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houseki-no-suffering · 5 months

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Hey! I found a post of yours (specifically a phos analysis) from a looong while ago. Just curious to hear what your thoughts on the last chapters and the conclusion of the story are!

I recently finished the manga after putting it off for 4 years, and it was an incredible but such a bittersweet read. Maybe it's just me being a sucker for happy endings, but man, it really did not get happier </3

And you probably already know this, but did you know that Ichikawa released the last chapter the same day a comet flew by that looked exactly like the comet from the last chapter? Really cool stuff but I am emotionally destroyed haha

I suppose it was the only kind of happy ending HnK could have, and I don't think I mind it as much as other things that have happened in the last few chapters. It reads more HnK than anything that has happened in the past 1-2 years of serialization.

I appreciate the bittersweet notes (always have) and Ichikawa's words that this is how she wanted the story to end, it doesn't happen to every mangaka. Also, the comet bit is such a nice touch.

As for Phos (I suppose this is the post you meant?), I do believe that they got a happy ending.

If you think about it, instead of becoming a lunarian and being prayed away like the others, Phos' journey gave them the power and knowledge to rise above them. Thanks to their flaws (being brittle, having special inclusions, maybe being the most human of all the gems) they became human, the most flawed of creatures, and basically reverted to the purity of a child, a god, sin-less (even if this is a Buddhist story, so idk if I can actually speak of sin) and therefore free of everything that made humanity always dissatisfied, dangerous and unhappy. The others renounced existence, Phos found a way to reach paradise.

Humanity doesn't come out of this looking like a nice bunch of people to hang out with, and neither do the lunarians (gems included at this point). And yet, there's so much compassion in everything Phos does: a kind child, up until the very end.

I always speculated (and was not alone in this) that Phos' job would become to pray the lunarians/everyone away, find Cinnabar the job to kill them, become a Bodhisattva... in this, I believe, the story remained true to itself. What I believe no one saw coming was how shallow(?) it all seemed in the end.

Everyone came back, making Phos' sacrifices and suffering basically meaningless, everyone started getting along and solving centuries-old problems in seconds. Then, Ichikawa introduced so many new changes abruptly... It felt rushed, lazy and overly simple, when most of us loved HnK for its complexity and depth.

Maybe it was because Ichikawa wanted (or needed to) end the series with ch 108. Usually, when mangaka put a limit to the chapters they want to write, it really damages the story and I wasn't a fan of this even in this situation.

Aside from these issues, I appreciate how Ichikawa seemed to care about the character of Phos.

Maybe this all happened so that Phos could be happy, maybe this was the only possible way for Phos to be happy? It would be a little bit like in Devilman, where the world basically ends only so that Satan can understand love. Idk, little old Phos didn't seem that desperate a case, they just wanted truth, yes, this did cause some... issues, but other than that they're a sweetheart.

This is the leitmotif of the series, after all: Phos is a kind, selfless gem who cultivates a deep sense of self-hatred.

They internalize a pressure and a need to feel useful (coming from gem society) and turn them into a necessity for change (unlike in gem society). Initially, they want to find a job. Then, they want to help Cinnabar find a job, then they want to help Ventricosus, then then want to become a fighter, then they want to help sensei, then the gems, then the lunarians...

Contrary to most of the other gems, Phos loves and loves openly and unconditionally. They start off as a self-less creature who believes that their life isn't worth anything. Therefore, they put it on the line time and time again and, eventually, lose it time and time again as they change form.

It's their journey towards truth and happiness: they change and lose pieces of themselves, forget things, renounce gem-ness in favor of humanity and then humanity for god-hood.

Phos changes until they find the form that makes them happy. Their purest, happiest form. They change so much that they come back to square one almost: they become pure Phosphophyllite, with no inclusions at all. Still fragile, still small, but selfless and cheerful. Carefree.

In a sense, HnK ends with Phos becoming Phos.

#houseki no kuni #hnk #land of the lustrous #hnk spoilers #apologies ive only become wordier with the years #i think our mistake was to think that this story would deconstruct buddhist narratives while it catually did the opposite #ichikawa fooled us #also i would love to update that post about the timeline of the manga #i have a couple billion years to catch up with

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shiiro-arts · 28 days

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Thank you so much for replying to my previous ask in such detail (I loved it and really, really appreciate your efforts 🙏)

I just started rewatching the anime and I saw the focus they kept on Lisanna hence my doubt. From Erza I felt it was more of a sibling type dynamic (that Erza sees Natsu and Gray more as her younger brothers) but they really pushed the Lisanna narrative in the beginning. And given the way he reacted differently to Lucy and Lisanna like becoming flustered with Lisanna I wondered.

Please do talk about the killing himself part too.

I love reading your analysis!! Thank you so much for your hard work ❣️ (Feel free to push in NaLu scenes that show it their bond more obviously)

Hi!! I'm happy you liked it, I'm going to try and talk about Natsu and Lisanna a little bit more and then I'll start with the whole killing himself thing. (following this post)

I think the reason they focused on Natsu and Lisanna at the beginning is because a lot of studios/mangakas have the need to create a couple, even better if it's an MC. And pairing Lucy and Natsu up from the beginning doesn't make any sense, they just met and didn't know each other.

Lisanna is a really important person to Natsu, although they hardly interact anymore.

She supported Natsu when he first came to the guild and became his first friend. Not only that, she helped him with Happy, hence the whole wife and husband thing, they represented a family.

Natsu is not as stupid as they make him out to be, he knows what marriage is, exclusivity to a partner

and things only adults are supposed to do.

He knew what Lisanna meant by "we'll get married in the future," and if she had never "died," NaLi would have made sense.

But it happend, Lisanna "died" and Natsu had to get over her. This doesn't mean forget her tho, as I said, Natsu LOVES his family and friends, forgetting about lisanna just because she died would not make any sense. It takes time to accept death, and after Igneel's disappearance, the death of lisanne hit him, HARD.

The only thing he could do was getting over her, but not forgetting her.

And that's when Lucy comes into the picture.

