#something I really like that I think the manga emphasizes more than the anime

[waitineedaname]

*gasp* Can we talk about how Greed tried to hide his eye colors with a sunglasses? Or that he somehow tried to hide his tattoo with the bracelets? I mean other homunculi never tried to hide their real self (okay except Wrath but that's understandable) from humans. And I think Greed tried to be more like a human being even if he searched for how to bind the soul with alchemy 🥺

he's so!!!!!! the thing with greed that gets me is that he's first time we hear the word "homunculus," he's the one that tells the elrics that homunculi are real and he doesn't seem all that ashamed of being a homunculus, but at the same time, he's quick to emphasize that he's not all that different from a human, he's physically the same but just sturdier than most. I don't think he has a problem with being a homunculus, but he absolutely feels more of a connection with humans than the others and I think he relishes the "artificial human" part of the definition of a homunculus. being a little different from humans but still human at his core is why he connects so much with chimera tbh, because they're also a little different physically but they're human in the ways that count, and together they make a little band of misfits

[doctorsiren]

Okay, doodle request:

Reigen meeting Serizawa before Claw got to him. Maybe helping him start leaving his room?

I had a lot of fun with this one. I wanted it to parallel the scene of Serizawa meeting Suzuki, and so pages 6-8 are directly referenced from the manga (just in a flipped format so it reads left to right like the rest of the pages) and I also referenced some shots from the anime (like the final panel of page 10). For the dialogue in those middle pages, I referenced lines from the unofficial English translation of the manga, the official English translation of the manga, and the anime. (I was picking and choosing which lines I liked better). I also had fun with the colouring, which is something I love to do in comics especially. It starts out with Reigen in a muted, paler, desaturated palette with no highlights. But when he meets Mrs. Serizawa (I gave the name “Azumi” because it means something along the lines of “safe home/harbour”), she’s much more warmer and saturated and she has highlights. Once she starts explaining her son’s situation, that’s when Reigen has the variation of colour as well as the introduction of some small highlights. Then, the colour palette changes in every panel after that point. Serizawa is done with a grayscale palette, with the only colour on him being the bright light of the TV screen (reflecting video games as his only joy and his escape from reality). As Reigen talks to him, Reigen slowly start to lose some of that variety and saturation (AKA hope) he got from Mrs. Serizawa until he goes grayscale as well when he thinks that Serizawa might know he’s a fraud. He decides to switch up his approach and actually open up, which is what causes the variations in colour to return. Serizawa stops being grayscale in the panel where Reigen reveals that he too is lonely. (He’s a gray-blue palette, but it’s not true grayscale). The next page is in bright colours as Reigen opens up and doesn’t lie, which causes Serizawa to have bright colour as well, since now there is light and hope. In the page after that, Serizawa’s colour fades until he is grayscale again because it’s him not believing fully and still having doubts, while Reigen maintains that bright colour. (Also silly Falsettos reference on that page). I have Reigen’s colours shift from yellow until he reaches pink which is the colour I just have assigned as His Colour (since his tie is pink). Serizawa gains colour again and he shifts from that muted dark blue to finally orange (which is his colour) as he finally accepts Reigen’s help. The light from the TV is no longer coloured, and is just white, because Serizawa now has a new source of colour in his life (that being a real friend.) It ends with them being in their normal palettes at a normal happy saturation, contrasting the muted colours of the start of the comic. With the umbrella, I still wanted to include it and give it a role in the story, but in a different way from how Suzuki used it. While Suzuki used it to directly manipulate and control Serizawa, Reigen used it as a way to open up a choice for Serizawa to either let Reigen stay or make him leave. He asks Serizawa if he can sit and stay for a while since it’s raining outside and he didn’t bring an umbrella, despite clearly having done so. And then I ended the comic with a shot of the umbrella to emphasize that point.

Sorry for the long and probably unnecessary explanation. I just really love explaining my intentions and symbolisms in my art. Yeah I just had a good time over the last few days doing this :) I thought it was an interesting idea and I couldn’t think of a way to reflect it better than in a comic (which was also partially inspired by this wonderful Ageswap AU comic made by @fend13th about Reigen helping Serizawa)

[stellas-and-tonitruses]

Everything we know about Project Apple (and, by extension, Anya's past) thus far

thought i'd compile all of that now while endo's on break Just In Case the next chapter happens to start anya's backstory (i don't Think it will but endo likes surprising us LSDFKLFS)

important disclaimer that project apple and the organization in charge of anya's experiments have not been confirmed to be related! there's evidence that they have things in common, in particular employees, but that's our only real connection between the two thus far. still! worth looking into

more under the cut!

so, starting very strongly with the very first mention of anything related to the project: anya's introduction in chapter 1

despite her being a main character, we know very little about her past at the moment, and this little blurb at the beginning makes up a very big portion of what we know.

things to note here:

as an experiment, her name was "Test Subject 007". important to note that the notation differs between her and bond: she was Test Subject 007, bond was Subject 8, no zeroes in there;

she had been made thus by accident, the phrasing itself implying quite heavily that she was just a normal child before said accident (but this is the translation! i don't know japanese so i can't cross-reference with the raws to clarify if the phrasing changes anything, but the fanbook uses the word "gained" to describe her powers too);

because her mind-reading is an unintended consequence, that means the scientists were presumably not, at least initially, trying to achieve cognitive enhancements in humans, and were instead trying to achieve something else, whatever that might've been;

she escaped from the facility and then moved from institution to institution, looking for a family.

so, crucially, through this little introduction we learn that there is an organization, government-funded or otherwise, that is or was conducting human experiments for unknown purposes. we also learn that whatever family anya had prior to being involved in the experiments is more than likely unreachable, at least as far as she knows, and so she has settled for finding a new family to take care of her instead.

in terms of the facility itself, here we see they clearly drilled it into her that she can't ever reveal her secret (and the darn plush is there too -- in the anime it's even more emphasized, as you can see in the gif i made)

through her reminiscing though, we get our very first look at the scientists that were in charge of her! they're in the gif above but here they are in the manga too. it's so interesting that the anime actually shows their eyes behind the glasses though, fascinating choice.

the insistence on world peace is important, as it explains her own personal obsession with it and shows that it's not just because of twilight's own focus on preserving the peace. i also don't think twilight ever really talks about "world peace," only about "preserving the current peace between westalis and ostania" -- anya seems to be the only one talking about WORLD peace (even in the very first scene where either of them mention it in proximity to each other in ch 1, loid says "understanding the other party is the first step towards peace" and anya's interpretation is "understanding me makes world peace?") but take this with a grain of salt because i might be wrong! going through every single mention of peace in the story just to fact check this one little trivia fact is a bit much i think so i'm not doing it JSDFKLSD

but yes

remember mr hair strand and baldy, we'll see them again. not her though, ig she wasn't in charge of bond

now, fast-forwarding to chapter 19, we finally get a name and a premise for the experiments:

"but oana," you might say, "this is talking about animals only! how do we know it's the same project as anya's, which involved human experimentation?"

i don't think it is, is the thing! i think it's related to the experiments anya was a part of, which is evidenced by the same scientists being featured in project apple too, but there's more going on that we don't know about. there wouldn't be such adamancy on keeping the two separate in every official mention of them if they were just the same thing, imo!

back to the evidence, we learn that the project, conducted and funded by the previous ostanian regime (meaning donovan's related to it one way or another, since he was prime minister), was marked by franticness and desperation -- a prime place for accidents like anya's telepathy and bond's future vision.

we also learn that the project was sacked by the new administration and that the former test subjects ended up on the black market.

(this makes it very important, imo, to learn when anya escaped the facility vs. when the project was sacked. it's clearly no longer in function, but while we've heard nothing from them thus far, i'm willing to bet the shady dealings around the desmond group are NOT related to the war, as W.I.S.E. has been led to believe, but rather to reignite project apple. that is speculation however so i'm going to refrain from theorising much on why the desmond group is focused on acquiring pharmaceutical companies!!)

ok speculation tangent over, back on track

so, that's already a decent amount of info! but moving to chapter 22, when bond is finally home, and we finally see some familiar faces

behold! baldy and mr hair strand!

and 2 other guys we don't know but will see again in another bond flashback!

that's 2 out of the 3 scientists we've seen thus far from anya's own time as subject 007, confirming that there IS a connection between anya and bond's experiments, regardless of whatever the project anya was a part of might've been named.

this is also the chapter in which we learn that bond himself was subject 8 (or, if we take it from the fanbook, subject #8. still, diff notation from anya!)

in chapter 31, we learn an interesting tiny piece of trivia. we don't get any further info on it, but it IS mentioned as something that is known by W.I.S.E.:

ostania is rumoured to have done human experimentation! and W.I.S.E., and by extension loid, are aware of that.

do i know how them knowing may be important later? not really!

the next droplet of info we get is in chapter 40. we see that project apple had collaborators that are still functioning unhindered.

of course, born industries is only rumoured to have been involved with project apple, but regardless of whether or not they actually were, the rumour itself implies that the project likely pulled scientists from various other companies' R&D departments.

