#sakura might not think about them and their appearances but they suRE ARE. DAISUKE WOULD NEVER. HE CAN'T. THAT'S WAY TOOOOO SUSSSS

[dnangelic]

' shut up !! who's getting nervous , you hypocrite --- ?! '

this half-tone halfwit , this full-time idiot --- !

' i never said i was nervous , so i'm not ! i wasn't !! '

sure , there was this weird squiggling feeling inside of his chest , and all of him felt just one faint electric current away from having every single hair on his body standing straight up on end , but that didn't mean that he , ( the great , almighty him --- ?! ) was nervous ! maybe his --- or rather daisuke's face was just like this ! fast to flush and slow to cool , much like a hidden self's temper .

just as soon as sakura crashes back into her seat to stammer and ramble , he swiftly swipes her phone with nothing more than a grumbling give me that --- !

nothing more than a split second passes when he turns it around and points to a station on the opened map app , his glare and beet-red fluster half-hidden by the block of the screen .

' go here , okay ?! --- and don't even bother packing , you don't need to ! '

if she wanted to bring all sorts of crap anyways , ( not that he could really imagine her towing along all that much in the first place ... ) then that would have been her decision . all he knew was that he's never packed for any of his own little slumber parties over at her apartment , planned or otherwise . shouldn't it have been enough for sakura to likewise bring nothing beyond her own self to the mansion ?

there was more too , like the way that azumano could have been just as readily reached by bus instead of train , but the latter was faster and far more comfortable despite its somewhat higher pricing , and he wouldn't hear her fuss over menial things like costs and money on the way . what emergency funds that remained in daisuke's pockets remained untouched and more than enough to cover transport , waiting for opportunities like this there they might finally feel the trade of themselves into somebody else's hands .

' ... tell whoever you have to , but don't keep me waiting . ' the words , even while seeming demanding , remain twinged with a faint grumble of a whine and plea . ( because she wouldn't have , right ? for all his apparent carelessness , for all their fast pacing , she wouldn't chicken out and abandon him halfway , would she ? )

without waiting for any more reaction , his hands press and lift him abruptly out of his own seating . he's hasty in his leave , and he doesn't look backwards as he exits to make his own way towards the station . ( what was this supposed to be , anyways ? hope ? ) getting all embarrassed over something like this , like someone like sakura , was just ---

geeze .

‘Why wouldn’t I?’

Haruka’s got a few ideas, but for once in’er life, she shuts right up about’em; mostly because Dai’s laughin’ and she’s never not shuttin’ up to hear that, but also because anything she could think or say just... It won’t come like it normally does. Even more with his continuation, the add-on that comes after, those horrible bad ugly thoughts that normally come alongside this sorta thing don’t come up in her head. All that’s left in their place is a heated fluster and a jut-out lip.

“‘Like that’ to ya now, huh...” She’s repeatin’ (almost dreamily) for the sake of it, just to hear it again, without having to ask him to do it. Not even knowing if she can (Would he run off if I did? Would he take it back?) and not having the confidence to try and push her luck. But it’s fine, ‘cause she’ll take what she can get—she’ll take miles off this inch and be grateful for it all the while.

When she raises her eyes again, though (she’s not even too sure when they fell, though maybe it was when she was askin’ about Azumano a second ago), and sees that he’s got his own blush on his face, hers just about quadruples and sees’er scrambling. Something, anything--whatever it is, she just needs to do it!!!

“Y-Y-You—You bastard, don’tcha just go sayin’ shit like that!” He’s crazy, completely and utterly! Who says this kinda shit so casually!?!?! “Even if, if it’s—” if it’s true, if it’s true, but how can she know??? “You can’t—augh, you can’t get all...nervous, or whatever, too!!!”

Because that’s gotta be the reason for him, right? Though, even if it ain’t, it’s no big deal, because Haruka’s always giving her own fwump! back into’er own seat and crossing her arms over her chest again, small grumbles escaping her. Sometimes, just like Dark, she never knows what Dai’s really thinkin’ (a little weird for a guy with his heart perpetually on’is sleeve, but hey, everyone has their moments!), but this time really takes the cake! The whole thing makes her a little itchy, so unused to somethin’ like that said so...easily. Like everything he said was just supposed to be fact.

(The fact that it’s said like that at all makes her so, so happy, though—genuine joy makes her cheeks get warmer, makes her chest constrict and tighten in a way that’s both painful and nice. She knows—she knows—that everyone in Furin is happy to know her, but Dai is just...so different. He’s not Furin and he’s not Makochi, either, he’s from beyond the barrier of both. And yet, just like them, he...)

As he repeats after her, too, though, she breaks from her surprise, an eyebrow rising as she looks at him—in disbelief, in complete and utter shock.

“T—Today?? Now??? Isn’t that...!?” Ain’t that kinda soon??!!

(Is he still actin’ or somethin’!?)

“I—I mean, there’s the break, so yeah I have some time off, an’—and I did wanna spend it with ya,” whoops, what a hell of a way to admit that; at least she’s only half payin’ attention to herself, “but I didn’t... I’ve never even been to someone else’s house?? I don’t even have anything packed?!”

Not to mention the patrols!! Almost meek, she glances over at her phone, sitting in an idle corner of the table and glinting, unyielding, in the afternoon light. Struck by this whole development, she can’t hardly remember who’s taking what patrol on which day, but maybe if she says somethin’ now, before everyone files out to do as they’ve been assigned.

...for all that she’s never been to someone else’s place, the fact that Daisuke is the first one she may get to go to is so...weird. And she’s already talkin’ about packing, like it’s a whole done-deal...!

I have, she thinks; blindly, through the haze of it all, to make a decision.

“I’d...have to tell someone first, too...!

“But, I—I really do...”

...wanna go. I wanna go with’im, wanna see what someone else’s life looks like.

(Was this sorta thing... always so normal for others to do? Is this what normally happens...!?)

[earlgreymon]

a song-long kiss

enlightenmonth 2022 (@koushirohikari) // [day 9-12] dance/music fyi i don't hate music class but i'm quite terrible every time my teacher asked me to play the recorder.

Koushiro wasn’t sure if he loathed music class or the idea that third graders should still be taking music class.

In his humble opinion, it was ridiculous. Amidst the exams and the preparation for university entrance, the least the school could do was to omit less-important subjects to avoid additional stress, and one of them was music. He couldn’t see why repeating the same songs for the last four weeks might be a help to relax.

(Again, it was his humble opinion. He couldn’t emphasis it more as he didn’t want to offend anyone like Mimi who actually loved the class to death.)

Perhaps the thought that it was unimportant finally grew into his subconscious, because he forgot to bring his recorder for today’s music class. It was rather fortunate because he quickly realised this before the bell rang, so he had enough time to panic for a few seconds and eventually think about how to mitigate this carelessness. Koushiro then came out with a plan to borrow from a junior, hoping that at least someone also had their music class on Thursday too. It seemed that three of his classmates also thought the same thing, because they dashed straight out the classroom after making a commotion about the same problem. (That was according to his chairmate, Yuri, who actually heard them. He was late to realise, so now he had to fly out as soon as possible too.)

His first thought was Miyako, because the second-graders’ classrooms were on the same floor as his class. However, she blurted the bad news that she didn’t have music class today.

The good news was, “I think Daisuke has one, though.”

“Daisuke-san?”

“Last week he literally begged me to teach him how to play Sakura, Sakura because he had to recite the song in front of the class on the following day. I guess it was around Wednesday.”

He thanked her and made a sprint down the stairs, because Daisuke’s classroom was located on the ground floor. Oddly, as he reached the classroom’s door, it was shut and there was no one inside when he peeked through the glass panel.

Today was definitely not his lucky day.

His mind started to recall his other acquaintances who might be in a different class. He wasn’t sure if Takeru was in the same class with Daisuke. How about Hikari? She was—

“Koushiro-san?”

—there.

She appeared just like that beside him, and of course his natural reaction would be a gasp and a startle. She looked at him curiously and he wondered if she started to think of him as a stalker, because she then asked, “What are you doing here?”

“You’re in this class?” He actually felt bad for forgetting this trivial fact. “Where’s everyone?”

“In the computer lab. It’s the first lesson and you know Sensei is very strict. He always wants us to be there before the bell rings.”

“So why are you here?”

“I left my pencil case in my bag.”

“But you didn’t leave your recorder at home by any chance, right?” It wasn’t typical of Hikari to forget something. He just hoped she wasn’t having a clumsy day like him. Leaving her pencil case was enough of a bad signal.

