#maybe animal traits but in a way that feels complementary to the feeling the character gives off

[wackywatchdotcom]

see ragatha with horse legs was 100% written because i found the idea extremely funny and wanted to draw it and wasnt intended to be a hc thing. but maybe it SHOULD be.... hm

[unproduciblesmackdown]

had a hell of a time (good) bit ago watching elemental and feeling things including enjoying a film, great ride, i love a metaphor & anything vignettey (just living life, alongside but also including the [this is about the metaphor] threads), i do love it when a couple of fun people have an enriching dynamic that they enjoy and huaaaghwgh (good) & i liked the premise metaphor exactly as is for what it is for what it did with it & i liked overlaps & resonances w/other experiences i saw ppl perceive. i liked the way i was going oh my god that painting looks the way i feel b/c like navigating a complementary dynamic where what's holding one person back is what helps the other person along, vice versa, no interaction or relationship that develops by like having some [theoretically your trait/quality/behavior] contained in the other person, rather it being an interaction within yourself, such that i was going "i have this interaction Within Myself, right now, in life currently like always and the past years but also past months especially really, it's ongoing, i'm going Oh Goddamn Omg" scintillating to see it externalized as a conversation imagined by others. and also still different / more capacious on both ends than "wow Exactly that." feeling things going ohh my god. music is going for it so Noticeably. hot air balloon scene And track changing me with an immediate Resonance

easier when having fun but i was also like continually so hype gasping about intrigued about pointing at art direction decisions & execution and one especial element i was sooo noting was the use of Color b/c it's Really colorful like rainbow palette nigh constant noticeable saturation, And it was atmospheric, always readily visibly parsed, varying in styles but cohesive. the backgrounds babey, with obvious priority for working with a vivacious orange and/or blue. oh and the related use of Light like different visuals for different glows and just different effects and waugh....i collected mostly a bunch of bgs to point at often for that "look at the color design & atmosphere" but also so much more & foreground things big time too. semitransparent characters like bitch. the physics of fluid dynamics. optics like refraction like my God. i'm mclosing it and that these effects would be sooo prohibitively intensive w/o computer but it's so impressive w/computer and that Stylistic Decisions were made all over, it's clearly not ever simply just "oh this is what it'd 'realistically' look like if uhhh someone was made of fire or water" even as realism Based effects were employed for style and fun and our lives. the use of of course 2D animation / art conventions for style and effect and fun & our lives!!! maybe ember a bit too but wade has a whole like 2D style profile so the [curved droplet] shape always faces the camera, how are we doing that it's so cool & i love to see it. not to mention being transparent but also like clearly not!! first time i've properly thought about how inside of mouth 3D animation has Ever worked lmao

cut so i can go on & on (^ that's brevity up there lol) & post mostly various backgrounds to gesticulate at what i notice abt the use of color like oh my god. and some other things. laughed, cried, lived & loved like for real lol

oh my god

and like immediate intro theme going "oh my god blue and orange making Purple (magenta, pink) oh my god we're doing Additive Light with that holy shit yes"

so extra [!!!] about city nighttime shots especially. and the details of all the building designs, it's all the shit like i haven't even sat and Studied any given shot for all small elements like that but that you know they're There so that it looks this complex and "realistic" like you know the attention & effort is there & you get the Overall Effect baby. also the way purple/green are employed to contrast with blue/orange often. the Glows here, the Bluer upper half and the Oranger lower half that both also have some purplishness to them, the Green bridge breaking it up / spanning this

the colors in closeups even. first of all the expressions styles are after my own heart & got it, and i'm sure i'll go on & on more there. pull mouths down do the m upper lip n lower lip lines combo, you know what i mean, i Love it. wavy flowy design vs more triangular / ending in peaks/corners design for your water vs fire aesthetiques. i think that's [heat creating refraction in the air] effect like lord. the pink blue purple here. the slight shadow framing the pic for better contrast, the pink / glow around ember, wade slightly Glows from within too, the constant wave refraction there. okay obsessed again with both sorta transparent and fluid Figures like you've got the outermost layers. you've got the Inside. you've got the silhouettes and the lines that are "drawn," reddish outlines of flame shapes and constant highlight "outlines" for water so it never "realistically" blends in with everything / just Is clear and is impossible to easily parse. that those silhouettes are constantly Flowing and responding to motion / pressure as well. i can only imagine. oh and the colors again that the Glow for fire is often a Soft gradient, but there's this like, slightly convex polygonal style of "glow" / Light in backgrounds a lot and it works great for style and contrast with the important Soft Glow from fire and even also water, again the slight inner glow there too. and again the mutual [pull mouths down] expressiveness lol so much fun. the Elasticity is fantastic, same with like 2D style Movement like invoking a smear frame for example like fuck yes it's about What Works it's about style & effect & what things like lighting color faces can do that aren't just aiming for "be peak realistic" like clearly it isn't. note the sharper line of shadow in the upper corner with a deeper blue. we framing

oh this one was to point out "look at how you can see the full spectrum rainbow in the wave surface light refraction oh my fucking god" not to mention of course In Motion the shapes, the effect, some bubbles and flow for flare and seeing that constant Light Outline, the cyan leaning aqua that's put in along with the overall slight blue not b/c it's "realistic" but b/c it's what works baby the artistic design choices fuck like hell. and only when i took this one frame was it like oh my fucking god look at these split second flame shames flowing off of ember there above her head especially. all the more stylization required for fire without it being like, "realistically" mostly transparent, overly bright, not very strongly delineated / silhouetted....the shape, color, flow of flames on the "inside," outermost breaking off shapes & "outline" as well augh god. and look at the purples in the background's left side

AUGH the night city backgrounds. pottery burn haha yeah the blue orange AND purple my god!!!! it's thematic ([blue + orange = purple] b/w the blue & orange characters) and it fucks like hell holy shit!!!!!

meanwhile the green & purple here with One orange element getting to stand out / not that much blue either, but more ultramarine style than aquamarine, and LOOK AT THE MOON!!! the surface!!! check out that Polygonal glow around it and the green/purple there too!!!

and the use of bokeh. immaculate, not holding back, after my heart. the Purple/Pink additive light properties coming into play!! her reflection is more simply orange(tm) sometimes and i would presume it tends purpler when we are getting [emotionally connecting / recognition of the self through the other] but oh my god heaving overhead like a hero this additive light blue+orange=purple ingenious and stylistically fucking like hell choice. and again their "outlines" working so well while also retaining enough softness/fluidity to be part of them as a whole. everything is so cool

there's the mouth shape i was talking about. you see the slight m upper lip simply n lower lip and resultant (idk like a video game controller?) shape lol. flexible expressive asymmetry. the closeup transparency of [can always see the other side of shirt collar]. green bg for contrast while also incorporating the orange glow. the full spectrum rainbow refraction just also an immaculate and probably characterfully relevant lmao as a bonus. also hell of cute moments wauugh yes, fun, dying thanks

the additive light!!! (how magenta/purple/pink the reflection of Orange is off the Blue like employing what's realistic in another context for what fucks aesthetically & carries symbolism. like wade wouldn't Realistically be constantly [surface wave refractions] but it fucks like hell. also wouldn't be someone made of fire or water but it fucks like hell & embodies a central metaphorical layer to the literal material). also look at that curtain from deep purplish red to deep bluer purple!!! the line of bright blue!!! the glow in the Background with sharper polygonal lines / corners to contrast with the visual effects of glows elsewhere!!! wade default =3 as [wavy featured] and inherent =3 vs ember's more flame tipped => (not pictured)

ohh this one for rainbow color / out of focus usage and b/c it's like how the semi transparency but only So Much + constant outline of Highlights / constant inner glow and visible infusion of like aquamarine / bright turquoise cerulean color helps a water guy stay perfectly Visible / parsable. also besides ember being green, an effect subtly pictured at any given point: like cinders continually rising off fire but depicted so much like Sparkles :') there's so much colors and highlights and choices after my own sensibilities out here like i love a shoulder swoop design that flows right into the arms from the neck from the head. and that's exactly what we get precisely b/c it has so much flow!!! ember's like whole head Flaring out from her neck, terminal points like tips, or sources, of flames. Styles

the bokeh!! the blues and pinks and purples!!!

ouuwaah

UGH obviously in motion the like arcing falling curtains of water, the shimmering....the purple into pink into dusky orange!!! the little bit of contribution of the turquoise light aaa wahooo, ofc what the bridge adds in Composition for this & that previous shot

lmao this is b/c Wavy Scribble Squiggle Mouth again the design choices after my own heart. the constant extra wobbliness to Mouth Outline obviously works great to emphasize [water design] but it also works great b/c i love it

every shot of the background with this beach is gongious like jesus christ. the closeup of sand is like that looks amazing and So soft. look at the wavy swoopy shapiness of the clouds, look at the [in this shot] faintly detectable Polygonal outlines of Glow from the sun. feel free to look at that water like i said every shot of this, wrow. tasked with Pretty Beach Sunset and coming through big time

expressive design contrast, glow contrasts, refracting, silhouettes, those flame shapes breaking off again epic hot wheels style fuck yes....and the bg!!! look at the purple to muted purple pink sky, the atmospheric distancing on layers of buildings that goes from blue to purple!! the dimmer purple / blue / teal on the ground in the foreground here UGH the COLOR USE

ooh i was so Noticing the like, full ultramarine blue here, like it's been used Before in any night environments but the way here it's brighter, making it like "okay yeah night but more Lit Up. also the visual variety of [water curtain] textures there, the area of Pink, the Yellow that hasn't previously shown up too much but might be saved for associations with tension / "danger" lol. also love the "straightup a pool" designs lol wish i was swimming

oh the orange + blue = purple on display here / translating Outlines

amazing sequence and again look at the Purple shadows the Blues the Oranges the Greens!!!! aughhh again like So colorful and so bright but also ofc dimmed, atmospheric, balanced, waughhh!!!

oh my god what can i say. "bisexuality" for one but and also fr like the pink of the sky vs deep purple, lighter with more blue in the water, the streak of oranger light, pink atmospheric haze....augh!!!

speaking of "and then really vivid striking colors in another overall palette we haven't seen before" the teal & golden yellow for this shot was new & noticeable. the yellow of problems, but not too bad lol, looking at that Contrast with the blue on the outer pool edge there. i wanna take a swim yippee....but fr like holding some colors more in reservation, finding new combinations, as Ever how bright the bgs are but atmospheric, non overwhelming of other elements, i Love it

bokeh!!!! colors!!!!!!!

bokeh!!!!!! colors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fucking roy g biv like yes gorgeous. nice tree evocative bridge. composition. lots of lights and colors but the distribution being so balanced, but organic, broken up in all the right ways and all encompassing....the bright orange lights in shadowed blue/purple buildings in the upper left corner, leading down to the path of lights across the center of everything....ugh incredible great

out of focus bg, the lights, the purples, the blue/Green, look at everything on the right side ugh lovely, the slight Shapes of glows, can see that arc in the right side as well, the emotional relevance of all the colors and glows as this bg dims / desaturates a second later

and so similarly here, the Purple, the Glows....like the use of both the perfect balance of soft edges/borders but no sacrifice in clarity

oh and i suppose there's then any amount of spoilers following but like, in part only b/c i point them out as as much but also like. it's about the journey lmfao you see two screenshots, containing some information, well you've seen it all

and to pad that out i'll also note without screenshots about it like bringing in a very like Clear for Compositional Effect sort of Danger Yellow again twice over, with the harshest like chartreuse leaning yellow yet for it, v much a color that it'd just take more effort to fit into a palette / would have to be kind of the color centerpiece, vs the orange/blue/purple here

(but also not to say yellow was never used otherwise....some perfectly harmless golds, paler lighting like just Daytime vibe, constant presence w/fire of course. so the Particulars of a hazard yellow are all the more notable)

the COLORS....look at that orange that pink red the pink reflections the Purples....the just deep slightly slightly purple red in the bg and how like smoothed over / Immediate that background is to just make everything close & present!! the flame textures going!!! water textures going!!! cinders as points of light!! the colors the orange purple pink blue UGHH it's amazing they're really off the shits with it in every scene

spoilers they do kiss about it and i was like smacking hand to forehead like oh my god and they did another "breaking out a new Light thing" when we've glowed and refracted within and without, lit up or dimmed, sparkled, reflected, used further styles in environmental lighting....answer was Lens Flare rainbow refracting glow like goddamn!!! and again like putting In the purple, but also the blue, the orange, the out & out more cerulean / aquamarine that is not gonna simply come from elsewhere in the environment. nice commitment to also having someone smile into a kiss lmao we've all been like i Will make this work. i'm still just like ugh the focus on and variety of Light too, the backgrounds' like soft polygon/hexagon glow "fields," straightforward soft/even gradient glows, wave pattern refraction, refraction also separating light into rainbows, remember water is a lens, stylized light of fire, bokeh, additive color mixing....holding on to & breaking out Cinematic LENS FLARE is fr like ohhh my god they're just fucking On It, got this, here's another effect for you

i also have a gif b/c i couldn't note anyone's fluid dynamics / flowing / Interacting physics enough, and little moments giving that some extra flair are a delight, but holy shit a highlight i'm instantly obsessed with forever, now if there's something and nobody pours themself, i'm out

oh we sloshing!! all the water physics going on here to fantastic effect but also all working within the confines of "and it's some guy." immaculate joke 5 sec later around the "i am Not an inspector" line just What a delight. the vision....the manifestation of effort, craft....i'm not kidding at all i'm like okay forever treasuring [pours yourself] clip and if someone doesn't get it it's like it's called joie de vivre, panache, taking all kinds. some sloshheads out here

again i had a delightful time at the cinema (figuratively. i didn't go anywhere. though i did go "oh fuck re: even the idea of seeing plenty of this in theater format" like i was going oh Shit at visuals and music and every damn thing enough already, can only imagine) i was like bitch i love ppl living life vignettesquely with the emotional arcs aids of metaphor, symbolism. i love the styles and designs and i love paying attention to details and going damn how they'd do that, i love technical shit, noting techniques that are centered around 2D derived visuals, about aesthetic effect & visual purpose....i was going "oh my god same. lately, always, ongoing. oh my god it's me always crying at everything, but also never at anything, and also just sometimes at some things. it's me with the Temper it's me with one like everyone else but not about to let it out at all / not be making room for anyone else's. me like 'just powering through like arghhh' me like 'that, but [a puddle]' liable to spontaneously interact with randos by just doing your own thing, also [dying] and beloathed at that, going with the flow trying to carpe diem it, having these conversations and navigations like just as one person lmao, and also ofc it's different" lol like oh damn okay. and twentysomethings popular with the nebkids like wow in real life....and just having a great time entirely straightforwardly and expecting as much but also being increasingly delighted and surprised and going "wow my aesthetique sensibilities piqued" and going "wow okay a journey" and like Gasp at details and loving the overall effects and little moments and shots and entire deal. did weep repeatedly, when you slosh, when you soggy....delighted a lot, along for the ride having fun for the whole way, so much abt [bummed 20somethings who are nevertheless very vivacious Feeling Things, including About feeling things] and the way that's given sooo much space, Saturating things even, maybe with light & color....i liked it a bunch, [aaaaaa], great time, thinking about feeling things and feeling about it and about thinking about it & so on & so forth too like man hang on a second. and the soundtrack. and the character designs Overall there did i mention?? so cute & fun. wobbly wavy shivery tapering having Flow in the lines / shapes of silhouettes in different ways just like flow in [fluid dynamics] of flame or water in different ways. there's a lot i can say but i just mostly did the backgrounds / color / lighting noncomprehensive slideshow lol. i was very engaged like oh wahoo yippee aaa then mfs let's go and keep going

