#like you said it would be that big a deal if the manga didn't make it a big part of a character's arc

[snickerdoodlles]

one of my most formative fandom experiences was a comment i had gotten on a fic i wrote for a halloween themed fandom event.

this was for a manga/anime, so the fic was a general ghost story obviously set in Japan. the beginning of it involved a pizza delivery and while writing it, i had spent like 30 minutes just double checking tipping customs and the types of pizza they serve and even fell down a wikipedia rabbit hole looking up the history of pizza in Japan.

now, i just like the research part of writing, i do stuff like this because i have fun doing it. and while i was writing this particular fic, i had laughed at myself for my 30 minutes of googling that amounted to 2.5 offhand lines in a 3500 word fic. i didn't think anyone would care about or even notice those particular details except for me, especially since none of them were relevant to the ghost part of this ghost story.

except, when i had sent this fic to a Japanese friend, the first thing she said to me about it was "OH MY GOD YOU GOT THE PIZZA RIGHT"

and that was the moment when it had really clicked for me. what had just been 30 minutes of effort on my part had become a moment of relief for her. my friend was far more used to reading ethnocentric fic that ranged from unintentional ignorance to outright superiority against part of her culture (the original story's culture no less). and even with the "innocent" ignorance (heavy quotes on that) far outstripping any outright maliciousness, that's still so many people saying her culture was not worth learning about. the pizza in my story was a small detail, but i had cared enough to put in some effort to check it. and for her, coming from a fic experience where her norm was bracing for hundreds of inaccuracies born of ignorance, especially at that time after a flood of stories centered around "Halloween as a cultural holiday in the US" premises instead of the "Halloween is a commercial gimmick in Japan" reality, seeing someone put in some effort even for minor story details meant something to her.

this also throws me back to the discourse that arose in a french show fandom a few years ago because there were a lot of fic authors that wrote 'dollars' instead of 'euros'-- but when people brought this up as a prevalent issue across the fandom but an easy one to fic/watch out for, many of these writers instead pushed back to complain that they were posting stories for free and it wasn't that big of a deal. which really upset a lot of people, but then this upset was met with a new wave of indignation that people needed to 'get over it' because they're writing fic ~just as a hobby~. but, even if 'dollars' instead of 'euros' wasn't a big deal, by digging in their heels about the issue, they were saying "your culture isn't worth even five minutes of my time or effort."

I've been thinking about these things lately because the ethnocentrism in Thai drama fandoms is...staggering. just over the turn of the year, there were waves of Christmas fic for Buddhist characters. and just. Christmas in Thailand is a tourist thing at best. sometimes a pop culture gimmick for international audiences or maybe an offhand high school thing to blow off steam between midterms. it's not a cultural thing. and even if a character is a part of the Christian minority, a Christian Thai's holiday customs and culture are going to be vastly different than a Christian's customs in the Americas or Europe. and while the Christmas fic is at least finished for now, I'm already bracing myself for the Easter fic wave that also seems to pop up for Thai dramas. it's so frustrating to see this sort of cultural overwrite all the time, especially since most Thai drama holiday works aren't about Thai holidays.

but the thing that really got me bristling about all of this again was i saw a post the other day where op said that they weren't going to write [thai drama] fic because they don't know much about thailand.

what an absolutely appalling statement to make.

google is right there. wikipedia is free. you don't even have to leave tumblr or AO3 to learn more because there are Thai natives in fandom who write essays to explain common elements of their culture. hell, even just watching these Thai stories and considering the values and messages imparted by the narrative framework and story lens tells you something about that culture. the audacity to look at a culture different from your own and say "this is not worth my effort or time to learn anything more about," are you kidding me?!?

the messages and values of a story tell you about the writer's values, which are going to carry their cultural values, beliefs, and biases. Thai culture is going to be heavily relevant to any Thai story, even the ones that aren't explicitly about Thai culture/customs/etc. (hell, Thai bl/gl as a genre alone-- just the fact that queer Thai writers are making these stories in Thailand's current political climate is highly political, even the "fluffy" ones that don't seem to make outright political statements.) to approach any story like it was made in a vacuum is to remove the writer(s)' culture and values and to overwrite them with your own.

especially because this is fandom. these are the lowest stakes to learn! it sucks to see people say things like "but i'm scared i'll get something wrong" and hold up that fear as a shield to justify their ignorance. no one's expecting anyone to get every detail right, especially not for a culture that isn't theirs, just make an effort to learn something new about it. pick out something that caught your eye as different to learn more about and see where it leads you.

and for the record--making a mistake trying to broaden your horizons is a far, far better thing to do than to superimpose your culture on everyone else's because you're scared to confront your ignorance.

edit: check out this reblog thanks

[linkspooky]

Are You Satisfied?

As you might have heard chapter 236 of Jujutsu Kaisen ends with the death of Gojo Satoru. The fandom is making a pretty big deal about it. As someone who predicted from the beginning that Gojo was going to lose against Sukuna, the reaction is fascinating to me. This is perhaps the most controversial chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen I've ever seen. So I've decided to throw my hat into the ring.

The central theme of Jujutsu Kaisen is death, so the death of one of the main characters isn't too surprising, but what does Gojo's death mean for the story? What does it say about his character?

As I said above I am a little bit shocked by the extreme controversy over Gojo's death. Gojo was never going to win the fight in the first place, because Jujutsu Kaisen is a story and the story would be over if he defeated Sukuna. He'd easily be able to take care of Kenjaku afterwards and the main conflcit would be resolved. Would it really be an interesting story if Gojo one shotted the villains while the kids just wathced on Television?

The story is also not about Gojo, it's about the students. Gojo may think he's the protagonist of reality but he's not the protagonist of the story.

Once again, Jujutsu Kaisen is a story and stories have themes. We may grow personally attached to characters, but characters are just narrative tools to convey the themes of a story, no different from prose, dialogue, and art. Characters are a tool to be used well or used poorly, and sometimes yes that means killing them. Whether Gojo's death was naratively satisfying though isn't the purpose of this post though we're only asking what does it mean?

Finally, Jujutsu Kaisen is not only a fictional story, it's specifically a tragedy. Full disclosure, it's a manga about death.

The Protagonist of a Tragedy

So, number one shout out to me for making this post 4 months ago where I called the way Gojo would end the fight.

Excuse me while I fist pump for calling it!

The question on everyone's minds is why does one of the most powerful characters in the manga die offscreen in a pretty humiliating way, cut in half and helpless on the ground just like Kaneki. The reason Gojo didn't get a more heroic (or cooler) death is because we're not reading My Hero Academia, this is not a story about heroes or even a typical Shonen manga it is a tragedy.

In poetics Aristotle defines tragedy as:

"an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions" (51).

To paraphrase a tragedy is about human action, actions characters make in a tragedy often have dire consequences. One of the most common consequences if the reversal of a hero's fortune, a hero of a tragedy usually starts out on top and ends up on the bottom because of the bad choices they make. If in normal shonen manga characters overcome their flaws through effort and persistence, in Jujutsu Kaisen we see characters more often than not lose to their flaws.

The reason I posted that Kaneki panel specifically is because it was a brilliant moment of narrative punishment for Kaneki's central character flaw. Kaneki the hero's main flaw is that he always fights alone, and he constantly makes that same choice over and over again to fight alone. One of the characters helpfully explains it as well.

Stories are primarily about change. If a character doesn't change they're not serving the plot, unless that specifically is the point. People have pointed out how abrupt it is for Gojo to get sealed in Shibuya, get let out, and then immediately die afterwards but that's kind of the point. Gojo made more or less the exact same choice (he asked for Utahime's help for a buff but otherwise fought the entire battle himself). The definition of insanity and what not, why would doing the same thing over and over again net him a different result?

Not only did Gojo choose to fight alone, but as I've been hammering on and on about in previous meta the entire fight Gojo cared more about fighting a strong opponent then he did saving Megumi, the child he was responsible for.

Jujutsu Kaisen is not a typical shonen manga where everything is resolved by beating a strong villain in a fight. That's specifically why I used the Tokyo Ghoul reference, because the reason Kaneki is defeated offscreen like that is because he thought the world worked like a shonen manga. He has a fantasy sequence where he's fighting Juzo in a shonen battle tournament like this is Yu Yu Hakusho right before it snaps back to reality and he's limbless on the ground.

Gojo is a major character in the manga Jujutsu Kaisen, literally "Sorcery Fight" and he is the best sorcerer in the whole world. His entire identity revolves around being a sorcerer. Since he is so good and beloved at what he does, he thinks that everything is resolved by exorcising a curse or defeating a strong opponent. He has basically no identity outside of that. Which is why when he's fighting the possessed body of his student, a person he's been mentoring since childhood his priority is not to save Megumi but to beat a strong opponent. Gojo is a sorcerer, before a human being. That's who he is, that's who he always has been since day one.

I think part of the negative fan reaction comes from fans being really attached to this scene in the manga and deciding Gojo's entire character revolves around being a good mentor figure to children.

Which is just incorrect, Gojo's entire character revolves around being the strongest. On top of that though, Gojo can care about children and also care about being the strongest he can care about multiple things at once and have those things contradict each other because humans are complicated. I'd point out even in this panel where he's stating motivation he's not trying to raise these kids up into being healthy adults, he wants them to be strong Jujutsu Sorcerers. Even when he's raising kids, his intention is to turn them into Jujutsu Sorcerers because everything in Gojo's mind revolves around Jujutsu Sorcery. Gojo does not exist outside of the world of sorcerers. Gojo may be the chosen one but he'd never be able to hold down a job at Mcdonalds.

I think in general readers put more investment in the things characters say out loud, rather than their actions. You can say one thing and do another. I can say "I should never eat sweets again I'm going to improve my diet", and then go and eat ice cream five hours later. Gojo can state out loud his intention to foster children and protect their youths, but then fail to properly do that in the story. Characters are not always what they say they are, that's why they're interesting to interpret. This isn't me calling the readers stupid, just pointing out that Gojo is made up of contradictions. He wants to get rid of the old guard and replace them with something new, but Gojo IS THE OLD GUARD.

If the culling games arc has shown us one thing, it's that ancient sorcerers brought to the modern age do not care that much about human life on an individual level, they are all of them egoists. There's a reason Gojo resembles someone like Sukuna more than he does any other character in the manga. I'm not saying Gojo is exactly like Sukuna, he's far more altruistic and uses his genuinely noble ideals but at the same time Sukuna is a shadow archetype to Gojo he represents Gojo's flaws. The flaws that Gojo succumbs to in tragic fashion.

Which if you believe that Gojo genuinely does love his students, and the ideal he's fighting for is to raise up a better generation and allow them to live out their youths, then Gojo throughout the entire Sukuna fight is acting against those ideals. He cares far more about fighting Sukuna then he does saving Megumi, it's shown over and over again in the battle, Megumi is an afterthought to him. If Gojo care moredefeating the big bad and saving the world is more important than helping a child that Gojo is responsible for then Gojo is acting against his stated principles. Why should Gojo win the fight when he's fighting for all the wrong reasons?

Tragedies are like visual novels, if you make the wrong choice the novel will give you a red flag. If you ignore the red flag then you get locked into the route with the bad ending. Gojo always fights alone. Gojo only ever fights for himself, even if he's using that selfishness in support of a more noble ideal like creating a better generation of sorcerers. If Gojo consecutively makes the same changes then in a tragedy he's not going to be rewarded for it.

