#phantom blood in a nutshell
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defnotkanyewest · 6 months ago
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epicdragonbro2018 · 1 year ago
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Phantom Blood episode 3 in a nutshell
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aifastic · 10 months ago
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JJBA Phantom Blood in a nutshell fkdljsflkjd
(Based off this vignette:)
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chernobog13 · 10 months ago
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SUPERARGO vs. DIABOLICUS (1966)
What do you get when you mix masked wrestlers, spies, superheroes, and a total disregard for logic and common sense?
This crazy flick, featuring a hero who is equal parts Santo, James Bond, and Batman. I first discovered this bizarre Italian/Spanish co-production on New York City's Channel 5 Saturday movies at noon (where I first encountered the Starman series of films) when I was a wee lad. So many, many, many years ago.
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German lobby card for Superargo Versus Diabolicus. The German title translates to The Red Phantom Strikes.
Superargo is a masked wrestler, like Mexico's Santo. In fact, he's the World Champion, having one 123 matches in a row. Also like Santo, he never removes his mask. However, where Santo will wear suits and regular clothes with his mask, Superargo NEVER takes his costume off.
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Superargo's girlfriend, Lydia, encouraging her sweetie to mow down some bad guys.
In the opening of the film Superargo is in the wrestling ring defending his title from the vicious El Tigre. Superargo defeats El Tigre by throwing him out of the ring. However, El Tigre lands on his head and dies. Wracked with guilt, Superargo quits and spends the next several days moping about his house - still in his mask and costume!
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Diabolicus preparing to torture Superargo.
His girlfriend, Lydia, can't stand to see him in such a state. She puts Superargo in touch with an old friend, who is now in charge of the Secret Service. Seems there's a problem with some villain named Diabolicus that the Service needs help with, and Superargo is just the man they need.
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It's then that we learn that Superargo is not just any masked wrestler. He has greater-than-normal strength; super stamina; his blood coagulates super fast, so wounds heal almost instantaneously; he can hold his breath for longer than 7 minutes; he is immune to extreme hot and cold; and he can regulate his blood pressure to stay normal even under great exertion. He is vulnerable to electricity (aren't we all?) but, while it can hurt him, it can't kill him.
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He is also allergic to bullets. So the Secret Service outfits him with a new, bulletproof costume, as well as several gadgets typical of the spy movies of the day, including a Geiger counter disguised as a cocktail olive! To sweeten the deal, they also throw in a nifty new sports car. Then Superargo is sent on his way to track down and stop Diabolicus' mad plan for world domination.
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"What is that plan?" you ask.
Well, in a nutshell, Diabolicus had discovered a way to turn base metals into gold. He then wants to flood the markets with the gold, destroying the world economy and bringing civilization to its knees.
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There is just one problem: in order to make the fake gold Diabolicus needs plutonium. Lots and lots of plutonium. Hence the martini olive.
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No, Superargo's not trippin' on LSD. This is part of the bizarre credit sequence at the beginning of the film.
After that, the film follows the typical Eurospy movie formula: car chases, fights, beautiful dames, fights, the hero confronting the villain on his secret island base, the hero fights the hordes of villainous minions, and the secret villain headquarters getting blowed up.
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Let's be clear about one thing: this ain't no cinematic masterpiece. But it is an amusing, entertaining little flick. And it contains two things things that give it extra panache: a totally whacked-out opening credit sequence that is kinds disturbing to watch, and the absolute worst secret island headquarters miniature you'll probably ever see. I think the director's kid made it in an afternoon and filmed it in the family pool.
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It's worth checking out if you're in the mood for some superhero silliness. Last time I checked it was streaming on Amazon, and there's a blurry version of Youtube.
youtube
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zeldabecameaqueen · 1 year ago
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it's a long and not interesting text i mostly wrote for myself so if you just want facts (very objective facts) and not just a messy love note for Zelda BotW, please skip to the last part 🔽
🌿 • • • • • • • • 🍁
it's something that I've felt since day one of BotW, but never put it into words until now, for some reason
BotW (and now TotK) is not only something you can see, and hear, and play through, you don't only interact with npcs and fulfill quests, nor do you only explore and make crappy designs choices for clothes and vehicles ; it's a game you feel, that you live, and that's why I can consider it my home: because it is so relatable, it's so easy to read
We can feel the soft blow of the wind 🍃, the heat of the sun ☀️, the freshness of the caves 🍄, the weight of the water, the peace and calm of the forest 🌳, the rush of blood before a high jump 🫀, the lightness of the clouds ☁️, the relief when you find shadow in town in the middle of the desert 🌴, the chill down your back in the Thundra Plateau ⚡,
and, most of all, you can feel the loneliness, the loss, the need for Link to do his best and more, because he is the only one that still really cares about the princess' fate (beyond the fact that he's also the only one who can stop Ganon to literally take over the world), who also was so lonely, soooo lonely and desperate, so strong and patient, sacrificing hundreds of years of her life for a Kingdom where none of her loved ones still lives
i especially love the Prelude 💛 part because, the game may be funny to play, and you spend most of the time doing everything except actually saving the world from Ganon, but at the beginning you are on your own, with just a phantom 👻 who pops up from time to time and give no explanation of what's happened to the world, and you first experience the game among ruins 🪨, nature🪺, all alone among a history you don't know anything about, you feel nostalgia for a world you forgot about (and as a player, you don't know about), you're meant to save the world but for now you just have to survive the wild and trials from thousand-year-old crazily-still-alive-somehow monks ;
anyway, the world is ending but the birds are chirping 🎶 and the sunset next to the sheikah tower is beautiful 🌄 and your feet are cold in the mountains 🏔️, you're not exactly happy but it's like a rebirth, the discovery of the world, the achievement of surviving it, and the hope to see someone you really care for at the end, who's waiting just for you ♥️
i meannnnn ------ we cannot not cry over this game,,, right ?
i don't know what i'm saying, i just saw the picture above earlier and found it beautiful and somehow i had the words today that i didn't have yesterday, so here it is
🍁 • • • • • • • • 🌿
i got further than i'd thought i'd go but in a (big) nutshell what i was trying to say:
• this game succeeded in making you live in it, feel for it, thanks to graphic design, nature animation, sound effects and so on - i suspect Hidemaro Fujibayashi was directly inspired by Miyazaki's work
• damn Link and Zelda are fckg alone and have wayyy too much weight on their shoulders for seventeen-year-old hylians, i expect the Kingdom to have really good shrink - and please Ganondorf leave them live their life from now on until the next generation please, give em a break
• the beginning of the game is legendary, they made such a good work putting Link all alone on this Plateau, without any (maybe just one and some koroks) npcs, it's both calm and peaceful and nostalgic and fckg lonely and sad, but it also feels somehow safe and like home ; i think it's the moment where you feel the game the most, before getting into complex quests in a giant map
• PS i don't ship Link and Zelda, for some reason I feel like their relationship is far more complex than just platonic or romantic (or seggsual), so i believe they can definitely live together, and they should, because really it's like they are the only two of them not changing in a world that changed a lot
• PS(2nd) about that, i love the fact that Zelda settled in Link's house, but i've got to save this one for an other post
• i don't want this post to end because i don't want to stop talking about it
• ...i didn't summarize at all, the nutshell's been taken by a korok
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Sunrise 🌅☀️
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nemiravens · 2 months ago
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OC-tober Day 2: Your OC's backstory in a nutshell
Feat. The Witch Zerefine from The Anonymous Four: Side Immortal World
Once upon a time, there was a girl who made a deal with the devil.
