#some have been omitted due to either satoshi Barely knowing them or them not getting that close & the chances of them meeting again being

[meistoshia]

satoshi’s Bonds, Connections, & Bro - dyns with the gods he’s met  :

houou  :     satoshi’s got a Bond(tm) with it, it being the first god he saw & it continuing to reappear in his life throughout his journey, like before his setting off to hoenn & when he decided to start from zero & received a rainbow feather & eventually ended up battling it  ;     he thinks of it as kind of a background presence that he trusts to keep watch of him, even if it’s nowhere near where he actually is, like in spirit kinda   ( except it really is Always keeping watch of him, especially when he’s in mortal danger, as it did with reviving him through the pokemon’s tears after he got caught in the literal crossfire of mew & mewtwo’s battle ) .

mewtwo  :     president of the mewtwo protection squad, the pokemon’s gone through so much that it doesn’t deserve & satoshi just wants it to be happy & be able to trust people  ;     absolutely no hard feelings for it trying to kill him, most gods have.

the orange archipelago bird gods  :     can i get a waffle ??? can i PLEASE get a waffle ???????     never meant to get caught up in their situation but can’t really resent them for it as they weren’t the ones entirely at fault.

lugia  :     they saved the world together & had half a battle the next time they ran into each other, lugia gave him a ride along w/ go, & satoshi had a Moment with it, where their auras resonated & satoshi exclusively heard lugia’s voice, unlike the first time when everyone could hear it  ;     they vibe.

celebi  :     considers the first one he met to be a friend to this day, he & young ookido bonded with it & satoshi grew incredibly attached & was absolutely heartbroken when he thought it would die, seeing it fly off to join the other celebi feeling bittersweet  ;     he didn’t get to develop much of a friendship with the second celebi he met, but any time he remembers it hopes it’s doing okay, wondering if it’s friends with the aforementioned celebi.

latias  :     he really bonded with it in the short time they spent together &, as with the johto celebi, still considers it a friend.

latios  :     while he didn’t share the same closeness with latios, he was still devastated when, as far as anyone present was aware, it died saving alto mare, so you can imagine the shock when he saw tobias at the sinnoh league with a latios on his team  ;     priorities shifted thinking too hard about it to the very bottom of the list & he only got to thinking about it one night about a month later, after which he contacted tobias as soon as he could to have an exchange that essentially went “was that latios with you” “yeah” “i thought it was dead” “long story, it’s better now” “cool” .

mew  :     thinks of it kind of like you’d think of an overly curious kitten that you occasionally see running around your neighborhood stealing trinkets & snacks & sniffing like, everything  ;     he thinks it’s sweet & fun & has literally risked his life for it & wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, but he does feel like it’s maybe a little naive & doesn’t realize some things have serious consequences, which gives him slight worry that, if it weren’t as powerful as it is, it could end up in some serious trouble   ( & because of that he has mixed feelings about go wanting to catch mew  ;     not only because he Knows it & has Gone Thru Some Things with it, but also because he knows it’s childishly innocent & naive ) .

darkrai  :     thinks very highly of it in terms of strong pokemon, which satoshi always vibes with, & is appreciative of its efforts in defending alamos town.

agnome  :     shares a Connection(tm) with it through their Wills  ;     though they separated after the galaxy gang was disbanded, that connection still remains in the background, not enough to tie them together as before, but enough that if he thinks about it enough, he can still feel that connection.

dialga & palkia  :     can i get a waffle ??? can i PLE ---     satoshi wanting pokemon to stop having destructive fights that endanger civilians that didn’t ask to be a part of their crossfire aside   ...   he wholeheartedly believes they deserve better & was very pissed on their behalves when the galaxy gang wanted to abuse their power & is thankful to them for their assistance when arceus came to michina, & even more so to dialga for sending him & the others back in time to help fix things.

giratina  :     sympathizes with it &, despite how things started out with it, really does hope it can be at peace in its dimension.

shaymin  :     despite their highly rocky start, satoshi grew really attached to shaymin & it broke his heart to have to part with it so soon after he finally started liking it  ;     he respects the rascal & hopes it’s doing okay with the other shaymin.

arceus  :     as with giratina, sympathizes with it, & hopes that the past can be forgiven for the sake of the future & that it doesn’t let human error ever create such a rift between it & humanity again.

victini  :     became incredibly attached to it, especially with their resonating auras allowing satoshi to see into victini’s past & feel its emotions, & was devastated & heartbroken when he thought he’d failed to save it despite promising to take victini to see the sea one day  ;     he was overjoyed to see it alive & well &, even if their parting was bittersweet for satoshi, he hopes it’s doing okay & has a reminder stashed away somewhere to visit it if he ever passes through that part of unova again.

zekrom  :     he’s zekrom approved, sharing a similar connection(tm) as with agnome, only through conceptual Ideals  ;     the connection never truly passed into a tangible area, but satoshi felt it nonetheless when he first arrived in unova, believing that, if they were to properly meet, he’d feel that connection again, much stronger.

keldeo  :     shares a Bond(tm) with it, growing attached & protective of it very early on, feeling a duty to help it face its fears in order to save the other sacred swordsmen, that protectiveness winning out against said duty when he saw just how terrified keldeo was  ;     he feels nothing less than pride in its overcoming its fear & becoming proper sacred swordsman material.

meloetta  :     grew very attached in the time they spent together, admiring both its voice & its strength, feeling anger not unlike one he would with his own pokemon at it being captured to abuse its power.

hoopa  :     he cares for that rascal so, so much, he wholeheartedly wants nothing but the best for it & hopes it never has to go through something like what had been happening for like a century ever again.

volcanion  :     he still has some strong opinions about it, but it’s grown on him, & the knowledge that volcanion truly cares about the other pokemon & wants to protect those that can’t defend themselves just as much as he does makes putting up with it much easier  ;     he hopes that it continues to be able to protect the pokemon in that valley & to keep an eye out for magearna..

zygarde  :     while he didn’t get quite as close to squishy as eureka, he still considers it to have been as much part of the squad as any of the other pokemon, holding it high regard as zygarde.

kapu - kokeko  :     has a Bond(tm) with it, it having taken interest in him & giving him a z - ring & a temporary electric z to go with it & luring him into the woods to battle  ;     it kept a curious eye on him &, in a time of urgency for another universe, sent him over to assist, be it to test him or trusting already that satoshi would be able to handle it  ;     the majority of satoshi’s time training in the alola region was building up to getting to battle kapu - kokeko on equal footing, & eventually winning when it came to ultimate z - move vs ultimate z - move.

kapu - tetefu, kapu - bulul, kapu - rehire  :     though he didn’t make as strong a connection with the other island guardians, he still feels thankful for all that they have done in helping him progress in both training & in times of need.

solgaleo  :     needless to say, he very much thinks of it as one of his own, like the pokemon that he watched hatch & took care of as they treated him like a parent ;     even after evolving into a solgaleo, satoshi can’t help but think of it as that tiny hoshigumo - chan that was entrusted to him by the other solgaleo & the lunala so seemingly long ago.

[bizarre-dollhouse]

My Top 10 Favourite Anime (And Why You Should Watch Them)

This is normally something I would put on my main blog, but I wanted to celebrate a follower milestone and also I know this will reach a significantly wider audience on this blog.

Consider this both a list of recommendations and a *get to know me* thing, I guess.

