#konishi....megumi....come back

[scramble-crossing]

Man. I miss the Shibuya Reapers every day of my life

[regallibellbright]

So the central roles of the Guardians AU are pretty well set and did so pretty much immediately (Joshua-Ventuswill, Rindo-Lest/Frey, Neku, Shiki, Beat and Rhyme-Leon, Dolce, Dylas and Amber.) There was a brief moment where I considered a situation where Neku was the resident amnesiac befriending a god, but Kitaniji and the GMs as Guardians instead just Does Not Work, and Neku’s the keystone that holds the rest of the gang together. (As a result, Shiki, Beat and Rhyme are all elves - half-elf in Shiki’s case - so that they could all lose Neku, be royally pissed off at him for vanishing without telling them, and then still be alive a couple centuries later to make the same choice he did. Everyone knows it’s at least as much for Neku as it is for Joshua.)

On the other hand, Megumi Kitaniji as Volkanon as first attendant/de facto mayor? Yeah that checked out, which lends itself to the following very fun dynamics:

1) Megumi, increasingly caught off-guard by the sheer Weirdness that is this year, on increasingly better terms with Rindo who’s at least as bewildered by this all as anyone else.

2) Neku comes back. Neku looks at least a decade younger than Megumi. Neku as a Dragon Priest from 1,000 years ago has seniority over Megumi’s rank, not just himself. (Sidenote: Megumi has maybe just been demoted?) Neku treats his god so informally Megumi would probably rather die than consider it, given Joshua’s the Divine Dragon of Mind. Neku now lives here and, while the other newcomers have their own bedrooms they sometimes use, is the Divine Dragon’s personal teddy bear and only ceded when the other Guardians are ALSO sleeping on the Divine Dragon’s dais so that Neku can get Maximal Amounts of Cuddles, which is about half the time.

Megumi has a lot to process.

3) We’ll be skipping Arc Two in favor of post-reunion Shenanigans, but this is not because there is no Empire presence in the city! No, it’s because Megumi has had Shiba Miyakaze’s number from the MINUTE that blowhard “mercenary” walked into town with his entourage, and the two of them are engaged in a mental cold war. Since everyone else was more loyal to Shiba than the Empire, it’s been three years, and they’re actually pretty happy with this city and their cover identities and think the boss doesn’t really want to move on either, this has derailed all plans of sabotage in favor of PERSONAL rivalry.

(In the background, the local florist-and-nutrients and poisons shopkeeper, Ayano Kamachi, has been having her own icy hostility Thing with the Dragon Knights’ second-in-command, it’s just that she and Konishi are much gayer about it by this point and in deep, deep denial. Shoka’s running a bet with the rest of the town about how that hookup finally happens.)

[scramble-crossing]

Oooo I love a good Kariya analysis! I hope you don’t mind me jumping on :]

When it comes to a lot, if not all, of twewy’s characters, I think it’s pointless trying to drudge up a laundry list of why anyone might constitute as a “good” or “bad” person. Is Kariya a good person? Is Megumi? Sho? Hanekoma? You can pass any sort of moral judgement on these characters (which is easier for some than others), but I think that tends to be antithetical to the message of twewy itself, and simplifies what is by nature a very complex situation. It’s not easy to apply “real world” morals to the Reaper’s Game, where everyone is in a constant state of fighting for survival. Just think of all those Reapers Neku and Beat erased throughout Week 3. They weren’t in control of themselves and can’t be faulted for their actions, but since it was a “them or us” situation, neither can Neku or Beat. It’s harsh, but that’s the name of the game.

With Kariya, what you think of him really depends on how you feel about Reapers as a whole, because Kariya is basically the gold standard. He’s supposed to be lazy, sure, but he never lets that impair his work. I can’t remember if it was the game itself or the old website, but one of them described him as a “perfectionist” when it comes to his job. Like you said, he actually understands the goal of the Reaper’s Game and works to see it realized. He wants “worthy” Players to win even if it costs him points. He doesn't try to claw out extra gains like Uzuki. His reward is the dynamism of Shibuya. This much is clear from one of the only times we see him visibly distraught, when Beat's finally "proven himself" by standing up to Kariya, but because of Konishi's betrayal he can't give him Rhyme back. It's the moment when his laidback persona drops completely and he seems genuinely remorseful, because he couldn't hold up his end of the bargain and give Beat what he'd rightfully earned by learning, growing, and changing exactly how the Reaper's Game intended him to.

(Sidenote: The other two times we see Kariya upset is when Uzuki is in danger. Do you ever think about how Uzuki's only been around for two years as of the first game, which Kariya implies is nothing compared to him? Do you ever wonder how many other partners he might've had? How many he saw erased? Do you ever think that maybe the reason why he was so relaxed about Uzuki leaving him in NEO is because at least she left him alive? Well, as much as a Reaper can be.)

Personally, I think that Reapers and Players are more or less in the same boat. Reapers have a slight edge over Players by virtue of them having more experience with the game, but both are in a situation where the other's survival can mean their own demise, since Reapers will be erased if they can't earn enough points by besting Players and proving their own worth. You can argue that Reapers are more at fault for having made the choice to become Reapers, and that's entirely fair. Then you'd be getting into the fact that every single Reaper, for some reason, preferred an extremely restrictive, dangerous existence in the UG over returning to their old lives. Pair that with the fact that a disturbing amount of Reapers are teenagers and young adults and you start to have to question if many of them were fully capable of grasping the ramifications of their decision...

However a Reaper might've come to stay in the UG, from that point on they have to learn to cope with the mental stress of being thrust into a death game every few weeks and forced to compete with other people over their very existence. It's sink or swim. You find a way to keep your head or you crack under the pressure and get erased. The fact that the character who's arguably the most insistent on this, who constantly drills it into the Wicked Twisters' heads, is Minamimoto, an ex-Reaper, leads me to believe that every Reaper has this "get up or get remaindered" mentality impressed deeply on their psych. I doubt there are many Reapers who take genuine pleasure in erasing Players, and those who act like they do do so only because that's the safest way to play the game, to treat it as just that. A game. One that is filled to the BRIM with scared, traumatized kids who, no matter what side they fall on, I find it hard to judge too harshly.

If you're a Reaper, Kariya is without a doubt the person you should try to emulate. He copes remarkably well, as far as anyone knows. His love of Shibuya and his desire to see it as colourful and vibrant as it can possibly be, the way he's willing to risk his own neck for the city's sake, his talent as a Reaper, the ease with which he handles being judge, jury, and executioner, and the relative fairness he shows while doing so, he's the complete embodiment of what the Reaper's Game is supposed to be. You just never want to end up in a situation where the best possible thing you can do is to be like him.

Do you feel like kariya is a good person to look up to? Like I know day 4 happened but that's like the worst thing he did. And I honestly can't be mad because that "hello, villain? Screwing with you is my job." Line just hits me weird. I'm tempted to write a fic but I dunno

Now that is an interesting question. I see what you mean by "day 4 is the worst thing he did" but that's actually the only thing we see. And while that's the most nefarious action he took, that's the only one we saw, but he's been a Reaper for so long that he most likely erased hundreds of not thousands of players before. Is Kariya an overall good person? No, I don't think so.

But, as you said, "it's his job". Here we fall into the morals of the Reaper's Game and I'm afraid I'm not qualified enough to judge. But I can offer some ideas anyway.

What's the job of a Harrier Reaper? It's not to mindlessly erase Players to rack up points and rise up the ranks as Uzuki seems to believe. Kariya sees further: he knows that the Reapers (Harriers, Supports, Officers...) all have the common goal of helping to judge which Players are worth reviving. It's not about erasing them all, it's about putting up obstacles that will make them grow (for instance, erasing Rhyme was the way to help Beat grow, wasn't it?) and erasing those who are not strong enough to survive. It follows the basic rule of the Reaper's Game which is the survival of the fittest.

Now that rule can obviously be contested in many ways, as it is directly contested mulstiples times during twewy directly, and by Neku himself, who believes that all Players should live again. So there's mutiples questions here: do you agree with the survival of the fittest? If not, do you believe that because someone is asked to do something, then that takes away their responsibility in the actions taken (it's "just his job")?

I don't have any idea on how to answer those questions. Just food for thought!