The devil was cunning, the girl was naive. He played her like a fiddle. Oh, he played her like a fiddle.
He offered her a world. A sanctuary. Away from the chaos of the world she lives in. All in exchange for friendship.
And so the girl became the god of a new world.
The Immortal World.
The girl ruled over this new world. A deity. A queen. She walked among mankind, just out of reach like a true god.
But she saw through the devil's deceit.
She was given a world away from the chaos of the world she lives in, but the devil became her chaos.
The girl put up a resistance, insisting the devil leave her world.
And so the devil whispered, and the townspeople turned against her. A heretic. A witch.
The girl who played with lives. The witch who played like god.
She fled into the safety of her cabin in the middle of the forest. But an old friend was there to give her a proper welcome.
"I want you to leave," the witch hissed. "Be gone."
But the devil only chuckled darkly. "But darling, you can't just push me away," he purred. "Because without me, your world will not exist."
Phantom tendrils slowly danced behind the devil. He slowly made his way towards the girl.
The devil was fast, but the girl was faster.
The interior of the cabin began to glow an eerie black and red. The color of the devil. But it wasn't the devil's work.
Open palms stood facing each other. Powerful energy emanated from within. And the girl looked the devil in the eye.
"Then I will become a part of this world," she murmured, a promise.
That day, a god died. The soul was shattered to a million pieces, which quickly dispersed throughout the Immortal World, in search of its new vessels: a half-blood prince, a girl fallen from grace, a catalyst of war, and a child born from hate.
See the full list of OC-tober writing prompts here.
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yourroleplayhero · 4 years ago
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[ ♠♣♥♦ ]
Hit that reblog for a wild  Canon to invade your ask box! [Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure characters only!] Please make sure to specify either in tags or the reblog whom you want to interact with! Please note that I am only limited from part 1 to part 5 characters!  Thanks so much! Lets have some fun!! :D - Cards
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jonathanzone · 6 years ago
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2/7
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rebelfox45 · 7 years ago
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JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood in a Nutshell
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obsessedwvampbois · 3 years ago
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𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐋 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬
Oh boy so this is gonna make people really mad. I have listened to a total of 52 songs from the Diabolik Lovers franchise (that I could find) and ranked them for the hell of it. For this ranking I will be including all character songs, openings (both anime and game) along with the remixes. I will not be counting solo versions of songs (eg. Gin no bara), soundtrack bgm or the endings themes.
My ranking is based on these things:
how well does the song fit the character/s or game, both in lyrics and aesthetic
the overall production and performance of the song
is the song a bop? would I willingly listen to it again?
Couple of disclaimers: I do not speak Japanese so I will be crediting the translations of each song as I go through them along with any think pieces / essays that I come across. If there is any song I missed, please let me know and I’ll slot it into the rankings, its hard to find one source that has all the songs recorded. Finally, just a reminder because I know I'm gonna make someone mad, this is my list! If you don't like it make your own or ignore mine, I'm only one person and my opinion is not final!
With that in mind, my rankings are below the cut
*Least Best*
These are the songs I will probably never listen to again. I have a few gripes with them that I'll talk about in my explanation.
52. 誓いのカンパネラ (Chikai no Campanella)
Shu, Ayato & Subaru
~translation~
This song is just super underwhelming overall. The guitar is my favourite thing about the song but that's it. There is so much build up for a boring chorus. The lyrics don't have much for me either.
51. 血戦のDies irae (Kessen no Dies irae)
Tsukinami Brothers
~translation~
On the opposite end, this song is so overwhelming. There are so many elements to follow and its hard to keep up. This is the first time I'll bring it up but the volume of the voices is so quiet compared to the backing track, its frustrating. The lyrics is what brings it up a notch as it talks about the day of wrath (dies irae) as the day the founders take over. I was also low key hoping to hear some version of the dies irae song hidden in the background but I couldn't hear any.
50. S.O.S-ΑtoΩ-
Tsukinami Brothers
~translation~
This song just feels so forgettable, I just feel like there isn't much to comment on. There are some interesting lyrics sprinkled out like comparing literal self mutilation to abstinence. Also the actual delivery of 'S ah O ah S ah', I can't take it seriously.
49. Dystopia
Kino
~translation~
This had an interesting start because I hadn't heard anything similar for DL but then after a few lines the tone change was just a nope for me. Again, Kino's voice is super quiet and the constant barrage of all these instruments that don't really gel together its confusing. Overall, it didn't leave much of an impression and I couldn't really visualised DL in the song.
48. 吸愛ラビリンス (Kyūai Labyrinth)
Shu, Ayato & Subaru
~translation~
Praise for the saxophone! Props to that because it shines here and is really the only memorable thing besides that final line of the chorus. The song does give the vibe of the Vandead Carnival with its more playful energy though. The lyrics feel really typical, like there are so many times I read lyrics about drinking blood before I get bored.
47. 極限(UNLIMITED) BLOOD -Remix ver.-
Shu, Ayato & Subaru
~translation w/ original ver.~
I don't think I really need to hear EDM/dubstep and Diabolik Lovers again thanks. It feels super dated and the vocoded singing is a little much for my taste. Good source material and the stripped back vocals at some points is quite nice.
46. 愛しきPain (Itoshiki Pein)
Subaru
~translation~
First off please never let me see Subaru near a fedora again thanks. Overall I felt bored with this song, like its nice, but that it. There are similar sounding songs that just hit home similar themes a lot stronger later on. The best part of this song is the spoken word but it feels weird for Subaru to be singing such a slow song.
45. Luv Apple Juice
Ruki & Azusa
~translation~
Yes, I am counting Ruki's spoken word, its my list. Lyrics are a must read with references to Adam, Eve and Eden throughout. Again, the voices are super quiet and with how fast paced the instrumentals are its annoying. The tempo also backfires because these are two of the more 'chill' characters. The last complaint is that the speed of Ruki's speaking compared to Azusa's singing just isn't right.
44. DIE IS CAST
Kou & Yuma
~translation~
This has to be my least favourite opening to a song, the staccato is just really grating to me. The way I'd describe the chorus is loud, the same note over and over again isn't appealing. The lyrics are an interesting read but nothing feels super important. The highlight of the song is the pre-chorus, thanks production!
43. カレイドナイト (Kaleido Night)
Kanato & Subaru
~translation~
This song is just generic, like overall. The sound, the lyrics, the production. There just wasn't must for me to listen to without zoning out.
*Average*
These songs don't leave too much of a lasting impression on me, but I still enjoy them.
42. 苺の罪 (Ichigo no Tsumi) (strawberry sin)
Reiji
~translation~
First of the generic rock songs! I couldn't really find much in the lyrics of note I think the actual performance of the song is my favourite element here.
41. 真夜中の饗宴( MIDNIGHT PLEASURE) -Remix ver.
Shu, Ayato & Subaru
~translation w/ original~
One the best part of the original is that opening section with the steps, it creates some nice anticipation for the coming song. The chorus this time round feels a little low energy after the hype of the pre-chorus. After watching the actual opening with the remix, I kind of wish they had the voice over, the song is so chill the last chorus could have it to make it feel more grandiose.
40. ZERO
Subaru
~translation~
Second generic rock song, this time it actually suits Subaru's brand! The lyrics do have some hints to Subaru as a character which is better. My sustaining thought is that this sounds like an off brand Arcadia.