“...no, but I wonder how you got the information that I’m having a music class today,” she mused, opening the classroom’s door and walking to her seat.

“I have an intel.”

Hikari returned to the corridor with a small cat-patterned case—most probably her stationeries—and a long brown case which she handed to Koushiro. He expressed his gratitude straight away, promising that he would return it on lunchtime. While he would love to chit-chat, the bell then echoed throughout the school. They agreed to dismiss as soon as possible before trouble got the best of them both.

Koushiro was able to sail smoothly throughout the music class. As he promised to return the recorder back during lunch, he saved his bento for later and made his way to Hikari’s class—only to meet her halfway because she was heading to the canteen.

“Sorry, I was just going to see you,” Koushiro explained rhetorically.

Hikari shook her head. “No problem. I want to grab some drink.”

But then, a funny coincidence happened.

Walking passed them were three students—two guys and a girl. If Koushiro didn’t remember his status as the most senior classman in the school, he would surely consider the three of them as Taichi, Yamato, and Sora—but let’s just refer them that way to make it easier, okay? The first guy, Yamato, was drinking from a juice box when the second guy, Taichi, suddenly asked for a sip in which Yamato gave in although he sounded irritated with his friend’s behaviour. While Taichi was drinking from the straw, Sora blurted ever-so-casually loud that Koushiro could hear it way too clearly.

“Wow, you guys just did an indirect kiss.”

Her accusation caused a commotion; not only between Taichi and Yamato, but also inside Koushiro’s mind. He reflectively stopped handing the recorder when he came to an instant realisation, gripping the instrument harder which made Hikari noticed his weird gesture.

“Koushiro-san?” she asked worriedly. “Are you okay?”

He just had a song-long indirect kiss with Hikari Yagami.

His face was as red as his hair now.

[systematicallycapricious]

Persona x Soul Eater AU

Spoilers for Personas 3-5 (and their remakes FES, Golden, and Royal), PQ1 (Shadow of the Labyrinth), and the P4: Arena series below, as well as the Soul Eater and Soul Eater: Not! anime (and potentially manga? it’s been a while, so I forget)!

Cast (We = Weapon, M = Meister, H = Human, Wi = Witch, O = Other):

SEES:

Minato Arisato - M | Aigis - Multiform-We | Ryoji Mochizuki - We

Minako Arisato - M | Yukari Takeba - We | Ryoji Mochizuki - We | Aigis - Multiform-We

Junpei Iori - M | Chidori Yoshino - We (presently)

Akihiko Sanada - M or We? | Shinjiro Aragaki We or M?

Mitsuru Kirijo - We (Meisterless and badass; probably a rapier?)

Ken Amada - M | Koromaru - We (a non-human Weapon)

Fuuka Yamagishi - Wi (??? animal)

Investigation Team:

Yu Narukami - M | Teddie - We (potentially a non-human Weapon)

Yosuke Hanamura - M | Labrys - Multiform-We

Chie Satonaka - We or M? | Yukiko Amagi M or We?

Kanji Tatsumi - M? | Naoto Shirogane - We?

Rise Kujikawa - Wi (??? animal)

Phantom Thieves:

Ren Amamiya - M | Morgana - We

Ryuji Sakamoto - M or We? | Yuuki Mishima We or M?

Yusuke Kitagawa - M | Ann Takamaki - We (a whip)

Makoto Nijima - We or M? | Haru Okumura - M or We?

Goro Akechi - M | Robin Hood - We (a bow) | Loki - We (a greatsword)

Kasumi Yoshizawa - M | Sumire Yoshizawa - We (a ribbon wand)

Futaba Sakura - Wi (??? animal)

Etc:

Daisuke Nagase - We or M? | Kou Ichijo - M or We?

Rei - H

Zen - We, H, or maybe O?

Takuto Maruki - H

Sho - M | Minazuki - We (separate entities in this; Minazuki's a katana)

Shuji Ikutsuki - H

Takaya Sakaki - M | Jin Shirato - We | Chidori Yoshino - We (formerly)

Marie/Izanami-no-Mikoto - Wi (??? animal)

More Notes:

The 'Wild Cards' in this just have really good partnership/Resonance abilities with everyone in their groups, so they can work with any of the Weapons in their groups (and even outside of them a lot of times... looking at Ren and Loki for an example. xP) uncannily naturally.

The Navis in this are all Witches, but good-natured ones, and use their magic to support their respective groups/help make the world a better place. For example, Futaba would probably be able to 'hack' souls somehow with her magic, and also her reclusiveness in this would be at least in part due to being terrified of people finding out her true nature as a Witch. I'm not sure how welcomed/persecuted/the general climate of Witches are/is in this AU yet though.

The Arisato twins and Ryoji are all children of Death in this, with Ryoji being the older sibling and the twins being twins. Death is still Death like he is in SE-OG in this AU, more or less.

Ryoji and Aigis tend to float between Minato and Minako as their secondary partners, though Aigis tends to stick more to Minato as his primary partner and much less often swaps to Minako, while Ryoji shifts between his two siblings more frequently. Yukari swaps about as much as the rest of SEES's Weapons do among their Wild Cards, which is more or less situationally or for fun. Despite this, Aigis and Ryoji still don't get along particularly well with one another, only putting up with each other for their Meisters' sakes.

Strega did exist in this, though I'm not sure yet what their aim was, or the fate of its members. At the very least, they were some kind of rogue antagonist group, and Takaya used to be the Meister of both Jin and Chidori. Chidori ends up defecting to DWMA though, or whatever organization Junpei is a part of.

Aigis, maybe Ryoji?, Mitsuru, Labrys, and Minazuki are all Weapons that can fight without Meisters. Loki and/or Robin Hood might also be among them? I'm undecided.

Originally, I was considering having the cast have their Personas as their Weapon-partners, and just have them have personalities based off of their Shadow-selves' but more aligned with their accepted-selves, but I decided against it in the end. Akechi gets to be the exception, because he's Akechi.

Speaking of Akechi-- Robin and Loki are very powerful Weapons in this AU. Loki's 'chaos magic' would become an incredibly chaotic/maddening soul-wavelength that most others wouldn't be able to handle contact with on its own, as well as perhaps some Madness magic or abilities of some kind? Robin's soul meanwhile would be much calmer and help to counteract/cover-up Loki's from those who can sense souls, as well as perhaps provide some tactical abilities; I'm undecided on that for now. I'm not sure who's side Akechi would be on in this AU yet, like if he was being manipulated by a Shido-like person or not, and for what reason if so.

As for Robin and Loki's personalities and appearances in this... Well, the latter would be somewhat similar to their Persona forms probably, including some of the less-human traits given OG-SE characters (*stares intensely at Excalibur*), and the former would also be somewhat based off of those, as well as sort of how Akechi acts in relation to both of his 'masks'? So Robin tends to be calmer and more polite, though he still possesses a small amount of vengeful desire or bloodlust, whilst Loki is a lot more chaotic, hot-blooded, and very vengeful/aggressive. Both share a tendency towards showiness however, and sometimes get in small competitions with one another to up the other to impress their Meister or be the better Weapon among themselves (since they both might think already that they're superior to other Weapons in general? Unsure).

Also speaking of manipulated and abused children, Sho and Minazuki, alongside Ikutsuki, more or less replace Crona, Ragnarok, and Medusa in this. Not fully 1-for-1 however. Ikutsuki is very much a human, albeit a Mad or power-hungry one (still kinda looking to create a Kishin or otherwise bring about some kind of catastrophic destruction), and Minazuki is a separate Weapon, as opposed to how Ragnarok is Crona's Black Blood. Minazuki and Sho might be twins however, just with one a human/Meister and the other a Weapon. They look almost identical physically in this AU, even down to haircuts, but Minazuki lacks the iconic X-ish shaped face scarring that Sho possesses (and overall the two have a different patterning of scars across their bodies), and Sho's irises appear to be more gray while Minazuki's appear to be more blue. Weapon-form-wise, Minazuki looks like Sho's OG katanas, just in different colors and as a singular blade rather than a pair.

Ikutsuki is still forcing Sho and Minazuki to become stronger in similar methods to Medusa in some ways however, such as going out and obtaining/consuming great amounts of human (and maybe even Witch) souls.

Sho's a little less messed-up than Crona is, due to Minazuki being supportive of and dedicated to him as opposed to bullying him into submission like Ragnarok does to Crona. That being said however, I don't yet know why Minazuki hasn't yet defected from Ikutsuki. P: Other than that, Minazuki is kind of like Sho's impulse control and logical reasoning at times, due to being able to control when he transforms into his Weapon form and thus deny Sho access to his weaponry in times where he's being reckless or unreasonable. Soul-wavelengths-wise, too, Minazuki's soul just in general helps to keep Sho's soul/wavelength more stable probably?

