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lucysarah-c · 1 year ago

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I would like you very much to talk about the girlfriend effect on Levi's fashion

The man has zero sense on it it's actually hurt

The way I squealed when I read this ask. I was like that TikTok sound of “OH MY GOODNESSI LOVE THIS QUESTION! I THINK..!”

*Deep sigh* Anon, you're absolutely right; it's time we face the truth about Levi's sense of style – it's hideous. Have you witnessed those panels of him in the Uprising arc with a T-shirt on top of a long-sleeve shirt? I mean, seriously, it's like, "You're lucky I adore you, Levi…"

Now, let's establish some basics. We can't delve into the "girlfriend effect" without first acknowledging Levi's life as a man. I hate to break it to many of us, but Levi is, indeed, a man – raised by Kenny, no less. Levi values cleanliness and practicality. To sum up Levi's approach to broad topics: cheap, pragmatic, and straightforward. The only exceptions to this rule are tea and cleaning. Levi grew up in poverty, so he won't waste a single penny on face cream, even if you harass him. As an example, there's a "game" that was only available, I believe, in Japan, that had side stories, and Levi literally told Erwin he wasted too much money on "pointless" stuff like hair pomade…

Levi doesn't buy much furniture, treats for his body, clothes – anything, really. I'd even venture to say he might get some of his clothes from donations. He saves his money for tea… and tea sets.

And here's where the girlfriend comes into the picture. It starts subtly; she spends a night in his personal chambers and suggests bringing in new pillows, curtains, furniture, scented candles, and bathroom appliances for her stuff. Then the full transformation happens.

Levi, pale as ever, refuses to wear sunscreen like any man would. “I'm trying to look after you!" she would insist while running her hand through his face; he's not pleased. He hates the sticky feeling, but it's just the beginning. He pretends to dislike it, but he falls asleep so easily when his face is on her legs, and she's giving him a face massage with a full face glam, mask, and gua sha.

"You have to use it like this, against the hair movement, to create volume so your hair doesn't stick to your scalp," she says, applying molding wax to his hair to give it more volume. Skincare routine? Check. Lip balms? Check. Hairstyles? Check. Personal chambers now looking comfy and homey? Double-check.

And finally, the clothes. He's against it at first, always in uniform, so why bother? But she explains how proportions and colors can make him look taller, and he's tempted to tell her he doesn't care. However, her puppy eyes beg him to wear what she chose.

The result? Levi, who once dressed like a pre-teen from the 2000s, transforms into a model. The LOOKS? He goes out with the vets for a few beers on a day off, and MPs are turning around; even Erwin is surprised. He's supposed to be the high maintenance of the group, not Levi! This transformation becomes the main giveaway that Levi is dating. Glowing skin, glass-like complexion, perfectly cut and smooth hair with ideal volume.

The cherry on top? Suddenly, he's taking days off, going out more, and knows a lot about which restaurants are "not that bad," all while dressing like a Vogue cover.

The only disadvantage? Now he has his pockets full of lip glosses, napkins, hand cream, etc. Women's clothes don't have pockets. How is he supposed to explain to the MPs when they ask for a pen, and he pulls out a pink, glittery lip gloss from his pocket? Not everything is an upside.

I ADORED this question! I hope the answer is somehow what you had in mind! Thank you so so much for sending this.

I hope you and your loved ones are doing great today and stay safe!

Lots of love!

Tags!: @nmlkys @jimoonbeau @fictiondrunk @notgoodforlife @nube55 @justkon @i-literally-cant-with-this @darkstarlight82 @thoreeo @quillinhand @humanitys-strongest-bamf Wanna join my tag list? Here!

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nicks-den · 4 months ago

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Episode 6 of Hidamari ga Kikoeru is now subbed and up on my site!

Actually, there was a lot I wanted to talk about because of this episode, but for now this will do. I might make another post about it later.

You can find me talking about what it means to have a physical disability in Japan below the cut. I also talk about Maya's character and note taking.

First off, let me talk about some note taking tips they talked about in the episode.

Underlining a phrase or a word is common in Japanese note taking and using a line with an arrow means the same thing repeats, so this can help save time, especially if it's harder to write.

You can see it clearly here:

The line "Using oblique lines and careting is good practice." was actually difficult to translate well and I had to consult that with a Japanese person because the word the Japanese use (吹き出し) for this means "speech bubbles" like in the manga and I don't think it fits this context, so I went with carets as that was the closest translation I could think of. You can see it even in this episode. These speech bubbles are used to insert information you forgot to include. Some people prefer using straighter lines, while others do it like in the screenshot.

Alright, now I'll talk a bit about disability.

Physically disabled persons (in Japanese: 身体障害者 - shintaishougaisha, lit: physically disabled people) in Japan can (it's not mandatory) apply for a certificate of their disability, in this case it's the physical disability certificate (in Japanese: 身体障害者手帳 - shintaishougaishatechou, lit: certificate of a physically disabled person) that we see Taichi holding at the end of episode 6.

In Japan, physical disability is graded based on severity into several grades (1-7) and these grades (級) are separate for each body part or organ / body system afflicted. Note: Grade 7 is never used for a single disabled organ. This doesn't mean that every physical disability type has all these grades, but they always have some grade within 1-6. Each disability (or a sum of them) also falls under a type (種) based on the grade it is allocated, either Type 1 (第１種) or Type 2 (第２種). In the case of hearing impairments (聴覚障害 - choukakushougai), there are 4 grades. Grades 2 and 3 which fall under Type 1 (more severe disabilities / disabilities requiring more assistance) and Grades 4 and 6 which fall under Type 2 (less severe disabilities / disabilities requiring less assistance). For multiple physical disabilities, the rules are a bit different as the numbers of grades get added up and the resulting type is based on that number.

The description of the grades for hearing impairment is if as follows:

Grade 2 - Severe disability (basically deafness) in both ears, hearing threshold starts at 100 dB or more in both ears

Grade 3 - Hearing threshold in the interval of 90-99 dB in both ears (someone who cannot understand loud speech unless they're close to their ears)

Grade 4 - Both ears have a hearing threshold in the interval of 80-89 dB or clarity of normal speech understood is less than 50% for both ears (not sure how this one is measured)

(someone who cannot understand normal speech unless close to their ears)

Grade 6 - Both ears have a hearing threshold in the interval of 70-79 dB (cannot understand speech from distance of more than 40 cm) or one ear has a hearing threshold at 90+ dB and the other ear has a hearing threshold at 50 dB or higher (assymetrical hearing loss)

In Maya's case, you can see the screenshot below.

From her certificate, we can see she falls under Grade 3 and Type 1 which is the more severe type of disability. It also means she's not fully deaf yet, but has a very significant hearing loss in both ears.

To illustrate some decibel levels:

Whispering - 20 dB

Quiet conversation - 30 dB

Normal conversation - 50 - 70 dB

Loud conversation - 70 - 80 dB

Screams from 30 cm away - 90 dB

Screaming next to ears - 110 dB

Holders of physical disability certificates are elligible for several discounts, material and non-material benefits based on their Type (Type 1 or Type 2). Usually it's 50 % discount for public transportation, reduction of different taxes, medical subsidies, provision of medical equipment required for daily life, discounts / free entry to public facilities such as museums, zoos, acquariums, etc.

Naturally, there's also the associated stigma related to showing your certificate to get a discount (this is especially true for people with intellectual disabilities, but those have a slightly different certificate).

#sketchy bl subbing projects #Hidamari ga Kikoeru #ひだまりが聴こえる #Nakazawa Motoki #中沢元紀 #Kobayashi Toranosuke #小林虎之介 #fansubs #i hear the sunspot #JBL #Japanese BL #nicksden researches

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yuurei20 · 6 months ago

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This is a little bit of a weird long question lol

I'm more asking your opinion about it haha

I'm trying to think on it - is Idia an Otaku because that's the setting the game is for (Japanese audience) and those are the signifiers that a Japanese audience would recognize as "nerd", or is he just an Otaku in general and would still be a "Weeb/Anime nerd" if the original audience was American/otherwise western.

Like - what I mean is in American pop culture, the "Weeb/Anime fan" is kind of a subset of nerd. Like none of the characters from "the big bang theory" (to my knowledge) are "weebs", they aren't our most generic image of a nerd. If a character/person is a "Weeb" it usually means they have a specific interest in Japanese media, and this doesn't necessarily correlate to other "nerdy" things.

Because in America/Western settings, Japanese fandom culture is foreign (thus me using Weeb instead of Otaku though plenty of people call themselves Otaku rather than weeb), so the implications of Idia being a Weeb is somewhat different - he's no longer a "generic nerdy character", but something a tad more specific.

So like - how there's beansfest or the use of honorifics or how the unique magic works with pronunciation - that usage of Japanese culture and language to express what Yana is trying to do, but it isn't necessarily meant to be Japanese in universe, because NRC is distinctly not set in Japan or even the Twst equivalent of Japan

Basically to sum up my rambly question - do you think Idia is supposed to be a "Nerd" in general or is he supposed to be an "Otaku"?

Tldr, would Idia be buying "comic books" in the EN localization or would it still be "Manga"

How exactly is our dear Idia the Nerdy foil to Hercules's Jock lmao

Hello hello!! Thank you for this question! ^^

Is there a word that can encompass both, in English? 👀

I think this connects to how the word "otaku" in Japanese seems to be different from the word "otaku" as it has been adopted by English, so this might be confusing 💦 But I will do my best!

I found an excerpt from a book called "Otaku Marketing" that provides an explanation of "otaku"'s original meaning, summarized here:

The basic definition of an 'otaku' is someone with a particular obsession who devotes an extreme amount of time and money to that interest and possesses deep knowledge and imagination regarding it. The term can be viewed negatively, describing a person who is immersed in subcultures that are difficult for the general public to understand, and who lacks communication skills. These days it has become more generally accepted with a meaning similar to "enthusiast" or "fan", and its usage has diversified, including terms like "health otaku" that contrast with the negative connotation, but the original image of otaku as being obsessively dedicated, introverted, and intense remains. Examples of otaku include military enthusiasts, railway enthusiasts, Johnny's Entertainment enthusiasts, Gundam enthusiasts, Hanshin Tiger enthusiasts, etc.

