#the manga begins like any Shonen | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

brucebocchi · 1 month ago

Text

Ranking 2024 anime, Pt. 5: #10-1

hey, this post is also available on my ko-fi, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i do this for free and am currently between jobs. you can find part 1 of the list here, part 2 here, part 3 here, and part 4 here. all of my seasonal reviews are on my ko-fi and under my anime reviews tag, mixed in with my occasional musings. thanks!

And we are in the home stretch! I didn't want to split up my top 10 like last year, so it took a couple days to get it all together. Thanks for your patience.

As you may have noticed, some of these reviews are longer than others. I've reviewed most of these shows before, so I didn't want to be too redundant while talking about shows I've already reviewed. You can, of course, go back and read my initial reviews in my previous seasonal roundups.

Also, I just wanted to quickly shout out a few shows that I haven't watched much or any of, but would likely have placed well in these rankings, namely Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction, YATAGARASU, the Spice and Wolf remake, Orb: On the Movements of Earth, Sound! Euphonium's third season, and the late Akira Toriyama's SAND LAND and Dragon Ball DAIMA. I only have so much time in a day, week, month, and year, but those series have been on my radar and I do intend to pick them up sooner or later.

But for now, let's focus on what I did watch. Off we go:

10. Blue Box

This is a slightly biased placement on my end because I picked up the manga this year and quickly fell in love with it, and I’m just happy that it got a faithful, well-made anime adaptation. If you have an issue with that, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: This whole list is biased. It’s MY list, after all.

After an uneven summer output between My Dear Friend Nokotan and Suicide Squad Isekai, WIT Studio is in full form adapting Kouji Miura’s gorgeous high school sports romance. Rising first-year badminton player Taiki has a huge crush on his basketball star senpai Chinatsu, who practices in the same high school gym he does. He’s happy enough to keep a friendly distance as they improve at their respective sports, but that distance is closed significantly when her parents go abroad for work and she ends up moving in under the same roof as him. The spirit of competition is in the air, and is that a whiff of romance I smell as well?

The reason I felt the need to call out my own bias at the start is because Blue Box’s debut cour is, on balance, probably just “pretty good,” but I was just so overjoyed that this anime even exists that I was willing to overlook the early story’s growing pains. Taiki, of course, is the POV character for most of the first cour, and most of the romantic tension we see so far is entirely from his end as he swoons and huffs and goes into cardiac arrest over any and every gesture Chinatsu throws his way. You know, teenage boy stuff. There have been criticisms that Chinatsu doesn’t get much interiority for a bit and that she’s a bit of an enigma in terms of her role in the central “romance,” such that it is so far, which is a valid criticism of a lot of shonen romance stories. I’m generally of the mind that these things are more potent when the object of the protagonist’s affection is treated as more than a puzzle for him to solve, but I think Blue Box does a fine job of establishing what Chinatsu means to Taiki before we do indeed begin to get a feel for how she operates and what she might think of him. If you found that part a little maddening early on, trust me when I say it’s worth sticking it out.

Regardless, the character writing is what made Blue Box such a hit in Weekly Shonen Jump. Taiki is a flat-out good kid, if a little naive, and his boundless determination to achieve and exceed his goals in both badminton and romance makes him easy to root for. Chinatsu is fairly taciturn, as mentioned, but that’s by design; she’s a notoriously difficult person to read, as even her friends and teammates note that they can rarely decipher what she’s thinking. She’s still an effortlessly charming character, and it’s not hard to figure out why Taiki’s got it so bad for her. The real highlight of the series, though, is Taiki’s classmate and longtime friend, Hina, a rhythmic gymnast and an absolute troll. She is an absolute delight in every scene she’s in, whether she’s knocking Taiki’s knees out from under him, focusing on rehearsing her next routine, or prying into Taiki’s love life and realizing that, oops, she really cares about him too. Hina is wonderful and I just want the best for her.

Characters this likable will need the voices to match, and I am over the moon about this show’s casting. Shouya Chiba is tremendous as Taiki, in a far cry from his Epic Based Stoic Chad role as Ayanokoji in Classroom of the Elite. Every line read for Taiki sounds exactly as gung-ho about sports and devastatingly down bad for his crush as you’d expect of a hormonal 15 year old. Reina Ueda is terrific as the soft-spoken Chinatsu, but I’m looking forward to hearing the always-delightful Xanthe Huynh (Haru in Persona 5, Marianne in Fire Emblem Three Houses) take on the role in the dub just as much. Akari Kitou channels much of the same gremlin energy she did for KamiKatsu to portray Hina’s mischief, and I look forward to hearing her nail Hina’s excellent upcoming character moments. And although it’s a secondary role, the casting I was most excited to hear was Chiaki Kobayashi (Mash in Mashle, Stark in Frieren) as Taiki’s teammate Kyo. Kobayashi’s languid tsukkomi affect was exactly what I had in mind whenever Kyo would put Taiki’s lovelorn antics into stark relief in the manga. It’s like he was born for the part.

This show looks tremendous, perfectly adapting both the angular, doe-eyed character designs from the manga as well as the lower-detail gags. The pastel color palette and gorgeous lighting effects are exactly what I was hoping for while reading the manga. If I have any complaint, though, it’s mostly that I want to see more of the sports action. The granular details of the badminton matches and basketball games are hardly the focus of the story, but the action panels are usually the best part of Miura’s art in the manga. Shot-for-shot, it certainly does hew close to the manga presentation, but it’s mostly a racquet swing or close-up jump shot followed by an onlooker’s reaction. I’d have liked a bit more follow through. The CGI used for background competitors can get a little distracting after a while, too, but it’s easy to forget about.

Blue Box is continuing into 2025, and I’m waiting for every new episode with bated breath. If you liked the first cour enough but still have doubts, trust me when I say it just keeps getting better. I look forward to coming back to the second half of this season in another year for my victory lap.

9. Girls Band Cry

This is one of the most inventive girls-band anime out there, certainly the most so since that one from 2022 that I swore I wouldn��t bring up by name. Gorgeous 3D-CG animation, stirring original music, and a compelling cast of characters combine to make Girls Band Cry even more than the sum of its parts.

More than anything, I think what makes Girls Band Cry a terrific showbiz series is that it depicts the uncomfortable reality that a lot of artists are just flat-out unpleasant people and often don’t mesh well with one another. Protagonist Nina is messy, stubborn, and angry at the world and her parents and will not hesitate to make it your problem. She butts heads with her friends and bandmates at any provocation, but stubbornness is a major driving factor in the plot: Each of the five members of Togenashi Togeari has something they’re trying to move on from with their music, and while they each have an opinion on how to get there, they do come to realize, after a lot of silly yelling matches, that they want to do so together.

As a vehicle to push Girls Band Cry and Togenashi Togeari as a real-world multimedia experience, this show is a success. It’s a terrific-looking show in ways we rarely see outside of Studio Orange productions (and allegedly Love Live! Sunshine!!, which director Kazuo Sakai also had a hand in); the 3D computer-generated character models and animations are terrifically expressive and lively, and creative visual effects add a compelling sense of synaesthesia to Nina's emotional highs and lows. The voice cast, all pseudonymous contest winners, are also the real-life band members, and they fully nail both elements of their roles. TogeToge’s music in the show is terrific, and as an already-existing Gorillaz-esque virtual band, I’m excited to dig into their back catalog.

Girls Band Cry finally got an official English translation, so there’s no longer any excuse to sleep on this one. It’s funny, it’s heartfelt, and above all else, it fucking rocks. Don’t let this one fade away just because you might’ve missed it when it aired.

8. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, second cour

When I ranked the first cour of Frieren as the best anime of 2023, I wrote:

The debut season of Frieren will continue into 2024, and if the quality remains a constant, it could very well be one of the best anime of next year too. It has remained as MyAnimeList’s top-rated anime ever for its entire run, warding off the legion of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood fans. Frieren deserves it.

A year later, it is still MAL’s top-rated anime, and by a healthy margin. Another 12 episodes aired to kick off 2024, and it was indeed one of the best anime of this year as well. I stand firm in my convictions that not only is it one of the best anime of the decade so far, it’s one of the best anime I’ve ever seen.

I really shot my wad by praising Frieren so profusely midway through its run, to the point where I still don’t really feel the need to add much more here. The second cour mostly focuses on the First Class Mage exam arc, allowing us to learn more about the present state of magic in the modern day and adding some much-needed depth to the cast. It continues to strike a lovely balance between the quieter moments and bonkers action sequences, as well as the more serious moments with laugh-out-loud goofiness. It may be a lesser arc in this story, but it would be a standout in so many others.

If I haven’t been clear enough, I remain over the moon about Frieren. The second cour looks and sounds just as incredible as the first, and this show’s success should serve as a reminder to the industry that investment in quality pays off. Madhouse knows they have a banger on their hands, and if the next season can maintain this level of production value for the major arc that is still to come, Frieren may very well earn GOAT status. Even if another season somehow never materializes, I’ll still be talking about this season in five years when it comes time to talk about the best of the decade. Watch this goddamn show.

7. A Sign of Affection

For all the romance anime and manga I consume, I’ve shamefully been lacking on the shoujo/josei front. I really gotta fix that. If reading more shoujo was what spurred Yukinobu Tatsu to make DanDaDan, then who knows what it might do for me? A Sign of Affection isn’t my first shoujo, strictly speaking, but it does feel like one of the first I’ve seen of the good old-fashioned flowery romance type.

What a gorgeous show. A Sign of Affection looks terrific, sounds terrific, and above all feels terrific. This is just a lovely, fluffy romance with low stakes and easy payoff; just two pretty people getting to know each other and learning to overcome their differences. It’s low on gimmicks and plot contrivances, and for as much as I like romcoms and romance stories with a unique bent, I love a good straightforward romance just as much sometimes. Everyone looks beautiful and likes each other and Jesus Christ look at the lips on these boys. There’s even a double-date to Costco, and what better depiction of marital bliss could there be?

I’m still pleasantly surprised at how this show handles the main character’s disability. Protagonist Yuki’s congenital deafness isn’t a single-note character quirk or a plot device to make her seem helpless; it simply is. It’s a part of her life that serves as the lens through which all of the people in her life see and treat her, and it leads to the only thing that resembles a major conflict in the show. Itsuomi, the main romantic interest, doesn’t baby her or walk all over her; he instead gently tests her boundaries while learning to accommodate her in a way to ensure her comfort. Her childhood friend Oushi, on the other hand, is very jealous of this development because he seems to feel entitled to her just because he did the bare minimum to accommodate her. The circumstances aren’t common, of course, but it’s a good lesson for a shoujo to have: Don’t settle.

My praise for A Sign of Affection mostly boils down to “it’s just really nice,” but it does “just really nice” so goddamn well. It’s fluffy, it’s comfy, it’s cozy, all of those adjectives that would set off my fight-or-flight response if I heard them from someone else, but I was enthralled by this show week in and week out. I can’t believe I neglected to start reading the manga, and I’m gonna have to get on that ASAP because I can’t wait for another season.

6. The Apothecary Diaries, second cour

I found myself more intrigued at The Apothecary Diaries at the end of 2023 than most other shows I’d watched that year. I grew more and more invested in the idiosyncratic Maomao as she investigated mysterious ailments and navigated imperial palace politics, all the while being a lovable little shit.

Before I’d realized it, though, the 2024 half of its run knew it had its hooks in me and took me for a ride. What looked at first like a series of one-off puzzles quickly began entangling into a much larger mystery, rapidly gaining momentum until exploding into a massive emotional payoff. So many of the small details in what you assume are episodic mystery-of-the-week mini-stories become relevant in unexpected ways and draw you in ever further. I adore this kind of lowkey long-term storytelling, and for it to be part of such an appealing package is basically catnip for me.

For as gorgeous as The Apothecary Diaries can be visually, sonically, and sometimes even emotionally, it’s worth mentioning that this show is also hilarious a lot of the time. Maomao is on permanent goblin mode whenever she isn’t carrying out official business, and any time the palace officials have to rein her in is a delight. The push-and-pull between her and Jinshi is endlessly entertaining to the point where I can wait forever for that payoff if I have to.

I neglected to read the Apothecary Diaries manga after the first season went off the air (though I nearly bought all of it sight unseen), and with the second about to drop, I guess I’m holding off for another six months. Can’t say I mind, though. I’m along for the ride and I want this show to keep surprising me for as long as it can. This is easily one of the best anime of the 2020s so far and I’m gonna be there front row center for every new episode.

5. Bang Brave Bang Bravern

People say “peak fiction” too goddamn often these days. Not that it was a meaningful term to begin with, but it’s been memed to hell and back and is mostly just thrown out ironically to mock garbage writing. To be honest, I’m not above it myself, but I prefer to ascribe it, even jokingly, to stuff that can only truly come from a brilliant and/or deranged mind. Preferably both. Peak fiction, to me, is the intersection where talent meets insanity, no matter the degree of either.

Bang Brave Bang Bravern is peak fiction.

I gushed about this show after the winter season, and I almost don’t want to say anything further about it, mostly for two reasons: Firstly, because I don’t really want to give the game away any more than I already did back in April, and secondly, because I think it may have permanently burrowed into a specific part of my brain and then melted it. All I’m left with is “this show fucking rocks, dudes rock, you need to see it, it’s peak, don't ask questions, just watch it.”

Indeed, Bravern is the Dudes Rock anime of the year, and an essential piece of Dudes Rock media. It’s Top Gun with aliens and a giant talking robot. And the robot wants to fuck his pilot. This show is loud, horny, stupid, and self-aware, combined just so into a cocktail of legitimate brilliance that is, for better or worse, unlike anything I’ve seen before or since. Nearly every single episode had me clawing at my hair and shrieking “WHAT THE FUCK AM I WATCHING,” and that is the highest praise I can give just about anything.

I might be overselling it just a touch, but Bravern is just as earnest as it is utterly wild. It’s an intentionally hilarious show, but it means everything it does and says. It’s a love letter to mecha anime and tokusatsu, and with its top staff sporting Gundam and Macross bona fides, that love oozes into every aspect. The mechs, both manmade and alien, all look tremendous, the music is a throwback to the goofy bombast you’d find in series like this as far back as the Showa era, and the ensemble cast outside of our silly leads are just as gung-ho and serious about Saving The World as you’d find in just about any other mech show. Anything that can be this goofy with a completely straight face is going to hook me in.

All in all, Bang Brave Bang Bravern is hypercompetent lunacy with heart. Call it weaponized genre awareness if you must, but it knows exactly what it’s about, grabs you by the collar, and takes you for a ride, all while doing badass tokusatsu poses and calling out special moves with silly names. This is legitimately what fiction is all about.

Also, if you don’t like Lulu just because she screeches a lot, you’re a weakling. Gaga-pi, motherfucker.

4. The Dangers in My Heart, season 2

This was a series whose first season was conspicuously absent from my 2023 rankings, but I caught up shortly after finishing that list in order to catch up to the second season. I’d watched a glut of slice-of-life romances in 2023 and figured I could afford to miss this one. I’m overjoyed at how wrong I was.

To paraphrase the second season’s exceptional OP, The Dangers in My Heart is indescribably beautiful. As I said with A Sign of Affection, I love me a straightforward anime romance, and this middle school slice-of-life is just that: Underdeveloped edgelord boy ends up making unlikely friends with, and falling for, the cheery popular girl in his class. This is easy wish-fulfillment on paper, but that’s hiding the trick: Kyotaro isn’t gonna get anything he wants by keeping his quills out for anyone who comes near, and he has some growing up to do if he’s ever gonna get what he wants.

Season 2 picks up right where the first left off, with Kyotaro’s arm still broken from his family trip and Anna feeling guilty because she thinks her distraction was what led to the injury. Right out of the gate, we see the care these two have developed for one another: Anna wants to help while he can’t do his own schoolwork, while Kyo is quick to try to cheer her up when she no longer feels like she’s able to. Already we’re seeing Kyotaro’s character development coming to light: The Dangers in My Heart isn’t a story about a Nice Guy getting the girl just by being there; it’s a story of self-improvement, of trying to become the type of person whom your crush would want to fall in love with. For a story about and ostensibly marketed to early teenagers, that’s a good lesson to have, and I absolutely devour stories like that.

As can be the case with plenty of adolescents, most of the conflict here is internal. Kyotaro spent the early part of his middle school education keeping a safe distance from everyone in order to avoid getting hurt, and as you can imagine, that did a number on his self esteem. Though he’s mostly kicked the chuunibyo mindset, Kyo still prefers to keep his distance, less because he doesn’t want to get hurt, but now because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone else. Specifically Anna. So much of this story is about him learning to be okay with letting people in and not just falling in love, but making friends and becoming somebody whom people just want to be around. It’s a chuuni rehabilitation story. You love to see it.

With all due respect to mangaka Norio Sakurai, the biggest surprise that came from reading the manga was how much better the anime looks than its source material. The anime looks tremendous in its own right, but compared to Sakurai’s doodly, occasionally messy style, the love put into the show stands in stark relief. Characters, backgrounds, and lighting are all soft, squishy, and warm, almost like the entire thing was run through the filter through which only a 13-year-old in love can see the world, even as a little edgelord. Little flourishes in the environment and music highlight the minute but consequential motes of progression in Kyo and Anna’s relationship. The OP ended up shaking out as my favorite of the year, even with 2024 being bookended by Creepy Nuts bangers. It’s that special to me.

And just like that, The Dangers in My Heart went from “eh probably not for me” to “yeah this is one of the best anime of the decade so far.” It’s a simple slice-of-life romance on paper, almost literally so in the manga, but this is a transformative adaptation. There’s much more of the story to tell, and I wouldn’t complain about more, but as it stands after two seasons, The Dangers in My Heart is damn near perfect as it is.

3. Oshi no Ko, season 2

Another year, another season, another top-four finish for one of the best manga adaptations I’ve ever seen.

The anime adaptation of Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari’s showbiz-revenge manga made shockwaves last year following its thunderous feature-length premiere, and its source material made even more waves due to some questionable plot developments that fortunately went nowhere. Doga Kobo was undeterred by any negative attention brought to the brand, though, and pressed forward into the next arc with a level of swagger you rarely see brought into an anime’s sequel season.

The 2.5D stage play arc in Oshi no Ko’s manga wasn’t my favorite, but it was one that you could tell just from reading it would translate well to the screen. Even then, I wasn’t prepared for just how hard Doga Kobo would go in adapting it. Character animation is sumptuously fluid, color used to amazing effect, and personal expression bursts forth into impressionistic abstraction to such a degree that it made manga artist Yokoyari cry. Everyone looks and sounds incredible beyond any way I could’ve imagined from reading the manga, which, at the risk of sounding defensive, is still very good as a whole.

This being a story largely about the music industry, the music remains as on-point as ever. It’s too soon to tell if the second season’s OP/ED pairing tops the instantly-iconic “Idol” and “Mephisto” from the first, but these are no slouches. This season’s OP, “Fatale,” is a whiplash-inducing banger by Tatsuya Kitani and idol Kento Nakajima, performing under the collaborative name of GEMN (itself a relevant name to the show; twins without the i/Ai, DO YOU GET IT???) with visuals that might actually top those of "Idol." The new ED, “Burning,” is Hitsujibungaku at their fuzzy, 90s-style alt-rock best, and it takes on a brand new meaning by the end of the season. Of course, there’s also the story-relevant music; while the bulk of the season focuses on the stage play, the last few episodes give us a glimpse into the pop music process, with the season capping off with an in-universe music video that, while not sonically my exact cup of tea, features 90 seconds of some of the best-looking dance animation I’ve ever seen in my life. That’s a flex if I’ve ever seen one.

And just like the first season, the second capped off with an announcement that Oshi no Ko will indeed be returning for another season. At this rate, and with the anime’s success, they will adapt the entire work, which will raise some eyebrows. I’m not going to litigate the manga’s later controversial developments nor its widely-panned ending, but if Doga Koba was able to handle everything that came before those things with such aplomb, I have faith that it will at least be done well.

2. DanDaDan

I want to preface this by saying that I agonized over whether this or the final entry is my anime of the year. I’m comfortable with what I chose, but if I’m being realistic, DanDaDan is basically 1b. This is a masterpiece already.

Although the source material was a bit of a cult hit until this year, DanDaDan came with a considerable amount of hype. If you were even peripherally familiar, it wasn’t hard to see why: Yukinobu Tatsu’s art is absurdly detailed in almost every panel, character designs are easily recognizable (one of the leads dressing similarly to a Persona 3 character was fortuitous for the anime to drop in the same year as Reload), and so many bizarre things happen in the plot that relaying them to anybody who wasn’t already familiar would make their brain briefly touch the void. Above all, though, Science SARU was tabbed to animate it, and any project by them is immediately worth your attention.

Sure enough, DanDaDan made an instantaneous splash, its first episode adapting the manga’s bombastic, twisty 63-page opening chapter nearly beat for beat. I’m not gonna “don’t look it up, just go in blind” this one, but almost too much happens for me to properly detail it all without just writing a complete synopsis. It boils down to “lonely nerd boy believes in aliens, angry kogal believes in yokai, it turns out both are real and now they have to deal with it.” It’s silly, it’s wild, it’s action packed, and if you can stomach the sexually-compromising alien abduction of the girl, you’re along for the ride.

I’m not gonna harp too much on that last point. It does stink that the female lead, Momo, is stripped to her underwear for the sake of alien sexual “research,” but said aliens get their comeuppance before anything happens to her. It’s still not great, and it’s not the last time female characters are portrayed in their underwear, but I do promise it’s for story reasons, it takes a backseat to the onscreen action and is pretty clearly not done for the sake of fanservice. I know such things can be beyond the pale for some people, but if you think you can compartmentalize that, I recommend you watch the first episode with that caveat in mind and decide from there. You may be pleasantly surprised.

DanDaDan is effectively two stories at once; on one side, we have Momo and the boy, Okarun (a nickname Momo devised for him to preserve her own sanity), gaining wacky supernatural powers in order to fight back these occult threats and regain what was stolen from Okarun from his first encounter with the unexpected (IYKYK). Because these threats can come out of nowhere, their daily high school lives can completely pop off without warning. On the other side, we have quieter slice-of-life tension as Momo and Okarun get to know (and frequently misunderstand) each other and realize they are completely and hopelessly head-over-heels for one another.

Surprise, motherfucker: DanDaDan is a romcom.

Yukinobu Tatsu, formerly an assistant on the first saga of Chainsaw Man, long struggled to get his own work serialized. At his editor’s urging, he read something like a hundred manga for inspiration, including several shoujo romance series. That research shows through in DanDaDan; although the bonkers action sequences and off-the-wall monster designs are what draw in readers and viewers alike, what’s kept this many people along for the ride is the beating heart just barely under the surface in the form of the romantic tension between Momo and Okarun. It’s easy to write this off as some “lonely nerd gets the cute gyaru just by being a Nice Guy” wish fulfillment, but that’s not really the case here; Okarun was a weird little twerp right from the jump. Similarly to Kyotaro in the aforementioned Dangers in My Heart, Okarun believes early on that he’s nowhere near Momo’s league, completely unaware that she quickly grows to actually like having him around, so he puts in the effort to become a more well-rounded person so that he can be confident enough to be seen next to her. He also just wants Momo to think he’s cool, and she thinks that’s adorable. And she’s right! These two are cute as fuck together.

So you come for the wild action and stay for the tremendous character dynamics. It should go without saying that Science SARU nailed all of the above, but I’m gonna say it anyway. Reading the Manga+ comments on each chapter as I read through the manga, readers were begging a top-flight battle shonen studio like MAPPA or WIT to pick up the series, and I think these fans got more than they bargained for. Masaaki Yuasa hasn’t been in charge of a series at the studio since Eizouken, or anything they’ve put out since Inu-Oh, but his influence is all over their recent works, including last year’s fellow top-three series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. It’s beyond impressive how, much like Scott Pilgrim, this series manages to maintain the source material’s art style while still looking very much like a Science SARU anime. Everyone is bouncy and malleable as their moods dictate, line weights are wildly varied, and action animation is kinetic and unpredictable. Each fight with an alien or cryptid is awash in eye-searing color or eerie greyscale. The music is a boatload of fun as well; even putting aside the Creepy Nuts OP (banger after banger after banger from those dudes) and Zutomayo ED, regular proceedings are punctuated by a wildly varied score, from funk to folk to an insane chase scene set to an electronic mashup of the “William Tell Overture” and the can-can. Everything about DanDaDan keeps you guessing.

I was looking forward to DanDaDan enough that I went to the theatrical premiere of the first three episodes and was sufficiently blown away. If you’ve seen the show, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that it looks and sounds incredible in a cinema setting. I left the theater positively buzzing, telling anyone who’d listen that they had no idea what was coming, but even knowing the entire story, I wasn’t prepared for more of what was to come. The literal next episode after what I’d already seen in the theater had one of the most bonkers action setpieces I’ve seen since Gurren Lagann, and just three episodes later an unbelievable emotional gut punch, prior knowledge of the manga be damned. Every single aspect of DanDaDan as an anime was given the same level of love and care that Tatsu put into his own work. It’s one thing for an anime adaptation to be faithful to its source material, and another entirely for it to elevate and transform it. DanDaDan somehow does both.

If there’s anything that held this back from being the anime of the year, it’s that this season kind of just… ends. With the 12-episode runtime that was given to the debut season, DanDaDan ends its first run right after the beginning of the manga’s next arc, which feels bizarre. There’s no resolution, but there’s no real cliffhanger here either. Which I kind of get, the story is driven by a constant forward momentum, but a little warning that the season was ending would’ve been nice. It’s only a six month break until the show comes back, but judged on its own, the way this season ended left me feeling a bit cold and the season itself feeling incomplete. Even shows that have year-long breaks between cours rather than seasons tend to put some kind of cap on each individual run, but DanDaDan just kinda left the toilet unflushed, and next to it a Post-It note promising to come back later. For something this lovingly crafted, that seems like a bizarre oversight.

That was hardly enough to temper my enjoyment though. Anything this well-made is deserving of the attention and success it’s attained, but to have this story, with these characters and this level of bonkers action made this well, is just an embarrassment of riches. And God help me, I’m shamelessly greedy. July can’t come fast enough. I need all of it.

1. Delicious in Dungeon

At the end of its run midway through the year, I declared Dungeon Meshi the best anime of the year up to that point and that I’d be impressed if anything would manage to overtake it. Though the other two entries in my top three made extremely strong cases, nothing else quite hit the spot and nourished the soul quite like Dungeon Meshi.

Barely a year removed from one of 2022’s best anime, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Studio Trigger kicked off 2024 with another Netflix original, this time with its first proper manga adaptation since the studio split from Gainax a decade prior. It seemed an odd fit at first to have a studio known for wacky, hyperkinetic action productions like Kill la Kill and Promare to adapt this quirky fantasy dungeon manga, but hey, they also did Little Witch Academia. It turned out to be an odd fit, but in the best way: Dungeon Meshi is pretty offbeat as it is, so for it to get picked up by one of the more oddball prestige studios ended up making a tasty stew.

I struggled to elaborate on what makes this show so good after each of its cours, and six months later I remain a little lost for words. It’s an exceptional story adapted exceptionally well. Between the characters, the story, the setting, the emotional stakes, the comedy, the highs and lows, they nailed it all. Trigger just gets it. Even when characters go off-model for the sake of an intentional animation quirk, it still has that inimitable Trigger charm to it. It sounds just as good as it looks, too: The orchestral score highlights the quieter, sillier moments just as well as the tenser action setpieces, the foley work behind the dungeon’s bizarre and varied flora and fauna is immaculate, and the cast is perfect in both Japanese and English (I rarely ever say so but seriously, shout out to the dub).

I’m just as sick of saying “this show speaks for itself” when I have trouble finding the words as you probably are of reading it, but I have little else to add here. I’ve written plenty already. Just go watch it. This is already one of my favorite manga ever, and by the time the series wraps up at the end of its second season, it will easily end up as one of my favorite anime ever.

#anime reviews #blue box #girls band cry #frieren #a sign of affection #the apothecary diaries #bang brave bang bravern #the dangers in my heart #oshi no ko #dandadan #dungeon meshi

101 notes · View notes

rainbowsillz · 1 year ago

Text

Their voicelines about you.

FT. Riddle, Leona, Azul, Kalim, Vil, Idia and Malleus. + Rollo.

Synopsis: The boys sharing their comments regarding with you, some can be sarcastic, otherwise it's cool ♪

Warnings: None!! Wholesomeness overload <33

꒰ ꕤ ꒱ ─── Riddle Rosehearts

— About you?

“...A question to me? Are you asking to how I think about Yuu? My first impression of them? Well, they are hardly polite if I had to say, with them colliding against a housewarden that is. Yes, I am referring to when they tumbled on me during the beginning of this year. It was admittedly too much. They are a handful to manage. And keen, no doubt about it.”

꒰ ꕤ ꒱ ─── Leona Kingscholar

— About you?

“Oi, what's this? An interview about that herbivore? Did they pay money to you for this? Are they brave for me? I guess? Or moronic since normally no one would be able to handle overblots. It hurts my ego every time I wonder how I lose to them. If that lizard gets beat up like the rest of us, I will be grateful. I can't wait for that day— so I can sneer at him.”

꒰ ꕤ ꒱ ─── Azul Ashengrotto

— About you?

“About them? I fail to understand the point of this topic. They are incisive, hilarious and tactful. Outsmarting others was one thing but me? Me? As much as I dislike to speak this out, they are doing nicely being a prefect on our school grounds... Oh my? You don't believe in me? I am genuine. I haven't scar anyone, have I? You have my word at least.”

꒰ ꕤ ꒱ ─── Kalim AI-Asim

— About you?

“I have been wanting to tell you that! They are carefree, unique, a person you can rely on. Night Raven College wouldn't be the same without them. Please, tell them how much I care for their happiness. Yuu is an honest friend, and them being magicless doesn't change anything. We should look up to them even! Strive to be willing to confess we are flawed.”

꒰ ꕤ ꒱ ─── Vil Schoenheit

— About you?

“Curiosity? What was it that you stated? The supervisor for Ramshackle dormitory? They are skilled in encouragement, diligence, unluckily due to being appointed by the headmaster without proving if they deserve their status beforehand. Some people gossip about them. Ah, do not worry about it, I squashed any complaints they have to that already.”

꒰ ꕤ ꒱ ─── Idia Shroud

— About you?

“They are like the main characters of a shonen manga. C-could they be? Because the dorm leaders like them, some just wouldn't reveal they do. I have the data from Ortho to confirm my observations. I steer clear from them mostly though, they always are around with extroverts.. I prefer my room to them. Are we finished yet? I'm — leaving so bye...”

꒰ ꕤ ꒱ ─── Malleus Draconia

— About you?

“My treasure? An intriguing idea. They are fearless, doesn't mind my ramblings about gargoyles. I was invited by them, it made my heart filled with anticipation and I am rather fond of their remarks. If I am any more selfish I would wish to cage them up inside a tower so that I can preserve them forever. Alas, it's too cruel for them, isn't it? I suppose.”

꒰ ꕤ ꒱ ─── Rollo Flamme

— About you?

“Their decision was unsavory, why must it be Draconia? And what does he have that I do not? It plaques me how obstinate that clueless sheep is. Magic users are notorious, insidious, when will they learn? If only they agree to let me whisk them away from that concept. For I, Rollo Flamme, would not treat them as their Headmaster Crowley does.”

598 notes · View notes

genericpuff · 7 months ago

Text

Webtoons Is Making Moves - So Should You.

We all saw it coming ages ago and now it's finally here. There's no more beating around the bush or doubting if anyone is "reading into it too much", Webtoons' use of AI in its more recent webtoons is not an accident, not an oversight, but by design, it always has been. And I guaran-fucking-tee you that the work that already exists on the platform won't be safe from Webtoons' upcoming AI integration through scraping and data mining. Sure, they can say they're not gonna replace human creators, but that doesn't change the fact that AI tools, in their current form, can't feasibly exist without stealing from pre-existing content.

Plus, as someone who's tested their AI coloring tools specifically... they're a long, LONG way away from actually being useful. Like, good luck using them for any comic style that isn't Korean manwha featuring predominantly white characters with small heads and comically long legs. And if they do manage to get their AI tools to incorporate more art styles and wider ranges of character identities... again, what do you think it's been trained on?

Also, as an added bit that I found very funny:

Um, I'm sorry, what fucking year is it? Because platforms like WT and Tapas have both been saying this for years but we're obviously seeing them backpedal on that now with the implementation of in-house publishing programs like Unscrolled which have reinvented the wheel of taking digital webtoons and going gasp physical! It's almost like the platform has learned that there's no sustainable profit to be had in digital comics alone without the help of supplementary streams of income and is now trying to act like they've invented physical book publishing!

"The future of comic publishing, including manga, will be digital"??? My brother in christ, Shonen Jump has been exclusively digital since 2012! What rock have the WT's staff been living under that they're trying to sell digital comics as the "future" to North Americans as if we haven't already been living in that future for over ten years now?? We've had an entire generation of children raised on that same digital media since then! This isn't the selling point you think it is LMAO If anything, the digital media market here in NA is dying thanks to the enshittification of digital content platorms like Netflix, Disney+, and mainstream social media platforms! That "future" is not only already both the past and present, but is swiftly on its way out! Pack it up and go home, you missed the bus!

Literally so much of WT's IPO pitch is just a deadass grift full of corporate buzzwords and empty promises. They're trying so hard to convince people that their business model is infinitely profitable... but if it were, why do they need the public's money? And where are all those profits for the creators who are being exploited day after day to fill their platform with content? Why are so many creators still struggling to pay their bills if the company has this much potential for profit?

Ultimately even their promised AI tools don't ensure profit, they ensure cutting expenses. The extra money they hope to make isn't gonna come from their content generating income, it's gonna come from normal people forking over their money in the hopes that it'll be turned around, and from Webtoons cheapening the medium even further until it's nothing but conveyer belt gruel. Sure, "making more than you spend" is the base definition of "profit", but can we really call it that when it's through the means of gutting features, retiring support programs, letting go editing staff, and limiting resources for their own hired freelancers who are the only reason they even have content to begin with? That's not sustainable profit or growth, that's fighting the tide which can and will carry them away at any moment.

I'm low key calling it now, a year or two from today we're gonna be seeing massive lawsuits and calls to action from the people who invested their money into WT and subsequently lost it into the black hole that is WT's "business model". This is a company that's been operating in the red for years, what about becoming an IPO is gonna make them "profitable"? Let alone profitable enough to pay back their investors in the spades they're expecting? The platform and its app are already shit and they're about to become even worse, we are literally watching this company circle the drain in the modern day's ever-ongoing race to the bottom, enshittification in motion, but they're trying to convince us all the same that they're "innovating".

Webtoons doesn't want to invest in its creators. We as creators need to stop investing in them.

#fuck webtoons #who wants to bet that WT will either start gatekeeping its creator features behind paywalls #or start selling your creator data - including your image assets that you submit to the site - to make their AI integrations “profitable”#call me crazy but this is 2024 #webtoon critical #this also low key proves my theories that WT was simply outsourcing NA creators for pennies #all so they could build their market and then flood it with their own home turf content #and shove out the NA creators whose backs and labor and blood they built that market on

130 notes · View notes

imaginarylungfish · 1 year ago

Text

we don't want izuku to be quirkless in the end blah blah blah, yeah i know. same.... but also, it could be cool.

imagine he still becomes a great hero, but quirkless? he's the first quirkless hero? and maybe that message is not one for mha to tackle, but hear me out:

what if his arc is him wanting so badly to have a quirk, getting one, learning that being a hero is inherent to himself and not attached to his quirk/abilities, giving his quirk up, AND still being a great hero? wouldn't that be awesome?!

i think that type of character trajectory is unique and interesting in and of itself. but i also know my personal experiences in life contribute to why i think it's cool. i became sick and chronically ill in my late-teens/early-twenties. i lost my health. over the past 5 years, i've regained a lot of it, but i'm not 100% better (and most likely will never be). i've had to go through the arduous process of accepting my physical limits through many iterations of functionality yet learning when i was actually being held back by mental limits/fears and how to push past those.

i relate to izuku's character on many levels: wanting so badly to have something i don't, trying so hard despite not having that thing, and getting that thing you wished so badly for seemingly out of the blue (for me, it was a medication that drastically improved my health). i also relate to his self-destructiveness in name of a goal and sense of (sometimes unwanted) martyrdom.

but i was always a little disappointed throughout the series in the fact that izuku's big problem at the beginning was just seemingly resolved by him getting his quirk from all might. does he view his quirkless self as worthy as his OFA self? we don't know. (do i view my sick self as worthy as my "healthy" self? i don't know.)

so, i just think, if izuku loses his quirk, there is more room for growth for him. in other words, he becomes more interesting. and i get it, this is a shonen manga, it's ending soon, and it's supposed to have an inspiring message (i assume). so maybe it ending with him being quirkless is not something that belongs in this category of manga/anime. but if any series can break the mold, isn't it mha?

183 notes · View notes

nieves-de-sugui · 2 years ago

Text

A Quick History of BL

As someone who wrote a thesis on this very subject a few years ago, here is the short version of how BL has evolved throughout the years. For the new comers ❤

a minute of silence for the original form of this post that tumblr decied to not save right after I saved it

I am going to go with a chronological approach. Unfortunately, I cannot put everything in one post so if there’s any questions about this or that aspect of the history of BL that you want to know and it’s not talked about here, you are welcome to ask me directly :)

Context and influences - Japan in the 60′s

Before the US forced Japan to open its borders to the outside world in the 1800s, homosexual practices were common place between budist monks, samurais and kabuki actors. During the Edo period (1600s to 1800s) there was a very rich amount of poetry, art, books (such as Nanshoku Okagami (The Great Mirror of Male Love) by Ihara Saikaku) and codes of conduct about how to have a good master/aprentice relationship, kinda like the greeks if you know what I mean. However, with the arrival of western influences, in order to become a more “civilized” country, it was all put in the closet.

Yet, in the 60′s Japan started to pick it up again through literature about young androginous beautiful boys (aka bishounen). On one hand, in 1961, the novel Koibitotachi no Mori (A Lover’s Forest) by Mari Mori was published. It tells the story of a young and beautiful 19 year old worker and a half french half japanese aristocrat, and their tragic romance. On the other hand, Taruho Inagaki wrote Shounen ai no Bigaku (The esthetics of boy-love), an essay on aesthetic eroticism (of which he wrote a lot of). All this was know as Tanbi (lit. aesthetic) literature. It generally refered to literature with implied homosexuality and homoeroticism such as works by Oscar Wilde, Jean Cocteau, etc. And of course, Mori and Inagaki.

In chinese tanbi is read as danmei (term used to refer to BL novels in china today, ie: The Untamed it’s all connected friends).

From the birth of Shonen Ai to Yaoi - 70′s to the late 80′s

Around the beginning of the 70′s, shoujo was being revolutionized by the Year 24 Group, a generation of women manga authors (mangaka) who started to explore new themes. Among them, their interest in tanbi gave birth to a new subgenre: Shounen ai.

Their most known manga were:

Kaze to Ki no Uta (The Ballad of the Wind and Trees) by Keiko Takemiya, and Toma no Shinzo (The Heart of Thomas) by Moto Hagio

Their stories are characterized by having suffering eurpoean bishounen in boarding schools, living an idealized perfect love (meaning passionate) that, despite the tragic end of one of them, lives forever in the other.

As this genre starts getting popular, more and more fans of these stories start making their own self published manga, aka doujinshi, of the genre. It is around this time that the term Yaoi is coined. Meaning “YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi” (no climax, no fall, no meaning). Basically PWP fanfiction, for the most part. Doujinshis could be considered an equivalent of fanfiction in manga form. It is also here that the term Fujoshi (aka Rotten Girl, for liking rotten things) starts being used to refer to women readers of yaoi.

With this rise in popularity come the start of the commercialization of the genre. Which meant the publication of magazines dedicated solely to yaoi/shonen ai/BL. The most popular yaoi manga magazine at the time was June. The common trait of their stories being the therapeutic power of the love between the mains. The traumatized character would heal throught this newfound love.

Most of the stories at this time happened in the West (Europe or the States) as the exploration of these dark themes intertwined with homosexual romance and homoeroticism still feel safer to explore as a foreign concept. One example would be Banana Fish (1985).

Commercialization and Yaoi Ronso - 90′s

As more publishing houses pick the genre up, the term Boys Love is used to include every type of manga about homosexuality made for women.

The increasing amount of BL series sees a changes in its themes:

the start of the “gay for you” trope where one mantains their heterosexuality despite being in a homsexual relationship,

the uke/seme dynamic (mirroring hetero realtionships) also relating to physical appearence (one being more feminine, the other being more masculine),

the use of rape as an act love (sexual violence has always been present but here it becomes a staple),

anal sex as the only type of sex,

older and more masculine men start to appear

they now happen in Japan

Good examples of the presence of these themes in manga are Gravitation (1996) or Yatteranneeze (1995).

However in 1992, Masaki Sato (a gay activist/drag queen) wrote a letter in a small scale feminist magazine attacking yaoi and pointing out how it “represented a kind of misappropriation or distortion of gay life that impacted negatively upon Japanese gay men”. The female readers of yaoi responded, defending the genre as a means to escape gender roles and explore sexual themes that was never meant to represent the realities of gay men. This is know as the Yaoi Ronso (Yaoi Debates).

The debate ended with both sides understanding more of each other, with mangakas starting to include queer views in their works. It also started the academic reasearch of BL.

Yet, it is a debate that has been restarted more than once, as it is still relevant despite the evolution of the genre.

more on this on another post

Globalization and coining of BL - 2000′s

By the beginning of the 2000s BL is being sold all over the world (like all manga), and has become a stable industry. We could say it has finally become it’s own genre.

Some of the most well known manga series, to us (in the west), of the time are:

Junjou Romantica 2002 Koi Suru Boukun 2004 Love Pistols 2004 Haru wo Daiteita 1999

all of these have anime adaptations for the curious ones

We also start seeing short anime adaptations or special episodes of the most popular series, with questionable themes, such as: adoptive father x adoptive son (Papa to Kiss in the Dark 2005), father x son’s friend (Kirepapa 2008), etc...

However the themes remain more or less the same. Junjou Romantica’s love story starts with a non-con sex scene by the older one (masc, seme) to the younger one (more feminine, uke) addressed years later in the manga btw. Koi Suru Boukun’s love story is triggered by aphrodisiacs and rape. They’re still very present in the stories but slowly going away. A mangaka that represents this era could be Natsume Isaku (Candy Color Paradox 2010).

Change is slow in Japan. Even though the voices of LGBT+ people started to be taken into account in the genre it is not until later that we see it reflect in the mangas themselves. However, we can already see the start of this in Doukyusei (Classmates) (2006) by Asumiko Nakamura. Also Kinou Nani Tabeta? (2007) which is actually part of a more mature genre: Seinen.

It is my personal (subjective) theory that the BL of this era was the one that got popular outside of Japan, which is why we see lots of references to the themes, tropes and dynamics of this time in today’s BL series.

The LGBTzation of BL and the rise of webtoons - 2010′s to 2020′s

Slowly but surely LGBT characters and themes enter the scene of BL. Existing simultaneously with the previous tropes and themes, we start seeing a shift in these stories. We now see:

characters that identify as gay or some type of queer

discussions about homophobia

more mature themes about life and romance

At the same time as we get the usual love stories with the usual themes, a new trend starts to take over. And we get simultaneously, cute, sometimes questionable but light love stories:

Love Stage 2010 Ashita wa Docchi da! 2011 Kieta Hatsukoi 2019

More profound stories and darker or more complex themes:

Blue Sky Complex 2013 Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai 2011 (mafias) Given 2013 (suicide) Hidamari ga Kikoeru 2013 (deafness)

And others that adress the queer experience in a more mature way (which might actually fall into the Seinen genre)

Itoshi no Nekokke 2010 (slice of life, queer characters) Smells like Green Spirit 2011 (two ways to deal with a homphobic society) Strange 2014 (relationships between men) Shimanami Tasogare 2015 (an LGBT group helps a closeted gay) Old Fashioned Cupcake 2019 (you know this one 😉) Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu 2020 (the end of the world)

As queer stories are explored, BL mangakas and mangakas from other genres start to consider more stories about queer people such as the Josei Genderless Danshi ni Aisaretemasu (My Androgynous Boyfriend) (2018) by Tamekou, or the Shoujo Goukon ni Itarra Onna ga Inakatta Hanashi (The story of when I went to a mixer and there were no women) (2021) by Nana Aokawa.

Still, we can see two realities live side by side. Doukyuusei gets adapted into an impactful animated movie in 2016, meanwhile Banana Fish gets an anime adaptation that keeps the homoeroticism but not the homosexuality.

For those who might be interested. Here are some of the authors that represent the first half of this era, where they start to include newer points of view:

Scarlet Beriko, HAYAKAWA Nojiko, KURAHASHI Tomo, OGERETSU Tanaka, Harada, KII Kanna (Stranger by the Sea), etc...

And authors that while keeping classical themes break the stereotypes in a subtle manner:

CTK, ZAKK, Jyanome, Cocomi, Hidebu Takahashi, SUZUMARU Minta, etc...

Mangakas also no longer stick to one genre only. They explore whichever of them they want, from BL to Seinen to others.

ie: Tamekou,

or Asumiko Nakamura

The curious case of Webtoons

With the digitalization of mangas, throught Renta and Lehzin, it has become easier (and more expensive) to access these stories. Korea makes and appearence with their webtoons. Through the lack of piracy protections and the majority of them being digital, manhwa (korean webtoons) sees a rise in popularity. Through the digital medium the influencee can be the influencer.

However, like many other East Asian countries they have consumed BL, without hearing about the conversations about BL. So they end up mantaining the older themes and stereotypes that newer BL is trying to leave behind. Therefore, we end up with a mix of old and new, ie:

Killing Stalking 2016 Cherry Blossoms After Winter 2017 Painter of The Night 2019

Additionally, it is also thanks to the easy access to internet that Omegaverse, with its higher dramatic stakes (that parallel hetero dynamics), enters the mangasphere in 2016. It has grown in popularity ever since.

With the Thai BL Boom of 2020, Japan rediscovers its own BL market and starts investing in it more. Which is why we get live action adaptations of BL manga that was popular years ago (Candy Color Paradox was a manga from 2010), the more recent ones (The End of the World With You) or new anime adaptations (Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai in 2020).

more on this in my japanese live action BL post

What has it become now? is it BL? ML? or Seinen? Or is it all just gay manga?

It is clear that Shoujo manga (with BL, Josei and Seinen) is exploring queer themes such as gender and sexuality more and more. Japan is interested in this conversation, not only in manga (Genderless fashion). Which brings up the current question in BL studies: Does it make sense to keep these categories?

As a response to BL, ML (Male Love), which is made by gay men for gay men, started happening (around the 70s too). And Bara (gay manga porn) in response to Yaoi. However both gay men and women read BL and ML. We also see other themes being explored through BL, such as friendship (in BL Metamorphose), food (in Kinou Nani Tabeta), male relationships of all kinds (in Strange), and different queer views on life and its challenges (in Shimanami Tasogare). More and more what is LGBT and what is BL is merging, the line is blurred.

Conclusion

BL has been in my life for longer than it hasn't. It is through shoujo and BL that I have come to understand people and romance.

It is flawed, like everything else this life, but it's flourishing in many ways.

The genre feels old and new at the same time.

We can still find shounen ai/tanbi elements in more modern manga (All About J). Or the gay for you in a new light (Itoshi no Nekkoke). Or more educational manga on queer issues (My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame). BL has around 50 years of existence but it is also being born anew in Thailand and Korea.

BL manga will continue to evolve in acordance to Japanese tastes, as it is still a local market. Hopefully the korean webtoons that get popular will be the more daring ones in their themes. Who knows where it will go from here? The only thing we know for sure is that it will continue to change. Isn't it exciting?

A post on the evolution of live action BL in Japan is coming, to complement this post. As well as a more detailed explanation of the Yaoi Debates and gay manga.

#history of bl #bl post series #I feel like I left too much stuff out #I hope it makes sense #honestly I would really recommend reading some of those manga #they're super interesting #soon it'll be 20 years since I started reading BL #my gosh #if theres anything anyone wants to know more about #I'd love to write more :)#yaoi manga #bl manga

740 notes · View notes

bonesdontmelt · 3 months ago

Text

The world building in Toriko is legitimately so good, and the power crawl is I kid you not probably the best I have ever seen in a shonen and these are SO related guys

Like Toriko shows up and you know he and the others are the Four Heavenly Kings and you THINK this means they're the Most Powerful Dudes Ever right but turns out that, no, they're literally just the IGO darlings because they're a bunch of orphans raised in the public eye and they ARE powerful, regular people understand that, but people don't get that they're STILL the IGO darlings -- at the beginning of the show none of them would stand a chance against Ichiryu or any of the other higher ups.

They're still very much seen as Babies and this is driven in when they reveal OHOHO there's a whole gourmet world out there that most people can't survive five seconds in--and guess what the 4 heavenly kings are NOT among the number who can. Gives them a goal, something to work towards.

ALSO usually the worst thing to do in a fantasy world is start throwing arbitrary power levels on things (7 deadly sins, DBZ I am looking at YOU) but Toriko does it and it works because they give a basic, easy meaning for each unit (capture level 1 means it would take 10 normal people to get it or something) and then it sticks to that (I think the highest we ever see is the Final Boss of the manga with a capture level of 30,000 which is a ton but sure is evocative)

And this isn't just done with the fighter people either! Komatsu gets this just as much, and it's probably one of my favorite world building things because they use our knowledge of the real world against us as readers to achieve it. Komatsu is introduced as a cook in a five star restaurant and obviously we're like "aha so he's a very good chef" only to reveal several arcs in that, in this food-focused world, the cap is actually ten stars and Komatsu is actually a solidly mid ranked chef at the start.

There are so many more things because the worldbuilding of Toriko is in turns mind-blowingly brilliant and absolutely unhinged and I love that but basically they do an amazing job managing the audience's expectations by leveraging our knowledge of the real world and tropes commonly used in similar media to set up and then pulling the rug out from under us and I love it.

#i love this show so much #i could talk about it for YEARS #look long shonen is my JAM I am so very aware of how bad the power crawls can be #i love them anyway of course #but THIS #look me in the eyes and let me assume I know whats happening #laugh at me when I fall on my ass as you pull that rug #toriko #toriko rewatch #worldbuilding #bones rant #please everyone watch this show

61 notes · View notes

surgepricing · 5 months ago

Text

Why RWBY can't come back

The last news we got of RWBY was all the way back in July, when it was acquired by VIZ Media.

This much serves as a hard letdown for anyone who was hoping Dillon Goo and his studio could acquire the property, as VIZ Media is owned by freaking Shueisha, aka the guys who run Shonen Jump. It is unlikely to be sold back to a smaller studio.

VIZ Media buying it was a baffling choice to begin with, as RWBY isn't nearly as eternally-profitable as some of the other ventures it's been focusing on, such as Bleach and animating its Thousand Year Blood War arc. I suppose RWBY doesn't make for an ill fit when considering that it can simply languish on a shelf generating endless merch sales at a slow but steady pace over the years--VIZ Media is in charge of many, many series, and all of its biggest properties are surrounded by a haze of particle-sized smaller properties whose only real purpose is to add to the cumulative money flow in towards the studio.

But it does mean that Volume 10 of RWBY, in sharp contrast to what diehards crowed about when the acquisition was announced, is almost certainly not coming. VIZ Media's main practice is taking control of works that start in serialization form, usually manga, and adapting them, not generating whole new content. If VIZ Media even did feel like continuing the RWBY Saga, it would depend on:

other writers being welcomed into the room, because VIZ Media is a large corporation and is very unlikely to adhere to any fandomized purist idea that only Miles and Kerry should write for it and be credited with it,

other writers actually wanting to be associated with a series that is so badly stigmatized on the internet now. If you're Rooster Teeth, it won't be hard, you can pick from a pool of fans who will sell their souls to do so (and who cares about any quality), but VIZ wouldn't even glance in the direction of a tactic like that.

And if so, there's no real telling what it would look like, which is the axe coming down for the remaining RWBY fanbase, who are volatile and hostile and protective of what they think RWBY should be (i.e., Miles and Kerry). If VIZ Media is stupid, they'll plow ahead with this anyway, generating almost no profit because RWBY's tiny remaining fandom won't associate with it and RWBY's very large ex-fandom also isn't interested in it, thus falling into that Nintendo-style hole of making something no one asked for and then wondering why it didn't sell.

It would be much more in line with VIZ' profit-lined goals to maximize the revenue trickling into RWBY with another spinoff series like Ice Queendom or the manga series, which won't actually advance the story forward but will sate people expecting a Volume 10 at some point and merely needing any form of content to assure themselves it's inevitably coming.

Unfortunately, that means RWBY as a rebooted series with actual writers is also probably off the table, because VIZ Media are unlikely to do something they view as risky even if they think profit could be generated from it; the safer option is the trickle rather than hoping to strike a renewed spirit in fans.

And so RWBY is very likely to have the ultimate fate that I had naively thought we'd avoided back in May: spinning its wheels on the shelf of anime limbo for eternity rather than rebooting or dying peacefully.

#rwby #rwde #viz media #bleach #shonen jump

75 notes · View notes

raijin-tribe · 5 months ago

Text

✦ Let's Celebrate Raijinshuu Day!

It's almost that time of year again for the second annual RAIJINSHUU DAY! A day to celebrate Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow as the amazing characters they are— as well as an unbreakable team!!

All too often, they are overlooked as fodder or nothing more than Laxus’ personal cheer squad, but they are so much more than that! Each of them are unique, strong, and loyal members of Fairy Tail, and their admiration for Laxus shouldn’t take away from the fact that they are also his closest friends.

✦ Why October 8th?

October 8th, 2008 is when Chapter 106 ('Harvest Festival') was first published in Weekly Shonen Magazine. Not only is this the chapter that officially introduce the Raijinshuu, but it also fits with the canon timeline as they were revealed a week before the Harvest Festival was set to begin. (Oct. 15th)

✦ General Participation Guidelines

There are two ways to participate. You can either submit your post to this blog or post it to your own. Just make sure to put #RaijinshuuDay in the first five tags of your post! Or feel free to @ this blog just to be safe.

There is no limit to what kind of content you can post, be it fan art, fanfiction, edits, headcanons, etc. There will never be any prompts, so be as creative as you want!

Keep in mind that this day is supposed to be about the Raijinshuu and their team dynamic, so please keep it appropriate. Anything explicitly NSFW or ship-related will NOT be reblogged.

DO NOT steal, trace, or alter anybody else’s work! Plagiarism will not be tolerated. The use of official art for color or edits is fine as long as you credit the original artist/source. (i.e. Hiro Mashima, Kyouta Shibano, etc.)

Have Fun! This event is supposed to be a lighthearted and fun way to give these characters the love and appreciation they deserve. Even if you don't participate, help support others by commenting, liking, and/or reblogging their work! It's always appreciated!

And don’t forget that late posts are always welcome! No matter how late they may be, as long as they’re tagged/submitted, they can still be featured here!

Finally, it would be super helpful if you would consider rebloging this post to help spread the word! I am truly grateful for all your support!! <3

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

The art featured on the banner comes from the FT spin-off manga, Fairy Tail Gaiden: Lightning Gods by Kyouta Shibano. And the manga collage was made by yours truly~

#fairy tail #ftevents #fairy tail events #raijinshuu #freed justine #bickslow #fairy tail evergreen #raijinshuuday #raijinshuuday2024 #admin post #raijin-tribe

55 notes · View notes

sunniedesi · 20 days ago

Text

All Future Diary Merch (Part 1)

~~A comprehensive list

Despite being a cult classic anime and manga, finding official Future Diary merchandise feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. That is, incredibly difficult to come by in a sea of redbubble and bootlegs. This is partly due to its age, but also because most merchandising is both Japanese-exclusive and released in limited quantities. For this reason, it’s quite difficult to gauge just how much merch has been created and how much of it is still available to us few fans still active to this day. So, for the sake of curation, here’s a comprehensive list of all officially licensed Future Diary merch (that we know of at least).

A little disclaimer before we begin: this list is subject to change, as I’m always making new discoveries whenever I look deeper into this rabbit hole. If anyone knows of more merchandise that isn’t included in this list, please let me know so I can update it. On the other hand, this post is going to be very dense and likely feature multiple parts due to Tumblr's photo limit, so I'll keep my descriptions very brief. If there's any relevant information related to a product, I'll link it and call it a day. (so be prepared to see a lot of links to some of my previous posts here).

With all that fluff out of the way, let’s dive in:

~ Magazine Goodies

Magazines often feature little goodies and gifts (or at least they did back in the early 2000’s), and Shonen Ace wasn’t an exception to this. According to Future Diary’s official guidebook, there were three special FD gifts included in different editions of Shonen Ace:

A supplementary manga cover (from the February 2011 issue of Shonen Ace)

A Yuno phone pouch (from the Spring 2008 issue of Ace Assault)

A comic box (from the June 2011 issue of Shonen Ace)

~ Raffle Goodies

Besides these magazine goodies, Shonen Ace also did many fairs where they would sell volumes of their popular series and raffle limited edition products. These raffles were advertised in the obis of the first four Future Diary volumes, which is where most of my product images actually come from. Once again, according to the guidebook, these products were:

An mp3 player + earphones (from Kadokawa’s Spring Comic fair 2006, featured in volume 1) I believe only 10 units exist of this piece, though I could be wrong. The ad for the raffle said that of the 300 participants, 140 would also receive a metal strap (a.k.a phone charm), though we have no pictures of what that looks like (source).

A jacket/windbreaker (from a raffle featured in volume 2). Sadly, no more information is available for this product.

A wall clock (from Kadokawa’s Spring Comic fair 2007, featured in volume 3). I also believe only 10 units exist of this piece.

The complete crossover of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory x Future Diary (also from the 2007 Spring Comic fair). Of the people who weren’t lucky enough to receive the wall clock, 190 received the crossover instead.

The meditating Yuno t-shirt (from Kadokawa’s 13th anniversary fair, featured in volume 4). Only 50 units exist of this piece. Of the people who weren’t lucky enough to receive the shirt, 200 received a signed, colored copy of the artwork from the shirt.

~ Kadokawa Extras

Besides raffles and magazine goodies, Kadokawa has made other miscellaneous products featuring Future Diary for special events:

A fan from the Kadokawa Manga Festival - Summer 2009, which happened to feature Yuno.

A Christmas Yuno x Yukki bookmark from the Kadokawa Manga Festival - Winter 2009.

A Yuno Keychain sold for Shonen Ace’s 25th anniversary.

Sakae Esuno’s crossover illustration for Kadokawa’s 30th anniversary.

~ Books

Besides the manga releases, there are other Future Diary related books, such as:

Fragments, the guidebook.

Future Diary's ecchi parody: Mosaic Keshi.

The original Future Diary sample booklet, which included just the first chapter of the manga.

The two light novels.

Bonus: despite never receiving a standalone release, I’ll mention it here: the Tantei Akechi x Future Diary crossover story.

Extra bonus: there are two clear files that were given as bonus gifts for purchasing some of the manga volumes (I don’t know where else to place this so here they are).

~ DVD/Blu-ray Bundles

The limited edition sets of each localization of Future Diary include plenty of interesting bonuses worth diving into. I’d like to note that I might be missing some information here as the contents of these bundles are a little tricky to research, though.

The complete Japanese Blu-Ray box included the following bonuses: a 16-page booklet, pilot episode, the MurMur Corner specials, the promotional TV commercials and videos, audio cast commentary for every episode, box sleeve and disk sleeves with original designs, and the CD soundtrack.

The Japanese Blu-Ray/ DVD had individual volumes (9 to be exact) which were also accompanied by limited edition bundles. These bundles included similar bonuses: an 8-page booklet, video specials and commercials, cast commentaries for their respective episodes, a box/ disk sleeve, and one of two character trading cards.

Volume 1 of the Blu-Ray/ DVD also included a mouse pad with an original design for its limited edition, while volume 6, 7 and 8 included one of the three Radio CDs for their limited edition sets. (source).

Bonus: if you bought the Volume 1 Limited Edition set from HMV, you would receive a poster of Yuno in an HMV uniform. There's also a Tsubaki version, though I'm not sure what volume that's for. If you bought it on Amazon, you would receive a special sticker set.

The German Collector’s Limited Edition: comes with the box, booklet (same one as the Japanese), memory cards of all the diary owners, pins of Yuno and Yukki and an embroidered patch with the name of the show. (Note: the French Limited Edition also contained the same booklet).

The Collector’s Limited Edition Set (UK): included a 28-page artwork booklet.

SelectaVision Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition of Future Diary: comes with the CD box, complete series and extras (total of four disks), soundtrack CD, a small container with Tsubaki’s face, 9 large postcards of the manga covers, a doble-sided poster, sticker set, trading card set, a replica of Yukki’s beanie, and a 40-page booklet. What else can I say, ole 💃

Side note: I’m disappointed that the LATAM version never had a physical release. Not only did we miss out on similar bundles, but the dub is now incredibly difficult to find since it wasn't moved over when Funimation passed to Crunchyroll. The castilian dub is also surprisingly good in comparison, which is something I don’t normally say (castilian dubs don’t have a track record of being very good, sorry).

Lastly, the US Limited Edition Box included three extras: a filler box and two Valentine's-Day-themed postcards.

That's it for part 1. Tune in next time for more merch insanity!

PS: for some reason every time I try editing my drafts for this they get posted. I had to delete the first version of this because Tumblr's playing tricks on me. So now you're getting this post earlier than expected xd.

#future diary #mirai nikki #the future diary #yuno gasai #anime #sakae esuno #manga #anime merch #future diary merch #mirai nikki merch

33 notes · View notes

angstydisaster02 · 9 months ago

Text

An analysis about why Bakudeku is one of the most inspirational relationships. (Manga spoilers)

First part : my thoughts

Tbh, I really have this impression the manga is coming to an end very soon, which breaks my heart because I don’t know what I’ll do without my daily leaks. However, I trust Horikoshi about the rest of the story and I do think he’ll make an open ending about which “ship” is canon, even if we all know that the biggest and most developed relationship in the manga is bkdk.

It would be interesting to see the “after” of this war, the hospital beds, the tears because they lost people, the relief because it’s over and the final conversation beg the ending. Knowing Horikoshi until now, never made things randomly because everyone is thinking in advance, including the conversation between Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo.

You can’t tell me the author of this manga who always did things with a smart brain will put aside such an important detail about the dynamic between his characters.

A part of me hopes we’ll have the bkdk talk at the hospital or somewhere else because there’s no way these two idiots keep living their lives as if nothing happened. I have high expectations due to the fanfics, but I’m pretty sure I’ll never be the same once the chapter with the bkdk talk comes.

Second part : the analysis feat manga panels

looking forward, it’s incredible how Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki’s relationship started in the worst way (I’m not including the childhood memories) and…Ended up being something like that.

I’m emotional when I think about everything they’ve been through, the many realizations about losing each other, the development of their relationship after an emotional scene such as Deku Vs Kacchan 2, the way they need to push each other’s up to be the best version of themselves in any situation.

It’s not a surprise if these two are mean to be canon (in a platonic or romantic to way, depends about your opinion !) and each little moment highlights this statement.

Think about it : they all learned one of few important things with the other’s presence by their side, on purpose or not. Their dynamic is something unique you can’t find in others shonen or mangas, because they have this specific bond, the one getting stronger though the years because their mistakes became a reason to improve and be a better person for this childhood friend they knew since the early days.

Izuku Midoriya needs Katsuki Bakugo like Katsuki Bakugo needs Izuku Midoriya.

You can’t take away this part of their soul, and even when people like AFO tried, they ended up paying the price by revealing how much they care about each other.

Don’t startd with the Heroees rising thing because I can write an entire novel about them, but this is another proof of how they’re made for each other. Their relationship improve though the years and it’s only the beginning, I can’t help but imagine how future bkdk will have an amazing relationship once they figured out everything and untold truths.

They’re each other’s pillars, holding the other up to do the best and watch from afar their other’s improvement.

That’s why the hospital conversation might be the peak of their relationship: the moment when they’ll both break their shield, welcoming the tears and listening how life is a fragile line on a thread.

None of them refuse to break this meaningful thread, because this is something they’ve built for years, and it’s their biggest strength (and biggest weakness like Shigaraki pulled out)

In conclusion: they’re driving me crazy and I have no regrets following their journey because it’s probably one of the best relationships I’ve seen (and I watched a lot of anime/manga, read a lot of books and they’re still superior !)

Thanks for reading my analysis because it’s one of my guilty pleasures when I’m passionate about something, especially my comfort ship ! Take care of yourself <3

97 notes · View notes

lightlessons · 3 months ago

Text

How to Read 108: A Chapter-by-Chapter Death Note Analysis

Hello everyone!! Welcome to my revived Death Note blog. I recently had the opportunity to rewatch the anime (twice) and fell back into my old obsession, so I thought I’d re-read the manga with a more critical eye and share some of my own thoughts as I go for anyone craving more meta and analysis from one of my favorite pieces of media ever.

Mainly I will concentrate myself on analyzing dialogue, narration techniques and characterization, since that’s what I mainly take note of when I consume anything, but I will also try my hand at doing some research on contextual information and artistic choices, dividing my analysis chapter by chapter. Something to keep in mind is that this analysis is fully made for people who have completed the manga in its entirety and will be riddled with spoilers for further chapters. Sometimes I will break down a chapter analysis into two parts, like in the present case.

Without further ado, let’s go!

Chapter 1: Boredom. Lilith’s Breakdown. Part 1

Key takeaways:

Themes and Parallels: Ryuk and Light

The main antagonistic forces in the story.

Themes and Parallels: Ryuk and Light

We begin our story and the very first thing we are presented with is a parallel between two worlds: The Realm of the Shinigami and our own Human world. Through the juxtaposed dialogues of our initial characters, this exposition directly links their character motivation and narrative arcs. They have a common problem: Their worlds are rotting, and every day seems like and endless, tired routine for them both.

It’s interesting to note the artistic choices to depict this sense of forlornness. We have to keep in mind that Death Note is a Shonen and aimed at young boys from ages 12 to 18, so what better scenario to mirror a dour fictional realm than a packed middle of the day class where all kids wear the same uniform and very few, in any, seem to have any interest on what’s going on in front of them. If you look very closely to all the students in this picture, none of them are actually looking towards whoever is giving this lecture, in the same way that Shinigami are not interested in doing their task.

Light and Ryuk are both non-conformists in their respective realities. Creatures who stand out from the crowd and who, by their acute awareness of what’s wrong in their world, feel boredom more deeply and painfully than the rest. Ryuk is not a shining being of intelligence like Light is, but we will see throughout the story that he’s a pretty self-aware and insightful Shinigami, when compared to every other that we meet.

Ryuk as a choric narrator

In classical Japanese Noh Theater, there is a figure called the jiutai (地謡), sitting at the outskirts of the main plot happening on center stage, they serve as the chorus that helps narrate parts of the story, reveal inner thoughts and emotions of characters, and offer reflections of the unfolding events, much like the classical Chorus in a Greek Tragedy. They, however, do not affect the narrative and serve more as a mediating connection between play and audience.

Although Ryuk’s role is certainly not confined to a mere commentator, seeing as he is the one who instigates the main narrative (and eventually ends it), Ryuk’s status of not only a God, but an apathetic one who is barely physically or emotionally affected by the events of the story, gives him a role above and separate from any of the other characters’.

Clad in skin-tight dark bodysuit meant to highlight his monstruous, lifeless appearance, gothic accessories consisting on spikes, chains and skulls, black, tattered wings and feather accents, Ryuk immediately gives the appearance of a preternatural, terrible bird of death. However, the face paint-like make-up, unmovable grin and feathers reminiscent of a medieval suit also give the impression of a clown or a jester, which Obata, Death Note’s artist, will expertly use to his advantage depending on the role Ryuk will take on at each present moment.

This is Ryuk’s dual nature in the narrative: he is there as an ironic chorus, laughing at every tragedy and obstacle the characters and the world faces, providing comic relief, and breaking the tension in a rather grim and suspenseful story, but he is also there as the Grim Reaper, a constant reminder of the destiny that looms over every character, and specially our main character, for as he first states it:

Ryuk may not have chosen Light, and Light is anything but a man without agency, and yet the series often makes you question how much of Light’s fate was set in stone since the start (We will analyze this tension between chance and destiny through the story) Ryuk, the dark figure literally hovering over Light during his whole time as Kira, emotionally detached from the human drama around him, will often be used to remind us of the irony of this whole story, as well as of the inevitability of death every human has to face.

Which brings me to my next point.

The Antagonistic Forces: L and Light.

There are few instances in Death Note where an extradiegetic narrator appears in the story, so let’s examine this first moment. Immediately after the opening scene in the Shinigami world, when Ryuk makes the first disruption that sets forward the story’s events, the following narrative is introduced as an all-out battle between two chosen people.

Now, with our understanding of what befalls one half of this pair, we will examine how well this premise holds as the story unfolds. For now, however, the narrative presents itself as a man-versus-man conflict between the 選ばれし者 (The Two Chosen Ones), and yet again we are compelled to question the role of fate's hand in shaping their paths.

We could interpret 選ばれし者 in two ways: one tells me that Light and L are two extraordinary individuals whose abilities led them through a certain path since the moment Ryuk dropped the Death Note. However, the use of the word “chosen” invites deeper questions. Chosen by whom? Was their all-out battle an inevitable consequence of their existence—fated from the start? Does a cosmic force guide the events of this world, or were they chosen specifically for this conflict? Alternatively, does the concept of a “Chosen One” imply that they would have remained special, even if the notebook had never entered their lives?

I did some research both online and with Japanese-speaking friends and the consensus seems to be that the phrase carries a dual interpretation to it, suggesting both fate and merit when used in literature. At the same time, the archaic grammar し in 選ばれし gives the phrase a poetic or elevated tone, which strongly suggests a higher, almost divine selection to a first-time reader.

That external narration, and this first panel are all the hints we have about the other half of the "two chosen people" in this first chapter. A man working from the shadows gathering information from the world’s largest international police organization, his identity hidden even from us as readers by obscuring his eyes, exhibiting a weird-ass floor computer set-up for some reason. He’s lean, he’s black-haired. He’s mysterious. As a first impression, you’d probably expect a cool Byronic type of anti-hero. Brooding yet charming, dark and isolated yet wretchedly attractive, with a troubled past, but good intentions at heart. Well! In the following chapters we will see how both L and Light continue to fulfill or challenge our expectations and examine how well L fits the shoes of our protagonist’s antagonist force.

Next up! Chapter 1: Boredom. Lilith’s Breakdown. Part 2

3. Establishing the protagonist:

Light and expectations

Light’s resignation

Light’s cognitive dissonance

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your own thoughts.

#death note #death note meta #ryuk #l lawliet #death note manga #my meta

26 notes · View notes

markbandanawitts · 5 months ago

Text

A Full English Translation of Mine Yoshizaki’s 47 Question QnA 🔥🔥

— Near the end of the 11.5 Guidebook, Yoshizaki sat down for an exclusive interview with Shonen Ace (The magazine that serialized Keroro Gunso), where he answered some personalized questions about himself

I’ve translated all of them along with giving some context to certain media references in this w attached links. he’s talks exactly how you’d expect lmao

Q1: Yoshizaki-sensei, people often seem to think you’re a woman.

I guess it’s because my name reads as “Mine.” When I chose it, I only had the image of Ryuta Mine in my head. But judging by Keroro’s behavior, I think it’s pretty clear I’m not a woman (laugh)

Q2: What was the first manga you bought?

I had my uncle buy me one copy each of Kiteretsu Encyclopedia and Obake Q-Taro. I used to borrow Doraemon from a rental bookstore.

Q3: Do you still have them?

Nah, even if I did, they’d be unreadable by now. I reread them so much they fell apart.

Q4: Do you have a favorite place to read?

I haven’t been reading too much lately, but I love to in a quiet, cozy café.

Q5: Has anything recently made you feel like you’ve been tricked?

Actually, yeah. Not too long ago, a friend took me on a small trip. We hopped on the highway and drove quite a bit, and I had no idea why we were going where we were; but it was fun, so I didn’t think much of it. Later, when I got home and watched the episode of Kamen Rider Hibiki that I’d recorded that morning, I realized the episode was filmed in the exact spot we had visited! My friend hadn’t said a word! It caught me completely off guard, but honestly, it kind of made me pretty happy too.

Q6: Is there a character you look up to?

Oh, definitely Saeki-san (laugh)

Q7: Keroro’s gotten really popular. Anything about that make you happy?

Hearing that everyone involved with Keroro is having fun working on it is what makes me happy.

Q8: On the flip side, anything tough about it?

It seems like working on Keroro is also kind of exhausting (laugh)

Q9: If you could be any character in Keroro, who would you choose?

Maybe Poyon-chan. She seems so nice and fluffy.

Q10: Who would you like to live with?

I’d say the new characters, Alisa-chan and Nevula.

Q11: Why them in particular?

I feel like we could have a nice, quiet time in an old Western-style mansion.

Q12: Is there any invention from Kururu that you’d want?

Oh, definitely that one thing for making Gundam models!

Q13: What’s your favorite part of the manga drawing process?

Definitely when it’s finally completed (laugh)

Q14: What’s the toughest part?

Getting started (laugh)

Q15: What do you think of the illustrations in the first volume of Keroro?

What do I think? Well, it was my best effort seven years ago. There's something beyond just thinking "it's bad." Especially for Keroro, since I challenged myself to break my previous style and start from scratch, so there are definitely some awkward parts in there.

Q16: When do you draw the cover illustrations? At the beginning, in the middle, or at the end?

The inking is random, so it varies every time.

Q17: Do you pay attention to differentiating characters?

Sometimes I intentionally try not to differentiate them visually. I make their personalities distinct, so that can create a sense of difference. I’ve even tried going against silhouette theory a bit, which is directly reflected in characters like Keroro.

Q18: Which is more fun to draw, Keronians or Earthlings?

Keronians’ round eyes are a hassle, and Earthlings have too many lines... It’s a toss-up (laugh)

Q19: What about secondary characters? Which ones are fun to draw?

Every character becomes lively as soon as I draw them, so it's fun. To me, they’re all waiting in line to be drawn!

Q20: Any tips for drawing something you’ve never seen before?

Draw with your eyes closed!

Q21: Do you do anything to improve your drawing skills?

Since I started working, not really. I draw every day, so whatever I’m bad at stays bad, which can be a bit of an issue.

Q22: When creating a manga, do you start with the characters, story, or setting?

The theme. Something that instinctively feels like "that's it!" The rest comes after that.

Q23: When do you come up with story ideas?

I thrash my ideas around, trying to come up with something, and eventually, once I reach the mandatory state of resignation, it comes to me (laugh)

Q24: Which takes more time, storyboarding or drawing?

Storyboarding!

Q25: If you had to sum up the feeling of struggling to come up with storyboards in one word?

Ugh.

Q26: What’s something essential while you work?

Coffee, probably.

Q27: You’ve never taken a break from publishing, but do you ever want to? If so, when?

I always feel like I want to! Every single time, no matter what!

Q28: When do you usually draw your manga—morning, afternoon, or night?

My schedule is all over the place. I live on a 25-26 hour cycle, so when my timing is off, it tends to mess things up for a lot of people. It makes planning pretty difficult too.

Q29: What’s your favorite manga that you’ve drawn so far?

Definitely Keroro Gunso.

Q30: Do you think you’re better suited for one-shot manga or long series?

Considering the amount of ideas on my brain when working on Keroro storyboards, I think I’m better suited for long series.

Q31: Are you currently thinking about your next manga project?

Ideas come and go, honestly. Right now, I’m putting all my effort into Keroro!

Q32: Do you like your own manga?

When it comes to Keroro, I like it without hesitation.

Q33: If you were an editor, what would you tell yourself?

“You can take a three month break if you want.”

Q34: Are you comfortable with drawing manga in front of people?

I’m totally fine with it! But in reality, I usually work alone, holed up in my workspace.

Q35: Do you do anything for your health?

Not really… It’s bad… I feel like I’ve been sending out SOS signals lately (laugh)

Q36: Do you have any stress relief methods?

I never considered myself to be stressed, but recently my eye started twitching, and apparently, that’s a sign of stress. I was kind of surprised when I found that out!

Q31: There are 24 hours in a day, but how many hours would you really want?

48 hours would be great!!

Q38: Is there anything that influences your manga drawing?

I’m most influenced by the general atmosphere of the world around me.

Q39: How would you describe the feeling of racing through Okutama on your bike?

Yahoo!

Q40: Anything that’s stuck with you or left a strong impression recently?

The insurance commercial with soccer commentator Matsuki has really stuck with me… As for things, I’m obsessed with the NSF100 motorcycle— I want it so bad!

Q41: A memorable quote that’s stuck with you?

“Ramen is long and delicious!” (I have literally no idea what he’s referencing here my bad guys)

Q42: Since getting your cat, Mac, has your life changed?

My lifestyle hasn’t really changed, but it feels like my heart’s OS has been upgraded by about three versions!

Q46: Do you like traveling?

I like it, but I haven’t gone anywhere recently. If I could, I’d love to go with all my friends.

Q43: What’s the most wasteful thing you’ve ever spent royalties on?

Royalties, huh... (laugh) The other day, I saw a Keroro bath towel in a UFO catcher machine, and I had to get it. I ended up blowing ¥2,000* and still didn’t win it. I wonder if my royalties will cover that…

*this is like $14 😭

Q45: What are the things you love the most?

The Earth, my wife, and Mac (my cat).

Q46: What’s the most shocking thing you’ve experienced?

When I first moved to Tokyo, I saw an elementary school kid at Yotsuya Station wearing a backpack and smoking a cigarette. I thought, “Wow, Tokyo’s scary. Maybe I should just go home.” But I’m glad I didn’t because I became a manga artist (laugh)

Q47: What does drawing manga mean to you?

It’s about making people happy. That concept hasn’t changed since I was a kid making hand-drawn manga for my friends in elementary school.

Anddd heres my impressively terrible scans of those pages just in case anyone wanted the source

#this took me FOREVER the 11.5 guidebook doesn’t have any furigana #also bonus: i think the motorcycle he’s talking about here is Aki’s model #he’s so random #keroro gunso #sgt frog #keroro #mine yoshizaki #woah rare tag

42 notes · View notes

badgalsasuke · 1 month ago

Text

Kishimoto interview and staff commentary The Last Booklet December 2014

Translation from Google Translate, QuillBot and DeePL

「NARUTO-ナルト-」は、僕がいろいろ成長させてもらった作品でもあるし、自分の子供みたいにも感じています。

"NARUTO" is a work that has helped me grow in many ways, and I feel like it is like my own child.

岸本斉史インタビュー (原作・キャラクターデザイン・ストーリー総監修) 1974年11月8日、岡山県生まれ。96年漫画家デビュー。99年に週刊少年ジャンプ上にて連載を開始した「NARUTO-ナルト-」作品となり、世��的な人気を獲得する。 2014年50号をもって、15年にわたったをしまれつつ終了。「ROAD TO NINJA -NARUTO THE MOVIE-」 (12) では、原作・企画・ストーリー・キャラクターデザインを自ら手掛けた。

Masashi Kishimoto Interview (Original work, character design, story general supervision) Born November 8, 1974 in Okayama Prefecture. Debuted as a manga artist in 1996. In 1999, he began serializing "NARUTO" in Weekly Shonen Jump, which gained worldwide popularity. The series ended after 15 years with the 50th issue in 2014. For "ROAD TO NINJA -NARUTO THE MOVIE-" (12), he was responsible for the original work, planning, story, and character design.

Q今回、ナルトとヒナタの恋愛を描いた物語に驚きました。

Q: I was surprised by the story this time depicting the romance between Naruto and Hinata.

僕の中では、「NARUTO-ナルト-」の少年期が終わって、青年期に入って少し経った頃から「ナルトはヒナタとくっつく」と決まっていました。でも別に二人の恋愛話に僕はあまり思い入れがなくて(笑)、そういう話を描くつもりはなかったんです。ただ、漫画の最後は、ナルトに子供が生まれて、それがナルトみたいなやんちゃな男の子で、火影になったナルトの火影岩にその子の落書きがあるっていう風にして、漫画の第一話に戻る感じにしたかった。ですから僕の中には当初なかった発想で、今回劇場版を作る時に、ぴえろの方とか、脚本の経塚 (丸雄) さんが、「今度の映画でそこを描いたらどうか」と提案されて、こういう形になった感じです。物語を原作の2年後にしたのも、恋愛話にするなら二人が18歳を超えていないと、という僕のこだわりです(笑)。

Kishimoto: For me, it was decided that Naruto would end up with Hinata a little while after his childhood arc in "Naruto" ended and he entered his adolescence arc. But I don't really have any emotional attachment to the love story between the two of them (laughs), and I didn't intend to write such story.

However, for the end of the manga, I wanted it to feel like returning to the first chapter by having Naruto have a child who is a mischievous boy like him, and his graffiti on Naruto's Hokage rock.

So, it was an idea that I didn't initially have, but when we were making this movie, people from Pierrot and the screenwriter, Mr. Kyōzuka (Maru), suggested, "How about depicting that in this movie?" and that's how it came to be. The reason I set the story two years after the original is because I insisted that if it was going to be a love story, the two characters had to be over 18 years old (laughs).

Q なぜナルトとヒナタがくっつくと決めてらしたんですか?

Q: Why did you decide that Naruto and Hinata would get together?

ヒナタはナルトが最初から頑張ってるところをちゃんと見て、ずっと応援していた唯一の子なんです。ナルトはうまくいかないけど頑張っていて、諦めないところが格好いいって分かってる。サクラもそのことに途中で気づきますけど、やっぱり最初から見ていたヒナタが報われないのは可哀想だと思って(笑)。

Kishimoto: Hinata is the only one who has seen Naruto working hard from the beginning and has always supported him. She knows that Naruto is trying his best even though things are not going well and that it is cool that he never gives up.

Sakura also realizes this halfway, but I thought it would be pitiful if Hinata, who had been watching from the beginning, is not rewarded (laughs).

Q 赤いマフラーが印象的な使われ方をしていました。

Q: The red scarf was used in a striking way.

マフラーは今回の映画のメタファーになっていて、恋愛を象徴するものとして使って頂きました。このマフラーがあったから、最後のセリフは決まったんです。

Kishimoto: The scarf serves as a metaphor in this movie, symbolizing love. It was used for that purpose. Because of this scarf, the final line was decided.

Q 19歳になったナルトのキャラクターデザインを描かれる時、されたことは?

Q: When you were drawing the character designs for Naruto, who is now 19 years old, what did you do?

とにかくナルトを格好良く描きたかった。ナルトはちょっと泥臭くてヌケてる感じで描いてきたので、どうしてもライン的にもやんちゃなイメージがあるんです。そのやんちゃ具合が少し抜けさて、落ち着いて来た男の子の「」みたいなものを出したかった。男は恋愛を経験して一人前と思っているので、僕の中では今のナルトは大人のイメージなんです(笑)。

Kishimoto: I wanted to draw Naruto in a cool way. I've always drawn Naruto with a rough slightly down-to-earth and casual carefree feel, so he inevitably has a mischievous image in terms of his lines. I wanted to bring out something like a boy who has calmed down a bit from that mischievousness. Since men are considered grown-up after experiencing love, in my mind, the current Naruto has an adult image (laughs).

Q 本作でお好きなシーンを教えてください。

Q: What is your favorite scene in this film?

ナルトが告白して断られるところですね(笑)。「ナルトに試練を与えてやった」「図に乗っちゃダメだよ」「頑張れ、ナルト」ってえる。そこが好きです(笑)。あと、サクラとナルトがお互いに愛対象じゃな��と気づく、決別のシーンでもある、サクラがナルトにヒナタの気持ちを代弁するところも気に入っています。

Kishimoto: It's the part where Naruto confesses his feelings and gets rejected (laughs). "I've given Naruto a test," "Don't get too cocky," "Do your best, Naruto." I like that part (laughs). I also like the scene where Sakura and Naruto realize that they are not interested in each other and decide to part ways, and where Sakura speaks to Naruto on behalf of Hinata's feelings.

Q 岸本先生にとって、「NARUTO-ナルト-」とは?

Q: What does "NARUTO" mean to you, Kishimoto-sensei?

僕がいろいろ成長させてもらった作品でもあるし、自分の子供みたいにも感じるし……難しいですね。読者の方が読んでくれて、「面白い」って言ってくれないと続かないので、それが15年も続いたというのは、本当にすごいことだなあって思います。

Kishimoto: It's a work that has helped me grow in many ways, and I feel like it's my own child... It's difficult. If the readers don't read it and say, "It's interesting," it wouldn't have continued, so I really think it's amazing that it has lasted for 15 years.

Q 「NARUTO-ナルト-」は、キャラクターひとりひとりがかを抱えていますよね。

Q: In "NARUTO," each character has their own struggles.

うまくいかない要素を誰もが持っていて、それを持って生きている。全てがうまくいっている人なんてそんなにいないからうまくいっていない要素を入れれば誰かが共感してくれるんじゃないと思い、そういう風に描いていました。

Kishimoto: Everyone has things that don't go well, and we all live with those things. Since there aren't many people whose lives are going perfectly, so I thought that if I included things that aren't going well, someone might empathize with it, and that's how I portrayed it.

Q 「NARUTO-ナルト-」で描かれる「諦めない」「信じる」力もま強く印象に残ります。

Q: The power of "never giving up" and "believing" depicted in "NARUTO" also leaves a strong impression.

それはすごく思いますね。僕も漫画家になりたいと思ってなれましたし、僕は、ナルトほど必死ではなかったかもしれないですけど、でも「諦めない」気持ちは大切なんじゃないかなあと思います。あとは「性」かなあ。ナルトを見ていて、やっぱり相性が一番大事だな(笑)って僕自身が感じています。

Kishimoto: I really think so. I also wanted to become a manga artist and I did. I might not have been as desperate as Naruto, but I think the feeling of "not giving up" is really important. And then there's "compatibility." Watching Naruto, I feel that compatibility is the most important thing (laughs).

Q: 最後に「NARUTO-ナルト-」ファンにメッセージをお願いします。

Q: Finally, please give a message to the fans of "NARUTO".

「NARUTO-ナルト-」で恋愛を描くのは初めてなので、今までにないナルトが絞られると思います。この劇場版は、次に僕がく作品と繋がっていますので、絶対に観ておいてください。そしてまた、その先にあるものを楽しみにして頂けたらと思います。

Kishimoto: This is the first time I've depicted a love story in "NARUTO", so I think it will bring out a Naruto that has never been seen before. This movie is connected to the next work I'm doing, so please be sure to watch it. And I hope you'll look forward to what comes after that.

この作品が皆様の心の片隅にいつまでも「思い出」として残れば幸いです。

I hope this work will remain in the back of your mind as a memory forever.

小林常夫 (監督)

Tsuneo Kobayashi (Director)

岸本先生との最初の打ち合わせで、本作はゲストキャラではなく、ナルトを主人公にした映画にしてほしいという要望がありました。そこでナルトに欠落しているモノは何かを考えて導き出されたのが「恋愛感情です。ナルトの最後の映画は「アクション映画」ではなく「恋愛映画」を作る事になりました。

During our first meeting with Kishimoto-sensei, he requested that this film be centered around Naruto, not a guest character. We then considered what was missing from Naruto and came up with the idea of romantic love. We decided to make Naruto's final film a romantic movie, not an action movie.

まずのさんにマフラーのアイデアをいただき、それが凄く気に入りました。そこからマフラーをメインのアイテムとして話を作れないかと考えて浮かんだのが、二人の思い出を投影した光の球が浮遊する空間を赤いマフラーを巻いたナルトとヒナタが手を繋いで疾走するというイメージです。今までの二人の「思い出」それはナルトファンの方たちにとっても思い出となるシーン、その思い出の数々が走馬灯のようにフラッシュバックしたら素敵な面になるのではないかと考えました。早速イメージボードを描いて、この世界を思い出」と名付けました。このシーンに繋げる為にはどのようなエピソードをくべきか、それを逆算して考えたのが本作の物語です。

First, Nono gave me the idea for the scarf, which I really liked. From there, I wondered if I could create a story with the scarf as the main item, and I came up with the image of Naruto and Hinata running hand in hand, wearing red scarves, in a space where balls of light projecting their memories are floating. The "memories" of the two up until now are scenes that will also be memorable for Naruto fans, and I thought it would be a wonderful scene if all those memories flashed back like a slideshow. I immediately drew an image board and named it "Remembering this world." I wondered what kind of episodes I should include to connect to this scene, and worked backwards to come up with the story of this work.

ビジュアルは今までの劇場作品から一新してブラッシュアップしています。キャラクターデザインの西尾さんと鈴木さんには、身を高くしたいとか、色々オーダーをしてしまい御苦労をお掛けしてしまいました。

The visuals have been completely revamped from previous theatrical works. I made many requests to character designers Nishio and Suzuki, such as making them taller, which caused them a lot of trouble.

色彩とも新しくしました。特に日邸は冒頭に登場する重要な舞台ですので、原作の日向邸を参考に、旧家の邸宅をロケハンして設定を作り直しました。ヒナタとハナビの会話シーンは、美術が美しく、電灯の色など「礼賛」のような雰囲気で気に入っています。ナルトがヒナタに告白するシーンは、青い泉に金色に輝く、ゴッホの絵画のような配色にしてみました。

We also used new colors. Hinata's residence is an important setting that appears at the beginning, so we used Hinata's residence in the original work as a reference, scouted old family homes, and recreated the setting. The scene where Hinata and Hanabi talk has beautiful art, and the colors of the lights create an atmosphere of "praise," which I like. For the scene where Naruto confesses his feelings to Hinata, we used a color scheme reminiscent of a Van Gogh painting, with gold shining against a blue spring.

ナルトがヒナタの気持ちに気付く夢のシーンは、過去のエビソードの時系列をばらしてランダムに組み変えるのがパズルをしているようで白かったです。アカデミー時代にヒナタがナルトの名前を書いた紙を現在のナルトが見るまで、どのようにエピソードを組み立てるか、何通りもパターンを考えした。

The scene where Naruto realizes Hinata's feelings in a dream was like solving a puzzle, as it mixed up the timelines of past episodes randomly. I thought of various ways to piece together the episodes until the present Naruto sees the paper where Hinata wrote his name during their academy days.

本作ではイメージしにくいかと思いますが、当初のトネリは「シザーハンズ」のジョニーデップを若くしたイメージで作りました。幼い時から月に独りで暮らしてきた為に他人の気持ちが理解できない、ナルトと違う意味でしているキャラクターです。

Although it may be hard to imagine in this movie, originally Toneri was created based on a younger version of Johnny Depp from "Edward Scissorhands." He is a character who has lived alone on the moon since he was a child and is therefore unable to understand the feelings of others, which is different from Naruto.

岸本先生にはシナリオをチェックしていただきました。連載でお忙しい中、親身になって色々とアドバイスをして下さり感謝しております。「マフラーを編むには時間が掛かんだ」など、重要なセリフも作っていただきました。

Mr. Kishimoto checked the script. I am grateful that he kindly gave me various advice despite his busy schedule with the serialization. He also wrote important lines such as "It takes time to knit a scarf."

余談ですが、ポイントになるカットではヒナタを横で見せるようにしました。ヒロインのを印象的に演出したヒッチコックの「めまい」や大林宣彦監督の「さびしんぼう」へのオマージュです。

As a side note, I made sure to show Hinata on the side in the key shots. This is a homage to Hitchcock's “Vertigo” and Nobuhiko Obayashi's “Sabishinbo,” in which the heroine's body is shown in a striking manner.

本作はナルトの最後の映画ですので、「ナルトの思い出」を眠り返しんでいただけるように、そして皆様の新しい「思い出」の作品になればという気を込めてしました。この作品が皆様の心の片隅にいつまでも「思い出」として残れば幸いです。

This is the final Naruto movie, so we created it with the hope that it would allow you to revisit "Naruto's memories" and become a new "memory" for everyone. We hope this work will remain as a "memory" in the corners of your hearts forever.

恋愛偏差値30のナルトが、ドン底に落ち、はい上がり・・・オトナの男を目指す姿を描きたかった。

I wanted to depict Naruto, with a love deviation score of 30, hitting rock bottom and then rising up... aiming to become a mature man.

経塚丸雄 (脚本)

Maruo Keizuka (Screenplay)

今回僕が描きたいと考えたナルトは、19歳となり、忍として完成型に近づいてはいるけれども、恋愛に関しては 30のが、ドン底に落ち、は、い上がり・・・オトナの男を目指すというものでした。

The Naruto I wanted to portray this time is 19 years old and close to being a complete ninja, but when it comes to love, he is in his 30s, has hit rock bottom, and is trying to climb back up… to become a grown man.

そんなナルトの前に現れるトネリには、二つの役割を持たせています。第一は強くて憎々しい悪役。第二には、ナルトとヒナタと恋の三角関係を演じてもらいました。イケメンでキザなライバルの出現に、ナルトの恋心は燃え上がります。トネリは子供の頃から一人で暮らしてきて、囲には傀儡しかいない。人間関係を学ぶ機会がなく、欠費的な性格に育ってしまったとしました。

Toneri who appears before Naruto has two roles. First, he is a strong and hateful villain. The second role is that of a love triangle between Naruto and Hinata. Naruto's love for Hinata is ignited by the appearance of his handsome and snarky rival. Toneri has lived alone since childhood and has only his puppet around him. He has never had the opportunity to learn about human relationships, and has grown up to be a lackadaisical character.

