#referencing s1e12

[wolfyraged]

i love james sterlings little Looks and Tiny Waves at Maggie Collins in the Second David Job (s1e13). Like, i know he is Sus As Fuck but it is kinda cute, esp considering later seasons

[hunxi-guilai]

drunk poetry in CQL?? drunk poetry in CQL!!

I’ve gotten enough requests to do a post about some of the poems in CQL that I’ve finally gotten around to compiling this. I haven’t gone back and scoured the dialogue for every single poetic reference, but this is, at the very least, a start.

Table of Contents:

Episode 1: “魂兮归来 不下幽都”

Episode 3: “青青河畔草 绵绵思远道”

Episode 6: “同是天涯沦落人” and “今朝有酒今朝醉”

Bonus (MDZS Audiodrama S1E12): “媚眼随羞合, 丹唇逐笑分” and “野火烧不尽 春风吹又生”

Episode 1: 《楚辞·招魂》Chuci, Zhaohun 

Line(s): 魂兮归来 hunxiguilai 不下幽都 buxiayoudu

aw yeah an artsy upside down shot in episode ONE

In the first episode, a mysterious man (shaman?) staggers through the street chanting 魂兮归来 hunxiguilai 不下幽都 buxiayoudu. I’ve already made a couple of posts about the underlying presence of the 《楚辞》 Chuci / Songs of the South in CQL, so I won’t reinvent too many wheels here, but the long story short is: the 《楚辞》is the second oldest poetry collection in the Chinese literary tradition, mostly attributed to this dude, credited as the origin of the authorial voice, a Big Heckin’ Deal, and also Godawful to Actually Read. The lines in the show paraphrase these lines in the original:

魂兮归来 hunxi guilai / O soul! Return!

君無下此幽都些 jun wuxia ciyoudu xie / Do not go down to that dark city

where the dark city referenced is the ghost city of the underworld. Here are the links to the other posts; click for more information!

slightly more context on “魂兮归来...” hunxiguilai/ 《楚辞·招魂》Chuci -- Zhao Hun / Songs of the South, “Summons of the Soul”

context for 陈情 chenqing (yes, the flute, and also yes, the show’s title), from 《楚辞·惜往日》Chuci, Xi Wangri / Songs of the South, “Alas For Days Past” 

Episode 3:《饮马长城窟行》Yinma changcheng kuxing

Line(s): 青青河畔草 qingqinghepancao 绵绵思远道 mianmiansiyuandao

look at that mischievous GRIN on his face, what a lil shit

In episode 3, Wei Wuxian borrows a line from this poem to tease Mianmian approximately 0.2 seconds after he meets her. The poem is 《饮马长城窟行》, literally “Watering One’s Horse While Touring the Great Wall Caves” (yes, that is both excessively literal and awkward as hell); however, the title of the poem has absolutely nothing to do with the content. This poem is actually one of the 汉乐府 Hanyuefu poems, a collection of late Qin/early Han poems that were originally put to song. The musical aspects of the Hanyuefu poems are lost now, but the title tells us what melody the poem was supposed to be sung to. 

What most folks might not realize is that a great deal of what we call ‘poems’ in the Chinese literary tradition are actually song lyrics; especially when you start getting into Song 词 ci, you’ll find that syllabic forms and rhythmic structures of the poems are often determined by the melody they were intended for rather than some purely poetic regulated verse (although regulated verse is definitely a thing, @the entire Tang Dynasty). And thus, the title of the poem has nothing to do with the poem itself.

(we also don’t know any of the authors of the Hanyuefu poems, but hey, here’s a fun fact: 木兰辞 Mulan ci / “The Ballad of Mulan” is one of the poems in the collection, aka the OG Mulan mythos)

But the enmity of the cultivation clans wasn’t enough to stop Wei Wuxian, so neither will lack of authorial attribution!

[speed translation, here we go]

青青河畔草，绵绵思远道。/ Green, green, the riverside grass; unending, unbroken, my thoughts on roads far away

远道不可思，宿昔梦见之。/ Faraway roads do not bear thought; last night in dreams, I saw you

梦见在我傍，忽觉在他乡。/ I dreamt you were by my side; I woke suddenly, in another town

他乡各异县，展转不相见。/ This other town is in a different county; tossing and turning, I do not see you.

枯桑知天风，海水知天寒。/ The withered mulberry knows of heaven’s winds; the oceans know of heaven’s cold

入门各自媚，谁肯相为言？/ As each returns to his home and love, who will bring me news?

客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼。/ A guest arrives from afar, gifting me a letter

呼儿烹鲤鱼，中有尺素书。/ I call my son to open it; inside, it lies, written on  foot-long cloth

长跪读素书，其中意何如？/ I kneel for a long time, reading your letter; what does the letter say?

上言加餐饭，下言长相忆。/ It begins -- ‘you must eat more;’ it ends, ‘I think often of you.’

If I had a dollar for every poem in ancient China that was about a wife at home longing for her husband...

Wei Wuxian teases Mianmian with the first couplet of the poem; the line 绵绵思远道 mianmian si yuandao is construed as:

绵绵 mianmian - the single character refers to threads of silk floss; as a reduplicative binome, it refers to something that drags on: long, unceasing, continuous

思 si - thought, to think on (this is the si of Sizhui, if anyone’s wondering)

远道 yuandao - faraway roads, here referring to the distant roads the speaker’s husband is travelling

But because Wei Wuxian is a badass dumbass smartass, he calls himself Yuandao, thus shifting the meaning of the line to:

Mianmian thinks (longingly) of Yuandao

Mianmian, like the smart lady she is, figures it out and prompts her friend with the first line of the couplet, but her friend isn’t so smart and says the second line out loud, to Mianmian’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian is just standing there like a classy pre-necromantic beanpole, smirking.

Surprise! Answering an ask mid-post!

No one tell me if this is bad tumblr form, I’ve given up on learning tumblr etiquette

The line anon is referring to is also in episode 3, as Jiang Yanli frets over Wei Wuxian’s late return. Jiang Cheng says “只要他不招惹别人，别人怎么会为难他？他指不定现在跟什么绵绵，什么远道在一起了” / “As long as he doesn’t bother other people, how can other people make trouble for him? He’s probably with some mianmian or whatever yuandao right now.”

...oh my god, anon, I think this line is ambiguous enough that the censorship board was probably like “ah yes, a callback to a poetic reference in an earlier scene, whatevs,” and the likely intent of the line is probably something like “he’s probably continuing to flirt with some Mianmian by pretending to be some Yuandao” but there is definitely a reading of this line that implies what we all already know -- that Wei Wuxian is a gloriously bisexual disaster.

Episode 5:《琵琶行》Pipaxing and《自遣》Ziqian

Line(s): 同是天涯沦落人 tongshi tianya lunluoren 

今朝有酒今朝醉 jinzhaoyoujiu jinzhaozui

#1《琵琶行》Pipaxing / Pipa Song

If I’ve ever mentioned Wei Wuxian is a Tang dynasty poetry-spouting drunk, this ten second sequence is why. In short succession, he quotes not one, but two Tang Dynasty poets at Lan Wangji to offset the awkwardness about finding out about Lan Wangji’s dead parents rip. The first is a line from 白居易 Bai Juyi’s (of 李杜白 LiDuBai fame) 《琵琶行》Pipaxing, in which Bai Juyi describes a fucking transcendent pipa performance from a lady musician on another boat while cruising towards his exile (everyone’s on their way to or from exile in ancient China). No seriously, the poem has these lines:

大弦嘈嘈如急雨，小弦切切如私语。/ The large strings sound cao-cao, like urgent rain; the small strings whisper qie-qie, like private secrets

嘈嘈切切错杂弹，大珠小珠落玉盘。/ Cao-cao qie-qie intertwine and interweave, like pearls great and small cascading onto a plate of jade

间关莺语花底滑，幽咽泉流冰下难。/ Jian-guan! like the oriole’s cry beneath the flowers; you-ye like the murmuring spring, congealing and choked

冰泉冷涩弦凝绝，凝绝不通声暂歇。/ The icy spring freezes over the strings; fully frozen, no sound passes -- a momentary rest

别有幽愁暗恨生，此时无声胜有声。/ How deep the sorrow that hides in this song -- this moment with no sound triumphs over sound.

