#silly monster yuri is worth it

[synfl0w3r]

I am running off of raw cookie dough and yuri fanart, god cannot strike me down

[cranes-menagerie]

love being a dm bc I can have character dynamics like

delusional human who doesn't think magic is real

chaotic enemies to lovers yuri

silly little cat reporter

a multiversal being who crashed and got millions of years worth of gods and monsters ass lore beamed into their skull

[justicebled]

as a partner you genuinely don’t have to be a physical fighter to be someone he’s attracted to. you don’t have to prove anything to him. he doesn’t measure your worth as his partner and equal because you can swing a blade, an axe, or a spear. it’s what you are as a person that matters to him. fighting is cool and awesome as a challenge, and oh he’ll give you one. but it’s not the be all and end all. tell him about you. tell him what you stand for. tell him what you’re willing to do for the sake of what you believe in.

show him your conviction. it’s so much more intimate to him than being shallow in his opinion, and admiring anyone simply because they can keep up or come close to keeping up with him physically. you want yuri? accept him. he doesn’t need you to fix him. he’s lived in a world where harshness and becoming tough is a way of life. show him the meaning of kindness. show him softness. show him your vulnerability and let him see how strong you are for doing it. let him see how strong you are for hell, crying. let him see you become silly and happy and innocent. there is no weakness in being soft and kind. there is no weakness in that. and yuri will be the first person to chew someone out for ripping into someone who literally chooses a peaceful life with strong convictions on the inside. because in his world? that is rare, and so is mercy. yuri could use seeing what softness is. vulnerability is so much harder and takes so much more strength in his book than him being a monster in a fight. not that he doesn’t have softness / gentleness? guy is arguably the kindest person by big surprise (TM) of the game and most unselfish. but his experiences have left him bleeding and battered. sometimes he wants rest, not battle. though he knows his path won’t let him. 

tl;dr: yuri loves challenges, and people who are great at fighting. he’ll give you a good run for your money. but he is actually more interested in you as a person, not just what you do with your physical weapon. i’m all for power couples in that form but i think it’s subjective. and i love all kinds of dynamics / strength!

show him what that kind of strength is, and let him support you. he wants you. not what you do physically or intellectually. then give him all of you. and convince him to let someone love him and get ‘inside’.

[atopearth]

Tales of Crestoria Part 1 - Transgressors and Vision Orbs (Ch 1-2)

I haven't played a Tales game in soo long! I'm super hyped for this though, because seeing Luke and others in one game is so nice! Anyway, since it's a gacha mobile game, my bro and I legit rerolled for like a day to get 4 SSRs lmao. I also helped reroll for my other bro so that took agess loll. I ended up getting Kanata, Luke, Lloyd and Leon! Pretty okay hahaa. Time for the story! Honestly, when the villagers were accusing Nash for being the guy who pushed the old lady that ended up dying, I thought Nash was some troublemaker adult, but no, he's a kid loll! Like, uhh, just because he causes trouble every now and then doesn't mean he would do such a thing to an old lady, like what evidence do these crazy villagers have??? Lmao at Misella pretending to be weak so that Kanata will protect her. Aww, it's so cool how Milla and Velvet help you out! That's fun! I guess the game kinda integrates the other Tales game characters into the story minus the idea that they come from another world and instead kinda put them inside the story itself as if they all belong in this world? The idea of the enforcers is such a scary concept. The fact that all you need is lots of people to condemn someone and you could be "punished" to death is pretty nuts. Not to mention that most of these people that condemn others just see one-sided “evidence” through vision orbs (recordings) and then when enough people think you’re evil, enforcers will come and kill you? Like, what if they're innocent or something? No wonder why people call this Tales of Cancel Culture hahahha.

Awww, the CG of Kanata and Misella around flowers was so pretty! Loved it! Well, I knew Kanata's father was dodgy, but I actually find it funny he thinks that Kanata should understand and follow as his successor of human slave and organ trading lol. Like, um, do you never see your son? He's like the personification of naivety and justice, yeah right he would succeed your human trafficking business. It's not like he just sells them either, he sells all these orphan children's body parts and organs! Ridiculous that he thinks Kanata would be like sure, of course, please continue. I'm more surprised that Kanata rashly decided to kill his father like that though. Like, he just found out the truth and killed him! Not saying he didn't deserve it, but considering he admired his father for his whole life, I'm surprised he held no thoughts and feelings towards wanting him to be condemned instead of killing him like that. I guess he felt that he needed to in order to save Misella? Still rash though. Omg, Misella is even more rash and crazy, didn't think she'd burn down the whole shelter just to save Kanata who was being imprisoned by the conspirators of his dad who didn't want him going around telling people. Like, yes, she brought most people out but what if she missed someone or they got injured?? Anyway, the enforcers were surprisingly weak, now I guess if Cress (Kanata's teacher) kills someone, he could probably run too lol. Not gonna lie, all those anime scenes are so cool!! Wow, this game is pretty high quality! Loved it when Kanata got his blood sin (his sword that kinda represents his sin). Vicious is cool though, I love how whatever his attitude is, nice for him to have Kanata as a fellow transgressor friend. Anyway, um, I forgot to say that I'm surprised Misella just ditched Kanata when he told her to run away without him. Like, after all the she can't live without him blah blah and stuff, she just leaves him?? I guess at least she realised and changed her mind to look for him, but she hasn't found him yet so lolll.

It's kinda funny how Vicious is like Kanata's bandit teacher haha. Aegis and Leon seem pretty cool, I can understand them for wanting to catch Vicious and Kanata and how they would prioritise the innocent over capturing them. Anyway, wow, Nash is such a little shit. Honestly an ungrateful kid. I know he's grieving because his little sister died in the fire that everyone thinks Kanata lit when it was actually Misella (so I guess she's a murderer now too huh?), but it's honestly crazy bitter and petty for him to not tell anyone that Kanata killing his father was actually "understandable" because of the monster he was for selling kids and their organs. And like wth man, so Cody (Kanata's father) selling his orphanage friends isn't as bad as Kanata supposedly "killing" his sister? Seriously? Were they even your friends, Nash? You do realise that most if not all your friends that were sold probably died right? It's ridiculous that he wants everyone (enforcers and knights etc) to condemn and kill Kanata now when he never even tried to do that for his monster of a father even though he knew about his wrongdoings all this time. Ridiculous man. And like seriously, he just assumed like all the other villagers that Kanata lit the fire to cover up his murder, he didn't even ask him or anything. He just assumed it and accused him. It's like seriously kid, Kanata defended you in the beginning and believed in you, yet what do you do to repay him? Not even listen to his side of the story when he did that for you! Kids these days!

Wow, like I doubt Vicious could die so easily, but Misella is crazy, she just stabbed him through the heart to "save" Kanata from following down his evil path? Umm, I'm pretty sure you're not any better, Misella. Is there anyone around Kanata that isn't toxic?? Not that Kanata is any better since he's overly righteous in a silly way, but at least he's not crazy? Lol. Vicious is bad, but he never said he was a good person at least. Um, why does Misella think that by saying she manipulated Kanata into killing his father, it would make him not a criminal anymore? I think the fact he listened to some girl and killed his own father is even worse lol. And seriously, Kanata is a transgressor already, I doubt it's something you can revert, especially since he went against enforcers and even got the Stain of Guilt and the blood sin. There's honestly no point of her becoming a transgressor as well. And seriously, these villagers!! Do they believe anything and everything that people say? Use your own judgement seriously! Anyway, I honestly think that it's ironic how Misella wants to protect Kanata but causes so much trouble for him instead, sigh. Well, yep, Nash is pretty nuts to relish the fact that Misella is getting burned to death. Is there anyone in this game that isn't crazy?😔 I guess everything was for Misella to get a blood sin too~ Anyway, I guess now the true adventure begins? I love the ending scene to the first chapter, it really feels like the journey is just starting~