[offbeat-manga-ships]

—

only just now i became aware of tsurenai hodo aokute azatoi kurai ni akai by tomomi. they're the author of another manga i follow called hachigatsu kokonoka: boku wa kimi ni kuwareru (august 9th, i will be eaten by you) and it was my mistake not to look around any of their other stuff because this title might be exactly catered to me. i was eager to read the first chapter and just by getting at this point, it already makes me want to talk about it. (spoilers for chapter 1)

just off the bat, i thought it was so great to have a protagonist that is chronically curious to the point of comparing it to a disease. just his introduction in the first page was already so well done. he's introducing himself to his new class and says he "transferred here because [he] wanted to know how a transfer student feels". from eating bugs to compare their taste to going to dangerous haunted places, this guy is up for anything just so he can know and i thought that was such an amusing and awesome trait to give to a character which i personally have never seen done like this before and found it much more engaging than the more common "chronically incurious" character trait.

what makes it even more perfect is when you contrast this trait with the new object of his curiosity. while going around his new school, he walks in a person wearing a skirt that seems to be changing clothes and, for i assume it's the first time in his life, he runs away embarrassed from something that peaks his curiosity. what is this feeling in his chest? he can't stop thinking about it later.

the next day, he sees the same person in PE taking a class with the boy students and that confuses him. When he later finds the person again, they are wearing a male uniform (without a tie) and are naturally hanging out with the other boys. So, "a man? a woman? neutral? demonic?". none of the students seem to know "which is it".

i know other non-binary people might feel the opposite, but i like when a non-binary(-coded) character is portrayed surrounded by mysticism, almost like a fantastical being. i love when there is a character who is seduced by the simple concept of another's undetermined gender and feel an undeniable attraction to this androgyny in a way that feels alien to what a "regular" attraction is. (i also identify myself with characters who are creatures and "monsters" and true aliens so to speak. so this is my jam.) i love how this is an entry-point to a deeper understanding of the self and of what makes a man or a woman or even attraction in the first place. i also like how this can be seen as the character simply being what they are the same way a fantastical being unapologetically is what it is and won't stop just because it's unconventional — especially in a medium such as anime and manga that always gets so much wrong about gender & the presentation of it.

and because of that, i am not bothered but rather intrigued by the last lens the non-binary character (hayami mihaya) is looked through — that is, "demonic?". when the protagonist talks about them with some other students, they say hayami-senpai is not a man or woman but rather, maybe devilish (i like the double entendre that it could be figuratively or literally. i love non-binary characters with devilish personalities). hayami is laden with a sort of occultism that i personally find interesting so far. when the main characters make a deal at the end of the chapter, the protagonist (tomoyama arata) even remarks that it sounds like a deal with the devil. and, obviously, we also can't forget that it also functions as a complementary theme of sexual attraction itself being portrayed in a monstrous, terrifying sort of way which is very prevalent in horror (this is a horror author). it is like a deep dive in unknown waters. both the attraction/love and the person itself.

what makes it even better, in my opinion, is how this theme converses with other aspects of the story. it's not just hayami-senpai that is viewed through this lens. arata himself also has a monstrous not-even-subtext. his curiosity which takes him like a disease makes this side of him come out, which looks forceful and terrifying, very much like he is being possessed. maybe it is a kinship of sorts that also draws hayami to him. they realize that arata is looking at them in a way that plenty of people have looked before, but it's this "beastly, diseased" aspect that excites them and makes them go like "ok so you wanna see what's in my pants? sure. as a special case, i allow you to have a look."

that is when arata catches himself. he realizes he doesn't want it to be "cheap". the curiosity he is feeling is like none he ever felt before and he wants to know after getting to know hayami and because he is special to them. that is when they make a deal that if he can go this entire school year without "becoming a beast" he can choose how hayami will answer what he wants to know. in the meantime, hayami will give him the chance to ascertain what sort of person they are in accordance with arata's sincere curiosity.

i really like how this was put. for him not to be the forceful monster that would just take this information for himself. but rather to have a sincere curiosity about hayami as a person. basically, i'm riding a bit high on liking this manga so far. i really like hayami's character design, from the choice of hairstyle to their incredibly dark eyes to to the way they are drawn in sensual/suggestive panels. it honestly seems like it was done by an artist who understands androgyny (so many just... don't).

i do want to manage my expectations though. having read august 9th, i know how tomomi seems to have a passion for yanderes and uhhh excuse my extrapolation but to me anyone who's super into over-the-top yanderes is usually not very into subtlety. i also know how it goes with seemingly non-binary/gender non-conforming characters after a while (always a disappointment. i'm at the point that if i can at least keep an 'ambiguously genderqueer' tag i'll already be happy). i have also noticed that on MU there are tags designating a gender to the character. honestly, it doesn't bother me to know "what's in their pants" (god knows we need more afab non-binary manga characters) but that's also something to be vigilant about.

(by the way, i am affirming so far that the character is non-binary because not only do they not disclose "which is it" to anyone, they seem to have a canonical fluid gender presentation — when asked about wearing or not wearing a skirt today, they answered "yeah i was in this sort of mood today" and "yeah, this suits me, right?" — and also seem to mingle with whichever "side" they feel like, including entering in whatever bathroom.)

one more thing is that this story is also tagged 'supernatural' and 'mystery' and, again, from reading august 9th, i know how bonkers the plot can get and how it can lose focus very quickly. so, you know, expectations managed. i can only hope that gender-wise this stays true to its premise. not to have a genderfluid character for some external reason and that they're actually 'this or that', but to at least keep it consistent that this is a character who can and does look/present both like a boy and a girl.

but whatever this manga turns out to be, i wanted to treasure this feeling after reading the first chapter that something seems to be so much "for me" and that such a good non-binary depiction can actually exist.

[mhynvxii]

Hello could I get a knb love triangle match up? She/her are Hello could I get a KNB love triangle match-up? My pronouns are she/her, I am straight and 19 years old. I am a INFP 9w1 lawful neutral sanguine – melancholic who enjoys painting, dancing and crocheting. My aesthetics are dark academia meets princesscore meets soft girl. The anime trope I fit the most into is side characters with big powers, bigger hearts and small brains?

Your KNB! LOVE TRIANGLE is…

A/N : Hope the wait wasn’t too long ! ღゝ◡╹ )ノ♡

Kuroko Tetsuya x You x Himuro Tatsuya

Kuroko love trope : Slow burn friends to lovers

Himuro love trope : Flirty gentleman is your fan.

Overall dynamic : Now sharing a second connection Tatsuya and Tetsuya agree to absolutely not share you. They don’t fight but they’re trying their best shooting in your heart and scoring the most points in hope you will pick them.

COMPATIBILITY —

INFP x INFJ (Kuroko) is a great combo due to their similarities in perceptions and world interpretations. It’s a really safe combo especially for someone who’s enneagram is 9w1 because of how easily you understand each other. But where Kuroko is a great match is in his ability to always be ready to listen to you, making you feel valuable in the relationship and that way allowing you to finally rest after caring for the whole world. He absolutely do not mind your mood swings and when he tries to recomfort you or praise you it’s always sincere.

ISFP (Himuro) x INFP on the other hand isn’t that complementary nor that much similar even if it may appear like it, he’s more earth grounded and you have your own dreamy universe making it sometimes hard to communicate yeven if Himuro is very admirative of you. You two manage to balance each other’s qualities and default even appreciating them and find recomfort in both your introversion, creativity and openness. But as both of you have high Fi arguments may be intense as everyone just throw away what you have been building up in your heart and didn’t said before and it’s messy. Fortunately considering Himuro enneagram and past these arguments can be avoided as he tries to and handle problem with a cool head and warm heart.

Kuroko is fascinated by your aesthetic and find you really cute you look like directly coming from a work of fiction to him while Himuro even if you’re not his initial type likes your refinement and your elegance, he rarely see girls with such grace and low-key find it unfortunate it’s a style with less and less adherents nowadays.

Both Kuroko and Himuro are phlegmatic dominant with a melancholic as a second branch. So your doms compliment each other’s tempéraments as when you’re more easy going and insouciant they’re more careful and calm. But it doesn’t mean necessarily they’re killjoys or anything bothering your fun.

Your moral alignment doesn’t change anything in your relationship with Kuroko ( Lawful Good) and Himuro ( True Neutral).

The anime trope you fit into reminds them both Kagami in some way but you’re much more emotional and comfortable expressing your feelings it making more obvious that you carry that big heart and making them admire you.

You share the same enneagram with Kuroko so both of you have similar goals and fear in life making it easy to comprehend each other perspective and general attitude. With Himuro who’s 4w3 it’s a little bit more complicated, sometimes you wonder if he’s not too much self-centered even if he try to hide it and seeking for some sort of social validation often comparing himself with others. And he looking at you think you’re maybe a little too naive but you both share some traits like perfectionism and caring for others persons so despite your differences you still act sometimes very alike even if it’s not for the same reasons.

Both Kuroko and Himuro likes to see you indulge in your hobbies and participate in them as I can see them having an interest and knowledge for arts. While both Himuro and Kuroko wouldn’t be good painter at first Himuro shine when dancing with a partner and alone ( lmaooo he definitely has been in a dance battle before I don’t make the rules.) and Kuroko when crocheting that he learned from his grandma.

LOVE STORY : Kuroko always told you how much he found your art pieces astonishing, they represented you and the whole universe you carry in your mind. It was very inspiring for him to look at and whenever you would need some advice he was here to share you a piece of his mind even recommending you some books if you were facing some blank page syndrome on occasion. Together you loved to think that you would accomplish all your dreams, for him success in basketball and for you success in art, in hope that you would reach an audience and inspire them to a certain scale. Kuroko was always here giving you motivation in his own way, not expressing direct enthusiasm with his facial traits but in his words of encouragement and his little energy push. You felt like growing beside him in terms of projects but also mentally, feeling like extremely relaxed in his precense it was natural understanding, sometimes you wandered if more than reading in peoples physical gestures Kuroko wasn’t reading in your mind. You started to expose your art on social media and got that little audience of yours rooting for you. You got a little shy from the exposure but it was so satisfying to see feedback and appreciation especially from that nice guy, Himuro. You were assisting to that basketball match where Kuroko was playing and Himuro from the opponents team recognized you directly. It was kind of embarrassing but he was so sweet and seeing his eyes sparkles… You couldn’t help yourself but indulge in his agreeable vibes and give him your contact. That day, you thought you didn’t recognized Kuroko because he was on the edge and not willing to tell you much because of his jealousy but he eventually dealt with it. Realizing that now more than ever he had to wake up and let you know you were more than a friend to him. It was so ugly behavior from him, starting to be possessive and seeking for your attention because he was feeling in danger. Himuro now was also admiring your art works in exclusivity, giving you his own perspective about it really different from Kuroko’s as he really is more inspired by the concrete and the physical aspect of the world and things. Taking you out to lovely places for inspirational purposes and acting as good romantic and gentlemen. He just fell under your charm magically, being absorbed by your universe and admiring your generosity he wanted to see how far you could go and this was disgusting to Kuroko. Seeing him trying to make you his while ignoring his precense. But what’s more disgusting ? Definitely that his rival in love wear the name of Tatsuya when he go by the name of Tetsuya and that as a complete opposite, Himuro Is an ikemen while he’s almost transparent feeding even further in his insecurities. Both had an impact on your art but now who’s gonna have the chance to hold your hand and have the possibility to draw a romantic future with you ?

Runner up : Ogiwara Shigehiro, Takao Kazunari.

[bbwoulfc]

ML NY Special Review

Finally finished my review on the ML NY Special and it’s going to be a long review, I won’t lie.  I will be breaking this down in two sections.  First section will be focused through the perspective as a professional (animation industry) and the second section through the perspective as a viewer and ML fan.

I won’t deny, I will be criticizing a few things and really give large opinionated thoughts; I’m sure it will piss people off, but I’m gonna be honest and I don’t give a damn.  I’ve been here since the beginning and I’m gonna go all out.  It wouldn’t be the first time I pissed people off.

Again, keep in mind these are my views/opinions as a professional and as a viewer/fan.  If you can’t handle some of the strong opinions that will come from this review, then keep moving on.  Don’t waste your time if you can’t handle certain characters or subjects being discussed in a different light.

