#just one special Toei

[meganechan05]

The lack of Rita with Cats/Cat-Like Shugods is a fcking crime!

[shannonsketches]

also REALLY love that super's manga continues the old manga's relationship between Vegeta and his title of Prince as something he's distant/passive with and it's either only brought up by other characters or when he's having a self-worth breakdown

shout out to Toya/Toriyama for using Toei's "I'm the Prince of All Saiyans!" as a line Vegeta throws out when he's intentionally trying to annoy his opponent, I laughed very hard about that

[scketchtoomblur]

I think it's funny some people are seeing the most obvious teases in the new Precure season's art and calling it a theory when they point it out lol

[lc-holy]

There's been some new info about season 6 and the new Special episodes to come, but I haven't seen anyone talking about it on tumblr.

So I'm taking the liberty of making a summary:

Season 6:

-Sébastien Thibaudeau (the show's writing director) has announced that writing for season 6 is complete. There will be several new writers this season.

-Thomas Astruc has shared an image showing him working on the storyboard for a season 6 episode.

-I'm just coming back to something that was said several months ago since some people don't seem to know: All the animation studios that worked on seasons 1 to 5 will no longer be animating the next seasons of Miraculous. The series is getting a visual upgrade. And ZAG has shared a preview of the new sets for the coming seasons.

-Now we know that the new animation studio to work on the next seasons of miraculous is DWARF. This French animation studio worked on the Miraculous movie.

Special episode:

-The new special "The end of Ladybug" (whose name is only provisional) will take place this year before season 6 airs. This will be the last time Miraculous will be animated in the style we've known since season 1. (No word yet on whether SAMG will continue to animate future special episodes.)

-The dubbing of this special has already been done in English.

(Remember: just because an episode has been dubbed doesn't mean it's ready for broadcast. The dubbing can be done while the animation of the episode is not yet finished).

Other specials:

-Thomas would like the next special episode to take place in Japan.

-Thomas said he had already written the Brazil special episode as well as the Bible for a spin-off. He has also written many other stories in the Miraculous universe, but for reasons unknown to him, nothing seems to be moving to adapt these stories for animation or comics. He asks fans who would like to see these projects come to reality to put pressure on ZAG. (politely, of course).

-Thomas retweeted a fan who created a petition so that the special Tibet episode could one day be made.

-He also explained one of the reasons why Miraculous could not be animated in the Ladybug PV style.

He asks fans who would like to watch Miraculous with this style of animation to petition ZAG, Mediawan or Toei.

I may do more posts like this when I have new information, if you're interested of course (I'll never share spoilers or leaks, don't worry).

[obstinaterixatrix]

anyway did you know that someone uploaded the tv-n subs for toqger on archive.org

it has all the episodes, plus the gaim crossover episode that’s supposed to be watched sometime early on. the gaim crossover can be skipped, there’s like one (1) funny scene that got big on tumblr so just look at that post and that’s all you need. it does *not* have the films or specials, but this upload does

Galaxy Line SOS, listed as ‘Ressha Sentai Toqger Movie’: takes place between eps 20 and 21, it’s a cute and fun movie :)

Farewell, Ticket! The Wasteland Super ToQ Battle!!, listed as ‘Ressha Sentai Toqger Special DVD’: takes place between ep 26 and 27 and is MANDATORY

ToQger vs. Kyoryuger, listed basically as-is: takes place between ep 35 and 36, a character from Galaxy Line S.O.S comes back for a cameo, also a cute and fun movie

Ninninger vs. ToQger - post-series, I don’t remember this one and it’s not on the playlist so it’s probably not important

They Went and Came Back Again Ressha Sentai ToQGer: Super ToQ 7gou of Dreams, listed as ‘Ressha Sentai Toqger Returns’: post series, also pretty mandatory

as for ‘why toei’s baby train toy commercial is worth watching’:

It’s written for children in an intelligent way, there are a lot of lessons that I thought were delivered kindly and conscientiously

It’s written intelligently in general, both the heroes and the villains have goals with a lot of room for interesting progression; the heroes start with trying to regain their memories, the villains start with trying to resurrect the emperor of darkness, and both storylines are balanced really well. Some of those twists and developments Got Me

It’s mostly lighthearted, very sincere, and some of the emotional beats are really devastating… episode 32 does make me tear up every watch

The fight choreography is fun! Since the theme is imagination, they can get pretty goofy/playful in some eps

One of the gimmicks is that the sentai team can switch colors, which means while it has a traditionally structured sentai team—male red, 2 girls and 3 guys—there are times where the gals are red and the guys are pink, and I like that :)

The villain aesthetics

[crossguild]

i think one of the things that makes the one piece fan letter episode so special is that even though it's ostensibly about 'a letter from the fans to the straw hats' it's also 'a letter to the fans' and its entire message is 'we see you, we are you, and we love you!' from the team

it is, no joke, one of the most heartfelt and beautiful pieces of animation that any studio has ever produced.

