#the manga is almost finished there's no reason for you not to animate the whole thing

[yotd2009]

oh yeah. the reason why i decided to reread tbhk (and thus it was able to hit me like a truck this time around) was actually not bc of mitsukou going canon but actually bc i maybe accidentally started a tbhk book club w my kids at work and wanted to check the contents of it justttt in case before i put the books in their hands

[undead-potatoes]

I was expecting S1 of Dungeon Meshi to only have like 10 episodes or something bc I'm so used to how modern TV-shows do it, but I just found out its actually gonna be 24 episodes and I'm so happy

[sugarlywhispers]

g.satoru + reader that traveled dimensions

☆–ANGST, dimension traveler!reader, mentions of injuries and monsters/curses that eat people (lol i don't know how else to explain it), maybe a bit of fluff (? honestly, it's mostly angst).

☆–a.n; i was not able to finish the next chapter of KOI NO YOKAN cuz i'm a bit stuck, so it'll take a bit longer for that. as an apology, here is my first Gojo Satoru angst </3 lol take into consideration that i haven't read the manga, i only watched the anime, so sorry if it's not as accurate.✌🏼🤍

It's a Spring night, almost 11pm. You stand on the balcony, admiring the amazing view before your eyes. A beautiful forest that adorns around Jujutsu Tech, like a protection barrier that alienates the old school from the rest of the world, and beyond that, the city lights that illuminates the night. The soft breeze makes your hair float a bit and the fresh air makes you take a deep breath, enjoying the slight smell of damp grass and flowers. You couldn't sleep. And neither could him. How could you, after a day as stressful as it had been.

You look up at the night sky. For some reason, the city lights do not interfere in the amazing clear and full of stars sky above you. You wonder if it is some kind of energy that allows that.

It's so beautiful, you have never seen a sky as gorgeous as this one. The smile that spreads throughout your face is impossible to hold back.

"It's a beautiful night, right?" It's a rhetorical question you just ask to create a kind environment between you two.

Gojo Satoru accompanies you on the balcony, but different from you, he's not looking in the direction of the city. He's looking your way, his back towards the rest of the outside world, just leaning on the wall at the edge of the balcony right next to you. He's almost sitting on it, one of his long legs crossed over the other; one of his hands supports a bit of his weight over the space of the wall that functions as a railing, his other hand is stretched on his side, dangling the sunglasses he always wear when he does not have his blindfold over his eyes. You can feel them over you, following your every move.

It's been like that since what happened the day before.

Yesterday started quite normally. Even though you lived at the school –mostly for protection, there were still questions as to how you traveled through dimensions and landed on a world that to you it just existed in a manga and an anime. Gojo thought that the question should be directed as to who made you travel dimensions– you worked in the city of Tokyo, a very mundane job at a coffee shop compared to what the rest of the people you lived with did for a living.

Talking about it, you are able to see them–the curses. Why? You don't know. You don't have an ounce of cursed energy to fight them, but you can see them. And they are the ugliest and terrifying creatures you have ever seen. You remember the first time you saw one, the shock made you almost climb Gojo's tall body for protection, because he was right next to you when it happened. He had laughed so hard at you, you tried to punch him on the ribs. Unable to, thanks to his infinity cursed energy. It's a weird sensation, the space between him and his energy made tingles ran through your body. Pleasantly, because he wasn't in a fighting and protective mood against you.

Back to yesterday, it had been a normal day. Until the midday sun was almost completely covered by something so big in the sky it darkened the whole city. You knew it then. Something bad was going to happen.

And it did. Curses ran freely around the city center, very close to where your work place was. It was chaos. People getting killed and devoured by this creatures in the most grotesque ways. You have never seen anything like this, not even in your worst nightmare. Yet there you were, a baseball bat on your hands trying to land a hit on the medium to big, disgustingly ugly curse that had followed you, trapped in an alley with your coworker–a young girl, barely over her teenage phase, who was in her first year of college, screaming in fear and hiding behind you. You knew it was futile, a waste of time and strength. You could do nothing against this creature. So you yelled at her to run far and fast as you would try to distract it. You succeeded, but you didn't count on losing your bat as the curse ate it. Now you were screwed.