Just... wow.

(if you don’t know what a pipa is, for shame, it’s this sexy beast. Also fun fact, 反弹琵琶 fantanpipa, literally ‘playing the pipa backwards,’ is like, a Thing for describing how insanely talented a woman can be at the arts. There’s even a drawing in the Mogao Caves of a woman playing the pipa behind her head)

ANYWAY the line Wei Wuxian quotes occurs later in the poem, just after lady musician tells Bai Juyi her life story; Bai Juyi sighs, wipes away his tears, and remarks:

同是天涯沦落人，tongshi tianya lunluoren / Both of us, the unfortunate and wretched, at the edges of the earth

相逢何必曾相识！xiangfeng hebi cen xiangshi! / Our meeting is as if we’ve always known each other!

(this last line is a lil rougher than usual; the 百度百科 gloss is giving me ‘as for our meeting today, what need is there to ask if we’ve known each other already?’ implying that they’re both people so steeped in tragedy that they are already familiar with each other’s troubles despite having never met. Of course, 百度百科 could be wrong, this is literarily ambiguous classical Chinese poetry we’re talking about here)

It’s interesting that Wei Wuxian leaves out the second line of this couplet when speaking to Lan Wangji -- which, fair, it’s a bit of a downer while simultaneously  a pretty strong come-on -- but let’s take a look at what he jumps to instead:

#2《自遣》Ziqian / Amusing Myself

This poem is by late-Tang poet 罗隐 Luo Yin who, frustrated in his political career, pens this poem that may or may not be an homage to OG drunk poet-swordsman-with-frustrated-political-ambitions 李白 Li Bai about the joys of alcohol:

得即高歌失即休, / When I can -- I sing it loud! -- and when I lose [the song] -- I rest,

多愁多恨亦悠悠。/ Many worries, many regrets -- they both drag on

今朝有酒今朝醉，/ Today, I have wine -- so today, I shall be drunk

明日愁来明日愁。/ Tomorrow’s worries? I shall tomorrow worry

(this poem is a goddaMN MOOD and I quote it more than healthy)

Wei Wuxian recites the third line at Lan Wangji -- 今朝有酒今朝醉 jinzhaoyoujiu jinzhaozui -- and makes good on his declaration by immediately taking a swig of Emperor’s Smile. We stan one (1) gloriously bisexual poetry-quoting disaster.

Bonus Round! 《南苑逢美人》Nanyuan feng meiren and《赋得古原草送别》Fude guyuancao songbie

Line(s): “媚眼随羞合 丹唇逐笑分” 

“野火烧不尽 春风吹又生”

I was re-listening to S1E12/the Yi City Arc in the audiodrama the other day, y’know, as you do, when I was pleasantly surprised to run across these lines! I’m fairly certain (but always confused, because I never know what’s really happening in the audiodrama) that Wei Wuxian quotes poetry for Maximum Drama to cast 点睛召将术 dianjingzhaojiangshu -- the spell where he summons demons to do his bidding by dabbing his blood on the eyes of their avatars. Wei Wuxian starts with a line from《南苑逢美人》Nanyuan feng meiren / “Meeting a Beautiful Person in the Southern Imperial Gardens” by 何思澄 He Sicheng, a Southern Liang dynasty poet:

媚眼随羞合 meiyansuixiuhe / Seductive eyes shyly close

丹唇逐笑分 danchunzhuxiaofen / Crimson lips chase a smile

The actual poem diverges from here, going on to talk about grapes and dresses or something; in the audiodrama, Wei Wuxian follows this couplet with:

不问善与恶，buwen shan yu e / Ask not of good and evil

点睛召将来 dian jing zhao jiang lai / By dabbing your eyes, I summon the general here

(translation note: is he literally calling the spirit of a general to his puppets? I am uncertain)

点睛 dianjing is a fun reference to the chengyu (not THOSE again) 画龙点睛 hualongdianjing, which refers to a Tang dynasty painter who was so damn good at painting dragons that he would leave the pupils off of his dragons. When asked why, he simply responded if he drew the pupils, the dragons would fly away. Lo and behold, when he did, the wall cracked open and a dragon darted up to the heavens. This chengyu is now used to refer to the virtuosic final touches on a work of art, which is fun to think about in context of Wei Wuxian at the height of his necromantic abilities.

Wei Wuxian quotes another poem right before he uses his blood to animate more paper mannequins; this time, he quotes another Bai Juyi poem,  《赋得古原草送别》Fudeguyuancaosongbie / “A Poem of Farewell By the Grassland.” 

野火烧不尽，yehuoshaobujin / Wildfires cannot burn [the grass] away wholly;

春风吹又生。chunfengchuiyousheng / the spring winds blow, and [the grass] grows again

This couplet sounds a little Soft in translation, but trust me, it’s heckin’ kickass. The poem is simultaneously an homage to the resiliency of the grasslands, and several bad puns about the tragedy of parting (I jest, they are very Good Puns and I should be ashamed for slandering Bai Juyi’s good name).

And there we have it! Proof that Wei Wuxian can and will quote poetry left, right and center!

[katyatalks]

MP100 “Characters & Such Official Guidebook” - Interviews ENG Translation

The Characters & Such Official Guidebook was released mid-April 2019 as a guide for all things related to MP100 season 1 & 2. The guidebook also includes interviews with the voice actors of the main five characters (Mob, Reigen, Dimple, Ritsu, Teru), followed by interviews with Director Tachikawa, Series Coordinator Seko, Character Designer Kameda & finally with ONE himself.

Contains a bunch of interesting trivia and conversations (eg. Tachikawa and Kameda looked at fan art before they began the anime, an alternative past for Reigen was once considered, plenty of references to S3 & broccoli arc.) This is a pretty long read, so please enjoy!

Original thread on Twitter here. TN = Translator’s Note "Bold denotes a direct quote of a question,” & “italics denotes a direct quote of an answer.” I’m a little bit inconsistent with where I decide to give full question and answers rather than summaries here...

--

ITOU SETSUO [Mob]

On being asked how he approached voicing Mob during the audition, he says that he went for something flat as Mob doesn’t really inspire “main character” vibes in him.

He takes it as a compliment when he is told that he’s like Mob as a person.

Initially he didn’t think too much of himself in the role as Mob but after being told by co-stars just how well his voice and performance suit the character, he began to believe it too.

On being asked what’s so charming about Mob, Itou says his honesty, and that he doesn’t take a negative viewpoint. Brings up that when Mob is against a foe, rather than “are you my enemy?” he’ll ask “what are you doing here?”.

Itou’s favourite character is Teru, as he thinks the way Teru behaves with his powers originally is the most realistic in terms of standard human nature.

He says the same thing applies to Shou & Touichirou.

The fact that Mob is different is his strength; the fact that he doesn’t think of his powers as anything special. He gives credit to Reigen for Mob thinking this way about his powers.

“At first, Mob-kun suffered because of his powers. But then he meets shishou, who tells him that his powers are just one part of him - this is linked to why Mob-kun is so charming now.”

Mob considers “you shouldn’t use your powers against people” a given fact.

Itou originally found it difficult to know how far he should go adding emotion to Mob’s voice.

Since MP100 is the first show Itou has been a regular & leading part for, he wanted to be the first person in the recording booth for episode 1, and as a result ended up arriving 45 minutes early.

