#ryou's confession scene

[tsukumoryou]

since i love you so much, die.

[natimiles]

Just let me adore you (Arthur)

Summary: You loved Mozart, and Mozart loved you. Arthur would just have to deal with it and not bother you again. But it’s easier said than done when you’re left alone on your own birthday.

Words: 1372

Tags: angst; unrequited love; hurt; no comfort; Arthur centric; Mozart is a bit of an asshole (sorry); no pronouns specified for reader.

Notes: I was re-reading some random parts from Living no Matsunaga-san and decided to write something for Ikevamp based on a scene there. I just realized Ryou and Levi kinda look alike. He is so precious; I loved him way more than Matsunaga.

I also listened to “Adore You” by Harry Styles, and now I see the lyrics from a whole different perspective. And the title for the fic comes from the song.

It wasn’t fair.

You deserved so much better. You deserved to be treated like royalty, to be loved, to be taken care of. He had to ensure you were always smiling, always happy, never crying.

However, that’s not what happened.

Arthur could barely restrain himself seeing the tears streaming down your face. How many times has it been now? How many more are you gonna endure? He only made you cry. Mozart only made you cry.

The writer can’t remember when or why he fell for you; he only recalls losing his chance. He remembers talking to Theo, who encouraged him to take action quickly. With half of the mansion having developed feelings for you, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone else confessed.

He was gonna buy you flowers and a nice gift, confess, ask you out properly, and kiss you by the end of the date if he was lucky enough. But before he could finish his lunch to go to town, you and Mozart entered the dining room. 

The scene still haunts him.

Your emotionally overwhelmed face, the bright smile, the flushed cheeks… your hand holding his arm, and he smiling at you. Cutlery fell from hands, drinks were spilled, and he’s pretty sure he heard Isaac gasp and stop breathing by his side. You happily announced you were together, and the romantic music everybody was listening to that morning suddenly made sense. You were so happy. He just congratulated you, along with everyone else, and tried to move on. 

Way easier said than done.

He ended up confessing to you the first time he saw you in tears, going against all his principles of never hitting on a compromised person — much less one in such a vulnerable state! Yet, he did it. He poured his heart out, saying he loved and cherished you, that he would never make you cry. He would never choose his work over you, even if his work was so important to him.

Arthur apologized some time later; he didn’t want to give the impression he was trying to take advantage of your fragile moments. So, he waited for things to calm down and confessed again.

You kindly turned him down both times, and he accepted it with a sad smile and a broken heart. Your heart didn’t belong to him; it belonged to the musician. You loved Mozart, and Mozart loved you — despite not being good at showing it, apparently. He’d just have to deal with it and not bother you with this again.

However, there was so much he could take.

He is leaving the mansion when he sees you standing just outside the door, with a lost gaze, tears streaming down your face. He holds you by the shoulders before he thinks better of his actions, but you don’t seem to mind it. You look at him with the saddest expression he’s ever seen on your face, and he knows.

He doesn’t ask what happened; he doesn’t have to. He simply turns you around and guides you by the shoulders back inside the mansion. He takes you to your room and sits you on your bed, observing how you quietly comply.

“I’ll be right back, okay, luv?” he speaks softly, and you just nod once, your gaze lingering on the floor.

He goes to the kitchen, prepares your favorite tea, and brews some coffee for himself. He considers getting something for you to eat too, but you probably don't want to. He arranges two mugs on the tray and returns to your room. You're in the exact same spot and in the exact same state as he left you, and it hurts him to see you so... numb.

He places the tray on your nightstand and goes to your en suite to grab a towel. Sitting down beside you, he reaches for your face, placing his finger under your chin and lifting it slightly to get a better look at you. Silently, he gently passes the towel over your wet cheeks.

"Try to warm up a little now, won’t you?” He offers you the tea, closing your hands around the mug and holding them in place with his own for a moment longer. “It’s your favorite.”

You just nod again, not really in the mood for talking — and you’re not even sure you’ll be able to say something without crying again. He grabs his mug, and you two drink silently, appreciating your own beverages.

"You… won’t ask?" you inquire after some time. Your voice is so low that he thinks he wouldn’t hear you if he weren’t a vampire with great hearing. It cracks another part of his heart open.

Arthur shakes his head and takes your empty mug back, putting it on the tray with his. “I don’t have to,” he says softly.

He wants to, though. A dark part of him would like to hear you dissing Mozart; perhaps you’d realize that he could be better than the musician — he would certainly try to.

Mozart went out early and hasn’t come back yet, probably too busy with the new concert he is working on. Usually, Arthur would find his hard work relatable; he got too invested in his writing too, losing night after night of sleep sometimes. However, it was your birthday today. Your lover set a birthday date with you and left you standing outside the mansion because of work.

“I wouldn’t do it,” he blurts out in a whisper, completing his thoughts aloud. “If you chose me, I’d never make you cry.”

“Arthur…”

“I want to make you happy. I need you to be.” He reaches for you, cradling your face with a gentle touch. He smiles, but it’s sad and broken, and it doesn’t reach his sorrowful gaze. “You don’t have to love me back… But I love you so much, I can’t take it anymore.”

You’re taken aback. Your breath catches in your throat, your tears drying almost instantly, and a cold shock passes through your whole body. After two confessions, you thought you’d be used to him professing his love. But this… This is so much more. You’ve never seen him this vulnerable before. You can practically see him offering his heart on his hands for you. 

“What…” you attempt to speak, but your words falter, lost in the whirlwind of emotions.

Only then does Arthur realize what he just said, widening his eyes. He lets his hands fall limp into his lap, sighing and averting his gaze while mentally cursing himself. He was supposed to be smart, so why does he often act like a fool in front of you? Love really messes with one’s mind.

He closes his eyes and runs his hand through his hair, obviously nervous. He grasps his bangs, tightening his grip in an attempt to stop himself from being an idiot and start acting like a proper man.

“Sorry. This burden is the last thing you need right now,” he mutters, his voice the weakest you’ve ever heard from him. Arthur takes a deep breath and stands up. “But if you… If you need something, you can always call me.” He takes the empty tray and heads to the door, but then he seems to remember something and turns back to you again, forcing a better smile. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

His expression falters the moment he closes the door behind him. Arthur heads straight to his own bedroom, not even bothering to bring the tray to the kitchen; he can do it later. Right now, he just needs to lie down and hope the earth swallows him whole before he embarrasses himself again.

He needs to stop it, he knows that. How is he supposed to control his heart, though? He tried to drown this feeling with different people in town, but he always ended up not wanting to spend the night with them. They weren’t you.

He places the tray on his coffee table and flops down on his bed, covering his eyes with his arm. He feels his blazer getting wet just a few seconds later and lets out a shaky sigh.

It’s going to be another long, lonely evening.

Masterlists

[rosalind-hawkins]

Euroshipping Musings

Footnotes are below the cut because my parentheses were starting to look ridiculous.

