#oh who am i kidding he probably thinks he's a top bishie like the character

[tatsumi-rin]

That horrifying moment when you're reading No Longer Human on a whim and you realize Onision probably thinks of himself as a modern American Osamu Dazai

[lost-combustion]

GET TO KNOW THE BLOGGER.

can be used for rp   &   non-rp blogs to get to know a bit about the person behind the screen   !

1. FIRST NAME:           Stephanie, but call me Bishy <3

2. STRANGE FACT ABOUT YOURSELF:            If you were to walk into my apartment, you’d find medieval weaponry hanging up on the walls all over the place. I also was always compared to Iron Man, only because my entire left arm is almost all metal.

3. TOP THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE ON A PERSON:             Their eyes are the first thing I look at. When I saw my wife first, I looked at her eyes and just. Yes. The next observation I really look at is the smile. Each smile holds part of their personality. Then I tend to notice their height. Luckily for me, my wifey is taller than me. <3 

4. A FOOD YOU COULD EAT FOREVER AND NOT GET BORED OF:               Ooooof. If I had to choose just ONE dish, I would have to choose Lemon Pepper fish. While I love sushi, and Alfredo, the lemon pepper fish is absolutely amazing and I finally learned how to make it myself. So I won’t starve if my wife leaves for a night or two. xD

5. A FOOD YOU HATE:               Spinach. Just. Yuck.

6. GUILTY PLEASURE:              Okay so I have a few guilty pleasures. First and foremost is making characters with character creators in games. I just love making them. I also have a huge guilty pleasure for shipping. I’m actually going to copy a statement that someone else made because they describe it incredibly well. 

I love healthy ships and unhealthy ships (but like, don’t glorify them. Recognize they are unhealthy and should not be idealized for RL) I just love love, and I love the butterflies and coyness and excited uncertain that leads up to the very first time a ship admits their feelings most of all.

             But yeah. More guilty pleasures. I also love editing screenshots of characters. I love playing around with the colors and shadows. 

7. WHAT DO YOU SLEEP IN:           Pajama pants. It’s rare for me to sleep with a top on, only because my wife is a massive heater and I’ll overheat if I wear too much.

8. SERIOUS RELATIONSHIPS OR FLINGS:              Hah, well I’m married soooo. In October it’ll be 2 years, but we’ve been together for almost 5 years. Longest relationship I’ve ever had! <3 We have our difficulties, yes, but we work through it and keep on trucking.

9. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN THE PAST AND CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WOULD YOU AND WHAT WOULD IT BE:               If I could go back, I’d tell my boss to fuck off and stay in Texas with my dad for an additional 3 weeks. That was really the last time I got to spend time with my dad, seeing as the next time I saw him, he passed away. 

10. ARE YOU AN AFFECTIONATE PERSON:             I didn’t grow up around affection. So it took a long time for me to open up and actually showcase affection to people willingly. I’m finally getting better at it though! I want to say yes, I am an affectionate person, but I still struggle at times on whether it’s appropriate or not.

11. A MOVIE YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN:             This will forever be “Sweeney Todd”. I absolutely adore that movie. Or any of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” just because of the aesthetic.

12. FAVORITE BOOK:            Oh gosh. This is extremely hard to choose, only because I love reading. Call of Cthulhu, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones; anything from Stephen King; I read anything and everything, so choosing one as a favorite is nearly impossible.

13. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP ANY ANIMAL AS A PET, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE:               A skunk <3

14. TOP FIVE FICTIONAL SHIPS [IF YOU ARE AN RP BLOG, YOU CAN USE YOUR OWN SHIPS AS WELL]:            Ooooof. I have too many to share. So like, it’s a very toxic ship, but Tsumi ( @tivtastic) and Syat’a are a huge toxic ship that I cannot wait to dive into. Another good ship that I’m kinda adoring is the friendship between Shoto ( @chooseyourmuse) with Astrid. Their closeness just brings me massive feels, and I adore them. Okay, so that’s only two. Let me think. I also am really interested to see the development between Denki ( @persona-de-interes) with Astrid.

           Oh! Another super big ship of mine is Caspian with Roselyn ( @sky-gryphon) on discord. Their raw connection just. Mmph. I love it. I also am really in love with the connection between Colette and Zegnes ( @sky-gryphon) on discord as well. While she’s this big bad predator, he’s so soft towards her and I just. He makes her feel things, which results in me feeling wonderful things for them. Now another- OH MY GOSH HOW COULD I FORGET.  

           How could I ever forget Arron ( @-tiviani-)??? He with ANYONE of my kids. FUCKING ANYONE. Give me that GORY SHIP. So fricken toxic, but YESSSS. 

             EDIT: HOW COULD I FORGET THIS ADORABLE SHIP. OMG SOMEONE HIT ME FOR FORGETTING. Jupiter with Niel ( @softvorenoms). LEGIT GUYS. This ship is SO SUPER ADORABLE. Every time I think of canon relationships for Jupy, I immediately think of Niel. When I finally sit down to write the actual books for Jupiter and her siblings, Niel will either show up in it somewhere or be mentioned. Because these two. <3 <3 <3

15. PIE OR CAKE:           Pie! <3

16. FAVORITE SCENT:                I’m more towards vanilla, but I also am really liking cinnamon (even if I can’t say the damn word)

17. CELEBRITY CRUSH:              Ooooof! Hmm. Okay, so I don’t really keep tabs on celebrity life, so give me a moment to really think. The actress that plays as Scarlet Witch. Yep, she’s real pretty. I also really adore Felicia Day. She’s just perfection. Then there’s Tom Hiddleston. He’s gorgeous. 

18. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO:          Mm... Probably Italy ( seeing as I’m Italian and have yet to see where my family came from ) or Scotland ( because who doesn’t love their accent?? )

19. INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT:              Technically, I’m classified as an “Extroverted Introvert”, but I just like to call myself an Introvert and leave it at that.

20. DO YOU SCARE EASILY:             Hah! I don’t think I scare easily, but I jump super easily.

21. IPHONE OR ANDROID:               Android

22. DO YOU PLAY ANY VIDEO GAMES:               ...Do I play video games?? OOOOOF. Yes, lmao! I bounce between PS4 and PC. From Mortal Kombat, Dragon Age series, FFXIV, and soooo many others; I play pretty much anything. 

23. DREAM JOB:                 I’m actually doing my dream job! I work at a museum; I’m a tour guide. I adore learning new things, and retelling history to others. 

24. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS:               I would first and foremost pay off any dept that my wife has. Then I’d put half of my cash to the side for saving. The rest would be put into paying off my wife’s vehicle (since mine is already paid off) and helping us settle down in an actual house somewhere we want to live for good. Currently we’re living in an apartment, and it’s comfortable yes, but it’s not forever. 

25. FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU HATE:            A fictional character I hate? Hmm. Oh, oh! I know so many others really adore this character and find him “oh so attractive”, but I cannot stand Zenos yae Galvus from ffxiv. Just no. I can’t. At all.

26. FANDOM THAT YOU WERE ONCE A PART OF BUT AREN’T ANY LONGER:                I used to be big into Inuyasha. In fact, that was the first fandom I actually got into! But I’m not into it any more, only because finding tons of people that still want to write that fandom is almost impossible. Shout out to @nioiidamaa for pulling me back into the fandom because they write AMAZING.

STOLEN FROM:  @bagwormmulti TAGGING:  everyone that I already tagged in earlier, soooo @chooseyourmuse, @persona-de-interes, @sky-gryphon, @tivtastic, @nioiidamaa, @softvorenoms. I also welcome anyone else! If you do it and you weren’t tagged, you’re tagged now!! :D

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Cells at Work! 13 (FINAL) | Double Decker! 2 | Slime Datta Ken 1 | Run with the Wind 1 | Bakumatsu 1 | Zombieland Saga 1 | DakaIchi 1 | Radiant 1 | SSSS.Gridman 1

Warning for discussion of 18+, potentially triggery things within the DakaIchi discussion...and the nature of that show being a yaoi will tell you whether you want to read that discussion in the first place. (There are full stops and lines around it in case you want to dodge that particular part, since Radiant comes right after it.)

...Otherwise, have at it.

Cells at Work! 13 (FINAL)

Apparently “distal” just means your extremities…

For some reason, I already knew about the fact that you can die from losing one third of your blood…because I read a Tumblr post that was meant to be for action writers and it was about blood loss.

…Huh? Was this a blood transfusion? That would explain why these new RBCs are so clueless about our RBC. Update: Yup, guessed it.

Come to think of it, there’s a WBC Nendoroid and a Platelet one but no RBC. That’s a bit disappointing…

The WBCs using that wobbly stick thing in the background are amusing, eheh.

Anyways, that was fun, even if I did get used to the routine of RBC getting lost and WBC fighting antigens in the end. See you next time!

Double Decker! 2

We’re now properly in the fall season, and of course now that the first drop’s out of the way, we’re starting with the best show this season (at least for the moment).

So does that mean if we’re NEETs we’re not paying for these detectives…? Is this an incentive for people to pay their taxes (LOL)…? (Okay, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Sheesh.)

DD Partners…? Sounds…uh, partnery, considering what DD stands for.

Why is Travis blinking so much when he’s apologising…?

Snarky narrator is fun. I thought it was Kirill during ep 1 (or at least, it was for a bit), but now this narrator’s talking too much in 3rd person for it to be true. Maybe…it’s future Kirill. *collective facepalms from the peanut gallery* Or maybe it’s Kirill and a narrator, and Kirill will then break the 4th wall somewhere.

Now that’s monkeying around…LOL. *gets pelted by tomatoes* Oh c’mon, can’t I get in a decent joke around here?!

Well, as much as the can thing Doug does to Kirill is tropey for anime, I gotta admit this ain’t monkey busin-eh? You want me to stop with the jokes? Aw. Fine then, I’ll stop…

There’s something utterly relatable about having gone down the path of your dreams, only for it not to work out. In fact, I think I’m going down that path right now and I need to decide where to head next. That’s why I’m watching this episode right now – to make sure I don’t regret my future, by focussing on the present with a good anime.

According to this link to Google Books I got when I googled “ignis” and “desperatio” together, this might have something to do with a Panegyric of the Saints…something to do with hell, worms, fire and despair…? Uh, wuh? Am I just investigating this the wrong way?

Sanctus Bridge? As in “sanctuary”? Wow, that’s…ironic.

The rabbit police mascot…you can see it on Deana’s dashboard, LOL. Plus the bird police mascot that goes with it.

The name shots you get of these criminals aren’t nearly as good as “dick suck” (sic) in Kekkai Sensen, but they’re pretty close. Plus they actually do have correct Japanese translations, unlike “dick suck” (LOL).

Seriously, what’s up with Doug’s head prodding? Is it to stop him from trichotillomania (which is the pulling out of hair)? I can see it getting vaguely annoying when the excitement of a new season wears off…

The CGI is kind of awkward in this. You’d need to stare at it for a bit to realise it’s CGI and it’s not the worst effort I’ve seen (*grumbles* Tsukigakirei *grumble*) but it’s still pretty bad…

Oh! Those doors! Is Doug’s car…a DeLorean? (dramatic piano SFX in background)

Was it just me, or did Kirill’s face go funny for a second as he was moping about how he didn’t get to do anything…?

“Let me be your Double Decker!” – That’s what he says as a double decker bus goes by…clever wordplay, huh?

“One is poverty. The other is class.” – Okay, my studies tell me that’s pretty much impossible. Even in social situations, you have a clear leader and subordinates. Poverty is fine and dandy in regards to giving the boot – heck, that’s why things like the Millenium Development Goals exist (or rather, existed in that case, since those were replaced in 2015) – but class? That’s a bit of a difficult one, unless you want to resort to hardline socialist methods, Marxist methods…or communist ones. Not that any of those are bad, it’s just that I happen to like capitalism,even with its flaws and no matter what imbalances it causes to others. It’s just that not having capitalism would mean everyone’s equal, but then everyone’s worse off as a result…because if everyone has the same stuff, no one is different and no one is diverse enough to make anyone special. Get what I mean?

I think this episode sold me even more on the show, the premise…the everything. Except maybe that “I want to get rid of class” part.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 1

I just memorise this show as “Slime Datta Ken”, so if you’re wondering what that is…now you know.

What was that opening segment for, man…? This is just a boring isekai intro.

I’m laughing! He values his computer over his life? As much as I know I’m attached to my computer, you should prioritise 1) getting Mikami an ambulance, 2) stopping the blood flow or 3) just getting Mikami to preserve his own life. Not that I’ve ever been in a life or death scenario, but that’s common sense, even if it’s a bit nihilistic or unrealistic.

Seriously, there’s currently no pull but how intriguing these unexplained “acquisition” scenes are. Like seriously. Those effects are cool and somewhat intriguing in the same way as Juuni Taisen was.

The picture of a flower…where did it come from? A child? Hmm, interesting way to express such a though process.

The CGI of the reveal was actually really good. Like, Houseki no Kuni good!

Actually, this is very Houseki no Kuni. Reestablishing what it is that makes humans human and what causes a creature to live and all that.

I never knew a slime could be this expressive…

“I see you have guts.” – That’s probably something you shouldn’t say to a slime, LOL.

Oh! This reminds me of a writing piece I had to do one time where you had to tell a tale from a monster’s perspective and make them sympathetic. I wrote about a dragon, so there’s something nostalgic about this.

There really isn’t a lot of movement in this show. Not that I mind it – Juuni Taisen I used to love a bunch and that was based off a novel, but this is an LN-based show…the level of writing in this show is clearly from the LN camp, for one thing. How it got such great production values, however, is another question entirely…

The slime and dragon friendship that just formed made me wanna go “ET!”, just because the gesture they did to seal said friendship did kind of look like that, haha.

Mechasoft Doors MX…hey, I am getting my fix of anime OSs this season after all! Just…not in Gridman yet. Update: There are zero OSs in Gridman, not in episode 1 at least...

Oh wow! That fight scene was so darned cool! It makes me wanna see more already! And the fact he (I already know from promo material the slime’s name is Rimuru) uses his slime form and human form interchangeably…that’s even cooler!

The font down the bottom and up the top of the next episode box appears to say “Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken” (due to the frequency of one of the symbols that appears to be an S, then you do the same for E and you realise it works…then you realise the text is just stylised romaji). There are zeroes and ones on the left and right sides, which might correlate to Rimuru’s “analysis voice”…whatever that may be. Anyways, I’m pretty confident this’ll be something for my lineup, but it’s too early for judgement calls. It’s a keeper…for now.

Run with the Wind 1

Now here’s a show I didn’t expect to follow going in…I picked it up merely on ANN recs.

I’m laughing like a maniac! As much as it was a compelling opening, after the dude arrives on his bike and asks “Do you like running?” to a thief, I lost it. For some reason, I find it almost so unrealistic it became hilarious, in a stupid sort of way. Or maybe I just have a really bad sense of humour. Who knows?

That one guy running in the back in the OP is basically me every time I’m meant to do something physical. Even going up three floors via stairs gets me out of breath though and I live a fairly sedentary lifestyle, so I ain’t a good comparison.

That nickname “Shindo” puzzles me. I can’t think of a kanji combo that would result in wordplay with the characters for “god” and “child” using the name “Takashi Sugiyama”, but I guess maybe we’ll find out in a later episode…?

Thank…uh, goodness for the censorship on Musa…

Musa speaks unusually politely (because I noticed he used “gozonji desu” at one point, which is a keigo variant for “shitteiru”). Maybe it’s because they barely know each other that there’s keigo being flung about. That seems reasonable, at least.

There’s something authentic about this sense of camaraderie. I can tell because my extended family is huge, so gatherings are often like this but multiplied in scale.

“Tsuru no Yu” – Technically that translates to “Crane’s Bath”…”Public Bath” is the place’s purpose.

I was wondering why we’d somehow reverted to not having 10 dudes, but then they show this is actually Haiji’s perspective of the event from the start of the episode and show the scar on his knee. That’s gotta be important for later.

…and Haiji left his towel, LOL.

I still laugh every time I see Haiji’s stupid face (the one he makes when he asks “Do you like running?”).

I’ve associated the slurring of words like “yakusoku-ssu” to be for smol bishies like Yumoto, so having Haiji use it is a bit of whiplash. Then again, apparently that slurring is only used by men to assert their masculinity as far as I know…so, uh, yeah.

Actually…I’ve been wondering. How long are courses at this uni? Where I am, being a straight literature major is 3 years (assuming you also do other stuff that fulfils a straight Arts degree). Also, Fune wo Amu (by the same creator) is about a dude making a dictionary…hmm, so the creator really likes books.

Wait, as far as my short term memory operates, most of these guys at Chikuseisou do arts majors, aside from the law student and the smoker (who does engineering). They do literature or sociology, mostly. So if that’s correct…the author also likes sociology. I’ve been thinking about doing some sociology myself, it would really complement what I know about international studies.

As explained by Kyra, chiku – sei – sou. The sei means blue/green and the chiku means bamboo. Switching the two and reading them differently gives you “Aotake”.

Rent’s $300? Must be cheap, eh?

Also see Kyra’s post for information about the food-based suicide note.

The Kanto Gogakuren refers to this manga, Sakigake!! Otokojuku. It’s basically Again!!, but with more Fist of the North Star-style dudes.

Hmm…turns out you can refer to this show as KazeTsuyo. That’s going to make me confuse it with SekaTsuyo, though…(SekaTsuyo = Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!) Also, it turns out the character for “Kakeru” in this case means “to run” (normally it means “to dash” with a kanji normally used for flying). Wait…did I ever mention how much this show’s aesthetic visuals always look as if they’re a Powerpoint theme (see images below)? They do look like that, don’t they?

I still have no idea why Kakeru has a bad case of resting b**** face, but…uh yeah, forget I said that. The sound direction in this show’s really nice. It really takes advantage of quiet moment to insert natural sounds.

I think if you go “yes!” when Haiji says “I’m going to win over all the dudes”, then you’re sold on the show. I did go “yes”, just without speaking. You know those feelings you only get in your gut and heart? Yeah, like that.

Huh? I noticed a dude called Bruce Chiou is in the credits and he’s definitely on RErideD this season too…

Out of this one, Slime Datta Ken and Double Decker it’s ranked last, but this show’s still a pretty strong addition to the seasonal lineup. Only time will tell if I kick it out or not…

Bakumatsu 1

The only experience I have with this era in anime is Bakumatsu Rock, I think…and that means I don’t know much about it.

Actually…considering the OP, scratch that. I know a bunch because of Touken Ranbu and other similar historical shows.

A…boob window? On a man? I get the black skintight vest is meant to be sexy, but I can’t see the point of that diamond…it’s just something extra for the animators and the illustrators to deal with.

C’mon. Can we not have Dudes Swishing Their Swords at the 4th Wall as something meant to hype up the audience? It’s a cliché, almost as bad as the running scenes you often get in OPs and EDs…Seriously, I can’t believe I’m getting mad at 10 dudes swinging their swords like this (specifically I’m getting mad because they were all in succession – doesn’t matter if it was in time to the music or not).

Okay, who transplanted WWI into this? I know that’s the point of the show, but the sepia really sold the idea of “this is meant to be Old-Timey Wimey Stuff and whoever’s meant to be watching is meant to be a history buff so they can spot the difference”.

Part of the ep title is “Mou Ichido no Bakumatsu”, so a better translation is “The Bakumatsu (Era) – Again!”

Wait, I thought Kondo was meant to look hotter than this (especially because he had what appears to be a coin – or an old-timey family crest – on his head). The frumpy mouth doesn’t sell the goods, yo.

Somehow…I knew Katsura would have glasses. He has them in Bakumatsu Rock. But is it historically accurate to have glasses in the Bakumatsu era, though?

Come to think of it…something that controls time would be pretty hard to destroy, no?

I think I read on ANN that swords being too big to draw in ship quarters is accurate. Hmm.

If this is such an important treasure…then why not have more padlocks on it? Or more guards closer to it (although those guys probably ran away)? Or some other protection around it? Couldn’t this supposed Yoshinobu-sama fight for himself?...Then again, I think this is just a case of overthinking. (insert MST3K mantra here)

Puh-lease. As much as I want a kunoichi (lady ninja) in my shows, don’t make them Naruto run. That’s one of my pet peeves…

Uh…Hagi? That’s probably it, considering there’s a river in the show.

Kakesoba.

Kamaboko.

Tanuki soba.

Well, there’s something to be said about being able to steal Shinsengumi jackets while the men are eating noodles. At least it didn’t involve knocking them out though (weak LOL).

Okay…why do the Shinsengumi look like waiters now? As much as I like a dude in a waiter suit, if I wanted a waiter, I’d go to a fancy French restaurant…

I feel like I’m being clubbed over the head with themes in this show. C’mon, have more tact than that.

There’s basically no chemistry between these guys (Katsura and Shinsaku). How did they meet?

Wait, so Darker Blue is Sakamoto if Green is Katsura and Red is Shinsaku? Sakamoto (Ryouma) is the redhead in Bakumatsu Rock, isn’t he? Okay then. But who’s White?

Seriously, Shinsaku. Learn from the kunoichi and stay quiet and stealthy. I don’t need another shonen hero…

Oh man, Toshizou is normally one of the Shinsengumi I like best (or at least I recognise his name more) out of these kinds of shows. If he has Perma-Scowl, I can’t possibly like this version.

Oh goodness. Souji’s a friggin’ sadist. Come to think of it though, I think this (Okita) Souji looks like the one from Gintama.

Why does Toshizou sound a frigton like any given Touken Ranbu sword…?

If that katana is symbolic…Toshizou must be hecka masculine, LEL. (Note: A “LEL” is not quite a LOL, it’s mostly done in jest. If anything, it’s probably about half a LOL.)

If that blonde ain’t Abe no Seimei, Yoshinobu-sama or some other important historical figure I know the name of, I’m eating my hat! (Not that I’m wearing one, it’s a figure of speech.)

I like Sakamoto’s face here, but man, I get distracted by the man candy below it…(i.e. his abs and bare chest, LOL. What did you think I was referring to?)

Oh great. (sarcastic) Sanada Yukimura almost always has that silly helmet, ever since Sengoku Musou I’ve pretty much tried to run away from it. I’d recognise it anywhere.

Who had the grand idea of letting Sanada keep his horse, anyway?

Okay, as much as I like making snarky comments, I made one too many here, methinks. Time for the drop pile.

Zombieland Saga 1

I read spoilers just a little bit, so I know the main twist is “zombie idols that sing death metal” already. If you didn’t want to know that at this point…sorry.

Whoa! They killed their protag off the bat? Not that I didn’t know that wouldn’t happen (already knew it would), but that’s gutsy. Truck-kun, go back to your darn isekai shows already.

Okay, I know this is a schoolgirl, but can we not with Sakura’s Schoolgirl Run for Dainty Ladies? This is a zombie show, dangit. Run properly. Can we also not with the boob jiggle?

Well, that’s one way to defeat a police officer (or get yourself arrested): Spade to the Brain.

Otsumami appears to be the name for the squid in Kotaro’s pocket.

You can’t see Kotaro’s eyes, even behind those sunnies…hmm…

Wow. Miyano sounds like he’s having such fun voicing Kotaro, y’know?

From the flyer: “They are coming soon from the underground...” Yup, that’s right, alright. Zombies have already come from the underground.

Tae’s credited under ????. They’re still holding out on us!

It seems like a pretty good keeper, provided you can keep up with who’s who.

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DakaIchi 1

Yep, the BL anime. Thought I’d never try one? Think again.

As much as I do think I’d want to be hugged by Takato, his face…makes him look like he came out of Junjou Romantica…? Uhh…awkward.

Please don’t let this be a work full of sadism and BDSM. I’m not that kinky, y’know…?

Uh, if you ever knew “boundaries”, Azumaya, that would be great. Thanks.

LOL, what a way to win a dude over. $10! That is cheap for a star.

I’m still wondering if this all constitutes “assault” or some other illegal business. I mean, Takato agreed to everything under the influence of a bunch of drinks.

LOL, the director’s shirt says “concentration”. As in, “focus on the stuff you’re doing”.

Hey wait, how does anyone pull off a kabedon on an operation curtain?!

Uh…maybe it’s just my inexperience with the genre, but…what the heck was that scene with the feathers?

Dangit, Yaoi Hands. If I weren’t so aware of you already, you wouldn’t be breaking the immersion of this show!!!

Random Dance Ending? I so did not expect that, I’m laughing as a result.

Uhh…I cannot believe I did that. I watched an episode of a yaoi anime and coveredit without it ruining my pride! To think I watched 18+ shoujo ai before 18+ shonen ai is really something I cannot get my head around, though…not that I will ever tell you which shoujo ai show I watched. So…uh, it was actually pretty decent aside from the “I don’t get what the heck this scene is meant to be” bits which are probably staples of the genre.

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Radiant 1

Uhh…why do I feel like I’m watching Deltora Quest for the 3rd time? Not that Deltora Quest is bad, it’s just too stereotypically high fantasy.

Mahoutsukai. Literally “mage”, but could be “wizard” or “sorcerer” if you went with it loosely. Then again, the French word for sorcerer must be pretty close to the English one which should be enough of a guide for translators, right?

Eh? It’s an…elephant –cow? What is this, Avatar  the Last Airbender? (half-snarking)

I think as the show goes along, its comedic timing is actually getting…better. That’s something, huh?

The show’s just a tiny bit too heavy-handed with its themes of racism or whatever sorcerers stand for. Then again, this is a shonen show. It’s allowed to be this way.

Geez, stylised English really is the order of the day for anime these days, huh? Lessee here…Alma’s…uh, Observatory, I think it says…?

Uh…all this talk about grimoires is giving me bad flashbacks…bad, screamy flashbacks involving a certain Asta…

I just noticed Alma gets referred to that way by Seth. Are these two not related, even though they share the same house (?) and hair colour?

Oh great. (sarcastic) Toilet humour. One of my worst enemies, aside from fanservice…

What’s up with the bat (?)? It knd of seems to be Alma’s…

Hey, I…think I know this kind of story too well. It’s going to eventually end, after a long run, with an adult Seth and that girl from one of the key visuals together…or something. Shonen are weird like that. They always end with a happily ever after and an adult protagonist, or the “the adventure just keeps happening!” sort of thing…y’know?

The plural of Nemesis is “Nemeses”, but it seems the book Seth read said “Nemesis’ Egg”. So the plural is the same as the singular in this case.

Huh? They chose to put both fancily-written French and then Japanese under it, as a homage to the French origins of this work? Huh, interesting.

Tommy’s saying “Gyaaaaah!” not “Yaaaaaaah!” - there’s a difference between those two, y’know?

SSSS.Gridman 1

As a self-professed fan of heroes who never actually got into tokusatsu because I keep missing Power Rangers when it airs on local TV stations, this and Garo are filling in a genre space I never really had until I started wandering tokusatsu wikis...which was before the live-action Power Rangers came out, methinks.

Why do I feel like I’ve seen this font (the one “SSSS.Gridman” is written in)? I thought it was a Calvin Harris music video, since I have a few downloaded legally (due to a CD I found in one particular library), but Harris’s font is slightly different to this one…Well, after some experimentation, it seems to be Arial with extra kerning.

“Amnesiac” is starting to become an anime trope in itself…

Seven-Two-One, LOL.

Ahh, children in puberty. Can’t tell whether relationships are romantic or just platonic. (wistful)

If Utsumi isn’t the goth dude from earlier, I’m eating my hat! (Not that I’m wearing one right-oh, I’ve used this joke before, haven’t I?)

…dangit, now I have to eat my metaphorical hat. By the by, I thought Utsumi was an Ume sort of character (as in, the type who would usually get voiced by Yuichiro Umehara), but no, it was Soma Saito.

The girl with the purple hair reminds me of the Administrator (or whatever her name is, the AI) from Yakusoku no Nanayamatsuri.

Regardless of whether the scene was with volume or not, that awkward pause between Shinjo, Utsumi and Hibiki went just a weeny bit too long…

When Takarada approached Utsumi and Hibiki, the colours of her earphones and eyes really popped!

They seem to treat memory loss as something minor, like a cold. It’s a bit awkward, I think.

Utsumi, kid. If you think computers from the 70s and 80s are huge, you should see server rooms! Those computers are huge! Not to mention, the first computers filled up entire rooms (just like servers do). Even portable server units are about a good 160 cm tall with wheels…oh, you don’t want to hear me prattle on about this? Okay, moving on.

“This really is a pile of junk, huh?” I had to go back and check someone hadn’t skipped a word – they did skip the word, in fact.

T-This is what Trigger have held out on us for? A monster like this looks terrible in CGI, man. Even if it is one of the better efforts. I mean, the eyes don’t even look in the same direction…

Why does Utsumi refer to the computer as “Junk”?

The Ultra series? Y��mean Ultraman?

Let’s just say…Gridman looks much better than the kaiju here.

They didn’t even dispose of the kaiju head properly, LOL.

I feel like the battle didn’t quite get my blood boiling. (Probably because I was grumbling too hard at the kaiju and the parts where the execution got a little too silly.) I’ll put it on hold and see if it gets better in a few episodes, but I’m not holding my breath. Since this is Trigger, it could pull off some great stuff if it tried…it’s just this seemed a little soulless in comparison to everything else I’ve seen them do. Or maybe my increased consumption of anime this year has left me jaded...

[comicteaparty]

August 31st, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on August 31st, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Alec in Wunderland by mintycanoodles.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Alec in Wunderland by mintycanoodles~! (https://tapas.io/series/Alec-in-Wunderland) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~! With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Tenor

Not fair that's hard to pick xD

RebelVampire

ironically while i usually struggle with that one, this time i know. its the scene where hattie is talking to the dormouse about alec. cause i liked the end to it where the dormouse is like "bro you gonna have to pick one or the other" and then hattie was like "i know"

that was randomly kind of dark

Tenor

Legit tho, there's a lot of scenes I really liked for various reasons. The opening scene for example was an excellent start, really pulled me in and still was well written enough you know there's going to be more and it was less 'random' based based off Lulu's questions about making sure this kid who will be abducted won't be missed.

Oh yes, the dramatic orchestra suddenly played a lower key there lol.

So far anything with Dormouse has been just pure gold for me, I'm absolutely sold with that character I can't stand it.

mathtans

I iz here! My fave scene is when they're arguing and that one guard is running by and pauses like, wait, what's going on? So they say "We're lost" and guard dumps instructions on them. Felt true to the world and characters and all and I found it funny too.(edited)

Tenor

Oh yes, the comedy scenes have been great, too! xD

But I think maybe utmost favorite just because 'why not' would be Dormouse stabbing the rocks from the collapsed tunnel. Just, BABY WHY THAT ISN'T HOW THAT WORKS

mathtans

I'm a Lulu fan myself. ^^ I also like when she just pushed Alec into the hole after making sure he wouldn't be missed.

Tenor

Lulu's ears are so precious. I love how emotive she is.

RebelVampire

i like the little touch of how because Lulu is young she doesnt have the hang of portals yet. that struck me as a little nice character detail that works for the plot. because often i feel stories forget young people are not rando good at everything

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

oh it started and i read this week

RebelVampire

good job delta

Tenor

I think the pressure TO be good at a young age doesn't help, either, in those cases too.

mathtans

Yeah, that's true. There's a nice mix of ages with Hattie being older too.

Tenor

/ Waves

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i think my favorite scene would be when alec questions wether the orphanige is the better place to go back too

Tenor

It was a good question. /nod

RebelVampire

honestly cannot read that scene without picturing the caterpillar getting sassy

Tenor

Sadly I only know of Alice in Wonderland from Disney, I'm not versed in the books, or the other versions the creator is pulling from. So I don't know a lot of the references they may be pulling from so I'm curious how different everything is.

mathtans

Yeah - makes me wonder a bit if time is passing at the same rate in Wunderland? Like, the Alice thing supposedly didn't take much time at all when she returned.

Tenor

I picture the blue caterpillar with the Fairy Godmother's voice from the old Cinderella film <_< Not gunna lie.

mathtans

I read the "Alice" books but it was, like, 20 years ago. x.x

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

same Tenor

mathtans

Do we think there's a caterpillar for each region? I feel like that's a thing?

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

yeah i belive they said that

Tenor

There's concept for a green one I saw so I think so, yeah.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i think there 5 in all

RebelVampire

maybe? i mean theyre certainly all in diff regions but idk if theres only five regions

mathtans

Yeah, the green one is huge. I guess they're all kind of different.... maybe by the end one is a butterfly? ^.^

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i mean 5 catapillars

mathtans

Oh, I think there's 7 regions. (They were on postcards near the start... and I think on wallpaper that was linked to....)

RebelVampire

i know you meant the caterpillars. but im saying you cant have a caterpillar in every region if there are technically more regions

FONCreator the pun king

Fuck I can't remember uhhhhh.....

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

sup zac

FONCreator the pun king

Probably the whole introduction of it

Generic yes, but I like how it was handled

Tenor

Redd also lists the areas.

(I think it was Redd)

(Campfire scene -yanks open the comic-)

mathtans

Rebel - Yeah, I get what you're saying. Maybe there's 5 caterpillars and a couple butterflies. Or maybe some regions are kind of inhospitable (one's a desert).

Tenor

(Yes Redd, 7 total so eeey)

RebelVampire

two regions are just too cool to have caterpillars

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

or hot

Tenor

I'm curious what the roles the caterpillars play. And the Otherlander plays tbh. Since apparently they keep yanking those into this realm to see if they'll live or die /shot

RebelVampire

they gotta continue that alec/alice cycle yo(edited)

mathtans

Maybe it's a bit like chess, you just have to hit all of them in order to be crowned at the end.

RebelVampire

but i also wonder how canon those queen alice the first pics are

mathtans

Oooh yeah, the history! Like, previous people who weren't found worthy or who fled and such.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

yeah that looked like a staute straight out of the time burton version(edited)

Tenor

I'm curious on Alice, too.

Too much curious HNNNG need more updates xD

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

even had the vorpal blade in her hand

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

loves the fact that the creator puts hidden mickeys in the pages

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

WAIT REALLY(edited)

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

LOL

Tenor

I didn't even notice those until I read a comment that called it out.

mathtans

You got slipped a mickey.

Tenor

Then I had to go back- LOL

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

mat please

mathtans

Here's a thought, I wonder if there was someone before Alec who just kind of gave up, and is still living in the world now, and they meet him/her.

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I keep messing up the time and now I am ehre

RebelVampire

oh thatd be an interesting plot point

Tenor

Eyy~

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

i noticed that the catepillar said "i hope this one makes it" and automatically made me think "o no is there dead kids before him"

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I want to see a sea of dead kids but I think it's too lighthearted for that

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

LOL

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

Or at least a graveyard

Tenor

I'm curious on the foreshadowing/call out about Redd not liking leaving people behind. <_< Curious what's happened there. /dundun dunnnn.

mathtans

Cali - Yeah, I had a similar thought, but then I figured maybe they didn't die they just gave up. Or went native or something.

Tenor

Oh lord.

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

a kid that fell into despair

Tenor

or insanity.

FONCreator the pun king

Yo this is a Wonderland story

Somehow

Tenor

Lets be honest you gotta come to terms with this place LOL

FONCreator the pun king

Someway

It'll get dark

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

Good

RebelVampire

@math they couldve faked their death too. been like "haha now i can quit the trial" and then realized they couldnt leave

mathtans

Maybe Redd was left behind sometime. That's how he hooked up with Dormouse.

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

plot twist; previous kid is an antagonist

FONCreator the pun king

Zero to a hundred real fast I bet

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

And then all the callipillars bring out their hoookas and are like "Damm son, this again."

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

only just begun reading it lol

mathtans

Rebel: Oooh, that's an interesting prospect!

Tenor

GO CALI GO

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

omg redd and dormouse is adorable

Tenor

Dormouse is best captain.

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I also have an idea that the Hattie character has something to do with the previous children or even Alice

I wonder if Alice is the current queen

mathtans

I don't think she's current because didn't someone else take over? And put Ace in charge of where they're at now?

Hattie could be though. There were pictures of young Hattie at one point.

RebelVampire

do we even know if alice is canon tho? they could just be for funsies images

canon in the sense alice herself is semi in the story

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i don't think they ever hinted that the original story was canon(edited)

Tenor

No clue. I'd like her to be a more throwback, personally, rather than current queen but that's me.

FONCreator the pun king

I think Alice is canon from the Alec in Doodle land stuff

Gotta double chck

mathtans

We don't know. Could be the last person subjected to the trials was an artist and did paintings.

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

Hmm plot twist, Hattie is the actual queen running from their job and someone else took their job and is making everything crazy

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

well her flashback did show her childhood was a wealthy one

FONCreator the pun king

That twist

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i was dissaponited she didn't have a hat when a child

Tenor

She had to grow into it I'm sure xD

AWH BUT BABY HATTIE IN AN UPSIDEDOWN TOPHAT

Babycarrier/crib lets go.

FONCreator the pun king

Yessss

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

more smol hattie is always good

Tenor

like 99% hair

all sticking out from the brim of the hat

mathtans

I feel like Hattie's too responsible to just up and leave if she was supposed to be in charge.

RebelVampire

maybe the magic is in the hat hence why she couldnt have it as a kid. cant let kids just play around with infinite hat powers

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I would laugh if the hat actually grew from her head

Like no hat, and then a hat sprouted from the head like poof, hat

mathtans

Seems kind of old hat to me.

Tenor

Go home LOL

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I'm so drunk but not drunk becuase Wonderland don't drink the potion

mathtans

Wunderland you mean?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Throughout the comic it’s hinted that Alec has a larger purpose for being in Wunderland and is participating in some sort of trial. What do you think Alec is meant to do while in Wunderland? What does it have to do with finding the other Caterpillars? What happened to those who came before Alec?

mathtans

Maybe they'll eventually have a trial scene, like they did with the Queen of Hearts accusing the Knave of stealing the tarts in the original.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i think hes meant to bring proper choas, not this orderly crap handed out by royals

RebelVampire

if i assume alice being the queen at some point in the history is a thing, maybe these trials are so alec can become king of wunderland

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

that may be

RebelVampire

cause biological inheritance not crazy enough for wunderland

gotta decide rulers by trial

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

well its a better way than being born into it(edited)

Tenor

I kinda think the same? I do feel maybe Alice might be a hint that the royalty are otherlanders and the first can't leave until the next takes its place.

Which if you pull the Queen of Hearts into the idea from what I remember, Alice being a threat bc noooo I want to keep the throne /shot.

mathtans

So Alec marries Alice? This is a test to find the Queen a King?

Tenor

Oh I'm thinking replacements.

Though that could, too, work.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

maybe?

Tenor

Mine's a bit more dark in the idea that Wunderland doesn't have the same time-span as earth (or maybe Otherlanders are age-lessly immortal here) and Alice can't leave to go home until someone worthy can take her spot.

mathtans

Be interesting if Alice just went mad or something, so they need to get her help. The trials are to make sure her replacement doesn't go mad.

I don't see how the caterpillars fit though.

RebelVampire

yeah regardless of theories on the what im really confused about the caterpillars and what the point of visiting them is

like are they just gonna say hey thanks for stopping by

Tenor

Could still fit alongside it: Like, maaaaybe they want the system to end? Or, darker, they want Alice to stay, Alec to be king with her? Never leave gotta stay.

RebelVampire

its possible alice had a king sadly cause one of the pics she was in a portrait with some guy

mathtans

The caterpillars seem to be evaluating Alec? Like the blue one tried to make sure he really wanted to be there... the green one might wonder if he... eats his veggies...?

Tenor

LOL

Rebel: True, I forgot that!

RebelVampire

https://tapas.io/episode/336206

oh LOL

title is even literally her consort

i have killed a theory

rip

im so sorry

Tenor

-hand over mouth-

That looks like Hattie relative.

mathtans

It's just "Portrait of a Queen" not "Portrait of Alice".

Could be the Queen of Hearts.

RebelVampire

but that is definitely alice cause of a different picture XD

Tenor

There's a picture later that's called Alice the First

mathtans

Ahh, okay.

Tenor

or earlier -looks-

https://tapas.io/episode/381442 Queen Alice the First

mathtans

Too many Queens! (That's a thing in the original, because you get the Chess Queens too.)

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

huh

RebelVampire

unless the queen of hearts and alice are related

or alice is the queen of hearts in this version

Tenor

Could be.

mathtans

The White Queen!

Tenor

Either way can't unsee the consort looking like Hattie now so I'm doomed.

RebelVampire

OH YEAH i forgot that was a character

mathtans

Who lives backwards!

Tenor

Especially since the photos of who may be mom looks less like Hattie <_<

RebelVampire

nah i thought that too. that the consort looks like hattie so i assume its the "original" mad hatter(edited)

mathtans

Oh, that's clever.

Tenor

Alice/Hatter ships are pretty common too so maybe. <<

RebelVampire

plot twist: not even. just some random dude

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

fuckin randy

Tenor

I'll cry LOL

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

is caught up now

Tenor

My heart's set now xD

EYY

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

I REALLY LIKE THIS COMIC SO FAR

RebelVampire

good job cali

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

ITS SO CUTE

i have mixed feelings on the "PROTECT IMPORTANT PERSON VS SAVE FRIEND" thing

mathtans

Lulu for the cute!

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

Wait the queen and the consort.....

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

lulu is adorable

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

HATTIE BEING NEXT QUEEEN THEORY MIGHT BE TRUE

Tenor

Depending on why the important person needs protected, I can understand why but yeah, not an easy choice. THEN AGAIN THEM LITERALLY GOING TO GET LULU WOULD HAVE FIT THE FAKE PRISONER PLAN A LOT BETTER JUST SAYIN xD

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

i can totally see the 'alec becomes king' thing

Tenor

But, y'know, one of their main tacticians stabs rocks with a scimitar so /shot

mathtans

I like the little explanations put in too, like how Lulu can't do her portal thing unless she's on ground.

FONCreator the pun king

Yee I can see that thing happening too cal

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

everytime i see the name alec my brain keeps wanting to say alex

RebelVampire

to be fair to their strategy/tactician skills, a guard did question nothing and was like "oh here let me tell you how to get to everywhere in this place"

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

well her portals are rabbit holes

Tenor

Every time I see Alec I see Mandy from Billy and Mandy now thanks to the Halloween special so, fff.

mathtans

Maybe Alec doesn't become King, but he has to be the one to choose the ruler? Like, between Hattie and someone else? They need to test for heart purity to make the decision.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i see that too Tenor

Tenor

Rebel: Yeah but they didn't know that when they built their plan that a guard was a jabberjaw. xD

FONCreator the pun king

True true

Tenor

(Presh button guard too hnnn)

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

alec also totally looks as if he'd be a sibling of rose lalone/dave strider

of homestuck

too

Tenor

Never read it so no idea but I know some comments mentioned it so eeey

Skeleton Honey

I love homestuck

mathtans

I liked how it was totally lucky that they talked to the guard though. Like, he was just running by and "wait, what?".

Skeleton Honey

Excited for hiveswap this september

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

haha i really like that guard they ran into too

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

skelly please this is about a different comic

Tenor

YEAAAH I Screamed at the girls arguing in that panel, too

Deity Cali of BISHIES OF SPEEDS

"OH YOU GUYS LOOK TOTALLY TRUSTWORTHY HERES ALL THE DIRECTIONS"

Tenor

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME GIRLS"

Skeleton Honey

Sorry

Tenor

"LADIES - PLEASE"

RebelVampire

now is always the time for arguing

its part of the masterplan

Tenor

Apparently lmao.

mathtans

They did have to knock him out in the end.

RebelVampire

cause if they get arrested for real theyre sure to find Lulu!

Tenor

TRUE.

mathtans

Rebel: Truth.

Tenor

Well sorta, apparently she's in process of getting moved.

mathtans

But they might miss the caterpillar.

Tenor

Omg that would blow tho - get caught, tossed in the cell, as your friend is getting dragged off

... if her teleporting only works when she's on the ground she has to be carried omg.

mathtans

Well, I figured "ground" was like "earth" so if she's on wood or stones it wouldn't work.

Tenor

That'd explain why she hasn't poofed in the cell actually, good point <_<

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

maybe there needs to be a set ammout of matearil below where the portal has to appear for it to work

FONCreator the pun king

good point

mathtans

If she was upside down with earth above her, would it work?

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

so many questions

RebelVampire

since were on the topic of Lulu, i noticed the ace of spades mentioned that they didnt "think there were anymore white rabbits." does that mean there was a white rabbit genocide? O_O

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

seems like it

or maybe they just left

Tenor

Well if people keep wanting a pocket rabbit for teleporting for world domination, yeah they'd probably die out.

FONCreator the pun king

Probably yeah

The white bun must be protected at all costs

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

yes

mathtans

Wow. Hum. I missed that. Maybe I thought it just meant they all dyed their hare?

Tenor

FFF-

RebelVampire

math plz

thatd be really high maintenance

FONCreator the pun king

XDD

I mean they could've

mathtans

Srlsy though, maybe they're undercover.

Tenor

that would suuuuuuuuck

at the same time imagine an old one in a wagon

traveling sloooowly across the lands

bitching the entire time because he can't teleport or he'll get found out.

mathtans

Maybe they're all in the Otherland looking for recruits.

Tenor

Or just having said "F-Wunderland"

RebelVampire

i think you mean looking for children to kidnap

FONCreator the pun king

XD

Tenor

FFF-

mathtans

That too.

In her time off, Lulu likes to find Lemons.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

kidnap recriut, its all semantics

FONCreator the pun king

xD

RebelVampire

but now i just picture some rabbit standing on the corner being like "Sir, sir! How would you like to experience a land of adventure, magic, and should I say....wunder? Our location is actively looking for recruits to try out our new activities!"

FONCreator the pun king

xDD

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

no they take kids

"hey wanna go a magic adventure"

Tenor

Omg.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

"just hop down the hole"

mathtans

With discounts at Lulu Lemon.

Tenor

Comes off a like a peddling con man.

RebelVampire

"Hey kid get in the portal thats not a white van"

QUESTION 3. Wunderland is not only large, but seems to have its own complicated political system in place (example: the Queen of Diamonds installing her own tyrannical Ace to rule the Land of Rain). Do you think this sort of political conflict will play into the plot? If so, how? Do you think the other suits have their own rulers and various subordinates? Do you have any other thoughts about the world itself?

FONCreator the pun king

Depending on the author's skill I'd say its highly possible

Its a very interesting take on Wonderland so far, it ain't as dark as it has been adapted as most of the time

mathtans

It's all a ploy by the Jokers.

FONCreator the pun king

Its rather cutesy/lineless artstyle helps it stand distinct

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I like the artstyle a lot as well

and also I need to head off to get to work so I hope you guys have fun with the rest of the CTP

FONCreator the pun king

Its very much similar to Samurai Jack and The X's

Tenor

I think it's already potentially showing in the plot. They've taken over a location important to the green caterpillar based off the information in chapter 2. I DO hope there's other rulers, as I like to imagine the 'cards' as houses in particular - gotta follow who holds the seat but everyone wants theirs in head.

RebelVampire

thanks for coming feather~!

FONCreator the pun king

And alrighty Duke

Tenor

Bai Feather~!

mathtans

I didn't even really notice the lineless thing. It's subtle.

FONCreator the pun king

Yeah looking more into it, its not THAT lineless, but it gives the feeling of it

Tenor

The amount of lineless reminds me of papercraft

FONCreator the pun king

It also helps fit with the background, but not be too bleneded in

Tenor

Lineless where it would be 'cut' but otherwise lines to give depth, and I really like that feeling

Yeeees

FONCreator the pun king

Once again like Samurai JAck, but with more lines that are darker shades of their colors

Tenor

I haven't seen Samurai Jack in so long I honestly wouldn't be able to picture it unless I look it up lol

OTL

FONCreator the pun king

But SJ's lines mainly came from helping seperate things like fingers, heads and such

So its not just an abstract mess

Tenor

-Nod-

mathtans

There must be some order to it. The spades were designated green. (Wait, why does the Ace of Diamond have spades working for him? There must be a hierarchy then?)

RebelVampire

yeah there has to be a hierarchy going on. which we can at least assume that the aces are under the royal cards albeit idk where jacks would fall

FONCreator the pun king

Perhaps

If there is a hierarchy, then hearts/diamonds must be on the higher up scale

Clubs and spades being the lackeys

mathtans

It's usually jack-queen-king.

Tenor

Considering the power shift from Hearts to Diamonds in that case would imply lots have changed.

FONCreator the pun king

yeah

mathtans

If we're playing bridge, the order is clubs-diamonds-hearts-spades-noTrump.

Diamond uprising?

FONCreator the pun king

Once again depends

We don't know the full story yet

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

always political upheaval in these settings

RebelVampire

it could just be the suits trade around tho. so the the kings and queens just trade around the lesser cards regardless of suit.

FONCreator the pun king

True

mathtans

They have draft picks.

Tenor

FFF-

mathtans

(Daft picks?)

(Daft punk picks?)

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

yes

thats where you pick your favorite songs from them(edited)

RebelVampire

but maybe in the case of the queen of diamonds installing her own maybe its implied that this ace is a spade but in the queen of diamonds' pocket and the king and/or queen of spades is none the wiser

mathtans

I like the idea of trading around though, it's possible. There's also Anchors and Crowns in the extended card decks.

Or maybe they are the wiser but don't care.

RebelVampire

are like eh

just the forest ppl

they suck

mathtans

There is that underlying thread of darkness, so it's hard to say for a lot of things, could go either way. ^^

RebelVampire

i still dont understand what the caterpillars' role is tho @_@

Tenor

To hide their hookahs from the rest of the world.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

maybe the catapillars are like sages here...kinda like the original

mathtans

I think it's some sort of evaluation? Like they're the judges somehow? They test willingness and strength and stuff like that.

FONCreator the pun king

Give it time

mathtans

Green seems very large. I wonder if Green was always like that or if it was something they ate.

Tenor

Considering the concept I saw I thought the green caterpillar was just using magic to summon a golem type of thing.

But if they can transform that's cool too

mathtans

Ohh, that could be.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i feel like the size has to do with the ace fucking up the forest

mathtans

I admit I'm not that into politics, real or imagined.

RebelVampire

thats okay math

there is a question i want to pose but i need to find the scene to verify

Tenor

I believe in you

mathtans

There was the robbing of that stagecoach. So again, implies people in power and people not.

RebelVampire

ok so the question i want to pose is that when alec sees the blue caterpillar he gets told that if he stays hell find what hes looking for. alec asks what is it hes looking for and just gets told he has to figure that out. so what is alec looking for and why is finding the caterpillars supposed to help with that?

FONCreator the pun king

Because plot convience

Tenor

Caterpillars may be a goal post. Could be a metaphor of "you'll find yourself" through going through these trials, and by finding himself he'll be able to find WHAT it is he wants in life - assuming the caterpillar doesn't already know ofc.

Random option, Alice adopts him rather than he becomes king because he's an orphan and most orphans want families.

FONCreator the pun king

But really I think its because it could be parraleling the actual Alice with Alec having to findhimself like Tenor said

Tenor

(typically)

mathtans

What we're all looking for, a purpose? I'm not sure the caterpillars will necessarily help but the journey might, and I still think they're testing his suitability somehow.

FONCreator the pun king

And finding the caterpillers could be something they told him to do to kick his self discovery journey into gear

mathtans

Or a family, true.

RebelVampire

maybe hattie adopts him instead

mathtans

There's possibly a metaphor in that too. Using caterpillars. Who grow up to be butterflies.

RebelVampire

and alec, hattie, and lulu live a happy family life together(edited)

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

that would be nice rebel

FONCreator the pun king

yee

Tenor

That'd be cute too, Rebel.

Much potential for cute. :D

mathtans

Until the dark times came upon them all.

RebelVampire

part of me feels like telling him that was more just a ploy to get him to stay. cause him passing this trial seems important to them so i highly doubt if he self discovers anything itll matter to them

mathtans

He may discover the power to rule them was in him all along.

Or something. RebelVampire

the way you worded that made me think he becomes a tyrannical dictator XD

QUESTION 4. Given this comic is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, which characters are you interested in seeing in this version? What role do you think some of these yet to be seen characters will play (assuming they do appear of course)?

FONCreator the pun king

Jabberwocky, Queen of Hearts, and Dee and Dum

mathtans

I saw someone mention the Cheshire Cat in comments and the author was vague about it. I played the CCat once in a play. ^^

FONCreator the pun king

Forgot if Dee and Dum were already introduced or not

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i'm curious to see when the cheshire cats comes out

Tenor

Cheshire Cat for me, too, as he was the only prevalent one I remember growing up.

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i don't there were introduced zac

mathtans

Funny thing is how the White Rabbit and the March Hare have kinda been rolled into one character in Lulu? There could be hybrids also.

FONCreator the pun king

True true

Chesire Cat might be a baddie merged with somethig else RebelVampire

i have another vote for cheshire cat. got have the creepy teleporting with a smile going on.

FONCreator the pun king

Could be a great rival to Lulu

If they teleportation is kept

*the RebelVampire

the cheshire cat may at least be a neutral baddie cause generally depictions have the cheshire cat never pick sides. is just there to cause chaos

FONCreator the pun king

true

Even still

with the chesire cat potentially being brought in

maybe certain colored animals can teleport or have dimensional abilities

They did specifically mention they didn't think "White Rabbits" were still around

So maybe Chesire Cats are the only cats who can teleport

again, if chesire cat comes into play

Tenor

I don't think the Chesire Cat can teleport others versus just itself tho? Then again it being a being of nuetral chaos who knows it's potential abilities. <_<;

mathtans

Maybe it's a Kitty. Smol Cheshire.

Tenor

So long as I get to see it fade with random body parts around I'll be happy tbh lol

FONCreator the pun king

yee

SirDelta God King of Mecha, Time

i wonder if the jabberwock is still around, cuase the staute of the queen had her with the vorpal blade

RebelVampire

i want there to be a plot point where lulu messes up the portal again and all alone alec bumps into the cheshire cat. cause then alec is helpless to the chaos. but then hattie and lulu come to save the day and lulu lectures CC

Tenor

I'm sure it'll be an alone-meet up at first, for sure.

Everyone probably thinks Alec is crazy bc that thing should be dead due to age or something but it's really alive and well driving people batty

FONCreator the pun king

yee

mathtans

The Mock Turtle could be fun. Maybe instead of being a fake turtle he mocks people.

RebelVampire

thatd actually be kind of interesting if the cheshire cat was just super immortal

FONCreator the pun king

oh yee

mathtans

Our school put on "Wonderland" a couple years ago. The guy playing the Mock Turtle somehow nailed the inflection. Didn't really talk slow, but you kinda felt like he was.

Tenor

I can't remember any of these characters xD

mathtans

The puns are good with that character.

Tenor

OH LORD

mathtans

"How many hours a day did you do lessons?" "Ten hours the first, nine the next and so on." "How curious." "That's the reason they're called lessons, they lessen from day to day."

RebelVampire

no omg LOL

it hurts

Tenor

kajshdklJAHS

BAD. LOL

mathtans

Most of the Mock Turtle dialogue is like that.

RebelVampire

and its okay Tenor im only really familiar with the disney alice in wonderland and i actually dont even like that movie.

mathtans

Would drive Alec nuts.

FONCreator the pun king

xDDD

I wanna be the mock turtle

Tenor

I can't remember it enough

mathtans

You'd be good at it, FON.

Tenor

I remember liking the Hatter and especially cheshire cat.

And the uhm, dark Alice game's cheshire cat

(Never played it but I had the script read to me and I really liked that version too)

So yeah, really eager to see Alec's translation of the character

mathtans

"If a fish came to me and said he was going on a journey, I'd say 'with what porpoise?'." "Do you mean purpose?" "I mean what I say."

Anyway.

RebelVampire

so do all fish in wonderland have to take journeys with porpoises? important question here

mathtans

I feel like we might get chessboard action too from "Through the Looking Glass", I seem to recall reading an author comment there somewhere.

Rebel: I don't know. Seems fishy to me.

RebelVampire

math no. the chat so saturated with puns now its going to leak

FONCreator the pun king

xDD

Come on, there never be tuna much

RebelVampire

so as a random insert, i like that alec is really practical in a sense compared to other renditions of alice ive seen

Tenor

I think it's a reflection of how times have changed too/their backstory.

mathtans

That's true! Well, also a bit stubborn for walking around on that path and nearly falling off a cliff.

Tenor

Like the Disney Alice was just a well todoish girl bored with her studies.

Screw going around the puddle we'll walk through it LOL

mathtans

Alec follows the rules.

RebelVampire

yeah and disney alice was also....just kind of innocently accepting. whereas alec meets the first caterpillar is like "ummm i was kidnapped wtf is going on"

FONCreator the pun king

Hmmm, maybe this story is about Alec learning that sometimes rules need to be broken and things need to be questioned

mathtans

Oooh, I like that FON.

I don't recall the Disney all that well. I mostly remember the one our school put on those few years back. ^^

Do you think we'll leave Redd and Dormouse behind after this part of the quest is done? New characters every setting?

RebelVampire

i hope redd stays a perma member to be honest

redd a good bro

and cause i could see dormouse being like "redd youre fired"

XD

mathtans

Yeah, he seems to have a good attitude and a past it would be good to learn more about...

He did run off with Alec without permission!

(...someone's probably on board with that ship.)

RebelVampire

gets on board the ship even tho i wasnt but why not sail all the ships create an armada

but yeah im gonna be sad if redd going off with alec doesnt have further significance

Tenor

Redd seems to really care about Alec/the situation so who knows.

mathtans

Oooh, maybe Redd was a former person subjected to the trials? That's why he doens't like leaving people behind.

Tenor

I hope Dormouse sticks around even if it's for selflish reasons.

mathtans

Couldn't have been recruited by Lulu though, or Hattie would know him.

RebelVampire

yes i accept this as headcanon for redd now.

well to be fair

hattie mentions the last trial was like 10 years ago

so even hattie wouldve only be 20 i believe

mathtans

Ahh, possible.

Tenor

And depending on Lulu's age she might not have been involved.

RebelVampire

i think one of the things said lulu is 17?

FONCreator the pun king

Yeah Lulu's like 17-18

RebelVampire

and alec is 14 i remember that

mathtans

Yip. In human years anyway.

Tenor

-NOd-

RebelVampire

but yeah it could work cause hattie and lulu couldve just been too young to recruit

mathtans

Maybe things were less dire back then.

(I mean, I guess so, Green was easier to get to.)

FONCreator the pun king

Alrighty ^^

Can't wait for the next one

Tenor

THIS WAS FUN :D

RebelVampire

yeah that could be

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to mintycanoodles, as well, for volunteering Alec in Wunderland for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support mintycanoodles’ efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com. Please also check out the current pinned suggestion thread on the channel.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on Shades of Men by Jrej. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (September 7th) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! Comic: https://tapas.io/series/ShadesOfMen-Pages

[tumblunni]

One of my other fave cuddles is my gengar named gaspar! I’m really filled with love for him too right now cos I’m learning ev training and apparantly he ended up being perfect for a speedy build, which just seems so cute and fitting for his personality! ^_^ I’m a bit tired so i dunno if I’ll ramble as much about him but here we go!

Gaspar is also a good friend: The Post

He also has a lil story behind how I got him, I think his is the more silly one. See, he’s actually a sinnoh reminder of mine! There’s one ~absolute asshole~ npc in sinnoh who offers you a trade of a haunter for a kadabra, but then when you get it you find out it had an everstone attatched. So she got a trade exclusive evo and left you without yours, and this is friggin AN INGAME NPC! It was so memorable to me because i got trolled by nintendo personally! XD So i wanted to spite that npc by adoring that haunter so much forever. And I kept him for the next decade and loved him a many! I actually kinda got attatched to him being stuck as a haunter forever, cos I didnt have any friends to trade with. Haunter has always been my fave of the evo line, even if i preferred its early design where it was shadowy and had a glowy outline similar to gastly. (I think that stopped in gsc? it was always pure purple in the official art but the spritework looked SO much better...) So I actually ended up irrationally upset when he finally evolved by accident during a trade like six years later. i totally forgot that he even COULD evolve! I feel bad that i was upset at my friend I did the trade with, I knew it was irrational but I still whined like a lil baby. I was all ‘ugh now he’s FAT’ like a stupid hypocrite XD But now that we have mega gengar and i have my own gengar plush at last, ive grown to like it a lot more. And honestly id still be just as attatched to my pokemon even if they completely change appearance, its not like I hated gaspar just because i didnt like the species as much. IM SORRY GASPAR FOR MY DUMB POUTING! You are so cool you changed my mind on gengars!!! Also its a nice excuse to redesign his really old gijinka form I drew once:

Anyway, his personality is a big ol childish goofy lug! He’s kinda similar to the personality i ended up headcanoning for my rotom gizmo all those years later. honestly i always have a sort of perspective on how all ghost pokemon fundementally are, even tho i still try and give them their own personality too. All ghosts are some form of cheerful tricksters, okay! Gaspar in particular is a big snickering lazy loaf of hugs who is absolutely addicted to sugary junk foods. ‘The wonders of the modern world!’ Even though he’s kinda procrastinatey about actually doing what he has to do, he’s very hyper about pulling pranks on everyone and generally being kinda like Loki from norse myth? He’s a bit more morally flexible than the others, or its more like he has trouble remembering what a lot of stuff was like from being human. (I’ll get to his backstory in a bit!) He’s definately a well-intentioned guy but he can be very scary to his enemies, and sometimes accidentally cause problems for the group cos his vices are easily manipulateed. He tends to get stringed along by his ‘ghost instincts’ to pull pranks even when its self destructive, and he always jumps in without thinking. A candy in the middle of a blatantly obvious trap = he registers the candy part and only gets the rest when he’s already captured XD But also he’s probably the member of the older pokemon that’s the most open about his affections. He’s one big ol jolly hug to everyone who asks, and everyone who doesnt! Even though him and Reaper can both be sly together, he doesnt understand this young man’s strange fascination with pretending he doesnt have emotions. Gaspar’s one big driving force behind all his various quirks is that he’s flawlessly honest. He finds it hard to keep quiet when he’s joyous, and everything is made of joy nowadays! He’s just really happy to be alive right now... or, well, “alive”. But also his easily exciteable nature means he blurts out all secrets with no restraint, and has trouble not throwing a childish tantrum whenever the tiniest thing goes wrong. Though, still, he’s very rarely ACTUALLY angry, and will forget about it in like ten seconds. he just kinda enjoys making a fuss XD Then again on the rare occasion he is mad it is because you HURT HIS CHILDREN, and you will really get to see why gengars are known as spirits of vengeance...

So yeah! Backstory! This was actually the first thing I thought up for him, and it shaped his whole character. Again, it all came from that one weird ingame trade! ‘Gaspar’ felt like an odd name to give a random trade, I mean its a cute pun but also its like an olden times name you dont hear often. So I imagined maybe this ghost is the spirit of a human from long ago, and obviously he’d be excited to try modern junk food, etc etc the beginnings of a character! But cos I am blessed with the ability to create sad headcanons out of everything, I... did that! Alas! I somehow got a really sad idea for who this mysterious old human nobleman could have been. I thought maybe he was a guy who was murdered and came back from the grave to take revenge on his killers, but then had to deal with still being stuck here even after his big quest was finished. Making a new life because he cant go back to his old one. Initially the idea was that he was a guy killed on his wedding day, hence the tuxedo in that old design. But he ended up feeling more like an asexual character as I developed him, so thats a bit outdated now. He’s just like the dad of a thousand kids and no wife. Its good that he’s finally happy nowadays with all these new friends! A shame it took that long though, he can barely even remember who he used to be. (A more cynical part of him thinks that maybe going senile is the only reason he’s able to finally let go, and he wonders if he missed many other chances to make a new family cos he was so hung up on mourning a life he couldnt go back to...)

Anyway, even though his powers were born from rage and hatred, he finds that becoming a ghost is the thing that helped him forget all of that. He just has kind of a childlike joy for this stuff. He claims its ‘pokemon instincts’ or whatever and he had no part whatsoever in his own development from a scary anger man into everyone’s dad, but honestly that just seems like he’s making excuses not to give himself credit. there’s nothing here but the fact that his fundemental nature is a kind man who can find wonder in the simplest of things. Yknow, when he isnt being distracted by great tragedy! It was just like ‘wow i’d never thought about it but gaining the ability to fly and walk through walls is pretty kickass’. Think of all the pranking potential! And he proceeded to distract himself from his loneliness by haunting the graveyard and running around wearing bedsheets. But at the same time sneaking around the town and doing good deeds for everyone, even if they were all terrified of him. And no matter how sad he got, he could be cheered up by the tiniest thing like just being able to see the sunset again. He always remembers how scared he was thinking that he was gonna die at such a young age and never get to do so many things... And then his loneliness started easing when he realized he could talk to other pokemon now, and he worked up the courage to leave his grave and travel the world in search of a new place to belong. Then... he ended up with a bunch of shitty trainers!! But at least thankfully he was finally traded to our protagonist and now things are looking up ^_^

Oh and yeah thats why his old design looked so young, even though he was always meant to be the oldest team member. (Not just chronologically I mean, he’s like 300 but he’s like middle age by ghost standards.) Tho really saying he died at a nebulous teen-young adult age was just my excuse because those were the only people I was able to draw at the time. And i was dumb and thought every other sort of more creative design was ‘ugly’ and everyone should be a generic anime bishie :P Honestly redesigning him to look like a cool cuddly butler or a circus ringleader or all the millions of gengar gijinka ideas would be a HUGE improvement for his character! Even if he’s childish he’s still the team dad, yo! Im just worried that I won’t be able to draw a spoopy action pose again, I always felt like that first pic was a huge fluke. It was my best piece of artwork for like four years straight, I barely ever improve :P Also I really liked his hair as a haunter, but funnily enough I designed him like a few months before Charon was revealed, lol. Now it just looks like i tried to copy him! Bishie teen gaspar loses a bit of the appeal when he’s stealing looks from old men XD I’m thinking maybe he could have a cute mustache of some sort now, in the shape of ghosty spikeys? or a top hat that’s spiky on top, or a bunch of other ways to make him resemble gengar’s mohawk without actually having one. Nothing against that hairstyle but it maybe wouldnt work for a middle aged stay at home dad whose greatest form of punk activity is eating frozen poptarts out of the box.

OH WAIT Maybe he could reuse this design I did of myself as a ghost for a meme??

“chubby characters are something I will never draw ever, they can never look cool” said the past bunni, continuing to be incredibly chubb srsly ditching the self hate and doing some stylization lessons is the only place where i can admit my art improved!

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Reflection 12 (FINAL) | Netjuu no Susume 1 | Mahoutsukai no Yome 1 | Code:Realise 1 | Kino’s Journey (2017) 1 | Dynamic Chord 1 | Houseki no Kuni 1 | Anime-Gataris 1 | Idolmaster Side M 1

Kekkai Sensen seems to be off limits, even when I try to comprehend the relevant JavaScript after dodging region lock. Grr…I spent and hour and 30 mins just trying to figure out that code!!! Oh well (dejected tone), at least I have Classicaloid…

Reflection 12 (FINAL)

Oh please, X-On. Fighting fire with fire is the worst thing you can do. Haven’t you learnt that over the course of this show?

Gahhhh! Finally, the magical girls have arrived! Thank you, Stan Lee!

Wowee, that was some concentrated sound, so to speak.

Well, that’s just original, y‘know? Pyramid. In the desert. Whoop-de-doo.

Rule number 14138008 of crime-fighting: Always make sure you have a backup in case someone uses yorur kryptonite against you. Or in this case, a superpower-stripping technique.

I don’t think X-On’s become one with the Darkness yet. He has some flippin’ plot armour on his side, after all. Why haven’t any of these guys succumbed to the ageing process yet?

Well, I got my answer to my previous question, but how did vision!Eleanor appear, anyway?

Wait…wait. I knew he had plot armour! Argh! X-On! What the heck did you do to deserve plot armour???

Oh, the magical girls are part sentai and part actual magical girl. Notice they have kanji across their chests for their associated element.

“Why won’t you accept Darkness’s darkness?” – Okay, “Darkness’s darkness” is a bit too redundant, y’hear?

Wait…wait. Ninth Wonder only had 4 members??? Wat. Then Ian goes and undoes all their hard naming work by calling them by their real group name, dangit. You ruined a perfectly good magical girl show, Ian.

They didn’t even put in the crack on X-On’s helmet…head…thingy.

Okay, I am so confused…Guh. Thank goodness it’s over.

Netjuu no Susume 1

I like the rare stories where a girl transforms into a boy for non-hentai reasons. This is the closest anime I’ve gotten so far to that concept, so…yay, me?

“Recommendation of the Wonderful Virtual Life” and “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” mean two very different things on the same topic. What was happening in the localiser’s mind when they created this title for the English-speaking audience???

That scene where Moriko collapses on her bed…for some reason, someone was watching a show with the Moonlight Sonata in the background, so now I think MMO Junkie is sad. (Which is probably wrong.)

Oh, by the way. The –juu in Netjuu gives the word a special kind of connotation. A riajuu is what’s known as a normie, or a non-otaku, non-gamer sort of person. A netjuu must therefore be a net addict. Kiznaiver taught me that.

“I chose the NEET life.” - I know that feel, Moriko.

Oh, they even gave Moriko’s character Saiyan hair for a moment, LOL.

Okay, here’s a pun. Mori (forest) is 3x ki (tree) and hayashi (grove) is 2x ki. That’s using the kanji, though.

The guy with the glasses looks like a dude from Occultic;Nine. I have bad memories of that show because of Ryouka…er, big knockers girl.

Owee. I once joined an RPG because of some IRL friends but I forgot to ask them what group they were in, and so I was a solo quester…so I know that feel, Moriko.

This is based on a Comico manga, so the designs are simple to draw and they were originally in colour, so they just needed to be reworked for animation. See? Backing Comico in my Superstar wa Nemurenai days wasn’t such a bad idea, now, huh?

Himeralda? For a guy character? Well, that broke the gender barrier.

Christmas is a holiday for lovers in Japan, so I suspect it’s something to do with that.

Lawson -> Cowson, LOL.

Despite all the obviously still motion shots, I’m really enjoying this. Why does it have to be 10 eps??? (By the way, why didn’t I get Kekkai Sensen??? Dangit, Funi!!!)

Oh, this is so adorable! Lily even dressed up and Moriko got her chicken! It’s such a heartwarming Christmas for these guys.

These transitions, while not original, I find are really cool. Not Disney-level, but still inventive. Also, that green dot is definitely Hayashi and the pink one Lily.

LOL, Lawson was a sponsor this ep, it seems. Had I paused a little later, I would’ve missed its credit!

This is a keeper for sure. I’m just disappointed about the short ep count (due to the nature of Comico)…and Kekkai Sensen, uwu…

Mahoutsukai no Yome 1

Le hype. That’s all. I’ve been watching 1 – 2 eps per day (for these first eps of the fall season) and since the weekend is so full of good shows, I don’t know how people can watch entire seasons like this…As for my take on this show, it’s pretty and well-received after the OVA and advance screening, so hopefully this will deliver. I’m not an AMB manga fan by the way.

It’s normally a bad sign to start with an OP, but it shows off the animation, so I’m not complaining.

The English title shows how interconnected the world is these days…it’s kinda scary, actually.

Chise looks lke a bride here, or she’s on her deathbed. Both symbolic meanings are applicable.

I never thought Japanese people would be able to capture Western elegance so well.

The chibi-ish style doesn’t suit such a serious show. Are these chibi-ish sections also part of the manga?

I thought the woman with the bonnet was called Silky? Not Silver? The promo materials all say “Silky”, and the OVA did too IIRC.

I think the biggest descriptor of this show is “whimsical”.

Historically, fairies lure people into Fairyland like the stereotypical portrayal of sirens, and they’re not as benign as my portrayal of them in One Wish They Never Wanted.

The irony of a dog-face skull calling you his puppy. It really brings an odd sense of humour to this show.

Welp, that’s another safe keeper. I’ve being quite definite about my choices, as you might have noticed, since the weekend is positively overloaded with shows (as I mentioned earlier).

Code:Realise 1

It’s an otome game adaption. They don’t always go down well, but it’s worth a shot.

Isn’t it “London Bridge is falling down”?

CR seems to have forgotten to title this ep “London Steam” on their site.

Well, they’re guards. Y’think lowering their guard would’ve been a funny pun, at least if this were dubbed in English (which this will be…eventually).

Ooh, so this plain bishie is Arsene Lupin? Me likey.

Like, seriously, Where are this tiny spark-star-thingies coming from?

Impey…who? Update: Google (plus previous spoilers) tell me that Impey is Impey Barbicane, accomplice to Lupin.

LOL, I’ve watched me too many Kaito Kid heists. Me likey, once again. However, the thing I don’t get is the voiceover. Couldn’t Lupin have actually said these lines instead of putting them on voiceover???

Gahhhhhhh! This eyecatch’s bishie has such horrible eyes that they burn mine! Get me out of here!

How does Impey know Cardia’s name??? Update: You’ll get the answer later…

It’s a few generations too early for a man to go to the moon, LOL. Poor Impey.

Victor…well, I never. Anime really does cover everything. Plus, Frankenstein ain’t his monster in this one, which would make Mary Shelley proud.

Hey, Kaitou (Phantom Thief) Lupin is one thing but using your real name as your kaitou identity is taking it a bit far. Sure, there was Kaito Kuroba, but at least he was Kaito Kid as well.

Sheesh, the Horologium sounded like nuclear power before Lupin explained it was Cardia’s heart…that would’ve been tonnes scarier, had Cardia been a nuclear monster.

LOL, Lupin’s so tsundere! Hahaha…

Oh please. Don’t let the vampires steal away Cardia (LOL)!

Victor being pegged as a terrorist has something to do with Isaac, right?

Lupin’s so effin’ short. No wonder he stands in high places when he lords over the British Army, haha.

Smol corgi with cyborg leg is probably my new dog aesthetic, haha. Plus top hat. I like top hats.

Shouldn’t the corgi have died when Cardia grabbed it though, or was that because of its leg?

The rainbow transition was a bit much, but okay. I can live with it.

So smol corgi is called Sisi? What a weird name.

It’s…not bad, I could probably watch until the end. However, the colour scheme seems to be “bright” with these recent female games (see Sengoku Night Blood for another example of what I mean). Well, since I said that, it’s a keeper. (I think the random James Bond-esque scene involving shooting guns then being in front of an explosion in the ED sealed the deal though, LOL.)

Kino’s Journey 1

I’m a noob to the world of Kino, so please don’t spoil me on anything you’ve seen in the previous adaptations! All I really know is the shtick: Kino is neither a guy nor a girl. They stick around in a country for 3 days then leave. They have a talking motorbike named Hermes…that’s pretty much it.

Lerche? On Kino? Y’think someone else could’ve done it better? I feel like a washed-out, subdued feeling would suit this show best. However, these words are coming from a Kino’s Journey noob, as I just said, so disregard me if you want.

Mori no naka de…b? What’s the “b” for?

A few times when they say “country”, I imagine a sea. That makes sense, considering it’s the sea that separates a lot of us.

How does Hermes talk???

Hermes is CGI. Trust my eyes, they’ve seen a lot of CGI for their time.

The gun is called Cannon? Wuh? The other gun is called the Woodsman? Wuh wuh???

A motorrad appears to be a motorbike, but…okay. It’s a BMW make of motorbike. Like a Ford Gran Torino.

*Kino points the gun* Whoa! What a fakeout!

Kino is CGI sometimes, too, it seems.

Those cows seem to be angry at Kino for some reason…

Why does no one question the talking motorbike???

Oh, I see. That was what I suspected from the moment the rifle was shown in the store. Public order is good here because people simply turn a blind eye.

I think Kino hopping behind Hermes should’ve been 2D. It’s not fluid enough in 3D…not quite yet to convey a proper sense of action, but enough to create a sense of disquiet. (Which is what I believe the show wants, so I’ll take my words back for the moment.)

“Ow!” is an understatement, considering it (the arrow) must’ve severed a muscle or two.

Ah, loophole. I didn’t see that coming.

Whoa. What dramatic irony.

I swear they recycle parts of this footage over and over again. I’m getting dejavu.

Hahaha, that crepe ending was funny. It wasn’t an ideal way to finish such an unsettling episode, but it was a good punchline.

Well, I think this is going to be really repetitive, so I’ll put it on hold and roll the next show up.

Dynamic Chord 1

More Ume. As an Ume fan, I’m spoilt for choice this season.

Cherry blossom opening is probably a bad omen. It’s probably the most cliched opening you could go for.

Holy eye colours, Batman! “That yellow should not exist as an eye colour,” is all I’m saying.

Honestly, this is the least gripping band/idol anime I’ve tackled all season. If they’re just going to be angsty in the rain, they should’ve been one season earlier because I would’ve taken this over The Reflection or In Another World With my Smartphone, laser eye boy be damned.

Wait, is pinkhead in the car or out of it? Update: He’s in a convertible. So it’s a yes and a no.

That metronome transition was pretty bad. Really hamfisted.

That transition away from the metronome, I couldn’t even tell that was a transition!

Aw gawsh, spare me. This looks like one of those ads you see play between shows on TV channels without company sponsorship. Or an only-half-decent MV.

I think they’re trying to be Dark and Edgy (TM) in comparison to, say, TsukiPro, but that was better than this.

Extended Pans for No Reason Whatsoever (TM)! Also, Bumblebee car. I’m having fun ripping this show apart, man. Now I see the real quality of Hatewatches (with a capital H), but it’s only been 5 minutes...

Dual eye colour boy (Reon), oi. You really didn’t do anything. Don’t give yourself unnecessary credit.

Bumblebee boy has way too long eyelashes, by the by. Did I ever mention that?

At least they justified the previous shots. That one there, at about the 6 minute mark, was not justified.

Based on Dai Murase (Ume’s role in TsukiPro), I thought the Kyohso doppleganger was gonna be Ume, but he thankfully got someone more attractive (Kuro of apple polisher). I still don’t like the name apple polisher though, how the heck did that name “get popular overseas”???

The camera shakes sometimes for no reason at all.

Reon seems constantly grumpy for some reason…

C’mon…this production is visually quite junky. Admit it.

Please don’t make this another ad fakeout. Only play your cards once for a certain trick…

Pink and blue eyed boy looks like a villian, but he’s probably a “hero” in this story.

This is probably a music video, but if I wanted a music video, I’d go to YouTube. Not an anime, unless it were an anime musiv video (a proper one, not an amateur effort YouTube Poop).

Wait, they spent 5 minutes just showing us a music video? It was pretty bad, so of course I noticed it in a bad way.

What is up with black and blue guy’s hair? I thought bumblebee guy was bad enough.

Sometimes removing the volume is all you need to figure out if an anime is good, since if they cared about their visuals and plot enough, then they wouldn’t be relying on shots of dudes rocking backwards and forward so much.

I get not all band people are singers, but still…bumblebee boy, if you’re so willing, why not you take Reon’s place?

Wait, so pink-haired convertible boy is the famed Yorito??? Dorito, more like it!

If the animators for this show were any good, they’d animate the fingers when the guitarists play. I’ve seen people play the guitar before. I used to take music classes. Geez, Pierrot. Stop skimping.

Another Skimping Technique (TM) – Speedlines in Replacement of Actual Motion (sic).

Too bad Dorito’s skipping practice, eh, Reon?

C’mon, Dorito. First it’s an angsty rain scene, now it’s an angsty shower scene? You don’t even look half hot here. Or half wet, for that matter.

I know anime is meant to look flat, but these sections I’ve been calling “music videos” are…superflat, to give them a name. They look like paper overlaid on the anime background, with little to no real animation being done, and that’s why I’m giving this show such a bad rap.

All that angst…for this? It seems a little anticlimatic, is all I’m saying.

Well, I made it through one episode. It’s probably not as bad as I made it out to be, but I do hatewatch picks for my own pleasure and this just became one of them. Onto the drop pile it goes…

Houseki no Kuni 1

This is the last debut of the fall season, at least until someone hands me Kekkai Sensen. Okay, here’s the story about why I’m here: I heard good things about Steven Universe in my home country, so I went on a trip and tried some Cartoon Network there. Thing is, Steven Universe didn’t resonate with me as much as I thought it would. Therefore, to take the concept and turn it into a real anime – would that do it for me? Let’s find out.

Hmph, I had the sound on this time and I had the feeling all the gems were voiced by women. Like Steven Universe.

When they said “sunspots”, they…uh, kinda meant it.

I feel like Master Kongo’s VA is a bit too soft. Otherwise, this show is pretty good.

Whoa. Seeing Phos shattered like this and still conscious must be freaky. Makes for some good body horror, eh?

Well, this show has some excellent worldbuilding. That’s something I haven’t said in a few seasons…in this simulcast commentary, that is. Made in Abyss has good worldbuilding too. The only problem with this is…where did Phos’s gloves come from?

The eyecatch seems to be in English. Like Princess Principal last season.

The echo, I think, had a worse effect this time than when Kongo destroyed Phos.

“Don’t use that hand!” - LOL.

So Cinnabar’s poison creates amnesia and (an indirect need for) amputation, eh? What a duo of afflictions.

Well, it’s…actually pretty good. Let’s press on.

Anime-Gataris 1

I actually wanted to pass on this, but after seeing Karandi pass judgement on its second episode and seeing a Haruhi reference, I decided I would pass a judgement on it too. Well, it’s an anime about anime. What do you expect, really?

Hahaha…Oarai is known for being popularised by Girls und Panzer, so Galtan is short for Girls with Tanks.

Haritaro = Hamtaro, Dezumon = Digimon, PreFae = PreCure. Haha, it’s an anime watcher’s paradise of parody anime!

“Double riding is illegal.” - I think that’s a reference to the first episode of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun and the tandem bike.

Fish??? Wuh???

Aw. That fakeout, I was hoping for it to be A Certain Magical Index or something.

Geez, typical School Council Pres with optional Ethereal Glow. Now available in Blonde too, it seems.

Sebastian Michaelis right there.

The teacher just did the flippin’ Ringo (from UtaPri) intro! Holy gender-barriers, Roppongi is a man??? Why I don’t react like that to Ringo, I’ll never know.

The “I should go by myself” bit is also from UtaPri, IIRC. The bit where one of the boys reveals he’s actually the star Haruka likes.

Obvious Chuunibyou with extra Fake Magic. Geesh, if it weren’t for the anime references…I really wouldn’t be covering this…

That’s my face when people talk about anime, LOL. Hero School = Boku no Hero Academia while R:Zero is Re:Zero.

Shika = deer, hence the weird deer. I don’t know what the references around the Shikabari one are, though, including the fence jump.

You picked a fight with the wrong anime lover, Anime-Gataris (I specialise in recent anime, for obvious reasons)! Tamukeda = Tanakeda (Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge) and Toramiko = Kumamiko. Clearly someone doesn’t remember that Kumamiko was a controversial flop, anime-wise.

Bakusou = Bakuon. Therefore, Shikabari is probably…Kiznaiver? No, it’s Kabaneri. That’s the best match, considering we’re talking about spring 2016. Time Travel Shonen = Time Travel Shoujo. Still don’t get the fence jump though.

Kyou Kara Sessha Wa!! = Kyou Kara Ore Wa!!, where “sessha” is an pronoun for…I think it’s older males. Angel Story = Angel Legend (Angel Densetsu).

The OVA references went over my head again…

Gachiemon = Doraemon, naturally. Nobue = Nobita and Karashi = Takeshi (Gouda). Well, while looking for the Gachiemon movie, I found Reddit spoiling it all for me. Refer to it if you don’t want me doing it for you, because I’m going to...ignore it! Haha, you thought I was going to use it as a crutch now, didn’t you? I like this challenge.

The dog one is A Dog of Flanders, Everstrike is Evangelion. I thought the Cinnamon Roll one would be the not-often-mentioned Powerpuff Girls anime  but Reddit says it’s Dragon Ball??? Autumn Wars = Summer Wars.

Light music club = K-On, classical literature club = Hyouka, NJ club = GJ Club.

The cover of this magazine appears to be Newtype or Animage, which I think both started around the 70s or 80s. That’s definitely Urusei Yatsura on the front, though.

The Girl who Slept Through Time = The Girl who Leapt Through Time and Replica…Paprika, perhaps? (Think I was recalling Reddit there.)

Is that…a Boueibu reference?! Or is that just a cliché…? (If it’s a cliché, I’d feel sad, man.)

I feel like the video quality seems to warp a little at infrequent moments. It’s quite disappointing for a 2017 anime to be suffering from strange visual problems like that.

There’s a KonoSuba poster…sort of.

Maria Clara doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen although it does kind of look like Hatsune Miku or Elsword.

Dang that fakeout, I thought she meant the beret.

I feel like this is best binged to get at all the references, so onto the on hold pile it goes. I think its plot will be cliché but its references are the best thing about it.

Idolmaster 1

Time to thin out the herd! This’ll be tough, since all the contenders I’ve kept have the potential to be great.

The pun here is that 315 (saikou) can mean “the highest”, or in this case, “the best”.

The eyeless producer (and Saito, by the by) was probably a bad idea.

Hey, it’s a 315 business card!

The cardboard boxes say “Bear Mark Moving Company” (Kuma no Ma-ku no Hikkoshi Kaisha).

Ooh! I like ponytail boy. I have a thing for bishies with ponytails.

“Handwriting” is probably the wrong word for a typed contract, CR subbers.

An odd juxtaposition between lawyer (or any other job) and an idol. That’s what piqued my interest about this idol anime specifically – because there is clearly going to be some dirty stuff that comes to light once characters have debuted as idols, and the more disconnect between the past and the present, the more the paps are gonna eat it up. At least, that’s my thoughts, having written Half-Paid Heroes. (I’m currently not sure if I should continue on HPH though, since I had a fight with fellow Honeyfeed writer Aura…).

Nice shirt, Teru (LOL).

When Kaoru broke the cheery atmosphere, Teru’s shirt suddenly said roiya (“lawyer” in katakana, transposed to hiragana).

Dandou literally translates to “male way”. It’s actually hilarious since it sounds really macho…in a bishie show intended to capture a female audience.

“I want us to work together…”

Does this producer have a name? I get the feeling he doesn’t. Maybe, instead of that woman producer they were hinting at at the end of Side Jupiter (was that a woman?), it was this guy.

Sakuraba’s being kind of awkward on the side with his fistpump. I like him.

“Then from now on, the three of you…”

If you know me from Boueibu, you’ll know the line Saito says should actually be “Boys be ambitious”.

The board up the back of the Dramatic Stars’ party says “Celebrate! Dramatic Stars’ Formation”…or something like that, anyway…(Happoro beer, LOL.)

Oh, it’s Hokuto, Shouta and Touma from Jupiter.

It’s this shot from last episode. Oh, okay. It’s kinda like Death Parade in that there are two backstories leading to the same ending shown in ep 1.

What’s with those 17 badges, guys???

This frog mascot looks kinda funny in a (LOL) sort of way. I think Ume’s character will be in a unit with the shota that likes this frog mascot, so…good on me.

At least “Drive a live” doesn’t sound as bad as “Burny!!” or “Crazy Baby Show”, namewise. It does, however, sound like a slogan for a drink-driving government prevention scheme.

I think Ume’s character is the guy behind the counter, although I’m a bit sketchy on that. We’ll see in a few eps.

I think I’ve probably been missing out on something by not listening to the trio with the music. Even though I threw the others out based on visuals and plot, an idol/band show is nothing without its music, so I’ll put Idolmaster on hold so that I don’t become too attached to any of the trio and maybe someday I can evaluate TsukiPro vs Idolmaster better.