Asked about his favourite scenes from S1 & S2, he mentions the scene that’s stayed with him is when Mob first appears in S1E1.

Has a few scenes he mentions as favourites; he loves the whole Teru vs Mob fight, but especially when Teru is shouting while using his powers as he recalls the passion Matsuoka [Teru] had when recording it.

He mentions when Mob saves Ritsu in S1E8, also mentions that’s something they covered in the stage play, and that it makes him emotional thinking about it.

Says he loves the scene when Mob shouts “Shishou!” as Reigen is ‘killed’ by Sakurai in S1E11.

Mentions S2E1 as well. “Mob-kun doesn’t express his emotions much, but he does then. Showing his powers to another while crying. I remember being glad when I first read the script for episode 1 as it’s a scene I wanted to do. I think of it as the moment Mob-kun starts to change.”

When asked about the stage play, says he thinks the Mob he portrays in the stage play is slightly different to the one he portrays in the anime.

Asks the fans to please continue to watch over MP100 and Mob’s growth, and it would be good if we could all continue to support MP100 as much as we can, from a stage play angle as well.

SAKURAI TAKAHIRO [Reigen]

Sakurai says if he were to have powers he’d probably use them to commit wrongdoings with.

Asked on his impressions of Reigen, says he sees Reigen as an “unbalanced person”, but thought he was mysterious in season 1.

Thought of Reigen as a fraud and not a good person in S1, but with S2 we see his uchizura (private, more ‘real’ self) and real emotions, so his feelings re: Reigen changed from S1 to S2. “It was hard to know who he was, back in season 1.”

“So you felt pretty strongly that he was simply a fraud?” Sakurai; “Well, he lies to people, but at the same time he does actually put some work in (laughs). Clients go home feeling refreshed, so he definitely gives a good massage.”

Calls Reigen eloquent, and that the things that he says are sound. Calls him a good speaker. Brings up his speech to the “claw guys” (likely referencing S1E12). “He can be irresponsible, but he’s got a mysterious intelligence.”

Says that from the middle to the end of S2 there would be as many as 20-30 people in the studio.

Asked about his favourite episodes S1+S2 inclusive, says S2E1 and that the transition from the end of S1 to S2 is smooth with it. “A really fantastic episode”, “you can also see signs of Mob’s growth.”

“On that note, when Reigen hears that Mob got a girlfriend...” Sakurai; “It’s a shock (laughs). His mind goes blank. ‘There’s no way Mob managed to get a girlfriend,’ is what’s running through his mind. He doesn’t celebrate it. Actually, it’s an upsetting thing for him - since Mob would be all over her, Reigen’s business would end up in trouble (laughs).”

Sakurai describes the “Shishou and Deshi” relationship that Mob & Reigen originally have as something that’s quite fabricated and disregards a lot of truths.

“Reigen was an adult floating in limbo for some time, and starts a business in a calculating move. And it starts going well once he meets Mob in their chance encounter.”

“The nickname ‘Mob’ signifies him as a boy without a presence, and yet it’s from that point that Mob starts to grow, and something like a desire for recognition sprouts within him.” [TN: This appears to be implying that Reigen began the ‘Mob’ nickname.]

Sakurai considers Reigen arc 1) a story in which Mob's popularity skyrockets 2) a story in which we see a more raw side of Reigen and start to like him more.

On being asked if there’s any part of Reigen that he sees in himself, starts off with saying that he tends to give out advice to those younger than him (he’s in his 40s and implies he can’t compare himself to someone who’s young in their 20s). Then after knowing what’s running through Reigen’s head in S2; “I suppose we do overlap in one way or another.”

Sakurai says he was very much one of the “mob” (a nobody) in his 10s.

Finally, asked to give a message to fans; “I’d like to do a Season 3, so please continue to love Mob Psycho 100.”

OOTSUKA AKIO [Dimple]

Asked about his thoughts on MP100, Ootsuka says that the art style of the manga caught his eye - he thought it was fun that the anime doesn’t lose the style of the manga while making it more stylish.

Finds in modern manga, the trend is an ordinary kid will get powers by some chance & the adventure starts from there, but found it interesting that in MP100 Mob has had powers since he was tiny & the adventure begins after he comes crying to Reigen with “I don’t know what to do”.

Also enjoys how Mob isn’t exactly the “main character” type. Thinks that it’s a breath of fresh air in the shounen manga genre.

On being asked about Dimple’s charm, Ootsuka; “He’s bad, but you can’t hate him.”

Says that Dimple is ugly but that’s fun, since most of the time mascot characters are cute.

When asked what was running through his mind when preparing for the role of Dimple, he says “dishonesty, slyness.” Acting as if he’s smarter than people but he actually isn’t.

“Speaking of dishonest/sly adults, I feel Reigen is a different type.” Ootsuka; “I’d say Reigen is more dishonest/sly than Dimple... nah, actually they’re about the same. (Laughs)”

When asked if there was anything he finds difficult about playing Dimple, he says that with other acting jobs he finds it hard to play a character where he can’t connect, but “there’s a similar kind of guy to Dimple that lives inside me. So I just go, ‘oi, come out’ (laughs)”.

Says he thinks we all have a bit of Dimple in us.

Ootsuka is also the narrator in MP100. Said that originally he felt there was a difference in the way he played Dimple & the narrator, but that difference kind of became smaller.

He was told to no longer put on a voice that sounds similar to the person Dimple is possessing for season 2, which disappointed him as he wanted to put on a Mob-like voice for when Dimple possesses Mob in S2E4.

Discussion of how director didn’t like Hoshino’s [Serizawa] original takes as they were too silly. [TN: this is mentioned again by Inoue [Suzuki] and Hoshino [Serizawa] in this interview.]

He recalls bursting into laughter over Iwasaki Hiroshi’s performance as Ishiguro in S1E12.

“Reigen becomes able to see Dimple as well in the last bit of Season 1, so he gains another conversation partner.” Ootsuka; “Reigen and Dimple, they both view the other as unnecessary (laughs). So the back-and-forth they have with that in mind is pretty fun.”

Asked about his favourite scenes or episodes, he says the end of S1E3. Dimple’s “Great morning, isn’t it, partner?” line really stuck with him.

Compares Dimple to a dog by Mob’s side.

“Dimple has the kind of face that you just might want to slap (laughs).” Ootsuka; “Well, that’s why I was careful to not give him a too audacious manner of speaking.” Says the interesting thing about his line of work is really having to think about how to say lines.

Also voiced Dimple for the live action adaptation [TN: AKA Netflix ver]. Says it was fun but found it a massive shame that he wasn’t able to bounce lines off of anyone.

“I really didn’t do much in middle school. I was just a chuunibyou (laughs).”

When asked to give a message to MP100 fans, “You guys wanna see more, right? There’s still more to adapt, isn’t there ;) (laughs). So, we can make a sequel to S2 a reality if everyone works together. A ‘if you speak up, then your dreams might come true!’ vibe (laughs).”

He makes a sneaky reference to Broccoli Arc and wanting to see it animated.

IRINO MIYU  [Ritsu]

On being asked his initial thoughts on MP100, Irino states he originally thought it was a lighthearted jokey manga based on the art style and the way the story was introduced, so he was surprised as the story progressed.

States that Ritsu is a relatable character with the issues that he faces (eg wanting something that’s out of reach so hiding your want).

Asked about anything that was difficult to perform as Ritsu, he states his two-sided nature; his general honour-student self and the other side of him.

Says that when Ritsu enters into his darker side, rather than playing some kind of bad guy Ritsu is simply more frank with how he expresses himself. “He lets the emotions in his heart be heard one by one.”

Irino is asked if he personally admires Mob, to which he replies that he’s jealous of the fact that Mob is so unbeatable.

He says Ritsu must also have the experience of looking at Mob and thinking something like, “Compared to him, I’m just...”