But on the other hand, Kariya can be looked up to on some subjects. He knows what matters to him (Shibuya) and he's willing to risk his life for it (for instance, going against Shiba or helping Beat and Neku in week three of the og). There's many other steps he takes in order to protect Shibuya (finding the source of the Taboo Noise, trying to find out what Joshua's deal is, fighting against the Plague Noise on his own to protect the RG inhabitants from it...) which clash with his "lazy" personality and show that he can definitely give his all for something as long as it matters enough to him. That man got his priorities straight, I can admire that.

I wouldn't say that he likes to help people because we don't see him do it that often. I believe he's doing it with the same goal in mind that he has for everything else he does: Shibuya's well-being. He helps out Beat to grow because that's what the Game is about, and same for Rindo, because he knows that having people who win the Game and get revived is a good thing for the city thanks to the influence they will have on it (see Shiki's influence through Gatto Nero!).

In the end, to answer your question... it depends on what you believe in. Nobody's perfect, and there's definitely people worse than Kariya to look up to. But it's important to be aware of what his morals are, because of course he's very much a grey character when it comes to those.

[putschki1969]

Character Visual Revealed for Hikaru//’s FIRST STAGE PLAY PROJECT「Good Luck Your Memories:Re」

The mysterious woman who manipulates time ~ Shizuku (Hikaru//)

Theatrical Company GAIA Crew 『Good Luck Your Memories:Re』

・ Date and time: April 29 - May 5  (10 performances planned) ・ Location: Theatre Green BOX in BOX THEATER ・ Ticket price: 6000 円 ・ Screenplay / Direction: Takeshi Kato ・ Appearances ★ Hikaru//, ★ Takashi Hamatsu, ★ Ei Mochizuki, ★ Hiromi Samejima, Mone Amari, Misaki Tachibana, ★ Masateru Dosho, ★ Kenichiro Hakariya, Yasuka Nakayama, Yumi Agawa, Golyat, Yoshifumi Sakamoto, Hikari Ando, Ryota Mihashi, Erika Akiyama, Hiroko Sugiyama, Daisuke Goto, ★ Nozomi Hidaka, Mao Onishi, Yuji Kusaba, Megumi Fujisaki, Takeshi Kato ※ Performers marked with ★ perform in all performances, others are double cast ・ Synopsis: “I will surely return to get my memories!” Takuma, Kosuke and Seiji, the three men have been close friends since their school days. Despite their conflicting professions, they promised they would never interfere with each other’s work. This changes when a mysterious woman named Shizuku (=Hikaru) appears. She is being chased by the authorities because of her special abilities. Everyone who enters a contract with her may go back in time to change something they regret. Kosuke and Seiji decide to make use of her abilities and soon become very successful, eventually breaking the rule of never interfering with each other’s work. Soon, it turns out that the price of using Shizuku’s ability is a gradual memory loss. As the two friends start losing their memories, their personality slowly changes and their humanity is stripped away. Will Takuma be able to protect his friends and discover the secrets behind Shizuku’s abilities?

『Good Luck Your Memories:Re』Homepage https://gaiacrew.com/sp/good-luck-your-memories-re/

2022/04/08 Tweet by H-el-ical// staff

Hikaru has started something new today 👍 We visited Yoyogi-Hachimangu Shrine on the way back ⛩✨

#May her stage work be successful 👏 #May she be good at dancing 👏 #May everyone have a smile on their face 👏 (Source)

2022/04/08 Tweet by Hikaru

I apologize for the inconvenience caused by the system error when the live goods first went on sale, we have decided we will extend the order period ☑️ I want everyone to come together and participate in the live ☺️

How do you like this recoloured look? ✨ 😳 💡

Order period 2022/4/1 to 2022/4/15 👑 FC only https://subscription.app.c-rayon.com/app/helical/home JOIN her Fan Club NOW ❗ 👑 General sale http://h-el-ical.tokyo

2022/04/08 Tweet by H-el-ical// staff

… Σ (ﾟ д ﾟ ；) !!!!!

#What happened to her hair ... ? #What happened to her bangs ...? (they have been cut slightly shorter?) #Is this still Hikaru-san? *laughs* #I was surprised and couldn’t help but ask 🤣 #Who would have considered such a colour...?

2022/04/08 Tweet by Hikaru

\\\ ٩ (๑` ^ ´๑) ۶ //// POWER UP! In one of my replies from yesterday I said that I would go for something flashy next. Plan executed!  😆!

#Meeting a new self! #You also noticed the fine adjustment of the bangs! #I got a call from my manager🤣 #Unconsciously looking more and more like Katsuyuki Konishi-san ...? 😳 #It’s me, Hikaru (Source)

[kaibutsushidousha]

How would you cast Fate Strange Fake?

Man, it was so wise of me to wait for volume 7 before getting to this one. The /Requiem casting post is waiting on the event's rerun, if it doesn't start taking as long as Case Files's.

Spoiler warning for volume 7.

Ayaka Sajou already has a voice in Hollow Ataraxia, but I think that doesn't fit her new character, so I'd give her Kana Hanazawa because she voices Sajou Ayaka. Also, her Hollow actor is uncredited, I think. Richard is voiced by Yuuki Ono in the PV and I'd keep that. Saint-Germain I just can't not see Sabo's face in his illustration, so I'll double down and cast him as Tooru Furuya.

Tine can be *googles Kaguya Shinomiya VA name* Aoi Koga. She really nails the tone of a young girl forcing herself to sound like an adult. Gilgamesh was always Tomokazu Seki and I'm not changing that.

Bazdilot is a scary man demanding a scary man voice, but I'm against repeat voices, so no Kenjirou Tsuda or Jouji Nakata no matter how much they're already overused in TM. No Sugita or Ootsuka either. Honestly, I feel like that leaves with only Norio Wakamoto as a suitable and new option. Alcides would be Tadahisa Saizen because he's always has been Heracles.

The chimera wolf will be voiced wolf or dog stock sounds. Enkidu would continue being Yuu Kobayashi from FGO.

Σ's Kirito face makes me want to say Matsuoka, but that's already taken by Flat, so I'll go with Yuuki Kaji. Watcher... Eh, too many people to cast. I'll just say Asclepius reprises his FGO actor, and Ahab gets Shigeru Chiba.

Tsubaki gets Yurika Kubo. The casting gag is that she does the Platelets in Cells At Work BLACK, so baby girl surrounded by disease. Pale Rider can be anyone ran through 800 computer filters. The actual actor doesn't matter because they'd be utterly unrecognizable in the product. Heck, get Narita himself to voice Rider.

Hippolyte is kinda hard to cast because she doesn't have much special going for her. Well, she's Penthesilea's sister and Penth is voice by Yuu Shimamura, a Zelda, so I could go with another Zelda, Ayumi Fujimura. Svin, Yvette, Caules, Mary, Rin, and Luvia would get reprises from their established actors. I don't feel like I have enough material to cast the Apocrypha kids, but I have a very particular and unlikely wish for Werner. Fuuta Kimura. "Whomst've'd?", you might be asking. It's the live-action actor who did Orlocke's young form in the Adra musical, still the best thing to have come out of the El-Melloi series.

I haven't heard Ken'yuu Horiuchi as Artorius because Pembroke plays with the English dub on the Berseria streams, but knowing Horiuchi plays Artorius immediately makes him the perfect Orlando. Wataru Hatano would be a good Dumas, as he knows both how to be crude and how to be intellectual. I wanted Hitomi Nabatame as Vera for her role as Konishi in TWEWY but she's already Bazett, so I'll go with Misato Murai for Minami in Tribe Nine. And for John, we need someone who nails the shounen hero vibes, and I'm thinking of Taku Yashiro, Luke from Yugioh Sevens.

Francesca already has an uncredited voice actress speculated to be Yukari Tamura. But I want both Prelatis to have the same VA and I don't think Tamura can do a good man voice for François. So now it's time for me to pull back to my Danganronpa V3 roots and shill Saihara's voice acting again. Megumi Hayashibara is the one we need. She's a huge deal, but the Prelatis are kind of a huge in-universe too. And I really just can't believe Hayashibara has never been in TM to this day.

Jester... Roa is a character who changed A LOT in the Remake, but Jester still exists as a character that contains all the worst the old version of Roa has to offer. So none better than Ken Narita, Roa's old voice, to play our vampire clown. Assassin can be Miyu Tomita. FsF's Assassin and Kaguya-sama's Iino are the best girls of their series for roughly the same reasons.