Gojo wants the old generation out and the new generation in, but Gojo resembles the old generation too much. Old sorcerers like Hajime and Sukuna respect him, Hajime argues that Gojo being able to fight for his pride is far more important than him living to the end of the battle when Yuta wanted to interfere and help him.

Gojo's death isn't a surprise curve ball that Gege is throwing us for shock value, it's a result of his choices throughout the manga. A manga about change, and the change between generations is not going to punish a character for remaining roughly the same. Of course you might find it disappointing that Gege didn't give Gojo the chance to grow and change and experience a character arc like Megumi or Yuji, but Jujutsu Kaisen is a tragedy, and the way Gojo's arc ended is consistent with what Gege wrote.

Jujutsu Kaisen is not just a tragedy though, it's a manga about death. The manga begins with Yuji's grandfather warning him not to die alone the way that he did. His grandfather's dying words are what motivate Yuji throughout the beginning of the manga as he's searching for a "proper" death.

One of the major themes of Yuji's character is a contemplation of death. He accepts that death is inevitable, so he wants to save them from the gruesome deaths they'd experience if they became victims to curses and allow them to have a more satisfying death. Yuji's grandpa died an unsatisfying death because he died alone in a hospital room. Yuji even tries to make his own death a satisfying one because he believes by dying to seal away Sukuna he'll reduce the total number of casualties to curses.

Jujutsu Kaisen keeps investigating the theme of death and what exactly would make for a satisfying death. At one point it's all but stated that death is the mirror that makes humans analyze their lives.

When Yuji fails to save Junpei from the "unnatural death" it calls into question whether or not his goal of saving people from unsatisfying deaths and the gruesome deaths caused by curses is even feasible. Nanami even says that Yuji might not be able to accomplish his goal and warns him away from the path.

We see repeated unsatifying deaths in the manga, each time someone reflecting on their deaths that they weren't able to get what they wanted out of life. This list comes via @kaibutsushidousha by the way I'm quoting them.

Nanami's a character who chose to work as a sorcerer because he didn't want to evade the responsibility of doing all you can to help people, he wanted to believe he's somewhere where he's needed. He never runs away from responsibility like Mei Mei does so he quite literally works himself to death, living and dying as a sorcerer. Nanami or Gojo's dying hallucination of Nanami even says as much, his death is the result of him choosing to go south and returning to be a sorcerer.

Maki chose revenge against the Zen'in over her sister, and as a result Mai is dead. Maki has all the power in the world now, her revenge complete but she's left with a sense of "now what?" She's as strong as Toji now but she failed to protect her sister, and it's the result of the choices she made. Maki's reflection isn't triumph, it's "I should have chosen to die with her."

Even Yuji himself is robbed of his narrative purpose. The manga began with Yuji saying he wants to choose how he's going to die and he'll die taking out Sukuna with him so he can reduce the number of people killed by curses in the world. Both of those things are thrown in Sukuna's face. Number one the amount of people Yuji can save by permanently killing Sukuna is now a moot point because he let Sukuna rampage in Shibuya.

Number two, Sukuna isn't even in Yuji anymore. To build on what Comun said though, this repeated tragedy has a purpose to it and understanding requires understanding that Jujutsu Kaisen is an existentialist manga. Existentialism is basically a school of philosophy centered around the question of "Why do I exist?"

There's nothing about the invetability of death to make you question why you're alive in the first place. In the myth of Sispyhus, Albert Camus boils down all of philosophy to one question.

"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. "

All of philosophy is should I shoot myself in the head or should I keep living? Everything comes after that question, which is why in Jujutsu Kaisen a lot of the characters motivations revolve around them contemplating death. Sorcerers exist in a world where they can die any moment, and as Gojo says most of them die alone. It might be the nature of sorcery itself that causes so many people to die, not only are they dying because they are trapped in an uncaring system, but the characters themselves aren't really attempting to live outside of it. They live and die as sorcerers, replaceable cogs in the machine.

All of these unsatisfying deaths may just be the result of all these characters making one choice, to live as sorcerers rather than people. Because to exist means to live in the world.

Even in Mechamaru's case, his goal is deeply existentialist by what I defined, all he wants to do is live in the world with everyone else rather than be stuck in his hospital room but his actions contradict that goal. Instead of letting his friends come and visit he's obsessed with the idea of getting a normal body because he feels that's the only way he can exist with everyone else, he makes a deal with the devil, he lies and goes behind their backs. He wasn't living with everyone else in the world and he could have chosen to, he chose wrong and his death is the result of that choice.

Jujutsu Sorcerers aren't living in the world. They're living in a little snowglobe far removed from the world with its own rules, most of them regressive and disconnected from the rest of society. If you define existentialism as just "living in the world' then a lot of these characters aren't, because they only exist in the world of sorcery.

INVISIBLE BUFFY: What are you talking ab- SPIKE: The only reason you're here, is that you're not here. (drinking) INVISIBLE BUFFY: Right. Of course, as usual there's something wrong with Buffy. She came back all wrong. (moving around on the bed) You know, I didn't ask for this to happen to me. SPIKE: Not too put off by it though, are you? (drinking) INVISIBLE BUFFY: No! Maybe because for the first time since ... I'm free. She tosses the sheet aside. Spike looks around, trying to figure out where she's going. INVISIBLE BUFFY: Free of rules and reports ... free of this life. SPIKE: Free of life? Got another name for that. Dead.

Not living in the world with everyone else is the same as being dead.

A lot of these characters either make the choice to act alone, or be a jujutsu sorcerer rather than a person and because of that they die as sorcerers, b/c sorcerers die that's what they do. Mai didn't want to keep living as a hindrance to Maki so she kills herself. Maki didn't want to be anything other than a sorcerer, so her little sister dies and she's not a big sister anymore. Nanami chose to leave his job behind and become a sorcerer again, he dies as one.

Of course I don't think the manga is punishing characters for being too egotistical, but rather too unbalanced. If anything Mai is too selfless and that is why she died, she didn't want to live for herself and chooses self sacrifice for her sister. An unbalance between selfishness or selflessness results in an underdeveloped ego. Jujutsu Kaisen doesn't punish individualism per se, moreso if you're not a fully developed individual you won't last long. Because it's also a manga about growing up in the world, and a person who doesn't have a healthy, mature, well-balanced sense of self is not a grown up.

This twitter user det_critics points out that Gojo (and also Yuki + Yuji's) failures in the manga can be attributed to the fact they don't have real senses of self.

Gojo has an identity crisis as outlined by Geto, "are you Satoru Gojo because you're the strongest, or are you the strongest because you're Satoru Gojo?"

It's a challenge for him to find some reason to live outside of being the strongest, and in tragic fashion Gojo just doesn't find it in time. Gojo lived for fighting others, and proving to himself that he's the strongest, and that's how he dies.

There's something I like to say about narrative punishment in stories. There are two ways to punish a character, you either don't give them what they want, or you give them exactly what they want. This is the latter, Gojo wanted to find someone stronger than him because deep down he believed that nobody could understand him unless they were on his level. He wanted to be surpassed, and that's why he focused on creating stronger young sorcerers, but he never shook himself of the belief that only someone as strong or even stronger than he was could ever be emotionally attached to him so he made a deliberate choice to draw a line between himself and others.

Gojo's essentially gotten what he wanted from that choice in the worst way possible. The student he picked to succeed him Megumi, has his body stolen and kills him. Gojo is surpassed, but it's not by one of his own students it's by an enemy that's not only trying to kill Gojo but is going to massacre his students afterwards.

Gojo's spent his entire life believing that because he's more powerful that makes him inherently different and above others, and being lonely because he himself believed he couldn't relate to ordinary people and he dies like an ordinary person, an unsatisfying death where he wasn't able to bring out Sukuna's best, where he gets unceremoniously cut in half offscreen but yay he's no longer the strongest. He's gotten exactly what he wanted. Megumi is still not saved, Sukuna's probably going to kill more people because Gojo failed to stop him here, but hey at least he stopped to compliment Gojo.

It's empty, but it's empty because of the choices Gojo made in life to just not bother connecting to people or develop any kind of identity besides being a sorcerer. Gojo lives and dies as a sorcerer, and his dying dream is returning to a teenager being surrounded by everyone he was with during his school days, because that's the happiest time in his life. Ironically he was happier before he became the strongest, because that was the only time in his life that he allowed himself to connect to people.

However in the eyes of others, he is someone who has it all. That's why he is always alone. There was no one who could hold the same sentiments and mutually understand him. Geto was the only one who could understand what he was trying to say, and the only one who could communicate well with him.

It's no coincidence Gojo and Geto die exactly a year apart on the same day, if anything I'd say the reasons they die are similiar to at least thematically. They both die because they don't want to live in the world. Geto thinks the world is too corrupt and GOjo doesn't want to be anything other than a sorcerer, both of them fail to adapt.

「 'It's just. . .' It's just that it was what Geto had to do. [...] To someone like him, the reality that the world of sorcerers presented to him was just too cruel. '. . .that in a world like this, I couldn't truly be happy from the bottom of my heart.'」

They can't be happy in a world like this from the bottom of their hearts, so narratively they both die. The things they chose to live for at the end of their life they fail to accomplish, Gojo is no longer the stronget, Geto fails to wipe out mankind or make major changes to the world and they die as normal people unsatisfied because they weren't trying to live in the world and make connections to others. They die almost karmically a year apart because their main connection for both of them, the thing which made them feel connected to the world and other people was each other.

Which is why this panel breaks my heart and is so narratively satisfying because of how unsatisfying it is...

"If you were among those patting my back... then I might've been satisfied."

Gojo reflects that he's not satisfied dying against Sukuna, not because he failed to give him a good enough challenge but because Geto wasn't there to pat him on the back. The one thing that would have satisfied him he couldn't have, because he didn't live to connect to people he lived to be the strongest and he died alone as the strongest. There's just something deeply upsetting about Gojo's dying dream fantasy just him being there talking with all of his dead friends who he never appreciated or connected to properly when he was alive. Knowing that if something had just gone a little differently, that even if he had to die no matter what he could have died happier if Geto was among the people saying goodbye to him because that connection with Geto is what gave his life meaning.

Dazai Osamu: "A life with someone you can say good-bye to is a good life, especially when it hurts so much to say it to them. Am I wrong?" -Bungou Stray Dogs Beast

[mochinomnoms]

What do you think PTM!jade would be like on Valentine’s Day? how would he react if he received chocolates or sweets or whatever from yuu? I bet his thoughts either go 20 different directions or stay completely silent but it’d be funny either way.

I think he's this panel from Mousou Telepathy, just replace birthday with Valentine's lol

I really like how the manga uses different colors to display Toda's thoughts against the black and white of the manga. It's a bit hard to do the same in the fic, but I make it work!

I like to think that in PTM, when they get to a point where Yuu is also pining for Jade but doesn't know how or if to cross the line themselves, tries to get Jade to make the first move. Using their telepathy, they can hopefully gauge Jade's thoughts and subtly push him into inviting them out for Valentine's.

"So…any plans for this week? You know, Valentine's and all?"