Also in terms of replacing SE cast and plots; The IT replaces Maka et al for the sake of the main story most likely, with SEES being their upperclassmen or alumni and the PT being their underclassmen, if they even attend DWMA at this point anyways.

Lotsa dead people in OG are alive in this AU; Minato, Minako, and Ryoji, Shinjiro, Kasumi, etc.

Speaking of Kasumi; she fights kind of like Sumire does in Royal, that being making use of their gymnastics and priorly-athletic builds. Both sisters are gymnists in this still.

Alternatively, Sho and Minazuki's situations almost ended up reversed, leaving a highly impulsive/aggressive Weapon-Sho and a Meister-Minazuki who would have the kinda backwards idealology of trying to protect his Weapon partner in times where it would be best left to the Weapon to defend their Meister, but also really good at getting Sho to focus when wielding him as a weapon/in resonance (and can in general reign him in to some degree while others can't), making them an exceedingly deadly duo. I kind of prefer Minazuki as the Weapon however, as fun as the reverse could be, as it gives Ikutsuki a bit more leverage over Sho's situation I think? Also in that vein, it would make a lot of sense, given OG, for Minazuki to be more like a Black Blood entity like Ragnarok; however, I like Minazuki being able to have his own body in this, so that can be left for another AU perhaps. xP

Ikutsuki would infiltrate/be trusted by the DWMA in this AU at first, like Medusa was, but eventually get outed for his true intentions most likely. He might be a teacher or other kind of faculty rather than a nurse however?

Maruki meanwhile gets to play the role of school nurse in this. He's not a few screws loose like his Royal counterpart is though, he's just a humble nurse. However, he does still have his interest in researching dangerous subjects, though I haven't yet decided if that would be magic, Witches, Madness, Kishins, or what. It could potentially put him in knowing-contact with the Navis, if they aren't already known to be Witches by the DWMA anyways.

I'm not yet sure on what to do with Adachi or Nyx yet. Nyx might be some kind of Madness-related catastrophe, power, or individual perhaps however?

Rei and Zen are probably just civilians in this. Zen just happens to be really devoted to protecting/looking after(?) Rei still. xD

I'm undecided on if Marie should be amnesiac about her Witchhood or if she should be more like Izanami-no-Mikoto from OG in this.

Yusuke is still obsessed with artistry and beauty in this, so you can imagine what he's like as a Meister. He is still capable as a fighter and dependable when needed... more or less, but is also still easily distracted by, and places higher priority on, such things.

Ryuji kinda gets the short end of the stick because I didn't particularly know who to pair him with or what really to do with him at the moment. Mishima's a big tentative as his partner as a result of that, though I think it could prove to be an interesting relationship potentially.

I'm hoping to add more SL/Confidant and secondary/tertiary/background cast peeps eventually into various roles, but I'd need to do more refreshing/research on them first. I also haven't decided on if I should include Metis in this or not.

If the SE info is inaccurate, it's because I haven't seen the anime or read-up on it in like years. I might do clarifying/fact-checking research some day, but for now, nah. xP

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Ep 25 - Installation of statue kneeling in apology to comfort women statue.

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru starting this week's episode of The Freedom of Expression. Joe san, Tasai san, welcome. Well, this show..im sure the viewers will realise this, but this show has a super low budget.

J, T: Hahaha

J: You're admitting that? Finally?

T: You noticed slightly.

K: Um, we usually record three episodes at once, but for the first one, it takes ages to get the recording started.

T: Hahaha

K: Like, (*imitates trying to fix equipment*) 'Huhh?', 'Oh, come on!'

J: Thats right.

K: They can't get the setup sorted at all, and we three are always just sat here waiting.

J: Yeah, I mean, its getting there, but it does take a while.

K: I mean, look at this! There isn't even a mic stand! You have to place it directly on the desk, and its fallen over how many times since just then!?

J: Its a rare sight these days.

T: For sure.

K: Well, anyway, this kind of analogue is what we have..

J: Yes, yes...let's get on with it and put our hearts into it.

K: Yes, lets do it. Um, also, today..we're recoding this on August 2nd..

J: Yes, and..

K: Tomorrow! Well, really its only in about ten more hours. Well, its on here too...(*gestures to board set up on the desk featuring new single info*)...Dir en grey's new single "Ochita koto no aru sora" will be released.

J: Congratulations

K: Well, its a digital release...(*mic falls over*) ..Look!

J: Oh, that. That was quick!

T: Amazing, it happened like magic!

K: Hahaha

J: Its like it was trying to.

K: Its because I touched the desk. Anyway, the single will have been released. I'd like everyone to listen if they can.

J: But its the first digital release for Dir, right?

K: Yeah, the first digital only release.

J: Digital only, yeah...as a result of the effect of corona.

K: Well, when we first announced it, stores were trying to implement self-restraint and stuff, so people wouldn't be able to order copies in store, and we didn't know how long this would go on. There would be people who would have to go directly to the store to pick it up, so in order to get it to everyone who wanted to hear it, we thought we should release it digitally. So its only digital.

J: Is this like a message from the band that you are still gonna release material even in times like these?

K: Yeah, like, we could have waited until we were able to release it with packaging, like postponed it without announcing it, and just released it after everything had calmed down, but as a band, we thought that keeping active, and making new material will give is that link to the future. So we decided to release. 

J: The message is just recieving the song, right? I think its really important that the band stays active, so thats the basic message, right? Of course we want everyone to have a good listen to the song.

T: It was cool.

K: Oh, did you listen already?

J: I've listened too.

K: Oh, thank you.

T: The B-side was also cool.

K: Thank you. Ok, well, for today's theme, can I ask you Joe?

J: Yes, well its this news, it appeared in the news at the end of July. In the north east of South Korea, in the province of Gangwon-do, there is a place called Pyeongchang. Its been reported that in the S.Korean Botanical Garden there, a statue seemingly imitating Prime minister Abe kneeling in apology in front of a comfort women statue, has been installed. So, this has become news. After this was reported, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga said at a press conference on the 28th of July, 'We have not confirmed any actual connection', as well as, 'Its unforgivable in terms of diplomatic relations', and other such strong comments. On the other hand, the S.Korean foreign ministry made the general statement that, 'There is a need to consider international relations in terms of foreign leaders'. They do not support the installation of the statue, but did not outline any specific counter-measures against it. Appearing as a commentator on a TV talk show, lawyer Hideki Yashiro pointed out his opinion that as it gets publicity, being in the Botanical Gardens where the public are free to enter, the statue cannot be viewed in the same way as a private garden installation. He pointed out that failing to intervene when an action to damage diplomatic relations takes place in such a facility, is seen as if its the state's own view, and that the government refusing get involved due to the land being privately owned is unforgivable. Well, this really is 'Freedom of Expression'. The owner of the Garden used his own money to make the statue, but internationally it can been seen as quite offensive. This has become quite a talking point in Japan and online, and similarly, it also has in S.Korea too. Those who think that Japan should be made to apologize, and those who think this is bad timing and could end up worsening relations futher. Even in S.Korea people are split about it in this way. This is the news.

T: I see

J: This is a difficult issue, isn't it.

T: It is difficult. 

J: In what way should we consider this issue? How do you see this news, Kaoru?

K: Hmm, its extraordinary isn't it?

T: Absolutely...but this place Pyeongchang, it was in the news during the Pyeongchang Olympics. There were those 'Bullet Men' statues put up all over, depicting the perfect male form. It became news, like, is this art? What is this? So, this is also in Pyeongchang, so I wondered whether its just Pyeongchang culture or something?

J: Saying like, Pyeongchang makes a lot of statues?

T: Yeah.???*1

J: I see. But the head of this garden created this with his own money, surely there isn't much of a sense of it being art. Persisting with creating this message and putting it in the botanical gardens, doesn't necessarily mean it was made by the state, and I think it would be quite difficult for them to order the removal of the statue. Saying 'You have to remove it', even though it was built with private money, would be quite difficult. But on the Japanese side, Suga san was saying in regards to diplomatic relations 'Why are they deliberately making our country's Abe kneel in submission like that? Well, Suga has said that if this is true, it would have a severe effect on Japanese/S. Korean relations. He's making quite strong comments about this, but I think this may be a performance on Suga's part to maintain support for the increasingly unpopular Abe administration, by criticising S.Korea. He's moving away from freedom of expression to try and maintain his own popularity. So when you ask 'what is the core of this problem?', as soon as it blows up like this online, it becomes difficult to tell. There was a similar occurrence at the Aichi Triennale, and it also blew up online then too. Before you could really get to the bottom of the question of freedom of expresion, it kept on blowning up into completely different issues.