I think it's pretty nice how they addressed the idea of Kanata and them being happy whilst carrying the sins of killing people through Misella thinking that she needed to punish herself eating grass and stuff instead of the meat she likes because she "deserves" that. Obviously they shouldn't be complacent and think it's fine to kill people, but I agree with Vicious, they've already chosen to continue to live despite how painful it may be and despite how much others want them to die, so there isn't any harm in them living "normally" because that's the path they've chosen to follow now. Lmao at Misella being traumatised by Kanata's food though haha. Vicious is so funny and cool, such a silly but fun guy. Reid is a great guy, I love how he thinks that one's own impressions are worth more than what other people think. I think it's important to make your own judgement about what kind of person someone is rather than relying on stuff like rumours and stuff, although it's understandable if you do follow others, since really, they are criminals. Btw, an extra plus is that Reid is voiced by Ishida Akira!! Yes, I love Athrun Zala (Gundam Seed) and Kent (Amnesia:Memories) to name a few hahaha. HAHAHA, I love how Vicious just trashed Misella's hopes that she was special to Kanata when she asked him if he would risk his life like Veigue to get a bloodstone to save her if she was ill like Veigue's friend, and he says of course, and then Vicious asks Kanata the same thing and he says he'll save him too loll. Misella using Vicious as a scapegoat to take all the blame for injuring a kid was lol, but seriously, these adults are so childish and reliant on the vision crystals to solve all their problems. It's like wow, Veigue looks like a mean and bad person so yep it must have been him is just ridiculous, I'm so glad Reid isn't insane like them. At this point, I’m just glad there are sensible people in this story like Reid and Veigue lol.

Overall, my impression for now is pretty positive. The story isn’t great, but I do enjoy the dubiousness of everything including the main characters. The animated scenes are awesome though and the design and everything is so pretty! Aside from the bugs that are rampant (random crashing etc) throughout the game, I’ve still been quite obsessed with it that I’m playing everyday hahaha. Now if only the gleamstone draws could guarantee an SSR instead of an SR lolll. Not that I’m complaining too much I guess since I got all the summer SSRs (because Veigue and Yuri were hot, so I needed them LOL) . The game can get rather grindy though with the different materials you need and how low the drop rates can be, but it’s not too bad to get to level 80 for your characters at least. Just wanted to say, I’m happy to finally have 3-4 level 100s yay! It’s nice to see a turn-based Tales game that still relies on combos to do the best damage haha. Otherwise, if you’re wanting to try this game, this is probably a great time to do it since you get an extra 2500 gleamstones with the 1 million downloads reward right now, so you now have 4 chances to draw SSRs! (One guaranteed SSR draw, one normal gleamstones draw, the SR+ tickets draw and the normal summon tickets draw) Just keep in mind that gacha is gacha and sometimes RNG is just not on your side. For example, my bro used 15k gleamstones and got 0 SSRs, so yes, the game can get painful and depressing, but I’m here for the story so at least I’m all good haha!

[shoujocentral]

Symphogear S1- Now this is MY kind of anime!

Every once and awhile when I'd log onto Twitter, I'd see people saying "watch Symphogear" accompanied by images from the show. From looking at the pictures, I assumed it was just another magical girl show like Precure but with less magic and more... techno. Oh, and apparently they sing while they fight? Sounds kinda dumb...

Buuuut... I have heard that there's some yuri content? Maybe I'll give it a try. I mean, I'm always open to watching new stuff, even if it's just a silly little kid's show 😅

😳

Well........ color me hooked.

I have to say, this show is not at all what I was expecting in the best possible way. It feels a lot more like a Shounen action show along the lines of Fullmetal Alchemist or Neon Genesis Evangelion than a Magical Girl show (if that's even what it's supposed to be). Today, I'm going to be giving my first impressions of Senki Zesshou Symphogear season 1, which will be spoiler free for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Plot:

So what is Senki Zesshou Symphogear about?

In the not too distant future (next Sunday A.D.), Japan is under attack by monsters known as Noises, the likes of which cannot be killed by military weapons. The only thing that can kill them are girls clad in weaponized armor known as Gears, which is activated and powered by singing catchy techno-pop music.

One day, a girl named Hibiki Tachibana is caught in the middle of a battle, and one of the Gear users, Kanade Amou, sacrifices herself to save her. Two years later, Hibiki discovers that a piece of Kanade's Gear was embedded in her chest during the fight, giving her access to the Gear's powers. Hibiki is recruited by the Disaster Relief Squadron, the organization that created the Gears, to help defend Japan from the Noises.

However, Kanade's former girlfriend partner, Tsubasa Kazanari, sees Hibiki as nothing more than an obnoxious, naive girl trying to be Kanade's replacement. Will the two learn to work together, defeat the Noises, and possibly uncover a deeper plot to all the attacks?

Symphogear's plot might not be the most original thing ever; evil monsters attack, teenage girls transform into superpowered warriors to fight them, evil mastermind tries to take over the world, etc. But what makes this story stand out is it's unique approach to the fights. Having the Gears be powered by music, resulting in every fight being accompanied by a song, is either a genius way to amplify the fights, or a genius way for the producers to sell a techno soundtrack.

I was worried that the constant use of insert songs would become repetitive and annoying, but on the contrary, they heightened my enjoyment! The fights in Symphogear are easily my favorite part of the show: fast-paced, badass powers, lots of screaming, and downright brutal at times! Hibiki has officially joined the ranks of my all-time favorite battle cries, right up there with Goku from DBZ and Souma from Kannazuki no Miko.

If there was one thing I had to nitpick, it would be that most of the fights take away the credibility of the Noises. They're supposed to be this terrifying threat to Japan that can't be harmed by the military, but as soon as the Gear wielders show up, they're reduced to nothing more than cannon fodder as Hibiki and her comrades seem to waltz through them without breaking a sweat.

Thankfully, the versus matches between Gear wielders are much more balanced. My favorite has to be Hibiki vs Chris (see above), but then again, any fight with Chris is an absolute win!

Characters:

Hibiki Tachibana

Hibiki is your typical genki girl protagonist: optimistic, hyperactive, naive, and pure. What makes her a more compelling hero, however, is her slow growth into becoming a strong Gear wielder. Unlike most magical girl protagonists, who seem to master their powers after one line of "EH?! What just happened to me?!", Hibiki takes time to learn how to fight. She starts out with the mindset that she has to be Kanade's replacement and thus tries to fight just like her. However, she eventually comes to invent her own battle tactics that work much more in her favor. Mainly, punching the everloving shit out of everything in sight.

Hibiki is, in my opinion, a flat character done right. She doesn't go through any personal growth or development throughout the show (learning to fight doesn't count), but her belief that all humans can get along if they communicate and desire to protect people just because she wants to is the cause for most of the change in the people around her. The world is in a dark place, and Hibiki is the light. She doesn't need to change, because she's exactly what the world needs.

Tsubasa Kazanari

From what I've learned, Tsubasa is a favorite amongst Symphogear fans. Me personally, though, I have a few issues with her character. Now, I have nothing against brooding, damaged characters. In fact, Tsubasa's recovery from Kanade's death and learning to cherish her own life was incredibly engaging... for the most part. Sorry, but I can only take so much edge. Her constant repitition of "I am a sword, I exist only to fight" grew old after the first 10 or so times.

Also, while I love her overall development, I feel that her acceptance of Hibiki was a little rushed. For the first four episodes, she hates Hibiki for carrying Kanade's Gear to the point where she tries to fight her to the death. Then, after another fight sends her into a coma, she has a (extremely gay) hallucination of Kanade telling her to get over herself. Next episode, she's treating Hibiki as if they've been friends the whole time. Did I miss something? Did Hibiki even apologize for saying she wanted to replace Kanade? Did Tsubasa apologize for trying to shishkabob her?!

