This is made even more explicit with the description of reapers as "death gods." At this point, with the way Grell frames his duties, he has ultimate power over the souls of those he weighs—in his words, he can decide "whether to let him live on, or to kill him" based on the assessment. Of course, this is overstating the matter on Grell's part, as in actuality, reapers are discouraged from allowing people to live. If we translate this to Sebastian, we have a parallel to when Sebastian met Ciel—what, similarly, drew him to Ciel, the connection with death as his appearance is intrinsically tied up with Real Ciel's death. Similarly, once the contract is made, Sebastian gains the ultimate power over Ciel's soul—which might even include whether to let him live, or to eat him. Grell becomes disappointed in Red when she refuses to kill Ciel; refuses, in effect, to let the game continue, to pursue her vengeance—so he kills her, saying as he does, "How disappointing, Madam Red. I am no longer interested... in an ordinary woman like you."

That this is one possible way the story could end for Sebastian and Ciel is in no doubt. In fact, it almost ended that way early on: when Ciel is recognized as Earl by the Queen, Sebastian asks him if he can be content with the life he's gained and abandon his vengeance. When he thinks that Ciel will abandon it, he starts to lose his "butler" form and reaches out to Ciel, obviously planning to eat him right then and there. When changes the story is that Ciel refuses to abandon his vengeance; and this moves Sebastian to an absurd degree. Still, you might argue that it is in that scene that Sebastian swears fealty to Ciel, that he in fact promises to play the game until the end, without messing around. Even later, during the Green Witch arc, Sebastian is driven in desperation to repeating his question, when time has run out for them to remain in the village. "Brooding over your fears and regrets, curled up in your blanket... is not what you should be doing right now. Come, get out of bed." Will Ciel abjure his vengeance, or does he still want to play the game? Ciel says, "No." "Oh? Well. You will abandon your position as the Queen's Watchdog then? Very well. You won't have to experience any hardship if you're no longer the Queen's Watchdog. No one will blame you for not wanting that forever. The servants will surely treat you well. However. Abandoning your revenge mid-way is against the contract. Ahhh. What an utterly boring end." Sebastian has turned from a human-looking butler into a darkness-tentacle-creature and starts to eat him. But even then, he doesn't stop trying to remind Ciel of his revenge, in a last-ditch effort to not end the game just yet. Sebastian asks Ciel why he actually made a contract with him, and Ciel reminds himself (or perhaps realizes for the first time?) that the reason he did it was, whatever he said or thought at the time, actually for himself. He breaks free of the cage and runs toward Sebastian. Ciel then says to Sebastian, "you... really tried to eat me just now, didn't you." Sebastian says, "No, no, I was only 90% serious." (Real reassuring, Sebastian.) He then reminds Ciel that he is both a demon and a butler. Grell compares the relationship between him and Sebastian to that of Romeo and Juliet, and that along with his comment that he is an actress, casts everything about his relationship to Red as an extended act—this is made even more clear in the anime, where Grell is introduced as a butler in an earlier episode, and plays it up to a theatrical extent. Similarly, one could see Sebastian, and his butler aesthetic, as a similar type of act, where the "play" being put on is more important than the people involved; it is all about the artifice. Grell actually replays the famous balcony scene, saying to Sebastian "you and me shall be the cast in this show," and continuing to riff off of it: "why don't you throw away the unlucky name your master gave you, and just focus your attention on me!" —wherefore (why) art thou Sebastian? Sebastian gives an answer: "all it takes is that one sentence. From the time when my master addressed me as 'Sebastian' that sentence became the newly formed contract. Since that day, I became 'Sebastian.' I made a vow to the moon." In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name..." continuing on to entreat Romeo to abandon the fact that he is a Montague and can therefore only ever be her enemy. Romeo answers "call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo." The way that Sebastian plays off of this exchange is clearer in the anime, and probably in the official translation too. Grell sets up the unstable dichotomy of death god/demon, who must always be natural enemies, but then positions Ciel, and Sebastian's connection to him, as what will keep them apart, and what Sebastian will have to refuse to get together with Grell. Sebastian's answer actually uses Romeo's words, saying that in meeting Ciel and in the creation of the contract, he was newly baptized as Sebastian; in other words, Grell can't be Juliet because Ciel is. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo begins by swearing his love on the moon, and Juliet interrupts him, saying: "O swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest thy love prove likewise variable." So in saying that he's swearing by the moon, Sebastian is actually playing along with Grell's reenactment of Romeo and Juliet, while still refusing Grell's casting of himself as Juliet, and putting Ciel in that place instead.