Now, this is the one I had already decided in my head long before I got the ask. Hiro Shimono as Faldeus. Shimono is another guy who is long overdue coming to TM, and Faldeus is just the character for him because no one is better than Hiro Shimono when it comes to being pathetic. See Ouma, Ryuunosuke Naruhodou, Aoba Kuronuma, and most of all, Zen'itsu Agatsuma. Shimono is the man we need. It can't be anyone else. Hassan will depend on whether or not he proves to be the First. If he is, he's Jouji Nakata, and use Faldeus's own voice when speaking early to conceal the twist. If he isn't, I dunno, Tetsuo Kanao.

Flat is already Yoshitsugu Matsuoka. Jack is really tough to cast because it needs to be the most neutral voice possible. I kinda wanna say Minami Takayama for her role as Kamukura. Hao and Envy are close to the right tone too. Yeah, I'll go with that. Thia would just use Flat's voice, but with a delivery closer to how Matsuoka does for Neil in Yugioh.

Aya Uchida starts with the same Uchi kanji as Siduri's Yumi Uchiyama, so she's perfect for Haruri. Huwawa and Gugalanna don't need human voices. Ishtar I want to still be Kana Ueda despite also Rin being there. Pre-possession Filia can be idk Ayana Taketatsu.

EDIT: I forgot Hansa. He's Takuya Eguchi.

[vampkomori]

doing a lot of thinking about things that potentially dont even matter in the grand scheme of things but are still interesting to think about

CAT might not have actually designed the Red Skull pins

(and by extension, the Player Pins)

theres several things that point to this, even including things in the anime (sources and screenshots provided because we love orderly things)

when the Red Skull pins are first given out, CAT is not mentioned whatsoever. not in the mission, not in Makoto’s monologue about how he’s supposed to get people to pay attention it, not in the anime when the red beanie guy is bringing in a box to the Prince, nowhere. weird, considering how that would boost their popularity, and make them gain traction a lot faster?

this might be somewhat obvious, but the supplier of these pins is clearly Megumi. the game only briefly mentions a “mystery supplier”

but the anime makes it a bit more obvious, given that the red beanie guy is actually a reaper, which makes his “boss” this week’s GM: Higashizawa, who’s Megumi’s proxy and acting under his orders

red beanie guy is never seen with wings, but his coloration is Very satured, just like other reapers (compared to the more desaturated RG folk) which makes him stand out. and if thats not enough proof,

in week 3 when Konishi is issuing an Emergency Call, you can see reapers react to it, one of which is a recolored beanie reaper just like the one we saw in week 1

anyway, moving on. from Megumi’s perspective, CAT has nothing to do with these pins

as Conductor, Megumi might or might not know a Producer even exists, but either way he isn’t aware of what their identity is, so he doesn’t know that they’re actually CAT, either

Actually, the very first mention that ties CAT to the Red Skull pin in the game is from a random NPC in front of 104 (in week 1) who wonders whether the design is from CAT

it’s a brief assumption. after this, it’s not brought up in the game again until week 2, where Makoto is suddenly advertising them as “CAT-designed”

a little weird, CAT has been a big name in Shibuya for (presumably) years, so why didnt he mention CAT back in week 1?

in the anime, CAT is first brought up in relation to the Red Skull pins in week 2 by two RG folk

We dont know why everyone suddenly thinks they’re designed by CAT in the anime,

but in the game, it at least seems to give the impression that it’s a rumor that suddenly got out of hand. CAT, at the very least, never gave out a statement saying otherwise

because we know a certain someone was quite busy, he might not have even known that people were associating the pin with CAT. since the Producer’s identity is meant to be a secret both in the UG and RG, it’s likely that if he realized people were coming dangerously close to putting one and one together, he might’ve intervened and severed the connection to CAT and the pins entirely

and, well, joshua never had a reason to deny the pins were CAT’s work, because they are, but nobody except him should know that in the first place

what joshua says in the game about the Player pins and whos responsible for making them is interesting

note the way joshua chooses his words here, he says the Composer is responsible for creating them, not that he actually creates them. and the Producer very much falls into “Composer territory”, as the Composer is the only one who is allowed to contact them, and the only one who knows their identity

he also refers to the Composer as a designer, this is a surprise tool that will help us in a second

The anime cuts the conversation somewhat short, and we’re only given this line

where he specifies that the Composer designs the player pins, not that he creates them

what we know of the system in the UG, this lines up. the Conductor (and the reapers) execute the Composer’s designs and ideas. The Producer takes these designs and actually creates, produces them. that’s all their role is, making the Composer’s designs reality

it’s true that CAT made the pins

but the Composer is the one who designed them

so this

was designed by Joshua

you could claim that he just gave the Producer a vague request to make a player pin and didn’t specify what it was supposed to look like, but

the Skull design is All over the Room of Reckoning, the Composer’s room. on the spires, the throne, the floor, it almost seems like it serves as an identifier of the Composer’s presence and control of the area.

which is pretty solid indication that the Composer is the one who designed it.

that concludes my case

[voicefromthecorner]

30. What Did I Miss?

Original Song: What Did I Miss?

Sho Minamimoto returns to the scene with a Taboo noise upgrade. With his new power, he sets out to take over Shibuya.

This one was written late and it took a long time to write. I struggled to adapt this one due to how much there was to it, finding the right events to match the lines and just getting the lyrics right in general. Even now, there are some lines that I look at and try to sing in my head and it only works if you do it a certain way. So it’s not a flawless transition by any means.

But darn it, Sho deserves this song. After The Room Where It Happens, I knew if he was going to sing any other song from Hamilton, it would probably have to include this one. In fact, I think I considered it the compromise of also giving him the much slower What Comes Next.

I did also consider giving Joshua this song, with him meeting Hanekoma at his re-entry into the story. But I was already lining up another song to give him for that and it didn’t make sense to give him both. I’m glad with how it all turned out. I especially love how it ends with him getting interrupted in his last line to get K.O.ed. It’s so slapstick.

First Song: Neku Sakuraba

Previous Song: Turn

Next Song: The Composer On Your Side

Index

Transcript:

[COMPANY] The third week. The-The-The third week The-The-The third week

[HANEKOMA] Week 3, Days 5 to 7 How does the loner and skater Partnership of Reaper-turned-Player Unite to overcome the danger? Find Konishi’s hiding place while nothing can delay her? Have it all, lose it all Can they both out-play her? To bring everyone back, a perfect resurrection Beat seeks the top spot with their desperate insurrection Not so fast. Someone came along to resist him Seizing pow’r aiming for Composer competition You haven’t seen him much, you haven’t had the chance ‘cause he was thought to be erased when his attack went askance But you’ll remember who always likes to steal the show Let’s welcome back Sho Minamimoto!

[COMPANY] Minamimoto has returned! (Minamimoto has returned!) Minamimoto has returned! (Minamimoto has returned!) Minamimoto has returned But he had been erased! What has he learned!? Aaa-ooo! Aaa-ooo!

[SHO] Shibuya is following Kitaniji He controls the status quo But the sun comes up And the world still spins

[ENSEMBLE] Aaa-ooo!

[SHO] I painted myself in obliteration Using ev’rything I know But I factored I would have to go Now the final test begins

[ENSEMBLE] Aaa-ooo!

[SHO] So what’d I miss? What’d I miss? Shibuya, my home sweet home, I wanna give you a kiss I’m back with a taboo reconfiguration And now I’m 5 days late to take the nation I became my masterpiece and came back to this

[ENSEMBLE] Aaa-ooo!

[SHO] I go hunting for the boss in WildKat But all I found was an empty set So I trashed the place just for the fun of it I see a pair of brain-dead hectopascal digits They're so zetta slow while I calibrate, great! And now I’m finally Myself-approved I just got home and now I’m headed to the river

[ENSEMBLE] Shibuya River! Shibuya River!

[SHO (ENSEMBLE)] Shibuya needs a leader Soon they will see his name is me (Will see his name is me) Whatever I’ll face, I shout “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally!” (My Dear Aunt Sally) But who’s waitin’ for me when I step in the dark? Mitsuki Konishi, black in the heart She made a wall and I respond “What do you want?” (Aaa-ooo!)

[KONISHI] Well Sho, we are engaged in a battle for our city’s very soul Can you get me out of the mess we’re in?

