#so. its fanservice. which is not a bad thing

[liquidstar]

objectively hilarious that vivinos's youtube channel is basically build on yuri horror/angst content (its basically almost always two girls killing or dying in the most fucked up ways possible) but the first time a video centered on guys is made (cherry bitch club) its literally just fanservice. yeah flip those conventions LOL

[oceanwithouthermoon]

ok i really dont understand why people go "grrr the author wrote something canon that doesnt follow MY headcanon grrr hes wrong about his own character" can someone please enlighten me on why people do this

[itsays]

ok hot take bls taking over the thai drama insdustry kinda worst thing that could've happened ever. and i am talking dramas not lakorns, we no longer have a nadao to make quality dramas where the main point was to tell a compelling story rather than to just be fan service. and that's all the industry is rn. the exceptions are far and few between omg. once gmmtv got a hold of their very own kpop-like formula it was over for everyone. they opened a sick and twisted portal

[echidnana]

we should probably have a tag for higu posting bc we are doing a lot of it

[cykeadelics]

to be honest, when a 12 year old is said to molest someone to death and an active assault scene happens between two 12 year olds, i kind of just don’t care about whatever point was trying to be made. that’s personally weird to me. you can say media is allowed to portray dark themes (which is true) but like… its 12 year olds. i dont really want to hear about or see 12 year olds doing that as a grown adult for shock value or fan service. whoever the steamer guy sounds reasonable considering he’s a grown adult and there’s fan service of one of the 12 year olds who’s supposed to be an assault victim. the point that was trying to made was just crudely portrayed to the point of it essentially canceling out any meaning. dont know if its about being stronger than anyone.

Ultra despair girls is so fucking good I have so many thoughts and please pray for me because the popular streamer man crashed out over it and now I’m going to have to deal with people who do not get it at all complaining about it. I am simply built stronger then him what can I say.

[stardustizuku]

So, Gushing Over Magical Girls Is The Best Thing To Happen to Magical Girls

Gushing Over Magical Girls get this bad rep. For all the wrong reasons. I’ve seen it be called an insult to Magical Girls, I’ve seen it be called “gooner bait” a term I absolutely despise but that’s a thing for another day. I’ve seen it insulted for everything and anything under the sun.

I first got acquainted with it when I was scrolling through Twitter and I saw someone complain about the PV. However, as an avid Magical Girl Fan, I wasn’t disgusted. I was intrigued.

I decided to read the manga, and oh god.

This is one of the best things I’ve read.

The story follows Utena, a shy girl that loves Magical Girls, tricked to become the evil general that will defeat the Magical Girl team “Tres Magia”.

And it’s a delight.

I binged all the episodes available to me in the manga, and had fun in each and every chapter.

The same, however, couldn’t be said by half the people who watched the anime. And I was extremely baffled. As a queer woman, this was the first time in my life, in which I had seen something so deliberately catered towards me. I saw tell-tale signs of someone who genuinely admires the genre, and is simply using it as an outlet for exploring deeper and more interesting topics that a SFW version of it would not be able to.

Yet, I turn around and I see people calling it the most horrendous stuff, and accusing everyone who likes it of being monsters or men.

Genuinely, I’ve had enough.

Gushing Over Magical Girl is not the Devil. In fact, I think it’s the best thing to come don’t even like Magical Girls AND IT SHOWS.

PART 1: “Magical girls are for little girls!”.

The first criticism you’ll see aimed at “Gushing over Magical girl” is the amount of sexually charged content it has. And it is true. It borders on straight up porn in many instances and it just gets wilder as you go on. By chapter 30, we’re way past PantyShots. Like, I’ve seen some of these girls’ vaginas, and I’m not joking.

Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with it, but there’s people who might disagree.

“Magical Girls are for little girls” some people say “and you’re corrupting it!”

Which genuinely makes me laugh.

This is because this type of argument could only be done by someone with no real concept of Magical Girls aside from maybe Sailor Moon and Sakura Card Captor.

out of the Magical Girl genre in a WHILE (Ignoring Precure, because they just gave us a magical boy and that’s my win of the decade).

People are just, you know, stupid. And reactionary. Enough that they see a boob and lose their minds like a Karen at a Christmas Eve Mall.

My point is, I love this manga. And I’m willing to risk my reputation to defend it. Cause genuinely, half the people who are clutching their pearls over this show - Magical Girl Anime haven’t always been PG, or aimed at girls.

Cutie Honey is a great example. It’s one of the most famous Magical Girl Anime you will find - and it’s a shonen. With the protagonist, Honey, being constantly naked, groped, put in suggestive situations and have outfits that show her cleavage.

And it’s one of the most famous, most popular takes on Magical Girl there is. Yet, I never see any amount of outrage towards it. (Part of me wonders if it’s because the fan service is aimed at men, rather than involving yuri).

There’s also Lyrical Nanoha, one of the most popular serial franchises there is. It spans several seasons and spinoffs, and it’s beloved by many.

And it’s aimed at older men. Yes, it’s a Seinen.

In fact, its origins are far from PG. It’s actually a Spin-off of an erotic game named “Triangle Heart”. It was most definitely not created with little girls in mind, and themes it tackles reflect as much.

There’s Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya too, a spinoff of the Fate/Stay Night VN, very obviously aimed at older men, it’s a Seinen. It has a lot of fanservice and scenes where the characters are half naked.

Day Break Illusion is also a Shonen.

And as much as I adora Madoka - I’ve been stating for years now that it isn’t a show meant for little girls. You could argue it’s for everyone, regardless of gender, who’s a little older. But it most definitely wasn’t for little girls.

So, no. This was never an “only girls” club. Trying to paint it as such, is not only wrong but ignorant.

Magical Girl shows can be for anyone. Men, boys, girls, women and I find it infantilizing to consider it “only for little girls”.

No one says “super heroes are ONLY for little boys”

Well, some do. But they’re, you know, bigots. Who don’t want girls playing or adults o have fun.

So no, Gushing Over Magical Girls being a sexually charged anime in the Seinen category isn’t “corrupting the genre”. In fact, I would argue it’s doing exactly what the genre has done in the OVA shadows for a while.

Not to mention, many people have screamed from the rooftop how they want “more mature Magical Girl shows” referring to the success of Madoka. But as soon as an actually mature take on Magical Girls shows up, tackling issues of sexuality and love, you all don’t want it anymore.

(We all know why, though. Americans, and western culture in general, considers mature themes, only that which involves violence. Anything close to discussing issues of sex is no longer “mature” but “Pornographic” and deserving of being shoved into a corner. With all queer themes, gender studies, and any nuance that could be had regarding these issues).

And speaking of sexually charged, have you watched so called “wholesome” magical girls? They’re still very much sexy. Not in the “on the nose” ecchi way Seinen and Shonen are - but they still are.

You’ll find transformations were the girls are naked, zoom in to their breasts, you’ll have panty shots every now and then. Even themes of growing up, having crushes, and innuendos about sex. Inappropriate relationships, taboo romance, and the likes.

Sakura had Rita and a professor’s relationship (mutual in the manga), Sailor Moon had Chibiusa and Elliot’s romance, Sugar Sugar Rune even having an element for ‘lust’ and other different types of love, and let’s not forget Mermaid Melody which has several instances of the girls naked, in compromising positions with other men. And I’m pretty sure Tokyo Mew Mew likely opened a whole bunch of doors for girls to be into CNC.

This is, by the way, normal.

Completely so.

These stories often talk about the girlhood experience. And girls and teenage girls are interested in all of these things. They’re interested in sex, romance, their bodies growing up, their own sexuality and the likes. It’s no wonder same-sex relationships and romance get included, they’re part of what experiencing the world through the eyes of a young girl is like.

And subsequently, it stands to reason that as people who engaged with MG grow up - they find comfort in exploring their sexuality through Magical Girl themselves. There’s a reason why there’s a growing section of “Magical Girl” in your local hentai site.

“Men get off on corrupting this wholesome girl targeted genre” is actually TERF rhetoric sneaking through the mainstream. It ignores AFAB ppl and gender nonconforming people, who grew up with Magical Girls, simply using a medium that originally started their journey of sexual identity, to explore more “grown up” aspects of that same identity.

In particular, I’m a Cis AroAce Woman. I wrote a lot of Magical Girl NSFW when I first started writing NSFW Twitter threads. They’re bad and they’re cringey. But it was something I needed.

Magical Girls were a huge part of my childhood and early teens. When I was mentally in the space to want to engage with NSFW content: it was obvious I would turn to what first sparked excitement.

