#love sentai its so dumb

[nugulover69]

Yamato cradling the illusion of his dead mom as she dies in front of him again is horrifying but unfortunately I cannot get over the villain who caused said dead mom illusion being named fucking Bunglay

[megiddo-ichi]

hey i got a questions. whats... a good starting point to get into tokusatsu? i know its a long running genre with a lot going on, but my knowledge is limited to osmosis via power rangers and a small amount of super sentai. oh and viewtiful joe

To be honest it really depends on what you're after. Since Toku can kinda go anywhere and far beyond Kamen Rider and Sentai, you don't exactly lack options for where you want to go with it. To give some ideas of what I recommend tho:

Kamen Rider Black(1987): Generally one of the most highly rated rider seasons and one of the best in the showa era for getting into the franchise in genera.

Kamen Rider Kuuga(2000): Best as a slow burn character drama as well as easing into the 2000s as a sort of rebirth season since the franchise took a bit of a hiatus in the 90s. Ultimately a really good starting point. Also directly available for streaming thanks to Shout Factory TV.

Chojin Sentai Jetman(1991): While I am less familiar with sentai, I know Jetman generally gets a lot of fanfare in terms of its writing and presentation(to the point that it's referenced heavily and visibly in persona to the point of being a major plot point in 2). It's also the season that came out directly before the season that became Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, so that's something to keep in mind.

Garo: Chapter of the Black Wolf(2005): Now this is the toku series I'm most familiar with. If you like mature, higher budget productions by toku alums for adult audiences, while also staying true to the nature of the henshin hero genre, you can't go wrong here. Also another easily accessible show due to being officially subbed on the Garo Project youtube channel.

Also Jam project. Love me some Jam project.

Also for some anime related recommendations.

Garo: The carved seal of flames(2014): Pre-JJK Mappa at its finest imo, in terms of animation, music, and staying true to the themes of the live action series. Plus CG that actually looks good and gets used well.

Samurai Flammenco(2013): A generally fun and fine show about a man following his dreams of being a hero. Mostly put here because no one talks about shows made by Studio Manglobe anymore(RIP).

Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department(2022): A dumb fun series about an evil faction that makes Kaijin. About what you'd expect in terms of 'girl responsible for evil science has to go through the board and deal with the local toku hero at the same time'.

Love after World Domination(2022): If you've ever seen that one clip of Gekisou Sentai Carranger, where the red ranger asks out the female villain general, this is what that show is essentially. Like word for word bar for bar.

Ranger Reject(currently airing): I could be unkind and call it the boys but Sentai, but I mean that in a good way. Essentially it's 'what if the rangers were evil and using the villain faction as everyday entertainment for the masses' and one lone foot soldier infiltrating their group. Generally highly recommended among most.

Still don't like them localizing it as "Go Go Loser Ranger" tho.

[cina-full-moon-xanadium]

Question 17 please! Also 1 & 11 if you want to keep going

Once again sorry for being absurdly late 🙏

17. Tell me about a monster of the week you think is neat

At some point on this question I felt like handing in my toku fan credentials because while I can absolutely appreciate a good MOTW design while it's in front of me, my object permanence rarely lasts once I'm a few episodes away. And like, there's Metalder with your Bigwaynes and Lortails but that's the obvious one of course everyone is gonna talk about how absolutely insanely good Bigwayne is.

So! Imagine my surprise when Moon Malgam over here ended up staying in my mind permanently ever since its Gotchard episode aired?

I'm a big fan of the Malgam designs in general, and Moon has a lot of the best traits on display. There's a typical gimmick where the arms of the person transforming end up as decoration on the body while new arms split out from the Malgam's power as the suit's actual in-use arms; or they'll do a mix of the two. The chemy is also generally put on in an asymmetrical way with body parts not matching up; Gorilla for instance has the gorilla head upside down on the shoulder and the fist being the suit's head. A lot of this can look like a mess on some of the lesser thought out suits, but I think in general this is a strikingly creative yet simple and effective way of communicating the chaos and discord going on in a Malgam's creation and that it's not something the Chemy involved wants to really be a part of as much as something suddenly borne of instant negative emotions.

Moon Malgam has all this on display in the best of ways -- the person's arms and head are in a sleeping position as assymetrical decoration on the body, with drool from that sleeping person's mouth forming the left arm! The right arm is formed by the night sky and stars seen on the card too!! The one 'conventional' and symmetrical part of the whole thing is that the moon is of course the head, but the crescent moon shape typical of moon characters (including the NemineMoon Chemy itself as seen on its card) is bent into two horrific large rows of teeth biting down on restraints with no other facial features (eyes especially) clearly visible. Add in that this is the first instance of a powered-up Malgam that the Gotchard gang face and that it's designed to homage one of the earliest Goranger monsters, and it's just an incredibly memorable monster to me!

I really really love Gotchard monster design it's honestly one of my favourites in all of Toku. I hope we get to see more of it in upcoming projects!

1. Favourite transforming robo?

So anyway there were other questions here, right? ... and this one's really hard so can I give you a top 3?

I haven't seen GoGoV yet but I've seen enough clips to know that Victory Robo is SUPREME physical prop mecha goodness in action. I love that they found a way to have the mecha form in a practical way which also happens to be really endearing and funny with stuff like the extending arms and Victory Walker; and I just LOVE rescue themes in toku heroes and mecha. Topping it off is just a wonderful solid robo design at the end, and this is really all I can ask for. It's peak platonic sentai robot design to me with a lot of extra flourish

Liveboxer is absolutely none of that. He is a dumb brick formed from two vehicles acting as if it has a robot mode for what is just a glorified upgrade armour for the main robo. And I love him for it. Something about the circumstances of its existence is so fucking ENDEARING to me, his theme song is one of my favourite sentai mecha themes, and the scenes where he's just a big brick with outstretched stick arms flying through the air. Mwah. I love him

King-Ohger has very similar Platonic Ideal Sentai Robo appeals to me as Victory Robo, and while it doesn't have a lot of those same flourishes; it's BUGS, man!! It's bugs!! Rescue themes and bugs are what Tokusatsu was born for! We've of course had a couple secondary robos along the way made of two machines but it's crazy it took us this long to get a bonafide main Sentai mech themed after bugs with 5 or more multi-coloured bugs coming together into a big tough winged horned robot with a giant sword. They absolutely understood the assignment on this one I love looking at this thing

11. Lips on helmets, good or bad?

Gorgeous. Beauty. Perfection.

[bullshits-smut]

So I've been watching sentai for a couple of years (started on kirramager) and I've just started kamen rider with Geats and ultraman with Ultraman Z.

So far my take on it so far is that Sentai is the kids show. It's really aimed at kids and even while doing stuff for older fans is always gonna be for kids.

Kamen rider is for kids that have gotten a bit older and now think shadow the hedgehog is cooler then sonic the hedgehog, they're too old for that kiddy shit.

Ultraman is for. People that have grown out of their edge lord phase and now want super goofy dumb shit.

They're all great.

Kamen rider Geats is SO fuckin edgy. It introduces a charactersl who's fighting to save his sick son then kills him immediately. The intro has one of the lead characters strung up with barbed wire. It's amazing. I love it.

Meanwhile ultraman has a level of sophistication I was not expecting. The fx work is on another level to the other two. The way it has characters on different scales like the humans and the kaiju interact is amazing. It's far more reserved and less broad in its comedy.

But also every design looks like the goofiest fucking 1960s monster or robot. It's hilarious and amazing. Like look at this dude. My wife described him as 'the face I make when I've just told a bad joke'

Anyway tokusatsu shit is rad.

[halt-kun]

Hunter x Hunter Chapter 396 - Formation (2)

Second part of the troupe gremlins story. I’m really excited for more cuteness

Whas it a nen screening ? Or maybe for the first suicide bombers ? Unless the PT is the result of some tvreality show like the ones creating girl and boys band ? That’s how I see them, Meteor city got talent vibe. I’m dumb it’s for the super sentai -_-

UVO YOU CREEP

Stop pestering my man ! Fei not being in a panel because of his height is always the funniest thing.

Sarasa is so cuuuuuute and Phinks is a softie

LET THE SHOW BEGIN

I’m so happy for these kids, a bit of happiness is good for them

Chrollo should have been a voice actor 

OH NO

OMG CHROLLLOOOOOOOOOO YAY gooooo don’t care about the future cringe you’ll have ! BE YOU

I LOVE HIM

Uvo is shook

GON ?!? Anyway this is wholesome PT content and I’m here for it

Chrollo is definitely a good actor, raising in my favourite characters ranking right here

NOBUUUUUUU

CHROLLO is awakening his nen right now ?????? Joking, probably just the dark vibes

This is really bringing back fond memories of my youth and supersentais

I’m tearing up

All that for a show about cleaning

Kids being kids

Uvo probably won’t mind and just give you all the tapes he can find

He didn’t say it himself, that’s toxic masculinity for you, COME HERE BIG GUY AND GIVE ME A HUG 

CUTE KIDS

TROUPE ORIGINS, a team of voice actors of an obscure show in an obscure language

TEARS ARE COMING !

More dub work, anyway when can we see the troupe acting as a super sentai with transformation sequences and spandex 

Machi’s no princess, just a little gremlin

THE PHANTOM TROUPE, what a cute bunch of people 

I love them, I’m really caring a lot more about the trope now, FUCK

Welp, that didn’t age well

Bad idea, well bye bye Sarasa ? your death will be the origin of the troupe’s secondary goal after its inception

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK, well next week for more children adventure !

[evilmagician430]

Hii im just starting to get into vt because of a friend and he said u know abt spencer. can u tell me abt him??

oh boy where do i even start. this is like a dream come true for me honestly. i'm going to try to stick to whats actually canon as much as possible, so i wont be getting into my own headcanons here.

i know for a fact im gonna end up typing some parapgraphs so here, i made a table of contents.

paragraph 1: age

paragraph 2: personality

paragraph 3: hobbies and interests

paragraph 4: location

paragraph 5: his backstory

paragraph 6: miscellaneous

spencer is one of the youngest venturiantale characters. the wiki states that he is 17, but when he is first introduced he says that he is 12 years old, so i'm not really sure where the fandom wiki got 17 from. he IS characterized as a young teenaged boy so really his age can be anywhere inbetween those 2 in the present day of canon (which is like... vaguely 2010s.) obviously if you're doing like timeskip aus or whatever he can be an adult.

he is very easily annoyed especially when it comes to stupid people, of which there are an abundance in the gmod roleplay cast. whenever someone ticks him off he tends to call them an "absolute nerd!!!" something which i struggle to incorporate into my own depictions because i can never seem to get it to sound natural. i mean, he himself is portrayed to be this geeky insufferable know-it-all, so it's strange that he would call other people "nerd"s, especially when theyre being dumb. but i digress. short paragraph compared to the other ones but as he's presented in canon, he really does have a simple composition. he's a nerdy kid who hates people and loves to be alone and gets angry easily.

it's hard to discern what spencer likes, but it's easy to tell what he dislikes because he'll make it known. pokemon, power rangers, barbies, really anything pink and girly (with some glaring exceptions such as being a brony and having no issue with sailor moon) and more probably. he's always looking for faults in anything people like. with pokemon, it was that it's a ripoff of digimon; with power rangers, it was that it's just a localization of super sentai, and for this reason he actually likes sailor moon because it isnt derivative. not sure what his feelings are on g4 mlp being a reboot. maybe he prefers the older gens? g3 mlp is really girly and pink though even more than g4 is so maybe he would just be a gen 1 fan and also watch mlpfim. (speculation) the wiki lists his occupation(s) as "brony, hacker, weeb" which is a really good list of things to be into and none of them are jobs. and he HAS had a job at least once is the funny part. he worked at the front desk of a random hotel. anyways from this we can conclude that he probably likes certain anime, likely the more obscure and plot-heavy ones. and he also is really apeshit bananas at computers. he knows ALL THE CODES. all of them. he spends most of his time on the computer or in bed watching anime. the shelves inbetween? i like to imagine he keeps his figures and toys there. i think he's a dc comics fan, but i can't remember if its canon or not.

he's a troglodyte dwelling almost exclusively in the basement of the acachalla house, or sometimes even in lower, secret basements. one time the acachallas moved and they left him there, and when they came back to get some stuff he rose out of the front lawn like a zombie and was like nuh uh uh this is my house now. at least once he was eaten by giant dirt worms under the house. in canon it is stated that he is not allowed to leave the basement, which seems abusive to me. i like to headcanon that spencer only THINKS he's not allowed to leave the basement because that's how it used to be in his original family that he ran away from. but thats not canon; the canon is that he's basically a captive of the acachalla household. he digs tunnels and becomes allied with the mole people but overall it doesnt seem like he minds living underground. anyways.

content warning: cult. also child death and suicide? i guess. before being adopted by the acachallas, spencer was the leader of a cult worshipping an entity known as the spence. the spence was an extremely powerful god who died or something and the mission of the cult was to resurrect him. little spencer, only 12 years old at most, killed himself in an act of ritual sacrifice. he became the mighty spence incarnate, and after gaining new life, he immediately started killing the members of his cult (because they couldnt correctly answer his trivia questions or something), and ordering them to kill one another. then he flew away on the back of a giant seagull all the way across dimensions to little butts north carolina. and then presumably his debut video happened (he goes to gamestop where gertrude is working and annoys her so much with his questions that she beats him to death with a crowbar).

O.K. now some random things. starting with the one i never shut up about: he's definitely bisexual and/or nonbinary BASED ON the situation that occurs in the killer teletubby video when he meets mabeline, a girl cosplaying as johnny ghost. he expresses interest or perhaps attraction to her (??) based on her appearing almost exactly like johnny ghost but having a girl's voice. he says, and i quote, "am i seeing... someone as hot as johnny ghost, but yet also with a feminine voice? that's like the best of both worlds, i dont know where i sign up" like there is no cishet way to interpret that i fear. anyways he also canonically has ocd and at one point, a fear of grass. a lot of this information you can just get from reading the fandom wiki but im so so so glad you asked me instead. he has a level 67 warlock in world of warcraft. he is literally the joker. his braces are so rusty they can be used as magical bullets. he's such an enigma i cant help but be obsessed with him. anyways thats the official spencer guide by me the spence enthusiast. also i have a little doll of him hes awesome

[bbgoffic]

±+++± Call me Nix ±+++±

This is a side blog! My main is @still-nix-d-goffic though I'm actually a multitude of blogs. I have like 5

This used to be gbgoffic, there's a good chance you didn't even notice the change because... Subtle.

##################################

If you're here for ✨Star Wars Bullshit✨ I'm booping your snoot in affection, be insane about Clones with me.

Find my writing over on @crosshairs-dumb-pimp-gf (we take ourselves soooo seriously)

My main fic is called Disgrace and its illustrated. (Standard Crosshair x f!OC fare cause we're horribly predictable aren't we?)

Get to know me playlist: Unabashed mixtape kid though so I have a lot of odd playlists

I swear and code switch like crazy. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my favorite show since I was like 11 so if I talk like a Whedon character I'm sorry you're welcome. Vaguely to blatantly NSFW because my scale of normalcy has never existed. Gore occasionally as a treat. (It's usually like ... Horror schlock stuff, nothing gross. Just special effects.)

I'm probably older than you.

Uhh other than that I'm ADHD about a lot of stuff and if it's bright purple and green or is Retro Tech or 90s kid in any way it'll end up here. This is my Scifi oriented blog in general... List of what I post below:

_------_-------_-------_-------_-------_-------_------_

Bad Batch/Star Wars, Invader Zim, Gregory Horror Show, Crash Box, Universal Classic Monsters, Halloween Horror Nights, The Haunted Mansion, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tales from the Crypt, Godzilla, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Retrowave, Nightrun, Goosebumps, Sentai, 90s Scifi Anime, Neon Aesthetic, FNAF, PPT, Retro Scifi Art, SPACE, Dinosaurs, Beetlejuice, Muppets, Tank Girl, ASoUE, etc.

I love this stupid drawing so I'm slapping it here yw.

[kabutoraiger]

I DONT KNOW WHAT SENTAI YOU ARE WATCHING RN BUT ITS CRACKING ME UP SO HARD. The O u t f i t s omfg they look so preppy??? Its dumb but I kind of love it lmao 😂����

their suits are extremely prep it's true. but since they're based on school uniforms i think it works pretty well. it's called "the high school heroes" if you ever want to give it a watch!

[a-student-out-of-time]

Counting that you admire Hope's Peak as a kid? I could surely picture you doing some pretty dumb stuff when you were a kid and your parents had to deal with; we know you took care of a hermit crab and even had a toy sword which I'm rather curious of those.

Oh yeah, the crab.

Did you know hermit crabs will form lines to exchange shells? If one finds a bigger shell, they move into it and let another crab have that shell, then that crab gives up its hell to a smaller crab and so on and so on.

Huh, that’s pretty cool.

Yeah, I had to take care of one as part of a class project in elementary school. They’re really interesting, honestly.

I hope the swords didn’t come into play there.

No, I just waved around plastic swords in the house sometimes. Usually when I was watching Super Sentai.

Seriously? I love Super Sentai!

Wait, really?

Why do you think I picked a sword as my weapon of choice?

[masterhandss]

Okay, hear me out: Hamefura magical girl/boy series. Fortune lover was a harem/magical girl anime that past life Katarina loved, but takes a walk with truck-kun, and gets reincarnated as the traitor character in the show. Deciding to stay as far away as possible from the magical girl stuff, she tries to live out her life as a normal girl, but in a strange turn of events, finds the magical creature, anne, and becomes a magical girl. Also Katarina becomes the leader instead of Maria.

That’s a really cool AU idea! A quick side track, I really do think that Fortune Lover could have been better of as an isekai into a novel/series rather than an otome game like what other japanese/korean otome isekais have done, considering how much extra content FL is getting in the series to extend the series (aka FL2 and an FL fanbook). Of course it’s perfectly fine as it is since it explains the harem aspect the best.

I really like your idea for the a Hamefura Magical Girl AU! Katarina becoming the new leader of a magical girl group would be a great subversion of the original material and is a perfect equivalent to her essentially becoming the new heroine of an otome game. 

Your idea of Anne being the partner familiar is so perfect I have no words, there’s a lot of series where the magical pet acts as kinda like a guide or tsukkomi for the magical girl so it really fits! I can even imagine some sort of heartwarming comparison between Fortune Lover and the current timeline where the original pet Anne is a normal magical guide who isn’t too personally involved with the girls and mostly just gives exposition and plot to the girls in the Fortune Lover series, but when Katarina becomes the leader she’s more outspoken and reprimanding, being more personally involved as she constantly need to help Katarina in getting her head together. 

I’d love to hear what you’re idea of OG!Katarina’s role in the Magical Girl AU would be. She could be like an evil magical girl that acts as one of the antagonists for the girls, but she can also be that archetype that every magical girl show has where there’s this spoiled rich girl who either arrogantly claims to be part of that magical girl group or belittles them as if she is somehow better than them. Or a combination where the spoiled rich girl is given a chance to transform but works for the villains because of her hatred of the heroes!

I personally haven’t watched or read many series where both male and female characters play the role of magical guardians of a country (unless its super sentai stuff) so it’s kinda hard for me to imagine what kind of roles the boys play in all of this. I’m just gonna assume/imagine something in the same vein as Shugo Chara when it comes to the range of magical heroes in Fortune Lover. 

There’s a Magical AU oneshot that reminds me a lot of this premise, so here’s a link if you haven’t already seen it.

Thinking about this is really fun! I’d love to maybe write my own ideas for a Magical Girl AU, but I’m not that well versed in Magical Girls/Boys ever since I grew out of them in my childhood so I know that there are lots more qualified to expand this AU more than me. I’d love to hear more ideas though and throw in my own dumb expansions and ideas hahaha!

Thank you for the ask! :DD (PS. I love you Annette profile!)

[veeranger]

my unprompted opinions on sentai swords. Zyuohger - Kiramager 

Zyuohger

Zyuoh Buster

Zyuoh Eagle’s EagRiser

this looks like if the bringer sword was made in modern day. man i talk about that thing a lot huh. i kind of like it but i really dont like zyuohger’s block aesthetic. also it was kind of wack that the only human on the team had a whip when the rest of them were animals. another of those crazy zyuohger choices

Kyuranger

Shishi Red’s Kyu Sword

this thing FUCKS. look at the goddamn size of that blade. fucking beast of a sword and i love the design. the blue blade is sexy. 

Chameleon Green’s Kyu Rapier 

ugh. whatever. the girls got literally nothing. this thing sucks. 

Kajiki Yellow’s Kyu Slasher

i really debated not including this thing but im comfortable saying this is a sword. rangerwiki says it is for what its worth so whatever. its just a lamer version of kyu sword but i dont hate it really. 

Houou Soldier’s Transformation Rotating Sword Houou Blade

holy moly or whatever dumb shit this guy used to say. i talked about this all the way back with wolzard but this sword is good. its very toy which is to be expected these days and i talked about this when i did changers before that i love it as a changer. everything about it is just cool. im not all that crazy about the actual design of the blade itself but it works well as a unit with the shield which is the most important thing imo. actually its a cool enough sword. its fine. 

Lupinranger VS Patranger

Lupin X’s X Sword Rod

uhhhhhhh. its pretty good actually. i never saw it in action but its pretty cool i suppose

Lupin Sword

jesus this thing is hard to look at. i hardly ever remember them actually using it in the dozen or so eps i saw. pass.

Ryusoulger

i assume you were waiting for this too

Ryusoul Ken / Gaisoul Ken / Ryusoul Calibur

these are all the exact same thing except the caliber is ugly. also not even rangerwiki had a picture of the gaisoul ken prop only the toy so fuck it. uhhhhhh anyway i like it fine. i hope you werent actually waiting for this cuz i dont have much to say mostly cuz i never watched this show. its totally fine and the spikes are very cool it just doesnt speak to me i guess. genuinely sorry about this one i really want to like it more

Kiramager

Kiramai Sword

love it. simple but sleek and very much a toy. maybe by now you’ve guessed i like blue swords for whatever reason cuz i love the color of this one. the blade is so good honestly. its just a really fun sword and it totally captures the kiramager aesthetic

[gcmblingdice]

Power Rangers AU. The series and the sentai series their outfits are obviously stretchy lycra suits. When they get damaged u can see like inner workings??? So like are we meant to think their outfits are actual armor or...? How do they look in your au???

Tbh its like this

But also this

Still debating, but I do love the design of the 2017 movie they had going. Personally i think both are MUCH more realistic and practical. Also ngl Karine in armor makes me 🥵🥵🥵 same with Megan!

Also as of rn my Powrr Rangers au, is both for rp but also a short series of drabbles I plan to actually write. There is just the three of them for now. I kinda wanna toss Kimi in

But rn on the team:

Karine - pink ranger, late 20's

Megan - Yellow ranger, late 20's

Joonwoo - Red Ranger, early 20's

UwU and of course we have Mr.V, who gives them their assignments. See PR AU Mr.V is an alien who has traveled across the universe to find a team of people to help him find and destroy dangerous artifacts of power and guard those deemed not dangerous. UwU

In this AU Joonwoo, like any other verse, had powers before becoming a ranger. His powers include control over the element of wind, nature based magic and healing. He is mostly a green witch, but sometimes dabbles in blood or dark magic. He can manipulate auras and sense energy. He is stupidly smart...but also really dumb.

Anyway if u wanna know more just lemme know ^^ Im tired and cant coherent thoughtz.

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD] [QUOTEV]

WARNING: NSFW. Includes petplay.

It took until the end of their dinner and leaving to head back to Chie's house before they were calmed down enough to discuss what had just happened. Chie was highly embarrassed, but before she could even begin to fully dig into the reasons, Yukiko had something else prepared to say.

"I'm very sorry, Chie-chan."

"Ye-what?" she said, switching gears mid-word because she was taken aback and unprepared. "For what?"

"I believe you weren't really ready for me to do what I did just now. And yes, I know you insisted that you could handle it, but… I have a feeling that Ebihara-san coming up to talk to us changed your feelings. But you didn't stop me, so I made an assumption, and now… I think… it was the wrong one."

A long sigh of relief burst from Chie. "Okay, thank you. Whew! I was gonna say that I was a little freaked out, but um, I didn't want you to feel bad. Especially 'cuz I did something so gross."

"Huh?" Head tilting adorably in confusion, almost making Chie want to sweep her into a fresh kiss, she asked, "What did you do?"

"What do you mean? I kissed that bitch!"

"Ohhh. Well, I just assumed that was part of the playacting." Though her eyes did lose a little of their light as they resumed walking.

"Yeah. I mean, it kinda was, but like… I dunno, I was trying not to moan when I came and that was the easiest way to cover my mouth. And she is cute. Even if I wish I was kissing you instead."

That made a brief smile flash across her lips. "Oh, I see."

"Sorry."

"Well… it's my fault for continuing to play with you while she was leaning so close. I could see as plainly as you that she was making a 'kiss me' face."

"A 'kiss me' face?" Yukiko recreated said expression, and Chie had already started to lean in before she shook the spell off. "D-damn, that's… that is super effective!"

The Yasogami beauty queen giggled as she slipped her arm through Chie's and pulled her up the walk to her house. "I've seen the other staff at the inn do it to get tips. Not all of them, of course. Perhaps they watch the same TV shows as Ai-san? Those Korean dramas…"

"Ugh, I can't stand those. I mean, they're good right up until they hit some scene that's just so super dramatic that I can't take it seriously anymore."

"Really? I love them; you're not wrong, they are exaggerated, but I look at it as… that's the art form. It's how they display the full spectrum of the human emotional state by shining a brighter light on them."

Chie blinked a few times, then stuttered, "W-well, yeah, that's true. Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. I always knew you didn't like them as much as me."

"Oh." As she fished out her keys and opened the door, she said, "Well… isn't that bad, though? Like, if we're dating…"

"So what? You and I don't have to like all the same things. I never much cared for that Super Sentai show of yours, but I don't hate it, and I like watching it with you because you just get so into it." As they stepped out of their shoes in the entryway, she asked, "Isn't that what relationships are all about? Compromise?"

"Huh, well yeah. I mean, I wanna argue, but that makes total sense. You're sure you don't mind sitting through my stuff?"

"Not if you don't mind sitting through mine," she answered with such a sweet smile that Chie felt her pulse racing. "I think that's settled. We will continue to share our shows."

"Deal," she chuckled lightly as they lingered near the bottom of the stairs. "Hey, you can go on up and start on your homework while I get a couple chores done. Won't be that long."

"You sure you don't want some help?" Yukiko asked with very genuine concern in her tone.

"No, no! I got this. Plus once you figure out the assignment you can help my dumb ass."

Pouting, she slapped her arm and hissed, "Stop that! You are not dumb. Just not an academic." And still they lingered. Yukiko slid her hands up to perch on Chie's shoulders. "You're my Prince."

What was she supposed to do besides kiss her? Whatever it was, it wasn't going to happen, because she was already leaning in to gently take her soft lips, pressing her back against the wall by the bottom step. Yukiko barely squeaked before relaxing into the contact, lips sliding over her girlfriend's as they enjoyed their sweet moment together.

"CHIE! IS THAT YOU?"

Moment over. Hastily stepping away from her friend, she called out, "YEAH, MOM! BE THERE IN A SEC!" Then she hissed, "Go on, I'll catch up!"

"Okay," she chuckled before whispering, "I'll try not to think too hard about how sexy you looked in Aiya. Squirming everywhere from my-"

"SHHH! God, you're going to drive me crazy, I gotta go talk to my mom!" But they were both grinning as they parted ways.

                                           ~ o ~

The chores didn't take too long. Her mother wanted her to clean up the kitchen, take out the trash, and to go outside and feed Muku. She rumpled the big, lovable Saint Bernard's fur after his bowl was full, smiling and doting on him for a little while. He would need a walk in an hour or two.

"Awww, your poor collar," she sighed as he licked her all over the face. "STOP! Haha! Sorry, I got you a new one but it's too small, I gotta take it back. This weekend, I promise."

Muku barked as she played with his jowls, still sadly glancing at the old, threadbare leather around his neck. Privately, she was glad she had the wrong size; it was red and she thought maybe a black collar would suit him better. Serendipitous. Then he pounced on her and she laughed and shoved him away.

"Okay, OKAY! I gotta go, but I'll be back in a few, boy. Be good!"

He barked his approval. She shook her head and rolled around with him again. Chie had always liked dogs, but there was an even more special bond she shared with him. Yukiko had loved him the minute she found him, but her parents knew a busy inn was no place for a puppy that would grow into such a large, exuberant dog. That had been how Chie met her for the first time: sobbing on the sidewalk and clinging to his neck, lamenting that she couldn't keep the creature that had wormed its way into her heart so quickly. So Chie's agreement to take in Muku had cemented their freshly-created bond — an early indicator of how close they would eventually become.

Almost like he was their child or something.

Chie quickly washed up and used the toilet before heading into her room to check on her friend. "Hey, so I was gonna grab us some chips but Mom says we shouldn't spoil our dinner, so I guess… we have to…"

"Oh, that's fine," Yukiko said with a sweet smile from where she sat on the floor in front of Chie's bed, copying down notes from the textbook open next to her. Then she noticed she had frozen just inside the door. "Um, Chie? Is something the matter?"

"What… is that…?"

After a few seconds of trying to figure out what she meant, she saw the finger pointing at her. "What is me?" But when her hand moved up to touch her chest, she breathed, "O-oh. I forgot."

Apparently, Yukiko had forgotten she was wearing Muku's would-be replacement collar. The bright red of the leather was rather flattering against her pale skin, and the shiny metal studs caught the light just right. It was a little loose around her neck but not terribly so — though she had it cinched to the tightest setting.

"How? I m-mean… how could you forget you were wearing it? Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"No, not really. But now I feel silly…" She smiled shyly as Chie closed the door and walked over to sit on the bed. "I just saw it lying on your dresser and thought I might try it on, because of how happy it made my shadow. But I completely forgot I did that when I got focused on homework."

"Well, um, it's totally cool. Just really wasn't expecting it, but I guess…" She shrugged awkwardly, hands clenching on the edge of the bed.

And then Yukiko turned slightly and looked up at her, eyes wide with curiosity and concern. It made for a very specific type of display that Chie could not ignore: fists pressing down into the rug, back arched. Almost on her hands and knees. And that striking red collar dangling around her neck while she looked at her with such a compassionate expression…

Compassionate… or loyal. Obedient.

"You guess?"

"I guess… it does kinda… look good." That was not quite what she had intended to say. Really, she had completely forgotten what she was going to say before now. Wait — now she remembered. "You're sure it's not scratchy or something? Because if you like it, hey, feel free."

Cheeks turning a little rosy, she smiled and said, "I don't mind it. Really! Does… it make you uncomfortable?"

"What? I'm not the one wearing it!" But when Yukiko raised an eyebrow, she scratched the side of her face and looked away. "W-well, like… it's weird, because… people don't normally… but you kinda make it work, a-and you look so natural sitting down there… with it on your neck…"

"Sitting down here?" Unfortunately for both of them, she figured it out before Chie herself did. "Ohhhh. Because it's a dog collar, right?"

"Huh?"

Yukiko walked in a small circle on her hands and knees, a sort of bemused smile on her lips. "Am I a pretty puppy?"

Full blush. Chie felt like someone could make okonomiyaki on her face, it was burning so hot as she gazed down at her best friend, who was literally behaving like a dog. For her. If not for seeing Other-Yukiko do the same thing, she would be laughing her ass off right now, thinking it was a mere joke. But that shadow had made it distinctly…

Sexual.

"Yeah," she breathed. When Yukiko actually waggled her hips from side to side, she reached down and caressed her hand over her hair. "Pretty girl."

"Mmm," she sighed, closing her eyes and leaning into the touch. "My Prince…" The eyes slit open and she smirked. "My Master?"

God, why did that instantly stir butterflies in her stomach? Not only that… but it made her want to further explore the dynamic between them. "Does, um… does my cute little Yukiko want a treat?" Then she muttered, "That does not sound right, even a little."

Yukiko chuckled. "You're right, Yukiko isn't a very good dog name."

"How about…" It came pretty easy to her while she was petting over her hair again. "Yuka?"

"Oh? You think I'm a gentle flower?" Belatedly, the meaning began to catch up to her and her cheeks turned rosy. "Chie…"

"You knew that, though," she hedged as her own face flushed. "Everybody in Inaba knows… especially after you've been on the news. You're the fairest in the land, and you would never hurt a fly. Japan's sweetheart."

Biting her lip to keep from giggling, she finally managed to whisper bashfully, "Stop. I'm n-not that pretty."

"God, you so are. But I know… you don't see it. Like, even before your shadow pretty solidly confirmed that. But I swear… I'm gonna spend my whole life trying to convince you."

Now tears were blossoming at the corners of Yukiko's eyes. She trembled a little, swallowed hard. Clearly her thoughts were racing, butting up against the wall of emotion trying to overtake her. Then rubbed her cheek against Chie's leg. "Master makes Yuka so happy. Yuka is hers forever."

Now her heart really was hammering in her chest, and her pulse was pounding somewhere downstairs — an area she would always associate with Yukiko for the rest of her life. Because she was the only one for her. Hers. How lucky could she get?

"Good girl, Yuka. Good girl."

"Chie? Are you… crying? Is everything-"

"All good," she cut her off, wiping at her eyes hastily. "Noooo problem here! Just, um… just all… a-anyway, it looks like you're really happy about the collar, so it's yours. All for Yuka, okay?"

"All for Yuka!" she piped up with a big grin and a little bounce. Of course, Chie could see she was a little bit bemused that she liked having her best friend as a dog, but… it wasn't all that. She also found their little impromptu roleplay to be fulfilling somehow. Both of them did.

"Okay, up, Yuka!" She obeyed, climbing into her lap. "Such a good girl — so pretty, so sweet."

Clearly a little nervous about it, Yukiko let out a quiet little bark. It didn't sound much like an actual dog but it wasn't bad for a first try. Not sure what else to do, Chie decided to kiss all over her face like she would with Muku.

"AH!" she yelped out before giggling, "Stooop, that's so much!"

"Well I have to show my doggy how much I love her," she laughed back — before her breath caught in her throat. It had been so easy to say. Was this too big a step too soon, when they had only just barely begun to realize they had such feelings for each other?

But before she could dwell on it too deeply, Yukiko was already pressing a very light kiss to her lips. "Yuka loves you too, Master. Very much."

"R-really? Are we just playing, or…?" When Yukiko shook her head, biting her bottom lip to keep from grinning too wide, Chie found she felt light-headed. "Oh. Wow, I'm- okay then. I guess that answers that question."

"Guess it does. Is that alright?"

"Absolutely. I mean… I already knew I loved you the most, so I guess… since we're together now, that means…"

"We're in love," Yukiko breathed for the two of them. Her arms tightened around Chie's body as she pressed her face into her neck, adding in a muffled voice, "I… this is crazy, and I'm shocked, but I've never been happier. Do you think this is normal?"

The Prince couldn't help laughing nervously as she pushed her hands into her best friend's back through the layers of her school uniform. "How the heck should I know? I've never been in love before! Geez, I've never even put a note in a boy's locker before!"

"Well, it probably isn't normal that I'm wearing a collar. But otherwise, it feels… nice. Letting you keep me. I belong to you forever."

"Yeah. Crazy, but yeah, I… I'm never letting you go. Bet on that."

The next kiss lasted for a long minute, hands caressing, lips entwining as their hot breath commingled in the space between their bodies. Before she knew it, Chie was undressing her as they rolled over on the sheets, hands seeming to know exactly where to go.

"You want me right now?" Yukiko asked in scarcely a whisper, pupils dilated fully as she gazed up at her best friend.

"Damn right. Do you… not want to? We could-"

"I just want to be close to you," she cut her off. "What we do isn't nearly as important."

Chie kissed along her neck, feeling her pulse and listening to her shaky breaths. That light scent that only belonged to Yukiko filled her lungs as she finally got her skirt down her legs, then began to peel her black tights off.

"Oh…"

"What?" Chie asked urgently, stopping with them bunched around her friend's knees. "Did I screw up?"

"N-no, you're fine! I was just wondering if you had... a thing… but I suppose I don't know why I thought about that."

Completely lost, she prompted, "Thing? What thing?"

"For stockings. For some reason, when you started taking them off my thought was that clearly you don't have a thing for stockings if you're getting rid of them."

Glancing at the tights, she finally connected the dots and let out a long "Ohhhhhh" as her head bobbed up and down. "R-right! Well… I've always thought you look great in tights, but I definitely never thought about it that way! Did you… want me to be into them like that?"

"NO! I mean…" Now her legs were fidgeting, so Chie continued to pull the stockings off to let her have the freedom to move. "You were into stepping on my face, and… I kind of was too… I was mostly just curious."

"Oh. Like, if I'm into feet and stuff?" She wasn't, but could definitely see how Yukiko got that impression. "Nah. But don't get me wrong, yours are cuter than Ebihara's, that's for sure."

That made her smirk. At first she couldn't figure out why, but then Yukiko muttered, "You were checking hers out, huh?"

"What?! No way! I m-mean, she really didn't leave us much choice, did she? Slamming her leg up on the table like that! She's crazy!"

"She's vain," Yukiko giggled as she ran her toes up and down her girlfriend's leg. "But thank you, for your reassurance. I wasn't trying to fish for compliments but I like it when you give them."

"No problem. Easy when I think you're the hottest girl on the planet." She picked up the playful foot and began to massage.

"Mmmhh…"

Chie felt a new flutter in the pit of her stomach. Yukiko was into this? No… it was a lot more likely she was enjoying a foot massage like a normal person. Well that was fine. Smiling in the knowledge that she could do something for her favourite person, she started digging in harder with her thumbs.

"O-oh goodness!" she gasped out, squirming and clutching at the sheets as her pale pink sole was assaulted. "Chie! W-wait!"

So she paused in her motions. "Yeah?"

"Shouldn't… I be doing this for you, Master?"

"Well… I mean, um…" Flustered by the return of that term of address, she shrugged and looked away. "I've… never seen any dog give a foot massage, so I think you're in the clear. Thanks, though."

"But isn't that an obvious benefit of having a dog with opposable thumbs?" They both laughed at that one, and Yukiko took the opportunity to crawl up into her lap. "I also assume you would rather have human-kisses than dog-kisses."

"Hell yeah, I would. C'mere, Yuka."

Another few minutes became lost to time. Eventually, they were both in their underwear and tangled up in the sheets, enjoying the closeness and warmth that provided. Paradise. Chie really wouldn't have minded if time froze in that ephemeral moment: she couldn't imagine a better one coming in the future.

Although the collar was still on. Was she really that comfortable in it? Curious, she slipped a finger in past the band of leather and gave it a gentle tug.

"Nhhh," she breathed into Chie's lips. That sounded favourable. So she tried it again a bit harder, and this time their kiss broke so she could moan out, "A-ah… Master?"

"Is my Yuka okay?" she asked cautiously. She only wanted to keep going if it wasn't a problem.

"Uh-huh. I mean, um, yes. Yuka is fine." She maneuvered two sets of legs until they were able to press their sexes up against each other, thin layers of panties notwithstanding. "Mmhh… does Master want to train me now?"

Luckily, Yukiko had tapped the hand tugging at her collar with a single finger; otherwise she wouldn't have been able to catch on. "Oh? So… you like this training?"

"Yes!" she gasped out, barely a strain in her voice from the restricted airflow. "M-makes me feel… like Master will take care of me!"

Maybe eventually, they would be practiced enough that they wouldn't have to reassure each other so often. But even with that slowing things down… this was still so much hotter than when she had been trampling Yukiko or spanking her. It felt a lot more right – which was both worrying and reassuring at the same time. Why did she like bossing her around? She knew Yukiko wanted someone to take care of her, but was that all it was for Chie? That she wanted to be her caretaker, and it got a little twisted due to petty jealousy?

"A-ah!" Yukiko gasped out a little weaker, face flushed from the effort to breathe.

"Good girl," Chie purred down at her as she rolled her hips a little harder. What she wouldn't give to suddenly sprout a thick cock with which to slam into her… or vice versa, really, but she figured being the owner meant she was supposed to have it. Maybe they could look into buying one at least. "Master's so happy you… like your training! I'm gonna train you real good!"

Hotter and hotter, their passions burned as they writhed together. Eventually, Chie awkwardly yanked down her own panties, and Yukiko took advantage of the break to drag air into her lungs and divest herself of all remaining garments, as well. Then they resumed their positions, this time with one of Yukiko's legs up over her shoulder.

"MMhhh! My Prince! Or… I mean, Master?"

Chuckling breathlessly, she told her, "It's fine, whatever! Do you… like one more than the other?"

"Well…" Laughing herself now, if a bit more shyly, she licked her lips before answering, "I like Prince more, but… Master is… it m-makes more- NNH! Makes more sense when you have me in a collar!"

"Yeah? I mean… this was your idea," she snorted as she tugged on the leather.

"Was it? I think it was yours! In the TV!"

That brought a full blush back to Chie's cheeks — though it wasn't a far leap, since she was already glowing red from the exertion. "Y-yeah? I guess… you have a point, b-but…"

"I know! You didn't really… think of me… it's okay! Just keep going!"

"R-right!"

So keep going they did. Chie made sure to exert more pressure on the collar, on Yukiko's throat as their hips ground against each other. GOD, that direct contact really made a difference! It still wasn't as incredible as using fingers or mouths, but the knowledge that her most intimate area was pressing right against that of her best friend in the whole world more than made up for the awkwardness and lessened sensation. Her heat was building so fast that she knew it wouldn't take more than another minute.

"M-Master!" Yukiko gasped out weakly. "M-my head… is spinny…"

"Oh shit!" She let go immediately. "Are you okay?! Yukiko!"

After a couple of breaths, she smiled up at Chie. "Y-yeah! Thank you. But you didn't have to stop…"

When her calf muscle bounced off Chie's shoulder, she knew what she meant and smiled as she returned to her blistering pace, grinding their bodies against one another. She still slipped a thumb under her collar to exert pressure, but it was barely anything now — just a little added interest.

"MASTER! I'm- I am close! I think! A-are you?!"

"Ohhhhh YEAH! GOD! I'm so close, Yuk- Yuka! Be a good little doggie and cum for me!"

Instantly, she could see the blush was so much brighter in Yukiko's cheeks. Either from the pet name, being called a doggie, or how vulgar the request was. Maybe all of them — maybe it didn't matter. But all she panted out that was intelligible was the word "YES!" before she was rolling her hips just as hard, meeting her partner on her level.

They both climaxed mere moments later. Chie was both elated and disturbed to feel the wetness growing between them, and couldn't even be sure if most of that was coming from herself or the pet writhing and squealing on her bed. But in the end she decided there was really nothing wrong; she just was used to feeling wet things as being "gross". This was the feeling of being with her lover, and she would cherish it.

"Ohhhhhh," Yukiko groaned as their bodies finally came to a stop and the pressure on her collar was released. "Wow… that… is it… supposed to get better… every time?"

Laughing weakly, Chie slowly moved her leg from off of her shoulder and laid it down before she flopped onto her side next to her best friend. "Maybe? I… agree though, that… was super hot!"

"Yeah," she giggled as she easily rolled to face her, eyes dancing with light and joy. "I can't believe… we can do this, and it feels that good! Without a boy! I thought it was supposed to…"

When she didn't answer right away, Chie prompted, "Supposed to?"

"Oh, sorry. I just meant, I thought boys and girls had bodies that fit together. So that was how sex would be the most pleasurable."

"Well, I guess I sorta thought the same," she admitted with a half-smile as she pet up and down Yukiko's side. And Yukiko's eyes closed in bliss, so clearly it was the right move. "But like, whatever, right? I love you and I'm glad you were into it, since I was, too. Kinda works out like that."

Yukiko nodded fervently. "I agree — very much. And I'm devoted to you, so I don't really feel any need to find out the differences."

"You sure? Like, I would totally get it if you wanna bang some guy and figure out if like, the lesbian life is really what you want."

"Very sure," she reassured her with a little peck on the cheek. "The more I get used to you being my lover, the more I know… it was always going to be this way. You and I were destined to be together."

Tears began to form at the corners of Chie's eyes. They snuck up on her, and she had already sniffled by the time she regained control — which meant it was too late. Her Yukiko was already kissing the tears away, embracing her tighter.

"It's okay, my Prince."

"I just l-love you s-so much!" she blubbered as she clung tightly to her girlfriend. She could hear a tightness in Yukiko's voice when she reassured her that everything was going to be fine, but she didn't break down; she had to be strong while the other was weak. She knew they would be taking turns like this for a long, long time.

"Ohh, it's okay! Shhh, Chie, I love you, too!" The delicate hand petting over her hair both helped and made it worse. "Yuka loves Master!"

That made the next sob turn into a chuckle. "God… we're pretty messed up!"

"No, I don't think so. Just different." She pushed her head back enough to kiss her lips, gazing up into her eyes — and revealing her own were slightly wet. "But you and I are forever. Even if we're weird, we can be weird together, okay?"

"Uh-huh," she managed to blubber, sucking in a deep, hard breath to steady her nerves. "Okay… God, we have homework to do and stuff, and I'm… I mean, we just banged, and it was incredible, and I don't know why I'm sad about being so happy?"

Yukiko giggled and kissed both her cheeks again. "I've heard that people cry when they experience extreme emotions. I know I do. Doesn't only have to be bad emotions, you know."

"Well, I think it sucks! Get me outta this mess!" They both laughed as they relaxed on the bed, more or less nude and basking in the afterglow of a good lay… and the acceptance of their connection to each other. "Ah man… Yuki-chan, I'm so happy."

"Me, too," she whispered as she curled around her body and nestled in again. "Your puppy really loves you."

"Y-you don't have to say the puppy thing, y'know. I was just messing around."

"You were not. And neither am I." As Chie tried to fight off the hot shame trying to fill her, her new pet kissed her gently and whispered, "I can be your secret puppy whenever one of us needs it. I do not mind at all, because I know you take good care of Muku, so… why wouldn't you take good care of me?"

"It's demeaning…" When Yukiko frowned hard, she sighed. "Okay, okay, we both know I'm gonna treat you great for a dog, but I should be okay treating you like a person, right? So… maybe just a sexy thing, once in a while… that's not so bad."

Her girlfriend pet up and down her stomach. "Whatever makes you comfortable. But if it would help… I'll start wearing this collar all the time to help you get used to it."

"WHAT?! N-no, don't- I mean, somebody's gonna ask, and what the hell would you tell them?!"

"That I belong to Master." When Chie paled, she giggled hard a few times before saying, "I'm kidding! I would tell them I'm trying out a new fashion statement or something. I think it looks nice."

Swallowing hard, she looked down at her nude best friend, clad only in that collar. "Damn, it looks really nice… but I don't want anybody else seeing you like that."

"You don't? Oh…" Her cheeks turning rosy, she bit her lip and looked away shyly. Adorable. "Yuka is all yours, you know. Nobody else will see me this way. But… w-well…"

"What?" she prompted.

"I'm only yours. And this collar will tell people that, even if I don't confirm it. Maybe subconsciously, it will stop guys from hitting on me, because they will equate seeing a collar with ownership. You don't own me like a slave," she cut Chie off when she saw her opening her mouth to protest. "But we can play like you're my pet-owner. And the rest of the time, think of it like an engagement ring."

Well, if Chie didn't already feel like she was about to faint, she definitely did now. "ENGAGEMENT! Y-you wanna marry me?!"

"Obviously."

"NO! No, not obvious — I'm losing my… you would really…"

"Shhhh," she soothed her as the tears came back for both of them, even if moreso for the kung fu master. "Chie, have you heard of a promise ring?" A little nod, so she continued, "Let's say that instead of an engagement ring, then. Just a promise that we are exclusive, not that we're planning to get married. Is… that less… troubling?"

At first, Chie just nodded, and earned herself a few more kisses in the process. When she found her voice again, she whispered, "Not 'troubling'. God, I'm sorry, it's just… freaking me out that I get to be this close to you! That you wanna make it a steady thing! Like, so do I, but you're a literal dream girl and you're picking me over anybody in the whole country, and I just… can't… even!"

"Just a puppy who loves her Master," she whispered into her lips. "Yuka is all for you. Forever."

She had to step up. Say something less freaky-outy. "And Master is never, ever letting you go." Then she let her urgent need to kiss her sweep over them both.

Their homework remained neglected for some time.

                                          To Be Concluded…

[yamqguchi]

me every time i get queerbaited: samumenco would never do this to me

[loopy777]

You've got me curious now as to what anime youve seen, enjoyed and why.

Oof, I don’t track that type of thing. I’ve been asked about anime I like previously, and I feel like I always forget something. I suppose I should start a MyAnimeList one of these days, just for reference.

So let’s list everything I can remember, as well as a pithy reaction.

Baccano!This one is just so much fun. It’s violent and crass in a classy way, it’s funny in a weird way, and it’s a great example of a non-linear narrative. I love it.

Code Geass (Season 1)Ugh, I only watched this one because people solicited my opinion on it. Well, my opinion is that it’s not as smart as it wants to be, there’s too much contrived melodrama (and considering the wild premise, that’s saying something), and Kallen would be a wonderful and interesting character if she wasn’t always being demeaned for fan-service. I quit when the first season finale kicked off, because I felt things were just getting too contrived. I hear it really fell apart in the second season.

Cowboy BebopI found this a bit pretentious. It had good episodes and bad episodes. The production quality is good. But I'm not sure why it's legendary. Still, I liked its sense of humor, and enjoyed it when it wasn’t trying to be super serious. My favorite character is Ed.

Demon SlayerI'm mainly watching this because my brother wanted to give it a try on Toonami, but I kind of checked out when it unceremoniously removed everything difficult about the sister being a demon and made her into an order-following sidekick that fits in a suitcase. Now the latest episode introduced a loud annoying side character, so we may quit. I have no idea why this one is so popular.

Fullmetal AlchemistCovered

Gatchaman CrowdsI was asked to watch this one, as well, but it went a lot better than Code Geass. It’s a bit weird, and I think it's naively optimistic about the internet in many ways, but I still found it's exploration of Internet-age superheroes to be interesting, and it's the best, most mature take on the Power Rangers-style ‘sentai’ genre that I've seen. I don't know how well it matches up with its Gatchaman legacy, but as its own thing, it's pretty good.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (including 2nd Gig)This is another legendary one that I think is good but a bit over-rated. It's a good piece of modern Cyberpunk, but it's very talky, and very jargon-filled. I'm almost convinced that the viewer is not meant to follow half of the conversations, that they're just part of the ambiance. I tended to like the stand-alone episodes better than the storyline episodes. Still, it’s a very smart series, and probably the best thing in the franchise, from what I’ve heard.

Log Horizon (first season only)I’ll tell you what- I think it’s possible to make a good anime with the premise of people from the modern, real world entering a fantasy realm (either another dimension or a VR video game). Log Horizon did not end up being that ideal. The main character is a Gary Stu, his romances with girls who are either ten years old or just look like they’re ten years old are creepy, and it got boring seeing the protagonists’ plans always succeed without much of a hitch.

Lupin III (series 4 and 5)I like this franchise when it's being clever, when it's springing a twist while playing fair. Sometimes, though, it doesn't play fair with its twists, leaving me underwhelmed. And while the regular cast is amusing, they're fairly shallow characters; this isn't always a bad thing, as that allows them to slot into all kinds of genre fare, but does limit the storytelling ambitions. It’s fine.

Macross franchiseSuper Dimensional Fortress MacrossI still like the original, despite how dated it is. It's probably the best possible implementation of 'soap opera in space.'

Macross PlusI'm not sure why this one is so revered. I feel like it doesn't play fair with its mystery, despite being such a short story, and whole thing with the killer popstar AI just left me cold.

Macross 7I like the music, but the story really drags for the first half with a formula that’s repeated far too long, and then falls apart in the end. The love triangle isn’t resolved, and in fact I’m of the opinion that two of the participants didn’t even know they were in competition. The bad guys are allowed to sail off into the sunset, forgiven, despite still inhabiting the bodies of kidnapped humans. But this isn't a series you watch for the story; this is a series you watch because you like the idea of a rockstar flying into space in a transforming mecha, controlled by an electric guitar, to sing at alien invaders. Personally, I think the idea is dumb. Plus, this ruins the premise of the original series by adding in what is effectively magic.

Macross ZeroThis is pretty good and has the best dogfights in the series, but it has one of those weird arty endings that anime sometimes likes to do where no one can tell what actually happened and we need to find translated interviews with the creative team to get it explained.

Macross FrontierBy this point, I was wondering why everyone is so eager for the Macross franchise to get American distribution. It’s better than Macross 7, but feels like a first draft of the intended story, and the creative team lost track of their own subplots. The two AU movies do a more satisfying take on the same basic story, but sometimes they come across like an abridged recap of the series, so you really need to watch everything to get a satisfying experience. That said, the final experience was indeed fairly satisfying, making this the second best thing in the franchise for me. Still, I wouldn’t say it lives up to the original in any way.

Macross DeltaBoy, this one was dumb. Everything wrong with Frontier is worse here, with none of the good stuff.

The Melancholy of Haruhi SuzumiyaI still want an ending for this, despite nothing worthwhile coming from it since 2011. It wouldn't even be hard to pick it up again; set it in modern times, and explain the fact that everyone has smartphones now to be a result of some weird off-screen Haruhi antics.

Mobile Suit Gundam franchiseMobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded OrphansI've only ever experienced the Gundam franchise because my brother wants to get into it and he keeps trying to find a vector. This was my first experience with it, and I found it very 'teenage boy,' in both tone and story. I was underwhelmed.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096Another case where the storytellers reached the end only to have forgotten the rest of the story. Why does that happen so often in anime? And I think it assumes the viewer is familiar with the whole rest of the franchise, because there was a lot that just went straight over my head but didn't seem like it was supposed to. Nice animation and art style, though.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red CometEverything I said about Unicorn, only more.

My Hero AcademiaCovered

NichijouThis thing is still hilarious, even after a rewatch. Stick with the sub, as the new dub's voice-acting doesn't have the same range and power of the original, losing a lot of the humor.

Outlaw Star I'm struggling to remember a lot of this one. it’s another I watched because my brother was interested in it. I do recall that it was a fairly standard Space Western that ends in a way that's more like serious science fiction, and that for some reason a Japanese swordswoman in classic clothing was part of the cast. Now I wonder if that was an homage to Lupin III. Or maybe Japan just really loves throwing classic samurai into everything, regardless of setting or genre.

Pokemon (part of first series)I was in high school when this franchise first came to America, and for some reason all the geeks in my high school thought it was the greatest thing. The games were good, yeah, but the anime? I don't think it's bad for a kiddie cartoon, but it obviously has no greater ambitions than pleasantly occupying the kids for 22 minutes. Personally, what I really want is a series about Team Rocket done in the style of Cowboy Bebop.

Princess TutuCo-owner of the Best Magical Girl designation. I forget who asked me to watch this, but I owe them.

Puella Magi Madoka MagicaCo-owner of the Best Magical Girl designation. I still haven't bothered with anything but the original series, and I continue to be happy with that choice.

Samurai ChamplooI liked this better than Cowboy Bebop, but only because its ambitions were lower. It leaned more into its genre, had fun with its style more even when being serious, and as a result became more enjoyable. I overall liked going on a journey with these rascals, but I think it ended at a good point. I don’t need more.

Spice & Wolf (first season)I watched this on someone's suggestion, and found it a little underwhelming. What I really appreciated were the two main characters, especially that they seem to be into each other, romantically and sexually, and aren't freaked out by it while at the same time not being in a hurry to become a couple. It was just a kind of, "Yeah, this could really be something if we ever find the time." It was so amazingly mature and real. Too bad the main Economics plotlines just wound up being tepid.

Tekkaman BladeMy thoughts haven't changed on this.

Tiger & BunnyI'm still fond of this one, and I'm actually kind of curious to revisit it in light of My Hero Academia.

Transformers ‘Unicron Trilogy’These three cartoons are true anime, produced by and for Japan. (The other cartoons in the franchise were written, and sometimes animated, in the west.) It's garbage that assumes its child audience are morons, and on top of that the first two series wound up with laughably bad dubs. How this trilogy revitalized the franchise, I have no idea, and thankfully I'll never have to worry about it.

Volton (original)Either this or Robotech/Macross was my first anime; I was too young to say which I discovered first. I'll admit that the original Voltron isn't good, despite the toy being neat, but I have a soft spot for it. I tried the Netflix reboot, watching the first three episodes, and found it to be vacuous junk. Maybe some day a version of this will come along that will do justice to the toy.

And I think that’s it. If I remember anything I left off, I’ll reblog with the addition.

[agoddamn]

how 2 scalp ur fanbase in one opening

it’s got everything! good guys, bad guys, drama, mystery, dragons, romance, personalized conflict, antigravity!

Anyway, I feel like it’s really interesting how this opening/Fates in general approaches storytelling. It’s a litmus test. 

For me, this opening was enough history! And I say this as someone who had a long history of being a CinemaSins-level obnoxious pedant. But this opening does some lovely visual storytelling with a conflict becoming immortalized in art, and to me, that said everything it needed to. This clashing has been going on for so long that it’s a mainstay of life. Does it matter what it’s over? No matter what, it’s the situation we’re in now. We inherited it from our fathers and it’s up to us to deal with it.

Me, personally? I don’t really need to know what specific event Nohr and Hoshido started to fight over. If it’s anything like real life long-term conflict it was probably some dumb bullshit and it would take longer to relate all the relevant history than actually solve it.

And whether or not you’re okay with this is kind of a binary state. You’ve probably noticed by now that there are two opinions regarding Fates--”LITERALLY the worst thing EVER, broke into my house and impregnated my wife then made me pay child support” and “it really wasn’t that bad, I don’t understand why you guys are so upset”. There’s not really a middle ground between furious and bemused. Fates doesn’t offer less worldbuilding than Awakening--to be honest, it probably offers more since most of Awakening’s worldbuilding comes from previous Archanea knowledge moreso than what the game establishes on its own. If Awakening is your first FE, go fuck yourself--all you get is that there’s a bad country and a good country and maybe a handful of other people who are kiiinda relevant.

Me? In this case, at least, I’ve got the meat I’m truly interested in. They’re fighting, there’s a bunch of fucked up family relationships, there’s some drama that’s resonant with me that I can dig into. I don’t need to know what the lake outside the Nohrian capital is named. It’s like super sentai--I am fully capable of enjoying super sentai and accepting that Doggie is a respected official without knowing the details of all the missions he’s been on or why humans aren’t weirded out by a giant anthropomorphic dog. Den-O doesn’t need to give me extensive information about the timeline the Imagin came from. Would be nice, but lacking it doesn’t kill my enjoyment of the show and the character dynamics.

But I feel like for one reason or another--more likely the niche nature of the series and the sheer amount of legwork you had to put in to be able to play it at all--Fire Emblem has mostly attracted one type of fan more than the other. And they reacted pretty violently when Fates didn’t give them the exact information they expected in the exact format they suspected. And these two groups of fans are fundamentally seeing different things when they look at the same source material and will never see eye-to-eye on some things.