T: Yeah.

J: First it was all about Tsuda Daisuke's blonde hair.... This type of thing came up at this kind of time again, and I somehow thought it would've been better if a proper debate had been able to take place. Well, because there various ways to feel about this.

T: But in the end, I think this will end up hurting S.Korea, cause I know there are various opinions about this, but if they really want Abe or Japan to apologize, if they do it in this way, it may cause a gap to open up between the two sides. I don't think they've thought about it that far.

J: I see.

T: Conversely, it won't end up with any national benefit to the S.Korean people. It seems like it might hold back progress.

K: Well, but..

Kami: Uh..Isn't this quite subtle?

J: Mm, whats your view, Kami?

Kami: In my view, well, Japan and S.Korea don't have a great relationship, do they?

J: Yeh, they don't. Relations are continuing to worsen.

Kami: Because state promises were not kept, thats natural. I agree, that promises should be kept, that goes without saying. But the kneeling statue is probably Abe, right?

T: Well, yeh.

Kami: I think Abe has a lot to apologize for to the Japanese people too.

T: I see

J: Ahh

Kami: But no-one gets angry about that. Breaking promises is sickening, but like, its probably Abe kneeling on the ground right? If this was the Emporor, the symbol of Japan, that would be really bad, wouldn't it? It would be making a fool of all Japanese.

T: I see

Kami: But its Abe, isn't it? Haha.

J: You're really coming down from above today aren't you, Kami?

K: He's really emphasising this, isn't he?

J: He is.

Kami: But all those lies about the Sakura Party, giving money to his friends, using tax money to do it...

T: I see, I see.

Kami: Doing that type of thing, really, he should apologize for it to the Japanese people, I think.

T: I see.

K: But I bet if Kami was invited to the Sakura Party, he would go.

J: He would.

K: He'd recieve money and stuff..he'd go.

Kami: Of course I'd go.

J, K, T: Hahaha

Kami: I'd do the V-sign and get a photo together.

J: Kami, you're trivial!

Kami: Yep, I'd soon be won over.

J: You change a lot, don't you, Kami?

Kami: I'm affable.

K: Affable? haha

J: Such positive thinking, right? haha.

Kami: I'd want to give off a favourable impression.

J: He has quite a way with words, being able to express that in an affable way.

T: Affable, haha.

J: They do say that these kind of fence-sitters are unprincipled. He said he was affable! Next time Im asked, I'll say Im affable.

*mic falls off desk*  Ahh, eventually!..The mic just naturally falling here. Essentially, I think he does have things to apologize for to his citizens. And Suga san at the press conference, for sure, there is the problem of how this case will affect international relations, but in regards to the anger of the citizens of this country, he should apologize for things that are slightly different. He should make time for it.

T: Well, there is that too.

J: I started to want to say that. Kami's anger is also quite right.

K: Oh yeh, as for our conversation, I just wanted to go back to what we spoke about previously, in our live broadcast before, we wanted people to ask things to Kami.

J: What was all that?

K: I think we talked about it.

J: What were the questions?

K: What were they?

J: Oh, is it this? *points to a section in his notes*

K: Ah, can I ask?

J: Questions for Kami.

Kami: I'll slip up if im put on the spot too much.

K: Oh, please slip up.

J: We want to see you slipping up.

Kami: Ahh.

K: Q) Kami, how can you become a god?

Kami: A god? Thats easy.

J: Do you have to study?

Kami: Use a voice changer.

J, K, T: Hehehe

J: How do you respond to that?

Kami: Yeh, of course the timing of your jokes is important.

K: We kinda already knew that.

J: Well, yeah. I feel bad that we couldn't get this point rolling more.

K: But the viewers probably found it interesting. They'll be wondering what a voice changer is...

Kami: No, they are not in the position of a god.

J: For sure, they may wonder about why a voice changer..But some people might be like, Ahh, I see.

K: Well, they'll probably be drawn into it. Like, 'I just have to change my voice?'

J: Yeh, yeh, yeh.

K: Ok, well I'd like to finish here for today. Please subscribe.

J: Please do.

K: Ah, also, please check out the new single. Thank you very much.

J: Please excuse us.

T: Thank you.

*1 Couldn't catch.

* Sakaura Party refers to a dubious annual Spring party Abe used to invite all his cronies to.

This is a touchy subject, so do please let me know if you think I've gotten anything wrong.

[50cyg]

Takari in Tri/Follow up to Digimon Tri Pairing post (unreasonably long, you have been warned)

Okay so a few days ago I did a post about the Digimon Adventure Tri ships that I am 95% certain will be canon, and how I feel if they do become canon Toei is doing two of them a great disservice by not investing the time into making us care for them.

Since then, I have received a few asks about my feelings on Takari as they were not featured in my post. There is a very simple explanation as to why they were not featured in my post and that is because I forgot about them… OKAY DON’T KILL ME! HEAR ME OUT!!

Yes Takari is definitely included in my “ships I am 95% sure will be canon”

Takeru is shown to have his arm around her waste in the same merchandize pick that has Sora and Yamato together

And also, this infamous scene

But the reason I forgot about them and why, even if I had remembered them, they would not have been included in that post is because they do not line up with the point that post was trying to make. Toei does not need to invest time into making us like Takari because 95% of the fandom is already in love with them, no convincing needed. I would guess that even for the 5% they are not a Notp but rather a ship they either just don’t get or prefer another ship over them (me being the latter).

Unlike the other 3 ships I mentioned, Meichi, Sorato and Koumi, and basically any other of the other pairings in digimon, Takari literally has nothing standing in the way of it being Canon.

Meichi is in hot competition with Taiyama and Taiora (the two favored pairings for Taichi from my understanding). If Meichi becomes canon and the creators put no effort into converting some of the non-shippers they are going to have a lot of hate on their hands. In addition, it’s also in competition from people who ship Meiko with other people (MeikoxMimi appearing to be the favoured with MeikoxSora seeming to come in as a close second, and I have also seen some JyouxMeiko shippers… OH AND BTW WHERE ARE THE YAMATOXMEIKO SHIPPERS?? I mean I don’t ship them but it surprises the hell out of me that this is not a thing anywhere… there is way more shippable moments between them then TaichixMeiko…. :S seriously in shock that YamatoxMeiko has not taken off yet). I’m going to be honest, I feel like Tri (based solely on the moments we have had in the movies and excluding Taiyama as an option) is actually gearing up for a YamatoxMeiko and TaichixSora ending. But I don’t think that will end up being the case because of the controversy it could cause which ties into my “Gut Feeling” I keep talking about.

With Koumi they have Jyoumi, TaichixMimi and YamatoxMimi to compete with (Mimi seems to be the most shippable female). I will be honest, I was never a part of the fandom until after I watched Reunion so I had no idea that Koumi was a thing… everyone I knew either shipped Jyoumi or YamatoxMimi and I always thought Jyoumi was a given as a child (I felt about them the way most people seemed to have felt about Taiora and Takari, that they were the one couple destined to be canon) so I was very shocked when I watched Reunion and instead of Jyoumi like I expected I got Koumi and boy was I not happy. So Toei needs to invest time into attempting to convert me to a Koumi shipper, which they have (I’m still not converted but I have some interest in it)

And Sorato we all know has a lot of fire behind it. It has been at the center of what is, to my knowledge, the greatest Ship War in the fandom. Now I wasn’t in any online community until recently and as a child didn’t care that Sora ended up with Yamato (I actually completely forgot it happened until it was brought up by a friend of mine in highschool and I was just like “oh yeah… that was a thing wasn’t it”) so I have only heard about this war in legend, although I believe I have recently been subject to the after effects of it… Anyway, Sorato is in competition primarily with Taiora and Taiyama, as well as many other ships to a lesser extend like SoraxMeiko, JyouxSora, etc. If this ship is not made canon in Tri then Sorato fans will be very upset (and understandably so, there are even Taiora fans who feel that if Sorato is removed then it is disrespectful). At the same time, if it is made canon they still have a large fanbase upset. Furthermore, unlike Meichi and Koumi who could easily become canon without changing anything because who these kids ended up with was left up in the air – Sorato was not left up in the air, it is canon and they either have to change the ending or go with it, no alternative. So, more so then any other ship, I feel they need to make people invested in these two to avoid massive backlash.

Takari, like with ships like Koumi and Taiyama, is getting a lot of attention from the creators because it is so popular within the fandom (probably the most popular ship of all) and so of course they are going to want to cater to it. Now Taiyama is not likely to be made canon because it isn’t a Heterosexual couple (I don’t think this point needs further explanation…)

Takari is a whole different game than any other pairing in digimon, in my opinion. It has virtually no competition and certainly no real competition. They are most people’s OTP for these two characters. And also, who they ended up with is left up in the air so even if Tri sticks with the original epilogue, these two could very easily be married in that world. And they are a heterosexual couple… they literally meet all of the criteria to easily be made canon whether this is the 02 Epilogue universe or an alternate universe. So yeah… let’s say they have a 98% chance of becoming canon to me 😝 and I’m putting that 2% in as a safe net… and also because I think an argument can be made for them not becoming canon… which I’m about to do because it ties into how I feel about the couple, specifically their relationship in Tri

Okay let’s talk how I felt about Takari as a child before getting on to Tri… because this one ask was left ever so slightly ambiguous as to if they wanted my feelings in general or just Tri (most of my focus will be on Tri but I’ll cover all my bases).

When I was a kid I shipped these two for sure (not really hard… the only ship I shipped super hard as a child to my recollection was syaoran x sakura from Cardcaptors). And I think I just assumed they were married in the Epilogue because it wasn’t stated otherwise. They are the youngest two characters and super cute together

Love the scene with them against piedmon

And holding hands as they fall (just noticed that in this scene Hikari is holding his hand and it’s reversed in Tri)

And they had some good moments together in 02. I love every second of them together in Hurricane Touchdown, especially the train scene (favourite scene in the original Japanese version)

They really do act like partners and people who have known each other forever, more so than I think a lot of the other pairings in the original cast (but that might be because of how much we see Hikari and Takeru vs the other 6). But I always really liked the idea of Wizardmon and Hikari as a couple as well. And have grown a love for HikarixKoushiro in recent years (I have plans to do a post on why I ship these two in the next week).

Tri though has done something very peculiar to my feelings regarding Takari, it seems to have done the same thing to many Koumi fans, and that is that it has made me ship Takari less.

I seem to not be seeing what everyone else is seeing. Many people seem to believe that Hikari is in love with Takeru but I am not getting that vibe at all.

The way she teases him about the Girlfriend in Reunion does not come across as someone who is jealous. It comes across as a girl making fun of her guy friend, who she has zero interest in, finding himself a girlfriend.

Takeru on the other hand does come off like he is hoping Hikari is jealous, so I think he likes her romantically

I’ll give more detail in a sec but I want to take a moment to point out that I feel this is similar to their dynamic in 01 and 02 (I always felt he liked her more than she liked him) because in hurricane touchdown (at least in the English version, I don’t remember the Japanese version off the top of my head) he seems annoyed with her concern for Daisuke

And in the episode with the dark ocean he is acting like he is trying to confess and she seems kind of oblivious to me, or maybe understanding but not 100% on the same page as him

The way she warns Meiko comes off one of two ways to me: either as a girl warning another girl about her platonic friend who is a playboy, but who she also has affection for and so it is said in a lighthearted way vs in more of a “omg get away while you can” kinda way

Or alternatively, and here we are getting into some theories of mine, as a girlfriend warning another girl about her boyfriend while also stealthily telling her boyfriend off for flirting…

Okay so I think it is not in any way unthinkable that Hikari and Takeru could have gotten together between the airport battle and the scene where they are searching with Meiko. I think it is possible they are secretly dating. Because I also think the scene where Hikari seems to be teasing Takeru in Loss comes off as either a girl teasing a guy friend about a potential crush or a girlfriend warning her boyfriend

Unlike Koumi though, where it is over the top obvious that Koushiro likes Mimi, all of the non-teasing moments with Takari could easily come off as both platonic and Romantic love.

Her holding him after he loses patamon

Yamato also holds him

Takeru is holding her arm not her hand

I’m Just saying…

…

And even if he was holding her hand

I’m just saying…

As for him always being by her side protecting her… well he has always been like that, he is just by his nature very protective of her and honestly, I think they have always hinted that he likes her from 01 to 02 to now Tri. But you could also argue there are a lot of pairing like this

Koushiro is always by Taichi’s side as the series progressed

Taichi and Yamato are often attached at the hip

Sora and Taichi are pretty attached at the hip (specifically in adventure)

Jyou is always protecting Takeru

He is also pretty attached to Mimi

Now the scene where she says he has grown up… I do not get this scene… I don’t see how Takeru has grown up any more than he had grown up in 02… and I definitely don’t see how this scene showcases he has grown up. But I would say this is the most shippable moment, I feel like her thinking he has grown up is one of those very cliché (not as in bad cliché but as in recognizable) lines that indicates growing romantic interest.

Why I ship them less is because I don’t really like the way she teases him… she almost seems to tease him in the same way she teased Daisuke. It comes across as more mocking than anything else and I don’t care for it, just like how I didn’t care for how she treated Daisuke.

Also there is the MeikoxTakeru stuff I wanted to address. Cause there is a lot of MeikoxTekeru in Tri. She has more interaction with him than any other male character and also

I think Hikari ships it lol

Okay so I addressed the scene where she gets the nick name earlier.

But then we also have the scenes in Determination (also side note but Yamato is so fucken hot in this scene omg, that necklace that shirt perfection)

And him being the first to come up to greet her friend (Maki)

The fact that he opens up to only her in Confession, and I know you could argue it’s because she is the only one who may understand but it also means he has a level of comfort with her

And how he tried to get her to come to the digital world with them

Playboy with shy girl is almost more common in anime then hyperactive/lead boy with shy girl (takeruxmeiko vs taichixmeiko)

Anyway, I’m not going to do a long analysis of TakeruxMeiko, I just wanted to throw it out there as a possibility or alternative to Takari

I feel like I have kinda gone around in circles with this post, sorry, it’s probably not super easy to follow.

I have heard there is an interview where they said they were planning to make Takari Canon but I’d like to see some definitive proof. Actually I’d like to see some proof of all these rumored interviews… like the one where they said the epilogue is still going to be canon specifically. Cause I have some theories about that one but I need to know the exact wording used, otherwise I’m shooting a little more in the dark.

Thank you everyone who requested this topic 😊 and to everyone who actually got to the end of it. This post is over 4 pages long in an MS Word document haha

[jwb2012]

Greetings Fanboys and Fangirls everywhere, After suffering from Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue and the second season of Earth Defence Club, I just go a visit from the Freelance Police whom some of you might Recognize from there 1993 Hit the Road game, Sam & Max... Yeah Sam & Max are characters I never talked about on my Review page before, Basically starting out as Comic Strip Characters like Garfield, They began to hit big with there games and from what I've seen, They do not suck like Earth Defence Club in the like, But the Tell-tale game are what is the Resurgence to the Franchise, They came to me with a file of Complaint of Evil forces in the Neighbourhood, Alternate Dimensions making this one look odd, making fun of some Magical Boy groups without a licence, And turning a School Idol group evil... So they might be condemning my statues for the time being, But Max did say (Max: look on the bright side, You can stop with Phelous for the time being.... JWB: SQUIDWARD JWBS REVIEWS IS MOVIENG OUT!!!!!!!!!!) And so I'm Relocated in the Basement of Phelous's house, JWB: Thanks Phelan. Phelous: No problem buddy, now that your Review statues is part of mine temporarily, You can review some Animes and other stuff. JWB: Yeah and I might do the Live-Action TMNT movie reviews. Phelous: Yeah, But you know what would be interesting for you to do after the suffering you been in... Have you ever talked about a movie that features one Pretty Cure Group? JWB: Well you have a good point there Phelous, I don't think I have before. Considering that I've only covered three Pretty Cure All Stars movies so far (And probably defending the second DX movie and Phrasing two villains from Spring Carnival) I don't think I covered one of the Single team movies in general, in this case it shall be Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart the Movie released back in 2005 (Which is the first Pretty Cure movie ever to be made) with the Group that started this all, That's right everyone Cure Black and Cure White, along with there new recruit or stand-in Aid Shiny Luminous, Lets talk about the history, Well this Team started in 2004 Futari wa Pretty Cure or simply known to us all as Pretty Cure (PreCure for sort) this was the first series in the Pretty Cure metaseries created by Izumi Todo(Whom has become something of a God of PreCure). The original series, directed by Daisuke Nishio, aired on TV Asahi between February 1, 2004 and January 30, 2005 in the same timeslot as Izumi Todo's previous work Ashita no Nadja. It was the first of the Pretty Cure series to have received an adapted English-language version, Let me explain that more On February 25, 2006, 4Kids Entertainment announced broadcasting and distribution rights for Pretty Cure in the United States, though never produced an English version of it. In July, 2008, Toei Animation began making episodes available through IGN's Direct2Drive service subtitled into English, and have also started making those same episodes available for free internet streaming on the Crunchyroll website. The subtitles were produced by "Nippon Golden Network", a Hawaii-based cable network that broadcasts Asian programming (mostly from Japan). In April 2009, Funimation used to license the English-subtitled version of the series for online distribution on the company's website. The series is currently available for streaming in North America on Crunchyroll and Hulu. The theme song of the English dub is: Together We Are Pretty Cure. An English-dubbed version was produced by Toei and Ocean Productions using their Blue Water studio in Calgary, Alberta which aired on Canada's YTV channel from March 6, 2009 to July 31, 2010. The English dub makes several changes to character names, cultural references and theme music, though mostly retains the original version's main soundtrack. This dub also aired in the United Kingdom on the Pop Girl digital channel from September 6, 2010. The anime later re-aired on TV Asahi's cable channel, TeleAsa Channel 1. (What I think of the Dub.... I didn't think it was that bad, Would have been better then what 4kids would have done.) with the success of the first season A direct sequel, Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart, or simply Max Heart, aired in Japan between February 6, 2005 and January 29, 2006. (Unfortunately, This season along with the rest in the future never got dubbed at this point) Hence where we are not Reviewing the first Movie in the Franchise. Now the movie was directed by Atsuji Shimizu, I would look into some of the other things he's done but on Wikipedia, there's not much to look into I'm afraid, But at least we might learn more about them in the future, Now that we have that out of the way, Let's dive into the first Movie Pretty Cure movie that came into existence.