Jade's thoughts immediately fly into daydreams of you and him in bed, rose petals flying all around as the bedsheets and pillows get tossed aside.

"Not particularly, Azul will be hosting a Valentine's Day deal for the lounge, a free dessert for any couple who spends more than 100 thauramarks during their stay."

"Oh, that's a bit much, isn't it?"

"I think you forget the class status typical of the students here."

"Right..." You frowned and, focused at the potion in front of you two, watching the pink liquid bubble.

You wouldn't need to worry your lovely little head over that though, I could pay for 10 of those dinner and even more if you'd ask.

You tried your best to bite the embarrassed smile wanting to grow on your lips as you continued prodding.

"So, you'll be working then? That kinda sucks, guess you didn't have someone you wanted to spend the day with?"

Bait set! Now take it!

"I never said either of those things. Oya~" Jade somehow found his way to your left without you noticing, making you jump as he leaned in to coo in your ear.

"Is there a reason you're so curious about my Valentine's Day plans? You could just ask~"

Do you want me for the day? You can have me any time you'd like! You just have to ask~ Please ask! I might just scare you off if I do it myself~

Somehow you'd doubt after seeing and hearing his thoughts for several months he'd scare you off now.

"Ah, um, I wasn't—I mean kinda—I just wanted—ugh."

You huffed, roughly setting aside your spoon against the desk, eyeing the cauldron to make sure it didn't bubble over.

"Fine, I'll ask!"

Jade blinked in surprise, leaning back as you jabbed a finger at his chest. Though, based on his pink cheeks, he wasn't displeased by your sudden aggression at all.

"Yes, I am curious for a reason! I was trying to be discreet about it, but I'll just ask outright—Jade Leech, let me celebrate Valentine's with you!"

It was abnormally silent without hearing Jade's thoughts, though you think he was trying to process what you said. Make sure it wasn't a fantasy leaking into reality.

........oh. Oh!

Jade grew a big, almost unsettling smile, sharp teeth on display, like he was ready to tear into you. Just not in the way an average predator would. …Probably.

Are you going to give me a Valentine? Can you be my little Valentine's treat? I think you'd taste just as sweet~

"I see, well. Since you asked so nicely, I suppose I'll have to accept your invitation."

What happens comes Valentine's Day? Is it soft and sweet? Or perhaps something much more hot and tantalizing~ I'll leave that for you to decide~

[batterycows]

Ochako’s Confession: A Togachako Analysis

I don't usually write down or post analysis, but if I didn't put this down somewhere I was at risk of grabbing a stranger off the street and asking whether they knew about the doomed toxic yuri in hit manga series My Hero Academia.

Now, I think it was expected to some degree that Uraraka would have some big cathartic confession where she finally embraced her feelings for Izuku. And while she did admit her feeelings, the moment wasn't... that

And honestly, why would it be? In the end, Uraraka had no reason to confess her feelings. She didn't suffer from hiding them, on the contrary. Her crush was beginning to hinder her performance as a Hero, and all bottling them up did was help her improve. Sure, suppression is bad and all but ultimately, Uraraka seemed better off pushing her feelings aside. Especially when compared to Toga, who literally broke under the pressure of her hidden feelings. There was nothing pushing Uraraka to confess other than the vague sentiment that “suppressing your feelings is Bad.”

Yet, the importance of being open about your feelings is repeatedly emphasized during Toga's and Uraraka's arcs. It's what drove Toga to villainy, and something she tried to bond with Uraraka over. Something they shared. So the setup for a confession is there, but no satisfying resolution.

That's cause Izuku is a red herring.

Indeed, being honest about her feelings was vital for Uraraka, but it had nothing to with Izuku. Because the feelings Uraraka was suppressing all along, the ones that she needed to let out, were her feelings for Toga.

The envy she felt during their first meeting, how lovely she found Toga's smile. How much it troubled Uraraka when it was replaced with tears. Girl likes boy is as conventional as it gets. But a Hero sympathizing for a Villain in a society that dehumanizes them? Now that makes Uraraka kind of weird. And she knows it, that these thoughts go against everything she knows about society, about her role as a Hero. So she tried pushing all that away.

But she can't run from her feelings forever. And in the end, it's those feelings that allow Uraraka to save the day. Her arc deals with humanization. She wonders "who saves Heroes" until she's wondering "who saves Villains?" and finds that in this case, the answer is each other.

How did Uraraka and Toga save each other? By imitating each other, by being like someone they love.

Uraraka envied Toga's unapologetic openness, so she took a page from her book and told her everything she had been hiding and mulling over since they met. She stopped pushing Toga away and finally answered every one-sided conversation they've had. They're chatting about love, and Uraraka is finally responding.

A girl's feelings can change the world, and Uraraka being honest about her feelings is what allowed her to reach Toga's heart and save her. This is how Uraraka became a Hero.

Toga also saved Uraraka by imitating her. In a very literal sense by Transforming into Uraraka (being "cute" like Uraraka) but I think also in the way she used her Quirk. Until now, Toga believed the only way for her to live freely was through violence. When her Quirk awakened, Toga used Zero Gravity to kill. But now, she's imitating Uraraka on a deeper level. Uraraka who said her Quirk isn't made to hurt people, so Toga used her own Quirk to save Uraraka. For the first time, she realized she could love and be loved without violence.

Uraraka and Toga's confrontation was the long awaited end of a conversation. Nearly a year before Toga had tried to bond with Uraraka, asked her whether she liked someone, whether she wanted to be like them? Uraraka finally confessed: Yes, I want to be like you.

[team7-headquarter]

I can't take Naruto seriously sometimes because I have to laugh at some of the "omg this kid must be a genius" moments of the manga.

Most of the time it's so painfully clear those are just kids. Confused, desperate, traumatized to no end, scared. Kids that want to believe in a greater good to justify the violence they commit. Kids, just kids. They don't know who to trust, they get manipulated, they make me want to tear apart the adults in their lives and scream and cry an—

Shisui's solution to stop the Uchiha coup was to brainwash Fugaku and to be honest? Fugaku was not even half the problem. The problem was that the Uchiha prejudice had reached unparalleled levels, that the system was stepping on them and had been stepping on them since Hashirama was still alive. There's no way that the clan would have stayed quiet, even if Fugaku ordered them to not follow the plan.

Shisui was smart for his age but he was desperate and he was scared and he was, at the end of the day, just a teenager. That's why he got killed by Danzo. That's why he suicided and left the burden to Itachi to carry.

Itachi was a kid too. Fuck the genius title, it is complete bullshit in Naruto. He thought that the solution was to follow Hiruzen's plan because he was so traumatized by war, he would do literally anything to avoid it. But massacring his whole clan was any better? Didn't he kill innocent people all the same? Didn't he prolong the suffering of Konoha? Hiruzen had the audacity to say that Itachi was wise as a kage in his young age, which is stupid and shows what Hiruzen thinks a kage is and how they should think.

Shisui and Itachi were not geniuses. They were kids / teenagers who happened to be more ways to mold and turn into weapons. That they were smart doesn't mean they were adults.

Neji? He was strong, he was smart and mature. He was one of the best members of the Hyuga clan at 12 years old, a pattern shared with Shisui and Itachi. However, the Chuning Exams made it very clear that Neji was as lost and confused and hollow as the rest of those "geniuses". He was lied to. It's a tradition at this point: how much info do you think they are keeping away from you so that you behave like they want you to behave?

Kakashi? He said it himself that he was stupid for believing he was such a big deal, when in fact his attitude didn't help him save his teammates or properly train his students. The genius title only served to cause him pain. In the Naruto universe, people assume you are immune to emotions or being your age if you're a genius, it seems.

"This kid is a genius" and then the story proceeds to show them making a terrible decision that is not even theirs, it's the system playing with them.

Over and over and over again.

[sweetbottletops]

When Agu said one phase was ending and a new one was beginning I didn't realize the next phase would be putting Aya in the Pain Cave.

Ch 102

It looks like Koga is spending at least part of her juice box lunch periods with the cool kids now.

The bully (he hasn't earned a name) still seems to be mentally in that desk-kabedon Koga delivered earlier. I don't think he actually knows much about music, but he is still firmly stuck in her orbit with the other cool kids. She's got that kind of pull.

Meanwhile the subculture kids are in the hallway. It's easy to forget they aren't the cool kids and typically stuck to each other even before Koga. Narita gets to be included because Exhibit A.

It's always awkward when a friend crosses over genres and samples other groups at school. Even so...Aya is a touch too in the dumps for Chizuru to believe this is just related to Koga spending her lunch period with the norms. "Because of that?"

Chizuru is the drunken master of love gurus. Never misses even when she doesn't know where she's aiming.

Aka: Back in simpler times when Koga was having an existential crisis and being needy and Aya could fill her needs. Now Koga appears to be doing just fine in her identity and even found other people to talk to about music.

A twist of the knife. How the turn tables.

On a superficial level it doesn't seem like a big deal, but they are teenagers so everything is a big deal. Add in the fact Aya is closeted and hasn't been able to openly share her real feelings even to her best friend all this time and it's complicated.

She couldn't even do abstract girl talk at the overnight trip because "Onii-san" was right there among the girls. And her earlier gushing with Chizuru always was hidden behind "Onii-san".

Aya can only talk a bit more openly to Narita and Kanna and even then she's relying on them to fill in the blanks to accept why she's at this extreme level of desperate about Koga.

From Chizuru's POV Aya had never been interested in boy talk until "Onii-san" came into the scene, and "he" has drifted in and out of the scene unnamed like a "boyfriend" from Canada.

But she never pushed the issue. It was girl bonding stuff and something Chizuru had with Aya that was theirs if that makes sense. And then when Koga appeared Aya stopped gushing outside of when Chizuru would bring "him" up. Which was sus...

Chizuru is about to be jump scared with the title of this manga.

v v v

Chizuru is firing in every direction now. Her? Him? You?!!

The readers who had to have it spelled out to them vs the readers who knew. It was yuri all along.

She's hugging HERSELF. Help her!

The extra sad thing is going all the way back to the Radiohead performance it was Koga who reset them as friends.

Aya had an odd reaction to that at the time. Her crush wants to be friends. "There's no other option, right?" She didn't retract her crush after the reveal. It was Koga who downgraded them to friends and she went along with it. And it was fine at the time because it was the same Koga, however they were going to call it, and she got to at least be Koga's favorite and only.

Which isn't the healthiest considering how isolated Koga was, but when that's as close as you think you'll get with someone you like it's not so bad. She's stuck being hyper aware of how close she has the right to be and worries she might overstep and make Koga uncomfortable. What she wants is how close Joe and Kanna are. And that’s something she doesn't think she'll get. So there's the conflict.

Now Koga is the one feeling comfortable as herself in public and Aya is the only one left hiding who she is. From her perspective she thinks Koga doesn't know who she really is or how it will go over if she found out.

Team Chizuru + Nartia have a lot of work ahead of them. But now that they know at least Aya is not totally alone with her feelings anymore.

[severinageto]

“About you and the arcades” — ONE SHOT

Another day, another dollar. Who cares? They're all the same. Breakfast, training, lunch, training, dinner, training, and bed.

“And don't even think about staying up reading manga, okay?” said his mom every night.

“And don’t even think about bla bla bla” mimicked an adult Satoru, remembering those times.

