#lowkey they're kinda low on my “characters who i like” list

[bluntandsaucy]

oho does this imply a navani bondsmith arc? unclear how i feel about it but that's the vibe

[tizzypizza]

Top 7 idol list?

I was saving this so I could draw it at some point but oh my god I am SWAMPED and can't see myself with time to do it so top list umm.

1- Shiver. I think this is self-explanatory. I love Asian women so much (I'm Asian before anyone starts raising any eyebrows) and her personality is so funny. She's incredibly theatrical and dramatic and has this big persona that she puts on that falls apart SO quickly when it comes to her friends but otherwise she is fierce!! A force to be reckoned with!! But also a sopping wet little guy.

2- Marina. I love women in STEM I LOVE women in STEM so much. My two immediate draws are like... Traditional-looking Asian woman and Smart Woman so. Marina is such a fascinating character and it's always a shame to see her so heavily uwu-ified, she's super smart and she has a lot going on besides just her attachment to Pearl!! But TBH her attachment to Pearl is part of what endeared her to me. Girl who has experienced The Horrors and is kind of a living supercomputer becomes sappy mush when Girlfriend Flashbang. She was also the one who lowkey got me into Splatoon simply by being the prettiest Nintendo character I'd ever seen as a kid.

3- Pearl. I hesitate to put Pearl above Frye because really they're super tight in my head but the only thing that knocks her up a peg is that her dialogue is a lot more fun for me to write in English (Frye talks really interestingly too! She genuinely speaks like an old man in the Japanese but that's just not reflected in the English). I love her so much because at so many moments where she could choose to be snarky or witty with Marina or anyone else, she always chooses kindness and she's always so supportive in her own spunky little way. She's so genuine and fun and silly and self assured and confident and she's so COOL. I hate drawing her hair though. I actually used to kinda hate Pearl as a kid because I fell for the forehead propaganda but I know better now.

4- Frye. LIKE I SAID in my head Frye and Pearl are tied. I love Frye she's such a sweetheart and she has such a fun fierceness about her. She cares deeply for her friends and she keeps her cool the best out of all of her friends in Deep Cut and she DANCES!! Her character design is one of the most interesting designs I've had the pleasure of drawing a shit ton of times and despite being team Shiver nearly every time I get really sad whenever she doesn't win Splatfests :( She deserves it (and tbh I think she deserved to be the leader of Deep Cut but don't @ me on that)

5- Marie. I wish I had more opinions on Marie but given that my earliest hands-on exposure to Splatoon was Sp2 when my friend used to let me walk around as her Octoling and play a little bit of Salmon Run (lost outpost my beloved wherefore art thou) and I've never played Sp1 or 2's campaign I can't really say anything about her other than I think she's really pretty. I think she's often characterized as the more flippant and low-energy one which is a cool thing to see in an idol (who are typically meant to be all smiles) but she's also really silly! She cracks a lot of jokes in the Sp3 campaign!! She's also just really cool and really pretty and white is one of my favorite colors

6- Big Man. LISTEN!!!! I LOVE HIM I REALLY DO BUT Frye-Pearl are soooo close together in my head and I feel only a little less strongly about him than Pearl but I really really love him. He's a blast to draw and honestly he's a lot more fun in the Japanese since Frye and Shiver have extremely thick accents and he's the only one who talks like Just Some Guy. He helps reign them in but he can rarely control them. He's such a lovable little dude.

7- Callie. Love the girl but I've never once resonated with her. I don't do well in the way of happy-go-lucky fun types but I don't hate her! I think she's got a lot of room to be interesting. My friend characterizes her with some flaws relating to like. Octarian prejudice which I think is pretty dope. And I'm not a huge pink fan... But I WILL say she is one of the most fun to draw.

[sailorstarr-chan4]

Summer Manga Trash: Love Celeb and Honey x Honey Drops

Total Ratings: 2.5 stars out of 5, rounded up for pretty art

Summary for Love Celeb: Aspiring teen actress is quite literally sold, without her knowledge or consent, by her creepy agent to be a Hot, Powerful Teen Celebrity's personal sex toy in order to finally be successful. I'm not even kidding.

Summary for Honey x Honey Drops: Young commoner student accidentally offends a rich asshole fellow student, who then "buys" her into servitude as his "honey," which her family happily accepts because Financial Backing for her expensive AF schooling, and she also eventually embraces (it's a fucked up master/slave servant system in the academy, in which "honeys" help their "masters" grow and achieve good grades; the series reeeeally tries to convince you that it is Good Actually, because masters find love with their honeys or some shit lmao).

~~~

Review for Both Series:

(Technically, this mostly fits Love Celeb, but Honey x Honey Drops is verrrrryyyyy similar with themes, non-con scenes, etc, sooooo yeah)

These two titles are, hands down, the trashiest manga I've yet read. And I low-key liked them lmao.

Would I ever recommend them? Not in a million years.

Would I own them? Only if I found the entire series for a couple bucks at a used bookstore, otherwise, nah, not worth it.

Did I enjoy them? Hell yes, they are both pure soap opera entertainment madness!

The characters are awful people! The romances are toxic and borderline abusive! There's sexual assault or at best dubious consent in basically every single chapter! The "plots," if you could call them that, are all over the place! But they're both so over-the-top in its absurdities, so dramatic, so deliciously, shamelessly horny, that it's impossible to take them seriously. If the romances were in any other kind of manga, I'd rake it across the coals. As it stands, I just found them both hilarious in its trashy state.

The art was also pretty damn good, and the erotic scenes were both tasteful and shameless, and every twist and turn was as batshit insane as you could expect. They are both just... a ridiculously fun ride.

~~~

Pros vs Cons:

Pros: Good art, cute moments, hilariously absurd drama

Cons: ........ I won't lie. Consent is a motherfucker Issue™ in both series and is rarely given freely and enthusiastically. *siiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

If I really had to compare the two series..... Honey x Honey Drops is lowkey better because the characters are shockingly more endearing??? And slightly better written???

Kai (the male love interest) actually grows and improves and is accountable for his mistakes???? Yes, he's still a horndog who sucks at accepting "no" for an answer, but he's a helluva better at reading the room, as well as trusting his "honey," Yuzuru (our hapless female protagonist).

Yuzuru has somewhat more agency, even if she's constantly tricked by This One Rapist Bastard (whom she NEVER develops feelings for, thank Christ), and the side characters are fun in their own ways.

Not to mention, it's the only one between both series that actively points out that sexual assault is.... ya know..... A BAD THING. I mean. It doesn't stop the series from showing it, but I genuinely appreciated that Kai and his friends never ever ONCE blame Yuzuru for her unfortunate situations, but ALWAYS blame the man who assaulted her. Which.... is kinda a miracle in these sorts of stories, tbqfh.

Love Celeb is........ it's fine. It's fine it's fine they're fine she's fine he's fine it's fine. It's fine. It's FINE. 🙃

~~~

I now need to make a list of my Top Trashiest Manga that's helluva fun to read, even they're still like. super fucking awful lmao