We begin our Story in a Dark and wet cave and for some reason a Pirate Ship is in it, (Wait a second, WE FOUND CAPTAIN MORGAN'S SHIP!) No it is home to our Antagonist of the movie the Dark Witch where she is looking into her Crystal ball for something that's interesting catches her eyes, Now she is voiced by Katsuki Masako now this might shock some people... She was the Voice of Sailor Neptune in the original Sailor Moon Series, She explains that she want's the Garden of Hope's Diamond line (Well that gonna cost you a lot) so she sends her minions the Zakenna's (Which the Pretty Cures of the first to seasons would usually fight) Now the opening theme here is from the first season which in this is the Max Heart version, Now to many fans the song is Iconic, How they put the opening in this movie kinda makes it feel like your watching an episode, Now we cut to our main protagonists of this movie and the Show itself let's start with Cure Black real name Nagisa Misumi who is voiced by non other then Yōko Honna whom some of you might know as Rin form xxxHolic, Ere from Oh my Goddess and Chika from The Cat Returns, In the English dub she is named Natalie Blackstone and was voiced by Rocio Barahona She is often known for her catchphrase of yelling "Unbelievable!" (Okey if you seen my other three Precure reviews before, and remember when I call her an Idiot, You must think I flat out dislike Cure Black, Which is not true, I do have some respect for her Character Development but when it comes to her personality... Well, I like to think of her as a special case, That or I like to make jokes about her) and Cure White real name Honoka Yukishiro who is voiced by Yukana who you might remember as Yuri Tanima from Wedding Peach and Mailin Li from Cardcaptor Sakura, In the English dub she is named Hannah Whitehouse and was voiced by Michelle Molineux, I sometimes see her as the Brainy girl to Nagisa's Stronger points like Yin & Yang are eating at Tako Cafe, and Akane Fujita / Alex Fujita who is voiced by Mikako Fujita says that if Nagisa keeps eating so fast and improperly, she'll never find a boyfriend. I'd take her word Nagisa, We wouldn't want your Female figure to go all Donute inside, But Hikari asks if it is Shougo / Shawn... Which makes her head blush, (Don't Hide it from me Nat, I seen the season where your going Red) Hikari Kujo aka Shiny Luminous by the way is voiced by Rie Tanaka who was Mars in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl and Shuri Kurosaki from Asura Cryin' (Good times) It's also not helped when He and his friend Kimata arrive, but is seems they are preparing for a Run... With Nagisa missing her chance to say something to the guy, I sometimes get the idea that she's afraid of boys, , Not sure if it's true or not but I can always speculate, After the boys left, Akane, Hikari, and Honoka were laughing in front of Nagisa, making her feel offended and almost went away, before Honoka noticed a diamond on her neck. Nagisa returned and everyone said it's really pretty. Akane-san said that she gifted this to herself for her birthday. While everyone were looking at the diamond, someone with a brown coat and hat was watching them. (Oh god it the demon creeper from Jeepers Creepers), While the girls and there Fairies Mipple said that she'd like to have one, and Mepple said that he'll definitely give her one someday. (phelous: HAHAHAHAAA HE said Mipple and Mepple HAHAHaaa) They got into love-love mode but suddenly returned to their commune forms, sensing a stalker. It keeps asking if they are really Pretty Cure. The girls were prepared to fight, and that figure kept asking them. Then more voices came from the invisible figure and he took of his coat. It appeared there were many things inside him and they started attacking Nagisa, Honoka and Hikari. The girls transformed into Pretty Cure and Shiny Luminous. And let me tell you something about the Transformation in this, IT's like they have been turned into Metal like the Liquid Metal T-1000 from Terminator 2, Shiny Luminous how ever doesn't have the same idea, But let me tell you something, She is "Life of the Queen" in human form after the Queen got split apart following her last encounter with the Dark King. They defeated those thingsand they reveal there true colours (Phelous: OH DEAR GOD, THE CREEPER IS REALLY THE GREMLINS, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES GIRLS!!! JWB: Noo... It's not the Creeper, It's much worse.) it appeared to be normal frog mascots with elastic arms. Oh god... This are the Courageous frog Warriors of the Garden of Hope. (Which I'm guessing is a Sister Location to the Garden of Light) we have Round I believe is the leader Oval, Heart, Pear, Trilliant, Marquis and.... GRRRR Square AHAHHHHHHHHHHHH They reveal to be that they were testing the Cures because they wanted them to protect their home world, the Garden of Hope. They explained their story about the Dark Witch, trying to thief their precious Diamond Line. Mipple, Mepple, and Pollun said that it's probably something similar to the Garden of Light's Prism Stones. They will help them; however, Hikari notices Akane will be really busy today. Then Honoka's grandma came, and they had to hide everyone in the closet. She asked to take off the laundry because it's going to rain. Sure deal with the Daily tasks first, I'm sure nothing bad will come while Time passes by... Later, the mascots kept asking them to come right now. Pesky little buggers aren't they, They said, that they'll give them charms - the proofs of courageous warriors in the Garden of Hope,, I guess that's the best way of Bribing them into it. So they go off and... It looks like they get encased in a Diamond as well (Phelous: I'm sure they might die due to lack of Oxygen, Knowing there might not be any air holes in them) http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/prettycure/images/c/ce/Goh1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150616115347 Is it me or does the Garden of Hope look like a Diamond shaped version of Earth... I'm just saying cause there's some similarities in it. So they land in the most Meateor hitting earth like manner and seems Pretty Cure's Mascots are sleeping, Ahh good they might need the rest. But unfortunately for Pretty Cure... They'll be traveling to where the Frogs will guild them... on foot... (Khadger: Well, the Lang travel on foot might gain them some VP, But they might need some weapons to fight off some enemies along the way), They finally make it to a Castle that... Just an even bigger Diamond then the rest, These Damn frogs are living the dream aren't some enemies along the way), They finally make it to a Castle that... Just an even bigger Diamond then the rest, These Damn frogs are living the dream aren't that's when they meet the Prince... Why... Why is he here? file:///C:/Users/new%20user/Pictures/Saved%20Pictures/Prince_of_Hope.jpg Seriously, The Prince look like Nagisa's Crush, Really what's he even doing here? They also head over to the Fountain of Hope where they are looking at a Frog Statue, I kid you not, It's explained that this is the Guardian God of the Fountain, The Kero Kero God, And gee, I wonder what there Queen will be like, I must question the idea of everything even the buildings being made of a Mineral that's is... harder then glass, the Garden of Hopes must have this very weird Diamond based economy, (Phelous: I can imagine some Pirates and Treasure Hunter's going crazy for this one, Isn't that Right Old Man? WOW This worlds fortune most be higher then my Cousins bank account, Old Mayor, ) So they meet the Queen who Greets them with her Horned Butler What the Damn hell is he? He then gives Pretty Cure the Diamond Line which is just a Necklace Earrings and a Bracelet, So that is what the Dark Witch is after... Not much to see there, Alright, And your entrusting the Girls that are still new to there upgrades season with it, you dumb shit, And the reason why they are entrusting them with them is that they are the Queens B-Day presents, Fare enough... and it gives hope to all the worlds, and if the Diamond Line is stolen, then all the hope is lost and all the worlds (including Garden of Rainbows) will be deserted in darkness, (This is quite a lot to take in so, Please take your time) before the trio agreed to help them. Later, when the mascots told girls about the party, And this is where I point out Why I really hate Square... Because he is the Biggest Ass-hole of the Group, Square opposes the Cures' help, and proves that the warriors should be protecting the Diamond Line, and now walks away. (Phelous: Trust issues much?) Anyway the mascots told girls about the party, and Pollun awakened. He met Marquis and they became friends. Honoka follows to talk with Square, but when they tried talking, And like a Prick he just ran away. And things start to get unsavoury, At the Party Square started making fun of them, that they can't work alone, only by combining their powers. (NEVER INSULT THERE FIGHTING TECHNICKS) Nagisa got furious at him and ran away, which makes