If you wish to continue, then click the “keep reading” option.

As an animator, this is one of my favorite things to do with animated shows or movies.  I absolutely love breaking things down and giving opinions on the whys, whats, and hows.  Never do I aim to prove my opinions right.  My goal is to simply make you think and consider.  And if you don’t agree then that’s completely fine.  That’s how it works.

Now, the NY Special has definitely exceeded the quality than what I expected.  I absolutely love SAMG as a company.  I think this is by far one of the best that SAMG has produced for Miraculous as a whole.  Even better than the origin episodes. The lighting is probably the best I’ve seen in a 3D animated tv series, by far. It was stunning and gorgeous and worked well with the given mood that was set throughout the hour of the special.  I would say there are two scenes in particular that I felt were the best lit scenes. 

The first scene is definitely near the beginning when the class landed in NY and where traveling in the bus.  They stopped either at the hotel or museum and the shot was the buses in front of the large building where you have the other city buildings around it.  That shot was gorgeous; the orange hues falling on top of the buildings and gaining that purple and blue shadows was great.  It’s honestly one of my favorite complementary color schemes to use when lighting most scenes in animation.  It helps achieve a nice balance when setting mood but also to get a nice glance at the shapes of the models in the scene.  Perfection.

As for the second scene, I would have to say it was the moment Adrien left and Marinette was biking to chase after him and she fell.  That moment the scene focused on Marinette on the ground and in the rain spoke many volumes.  The color tone of the scene was perfect and captured the common traits used in many shows and films to further drive the sense of sadness and overall emotional effect; using the traditional trait of rain made the scene work and stand out during the struggles that Marinette was dealing with. 

The rain in general was outstanding on it’s own.  Liquids in animation are tough, not an easy thing to do. The way the rain was animated was probably the best rain I’ve seen in most 3D animated tv series.  I will even say it beats the rain from the origin episodes which is amazing because it shows the growth alone that SAMG has come from since the first season of the series.  

They create stunning quality work and by far are the best of the best from all the companies that ZAG uses or had used for the show.  I won’t lie, I still can’t fathom how Jeremy/ZAG could let such a company go but Jeremy isn’t the greatest with the money, so it’s not a shocker.  It definitely shows that man doesn’t know how to properly run a company and treat a show.  I honestly blame him for pretty much the entire outcome of the series and that’s my god honest opinionated truth as a professional. 

The pacing of the special I felt was good, though I do think it would have been nice to have had an extra 30 minutes to help flow areas a bit better or more, but I can understand the time constraints, especially after hearing about how Thomas stated that the special was going to be two hours originally. And I will be honest, I wouldn’t have minded that.  I think it would have been fantastic to have had a longer span episode special, but I understand a lot of the struggles that no doubt the team had endured.

Overall, some issues, but 10 out of 10 on animation and quality output.

Now the second section; viewing through the eyes as a viewer and fan.

As a fan of ML, I will not beat around the bush, I truly believe this special was disappointing plot wise.  And I don’t blame Thomas and his team for the issue.  As stated previously, my anger and frustration is more on Jeremy/ZAG for everything that has come from ML as a show and especially the result of the NY special.

My biggest issue with the special was the focal point: Adrinette.

How many damn times must I hear, “they’re meant for each other” or “aren’t they perfect together” and so forth.  I get it. You can adore Adrientte but I don’t need it shoved down my throat every five minutes.  I don’t give an ounce of care that Adrien and Marinette are endgame and that they’re “soulmates”.  The romance between those two means absolutely nothing to me.  It was cute and fun in the beginning when the series first started, but I’m tired of it.  I don’t care about the love square.  I don’t care about the “soulmate” trope when in reality anyone can be someone’s soulmate with the right care.  That was no doubt the biggest issue for me in the entire special.  

In my opinion, it would have been perfect if it wasn’t Adrinette centric.  This was the best moment to show Marinette is improving herself but it had to become fan service because god forbid it felt like they needed to please the Adrinette shippers that their ship is still valid. If we’re judging this based off the season 3 finale, I won’t lie, this special fit better as a season 2 finale or mid season 3 than the end of season 3.

I’m seriously more disappointed that the special wasn’t more on Marinette and herself as a character.  They were in New York, another strong hub for fashion.  This was a perfect opportunity to explore more of her interests as a fashion designer and maybe meeting some new people.  Who knows, maybe even Jagged Stone as an international rock star. But overall it was a lost opportunity to expand more on her for the sake of shipping.  

I think it would have also been cool to see her and Chat Noir maybe learn some methods/training from the US heroes and get a glimpse into a world of heroism that is different in cultures and circumstances.  Which honestly made sense to me how US heroes didn’t care about identity because Ladybug and Chat Noir have magical based items that are no doubt more powerful and outside sources that I’m sure would be willing to destroy to obtain it.

Another problem I had was how I felt we were robbed without having Kagami and Luka go to New York. Or if anything, more with Luka than Kagami. I love Kagami with all my being, but I doubt her mother would let her go to New York.  But imagine Luka being there. We could have had a flipping jam session between Luka and Jess.  I felt we were cheated, it would have been amazing to see two incredible guitarists jam it out and two people who have a passion for music find a friend in each other. I would have given anything to have had that moment.

Though in general I would have enjoyed anything else if it just wasn’t Adrinette centric.  I’m positive everyone in the fandom is on the same page that they’re “soulmates” but there’s more that can be done than a damn ship that has followers that attack and annoy anyone who doesn’t ship them.  Because, god forbid, Adrien and Marinette apparently aren’t allowed to be happy with others. I swear, half the fandom (hardcore adrinette shippers) treat Adrien more as an object than the ML characters themselves. 

Nothing against the ship, but it’s just not for me and that’s okay.  I simply can’t relate to Adrien as a romantic choice of a character.  When Luka came into existence, I was in awe. I found a character I could relate too because I was as close to similarity than any other character in a show before.  And that’s something I’ve noticed with this fandom, hating characters because to them they’re nothing but boring.  

Fans need to understand that one will not understand everything in a show, especially characters.  Just because you hate a character and find them boring doesn’t mean they’re terribly written.  You as a viewer simply can’t relate to them and that’s completely fine.  There will always be some who can relate and understand while others don’t, but that shouldn’t be a reason to argue against people who love a certain character.

And I’m being serious, I enjoyed the 30 seconds of Kagami and Luka with their love interests more than the hour of Adrinette.  It’s just overall sad.  There is so much potential that could have been the special focus wise but felt it was there to show why Adrinette is “superior” when it’s really not.  They’re only one of many ships that are equally good.  It comes down to how it’s portrayed and done.

However, since I know we’re stuck with Adrinette no matter what, I’m going to end this review with this as a food for thought but again, this is a simple opinion.

There was one thing that stood out and caught myself and some of my friends in a ML server attention.  In the NY special there were strong moments that revolved around bikes.  So, out of curiosity, I searched for symbolism meanings about bikes during the server’s conversation and it might hint to what might happen or what might come in the future of the show.   

The bike symbolizes the moving circle of life. 

Seeing a bicycle is a hint that you will reach somewhere. This could either be your motivation or your future plan. Cycling refers to the different moods that a person feels. Bicycles are also related to the ups and downs of life. For instance, riding a bicycle gives you both smooth edges and rough pebbles on your journey. The smooth edges are related to the happy times of your life and the rough pebbles denote the challenges of life. 

So, if we want to use this to break down ML, this in a way, represents Lukanette and Adrinette.  Luka are the smooth edges in Marinette’s journey.  He’s the one that calms her, helps her think things through, focuses on what Marinette wants to do rather tell her what she should do.  Never once does he tell her to do this or do that, but simply asks her what it is she wants. Luka, is pretty much her guide. The happy times as Marinette where she appears happiest without the burdens and overwhelming stress of her other life.  Whereas Adrien is the rough pebbles in her journey, the challenges to properly talk with the one she views as a love interest or simply to build that perfect friendship/relationship.  Yes, they’re friends, but they’re not as strong as friends like Marinette and Alya or Adrien and Nino. Adrien is a challenge in her life and always will be until she learns to let go and mature.   

The other moment that stood out with the bike was the moment Marinette was pressured to chase after Adrien to get him to stay.  She chases after him on a bike but falls off in the end. 

Falling off the Bicycle: This indicates that you are losing your self-confidence. 

Spend time with your loved ones and take suggestions from the experienced people. Join a course on building your personality and motivation. Do things that interest you the most and this will surely help to bring back your confidence level. This indicates a frenzied lifestyle and the need to slow down. 

This here makes me believe that Luka is the “experienced people” in Marinette’s life.  Other than Kagami, Luka is the only mature one in Marinette’s life in her friend group.  He’s one of the biggest motivators in Marinette’s life as of recent.  Putting her interests at heart that have helped her build her confidence.  We know Marinette has a frenzied lifestyle with everything that she has on her shoulders as well as her passions.  And Luka is one of the very few, if not, only one in her friend group that can calm Marinette and help her slow down and simply relax.

I know Adrinette is endgame, but I won’t deny when I say if there was anything that ML could do, is that they make Adrigami and Lukanette endgame.  So many shows always pair the two main characters, always.  If there is any message that I would have loved to see come from a show like ML, it would simply be “Your first love/crush will not always be the one and that’s okay. That your first crush/love could be the greatest friendship you ever have. And the second chances in your life are just as valuable as the first and may be even better for you.”  

Fans might hate Kagami and Luka, but as far as I’m concerned from everything I’ve watched since the beginning, the only reason you’re getting your Adrinette in the end is all because of Luka.  If it weren’t for him majority of the time, y’all wouldn’t have half of your love square moments.  So, Luka is the true MVP in my book.  Because unlike many of the others, he doesn’t put pressure on Marinette and that’s what Marinette doesn’t need right now, more pressure.  

Adrien and Marinette might be endgame, but those two need people outside of their classmates because everyone is too tunnel vision.  Luka and Kagami are the only ones that will help Adrien and Marinette mature, cause those two will not be able to do it themselves.  So, if you want your Adrinette, you’re gonna have to suffer through Lukanette and Adrigami.

[demethinkstoomuch]

Deme Rates Villagers Part 2, Anteaters

While I build my hype for New Horizons, I thought I’d do something a little dumb. I thought I’d give my rating on all the villagers based primarily on their designs, though if I have a personal feeling, I’ll put it down as well. Please note that, with one (joking) exception, I love Animal Crossing’s villagers. They’re all good dogs, Bront, event the ones who are not dogs. So this is on a curve, and done in nit-picking good humor, so let’s just have fun! images are from the wiki, and so are going to be somewhat large or irregularly-sized. My scale is made up, and the points aren’t real.

That’s basically my standard disclaimer here. 

Anabelle

I love everything about Anabelle. Her cute eyes! Her complementary color scheme! Her concept! Her place in my New Leaf town!

Design-wise, the sort of scaly texture and unfeathered tail she has is clearly intended to evoke the pangolin, or “scaly anteater,” a charmingly scaly little mammal who sometimes look like they want to apologize for something. I really, really like pangolins. I’ll add that the tropical theme to her default outift and decor suggests to me the Sunda or Phillipine Pangolin, both of which are native to Southeast Asia. I like any villager who’s going to make me go on a brief listing of biology facts.

She’s lived in Argent, my New Leaf town, for quite a while now, since I settled its final villagers. I imagine her as a young lady who left her hometown to make a name for herself, possibly fire dancing. Anyway, I’m fond of her on a personal level in addition to a design level, with the attachment built up over the years, and so, she has an unquestionable place in my heart, and a bright little bell out behind her house. 

10, but with some cute stars around it that make it worth several thousand /10

Annalisa 

Annalisa sure has an aesthetic, which she is designed for and devoted to without a single deviation or hesitance. And for that, I have to respect her. She looks like she should be a snooty, even though she isn’t -- it’s the heavily made-up look. On the whole, I find her design a little unsettling even though I don’t actually find Japanese dolls unsettling. I think if it were me, I’d maybe change the eyes just a little bit, aiming for something a bit less severe, and maybe a bit more empty.

The concept of rating has no ability to describe how I feel / 10, I guess. 

Antonio

He’s a very natural looking Giant Anteater, a fact which I appreciate, even if the effect is that he looks like he has a neck beard. Add to that his surprised little eyebrows and cute blank eyes, and he’s an undoubtedly charming little fellow. 

Very Charming / o.o 

Aside from his fantastic big square eyebrows and freckly nose, both excellent traits, there’s not enough for me to really recommend him; his design is sort of random, I don’t really care for that orange.

Except that I love him very, very much. Because Cyrano was one of the first villagers in my New Leaf town of Argent, and quickly became a fast friend. My grouchy buddy. I themed the entire area in front of my Re-tail, where he lived, after him, filling it with all the zen public works projects he requested, which were some of my favorites. And then he moved away, and I was a little heartbroken. There’s a zen garden where his house used to be, in memorial. I’ve always rather wanted him back, but once it was possible with amiibo cards, I had a town full of other villagers I love. Maybe our paths will cross again someday.

100/10, perfect in every way, and that stands to make a very good point. Things become lovable, things become perfect, simply by the act of being loved. Given his name, it’s a fitting thought. (I also could have given him a rating 

....Well, this is going to make moving on to the rest of the anteaters somewhat anticlimactic, isn’t it?

Lulu

So, another villager who was an islander in Animal Forest E+, and was never seen or heard from again. This is the only picture the wiki has, and so I am honestly a bit incapable of judging her, I can’t really form an opinion on this.

-/10. I see nothing to dislike, and nothing to recommend her. If I had more or better pictures, those cute little dot eyes could go somewhere.

Nosegay

It’s Nosegay! Juvenile jokes aside, this is a type of small bouquet of flowers, and also a pun on her big honking nose. Possibly because of the name, or maybe because there’s not much about her, she hasn’t come back since Animal Crossing (or Animal Forest E+, whatever.) She sure is brown, but I can’t say she really evokes a specific type of anteater for me, she’s just brown and white.

I have said all I can about Nosegay, and will rate her a Tussie-Mussie / Bouquet. (Tussie-Mussie? Why is that a thing someone called that?) 

Olaf

Goodness, but look at this. The hair, looking like it was dipped in a thing of styling gel and allowed an artful curl down his face. The eyebrows! The lower lashes! Honestly, he packs a lot into a few details, and I am very pleased with this smug matador-looking fellow. 

On the downside, having not had Olaf in town, I don’t know what he looks like in a different shirt very clearly, and I worry it spoils his impact... A quick google search gives me better pictures of him in other outfits, and the result is silly rather than just ruinous. Good! I approve.

0le!/10

Pango

Pango’s color scheme is nice, but not really evocative, so the effect is sort of “she’s just kind of a colorful ant-eater.” Which isn’t a bad design call, or anything, so much as it makes it hard for me to form a real opinion. She’s got that swirl reminiscent of hair, she has that nicely snooty eyeshadow and eyelash. 

5/10, gotta have some actual ratings sometimes. 

Snooty

Snooty is Snooty, and that fact alone brings Snooty points. The eyebrows and eyes on her give her a distinct character in a way her color scheme doesn’t quite do, aesthetically-pleasing though the golden edges of her tail are. That character isn’t quite enough or pleasant enough for me, but it is there. She came back with Welcome Amiibo after not being seen since Animal Crossing, which is looking like a theme with Anteaters. Poor dears. 

Snooty / Snoot

Zoe

I don’t get Zoe. I can’t quite tell why her neck has those hard lines, or that little lump. Is she supposed to look robotic? Or like a toy? Is that some sort of funky little goiter? I’m sorry, I do not know, cannot guess, and do not like this.  The wiki suggests that, with that little tuft of brown “hair” on her forehead, she may be wearing a hood, ala Chrissie and Francine. This explains nothing. 

????? / 10 She hasn’t been back since Animal Crossing, and I am OK with this.

Surprised at the how sporadic anteaters are, honestly, both in my preferences and in their presence in the games. I do want more, because those fluffy tails are very cute.

[deltaengineering]

Summer Anime 2018 Part 1: Nurupo

I feel bad for calling last season weak now, since that turned out okay, what with Megalobox, Hinamatsuri and Rokuhoudou (the best show you didn’t watch). Maybe this is a lesson to not be so negative, but all the positivity in the world can’t make this season look good. To balance it out, I’ll be bringing along some hot opinions from people getting paid to see the bright side this time.

P.S. Part 2 is here.

Island

What: A very Frontwing version of When They Cry, apparently. Awesome McCooldude wakes up on an island full of pliant girls and/or dark secrets.

✅  looks alright

❌ story is tryhard mystery nonsense based on convenient amnesia, very unlikely to deliver

❌❌ an absolutely terrible cast of generic VN characters, enjoy your common route hijinks with them

❌❌ Frontwing being Frontwing, please see picture.

ANN sez: “This episode accomplishes the two things that it absolutely must for the series to have a chance of succeeding: it makes the main trio of girls endearing enough and layers on some intriguing mysteries.”

Hanebad!

What: Some girls take badminton very seriously. Somewhere between genocide and extinction level event seriously.

✅  well animated and directed

✅  there appears to be more to the characters than nothing at all, so the overbearing presence of the drama llama might actually pay off

❌ has a tendency to wallow in ostentatious KyoAni-style presentational kitsch

❌ speaking of which, making the cast of Euphonium look like a bunch of carefree slackers by comparison is not a good thing

ANN sez: “From the lush colors of their school's flowers to the alienating saturation and long shots of their gym hallways, every mood HANEBADO strives for is captured perfectly through its visual storytelling, and solidified through fundamentally sturdy dialogue and plotting.”

Senjuushi

What: Touken Ranbu with firearms.

❌ This is a cute boys doing cute things anime set against a backdrop of global thermonuclear war and combining the ultra seriousness of ufotable TR with the slice of life tone of Doga Kobo TR makes for a very, let’s say, “uneven” experience. 

❌  Unsurprisingly, it has the production values of neither of the above and looks like crap instead.

❌❌ The localized title is “The Thousand Musketeers” and given the reckless pace in which it introduces pointless characters, it might actually hit that number in 12 episodes.

❌❌ Mobile game character designs must be stopped, for fuck’s sake

ANN sez: “The story itself has some promise, especially if you're a fan of antique guns.“

Shichisei no Subaru

What: VRMMO light novel garbage about MMO newtypes.

❌ High tier light novel tropes like “u die in the game u die 4 real”, grade schooler magical girlfriends and demigod abilities

❌ Yes, the characters start as grade schoolers and then there’s a timeskip where they become high schoolers. They don’t change at all, which is either cutting commentary on arrested development or an indication of how good this show’s writing is.

❌ Ideas like permadeath in an MMO and giving good players a stake in the game company are hilariously stupid even by this genre’s standards.

❌ You’ve seen this exact cast of characters before, likely in better shows.

❌❌ There’s really no single egregiously bad aspect, but the stank of mediocrity is so overwhelming as to deserve a double minus all of its own.

ANN sez: “This episode banks heavily on the appeal of its mysteries, but those mysteries actually are pretty appealing, and I ultimately respect this episode's choice to introduce so much of its world and characters before getting to the real conceit.”

Banana Fish

What: A well regarded classic manga about New York’s seedy gang underbelly of drugs and violence. And BL.

✅ ✅   Looks good. Like actually, legitimately good. Animation, character design, directing, this show is quality.

❌ Updating the setting to contemporary times seems like a not so great idea since everything about this is deeply steeped in the mid-80s gang violence and drugs panic, no matter how many smartphones get used.

♎ The pacing is ultra fast. While I will admit that I’ll take that over a snoozefest (especially in a seasonal rundown), if this wants to be a legitimate high tier anime it needs to let the atmosphere breathe more. 24 episodes isn’t much for a 19-volume manga.

❌ I’ve praised MAPPA for promising first episodes before, and then I got the likes of Yuri on Ice and Virgin Soul out of it. This is not an anime original so it will be harder to fuck up, but life finds a way - especially given the need for condensing the story as noted above.

❌ Ultimately, just being a classy production with proven writing isn’t the be-all-end-all; quality aside, I still have to like what it does, and I’m not sure what amounts to a homoerotic 80s crime B-thriller is exactly in my wheelhouse.

✅ What else are you gonna watch this season?

ANN sez: “The one negative I can foresee is that one character is portrayed as a fairly stereotypical gay sexual predator, and this story pitches itself consistently as a seedier exploration of its boys' love subject matter, so it's reasonable to expect these kinds of details going forward.”

Yume Oukoku to Nemureru 100-nin no Ouji-sama

What: Girls get their wish-fulfilment isekai nonsense too, it’s just a pretty pointless definition when you can just say “basic otome harem” instead. But sure, nondescript girl wakes up in fantasy dream universe where she has a magical trait that makes a large number of princes desire her. Call it what you like.

♎ Successfully avoids the most obnoxious otome harem and isekai tropes, but that just makes it even more bland

❌ lots of exposition about an universe that is hardly complicated and transparently an excuse anyway

❌ Main character is agreeable but exceptionally boring

❌ The princes are all generically princely and very little else

❌❌ combine that with sluggish pacing and this might be the most boring show so far, which is not an easy feat

ANN sez: “There were also some neat details here and there that I particularly appreciated, like the fact that our heroine is actually a working adult, as well as the idea that rather than being “trapped in a new world” she's in truth been returned to her home.”

Back Street Girls

What: A trio of yakuza thugs get a forced sex change because their boss wants to be an idol producer. It’s funny, laugh.

❌ This is not the warm, fuzzy trans acceptance anime you’ve been looking for, to put it mildly. I am not easily offended, but it would have to be pretty darn good to outrun this premise. Yeah, about that...

❌❌ runs its one joke (idols are not supposed to be thugs, like, at all!) into the ground before it exceeds a 3-minute short runtime; is actually 24 minutes long anyway. Hope you really like that joke.

❌❌ the execution of said joke is the pits of anime comedy, nothing but reaction faces and shouting

❌❌ production values are basically non-existent, at most you can say that they took the time to color in those manga panels

❌ learning that Chiaki Kon is directing this pile is just sad, put THAT in your auteur pipe and smoke it.

ANN sez: Nothing, since western licensors mysteriously chose to skip this one. Really a shame because I was looking forward to the outrage.

Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu

What: It has “Isekai” and “Maou” in the title so what do you fucking think. What it doesn’t tell you is that it’s also about an MMO, for the full LN shitter nuclear triad.

❌❌ It’s about a loser otaku who gets trapped in his MMO wherein he has the mostest hax, complete with complementary slave pettan catgirl and slave oppai elf

❌❌ This is meant to be funny because he’s too much of a dweeb to put his penis where his mouth is.

❌ Technically better executed than Death March or Isekai Smartphone, so it gets one single minus for effort.

ANN sez: “The idea that Takuma is so insecure about talking to other people that he can only comfortably speak in the voice of his demon lord character is ingenious in a dramatic sense and endearing in a personal one, while Takuma's clear understanding of his personal failings makes him far more sympathetic than the genre's usual snarky protagonists.���

Satsuriku no Tenshi

What: Early teen girl checks herself into Silent Hill General Hospital for grief counselling.

✅  Atmosphere works reasonably well; it’s creepy where it needs to be, which is everywhere and all the time.

❌ The girl is a nonfactor blob and the tough guy she gets paired up with is an annoying chuuni edgelord (it is called 𝔄𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔩𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥 after all), which is not promising for the long run

❌ So obviously based on a run-of-the-mill spoopy RPGmaker freeware game you can practically see the floor tiles.

❌❌ 24 solid minutes of Getting Cornered By A Rape Metaphor quickly goes from unsettling to incredibly tedious.

❌❌ There’s really nowhere for this to go, given how unoriginal everything is; at best it’s going to be “it was all a dream”, at worst “everyone was dead all along, please feel sad now”.

ANN sez: “The design of the facility is one of those fanciful every-level-is-a-different-setting worlds, but the artistic effort strongly pushes the creepiness factor with a design aesthetic that suggests age, decay, and neglect.“

Harukana Receive

What: Girls play beach volleyball in scenic Okinawa, some light sports drama seems to be on the horizon.

✅  Looks just good enough

✅  Girls are just cute and likeable enough

❌ the sports aspect is weak; maybe I’m just spoiled on Emiya-san’s incredible beach volleyball scene right now, but even when not compared to a top tier studio ostentatiously flaunting the budget of their fucking cooking short the match here isn’t very compelling.

♎ where Hanebad has a bad case of the cereals, this may have the opposite problem of being too cotton candy to be worth it

✅  “good enough” is not a ringing endorsement, but counts for something when being just okay will net you a third or possibly second place of the season.

ANN sez: “This is, of course, all just conjecture right now. ”

Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro

What: We took Nichijou and replaced the surrealism with video game references and the production values with donkey dung. Let’s see if delta notices!

❌❌ Production values are not optional when you want to be Nichijou; it being astoundingly over the top and imbued with impeccable timing is a (or even the) main part of Nichijou’s appeal. Without them you’re left with basic reactionface manzai over awkward situations, the king of comedy.

❌❌ Suffice it to say, this show is 100% trying to be funny, while also 100% not succeeding at being funny.

❌Asscreed is a more original tentpole to rotate your first episode around than the usual Dragon Quest, but not by much.

♎ neurotic nerd main character that is little more than a bundle of social anxieties will be #relatable to anime professionals, observe:

ANN sez: “Chio's overthinking in this situation is both hilarious and painfully true-to-life, with her furious strategizing coming across as both absurd and very familiar to anyone who's not comfortable in conversation.”

Planet With

Wat: Appears to be a tokusatsu/crypto-mecha show aimed at the younger set, with the gimmick being that our protagonist is (initially?) on the side of the villains(?).

✅  Pretty wacky, actually. It definitely doesn’t neatly fit in your square notions of what an anime is, man (unless you’ve watched FLCL).

❌ It seems very uncertain whether the wackiness is in service of anything. It might be To Be Heroine, or it might just be Heybot with fewer fart jokes.

♎ Furthermore, it wants to be intriguing and sort of is, but merely being intriguing is not that hard - you just make no sense and hope for the best. This has the not making sense part down, do you feel lucky?

❌ tries to build up characters by immediately going for the sad flashbacks, which I never like, especially if the rest of the show is eIDLIVE-level nonsense.

❌ Looks mostly fiiiiiine, but is also full of subpar CG

ANN sez: “So if the heroes are fighting against someone who just wants peace, then what does that make them? And more importantly, if they find out that the bears aren't evil, will they stop?”

Hataraku Saibou

What: A cutesy educational comedy about the workings of a human body.

✅  Well made, characters are cute, topic is interesting.

❌ Educational aspect can get in the way; I’m not suddenly giving heavy exposition a pass just because it’s trying to teach me something, especially if it’s things I basically already know.

♎ Will have to show if it can keep coming up with good scenarios. The lung infection in episode 1 was alright and so will probably be the skin cut in the preview, but beyond that I’m not sure what’s left for red and white blood cells to do. I’m not expecting a show with this tone to tackle things like retroviruses, if you know what I mean.

♎ An actual storyline seems like too much to expect, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but not a positive either.

✅  Doesn’t rock my socks off but is an easily watchable show with a fine idea and high production values, which again is hard to say no to right now.

ANN sez: “But since it culminates in one of my favorite scenes from the manga, visualizing sneezing as shooting a torpedo out your nose, I can forgive the random gendering of cells.”

Ongaku Shoujo

What: DEEN are getting in on the idol mobile game anime biz too.

✅  The main character’s gimmick is that apart from being A Honk, she can’t sing for shit; this is moderately funny.

❌ It might have counted for more if that hadn’t come out seconds before the episode ended. Even if it isn’t a momentous twist, it was more of a point of interest than the incredibly bland leadup to it had.

❌  Yeah, “Ongaku Shoujo” is an entirely indicative name of how generic this show is: Music + girls, indeed. I assume “Idols” was taken.