[ENSEMBLE] Aaa-ooo!

[KONISHI] The Composer’s new O-pin plan is nothing less Than complete mind control I’ll help if you give me Megumi’s role Where have you been?

[SHO] Uh...Calibrating?

[ENSEMBLE] Aaa-ooo!

[KONISHI] I have to win

[SHO (ENSEMBLE)] What’d I miss? (Wha? Wha? What’d I miss?) What’d I miss? (I’ve come home to this?) Headfirst into the Dead god’s pad abyss! (Headfirst, into the abyss!) Shibuya’s getting a new ruler today (Chik-a-pow!) SOHCAHTOA is all I have to say I’m already on my way (On my way) And then it’s “class dismissed”! (What did I miss? Ahhh ah!)

[BEAT] Damn, Pi-face is so strong

[NEKU] That means Joshua sacrificed his life in vain!

[BEAT AND ENSEMBLE] Damn, Pi-face is so strong

[COMPANY] Minamimoto has returned! And he’s ready to show off what he’s learned!

[SHO] So what did I mi- (THUNK)

[natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk]

Some Tweets Remember Keiji Fujiwara

Keiji Fujiwara died of cancer at the age of 55. The news was devastating for the seiyuu community. Many seiyuu are remembering and looking back on their times with Fujiwara and the impact he made on them. A lot of anime I’ve watched wouldn’t have been the same without Fujiwara. From Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to Dr. Stone, he shaped a lot of characters that I look back and smile thinking about. 

The following were all translated by @granblue_en on Twitter.

Takuya Eguchi

[original tweet | translation source]

Kaori Nazuka

[original tweet | translation source]

Tetsuya Fukuhara (creative director, Granblue Fantasy)

[original tweet | translation source]

Emiri Katou

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuki Ono

[original tweet | translation source]

Madoka Yonezawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Tomoyo Kurosawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Koichi Haruta (former producer)

[original tweet | translation source]

Minoru Shiraishi

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuichi Nakamura

[original tweet | translation source]

The following were translated by lig0schndr on Reddit

Ayana Taketatsu

Tomokazu Seki

Megumi Ogata

Mariya Ise

Nobunaga Shimazaki

Showtaro Morikubo

Marina Inoue

Romi Park

Natsuki Hanae

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Kazuhiko Inoue

Yuki Kaji

Hiroki Yasumoto

Jouji Nakata

Katsuyuki Konishi

Shouta Aoi

Kensho Ono

Noriko Hidaka

Rie Tanaka

Kikuko Inoue

Ami Koshimizu

Megumi Han

Arisa Komiya

Ryotaro Okiayu

Kenjiro Tsuda

Nozomi Yamamoto

Kanako Kondo

Haruka Kudo

Hitomi Harada

Miyu Tomita

Wataru Hatano

Atsushi Abe

Suzuko Mimori

Atsuko Tanaka

Aya Suzaki

Sayaka Ohara

Asami Imai

Daisuke Hirakawa

Hikaru Akao

Yui Ishikawa

Toa Yukinari*

Kotono Mitsuishi*

Nobuhiko Okamoto (blog)

Nana Mizuki (blog)

Toshiyuki Morikawa (blog)

Satoshi Hino (blog)

Tatsuhisa Suzuki (blog)

Chie Nakamura (blog)*

* not translated

Taketatsu Ayana (Taketatsu and Fujiwara both voiced characters in Dagashi Kashi and co hosted a series of bonus videos released with the Blu-rays of the series)

Fujiwara Keiji-san.

When we had a photograph session together for a TV show, even though you said, "I'm shy, so I can't really talk much," after the session started and I was nervous you kindly threw me a lifeline and chatted with me a lot, and even at live events and such you've saved me so much.

I wanted to spend more time with you.

I wanted to thank you directly.

_______

Seki Tomokazu (Seki and Fujiwara both voiced characters for the same series several times including PSYCHO-PASS, Sengoku BASARA, and Hajime no Ippo)

The way you looked when you came to the studio with your script sticking out of your back pocket was so cool, and I often copied you. When we went to karaoke together, I would put on a song that had a video of your acting as a prank and put you in a bind so many times. I wanted to play around with you again. This feels too soon... Fujiwara-san. Truly, thank you for everything.

_______

Ogata Megumi

I've had the honor of working with you on various, many sets but... my strongest impression, is actually not from an anime, but from the drama CD "Radical Hospital".

Dr. Sakaki... Please say it's a joke like you always do...?

Fujiwara Keiji-san. Truly, thank you for everything. Please rest peacefully.

_______

Ise Mariya (Ise and Fujiwara both voiced main characters in HUNTER X HUNTER, and Ise references Fujiwara's role as Leorio in this tweet)

What I remember is His white shirt and the sunglasses he wore His gallant figure standing before the microphone His bashful smile when having friendly conversations His stylish behavior when everyone goes drinking Both his voice and his acting were so cool Everything about him was wonderful

Keiji-san really felt like Leorio to me I have so many pleasant and fun memories Thank you so much

_______

Shimazaki Nobunaga

Fujiwara Keiji-san, I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Morikubo Showtaro

The tears won't stop.

_______

Inoue Marina

His voice, his acting, his smile, I loved them all.

_______

Park Romi (Park and Fujiwara both voiced important characters in Fullmetal Alchemist)

He just recovered...

Be it with Hagane, or Muji, or FA he was everyone's older brother...

He truly was Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.

Early Far too early...

Kei-chan You fought hard against what ailed you... Please rest well...

Your casual comments Even now I treasure.

Tonight I honor you...

I pray you rest in peace...

Notes: I'm not positive, but I believe in regards to the second line

"Hagane" likely refers to the first airing of Fullmetal Alchemist in 2003 that used the title 「鋼の錬金術師」 (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi).

"Muji" seems like it refers to Zoids, the first Zoids anime series that is often referred to colloquially as "Muji Zoids", "No Label Zoids", to differentiate it from other Zoid series. In this series, Fujiwara voiced Irvine, a main supporting character and older brother figure to the main characters.

"FA" likely refers to the second airing of Fullmetal Alchemist in 2009 that used the titled 「鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST」 and thus is sometimes referred to as "FA".

_______

Hanae Natsuki

This is too sad...

_______

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

My heart aches... The words won't come out...

_______

Inoue Kazuhiko

Eh, Fujiwara Keiji... No way. It's too early. I remembered well the times we worked together in the studio. It's too early. I'm so saddened.

_______

Kaji Yuuki (Kaji and Fujiwara both voiced characters for the same series several times including Magi and Shingeki no Kyojin)

Keiji-san. I wanted to talk with you more. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a father like you, if I could become a man like you, that kind of stuff, always, I thought to myself... I should have told you so. I wanted to talk with you more. I'm full of regret. I want to see you.

_______

Yasumoto Hiroki

Words don't suffice. He was cool. Truly. We had talked about him visiting my place and drinking some unopened wine.

_______

Nakata Jouji First tweet, and reply

He was shy and gave off the impression that he didn't like superficial relationships, but when I tried talking to him he replied with a bashful smile, that's what I recall. When I heard he returned to work and was doing independent work, I thought on my own that he was doing well, but... You must have had it hard, huh. However, you weren't the kind of person to say that out loud... You stayed true to yourself until the very end. I pray for you.

I wanted to meet with you and talk with you again.

_______

Konishi Katsuyuki

No way. When I was a fledgling, because his place was in the neighborhood he invited me for a meal, and I was really happy about that. I wanted to meet with you again.

_______

Shouta Aoi

I can no longer meet you again. By all means, I wanted to meet you again.

Just how much encouragement I received from the acting of that wonderful voice I grew accustomed to hearing from a young age.

From now on and always that wonderful voice of yours will remain in our hearts and ears.

Thank you for all the wonderful times you gave us.

_______

Ono Kensho

Fujiwara Keiji-san. He really is cool, and he is someone I look up to. We have the same birthday, and on my own I felt like we had an affinity... I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Hidaka Noriko

Fujiwara-san...

I thought I could meet you again someday at the studio, truly unfortunate.

Thank you for everything. Please rest in peace...

_______

Tanaka Rie

Fujiwara Keiji-san...

The last time we met was during the recording for the Granblue Fantasy game...

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Inoue Kikuko

Kei-chan, I'm so sad.