Development aside, her fighting style is awesome and unique, and leads to the best choreography in the show. Hopefully as I watch more seasons, my opinion of her will improve.

Chris Yukine

Best Girl. No questions. Anyone who disagrees is wrong. Deal with it.

Jokes aside, Chris is my favorite character of the show bar none. Maybe I just have a weakness for evil-turned-good characters, but I adored her "don't take no shit from nobody" attitude and her soft side emerging as the show progressed. And let me tell you, Tsubasa would have no right to brood if she knew what Chris went through as a child. I won't give anything away, but just a few brief images and harsh words were enough get the picture across and tug at my heartstrings.

She also had my favorite Gear and fighting style in the show. If there's one thing that always gets my blood pumping, it's gatling guns and an endless supply of missiles. Seriously, I could watch this girl fight for hours.

Kanade Amou

A moment of silence, ladies and gentlemen.

......

Kanade would be my favorite character if we had gotten more of her. But alas, she has to die in the very first episode. DAMN YOU, PLOT!!!

Even though we get very little of Kanade, she makes it her mission to leave a lasting impression. Her sacrifice at the beginning sets the tone for the rest of the show, and her flashback is the best of the bunch. I got hard chills when she transformed for the first time. Let's just say she's psychotic in all the right ways.

Kanade died for our sins. Remember that... 🙏

Finé

Our main villain of the show. That's it. There's really nothing much else to her. She's cruel, manipulative, and powerful beyond belief, as most big bosses of these kinds of shows are. She was honestly my least favorite part of the show.

Fine's motivation is incredibly confusing on first watch. I had to go back to pause and read the subtitles multiple times to understand her backstory, but maybe that's my fault for being a slow reader. On the other hand, the explanation as to who she is and why she's so powerful comes right out of nowhere and doesn't seem to connect to anything the story had been building up to that point. Also, by the time I understood her motivation and actually found it a little intriguing, she dropped the dreaded "I'm going to take over the world" line. Aaaaand.... all my interest just went out the window.

There is a twist involving her connection to a certain other character in the show that I genuinely didn't see coming, but in the end, it wasn't nearly enough to make up for her shortcomings.

Miku Kohinata

God bless this little angel. Miku is a precious cinnamon roll who must be protected at all costs. Thankfully, Hibiki's got it covered 👍

Words cannot express how much I love this girl. She may be only a supporting role for the time being, but good lord, does she support! It always broke my heart whenever she tried to spend time with Hibiki or talk to her, but the Disaster Relief Squad kept pulling them apart. I know DRS is classified, but Miku deserves better than to have secrets kept from her! Life sucks when your girlfriend best friend is a superhero...

Well, that was a mouthful. There's a lot more characters in this show, but I don't really have much to say about them. However, while we're on the subject of Miku, let's move on to the reason I checked this show out in the first place, and the reason I'm sure most of you read my stuff.

Yuri:

No sooner did I finish this show did I start looking up HibiMiku fanart 😍

I was expecting a fair dosage of yuribait going into Symphogear, but mother of all that is gay, did I get an overdose!

First and foremost, the main ship: HibiMiku. These two are dating. Nothing anyone says will change my mind. They compliment each other perfectly, with Hibiki's energy and Miku's sweetness... HHNNNGGH! IT'S TOO PRECIOUS! I sincerely hope these two get more time together in the next few seasons. Now if only they'd stop with the damn F word...... 😡

Next up, TsubaKana. This one seems more like it was one-sided feelings on Tsubasa's part, judging by how dedicated Kanade was to fighting the Noise. Regardless, you don't just lose all sense of your humanity and self-worth after your "partner" dies. And all that hardcore blushing in the flashbacks and naked cuddling dream sequences... nah, Tsubasa was hella hot for Kanade. Sadly, our lord and savior was taken from Ms. Brooding too soon.

Finally, there's Ryoko Sakurai, the DRS's head scientist. She was initially hinted to be gay, what with her being all too eager to have Hibiki undress and wanting to "pop her cherry" (yes, an adult said that to a 15 year-old). However, after a certain conversation occurred, it seemed more like she was straight or at least bisexual, if all that dirty talk wasn't just teasing.

I've heard future seasons introduce more potential couples, so I'm keeping my eyes open and my yuri goggles on tight 😋

Conclusion:

I enjoyed the first season of Senki Zesshou Symphogear through and through. As someone who enjoyed Akanesasu Shoujo and Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka, I have a soft spot for shows about badass girls kicking monster ass and unleashing their inner yuri. Overall though, I think Symphogear might be my favorite of the bunch so far. It has its fair share of flaws, sure, but I think its positives outweigh the negatives by a long shot. If I got this much enjoyment out of the first season, I cannot wait to see what the following seasons have to offer!

Symphogear delivers a fun, action-packed story with colorful characters, kickass fight scenes, head-banging music and plenty of yuri content. Anyone who loves Magical Girls or Shounen battle shows needs to check it out!

Rating: 8/10

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go binge Symphogear G. See you next time, my fellow yuri lovers!

[rkkyul]

190801 MGA SEASON 5 + EPISODE FIVE +  #5050 FEATURING : TEAM KT  ⟨ ━━ ❀ ° PART ONE: PERFORMANCE, LION HEART + I GOT A BOY ( LINES / SONG ) ⟩

it hits her all at once, the overwhelming emotions trapping her before swallowing her whole. she’s going through the motions - watching heejin and minho rise from their seat beside her as their names are called, numbly following them up onstage. kyulkyung isn’t sure she’s breathing air, mouth opening in surprise and eyes widening as her teammates lead the way. perhaps her reaction is a bit dramatic, but oh is it genuine. 

the whole experience was so surreal - to even be considered for the top performance of the week when she had failed to do so the entire show. kyulkyung was tired of being average, of resting on that safe middle ground between being the best and the worst. average. want an ugly word. their names weren’t called when the top performance was announced, but she was too high in the clouds to notice - hand clasped tightly around heejin’s as they awaited the announcement. was it disappointing? maybe a little, but to finally be at the point was certainly an ego boost. 

semi finalist. 

the words were strange to her. the woman who had allowed herself to persuaded into something she once found silly was now officially a semi finalist for the mga’s fifth season. oh, she couldn’t wait to tell her mom. 

her heart was still racing when the trio once again returned to their seats, following throughout the hug minho gave them - adrenaline coursing through every part of her being as the show went on without her. kyulkyung listened, watched more talented performers leave them and she wondered how she had even managed to make it this far. she didn’t doubt her worth or talent, just wondered what happened to suddenly have luck on her side. 

after the disaster that was 2018, the woman entertained the idea of this just being some cruel joke. zhou jieqiong? making it this far on her own? joonho would’ve laughed in her face. but she tried to not think about that.

she’s slapped back into reality when the contestants suddenly awake with life, their bodies moving in shock and excitement rising in hushed tones. moving her eyes from where they stayed fixated on her shoes, they follow the movements of the new appearances on stage

from sphere entertainment, please welcome CONVEX’s very own JINKI and JINWOOK, as well as our star trainee and winner of the last season of the MGAs, GO HOJUNG!

her ears hang tightly onto the world CONVEX, hoping a familiar someone’s name will follow but much to her disappointment, she’s left with unfamiliar faces and dismay. but she perks up, attentive in her seat as she patiently awaits the coaches from TRC to be announced. JINSOUL - kyulkyung can’t help the tiny noise that passes her lips, excitement enveloping her entire form when she lays eyes on her best friend. “hey, that’s my best friend!” she attempts to whisper to minho and heejin - practically shaking in her seat and definitely way too excited.

i can’t believe she didn’t tell me, despite her thoughts, kyulkyung grins anyway. her anticipation only grows as time passes. please let me get onto trc’s team. please. please. please.

and no, not just because that would mean jinsoul gets to coach her.

she’s just a tiny bit disappointment when the TRC group announcement rolls around and her name is passed up. just the tiniest bit. however, this is short lived when her name is revealed under KT. the company is a bit surprising, solely for the fact that she wouldn’t have chosen it for herself. out of everything, she was expecting nova the most. but getting picked to perform in a group for a company run by katie lee, that’s pretty amazing. 

                                                                     ❀

"semi finalist? oh, god i can’t believe.” yea, she can’t either.

kyulkyung laughs at her mother’s enthusiasm over the phone - feeling her cheeks grow hot at the woman’s constant, unrelenting praises. it’s nice to hear the complements and she allows her ego to inflate with each syllable. her mother always complemented her, but it was nice to hear something the woman herself could also feel proud of.

the mgas were different than anything else she had done in life. there was no reliance on anything other than what her talent alone had to offer. there was no behind-the-scenes magic that needed to worked, no amount of bills slipped under the table and secrets to be kept. the fact made her prideful if anything.

after last year, it seemed as if everything wrong she had done had constantly stayed on her back - a quiet monster, the chill that ran down her spine and kept her awake at night. it was hard to put it past her, but somehow she had managed to tuck it away far enough, bury it so deep within that it never even became an afterthought. the process took time and trust, especially with her mother who felt almost as guilty as her.

“you know after last year, i worried about you. i felt like i set a back example.” kyulkyung clenched the phone pressed against her ear tightly in her grasp, fighting back whatever emotions spewed up. biting down on her lip, the woman pushed through whatever words left her mother’s mouth through the phone. perhaps the worst part about the whole situation was that her mother felt responsible, took on her daughter’s worries and that was not okay. 

the woman’s voice is strained through the phone and she fears she’s holding back tears. “but i’m proud of you, for doing something and making it this far. i really hope you make it this week, jie.” me too, mom. she answers, burring herself further beneath the sheets - feeling the dull ache of attachment to the woman who can only speak to her through a phone or stupid screen.

“i wasn’t going to tell you this in case it jinxed you this thursday but chun and i are coming in next week - just in time for the finals. he has a business down there, but i figured i’d tag along just to see my girl.” and lying in her bed that night, phone tucked between her ear and pillow, making it to the finals next week meant so much more to her.

                                                                     ❀

once again,the week goes by rather smoothly with her teammates. except for the fact that they are busy, busy, busy.

the coaches and teammates are alike in the ways that they are helpful to a girl with minimal singing experience. and lucky for kyulkyung, this week she’s in a room full of incredible talents. of course yukhei and her scream over each other their first meeting, having only spoke to the boy over suwoong’s phone a few episodes ago and having got along pretty well. he’s just as fun as the woman expected and paired with talent to combat his upbeat nature. 

the girl known for her singing and musical talents, yuri is just as amazing to work with as she expected. their team is full of power vocals, yuri and sia bringing enough to the table and offering whatever tips they had to ever so curious kyulkyung. “c’mon please... think of me please?” she begs yuri to sing such an iconic song - phantom of the opera being a personal favorite of the woman. she could never get enough of the tragic story that was erik and christine. ugh, it made her cry every time.

“i’d say i’d help sing it, but that’s a disgrace to phantom of the opera. it’s a sin.” kyulkyung pulls a hand to her chest, bowing her head in sadness before shaking her head at the thought. yuri is the only one who could do it justice while she couldn’t bare the embarrassment for herself.

kyulkyung’s delighted witrh yuri’s compliance, elated to hear one of the songs from her favorite musical from personally one of her favorites on the show. before being teamed up together, the woman had always admired her from afar - completely losing herself in her voice and loving every moment of it. just as expected, yuri’s voice complements the song nicely and she can’t help the long drawl she lets out, pressing a hand against her heart and swaying ever so dramatically to the tone of the other’s voice. 

all shenanigans aside, the woman found herself in a situation that left her bewildered. she didn’t mind to help usually, but sia’s call for help left her a bit nervous. kyulkyung didn’t have experience with cutting or mixing music, but the other girl needed help and who was she to refuse? “i don’t care to, but you’ll have to lead the way some.” the woman admitted with a tiny smile, eager to help out in any way that she can. 

the process wasn’t too difficult, but it was a process. creating the choreography with nakyung for the dance break wasn’t nearly as hard as creating the mix, but eventually they got it done ( and kyulkyung was there to offer any extra help whenever someone needed it ). the fact that they had managed to pull it off was extremely exciting for the woman, even going as far as to do a mini celebration dance whenever they finished it. yes, she was embarrassed with herself afterwards but damn was she proud. 

turns out she’ll be heading back to hook & crook after the show with a little bit more than dance and performance tips.

                                                                       ❀

thursday approaches quickly and this time, kyulkyung’s a bit nervous when she climbs onstage. the semi finals held a lot of more meaning than the other performances and after being in the top 3 last week, she’s sure there’s an expectancy for both her and her team. in fact, the entirety of team kt had at least one episode’s worth of top 3 experience under their belt and it makes her wonder if they’ll be watched that much closer. 

her hair, now faded a bit after a few washes, hangs loosely atop her head - the white nature of her top and shorts a contrast to the red bandanna that’s tied around her thigh. she’s standing on stage with her team, head held high and signature smile wide despite the nerves that light up when the judges and eyes of their first live audience lays upon them. “hello! we are FOH!CUS.” the team greets before being met with the thunderous clap of applause.

the noise is enough to brighten her smile and settle whatever negative emotions she felt. kyulkyung did not get stage fright, well not anymore at least. the eyes of an audience was not foreign to her especially after her time with knb. it was all just noise to her, eager eyes there to watch them perform and their entertainment for the night. they’d give them a show worth while, especially with all the pretty faces and power vocals up there. 

in the most arrogant way possible, kyulkyung thought team FOH!CUS was hard to forget. 

“hello! constant #5050, zhou jieqiong here again!” she will never forget that tiny bit of chinese at the beginning of her introduction - not until the very end ( it’s kind of a habit at this point, honestly ).

as the group arranges themselves for the beginning of the performace, yuri finds herself in the center - surrounded by her teammates and introducing the audience to chi chi’s lion heart. the vocals are soft as are their movements, the singer’s tone and charisma alone enough to draw attention and set the mood of their performance. kyulkyung’s sure the audience’s heart fluttered just a little as did hers when she heard yuri sing the song for the first time.

ah 넌 달라진 게 없어 여전해 난 애가 타고 또 타 사냥감 찾아 한눈파는 너

kyulkyung’s voice follow’s the other girl’s smoothly, a nice transition into her sweet tone and flowing nicely with the music. luckily for her, the movements during this part are minimal for her at least - allowing her voice to carry unfaltering and comfortably. singing live was something she worried a lot about, but with tips and a lot of help, her confidence grew little by little. her smile is delicate upon her lips, her legs carrying her into the next series of moments as they draw into the chorus.

chi chi’s choreography isn’t hard to follow, but it’s nice and fun to watch. the song and melody allows for an easy smile from kyulkyung, putting on an image of a girl in love and innocence. their movements and choreography are soft and flows nicely against the music, but that makes it so much better when the shock of their transition settles in.

lion heart suddenly comes to a halt and everyone is moving into new position - a new light overwhelming them as the beat changes entirely. the mix that kyulkyung and sia put together takes over the stage, the group moving in sync with one another in a way contrasting themselves just a few moments prior.

nakyung and kyulkyung were responsible for creating the choreography, transitioning them into the beginning of i got a boy and creating a whole new mood for their stage. the woman’s presence changes drastically, a more coy, cheerful look overtaking her frame as the upbeat tone of the music sounds. personally, she prefers songs like this to lion heart - feeling more like herself with peppy beats and modern lyrics. hahaha! eh let me introduce myself - kyulkyung points to yukhei as speaks,  here comes trouble, whoo! there’s a playful grin on her lips as she moves - raising a hand to motion a ‘come here’ movement with her fingers, 따라해.

어떨 땐 오빠처럼 듬직하지만 애교를 부릴 땐 넘 예뻐 죽겠어

preparing for their performance was once again fun for the woman - this being what she looked forward to most when she joined the competition. and honestly speaking, kyulkyung learned a lot more than she thought she would. working with people was one thing especially on a show like the mgas, the fierce nature of the competition threatening to bring out the worst in people but so far, that hadn’t been the case ( at least for her ).

the way they move alongside one another on stage is exciting - no doubt a visual and talent overload for their audience and she wonders if this what being an idol felt like. and if that’s case, it makes her want that contract even more.

making it this far was exciting, but left her greedy more than ever. there was a lot pending on today’s performance, on her advancement into the competition that she undermined completely. coming in with no expectations and following through with nothing but the highest, that was surely a shock. but not only did she want a contract presented to her in the end, kyulkyung would also love for her mother to at least see her perform once. 

귀 기울여 주는 너 너

her mother’s words drive her confidence, fuel the endless stream of energy that courses through her as they near the end of their performance. kyulkyung didn’t have a lot of lines, but she didn’t asked for many - leaving the singing up to the professionals and taking as many notes as she could. the coaches and her teammates helped equally and she matched their drive with one of her own, practicing up until the very last moment because she didn’t need the embarrassment up on stage.

she’s not as perfect as she’d like to be, but she knew what she had to work with and milked it for its worth. what she lacked in singing she made up with her dancing and countless expressions, enjoying every minute she was up on that stage. 

as the performance neared its end, kyulkyung couldn’t help the bottomless pit of worry that began to sizzle deep within her stomach. no matter how good they did or how much the crowd loved their performance, one of her teammates would be going home. 

it hurt to think about, but she supposed that’s just the nature of a competition and she’ll do anything in her power to make sure that person isn’t her.

[deltaengineering]

summer anime 2017 part 3: welcome to die

Well guess what, I ended up putting posts off for a week.

Again.

So don’t expect a lot of detail here, but do expect a lot of shows.

See also:

• part 1: we can rebuild it

• part 2: bunch of fools

18if

18if is a really weird show about a guy who hangs around people’s dreams and fixes their personal problems - sort of like Persona 4 meets Madoka’s witch mazes. This might have some visual potential if nothing else, and it tries, but what mostly sticks in the mind is that it’s very cheap and also extremely clunkily directed, with a lot of spinning camera tricks that end up looking more desperate than cool. While that does lend it a certain nightmarish weirdness, I doubt it’s entirely intentional and more importantly it makes the show not very entertaining.

Action Heroine Cheer Fruits

So someone made a Love Live clone only with solo tokusatsu performance (?) instead of idols and saving the town instead of saving the school. And the main character is Kotori. Well, silly things happen all the time, but what I didn’t expect is that an anime called Action Heroine Cheer Fruits is actually pretty damn good. Shows of this type aren’t very complicated, but Cheer Fruits nails it where it counts: The characters are likeable, their misadventures are amusing, and the writing is good enough to make me care more about what happens to this town than Sakura Quest managed in half its two-season run. It’s a bit on the cheaper side, but I don’t mind if the fundamentals are this convincing. It also helps that this is written by Naruhisa Arakawa, who previously failed to convince me with active raid but definitely knows a thing or two about tokusatu. Charming and with an appropriately light touch on its silly conceit, this is the surprise of the season.

Ballroom e Youkoso 

It’s a sports shounen! About ballroom dancing...? Well, the manga is fairly well known so the shock factor wasn’t that high here, but I have to say that Ballroom e Youkoso nails the formula, the unusual sport in question makes it less boring than said formula would normally end up being, and it looks pretty amazing. I’m willing to take that chance, if everything goes right this might end up delivering on what Yuri on Ice promised for its first three episodes. Minus the gay of course, but I’m willing to give that up for a show that’s actually consistently entertaining instead. Fingers crossed.

Centaur no Nayami

Yay, it’s another monstergirl manga. This particular one ends up splitting the difference between Monster Musume and Demi-chan, meaning that it only has weird fetish undertones some of the time. Apart from that it ends up mostly boring, because the monster stuff doesn’t really matter, yet the show spends an inordinate amount of time explaining the specific evolutionary circumstances that made this universe possible. Uh, at this point I think I can just accept monstergirls at face value, thanks. The most interesting parts are some hints of this society being not as innocent as it seems, but the other 99% of time it doesn’t seem overly concerned with that: The actual content is just rather boring slice-of-life scenarios of the kind you can get elsewhere easily. I do have to say that opening with girls actually kissing for real is a new one, even if that doesn’t really go anywhere. And that’s really the long and short of it: This seems like a show that doesn’t even really aim to go anywhere, and just isn’t good or interesting enough to make the here and now worthwhile. 

Clione no Akari

This is a 1/3 length short that mostly seems like an anti-bullying PSA. The most tragic girl in the world (sick, orphan, shy, prone to tripping over obvious buckets in the middle of hallways, etc.) gets bullied on top of everything and some other guys feel bad about not helping her. The opening makes it look like everyone will learn a lesson about tomodachiship eventually. I will be nice and say that its heart is in the right place and it’s not actually bad (only extremely hamfisted), but it’s just neither well made nor unusual enough to earn back the time spent watching it; Koe no Katachi has me covered for life on anything this could possibly do.

Dive!!

Do you like ripped dudes glistening in the sun? Sure you do, that’s why you all watched Free! and that’s why we now get another show about pool sports with too many exclamation marks in the name. High diving seems to be a pretty poor choice though, because a single dive takes seconds and this show doesn’t pretend otherwise. The filler around it isn’t very promising either; main dude mostly memorable for being a dick to his girlfriend and admiring his cool senpai instead, no homo. Oh yeah, Yuri on Ice is a thing too, you know. Otherwise you learn more than you’d care to know about the spectacularly uninteresting financial structure of the high diving club, and get to watch the water surface reflecting the sun on to toned abs. Too bad that this particular effect just ends up looking like an unfortunate skin condition. All in all Dive!! is just a poor man’s version of other homoerotic sports anime for fujoshi, and I wasn’t too fond of those to begin with.

Hitorijime My Hero

Speaking of manlove, this one starts out as a fairly engaging character study of a highschooler who hangs out with street thugs because his mother is a prostitute, until the brother of his BFF beats them all up. But then the OP happens and after that it’s pretty much just straight up yaoi tropes because now the dude’s in high school and the cool guy is a teacher, I wonder where this is going. There’s a lot of unfunny komedy and so on. Yeah nah, even a toned down Super Lovers is not what I’m looking for, and laudable opening aside this brings nothing new to the table.

Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni.

I’ve been very mad at smugly ironic genre shows that wallow in the cheapest clichees while “deconstructing” them (i.e., just pointing them out as if that’s an excuse). But the alternative is, of course, just not doing that and playing it all straight without a hint of irony, and it turns out that that is significantly worse. So here’s your 24 minutes of isekai light novel: dude dies, goes to JRPG world and gets to keep his smartphone in complete working condition. Ha ha, I too wish my completely ordinary household item would make me the coolest dude in the universe. But this show goes the extra mile, because while a smartphone might get you some chicks in fantasy land, to get all the chicks you also have to have:

• literal god mode stat boosts

• ability to use all magical elements, an exceedingly rare feat

• access to an even rarer additional magic element on top of that

• the ability to create the irresistible potion “ice cream”

So yeah, this is the isekai power fantasy at its most naked, and apart from making our shitter in chief the most hax guy ever and dropping a huge instaharem on him, he goes beat up trash mobs because that’s what you do. Again, all of this without the slightest hint of self-awareness. Absolute garbage for garbage people from top to bottom, and completely fails to make said garbage fun.