States he himself, Ritsu, and just about anyone has likely yearned to become something overwhelming, but we don’t believe in our ability to achieve that.

Following this, interviewer comments that Mob carries feelings of unease in his heart even though he’s so unbeatable. Irino comments that something fun for him with MP100 is that Mob doesn’t really realise how unbeatable he is.

Something that Ritsu admires about his brother is that he doesn’t show off the fact that he’s unbeatable.

“Even with powers, there’s plenty of things you can’t do.” Irino; “Such as not being able to confess to the girl you like (laughs).”

“Seems like even if he abused his powers he’d still be able to turn heads.” Irino; “Because he’s charming - that’s something good about him. That’s why everyone loves him, and why he gives off main-character-of-a-shounen-manga vibes.”

Asked about his favourite scenes/episodes from seasons 1 & 2, Irino says around when Ritsu's powers are awakened in season 1. He found it interesting to watch how his heart becomes disturbed.

"He finally obtained the thing he'd been longing for, but everything around him that was once so calm gets thrown into disarray."

He also liked it when Ritsu stands atop the telephone pole in S1E7.

Speaking in terms of Power Rangers & character colour association, ever since he was a kid Irino has admired characters that are more blue or black rather than red.

Interviewer comments that Ritsu holds the ‘blue’ role in MP100.

After Mob & Ritsu reconcile, Irino states that he feels Ritsu has come to understand his brother more.

“How should I put it; Ritsu is overprotective, or there’s a side to him that’s too fussy over his big brother...” Irino; “but that kind of brotherly love is pleasant to see.”

“In Season 2, Ritsu and Shou go through a joint struggle.” Irino; “Shou’s father has tremendous powers, and he has one fear with that; he doesn’t know when his father will go on a rampage. Their circumstances are similar, in that sense.”

“Truth is, in parts MP100 is quite like your typical shounen manga.” Irino replies that there’s a bunch of great lines in the manga, and importance hidden within casual words.

Following this response he’s asked if there’s certain line(s) from MP100 that have stuck with him, to which Irino replies quite a few of Reigen’s. “During the last part of season 1 when he marches into Claw’s hideout, you get to hear a lot of his thoughts. It’s hard to tell if he’s being truthful with the things he says or if he’s lying, and on top of that he says quite a few important things. That unbalance is interesting.”

“The broadcast of season 2 has already come to an end...” Irino replies that he’d like the MP100 anime to continue and adapt the manga to the very end.

“I’m sure all the fans feel the same way.” Irino; “Everyone worked together as one to create the MP100 anime. For it to continue, we need your support; so please continue to give that to us.”

MATSUOKA YOSHITSUGU [Teru]

Asked his initial thoughts on MP100, Matsuoka says it was that it’s a piece that you can easily empathise with; regardless of if you’re in primary school, middle school, high school, an adult, an old man or woman...

Matsuoka thinks of the anime as something you watch and go, “I’ll try my best tomorrow, too.”

Matsuoka voices both Teru and Tokugawa in MP100. He was first offered the voice of Teru, and then it was decided he’d also voice Tokugawa.

It’s brought up that Tokugawa appears earlier in the show than Teru. “They’re two very different people, so in that sense performing both roles was easy. If they’d been similar characters I think there would be some confusion.”

Regarding Tokugawa, Matsuoka describes him as being quite firmly in the “student council” role with how strict and resolute his character is, in a way that Matsuoka himself very much isn’t.

Describes him as a cool-headed person, but given the way he interacts with Kamuro and is able to persuade him, says he has a hot-headed element to him as well. Matsuoka uses this as an example of how MP100 shows us the multifacetedness of human nature.

Regarding his other character, Teru; describes him as the personification of ‘chuunibyou’. “I think of him as the embodiment of the answer to the question, ‘if you had powers, what would you do?’”

One line he still remembers from S1 is Teru’s “Muscle training? Studying? That’s for ordinary people!” Matsuoka says that there’s a part of him that agreed with that line, and he says that if he were to get powers he’d likely be as conceited as Teru was.

States that Mob’s “From my perspective you’re just ordinary” line also stuck with him.

“From S1E5?” Matsuoka; “Yes - and then Teru replies, 'shut up!', and strangles Mob.” He says that he was really able to project his own emotions during this part and mix them with Teru’s own.

“People can’t change so easily” - Matsuoka says the things that Teru was saying to Mob, he was also saying to himself, like looking in a mirror. Uses this as an example of Teru’s own multifaceted nature.

Matsuoka says that the original Teru we see (who the interviewer describes as having a "poisonous nature" & putting on airs) is simply playing the role of what he considers to be an 'ideal' person, but then that comes away and we're left with the real Teru.

Interviewer makes a joke that Teru gets his personality trimmed along with his hair.

Is asked about Mob & Teru's rivalry, and says "No way, no way - there's no way they're /actually/ rivals." Says the power difference between Mob and Teru is way too big for that to actually be the case - "compared to Mob, Teru is ordinary."

Calls MP100 a work from which you realise "Everyone is a hero, and everyone is ordinary".

Asked on his opinion on MP100 season 2; says that there's more moments that get to you emotionally than season 1. Brings up S2E8 as an example (when Mob's house burns). "Say if that was actually Mob's family who burned in there... I think he'd destroy the world."

Asked about his favourite scenes from season 1 & 2, he says (as previously mentioned) the part where Mob says “From my perspective you’re just ordinary”. He also likes when Teru says to Onigawara, "it must be sad to be ordinary."

He likes the whole of S1E4, and calls Dimple a "famous-saying-production-machine".

Continuing on the topic of Dimple, interviewer says that Dimple is an ally, but teeters between good and evil. Matsuoka; “Setting aside his actions for a moment - the things that he says are essentially evil (laughs). He tries to tempt Mob and the other characters.”

He is asked if he has anything to say to fans of MP100. Matsuoka; “Season 2 is over, and now you’re holding this Character Guidebook in your hands. The fact that we’ve reached this point is thanks to the support of you all, the fans.” [...] “Season 2 brings an end to the grand fight between Shou and his father, but as those of you who’ve read the manga know, Mob Psycho 100 doesn’t end there. The giant broccoli is yet to come (laughs). I personally would like to do the whole of Broccoli Arc. As for when we can do that, I don’t know - I don’t even know if it’ll be possible to do it - but I’d like to believe that we’ll do it. I think that if you all believe in it too, then it’ll become reality.”

TACHIKAWA YUZURU [Director]

On being asked why he decided to work on MP100, Tachikawa; “Naturally, it was because of how charming the characters are.” There’s a lot of main characters who hold immense power, but Mob doesn’t want those powers, which is rare - this is why he finds Mob charming.

He compares and contrasts to Reigen - “[He] has no powers, but puts on a bold front and deceives people… well, that’s a misleading way to put it (laughs).” He thinks Mob and Reigen’s combo is amusing as a result.

He’s asked about MP100s character design, to which he describes Kameda drawing up a whole bunch of ideas. There’d be designs that were similar to ONE’s, and designs that made Mob a bit more handsome, “since at the time, if you looked at Mob Psycho 100 fan art on the internet, there were plenty of depictions of Mob being all sparkly and good-looking.”

“But looking at that, Kameda-kun and I decided we both wanted to go for something more akin to ONE-san’s art. When we showed ONE-san the rough sketches of the more handsome designs, he said ‘they’re attractive - I'm good with that’, but Kameda-kun and I replied ‘no, no - ONE-san, your art leaves more of an impression than this, so let’s go for something more like what you draw.’”

Tachikawa wanted to include the more ‘catchy’ kinds of stories in the anime. He brings up that Mob and Reigen dressing in women’s clothing and infiltrating the school happens in Volume 7 of the manga, but they decided to bring that to S1E2.