This is very much Idia ^^ There are many traits associated with otaku that we see in him, from his stutter to how quickly he speaks when excited, self depreciation combined with contradictory pride, net slang--even the manner in which he laughs and the personal pronoun that he uses.

In English it seems that, as you say, the Japanese-language concept of "otaku" has been separated into "nerd" and "weeb."

Idia is interested in things like puzzles, board games, horror movies with practical effects and Halloween, which might not be the first thing that comes to mind when an English-speaker hears the word "otaku" and may push him more into the "nerd" category.

Idia mentions reading manga and watching anime, but is this just because the game is being developed in the same country that produces those things?

Is this a case of Idia not being fully localized, and an American-developed Twst would have made him interested in American comic books and cartoons to suit its home audience, as you say?

I agree that NRC does not seem to be set in Japan or even a Twst-Japan-equivalent, but that might be exactly the point: Idia is interested in media from another country, and that is where things get interesting!

It seems that a Twst-Japan equivalent exists, and Idia is a big fan of their pop culture 👀

Sam mentions branches of his Mystery shop that exist in the "East," introducing things from real-world-Japan culture in the New Years events.

How canonical the New Year's events are meant to be is a little vague, especially because everyone (except Azul, Jade, Floyd and Scarabia) go home for New Year's in the main story--a point that is integral to the plot of Book 4.

But even if New Years is meant to be a fun little spin-off with no real connection to the culture of the actual universe, we also have a vignette where Idia explains what ninja are to Silver, saying that "they live in a far eastern country," and mentioning things like "shuriken," "fireball jutsu" and "samurai."

If there is another word in English that encompasses both "weeb" and "nerd" together, then I think that might be it! If it must be one or the other...I am not sure!

I have seen EN players who missed the Harveston event insisting that Idia doesn't actually like anime, just movies and video games, so it seems to be a divisive subject on EN.

Idia's interest in the pop culture from this unnamed country in the East is definitely not his defining personality trait, being only one of the many facets of who he is ^^

How to express this in English seems more complex than one may think!

Is it inaccurate to describe Idia as a "weeb" because of the depth of his interest in locally-produced board games and movies that have nothing to do with Twst-Japan-equivalent-media? If he is referred to as a "nerd," will there be friction because of lines like, "an anime can be so good it's literally life-changing"? Are the two groups mutually exclusive in English?

I am not sure I have an answer :> Would be most grateful for any opinions and ideas!

#twstask #twisted wonderland #Idia Shroud

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nardo-headcanons · 7 months ago

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HI FREN!!! Am here to pick your big brain 🧠 🤗 I had a question about finances?! How much do you think ninjas make for being ninjas, by the time shippuden ends, and how much do you think Naruto as hokage makes 🤔 Sasuke as a missing nin has no money so how do they all pay for stuff?! Thank you for even reading this 🤗🤭🙂❤

*SIGH* Finances in the shinobi world... I have thought about this way too often. It should've been a way bigger part of Naruto's worldbuilding, considering the many money driven motvations we see in the story, but it sadly isn't. For the sake of this post I will convert everything into USD, but feel free to convert that into any currency of your choosing. This will be a mixture of canon and headcanon, you've been warned.

Money in the shinobi world

Let's see what the wiki has to say about money in the shinobi world first.

The ryō (両) is the currency used in the Naruto world. It is based on an old Japanese gold coin that was used in Japan before the Meiji period. It was later replaced by the yen. The exchange rate of 1 ryō is 10 yen. Although money isn't focused on much in the story, certain prices and sums of money have been mentioned. For example, Asuma Sarutobi had a bounty of 35,000,000 ryō (...) The Mujina Bandits made a demand to the Ikkyū Madoka, the daimyō of the Land of Fire, of a ransom of 500,000,000 ryō for the safe return of his son, Tentō Madoka, which Ikkyū had to make preparations to gather.

35,000,000 ryō are about $430,000 while 500,000,000 ryō are about $6.24 million.

Shinobi usually earn their money from completing missions. The rewards for these range from 5,000 ryō for a D-rank mission to more than 1,000,000 ryō for an S-rank mission.

5,000 ryō is about $60, while 1,000,000 ryō equate to about $12,400.

Currency

There are three types of currency in the shinobi world, one being copper coins, the other actual money bills and the last one being gold ingots. Copper coins are the most commonly spent currency, while ingots are the rarest. Bills start from 100 ryō ($1.25) and go up to 10,000 ryō ($125), while there are ingots from 10,000 to 1,000,000 ryō ($12,500).

Pricing

In Naruto Part 1, we see Naruto and Jiraya bump into a man who says his designer jacket is worth 10,000 ryō ($1250), to which Jiraya (who is loaded btw) says that designer jackets of that quality aren't usually "that" expensive. Aside from revealing designer brands exist in the shinobi world, it also implies that the pricing in Naruto isn't comparable to our world, since 1000 dollars for a designer jacket isn't outrageously expensive.

While hubs of economy, the ninja villages are mainly used to produce ninjas and economic growth is not their first priority. Most money is made (and exchanged) in the capital cities of the continent, which is where most of the rich and wealthy live.

I do think there is some basic universal healthcare in the hidden leaf village, however, long term/large scale treatments often have to be paid out of pocket. (ex. Mukai Kohinata, Shisui Uchiha)

Salaries

Given the large majority of missions go along the hokage village and a part of the money is taken by the village and the large position of power that the hokage position provides, it's reasonable to assume the hokage earns quite a lot. My estimate is about 100M ryō, which equates to $1.25M.

The average genin, assumed they do 4 D-Rank missions a week and pays an income tax of 20%, makes about $10,300 anually, most of which will be spent on ninja weapons and training equipment.

Aside from official missions, there are also ways to 'illegally' hire ninja, especially when talking about rogue ninja outside of the village. They are directly payed without paying taxes to their village. Aside from state sponsored killing, there are other missions to do, like transporting intel or other goods, which Sasuke most likely could've done during his time in exile, considering he traveled so much. People with ninja skills are a rarity outside of the ninja villages, so hiring a nukenin to do a job for you is a viable option, at least for more wealthy civilians.

When talking about Sasuke in Orochimaru's hideout, I think he gets an allowance from Oro as well as making money doing "illegal" missions. I think Orochimaru comes from a wealthy family and he makes a lot of money from his lab work and experiments. You can hire him/his men for intel gathering and experiments, as well as medical services if you're a nukenin. Out of the sannin, Oro is probably the richest of the three of them.

#naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto headcanons #naruto worldbuilding #naruto fanfiction #sasuke uchiha #naruto uzumaki #hokage #hidden leaf village #konohagakure #orochimaru

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absolutebl · 2 years ago

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10 BLs where the Main Couple has NO Prior History

Or at least, very very little of it. The opposite of the very popular LTP (long term pining).

This post in response to a question posed by the most excellent @luuhecia who asked: Soooo here's my plea: do you have any recommendations of shows where the people involved have no previous history?

In other words we get to watch them meet and fall in love with no prior history on either side. So I eliminated those were there was a made crush even if only recently (e.g. Light on Me, Takara & Amagi).

1. Seven Days

They know of each other but just in a normal high school way. No pining. The story is basically about the 7 days it takes them to fall in love.

2. Color Rush

They are destined for each other but they have never met before.

3. Semantic Error

In fact, part of the premise is a “hunt for the unknown boy who made him fail to graduate.”

4. To My Star

They have a couple of meet cutes, accidentally shack up together.

There are actually a TON from Korea.

5. Addicted

The new kid in high school. They have a family connection (it turns out) but they didn’t know each other.

6. Restart After Come Back Home

We see them meet for the first time and then go on from there.

7. HIStory 2: Crossing the Line

They meet by crashing into each other because... Taiwan.

8. My Tooth Your Love

Just so cute.

9. Eclipse

There are a lot of good ones from Thailand but I chose this because it’s part of the plot, how they know nothing about each other.

10. Love by Chance

Just the greatest meet cute ever.

NEW ENTRY

11. The Eighth Sense

Actually uses the fact that the DO NOT have prior history with each other as a plot point and for character development. It’s addressed directly ind dialogue. Very nicely done!

Others that didn’t make my top 10 but still have no prior pining

China

Advance Bravely

Capture Lover

My Esports Genius Brother - love at first sight

Japan

Candy Color Paradox

Given - love at first sight

His the series - love at first sight

Senpai This Can’t Be Love (he has a crush on him but they haven’t actually met each other)

Silhouette of Your Voice

Kieta Hatsukoi

My Beautiful Man

Mr Unlucky - love at first sight

Korea

Kissable Lips - fated mates

Mr Heart

My Sweet Dear

Love Class

Behind Cut

Shoulder to Cry On

The Lover - cohabitation

Unintentional Love Story

Tasty Florida - love at first sight

Roommates of 304

All the Liquors

Blueming

New Employee

Nobleman Ryus Wedding

Oh Boarding House

Ocean Likes Me

Tinted With You

Wish You - love at first sight

You Make Me Dance

The Philippines

Like in the Movies

My Day

Rainbow Prince

Taiwan

Because of You

Be Loved in House I Do

Craving You - love at first sight

HIStory 2: Right or Wrong

See You After Quarantine?

Vietnam

Hay Rival I Love You

My Lascivious Boss - one night stand

Nation’s Brother - one night stand

Want to See You

You Are Ma Boy

Thailand

(not all are chronicled, there’s too many, main couples only)

Ai Long Nhai - love at first sight

Bite Me

Between Us - one night stand

Coffee Melody

Love Mechanics - one night stand

Ghost Host Ghost House

Gen Y - love at first sight

KinnPorsche (family connection but they don’t know about it)

La Cuisine

Tale of 1000 Stars - Well there is the heart connection but it’s not quite the same thing

Love in the Air

Love Area

My Engineer

Meow Ears Up

Moonlight Chicken - one night stand

My Ride - GREAT example of well developed meet cute and then romance

Never Let Me Go

Not Me - erm, it’s complicated

Oh My Sunshine Night

Oxygen - love at first sight

Paint with Love

Puppy Honey

Siew Sum Noi

Something in My Room

Top Secret Together

TharnType

Tuxedo

Unforgotten Night - One Night Stand

Vice Versa

What Zabb Man

YYY

This post as of April 2023, not responsible of BLs that fit this criteria after that date. But feel free to leave a comment or repost with more additions.