Jikan no Shihaisha

This one at least has the looks down: When it’s an action show, the visuals are really, really cool. Honestly. However, upon further inspection it becomes apparent that this  “Chronos Ruler” here is so poorly written that it cannot be ignored. You guessed it, a lot of exposition and poorly conceived comedy ruin the eyecandy pretty quickly, and it’s all so dumb and dull that I barely remember anything but a vague stink of disappointment. It’s two guys that fight monsters, only not very well? Something about trying to turn back time but that turning out to be a bad idea? It’s all just slush. There's a twist in here that's kind of funny (probably unintentionally) so I won’t spoil it, but it’s by no means worth it.

Konbini Kareshi

Konbini Kareshi is an anime about some highschoolers that have relationship problems and hang out in a konbini, and that’s pretty much it. It’s extraordinarily slow, but somehow I did not end up finding it completely dull - possibly because “nothing happens” also means that nobody talks in this case. A lot of the episode is just awkward, silent situations, with information imparted visually (body language, expressions, etc) instead. Imagine that. Now I don’t want to praise it too much because nothing pays off and, well, nothing happens - but it is actually something markedly different from what you usually see in anime and that’s got to be worth something. I am not sure if I want to give this more chances, but that’s better than being quite sure I never want to see it again, right?

Made in Abyss

If you want to have a master class in how to start a fantasy adventure anime, check out Made in Abyss 01. It just drops you into an utterly beautiful world, sets up a couple of endearing characters and their general situation without boring you with the details, and the explains just enough about the world to answer a few pressing questions that can’t be ignored at the end. It’s beautiful too, great design, great animation, lush backgrounds, the whole shebang. Now it’s essentially a story about a bunch of very young orphans that go spelunking, and the character designs remind me of Ichigo Mashimaro of all things, but I detect no sketchiness here. Obviously it now has a tough act to follow over a whole season, but for the type of show it is you couldn’t ask for a better layup.

Nana Maru San Batsu

Also known as “Fastest Finger First”, this show asks the question: How do you make watching a trivia quiz interesting? Well, the answer is that you don’t. It seems to be a very basic school club show and the topic of the school club is buzzer quizzes. And somehow this fictional story manages to be less engaging than your average actual TV quiz show. Buzzer quizzes don’t have a lot of strategy involved (the show tries to pretend otherwise, but mostly fails), just watching people in quiz-o-vision trying to answer fairly mundane questions is hardly riveting, and besides that it’s just a decidedly subpar comedy. This could have worked if it went full ham like Kakegurui, but it neither has the means nor even much of an inclination to try that. 

Netsuzou TRap - NTR

So here’s the long-dreaded adaptation of the yuri manga that’s so full of bullshit drama that even actual fans of bullshit yuri drama hate it to the point where it became a running joke. And yeah, this sure is bullshit yuri drama about two girls who casually make out while boyfriends aren’t looking too closely. One feels bad about it, the other is a troll. All in all it’s reminiscent of Kuzu no Honkai, except that KnH at least was fully aware that its entire cast was awful people; I can’t even make out what I’m supposed to think about these shenanigans. Now I could say that episode 1 shows potential if it develops properly, but the manga is such a known quantity of bad writing that that’s not a smart idea. It will probably just be Girl A feeling conflicted and Girl B trolling her forever.

Princess Principal

Steampunk is pretty much a laughingstock these days, but I will say that Princess Principal nails the aesthetic if nothing else. It is made of steam and punk; you get your top hats, you get your gears, you get your airships. It’s all pretty cool looking and it also has some nice action. What it’s actually about is some sort of Cold War in divided London, and our protagonists are a crew of schoolgirls that talk about being spies a lot. This is where it becomes apparent that the writer of this was previously convicted of having committed Code Geass (yeah, that guy again), so a certain degree of schlock is to be expected. And really, who else could come up with Steampunk Cold War Berlondon featuring murderous gothlolis? So overall, it’s quite a bit more trashy than I would like but it could be able to pull it off reasonably well on production value alone, and hopefully the writing won’t shit the bed too hard.

Saiyuki Reload Blast

Saiyuki is an old shounen property that adapts Journey to the West. Not to be confused with Dragonball, because this is spaghetti western instead of wuxia. Or so it seems, I’ve never watched one of the anime adaptations that keep getting made every decade or so before. But hey, Reload Blast being a sequel to an anime last made when the ostensible target audience wasn’t even born yet at least has the benefit of not having to deal with tiresome origin stories, we just get to watch the characters do their thing and it’s reasonably easy to figure out anyway. It’s just that it’s not actually all that good; fans of a time when shounen heroes generated a lot of blood spray may get something out of it since it’s pretty violent, but otherwise this iteration of the JttW party are just a bunch of dicks that are trying hard to be cool but aren’t. It’s probably alright for fans of the source material and people hankering for throwback anime, but I don’t think it’s for me.

Shoukoku no Altair

As far as fantasy settings go, a Ottoman-themed one isn’t the most common. So the hero of Shoukoku no Altair hails from fantasy Turkey, which is embroiled in some sort of diplomatic brouhaha with fantasy Germafrance. And that’s really where I start tuning out because this is one of these fantasy epics that start by introducing a million characters that surely will become important eventually, but give me little reason to care about anything otherwise. Exotic locales aside, Altair seems to be mostly setup and the rest of it, the characters, the intrigue, the politics, everything, just don’t motivate me to find out more. It’s possibly not a bad show, but it’s a barely memorable show in a genre I am not particularly fond of.

Tenshi no 3P!

Sometimes it really helps going into random new anime without any previous knowledge. Like here: Tenshi no 3P starts out with a moderately well thought out character sketch of a hikkikomori that spends his day making music and uploading it to the internet. More than a bit tired, but not bad. He then gets a message by “a guy” that wants to work with him. Well, surely nothing bad can come of this. The “guy” turns out to be a primary schooler (girl) from an orphan primary schooler (girl) band that is actually super good but nevertheless needs the services of a music otaku schlub for vague reasons. And then in the end the primary schoolers offer sexual favors in exchange, possibly as a joke but I wouldn't count on that. See, I had been making Ro-Kyu-Bu (i.e., ”Rock-Yu-Bu”) jokes way before that, but as it turns out 3P is by the same author and oh boy can you tell. So it’s this season’s Eromanga-sensei, only somehow worse. I have to admit that I am not even above watching something like this if it’s legitimately great, but thankfully Tenshi no 3P is not even close to being legitimately great. Dodged a bullet there, for sure.

But hey, maybe we will at least get another very embarrassing T-shirt out of it.