39. Bloody★Mayim★Mayim
Sakamaki Brothers
~translation~
This has to have one of the strongest hooks for DL. For how many people sing in the song, it's easy to keep track of and the chemistry between them all is in sync. The main issue is that it feels like its missing some element to make it shine, the lyrics aren't in-depth too which brings it down another peg. The bridge/interlude is the best part though as I can visualise some mini story within the song here.
38. ADDICTED (2) PHANTOM
Ayato
~translation~
This song would be so much higher if I felt like it was more memorable cuz the lyrics here really shine. My interpretation is that this is Ayato questioning where his love stops and his sadistic nature to satiate his desires begin, can he separate the two? He both loves and despises the idea of draining his s/o dry. Another gripe with the song is that its not quite Ayato's aesthetic sonically.
37. Kindan no 666 (Three Six)
Kou & Azusa
~translation~
What puts this song so low is the majority of the instrumental, it takes a backseat here when I feel there could be more added. Props to percussion, drums are great though. After watching the MB opening so many times its hard to not see DL. Lyrics match with this one line here describing Kou in a nutshell:
"Sin spread from mouth to mouth, saying 'I’ll be gentle' pulls the trigger on a casual disaster!"
36. Iolite (アイオライト )
Shu
~translation~
I don't know why the producers associate electro-pop with Shu, I can't really see it much. I think they should have gone full glitch-pop instead considering how the song does a deep dive into his mind and thought process. Again, I think the voice is also quiet here but the instrumentals have some great moments, especially the strings.
35. 常夜KNOW UNDERSKIN
Sakamaki
~translation~
Well this gives Sakamaki vibes, nice guitar! Again, I like how it isn't overwhelming despite the amount of people involved. Lyrics aren't super impactful but super catchy.
34. 冷たい血 (Tsumetai Chi)
Ruki
~translation~
You have to read the lyrics while reading this, please! Its surprisingly wholesome and emotional overall. Again, there is the issue of the voice being way to quiet as the instrumentals swallow him whole after the second clock tick. The delivery is really well timed and production does a great job adding elements that works with the lyrics. There is a subtle echo to the voice that feels super enchanting as he comes to terms with the fact that he has fallen in love. Biggest drawback obviously is that this is just spoken word.
33. KISS♥MARK
Shu
~translation~
This song delves into the more perverse side of Shu, but we haven't really reached the level of Laito (we'll get there). The phone feels a little out of character but it suits that narrative. The straight cut out of music for the intermission was a bit abrasive but the transition back to music makes me forget about that with how slick it is. At least its better than a generic rock song.
32. カモフラージュ (Camouflage)
Shu & Laito
~translation~
What a great match up for subject matter, my interpretation is a denial and inability to accept oneself, ultimately using a mask to hide. So please look up the lyrics for some gems. However, after the 'against the blood' nothing really hit that same point sonically, furthermore its not the most aesthetically fitting for the two characters.
*Great*
These songs I actively enjoy, think about and do listen to occasionally and would recommend you check it out too.
31. >REDRUM<-
Ayato & Subaru
~translation~
This song is full of anagrams in the lyrics, I mean look at the song title. Its super catchy and is hard to forget about. The bridge is the weakest part of this song but it is made up by the distortion of vocals after the final chorus.
30. Fanatic of Night
Sakamaki Brothers
~translation~
Well time to party, talk about a bop and a half! Its just so fun, even though its to exactly DL to me, but that's Lunatic Parade for you. Shout out to the guitarist and percussion once again.
29. Bad Howling
Shu, Ayato & Kou
~translation~
This is super catchy, its nice to hear Kou in the opening song this time round, it spices things up. Theres some really nice elements played with the vocals as they sing over one another that is really well balanced. The biggest peg down is that I don't get super DL vibes and the lyrics aren't the deepest.
28. I.M.I.T.A.T.I.O.N. G.A.M.E
Kino
~translation~
Overall this song is a little generic and doesn't sound like DL but! There is a lot to love here too. Starting off with the performance, I really like the vibrato in his voice and the decent of notes at the end of the chorus is just, yes. It a nice hook and the lyrics are pretty good too. My only other complaint is that the drums mask some smaller elements in the background of the song which would have been nice to hear more in the forefront.
27. 極限(UNLIMITED) BLOOD
Shu, Ayato & Subaru
~translation~
This is where the rankings get pretty hard cuz I wish this was higher but oh well. the dramatic shift from the opening piano to the song is so abrupt but it gets you pumped. The intermission does a good job of changing things up without cutting tension. The lyrics themselves seem to be from the view of the Adam project during more blood and the unquenchable thirst they get in the story.
26. アルカディア (Arcadia)
Ayato
~translation~
Immediately I get Ayato vibes from this song and the rapping does help too with a nice flow that isn't too jarring from the rest of the song. These lyrics are basically Addicted2Phantom on steroids, I can't see anyone else other than Ayato in them.
25. Kekkyoku Night
Ayato
~translation~
Don't know why but the guitar melody just seems like I had heard it before but I can't put my finger on it. The bass is super slick here and I really enjoy it. The vocal distortion at the start of the verse sets a scene for him to hunt down this person and its a narrative choice. The main issue is that I wish there was a little more pizzaz to the chorus.
24. Kaikan DEATH-TRUCTION
Kanato
~translation~
Spoilers but I have placed both a Kanato's songs pretty high up so this was a little bit of a let down after the other two. The main issues here is that I don't really get too much of Kanato in the song and the yelling before the chorus is a little much. This, to me, is a self reflection from Kanato which is a good switch up from his last two songs. Overall, the song is abrasive in a good way that isn't overwhelming and the 8-bit section is my fave.
23. 血濡れた密会 (BLOODY SABBATH)
Laito
~translation~
Oh boy, look these lyrics up for a good time. This song is about his hook up with a women with the song getting progressively darker as it goes on. Nice psycho reference but I don't know if it does much in the end. Really catchy hook and the escalation of the final chorus is just so good. Also I'm just going to leave this line from the song here:
“You wend all out with the rodeo girl play? So then, let’s grind!!!”
22. 幻日理論-Parhelion Logic
Ayato
~translation~
This song is meant to be kind of an open letter to Cordelia and my word these lyrics are haunting. It fits the vibe of Haunted Dark Bridal so well, super strong overall. I just wish there was a stronger performance vocally.
21. 暴言シンドローム (Seiron Syndrome)
Yuma
~translation~
Yuma, to me has some pretty good observation skills and its really highlighted here. The first line just hits the nail on the head in terms of how rough he is both in and out of the bedroom. This song is the best of the 'generic rock' with production being really smooth despite the high energy, it matches him really well. First line:
The pain of your sprained neck won’t subside
20. 蠱惑のParade (Kowaku no Parade)
Reiji & Kanato
~translation~
We got another catchy banger here! This song just screams 'the two of us are here to hunt you down and we won't stop till we get a taste.' I mean this song is super pleasing aesthetically and great lyrics to boot!
19. KILLYOU,AGAIN
Azusa
~translation~
The strings are an immediate attention grabber and its hold it throughout the whole song. Super catchy, and these lyrics are Azusa, especially this chorus. Id be interested to hear what people think about the second verse in particular cuz there's a lot to read into:
"In a worn out state of mind, no matter how many nights we question it... We’ve idealised too much."