(source)

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aquamarine-oceanfront · 7 months ago

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Details about the Amazing Digital Circus pop-up shop in Japan (and the exclusive premiere of episode 2 associated with it)

This post's title kind of sums up the basics, but here's some background: in early March of this year, a Japanese company called InfoLens entered a licensing agreement with Glitch Productions to sell products based on The Amazing Digital Circus. The same press release also announced that they would open a pop-up store in Tokyo, which would operate from April 26th to May 12th. (If I'm not mistaken, InfoLens seems to specialize in these sorts of agreements - they've made similar deals and pop-up shops for everything from Apex Legends to Garten of Banban.) Around this time, they also started up an official Japanese Twitter account devoted to the series.

Close to a month later, they would announce more details about the shop, including what goods they would sell (a mixture of existing merchandise from Glitch's online store and newly-made ones) and plans for a second location in Osaka (running June 7-23). This also coincided with the first time Glitch Productions' main Twitter account publicly acknowledged any of this (as far as I know).

Not long after this came another announcement: they would be holding a raffle where the winners would attend the world premiere of the series' second episode on April 25th, the day before the Tokyo store opened to the public.

So how'd all this pan out? I'll elaborate below the jump, but here's a picture to set the scene:

(Source: Reika Ō, Japanese VA for Gangle and Zooble)

To start with, the Pop-Up Store itself has a number of things aside from merchandise - like the life-size Pomni statue seen above. (The design was the work of Zachary Preciado - it bears a resemblance to her AniMatez figure.)

There's also a corner decorated to look like Kaufmo's room, with a Ragatha (and, at least sometimes, Jax) cutout & oversized die (for sitting on). I believe it's meant to be used for photographs.

(Sources, from left to right: IshiiNaki and the official Japanese Amazing Digital Circus Twitter account)

Other decorations include curtains, TVs displaying promotional clips (seemingly just existing ones on Glitch's YouTube channel), a floating inflatable replica of Bubble, an equally inflatable kiddie pool holding a whole bunch of plushies for sale, and some giant pseudo-toy blocks. The following pictures collectively show all of these:

(Sources, from left to right: Soichiro Sugawara - Japanese VA of Caine & Jax - Shiori Honma - Japanese VA of Ragatha - and Columbo-san Games)

Also, while I'm not currently aware of any recordings of this, according to Arran (Pomni's Japanese VA), the store plays specially-recorded audio of Pomni and Caine. She also mentions "treasured materials" (秘蔵資料) as another point of interest, which segues into my next topic:

(Sources, from top to bottom: Reika Ō, Columbo-san Games again, Glitch Productions, and Shiori Honma)

Several photographs have a glass display in the background. Thus far, I haven't seen any closer pictures of it - given that there appears to be a "no photography/video recording" placard nearby, that'd explain why. The actual contents aren't especially clear - there's a picture of the main cast doing their bind poses at the back of the case, but the sheets of paper(?) underneath look like they could be concept art or something similar. I'm not sure. Hopefully this gets released later down the line.

With all that said, what about the advance screening? Well, as seen in Glitch's photos of the event, Kevin and Luke made a surprise appearance in person to talk about the series. While the attendees have been told not to reveal anything about the new episode until its wider release on May 3rd, one of them took notes on the experience as a personal reminder and revealed some interesting tidbits in the process. I'm not the best at Japanese, but here's my rough, sometimes rather loose translation of what they wrote:

★ The episode, as well as the announcements before and after it, were dubbed in Japanese. Furthermore, the announcement before the screening was recorded specifically for the occasion. Pretty wild.¹ ∙ Before the show: Caine + Pomni ∙ After the show: Jax ("Good to know it was just a dream"² - this elicited shrieks in the venue) ★ Before the main event began, they played the existing promo videos on a loop in both English & Japanese. ★ I expected the audience to be overwhelmingly female, but in reality there were quite a lot of men in attendance, too. ★ Kevin (the CEO) and Luke frequently said things in Japanese, like "arigatō (thank you)" and "surimasen (excuse me)." The one that made me laugh the most was Kevin saying "…Sō desu ne (Yes, indeed)… (thoughtful)" ★ The reason they held the screening in Japan was twofold: they wanted to help spread Western animation to the country & they simply love Japan. ★ Episode 2 really is good, but my brain hasn't fully processed it right now, so it's better not to get your hopes too high.³ 🥲✨✊

¹ Originally "やば" (yaba), which appears to be a variant of "やばい" (yabai). This word can mean many different things - literally "terrible" or "very bad," but also used as slang for "great" or "far-out" - and I felt that "wild" was a reasonably apt choice for this context. ² Another attendee's comments on Twitter reference this quote as well. ³ To be absolutely clear: this appears to be a warning against unreasonably high expectations (since the OP hadn't quite digested the episode at the time of writing), not discouraging getting hyped to any degree.

Another attendee had a shorter account of the experience, summed up in two tweets. (Again, please forgive me if there are any errors in these translations!)

I was chosen and went to the advance screening…! I definitely didn't expect there to be specially-recorded voice work and art (to remind people of their manners) before the show… Especially Jax's closing remarks: "'You all can leave through the exit. Ah, [but] that's none of my business." It was way too crazy, hearing the voices of the agonized nerds in the venue. It was great lol Two producers made a surprise trip to Japan and took part in a Q&A session. They said that Popee the Performer was one of the show's influences!

(It's worth noting that Gooseworx herself has mentioned Popee as an influence in the past before, specifically saying Jax and Gangle were respectively inspired by Popee and Kedamono - though, in both cases, she also mentioned that there was more to her characters than just resembling the latter two.)

To finish this post off, here's a couple more images (both posted on Twitter by Shiori Honma) I wanted to share:

Honma posts with her character's standee.

All five of the Japanese dub's primary voice actors, together with Pomni. (If I'm not mistaken, the tweet's text says none of them knew in advance that the screening of episode 2 would be in Japanese.)

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #amazing digital circus #digital circus #japan

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ousamaduo · 1 year ago

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What tf is Knights !! arc about, or also why are the kouhais essential to their general arc:

I wrote this as a thread on the bird app, but since someone is k!lling that app, I'm putting this here, with a few tweaks. Obligatory disclaimer that I have kouhais brainrot :)

1. The main !! arc

I've been guilty of complaining that Knights !! arc has been pretty vague, and yeah, it sorta was. The thing is, it was more clear to see how their arc went in !, because it was pretty simple: a bunch of individualists leaning to come together as a unit, and also healing together from their past wounds. But now that they've sorta learned to work together and have a new leader, wtf is their arc even about?

I'd argue it's exactly related to their cute new leader, but first I wanna talk about his cute new kouhais.

2. The kouhais

First we see them mentioned back in the ! arc, in Operetta, which happens in... April, in-game, if I'm not mistaken? Sometime in the Spring, for sure. That was the event that set off my kouhais brainrot <3

Ritsu and Arashi discuss how there are so many newcomers in Knights, that soon it will be as big as Chess was, and how worried they are about it. (They also have a cute moment where they call Tsukasa a miracle, which is sooo adorable, the way they love Tsukasa so much.... sobs).

The convo basically sums up their past arc (the War stuff, Tsukasa being the miracle that helped them heal and come together, etc), but also sets up something that's gonna be recurrent in their future arc: the amount of newbies they have, and how it affects the unit as a whole.

The very first time we see Knights in !!, even before they showed up in the Main Story, was the gacha story Meowsketeers, the first !! gacha. Which, surprise, is dealing with the kouhais :)

In Meowsketeers, Ritsu is bothered by how Tsukasa just bluntly dismissed a bunch of newbies because they weren't taking things seriously. Tsukasa's argument was that it's ok if you just want to have fun as an idol, but in that case they should just go to other units, because, in Knights, he wants only people who take their activities more seriously - after all, they are the top earners of ES. (Which, looking back now, is sooo funny considering how stubborn Tsukasa is in protecting his kouhais later LOL).

Anyway, Ritsu really doesn't agree with that and spends most of the story stressed about it. He understands Tsukasa's point, and he wants to support Tsukasa since they chose him as their King, but he also feels sorry for the newbies. It all gets solved when the newbies send him a video of them practicing, and apologize for not taking it seriously before, and ask him to vouch for them to be let back in the unit, and he promises them he'll convince Tsukasa to let them join again. (We are never told if Tsukasa lets them back in or not btw lol I just assume he did).

In my opinion, it’s not for nothing that this was the first Knights story in !!, as it sets up the important themes of:

- Tsukasa is not adding just anyone, he wants his newbies to make an effort!

- Ritsu is pretty attached to them, despite the worries he voiced in Operetta, and it shows (especially in euthanasia lol)

- Knights as a whole doing their best to support Tsukasa’s decisions as their leader, even if they have complaints (they’re so cute in this story btw, teasing him and all, really, go read it)

But then you might ask, why tf was their first event Next Door, which has nothing to do with the kouhais?

Next Door, my behated <3, sets up another plot that inconveniences Knights later, ESPECIALLY in Sudden Death: Leo getting shipped off to Italy with Izumi. Now, I’m not sure in universe, but irl Leo and Izumi are arguably the most popular Knights, along with Ritsu. So let’s say it might be the same in universe: them being away would be an inconvenience to knights, right?

Exactly :)

Later in SS, when Knights’ orders get leaked, Leo wants to stay in Japan to support them, but he and Izumi have to go to Eurovisio--, I mean, a festival in Europe. Not to mention the amount of times they have to fly back and forth between Japan and Italy in other stories. Back then it was mostly a funny gag, but then Sudden Death actually used it as a real problem for them.

Would Leo and Izumi being there have changed how things happened? Likely not lol but we’ll never know.

I’ll get back to this, but back to the kouhais.

Next event, the first Knights unit song event, euthanasia, they’re once again the source of conflict. Izumi is upset that Knights funds and time are being used on the kouhais, Tsukasa insists it’s a necessary investment. Leo agrees with Tsukasa, because he wants to support him, as the former King (he actually does this a lot through this arc tbh and it’s so cute). Arashi sort of agrees with Izumi, despite being in Yumenosaki and supporting Tsukasa, she agrees that she doesn’t want to spend her time training the newbies, but instead improving herself. Ritsu isn’t happy with all the fighting and proposes a duel, euthanasia.

The thing is euthanasia is just a play for him to prove the kouhais aren’t just useless deadweight (as he has them performing alongside Knights), but he also understands Izumi’s and Arashi’s worries, so his solution is to leave the kouhais training in the hands of the Producer Association.