Soulmates: Agni & Soma

Agni is set up from the beginning as an incredibly good butler, just as Grell was (to Sebastian's disapproval) an incredibly bad one. The usual, 'oh no the whole house has been messed up' that was set up from the very first arc is flipped around, with Agni having done all this work incredibly well... this gets on Sebastian's good side immediately. Agni is also able to get the servants to work together and not break everything, which completely baffles Sebastian, leading to one of his awesome shocked faces. Agni explains his personal philosophy to Sebastian, and then explains that before he met Prince Soma, he was a very different kind of person. "Before I met the prince, I was an idiot that can be said to be hopeless. What I owe him can never be repaid in this lifetime." He explains how he had no faith, due to seeing his father misusing his position, and how he then continued to do bad things, saying "I took advantage of my social status and committed sins every day." But just as he was about to be executed for his crimes, Prince Soma arrived to say him, saying, "I've heard you are a wild person that is as strong as an untamed beast," and choosing to take responsibility for Agni. As he cuts Agni's hair, Soma says, "the 'you' who existed before today is now dead. You're hereby reborn with a new name and life." Agni interprets this memory, saying that from that day Soma became his god. He says "that day, I definitely saw a god emitting holy light inside of the prince's body! I swerved the prince ever since that day... the prince is my king and my god!" He continues to say that he will do anything for Soma, even if it costs him his life. While Agni is set up as literally the nicest person in Black Butler, his own story places him as a reformed sinner who has found god in the man he serves. Still, even in his "reformed" state, his dedication to Soma is shown to be potentially dangerous, as his fervor leads him to do criminal acts in Soma's name. There is no unequivocal good here, it must be pointed out. Still, everything that Agni affects, day to day, seems to lead to having friends and happiness because he's just such a nice person. This seems like a pretty weird comparison to Sebastian, but he certainly is a parallel to Sebastian. Not only do they both take pride in cooking, and are incredibly good at it, not only do they both have superhuman strength, but the story of Agni meeting Soma has some interesting resonances with Sebastian's own. Going back to Sebastian's description of his meeting Ciel to Grell, earlier on, a flippant reply that takes from Romeo and Juliet and the wild overstatements made by those in love can also be interpreted through the lens of someone who has found a god. The devotion becomes religious. There is, of course, the baptism mentioned in Romeo and Juliet, and by Sebastian in relation to his own story; Agni, as well, tells the story of a baptism, in which he gained a new name and a new life. Soma's words when he first met Agni are also interesting. "I've heard you are a wild person that is as strong as an untamed beast." The connection to Agni's former existence, as an "untamed beast" is explicitly similar to Sebastian, who first appears to Ciel as a number of beasts, and is referred to as a beast multiple times, including in the Green Witch arc, when Ciel tells Sebastian that, in destroying the evidence of the laboratory, he has his permission to "feel free to go crazy like a beast." (Sebastian's reaction is notable. He thinks to himself, "My master. You're misunderstanding something. What I find most entertaining is playing the butler in my game with you. It's not behaving like a frenzied beast. However, if that's how you like me... I'll act accordingly.") Further, this sounds really similar to the meeting between Gilgamesh and Enkidu in Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is described as "two thirds god, one third man" and like Soma, he starts the story thinking a lot of himself; to say that he's arrogant is an understatement. Enkidu is created as someone who can temper this, basically Gilgamesh's soulmate, and spends the first part of his life as a literally "untamed beast" of a man, living with the other wild animals and having more in common with them than with humanity. But after he's shown human things through having sex with a priestess who comes to tame him, he can no longer go back to that state of innocence, wildness, or beastliness... now he is unavoidably human, and that can't change. He and Gilgamesh have a number of incredible adventures, and Gilgamesh thinks that together they can do anything, but Enkidu eventually dies, and the rest of the story deals with Gilgamesh's grief and anger at what he feels is the unfairness of death. He goes to extremes, and journeys for a long time, to try to become immortal himself, but discovers that like anyone who is mortal (even one-third mortal) death will inevitably come for him. Still, he eventually gains some measure of peace and grows as a character. Perhaps Soma is also on a similar journey. And, if Soma is a parallel for Ciel, who has been going on his own angry journey, through the manga, against the fact of death, both of his parents and of his other half—his twin brother—perhaps Ciel himself might come to some measure of peace as well. So, Agni is the epitome of a butler, and as he dies, he thinks, "Master Soma, that day, when you saved me, you were probably just acting on a whim. But from that day forward, you have always been the sun in my sky." (In Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet appears, Romeo says, "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon...") Agni continues, "no matter the circumstance, I remained bound to you. As your orders were the light illuminating my path. What's more, just by exuding your shining confidence down from the sky, you have saved more lives than you will ever know... because you were my sun, were there for me, my days could finally begin. ... I was... your khansama was... extremely happy." Soma is, in Ciel's words, who he might have become if not for "that day". Soma's description of his life in the palace, where he as the youngest child had everything he could ever want, materially, but felt as though he was cut off from expressions of love, is what motivates him to cling so tightly to Meena, who was always there for him, though she was secretly resentful. (Oh my! Perhaps the way that Madam Red was always there for Ciel, and yet secretly resented his existence because she was jealous?) While Soma originally saved/hired Agni just because he was supposedly really good at making curry, the butler has come to mean everything to him. (This reminds me of Ciel's meeting with Klaus, where he says that one of the reasons he keeps Sebastian around is because he makes the best sweets ever. He's being flippant, it's not a serious reason by any means—and Sebastian couldn't cook when they met—but it's still interesting.) Soma says to Agni, later, "Ciel reminds me of my younger self. I would always be chasing after the love of my parents and Mina, but I never paid attention to the affection you were giving me the whole time." He says, "No, not quite the same. Even though he is aware of al the affection he is receiving, he refuses to accept any of it. It's as if he is afraid of obtaining happiness. Ciel says that he lives for the sake of revenge. That's why he lives a life of solitude." (Of course, that's the only reason Ciel is still alive instead of being eaten by Sebastian for having broken the contract.) In this iteration of butler and master, the butler dies for the master—something that Sebastian states that he finds admirable. Indeed, this has also almost happened in Sebastian and Ciel's own story. When they're on the Campania, Sebastian gets stabbed by Undertaker when he's trying to protect Ciel, and could very well have died in the process. He didn't, and so the story continues...

