#like that manga explained how harsh world we live in (lol)

[hungnitan]

Man, watch and reading Blue Lock to catch up from anime last episode to latest chapter really tiring...

Yups I watch 24 episode (today's only the leftover 8 episode) and read for moreless 100 chapter in almost 10 hours and not sleeping at all

My verdict (anime) : it's pretty good aside the fact our mc is just too much thinker for important shots like oh come on you have that much time to think while receiving a pass to shots ? (Here I thought Mikumo world trigger is pretty busybody himself lol) so yeah it's become boring since that scene keep happening again and again until every Nagi scenes and from ep 19 Isagi Barou parts sparks some spices, Barou for having an unpredictable gameplay while Nagi... well he's Nagi (lol) no one gonna hate him !

this manga moreless like most sport manga which is predictable for overall story but unpredictable for it's process. Well I kinda like they explained a detail ways of playing soccer shogi but explaining Isagi mind working while game still on is a nono to me (lol)

For anime until episode 24 I guess it's still 7/10 for me since those 24 episode is morelike a prologue so the interesting parts came from Japan u20 vs blue lock team later which is become 8.5/10 depends on anime team can execute it better or not.

Can I recomended this manga ? For online reader it's a no. Hate to say this but sports manga especially sports using a ball is a very slow pace manga to build the tension so online manga especially weekly reader will depressed soon enough plus I can sense that manga still have a long way to go. So I recomended everyone to buy physical copy or binge watch anime after years or two later ! Why the timelag ? It's just my words of saying don't rush on this manga since it's potential still not shine enough and sadly this manga got noticed too soon because of world cup fomo that's why I hate fomo lol. So far the only thing I appreciate in this manga is the fact I know Nagi like soccer gameplay is exist just like Aomine Kurobas impossible plays do. That's just shows how much Blue Lock still not cover soccer team play deeply and still like diamond in the rough.

PS : I firsthandly thought of Border (World Trigger) for blue lock facility while Shingeki no Kyojin and Drifters on the characters distorted eyes and smiles (lol)

[hanjo-love]

Now I became selfish and I hope the shard is showing Hanji being saved by Kiyomi or something. She go the worst treatment and if Isayama was afraid of the backslash like you said why make it even worse with those parallels with eremika? Is he preparing the Fandom for another levihan moment? I'm tired of EVERYONE surviving but her, Kiyomi's kindness really??? And Onyankopon, while I don't hate him, he survived a plane crash and he doesn't add much yet he is there for being the editor's favorite, Yelena is there after all she did and she adds even less, and the people titanized will revert to human (or at the very least Isayama's favorites will).

Oh anonie, you and me both my friend, you and me both 😔 Beware, a long rant-ish meta is ahead of you lol

I have absolutely no fucking idea why Yams decided to treat Hanjo like shit. You know, after a long time of denying her death, I was starting to accept it, because she was finally free, free of the burden and pain and finally reunited with the people she missed and longed for the most. But then Yams decided to slap us all in the faces saying there's no happy & peaceful afterlife in snk and Hanjo was probs only hallucinating because of her 4 years long depression? Well then, fuck you Yams! What was that even for? Isayama never backed off of showing us the horrors of death in snk, no matter how important the characters and how brutal their deaths really were. Still, he never showed us Hanji's actual death or dead body. He kept it misterious and his vague answers only made it worse. So it's only natural for us to expect a plot twist, right? That's the reason all of us gathered various hints in the manga, anime and his interviews. And lemme tell you, these theories are far more logical, better explained and have less plot holes than the entire final arc smh (yes I'm salty, fight me lol)

I hate to admit it, my inner self is still in denial and fighting, but Hanjo ain't coming back folks. We won't get any background story and the misterious shard will never be explained to us either. Yams had more than enough time to bring Hanjo back, if he truly wanted to. But he didn't. And now with only one chapter and so many unanswered questions left, there's no time for Hange's return. Why would he even do that anyways? Hanjo isn't important to him or to the story anymore. To us she is, always was and always will be ❤️ You know, I'm so fucking desperate to see her again, I'll even take one last panel of Levi remembering her, just like in ch136. Yams just let us see Hanjo one more fucking time 🙏🏻 I need to say my proper goodbyes to my one&only comfort character, who's influenced my life like no one else ever did ❤️

Back to Levihan (I don't think I can answer an ask without my biased and trashy shipper ass butting in lmfao): the question why Yams confirmed Levihan as canon if he didn't intend to bring Hange back and reunite her with Levi to make us him happy again? Well, isn't it obvious? This man is the devil incarnate. THIS MAN HAS NO FUCKING CHILLS lmfao JK y'all before someone declares war on me and my blog haha Well anonie, I feel like Yams really wanted to confirm his initially planned ships as canon, before the manga ends. And he chose the safest way possible. Easy as that. Also he said he is going for a bittersweet ending and what's more tragic (in this literal hell) than separating lovers, ergo Eremika and Levihan.

Now to something else, that's been bothering me for a while now and I'll use your ask anonie to share my thoughts with the world even though nobody asked lmao tbh I'm a bit disappointed with Armin. I love him, I really do. He's my precious cinnamon roll and my fave 104th kiddo. But honestly, I was expecting a bit more of the alleged "hero who will safe humanity". In fact, I'm sure Hanjo only died for Armin to become the new commander. That's it. That was the reason she had to die. Yams glossed over her to make Armin shine. But in fact, Levi's the one who's giving orders ever since Hange has left them. I might me salty, but I really hope the talk with Zeke (and probs Ymir as well, we still might have a chance to see the dialog that made Ymir change her mind) and his titan nuke weren't the only things he did as "humanity's hero" in this final arc. For some people this might me enough, for me it isn't. It wasn't worth Hange's sacrifice. Also what made me really sad was Armin himself glossing over Hanjo when he remembered Erwin Danchou, but not her. Like she didn't just pass away an hour ago to save their pathetic asses. Ugh this is making me hella mad, ngl. Hanjo didn't deserve this treatment! She gave her all for this! To save the alliance, to "pay the price" for her "sins" as the SC commander and to save humanity. I can't deal with how all of them and the fandom apparently forgot about that.

Now on to "Kiyomi's kindness" lol I wasn't really mad at Gabi for saying this as most of the fandom was. I won't go into detail why she isn't really a rationally thinking character (yo guys, you do remember she's a 12 year old kid, right?), but it's a fact that she didn't care for Hange enough to mention her. I mean, why would she? She barely even knew her. Also we don't really know what's gonna happen with Yelena, Kiyomi and her delegation. I don't know if I'm reading too much into it, but I feel like Kiyomi accepted her death with saying "that's not enough atonement for what I did anyway". I mean they don't know if the alliance will win (they probably think they won't) and they're in the middle of literally nowhere. So I feel like Gabi said that because Kiyomi sacrificed herself (and the others on that ship) willingly, for Gabi, Falco and Annie getting a little chance of surviving and helping the alliance. But I get the rage of the fandom. Especially because no one, except for Levi, remembered Hange after her noble sacrifice.

As for Yelena and Onyankopon, there obviously has to be someone from outside of Paradis to survive the rumbling, otherwise it wouldn't make a lot of sense, I guess. I like Onyankopon a hecking lot ❤️ precious boi was literally crying for Hanjo 😭 Yelena on the other hand deserves what she got. Death would be too easy and kind for her tbh. She has to live with the consequences, just like Kiyomi, so I'm actually glad they survived. So my guess is, it's not really about who's Yams' favorite and what these people are contributing to the story, but it's rather about a logical ending and a good conclusion of the story.

I agree with you about the ones who have been titanized. They'll for sure revert back to humans. It's not really Yams' style to kill of an important character like Gabi, whose character development he's been forcing on us for quite a while now lol. I'm pretty positive about an ending with the titan curse being broken and bringing the titanized people back to human beings (probs also the millions of colossal titans?). It's only natural for Yams to end the story with the titan curse being lifted. Otherwise it wouldn't make sense to end his story at this point. But let's not forget what a big ass troll Yams is lmao you never really know what he's up to, so let's prepare for the unimaginable lmfao

I'll probably never forgive Isayama for what he did to Hange, his best written character, how he completely ruined her and threw her away as disposable, just to make other characters "shine". HER DEATH WAS POINTLESS AND IT DID NOT FUCKING CHANGE ANYTHING! That's the harsh truth y'all. Yams betrayed Hanjo and us AND FOR WHAT?