So this idea that “men are corrupting Magical Girls with their sick fantasies” is nothing more than TERF-lite propaganda. People, including women and men, have been doing this for ages; for a variety of reasons. And doing so, doesn’t rob children of their spaces - but the gentrification of the internet is a story of another day.

The other argument I have heard is that GOMG is a mockery of the genre. Which is even more laughable in my opinion.

PART 2: Parodies and why I hate Earth Defender’s Club.

Gushing Over Magical Girls loves Magical Girls. It’s a parody, in a way, but it knows very well what it parodies. It’s not surface level in the slightest. And it absolutely is not mean spirited about it.

A lot of the time, shows that reference and parody the Magical Girl genre, do so in ways that feel like they view it as a lesser genre. They take generic images of cute girls in frilly outfits, swap the colors around, and have them chant over-the-top spells. You’re meant to laugh, not only at how silly they look, but people who would love it. Especially if they’re grown ups.

I do not like “Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!” For this exact reason - even tho many people praise it to all heavens.

Because

1) It feels surface level in its commentary and depiction of Magical Girls and

2) More mocking towards the genre than paying homage or doing anything with it.

The continuous use of the word “Love” is a very obvious jab at Magical Girls using these words, which feels mean spirited just for the sake of it. Their outfits are almost exactly the same, save for the colors. And they all use the same sticks as weapon, with no thematic link for the shapes of the scepters. The mascot too (a wombat for god knows what reason), I think it’s meant to be a joke of some sort for how ridiculous some of the mascots for the girls get, which rubs me the wrong way.

In general, it feels shallow and mean spirited. But no one calls this an insult to Magical Girls. Because people who like it don't actually care about Magical Girls. They see cute boys doing silly things and love it. Which is kinda sad.

Now, Gushing Over Magical girls has sort of that same problem on the Tres Magias…But they’re not the protagonists. And even then, in later chapters, they get power ups that are different in design, and thematically linked.

The protagonist, and the ones we follow, are Utena and the girls. And they all have very distinct outfits, all with motifs that are tangentially thematically linked, and speak of each character’s personalities in interesting ways.

Utena in particular has THIS outfit. Which a lot of people don’t like, but I actually do.

It’s very obvious it’s taking inspo from other iconic Bad Girls in the genre. Namely, Utau, Kraehe and Devil Homura. All “Enemy characters” that have unhealthy obsessions with other characters. In particular, I think the wings and the feathers resemble Homura - THE character known to have a massive obsession with a Magical Girl (Madoka), to the point of insanity.

There’s also Magia Azure. Who’s a clear reference to the Mean Tsundere girl that is iconic to the genre. She’s also a Miko. Which is a callback to Sailor Mars, arguably THE girl who popularized this archetype.

I also love what they do with the mascots. Unlike Earth Defenders, where the mascot is you know, a mockery of the archetype of a mascot - useless, only there to give power ups, and obsessed with food - the mascots of GOMG is taking a book from Madoka.

It considers the mascots both all-too-powerful and yet limited in their reach. Which is exactly what the mascots have always been in Magical Girls. Beings so powerful they can give mythical powers to girls, yet helpless to do anything on their own. So, they use magical girls as a vehicle to achieve their goals. Most Magical girls try to paint this as a good thing, but newer genres shine light on how dangerous that can be too.

Madoka tackles it with Kyubey as the main initial mascot, only later to turn out to be the villain of the series.

And in a Post-Madoka world, trusting the mascots is just the slightest bit more difficult. That’s why, from the get go, GOMG portrays their mascots as morally corrupt. He’s not a good character, he’s malicious and doing more harm than good. But for the majority of the series, he’s painted more as a useless harmless evil than anything genuinely terrifying or worthy of concern. The attention is focused on other things.

But I love the way that it’s heavily implied that they’re not good. It’s a very interesting take on the mascot and it helps with the themes of the series. Which yes, by the way. Gushing Over Magical Girls has themes.

Which lead me to-

Part 3: Yeah, uhm, Gushing Over Magical Girl has themes.

There’s this idea that Sex is an inherently violent act. In which a man humiliates and sodomizes a woman, and therefore the woman is exploited in some way. And 10x worse is any act that involves BDSM. It’s violence; born out of hatred.

This is TERF rhetoric. I’m not joking. This line of thought leads directly to TERF ideas.

Many on the internet have pointed out as much, and BDSM members have gone to be very vocal about it. In particular, people on the role of the submissive (or the bottoms) are loudly trying to explain the contrary. How they like the act of sex, like the idea of being vulnerable, or being humiliated. There’s also plenty of LGBT+ stories that talk about it, both in western and eastern spaces. Just jump into the section of dom/sub verse at your local manga browsing website, and you’ll find something.

That said, the same is not as common for people who like to “dominate”.

I can only think of two pieces of media that argue that, whoever is the dominant or the sadist, is also a human being. That whatever they’re doing is done, not out of hatred for the submissive or an act of violence, but love.

One, is the husky and the white cat. In which Mo Ran, among other things, has to come to terms that his love isn’t “pure”. That he cannot love someone without the want to have sex, and to completely dominate that someone.

The second one is Gushing Over Magical Girls.

It’s very clear to me that Utena’s sadism isn’t a violent act. It’s an act born out of love. She genuinely loves the Magical Girls, and most girls for that matter, and whenever she is inflicting pain and fighting with them - what she wants is to ultimately help them in some way.

She wants them to “be the cutest version they can be” and wants them to shine brighter than ever.

There’s this one scene I love, around chapter 20, in which Baiser (Utena) is fighting Magia Azura. And due to Baiser going a bit too far, Azura ends up being Mind-broken. She crawls towards her, calls her “mistress” and begs to become her servant.

In any normal Hentai you’ll find, this is a good thing. This would be the ideal outcome. A character being turned into nothing but a sex slave for the enjoyment of the dominant.

Which is why I found it breathtaking when that didn’t happen.

Baiser is horrified by this. She does not want to break the girls, she wants them to be powerful. She wants them to win. With her, the evil one, being nothing more than a vehicle for them to be even stronger than before.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen dominant or sadist characters being presented both sexually, and in such a positive light. Much less a queer woman in the same position.

It doesn’t treat BDSM sex as a disgusting taboo act, but something born out of genuine love - and a want to see the other person be or feel better.

This is reinforced around chapter 25 where Leberblume and Loco Mùsica are fighting Baiser. For context, Loco Musica wanted to be an Idol, but had terrible singing. She uses her evil power to basically force everyone to listen to her sing (which is so reminiscent of Mermaid Melody btw). When they fight, Baiser wins, and is then set to use her new found power to “punish” Loco Musica.

Originally, Loco Musica points out how Baiser’s sadistic tendencies are “the same” as Lord Enorme, who we’ve seen uses sadism as a genuine form of punishment. Something to avoid. You behave well, because you don’t want to get hurt or humiliated by her.

However, when Baiser uses her own unique type of sadism on Loco Musica, something happens. Instead of causing her physical pain by beating her or using violence, she forces her to get naked and perform her idol song like that. This causes her to get extremely embarrassed. And in the process, she actually starts to sing really well.

This is important for two reasons

1) Baiser is actually taking into account who Musica is. It’s later revealed that Musica wanted a more frilly idol-like outfit but Lord Enorme shut it down, for the sake of a more ‘unified’ aesthetic. Baiser is not just throwing around the same treatment and punishment for all girls - what one might like, the other might hate.

2) At the end of the day, while she did the punishment, it was both embarrassing, but ultimately something that helped Musica and made her feel better.

And that’s really the key here, and why I love the series.

Sadism, sex and kinks in general are not tools of degeneracy. They’re treated as part of our experience.

Also, it’s just fun?

Part 4: Gushing Over Magical Girls is just extremely fun when you don’t have a dumb bitch yapping abt how unholy it is to see tiddies on a screen

Yeah, GOMG just has one of the most creative depictions of the most insane of kinks you’ll see - I could spent hour gushing over Nero Alice.

Seeing all these different kinks being depicted as powers and abilities that these characters have - and seeing how they interact with other people is just interesting.

The sex scenes are both hilarious and kinda sexy. Specially if you do like to see women all hot and bothered. Personally I’m not into girls (or anyone for that matter) but I have to admit the scenes were pretty hot. And there is no shame in admitting as much. No matter what the puritanical Christian on Twitter crying abt “god honoring lesbian sex” Will tell you.