❌ I’m still not sure what the ideal cast size of a show like this is, but 12 idols is Idolmaster turf and as such too many. They have personalities? I think?

❌ a very small handful of cuts aside, woeful production quality; I know picking on DEEN is 2ez but this is not their finest work. Animation snobs can feel proud that there’s no CG dancing here, for the rest of us it’s an object lesson on why CG is the lesser of two evils.

✅  Tumbling SR cards in the ED (which is probably actually the OP) made me laugh; this show can’t even afford URs.

❌❌ Overall, just another idol show. Large cast plus presence of a P-san marks it as Im@s-type – but if you're in the market for an Idolmaster clone with bad looks, I would recommend Wake Up Girls instead because that’s at least pretty real at points.

ANN sez: They’re out for the weekend, ask again later. I suspect it’s nothing funny.

[mychakk]

Hello again my dear friend. Your very own SSS is back with questions regarding your gift(s). I was actually wondering how you feel about au's fics. Do you like them? And if yes, do you have a favorite one? And after that please tell me your favorite hc about all of the ships you love and you have included in your ship list. I would like to know more about them and how you see them all.

Oh, I love AUs! I love the what if stories that explore a canon divergence or a similar but different path due to some one change (although I don’t like swap fic like swap lock with Molly as the consulting detective, just no.). I also love the AR like Potter’verse for Sherlolly, Victorian, Pirate, Medieval, Regency etc. I love AUs they allow to explore the characters in a new way. It’s also tricky to keep them in character but some leeway is always allowed ;) I love arranged marriage and marriage of convenience trope a lot. 

Oh, my, hc for my beloved ships, well I think I listed a lot of them XD ok, here it goes: (I think it’s more view/feelings bout them than hc per se, sorry!)

MCU: 

Pepper/Tony - I think it’s all about her quiet but unmovable support of him and yet the ability to call his bullshit. (sounds familiar, doesn’t it? I have a type I suppose). And once he realises what he has he’ll do everything to protect her. That scene in Iron Man 2, when instead of taking to armour onto himself he puts it on her… Yes, those two are just perfect. As for hc, I like to think that Pepper was already pregnant at the end of Avengers 3, so when Tony returns (and I don’t accept any other option, Marvel, you hear, they deserve a happy ending!), There’s going to be small little being (I’m leaning toward a daughter) around Pepper’s legs to greet him as well. :)

Peter/MJ - Oh, this is my OTP since my childhood as I’ve always loved Spider-Man. I love the new dynamics in MCU, and I cannot wait to see their romance. My fav part is that she’s eventually aware of his true identity and supports him (see, a type, I tell you). In the animated version from the mid 90s their story was quite a tragic one and I think I liked it a lot too. 

Gamora/Peter aka Starlord - Oh my, they are two hurt by harsh life, wary people, especially Gamora, and their romance was such a sublime precious thing. Not overtly done but there. And how he managed to win her over, how reluctant she was but he persisted first with steadfast friendship then something more (once again sounds familiar, doesn’t it?). I cried like a baby while watching Avengers 3, both times. I also cry at the Guardians Movies (yes, the movies, both of them, because they are about friendship and family above all else). Guardians are my top favourite movies of the whole franchise, duh, 

Steve/Natasha - Here it’s a little tricky because I’m a little multishipper for those two. Steve/Peggy was a tragic romance that pulled at my heartstrings, but I really wouldn’t want it to be revisited, tbh, I liked how star-crossed they were. I definitely do NOT ship Steve with Peggy’s niece (was it?), nope, no feelings about them whatsoever. But, Natasha… Now, Winter Soldier, and ever since… There is such a potential for those two. They work so well together. Yes… And once again it’s about her quiet but efficient support of him. Burce/Natasha didn’t do anything for me, sorry. But I was intrigued byt Natasha/Clint and kinda shipped them until we learnt about Clint’s family. I love that he had a family. 

Harry Potter 

Harry/Hermione - God, this ship. This is my OTP. Only Sherlolly rivals it as my OTP. Atm, Sherlolly is top one, but Harmione is close by and I still revisit the fandom just for the two of them. I love that they are such a close friends. The trust between them in unmovable, unshakable; she follows him and supports him, but isn’t afraid to call his bullshit, he encourages her and is there for her, he was the first one to see her as someone with feelings (it for sure wasn’t Ron no matter how much I love the redhead). He taught her to see past books and cleverness, he taught her about friendship and love. And she was onle of the very few and probably the very first one who saw him just as Harry (it took time for Ron and way too long for Ginny, to lose the fangirl/fanboy attitude). I love how complementary they are. For me they are perfect. I like to hc they have always been in love with each other just didn’t realise it at first. I like to imagine that post war, instead of the epilogue, all the characters managed to truly find themselves which led to a more suited pairings (for me the series ends before the epilogue obviously ;)

Ron/Luna - I have a major issue with Ron and Hermione and it’s how he treats her. I’m sorry but he always belittles her and she does the same to him! But for me, Luna has a lot of Hermione’s traits (inteligence for once), but never bellitled Ron, but always supported him. Hermione does it too, of course, and yet Luna’s support seems more like a fuel for Ron to reach his potential. Hermione will always be better than Ron and for Ron who always craved greatness it’s a huge thing to overcome. But Luna seems to follow her dreams yet support Ron in his. That’s how I have always seen them. That’s what is my hc.

Neville/Ginny - I definitely prefer this pairing for Ginny. It’s mostly because once again I felt that Ginny’s support could have helped Neville become the man he could be (thankfully he managed it without her, but before book 7, I always felt she could be the key for Neville and it stayed with me), I always felt that his quiet nature and less flamboyant self would be a lot more calming for her fiery temperament than Harry ever could… 

Draco/Ginny - Here I am for the fiery combination of the two XD I also like a redeemed Draco theme. And sometimes ship him in a onesided Dramone too. I also like their kinda Romeo/Juliet situation. 

Lucius/Narcissa - that ship took me by surprise, tbh! I’ve read a couple of fabulous Harmione fics with them, and two of the greatest broke them apart making them more an arranged polite pairing than anything else and I realised I actually ship them as in love. I don’t know why, I just like the idea of them, even being on the wrong side of the light, to still being able to experience love. In the end it was that love that redeemed them. Sometimes I like to hc they fell in love after they were arranged. 

Remus/Tonks - the way she fought for him, and in the end their true love won. Even if for a short while before being cut of tragically. I like that they are actually quite an unusual pair and because of their age difference too. Sometimes I like to hc that if they survived they’d struggle as a married couple but overcome all the obstacles and learn how to be truly happy together 

Bones 

Booth/Brennan - this is another major OTP for me. I love their friendship, mutual, trust, support, their ability to compromise and being opened to the other and their life/word view. Their love story was the greatest feature of the whole show. It was so nice to see them reach a happy ever after and live through it. I love how they both grown as characters thanks to this wonderful relationship they shared over the years. And how faithful, how loyal to each other they have always been.

Angela/Hodgins - this is another story of true love can prevail everything. God, she was such a free spirirt, it looked like he didn’t stand a chance, but his persistence, his love for her, his support as she were with someone else after their break-up, and then their happiness. God, I love them so much. And I want a Hodgins of my own ;)

Sweets/Daisy - they were so cute as a silly version of Booth/Brennan. They also learned a lot about themselves and each other during their relationship. They grew both as characters and as a couple. And I really liked it.  

How To Train Your Dragon 

Hiccup/Astrid - first of all they are friends. And based on that, they support each other, trust each other, back up each other, but also talk and point out flaws. I like to hc they’d have always ended up together. 

Ruffnut/Fishlegs - this one is a tricky one as it’s only fanon based. But I like the idea of Ruff, who is a wild spirit, and Fishlegs who is the scholary type, to find some kind of connection and appreciation. It’s a little similar to Neville/Ginny I suppose. I really love them, and how they could truly balance each other. 

Anne with an E 

Gilbert/Anne - oh, I have always shipped them, but in this version it’s all about his devotion. He’s so completely in love with her. They also try to be friends and support each other and be there for each other and I think that’s wonderful. 

BBC Sherlock:

Sherlolly - oh, my. I think the thing about them for me is their mutual trust and a certain tender approach toward each other. I think that Molly is the only one who truly sees Sherlock as a man and not the Sherlock Holmes and it’s something that’s very attractive to Sherlock, very addictive and that’s why he can be himself with her, and show his vulnerability. There is also a lot of respect between them in their quiet companionship. I also like that they are kinda hidden from everyone else. Only the audience truly knows what really goes between them and that’s very precious to them. I like how they support each other. They work together, they trust each other even if they don’t like what they see. But they work together. 

Warstan - Mary is just perfect match for John. They work so well together. I hate that John almost threw it all away. It shows he’s human but it was a very painful plot. I like to hc, that Mary would have eventually forgiven him, but he would have to really work to get her trust back. I will also dare to say, that maybe there were some huge issues on both sides to work through and John’s wayward thoughts toward E were a result of that. Don’t get me wrong, he was the one who did an awful thing. But maybe Mary wasn’t such a saint either, after all she left him and Rosie without a second thought (to protect them sure), but she wasn’t willing to work with John. Maybe she subconsciously pushed him away? Maybe she was afraid of his reaction based on how badly he took the news about her past? It doesn’t change the fact that both were at fault and didn’t have enough time to work through their issues. They were faulty real people and that’s what I love about them. I wish I could see more of them and their fight for their happiness. 

Mythea - Once again an example of a ship with a woman supporting a man. I like to think he is very protective of her but also kinda shy about his feelings. I don’t know, I see him also viewing himself as unworthy of her affections. While she is kinda helplessly in love with him. In the end they take their heads of their arses and have their happily ever after. I like to hc that Anthea’s been moved away from Mycroft to protect her and maybe because they did start a relationship and she was on maternity leave so that’s why we didn’t see her in s4 ;) 

So, I hope you don’t mind me being talkative about my ships XD

Do you share some of mine? Do you have complete deferent views on the characters? Feel free to tell me :)

[chiscribbs]

I can not get over how similar Varian and Rapunzel are!

It’s like every time I rewatch an episode, another parallel reveals itself! For instance:

Both are inventors/planners who face any challenge they’re presented with head-on without hesitation.

Both are exceedingly friendly and excitable, but a little socially awkward (granted, for different reasons, but still)

Both are incredibly stubborn and strong-willed when they’ve set their minds on something, and there’s no talking them out of it.

Both are used to working/getting by on their own, for the most part.

(This may be reaching a little, but) both have animal companions who are their closest friends and confidants.

Both tend to be almost unreasonably optimistic.

Both are easily excited by mysteries and new discoveries.

Both have slightly strained relationships with their respective fathers, but love and look up to them regardless.

Both are loyal to a fault and would do anything to protect the people they love.

Both are ambitious and act impulsively(often resulting in trouble).

Both put on an air of confidence, but are actually a little self-conscious in their skills and abilities.

Both are stronger and more capable than they seem at first glance.

And finally (even though there’s more I could list,) both have some sort of connection to the rocks and the sundrop. Rapunzel’s being her hair, Varian’s being, at the moment, a mystery...

But they’re also strangely opposite in a lot of ways, and the complementary style of their color schemes reinforces this theory! Which, in my opinion, makes these shared character traits all the more interesting.

It kind of feels like the series is setting them up as mirror images of sorts- Rapunzel representing the light, Varian representing the darkness. Especially given how, in Xavier’s story, it’s mentioned that “magic and science” joined together defeated the threat. Maybe it’s just me, but that sounds like foreshadowing for whatever Raps and Varian’s story is leading up to...

Of course, I don’t actually know that any of this is true, it may well just be me taking a simple observation and carrying it waaaaay further than intended. But what I do know is that there’ll be something big to look forward to regarding these two frenemies, and I can’t WAIT to see what it is!

I’m so invested in the dynamic these two have- both as friends and as foes.

[lethesomething]

Midoriya and his many parents

Not a Dream Daddy post.

 I've mentioned this briefly in Aizawa's profile, but BnHA is just chock full of father figures. There's a big emphasis on mentors and fatherhood, more so than in a lot of other manga and anime I follow. Now, the idea of the 'sensei' is fairly classic, the old master who teaches the young hero their secret technique and all that. But the young heroes in BnHA, with their high stakes environment, do have a lot of them.

 This is especially true for Midoriya.

 Inko Midoriya

Surely I'm not the only one who thinks it's super interesting that we have not seen Midoriya's biological father? Like… he wasn't even on the couch watching the Sports Festival.

Considering his mother appears to be a house wife in a fairly nice apartment, I think it's safe to assume that he at least exists. Maybe he's a salaryman with a lot of overtime, more likely he's working overseas. Whatever the case, he's very much an absent dad.  Now, absentee parents aren't that much of a deal in anime. The '16-year old living alone in Tokyo' is a bit of a trope, after all, but here, with the emphasis on several characters parents, it feels like a statement. This is the manga in which we know the entire family set-up of Tsuyu, and the names and appearance of Jirou's parents. Much as I love Jirou, she's a side character. For the main character to have a blank space like that, is a Thing. It means that growing up, Izuku had one parental figure, and that parental figure was his mother.

And give the woman credit: she did amazing. It is not easy to raise a child practically by yourself. Certainly not a child that is considered an outcast by society. The amount of love Midoriya receives from his mother is heart-warming, their relationship is one of the better ones portrayed in shounen and as a result, Midoriya is a kid with an incredible amount of mental fortitude, capable of handling some pretty devastating circumstances. His mother has been a supporting pillar in his early childhood, which, remember, was pretty rough on account of all the bullying. As such she has shaped a lot of his personality. She’s equipped him with confidence, with an unshakable belief in himself. However, she is very much not a hero.

Her love is one of katsudon and hugs and kind words and worried tears. She wants him safe, above all else. She's never going to teach him hand-to-hand and going by her advice alone will not make him into the hero he desperately wants to be. Him quite literally leaving the warm nest she made for him to learn how to fight evil people is a big part of him growing up.

