#it reminded me that I have some adventurer zenos stuff I want to work on and I am very thankful for it

[fatedroses]

I offer silly little sketches of zenos in zero's hat purely because of a wonderful idea from one of my friends in discord today.

[animesavior]

Popuko and Pipimi: “Are You Upset?”

King Records Executives: “We are not upset.”

-          Pop Team Epic (Ep. 12)

This week’s Toonami Trending Rundown is a double-feature for the nights of September 15-16, 2018 and September 22-23, 2018, as we saw the Thrilling conclusion of Pop Team Epic, while Black Clover also concludes the Eye of the Midnight Sun Arc, and Universe 7 battles Universe 9 in the Zeno Exhibitions, among other great moments.

During the night of September 15-16, Toonami, BHNA and JoJo’s would trend on tumblr, while no trends were spotted on Twitter save for some tweet counts. During the night of September 22-23, things were a little better, as Toonami trended in the US on Twitter, while Toonami, #BNHA, Attack on Titan, and Hunter x Hunter trended on tumblr.

This week’s feature was a new trailer for the upcoming English debut of the next installment of the Naruto franchise in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. You can check it out below.

Last week, Aniplex showcased a special premiere event for the highly anticipated Project Alicization story arc of Sword Art Online, and for a first for me and ToonamiFaithful.com, I headed up to Los Angeles to cover the event for the Toonami Faithful. I also got the opportunity to talk with Bryce Papenbrook regarding voicing Kirito and the show's success among other things. We’ll have those articles posted as soon as they’re finished but you can check out this moments tab archiving some of the moments from the event as well as the official trailer from Aniplex posted below in the meantime.

Beginning this week, My Hero Academia will be making the US theatrical debut of The Two Heroes, with the English dub on September 25, 27 and 29 and in Japanese (with English subtitles) on September 26 and October 2. If you're interested, check out funimationfilms.com/myheroacademia for showings near your area and give your support to the anime industry on the big screen.

Ever since the anime aired in Japan earlier in the year, Pop Team Epic has become a big fan favorite among those who saw the series across the various streaming sites it has been available on as well as being a popular source for anime related memes. Many fans have likened it to one of Adult Swim’s classic animated comedies, and indeed there have been quite a few requests for Adult Swim to pick this one up. Adult Swim eventually did, however the big stunner would be that it would air on Toonami Saturdays, rather than on Sundays as many expected and Pop Team Epic would successfully make its debut on the night of June 30, 2018.

Indeed in recent times, many fans have wanted Toonami to showcase non action programs for variety’s sake, especially with many of Toonami’s acquisitions in recent times being Shonen Jump works. While some might say otherwise, Jason DeMarco has said that he has heard such concerns, and has mentioned that the Toonami crew are looking into creating and acquiring more anime and action cartoons of all kinds to expand Toonami’s scope.

While Pop Team Epic’s acquisition has received plenty of applause, it has also received plenty of scorn as well, mainly due to the reason being it’s style of comedy may be more enjoyed sandwiched next to the likes of Rick and Morty and Robot Chicken, rather than FLCL and JoJo’s. And to say the least, its style of comedy may not necessarily be for everyone. Regardless, Pop Team Epic has been seen as a success in regards to what it needed to do, and this could signal the start of one of potentially many potential experimental shows to come.

12 weeks of Popuko and Pipimi doing…we’ll…stuff…and Pop Team Epic’s run is in the books. During the show’s run, the show successfully trended on Twitter during 11 out of 12 weeks of its run, including in the US during weeks 1 and 5. The show also trended on tumblr during its first week.

We’ve heard rumblings of a potential second season, but all such talk is just rumors so far. However, if a second season did come to fruition, I won’t be opposed. Regardless, whether it was a failed experiment, or a sign of things to come, Pop Team Epic was quite an interesting experience to say the least. So on behalf of the Toonami Faithful, thanks for the memories, Popuko and Pipimi, and we hope to see you again in the future.

Tune in next week as Toonami expands to 9pm EDT as Boruto joins the block at 10:30pm Eastern, while Black Clover begins the Seabed Temple Arc at 1am, among other great moments. And just to remind you, the new schedule will include some significant schedule changes, so make sure to get familiar with the new schedule and set your DVRs if need be.

Not much else to say other than until next week, stay gold as always.

Legend: The shows listed are ordered based on their appearance on the schedule. Show trends are listed in bold. The number next to the listed trend represents the highest it trended on the list (not counting the promoted trend), judging only by the images placed in the rundown. For the Twitter tweet counts, the listed number of tweets are also sorely based on the highest number shown based on the images on the rundown.

September 15-16, 2018 Trends

Tweet Counts:

#Toonami [5,088 tweets]

#MyHeroAcademia [1,672 tweets]

#PopTeamEpic [2,074 tweets]

#JoJosBizarreAdventure [2,026 tweets]

Tumblr Trends:

#Toonami

#BNHA

#JoJos Bizarre Adventure

Notes and Other Statistics:

#Toonami: @WhoTrendedIT reported that @MikeMcFarlandVA and @blumspew started the trend in the US.

September 22-23, 2018 Trends

United States Trends:

#Toonami [#9]

Tweet Counts:

#Toonami [6,022 tweets]

#FLCL [2,197 tweets]

#PopTeamEpic [2,774 tweets]

#JoJosBizarreAdventure [2,415 tweets]

#HunterXHunter [1,717 tweets]

Tumblr Trends:

#Toonami

#BNHA

#Attack on Titan

#Hunter X Hunter

Notes and Other Statistics:

#Toonami: @WhoTrendedIT reported that @ComicBook and @FUNimation started the trend in the US.

#FLCL: @WhoTrendedIT reported that @mariannemiller started the trend in the US.

#PopTeamEpic: @WhoTrendedIT reported that @soymilkpudding and @DawnMBennettVA started the trend in the US.

#JoJosBizarreAdventure: @WhoTrendedIT reported that @shonenjump started the trend in the US.

Special thanks to @coreymbarnes and others I forgot to mention for spotting some of the trends on this list.

The Age of Shinobi...is over. Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.

[keeperofthelilacs]

For those that can't read it

Y'shtola closed her eyes, savoring the flavor and warmth of the tea. It had not been long since the great battle for Ala Mhigo's liberation, but in this moment of blessed respite, it might as well have been an age. The patisserie's unassuming tables and chairs were arranged along one of Limsa Lominsa's coiling decks, offering patrons a fine view of the Rhotano. Eschewing the pomp and ceremony of Limsa's more lauded establishments, it was favored among locals as a place for friends to spend a relaxing afternoon by the sea.

To look at her casually sipping tea, contentment writ upon her face, none would have guessed the trials Y'shtola had recently overcome. As she replaced her cup, a soft chuckle escaped her lips. Spread out before her was an assortment of mouthwatering treats, among them the patisserie's specialty: a rich vanilla tart laden with glistening jam and plump berries. Across the table, Alisaie raised a quizzical eyebrow as she popped another cookie into her mouth. Dusting off her fingers, she scanned the area for the invitees who had yet to arrive. Her eyes settled upon a familiar figure bounding towards them.

"Sorry I'm late!" Lyse exclaimed, breathless.

Y'shtola waved away the apology. "Yours was the longer journey. And we started without you."

With a happy sigh, Lyse flopped into a chair. She was once more dressed in the clothing she had worn during her sojourn in the Far East. This was their first meeting since she had announced her decision to remain in Gyr Abania to aid in rebuilding her homeland, and it was as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. After placing her order with the attending waitress, she turned to regard her friends fondly.

"Gods, it's good to see you!" After a short pause, she continued. "Is this all of us?"

"Krile regrettably cannot attend," Y'shtola explained. "She is in the midst of an important survey and said that she would content herself with a delivery. As for the Warrior of Light..."

Swallowing her cookie, Alisaie picked up where Y'shtola had trailed off, a hint of displeasure in her voice. "Oh, she's doubtless engaged in some heroic endeavor or other. She knows the time and place, though, and gave me no reason to believe she wouldn't come."

Lyse's smile was half amusement, half resignation. "The more things change, eh? She never could stay still for long."

Taking this as an invitation, Alisaie gave vent to her frustration. "Isn't that the truth! If she's not cheating death with her fellow adventurers, you can be sure she's off helping the beast tribes, or collecting tomestones, or regaling the children of Idyllshire with the tales of her exploits, or delivering something to someone. Honestly, I don't think she sleeps."

Nonplussed by her sudden flash of emotion, Y'shtola and Lyse glanced at one another before bursting out laughing. Alisaie glared at them, her face a picture of indignation.

"Forgive us," said Y'shtola with a twinkle in her eye. "We are but impressed by how closely you follow your hero's every act."

"What's that supposed to─ I simply asked her what manner of training she undertakes! For all the good it did me─none of it is anything I can reasonably emulate."

"Well, I for one wholeheartedly approve of your choice of role model," said Lyse, nodding sagely.

"You too, Lyse? Hmph. If you want to talk about an interesting choice of role model, you should look no further than my brother."

Bringing her fork to bear on her tart, Alisaie proceeded to recount her time in Yanxia...

While Lyse's party traveled to the Azim Steppe in search of Lord Hien, Alisaie and Alphinaud had remained at the House of the Fierce. During that time, her bookish brother had helped to solve the Liberation Front's frequent shortages with a brand of wisdom that could only be described as useful.

"When I asked what had prompted him to turn his mind to practical matters, he told me he had met a man who taught him much and more of 'the road,' and that he did not wish to seem idle should their paths chance to cross again. Naturally, he wouldn't say who this mystery man was─only that he saw him as a brother. As if I needed another brother to contend with..." Alisaie punctuated the statement by plunging her fork into her tart.

Lyse received the tale of Alphinaud's change with earnest interest, while Y'shtola, having an inkling as to this object of admiration, could only smile wryly. Being a man ungiven to sentiment, she knew, the knowledge that he was missed would do little to hasten his return.

The waitress appeared with Lyse's drink, a glass of lemonade made with honey lemons from Othard. The first sip made her eyes light up, and she followed it with a longer draft. Seeing Lyse's enjoyment took Y'shtola back to her earliest days in Limsa Lominsa, when she was just beginning to discover the city-state's renowned gastronomic culture. For all the culinary knowledge stored in Sharlayan's vast libraries, nothing could replicate the experience of enjoying a delicacy in its native land.

"So, how fare you, Lyse? Has the rebuilding effort begun in earnest?" Y'shtola's question snapped Lyse back to reality, and she lowered both gaze and glass.

"...Sort of. There's no end to the problems, and they're not the kind I can punch. Thinking was always Papalymo's department. I mean, I'm doing my best, but...well, things rarely go to plan." Absently, she ran a finger over the droplets on her glass. "I still catch myself wondering, what would Father do? What would Yda say? Why am I not like them? And I end up making myself depressed." Hearing her own words, Lyse tutted, and fixed Y'shtola with a determined stare. "But I won't give up. Not after everything it took to get this far."

Seeing the fire in Lyse's eyes, Y'shtola could not help but be reminded of Yda when she spoke of liberating her homeland, all those years ago... How proud she would have been.

Letting out a sigh, Alisaie placed a second slice of tart on Lyse's plate.

"But I haven't finished the─"

"You need to keep up your strength." Y'shtola declared, in a tone that brooked no argument. "We all know that working hard makes you hungry. As does being serious. As does thinking in circles."

Lyse's shoulders slumped. "Gods, I'm not that bad...am I?"

Y'shtola settled the matter by serving her another slice.

"Should you doubt yourself, do not hesitate to lean on those around you. Upon us. You have more than the memories of your family to call upon, Lyse. Remember that."

Thus reminded, Lyse found her smile again.

While attending to the contents of her well-populated plate, Lyse reported on the recent happenings in her life.

"I've made a new friend," she began, through a mouthful of tart. "A boy about my age, who used to be in the Resistance. He...mmm...knows everything there is to know about Ala Mhigan politics and history─all the stuff I'm hopeless with, basically. It's...mmm...actually thanks to him that I had time to come here today. He helped me dig up some old records on a mine I'd been searching for." She paused mid-chew, eyebrows furrowed. "But he has this queer habit of looking straight past me. I thought he might have a lazy eye at first, but no─he just won't meet my gaze. I don't know what to make of it."

"I expect he's daunted," Alisaie posited. "And small wonder. You're a hero."

Y'shtola rolled her eyes. "Children, children...must I spell it out? The boy is smitten with you."

Lyse greeted this revelation with a shower of crumbs, and no small amount of coughing.

"You're joking!" she finally managed.

"Yes. I am famed for my sense of humor," Y'shtola agreed, her face stony. “But were that not the case, you might entertain the thought. Unless, of course, your heart is already spoken for? The handsome young lord of Doma was of a similar age, was he not?"

"What, H-Hien!? No! I don't─ I mean, I admire him and all, but so do lots of people. And I might know someone who admires him especially."

Lyse's gaze floated off into the distance along with her thoughts. She said no more on the subject, and the others did not pry. As if to signal the end of her report, she gave her lemonade a hearty stir before narrowing her eyes at Y'shtola.

"What about you, Y'shtola? What do you think of, uh..." Lyse searched about for a suitable candidate, "Thancred, maybe? Or...one of the others?"

"I can honestly say that they have never crossed my mind. If you must know, however..."

At that moment, a memory came to her unbidden.

She was convalescing at the Rising Stones after her disastrous encounter with Zenos when her sister paid a visit. Though glad of her preservation, this latest brush with death had plainly come too soon after the Lifestream episode for Y'mhitra's liking, and she proceeded to rebuke her over the willful disregard she had shown for her own well-being. Her sister knew how dedicated she was to her chosen path, and would ordinarily have left it at a few stern words, but this time they burst forth as a torrent, knowing no cease until she sent Y'mhitra away, pleading weariness. It was then that her sister had wearily spoken the words...

"Is it not past time you found someone? Strong you may be, but how much stronger might you prove with another at your side?"

The words resounded in Y'shtola's mind as she drained her tea. Beyond the cup, she spied the other two leaning forward in ill-concealed anticipation. She flashed them a curt smile.

"Nay. Mayhap it is better that I keep my own counsel."

Lyse and Alisaie fell back with a groan and set about grumbling. Ignoring them, Y'shtola reached for the teapot. Her hand stopped short as her ears discerned familiar footfalls.

"'Twould seem our gathering is finally complete."

In unison, the three Scions turned to look. And sure enough, it was her─the Warrior of Light.

"So, shall we order more of everything?"

The afternoon was yet young.

[fox-in-the-stars]

Ship meme selfie

Okay, I’m back from out-of-town trip and caught up!

AND, I didn’t post the ship meme from last week for people to ask me about, but I ended up asking myself one and thinking about it like way too much while procrastinating on the thing I should actually be writing, so…

Jae-ha/Kija

who’s the werewolf and who’s the hunter? Kija’s the werewolf.  Jae-ha is the hunter; he’s soon disarmed by wolf!Kija’s adorkability but refuses to admit it openly and keeps claiming he’s going to kill him — past the point where it becomes meaningless and on to the point where it starts meaning something else by virtue of accrued subtext.

who’s the mermaid (I’m using that term regardless of gender) and who’s the fisherman? Jae-ha’s the mermaid.  Kija’s the fisherman who did not think mermaids were supposed to be like this.  Jae-ha will have fun screwing with him at first but would definitely not let him drown and would fight any sea creature that tried to hurt him.  (Mermaid!Jae-ha may also have a sad backstory about how he used to be human and how he got this way.)

who’s the witch and who’s the familiar? Kija’s the familiar.  Jae-ha is the witch who got into it in his teen years as an edgy/rebellious thing — and who did not think his familiar was supposed to be like this.  (Familiar!Kija can appear in various forms: as he looks normally, as a white cat, or under certain special conditions as a dragon.)

who’s the barista and who’s the coffee addict? Jae-ha is the barista.  Kija is the coffee addict who comically agonizes about actually Having A Problem and really just needs to get comfortable with how/why he keeps coming back.  Relatedly, he keeps ordering black coffee and ganbare-ing his way through it rather than getting the much more sweetened, flavored (and expensive) stuff he really likes; Jae-ha keeps tempting him and willfully misinterpreting “the usual” as “your favorite” partly because $$ and partly because the look of bliss on Kija’s face when he occasionally does get what he really wants is just fucking adorable.  Additional comedy ensues whenever Kija brings anything ingestible from home, since he lives with his Granny.  Together Jae-ha and Kija help other patrons with various problems, and Kija is kind of clumsy and naive and over-earnest about it, but without him, Jae-ha either wouldn’t bother or would just come off as a know-it-all most of the time.  The plot thickens when the rest of the ensemble shows up.  Yona is Kija’s boss at his dream job, and Hak is his annoying supervisor; Yoon is Yona’s long-suffering CFO, and Shin-ah is the bodyguard whom she insists on treating like a person (and who looks scary for about ten seconds before you realize what an adorably awkward cinnamon roll he is, and what an easy sell on actual baked goods).  At some point Yona decides she wants to buy the coffee shop; the current owner, Gigan, keeps talking about retiring, but although she never says it it’s clear she’s waiting until she knows Jae-ha will be okay, ie until he warms up to Yona.  Zeno is a background character right from the start (he’s that one guy who ate the stuff from Granny that one time and then just went on like nothing happened) and then at some point they suddenly find out who he actually is and it’s like “WHAAT??!!!”  (So this one got elaborate.  And it turned into a weirdly wholesome sitcom, but isn’t that what coffee shop AUs are for?)

who’s the professor and who’s the TA? Kija is the TA who is very serious and scrupulous and TRIES SO HARD I mean that’s what you’re supposed to do, right?  And Jae-ha is the professor who seems irritatingly lax (and also popular with students).  In fact he’s been at this long enough that he knows how to be laid-back while also being highly competent — but it takes Kija’s influence to remind him of the larger reasons why he’s here.

who’s the knight and who’s the prince(ss)? Jae-ha is the prince who keeps trying to escape from the castle.  Kija is the knight assigned to guard him.  Kija readily and gracefully decides that keeping Jae-ha prisoner is a lousy way to protect him, so off they go.  Jae-ha does keep trying to ditch Kija at first, but it’s not gonna work, and before long they come to understand each other better and settle into wandering around and having adventures.  There may be a subplot/running gag wherein Kija actually got fired for interpreting his job that way but the termination letter somehow always encounters shenanigans before he reads it (not like he’d leave if he read it, anyway).

who’s the teacher and who’s the single parent? Kija is the teacher.  Jae-ha is the single parent of a spunky little girl.  Kija gets involved because he worries about a kid being raised by This Guy, but he finds that Jae-ha is a surprisingly good if unconventional parent and bonding ensues.  Jae-ha warms up to Kija before the little girl does, but whether he’ll admit it is another matter.

who’s the writer and who’s the editor? Kija writes shamelessly wholesome middle-grade children’s novels but is naive about the actual business of publishing.  Jae-ha is the worldly-wise editor with the business acumen — which is what holds back his desire to puncture Kija’s idealism, because the stuff does sell.  That Kija warms up to him and actively sets out on the trail of What He Really Thinks only makes it more annoying, especially as What Jae-ha Really Thinks becomes more complicated.

AUs aside, I do like the idea of shipping these two.  There’s a complication in that I strongly headcanon a strongly ace Kija, but that could make it more interesting in a way, making extra sure Jae-ha can’t deal with it in his comfort zone.

What the heck, ask if you want me to do another!  (Additional ones probably won’t be as detailed as this, tho.)