She keeps bumping into him, buys him food for "no reason" and talks all mighty and good about his family, basically, she gives him good vibes. He takes her to FT and for some reason she follows him everywhere and before he knows it, he wants to partner up with her.

This is development by natsu's part, he is ready to open up to new people (Lucy) and pretty much they become attached to the hip, because "she is nice", yeah, that's his reason.

Lisanna wasn't meant to come back, mashima himself said so, the only reason they brought her back was because the animation staff preasured him to because they liked her. NaLi is not happening because Mashima never had anything planned for her, and I'm not saying this because I'm a NaLu fan, it's just facts. Thats why she is so useless in the manga, because mashima doesn't know what to do with her. She is just there.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Let's beging with the whole suicide thing

I want to clarify that this is MY PERSPECTIVE, you might agree or disagree with me and thats completely fine.

Let me beging with one thing, and that is that natsu IS NOT SUICIDAL.

He wants to live his life at the fullest and he looks forward to the future.

Then why do I say he wanted to kill himself? because when lucy "died", he was so full of grief that he just didn't care any more.

One thing that they make clear is that the demons of zeref, once awaken, have only one thought in their minds: KILLING ZEREF

Lucy's "death" is what awoke END, Natsu felt so desperate and he was so full of grief that he literally abandoned his humanity.

She was gone and he blamed zeref, because if he had never started the war, she would be alive, that was enough for him to abandon his morals and look forward to kill someone.

Now comes the important part: his confrontation with grey

This part is really important because it shows that Natsu is aware of his actions.

If he really was completely possessed by END, then he would not have hesitated and warn grey about getting out of his way, he would have just killed him and keep going, but Natsu warns him several times

Until he doesn't give a damn anymore and attacks him.

Natsu was adamant about going after zeref and killing him, but he is also aware that if he does so, he will die. Zeref told him so himself.

But lucy is dead, so he just doesn't care anymore.

Igneel talked to him about looking at the future

But Lucy wasn't in that future anymore, so he can't look forward for it, because it died the moment Lucy did. if she wasn't in it, why bother? He knew that killing zeref was killing himself.

Gray literally saved Natsus life confronting him

This whole panel is foreshadowing to Lucy dying and Natsu wanting to die because of it

#shiro's nalu analysis #I apologise if i wrote something wrong #the struggle of not being a native english I guess lmao #natsu dragneel #fairy tail #nalu #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail nalu #natsu x lucy #nali #fairy tail nali #shirotalks

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lurkingshan · 2 months

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10 Things I Love About Oppan

I have been tracking Ossan no pantsu ga nandatte ii janai ka aka Don't Care for an Old Man's Underwear aka Oppan in my weekly Japanese QL Corner posts, but this show is so good that I need to give it a full tribute now that the entire thing is available with English subs courtesy of @isaksbestpillow. You can find everything you need to watch here.

This is easily one of my favorite dramas of the year, and it had such a great cast of awesome characters and a story chock full of fantastic themes. This is a show that encourages us not to get desensitized to the world around us, to always challenge ourselves to learn and grow and update how we think about others and the culture we live in, and to prioritize personal happiness over conformity. I love it so much and I want to talk about why, because I hope more of you will, too! @twig-tea wrote a great spoiler free pitch for the show here; this one is not spoiler free in the hopes that those of you who like a bit more info will be further enticed to give it a try. On to the list!

This is a story about a middle-aged cishet man who realizes he has damaged his relationships and sets out to change to do right by his family

There are so few stories of genuinely great fathers in media, and I found something so healing in watching a dad try so hard to do his best. Just the very fact that Makoto cares that he has hurt his family and is willing to put in work to change sets him apart, both in media and in real life.

An unconventional friendship is the heart of the story—and it changes both the characters' lives

Our core relationship begins when Daichi prevents Makoto from falling down a set of neighborhood steps, and the two strike up a surprising friendship when Daichi proves open to listening to Makoto as he struggles to figure out where he went wrong with his family. Daichi is kind and warm-hearted but also firm in his convictions, and his wisdom is exactly what Makoto needs to start updating himself.

Daichi is a gay character who’s allowed to be a whole human—he is not here just to be a magical queer mentor for Makoto

And before you worry that Daichi is a Manic Pixie Dream Gay here only to support Makoto, let me assure you that he also has a story, and it’s more complex than you might initially expect. Daichi has a lot of confidence when it comes to helping other people solve their own problems, but we eventually learn that he's not so assured about his own struggles. Daichi has other relationships that matter aside from his bond with Makoto and his family and he gets his own character arc in which Makoto is able to support him in return. They have a mutual bond that changes both of them for the better.

It takes a gentle and thoughtful approach to figuring yourself out, and encourages us to be kind to others experiencing things we don't understand

There are so many characters in this show whose stories highlight this theme, but it is perhaps most evident in the story of Kakeru, Makoto's son, grappling with his identity and gender presentation. This show will surprise you again and again with how open and thoughtful it is about questions of identity and preference, and it constantly reinforces that we shouldn't assume we know everything about others and how they will react to our truths--if we give people a chance to know us, they might be more kind and supportive than we think.

This story sincerely believes that doing what makes you happy is always the right choice

And they make it clear over and over again: your personal happiness matters more than any societal constructs or cultural norms. Letting go of what people outside of their family think is what heals the Okitas and helps them find their love and trust for one another again.

Relatedly, it gets fandom in a way few dramas do

Makoto's wife, Mika, is a kpop stan, and his daughter, Moe, is a yaoi mangaka. One of the best parts of the show is Makoto coming to understand and appreciate their fandom and learn to respect the joy it gives them, and in turn, the whole family.

Everyone has the chance to redeem themselves

Regardless of what they have done in the past, every character in this story has a chance to redeem themselves and earn trust and respect back--and earn is the operative word there. This show doesn't demand perfection, but it absolutely demands that you care when you harm others and earnestly try to do better, and we see many characters take that journey. This is further underlined by a character in the story who does not put in that effort to try, and consequently is not forgiven or brought into the family fold. So satisfying.