Asked about convos that happened with ONE regarding scenarios in the anime - Tachikawa mentions how in S1E11, there’s a segment where a younger Mob and Ritsu are lost in a forest. “I expressed to ONE-san that I’d like to witness why Mob respects Ritsu, to which he gave this idea.”

“In the manga, what Reigen did before he began S&S isn’t shown to us, but we get an implication of his past based on a line he says to do with businesses. I said the following to ONE-san; ‘An insurance salesman, or water marketing?’, to which ONE-san replied ‘water marketing.’”

Also mentions that Tsubomi coming to S&S in S2E8 wasn't something they adapted from the manga, but something ONE specifically created for the anime because Tachikawa expressed he wanted to see that kind of scenario, and then ONE added it as an omake to the manga. [TN: This is mentioned again here.]

He thinks he would have had the choice to handle both the screenplay and the series coordination but decided to ask Seko to handle Series Co-ordination instead.

He is in charge of the screenplay for S2E6-7 (Reigen arc). It was decided that Tachikawa would be in charge of storyboards for S2E7 before it was decided he’d handle the screenplay.

“Do you feel you have an emotional attachment to Reigen?” Tachikawa; “Yes, I do (laughs).” Calls him a character surrounded by mystery back in S1, and other than his courage and the occasional line that would resonate with Mob there’s a lot about him that’s unclear. “But with S2E6-7, we step into his uchizura (more private, “real” self). It’s interesting to see who a character appears to be on the outside, and their uchizura.”

Tachikawa finds stories in which someone falls to their lowest point and then recovers charming - thus, Tachikawa was charmed by S2E6-7 which depict Reigen’s fall and his subsequent recovery. Says that Ritsu and Teru also go through something similar (fall and recovery).

He loves when you can feel the humanity of characters. Says that when you show character development the charm of that character increases, and so does the popularity of the whole work. “I suppose it’s not just me who likes that, it’s all the fans, too”.

Makes a point of mentioning that all the characters have reached a turning point by the end of season 2, apart from Dimple.

Asked on his opinion of Mob, he says he relates to him and he was the type of kid in school to be in a position removed from everyone else. “He’s a character I really like, though I’m told by others that I’m ‘Reigen-ish’ (laughs).”

“I think there’s a few ways you could take ‘Reigen-ish’...” Tachikawa; “To put it another way, ‘shady’. Kameda-kun made that clear to me (laughs). As if I’m feigning friendliness.”

Tachikawa handled the rough layout of the illustration cover (Kameda finalised it). “It’s something I could imagine happening that wasn’t shown to us during S2E8. I thought to myself, it would be nice to show Dimple, Reigen and Ritsu working together for Mob’s sake. A theme of season 1 and 2 is Mob’s growth, so I thought the marathon episode would fit as a cover for this guidebook. As a result of his growth, he’s got people gathered around him…”

“I think Reigen would’ve run with them on the first day they trained together, but then he’d start using the bike instead. Since his muscles hurt (laughs).”

Asked to give a message to fans, he says that all the support from fans gave them a lot of energy throughout the production of seasons 1 & 2. Tells the fans to enjoy the OVA.

SEKO HIROSHI [Series Co-ordinator]

Asked on his thoughts of the MP100 manga, Seko; “it’s a work in which the characters are all charming. This is a misleading way to phrase it, but they’re a hopeless bunch; yet, the way ONE-san deals with them is very warm.”

“They’re not just characters, they’re much like us - nothing but human.”

Asked about how he wanted to deal with coordinating the series; “At the time of season 1 discussions, the most recent volume was around 9. I’d read up to that point and thought that if the anime is covering 12 episodes, then we should reach up to the fight with Claw’s seventh division in volume 6. My thought process from there was, ‘in what way can we make it so season 1 ends there?’, and with that I began.”

Asked if there was anything he fussed over, “making sure to not tar what makes the manga so charming. For example, when Mob reaches 100% for the first time in S1E3, that’s a highlight of the story, and I wanted to keep it that way.”

Reason for the movement of the high school infiltration from Vol 7 of the manga to S1E2 was to help build up to Mob’s 100% in S1E3.

The “student council” part of the manga spans S1E6-7 of the anime. The decision to condense it was due to the anime having only 12 episodes.

Reigen & Mob’s initial meeting being portrayed in S1 is brought up; “In a screenplay meeting with Tachikawa-san, we discussed depicting their initial meeting from Mob’s point of view, whereas in the manga it’s from Reigen’s. It comes up a little later in the manga but we thought it would be good to show their meeting in S1. And, if we ever got the chance to make a S2, we’d have the scene again much like it appears in the manga from Reigen’s perspective. So they wouldn’t be entirely the same scene.”

To being asked if there were any requests from ONE regarding the screenplay of the anime, Seko; “We had a discussion in which he said that while the final part of S1 has a serious atmosphere due to the fight, he didn’t want it to end that way. For that reason I proposed that we could end S1 with the tsuchinoko segment. I think ONE-san is uncomfortable when there’s nothing but seriousness.”

Seko says he had a feeling that they’d get a season 2. Much like season 1, he finished off season 2 in such that way as to give off the impression that there’s more to come.

“Did you struggle figuring out how to start S2E1?” Seko; “Regarding that, I’d already decided that if we were to make a S2 we’d start it off with Wriggle Wriggle.”

A deliberate choice was made to start off S2, and finish S2, with the broccoli (Mob receives the broccoli seeds at the start; broccoli becomes the giant broccoli at the end).

The interviewer describes an important part of S2 as being “hold your emotions dear to you”.

Seko; “Wriggle Wriggle is a pretty silly story, so I thought having a pleasant story after that would keep the balance. I think that balance between silly and serious is representative of what Mob Psycho 100 is.”

“Season 2 has one more episode than season 1, making it a total of 13 episodes. Could you tell us why?” Seko; “The original plan was 12 episodes. Had we kept to that, the scene in which Mob’s house burns would come at the end of part A of episode 8. But Warner Bros. producer Matsuda-san said, ‘I’d like that to come at the end of the episode.’ However, doing that would mean we’d have to give the battle with Claw that follows that a squeeze... so Matsuda-san said, ‘let’s go for 13 episodes then.’” [TN: This is mentioned again here.]

“Are there any scenes from S1 & S2 that you feel an emotional attachment to?” Seko says when Reigen is invincible in S1E12. “The scene in which he scolds the 7th division embodies what Mob Psycho 100 is all about.”

Says that in typical shounen manga the situation would be resolved with a fight but MP100 isn’t like that. “The things that Reigen says are completely justified, realistically. The things an evil organisation does are a crime; the clothes that they wear are weird... (Laughs)”

“Speaking of Reigen, a phrase of his that leaves an impression in S1E11 is, ‘When things get tough, it’s okay to run away!’” Seko; “In conventional shounen manga, there’s the belief that the protagonist shouldn’t run away, but with ‘it’s okay’, ONE-san’s personality shines through. Reigen is truly an intelligent person. The things he does are questionable, yet he has common sense that comes out at strange times.”

“You can’t sum up his character in a single word.” Seko; “I think he’s a respectable person, but he also cons people (laughs).” He enjoys the back and forth Reigen has with clients, and his stinginess and the way he edits ghost photos. “He’s both eloquent and skilled, which is unbearable (laughs). Despite that, he doesn’t rip people off with what he charges. You get the idea that he’s got some sense of ethics, which is calming.”

“He’s simply a difficult character to understand.” Seko; “Honestly, at first I couldn’t understand him at all. It was difficult to think of things that he might say when creating scenes that weren’t in the original manga. But when it became clear to me that he has morals, it all fell into place. I’ve forgotten when exactly this happened - it was at some point near the start or middle of season 1 - but I came to understand the kind of person Reigen is.”

