#so i do overall like the arc that just gives me the ick a little is all

[chayannesegg]

only watched clips of fit pov so I'm not fully informed yet but the evolution of fit deciding the "homophobia" is real is interesting.

like, initially he saw it for what it was: tubbo lashing out because he felt left out. he called tubbo out on this, he told ramon this, he laughed about it. tubbo was also cartoonish in his distaste, it was obvious he was hurting underneath.

but slowly he's become more and more genuinely annoyed by it even though tubbo has toned it down massively

tubbo basically just does his performative ick when faced with fitpac moments like one might if their parents kissed in front of them. he certainly still feels left out but it's also a bit (one pac loves to poke at bc he knows it's tubbo being stubborn and resistant to love)

but to fit, who wants tubbo to show him that he still cares about morning crew, it bothers him that tubbo can't just leave it be. it hurts every time tubbo rejects fit & pac's relationship, even jokingly. he doesn't understand why tubbo feels left out. he wants morning crew back to what they used to be.

tubbo for the longest time was the only person there with them when fit and pac were developing their relationship. no ramon. no richas. no mike. he teased fit but he also supported him. he was the buffer they needed to start acknowledging their feelings. he was their friend.

but now tubbo is standoffish. he shies away where he used to budge in. he doesn't know his place around fit and pac anymore and he's not brave enough to ask. he's scared of the answer.

and fit doesn't get why tubbo can't just believe they love them the same as before. why he's not acting like before. he feels rejected. he feels ignored. the comments about fit and pac have started to feel personal instead of just tubbo being insecure.

so when he sees tubbo reaching out to foolish, it hurts him. it seems like tubbo has just given up on the morning crew. and he wants to lash back. he wants to warn foolish about how tubbo can hurt him. he wants tubbo back. so he frames it around the going joke, that tubbo's homophobic, but it doesn't quite land (fit's not as good as tubbo at making jokes out of his own pain). it just ends up feeling too real and that's exactly the problem.

[welcometoteyvat]

waterborne poetry reactions (belated) (long post)

XINGQIU GOT FUCKING SMASHED IN THIS EVENT. BULLYING XINGQIU HOURS I LOVE TO SEE IT (affectionate)

bro got roasted for his handwriting, is Baffled by the mondstadters, then spends an entire day missing out on [whatever that was] and STILL DOESNT HAVE A CLUE WHAT HAPPENED HAHAHA im sorry i love bullying him

please never tell xingqiu whats going on it's payback <3

CHONGYUN DIONA AND MIKA. i need to hold them omg,,,, i was using freminet to wander around so in my heart they r just 4 cryo kids in a terrarium what will they do!! that combo was quite cute

CHONGYUN YANG MODE?!?!?!?!?! ON SCREEN??????? WAAAAHHHHHHHHH

he was adorable ;;;;;___;;;;; his little eye sparkles and the jumping T_T also the near-rap speed that his lines were delivered in was hilarious (thank you kinsen for ur service)

my son.... please never feed him chilis again

CHONGYUN IMPACT. that's all

now full of unfounded hope that chongyun will someday get an event about his pure yang spirit since they mentioned it a fair few times here

give him the deep lore he deserves

also XIAOYUN?!?!?!?! (only seeing what i want to see) THEY TALKED!!!! IN PERSON ON SCREEN THEY TALKED AND XIAO WASNT DISPARAGING!!!! im sorry this is what a rarepair with no food does to a mf

xiaolumi so strong (or xiaother if u prefer)

oughguhguhg the rhyming couplets part was SOOOO CUTE!! idk they did good with the pacing of the banter i think 🥺

adding onto that the camera angles and cuts this event were actually really nice and creative i think. they made it more engaging (the quick pan from chongyun to xingqiu at the end of the 3rd act, hu tao popping out from behind venti's shoulders during the couplet exchange, etc) it was REALLY good really funny. added to the experience a lot <3

Also venti zhongli are truly the most archon old friends ever

that cutscene was actually so pretty. It's drawn in the same style as Lyney's: very textured lines, slightly reminscent of linocuts, quite a few handdrawn parts, especially where there's water/liquid movement present, etc. Maybe this is a Fontaine style animated cutscene, since the oceanids and lyney are both from there? anyways. i'm intrigued—I wanna see if there are regional cutscene styles or something (that'd be very impressive)

the "close ur eyes paimon/diona" line was so fucking funny. traveler's been the third wheel a bunch of times but never this explicitly

also ! for people icked out by the morality of kid finch's crush on the oceanid: it is Fiction with a capital F

on the one hand I agree with the above sentiment, but it's also just funny to think about. first canon monsterfucker ? /JJJJJJJJJJJJJ don't kill me for that joke

Real thoughts: I think it was actually really sweet how he fell in love with a fairytale. Someone said the oceanid could've been aromantic coded to make their love story more morally palatable; I agree, it would've been cool if she was aro, but I don't think their romantic relationship is like somehow terrible and gross either

overall ending was really mid tbh, I appreciate the character growth of everyone who was on screen but literally all the other characters just disappeared. It was really unsatisfying lol especially for an event that was supposed to be hte gathering/unison of mond and liyue

would've been better if the second day's rhyming couplets ended the event I think; you'd have to tweak it to fit the mood of the oceanid/finch reveal but literally anything works, the ending was so anticlimactic

overall event: 10/10 for giving me the character interactions I wanted, and those that I never knew I needed, 5/10 because the minigames are. not the best, I get the intentions but the execution could've been better. And then 5/10 for story arc (heavily influenced by how mid the ending was LMAO)

I want to go through all the poems and their english translations because I Know somethings gonna get screwed up and I'm also just curious as to how they translated it

[vesemirsexual]

What are your thoughts on different Geralt relationships? Shani Essi Triss etcetc

I’m a Yennefer girlie through and through so keep in mind that likely shapes my thoughts on this! Also, I don’t have my laptop in front of me or I’d be pulling text excerpts to illustrate some of what I’m going to say, but I will endeavour to reliably try and remember what I’m talking about lmao

(Also, now I’ve summarised some quick thoughts, this is kinda the relationships/kinda the women he has them with? A rare time you might see me bashing a woman character rip. Warning below that I may have shat on your faves a little, and for mentions of sexual assault/rape.)

• Iola - This is such a one night stand to me. This is Geralt is injured and moping and honestly just takes the opportunity there. It’s pretty clear from his reaction the next morning too. This comes up in the well-referenced Geralt and Sexual Assaults post as dubcon, which admittedly I hadn’t even considered at first, but considering that Geralt is fucked up and barely even remember what Iola looks like the next morning, yeah I can see that. This is such a non-thing to me.

• Triss - People can argue until the sun comes up but I’m willing to die on the hill that this instance was sexual assault/rape. The way she talks about hitting on a “propitious moment”, the use of magic, the fact that Geralt rebuffs her with every attempt at a follow up…This entire moment really changes the overall persona of Triss for me, and shows something really ugly under that sweet helpful girl-next-door exterior. I do not enjoy this ship, at all. And even in the CDPR land where this is endgame, I genuinely could not ever see it lasting. I think the entire “Triss died at Sodden Hill” and symbolism holds true to an extent: Triss is genuinely just chasing anything that makes her feel alive and emotion. I think she’d get bored of Geralt very, very quickly and she’d be onto the next, chasing the thrill and emotional highs. Triss, to me, gives the vibe of the woman who cheats with a married man, gets him to leave his wife, and then ditches him for the next one. It’s not about him; it’s about how it all makes her feel, and escapism from her own damage.

(I actually have said fucked up passage on my phone! This…did not do wonders for my perception of Triss.)

• Shani - Again, I don’t get the hype here. Shani is 17 when Geralt hooks up with her, and quite frankly, that old man is weird as hell for that one. I also don’t see Shani ever seeing Geralt as relationship material. I think her attraction rose from a) attention from an older experienced man and b) fascination about him being a Witcher (I hesitate to say fetishism, but definitely in the same vein). This is one I cannot ever see as a relationship: I genuinely think Shani would get tired of his shit real fast.

• Essi - My unpopular opinion is I hate this entire arc. I hate it, I’m sorry. Essi starts off as this amazing character, who devolves into a teenage girl throwing a tantrum and demanding sex. Sex between Geralt and Essi is incredibly uncomfortable because it takes wearing Geralt down, peer pressure and guilt-tripping to get there, he doesn’t want to, and this is another one I agree is dubcon. I am frankly, surprised more people aren’t icked out by this one. This relationship is one of the reasons A Little Sacrifice isn’t one of my favoured short stories.

• Coral - Complex feelings. I wanted to deck Coral when she’s winding Yennefer up about being pregnant, and Yennefer is quiet and sad. Geralt, stop banging Yennefers mean and manipulative coworkers who are absolutely going to use this knowledge to hurt her whenever works. Coral is such a dick, but at the same time, considering how her story ultimately ends, I find it difficult to really hate upon her, because if that isn’t punishment enough. I do like how we see Geralt draw a line when he realises Coral is not going to help those people, and I like how this relationship characterises him further.

• Fringilla - Fringilla drives me fucking insane. I despise the library scene with every fibre of my being. If Sapkowski had included the Fringilla/Geralt baby from the drafts, as I have repeated many times, I would’ve lost my shit. Fringilla blinds Yennefer at Sodden Hill (leaving her blind for a year and with massive mental scarring) and then has the audacity to be fucking her boyfriend while she knows Yen is being held and likely tortured somewhere, and then has the audacity to actually fall in love with him. Even though it’s her job and ploy for the Lodge, even though Geralt is also playing her, god. Fuck these two for this one.

• Sword delivery girl who’s name I’ve forgotten - Geralt, you’re honestly such a bitch.

[youhearstatic]

Top 5 favourite characters: lup, barry, taako, magnus, and merle

Other characters you like: magic brian, klaarg, lucretia, angus, roswell, tom bodett, ah so many

Least favourite character: Lucas (sorry, like i *get* him but someone has to be least favorite)

Otps: lup and barry, taako and kravitz

Notps: magnus and anyone but julia (sorry), lup and anyone but barry (sorry but barry is why i first fell in love with lup before we even met her!)

Favourite friendship: taako and magnus - like the moments in suffering game where it was just !!!! like taako casting soul jar or magnus telling taako he’d take another turn on the wheel so taako didn’t have to give up his looks. not just the actions but that both of them just DID it like it was not even a question. also taako and angus or taako and barry. taako caring for people is great because of how taako is.

Favourite family: tres horny boys, the seven birds

Favourite episode: single episode? oof… episode 66 maybe? That scene where Taako confronts Lucretia like… ooooooh gosh, kills me every time.

Favourite season/book/movie: since im just doing balance i’ll pick miniarc in which case stolen century simply for most lup! if only going by mini arc story then probably… hmm… 11th hour? really hard to say between 11th hour and suffering game though because there’s some really solid developments in suffering game.

Favourite quote: oh how to ever pick just one? okay how about “You’re my oldest and dearest friends. You threw my dog in a goddamned fire.” also when lup says “One small criticism- um, I think you may have forgotten to make it taste good.” or for a short quote I’m a big fan of the nice and simple “I’m so proud of zem.” from magic brian.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: oh man, anytime the red robe dropped his character i was just HOOOOKED SO HARD

When it really disappointed you: when it ended :(

Saddest moment: ohhh man. i cried pretty much constantly the last eight or so episodes i think. also like for complete emotional 180? when Taako confronts Lucretia and he’s so angry and also kind of … numb? Like I’m RIGHT there with him, angry and kind of shellshocked after coming off stolen century (i marathoned the last twelve episodes or so) and then magnus (well travis i guess) says he raises the FRPSoD and he kind of chokes up as he says it? BOOM just typing that i get teary eyed! from zero to about to cry in 0.2 seconds. 

Most well done character death: okay… there weren’t REALLY that many but i guess we all know it has to be… magnus :( 

Favourite guest star: brad bradson i guess? he’s the only canon guest star for balance? right?

Favourite cast member: okay this is weird for this fandom so i guess i’ll say griffin because he does so many of the characters… the other three just get one each :-/

Character you wish was still alive: um… gosh, again, weird question for this fandom! okay i guess i’d say… lup and barry? because while it’s great they didn’t get technically reaped but it’s like… they never got to just have their life? i mean they never got to decide if they wanted to have a family or raise alpacas or what the fuck ever… i mean they’re probably plenty happy it just seems like they deserved to make that choice.  …. oh fuck okay i guess really i should have said johann… i wish johann had gotten to be happy :(

One thing you hope really happens: more lup and also some barry please in the live shows

Most shocking twist: lup? barry? davenport?