You fought against illness for a long time... You truly gave it your all. Please rest well in heaven.

I won't forget your shy, bashful, and kind smile.

_______

Koshimizu Ami (Koshimizu and Fujiwara both voiced important characters in Eureka 7, and Koshimizu references her role as Anemone and Fujiwara's role as Holland in this tweet, as well as Tsujitani Kouji who voiced Dewey Novak in Eureka 7 and passed away in 2018)

Dewey and Holland, please stay a little longer.

I want you to stay. I wanted you to stay.

If you're not there, we can't fly freely...

Because you were there, we were able to live freely.

Thank you but I still don't want to say goodbye.

Sorry that Anemone is like this. If I could say one selfish thing please come back...

_______

Han Megumi (Han and Fujiwara both voiced main characters in HUNTER X HUNTER, and Han references Fujiwara's role as Leorio in this tweet)

Just last night, during HUNTER's rebroadcast, we just saw off Leorio as he departed for his trip, Fujiwara-san.

Family and comrade, always thinking of his friends and a warm man, a perfect fit, my beloved senpai.

Always with the message title "Miss lovely forehead"

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_CUIyQAKMX/?igshid=14scn4kzgey86

Forever, and ever...

_______

Arisa Komiya

Fujiwara Keiji-san. I had the honor of working with you for 1 year on Go-Busters, you were always so cool on set, it was my first dubbing experience and I learned so much from you. I wanted to work with you again. I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Ryotaro Okiayu

I participated in "Hoshi Koe" at the Saitama venue last year, and you attended, Fujiwara-san.

I read your letters.

The last time I met you was back stage there.

It had been several years before then.

That's how it goes.

Thanks so much for everything.

Note: Hoshi Koe is the name of a series of events held in Japan by AIR AGENCY, a talent management and production company founded by Fujiwara Keiji in 2006.

_______

Kenjiro Tsuda

His white shirt His light colored sunglasses His cynical smile His casual way of walking into the studio His unshaven face His still shadow at Planetarium His husky voice His retreating figure as he left His appearance in a coat when he slowly spoke in his last moments

was cool

Thank you so much

Note: Planetarium is likely also referencing Hoshi Koe, which was held at planetariums in various cities in Japan.

_______

Yamamoto Nozomi

We acted together for the first time in UN-GO, and a while later when I greeted you at another set, you remembered me, saying, "I've met you before, right?" After that, when on the set for Utawarerumono you noticed my Ironman iPhone case and chatted with me, I was truly happy about each and every thing. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Kondo Kanako

I can't believe it. I really liked your cool roughness. Fujiwara-san. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Kudou Haruka

Is it because of the air pressure that my head hurts, or because I cried too much that my head hurts, I can't sort out my feelings. However, more than these sad feelings, I want to say so many times, "thank you."

Fujiwara-san.

We were together for my seiyuu debut work "Honey and Clover", and from there with "Noein" and "DEATH NOTE", our work together continued. I didn't know my right hand from my left, and you gave me so much advice.

On set you always spoiled me, listening to my trivial chatter with a smile.

I entered college, and even when I cut off all ties to the industry up to that point and distanced myself from work, every half a year you would send me a message asking "Are you doing all right?"

I entered my fourth year of college, and when I said to you, "I want to return to work!" you got a little angry, but you earnestly heard me out. Even though I caused trouble to a lot of people, you saying "Welcome Back!" with a smile has always supported me.

4 years after returning to work, when I was worried that I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped, you said "It'll be all right!" and gave me a push on the back, and I was able to move forward.

I really have been spoiled by you for so so long.

You taught me so many things, I couldn't hope to write them all out. About acting, about movies, about novels, about life.

Even now I still have the novel I received from you right on my bookshelf. From now on, every time I watch a Kubrick or Victor Erice movie, I feel I will remember you.

The fact that there will no longer be replies to my messages, and the fact that I can no longer see you, really really make me sad, but you will always be in my heart. It's all right. I'm an adult now, too. I want to become an adult like you, someone who is loved by many, and someone who can guide others.

Thank you so much.

_______

Harada Hitomi (Harada and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Senran Kagura, and Harada references Fujiwara's role as Kiriya in this tweet)

Keiji-san. Kiriya-sensei.

I've been helped, so much by you. Thank you so much.

_______

Tomita Miyu

Fujiwara Keiji-san, I had the honor of acting together with you for the first time in Kotobuki Hikoutai. Warm, and yet mischievous, I truly loved acting with that voice of yours.

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Hatano Wataru

Fujiwara Keiji-san. Across various works, I've been in your debt. When you called me for "Hoshi Koe", I was really happy. The warm advice from a senpai I look up to, and the smile after a recording session. I couldn't possibly forget. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Abe Atsushi

I've been in your debt since when I debuted. I see... We can't act together anymore...

_______

Mimori Suzuko

I'm thankful that I had the honor of working on the same set as you. Thank you so much.

_______

Tanaka Atsuko

It's a sad sunset...

_______

Suzaki Aya

I'm truly saddened.

_______

Ohara Sayaka

It's a lie

_______

Imai Asami

............

_______

Hirakawa Daisuke

Keiji-san... Keiji-san... I'm so sad... I want to see you... Keiji-san...

Hirakawa Daisuke

_______

Akao Hikaru (Akao and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Back Street Girls, and Akao references this in this tweet)

I'm still in disbelief even after a new day has dawned and I can't quite get the right words. I feel like a hole opened up in my heart. Since I was young through anime you showed me this fun world and as a member of Gokudols, I looked forward to the day I could meet you again.

I pray that you rest well.

_______

Ishikawa Yui (Ishikawa and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Shingeki no Kyojin, and Ishikawa references Fujiwara's role as Hannes in this tweet)

[Yui] That voice that I heard so many times when I was a child. Shingeki's Hannes-san was also, rough, cool, and warm... I loved him. Fujiwara Keiji-san, I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Yukana

I wanted to act together with you more.

Thank you so much...

I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Okamoto Nobuhiko

Title: I'm sorry

I was planning to talk about trust and play today, but I hope you'll allow me to do that tomorrow.

I had the honor of doing my first radio show with him. When I was unable to speak well, he laughed at me. When we were recording for the Ao no Exorcist movie and from the start all I was capable of was shouting, he laughed at me. When I kept wearing the same clothes on the set of To Aru, he laughed at me. When I look back on things, it might have been sarcastic laughing, but I only remember the figure of him laughing. And, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble.

His appearance as an actor, the way he thought about and interpreted the script, what he brought forth, I received so much encouragement and experience from him.

Keiji-san, Truly, truly, thank you so much. I really I love you.

Thank you for everything.

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

Notes:

The radio show Okamoto references I believe is "Sorairo Radio", a radio show promoting the anime "Sola" that aired from 2007/3/30 to 2007/7/27 for 19 episodes. During the month of July Okamoto and Fujiwara co-hosted the show.

Okamoto and Fujimura voiced Okamura Rin, the protagonist, and Fujimoto Shiro, Rin's adoptive father, respectively in Ao no Exorcist.

Okamoto and Fujimura voiced Accelerator, a main supporting character, and Kihara Amata, something of a mentor figure to Accelerator, respectively in To Aru Majutsu no Index.

_______

Mizuki Nana

Title: The carnation that arrived at my house 2 weeks ago ☆

At my last place, even plants said to be robust I ended up letting die (>_<) However, ever since I started living at my new place my plants have been really lively! My care for flowers especially has gotten better! Proper ventilation and sunlight really are important after all (laugh)

https://www.mizukinana.jp/blog/photos/2020/blog/nana_phot_20200416.jpg

I found out about Fujiwara Keiji passing away. I had the honor of working together with him for various works, during my first public performance at Tokyo Dome he provided wonderful narration, and at the planetarium in my home prefecture I had the honor of performing together with him... Truly I was blessed with so many irreplaceable experiences. I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

Notes:

The performance at Tokyo Dome is referencing NANA MIZUKI LIVE CASTLE 2011, a series of live concerts performed at Tokyo Dome by Mizuki Nana on 2011/12/3 and 2011/12/4. Fujiwara provided narration for a short film called PLANETARIUM "Princess Nana of the Heavens" (PLANETARIUM「天界の奈々姫」) which was shown during the concert on both days.

The performance at the planetarium is referencing when Fujiwara and Mizuki co-starred in a Hoshi Koe performance held on 2016/4/24 at the Matsuyama City General Community Center Cosmo Theater. Matsuyama is the capital of the Ehime Prefecture, and Mizuki Nana was born in Niihama, Ehime. Mizuki had also made two blog posts about enjoying rehearsing for the event with Fujiwara and celebrating the successful completion of the event.

_______

Morikawa Toshiyuki

Title: Fujiwara Keiji-san...

Fujiwara Keiji-san... I pray you rest in peace.

It's too sudden. My mind is a mess. Even though I'm someone who works at my own pace... ... Right now, I'm overcome with feelings of loss.

From the time when I was a newcomer, we've been walking together through the ages for over 30 years. As an actor, and as a president, you were truly a friend... Since you were young you were shy and cool, overflowing with chivalry, an existence that even men were charmed by that is "Fujiwara Keiji"

..., It's so painful... the words won't come out. I'm sorry.

I feel that you really must have had it tough fighting against your illness. Now, please rest well.

And, the letters you sent me I will always cherish.

Morikawa Toshiyuki

_______

Hino Satoshi

Title: Keiji-san...

Keiji-san... It's a lie, right...? It's a joke, right...?

This... is too sad...

Keiji-san as a person, as a man, as an actor, you were someone who I respected from the bottom of my heart.

Everything about you was cool, you were someone I admired.

I wanted to learn more and more about various things from you.

Even now I clearly remember the time when on the set of the anime "Shakugan no Shana," as the role of the father, Kantarou, you kindly covered up for and accepted my terrible acting.

Keiji-san, "Dad, thank you so much for everything up to now"

While reflecting on each and every thing I learned from you, I will devote myself towards the sake of the future of the seiyuu industry.

I pray you rest in peace.

Note: Hino and Fujimura voiced Sakai Yuuji, the protagonist, and Sakai Kantarou, Yuuji's father, respectively in Shakugan no Shana.

_______

Suzuki Tatsuhisa

Title: Letter

I hate the idea of something getting overshadowed without anyone knowing about it, so I will write about it here.

Since we first met when I was 19, I've been in your debt for a long time. Since before we started having work together, you'd hear out my concerns and give me advice, and go along with my selfish requests to take me along for drinks. Even though you'd always say, "Waddaya want now, Tattsun," you'd always keep your promises. Whenever we met at the studio you'd always be giving off a pleasant, lazy mood. When you were the sound director you'd say things like "Tattsun, you're the only person I can ask for this," things that I couldn't tell if you were being serious or not. It's only now that I can say this, but I took you seriously every time, and every time I was seriously happy you asked me. The fact that you said those things to me.

Sometimes I'd tell you about how people say that our voices or our acting are similar, and even though you'd reply by saying stuff like, "What? That's gross," behind your sunglasses I could see that the look in your eyes always softened happily. I like chatting in the smoking area, so anytime I'd spot you I'd head straight there. When you'd say, "Yo!" to me, it was a little embarrassing, but I was always happy you did.

I won't talk about acting. That's something I'll keep locked away in my heart.

I know you had it tough. However, I stopped talking about it. Since you hate that.

All I can remember, is you always saying, "Yo! Tattsun," every time you saw me. Gimme a break, let me remember something else, too.

Thank you for always listening to my selfish requests. Thank you for always listening to both my trivial ramblings and my serious talks.

I always thought you were an annoyingly cool old man. You were always the best. You were always the strongest.

Everything about you is cool. So I envy you.

When I go over there, I'm gonna have a ton of stories for you. Before I do, please make sure to find some good sake and tobacco over there. It might take a while, but I'm definitely going to have, a ton I want to talk to you about.

It's about time I wrapped things up. This is a letter that will never be read by its recipient, after all, so there's no point in going on for too long.

Let's meet again with a smile. Anytime, anywhere.

With love.

[recentanimenews]

Yoko Soumi Reprises Her Role as Lyserg Diethel in Shaman King Reboot TV Anime

    The official website for the upcoming reboot TV anime based on Hiroyuki Takei's Shaman King manga announced today that Yoko Soumi (Olivier Mira Armstrong in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) is cast as Lyserg Diethel, a young shaman from London, England, who hunts down his enemies with accurate and unmatched attacks by using his dowsing ability that was inherited from his father.

  As with many other main voice cast members, she reprises her role in the first TV anime in 2001-2002. She is now 58.

    Comments from Yoko Soumi:

  [Charm of the Shaman King series]

  "I think it's Yoh-kun's 'Let's go slow' spirit, after all. If we could, we'd like to go slow, too! I wonder if we have that kind of longing in us? And not only is he loose, he's strong! ...It's too unfair! (laugh)."

    [Enthusiasm for playing the role of Lyserg]

  "Lyserg was a role I received 20 years ago, when I had not played many boy roles. And it was a regular cast... The thrill of that time is coming back to me now! I'll do my best, remembering the spirit that I started with. I would appreciate your support!"

    【追加キャスト情報解禁】 追加キャスト＆キャラクター情報を公開！ リゼルグ・ダイゼル： #沢��陽子 公式HPではキャストコメントも掲載中！https://t.co/z0iKDpehU1#SHAMANKING pic.twitter.com/Vn8EwzRkZ0

— 『SHAMAN KING』プロジェクト公式 (@SHAMANKING_PR) February 18, 2021

    The new Shaman King TV anime is set to premiere on TV Tokyo and its affiliates in April 2021.

  1st PV:

    New key visual:

  Main voice cast:

  Yoh Asakura: Yoko Hikasa

Manta Odayama: Inuko Inuyama 

Anna Kyoyama: Megumi Hayashibara

Tao Ren: Romi Park

Ryunosuke Umemiya: Masahiko Tanaka

Amidamaru: Katsuyuki Konishi

Bason: Kousuke Takaguchi

Horohoro: Yuji Ueda

Kororo: Megumi Nakajima

Tamao Tamamura: Nana Mizuki

Ponchi: Takumu Miyazaono

Conchi: Noriaki Kanze

Faust VIII: Takehito Koyasu

Mosuke: Nasakazu Morita

Pirika: Rina Hidaka

Lyserg Diethel: Yok oSoumi

    Source: The new "Shaman King" TV anime official website / Twitter

  ©Hiroyuki Takei, Kodansha/SHAMAN KING Project, TV Tokyo

  By: Mikikazu Komatsu

[crescentmoonrider]

Score 1 for correct guesses! I love this au of yours! I'm laughing @ Josh being bad at his elf disguise like "earrings are pretty tho" a+. In the earlier comic where Neku dies I'm guessing he comes back because of that life magic Josh hates using (but if it's not using it or saving Neku there's only really 1 choice to take)? Also that pretty shikieri is good shit, how did they meet? & ice: Konishi, war: megumi or sho, death: Uzuki? (Ice/death maybe switched but Konishi has an ice theme in game)

congrats !! also thanks !!

yeah Josh and his earrings are 1 part ‘well theyre pretty’ and 2 parts ‘well man im kind of godly so fuck that i wear what i want’ (Josh no) (Josh that’s not how disquises work)

[the comic] yup Neku is resurrected by Josh’s hated life magic. gets them im trouble with a certain red-haired Reaper bc resurrection is forbidden magic, but thankfully they’re under protection from a god so it’s all good in the end

(to be more exact, Hanekoma steps in like ‘nope not happening no one is getting punished here’ mostly to save Neku but also to hide the fact that Josh can not, in fact, be ended by a Reaper)

during that same fight, Josh kind of really flips his shit and basically makes a bloodbath, which isn’t really a problem for him usually, but he doesn’t just use his space magic for it. and killing people with life magic, while really effective, has pretty heavy consequences on the user

shikieri is best, so obviously i couldn’t pass up that opportunity

how did they meet you ask… well, Eri is a treasure hunter, and one day while fishing for information in a tavern, she meets this pretty and smiling and mysterious lady who shows her a ring and tells Eri she found it near Misa river and like, she’s pretty sure there’s more

she ends up giving the ring to Eri while kind of sending her on a quest for treasure

and Eri does find treasure near Misa river, but more importantly she finds Shiki, shy and awkward and incredibly cute metamorph, and they become friends. and when Eri learns that Shiki is on her own there shes like ‘no that wont do youre coming with me’ and Shiki does come with Eri and they hunt for treasure together and own a little cottage in the woods of Saku and are very gay the end

or like. the begining

(meanwhile the goddess of Love smiles happily after having guided people towards each other once again)

annnndddd its quiz time !

Ice - Konishithats correct !! Konishi is the ambitious goddess of Ice, whose goal is to seize power and use earth ressources for the gods. she has big temples all over Shibu, and quite a lot of priestesses (she only allows women to directly serve in her temples. anyone can learn magic there tho). she also has some powerful allies, for example the twin dragon gods of Fire and Destructionto her, Shibu is the first bastion she needs to conquer

War - Megumicorrect again !! Kitaniji is a very tired god of War. he has a lot of work outside of Shibu, so when he finds the time to rest he goes there. during the first godly war, he was one of the main reasons Life’s side won, though he lost his sight during the fight. (there are some who say he gave up his sight willingly to stop seeing the horrors done in his name) he can smell trouble coming, and wishes Josh would help as Life did in Its timeto him, Shibu is a place to rest, and a place he wants to protect with all his heart

Death - Uzukithis one is wrong, sorry !! but Death is a very hard one on purpose, so don’t give up !! for your trouble (and since you got 2 out of 3 right) ill give you Uzuki

Ice priestess - UzukiUzuki is a terribly powerful Ice priestess. she might not be the highest ranked of her temple, but she sure as hell is the strongest when it comes to magic. when she isn’t perfoming her duties, she hangs out with some lazyass who is always late (takes after his mom he says) and likes to gamble. she cant even remember how they met. probably at Ramen-Donshe really wants to make high-priestess and serve her goddess as well as she can

[scramble-crossing]

i deffo agree with your entire analysis (including the questionable canon of the anime canon) and yeah for sure the original game supports this imo. for one thing i don't think that hanekoma would have supported sho even as a back-up plan if he thought that sho would've destroyed shibuya or fundamentally ruined what HANEKOMA liked about it. hanekoma considered a shibuya under sho to be better than a shibuya erased by joshua, so whatever shibuya sho would've made couldn't have been a dumpsterfire or whatever. like not saying that sho would've kept things squeaky clean or something but hanekoma considered it 'good enough to support'. hanekoma isn't exactly the best but i think that he wouldn't have picked sho if he didn't think that sho had some attachment to shibuya.

in NEO we literally see him come back to his shibuya on W3D7 to fight soul pulvis even though he could've just fucked off. yeah we have the scene of neku "convincing" him, but the dude already came back to shibuya and decided to stay to fight for his city. he also literally warned rindo about soul pulvis and about the presence of angels (the japanese version with him talking about "hyper-real" numbers is even more obvious) back on W3D4 even before neku showed up!

the wicked twisters and all of shibuya would've lost without him and his contribution to operation: awakening. period. (along with everyone else)

he learned his lesson about teamwork! when he goes to another day, he makes a fuss about "you're joining MY team" but he actively walked up to the guy signing up team members and went "hey i need a team lol" like a student asking their teacher for help getting a partner for the group project. he's gone from "not a social animal" per megumi to "zetta dig[ing]" konishi's "style" to teaming up with the WTs to protect them to understanding the value of working together in an equation for the sake of his goals

also it's worth noting that the line about only doing it for his sake is slightly different in jp. neku says that they have to get to shiba as soon as they can and says "渋谷を守るため もし力を 貸してくれるなら――" (if you can lend us your strength to protect shibuya). sho interrupts him and says, "フン、俺は 俺の目的のために 動くだけだ" (hmph, i only work for my own goals/i do want what i want) basically, telling neku to stop telling him what to do. neku says, "それでいいよ おまえも渋谷を 狙ってただろ" (that's fine, since you're aiming for shibuya too, aren't you?) and then "その渋谷の崩壊は 許せないよな" (shibuya's erase would be unforgivable, right?/you can't allow shibuya to collapse, can you?). so like yeah it's similar to what the english script did but it has a very different implication. here neku isn't convincing him to help but rather being like, "yeah, you'll only do what you want to do, and i know that you're going to do things that help shibuya because you're aiming for it as well." like i said, we literally see sho ALREADY have been offering rindo helpful advice before neku even showed up.

he gives the WTs tons of advice in the first week that have nothing to do with his interest in soul pulvis but rather to expand their powers. in field walk rpg he has a ton of random character dialogue about how he loves random shit in shibuya like the holographic hachiko statue (tokyu plaza) because he thinks that dogs are stylin' or how he thinks that rhythms that shake the heart (specific to him being interested in picking up music records from tower records) are as beautiful as a flawless equation or whatever. why would he want to destroy all of that? he wouldn't

he doesn't even care if other people cart away his artworks! he didn't seethe about that in the og, just made more and then walked away

i agree with him being obsessed with beauty and art and probably shibuya's. i mean the guy wanders around the phone booth of love at molco and shit trying to pick up cool pieces for his next artwork (and leaving something precious of his own in its wake, suggesting that he isn't interested in stealing shit, he just has a unique value system of exchanging items and art and stuff), makes people play Tin Pin Slammer and doesn't even participate himself but just hangs out in the crowd watching and seethes when joshua cheats him out of an interesting match, and possibly even stuck negative noise on ken doi to catch their attention about ramen given that the negative noise in W1 was all mission-related that a reaper must've put on someone (and with their relationship in another day). he's not a "good person" but people treating him like he's evil or sadistic or whatever just pisses me off. he's an arrogant asshole who, as far as we can read from the text, genuinely wants to see a shibuya full of cool art projects and sick murals like the udagawa one he likes and cool people like the WTs with their interesting UG powers and stuff.

ok thanks for listening to my essay. 3.1415926

Hey there.....it's been a couple months and I live in shame

Thank you so so much for this I absolutely LOVE your thoughts! I wanna try to respond them in as organized a way I can so I'm gonna address each point individually and in chronological order.

First of all, I 100% agree with what you've said about Hanekoma. If he wasn't able to directly remove Joshua from power even when he threatened Shibuya's very existence, and instead had to approach him in an extremely tedious and roundabout manner by guiding Neku when he could and using Sho as a sort of half-proxy, there's no way he would've shoved a dangerous or otherwise incompetent person into the Composer's seat and forced himself to repeat this whole process weeks later once Sho had a grip on Shibuya. Like you said, "hanekoma considered a shibuya under sho to be better than a shibuya erased by joshua," and that means something coming from a person who belongs to a class of beings who willingly "purify" cities that do not live up to their standards. It's not impossible to think that if Hanekoma thought Sho unfit and saw no other alternative, he would've come to see Shibuya as a lost cause and let it fall, preferring a dignified end over allowing it to rot and fester as a shell of its former self. Granted, he doesn't exactly sing Sho's praises. He certainly seems to view him as being convenient over an actual good candidate for the position. However, regardless of the fact that Hanekoma's criteria seems to be "the biggest, most unlikable freak in the UG," I think my previous point still stands. Would Sho have been a good Composer? Impossible to know for sure, but if nothing else we can extrapolate from what we understand of Hanekoma's values that he would've at the very least safeguarded Shibuya against erasure and kept it intact enough to still be worthy of existence in the eyes of some very, very picky Angels. And this is saying something when Joshua refers to Shibuya as being a massive influence on the world around it, so much so that he fears it corrupting other sectors of the UG. To put it simply, maybe Sho just passed the bar when it came to Hanekoma's standards, but that bar was set extremely high. Also! Just in case anyone mentions it, while Hanekoma saying that he relied on Sho's attachment to Shibuya is exclusive to the anime, technically speaking it's canonical that NEO is a sequel to the anime rather than the game. It's still very much relevant to Sho's character in NEO, if not his character in the original game...

Which leads right into your next points! Just for a moment, I want to jump to what you said about the japanese version of the game because I find it extremely interesting. That's SUCH a different implication from what we get in the english version!! Whereas we're given more of a sense that Neku is corralling Sho into working with him and the rest of the Wicked Twisters on the basis that he can't be Composer without a city to rule, basically using his preexisting goal to try to get him to adopt a new one, that of saving Shibuya, here he's saying that he knows that Sho already has a goal of saving Shibuya. It's less "Look here asshole, you have to save Shibuya because you can't be Composer without it," and more "You and I both know that you want to save Shibuya, so stop being so stubborn and help us out already!" Yes it's subtle, but personally I think it lines up better with the version of Sho that's put forward by the anime's ending, and, perhaps more importantly, lends better to interpretations of Sho's motivations In english, it reads closer to "Sho wants to be the Composer -> therefore he must save Shibuya. In japanese, it can more easily be read as "Sho wants to save Shibuya -> Ergo, he clearly cares about Shibuya -> Sho wants to be the Composer because he cares about Shibuya. Again, it's minor stuff, but the japanese version, I feel, more obviously connects his motives with his actions, presenting him helping to save Shibuya as a natural result of his affection for the city instead of it being an obstacle in his way or a diversion from his ambitions. It's really a shame that this nuance is lost in the english version. Sho is already kind of a mess in the fact that it can be difficult to discern what the writers are trying to do with him. He's built up as a persistent and deadly threat all throughout twewy only to be unceremoniously killed off in a scene that feels more like a bit than an actual serious story beat. Neo's promotional material paraded him as a core character in the protagonist's group, and yet he ends up being booted out 1/3 of the way into the story and made unplayable until post-game. He is one of the most integral characters to the plot, and yet what, in the end, does he have to show for it? Nothing! He leaves the secret ending having returned to the exact same position he was in at the start of the first game, at the exact same level of power, still gunning to take on the Composer. It feels like he's being used as sequel-bait in a series where it took 14 years to make another game, not to mention the fact that the last time something interesting was implied to be happening to him, A.K.A A New Day where he was positioned to become Neku's partner, that plot thread was dropped hard and absolutely nothing came of it. I'm not saying he's been completely abandoned by the narrative. He's definitely shown to have improved as a person since the events of the first game, and I love that! I love his cryptic mentor/moderately shit big brother arc and the fact that Neku, Mr. Twewy himself, is willing to put his faith in him. But to me at least it feels like he's being underutilized, especially in comparison to characters like Beat, who I love, but who certainly didn't need as much as he got in neo given that he had a totally satisfactory arc by the end of the first twewy. Sho is perfect for a redemption arc that's reminiscent of Neku's while still being unique and complex, one that would fit seamlessly with twewy's themes of growth and the necessity of human connection. If we ever get another twewy game and this is exactly what happens I will kiss neo on the lips for being the PERFECT in-between phase and kick-off for this arc, but I mean...it's twewy. Waiting for another game to complete his storyline is like pushing Sho off a cliff with nothing to catch him but a prayer and the world's shittiest little kiddy pool. Also the hose that's trying to fill it with water is clogged by a giant knot in the shape of mickey mouse ears.

But I've gotten sidetracked. Mostly because it's been so long that I totally forget the post that spurred this ask in the first place. I might be stupid. But honestly I think you've already put it perfectly. I'm especially grateful for the info on the field walk rpg because it's something I know very little about. I'm glad Sho got to have a fun day out with his child soldiers/teenage besties :] Overall, it's absolutely true that Sho is a very morally complex character. I tend to dislike labels like "good person" vs "bad person" because it leaves little room for nuance, something that this series is chock-block full of. The idea that Sho is an utterly selfish and sadistic individual who can never truly change irks me because it's so antithetical to the messages of this series, "Anyone can change for the better," and, "By letting others in, approaching their different worldviews and values with genuine, good faith, and by extending compassion towards each other, we make the world a better place for both ourselves and the people around us." Sho is doing this. It may be with baby steps, but it's clear from his interactions with the Wicked Twisters, as well as his enthusiasm for art that is not his own whereas before he expressed disdain for any artistic vision that wasn't his, that he is making an effort to be better and allowing these experiences to change his worldview. If he is never extended the same narrative reward that other characters are shown for this exact same kind of growth, if he is instead trapped in this cycle of scratching and clawing and desperately yearning for some sense of divinity only to crash fantastically, met with violence and isolation and the loss of the few, good things he's managed to scrape out of life...well that'd be pretty miserable, I think.

[voicefromthecorner]

I like how Megumi capitalises "Dead" like it's a title or something.

Neku Sakuraba - Dead

Now that we're facing him, Megumi doesn't make personal attacks like Higashizawa, obfuscate like Sho or outright lie like Konishi did. He just gushes about how great the Composer is. The detail given to us via the text of this game that Megumi capitalises all the Composer's pronouns like he's God tells us everything we really need to know about what Megumi thinks of him. You can even see him doing it while Beat doesn't. And that's not even getting into what he actually says. Megumi doesn't just idolise him; he deifies him. He literally worships him.

None of this is out of line with what Megumi is like later. Though he has a grander scheme, he does so while looking up to the Composer at all times. He has a religious-like zeal towards a very specific individual, which is a really interesting dynamic and also really really funny when you know who that individual is. It's currently the only side of him we're seeing, but it's a really good start to seeing one of the sources of his motivations, while again setting up the Composer even more to be a very grand presence.

And honestly, I can kind of see his point here, short as it is. Beat's desire to bring everyone back is understandable, and these few specific people coming back to life surely wouldn't be that big of a deal, but the mindset of dictating the course of life and death according to what you want and when you want it is a dangerous line to walk.

Megumi's not treated these kids fairly, it's fair to say, but he does have a point when he calls them egotistical. At the end of the day, they're looking for a simple solution to city-wide problem without thought to the bigger picture. There are worse Composer candidates than Beat, but I don't think he'd handle that responsibility well.

And Megumi, I love you, but I don't think you make a strong case for yourself when you present yourself as an advocate for a figure of "boundless love" and then immediately try to murder everyone.

[recentanimenews]

Sentai Filmworks Previews "Food Wars!" Dub - Announces English Cast

Coming on August 15th, Section 23 will be releasing a collection of Food Wars! from Sentai Filmworks. They presented a preview at Anime Expo and announce the early-episode cast then. Now, they're back with a promo video and a complete cast list.  

    Ever since he was little, Soma Yukihira’s main goals have been to beat his father in a cooking contest and take over the family diner. That’s why, when his dad suddenly announces that he’s shutting the restaurant down and sending Soma to cooking school, Soma is shocked. However, Tohtsuki Academy is no ordinary cooking school. This elite institution is filled with culinary giants like Erina “God Tongue” Nakiri, who does her best to keep a lowly short-order like Soma from even making it inside the door. However, if the snobs can dish it out, Soma can serve it up, and when he learns that only a handful of the students manage to graduate every year, he swears that the only way he’ll leave is as number one in FOOD WARS!

  Director

Kyle Colby Jones

    ADR Writer

Marta Bechtol

  Kyle Colby Jones

  George Manley

    FOOD WARS! ENGLISH DUB CAST LIST

Soma Yukihira

Blake Shepard

Megumi Tadokoro

Jad Saxton

Satoshi Isshiki

Scott Gibbs

Yuki Yoshino

Luci Christian

Ryoko Sakaki

Kelley Peters

Zenji Marui

Greg Ayres

Sato

Corey Hartzog

Aoki

Andrew Love

Shun Ibusaki

Houston Hayes

Fumio Daimido

Joanne Bonasso

        Ikumi Mito

Rachel Landon

Erina Nakiri

Stephanie Wittels

Hisako Arato

Brittney Karbowski

Takumi Aldini

Bryson Baugus

Isami Aldini

Clint Bickham

Ryo Kurokiba

Leraldo Anzaldua

Alice Nakiri

Christina Kelly

Akira Hayama

Kregg Dailey

Jun Shiomi

Monica Rial

Kanichi Konishi

Gareth West

Yaeko Minegasaki

Maggie Flecknoe

Urara

Jennifer Gilbert

Mayumi Kurase

Juliet Simmons

Aki

Katelyn Barr

Madoka

Carolyn Medrano

Narrator

James Belcher

Joichiro Yukihira

Jay Hickman

Yaeko Minegasaki

Maggie Flecknoe

Senzaemon

John Swasey

Chapelle

John Gremillion

Gotouda

David Wald

Gin Dojima

Ty Mahany

Kojiro Shinomiya

Benjamin McLaughlin

Hinako Inui

Allison Sumrall

Sekimori

Chris Gibson

Mizuhara

Chaney Moore

Hiromi Sena

Justin Doran

Kosuke

David Matranga

Kyusaku

John Swasey

Etsuya Eizan

Anthony Hunter

Kinu

Shelley Calene-Black

Tomita

Mark X. Laskowski

Nao Sadatsuka

Karlii Hoch

                -------

Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com