Thanks for the ask anonie and sorry I turned this into my personal rant lmao hope you still enjoy reading my thoughts on this ❤️

[claudemblems]

Honestly I don't perceive it as the character's deaths were for nothing. Rather I see it as Isayama saying how genocide will never lead to something good or to a viable solution. Eren commited genocide and accomplished peace for several, several centuries. He gained time and helped his friends live peaceful lives (which was what he always said he wanted to do, as downright unacceptable as his methods were), however, while using a tool such as mass genocide to achieve his peace, he set in stone an inevitable and rather violent future for the next generations. What I think I made of the ending is that we can't expect everlasting peace if the procedure to get to it was so bloody and inhuman. Actually, we can't expect everlasting peace at all.

I think my perceptions of their deaths (talking about Jean, Armin, Levi, y'know, all of them) would have been different if they died due to the conflict that resurfaced, however they died of age, which completely changed it for me. As hard as everyone in survey corps fought for peace, eventually it was going to shatter, because humans are not only different but inmensly cruel, not to mention the bases of this gained peace were murders and violence, said bases could dwindle easily. And even if I'd liked for peace to last forever in the aot world, I don't think that would've been a realistic approach to the situation taking into account all the events that transpired.

Digging a little more into their deaths, I believe everyone got the closure (like Levi getting to see one last time the survey corps, thus helping him ease his lingering guilt and regret regarding their deaths) and evolution they needed. Everyone's deaths served to settle centuries of peace to come, however as I said, peace is hardly an everlasting blessing, which is why in my opinion weighting if whether their sacrifices achieved peace or not to assign a value to their deaths (and lives, for that matter) is something a little severe, as the term 'meaningless' is a little harsh for me.

Of course the ending has errors and is far from perfect. For example, I think that the topics of peace, violence and life at the end (talking about paradis getting destroyed centuries later) couldn't possibly be well explained in two panels, which is a huge downside.

(I have to say though, whether someone liked the ending or not, it is pretty fun to discuss so that's a pro!)

I don't think it ruined the series for me, even if I was a little confused when I first read it, I just needed some time to think about it. This is just my opinion tho! (you are the first person I've ever told my thoughts on this because I'm scared of pissing someone off :( however I feel safe on your blog so I said screw it lol) And I understand and respect if you didn't like the ending! I just, idk, felt like expressing myself 'cause I never do in fear the fandom might kill me. If you don't want to answer this long thing, don't worry! Thank you for reading this tho, please take care!!!

Like I mentioned before, I haven't been in the fandom for many years like everyone else, so I'm not really happy or angry at the ending. It's just there, and even if I think maybe it could have gone differently, I have no desire to attack Isayama for the decisions he made in his series. And yeah, don't worry about making me mad (or anyone else, for that matter)! I still don't know anything about Ymir and everything leading up to the end of the series, so it's not like I feel particularly strong about its conclusion. I agree with what you mean about it staying realistic, and you make a good point with saying how Eren committing genocide isn't going to bring peace with it. I think Isayama still somehow could have found a middle ground where it shows the reality of war but also left the readers satisfied. I think it's just a problem I have with manga endings in general--there's so much build up throughout several volumes within the series, and the story is having to wrap up in a couple volumes or less. The deaths of the characters shouldn't have a value behind them, that I understand, but with the hint of titans maybe coming back, I guess it just makes me and others wonder what the point is. Like, what makes Eren's story special? If the cycle is going to be repeated, what makes Eren's life and leagcy that much different than everyone else who has gone through/who will experience titan rule? Tbh I'm just more confused than anything but once the rest of the series gets animated it will probably clear up some confusion lol

Basically, I don't have a like or dislike for the ending, and I think it's just hard in manga series to create a really satisfying and concise ending. People who can't handle someone else having a different opinion shouldn't be on the internet or fandoms in general. Feel free to express how you feel. Don't let the toxic people tell you what to think!

[sassaetcie]

Silver x Idia (The Molten Charcoal) chapter 6

I genuinely do not know how to schedule what’s going on in my brain, especially since that fic has been over for a while

-I'm sorry, I don't really understand what you said. Though... I know I don't find it awful to hear.

This was one of the numerous neutral ends to be expected for sure. He was too nice to tear my heart apart, and yet not in love. I was probably... lucky in a sense. How could this prince made of alabaster, no, dragging himself, no... climbing a mount of alabaster he had forged by himself... How could he even look at me without being shaken by disgust? I should have swooned for even being looked at and not mocked... No! No... I don't deserve something bad because of them... As long as I... I'm sorry Ortho... Why am I the one living? Why aren't you the one who has lived on... You always have been so lively and outgoing... I'm just... I've always have been like this but... your death made me understood that I wasn't just introvert as fuck... I just hurt everyone no matter what I do...

-That being said... I don't really understand feelings, especially stronger ones like the one you seemed to describe. You really made a line on each of my feature, didn't you? That's praise-worthy. I would like to understand them... with you by my side. We are both lost, this should be easier if one of us suddenly understand. Of course, this only works if you agree with my proposition... I hope I am not being harsh. I don't intend on hurting you.

-H-huh? Does t-t-t-t-t-hat mean you... w-w-want us to meet again? Later? Again?

-Yes, I want us to meet again. I hope I will not fall asleep before, though.

-Oo-o-oh, speaking of this... We may l-look for an... antidote? For your... huh... sleeping troubles... O-only if you want me to h-h-h-help, of course! I would understand if you feel like I'm pitiying you, but I s-s-swear I'm not, I really just want to help even if it's probably some means to only satisfy myself, I'm...

-...It is true that I never truly saw you help other people. That makes me even more curious. Hmm, I will just need some time when Old... Lilia Vanrouge and Sebek are available to watch over Mal... Draconia. I cannot let my guard down, after all. I know nothing happened yet but... It could, probably.

-O-o-o-okay, p-please tell me whenever you a-are ready to s-s-s-s-see me again, t-t-t-hen... You can tell Ortho for sure... I think?

I made sure one ending was pushed away by another strategy. Of course, I shoud stop thinking of this as a endings-crossroad but... My... love for Silver is different, without a doubt. Not especially better, or worse. It's just... not something I can explain with... love. Do I deserve to call this... love, anyway? I could just lack affection to this point or want to make a reality ouf ot fiction. But I need to dream too. If I don't, I'll be... like them, once again. Yet... if I... need to dream and don't dream on my own, I am lying too. But was this "love" invented by adults or non-adults, anyway?

-I see. Thanks for this... date. It was interesting, and I am... glad, I think. That you talked to me with such expressiveness. I wish I could thank my Old Man the way you told me all of these things.

-H-hm... I will n-n-n-n-n-need to first update Ortho's memory... But... we can... maybe? Meet again... Like... huh...

-Well, not during my timetable for sure. I cannot afford to ashame the family, all this stuff... even if I think I really should not. My Old Man is a kind man and I don't want to betray him.

-O-oo-okay... wh-hen do you t-t-think you'll be free... then?

He could have run away using this option. He was the one handling them between these perfect phalanx born from the sea. ...He wasn't the only one, of course. Luck... Luck? Did luck exist to this point... Azul certainly did beat up luck itself. I guess luck is some kind of laziness from myself, lol... Probably only for and from myself... Luck would be reflected differently in this water I see only blue and grey, I guess.

-Hmm... I'll tell you when I am sure my timetable will not change.

Or did he take another ending? Telling one lie to say the truth right after, or the other way round... He could tell two lies, or tell the truth forever. But... doubting him was already a stupid thing to do, actually. I mean, why should I have doubt him? If he didn't like me.. Fine by me... That was what I expected in most cases anyway. But if he didn't tell me he actually couldn't stand me? Then, it was... probably alright. I didn't need to doubt him that much, did I? Or that would mean betraying myself again. Yeah... boring af.

-O-okay! I... huh... hope you'll have a good day...

I can't remember if I really wished from all of my body, from top to toe... Or if it was some formal greeting I tried on him. I guess I wanted him to be happy nonetheless yet did I feel it this way? I can't remember. No feeling has shaken me neither my heart nor my brain. So, was it a kind lie of some kind, or some strange truth? I cannot recall. Or is there anything to be recalled, anyway? Perhaps I cannot reminisce because it never happened in the first place. His icy hair floated outside the shadow, and didn't melt, yeah. His hands of soft mid-water went away with him. His eyes of ocean, he brought them away as well. Or perhaps was he a sailor of some other world in the end? Surely most people were fusing along this ocean and stars, but he wasn't. So was I... somewhere else but some kind of... sailor as well? This sea of feelings was one my eyes I couldn't set on. Or was he... Sure, I wanted to ride over this space of water. See my reflection... my reflection. Maybe seeing this hair... wet. All of these flames, engulfed in some bubbles I couldn't touch... yet? I remembered trying to gather my limbs when Silver was nowhere to be seen. I guess I didn't collapse because no one was there as well... Or at least, my eyes didn't catch anyone as I was getting away from the tree restored to its original role. Apple trees only. No apple was on the ground, or yet at least. None of the red shining was separated from the green shining. They were together... Happy together, right? Somehow. Well, more like because apples were not ripe yet but. As soon at this apple was on its own, it would... live a few days. And rot away. They were... happy together. Unhappy separated. Would I...? Since I was unhappy of... this hair which never had been mine... Could I be... blessed with happiness, visited by happiness, granted happiness, if I were to cut off this blazing "blood"? I... just slept again, once I was back in the heat.

[Started Recording at : 1PM : Eighth ? Day]

-Big Bro! Big Bro! Please open the door, I have some really good news!

-Huuuh? What the... O-o-o-o—ortHO? Did something bad happen but you try to see it as good?!

-No, no, I really mean it! It's a... good piece of news!

-T-Then you can say... it t-t-through the door, right? I'm in the middle of something and I

-You're not! You usually let me open the door even if you're in the middle of a game, don't you? :(

-Ehhh?!

-I'm going in!

The door was not invaded by Hell, no matter what Hell was. No stains invaded the black and white limbs made of illusory obsidian. A superficial obsidian, yet made out of idealism. Five fingers touched the door, even if it could very likely open up by a presence. Nothing burned the prosthesis. Blue and purple lights crossed each other between figures and mangas piled up, whether by chronological order, graphic preferences and reflections, randomness or significance. Yet only these two lights, as full of shades as they are, shared no more shades. A ridiculous prairie-green, a small yellow-sun, a azure-sky, lights... were not used, yet, probably. The heatwave's spirit was sitting on a bed, chained up by his unfortunate owner. The Ignihyde bed was being sat on. The blanket was barely away between the ten asynchronous fingers.

-Were you sleeping, Big Bro?!

-... Y-yeah... I tried to... I was kind... of... exhausted... and my head felt dizzy as fuck so I-I just...

-So that makes two good news today!!!

-I... guess s-s-so... S-s-s-so what... why did... you come here?

The little brother closed the door anyway.

-Silver told me that he was free on tomorrow!

-Huh? W-w-w-w-wait, he's already free?! I-i-I don't mean t-t-t-t-t-t-hat I don't want to see h-h—him and all! Just that... I thought he would... have been longer?

-He told me he was very curious to see you again so he tried to be free as soon as possible! He also told me he was... ahem! "Sorry if I fail to understand your feelings by being too fast when it comes to see you again".

His fingers for sure made the blanket fly some centimeters, then go back to wrapping them. Two phalanx hid before going out again, then replaced by some others. Perhaps would it end when all hands were to be outside or inside. The friction definitely did not throng through his headphone, at least the thing he could handle for sure. Wasn't he choosing which sounds were going back and forth right now? Whether he was confused, happy or sad was hard to see. Or maybe both, actually? One hand disappeared while the other aired him. His hand ventilated him, then. A tight smile pierced the frozen yet burning blue lips, covering a range of shark teeth that didn't fit all of this. He... grabbed one of his other hand.

-Are you alright... big bro? You didn't answer and now you're acting... weird, if I may say so.

-I'm... Uuuuh...! I feel stupid but... This is my hand! And this one too! They're... mine!

-Well... this is your body, so yes.

-I mean... I know! But... m-m-my hands... My mouth feels weird, but not my hands...

-And yet you're smiling, Big Bro? O-o

-I AM?!

Idia raised his arms toward the smile going out of range. Why was it acting on its own, and not his hands? He spread himself in his own fingers, fiddling with the anomaly which was truly one, among the body getting rid of these things. He was made of these hundred anomalies before. So now... there were "these" ones left. But these were only "fixed". The others would probably keep on acting on their own... Or was it supposed to? Some water escaped through two symetrical curiosities, painted blue by some inheritance as well.

-Big Bro, should I tell you that you're crying as well? Are you sure everything's okay? I can tell Silver to postpone the date if necessary... :(

-N-n-n-no! I'm... I'm alright. This is just weird to explain. I'll try to explain to him first and then I'll tell you what the fuck happened... okay? I think. Is that okay? Am I being weird, right now?!

-...Okay so I'll tell him that you're available tomorrow on 6pm?

-Y-yes... t-thanks, Ortho. Where would be the date, though?

-Near the apple tree to "begin with", as he told me.

-"To begin with"?! I... I'm scared now... But I shouldn't, right, right? It's Silver we're talking about, he probably miscommunicated... Like I usually do... 6pm by the apple tree, the one where we met... He will be alone, right, right?

-...well, yes. Why should he be accompanied, big bro?

-I-i-i-I dunno! I just was worried about stuff and... I'm just huh... That's all? I asked everything I had to ask?

-I... guess so! So I'll be off, big bro! Please call me if something goes wrong!

-Y-yes... H-huh! Wait... Did you... have... had some troubles with your memory?

Shroud coerced his hands into forming one, to escape from anxiety or hide something else. The tears were already dried, but surely he would not mind crying again if needed. But maybe not now.

-I don't think so, Big Bro! Please don't worry about me for the moment, let's be sure you end up in a healthy relationship with Silver to ensure you two a beautiful ever-after!

-Are you s

The one who desired to acquire a different type of water, who did not see water as such, put away his feet walking on the ground, flying through the doors opening themselves in the magical technology they knew so well.

-...I guess Ortho didn't want to be updated today... He w-w-w-wouldn't be lying to me, right... right.

[Ended Recording at : 1h15 PM : Eighth? Day]

I didn't really know what to do. I mean, that's obvious I didn't, right... I have one day to gather myself and know what I should expect... But what should I even expect? Will we talk again, like nothing happened? No, right, right? He told me my... hair... comforted him... or did I get him wrong? He's also having troubles to communicate... So... What if he... made a mistake? He may have meant... that the warm flames comforted him, but that the blue hue made him uncomfortable... Or he didn't want to hurt me! He's as anxious as me, maybe...? Or at least he got troubles with expressing his feelings, like me for sure. But it can be in a different way... Maybe in a "normal" way? Perhaps...? He always stated what he wanted to tell me, tho. Or did he... really like it? Does he really like it? Is he fond of it? Does he love it? Does he think it's funny, like probably most of people? Or is he...?! Is he some kind of perverse who likes stuff people usually don't...! No, that wouldn't be some kind of perverse stuff. I mean... if being different is being perverse, I need to wash my fucking brain with bleach, lol. But then... what should I expect? We can't possibly sit again under the same tree and wait for an answer, can we? So... what should I do? No, what should I tell Ortho... Wait, should I tell Ortho first so that he can warn Silver about what I want to do?! Wouldn't I be impatient and selfish, though... I don't want to impose but he may also be waiting for me to suggest something for us to do... Or does he want to know more about myself, too?! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Maybe I should go with something simple, but not too simple, too?! What if... I can't really bring one of my console, huuuh... He could think I just want to listen to him as a lo-fi playlist NONONONONONO?! So games are out of place... and I don't want to bring a board game... he could think the same, even if he plays along... Suff suff suff...! No. So... Maybe... drawing with him? No, no, no way. So many people think it's something we do on our own... and we don't talk much usually, nonononono... But I could also show it to him to prove him that it's a wrong way of thinking and... isn't that twisted? I'm sorry Ortho, I'm sorry... Ain't I going back to where I shouldn't?! SuffocationsuffocationsUFFOCATIONSUFFSUFFSUFFSUFFSUFFSUFF

no no no. That's alright. He may ask me something, or may chose something on his own. I just need to be sure it's something I want to do as well, right, right? No videogames, no games, no drawing... Just speaking won't solve the problem, especially if I don't know how to start a conversation and I can't watch tutorials on Youtube, I'll just sound so phony and all... I mean... the most obvious and... normal thing to do would be to invite him to a karaoke or a thing like this? He probably doesn't sing extremely well... so I shouldn't be too ashamed, right? Well, if he does, that would be dangerous because it could endanger my whole Prince Charming's balance stuff... But if he does? That would just be so cool... Yeah... I should go for a karaoke session... But where should I bring him? I can't possibly bring him to my room... right?