I have this headcanon/recurring trope in my fics(1) of Ryou being Mokuba's not-babysitter. I've figured out where this came from. When Mokuba gets his soul back in Pegasus' castle, Ryou is the one holding him when he wakes up, and I guess I always imagined our Baby Kaiba imprints on Ryou like a duckling. Kaiba doesn't want his brother spending so much time alone only with KC employees or household staff, but Mokuba's a little old for a babysitter(2). Kids his own age aren't too much of an option for one reason or other(3) and most of the dweeb patrol are insufferable to Kaiba, but Ryou is one that's never once tried to lecture him or expressly criticized him, so Kaiba picks him as a companion/caretaker for Mokuba. Ryou thinks of it as being a nanny, but would never use that word around either Kaiba.

Ryou starts spending a lot of time at the Kaiba Mansion, and since he reports directly to Kaiba, he gets a peek at his more personal side, and all of his bad habits: insomnia, caffeine addiction, workaholism. He starts out by doing little things for him, like sneakily switching out his coffee for decaf in the evenings. The more comfortable he gets with Kaiba (who acts unexpectedly chill when he's not in a combative situation and feeling threatened), and this comfort results in him actually scolding Kaiba for his bad habits, trying to correct them and save him from himself. In his mind, he's taking care of both Kaibas now.

Seto starts to really take notice of Ryou a little while after this starts, and he tries asking him why Ryou is doing these thigs for him. It's not part of his job. He gets to the heart of the issue and asks why Ryou is acting like he cares, and Ryou says it's because he does care. Seto just asks why(4) and Ryou struggles to explain. Confessions for these two are never easy or smooth, it takes a little awkwardness and discomfort to be completely honest about feelings and say what they're really trying to say. Kaiba doesn't necessarily reciprocate right away, not externally, but they do get together because Ryou is a calming, caring presence in a home that didn't see a lot of that for a long time, and because Seto realizes how nice it can be to let yourself be cared for, and that he'd miss Ryou if he ever left.

It's not a fiery passionate love (though they do grow into the passionate stuff) but it starts out as something very domestic, very simple. It's two hurt people recognizing each other and approaching with caution and care, and finding a way to fit into each other's lives. Learning how to lean on each other, just a little bit at a time, until one day they wake up and realize they can't imagine a life without the other person there. It's Seto realizing how cold his life would be without giving Ryou's bedhead a goodbye kiss in the morning and the scent of his tea in his office and a lint-roller full of long white hairs dusted off his suits sitting on the bathroom counter. It's Ryou realizing that he's found a new family for himself and how dear it is to him, and how he hopes this never ends because he found a place where he feels safe and loved and doesn't know if he could do this all over again.

My very first Euroshipping story(5) was based around this whole idea of Ryou babysitting Mokuba, and it just snuck its way into my other stories too.

I even put this trope in Rock Bottom where Ryou is Mokuba's babysitter, though the circumstances there are wildly different

or not, I play with the age difference for the Kaibros sometimes

either Mokuba is homeschooled, or he's just as suspicious of friendship as his older brother is, or he just gets into fights at school anytime people talk shit about his big bro (that's another trope of mine), so true friends are a little hard to come by

I swear I have three different scenes for two different fics (one is a deleted scene) of someone confessing their feelings to Kaiba and him asking them why because this boy can't understand why someone would like him on a personal level. It comes with the territory of being generally bad at emotions; it also comes with the territory of every version of Kaiba I write being traumatized to some degree, but that's gonna get its own post.

That fic is only posted on FFN, where all my oldest stuff is. I didn't think it was good enough to cross-post to AO3.

[wotcherangie]

I loved Tokyo Mew Mew New. It gave us Lettuce slowly falling in love with Ryou, step by step. It gave us them going on a date together, believing in each other, smiling for each other. It gave us a beautiful confession and a real "maybe ever after", you know? It gave me so many pretty gif sets to look at, that scene with her Mew Aqua which is my new favorite Ryouttuce scene, and it inspired so much new ryouttuce art! Ignoring the people who were random toxic at us ryouttuce shippers, Tokyo Mew Mew New fed me well! Thank tou for all your posts and your arts!

Aw, dear Anon you're so sweet! I quote everything you just said: the fact that I was disappointed in how the writing went in the finale in general and both for Ryoutasu and Pietasu fans (nope, a single scene with no development is not enough), doesn't mean I am not super happy for all we got.

As you said, as Retasu fans we were fed so well (her chara arc is one of the best in New) and as Ryotasu shippers we got so much stuff to look up to, so many tender and also bittersweet moments, missing moments too, not only her falling for him - not a love at first sight but something deeper, that grew slowly when he shown kindness and his sweet and caring side to her - but him also growing more affection towards her.

And finally, as you said, her Mew Aqua scene is one of my fav and it gave us one of the best Ryoutasu moment EVER (the gif here below will express what I mean better).

p.s. do not worry, the positive attitude of most fans is the best medicine towards the toxicity of few, sadly every fandom has its toxic side, just ignora that!

[enquiringangel]

Ooh, could I get a DVD commentary on Sacrilege?

You most certainly can!

From this meme here. The fic in question is here.

Sacrilege

The idea for this one was born from the single image of David and Michael doing the nasty in a church. This in turn was, at least subliminally, inspired by a scene in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime where Ryou Bakura is trying to escape from the evil spirit that frequently possesses him by running into a church. In that scene the church utterly fails to offer him protection just as it does here.

The last time Michael had set foot in a church was for his grandmother’s funeral years before. He’d been eleven. 

This is based on a throwaway line by Lucy where she says her mom died eight years ago. As Michael is meant to be going into his senior year after the events of the summer, he's eighteen. Also from dialogue in deleted scenes trips to visit Santa Carla may have happened while he was a kid, but the Emerson kids and Grandpa are very much strangers to one another.

Michael is by his own admission not even a religious person and neither am I, though faith as a topic fascinates me. There are a few pieces of imagery I put in like Michael turning away from the cross and the 'sad-faced saint' that are meant to reflect this and the futility of the whole endeavour.

David's shadow covering up the altar was maybe a little heavy-handed of me, but the devil in folklore (who is not quite the same figure as Satan) is usually depicted as the Man in Black. In Robert Eggers' movie The Witch, he also appears wearing spurs, so the detail of David's spurs jangling was one I had to include.

His mouth was curled in a faint smirk—Caught you, again those lips seemed to say—but the look in his eyes was one of bitter disappointment.  

David wants Michael, but it's not enough to have him. He wants Michael to want to be there, of his own volition (because the devil doesn't just take souls, you have to surrender them to him) which in this AU where I imply the vampires won and killed his family, is not something that is likely to happen. They are, as my tags warn, in a deeply dysfunctional relationship.