18. SQueeze…
Subaru
~translation~
Okay before anything else, the squeeze at the start is goofy, I can't take it seriously. Anyway, I can't help but tap my foot to this song. Third times the charm, finally hitting Subaru's aesthetic to a T. The voice is a little quiet on the track but what takes over just sounds so good. The contrast of the bell and the guitar is just, yes thank you. The pre-chorus is a nice mix up to the status quo and these lyrics are great too.
17. 愛の檻 (Ai no Ori)
Ayato & Laito
~translation~
The opening is a nice tone setter for a haunting head bopper. These voices work together so well, just like how the sirens work with the strings. The singular violin during the bridge is great, praise to anyone who can do that my god. The string motif climaxes at the final chorus and it creates an awesome song!
16. 月蝕(Eclipse)
Kou, Yuma & Azusa
~translation~
Well we have a nice build up ballad here. The opening is a little out of place but I forget about it as it builds to this final chorus with the tempo getting faster and faster. The stripped back production also ends up aiding the song in the end with its punches and message. Speaking of which; I get the idea this is about watching some either currently or in retrospective how their personality changes after turning into a vampire; a loss of innocence. How fitting for the Mukami's.
“Despising the sunlight that filters through the blinds is only inevitable, I suppose”
*Faves*
This is what I think the best of the best is. It reflects the themes, ideas and characters of Diabolik Lovers in the best way possible. When people ask me what music from the franchise to listen to, I point to these songs.
15. Count off
Kino
~translation~
There is so much to talk about here, this is a mix of singing and spoken piece and it works so well for me. The delivery over this contagious beat I can't help but get hints of a k-pop vibe here. The movement to singing then vocoded voice are interesting and fun. The bridge switch up too is great, my only wish is that the choir hand a little more presence in the final chorus cuz its fun the first times round, it would be a nice call back.
14. A Certain Prophet's Fate [とある預言者の、運命 Toaru Yogensha no Unmei]
Reiji
~translation~
I can visualise a Nutella Kookie moodboard with this opening alone. To me, this is Reiji explain his views on women with allusions to Faust too, not the Ikemen version relax. there are some cool allusions to his mother in the lyrics too. The bass is so cool to listen out for and the guitar nodding to the chorus at the end is a nice way to end. I was just hoping for a little continuation to the opening like Reiji finding this person escaping on horseback.
13. CHAOS☆PARTY
Laito
~translation~
Aaaaaand another innuendo song from Laito, what a surprise! The jazzy, circus-pop vibes are super fun and catchy, I love it. It's like an upgraded version of Bloody Sabbath to me. The distortion on the guitar is also great to listen out for.
"Don’t decide where’s the critical point, grind as you feel it,
Till the moon oh, mockingly"
12. Mr.ButterflyMask
Reiji
~translation~
The opening may be cliche but it works so well, this is such a deep dive into Reiji's psyche; his mother, inferiority complex and village burning to name a few. The actual song is easy to remember which makes it even better here, the descending notes at the end of the chorus is a highlight.
"Burnt black, that awful land mark"
11. 真夜中の饗宴 (MIDNIGHT PLEASURE)
Shu, Ayato & Subaru
~translation~
The song to start it all, thank god it's such a highlight. I get so hyped from hearing the opening footsteps; mirroring the prologue with You stepping into the mansion for the first time. I feel so nostalgic for this and I'm hyped to play the game every time I hear this. The spoken section is the high point in terms of the HDB aesthetic but these lyrics maaaannn:
"With a scream that shatters the moon itself I’ll give you this extraordinary pain called “love”!"
10. Guilty×Guilty!!!
Shu, Ayato & Subaru
~translation~
I'm gonna get crucified for putting this above midnight pleasure but my list and this is my fave game op. The only peg down is the lyrics but it makes up so much for the actual sound variation. The unnerving energy from this scifi-y noise, it screams danger with the Tsunami arrival. The variation between the two verses in robs what places it high and the bridge is excellent to boot.
9. Farewell Song
Shu
~translation~
If I had to make one song recommendation outside of DL with this list it is this song here. The lyrics and melody match up the same way and both are strong in their own right. Onto the song, these lyrics really shine wrangling with ideas and the thought process of depression; something that hits close to home for me. With the inclusion of the destructive nature vampires its truely impactful. The sound of the song aids these lyrics too while all sounding like Shu.
Without pause, the drops of a drizzle had begun to weep...
...Comforting the screams of the things you’ve touched"
8. Mr.SADISTIC NIGHT
Shu, Ayato & Subaru
~translation~
This is my favourite opening of all the games and anime and it is the most on theme with the DL franchise, not just the one game. The guitar rifts at the start are just sooooo iconic. The actual line "Mr Sadistic Night" is delivered so well too. I mean the song speaks for itself. I will make the observation though that this song is the epitome of kids unknowingly singing a song with dirty lyrics.
"If I’m so aroused by the snare of your enticing blood
Tonight, as I thrust deep into you, a lust for death awakens from within you!"
7. 悪魔的(Devil's)Spire!!!!
Kou
~translation~
This song is just Kou at his best, I can imagine him singing this at a concert as a debut single. It has all the elements of a catchy pop song with some sinister elements that just reflects his personality. Production has my praise here too. The song seems to be a friends with benefits situation Kou has as he recounts the tale. Also, more innuendos:
"In the deep red velvet sheets, Do you want to taste my forbidden syrup?"
6. Operation X
Tsukinami Brothers
~translation~
Haven't seen these guys in a while! You can tell production had fun adding all these medical sounds in the back like the sirens and heart monitor. The song itself is super catchy too, that bass just hits you at the core! The lyrics look like the Tsukinami's observation of You as she has become entangled with all these vampires and the situation just seems to spiral even more out of control.
"The risk spreads further the deeper you get involved...
...The more you give up, the more that guy mocks you"
5. GRATEFUL★DEAD★MARCH
Kanato
~translation~
Production had fun again, you can tell. It's more upbeat there is still a sinister vibe here. The constant switch ups within the song all flow so well. I feel genuine despair listening to this chorus, like Kanato is mocking or toying with me before going in for the kill. My only complaint is that the slowing down at the end is a bit of a mood killer.
4. 切断★舞踏会 (KIRISAKI CARNIVAL)
Kanato
~translation~
In terms of character aesthetic, this is sheer perfection. There is a narrative within this song that you need to look at the lyrics for the best experience. The sound effects act as a good way to heighten the story as they match the lyrics. One moment to note it both the chorus and pre-chorus as they act as the extreme ends on Kanato's personality and it creates a great dichotomy when placed together.
3. Q.E.D.
laito
~translation~
My favourite solo song, and the one I constantly visit the most. Laito is a complex character and this song does a self reflection in the best way possible.I would also recommend reading this great analysis by everything laito because I can't do a proper analysis justice. For the song itself, the piano is a great mood setter as it acts as if we are approaching Laito as he plays the piano about to go into one of his many monologues to himself. The intercut from the piano to the guitar is abrupt but it works so well as if there are crack in his facade showing through. The change back to the piano is great too and isn't distracting in any way. I also think this is such an emotional performance, like I can feel the sadness and despair along with almost a self deprecating humour to the delivery. Top notch stuff
2. 罠-If You’re Diablo- (Wana -If You’re Diablo-)
Mukami Brothers
~translation~
I want mention first off that the spoken word from Ruki is such an aid here, the pace is slower, more haunting and despair-inducing in tone. The speaking adds a nice break to the vocals. The chorus in particular packs such a punch its kind of nice to lie on the ground and just let the song envelop you. The lyrics give the impression that there is a mutually destructive relationship here with the Mukami's mentioning of betrayal yet they suck the blood of this person. There is also a feeling of hopelessness that the Mukami's know they can never achieve their goal of becoming Adam.