 All Might

Maybe that's why Izuku puts so much of his hopes and dreams on All Might. Here's his ultimate hero taking an interest in little old him. It's a fairy tale. A manga trope. And I really believe that he sees an alternate father figure in All Might once he gets closer to him. They have their wax on, wax off moment on the beach, with All Might encouraging him to get stronger. This is the trope. The sensei, mister Miyagi thing where the kid gets prepped to receive the ultimate technique (in the form of a lock of... hair, whatever). But unlike traditional masters, and unlike his biological father, All Might sticks around. He is a presence in his life. He cares for Midoriya and his continued success in a way that, at this point, no other male figure does.

Dad Might gives Midoriya a whole bunch of very important advice, but it's good to note that this isn't a rough or distant sort of male mentorship. All Might quite literally opens himself up to Midoriya. He shows him his weaker side. The skeletal side. The broken side. Because All Might, let’s not forget, is a friggin mess.

I mean, I know he's going through a lot, but this man is Such a Dork. It’s definitely endearing and it is also one of his best traits as a character. However: as a person, he's really not very well equipped to be raising a teenager. He lacks, in a way, the stability and level-headedness that comes with the position of a teacher. He cares too much. About everything. All the time. And he nurtures that side of Midoriya, when Midoriya already has plenty of that.

He can't help but admire Midoriya's selflessness. Can't help but praise the very foundation upon which his own heroics are based: helping people. When he saves Todoroki. When he saves Bakugou, All Might is there to tell Midoriya that what he did is all right.

And this is certainly important for Midoriya to hear, but at this point it’s also not the only thing he needs to hear. 

 Aizawa Shouta

Luckily Midoriya also gets a more traditional teacher figure. It's interesting to note that, despite being the younger of the two, and despite the fact that he sometimes teaches from an honest to god sleeping bag, Aizawa is a much more stable mentor and general Adulting Adult. He still cares about his students, but he's also much more likely to Act as a Teacher.

Because Aizawa immediately picks up on Izuku's self-mutilation. He watched the entrance exam, he knows that Izuku's quirk is, at this point, extremely flawed. That Izuku doesn't have control over it. He explains it in a pretty standoffish way, and certainly this early in the show it comes across as cruel, but he's not wrong. Izuku is breaking bones every single time he uses his quirk at this point in time. If he does anything with his quirk, he'll be a casualty. Him using only a single finger is framed as a feat of intelligence, but it is also INSANE. 'Oh you only broke one finger, you have nine attacks left'. That is NOT a good plan. Don't do that. For fuck's sake. I hope we all realize that what Midoriya is doing is Not Healthy. He is eating away at himself, destroying his own body over and over again.

When Aizawa tells Midoriya to get a grip on his powers he's not just being an ass. He's being a responsible adult, a teacher that cares about the general well-being of the students assigned to him.

Manga spoilers under the cut.

This isn't to say he doesn't begrudgingly admire Izuku. He does. He keeps him in the class because of his conviction, because of his intelligence. His Potential. He probably recognizes something heroic in him, just like everyone else does. But someone has to tell this kid to stop from literally breaking himself and that is something All Might can't really do at this point. The man himself has been overdoing it all his life. He is missing Vital Organs and he still can't, like, take it easy.  Even when given a literal time limit on his heroics, he will get distracted by saving people. So that role of scolding Midoriya and reigning him in goes to people like Aizawa and Recovery Girl. But they still can't teach him how to get Better at it.

Gran Torino

Enter Weird Grandpa Gran Torino. The old timer is rather well-placed for this, because he knows All Might better than most, and in a less… fan like way than most. He's capable of seeing All Might's flaws. He knows Yagi is terrible at self-care. He knows that Yagi is a man who decided to be a symbol. Who has pushed aside his own needs for the greater good for decades. Gran Torino recognizes this compulsion in Midoriya. He can see Midoriya's will to be like All Might as the potentially bad situation it is. And he noticed that all the way from his couch in front of the tv screen, watching the Sports Festival.

Most importantly, he shows Midoriya that he needs to let go of a lot of his admiration for his hero, if he's going to succeed him.

Which is something literally no one else would be able to teach him.

 Yagi Toshinori

One of the better qualities of BnHA is that even the older characters, like the big Idol Hero Dude, gain some character development. All Might goes through a lot of stuff in the series, and all in all he seems to take it in his stride that he's losing power. But on a very personal level, he's also getting better. At least at the whole teaching/mentor business. There comes a point when he stops pushing himself to be everything to everyone, and basically retires to be a teacher to Deku and his class. That point is one of my favourite scenes, because it so encapsulates the relationship between All Might and Deku.

It comes after the raid on the League's hideout.Bakugou has been saved, the whole friggin world has seen All Might shrink to his skeletal form and Midoriya meets him late at night on the beach where they first trained. Symbolic stuff. And the first thing All Might does is punch him for breaking the rules. Again. He scolds him and this is one of the first times he’s actually angry at Midoriya. For going above and beyond, for putting himself in harm's way. Again.

And then the Dad Might instinct kicks in, because holy jeebus is he proud. He can't help it. This is where Yagi decides to focus on *his kid*. Where he finally fully takes up the 'mentor' mantle.

And it's so bittersweet, because as with everything between these two, that beginning is also an end. One for All has finally transitioned fully.

And can we just… respect how well Yagi deals with this? He's had some time to process, but look at him. Depending on your point of view, this kid now has his power. Or is the reason he no longer has it. And he is gracious. Supporting. Comforting.

 The team

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and the great thing about UA, for characters such as Midoriya, is that it has a lot of good, decent people, who team up to provide some kind of personal growth. And it's so very cute when they do that! They actually do the whole good cop/bad cop thing.

For Yagi, personal growth, heroism, selflessness, bravery, is and always will be more important than rules. Yagi's affection is one of warmth, of understanding. Even when his two most trusted pupils are beating each other senseless, he's the one that pleads for leniency. Aizawa's job, meanwhile, is to provide authority. They are complementary, they have to be. Aizawa acts like this even if he can't enforce it. Even if he doesn't particularly like doing it. He knows it needs to happen, cause otherwise they'll never learn.

He's being Responsible.

But please note, because this is super important, that Aizawa doesn't even start yelling until he knows that all wounds have been at least disinfected. There’s a first aid kit on the table in the previous screenshot. Those kids already have bandaids on their face. The first thing either of those two adults do, is make sure everyone is all right.

Cause that's the thing I absolutely love about these two. Midoriya may have left the safe nest of his mother, he's very much still being cared for. His new guardians are a bit rougher around the edges but they absolutely have his best interest at heart. Yagi may be more prone to hugs than Aizawa, but this is something they both have in common, and something that makes them work together despite their clashing personalities. They care.

More BnHA character stuff.

[stormstruck-angel]

ok so I recently bought and started reading Pullman’s new book The Book of Dust (Volume 1: La Belle Sauvage) and then my friend at uni started talking about daemons which of course has now led me back into the bordering-on-obsessive rabbithole of daemonology and lore that I was deeply entrenched in a few years ago. So what did I decide to do? Take my other most recently read obsession book series and combine them! So with some v shallow research (largely using this website) and kind of a shallow pass over the characters and their personalities, I’ve taken a stab at giving the main cast of The Great Library series their daemons (under the cut because boy did this post get long):

[ALSO SOME SPOILERS AHEAD FOR PRETTY MUCH ALL THE BOOKS SO FAR SO READ W/ CAUTION]

any questions/comments/objections/suggestions are welcome!!

Jess Brightwell: I decided that Jess would have a greyhound daemon. They’re fast and kind of rangey, which frankly makes me think of Jess in a heartbeat, but as a dog, they’re also incredibly loyal. Apparently, they also stand for courage, swift action, and nobility, which sounds about right for Jess. I also feel like a greyhound wouldn’t feel out of place in Jess’s life-- while probably a little too big and easily identified for his early life maybe, it doesn’t seem like an animal that would be out of place for either a scholar OR  a garda recruit-- or a rich merchant’s son. 

Morgan Hault: Morgan’s daemon, I decided, would be a nightingale. Not only does this give the “caged bird” metaphors a heart-breaking literal side, and create an ironic commentary about the lack of freedom and choice she has, the wealth of meanings attached to the nightingale fit Morgan’s personality pretty well-- the nightingale apparently symbolises affection, creativity, knowledge/learning, and righteousness. Morgan is certainly creative and smart, as shown with her self-taught or learned tricks with the alchemical symbols, and her never-ending attempts to escape the Iron Tower, and the righteousness of course fits her stance of the treatment of obscurists in the tower and her unwillingness to submit to that lifestyle. Also, she really is sweet and v physically affectionate (especially with Jess), so there you go. 

Thomas Schrieber: Thomas gets a badger daemon from me! For one, when I saw it, I genuinely couldn’t help the hufflepuff association, which personally I find fits Thomas best-- he’s extremely hardworking and loyal and so sweet and gentle on top of being genius-levels of intelligent. But badgers also apparently have associations with honesty, persistence, valor-- and being fierce when provoked. The first three are pretty obvious-- gentle, noble Thomas who tries to do right by most people and by himself and his friends, he never gives up, very hopeful. But of course that loyalty and love transfers into an incredible fierceness in the face of danger to his friends, which is made pretty explicit in the third book. Not to mention, I feel like a badger looks pretty unassuming until it gets Pissed Off, at which point you run like hell. 

Khalila Seif: I always wanted Khalila to have a bird daemon, simply because she exudes the sort of grace and calm demeanor of a bird in flight, not to mention the varied avian association with intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom. Choosing her daemon, though, if kind of a war between Aesthetics and Traits. I can’t decide between a heron or a barn-owl. By-and-large, the traits are more or less the same-- herons apparently just being more serene and vigilant, while owls being more observant and dignified. But aesthetically? I think herons are ugly lmao and Khalila deserves a beautiful daemon. So I’m mostly tempted to give her a barn-owl daemon, I think, with lovely crisp colouring. Even if the owl symbolism is kind of trite and over-used. 

Dario Santiago: I was SO tempted to give Dario a peacock daemon. I honestly still am. At this point it’s a toss-up between a peacock (beauty, vanity, knowledge and learning) and a hummingbird (eagerness, passion, self-indulgence). I like the idea of he and Khalila both having avian daemons, to make them kind of compatible :,) I think I’m leaning more strongly toward the peacock though. I just have trouble thinking of Dario with a daemon as small as a hummingbird.  

Glain Wathen: I was almost tempted to give Glain a horse daemon, because of their traits like dedication, bravery, loyalty, etc, or maybe even a lynx or a bobcat bc of its fierce nature, but in the end I settled on the idea of Glain having a wolverine daemon :D its traits include being bold, fearless, and quick-tempered, and quite frankly if that doesn’t describe at least part of Glain, I don’t know what does. I also got a kick out of the fact that wolverines look kind of feral and terrifying at times, and everyone would be absolutely terrified by Glain’s daemon. I feel like she’d get a kick out of the sheer terror it could inspire.  

So, for Santi and Wolfe, I kind of figured out their daemon choices as a bit of a package deal. While, realistically, I know it’s dumb to think of it that way, and their daemons being complementary is really contrived and probably a little stupid, but like... sue me. They fit so well I just had to. 

So the problem here is that, for Wolfe, I envisioned two possible daemon choices. A wolf, or a raven. Both have pretty obvious connections, and I think the traits for both fit Wolfe pretty well. A wolf represent boldness, ferocity, protectiveness, and swift action. A raven represents good memory, self-discipline, self-sacrifice, and wisdom. I genuinely can’t decide. 

However, I also couldn’t shake the idea that Santi’s daemon could also potentially be a wolf. I knew I wanted him to have an apex predator, basically, because of his career and abilities, but also because a lot of them of are strongly associated with protective qualities-- the two I settled on were either a wolf or a lion(ess), which both have pack/pride associations as well. 

The thing that got me here was that, while I feel like they both deserve the predator daemons, given both their experiences and personalities, I couldn’t shake the idea about them having complementary daemons in the form of Wolfe’s raven and Santi’s wolf-- because of that thing about ravens and wolves apparently hunting together. There’s also the bird association with intelligence at work again, because Wolfe was, first and foremost for most of his life, essentially BORN to be a Scholar. (I also thought of a Sad reason-- it’s a lot easier to subdue and potentially hurt a raven. I had an awful thought about the raven’s wings being clipped during Wolfe’s imprisonment-- a reminder and potential horror if you take into account that someone would have had to touch his daemon to do it, which I, quite frankly, would not put past the Artifex.) But then the wolf symbolism still eats at me all the time, because quite frankly, Wolfe ha always been a little bit ferocious-- I think in one of the stories on Wattpadd, it’s mentioned that he got into fights as a kid. So, I genuinely can’t decide. Wolf or Raven for Wolfe, and Wolf or Lioness for Santi. 

[things-with-teeth]

In my defense, I did warn in the tags that this was going to lead to rampant speculation on my part.

I’ve been assuming -- and I think it’s been implied within the podcast, stop me if I’m wrong -- that none of the entities could really support the Extinction because it would be antithetical to the survival of the rest of them. We know (or, again, the characters have speculated) that the rituals of certain powers can co-exist because they’re complementary in some way, one succeeding and bringing along the others (MAG 111), but global annihilation means no more tasty human fears to feed on. If something replaces humanity, there’s no guarantee that it will fear the same things; the Flesh and the Hunt started as animal fears, but I don’t get the impression that the Spiral or the Vast gets quite the same mileage out of chickens and deer that they do out of humanity. It’s similar to, although not the same as, one of the (possible) reasons given that the End hasn’t attempted a ritual; there’s nothing to eat in a land of nothing (MAG 134). Maybe even inhuman fear entities aren’t entirely immune to the fear of "The Future-Without-Us.” This seems broadly supported by Peter’s attempts to derail the emergence of the Extinction.

Elias doesn’t seem quite so worried, though -- it’s complicated -- and I can think of a couple (VERY SPECULATIVE, ONLY SORT OF BASED IN THE TEXT) reasons for why.