It's mouth stank of blood and dirt and something smoky you could not –nor wanted to– decipher what it was, but it was nauseating. When it swallowed you whole, you thought this was it; this was how you would die. Disintegrated inside a curse's stomach to nothing but mere liquid and…nothing. What a bitch of a luck.

So many things you regretted at that moment. Especially the things you didn't do or didn't say. Towards a certain someone.

Gojo Satoru.

You wondered where was he. Probably battling some other strong curse, the biggest and most dangerous from them all. He'll also probably–no, you were sure he would win.

And where were you? Inside of the stupidest curses of them all, judging by all the meaningless things this fucking creature ate apart from you. How pathetic.

You didn't know how many hours passed but you started feeling dizzy, weak and the stomach liquid of this curse was starting to burn your skin as it began to fill more and more the space. You were about to pass out when suddenly, the smocky, repulsive odor  was replace by lightness… and the distinctive eyes of Gojo Satoru. A crazed expression on his face, like a madman possessed and ready for revenge.

You said his name, a faint murmur filled with content and relief, before letting yourself go to that darkness that was pulling your mind.

When you woke up at the next day, he was there. Gojo sat on a chair right next to your bed, his big and warm hand covering your bandaged one resting at the side of your body. He was wide awake, his beautiful and profound eyes looking at you. His other hand caressed the top of your head, as softly as he was able to, trying, afraid to touch any part of you that might hurt.

You smiled, "Hi."

"Hi," Gojo smiled back.

There was no need to say anything else. You both knew.

And since that moment, he hasn't left your side. You go to the kitchen, he's right behind you. You go to the living room area, he makes a few more steps passing you to open the big, old wooden door for you. You wanted to take some air out on the balcony, he's right there too.

Like now, like he's been all day.

When you talk about how beautiful the night is, Gojo Satoru doesn't look up at the sky. You can feel his eyes on you, so when you look back down, you're not surprise to collide with his. They look like they always do. Light blue mixed with tones of blue and purple and white and sparkles of the musky universe in them. It's so unique, you feel enraptured, completely spellbound by its shades. It's like watching the whole beauty of the universe in them. Beautiful doesn't even make them justice.

And those same eyes, that belong to this man right next to you, are the one who say, "You are beautiful."

The blush on your cheeks is inevitable, but it mixes with some of the reddish in your skin thanks to the burns. You break the spell looking down on your hands, which are bandaged and a reminder.

"I– "

"NO," you interrupt him, voice firm and looking back at him, who now has an expression of surprise and concern. You shake your head, "Just… Don't say it…" Your eyes close as your words end in a whisper.

You know what he's about to say. You can feel it. You have been able to feel it since a while ago. Because you feel it too.

You like each other. 

Damn, you have liked him since he was only a manga character to you. How or why does he like you? You don't know. But there is something you do know…

You are not for him.

You aren't suppose to be here in the first place. You somehow believe that this world is real, that you traveled dimensions, simply because the pain you felt landing here was too great to fake it. Too real for your mind to just imagine it. But that's it.

You don't have any special talent to actually help or deserve being here. You don't have any reason to be here. You are as commonly mortal as you had always been, in exception to seeing curses. But here, there are normal humans who can see them too. You're not special.

And what happened yesterday only proves how weak you are.

You can't be with someone as strong as Gojo Satoru. He doesn't deserve it.

You suddenly feel something press against your forehead, and you know it's his when his breath collides with yours, his nose caressing yours delicately.

"Why?" He simply asks in a whisper.

You can't tell him what you actually think, it won't work. Gojo Satoru is known for being the kind of man who doesn't take a no for an answer if he doesn't have all the details. So you use logic. Cruel and horrible logic.

"I'm not supposed to be here," you begin, and he takes a deep breath in, ready to start to contradict you and protest. But you pull back a bit so you can talk looking at him in the eyes. "Satoru," his whole face shows how his name on your voice makes him melt a bit, falling more towards you. As if a magnet is pulling him towards you and he's not putting any force against it.