I cannot begin to explain just how hype and relatable it was to see Magia Baiser defeat Lord Enorme with the power of straight up delusion, we STAN.

So, yeah.

It’s been a while since I last saw a Magical Girl Show so unashamed of being a Magical Girl Show. Unashamed of being weird, of praising the genre and just enjoying it.

My essay is titled, in part, as a joking reference to my much more popular series “MLB is the worst thing to happen to the magical girl series”. Which I still think is true.

And while, yeah, maybe GOMG isn’t the best thing to come out of the genre…I still think it’s good that it came out.

A lot of people say they want a more “mature” take on Magical Girls but - this proved to me that just isn’t the case.

Gushing over magical girls proves that the Magical Girl Genre Can Be so much more than what people think. More than glitter and sparkles, more than vapid action scenes, or what little girls want.

Much like any other genre, it can be raunchy, it can be messy, it can explore things outside of the status quo. But it can still deeply respect the source material, and the origins of it.

GOMG proves Magical Girls can be fun. Just. Straight up fun. Regardless of your age. They can serve and connect you to parts of yourself you didn’t realize you could connect to.

I hope it proves to more people that the genre can be so much more than “just for little girls” that parodies can be more than pointing and laughing, and that it can have themes beyond just, “friendship”.

Magical Girls can be so much more. You just, have to have an open mind about it.

[rowie264]

Why Timebomb shouldn't exist in s2 (part 1 - Ekko)

Let's start by analyzing his character. Don't you think there's something wrong here, to put it mildly? Of course, I'm laughing at jokes about the fact that you can't call any character absolutely good in Arcane except for Ekko, but… Don't you think this is a problem? Ekko has no flaws at all. If he didn't have difficulties as the story progressed (and there aren't many), he would literally be Mary Sue.

And okay, even though I find characters without flaws completely unrealistic and boring, it's possible to work with this. Let Ekko be a good guy. Just give him a good conflict and it will be enough to make him interesting to watch.

But there are problems here too. What conflicts does Ekko have?

Chembarons. It's clear with Silco, he died in s1, and this conflict is half gone. But only half, because other chembarons want to take his place. The development of this topic could serve as a good disclosure of Ekko's character. His confrontation with shimmer and Silco in the hope of changing Zaun for the better with his defeat will endow him with flaw - naivety (this is just speculation, because we don't know if Ekko knew that eliminating Silco wouldn't have changed anything - we can only see that how he sighs at this information in s2 ep2). But making him naive is good, because it would give him an opportunity for growth and an additional character arc, because the question arises - what will he do? Fight against the "bad guys" as before or change his approach? Will he get his hands dirty or will he find a "better way"? Perhaps he will try to unite Zaun? Maybe he'll become a chembaron himself, but as a good chembaron? Well, we won't find out, because thanks to Caitlyn for doing all the dirty work - this conflict disappeared on its own.

The Tree. Ekko's personal arc in the s2, which is just drained down the toilet. And no "he ended up in another timeline and then there was a war" is not an excuse, because his entire motivation in s2 is based on this conflict. He starts his journey precisely because of the Tree, but they brushes it aside for the sake of fanservice and a more global plot. Lack of timing is not an excuse for the same reason - fanservice in another timeline is not needed for s2. Exploring Tree and firelights would give a lot of information about Ekko himself. How did he become a leader? Was there anyone who was against his leadership? What personal connections does he have with firelights (friends, mentors, etc)? One such small flashback could reveal his character much more than the entire ep7.

Piltover. Weeeeell, since we have been ignoring the topic of Piltover oppressing Zaun for decades, this conflict disappears by itself. We have more important things to do, like fighting an army of creepy robots and Arcane Jesus.

Jinx. Fucked up on all fronts. Cheap fanservice with alternative Powder instead of revealing his complicated relationship with our Powder/Jinx. I'll explain more later.

In total, we have: Ekko, a character who has not been fully revealed, who does not have depth like other characters (shown on the screen, rather than having to figure it out by ourselves) and whose conflicts either resolve themselves or are forgotten. It was more important for the creators to devote time to the fanservice than to reveal Ekko as an individual and close his personal arcs. Moving to another timeline cuts off the possibility of revealing his relationship with other characters besides Heimerdinger (yes, with Jinx too, but more on that later). But there's also a problem with Heimerdinger, because well, he's so small and fluffy and has a cool mustache, and that's probably why Ekko completely ignores the fact that Heimer was a councilor to the city who had been oppressing Zaun for decades (seriously, Ekko doesn't bring up this topic and has no complaints about Heimer, because creators deliberately omitted this conflict, forgetting that it is illogical for the character as Ekko).

Part 2 - Jinx Part 3 - Relationship

[thewadapan]

School Days review

Yeah, School Days is actually pretty good after all.

When you google "School Days", on the first page of results there's a reddit thread asking "hey, why do people hate this show?" OP gives a succinct summary of the show's themes and praises it for its tight focus and psychological depth.

The comments in that thread are fucking crazy. The top-voted comment includes this absolute gem: "Sekai is an emotionally manipulative bitch". Some users gesture towards a faint understanding that School Days is a deconstruction of harem anime, but almost to a one they claim the character writing is unrealistic. Nobody seems able to look past the show's metatextual meaning to just look at it on a straightup subtextual level—that is to say, it's not just being different to other anime for the sake of contrarianism, it's making a serious point about misogyny and toxic masculinity. Describing Makoto as a "character" at all is almost missing the point; he's practically a force of nature, and the vast majority of the show is concerned with the psychological manoeuvring of the girls in his class trying to manage and shape his behaviour.

I only know about School Days because @weaselandfriends is constantly banging a drum about it being a secret masterpiece. Gee, I wonder who the OP of that thread was! Cannot imagine being on a "School Days slaps" grindset for eight fucking years now.

(CW: discussion of underage sex, full spoilers follow)

I'm going to take a cowardly centrist route and say that School Days does in fact slap on a conceptual level, but that the execution in many places leaves a bit to be desired. It often feels repetitive. I watched the thing on 1.5x speed because, as someone who reads fast, watching subbed anime is like watching paint dry. The dialogue often feels awkward (unintentionally so, as in), which I'm willing to partially chalk up to the translation; maybe some of the clunkier lines feel more natural in the original Japanese. The imagery is often kind of laughably blunt: in some cases it works, like Kotonoha's red yarn like she's pulling her own fucking arteries out of her body, and in other cases it feels derivative and hackneyed, like the whistling kettle in the final episode. Maybe that was more original in 2007, I don't know—I would've seen the same thing in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire two years prior.

School Days does set out to pull the wool over the eyes of its presumably-mostly-young-men audience, by putting them in Makoto's POV. The show is adapted from an eroge, where the player literally would have inhabited Makoto and made his choices for him, and the "objective" of the game would have been to unlock sex scenes with all the schoolgirls. The trick with the anime is that it removes the possibility of choice, creating an impactful dissonance as Makoto's actions become increasingly alien and harmful. Inversely, as Makoto's sexual exploits escalate, we see less and less of them; by the end, the whole thing is routine, not eroticised in the slightest, we see people putting clothes on afterwards, sneaking around darkened rooms.

At the start, though, it's all panty shots and boobs. And like, how do you depict the objectification of women, from an internal perspective, without just... objectifying women? This has basically always been the classic problem with satire. If there is a way of doing it, School Days hasn't figured it out, so it just rolls up its sleeves and gets on with it. Where School Days stumbles, in my opinion, is that the fanservice shots leak out of Makoto's POV and into the scenes where it's just the girls on their own. Nevertheless, I think that even pretty early on School Days is unmistakably saying, "this is a bad thing". There's a discordant note to everything, a threat of another shoe waiting to drop. At the start, it takes the form of these innocuous remarks as the characters try to interact in good faith: Sekai is constantly like, "There's nothing wrong with feeling attracted to a girl! But maybe she doesn't feel comfortable with it! Have you thought about how she might feel?"

That's the great tension of Sekai, and indeed of much of the show's conflict: there is a world where Makoto and Sekai are just friends, and where Makoto is faithful to Kotonoha, and everyone lives happily ever after. Maybe Sekai really is earnestly trying to cross this gulf between genders, and wants to just make Makoto understand, so everyone can be happy. But from the start, there's a question of Sekai's motives; embodied by Sekai's friend Setsuna, who trails after her constantly asking, "But do you like him really?"

