#nagoya arc

[paperpeter]

Nagoya arc in manga and anime: Guren edition.

At one time, it was a big surprise for me how differently the scene with the possessed Guren looks in the manga and anime. Despite the differences, the essence of the scene in both works remains the same and the changes in no way affect the plot, but the presentation and expressiveness itself have a strong enough impact on perception, which allows us to conduct a comparative analysis. In my subjective opinion, Guren's condition was much better demonstrated in the anime than in the manga. Let me tell you why.

Staging.

Compared to the manga, the anime Owari no Seraph looks much more lively and dynamic. The point here is not even in the imaginary fact that the default animation is more dynamic than a static image, but specifically in a more visual and expressive setting. A variety of angles, transitions, demonstration of different sides of the conflict — all that the manga, for some reason, is deprived of in this chapter.

We can clearly see this difference in the example of Guren's appearance in front of the Shinoa squad. While this moment is highly standardized in the manga, in the anime Guren appears before his subordinates after Yu cuts an extraordinary vampire in his path, which briefly confuses the viewer and adds surprise to the scene.

Also, contrary to popular belief, dynamism affects not only the perception of action scenes, but also the feelings of the character, which can be demonstrated both in dialogue and emotions, and in thoughtful directorial techniques. We can already observe a similar thing during the activation of Owari no Seraph in the face of Narumi.

Immediately after Guren impales his subordinates and knocks Yuichiro back, God's Punishment begins to unfold in the blood-drenched sky, riveting the eyes of everyone on the battlefield. At this time, Guren, possessed by Mahiru, peers into the reflection of his eyes in the blade of a demonic katana, drenched in the blood of people and vampires, whom he personally killed. The whole scene is accompanied by manic laughter and tears flowing from his eyes.

This scene works on several levels:

1) Through the contrast of tears and laughter, the viewer realizes Guren's pain from harming his subordinates;

2) Guren's look at himself through the blade shows only his eyes, which builds a kind of dialogue between Mahiru and Guren, and also speaks of his obsession with the goal of killing and inability to cope with it;

3) The demon's sick laugh that accompanies what is happening, shows how absurd the world is, in which in order to save humanity it is necessary to kill people and cause God's wrath.

Just a few seconds present several new readings of the scene, not to mention the wordless disclosure of the inner contradiction of Guren's soul.

Emotions.

So we smoothly move on to the point of demonstrating emotions. I'm not lying if I say that anime Guren is much more charismatic and emotional, which is perfectly illustrated by the example of this scene.

From the beginning of the battle, an inappropriate wide smile adorns his face, which accompanies him until the end of the series and remains on his face even at the moments of the murder. It's the smile of the demon, Mahiru, and the dissonance between her and the usually moral and honorable Guren adds to the viewer's discomfort when watching what's happening on screen.

At the moment when Yuichiro tries to refute for himself the betrayal of such a dear person as Guren, he also smiles while tears flow down his cheeks. At the same time, in the manga Guren also cried, but there was no smile on his lips, which somewhat weakens the transmitted effect of lack of control and weakness in relation to his obsession. Also missing in the anime is Guren's request that Yuichiro run away from him, which I think is right, as the presence of this phrase and others like it knocks down the tension created and confuses the viewer as to who is in control of Guren's body at the moment.

I also add that the external image of Guren works much better in the anime: disheveled, covered with wounds and blood, he seems much more out of his mind than usual, which is why his actions look contradictory than in the manga.

Shinya.

Perhaps the most important thing I wanted to talk about.

Do you ever get the feeling that in OnS manga, Shinya is much softer than in Catastrophe or the anime? It has happened to me, countless times. It seems that in the manga, Shinya is simply not allowed to prove himself on the battlefield or in relationships with friends, and therefore he often seems to be the most spineless secondary character, though he is not.

In the manga, when Guren kills a few dozen subordinates before his eyes and attacks the younger squad, Shinya threatens him with a weapon and demands answers from him, and then tries to convince himself that it was not Guren, but his demon, which you see looks kinda hopeless.

«But in the anime, Shinya does the same thing!» Not really.

Why is the scene from the anime so different that it manages to demonstrate the essence of Shinya's character much better?

First, staging. The opening shot doesn't immediately show us who pointed the weapon at Guren, and the slow camera zoom in on Shinya's face that follows adds tension and drama to the scene. Also, during the conflict, we observe not only Shinya's side, as it was in the manga, but also Guren's reaction to his words, which sets the tone for the atmosphere of conflict and opposition of friends to each other.