You want to melt in his embrace too, but you can't.

"We don't know how much time I'll be here. It could be years, or months, or weeks… Even days, hours…"

He shakes his head, his eyes clear in denial as his arms surround your waist, pulling you to him. But you're already so close to each other, you just take a step closer to be standing in between his now opened legs as he sits on the railing. Your hands lay on his biceps and your fingers pull the cloth of his jacket, in a desperate attempt you ground yourself and not give into him. He's making it so difficult as his hands caress your back.

You gulp when the intention is clear as water in his eyes. He wants to kiss you.

"I can't promise you anything…"

"I don't want promises. I want you."

Tingles ran through your body at his confession. And you want to cry. You want to drown in your tears and die so you don't have to say what you're about to.

"You know that if I have the chance, a minuscule opportunity to go back, I will take it. I have to," he cuts with the intense stare between your eyes and looks down, clearly hurt by your words. But you need him to understand. You grab his face between your hands, thumbs caressing the smooth skin of his cheeks and he leans into them, furrowing and arms tightening around your waist. Not wanting to let go.

Gojo opens his eyes again, and the pain in them is enough to break your heart in thousands of pieces inside your chest.

"Wouldn't you want to go back to your loved ones? Your friends? The ones you consider family?" He sighs, because even though he doesn't answer, it's a clear yes.

Tears slide down your cheeks, and Gojo hates them. Hates seeing you cry, in pain.

You don't say anything else. Simply connect your foreheads once more, indulging yourselves one more moment of closeness, of caresses that spoke volumes of how much you both wanted to be together.

After minutes like that, you finally move apart, and he closes his eyes. He doesn't want to watch you walk away from him, slide away from in between his finger like dropplets of water. He doesn't want to see your heart broken through your eyes.

And Gojo Satoru feels like crying when he feels your lips press against his forehead before you finally walk away.

He doesn't open his eyes, but he hears you. He hears you stroll as fast as you could towards your room, where you finally let your sobs free out of your chest.

Satoru finally looks up to the night sky, filled with shining stars that decorate the view beautifully and as he has never seen before. Maybe it's because there's been a massive clean of curses yesterday.

But it's not as pretty as you are. There will never be anything more gorgeous than you to him.

But Gojo Satoru coincides, "It is a beautiful night," a traitorous tear slides down his cheek. "As beautiful as you are."

[13eyond13]

I know you write little reviews for the manga you have finished, but can you explain a bit what bothered you about the manga you won’t continue as well, pls?

Haha, sure. I don't do that normally just because I feel it might be a bit of a buzzkill thing to do, particularly to the people who rec'd some of the series to me. I sincerely don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, and please know that I'm always grateful to hear about and to check out new series, even if they don't end up being for me or are simply not my personal taste.

I think my reason for DNFing a manga usually boils down to either (1) the premise/characters just weren't hooking me enough to invest the time in finishing it, or (2) I felt too old for it in some way... I'll quickly run down the ones I've crossed out so far + why I DNF'd them, though :

The Heart of Thomas: it was just a bit too melancholic and depressing to me to want to read the whole thing, I believe

Dear Brother: I have a bit of a squick/hair trigger cringe reflex when it comes to flirtatious and romantic vibes between siblings and other family members in fiction, and this manga seemed to be based almost entirely around that, so I just didn't want to finish the whole thing haha

Yu-Gi-Oh!: I just wasn't super interested in the premise, and it felt a bit too little kiddish for me to be getting into it freshly right now (I never watched it growing up)

Haru wo Daiteita: the translation I was reading wasn't great and the premise itself was just a bit uncomfortable for me, I think? Like dub con type stuff was going on that just wasn't enjoyable for me to read

Fruits Basket: I found the main character a bit overly perfect in a boring way, I also felt a bit too old to be getting freshly into it now, and the premise with the Zodiac animals and such just didn't really grab my imagination in any big way

Ouran High School Host Club: Another one I felt too old to be getting freshly into now, and the premise was just not one that captivated me

Assassination Classroom: It wasn't bad or anything, it was actually pretty funny, but I simply found it too young for me and a bit too completely goofy to feel like reading the entire thing

Moriarty the Patriot: I found the Victorian setting a bit too fake and unbelievable, thought it felt a bit too young for me as well, and just wasn't hugely into the vibes of the whole thing

Vampeerz: The art was really cute and the premise was something relevant to my interests, but I found the writing and tone a bit too inconsistent and the characters a bit too young for me to really want to continue reading that far in

[vivvy-of-the-lake]

I'm gonna go on a dumb rant but this means a lot to me because it just hurts so much thinking about it. I feel stupid and silly and immature getting this worked up over it but also entirely justified and valid in my feelings and I need help (more under the readmore)

so I've been reading the manga for Bocchi the Rock after having finished the anime (no spoilers in this rant, don't worry) and even before having started reading it, I had come across all the major 'gay Bocchi' meme panels and i was definitely keeping an eye out for them as i was reading

(also i was reading it at https://bocchitherockmanga.com/ which for reasons i will get into I do NOT recommend AT ALL. all the issues i'm about to talk about aren't there in the mangadex version)

i've gotten through most of the series with no issues whatsoever, until I got to chapter 58. These latest chapters were being scanned by someone new to scanlations as a whole, and in particular bocchi stuff (I won't name names because that's not what this post is about, you can find who to blame just by reading it yourself from anywhere that isn't mangadex)

I was very keenly on the look-out for this panel, because for very obvious reasons it's become a very popular bocchi meme:

...but reading the version i was reading, not only were there very blatant grammar and spelling issues, but when i finally got to the panel-

what the fuck. what the fuck is this bullshit

"I've it's been popular nowadays..." doesn't make any fucking sense and had i not read the other version first i might not have understood what it was trying to say, and all of the text is so horrendously scaled and placed so awfully

but the real issue is in that "fine print":

"I already know the scope of the test, and it seems I'm going to be that one big-breasted popular girl on the exam!"

what.

the.

fuck.

this makes ZERO FUCKING SENSE given the actual illustration, i know bocchi has big boobs in the manga but WHO'S THAT GIRL WITH THE BIG BOOBS, HUH??? WHAT'S HER SIGNIFICANCE???

it doesn't take an expert to realise that what bocchi's saying here doesn't even make any sense if she's not even the one with big boobs in her fantasy of what will happen if she repeats a year

now i always lean on the side of never attributing to malice what can be attributed to stupidity, and i was ready to just assume this was a piss-poor translation

but i found the scanlator making a post on the MangaDex forums about the situation, and in it they said this (reminder that the panel in question comes from chapter 58):

so it was intentional. it was a person actually trying to censor the original intent of the author because they didn't like that there was gay representation.

...

i'm done. i'm so fucking done with this.

"i have given up on the lame goal of censoring bocchi the rock" yeah that's a little too late pal. the damage this guy has done is still apparent because in almost all of the places online, including the TOP RESULT for searching "bocchi the rock manga", they still use this guy's awful, rushed, and - let's be honest - homophobic scans instead of the new ones that are actually good.

oh and of course only one guy in the thread actually calls out OP for censoring it in the first place, and then another guy backs up OP and that's the end of that.

these things are small, but it feels like being queer is just kinda not possible nowadays. everyone tries to take it away from us and it's inescapable, even in the places we go to in order to get away from all the bullshit and awful stuff happening in the real world.

stuff like this seems minor but it sends a very real message to queer fans of stuff like this:

we can't have anything.

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Winter 2023 Anime

Is it just me, or did this season of anime kind of blow? Yes, anything would be a step down after the absurdly stacked Fall 2022 roster- and in fact, two of my favorites this season were continuations of shows I already liked from fall (Blue Lock and MHA)- but man, there was just a stench of failure around so much of Winter 2023′s offerings. Not just in how many of them turned out to be disappointments, but in how many of them didn’t even get to finish in time! Barely a week went by without another show suffering long delays, production after production crumbling under the weight of mismanagement and corporate apathy that doesn’t care how many animators are worked to death for an inferior product as long as they can make some extra cash from rushing it out early. I mercifully managed to avoid all the victims of these delays (well, almost; RIP Kubo-san Won’t Let Me Be Invisible), but even existing in the same space as them felt like it took a toll on everything else. This was a rough one, folks. But there were still some gems worth highlighting, so after spilling my thoughts on Onimai, Trigun Stampede and MHA Season 6, here are my thoughts on the rest of the anime I managed to finish this season!