"I'd been resigned to become Adam since who-knows-when...
I continue to hate this fate, my prayers in zero"
1. Gin no Bara
Sakamaki Brothers
~translation~
And we're finally at the end! This song encapsulates everything that Diabolik Lovers is. Vocally, it's really catchy with such a somber vibe, because that's what DL is. It's a dark series but you can see that darkness with each backstory, the actions these characters take and just the overall hopelessness in this one song. The Sakamaki's all singing together packs such a punch too. There are so many gems in these lyrics, to literally acknowledging the pain and suffering their mothers' caused and coming to terms with the actions they have committed as they fall in love.
"The proof remains on your neck while you sleep quietly Even if an eternal curse awaits me beyond those overflowing tears
I now hold this love and pain in my chest"
*SHOUTOUTS*
I want to give a huge shout out to the following people. They have helped immensely with translation and just overall accessibility to the songs because they would be 1000 times more harder to find without them.
Silvermoon249 (Live Journal)
Asyqin98 Creator (YouTube)
S I s o v o l i (Youtube)
DIABOLIK LOVERS (YouTube)
Dialovers otaka (Tumblr)
Starlight voices (Tumblr)
Cannonette (Tumblr) @canonette
The Precious Sugar Chan (Tumblr)
One final note, I would recommend listening to these with headphones because the audio sometimes does that thing where it jumps from ear to ear and it creates the best effect to be more involved in the atmosphere.
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casxmorgan · 4 years ago
Text
Books Books Books
100 Years of Solitude
11.22.63
120 Days of Sodom
1491
1984
A Brief History of Time
A Canticle for Leibowitz
A Child Called It
A Clockwork Orange
A Confederacy of Dunces
A History of the World in Ten and a Half Chapters
A Land Fit for Heroes Trilogy
A Little Life
A Naked Singularity
A People's History of the United States
A Scanner Darkly
A Series of Unfortunate Events
A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Storm of Swords
A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Walk in the Woods
A World Lit Only by Fire
Accursed Kings
Alice in Wonderland
All Quiet on the Western Front
All the Light We Cannot See
All the Pretty Horses
America, the Book
American Gods
American Psycho
And then There Were None
Angela’s Ashes
Animal Farm
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Anna Karenina
Anything Terry Pratchett, But, Mort is My Favorite
Anything Written by Robin Hobb
Apt Pupil
Artemis Fowl
Asimov's Guide to the Bible
Asoiaf
Atlas Shrugged
Bartimeaus
Batman: the Long Halloween
Battle Royale
Beat the Turtle Drum
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Belgariad Series
Beloved
Berserk
Bestiario
Black Company
Blankets/habibi
Blind Faith
Blindness
Blood Meridian
Blood and Guts: a History of Surgery
Bluest Eye
Brandon Sanderson
Brave New World
Breakfast of Champions
Bridge to Terabithia
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: an Indian History of the American West
Calvin and Hobbs
Candide
Carrie
Cat's Cradle
Catch 22
Cats Cradle
Chaos
Child of God
Choke
Chuck Palahniuk
City of Ember
City of Thieves
Cloud
Collapse
Come Closer
Complaint
Confessions of a Mask
Contact
Conversation in the Cathedral
Cosmos
Crime and Punishment
Dan Brown
David
Dead Birds Singing
Dead Mountain: the Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
Delta Venus
Die Räuber (the Robbers)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Don Quixote
Dragonlance
Dune
Dying of the Light
East of Eden
Educated
Empire of Sin: a Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans
Enders Game
Enders Shadow
Escape from Camp 14
Ever Since Darwin
Every Man Dies Alone
Everybody Poops
Everything is Illuminated
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Fahrenheit 451
Far from the Madding Crowd
Faust
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson
Feet of Clay
Fight Club
First Law
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers in the Attic
Foundation
Foundation Series
Foundation Trilogy
Frankenstein
Freakonomics
Fun Home
Galapagos
Geek Love
Gerald’s Game
Ghost Story
Go Ask Alice
Go Dog Go
Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid
Goldfinch
Gone Girl
Gone with the Wind
Good Omens
Grapes of Wrath
Great Expectations
Greg Egan
Guards! Guards!
Guns Germs and Steel
Guts (short Story)
Half a World
Ham on Rye
Hannibal Rising
Hard Boiled Wonderland
Hatchet
Haunted
Hawaii
Heart Shaped Box
Heart of Darkness
Hellbound Heart
Hellraiser
Hell’s Angels
Helter Skelter
His Dark Materials
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Hogg
Holocaust by Bullets
House of Leaves
How to Cook for Fourty Humans
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Huckleberry Finn
Hyperion
I Am America, and So Can You
I Am the Messenger
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
I Was Dr. Mengele’s Assistant
In Cold Blood
In Search of Our Mother's Gardens
Independent People
Infinite Jest
Into Thin Air
Into the Wild
Introduction to Linear Algebra
Invisible Monsters
Ishmael
It
Jacques Le Fataliste
Jane Eyre
Jaunt
Job: a Comedy of Justice
John Dies at the End
John Grisham
Johnathan Livingston Seagull
Johnny Got His Gun
Jon Ronson
Journal of a Novel
Jurassic Park
Justine
L'histoire D'o
Lamb
Last Exit to Brooklyn
Les Miserables
Lies My Teacher Told Me
Life of Pi
Limits and Renewals
Little House in the Big Woods
Lockwood & Co.