I played some games (mostly RPGs lol) to see if there could a good place for a date but... I don't really want it to turn out like an absolutely planned date? A beautiful woodland, a shore where seagulls are singing peacefully, a town above water and full of falling stars... That would really sound like I'm scheming something... So... maybe my room wouldn't be that weird, actually? As long as I don't lock the door it shouldn't sound weird... If Ortho is telling... No, he's obviously telling the truth. Nobody should try to go in as long as Ortho helps me... How long will he need to help me, though... I'm... already the reason why we were separated... and yet he keeps on helping me. Is it because I made him that way? My guilt will never be enough, I know that... I should at least... go with Silver. I'll be less of a burden for him. He'll be... able to walk on his two legs like he wanted to. So... my room would be the best choice. It won't be a fake fancy place... It won't be an expensive stuff I'll do to show off... It won't a place crowded with people where I will throw up or collapse or go insane or screech or become weird or... SuffSUFFSUFFSUFFSUFF No nononono. Let's not think about this one. I guess it would prove him how courageous and all I am but... I can't do this. My Eloquence skill is far too damaged when I'm among people. So... my room would definitely, absolutely be the best choice... And I should be able to play with the speakers so that he spends a good time... Yeah. We got the best wi-fi as well. I should be able to search for lost stuff if he needs me to... Let's... tell Ortho about this. For the last time, I will tell him something that only shows how selfish I am...

[bokuranofandom]

Chapter 95 text translation by Nanami

And yet another chapter is out. To be honest, I wasn’t so hyped because I was sure we already were done with Glen-Eugene conversation and there’s nothing much more to say... oh, how foolish I was.

(well, spoilers ahead!)

Let me start with this - this chapter was one hell to translate...! The context is vague as always, but then, it all starts to get linked together and it means all those lines from all over the manga are being quoted and put in order right now in an attempt to suck out the information from them. It’s a test whether the translation back then was accurate... and given they often lacked context and had multiple meanings, it’s harsh. But to my content, most of them fall nicely into their places and work smoothly together. Aside from one word I somehow omitted in chapter 77... just one small word, which stricken me as odd back then, but I thought it’s my lack of knowledge and just translated it wrong. And now, Ootomo is quoting that one word, because he also thought its use in this sentence was bizarre. Oh, great. Well, I already updated chapter 77 on MangaDex haha. I changed “peacefully” to “for the rest of your remaining time”. Yes, one short kanji can hold such a “long” meaning.

I thought this scene will conclude with E!Zeze finding his answer that he just wanted to let them live and so he won’t drown now in self-pity. But instead, it was just the beginning... It was exciting to see Hiroki on the verge of losing to her anger and just strangling poor Zeze. But their feelings colliding, it gave us a really distressing information... 

Have you ever thought why Evan didn’t want to become the user of such powerful spell himself? Have you ever asked where was the source of the forbidden spell? What was the toll, as each other magic takes a toll on its user? Why it was called "forbidden spell" in the first place?

I did. And I get my answer. And oh boy, Minami and Zeze are so fucked even into this world... shortened lifespan, side effects. No wonder they need to remember it all quickly. And now I’m even more curious about Lucas... about Nishina’s knowledge. They like it or not, now they will have to rely on him, probably.

I love part when Hiroki is sharing her experiences with Moto... in such a positive way. The best boy Moto deserves that at least.

And then, after all that distressing talk, when we almost heard the clock tick-tacking in the background, we see Minami. I really missed his insight! As for the MC of the story (Hiroki seems more like MC now lol) he really was keeping quiet lately... and I’m happy to hear that YES, he caught that E!Zeze’s gaze that first day, when he decided to appear in the school after remembering things. And our bright princess in on the right track... but will he confront Zeze? That will be exciting to see. Not like he has a mountain of things to do in the meantime (like, confronting Aoi). And it’s funny how he overlook the elephant in the room, aka Hiroki being Glen, just because he decided to believe in her. Anyway, the moment he got his old scar back... that was hell scary. Especially because he got it seconds away from the moment of his death. And he will have to explain it to his friends... Ootomo will turn pale when he learns about it. Also, maybe he will get his band-aid again, in the same spot as in the beginning of the story.

Last page is Watanabe meeting at 7:05 am with Abe on the school grounds. It means we are finally past this looong day and start new exciting one. I’m so sorry Watanabe and Abe for not being on hype about your meeting, I’m just starving to know more about the whole “shortened lifespan” thing.

Next chapter is on 28th February!!

[recentanimenews]

The God of High School Script Writer Reveals the Challenges and Rewards of Writing for Action Shows

The God of High School, the newest project in the Crunchyroll Originals lineup, is easily one of the most anticipated titles this season. This action-packed martial arts anime based on the hit WEBTOON series by Yongje Park launching TODAY is for sure the show to check out this season for your shonen battle fix!

In anticipation of today’s launch, we took the time to sit down with the scriptwriter for The God of High School, Kiyoko Yoshimura! In the past, she’s written for anime titles such as GRANBLUE FANTASY: The Animation, GARO -VANISHING LINE-, Sonic X, and now The God of High School. She told us all about her job from her daily schedule as a scriptwriter to the challenges of writing action scenes and the many reasons why you should be watching The God of High School this season!

How did you get your start in writing for anime? I’ve always watched a lot of anime because I enjoy it, but I didn’t aspire to be a scriptwriter right from the beginning. I was an otaku who hoped to be a light novel author and submitted my writing to magazines all the time. I just happened to meet a certain famous scriptwriter on a certain anime fan site, and we started communicating by email. At the time, there was a shortage of anime production staff due to a sudden explosion in the number of anime series being broadcast, so that writer asked me if I wanted to try writing scripts for the project they were doing the series composition for. That project was Jibaku-kun, and I was already a fan of its author, Shibata-sensei, and I was able to dive right into the project since I had already read the manga. So that was my first success, and it was the starting point in getting to where I am now.

    What particular challenges do you face as a writer when adapting a script for anime from existing source material? When I’m in a creative role, I look for the things I personally enjoy and find appealing in the series, whether it’s the characters, the worldview, or the setting, and I focus on those positive feelings as I write. If I don’t feel anything positive toward a series as the writer working on it, then I can’t create something that other people will enjoy. From there, I write the scripts based on consideration of the visuals that the director wants, what everyone hopes the anime will be, and a web of other opinions.

  Are there any common challenges about writing for anime that fans might not realize? This connects to question 2, but I’m generally the type that prefers to write anime based on positive feelings toward it, whether it’s “This is fun,” “I like this,” “This is really interesting,” or “This is so cool.” It makes me happiest when viewers look at something I thought was awesome, and talk about how awesome it is.

  How did you come to work on The God of High School? I worked with Director Park on MAPPA’s VANISHING LINE, and Producer Otsuka asked me to work with them again on this project. VANISHING LINE was very well-received and showed me how amazing Director Park’s work is, so I accepted the job immediately. Also, I personally love battle stories and tales of young people growing up.

    How does adapting a WEBTOON series compare to adapting a manga? I didn’t really notice that many differences. As far as writing scripts goes, I think the best thing about shows based on manga is that the visual composition of each scene in the story already exists, and we can see the image we want to create right from the start. And in GOH’s case, the art and composition of the battle scenes look amazing, so those are the main benchmarks I use to write the scripts.

  What about The God of High School’s story drew you to it most when reading through the original source material? The fact that Mori, Daewi, and Mira start out so distant, but gradually grow closer and more bonded as teammates. Then, after Ilpyo comes into the picture, the scene where the four of them are seen walking away shoulder-to-shoulder really moved me. And also Jegal’s life of unanswered hopes ... He’s an antagonist, but just condemning him alone won’t fix things, and that really made me think about how harsh that kind of world is.

  Could you walk us through a day in the life of a scriptwriter? How do you manage your time throughout the day? An anime writer’s job basically consists of weekly meetings to read each other’s scripts, discussing problem points, going home and making corrections, then resubmitting them and meeting to read them again. It’s quite a mundane cycle. And working on GOH isn’t all that different from working on any other anime. Our meetings involved a lot of staff living in other countries, so we had a lot of remote meetings, but that’s about it. As for my home life, I’m also a mother with a son in elementary school, so I make his breakfast and send him to school in the mornings, help him with his homework, clean the house ... and do some writing in between. When things get really busy, I ask my own mother, who lives in my neighborhood, to help with some of my housework. I can’t express how grateful I am for my family.

  What is the process like for composing a script, from beginning the project to final delivery? The process varies a bit depending on the project, but generally, when I’m doing series composition, I start by coming up with a rough draft of the series as a whole, which is reviewed and discussed by the director and staff. Then we move on to each individual episode’s plot ... deciding what role the number of episodes will play in the series, determining the points where developments happen, and rationing out the work, and from there each writer starts working on their scripts. Occasionally, we’ll be working on a script for a later episode that ends up depicting some development that will require an earlier, not-yet-complete episode to be written in a certain way, so we make those adjustments as needed. When the scripts for all episodes are finished, we pass them along to the production and animation departments, and that concludes the writer’s role. From there, we look forward to seeing the finished product along with the fans!

  Could you tell us how exactly a fight scene looks when you script it? How much of the flow of the battle is in your script? I’ve heard that with things like live-action and tokusatsu series, the fight scenes aren’t written in detail in the scripts; instead, they’re composed right there on the scene by acting and filming specialists. But most anime projects call for fight scenes to be depicted in some degree of detail in the scripts. It directly connects to the time allotment and required number of drawings for the episode, so that needs to be controlled in the scriptwriting stage. At a bare minimum, the script needs to explain who does what, and what effects it has. I don’t usually write every single punch and kick in detail, but in a scene where, for example, a character who was thought to be right-handed suddenly uses their left hand and wins, those details need to be clearly written in the script. In the case of GOH, the battle scenes are composed in very fine detail in the original work, so I generally followed suit in the anime scripts. The most important thing was to make sure the changes in the characters’ feelings as they fought were in agreement with the visual highlights of the animation. If we focused only on the visual depiction, the characters’ emotional expressions would have been left out, and they’d all just be slamming into each other with flashy imagery. Portraying the emotions of a scene through monologues, flashbacks, other characters’ facial expressions, the announcer’s voice, etc., is the most important part of scriptwriting.

  South Korea is a fairly novel setting for an anime. Did writing for a real-world, non-Japanese setting affect how you approached your work at all? While most anime produced in Japan are also set in Japan, there are also many that aren’t, so I didn’t notice that much of a difference. VANISHING LINE, which I worked on with Director Park, was set in America! Still, even though Japan and Korea are geographically close, their languages are quite different (especially the pronunciation), so I did struggle a bit with things like proper nouns and place names.

  Action shows like The God of High School are never just action shows, they also have plenty of comedic and emotional aspects to them as well. Are there any specific tonal scenes you enjoy writing most? One is Mori’s birthday episode. It’s a scene where everything he’s accomplished comes together in the form of a strong bond. Murakoshi-san, the writer of that episode’s script, made that scene extremely emotional. Another is the final preliminary round between Mori and Daewi. It’s the first major climax in the series, and Daewi’s personal drama becomes deeply involved in it, so I tried my best to make it a really intense scene.

    Is there any character in The God of High School you’ve enjoyed writing the most? All the characters do have their own unique charms, but it’s hard to choose just one since it’s much more fun to see how they all bounce off of each other. They’re all strong, remarkable characters, but they have playful sides and even some cute weaknesses that are brought out so skillfully when they’re interacting. Mori and Daewi, Daewi and Mira, Ilpyo and Jegal, Commissioners Q and O, Commissioner Q and Daewi, Taejin and young Ilpyo ... yeah, I just can’t choose (lol)

  The God of High School is, of course, one of the newest Crunchyroll Original productions coming soon. How has working on this production compared to other standard ones you’ve been a part of? Director Park came up with several highly ambitious plans, and he was very passionate about making them into reality, so I couldn’t help feeling like this project was going to turn out well worth all the effort. It was very exciting to work on, and I’m excited to see it when it airs.

  Finally, do you have anything you’d like to say to fans eagerly anticipating the anime’s debut this summer? All of us on the anime staff devoted everything we had to faithfully recreating the intense developments of the original work in animated format. Unlike manga series that you take your time reading at your own pace, the animation will drag all of you into the world of God of High School with the speed and impact of a crashing wave. The action and drama are so fast-paced, you won’t have time to blink! I hope you all enjoy it!

  READ THE OFFICIAL GOD OF HIGH SCHOOL WEBTOON SERIES HERE AND WATCH THE GOD OF HIGH SCHOOL ON CRUNCHYROLL!

Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Sarazanmai Episode 11 [Finale]: “I Want To Connect, So Sarazanmai”

Do you ever just watch an anime episode that’s So Much in so many different ways that it makes you immediately want to lay down and sleep for a hundred years, but in like a good and hopeful way?

Yeah.

It’s very fitting that the final episode title is technically self-referential nonsense that in practice makes complete emotional sense and leaves everything feeling neatly tied together. It just Works [tm].

Thoughts under the cut.

Even though they were in like 5% of this episode I just wanna immediately point out that Reo and Mabu are ALIVE and IN LOVE and my SKIN IS CLEARED. It didn’t exactly happen in the way I expected, but I was hoping that they’d get revived, and here we are. The finale gave absolutely no shits about actually explaining any of the lingering mysteries about them, but I can’t fault them for it when they gave them such an unambiguously happy ending together. And in practice it perfectly fit the dreamy, surreal, intensely emotionally-driven vibe of the whole finale. Seeing their connected rings morph into them flying through the air while holding hands and the sheer power of their gay love literally paving the way for the main trio to finally connect was one of those moments where you just gotta sit back and accept that Ikuhara’s throwing at you, lmao.

Realistically I thought they might get left off on a pretty bittersweet note like a lot of Ikuhara characters, but nah, they’re just straight up back to being alive and happy and they pretty much got to attend their daughter’s magical furry wedding, lmao. They didn’t even get their memories erased like I thought might happen, so the whole confession scene from ep10 is still perfectly intact and now that the whole otter thing’s dealt with, we can probably safely assume that the two of them made up and are back to being The Ultimate Couple. It also looks like the two of them and even Sara and Keppi are still hanging out in the human world, which is kinda unexpected. I thought that even in the best case scenario they’d all just head back to the kappa kingdom, but I guess since that doesn’t really exist anymore they’re just gonna stay in the human world. Reo and Mabu seem to be working as rickshaw drivers now, which makes it even more clear that they’re probably back to being more or less regular people and being part of regular human society, and they’ve probably given up their jobs as cops, which is nice.

None of this answers the still lingering question of ‘how the fuck does the manga even fit into the timeline aaaaaaa’, but I don’t care as much about finding out the answer to that after this finale, so it’s not a big deal. I guess we’re meant to think that it happened before the anime, though. My best guess is that Sara was intentionally sent into the human world as a baby to protect her from the kappa/otter war, or something, and then Reo and Mabu raised her, she magically turned into her teenage/adult self [in an instantaneous fairy tale-y kind of way], then she went back to the kappa kingdom for a bit, and I guess she arranged things with Keppi and had them get recruited into the kappa kingdom? I still think they’re humans that got roped into this like the main trio, so I think that makes sense to me.

Even more so than with the main trio, I think that those two getting a 100% happily ever after with no caveats or drawbacks really spells out how fundamentally optimistic and hopeful this series is, and how they were one way or another victims of a harsh system that didn’t deserve the shit they went through, and so they got given a happy ending. It’d be understandable if people feel upset that they got such a happy ending after having done undeniably awful things, but I don’t mind.

And on the topic of the main trio, hoo boy they sure were the main focus of this episode, lol. And by ‘them’ I mean ‘Toi’ because let’s be honest he was basically the actual main character of the show by the end, and the finale was like 99% focused on his character development specifically. Which isn’t a bad thing. Kazuki’s whole deal had already been more or less resolved by the end of ep6, so it makes sense that the second half in general focused more on Toi.

On the flip side, Enta kinda got the short end of the stick in terms of screen-time and development, and things end in a sorta wishy-washy way in regards to his feelings for Kazuki. It makes enough sense that his whole ending was about choosing not to drown himself in fruitless delusions, even if it feels kinda lame and disappointing compared to the more climactic and intense resolutions that Kazuki and Toi got.

Though tbh a big part of why I don’t feel too negatively about how Enta’s crush on Kazuki kinda fizzled into irrelevancy is because Reo and Mabu got their happy ending that preserved all of their character development, with the obvious implication that they’re back to being in a happy and stable romantic relationship. The fact that there’s at least one happy gay couple at the end of all this makes me much more willing to forgive Enta’s story being handled a bit differently. I mean, that’s part of the whole reason why diversity in storytelling is so important. When you include multiple different gay characters/relationships in your stories, you have the freedom to do different things with them, instead of having all the narrative burdens and expectations being placed on just one character/relationship. It’s annoying when the ONLY gay character in a show ends up having to repress and move on from their feelings, but it’s fine when there are other gay characters who get to have their own happy relationships.

Anyway, I really liked how Toi’s story wrapped up here. A lot of what actually happened in the finale was full on bizarre dream logic nonsense, but the emotional undercurrent of Toi being faced with the prospect of effectively committing suicide in order to free himself from the pain of human connection once and for all, and him coming to the realization on his own terms that he doesn’t want to let go of those connections, got through perfectly clearly. They actually went a lot further with his story than I expected. Literally further, in that we had a whole timeskip epilogue detailing how after the main story ended he went to juvie for a few years and then reunited with Kazuki and Enta when he returned. I’m going to assume that he turned himself in, since there shouldn’t have been any concrete evidence tying him to any of his crimes, except for maybe him shooting Reo [though even then, Reo’s corpse immediately transformed into one of those rings so I don’t think that counts as lasting forensic evidence, lmao]. It was definitely the most brushed-over part of the finale, but it didn’t need to be focused on that much, since the more important part was him reuniting with the other two afterward.

And in terms of timeskips and whatnot, I really loved the whole potential future flashforward sequence showing a what-if scenario of the three of them becoming professional soccer players and being slowly torn apart by interpersonal drama, while the different episode title cards are re-used in this new context to show how their emotional issues and hang-ups might lead to that sort of negative outcome. It did a really nice job of illustrating how they’re willing to face the possibility of future pain in order to hold onto their connections with each other. Which is what the entire show had been building up to, really. It was all about them becoming able to face the harsh realities of being known in order to lead fulfilling lives with meaningful personal relationships.

I do kinda wish their older selves looked a bit more distinct from their base designs, though. Aside from the difference in outfits you can barely tell that they’ve grown up, lol.

I was initially planning on rewatching episode 1 after this, but honestly after what actually happened I don’t really think I’d actually get anything new out of episode 1 now. The very first scene of the show is still a bit of a mystery, even though it’s obviously based around a lot of visual imagery and cinematography from the finale, and the whole deal with the ‘A’ signs is still up for interpretation. But I don’t really think it’s super important one way or another.

I’m actually very happy that the ending didn’t involve any sort of time travel, and that that’s not what the first scene of the show was hinting at. Especially with how this finale really hammered in the importance of living with the consequences of your actions and accepting the future for what it is, it would have felt very cheap if anything got reset in the end.

I guess it’s also worth noting that, at least with the main trio, there weren’t any romantic developments, which I think was fine. With how the story had been building up to this point I think it was fairly obvious that their ending was gonna be more about friendship alone. Which might disappoint some people [and the whole topic of Enta’s unrequited crush on Kazuki is it’s own whole thing], but at the very least, Reo and Mabu got their happy romantic ending together, so I don’t feel like I’m missing out, lol.

Part of me wants to be disappointed that we didn’t really learn anything new about Sara, and that she didn’t exactly, uh, DO anything even in this final episode, but honestly I feel like that’s kinda ‘the joke’. Like, she and Keppi come across as a super tongue in cheek joke about the fairy tale concept of princes and princesses. Sorta like how the Utena movie made the ‘prince’ into a complete joke, Sara and Keppi are just there to be funny plot devices, and their big ending is that they have a big fat furry wedding and that’s that. And honestly that’s fine by me. I feel like Ikuhara’s whole artistic career has involved him becoming more and more flippant and dismissive about the concepts of princes and princesses and how much importance is placed on them in fiction, and that’s valid. It reminds me a bit of how all of the actual major characters are all queer dudes and their relationships with each other are the actually important part of the narrative, whereas straight characters like Sara and Keppi and all the different faceless kappa zombie dudes are mostly just joke characters. There’s something both deeply amusing and deeply vindicating about how this show turns the tables like that, with how it frames different types of love and relationships.

The main trio’s story ended up being not super tied into what the show has to say about sexuality in general [and overall the show is less specifically ‘about’ that than Yuri Kuma Arashi was, from what I understand], but there was definitely a whole lot of social commentary about homophobia going on with Reo and Mabu, and thankfully that part of the narrative came to a satisfying and genuinely subversive ending, with them overcoming the death imposed upon them and regaining their happy lives together. 

Now I’m hoping that Ikuhara will ‘complete the set’, so to say, and have his next anime be about trans/non-binary characters, especially after how Kazuki’s whole cross-dressing thing ended up being kinda unimportant and not about gender identity to begin with. Which is still kinda disappointing to me, but oh well.

Overall, this ending was almost aggressively happy and optimistic compared to what I was bracing myself for, so thankfully it’s left me feeling warm and fuzzy and content. All in all, it was a surprisingly straightforward story in terms of it’s central messages, in spite of it’s over the top and abstract framing, and I think it really benefited from that inherent simplicity, especially in this finale, which was so singularly focused on it’s central trio [and mostly just Toi’s perspective alone]. I was a bit worried the finale might turn into one of those things where a deeply personal conflict gets blown up and tied into literally world-ending stakes, but thankfully they didn’t go unnecessarily far with it. Even the kappa/otter war resolution barely involved the main trio themselves.

At least in hindsight, I think the anime was very tightly woven and was paced surprisingly well for it’s short episode count, and it’s hard to imagine how they could have spent much more time on the main trio, but now that we have a better idea of the timeline of the series, I really think that episode 6 should have been followed up by an episode that basically adapted the ReoMabu manga, plus parts of the twitter account, and the short chapter from the first light novel volume about how they met. That way it would have ended up with a nice round 12-episode length, and I don’t think it would have ‘spoiled the surprise’ of the later reveals and developments with Reo and Mabu. I just think it would have been really good to actually cover that in the anime itself, especially since even in the finale, the whole fact that they literally raised Sara as a baby never got addressed, so it feels like anime-only viewers are missing out on a big chunk of their story. But it’s not a huge deal.

I guess at the end of the day my feelings about the finale boil down to ‘Reo and Mabu are alive and happy and that’s literally all that matters to me’, lol.

I was really worried about how I’d be left feeling after this, but I’m happy that I’ve been following this series ever since it was first announced. This is the only time I’ve watched an Ikuhara show as it’s come out, and oh boy has it been an emotional roller-coaster. The fact that it ended in a satisfying way makes it all feel worth it, though.

I probably won’t get to it immediately since I think my brain needs time to recover from this one, but sometime soon I want to finally get around to watching Penguindrum and then Yuri Kuma Arashi. I don’t think I’ll liveblog them like I’ve been doing with Sarazanmai, though, if only since I’ve already been spoiled on bits and pieces of what happens in them, but we’ll see how it goes.

[citruspeel]

goodbye, gintama (NO!!): my letter to Sorachi-sensei

No, really, I really wrote a letter to Sorachi.

Some of you may know, but a few months back (April 2018?), I wrote Sorachi Hideaki a fan letter. Haha!

I don’t know what possessed me to do it. My knowledge of Japanese was elementary (N5 only). But I felt so many emotions while reading Gintama’s nearly 700 chapters that I couldn’t ignore this need I had to let him know how much I appreciated his work. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me laugh and cry at the same time. And, as some of you may also know from my review, I loved how soft, caring and accepting Gintama was (despite the crass humor and dick jokes). How strong its characters are, how kind the stories are, how its storylines commiserated with our problems.  Gin, the lackadaisical asshole, is a protagonist you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. With how his work comforted me and made so many others (like me) feel understood, I felt like the task of writing out a fan letter in Japanese (to the best of my ability) was the least I could do. It was nothing compared to the hard work Sorachi-sensei (plus our scanlators) put in every month when it came to his chapters. Also, I read somewhere that he just loves getting comments and reactions, so I pushed through with it! :)

So I wrote it out. Forgive the (very possibly bad) Japanese, but I tried my best. It took weeks and weeks of double-checking, but when the opportunity came for me to actually mail it to him, I rushed to print it and sent it to him immediately. (I knew someone who was going to Japan and just asked her to mail it; she sent it from a Lawson in Asakusa.)

Now that still, I still REFUSE TO BELIEVE, this coming month is going to be hell for us his opus Gintama is really coming to an end, I just wanted to share the contents of my letter to you guys. I don’t know if he’s received it, if he laughed it off or it got sent to a wrong address haha. But I hope, if you feel the same way as I do about Gintama, I was able to convey some of our feelings as fans.

Dear Sorachi-sensei,

Konnichiwa! I’m a fan from [x]. My real name is a bit long, but you can call me [citruspeel]. My name might sound like a man’s but I’m a girl. (But I’m not exactly a girl anymore, can’t help it; we can’t stop time).

I’m sorry, my Japanese isn’t the best. I’ve still got a long way to go. But I’ll do my best. Google Translate helped me with the difficult words. (lol)

To be honest, I have regrets. I read Gintama. My regret is that I’ve only read Sorachi-sensei’s work just now! Fourteen years after serialization started! That’s quite a waste. Because, if only I’ve started reading Gintama earlier, I would’ve been able to spend more time with you and the characters of Gintama.

After 676 manga chapters and 300+ anime episodes, I realized a lot of things from Gintama. I felt various feelings. Aside from slang and colloquialisms (before this manga, I’ve never known what  ‘manko’ stood for haha), I learned a lot about life’s various truths – may they be big or small. Somehow, this manga featured my own life struggles. I was comforted by it. In true Shounen JUMP style, in this harsh life, this work has comforted/eased my heart.

At first it seems to be just made out of jokes but underneath Gintama’s funny antics, your [Sensei’s] real feelings have reached/connected us fans. Including me. Your work understands the nature of living, everyday life, the struggles to adapt to change. Through Gin and the rest of the cast, you showed us how, somehow, you understood the suffering, sadness, and even loneliness of life.  You also featured traits (in your characters) that were good, bad, weak or strong. With your work, you’ve comforted a lot of people.

Somehow, with this manga, I can face every day. Every week, it’s like this manga’s telling me, ‘It’s okay! You can do it! It’s okay even if you’re normal. You’ve gone through harder times, haven’t you? So you can definitely face this difficult thing you’ve got going right now.’ I’ve felt it the most with Gin-san’s character. (Compared to other JUMP heroes, Gin-san’s realistic personality really is the best, isn’t it?)

Even if the characters seem lazy, I still gained confidence from them. Heavy things (in my life) became light. Through Gin-san, everyone, and you, Sensei, I felt relieved. I can’t explain it well, but Sensei understood what I felt. (Also, your sense of humor is really the best! I always laugh whenever I read Gintama. Your drawing style is also good! The battle scenes are amazing!)

It’s also great that you wrote strong female characters! My favorite is Otae-chan. Even if she doesn’t know how to cook. (But it’s okay, right? Since Gin is great at cooking?)

I also have a weird thing to say. The pages that I like the most are…the pages that didn’t make it on time! I love the incomplete pages. They might be ‘rough’ but I see the efforts of your work on those pages. It’s refreshing to see. Also, I do illustrations as a hobby, so when I see those unfinished pages, it feels like you’re teaching us how to draw.

More or less, for those reasons, I want to thank Sensei, your assistants, and the editors. From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much.

I have a confession: I don’t want Gintama to end! (Note: Lol I think I wrote this wrong but oh well?? Hahaha). I want to read Gintama until the end of the world! But after 14-15 years, everyone must be tired, right? It’s a bit selfish, a fan’s wish for a ‘never-ending Gintama’. If you really are ending the manga now, please do take vacations. Everyone, thank you for your hard work. (and if you’re continuing it, still, please do take vacations!)

This manga has made people laugh and cry. It has given hope and support and comfort to its readers. Even if our dreams may be big, ordinary, or stupid, no matter what they are, just as Gintama says, it’s alright.

Words cannot contain my feelings (but is this a sign, that I have to study Japanese more?) but I’m just having too many feelings! (lol)

But seriously: thank you for this experience that will remain in my heart.

Please always take care of yourself!

Good luck on becoming a cheesecake! (But I’ve seen it on the net recently, sensei, you’ve become a cheesecake! Congratulations!)

Sincerely,

A Cheesecake Fan

(sorry, it got long!)

空知先生へ,

こんにちわ！[x] からファンです。本当の名前は長すぎだから, [x]ともうします。名前は男っぽいけど私は女の子です。もう女性なんですけどしかたないは...時間が止まらないねー

ごめん, 日本語で上手じゃありません。まだまだですねー。でも頑張ります。むずかしい言葉をGoogle Translateが手伝ってしました。(笑)

実話、私後悔があります。「銀魂」を読みました。私の後悔は先生の作品今だけ読みました．14年間の連載が始まったのあとにだけです！本当に残念です！だって、もっと前に読みましたら、私と「銀魂」のキャラクターたちや先生とアシスタントたちももっと長い時に一緒になってるんでしょう。

漫画の676話とアニメの300+episodeの後に、「銀魂」からたくさんことをきがついていました。色々な感じを感じていました。口語体の以外に (この漫画の前に「ま*こ」とほかの俗語は知りませんね (笑))、人生の色々な真実 - 大きも、小さいも - を習いていました。なんとかこの漫画が自分の不安事を映しだしました。快適をもらっていました。本物の少年JUMPの形で、この辛い人生に、この作品が私の心を応援します。

最初冗談だけみたいですけど 「銀魂」の面白いことの下に、先生の本当の気持ちがファンたちにつながっていました。私にも。この作品が人生をわかりました、毎日の生活苦、順応の苦労。先生が銀さんとみんなで、なんか人の苦しみや悲しみや寂しさも本当にわかりましたね。良いや悪いや弱いと強いな特性も先生が書きました。この漫画で、かならず先生が色々な人を快適します。

なんとか、毎日の問題はできる。毎週、この漫画がなんとかわたしに言って：‘大丈夫よ！出来るよ！普通でもいいよ！辛いことが生き残ったでしょう？じゃこのむずかしいなことはできる。‘それ銀さんの場合特に見ました。(やっぱりJUMPのほかのヒーローより銀さんの現実的な個性はいいね)

キャラクターたちはグデグデみたいけど、それでもこの漫画のおかげで、自信をもらっていました。重いことがかるいになっています。銀さんとみんなと先生のおかげで, 安心していました。よく説明してできませんけどなんとか私の気分��先生がわかりました。(ユーモアのセンスは本当に最高です！銀魂を読む時に、いつも笑っています。そして先生の描きスタイルはじょうずです!バトルシーンすごい)

そして先生が強いな女の子キャラクターたち書きましてすごいですよ！本当に感謝します。一番好きな女の子はお妙ちゃんです！料理できませんも。(笑;でも大丈夫よ。銀さんは料理上手でしょう？)

おかしい言いたいこともあります。私が一番面白い思うと好きなページは...間に合わないページです！本当に好きです、その未完成ページ。ラフけどなんとかそのページで先生たちの仕事の努力をみました。爽やかみたいです。そして私の趣味はイラスト描き方です。そのページはイラストメイキングみたい。そのページで先生が私たちを教えてみたい(笑)。

それぞれの理由のために、空知先生とアシスタントたちと編者さんたちもを感謝して降ります。私の心の中から、本当にありがとうございます。

告白：「銀魂」終わりたくないです。世界の終わ���まで「銀魂」を読みたい！(笑) でも14ー15年間の後に、みんなは疲れたんでしょう？ ちょっとわがままみたいですねーファンたちの願いの「終わらない銀魂」。今回で本当に漫画を終わるなら、休みしてください。みんなさん、お疲れ様でした。(もしつづくならも休みしてきださい)

この漫画のおかげで、人々が笑ってた、泣いてた、希望と応援と快適をもらっていました。夢は大きかも、普通かも、バカみたいかも。「銀魂」からのように、大丈夫よ。

私の気持ちが言葉でできません (もしこれはサインですか、日本語をもっと勉強しなきゃ？(笑))

いっぱい過ぎ、この気持ち！

でも真面目に:この心に残る経験のために、ありがとうございました。

いつも気をつけてくださいねー

チーズケーキになろうと頑張って！（デモ最近ネットで見たよ！チーズケーキになった！おめでとうございます！）

- フィリピンからチーズケーキのファン

(ごめん、長かった！)

[recentanimenews]

The God of High School Script Writer Reveals the Challenges and Rewards of Writing for Action Shows

The God of High School, the newest project in the Crunchyroll Originals lineup, is easily one of the most anticipated titles this season. This action-packed martial arts anime based on the hit WEBTOON series by Yongje Park launching TODAY is for sure the show to check out this season for your shonen battle fix!