(Also no Vinland Saga review yet cause I’m waiting for the season to be over, but spoilers, it’s still really fucking good. You’re shocked, I can tell.)

Tokyo Revengers Season 2: 1.5/10

You know what? I give up. I gave Tokyo Revengers every opportunity to finally pull itself together and turn into a good show. But not only did it drop the ball so hard the shockwave registered on the Richter scale, it felt like it was actively going out of its way to suck as hard as it could. Every single plot thread in season 2 is bungled so horrendously, from Takemichi’s increasingly unforgivable stupidity to the insulting cul-de-sac fights that change nothing about the status quo to the truly infuriating mishandling of every female character (Hey, I know, let’s give Yuzuha a panty shot while she’s being beaten by her abusive brother! Great idea!), that there is no possible way this show can ever recover. Even if the next season is somehow a masterpiece that fixes all the series’ issues- which it won’t be, let’s be honest- it won’t change the fact that Tokyo Revengers has established a new low for lazy, intelligence-insulting storytelling in shonen. The only reason it managed to get so popular is that it keeps making you think it’s about to do something really cool and meaningful with its high concept. But at this point, it’s all but proven that it never will. Fuck this show, fuck the manga it’s based on, and fuck everyone who accepts this barely-animated hackjob slop as anything close to acceptable entertainment.

The Fire Hunter: 2/10

Between this and Mars Red, I’m really starting to hate studio Signal MD. They’ve got a habit of turning fascinating highbrow fantasy premises into some of the dullest, sloppiest, most poorly produced pieces of pretentious dogshit that think they’re high art imaginable. And this one’s directed by Mamoru Oshii! He’s supposed to be a veteran director who knows his shit! How did he turn out such a colossal flop? Almost nothing in The Fire Hunter works on an audiovisual level; the animation is embarrassing, the direction is incomprehensible, the editing is somehow even worse (I have never seen such poorly timed painterly insert stills), and the whole thing is smothered under a droning soundtrack that drowns every scene in the same overbearing, tuneless sonic dead air. Even the best script in the world couldn’t survive this cataclysmically bad production, and suffice to say, this is very far from the best script in the world. It’s equal parts mind-numbing exposition, dull narration, and pointlessly mean characters with no interesting internal struggles or worldbuilding to justify the air of arrogance about the whole affair. The Fire Hunter desperately wants to convince you it’s art, but it’s just crap. Skip it.

To Your Eternity Season 2 (2nd Half): 3/10

I’ll give it this: the second half of To Your Eternity’s second season is unquestionably better than its first. Not a very high bar to clear, I realize, but after the utter slog that was Bon’s introductory arc, it’s good to have actually interesting things happen for a change. Unfortunately, for all the fresh air the siege of Renril brings to the proceedings- new characters, new kinds of stakes, a bonkers re-imagining of what Fushi’s powers are even capable of- it’s nowhere near enough to save this show from running itself into the ground. Whatever magic To Your Eternity once had is well and truly gone, buried under a flood of terrible production compromises and questionable story choices that have lead it down a path it can never recover from. No matter how much future arcs might try to turn things around, they’ll never escape the lesson this show has somehow forgotten it used to preach: when something dies, it can never truly return. To Your Eternity is dead. It’s over. Let it rest in piece while it still has some faint shred of dignity left.