“You know,” David began conversationally as he plucked a cigarette from behind his ear and lit it. “My folks were Catholic. Went to mass every Sunday, confessed away their many sins. Never did either of them a blind bit of good. Or me.[...]"

This is venturing into entirely made-up headcanon backstory stuff. I pictured that David's grandparents were Irish immigrants fleeing the Potato Famine by coming to America. You will note that while he says his parents were Catholic, he doesn't consider himself to have been so. This is also for backstory reasons that David was largely on his own from a young age and was too focused on surviving to bother about going to church. (Unless it was to steal money from the collection plate.)

The discussion about the church's ineffectiveness at keeping vampires out is a bit of worldbuilding based on a few things. My assumption is that it is the power of faith that gives holy items their sting, rather than Christianity having some special claim to vanquishing evil. But also on a vaguely remembered piece of apocrypha to the effect of 'no building of wood or stone' being necessary to house god because god is everywhere (I cannot for the life of me remember where this comes from and google is failing me). But it's also inspired by the demon BlueFangs in Netflix's Castlevania adaptation, who taunts the corrupt bishop by saying: "God is not here. This is an empty box." (cw: gore)

My cw against misrepresentation of religion is for the discussion of Wicca, where David and Michael assume all Wiccans are women and that they always practice their religion naked. Neither is true, but they are (mentally at least) teenage boys content to indulge in the fiction of conventionally attractive white ladies dancing around ritual bonfires in the nude. Plus it's the 80s and Wicca is an 'alternative religion' and not something most people are likely to be well-informed about unless they have either researched it or dabbled.

The lead up to their coupling is violent with Michael actually maiming David by tearing a lump out of his throat, because I feel like this is how vampires roll, especially if they can heal very quickly. I don't subscribe to the trope that vampire bites feel pleasant per se, at least not to humans. It's more a case of "Hmm, how kinky are you".

Which in Michael's case here, is very.

And of course the closing image is David mocking the very idea of a god who could keep him from Michael.

[kaiwithastar]

Thinking about Koyuki and Ryou again and how Ryou tries so hard to hide the side of her that’s feminine and likes cute stuff and everything but Koyuki sees through her facade and knows how cute she really is and sees her for who she is and I’m hoping that as they get to know each other more she starts to be more open about her likes and her real self with him and she doesn’t have to pretend to be someone she’s not anymore and she wore a skirt for the first time just got and confess to him cus she wanted to be cute and I just have many Ryouyuki thoughts (Ryouyuki? KoRyou? Do they even have a ship name yet??)

ALSO I can’t stop thinking about that one scene in Tokyo Winter Session. Why is she running there so desperately, what happened to lead to that?? From the lyrics of Renai Joujyuu I assume that she’s been working up the courage to confess to him and that’s when she decides to do it but what I wanna know is what leads up to that decision to confess in that moment? Part of me wonders whether it’s cus she found out that Koyuki used to like Natsuki who is also at that party? (Still confused about whether that was like.. a coming of age party?? or Natsuki & Yuu’s wedding reception??? they were never clear on that in the MV maybe it’s in the novels) ANYWAY HANIWA I NEED ANSWERS

[bellarkeandclintashaandsuch]

I don’t know how to feel about The Luminous Solution. I’m a sucker for best friends to lovers, so I was never going to be happy with Ryou and Mai. I still like Mai’s character and I love the actor and loved him in MoD. But also, his mom looks like she desperately wants him to go with them wherever they’re moving to, so I feel bad.

But I do feel like it was unnecessary to make Nack into a villain (I guess that’s an extreme way to put it). He was just a sweet kid who wanted to take care of his friend, and I feel like Ryou and Dena would know if he weren’t a good person. He doesn’t need to be a worse person than Mai to still be rejected. But I guess unnecessary drama is what the whole show is about.

And it’s about this magic cafe and wishes, but I feel like the exact outcomes and consequences of the wishes aren’t clear, to me at least. And how will they wrap everything up in one episode? They didn’t even cover everything with the magic shop lady’s kid in present day yet.

I started out sympathizing with Thana, but now I think he’s just a moron. He literally spent an entire day with that other guy instead of his boyfriend because he was lying about not having a job all while boohooing that they don’t have any time together. Even if he didn’t want to confess, he could’ve stayed away for an hour or two, and then come back and said he was done because it was a SATURDAY. But instead, he stayed out until dark! And then he kept smoking even after promising to stop. And I know he wasn’t oblivious to the kid’s crush on him. They were holding hands while he blew smoke into his mouth! He’s so stupid. Gun crushed those heartbreaking scenes though.

So far Pen is my favorite. But does she ever rest? She tells Phathit to rest all the time, but she’s always at work too!

Also why did Naphat look like he was surprised Phathit rejected him?

And what was the key that Pen gave to Phathit? It looked like the magic keys. Maybe I watched these episodes too quickly and too close together. I thought 6 episodes was a good thing to keep the story tight. But they they didn’t even start making wishes until what, end of episode 3? I’m so confused.

[thefangirlrant]

Now that the end is near (I’ll touch on my feelings about that in a moment), I thought I’d look over this list I compiled before the season started, and see how much this season lived up to my expectations (or didn’t).

1. Parents. Well, obviously we got Ichigo’s parents, who have been fantastic in every scene they’ve appeared in, and I love that they got Saki (Ichigo’s original voice actress) and her actual husband to voice them. We also got BuLing’s parents backstory of how they met, not much of an explanation for how/why her mom died (again), but we did get a better reason for her dad not being around, he’s actually “working hard” to support his family (he’s not just a good for nothing father who left his kids to be a Pokemon master). And we also got BuLing’s prior voice actress to be the New BuLing’s mom! Then we got Ryou’s parents, who are adorable, and thankfully we didn’t get that awful manga scene with his mom running back into the burning house (like, is your son not important enough to live for?), they were already in the house, and she was unfortunately on the side of the debris that did not have an exit (RIP Mrs Shirogane). And Ryou’s old VA returned to be his father! I literally screamed when I heard his voice, I knew it was him instantly! 😭 And that’s all we got for parents 😒 Each girl got her own episode this season, but could we include Lettuce or Zakuro’s parents (I’ll excuse Mint’s since her brother seems to be filling their role in her life) and get to hear their old actresses cameo? Nope, apparently not. Lettuce literally goes on what is (at least to anyone on the outside looking) a date with an actual boy, her parents make no comment, not even an appearance. Disappointing.

2. Well, like I said, each girl got their own episode (and Ryou got a half a$$ed half episode), and while it did help develop their characters, only BuLing’s really provided any back story. I feel like New has given Minto a lot of growth, development and depth, but some of the others are being short sticked (again). Lettuce got some nice development, she actually got to confess her feelings, and got rejected, and handled it well enough that she can still be around Ryou without it being awkward (way to Lettuce!). BuLing has gotten about the same amount she got in the Old series. Zakuro is once again being snubbed 😒 No backstory, no family, just some weird rivalry with a photographer/director. One episode a piece was not good enough, in my opinion.