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan

And finally, we have a show about some priests from the Vatican that travel the world to examine miracles. Well, one miracle at least, in Guatemala. The concept is somewhat intriguing and could make for a nice horror/detective hybrid with a twist, but I wouldn’t trust anime to pull this off properly, and so it’s no surprise that it doesn’t. For starters we get a pair of very pretty leads that seem primarily intended to bait yaoi doujins, and while it admirably tries for an off-kilter (literally, hope you like dutch angles) horror atmosphere, it is more concerned with out main character’s angst. Yeah I don’t know, the intrigue doesn’t seem particularly intriguing either and the horror just doesn’t quite click - it’s trying for gothick ostentatiousness, but doesn’t quite pull that off. I’d be willing to give this a chance if it was a miracle-of-the-week kind of thing, but considering the amount of characters they introduced for this first case that doesn’t seem to be how this show operates. Or at least I’ll wait until more information becomes available.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 8/14/19

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 15 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – Nino has been struggling for so long against herself, or at the very least against Miou, that it’s worth seeing how she fares against actual professional singer at a concert. We find out here when one of the other bands covers an In No Hurry song and asks Nino to join in—which shows off how far she has to go, but also gives her a bit more drive. Meanwhile rain threatens to dwindle their audience, but also inspires them to bring out an older song—one associated with the band’s first vocalist. It helps tie into the theme of moving on and growing that is in this book. Which is good, as the romance is fairly static, though Kurose looks to be stumbling towards a revelation, at least. Still quite good. – Sean Gaffney

High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World!, Vol. 4 | By Riku Misora and Kotaro Yamada | Yen Press – This volume is at its best when the prodigies are not having it quite as easy as they’d like. The local Duke is furious at what they’re trying to achieve, and launches a fearsome weapon that the heroes to eventually stop, but it manages to cause major damage to the city and causes some deaths as well. Thankfully, the Duke is killed off. Yup, totally dead, despite not finding a body. There’s no way he can come back from that. The service is also less in this volume, though it’s still present, especially in the extra chapter which is basically “why am I surrounded by girls with bigger tits than me?” Next volume promises a love triangle. This is OK, but I think I’d like the LN more. – Sean Gaffney

Killing Me!, Vol. 1 | By Akiyama | Yen Press – There were two volumes of yuri released last month, and one was fascinating enough for me to devote a full review to it. This is the other one, which is far less fascinating, though if you like yuri tsunderes it might be for you. A vampire hunter and vampire are both in high school, and the hunter keeps trying—and failing—to kill the vampire, partly as the vampire does things like attempting to seduce her, etc. and partly as she’s clearly in love but unaware of it. What happens is a series of somewhat tedious scenes that show off this love. There’s also age difference at play here, given the vampire tropes present. Not sure if there’s a second volume of this, but I was going to pass anyway. – Sean Gaffney

My Sweet Girl, Vol. 5 | By Rumi Ichinohe | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I’ve been waiting for My Sweet Girl to do something that might distinguish it from the pack. It’s been pleasant and cute, but through volume four, it was sticking to the standard shoujo plot lines. I mean, really, the introduction of Kiyodo, the similarly frail classmate whom Koeda befriended in junior high, is just another example of the childhood friend romantic rival trope. But Kiyodo is an interesting tsundere, and I really appreciated seeing Koeda through his eyes, especially his appreciation of how much she’s changed. I hope we’re not supposed to take him seriously as a threat to Masamune-kun, though. Finally kind of good! – Michelle Smith

One-Punch Man, Vol. 17 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | VIZ Media – Man, it seems like it’s been forever since we’ve seen Saitama show up to a scene and destroy a monster in a single punch, so his arrival at the battle between Genos, two elderly martial arts practitioners, and a nigh indestructable giant centipede—including an epic, eight-page spread for his punch—was immensely gratifying. I’ll just pretend the gag about King pooping his pants didn’t happen. Unfortunately, the arc about the Monster Association is still ongoing, with no end in sight. Hero-hunter Garo I can at least sympathize with a little bit, and now he’s in league with the monsters, so perhaps he’ll make them more interesting by association. This is still a fun title, despite my gripes. – Michelle Smith

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 26 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – Arguably kidnapping Mafuyu and locking her in a mansion was not the best move plot-wise, as it takes us away from the school and devotes too much attention to Miyabi’s sister Toko and our villain of the arc, Mr. Maki. Toko fares better here than she has before, but is no Miyabi, and Maki’s tragic backstory does not really tear at the heartstrings like it should. Fortunately, there is always Mafuyu being an absolutely dense pile of girl, and we get that in spades. Every time I found myself laughing hard it was due to Mafuyu reaching new depths of stupidity that I didn’t think were possible—”You’re telling me to make more friends” had me in hysterics. This needs to end soon, but I still love it. – Sean Gaffney

Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General, Vol. 4 | By jin | Seven Seas – The author almost apologizes for this volume having a plot that runs all the way through it, as it turns out that the heroes organization has been compromised, and after Secretary, of all people, is kidnapped, it’s up to Braveman and Black General to team up and head into the base. This is not to say there’s not a lot of the silly humor that’s the reason to read this—the antagonist realizing how the General had snuck into the hero training course earlier is a great series of “oh crap” images, and while Black General’s solution ended up humiliating her, it also included a very satisfying kick to the groin which was desperately needed. Still more fun than you’d expect. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 10 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – So I put off reviewing this for a long time, and while it’s difficult to do a content warning in a brief, here is one: there’s a non-consensual sex scene in this, and while it’s handled in a way that’s not meant to be titillating but disturbing, it’s still here and did not make me happy. It doesn’t help that Buckingham is sitting there on the cover smiling at the reader as if to say “Yeah, I did that. And?” That said, there is one fantastic reason to read this, and it’s Elizabeth, who, like Margaret before her, is getting more and more furious and unhinged, and the faces that Kanno draws to convey this are first rate. This is not an easy read, but I still want to see how it all plays out. – Sean Gaffney

UQ Holder, Vol. 17 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – This is at its best when it’s revisiting its past, as with earlier volumes. While fifteen wrapped up Negima and gave us an ultra-happy ending, this is not that universe, and there will be no wedding between Chisame and anyone here, as we discover just how Negi got to be what he is and why Nodoka and Yue are on his side. Less impressive is the resolution of the bomb on the space station plot, which involves one of the characters sacrificing their immortality to save the day ’til an ass pull that’s so out of nowhere that even I, a very forgiving person, can’t accept it. Oh yes, and not a fan of Eva/Touta, so seeing Chachazero (revived briefly) nagging her about it did not thrill me. Sill, the Negima stuff was great. – Sean Gaffney

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 19 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – Zeno’s sad backstory has concluded, so volume nineteen is mostly transitional. Still, because this is Yona, it’s still really good. First, the group runs into the former site of a Blue Dragon village, whereupon the spirit of a previous Blue Dragon possesses Sinha. He threatens to use the rest of the party as vessels for the spirits of the bandits with whom he was trapped long ago, but then he meets Yona. I loved the panel where this guy just involuntarily starts weeping from being in her presence. She’s able to soothe him in no time, and then she and the boys end up accompanying Riri on a journey to another country. Or, rather, they *would* if they weren’t ambushed in a pleasant-seeming town on this side of the border. Yona is always fabulous, even when it’s just moving the plot along. – Michelle Smith

Yuri Is My Job!, Vol. 4 | By miman | Kodansha Comics – We finally get the climax of the arc here, and it’s handled pretty well given that this series is reveling in yuri tropes while trying to steer clear of any actual yuri relationships. Sumika’s past shows us that, to my surprise, she was not the one involved in the past “tragedy,” though I did like seeing how said tragedy seems to have merely led to an Important Haircut rather than anything more drastic. Still, it does help Sumika realize that she’s not there to stop Kanoko from confessing—Kanoko’s never going to do that—but to be there when the emotions of burying her love get to be too much. As a result, we get two new soeurs… erm, schwesters, and a final lighter chapter whose plot is “Yano’s large chest is too sexy for our room.” Decently handled. – Sean Gaffney

By: Sean Gaffney

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 8/7/19

SEAN: The dog days of August are here, but no worries. There’’s stuff here for you. A lot of stuff.

Cross Infinite World has The Werewolf Count and the Trickster Tailor, another romance novel from Japan. These are usually fun.

Ghost Ship gives us To-Love-Ru 15-16 and Yokai Girls 8.

J-Novel Club has a pile of print releases next week. How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 5, If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord 4, In Another World with My Smartphone 5, and The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! 4.

They also have digital light novels, as we get Campfire Cooking in Another World 2, Crest of the Stars 2, Demon King Daimaou 12, and Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 22.

Kodansha has some print releases that Manga Bookshelf loves. We get 10 Dance 4, Again!! 10, and the 8th volume of Tokyo Tarareba Girls.

ANNA: So far behind on Again!!….

MICHELLE: All of which are worth reading!