Lolita
Looking for Trouble
Lord Foul’s Bane
Lord of the Flies
Lyddie
Malazan Book of the Fallen
Maldoror
Manufacturing Consent: the Political Economy of the Mass Media
Man’s Search for Meaning
Mark Twain’s Autobiography
Maus
Meditations
Megamorphs (series)
Mein Kampf
Memnooch the Devil
Metro 2033
Michael Crichton
Middlesex
Mindhunter
Misery
Mistborn
Moby Dick
Mrs. Dalloway
My Side of the Mountain
My Sweet Audrina
Nacht über Der Prärie (night over the Prairie)
Naked Lunch
Name of the Wind
Neuromancer
Never Let Me Go
Neverwhere
New York
Next
Night
Night Shift
Norwegian Wood
Notes from Underground
Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea
Of Mice and Men
Of Nightingales That Weep
Ohio
Old Mans War
Old Mother West Wind
On Heroes and Tombs
On Laughter and Forgetting
On the Road
One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest
One Hundred Years of Solitude
One of Us
Painted Bird
Patrick Rothfuss
Perfume: the Story of a Murderer
Persepolis
Pet Sematary
Peter Pan
Pillars of the Earth
Poisonwood Bible
Pride and Predjudice
Ready Player One
Rebecca
Red Mars
Red Night (series)
Red Shirts
Red Storm Rising
Redwall
Replay
Requiem for a Dream
Revenge
Riftwar Saga
Ringworld
Roald Dahl
Rolls of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Round Ireland with a Fridge
Running with Scissors
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Sapiens, a Brief History of Humankind
Scary Stories to Read in the Dark
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Schindler’s List
Sein Und Zeit
Shades of Grey
Sharp Objects
Shattered Dreams
Sherlock Holmes
Sho-gun
Siddhartha
Sisypho
Skin and Other Stories
Slaughterhouse Five
Smoke & Mirrors
Snow Crash
Soldier Son
Sometimes a Great Notion
Sphere
Starship Troopers
Stiff, the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Storied Life of A.j. Fikry
Stormlight Archives
Story of the Eye
Stranger in a Strange Land
Surely, You're Joking
Survivor Type (short Story)
Suttree
Swan Song
Tale of Two Cities
Tales of the South Pacific
The Alchemist
The Altered Carbon Trilogy
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Art of Deception
The Art of Fielding
The Art of War
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation
The Autobiography of Henry Viii
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Beach
The Bell Jar
The Bible
The Bloody Chamber
The Book Thief
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
The Brothers Karamazov
The Call of Cthulu and Other Weird Stories
The Cask of Amontillado (short Story)
The Catcher in the Rye
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Clown
The Color out of Space
The Communist Manifesto
The Complete Fiction of H.p. Lovecraft
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
The Dagger and the Coin
The Damage Done
The Dark Tower
The Declaration of Independence, the Us Constitution, and the Bill of Rights
The Devil in the White City
The Dharma Bums
The Diamond Age
The Dice Man
The Discworld Series
The Dresden Files
The Elegant Universe
The First Law Trilogy
The Forever War
The Foundation Trilogy
The Gentleman Bastard Sequence
The Geography of Nowhere
The Girl Next Door
The Girl on the Milk Carton
The Giver
The Giving Tree
The God of Small Things
The Grapes of Wrath
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gilly Hopkins
The Hagakure
The Half a World Trilogy
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
The Hiding Place
The History of Love
The Hobbit
The Hot Zone
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hyperion Cantos
The Jaunt
The Jungle
The Key to Midnight
The Killing Star
The Kingkiller Chronicles
The Kite Runner
The Last Question (short Story)
The Lies of Lock Lamora
The Little Prince
The Long Walk
The Lord of the Rings
The Lottery (short Story)
The Lovely Bones
The Magicians
The Magus
The Martian
The Master and Margarita
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect
The Monster at the End of This Book
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
The Music of Eric Zahn (short Story)
The Name of the Wind & the Wise Man's Fear
The Necronomicon
The New Age of Adventure: Ten Years of Great Writing
The Night Circus
The Nightmare Box
The Odyssey
The Omnivore's Dilemma
The Orphan Master’s Son
The Outsiders
The Painted Bird
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Plague
The Prince
The Prince of Tides
The Princess Bride
The Prophet
The Queen’s Gambit
The Rape of Nanking
The Red Dwarf
The Republic
The Rifter Saga
The Road
The Satanic Verses
The Screwtape Letters
The Secret History
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Selfish Gene
The Shining
The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer
The Silmarillion
The Sirens of Titan
The Six Wives of Henry the 8th
The Solitude of Prime Numbers
The Speaker of the Dead
The Stars My Destination
The Stormlight Archive
The Story of My Tits
The Stranger
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
The Suspicions of Mr. Witcher
The Tao of Pooh
The Things They Carried
The Time Machine
The Time Traveller’s Wife
The Tin Drum
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green
The Wasp Factory
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle
The World According to Garp
The Yellow Wallpaper
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Things Fall Apart
Thirsty
This Blinding Absence of Light
Tiger!
Time Enough for Love
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Say Nothing of the Dog
Toni Morrison
Too Many Magicians
Traumnovelle
Tuesdays with Morrie
Tuf Voyaging
Undeniable
Under Plum Lake
Universe in a Nutshell
Unwind
Uzumaki
Various
Village Life in Late Tsarist Russia
Walden
War & Peace
War and Peace
Warriors: Bluestar’s Prophecy
Watchers
Water for Elephants
Watership Down
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Wheel of Time
When Rabbit Howls
Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Why I Am Not a Christian
Why People Believe Weird Things
Wizards First Rule
Wool
World War Z
Worm
Wuthering Heights
You Can Choose to Be Happy
Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
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moon--prism--power · 8 years ago
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Don’t dance with me or my grandpa or my grandpa’s grandpa ever again
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rottenbrainstuff · 4 years ago
Text
Before going on to part four of Jojo’s bizarre adventure, I snagged the OVAs and gave those a watch. (Jojo part 3 spoilers below)
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This is a 17 year old boy.
The ovas have absolutely no sense of humour at all, serious boys here only, folks. (Well... the older ovas are a bit funny) Without the stupid nonsense the show has a very different tone, and I’m not sure it’s the correct tone. Then again, we also don’t have all the gross poop and pee and exploding boobs and naked children, so... it’s a trade off. Kakyoin’s hair is brown instead of pink. Was pink too gay? If you remove the bits that are too gay I feel like you’re missing the entire point of Jojo....
Kakyoin’s earrings (antennae????) are quite fun, I’ve been watching them and they’re in so many different places in his ears from shot to shot.
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This spot is probably my favourite spot. How the hell can you even have a piercing like that there. (Also behold: another 17 year old boy)
Hierophant Green looks so much cooler in the ova, omg the scene where it unravels... wish they had spent the money to do that a couple more times... and the name is also mysteriously pronounced wrong in the English dub? Hierophant is an English word?..??..?
Dio’s got HUGE TITS but I’m afraid I don’t care too much for the voice actor... I joked that Dio sounds like a 60 year old man then I looked him up and.... that’s about how old the voice actor is. Takehito Koyasu who does Dio in the anime is one of my top fav voice actors ever so I can’t help but prefer his version.
It’s quite interesting having two versions of the same story, because you can directly compare different direction and plotting choices. Spoilers!
It was interesting how the anime and ova chose different ways to board the scene where Kakyoin dies. I think the anime is more successful. In the ova it’s a pretty standard fight for the series... Kakyoin tries his misjudged attack, Dio stops time, he gets time to do a little monologue, he punches through Kakyoin, gets a couple more lines out, then time starts up again and Kakyoin is sent flying backward. It’s long and drawn out, like every fight, it’s dramatic, it’s ok.
The anime though, I liked the choice they made. We don’t get to see what happens with the stopped time. All we see is Kakyoin trying his attack, suddenly The World is right in front of his face and he’s flying backwards before we really know what’s going on, my god he is dead and it happened SO FAST. When I watched that, I already knew what was going to happen, but I was still *shocked* by it. It’s so fast, so horrible, we still have no explanation for what exactly the fuck Dio is doing so it’s more menacing, and the focus of the scene is entirely his sudden death, not the revelation of what The World can do. It was a really great choice.
The one really great thing about the ovas though is The Animation. Aaaah so good. Even the older 90s one. Guys I’m not exactly sure what happened to the anime industry in japan in the 2000s, I am guessing it’s a combo of paying animators less, farming stuff out to overseas studios more, and just a general shift in aesthetic, but man they don’t make them like this anymore. And I don’t just mean the scenes where they spent big budgets, for example, animating Justice (but that was indeed amazing!!!). Just, the movement, the observation-based animation, the volume of the characters, it’s so classic, it’s so good. I know I have a soft spot for even BAD 90s Japanese animation, but this is great, ah I love it. I miss shows looking like this. A+. I was reading some comments from someone who lives in Egypt and they said the research for the backgrounds was so good that they could recognize specific cafes and shops in the background.
In a nutshell, the ovas are a quirky little adaptation, sometimes doing a good job cutting out the boring filler, sometimes ending up too truncated, and always with extremely pleasing animation and an inexplicably brown-haired Kakyoin, A+, five stars, a shame they never properly released that Phantom Blood movie, on to part four for me now.
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ramzaes · 4 years ago
Video
youtube
A video about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood in a Nutshell! Hope you enjoy!
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arcticdementor · 4 years ago
Link
In the fall of 2008, America’s wealthiest companies were in a pickle. Short-selling hedge funds, smelling blood as the global economy cratered, loaded up with bets against finance stocks, pouring downward pressure on teetering, hyper-leveraged firms like Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. The free-market purists at the banks begged the government to stop the music, and when the S.E.C. complied with a ban on financial short sales, conventional wisdom let out a cheer.
"This will absolutely make a difference," economist Peter Cardillo told CNN. "Now, if there is any good news, shorts will have to cover.”
At the time, poor beleaguered banks were victims, while hedge funds betting them down as the economy circled the drain were seen as antisocial monsters. “They are like looters after a hurricane,” seethed Andrew Cuomo, then-Attorney General of New York State, who “promised to intensify investigations into short selling abuses.” Senator John McCain, in the home stretch of his eventual landslide loss to Barack Obama, added that S.E.C. chairman Christopher Cox had “betrayed the public’s trust” by allowing “speculators and hedge funds” to “turn our markets into a casino.”
Fast forward thirteen years. The day-trading followers of a two-million-subscriber Reddit forum called “wallstreetbets” somewhat randomly decide to keep short-sellers from laying waste to a brick-and-mortar retail video game company called GameStop, betting it up in defiance of the Street. Worth just $6 four months ago, the stock went from $18.36 on the afternoon of the Capitol riot, to $43.03 on the 21st two weeks later, to $147.98 this past Tuesday the 26th, to an incredible $347.51 at the close of the next day, January 27th.
The rally sent crushing losses at short-selling hedge funds like Melvin Capital, which was forced to close out its position at a cost of nearly $3 billion. Just like 2008, down-bettors got smashed, only this time, there were no quotes from economists celebrating the “good news” that shorts had to cover. Instead, polite society was united in its horror at the spectacle of amateur gamblers doing to hotshot finance professionals what those market pros routinely do to everyone else.
The episode prompted calls to regulate Reddit and, finally, halt action on the disputed stocks. As I write this, word has come out that platforms like Robinhood and TD Ameritrade are curbing trading in GameStop and several other companies, including Nokia and AMC Entertainment holdings.
Meaning: just like 2008, trading was shut down to save the hides of erstwhile high priests of “creative destruction.” Also just like 2008, there are calls for the government to investigate the people deemed responsible for unapproved market losses.
The only thing “dangerous” about a gang of Reddit investors blowing up hedge funds is that some of us reading about it might die of laughter. That bit about investigating this as a “pump and dump scheme” to push prices away from their “fundamental value” is particularly hilarious. What does the Washington Post think the entire stock market is, in the bailout age?
America’s banks just had maybe their best year ever, raking in $125 billion in underwriting fees at a time when the rest of the country is dealing with record unemployment, thanks entirely to massive Federal Reserve intervention that turned a crash into a boom. Who thinks the “fundamental value” of most stocks would be this high, absent the Fed’s Atlas-like support in the last year?
In other words, it was all well and good for investment banks and executives of phoney-baloney companies to gorge themselves on funhouse profits on a funhouse economy, but when amateurs decided to funnel just a bit of this clown show into their own pockets, finance pros wailed like the grave of Adam Smith had been danced upon. The worst was Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, who issued a somber warning that those behind the recent market frenzy are “in for a very rude awakening,” adding, “I don’t know if it is going to happen tomorrow, next week or in a month, but it will happen.”
This is the same James Gorman whose company just saw its 2020 fourth-quarter profits go up 51% versus the year before, with total revenues up 16% to $48.2 billion, matching almost exactly the 16% rise in the stock market last year. If you’re going to rake in $33 million as Gorman did last year captaining a firm that just siphoned off billions in essentially risk-free profits underwriting a never-ending bailout, should you really be worrying about someone else getting a “rude awakening”? There are 19 million people collecting unemployment who might be reading those profit numbers. Does this man know how to spell “pitchfork”?
GameStop has prompted more pearl-clutching than any news story in recent memory. Expert after grave-faced expert has marched on TV to tell Reddit traders that markets are complicated, this isn’t a game, and they wouldn’t be doing this, if they really understood how things work.
Furthermore, everybody “understands” what happened with GameStop. Unlike some other Wall Street stories, this one isn’t complicated. The entire tale, in a nutshell, goes like this. One group of gamblers announced, “Fuck you!” Another group announced back: “No, fuck YOU!”
That’s it. Or, as one market analyst put it to me this morning, “A bunch of guys made a bet, got killed, then doubled and tripled down and got killed even more.”
Regarding improprieties, leaving aside that the Redditors were doing exactly what billion-dollar hedge funds do every day — colluding to move a stock for fun and profit — the notion that this should be the subject of a federal investigation is preposterous.
While it isn’t a complicated story, some of the awesome humor of GameStop is in the mechanics.
Unlike betting on a stock to go up (i.e. betting “long”), where you can only lose as much as you invest, the losses in shorting can be infinite. This adds a potential extra layer of Schadenfreude to the plight of the happy hedge fund pirate who might have borrowed gazillions of GameStop shares at five or ten hoping to tank the firm, only to go in pucker mode as Internet hordes drive the cost of the trade to ten, twenty, fifty times their original investment.
Short-sellers bet by borrowing shares from so-called prime brokers (Goldman, Sachs and JP Morgan Chase are among the biggest), selling them, and waiting for the price to drop, at which point they buy them back on the open market at the lower price and return them. The commonly understood rub is that prime brokers don’t always really procure those original borrowed shares, and often give out more “locates” than they should, putting more shares in circulation than actually exist (as in this case). GameStop is exposing this systematic plundering of firms using phantom shares and locates, by groups of actors who now have the gall to complain that they’re the victims of a “get rich quick” scheme.
The home of James “rude awakening” Gorman, Morgan Stanley, got its bank holding company license (and the lifesaving Fed credit lines that came with it) late on a Sunday night in September, 2008, because the firm couldn’t have opened its doors without it the next Monday morning. They’d have been blown to bits, by “fundamentals.” Instead, they got rescued, given a forever pass to keep feeding at the neck of society while claiming, falsely, to be not-failures and not-welfare recipients, better somehow than the “dumb money” they think should be theirs alone to manage.
The rank selectivity of this makes any moral argument against the GameStop revolt moot. There’s no legitimate cause here, just an assertion of exclusive rights to plunder, which will doubtless be exercised now in the form of bans, investigations, and increased barriers to market entry. Probably also, in the political spirit of our times, there will some form of speech crackdown on platforms like Reddit, to protect us from the mob.
About that: there are many making hay of a description found on a Subreddit, to the effect that wallstreetbets is “like 4Chan found a Bloomberg terminal.” A columnist at the Guardian, settling into the rhetorical line sure to find acceptance among the wine-and-MSNBC crowd, admitted to finding the rampaging-id dynamic on 4chan funny as a young person, but strange now to “witness a brief and regretful adolescent occupation re-emerge as a prominent cultural force.” The author wanted to admit to laughing at this “intentionally senseless” behavior, but ultimately decried the “transgressive attitudes” of the Redditors.
This is where society will ultimately come down, of course, uniting to denounce $GME as financial Trumpism, even though it actually comes closer to being an updated and superior version of Occupy Wall Street. It’s likely not any evil manipulation scheme, but ordinary people acting — out of self-interest, but also out of sheer enthusiasm for one of the best reasons to do just about anything, because you can — on a few simple, powerful observations.
They’ve seen first that our markets are basically fake, set up to artificially accelerate the wealth divide, and not in their favor. Secondly they see that the stock market, like the ballot box, remains one of the only places where sheer numbers still matter more than capital or connections. And they’re piling on, and it’s delicious, not so much because they’re right, but because the people running for cover are so wrong, and still can’t admit it.
Buy the ticket, take the ride, nitwits. If you earned anything, it’s this.
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nolvini · 5 years ago
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i want to get into jojo, but i dont know where to start lol, do you think you could summarize it:?
ok ok so despite what people say, my friend gave me a flash drive with all of part 3 (stardust crusaders) on it, and after that i watched 4 and 5 and then went back to 1 and 2 and god i’m terrible at explaining but I’ll try my best lol
Anyways tbh,,, each part can be watched on their own since they all have a different protagonist and plot/setting. I don’t recommend watching it completly out of order (like 4->2->5->etc) but recurring characters from other parts are present so you may not fully understand their importance at first.
SO it’s very long like not as long as homestuck but maybe a tier or two below so I’m going to go over the main aspects of each parts below with a copied-pasted summary from the wiki in italics and a better understanding underneath:
Warnings: gore heavy, sexual assault, I’ll add more as I think about it (i’m sorry it’s almost 1am here)
Some good ol’ vocab
Hamon/Ripple: a technique used in the early parts of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Through the use of controlled breathing, the user can fill their body and attacks with sunlight energy, making it very effective against Vampires, Zombies, and Pillar Men.
Stands:  a visual manifestation of life energy, unique to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. It generally presents itself as a figure hovering over or near the user and possesses abilities beyond that of an ordinary human, which, depending on the Stand User, can be wielded for good or evil.
Part One: Phantom Blood (9 episodes)
In 19th-century England, a youth named Dio Brando is adopted by the wealthy George Joestar to repay Dio's father for seemingly saving his life. Jonathan Joestar, who aspires to become a gentleman, finds himself shunned by his family and friends as part of Dio's plot to take the Joestar fortune for himself.
This is the beginning of JJBA. Each protagonist of each part is nicknamed “JoJo” (i.e. Jonathan Joestar), so like it’s the protag’s bizarre adventure, and they are super weird!!!
Anyways Dio is Jonathan’s adoptive brother, and he’s like just pure evil and is the antithesis of Jonathan and later he becomes a vampire. Jonathan meets a man who teaches him Hamon/Ripple which he tries to use against Dio.
Part Two: Battle Tendency (17 episodes)
Taking place in 1938-39, the story follows the misadventures of Joseph Joestar (a.k.a. JoJo), grandson of Jonathan, as he masters his innate Ripple abilities in order to combat hostile, ancient super-beings named the Pillar Men, creators of the Stone Mask that plot to become the ultimate lifeforms.
Joseph is Jonathan’s grandson, so this shows that this series follows the JoJo bloodline (so like descendants of Jonathan) and their misadventures. But yeah like the summary above states, Joseph also learns Hamon/Ripple (it’s the same thing idk why it has two names).
Part Three: Stardust Crusaders (48 episodes)
Jotaro Kujo and his friends as they journey from Tokyo to Cairo to save his mother's life by defeating his family's resurrected archenemy, DIO.
OK the concept of Hamon/Ripple here is just, completly removed lmao and in my opinion i think it’s better. Hamon is replaced with Stands, which many characters have. Jotaro Kujo is Joseph’s grandson, so again, follows the bloodline. HEY I LOVE THIS PART!!!! The majority of the story takes place in south Asia, the Middle East, and Egypt which is great bc i’m brown and it’s nice to see some rep in anime even if it’s not the main focus lol ANYWAYS sorry for the tangent just if anything I recommend starting with Stardust Crusaders since Jotaro is kind of the mascot of JJBA, but of course up to you
Part Four: Diamond is Unbreakable (39 episodes)
Takes place in the summer of 1999 in Morioh, a midsized japanese town. Jotaro Kujo has come to visit for two reasons. One, to meet Josuke Higashikata, Joseph Joestar's illegitimate son. And two, to find a serial killer, and figure out how he got a stand.
Parts 4-6 explore the Stand concept in depth, where they came from, why certain people get a stand while others don’t, etc. while also havinf their own plots aside from that. Part 4 is more slice of life-ish but of course still has it’s fair share of gore and sadness, but compared to others I personally think it has a more uplifting endings than the other parts which is great bc Josuke deserves the world
Part Five: Vento Aureo aka Golden Wind (39 episodes)
Set in 2001 Italy, the story follows Giorno Giovanna and his dream to rise within the Neapolitan mafia and defeat the boss of Passione, the most powerful and influential gang, in order to become a "Gang-Star". With the aid of a capo and his men, and fueled by his own resolve, Giorno sets out to fulfill his goal of absolving the mafia of its corruption.
This is the season that just ended (summer 2019). Giorno is actually Dio’s son, but is still considered to be part of the JoJo bloodline because of.... spoilers. ANYWAYS this is kind of where jjba becomes more “feminine” in lack of a better word; with its floral/art imagery and Giorno not being as masculine as the other parts’ protagonists. Anyways i cried.
Part Six: Stone Ocean
In 2011, Florida; Jolyne Cujoh, daughter of Jotaro, is wrongfully accused of a crime she didn't commit and sent to a maximum security prison. While imprisoned, she struggles within a longstanding plot agreed between dead villain DIO and ideologue Enrico Pucci.
Here is our very first female jojo (wow gif) but let me tell you all the female characters in this part are so badass and powerful in their own ways it’s just... wrow. This part isn’t animated yet but hopefully will be bc I need to see Jolyne or else I will die.
Part Seven: Steel Ball Run 
Set in the U.S. in 1890, the story follows Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic ex-jockey, and Gyro Zeppeli, master in a mystic art named the Spin, as they compete with a vast number of others in the Steel Ball Run race: a mad-dash across America for a grand prize of 50 million dollars.
Steel Ball Run describes a new continuity apart from that detailed in Part 1-6 of the series. On top of core features to JoJo such as Stands, the story is marked by many references to the original series.
Legit I just finished reading this in the last week and it is a fan favorite. I’m still processing everything that happened honestly kjsdhfsjkdhfj but yes it’s good 9/10 imo. Anyways this is on a different timeline from parts 1-6 because of the events that happened in Stone Ocean.
Part Eight: JoJolion
The story begins in 2011 and follows Josuke Higashikata, a young man afflicted by retrograde amnesia, in his search to uncover his identity in Morioh Town, a coastal Japanese town affected by the Tohoku earthquakeW. However, his digging pulls him and his adoptive family into the unfinished business between his previous life and an impending inhuman threat.
I haven’t read this part yet but i will, but know that this part is in the same timeline as Steel Ball Run.
OK THANK U FOR READING i didn’t do any of my hw and I’m going to sleep now but I hope this helps!!! IM SO SORRY IF THIS IS MORE THAN YOU WANTED I’m just extra and hopefully this can be summed up in a better way but yeah: that’s jojo’s bizarre adventure in a nutshell.
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