(this makes the desmond group's acquisition of glooman pharmaceuticals shadier, but anyway)

as a side note, twilight is emoting so much at just his wrong assumption that bond is seeking revenge against the scientists. imagine how he's going to react when he finds out about anya JKSDFKLFSD

and now aaaaall the way in chapter 58, we see the bald guy who anya also knows, the two scientists from bond's previous flashback, and one whole new guy!

and thus ends our current knowledge of it all!

the only other thing worth discussing is anya's knowledge of classical language

but plenty people have already discussed these scenes, especially recently, so here are some links: 1 | 2 | 3

the only thing i can add is that i'm fairly certain that classical language is a lot more likely to be latin than old english, because it's a very common language to learn in school (in europe at least, and ostania is based on east germany so it makes sense to me. i learned mandatory latin in school for a few good years too, even if i wasn't that good at it lol) and because one of the most common modern usages of latin are in medicine and science, it would make sense that she'd be better at it due to exposure.

a possibility is also that the scientists would think in latin to conceal their thoughts from her, and that's how she ended up learning so much. she's not fluent in latin, she's just well acquainted and that cicumstance would explain the how.

BUT THAT'S SPECULATIONNN

also i don't think "ANIA" is an acronym, nor do i think anya's been misspelling her own name out of lack of knowledge. "ania" is a polish diminutive of anna and an alternate transcription of Аня, so i think it's far more likely that anya isn't ostanian or westalian than it is that her name comes from an acronym.

now,

TL;DR!

what we know about project apple (and the "mysterious organization"):

project apple was funded and conducted by what appears to have been donovan's regime and, from what W.I.S.E. knows, aimed to create highly intelligent animals for military purposes;

W.I.S.E. is aware that ostania is at the very least rumoured to have dabbled in human experimentation;

the project is presumably no longer on-going, though it is likely there are efforts behind the scenes to revive it;

it is rumoured but not confirmed that project apple had collaborating companies that are still functioning perfectly fine;

the same scientists who were in charge of bond were also in charge of anya, signalling that there is a very significant connection between project apple and the "mysterious organization;"

based on what they were telling anya, they were/are very focused on "world peace";

their experimentation methods include but likely aren't limited to electrocution.

and what we (vaguely) know about anya that relates to this:

she is at the youngest, 4 years old, and at the oldest, 5 nearing 6. we don't know her real age, all we know is she definitely lied about being 6;

she is very fixated on specifically world peace while twilight is focused on peace between ostania and westalis. the scientists are the very first we see talking about this, so it's likely their fault;

she is unreasonably well acquainted with classical language;

she has escaped the facility at LEAST 1 year ago;

and, one tidbit from the fanbook (page 29): "Anya has been reading minds for as long as she can remember," implying that her memory of a life before the lab is muddy at best and absent at worst.

that's all we know that i know of!!

if you got this far, thank you for reading :D hope any of this was interesting or sparked any theories >:] have a good day!

[syncopatedid]

Since the anime's airing, I've also been catching up on the manga of The Apothecary Diaries and I am absolutely smitten with these two. Smitten, I tell you! A low-key simp + high-key romantically-blasé protagonist is the kind of dynamic that will mean we get the whole nine yards of slow-burn development from "antagonists" -> friends -> confidants -> something more? Maomao certainly isn't oblivious to Jinshi's beauty nor his attempts at cringe teasing/flirting with her, even though she has a natural immunity against his shenanigans and remains ever cautious about the whims of people within the palace.

Maomao is also an inspiration as a strong female character who manages to navigate a world that is not kind to people of her class and gender. While it does feel like the story skims through a lot of unspeakable things Maomao had witnessed growing up, to me, it does serve to perfectly emphasize Maomao's "detached" character and her perspective of the world. She is a reluctant protagonist in this story, just trying to survive the best she can given her circumstances. And while she's certainly more educated and street smart compared to other girls in her situation, she's also realistic about her place in the world and knows her own powerlessness, merely finding her own way to co-exist with it and minding her own business (the girl just wants to be left alone with her rare poisons man). Being thrust into palace politics and catching the whims of one Jinshi, however, means inevitably putting herself in dangerous situations. Yet she's also really lucky and very loved and protected by those around her, including those who are in power to effect change, and that is the ultimate power that our Best Girl Maomao wields like a Mary Sue, but a well-written one. Still, her barriers are way up high when it comes to her feelings, and it will take a lot for her walls to come down. It's been 65 chapters into the manga, but the relationship goal post between her and Jinshi feels as if it's moved one step forward and two steps back (*throttles Jinshi with a stale baugette*), but you genuinely do want to root for these two to be more than servant and lord, romantic or otherwise, because their circumstances are a lot more similiar than they are different, as are their complicated feelings about each other. There's also something to be said about this gremlin of a girl who is so desensitized to the world of lust and romance but you know she absolutely owns a PhD in kink studies thanks to her sisters' upbringing. If Jinshi ever learns the extent of her knowledge I think Jinshi.exe will shut down for good and I just want to follow this series and be there for that eventual punchline.

[kyouka-supremacy]

hello!

I saw your recent post and you hinted that Atsushi is actually kinda twisted and that yoh don't agree with his morals?

If its alr with you, do you mind elaborating? ❤️

Alright, to be fair, I *am* self aware enough to realize a lot of what I say about Atsushi is probably fairly detached from canon. When push comes to shove, he's just a guy trying to get through. A polite dude. I like to stretch on how a lot of his well-mannered behaviour and his desperate attempt to prove himself good are moved by deeply selfish reasons of validating his own right to live, but that said, that doesn't make him inherently evil, either.

Atsushi's double morality is something that comes up a lot, so please check out these posts!! (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8). But overall... Is a good action that is done for deeply selfish reasons, still good? I'm not sure. But when I watched the anime for the first time, and in episode 8 it turned out that Atsushi was not helping the train passengers out of spontaneous inclination to help people in need, but rather just due to a self-interested aim to validate his own right to live... Idk, it didn't positively impress me? I was even less positively impacted by the later line “people can't live unless someone tells them ‘it's okay to go on’! ” The thing is, both scenes feel like more of the author's underlying worldviews that end up being conveyed through the series' protagonist, and that's a consideration to be made by its own– it's not an issue I have with Atsushi specifically, as much as me fundamentally disagreeing with most of bsd's perspectives on the world, as I've already said before.

But that doesn't change the fact that Atsushi is fundamentally selfish¹, does it? The difference is - I think - that for the author, more or less all people are, while to me no one is born selfish. But that still makes Atsushi not really morally virtuous, and I think that's narratively interesting to explore by its own!!! What if there was a character who only did good because (he thinks) that's the only way he has the right to live? What if there was someone who believed the right to live had to be owned in the first place? After having overcome the admittedly jarring sentiment I felt when first engaged with the character, I must admit those are some compelling concepts to explore, even despite disagreeing with the underlying morals.

At the end of the day, it's just a complex nature of the character? I like to emphasize on Atsushi's uncommendable selfishness especially as opposite to Akutagawa's hidden selflessness; but all said, a man who tries to do good despite it not being his first nature is a better man than any of us, isn't he?

¹ And Atsushi is profoundly selfish. I think that Beast in particular proves that he's ready to commit evil just as much as in canon he is to do good, if it's to pursue the goal of his own survival. The first thing we see him do, at the very start of the series, is, symbolically, contemplating robbing other people for his own survival (though in real life I would never judge someone's morality in life and death situations... But maybe since this is fiction, that can still hold narrative value). He will stop acting good as long as it's no longer required of him (each of his interactions with Akutagawa). Maybe it's a little pessimist way to interpret the manga, but perhaps still a consistent one?

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Backstage Story Translation - Itaru Chigasaki SSR - Today's Star: Boyd - Part 2

this is a request from an anon, who also provided the script in video form! (thank you!)

[Paper shuffling]

Itaru: …

Masumi: …

Tsuzuru: What do you think?

Itaru: That’s Tsuzuru-sensei for ya.

Itaru: Boyd and Alf are both really cool, and by not having Luke and his friends show up, Boyd’s aloofness that keeps people at bay is highlighted.

Masumi: I didn’t think you’d include Alf. But this way, it’s got a different sense of tension than the main story did.

Tsuzuru: I’m glad you think so.

Tsuzuru: At first, I also thought of including Luke because of his relationship with Boyd. But I felt their relationship would loosen some of that tension.