The first is that the Beholding seems unique in that it can feed on fear created by other entities. Very few of the statement givers seem to have interacted directly with a fear scenario created by the Eye, although it does happen (sort of in MAG 12, MAG 23, 53, 60, 120, 127, 138, 148, and 23 and 127 feature the same victim; furthermore, three of those episodes involve someone who trespassed into a place claimed in some way by the Beholding -- I’m not sure if it means anything, but it feels relevant that these are not instances where the Beholding sought out someone to eat, these people tripped and fell into the Beholding. The same may be indirectly true of Rosa Meyer in MAG 60, depending on where her brother found that mirror, or where he took it from). Instead, the Beholding seems to get most of its fear juice by watching, through observing and amplifying and reenacting the fears created by other entities. It may very well be that the Beholding would be just fine in a world created new by the Extinction, as long as some living thing existed to feel some kind of fear, and it’s strongly implied that some new thing would exist if the Extinction emerges and succeeds -- the Extinction is, after all, not the End (MAG 134).

(Implicit in all of this, I think, is that the Extinction might not need a ritual to succeed, because humanity has already created the conditions that could lead to its own extinction. You need a ritual to blot out the sun or to sink the sky beneath the ground; you might not need one for nuclear wipe-out or devastating climate change. ON THAT CHEERY NOTE.)

The second possibility I can think of is that the Beholding is capable of prioritizing novelty over survival, and like, I’m not sure this is the more likely scenario but it does kind of make me laugh. Young Jon, presumably already showing some of the traits that would eventually make him well-suited as Archivist, can’t read more than one book written by any author with a distinctive style because he gets bored (MAG 81). Adult Jon expresses the hope that the next (old) statement he consumes won’t be “quite as stale” (MAG 148). The Beholding likes to know and it seems like the whole point of the Archive is to collect a smorgasbord of fear delicacies created by other entities, but it also seems to gravitate toward the new, with the fresh statements that Jon collects personally being the most satisfying ones. Imagine what new fears, created by a freshly emerged entity would taste like. Imagine what new things might be uncovered or revealed by an Apocalypse. Maybe it doesn’t matter to the Eye whether or not it survives; it is, after all, in part the fear of "needing to know, even if your discoveries might destroy you" (MAG 111). Some fear entities just want to see the world burn, at least its final meal will be scrumptious, YOLO, etc.

I mean, it’s not like its avatar has much of a survival instinct either. (Hi, Jon. Maybe your curiosity isn’t worth a second rib.) (...MAG 131)

I may be way off base, but I think it’s super interesting.

Elias: My relationship to the Apocalypse is more... complicated.

Martin: Seriously?

Elias: Seriously.

- MAG 138

[omgnsfwisnsfw-blog]

5: Nice Catch!

The housekeeper had drawn the short straw on Sunday morning. It was 10am and thus time for the occupants of these motel rooms to vacate. She went through the motions as she pushed her cart of cleaning chemicals, rags, and motel room necessities (including a spice candle she liked to light to drive away any of the more pungent odors) down the row. Her ‘gold’ name tag that read Mary glimmered in the sunlight. Something out of the ordinary made her pause the music streaming from her cellphone. Room 126’s door was completely open. The sturdy door’s bronze chain clattered against it in the gentle breeze. She apprehensively peeked inside. The room was as if no one had been in here at all. It was a total reset. The bed was neatly made. No wet towels on the floor. No suspicious tissues in the trash bin. Just nothing out of normal. Except that wasn’t totally true. She observed that the right hand side night stand drawer was open and its previous contents were missing. John’s favorite shoes hit the pavement - one in front of the other - and very carefully inside the solid white line that separated him from thousands of pounds of steel repeatedly passing him. His blue gym bag swung too and fro from his side in rhythm to his steps. It had been three days since he had turned over the vehicle into the hands of Mike Maguire. She had told him that there was a motel about two miles from her shop and offered to call him a ride. He had declined in a polite fashion, left her his phone number, and departed on foot. He disappeared into the darkness and perhaps Mike wondered if she was suffering from a fever. From there, he went inwards. The book with no cover ended up being rather trite. A love story with very little love at all. He would have probably guessed that the cover was illustrated to show a man with long luxurious blonde locks and chiseled bare chest. Perhaps on a horse. There was a lot of allusions to animals in there - rutting like animals, it said. John closed the book and tossed it back into his bag with little thought. On the second day of seclusion, someone who represented his employer, the mustached man, insisted that they were onto something. The previous session had netted over two million views and a whirlwind of positivity - ultimately they clamored for more. In the text message, he provided credentials for an official account and that he should just go live every once in a while and tell the world what he was thinking about. John didn’t understand why anyone would care but he wasn’t about to argue at this point. Nothing came to him that day but on the third day, his mind opened up with something to share. The shop’s sign was now just in view as he pressed the little F icon and then the button to go ‘live’. The picture from the phone’s camera jumped up and down as held it front of his face at arm’s length. “Good morning all.” A semi-truck whizzed past him - a little close for comfort. He danced sideways off of the pavement all while trying to maintain the shot. “Maybe this isn’t very safe to do. Anyway, I am on my way to see you all and I wanted to make more of an effort to share myself.” John stepped back onto the pavement and continued walking towards the shop. He had contemplated what just to say. John was listening to them. So far they said the same thing and as always it was a total character assassination. John had built the garden for that very purpose and as much as he liked to visit — there was only one way in. “Combat sports are no doubt fueled by aggression and so it is no surprise that the overwhelming traits are anger and hatred for one’s fellow man. So I am sorry that a warrior feels the way that he does. I hope that he finds peace in his soul. What he said was meant to provoke a response. And so I ask everyone I am sharing this with now, what should I say? Should I dispute what he said? Should I jump to the defense of the other man in this equation?” John shook his head. “There really isn’t the need. There is only one thing I need to convince him of. He needs to ask himself what truly will be the intrinsic entertainment value of what could happen that night? Will the boredom seep through his body as both of his carotid arteries are compressed? What will his mind consider enjoyable as it goes through cerebral ischemia? And through that would he learn a great lesson: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” The corner of his mouth turned up into a brief smirk before returning to his normal … almost blank expression. “Today and what it is — well that is not lost on me and I don’t want to waste any more of your time so I will leave you with this: A deer cannot eat hay. I found that interesting.” John turned off the live feed and pocketed his phone. He quickly crossed the road and entered the parking lot of the auto body shop. He observed that the only car in the front lot was a loud yellow sports car. It had white fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. He had received a voicemail yesterday afternoon about the completion of a repair but hadn’t felt like communicating with anyone that day. He pulled on the handle of the shop door and surprisingly it opened. He hadn’t noticed the other day the loud chime that was omitted throughout the shop when the door was opened and faintly he could hear the same noise echoing throughout the attached garage. He set his gym bag on the red plastic chair and waited patiently with his hands in his jeans pockets. A voice cut through the silence, “Ay, we’re not open today. This an emergency?” John thought about that for a moment and posed in a raised but still calm tone, “What really constitutes an emergency?” “Oh, it’s you…” A few moments passed. He could hear metal clanking and finally the owner of the shop entered the shop floor. She was not in uniform and instead wore the same baseball cap, a green and white jersey with the number 3 on it, a pair of oil-stained baggy jeans, and a pair of work boots. How come you’re just comin’ in now? Messaged you yesterday.” “Your door was open.” “Yeah, that was my bad. Forgot to lock it after me.” “I can come back tomorrow. I didn’t realize what day it was until a little while ago,” for John, time seemed to blur and it was difficult to understand that other people kept different schedules than him. “Nah, you’re fine. Just wasn’t expectin’ much of a rush today, so I took the opportunity to just catch up on some stuff around here.” John looked at her with a blank expression perhaps not understanding the ebb and flow of small talk, “I read a book this morning. I never really liked it before but his last message certainly was inspiring. He said to spread the good news to everyone and everywhere.” The woman looked at him in a confused manner before smiling at him and then to the area where she kept all of the completed work orders. She looked back up at John as she found the clear folder with the order and keys, “Anywho. Your car’s all shipshape an’ seaworthy. Was about three hours work, so… seventy-five for the rim repair, same for a new tire, and ninety per hour for yours truly… I’ll call it an even four hundred. Just try to be more careful in the future, yeah? That coulda been a heckuva lot worse. Could’ve wrecked your axle, not to mention your whole suspension.” John reached into the envelope and dumped the remaining contents of it onto the counter: 12 one dollar bills, 1 quarter, and three pennies. John looked at the funds and then back up at Mike. He guessed that the rest of his bonus had gone towards the motel room, “That’s, uh, what I have.” “Well, I take credit, you know. You got a Visa? MasterCard? Anything like that?” John held up one finger to Mike and then retrieved his wallet. He held it open. On the forefront, it contained only his recently issued New Mexico driver’s license. He slipped his fingers under the clear holder and retrieved a credit card. “This card has credit for a free meal at Shoney’s. They burnt my toast last week. I think it’s only good for the one in Fort Myers.” “Hmm,” She tapped her chin, a slightly wry smile slowly crossed her lips, “What were you doin’ out there?” “Well, having breakfast.” “At Shoney’s, yeah. But what else? Sure you didn’t go all the way down there just for toast an’ jam with Shoney Bear.” “Oh, I started a new job. I haven’t officially got paid yet and I don’t know if I’m very good at it. They gave me that envelope a few days ago in Atlanta but I think they were handing them out to everyone.” That wry smile grew just a bit bigger, a spark of recognition flashing in her eyes. “You, um, mind tellin’ me what that new job is? Just outta curiosity.” “I fight people…” John said that quietly, “ … I have to be in Pittsburgh next. I’m a little early, sure, but I don’t mind,” at this point he started to talk himself as if the orange-haired woman was not there,“and they said I should open a bank account but I’m not sure that I would like that very much. It’s almost like it doesn’t exist. How can I trust 0s and 1s?” “I thought so,” that wry smile turned into a bit of a warmer one, a kind smile that seemed both clashing and complementary to the woman’s rough exterior, “I think I know who you are. Saw you on the internet. That video was freakin’ great. And… heh. I used to fight people too. We got that much in common.” He pointed at the picture above her. “So that’s you?” She gave a big fat grin. “Yep.” “Cool,” John looked at the bill nervously, “So I don’t have any way to pay this but I signed a piece of paper and they have to give me more if I show up I think. I know this sounds lame but can I get an IOU?”he reached into the wallet and lifted out a pair of tickets stamped ‘Monday Night Brawl’ where the money would be, “oh, they gave me these. I don’t know why I got these because I’m going to be working there. Maybe if you show up I can pay you after its over.” “Sweet! Okay, Mister Bishop Church, you got yourself a deal. But you better not try an’ welch on me. I got a punch that can lay out guys bigger than YOU,” she grinned playfully. He slid the tickets over the counter. She grabbed them, looked at them intently, and slipped them in her back pocket. “Your ride’s around back. I’ll go unlock the gate for ya.” She fished out the keys from the clear folder and tossed the keys to John. He snatched them out of the air with one hand. “Nice catch!” He grabbed his gym bag from the chair and slung it over his shoulder. And once again, John followed Mike out.

[urameshiy-blog]

This post is brought to you by characters with questionable motivations that will never be mentioned again.

Episode 7: Gouki and Kurama and 8: The Three Eyes of Hiei

In these two episodes, Yusuke gets his ass kicked. Hard.

This, along with the Power of Friendship and Love, will be a treasured theme of Togashi’s throughout the series. It’s honestly more of a surprise when Yusuke doesn’t get his ass kicked. Of course, this is a classic shonen anime trope: character gets beat down, picks himself up to get beat down again, and stumbles his way to victory. Watch Naruto: same thing. Bleach. One Piece. My Hero Academia (the... only contemporary shonen anime out of this list). Yet, Yusuke always does it with this odd combination of anger, determination, joy, and most importantly, a snappy one-liner, that I can’t help but love him best.

We pick up where we left off, with Gouki pounding Yusuke. Unfortunately for Yusuke, he used up his one shot of spirit energy earlier that day, and is stuck with only his fists. However, Gouki is much too strong, and knocks Yusuke out completely. It looks like this is the end of Yusuke’s brief second life. But with some quick thinking and deception, Botan saves Yusuke and brings him back home. She presents him with a second item: the concentration ring. Armed properly, and with Botan at his side, Yusuke faces off with Gouki again and promptly defeats him, with a few additional bruises added.

But Yusuke and Botan have no time to celebrate: waiting for them is the next demon, Kurama. Previously, a spirit fox, Kurama merged with the spirit of an unborn infant when he was injured, and has since been in hiding. Though he had planned on returning to the Demon World after recovering, his love for his mother grew, and he decided to stay instead. But when his mother fell ill, Kurama turned to other means to save her: the Forlorn Hope, which will take his life when it grants his request.

Yusuke, however, is a huge softie, and decides that Kurama doesn’t get to die that day. In the middle of Kurama’s request, Yusuke interrupts, and asks the Forlorn Hope to take Yusuke’s life instead (because the boy has zero consideration for his own life still). Luckily, the Forlorn Hope considered that noble, and decides both boys get to live! So Kurama’s mother is saved, Yusuke doesn’t die again, and he’s achieved the Forlorn Hope.

All’s well, end’s well?

and here’s Yusuke contemplating how "sad" Kurama's eyes are, like the protagonist of a YA novel

Wrong. Episode 8 comes crashing in, and Hiei promptly kidnaps Keiko to use as leverage against Yusuke. Yusuke tracks him down to a warehouse, where we find out that Hiei has cut her with the Demon Sword. If Yusuke doesn’t get the antidote from Hiei, Keiko will be turned into a mindless, demonic slave forever. Using her own healing energies, Botan focuses on keeping Keiko stabilized, while Yusuke goes after the antidote. Yusuke and Hiei proceed to fight, and Hiei gains the upper hand. Just as Hiei is about to deliver the finishing blow, Kurama intervenes, and takes the blow meant for Yusuke. Yusuke takes this moment to gather his wits, and faces Hiei again, angry and more determined. With a last ditch effort, Yusuke fires his Spirit Gun at the Forlorn Hope, which reflects the shot and strikes Hiei directly in the back.