When did you start watching/reading: like… a month or so ago. haha. devoured it in a week and then did it all again a week later i think.

Trope you wish they would stop using: like the worst one was the kill your gays but they fixed that. the other is fridging i guess but … like… i dunno. i get where travis was coming from? i think there’s also maybe like…. a forgivable amount of death for a character’s backstory for these sorts of genre characters where you need them to like… be solo otherwise why are they off being adventurers? like the alternative is merle was a deadbeat dad who ran out on his family and that says things about a character too, you know? it’s complicated is what i’m saying. 

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: okay i think that the mcelroys have really really tried to fix things they’ve fucked up. like the sloane and hurley thing and the taco thing - they are willing to say ‘we should have handled this better’ even if they didn’t intend it badly. it makes me appreciate them all the more, you know?

Funniest moments: okay for balance like… for an extended bit? magic brian’s death. magic brian was just a treat all around imo. oh or the whole thing about breaking into the sharks base. barbara taking little jerry to the bathroom just tickled me.

Couple you would like to see: avi and johann maybe?

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: none. but i wouldn’t mind some cross over from other arc characters showing up somehow in live shows i guess? especially duck or errol or agustus or aubrey (i feel like i’m being mean to clint!) …or gandy or ned.

Most boring plotline: i don’t know! like every time i was kinda meh about something in theory it was actually really good. like in general racing movies aren’t my thing but petals to the metal was fantastic. westerns aren’t my cup of tea but the 11th hour was fucking terrific. maaayyyyyybe the plot arc of crystal kingdom wasn’t my fave i guess? there was a lot to be accomplished there, though, so i think it’s story maybe suffered a little to achieve so many other goals for the overall arc

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: stolen century. i mean… that feels like cheating but come on it was fucking amazing. if you don’t want to count a whole arc then i guess barry’s flashback of his decade while everyone was voidfished.

Most layered character: hmmm…. my impulse here is to say a toss up between taako and lucretia

Scariest moment: the judges! fuck, that cycle was scary even knowing it obviously turned out okay!

Grossest moment: oh god, so many merle moments were just right at that edge of skeevy ickness

Best looking male: taako (this is cheating)

Best looking female: lup (but how can i not pick them?)

Who you’re crushing on (if any): lup, look, i just fucking love lup, okay? LUUUUUUUP

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): hmm… like i don’t really know how to answer this one. sometimes i had a hard time picturing things. other times i pictured things really clearly. but i’m not sure those were particularly beautiful? if i go by things i pictured that if they were real shots i would say had beautiful cinematography? then… probably anything with the void fish because they are beautiful and… probably any of the scenes in the ruins of the capital city with the robots during stolen century.

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: liches/touching stuff. how does barry always have his glasses especially after phandolin? how many times did barry go to the BoB? 

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: i’m gonna say a few: klaarg and then magic brian were both like… okay i’m in, this is great. but the point when it DEVOURED MY BRAIN and i was completely sunk into the fandom? when red robe barry said “lup, they don’t trust me” oh god, seriously. if you’d told me okay that’s it, you can’t listen to any more ever and you’ll never get the answers to what was going on there i’d have like… bartered suffering game style, given a pinky finger or memories or something. that’s why i can’t go for any ship that’s lup and not-barry. barry’s love for lup is why i first fell in love with lup, why i first fell in love with barry, and why i first fell in obsession/love with taz: balance. 

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 11/30/19

Let us give thanks for a hearty helping of briefs!

Beastars, Vol. 2 | By Paru Itagaki | Viz Media – If there was any doubt after reading the first volume of Beastars that I would be following the series, it has been completely banished after finishing the second. The sensitive gray wolf Legoshi continues to be a major draw for me, but so is Louis, the driven red deer who becomes an even more prominent character in the second volume (in addition to being featured on the cover). The scenes that the two share together are particularly intense, their contrasting personalities clashing and complementing each other in interesting ways. In part, using the framework of herbivore versus carnivore and the seemingly natural order of things, Beastars‘ narrative explores personal identities that challenge the expectations placed on individuals by a society that tries to neatly categorize them. But people are complicated and relationships are messy, something that Itagaki captures extremely well. Beastars is a dramatic and compelling series; I’m hooked. – Ash Brown

CITY, Vol. 6 | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – Again, I feel that Arawi is not playing to his strengths by making this story of a city try to be as broad as possible. It’s best when there’s a through plot we can enjoy, such as seeing the restaurant owner/chef suffer from his cooking being average and his restaurant failing. There’s also some chapters that succeed by showing off amusing faces, such as the one where they try to figure out if one girl is mad or not (she’s not… at first), or trying to tell two identical twins apart when they insist on doing the exact same thing despite yelling about their differences. Unfortunately, when it’s random people doing random gags, it’s merely an average title. I’d like to be able to recall the names of anyone in this the way I can for Nichijou. – Sean Gaffney

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 7 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – This volume concentrates on fleshing out the cast and backstory, possibly at the expense of the humor—there’s been less and less each book—but it’s not unwelcome. particularly when we get Senshi’s backstory. Elsewhere, Laios may be a child of prophecy, and he and his group had better find his sister and somehow get her back or the elves will get there first and destroy the entire dungeon… which will lead to massive loss of life. That said, rest assured that there’s still some eating of delicious monsters in this book, which is one reason people started to read it. It’s just that now there’s a plot that is more important. Now that this series comes out so infrequently, each volume is even more of a treasure. – Sean Gaffney

Dr. STONE, Vol. 8 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – We’re finally leaving the village, as Senku and company decide to take the fight to Tsukasa, which involves building a car. Yes, they build a car. That said, that’s hardly the most surprising thing in this volume, as we’re reintroduced to Taiju and Yuzuriha, last seen seemingly being written out of the manga for being too boring. But now, six volumes later, they’re back, and they’re in Tsukasa’s camp. Which is good, as Chrome has been captured. There’s slightly less science and slightly more action in this volume, but that just helps remind you that this is a Jump title at heart, and it will be nice to see the original three stars back together again. Though can Taiju and Yuzuriha magically get interesting? – Sean Gaffney

Guilty, Vol. 1 | By Ai Okaue | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Sayaka and Kazu have been married for ten years, but only now has Sayaka actually told him she wants a child. Kazu does not. You’d think they’d have had this conversation over a decade ago! While he initially seems like a kind husband, readers soon learn that he is carrying on an affair with Rui, a woman who has positioned herself as Sayaka’s confidante at the bar she frequents, and is essentially keeping Sayaka trapped in a lie and denying her what she really wants. He’s utter trash, but Sayaka’s hard to sympathize with, as she is all too ready to believe his flimsy excuses. Drama involving GPS trackers, a coworker’s extramarital affair, and Sayaka’s first love ensues. I don’t really like these characters—though I have to admire how conniving Rui is—but I will probably be back for more. – Michelle Smith

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 11 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The ‘serious’ plots here are Ishigami deciding to try and get serious about studies to woo the girl he likes, only to find out how hard that is when you’ve slacked off for so long, and the cliffhanger ending, where Shirogane reveals what he plans to do about college. There’s also some great stuff with Hayasaka having to once again pretend to be Kaguya’s butler in order to fool Fujiwara. But all that pales next to the extended chapters of rap battles we get which reminds you that when the series is trying to be as funny as possible there’s no equal. This was around when the anime was announced (there’s a chapter lampshading it), and I honestly can’t wait to see these chapters done. Still great. – Sean Gaffney

Melting Lover | By Bukuro Yamada | Kuma – This is a collection of BL short stories with a supernatural bent. In “Bottom of Heaven,” a reluctant hitman is followed by a hedonistic angel who helps his victims rest in peace. In “The Circus After Midnight,” troupe dancer Luce exposes his animal trainer roommate’s most closely held secret after said roommate fails to believe his father figure could be guilty of sexual assault. The best story of the bunch is “Melting Lover,” in which a typhoon carries a shapeshifting blob onto the balcony of Keisuke, who is obsessed with his (straight) senpai from high school. Does he fuck the blob? You bet he does. The worst is “Noisy Jungle,” in which an android tells himself it’s natural to boff his human pet, while clearly thinking of it as an animal. Ick. Overall, though, I liked these dark stories and would read more by this author. – Michelle Smith