Speaking about Mob, “He’s introverted, quiet and bad at socialising, but he has this immense power inside him... when you hear that, some other works will probably spring to mind, but when you read MP100 you realise this is different. Mob is Mob[.]”

“It’s interesting to see a character as powerful as he is work very hard at training his muscles.” Seko; “And his incentive for that is that he wants to be popular (laughs).”

Seko was in charge of the next episode previews (which Reigen would announce in a meta-ish way). He says that he ran out of ideas of what to end them with by season 2 so they start repeating a little.

Asked to give a message to fans, he says thank you for watching S2 and look forward to the OVA.

KAMEDA YOSHIMICHI [Character Designer]

Asked his thoughts on the MP100 manga, Kameda says he didn’t have much of a clue what direction the story would take upon finishing the second volume. “After Claw gets introduced the story takes on an action-like atmosphere so I thought it would carry on that way, but then the story starts digging deep into uchizuras. I was surprised at that. That’s a true-to-life middle school boy being depicted.”

Kameda says that he took on working on the MP100 anime after reaching the part of mob psycho that explores uchizuras. “The way I felt was, ‘I want us to make a season 2, so we can definitely animate this part. I’m doing season 1 for this purpose.’ (Laughs)”

“What were your first thoughts with the character design?” Kameda; “In the manga there aren’t really any illustrations that are coloured. Even the front covers of the volumes aren’t too expressive with how they use colour. The way lines are drawn is dependent on colour, so the first decision to be made was on that subject, while checking my choices with ONE-san. In the manga, Reigen’s tie is black. But in the anime Mob is painted all black, so I thought it’d be a bit too heavy to leave his tie that way. Reigen was the only one with a coloured illustration in which his hair is painted yellow, so based on that I tried creating a whole bunch of tie patterns - purple, green, blue, pink, etc. ONE-san wanted to go for a blue tie, but I thought that was too salary man-ish, and didn’t give off fraud vibes. The final decision was made based on a colour necktie that the average person wouldn’t buy - it would be pink, wouldn’t it.”

Asked if there was anything difficult after colours, he describes having difficulty trying to figure out how to convert ONE’s style to the screen. “It would’ve been interesting to leave his art as it was for the anime, but it seemed like it would’ve been very difficult to do so.”

Describes ONE’s talent as being the way he applies shadow, calling it very real.

Interviewer follows on this by asking anything else that marks ONE’s art as ONE’s, to which Kameda replies the shape of ears, and describes his struggle trying to replicate the way ONE draws them.

Kameda would correct the ears drawn by the other animators to try and match ONE’s style. Leading on from this the interviewer mentions hearing that Kameda would touch up any cuts that caught his eye. Kameda; “Around 10 cuts an episode.”

Calls Mezato a favourite character of his, to the extent that he volunteered to do the part that she appears in S2E13 (and did so).

Says that S1E5 was the only episode in S1 he didn’t touch, which Fujisawa Kenichi was animation director of. “The character design in that episode is a little different but I thought that episode would be better off with Fujisawa-san’s style.”

Kameda proposed the scene that happens at the start of S1S1 (Mob fighting the “evil apparitions”) by saying he wanted a depiction of a middle school boy fighting with his powers as our start, but he actually proposed it in anticipation of the kind of action we’d see in S2E5. [TN: I think it’s been a rumour for a while that the start scene is from Mogami arc and this sorta confirms that the line of thought there is correct]

The first episode in S2 that they started drawing production work for was S2E5.

When Kameda watched S2E5 what he was most surprised by was Part A of the episode (ie. Mob’s day to day life), rather than the action scenes. “The layout is good, as are the use of bugs as an expression device[.]”

Kameda speaks of S2E7 as a part of Mob Psycho 100 so important to him that if it didn’t exist he wouldn’t have chosen to work on MP100.

He fussed over the press conference and Reigen’s expression(s) when he talks to Mob by the river at the end of the episode.

Interviewer mentions that we don’t see Reigen’s face in the manga when Mob calls him a good person, so seeing it in the anime leaves an impression. Kameda; “we struggled with that cut, but we struggled with Reigen’s expression when he’s walking alongside the river more so. Originally his expression was hidden as he approached, but when the camera pulled in close you could see his face.”

We end up seeing his face the whole way through. Kameda calls Aoyama Hiroyuki (who animated the whole end segment) a “super(hero) animator”.

Kameda makes an edit to Reigen’s expression upon being told by Mob that he’s a good person, with respect to the expression Reigen pulls in the final volume, “when [he] lays bare his real emotions to Mob.” [TN: This appears to be implying Reigen was originally drawn with tears in his eyes that were removed to make sure that the scene in which Reigen finally cries maintains its impact.]

“The performance by Reigen’s VA, Sakurai-san, was amazing... and I loved Mob’s ‘By the way, Shishou. Happy birthday.’ Itou-kun’s way of speaking is so gentle... I can’t quite express the feeling properly, but hearing him say those words, I was brought close to tears.”

Kameda is asked if there’s anything that proved a lot of work, to which he says, “Hmm... there’s a lot of characters in MP100, aren’t there. (Laughs)”.

Describes that he designed ~90 characters for S1. “I thought I’d get to relax a little for S2, but in the end I ended up having to design around 90 more. (Laughs)”

“Some of the main character designs that were established in S1 changed a little for S2, didn’t they.” Kameda; “Ritsu changed a little with S2. In S1 he had a bit of antagonism toward Mob, so I had the hair that frames his face be a little longer to try and hide those emotions.”

“A character’s state of mind is something that can be expressed through their hair.” Says that Ritsu’s hair gets a refresh in the final part of S1 when he’s talking to Kamuro in the park, to represent that the “demon plaguing him is gone”.

He’s asked if there are any characters in the huge cast of MP100 that are memorable for him. He mentions Tarou and Hanako as two characters that were fun to draw as they set the trend for the other “guest characters” in the show.

Also says he likes Mitsuura as a character with high energy who was fun to pose, though he’s unpopular with the animators due to the patterns on his clothes being a pain.

“I’ve mentioned this here and there before, but I really love Shinra Banshoumaru. The reason why I was the animation director for S2E2 is because it’s his entry episode (laughs).”

“Why did you want to draw Shinra Banshoumaru so much?” Kameda; “Because he’s chubby!! The swell of his cheeks, his tummy, his large butt... I’m obsessed (laughs). I was so charmed, thinking, ‘I want to make him even bigger and move him around!’”

He’d do things like add extra belly sways to the storyboards. “I didn’t intend to go as far as I did, but I think I went overboard in a lot of ways (laughs).”

Asked to give a message to fans, Kameda; “I’m happy that you all continue to involve yourselves with Mob Psycho 100. Since we’ve come this far, I want to finish off animating what remains of the MP100 manga. A television season 3 - no, wait, perhaps even a film...? Please be sure to continue to support Mob Psycho 100.”

[TN: this marks the fourth mention of a MP100 film I’ve seen from Kameda, and also marks him as the only member of production staff interviewed in this book to explicitly state anything to do with season 3.]

ONE [Original Author]

He is asked how Mob Psycho 100 came to be. ONE; “I love psychic powers as a theme, so I thought to myself, in what way can I make the most of that theme? How can I add colour to it? Through that thought process, I incorporated puberty, stress, ‘being used’, complexes, unrequited love, ‘shishou’, lies, the dual nature that exists in many things, and so on… then, the protagonist; a passive, introverted person, but someone who is able to become the eye of a hurricane, someone who through the influence of their relationships changes, grows… it was with that foundation that I began developing the plot, and through that process I solidified the setting; this protagonist would have their heart burdened by a buildup of stress and the shift of their feelings, and after passing a certain boundary they’d explode, and their powers would run wild… I thought it would be nice if the manga was a little strange, with the buildup until the boundary crossover being shown to the reader via a numerical percentage value. Ideas for titles included things like, ‘Mob Psycho’, ‘Psycho Helmet’, and ‘Mob Psycho 100%’.”

