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mandalhoerian · 2 months ago

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Repost because tumblr's tags were broken yesterday and it ate my post up 😞 Spoilers and translation notes for Rafayel's intertidal zone & analysis because it kinda floored me, I was just as a blank page as he was throughout this. I had to watch it like 5 times to understand what the story was saying and dig into chinese and japanese versions of this to piece together what was really happening. It may be my idiot brain not getting it and maybe it was like the easiest thing to understand for you but. Yeah. I may be just dumb LMFAO AND!!!! There's also a theory of mine into how Rafayel is actually able to read mc's mind/wishes through their lemurian bond, so stay tuned for that I guess

EDIT: correcting some transcriptions of chinese characters and the translations. sorry about that! google couldn't transcribe it correctly. for clarity's sake i will also include original screenshots. please tell me if anything is wrong!

EDIT 2: Check out part 2 to this as well for stuff I missed!

EDIT 3: An Abysswalker connection I found

EDIT 4: Debunking the myths of non-consent & Rafayel hurting MC in the spicy scene

So Rafayel’s whole deal in this memory, I believe, is dependency. Like, too much intensity, too much need, too much fear -- about scaring her off, about what he sees himself possibly becoming in the future, overall just being too reliant on mc and getting scared by it.

Let's begin with this massive fear of being a taker, not just in the “I’m stealing someone’s fries” way, but in this existential, soul-deep kind of way where he’s terrified of turning everything he loves into something he exploits out of demand for his art. And yeah, it’s sad when you first hear him say it, but it’s also really interesting when you look at how this all ties into his relationship with MC and his inspiration source drying up because of her.

Before Rafayel became an artist, he looked at the world in this super pure, wholesome way. Sceneries and nature were just there, things to admire and feel awe over without needing to do anything about it. Like, imagine standing at the edge of a desert, looking at a sea that’s drying up. Sure, it’s tragic, but it’s also kind of beautiful in a raw, heartbreaking way. That’s how Rafayel saw things, he could appreciate them without feeling like he had to do anything.

But then Rafayel started creating, and suddenly, sceneries weren’t just sceneries anymore. They became inspiration. He wasn’t just admiring beauty, he was extracting something from it, its meaning, its pain, its soul, to turn into art for other people. And that made him feel all kinds of icky, because now he wasn’t just looking at the drying sea. He was taking from it. Just as he's using his people's pain in his art as well, that's also a thing.

Now let’s talk about MC. Rafayel loves her like he used to love those sceneries,,, in this pure, untainted way. There's a parallel here. But here’s the kicker, he’s not the same guy who can just admire something and leave it untouched anymore.

And suddenly, this is no longer only about losing inspiration for him.

This happens after he and MC get together, and it’s like all the pain and anguish that used to fuel his creativity just.. ... dries up. He can’t find that spark anymore because now his life is surrounded by love instead of suffering. In fact, his inspiration starts coming from her and it's starting to clash with how he makes art. In the phone call, he seeks her out and says he needs her so bad and she only needs to talk to help him out. This is the first wink wink nod nod of the story.

So what does Rafayel do? He goes on this big, dramatic trip to "find inspiration" (or at least his muse), but it’s not just about his art. He’s not just looking for inspiration, he’s trying to figure out how to be less dependent on her and becoming increasingly more restless over this. The temparature and physical discomfort is making things worse, he's anxiously overthinking, and imagine trying to fight this and the longest art block as of late off when all you want to do is indulge in this special person and be comforted like a lap cat all day every day.

He understands that if he lets himself indulge without restraint, one day his love for mc will turn into pure need. He’ll become more and more greedy, and he doesn’t want that and is afraid of being abandoned because of that growing neediness and dependency.

This is in relation to his art, because as @/dat-silvers-girl put in the comments, he's struggling with "the genuine fear of not being able to enjoy anything in life because all you're thinking about how to use it (as an artist)" . what if he starts doing this to her? to their love and relationship? take from her, and become someone who only takes in every area of life -- like someone who only exploits things by extracting what he feels about them to use it for his art. he's afraid of that, he doesn't like that and possibly doesn't like himself who does it. so why should she? she would leave him for sure, in his head, that's a solid reason to.

The first time around he brings up his anxiety about MC leaving him out of the inner realization of his dependency, the possibility of just what he can become, and fear of abandonment. she effortlessly soothes his worries. It's heavily implied they did it afterwards and after hearing "her life has already been consumed by him" he tweaked out a little bit and his "obsession" seeped through.

After it fades to black, he says ほら……僕もとっくに……君に侵食されてしまっているんだ…… which means "See... I've already been completely consumed by you too" in Japanese instead of the life being made a chaotic mess localization. While I think MC's line was jokey and lighthearted, I don't think this man is joking at all. Rafayel didn't say his life was consumed by her as well, he said HE was consumed. Ouh.

This took the edge off from him for a while but they hadn't gotten to the root of the problem yet, so he was back to square one after the memorial hall, because remember, he's trying to find inspiration as an act of making this dependency of his better. Pain and suffering are all around him here, which his inspiration feeds off of. The dried up ocean he could hear weakening, the skeleton of the whale, the burden of his people and homeland more prominent than before. And what does MC do? Tear through the perspective of pain and introduce a hopeful alternative, "Isn't it a surprise to see an ocean in the middle of the desert?"

This is a place that gave Rafayel the height of helplessness and suffering when he visited by himself before despite momentarily being hopeful after the locals told him such a place existed. But now, she was there to comfort him through his loneliness and pain, hug him, and give him hope yet again. He brings up how he wanted to come here with the most important person to him when he was still hopeful about it before consumed by the pain of it all, and that wish has been granted. That moment has to be so powerful for Rafayel. Literally light at the end of the tunnel.

It had me reeling that he just sat in the car after all that, staring at her for god knows how long until she woke up. He was probably overthinking again, but my interpretation that it was heavily emotional for him (it could have meant so little for MC but the world for him, she doesn't even know) and he wanted to be in that moment with her, just feel and look without restraint. Indulge a little. (I can just imagine him going just a little bit more, I'll go after she wakes up.) And like. His eyes are shining in the darkness is the description here. Perhaps he was feeling so much here. So much love. So much happiness. And he's about to go in for a kiss (heavy breathing and everything) after that, but holds himself back and actively has to pry himself away. He's feeling the neediness again.

That’s why he makes an effort to actively wean himself off and says he'll be okay on his own. What he says to her after MC is like "spoiling him" being all "hey you're sick maybe don't go? or let's go together?" (which is NOT helping Rafayel at all) is even more meaningful in Japanese and I didn't know why they left out this context, but the rearranged line would be "Do you want me to become a sea creature beached on the sand after the sea recedes, unable to breathe on my own ever again?"

Yeah. YEAH. This is about dependency. (He's saying don't coddle me I'll literally become that wolf tearing his shirt meme 😭)

So of course his stubbornness and anxiety force him to do things without MC and distance himself, he can do it. He’s determined to prove to himself that he can endure it on his own.

I also feel like part of the reason he insisted on going to the salon alone is that he’s still worried mc might come to dislike the version of him who's someone he's so sure she will leave, who isn't perfect and he hides behind the persona he's put up just for her. If he truly becomes addicted to her and shows her everything/his true self, and she ends up leaving him, it would completely break him. He's trying to be like "im so normal about her haha" but he's so not normal about her at all. He's literally obsessed I feel like, and perhaps this is him fighting it knowing it's not healthy.

and OOOH about why he ends up coming back from the salon all hot and bothered.

I have strong context that she flicked the bean in there after he left her high and dry in the car ("hot water washes away the stickiness from my body and his stifled breaths still echo in my ears, enveloping me along with the steam in the bathroom. The warmth from his fingertips lingers in the places where he touched me..." is the english. however, in chinese, it goes "熱水洗去身上的黏膩，壓抑的喘息迴盪在我耳畔，和浴室裡氤氳的水氣一起包裹著我." stating "the suppressed breathing" -- which doesn't have any possessive adjectives when I translated it on google and later explicitly asked chatgpt if it had any his/my adjectives involved, just to be sure. it said no but i'd like it if a real chinese speaking person could give their input on this !!! PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME WITH CHATGPT

so um. if the context is in fact the case that he heard her masturbating to him, the intensity with which he attacked her would be normal, I think 😭

I have belief that MC unconsciously shatters his "training himself to be without her" determination through their bond. She just keeps thinking about him the entire time. about him reading her thoughts, though. we still don't know all about the lemurian bond they share. I’d say it grants him some sort of mind/heart reading ability or connects their minds together (when she was thinking about whether she should hug him, he answered “yes”).

At the salon, I imagine Rafayel was already thinking about her like crazy. Then he realized, or perhaps, "heard" she was still worrying about him and thinking of him (as much he thought about her) and decided to go back. Rafayel probably felt that suppressing himself was only making her more anxious and unsettled. She's thinking all about him, unconsciously calling to him to come to her, she didn't want to let him go at all, wanted to go with him, etc...

but even if it was his own decision and no mind reading was involved... uh. If you ask me. He did quite literally hear her after coming back. That's also something that might make him think she wants him as much as he wants her, which made his self-restraint utterly meaningless from the start.

Disregarding this theory of mine proven wrong until a Chinese speaker helps me out here, MC returned to Rafayel's room. A translation omission happened here from what I saw. There are no possessive adjectives in the Chinese text about the room she returns to, and the Japanese one states she returned to the guest room (doesn't specify which one. She was also able to enter Rafayel's room without needing to knock before.)

so uh. she went into rafayel's room y'all. the line "this is my room, you're the one who walked in here" MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE. (SO LIKE. NOT ONLY DID SHE GO INTO HIS ROOM, SHE FLICKED THE BEAN THERE AND HE POSSIBLY HEARD IT. SHE'S MORE OF A FREAK THAN HE IS, I UNDERSTAND WHY HE LET GO AFTER THAT LMFAO)

I don't put it past him to get worked up after he finds her in his room post-bath even without my theory lmfao (idk why they put her in a dress when she should be in a bathrobe or something 😭)

His conclusion at the end of this memory that "he finds inspiration in pain and the art of creation is a part of his life. mc made him realize love and art are so alike. even if they don't complete him but burn him instead he wants them (love and art) with every fiber of his being" and MC says she doesn't like that, rightfully so.

So like. There's SO MUCH to unpack in here.

When Rafayel says he finds inspiration in pain and that creation is a part of his life, he’s admitting something raw and essential about himself: pain isn’t just a byproduct of his art, it’s intrinsic to it. For Rafayel, pain and art are intertwined in a way that’s almost inseparable. It’s like his muse isn’t just beauty, but beauty that hurts.

But then he takes this further by connecting art to love. He’s realized that both art and love demand the same from him: vulnerability, passion, and sometimes suffering. They don’t necessarily complete him (he’s not romanticizing them as salvation), but they burn him, wear him down, consume him (coincidentally, this is something he said to MC in the JP dub of this memory, that she consumes him), but also give him life. And for Rafayel, that’s the crux, even if they burn him, he wants them with every fiber of his being.

This is such a Rafayel thing to say. It’s dramatic, it’s tortured, but it’s also deeply SUBTLE. He doesn't spell all of these out, mind you, I got a headache trying to understand him. Or I'm just slow, I don't know. It shows how much he values creation and connection, even if they come at a cost.

MC, on the other hand, challenges this perspective. When she says she doesn’t like that he views love and art as things that burn him, she’s pushing back against the idea that suffering is a necessary part of creation, or love. MC doesn’t want Rafayel to see their relationship as something that requires him to hurt. She’s telling him, “You don’t have to destroy yourself to love me.”

When MC says, “You’ll never have to burn for me,” she’s giving Rafayel an alternative to his destructive mindset. She’s saying that love doesn’t have to hurt, that their relationship can exist without him sacrificing himself on the altar of passion. It’s a refusal to let Rafayel romanticize pain as the price of love.

And I love that Rafayel goes, "Will you help me look for other parts in life outside of pain?" in response. This is NOT about art or inspiration anymore, and the way the dialogue is written is just AUGH. Again I had to rewatch this over and over again for the nuances and subtext.

I love MC's response, she knew exactly what to say. “I’ll always be the one who walks along the shore with you. Of course, diving into the sea bed is fine too. If it can snow in the desert, there will be a day when the ocean returns.”

MC’s response is layered with metaphors, but at its core, it’s about unwavering support and hope::

Walking along the shore: This represents safety and companionship. MC is saying she’ll be with Rafayel in the calm, in the moments where they’re just observing life without diving into its depths. She’ll be his steady presence, his grounding force.

Diving into the sea bed: This is an acknowledgment that life and love sometimes require going deeper and they may go through hardships, into the unknown, the murky, the challenging. MC isn’t afraid of this, she’s willing to go there with him too.

Snow in the desert and the ocean’s return: This is a symbol of hope and transformation beyond being a nod to The Sea of Golden Sand. Snow in the desert seems impossible, just like the idea of Rafayel finding inspiration outside of pain might feel impossible to him. But MC believes in the extraordinary, in change, and in the possibility that beauty and creation can exist outside of suffering.

Her words are a promise: she’s willing to stand by him, to face the unknown together, and to hold onto the belief that a new way of seeing the world is possible.

And Rafayel LOWKEY PROPOSES IN RETURN.

By saying “let’s watch the sea together,” he’s accepting MC’s offer of companionship and hope in the long run. He’s recognizing that life doesn’t have to be about diving into the depths alone, it can be about sharing the experience with someone else, even if it’s just standing on the shore and watching.

“Every sea”: This phrase is key. Rafayel isn’t just committing to one kind of life or one kind of inspiration, he’s opening himself up to all possibilities. Watching every sea means embracing all facets of life, whether they’re calm or turbulent, painful or beautiful. It’s a marriage proposal declaration that he’s ready to explore the world beyond pain, with MC by his side.

So. I love that his inspiration returns after his freak is accepted by MC because he literally feels the acceptance through the bond.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. This memory DRAINED me. They were just supposed to bang what the fuck happened. Why did I have to go treasure hunting to find what was going on in this card. anyway...

#love and deepspace #rafayel #lads #lads rafayel #rafayel lads #l&ds #l&ds rafayel #qi yu #rafayel qi #fandom: lads

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 29 days ago

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Hi Miss Raven! I'm really enjoying reading the things you wrote for the future event and trien sensei event! Wonderful writing as usual ^^

If you don't mind me asking, I actually want to see some yume content to certain twst characters from japanese players but I don't know what tag to use or where to look Do you know where I'm supposed to look? I'm not sure how jp player tag their content.

NOTE: I know shipping can be a sensitive thing, but please, please, please be civil about it. This is meant to be an informative post; if I list particular tags or examples here, they are just meant to be that: TAGS and EXAMPLES. It is not equivalent to me endorsing certain content or ships.

Thank you for the feedback 🎵 I have a lot more requests to write so you’ll be fed for a while please look forward to those~

The Japanese fandom LOVES to tag works so it's easy for other fans to find what they are interested in and to avoid what they dislike. Keep the fandom etiquette in mind and practice it yourself! This means don't use unrelated tags to boost exposure when sharing your own posts; it's seen as disrespectful and rude. It also means you do NOT go out of your way to find content you know you dislike and attack the creator.

I believe the general tag for Twst is # ツイステファンアート or #ツイステ. #twstファンアート or #twstイラスト are used for Twst fan art. Most people I know look for Twst stuff on Pixiv, Twitter, or doujin purchasing sites.

If you're looking for shipping content, there are different tags for that:

# twstプラス is for any Twst character x Prefect

#女監督生 is female Prefect

#男監督生 is male Prefect

#男装監督生 is female Prefect dressed in male clothing or pretending to be male

#twstプラスNL is for Twst character x female Prefect

#twstプラスBL is for Twst character x male Prefect

#twstBL can be used for Twst character x Twst character (no Prefect)

#オリ監 (may also include 創作), #顔あり, and #監督生顔あり refers to the creator's OC or their interpretation of Yuu; Prefect generally has a "face" in these works

#モブ is a generic or “mob” character; typically means Prefect is faceless or can easily be self-inserted or projected onto

#ツイステ夢 or #twst夢 is “yume” or self ship works

If you see a B or Q in the tag, the former means male and the latter means queer or genderfluid

Here are tags that may help you find a particular genre or more specific content:

#夜のツイステ or #夜のツイステプラス refers to general 18+ Twst content

#夜のtwstプラス is for 18+ Twst character x Prefect

#twstマイナス is for yandere Twst character x Prefect

#夜のtwstマイナス is for 18+ yandere Twst character x Prefect

#女化 or #にょた is a scenario in which a character's gender changes to female

#ケモノ is animal features, generally ears and tail (ie kemonomimi); this doesn't refer to beastmen (who already have these traits by default), but generally refers to Prefect or a non-beastman gaining them

#ツイステプラス or #twstプラス is typically “feed good” romantic content

#ツイステマイナス or #twstマイナス is basically angst or content that makes you feed bad

#twstパロ is literally “parody” or an AU; you can add other phrases ahead of it to denote the kind of AU

#卒業後 is "after graduation" and generally means a work setting

受け refers to a submissive or passive personality while 攻め refers to a more aggressive personality; these typically describe the dynamics in a romantic relationship

If you’re looking on Twitter, specific emojis tend to refer to the characters or groups of characters, which I have listed below. I’ve also included the first 2-3 katakana of each character’s first names.

The beginning katakana are combined with one another in order to write ship names. For example, if you want Leona x Prefect, you’d combine the first few katakana for Leona, レオ, and Prefect, 監 or ユウ, to create レオ監 or レオユウ (LeoPrefect or Leona x Prefect). Use a similar formula for your desired character. For example, swap out the レオ (Leo-) part for ジェイ and you get ジェイ監, or JeiPrefect, or Jade x Prefect.

Generally for yumeshipping, it’s the canon character’s name first and then Prefect in the end.

If you’re looking for a BL ship, name order matters. The name that appears first is the “proactive” one in the relationship, while the name that appears second is the “passive” one. For example, カリジャミ (Kalim x Jamil) has Kalim as the lead in the relationship, but ジャミカリ (Jamil x Kalim) has Jamil as the lead in the relationship. YOU DO NOT CROSSTAG; the name order basically makes the ship two entirely separate things and they are treated as such in the JP fandom.

Heartslabyul -> 🃏 ビュル

Riddle Rosehearts -> 🌹 リド

Ace Trappola -> ❤️ エー

Deuce Spade -> ♠️ デュ

Trey Clover -> ♣️ トレ

Cater Diamond -> ♦️ ケイ

Savanaclaw -> 🏜️ サバナ

Leona Kingscholar -> 🦁 レオ

Ruggie Bucchi -> 🐆 / 🍩 ラギ

Jack Howl -> 🐺 ジャク

Octavinelle -> 🐚 オクタ

Azul Ashengrotto -> 🐙 アズ

Jade Leech -> 🐬 ジェイ

Floyd Leech -> 🦈 フロ

Tweels -> イド

Scarabia -> 🕌 / 🧞‍♂️ スカラ

Kalim Al-Asim -> 🦂 / ☀️ / 🦦 / 🕌 カリ

Jamil Viper -> 🐍 ジャミ

Pomefiore -> 🍏 / 👸‍ ポメ

Vil Schoenheit -> 👑 ヴィ(ル)

Rook Hunt -> 🏹 ルク

Epel Felmier -> 🍎 エペ

Ignihyde -> ⚙️ / 🔥 イグニ

Idia Shroud -> 💀 イデ

Ortho Shroud -> 🤖 オル

Diasomnia -> 🐉 ディア

Malleus Draconia -> 🐲 マレ

Lilia Vanrouge -> 🦇 リリ

Silver -> ⚔️ / 💤 シル

Sebek Zigvolt ->⚡ セベ

Ramshackle -> 👻 オンボロ

Prefect -> 🦐 (🌸 or 🚺 = female, 🚹 = male) 監 or ユウ

Manga Prefect (usually refers to Yuuken) -> 🦞 コミ監

Grim -> 🐱 / 🐈‍⬛ グリ

NRC Staff -> 🎓 NRC(の)職員

Dire Crowley -> 🎭 / 🐦 クロ

Divus Crewel -> ⚗️ / 🐶 クル

Mozus Trein -> 📚 / 📖 モゼ

Ashton Vargas -> 💪‍‍ バル

Sam -> ☠️ / 🎩 サム

Lucius -> 🐾 ルチウス

Halloween Characters

Rollo -> 🔔 ロロ

Fellow/Ernesto -> 🦊 フェロ

Gidel -> 🐱 ギデル

Skully -> 🎃 スカ

Family Members and NPCs

Ace’s older brother or Anippola -> 兄ッポラ

Dylla -> ディラ

Chenya -> 😺 チェーニャ

Cheka -> 🧶 チェカ

Falena -> ファレ

Kifaji/Neji -> キファジー

Najma -> 💫 ナジュ

Ambrose the 63rd -> 🧙‍ アン

Neige -> ❄️ ネイジュ

Marja -> マーヤ

Baur -> 🐊 バウル

Dawn Knight 🌅 -> 夜明けの騎士 (this is his full title since we don’t know his actual name), have also seen 夜明パパ and シルバーパパ (“Dawn Papa” and “Silver Papa”)

Maleanor -> マレノア

I hope that helps you out ^^ Happy hunting, English-speaking Twsties!!

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the-monkey-ruler · 1 year ago

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Which translation/adaptation of JTTW is best for beginners? Besides maybe Dragon Ball (doubt it counts)

Heh yeah I mean it’s a great anime but I don’t think you would have a good Xiyouji experience per se. Usually, I see Dragon Ball used as a gateway for people to THEN read/watch Xiyouji content but like it doesn’t really have much Xiyouji plot wise even if the characters are homages.

I would say that if you want an ACCURATE Xiyouji experience then you can choose between three shows. That being the classic 1986 which is many people's first Xiyouji experience as the cast is so iconic you see these designs in dozens of movies and their influence in future performances. The second is more family-friendly but still one of the most charming and fairly accurate portrayals is the 1999 Xiyouji animation, I would say far more younger people's first piece of media and without a doubt the best Xiyouji animation series thus far personally. That last I would suggest is 2011 Xiyouji series which is one of the more newer shows and I would say I would that if you want more modern effects and humor than this might be a preferance to the 1986 version. They both have their own charm but just depends on what you are looking for!

Now while these are the most accurate there are some Xiyouji media I would still recommend even if they take far more liberties.

This without a doubt being the 1996 tv series. This is portrayed as more of a drama but between the characters and the pure HEART AND LOVE that is in this show that you will be falling in love with the characters. It vaguely follows the Xiyouji monster of the weak formula but taking far more time to humanize each enemy and having our main cast overcome not only physical obstacles but also their own emotional obstacles as well. Fantastic show. Another is Chinese Odessey (please note this is a two part movie)! This does NOT follow the journey at all instead more of an introspective of the character Wukong. This is more of comedy but this is a cult classic as one of the first romance films with Wukong to show him as more of a complex hero which was a deviation from how he was portrayed in media for years as this point. This movie is silly but it is actually very heartfelt and makes you feel for these characters's plights. If you don't know Xiyouji I would say you will be confused, but you can fall in love with these characters anyway! Whil I can't suggest Dragon Ball I can suggest another Son Goku from My Son Goku! This is a Japanese production but the animation is so fluid and the characters are not only charming but there are some heart reaching scenes in this very cute art style! I would say give this a watch if you enjoy anime but also can appreciate angst even in a cute style.

If you are looking for more just great Xiyouji movies that you can pop in and a fantastic one is the 2015 Hero is Back! This was the Wukong come back animation-wise since 1999 and a lot of people first Wukong in the big screens! Does take liberties story wise as we don't see Sha Wujing or any of the journey really, but the HEART and soul of Sun Wukong is there. Another great one is just watching the first and classic 1961 Havoc in Heaven! This was the staple of Wukong iconics for decades and even now you see this Wukong in commercials! This is just a beautiful art style and without a doubt charming and feel good vibes. This one is surprising but actually Nezha Reborn where Sun Wukong actually makes a cameo appearance, but I hear so many people got into Xiyouji just cause how much they love him. So while it's not Xiyouji I would say give it a watch if you are a die hard Sun Wukong fan.

There is also Monkey King Reborn which while less known I still think is wonderfully popular and shows both great animation and also how all three characters of Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing interact in a movie. There is also Monkey King 2 which I know that usually I would say which the first movie but honestly the second movie is my personal fav. You don't miss much without watching the first as the second starts right at the begging of the journey and we are introduced to some of the best designs for these characters in my opinion. This last one is kinda of a hit-or-miss but Conquering the Demon! This one follows Sanzang as a demon hunter in a loosely based story of him finding his disciples, each more monstrous than the last in a dark-comedy! If you enjoy Stephen Chow films then you know what kind of humor you are going to get but it is new take on Xiyouji films in a unique but still entertaining manner! They really make you feel for Sanzang as a character and one of the best humanizations of him really as a man still learning about the world himself.

There some other that are great but I would suggest more on a second watch or if you know the story more! Saiyuki / The Great Alakazam was the first eng dub saiyuki piece of media that came to the USA and still had a lasting influence with the beloved character Rinrin! There is also Monkey King 2009 that only looks at the story BEFORE the journey, adding so many elements to Wukong's childhood and his relationship with the Six Eared Macaque. I would also suggest the Monkey King Netflix Movie as while it is fast-paced it really makes you understand how dangerous but also how complex Sun Wukong is. I think it was a charming movie so give it a watch!. Last is Immortal Demon Slayer! This movie was based on a web novel that was extremely popular in the early 2000s which was based off Chinese Odessey funny enough! This is a movie I would suggest if you know Xiyouji already but it such a tragedy I have to share if you love angst.

If anyone wants to share their what was their first Xiyouji or their favorite Xioyuji please let me know!

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ranchstoryblog · 10 months ago

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Ranch Story Community Q&A Volume 3: Igusa Matsuyama Returns!

Igusa Matsuyama, the legendary artist behind the Story of Seasons series since the original 1996 game has once again agreed to a Q&A featuring questions from fans from around the world! A big thank you to all the members of the community who helped make this possible.

Some aspects of the text have been altered to match localization people are familiar with. (Japanese names to English names, for example: Bokujou Monogatari (牧場物語) was formerly localized as Harvest Moon and is now localized as Story of Seasons, etc). Images were not part of the original text and have been added as a visual aid. Though we translated as many questions as we could, we did not include questions involving personal information or regarding unannounced releases. Please understand.

If you would like to read our original correspondence (in Japanese), that will be provided in a separate post.

Additional cosplay photo provided by Foxface from our community Discord.

Translations: @artycharmy (correspondence, outline) Editing and Clean-up: Jerome, @artycharmy, and @regularcelery

——— Anonymous asks: What is the relationship between Jamie and the Harvest Goddess?

Igusa Matsuyama: Jamie was treated as a fairy or spirit. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if there's any points that link them and the Goddess.

Editor's note: the term Matsuyama uses is "妖精."

Tomato asks: I would like to ask about what their inspiration was for the outfits designs in the original release of harvest moon another wonderful life. Since I got reminded of the girl clothing brand Mezzo Piano when looking at the I love Kuma/I love bears outfit.

Igusa Matsuyama: I remember the only thing I thought of was using Spring-like colours! (All designs were made with seasonal colours In mind) When I knew that Daachan, who was planned to be used in a lot of events, wouldn't actually play a big role in the game, I put him on the T-Shirt so he could at least get some attention as a mascot-like existence.

Pansy asks: If you were able to create your own game for the Story of Seasons franchise, with no rules or limitations whatsoever, what do you think it might look like?

Igusa Mastuyama: Since I love dogs, I'd like to try making a Story of Seasons that's set in a world just full of dogs. Though that dream of mine probably won't come true.

Anonymous asks: The look of Story of Seasons has changed a lot over the years! What would you say is more challenging to create - simple designs, where you have to work with very little space, or complicated designs, where you have to consider many little details?

Igusa Matsuyama: A long time ago there were a lot of things you weren't able to replicate in video games. There were constraints for things like the number of colours and patterns for hair styles and clothes. It was difficult to work around those constraints, but at the same time a lot of fun. Nowadays, it's the complete opposite. Now we can design anything with hardly any constraints. And unlike a long time ago, now I'm asked to make more complicated designs, like patterns and decorations. However, if it's a big request, sometimes I run into quite a lot of trouble when designing. They each have had their own difficulties.

Anonymous asks: Hello, Matsuyama! Thank you for bringing the worlds of Bokujou Monogatari to life for many years. Your art has had a huge influence on me!

One of my favorite candidates is “Rock” from “A Wonderful Life.” I’d love to know any particular influences for his character design from 21 years ago, and his new design for the remake.

Igusa Matsuyama: I was told that he was a young, wannabe playboy, so I somehow ended up with that sort of design. For the remake, I made his clothes a little looser without changing his design, so he'd look even more playful. I, too, wanted to avoid changing him as much as I could as there are other people among the staff that also like the original for his “Rockness”. So, he got that makeover after everybody shared and checked their opinions with each other.

Jerome asks: On page 130 of the "Special Comic" manga there's artwork of Super Famicom characters that have never been printed anywhere else. Do you or Marvelous still have these? It would be great to see them in more detail in the future some time.

Igusa Matsuyama: They're all characters that appeared in the SNES version of "Harvest Moon." Nina's parents, Ellen's mother, Ann's father, Maria's parents (The mayor couple). I'm sorry. My SNES illustrations have gone missing...

Raven Bloom, Ryan, and Moth ask: How did you feel when your designs for the men in A Wonderful Life were repurposed to be bachelors? What do you think of the changes made to the bachelors in the remake of A Wonderful Life? I miss the “Bruce Campbell” look Matthew used to have.

Igusa Matsuyama: Matthew (マシュー) is Masshu (マッシュ) in the Japanese A Wonderful Life (Editors note: Charmy made a careless mistake when translating the questions, sorry Matsuyama san 🫣) When I first heard this name, the first thing that came to mind was Evil Dead's protagonist, Ash. You're right. I designed him after Bruce Campbell. I still love Bruce Campbell today. When Wonderful Life was under production, I had heard they weren't going to make a girl version, so I designed him not as a love interest, but as a quirky character. Knowing that he'd appear in the remake as a marriage candidate, I redesigned him as a character that would be liked by many. I hope you can enjoy the game for its nostalgia, as well as for being a shiny, brand new release.

Salmon Axe and Anonymous ask: I personally adore Doraemon x SOS game. Are you interested in working directly with or collaborating with other franchises in the future? And is there a series outside Story of Seasons you would like to work with now as a guest artist? (Could it be Pokemon?)

Igusa Matsuyama: I've loved Doraemon manga since I was a kid! Working as a guest artist? Hmm, I'm happier being the main illustrator, so nothing in particular comes to mind. I enjoy a lot of games in my free time, such as Fallout, Far Cry and Border Lands.

Anonymous asks: Even though we never see his face, was there ever a concept of how Woofio would look without his costume?

Igusa Matsuyama: I designed Woofio as the being that is Woofio, so there's no design of him without his costume.

Idris asks: Your style has upgraded a lot over the time to match the trends. Do you think you will ever go for an old school look (early HM) for a SoS game again? What do you think is the secret to your art’s charm?

Igusa Matsuyama: What I'm particular about when designing for Story of Seasons is making characters with head/body proportions and an atmosphere that go well with that release. First, I listen to the client's request then think of a design according to that. These days, game visuals have gotten fancier and fancier, so there's not many opportunities for characters with short proportions to make an appearance. To me, what's important when designing is "playfulness." More so than "pretty" or "cool" and such, I get attached to the character, have fun making the character. I find joy in character creation itself.

MacGyver asks: Yasuhiro Wada has shared some interesting stories about how chaotic the original game's development was. Is there anything interesting you remember from around that time?

Igusa Matsuyama: Now it's a memory I can look back on and laugh about, but I'm not sure how much I can talk about it so please forgive me. If Wada hadn't been there back then, then "Harvest Moon" wouldn't have become a thing.

Toyberb and Anonymous ask: There’s a lot of different cow designs now, which is your favorite to draw?

Igusa Matsuyama: I've loved drawing animals since I was a kid, so I love all of the cows. Although the easiest one to draw is the cow with the big nose.

Anonymous asks: Were there any games where you made designs for protagonists of genders that did not end up available to play as? (Like a girl protagonist for Save the Homeland/Hero of Leaf Valley or a nonbinary protagonist for any game before A Wonderful Life)

Igusa Matsuyama: There's so many designs that got scrapped, but as far as I recall, there's not really many where that character's setting itself was scrapped. (Excluding Thumbelina, mentioned below)

Koharu asks: Were there ever any character designs made for other older SNES characters like Ellen for 64? Some magazines had Marie with blue hair, like the SNES character, so it made me wonder if she (SNES Maria) was meant to also be there at some point.

Igusa Matsuyama: I'm not in the position to make settings or scenarios where characters from other games appear, so I can't say, but I like the idea of older characters making an appearance!

Amina/k0iisu asks: Hello! I really love Hiro’s design specifically. Could you tell me a few facts about him/his design that might not be well known information? Thank you so much! I love your art :D

Igusa Matsuyama: Thank you very much! Hiro is a future doctor, so I tried to make them look as much like a doctor as I could. Also, to make him look friendlier, I designed him as your average everyday boy you'd see in the neighbourhood. He doesn't have a flashy face or hairstyle, but he's one of my favourite designs, too. I wrote this in the guidebook too, but what I like about him is the Asian flair I added to his clothes and the spot of colour around his feet.

Bunbun asks: I'm excited for the Nendoroid that was announced of Claire! I hope there will be ones of HM64 designs too. Since you have a lot of figures on your blog, how does it feel to be able to add one of your own characters to your collection? Are there any of your other characters you hope will get figures of?

Igusa Matsuyama: A nendoroid of Claire! I'm looking forward to it too, but when is it going to be released? If it's possible, I'd like one of Woofio.

Editor's note: Preorders are open for Nendoroid Claire now!

Chickee asks: A purple-haired princess character was rumored to have existed in Harvest Moon 64, but she didn't make it to the published game. Did you create a design for this character?

Igusa Matsuyama: That's probably Princess Thumbelina. Wasn't she Incredibly small? What I designed didn't end up being used. Speaking of HM64 characters, I pushed for them to include a pet turtle, but in the end it only appeared as an ornament. For A Wonderful Life, I asked for a turtle to be included again and designed a tortoise with a scarf, but it didn't make it as a pet and appeared only as a wild turtle that walks around the pond. I'm waiting for the day they finally include a pet turtle in the game.

emery flower147 asks: omg I saw the pics where the AWL girls are in a team and Muffy has a shotgun and stuff? Do you think any other characters would work in a cool team like that?

Igusa Matsuyama: For the Friends of Mineral Town guide book, I had the five girls, Popuri, Marie, Ran, Elly and Karen work hard as Harvest Sprites. Also, for the guide books, I drew Pete (The old male protagonist), Sarah (The GB version female protagonist), and Claire doing whatever I wanted them to. I don't know if you can call it cool or not, but it was fun being in charge of that.

Ixur asks: A lot of the PoOT character designs for the regular villagers seem more popular than the marriage candidates in my region. Is that something that's been noticed by you/Marvelous in Japan? Lars, Clemens, Beth, and Misaki for example.

Igusa Matsuyama: Marvelous doesn't really talk about that sort of thing so I'm not sure if they're aware of it or not. I don't do social media so I'm also not sure which characters are popular. I'm happy as long as the characters are liked. The design on Lars’s shirt is modeled after my beloved dog, so I’d be especially happy if you like his shirt too.

Anonymous asks: What do you think about people cosplaying your designs?

Igusa Matsuyama: It makes me very happy! I'm no good at sewing, so I really admire people who can make their own clothes. It's an honour having the designs I made be made into real clothes, and I think it's great to have fun acting out the characters.

Afro Fae asks: When creating designs for characters, how do you settle on a specific color palette? Do you take color meanings into account with a character's personality or do you go purely off of feeling?

Igusa Matsuyama: I keep in mind the overall colours the client asked for while designing. Sometimes I propose a new colour when I think there's one that fits better. I'm also careful when choosing colours and everyone's traits to make sure it's easy to tell which character is which when seen from a distance. However, in the cases of families and such, I do the opposite and give them all a common colour to give them a sense of kinship.

———

From all of us at Ranch Story, we'd like to thank Matsuyama from the bottom of our hearts for answering our questions again! Whether a fan has only just discovered the series or has grown up alongside it, so many people have loved these characters and worlds that Igusa Matsuyama brings to life, so it feels truly special to be able to have this opportunity. We'll end this article with Matsuyama's own words, as well as a parting gift.

Igusa Matsuyama: I'm so glad I could answer your questions again. I'm the one that should be saying thank you. It means the world to me knowing that everyone enjoys my illustrations! I added an illustration as thanks. I'll keep up the hard work!

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pixelatedraindrops · 3 months ago

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Baby Makoto AU Doodle Dump🐣

Hiya everyone! So, I’ve been busy working on some art of this new little concept of mine. It’s been in my head for a while. Ever since I found out Makoto is in fact canonically 3 years old. And then thinking of Number One being a doting single parent to his tiny homunculus clone whom he adopts to keep safe from further experimentation and raises as his own 🥺💕

I’ve seen other people (specifically on twitter) come up with this thought as well. Makoto as a 3 year old child with Yuma as his parent. Honestly other than drawing my favorite characters being sick, drawing them as little kids also brings about a nostalgic comfort to me. Not nearly as much joy as drawing sickies brings me, but it was fun to draw the all powerful CEO as a little toddler curious about the world. He's just a little baby <3

Now I am actually a bit shy and insecure about this idea. Mainly due to people possibly confusing it with infantilization and/or age regression. This is neither of those things. It’s an AU where he just happens to be a toddler. If anything I picture little Makoto to be similar to Anya from Spy x Family. (and the fact they both share a Japanese VA makes this connection even cuter, and he's only one year younger than her x3)

Anyway, I hope you all will indulge in me as I share the art I’ve done of this tiny little homunculus. I probably won’t talk about this au or draw it often due to feeling shy about it, so I just made a full on thread of the doodles if you want to see. I keep them under a read more to prevent spam (and I know not everyone is a fan of this concept)

But if you look, I hope you enjoy!

A little reference of sorts I made of my toddler Makoto design. (though he wears different clothing in every art I do of him lol this just connects his normal purple flowery attire) He is exactly 2 feet shorter than his usual height making him pretty small for a toddler. (but yuma is pretty short too lol and I want him to be able to carry him ;w;)

He has 2 special toys that connect to his other mask designs in the concept art. The teddy bear is his very special possession that Yuma gave him as a present, and the puppet teruteru-bozu is something he made together with Yuma when crafting on a rainy day. (he is so talented preparing him for the future when he actually develops products for the company he will run) The melon ball is based on his favorite fruit, and he has socks and a fuzzy blanket with the pattern of his mask.

In this AU, Yuma retains his Number One persona. He’s not meek apologetic and unsure, he has the confidence of the ultimate detective. But is he confident as a parent? Not in the slightest. But taking care of Makoto teaches him more about being kind and empathetic towards others, and eventually over time he becomes super protective and even at times doting towards Makoto.

Making his personality a bit more bright and pleasant, much like the kind and gentle Yuma that we all know and love. Parenthood causes the serious detective to soften up a lot. And of course this causes Makoto to love and depend on Yuma in return and never want to cause him trouble. (So he puts on a tough act a lot ;w;) However, he almost never calls Yuma dad. He just calls him Yuma. Its very rare that he refers to Yuma as his dad but this is perfectly okay by Yuma. (But when Makoto does call him dad? Yuma feels such unexplainable emotional discord that he almost cries.)

Some more doodles :3

Such a silly little family. I love them so much <3

Why did I think of this AU? Because I want Makoto and pre-game Yuma to not be lonely, be happy together, and for Makoto to have a childhood. Honestly Makoto seems a bit childish and playful in canon too so...

I think I'd like him to have an actual childhood where he grows up comfortable and happy. And in the care of someone who loves him 💜

#rain code #master detective archives: rain code #rain code spoilers #3 year old ceo au #yuma kokohead #makoto kagutsuchi #pixeldoodles #my art #if you all noticed some of these were relines of sketches I did before #but yeah not too much to say here c:#hope you enjoy this little idea if you do #tbh I haven’t developed this au too much just a bit #enjoy these in the meantime ^-^#no sick art here :3 just wholesomeness and fluff #after finishing a biiig project for one of my college courses I wanted to draw to reward myself #but the withdrawal of not doing it for long made me go doodle crazy�� xD

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wafflureal · 6 months ago

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Pure Vanilla Cookie's Wet Tingles Info !!!

I decided I would make a post here explaining wet tingles to everyone who might be confused

(PLEASE REBLOG TO REACH MORE PEOPLE !! :3 /nf)

Wet Tingles Origin

It all started when i had a dream on November 1st, 2023, where I got a new costume for Pure Vanilla Cookie called "Wet Tingles." I woke up, and it was on my mind all day, so i decided to make an edited sprite of what it looked like

1ST ANNIVERSARY UPDATE !! :

remade the original sprite to make it look better :3

I posted it to Reddit, where it got pretty popular pretty quickly, but it ended about a week later. Then, fast forward to April 2024, suddenly it's everywhere on Twitter. People were making fanart of him, they were making fan costumes of their favorite cookies, and it even made it to the cookie run kingdom discord server.

September 18th 2024 Update:

A few nights ago i had ANOTHER DREAM OF HIM !! There was this one person on Etsy selling homemade CRK plushies and while i was going through their listings, I saw one with the name "Wet Tingles". This wasn't the same original Wet Tingles we all know and love, this one had a complete redesign with actual clothes this time, he had a cream colored long sleeve shirt with a collar with the top button unbuttoned with a brown diamond pattern pullover and the MyCookie pants but it was the same color as his notorious green towel. He had a mohawk and a few face markings, and a confident lookings pose. Funny enough, the cover art for this listing looked like it was drawn by one of my friends, @cortlandkaard, so I had asked it to draw him and we dubbed him "Awakened Wet Tingles". Basically Pure Vanilla Cookie when you awaken him with soulprisms but if you had the wet tingles costume equipped, the costume would change too. Here's the amazing art made by it ! :D

Wet Tingles Story

The story behind wet tingles is rather long. It takes place during Cookie Odyssey Chapter II. Clotted Cream Cookie invited Pure Vanilla Cookie, GingerBrave, Black Raisin Cookie, and Burnt Cheese Cookie to the Creme Republic to discuss the expedition to Beast Yeast. He sent a hot air balloon to the Vanilla Kingdom to transport them. After arriving in the Republic, they go to the council hall and have a meeting with Clotted Cream Cookie in the Council Hall. He tells them to relax for now and enjoy what the Republic has to offer. He grants them a royal credit card that has infinite uses, almost like in Amphibia. The GingerGang (GingerBrave, Black Raisin Cookie, and Burnt Cheese Cookie) are ecstatic and rush through the Republic, using the credit card on everything they can. Pure Vanilla Cookie, however, is having trouble keeping up with them. They notice and tell him to relax at the Creme Republic Spa. He is reluctant, but they force him to relax there. The lobby of the spa only had a reception table with an unknown character as the receptionist. The GingerGang leave him there and continue on their adventures through the republic, exploring the place and buying more things. Some time goes by, and Financier Cookie shows up and informs them that Clotted Cream Cookie summoned them back to the council hall. They rush to the spa and past reception to get Pure Vanilla Cookie. The actual spa area was a rather big locker room size area with a singular hot tub in the center of it. It was almost like a Japanese sentō, so yes, they were naked in the hot tub. There were a bunch of other INCREDIBLY BUFF cookies with white towels around their waists conversing with each other. Inside the hot tub, however, is Pure Vanilla Cookie with two other INCREDIBLY BUFF cookies. He seemed to be rather flustered being in there with them but is still enjoying himself and conversing with them about the glory days of the Pure Vanilla Kingdom. He spots the GingerGang, and they tell him they're needed in the council hall. He gets out of the tub (GingerGang looks away) and ties that notorious green towel around his waist. They leave the spa quickly, and Pure Vanilla Cookie keeps the towel on the for the rest of the day, even during the meeting with Clotted Cream Cookie.

(NOTE: Pure Vanilla Cookie is the only one with a green towel, and only INCREDIBLY BUFF cookies can have white ones)

Future of Wet Tingles?

I have already drawn Pure Vanilla Cookie's Wet Tingles, but I plan to draw all of the ancients with a Wet Tingles costume (Golden Cheese will have her girlies out)

My original plan with Wet Tingles since the beginning was to have it a real costume for Pure Vanilla Cookie in the game, and i believe together we can pressure the devs hard enough to add it

I never expected a simple dream I had to turn out to be this big within the community, and low-key do so much for gender equality in the community (Twitter oomf's words not mine). I am eternally grateful for everyone who partook in the trend back in April and for those who are still fans of the costume

Fanart?

YES!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE !!!!!! When posting your absolutely fucking awesome wet tingles fanart, please use "#wet tingles" and tag me. There are no limitations to what you may or may not draw, draw OG Wet Tingles, draw your OC in wet tingles, draw your favorite cookie in wet tingles, have the characters do anything you want !!

Here are some fanarts I've gathered through the year :3

- @cortlandkaard

- @original-oz-soda and @mein-schatz

- @rxhouse and @thelosers-club

#wet tingles #crk costume #pure vanilla crk #crk fanart #artists on tumblr #pure vanilla cookie #cookie run kingdom #devsisters #cookie run #cookie run fanart #clotted cream cookie #financier cookie #vanilla kingdom #cookie odyssey #creme republic

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benkyoutobentou · 1 year ago

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Beginner Manga Recommendations for Japanese Learners

It's time, you've done your due diligence in studying. Now it's time to jump into native material. But where to start? Here are a few manga series that I've read that I think would be a reasonable place for a Japanese learner to start their immersion journey.

Disclaimer: I haven't read every series, and the manga that's interesting to me might not be interesting to you. We also all encounter different words as we go along our language learning journeys. A series that I find relatively easy might have you looking up every other word. The trick is to not get discouraged and just keep on pushing through! As with everything, it gets easier the more you practice.

消えた初恋 - アルコ＆ひねくれ渡: This BL series follows a group of four friends and their experiences with love in high school (it also has a drama adaptation that I highly recommend! Available to watch for free on Viki). This series is so silly and just a fun time. The art has great visual gags and it's definitely a series where you can sit down and not even realize that suddenly you've gone through an entire volume and why didn't you buy more of this series to start with? It has furigana on everything, but the characters do speak pretty casually, so there's some slang and less standard language. This series is completed with nine volumes.

佐々木と宮野 - 春園ショウ: This is another sweet BL about Miyano, a high school first year, who catches the eye of an upperclassman, Sasaki. After asking to borrow Miyano's book, the two bond over a shared enjoyment of BL manga. The vocabulary is pretty simple in this one as well, but it does use quite a bit of otaku slang, which can be difficult if you've never encountered it before. It has furigana on everything, though! This series is ongoing with nine volumes and also has a spin off series titled 平野と鍵浦 which is also ongoing with four volumes.

月刊少女野崎くん - 椿いづみ: The first manga I ever read in Japanese! This series follows a high schooler, Sakura, as she confesses to her crush and classmate, Nozaki. However, Nozaki thinks that Sakura is just a fan of his shoujo manga series, and recruits her to be his assistant. This series is so enjoyably silly with a wonderful cast of characters that absolutely steal the show. There's a bit of vocabulary specific to the process of making manga, but it isn't too overwhelming. There's also plenty of casual speech and some great moments that can't quite come out in translation (bonus fact: I actually wrote a paper on this series and how humor is translated in one of my university linguistics class). It also has furigana on everything. It's ongoing with fifteen volumes.

加瀬さんシリーズ - 高嶋ひろみ: This adorable little GL series follows two high school aged girls, popular and athletic Kase and the shy gardener Yamada, as their relationship develops over their high school years. The vocabulary in this one is relatively simple with the exception of some more specific words, but those tend to pop up time and time again. This one doesn't have furigana but I think it's a great introduction to readying manga without furigana! This series is completed with five volumes, but there's an ongoing sequel series called　山田と加瀬さん that currently has three volumes released.

ささやくように恋を唄う - 竹嶋えく: This is a music based GL series about a high school first year, Kino, who tells an upperclassman, Nagi, that she loves her music. Nagi, however, misunderstands this as Kino confessing her love for her. The story follows both the relationship between Kino and Nagi as well as the trials and tribulations of Nagi's band. This is another one without furigana, but the vocabulary tends to be simple enough that I think it's still pretty accessible. It's ongoing with eight current volumes.

かけた月とドーナッツ - 雨水汐: Our last GL, this follows two coworkers, Uno and Satou, and their blossoming relationship in a society that pushes conformity and marriage on women. I really loved the way this series depicted coming into one's sexuality as an adult. Another one without furigana, but simple vocabulary regardless. A possible difficulty with this one might be the office vocabulary, though. This series is completed with four volumes.

#on one hand i feel like gls tend to be easier than bls but on the other hand i dont think i have any gls with furigana whereas i do with bl #things to think about things to think about.......#disclaimer i have not read any of hirano and kagiura #benkyou posting #langblr #language learning #studyblr #polyglot #japanese #日本語 #manga #studyinspo #studying #languages #i think im actually feeling the urge to jump back in to sasamiya......#but no... i shant.#not until the new year #i have too much to finish before then

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nalonzooo · 2 months ago

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Hi you’re very kind in always answering people with their art questions i appreciate you so much!! I wanted to ask if u have any books/videos that helped you on your art journey? Love your art so much ur an inspiration 😘😘

hi!! this is so nice of you to say and you’re very welcome 🥰 - books and videos under the cut!

videos

what helped me a lot when i started with art is to watch time lapses or draw-with-me sessions so i can kind of copy how artists draw or paint. however it’s "Level Up your Portrait Drawings" by Chris Hong (ETA: sorry the link doesn't seem to be working, so i've included the title of the class) that was like a turning point in how i drew faces. it’s available via membership on skillshare but i think you can sign up for a month free. i can’t recommend it enough! the quality of my portraits changed after this especially with regards to anchor points—i learned how to tweak my art with this video and i do feel it carried over and improved the way i drew very visibly <3

another video i feel created a huge improvement in my drawing is this class by Lexin Yuan (qrbits). this is a lot more rigorous and thorough than the previous one and also included feedback from the artist (!!) and it’s available via subscription to Class101 but lexin has since made a free version on their youtube which i HIGHLY recommend as well (actually i would recommend their entire channel) - from here i learned how to make characters stand and pose properly, i learned to draw from dance videos, i learned about boxes and anatomy in a very approachable way.

another artist i’m subscribed to and whom i enjoy watching draw is likelihoodart. i love looking at their art bc i feel like they have the perfect blend of semi-realism and stylization - plus their OCs are amazing (the general art rule for teeth is don’t fill them out, but i’ve never seen anyone draw teeth a good as them! i mean look at this work in particular). i picked up some rendering styles and tips from watching their draw-with-me videos.

i’m also currently subscribed to Loish’s patreon where she has very useful and in-depth tutorials and guides. she explains it so well and i also see a lot of the artists in their patreon community sharing their improvements and it's SO cool and encouraging. she has accessible tutorials here you can check out :)

books

comic books/graphic novels - i think i mentioned before but when i first started drawing (again, after living artless as a corporate cog), i was in my marvel (mcu//stucky) phase and one of my fav comics back then was matt fraction’s hawkeye. i liked david aja’s style and i would copy entire panels from the comic in ink into my sketchbook. so i would recommend copying whatever art style comic or manga or graphic novel you like into your sketchbook as personal practice (not for public sharing). re-draw your favorite panels! copying directly from the source also helps you figure out how the artist might have drawn their works.

figure drawing by michael hampton - if i were to recommend just one figure drawing/anatomy book to you, it would be this one - this is also a direct recommendation by lexin yuan and i found this book to be easy to follow and the concepts are understandable. i am at heart more of a gesture drawing artist so his emphasis on line of action and dynamism is something i really appreciated.

ART BOOKS! in particular: spider-verse 1 and 2 art books - everyone knows these and for good reason; ami thompson's character expression sheets alone are worth the price. seeing concept art is always very special--you get to read how a team of creatives come up with ideas and you can learn how to incorporate them into your own art. these two are currently my favorite art books, but i also like the art of tangled (glen keane's sketches are in the inside of the covers and that alone made me want to weep they're so beautiful). and sometimes i go into the japanese section of my local bookstore and see what art books they have - i got this one last year which i really enjoyed, and i got a copy of ryoko kui's doodle book for dungeon meshi and i just love it SO much. their character designs are varied and top-notch and it's just so FUN to go through (if you're interested in this, they'll be releasing an english version soon!)

i also draw a lot of inspiration from artists who make and sell zines of their own art or sketches or sketchbooks - some of them even offer it for free! it seems to be a lost art nowadays because people think zines have to be like big collaborative productions, but it can just be a pdf of your sketches. i literally have a page from one of my fav artist's digital zines printed and taped in front of my desk for constant inspiration, and it's just a sketch of theirs. there's nothing quite like seeing an artist's work in zine format <3

my gawd sorry that was so long BUT i hope these are helpful to you in any way!! <3

#asks #art #anon

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funishment-time · 1 month ago

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🔵 Kodaka BlueSky Q&As: Male DR Characters (Specific) Part 2

(See part one, most of 2024, here.)

⚠️ DISCLAIMER: Please be advised! Translations of all Japanese answers derive from a combination of Google Translate and my manager's three-quarters-remembered Japanese. We've tried our best to work out what he's saying, but there will be mistakes here and there. Do not take this as gospel!

To avoid spreading (too much) misinfo, where we're completely boggled about an answer, we've decided not to even make an attempt. We'll still list the post, but mark it accordingly.

➡️ AN IMPORTANT NOTE FROM KODAKA BEFORE READING:

First of all, the questions answered here are not official. Everything that is official is what is said within the work. In contrast, this is simply what Kodaka, the creator, thinks, and it is not the correct answer. Use this as a starting point to enjoy the depth of each character, or to say, "That's not right!" and enjoy it with your own interpretation. I think of this as a way of communicating with the characters who live in fiction. This is important, so please spread the word.

🦃 NOV 2024:

Q: Excuse me for asking a question. How smart is Soda-kun in his grade or class? If possible, I'd like to know his best and worst subjects.

A: He is good at math and physics, but is terrible at Japanese, history, and English.

/////

Q: Excuse me for asking a question! What would Kazuichi Souda's punishment be like? I love the punishment elements in Danganronpa so I'm always looking forward to the answer T.T🙏🏻‎

A: A punishment that is done behind the scenes without anyone seeing it, not even the player can see it

/////

Q: How do you think Ouma-kun will react if you give him some pig's feet?

A: In return, a pig's head is secretly planted in your room.

/////

Q: Why is there no depiction of Matsuda working on Kamukura in anime 3?

A: Room for imagination

/////

Q: I wonder what it would be like if Komaeda were to be punished🧏🏻‍♀️✨

A: The player's game console and PC are destroyed.

/////

Q: How did Amami-kun perform academically at school?

A: “I think my grades are very good.”

/////

Q: Did Kamukura predict what would happen to him in the end?

A: “I made predictions and then moved on to something more unpredictable.”

/////

Q: Momota is treated as a pretty stupid character, but does passing the astronaut exam mean that he’s good at studying? I'd also like to know how his grades were at school.

A: Actually, good grades

🎄 DEC 2024:

Q: What are Hinata's parents like? Did he grow up in a normal family?

A: They are so normal that they don't even realize they are normal.

/////

Q: Is Korekiyo Shinguji based off Woo-Jin from Oldboy? In the art book for Danganronpa V3, I remember you wrote that Shinguji was inspired by a Korean film or other Korean media. And I remember the plot twist of Oldboy was the reveal that Woo-Jin had an incestuous attachment to his sister.

A: It's hard to explain in English, but it's based on a music band or culture that was popular in Japan in the 90's.

/////

Q: Sorry if this has already been mentioned...! Ki-Bo can't cry, so why does he sweat (and have a runny nose?)? I was curious as to what purpose this function was added, and why they couldn't add a crying function.

A: Windshield wipers.

/////

Q: Do you have good grades, Ouma-kun? If you're attending classes normally, do you sleep in or something?

A:" I'm sleeping but my grades are good."

/////

Q: Please tell us about Yasuke Matsuda's profile. :3

A: This will cause a fuss so I'm keeping it a secret

NOTE: That is to say, Matsuda's general bio/backstory. I wonder why Kodaka's dodging the question...or if he's just being playful?

/////

Q: Is Kuwata good at sports other than baseball? Or is he not so good at anything other than baseball?

A: “I don't know the rules.”

/////

Q: I have a question. Does Tanaka-kun's pets include fish?

A: It depends on the situation in the demon world at the time.

/////

Q: Who do you think would be a good boyfriend in Danganronpa? 😆

A: Wouldn’t it be Ki-Bo? It's worth the effort to keep updating his version.

#danganronpa #kazutaka kodaka #kodaka's bsky Q&As

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saltedriceball · 8 months ago

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How I imagine the Mystreet characters

Because they’re block-shaped in the show, but my 12 yr old ass imagined them as real people. 🕺

* I mainly kept up with Aphmau when I was 10-12 years old, I fully stopped watching after Mystreet 5 *

* I didn’t watch MCD 🙊 *

*this is mostly PDH (my fav, I was 12)*

Aphmau

It’s just Jess.

Kawaii Chan

Like average height

5’4” ish

Thick thighs save lives

Whole wardrobe is baby pink and white

Idk grown me thinks she was a cam girl (in Mystreet, not Phoenix Drop ✋)

And she made bank too

She’s not very athletic, but she’s just like blessed proportion-wise

Pale, but not as much as portrayed

Idk I always thought she’d actually be Japanese since she uses Japanese terms

Pin straight hair she curls only at the bottom

Like ribbon

Katelyn

Quite tall

5’9”ish

Muscular but in like a

~she’s a runner she’s a track star~

Type of way

She just looks athletic

Flat though

Paler than KC

Her hair is wavy-curly naturally

She kinda lets it just flow or it’s in a ponytail

Zane

Quite chubby

Idk how anyone watched that show and thought

*man who despises the outdoors, hates exercise, and enjoys sweet things*

“Must be tall and skinny”

The fan art I viewed in middle school legit surprised me.

He was definitely super duper skinny in high school

Adolescent metabolism and all

He is definitely like 5’8”

He is very pale

Does indeed burn almost immediately in the sun

Has an emo boy hair cut

Like Anthony from Smosh way back in the day

He also has piercings: lip, ears (multiple), septum, eyebrow)

Also has tattoos

Freckled, especially on his body

He has random scars from injuries growing up

Inflicted by his brothers

Mostly Garroth

Garroth

Muscular

But also quite chubby

Just kinda in the middle

Like 6’

Overall just a big guy

Just looks like he gives good hugs

He also has a beard

Not a big floofy one

But it’s there

He looks very Northern European idk

Has a lot of arm hair, and it’s very blond

So you don’t see it until up close

Also pale

And very freckled

Also wears a watch

And his outfit is the most average outfit for a man

Khaki shorts, a white tee, a plaid button up unbuttoned, a watch, and sneakers

This outfit could be spotted on an elementary schooler’s spring picture day

Or on my literal father 👨🏻

His hair is quite curly

Not in a spiral curl, but more of a wavy-curly way

Laurance

This man is brown imo

Very tall

Like 6’3”

Super skinny

To where he looks even taller than he is

Just built like that ya know

His hair is a pony tail as an adult

But it was in a Superman sort of curly situation in high achool

I get the vibe he likes being outside

Doesn’t work out, but loves a good hotgirlwalk

Aaron

A little more like the common fan art of 2016

Tall, but only like 5’10”

Absolute beefcake of a guy

But also like has some body fat

He is not rock hard, but you can see his muscles

I imagine he has thick thighs

Fat ass too

But that’s just how his body fat distributes, so like yeah he has visible abs

Idk that’s all I’ve got

There was enough consistent fanart in my atmosphere at the time that that’s how I imagine him

Dante

Never thought too hard about him

His hair is definitely curly

More than Garroths

He has especially big eyes

He’s like lean muscular

Just very average white guy

Like 5’11”

Looks young for his age

Michi

Absolute 2014 tumblr girly

Owns something with galaxy print

Very thin

With tig ole bitties

Wears thigh high socks, mini skirts, and tank tops with sweaters

Has the swoopy bangs of the era

Poses in up angle selfies like 🙂

So her head looks like a raindrop in the photo

Edits her ig photos to look more aesthetic

Teony

Tall

Girl next door

Well done, natural make up

Straightened hair

Smiling a lot

Even if it’s fake

Idk her character that well

Never thought too hard about it

But she’s like supermodel pretty

Ein

I only remember high school him

But he was like

Young guy skinny

Like you could see he had arm muscles in a tank top

In an old 5SOS type of way

His head is actually boxy shaped

Like 5’11”

White

Never thought too hard about adult Ein

Lucinda

White

Her hair is dyed with spells

It’s styled well, in a Jessica rabbit hairstyle

It’s curled

Body shaped like a coke bottle

Hourglass for days

She’s just hot

Gene

Hi why was this cast so white washed

White

His hair is not naturally black

It’s like medium brown

It’s also straight but he gets it permed

Wears eyeliner

Lots of bracelets and piercings

Tall guy like 6’1”

Cadenza

She spends a lot of money dying her hair that color

White

Tall like 5’10”

Her dress is floor length

And loose

Could command a room

Guy

Barbie doll

Hi Ken

Built like an upside down isosceles triangle

Muscular

Back muscles for days

Looks like he could do triathlons in Ancient Greece

Like 6’5”

This man is good to look at

Ivy

Michi but pink

Jeffory

The most golden retriever man you could imagine

Like 6’3”

Athletic muscular

Melissa

The most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen

Tall like 5’11”

Long legs

Nicole

Don’t know don’t care

Miscellaneous really

Wasn’t in the show enough

Reese

Nick Bean dyed pink

Vylad

Drake Bell in his Drake and Josh era precisely

No more no less

Except he always has a scarf even if it’s hot out

Sylvanna

Aphmau, tall

Zianna

Button nose

A really petite lady

Her hair is black but with gray sprinkled in

The most smiley lady you ever did see

Mother gothel if you breathed life back into her

Hot

Kai

Forgot about him for a sec

Ok gears turning

Tall

Very calm energy

Redhead

Idk he wasn’t that relevant for me

Jenny

Also in the 2014 tumblr girly category

But a little more Bethany Mota with it

A little less galaxy print

A little more Jennxpenn vibes

Wears hella eyeliner

Her outfit is black cutoff jean shorts, an oversized shirt so you can see her white tank top underneath

Her hair is naturally that light

Wears converse only

#aphmau #aphblr #aphblur #aphmau pdh #phoenix drop high #mystreet #aarmau #garmau #laurmau #garrance #kawaii chan #aaron lycan #garroth romeave #zane romeave #vylad romeave

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weirdmarioenemies · 5 months ago

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Name: Bee Fly (again)

Debut: Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins

Bee Fly here is one of the cutest little patooties in the Mario series, probably! Look at it! So many aspects that, if applied to a vertebrate, would feel overdone and not very notable. But on a bug, it is just so darling, especially since it gets to keep its proboscis! It would be such a sad day, if Bee Fly were to not have a proboscis.

Bee Fly is not only a cutie patootie, but also a sweetie badeedie, because it does not attack at ALL. It is scared of Mario, and flies away when he approaches! It is possible to kill it with a fireball, but why would you do that? Surely you must have a good reason to want to kill this harmless fly. Is it because you plan to eat it? Are you a predator who saw through its mimicry? Are you an insectivorous bird? Wow! That must be the reason. It's the only possibility that makes any sense. I'm very impressed with you for learning how to operate human technology!

Of course, Bee Fly wouldn't hurt anyone because it has no reason to. Adult bee flies are harmless, passive flower feeders! It wouldn't hurt a fly... anymore. Bee flies are typically parasitoids, feeding on other insects as larvae! Maybe these ones are even on their way to drop off their eggs into the nests of Mario Land 2's charming ant population... as modern WarioWare would attest, That's Life!

Bee Fly has the distinct honor of appearing in both Super Mario Lands 2 AND 3, an extremely rare example of a creature encountered by both Mario and Wario independently! At least, it SEEMS so, but an official guide lists this one as the "companion" of the previous game's. Maybe they're different individuals of the same species? If you don't scare it away too quickly in this game, you could give it more screentime than Mario gets here. Awesome! It also gets new art for this game, which I don't like as much, on account of the Sonic character-like muzzle. But I can't act like it's BAD. It's still a silly creature! I just like my bugs to look more like bugs. You can and should make cartoon bugs with simple designs that don't lose the buggy features, and the original art proves this!

I'm sure the Bug Fans reading this have noticed something wrong, here. Something wrong from the beginning. This is called a bee fly, but flies only have one pair of wings, while this has four! What's the big idea? I'll tell you my theory...

My theory is... they forgot! I think it's as simple as that. Its original Japanese names reinforce that it is meant to be a fly, and the rest of it looks fly-like enough. But I do have a DIFFERENT theory, one that I love very much!

Bee Fly's design does not make me think of bee flies, but it DOES make me think of a certain other of my compact little fuzzy dipteran friends. It makes me think of a drain fly! So I made it gray and removed one pair of wings to look even more like one. This is not based JUST on superficial design aspects, though! "Bee Fly" is found mostly in the Macro Zone, inside the massive house. The stage with the most "Bee Flies" is one where Mario travels through what appears to be the house's plumbing system, where three of them appear at the end! Suspiciously drain fly-like behavior, in a place where bee flies would make, quite frankly, no sense at all.

So until any further confirmation (which we will not get), I am going to be content with my headcanon that this creature is a drain fly, and that this is drain fly representation, which I have literally NEVER seen in media before! Actually, forget headcanon. I'm going to treat this as canon! Super Mario Land 2 has won the award for most respect shown toward drain flies in a video game! Wahoo!

#bee fly #drain fly #bugs #insects #super mario land 2 #super mario land 2 six golden coins #wario land #wario land super mario land 3 #mario #mario enemies #mario entities #mod chikako

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sakurapika · 1 year ago

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Some ideas for Twisted Wonderland events

(*Mild spoilers for some JP server events and Chapter 6)

-A Mulan-themed event: In one of the Halloween events, Silver mentioned knowing the story of Mulan, and Lilia has mentioned having been to "the East" before (not to mention Diasomnia's Halloween costumes are longs). It would be lovely to see Lilia return to the TWST-equivalent of China with some of his friends and meeting new characters--bonus points if someone is twisted from Mushu. A story about a girl who makes a sacrifice for her aging father by enlisting in the military on his behalf fits well with Silver and Lilia, so now would be the perfect opportunity to give them duo magic! Also, Chinese xianxia/martial arts fantasy novels are very popular in Japan and abroad nowadays (if you know, you know :) ), and I would love to see the boys wearing hanfu--they'd look so majestic and cool!

-Sam's hometown event: A Princess and the Frog event where the boys go to the TWST version of New Orleans, chaperoned by Sam. It would be a great opportunity to explore the jazz and culinary scene, and, of course, wear 1920s-inspired clothing. Someone in Octavinelle gets an SSR.

-A pajama-party event: Night Raven College hosts an all-night pillow fight tournament, and everyone gets extremely competitive, kind of like Beanfest. Everyone wears pajamas--I'm not sure if they'd have their own outfits, or if the dorms would match and have PJ sets with their logo on it (kind of like the pajamas they sell at the JP Disney Store). In battle, the chibis throw pillows at each other.

-Octavinelle hometown event: We are introduced to the Tweels' parents and/or Azul's mother. Given how Jamil and Kalim's hometown event carried out, it is likely that only one of the three will actually get an event card, but we'll see. In the Halloween event, Riddle mentioned that he's never seen the sea before. Even though he's had a chance in the Lost in the Book with Stitch event (and the developers probably want to give the spotlight to different characters), I'm afraid he doesn't remember it. Anyway, he deserves to go again. Alternatively, there's an event where the boys go to the Sunshine Lands and meet Prince Rielle. In this case, Riddle and Azul must go together--it would be nice to see after the events of Chapter 6.

-Riddle and Trey hometown event/Black Butler crossover: We've already had a Heartslabyul-themed hometown event with Deuce, but this time, we get to meet Trey's family and Riddle's mother. The likelihood that we get a canon Black Butler crossover as well is very close to zero, but it would be really fun to make a few jokes/hints about Riddle having a younger cousin who wears an eyepatch and solves mysteries with his enigmatic butler. Bonus points if Riddle and Jade have duo magic and dress up in Victorian/ouji clothing.

-J-fashion event: Speaking of ouji clothing, it would be amazing if there was an event inspired by Japanese fashions and subcultures. I think there was a part in one of the anthology mangas where Vil gave the Pop Music Club a visual kei makeover. I know the Pop Music Club has their own SSRs already, but I wouldn't mind seeing more outfits in this style.

-An orchestra-themed event: Some of the NRC students form a classical orchestra. Malleus is there, of course--I imagine him playing the cello this time. The Octavinelle trio is there as well with their respective instruments, as is Idia and Riddle both playing violins. I can see Jamil playing a woodwind instrument--maybe a flute, a clarinet, or an oboe?

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #riddle rosehearts #trey clover #azul ashengrotto #jade leech #jamil viper #malleus draconia #lilia vanrouge #silver vanrouge #twst silver #twst sam

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mintyxxie · 4 months ago

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I've seen it all - Rating all adaptations of Cherry Magic ✩

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Okay, so I tried to hunt down every adaptation of Cherry Magic! Thirty Years Of Virginity Can Make You A Wizard?! and watched them all.....like the chronically online loser expert I am.

THIS HAS SOME SPOILERS.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Ratings:

[If I missed any adaptation lmk and I'll watch it and rate it!]

So here are my ratings (in the order in which I watched/read them):

Manga (The original source material, 2018) [6/10]

Thai drama (2023-2024) [9/10]

Japanese drama (2020) [8/10]

Anime (2024) [7/10]

Japanese Movie (2022) [note: this was a sequel to the J-drama]

Chinese Radio Drama (2019) [8/10]

Important note: I'm not sure if the radio drama and the drama CD are the same thing, just in case I'm going to separate the two. I couldn't find the OG Japanese drama CD with English subs anywhere so if any one knows where to find it then lmk. Not paying 20 bucks because I am below the poverty level (fully embodying the college student aesthetic <3).

: ̗̀➛ The Manga (2018)

My favorite volume cover <3

→ General thoughts:

This might be a little dumb but honestly, I had no idea that this manga was pretty recent. I thought that this was an older 2000's manga. I only found out when I looked up the production year for this blog post LMFAO.

Building on that, the art style is fairly unique and a breath of fresh air from the typical late 2010s manga art style. It definitely gave me nostalgia—but with less secondhand embarrassment. Also my favorite part is MC's emo bangs...when he's an office worker.

I found it fun how they didn't start off the series by glazing the male lead and his achievements (which was done in almost every other version.). This approach made the male lead a lot more approachable in my opinion and lessened the gap between the two.

The manga at the very start is extremely focused on the two main characters. They don't really introduce or highlight other characters until later on. (most notably Fujisaki and with the exception of MC's bestie). Manga is also pretty fast-paced in comparison to the other adaptations in my opinion. This is mainly because doesn't really spend a lot of time building up tension or introducing the characters. If anything it feels like the mangaka was going through every arc/major character interaction as if they were bullet points. You can also argue that the other adaptations are slow-paced in comparison to the manga, but in this household the majority rules.

Not a lot of focus on visual elements (unless it's to show emotion). The background is pretty basic and kept to a minimum which helps keep the focus on the relationship between MC and ML.

At the very start, the focus is put more on the awkwardness between the two characters. It's really light-hearted and doesn't particularly hold any strong tension or emotion. I like that because technically speaking the two of them are experiencing something new, I'm TIREDDD of seeing a character fall in love for the first time ever yet miraculously be an expert at it. The awkwardness of a first love and the inexperience that comes with it is a breath of fresh air when put into the context of two adults.

One thing that I really liked about the manga (and the series in general) is how the MC talks about the ethics of his mind-reading ability and actually feels guilty about taking advantage of it. I appreciate how he also comes clean to the ML. The ethics of these abilities, especially mind reading, is so interesting to me, especially considering how it's usually glossed over.

Also...I really appreciate how the MC doesn't look like a 16-year-old twink. He looks his age, a rare sight nowadays.

The perspective of the male lead is shown pretty early on. There isn't a lot of build-up for the alternate perspective. It felt pretty underwhelming when the ML revealed why he fell in love with MC. In my opinion, it failed to draw out strong emotion from the reader. The part where the male lead gets borderline sexually harassed at work also fell flat. I read it and thought "ok...well...that just happened" and quickly moved on.

[The flat delivery of the more emotional and "heavier" scenes is a consistent ick of mine. The manga does an amazing job of communicating the awkward and comedic properties of the series but completely fails at drawing out heavier emotions from the reader. This could just be a me thing though. I blame this fact on the lack of proper build-up and transitions. The switch between emotions happens too quickly, and the manga lacks proper transition panels, making character interactions seem inorganic. The series generally capitalizes on the "out of pocket" aspect of the character's thoughts and emotions. Everything is so random and unexpected which is what makes it funny and interesting, this however makes love confessions and more emotional scenes fall flat because, in the context of the series, these scenes are NOT meant to be comedic. Trying to blend serious and funny is generally difficult and something that a lot of mangakas struggle with. ]

Anyway, the ML's perspective is always a treat. Just a poorly built-up one. My man is also a whole green forest, I'm so happy that he didn't end up forcing himself on MC and instead respected his boundaries.

One thing that I noticed while re-reading the manga is how expressive the characters are, especially the male lead (finally out of cold aloof male lead jail). His awkward wink was so adorable tbh, a funny contrast to his extremely horny thoughts.

“But Mimi, isn't this contradictory? you *JUST* said that the manga suffers from sung jinwoo syndrome (A severe lack of emotional build-up which leads to extremely flat emotional scenes)!" Before you crucify me allow me to elaborate....

It’s simple, deeper emotions generally require more build-up, especially emotions (and emotional themes) that deviate from the main genre. Shyness, awkwardness, happiness, etc are all naturally a part of the traditional romcom slice-of-life genre. If the main emotion(s) that the reader gets across is light-hearted then the story naturally builds up to it and is something that the reader expects so they come into it prepared to feel said emotions. If you try to introduce an emotion such as sadness in this context then naturally you would need to properly build it up in order for the reader to properly feel and process it since it isn't expected (Even things done for 'shock' value still need appropriate build-up, it would just be done properly.). The characters here are very expressive in terms of emotions, but character expressiveness doesn't necessarily carry along to the reader.

I also love the side couple. Their mutual love for the cat is the highlight of the entire series tbh. ITS SO CUTE.

Anyway, to save you the pain of me ranting about the side couple ima make it short and sweet (look at how nice I am....I might make a separate post just to have a yap fest about them). The build-up towards their relationship was so well-written (dare I say even more than the main couple?). I'm so happy that they got their own happy ending.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩

6/10

Honestly, this rating was a tough one for me to give because on one hand, the manga excelled in many ways and this is the original source material so it felt weird to give it a rating lower than its adaptations. However, I have quite a bit of reasons for my ratings, all of which were mentioned throughout the previous section but I'll summarize.

The manga left a lot to be desired when it tried to communicate deeper feelings, the characters felt awkward and the interactions felt really inorganic and flat during the "emotional" scenes. I don't really think it's an issue with the art style itself but rather an issue with the panel handling and management. There weren't a lot of transitional panels that helped strengthen the main emotional panels. I don't know if that makes sense because I don't really know the proper terminology but I hope that gets my point across. This is honestly a big thing because this is a romance slice-of-life manga where the main appeal and point of it is the emotions and the interactions between the characters. It's a very character-focused genre, and in this case where world-building is near nonexistent all the pressure falls on making sure that the two leads have smooth interactions. Which I feel like it didn't meet.

: ̗̀➛ Thai Drama (2023-2024)

Best Cherry Magic promotional picture in my very humble opinion.

→ General thoughts

This adaptation establishes really quickly the difference between MC's and ML's positions at the company. Not only does it establish this fact pretty early on but it also reinforces it quite a bit.

MC's relationships with those around him are a lot stronger than in any other adaptation. He also seems more well-liked and more socially active in his workplace. The intern is introduced pretty early on which is something that I appreciate. The birthday party was SO CUTE OMG. It was so funny and adorbs to see MC awkwardly giving ML a piece of birthday cake even though they never really interacted much till that point. Also, it helped establish a stronger bond between MC and Fujisaki (since she was a part of this small birthday celebration).

There is also the addition of Mrs. Cupid (I forgot her name so that will be the name that I'll use for her, also I think that this was a cultural addition) was pretty interesting. Her role as a mentor/mother figure to MC helped show that he isn't some reclusive hated loser in his workplace.

There's a LOT of emphasis on the relationships between characters in the workplace, which is a notable change when comparing it to other adaptations. It could be a cultural thing? This is my first Thai drama and delve into Thai media so I could be wrong (please don't beat me up). MC here is way more social. The intern is a lot more relevant here and is the reason why MC had to stay overtime.

The ML here is SO MUCH MORE awkward because the series establishes the difference between their positions pretty early on. It makes the difference between how he acts for the company (super put together and cool) and how he acts in front of MC (eagerly & shyly asking him about getting ice cream after the thank-you dinner) so CUTE. This is also something that differs from other adaptations because in the others they weren't able to choose where to eat.

The personality of Tsuge was so different it gave me whiplash. Like a complete 180. He gives off more playful and childish vibes here, starkly contrasting his quiet and aloof OG persona. He's also a lot more straightforward and bossy LMAO.

This and the rest of the adaptations have an advantage. They can use auditory elements to bring emotion to the scenes which I think is something that helps exaggerate events. For example, when ML was asking MC about the thank-you dinner, MC was listening to his thoughts and was very awkward. The typing heard in the background and the lack of background music help bring the scene to life by 1. making it look even more awkward since both ML and MC stay silent for extended periods of time and 2. Reinforcing the comedic office sitcom feeling (not genre because technically this isn't a sitcom).

There was also this arc of the fake boyfriend trope where MC was egged on to be the fake BF of Fujisaki. Honestly, this adaptation brought more personality and life to Fujisaki as a character and employee. The appearance of her shitty ex was an interesting bonus and helped deepen her character.

Honestly, a lot of scenes here changed, it would take me a lot of time to sit down and break down every scene change individually. I have to say that all the changes changed how the series felt and how the relationship between the characters came across. One thing that I have to mention is that not only have a lot of scenes changed but a lot of things are out of order. I'm not really complaining though because it didn't really stick out to me as nonsensical when watching, it made sense why they made the changes and honestly, I support some of it. I'm mildly upset that the scene where the voucher was expired and this ML had to pay was cut off, but other than that no major complaints.

The misunderstanding also dragged on for a lot longer & the way he dramatically passed out??? hello??? It strays off from the original more and more every episode. It feels like I'm watching a different show.

I'm really happy that they delayed the ML's POV. The build-up here was a lot more intense than the original. I really liked how they portrayed the dismissal of ML's hard work and preferences in favor of his looks, kind of a "stay in your own lane and use your pretty face" thing. The portrayal of the sexual harassment towards ML was also a lot smoother, more emotionally intense, and heavier here, a lot more emotional. These changes made the scene between ML and MC a lot more special in my opinion, and made me feel a lot of sympathy towards the ML. He also actually cried here and the scene was a lot more emotional. This also applies to when ML went into detail on why he fell in love with MC, it was really touching. The problem of the lackluster emotional scenes in the original was fixed here.

The side couple also faced a lot of changes, all of which were welcome in my opinion. The series went into a lot more detail between the two from the start, and the personality of Minato was a lot nicer here too. The side couple felt a lot more dynamic and human.

There were a lot of scenes between Fujisaki and Rokkaku, which was interesting, to say the least. I don't know how I felt about that, it wasn't bad, just weird considering the original.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

9/10

I think that the experience of watching this is extremely different from reading the original material. If we’re accounting for accuracy, this series would lose a lot of points, however if you're just watching this for fun the experience is extremely enjoyable.

I really like how this version communicates the character dynamic between the male lead and the main character. My only ick is that it made the main character a lot more popular than he originally was, thus making the male lead have a crush on him seem less surprising in a way? Also in a way that took away the funny, "I hate my shitty cooperate job and all my co-workers" feeling.

: ̗̀➛ Japanese Drama & Movie (2024)

Bunching them together because the movie is a sequel to the drama

→ General thoughts

The J-drama shows you more aspects of the MC's life and general personality before he got his power. In a way, it showed how lonely he is (via the fact that only his mom and long-time friend greeted him on his birthday).

The drama introduced a lot of characters at the beginning, and it made MC's friend, Tsuge, extremely relevant early on. This part makes the viewer more invested in the side couple and the side stories involving them a lot sooner.

Honestly, though, my favorite part is the little shop owner. In the other versions the place where he gets his lunch is at a convenience store and the only relevant interaction is when he touches the cashier's hand and she starts tweaking over how gross it is. Seeing the shopkeeper side-eye him for always ordering double mayo was really funny to me, and in a way, it added more personality to the world around him and the interactions that he has outside of the main plot (this is something to note because the J-drama shows a LOT of his time outside of the office, something that stands out when comparing it to other adaptations).

The addition of the asshole co-worker was an interesting addition/change from the original. In the OG, MC was the boss who was being an asshat, which is why he stayed overtime, in the case of the J-drama it was actually his co-worker and it was MC who offered to take over the assignment. This change made MC look like a pushover & it followed regular office comedy plots.

Many micro-interactions were also added, which added more depth to their relationship. My favorite example was how the drama expanded on how the MC was touched by ML giving him the scarf (because during that scene MC heard ML's thoughts about how mistreated MC is and how much he appreciates him :3). I also love how it revealed that ML specifically made a traditional Japanese breakfast because he knew that MC would like it. It showed how much ML really cared about MC and how he kept track of his likes and dislikes even without interacting with him a lot.

I also love how ML defended MC when asshole co-worker berated him for 'being unreliable'. He was so passive-aggressive it was so cool honestly. Also for some reason, Rokkaku was shown to be around ML a lot more often and was shown a lot earlier (though he didn't outwardly have major parts till later). Also here MC was given more overtime work, this time because ML heard about it when MC was first given the task he immediately was able to compile data and help MC from the get-go. I really liked this small change because ML improved MC's work-life quality, which was pretty shit. Also here there was no dinner coupon, instead MC did it of his own free will (went to ML running to ask him to get dinner with him, though he was inspired by his co-worker bringing it up first).

Similar to the Thai drama, their dinner date got interrupted by a company dinner :(. Though they never had a chance to be 1 on 1 here which made me (and the ML) sad.

For some reason here MC never gave Rokkaku medicine? Rather it was Rokkaku who offered to go and get some for MC from the convenience store.

The biggest interactions that changed in my opinion were the interactions between MC and his friend, Tsuge. For example, instead of meeting at Tsuge's house they instead meet at a restaurant. His advice to MC was also different, telling him to ignore ML and that what matters the most is MC's feelings, contrary to the OG where Tsuge suggested that MC take advantage of ML's feelings. I feel like this small change in how Tsuge approached advising MC helped reinforce the idea that MC tends to be a pushover who puts other people's feelings above his own (since he felt the need to specifically tell MC to focus on his own feelings). He was also so iconic for telling MC to not fall in love with someone, instead, MC should just get a cat if he's lonely.

The side couple here was also introduced a lot earlier.

Although small, these additions help add more character depth to the main character which makes the experience more enjoyable IMO.

Just like the other adaptations, a lot of the ending scenes were left out, though in this case, they produced a movie to act as a sequel to the drama for the sake of including the left-out material (ML meeting MC's parents, etc). I feel like because of that the movie is a must if you truly want to get the true feel of the ending. Also, a lot of scenes were skipped or smushed together (kind of a 3-in-1 type thing).

They kept edging us with the kiss scene low-key. I'm not even a big fan of them; I just got annoyed by how I felt like a pig on a stick.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

8/10

Overall, pretty lovely.

I found it pretty interesting how they added things and expanded on pre-existing scenes while simultaneously skipping over and combining original material. I don't really understand why they picked certain scenes over others, well to a certain degree I kind of do but at the same time, there was tons of original material...why add/expand on things unnecessarily when you already have long and expanded upon scenes.

Rokakku's interactions with MC changed a ton here, which is mildly sad.

I like the added mico interactions outside of MC's workplace.

: ̗̀➛ Anime (2024)

→ General thoughts

Out of every adaptation this stayed the closest to the original material. Honestly writing the analysis for the anime was really hard for me because there really isn't much for me to say. It fixed a big issue that was in the manga, and that is the lack of proper panel transition. The reason why I'm mentioning this point here rather than under any other adaptation is because this stayed the most loyal to the original material.

There really weren't any big changes so there isn't much to comment on. However, I set up a split screen between the anime and manga JUST so I could analyze things piece by piece and this is what I found:

After the conversation with Tsuge, it shows MC's walk home his contemplation about this whole thing, and his reaction to his friend being a virgin too. There are also some micro-interactions between the two (MC & ML) that were added, but nothing too different for me to specifically point out.

The scene with the cake guy was slightly changed here in the anime. The anime added an interaction between MC, Fujisaki, the boss, and other employees who were trying to find out what happened to cause the cake guy to get mad at ML prior to MC officially stepping in, something that didn't really happen in the manga. On that note, there were a lot of added micro-interactions between MC and Fujisaki.

A minor change that could simply be attributed to translation is that in manga MC said that he didn't hate the kiss while in the anime he said that it didn't bother him, just a small detail that made me a little sad TT.

There are some minor setting changes here and there, for example, MC originally gave Rokkaku medicine on the bus because he was car sick, in the anime he gave him medicine during karaoke because he was having stomach problems due to being drunk.

Dare I say that I HATED Rokkaku's voice actor, it's the same sound someone makes when they're nose is stuffy/they're not breathing through their nose. It got on my nerves. On a similar note, I feel like this shows how important voice actors are. I'm used to Rokakku having a younger, playful, and generally softer voice which gave him a carefree "he was the popular easy to get along with guy in high school". In the anime though because of his voice actor, his personality came off as "The really simple-minded comedic relief guy that secretly has lore". So interesting to see how even the smallest changes can completely change the impression of a character!

I kinda wish that the hot springs scene remained intact instead of it getting changed into a sauna because the concept of "Water conducting intense thoughts" is really funny. Though it was changed to steam to better fit the setting, I feel like it was an extremely unnecessary change.

The sexual harassment scene stayed really close to the manga but with greater emotional impact, specifically his facial expressions. Though the background music didn't really match the seriousness of the scene, his facial expressions and the general mood of what he was conveying (Since he was talking about how his character and hard work are reduced to the fact that he is good-looking), it's still a marginal improvement. This made me upset because the anime could've utilized more appropriate background music or just not add it at all. My ick with the background music was quickly resolved with the following scene where MC consoles ML after the whole ordeal. This makes me really happy because it, for the most part, achieved what the manga failed to do. Also, I find it funny here how ML specifically thought that the MC is a pushover because he lacks tact.

Flashback/ML's POV also came later than the Manga, thankfully a running theme between all adaptations. The selfie scene also changed, it was a lot less 'appropriate' here (not in a to the reader way but in a context way) because in the original they took the selfie on a company trip while here they took the picture in a random park.

The side couple comes here a lot later too, I think slightly later than the manga, which is weird but it also makes sense and flowed well here. I don't have much to complain about, I did like their interactions here a lot more though. I should also note that their relationship is slightly faster-paced than other adaptations.

The sound effects and OST were awesome though and really helped reinforce the emotional aspects of scenes. This also helped with the abrupt emotional changes in the scenes.

I do have to say that I had very high hopes for the anime because out of every adaptation, this has the most freedom in terms of properly communicating character dynamics and plot points. It can use a range of effects without looking out of place or weird because this is animated. This did NOT disappoint thankfully.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

7/10

Oof, this was a hard one to rate, I saved it for last.

I don't know, out of every adaptation this was easily my favorite, but lets be honest...there are quite a bit of issues. I think that the main one is the background music for the sexual harassment scene.

"Mimi, why do you care so much about it?" Well, it's not necessarily because sexual harassment is a serious topic (which it is, but not the main reason why I'm so bothered), rather it's mainly because the male lead was venting about how all of his hard work is dismissed just because "he's pretty". I feel like this was a perfect example that encapsulated his main complaint about his workplace and the main reason why MC's actions really touched him. It's really important to his character so seeing the scene not be portrayed properly really grinds my nerves.

: ̗̀➛ Chinese Radio Drama (2019)

→ General thoughts

THIS WAS SO DIFFERENT. Take a seat because a yap fest is about to take place.

To be honest, this is my first time listening to a Radio Drama (yes a lot of first times here, I'm a sad media virgin, all I do is read shitty manhwa, manhua, manga & fanfiction and read the occasional web novel). I didn't know what to expect since the medium is pretty limited since the plot can only be conveyed through voices. This did not disappoint. The voice actors are super expressive and effectively communicate character emotions.

This starts off strong with an appointment with a psychiatrist. MC really thought he was going insane and honestly? I too would shove myself in a psychiatrist's office the second I started hearing people's thoughts. I loved this approach, super realistic. My usual ick of characters randomly manifesting powers in an otherwise non-fantasy setting is how they immediately accept it and adapt to it.

The first change is how he finds out about his ability, by far this is my favorite (touching a co-worker and hearing her cuss out your fellow employees and boss). We unfortunately didn't escape the ML glazing session (yes I get it he's so alpha in the company,,,,I heard the same sentence 10 times already from 10 different sources my brain is FRIED). GOOD NEWS though because MC also got a mini glazing session...ha you thought...the sec mc touched his boss he got brought back to reality (heard a bunch of insults about how dull he is).

The drama CD really REALLY enforces the fact that MC isn't liked by his fellow coworkers, for some reason everyone and their moms take pleasure in insulting him, which is my biggest fear. Imagine you develop the ability to hear people's thoughts only to find out that half of your workplace hates your guts? I'd immediately cease my oxygen dependence.

Also, we're back with the shitty co-worker. Honestly, it's hard for me to tell what is going on because many names changed which would've been fine if the OG plot was completely preserved except it's not. I don't have visual clues so I'm kinda tweaking.

Anyway, now on to the major plot changes:

Rokkaku is now a poor intern getting pulled into random tasks via MC's co-worker friend. For some reason, most adaptations tend to mess around with Rokkaku's character. Also, the elevator scene slightly changed, instead of MC trying to guess ML's crush he immediately reminded himself that he's experiencing a hallucination (which happens quite frequently throughout the radio drama. I think that I can safely attribute this change to the fact that he went to see a psychiatrist the second he noticed his newfound ability. Generally, it takes MC 10 thousand business days to come to terms with his new ability.

MC here is a lot more of a realist, not that he was particularly lacking in the realism department before. It just seems like a more prominent character trait here.

Here MC stays late because of his co-worker friend (maybe I should change his nickname to asshole #2). Also, MC here takes an obvious role in helping teach and instruct Rokkaku. We also get more character background info on Rokkau which I think is pretty interesting. Rokkaku here is a lot more responsible too. Also here instead of simply helping MC finish his work, ML instead offers to do the whole thing himself.

It takes a while for there to be any mention of his 30th birthday. The reason why MC slept over at ML's place also changed. Also I can't get over the scene where ML admits to the fact that he bought a set of PJs JUST BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THAT MC WOULD LOOK GOOD IN THEM???? No matter how many times I watch it I still find it wild LMFAOOO. Also for some reason ML undresses in from of MC and MC points out ML's muscles which is so different from the OG because originally it was because of the hot springs + MC never loudly commented on ML's physique. MC looked like a pervert LMFAO. Also, ML never mentioned that he worked out/kept up with his body for MC, so it made the scene a lot more awkward IMO. ML's house is also different, in here he has an extra bedroom while in the other adaptations, MC slept in the living room.

It was so adorable when ML came over JUST to cover MC with a quilt. Also, my guy was battling demons trying to stay a green flag.

They expanded a lot more on the BBQ scene, which was so nice! I loved seeing the two of them have a normal conversation for once, both gushing over their favorite manga. I feel like this made their relationship progression a lot smoother because in the other adaptations they never really had the opportunity to actually engage in a long and meaningful conversation. Most of the time conversations are very one-sided and awkward since MC is reading all of ML's thoughts thus decreasing the amount of naturally born conversation between the two. Not only do I like it because of their conversation but also their interaction flowed very naturally. This time ML was the one who held on to the vouchers (mildly similar to the Thai ver), thus when it was time to pay it was more so an act of responsibility rather than altruism. They also added a movie date after the BBQ, except MC dipped and ruined the whole moment.

Just like the Thai drama, it would be easier for me to list all the similarities than differences to the manga. I think that in this case, the many changes are easily justifiable because this format (radio dramas or any audio-only mediums) is really limited. Typically creators can rely on visual clues and/or descriptions to enhance character dynamics and interactions. Thus it's natural for the producers of this drama to drag out character interactions and add some to get the same feelings and character dynamics across. You can argue that audio-dependent mediums have an advantage compared to novels but there isn't a novel for cherry magic. You're adapting an audio-only drama from a written-visual medium, which is pretty different. You can easily translate written words to spoken audio but visual cues are lost to translation.

One problem...the sexual harassment scene here was portrayed very similar to the anime. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. The background music wasn't as bad but cmon.....

THIS HAS FIRE OPS AND EDS. I love the songs, honestly just listen to the radio drama for the music.

→ Rating ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

8/10

I really liked this one, again if we're going for accuracy then this would get a low rating, but we're not yahoo!

I really liked how the characters were portrayed, their relationships, etc. I feel like this version really perfected the characters.

I kinda wished that there was more focus on his life outside of the office and that there was more character background info.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Conclusion:

Honestly, my favorite part of doing this whole thing is seeing how culture impacts stories and adaptations. The two that changed the most details were the Thai and Chinese adaptations so it's pretty neat to see how Japanese cultural details were switched out. I think that the office worker environment and interactions between co-workers and the differences between the Japanese version, Chinese version, and Thai version are the most interesting. (yes repetitive but we're not in English class now are we?)

Every version is different, and I loved comparing and seeing how every medium communicates the story a bit differently. There are benefits and negatives to picking a specific medium, looking at Cherry Magic was an interesting case study (I know that I haven't gone into detail on how the specific medium caused changes and instead just talked about the changes but trust I was thinking about it.). I might do an analysis in the future solely focusing on that, but who knows.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

THANK YOU @mil0nes FOR EDITING MY GOD AWFUL WRITING. Hmu whenever you need a kidney I WILL give you mine (if we're incompatible then I'll sacrifice someone for you babe..Just don't quote me in a court of law xx)

If you read the whole thing then tysm !!

I'll probably make one for Semantic Error soon. ^^

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