Honourable Mentions:

Bakemonogatari: A really stylized show about a semi vampire helping people with their supernatural afflictions born from emotional issues. The subsequent seasons get a little questionable, but this is definitely a standalone story with great dialogue and visuals. (15 eps)

Shiki: Creepy story about a small town infested with vampires. Really brutal and sick, but it has fascinating themes. The pacing is a bit slow and it has a kind of bad scene towards the end, but the show is 100% worth it. (24 eps)

Cardcaptor Sakura: Because this is mostly aimed at younger viewers, I would only really recommend this show for either magical girl fans, or people who watched the extremely altered dub as a kid. That being said, its a cute, fun show about magic with a likeable cast and surprisingly creative and original ideas, especially towards the latter half. (70 eps)

Jojos Bizarre Adventure 4: Diamond is Unbreakable: Full disclosure, I have not seen the first 3 jojo series, but its not necessary to enjoy this show. This is a super creative and really fun series about superpowered badasses in a strange city fighting each other and trying to solve a murder mystery in the background. Weird, but in the best way. (39 eps)

Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus: This should be higher on the list, but in truth I would recommend the manga way over the show. But, if you want to watch a supernatural horror/comedy without reading a 138+ chapter manga, OR you were a fan of the original Black Butler seasons and want to see something way better, give this a watch. (10 eps)

*drumroll*

10. Trigun

So Trigun takes place is this old west, yet mysterious science fiction-y world where, through a bunch of complicated scenarios, a pacifist is the most wanted criminal known to man. Due to his status as a “natural disaster,” two insurance workers are tasked with reining him in to save their business. It’s an incredibly charming series, and the protagonist is really likeable. It’s extremely creative, funny, and emotional near the end. I do have some problems with the ending because it almost seems like the final conflict just...solves itself, but that’s a nitpick. The first episode is basically a short film, so give that a watch and see how you feel. (26 eps)

9. Paranoia Agent

This was directed by the late and great Satoshi Kon and has his usual themes about the blurring between fiction, dreams, and reality. It’s about a string of mysterious assaults committed by a kid with a baseball bat, and how these assaults seem to solve the problems of the victims. It’s very arthouse and has a twist that makes me ball my eyes out even though it’s not sad it’s just...odd and overwhelming. It drags a bit near the middle, but if you like kind of surreal stuff that’s also just really good, you have to watch this show. (13 eps)

8. Baby Steps

The amazing thing about this show is that its premise is specifically designed to make me hate it. It’s about a nerdy teenager who starts to play a sport for the sole sake of getting fit and having a more well rounded life style, and also he has a crush on this really popular girl. That sounds fucking awful, but the main character is actually really likeable (he reminds me a lot of Deku from BNHA) and I swear to fucking god every time I thought this show was going to do something awful and cliched with its romantic comedy plot, it doesn’t. The beauty and the geek trope is still there, but all of the bullshit that comes with it is omitted in a way I feel was kind of self-aware. The sports aspect is really good too: it’s well paced and there’s lots of tension even though the show as a whole is really upbeat and pleasant. I had a blast watching it, and if you can make it past the fact that is has god awful animation, give it a watch.

7. Higurashi: When They Cry

Yet another great show with absolute garbage animation. Anyways, this show is about a group of teenagers in a small town who are unknowingly trapped in a time loop. In each loop there’s a bunch of new mysteries, as well as some extremely brutal murders and tortures experienced my the main cast. I’ve seen a number of Western shows (Orphan Black, BBC Sherlock, Lost, Supernatural, etc.) fall apart because the writers want a really clever and intricate mystery to play out, but they don’t want to actually put the time into crafting one, so it’s just a bunch of cliffhangers with no answers or pay off. THIS SHOW SUCCEEDS AT WHAT ALL OF THOSE OTHER SHOWS FAIL AT. While not all of the answers are great (the second season isn’t as good) the original author somehow made the world’s most ludicrously complicated mystery story work, with a lot of it relying on the audience to put all of the pieces together even when the characters can’t. Its very clever in doing that: it makes its audience feel smart. It also has themes that don’t really show up in other horror stories, even though they’re incredibly relevant to fear and violence. Great show, go watch it. (50 eps)

6. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Everyone knows about this show, everyone says it’s great, and everyone’s right. If you’ve been living under a rock for ten years: the show is about two brothers who break an alchemy taboo, which destroys their bodies, They’re on the hunt for something to restore them to normal and along the way they meet like 8990354578579 characters with interesting stories. It’s tightly written and really gripping. It’s fun, but also really dramatic and emotional when it needs to be. My only problems with it are that the ending is reaaaallllly convoluted, and there’s a minor plot point earlier on that gets weirdly dropped, but everyone kinda forgets about those things because the show’s so good. Also the brotherly bond makes me cry. (64 eps)

5. FLCL

I honestly don’t even know where to start with this show because it has the unique property of being the only show I have ever seen that I have literally no problems with. Not even nitpicks. There is nothing wrong with this show; it’s perfect. The only reason it’s not number 1 is because some other shows have more ideas or more fleshed out characters. So this arthouse spastic comedy is about a boy who is disappointed with all of the adults in his life, then some chick hits him in the face with a guitar and giant robots from a secret facility start coming out of his head. It’s fucking wild and has like 30 different aesthetics and I love all of them. It’s the best looking show I’ve ever seen and one of the best directed. It feels like someone read a really weird poem and turned it into a 6 episode show. It’s funny, it’s emotional, it’s cartoony, it’s beautiful, it’s raunchy, it’s poetic, it’s silly, it’s creative, and it’s got strong themes. The wtf visuals, the nonsensical plot, and the amazing soundtrack make an aesthetic experience more than anything. (6 eps)

4. Princess Tutu

I already made a post about this show and why it’s good, which you can check out here, but the gist is it’s a meta fairytale about a duck that turns into a girl to help a storybook prince find his emotions. I used to love stories that were “twists on fairytales” or whatever, but after watching this show I realized that the genre is pretty derivative. This show is so amazing it honestly made me reevaluate an entire genre and come to the conclusion that this is the only member of that genre worth watching. It’s truly creative and well crafted with fantastic characters. (26 eps)

3. Hunter x Hunter (2011)

This show is basically a bunch of creative ideas, unique set pieces, and interesting characters stacked on top of each other in a trench coat disguised as a narrative. It’s about a perky shonen protagonist and a child assassin becoming friends while also trying to become hunters (a position involving vast wealth and adventure). It’s in a modern fantasy setting so literally anything can happen. In one arc they have to play life-or-death dodgeball against robots, and another is an insanely epic tale about the intense evil that people are capable of (feat. a 25 episode climax). I can’t even talk about all of the themes or ideas because there are just too many. Because of it’s wild, sprawling story, it has a lot of ass pulls and retcons, but in the grand scheme of things they don’t really matter. It’s long, but super easy to watch in huge chunks. (148 eps)

2. Neon Genesis Evangelion and The End of Evangelion

The most efficient way to describe this show is to say that it’s the most interesting show ever made. It’s about an apocalyptic future in which emotionally disturbed teenagers must pilot giant bio-machines to fight monsters which are referred to as angels. It’s got deep characters, a creative story, and is probably the most well directed show I’ve ever seen. The ending infamously fell apart due to production problems, so there’s a movie called The End of Evangelion to conclude the story. It’s a very disturbing arthouse movie, so watch out for that, but the show as a whole is moooosssstly more straightforward and fascinating, This is an absolute must watch. (26 eps and 1 movie)

1. Baccano!

Baccano! takes place in 1930s New York, and is about thieves, gangsters, criminals, terrorists, alchemists, and immortals interacting in this nonlinear comedy/action thrill ride. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster while watching this show. It’s the perfect blend of action, comedy, romance, drama, horror, and creative storytelling. It’s fantastic to rewatch since the first episodes barely make any sense without context (but are still an absolute joy to watch). It’s got great characters and it’s a great story. Go watch it. And then watch it again. (13 eps and 3 OVAs)

That’s it for this list! Check out my MAL page for more recommendations if you’re interested and have a great night!