Tsuzuru: I figured Alf would be the perfect foil to highlight Boyd’s aloofness and sharpness.

Itaru: I’m even more excited to play Boyd after reading this script. Thanks, Tsuzuru.

Tsuzuru: No probs. I’m also looking forward to your performance.

-

Itaru: (... Woah, this capsule toy brings back memories! This is the protag of that anime series I was obsessed with as a kid!)

Itaru: (Lots of anime and manga that were popular back in the day are being turned into capsule toys lately...)

Itaru: I’ll pull once for now…

[Capsule machine whirling]

Itaru: (Hmmm, I wonder if I’ll get the one I want? I shouldn’t get my hopes up with just one try though.)

Masumi: …

Itaru: Ah, hey, Masumi. Going home?

[Masumi steps back]

Masumi: …

Itaru: Fine, okay, ignore me.

Masumi: I see enough of your chuunibyou at practice, I don’t wanna see it outside too.

Itaru: What a horrible thing to say… I’m just an office worker going back home too, you know.

Itaru: Also, I can’t not give off chuunibyou vibes, what with my role as Boyd coming up.

Itaru: There’s something pretty cool about doing it for real, instead of just acting it out half-heartedly, you feel?

Itaru: Come over here for a sec.

Masumi: Don’t wanna.

Itaru: I’ll give you the money, so can you give this a whirl?

Masumi: Listen to what I’m saying.

Itaru: Come on, come on. Here you go, good luck.

Masumi: Why do I have to–

Masumi: This is…

Itaru: Ah, judging by that reaction… Do you know this series?

Masumi: … Sort of, I guess.

Itaru: I know it’s a series that’s been going on for a long time, but it’s still pretty shocking to hear you know of it.

Itaru: So, give it a try.

Masumi: …

[Capsule machine whirling]

Itaru: Deadass? You got the hero I wanted.

Itaru: How are you so lucky?

Masumi: You’re just too greedy.

Itaru: … Can’t deny that.

Itaru: Do you have a fave from this series?

Masumi: I don’t really have a favorite, but if I had to pick, it’d be that one.

Itaru: The hero? I get it. So, why do you like ‘em?

Masumi: Annoying otaku…

Itaru: I’ll give you the keyholder, so indulge me for a bit.

Masumi: I don’t really need a keyholder. I don’t remember much to begin with.

Itaru: Dang, too bad.

Itaru: BTW, I liked how he never abandoned his friends no matter what.

Itaru: I also admired how despite never abandoning his friends, he also never succumbed to self-sacrifice and made sure that everyone, including himself, survived.

Masumi: …

Masumi: … I think I also liked that part of him. Back when I was a kid.

Itaru: …

Masumi: … What?

Itaru: I wasn’t expecting you to respond. I thought you’d just call me annoying again.

Itaru: But I guess even you had a time in your life where you looked up to this sort of thing.

Masumi: It was a short-lived phase.

Itaru: You don’t need to emphasize that. It’s okay, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

Masumi: That part of you is annoying. I just don’t wanna have it in common with you.

Itaru: Yeah, yeah. Let’s leave it at that.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

[zoroara]

Okay you know what I wanna share another type of interaction analysis, I did this yesterday but got nervous. Anyway It's about Squalo's loyalty and then lead into just noting the reactions of Squalo being harmed by Xanxus, when and why they happen. This is how my rambling works Idk why, though the first half is definitely more interpretation the part where I get into the harming is more direct analysis. Short note: It's actually used really sparingly only really once an arc but at specific key moments. but the longer one will be below.

Squalo's intense loyalty is just an inherent trait to squalo I think it's very interesting to make it sheer willpower and drive that Squalo does most of his things, he's shown to be incredibly motivated to anything he puts his time into, to an overzealous degree. I really do think he was simply Impressed by Xanxus' ambition, strength as well as his wrath as Squalo himself claims, and wanted to see where it would go, as it presented many opportunities to improve himself further which it kind of has. He's also eternally focused on many causes, such as wanting Yamamoto to be at his best so they can fight again and he can win. He literally hates being in the same room as Yamamoto, gets pissed off at Yamamoto's light treatment of something he devoted his life to, yet just for his goals he spent an entire week alone in the forest with the kid JUST to make sure he could be ready to fight Genkishi again and take back that loss. Not only that shown to be loyal to the vongola, protecting them twice in future arc, trying to stop shimon, so on, he's an very intense and despicable man, but the things he chooses to be important to him are what he will devote himself to, no matter the cost to himself It's more to me that Squalo is willing to suffer through things to get what he wants one way, or another. So Squalo allowing Xanxus to take the leader spot isn't an act of submission to Xanxus. But he saw it beneficial to what his own wants were. it should be noted the fact that Squalo only ever really takes being harmed in the present but when then that's only because the scene moves far too much for him to stay focused and mad at Xanxus usually be interrupted by things by everyone literally having to haul ass somewhere, and when given the chance to do so in the future he has to be held back by Luss. The man is READY to at least give Xanxus what for, just more important things prevent him to doing such because unlike a good amount of other varia members, he very much focuses on what objective is most important at the moment.

Squalo's VERY first instance of being harmed is when he failed with the rings, and it's immediately "okay we need to move fucking NOW", It's not that squalo just accepts it, he just needs to move right away. plus this one specifically Squalo realizes that he failed, so of course he's a little more stunned than he usually is when it happens. he didn't KNOW and has to process he was also TRICKED.

The next, is the whiskey scene, however, in the manga it cuts off before we see any resolution, clearly more of an egg on, and we do not know Squalo's reaction after this, and honestly I would not be surprised if he kicked the shit out of xanxus. But also in this scene, both times in Varia arc Xanxus does have a clear reason for his actions. One was punishment for failure, and one was because Squalo was literally insulting him and what he was doing.

This was however changed to Squalo leaving the scene in the anime, leaving a different feel to this. Which is honestly a really good way to show how a small change can lead to a very different feeling in a scene. Because the anime version makes it seem like Squalo accepts this treatment. In the manga by having it hold on both of their eyes, the tenseness never relieves itself and makes it seem like they are prepared to clash instead. Emphasizing the next thing Dino said.

The ONLY time Squalo has time to react to this and isn't in the middle of something, is only in future that we get to see the after in the manga, and then there's someone to actually hold him back. which feels more consistent to the manga version of after the alcohol gets thrown at him. and he's ready to beat the shit out of xanxus(maybe he learned after the previous time not to throw shit at Squalo while they're alone.)

then, the last and final example, he is once again distracted because this happens in the middle of the hibari/fon fight in rainbow so he needs to focus immediately after it happens, with Mammon's little petty complaints against fon(A majority of panels being flashback panels so it feels like it takes longer) only in the middle of these two things in real time.

It's used very sparingly, usually when the viewer least expects it for emphasis which is why it sticks out so much in our minds. But not only that, there's usually some things that influence Xanxus' when and why for doing this.

As already stated, the TIMES Xanxus actually does this are usually chosen in the sense that a good 90% of the time, Squalo actually has his hands tied and can't retaliate at all, either by virture of other people being there, OR by virtue of something far more important happening there was only ONE time where it was just them But one of the most consistent reasons is that Xanxus is doing this to literally knock him down a peg(and then it doesn't work) it's not a good reason but it's still notable as a reason.

First one he's literally saying he deserves a reward for his work(without knowing he failed). Second he was telling Xanxus this was a waste of time and that he was going to win. Third he was asking if the vongola kids manages to survive and saying how they would have to help them. Fourth he literally was talking shit to hibari and Fon on how easy to beat them it would be. Xanxus is narratively used to bite down when Squalo's pride goes too far. But Squalo FAR from accepts this treatment.

Additionally, if you're choosing to count gags and such, Squalo isn't actually the only target to it. There are ones where they complain that Xanxus does this with all of them and he even blows up the whole castle because they were all annoying him. So when it comes to jokes there's more of an equality about it, just Xanxus is generally violent. Though! Even then I've noticed that he's only explicitly that violent when it won't backfire against him in non-gag scenarios. His rage is a little more tempered when you look at him, it's just when he knows it's not going to be an issue it's at 100. Xanxus is a lot more logical than even I initially realized but that's a different post.

[rmorde]

Trigun Manga Reaction

Now, back to Volume 1 Chapter 9!

Insurance Ladies know they are going above and beyond what is normal here. But, they still continue as consummate professionals.

THIS IS SO ADORABLE!!! SO CUTE SO CUTE SO CUUUTEE!

I like the tiny little details that hints something about the characters too.

The most obvious things are Milly's childish expression (playful) and Vash's one leg raised on the seat position (gremlin). However, "no nonsense" Meryl's feet are placed inside the table's rings! You'd expect her to put them by the side of the table but nooooo!!! They need to be IN the ring (she's not above them all!). LMAO.

Tbh... I think the Kaite & Vash relationship feels more fleshed out here in the manga than the anime. I guess it's because of the Rem conversation. It added more weight to their interactions.

Also, they're adorable! Kaite is one sharp kid calling out Vash's bullshit. Vash, like a dog with a bone, keeps deflecting.

Oh wow. This is a huge difference from '98. Kaite was totally alone when he approached the crew.

And this is just as painful and hard to see because, you can absolutely understand the crew's reaction and feelings. What Kaite did was wrong. At the same time tho, he is just a kid who didn't know better. Taking out their grief and fury on him is not right.

Gosh... It makes me think of Little Vash and The Great Fall.

I wonder what exactly went through Vash's head here. In my perspective, Kaite is reflecting Vash unknowingly in this scene. But it's so painful because he's just a kid. He should never have been put in this position. He is too young to be on this path for atonement and redemption! It's just wrong.

Hmmm. Another big difference. Interesting. The Plant was never mentioned in '98 at all.

So, Tristamp followed this manga arc more closely. Some elements are remixed such as Wolfwood replacing Kaite, the Gung-ho Guns substituting BDN as a threat, and the race is avoiding destroying a town instead of avoiding falling off a cliff. All beats are the same tho.

HOWEVER!

I think '98 has a more logical timeline personally because they are in a hurry to stop the ship right? It's a critical moment. If you think about it, there should not have been enough time for Vash to regroup with Kaite after the duel. So, '98 having these two events happen simultaneously is actually good.

Another benefit is Kaite's offer to help feels much more genuine when he was alone and away from Vash in '98. It really sells the idea that this is entirely his own decision despite the risks of retribution.

Of course, Vash didn't influence him in the manga too but by visually having him there with Kaite, it kinda undersells it imo.

Oi. Vash. That's no way to talk about your sister!

While I do appreciate the changes on the Plant design in Tristamp, I really like the '98/Manga more. They're both excellent designs for Sci-Fi but I just really like the 90's flavor of magical Angel Power Plant... which appeases my thing for magitek.

Tristamp tho is a modern flavor of alien Faerie Power Plant - not bad but not my cup of tea. However, the glowing lines feature is wonderful! It reinforces the idea of them being power plants because they have "circuits" in the body. Restraining myself from saying Magic Circuits!

Oh... This is a really fascinating set of panels that I think both '98 and Tristamp haven't adapted well.

'98 kinda skipped this. However in Tristamp, the emphasis on Plants is very clinical. Not sure if that is the best way to describe it, but, in the plants feels so much more objectified in Tristamp. I guess the horror element about the human-plant relationship is further emphasized there.

It's contrasting the manga which seems to be more focused on the awe-inspiring side of it like in the scene above. The scientist waxes poetic and is practically making a religion out of the whole thing.

I guess, to put it simply, the manga effectively shows how humans see Plants worthy of worship. Meanwhile, Tristamp displays how humans see Plants as just a life-essential battery.

So beautiful... Oh...

What if the re-design happened because animating expressive individual feathers would be a pain for Orange staff? GASP! Is that why everyone's hair were cut short?! Because hair is tedious to animate. OMFG... IS THIS WHY MILLY WAS CUT OUT IN SEASON 1 since she really really long luscious locks?!

I kid. I kid. 🤣

Oh. That's really clever remixing by Studio Madhouse. So '98 Miss Purple Avenger Episode is like a "Prototype" of this manga arc. This is where Vash having to prevent an explosion of a Plant came from.

Okay. Another great difference... I've been saying that a lot in this chapter. Sorry.

In '98, Vash dealt with this alone and the only witness was terrified. It focused more on the mystery.

However, here in the manga, Vash is not alone. Humans must work with him to save the Plant and everyone. He can only buy time but it's up to them to stop the whole thing. It's a really nice display of Vash's hopes and beliefs regarding human-plant relations. ----> BTW, the art in this page is really pretty and interesting! (1) The almost "gradient" like transition of Vash's coat to the bulb is so creative. (2) The drawing of the Plant resembling a blooming flower: feathers as ray florets, the plant/sister as the disk floret, and the wires as receptacle/stem.

These pages are so gorgeous and the way the slowing down of the heartbeat was shown through the interspersed tiny panels is just really good.

ROFL. The human instinct of "I don't know what's going on but it's helping so I won't pry anymore and I'll just roll with it!". Love to see it!

I think this arc is so good because it justifies Vash's often criticized brand of hope - his endless patience at giving humans chances to bridge the gap between their species.

Humans can work together and save themselves with just a little push. They won't rely on exploitation forever.

People can realize when they are wrong. They can atone and redeem themselves. They do not stay cruel and ignorant forever. They are capable of change. ----> Also, this art is so perfectly adapted in '98. This page, actually, all the pages relating to this collective effort of humans to save the ships (with a bit of an assist from Vash) is so heartwarming to read. ----> Oh... Kudos again to '98 because since they relegated the 'Vash prevents a Plant explosion' to an earlier episode, the episode covering this particular plot had him out of commission. So, the stakes have become higher. Humans must set aside their differences and work together to save each other and Vash too.

And finally, humans are more than what they seem. They are complicated. What could be an enemy at first could turn out to be an ally that can save you later.

This entire conclusion to the conflict is just good and very... Vash. This is what he wants for Knives to see and understand about humans.

I think '98 really did well in adapting the essence of this arc. Tristamp is complicated because now, on hindsight as I read the manga, the episodes are basically hard-carrying and working overtime telling multiple plot lines at once!

Let's see... in Tristamp's version of this arc:

Wolfwood was working double time in the narrative as "Kaite" and one half of the "Good/Hope of Humanity". Not to mention he has his own conflict going on too.

Meryl was the second half of the "Good/Hope of Humanity" that works with Vash (Plant) in saving people.

Unfortunately, with BDN being replaced by the Gung-ho Guns, there is nothing that echoes the "Hidden Depths Enemy Turned Ally"... character...No way... OMFG! WOLFWOOD WAS SUBSTITUTING FOR THAT ROLE TOO IN THIS ARC!!! Poor Woofwoof!

Roberto is a unique addition since he is a Tristamp OG, but I think he represents well the approach taken by Orange with Trigun. He is like the "Flaws/Indifference of Humanity". He is good but experience had turned him into someone that's jaded and refuses to rock the boat (unlike Meryl). His age and 100% ordinary human status prevents him from surviving long enough to change his disposition too (unlike Wolfwood). It's pretty in line with Orange's more emphasis on the "darker" aspects of the story.

WHA-?!!!

Eh? Eh? EHHH?!!

WHY WAS THIS CHANGED IN '98?!!! THIS IS ADORABLE AND COOL!!! AHHHH!!!! NOOOO!!!!

But... then there won't be Meryl and Milly supporting injured Vash. NOOOO!!! Augh. AND THERE WON'T BE TRISTAMP VERSION OF THIS! AHHHH!!!!

Oh. So, the singing is in the manga too. That's a surprise. I thought it was a '98 original scene.

Awwww. ಥ_ಥ

[haru-chi]

Now that Miharu's arc is done and I gathered my thoughts and my strength, I feel like talking now for a bit ...

-contain manga spoilers-

Firstly, what the anime has done wasn't so bad at all, in fact I think they did the best they can without changing much which's I'm kinda surprised with for this season overall, it has the least changes out of all seasons so far (?), even the production value is far better than the last two season which was something I worried about tbh yet was pleased in general despite few little things 👀

With that being said and out of the way .. what come next isn't "hate" at all, so don't mistake it so :)

I found the anime version just lacking something .... it just didn't feel the same for some reason ... maybe the perfect word I find to describe what I feel is "detachment" ?

I don't know, was it because they simplify things which made things lose its gravity? Was it because they omit certain lines which had moved me the most in the manga ? Or was it that their interpretation of certain scenes was different than the manga vibe I got ? or they put emphasize on not what I thought they should've been ?

It's like, I felt Seiji/Miharu's burden, longing, wishes didn't hit that heavily ? Even Natori's inner struggle and action ... It's like I'm detached in certain way from their emotions which I don't even know if that's the perfect word to use but can't find a better word for what I felt ...

Hmmmmm, it's like, in the anime you feel like an outsider watching those people's story and struggles while in the manga you're an insider seeing all of this firsthand because of those little details etc thus you'd feel/understand it all better >>> don't know if this is a perfect example ><

I wondered if this was because they didn't do an extended hand before it, but as a manga reader this doesn't matter much for me so that's not it ...

But then I realized that this actually an on-going anime issue I always noticed and felt ... I even experience it firsthand being an anime-only way back then in the distant past ....

I feel the anime treat Natsuyuu's stories as standalone more than they should .. like aside from big arcs (mostly exorcist) then it doesn't matter what order everything else goes to ..maybe most fans think so too .. they don't realize that there IS a seamless story-flow under it all .. not all story follows it yet most stories can rely on it for building up be it on-going issues or questions and answers around it be it indirectly or directly (take an extended hand and Miharu's stories for example)

I was under this same misconception too back then, which's why when I jumped to the manga I was shocked by its depth and way of storytelling that genteelly indirectly connect most of its stories, which's why it resulted in Natsume's growth ...

His growth wasn't because of that certain story you just noticed it in it but was a result of the small ones before it which you thought was unrelated yet in fact it was a build-up and added depth to his character (maybe I'll talk in depth about it in different post?)

What I'm trying to say is, most story's order is important than some people think, and Midorikawa pay close attention to that and it's part of her storytelling and style which I really admire and love ... how there is an unspoken rule or something that put into attention few details or add more depth to the world/characters without directly saying so and that easily to miss ....

Do you remember how Homura's arc was something she wanted to do from early on yet because Natsume wasn't ready so she withhold for a very long time ... or how she didn't reveal Seiji had a sister before revealing that Taki had a brother (Seiji's sister arc was the next vol from Taki's brother reveal if no one noticed btw which's something I love and always wanted to mention and talk about)

That's why I said the anime treat Natsuyuu's stories as standalone more than they should and alot of things can gets lost ....

Miharu's arc didn't happen until an extended hand story happened before it .... and those stories are too important to each other ...but since I talked about this in a different post, I won't go about why that is here...

But this anime mindset results in Miharu going first which even after watching it I still find it a weird decision since there was room to do an extend hand then finish the season with Miharu's arc ....

I'm here thinking how such a simple thing can change your perception of things greatly or how can omitting or putting emphases on certain thing can change your view of them... I find that interesting but in the end that's why because of this the anime can never reach that same depth, that same unspoken indirect beauty ....

I really wonder why ? I feel like they had an idea or certain view about Natsuyuu which isn't wrong per say but can be harmful or a hindrance in the long run ?

Miharu's arc in the anime had me just setting here thinking and trying to understand why I find it lacking or feel this detachment and absent of gravity or weight from it that I felt in the manga ....

I'll stop here, it just I don't get it and kinda feel disappointed ? Sad ? Tbh I really don't know what I should be feeling other than I wanted something more for one of my best arc, it wasn't the worst yet wasn't that great either :)

[hero-nerd]

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS ABOUT MONOMA YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO TALK ABOUT BUT NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO? GO FORTH, GIVE US THE MONOMA CITATIONS. RAMBLE.

- @veras-monologue

YES THANK YOU IM ALWAYS HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT MONOMA

I think the majority of my pre-established writing with citations for him has been posted already. Whether anyone read it or not is a different question lmao. And I never set up a tagging system so they are probably lost to the depths of tumblr anyway. So if you have any questions about those please ask!!

But today I’m gonna talk about something I only ever get to talk to about with one person, our ✨ballroom dancing au✨

So this started because me and my friend have a villain monoma au where he and toga are twins separated at birth that reunite when Mr Compress brings Monoma into the league. I’m like 87% sure I’ve posted about that but again I’m always happy to expand or make another post on it. The au is mostly slice of life things amongst the league with Compress trying to parent his chaos twins while Magne sips her drink and laughs at him from the background /lh.

From here I got really into this manga about ballroom dancing I randomly picked up at the library and I’m so fixated right now, so I messaged up that friend like hear me out, ballroom dancing au

Weve been establishing that au for a bit now, Monoma and toga are siblings still that dance together, Compress is their main coach but Magne is like an assistant as well. It’s super fun /gen

One thing I’ve been thinking about is that Monoma is a really selfless dance partner, always letting Toga really shine in the dance while tailoring his dance exactly to her. The manga series talked about this idea of the flower and the frame, with the lead dancer being the frame meant to emphasize the flower, aka the following dancer. Monoma really leans into this and does it to the point where you can barely see the frame, Toga isn’t just a flower she’s the whole damn garden.

I think this is where people would disagree with me saying that Monoma would want the spotlight, but this is also where I have citations!!!

Citation one is from the sports tournament, Monoma did not mind placing low in the beginning to win his strategy. Like he said, he wasn’t some idiot chasing after a carrot on a stick, he was thinking things through to win in the long run. Of course it didn’t work in that moment (something else I could go off about) but that mind set is still there!

And then citation two is from the joint training arc. Monoma knows he is going to get captured but lays the trap with twin impact anyway, allowing his team to win. He seems to have the mentality (not just here, but this is what I pulled for citation) that a win for his team is a win for him, regardless of whether he was the one to do the winning thing. My past analysis has emphasized that his unstable identity leads him to heavily put his identity into outside factors, specifically class b, so I think this stands.

Now this is not to say that he doesn’t want to be the center of attention, be in the spot light! He very much does, although I think his feelings on whether he deserves it or not / what that looks like are pretty complex. In the joint training arc he talks about being the side character that steals the show, more beloved than the main characters, and that’s how he sees himself. However even here he calls himself a side character.

Then of course there is his big moment recently animated in the show, which would change this analysis plenty. However, applying that to him in this moment is like applying season six bakugou moments to season one bakugou, that doesn’t work! There’s chat at after development that needs to be done. I actually have a scene that ties in that stuff to give Monoma some character development in the ballroom au but that’s for another post XD.

And then tagging @logicaldelta because 1 au and 2 I’m not sure I have been able to coherently express all this to you yet lmao

[xinimartsy]

It’s a mobile game made for the Japanese audience not foreigners. They will never make Belle or any of their MCs change and be strong. It is different with Switch games where MCs might be that way. You should look for games made by Americans or something because it will never change, it is just a cultural difference

Oh, I know, anon. While I do complain about little things that make me feel iffy, I greatly enjoy the games and believe me, I do not expect astounding writing from a mobile game. The game is harmless fun and so are my critics towards it.

Though I do disagree on the front that it's a cultural difference and more of a general genre thing, because there are plenty of ocidental visual novels in which MC falls in the same damsel in distress category, while we can see from anime, manga and dramas that Japan is no stranger to strong female characters.

Mai herself, from Cybird's Ikemen Sengoku, for example, she insisted in working on her craft and making her own money despite Nobunaga guaranteeing her easygoing life, in most routes she picked up some skill from her suitor, she learned medicine from Ieyasu in several routes, learned how to ride a horse, learned negotiation in Mitsuhide's route, she even rode a horse into the battlefield to butt heads with an unhinged Kenshin in one of his routes. Yes, she had to be saved several times, but they never made her look inappropriately clueless (there were things that were logical that she didn't know and things that she knew, like everyone else), she never paled in comparison to her suitors and was always witty within her own capabilities. She never had to master the blade or become stronger or smarter than the warlords to be strong, she brought her own qualities to the negotiation table, and at least I hardly ever felt helpless or like the MC was unbearable while playing, actually, she's my favorite specially cus of her snark hehe

Emma is not all bad, tho, I think it very much depends on the route. In Clavis' route, I particularly find Emma delightful, because since they want to portrait Clavis as being, well, eccentric, they gave his Emma a more grounded personality to contrast his, while making her brave and adventurous enough to keep up with Clavis' bullshit. They exaggerated aspects from the character to emphasize the other, which in this case works, Clavis' weirdness vs Emma's common sense and their willingness to meet halfway through for each other.

But that same tool doesn't work in routes such as Jin and Chev. In Jin's route they wanted to emphasize his maturity as an older man who fooled around a lot, so they made Emma uncharacteristically innocent and almost childish. And in Chev's, they spent half of the word count telling us that Chevalier was a genius instead of showing us, and whenever they did show it, that was done by dumbing everyone, SPECIALLY Emma, down as to emphasize his geniality, making characters uncharacteristically dumb, not understanding basic concepts that they should very much understand, only so Chevalier could basically spell it out for them, call us "fools" and have everyone in game in awe of his geniality while us as the player feel unsatisfied cus, duh, that was the logical answer, are all these characters really THIS dumb?

Therefore, rather than "cultural differences", I think what we're seeing here is just.... Well, lousy writing.

[fyeahbachisagi]

Blue Lock anime on BachiSagi + How the anime ended up redefining Bachira’s ego in Episode 22

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the anime removed Bachira’s iconic gay line in Episode 22. After the initial anger, I’ve calmed down and thought about how it couldn’t be as simple as removing the gay. After all, Studio 8Bit has been adding extra gay in the First Selection arc. The Come Steal Me scene was also gayer than in the manga. And although Isagi’s feelings for Bachira were toned down in the first cour, they’ve also been emphasizing it in the second cour (example).

I then noticed a pattern. The Blue Lock anime is playing with contrast in portraying Bachira and Isagi’s relationship.

Prior to Bachira’s awakening, we see his feelings for Isagi emphasized a lot. The anime would even add scenes that weren’t there in the manga. It could be a very minor thing like 2 seconds of Bachira staring at Isagi, or a big thing like replacing Igaguri in his interactions with Isagi (example 1, example 2).

The same is true for Isagi’s feelings for Bachira, but in reverse. Prior to the Come Steal Me scene, the anime removed some of Isagi’s minor interactions with Bachira.

I’m no animator, so I don’t really understand the purpose of this approach. Perhaps 8Bit thought that by increasing the contrast of their feelings before and after emotional turning points would make it more obvious to the viewer?

The Come Steal Me scene is a clear emotional turning point for Isagi. It’s basically Isagi thinking, “Shit, I love him.”

I remember how caught off guard I was when I reading that part in the manga when Isagi said “I felt like I just lost something important…” I had to go back some chapters to find “proof” of Isagi’s feelings. [I don’t know how it is for people who first experienced that scene through the anime, though. Please tell me your thoughts in this poll. Not putting the poll in this post coz then I won’t be able to edit this later…]

Isagi’s feelings are very subtle, so the anime removing what was already barely there just felt like a disservice. And although they’ve been kinda making up for it by executing all the Isagi-to-Bachira moments after this very well, it doesn’t feel enough.

Now, for Bachira… This is difficult because his emotional turning point isn’t as clear-cut as Isagi’s. The anime, however, decided on this scene:

And I absolutely hate this decision.

Because in the manga, the lines were actually a declaration of what exactly Bachira’s voice/ego is. And that ego is: “I’ll win if it kills me and take back Isagi!”

They even cropped out Isagi’s face in the anime to make it solely about Bachira...

This was such a big BachiSagi moment. Bachira is explicitly telling us here that he will win so he can stay by Isagi’s side. And it’s not exactly him striving just for Isagi, either. It’s more like a reference to Isagi’s words to Reo before: “Don’t be the one who gets chosen. Be the one who gets to choose.”

And before this scene in the anime, they even added this part:

Bachira reaching out for Isagi, but only to draw it back...

Such a big disservice there… Bachira’s awakening was complex. He’s saying goodbye to Isagi not only because he wants to be strong enough to stay in Blue Lock, but also because he wants to keep him, even if they can no longer be friends. In a way, it’s a self-sacrificial act. Literally, “I don’t care if I’ll be sad as long as I can stay by his side!”

Adding that underwater hand thing on top of the changed lines turned Bachira’s awakening arc from being deeply rooted in love to one of mere individuality. The anime has completely missed the point...

There are 2 more episodes left, and the next one has another crucial BachiSagi moment. Let’s see how 8Bit wraps up their relationship before I give my final verdict.

[ecargmura]

Grandpa And Grandma Turn Young Again Episode 11 Review + Final Thoughts - A Happy Way To End

What do you mean this is the finale? It’s surprisingly happy and wholesome and then the ending was just bittersweet. Apparently, the manga was completed two days ago and this episode is an adaptation of it. That’s crazy how the manga and anime ended in the same week.

The entire episode is just Shouzou and Ine wanting to spend time with family. The first half of the episode, it’s practically a New Year’s family gathering where Yoshiaki, Takahiro and even Akemi’s family from Tokyo come over to visit. Heck, even Ine’s sister Tsuru is here too! It’s really nice to see the interactions between the other family members. It feels like every Asian family gathering to me where the men drink, women gossip and kids play with each other; also, it’s cute how Tsuru is grouped with the kids as she can’t really do much in her current state.

Seeing the extended family interact is so heartwarming. It’s also interesting how Shiori calls Tsuru “Grandma” too. I don’t think there is a word for “grandaunt” in Japanese, hence why she calls her grandma. Kousuke calls Shiori, Mino and Shunsuke as big sister and big brother despite them being their aunts and uncle. I think it’s to emphasize that they’re still young despite being his dad’s cousins (Shiori and Mino) and uncle (Shunsuke). I wonder if the animators keep forgetting that Akemi has two sons because when her family shows up in the car, the backseat had Shunsuke, Shinji’s wife and Kousuke but then Kousuke’s dad Shinji shows up later on. I think it’s because Shinji works and Shunsuke is still young? How old is Shunsuke anyways? He seems like a college student if he is considered one of the kids with Shiori and Mino.

I think the part where Kousuke was throwing a tantrum over leaving his great-grandparents’ house was so cute. Back in Episode 6, Kousuke freaked out over seeing Shouzou and even called him a fake version of his dad, but later bonded with him as he was seen playing together, sleeping together and was even eating dinner on his lap. The fact that this episode shows that he prefers his great-grandpa over his dad who is basically the younger version of him shows he really loves him. The way Ine gives him a Haramaki bear and tells him that the bear will watch over him was really bittersweet because they promised to meet up in summer break but that promise isn’t kept, sadly.

The second half of the episode focuses on the elderly couple spending time with Mino and Shouta at the orchard. It seems that Mino and Shouta are finally dating with the way Shouta calls her by her first name and not the usual “Saito-san”. The way Shouzou tells Shouta “I leave the rest to you” really got to me because it has two meanings: 1. He’s leaving the orchard to Shouta and 2. He leaves Mino in his hands. The fact that this rang that their time is slowly ending got to me.

The way that the elderly couple sit next to each other and cuddle as they think about the happy endings for each of their family members. Shiori is a high contender for getting into the medical department of her dream school as Satoshi has been tutoring her. The Takahashis talk about Shiori all the time whenever they visit her father Takahiro at the clinic, hinting at a possible endgame between his daughter and their grandson. Yoshiaki found a new job. Akemi’s kids have all flown out of the nest, meaning that Shunsuke graduated college or found job or something (I kind of want to know more about Akemi’s family since not much was explained about her kids other than her having three kids with the eldest married and having Kousuke). After thinking about their family, they pass away together. That was the most bittersweet way to end there! It got me emotional!

Fortunately, it seems that 50 years later, Mino and Shouta married, took over the apple orchard and grew old together. The apple tree they planted together grew up and has a golden apple, meaning that Mino and Shouta are the next elderly couple to regain their youth. I like that after so much teasing around, these two are finally endgame and even took over the Saito couple’s legacy as a happily married couple in a way. It was a nice way to give an update on what happened to the orchard and the Mino and Shouta subplot.

Final Thoughts

This was a very wholesome anime. I really like family-oriented stories, so to see a story about an elderly married couple regaining their youth and then strengthening their relationship with each other and with their kids and extended family really tug onto my heartstrings. It’s a nice story with a nice message about trying to enjoy your life as best as you can and living without regrets.

While regaining their youth means that they’re able to do things they couldn’t do in the past, it doesn’t mean that they’re immortal. I like the fact that they’re on a time limit, but doesn’t fret over it too much. In fact, this story doesn’t have a lot of high stakes as it’s just Shouzou and Ine going through shenanigans now that they got this weird power. I also like that they don’t abuse it that much.

Shouzou and Ine are such a perfect couple. They complete each other and they’re still in love even after 58 years of marriage. They bring the best in each other. I love that their grandchildren see them as the ideal couple and strive to have a love as great as theirs. The way Shouzou asks the Shrine God to share both of their life force so that they can die together was one of the sweetest moments ever. What they fear isn’t death, but the fact that one will be left alone if the other dies. Shouzou did promise that he’d never leave Ine alone and he kept it.

The other couples are really good too. Mino and Shouta are adorable together as well as Shiori and Satoshi. Heck, I like that every member of the Saito family are in happy marriages. The Takahashis seem to be happy together too.

The voice actor cast is heavily stacked. Shinichiro Miki and Mamiko Noto play the leads and they did it so well. The supporting cast were great too. This isn’t an anime where voice acting prowess is necessary, but it’s still nice that they casted a lot of big names for a wholesome show like this.

The animation and music are a bit simple, but it fits the vibes, so I don’t have much to say about it. If anything, I love the color palettes, but the color choices for the characters can be a bit weird as none of them really share any resemblance with their parents or even their grandparents. For example, Ine has blue eyes, but none of her kids and her extended family have blue eyes. Mino is the only one who has Shouzou’s gray-ish blue eyes but doesn’t have her parents’ hair colors. Akemi, Shouzou and Ine’s daughter, has brown hair, but her parents have black hair. It’s really bizarre how the hair and eye colors are inconsistent.

Overall, if you want a feel-good slice of life anime to watch, this would be a good contender. It’s one of the most wholesome ones for this season.

[overlyimmersed]

My temper cooled while I was sleeping but I'm still gonna say this...

I'll give that Tien was probably depressed and lost motivation after Cell, cuz it was the first time he'd had a friend die and actually stay dead and it was Goku.

But before that. No, I really don't think so.

The post I'm referencing(I'm not gonna link cuz I don't actually wanna fight) believes that Tien lost motivation after the 23 world martial arts tournament because Goku and Piccolo were so far beyond him. And sure, that's something someone could believe

If you're not actually listening to Tien!

I never read the manga, so yeah my knowledge and therefore opinions of Tien are strictly from the anime, whereas all of their citations come from manga panels, but if I recall correctly (and I do cuz I double checked while writing this) after Goku beat him he expresses the same motivation as before to catch up to and surpass Goku. And sure, he had to watch Goku beat Piccolo Jr after that and really show off what he was capable of. But there was no indication in that final arch that Tien was demotivated.

So why did this person decide Tien is depressed?

Cuz he calls himself useless during and/or prior to battles in Z. That's it. He just expresses frustration that he's of no use in fights against planet busters.

Why did this person conclude that Tien had lost motivation to train?

Because he *checks notes* has a day job... To be more specific they cite this

This says "...mainly does farming in addition to his training." So he never stopped training, he's just also working cuz duh!

Goku also works in farming in super! This is not an indication that they have stopped training or lost motivation to train.

In light of these facts, alongside most of the (probably filler admittedly) scenes we see him in in early dbz(outside of actual battles) show him training, I'm inclined to think this is bullshit and I shouldn't read long posts while I'm sleep deprived. It took a couple of hours of laying in the dark reflecting on my own perspective to realize shit wasn't adding up right.

If he didn't want to keep training, why did he train with King Kai?

And yeah, he didn't want to use the hyperbolic time chamber in the Cell saga, but Goku didn't want to use it a second time either so what? Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien are the character in our show who take what Master Roshi says to heart, and Roshi's teachings emphasize getting rest alongside training. Rather than the intensive non-stop kind of training we see from characters outside of this philosophy, namely Vegeta, Future Trunks and Piccolo who all decide to use the chamber again.

And like I started with, I could be inclined to believe that Tien might have lost motivation to train after the Cell Games. He does seem kinda...off in that last episode and in the manga he says that he doesn't think he'll ever see any of his old friends again, that's off to me. But as for prior to that, I think Tien kept up his training consistently till Cell, where he might have dropped off from lack of motivation in Goku's absence just like Vegeta did. These are the two characters left, at that point, who were still using Goku as a measuring stick and without him would be likely to lose their purpose for fighting.

For all their staunch inability to tolerate each other, Tien and Vegeta are actually pretty similar in a lot of ways.

Like I said before, it's important to be accurate and if you're going to love someone it's important to really know them.

And maybe don't project so damn much.

[felineverdure]

anywaysss manga jean >>> anime jean

dont get me wrong he is still one of my best bois. finally caught up to the anime and was lowkey upset that a lot of good jean dialogues/reactions/little things were shafted, cut out or moved to other characters. (mostly s1-s3 stuff.) some rambling of mine on parts that they change that i dislike.

one small thing that they changed it up for anime was his motivations for joining the mp. sure we all know that his purpose was to live what little time he has left comfortably in the interior. but he also emphasize on being sick living in the frontline towns that is prone to titan attacks which is pretty normal and valid reason to want to escape to the inner walls imo. animes only sees jean as a spoiled brat bc eren says he is but manga jean is not?? also his face calling out marco in manga is just * chef kiss *

2. this one bugged me A LOT. i think they move this whole dialogue to a another character. ( i cant rmbr) basically jean aint dumb. he went on to school eren on the 'reclaim wall maria operation' aka the culling when eren chastised him for his 'selfish' reasons for wanting to join the MP. here we we have the classic pessimist, defeatist jean kirstein. (also lowkey baby anarchist)

3. his jealousy towards eren isnt really purely from his crush on mikasa but more of eren dragging mikasa and armin into 'an early grave'

4. THIS ICONIC FACE

5. jean eventually stopped slacking off but likely to get back on eren (love his level of pettiness)

6. after training everyone wants to be in marco's team with marco as a leader which prompts marco to tell jean he makes a much better leader than him. (i find it weird that they insert the dialogue in the trost arc itself. it gives little time for jean to digest the idea of him being a leader whereas it makes more sense here in the manga, pacing wise)

7. his motivations to join the scouts. its not just eren or marco words that inspired him into joining. NO. trost arc made him realized he does care about his comrades. his decision to joining the scouts includes him wanting to not have to worry about his other comrades dying. (i feel that this doesnt translate well in the anime ugh) if u noticed, connie and sasha's fear was 'to be eaten by titans' for jean its 'watching his comrades be eaten by titans' its not about him saving humanity or be a leader. he just doesnt want his friends to die.

8. strategist jean!!!! (i know this is included in the anime but i like the manga ver more. it feels like he has more confidence and authority here) and reiner's thoughts on jean's change.

9. after the entire military rescued eren from reiner & bert, suffering huge losses, jean gave eren a reality check. (i think this part was shorten greatly and moved to another scene in the anime) + the scene of the scouts noting how jean has changed was removed completely.

10. when jean managed to bring marlowe and hitch to help them. levi says GOOD JOB JEAN.

& the whole scene was changed from the MP compound to the MP checkpoint where jsc busted through with a cart. manga was pretty badass in that we were shown how levi squad arent children anymore, having the need to wound the mps to reach their goals. (plus jean and sasha busy being baddies on the roof sniping and shooting arrows at the mps ??? )

11. I CANT FORGIVE YOU REINER line. it make no sense in the anime for them to remove this because annie's 'what about me' makes no sense without that line!!! also makes their conversation on the flying boat and titanic scene more impactful later on.

12. jeans & floch relationship!!!! please please trust me when i say floch makes one of the best jean relationship & interaction because how they are each others foil and weakness. the anime straight up made jean a floch hater and floch that one weirdo who cant take a hint. their relationship is so subtle and nuanced in the mange. PLUS jean straight up tries to stop floch from bleeding to death, something the anime cut out bc they dont want to show someone cared about floch!!! also trying to stop someone from dying even tho its 100% happening?? not a very jean like reaction me thinks (ooooh). and the manga panel focusing on flochs dying words with jeans stressed expression is so so good

13. THIS

ok anyways these are just some of the things i can think of reagarding to jean at least. there are also other parts of the story that i was upset that they didnt include. i know anime runs on strict time limitations but *grumble* *grumble*

other things that im upset about: eren kruger adaptation in anime was meh. warriors training era was cut out. RBA spying days was cut out too which is a big L IMO. also facial expressions in the manga were so much more impactful than the anime version like how??????? and manga is jean is top tier hot. i hate what mappa did with him.

[flameleads]

Strap in, folks. This will be a post on how Roy Mustang uses his flame alchemy: which hands he uses, how much he moves, how much fire he produces, et cetera. This will be image heavy with GIFs. Because of that, I’m putting most of this under a readmore. As a side-note: iIf you want to see how I broke down the science of his alchemy, I’ve got a headcanon post about it here: link.

Let’s get started!

First and foremost, let’s look back to the 2003 anime and Conqueror of Shamballa. We’re going straight to where Roy’s alchemy really shines through for both the audience (us) and those around him: Fullmetal vs Flame.

This is the first transmutation he does when “fighting” with Edward. There’s a bit of a flourish as he flicks his wrist, and he uses three fingers. The result is a large, flashy explosion that sends Edward backwards; after all, Roy doesn’t actually want to use his alchemy on Edward. In fact, Roy generally tries to avoid using his alchemy on other human beings. He almost always uses it adjacent to others, creating explosions to impair the enemy, not kill.

In that episode in particular, Roy is doing one thing that’s worthy of note: he’s using this as a teaching opportunity. It’s a mock battle, so he turns it into a training to teach Edward things he needs to know when fighting. All of his dialogue makes that clear as well when he quotes from The Art of War by Sun Tzu (something he did in the manga as well with this fight and with Lust).

Another note: he makes it dramatic with his taunts and general tone of voice because he also views this as a way to show off what he could do to everyone watching. Flame alchemy is the reason people are afraid of getting on this man’s bad side and why the war in Ishval ended quicker once Fuhrer Bradley issued Order 3066.

The problem with that, as Edward quickly finds out, is that gloves come in pairs. Roy shows that he is capable of using both hands to transmute, and he makes a show of it. He’s just as skilled using his left hand. Three fingers, a bit of a flourish as he flicks his wrist and creates a large and tightly controlled explosion. It’s smaller than the first one due to the distance, and he only wants to destroy the cannon. Nothing else.

And, of course, he’s smirking at this. Someone underestimated him again, and he loves it. He loves showing people that there’s more to him than what they see.

Now, let’s look at another, albeit smaller, transmutation from the 2003 anime:

For those unaware of the context, that piece of paper contained intelligence Roy’s date gathered, and he wanted to ensure no one else got their hands on it. This time, there’s nowhere near as much of a flourish as he raises his right hand, uses three fingers, and creates a small, controlled fire. He’s making a small show out of using his alchemy for this purpose, hence the flourish, but nowhere near as grand as when he fought with Edward.

Again and again, I will emphasize that Roy Mustang is an actor. He’s putting on a show for everyone around him so others don’t see that cunning ambition. He makes his alchemy look dramatic because that’s what he wants other people to see. It’s not just limited to the 2003 anime either.

In the first episode of Brotherhood, Roy goes out to contend with Isaac McDougal, the Freezer Alchemist, head on. With both of these transmutations, Roy puts his entire upper body into it without really needing to, thus putting on a show for the other soldiers watching him. His gestures are dramatic when he only actually needs two or three fingers to make his transmutations happen. He wants others to view him as someone who likes showing off and someone who acts without thinking.

And Hawkeye backs him up. During the first episode, we hear her say, “When will he learn?” She’s reinforcing that belief, and we see her do it again when he faces off with Scar.

Before this moment, Roy does a few things to set the stage:

1. He shoots off his gun to get Scar’s attention. This gives him time to see just how close Scar is to Edward and Alphonse, who are in horrible condition. 2. He confirms that Scar was behind Shou Tucker’s murder. In doing so, he prompts Scar to share some of his motive. 3. He asks Scar why he’s going after State Alchemists in particular. Scar doesn’t give a direct answer to that, instead choosing to tell Roy that if he’s going to interfere, he’ll kill him too.

While he’s doing this, Roy is not wearing his gloves. He knows that getting his gloves wet will make it impossible for him to use his alchemy. As this post mentions, Roy is a war veteran with years of experience as an alchemist. He’s not about to put on his gloves to fight when he can’t use them. That’d be downright foolish.

So, when he puts on one of his gloves after tossing his gun to Hawkeye, it’s yet another show, and it’s a tactical one. This scene has layers to it, and I’ll try and tackle all of them.

Hawkeye instantly knows what he’s about to do when he tosses her his gun, and thus she does one thing: she says his name. Scar didn’t recognize him on sight as a State Alchemist, after all, and they needed to shift his attention off Edward and Alphonse to keep them safe. Roy reinforces that he’s the Flame Alchemist, and he purposefully hams this up to make Scar come at him. He even begins to close the distance between the two of them to encourage Scar to do what he wants.

This transmutation obviously doesn’t happen. He moves forward, stands still, and rubs three fingers together to create a puff of smoke. Scar tries to take him out right then and there, but can’t because of Hawkeye. She backed up Roy without hesitating, and she started shooting with two guns once she had the chance. There was distance between the Elrics and Scar now. Shooting earlier ran the risk of Edward getting hurt more than he already was or killed. No one wanted to risk that.

What we didn’t know when this scene happened is Hawkeye’s deep connection to flame alchemy and Roy Mustang. She may not be an alchemist, but she knows the strengths and weaknesses of Roy’s alchemy, the alchemy her father created. The amount of trust Roy placed in her during this encounter is off the charts.

One last thing: Roy didn’t move his arms much when doing this transmutation. No flourish. No extra dramatics. He kept it simple. There wasn’t a need to make it more complex. When Roy isn’t trying to put on a show, and he’s focused solely on the mission in front of him, he doesn’t move much at all.

Barely flicks his wrist as he transmutes, and he creates a powerful explosion that engulfs part of what appears to be a city. This attack is devastating.

Obviously the circumstances behind him using his alchemy are different in this case. With Lust, he had to rely on using a lighter as ignition. There was also the fact that he was seriously injured and in excruciating pain. Had that last one not been a factor, I doubt he would’ve acted differently. Lust even comments in both the manga and Brotherhood that Roy is calm and focused. Again, he barely moves when unleashing a devastating attack, and he kills a creature that supposedly can’t die.

The only dramatic part of this transmutation was the fact that Roy needed to turn to see his target. That’s it. He started the transmutation as he turned, not giving his enemies enough time to try and strike back. Quick, and he disabled them with ease.

Not a lot of movement on this one either. He only moves his hand to direct his shot while using three fingers. In seconds, he kills the Immortal Soldiers that gave Edward and co. a lot of trouble. These were beings that seemingly couldn’t die, and Roy kills them off while making it look effortless. 

He’s not trying to put on a show. There’s no need for it. He’s in the mindset of ending the fight quickly while only using the necessary amount of force. Every single one of these transmutations have that in common: they’re controlled and precise. His face also makes his purpose clear. In all of those shots, he’s frowning or otherwise keeping a serious expression.

In general, we can assume that if Roy’s using his alchemy to stage a performance of sorts, he’s going to be more dramatic with his movements. If he’s using his alchemy with his focus solely on the fight in front of him, he’s going to limit his movement. There are only three exceptions to this. One takes place in Conqueror of Shamballa while the other two are in Brotherhood during the Promised Day.

Let’s tackle CoS first, specifically with this gifset. In that moment, we have to consider all of the circumstances surrounding it. For starters, Roy cannot see out of his left eye, and he hasn’t used his alchemy in years. He’s a bit out of practice. It takes effort to transmute, hence why he puts almost his entire upper body into it. Alchemy transmutations do take energy to perform. Most of the time, Roy only needs to expend mental energy. But, again, due to the surrounding circumstances, he had to expend physical energy too.

Now, onto the Promised Day. Y’all knows what happens right after the Immortal Soldiers. Envy enters the scene, and they reveal the truth that Roy’s spent the last several months searching for: they were the one to kill his best friend, Maes Hughes.

Up until this specific moment, Roy never uses both hands at once. He might wear both gloves, but he’ll only use one hand to transmute. Using both hands is excessive force, lacking in mercy, and it requires him to spend more time on calculations. He killed a Homunculus and the Immortal Soldiers with one hand already. He’s proven that he doesn’t need both gloves to get the results he wants. This is the only time he ever uses both.

Not only that, but, unlike with his fight with Lust or the Immortal Soldiers, he doesn’t stay still. He’s putting his entire body into doing these transmutations. Is it because he’s trying to put on a show? Trying to emphasize to Envy that their actions had consequences? Showing off just how powerful he is?

The answer is none of the above. What makes his fight with Envy unique is that he’s also vocal during it. He usually only has dialogue during his transmutations if it’s a performance. When he’s focused on his mission, he hardly says a word. With Envy, not only does he get vocal, but he gets nasty with his dialogue. He goes into graphic detail about what he’s doing, doesn’t hold back with his threats, and he lets emotion come through his voice.

Those emotions—all of that grief that he’s kept buried and masked with anger—are what triggers his need to expend physical energy on this fight. He can hardly contain those emotions anymore, and thus he lets them out with his movements and alchemy in tandem. He stops holding back, and he loses complete control. He gives all of himself to this fight.

His hand shakes before he can get that transmutation out. His breathing is heavy. He’s yelling. This is physically straining him because he refuses to hold back for Envy. He wanted to give them the worst punishment possible.

Flame alchemy is complex and difficult to perform. In order to be effective, Roy needs to maintain tight control, account for many factors in his calculations, and he must never use more force than needed. In Ishval, he saw the consequences of using too much force, and he made the conscious decision to never allow himself to go that far again. He doesn’t even use his alchemy that much save for when he needs to. When he does, he keeps himself calm and focused.

Even later during the Promised Day against Father, Roy has that logic going. Look at this gifset from when he has Hawkeye directing his transmutations. During that scene, she has to tell him not to hold back, to not throttle his flames against the most powerful enemy he’s ever faced. Yes, he’s hesitating because he can’t see what he’s doing, but it’s also because he doesn’t ever want to use more force than needed. He’s careful, and he just saw what happened when he lost control.

We can also tell by his facial expression as he transmutes that it hurts. Fuhrer Bradley put his swords through Roy’s hands, so of course it’s going to hurt to move them. He moves as little as possible against Father. He fights through that pain because it’s important, and because Roy Mustang never backs down from a fight unless he’s forced to (i.e. Gluttony).

All right, let’s wrap this up. What have we learned from all of this?

Roy makes a show of using his alchemy for tactical purposes (short and long term).

He can use both hands to perform with alchemy and get the same results. We can safely assume that he’s ambidextrous.

When focused solely on completing the mission, he makes his transmutations quick.

He tries to keep his emotions out of combat.

Most of the time he transmutes, he only really moves his wrists, not his arms like other alchemists. He doesn’t need to do more.

With the exception of his fight with Envy, every transmutation he performs is tightly controlled.

Thanks for reading through my post overanalyzing Roy’s alchemy. This was fun to write, and I hope you like it!