Every character and every relationship matters

I was constantly amazed by how attentive this show is to every single relationship, not just the big family ones, or even just Makoto and Daichi. Makoto also goes out of his way to get to know Daichi's boyfriend Madoka, his coworkers, and Moe and Kakeru's friends, and we see connections form and deepen between so many side characters in this story. It really cares about all its characters as whole people.

And while it's doing all of this important thematic work and making us cry on the regular, it also manages to be very fucking funny!

This show is hilarious, which may surprise you given all the heavy thematic work it's doing. But the writing has a deft touch and it manages to explore all these themes with a lot of humor. Watching Makoto learn new things and blunder his way through connecting with others is truly a delight.

And it caps off all of this with a great story about having the courage to love in the face of bigotry and a beautiful gay wedding

Perhaps the biggest spoiler here: we get a gay wedding! I was so surprised and thrilled to see Daichi and Madoka decide to marry--and not without some stumbles--and bring the Okita family so fully into their joy. What a beautiful way to end a gorgeous show. I will miss all of these people dearly.

#ossan no pantsu ga nandatte ii janai ka #oppan #jdrama #shan recommends #10 things #shan shouts into the void

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sneezemonster15 · 2 months

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So I have been watching Hunter x Hunter and yeah, Killua and Gon love each other romantically. Killua knows it, Gon is oblivious. And Killua KNOWS Gon is an innocent doofus when it comes to romance and sex but knows how strongly Gon feels for Killua, a position that he doesn't give anyone else. It's pretty obvious too.

And now I am like, how, how is it possible for so many fans to assume these mangakas are ignorant of homosexuality??? To write your main characters with a sexuality different from the norm, with such a painstakingly nuanced nature, and with their dynamic so deeply layered and felt, these mangakas definitely are not coming off so straight minded themselves. Not only do they obviously know what homosexuality is but that a homosexual dynamic, one sided or both, is quite a trope in manga. I see the same with Gege, Kishimoto obviously, Miura, Araki, Nagai. And I can tell other mangakas also imbue their plots with suspicious and sexually risque subplots, possibly for fan service. But that itself implies that they expect the audience to want and appreciate it. For example, Rengoku and Akaza. Akaza had a wife and he loved her, so it's obvious he is not gay. And yet, that whole fight scene is intentionally drawn and written to provide the said fan service and fans gobbled it up without spitting out bones.

I am saying that the idea that Japanese mangakas are ignorant of sexuality or the culture of sexuality is so preposterous that one simply cannot wrap their mind around their understanding of any manga or Japanese sensibilities. You have no right to consider yourself the forebearers of Asian sensibilities. You cannot in good faith tell me that you have been sincere with your read. It defies logic or common sense. It reminds me of this post.

#naruto #hunter x hunter

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thebrookesnook · 2 months

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Here's the discussion for Umemiya's deity representation as seen in the latest chapter. If you haven't seen my thoughts on Takiishi's yet then I've provided a link to that post as well.

(I hope you appreciate the better quality & organization of the post from my well-rested brain cells)

Part 1: Takiishi Chika and the Karura

Spoilers for Chapter 150!

In my last post, I discussed my theory that the bird-like deity depicted for Takiishi was a karura. With Umemiya, I believe the deity to be Fudō Myō-ō (不動明王, ふどうみょうおう) who is also known as the Immovable Wisdom King (Skt. Ācalanātha).

[Fudō Mask was sourced from the Japanese Buddhist Statuary: A to Z Phot Dictionary; (Wooden) Seated Fudō Myō-ō Statue by Kaikei created in 1203 sourced from Isumu (360° view available)]

Fudō Myō-ō is THE central deity among all of the Myō-ō (warlike or wrathful gods) groupings, but is most prominently featured among the Godai Myō-ō (五大明王, Five Great Kings) who are manifestations of the Five Transcendental Buddha. He was given the title as the Immovable One due to his unwaivering commitment to the protection of Buddhist teachings.

Orginating as a pagan deity from India, Fudō's conversion to Buddhism began with humble beginnings. He was assigned as a servant and messenger of Buddha himself and later achieving higher positions and later becoming a manifestation of the power and virtues of Dainichi Buddha, one of the 5 Transcendental Buddha I mentioned previously. (Source: MetMuseum)

In regards to their appearances, Fudō shares a remarkable resemblance to the deity depicted in Chapter 150. From his adornments, eyebrows, hair style, the prominent scowl etched into their faces and the long side braid (?) to the left of the face.

Aside from looks, let's talk about the prominent parallels between Umemiya and Fudō Myō-ō:

Origins. Both Ume and Fudō had to start over with their life, with Ume losing his family due to a car accident and Fudō being stripped of his former godhood after converting to Buddhism. Despite these, they were able to work their way up to be strong enough to protect what they valued the most.

Their roles. According to Schumacher in his page about Fudō,

"Fudō converts anger into salvation..."

- Schumacher, M., "Fudō Myō-ō"

"converts anger into salvation", that seems familiar- Oh wait.

Fudō and Ume are guides to enlightenment AND protectors. They themselves are symbols of safety in the eyes of those under their care.

Connections. While the Godai Myō-ō (Five Great Kings) aren't closely related to the Shitennō (Four Heavenly Kings) as the former rank far above the latter, there are similarities to be found. One is that both groups are in charge of the five directions, and yes five. The Shitennō is commanded by Taishakuten (帝釈天) who is the Lord of the Center. Relating this back to Ume and his Four Kings, it's interesting to note that the mangaka choose a higher ranking god to represent Ume rather than use Taishakuten. Perhaps to differentiate the power gap between Umemiya and his Four Kings?

Conclusion: I'm confident that Fudō Myō-ō is definitely the god representing Umemiya with the evidence I have gathered as well as several others have come to similar conclusions to the fact. It was really fun deep diving into this research for both Takiishi and Umemiya and with a clear headed than the previous post, perhaps I'd like to make another one but of Tomiyama and Togame (The Hare & The Tortoise) or Sakura and Sugshita (The Tiger & The Dragon). No promises though.

(P.S. I am not Japanese but I have been deeply interested in the culture and history. I do my best to use credible sources (both ENG and JPN) and give credit accordingly. However, I'm prone to slip ups so if there is anything that requires correction, notify me throught the post via reply/reblog.)

(P.S.S. I have a blog specifically made for wbk content for further post like this so feel free to visit me there @transient-winds )

#OKAY ITS DONE #*dies promptly*#see what happens when im not running on no sleep & food #umemiya the man u are #i understand the appeal tsubakino #wind breaker #wind breaker nii satoru #wind breaker chapter 150 #umemiya hajime #hajime umemiya #takiishi chika #chika takiishi #umemiya vs takiishi fight

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kakushino · 1 year

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The Fanboy

Tumblr writer fanboy! Tomioka Giyuu x isekai! fem! Reader

He was not ready.

Tags: fluff, Giyuu being a silly fanboy, suggestive (1 filth mention), minor KNY spoilers from manga, isekai Word count: 1,1k

Masterlist

AN: The blog mentioned is purely fictional. Reader is Giyuu's blorbo uwu

Giyuu was used to being disliked by his coworkers. He kept to himself and didn’t attend any of the group events, the only one who liked him was the janitor, Urokodaki-san. Urokodaki Sakonji and Giyuu shared many lunches together, in silence or talking - it didn’t matter.

It was thanks to those lunches that Giyuu found out their shared passion - Kimetsu no Yaiba manga. The mangaka was a mystery, working under an alias, and the series was nearly finished, the infinity castle arc coming to an end. He was excited to read the last volume - an extra long one - which was rumored to feature his favorite character, [Name].

Oh [Name]... he’d been treated with an entire volume about her background and daily duties as a kakushi before the last arc, though she’d appeared in glimpses throughout the series. He had an embarrassing memory of spilling his admiration to Urokodaki-san at one time - years ago - but it was fate, for the volume about her came out three months afterwards.

It was also fate that he discovered tumblr not long after. He’d been scrolling through [Name]’s wiki page when something caught his eye - a trivia about her that he hadn’t noticed. Of course he had to try to find the truth on the deep dark web. Instead, he found a treasure trove full of fanfictions of characters from Kimetsu no Yaiba being shipped with readers.

Giyuu devoured the total number of three fanfictions about [Name] that evening. Only three… because there weren’t any more. It wasn’t right… She should have been appreciated more. Sure, she was not a fighter, but she was a part of crucial infrastructure, often taking on unpleasant roles to support the protagonists of the series - the demon slayers. Perhaps it reminded him of himself and Urokodaki, but the fact stood he absolutely adored [Name], and she deserved more love.

So he would give her that love.

That was two years ago.

Now, he had a blog of his own, blue-depresso, which he centered around his fav - he had posted various moodboards and headcanons he had about her at the start, but soon moved onto writing ‘x reader’ fanfictions of his own. It was a challenge to put his hidden artistic bone to work, but it was worth it. At times, Giyuu felt like a cult leader, his following quickly growing once he started to post those fanfics.

The few filthy fics he posted had him going long into the night, thinking how [Name] would feel under his hands, how he would take care of all her needs, and fuck her senseless.

Giyuu kept the blog and his dirty thoughts far away from Urokodaki-san.

He didn’t want the old man to know just how much of a loser he was.

The last volume came out on one (un)remarkable Friday. Giyuu had pre-ordered it, making him excited to rush to the designated pick-up manga store.

The end of the school day could not come soon enough. He raced through his duties, the usual neat stacks of sport equipment haphazard piles when he locked the equipment room; his rush made him leave the school before Kyojuro, who was usually one of the first teachers to leave due to Friday sales at his favorite bakery. The blonde sent him a bewildered look as Giyuu passed him at the gates.

Once home, he put the sacred item (the manga) on the table gently before he yanked his tracksuit off, quickly getting into shower. He wanted to get comfortable before he read it.

Less than ten minutes later, he was ready.

…he wasn’t ready.

But he needed to read it! He had to know what would happen to his [Name]! (And to the protagonists as well-)

Okay, okay, no. Giyuu took a deep breath and opened the book.

He had to put it down halfway through. His dearest [Name]... died. She’d driven a car at the main antagonist to stop him from moving, and she died in the line of duty. Her death was honorable, and she would have wanted that.

Why did he feel so empty then?

Before he knew it, he’d opened the tumblr app on his phone and started typing.

blue-depresso She isn’t dead. She is not dead. #kny spoilers #kny spoiler #[Name] #what the fuck is this @ G.K.????

blue-depresso This just did not happen. I refuse to accept this. #kny spoilers #kny spoiler #[Name] #dying rn #[Name] is alive

blue-depresso Someone give me G.K.’s location rq because I’m ready to fight #kny spoilers #kny spoiler #[Name] #fight me G.K.

blue-depresso Okay but maybe it wasn’t her in the car. Hear me out, maybe she jumped out before the car got destroyed??? #kny spoilers #kny spoiler #[Name] #[Name] is alive

blue-depresso What is even the point of living on if she isn’t alive? What is the point??? #kny spoilers #kny spoiler #[Name] #im crying #send help

blue-depresso Okay but in my heart, she lives on. You bet your asses I will write that [Name] lives AU once I’m done devouring this volume #kny spoilers #kny spoiler #[Name] #I won’t abandon my girl in her time of need #she’s my wife #she will live

blue-depresso I’m okay (I’m not). I need to finish this manga. #kny spoilers #kny spoiler #[Name] #ran out of tissues #i need a drink

Wiping the one tear that left his eye - the tissue tag an exaggeration of the truth, though his throat did get clogged up - he got to reading the rest of the story.

It felt like he was afloat. What was he gonna do with himself now? His mind wandered to the singular bottle of beer in the fridge his sister gave him - some fancy brand he couldn’t care less about, as he wasn’t a drinker. His body acted before his brain caught up and he drank it, the bitterness a companion to the one in his heart.

He would write that ‘[Name] lives AU’ tomorrow. Today, he had to bury himself in comfort. There was a fluffy blanket he received from his sister last birthday. Perhaps he should give her a call. It wasn’t that late yet.

In the end he’d fallen asleep on his futon, the blankets under him and his phone laying next to his face. His face flushed, realizing his sister must have talked him to sleep. He would have to make it up to her later.

Giyuu rolled over on his other side to check the time on his clock hanging on the wall, but came face-to-face with a woman instead.

What the fu-

He scrambled back, trying to create distance from this stranger. Who was it? What was she doing in his flat? What was-?!

Hold on a moment…

His mind ran circles, trying to rationalize what he was seeing. I couldn’t be, could it? But how? This had to be a prank…

The woman stirred, kakushi mask shifting a little. Then, her eyes opened, and it was confirmed.

It was [Name].

dividers made by the amazing @benkeibear

AN: Will this be an one-shot series? IDK but it was fun to write hehe

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #tomioka giyuu #giyuu x reader #giyuu x you #giyuu x y/n #kny fanfic #kny x reader #kakushino

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eternal-moss · 6 months

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Thank you Ryoko Kui

I don’t think I’ve ever been so enthralled by any mangaka’s art so much before like Ryoko Kui. It’s so fundamentally attractive to me, I can’t stop gawking at it. The way she draws animals just exudes this feeling of deep love and appreciation, and the same goes for her human drawings too. Her niche stylistic choices are what I’ve been waiting for for years, I’ve been trying to draw better noses while staying simplistic/stylised and then Dungeon Meshi comes along.

I feel so inspired with my art, in a way that I haven’t felt in years, I just wish I could thank her in person. I haven’t been so inspired since like. Lauren Marx I think, and her drawings of animals in Sacred Decay. Love it so much, it really informed how I draw animals in my semi-realism style, and just creative inspiration too.

I’m nowhere near as good as these two, and I don’t think I can be without the serious dedication they have to art, but I don’t feel intimidated by their clear understanding of lining, form, atmosphere and colour, I just feel so pumped and excited. Look at what is possible with the human hand and heart!! I think I’ve spent too long in fandoms where everyone just draws thin pallid men making out with each other, I’m so damn tired of the same body types and tropes.

This! This is what makes me feel genuinely alive, and I’m not exaggerating. I haven’t drawn properly in so long, I feel like I was a withered plant that has finally, finally been watered lol.

I love the art of Dungeon Meshi, and the love that clearly is behind it, and drives both the art and story. I think the thing that made me want to write this post is this specific drawing that made me tear up a bit

Look at this!! Baby orcs have light stripes on their backs!!! Just like the natural phenomenon of forest dwelling animal young having dappled/striped backs, so that they can be less easily noticed by predators with light through the canopies. Ryoko Kui doesn’t just randomly implement design choices for her fantasy concepts but thinks them through.

Deer and wild boar have these features in real life, but as demi-humans, orcs also have culture surrounding this. How is it perceived in society? What sort of attitudes would this create? She’s clearly thought so in depth into so much of the world building and I love it so much. Orcs were originally surface dwelling beings, but were forced underground by other peoples, and this is shown by the fact that they still have this evolutionary trait!!

Anyway there’s so much more that I could say- about the story, themes of non romantic love and depiction of discrimination, and all the other countless things touched on through the characters. But oh my gosh. I love Dungeon Meshi!

#Dunmeshi #dungeon meshi #mossy rambles #long post #Moss go tf to sleep #Ryoko Kui #Biology tag

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kafkaoftherubble · 1 month

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聊聊俺另个冷圈子漫画《AFTER GOD》: 解析、猜测、评论（暂至第58话，英译版为准）

An analysis/speculation/ramble of the manga, After God.

Edit: Upon re-reading some previous chapters for my next ramble, I realized that Yako's name isn't actually "Furuya Yako," but "Furuya Rin" (C56). I'd like to change it accordingly.

The sort of things I'll do for you, @orange-peel-candy, man. Yes, this could have been our Discord conversation, but it’s been a long time since I contributed something to this garden, and the After God appreciator circle is once again, a cold circle (冷圈子) that I thought hey, Future Lyns will enjoy reading. Maybe someone else other than you will, too?

This is up to Chapter 58, "They Don’t Understand."

I’m gonna reiterate some of the interesting things we mentioned back in Discord.

The latest chapter is cool because it showcases how Yako sees the word. “No colors; just lines. Faces are blocked out.”

Apropos of that, I’m personally stoked to see the mangaka spending time establishing the different kinds of visual impairment that might get someone to be legally or functionally declared “blind.” Then, via the elimination method, we get to see just why Yako stood out even within the community she is easily a member of owing to her congenital blindness.

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Blind Perspectives

In the first part of C58, we see the Outsider Auntie describing how much of a stand-offish creep Yako was. Her opinion is likely similar to what readers might have felt about Yako since she appeared in the story.

But, in the second part of the chapter, we got to see Yako reminiscing about her dad’s funeral, her mother, and—we soon find out—the first time she met Chicken (“Rooster,” this distinction is actually important, but I think I’ll make a separate post about it) God. In that flashback, she’s still a little peculiar... but is largely a quiet girl with pretty normal sensibilities. She was defensive of her mother’s character and questioned—but not disparaging of—her long-absent father. She even displayed kindness to a creature she identified as a “parakeet” found near her dad’s coffin.

Little thought that goes nowhere: Child Yako reminded me of a live-action character we really like: India Stoker, from the movie Stoker. They both elicit a peculiar bearing partially from their atypical sensory experiences, are seen as “unsettling,” and are left alone. Man, I dig characters like these. So ghostly.

This is why I’m very interested in C59: it will be a continuation of Yako’s memories of how the Chicken God and her life entwined. Sure, we’ll also get to her reputation as a butcher of eighty lives, but I’m at least 80% sure that the slaughter is related to Chicken God. How the slaughter happened (was it via her new power? Poisoning? etc..), though, is a lot less clear.

Juxtaposing Yako and Outsider Auntie’s perspectives like these made me wonder if Yako had always been as off-putting as the latter claimed. Could it be that, at first, Yako seemed weird because of her nigh-superhuman way of navigating through her blindness with an accuracy other peers like Outsider Auntie could only dream of? Did jealousy introduce a distortion to the Outsider Auntie’s assessment of Yako’s character?

As you pointed out: both narrators are unreliable.

I think that’s a good reminder. So here’s the follow-up:

Is the answer to who Yako is somewhere in between these two perspectives, or does it lie in a third position?

In other words: will Chicken God’s account of Yako’s personality end up being the most accurate version of who she is?

It won’t be surprising if the last part turns out to be true. Alula and Orokapi, who are both IPO/gods, seem to have the most accurate perspectives on Tokinaga compared to any other humans in the story—possibly including Tokinaga himself. Alula also seemed to have understood the sides of Shion that had eluded Waka until the time of their closure.

I think the gods’ impoverished understanding of humanity, plus their lack of emotional and experiential biases, actually gives the gods a clearer, fresher grip on the humans they are interacting with.

However, there’s a downside to learning about humanity with a blank slate. If you dip a piece of white paper into, say, a bucket of blue dye, you’ll get deep-blue paper. Then, no matter what color you try to paint on it later, the blue dye will influence how these colors present themselves on that paper, right?

That’s the second point—and hypothesis—I want to lead to.

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Formative Experience

You observed that it’s strange that Chicken God relied heavily on others to do its bidding while Orokappi (and presumably others) show no such reliance. You’re right, and as always, you give me one really important lead-up to this hypothesis!

The gods described humanity as an infection, yea? We’re their Covid-19, monkeypox—you get the idea. Getting close to humanity, to them, risks being infected by our behaviors and ways of thinking.

In other words, the gods’ first and sustained interaction with one or more, humans greatly influences much of their personality development.

Orokapi

Orokapi’s first sustained interaction is with Tokinaga, who—due to knowing his OG’s sob story about being a loner with bad decisions and no friends (unless he wanted to include debt-collectors or whatever as “friends”)—offered Orokapi friendship with as little prejudice as possible. Even when Orokapi exhibited behaviors considered offensive, repulsive, or even disgusting, Tokinaga simply—persistently—corrected him and took care of him. Orokapi is Stitch to Tokinaga’s Lilo, y’all.

It’s pretty strange especially after we learned who Tokinaga actually is and what he really thinks of the gods.

But the main point stands: Tokinaga teaches Orokapi about friendship. The human notion of it, with all its complexities.

I argue that this is, therefore, Orokapi’s formative experience of humanity. This is his version of the humanity infection.

Orokapi is also notable among the gods for being one who embodies a human being. That is, he borrows a human body and lives like one—likely similarly to Allula. That affords him more formative experience with a human’s spectrum of emotional complexities—which again, because of Tokinaga, is related to the concept of friendship.

All of this culminated in his last run-in with the Rabbit God, Vollof. They had been dear friends before Tokinaga was a thing in Orokappi’s life, and yet Orokappi voiced vexation on how to help his dearest bunny-eared friend. Rabbit God was important to him, but Orokappi didn’t know how to be a friend. In the past, he could only provide surface-level help like alleviating Rabbit God’s drug withdrawal symptoms with his toxins.

However, in their last encounter, Orokappi demonstrated emotional intelligence and sentiments paralleling Tokinaga’s treatment of him. The Snake God had used what he had learned and finally gave Vollof the peace and comfort it didn’t even know it wanted.

This was Orokappi’s humanity infection, manifesting. And it looks a whole lot like platonic love.

Orokappi ate Vollof and subsumed Vollof as part of his “self”—this seems to be a property of these gods, as Allula also seemed to have gained her chimeric form this way (hers is characterized more as “lust” than love though if I remember correctly). Interestingly, he expressed similar sentiments toward Tokinaga and wanted to eat him too.

The intrigue posed by Orokappi’s desire to eat Tokinaga and the latter’s own profound suicidal ideation is better discussed in another post that talks more about my mate’s psychology. So I won’t continue beyond this point!

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This is the basis for my hypothesis as to why Chicken God relies so much on cult followers. I’m about 75% confident of it.

Chicken God Ahu'az

Here’s what we know:

Chicken God was found by Yako in her own house, near her dad’s coffin.

Yako’s mother founded an abacus school.

She had quite a significant number of students, who seemed less interested in abacus and more in her charisma (and beauty). After all, Yako’s mom “talked a lot” after teaching for a bit, basically making her more of an orator than a teacher.

Her school fees were cheap.

Outsiders characterized the school as “a suspicious group of people,” stopping shy of outright calling it “a cult.”

Here’s what we know about Chicken God:

Bruh is the god of a cult.

Bruh doesn’t kill all humans—it lets those who are sickly or weak live. Could this be pragmatic—giving these desperate human powers and a second chance will strengthen their faith in it? Or did it actually possess a soft spot for the marginalized and/or variously disabled?

Bruh relies heavily on its followers to do its bidding.

For a time, bruh lived in a pond near the Furuya’s house.

Chicken God seems to be the closest to Yako despite proclaiming its contempt for humans.

Chicken God presents itself to humanity instead of embodying a human form.

The lowered fees, and the stated purpose of her starting such a school in the first place, suggested that there’s a chance the school attracted marginalized people. People who may live on the fringes and were forgotten by society.

At this point of the flashback, all of the attendees were male. But that doesn’t mean this won’t change in the future. Perhaps following Yako’s murder, the school became an actual starting point of a cult.

Either way, going from what the rumors said, Yako’s mom’s abacus school likely showed a fervor toward her in ways comparable to a following. Chicken God was already living in proximity to a dedicated group as soon as it regained power and sentience.

This backdrop was Chicken God’s formative experience of humanity.

If Orokappi’s formative experience centers around friendship—what if Chicken God’s centers around worship?

Side note: this will once again pit the Snake God and the Rooster God as foils, especially considering how much the two seemed to hate each other’s guts. Friendship denotes equality between all parties, but worship demands a designation of the superior and its inferiors.

It wouldn’t be hard for Chicken God to assume the role of a god, either. The IPOs’ eyes already have a hypnotic quality inducing religious-like devotion toward them. The questions I can ask, therefore, are:

What happened to Yako’s mom? Was she eaten by Chicken God, and so come to assume a womanly form if it so wished? If this was true, then Yako’s feelings for the Chicken God could very well be mixed with a child’s affection towards her mother.