ASH: They really are! I’m closely following all of these series.

SEAN: Kodansha Digital debuts Goodbye! I’m Being Reincarnated, a shonen series that started in Shonen Magazine R but has moved up to the weekly big leagues recently. A guy is visited by a princess who needs a hero from another world! The trouble is that he can’t be transported to the other world… he has to be reincarnated. Which means she has to kill him.

MICHELLE: Huh.

ASH: Well now, that could be an interesting twist.

SEAN: We also get My Sweet Girl 5, The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn 6, and You Got Me Sempai! 6.

Seven Seas debuts the print version of Reincarnated As a Sword, which is apparently better than my attempt to read it made it seem. There’s also My Monster Secret 17, Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho 7, Shomin Sample 10, and the 3rd digital novel for Skeleton Knight in Another World.

Vertical has a 13th Devils’ Line.

It’s the start of the month, so there’s a pile of Viz. The debut is another My Hero Academia spinoff, My Hero Academia SMASH! As you might guess from the title, it’s a gag comic. Should be silly and fun.

MICHELLE: I hope there is, like, zero Mineta.

SEAN: We also get, in shonen titles, Black Torch 5, Food Wars! 31, Hunter x Hunter 36, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Arc 4 Book 2, My Hero Academia 20, One Piece 91, One-Punch Man 17, The Promised Neverland 11, and We Never Learn 5.

ASH: JooooooJoooooo!

SEAN: Shoujo is just as filled with must-haves. Ao Haru Ride 6, the 7th and final volume of Behind the Scenes!!, Idol Dreams 6, Shortcake Cake 5, Takane & Hana 10, and Yona of the Dawn 19.

ANNA: AIEEE, so many favorites coming out this week.

MICHELLE: Dang. So many awesome titles for both demographics!

ASH: It’s true!

SEAN: Lastly, Yen has some stuff left over from July that’s coming out in August. Cocoon Entwined (Mayu, Matou) debuts; it’s a yuri story set at an all-girls school, but it’s from Comic Beam, so I have hope.

ASH: At the very least, the cover art is lovely.

SEAN: Killing Me! is also out; it’s also yuri, though the fact that it’s from Media Factory’s Comic Cune makes me think it’s definitely “yuri for guys”. Vampire and vampire hunter in school.

And we have High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World 4, DanMachi: Sword Oratoria 8 (manga version), Murcielago 11, So I’m a Spider, So What? 6 (manga version), and Umineko When They Cry: Twilight of the Golden Witch omnibus 2.

While Kate ponders how to choose between Again!! and The Promised Neverland for Pick of the Week, what are you getting?

By: Sean Gaffney

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 7/17/17

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 3 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – I was wondering at some point reading this volume if we could simply make the series 200 pages per volume of Nino screaming into a mic. The scenes where she does so are so electrifying, they draw you in so much, that it makes the rest of the teen drama feel a bit less by comparison. Honestly, the series can also be exhausting, because Nino is just so MUCH—not just the singing, but everything she does is to the point of collapse and pain, and it makes you desperately want to tell her to slow down. I think the creator would do well to follow that advice as well—I could use a lull somewhere in here. But man, does this book ever succeed at showing the power of music. – Sean Gaffney

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 4 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics – We’re making progress here—Hiramasa and Mikuri seem to be able to admit to themselves that they’re falling in love, and both want things to be a bit more physical. But oh my God, the communication problems here are enough to ruin a reader’s enamel. I appreciate the slow burn here, but it’s hard not to bang your head against a wall every time these two think about finally opening up and hashing everything out, and then deciding not to. I do like the fact that they’re both equally at fault, really—Mikuri may be the viewpoint character but she compartmentalizes so much of what’s happening that accessing real emotions is proving difficult. Even hugs may not help here. – Sean Gaffney

Ghost Diary, Vol. 2 | By Seiju Natsumegu| Seven Seas – This title still walks a fine line between pandering and creepy, and it still remains on the creepy side, which is good, given it’s meant to be a horror manga. The Kukuri and Tatsumi chapter was probably my favorite, giving some depth to those two, even as it revolved around some pretty strange shenanigans (and twins who reminded me of the Sonozakis). Less successful is Mayumi, who too frequently falls into the garden variety tsundere mode, which frankly just isn’t enough by itself anymore. The series is at its best when it’s wrong-footing us and making us not completely trust Chloe, but there’s less of that here, and therefore I’d say it’s not as intriguing as the first volume. But it’s still worth a read for horror fans. – Sean Gaffney

Hana & Hina After School, Vol. 2 | By Milk Morinaga | Seven Seas – Last time we saw how fast Hina fell for Hana, adn this time it’s Hana who, by the end of the volume, is questioning how she feels about her friend. Hana doesn’t not have the past experience Hina does, though, so it may take longer. Of course, the fact that Hina has experienced rejection in the past leads her to try to distance herself from Hana, and so much of the volume has them not working together (their new co-employees are, shall we say, not as good). Fortunately, it’s all resolved by the end, in time for a festival with fireworks. That said, where would a yuri title be without the return of the ex-girlfriend? She doesn’t make a full appearance in this book, but she’s on the fringes, so I’m sure volume three will be all about her. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 8 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – There are some people who have complained that Horimiya isn’t as good as it was because it’s changed so much from its initial premise. I can sort of see what they mean, but I’m still really enjoying seeing these kids struggle through high school and try to have a relationship. Sex doesn’t come up again here, but we do get more of the weirdest BDSM relationship in all of manga, which is even weirder given it’s in public. The athletic festival is also amusing, if only as Hori does horribly as she’s so easily distracted. Bonus points for the ouendan costume as well. So yes, one could argue that the series is meandering a bit here, and needs real drama, but I also am happy just reading about these kinds being big doofs. – Sean Gaffney

Horimiya, Vol. 8 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – It’s Sports Festival time for Katagiri High! Even though Miyamura is a third-year student, it’s his first time truly participating, and he really gets into it, cheering for his teammates, competing against Hori, etc. In the end, he’s surprised by how much fun he had and I was surprised by how not tiresome yet another sports festival arc was. After this, we see the return of the relationship dynamic in which Hori wants Miyamura to be mean/rough with her. While I can appreciate seeing that sort of predilection depicted in a teen romance manga, what troubles me is that he’s clearly not enjoying it and only doing it for her sake. It’s also odd that none of their friends or classmates is showing concern, especially when Miyamura questions a love rival’s ability to hit her. I’m not sure where Horimiya is going with all this. – Michelle Smith

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 5 | By Petos | Kodansha Comics – Two-thirds of this volume is devoted to the same school antics as the previous ones, as we see the cast of friends getting closer, our succubus teacher continuing to fail to seduce Takahashi-sensei, and any number of monster girl trivia items. The last third moves to an apartment to show the adventures of a college girl who happens to live with a Zashiki-Warashi, and the complicated feelings this stirs up in her, especially as it’s not as easy to deal with as it sounds. This is cute but feels irrelevant compared to the main plot—I wonder if the author is running out of things to talk about. Still, ‘cute’ is pretty much the brief for this series, and as long as there’s plenty of that I don’t think the readers will complain. – Sean Gaffney

Oresama Teacher, Vol. 22 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – What a fantastic volume of Oresama Teacher! The Super Bun impostor is revealed, and though in retrospect I probably should have guessed who was responsible, it didn’t make the resulting story (and backstory) any less satisfying. Plus, the final chapters of the arc featured Mafuyu in a pig mask (Super Ham!) and the members of the Student Council working together to find the culprit. After that, there are a couple of bittersweet chapters about the third years graduating that are quite nice, but I really wasn’t prepared for that penultimate page. This series is frequently very silly, but a beaming Miyabi telling Mafuyu that she’s his hero made me tear up instantly. It’s a rare series that’s only getting better at volume twenty-two! – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith