#sunbloom's anime rambles

[sunbloomdew]

more one piece watching (ep 8). using this as a reaction picture from now on

i also made a heart-shaped locket version, feel free to use it skjfhsdkjfhsk

[sunbloomdew]

Just watched this episode and it was so good! My boys really just went and won all the individual competitions they signed up for, they are so amazing ༼☯﹏☯༽

I'm a bit annoyed that Rei got literally three shots of him swimming, while all the others got long sequences. I can see how in that way they made it look dynamic, and it actually emphasizes how fast Rei finished his race. It was also meant to trick the audience into thinking, that Rei could've lost, as just a few seconds before he was boasting about how he was going to win, and Nagisa made a comment how he was jinxing his performance. But it still makes me frown slightly, since I want my favourites to have the opportunity to shine.

Makoto and Haruka's race gently broke me emotionally. When Haru was looking at Makoto to see his reaction I could only think about his race with Rin, that changed their relationship in a bad way. Haru was so worried and anxious that this would happen again, that him winning would drive them apart, only for Makoto to cheerfully smile at him, the way he always does. The relief on Haru's face and the way his whole posture relaxes... It's okay, I didn't need my heart anyway.

It really feels like this moment was something huge, and will build up to something later on... I already know that these two have an argument cause ya know, spoilers, and I read Free! fanfics so. But I am very interested to see how we get there!

I lost!

free! eternal summer ep. 6

[sunbloomdew]

so after literal years i'm back to watching one piece (don't ask me what possessed me, i wouldn't be able to tell you. actually i am able, it was shuggy content)

i'm at episode 4 and the fact that shanks left out the fucking devil fruit in an open chest, just right there on the counter, IN GRABBING DISTANCE OF A CHILD???? red haired shanks you're such a dumbass i love you. never babysit anyone ever

[sunbloomdew]

i have a theory that every shonen manga/anime protagonist is aroace unless proven otherwise

[sunbloomdew]

thoughts on Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

by your one and only casual anime watcher, who is now dipping their toes in sports anime

god, free! was amazing!

it's been a while since i enjoyed an anime this much, and i think this proves that i should watch more sports anime. all of the ones i watched so far were really good (sk8 the infinity and yuri on ice), something is up with this genre

so anyway, free!. i love swimming and water so it was already an ideal premise for me. the characters are all super likeable and have different sides to them. i wouldn't say they are perfect, but what i can give them, is that they all feel like genuine friends, who enjoy spending time together.

REI WAS THE TRUE MVP. this boy saw that the other three had problems with rin and went "alright, lemme fix this" AND THEN HE DID!! nah, for real tho, i think without him, rin's reconciliation with the rest wouldn't happen. i appreciated that rei did this not only for the sake of his team, but also for himself. i also liked that he openly communicated: "i want to know what happened between you, i am a part of the team and i don't want to be left out". maybe i haven't seen a good anime in a while, but i felt like this openess was really refreshing. i love him sm <3

BUT, i was scared shitless when this mf SWAM OUT INTO THE OCEAN AT NIGHT??!?!?! LIKE BRO. at the start of their training camp i saw where this was going, but i calmed down after makoto reassured rei, i was like "phew, crisis averted" AND IT WAS NOT. they all could have died and i was not okay. and then they just forgot. about that traumatic experience. cool cool

really, every character has something that i like about them. but my favourites are definitely rei and makoto <33

rei cause he is a sweetie, who likes pretty things, is overly logical but very in tune with his emotions and cmon, how could i hate him. he is basically me (i want his glasses). and makoto, cause. ya know. have you seen him??? cutie pie lil blorbo (ᵍʳᵉᵉⁿ ᶜᵒˡᵒᵘʳ ᶜʰᵃʳᵃᶜᵗᵉʳˢ,,,)

and the ending, omg it was so cute!! i was so hyped! THEY WON, and then they got disqualified, BUT THEY WON FRIENDSHIP. seeing rin smiling again with his friends brought tears to my eyes

from supporting characters i rly like Gou and Amakata! Gou is just so determined, supportive and unwilling to give up – she wanted to see her brother happy again and she made it happen! what a good sister <33 for ms amakata i thought she was super funny and sweet. her not always accurate quoting, sunny demeanor and how dead set she was on keeping her past secret lmao

all in all, i enjoyed this series a lot! time for free! eternal summer hehe

peace outttt (❁´◡`❁)

(also, when i started watching i was like hmmmm, yeah haru and rin, then in the middle i went on ao3, saw the haru and makoto fics and was like "HE???" like i didn't think about them before but now i can't stop! but i ship both and also all three of them, that would be fun. in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter as much to me: i just enjoy the dynamics they have, regardless of if they are romantic or platonic; they all love each other is what im sayin <3)

[sunbloomdew]

I'd love to see that as well! It would really add some depth to both these characters.

It does feel like the main cast is sometimes too quick to forgive the villain/antagonist of the week or they just kinda ignore any emotional development that should come with it. I'm not saying they should hold grudges, but i would enjoy a bit of mixed feelings and mistrust.

Like with Lucy in this case, I don't think she ever has any direct interactions with Gajeel after he joins the guild (i am NOT counting the dancing in a bunny costume filler) and it's a shame!

There are many things I’d add to Fairy Tail, and one of those things is a side plot about Lucy struggling to forgive Gajeel for not only what he did to her, but what he did to Levy. Like a real dive into some PTSD and trust issues. I think it would be important to not only Gajeel’s already stellar character development but to also add some depth to Lucy’s character.

I can already picture a scene where Lucy’s like hanging from a cliff or something and Gajeel’s the only one around to help her, but despite that, she can’t really bring herself to accept his hand.

Maybe some dialogue like: “I know I’ve hurt you, and I know you haven’t forgiven me - maybe you never will - but I need you to trust me. I promise I’m not that person anymore, that I care about this guild, so, please, let me help you, Lucy!”

Listen, I need this. Even just a fic would satisfy me.

[sunbloomdew]

no thoughts, just tachibana makoto and nanase haruka looking at each other

[sunbloomdew]

such a sick Nami moment that i absolutely adored in the Skypeia Arc. i think it was really powerful for Nami, a character with a very strong will and dedication to her goals, to give up on said goals because if she can't stay with her friends there's truly nothing she wants at all. it's so amazing to witness how much she grew to care for the crew.

one of the many reasons she is my favorite strawhat.

clip source as in the site and episode, i clipped that myself edit: the site got taken down-

[sunbloomdew]

oh my god,,,,,,

so that's why i like toasty sm

[sunbloomdew]

Rin&Rei friendship is so wholesome, i'm gonna cry

def an underrated duo

[sunbloomdew]

My thoughts on Juvia Lockser in the Tower of Heaven Arc

Disclaimer: This is an anti-Juvia post! If you like her that’s cool, I'm happy you do. I don’t and I have the right to express that. I will not change my mind about this character, so please don’t try to “prove me wrong”. It will just end up in both of us getting frustrated. I sincerely hope you have a nice day and continue to enjoy what you like.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I have been rewatching Fairy Tail! I finished the Tower of Heaven arc, which I found really enjoyable, except for a few things, notably J//via’s presence in this part of the story. I have a strong dislike for her, but putting my feelings aside for a second, I think it makes no sense that she of all people is in this arc. If she must i think it would have been better if she reappeared in the story in the next arc, the Battle of Fairy Tail (or if she didn’t return at all), and here’s why:

She has no meaningful connection to any of the characters involved. She is not friends with anyone from team Natsu, she is a former enemy, who they see for the first time since defeating Phantom Lord. Moreover, the reason she was in the Akane Resort in the first place was to stalk Gray. Her intentions aren’t pure or honourable, she doesn't care about Erza and Happy getting kidnapped, nor does she care about Erza’s backstory. She has no reason to care about any of this because they are not friends! And it makes her being there look weird. In most of the scenes she doesn’t even talk, aside from acting insanely possessive over a man with whom she doesn’t have a relationship, nor his consent to behave this way. J//via doesn’t feel any genuine care for members of team Natsu, and i say any because i don’t consider her obsession with Gray to be that. She is just physically attracted to him, and I guess he made the rain stop because he was pretty?? And saved her from falling, which any decent person would do.

There is literally no good reason why she should be allowed to learn about Erza’s very traumatic past. This bothers me a lot, as it affects Erza’s character as well. I find it hard to believe that Erza, who is closed off and has a hard time being vulnerable, even with people she grew up with, just told the story of her childhood to a stranger. When Gray, Lucy, Natsu and J//via arrive at the tower, she doesn’t even acknowledge J//via’s presence once. She acts like she is not even there! She doesn’t know who she is, judging by her words in episode 41, when she asks Gray something along the lines of “Where is that girl?”. And in the funeral scene, Juvia isn’t there either. She has no connection to the emotional core of this arc, which leads me to her scene with Lucy.

Her meaningful moments hold little weight and could have been better executed. Without the context J//via’s little monologue about Fairy Tail during her and Lucy’s fight against the hair assassin is kinda sweet. I can sympathise with the feeling of bringing sadness and misery everywhere you go and I can admit that J//via’s backstory is sad and she didn’t deserve the treatment she got. What ruins this scene for me and ultimately renders it kinda useless are a few things. First, prior to this moment she never expressed a desire to join Fairy Tail for reasons NOT related to Gray. Never during her stalking does she think about Fairy Tail as a guild, all her thoughts centre around Gray. During her monologue we get flashbacks to the moments when she was stalking Gray, which undermine her declaration even more. How can you say you love Fairy Tail, when you hadn’t experienced the sense of community yourself? When all you have been doing is violating someone’s privacy? What’s even worse about J//via’s moment with Lucy is that after the fight, the next time they talk J//via is back to her possessive self! Even when she was moved by Lucy being kind to her, even when Lucy constantly says that she is not her “love rival” she keeps antagonising her (and that is just the beginning). Her other moments are just her protecting Gray, which would have been nice and all if she was better written. IF her feelings for him grew over time and were explored, IF she wasn’t a freakin creep and respected his boundaries, IF she had a character outside of him- only then i would be able to look at her protection as something genuine and sweet, not as a way for her to make Gray look at her more favourably. As such, everything she does feels like manipulation, to get what she desires.

The team could have easily handled things without her. Her power wasn’t essential in getting into the tower, since Lucy has Aquarius, who could without any trouble do the same. It would be even better if that happened, since it would give Lucy some moments to shine! I have already been rewriting it in my head. Aquarius could have helped them camouflage the boat and find the underwater entrance, as well as helping them get through it. It would provide development in Lucy’s relationship with Aquarius, which we don’t get enough of in the series in my opinion. We could have Lucy summon Aquarius, and her being pissed at the beginning but quickly realising what sort of situation they are in and helping them (still with her harsh exterior of course, because if anybody is a tsundere in Fairy Tail, it’s Aquarius lmao). It would also show that spirits are reliable and can do their jobs without being rendered useless by their gags. In my opinion, the overused jokes with the spirits make Lucy look incompetent and make the spirits look like flat characters too. They can crack jokes, sure, but that shouldn’t get in the way of what they have been summoned for. Lucy could have her moment of defeating one of the assassins, and if that would be out of character for her to be able to take down this opponent on her own this early in the story, then she could have teamed up with Milliana and Wally to do that. I think it would be a cute little moment, just like Natsu, Gray and Happy sorta teamed up with Simon to take down the owl (i say sorta because Simon does get knocked out right at the beginning - it was a missed opportunity, it would have been so cool if he joined them in the fight).

So now that I went over the reasons why I think reintroducing J//via into the story in this arc was bad timing, I'm going to list off a few other problems I had with her that I wasn't sure where to put.

Starting off with:

She literally tries to drown Lucy. This is such an idiotic moment that I'm not even sure what to say. Why? All it does is make J//via look even more deranged and uncaring. And for it to happen in such a serious situation too! The team is trying to rescue Erza and Happy, two members they care for very much, and all J//via can think about is that there is another girl near Gray. Not to mention, that Juvia did make Lucy lose consciousness before, when she captured her for Phantom. Realistically, having Lucy be forced to relay on her kidnapper to get to their destination would have made her at least a bit anxious. Especially since she is yet to hear a true apology for that.

This could go in the “no meaningful bonds” argument sorta. When the team is heading to the tower on a boat, J//via makes a comment about not expecting Erza to get defeated so easily and Gray gets upset at her comment. I totally understand his reaction. If a stranger/former enemy said something like “i never thought that they would be beaten so easily” about my beloved friend, i would be mad as well! This exchange just further proves that J//via doesn’t know anything about the people she decided to join.

Another thing I was wondering about was why did she choose to approach Gray at the resort, and not earlier or later. I thought of a couple of answers. First, this isn’t the guild, where she would have to confront a group of people who were attacked by Phantom. Second, the team split to do their own things at the casino, which means she can approach Gray when he is alone and again, doesn’t have to confront others, for example Lucy. And third, this is a vacation resort, which means that Gray will be more relaxed and possibly more likely to talk with her. To me it just reads as very manipulative, to try to target the object of her “affections” in such a way.

I think what i dislike about J//via the most is that when you take away her love for Gray, there is nothing about her except for a good design (i like blue AND dead fish eyes lmao) and cool powers i guess. And well, that is not enough for a character to be compelling. 

She never reflects on her actions as a Phantom Lord member, she doesn’t express any guilt for kidnapping Lucy and taking part in the attack on Fairy Tail. She doesn’t have any values or beliefs that are her own. She is such a frustrating case to me, because she could have been such a powerful lesson in self-worth and learning to love yourself. Imagine if she went through a character arc where she realised that she doesn’t have to base her whole identity on romantic love. That she has value outside of being someone’s love interest and can find people who accept her with her ability to bring rain. Instead she is awful.

Phew that was quite a rant. There are many other things unrelated to this character that i want to talk about, but i will leave them for separate posts. It feels refreshing to be able to express your opinion online, since it's not something i have done a lot before - i've always been more of a silent enthusiast.

If you've read this post i'm interested in hearing your thoughts! Let's all remember to be respectful when starting a discussion.

Peace out (❁´◡`❁)

[sunbloomdew]

i can't explain it well, but there are some male anime characters that you see for the first time and immediately feel that something is Not Right with them

i'm watching free!: eternal summer, and this guy appears

and i just go "hmmmm..... shady"

it's like seeing shigure sohma for the first time

you just KNOW something is Wrong here. this type of characters radiate off vibes and i catch them all like a metal detector in a water fountain full of coins

[sunbloomdew]

Haru yelling at Rin that he isn't like him, that he doesn't have dreams and plans for the future probably shouldn't have resonated with me as strongly as it did

[sunbloomdew]

dayum i'm truly back to my 2018 anime phase and i'm thriving

rewatching old anime i liked, checking out new ones, reading manga... ahhh life is good actually.

i saw akatsuki no yona manga volume in a bookstore today and it made me wanna rewatch the anime and read the manga for the first time. and that makes me think about snow white with red hair <33

so much stuff to see (❁´◡`❁)

[sunbloomdew]

watching tower of heaven arc and i am just slightly peeved that j//via is there. a tiny bit angy.

i have thoughts and i am writing them down. will release them into the wild soon

[sunbloomdew]

exCuSe Me, Edolas arc is actually so good??? it used to be my least favourite arc when i first watched fairy tail (and let's be honest, it was solely because the toxic shipping made me dislike lisanna for no other reason than she was a 'threat' to nalu), but now i can say that it's definitely in the top three of my fav ft arcs so far.

i will take some time to sort my thoughts and maybeeee post them, but for now just know that Edolas arc is freakin great. just so good

now onto the next arc!! which i do remember liking a lot, and by the first episodes i don't think that's going to change hehe (cana <33)