He hated them. Sure, his strict upbringing had made him who he was, but they were still bad memories. Formative years, they say. Every time he bought a Shonen Jump, his mind went to the pre-bedtime scolding or, worse, to the time his mom found his stash and burned them.

“And I had the whole first arc of Dragon Ball, for fuck’s sake” he said, dumping six sugar cubes into his tea.

“What about Dragon Ball? My husband was Vegeta” said Shoko, just entering the kitchen.

“That's like the hundredth time you've said that.”

“Wow, someone's in a bad mood. What's up? Did Megumi get suspended again for hitting his classmates?”

Gojo slumped into a chair with a sigh. Yep, Shoko was right. He was in a bad mood. Megumi had indeed hit his classmates, and he’d have to deal with the principal (an activity he despised), but more than anything, it was the day that bothered him. A beautiful spring morning, ready for the first cherry blossoms. Only he could be annoyed by such a scene. But it made sense. A lot of sense.

On a day like that, he met him.

*

He'd been feeling bored for weeks, no, months. The lessons were dizzying, the training exhausting, and nothing amused him anymore. Wandering endlessly through the forest surrounding the Gojo clan estate wasn't exactly thrilling either, at least not since he turned fourteen. He was anxious. Next year, he would start his studies at the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, which meant not only perfecting his skills but also something he'd been denied his whole short life: meeting people his age. It wasn't far off, really. Nevertheless, Satoru couldn't wait. So, it only took a small slip-up with his mother to bolt.

It was the third time he'd run away from home. The first time, at six, he'd decided to play snail hunting in the forest, an activity he kept up until, at dusk, one of his hysterical guards dragged him back. The second time, at ten, he took the train to Tokyo. He wandered aimlessly, attentively observing the eccentric passersby, listening to the loud noises, and smelling the various food aromas only a big city like that could offer. Until he realized, disappointed, that he still drew the attention of minor sorcerers. And there were plenty. He returned home before they noticed he was gone, convinced that perhaps no one would ever understand what it felt like to be a freak.

But this time would be different. He knew exactly where to go. And not only that, but he'd discovered how to mask his cursed energy for a short time. That, plus a good cap, guaranteed him a few hours of forgetting his boring, routine life Gojo clan.

“Fuck the sorcerers” he muttered with a giggle as he boarded the train.

Upon arriving at his destination station, he ran up excited. He knew exactly where he wanted to go: the arcade with games from the late '80s and early '90s and, specifically, one game: Street Fighter.

He didn't expect a guy dressed in karate gear with a meter-wide back to be using it.

But Satoru wasn't one to give up. He knew he couldn't keep his disguise and low energy for long, so he had to make the most of it.

He approached the guy and patted him on the back.

“What do you want? I told you I'd help...” he said, turning around. “Oh, sorry. Thought you were someone else.”

Satoru, seeing him, could only think one thing: "bangs." He was facing a boy around his age, with violet eyes and dark, shiny hair, highlighted by a suspiciously untamed tuft.

He stared at him, mouth open. Not only did he have an intimidating demeanor, but he also emitted cursed energy. And strong energy at that.

“Well? Can I help you with something?”, the boy asked when Satoru didn't respond.

Gojo snapped back to reality.

“I want to use that machine”, he said, standing tall and speaking authoritatively. He'd grown a lot that year, probably about ten centimeters. He had to use that to his advantage.

“Good for you, but I'm using it. Feel free to wait over there”, he pointed to the door.

Confused, Satoru quickly glanced outside and then back at the boy. "What a rude jerk," he thought. Gojo wasn't used to being told no. And, although he hated himself for it and it contradicted his plans for the day, he played the clan card. After all, the boy with the ridiculous tuft was a sorcerer.

He removed his cap and glasses, locking his blue eyes on him.

“Do you even know who I am?”

The boy looked him up and down.

“An idol? Sorry, not into that stuff”, he said, turning back around.

Flabbergasted, Satoru stepped in front of him.

“I'm Gojo Satoru”, he said, indicating his eyes.

The boy, now annoyed, pushed him aside.

“What a rude introduction. Move, please.”

Satoru, even more perplexed, significantly increased the levels of cursed energy he was emitting. This caught the boy's attention. He widened his eyes and, after a few seconds, said:

“You have...that?”

“Yep. Told you I'm Gojo Satoru.”

“Your name still doesn't ring a bell, but”, he stood up and offered his hand. “...I'm Geto Suguru.”

Suguru had spent years unsure of what to make of his strange gift. He saw people and entities where there were none, heard horrible whispers in the dark, and smelled scents that would scare the vilest pirate. He'd intuitively learned to swallow curses, but he knew very little. He didn't even call it energy. To him, it was just "that." The only person he'd met with the same ability was the teacher from the Curse College who had come to recruit him. But he hadn't really explained anything. It would all come later, he'd said. So, meeting a boy his age with the same thing for the first time was incredibly intriguing.

He observed Satoru for a long time. He didn't want to forget his face.

“Are you gonna let me play or not?”, Gojo asked impatiently. He didn't want to be rude, but no one changes overnight.

“Wow, no manners," thought Suguru as he stared at Satoru, puzzled. Normally, if someone treated him like that, Suguru would either ignore them or tell them off. However, something told him it wasn't time to part ways with this strange albino and his frog-like eyes just yet. He felt their cursed energy made them, on a peculiarly intimate level, comrades.

After a few seconds, he said:

“There's another arcade two stations away with two Street Fighters. Want to go?”

“Why would I need two?”, Satoru asked, raising his eyebrows.

Suguru blushed.

“So we can both play.”

"Idiot," he added to himself.

Gojo stared at him for a moment, blinking as if he were being drenched by a thousand raindrops. This was new for him. Not only had he met a sorcerer who didn't know him, but one his age who was polite enough to invite him to play.

He stood up and walked to the door. Suguru looked at him questioningly, and Satoru turned his head.

“Aren't you gonna lead the way?”

Suguru nodded and hurried. They walked to the metro together in silence, but contrary to what one might expect from such a situation, they both felt strangely comfortable. As if they'd known each other forever.

*

At the next arcade, Gojo noticed he wasn't feeling so great anymore. He checked the time. He didn't have much freedom left. He had about fifty minutes before he’d collapse from the effort of hiding his energy. Plus, it was nearly time for his boring History of Clans and General Sorcery class.

“Ugh, school sucks”, he said, not realizing he’d spoken out loud.

Suguru pointed with a smile at the two Street Fighter machines. They were empty, almost waiting for them.

As they sat down, he said:

“School's not so bad if you focus on your studies and join a club. Which school do you go to?”

Gojo eyed him from under his glasses. Of course, this martial arts student had to be a star pupil. "The shoujo manga class rep stereotype," he thought, continuing to scrutinize him.

Taking his seat, he replied:

“I’m homeschooled.”

Now it was Suguru's turn to scrutinize. "So that's why he has no manners," he thought, watching Satoru pick his nose.

“Too bad. Thought we might run into each other in a tournament.”

Satoru eyed him suspiciously. Too bad? Why was this guy being so nice to him? He didn’t know who he was, so he couldn’t be a kiss-up. And Gojo couldn’t fathom that he was simply dealing with someone genuinely nice. He was too used to cold, sarcastic manners.

“I don’t like sports much”, he said curtly. “Don’t talk to me, I'm starting my game, okay?”

"Yeah, he's an idiot," thought Suguru as he stood up and walked over to Satoru. "I should go study and stop wasting time with this annoying brat, but..."

Suguru hit the button to cancel the albino’s game. Satoru looked at him like he had just heard a dog talk.

“What the...?”

“I brought you here so we could both play. You have...that thing, same as me, and I think...I don’t know. You intrigue me. Can you play with me for a bit?”

Suguru was surprised to say those words and blushed like never before.

Satoru didn’t know what to say. No one had ever asked to spend time with him. People were always around him just because of who he was. Asking for permission to share his time was unheard of.

He didn’t think about it. He was intrigued by this Geto Suguru too. And in a way he couldn’t explain, he wanted to spend time with him. But they were short on time. He checked the time and clicked his tongue.

“I have half an hour. Then I gotta go or I’ll be half-dead.”

Suguru laughed loudly. He had no idea what Satoru meant, but it was funny anyway. And not just anyone could make him laugh like that.

“Alright, Cinderella. I’ll beat you in five minutes.”

He had no idea that Satoru played, hidden under his covers, for four hours every night. That, plus his exceptional brain, made him a whiz at everything he did, including ‘80s fighting video games.

After losing three rounds embarrassingly, Suguru thought it was best to throw in the towel. Not only that, but looking at the time, he realized his parents expected him for dinner in fifteen minutes.

“I think it’s time for me to go”, said Geto, a bit hesitant. He didn’t want to leave. He was having a good time.

Satoru looked at the time and was surprised to feel sad. He had to leave too. Standing up from the machine, he said:

“I have to go too.”

The two boys stared at each other like they were seeing their reflection.

“Wanna walk together?” asked Suguru suddenly.

Satoru nodded. He’d walk to Kyoto with this stranger, honestly.

As they left, Suguru headed to a vending machine.

“What do you want to drink?”

The albino panicked. He’d never had any of those neon-colored drinks before. They were forbidden to him. The strongest had to follow a strict, low-sugar diet.

“The same as you”

“But I haven’t chosen anything yet”, said Geto, confused.

Satoru just looked away. He felt a bit ridiculous, which was new for him. He had been raised to never feel less than the rest of the simple mortals.

Guessing what was happening, Suguru got a Sprite for himself and a Coke for Satoru.

“Hey, heads up!”, said Suguru, tossing the soda to him.

Satoru instinctively activated his technique. Geto watched in amazement as the can was repelled from his body.

“How’d you do that? That was awesome!”

Gojo blushed. No one ever praised his achievements. Being the strongest was his duty. And no one gets praised for simply doing their duty.

“It’s...I was born this way”, he replied, scratching the back of his head. “It’s because of that...thing you have too.

“Can you teach me?”, asked Suguru, his violet eyes wide with hope.

“No. You’d have to be born in my clan and with these”. He took off his glasses and pointed to his eyes as he sat on the ground.

Noticing Suguru’s disappointed face, he added:

“But you’ll learn other things at the school.”

Suguru smiled resignedly, looking at the ground as he sat next to Gojo. He didn’t dare tell him the things he could already do with his technique. For some strange reason, swallowing curses felt dark and ugly, and not just because of their taste. Sometimes he felt something ominous came with keeping so many inside him. Satoru’s technique, on the other hand, seemed beautiful, bright, and natural, as if no one else in the entire universe could carry it with such grace.

Since Suguru wasn’t saying anything, Satoru, a bit nervous, asked:

“You know about the Curse School, right? If not, I can talk to them about you. Next year, I’m starting my first year.”

Geto smiled at him. There was something endearing about what he’d said. His words made him feel welcome at the famous school, even though he hadn’t set foot in it yet.

“Yeah, they came to recruit me a couple of weeks ago. I’m supposed to start my first year too, but...”. He hesitated. “...that day, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go. I said I’d give them an answer by the end of the month.”

Gojo felt disappointed. He had really started to like him. He could get used to those violet eyes and that flamboyant hair. No, he knew he would get used to it.