Mepple follow her. Nagisa getting pissed like this is like me getting Angry at Square at this point. Don't forget She's bigger then him so She'd squash the Basterd. Then the prince came, and asked, did the witch already came. Honoka lied, that she went to patrol outside. (Okey I know that Telling the Prince on Square's Ass-hole behaviour might discredit him in front of everyone in the Party might make you girls look like bigger Asses, But Lying to the Prince is probably the Worse thing you can do, Have you heard of the Story of the Boy who cried Wolf, I though you where smarter then this Honoka?) Meanwhile, everything started and the Queen came out wearing the Diamond Line. She blessed the diamonds of the citizens, and went outside. Until.... Dark Witch Finally shows up to interrupted the celebration and begins to attack with her Zakenna, formed into a pirate ship. (Well gotta hand it to her, She is quiet creative) The knights tried battling her, and she transformed front of her ship to shark Zakenna. Without Nagisa, Honoka and Hikari could just watch. Then Hikari transformed to Luminous to fight until Nagisa comes, (Blame Square for making her Run off) but she was beaten by one shot... The witch triumphantly stole the Diamond Line from the Queen, According to the Dark Witch, she is one of the servants of the Dusk Zone, and her goal is to resurrect the Dark King with the Diamond Line, (Okey, Now I must say something about the Dark Witch's design, Abit alright but All I have to say Yish to that Hair do, Did Taz do his Spinning on there head?) since all the world will be imbalanced. Luminous halted her, but the witch knock her unconscious. Nagisa finally arrived to transform to Pretty Cure. (Nagisa: Sorry sorry, I was late, I had some minor Traffic involving Party people to deal with. Honoka: Ohh That's okey, Traffic Jams involving running crowds are hectic at times.) They tried fighting back, but they become flimsy, before the Dark Witch disappears. (Well that didn't go so well) Everyone, especially Square, blamed Black, (WOW, Not even the slightest amount of Remorse from the Blue Frog, And Admits that he was right without even acknowledging the whole they can't transform without the other SQUARE YOU F%$@ING MISRABLE FROG OF HATE!!!!!!, The Beast was at least was a sympathetic character when you get to know him more in Beauty and the Beast. And why are the rest of you Blaming Nagisa for this little Defeat you Dumb shits?) but Mipple and Mepple defend her. Sadly enough, Black just apologized to everyone and went away crying. So the just asked these girls to protect the Diamond Line without getting information about this Pretty Cure Group, That's abit rushed don't you think? Loo I admit, Maybe they screw up abit... on some occasions, But was this really necessary? This just pits some of the fairies as Sort-sighted Arrogant little Ass-hats that would kick anyone that screws up some of the most simplest tasks, Which is... Wrong And... I fell sorry for Cure Black in this, I don't blame her for being late for the battle, If Square had kept his Frogy mouth shut, Then the Out come would have been different, After the prince talks to Black and giving her his Badge of a Warrior, Then Black was walking the hall when White called her. They decided to go and take back the bracelet. Everyone (except Square, who was still thinking of them as burdens) (JWB: Square just shut the f#@$ up! Phelous: And I though Toad was annoying) seemed to be forgiven Black. Without the Diamond Line, the Fountain of Hope started parching, and the Garden of Hope started being wrecked too. Then everyone flied to the place where the witch is with the same spell. The prince tried to follow them, but he couldn't travel without his charm. (Then Why didn't you have another one in your Room... The People of the Garden of Hope are ether crazy or Just Stupid?) So they make it to the Ship Graveyard and... It seems she's been gathering a lot of Ships, I'm not impressed, I mean where's the Titanic? until the bat Zakenna broke the diamond, making them fall. White had to save Black from falling, because she can't swim. (Really Cure Black, You can't swim, Haven't you taken Swimming classes at school Nat?) While the battle goes on the Dark Witch decides Hay I want to fight Pretty Cure to. she prepares to battle the Cures. Square tries punching her with his elastic abilities, but she moved quickly and used a move on Square. YAY the Ass-holes got what he desearved, Pretty Cures decided to use Marble Screw Max, but the witch dodged the move with her gigantic dark element. Now, every ship was set ablaze. (JWB: Phelous, Just how powerful is this Witch? Phelous: It's Over 9000!!! JWB: WHAT 9000?) Anyway The girls tried to save everyone, but Marquis was missing, and Round finds his torn cape. Square blamed Pretty Cure,(IT WAS THE WITCHES FAULT YOU WALKING BLUE MISTAKE OF NATURE!!! I'm this close to ringing that Frogy neck of yours) but everyone else said, that it was the witch's fault. Then the charms reacted to the bracelet in order to discover Marquis. Well that's useful, So The Cures fight against the bats to proceeded to the witch and steal the ball from the Dark Witch. Pretty Cure were battling the witch, while the mascots carried the bracelet into the Garden of Hope, and started carrying it to the palace. While Battling Cure Black just remembered something, that today is a sale at chocolate store, and because of that witch she won't get in time to buy them (Cure Black, that's not important to this plot, though... Idiot!). But To the Girls credit there Fighting stills are kinda fast pace (Phelous: JWB, What's the status on Pretty Cures Powers? JWB: It's over 8000!! Phelous: 8000... That's not to bad) but she fired her move right in front of the girls' faces, making them collapse. Then Marquis came out of the ship to the Black, and the witch flew back to the castle to take back the bracelet. Well at least the Prince is Helping the Frogs take the bracelet to the Castle, Marquis cried of Pretty Cure. He said the spell, but nothing happened. (Holy shit are they really dead?) He started crying again, but the charm the prince gave to Black reacted. Trouble comes when The witch sent her bat Zakenna to fight the frog mascots, while she herself headed to palace. Prince and Hikari got to the palace, but the witch quickly appears. Prince tried battling the witch with his sword, but he was trembling, (Phelous: You know the Prince is bit of a weak moron isn't he?) even though he faces his fear. The Dark Witch fired at the prince, but Hikari sacrificed herself, and passes out. (NOT AGAIN, I'm getting the idea that She's not the most useful without her fellow Cures) Then Black and White got mad and stood to fight. (Ohh shits going down now!) The witch summoned dozen of bat Zakennas, and Black and White defeated them with one blast. (JWB: Phelous... What are the readings now? Phelous: T.t...t... 10'000!!!!!!!) Alright it's the final level and The witch transformed to her true form and started attacking cures. The girls were weak, but they still stood. White said, that for them to losing is "Really unbelievable". (Cure Black Hey!! That's my line! Cure White: Ohh Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else to say) The Queen now regenerates and commands everyone to give their powers to the girls. They have to believe in the cures and the diamonds. Everyone stood in circle around the cures, and gave them powers. Hikari woke up being transformed to Luminous. The Dark Witch summons her attack at everyone, but Square sacrificed himself barely to deny the attack. Ahh that was pretty Noble of him to Sacrifice his own existence for there's, Maybe he's learned something from this... But then again... Maybe not. Everyone, including Square, gave the girls their charms. They transformed into golden versions, and have the ability to fly and were too fast for the witch. allowing Pretty Cure to defeat the Witch for good... Okay there golden forms are nothing special in my opinion, Just gold versions of there Precure cloths with some extra features, At least it's not as stupid at Power Ranger's Metallic Armour that's really Glitter. The Garden of Hope and the Fountain of Hope reverted to normal. After a really tearful goodbye (With the Acceptation of Square having al little bit of Character Development), the girls returned back to their home. with Square in tears, (JWB: Ahh I love the sound of a Crying Ass-hole, What about you Phelan? Phelous: Yes, Feed me your tears you little Basterd Hahahahaa) And so this Movie ends with Hikari came back, Akane said that it's still her break. Honoka worried, that she didn't took off the laundry her grandma mentioned earlier. Then Nagisa saw a frog outside. Honoka claims that it's the Kero Kero God. The girls decided to try flying just the 2 of them, but nothing happened, reminding this playfully. Not sure that's how the Frog God works but that's gonna be something I'll have to accept without question, So Phelous did we learn something from this? that WE HATE THIS MOVIE COMPLETELY!!!!!

Okey Truth be told, We didn't hate it completely, It was... Okey for Pretty Cures first outing into movies, It's by all means not perfect, But it's enjoyable but Frustrating in places, Feels like it could have been a Movie that would Bridge the First season and the Second season, But it's alright, The Animation is okey for the most part, Probably the same budget as the show, Funny because this feels like a three part Episode, So I give this first Pretty Cure movie 7 out of 10, Also Square is an Idiotic and Untrusting Ass-hole, The other Frogs should have killed him for being this stupid, (But then Phelous and JWB see Square Hungged and such image shocked the two Reviewers) Ohh I guess we get the pleasure of Ghostbusting Square now... Man this is bad... Hope Sam & Max don't bust me for Murdering a Frog Mascot.

Cure White: Turns out Being Murdered did not help Squares position as Guardian at all, He was replaced by an Old Man. Old-Man: Haha, Now I'm the Guardian of the Garden of.... What ever this place is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxlBmJdtMVA.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 12/26/18

Abara | By Tsutomu Nihei | Viz Media – Although it’s up for debate how directly or tangentially related Abara actually is to Knights of Sidonia, in my mind the manga is unquestionably a precursor to Nihei’s later work. Even if they take different forms, the two series at the very least share elements of the same dystopic vision, a grim future in which humanity’s survival is not guaranteed in the face of the existence of creatures known as Gauna. Collected in a single, deluxe hardcover volume (along with another of Nihei’s earlier stories, “Digimortal”), Abara feels like the beginning of something grand even while being a complete work unto itself. Rather than prioritizing a narrative telling a coherent story, more than anything else the plot serves as a vehicle to showcase Nihei’s artwork and the astonishing, nightmarish atmosphere it creates. And that is just fine—the illustrations in Abara are stunning, managing to be simultaneously  beautiful and grotesque. – Ash Brown

Again!!, Vol. 6 | By Mitsurou Kubo | Kodansha Comics – In the original timeline, the fate of the ouendan was sealed when Usami was responsible for a disaster at a baseball practice game. This time, Imamura is working very hard to make sure that doesn’t happen. True, he still blames himself for the team’s eventual loss, since he wounded the pitcher’s fragile ego, but some things have clearly changed as a result of his actions. Namely, Usami is able to get the crowd on their side, rallying their spirits with her cheers when all seemed lost, and earning some praise from the school principal for her leadership. Sometimes this series is frustrating in that characters have to work harder for the kind of sports manga successes that make me sniff, but man, there are a few brief, glorious moments in this volume that are all the sweeter for having been hard-won. – Michelle Smith

Giant Spider & Me, Vol. 3 | By Kikori Morino | Seven Seas – There’s a bit of seriousness at the start of the third Giant Spider manga, as we find out why our kidnapper is so upset about the spider—his daughter was clawed by a cute baby bear, and died from an infection from the wounds. The rest of the volume, though, is relatively sedate, and even the big finale, in which Asa appears to be either ill or grumpy but is merely molting is pretty low-key. And yes, it’s a big finale as this is the final volume, even though the author says they know Nagi and Asa have lots more adventures. This is the sort of series that doesn’t really need a dramatic climax, but Nagi has changed thanks to her giant spider friend—she’s now surrounded by other friends as well. This was sweet. – Sean Gaffney

Girls’ Last Tour, Vol. 5 | By Tsukumizu| Ywn Press – Each volume of this gets darker than the last, while still maintaining its mood of “two girls wander around a city in their tank.” Chito almost dies a couple of times, and sprains her ankle at one point, leading to Yuu attempting to do leader-like things, which does lead to some laughs. And there’s a fascinating sequence when they look at modern art in a deserted museum. They’re still going up, though, and are helped in this (after breaking into a building using more high explosives) by an AI unit that begs for them to turn it off. We also get a flashback to how their journey began, showing that they were kids staying with adults at one point, and that things are terrible all over. One more volume to go. Will it end in death? – Sean Gaffney

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends, Vol. 16 | By Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi | Seven Seas – The big surprise in this volume is that the student council president happens to be Yozora’s older sister. We’ve seen for a while that family issues are a large part of what makes Yozora the way she is, and it’s no surprise that she’s in a relatively foul mood this volume, where the Neighbors Club and the Student Council go on a vacation together. Before that, though, we do get Yozora returning to the Neighbors Club, and a virtual reality game that I will just gloss over as I found it the weakest part of the book. And for fans of Kodaka and Sena, there’s the final scene, even though it’s just a dream that… Rika has? Why is Rika dreaming of things like that? A good, fun volume, though even more perverse than usual. – Sean Gaffney

Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods, Vol. 3 | By Takuto Kashiki | Yen Press – Adorable and relaxing take a back seat to ADVENTURE in this volume, as Conju is kidnapped while in a “rough section” of town, requiring a rescue that involves a lost liquor, hang-gliding, and lots of faux badasses who really aren’t all that. It’s a heck of a lot of fun, and really shows off our heroes at their best. They also do well taking Hakumei’s boss out for a day on the town, showing him that life is not just work 24/7. And there’s a chapter involving sweets and some badgers that is quite funny. I’m really enjoying this series, though it has to be said—Hakumei and Mikochi are a married couple, they’re just not aware of it yet. (Nor do I expect that to change.) – Sean Gaffney

Hatsu*Haru, Vol. 4 | By Shizuki Fujisawa | Yen Press – How much you enjoy this volume may depend on how much you can take “I am oblivious to even a direct confession” on the part of Riko, which makes Kai once again spend half the book holed up in his room wondering where everything went wrong. Even when he returns to school and tries to take up his playboy ways once more, things go wrong—right now Riko needs a good friend more than a boyfriend, and if Kai’s not there, well, maybe Takaya will do. (Honestly, Takaya seems to be like he has his own issues, which I suspect may get revealed in a future volume.) Will Riko ever get Kai’s feelings? Does she like him back? Is she even ready to move on? And what of Ayumi, the intrepid newshound? Hatsu*Haru is a well-written soap. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 12 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – I imagine there may be some people who have dropped Horimiya by now, and I get it—Hori is sort of a terrible person, groping her friends and joking about getting “technical” consent, and still being upset that Miyamura isn’t hitting her like she really wants him to. She’s a bit of a teenage mess, really. Fortunately, the cast around her have their shit together, so I don’t think things will get that bad. Honestly, seeing Hori groping Sakura reminded me that Sakura is one of the group now—in fact, one chapter has other students surmise that she may have a harem of hot guys. I still love reading Horimiya, even as it’s gone from “romance I’d happily recommend” to “problematic fave.” – Sean Gaffney

Slumbering Beauty, Vol. 2 | By Yumi Unita | Seven Seas – For the most part this was an OK, not great final volume of this series. The majority of it deals with Nerimu’s master trying to recruit Yoneko for the job permanently, and Nerimu trying to point out that this would involve essentially dying. That said, there was a fantastic moment near the end, as Yoneko is shown that her neglectful parents started off with good intentions and are not merely terrible people. And Yoneko says that this is true, and acknowledges it… but also reminds readers (and Nerimu) that the majority of her time growing up has been spent unhappy, and seeing that her parents have good sides as well is not going to change that. Still, at least she decides to live on for now. Like other Unita series, this was weird but worth reading. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 10 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – The third and final day of the Inter-High begins and since Midousuji got a somewhat sympathetic backstory that might be the start of a redemption arc of sorts it’s time to introduce another odious foe, this time in the form of Eikichi Machimiya, a schemer from Hiroshima who’s got a huge grudge against Hakone due to how things played out the previous year. This is a pretty fun volume, since Machimiya organizes a huge peloton that gobbles up stray riders, Jaws-like, and Sohoku must contend with leaving Onoda—who worked so hard on previous days for the team—behind to be devoured. Tadokoro even cries. Of course, plucky Onoda can’t be counted out yet, but neither can Hiroshima! Looking forward to the next installment, as always. – Michelle Smith

By: Ash Brown