it's similar to the 100 volume/1000 episode celebration in that even though the series we're all watching is about these wacky, insane powers and situations, at the end of the day we connect to the story because the emotions it evokes are real, and we might not feel them because our real life talking reindeer son left to join a pirate crew, but there are times in our lives where we've felt the same as the characters whose adventures we're following, even in a different situation

and to have the fans represented in the world, from all ages and walks of life, really is demonstrative of the sheer breadth and depth of the one piece fanbase.

one of the earliest SBS answers oda gave is this:

AND IT SHOWS!

it's genuinely such a special experience to be on this journey with a community of millions. when i see other OP fans in the wild, we've made an instant connection (shout out to that dude in toronto i stopped to chat with for like 20 minutes cause he was wearing luffy cosplay who teamed up with me to talk my friend into trying op!!)-- we might get the series through different mediums, we might connect to it in different ways, we might disagree about quite literally everything, but everyone's ultimately another piece of the puzzle that makes up the whole of the one piece fanbase, and without them we wouldn't be where we are. to have that so lovingly depicted in such a fun, exciting way was amazing!

and that last montage ended on this, which isn't just a message from this kid to nami, but from us to the crew, from toei & oda to us, from all of us to each other!

[tobiasdrake]

Something has always bothered me about the Planet Trade Organizations that Ive always just attributed to Shounen Bad Writing, and it's that if Frieza and his ilk are so stupid powerful that they can literally destroy planets and entire species at will, what possible use could they have for money? And WHO is buying them?? Is there something I missed by never reading the manga?

I've also never liked the Saiyan culture getting conflated with the PTO in the Namek arc, I think it cheapens the world building. But my head canon is that Saiyans were employed by Frieza for long long time, to the extent that the distinction became negligible before he realized he had become dependent on Saiyan labor. Kind of like German auxiliaries for ancient Rome

Nope, you're not missing much. That's something that's rarely been touched on. It's mentioned briefly when Raditz first explains the concept to Goku.

Frieza's customers are "other races looking for living space". What that means never got elaborated on.

The existence of the PTO implies a vast, interconnected galactic civilization and economy that we never get to see or touch on, just... out there offscreen somewhere. It's kind of disappointing that this was never built on in any way. In fact, the only time we see a planet post-gentrification, it's being used for Frieza Planet.

The blurb calls this "Frieza Planet #79" but dialogue always just refers to Frieza Planet or Planet Frieza as a singular location.

Vegeta, during his brief stay at 79, hints at a possible explanation for this discrepancy.

Upon finding out that Frieza's not presently on his planet, Vegeta immediately, with visible irritation, assumes he's off to go pick out a different world in a tone that suggests this is a regular behavior of Frieza's. This implies a habit of every now and then deciding "I like this one; I'm going to make this Planet Frieza from now on" and forcing all of his men to pack up and move.

But that's the most we get of any worldbuilding about the galactic society or economy surrounding the PTO. And even that much is extrapolation off of a single line where Vegeta gets grumpy that Frieza isn't home.

For their part, I think even Toei was confused on this point; The anime seemed uncertain sometimes about whether Frieza's supposed to be the CEO of the real estate industry or the buyer that all these planets are sold to. But by the time of DBS, that Frieza is a captain of industry seems to have been figured out by all involved parties.

Overall, though some kind of galactic society is indicated by Dragon Ball's worldbuilding, the series seems disinterested in exploring it to any real degree. After Goku defeated the Strongest in the Universe, the series washed its hands of space. And that happened on a disconnected backwater planet still recovering from apocalyptic drought.

Which is honestly hilarious if you think about it. Out of nowhere, Frieza dashed off to some backwood little hick planet in the middle of nowhere and then he and every last one of his elite special forces fucking died and then the planet exploded. And nobody knows why or what the hell happened down there.

[initforthelolzz]

Luffy’s tendency to self-sacrifice and the way he responds to loss are both incredibly telling aspects of his character. They show his level of love and dedication to other people, but most importantly they show his selflessness. Now, selflessness isn't necessarily a bad thing, but due to the level of selflessness that Luffy displays, it reveals a major character flaw.

Now, I’m not criticizing Luffy’s character, but what I am doing is pointing out something that I’d categorize as a negative character trait. And one that I find particularly fascinating.

Luffy may seem like the typical shonen protagonist on the surface (flawless, stupid, and selfless to a tee). However, if you take a look past surface level then you will find that Luffy is an incredibly complex character. Because while he is incredibly stupid, he possesses a certain multidimensionality that sets him apart from other typical shonen protags.

In regards to that multidimensionality, I’ve noticed that Luffy measures his own self worth exclusively through other people. By his value in the eyes of others. How he can serve them and how much worth he holds in their lives.

Okay but... what the fuck does this mean.

First of all I’d like to discuss Luffy’s tendency to self-sacrifice. Have you ever stopped to notice that every single one of Luffy’s specialized gears has a negative side effect of some kind? Second Gear puts so much strain on his heart that it is said to shorten his lifespan the more often he uses it. Third Gear makes his body shrink. Fourth Gear exhausts his Haki so terribly that he becomes immobile for ten minutes. And I feel like Fifth Gear speaks for itself...