Playing it cool and while looking at his nails, he asked:

“And now? What do you think?”

Geto smiled at him. Gojo Satoru had become annoyingly charming to him. Maybe leaving traditional education wouldn’t be so bad. At least that curious boy would be by his side. And something told him he wouldn’t regret sharing his teenage years with him.

“Now I’m sure I want to go.”

Satoru felt a smile spreading from the tips of his toes to the ends of his violet hair. He never expected to smile at someone he’d known for less than two hours; it just happened as naturally as breathing.

He took a sip of his Coke and, besides instantly getting addicted to the sugar, felt the familiar twinge in his head. He didn’t have much time left. He had to lie down, or he’d end up passing out. He sighed and glanced at Suguru. He never thought he’d have such a good time that afternoon. He wanted to stay there, not just that day, but all week, month, year. But it was impossible.

Although, he thought, they had four years ahead of them. And who knows how much fun they’d have then. He smiled again. He felt that it would be alright. Very alright.

He stood up and, before leaving, extended his hand.

“See you next year, Geto Suguru?”

Suguru took it and, without letting go, replied:

“See you, Gojo Satoru.”

And so it would be. Even when he was out of sight, out of reach, and out of his life, in the countless memories of their days together, Satoru would see him. He’d see the photographs, the books, and the hair ties he’d leave behind. He’d see his smile, his eyes, and the way he said his name. He’d see, in short, into the intricate and gray soul of that boy who, thanks to ironic fate, he’d come to love inexplicably.

Unbearably.

Infinitely.

And he’d keep seeing him, until his last breath.

🕹️———————————-

Illustration by @ahresprite 🖤

[comicaurora]

Also in light of the yu-gi-oh! Rewatch, do you have any opinions on the changes to Joey's character and arc(s) in the anime compared to the manga? It always felt like the anime REALLY wants to make him into the class clown and in the process missed/ downgraded some of his stronger moments for me, but I also read the manga first and am probably biased.

I think the one Joey change I disagree with is downgrading how much of an ass-kicker he is in the manga, but I think that was part of the general suite of adjustments they made to center the anime 100% on Duel Monsters, where that was a much more gradual thing in the manga. Several other games and non-game threats took center stage early on, and alongside that, Jounochi's origins as a badass delinquent punk were a lot more centralized in the early chapters. It didn't come up much as the comic went on and got more millennium-item-based, but on the rare occasion that anyone still tried to solve their problems with violence instead of card games, Manga Jounochi just. absolutely spanked them. It was a nice way to reinforce that card games and shadow games were ONE way for the heroes to solve problems, but they weren't the ONLY way - and it also kind of highlighted that everyone the gang was dealing with, no matter how much of a tough-guy gimmick they had, was still - you know - a card game nerd. Manga Bandit Keith got absolutely stomped when he tried to throw hands and it was hilarious. It also helped make Joey's Dark And Brooding Past a little more tangible - like, oh yeah, pre-Yugi-friendship this guy was regularly winning fights with entire gangs singlehandedly, if this were a problem that could be solved with punching he would have already solved it with punching.

It also helped make Yugi and Jou's relationship more of a foil situation in the early manga, a classic Big Guy Smart Guy duo. Jou regularly bailed out Yugi from bullies and bad situations by virtue of being the scariest motherfucker on the block, and in turn Yugi/Yami would only take over and help out when a situation was contrived to be so horribly unfair that Jou couldn't get himself out of it, at which point Yami would resolve it with a combination of smarts and dark magic. This dynamic slapped, but it was mostly relegated to the Season Zero chapters that didn't make it to the anime, so I can see why it got a little lost.

I also think part of why the anime dialed back Joey's ass-kicking is because they wanted to make Kaiba cooler and more consistent character-wise, which was a big struggle with the early manga, and that meant making him a little more of an action star - frequently at Joey's expense.

That said, I don't think the anime does Joey dirty when it comes to what really matters (card games) because they use the medium of card games to highlight Joey's most consistent character trait across both mediums: absolutely refusing to give up on a fight until his body literally gives out. If I had a nickle for every time Joey lost a duel on a technicality by falling into a coma on his last turn, I'd have two nickles.

This is also why I think the non-manga filler seasons and spinoffs are some of the most fun adventures in the show. Not only do they have actual non-card-game stakes, but they let Joey do fun things like wear power armor shaped like his favorite dragon and punch people with it. I'll take the loss of Manga Jounochi if it lets me keep Joey Vs The Evil Bikers From Atlantis.

[bitter-panacea]

Goultard's "reincarnations"

In the World of Twelve, we know of many different characters who have reincarnations. Whether they have 9 lives and keep their memories with every reincarnation like ecaflip's sons, or whether they are immortal but lose their memories at every rebirth like most eliatropes and dragons of the council.

Goultard is sort of an anomaly. Although he calls this process "reincarnation", there is no rebirth involved.

Goultard : We were friends in one of my reincarnations, and i remember i had a lot of fun with you.

We know Goultard has died before. Probably many times. But (as far as i'm aware) we only know of two specific times. One in the Dofus manga and one in Wakfu.

When goultard dies, his body simply... stays dead, until it has the time to regenerate. Goultard uses a specific word to speak of this regeneration : "recompose" himself. As in the opposite of "decompose", "putting himself back together". And he can apparently also absorb things inside him during this process???

Goultard : I must have accidentally absorbed you when I recomposed myself

In volume 5, we see Goultard die, or more accurately, we see Vald die, since at this time Vald is the one controlling the body that they share.

Vald was at the wrong place at the wrong time, got caught in a scheme that didn't concern him, and paid the price anyway. He was drugged, and his body cut in two at the waist.

Vald : No... Not... like this... I can't die... like... this...

Shortly after, the body has come back together, and Goultard makes his first appearance.

Goultard : Unfortunately for you, the plan wasn't perfect! / Homar's minion : What? Who the hell are you? / Goultard : My name is Goultard, little maggot, behold my darkness...

Goultard : ... For it is the last thing you will ever see.

I have SO MUCH to say about the way Gou's introduced in the manga but that's for another post.

Note : Goultard later "survives" similar or worse injuries. Since Vlad and Vald are said to be less powerful than Gou, i think we can imagine they're also less resistent to injuries than he is. He gets brutally impaled on the Cornu's fist in volume 17, but stays conscious and keeps trying to fight even with a giant hole in his abdomen.

Cornu Mollu : I have to admit you're taking a long time to die, it commands respect.

Just look at him teehee :)

Not dying means his body has a harder time regenerating by itself, and he requires medical attention to recover. (Arty needs it too they both got demolished in that fight)

Eni : Don't act like a child, the eniripsa suppository is the best way for you to get your strength back!

Eni : Didn't need to make a big deal out of it (slaps his ass)

Didn't need to include that, i just wanted to.

In Wakfu s01e22 Rubilax, we learn that Goultard is dead when Tristepin visits his tomb and starts to talk about what his life has been like since they parted ways.

I assume Goultard dying was the very reason they parted ways and Tristepin started adventuring on hiw own.

We have no clue what killed Goultard or for how much time he's been dead. But Tristepin is still young, and i dont think he's been on his own (with Rubi) for very long. I'd say two years at MOST.

But Goultard wakes up and says, although he was dead, he's not anymore, so really, there's no reason to worry or even ask. And they never mention it again after that.

I've seen multiple people say Goultard faked his death. I would tell them to rewatch the episode because this really does not look fake to me.

Goultard coming back from the dead exactly at the moment tristepin needed him is not a coincidence, to me it shows that goultard's "reincarnation" is at least partly a conscious decision. He could have simply stayed dead but decided otherwise.

In the Dofus manga special-issue Les Shushus de Rushu, while he is enchained and imprisoned, we can see that Goultard can sleep for years on end, entering a sort of hibernation/meditation.

Kiki : When are you going to wake up and take care of your wives? / Azra : You've been sleeping for years, it's time to get up! Wake up Goultard!

I think him dying is similar to this. To him, choosing to stay dead instead of regenerating and waking up is like staying in bed and oversleeping.

In volume 27, Goultard himself implies he doesn't know if he can die permanently.

Goultard : First of all, nobody knocked me out.... We don't even know if that's possible.

When he's dead, does his spirit go where all other spirits go when they die? No way to know. But my guess would be to say no. Since he laughed hearing Tristepin's stories, it means even dead he's somewhat conscious of what's going on around him. Maybe like a ghost?

Is he, in a way, like a walking corpse, already dead but kept alive by magic? This feels kind of puella magi madoka magica to me, but I obviously can't explain what i mean without majorly spoiling puella magi madoka magica.

[theamityelf]

how do you think komaru would react to kamakura makoto? "...Makoto?" "...I don't recall allowing her to use my first name, is that a thing I did?" *Izuru shakes his head no. Byakuya walks away, not wanting to deal with this.* Oh the angst potential with Makoto sitting there like "...Ok. I think I know this person?"

"Makoto?"

He processes a lot from that one word. Very familiar use of his name. Very tentative tone, suggesting she can already tell something is wrong. No surprise, which suggests both that she came here to see him, rather than running into him by happenstance, and that she came with the expectation that something would be wrong. Did someone call her about him? Why would someone do that?

He understands. This person is important to him. Or was important to Him.

He could do an approximation of how a normal person would act, seeing someone they care about, but pretending will make it worse for her if he gets caught not knowing who she is later in the conversation.

"Hi," he says. "It's good to see you again. Sorry, but I'm kind of...blanking on a few things."

The careful disposition turns to one of disbelief. He's done something wrong. "That's all you have to say? You're not surprised to see me here?"

Okay. More information there. He should make this better.

"He doesn't remember you," Izuru says bluntly. "Just tell him who you are so he can react appropriately."

Pretty big setback there. She looks very upset. "Makoto?! What does he mean?"

He acquires a soothing tone. "It's true that I've lost a lot of memories, but don't worry; I'm doing everything I can to regain them." Give me more information, so I can pretend for you.

"But you forgot me?"

"He forgot everything, without exceptions," Izuru says. He's actually being generous, in his own eyes, because the truth isn't that Makoto Naegi forgot everything; Makoto Naegi was removed from that body and replaced with a new iteration of the Kamukura Project. (At least as far as he's concerned.)

"They told me you were different. They even said that I shouldn't look for you until after they talked to you."

You should have listened. This would be a lot less painful for you. "Can you tell me your name, please?" Makoto asks.

Her eyes are gleaming with tears. "I'm Komaru. I'm your little sister. We grew up together. We spent every day together, until you came to this place."

Komaru. Sister. Oh dear. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to forget. I'll do everything I can to remember." And he hugs her. She flings her arms around him in turn.

"I can't believe it...Mom and Dad are going to be..."

"Please don't tell them," he says. "I don't want to cause any more suffering. By the time I see them next, I'll be better. It would help if you could tell me things I'm supposed to remember."

With a sniffle, Komaru weakly says, "Like in that manga...about the girl with amnesia."

"Yeah, just like that."

She musters a smile. "I'll do my best. But, shouldn't you see a doctor about what happened to make you forget?"

"I've seen a few doctors. I'm okay."

[randomreadingtimewithtsuki]

Hiii I love your works and keep up the good work!!!

This is my first time requesting something XD

I wanna request Ryusui from Dr.stone with the prompt "dancing in the rain"? Like- they are wrapped in each other's arms dancing together with no care in the world? ❤️❤️

I would be really pleased if you do this thank youu🫶🫶

Hello!

Thank you so much! You did great at requesting! it is an honor to write your first one!

I hope you enjoy this one as well my dear! please let me know what you think!

I may or may not have exaggerated a bit. i changed it a bit, just a little bit.

Tsuki's note: i am not a manga reader so this may be coming out of nowhere on the timeline. Also, reader fixes things beacuse yes, imagine you are learning with Kaseki here. i am an engineer and i like to fix things. I projected a bit, just for the sake of plot.

Tsuki's note: i really love ryusui and i feel like i won't make him justice.... *sigh* lets see how it goes...

--------------------------------------------------------------------

You were finishing a few touches in the perseus. Usually the one who did this was Kaseki, but he was busy with helping Senku with another insane project, so you took it upon yourself to finish the boat's maintenance.

Anytime you were at it, it wasn't uncommon at all to have Ryusui walking around the boat. You always took it as him being patient with wanting to sail again or just checking on your work - how it was compared to Kaseki, maybe.

But you paid him no mind. At times you would also see Francois, and they usually had something for you - some water, some cookies, something.

This time around, he was actually helping with something - Ryusui was carrying around some supply boxes, it wasn't like Taiju and Tsukasa weren't around, so you guessed he young master just felt like doing something.

The wheater was getting bad very fast. You usually got everything in a dry spot and continued later, but you were so close to being done! just a little bit! You heard Ryusui asking you to collect everything - the sky was turning darker and darker. You asked him for a few minutes, quick stuff.

Just then, it started to rain. A few droplets here and there, no big deal! You can finish this! just gotta be careful. A sigh left your lips when you noticed you needed something that wasn't around you - probably forgot to grab this tool.

So you went back inside the ship, where Kaseki usually kept the tools to fetch the one you needed. You spotted it rather quickly and as you were walking back to last bit of task, you heard a very familiar booming voice from behind you:

Ryusui: Y/N? You are drenched!

You laugh and turned around to see Ryusui staring at you.

Y/N: Well... yeah, its raining a little bit.

Ryusui: C'mon, I will have Francois fetch you some dry clothes.

Y/N: oh, just a moment, i am almost done.

As soon as you said that, you saw a glimpse of a confusion on his face:

Ryusui: But the rain is going to pick up soon, you sho-

Y/N: Yeah, I am not made of sugar, I won't melt! How about you?

You smiled at him and walked away.

You didn't hear Ryusui coming after you, so you just went back to what you were doing. By the time you were finally done, a down pour started. You could barely see in front of you.

You sighed happily - you were done! drenched but done!The rain really muffled most noises, as you didn't hear footsteps approaching you. No, you only felt a hand on your shoulder - a hand with blue marks:

Ryusui: Y/N!

You jumped. You got scared for dear life. You turned around kinda pissed at him for scaring you like that! with a hand on you chest, you felt your heart stop and restart:

Y/N: Don't do that!

Ryusui: Ah... Sorry. I called for you but you didn't answer.

Oh. You probably didn't hear him - thats how strong rain was:

Y/N: Oh... Look at that, you didn't melt!

You could see Ryusui was a bit annoyed by your comment. But he just grinned, that cocky grin that always came with the finger snapping:

Ryusui: Aha! This rain is nothing for a sailor! I was worried about this beautiful person walking alone on this heavy rain!

He motioned his hand towards you. You just blinked. He was so damn ridiculous at times, but you cannot lie you loved it.

Y/N: Ah... Thanks, i guess?

Ryusui: Let's go back inside, Y/N.

He offered his hand to you. You couldn't help but be snarky one last time as you automatically placed your hand in his:

Y/N: For someone used to water you sure run away fast from it.

Ryusui looked at you and smiled. With swift movement, he had you in his arms terribly close to him:

Ryusui: Aha! I am not running!

You felt your face burn. so close. you were feeling a mix between pushing him away and walking off or just try to find a hole then and there.

You ended up choosing to push him away or try to. Because he still had a hold of your hand, and pulled back again. You started to get a little mad and before you could give a light punch to his chest, he spun you around and caught your other hand:

Ryusui: Haha! A little rain doesn't scare me, specially when i am accompanied by such a beautiful person.

You were completely stunned. You felt your face burn even more, no words left your lips. What was he talking about? Why was he so charming?

You felt like this staring moment lasted forever. But while you were in that daze - that was actually really short - Ryusui continued talking to you:

Ryusui: Say, Y/N, what would you-

Another booming voice came from somewhere in the ship, this voice:

Taiju: Y/N! Ryusui! Where are you?

That made you both look in the direction of the voice, but you couldn't really see because of the rain. But you took this chance to push Ryusui, grab his hand and yell back at Taiju:

Y/N: Yeah! We are going back!

Ryusui was a bit surprised, he did not expect you to hold his hand and drag him along. Not when you were picking on him for not staying in the rain.

He couldn't help but smile. You were adorable! He allowed you to drag him back for shelter. Upon getting inside the ship, you were greeted by towels - a courtesy from Francois.

You grabbed your towel and quickly walked away, not daring to look around. You could hear a worried Taiju following asking if you were cold or something, perhaps a fever? your cheeks were colored.

In reality you just wanted to walk away from Ryusui. He can be stupidly charming, meanwhile you were swearing to Taiju were ok, not a fever, not a cold. you were ok.

Ryusui who was left standing with Francois smiled, while watching you walk away:

Francois: Ryusui - sama, did something happen?

The man snapped his fingers before answering:

Ryusui: Just a little waltz on the rain!

Francois smiled slightly and nodded. Ryusui couldn't help but wish he had a little more time with you outside. just a little bit more. After all he loved seeing your embarrassed face, it suited so well this time. He would never deny how much he loved when you got so shy around him, it was so cute!

Perhaps next time, you could actually dance in the rain together?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading!

Let me know what you think!

[snailor-bee]

Law x G!Reader / SFW  / 1.4k Summary: The captain really didn't want you to find out, but find out you did.

That he liked... romance manga?

Notes: Written for the @op-xreader-zine! Amazing art by @damagedintellect thanks for letting me write something to go with your art. ;u;

You tried the handle to the captain’s door first.

Everyone knew that Law didn’t like to be interrupted so he frequently locked the door. You’d have to knock to see if he’d let you in. If not—unless it was an emergency—then it was best to try again later.

Finding it unlocked, you walked inside, already talking.

“Captain, I got the map for the next island, and I was wondering if—” You looked up and cut yourself off at the look of pure horror on Law’s face.

He was holding a manga in between long, skinny fingers, the cover bright pink and—despite the fact that you didn’t read them—it would be hard to miss the figures on the front that just screamed ‘romance’.

There was a pregnant pause.

“Should I come back later or…”

“Lock the door,” Law ordered, voice like steel. You swallowed and did as he said. Slowly, he put down the book and motioned you closer.

Feeling trepidation drip down your spine, you did so. Law’s gold eyes burned into you. Though they were normally serious, right now they were intense.

Coming before his desk, you fidgeted. “Captain?”

He said your name and you straightened. “I want you to listen to me very carefully, no one is to hear about this. Am I understood? No one. If I hear anyone snickering around the hallways about this, I will have you removed.”

You nodded quickly. “Yessir! It won’t happen, I’ll keep it to myself!”

“Dismissed.”

Quickly you headed for the door, just as you were opening it to make your escape, you paused and then looked over your shoulder. There seemed to be a faint blush across your captain’s face but it could have just been the light. “Say… even though I won’t mention it to anyone, I also don’t think it’s a big deal? You can like what you like.” You shrugged. “Shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks, right? C’ya later, captain!”

You ducked out of the room before he could reply; heart hammering in your chest as you sped away. 

At the next island, Law grabbed you before you could head out with your friends, a hand tightly gripping your inner arm and dragging you away. Everyone watched you go with confused expressions and you whimpered in terror, reaching out for them.

Everyone knew that the captain didn’t go out into town except with a few shipmates—those who had been on the sub the longest and that most definitely didn’t include you.

“W-what’s up?” you asked when he’d led you far enough to be out of earshot of the crew.

“Wanted to show you something,” he muttered under his breath and didn’t elaborate any further.

Finally, he stopped outside of a bookstore, and you barely got to glance at the display before he escorted you inside. His shoulders were hunched over as if he didn’t want to be seen as he silently led you to a corner.

Manga lined the walls there, but it was clear where the romance section started, the covers all bright and colorful. He eyed the shelves before pulling one down.

“Did you mean what you said the other day, y/n-ya?” he asked.

You nodded. “Yeah of course!”

“Then maybe you can do me a favor…?” he trailed off meaningfully.

“Sure!” You didn’t know what it was, but you figured it couldn’t be that bad, right?

He held up the manga book in front of him. “I’m collecting these, but I’m missing volumes. Would you help me?”

You stared at the cover, some dude leaning against the wall while a girl blushed as they stared at each other. It took a moment for the request to permeate. “Uh… what?”

“Check if bookstores have them when we stop at an island. I’d pay you, for the cost and the time of course.”

“And why not… do it yourself?”

Law shifted, looking slightly uneasy. “It’s embarrassing,” he confessed at last. “You’re a girl, it wouldn’t be as weird if you’re buying them.”

You opened your mouth to argue, already offended by the statement before he held up a hand. “Y/n-ya, I literally have ‘death’ tattooed across my knuckles.” Your lips twisted into a frown and you crossed your arms.

“So what! You like a girly series, who cares?”

He made his own displeased face at your phrasing. “I have a certain… reputation.” You tapped your foot, unimpressed. Law sighed. “Look, I’d appreciate it, okay? It’s just uncomfortable for me. When people find out, they normally laugh and crack jokes. You were the first person who… didn’t.”

Immediately, your irritation melted away and you heaved your own sigh, unfolding your arms. “Alright, alright, fine. I’ll do.”

You watched as Law didn’t quite smile but his lips definitely quirked up. Your heart skipped a beat at the sight; it was rare to see the captain content, let alone happy, especially by something that you had caused.

“Thank you,” he said solemnly.

Which was how you found yourself as a sort of delivery bird. On each island you came to, you went hunting for Shoreleave Passion! much to the amusement of your friends. You didn't explain, besides saying that someone showed it to you, and you liked it enough to keep reading.

Which wasn’t entirely untrue. Apparently, Law figured that you doing his deliveries also meant he now had someone to confide in. So you were up-to-date on the series, despite never reading it (which came in handy whenever someone decided to ask what it was about) but you also got to hear Law’s personal theories and headcanons.

They were… numerous and long. The two of you were spending a fair amount of time together. More than one person had asked if you were dating, as Law met you for dinner or lunch to exchange the book, and then, since you were there already, ate and hung out together or he would pull you into his office for hours-long rundowns of the latest volume.

It was nice though. You found that you didn’t mind. You got to watch as Law’s face lit up in a way you had never seen before and, if you were honest with yourself, all the sudden one-on-one time had you harboring a rather large crush on your captain. But really, who could blame you? Even before you had started spending time with the man, you had thought he was attractive, so getting to know him on a personal level made it far, far too easy to start to like him.