This event also brings back the concern Ritsu and Arashi had back in Operetta: with this many newbies, soon Knighs will be like Chess, and we know how Chess ended, right? But Ritsu squashes those worries by showing that: 1) unlike Chess members, the newbies are hardworking, and 2) they have the support of groups like the Producer Association now, while back during the War, Chess (and all other units) were on their own.

Also, one thing almost everyone forgets is that Chess actually ended because of the new payment system the student council set up: units received a certain amount for their lives, and it was up to them to share among the members, so the more members a unit had the less the individuals would be paid. Having a unit with more than 5 members would mean their payment would be less than their investments in the show, making it a loss to have to have so many members.

But Knights is a top earner now, one of the Big 3 of ES, so money is not a concern for them.

So now the newbies are not much of a hindrance to Knights, what else next?

After euthanasia, we get Fragrance, which again has nothing to do with the newbies, just like Sunshine, which is just Knights on vacation. But I’ll get back to that.

Fragrance is a pretty fun story, as it picks up on Arashi’s individualistic side (I don’t think it’s a bad thing btw, it’s one of Knights’ charm points imo). They’re offered to work with Aarashi’s favorite perfume brand, but she hesitates because he doesn’t want to taint her good memories of it. The others try to force her hand on it, and she ends up getting mad at them when they try to turn it into a duel. It’s a pretty good story for Arashi, as she shows her more assertive side again (after being more or less just going along with whatever their cute King suggested), but it’s also a pretty interesting story for Ritsu, imo. Back in !, he was a more laid back character who didn’t meddle so much, and Horror Night Halloween demonstrates this pretty well in the flashback sequence: he didn’t have the courage to step in and change things. When Izumi and Leo had that fight, he could only stand there listening behind that door. Now he doesn’t just stand there doing nothing, but actually takes action when Knights need it. Only this time he goes a bit overboard and ends up upsetting Arashi lol. It worked well with the kouhais conflict before, but he’s still learning how to balance his meddling lmao

Then after this we get, Sudden Death. (Man, I hate the SS arc…)

This time we get an interesting info on the kouhais: there are other, smaller, subunits of kouhais competing in Knights’ name in other regions. And there are about six of them accompanying Knights here, although they’re “in hiding”, as apparently they’re not very good yet.

I won’t give a summary on this story because it’s long and I always end up going on a hate tangent, but what’s important here are two things: the already mentioned bit of Izumi and Leo having to be abroad being an actual problem this time, and Tsukasa’s feelings for the kouhais.

I’ve talked a lot about this before on the bird app, but: Tsukasa LOVES these kids, despite whatever he says. Trust me.

After Tsukasa’s, uh, “execution” he’s too depressed to leave his room, so he can’t help Ritsu and Arashi with the plan of performing for an entire week in the avenue they reserved. Instead, it is the six not-very-good kouhais who step in to help them in his place. He reflects that he hadn’t really seen them as individuals before, but as tools, as an investiment for Knights. “Kohaku” argues that that’s not true, he must have cared for them or else they wouldn’t have stepped in to help as they did.

Sudden Death shows Tsukasa’s first failure as Knights’ leader. He trusted someone else and got betrayed. He then refused to fight back, even though he knew it would affect Knights negatively, to protect Kohaku’s family. In Requiem, when he received the crown, he declared he wouldn’t choose between his career as an idol, as Knights, and his family. But here he’s finally forced to choose between Knights and his family (Kohaku and the Oukawa clan). And he chooses his family. And it hurts him so much he’s almost suicidal.

And this is basically the last we see of Knights as a whole in this year, chronologically. We get a small peek at them during the SS finals, but it’s mostly them bickering. After this event, which reportedly left every TsukasaP dead, we rewind back in the year, to Tanabata in Seven Bridges, and the vacation in Sunshine.

Sunshine is a special case, the “funny filler vacation event”, the “beach episode” if you will. Leo fakes a slump to force Knights to go on vacation, except this vacation is basically performing at a summer festival, but which will allow them a few days to relax at the beach. And yeah, it’s funny and cute, until you realize this happens riiiight before A Dark Night’s Passing (aka that whole GFK mess, actually Leo might have already been involved in that guy during this) and Next Door (aka Leo getting scared his friends would use him, but then plotting a Judgment where he’d purposefully lose and allow them to do whatever they wanted with him, which ended up in him benign sent to Izumi to deal with). Fun stuff, right? Haha…. laughs in sad LeoP.

Seven Bridges once again is an Arashi focus, kicking off the 1.5 Main Story arc, with the plot of the cenotaph being removed and Arashi being upset about it. It also introduces Hitsugi/Negi.

But it also shows the kouhais once again, and how they were being treated by the students in the producer course (basically being ignored by the producers-to-be, who were all starry-eyed about working with THE Knights and only seemed to care about Ritsu, Arashi and Tsukasa), and Tsukasa being upset about it.

Now forgive me for being vague as this event wasn’t fully translated yet and I only read the livetweets a while ago. But basically Tsukasa is pretty upset at the Peace Party (a group of producer students who basically decides who will produce Knights, and has been lowkey bullying Anzu and Hitsugi/Negi), and after it is revealed that the cenotaph is being removed because of the Tanabata plan which the Peace Party forced Anzu to sign as her own, coupled with them treating the kouhais as less then, Tsukasa decides to basically boycott the school’s Tanabata festival and refuses to let Knights participate in it, instead choosing to participate in ES’s Tanabata. Of course, they end up participating later (I don’t remember exactly why, but if I’m not mistaken it’s because Anzu changes the plan to mix the school’s festival with ES, or something like that), but what matters to me is: Tsukasa is SO upset on the behalf of Arashi (who’s upset about the cenotaph being removed), Anzu (who’s being bullied by the Peace Party), AND his kouhais (who are being mistreated and ignored by the producer students).

But didn’t he say the kouhais were just some assets to him??

We get now to Mad Tea Party, which is set in November, right after Fragrance. Knights want their newbies to be the ones to participate in Underland (that Alice themed event we saw in Ra*bits and Alkaloid already), to better promote the newbies. Until Izumi learns that a fashion designer he admires is designing the outfits for it, and then he demands to participate too. They decide the five older members will participate along with the kouhais, but again Izumi is pissed that Ritsu/Arashi/Tsukasa are holding back during practice for the kouhais. He demands they choose only the best ones to participate. Tsukasa wants everyone to participate. Fight (duel) ensues.

We once again get Tsukasa “newbies are just an investment” Suou fighting for his kouhais. Once again we get Izumi on the opposite side of him.

This event also has an interesting point for Izumi’s character, with him complaining, why do they have to take it easy with the kouhais? Izumi himself didn’t have it easy when he started as a model and later as an idol! Remember how his favorite hobby is to bully newbies? His justification is that he wants to prepare them for how harsh the entertainment world is. This ends up clasing with how Tsukasa treats the kouhais.

But wait, wasn’t Tsukasa harsh to them during Meowsketeers?? He kicked some of them off because they weren’t taking it seriously!!

Exactly. Back then, during Meowsketeers, which happens early in the timeline, they weren’t taking it seriously. Mad Party happens in November, after euthanasia, where Ritsu mentions their kouhais are hardworking and won’t set them back. They are Knights too.

3. The real arc

I’ve talked a lot, but I’ll try to put it clearly now: this entire time, Knights arc has been about Tsukasa setting in as Knights leader, and how Knights support him/react to his actions.

Tsukasa is the youngest member of the original five. He’s also many times been referred to by them as their miracle. The one who guided them back to the light. Izumi puts it clearly in Requiem that they only kicked their asses back into gear because they had a “cute kouhai” nagging at them.

But because he’s so young and inexperienced, he also needs their support. He makes decisions they’re not always happy about, but he insists he doesn’t want to be a tyrant, so everytime they’re not satisfied with something they argue and duel until they come to an agreement. It always ends up mostly ok, until it doesn’t in Sudden Death.

Everything lines up to go wrong in Sudden Death. They’re up against Tsukasa’s dear Kohakun, who he absolutely trusts. Kohaku doesn’t know what the rest of his unit are up to. Izumi and Leo have to leave and can’t help them. Even Ritsu, Knights’ strategist, didn’t predict what would happen, because despite everyone being wary of Crazy:B, they decided to support Tsukasa who thought he could trust them. The consequences of both Knights and Crazy:B’s orders affect Kohaku, who’s loved by both Crazy:B and Tsukasa.

Even if they could have escaped the trap Crazy:B prepared for them, Tsukasa would have still been affected, as Crazy:B NEEDED to defeat Knights, or else Kohaku’s family would suffer. Tsukasa wasn’t aware of that back then, but the results would still hurt him regardless of what happened.

But it did happen, and Tsukasa had his first failure as Knights leader. And when he was at his lowest and couldn’t be there with his seniors, it were his kouhais who were there. Tsukasa thinks he “neglected” the kouhais, but “Kohaku” claims they must admire him, even be grateful to him.

We are never given names or faces for the kouhais. We are only told of their actions and lines through other characters, they’re basically NPCs. Ironically, they’re a tool in the story (but not in the way Tsukasa thinks lol): they’re here to showcase Tsukasa’s leadership skills. Even though Tsukasa believes he “neglected” them, we see it time and time again in other events how he stubbornly fought for them, even against his own beloved senpais. He diligently trained and invested time and money in them. He might have thought of them as mere assets, but they likely didn’t see it like this. What would you think if you had a senpai fighting for you, investing so much in your idol career, trying his best to make sure you flourish as Knights members? “Kohaku” was probably right. They likely admire him. Why else would they continue to perform even after they lost? Even after they saw their leader go through such a humiliating defeat? Everything Tsukasa did for them led to them being loyal to him.

This also brings back the parallel to Chess, which dissolved immediately after the students were told there wouldn’t be many benefits to being in a big unit. They weren’t loyal to each other, even before that the members barely even tried. When Leo offered them money in exchange for them not participating in Checkmate, resulting in their default loss and Knights victory, they gleefully accepted it. Because they weren’t “serious” about being idols. They didn’t have the pride and the will to win. They didn’t really care about that battle.