He is asked to recall how he felt when the MP100 anime was confirmed. ONE; “I was delighted. A lot has happened in relation to Mob Psycho 100, but for me the anime has been the thing to make me the most happy.”

He is asked what he hoped for with the anime, to which he replies the happiness of the fans, and for MP100 to bring a smile to the faces of the staff working on the anime.

What he looked forward to was the way the voice actors and animators would approach the characters, and how they’d flesh out the MP100 world as a result.

“What kinds of conversations did you have with director Tachikawa?” ONE says he doesn’t really remember their initial conversation(s) but he knows that he told Tachikawa that he has the freedom to be as creative as he wants. “I didn’t want to be a nuisance.”

He recalls being told by series coordinator Seko that he may need to shift around a few of the chapters to make the story in the anime flow a little easier.

Asked his thoughts on Kameda’s character designs, ONE; “Amazing. I’d resigned myself to the fact that the characters would get an overhaul for the anime and become more handsome, but Mob has remained Mob, Reigen has remained Reigen. Their anime designs are charming. I was moved.”

He says he holds several pages of character designs drafts that Kameda drew up dear to him, and mentions that the Body Improvement Clubs designs were perfect from the get go.

ONE says that he feels blessed with the amazing voice actors giving depth to the characters, describing how when they’re given voices it feels like they’re alive, and regrets that he didn’t go to recording sessions more.

“How did you feel when season 2 was announced?” ONE: “Season 1 was amazing, so I expected there’d be a season 2.” Describes Tachikawa and Kameda’s hard work, to which he responded with his own. “It was around the time that I was ending the manga, so I buckled down to finish it.”

He looked forward to seeing how the anime would deal with adapting the more “drama” feel of season 2, with human emotions being explored.

He describes his process with writing problems and their solutions in MP100. “Mob & Reigen each have their own way of dealing with a problem, so I’d say, ‘this is how this problem would generally be dealt with’, and from there I’d explore different ways of solving that problem.”

“I let the characters start thinking for themselves - that kind of delusion awoke within me. Like, ‘Hey, Reigen, I’m going to sleep, so think it over for me.’ With that, it became easier to plan.”

He is asked his thoughts and feelings on the anime; he states he doesn’t really watch anime but was reminded of how interesting it can be, and the power of anime as simple entertainment. “I was able to recognise anew just how amazing the production team is. [...] I felt so grateful that they chose to work on Mob Psycho 100, devoting their precious time to really putting their all into the production work. It’s how I’ve felt with every episode. Right now I’ve watched up until the end of S2E5, but I’m already running out of tissues.”

He is asked anything that’s left an impression on him during the broadcast of MP100; “The amount of correspondence I’d receive from overseas Mob Psycho fans increased with the anime broadcast.” Says that it’s amazing that even with a translation foreign fans are able to laugh at the same things, be moved by the same things, etc.

Finally, he is asked to give a message to the fans who purchased the guidebook. ONE; “Thank you for always supporting Mob Psycho 100. The way I see the situation regarding Mob Psycho 100 as a work is as something that overlaps with Mob’s own development. Mob Psycho’s value as a piece of entertainment greatly increased with the powerful aid of the anime, and with everyone who offered a hand, gave their opinions and support, and reached out. I’d always thought to myself, ‘I want to create a manga that’s able to influence those who read it in some way, if only even a little,’ but as it turns out it’s Mob Psycho 100 that has become what it is now thanks to all of you. I’ve still got my eye on what Mob Psycho 100 will become in the future. Nothing would make me more happy than for all of you to continue enjoying Mob Psycho 100.“

--

Thank you for reading!

Posted on twitter here.

ONE & Director Tachikawa’s comments on the main five are here.

[gcldveined]

I got this reply in response to a post I made about loving Gwen, and I’m putting my own novel of a response in the tags. Here we go.

Actually, nothing you said about her is fair, and I’ll go into why. While Gwen is a character I hold very dearly, I need to preface this with the fact that I in no way see her as perfect (in fact, I’ll go deeply into why she isn’t), or better than any of the team. As anyone who knows me and my love of Torchwood can tell you, I’m arguably in love with every single member of the team evenly, and with Rhys as well. So I’ll try to hit all the points you brought up here.

The writing in the first 2 series —  Honestly, I’ll start with yes, the writing can be spotty and rough in points. It happens when you have so many different writers with differing views of what the relationships and characters are. For a non-Gwen example, take s1e12 Captain Jack Harkness - it was written by a woman who was fairly anti-Janto (a canon ship) and just wanted to see two soldiers kiss, by her own admission. So it took a very odd turn out of character for Jack to say “there’s no one” when asked if he had someone romantically involved with him. Owen’s development went back and forth from asshole to progress to asshole to progress again. Tosh got next to no attention outside of wanting love. They were all written in a bit of a shoddy manner in s1, when a show with many, many writers was just getting on its feet. Something of a sidebar, but important to note that the uneven writing does not apply solely to Gwen. Gwen being written as condescending and holier than thou - nope. I’m sorry, but no, that’s not what it was at all. Gwen was written as a point of humanity for Torchwood, which was desperately needed, as is evidenced as early as s1e2 Day One. Gwen was not a seasoned veteran of Torchwood, she was a woman who joined the police force because she wanted to help people. On top of dealing with the overwhelming nature of joining Torchwood itself, she first spoke up about morality, and humanity, (as was evidenced and clearly intended by the writers as they dubbed her The Heart of Torchwood) when she heard Carys sobbing in a cell because the poor girl was fighting with some murderous sex alien for control of her own body. Gwen was also written to be a vessel for audience projection, whether anyone likes it or not. And I believe it was necessary; if any of us were to react in any way but concern for someone in Carys’ situation, I’d question if there was something deeply wrong with us.

It was clear that nobody on the team had explained to her what was being done (Jack’s line about the computers running a bioscan on her makes that clear). It is only when he gets aggressive and defensive about it -

“Now, is that enough? Do you want more? Cos it gets kinda boring.”

- that she continues on about it.

“You've been hidden down here too long. Spending so much time with the alien stuff, you've lost what it means to be human.”

This line isn’t about being holier than thou, and it’s not about being condescending. It’s about the fact that she got caught up in the moment with them, laughing and relaxing and eating Chinese takeaway while a girl fought for control of her body and felt as though she was losing her mind in a dingy cell underground. It was a moment of shock at herself and a hope to find that same response in the others. And when they didn’t respond in kind, a realization about what they have done and how they have compartmentalized things in order to do the job before them. She doesn’t go on to build the background on Carys without prompting. She doesn’t go off on a sermon about how horrible they all are. Jack says:

“So remind us. Tell me what it means to be human in the twenty first century.”

and she does. She goes to pull up Carys’ life, as we all know, and in the end — Gwen was right. She was right in needing to keep Carys grounded, in a fight for control, though by the time they come to that conclusion it is too late and she has escaped. Later, she continues to argue with Jack about it, and they have a very sort of tense feeling between them through the rest of the episode. But then we get to the end, and Jack tells her —

“Do one thing for me. Don't let the job consume you. You have a life. Perspective. We need that.”

That’s a bit long winded for that one episode, but this is the foundation of what Gwen does for the team and who she is. Any one of us would be shocked entering Torchwood, finding what they do and how they handle it. Jack knew from the beginning what Gwen possessed — compassion and perspective — and wanted to use that. We see Gwen fall into the more callous and detached side of Torchwood to an extent over the course of the series, but we also see other characters come around to a more caring side.

It’s balance, it’s not condescension. Jack — her boss — told her to keep up with what she had been doing. I don’t know about you, but if I came up with an opinion — much less a controversial one — in my workplace, and my boss told me it was good and to hang on to it, I wouldn’t just drop it. I’d keep at it, like she was instructed to.

What the writers wanted vs. what they portrayed onscreen — We’re going a bit out of order here, but I think this one fits in well here. The writers wanted compassion, an emotional and steadying hand for Torchwood’s detachment, and an audience surrogate. And that is exactly what they gave us. Every show has an audience surrogate; Gwen was simply Torchwood’s. Jack created Torchwood Three to be different than Torchwood One, and especially if you listen to the audios, Torchwood One was extremely callous and detached. Gwen’s POV was essential to the Torchwood Jack wanted, to the Torchwood Jack never stopped working towards. The writers didn’t always handle everything well, but they knew what they wanted with Gwen, and they gave it to us.

Gwen’s infidelity with Owen and Jack — oh boy. This is a topic, because I know Gwen gets a ton of hate for it. Let’s preface this with: she was wrong. Gwen Cooper should never have cheated on Rhys, emotionally or physically. However, let’s explore this topic and how hating just Gwen for it and not Owen or Jack as well is misogynistic and wrong, full stop.

Here we go.

We’ll start with Owen. We’ve established I do not condone it, but I feel I understand her thinking in that, and I think it’s an important to delve into it a bit.

Gwen started Torchwood, as discussed, shocked by the detachment from humanity. She would later fall into that to an extent, as well, and I believe part of her affair with Owen was the beginning. She was stressed, overwhelmed, and scared in a job that demanded a lot from her in every way - physical, mental, moral, and emotional. She couldn’t speak to Rhys about it, since it was confidential. She needed someone to confide in about the stress of the job (as seen at the end of s1e6 Countrycide), and as seen throughout the series in Gwen’s mannerisms, playfulness, and affection, she’s very tactile, hence the physical aspect. But most importantly, it wasn’t emotional. Gwen was not looking for another love — even in her most brainless moments (which they all have), she couldn’t have believed that Owen wanted an emotional affair. Even from Day One, he says:

“I torture people in happy relationships.”

In Countrycide, he gives her this speech while they are inches from making out, about the incredible sex they would have together:

“Doesn't happen with him, does it? You're too familiar. Whereas you and me, we're not cozy at all. We'd be amazing. And that scares the shit out of you.”

Owen cared about sex, and being Owen and the carer he is (though he pretends not to be), allowed her to confide in him about the transition and stress of the job:

GWEN: “And I can't share [the things she sees in Torchwood] with anyone.” OWEN: “You can now.”

That was what Gwen was looking for. A confidante. The cheating was shitty, and the later action of telling Rhys and retconning him was shittier (imho, the writers REALLY fucked that one up, especially by never bringing it up again), but Gwen was not the only person doing shitty things. Owen knew she had a boyfriend. Even referenced him repeatedly in his efforts to seduce her. Canonically “tortures people in happy relationships”. The point of this particular ramble being this:

IF YOU HATE GWEN COOPER FOR CHEATING AND DO NOT HATE OWEN HARPER FOR BEING THE OTHER HALF OF IT, IT IS MISOGYNY. FULL STOP.

Full stop. No excuses. Owen did exactly as badly as Gwen did. They both fucked up. I adore Owen Harper with my whole soul, but you cannot excuse for him what you hate Gwen for. They did it together, knowingly. You cannot cherry pick who you bash for their grey morality.

And on to Jack.

My personal headcanons aside**, we have the same situation. Gwen was not the only one flirting. Gwen was not the only one with feelings. Take s2e1 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, for example. That scene in the cells, when he finds out she’s engaged to Rhys? That was him trying to seduce her (romantically more than physically). That was his poorly timed and awful attempt at making something out of it (Gwen also reciprocated in this scene. I don’t deny that.) To quote The Four Aces: “love is a many-splendored thing.” It’s complicated and rough, and Gwen had genuine feelings for Jack at the same time as she did Rhys. It’s not good. It’s bad. It’s immoral. It’s not ideal. Jack Harkness also had real, genuine, and complicated feelings for Gwen, too.

**I need to make a side note that I am not a Gwack shipper. My personal headcanons have Gwen’s initial crush on him fading by s1e4 Cyberwoman. I don’t enjoy the forced Gwack storyline, and it was dragged on endlessly, and I really kind of hated it. But we’re going by show canon. So the Gwack flirtation is a thing.**

So the point of this one is the same as the one before:

IF YOU HATE GWEN COOPER FOR FLIRTING AND DO NOT HATE JACK HARKNESS FOR BEING THE OTHER HALF OF IT, IT IS MISOGYNY. FULL STOP.

Full stop. No excuses. Jack was a willing, informed, and understanding participant in their flirtationship, despite her current and longstanding relationship with Rhys.

I’ll make one more point and then end this — it’s beautifully put in this post by @blipintiime​​, aka 1/3 of my heart, but here is this: every single member of Torchwood is morally damnable. Ianto Jones hid a murderous Cyberwoman in Torchwood Three, using the team and Jack to get her there. Owen Harper began the series by essentially drugging a couple for sex. Suzie Costello - well. Suzie. Toshiko Sato invaded each team member’s personal space, their thoughts, their most private recesses of their mind, for days, and then brought her alien girlfriend into Torchwood. Jack Harkness lied repeatedly and continuously to his team, murdered Ianto and Tosh’s girlfriends, killed when he didn’t need to, used an arguably sentient alien as bait, and a whole plethora of other things we won’t get into.

Torchwood is flawed, and that’s the point of the show. Each member is flawed in their own way, and has something brilliant to contribute. Hating Gwen for being the same is arguably misogynistic and unfounded. She is far from perfect. But she is not the fandom’s or anyone’s scapegoat.

Thanks for reading, stop blaming Gwen for things you pardon others for, goodbye.

[aviculor]

In S1E12 of The Good Place, one of Eleanor’s crimes on the huge display is that she used a fall scarecrow as a “passenger” to use the carpool lane. Bojack Horseman was referencing this!!

[supertagged]

S1E12: ”Faith”

CHARACTERS: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Roy Le Grange, Sue-Ann Le Grange, Layla Rourke

RELATIONSHIPS: Sam & Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Layla Rourke

ADDITIONAL TAGS: Electrocution, Sick!Dean, Doctors, Hospitalizations, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Dean Winchester-centric, Faith Healers, Reapers, Snark, Survivor’s Guilt, Dean Winchester Has Self-Worth Issues, Series Foreshadowing.

[wallmakerrelict]

'Shiro heals him by exposing him to quintessence which has been foreshadowed for seasons' HAS THIS BEEN FORESHADOWED? PLEASE TALK ABOUT THIS I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE

Well, “foreshadowed” may be a strong word, but there is definitely a precedent! In S1E12 Keith is injured in a fight with a druid, and is healed when a canister of quintessence spills on him. In S7E5 Macidus is revealed to be the druid Keith fought in S1, and he references their earlier fight. So even though it happened back in S1, they don’t want us to forget that it’s possible.

It’s hard for the writers to juggle so many plot threads, so there might not be a payoff for this in S8. But I sure hope there is! I think it could make for a really strong conclusion.

(referencing this post)

[ilikescully]

First 10 songs

thank you @forever-a-trier; here we go, 10 first songs that come up in the music player when in shuffle:

1. Manu Chao-Mano negra-mala vida

2. Blur-Girls and boys

3. David Duchovny- When the time comes (I really like his music :-) )

4. Pulp-Disco 2000

5. Chicane- Saltwater

6. Bazart - Chaos

7. One Republic - Love runs out

8. Beck - Loser

9. Claudine Longet-L’amour est blue (if you watch Gilmore Girls, she is referenced in S1e12 as the chick who shot the skier)

10. Jodie Reynolds - The Girl from King Marie

tagging @janetfuckingking an anyone else who wants to share