Hiei finally defeated, the team heals Keiko, and laugh over Yusuke’s dumb luck, and Kurama’s masochistic tendencies. Just another day in the life of a Spirit Detective!

I decided to attack these two episodes at once, since it neatly wraps up the story arc begun in episode 6. I really appreciate how stream lined it is, and that the fight scenes don't take longer than a single episode. There's actually quite a bit more talking than fighting throughout all three episodes, which I almost find refreshing, since it really lets us spend time with the characters. Action wise, the fight scenes are still pretty slow, and I found myself a little bored during the Hiei/Yusuke fight scene.

Yusuke is on point in these two episodes: he’s determined to get back the artifacts, and he’s once again willing to put his life on the line to save these children’s souls. It’s surprising how consistent character wise Yusuke is in this aspect; as much as he was willing to throw himself in front of a car for a child in episode 1, he’s now willing to get beaten to death for them. And he does it all with a ready punchline. It almost makes me wonder how Spirit World screwed up so much in their reading of Yusuke. It’s not like he started caring for children after he died; this has always been a consistent character trait. Then again, I guess we can’t expect institutions to be correct all the time, amirite? (just go look at the news for reference)

Botan is also a DELIGHT, providing heavy support during the Gouki fight. She's unfortunately relegated to healer status in episode eight, but I'm glad she's still involved. Keiko, sadly, defaults to damsel in distress and the jealous girlfriend, and she will remain in this role for the rest of the series.  

In episode 5, I said we would later discuss the evolution of how Togashi depicts demons. With our introduction of our two favorite demon boys, this is the perfect time to do so.

Gouki is a pretty standard stock villain. He’s big, dumb, and wants to eat human souls. Compared to Hiei, he’s actually a better developed than villain, with an understandable motivation, and a character design that outright says “evil.” And when he transforms, he’s undeniably the most demonic out of the three. By combining both his motivation and character design, we know for certain that we’re not to trust him (oddly, we will not see demons actively try to eat humans for another nearly 100 episodes, and it’ll be the subject of some intense discussion).

Kurama, on the other hand, never looks anything other than human during his appearance. With wide green eyes and a human mother to boot, we are subconsciously prepped to sympathize with him.

As for Hiei, he falls somewhere in a gray area between Kurama and Gouki. He’s certainly no ogre creature like Gouki, but he’s most definitely an antagonist. His pupils are smaller than Kurama’s, and his third eye marks him as other. Not to mention, at the height of the battle between him and Yusuke, he transforms into a green goblin like creature, covered in eyes. This form comfortably places him in the “evil” category for viewers and enhances his predatory appearance. In some ways, all three of these demons’ character designs are reinforcing our ideas of what “good” and “evil” looks like. I won’t say that Togashi completely smashes these expectations later on, but we’ll continue to discuss the difference between what “relatable” and “evil” demons look like as the series goes on.

Before going further into their characterization, I do want to note that even during Hiei’s introduction, Togashi was not 100 percent certain how major a character Hiei would be. However, his character and design ended up being so popular, that Hiei ended up as one of our core four characters. As such, there are some funky inconsistencies with Hiei’s motivations and why he would even want to steal the demon sword. However! It’s there, so I’m going to treat his characterization here as canonical (for the time being), rather than a completely separate characterization.

As much as Kuwabara and Yusuke contrast each other (Kuwabara is the emotional and motivated one, Yusuke’s the repressed one), Hiei and Kurama are each others’ contrasts. Even their character design (at least in the anime) is directly in contrast with each other, with Kurama being bright red, feminine, tall, and seemingly trustworthy. Hiei, on the other hand, is clad head to toe in black, with spiky hair, beady demonic red eyes, and 4 feet and 11 inches of pure anger and edgelord punk style.

Their motivations are in direct opposition as well; Kurama’s a reformed demon, and acts a thief one last time to save a human life. Hiei, however, is incredibly cutthroat, and out to… build a demonic army from humans and take over Human World (maybe)? His motives are very unclear, but he’s a starter villain, so we don’t really need to know much. We do know he sees humans as inferior, and this is consistent, even later in the series.  

As the series goes on, we will see that the two slide into complementary roles, with Hiei as our Brute Force and Kurama as our Smart Guy. What will be more interesting is when Togashi begins to subvert their tropes, creating more complex and interesting characters as we go. Both characters will undergo immense change later on in the series, and I'm excited to come back to discuss that. However, we'll be saying goodbye to them for now, and instead venturing off into a completely other direction! (Genkai, we're coming for you).

Final Thoughts:

Kurama is the biggest drama queen in the history of the world, matched only by Yusuke Urameshi himself: “Did you know in some species the child eats its mother?” he says, as he proceeds to wax poetic about feeling like one of those “mother devourers.” Just. Chill, Kurama. CHILL.

Favorite line of the two episodes goes to Kurama again, with a 10/10 roast to Yusuke: “All the while we’ve been thinking you’re a brilliant strategist. You’re just a lucky fool… A strategist is a person who uses his brain.”

Yusuke making fun of Hiei monologuing is fantastic.

I never thought I would say this, but I miss Kuwabara? So much?

TL;DR?: These two episodes throws us straight into demon world, and provide some fun action scenes! Kurama and Hiei are startlingly different from their later characterization, but deliver some great moments and insults. However, upon rewatch, I find myself impatient to get to later episodes where the team is working together!

[humanintereststory]

5: Nice Catch!

The housekeeper had drawn the short straw on Sunday morning. It was 10am and thus time for the occupants of these motel rooms to vacate. She went through the motions as she pushed her cart of cleaning chemicals, rags, and motel room necessities (including a spice candle she liked to light to drive away any of the more pungent odors) down the row. Her ‘gold’ name tag that read Mary glimmered in the sunlight. Something out of the ordinary made her pause the music streaming from her cellphone. Room 126’s door was completely open. The sturdy door’s bronze chain clattered against it in the gentle breeze. She apprehensively peeked inside. The room was as if no one had been in here at all. It was a total reset. The bed was neatly made. No wet towels on the floor. No suspicious tissues in the trash bin. Just nothing out of normal. Except that wasn’t totally true. She observed that the right hand side night stand drawer was open and its previous contents were missing. John’s favorite shoes hit the pavement - one in front of the other - and very carefully inside the solid white line that separated him from thousands of pounds of steel repeatedly passing him. His blue gym bag swung too and fro from his side in rhythm to his steps. It had been three days since he had turned over the vehicle into the hands of Mike Maguire. She had told him that there was a motel about two miles from her shop and offered to call him a ride. He had declined in a polite fashion, left her his phone number, and departed on foot. He disappeared into the darkness and perhaps Mike wondered if she was suffering from a fever. From there, he went inwards. The book with no cover ended up being rather trite. A love story with very little love at all. He would have probably guessed that the cover was illustrated to show a man with long luxurious blonde locks and chiseled bare chest. Perhaps on a horse. There was a lot of allusions to animals in there - rutting like animals, it said. John closed the book and tossed it back into his bag with little thought. On the second day of seclusion, someone who represented his employer, the mustached man, insisted that they were onto something. The previous session had netted over two million views and a whirlwind of positivity - ultimately they clamored for more. In the text message, he provided credentials for an official account and that he should just go live every once in a while and tell the world what he was thinking about. John didn’t understand why anyone would care but he wasn’t about to argue at this point. Nothing came to him that day but on the third day, his mind opened up with something to share. The shop’s sign was now just in view as he pressed the little F icon and then the button to go ‘live’. The picture from the phone’s camera jumped up and down as held it front of his face at arm’s length. “Good morning all.” A semi-truck whizzed past him - a little close for comfort. He danced sideways off of the pavement all while trying to maintain the shot. “Maybe this isn’t very safe to do. Anyway, I am on my way to see you all and I wanted to make more of an effort to share myself.” John stepped back onto the pavement and continued walking towards the shop. He had contemplated what just to say. John was listening to them. So far they said the same thing and as always it was a total character assassination. John had built the garden for that very purpose and as much as he liked to visit — there was only one way in. “Combat sports are no doubt fueled by aggression and so it is no surprise that the overwhelming traits are anger and hatred for one’s fellow man. So I am sorry that a warrior feels the way that he does. I hope that he finds peace in his soul. What he said was meant to provoke a response. And so I ask everyone I am sharing this with now, what should I say? Should I dispute what he said? Should I jump to the defense of the other man in this equation?” John shook his head. “There really isn’t the need. There is only one thing I need to convince him of. He needs to ask himself what truly will be the intrinsic entertainment value of what could happen that night? Will the boredom seep through his body as both of his carotid arteries are compressed? What will his mind consider enjoyable as it goes through cerebral ischemia? And through that would he learn a great lesson: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” The corner of his mouth turned up into a brief smirk before returning to his normal … almost blank expression. “Today and what it is — well that is not lost on me and I don’t want to waste any more of your time so I will leave you with this: A deer cannot eat hay. I found that interesting.” John turned off the live feed and pocketed his phone. He quickly crossed the road and entered the parking lot of the auto body shop. He observed that the only car in the front lot was a loud yellow sports car. It had white fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. He had received a voicemail yesterday afternoon about the completion of a repair but hadn’t felt like communicating with anyone that day. He pulled on the handle of the shop door and surprisingly it opened. He hadn’t noticed the other day the loud chime that was omitted throughout the shop when the door was opened and faintly he could hear the same noise echoing throughout the attached garage. He set his gym bag on the red plastic chair and waited patiently with his hands in his jeans pockets. A voice cut through the silence, “Ay, we’re not open today. This an emergency?” John thought about that for a moment and posed in a raised but still calm tone, “What really constitutes an emergency?” “Oh, it’s you…” A few moments passed. He could hear metal clanking and finally the owner of the shop entered the shop floor. She was not in uniform and instead wore the same baseball cap, a green and white jersey with the number 3 on it, a pair of oil-stained baggy jeans, and a pair of work boots. How come you’re just comin’ in now? Messaged you yesterday.” “Your door was open.” “Yeah, that was my bad. Forgot to lock it after me.” “I can come back tomorrow. I didn’t realize what day it was until a little while ago,” for John, time seemed to blur and it was difficult to understand that other people kept different schedules than him. “Nah, you’re fine. Just wasn’t expectin’ much of a rush today, so I took the opportunity to just catch up on some stuff around here.” John looked at her with a blank expression perhaps not understanding the ebb and flow of small talk, “I read a book this morning. I never really liked it before but his last message certainly was inspiring. He said to spread the good news to everyone and everywhere.” The woman looked at him in a confused manner before smiling at him and then to the area where she kept all of the completed work orders. She looked back up at John as she found the clear folder with the order and keys, “Anywho. Your car’s all shipshape an’ seaworthy. Was about three hours work, so… seventy-five for the rim repair, same for a new tire, and ninety per hour for yours truly… I’ll call it an even four hundred. Just try to be more careful in the future, yeah? That coulda been a heckuva lot worse. Could’ve wrecked your axle, not to mention your whole suspension.” John reached into the envelope and dumped the remaining contents of it onto the counter: 12 one dollar bills, 1 quarter, and three pennies. John looked at the funds and then back up at Mike. He guessed that the rest of his bonus had gone towards the motel room, “That’s, uh, what I have.” “Well, I take credit, you know. You got a Visa? MasterCard? Anything like that?” John held up one finger to Mike and then retrieved his wallet. He held it open. On the forefront, it contained only his recently issued New Mexico driver’s license. He slipped his fingers under the clear holder and retrieved a credit card. “This card has credit for a free meal at Shoney’s. They burnt my toast last week. I think it’s only good for the one in Fort Myers.” “Hmm,” She tapped her chin, a slightly wry smile slowly crossed her lips, “What were you doin’ out there?” “Well, having breakfast.” “At Shoney’s, yeah. But what else? Sure you didn’t go all the way down there just for toast an’ jam with Shoney Bear.” “Oh, I started a new job. I haven’t officially got paid yet and I don’t know if I’m very good at it. They gave me that envelope a few days ago in Atlanta but I think they were handing them out to everyone.” That wry smile grew just a bit bigger, a spark of recognition flashing in her eyes. “You, um, mind tellin’ me what that new job is? Just outta curiosity.” “I fight people…” John said that quietly, “ … I have to be in Pittsburgh next. I’m a little early, sure, but I don’t mind,” at this point he started to talk himself as if the orange-haired woman was not there,“and they said I should open a bank account but I’m not sure that I would like that very much. It’s almost like it doesn’t exist. How can I trust 0s and 1s?” “I thought so,” that wry smile turned into a bit of a warmer one, a kind smile that seemed both clashing and complementary to the woman’s rough exterior, “I think I know who you are. Saw you on the internet. That video was freakin’ great. And… heh. I used to fight people too. We got that much in common.” He pointed at the picture above her. “So that’s you?” She gave a big fat grin. “Yep.” “Cool,” John looked at the bill nervously, “So I don’t have any way to pay this but I signed a piece of paper and they have to give me more if I show up I think. I know this sounds lame but can I get an IOU?”he reached into the wallet and lifted out a pair of tickets stamped ‘Monday Night Brawl’ where the money would be, “oh, they gave me these. I don’t know why I got these because I’m going to be working there. Maybe if you show up I can pay you after its over.” “Sweet! Okay, Mister Bishop Church, you got yourself a deal. But you better not try an’ welch on me. I got a punch that can lay out guys bigger than YOU,” she grinned playfully. He slid the tickets over the counter. She grabbed them, looked at them intently, and slipped them in her back pocket. “Your ride’s around back. I’ll go unlock the gate for ya.” She fished out the keys from the clear folder and tossed the keys to John. He snatched them out of the air with one hand. “Nice catch!” He grabbed his gym bag from the chair and slung it over his shoulder. And once again, John followed Mike out.