While you were musing walking through the Polar Tang a hand unexpectedly covered your mouth and your eyes widened as you were dragged into a closet, your scream muffled.

“Y/n-ya, calm down, it’s just me,” Law reprimanded, as he held you against his chest until you relaxed. Once he relaxed his grip, you spun around and smacked him in the chest.

“What was that for!” you hissed, and he shushed you.

“People can be walking down this way, keep your voice down.”

You glared at him, and Law cleared his throat, suddenly looking a bit sheepish.

“I heard that the final volume is on the island. At a specific store.” He gave you the directions, and you nodded along, eyes maybe a tad too focused on the curve of his mouth as he spoke. “I also wanted to… thank you, for doing all of this for me.”

That snapped you out of it and your eyes shot up to meet his.

Law held your gaze. “It’s been… nice,” he said slowly. You blinked back. Were the two of you closer? When did that happen? Unconsciously, you licked your lips and watched as his gold eyes tracked the movement.

Butterflies started battering at the sides of your stomach. Law reached out and ran his fingers across your cheekbone, making you fight down a shiver.

“What could I possibly do to thank you for all you've done?” Law went on, his breath ghosting against your lips as he leaned towards you.

You swallowed. “It’s no problem…” Your eyelids fluttered closed at his close proximity, hope beating an erratic tempo in your chest.

When his lips brushed yours, it felt like you could have soared as you gasped and reached out blindly for him, hands burrowing into his shirt.

It was a simple kiss, just your lips pressed together so sweetly that you swore you tasted sugar when he pulled away. You licked your lips again and chuckled weakly.

“Wow,” you said with amazement.

Law smirked. “Was that okay?”

“More than okay,” you confirmed, tugging on his shirt to get him to lean back down. “Kiss me again."

[the-eeveekins]

While I'm on a roll, I'm going to go off on a little bit of a personal rant (continuing something I mentioned earlier), that's been on my mind due to some comments I've seen made about G-Witch and Sulemio in recent days. I normally try to avoid writing rants like this but this one has been grinding my gears a bit.

Yes, in the grand scheme of queer media, Sulemio's relationship can definitely come across as underwhelming. No one would deny that you can get more explicitly and textually queer stories out there, especially by queer creators. But that absolutely ignores some of the circumstances surrounding the show.

First, it's been made pretty obvious by now that the staff wasn't allowed to be very explicit in their depiction of Suletta & Miorine's relationship. The company that censored an interview and released a tone-deaf statement that their relationship should be "up to interpretation" because a VA said they were married obviously wasn't going to be cool with Suletta and Miorine kissing, saying I love you and getting married on screen. They would've put their foot down well before we got to the ending. And even then the staff did enough to make Suletta & Miorine explicitly married by the end of the show. They found ways around whatever limitations Bandai put into place to try and make Sulemio subtext, and made them a canon couple within the show itself. I get tired of people saying the show didn't explicitly and textually confirm their relationship and marriage because it does, just in a roundabout way via the "sister-in-law" line because they couldn't do it in a straightforward manner.

Seriously, by all accounts, it's not like the people making this show wanted to end Sulemio with "just handholding" and half-assed the relationship, they wanted to do more but couldn't. Just look at how some of the staff members depicted them in the artbook once they were off Bandai's leash: with multiple wedding pictures.

Second, it's actually a big deal that they ended the show married, even if they had to do it in a roundabout way. Yes, the yuri genre is generally going to have more explicit lesbian relationships than what we got with Sulemio, but the yuri genre isn't exactly mainstream. Dedicated yuri anime isn't airing in primetime and ending with the main couple married, it's usually late-night, niche and usually only gets one season that introduces the couple, maybe gives you a kiss, but forces you to finish the story through the LN/Manga. Mobile Suit Gundam is a popular, mainstream multi-media franchise that has been running for 44 years, and G-Witch was airing on prime time. The fact that a mainstream franchise like Gundam aired an anime series that was centered around a queer woman and a sapphic relationship that ended with the couple married is huge, especially considering the legal status of same-sex marriage in Japan. Niche yuri anime airing in the middle of the night can probably get away with a lot more gay content than a mainstream franchise airing in primetime can, especially when the franchise is owned by a bunch of old, conservative dudes.

As an anime fan, it's amazing to see a mainstream animated series like The Witch From Mercury focused around a queer woman and a sapphic relationship (and make it TEXTUAL, not relying on subtext to carry it), especially a series not specifically adapted from a yuri LN/Manga. And as a lesbian and a long time Gundam fan, seeing a major franchise I love like Gundam, that has always been dominated by male characters, air a series focused around a queer female MC and her relationship with another woman is a much bigger deal to me than a lot of random yuri series would ever be.

Reducing Sulemio to comparisons between other queer media or yuri series and how it's "inferior" to those because it lacked certain elements ignores and disregards the unique challenges and situation of The Witch From Mercury, and the way the staff fought to overcome those issues to deliver an explicit sapphic story ending in a married couple.

[animereviewsbykyranskye]

My current top 15 Anime and why

Because why the fuck not. I'm doing top 15 so that I have some variety behind it. Otherwise I would just be gushing non stop XD

Apparently numbers go big now - AND THEY GO SMALLER IF YOU TRY TO TYPE IN THE SAME LINE AS THEM???

comparison:

15

15 -

DA HECK????

(Edit: I was going to colour all the numbers because I wanted a rainbow. WHY THE FUCK FOR THEY CHANGE TO SMALL WHEN YOU COLOUR THEM??????)

Guess the titles of the anime get a small heading. Anyways. Onto the actual list!

15

Technoroid OVERMIND

Ayo. Starting out with a really random one. So if anyone were to look at my Anilist then they might be a bit confused. I decided I'd keep movies out of here as well as anything I haven't specifically finished. Also takt op. Destiny needs a re evaluation.

Anyways. This premise is so sick and I feel like they managed it really well. The characters were all really fun and the music was fantastic which is honestly the most important thing about Idol shows. I really like idol shows but often struggle with the stupid drama in them that just leads to seasons upon seasons that didn't need to happen or wouldn't actually happen.

In this they're just androids. The fantasy twist works so well for the genre and I honestly don't know why it isn't done more often. This way they can bullshit the drama and it actually makes sense.

Honestly my favourite character was Kite. He was great and his voice always gave me shivers. Especially his piece in the closing. Damn.

I don't want to go into full reviews with this, rather just gushing about things I like and stuff. I really don't think this got the recognition it deserves - probably because of it's deviation from the norm - but it would be cool to get some sort of sequel.

(Edit: There's a manga releasing apparently. Imma check that out.)

14

UniteUp!

Continuing on with the trend of idol animes apparently. UniteUp! was so good. As I mentioned in my Reviews while I watch of the show, it felt so grounded and real that other idol shows just don't seem to capture. These were all real people with real problems dealing with real life.

I also like how we had such a large cast of characters but it never really felt overwhelming as they focused on group dynamics and specific individuals rather than trying to cram every single person into their own arcs.

Once again the music was fantastic and by god was this show pretty gay. Honestly I don't know what the sentiments of others are, but the Anela duo definitely weren't straight and neither were Akira and Daiki. That bath scene says it all.

Anyways. If you want a fun time with a really solid idol anime, please check it out. I saw earlier that we're getting a season two soon. I am so looking forward to it.

13

Trigun Stampede

Damn! I don't even know what to really say about this one. The visuals are absolutely stunning - there is no doubt about that. The score and the characters are excellent. And how dare they leave us on that cliff hanger.

I have absolutely no history with this story and still need to watch and read the originally but I am really looking forward to seeing how the story adapts between the three.

You can ask my partner. I've already said we're watching everything trigun related as soon as we are done with our current show.

I'm really looking forward to season two. And especially seeing how this all pans out. Apparently there will be tears according to the fandom. Concern.

12

Re-main

Damn this show came out of nowhere for me. I watched it quite awhile ago and have been meaning to rewatch it again.

The premise is definitely a sports anime but honestly so different. All because of one thing. The fact that he is an amnesiac is such a fascinating concept to work with - especially with how he was before (trying not to spoil - can't remember when this comes up in the anime)

And then the ending?? Damn. They seriously set up that cliff hanger and I really hope this show gets a sequel.

I really can't say too much about it without giving away some spoilers but damn does it change up the formula and do it so fucking well.

11

Given

Given is great. Such a pure but heartbreaking portrayal of love on one side with such conflicting but also nurturing views on the other. Having the different realtionships throughout this is really well done how they all bounce off of each other. Especially when they entertwine it with the music.

As it is said. That is how they communicate - through the music.

I'm busy catching up with the manga and really hope the anime continues with it.

Also the fucking is just fucking gorgeous. It has no write to hit you that hard.

Also - something else that shouldn't be allowed to hit you that hard. Damn Mafuyu has had a difficult past. We love how he learns to heal and grow with Uenoyama at his side.

Anyways, moving on.

10

Bakuten!!

Okay. Who said a sports anime could be this pretty.

I love the art style and the music throughout all of this. I love the portayal and the evolution of these character - seriously all their arcs are great. The interactions of the team is so tangible and real.

I watch a lot of sports anime and I often struggle with some of the drama used within the sports - it feels like the only thing that ever fuels the story is the matches. Whereas in Bakuten - the character seriously fuel the story. You can understand their motivations much more than just - I want to play this sport and be the best!

I also feel like they really captured everything really well in the movie. The whole concept of wanting to sore is great and really well executed.

I also love the interactions they have with the other team. It's not just a once off competition or practice match that they face each other. We actually get tangible characters for the whole team and see how much they two teams are similar to one another. It's a very healthy rivalry that isn't normally this expanded on in sports anime.

9

Sasaki and Miyano

Yesssssss. These two are just absolutely amazing. Their whole story arc and relationship is just tooth rottingly sweet. They bounce off of each other so well.

And I love the fact of how slow the actual story is. They meet at the start of Miyanos first year (from what I know - I still need to read the novels) and sasaki's second and they only end up confessing just before graduation happens. It really plays out well and is so healthy.

There is no problematic elements like in so many BL stories which is such a breath of fresh air. And the fact that sasaki is very specific about making sure to maintain boundaries to ensure that miyano is comfortable is also excellent.

On a slightly different note - I still need to see the Hirano and Kagiura movie. Been dying to watch it. I've been keeping up to date with both manga and both of these stories are amazing. I love the dichotomy of the two stories and how they are coming to their own realisations of their feelings in honestly very different ways.

I also recently watched the dub of the anime due to some videos on tiktok. Fucking hell it is absolutely hilarious. Kellen Goff as Sasaki has no reason for being that good. Seriously. Damn.

8

Link Click

On a completely different note. Damn this one makes you questions your own morals and reality as you know it.

I really don't want to get into this one much as I do believe watching it blind is the best way to go.

The art style is fantastic and that opening hits like a truck it is so good. The characters just click (pun not intended) and you just understand their motivations and don't know which side to side with most of the time. It brings about such high moral dilemmas that will seriously mess with your brain sometimes and there is one episode that will likely make you cry.

Anyways. Season 2 has just started airing and I am so ready for it.

7

Buddy Daddies

Why did a show about two queer platonic dudes who adopt a child while beings assassins hit so damn hard.

The show jumps between episodes with backstory and episodes with them just being good dads and it is balanced so well. This anime won't end up getting a sequel most likely with how it ended but damn I wouldn't say no to one.