Parent and Child: Wolfram & Sieglinde

Sieglinde is a genius brought up believing one story—that she's the Green Witch, someone with a special duty handed down through the generations to keep her village safe—when really she's being manipulated by an old woman (her mother, though she doesn't know it) into making a gas that will cause death and destruction. This is rather interesting. If Sieglinde's story is a parallel to Ciel, just as Madam Red and Soma's stories are in a sense a parallel with Ciel, then Ciel might be believing a false story too. He, like Sieglinde, takes pride in his position—in his case, of being the Guard Dog, and keeping order in England. It's couched as a special duty, but perhaps he, too, is being manipulated by an old woman (the Queen? Hm). It's certainly made clear that the Queen has her own aims, and that she's interested in preparing for war. The idea that she might even be the one behind his parents' murders isn't so far off, and indeed, in the anime, she *was*. On an even more disturbing note, perhaps Vincent Phantomhive was more manipulative than he appeared...? Wolfram is in a similar situation as Finny. Both were used in experimentation in Germany, and both didn't have a name until they met Ciel, in Finny's case, and Sieglinde, in Wolf's case. ("For this mission, we gave you a name," he was told. "Lieutenant Wolfram Geltzer.") That's a pretty long list of people who were given new names, including every single butler—besides Grell—to date. (But, quite interesting is the recent reveal that reapers are, along with their names, which most of them use, also referred to by a number code within the organization.) (As a side-note, Wolfram is responsible for Sieglinde's crippled feet, just as Sebastian is responsible for Ciel's blind eye, but beyond that obvious similarity, I'm not sure it has any significance.) Wolfram describes his life before Sieglinde as being colorless, and that they had a duty, and acted, but without ever knowing the reason. This "patriotism" is then set against the personal loyalty he ends up having toward Sieglinde. Wolfram's past, on learning how to be a butler, is similar to Sebastian's, as he is baffled by having to deal with a child and with the idea of having to play with her and deal with her whims, instead of just killing people. He thinks, "after meeting you, for the first time... I discovered the bright colors of the world... and felt the desire to protect something. I found a reason to fight." He thinks this as he has been wounded, and reaches for Sieglinde through the haze of his memories. There is even a shot of their hands reaching out toward each other, as Sebastian and Ciel reached out to each other when Sebastian was wounded on the Campania, and he slipped into his early memories of their time together. Wolfram is saved though, and Sebastian says, gently, "Mr. Wolfram. A butler... isn't allowed to die before their master." (Agni should've listened to you!/Tanaka. But Agni, of course, is really the only one who can get away with disagreeing with Sebastian, and still change his mind.) This story isn't really told to it's end, but it's different from the others in that Wolfram was originally working at cross-purposes to Sieglinde, and was in effect on an undercover mission to use her. But instead, he ended up throwing in his lot with her, and abandoning his army. Furthermore, at least to the present moment, though he would give his life for Sieglinde, he doesn't have to. Sieglinde actually forgives him for his deception, realizing that his actions since then show his care and his regret.

read on ao3

#black butler #meta #my stuff

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douxreviews · 6 years ago

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Babylon 5 - Series Review

"Now get the hell out of our galaxy."

J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5 was the last, best hope for a rival sci-fi television franchise to challenge the dominance of Star Trek. It failed. And let’s be glad it did. Last thing we needed was another bloated franchise knocking out a never ending cycle of naff spin-offs. Instead let’s be thankful for what remains to this day as one of the finest sci-fi series ever made. But it did take some time before it became that.

[Warning: This review contains spoilers]

Season One - Signs and Portents

Straczynski envisioned the series as an epic novel for television told in five volumes with each episode being an individual chapter. JMS wanted to tell a universe changing saga of heroes and villains, epic battles and the rise and fall of empires. Something akin to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, only in space with aliens instead of hobbits and on a limited television budget. Surprisingly, this didn’t turn out to be as impossible as it might have seemed.

The year was 2258. The name of the place was, duh, Babylon 5, a massive five-mile long space station built by humans after the devastating Earth/Minbari war -- a place where aliens could meet to talk out their differences. Straczynski presented us with a future that was a far cry from the optimistic utopia of Gene Roddenberry. Crime, poverty, corruption and prejudice still existed. The various races were constantly at each other’s throats. Many of the alien races felt genuinely extraterrestrial, not just a load of humanoids with bumpy foreheads and pointed ears, although the station did have its fair share of those.

B5 first aired in 1993 with the (not very good) feature length pilot ‘The Gathering’. A year later the first season began airing with ‘Midnight on the Firing Line’ on the now defunct PTEN network, the show’s home for its first four seasons. In truth the first season is not the series’ strongest. No doubt in an effort to not alienate a potential audience, the season is driven more by predominantly naff standalone episodes, than the show’s signature story arcs. These standalone tales were often just sub-Trek nonsense that did little to help B5 to stand out from its rivals. Nevertheless there was still some good to be found in amongst the crap. After all, as rubbish as ‘Mind War’ was, it still gave us Walter Koenig as that slippery Psi Cop Bester (still B5’s finest villain).