Setsuna is an interesting character with her own motives. There's a reading where she has a crush on Sekai, but can't pursue it because of her family's impending emigration; she ends up hanging around Makoto and desperately attempting to protect him from the consequences of his actions to preserve his relationship with Sekai, expressly stating that she wants Makoto to be a proxy for her after she's gone (though leaving any romantic feelings unspoken, that's just my interpretation). This escalates to the point of her having sex with Makoto on the condition that he breaks off another engagement with Otome, which is such a self-defeatingly doomed gambit that it becomes tragically clear Setsuna has lost all control over the situation. I got the impression that Setsuna somewhat envied the other girls' entanglements with Makoto: the bit where she kisses him while he's asleep, in an attempt to create a personal memory before she leaves forever, is haunting. Like Sekai, Setsuna ends up manufacturing a romance between herself and Makoto as a way to be with him "by proxy", without earnestly confronting her own feelings.

Anyway, my point is that early on, everyone is treating Makoto like a person, which is sort of their mistake. They're like, oh, a boy with a crush, how cute! What's the worst that could come of this? He's a bit clumsy, but I'm sure he means well! And progressively, mercilessly, the show is like: no, he does not mean well. This dude has absolutely nothing in his life except sex. Girls only exist to him as people to have sex with. Guys practically don't exist, as he can't have sex with them. And for these teenagers who are discovering their sexuality, the very fact that Makoto soon starts having these rumours circulating around him is what gives him some allure: he's a sexual entity, he can be thought of in that way, there must be some reason all these girls are acting so crazy over him. Even a character like Hikari, who early on was crushing heavily on the anime's one (1) other male character, Taisuke, ends up taking her turn with Makoto; whatever feelings she had for Taisuke are forgotten, the anime doesn't even bother establishing how that romance works, because it doesn't need to, we've already seen Makoto use his exact same wiles on like three girls already.

School Days has aged well not just because the years since have yielded a better cultural understanding of its subject matter, but for its "production design": what would have been a timely present-day setting at the point of its release ends up turning the whole thing into an early-2000s period-piece. The fashion and environments are distinctly noughties. Perhaps the most consistent bit of visual symbolism in the whole thing is the flip-phone: whenever a character is holding their phone, you can think of them holding their heart in their hands. They're like the fucking soul gems from Madoka Magica. Sometimes, people leave their hearts in the other room, or block each others' hearts, or search their hearts for good memories. The "cell phone charm" from the first episode is brought up towards the very end, seeming bitterly quaint in retrospect. Right before she kills him, Sekai sends Makoto a text which just reads "sorry" copied and pasted hundreds of times. And of course, the ED shows a propped-open cellphone with a slideshow of photos of the girls.

I think in terms of its place in history, School Days speaks to this information age where young girls are being bombarded with cultural messaging that the best way to get ahead is to sexualise oneself while simultaneously slamming everyone else for their sexuality. Girls aren't just competing with one another for the attention of boys; now, they're competing with online pornography. Sekai works as a waitress at a maid cafe (?), and sometimes wears the outfit for Makoto when they have sex. During the School Festival, the girls theme their class as a maid cafe (drawing on Sekai's experience, I think?), and are shown using "absolute territory" as a last-ditch resort to steal people from the other classes. As part of the festival, they have a secluded area curtained off with a bed, encouraging couples to go there for sex acts—but later, it turns out some of the girls have set up a camcorder, and they use the footage to reveal how everyone is cheating on everyone else. While the exact events are obviously taken to an extreme, subtextually everything in School Days tracks 100% with my own experience growing up in a Bri'ish high school, and it feels like things have only gotten worse since social media really tightened its grip on our society.

The most common talking point I see regarding this show is that the characters are "stupid". And it's like, no, they're not stupid, what planet are you on, they're fucking children! (They're children, fucking!) Most of them have probably never been in a relationship before! Everyone in the show is pursuing their own interests; it's just that often, they're in denial about the reality of the situation, because to acknowledge the reality would run against those interests. It's funny, Makoto hardly changes his behaviour throughout the whole show—it just becomes more extreme—but the only thing that affects whether or not his behaviour with Sekai is good or not is whether or not Kotonoha is his girlfriend. The use of "girlfriend" as a role is weaponised by both Kotonoha and Sekai against the other constantly; like declaring "you're It!" At once point while cooking for the school festival, Makoto starts groping Sekai's ass, and she goes, "Geez, stop it! Stop it I said! What'll you do if someone sees us?", only for Makoto to reply, "Then it's okay if no-one sees us?"; this motif of a private sin recurs with Setsuna's character, particularly in the masked play that crops up a couple of times. In what context is an act of desire okay, or not okay?

Halfway through the show, I remembered Emily is Away, a short Western indie visual novel. Released in 2015, Emily is Away is very consciously an early-2000s period piece, wearing the whole time period as an affectation. The whole game is a series of text conversations on an IM client with a girl; after key choices, you are told "emily will remember that".

I fucking hated Emily is Away when I played it. It made me so, so cross. Because after I finished my first playthrough, and got a miserable, unsatisfying end, I naturally started the whole thing over and tried again. I picked different favourite bands. I acted completely differently. And yet, no matter what I picked, during the timeskips between sections, my viewpoint character would do the exact same shit and the relationship fell apart in exactly the same way. The second playthrough was a complete waste of time. It seemed like I, the player, was being railroaded, that the writer simply hadn't the imagination to conceive of a truly interactive narrative with a wildly diverging chain of events.

But of course, that's the whole point, obviously. Emily is Away plays a mean trick on the player, where it outright lies that "you" are making meaningful choices, when in fact "you" are merely spectating the actions of the viewpoint character, a specific guy who is, by nature, a certain way. It posits that all this shit on the computer just doesn't fucking matter, it has nothing to do with how we feel about each other, that it's only our actions in the real world that matter. The thesis of Emily is Away is that sometimes, for some immutable reason, shit just doesn't work out between two people, and there's nothing you could have done differently that would have changed that.

In the timeline where you go the party, you regret going to the party. In the timeline where you don't go, you regret not going. So, the game says, what's the point in regretting at all?

I totally understood this, after finishing the game. But, fuck, I was still pissed about it. The game lied to my face. It put me in the position of being a shitty person, and I didn't like that. It left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm still not sure if Emily is Away is actually any good; I think I like it conceptually, but maybe the writing sucks, I played it eight years ago. My point is that I think School Days is trying to pull the same trick as this one game, but in a much more mean-spirited way, to much more devastating effect, and I suppose I can't be too surprised that it pissed off a lot of people. If I hadn't known upfront what to expect- well, I wouldn't be watching ecchi anime in the first place, but you get the point, maybe I would've been pissed too.

If you break out of the "anime" mindset for even a second, and allow yourself to think that what you're watching is a frank portrayal of events, rather than some hyperreal cartoon, then Makoto is obviously just a little sexual predator. He's constantly pushing the girls past their limits, groping tits, going in for kisses, often against their express wishes. He initiates all the sex we see, and while in a certain sense it's all consensual, everyone involved is under the age of consent, and the show is making a very strong case for why underaged sex is a problem. When Sekai gets pregnant, Makoto wants nothing to do with her—"It's not my fault!"—but it's made clear he wasn't using any contraception, so, c'mon.

School Days is very deliberate in omitting adult characters entirely. Teachers mostly exist in the form of textbooks being read offscreen. I think we get a line of dialogue from Sekai's mom, if I remember right? It presents this world where Makoto basically has free reign to do whatever he wants to the girls, and everybody knows about it, but nobody is doing anything about it. When Sekai murders Makoto, there isn't a scene where anyone notices his absence, finds out. Kotonoha carries his severed head across town without anyone noticing, kills Sekai, and makes it onto the boat without getting caught. The show ends on a montage of idyllic school scenes, as if to say, "nobody noticed, everything just carried on". And again, to a certain kind of guy, I think this would stretch plausibility to the point of causing offence. For me, I think it's speaking to something very real.

Makoto's bedroom is barren except for his computer and magazines: porn, and porn. In the back half of the show, the void left by the absence of adults is filled by Makoto, Sekai, and Kotonoha, who are thrust into this horrible domestic drama, as everyone else in their class blocks Makoto. Makoto relays Kotonoha's recommendation for an abortion clinic to Sekai. He and Sekai sit diagonally across a table in a living room, and suddenly Makoto's school uniform looks like a salaryman's suit, a size too big for him, like he's walking around in his dad's clothes. Sekai tries to prepare a big meal for him, in a fucked-up parody of domesticity, but ends up destroying the whole thing after Makoto spits in her face yet again; later, she sees the remnants in the trash, an uneaten chicken leg poking out, and sees a little of herself in there, and that's basically when she decides to take the knife and kill Makoto. She stabs him in the belly, which is what Kotonoha will later do to her; both are imitating the original sin of the pregnancy.

Kotonoha explicitly chooses to kill Sekai this way because she believes Sekai is lying about the pregnancy—which we can pretty safely say isn't true, based on the scenes where Sekai is on her own. There's this horrible, horrible shot where the camera is looking out at Kotonoha from inside the gut wound, and she observes, "Just as I thought. There's no-one in there." And it's like, is she talking about this baby, still so early in the gestation that it's scarcely even an idea? Is she talking about Sekai, or Makoto, these two people who turned out not to care about her at all? Or is she peering straight through the screen at the viewer, complicit in this atrocity? The shot mirrors the bag containing Makoto's head earlier in the same scene; when Sekai unzips it, the inside is just a black void, and we aren't shown the contents. It's honestly more unsettling to infer it—that bag's not big enough for all of Makoto—and have it "made real" by that final shot of Kotonoha pressing the severed head into her chest on the boat. The memes were more right than they knew: "Nice boat."

Overall, I think School Days extends a lot of empathy towards its female characters. Or, if nothing else, it takes care to give them complex and distinctive internality, which is more than I can say for a lot of anime. Kotonoha initially represses her feelings for Makoto, and then when she feels pressured into reciprocating his intimacy, she soon gets turned into a social pariah for it. Early on, there's this eye-roll-inducing scene where Kotonoha is like "the other girls used to make fun of me because of my huge boobs", and from Makoto's perspective it's like "great, you've got huge boobs!", but then from Kotonoha's perspective, she spends the whole show getting slut-shamed, doesn't she? As a coping mechanism, she builds up elaborate delusions around Makoto—Makoto wouldn't let this happen to her, would he!?—which make it impossible for her to see how he's harming Sekai at the same time, culminating in the "I think you've made up your pregnancy for attention" beat. Their own internalised misogyny prevents the girls from identifying their common enemy.

If I'm being totally blunt, I feel like I can pretty safely put most of the comments regarding School Days I've seen online into a big bucket labelled "HAS NEVER HAD MORE THAN ONE GIRL INTERESTED IN HIM AT ONCE". Like, "I can't believe this Makoto guy! Why doesn't he just dump Kotonoha and date Sekai, who he's obviously more compatible with?" Bucket. "Makoto is so spineless and needs to stop letting these girls manipulate him!" Bucket. "There's no way the teachers would let him get away with this!" Bucket. "What do these girls see in Makoto anyway?" Bucket. "Sekai is such a bitch!" A new, bigger bucket labelled "NO BITCHES".

What I'm interested in is takes from School Days haters who aren't brainpoisoned anime fans, who might even nod along to all my analysis of the show's themes here, but who nevertheless think it's a bad show that deserves to be reviled. What part didn't you like? Is it the part in the OP where you see every female character naked one after the other? Yeah that part's pretty bad. Is it that windowpane-shattering digital transition that gets used once or twice? Is it the utter self-seriousness with which it tackles its ludicrous melodrama? I can see how, if you don't let yourself start to think "oh, those poor girls!", if you don't have that emotional buy-in, the whole thing might just feel comically edgy, sophomoric. I don't think there's any level on which School Days is fun to watch, and I'm not saying it's a secret masterpiece either, but I guess it more-or-less landed for me.

[slaaverin]

The only Brightside if you wanna look at it that way, is tkk fall more and more into their delusions and the more they do, the harder that fall is gonna be when it all comes crashing down and its gonna hurt bad they may not recover from the humiliation and I told you so's and its gonna be deserved. The fall out from Taennie still has them shook, even tho they pretend it doesn't. Enlistment still has them bitter and rattled. But these things have only made them stan TK harder, cause they have cast TK and themselves in a victim role and believe they are all victims and everything is cosplayers and fanservice, they just have to be strong. They are waiting patiently for them to discharge so they can go back to seeing TK hang out and claim they couldn't wait to be together. but we know things never stay that way, cause JIkook don't let them get too comfortable. They never imagined in all their years Jk would crash out and go live watching Jimin content, proving not only does he not hate him, but he was missing him bad enough to make a fool of himself, even tho he was hanging out with Tae. Then they got comfortable again, then AYS happened. Then they got comfortable again and Enlistment happened. Now they're comfortable again. It'll only be a matter of time til something big happens again. But I would be scared of post military Jikook. Just saying. That fall is gonna be bad. It's not a matter of if it'll happen, its a matter of when. Good luck surviving that destruction.

Ohhh yes anon karma will come and it will come swiftly.

I don't doubt it. Even jikook telling all their stories and how deeply intertwined they were during MS will already unsettle them.

But. Will it be enough? They are not deterred so far whatever the karma that came and they always manage to twist it to their advantage.

But you're right. Something unexpected and big might happen.

I have my eyes on the "keep going" thing that definitely means something for the close future.

Who knows what jikook are cooking?

Let's remain positive and patient (which is hard 😭)

Fighting everybody!

[drenched-in-sunlight]

Your genuinely one of my favorite elden ring artists, what would you say is your favorite aspect of elden ring just in general

this might be a big revelation but i think my favourite part about Elden Ring is i... actually don't really like it until the DLC.

the way the base game presented a kinda basic and fragmented story, one i'd even say i were underwhelmed about. because i went in expecting Sekiro-level of character driven writing (they did promise that in an interview) and what i got... ehhhh. that's why my fanarts for the base game is literally just fluff pieces and shipping Malenia with another character altogether that isn't even in the game. meanwhile my AC6, Sekiro and Bloodborne art... i think you can tell i have a very deep emotional connection to those games from the kind of work im putting out for them. (hell, before the DLC i actually was thinking "well i'll probably only draw some general fanarts after the DLC then go back to draw more JJK stuffs lol" famous last words)

but holy mother of God the way the DLC completely blew everything tf up.

sorry Fromsoftware, i were not aware the Sekiro character-driven part is actually about the DLC. im sorry im still not familiar with your game yet 😭

(this turns into a mini rant so imma put it under cut OTL)

before, i were pretty "...." about Elden Ring female cast. i think Melina appears too little, i think NPCs like Fia and Roderika... i can't figure out the significance of them within the narrative at all. and it kinda upset me because it feels like they regress back to the helpless / fanservice maiden trope that was usually seen in DS franchise for no reason. i don't like how Rennala ends up as and i don't like not knowing why Radagon did that to her (which turns to me not liking the way it became a popular fanon that he actually loved her he was just bound by duty etc etc...i mean what?), i actually don't even really like how Malenia's barely-there story turns out (but that's a rant for another day).

as standalone characters, sure, i'd say they all have their own merits, but if they don't play any role within the narrative... what's the point then?

but all of that is because back then, we literally did not know what's Marika's deal either.

and so she became this cardboard that everyone pins all the crimes and bad things in the world on, which is... fine? makes sense. but the following line of reasoning that she did all that because she's just...like that drives me up the wall. if i want another "woman bad" story i'd just replay DS2 😭

and that line of thought also distance her from other characters in the game. those stories are not lining up, so we literally see no point in anything.

but by giving us Marika's story in the DLC they:

shine light on the possible division between two Numen factions (Anna & Jolan story + Sword of Light & Darkness // no one is left in Marika's home (those embraces Light/Gold/ Greater Will and its Stars children) vs the Numens in Eternal City (those embraces Dark/ Black Moon/ opposing GW and its children)

the discontent with the Moon and how there are those who will never accept it as being equal to the Stars

the other half situation

the Marika's eye colour possible reveal (link her to Roderika - Roderika as a reflection of the maiden Marika once was and probably still is deep down)

give Godwyn more agency in his ending (his personal knights are on a quest for Age of Duskborn) -> link Marika to Fia (Fia as a reflection of the mother Marika is)

draw direct parallel between Messmer - the child carrying Marika's vengeance for the past, to Melina - the child carrying Marika's hope for the future

Marika as a God full of human flaws >< Miquella as a God devoid of all human emotions. both are bad in different ways. but share a same gentle origin of a simple wish for a kinder world.

the DLC singlehandedly swipes clean every problem i have with the base game. like im actually in awe they managed to do that so efficiently 😭

all that is to say. my favourite aspect of all is truly how one's perspective of this one character could alter the entire story.

i still dislike the interpretation that Marika is cold and heartless or that's she's cruel for no reason, but at the same time, i can see how ppl viewing her that way affect how they see other events in the game. just like how my view of her changes my entire view of the story itself too. and i just love how the writers pull that off really skillfully. man. and i think that's sth so unique to videogame storytelling. it's amazing!