Ritsu and Arashi in Operetta, Izumi and Arashi in euthanasia, they were all concerned about Knights ending up like Chess, filled with a bunch of lazy members who would just coast along to their fame and not really do anything. But because of how strict Tsukasa was in Meowsketeers, how stubborn he was about how they were treated in Seven Bridges, how insistent he was through most of the !! events about training and investing in them, the newbies are now hardworking, loyal members to Knights.

Tl;dr: Knights kouhais were necessary tools to showcase Tsukasa’s leadership skills and how different Knights are now from Chess, hope this helps <3. Tsukasa is a LIAR, who says he neglected his kouhais but he’s fought basically everyone in Knights to keep them there. Ritsu is also the ultimate kouhai advocate, maybe even more than Tsukasa himself, and always comes up with a way to help them. IzuAra aren’t too happy, but Arashi still does her best to support Tsukasa, and Izumi ends up armstrong into training the kouhais too in Mad Part LOL. Leo had his Opinions, but ultimately he wants to support Tsukasa, as the old king supporting the new king. Knights kouhais are all stubborn hardworking babies who LOVE Tsukasa, and I’ll keep brainrotting over then as long as happyele keeps giving me Tsukasa being cute with them!

4. Conclusion: two kings?

We still have Knights climax story to go, a guaranteed Tsukasa 5* event. My prediction is that it will pick up from where Sudden Death left off, mostly on Tsukasa’s feelings of how he failed as a leader and how his seniors AND his kouhais still supported him after that.

Back when !! released, there was an interesting plot thread that was thrown in and then forgotten: Leo and Tsukasa acting as the two kings of Knights.

Tsukasa is too belligerent in the new arc, according to main story, and Leo usually acts as the face of Knights, to direct any ill comment towards him instead of at Tsukasa. Leo talked more about it in his first idol story, if I’m not mistaken, saying it confused the fans and how it looked like Knights had two Kings now, and that they might need to solve this with a Judgment lol.

And then that plot thread was just. Completely forgotten and dropped LOL. With Leo being shipped off to Italy with Izumi, supposedly Tsukasa was free to act as the absolute King and ultimate face of Knights, right?

I think that might be brought back after Sudden Death, though. We might get some conflict about how his actions led to Knights defeat, especially contrasted with how Leo wasn’t there to take the brunt of it. We were told the fans weren’t happy at all about what happened, in Parallel World Nazuna comments the fans were MAD at Crazy:B lol. So who knows, maybe the ultimate test of Tsukasa’s leadership is still to come.

It might just be my wishful thinking tho because I want leokasa gay fighting again <3

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk :)

#rambling #knights #knights kouhais #my thoughts on enstars #knights events #tsukasa suou #leo tsukinaga #izumi sena #ritsu sakuma #arashi narukami

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lunarlagomorph · 21 days ago

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so fmdm. is really hard to sum up my feelings on. kind of long so ill readmore it

I think the game has some major flaws. First off there are many elements that just feel racist. The emishi in general (named and based on a real group of people, btw), and especially what ive already said about white emishi. A fascination with nazis is present in the game. Also, I think that it just takes a very "restore-the-emperor" stance on japan post WWII. These are some of the main reasons i disliked the game.

Another problem it has is that it bites off more than it can chew. There are so many characters deserving of more in-depth characterization and theres just no room for any of it. Muramasa's mom literally has like no screentime despite how important ginsego is to the plot. Chachamaru feels like a yumizuka situation where shes incredible and then she dies quickly (though less quickly than yumizuka). The characters given entire routes worth of characterization show up for five minutes total in the true route. Sorimachi is called kageaki's true enemy and basically fucks off until the very end to just be like ehehehehe (though tbh i didnt mind this one as much, it made sense).

the main thing im still deciding how i feel about it is its handling of themes. Admittedly, I expected the true route to be just: killing is bad, and here's how you could have done everything peacefully. The fact that the game instead tries to say "killing is bad, but sometimes you have to do it -- which doesn't make it less bad" is interesting. I actually believe something very similar and so I want to say I like it. But the delivery feels like it bounces all over the place as we follow kageaki himself trying to grasp the truth. and so im not really sure if it "stuck the landing" and need to think about it more.

speaking of sticking the landing, i think the ending (not the epilogue ending) of the true route was what surprised me most. This game has never been restrained, and so I kept expecting a full layout of what exactly happened to kageaki when he split the helmet and fucked his mom. THis never comes, and I think I want to say I respect the story more for it. god knows it had enough gratitous h-scenes already. The fact too that theres really only a moment of resolution with hikaru felt right.

Beyond my complaints, I think i spent most of the time enjoying the game, with plenty of lulls though. Really great if you love well writen fight scenes (like some of the best, honestly), and the chunni shit never stops coming. I also just love Kageaki, i love hikaru, i love muramasa, and so many other characters. I'm probably going to tackle the fan discs at some time just because i want more of them. But yeah. Even if it feels rough, it aims incredibly high, and when it works it really works. And when it doesn't, it really doesn't. But i'm the kind of person who appreciates what a game does well more than cares about what it does poorly. And as bad as the politics can be, i don't think it makes this vn poisoned fruit, though I do think it will stay my hand in reccomending it to many people, and i can understand why people would dismiss it entirely because of them, which I cannot fault them for.

so basically id say 8.5 out of 10. In some ways its a 10/10. In others a 4/10.

#luna plays fmdm

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shinsengumi-archives · 1 year ago

Note

Hello! I'm fairly new to the topic of Shinsengumi, and wanted to ask if it's possible for you to explain the basics? Who they were, what they did, their purpose and when they were active, etc.?

Or do you perhaps have a post that sums it up? I would love to read it. Thank you so much for the effort and consideration! Much love goes to you and your blog.

Have a nice day. x

Hi, I'm glad you like my blog :)

Here's an overview of the Shinsengumi:

Who they were

The Shinsengumi was a group of swordsmen who were active in Kyoto in 1863-1868 during the Bakumatsu era at the end of the Edo period, a time of great change. They experienced a meteoric rise followed by a complete downfall with the Shogunate's collapse. Many of them, including the Commander Kondo Isami and Vice-Commander Hijikata Toshizo, weren't born in the samurai class. They were the first samurai group in the Edo period to allow non-samurai to join.

The Shinsengumi's history was full of infighting, but Kondo's supporters who studied swordsmanship together at the same dojo in Edo (now Tokyo) were close with each other and ended up becoming executives in the Shinsengumi.

At its height, with Kondo as Commander, and 2 Vice-Commanders, Hijikata and Sannan, the Shinsengumi was divided into 10 squads, each led by a Captain.

When the Shogunate fell, many of the Shinsengumi members continued to fight alongside the remnants of the Shogunate army until the end. Most of the core members died tragically young from different causes.

Who they worked for

The Shinsengumi's predecessor, the Roshigumi, was formed by the Shogunate who enlisted ronin to go to Kyoto to make the city safer for Shogunate officials who were frequently being assassinated. After Kondo became Commander, they changed their name to the Shinsengumi. They worked under Matsudaira Katamori, the Lord of Aizu, who had been assigned as the Commissioner of Kyoto by the Shogunate.

Who whey fought against

The Shinsengumi patrolled the streets of Kyoto to crack down on anti-Shogunate forces mostly from the Satsuma and Choshu domains who wanted to overthrow the Shogun and form a new government centered around the Emperor.

Famous Shinsengumi members

Kondo Isami - Commander of the Shinsengumi. He was born a peasant, became the head of the Shieikan Dojo, and enlisted in the Roshigumi with the dream of becoming a samurai. He looked up to the heroes from stories of the past, and took his responsibilities seriously, but he also liked showing off his ability to stuff his entire fist into his mouth. After the Shogun stepped down and the Shinsengumi members returned to Edo, he was eventually captured and beheaded by the new government as a scapegoat for the assassination of Sakamoto Ryoma.

Hijikata Toshizo - Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi. He was also born a peasant and shared Kondo's dream of becoming samurai. He helped Kondo become Commander of the Shinsengumi, and was feared by both his enemies and his men. He was thought to be extremely good-looking, and he enjoyed sleeping with women and writing bad poetry. After the Shogunate fell, he led the remaining Shinsengumi members to Ezo (now Hokkaido) with the former Shogunate forces to form a republic independent from Japan. He died from a gunshot wound on his way to defend a fortress that was under siege.

Sannan (or Yamanami) Keisuke - Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi. He and Hijikata were both Vice-Commanders, but he disagreed with Hijikata's methods so there was a lot of rivalry between them. He was a well-educated and kindhearted man who was fond of Chinese poetry and had a lofty ideals. He likely became disillusioned and ended up suddenly leaving the Shinsengumi without permission. Even though Kondo and the others tried to give him a chance to escape, he returned willingly and was punished for desertion with seppuku. His death traumatized his close friend Okita who had beheaded him as his second.

Okita Souji - Captain of the First Squad. He was a sword prodigy from the same dojo as Kondo and Hijikata and was very loyal to Kondo. He was a polite and cheerful person who liked to make people laugh, but also tended to keep his thoughts and opinions to himself. Although he's often portrayed in fiction as a somewhat feminine man, this is likely not historically accurate, but no photos of him exist. Several months after returning to Edo with the rest of the Shinsengumi, he died from tuberculosis at age 26. It was said that even towards the end, he never lost his ability to smile.

Nagakura Shinpachi - Captain of the Second Squad. A very strong swordsman. When the Shinsengumi returned to Edo, he quit after an argument with Kondo, but continued to fight for the Shogunate. After the Shogunate lost, he went into hiding in Hokkaido and lived to old age, dying from a tooth infection. Despite multiple disagreements with Kondo throughout his time in the Shinsengumi, he still remembered Kondo fondly in his later years and built a monument for those who died.

Saito Hajime - Captain of the Third Squad. A very strong swordsman. He was a mysterious person with a meek demeanor who might have worked directly for the Shogunate. He was involved in many assassinations against people who betrayed the Shinsengumi. After Kondo's death, he became Commander. After the Shogunate lost, he went into hiding for several years and then worked for the new government as a police officer. He lived to old age, dying from liver failure from lifelong drinking.

Todo Heisuke - Captain of the Eighth Squad. From the same dojo as Sannan Keisuke. He was said to be a bit showy and quite a daredevil despite his small stature. He became a follower of Itou Kashitaro and left the Shinsengumi with him to become part of a new group that opposed the Shogunate. He was cut down in battle by the Shinsengumi along with many others in the Itou faction when they were collecting Itou's body.