Or did Yako’s mom perish in the clash occurring between this cult and the government when they found out about Chicken God?

Who were those 80 students, and to what purpose were they killed? How did Chicken God factor into this?

Was the Chicken God’s habit of granting favors to the weak, disabled, and marginalized a pragmatic preference, or a result of its formative experience with humanity?

What was Yako’s mom’s role in all of this? Was she the first follower, and therefore the first priestess? Or was she horrified by the abomination her daughter had awakened (though hinted to be her husband’s finding; more on that later)?

The last question concerns the origin of the Chicken God. If I recall correctly, all IPOs used to live scattered across the globe, until for some reason, they began to gather in Japan. Correct me if I misremembered about this one.

This is where the little tidbit of Furuya Shigetoshi’s scholarly pursuit comes in.

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“We joined him to take part in the excavation of Uruk.”

My neural network remembered Uruk enough to immediately think, “Mesopotamia?” So I went to double-confirm.

Yes, Uruk was an important city for Sumerian urbanization. It’s so ancient that it has multiple layers of cities built on top of an older city. It had seen quite a lot of rise and fall in its lifetime, including its annexation by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 850 BCE[1].

The actual name of the Chicken God, Ahu'az, seems fictional. But the word “Nirosca” reminded me of yet another thing I read before, so I went to check. Again. Well, the only thing that I found closest to it was “Nisroch,” which was some god of Assyria[2].

There had been a scholarly effort in trying to ascertain what kind of god Nisroch was supposed to be. Apparently, in the 1840s, a British archeologist had mistakenly identified “winged, eagle-headed genii[2]” figures as “Nisroch.” Near Eastern scholars nowadays refer to them simply as “griffin-demons.”

There are two points here that converge to one specific ancient Mesopotamian civilization: Assyria. I don’t know if this is the period Chicken God would reveal to have gained its first sentience, but I do wanna show you this Neo-Assyrian ivory sculpture[3][4].

Assyrian winged Sphinx, excavated from Kalhku (now Nimrud).

From Yako’s memory, we learn that Chicken God wasn’t always a bundle of wings and some occasional chicken feet. It could even possess long, silky hair—one Yako compared to her mother’s.

Could our Chicken God originate from the Neo-Assyrian period of the Mesopotamian civilization, within the context of After God’s universe?

I’m 90% sure that it came with Professor Shigetoshi and somehow fell out of his person near his own coffin, which Yako picked up. After all, before these gods were “gods,” they seemed to be very microscopic—almost like bacteriophages, or something similar. It wouldn’t be surprising if micro-Ahu'az hitched a ride on a certain Japanese man—or if captured by him—and came here.

But of course, there’s this talk about how the IPOs had been moving to Japan despite their places of origin. Who’s to say that this wasn’t the directed work of someone, which would have allowed his job of exterminating these gods easier if they were all in one place? Perhaps someone even more ancient than the gods are supposed to be—and an enemy of them, no less...

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Well! How the fuck did I get here?

And this isn’t the only After God hypothesis we have. There’s the one about the animal representations of each god which could lead to a full-blown essay about Tokinaga, your (unexpected) favorite character (thanks to me! Ahahahhaha!). Not that I mind. I really like Tokinaga too. He’s so juicy and interesting—and Orokapi is just as intriguing too.

Hopefully, other fans of this manga will find this an entertaining read. If you’ve stuck out here for this long—

Thank you for reading my ramble!

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Citations:

“Uruk” in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruk

“Nisroch” in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisroch

“عاجية اشورية تظهر طائر برأس انسان من كالخو ( النمرود حالياً ) القرن التاسع ق.م” in History of Mesopotamia. Twitter. https://x.com/GilgameshIQ/status/1537489293500899329

Nimrud Ivories عاجيات النمرود in Iraq In History. https://www.abualsoof.com/61-assyrian/detail/8604-assyrian-empire-age?tmpl=component

#after god #after god manga #after god meta #Ahu'az #furuya rin #after god yako #orokapi #tokinaga sachiyuki #ramble with citations #睿得失这个话痨的长篇大论

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seekers-who-are-lovers · 8 months

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Some people are a bit panicking. They like to know if Yana Toboso encounters pressure concerning the upcoming release of the anime. Yana T is very open the last few days. She resumed posting her thoughts today. Particularly going back to the past adaptations of Kuroshitsuji.

When I say, ``I've never had my dignity as a writer violated or my contract violated,'' it's sad to hear people say, ``It's gross to have such an obvious appeal.''

If a work is said to belong to the original author, I wish they wouldn't tell authors who accept changes that they have no love for their work or that they are being dishonest to their readers.

During the first season of Black Butler, the first question was, "Can I let Ciel die in the final episode?" I was surprised, but thought, ``If an anime that is mostly original can end in an interesting way.'' Thankfully, it turned out to be an interesting anime and a sequel was made. Regarding the second season, he requested, ``I would like to see a final episode that is completely different from the first season and the original work.''

For the live-action movie, I heard that ``Ciel will be a woman,'' and although I had no say in the casting, I asked, ``I would appreciate it if there was no romance with the butler.'' It was just a verbal promise, but he kept it. I am still grateful to Mizushima-san, Gouriki-san, and everyone else involved.

There are many things that surprised me, made me angry, made me sad, and made me happy about anime, live action, musicals, and games. But I don't regret any of it, it's all about me. This is not a story about telling or forcing anyone to give a correct or incorrect answer. I told you that you should take a break and not push yourself too hard. ( to herself )

I only met Ayame Goriki (the “Ciel” in the live action ) once after cranking up the engine. She was wearing a chic and lovely black dress, and when I told her, ``It suits you very well.I would be happy if we could use this as an opportunity to get more opportunities to see you in fashionable clothes,'' she happily shook my hand with trembling hands. Please give it to me. It was beautiful.