[invested-in-your-future]

One thing that baffles me is how unwilling the main show was to just... dig a bit deeper in terms of fairytales. There's a treasure trove of myths and legends all over the world—some of which even tie together. There are so many ways to celebrate myths and legends and draw inspiration from them. Like, when worldbuilding, I came upon a ton of folk tales and other details that made me wonder why they had never been touched upon in the show.

Years ago I remember being pleasantly surprised when the show did the whole Achilles thing in V3 or Cinderella in V2.

In those early moments of brilliance, iconic recognizable story beats were transformed and inserted neatly into this story. The show didn't merely plop down a reference like with the names but incorporated it into the story.

The ingenuity in the rest basically starts and ends with "uhhhhh, there was this giant whale in Disney's adaptation of Pinocchio so, uhhh, here you go?".

The show added a Robin Hood character, and the said character had been kind of pointless.

The show's implementation of Hansel and Gretel ended up being one of the worst-written elements of the entire story.

The last time "Thor" had anything to do with the myth itself was V4 and then it kind of just stopped anyway.

The Jinn stuff, instead of drawing from the legends, ended up being just a weird mix of fanservice and orientalism.

The show didn't really draw from Oz lore at all beyond the names, instead sidelining that element in favor of the Two Gods, which have very little basis in mythology.

The show ended up doing a kind of ableist interpretation of Pinocchio that's polar opposite of the story itself. Hilariously, had they not brought the character back for clicks, the original ending would have been near perfect implementation of the first version of Pinocchio's story.

Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, etc. also just exist.

And I can't help but wonder—why?

Not only its within the foundation of the show, not only is it fascinating, but it's also a kind of easier way to lore-build? So why not take that road? Why fixate on this brother gods stuff and relics, both of which are just Miles Luna stuff that have barely if any basis in mythology?

Then again, these people took Alice in Wonderland (the story about adolescence and growing up, how the world is chaotic, and that eventually, we will need to leave childhood behind, growing up) and used it to make a statement about how change, growing up, learning from mistakes, etc., is bad/evil.

From whichever angle I look at the decisions within the show, it all just keeps going back to untapped potential.

[doomed-silly]

Gonna be controversial real quick

Mikan Tsumiki is not as bad as the fandom makes her out to be and im tired of pretending she is

(Photo is meant to be silly I promise lmao)

Before I get interrogated or dismissed I'm talking more potential than anything but also the base character and how she was set up and what she could've been

My biggest problem is when people just go "she's just a fan service character!!!!!!" First off... ok she is the main fan service victim... you're not wrong... but I also think reducing her to just that is really reductive

First off I wanna talk about her design. I've seen a LOT of hate towards her design and it's not perfect but also I don't think its bad I'd argue it's a bit above average actually

Can't remember who said it and also it was a while ago but during a redesign they said she'd keep her hair up and away so she's not reminded of her trauma through bullying (Bullies cut her hair hence the uneven hair cuts), and personally I think that's a huge misread of her character. (If anyone knows who I'm referencing this is not shade or hate just the example I think is easiest to use for my character analysis!)

Mikan is an extreme case of a fawning abuse victim. She's been HEAVILY abused like to the point if she was a real person I'd actively go into shock hearing about it. I should also say though I don't think she's fawning in the traditional sense more so in the sense she can not stand to be ignored. Any attention is better than none. During her breakdown in trial 3 she's actively begging for forgiveness and in her panic talk action says "please draw on me" which just shows (to me at least) that shes willing to under go harassment and basically mental torture to keep people from disregarding her. I do think part of it though is traditional fawning.

Anyways that's all to say I don't think a character who has gone through so much and is such a people pleaser to the degree she's actively ASKING people to torment her would go through the trouble of hiding the results of it. Bandages could be a counter point though I'd count that as more of a health issue (probably cigarette burns or something she would give medical attention to since we do know she would treat herself which is how she became so good at nurse work). Out of anything I think Mikan has become almost oblivious to how awful the things she's gone through are since she can actively talk about it in a pretty casual way which is pretty standard for a lot of trauma Survivors although mikan is an extreme case. Which is to say i think she'd look at her burns, chopped hair, etc and kind of just see it like we'd see our closet and not really derive any pain from it (my personal take I do have other ideas but this is long and I can't write a thesis omg)

I don't have enough knowledge on nursing dress code in Japan to comment on her actual clothes though. In the states scrubs are common place but I know different countries have different standards.

A lot of redesigns I've seen also take great lengths to cover up any sort of skin mikan shows which 1. Yikes purity culture and 2. Showing skin is not inherently sexual. I mean. Danganronpa team are freaks for all the CG's they did of her and I get it makes sense for her character but they could've done something way more appropriate since the characters have the minds of when they were teens and it's all weird. (And when I say it makes sense for her character yeah she wants attention and whatever but they did not have to make it THAT. Have her like fall in a mop bucket or something that's embarrassing she's an SA victim too omfg)

Anyways moving on from her design I think dumbing her down to fanservice is also missing what she had the opportunity to be. Because on the face of it sure she went through trauma and is now a meek paranoid timid girl which is a weird trope men like, BUT it doesn't end there because she starts showing a different side to her trauma that I feel like a lot of trauma representation doesn't get to into which is the cycle of abuse. She actively started being a nurse because she wanted to have people rely on her and be weaker than her. She's fawning but underneath it all she wants in a way revenge.

I also think that her arc in trial 3 was an actually really good pitch too. Mikan gaining her memories back and remembering junko remnants blah blah puts the final piece of the puzzle down. Mikan goes from being a door mat and meek and timid with an underlying want to be in control and be the person people have to rely on and to have power over these people, to starting to get more comfortable and sociable, before she's hit by the motive and completely nose dives into her worst self who's exploitative, cruel, and obsessive.

I think she's also the best candidate for the plot point they were revealing (one for what im talking about this paragraph and also just cause it shows how insane their memories must be to turn mikan into her despaie self) because mikan doesn't care about despair to her it's all about love. She finally found someone who "loves her unconditionally" and accepts her and all her flaws etc which we know isn't true based on DR3 but in her brainwashed state it is true. She's hit her lowest point where she's completely succumbed to the abuse and taken it as love and doesn't just have the subconscious want to be in control but is actively feeding that desire (from the small clip we see of her remnant self vs seiko)

Now this isn't to say all of this is explored perfectly or written well enough to give mikan the "good character" badge. I love danganronpa, but i think it kinda writes itself into a corner with having such a large cast. Some characters just don't get the time they should. My take is mostly based on what I see the creators were trying to do with her. That's also why I say she's not just a fan service character because when I look at her in the game I see the building blocks they just didn't finish the project. I think if they really fleshed out the character regression it'd be genuinely really good. I mean danganronpa is not a masterpiece by any means so it's also like would kodaka/team danganronpa be able to write that? Who knows! I also saw what they were trying to do though

Mikan is also id say? Arguably one of the most controversial characters? Which I'm not invalidating she's my favorite danganronpa character but I also play the game and im like.... ok was that necessary. I also just get annoyed at people disregarding her character and calling her just fan service. Which ironically is what creators do with fan service characters lol (I'm also not gonna say anyone's wrong for being uncomfortable with the fanservice they wrote her into tho it makes me uncomfortable)

I think mikan is a really interesting character not as she's shown in game but as a character stufy of trauma which I think is why I'm so drawn to her and all that

Also her execution is ass and I hate it

Toodles!

[stinkigami]

Chap 97

Amazing start of the year, greatly packed chapter with lots of fanservice (character fanservice)

The title is For Your Sake which at first made me think of Urabe vs Kane-focused battle and his dillema...but actually it's about Mikage and Kaidou (I think, lol).

　It starts with a flashback of Kotaro's introduction to Genji, where at one point drunk Thin proposes a question to the two: if your teammate got bitten by a zombie and attacked you, what would you do? Thin himslef being the freak he is would love to get bitten and maybe even acquire a piece of zombie flesh. Kotaro never thought of such nonsense. Urabe says such a situation indicates a problem within oneself...is he the one seeing hallucinations after being pushed to his limit? Thin specifies then, that he (Suehisa) wouldn't kill his comrade, right?

Urabe would rather shoot himself rather than his friend in such a situation.