Rei is my favourite character and I relate to him far too much. His interactions with the world are so fascinating and his whole arc with Miri is honestly some of the best media I've seen.

I absolutely loved watching this show weekly and it always brightened up my day when I realised a new episode would be up.

If you would like further thoughts on this one then check the Reviews while I watch on it for more chaos.

6

No Game No Life

So. This was the first ever anime that I ever watched. It was a random recomendation from a friend. Look at where we are today.

This show is honestly just so fun. The characters are silly and the whole plot is just absolute chaos. I really enjoy the games aspect and how it was all incorporated into the world.

I can't even really say much about it. It is just a guilty pleasure of mine and will always hold a special place in my heart.

Also. Please can it just get a second season already.

5

Assassination Classroom

So. Unlike everything else on the list - this one I only finished really recently. My partner and I were watching it together. And to put it out there straight away. I cried. That ending was far too emotional.

I really enjoyed the humour throughout the whole thing as well as the constant underlying dread of the whole situation.

They also really played out Koro-senseis backstory really well. The teasing to it was excellent. I must say though that one of the twists seriously came out of left field. Like damn.

I've just recently bought the boxset and am reading through the manga. Once again. It's absolutely amazing.

Also the openings of them all jumping are absolutely fucking hilarious and you can't tell me otherwise.

If you want to know what officially sold me on the show was just in the first episode. (Note we watched in dub)

Don't ask me why but I found this to be the most hilarious thing ever. The absurdity and the line delivery was magnificent. I annoy my partner by quoting it atleast once a day.

4

Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan

Speaking of comedies. This show has no right to be this good. The absudist dead pan comedy in the middle of whats meant to be a TV show is such a random premise but just works so well.

Due to the nature of the show, the characters are extremely relateable. I especially love Kumatani and Kikaku.

If your on the same side of anime tiktok that I am then you have definitely seen/heard snippets of the dub.

I think this was the first anime that I originally watched in sub and then tried it in dub and actually enjoyed it. (I often find that whatever I originally watched it in is the only one I can watch it in - it's very difficult for me to change it)

The voice acting on both sides just works perfectly for the show. And that final episode and how they did it was the best thing ever.

Please just give it a try.

3

Angel Beats

Okay. Time for a hard hitter. This comedy like assassintaion classroom is fucking excellent but will make you cry, like damn.

In complete and utter contrast to No game no life, this was the second anime I had ever watched. I had found a video that gave some suggestions and thought I would give this one a try. When I say it destoryed me, I mean it literally. I constantly think about the end of this and I absolutely love revisiting it.

The twist and turns along the way are fascinating and I love how each one alters the characters and the narrative. Each of the characters feel unique - even the lesser developed side characters - with fascinating and complex backstories.

The whole thing just makes you question your own place in life.

2

Moriarty the Patriot

Another one I just randomly tried because I saw a video on tiktok. The first episode immediately pulled me in. I thought it was just going to be some simple detective story (At the time I didn't know much about Sherlock Holmes and who Moriaty was so I didn't have any of that to guide me into this story.) But nope.

I keep saying this but in this one I really mean it. The characters are built so well. The dichotomy between William and Sherlock - as the fandom would probably agree - is just amazing. How they bounce off of each other - i don't even know how to really descirbe it.

Honestly just go watch it.

And if you enjoyed the anime - please go check out the manga too. If the anime was done well - then the manga is done to lamost perfection.

This show was what got me into reading and then eventually buying manga. I now have every single one that is out.

1

Yuri!!! on ICE

Did I make the title gay? Yes.

Okayyyyy. This is just going to be me going on about how much I love this show. Bare with me.

So I was in an anime watching slump just before I picked up this show. I had been seeing some videos popping up talking about it and decided to give it a try (this was in 2020)

I immediately fell in love with this show. Literally everything about it. I ended up rewatching it three times over the course of a week. It got to a point where I was so upset that there wasn't more content for it that I just cried for half a day. (Ask my partner - it was chaos)

This show is the reason I now read fanfiction - all because I found a way to technically have more content for it.

This show holds such an important place in my heart that I sincerely cannot express it properly.

If you've never watched it - go give it a try. It would mean a lot - and hopefully one day we might get a season two.

----

Thanks for reading, if you managed to get to this point. I find it interesting how my explanations managed to slowly get shorter throughout the list as I just started becoming more emotional than factual.

I hope you enjoyed it and maybe grabbed a recommendation or two. If you'd like to know more or hear me ramble on more about anything in particular then please let me know.

[simp999]

A New Home Ch.29

Various! Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1k

Tw: anxiety, paniking. Not too graphic

A/N: yooo

Back to the Start! Previous Next

The battle ended as expected with the main character being the victor. It continued to surprise you- not that, but the amount of fun it was to simply watch these battles, even if you already knew the outcome.

Either way, it was time for Emperor against team blue, right? You stood off to the side of the stage, lazily watching as they announced some things, as well as the following battle.

["Here we go everyone- the square King Cup: The Semi-Finals!"]

Oh- that's right. You forgot about that.

["Team Blue versus!-"]

Your eyes widened, and it's almost as if a fight or flight response had stricken you.

Because your team's name followed.

In hindsight it shouldn't have been all that surprising, but what now? You- you couldn't go all out against the Blue Team, right? No, that would most definitely change the story! Unless a fluke...no, you've learned by now that skill matters more. What were you gonna do? Carp, this is no good.

You wiped your palms on your clothes, and bit your lip. Luckily, they didn't cover that you had the battle the following day, not right after like it had seemed. It made more sense that way, giving both teams time to prepare fr such a big battle.

And more time for you to panic.

Unfortunately for you, a certain someone was shaking his head as he glared holes into the side of your head.

'They surely won't make it.' His words would be laced with richness and venom had he spoken them aloud, but his eyes said it all. No faith, that asshole. But maybe he was right- at least with how you were currently acting.

You paid no attention to the worried glances or kind words offered to you by the S4 or Yellow-Green team as you went on autopilot, chained to your own mind.

Maybe you couldn't do it. You still had a lot to perfect, and you weren't nearly as perfect as Emperor. Your team was much... messier, to say the least. And that's assuming you're even going to make it up to that battle. Come on now, this is Goggles. He was obviously an idiot, but just look at how far he's made it.

He's going to embarrass you on that stage.

You can't find a way around this time- just like what all the other characters had to go through. How ironic is that? You know the story inside out yet you still stand no chance against the main protagonist.

Before you knew it, you were lying in bed, swaddled up in your sheets. You were sweating, and not once did any kind of thoughts of self-care cross your mind. Which was odd, due to this battle being such a big deal. Did it even matter? You'd lose anyway. Some massive fluke was gonna happen right at the end of the battle, just like all his other battles. He'd exploit a weakness that you didn't even know existed. You must have so many weaknesses. Despite all the time spent here in this world, everything suddenly feels so new. As if you had just gotten here yesterday. Where did all the time go?

You didn't notice your eyes were closed until a hand nearly touched your shoulder and you flinched, honing in on a kind voice. This time it was so soft, yet it was still too loud for you. With a furrow in your brow and a corse voice, you seethed:

"What."

Oh, but he saw the way you panicked even before the word was finished. He knew you didn't mean it. He knew your heart better than you did. This is why he quietly sat down on the edge of your bed and very slowly brought his hand to your cheek, allowing you to move back if you so desired. You didn't, and his big thumb was carefully caressing your cheek and gently tilting your chin up towards him as he finally spoke.

"What are you so panicked about, Boss? Are you worried about us?"

Well, no- it wasn't... ohh that sneaky squid. Milo sure knew how to phrase himself just right.

No, you didn't want to doubt them- your family. You doubted yourself.

"You don't know what will happen. You can't be certain, you know. You can't predict the future, Boss."

About that... no, actually.

He's right.

This battle isn't technically scripted.

But Goggles' and Emperor's battle is. So how...? No, using that logic, what's the end goal? Fixing Crusty Seanwhich's food truck, right? And you'd of course do that- that was a no-brainer.

Maybe you would lose, it was a possibility for sure.

Leo raises a brow from your doorframe, Tasha in tow.

"You really have that much trust in us, eh?"

His voice is teasing and laced with sarcasm, but that goober sure is confident. He's leaning on your doorframe now, so non-chalant. What's he so confident about?

"This'll be fun y'know. That's all that matters, right?"

...Is he his own protagonist?? Odd one, he is. But Leo's right too.

"...Do you have any idea how much training we do compared to the average squid? Not to mention. We have something they don't."

You tilt your head towards her, Tasha.

"You."

"Nobody else has a leader like you."

That's almost funny, looking down at yourself right now. Face a little puffy and all swaddled up under many blankets. But you assume she's referring to the hours of sweat, notes, and blood (-ink?) or the fact that you managed to force the literal S4 into improving.

You wipe your tears and reach your hand out for Milo to grab and help you up. You run your fingers over your tentacles, shaking your head for a slight reset. Milo offers you a glass of water from your nightstand- when did that get there? You take a quick swig, then a deep breath.

"We've also got something they don't:

A badass family."

.

.

.

Feb.7.24

Next Part

[piracytheorist]

How do you think Yor and Loid navigated some plot holes of their relationship? For example, how would they justify to their associates they recently started living together after a year? People probably don't know where they lived, though, so they assumed they always lived together. Another issues is how justify being married for a year but Yor just changing her name in the beginning of the series? I guess people just don't question it too hard.

To be honest, I think it's just something the narrative is glossing over because it's got more important stories to focus on. And I don't actually mind. Stories don't need to be fully detailed on everything.

That said, maybe a way they tried to explain living apart was by saying that they were giving Anya the space to grow accustomed to Yor. They could say that having Yor immediately and suddenly move in with them could cause Anya to be distressed and hate Yor, so even though they decided to marry, they took their time getting Anya used to the new situation. Which couldn't be further from the truth, by the way, Anya was super excited to have this new woman live with them only knowing she kills people, lmao

As for the name change, the only thing I can think of as an explanation is that during the supposed year after she married, she never met someone new at her job and thus never introduced herself as "Yor Briar". Everyone who knew her a year later already knew her from before. And honestly, considering her job is desk work at city hall, it's very likely that she actually didn't meet anyone new in that year. She had the coworkers who already knew her, and since she was shy and quiet - especially before meeting the Forgers - she could just pretend that "Yeah we got married but it was a very small wedding and we took some time getting his daughter connect with me so I didn't move in with them immediately so it wasn't a big deal plus I'm shy so I didn't think to make a deal of it".

As she's said, she's spent most of her time working and taking care of Yuri - who probably only moved out a couple years before the start of the story - so it's safe to assume she didn't have time for hobbies and other activities, so another point that she possibly didn't meet any new people and had to explain the sudden name change.

So, to sum up, kind of a plot convenience, but one that could be explained through the character's previous position.

As for Loid, I'm guessing that, if he had the time to position himself as a psychiatrist in the hospital before meeting Yor, he probably said from the beginning that he was married, since getting a wife was already on the agenda. No-one knew him before - and technically, Loid Forger didn't actually exist before - so there wasn't any change he had to "introduce". He was just brought in as Loid Forger, psychiatrist, (re-)married with a child, even if he didn't have a wife at that point.

(anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)