そんなトネリが求婚するヒナタの魅力は、単にナルトに憧れるだけでなく、ナルトを目標とし、自ら向上しようとする強い意志にあると思います。だからこそヒナタはナルトの告白を拒絶した。目の前の安直な幸福にすがりつかない、より高い所から色々考えた上での「オトナの判断」だったと思います。ナルトだけではなく、ヒナタも成長している・・・真のベストカップルですよね!

The appeal of Hinata, whom Toneri proposes to, lies not just in her admiration for Naruto, but in her strong will to set Naruto as her goal and strive for self-improvement. That's why Hinata rejected Naruto's confession. It was a "mature decision" made after considering various factors from a higher perspective, rather than clinging to the easy happiness in front of her. Both Naruto and Hinata have grown... they truly are the best couple!

「バトル」「告白シーン」など見どころ満載の本作ですが、脚本構成上のキモは競地に乗り込む前夜の地球なシーンだと思っています。ドン底に落ちたナルト…今まで見たことのない、女々しく働けないナルトです。そのドン底から、仲間たちの醵篇齡によりはい上がり、間火の炎を見ながら「グンと成長する、その一瞬」を見逃さないで下さいね!

This work is packed with highlights such as "battles" and "confession scenes," but I believe the key to the script structure lies in the Earth scene the night before they enter the competition. Naruto has hit rock bottom... he's a Naruto we've never seen before, unable to work with his usual determination. From that low point, he rises up with the help of his friends, and as he watches the flames of the bonfire, don't miss that moment when he "grows tremendously"!

月面でのバトルは、これまでなかったと思うので、とても新鮮な画面になったと感じています。

I don't think there's ever been a battle on the moon before, so I feel like it makes for a very fresh scene.

西尾鉄也 (キャラクターデザイン・総作画監督)

Tetsuya Nishio (Character design and general animation director)

今回は、まず絵コンテを見て、ヒナタの者衣や、木ノ葉の里の雰囲気など、日常シーンに工夫がこらされていて、これまでの劇場版とは一線を画しているなと思いました。キャラクターデザインをするにあたっては、2年という年月での成長した雰囲気をどう表現するかメインスタッフと長時間話し合うところからはじめた感じです。実際に作業をする時は、小林(常表)監督からの少し大人びた落ち着いた芝居を目指すというオーダーを実現できる雰囲気を心がけました。

When I first saw the storyboards for this year's movie I thought that the everyday scenes, such as Hinata's clothing and the atmosphere of the village of Konoha, were well thought out, and that they were different from previous movie versions. When it came to designing the characters, I started by having a long discussion with the main staff about how to express the atmosphere of growth over the two years. When actually working on the characters, I tried to create an atmosphere that would realize the order from Director Kobayashi (Tsuneo) to aim for a slightly more mature and calm performance.

ナルトは、仲間と比べて一番長身にすることで変化を出してみましたが、いかがでしたでしょうか? また、今回は総作画監督という初めての役職にもつかせて頂きました。手さぐりでの作業でしたが、各作调整餐さんたちが優秀でしたので、キャラクターの顔のチェックに注力できたと感じています。

We tried to make Naruto the tallest compared to his companions to give him a different look. How did you find it?

Also, this time I had the opportunity to take on the role of chief animation director for the first time. Although it was a bit of a trial-and-error process, the animators were so excellent that I felt I could focus on checking the characters' faces.

ナルトに関しては、アクションやバトルはその筋のエキスパートに一任し、心理面での細かいニュアンスを表現さんに納得しできればと心を配り、ヒナタは、客て頂けるヒロインにと思っていました。

月面でのバトルは、これまでなかったと思うので、とても新鮮な画面になったと感じています。これまで、デザイン作業が主で、本編の作画にはそれほど関われずにいましたので、ブランクを取り戻すつもりで本作にのぞみました。スケジュール的にとても厳しかったですが、チーム一丸となって完成にこぎつけました。その熱量を感じて頂けたら嬉しいです。

Regarding Naruto, I entrusted the action and battle scenes to the experts in that field, while I focused on expressing the subtle nuances of the characters' psychology. I hoped that Hinata would be a heroine who could be appreciated by the audience.

I don't think there's ever been a battle on the moon before, so I feel like it's a very fresh scene.

Up until now, I've mostly been involved in design work, and haven't been able to be involved much in full-length animation as I would have liked, so I approached this project with the intention of catching up after a break. The schedule was very tight, but the team came together as one and managed to complete it. I hope you can feel that passion.

中盤のナルトの告白と、ラストのナルトとヒナタは、観ていて照れくさく、ニヤけてしまいました。

Naruto's confession in the middle and Naruto and Hinata in the end were embarrassing to watch and I couldn't help but grin.

部木博文 (キャラクターデザイン・総作男監督 )

Hirofumi Buki (Character Design, General Director)

TVシリーズで作画監督を担当していた時は、わりと勢いに任せて描きやすいスタイルを作っていたのですが、今回はキャラクターデザインだけでなく、総作画監物、しかも西尾さんと共同ということもあり、普段よりキャラクターの統一に力を入れました。

When I was in charge of animation supervision for the TV series, I let the momentum take over and created a style that was easy to draw. This time, however, I was not only in charge of character design, but also supervised all the animation, and since I was working with Mr. Nishio, I put more effort into character unification than usual.

一番大変な部分は、各作画監督や第画スタッフが張第ってくれたので、自分は絵柄のバランス調整に集中できました。これだけの大作になったのは、スタッフ第の集中力によるものです。本当にすごいと感じています。

The hardest part of the work was done by the animation directors and staff, so I was able to concentrate on adjusting the balance of the picture patterns. The fact that it became such a big production was due to the staff's ability to concentrate on their work. I feel that it is truly amazing.

本作で僕が目指したのは、少し落ち着いた、大人になったナルトです。原作、TVシリーズをご覧になっている方からすると、成長したナルトを見つめるイルカのような気分が味わえるのではないでしょうか。僕もイルカの目線でナルトを描いていました。ヒナタはとにかく柔らかく描くことを意識し、ナルトの第数であるトネリは、当初、サスケのようなポジションかと思っていたのですが、脚本を読むと思ったより中性的なキャラクターでしたので、随想な雰囲気を崩さないように心がけました。美男子キャラは美少女より気を遣います。

My goal with this film was to portray a more mature Naruto who has grown up and become a little more composed. For those who have watched the original and the TV series, I hope you can experience the feeling of being like Iruka, watching over a grown-up Naruto. I also drew Naruto from Iruka's perspective. I consciously tried to depict Hinata as soft and gentle, and initially thought Toneri, who is Naruto's counterpart, would be in a position similar to Sasuke's, but when I read the script, he was more neutral than I had expected so I tried not to ruin the evocative atmosphere of the character. I find that I have to pay more attention to handsome male characters than to beautiful female characters.

完成した映画を観て、中盤のナルトの告白と、ラストのナルトとヒナタは、観ていて照れくさく、ニヤけてしまいました。本作は、原作の最終話に至るまでの経緯を描いた大きな区切りとなる作品です。大作「NARUTO-ナルト-」の最後を飾るにふさわしい仕上がりになっていると思います。皆さまの心に残る作品になれば嬉しいです。

Watching the completed film, Naruto's confession in the middle and Naruto and Hinata at the end made me grin with embarrassment. This film is a major milestone in the story leading up to the final chapter of the original work. I think it is a fitting end to the great “NARUTO” series. I hope it will be a work that will remain in everyone's hearts.

これはヒナタの映画ではないかと思っています。「思いが伝わってよかったね、ヒナタ。おめでとう」と言いたいです。

I think this film is more about Hinata than it is about Naruto. I want to say, "I'm glad your feelings got through, Hinata. Congratulations."

えびなやすのり (音響監督)

Ebina Yasunori (Sound Director)

小林(常夫)監督から、「ラブストーリーとしての印象を強くしてほしい」とオーダーがあったので、ラブストーリーとバトルとのバランスが気持ちよく伝わるかを意識して「音」の制作をしました。作業中は、どの音を出したいのか、そのためにどの音をなくしたらいいのか、特に映画としての迫力を出すためにはどうすればよいのかを考えていましたね。解決方法はやってみるのみ! ダメなら他の方法を試す。その繰り返しでした。

Director Kobayashi (Tsuneo) ordered us to "strengthen the impression of a love story," so we focused on creating the "sound" to ensure a pleasant balance between the love story and the battles. During the process, we thought about which sounds we wanted to create, which sounds we needed to eliminate, and especially how to convey the film's impact. The solution was to just try it out! If it didn't work, we would try another method. It was a continuous cycle.

音楽についてお話しすると、今回は「THE LAST」ということで、1期の音楽をさせています。この曲を聞くと「NARUTO-ナルト-」だっ!と思う曲を使いました。本作は劇場版10本目の集大成。そしてうずまきナルトの豊後の物語として1 期の曲をかけることで、僕なりの送り出しをしたかったのです。あとは全て高梨(康治)さんの映画オリジナル曲です。

When it comes to talking about music, this time it's "THE LAST," so we're using the music from the first season. When you listen to this song, you'll think, "It's NARUTO!" We used a song that evokes that feeling. This work is the culmination of the 10th movie. And by playing the songs from the first season as a way to conclude the story of Uzumaki Naruto, I wanted to send him off in my own way.The rest are all original songs by Mr. Koji Takahashi for the movie.

「NARUTO-ナルト-」は世界的に人気がある作品ですが、音楽の世界観もそれを引っ張っている一つの要因ではないかと思っています。今回の最大の見せ場のひとつ、ナルトがヒナタに告白する場面も、音楽で表現してみました。今まで見られなかったナルトの心の弱さなども表現されています。完璧な人間などいないってことですね。今院の映画は、ナルトのというよりもヒナタの映画ではないかと思っています。「思いが伝わってよかったね、ヒナタ。おめでとう」と言いたいです。そして、二人のラブストーリーを観客の皆さんに共感して頂けたら嬉しいです。

"NARUTO" is a work that is popular worldwide, and I think the worldview of the music is one of the factors that has led to its popularity. One of the highlights of this film, the scene where Naruto confesses his feelings to Hinata, was expressed through music. It also shows Naruto's weakness, which we have never seen before. It shows that there is no such thing as a perfect person. I think this film is more about Hinata than it is about Naruto. I want to say, "I'm glad your feelings got through, Hinata. Congratulations." And I would be happy if the audience could empathize with their love story.

子供の恋愛でも、大人の恋愛でもなく、その年齢特有の不安定さを大切にしたいと思っていました。

I wanted to portray neither a child's love nor an adult's love, but rather to cherish the instability that is unique to that age.

神尾千春 (錄音演出)

Chiharu Kamio (recorded audio)

今回は、子供の恋愛でも、大人の恋愛でもなく、その年競特有の不安定さを大切にしたいと思っていました。原作後の話なので、岸本先生の想いを観客の皆さんに伝えたいなぁという思いが強かったですね。小林 (常夫)監督が、アニメシリーズの存在を大切にしてくれて、このキャラはこんな言い回しをしないなど、細かいところまで気にかけて頂けたことには感謝しています。

This time, I wanted to cherish the instability that is unique to this age group, not a child's love or an adult's love. Since the story takes place after the original work, I had a strong desire to convey Kishimoto-sensei's thoughts to the audience. I am grateful that Director Kobayashi (Tsuneo) valued the existence of the anime series and paid attention to even the smallest details, such as not using certain phrases for certain characters.

音響監督のえびなさんとは、いやぁもう阿吽の呼吸と言いますか、自分がいいと思うものを渡せば、あとは彼が最高の仕上がりにしてくれるので、一緒に仕事をさせて頂いていて信頼と安心感がありますね。

With sound director Ebina-san, it's like we're in perfect harmony. If I give him something I think is good, he will turn it into the best possible result, so I feel a sense of trust and reassurance working together with him.

アフレコ中は、少し大人になっているものの、年齢を上げすぎてキャラが別人にならないよう気をつけようと思っていましたが、蓋を開けたら役者陣がちゃんとそれを意識したキャラ作りをしてくれていたので、私は何もせずに終わった感じです(笑)。劇場版だからとへんな気負いもなく、いい雰囲気で出来たと思っています。小林監督が「いつも通り」を大切にしてくれたお陰ですね。トネリに関しては、小林監督の中でキャラが出来上がっていたので、なるべくそれに沿うよう、気にかけていました。

During the recording, I was careful not to make the characters too old, even though they were a little more mature, but when I got there, the actors had properly created the characters with that in mind, so I didn't have to do anything (laughs). I think we were able to do it in a good atmosphere without any weird pressure just because it was a movie version. It was all thanks to Director Kobayashi's emphasis on "the same as always." Director Kobayashi had already created a character for Toneri, so I was careful to stick to that as much as possible.

私が気に入っているシーンは、エンドロール後です! 幸せなのっていい! 「NARUTO-ナルト-」は、院動包悪じゃないところが魅力です。味方キャラが全て正しいわけでも、悪役キャラが全て悪いわけでもない。凄くリアルですよね。私もファンの一人です!

The scene I like is after the end credits! It's nice to be happy! The charm of "NARUTO" lies in the fact that it doesn't have absolute good and evil. Not all the ally characters are entirely right, and not all the villain characters are entirely evil. It's really realistic, isn't it?I'm also one of the fans!

Here's Part 2 of The Last Booklet

Please let me know any correction/observation you have. This shit was long as fuck.

#Kishimoto interview #Naruto translation #Naruto archive #I've finally found the complete interview #alongside the rest of the booklet #Anyway the entire staff is fucking delusional LMFAOOO #“it will bring out a Naruto that has never been seen before” you don't say lol he looked miserable

19 notes · View notes