In the second half Straczynski gradually started to move away from alien of the week tripe like ‘TKO’, ‘Believers’ and ‘Infection’ and began to lay the foundations for the awesomeness that was to come in episodes like ‘And the Sky Full of Stars’, ‘Signs and Portents’ (the introduction of Mr Morden and the Shadows), the two-parter ‘A Voice in the Wilderness’ and ‘Babylon Squared’ in which the crew investigate the sudden and mysterious reappearance of the missing Babylon 4 station. The big season finale ‘Chrysalis’ is a veritable congregation of ‘holy shit, did they just do that?’ moments as earth shattering cliff-hanger follows earth shattering cliff-hanger. Sinclair’s final lament “Nothing is the same anymore” couldn’t have been more appropriate.

At this early stage the characters were also something of a mixed bag to be sure. While G’Kar and Londo arrive practically fully formed (despite some rough early make-up effects) the rest of the cast all needed a little more work. Sinclair was too often stiff and po-faced while Ivanova had yet to develop something resembling a sense of humour. And I can’t be the only one who thought that Jerry Doyle looked like the product of a failed attempt to clone Bruce Willis?

The first season was certainly a patchy start for Babylon 5. Much of it hasn’t dated well. While they were groundbreaking and innovative at the time, much of the CGI effects now look rather primitive but still manage to stand up a lot better than most of the shows from the time (Space: Above and Beyond for example). The costumes and alien make up are all a little rough. And the dialogue constantly veers between clunky and cheesy. But the series potential was still there for all to see. By the second season the show would improve by leaps and bounds, culminating in some of the finest TV drama of the last 25 years.

Season Two - The Coming of Shadows

It was a year of change in season two of Babylon 5.

Due to illness, Michael O’Hare amicably agreed with creator J. Michael Straczynski to depart from the show. He was replaced by Bruce Boxleitner as the new station commander, Captain John J. Sheridan. The former Tron fitted in quite well on B5 and after a few episodes you’d easily be forgiven for thinking he’d been there the whole time.

The first episode ‘Point of Departure’ serves to introduce and establish Sheridan as the new station commander and show how he handles a crisis. It’s not until episode two ‘Revelations’ that JMS got around to resolving all the cliff-hangers from the previous season. Delenn came out of her cocoon with L'Oreal hair (because she’s worth it) and instantly caught Sheridan’s eye. Garibaldi woke from his coma to expose the man who shot him in the back. And G’Kar returned to the station with grave warnings about the darkness to come (that no one would listen to until it was too late).

Season two has the look and feel of a show more assured of its self, more confident in what it can accomplish. This was the year Babylon 5 stopped looking like just another Star Trek clone and became a small screen sci-fi epic to be reckoned with. There were still a number of rubbish standalone episodes such as ‘The Long Dark’ and ‘GROPOS’ to put up with, but they weren’t as bad as they had been in the first season. Besides, when you have episodes as good as the Hugo Award winning ‘The Coming of Shadows’, ‘In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum’ and ‘The Long Twilight Struggle’ what are a few duff ones here and there?

Walter Koenig returned as Bester in ‘A Race Through Dark Places’ and continued to make us forget he was ever Chekov. ‘And Now For a Word’ looked at life on the station from the perspective of a news program. Later in the season Lyta Alexander, not seen since the original pilot, would return in ‘Divided Loyalties’ to expose a sleeper agent on the station that had devastating consequences for Ivanova. And ‘Comes the Inquisitor’ sees the Vorlons test Delenn with the help of Jack the Ripper (no, seriously).

With the addition of Boxleitner the main cast was considerably stronger this season, albeit there were still a few redundant characters that needed to be gotten rid off such as Lt. Keffer, a hotshot fighter pilot character the network insisted that Straczynski add to the line up. But JMS was not one to let even an unwanted character go to waste and used Keffer’s fate to further along the Shadow War arc. The same could not be said for G’Kar’s aid, Na’Toth, who just sort’ve vanished after two episodes without anyone, her boss included, noticing.

It’s no small thing to say that Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik were the series' best actors and this season they took their performances to another level. For most of the first season Londo was nothing more than the comic relief, but this season Londo’s story went in a much darker direction as he grew closer and closer to Mr. Morden and his ‘associates’. Similarly as Londo fell further into darkness G’Kar began his long and painful journey towards redemption and spiritual enlightenment.

The season finale ‘The Fall of Night’ managed to end the season on a suitably downbeat note, but lacked the universe shacking impact of ‘Chrysalis’. While the future looked bleak for the characters the show’s future looked ever brighter. With the flaws and weakness of the first season overcome Babylon 5 would continue from this point to go from strength to strength.

Season Three - Point of No Return

In my humble little opinion season three of Babylon 5 is one of the greatest seasons of television in the entire history of the medium. This was the absolute peak of Straczynski’s small screen space opera. Admittedly, it’s not 100% perfect. It was at this point that Straczynski started writing every single episode himself (an impressive achievement to be sure) so inevitable dreck like ‘Grey 17 is Missing’ gets sandwiched in between all the great stuff. And we were pretty much spoilt for choice with great stuff this season. After two years worth of build up this was the season where things finally started to pay off.

The season started quietly enough with a group of mostly standalone tales of varying quality and significance. But by the time we got to ‘Messages from Earth’ the fan was well and truly hit and hit hard. The entire status quo of the series was suddenly turned upside down and there would be no going back. Straczynski didn’t so much as jettison the reset button as completely obliterate it. ‘Point of No Return’ saw the Earth Alliance become a fascist dictatorship under President Clark forcing the crew of Babylon 5 to break away into an independent state. This all lead to the epic ‘Severed Dreams’ (another Hugo winner) in which our heroes fought to defend the station from Clark’s forces. From now on Sheridan and company were cut off from home on their own (and got some nifty new uniforms to boot).

The season settled down for a bit after that until the Shadow war finally kicked off in full. ‘Interludes and Examinations’ sees Kosh make a devastating sacrifice on Sheridan’s behalf. The two-parter ‘War Without End’ saw the return of Sinclair and finally revealed the true story behind the disappearance of Babylon 4. After the big battles of ‘Shadow Dancing’ everything comes to a head in the season finale as Sheridan goes with his not-so-dead wife, Anna, back to Z’ha’dum. They should really use this episode in media studies classes as an example of how to write a truly great season finale. It’s simply a breathtaking 45 minutes of television that (again, IMHO) no one has yet to come close to equalling or surpassing.

With so many big events jostling for screen time JMS wisely doesn’t let the characterisation get lost in amongst the explosions. Sheridan and Delenn kept making gooey eyes at each other. Ranger Marcus Cole arrived on the station and wasted no time hitting on Ivanova. G’Kar finally found inner peace and a new purpose in life. Franklin struggled with drug addiction and resigned. And Londo’s decent into darkness continued despite his best efforts to escape his destiny.

Season three was the middle chapter of Babylon 5 and the point in which it got seriously worse for our heroes before it could eventually get any better. Creatively the show was riding on a high. From the acting to the special effects everything was at its absolute best. Sadly the show would never be this good again. Outside factors would eventually derail Straczynski’s carefully constructed five-year-plan. But season three still stands as a shinning beacon of everything that was, and still is, great about Babylon 5.

Season Four - No Surrender, No Retreat

So much for best laid plans, eh?

When he first conceived of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski had a definitive five year plan for the series. By the fourth season that plan was in serious danger of falling apart. The Prime Time Entertainment Network, the series’ home from day one, was not long for this world and as such the future of the series was uncertain. Fearing that his show would be cancelled before he could conclude the story, Straczynski went in to emergency damage control and started wrapping up the all major storylines far earlier than he’d initially planned. As a result season four is the most densely packed season of the show’s entire run, as barely a single episode is wasted in Straczynski’s mad rush to bring his story to what seemed at the time to be a premature end.

After nearly three years of planning and build up, the Shadow War, the very driving force of the entire series, was over in the space of just six episodes. The whole thing raced to an underwhelming conclusion that basically amounted to nothing more than Sheridan telling the Shadows and Vorlons off for being naughty and sending them to their rooms without any supper for the rest of eternity. Babylon 5 was the first notable sci-fi series to start using extensive story arcs (something that’s practically the norm nowadays) but it was also the first to bring its story arcs to a disappointing resolution (something else that's practically the norm nowadays).

With that major arc out of the way Straczynski got to work setting up the Drakh threat, built up the growing conflict between Sheridan and Garibaldi, dashed through a Minbari civil war in record speed before finally kicking off the war against President Clark’s fascist government in ‘No Surrender, No Retreat’. The conclusion of the Shadow arc might’ve been a letdown but the Earth civil war was Babylon 5 at its absolute best. Only problem was that it was over almost as quickly as it had started. Originally the plan was for the Earth conflict to be carried over into the fifth season with the fourth season ending with Garibaldi’s betrayal and Sheridan’s capture. But with the show’s future in doubt everything was wrapped up with ‘Endgame’ and ‘Raising Star’. Straczynski was all ready to end the series then and there, but when cable network TNT agreed at the last minute to finance a full fifth season the final episode 'Sleeping in Light' was pushed back a year and a new season finale was quickly shot on the cheap.

Despite it's ups and downs season four is still a strong season. Although there are no Hugo winners, there are still several standout episodes, most notably Sheridan’s brutal interrogation in 'Intersections in Real Time'. The acting was excellent across the board this season, but if there’s a single standout star without a doubt it’s Jerry Doyle. Straczynski sent Garibaldi to hell and back this season and Doyle rose to the challenge with gusto. Sadly this would be the final season for Susan Ivanova as a contract dispute would prevent Claudia Christian returning for the fifth season. With no time to shoot a proper goodbye scene her departure is clumsily handled in voiceover, a disappointing exit for one of science fiction's finest heroines.

Season Five - The Wheel of Fire

The last minute renewal for Babylon 5 was something of a mixed blessing. On one hand it meant that the show would continue and J. Michael Straczynski would now be able to complete his much talked about five-year-plan. But since Straczynski had wrapped up almost every single significant plot thread during the previous season he was now stumped about what to do next. Sure, he had a lot of great stuff with Londo planned, but that didn’t get going until towards the end of the season. So what the hell was he going to do until then?

Straczynski had twenty-one episodes to fill up and barely enough story material to cover a quarter of the season. Rather than relinquish some creative control by bringing in a load of new writers and some fresh ideas, Straczynski continued to write virtually every single episode himself even though it was clear by this point that he’d reached his burnout stage. Granted, the only time he did allow someone else to write an episode it resulted in Neil Gaiman’s dreary ‘Day of the Dead’ but that's still no excuse for not sharing your toys, Joe. Actually, in many ways the series came a full circle with season five as Babylon 5 went back to the sort standalone filler dreck everyone thought we’d seen the last of in season one. Worst offender being the abysmal Tom Stoppard homage ‘A View from the Galley’ which looks at an attack on the station from the perspective of two repair workers who sadly, unlike Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, don’t end up dead at the end.

The lack of decent episodes wasn't the show’s only problem this season, as its previously strong characterization seemed to have vanished entirely. They might’ve looked the same, they might’ve even sounded the same, but these were not the same characters we’d been following faithfully over the last four years. Despite now being President of the Interstellar Alliance (with all the power and influence of a UN Secretary-General) Sheridan still stomps around the station like he owns the place becoming the type of character you’d rather punch in the face than follow into the jaws of hell. Delenn, meanwhile, has been relegated to the prestigious role of ‘her indoors’. Elsewhere, Garibaldi roamed aimlessly around the station in a futile search for a decent plot line, while Londo and G’Kar spend most of the season working on perfecting their buddy comedy routine. And with Claudia Christian gone (but sure as hell not forgotten) Tracy Scoggins was brought in to replace Ivanova as Captain Elizabeth Lockley, the station’s new commander and Sheridan’s ex-wife (huh?). Try as she might, it is difficult to take Scoggins seriously as a tough military leader.

Now that the Shadows were gone and President Clark had been overthrown there were no more enemies to fight and our heroes were all getting ready to live happily ever after. As a result virtually nothing happened for the majority of the season. The only significant event in the first half was a limp rebellion by Gap model telepaths lead by Byron, a walking personality black hole. The only upside to this arc was more focus on Patricia Tallman's underused Lyta Alexander and the always welcome return of Bester, who even gets his own episode this season, the disappointingly bland ‘The Corp Is Mother, The Corp is Father’. Once all the dull telepath malarkey is done with the season finally starts to pick up some much needed steam as the Interstellar Alliance goes to war with the Centauri. But even this conflict fails to provide the same kind of high drama and epic battles the show used to give us. Only the tragic conclusion of Londo’s story in ‘The Fall of Centauri Prime’ makes any kind of emotional impact.

The remaining episodes are all used for some last minute wrap up and a shed load of teary goodbye scenes to rival anything Peter Jackson could come up with. After everyone has gone their separate way Straczynski closes the book with ‘Sleeping in Light’ an elegant and beautiful epilogue to the series and one of the best series finales of all time. Although it did manage to end on a high note (notably with an episode left over from the previous year) overall season five is a disappointing dud.

Despite this less than grand farewell, Babylon 5 still remains one of the greatest sci-fi series ever produced. Admittedly it was something of a flawed masterpiece thanks to the occasional wooden acting, clunky dialogue, dodgy standalone episodes, cheap sets and a tendency to get lost up its own mythology. But with this show Straczynski created something truly unique, an epic science fiction novel for television with a definitive beginning, middle and end. Yeah, the beginning was a bit uneven and the end part didn’t work out as planned, but that middle section, boy, was that good.

Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011.

#Babylon 5 #B5 #John Sheridan #Delenn #Susan Ivanova #Michael Garibaldi #Londo Mollari #G'Kar #Babylon 5 Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews #something from the archive

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and-all-that-palaver · 7 years ago

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The 11 Times Lizzy Has Felt For The Phantomhive Twins

In regards to the new chapter, I decided to make a little compilation of the brilliant portrayal of our favourite swordsgirl being selfless and supporting both the twins. I made this in chronological order of her ageing up over the years so without further ado, let us begin~

● She didn’t want to practice fencing anymore because Ciel was afraid of “strong” girls

Even at such a young age, Lizzy seems to take Ciel’s words very much to heart and believes that he won’t want to marry her anymore if she ever displayed her swordfighting skills to him. But notice how at the very end, she reluctantly complies to continue because it’s “for his sake.” She’s doing this for Ciel. She will protect him in the future because being the Queen’s Watchdog comes with many risks and dangers, and she needs to learn to fend for herself and for Ciel.

● She cries at the sight of seeing “Ciel” again after he was presumably thought to be dead

What else is there to say? Lizzy loves Ciel, and seeing him turn up literally out of nowhere is sure to reduce her to tears. She even states that she “can’t believe it” indicating that she had accepted his death and now that he’s back she is certain to hold him dear.

● She knows how much Madam Red means to Ciel

This panel was taken during the Jack the Ripper arc where Ciel strides into the church and leans over Madam Red. We know that Lizzy and Ciel used to play together with Madam Red alot and she, in turn, loved them earnestly so this panel really highlights not just the close bond between aunt and nephew, but also the close bond between Ciel and Lizzy.

● She feels genuinely happy knowing that Our Ciel is back to his old self

This.

This here accentuates Lizzy’s complete selflessness towards her own happiness and instead focuses on retaining and acquiring that very same happiness for her fiancè. Notice how she does not speak of this in front of Our Ciel which points towards the focal point of her character: her good nature. She’s not trying to induce guilt or self-pity from others, rather - and yet again - she’s only doing this FOR Our Ciel.

● Eventhough she doesn’t show it, she is very sensitive to Our Ciel’s emotions

This was taken right after the Circus Arc and Our Ciel was not in the best of places after all that ensued. Eventhough he did try to appear like his normal self, Lizzy naturally noticed something was off about him. This was the chapter where Nina was making Easter costumes for them and we all know Lizzy is a huge admirer of clothing and fashion in general. And yet, she suppresses this excitement of obtaining new clothes and instead is concerned for the well-being of Our Ciel.

● She wants to get to know the “current” him better

Lizzy knows that the “Ciel” now is not the same Ciel as before. But instead of pushing him away, she welcomes him with open arms. She tries her best to make Our Ciel confide in her because she is genuinely concerned about him and wants to help him.

● She wants him to be happy

This was Lizzy’s reaction when Sebastian stated that he believes Our Ciel was worn out because he had spent a pleasant day with all his close and loved ones around. She’s relieved to know that he’s getting a good rest and that it was partially because of her. This has been Lizzy’s goal all along: to make Our Ciel happy again.

● She knows the time has come for her to make a huge sacrifice

Lizzy always knew that at some point in time, she would eventually have to reveal the whole of herself to Our Ciel however, I imagine she never thought it would be this soon or in such a situation as they were in. Notice how she’s crying and smiling at the same time. She knows it’s her duty to protect Our Ciel now and she would strip off her cute image if it meant for his sake. So, I suppose in a twisted sort of way she tried to find some positivity in this, such as she would be making a sacrifice but one that she’d make gladly. Because, again, it’s for Our Ciel.

● She cheers him on

This panel was drawn after Blue House was declared the winner of the Cricket Tournament. There’s not much that needs to be said here. Eventhough she has a brother in another house and eventhough they lost, she is still in high spirits and again, is genuinely happy and actively cheers for Our Ciel throughout the entire competition.

● She worries about him

I interpreted this little panel above as Lizzy being thoroughly shocked because Bravat has managed to relate what and how she actually feels. This suggests that her concern over Our Ciel must be a prominent and focal point of her priorities.

● She doesn’t want to hurt him

I think the fact that she says she “doesn’t know what the right thing do is either” goes to show her internal struggle for siding with Real Ciel or Our Ciel. She realises that all this time she’s spent trying to cheer her fiancè up might be all in vain because that person wasn’t even her fiancè to begin with. But even so, the agony and despair of the betrayal coincides with her potentially grown love for Our Ciel. That is why it is so hard for her to choose “the right thing to do.”

And there you have it! This was what I have managed to collect. If there were any other highlights of Lizzy’s character portrayal that you’ve found you can reblog this as I might have missed some.

Somebody please save our precious sword-wielding badass and Our!Ciel good lord they’ve had to go through so much pls k thx

As always, thank you for reading!

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #the poor thing #lizzy midford #elizabeth midford #chapter 142 #kuroshitsuji manga #black butler manga #kuroshitsuji analysis #black butler analysis #ciel #ciel phantomhive #our ciel #our!ciel #o!ciel #honestly lizzy does not deserve this #let's be real

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chibimyumi · 5 years ago

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Hi I have a question I was curious what you thought about the episodes about Jack the Ripper episodes 3-6? And about the anime season 1 and 2 and the other series? Thank you for answering the question

Dear Anon,

In general I am not quite positive about any animated rendition of ‘Kuroshitsuji’, so if you’re interested in reading my mostly negative opinion, please proceed ^^

TL:DR

Season 1 - Ep. 3-6 - Personal rating: 2/10

Season 1 General - Personal rating: 3/10

Season 2 - Personal rating: N.A.

Book of Circus - Personal rating: 8/10

Book of Murder - Personal rating: 8/10

Book of the Atlantic - Personal rating 6.5/10

Season 1 - Episodes 3 - 6

Personal rating: 2/10

I personally despise the anime version of the Jack the Ripper arc because of multiple reasons.

1. The manga portrayal of Grell in that arc wasn’t great to begin with, but it was the anime that ultimately caused many people to believe Grell is a psychopathic gay, crossdressing man. The heavily gay-coded visuals (both manga and anime) alone of course were already pointing to Grell being a flamboyant male, but the additional gay-coded voice to her may have been what delivered the ultimate blow. Because anime is voiced, it often leaves a more lasting impression on people.

2. it’s not just for Grell’s portrayal. I also despised how the anime basically signal-boosted the corset scene that presented the sexualisation of a 12 year old as something that is part of a serious murder investigation. And when the sexual tension was later denied by showing ‘it was just a corset’, it was supposed to be ‘a comedic tease’ rather than a major sigh of relief.

Yes, it was just the faithful portrayal of canon. I am not saying the manga is less guilty; I am saying that the anime signal-boosted these two very harmful things without explicit warning.

Season 1 in General

Personal rating: 3/10

The good things:

In general the first season did have some fairly nice parts, hence the marginally higher personal rating. I quite liked the scene where anime!Sebastian shoved the visitor into the oven (+1pt) , for example. And I also liked the adaptation of the mini arc where O!Ciel was kidnapped by the mafia. (+1pt)

The finale makes little sense, but I did like the charm and atmosphere it delivered. I understood that the 24 episode series had to deviate from the canon storyline in order to tell a whole story within so few episodes.

The season finale managed to bring an ending that befits the theme of ‘Kuroshtisuji’: a suitably dark, ominous conclusion of a demon receiving the payment for his part of the contract. The choice of only showing Sebastian closing in on his prey from 1st person perspective before the screen blacking out was fantastic. It really reminded me as a viewer that in the end, I am but a helpless human; that regardless of what we may think Sebastian is, the last we’ll see of him is him being a predator to his prey. (+1pt)

The… not so good things.

Curry bread shuriken? (-1pt) The child king and prince arc? (-1pt) Pluto? (-1pt) **Angela/Ash!? (-2pt) The reaper library? (-1 pt. What was it even trying to achieve?). Ruining the most epic revelation of our protagonist’s arch enemy and spoiling the manga!?!?!?! (-1pt)

**They wanted to portray the genderlessness of angels, and so they decided to…. make this angel bi-gender in the loosest sense of the word? And then there is the EXPLICIT intention of giving Angela small breasts… because she can’t be “too much of a woman” (their actual words). PSA to women with small breasts!! Hear that!? You’re not too much of a woman!!

The rest is self explanatory.

Season 2 in General

Personal rating: N.A.

I deny its existence. If this season had existed, I would have said it took everything I hated about season 1, amplified them multi-fold, and… shoved all of those ingredients into a worse context. It ruined the significance of the S1 finale, and shoehorned ‘reasssssonsss’ to insert the new characters.

Also… apparently a contract now is as binding as a pinky swear between toddlers?

Also, I’d like to add how even both voice actors of the two demons hated it.

Ono Daisuke (Sebastian) was asked for his opinion of season 2, and he said that: “even I, Sebastian, learned of new sides of this character that I never expected to see”. Sakurai Takahiro (Claude) in turn, was asked why he thought they cast him for this role, to which he replied: “because he wears glasses, just like me. I think it’s called the glasses-casting-method.”

Book of Circus

Personal rating: 8/10

The animation itself felt quite static, but it was nice to finally see something animated almost perfectly faithfully to canon. The voice actors poured in so much more life and passion, and the cinematic record of Joker was very powerful.

Book of Murder

Personal rating: 8/10

I liked it, and the soundtrack chosen for these OVAs were great and fitted the theme perfectly. The animation, just like BoC, was quite static, but otherwise it is faithful to canon and represented the atmosphere quite well. First when Jeremy was introduced in the manga, many people really had no clue that he was Sebastian; the result of theories flying around in the fandom was quite nice.

In the anime, because Jeremy’s eyes were red, and because Ono Daisuke has a rather distinct voice, it was almost an instant giveaway to people who didn’t read the manga. But it’s fine. Ono Daisuke pulled everything out of his sleeve, and it was charming.

The French. I loved hating it. I don’t think I could have done a better job, but I loved hating it. French speakers out there, what did you think? ( ´艸｀)

Book of Atlantic

Personal rating: 6.5/10

I actually didn’t like it a lot, even though I went to the cinema for it THRICE!(σ＾罒＾)σ━━━!!

The good things:

Even though I didn’t really like the addition of the Double Charles, I did like love how they inserted a burn by Sebas at Grey’s expense. I think it was a wonderful re-introduction of Trash Demon™ being the salty prick he is, and how it tied back to the events of BoM.

The soundtrack designed for the movie was also great in my opinion, and the scene where Lizzie revealed herself was very touching. Me and many in the cinema were sobbing like babies, and the times that I went with people who don’t read the manga were also great, because they shock on their faces was ART.

Finally, I really liked how they concluded the story with everyone on the rescue ship. It really gave this very nice feeling of the survival of a big adventure.

The bad things:

The number 1 sin has to be how they trimmed Sebastian’s cinematic record, even though that is easily the biggest highlight of the Campania Arc. HOW COULD THEY!? ヽ(`Д´💢)ﾉ

The second thing is the ATROCIOUS animation. For the anime I understand why it would have limited budget, but the movie though? The movie was marketed SO big! some city buses in the city where I lived at the time wore the BotA skin! All Animates were PLASTERED with commercial for the movie… and then… this ⇊. I think EVERYONE agreed the CGI was jarring at least, and turned something so threatening into something nobody could take seriously.

This ⇊ was not necessarily bad animation, just a very dubious choice that I personally find quite tacky.

The third thing is - like I said before - the insertion of Double Charles who didn’t seem to add anything to the story. The time that went to their screentime could much better be spent on Sebas’ cinematic record.

Welp, that was all! Thank you for reading my rant!!! What did you guys think of the animated adaptations?

#Kuroshitsuji #Black Butler #Anime #Personal opinion #Book of Circus #Book of the Atlantic #Book of Murder #Season 1 #Season 2

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