3. This is probably the most disappointing aspect of this new series. We went to all the trouble to include that first walking Ichigo home scene, to then NOT include the follow up scene where Ryou apologizes?!? What?!?!?!?! How you going to snub my boy’s character growth like that? 😡 Now he just looks like an A-hole who called her his ultimate weapon and never realized the error of his ways. This literally killed the season for me. I had such high hopes after season one, and this ruined it for me.

4. And yet, somehow we got a birthday episode? I know it wasn’t any of the main characters, but it was BuLing’s siblings, and it ended with a musical number! Complete with Ryou playing the drums 😆🥳 Honestly, I thought this was the most unlikely thing to happen of all my expectations, but here we are.

5. Considering we have only 3 episodes left, and Deep Blue has already made his grand entrance, I think it’s safe to say, they did NOT take their time with this season! Good gosh, this season has felt so rushed! Like, they literally sat down and said, “Let’s cram all three remaining Mew Aquas in this season, and have a three episode finale with Deep Blue!” Okay… yeah, let’s just never mind everything else that happens in between all that, and we don’t need to give anymore characters their deserved development…. I’ve not been happy with this season. They were off to a good start by giving each girl their own episode, but then they just said, ok enough development, time to wrap this up and end the series. So much missed potential. 😞

Season 2 is less than 24 hours away!

Before the premiere, I wanted to quickly jot down (in no particular order) some things I hope to see in this new season.

1: Parents. The whole time rewatching season 1, I kept thinking, “where are these kids’ parents?” 😆 Even when Ichigo is taken to Aoyama’s house as a cat, his parents are no where to be found. Mint and Ichigo at least mention their parents, but we never see them. Now, we do have confirmation that Ichigo’s parents will make an appearance in the first episode (about time!), but I really want them to explore the other girls’ parent situations.

2: More backstory for the other girls. We’ve gotten some for Mint already (but I won’t say no to more), and Pudding has at least had her siblings introduced early on, but we have virtually nothing for Lettuce and Zakuro. Those two were snubbed in the manga and OG anime too, so I really hope they don’t get the shorter end of the stick yet again. Give us Lettuce’s brother! Seiji got to be a prominent side character, why can’t Uri?

3: I want the follow up to the IchiRyou scene in episode 2!

Ryou has to walk her home (for whatever reason, it doesn’t really matter why), and he has to apologize, it was such a huge moment for his character development in the manga, and if they throw it out, I’m going to riot (ok , maybe not riot, but I will be very upset, and this version will lose points for me)!

4: I want a birthday episode. I know that’s really random, but I just want it 😆 Since this seems to start at the beginning of the school year (so like mid April in Japan), Ichigo’s birthday is out, and probably Lettuce too. The next birthday would be Ryou in June, which I think would be hilarious, because he totally seems like the kind of person that would like to ignore his birthday, and it would be funny to see the girls (and Keiichiro) make him celebrate it! 😆

That’s assuming we didn’t pass his birthday (because season 1 does seem to end around June, given the rain, and the fact the Mint only has a couple days to decide if she’s going to an American school), in which case, the next birthday would be Pudding. That could be a lot of fun!

5: More original episodes that help expand the story and develop all the characters better. In other words, I don’t them to try to finish off the series in this season, I want them to take their time, then they can wrap things up in a third season. There was so much build up to Mint using the Mew Aqua rod, that I feel it would be too fast paced if the other three all used the rod in the same season. The mid season climax can be Lettuce using the Mew Aqua rod, and then the season finale can be Pudding using it; season 3’s mid season climax can be Zakuro using the rod, and the finale would obviously be the fight with Deep Blue. Then we can have a season 4, where Berry actually gets introduced properly, and the story isn’t a rushed mess 😅 Maybe we can get a movie adaptation of the PS game and see Ringo animated. And then we can end the series with an expanded ReTurn; and since we start the series with them all (except Pudding) in high school, we can end the series with them graduating, and Ichigo and Aoyama actually getting married. In fact, I hope they don’t end the first series with the mock wedding, because I feel like an actual wedding would be a much better pay off (as much as it will hurt Ryou’s little heart 😭)

[beans-and-shet]

One of my favorite changes was Aoyama being the one to cover up Ichigo's ears with the little cloth. It's so good. Aoyama being silly enough to use the excuse that it's "to protect her from the rain," and Ichigo being silly enough not to notice how visible her ears were.

They're both so silly together but so earnest in their feelings. I swear to Deep Blue, I love them so much.

I feel you anon. I think it makes sense cause we already saw Masaya changing topic with Ichigo in episode 9 when she was struggling to come up with an excuse for why she disappeared. And also in episode 7, he quickly changed tune and indirectly reassured her that he didn’t know her identity. He is aware of her secret and worries she’ll leave if she realizes he knows before she’s ready to tell him. So he’s doing whatever he can to keep her feeling comfortable around him.

At the same time, I do miss him apologizing for making her uncomfortable and saying he would leave after she ran away from him to hide her cat ears in the manga. To anyone that says Masaya is toxic, I’d like to point them to that scene. He confessed to the only person he felt genuine love for and he was about to walk away because more than anything he didn’t want to upset her. Bro can be intense at times (which makes sense for his character imo), but never toxic. He puts Ichigo’s feelings first, and if she ever expresses discomfort with him, he’ll back off or apologize quickly. That’s also why I believe he didn’t chase after her when he got jealous of Ryou and tightly hugged her, cause he thought he made her uncomfortable and didn’t want to make the situation worse (plus he was probably all up in his head/upset with himself that he behaved in such a way that made her run off in the first place).

So yeah, I can see why this change was made and I do find it quite cute, but there is also a part of me that wishes the other portion of that scene was kept in cause it highlights Masaya’s respect and consideration for Ichigo. We get other examples of this in New, but I still always really liked that particular detail from the manga since it occurred after Masaya fully realized his feelings.

You are so right tho, their feelings are so earnest and sweet. I keep going back to look at the main side view shot of their hug cause it’s so gorgeous.

[melancholyjones]

TMMN ep1 thoughts

overall I loved it!!

the OP & ED pay homage to the og anime’s OP/ED! (I nearly cried when they sang “[it’s] showtime again!”)

that, combined w/ the fast pacing has me thinking new might be more for  fans of the og series than for new audiences - we learn masaya’s name & basic personality b4 even hearing ichigo’s name, as if we’re expected to already know her. just overall it was a very busy ep, but not much actually happened til the last 10ish mins. they really rushed thru laying the groundwork

that said i do really like the changes they made re: mint already being a mew. i really really hope they give her an arc about coping with being the 1st mew but not the team leader

it’s interesting that the girls were deliberately chosen this time round, unlike the manga or og anime where it was coincidence/fate that they all happened to be at the exhibit. hope it’s explained how/why they specifically were picked & by whom

another reason i love mint already being a mew - SHE & RYOU HAVE BANTER!! they’re besties! genuinely my fav part of the post-fight scene, pls let them continue to be snarky & judgmental together

i truly truly adore the new voice cast! tenma & hinata bring so much personality to ichigo & minto! in particular i love tenma’s voice cracks & hinata’s v clear, crisp tone (i dunno how to phrase it, something about her delivery just reads as confident & direct w/o sounding stiff or mean). i loved them + juni as retasu from day 1 (can’t wait for next ep!). toda & ishii took some time to grow on me but they’re perf too! all of them just express their characters’ energies so well -  props to the voice director! 

haven’t paid as much attention to the boys’ va’s, but i do like this masaya so far - he’s a lot more reserved & low energy than the og series, which i think works better for the character. i think a subtlely flat/detached affect suits him & helps w/ foreshadowing 

also, am I reading to much into it, or did his initial reaction to ichigo confessing she doesn’t actually know about animal conservation seem like subtle withdrawal/shut down - up til she starts asking him more about it? like, he was excited to’ve met someone he thought gets it, but when it turns out (from his pov) ichigo’s just like every1 else, he immediately puts the mask back on all the way. it’s once she starts trying to learn more & engage w/ the topic sincerely that he starts to open up again. but it all happens v quickly in just a minute change of facial expression. i dunno maybe i’m reaching

speaking of ichigo, SHE’S SUCH A TEEN I LOVE HER. having no clue what she wants to do when she grows up & deciding ‘fuck it, focus on the present’, learning about some great injustice in the world & immediately forming a hard opinion about it, seeing her crush get attacked by a monster & her 1st instinct is to throw a rock she can barely lift & tell it to fuck off, getting in a car w/ strange men, realizing only once she’s in the vehicle & has no clue where they’re going that maybe she’s in danger & THEN POUTING & STOMPING out of the vehicle when ryou calls her annoying - SHE’S A DISASTER WHAT A DARLING

i think my only real big let down is that once again they omitted the girls meeting bc of retasu’s bullies. it’s a really good scene! it communicates in just a few pages how the girls react to someone in need & how they resolve conflict (plus i was really looking forward to watching bu ling kick some1 in the head & zakuro casually threaten to break a girl’s arm)

neway i’m so excited for the rest of new!

[xion92]

Do you think the subbers don’t like Ichigo and Mayasa? From Kish supposedly calling him a third wheel, when it’s just you’re in the way the confession scene translated wrong and now using crazy instead of stupid to Ryou watering down the insult gotta say I’m now slightly suspicious I feel like the og anime didn’t like him and highly preferred Ryou from rewatching and comparing how both characters are treated or I’m just seeing something not there either way thanks for all the analysis!

Mmmh, honestly I don't think she has anything in particular against them. I noticed those mistakes bc I mainly focus on ichisaya relationship, but I'm sure there are others scattered through the episodes. But the important thing are not the subs, but the actual anime.

I agree in the old one the writers preferred Ryou over him, but it's not the case in New. In New, he's the best written male character of the series, every episode, even those where he appears little, show us something different about him, the different sides of his personality, his flaws and difficults, and he's frequently put to the test to overcome his obstacles, and his growth and change are very clear. They expanded his scenes to show him better, they clearly care for him and his relationship with Ichigo. I'm completely satisfied with him in the first season, and I'm sure he'll be great even in the next one!

Thank you for your support!

[sociieties]

screen locks and he raises a brow, head slowly tilting as he eyes ryou. " oh. " the boyfriend -- ex-boyfriend. the same guy kazuya blew up over all those months ago then promptly put out of his mind. last he heard, he and atsumo were trying, despite the kazuya sized rift, one caused after a scene in a restaurant that he barely remembers. ( better to forget anyway, he thinks. ) " ... why? " a pause, awkward, " not the confession, atsumo. "

he thinks he did the right thing -- breaking up with atsumo. he liked him but he didn't want to feel like he was stuck between best friend and boyfriend. ( and while neither forced him to decide between the two of them, it wasn't sitting right with ryou - having to feel like he had to walk on eggshells around the two of them around the other. ) he breathes out, " my boyfriend " a pause, " ex boyfriend ? " whatever. " and then chikao-kun confessed. "

[moogiwarah]

🐓

Hi! I want to have comprehensive list of the BL manga/manhwa etc. that I’ve read because I want to spread the love for this genre 💜.  This post is a list of works that I’ve read which is not in this page yet + my comments on each work. I hope some people will find something that they like here ^__^

🐣 All BL recs from me 

manhwa  🐓

💜 Never Understand

Yuri, one of the school's most handsome guys,and Jaerim, one of the school's ugliest, collide!...or don't they? Can't understand what's going on between these two! It's Out of Control! 

shounen-ai, completed, 87 chapters

THE STORY IS SOOOO GOOD. The art also improved by a lot upon reaching the later chapters. Jae-rim is dubbed as “ugly” (he’s a whole cutie tho) and I’m glad to see a non conventional character design for an MC! I highly recommend reading this!!  👌💯

Incorrigible 

A sequel to “Never Understand” which is focused on Cho Ayeon’s story after being free from Soyeon’s control.

yaoi, completed, 8 chapters

This has few chapters so maybe that explains the fast pacing. Nonetheless, it was a nice read, I have a really soft spot for Jae-rim so seeing his r-18 experiences with Yuri really got me ahkdjashdkajshd ;W;

💜 Dirty Vibrations

Best friends Yeong and Nohae thought it was a joke when they downloaded the infamous “cursed” app. It’s said to command the user to perform…sexual acts and punishes those who disobey or delete it. It started with making them kiss. When they disobeyed its order…the punishment was anything but a joke. 

yaoi, ongoing

This one is from Fujoking (author of Youjin)! In all honesty, I love this for its sex scenes. They are so well made, the art, the dialogue, the expressions, and just *chef’s kiss* 👌. When it comes to expressing sexual scenes in BL, my top authors would have to be Fujoking for manhwa and Zaria for manga.

💜 Paid

Executive director Heejae is nicknamed "Chaebol Prince" by the public. But his life is turned upside down when documents linking him to an embezzlement scheme are unexpectedly found by an accounting collegian Taekyung! So he pretends to have a crush on him, but.. Taekyung wants more than just flirting! 

yaoi, ongoing

This is another one from Fujoking! This has a heavier plot as compared to Dirty Vibrations, so you get amazing smut AND an engaging story! 

💜 On or Off

Yiyoung is building a startup with his college friends. They get a chance to present their proposal to SJ Corporation, one of the leading companies in the country. But in the meeting room he sees Kang Daehyung, the extremely handsome company big shot that's so very much his type, and Yiyoung's heart starts to race...! Can pretty-faced Yiyoung win both in love and his career? 

yaoi, ongoing

Okay this! It’s really funny and the pacing is nice and the characters are nice and the art is nice and the perfect mix of romance comedy and slice of life i just HUHDADKAJDHJK it’s rly a feel good read and both MCs are SO ATTRACTIVE.

Penthouse XXX

Siyeon, a contract killer, has declared a boycott on men after being screwed over by his ex. That is, until he moves into a penthouse owned by Taekyung, a rich heir with killer looks.

yaoi, completed, 49 chapters

It has meme worthy illustrations xD. The graphics are nice but I found Taekyung (one of the MCs) to be a little toxic. Also, some parts of the story were not wrapped up/discussed enough imo. But overall, it was a pleasant read.

Home Sweet Home

The last thing Jungyeon expected was for his mom to ask if she could remarry. The new man was kind, considerate, a perfect match for his mother but there’s a catch: he has a younger son. Sunwoo is an introvert. He’s shy and has trouble opening up to others, until he meets Jungyeon and finds himself opening up for the first time. As their parents get closer to marrying, they become close, too close, and that’s when Sunwoo learns Jungyeon is already seeing another man.

yaoi, completed, 57 chapters

I honestly don’t know why this has quite a low rating on mangago because I found it to be a good read! It’s like sitting through a romance-drama movie. I liked the ending and the relationship between the main couple.

K’s Secret

Employee Kim Doyoon has been working for 5 years. He has one secret that he can't tell anyone else - the fact that he's a half-vampire born between a human and a vampire.

yaoi, ongoing

The art is so good in the recent chapters ugh. Also the sex scenes are well made. The plot is a little unclear though, and I feel like the relationship of the two MCs are kinda forced and unnatural hahaskdhakjdh. Still reading it tho since it’s ongoing.

💜 I have a Boyfriend

Kang Hyeon Ho, who belongs in the university soccer team goes into a breadth class and encounters the person he went to middle school together with and was his first love, Han Gyeol. 

yaoi, completed, 44 chapters

THIS IS BASICALLY COLLEGE AU ROM COM ADDITIONAL TAG: FIRST LOVE AND IT’S AMAZING. Just a really well rounded story with the right amount of drama to bring out its slice of life  😭💘 Also, this is tagged as yaoi but the sex scenes were few and not that explicit.

💜 Voice of Love

After experiencing a traumatic incident involving a previous lover, Jiho is too afraid to tell his classmate Soohan that he likes him. Thankfully, Soohan can hear otherpeople's thoughts and asks him out first. But, as we all know, love isn't always that easy. Will Jiho and Soohan really get their happily ever after?

shounen-ai, completed, 37 chapters

Just a really cute story about mind reading and high school boys being in love. Ah, youth. This will make you feel good like ,,, awww young love :( <3

Base to Base

The elite Sung Moon High is fields one the country's top 5 high school baseball teams. Kim Soohyun was the ace pitcher of his middle school now started his first year at Moon high baseball team...since his beloved sunbae Choi Woojin(captain/catcher) is there....Kim Soohyun is an cutie puppy with stalker tendency exclusive for his beloved sunbae. 

shounen-ai, completed, 28 chapters

Sports manga/anime always had a little (or lots) of gay, well this one made it officially gay! A cute rom-com bUT I feel like the ending was rushed. I would have loved it if there was more, but nonetheless, a good read! :)

manga  🐓

💜 I Seriously Can’t Believe You  

"I don't think you've realized your true nature yet." That's what Kon tells Iida, the hottest guy at school, wondering how anyone could be so proper. As popular as he is, Iida doesn't seem interested in any of the girls who come after him. Kon and his buddies try to look into the matter by flipping a coin and having Kon approach him with his confession of love, just to see if he's really interested in guys. "I've... never looked at guys like that..." says Iida, falling for Kon's ruse. Kon takes him home, hoping to straighten out the misunderstanding, when Iida suddenly grabs him by the shoulder, and... A story about a mysterious hottie at school and a prince of a certain kind. 

yaoi, completed, 5 chapters

THIS IS FUNNY AND CUTE AND HOT AND SHORT BUT REALLY GOOD JUST READ IT YOU WONT REGRET IT!

💜 Yoru to Asa no Uta 

(Chapter 0) ; (Sequel)

Asaichi can't play any instruments, his voice is average, and he's only in the band for the girls and the sex. Plus, he's homophobic. For some reason, the new bassist is infatuated with him despite the treatment Asaichi gives him.

yaoi, completed, 1 + 8 + 8  = 16 chapters

It’s by Harada (author of ‘Yatamomo’ and ‘Color Recipe’) so expect dark themes. Trigger warning for rape. I suggest you skip the rape if you can’t handle it because this manga is so good. Its art and story (much like Harada’s other works) will really suck you in. This left a deep impression on me because the characters felt so alive. I respect Harada so much for that ability.

💜 Eigyou Nika!

Sakisaka, stationed in the second Sales Division, has an unrequited love for Toujou, his directing senpai. He had no intention of confessing his feelings. However, Toujou has been awfully touchy-feely lately… Is there a glimmer of hope? Please don’t let it be a misunderstanding! Which path will these vexing feelings flow down to?

yaoi, completed, 10 chapters

I had fun reading this because it’s so fluffy!! aaaAAAA I love friends to lovers and cuddling and the sweetness that comes from a relationship that is a more than friendship but less than lovers. A lighthearted read <3

💜 Mou Ichido, Nando Demo

On his way home from picking up a rings for himself and his lover, Fuji Takahiro is hit by a car. His resulting amnesia degrades his live-in lover Kotou Tarou to a mere flatmate, and a series of misunderstandings threatens to tear the couple apart. Tossed around by desperation and confusion, can Tarou and Takahiro rebuild their once blissful relationship? 

yaoi, completed, 11 chapters

This is like watching a really good mature drama. The characters feel real and the situations presented in the manga were also something one can easily imagine themselves being put into. A short and good read.

💜Ookami-kun wa Kowakunai

The world is filled with animals that can evolve into beastmen. There is a young and earnest wolf who was always mistaken for a showy person because of his flashy looks. The easily mistaken wolf has fallen for an attractive looking rabbit named Usami, who is cautious of carnivores.

yaoi, completed, 6 chapters

I mEAN,,, LOOK AT THEM!!! This is wholesome and very fluffy huhuhuhu no more words needed. A short and cute read! <3

💜Ookami He No Yomeiri

Kaede is a rabbit person chosen to be the 'bride' of a distinguished wolf family. Although he does not wish to marry a wolf, his family pleads for him to go so that they can have enough supplies to last for the next two years. However, how will his new husband act towards a little bunny rabbit stuck in the wolf's den?

yaoi, completed, 8 chapters

The art is good and the story is cute :((( They’re so cute aaaa I’m a sucker for grumpy looking x ray of sunshine it’s just uGH the contrast never gets old.

💜 Encirclement Love

Ryou had a sleepover and saw his friends - Issei and Tadahiro - kissing while they thought he was asleep. He asks them about it and feels betrayed as a childhood friend when they pretend nothing happened. Determined to catch them red-handed, Ryou ends up inside a closet with Issei's little brother - Yuusei -, who has a unexpected reaction to the situation.

yaoi, completed, 6 chapters

It’s basically four high school boys being horny. All four of them are friends and I find their dynamics really funny. Also, they’re all hOT 🥵 I had lots of fun reading this!

Mother’s Spirit

University employee Ryouichirou is ordered by the Chairman to take in an exchange student. That exchange student, Qaltaqa, is a native from a developing country who can't understand Japanese!! Though he is a warrior of his tribe and a man of great beauty, seeing him afraid of the phone and the TV, and even the toilet, Ryouichirou gets fed up… But while being called "Ryouichirou" in such a clumsy manner, he has a change of heart!?

yaoi, completed, 13 chapters

This is funny and interesting! A short read to boost your mood and get your yaoi fix ;D

Dakaretai Otoko Ichii Ni Odosarete Imasu 

Saijou Takato's 5 year reign as the "Most Huggable No. 1" has been snatched. Stealing his thunder is the newbie actor with a 3-year debut, Azumaya! Towards the stuffy hostile Takato, Azumaya's sincere sparkling smile starts to become effective. Even as Takato sets his alert level on MAX, Azumaya catches Takato in his shameful drunken state and uses it to blackmail him! In exchange for Azumaya's silence, Azumaya states, "Please let me hold you"'?! "Embrace me, who was the Most Huggable No.1? What the heck is he saying!" 

yaoi, ongoing

I remember dropping this because MC was obviously raped, but upon watching the first episode of the anime adaptation, they made the sex consensual (thank God) and the story is not so bad after all. I suggest skipping the first chapter altogether and just start off at episode 1 in the anime, then you can pick it up in the manga to see the explicit scenes xD

That’s it for now! Will continue updating in this tumblr acc. as I continue on reading more BL ehe. Hmu on my twt if u wanna talk about BL and/or anime and manga in general hehe. Love lots~ 💜🐓

[wotcherangie]

Ryou usually puts up a cool, unbothered front and has a hard time opening up his emotions, so I think it's really significant that he let himself admit to Lettuce how he feels too guilty about "dragging the Mew Mew girls into this" to be able to give Lettuce an answer yet, even though her confession made him really happy. Even his body language was more open than he usually lets himself be. Just like Lettuce feels able to open up around him a little more.

(I think a big part of it comes from how bad he feels for not being able to help her when she was knocked into the ocean earlier. He was so worried and he partly blamed himself for it.)

Hello dear anon and let's keep up with the answers :3

Yeah, I noticed that too and Ryou's body language, words and sincerity was one of the main reason the confession scene hurt but at the same time, as I said in a previous answer, warmed me up so much!

You said it all yourself: Ryou being so open about his feelings, Ryou caught off guard... is something you don't see everyday, I love that we can see this side of him more and more, he doesn't realize how much the Mew Project he created in the first place... is helping not only the planet but also him in healing his wounds. The girls and Kei are like a big fam, Ichigo is the big energy of all of that needs and I am so glad that in the reboot Retasu has a big role in that too.

Seeing him so open with her, seeing how hurtful was even for him answering her that way and telling her about his sense of guilt... and finally his smile at the end.

So heartwarming, that boy needs all the love he can get <3

(And yeah, the reboot confirmed and better wrote what the OG anime implied too: they are so comfortable around eachother cause they show sides of themselves others cannot see - he makes her more confident and happy... she reeeeeeeally softens him up and makes him more open about himself).

Thanks for the comment, great analysis btw

[penebui]

Lgbt manga pt. 2

My last lgbt manga post mostly consisted of gender representation, so with this post I’ll try to incorporate more gay/lesbian/same sex representation! Just for clarification I have read all of them!! 

For obvious mangas that I have not recommended on this list, itll stay like that. Either because they are already well known and popular, or its because despite being popular, it has some very problematic themes that arent portrayed in a negative spotlight, ultimately idolizing the problems (cough cough) or are the ‘kill your gays’ trope and have tragic endings which defeats the purpose of this list.

1. My Son is Probably Gay by Okura

This is such a sweet manga. The story follows a mom who slowly sees that her son might be gay because he’s very upfront with his feelings and isn’t very good at lying. However instead of assuming and forcing him to come out, she lets him be and quietly supports him from behind the scenes. His brother also seems to have taken the hint as well and is showing support in his own way. I guess this is what the “I’m proud that you had the courage to tell me, and I’ve already had a hunch anyways” parents see before we come out to them. 

2. Dasadanan by Herb Mandu

The reason why I’ve been refraining from posting about same sex couples is because some of them are put in the genres where they sexualize lgbt couples. However I can safely guarantee you that Dasadanan is very lgbt friendly! Seyeon receives a confession from his childhood friend Kang Chan and he doesn’t know how to respond. Seyeon’s other friend whos a girl gets into a fight with Kang Chan cause she also loves Seyeon. However the girl gets into a lesbian relationship at the end, and there are some other gay couples in it too!! It is very fluffy and lovey dovey, and there isnt a lot of angst stuff in it so if you want to read something comfy this one is your go to!! 

3.  Raion Gotoki no Kuni kara by Hakase

Although it is labelled as yaoi, it is actually surprisingly wholesome??? Makoto’s family is registered as a host family and an exchange student moves into their family!! However the exchange student is a masaai warrior (or in better terms from a masaai tribe). Overnight Makoto researches on the subject to learn more about the student they will be housing and tries to come up with a greeting in their native language  to welcome them. The exchange student Nairobi shows up at his house, completely fluent in english (or japanese depending on if we’re talking about the original manga) but when he finds out that Makoto wrote down a greeting in his language it warms his heart. The art depicting the masai people are actually very nice!!! Nairobi even has dreads. Even though there is only one chapter out right now, I can’t wait for more!! 

4. Hero-san and Former General-san by Sometime

There are an alien race disguised amongst humans named Antinoids! Honey Trap, an antinoid, fights the human hero in a mecha bunny suit named Rapid Rabbit. When the mask comes off, it turns out Rapid Rabbit is a girl! Honey Trap quickly falls for her, and is therefor unable to kill her. Confronted with this by her boss, she is fired. Honey Trap suddenly jobless and homeless, runs into Rapid Rabbit and starts living with her. She then starts teaming up with her to fight against her old business! It is very sweet and humorous, I loved it since I first read it. 

5. Gay Fuuzoku no Mochigi-san: Sexuality wa Jinsei da. by Mochigi 

An autobiography of Mochigi, a gay former-sex worker who lives out in the countryside! This autobiography describes the sex industry in japan also. If you’d like to support and follow the author, here is his twitter, and here is his amazon to buy his works! 