Clearly Luffy has no qualms about sacrificing his body, but why is that? The answer, at least in my interpretation, is that Luffy’s self-sacrifice has entirely to do with the value he places on himself. The catch is that he doesn’t place any value on his own life. Luffy has proven on multiple occasions that he is more than willing to throw his own life away for the sake of others.

We see this in Udon prison, when Luffy was actively poisoning himself to death to make a point, even though it’s difficult to notice how close he was to getting himself killed because Toei decided that if Luffy was dying he was going to look Hot while doing it

We see this again when Luffy climbed the mountain in Chopper’s Arc, destroying his fingers and risking freezing to death all to save Nami and Sanji.

We see this when Luffy fought Magellan in Impel Down, which was the closest Luffy came to killing himself for the cause.

Then again on Whole Cake Island when he tried to let Sanji kick him to death to prove a point. And when he tried to starve himself to death to prove a point. And when he tried to rip his own arms off–

And of course we can’t forget about Thriller Bark. The entire point of Zoro taking Luffy’s pain was to show just how far Luffy was hurting himself in order to protect the crew. There was an entire conversation between the Straw Hats about how unhealthy that behavior was, and how they needed to protect Luffy from himself by getting stronger.

These are all shining examples of Luffy taking selflessness just a little too far. And while placing high value on the lives of others isn’t a negative quality, doing so to this degree isn’t exactly healthy. I say that Luffy holds no value in his own life because he cares this much about other people. He cares more about other people than he does about himself, and is more than willing to die in the process of protecting/saving his loved ones.

I came to this conclusion by looking at the way Luffy handles loss.

And the simple answer is that... Luffy doesn't handle loss. (The entirety of Whole Cake Island was just Luffy outright refusing to lose another loved one)

And when he does... he doesn’t.

Which is exactly what I’m talking about. Whenever Luffy loses people that he deeply cares about he immediately flips his lid. Water Seven and Thriller Bark seemed like all fun and games after watching Luffy grieve the loss of his crew on Sabaody. Seeing him break down like that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to watch... You can feel just how much this loss has impacted Luffy, and it hurts.

Amazon Lily was largely comedic, which served as a well needed break in between Sabody and all the Horrors of the Summit War. Because of this, the delivery of Luffy’s behavior after the events on Sabody is easy to brush off as a gag joke... but you can’t deny the fact that he overdosed on poisonous mushrooms. And while, yes, Luffy is a fucking idiot, not moments beforehand he was digging through the forest and talking about how many species of mushrooms he knew and all the wacky side effects of eating them. So clearly Luffy knows his stuff, and I think it’s just a little too convenient that he “accidentally almost died of a drug overdose shortly after losing everyone he held dear” after Oda explicitly stated that he knew his shit when it came to eating plants in the woods.

And then, of course, we have Luffy’s breakdown after Ace’s death. Which was even more difficult to watch than Sabody had been.

Are we beginning to see a trend? Luffy will try his damndest not to lose the people he cares about, but it’s impossible to save everyone. On the rare chance that he does lose someone he cares about, he immediately has a suicidal breakdown and gets extremely violent towards himself.

I’m certain that we can all agree that trying to kill yourself as a result of grief is NOT a healthy coping mechanism. Luffy is a completely happy-go-lucky character, with a suspicious tendency to over-sacrifice, yes, but the moment he fails/loses his friends he has a psychotic break. Without other people around him, Luffy suddenly loses all sense of self worth. Because he is nothing without his nakama... right?

It’s so easy to miss this detail about Luffy’s character, and it’s because he’s so good at concealing his negative emotions. Luffy puts on a brave face for the people he cares about, and he doesn’t want people to see him as anything less than a ray of sunshine and a symbol of joy and freedom. His conversation with Jimbei after Marineford was about how he needed to bury his grief for Ace even though it was unhealthy, because Luffy needed to remain strong.

Clearly he’s taken this to heart, because he hasn’t talked about how Ace’s death has impacted him even once. Luffy refuses to show emotional weakness in front of his crew, he is doing all in his power to be strong and support them while asking for nothing in return. Even now Luffy can’t hear Ace’s name without tearing up.

Luffy puts on a strong facade, and it is what makes his self-sacrifice seem so heroic, and what makes it so easy to miss how unhealthy it is. Luffy always saves people at the expense of his own life. He takes his battles incredibly too far, always ending up horrifically injured and using abilities that are detrimental to his body and his health. But he always recovers so easily, so quickly, and it is easy for the viewer/reader to move past Luffy’s self-sacrifice because he moves past it easily.

But why is he so nonchalant about nearly killing himself in almost every battle he places himself in? Simple, it is because he is not afraid of dying. Because in his eyes, he has no worth as a person unless he gives his EVERYTHING to the people he cares about.

Hence, Luffy measures his self worth entirely through other people, and therefore will stop at nothing to protect and fight for others. Because otherwise he is nothing.

I like to think that he developed this mindset as a result of his early childhood. Dragon didn’t want him. Garp didn’t want him. Dadan didn’t want him. Ace didn’t want him. Luffy was only accepted and cared for by others once he proved his worth to Ace and Sabo. Remember? They only started caring about Luffy and accepted him into their group after he got beaten violently for hours to protect their treasure stash. An act of violent self-sacrifice. It earned Luffy two brothers, but it also instilled the idea of his worthlessness unless he serves other people.

Remember when Luffy asked Ace to promise him not to die? I like to read between the lines a little. (Don’t leave me behind, Ace.) (I’m nothing without you, Ace.)

Luffy is a clingy person. He cares so much about other people, and will go to incredible lengths to keep them close. He can be happy, but only with other people. Because he needs other people in order to value his own life. He doesn’t care about himself, he only cares about others.

That is a very unhealthy mindset in this context, and is a major character flaw because of the impact it has on Luffy’s mental health.

But it also shows an incredible duality.

Selflessness is a highly valued characteristic. But in Luffy’s case, he brings it to an extreme. What could be considered his greatest strength is also his greatest flaw.

Luffy is a very admirable character because of this, and I love him a totally normal amount

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

We Are

A lot has been said about this show over the last 15 weeks. And despite what some people seem to think, most of it has been positive. I tend not to write much about shows in general, and stick to making pretty gifs of the shows I really like. The fact that I made exactly one set for the entire duration of this show should tell anyone who's reading that this will not be glowing review of the show. I'm not going to be mean, but if you loved the show and don't wanna do read someone with a different opinion, I beg you to stop reading. Also sorry if this is less than coherent but I'm tired so I won't be re-reading this a hundred times like I usually do before posting. Which also explains why I don't write a lot here.

We are - the story

One of the things that have been said about this show is that it lacks a plot. I would agree that the show as whole does not have single plot, but a series of plots. At it's most basic definition a plot is a series of events that shape a larger narrative. In the case of a linear plot there is a major plot line that follows the narrative from beginning to end with changes throughout. I'm not going to go into it, there are several ways this can be done depending on the type of narrative but most commonly it goes, beginning, rising, climax, falling, resolution. Now there's no such thing in this show as a whole. No single plot line. There is however several plots inside it, and these different plots do follow their own lines throughout the show. Every couple has its own plot line. And if we could only watch one couple at a time as if they had their own separate show, it would look just like any other bl, although it would certainly not be all that original. I think the friendships are what ultimately brings it all together but that by itself is not a central plot because it basically remains unchanged throughout. It's the anchor but it's not what moves the narrative forward.

We are - the ships

Once again, if you are a die hard fan of these ships do not read any more. Before I talk about them individually I just wanna say that @italianpersonwithashippersheart made an excellent point here about the fact that since we were familiar with most of the ships here, the show had an easier job in making us care for them. All the couples had their own storyline, with different stages of their development happening at the same time. And for the most part the show didn't have to spend a lot of time selling us on the relationships. It made use of a solid, reliable product that could be repackaged and resold. This is not necessarily a bad thing nor is it a new thing. It's thai bl.

Phum & Peem - The main couple. And in my opinion the least interesting one and the one most wasted here. Look, PondPhuwin are good together, this is their third show as a couple so they are a solid bet. So why not give them something with more depth? Why did I have to watch them exchange longing looks for the better part of this show? Don't get me wrong, they are great at it. Pond specially could teach a class on how to stare lovingly into Phuwin eyes. But lord was I tired of it. I mean, I'm sorry but I was fast forwarding through some of their scenes together because I've seen them all. I didn't count them but the amount of times they fell into each others arms must have been some sort of record. Sure, Phuwin is great at the facial expressions, Pond's hair ir gorgeous and he should be doing shampoo commercials, and yes, they can pull off the 'you're the only person in the universe in this moment and time loses all its meaning when I look into your eyes' thing. But enough is enough.

Q & Toey - It's fine. They're fine. They're actually much better than in My School President. Both of them I think improved a lot in their acting. But their story didn't do much for me. I enjoyed Q's change after they were boyfriends, I thought it was fun, but the drama before that, I thought, was so forced so I was not really all that invested. Also not a fan of the jealousy plan even if it did give us some entertaining moments with the friend group. I don't know, they just didn't click for me.

Tan & Fang - Is Tan one of the most adorable simps we've had in thai bl? YES. Did the boyfriend moments of this couple make me grin like an idiot 80% of the time? YES. Did I believe in the reciprocity of this relationship from the start? NO. Tan was the only reason that this relationship had me invested. His loud and unapologetic love for Fang filled the gaps in this particular love story. But the way it started made me have to work extra hard to believe the rest of it.

Chain & Pun - They were my favourites from the start. I waited 15 weeks for that kiss. Was it worth it? honestly, probably not. But at least they delivered in the end. That scene was everything I could've wanted from those two even if I wish it had happened sooner. The change in casting might've been the reason why it had to be this way so I'm not complain about that because ultimately I really enjoyed their story. Marc delivered as usual. Poon was so endearing to watch and his face is lovely. They remain my favourites and I wish I had a bit more time with them.

We Are - The friendships

This is what kept me going. When the episodes dragged and I found myself a bit bored, there was a big group moment and it brought me back to the show. When this show started, in my monthly breakdown I said I thought that @bengiyo comparing watching this show to watching the actors IG reels was a good way to describe the experience. But for me that wasn't always a bad thing. Just like with the couples, the fact that I knew these actors and they knew each other made me feel more connected to those ensemble moments. They felt very natural and grounded, and ultimately I could relate and be touched by them. I think that it's the show's biggest strength.

Well, this got longer than I expected and I never really know how to end these things so in conclusion. It was good fluff, with good friendship moments and solid acting from the couples. I will however forget most of it by this time next week, specially with the amount of ql's I'm watching at the moment.

If you've made it to the end, thanks for reading. 💜

[1000sunnygo]

One Piece 1093

//long post, manga spoilers ahead

Congratulations to Law for his second time trending as "Law's female form" and congrats to Kamiya Hiroshi too for trending alongside him!! (her?)

I have no doubt that Law's role would always be special to Kamiya. The way he strained his voice to raise his pitch to a new high made my throat sore on his behalf..... But I liked it more than I expected! I could feel in my bones that it was an uncomfortable transformation Law wanted to free himself from as soon as possible bwahahah

I like the anime original dialogue とにかく、ヤベぇ！(tonikaku, yabee!) Even with my crap japanese it was as hilarious as hearing him say "Anyway, I'm cooked!" I don't think Law uses the term "Yabee" a lot so that felt refreshing lol

It seems the more controversial quote was this one, the speech in Japanese would be literally translated to "my strength isn't coming out as usual". Personally, I didn't immediately associate it to weakness due to being woman but moreso as an additional side affect that came with it, after all, it's dubbed as a disease. I like to think Doc Q didn't only come up with it as a deranged fantasy but to impose a real handicap for the victim to have their body modified in a way that limits their ability to fight and use their usual powers, either due to magic or just out of discomfort. Unlike Ivankov's fruit that alters hormones, it's just a physical change, it makes sense why it's more unnatural and uncomfortable.

The female Law scene was animated by Yuu Yoshiyama, he also did Hancock's scene from Amazon Lilly invasion episode. The scene was fanservicey but thankfully not as over the top as the Bonney scene from few episode prior to this one. The episode didn't drag on even during the slower parts, the screentime was well spent. The obnoxious, repetitive closed up reaction shots weren't there.

Moving on to B part, nothing much to speak of Ishizuka's brilliant storyboard that hasn't been said. My favorite observation was this:

Some parts where characters didn't immediately follow up with a second attack was frustrating until I remembered Blackbeard and Law both put their lives on line when they use their fruit and so can't take risks. Cheaper trick shots and silly gimmicks that people blame Law for not using more frequently were probably never the best option. That said, unfortunately, Law lost the moment he used both his strongest attacks onscreen and failed. I don't think the fight was longer than what we saw here. The anime just made it more obvious.

Another anime original dialogue I liked is Blackbeard saying "what a handy ability you've got!" right before their final clash. He was using Tremor fruit until that point and then he switched to his OG attacks, it was unsettling how he's not only fighting but looking at Law's abilities as something that he'll soon take away from him. Unlike Doflamingo, Teach had no pre-decided plan involving Law's fruit and considered selling the fruit as appealing alternate as using it for its abilities. Honestly, we can't underestimate Doflamingo's knowledge. There's no way he stays in prison during the final arc.

And finally the Kuzan scene,,

rightfully the most praised section and probably my favorite part of the episode too. According to his tweet, Henry Thurlow animated the Kuzan scene traditionally on paper. Let's give Toei credit where it's due; they let their animators take time, be creative and love their work. Otherwise we wouldn't get scenes like this.

And that's it! The first (and the last?) time we see Heart pirates in proper action. Ch. 1081 is only ~17 chapters away. Hopefully we'll see it animated around the middle of this year. Hopefully Law's current condition in the manga is updated by then, otherwise it'll be very painful.

Twice already. Petition to let Pandaman become an official member of heart pirates.

[ecargmura]

Wonderful Precure Episode 36 Review - Precure History Has Been Made

If Delicious Party had the record of having a male character fighting alongside a Precure while not being an actual Precure and if Hirogaru Sky had the record of having the first male Precure, then Wonderful has the record of having a male support character finally have his feelings for a Cure reciprocated. This is definitely one for the history books; it’s even trending in Japanese Twitter! Everyone wanted this so bad and so did I!

I was surprised that this didn’t end off open-ended or having Iroha putting off her confession on hold until she feels the same way like how some romance animes do. The pacing was great and how it was executed was great, especially for someone with Iroha’s character. I feel like Toei allowed this to happen because Friendy isn’t the leader/pink Cure as that’s Wonderful’s role. I guess your feelings are allowed to be reciprocated as long as you aren’t in love with a pink Cure? Is that how it works?

Iroha is a very loving person. She loves everyone, so it’s inevitable that she has a hard time differentiating what romantic love could be, or what makes someone special. She sort of reminds me of Sakura Kinomoto in a way that she loves everyone, but realizes that romantic love for someone is much deeper and more special than regular love for friends and animals. I’m glad that Yoko was the one who gave her that push as she’s happily married to Tsuyoshi, after all.

What I like most is that how this anime describes love isn't bound by gender, but how special your feelings are. Iroha only realizes how special Satoru is after thinking about how he’s always there whenever she’s in trouble and how she wants to be there when he’s in trouble. I love the words Friendy uses after seeing Satoru getting kidnapped by Zakuro. She uses strong words like “Yada” instead of “dame” when it comes to refusal and says “It has to be Satoru and no one else!” I think that if you’re understanding of how Japanese language is like, it’s a language of nuance in a way. There are words that gives deeper meaning instead of words that are used more casually. Watching a lot of anime helped me pick up on the nuances, hence why I got a little emotional when Friendy uses these stronger words to describe how important Satoru is to her.

I also like that Satoru’s confession is taken seriously by those around him and even himself. He could’ve brushed aside Mey Mey’s words as a joke, but he mans up and confesses to her, showing how serious this is. I think that’s a charming thing about him—that he’s straightforward and honest about his feelings and never wants them to be taken as a joke. His will is very unwavering, like how Zakuro says. I also like how Niko and Daifuku comfort him and praise him for confessing. I just like the positivity of being able to express your feelings and not have someone berate you on why you have to confess and such. Ah, youth…

Though, I did wonder why Zakuro just ups and kidnaps Satoru for romantic excitement when she’s in love with Gaou. I guess she’s just lonely and desperate for her love to notice her? Though, it was nice tension in a way for Friendy to finally act up on her feelings.

The real MVP of this episode is actually Yuki for being the person who has to distract Komugi because she has no tact when it comes to romantic affairs. She definitely did her best to match a dog’s energy and did her best to pull Komugi away during important moments.

I wonder how things are going to change now that SatoIro has become officially canon? The writers better not dip out after this and have them break up after a few episodes; that’d be unforgivable. Though, I am still a bit surprised that this happened in the middle of the series. Confessions usually happen towards the end of a story and is used as some sort of story conclusion. I think it’s nice that they’re not dragging it towards the end. This does give a solid confirmation that Satoru is not going to be a male Cure. However, I just hope that Daifuku, at least, is able to gain the ability to talk and become a human even if he doesn’t transform. Give the rabbit his carrots! What are your thoughts on Precure history being made?

[canmom]

The First Slam Dunk fansub

Proud to release my very first fansub for the return of Animation Night.

So what is this movie? The short version is that The First Slam Dunk is the best sports movie I've ever seen.

A slightly longer version: it's an incredibly intense, sharply choreographed game of basketball - intercut with the story of our boy Ryota, who struggles to live up to the shadow of his dead brother Sota, not helped by the fact that his mother is not dealing with it well. Growing up a taciturn outcast, Ryota at last finds solace in basketball, where he finds a new purpose as he and his comrades in the no-name Shohoku basketball team find their way to unexpected success. Now, he stands to achieve his brother's dream - to beat the as-yet undefeated Sannoh team. But the Sannoh boys want that win just as badly, and they live for basketball.

After seeing this movie you'll get why.

Slam Dunk is a wildly popular and long-running sports manga, previously adapted to anime by Toei in the 90s. The original story followed delinquent yankii goofball Sakuragi, who finds a new life in basketball. This movie aims to open it to a new audience - it retells the story from a different perspective, changing the emotional beats as it moves our view from goofy Sakuragi to troubled Ryota. The original mangaka Takehiko Inoue directed it after he was impressed by Toei's efforts to bring the characters to life with CG. It sports (haha) a unique look in anime, blending 2D and 3D animation with a really gorgeous manga-like shading style and effects.

The result is a film with the tight cinematography of manga panelling, the complex 3D motion of CGI and mocap, and also the clarity and snappy timing of animation. The result is, above all, readable. I honestly don't know a thing about basketball, and yet, I could follow every move - even in French.

Then add an absolutely killer soundtrack and masterful pacing and you end up with something truly special. It was one of my favourite movies at Annecy last year, and now it's finally out on BD.

So, in the interest of letting more people enjoy this movie, and also because I really wanted to try my hand at it, I made a fansub! It ended up an incredibly involved project - I retimed every line of dialogue, tracked dozens of signs in Blender, and generally went just completely all out on this one. Couple of all nighters may have been involved.

Here's some screenshots of some of the more complex typesetting:

If you'd like to watch it together, I'll be staging a group watch at 7pm UK time (three and a half hours from now). Tune in to twitch.tv/canmom - I'd love to see you there! And if not, well, the torrent is above, enjoy <3

[duhragonball]

Requiem for a Bio-Broly

So I looked at the new Sparking Zero lineup, and it's currently at 184 characters, if you count the three DLC guys. And once again, Bio-Broly did not make the cut.

I'm not really surprised, but it is kind of interesting that this guy has never made it into any of these fighting games. He's in Dragon Ball Heroes and Dokkan stuff, and I'm pretty sure that's because those card-based style of games need as much variety as possible, which is why they do all those what-if characters and scenarios.

It only really surprised me when Budokai Tenkaichi 3 skipped him, because that game had a ginormous roster, to the point where it was tough to even guess how they'd fill all the slots. And unsurprisingly, often-overlooked movie villains like Garlic Junior and Dr. Wheelo were on the roster. But not Bio-Broly. I think that's when I first got intrigued about his exclusion from these games, because BT3 was the first game to get all of the other Z movie villains in it, and that made Bio-Broly conspicuous by his absence.

The later games had smaller rosters, but they also seemed eager to add some special attraction, usually a character who hadn't been used before. Raging Blast 2 had Hatchiyack, but also Androids 13 and 14. Battle of Z really touted Beerus and Whis, since I'm pretty sure that was their video game debut. And Xenoverse 2 has been adding DLC characters for the better part of a decade now. You'd think one of them might toss in Bio-Broly, if only for the novelty of it, but no.

I don't want to sound like some kind of Bio-Broly fan. The character sucks, and so does his movie. But he was still a movie villain. Like, that's kind of a special status in these games. They get used as bonus stage bosses or special unlockable guys, or whatever. GT is pretty awful too, but it's still fun to see Omega Shenron and Baby in these games. I would argue the games are the only time GT characters are really handled properly. I'm sure someone could come up with a cool story mode segment involving Bio-Broly. The quality of his movie is irrelevant.

So with this game, Sparking Zero, I figured he was probably going to finally get his spot, if only because there were so many spots to fill, and why not toss him in there, if only to get a complete set of movie baddies? But it looks like he got shafted again. I mean, they could still put him in as DLC, and I would think they'd just about have to. I mean, they probably want to do lots of DLC characters like with Xenoverse 2, but they already put so many characters in the base game, so who's left? They could do Cell Max, and some Daima characters, toss in some OG Dragon Ball and more Tournament of Power guys, but it's weird that we're even talking about this when there's a Z-Movie guy they've never used.

Like, imagine if Metal Cooler never got to be in any of these games. Everybody else, but for some reason Metal Cooler just never shows up. Movie 5 Cooler's there, and so is his final form, but no Metal Cooler, no explanation given. That'd be weird, right? After a while you'd wonder why that is. I mean, Cooler's henchmen have made it into some of the games. There's room for Metal Cooler, so why wouldn't they use it?

I think it's widely understood that Movie 11 is one of the worst, if not the worst of the DBZ movies. But I've never really seen anyone actively hating on it. It's more forgettable than offensive, and yet, Bio-Broly's exclusion from the games makes me wonder if that movie did more damage to the brand than I've ever known. Like, maybe it performed very poorly, or there's a lot of hard feelings over that production, so everyone at Toei just keeps the character as obscure as possible. I mean, they put him in the Dokkan and DBH games, but you never see like ads for that. Maybe they're worried that putting Bio-Broly in one of these roster reveal trailers would be so offensive to fans that it would hurt the sales? That seems pretty far-fetched, but that's where my mind goes on this.

Most likely, they just don't put him in because there's so little interest in the character, and there's always someone else they can stick in the game instead. I think there's a very real case to be made for adding in more Tournament of Power characters. If they put the whole Universe 10 team in a DLC pack before Bio-Broly, I'd be like "Yeah, that makes sense."

I just wonder where the bottom is. How big does the roster have to get before Bio-Broly becomes the next best choice for a new addition? 184 isn't the answer, but what about 200? 250? 300? When does it just get down to Bio-Broly and like... Shu wearing his fake Goku disguise?

I mean, obviously Fake Goku should be added before Bio-Broly. Look at this guy. He's great.

[calciumcryptid]

Post-Canon QToey Headcanons b/c I Miss Them

When his grandfather passed, Q was the one to inherit the most from him. While the rest of his family got solid payouts (and a couple of sentimental things left to Q's mother), Q inherited everything connected to his grandfather's career as a famous artist. Q's post-graduation job is getting his grandfather's galleries and art guilds up and running again.

Toey was not joking about the house/trophy husband thing (look me in my eyes and tell me house/trophy husband Toey doesn't make sense). That being said, Toey spends time as a still life artist and sculptor, and likes working at the guilds and running art workshops for local kids (with Peem and Matt as special guests).

Q and Toey leave post-it notes for each other on the bathroom mirror when they can't wake up together. Toey gets giddy every time he sees one, and Q keeps every single one.

Q has a reputation for being an intimidating no-nonsense boss (who pays well), so whenever his employees meet Toey for the first time they are always surprised then become significantly less scared of him.

In general, Q's employees know it is going to be a great day when Toey is on the premises.

Bless the heart of whatever person gets it into their head they can seduce Q away, because my demi favorite is scared and confused.

Plus, while Toey doesn't get jealous he can play the petty husband card beautifully (He learned from the best, also known as Phum).

Toey is terrifying when he is angry (it is the stark contrast), so Q vowed to never upset him.

Q continues to play the guitar after graduation, but reserves it for Toey and squad hangouts. Though sometimes Toey manages to pull him on stage at the gallery for some live music.

Their home consists of many interior design styles, but most of it is art deco and mid century. Their home studio and kitchen is industrial and rustic. That being said, they are maximalists due to their passions which very much conflicts with their chosen styles.

Q's grandfather retired to the house right next door to Peem's parents. Now Q and Toey use that house as their vacation home. The group tends to use it too when they need time away, and they have a whole calendar to try and figure out who gets to use it (minus Peem of course).

Q and Toey often head to the park together. Toey will skateboard, and Q will draw. Sometimes Q takes some action shots of Toey to draw later. He will still claim they are for anatomical reference despite a) being an abstract artist and b) being married to the man.

Q has a lot of sketches that are just Toey doing anything and everything. He hoards them like gold, and Toey teases him relentlessly.

Q, Phum, and Tan all got into a competition over who can propose first. (None of them won, Pun proposed to Chain in the dead of the night and Chain said yes and they eloped before having a proper wedding. However, Tan won out of the three, but on a technicality because Fang proposed to him.)

Q did manage to beat Phum though (not Q's fault Phum proposed every five business days and Peem could no longer tell if Phum was serious or not). Q proposed to Toey at Oh's cafe, with a ring around the milk frappe straw.

(Speaking of Oh, Q is keeping his place in business with a two-way sponsorship deal.)

QToey had a very small private ceremony.

QToey has one child, a son, who goes to study abroad in medicine. Yes, that was Toey's original plan. Yes, the group teases him about it.

Their son came home with a degree and a boyfriend with a music degree, and Q was all too happy to show off his guitar collection.

[tobiasdrake]

On the topic of the humans, one of the things that really annoyed me about Resurrection F and the Tournament of Power, is how Roshi was brought back to the frontlines as pretty much the strongest human, with Krillin and Tenshinhan struggling to keep up, and Yamcha relegated to the sidelines as the comic relief who is laughably weak. Nevermind the fact that those three had surpassed him in their teens, and in the 25 years after that, they had improved significantly as martial artists. Have them pull off Mafubas or Shock Palms! And don't make it look like Krillin's special technique is one Tenshinhan developed, ffs. Dammit, Toei's "worldbuilding" is just annoying.

Yeah, the DBS manga shills the Muten-Roshi too, to the point of having him perform Ultra Instinct. So I don't think that one's on Toei necessarily.

The way DBS handles Roshi is probably the biggest demonstration of its character regression. He was only competing in the 21st and 22nd Tenkaichi Budokais for the sake of helping his students grow, and he was proud of how far they'd surpassed him in the 23rd.

Making him top-dog of the humans again not only goes against the development of the story but it goes against his character. He's not supposed to be nor does he want to be the supreme martial artist anymore. He hasn't been for a long time and he's pleased by that.

[happypotato48]

We Are EP 5 Unhinged?? Tangent Thoughts

Yeah, i think my We Are tangent touhghts are less unhinged and more like normal incoherent thoughts cause of the nature of this show. but hey, it's all about the branding baby!

I just had root canal and the anesthetic shot is starting to wear off. so let's fucking go with Gay Vibes the show ep 5, the not so special loy krathong episode.

Ok fine! phum and peem were cute this episode. phum still needs a good smack or two but he was extra sweet on the not-date loy krathong and he gave peem that Super duper cute buffalo stuffy which is an automatic win in my book, sue me, i just loved when people use stuffed animals as love language (btw, there like no way a normal balloon darts booth in a temple fair would have that kind of detailed looking merch thing irl.) i liked that it's phuwin who get to kissed pond first this time around. i know that the "นายเอก" characters are supposed to be stand in for all the girlies but in the year of not my lord 2567, just let the bottoms be BOLD and Horny! more of this plz.

I think aou is one of the best gmmtv boys in term of acting skill and difinitely the storngest with comedy in my opinion. i loved him even when the script was kinda meh as the slimy senior in Enchante. and i absolutely adored him in Be My favorite. the tangfang loy kratong confession scene in this episode was mesmerizing to watch, the chemistry was oozing and its was delicious. although i've been gushing non stop only about aou since this show started, boom definitely is a perfect casting choice for fang. we haven't got a lot of scene with fang but i 100% understand why tan is in love with him. this man is so cool and aloof that it make sense that someone hyper like tan would falls head over heels for.

Toey contiuned to be cute as heck and such a delighful little cupid for peem and phum. and Satang got to sings my favorite BL opening i truly had been blessed.

So chain is a manwhore who would have thought. ok, i might be delulu here and just want to make excuse for my man chain but from the interactions he had with those girls i think he just like taking care of other people. maybe he dated every person who confessed to him and rolls with it because he care too much not to hurts their feelings. anyways this man doesn't need a girlfriend he need a puppy and well well he happened to have the most puppy personification person alive by his side :3

Lastly i want to talk about loy krathong. so i myself never vibe with valentine day, growing up i felt it's too commercialized, too pink, too heartsy, and definitely too hetero. so in my opinion valentine just fail miserably as a day about love. and here come loy krathong although it's not originally a holiday celebrating love it did what valentine couldn't for me. floating those krathongs with my family, friends, and maybe one day someone special *cry in single* are to me a more fitting act of cerebrating love of all kinds than going on a date and giving chocolate on a day some dead priest who probably hated queer people died (i have no knowledge about the actual lore of this day and i also doesn't care. 😗) what i want to say is that loy krathong in thai BLs = Yay! valentine in thai BLs = Boo!