Kotaro as well is going through his memories. He realized long ago that his brother has probably died and yet he continued to look for him or anything related to him. Because Ellie can't know that he died and is still waiting for him.

Mayo makes a diffcilut decision that he doesn't know whether its right or wrong. He knows however that this isn't a situation where they have to choose between killing and running away. He orders Urabe and Kon to capture Kanetake. Also, he even drops the -san honorific for Urabe lol.

As they are capturing Kanetake, the chapter moves to Mikage fidgeting around Kaidou's workplace in the Diet building (as the meeting is about to take place, I assume that this is the Diet).

He's suddenly very embarassed about his appearance and wonders if Kaidou would even like him like this...he wants to leave as he overhears Kaidou talking over phone that Gaokong has died.

Kaidou couldn't believe that the strongest creation would just die...but Mikage says thats totally possible. Mamono-infected cells are unstable and even in his lab, for 1 success there are 99 failures. His goal as a scientist is to make the success rate as stable as possible.

Kaidou asks him to leave. He already knows that Mikage is preoccupied with things that are of no interest to him and that the kaiju creation process has stopped.

Kaidou still needs to talk to the person over the phone and seeing as Mikage is frozen, he's about to leave the room himself.

Meanwhile, since the mamono were told to leave the premises as 'everything has been taken care of' (Kanetake), Shiki and Kabane arrive safely at Mikage's room.

Kabane finds Mikage's notes about Jabakong.

What would make Kaidou-kun happy:

aero-parts, huge claws and fangs, hard scales, if it can use laser beams or flames

Body length:

ideal as is, but he prefers mamono to be bigger

I should make it look even cooler

Important notes:

Don't forget! His favorite colors are black and gold.

Shiki finds the virus though and they leave.

The long-awaited Cabinet meeting commences! As usual, Inari-sama is TGKM (Taihen Gotabou-wo Kiwameru Mi, Nobimaru's made up acronym/abbreviation meaning that she's extremely busy) so Nobimaru asks to only report if you have something important to say!

Umepi is distressed. He can see it from Yamabuki's expression she's gonna pine everything on him and while Ume would love to finally be outta this hellish job the last thing he wants is to end up on Kaidou's bad side. Kaidou also already knows of Gaokong's death.

His ass is saved from humilation though as Inari has absolutely zero interest in listening to Yamabuki's report about what happened to the living weapons on the farm.

Instead, she wants Mikage to explain their new mamono project.

great

Mikage stutters and almost calls the 'mamono' that would protect Tokyo a kaiju...because it was Kaidou's dream to have Japan be protected by them.

The visuals/concept that he showed.

It would be a renewed Tokyo Skytree broadcasting tower, renamed as Radio Tower ii (i hope you remember Ii is Inari's birth name).

The concept is 'clones'/'imitation' of Inari; it would be a mix of Inari's DNA and human women's, with coma particles added in, resulting in more stable and better control over the population no longer by aroma but instead though radio waves, reaching every corner of Japan.

It is to become a landmark and there are plans to install such towers across the country. It should be completed in a week as the young organisms-to-be-clones need time to fully parasitize on the Skytree.

check out the hoshikuma crumbs, still as irrelevant as ever, when is he getting his arc? what even is his role as the minister of justice besides apparently passing laws for Inari? Is he still a coward? What's his vision...so many questions.

A week after the ii tower is completed, a grand ceremony will be held.

Raigo is to open the borders. Inari wants to invite the President of the United States of America over.

And not only America. Leaders of all countries will find agreement and understand her vision through Radio Tower ii.

Inari's Vision is "World Peace''.

That is to say, the standardization and unification of everyone's thoughts.

Her peaceful world has no need for missiles or aircraft fighters.

Woohoo, finally their difference in views is clear!

After the meeting, Mikage is running after Kaidou.

This one is quite funny lol.

The visulas and especially the scene itself reminded Kaidou of the American movie masterpiece 'King Kong' and he feels this could be a jab at him. Mikage is horrified at the implication. He didn't want to betray Kaidou! This is not what it looks like! It's just that both Kaidou and Inari-sama are equally important to Mikage.

Well, Mikage would have to choose a side then, and he makes his choice.

Which is Kaidou.

What Mikage loved the most was seeing Kaidou's happy expression as Mikage explained to him his kaiju development progress. He really just wants to talk about kaiju again...he doesn't want to be hated by Kaidou.

Kaidou smiles and asks Mikage what's with the female ape form he's taking on. Mikage gets flustered and explains that he met with Kaidou's wife and since she can see him whenever, he thought that Kaidou would also want to see him more if he was more like his wife. To which Kaidou laughs saying that he hasn't seen his wife in a week, His only love are his kaiju, after all. (GODS I DONT KNOW WHOS LYING BUT HIGH CHANCES ITS RANBO WHO LIED TO MIKAGE)

You said there's one week left until the completion of Radio Tower ii

If I am so dear to you, how far will you go for my sake? (this is worded pretty manipulative and while my interpretation might sound a bit stronger, i tried to get the meaning across lol bc oh my god)

Kanetake is about to be send to Thin's place. Thin says to leave Kane's life support to him and also that he'll be working with the virus. It should take him a week or so to analyze the vaccine in order to recreate it.

To Kon and Kabane this seems like a long period but Aya is saying that this is actually very quick lol.

But they can't allow to lose time and sit idle as Inari has possible learnt of their movements already.

Kabane wonders if he can meet with Mikage. He saw his notes...and he thinks that Mikage is a child who's doing bad things for Kaidou to be of use for him.

What, is he gonna bring another Kaede to Yashima?

But Kon agrees with Kabane. The situaion could be overturned if they can get him on their side. Still, they all need to return to Yashima, discuss things with Iyo and meet up with Akira.

Now, to the crows. Mayu asks Yamabuki if she has calmed down/is she sad...is that what it looked like, Yama asks.

Inari didn't want to listen to Yamabuki's report. But does it matter? Inari's vision seems more appealing than Kaidou's. The tower is better than his living weapons in its appearance at least.

Besides...the way this tower would function, would it not be the ideal instrument to make Mayu's vision into reality?

Mayu asks Yama what is she supposed to do to make her 'sparkling world' real. Yama's answer is simple: stay by my side.

bruhs i can't believe everyone's gonna betray inari.........

oh we've been so waiting for you.

Seems like youtube is accesible in Japan again.

im not translating this use google or something okay

Turns out as Mihai has been working oh so diligently on Japan-only domestic social media to bring at least some crumbs of entertainment to peoples empty lives...the information control/ban has been lifted. (it wasn't explained properly, but hinted that Japan closing its borders also mean the complete shutdown of the 'inernet' what we know it as; but at least there should've been some sort of intranet if Mihai was creating *witter). Robara did say that it's not possible to phone anyone in Japan while being outside of Japan or access Japanese internet.

Inugami calls him.

Mihai asks how's Inugami, is he okay phoning him being at his mistress knee (literal; on the palm of her hand/in her territory)

She's in good mood today.

Mihai says thats why the dog's on the loose then lol.

But Inugami called Mihai to tell him that at long last, he can grant Mihai's wish/request soon. In a week.

He made the preparations for Mihai to die.

(Lit. I've prepared your coffin; the place for you to die)

End of the chapter.

This chapter is absolutely bonkers, Aimoto did her best to please as many fans as possible lol. I'm glad about the Kaidou and Mikage meeting, I think it was handled pretty well. Sorry I had my doubts Aimoto.

[milktian]

I think despite everything I still really like the dlc. it's amazing, the music and the boss fights are gorgeous and I'm going to keep cycling through the soundtrack. I'm also just glad there's more elden ring content out with new weapons and npcs.

also messmer and his lore are super interesting and is definitely not what I expected. I won't go super into detail as to avoid spoilers but he truly is just a guy.

I think a part of my disappointment is partially cause i had so many like ideas of what could be in the dlc that, realistically, it wouldn't have held up and I'd always be just a bit underwhelmed regardless. like that's completely on me for setting my expectations so high.

however (spoilers)

miquella's whole Deal feels incredibly rushed, and kind of contradicts the base game? this isn't even like a 'I have a theory I like and this game doesn't match' like no it just straight up is illogical. there are posts that talk about this better so I'll leave it to them.

another thing is, looking back, all the promotional material suggested that miquella would be guiding us and that messmer would be the final boss. but that wasn't what happened. it feels like something changed in-between the trailer and the dlc release? I don't know if that's me misunderstanding the trailer but??

I think I would've preferred a dlc where we sided with miquella and had him guide us almost like melina, in order to free the lands of shadow from the eternal war that messmer has brought (on marika's orders it seems).

also I feel like the best thing they could have done with miquella is keep him kind. I am definitely leaning towards the theory that miquella was misguided in his attempts but was genuinely good natured (I reblogged a post a little bit ago that explains this idea which is the one I'm leaning more towards) but that doesn't change the fact that it feels like they retconned alot of miquella's previously established character details.

everything about the lore in the dlc feels cheap and frustrating and the 'easy' path for this character, which is honestly boring. I wish there was better writing for miquella, radahn, mohg, and malenia (who, as well as the rest of the haligtree, just got completely shafted). it's frustrating.

I'm also coming at this from a "Don't know shit about berserk" perspective as well so the argument that 'this actually makes so much sense because miquella is based off of griffith'.

like ok? elden ring isn't berserk. I don't want to be another franchise. I want it to exist outside of its influences. sure references are fine but if you know jack shit about them, then it makes for a lackluster experience.

this'll probably be the last time I make a ranty post about the dlc. I do still really enjoy the game, but I think im gonna treat Elden Ring Miquella and Shadow of the Erdtree Miquella as completely seperate, because it really feels like they are.

again: I STILL LIKE THE DLC. ITS STILL FUN AND IM NOT SAYING YOU'RE A BAD PERSON FOR LIKING IT.

(also radahn was totally just there for fanservice cause it makes literally no sense that miquella would choose radahn to be his consort like???? they have very little connection in the base game. I feel like they just wanted radahn cause he's such a popular character)

[randomthefox]

Oh my God fauxteurs never change. Years pass, video games explode in popularity as a medium, and yet, somehow, their underlying attitude of "We don't need to play the games because we're Making Art(tm)" still remains. Why are they like this in the year of our Lord 2025???

Worse, why do people keep letting them get away with it? Wouldn't you be embarrassed to publicly announce "Yeah, I never went back to check with the source material, my own memory (which is faultless, even when I'm stressed out from deadlines and there are now more ways of playing video games than ever) is good enough substitute, w/e"?

That interview you just posted is giving me flashbacks to Ben Hurst and co's. excuses for why they changed so much of the source material for their show. Apparently anyone creating for this series who is over the age of 40 is physiologically incapable of borrowing their kids' game console for one afternoon. It's the only explanation that makes sense.

How long does it take a newbie to play through Sonic 1? A couple hours? A day? A week, maybe? Even if they were completely bad at the game and couldn't beat it in time, couldn't they have just watched a Let's Play on their lunch break or something?

The fact that they took this approach to their SA2-inspired film as well is an extra slap in the face because SA2 is already misremembered and misinterpreted enough as it is. Stuff like this just gives people the impression that SA2 isn't a worthy game on its own merits; that it's only good for hollow vibes and fanservice. Lo and behold, guess what happened to the third film!

"What did we already remember moreso than going back and playing?"

You know that saying about how you could accomplish more if you spent the same amount of time just doing the thing as you did thinking about doing the thing? This is what this stuff reminds me of. Fauxteurs wouldn't need to hem and haw about remembering the game in perfect detail if they just actually sat down and played the goddamn game for an afternoon.

Jesus Christ Almighty, it's like Patrick and the lid. Play the game, Patrick. No, the game. The game, Patrick. Play the game you're adapting.

(...I'm also getting flashbacks to Bloober Team's head guy saying they would rely on their "perfect memory" of the game in order to make the SH2 remake. girl help)

It is absolutely insane how people have zero respect for Sonic as a franchise, and video games as a medium as a whole, that they'll defend the writers admitting that or even say that it was a good thing. I JUST GOT A FUCKING REPLY ON THAT POST FROM SOME SNOT NOSED LITTLE SHITHEAD PULLING THE "OH SO YOU WANT THE MOVIES TO BE ONE TO ONE WITH THE GAMES???" LINE ON ME BEFORE YOU SENT THIS. People LEGITIMATELY just HATE Sonic and that is why they think this shit is okay, or even laudable.

I say it again: IMAGINE the writers of a movie adapting a book said that shit. But because it's a movie based on a video game, it's fine. Because who even cares it's just a stupid video game anyway.

It makes me so legitimately angry not because they did it, not because they admitted it, but because the comment section is INUNDATED with people defending them or even praising them for it. That COMPLETELY FUCKING IGNORING THE VIDEO GAMES is a GOOD thing when making an adaptation of a video game.

Nobody would EVER say the shit they're saying about this movie is it was, like, a new Harry Potter movie or some shit. Imagine someone making a live action film out of Berserk and them saying "yeah I never read the manga, I'm just making this movie based off Vibes." It absolutely boggles the fucking mind that people think this shit is acceptable just because it's a video game.

And yeah that's the thing that always gets me. People always say something like that. "Oh I'm just going based off my memories. From what I can remember, this is what happened. If I recall correctly. Ect ect."

And I'm like that Louis CK skit about Pig Newtons.

I'M NOT EVEN USING MY MEMORY. I'M LOOKING AT THE FUCKING CUTSCENE. IT'S ON FUCKING YOUTUBE. FOR FREE. WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU???

Writing a fucking adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2 should be the easiest fucking job on the fucking PLANET. You can literally just look up the fucking game script online, copy and paste it into your word doc, slap it into your email and send it to the studio. JOB DONE, COLLECT YOUR PAYCHECK. The story ALREADY FUCKING EXISTS. Why do you even NEED to try and remember ANYTHING? Memory should not be a fucking factor the story was ALREADY FUCKING WRITTEN.

But naw. It's just Sonic. Who cares. What, do you expect the movies to be one to one with the video games or something? That'd be boring and dumb and you're stupid and an inferior sub human life form for wanting that. Shut up and eat your slop.

[mr-damian-s-power]

It’s not just the bad lesson in TOH, The Collecor and Stringbean are good examples of how inconsistent the writing became in the final episodes

In the Collector’s case it’s how their characterization kept shifting from Season 2 to the last episodes of Season 3

And how Stringbean became a “snakeshifter” showing how inconsistent the palismen concept became in the world building.

I am of the opinion that as soon as the writers found out the show was being shortened, they should have instantly cut the Collector. With how late in the game he's introduced, there was no time to develop him, and especially not enough time to give him a meaningful or satisfying 'redemption arc'.

Okay, tell a lie, there MIGHT have been enough time to develop him at least a bit if S3 used its time wisely. Did we really need all that crap at Hexside? Could we not have used this time to further develop Belos and the Collector?

That's not even bringing up what you mentioned! Him going from an aloof trickster God who views everyone as nothing but toys in his game, to a 'poor sad little boy who only wants a friend'. People like to call Lilith's redemption bad (which wasn't perfect, don't get it twisted), but look at how quickly ol' Collie changes!

How about this; Instead of Belos gaining power from the Collector, him and the Archivists just don't exist. Belos has been around for hundreds of years, we won't question it that he's managed to learn and keep some very ancient and very powerful types of magic.

-

Now onto Stringbean! I don't like Stringbean! I don't like what she represents! First of all, she's just fanservice! I'm sure people debated on what Luz's Palisman would be, and the writers couldn't decide so she's a shapeshifter. So, Luz gets a 'weird' Palisman that can be whatever it wants to. Weird? That's the coolest thing ever! Yep, Luz gets a really cool and special Palisman because she's just that great.🙄

Also, I found it incredibly shitty that Hunter loses Flapjack, his best friend and disability aid, then Luz very shortly afterwards gains her super cool and unique Palisman that is better than all the others. Just me?

How about this instead:

Stringbean is a little Snake Palisman (because Luz likes Snakes) who has been abandoned! She was thrown out by her previous owner when she was damaged and was deemed 'useless'. Her old owner couldn't use her to perform magic as powerfully anymore, and tossed her away like nothing. Luz comes across this poor hurt creature and feels pity for her. She finds it unfair to be thrown away when you've 'outlived your usefulness' like some rubbish.

Palismans are meant to be companions, not disposable tools! This is also under the impression Stringbean is introduced a bit earlier on. The whole time, she's upset at being abandoned and tries to help Luz despite her now limited magic capacity. Luz has to reassure her.

"you don't have to be useful to gain my love. I don't care if you're the most powerful Palisman that ever existed, or as powerless as me. You're more than just my Palisman, Stringbean. You're my friend, and nothing will ever change that. Everyone deserves love, and nobody should be made to prove that they're deserving of it."

-

Thoughts?