#it has little metal kaiju figures and everything i love it so so much

[wyverwithy]

fuck capitalism but my sibling got me GODZILLA MONOPOLY !!!!!!!! :D

[fizzingwizard]

So I’m sure you’re ALL on tenterhooks to find out what I thought of episode 36... the answer is.... LOVED IT!!!! No I really did. If you like Taishiro friendship, this is an essential episode to watch. Doesn’t blow me out of the water, but still just good.

Although Taichi has a big something to do as usual, it’s still very much a Koushirou episode. FREAKING YAY. I have a dozen thoughts about it, and what bugs me the most, of course, is how we needed this episode AGES ago ugh. But we’ve now had two or three episodes in a row that have actually felt like Digimon Adventure, so perhaps all that finger-crossing is working?

They could unravel all that good work in a minute by never addressing it again... or not letting Koushirou show his personality unless it’s his “turn” for an episode from here on... but you know, I will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Pic of the day:

“I don’t like people. But they are occasionally useful.” - 2020 Izumi Koushirou’s life lesson, lmao

*The red strip at the top is about the big earthquake that hit Eastern Japan yesterday. It’s annoying to have it there for the entire episode - usually they only stick around for a couple minutes - but this WAS a large earthquake. It caused many people to lose power. So making sure everyone knows what’s going takes precedence over Sunday morning cartoons. (I’m in Osaka and didn’t even feel it, but my friends in Tokyo prefecture very much did.)

Lots and LOTS of ranting from a rabid Taishiro fan under the cut!

(also I didn’t check for typos so. yeah)

The episode starts right off by assuring us this is a Koushirou episode. We get the trademark Izumi Koushirou floating in the void of space sequence, which is excellent and very encouraging framing.

Koushirou Kenobi: “Use the force, Taichi.”

Taichi: “Use it yourself.”

(the episode in a nutshell)

The initial thing that bugged me - okay, so the kids got separated for the umpteenth time many episodes ago, and since then we’ve stuck to Taichi like barnacles. The only glimpses we’d get of the other kids showed: Yamato running towards something, Koushirou flying towards something while researching the satellite malfunction, Jou in the hot springs, and Mimi at the crystal caves. For Jou and Mimi, I don’t care, because they never tried to move, but Yamato and Koushirou were constantly moving. Yet, in the end, it’s Taichi’s group that catches up with Koushirou, rather than the other way around. It DOES make sense - it seems like Koushirou told them to “meet at the giant gold pillar” because that’s where they needed to be to save the world, so it became the rendezvous point. But it just bugs me because, once again, all the activity is on Taichi’s side. But that’s a minor quibble. The end result is still THIS:

More of the team is together!!! Taichi and Koushirou are together!!! Yaaayy!!!

... the betting pool for how long it will be till the next separation is now open >.>

Poor Komodomon’s long mop dog fur is so dirty. “Fizz his fur always looks like that.” He’s tracking mud everywhere. “Fizz look at his ears his fur is supposed to look that way.” Next episode - everyone gives Komondomon a bath.

So the start of this episode is just a bunch of talking about how dire things are with the satellite situation. I’m not gonna bother translating. Watch the sub when it’s out if you really want to know :P The important thing is, the gold pillar is directly causing the malfunction, no one on Earth can stop the satellite from plummeting to Tokyo, the city is being evacuated, and there are only 20 minutes till impact.

Koushirou has an elaborate plan which Sora adorably sums up as “So, we’re gonna shoot it out of the sky *makes punching motion*”

The crux of Koushirou’s plan hinges on a repeat of how Omegamon saved Tokyo from the missile way back in like, episode 2 or 3. Taichi says, “Yeah, but I barely remember how we did that.” Which is hilarious because I don’t remember either because it was 30 EPISODES AGO. Once again this episode feels like it was meant to happen WAY EARLIER THAN IT DID. It’s just weird to be referencing something that happened 30 episodes ago after everything else that’s happened, AND on top of that, there are many references in this episode and none from later than like, episode 10 or 12. Making this all seem very oddly timed.

I’m not quite sure if, within the story itself, it matters that Taichi “doesn’t remember well.” He also doesn’t remember the Devimon battle where he and Agumon were infected with dark energy. That one makes sense for him not to remember. If that hadn’t happened, I would just take his “I don’t remember how we stopped the missile” to just mean it was so long ago. But together, it’s making me wonder if something else is going on.

Or maybe Taichi’s just been hit on the head one too many times (okay, that seems the most likely of all, haha)

People of Tokyo: Is it Godzilla again? I heard he’s itching to fight King Kong. You know, given how often our city is attacked by kaiju, some might wonder why we haven’t moved away by now. But home is home, ya know?

The group sets up to fly to the peak of the gold pillar. Obviously, without Yamato, there’s no Omegamon. No one points this out, but Koushirou seems very stressed with his plan, and it seems that he contacted Taichi in the first place because he thought “Taichi’s the one who can pull this off.”

After hearing the plan, Taichi shoots him through the heart with another “Koushirou, you’re so awesome!” and YAY I MISSED THIS SO MUCH!!!!!! *sobs*

Then he does his best to reassure Koushirou by remaining positive and determined that they can and will do this no matter how much Koushirou waves. The majority of the episode is them flying up the pillar while being assaulted by enemies trying to stop them, so it’s not like they get to talk about their feelings (lol). But at least we get a bunch of close ups of Koushirou’s and Taichi’s expressions, and that’s how we see this dynamic in play. Yes, Koushirou is the brainy one who made the plan, but he doesn’t have the confidence to take the lead, so he handed the reins to Taichi. As for Taichi - yes he has the confidence, yes he can do it... but he also has absolute faith in Koushirou. So that’s why this episode makes my little Koushirou fanatic heart skip a beat.

First of the enemies is this guy, aptly named BladeKuwagamon.

They’re actually pretty scary! They do real damage. (Blood in Digimon word is glowy unicorn-like stuff haha). Birdramon gets stabbed, but before Sora can get too upset, she just yanks the blade out of her chest...

... and then crushes it into dust with her beak.

Sora: Holy crap, my partner is metal AF.

Forgot to mention earlier but 5 whole minutes of the 20 minute countdown are used up just by digivolving apparently xD Taichi keeps asking Koushirou “how much time is left” and Koushirou’s panic grows more visible with each passing second...

MetaLiffeKuwagemon looks cooler than he is. Supposedly he’s there to bring out the big guns, but to be honest...

... the BladeKuwagamon don’t seem to need the help :P The enemy’s strategy is obvious: isolate each member of the team to prevent anyone from getting to the top. This is why Koushirou’s so stressed: he’s got a plan that is totally reliant on there being a leader strong enough to pull it off AND there being enough backup to protect that leader from the large number of enemies. And Koushirou doesn’t like these odds.

Garudamon gets stabbed AGAIN

Sora: Go on, we’ll be fine.

Taichi: Are you sure??

Garudamon: *DESTROYS EVERYTHING WITH FIRE*

I MEAN HONESTLY! Garudamon is not only my favorite of Piyomon’s evolutions, it’s pretty much my favorite Adventure evolution. Always has been since I was 11 years old. And she (and Sora) NEVER get that credit. Like. Growing up, with US dub Adventure, I interpreted Sora as more of a straight up tomboy than she is in the original. That’s okay, that’s whatever, but what was most important to me was that I saw her as the third “strong” member along with Taichi and Yamato. Those two were clearly in a class above her, but I saw her as being in the same “Taiorato” league. Garudamon seemed to prove that: she was so cool, so powerful, and... yeah, I just always thought she had so much potential to be awesome and never got why it wasn’t used. That’s also why I was disappointed in Tri - like, I liked Soushitsu, but I just wanted more from Sora’s arc. Same thing in Kizuna: I understand Sora’s arc, I don’t hate it or anything - I think it makes sense for her. But since I wanted something different for her all those years ago, it just left me feeling a bit flat.

but enough about other Digimon series :P Garudamon gets to be super cool here and I only hope we get to see more of it in this reboot. I’ll forgive it some of its other mistakes if we do :D

With Takeru/Hikari and Sora isolated by the BladeKuwagamon, it’s up to Taichi and Koushirou alone to race against the clock! Their teeth are clenched, sweat runs in rivulets down their skin, their hearts are pounding in desperation...

Koushirou: Taichi-san! If we don’t get to the top soon it’ll be too late!

Taichi: Just don’t call me late for dinner!

Koushirou: ASDFGHJKL;’ DAD JOKES NOW?? REALLY????????

MetaLiffeKuwagamon makes life that much harder by knocking them against the pillar. However, this is a pillar of data, which enabled the BladeKuwagamon to evolve into MetaLiffeKuwagamon in the first place. Bugs aren’t that bright.

Taichi and MetalGreymon are nearly submerged inside the pillar as a result, and then we get this sequence of red and black. The pillar had been emitting dark lightning, so I started to think... omg... is MetalGreymon gonna get a Dark Evolution???????

.... Nah. That would have made sense, but.... nah :P

Overall I’m glad though, because that would really have turned this into a Taichi episode instead of a Koushirou one.

I’m not personally certain what the point of bringing BlitzGreymon out was. I had figured he would be like, a super fast evolution that would enable them to make it to the top. That would also have turned this into a Taichi episode. But...

... Taichi tells Koushirou that he will have to go divert the satellite because Taichi has to deal with MetaLiffeKuwagamon.

I was both really pleased and really surprised. Because, again, now what’s the point of BlitzGreymon...? Why did we need a new Agumon evolution? There’s no particular reason why they couldn’t have just isolated Taichi with the enemy the same way the others were and had him tell Koushirou to keep going on his own then. They did do that, but first they gave him a new evolution. Why? Just because it’s cool?? I assume that must be the reason but we don’t even see BlitzGreymon fight xD It’s... it’s weird. But whatever.

Taichi: Go, Koushirou!!!!! You can do it!!!!!

Fiz: *dies a thousand brilliant deaths*

So, Koushirou tells Taichi that he can’t do it - he can support Taichi, but he can’t take the lead. Taichi’s just like that’s wack, dude, of course you can do it. What I LOVE about Taichi and Koushirou’s dynamic is just that: Taichi never sees Koushirou as a weakling. The fact that he’s small, or that he’s brains over brawn, or even that he’s kinda antisocial - those are all reasons an energetic, extroverted kid like Taichi might bully, or at least think poorly, of Koushirou.

But Taichi values Koushirou. He knows how hard he works and is impressed both by that hard work and his talent. What’s more, he doesn’t see Koushirou’s brains as his support system. The whole time Koushirou’s thinking he’s there to support Taichi with his plan, Taichi was thinking, “I’m here to support Koushirou’s plan.” That is SO, SO important. And that’s why I LOVE this episode. The one thing the reboot seemed to really understand, that hooked me from the start, was the way it just GOT Taichi and Koushirou. They each support and follow each other, while each feeling like the other is better than them. Ugh I could like, cry over Taishiro now... omg....

Taichi is successful in pushing Koushirou to go on, but of course Koushirou himself is still plagued with doubts. He reflects on how he’s always been fine being alone. He hasn’t particularly wanted friends and didn’t mind not having them, even though adults worried.

(Side note: this is a normal, if kinda rare, personality trait. I have it too. I always score Koushirou on “what Digimon character are you?” tests too lmao. Just like some people feel the need to be surrounded by others at all times, there are those whose social needs are very very low. I’m one of them. There’s nothing wrong with it except that even those people can get lonely and it’s easy to misunderstand them as shy or snobby. So what I love about Koushirou is, yes he learns to value his relationships more, but also learns to value himself. He is Koushirou: a brainy kid who’s happy on his own, but also happy with friends. While some people, like Mimi, struggle with that aspect of his personality, others, like Taichi, just accept it. To me that’s the best life lesson there is: there are always people who can and will be friends with you. Yes, I’ve lost friends because I just wasn’t social enough for them. But I have other friends who I’ve known for literal decades now. And I REALLY love those friends.)

Koushirou feels grateful that he has AlturKabuterimon, and also that he has Taichi. So... here he is, reflecting on the last time he had meaningful interaction with that great friend Taichi... back in episode three. -____________-

Seriously, this would mean a lot more if this dynamic had been built on continually until this episode...

Koushirou then briefly reflects on each of the other Chosen. Notably, every single solo image of them is from an episode that Koushirou either wasn’t in or wasn’t with them at the moment. Then we get this group image. It’s from EPISODE 12. (I’m actually not sure of the episode number but the point is, it’s from A LONG LONG TIME AGO. I think it’s the swamp episode??) That drives me NUTS. We shouldn’t have to reach soooo far back to find meaningful moments!!! Urk.

Koushirou makes it to the peak of the pillar and AlturKabuterimon attacks the satellite to drive it off course. We see the impression of what looks to be HerculesKabuterimon and I really thought we’d get an evolution - it seemed way more appropriate than freaking BlitzGreymon - but nope.

Oh well. Koushirou still saves the day. The people at home get to see the Crest of Knowledge take over their screens, hopefully giving rise to the idea that a nerd superhero is protecting them. Koushirou is the hero we deserve.

The satellite falls into the water. I was like, shouldn’t that cause a tsunami lol?

... be careful what you wish for >_>;

fortunately people were evacuated soooo things will be okay.

He did it!! He’s so happy! AlturKabuterimon’s triumphant holler is adorable.

Taichi and BlitzGreymon fought hard OFF SCREEN!! OFF SCREEN!! HIP HIP HOORAY! And then we get to see him leaning on Sora T_T could this episode give me any more perfect moments?? Looooove it

So yeah, if you can’t tell, I’m thrilled with this episode. There are just a couple things I would have liked to improve: better animation, at least one palpable heart to heart between Taichi and Koushirou, or just a bit more time spent explictly in Koushirou’s head - but honestly we got something that is pretty darn good, especially for this reboot. I hope we do get more like this, both for Koushirou and for the others. I hope the growth here isn’t forgotten moving forward. I really, REALLY want to see more of that “I lead, you support me - you lead, I support you” mutually beneficial relationship that is the foundation of Taishiro <3

So next week! Mimi’s back and the heads are gonna roll!

Lmao!

My theory that she’s finding crystals to make Crests seems unlikely to be the case now that we know the rocks constract the rock Digimon. But... hey, we’ll find out next week.

Also Taichi’s gonna make this face after talking with Mimi bahahahaha. I can’t wait.

[haunthouse]

23 (“I immediately regret this decision.”) with a dealer's choice of au jaylen

ft pacific rim au !! this one ended up long, so it’s also on ao3.

Jaylen knows, the moment one of the drift techs suggest offhand that she try drifting with Allie, that it’s a bad idea.

She knows this somewhere distant in her mind, omnipresent background radiation — the same way that, when kaiju begin spilling from the breach again, she’ll be able to predict with a hundred-percent accuracy when it’ll happen long before the nerds down in k-science figure it out. Her instinct is to say no. She almost says no — almost says fuck no, absolutely not, we aren’t dragging him into this, almost storms out of the room and slams the door on her way out.

But she has to be a good little pilot to prove Mike was right to drag her out of the breach. At the very least, she has to avoid getting into fights. She’s made sure half the jaeger program will never get in a cockpit again just by drifting with them, something inside her mind breaking something in theirs, and she’s made the other half terrified of her; they scatter when she walks through the halls, as if her death is contagious. 

They would not have let Mike rescue her if they’d known it would cause this much trouble. That’s another thing she knows; she’s still deciding how she feels about it. Parker would’ve sent every jaeger the program had left to follow Mike into the ocean, drag him kicking back to shore.

The least she can do, in their eyes, is find a copilot who can drift with her without collapsing with blood leaking from their goddamn eyes. Current record’s forty-four seconds of drifting with Jaylen; in the droves of pilots they’ve sent since Henderson’s failure, no one else has gotten close, and clearly they’re fucking desperate if they’re asking for Allie, who has never wanted to be a pilot, never trained to be one. Allie teaches music. Allie hangs around the mechbay because that’s where Jaylen is, most days, and he is the only one who treats Jaylen the same as he did before she was declared missing in action and presumed dead, the only one who hasn’t made a huge fucking deal out of her being dragged out of the breach with her eyes the color of kaiju blood, like something just as toxic was waiting inside her.

A part of Jaylen worries that drifting with Allie will change that. Jaylen is not a person prone to being honest, but she only lies to Allie in ways he’ll be able to detect; he rarely calls her bluff, but she knows he knows whenever she’s told him something untrue, and she knows he knows she has reasons for it. In this way, she’s more honest with him than she’s ever been with anyone else.

Drifting is a whole other level. She has walls built up she has no idea how to collapse; she isn’t even sure she’s the one who built them. Jaylen hasn’t exactly been gentle with the other pilots they send to drift with her, but she doesn’t know how much of what happens to them is in her control.

She worries, but distantly. It’s far enough back in her mind that, when the drift tech who’s name she’s already forgotten says “Jaylen? I suggested we bring — what’s his name, Abbott? To try drifting with you.” she nods, sharply, and turns on her heel to leave the room.

***

Three days later, Jaylen and Allie walk into the drift-sim chamber side by side.

It’s strange — she’s never actually come in at the same time as her prospective copilot before, never watched them strap into the helmet and connect the electric wires to their temple and pull the restraints over their arms and legs, just in case Jaylen sends them spasming to the hard metal floor. She’s never given a shit about who they are. The first few drifts, part of her was still too far gone to care what she was doing; the dozen or so following that, she’d learned to sink her expectations as low as they could possibly go. She’s learned to fight back the animal instinct to grin as blood-dripping drift partners are carried away on stretchers.

“You sure about this?” Allie says, turning his head to look at Jaylen. It’s clear in the way he moves that he isn’t trained for this; he doesn’t know what to do with the bulk of the suit, he shifts awkwardly to avoid running into the wires connecting him to the interface in front of them. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Jaylen wants to laugh. Of course she has to. She bites back the sound, smiles at him in a way she hopes is comforting. Everything about her has been too sharp since she returned, but if anyone could see past that, it’s Allie. That’s half the problem — it feels, sometimes, like he’s already inside her brain, and she cannot imagine something more intimate than taking that to its more literal conclusion.

(Drifting with Mike had never been so terrifying. They were best friends before they were copilots; she’d dragged him into the jaeger program alongside her; he’d been by her side for all her worst moments already, and her his, so nothing they saw in the drift could surprise either of them.

Drifting with Allie should be easy, for the same reasons. But Allie was not there for Jaylen’s worst moment. Mike was, and now Mike is gone. Allie grieved somewhere on land, untouched by the category-three that had dragged Jaylen screaming into the Pacific Ocean.)

Jaylen talks less now; when she opens her mouth she feels like she should still be screaming to be heard over the wind and rain and ocean and roaring kaiju, even safe on solid ground as she is now. She forces her voice to be low and steady as she replies: “C’mon, Allie, don’t fuckin’ chicken out on me now.”

She knows that he knows that it’s more for herself than for him. If Allie wanted to stop, she wouldn’t blame him.

“I wouldn’t,” Allie says, genuine as ever.

“I’m not scared,” Jaylen says, feeling laid bare already as she pulls the helmet over her face, double-checks by rote that all the wires are in the correct places.

“I know.”

The voice of one of the techs crackles through the speakers in their helmets. Jaylen knows they’re standing on the other side of the two-way mirror outside the simulation chamber, watching to see if Allie will be the person who cracks down Jaylen’s defenses at long last, or if their last-ditch effort will be a total fucking disaster. “You guys ready?”

Jaylen nods. “Yes,” Allie says, like he’s sure of it.

“Initiating neural handshake in five, four, three, two —”

***

Jaylen has not successfully drifted with anyone since Mike.

It was almost a joke, with Mike — they would bitch at each other about whatever they’d caught floating off the other’s mind, act like they were psychic when really it was just ghost drift, fully scientific. Jaylen’d play her bass and Mike would pick up his guitar and they would be in perfect sync, even writing songs off the cuff; by the time she died, it felt like they were always drifting on some level, always a little bit in each other’s heads. That was fine with Jaylen. She’d trusted Mike with every stupid fucking thought she had, and he’d trusted her the same.

Part of Mike died with Jaylen. When she was thrown into the sea from a height that must have killed her on impact, she was still so intertwined with him that she couldn’t tell where she started and he ended; she couldn’t tell if she was screaming or if he was, or both. Mike would have far too much time to ponder the same question, and would die without an answer.

Part of Jaylen must have died with Mike, too. He’d brought her back, but not all of her, because he’d sacrificed himself in the process and even hardly-lucid as she was when her lifeboat sprung to the surface she’d felt him fall and fall until she could no longer feel anything, just a gaping emptiness.

Now, when she tries to drift, something breaks in her and the shattering echoes across the drift. Maybe Mike feels it, too, wherever he is, now.

***

“Neural handshake calibrating.”

Flashes of memory from Allie. Hanukkah with his dads growing up. The first time he wrote a song. Watching Trespasser land on TV, San Francisco, 2013; watching his dads discuss if they should flee Seattle, move inland, as far away from the Pacific as they could get. Meeting Jaylen. Mourning Jaylen.

It’s the furthest into a drift Jaylen has gotten since her return. It’s the most she’s let in from anyone else’s mind.

Jaylen’s funeral. Allie’s hands piling pebbles on Jaylen’s empty grave. Jaylen in the cockpit beside Mike. She can’t remember her jaeger’s name now, and isn’t that funny, the thing that killed her and the thing that brought her back and she can’t remember.

She can remember what it felt like to be inside it. The power. The ability to fight whatever storm came at them. Mike’s mind in her own. Her mind in Mike’s.

“Out of alignment. You’re both out of alignment.”

Jaylen ripped out of the jaeger by something unfathomably large. Never seen a kaiju from outside the jaeger before, not up close. Not a living one.

Jaylen thrown into the water, still conscious. Somehow. Jaylen underwater. Jaylen drowning for what felt like the entire six years she was gone.

“Jay?” Allie’s voice, distant. Right beside her. Unbelievably far away. Not there at all.

Jaylen dying. Jaylen gasping for breath —

“Shut it down,” she gasps. “I’m tapping out — stop the fucking drift, stop it.”

The connection between them severs, though the ghost of it remains; Allie’s concern, Allie’s fear, and worst of all, Allie’s love for her all sliding into her mind like a knife through the gaps in a ribcage. The hum of machines powering down around them overpowers the clattering of Jaylen’s helmet as she throws it off her head and onto the ground, the shattering of the glass in it; they’ll be angry with her for that, but she can’t bring herself to fucking care, not right now, not after dying again. Maybe not literally, but — does the distinction really fucking matter? Death twice feels the same as death once.

Allie is gentler with the equipment, coaxing the helmet off his head with one hand and reaching out to Jaylen with the other. She flinches away from the touch.

“We shouldn’t have done this,” she says. Her voice shakes and she hates it for doing so. She wants to scream; she wants to tear the shatterdome apart with her bare hands. She wants to be something huge and monstrous and capable of vast destruction, not a woman trapped in a body too small to hold everything swirling within her.

Maybe the rest of the pilots are right to fear her. Maybe death and undeath have changed her in some irrevocable way.

Right now, she doesn’t care.

“Jay?” Allie doesn’t reach out again, but she can feel how hard he’s clenching his fists to keep them by his side. He’s straining against the urge to take her into his arms and make promises he can’t keep, that everything will be fine, that nothing he saw changes how he feels, that they can try again if she wants.

Allie is physically fine. He lasted at least four times as long as the next-highest attempt, and his eyes are clear, and no blood drips from his nose. Jaylen did not hurt him, and some distant part of her is grateful for that, but it’s overpowered by the death lingering over her head, the way it felt to experience it again. The way it feels to know Allie was there with her.

Regret swirls deep in Jaylen’s stomach. She feels sick. “Don’t,” she says, even though he isn’t doing anything. “We’re not doing this again.”

She runs from the room as quickly as her trembling legs will carry her. Bares her teeth at the crowd of onlookers swarmed outside the door, waiting to see if Allie will be another to the line of copilots broken by Jaylen Hotdogfingers. As loudly as she can, she projects her thoughts to Allie through the ghost of their drift, already fading fast: Don’t follow me. Please.

Jaylen needs to be alone.

[fubukiswifenoimnotjoking]

Some opm fanfic ideas I’ve come up with thatIwishIcouldwrite ._.

1. Therapy! Maybe a bunch of heroes are pushed into taking therapy by the HA for legal reasons and it’s SO angst filled, what with Genos’ depressing past, Fubuki’s inferiority complex, Saitama’s depression, Metal Bat feeling pressure to be a good caretaker for Zenko, etc. Hey maybe in a Garou redemption take he ends up there too, taking in his childhood trauma. And everyone’s arguing like SHUT THE FUCK UP MY PAIN IS REAL and throwing stuff, meanwhile Saitama sits with Mumen (who I see needing physical therapy more than therapy therapy but coming there anyway to support heroes) and they drink tea and talk. Maybe eventually it mellows out and they can (sometimes) put their pride away to talk their stuff out, but Garou SWEARS he will kill anyone who talks shit on him!

2. Genos decides he can’t take it anymore and leaves to go find the Mad Cyborg cuz he knows he just can’t get strong like Saitama, even tho he doesn’t want to leave him. This has been done a bunch in fic BUT I rarely see any where Saitama goes with him! And maybe they like, go on adventures to get there and maybe over them, they grow closer, learn to speak to each other more, Genosai pining etc etc. oh and lots of camping together. When I imagine the end I always see like, either they find it and Genos almost dies but Saitama’s like no, we can do this TOGETHER and they punch it together, or a really emotional one where they find the cyborg’s corpse and Genos breaks down but admits he’s almost relieved, and yeah idk what else.

3. AA ok so I have three very self indulgent Au’s, I’ve talked about one on here and it’s kinda lame but I love the idea. K so, there’s this scene in A Star is Born with lady Gaga where she sings la vie en rose in a drag bar and when her and the main guy meet eyes they just!!instant attraction. So yeah my idea was that but Genos is a new drag queen at a drag bar owned by Fubuki and Saitama is a taffy puller at a candy shop (idk why I chose candy) with King and Mumen and Saitama goes to the bar for the first time cuz they’re promoting their candy there. And yeah lol it’s Genosai again, they start to hang out in and out of drag bars and for Genos, in and out of Genny, his dragsona (tho Genoko is way better now that I think about it). He has trust issues cuz shitty past etc and Fubuki takes him under her wing and they’re friends and she gives him advice. Oh and Sonic is a drag queen too, him and Genos are rivals, Tatsumaki owns a more popular bar and her and Fubuki have that sister rivalry, Garou and Badd work there as bouncers and mess with Genos all the time bc I love Shitty Teen Squad. Mizuki is a bouncer too :0 Also there’s Mizuki x Fubuki and Garou x Badd. Sonic x Mumen too I guess, tho I’m not as into that ship as before

4. My second self indulgent one oo boy. Soooo this is an au where everything is more monstrous, ppl are half or have become complete monsters, but more traditional ones usually, like Godzilla level kaiju, incubi, stuff like that. Except these monsters fit a teeny bit more into society, so there has to be something like a police force to get at em when they’re criminals but with heroes/detectives. Cue Genos and Mumen, totally BAD, SCARY eMO cop and goody🥳two😍shoes✨ good cop. One day they’re getting coffee or whatever when the whole place blows up, and while most people survived in wreckage, Genos notices-a monster! He chases after an incubus, and even rockets into the sky after him when he starts flying. Saitama’s like ow what the fuck, I didn’t do any of this I was just walking by! And Genos is like shut up scum >:( they take him in for questioning and learn he’s a super OP incubus (go figure) but he doesn’t have much of a sex drive and doesn’t “do the whole incubus thing.” Genos doesn’t believe him but Mumens like omg that must be so hard, have some more tea sweetie. Anyway Genos leaves it to Mumen and when he’s gone Saitama uses his convincing flirty powers to get Mumen to release him. He feels guilty about using his powers, he feels skeevy! But he really doesn’t wanna be there and escapes, Genos catches him etc and it’s a whole conspiracy all 3 of them have to figure out that actually goes super deep, also more Genosai lmaaoooooo

5. THIS IS MY DUMBEST ONE BUT I LOVE IT. Ok so Saitama is out walking in the woods one day and finds an abandoned cottage and he’s like oh sick. He goes back home but can’t get it off his mind. He keeps going back and fixes little bits of it here and there, really makes it shine and then Genos catches him and he’s like yo Sensei? Of course Genos takes the project super seriously bc Saitama is hardly ever interested in stuff so they get it done and pretty looking ridiculously fast. Then Saitama suggests like, living there every now and again for certain seasons. Genos says yes without thinking, and is floored by all the tender things he discovers come with cottage life, like a garden, taking care of little hurt birds and not accidentally hurting the house. He’s scared to tell Saitama but Sai eventually worms it out of him that he feels like he doesn’t belong, he’s so bulky and damaging to everything. Course Saitama feels awful for not realizing, hugs the shit out of him and apologizes. Then he gets the idea to help Genos feel like he can enjoy a simple life, help him hold animals, feed birds, etc. and Genos is like oh my GOD Saitama is too good to me 🥺🥺 and idk what else happens hhhh. anyway could be either established relationship or mutual pining, I like either for this story but the most IMPORTANT part is it’s full of cottagecore imagery and vibes or it’s not a simple cottage au, and I live by that. Anyway if anyone likes these and wants to use them then hell yeah! I can’t write to save my life, but please gimme credit 🧡🎃

[niqhtlord01]

(artist is Blinck / JJcanvas) Humans are Weird: Size doesn’t scare us  The titans have walked across the surface of Malacor IV for as long as the Asandri could remember. They had towered over even the largest of structures the Asandri had created and their shadows spanned the length of entire continents.  The Asandri had spent ages fighting each other across their planet but they lacked any weaponry capable of fighting the giants as they appeared. The titans roamed across the surface unhindered, trampling all that stood in their path until the great works of the Asandri were all but ruin.  Eventually and settlements of the Asandri people became little more than empty husks, remnants of a forgotten time. The people of the world scattered to the winds and have ever since moved in large caravans ever mobile so to remain out of reach of the monstrous titans, and that is how they remained for nearly one thousand years. That is, until the sky people came... .. ---------------------- “Mother bird this is dropship four-niner, we are about to touch down.”  Lizzy flipped several switches on her command console and the atmosphere shutters began rolling back revealing planet. A vast green plain stretched as far as the eye could see. “Henderson give me the readouts.”  “Seismic scanners showing the the ground to be stable,” her second in command called out, “gas levels are reading the atmo is breathable, and I’m not reading any dangerous weather formations within 300 miles of us. Landing is go.”  “Roger Henderson.” Lizzy switched channels to the military contingent in the hold. “Major Cobal, you ground pounders ready to feel terra firma again?” “I’ve been itching for so long now I felt like my legs were growing roots on your damn deck plates.” Major Cobal responded. “I’d check a doctor for that itching when you get back. Ten minutes for popping locks.”  “Diplomatic corp you ready to do some yammering?” “Only if you promise to not fire a rocket without warning again.” “You’re never going to let that go are you?” Protocol dictated that every first landing on a newly discovered world have a diplomatic detachment attached to them in the event sentient life is found and is friendly; and if they’re not, well, that’s what the ground pounders are for.  Armed with the latest weaponry, even the small company onboard had enough firepower to fight off an army. Worse comes to worse the drop ship was armed with a single Dark Matter Warhead that could erase a mountain from roots to peak in the blink of an eye.  “Captain we’re getting returns on lifeforms.” Henderson called out. “Any visuals?” Henderson flicked through several screens. “We have visuals on camera feed nine.” Lizzy brought up feed nine and saw a small gathering of humanoid beings watching the drop ship descend from a nearby hill.  “Good catch Henderson. Keep scans active in case there are more.” Lizzy switched comms to the diplomats and ground pounders. “Alright passengers looks like the hosts have come out to greet us.”  As soon as the drop ship finally touched down both teams poured out. The GP’s formed a perimeter around the ship while the diplomats began making their way to the humanoid figures.  Lizzy was about to go grab a cup of coffee when Henderson shouted “CONTACT! CONTACT! CONTACT!” The bridge crew began rushing back to their stations. “25 miles to the west! Something massive just popped up on scanners and is heading this way!” “How massive as massive?” Lizzy asked already bringing up the camera feeds. “Oh.” Was all she could say upon seeing the a literal mountain on legs stampeding towards them.  “I see several more of those humanoid beings like the ones on the hill just in front of the creature.” Lizzy zoomed in to see several dozen of the aliens near the feet of the massive creature running for their lives. She watched as several of them made a wrong turn and ended up squashed by a massive foot.  “Major Cobal the new contact is not friendly, repeat the new contact is openly hostile.” “Understood. Your orders ma’am?” “We’ve got several transport vehicles in the hold. I want you to unpack everything that’s in them and then take them out and rescue those aliens just in front of the monster. After you’re all out of the hold I’ll take off and provide a distraction and give you some time.” “Yes ma’am! I’ve always wanted to fight a Kaiju, thanks for helping me scratch that off my bucket list.” Cobal responded as several of the ground pounders retreated into the hold and began driving out the transports. “Get me some sweet ass pictures while you’re out there and we’ll call it even.”  “Master of arms,” Lizzy called out”I want you to arm all forward guns and get the warhead ready.” The master of arms turned to her as if to protest. “Stow it, I’m making a battlefield call and authorizing the use. I’ll take full responsibility when we get back in orbit, just say that I knocked you out or something if it’ll ease you conscious.” He turned away laughing at that prospect as he was easily two feet taller than her. “Weapons are already primed, warhead will take 5 minutes.” He called as he ran back to the warhead launcher.  As the last of the transports sped off towards the monster Lizzy reignited the engines and pulled the drop ship back into the air. The old bird wasn’t as nimble as a fighter but right now she didn’t need the speed as much as the on-board weaponry.    She turned to face the oncoming monster. She was certainly impressed by the sheer massiveness of the thing, like it was something you’d only believe existed in movies.  “Captain Lizzy, what are you doing?!” One of the diplomats was on the comm. “Massive contact was spotted heading towards us. Contact is not friendly and has begun attacking indigenous lifeforms, moving in for rescue and then will neutralize the contact.” She could hear the diplomat swear under his breath. “Please do not neutralize the target. We have no idea the what symbolism that creature may have for this culture. It could be their god for all we know!”  Lizzy entered firing range for the prow mounted gatling guns. “Well I just saw their “god” stomp several of them into a fine paste, so with all respect it’s time to send this god back to hell.” Pulling on the trigger a stream of armor piercing rounds stream from the gatling guns into the face of the monster. It let out a roar of pain that sent tremors through the entire ship and ceased it’s forward chase.  The transports finally reached the humanoid figures and began loading them on-board. Safe to say that despite not understanding each others language it was universal when someone was trying to help. Lizzy banked to the left trying to steer the creature away from the transports below. It continued roaring as the rounds began carving red craters in the skin. “Warhead primed ma’am. Waiting your orders.” The master of arms called out through the comms. “COBAL!” Lizzy cried out, “You better be clear by now!” Nothing but static filled her ear for several seconds. “We’re clear! Repeat, we are clear!”  She pulled back on her controls hard causing the drop ship to shudder as it began to steadily retreat backwards at an increasing pace. “Everyone, cover your ears and shut your eye, for this is wear a mountain dies!” Her hand slammed on the fire control sending the dark matter warhead screaming towards the monster.  Within a few seconds it impacted with it causing a massive sphere of pure darkness to expand outward in every direction, swallowing the monster and the ground around it entirely. The sphere made no sound, no loud explosion, not even the tiniest creak in the wind as it expanded. It held it’s near perfect shape for several seconds before instantly retracting inward and then disappearing.  It was like the world’s plug had been removed and was dragging everything nearby in in an attempt to fill itself back up. The drop ship rocked itself for several moments before steadying out.  “Ground pounder,” Lizzy called out after she confirmed her crew was alright, “if any of you are dead I swear to god I’m going to defile your bodies so much your gods won’t even want them anymore.” “No casualties ma’am.” Cobal responded. “I also now understand why you are still sing-”  Lizzy killed the line and switched over to the diplomats. “You paper pushers alright?” Another long pause in the comms gave her unease.  “We’re fine.” Finally came the reply. “But we have a new situation down here with the aliens.” Puzzled, Lizzy wondered if they really did think of those monsters as their gods and if she had just triggered some sort of religious war. “Anything you need assistance with?”  Another long pause. “Well, after you killed that creature the aliens dropped to their knees and haven’t lifted them up yet. I think they think we’re gods.” “Sweet!” Coal chimed in. “I’m adding that to my resume.”  ----------------------- The sky people came on ships of polished metal and rode the winds as if they were the seas themselves. Our ancestors once spoke of these craft as “void boats”, but many thought them only fairy tails.  While a group had been out foraging for food, they stumbled upon this void boat descending from the heavens. They watched as its might maw opened and several smaller creatures much like ourselves exited the boat. Some stood in a circle around their boat carrying what appeared to be weapons, while others wore long robes of colors and walked towards us with arms outstretched.  We were preparing to greet them when we felt the ground tremble beneath us and we gazed westward. A titan had risen from the ground and began stomping it’s way towards us. Some of our caravan had been foraging close to where it rose and were now fleeing for their lives.  A sense of dread and despair filled our hearts as we looked on accepting our inability to help those we loved when suddenly a stream of metal beasts roared out from the void boat. They were charging straight towards the titan as if to combat it head on. Then with a roar of the mighty winds themselves the void boat rose from the ground and turned to face the titan itself, as if to challenge the mighty creature.  With a crack as loud as thunder the void boat fired what looked like shards of light directly into the titans face. Many of our people had never heard a titan cry out in pain, but at the sound of it’s anguish our hearts skipped a beat. The titans that had plagued our people for countless lifetimes now knew what it was like to feel fear and pain themselves.  As the space boat continued attacking the beast some of us noticed that the metal beasts that had left before were now returning our way with most haste. What brought us even greater joy was seeing many of our loved ones riding on the backs of them.  We were about to call out to them when we saw the void boat start retreating away from the titan. We wondered if the titan was too powerful for the void boat when suddenly a streak of clouds shot out from it and impacted with the titan.  A cloud darker than the blackest night engulfed the entire titan before it could even let out one more roar of pain at its own demise. The cloud expanded for several seconds before rapidly collapsing in on itself revealing nothing but an empty crater where the titan had once stood.  Many of us stood speechless for several seconds, rubbing our eyes over and over, convinced that this was some trick being played on us. As time passed and nothing changed it became clear to us all. We dropped to our knees and offered our deepest gratitude to the sky people.  Though they were no larger than us they had stood their ground in the face of titans and not only saved our people but slew them where they stood. With the help of these new people we can not only drive the titans back but we could regain the lost glory of our ancestors.  To this day, that fateful day is celebrated across the entire planet. The sky people who stay are embarrassed by it and try to shrug it off, but to our people it holds a special place.  The day when we met our new friends from beyond the stars, and the day that Titans fell.  

[rxdhairxdsirxns]

aesthetics for the entities

bold what applies to your muse, italics what applies situationally or only in certain verses. this is based on a horror podcast;  potentially triggering and / or upsetting content ahead!

TAGGED BY: @cloakedinfall TAGGING: @kaiju-crimson-storyandask, @themanofgloom and whoever else wants it!

i.  the buried.   weighted blankets.  drowning.  the comfort of a loved one’s weight.  soil and sand piling on top of you.  hugging so hard it hurts a little.  cramped hiding spots.  letting out air underwater to sink to the bottom of the pool.  walls pressing in on you.  not moving from a position even though you’re cramping a little.  dragging the last second before you have to inhale.  lonely subways.  feeling like one with the earth.  a layer of dirt on you.  looking for something below.  cardboard boxes and tiny pillow forts.  hands calloused from digging.  knowing that your purpose is just below the surface.  entering your final resting place before it kills you.  a storm drowning you out.  dust and sand speaking to you.

ii.  the corruption.   insects.  a close imitation of the natural course of life.  an illness in a community.  a rag that dirties more than it cleans.  an untreated wound.  containment.  breaching containment.  unbreathable air.  fungi.  one with that you love.  one with what loves you.  a corpse unfit for a glass case.  hearing a song in the sound of tiny wings and legs.  honeycomb patterns.  an ecosystem within a person.  a curse passed on.  the hubris of a scientist.  an ugly death where a glorious one is owed.  blood on a handkerchief.  parasites.  something pushing up the sewer.  a mask to keep something out.  trypophobia.  knowing you belong.  death weeks after impact.  fever.  food that’s gone off.  pandora’s box.  death behind a glass.

iii.  the dark.   shadows.  lights that turn off by themselves.  the feel of cold marble.  a beaked creature in the night.  the difference between seeing darkness and seeing nothing.  touch of something you can’t see.  hiding under a blanket.  white, clouded eyes.  months without going outside during sunlight.  pouring dark.  unscrewing light bulbs.  black matter.  light sensitivity.  a starless night.  time before light was created.  a shadow on the wall without a body to attach to.  withering plants.  a world without a sun.  footfalls in an empty house in the night.  a light that doesn’t reach as far as it should.  desperate reach for a flashlight.  clothes that hide your shape.  staying unperceivable.  winter months in the north.  an empty church.

v.  the flesh.   body horror.  factories.  a hunger for something more filling.  never quite happy with how you look.  the terror of an animal waiting for slaughter.  a very good meal.  the liquid of a perfect steak.  fighting your worst survival instincts.  a twisted bone.  long nights working out.  more than one heart.  appearance that shapes like clay.  a bag of bones.  bone broth in a pot.  knowing to fear pigs.  the butcher’s shop.  plastic surgery.  something alien inside your body.  a hunger in the gaze laid upon you.  unwitting cannibalism.  forgetting what you used to look like.  being admired for your appearance and appearance only.  teeth marks on skin.  scars from wounds that should’ve killed you.  cooking in scarcity.  fenced in with one way to go.

iv.  the desolation.   senseless pain.  warmth of faith.  wax where skin should be.  a blazing fire.  heat without a source.  the third or fourth tragedy in the family.  losing everything you’ve ever held dear.  so much to live for, gone so soon.  the smell of gasoline.  touch that scars.  coffee cup that never goes cold.  scorch marks on wood.  inescapably warm air.  a child born in fire.  death of a loved one.  a candle without a flame.  an altar in the middle of the woods.  animals with burnt fur.  plastic explosives.  burning hot metal.  sweating in an interrogation room.  never touching a loved one.  disfigurement.  a kiss that ruins you.  the scent of burning fat.  a tattoo that terrifies its viewer.  the agony of hellfire displayed as art.  auburn hair.  little clothing in cold weather.  a ripple in the air.  trying to cool down in vain.

vi.  the end.   the last page of a book.  nightmares that don’t feel like nightmares.  a skeletal hand.  the grip of the grim reaper around your throat.  existential pain.  ivory dice.  flatlining in a hospital.  gambling with death.  as old as the universe.  soul and spirit tied to an object.  a dream where you die.  closing your eyes for the last time.  the plead of a dying one.  knowing the fate of someone you know and being unable to prevent it.  a thousand cords tugging you towards your end.  skin that’s freezing to the touch.  an act of desperation.  someone’s life for yours.  an eternity spent alive.  the cost of your selfishness.  watching your own burial.  causing your own burial.  the smell of death.  numbness to fear.  words from someone gone.  meaninglessness of the actions or lives of single people in the universe.  multiple near-death experiences you refuse to die from.

viii.  the hunt.   sharp canines.  sore calves after a run.  the scent of blood.  an adventure for the journey’s sake.  the adrenaline right before the kill.   a whistle’s echo.  the woods.  the doe eyes of a prey animal.  your own breath in the air.  sharpened claws.  being tracked.  fear of someone knowing your every movement.  hunting down monsters.  hide and seek.  running away only to end up where you started.  staying alive purely because the enemy enjoys seeing you run.  a set of footsteps behind you.  blood dripping from bare hands.  barks and growls.  focused eyes.  a victim going limp under your hands.  a mouth full of fresh blood.  catching the scent of something monstrous.  perfecting your craft.  peering into the dark and running after it.

vii.  the eye.   googling something you shouldn’t have.  eureka moments.  the unforgiving lens of a camera.  witness reports.  hidden libraries.  eyes of different colours.  feeling of being watched.  a death recorded in tape.  a tragedy you can’t watch away from.  endangering yourself for knowledge.  truth.  analog records.  a symbol of an eye.  a watch tower.  compulsion to document.  turning on recording devices without thinking about it.  saving the evidence before the person.  extracting information.  truth or dare, without the dare.  a thirst for knowledge.  books that speak to you.  coordinated shelves.  cataloguing systems.  voyeurism.  police report you can’t put down.  reasoning your way out.  smell of old papers.  books that read you back.

ix.  the lonely.   an apartment too small for a double bed.  completely vacant streets.  waking up to see everyone gone.  fog.  point nemo.  a house too big to hear your family members in.  alone in a faceless crowd.  a mask with nothing behind it.  separated cubicles.  a deafening silence where joy should be.  a blinding spotlight.  the least missed in your friend group.  streets without lights in the windows.  isolation.  not truly knowing your friends.  your friends not truly knowing you.  need for silence.  fear of crowds.  staring into space knowing nothing is looking back at you.  a ship alone at sea.  depression.  knowing your friends are better off without you.  talking to someone only to realise they’re gone.  a family too large to notice you there.  safety in being alone.

x.  the slaughter.    a game of tag.   senseless violence.  a true crime hobby.  improvised weapons.  blinding rage.  intent to kill.  a horrific day in a quiet community.  a medal of bravery.  holding on to what validates your anger.  history books that spare no details.  an injury you want revenge for.  war.  counting kills.  songs of soldiers.  a knife block on the counter.  a pool of blood.  shellshock.  unspeakable horrors.  anger pushing you forward.  unimaginable pain.  not seeing who will hurt you but knowing the pain is coming.  a fully human monster.  an authority sending its lessers to their deaths.  kill or be killed.  unedited wartime memoirs.  a weapons collection.  not knowing the names of who you kill.  too many to remember.  loss of hope.  there’s no heroes in war.

xi.  the spiral.   sleep deprivation.  corridors you can get lost in. maze puzzles that loop back on themselves.  losing possessions.  losing people.  losing your sanity.  corkscrew curls.  rows of funhouse mirrors.  optical illusions.  a separate reality.  walking through the wrong door.  delusions.  not knowing what your hands are doing.  blank spaces in documents.  hallucinations.  wrong proportions.  a nameless thing.  a place that has never existed.  doubting your own mind.  blind faith.  losing track of names, labels, categories.  distorted sound.  an imperfection in a glass that twists the view.  loss of time.  a garish colour.  doors that open to nowhere.  lies.  an unnatural laugh.  jokes and tricks.  illusions.  a doorway.  a sculptor with a wild imagination.  limbs in impossible angles.  doing what’s fun, not what’s sensible.  fractals you can get lost in.

xii.  the stranger.   wax figures.  a close approximation of a human face.  a borrowed appearance.  a strange smell.  glass eyes.  furs and pelts.  a dance.  a song of a choir.  the uncanny valley.  stitching yourself together.  the colours of a circus.  a puppet with no strings.  mannequins.  glitter and sequin.  a stranger you’ve always known.  someone strange in the place of someone you knew.  stolen identities.  stolen skins.  a machine imitating humanity.  the anonymity of a service worker.  hiding in plain sight.  uncomfortable to look at.  a faked accent.  concealing.  forgetting who you are.  forgetting who others are.  a replacement no one notices.  images that look posed.  the only one seeing the false face of someone.

xiv.  the web.   undecipherable code.  a puppeteer holding the strings.  power over the weak-willed.  strings of fate.  manipulation.  an arranged accident.  a hundred minions doing your bidding.  cobwebs.  spiders.  a laid trap.  never voicing discomfort.  outwitting a cheater.  doing things without realising it.  red string across a corkboard.  finding something lost where you were sure you checked.  power over the unreliability of chance.  watching others dance for you.  an entangled death.  a thousand tiny legs and fangs.  shady forum threads.  something important gone missing.  suspiciously disregarded case.  a missing witness.  connections.  the world wide web.  power of victimhood.  gullibility.  no control over your own decisions.  an invisible leash.  mass psychology.  a horror film in the making.  scapegoat.  never remembering to ask for a name.

xiii.  the vast.   open spaces.  carnival rides going up and down.  fear of heights.  endless infinity around you.  your insignificance in an universe.  stomach turning at a drop.  fear of not the crash down but the moment you slip.  the sway of a cable car.  an adventure holiday.  losing track of where the surface is.  miles and miles of nothing around you.  staring at the sky and feeling like you may fall into it.  loss of control.  a fall that doesn’t end in death.  glass floor to the view below.  terminal velocity.  the sound of wind in your ears.  a reach over the railing.  a jump from the top of the building.  falling into nothing.  feeling your feet let go of the ground.  a leap of faith.  motion sickness.

+  the extinction.   the end of an era.  apocalypse movies.  the alarms of warning systems.  a desolate landscape.  end of the world cults.  nihilism.  the last written history.  a changed world.  no survivors.  old prophecies.  a thousand predicted ends.  a new chapter.  an end with no escape.  catastrophes.  a calendar counting down.  breaking point.  overindulgence.

[movieexpert1978]

The Mountain

anon:  could you write a short story with maybe Elisa and a close encounter with one of the kaiju from KOTM? thank you for sharing your talent and creativity with us 😍

Ok so I decided to go with using Methuselah which is the titan that emerges in Munich Germany, mostly for Christoph reasons ;) 

There are some minor spoilers in this fic so you have been warned. 

Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah and Methuselah are not my characters. 

Monarch was on high alert after Dr. Russle and her daughter had been taken by eco-terrorists. Not much else was known at the moment, but some said that Dr. Russel was working with them while some said that she was forced into it. Elisa didn’t know what to believe, except that Monster Zero was lose and now it appeared that Rodan had been released as well from Outpost 56 on Isla de Mara, Mexico. Things were not looking good. Elisa was stationed in Munich, Germany at Outpost 67 where the titan Methuselah was stirring. Everyone was running around trying to figure out what was wrong. Elisa was watching feeds from all over the world, but one feed stood out to her. Monster Zero landed on top of the volcano that Rodan had emerged from and all three heads were roaring into the black sky. Well, you couldn’t hear the roar on the monitors or with regular human hearing…

But the titans could.

The monitor screens went fuzzy and then went black as the whole outpost started shaking. Elisa yelped as she was knocked off her feet and everyone else was too. Other scientists were trying to contain the titan, but it wasn’t having any effect on it. Alarms and sirens were sounding loudly, alerting people to run for their lives. Elisa stumbles to her feet as the ground keeps shaking. She was underground at the moment as that was where the titan’s body was lying dormant until now. She thought she was lucky she wasn’t in the lower, deeper, levels of the outpost. Luck wasn’t on her side right now as she heard a deep groan. The tone was so deep that she swore she felt her body vibrate and she knew that it was the titan groaning to life to seek it’s new king. She turns around briefly and her eyes go wide.

Methuselah’s eyes were pure white. It had large teeth with horns curling up on the sides of it’s head. Dirt and debris fall everywhere as sparks fly while people continue to run and scream. She couldn’t see that above on the ground it looked like the mountain had literally come to life as it stood up on four legs. Elisa did her best to keep running as she knew the elevators would be broken by now and a good majority of people were running up the stairs to safety. People were shoving and pushing each other in fear to get away and Elisa grimaced at every hit that was given to her. The ground cracked and crumbled and the noise was deafening. People were screaming and Elisa pretty sure she was too as she felt something hard hit her from behind and everything went black.

Xxxxxx

Elisa groaned in pain as she slowly woke up. It was still dark as she looked around. She felt tears come to her eyes as she realized she was trapped. She should have known better. King begged her not to take the job but she knew this was a chance of a lifetime to work with monarch. She thought it would easier cause it was in Germany and she knew how to speak German, thanks to King. He didn’t want her to go as they had a nice home in the states and he knew the risks of something like this happening. Elisa wondered if he was ok. He wasn’t near any titans at the moment, but who knows where they could turn up next.

Elisa grumbled as she tried to get up. All of her body was hurting so she just started crawling forward. She felt mostly dirt, rocks, and metal. Everything was eerily quiet, but she thought she could hear the sound of sirens from above. She had to get out…find light. She felt her pockets and sighed in relief as she got her phone out. The screen was cracked a bit but otherwise still working. She thanked the ottercase gods for a heavy duty case that really worked. She turned on the flashlight on the phone and wasn’t surprised to see not much, but dirt and debris. The ground was still steadily shaking, but not as badly as before. Apparently the titan had made some distance. She didn’t have a signal at the moment, but she was more focused on getting out first. She kept crawling trying to find any openings but so far nothing as she kept going. Eventually the pain over took her and she slumped over breathing hard. She wasn’t sure how much oxygen she had left either, and she was feeling light-headed.

“King…I’m sorry.” She whispers. She closes her eyes as she feels tears run down her face. A few minutes later she thinks she hears something faint…almost like a song. She opens her eyes thinking maybe it’s the lack of oxygen that’s making her hear things. The noise continues and it gets louder and louder and she swears that she hears singing. There’s a small rumble and suddenly there is an opening not far from her that reveals sunlight. Elisa scrambles to it and she coughs as her lungs and filled with fresh air again. She gasps as she looks up and sees another titan, but this one is different than the others. It has massive wings that are surrounded in an almost godly glow. “Thank you.” She whispers. She hears a high-pitch roar when it suddenly disappears without a trace. She looks around and sees that night has fallen and she sees a few rescuers nearby.

“Here! Help me! Help me!” She cries out in German. Her legs are really hurting and she’s pretty sure she’s got broken bones somewhere. One of the rescuers picks her up and carries her to a medical tent where other survivors are getting treated. Once she’s laid down on a cot and waiting on a doctor, she checks her phone and she is relieved that she has a signal.

Of course she immediately calls King.

“Hello?! Hello?! Elisa? Elisa are you ok?!” He asks frantically barely after the first ring.

“King…King it’s me.” She whimpers as she starts to cry.

“Oh mein god, Elisa…these titans, it’s all over the news. They’re moving everywhere. I might have to evacuate soon. Are you alright? Are you ok?” He says.

“I think I’ll be ok. There are a lot more people in worse shape than I am.” She says looking around.

“That titan that you were studying…it’s in the city now.” He says.

“King…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She says.

“Elisa, it’s alright. You don’t have to be sorry. I’m just so happy to hear from you. I love you so much.” He says sincerely.

“I love you too King.” She says softly. “I’m sorry but I have to go…”

“I know, I know, save your battery life. Just keep me posted when you can and I will too. I promise.” He says.

“I will too…I promise.” She whispers. “I love you King. Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you too Elisa.” He says. She holds the line a little longer before she reluctantly hangs up. She hopes she can get home soon. She lays back down on the cot and she thinks she hears that song again as it calms her down and helps her get to sleep.  

[pixelgrotto]

The horrific Resident Evil playthrough, part ten

Resident Evil 6 is the big one that I was anticipating when I started this series playthrough in March. It’s the one that seems to have split the fanbase like no other, the one that some folks love and others abhor, and the one that took Resident Evil so far into the realm of explosions on top of zombies on top of exploding zombies that the franchise had no choice but to dial the entire thing back in Resident Evil 7 in order to give everyone’s minds a break before those exploded too. There is, in fact, a particular sort of enemy in this game that represents it well - called the Whopper, it’s a giant Fat Albert-looking thing that charges at you in a truly grotesque example of fun character design. It’s a bioweapon to be reckoned with, and when you see one coming your way, all you can say is “OH SHIT” as you try to blast its head apart before it barrages you into a wall.

RE6 is a whopper of a game. It’s chock full of so many different gameplay styles, so many plot threads, so many bits and pieces barely holding together at the seams in a mad effort to appease all sectors of the fan base - the people who preferred Resident Evil when it was eerie and quiet, the fans who fell in love with the series when Resident Evil 4 introduced an emphasis on action and the shippers who just love the characters and want to see them press the trigger of a Magnum at the same time and let loose with a bullet that will send the remains of a hulking Serbian mutation go stumbling backwards into the flames of a burning wind tunnel. 

The only way to properly assess RE6 in the midst of all this madness is to look at its four campaigns one-by-one, which took me 33 hours in total to complete, a staggering number for this series. 

Leon’s campaign - Everyone’s favorite Resident Evil protagonist who is still rocking Leonardo DiCaprio 90s hair (even though he’s aging in real-time and is apparently in his late 30s now) is BACK in this campaign, which seems to be the one that the game wants you to play first. It’s a rollicking adventure which I personally thought was the best of the bunch, though I wouldn’t blame you if you found Chris’ campaign better. I think I was won over by the fan service, since Leon’s opening chapter immediately channels Resident Evil 2 by forcing you to escape Tall Oaks, an American metropolitan area that’s essentially Raccoon City 2.0. Zombies will be lurching at you from the darkness like the old games, you’ve gotta run through subway cars just like in RE2 and RE3, and the whole vibe actually approaches scary at a few moments, which is something that the rest of this game has absolutely no time for. Partnered with Leon is Helena, a new character who’s also a US government agent but frankly kind of boring, and the pair quickly find themselves wrapped up in a conspiracy engineered by a politician named Derek Simmons. To figure out the extent of his conspiracy, you’ve gotta play Ada’s campaign (all the characters’ stories intersect at various points, which is one of this game’s best ideas), but let’s just say that Leon’s party ends in a wild rush to a made-up Chinese city named Lanshiang - which, from the POV of someone who lived in Hong Kong for six years, is clearly HK under another name. Half of Lanshiang gets blown up, Simmons transforms into what looks like a T-Rex and then a giant insect kaiju, and the general tone is deliciously batshit, though if you don’t like batshit then your mileage will vary. Leon gets music that I like to call "Funky Zombie Porno Breakbeats” for his ending theme, and I feel like this phrase can summarize the tone of the entire Resident Evil franchise perfectly. 

Chris’ campaign - If Leon’s adventure was the cheesy-but-occasionally-spooky “LET’S TAKE THESE ZOMBIES TO SUPLEX CITY, CHUMS” vibe of Resident Evil 4 on acid, then Chris’ campaign is the “MILITARY ESPIONAGE ACTION AGAINST BIOWEAPONS, BRUH” vibe of Resident Evil 5 on acid. It begins with Chris suffering from a bout of PTSD after losing a contingent of his men in a made-up country that’s supposed to be Serbia, then moves to Lanshiang after ace sniper Piers recruits Chris for one last mission. Instead of zombies, you fight mostly J’avo, a breed of terrorists using viruses to give themselves horrific limbs, and everything resembles a Call of Duty or SOCOM game, with Chris hearing instructions from his squad leader through his headpiece, ducking behind cover to shoot J’avos apart and generally being a weathered, grumpy soldier. The main theme of Chris’ campaign is actually removed from the overarching tale involving Simmons, and the focus is instead on the quieter, MANLY subplot about how all these years of fighting monstrosities has worn Mr. Redfield down. He needs to learn how to be a soldier once more, and Piers - a guy who I was initially suspicious of because he’s a pretty boy with nicely groomed hair, and those sorts are usually lame in Japanese video games - comes through as one of the most likable additions to Resident Evil lore in a long time to offer Chris much-needed support. The entire campaign might actually be better if played as Piers instead of Chris, especially due to a touching ending scene which is probably the one moment where the game’s plot transcends crazy horror action and enters the realm of something actually thought-provoking. Chris’ campaign, in general, is also where RE6 seems the most focused and confident, though the cover shooting mechanics are clunky when compared to titles that actually specialize in cover shooting, like Gears of War. Chris also doesn’t have Funky Zombie Porno Breakbeats for his ending music, so Leon gets a tiny point ahead of him in my book, but not by much. 

Jake’s campaign - I’ve read a few reviews that call this campaign the “experimental” one, and...yeaaaaah, it is. Jake, who’s the son of former Resident Evil baddie Albert Wesker, was presumably designed to serve as a bold new protagonist for future games, but he’s kind of an emo douchebag, so I played through the entirety of his missions as his partner Sherry Birkin. Sherry’s the little girl from Resident Evil 2 all grown up, which I think is genius, because she serves as a tangible example of this franchise’s progression over the years. You could probably show her picture to anyone unfamiliar with Resident Evil and be like, “That’s a formerly 10-year-old side character from the second game grown up into a secret agent” and get a response of "Woah, cool,” so yeah, I like Sherry a lot. In fact, her presence made this whole campaign tolerable, because Jake is an edgelord and his missions run the confused gamut from shoot ‘em up sections to weird exploration bits that seem to want to channel the spirit of the old games but don’t succeed. Then there are the stealth and chase sequences against Ustanak, the “hulking Serbian mutation” that I mentioned a few paragraphs ago. This fellow was clearly created to remind Resident Evil veterans of Mr. X and Nemesis from RE2 and RE3, but while those guys would break down walls and pop outta nowhere to put a lump in your throat, Ustanak’s every impending arrival is advertised from a mile away, to the point where he’s not really frightening - just redundant. And the stealth bits against him seem like B-tier ripoffs of sequences in Metal Gear Solid, because RE6′s engine is really not engineered for sneakiness. At one point, Sherry and Jake have to hide in garbage dumpsters as Ustanak sniffs around, and that serves as an accurate representation of what large portions of their campaign are. These two kiddies do get a cheesy love ballad for their ending song, though, because the game really wants you to ship ‘em. Sherry, ya deserve better. 

Ada’s campaign - As messy as Jake’s campaign is, however, it’s nothing compared to Ada’s, which was originally an unlockable extra in the original release of RE6 and designed to tie up loose story threads. It does do that, though the resulting plot - where Simmons got so obsessed with Ada Wong that he whipped up an entirely new virus to re-create her and then lost track of it - is pretty meh, though it could perhaps be an intriguing exploration of the depths of male entitlement in the hands of a better writer. Aside from these pieces of so-so story, Ada’s adventure offers aggravation in the form of bad level design and a truly horrid slew of Quicktime Events and wretched stealth sections, which, once again, this game just doesn’t do well. It opens with her investigating a sub filled with guards that she’s encouraged to sneak past, except you can’t really sneak in RE6 and eventually they all notice and decide to gangbang you, and then the sub floods and there’s dizzying shaky cam everywhere that made me feel sick. You’re given a minimal amount of seconds to succeed on the Quicktime Events to escape the rising floodwaters, and I felt like I was playing a game of Dragon’s Lair, where you need to press right or left immediately or risk seeing yourself die over and over again. That sums up the frustration of Ada’s campaign, which also made me realize one important thing - I really don’t find Ada Wong to be much of an interesting character. She’s little more than a walking femme fatale trope, and even people who insist on shipping her with Leon will probably have to admit that those two’s “relationship,” if you can even call it that, is little more than quick winks and five minute interactions that have amounted to nothing over the span of nearly twenty years. The pair of them get ONE good scene on a bridge in this game, but that’s it, and honestly, their cornball kiss near the end of RE2 is still a more genuine character interaction. Oh yeah, and on the topic of ending music, since I seem to be coming back to that a lot in this post, Ada gets generic filler tunes for her credit roll. How appropriate. 

As you can see in the impressions above, in its own special way, Resident Evil 6 has something for everyone, ranging from a quality tale about battle-hardened men shooting biomutations to terrible levels that feel like they came out of a 2005 PS2 game that was quickly relegated to the bargain bin at Gamestop. Reviews were all over the place when this sucker came out, and still are today, with just as many people insisting that this game is the shit as there are people emphasizing that it is shit. My verdict? It’s BOTH, with some truly excellent parts and some truly abhorrent ones. It could have done with some trimming, for sure, and at the end of the day, Leon’s and Chris’ campaigns feel like the only real important ones here. A streamlined and likely better-received version of Resident Evil 6 would’ve only focused on those two guys - since one pivotal scene where the pair meet for a few minutes, briefly scuffle and POINT THEIR GUNS AT EACH OTHER YEAAA FAN SERVICE - seems to have been written first. That would’ve given Resident Evil 6 a better balance, with Leon’s missions possibly focusing on old school survival horror and pulp while Chris’ missions would lean hard on the military action stuff. 

But we didn’t get that. Instead, what we got is a shambling whopper of a game - at times as unwieldy and ridiculous as the enemy bearing the same name, at other times just as satisfying as a real-life beef whopper. Resident Evil 6 is both good and bad, the video game equivalent of an excessive and expensive comic book crossover, and shit, I think I’ve just written the most about it than any of its predecessors.

That, at the very least, has to count for something.

All screenshots taken by me. For more, check out this Twitter thread showing my step-by-step progress through the game.

[lilietsblog]

one punch man 10-12: the aliens

huh its episode 10 already man this anime is so short is it flashback time yet?

hi terrible Godzilla oh yeah its the S class introduction time

gotta love that theres actually competent military in this anime why is it such a rare thing jfc

seriously tho Saitama's superpower is NOT superstrength, that's just now how physics works I think he has sped up perception, and I suspect he had that to a degree even before he started his training, judging from how easily he managed to take on the crab guy, if not all of it but what his strength training gave him (awakened in him?) was basically reality warping no wonder he's bored: he ACTUALLY REALLY doesn't have to put any kind of effort into his punches, as it's not his physical strength that's doing any work there, it's literally reality bending to accomodate him that has got to suck reality warping ennui I love my egg son

I love how all of these monsters demand acknowledgement and don't just try and step on pesky human distractions that ignore them

okay yeah this dude did end up just trying to step on her

man Tornado is freakishly powerful and that's amazing

HI OLD MAN DUDE OMG SAITAMA AND GENOS ARE HERE

Genos oh come on you really should learn some self-defense actually

this sounds like an anime reference I'm not getting

I love that Silverfang at least appreciates Saitama's actual power

and Genos is just inviting Saitama to tag along this is adorable

I love how completely fucking extra all the heroes are and how ridiculous Saitama's low key normalcy looks by contrast

poor Tornado she's amazing but since she's only summoned for appropriate level threats it's not even interesting to be amazing

Watchdog Man is amazing

man you are so dramatic maybe start with explanations jfc there is no logic to this order of operations SAITAMA GOT HIS TEA IT'S FROM STARBUCKS IT'S HILARIOUS awww I love this cute lil bad boy who skipped his lil sis's piano recital )=

madame Shibabawa CHOKED ON A COUGHING PILL

poor Saitama not knowing anything I love how casual he is about asking what he doesn't know I wouldn't have managed >_>

you call it right Child Emperor this is very ridiculous granted the meeting holder dude is probably right but he's being very ineffectual about it

Saitama jfc why

IM REALLY GLAD HE GOT INTERRUPTED

oh yeah this is a completely irrelevant bunch of baddies isnt it

OH YEAH THESE ARE THE ACTUAL BAD GUYS GEE 'IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS' SURE DID TURN OUT TO BE SOON so yeah thats why the meeting holder dude was right

I love how much attention this anime cares to pay to civilians in trouble

man guys you should have hidden in that rut together instead of getting out

the knight guy is awesome

man thats... not all of city A that was destroyed

ahaha Saitama didn't wait for everyone my socially awkward egg acts on his own out of sync with anything <3 i can relate so much

man my favorite thing about this final fight is that it's going to involve collaboration it's not just 'Saitama saves the day' because he's just one person like with the fish king, Saitama was only able to save anyone because other heroes were there first and here there are multiple battles to be fought these dudes are important too

wow his stump sure isn't bleeding out

hey the swords at least slow the monster down that's not nothing

man this samurai dude is hella cool this entire squad is hella cool footsoldiers are important and I love this anime

I love that the kids are in front here it's a terrible idea and yet in context who's going to say no

jfc King you are way too fast to give up

sorry Genos this is a child

I love the peacemaker dude tho

ahaha Saitama is already inside I love him

oh dude you sure are confident in yourself

SAITAMA IS SPREADING DESTRUCTION a thing he's good at

man this guy's design is SO TOTALLY A REFERENCE

...so the flashback stuff is probably side material that I haven't downloaded isn't it

whatever, I'll just continue the liveblog

man this ending is nice it's just pure aesthetic, and it's such a nice grounding one the Earth that Saitama lives on, which is the same one we all do

hi humanization of the enemy to them, Saitama is the kaiju and yeah he kinda is reality warping powers do that

aww Saitama is not very good at finding vital parts of the ship to destroy eh

Saitama makes for an awesome creepypasta really an unstoppable juggernaut

...I really want OPM to become an endless shounen series it's worth it and it has political setup enough for SO MUCH to happen it features a cast FULL of people very ready for exploration and convoluted plots the first season feels like BARELY A PROLOGUE in what could be the grand scheme of thing

GUYS THE FUCK YOU DOING THERE PLEASE EVACUATE

hi Hammerhead!!! I love you!!! omfg is that your actual first name oooomg

omfg THIS GUY I LOVE YOU TOO I REMEMBER AND LOVE YOU

this show's unwillingness to kill anyone off IS AWESOME

hi Sonic <3 I still love your oni face

I love that the knight guy looks middle aged with wrinkles and all

YOO NICE OJI-SAN

GOOD JOB DISRUPTING COMMUNICATIONS BOI

GO SAITAMA WRECK SHIT

I LOVE THE BAD BOY HERO SO MUCH REALLY I LOVE THIS ENTIRE SQUAD AND THE MUSIC IS EPIC AND THE KNIGHT KEEPS WORRYING I LOVE HIM

sorry coordinator dude that's S class heroes for you

welp bye bye dude that's the batter figuring shit out <3

man poor coordinator dude he's trying his best

I love Saitama and his low key shit I love how the navigator TRIES HIS BEST Saitama is ONE SMART COOKIE oh man this dude can actually look hella intimidating

yeah the downside of telekinesis as a combat power is that you still need to have something to telekinesis unless you can just straight up telekinesis your foes i guess

oh hey gravity manipulation nice

sorry due Saitama's power is basically no sell of any other powers its kinda sad

ahaha hes breaking his own ship now

man this supreme telekinetic power sure isn't used to actual direct combat ....yeah he's ridiculously weak kidna

awww cute lil aliens

awww Child Emperor! <3

ah yes! this is what Tornado is for!

and Mumen Rider on the ground you is good job!!! i love that they give him spotlight so fucking much you have no idea this really is an anime exploring the idea of heroes

AW YIS MY GIRL FUCKING WRECK EM THIS IS EFFICIENT COOPERATION

AND TORNADO TRASH TALKS THEM YOU TELL EM GIRL YOU DESERVE THIS GLOAT

guys with indirect powers wait for guys with direct powers to give them a chance

AW YIS SMALL FRY HEROES COMING TO SEARCH&RESCUE THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD BE

I'm still amazed the Knight is still alive guess his power is some sort of invulnerability/healing

dude if you forget the defense and focus on attack they still outnumber you this would have worked better when you still had many heads

AW YEAH BOSS ENCOUNTER (SUCH A REFERENCE)

SAITAMA LOOKING DANGEROUS AS FUCK GOD JOB YOU IS

Saitama is like a white hole infinite energy he just makes his own

I love how Saitama is still not used to the change of his status from hobbyist to professional it's the small details that make it <3

ahh and this is the kind of fight Saitama wanted isn't it?

haha twenty years yeah strength training had fuckall to do with it Saitama had this potential since babyhood

I LOVE SAITAMA'S COMMON SENSE YOU CAN'T JUST GO AROUND ATTACKING SHIT TO ALLEVIATE BOREDOM HE'S FAMILIAR WITH THIS PROBLEM VERY MUCH

I LOVE THE EGG SHOT JFC <33333333

man Saitama's low key-ness looks really badass here best egg

I love that Saitama's movement isn't even running particularly well, it's just walking really really fast

awww Saitama's come to not expect much by now <3

haha sorry dude you're now match for Tornado's firepower hope she's got some way to watch out for civilians would be invaluable for search&rescue if she were free for it rn

oh hey Drive Knight there sure are lots of knights here huh

oh and it was Metal Knight who destroyed the town huh was he the dude who came in to test his weaponry against the meteor?

yup dude sorry outnumbered

so guys you might want to get the fuck out from under the ship now

I love the badass opening music this is Saitama's true potential too bad the plot isn't about it

lol I love how they both have pretty low expectations for each other

this dude is about to bring down his own ship heh

OMG SAITAMA DIDN'T NO SELL THAT THAT'S PRETTY AMAZING sorry dude Saitama has power beyond his own conception too

yeah you can heal yourself but Saitama wasn't hurt

man his pants are baggy and look hilarious

wow holy fuck and Saitama's method of surviving is ragdoll roll with it as much as possible I do that in the car to avoid motion sickness on bumpy roads

AND YEP HERE IT IS SAITAMA IS ON THE MOON HAHAHAHA HE IS NOT BREATHING AND THERE IS NO SOUND SAITAMA ARE YOU GOING TO PUSH MOON OUT OF ITS ORBIT NOPE JUST DESTROY A CHUNK OF SURFACE

aww hey dude vulnerable after all where Saitama just isn't

sorry Tornado you're awesome but that wasn't you

this dude is strong but he isn't Saitama fast he's not even Sonic fast just very strong

CONSECUTIVE NORMAL PUNCHES NICE NOT ENOUGH STILL SAITAMA MUST BE SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW (and yet vaguely dissatisfied still because something in his brain chemistry still isn't making this as awesome as it should have been)

I love Saitama's creative names Serious Punch

I love that Saitama never taunts, never doesn't talk to his foes he doesn't dehumanize them, ever

well yeah okay that was pretty curb stomp sorry dude but you still entertained Saitama more than anyone else ever managed to

I hope poor little alien crew members survive alright ^^;

aww and the master picks up his knight

TORNADO CAN'T YOU HOLD THE SHIP A LITTLE well whatever

oh hey Amai Mask who the fuck even are you dude what the fuck shut up? I love the bad boy he's saying it like it is dude they literally saved the Earth and everything that wasn't wiped out in a single strike???

Amai is an actual supervillain here isn't he

mm he could be S rank I see

oh hey Metal Knight there sure are a lot of supervillains holed up at the top of the Hero Organization huh well I mean it makes as much sense as anything to recruit anyone sane enough to come in

ALIEN SURVIVORS <3

WHAT THE FUCK AMAI WHY LOCAL LIGHT YAGAMI OR WHAT

awww Genos really has found balance with Saitama

so is Saitama already home or what ah nope there he is <3

Tornado you naive muffin

OMFG SAITAMA IS ABSOLUTELY HELPLESS IN SOCIAL SITUATIONS AND CALLS GENOS IN FOR HELP THEY ARE SUCH GREAT PARTNERS

'history-making events, the top stories for days' yeah i guess in this kind of world there's nothing to do but keep reconstructing and ignore the losses )=

OPTION TO LIVE AT HEADQUARTERS YEAH THAT REALLY NEEDED TO BE A THING ALREADY

anyway I love this anime

[dawnstruck]

dust and devils on my conscience

FMA RoyEd Pacific Rim 'verse. Non-linear story telling. [Read on AO3]

Mankind, like cockroaches, are tenacious little beasts.

i.

A kaiju is a fearsome thing. Vast and vicious and near-on invincible.

But mankind, like cockroaches, are tenacious little beasts.

They thrive, they survive. Even if many of them die. Even if Death, for some, is a promise.

xviii.

The first tentative step a Jaeger takes is always the most exhilarating. Like a roller-coaster ride, only that you are the loop, the sky, and gravity all at once.

Roy used to love this. He thinks he might be able to love it again.

The water crashes around them and then they move forward.

v.

Two truths. Roy wasn't in love with Maes and Maes wasn't in love with Roy.

That doesn't mean it hurts any less.

xiv.

“Revenge?!” Edward snaps. His metal fist beats against the metal wall to his right, just once, but it seems to set the entire room and everything in it ringing. “You honestly think this is about revenge for me?!”

The gleam in his eyes is furious. Roy does not flinch. He has faced down monsters. A mere boy does not intimidate him.

“Al and I have saved millions of lives,” Ed continues, “We've gone out there again and again, just like you and Hughes have, and you dare belittle me by simply calling it revenge?!”

It would be easy to make a quip about Edward's height then, but his rage is a curious thing. It makes him appear larger than he is and yet there is still so much of a child in him.

“If anything,” Ed adds and his voice is merely a whisper now, like the aftershocks of an earthquake, “You should get some revenge yourself.”

vi.

It's a strange feeling, to mesh your mind with someone so intricately and then have it ripped away within what is little more than an exhale. It's hurts and then it heals and then there is still that frayed edge, forever there at the seams of your conscience.

Roy resists the urge to pluck at the lose ends so he doesn't come undone.

xv.

“Sir,” Riza says, “Permission to speak openly?”

“Permission granted, Lieutenant,” Roy says, tiredly.

“Brigadier General Hughes enlisted to protect his family,” she says. She does not pull her punches, but she gives him a moment's notice to brace himself. “You owe it to him to continue doing so.”

Roy knocks back the whiskey and tries to drown the truth. But, like his nightmares, it swims.

viii.

The Elric brothers are the golden boys of the Jaeger program. They are young, handsome, congenial. Their sob story appeals to the public, both of them orphaned when a kaiju attack laid wreckage to the Australian coast line.

Their accents are as broad as their smiles and, all over the world, boys and girls alike collect posters and action figures of them.

Their Jaeger goes down somewhere close to Kyushu and, though official sources report them to be alive and stable, they do not appear in any morning shows for quite a while to come.

vii.

Riza outmatches him in the compatibility test. It's no surprise, really, but Roy cannot find it in himself to be disappointed. He's not sure he wants to let anyone into his head anyway.

It doesn't work with Jean or Heymans either. General Grumman pinches the tips of his mustache but does not concede defeat. He keeps sending other candidates at Roy, new recruits and seasoned pilots, but none of them are Maes, so it doesn't matter anyway.

iv.

Originally, they enlisted because it was the right thing to do and they took the test because they were curious. They hadn't known each other for long, barely enough to really call each other friends instead of comrades, so no one expected them to be drift compatible.

Their Jaeger is called Pyro Polaroid, a beautiful shiny thing, all gold and navy blue. Maes makes a fuzz after every battle, lamenting the scratches in the paint job as one would with a beloved old-timer.

Later, in his more macabre moments Roy thinks that maybe it was a good thing that Maes died because at least this way he didn't have to witness how Roy quite literally single-mindedly dragged Pyro Polaroid back to the shore and let her collapse against the cliffs. He didn't have to see her be decommissioned and ransacked for spare parts. He didn't have to watch Roy break just as efficiently.

ix.

The rumor reaches Roy when its subjects are already there. Then again, it's kind of hard to miss a giant Jaeger being flown into the base.

Roy doesn't have to guess who it is. The flaming red paint and black markings are enough of a giveaway.

Fullmetal Alchemist, despite the extensive damage she must have sustained, was a younger model and had thus been deemed worthy of repair. Similar things can be said for her pilots.

Alphonse Elric is being carted around the uneven floors of the base in a wheelchair, but his handshake is strong and his smile genuine.

“Looking forward to working with you,” he tells Roy as though it weren't unlikely that he'd ever walk again.

“Where on earth has Ed gone?” a young woman behind Al huffs. She has her hands on her hips and grease smears all over. She must be one of Fullmetal Alchemist's engineers.

“Probably making sure his baby is parked correctly,” Al replies, rolling his eyes. To Roy he says, “He's very particular about who gets to touch her.”

Who's going to co-pilot her then, Roy wants to ask but doesn't because the answer sure as hell is not Alphonse.

xi.

Edward fights as though he were participating in an illegal street fight, not looking for a drift partner. He's got his opponents on their backs in a matter of seconds and impatiently taps his bo staff against the floor mats as he waits for his next challenger.

“Come on,” he drawls. His skin glistens with sweat underneath his black tank top but morphs into scar tissue on his right shoulder. Somewhere in the crowd someone mutters how the automail gives him an unfair advantage. But drift compatibility is not about brute strength. It's about chess.

“Was that really it?” Ed asks now. His face is turned toward Grumman but his eyes are on Riza and her neat clipboard. She hesitates.

“There is one,” she says and when her gaze cuts over to Roy, Ed follows.

xxv.

The sunrise is made of seven colors, dyeing the sea and the sky. But the sun, the sun itself is bold and golden and almost bright enough to hurt Roy's eyes.

He does not look away.

xix.

They lose Arctic Briggs in the waves and Greed is rendered useless when Lan Fan is injured.

Ling gets her out, barely, and she survives, barely. Her remaining hand is red with her own blood as she clutches at Doctor Rockbell's bony wrist.

“Automail,” she grits out through the pain, “I can still fight. Give me automail.”

It took three years to get used to automail, one if you were as determined as Edward, but everyone knows that they only have days.

And yet, amid all the chaos and the destruction, it's easy to read Lan Fan's stubborn spite as hope.

“All right,” Doctor Rockbell says and gives a tight nod.

“Set the clock to zero,” Grumman orders and the bleak metal walls of the Shatterdome reflect his words like a mockingbird's song.

xxi.

Ed kisses like their staff fight might make one expect him to. Looking for openings, for weak spots, just this side of dirty. Roy matches him, kiss for kiss, and this is like their fight, too, this feeling of being alive, of being equal, of being in the right place at the right time.

xii.

Izumi Curtis coughs red blood into white handkerchiefs and observes Roy with narrow eyes.

Like him, she had once managed to pilot a Jaeger on her own. Unlike him, she had ended up with physical ruin instead of mental one.

“I found the boys in the rubble, hidden under the corpse of their mother,” she tells Roy what he has already heard on various radio shows, “I saw them grow old enough to enlist and I saw them nearly die at Kyushu. At some point you have to learn how to prioritize the world before your own fear.”

“I'm not afraid,” he says.

“Not of the kaiju,” she agrees.

xiii.

Roy tells himself he is merely embarrassed when he goes down the rabbit hole. He blames it on being unfamiliar with Fullmetal Alchemist and with how long it's been that he's been inside of a Jaeger at all.

He manages to jerk himself free, vaguely aware of the frantic voices breaking through his headset, only Riza's calm and reasonable. He does not look to his left to see Edward's face. He does not want his pity or his scorn. He does not want to think about how that boy has been inside of his head.

“I'm done here,” Roy croaks and runs away once more.

ii.

Roy flirts with show hosts, takes selfies with fans and ruffles little children's hair. He gives autographs and press conferences, wears tailored suits and debonair smiles. He's the bachelor, the playboy, the unattainable dream. Maes is the opposite, the family man, the goofball, the nerd, who makes dad jokes and shows off pictures of his family and his stamp collection.

They work well together, maintaining the perfect equilibrium of what the public wants to see. Dashing heroes, guys next door.

Maes does not talk about how Gracia silently cries whenever she has to watch him leave. Roy does not admit that maybe sometimes he drinks a little too much whiskey to forget the last trampled city and the corpses that came with it.

Instead, they are invited to dinner parties at the White House and appear on a sports car commercial. They are living the life, only that there is a lot of death involved, too.

xxii.

“We will pilot Greed,” Izumi announces. Sig is a mountain beside her, steady and silent.

“What?” Alphonse bursts out, “But you can't! Pinako said if you ever step foot into a Jaeger again, it's gonna kill you.”

Izumi smiles, fondly.

“Look around, kid,” she says, indicating the listless disarray of the Shatterdome, “If I don't do this, we are all going to die anyway.”

She looks over to Ed, catches his eye. His teeth are clenched and his arms crossed, but he holds her gaze. Then he gives a nod.

“Brother!” Alphonse protests. He looks very pale in the lights of his lab and it makes the red veins in his eyes even more glaring, “You can't-”

He breaks off, doesn't finish. It's the moment in which he realizes that he is not only going to lose his mentor but his brother, too.

“Oh,” he says, his voice tight with tears. But he must know that, one way or another, this was always going to happen.

x.

“Don't,” Doctor Rockbell says evenly, never even looking up from her newspaper. Smoking is not allowed in the base but no one seems to have told her that and so she is puffing away on her pipe.

Edward, who had been feeding Den scraps under the table, sends her a withering look.

“It's the end of the world,” he says, “The least we can do is die fat and happy.” It's says it easily, evasively. They all know it might be over soon. He says it as someone who knows better than others. Better than most.

“Why are you still fighting,” Roy asks, not sure if he even wants to know the answer, “If you think it's the end?”

Ed's eyes, even in the harsh fluorescent lights of the base, are as golden as few living things should be.

“Because if I don't,” Ed tells him, “It's gonna be game over either way.”

xvi.

Drift compatibility, generally speaking, makes sense.

Olivier Armstong and Artyom Buccaneer make sense because he has been serving under her for years. Ling and Lan Fan make sense because they grew up together. Sig and Izumi Curtis make sense because they are married and still madly in love.

Roy and Ed, on the other hand, should not make sense.

Ed's mind is a flurry of contradictions. Smiles tucked into the corners of his loved ones, Alphonse, their mother, Winry, Pinako. Izumi with a halo of the morning sun, a dead kaiju at her feet and a defunct Jaeger at her back, Izumi pale and with coughs shaking her asunder. Snippets of Al's mind interwoven with his own. Brandings of the precise moment in which Al lost feeling in his legs, of when Ed felt nothing but the absence of his own limbs. Metal grinding against kaiju scales, metal grinding into Ed's flesh and bone, fusing with his skin. Weeks and weeks of sitting by Al's bedside, waiting for him to wake up. Months and months of being useless, useless, useless. Day after day of dreadful news, broken walls, broken bodies.

And watching, always watching, as Winry and the rest of the team sew Fullmetal Alchemist back into her former glory, some uneven stitches here, some scars there, and Ed knows that you are never just piloting with your partner but with your Jaeger as well. He'll brave the oceans with her yet again and even the idea of doing it without Al doesn't hurt as much as it ought to.

Revenge, Roy had thought, when it had always been so much more than that.

xx.

“Oi,” Ed says, flicking an automail finger against Roy's wrist. The impact reverberates through Roy's bone marrow. “I'm not fucking piloting with you if you're hungover.”

“We share our minds, not our actual brains,” Roy tells him from experience. Maes had never complained about sympathy headaches the morning after Roy had drunk himself into a stupor again. But he had given Roy steady looks, not necessarily disappointed, but lingering a little too long for comfort. Ed is doing the same now, though his eyebrows are pinched, his eyes somber.

“What would you like me to do instead?” Roy says, offering a skeleton of a smile. He and Olivier had never gotten along but she had been Alex's sister and Roy blames himself for his failure. Without her and Buccaneer piloting Arctic Briggs, humanity is one, two, a dozen steps closer to extinction.

“Dunno,” Ed says. He scuffs the heel of his boot against the floor, shivering slightly. He's wearing an oversized sweater to fend of the perpetual cold of the Shatterdome. Does he miss the Australian heat? Does he miss his arm and leg underneath the phantom pain? Does he miss his mother like Roy misses Maes?

“Dunno,” Ed repeats, “But grief's gonna fuck you over if you don't fuck it back.”

“And how do you...,” Roy says, tilting his head to the side in mildly drunk curiosity, “Fuck grief back?”

Edward grins, boyish and brave and full of bad ideas.

“You fight,” he says as though it were a gospel.

A moment of enlightenment and then Roy sets his glass aside. He prays.

xvi.

Roy, to his chagrin, estimated the Elrics. Not just Edward, but Alphonse, too.

There is more to them than sun tanned skin and the lucky coincidence of being drift compatible.

“I had to do something,” Alphonse says with red bleeding into his hazel eyes. Roy wrinkles his nose against the invasive smell of the kaiju brain on the slab, but Edward doesn't even seem to notice, fuzzing over his younger brother like a nervous bird.

“What did you see?” Grumman wants to know.

“Their world,” Alphonse says and then he explains.

xxiii. Sex, in its many forms, is a form of survival. On the one hand, there is procreation. On the other, there is the instinct to affirm life, the urgency of one's last moments.

Cheap whiskey, Roy knows, does not compare to orgasm, but Edward's eyes have the same color.

The boy has not done this often, Roy thinks. Too earnest to bed one of his many groupies, too busy to bother with anyone else. On the surface, Edward seems to consist of little but Jaeger, kaiju, and his pickpocketed family. Underneath that, however, sits a deep-rooted fear of pain and loneliness and abandonment.

So he lets Roy fuck him in the face of death and destruction, and Roy fucks him in spite of it. He puts no promises into his kisses, no reassurances, because he doesn't have any. Instead, he weaves solace into Edward's hair, gentle reminders that for now – for now – they are here and alive and in each others' arms instead of each others' heads. It's little and lacking, but it's all they have and that makes it precious.

Roy does not dream that night.

iii.

“Ah,” Maes says, when they are playing cards without any gambles, “What will you do? When it's done, I mean.”

He never seems to doubt that it would be done, eventually. That humanity would win the fight and that life would return to how it was before the first kaiju appeared.

Roy thinks of how Maes himself would probably leave the military and take up a desk job somewhere else, something that allows him to be with Gracia and Elysia, something that doesn't count down his days like the war clock at the Shatterdome. Tick tick. Reset. Tick tick. Reset.

Roy, however, is not like that. Roy sees the horizon only when there is a new monster appearing on it. Roy never plans beyond that.

“I'd like to watch the sunrise,” he says and reveals his hand.

xxvi.

Mankind, like cockroaches, are tenacious little beasts.

xxiv.

“You mad cunt,” Edward yells against the wind. His hair is already wavy with sea salt, even though it can't have been more than a few minutes. Logically, Roy knows it can't have been more than a few minutes, even though it felt like eternity.

The memories of passing through the portal are both hazy and knife-sharp at the same time. He entered another world, another planet. And, what's more, he almost died. But he didn't.

“Are you all right?” he asks, somewhat numbly. There are voices coming from out of the escape pod, questions on whether everything worked out on their end, promises to come get them soon. He thinks he can hear helicopters in the distance.

“All right?” Edward repeats as though the definition of the word had just been fundamentally altered. The combination of his accent and adrenaline slur the words until he sounds almost drunk on elation. “All right?”

His fingers are on the collar of Roy's suit, a tether that is tender and terrible at the same time. His clammy forehead presses against Roy's.

“This is General Grumman,” Grumman's voice drones out of the pod. He sounds tinny and far away. The moment remains untouchable.

“The breach is sealed,” he announces, “Stop the clock!”

Roy kisses Ed.

[drink-n-watch]

  Genre:  Science fiction, mecha, action, adventure, kaiju,

Episodes: 12

Studio: Trigger

  Puberty is weird. You hit high school and all the sudden you don’t know who you are anymore. Well you do but you don’t know who you should be. Unless you’re Hibiki, then you literally don’t know who you are. That’s cause you just woke up one day with complete amnesia, no family members to fill you in and way too chill friends that don’t feel the need to explain your past to you. In fact, you’re also so extremely easy going as to take it all in stride. Even when it turns out you might be a giant robot of some sort that’s meant to protect the city from the free wheeling kaiju that have been appearing all over the place. But something’s not quite right here. Puberty is weird but is it supposed to be quite this weird?

I’m so psyched I got to at least take a tiny part in #MechaMarch

SSSS. Gridman went directly on my to watch list as soon as it came out because it came from studio Trigger. I have not watched the infamous Darling and the Franxxx however I’ve seen my fair share of their anime and I tend to like them. That’s the only reason SSSS. Gradman ended up on my list at all. The short summary and promo art didn’t really catch my attention. Without the Trigger name attached to it, I probably wouldn’t have noticed this series at all. After watching it there’s one thing I can say for sure. I tend to like Trigger studio releases… a lot!

Trigger has some cute girl design!

I don’t think I will surprise anyone by saying that the production values here are exceptional. Everything is impressive and lush. Designs are great, colours are stunning and used in subtle but powerful ways. A lot of this series is a tribute to mecha anime as a genre and the soundtrack is carefully put together in accordance.

The voice acting was one of my favourite parts. It’s extremely deadpan and naturalistic. The delivery is not unlike a mockumentary (which tend to be more fluid than a documentary). When you layer that overt the incredible events and the increasingly hard to comprehend circumstances, it causes an odd breakdown. It constantly reminds you that everyone is acting too normal. The mundane interactions and reactions are highlighted by the minimalistic acting which in turn clashes and highlights the absurdity of the situation.

So yeah…Trigger knows how to make an anime. Big news!

right!

I will say, the animation was wonderful, very fluid and fun to watch, but it did not have those signature exaggerated movements and elasticity that so many Trigger titles do and that I absolutely love. I understand why they might have chosen more classic animation techniques. It fits with the tribute nature of the series and the context of big heavy metal machines fighting that might not be too flexible. I still would have loved to see traces of it though. This said, the director did a great job and scenes with very little or slight movements are always shot in interesting ways. That made it up to me…

Also, I don’t know where to put this but every episode has a simple white title card with the name of the episode. I love those title cards. That’s some really beautiful font. I tried to find out what it was but couldn’t. If any of you know, please tell me in the comments. It would make my day!

I do that a lot. Imply that something goes without saying or doesn’t need an explanation then spend paragraphs explaining it.

this neds no explanation

Like most of the Trigger titles I’ve seen, SSSS. Gridman can be enjoyed on a few levels… Oh you know what, let’s just dispense with the coyness.It’s probably already clear to you but let me spell it out. I really loved this series and I’m just going to gush about it. Maybe there are reasons you would not enjoy it. The general rating for the show is way lower than the one I gave. But You won’t find those reasons in this post. I can’t really think of any.

Where was I, oh yeah: Like most of the Trigger titles I’ve seen, SSSS. Gridman can be enjoyed on a few levels. On the one hand it is as I’ve mentioned a few times already, love letter to the mecha genre in anime. There are plenty of Easter eggs and winks in the designs and names. Gridman’s allies all study at Neon Genesis Junior High in one of the most obvious examples. Any fans of the genre will find plenty of references to smile at.

oh yeah…Gridman!

It also weaves mystery throughout the action in a very successful way. You could easily watch it as a journey to discovering what’s happening and the secrets of Hibiki’s past. Episode 9 was probably pivotal in my watching. It mirrors the very first episode but with substitutions and changes that leave you scratching your head until you realize what’s happening.It’s masterfully done, and brilliantly paced as a classic thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. I was loving SSSS. Gridman until then but this episode made me realize it was a level above everything I though. Then it lays out the emotional core of the series. Which brings me to:

THERE WILL BE MILD SPOILERS HERE – YOU SHOULD AVOID THEM IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE SHOW. THE SURPRISE MATTERS IN MY OPINION….

But on a different level it’s a sort of slightly sad hug to fans of the genre as well. Shinjo is sort of an amalgam of the worst prejudices and most powerful illustrations of anime and mecha fans. We are all gods of our own worlds and lonely and trapped within them.

a rich inner lief is important

The twist ending is foreshadowed early on. You see it in the garbage bags strewn across Akane’s room. You sort of feel it by how fragile she is and how, despite being superficially liked by all, she seems to have deep trouble connecting with anyone. Rikka is the only character with a family and her mother is often more of a background element. Neither scolding nor offering advice. There are no actual families in this world and when you see parents physically present, that becomes even more obvious.

SSSS. Gridman paints a slightly painful picture of the worlds we hold within us. Of how they can sustain us and how they can bring us down. Of what we owe to those worlds and the people within them and how we will unavoidably disappoint and fail them. Because we’re just human. We’re not hyper agents or kaiju.

some days I’m a Kaiju

But ultimately, the show tells us that that’s alright. That we all have the potential of being heroes and monsters in turn within us and that’s what makes us limitless and frightening and worthy. Of course I’m a reckless optimist. That’s the message I got out of it. I’m also a person who deeply enjoys living in my own worlds so I sympathized and related to the characters. I can tell that there’s a much more pessimistic way of taking in this story.

In the end, SSSS. Gridman was a beautiful and nostalgic tribute to things that obviously mean a lot to the studio. The genre where it’s roots lie and the fans that have kept it going. It embraces both the good and the bad. It doesn’t shy away from the cheesy. And I liked it….a lot!

ok, just need to dd Calibur now

Favourite character: Anti and also Calibur and sometimes Utsumi and Rikka, oh of course Shinjo…

What this anime taught me: You are responsible for everything you create

Every loaf of bread is the tragic story of grain that could have become beer…

Suggested drink: Agent Orange

Every time a character’s eyes aren’t blue – take a sip

Every time Junk shorts out – sigh

Every time Akane smashes something – take a sip

if it’s a screen – take another

Every time Gridman gets a new accessory – take a sip

Every time Utsumi gets kicked – ouch

Every time anyone orders something form the diner – get some coffee

Every time Rikka gets left out – awww

Every time we see a “special dog” – get a snack

Every time there’s a soft 4th wall break – take a sip

Every time something looks like a motherboard – take a sip

Every time anyone worries about Simon – take a sip

Every time we see the scenery kaiju – Wonder if you could find a nice figure of one of them

Every time Rikka side eyes – take a sip

Every time Calibur shows emotion – just sit there and take it in, it doesn’t happen a lot.

yay, Calibur!

SSSS. Gridman – YAY #Mecha March! Genre:  Science fiction, mecha, action, adventure, kaiju, Episodes: 12 Studio: Trigger Puberty is weird. You hit high school and all the sudden you don't know who you are anymore.

[recentanimenews]

Peter's Fall 2018 Anime Premiere Recommendations

It feels like only yesterday I was writing this article for the winter season and I’m already giving my recommendations for the final season of the year. 2018 has been another great anime and fall looks to be ready to close it out in style with some returning fan favorite series like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Golden Kamuy, Sword Art Online Alicization, and Fairy Tail, but there are a ton of new series that are already showing a ton of promise.

Having watched every single premiere so far I have, as usual, found a bunch of gems among the many anime getting their start this season. Here are my top 5 recommendations for fall 2018 based entirely on their first episode!

Run With the Wind

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this series that came into the season with so little fanfare but wow was it visually stunning. I tend to have a soft spot for sports series--it’s keeping me around that’s the hard part--but even beyond my personal proclivities, every single moment of the episode felt so beautifully orchestrated, even fitting in some awesome animation in between a considerable number of character introductions. A penniless thief who relies on his speed for quick getaways finding himself the newest member an all-male dorm about to be coerced by one of their members into running an insane marathon is certainly a strange premise. I don’t want to set expectations too high, but I’m getting some major A Place Further than the Universe vibes.

ZOMBIE LAND SAGA

The production committee played things super close to the chest in advance of this anime, giving out almost zero information about the show beyond some key art, title, and the insane ramblings of its lead voice actor Mamoru Miyano. What might normally be considered a bad business move feels like genius now. Coming into this show cold is probably the perfect way to experience it, which puts me in a rough spot sharing why it’s so good. Read on only if you don’t mind spoilers or, just trust me on this one, and watch it. It’s got all the makings of an idol anime except for the unfortunate death of the lead which leads to her pursuing her passion posthumously and necessitates a musical genre shift to death metal. It’s crazy funny, defies your expectations multiple times, and I still have no idea what to expect next.

SSSS.GRIDMAN

The first thing I thought when watching Gridman for the first time was “this doesn’t feel anything like a TRIGGER anime,” which might be a dealbreaker for a lot of people, but stick with me. I eventually did see a bit of that TRIGGER glimmer in the character designs and their interactions, but much of the first episode felt very muted and atmospheric. A lot of time was given to unnerving shots of urban decay matched alongside dialogue from the main characters that was decidedly pessimistic and the silhouette of a massive kaiju standing over the city. Then the episode finishes with a massive tokusatsu-style battle with all the kids coming together and using their unique talents to save the day. It was a huge shift, but the transition felt so natural and… right? I’m not usually a tokusatsu fan and TRIGGER has talked up the new techniques they’re going to be experimenting with on this anime, so I feel like I’m in for a lot more surprises.

That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime

Before I talk about this show, I want you to know I’m super burnt out on isekai anime. I felt like the only two I could still have any hope of looking forward to are anything Re:ZERO forever and the upcoming So I’m a Spider, So What? Basically the last thing I expected was to end up putting this anime in my top 5 recommendations, but here we are. Normally the first thing that happens to the main character after they’re taken to another world is they do something really impressive to show off how great they are and set the tone. Our newly born slime coming across a dragon who, locked in a cave for 300 years, was starved for company, resulting in some tsundere interactions where it tried to keep the main character around while maintaining its dignity, did two great things. It took the focus off the main character to indicate the author had things they wanted to do with the world itself and showed a really wicked sense of humor--the PC in the bathtub being a perfect punchline.

RADIANT

There are so many reasons to be excited about this show as the first anime adaptation of a widely read shonen manga originally published in French. The success of this  show could mean all sorts of things for the future of the Japanese manga and anime markets and I’m pretty damn excited, especially because the manga is good! Master scenario writer Makoto Uezu seems to be speeding toward to good parts as he cut a lot of fat off the first chapters and so far the animation looks to be doing some serious justice to Valente’s awesome art. As we’re headed into the first real fight, there’s not too much to report back on yet, so recommending this might be cheating a bit, but everything shows a ton of promise. For example, Romi Park plays the gruff, one-armed mentor. That alone would have me waiting in line for this anime.

Short Shout-out: Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

Including this because there are always a few short anime each season that are criminally underwatched and, well, Honda-san was just that good. This easily digestible comedy short has a pretty self descriptive title, Honda works at a bookstore and is a skeleton. This may seem out of the ordinary but none of the customers seem too surprised and many of his coworkers are monster of some type so I guess we’re just supposed to accept it. Having to explain to a bewildered dad what “yaoi” means and figure out communication with foreigners looking to buy shonen manga and BL, on the other hand, feels like a very believable problem for his line of work and the comedic timing is perfect.

Those are my top 5--or 6--recommendations for the season, but they’re far from the only great premieres these past two weeks. For those looking for lighthearted laughs, Anima Yell!, Between the Sky and the Sea, and Ms. Vampire who lives in my neighborhood. all had great premieres. RErideD - Derrida, who leaps through time and Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai both made strong showings with some supernatural mystery. For those who want more fights need look no further than Hinomaru Sumo and DOUBLE DECKER! DOUG & KIRILL.

As always, I hope this list helped you find some new anime to fall in love with and, if I didn’t give your favorite shows the love it deserves, leave a comment to let others know! You might help someone else find their favorite anime of the season!

---

Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll, author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight, writer for Anime Academy, and contributor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com