Harada Sanosuke - Captain of the Tenth Squad. A strong spear-fighter. He was short-tempered and rash, but he was also a devoted husband. When he was younger, some samurai taunted him about how he didn't have the guts to commit seppuku, so he did it. He survived and liked to show off the scar. He left the Shinsengumi with Nagakura and died in battle fighting for the Shogunate.

Serizawa Kamo - Commander of the Mibu Roshigumi. Both he and Kondo were Commanders in the early days. On one hand, he was well-educated and had a distinguished air. On the other hand, he was prone to violence and was often drunk. He was easily insulted and got into many fights, so he caused a lot of trouble. He and his supporters were assassinated most likely by Hijikata, Okita, Sannan, and Harada, resulting in Kondo becoming the sole Commander.

Itou Kashitaro - Military Advisor of the Shinsengumi. He joined a few years after the Shinsengumi had formed. He was a highly cultured and educated man who gained many supporters in the Shinsengumi, but he supported the Emperor rather than the Shogun and wanted to change the Shinsengumi to side with the Emperor. When that proved impossible he left the Shinsengumi, taking many followers with him. After Saito reported Itou's plans to kill Kondo, the Shinsengumi assassinated Itou.

Important historical events

Serizawa Assassination - Hijikata, Okita, Sannan, Harada, and possibly others assassinated Serizawa Kamo in his sleep, resulting in Kondo becoming the sole Commander

Ikedaya Incident - The Shinsengumi's most famous accomplishment. They raided an inn where Choshu samurai were meeting to supposedly discuss their plan to set Kyoto on fire to kidnap the Emperor in the confusion. After killing some and capturing many of these men, the Shinsengumi gained fame and popularity.

Aburanokoji Incident - After Itou was cut down by the Shinsengumi on his way home from a meeting with Kondo, his supporters came to collect his body. Many of them were killed by the Shinsengumi waiting in ambush.

Battle of Toba-Fushimi - The first open battle between the Shogunate army and the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance, resulting in the Shogunate's loss and retreat to Edo. The Shinsengumi fought on the Shogunate side and went back to Edo on the Shogunate's ships. During this battle, the Emperor officially declared support for the Satsuma-Choshu side, allowing them to become the legitimate government instead of the Shogunate.

Battle of Koshu-Katsunuma - Kondo and the Shinsengumi raised an army to defend Kofu Castle outside Edo, but by the time they got there, it had already been taken. Kondo was captured while he and his men were setting up camp nearby and he was eventually beheaded after his enemies learned who he was.

Boshin War / Battle of Aizu - After returning to Edo, the Lord of Aizu, Matsudaira Katamori, formed an alliance with many other lords of northern domains to continue fighting for the Shogunate against the new government army. When Hijikata was injured, Saito Hajime led the Shinsengumi to fight alongside the Shogunate supporters. The battle ended with Aizu's surrender.

Battle of Hakodate - Hijikata and the remnants of the Shinsengumi and Shogunate traveled further north to the island of Ezo (Hokkaido) to form the Republic of Ezo and declared independence. This led to a war against the Meiji Imperial forces, ending in Hijikata's death and Ezo's surrender.

Recommended media

I think the most enjoyable way to learn the basics is through the manga/anime/dramas etc. about the Shinsengumi. That's probably how most people here became Shinsengumi fans. Although these are works of fiction that have embellishments or biases, it still gives a picture of who the Shinsengumi were as people and portrays the historical events they were involved in.

Here are some of my recommendations:

Shinsengumi! (2004) Taiga Drama - This should be the most historical and thorough depiction of the Shinsengumi, but it sometimes sugarcoats the things they did.

Peacemaker Kurogane - The first manga series Shinsengumi Imon Peace Maker (or its anime adaption Peace Maker Kurogane) covers the Ikedaya Incident. The sequel manga Peace Maker Kurogane covers the rest of the Shinsengumi's history until their deaths. The later parts have so much feels

Hakuouki - An anime based on an otome game. It has a lot of fantasy elements, but it still mostly follows the historical timeline. Based on my impression, this might be the Shinsengumi media with the largest English-speaking fandom.

Kaze Hikaru - A charming manga focused on Okita Souji. Also a romance. Only half of the chapters have been translated into English. I heard the ending is really terrible.

Gintama - It doesn't focus on the Shinsengumi and it's a scifi/fantasy/comedy so it's not trying to be historically accurate, but the personalities and relationships between Hijikata, Okita and Kondo are similar to their historical counterparts

Various old Shinsengumi films, such as Shinsengumi’s Demon Commander (1957) and Shinsengumi Chronicles (1963)

Shinsengumi Documentaries

#shinsengumi #original #recommended

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justatalkingface · 2 years ago

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I'd love to hear your full thoughts on Bakugou. Shinsou too, though I suppose there's less to say about him

Hmm. The thing is with Bakugou is that I did actually post about him, months ago. I submitted it to that Anonymous Bakugou Hot Takes thing, long before I ever made this blog. It's not that I can't make a new post (and probably a better one? I'll admit that one had a lot more 'angry screaming' in it than I'm trying to actually put in these, and I think all this writing is helping me improve), but I kinda need to reorient my mindset so I don't just rewrite it, if that makes sense. So not now, but at some point in the near future, probably yeah.

Meanwhile, can I offer you some Shinsou analysis in these trying times?

Alright, here's the first thing: a lot of people who are reading this will have likely read some fanfiction, and seen Shinso there. There, you will learn that he's a sad, sad child, bullied by his classmates for his villainous Quirk, probably abused by his parents, and the only people who have ever thought well of him are Izuku and Aizawa.

Picture him in your mind. Place your hands on his shoulders firmly. Now, I want you to YEET HIM. Yeet him from your mind, from your memories, from your biases, from your basic understanding of his character. Fanon Shinsou is a fucking lie, and I want you to yeet those lies from your mind.

Let's sum up canon: First off, he's part of the mob of people who come to gawk at 1A for being almost murdered for having the guts to, gasp, go on a field trip. (I have never once been impressed by the crowd, as you might have guessed. Everyone is convinced that 1A is... bragging? You know, by just never mentioning it until someone else brings it up? Bragging about how a group of terrorists came to murder them, and how a lot of them almost died?)

Here, Bakugou makes an ass of himself, you know, as usual, and everyone, including Class 1B, who canonly just another hero class, thinks that he speaks for everyone, somehow. Having gained a bad impression of, not just 1A, but all heroics classes (even though we literally have Tetsutetsu from B, who says he's from B, go 'dude what the fuck' a minute later) Shinsou proceeds to go, 'I WILL DESTROY YOUUUUUU!!!!!' which is... you know, great. We get a bad first impression of him because he's honestly being almost as much of a dick as Bakugou.

Shinsou. You never want to, on any level, have your attitude be like Bakugou. The bar was near the damn ground, but you burrowed under it anyways. For shame, Shinsou, for shame.

Then we get to Sports Festival, where most of his screen time is, and he starts off by getting upset how UA is upping the brand for the hero students and 1A especially, which... alright, let's take a brief break for a public service announcement:

Fuck the Sports Festival. No, seriously, fuck the Sports Festival. It's stupid, it's bad for the students, it's just... no. Why is this a thing? Outside of giving Izuku more PANIK, I guess?

Only UA does this, and when UA was the best of the best of the best, SIR of schools that was..., actually it wasn't any better then, but it was somewhat more understandable. Then Shiketsu, UA's (theoretical, since we've never actually seen them live up to their hype, since they stopped existing after the licensing exams) equal, suddenly exists, and now you have to wonder why UA, of all schools, is the only one who does this. And it's somehow equal to the Olympics...? What, seriously? Are you saying every country watches this? Or that every sport has just never updated to really include Quirks? Or that all the sports obsessed fans are just going to forsake their obsession because HeRoS? Dial it back, Hori.

Beyond how over inflated it is... it's blood sports. The two of the three events center around high schoolers attacking each other, and the first includes it organically as a method of success. I doubt any of the other options we don't see are any better. All these people, all over Japan, or the world even, tune in to watch actual children hurt each other.

Best, or worst, of all, is it's clearly just a symptom of the over-celebritization of heroes that MHA pretends to talk about sometimes; really, the main reason this event exists is just to raise public hype, to sell the students as products to the public. The interning heroes could just... watch a private version of this, that isn't televised to the entire world, displaying the students strengths and weaknesses, humiliating the losers and denying the victors any privacy as soon as they leave their homes, because they don't even gets masks.

Now back to your regularly scheduled ranting.

Alright, so Shinsou deals with the race by... being carried around like a king. On an objective level, this is minimal effort for him, so he has more energy for him, so it's logical (or Aizawa style 'logical', more in a moment). On a more practical level, this fool child clearly hasn't realized that he needs to promote himself to the other heroes; any of them that see that are going to think he's just fucking lazy. On a Real Talk level, I don't think he could have passed if he actually tried to attempt it normally, because he's clearly not used to, you know. Using his body, judging by how much he flailed once he Quirk failed him later. As he tries to become a hero. Big Brain Move, there, Shinsou. (although I feel I should mention that there's like, four people just holding him up and walking? Maybe running? Every one of those barriers would have hard countered that, and his Quirk would do nothing to stop robots, tightropes, and a minefield. I'm honestly surprised he managed to pass at all, really; that can't have been fast. I suppose Hori didn't actually think about that, and he needed Shinsou to pass, so he passed, but his strategy is pretty dumb, just saying).

So, here's the thing about Shinsou: until now, he's mainly been comprised of bad judgement calls, making bad assumptions, and being rude. Not actually that big a deal, really. The Cavalry Battle is where we realize he's kind of an asshole.

He brainwashes his own teammates. Not because they don't work well together, not to make them, like 'coordinate' better like he's a hivemind (he doesn't work like that), not because they're enemies, but because... he can, I guess. Actually, there's a question of here if they even decided to team with him at all, or he just talked to the people he wanted and brainwashed them; I don't see anything that clears that up either way.

And that's the problem with Shinsou: he doesn't see a problem with doing that, with controlling the people around him, not even for an advantage, but just because he has that choice. And that's fucked up.

Worse, from what we've seen, him trying to talk to Izuku before hand? Is an attempt to plant his Quirk. Which I'm pretty sure is blatantly against the rules, but no one noticed it, and Hori doesn't see any problems with it, so the narrative shows this and everything else he does as him just being 'resourceful', instead of cruel or arrogant.