6. Boys Run the Riot by Gaku Keito

The protagonist, Ryou is a trans guy. He suffers from dysphoria and tries his best to go past the school’s rules to wear anything but a girls uniform. He even binds his chest (with ace bandages, even though thats unsafe and potentially hazardous). He has a crush on his friend, Chika. In his second year of highschool, a new student arrives by the name of Satou Jin. Although everyone is terrified of him because of his looks (looks like a gangster) and his mannerisms, he’s actually a bright and cool guy. When trying to start a brand together, Jin’s old friends point out Ryou and ask if he’s a girl. In an arguement, Jin convinces Ryou to tell him his true feelings, and so he comes out tohim. Jin instantly accepts him for who he is. Although there are only two chapters translated into english atm, there are about 20+ raw chapters untranslated (fairly recent too, at the time of posting the last chapter was released 22 hours ago). I hope that a scanlation team picks this manga up to translate the rest because I absolutely love it!! 

7. Half & Half by Nanami Mao 

Hina reminisces about her first love named Itsuki, even though she has a boyfriend. One night, she has a dream about him. The next morning a tall, beautiful girl shows up at her doorstep, its actually Itsuki! She herself is a trans woman, and is now living how she wants to live. Hina slowly falls back in love with her first love, even if she is a girl now. She also defends Itsuki and becomes an ally for her, and even supports her. This shit is cute and I love it 

8.  Kyou Kara Yonshimai by Satou Nanki

Three sisters suddenly receive an email from their supposed brother, Kashiwa who left for college 2 years ago and is suddenly coming back home to live with them! When Kashiwa arrives however, he had actually transitioned to a woman! The three try to get adjusted to the new change, and live with a fourth sister. This is labelled as romance because of the main protagonist, Sakura, having a love subplot. Kashiwa also has a girlfriend as well. 

9. 19 Days by Old Xian

If this artstyle looks familiar, you’d be right! Old Xian has a manhua that is a collab with Tan Jiu, the one who wrote Tamen de Gushi, a very popular manhua about two girls in a relationship and their misadventures. 19 Days is exactly like it, about two childhood friends (who fall in love) and their misadventures. It slowly evolves into a plot-driven story, which introduces two other characters. 

Unfortunately, this is where my list ends because its very hard to find lgbt manga!! However I’ll continue searching for more! I’ll add them on when I find them! 

[my-yuujin]

news article :www.excite.co.jp/news/article/Jisin_1781329/

Ryusoulger’s Kishida Tatsuya’s Dream is Fukuda Yuuichi and “The Story of Ishikawa Ryou”

“Because of my age, I thought it was impossible for me (to win the audition). Therefore, when it was decided, it really felt like a miracle. I still have that video of my younger self wearing a red cloak like a hero. The closet at my house also still has Super Sentai characters stickers I put on it when I was a child. I’m always told by my parents, “You have to earnestly answer the feelings of those children who admire Sentai, so they will love Sentai as much as you did.”

That was a little story from Kishida Tatsuya(27). Kishida is appearing in the currently running Super Sentai Series “Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger” (TV Asahi) and playing the silent character Banba/Ryusoul Black. This is the 43rd title of the series, and is also attracting a great deal of attention as the first title to broadcast in Japan’s new era, Reiwa.

“In contrast to the previous series, Kaito Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger which had the unusual pattern with seven members from two different groups, this time, the series is back with “Royal Road” theme. Moreover, the motifs are “dinosaurs and sword”. So, I think, this would be popular among children. In that sense, I honestly feel that I’m so lucky to get involved in this new series. From those children fans, I’ve got not only fan letters, but also other stuffs like origami or illustrations. I’m so happy to the point I want to send replies to them all.”

Kishida is also very popular for “Que Bom Dance”, the ending song for Ryusoulger. Not only his solo dance video on YouTube hits 110,000 views, but the other video which he dances with Obara Yuito (17) who plays Ryusoul Green/Towa, also almost hits 520,000 views. In the comment section, some said ‘His dance looks so nimble’ and ‘The way he dances is so mature’.

“I thought it would be interesting if Banba could dance nimbly,” said Kishida. He himself confessed that he never learned dancing professionally. “It’s just that I’ve been living with good motor skills,” he said while laughing. “I can generally dance after seeing the video two or three times.”

“I’m a fan of Michael Jackson,” he added. “1992 was the year when I was just born, but I watched his live in 1992 and thought it was so creative and futuristic for its era. I love dancing since junior high school. Back in my school years, I learned and was even able to do Moonwalk Dance. I also joined the cheerleader group for my junior high school’s sport festival. Wearing Michael Jackson hat, I led everyone doing Michael Jackson dance.”

Recently this year, in July, Kishida was invited in a talk show program, “A-studio” (TBS), as one of Hongou Kanata (28)’s best friends. The two attended different universities, but they worked their graduation project together as two friends with the same interests.

About Hongou, Kishida revealed, “He has a unique sense in illustrating. He even made me a smartphone case with Ryusoul Black theme.” He remembers when they went for a trip, Hongou planned to make it  resembling a variety program. He brought along four cameras, and was able to finish working on the video on the next day. “Even behind the scenes, he is someone who has tremendous talents,” praised Kishida.

Kishida also has this story with Suda Masaki (26), who also, just like him, has played in a tokusatsu show.

“When I happened to have no work, I sometimes stayed in Suda’s house. We would do things like drawing graffiti on clothes or shoes that Suda doesn’t wear anymore. Also, Suda is currently working on his song. At first, he worked and consulted his music with me. Even though, I soon ended up disbanding, Suda stayed and is now singing on big stages. Akaneiro no Yuuhi from Fujifabric is one of the songs he used to learn together with me.”

Being such beloved actor, last year, Kishida had celebrated his 10th anniversary. But when he was 22 years old, there was a time when he slowed down in acting, and went into golf instead. “Golf is said to be a fair sport for gentlemen, but it’s not fair at all,” he said. “But thanks to that, I became able to exhibit less emotions on surface. I play in Ryusoulger after I’m into golf. I think it’s really good timing for me.”

When he was asked, whether he wanted to appear in a golf-related work someday? This is his answer.

“When playing in drama “Kyou Kara Ore wa”(Nippon TV), Fukuda Yuichi-san (51) and I always talked about golfing. Fukuda-san was also aiming to be a professional. When I asked him if he wanted to make a golf-themed drama or movie, he said, “I love golf too much, to the point I don’t want to make it!” But I think a “story about Ishikawa” (T/N: Ishikawa Ryou, Japanese pro golfer) would be a good idea. I’m able to copy his swing, so of course, the lead role would be played by me. That’s right! I will ask Fukuda-san to make it! (laughs) Now I have a new dream to make true!”