In anticipation of today’s launch, we took the time to sit down with the scriptwriter for The God of High School, Kiyoko Yoshimura! In the past, she’s written for anime titles such as GRANBLUE FANTASY: The Animation, GARO -VANISHING LINE-, Sonic X, and now The God of High School. She told us all about her job from her daily schedule as a scriptwriter to the challenges of writing action scenes and the many reasons why you should be watching The God of High School this season!

How did you get your start in writing for anime? I’ve always watched a lot of anime because I enjoy it, but I didn’t aspire to be a scriptwriter right from the beginning. I was an otaku who hoped to be a light novel author and submitted my writing to magazines all the time. I just happened to meet a certain famous scriptwriter on a certain anime fan site, and we started communicating by email. At the time, there was a shortage of anime production staff due to a sudden explosion in the number of anime series being broadcast, so that writer asked me if I wanted to try writing scripts for the project they were doing the series composition for. That project was Jibaku-kun, and I was already a fan of its author, Shibata-sensei, and I was able to dive right into the project since I had already read the manga. So that was my first success, and it was the starting point in getting to where I am now.

    What particular challenges do you face as a writer when adapting a script for anime from existing source material? When I’m in a creative role, I look for the things I personally enjoy and find appealing in the series, whether it’s the characters, the worldview, or the setting, and I focus on those positive feelings as I write. If I don’t feel anything positive toward a series as the writer working on it, then I can’t create something that other people will enjoy. From there, I write the scripts based on consideration of the visuals that the director wants, what everyone hopes the anime will be, and a web of other opinions.

  Are there any common challenges about writing for anime that fans might not realize? This connects to question 2, but I’m generally the type that prefers to write anime based on positive feelings toward it, whether it’s “This is fun,” “I like this,” “This is really interesting,” or “This is so cool.” It makes me happiest when viewers look at something I thought was awesome, and talk about how awesome it is.

  How did you come to work on The God of High School? I worked with Director Park on MAPPA’s VANISHING LINE, and Producer Otsuka asked me to work with them again on this project. VANISHING LINE was very well-received and showed me how amazing Director Park’s work is, so I accepted the job immediately. Also, I personally love battle stories and tales of young people growing up.

    How does adapting a WEBTOON series compare to adapting a manga? I didn’t really notice that many differences. As far as writing scripts goes, I think the best thing about shows based on manga is that the visual composition of each scene in the story already exists, and we can see the image we want to create right from the start. And in GOH’s case, the art and composition of the battle scenes look amazing, so those are the main benchmarks I use to write the scripts.

  What about The God of High School’s story drew you to it most when reading through the original source material? The fact that Mori, Daewi, and Mira start out so distant, but gradually grow closer and more bonded as teammates. Then, after Ilpyo comes into the picture, the scene where the four of them are seen walking away shoulder-to-shoulder really moved me. And also Jegal’s life of unanswered hopes ... He’s an antagonist, but just condemning him alone won’t fix things, and that really made me think about how harsh that kind of world is.

  Could you walk us through a day in the life of a scriptwriter? How do you manage your time throughout the day? An anime writer’s job basically consists of weekly meetings to read each other’s scripts, discussing problem points, going home and making corrections, then resubmitting them and meeting to read them again. It’s quite a mundane cycle. And working on GOH isn’t all that different from working on any other anime. Our meetings involved a lot of staff living in other countries, so we had a lot of remote meetings, but that’s about it. As for my home life, I’m also a mother with a son in elementary school, so I make his breakfast and send him to school in the mornings, help him with his homework, clean the house ... and do some writing in between. When things get really busy, I ask my own mother, who lives in my neighborhood, to help with some of my housework. I can’t express how grateful I am for my family.

  What is the process like for composing a script, from beginning the project to final delivery? The process varies a bit depending on the project, but generally, when I’m doing series composition, I start by coming up with a rough draft of the series as a whole, which is reviewed and discussed by the director and staff. Then we move on to each individual episode’s plot ... deciding what role the number of episodes will play in the series, determining the points where developments happen, and rationing out the work, and from there each writer starts working on their scripts. Occasionally, we’ll be working on a script for a later episode that ends up depicting some development that will require an earlier, not-yet-complete episode to be written in a certain way, so we make those adjustments as needed. When the scripts for all episodes are finished, we pass them along to the production and animation departments, and that concludes the writer’s role. From there, we look forward to seeing the finished product along with the fans!

  Could you tell us how exactly a fight scene looks when you script it? How much of the flow of the battle is in your script? I’ve heard that with things like live-action and tokusatsu series, the fight scenes aren’t written in detail in the scripts; instead, they’re composed right there on the scene by acting and filming specialists. But most anime projects call for fight scenes to be depicted in some degree of detail in the scripts. It directly connects to the time allotment and required number of drawings for the episode, so that needs to be controlled in the scriptwriting stage. At a bare minimum, the script needs to explain who does what, and what effects it has. I don’t usually write every single punch and kick in detail, but in a scene where, for example, a character who was thought to be right-handed suddenly uses their left hand and wins, those details need to be clearly written in the script. In the case of GOH, the battle scenes are composed in very fine detail in the original work, so I generally followed suit in the anime scripts. The most important thing was to make sure the changes in the characters’ feelings as they fought were in agreement with the visual highlights of the animation. If we focused only on the visual depiction, the characters’ emotional expressions would have been left out, and they’d all just be slamming into each other with flashy imagery. Portraying the emotions of a scene through monologues, flashbacks, other characters’ facial expressions, the announcer’s voice, etc., is the most important part of scriptwriting.

  South Korea is a fairly novel setting for an anime. Did writing for a real-world, non-Japanese setting affect how you approached your work at all? While most anime produced in Japan are also set in Japan, there are also many that aren’t, so I didn’t notice that much of a difference. VANISHING LINE, which I worked on with Director Park, was set in America! Still, even though Japan and Korea are geographically close, their languages are quite different (especially the pronunciation), so I did struggle a bit with things like proper nouns and place names.

  Action shows like The God of High School are never just action shows, they also have plenty of comedic and emotional aspects to them as well. Are there any specific tonal scenes you enjoy writing most? One is Mori’s birthday episode. It’s a scene where everything he’s accomplished comes together in the form of a strong bond. Murakoshi-san, the writer of that episode’s script, made that scene extremely emotional. Another is the final preliminary round between Mori and Daewi. It’s the first major climax in the series, and Daewi’s personal drama becomes deeply involved in it, so I tried my best to make it a really intense scene.

    Is there any character in The God of High School you’ve enjoyed writing the most? All the characters do have their own unique charms, but it’s hard to choose just one since it’s much more fun to see how they all bounce off of each other. They’re all strong, remarkable characters, but they have playful sides and even some cute weaknesses that are brought out so skillfully when they’re interacting. Mori and Daewi, Daewi and Mira, Ilpyo and Jegal, Commissioners Q and O, Commissioner Q and Daewi, Taejin and young Ilpyo ... yeah, I just can’t choose (lol)

  The God of High School is, of course, one of the newest Crunchyroll Original productions coming soon. How has working on this production compared to other standard ones you’ve been a part of? Director Park came up with several highly ambitious plans, and he was very passionate about making them into reality, so I couldn’t help feeling like this project was going to turn out well worth all the effort. It was very exciting to work on, and I’m excited to see it when it airs.

  Finally, do you have anything you’d like to say to fans eagerly anticipating the anime’s debut this summer? All of us on the anime staff devoted everything we had to faithfully recreating the intense developments of the original work in animated format. Unlike manga series that you take your time reading at your own pace, the animation will drag all of you into the world of God of High School with the speed and impact of a crashing wave. The action and drama are so fast-paced, you won’t have time to blink! I hope you all enjoy it!

  READ THE OFFICIAL GOD OF HIGH SCHOOL WEBTOON SERIES HERE AND WATCH THE GOD OF HIGH SCHOOL ON CRUNCHYROLL!

Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com