It's worse when you realize he has this... self-imposed victim complex, that he has it so hard. And how does he decide this? By what Quirks people have. Izuku has a strong Quirk, so his life must have been perfect, right?

*cue flashbacks to Izuku's entire life*

Yeah, the funny thing is? Shinsou is unironically Quirkest. He thinks the only reason anyone passes or fails anything is whether or not they had a good Quirk or not.

This is doubly ironic, because fanon Shinsou has everyone be Quirkest to him. But let's look at that flashback: he has people talking to him, that are at least friendly. One person says they're afraid, but right before they said that, one guy says he's jealous. The second flash back in A vs B has someone joking about being afraid of him.

Everyone we see now? Not one person is afraid. Even back then, no one is mentioning a 'villainous' Quirk, just that it's strong. Strong like Bakugou, who also had people afraid of him. It's just that Shinsou took at as a personal affront, and Bakugou liked it.

Really, the biggest thing we've seen Shinsou suffer from from his Quirk is it just matched badly with the UA Entrance Exam. Everything else, all the dislike he gets? It's because he's an asshole ("everyone here is an obstacle"), and uses his Quirk to use people. He plays down to the expectations he thinks people have of him, and so plays himself by making them think that way. Sasuga, Shinsou!

Beyond that... when you look at 'good' and 'bad' Quirks like he does? He has one of those good ones; every time someone talks about it it's just, 'Damn, that sounds useful'. His classmates liked it. The Heroes like it. The Hero classes like it. Every time someone's not directly threatened by it or were directly harmed (and sometimes even then anyways), they only sing its praises. Where is all this hate about Brainwash?

You've got to wonder if the reason he's so salty is that he knows that, knows he 'should' have passed with his 'good' Quirk, and took the fact he couldn't use it in the exam as a personal insult.

Fanon Shinsou just comes from someone who implied a bad experience, implied but never actually showed it happening, and then the fandom went fucking nuts off it. This escalated, and spread, until if you only know the fanfics (and I know one person who only reads MHA fanfics) then you'd think it's canon he spent his childhood loathed, spat on, and his parents put him in a muzzle.

But he's not. Ultimately, he's just one of many hollow characters in the series, ones that it's clear that will never actually be covered in any real depth.

#ask #bnha critical #mha critical #shinsou critical #or rather #he's an ass #and fandom version so many know is blatant lies #and I think that boy is in some DESPERATE need of perspective #Sasuga Shinsou!#but his background is utterly nonexistent and we've barely ever seen him #the Sports Festival is bad and should feel bad

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k-nayee · 1 year ago

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BLURB and Author's Note

Vespertilio M.List

ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

With a final, devastating blow, you send the Nomu far away from the battlefield.

And as its monstrous form sailed through the air, your eyes lock onto Tomura Shigaraki's. Red vermillion filled with unbridled fury is what you meet.

❛Hmm...I'll fix that for him❜

❝YOU—❞ he starts, his voice dripping with venom, but he never finishes the sentence.

You materialize before him in a heartbeat, fingers wrapped around his neck in a vice-like grip. There's no triumphant glee in your eyes, only one of bored arrogance.

Time stops. Both heroes and villains alike freeze, their eyes widening at the sight of you—a mere student—holding the League of Villains ringleader by the throat.

Seething with humiliation, Shigaraki lungs for your wrist in attempt to regain control of the situation. His brittle fingers close around your skin, eyes squinting with a eerily grin as he waits for that satisfying crumble, that disintegration, that ultimate proof of his power.

But then he freezes. ❛No...no...nononononononono❜

Your skin....

❛My quirk....is absolute....It destroys.....So why...❜

Shigaraki's pupils tremble the longer he stares at your rapidly healing skin. It breaks and flake, like ashes scattering to the wind. And in their place, new skin forms, unmarred and whole as if nothing had happened.

❛Why isn't it working?❜

His thoughts whirl, a tornado of denial and disbelief, until the horrifying truth crashes into him: he is powerless against you.

❝Not so fun when it's happening to you...is it?❞

With a gnawing sense of dread, he shakily moves view from your wrist back to your eyes. Instead of reflecting the jovial tone of your voice; they were livid, bloodshot, filled with a rage and intensity he's never seen, never felt before.

Shigaraki realizes—without a shadow of doubt—that you have the power to crush his windpipe, to end him right then and there. Terrified, he breaks from your gaze and frantically tries to release himself from your iron grip on his throat.

And in that instant, his eyes betray him. A flicker of genuine, unfiltered fear seep deep in those once malicious filled eyes—fear of you.

∘₊✧───────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧───────✧₊∘

If you came from my Dreamer BTS book, welcome back! If not, that means I'm at least doing sum right and gaining reads🤧

Not gonna do a whole ass speech, we all know the basic things. But to make sure, the most important things I wanna emphasis on will be bolded so you cant say I didn't warn ya:

1) Plagiarism is a HELLA big no no. Takes a lot of time and energy to even to write out a whole completed chapter other than half-assed drafts. If I find out you stealing without credit: I'm blocking and reporting until your account is taken down.

2) This story will contain profanity, violence, dark humor, and other mature themes

3) I will either skip over certain parts of the anime/manga or diverge the plot because I don't wanna follow every episode (too many bnha fanfics out here, gets redundant reading the same order of events)

4) Canon characters may/will be slight ooc, but will maintain their overall personality

5) Mc (you) will hold reference to inner Moka Akashiya when she transforms. Any and all toxic traits said and done are intentional

6) Mc height will not be explicitly stated, however just know it won't be too short, so please refrain from those "I'm 4'9 🥺 so short" whenever height is brought up. Its annoying, we don't need to know how tall you are fam. Just enjoy the book

7) Other than the white hair and red eye color whenever Mc temporarily transforms into Moka: eye color, skin tone, and other descriptions are up to reader

8) Even if Mc simps after Aizawa, there will be no relationship. I don't care that the "age of consent in Japan is 13", its trifling and weird. Stop making excuses for why young kids can bang grown ass tax-paying fully brain developed ADULTS

9) I may end up making the book an "in-between arc" type of story if I either get too lazy or don't know how to end it

10) Please don't come on my most recent updated chapters and comment "can you update blah blah?" I live a life outside of Tumblr, so please don't be commenting "update update!" (plus that shit is hella rude and disrespectful and I don't like pressure; takes the fun out of writing) 🤷🏾♀

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debbiechanclub · 1 year ago

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AO3 is down so I finally finished reading over here. I take my time, sorry. So Finlay is endgame huh? Nellie and David make sense. She seems more secure with him than the others. David just knows what he wants so I'm glad she finally found herself a real man that's gonna lock it down. Jay missed out and I hope it's killing him that she's with David. Now Riley...he really can't do anything right. Kissing her when she was sad and drunk was a big no-no. Nellie stepping over his stuff was SAVAGE. I'm already rooting for evil Nellie 😈

No worries!!! Thank you SO much for reading and taking your time to send this. I know AO3 is down, but I've been thinking in the back of my head that people haven't said much to me about this fic because they lowkey hate what I've done 😅 So this means a lot to me. But yes, David is endgame. And while I'm not gonna sit here and lie that my own personal bias toward him had absolutely nothing to do with that decision, a lot of thought actually went into it. And since you sent this ask, I'm gonna go through and explain individually why all of Nellie's other love interests just weren't it for anyone who may be wondering! (And reveal just how different things could have turned out 😅)

Okay so first up: Jay. There was a point in time where Jay was endgame. You remember that teaser scene I posted where someone is reluctantly congratulating Nellie for being engaged? Jay put the ring there (and Zack was the person speaking). And to be perfectly honest, if I had finished this fic before Jay lost the IWGP title and left NJPW for real, he probably would have remained endgame. But then he left, and I started thinking about how Nellie's whole life is in Japan, and how her career would really just be starting to take off right around when Jay left. And then I started thinking about how he really didn't treat her that well at all, and I realized her taking him back would have looked so spineless. And so I started looking elsewhere for Nellie's endgame.

Now, I still have to write Jay's arc, and there's still some stuff going on between him and Nellie in that. But she's definitely going to keep him at arm's length, and he's going to lowkey try to sabotage her getting together with David (which I alluded to a bit in the first flashback scene). So Jay and Nellie's story definitely isn't done as written yet.

Next up: Kyle. Like Jay, there was a (brief) moment in time where Kyle was endgame! HOWEVER. I base my fics as much in reality as possible re: schedules and real storylines/fueds, etc. And after Kyle and Nellie hookup in fall 2021, based on Kyle's actual schedule (as detailed on Cagematch; I fucking live on that site) and what I had in mind for Nellie, they don't see each other again for a whole ass year. And by the time they do see each other again, Nellie is already in the process of reconnecting with David. (Yes, reconnecting! They go on a date wayyy back in 2017 during Nellie's first trip to Japan, which I also have plans to write about.) And actually, Kyle plays a part in Nellie realizing she has feelings for David—which is yet another thing I plan to write about. (It might be a flashback scene in part 2, actually.)

But to sum up Kyle and Nellie: right person, wrong time. It really is kind of bittersweet. And I wrote a REALLY long scene establishing Kyle as endgame that I might just post as a bonus because I worked hard on it and like it and don't just want to scrap it.

Zack. There's honestly not much to say here. Zack and Nellie have hella chemistry, but they don't work as a couple (outside the bedroom 🤭). And that's basically the entire reason they don't get back together despite Zack being the only one of Nellie's love interests/exes who lives in Japan. He was never (seriously) considered to be an option for endgame (despite that Cruel Summer fic I wrote that I regret every time I remember it 🙃). I do plan on writing a bit about when they were together before they realized they weren't right for each other, though.

And last and maybe least. Riley. Riley was never endgame. (After the rewrite) He was never anything more than a casual ongoing hookup for Nellie before she got together with Zack. But like I've written, she has a soft spot for him because she pities him a bit, I think 😂 That being said, her stepping over his things on the way to the Bullet Club locker room was absolutely a deliberate choice on my part.

So yeah, there's my long-ass explainer, and I hope it helps anyone who may be thinking I just willy nilly threw Nellie together with David. And thank you again for reading and seeing my vision. It means more than you know 💖

#asks #there's some good stuff under the cut if you read my fics #OR if you're just curious!!!#tmhwmp ficverse

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astroboyanalysis · 7 months ago

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11. A Day to Remember

Hi again, I just finished student teaching, so I'm sort of back but I wouldn't anticipate more consistent posts just because of that, lol.

This comic has a very strange vibe to it that shifts repeatedly, I think I have to read over the whole thing first and then immediately reread it to give my thoughts (this is not how I normally do it - normally I just read the comic for the ""first"" time (its been a while since I reread all of these) and comment as I go).

It's a really, really strange comic, and it doesn't particularly appeal to me specifically.

I think this is one of those things that you're not supposed to think about too hard. But we here at AstroBoyAnalysis dot tumbler dot edu overthink everything.

This is messed up. I think it's pretty self explanatory. The robots are alive. Where do they go after? Why is it not simply a reskin and rental? I understand the similarities with obon festival customs but the sentience of robots makes this really strange (and also, "replacing" your dead family member for three days, although I can't say if this is something that strikes me as strange for cultural reasons where it might not for someone else. If I think of it more like a metaphor its less weird, but would come with its own set of consequences. This is also like, one of the main emotional cruxes of Astro Boy as a whole, that you can't replace someone who is gone, but what do I know)

THIS IS MORE THAN A FUCKING FAVOR THIS IS HORRIBLE

Also, Ban says "just for a day" but soon after the family establishes it is three days. It just doesn't feel that well thought out, or maybe it's a bit of a translation thing.

Atom is really cute in these panels, but the whiplash of the emotions here is very strange. It goes from sentimental in describing the festival (with, you know, the qualms I described a moment ago) to like horrifically sad and upsetting and then right after this it goes right back to normal adventures it's all very strange. This is kind of the first one that I'm coming at with something closer to criticism and I want to make it clear that I think I just don't get it. I assume some people, especially at the time and in Japan, probably got it in a way I don't, and the fact that I don't get it (it being a kind of difficult to place emotional truth) is an unsolvable issue.

>three days

Also, I don't know, it's really sad that they've lost a child but also it's really, really strange to me that you would want to be reminded of that loss in such a way, although they're clear that they're "imagining" on purpose.

I feel a need to describe what happens. Atom goes upstairs, finds a time machine. A debt collector comes in and says that he's here for the money Jiro borrowed, and that the amount the parents paid him was not the full sum.

he's so violent. What the hell. I do really like the panel where he's just standing there as the man hits him and it does nothing.

"I couldn't help acting like a robot" WHAT.

You just harmed a human, that is explicitly against the laws of robotics - In what way is that "acting like a robot"? Also, all ideas that its self defense go out the window (get it) when he was capable of just standing there instead. Also, destroyed that window.

Yeah (deep, tired sigh) yeah that's basically right

It's a poignant ending panel and I imagine that this aesthetic is the full reason Tezuka wrote the rest of the comic - Both Atom looking at the river in the first panel and this final one - but it feels very strange, doesn't it?

I suppose, at this point, the manga didn't have as much of a strong conviction to the theme of loss and grief, so this comic likely didn't feel as out of place when Tezuka was writing it. As the series developed, I do think it took on more of those themes as central - That life is precious and people are unique - and a person's uniqueness is why they can't be replaced. I think those themes blend well with the themes Tezuka did seem to like, at this point, which were things like making a better world through conservation and technology.

Anyway, not my favorite. Just by process of elimination, probably one of my least favorites so far in this read through, but it isn't bad per se, just not to my liking, I guess?

Next up: Ghost Manufacturing Machine

#astro boy manga analysis #I don't want to tag the fandom tags because this is a pretty negative one.#Feel free to disagree with me in reblogs though. Everyone is entitled to their opinion #I did try to be clear like. I think I just dont get it. Im a very detail oriented person and I get stuck on certain things.

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noseydewdrop · 7 months ago

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Life update: I got married in Japan, yes that's right.

Like some famous saying. "When you stop looking for something, it finds you", is basically what sums up the past 4 years for me.

I moved from The U.S, WA to Shizuoka Japan right when the pandemic started. Life was a roller coaster for me with ups and downs up until that point. I guess you could say it's the rather predictable trajectory as you go through life and begin to become an adult, but it steadily went in the upward direction for me.

My wife found me on Tandem, a language exchange app where we can learn and speak different languages. In my profile I wrote my dearest passions; classical music, nature, traveling and gaming. It was a perfect chance because my wife share those passions with me now and every day is an adventure.

Me in a wedding “Hakama”

My life has changed so much. I went from 177lbs in the US to 138lbs just by diet alone. The saying how healthy Japanese food is compared to American food is actually not as true as you think. There is unhealthy food, but the key really is utilizing the readily available healthy food. It's astounding how easy it is to get a healthy meal for a cheap, fast and low price while being unsuspectingly tasty and satisfying. America makes it too easy to eat food that will just make you fat. I'm sure there's some level of extra additives and preservatives too but it's hard to say much about that. Just living here got me healthier. But I sure do miss Jersey Mike's subs and authentic Mexican food..

Relationships drain me as an introvert.

I met so many people with vastly different backgrounds from me and with that brought so many memories, like scattered puzzle pieces that can only be found when you realize the ups and downs of life are just how it goes.

I made friends cry. I helped crying students. I helped them win competitions, get into an esteemed university and at the same time, made them look at the world from a different lens. Just reaching out. It's really all it takes.

I worked at a high school university from 2021 to 2024 and it was a job that was so comfortable, I could honestly say I could have kept for the rest of my life. My wife lived far away and I wanted to live together. Alongside my foreign coworkers working there for 10-20 years saying that they aren't passionate about teaching and realize their life has more meaning than that. Made me think that it was a good stepping stone into what I am wanting to achieve in my life. I was satisfied, it was bittersweet. But my wife was the driving factor to get me out of there. They treated me amazingly, too amazing for the work that I did. It was my time to move on. I'll post a picture of my wife too, but don't tell her!

Staying in one place forever, what does it really mean?

I moved to Yamanashi this year. Shizuoka was my home and my roots were just starting to grow in the directions as you would expect; career, health and fitness, business and local event connections, love for the nature of Mt. Fuji and the diversity between the sea and mountains. All I can really say is that it's weird starting all over again.

There are mountains for all of us to climb, but the biggest challenge is realizing them. Once you know what to do, where to invest your energy, time, resources, attention. Only then you can really build something that you are proud of and something you are passionate bloody passionate about that you would be proud to call it your life's work. But it's most often than not hiding in plain sight.. at least for me.

Anyways, I'll share some photos of my life so it's not just randoms from when I was a young adult.

I haven't decided yet, but I want to start writing freely and I think this would be a good outlet for that. Thank you for reading if you made it this far.

#personal #face #me #marriage #japan

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howlscifer · 3 years ago

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Back in the tags with a new guide pertaining to writing people of color, specifically east asians! This will be a general expansion on some areas that I’ve already covered in my historical guide which you can check out over here. Again as a preface, I’m speaking as someone who comes from an east asian background but, some of the topics I’ll cover below may also relate to asians as a whole. As always, if you’ve found this helpful and useful, please reblog ( this helps coverage more than likes do. )

001. So, a short and brief summary but one big stand out I see with rps that explore east asia the lack of awareness between the very big differences between different east asian countries. China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan etc, are not interchangeable. To mix them all together and call it representation severely under cuts the historical conflicts, the misrepresentation of cultural differences and frankly the lack of effort to use google. If you’re going to center a roleplay around an asian thematic, be specific. If I can see France and England distinctly differentiated, then you can do the same here, it’s not that hard :)

002. Lack of research in fleshing out 3 dimensional characters. There seems to be an overarching issue where asian characters, specifically their names, aren’t properly researched and considered. For ex: Characters immigrating to the west from China are likely to use a “western” name ie: Jessica, Christine etc and use their chinese name for their middle. Whereas those in Japan who immigrate are far more likely to keep their Japanese name.

003. Religion in asian culture is vast and different. Honestly, I’ve seen some stereotypes of buddhism, taoism and etc. Not every asian is going to adhere to those kinds of religious beliefs. There are asians who are also raised devoutly Christian or Catholic, or even Muslim practicing asians as well as Jewish Asians. It’d be nice to see diversity over here too. Make sure you also research and not just slap it on and end up looking like a clown.

004. Tokenism! In 2022! You know you’d see it! This is just a general note to not group asians together and call it a diversity win. Like gee, got 1 chinese, 2 koreans, 1 japanese, I filled the quota!!!! Like fucking don’t do that and also on this note, please actually consider branching out and including south east asians or just other people of color. And also, if you’re using face claims, I’d like to say that most asians and people of color can tell when you half assed the effort and picked the one asian actor that’s getting media attention in hollywood. If you can look up five alternatives for white blonde ladies, you clearly can make the effort to do the same for others.

005. Mixed characters are people with stories too, I’ve said it in my historical post but I’m going to say it again, if you willingly choose to ignore the ethnic makeup for mixed characters and solely focus on the white half of their identity, you’re being fuckin racist. So stop it!

006. Positive stereotypes are still stereotypes!!! It’s getting really boring seeing characters just be smart or quiet. There’s more to it, incorporate flaws that gives your character more than an #aesthetic. In addition on this note, not all Asians are rich top 1% or mid class, explore outside of these socio-economic norms. Poverty is a very real thing and as always, be mindful and research!

007. Characterization! Don’t white wash asian characters. Can’t count how many times it’s done in the rpc where there is zero to no effort given in writing or incorporating the cultural significance of the fc and instead, the whole background or core elements are fully westernized. Let’s go back to the basics, we’re not a “look” to fetishize. Parts of what makes us distinct is our food, our traditions, our language and etc. If you’re just going to skip over it completely and make them a basic Karen, don’t bother attempting to represent minorities.

To sum up, the basis of avoiding most of these issues is just doing the very bare minimum, research! Use google, there’s so much content out there these days. And if you’re really at a loss of what to do, ask people who are from those specific area you’re looking into ( again, not one person can speak for an entire nation, everyone’s experiences are different so be mindful ). I know most people are happy to help but we’d like to see people try and put the effort to google before backpacking off of asians to get the answer, it is not our responsibility to educate you. With that said, happy writing, avoid the points above and you’ll be doing great.

#rph #rpc #rpa #writing guide #asiarph

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