My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 2 | By Satoru Yamaguchi and Nami Hidaka | Seven Seas – There’s another prose short story at the end of this second volume, which mostly just involves Katarina dreaming she’s in another universe, based on a standard shoujo private school manga, and because it lacks the “fantasy” elements her fate is… far more tolerable? As for the main manga, Katarina’s reactions to everything are the reason to get it, as it can give us all the faces that the light novel art wasn’t able to convey. She meets Maria here, who (to no one’s surprise) falls for Katarina just as hard as everyone else has, and Katarina is just as unaware of it. Still, Maria is still being bullied, so the plot of the game is still happening. A great adaptation. – Sean Gaffney

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, Vol. 6 | By Tomoko Yamashita | SuBLime (digital only) – I sometimes forget what an amazing balance Yamashita-sensei strikes between moments of romantic progress between Rihito and Mikado—like the scene where Rihito says, “I’ll help you. As long as it keeps you with me.”—and ominous reminders that Rihito has been through some terrible trauma and is a broken and dangerous person. In this volume, there are some parallels between his plight and that of Erika Hiura, who is trying to get away from the cult leader who’s compelling her to curse people. It was great seeing five to six characters in a scene together all working towards this common goal and feels like we might be heading towards a conclusion fairly soon. I hope Mikado emerges unscathed, but I do love that I am actually feeling some doubt about that. Can’t wait for the next volume! – Michelle Smith

One Piece, Vol. 92 | By Eiichiro Oda | VIZ Media – I was so worried going into this volume that Luffy was going to mess up the plans of the Wano rebels, which involve careful coordination and laying low for two weeks, neither of which he appears capable of. And, indeed, when he thinks Kaido has killed Tama, the little girl with whom he’s bonded, he picks a fight with the Emperor of the Sea. (I did appreciate seeing Luffy laid out by a single hit, though.) He ends up in a labor camp and, actually, this is for the best story-wise as it allows his more competent crewmates to help with the plan instead. It was so nice seeing Usopp distribute fliers, and Franky attempt to track down building plans for a mansion, and Robin snoop around in her geisha guise. I’ve missed those characters! This is shaping up to be a pretty fun arc! – Michelle Smith

Skip Beat!, Vol. 43 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – I can’t recall there ever being a bad volume of Skip Beat!, but this one was exceptionally good. Kyoko has been cast as Momiji, but Moko did not get the role of Chidori, so Kyoko is worrying a lot about her (and feeling guilty). It turns out, however, that another challenging role has come Moko’s way. I very much love how these friends can talk to each other about their professional setbacks and opportunities. Meanwhile, Yashiro contrives for Ren and Kyoko to spend some time together, but it backfires when Kyoko, still beliving that Ren is in love with the horrible Morizumi, gets so overwhelmed by how he makes her feel that she gets mad. Poor baffled Ren. Still, I can’t help but feel that this is the start of some real progress for them. We shall see! – Michelle Smith

Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san, Vol. 2 | By Honda | Yen Press – This is a fun title to read, but there’s not particularly much to review here. Honda-san walks us through more problems that Japanese bookstores have, from author signings to employee turnover and reassignments, to the difference between BL manga and gay manga. We meet wholesalers, go to a drinking party, and once again deal with a wide variety of customers, including possible yakuza and those who simply buy 90 pounds of titles and can’t carry them out the door. And there’s also the fact that Honda’s manga is now out, which means trouble when one of the prior plotlines, the customer service coaching one, annoyed the bosses. Still good, but you may want to stick to the anime. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 6 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – It’s hard to top the last volume, which contains the two most famous chapters in the series to date. But this volume remains cute as a button, with an extended plotline involving a visit to a water park that shows off Nishikata’s nice side as well as his embarrassed and scheming sides, and reminds you why Takagi likes him so much. Even better is a chapter where she’s depressed (and thus not teasing him) all day, and he tries to find out why and cheer her up. Not that she’s willing to give up her place as the winner of every battle. That said, even the chapter with the eyedrops (which is another ���will they try for a kiss” moment) has a tag reminding us these are still innocent middle-schoolers. Which is why this is so cute. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown