#kotaro was it? he was just power hungry is that it?

[lou-struck]

The UnBirthday Boy

Kiyoomi Sakusa x reader

~While at dinner with your boyfriend and a few of his teammates, Kiyoomi becomes victim to a classic prank.

WC: 1.5k

~I’ve had this prompt on my Google Doc for a while now and since it’s kinda birthday themed it would work well for today!

Kiyoomi Sakusa likes keeping you close when the two of you go out, you make him feel way more comfortable going to places that may not be the cleanest.

But now as you and a few of his teammates are waiting for your meal at some Western themed restaurant Atsumu found on Instagram, your boyfriend is so close to you you can feel the light brushing of his long eyelashes on your skin as he tries to whisper in your ear without catching the attention of the others.

“We could’ve gone somewhere else,” he murmurs, watching Hinata, Bakuto, and Atsumu try to balance their spoons on the tips of their noses. He grimaces, turning his gaze back to you. “Alone.”

“It’s not too bad, Omi.” you whisper back, not even trying to hide the amused smile on your face at their antics. “They are pretty entertaining to watch.”

“But they are going to eat with those spoons.” he grimaces, his knuckles turning white around the cloth napkin he is clutching. “Bokuto’s has fallen on the floor twice already.” 

“Hey~ What are you Lovebirds whispering about over there, Omi Omi?” Atsumu says, shooting you a playful wink. The motion makes the metal spoon balanced on the bridge of his nose slip off and clatter to the floor. 

“Does this mean I won?” the ginger says excitedly, removing the spoon from his nose and placing it next to his other cutlery. You don't need to look at your boyfriend to know he has that disgusted look on his face. Patting his hand gently you do your best to comfort him knowing that the hunger is only making him more irritable.

“No,” Kotaro Bokuto says determinedly, picking up his spoon with one of his massive hands, “let’s go again, I won’t lose this time.”

“Yer on,” Atsumu grins reaching over towards Kiyoomi’s untouched spoon.

“Touch my spoon, and you lose your hand Miya,” he mutters lowly. The threat coming through loud as day for the setter who backs up raising his hand in the air in surrender.

“Omi is just a bit hungry, Tsumu,” you say towards the blonde who nods and reaches for his fallen spoon.

“Aren't you hungry y/n,” he asks softly, looking at you with loving-kindness in his eyes.

You nod, “just a bit, but I wasn't the one who had practice before this.” you admit now becoming more aware of the hunger that has robbed your usually chatty table of conversion. 

Thankfully, before you have to wait much longer, your Waitress returns, bringing by your food, a refill of your drinks, and a few more spoons for the childish pro athletes to eat with.

“Good, I have never been so hungry in my life,” Shoyo says, inhaling the savory steam coming off of his meal.

“You said that yesterday,” you tease hearing a light chuckle come from your boyfriend who is already cutting into his dish.

Once everyone gets a few bites of food in your system, the hangry tension at the table seems to dissipate and the fun banter the group usually has takes its place. Even your stoic boyfriend doesn't seem to notice his friends are chewing with their mouths open as they try and finish each other's stories about how practice had gone earlier that day.

The biggest story being that Meian accidentally hit a visiting sports reporter with one of his powerful serves, giving the poor man a concussion. The happy twinkle in his eyes and the small smile on the curve of his lips makes you feel as if you are falling in love with your boyfriend all over again. 

Even through his hunger, his table manners are practically princely. Not inhaling his food like its oxygen, and really trying to taste what made his friend want to try this place so badly. Just out of the corner of your eye, you see Atsumu trying to put on his best poker face as he pulls aside your waitress. Pointing to your Boyfriend and whispering something as the others snicker.

“You have a little something by your lip,” your boyfriend says, turning his gaze toward you and placing your attention solely on him.

“Huh?” you murmur dumbly swiping the back of your hand across your mouth to try and wipe away whatever it was that was stuck to your skin. “Did I get it?”

“Not even close,” he snorts picking up his napkin. “Let me get it.” Gently he tilts your chin up towards the light and wipes away that little speck with his other hand. The precision he uses to dab at the dot sends butterflies in your stomach as you are enraptured by his features.

“Got it,” he whispers, placing the cloth back onto the table still not tearing his gaze from yours. You miss the little smirk on his lips that would’ve told you that there was nothing on your face at all and he made it up to get your attention.

“Omi-san,” Hinata calls from across the table. The devilish grin on his face looks misplaced on someone so innocently cheerful. “We have a little surprise for you.”

“That’s right, Omi Omi,” Atsumu grins, leaning back in his seat. “Since it’s such a special day for ya?”

Looking over to Kiyoomi he looks painfully confused as to what his teammates are talking about. “What are you guys going on abo-”

The sound of banging drums and clapping hands cut him off as he turns his head towards the sound with wide eyes.

The entire waitstaff is behind him, with big smiles as the one in front carries a large slice of cake with a little lit candle sticking out of it. Oh no.

“We heard it’s yer Birthday.” one drawls looking down at your horrified boyfriend with a too-large as all the other tables turn their attention to him.

With the cake slid in front of him you feel his hand grab ahold of yours for support. Once someone decides to tell a restaurant it’s their birthday, the only thing one can do is to just sit down and accept the inevitable birthday song.

“But wait, aren't you missing something,” Kotato says, his owlish eyes alight with mischief as he grins.

“We wouldn't want to forget this.” The Waitress laughs, pulling out a comically large bright pink bedazzled birthday cowboy hat. Plopping it in all its feathered glory onto his beautiful dark curls. Saksua’s shoulders tense as the restaurant sings some variation of the birthday song, with Atsumu, Shoyo, and Kotaro singing the loudest of all. 

When the song ends, the restaurant erupts in cheers as the waitstaff leaves your table to get back to work. The obnoxious hat, a few dozen pictures, and the cake are the only reminders of the prank the trio had just pulled.

“Happy Birthday Omi,” you tease, picking the candle out of the desert and giving him a little smile trying to relieve the tension in his broad shoulders.

“C-can you please get this off of me,” he says looking up at you desperately. Nodding you pull it off feeling the crunch of craft glue on leather as you place it far away from your boyfriend who must be thinking about how many other people have worn that hat over the years. Poor guy.

“Are you okay Omi, I know that was a lot to have to deal with,” you ask.

“I’ll have to shower when we get home, I still feel like the hat is stuck on my head.” he sighs looking at you thankfully. “But thank you for thinking of me. I know it's a bit odd I get so grossed out like that.”

“I don’t think it’s weird,” you say softly, noticing that the others are still going through all the pictures that have been taken. Not paying attention to your conversation at all. “You are wonderful Omi, and I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he murmurs affectionately. You fix a few of his curls that were flattened by the hat wondering what he is going to do to the three little jokesters at the table.

“Ha, that was great Omi Omi.” Atsumu cackles, holding his stomach from laughing so hard. “We really got ya didn't we?”

He looks at his friends, and then at you with a serious expression. But then, he relaxes and shows something close to a smile. “I guess you guys did get me pretty good.” he sighs. “But if you ever pull something like that again I’ll kill you.”

His bluntness pulls a few nervous chuckles from his friends but they soon die out as they notice the free Birthday Dessert that your boyfriend was given. They reach for a fork only to have their hands swatted away by Kiyoomi.

“What do you think you are doing? It’s my unbirthday after all.” he jokes, sliding the cake and the forks between the two of you to share.

[ahuublog]

bokuto kotaro as a boyfriend

bokuto is so in his emo mood when you stand in front of him in the queue in the cafeteria – he desperately wants to take the last cupcake, but you seem to do the same, so he’s so sad

you can’t read thoughts, you don’t know him – though you have a feeling that you have heard about volleyball players at university – so you do take the cupcake

he can’t handle the most tearing sigh ever

so you just turn around and see him nearly crying

well you give him this cupcake and akaashi, standing behind bokuto, facepalms

bokuto is the happiest man in a second

and well he kinda melts when you say it’s okay and leave to your class

akaashi suffers for the next few hours because bokuto can’t stop this “she was so cute she gave me a cupcake akaashi please find her group or shouldn’t I do it instead akaashi-”

you’re reading a student book in the library when a shadow hovers over you which actually scares you

but it’s just smitten bokuto because talking to you somehow turns to be so confusing

but you ask him about volleyball and he becomes an excited kid

you miss the next game cause you’re ill

but bokuto tells you everything and he’s a little bit boasting cause he wants you to pay attention only to his skills

“you seem to be in love?” – akaashi asks some time after you two start meeting so often

it makes bokuto observe terrible mood swings but yes, he says he’s in love

when you say it’s mutual he’s just crying inside

the most shocking thing to you is that he’s so passionate and scared at the same time

like when he kisses you for the first time – it’s right after the win at the game

he picks you up with his powerful arms and his lips are on yours

but when this ends he looks so lost and scared and starts to mumble literally

it turns out that he wants to be a boyfriend you can be proud of, but he has his emo mood and he doesn’t want to do something that can disappoint you or-

you just kiss him again and well

he is way more passionate than scared right now

not to mention that he can lift you with nearly his one arm

or to bump into your belly with his head when he’s sitting on the bench and you’re brushing his hair

bokuto changes from pecks on the lips to hungry kisses so fast that you’re literally lost

akaashi literally sighs every time he sees you two

[randomnameless]

Hans was a brutal thug but his motive makes sense, he wants money, power, & pleasure. Same with Iago. Validar's motive not only makes zero sense from any perspectives & the rest of the Grimleal are just clones of Validar evil for the sake of evil itself.

Really the problem with Hans is he overstays his welcome. He lasts all the way to 24/26/16 depending on route, while similar character Lang in Mystery of the Emblem dies as early as chapter 6. On a sidenote, someone made a hilarious backstory which painted Hans as a misunderstood character whose family was killed by Gunther's incompetence.

Iago's motive also made sense like Hans. I do like that the artists didn't go over the top making Iago ugly for no reason like they do with most unsympathetic characters like Garon, Iago, and Validar.

Yeah Hans is the usual “rape pillage burn” bandit, who was in jail but fred for some reason, Xander is all “wtf I put that guy in jail myself” but sighs and lets it go. Like you (?) pointed, he is promoted to an important mid-boss when, well, he is just your average bandit. Why should that guy share Iago’s spotlight when Iago isn’t a random but a legit “evil prime minister” and a way more serious antagonist??

damn where is Hans’ backstory i need to read it

Too bad Validar was just a baddie who wanted to resurrect an evil dragon who only wants to eat his followers. Was he even aware of what Grima wanted? Was anyone aware of Grima’s plan save for the “destroy everything” in red capslock?

I really prefered Iago, in Conquest, he was just trying to be the good lackey, do what his King wanted and serve his interests, but sadly his King was made of goo so he was doomed to fail. As dastardly as Iago was in Conquest, I still liked him.

[emotionalsuppork]

⁂Bokuto⁂       Bad Day

NSFW-

You watch your sodden boyfriend trudge in the front door of your new shared apartment. His eyes were downcast, and his shoulders droopy. Your heart squeezes a little at the sight, and you rush to grab a towel and meet him in the entranceway.

"Hey Kou," Bokuto toes off his shoes and hangs up his bag, but stops after that, standing still and slumped, dripping on the welcome mat. You take a step closer, and he finally looks up at you with tired golden eyes, "You alright?"

"It's raining," you can't help but smile softly at the frustrated pout, toweling him off and leading him to the bathroom. When you try to ask about his mood or why he's so pouty, he just grumbles under his breath. Deciding that distraction is key you follow him into the bathroom and sit on the counter as he showers. You talk about everything that comes to mind, from what you had for lunch to what you want for dinner. He doesn't really respond, passively grunting to let you know he is listening. You smile at that. Bokuto always listens, even when he's in a bad mood.

You manage to get him dry and dressed fairly quickly. Letting him decide where he wants to be, you wait patiently for him to finish, following after him. Usually, he gets straight into bed, and you take a nap together, waking up in a better mood, but today he heads to the living room. Watching him drop down on the couch and lean his head back, you try once more.

"Kou?" He glances at you from the corner of his eye, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, thank you, baby," He goes back to staring at the ceiling, and you sit down next to him, wracking your brain for anything that could make him feel better. You'd get him sweets, but you don't want to leave him. He probably isn't hungry yet so dinner won't help. You scoot closer to him and raise yourself onto your knees to face him.

"Would you like to, uhm, I can-I mean, do you want-" You're stuttering, trying to think of a good way to say, 'do you want to take all your stress out on me and rearrange my insides?' Shaking your head quickly, you huff and decide to just go for it, praying it won't make anything worse.

"Would fucking m-me make you...feel better?" You squeeze your eyes shut as you ask, hesitantly opening one after a moment of silence. Bo just stares at you in mild disbelief.

"Stop looking at me like that! It's just whenever I have bad days, you always run me a bath and-and touch me so nice and make me feel so good. I just thought maybe it would make you feel better... You seem tense," You tack on at the end.

He started smiling halfway through your stammering, slow and gentle, and so painfully intimate. Reaching his arms around you and guiding you sideways into his lap. Stroking your thighs, he pulled your legs open and slipped a hand between them but didn't move it. He cupped your pussy in a big palm and sighed heavily onto your neck. Your squirming eventually became too much for him, though, and he started pulling at your clothes and turning you to straddle him.

"You're so good to me, baby. You're so sweet and so so perfect. Thank you, sweetness. Can I? Can I play with you for a little while?" You're whining by the end of it, now sitting bare in his lap. He slips his hand back down to rub your clit, and you push down his sweats just enough to let his dick pop free. Bo lets you stroke him for a few minutes while he gets you wet enough to take him, stopping only when you start humping his fingers in spastic jerks of your hips.

When he finally pushes in, you're whining loudly and clawing at his shoulders for purchase. He'd probably be bleeding if he wasn't wearing a shirt, you've accidentally made him bleed before. Long angry scratch marks marring his back were common after he fucked you. He never blamed you though, never got mad. You panicked the first few times, but he always was quick to soothe you. "I know I'm big," Then he'd smile, "I don't think you can help it, pretty." He's still always adamant that it doesn't hurt him, and he truly never notices until he's looking in the mirror or someone points it out in the locker room.

You lose yourself in your thoughts as he sinks in slowly, stretching you to your limit, just like always. You start murmuring into his ear about how nice he feels inside you and thanking him for letting you make him feel good. Bo groans at the implication of you servicing him, doing this solely for his pleasure. He knows you're getting just as much out of this as him, but he also knows it's just a happy bonus. The thought makes him push deeper, and he squeezes his hands around your waist when you sigh out his name. Picking up your hips and dropping them down again, he starts a rhythm that's less you moving and more him moving you. You're losing your breath as the pleasure stacks up. Bo groans, and you look up to find him watching you. Fingers tight around your ribs, clenching at every honeyed moan passing through your lips. He growls low in his chest and leans forward to lick into your mouth.

A particularly hard thrust has you pulling back and squealing softly, which he mistakes for pain. Bo immediately slows down to a grind and moves his hands to cup your cheeks.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, pretty. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Quickly shaking your head and tilting his face to meet yours, you place a few soft kisses across the apples of his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

"It's okay, Kou, it didn't hurt." You tug his face up so you can look into his eyes, "And I want you to use me. Let me make you feel better. Take out your frustrations on me. I can take it." He looks dazedly at you, eyes blown wide, before shaking his head. You cut off his babbling about how he doesn't want to hurt you.

"I trust you, Kotaro. I love you so much."

He chokes, sputters a moment, then you're being tossed onto the couch and your legs are in his grasp. Big hands slide up the backs of your thighs to grip hard at the junction of your knees, brute strength forcing you into a mating press. As if you were ever unwilling. Bokuto thumbs at your clit for a second, trying to make sure you're still slick enough to take him. He finds your cunt gooey and eager and Bo immediately works on stuffing his thick cock back into your hole, now made even tighter in this position.

You whimper as he pushes in, but you wail when he starts pounding into you. He's rough and heavy and groaning, but it's never felt this good. Bo's biting down on your shoulder, and you can't breathe, panting and wheezing into the stifling air around you. You're barreling towards an orgasm you weren't really planning on, and Bokuto is doing everything in his power to get the both of you to cum. He tries to pull away and change the angle he's hitting you, but you're unknowingly refusing to let him go. Deciding to try a different tactic, he leans closer and rests his forearms on the cushion around your head. With your legs still thrown over his arms, you're spread out and stuck. He's so much deeper than you thought possible, and you're gushing after only a couple of thrusts in this new position.

He slows for a moment to let you calm down, but as soon as you have a little of yourself back, he speeds up again. This time he puts all his weight behind each thrust, and you lose hold of all thought, no longer aware of the shrill screams leaving you. A heavy hand falls over your mouth and digs into your cheeks, effectively silencing you.

"Hush sweetness." Bo hisses in your ear. You mindlessly try to whimper apologies from behind his hand, "It's okay baby, I know. I know. You just can't help it, can you? Not your fault, I've got you."

You're crying incessantly, a second orgasm ripping through you. Bo moans above you when you clench so tight he's thrown into his own high. The heat of his load in you only prolonging your pleasure. It's quiet for a few minutes. You catch your breathe and find your bearings, slowly starting to brush your hands through his hair.

He doesn't pull out of you quite yet. Instead, he eases your sore legs to wrap around his hips, pressing you to his chest and picking you up.

He pulls out in the bathroom after setting you on the counter, putting a towel down first so you wouldn't have to sit on the cold countertop. A hot, sticky mess of his cum starts dribbling out of your stretched hole, but he's already there with a warm washcloth, gently wiping it away. He cleans you both up sweetly, wordlessly, then brings you into bed when he's done. He's smiling the entire time, content. The calm atmosphere is only broken when he lays you down in the middle of the bed, accidentally jostling your sore hips. Bokuto winces at your quiet whimper and brushes the hair back from your face, apologizing guiltily and sitting close by your side. He stills when you wave him off, and his next question makes you smile.

"Did you mean to say that you loved me?" He's meek and won't meet your eyes, staring at where his hand rests on your belly instead. He's still wearing all his clothes, and it's a little funny that you're nude and he's not.

"Of course I meant it, Kou. I'll always mean it." He's suddenly beaming, but his eyes never meet yours. He gets off the bed to pull some clothes out of the dresser for you: panties, soft sleeping shorts, and one of his hoodies.

"You've never said it before." He's talking more like usual, lively and confident.

"You haven't either!" You giggle. Bo shakes his head, laughing, and raises your arms to slide the hoodie over your head.

"Yeah I have." He shocks you as he pushes the clean panties up your legs, followed by the shorts. He finally looks up and flushes at the look on your face, smiling widely but shyly, "Sometimes I tell you when you're asleep. Like in the mornings, or during a boring movie, or when I wake up in the middle of the night holding you."

Bokuto comes easily into your arms, shifting you both so you can press into each other comfortably on your sides. A few moments pass.

"Kou?" He hums, "Can I hear you say it? Please?"

He grins.

"Pretty girl, I love you."

[linkspooky]

How do you feel about Kotaro Shimura?

Sad, mostly? 

I think Kotaro should be called out for everything he did and held accountable as an abuser, but he’s also definitely a victim of abuse. This is just a personal opinion, but a lot of people will see Nana Shimura as a victim of circumstances but then not see Kotaro as a victim because physical abuse is seen as more of a problem then abandonment and neglect. That’s just an impression I get from watching fandom reactions in general. Even though, Nana is the one that created the circumstances that Kotaro is struggling through.

Kotaro is still a bad dad, but he also shows signs of carrying his scars of abandonment all the way until adulthood. If anything I would compare him to thirteen year old Toya, not because I think Toya is also an abuser, but they both show such extreme signs of neglect and abandonment. 

In all three cases, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect / abandonment, a child will not develop into an emotionally healthy adult, because a parent is responsible for a child’s physical and emotional development. Children cannot take care of themselves, raise themselves, or be expected to be reasonable, understanding, or act like miniature adults.

“Mommy has a good reason for abandoning you...” just doesn’t really cut it for them. 

So like, to vastly oversimplify. Why does Toya act the way he does? It’s because he feels like he has no parents. 

Toya’s unable to regulate his behavior (his emotions / his fire), because his parents never taught him to. His parents, did not do much actual parenting as a child. Kids have good or bad behaviors, but it’s the parents job to actually help them sort through it, and regulate their behaviors. 

Toya’s problem is that he had a dad and suddenly he didn’t. Enji went from focusing everything on Toya, to cutting off spending any time with him at all. It was such a dramatic change that Toya feels abandoned, but he doesn’t know why, and the idea that he internalizes is that he wans’t good enough. He wasn’t a good enough child, he keeps internalizing that idea and blaming himself for it. If he was a good enough child, his father’s love would have never gone away. However, Toya sees “being good enough” as “being a good enough hero” because that’s the idea Enji taught him. 

Toya has internalized this idea that he’s a bad child, that he’s a failure, and his way of fighting against this is continually trying to prove that he’s not by training to increase the strength of his quirk. 

However, the thing is.  Neither Enji nor Rei ever tried to correct the idea that Toya was a failure. Because, Toya was the scapegoat of the house.

If you were to parallel it to the Tenko household. The real reason the household was distressed was Kotaro, however, rather than anyone directly standing up to Kotaro who is creating the problem, who is the abuser in this situation, it’s easier to blame the victim. It’s Tenko’s behavior, that’s causing the abuse. If only Tenko did not provoke Kotaro that way, so everyone tries to silence Tenko, and he’s scapegoated as the cause of distress in the house because he’s... upset his father is constantly abusing him. 

The real problem in the house was Enji. Enji was the cause of the houise’s disruption.  Toya’s behavior actually doesn’t matter.

If Toya wasn’t reacting to the abuse then someone else would. It’s not because Toya had such a negative reaction to being neglected, it’s because Enji’s reasons for having kids wasn’t to take care of them and raise them to be fully developed people, but to have a tool to live vicariously through and carry on his legacy. 

Toya’s not wrong for reacting the way he did.  However, rather than directly confront the real cause of the family’s distress it’s much easier to just blame Toya for his behavior. Both parents insist it’s Toya’s fault, that Toya is too stubborn, that Toya’s the one who won’t give up on his dream therefore it’s his fault. 

Do I expect Rei to heroically stand up to Endeavor in this situation? No, not at all. Endeavor had the power here, and she was a victim too. However, at the same time it alseo means that Toya just didn’t have any parents. Self-harming behavior that would have been corrected by actual parenting, just, wasn’t. It is actually lowkey horrifying that Toya was neglected to this point, idk to me it’s like letting a kid starve to death when they keep crying how hungry they are. Then going, well, why didn’t he feed himself? 

Anyway, I went so long on this tangent because I wanted to show how deep the scars of abandonment can run. Toya interanlized that it was his fault that he was abandoned, that he was to blame, and his parents words said otherwise, but their actions showed it. By refusing to deal with him, and labeling him as the problem child in the household, they basically just made Toya feel that he was somehow, doing something wrong, that he was the one making their love go away. That’s how a child would understand it, because a child can’t reason through things like an adult would. All Toya sees are his own feelings, his need for attention, his feelings of abandonment. 

So, going back to Kotaro.

He had a mom, and then suddenly he didn’t. He had the unconditional love and support a child needs, and then it was just taken away. 

There is no way that Kotaro can understand his mother’s feelings or reasons for abandoning him, nor should he be expected to. Just like when Toya was thirteen all he understood was the abadnonment he felt. If Toya can carry these feelings well into adulthood, then so logicaly, can Kotaro. These scars don’t go away easily. Yes, Kotaro had the option of seeking out professional help, but the fact that he didn’t seek treatment doesn’t mean he was never abused in the first place, and it certainly doesn’t mean he was more responsible for his abuse than his mother was. 

Kotaro, just like Toya internalized the feelings that he was the fault he was being abandoned. He just wasn’t good enough of a child, for his mother to stick around and fight for him. His mother was a good hero to everyone else, but a bad mother to him. I don’t think any reasoning justifies that or explains that away, because the decision to bring a child into the world is something the adults are wholly responsible for. Kotaro didn’t ask to be born, that’s something his mother chose, she chose to became a mother, and then she equally chose not to raise him. Kotaro acts that way, because he, like Toya, just did not have parents. 

There’s a reason Shigaraki and Dabi’s stories are so closely linked, like, being a good hero doesn’t change what Nana did to Kotaro, and what Enji did to Toya. The problem was Enji chose his job, he chose being a hero, he chose wanting to have a son to fulfill his heroic legacy over and over again rather than simply showing up and fulfilling his responsibility towards his family. Enji is obviously, much worse than Nana, but they both failed to parent a child in a very basic way. I don’t think there is a good excuse for abandoning a child to that extent, and there’s no reason to justify it, so both Toya and Kotaro were right for feeling completely abandoned by their parents. They were never their parents top priority. 

Of course Kotaro goes on to repeat that abuse which is what makes him a more complicated character. Kotaro wasn’t raised as a healthy child, so as an adult he can’t regulate his own feelings over the past. His wounds are still there and he’s poorly coping.

Effectively, he does the same thing his mother did. He blamed Tenko. He made Tenko feel like he was the problem. Kotaro feels like he’s the reason his mother abandoned him, he simply was not good enough. Kotaro made it so Tenko felt like he was the reason his household was destroyed, it was because he was not a good enough child. Kotaro’s actions are probably because he’s internalzied the idea that he was worthless, and someone who deserved to be abandoned but his worst impact on the world was repeating that same action and making Tenko feel that way as well.

That he was someone who didn’t deserve to be saved. Because he was such a bad kid, always making his family suffer like that.  And that’s wat I find so sad. 

[tonya-the-chicken]

Also Hori seems to constantly go back and forth in tell about if Endeavor was already gone case from before marriage due to his power hunger or after with no show. Theres no story Endy has either so the constant push of its only power(a justification he gave Muscular as being too far gone as a person) is shallow because if murder is from abuse and mental problems, theres no way you can say someone with inferiority complex or being irrational about wanting power didn't have something go wrong

2. Also this'll sound bad but it falls back to he couldn't handle the pressure of being No 2 is what conclusion can be reached from everything as it stands. Endeavor contrasts to Takami as not very normal. With Takami even with minimum of show and tell, its enough to immediately grasp everything wrong in that family becuase its genuinely so common. With both Kotaro and Enji theres a missing link somewhere to their irrationality and at least with Kotaro we have two reasons- mom and foster care.

3. Horis pretty inconsitent is true. All he wanted were shock value shadowy scenes to say absolute abuse. But theres so many question Whyis Enji home so much? Was Natsu's comment what he really said? Theres also how theres lot of things in the light novel we cant take seriously despite them being some great happy moments milking their abuse because it brings up more questions- Rei made New Years food and everyone ate togteher? How was that possible on the same dinner table if Endeavor was crazy?

1. I think Enji was "predisposed" but at the same time the way the "hero world" is organised facilitated those "predispositions" and turn him into the man he became. But that feels like an interpretation, I wish we had more than guesses. It's, like, we know he felt pressured being No 2 but was the pressure only in his head? Hawks don't feel any pressure to become No 1 at all, in comparison and other heroes aren't shown to be as competitive as Endeavor. Does it mean everything he did is just because his brain is all messed up? But then, why is it so messed up and how did it stop being all messed up? If his thought process and priorities changed then we must be shown how and not only externally but internally too. Otherwise, the change feels shallow and deep at the same time which leaves me confused

2. Kotarou is a bit more clear. He was hurt because his Mom was a hero → he must do everything to prevent his children from becoming like that. His family played along with this idea instead of disputing it until it got too messed up. I think they felt pity for him so they just wouldn't address the fact his trauma makes him act in all the wrong ways. Until he slapped Tenko, that is. And, like, if Tenko's quirk didn't manifest, they could've fixed everything, I think...

It is kind of weird that we see a lot of depth in murderers and terrorists but not family abusers. If Horikoshi is making a point that people have reasons for why they are evil then showcasing those reasons in some crimes but not the others is a questionable approach. Other power-hungry people don't get any backstory either, btw, not High-End, not Muscular. It's just there

Takami family is showcased very nicely, yes. It's obviously clear what is fucked up and their actions are messed up but logical

Not only Hawks, but no one in the Top 10 appears to be overly concerned about the rankings which again makes you think the fuck is wrong with Endeavor

3. Enji is so well organized he got time to stop the record number of villains and to abuse his son every day (and crash any confidence Natsuo had in his cooking)

I didn't read light novels so I can't comment on them but they appear to just be fluffy pieces

Another thing I've been thinking about is how did they have a maid and a private chauffeur and none of them ever noticed their family is fucked up? And if we assume Untenmaru was just purely for work and rarely interacted with the family, he still could've noticed something is wrong with Enji, no? And maid literally was in the same house when Enji screamed at Rei and trained Shouto, how could she not notice? Did Enji gave her a task to keep the kids separated?

Anyway, Enji is obviously rich, couldn't he get a new maid instead of making Fuyumi do the cooking? This has such an "I don't give a shit" vibe, that it's hard to believe Enji didn't intend to neglect them

We are supposed to believe Enji cared for his kids but couldn't express it and ran away but we are never shown him caring for anyone but Touya before his change. Eeee

[whet-ones-write]

Bokuto and Ushijima with Plus Sized S/O headcannons

＼(★ ^∀^★)／ First headcannon post! YAY!! Thank you!! I’m so excited to start writing this!!! I hope these aren't too OOC ;; Totally not my biggest fear for my first post LMAOOOO

THANK YOU

@anulbeads

​ - I’m going to be aiming for a post every day! Warning: NSFW Mentions, Oral, and power usage?

First up . . .

Bokuto Kotaro;

★ This man loves curves and isn’t ashamed to state it loud and proud to the whole group. He loves that he could hold you and squeeze you and not fear of crushing you with his strength or muscles. 

★ His favourite thing about you? For sure that you have an ass that he could just squeeze and just could not keep your hands away from it. He loves to slip a hand into your back pocket as a sign of possession and to secretly grasp a handful whenever you are out and about. 

★ He loves to bury his face in your chest when you cuddle close at night. When sleeping in the same bed he would happily have his head tucked under your happy to be completely enraptured in your warmth but if he was cuddling you his arm would bring you close to him and want to be the big spoon.

★ He would at LEAST once a day say how good you looked, or compliment you on one piece of clothes you wore. That dress? Hugged your curves just right. The high heels? Jealous that he would now have to be the one to lean up to kiss you but makes your legs look STUNNING. Pjs? It absolutely has to be BOOTY shorts that just ride up that define that fine ass you know it drives him crazy and he knows you do it purposely.

★The fact that you aren't afraid to eat despite how you are makes him love you even more. He loves his meat and you’re rather meaty yourself -winkwink- But even so he loves a girl who isn’t afraid to love food like he does and always encourages you to eat with him, and if you were scared to? That’s ok! He still wants to make sure that you’re never going hungry and is acutely aware of your habits and will pick up when something isn’t right and will normally be the first time when he knows something is off is when you’re not eat like you would. 

★ He loves the fact that there isn’t much of a height difference. That at any random point he would just lean down and capture your lips in a quick kiss before laughing it off with pink cheeks. And if anyone was staring at you? He would make sure to posessively display that you are *his* and HIS alone. 

★ On that note he would actively state that he loved the way you looked and wouldn’t want you to change because of others but because you wanted to and would help you in any way he could. 

★ Also he would instinctively always look for you whenever he was in a game, or on the court. Like that’s another reason why he liked your size it was because you were easy to spot and never wanted to miss a reaction to you when he got a point or won the set for the team. 

★ And if you weren’t there, he would go into emo mode instantly for at least the first bit of the game. He didn’t want to try his best when you weren’t there but he would soon snap out of it when he saw the team losing and / or struggling to get the sit because he knew if he lost you would be sad and he didn’t want you sad. 

★ Also your thighs are another weak spot for him, wear thigh highs, a skirt and no panties? OHHH BOI THIS MAN IS D-E-A-D. He would eat you out like a man starved and almost begging to be crushed between your thighs and he’s not ashamed that he also orgasmed at least once from oral that he gave to you while you squeezed his head in between your thighs, pulling on his hair and crushing him.

Ushijima Wakatoshi;

★ He’s a big guy and everyone is surprised when he officially introduced you to the team as his girlfriend but he then would proceed to scold them for being immature that they based you right off your curves and looks right away and ADAMANTLY defend you to the end of the earth. He had and would never be so chatty as when he’s defending you calmly explaining why he loved you and what he loved about you right to the smallest detail. 

★ He’s over the moon that you’re not only strong and large it meant that his arms never felt empty around you. If you were smaller he would fear breaking you like glass but because you are you, he knew he could hold you and lie on you, using your thighs as a pillow on rides home or relaxing with him on the couch without that fear. 

★ If you were the first one to wake up or be the one cooking breakfast or dinner he would happily walk up behind you, trapping you between the counter and wrap his arms around you waist. Leaning down to whisper sweet nothings in your ear, pressing you or just trying to be sweet and talk about your day.

★ He would be the one to wrap his arm around your shoulder as you walked, showing you off to the world and happy to hear you talk about everything and nothing at all as you shopped. 

★ Make me change my mind but he’s totally a boob kind of guy. He would love nothing more than to come home from work and nestle his face in your chest, so soft warm and to hear your heartbeat would send him off to sleep in no time. 

★ Wear some soft and silky lingerie and he wouldn’t even bother talking, he would just take your hand and drag you into the bedroom because hot damn you looked so sweet and innocent which he would have to just ruin

★ Couldn’t find anything in your size in shops? No problem! He would make sure he would get them custom made for you and in the colours he loved and designs you both liked. So then it’s special to you and made only for you. 

★ He loves the fact when you do bed with him that when he thrusts that he could see the power in what he did, seeing your whole body move and that it is him doing it. He knows he has power and loves it knowing you won’t break like most and that your body can just take him astounds him every time.

★ Hell always comfort you though if you ever felt secure, making sure to kiss and love each both that you felt insecure about. Scared you're too large?

 “Just more for me to hold and love” 

Don’t like your legs?

“But they’re strong and full of power that keep up with me like no one else can” Don’t like the extra skin around your neck?

“It’s all the more for me to mark and possess, stating to the world silently that you’re mine and you have trouble hiding that fact”

[aarcanechaoss]

My Oh My

Bokuto x Tatsu: smut/ MSBY Black Jackles / drinking

Tatsu getting a phone call from Kotaro Bokuto wasn’t something she ever expected. Well that’s a lie he liked to talk to her but normally he’d show up uninvited to her apartment.

“Hello? Bokuto what’s up?”

“Can I come over and get smashed at yours it’s been a shit day and I need something strong.”

“Sure head on over.”

Kotaro Bokuto sounding serious wasn’t something Tatsu could ever expect either. He was an energetic and happy man and hearing that serious tone made a shiver race down her spine in anticipation.

“So why has the mighty energetic Kotaro brought me a bottle of vodka and my favourite mixer?” The dark haired woman asks.

“Training was a nightmare.”

“Please tell me more- inside as we get drinks.”

“Yes ma’am.” He salutes with his usual wide grin before letting it drop slightly. She pouts and leads him to the kitchen. Grabbing two glasses she urges him to speak while she sorted out their first drink and snacks.

“So.”

“I’m so sore and worn out and frustrated and stressed man.” He started. “Today’s training was hard, I get we have a game coming up but seriously even Hinata had had enough.”

“Even Hinata? That kid has enough energy to power a solar panel but even he’s over it. Shit maybe he need some vodka to.” She laughed taking a drink from her glass.

The evening went like that, catching up, talking about things that annoyed them both, remembering high school and drinking and drinking and drinking.

“Shit Tatsu I remember the first time we met, the skating rink I fell on my ass.” He barked drink shaking in his hand as he laughed.

“Oh I remember that that was fucking hilarious.”

“Then you joined the training camp the next day, ripped Tsukiblahblah a new one and ran off with Kuroo.”

A light blush dusted Tatsu’s cheeks- whether that was from the alcohol or from the memories of Kuroo’s mouth against her was difficult to answer.

“I remember that... I made everyone uncomfortable by saying when people bow to me it’s usually with their face between my thighs.” She laughed. His grin widened as he laughed along.

And then as all drinking with friends go, the conversation turned sexual.. not that either minded at alll. Albeit nothing explicit it did illicit something between them.

“So do you get any personal time with the Black Jackals?” She asked.

“No.” He sighed. “I have all this pent up energy and the only thing I can do to release it is play volleyball with Hinata who nowadays will run to Kenma’s beck and call. What about you? Being a famous figure skater and all much personal time?”

“Not as much as I’d like. I mean I get a decent amount but once I need to start properly practicing for competitions all that free time goes out the window... can’t even get a dick appointment.” She pouted taking another sip of her drink.

“I’ve always meant to ask this, and tell me if it’s weird or inappropriate but I figured since we are friends... who have you slept with? Or just how many...”

Tatsu laughed and pursed her lips in thought.

“Out of people you and I know mutually about six people. Oikawa, Iwazumi, Semi, Asahi, Kuroo and don’t be mad but Akaashi.”

“Oikawa!” Bokuto yelled out. “Shit man.

“Well I have known him and Iwazumi since we were little I did a lot of experimenting with the two plus Toru is bi so he was comfortable with having Iwa join us sometimes... did you know he hooked up with Hinata in Brazil.” She drunkenly giggled.

“What no way! If I remember this in the morning I’m definitely grilling Hinata over it.”

“I require evidence of it happening if it does.”

“Why would I be mad about you sleeping with Akaashi?” He wonders not even noticing how the two of them had been slowly moving closer to each other. “He liked you in his third yea, would message me about it sometimes.”

“Shit really? He was at a party and looked really awkward in his first year of college, I ended up taking him home and well.”

“Ah yeah... so did he bottom?”

“Fuck yeah he did.” Tatsu laughed. “Kuroo is the only one who tops me... out of everyone I’ve slept with, Iwa came close but Kuroo is a very dominating man.”

“As in you two still fuck?”

“Yeah sometimes. What’s with all the questions Kotaro?” Tatsu turned her head to face the man, their noses near touching.

“Are you with him? As in together?”

“No I’m not with anyone... I did say earlier I haven’t been able to get a dick appointment Kotaro.”

“Well, this may be the vodka talking, I have some pent up energy and you need dick... why don’t we...”

“Fuck I thought you’d never ask.” Her lips were on his faster than he anticipated their empty glasses falling onto the carpet. The dual haired man’s hands moved up her sides massaging the exposed skin of her thighs before pushing her beneath him.

“How about we make me the second one to top the great Tatsu Kageyama.” He growled into her ear making the dark haired woman moan and curse. Bokuto sat on his knees pulling off his shirt to show his torso to her hungry eyes. His golden eyes scanned her body finally taking in the fact that she was only wearing a large shirt and underwear. “Tease.”

“I’m a tease?” She asked raising a brow.

“Just a shirt, panties and...” his hands moved beneath the shirt, his breath hitched. “No bra naughty girl. Did you expect this?”

“No.” She hummed in amusement. Bokuto snorted and gave an experimental squeeze making her moan again. He removed his hands letting the lightly train her skin beneath the shirt until they grasped at her hips and forcing her to grind against him. “You’re so forward Kotaro... wouldn’t have expected this.”

“What did you expect? To be needy and a virgin like Kaashi was.”

“No... maybe with more jokes or oooh.” His thumb pressed to her clit making her shut up.

“Sensitive already? I haven’t even begun baby.”

Moments later all articles of clothing were gone and Bokuto was busy covering Tatsu’s chest in marks. The small blemishes making the confident woman shake with desire as Bokuto dragged his teeth and tongue across her skin. He was drawing it out, his hips gyrating agaisnt hers but not entering her. He could feel how wet and needy she was and she could feel how hot and hard he was.

“Fuck me Ko.”

“Magic word.”

“Please fuck me till I can’t walk.”

“Get on your hands a knees... might want a new couch soon.” He chucked.

Tatsu was quick to do as he said, her head resting on the arm of the chair her ass facing towards him where he could see her glistening core. His fingers dragged up her thighs slowly and lightly, barely touching her and making goosebumps. A finger slides through her folds making her clench over nothing- making him smirk.

He swore and settled between her legs easing himself into her. She swore loudly.

“Fuck.. so.. big.” She whimpered.

“What happened to my witty Tatsu. Is she just my obedient little birdy now?”

“Hmm yes Ko.”

“Good.” He whispered in her ear, licking her neck. He braced himself above her, using the arms of the chair (considering she was quite tall herself). With a sharp movement he bucked into her. She whimpered. He smirked and repeated the action over and over till she was shaking. Continuously he rammed him hips agaisnt hers somehow getting deeper each time. A hand came to her breast and grabbed it, massaging it and playing with it.

Tatsu was shaking. She’s had rough sex but not like this, she was stretched both inside and out for him and each thrust made her squish further and further into the soft cotton of the chair. Her thighs began to shake a tell tale sign that she was close. Her breathing became rapid and it felt like Boku-Kotaro was getting closer to her, his washboard abs (as she’d joke) pressed agaisnt her lower back making her feel each and every spasm and tightness in his abdomen.

“I’m gonna.”

“Cum.” He commanded softly. He felt her body collapse into the chair, thankfully one arm had propped itself onto the arm keeping her from going face first into the cushion. He kept rocking in and out even as he felt her walls tighten around him edging him closer. When he came he could still feel her squeezing him, milking his dick. He relaxed above her allowing her to breathe.

“Holy shit Kotaro.” She said shakily.

“How was that?”

“Great... although.” She teased.

“What? Don’t tease me I am still hard and still inside you.”

“I asked you to fuck me till I couldn’t walk...” she yelped as he thrust into her again. “I have a perfectly good bed let’s use it.”

“You’re in for a long night.” He smirked. “Pent up energy and all that.” He joked. She laugh allowing him to move out of her, making her feel empty, he picked her up and carried her to her room.

“I can’t wait.”

The morning after, gentle warmth from the sun shon through the sheer curtains. Tatsu groaned and rolled over- she hit a chest. Arms wrapped around her waist and a chin moved to nestle in her hair. She opened one eye still to tired to be quite awake. Bokuto laid beside her, holding her as close as he could to himself. Tilting her head up she saw the loose strands of silver and black resting agaisnt his forehead. She smiled at his peaceful expression before a thought sprung her mind.

She really hoped he hadn’t actually fucked her till she couldn’t walk.

A slowly as she could she moved out of his strong arms and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. With feet placed firmly on the ground she slowly stood, ignoring the chilling air on her naked body. She was shaky but she could stand.

“Looks like I didn’t fuck you hard enough.” Tatsu spun around causing her legs to give way as she crashed into the mattress. “Oops sorry Tatsu.”

“Fuck you.”

“No I fucked you... I mean if you really want you probably could fuck me.” He teased.

“I didn’t think you’d actually fuck me till I couldn’t walk Ko.”

“Learnt your lesson?”

“My lesson?”

“Don’t tell me to do something and expect I won’t actually do it... get back in bed I want snuggles... and I’m definitely calling an Uber to bring us breakfast.”

“Make yourself at home.” She laughed.

“Okay.”

“Wait Ko-“

[dropintomanga]

Gintama - Finding a Time Machine to Move Forward

Back in February 2018, fans of Gintama were expecting a resolution of what was/is one of the funniest manga titles ever and one that outlasted both Naruto and BLEACH. The Silver Soul arc was set to be the finale of the adventures of the beloved Yorozuya who’ve touched many fans’ hearts for 15+ years. But beneath any cover, you shouldn’t always judge by it. The manga went into its climax instead and a long one where readers experienced a wide mix of emotions as it’s become apparent that Gintama will end on the terms of creator Hideaki Sorachi himself.  On September 17, 2018, Gintama ended in Weekly Shonen Jump. But due to Sorachi being unable to end the story on time, it was to get its true ending starting on the Jump GIGA magazine in December 2018. Three chapters and months later, Gintama is now done on Jump GIGA and Sorachi still hasn’t finished the series. The manga is now aiming to have a proper sendoff by June 2019 (which is the release month of the proposed last volume, Volume 77) as its subsequent final chapters will be released via a mobile app in Japan.

While reading through this lengthy epilogue, I wonder about the significance of this true finale as it focuses on how one’s past can either get in the way of life or lead to a future that helps everyone.

The climax takes place 2 years after the ending of the final battle with Utsuro, the enemy who’s been a big part of Gintoki Sakata’s life since he was a child. Kabukicho is now at peace, but the Yorozuya have broken up. Shinpachi Shimura has become the only Yorozuya to defend his hometown. What starts off as a funny epilogue to Gintama takes a dark turn as it’s revealed that Gintoki went off on a personal mission to visit natural energy sources throughout Japan. Remnants of the Tendoshuu, the alien government that once controlled all of Edo and thought to have dissolved after the final arc, have been plotting a resurgence and hope to revive Utsuro to become immortal. Gintoki wants to prevent that by searching for any physical remnants of Utsuro at the energy sources themselves as they were what gave Utsuro life. The conclusion is now setting up to be one where Japan looks to properly transition into its own “Meiji Era” through the actions of a silly samurai who feels that he has to do everything he can to protect his friends and those who want him around to see what he accomplished.

Gintoki decides to handle everything himself out of his promise to his master, Shoyo Yoshida, who was an alternate persona of Utsuro. Shoyo, out of sympathy for Utsuro, wanted Gintoki to put an end to a cycle of abuse where power-hungry individuals continued to take advantage of Utsuro for their own needs. It was so personal that Gintoki couldn’t rely on anyone who didn’t experience what he went through. His former comrades, Shinsuke Takasugi and Katsura Kotaro, are also trying to save Shoyo in their own way. At first, Gintoki traveled all over Japan to ensure the friends he made throughout Gintama weren’t targeted by assassins who knew what he was up to. However, the Tendoshuu have plans to use Kabukicho as a newfound base and Gintoki ends up having to go back to the friends he left behind (in hilarious fashion as the series is known for). 

A lot of us are defined by our pasts. They shape how we behave, what we believe, and what we may become. Childhood and adolescence are often the roughest period of growing up for many people. Those experiences do become them. Of course, it doesn’t mean life-changing moments don’t happen when we’re past adolescence. Yet we’re always moving forward and not taking much time to reflect on what was.

This seems to be the case with the Yorozuya. Gintoki made the decision to disband the group, saying that everyone involved had a personal job to do. However, Shinpachi and Kagura didn’t feel that they accomplished anything during the 2 year time-skip. Shinpachi thought he was trying too hard to live up to Gintoki’s shadow. Kagura went on a journey to help Sadaharu, the pet dog who became trapped in a tiny ball due to his sacrifice to stop Utsuro back then. The only changes she felt were of the humorous kind (turning into an old lady at random). You can say Gintoki didn’t achieve much either since his promise to “save” Shoyo/Utsuro took up his time.

While the Yorozuya eventually do reunite in Chapter 701, it’s really hard to move on sometimes. Yes, you can let go of people, but there’s always that nagging feeling in your mind that makes you go “What if..?” There’s a part inside your head that sort of demands some proper closure. It’s a hard-wired feeling. The entire cast of Gintama characters that rush to help the Yorozuya admits that they missed seeing Gin’s charming idiocy in full display.

Although he didn’t die, Gintoki going off on his own personal journey affected everyone in Kabukicho. While there was some closure due to the world being saved, it wasn’t simple to get over or move on from someone who changed the lives of many. All the characters could do was talk about Gintoki and what he did, which is important to process any kind of loss in your own life.

This also applies to the other side. The Tendoshuu couldn’t get past their own desires for power and Utsuro’s immortality. Utsuro wanted humanity to die after being taken advantage of for hundreds of years. There’s a good reason why he wanted to do so as people do get easily corrupted from vices. The addictive nature of certain vices and their immediate relief to pain reinforce a mind that serves like a bully to someone who’s depressed and anxious. You can say Utsuro was an innocent resource who suffered from people chasing a past to grab their own closure for the worst. They couldn’t deal with an uncertainty where they’re not able to control the world. 

After arriving in Kabukicho before the final battle, Gintoki made some comments about running back to his past. He felt he had no right to talk to anyone he knew as he was trying to save the enemy that tried to destroy the world. At the same time, Gintoki felt as if he didn’t change at all as he missed Shinpachi and Kagura in his life. He subtly wanted them to stop him from disbanding the Yorozuya for personal reasons.

As Gintama fans may tell you about the general theme of the series, it’s about dealing with your past and going forward from there. But good god, does the past catch up to you in ways you don’t expect. I think that’s what Sorachi is trying to say with bringing back Utsuro as a plot point. Humans don’t always learn from history well. We do repeat the same mistakes. A book I once read about anxiety said this as a quote, “Sometimes, taking a step back is the best way to move forward.” Take a look at your past and process it for the better, not suppress it for the worst.

I often wonder if another lesson from Gintama right now is that closure can be a myth to many people. Some may need it more than others especially if they go through significant events. For everyone in Gintama involved, the Silver Soul arc was that event.

However, as I noticed while reading, the Yorozuya had a certain kind of mentality to handle the ambiguity of their separation at the time. Maybe they’ll reunite, maybe they won’t. Whatever happens won’t mean the end of the world. All 3 members just kept going despite their inner pain. People can both be absent and present at the same time. This realization can do wonders if someone accepts it.

Maybe Gintama will end this year, maybe it won’t. All we can do is just enjoy this long ride as much as possible. Then we’ll look back with all kinds of mixed feelings like the characters themselves do. Gintama is about messiness in all kinds of ways, but that also means it’s a series about us - humans struggling with conflicting thoughts every day and managing to hustle along to the beat of their souls the best they can.

[quincette]

SUMMARY AND COMMENTS ON HOTARU’S FIRST TENKA TSUKI EVENT STORY AS YOUR LOVE INTEREST.

I like it a lot. More than I expected, to be honest. I was pretty wary of the Hotaru hype but I really like his first story with the Tsuki MC.

I think a huge part of the story’s appeal to me is, since Hotaru doesn’t speak (much) it’s all down to the MC to tell everything and in that sense, she has more room to actually be the main character of the story. Also, she is more cautious here.

That, and Tsuki MC comes with her own agenda and baggage, she’s also a shinobi, so they’re pretty much in the same social class, unlike the Hana MC with her samurai lords.

Also, I personally LOVE IT that it is implied that Hotaru is younger than MC. Before knowing his name, MC refers to him as the “boy” (otoko no ko). The romance bits involve tending each other’s wounds and some literal lick-it-better scene (LOL, hahahaha). 

Spoiler after the break.

So MC was in town to buy supplies, but she found herself witnessing (probably) murders. She saw a boy standing over heaps of dead men. She lamented her misfortune and we got a flashback of Kaede in Mitsuba telling MC to be careful and to not reveal the location of their village, and good luck. So she was sent on a mission to get supplies and get back stealthily since apparently the clan was hidden or was in hiding.

She was about to run from the scene when she felt a blade pressed to her throat. Lo and behold, It’s Saizo - “a shinobi with silver haired who looks just like the boy.” 

“It’s a bad habit to peep what you’re not supposed to.”

MC thought that she’s gonna get killed by these shinobi. But then Saizo simply turned to collect the boy and they vanished. MC was shaken. She  should get back but remembering Kaede’s words, she was afraid she’ll be followed and that she would lead them to her village to she decided to wait out for a bit in a hut in the forest - one of Mitsuba’s safehouse.

While in there she heard footsteps and found Hotaru outside. She knew she was being followed! But before she could do anything…

“Saizo-san!”

Wild Kotaro appeared.

“Saizo-san, Saizo-san, Saizo-san!”

And he proceeded to attack Hotaru, who fended it off. After exchanging blows for a bit…

“Eeeeeehhh, no way! You look like Saizo san… but you’re not Saizo-san? How could this be?!”

Kotaro’s attack was getting more rabid (hahahah). MC used this to try to escape to the woods but found a cat (Tora) instead. She immediately concluded that Tora was the silver-haired shinobi’s companion. 

Kotaro, apparently lost interest because Hotaru is not Saizo, went off. Saizo arrived at the scene and told Hotaru to “keep this woman company” before went off to hunt Kotaro, most probably.

At this point MC thought of them as enemies and wondered how she could get out of the situation and she was pretty upset now that this safehouse could no longer be used and it was all her fault.

But Hotaru simply stayed put, like, literally keeping her company. 

Then his stomach growled. For a second I rolled my eyes - of course she’s going to feed him! But then I remembered that this was Tsuki MC, not Hana chef extraordinaire MC. 

Tsuki MC asked Hotaru if he’s hungry. He took out a something from his clothes that MC recognised as tasteless dried food shinobi carries around to ease hunger (Shinobi eats tasteless food so they would be sensitive to taste poison and such). But apparently, Hotaru’s food has gone bad.

Guuu~~~ his stomach growled again.

“Would you like to eat? I don’t know what kind of food I have here though,” MC said. She thought for all his shinobi appearance, this “boy” had an air of innocence about him.

Guuu~~~ his stomach answered. She thought that was rather funny.

Hotaru took out paper and pen and scribbled something and gave to MC.

“Dango.” It said.

MC wondered if he couldn’t talk.

“Do you want to eat dango?”

Hotaru writes that dango tasted good and oniichan liked them. MC used this info to get them out of the hut and into town for some dango, maybe then she could escape.

They ate some dango in town. Then Hotaru wrapped some. MC wondered by because they would harden. She thought, maybe for his oniichan. 

Then on the way back to the hut, Hotaru asked many questions about the town. What is this and what is that, using his voice. So he wasn’t mute afterall, Mc thought and wondered why didn’t he speak.

She tried to make small talk.

“What is your name?”

“Hotaru.”

She didn’t offer hers. But she noticed that Hotaru’s arm was injured.

She offered to take care of it. 

“It must hurt and you need medicine.”

“Does medicine really necessary?” he wrote.

“Yes. It could get worse and infected,” she said, thinking that wound wouldn’t kill him but she needed excuse to go off in search for herbs and maybe escape. But Hotaru offered to help her gather the ingredients. In the end they gathered herbs in earnest with MC thinking Hotaru’s clumsiness was cute.

And she ended up treating his wound. They fell asleep at one point.

In the morning, MC woke up and started berating herself for falling asleep carelessly in front of the enemy. Hotaru woke up (in his shinobi garb, ahahahahahah, because the night before his clothes got dirty after foraging the forest for ingredients, aaawwwww why can’t we have him change his clothes in frame, hahahahahahah) and was still sleepy.

MC went out and took deep breaths. Hotaru followed her and asked where what she’s doing. She said, just appreciating the morning air. He imitated her. This cutesy moment was interrupted by a kunai slicing the air between them.

“Saizo-san!”

Yup, wild Kotaro again.

“Saizo-san, Saizo-san, Saizo-san!” (Kotaro needs Luis’s monocle, me thinks)

He started attacking Hotaru again, who blocked his blows.

“Eeeeeeeehhhh, you look like Saizo-san but you’re noooooot!”

After wailing for a bit he sort of appreciate Hotaru’s skills, “Hmmm, Saizo-look-alike is not bad, interesting!”

At some point in the fight, Hotaru was forced to use his kotodama.

“Don’t move.”

The effect was instantaneous. MC was also affected. She was terrified because she’s suddenly paralyzed.

Kotaro’s getting more excited, and started spewing more words eventhough he couldn’t move. 

“Oooohhhh, is this what they call kotodama? I see, I see! Interesting! Hahahahahah” - that kind of stuff.

Then Saizo arrived to diffuse the situation.

Kotaro decided to vanish (again!) because things were too interesting to handle that time (?) I dunno, lol, such a troll.

“Let’s go.”

“I don’t want to go yet,” Hotaru said.

Saizo simply glanced at MC.

“Make it quick,” then he vanished.

MC wondered what Hotaru was going to do to her.

“Your name…” he said.

What to do…? MC thought, she shouldn’t give him her name, it might be dangerous.

“Kitsu…”

 But she did. Was it his kotodama power? She didn’t know but she’s strangely glad to have given him her name.

“Kitsu, you’re hurt.”

MC realised Kotaro’s kunai had grazed her arm.

“Just a scratch.”

THEN HOTARU DUCKED AND LICKED THE WOUND.

MC was startled. “Ho-hotaru-kun, what are you doing?!”

“Disinfect it.”

(ROFL, MY PRECIOUS BABY FIREFLY, YOU NEED TO HAVE MORE FRIENDS AND NOT JUST YOUR CAT)

“D-disinfect it?”

Next thing MC knew Hotaru had brought her to the place where they had gathered the herbs for his medicine the day before. He crouched down and started picking them and then tugged MC’s hand. But she was caught unprepared and landed on top of him.

And we got the beautiful CG.

Their faces were so close and MC thought she wanted to know more about this boy.

She smiled.

Hotaru tilted his head.

“Why are you smiling?”

Because so many things happened with you Hotaru, things I will remember.”

Then back at the hut Hotaru was trying to copy the way MC create his medicine. He’s not good with his hands so MC took over. Then when it’s done and she had applied it to her wound and was about to bandage it, Hotaru produced a hankerchief (or was it that scarf?) and used it to wrap her wound with.

MC looked down at the bandage. It wasn’t perfect, clumsy even, and a little bit askew. BUT LIKE TOTES ENDEARING LIKE MY GOD!

“Thank you.”

“Un.”

Then Hotaru got up and started to leave. MC hesitated for a bit, she wanted to know more about him so she said.

“I will give this back.” referring to the kerchief.

Hotaru smiled. “Un.”

MY OVARIES!!! AGH, BABY FIREFLY IS SO CUTTTEEEEE! ALSO, I ADORE THIS MC AAAAGHHHHHHH! IT WAS HER WHO CAME TO IGA TO FIND HOTARU IN THE EPILOGUE, YOU GO GIRL!!!! LEMME FLAIL FOR A BIT! 

[jokerxtreme36]

Kyuranger 10-12 thoughts (Spoilers)

Well since I’m three weeks behind, it’s time I get around to catching up on this series. Last Time: Xiao's backstory is explained and thanks to his crews motivation and a deus ex machina, he manages to become a full-fledged Kyuranger as Ryu/Draco Commander, which I mean in a pretty good way. while the first few episodes ranged from meh to pretty awful, can this series pick itself up from it’s awful star? let’s find out.

Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger episode 10:

The Kyuranger battle Mothma in a mech fight, he spays particles on them before escaping. Kotaro tries to find the right Kyutama to be a Kyuranger, it doesn’t work, so Lucky takes him home.

Kotaro took the Seiza changer and Lucky tries to get it back, until they encounter Mothma, who reveals that their base is being sent to the sun. So Lucky fights him while Kotaro defends himself.

The Ursa Kyutama falls and Lucky uses it, unleashing Big Bear’s spirit. On the Orion, they suspect one of them attacked Naga. Kotaro explains why he wants to be a Kyuranger and they find Mothma.

On the Orion, Naga wakes up and reveals there was no culprit, he just slipped, then they discover mothma’s particles Lucky’s Kyutama is taken and Kotaro wants to help him.

Big Bear decides to give Kotaro his power and become Koguma Sky Blue, he and Lucky defeat Mothma, saving the others. Big Bear talks with the others before disappearing, bringing up the Argo.

Next Time: fresh out of Luck

Overall I found this episode to be okay-ish, let’s talk about the things I liked, I liked Kotaro’s progression into becoming a Kyuranger thanks to Big Bear seeing that he felt determined to stop Jark Matter from causing havoc on other planets, I remember hearing someone complain about him not earning his power but was instead given to him, my rebuttal to that old issue was that 1. it pretty much happened to everyone else on the team, mostly through a deus ex machina (with only a few of them actually earning theirs) and 2. at least Kotaro was mostly established by this point and not just a random one off character who gets his powers out of nowhere. I also dug Big Bear’s spirit, pretty much pulling a Den-O in possessing people as well as his concerns for his old colleague since he isn’t sure that he’s qualified to be mentoring them, but Lucky tells him that if it wasn’t for Xiao, the other Kyurangers wouldn't have been found, so it’s one of his few decent moments. Now for the parts I didn’t care for, I didn’t like how they shoved the Ursa Kyutama into the episode with it dropping from Kotaro’s backpack and it just happens to land on Lucky’s changer, which happens to contain Big Bears spirit, there’s suspension of disbelief and then there’s just total BS because the plot said so. Another thing I didn’t like was the ‘who did it’ subplot,which could’ve been interesting, if not for the reveal that it was a misunderstanding, making that whole thing entirely pointless. Can’t wait for the next episode, where Kotaro shows his skills to the others, go on their quest to find the legendary ship the Argo,  they battle a worm creature while Lucky is getting beaten by Ikagen.

Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger episode 11:

Lucky hears the news that today Leo’s are unlucky, they use the pysix Kyutama to show them the Argo Navis and now have to look for it on Earth, so a few of them are chosen, but Kotaro stowed away with them.

Indaver’s appear and they battle them, but Sginer is annoyed by Kotaro’s attitude,  Ikagen and a restored Madako appear and join the fight, Lucky tries to fight them, but is beaten by Ikagen.

A Deathworm appears and see that a Kyutama is inside it, Kotaro chases it but he and Stinger fall into it’s hole. Later, Stinger tells Kotaro about how his brother went power hungry and fears he’ll be the same.

The Deathworm appears and the others arrive to help. Lucky challenges Ikagen to prove that he still has his luck. The Deathworm is beaten and another one appears, so they combine to become Ryutei-Oh.

The Deathworm is defeated, but Ikagen gets the Kyutama and beats Lucky again. Kotaro saves Lucky before he was finished off.  afterwards, Lucky begins to doubt, remembering his dark past. To be continued....

Next Time: All 11 unite!

Overall I enjoyed this episode, it was nice to see Lucky get the short end of the stick, after having to listen to him say his catchphrase too many times and how he really was the bane of this series, it was neat to see him get some comeuppance, though sadly not from a rival, but instead a horoscope reading that Leo’s are unlucky that day. I also liked the interaction between Stinger and Kotaro, in how Kotaro was almost letting the fact that he’s now a Kyuranger get in over his head, so Stinger told him about his older brother and how he was similar and it ended up making him betray his kind and have a lust for more power, helping Kotaro remember what he is fighting for, helping both characters get some nice development. Also dug the Deathworm design and the subtle hint that it might have killed a ton of people in that area. I also dug the debut of the Koguma voyager and how it can split and the Ursa Minor Voyager can attack as well. but that wasn’t the only thing that debuted, there was also Ryutei-Oh, which actually looks pretty cool. Can’t wait for the next episode, where they battle Ikagen, Garu talks with Lucky to motivate him out of his issue, so all eleven of them can defeat him and combine their powers.

Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger episode 12:

They study Ikagen’s moves and see that the crystals on him react, which may be a way to beat him, they see Lucky isn’t chosen to go this time and they go to find Ikagen, they test their theory, but to no avail.

Xiao gets the idea of sending the serpens Kyutama to surround him and proves he has ten eyes around his body..They’re all chosen to go, but Lucky still has doubts, he reveals he was never lucky at all.

Lucky explains how he lost his parents and was sent away to a distant planet, then Garu tries to snap Lucky out of his grief. Later, the ten of them surround Ikagen, but get beaten easily.

Ikagen reveals he had more then ten eyes, then Lucky arrives and uses the gemini Kyutama to make an army of Lucky’s to surround him, blasting his crystals and say he’ll keep saying Lucky until it happens. They all transform and beat Ikagen, getting the Kyutama back.

Ikagen grows and they summon their mechs, but he overpowers them, so they combine to become Ryutei Kyuren-Oh and defeat Ikagen for good. Elsewhere, Scorpio arrives, hoping to see his brother again.

Next Time: an unexpected family reunion

Overall I found this episode to be interesting, it’s about time we get some backstory for Lucky and get some development, does this mean I’m gonna stop hating him? not really, but it’s a small progression into becoming a slightly bearable character, since he now has an explanation for why he says his catchphrase, but I feel it doesn’t excuse him for saying it almost all the time, it makes the catchphrase annoying to hear and’ll just give people more reasons to not like the character, but at least it’s better than nothing I suppose. I did like how the others tried to uncover how Ikagen keeps dodging their attacks and realize that he has eyes around his body, then Lucky actually does something clever and uses the Gemini Kyutama to duplicate himself again, again and again to surround Ikagen and fire so he wouldn’t have anyway to dodge the blast nears his eyes, I’ll give him that. Another moment I liked was when Garu tried to snap Lucky out of it by force, punching him a few times,it was somewhat satisfying. As for Ryutei Kyuren-Oh, it’s okay-ish, thought it’s disappointing how the Ryutei-Oh portion is nothing more than a backpack, which I feel was done better on previous mech (Buster Ohranger Robo for example), well at least it’s got some shoulder cannons, so I’ll give it that. I’m gonna miss Ikagen, he was a real interesting villain and gave our heroes some actual tension, I felt he should stayed longer until maybe the mid 30′s, but now we have a new enemy on the line, Scorpio, will he have more screen time? (I hope so cause it’s Takatora and doing nothing with him would be a waste of a good actor).  This series slowly getting itself back up and while there’s some bumps on the road from the aful few few episodes, they can still fix this and I hope they will. Can’t wait for the next episode, where both the Jark Matter Grunts and humans are being controlled by an unknown force, Champ and Stinger interact and he reveals the truth about his brother.

[tokupedia]

Kamen Rider 45th Anniversary File: Den-O WAZA! Part 1

2007:

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive airs on ABC related networks as the 6th entry of the Disney Era of Power Rangers. The Power Rangers franchise reached its 15th year and we saw the brief return of veteran rangers such as Adam Park in a 2-part crossover!

PORK CUBE STEW! The 31st entry of Super Sentai, Juken Sentai Gekiranger, airs alongside Den-O. The show is styled to motif kung-fu styles with an animal theme. An example of the kung-fu motif aside from combat is that the names of some of the masters the Gekirangers are trained by are parodies of actual kung-fu movie stars (Ex. Sharkie Chan, Bat Li etc.)

Ultraseven X, a dark revival of Ultraseven, airs on Japanese cable TV.

Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle, a continuation of the Ultra Series set 500,000 years after Mebius, premieres on TV.

GoGo Sentai Boukenger vs. Super Sentai is released on DVD. This film acts as a 30th anniversary crossover of past Rangers and introduces us to the living embodiment of the Red Warriors, AkaRed.

Let’s fight if you wanna be a soldier! ~  Kamen Rider: The Next, a sequel to the reboot movie Kamen Rider: The First, premieres in theaters.

“The Train of Time, DenLiner...will its next stop be The Past... or the Future?”

2017 is Kamen Rider Den-O’s 10th anniversary.

Den-O is a bit hard to talk about...because it is massive. This is, by far, the most commercially successful entry in the series ever. Seven movies featuring the cast, anime spinoffs, crossovers, multiple cameos and guest starring roles of the cast members in other films, and toys...lots and lots of toys.

Kamen Rider was always as part of its core, a sci-fi based TV series and one of the younger long runners of the genre. So given that, Time Travel has popped up as a plot every now and then. But now, this trope was going to be front and center as one of the story’s main elements.

It is an odd coincidence they chose now to do this, as a certain British show made its return 2 years ago and was taking the world by storm. Another is the choice of a train as the time vehicle that didn’t need 1.21 GW. Kamen Riders ride motorcycles or in rare cases sports cars, so a Train seemed like left field thinking, but it was propelled by a motorcycle. Because when you think of breaking the space-time continuum and controlling it at will, you apparently need a Honda. We can assume in this world that if Honda can make robots that can climb stairs and play soccer, they can make train pushing timebikes powered by chroniton-flux-inverse neutron technobabbly whatchamawhozits.

But, Japan loves trains as it is an integral part of their public transportation system and it is fast and reliable transport thanks to the bullet trains. Trains also capture the imaginations of young boys, which means there is money to be made for toymakers like Bandai.

Now after a few seasons full of dark subjects like suicide, people being eaten, betrayal and such, the Powers that Be decided to lighten the mood a bit and have a slightly more comedic series. Toei producers chose Yasuko Kobayashi to be the head writer for this series (whom Toonami anime fans might recognize later on as the head writer for the Attack on Titan anime). 

Den-O is a love or hate series depending on your tolerance for moments of nonsense and slapstick and having characters who in some fans minds have long overstayed their welcome. The TV series itself and the first few films are fine and even fun, its when the Toei staff decided to drag it out that things got tiresome to some.

The basis of this series, outside of the concept of time travel, is how humans perceive time itself: How we cherish it and how what we do can impact it no matter how great or small. Some of the victims of the villains, The Imagin, all have regrets about time: “What if I did something different back then?”, “How can I move on from that?, “How can I face the future knowing this is going to happen and there is nothing I can do to change it?”.

At one point, the universe of Kamen Rider is said to have a concept, part of how Time works is how humans perceive it, events that happen are remembered and stay in people’s minds and that becomes the reality. There is a bit of truth to this, some of the actions we make have consequences, some bigger than others. But also, the connections we make in the time we have and how we interact with others can shape the world. Still, the concept also sort-of does not work as Time is wibbly wobbly stuff and would exist with or without humans as a fundamental force of all creation that is absolute.

The passengers of time

The star lead, Takeru Satoh, made the show work as unlike his predecessors, Takeru portrayed a more average hero. Rather than be a chiseled shrine to masculinity or a man who is naturally gifted at being a warrior after a few fights. Ryotaro Nogami...is us if we were given the power of the belt.

He is clumsy, when he sees a monster for the first time, he freaks out and faints, he stumbles during fights and flails around his weapon. But then he grows as a person and becomes the hero we want him to be. Just as we do in life, we grow into something better if we strive for it. In essence, Ryotaro is one of the most human Kamen Riders in the series as he isn’t perfect, but his heart is in the right place.  Another factor of Takeru Satoh was his comedic timing and ability he had to play a character who had more than one character in his body at times.

Praise should also go to main suit actor Seiji Takaiwa, as this was one of his most difficult roles. He had to pretend to be anywhere from 2 to 6 characters sharing the exact same body on top of being another character and every form of Den-O. It was grueling on him as he had to move his limbs in different directions or posture in different ways or even act like he had voices in his head and try to remember who acted what way. As seen in a stage show interview, it could drain him to the point of exhaustion.

Some actors were from previous Kamen Rider shows, such as Rina Akiyama from Agito and Yuichi Nakamura from Hibiki.

Given the extension this series has gone through, it is only fair to show the other players in the story so newcomers don’t get lost before going onto the Riders. (Yes, plural but we’ll get to that later.)

The DenLiner Crew (lovingly named Team DenLiner by fans)

Owner

Owner is the..Owner of the DenLiner, a mysterious figure who holds authority on his train and is very eccentric. Often he speaks in riddles about time and only lets on those who have a ticket or a Rider Pass on his train. He, like the main hero, is a Singularity Point, a being who can exist outside of time and be unaffected by Imagin. He also does not like fighting on his train and will throw anyone off for doing so.

Naomi

Naomi is the stewardess of the DenLiner's dining car, which the gang frequents regularly. She is a sweet and bubbly young woman who serves coffee to the passengers of the train, though her coffee is terrible and only Imagin seem to like its taste. She does get moments to shine and help out when the chips are down, but even when she doesn’t take part of the action, she seems perfectly content taking orders for hungry passengers and meeting new faces like other Kamen Riders.

Hana

Warning: Spoilers!

Hana is Ryotaro’s niece from the future (though she doesn’t know this). She, like her uncle, is a Singularity Point. As a young woman, she time traveled to 2007 and bestowed her uncle a Rider Pass to become Den-O in order to protect and restore the future that the Imagin had destroyed.

Due to her future being rewritten/restored at a certain point in the show, she de-ages to a 10 year old, presumably because the restored time had a ripple effect and changed the year she would be born.

Yuto Sakurai/Kamen Rider Zeronos Altair Form

Yuto Sakurai is the fiance of Ryotaro’s sister Airi and Hana’s future father. Yuto is a bit headstrong, but he means well.

There are actually two of them during the TV show, one from the past and one from the future. The Zeronos System is one that involves personal sacrifice, as each time a Zeronos card is used, Yuto erases his own time or rather the memories made from his existence. He later gets red cards that use his own memories to become Zero Form, which along with the green/yelow cards eventually erases his future self.

The cards unlike many trinkets are expendable as they fade away after a certain period of use. Eventually, nobody outside of a Singularity Point remembers him and he loses the love of his life (but he hopes to return to her someday.). He defends time along with Den-O despite the risks along with his Imagin...

Deneb

Deneb is an Imagin who rebelled against his kind and decided to help Yuto fight by forming a contract with him. He is something of a butler to Yuto and takes care of him, but this often leads to embarrassing moments for Yuto. He is very polite and friendly but can be serious in battle, merging with Yuto to become Zeronos Vega form or the Denbick Buster cannon in Zero form.

Kotaro Nogami/New Den-O

Kotaro is another Rider from the Nogami family from the distant future. He is Ryotaro’s Grandson. When first meeting his grandfather in the past, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. This is due to the fact he named him and by his time period, Kotaro is a country bumpkin name and he has inherited his grandfather’s infamous bad luck.  He eventually learns to respect his grandpa and takes over his role as Den-O when Ryotaro decides to step down.

Up Next...the Taros, the Hero and the villains!

The Climax is only getting started!

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Ancient Magus’ Bride 24 (FINAL) | ReLIFE OVAs 2 - 4 (FINAL) | Mahou Shoujo Ore 1 | Gakuen Babysitters 12 (FINAL) | Zoku Touken Ranbu Hanamaru 12 (FINAL) | Dances with the Dragons 1

The spring season came early on Crunchyroll, but HiDive is locking me out in exchange.

Ancient Magus’ Bride 24 (FINAL)

Aw, c’mon Chise. Beating people up is not how you do things, that’s a shonen protag’s role!

Noticeably, Elias seems to be “the child”.

Who’s the “weirdo”??? Chise? Elias?

The confetti kind of looks like flowers…

Alrightttttttttttttttt…this show just went into lecherous and out of the comfort zone territory when I remembered Chise is 15. Wearing a bridal outfit and exchanging rings. Yipe.

Wait, so what happened to Joseph’s eye? The dragon arm I get, but…

I was wondering what was under those gloves of Elias’s, so now you know. *The More You Know star shoots past*

I’m kinda confused. That ending was sweet but it was abrupt and didn’t solve much. Actually, I think it bred quite a few questions I won’t get answered anywhere but the manga…ergh. Dangit, manga!

ReLIFE OVA 2

Didn’t think I’d see Sumire (the volleyball teacher) again.

Interestingly the kanji combo for human and fish (in that order) is “mermaid” but the other way around is “fishman”…hmm…

I had some yakisoba recently. It has a distinctive flavour to it…dang, now I’m hungry.

It’s the brother again. He’ll be important, alright.

For reference, the ED is CHE.R.RY buy YUI.

Mahou Shoujo Ore 1

Yay! This show is my first debut for the spring season so I couldn’t be happier – I’m actually getting my magical boys (unlike my magical girls, which are likely to be locked away behind HiDive’s paywall)! It’s not about rocks (LOL) but ore in this case refers to the Japanese male pronoun.

Ah, this is so PreCure. It’s like I’ve come home. Welcome home, Saki!

Nice boat!

That “It was all a dream” definitely isn’t in the original, but it does set people’s expectations up, eh? The ol’ bait-and-switch.

Henshin = Transformation. It’s not “Transform” unless it has suru on the end.

The face in the song subs is a good touch.

Honeyed Flash, eh? (LOL)

Glass Galaxy is the ED if you’re not in the know.

Those stretched faces, kinda like Saitama’s…are from the original manga…(I feel sorry for admitting that now.)

Some animation of Saki is definitely 2010s, but it keeps feeling like this show was from 10 years ago from the stripped-back style. It’s quite the whiplash, but it’s not something I was ever bothered over (if you remember Saiyuki Reload Blast, that was a similar dilemma).

“…you’re an old hag once you’re over 15…” – Aside from vaguely calling back YOI’s young ages for retiring (which makes me kind of sad), there are PreCure girls who are over 15 (Cure Moonlight was 17) and the Outer Senshi were all older than 15 with the exception of Sailor Saturn, IIRC.

I think the OKAN on Sayori’s apron is meant to be short for okaasan, although I might be wrong there. (*still imagining what a wonderful world we live in, to be blessed with an adaption of this manga…even with two anime-original characters…*)

Okay…there was one shot there that reiterated why I don’t watch anime in public.

Monokubo, eh? (LOL)

Gakuen Babysitters 12 (FINAL)

Did Kotaro always call Saikawa Sai-chan???

Yikes, Kamitani isn’t that discerning about the age of who he hits after all. I thought it was just Taka-related abuse for most of the episodes…or maybe I’m generalising too much.

Eh, insensitive mu-oh, never mind.

Is the present for Ryuichi a smartphone? It is, isn’t it?

So that’s the end of another series. See you next time!

Zoku Touken Ranbu Hanamaru 12 (FINAL)

According to the rules of the game, you can only have one party in one time period at a time. Therefore, by bending the rules, you make for a more compelling anime…huh. They did it in Katsugeki too, although it was in a slightly different way.

Oh boy, I looked into this and this white-looking outfit is Yasusada’s Kiwame! Ooh, I was looking forward to this in Katsugeki and I finally get it! (I left before Kiwame was a thing, so I finally get to vicariously live out my Kiwame fantasies, LOL.)

If you’ve made it this far in TR, you obviously know how much Yasusada values Okita-kun…I’m so proud of my boy, even if he wasn’t a particularly special sword to me…

It’s wonderful to know that feeling – that I’ve supported TR from before the animes happened because of one measly sword known as Kashuu Kiyomitsu. That I now have friends all over the world with their own favourite swords who I can chat to anytime I want, because Toshiki Masuda got involved with a small franchise that got really big (in Japan). I think that’s a power of Boueibu’s “rookie system”, if I were to give it a name.

…With that, I say “farewell” to 2 seasons of Hanamaru! See you again someday!

ReLIFE OVA 3

Aw, Kariu and Ohga out on a lovers’ holiday…these guys are too adorable.

Arata says “You were made for each other” with such a straight face I can’t even…LOL.

Is it just me, or did they get more inventive with the backgrounds because the OVAs were straight to disc content?

My eyes have gotten so attuned to CGI I can tell the basket is CGI…I think that’s what made me toss (Space Battleship) Tiramisu off my list temporarily, come to think of it.

Arata still smokes? Oh dear…

Ferret Town, LOL.

Give Arata some eye contact, Hishiro! C’mon!

I think it’s kind of obvious, but they picked blue for the boys and pink for the girls in the background.

These picture slideshows are pretty cool (kinda like YoI…?). Less animation to do, as well.

The shop Hishiro looks at provides ramen and tsukemen.

Huh? For some reason, when I look at this “Genus Port” place, I’m reminded of a place which I think is in Los Angeles (or it could be in Las Vegas or Hong Kong, I don’t remember). There’s a bunch of shops around there, a fountain and a painted sky on the roof, plus a fancy yellow brick “building” in the middle somewhere. I think it was vaguely Italian or other European-looking in shop aesthetic, but that’s all I can get from the depths of my brain…

The words “grow up” have a very special meaning here in two different ways.

I’m still wondering, why does the guy always have to fall in love first? If the guy isn’t in love first, the girl sometimes gets laughed at or people just call it a transient crush. It’s quite saddening, to get your feelings crushed like that.

Score one! The song is La La La Love Song by Toshinobu Kubota with Naomi Campbell.

The final episode is called “Life”, which doesn’t match “Seed” or “Need” at all. Nor does it match “Date”. Fair weather charms would be teru teru bouzu.

ReLIFE OVA 4 (FINAL)

Did I see the map of Japan on the wall in the original series??? Or is that a new addition?

Aw, this scene where they just cry for a minute really got to me. Not that I cried, but it really hit me in the feels.

I’ve never heard this phrase before…”pat answer”? Okay…?

I think Onoya just wanted senpai to notice her, LOL.

The revelation that Arata wanted to work for the ReLIFE lab startled even me, and I tackled the series long before a lot of people got in on it!

Yoake-san’s got a moon on his icon. Considering his surname means “daybreak” and one kanji means “night”, it makes complete sense.

I couldn’t read the nameplate, but you can tell from the clothing colours that’s Ohga’s house.

I found this article on hikikomori one time and thought it would be relevant to share here, actually. It’s talking about a company that gets hikikomori to be social again through repeated correspondence…kind of like ReLIFE itself.

As soon as I saw the line “Fate may tear us far apart”, I knew the ED for this episode was “Button”.

Why do I get the feeling there’s still something left for me to see…?

I was so dang close to crying when they remembered each other! Gah! I need to recover, but I have some new episodes on tap as well. So, with that, it’s the end of our time with each other, ReLIFE. Farewell, and until next time.

Dances with the Dragons 1

I think, out of simplicity, I’ll call this show “Saredo” (“Even Still”) instead. As to how I was attracted to this show, it was because not only are there some great voices at the helm, but I think “physics x magic” could really go places as a concept.

Guy with big sword. It reminds me of a lot of shonen anime, like D Gray Man…or even Deltora Quest…

“SareRyuu”? That seems like a strange name, I think “Saredo” suits it better.

The only thing I fixated on in Gigina’s full name was the weird mention of “Ashley” somewhere in it. If anyone were to tease him, that would be a wide opening for them to attack him with.

This is looking like a Grancrest all over again, which spells bad things (LOL) about this show. Despite that, an Aini seems to be the spell Gayus (learnt his name from promo material) was using.

Gayus and Gigina have a great rapport. If they decide to go comedy with this show, it seems that would be very welcome here.

My mind is blown…it’s a sword, but it also provides armour and kind of acts like a gun in how it does that…amazing…

I feel like I’m really back in the driver’s seat, now that I’m getting my first new action anime in 2 seasons! Winter wasn’t bad but it can’t keep an action anime fan down!

Gigina’s a competent dragon slayer, eh? Slay me instead *wink wink, nudge nudge*! (LOL)

So an Altar is a special type of dragon, one that’s so special it has to be in a league of its own. Duly noted.

This show is screaming for a dub, for some reason…that’s my thoughts on it, anyway.

Notably, Kenryu in Japanese could translate to “sword dragon” with the right kanji combo.

Wow, this show is really political. I’ve getting Grancrest vibes all over again…

Uh…I guess I was wrong on the overall quality of humour in this show. The Horton joke was so black, I couldn’t see through it!

Is it possible in this world to arrest a dragon for murder? Or do you just slay it?

“They must be pretty good.”

Gayus is such a Kunikida, LOL. Except he drinks…uh…coffee? Tea? Not sure what his beverage of choice is, actually.

Juku and jushiki…are you trying to make my head spin with all the tongue twisters???

Wow, those green gems even have names like guns!

Well…Gigina isn’t quite Dazai, but I guess every straight man needs someone more frivolous to play off of…

“Falusi” appears to be a Hungarian word for villager (at least, Wiktionary said that when I checked it)…which obviously doesn’t work here. Stupid fantasy words…

The cut between the screaming man and Gayus wasn’t the best…

“Science-oriented”? Y’mean there are ones that are magic-oriented as well? Ooh.

*squints at this dude with black hair* He kinda looks like Ibusuki Ata (Boueibu Happy Kiss).

Someone went all out on the aesthetic for the ED! Wowee…

Even though these fantasy words and names are going to make my head spin and I’m sure this show isn’t for everyone, I’ll be keeping it on for now. You can tell it’s more competent than Mahou Shoujo Ore from the air it holds, but Mahou Shoujo Ore is a lot more fun…so this’ll be a tough decision if I have to cut either of them…