Secondly, emotions. While in the manga, Shinya seems overly agitated, confused, and Guren aloof and unemotional, in the anime, Shinya looks angry. Angry at Guren, at his betrayal, and not so much the betrayal of the army, but of him personally, because Shinya always believed that Guren, his selfish Guren, really puts the lives of his loved ones above anything else. This is dissuaded not only by Guren's actions, but also by Kureto's earlier comment, amazed that Shinya still has no idea who his friend really is. That's what makes him doubt, and that's why in the anime, Shinya hits Guren. Hits for a dumb smile on his face that is completely inappropriate and belittling his own feelings of resentment and betrayal, hits for breaking a promise, and this is exactly what Shinya Hiiragi would definitely do in a situation like this.

Guren laughs, and Shinya's face shows a look of disappointment similar to the one he felt back in high school when he thought he overestimated his fiancée's lover. At the same time, the fear that then follows him demonstrates his awareness and true horror at the possibility of losing Guren. Shinya is no longer angry, he is scared and that is why he gives up his position — not so much because of worries for a loved one, but from the understanding that Guren needs help, not condemnation. Not just because he succumbed to the expression of his emotions, as it was in the manga.

Thus, in the anime, Shinya appears as a strong and strong-willed character with a clear worldview and principles, while at the same time having a weakness towards his friend, while in the corresponding chapters of the manga, his image is much more blurred and ordinary.

Results.

Summarizing the above, the characters of Shinya and Guren during the battle in Nagoya are demonstrated much better in anime due to competent directing, script revision and expressiveness of emotions.

This article is only a reflection of my opinion, you can either agree or disagree with these conclusions in the comments ~

[nono-uwu]

Fellas is it gay to have an extremely breedable holdable waist and fat tits

Uhhh kinda suggestive utc? Nothing is actually portrayed js word choice

Is it actually possible? No. Will he find a way? Yes.

The horny human spirit is indomitable

[akkivee]

SS TIER KUUKOUS FROM THE EPILOGUE OF THE MANGA 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[gureshinlover]

Reminder: Guren killed %90 of the world population to revive Shinya when he died but Shinya left Guren to die for the sake of mission

[papasmistakeria]

Pre-Nagoya arc Mikaela Hyakuya is like Pinkerton era Rivers Cuomo if he was a Wasian vampire pining for a dude instead of a girl but you guys aren't ready for that conversation

[every-hanzou-urushihara]

[fuzzychildchopshop]

true love

[ddarker-dreams]

THAT GOJO FIC THOUGH??? an absolute masterpiece and soooo beautifully written. definitely felt super in character for him - equal parts eerie, entitled, and light-hearted? loved loved loved it.

i’m curious (not necessarily a request…unless?) just want to pick your brain about what that relationship between gojo and reader might look like as adults or a few years in the future. does his yandede tendency worsen? does reader ever try to leave or just accept how things are? what, if anything, would anger your interpretation of yan!gojo? how does he keep reader under his thumb for so many years? do others understand what he’s doing and what their relationship truly is? what even is their relationship? haha i’m so sorry i just loved your gojo so much and am foaming at the mouth for any more scraps you may have to offer

THANK YOU VERY MUUUUUUUUUCH there's something about questionable men that turns my pupils into hearts each and every time.

as for your questions, let's see... first and foremost, i've decided that the fic i discussed writing is like the 'baseline' universe with 'it's graduation, isn't it?' being a branching yandere narrative (or AU i guess)?? i came up with a backstory for the darling in IGII and thought it had enough potential to be explored further. so, all this to say that i'm working on the main story right now which will flesh out reader's relationship with shoko, geto, and gojo in particular. this'll give additional context to the relationship gojo and reader have in the yandere fic! for their time in high school, i've decided to split the story into three main arcs, each one taking place during reader's time as a first year, second year, and third year. (i have ideas for post high school-to the present day in when the main events of JJK pick up, but i'll focus on that later).

here's a general overview of the start of the fic. presently, its working title is 'golden girl.'

2005 — reader's first year arc.

takes place primarily from reader's perspective with the occasional shift to omniscient perspective. reader's from another country, so she's unfamiliar with all the politics/bureaucracy in japan's jujutsu scene. in-depth look at her first day at jujutsu tech, her initial impressions of shoko, gojo, and geto. gojo does something that reader views as irresponsible, kickstarting their decades long relationship with reader disliking him 😭

exploring the quintet's dynamic with one another. reader still thinks gojo is annoying, is okay with geto but finds something about him mildly unnerving, gets along best with shoko. gojo has intense 'kindergarden boy pulling the hair of the girl he has a crush on' energy. reader sloooooooowly warms up to him.

reader at this point has a rose-tinted view of jujutsu society. while she isn't ignorant to the reality sorcerers face when going about their jobs, she assumes everyone at the top must get along so everyone can best preserve the public's safety. can't fathom why it'd be any different. as such, the story's tone up until this point has a slice of life-esque vibe.

the first real conflict in this arc comes in the form of an assignment gojo, geto, and reader receive. a zenin sorcerer got whooped on what should've been an easy job, dirtying the family's image. to rectify this, the zenins pester jujutsu tech to send in the heavy artillery (aka gojo and geto) so it looks like the job was so difficult, some of the best sorcerers had to handle it. reader is also requested to join them for reasons that'll be revealed later.

(more under the cut because whewie this got long)

gojo and geto can pretty much see through the petty politics going on. they explain the machinations to reader, who decides to take the assignment serious regardless. gojo in particular is very blasé about the entire thing because one, that big ass ego and two, he's a teen. bad combo.

the assignment itself takes place in an abandoned nursery on the outskirts of nagoya. here, the three encounter the curse 'the caretaker' and its 'little ones.' now it's psychological horror time. gojo's arrogance exacerbated by reader's insistence on following protocol clash bad. the fight ends up not being so simple after all due to the curse's abilities. they eventually realize reader's cursed technique is Suspiciously best suited to work as a counter, but at grave risk and damage to herself. thanks zenins. ultimately, reader pulls it off, but receives heavy injuries in the process. gojo and geto are pissed about this entire thing. character development for the squad that'll play into their themes into adulthood (gojo's wish to upend the higher-ups, geto's disillusionment with jujutsu society, and a secret third thing for reader).

in what will serve as a parallel for post star plasma arc, the three are able to 'overcome' the event enough and grow closer for it. everyone's coping mechanisms kinda sucks but not to the degree it'll suck after the events of post star plasma arc.

reader's like oh boy, that was an eventful first year haha! i sure hope my second year isn't anywhere near as chaotic haha! :)

as for where the narrative would branch into a yandere AU, that'd take place mostly in reader's third year. personally, i think gojo would be a bit of an unhealthy weirdo no matter what in a romantic relationship, but just not to the Full yandere extent. so you'll see him up to some questionable shenanigans even in the main fic.

i apologize, i ended up laser focusing on gojo's relationship with reader so much that i didn't really answer your other questions GJSDKLFS i just feel like the events of the main story will go on to shape yandere and non yandere gojo's behavior with reader enough that without context, it won't make as much sense.

[nico-everywhere]

[Nagoya Sakae] TV anime ‘Blue Exorcist Shimane Illuminati Saga’ collaboration Cafe in SMILE BASE CAFE. - [THREAD]

Notices TV anime ‘Blue Exorcist "Shimane Illuminati arc", X SMILE BASE CAFE Collaboration with the TV anime ‘Blue Exorcist Shimane Illuminati arc’ has been decided. Newly illustrated café exclusive goods and collaboration menu !

[a-forbidden-detective]

Curious add-ons: additions and deletions, Episode 11 (Part 7)

A bit of a warning: photo-heavy post

Eleven episodes in, and it is safe to say that I love these versions of Ron and Toto. Don’t get me wrong Akira Amano hasn’t done anything wrong, it is just these RonToto are kinder and more codependent from each other that I am 110 per cent sure they’d compete with that kind of codependency from the manga RonToto, and anime RonToto would win.

They diminished Toto’s comedic childlike expressions on this episode removing the giggle on Toto’s part, for example, when he asked Ron if the latter had a friend. Junya Enoki, for his part, admitted that because Toto is a grown man and a police officer, he doesn’t need to act cute all the time. The reason this scene is much more tender than in the manga. The “what’s so funny?” question from Ron was omitted and instead the anime writers made Toto stammer with his “N-not even… one?” After hearing Ron’s answer that he considers Toto to be his friend, he replies with a much more humbled “I am glad to hear it” and not “Gee, thanks.” And then the blush on Toto’s face as if he is darn proud and happy because after all they have been through, Ron treats him more special than the others, that is being allowed to be closer to him by becoming his friend.

Truth be told, these instances of blushing from the main characters would turn me into mush.

Another passage omitted from the manga and the new dialogue has become a Sherlock BBC reference in the anime.

Kawasemi san: “If you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest.” (Episode 11)

SH from Sherlock BBC: “If you wanted to hide a tree then the best place to do it is a forest, wouldn’t you say? People would just walk past it, not knowing - not able to decipher the message.” (Episode 2, Season 1, The Blind Banker)

Surely, one of these days I’d write a list of all these Sherlock BBC references: from the manga to anime, because they are so many. Of course, it could have been the translator’s choice in the end.

Continuity problems in the manga are explained in the anime.

a) the reason Ron eats dangos 🍡 on the train;

b) Constable Kimyou, whose surname doesn’t mean “strange”

c) Ron accompanying Toto was not a chance where he got an email from the neurology institute, but it was a planned or let’s just say a convenient way to ride with Toto on the train at the same time going to Aichi with a purpose.

The anime crew adding this scene. Toto’s joyful reaction upon seeing his friend again after witnessing Kawasemi’s slump in person. Probably Toto was relieved and had missed his friend so much after their abrupt and odd parting at the Nagoya train station, in which he had so many questions that were partly answered at the end of the episode.

Can you see the puppets and the No. 96 (Ron’s scar which has become part of him) from the shop? Not only they increased the price from ¥900 (in 2021) to ¥960 (2023) but Ron’s puppets Kamo-kyun (platypus) and Eli Pyon (frill-necked lizard) are on sale.

This ending that fuels a few questions. Ron was sort of refusing to look at Toto as he explained his meeting with Dr. Mofu and her subsequent referrals to the other medical professionals concerning his pathological condition to pressure the criminals to suicide. Instead he looked at his reflection on the glass train window, Toto’s delightful enthusiastic voice had become white noise. This Ron is more pessimistic and not so much looking forward to the therapy and its possible outcome. I wonder if the anime writers (Jackson Ou wrote the episode with a storyboard from Shingo Tamaki who were also responsible to previous Kawasemi episode) would deviate a bit from the manga.

Two more episodes and I don’t want it to end. There are so many materials available and it seems we haven’t scratched the surface yet. The tension is getting bigger. It would be nicer if they are given the second cour and end the first season with the Plateau Aubege arc. A perfect ending to establish a canon RonToto.

[ecargmura]

A Terrified Teacher At Ghoul School Episode 11 Review - Chance Encounters

After two weeks of animating mini-arcs, the anime resumes animating and mixing individual manga chapters as one episode. This one mixes chapters 25, 26, 32 and 33, but primarily focuses on Chapters 26 and 32. I should really review the manga one day… Anyways, this entire episode focuses on the theme of chance encounters.

Why I say it focuses on chance encounters is because Haruaki meets his students’ parents for parent-teacher conferences. He went through hell trying to meet Renjou, Maeda and Oota’s families as he almost gotten eaten and now, he has to deal with Mame’s. Because of the strain, he asks Sano to tag along as he goes to the Maizuka’s family…who turn out to be yakuza. Mame’s foul mouth makes sense if you think about it… It was nice learning about how animals often produce a litter of offsprings, so this also applies to animal youkai. Mamekichi has over 30 siblings and he’s the eldest while Beans, his three-year-old sister, is the youngest. All I can say is that Mame’s mom really has stamina to pop out that many kids. No wonder she’s crazy strong for being able to beat the snot out of Mame’s dad for going to a brothel behind her back.

Because this is a comedy story, of course Mame’s parents are crazy as heck, mainly his dad. His dad is basically a yakuza who’s also extremely doting and overprotective. He has a weird habit of wanting to test Mame’s teachers’ strength to see if they’re worthy enough to take care of his son. I guess this makes sense in that Mame lives in a dorm, so he lives away from his family. This means that the teachers of Hyakki Academy are essentially his guardians, so it makes sense that his parents would be a bit concerned and since there’s a human teacher at school too, it also gets even more concerning. Though, the protectiveness is mainly used as comedic factor. Also, it’s revealed that he didn’t let Miki do the strength test as he’s acquainted with Miki’s family’s business, which is the brothel that he goes to.

I feel like Ryota Osaka was casted for this anime just to test his screaming skills. Despite that, I do like seeing many sides of Haruaki in the first half of this episode. He may scream a lot, but he knows how to get down and dirty without resorting to physical violence. He legit tried to blackmail Mame’s dad about the brothel because he knows there’s no way he could win in a fight and he also doesn’t want to give a bad impression if he unleashed his exorcist powers. He cares a lot about his students and also wants to prove his worth as a teacher. He can be cool when he wants to be, which is why Beans develops a precocious crush on him. Though, I didn’t like that Mame’s dad thought he wanted to date Beans after seeing the smooch.

The second part of the story focuses on the teachers going to Kyoto for field trip research. It turns out that Haruaki has met Sano, Miki and Hatanaka nine years ago, but they don’t seem aware of it. Basically, Haruaki got lost in Kyoto when he was supposed to go to Nagoya and met the younger Hatanaka and Miki who were on a class trip to Kyoto but split from their group to wander around on their own. That’s when they met Haruaki who was lost. Then they met a young Sano who called himself Mii-kun who was also lost as he got separated from his older brother. 

I feel like this meeting was definitely fateful as Sano became Haruaki’s student nine years later and he finally became friends with Hatanaka and Miki as his first attempt of befriending them was cut short due to the principal. I did like how despite Hatanaka and Miki were delinquents in their youth, they had a kinder side as they stuck around the lost Haruaki and Sano. If they weren’t nice people, they would’ve just left them behind and not helped Sano reunite with Mametaro. I like that little detail. Also, they would’ve been friends earlier had not the maskless principal came to interrupt. It would’ve been crazy how the how foundation of the story could’ve changed if the principal didn’t show up.

This episode also introduces the last of the major supporting cast. Sano’s brother, Ebisu, makes his debut here. He was announced before the anime aired, so it took 11 episodes for him to get a major debut. Although his appearance is brief, I do like that there’s a lot shown about him like his disdain for youkai. Remember that Sano is not a youkai, but a god—that was why Yanagida’s perfume didn’t work on him back in Episode 8. I can’t wait for Ebisu to make his present-day debut!

The voice actors for Mame’s parents, Beans and Ebisu are crazy, seriously! Mame’s dad is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi who you might know as Uzui from Demon Slayer and Aryu from Blue Lock. Like, first you get Kenichi Suzumura as Haruaki’s dad and now Konishi as Mame’s? Satelight knows how to flex. On top of that, Mame’s mom is voiced by Asami Seto who you might know as Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen. This is the first time I’ve heard her voice a mom and she did a great job! Beans is voiced by Nao Toyama, who voiced Emma Nakazono from A Sign of Affection and Suma from Demon Slayer. I know that Toyama is popular, but I didn’t expect to hear her voice three-year-old Beans here. This was super unexpected. Ebisu is voiced by Ryohei Kimura. What’s hilarious is that this isn’t the first time Kimura voiced a man with long black hair tied in a braid with red eyes. He voiced Judar from Magi. Not only that, this is another instance where Kimura and Osaka are in one anime! They voiced Bokuto and Akaashi in Haikyuu and Sorey and Mikleo from Tales of Zestiria. This is another reason why I can’t wait for Ebisu’s present-day debut because of this! The Kimura-Osaka combo is just too good!

I’m so glad this anime has 24 episodes. I can’t wait to see what next week’s episode will be. To be honest, I’ve been mentally stressed out a lot for a while, so this anime really brightened my day. I hope that my readers who are curious about this show will feel the same when they watch it! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

[paperpeter]

Princess Mononoke and Nagoya arc

[nono-uwu]

Ons chapter 135 thoughts!!

Spoilers duh (also very long post. Lmk if I should add the read more cut)

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- KAGAMI I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD IT IN YOU TO GIVE CHESS AND HORN MORE SCREENTIME BUT THANK YOU ANYWAYS

- I am so glad that the whole digestion thing is more symbolical bc... that inital wording really threw me off lmao

- on that note, the immagery of the dead trees with the bodies sticking out of 'em... very creepy and on point, I think it's neat

- they actually adressed Crowley forgetting them! Wowzers (side note she looks hella adorable. My little skrunkly)

- ouugh the dynamic... where was it earlier? It seems so much more casual than during the Nagoya arc (probably just wishful thinking on my part lmao)... idc how give us more of this

- "you two were my first servants", LORE CRUMBS! I guess.

- wait so, they're still becoming demons? But isn't that a form of reincarnation, the thing Ferid is specifically trying to stop? But he's also devouring them... to absorb their power I guess? Since later on Ferid mentions now being more powerful after devouring Crowley (I'll get to that asspull later)

- Also Horn looks a teensy bit weird with the new artstyle but she's still super pretty 🫶 be my wife pls

- So, 16 year old Ferid is inside himself as his 'true self'? I assume that because he got the idea to stop reincarnation when he was 16 and hasn't changed his mind since (never let 16 year olds make big decisions in this world, it only leads to disaster)

- the skrunkle part 2. Also I doubt being digested like that feels good in any way. And with how slow it's supposed to be, yikes.

- I have a theory (aka major amounts of copium): Yuu will bust in and save Crowley because of 'fAmiLy' and also save Chess and Horn since they're family by association

- No one can reach Ferid, eh? And then Corwley's voice reaches him. Kagami and his queerbaiting amirite

- However Ferid then snags Crowley and ig he's on the priority list of getting devoured. Probably bc he's the strongest vampire Ferid has eaten. Cannibalism as a metaphor for love and devotion or whatever, except it's very literal and I doubt there's any love beyond 'u and interesting critter dude' from both sides

- Ok here's my major nitpick with this chapter: KAGAMI STOP BREAKING AND BENDING YOUR OWN FUCKING WORLDBUILDING AND POWER SYTEMS. Until now it was established that a vampires strenght is dependant on 1. their rank (as in who's blood turned them) and 2. their age. But now appearantly Ferid can eat vampires and absorb their strenght? If this was some universal but very difficult thing for any vampire to do, then I wouldn't be this salty. Also one of my favourite things about Ferid as an antagonist was, that power-wise he was on the weaker side. Despite being 'weak' he was still a major threat. He made up for his lack in actual fighting power with smarts and immaculate planning. But now he's another uber-strong genius. C'mon we already had Shikama and Rigr for that department. Bleh.

- now for the Yuu / Rigr and co confrontation, it's fiiiiine. I guess. At least Shikama is still somewhat of a formidable threat. Not to the major characters obviously but yk, it's something.

- rip Basteya. You showed up, slayed for a little and died.

- Kirsten still looks fugly as hell lmao

- so do Ulrich and Roger

- So, who will be faster: Shinoa in absorbing Shikama or Yuu in saving him? My bet is on Yuu purley bc he's supposed to be the main character but ig we'll see next chapter

- KRUL!!! AND THE BAT THING I FORGOT IT'S NAME

- sadly no Ferid / Krul brawl this chapter but yk what makes me excited for next chapter

- my guess is that now Krul is Ferids next target to be chomped. Hopefully she will beat his ass. Like when she first appeared. Ahhh the good old times

- 'A big fan of yours... M'lady Queen' lmao. What's next Ferid, will you put on a Fedora? Bro that last panel ain't it. Fuckin Sebastian of black butler wannabe 💀

[gurenismywaifu]

Is Guren a narcissist?

Lately I dislike Kagami's portrayal of Guren as much as the next person and tbh there's absolutely no way you can make me think he's an innocent victim or a tragic hero we should root for (though I still do root for him cause he's just pathetic and gay I love him). However, the amount of times i've seen both the hispanic and english fandom call him a narcissist is kinda surprising 👀 Now the question is...

So since I'm petty and I like analysing useless stuff, let's take a look at Guren's behavior and at what makes a narcissist to try to give a more elaborate answer. I'll give as a disclaimer that I don't intend to attack anyone or force anyone to like Guren with this post, I'm just a psychology student currently investigating personality disorders and I thought this take would be fun to share.

Also, english is not my main language so do feel free to point out if you see I make any mistake so I can correct it, please ;u;

So for starts, if we're talking about the reasons for why people use to call him a narcissist I believe that pointing out his behavior towards Yuu is a very fair argument, especially his behavior towards Yuu at the beginning of the manga. Guren expresses himself with superiority, these airs and graces and apparent laziness and lack of thoughtfulness. However I believe that if you know how the story in the light novels go and even more if you've read them, you'll realize that all this "I'm your saviour, your god, you owe me your life, blah, blah, blah" crap that Guren tells to Yuu is a way of imposing authority and exerting some kind of control over him.

Guren needed to exert this control and authority as a way to protect himself, his subordinates and his investigations from the JIDA higher-ups, but also to keep Yuu at bay, not only because he was a part of Guren's experiments but also because Yuu used to be a very asocial and volatile kid when Guren took him under his wing. Having an angry kid acting impulsively at his leisure all around the JIDA was not convenient for Guren or for anyone, honestly.

And yes, I'm not gonna deny that Guren is kind of a jerk, but that has more to do with his personality and his sense of humor than with being a narcissist. He's sarcastic, super hard-headed, quite blunt and may come off as conceited, but he's actually extremely aware of all of his mistakes and shortcomings. He recognizes that he is not the smartest or the strongest out there, he knows how powerless he is in the grand scheme of things and most importantly, he recognizes his mistakes and is absolutely willing to take his share of the blame for it.

Sure, he knows that he is a strong individual but that's because he's worked towards the objective of "being strong" his entire life, he's cultivated perseverance and done sacrifices in order to achieve that strength, and while he does like to show off sometimes, recognizing one's merits and being aware of your capacities is hardly the same as having delusions of grandeur. Plus, his motivations are very much oriented to help others, protect others; and although Guren used to have a very strong sense of self-preservation, after the catastrophe he decides to let go of it if it means that it will help him to achieve those goals of keeping his loved ones safe. He starts doing what he 'has' to do rather than whe he wants to do.

After Nagoya's Arc, the shameless and overbearing side of Guren's behavior gets toned down. He becomes more serious, he doesn't play and makes jokes as often and he also stops trying to impose himself to Yuu in the same way as before. There's no need of that superiority facade anymore after all the things that came to light and now that the JIDA poses less of a threat and that Yuu has become less of a subordinate and more of a collaborator, exerting the same authority as before is just not necessary.

And now that we're referring to Yuu, we also gotta point out that a narcissist lacks empathy and doesn't go out of his way to try to help or benefit other people, but Guren does feel affection towards Yuu. When Yuu came to him as a child full of rage, resentment, guilt and lust for revenge, Guren genuinely empathized with him, he took care of Yuu, tried to teach him what he knew and he pushed him to build a support network with his classmates when he didn't really had to do all that. He could've simply taken advantage of Yuu's grief and solitude to control everything about him and force him to collaborate, but he didn't. Even when doing that would've been the best and most practical option for Guren's purposes, he still decided against isolating Yuu. Plus a narcissist wouldn't be capable of the affection and compassion that Guren feels for Yuu. And it is also made clear that Guren does not enjoy using Yuu or hurting him, but Shinya and his squad are Guren's priority, putting his options in a balance, he knows that he has no choice but to keep using Yuu to make his plan work. And it IS selfish and cruel and abusive, we're not going to deny that, but arguing that he doesn't care about Yuu or anyone else but himself is a pretty reductionist (and tbh also incorrect) statement.

Now, let's take a look at Shinya's opinion about Guren, taking into account that Shinya is probably the person who knows Guren the best out of all of the Catastrophe at 16 cast and probably all of OnS.

First of all we have this scene during the Nagoya Arc in which Shinya shows concern about Guren cause he knows that Guren suffers when people die and that he's not good at handling that.

Guren cares about his subordinates, he is saddened by the death of his soldiers and during this arc, he even makes the rather emotional choice of going straight into a trap in order to save other soldiers that Crowley is holding as hostages, even when Mito and Shinya warn him that they shouldn't do it cause it is clearly a trap.

I know there's a lot of material that I'm not covering, but for the sake of not making this post longer than it already is, let's go ahead and just check some of the behavioural criteria that a person has to meet to be diagnosed/classified as a Narcissist; of course, taking into consideration that meeting one or two criteria isn't enough cause it is very likely that everyone will present some of these criteria some times throughout our lives. For a person to be considered a narcissist they must meet various criteria which manifest constantly in various different contexts of their life for most of the time. Some of the criteria include:

•A grandiose sense of self-importance, being it fantasies or behaviors and the expectation to be recognized as superior without real reasons.

In Guren's case, he's not really the type that brags about his deeds or that goes about life expecting people to praise him, specially when there's no reason. The only times one could say that he sort of acts this way is in his interactions with Yuu in the early chapters.

•A narcissist is very often preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.

Although Guren, does desire power and recognition, he is aware of all he's lacking and beats himself up because of all these things that he knows he isn't good enough to achieve. We can also notice that ultimately, his desire for power originates from his desire to keep his loved ones safe.

•A narcissist believes that they are “special” and unique and they only want to associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).

In Guren's case, he knows that he kinda sucks. A lot of the people around him belong to a higher status, have a higher military position or are better than him in one way or the other. What Guren does is working towards his betterment. He doesn't believe he's special, in the novels, he even seems to be a bit ashamed about the subordinates in the Ichinose manor thinking that he is a prodigy. We also have that although it is obvious that Guren regards his squad as the most important people to him, and is willing to commit atrocities and become very self-sacrificial for them it is not because 'they are the best' or because they have a high status that Guren's ego can feed on, but just because he loves them.

•A narcissist has an excessive need for admiration

Guren is indeed an admired character, however he doesn't "need" to be admired. Even before the apocalypse, the motive behind his goal was not to be admired but bring respect and dignity to his beaten up clan. He's had plenty of chances to show off, but he just doesn't really needs to be admired for that.

•A narcissist exploits their interpersonal relationships for their own benefit.

This point is a bit tricky cause Guren is undeniably using Yuu and he had the same intentions with Kimizuki and Yoichi to achieve his goals. However, besides from knowing that Guren would not be doing this if there was another way, when we take a look at the rest of his interpersonal relationships, specially with his squad, being exploitative of their relationship for his own benefit is just not there.

Some other criteria include an excessive sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, constant envy and the belief that others are envious of them, and haughty behaviors, all of which we already tackled before.

So, taking everything in consideration, we come to the conclusion that although Guren has displayed some narcissistic attitudes, overall he does not fit the profile, therefore, Guren is not a narcissist.

This of course doesn't mean that we have to condone all the bad things he's done, but rather may help us gain a bit more insight into Guren's character. Exploring his relationship's dynamics, and other mental health conditions which's profiles he may fit would be fun as well. He is indeed a very flawed character, and maybe that's what makes him interesting.

And that's it, if you read the whole thing, thank you for sticking till the end :) If you enjoyed this do let me know and in the future maybe we can tackle some other ons characters and their issues from a clinical perspective, I would also love to know your opinion on this if you have one or for you to point out any contradictions, mistakes or important things I may have missed to make this post better. Thanks for reading ♡. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

[yyh4ever]

Yu☆Yu☆Hakusho POP UP STORE in Loft vol.3

Tactical Fashion / Black Chapter Arc

Pre-orders are not open yet, but AMNIBUS have finally revealed the new art and general information about the merch. There are many purchase benefits, depending on whether you buy at the venues or by mail order!

The guys are wearing tactical clothing this time. Who is your favorite? Kaname Hagiri is a very popular character in Japan, so I'm glad he was included with Sensui and Itsuki. If you would like to remember the art from the previews volumes, check:

vol. 1 ~ 90’s Casual Fashion (2021)

vol.2 ~ Dark Tournament (2022)

※Official Site: AMNIBUS

※Venues:

Shibuya Loft (Tokyo): From March 4, 2023 (Saturday) to March 12, 2023 (Sunday)

Nagoya Loft (Aichi): From March 21, 2023 (Tuesday/holiday) to April 3, 2023 (Monday)

Umeda Loft (Osaka): From April 15, 2023 (Saturday) to April 23, 2023 (Sunday)

※Goods:

Trading Can Badge (8 types)

Single item (blind): 440 yen

BOX: 3,520 yen (benefits: Yusuke or Sensui Square Can Badge)

Size: (approx.) 56mm diameter

Those who purchase the BOX at the event or on AMNIBUS will be presented with a square can badge:

Event Benefit: Yusuke Square Can Badge

AMNIBUS Benefit: Sensui Square Can Badge

Trading Stick Acrylic Key Chain (8 types)

Single item (blind): 715 yen

BOX: 5,720 yen (benefit: Hiei or Kaname Hagiri acrylic key chain)

Those who purchase the BOX at the event or on AMNIBUS will be presented with a new acrylic keychain:

Event Benefit: Hiei Stick Acrylic Keychain

AMNIBUS Benefit: Kaname Hagiri Stick Acrylic Keychain

Trading Acrylic Stand (8 types)

Single item (blind): 880 yen

BOX: 7,040 yen (benefit: Kurama or Youko Kurama acrylic stand)

Those who purchase the BOX at the event or on AMNIBUS will be presented with a new acrylic stand:

Event Benefit: Kurama Acrylic Stand

AMNIBUS Benefit: Youko Kurama Acrylic Stand

BIG Acrylic Stand (8 types)

Price: 1,980 yen each

A3 Matte Processing Poster (8 types)

Price: 880 yen each

Canvas Board (8 types)

Price: 5,500 yen each

Wire Acrylic Keychain (8 types)

Price: 990 yen each

Play Mat

Price: 3,850 yen

※They are also releasing new goods of the 90's Casual Version from Yu Yu Hakusho POP UP STORE in Loft vol.1 (2021).

Wire Acrylic Keychain (5 types)

Price: 990 yen each

A3 Matte Processing Poster (5 types)

Price: 880 yen each

A6 Acrylic Panel (5 types)

Price: 2,178 yen each

※EVENT BENEFIT

Bromide

During the event period, you will receive a random bromide (9 types in total), exclusive to the POP UP STORE, for each purchase of 2,000 yen.

*valid only for the event venue. Please note that the bromide will not be sold on the "AMNIBUS" site*

[maomaojinshi]

NEW Black Butler Public School Arc.

Pop Up Store ~ Garden Party ~

There's a new Kuroshitsuji Pop Up store in Japan!

This store has a great selection of merch: from accessories to t shirt to even scrunchies!

Which one is your favorite?

Currently the pop up store is in Shibuya Loft in Tokyo and will end on September 23rd.📍

After Tokyo, the store will move to:

Sakae Loft, Nagoya, 9/4~9/24

Sendai Loft, Miyagi, 10/1~10/21

Hiroshima Loft, Hiroshima, 10/3~10/21