Hiro Mizushima and the other performers' hands were shaking when they shook hands in greeting. I was at a loss for words when I thought about how these gorgeous and beautiful people were dealing with so much stress and pressure. I am very grateful to have been given this difficult experience.

This is the end of this story.

There were many people who expressed concern after that sad incident (Hinako Ashihara’s death must have shaken the core of this problem among the mangaka community), so I took this opportunity to speak to them. Of course, readers are free to make their own opinions. I am me, you are you. I would be happy if you could enjoy it together with me in the future. [Toboso]

[ x x x x x x ]

Reading this litany of Yana’s tweets, Ashihara’s suicide made her contemplate of the past and talked to people about it.

Remember that Yana was younger (and probably inexperienced) when they adapted her work into an anime and the pressure was immense. And now that she is an established manga author/artist, popular and well respected, this gave her the opportunity to think back. Especially considering the amount of feedback that she received. I just hope that she’s doing self-care as often as she needs it be.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #yana toboso #twitter

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marmastry · 1 year

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I think your art is spectacular and what I love most of all is when you make those mini comics, because everything about them is so stunning! So I've been needing to ask this for a while now:

How do you make those AMAZING compositions? The paneling, the placement of the bubbles, the whole thing leaves me awe-struck to be honest. Do you think about the layout a lot or do you just go for it? Just curious.

Thank you and I'm glad you like them ;w;

TBH I'm not the best person to give tips. I didn't really study comic making, but I do think my general instincts in laying out composition come from doing illustration and book design works in the past.

The best and most helpful (for beginners) post about it that I can tell you is Adrienne's comic tips which were my gateway to comic making. You can find it here. I still think they presented a lot of ideas very well in such a short thread. I really appreciate it! It helped me see how mangakas and comic creators panel their works which influenced mine too haha

#adrienne if u see ur tweet popping off again #it's me again #lolll #seriously tho #they give really good tips that beginners can learn

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juiceboxscans · 6 months

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Happy Spring! 🌸🌸🌸

Blossoms are out, extras are up (only on Mangadex). We'll adjust the numbering if it turns out the next chapter is 38.2. Link under the pretty picture.

Thanks for being chill. We knew you would be, only the finest manga fans are, but we still appreciate it. This month took a little longer than we thought it would with offline stuff and personnel rearrangmensts but we're figuring it out.

Please support the mangaka (if/when you can). If you can't wait for us, you know what to do (see: Pinned Post).

Konishi recently posted that some overseas markets are not doing so great with sales (like Taiwan) and publishers are dropping. We're not naive enough to think we're taking a massive chunk out of profits for Kodansha and Seven Seas, but still. Do your bit, if you can. It's a good manga and owning your own physicals/renting your own digital copies is nice.

Old Twitter sketch of Konishi's:

Caption: Shouma gave her this mysterious shirt.

Shirt: NOT STAFF Please don't talk to me

Happy Spring Break! The ENG team is taking off for Spring Break which is an American thing that is both really stupid (because it's generally just an excuse for drunken idiots to trash beach towns on both coasts) and really necessary (because touching grass is kinda fun) so we'll be back in April. Until then, be cool, don't repost, order the licensed English if you can (Volume 7 is available on Amazon April 2), and stay hydrated.

Have a great rest of your week and thanks for reading! 🌸🌸🌸

#raise wa tanin ga ii #rwtgi #yakuza fiance #updates #mangadex link #scanlation #we love you

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runawaycarouselhorse · 4 months

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Maaaan, I love this era of Detective Conan currently airing in Arabic right now, the art style was at its absolute peak in the anime. Love the more grounded, undersaturated colours. It gives it a feel like a live action mystery show, it's really nice. Love the highlights. It feels like the anime took a more realistic approach to how it drew, while still largely being very Aoyama Gosho about the faces and proportions... it's just really slick and clean.

(It's around The Clash of Red and Black.)

I especially love how Gin is drawn in these episodes, it's more grounded. I am not a fan of how he looks when the anime tries too hard to mimic Gosho's style later on, what works in his style, does not always work animated or drawn by someone else...

Plus: I miss when you could see so many individual strands of hair like that, isn't it great? It looks like hair.

The episodes around the 400s to the 600s in my opinion are the most appealing Detective Conan looks.

Haibara also looks her absolute loveliest in the episodes where she has to make her decision whether or not to go through a witness protection program (maybe around the 340 point?). I do miss the gold highlights her hair had in the first art style, though! ;_; She looks like she just has light brown hair. Her chappatsu/tea-coloured hair should have a touch of gold to it...

The episodes where they're trying to figure out who Okiya is, the Bourbon mystery... that's the closest Haibara ever looked in the anime to the way Gosho colours her (he gives her very light blonde hair in his illustrations, it's a little funny, it looks more kinpatsu/gold-coloured hair...)

There's also the period of time where she's depcited more like a strawberry blonde, which also fits how Gosho coloured her hair in the past (you see it in the standard Sherry's Soliluqoy/Sherry's Own Comment illustrations, where Sherry gives her thoughts on each new chapter, on the Conatsu website!)

Strawberry blonde Haibara was also pretty accurately depicted in the anime for a while!

But for all newer illustrations, like the Christmas ones, he gives her very light blonde hair with just a hint of red/orange.

Gosho changes up how he colours Haibara's hair in his colour pieces as much as shoujo mangaka change up their characters' hair colours in colour pieces...

... yeah, this was originally a post appreciating my favourite eras in the Detective Conan anime's art style, but I had to go off on a tangent about my favourites' hair. (I actually really liked the blonde hair Gin had in the beginning of the anime, silver definitely grew on me, and that in-between dull and silvery blonde in Clash of Red and Black is pretty cool, as they slowly made him look more like his manga counterpart, who was depicted with silver hair as early as Street Corner of Betrayal.)

The other characters are easier, with their more standards black/very dark brown hair, it's Gin, Sherry, and to a degree, Sonoko, who have other hair colours that stand out, and some of the foreigner characters (and whatever Vermouth might be)...

#Detective Conan #long post #Meitantei Conan #Black Organization #Haibara Ai #Gin #Akai Shuuichi #smoking *#cigarettes

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