Giant Beasts of Ars: 3/10

Did someone open a time portal to 2006? Giant Beasts of Ars feels exactly like the kind of original fantasy anime that studios were pumping out two decades ago- and unfortunately, that’s not a compliment. It gets off to a good start with a strong introductory episode that sets the tone well for a fun magitech adventure with some giant monster fighting, but the second that adventure gets under way, pretty much everything goes to shit. The characters are bland. The world itself is dull and uninspired. The action is lifeless thanks to a weak production that can’t give these fights the oomph they need. And the plot escalates from understandable low-key stakes to some of the most asinine “suddenly we’re fighting god now” swerves I’ve ever seen. Seriously, the way this story loses all sense of scale in its final episodes as it barrels head first toward a climax left me stunned in disbelief. Never mind the fact it ends on an asspull cliffhanger that’s almost certain to never get resolved because nobody’s going to want a second season of something this limp and underbaked. What a waste of time.

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: 3.5/10

I was really excited at all the fantasy anime coming out this season. After being swamped in the isekai sewers for so long, it was such a relief to see the industry remember they could tell stories about actual fantastical worlds and not just, you know, reskinned Dragon Quest knockoffs. So imagine my how immeasurable my disappointment was when one by one, all these promising series let me down. Kaina’s Naussicaa-inspired world of snow seas, giant spire trees and steampunk skiffs navigating an allegorical prayer for co-existence with nature and rejection of militarism should have been an easy slam dunk, a new Miyazaki for a modern landscape. Unfortunately, as beautifully realized as the world is- Polygon Pictures is no studio Orange, but their impressive background art and environmental storytelling continue to make a strong case for CG anime- the writers forgot to populate that world with anyone worth getting invested in. The characters are the stockiest of stock archetypes, photocopies of photocopies of tropes that have already been worn to the bone by decades of misuse and overuse alike. If you’ve seen even one generic fantasy anime, chances are you’re already sick of these characters, and there’s nothing fresh or particularly meaningful here to make up for the lack of originality. Don’t get me started on how poorly the princess is treated, yegh. Is it too late to unplug the concept of fantasy anime for a few years and hope it recovers some steam before we plug it back in?

High Card: 3.5/10

There is no excuse for High Card being as lame as it ended up. A Kingsmen-style goofy gentleman spy action comedy written by the author of Kakegurui in which secret agents in dapper suits fight with the power of magic transforming playing cards? And the entire world is themed around cards and card games (the country is Fourland, the spy organization is Pinochle with its office on Old Maid street)? This should have been a camp masterpiece every bit as delightfully unhinged as Kakegurui. This should have been the most gloriously Anime Bullshit (affectionate) experience of the year. But instead, it was mostly just Anime Bullshit (derogatory). It takes so little advantage of its concept, wasting episode upon episode on trite plotlines and cliche developments, jumping between so many tones and focuses without ever settling on a single one. I came here to see Twink Bruce Wayne summon bazookas out of thin air with the power of Instant Interdimensional Marketplace, not slog through the umpteenth iteration of “the stoic katana girl needs to open up to her male colleagues” or “tragic little sister with an incurable illness.” The bouncy ED, which sees the main cast all singing together in the car, was the one consistent bright spot, and even that started feeling more and more like an insult as time went on. If only the rest of the show were as loose and freewheeling as those painfully short 90 seconds per episode promised.

Don’t Toy With Me, Nagatoro-San Season 2: 3.5/10

Look, I’m no prude. I’m not above trash. Nagatoro’s first season was far from a masterpiece, but it had enough actual charm and character depth that I didn’t mind coming along for the ride. But the thing about trash is that just like every other show, you still have to do it well. Nagatoro wasn’t ever entertaining because it was a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists, it was entertaining because it found something recognizably human in spite of being a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists. And sadly, whatever spark made that first season work didn’t survive the transfer to OLM studios. There are fun moments here and there, but the overall package is just too half-hearted to care anymore. Not even the introduction of Nagatoro’s sister keeps the proceedings from feeling increasingly mindless. What’s the point of this show, really? What does it offer that I can’t get better elsewhere? Because if the only appeal is the teasing gimmick, well, Teasing Master Takagi-san is right there, people. You could be watching an actual good show about a girl mercilessly teasing her crush instead of this flavorless assembly-line mushburger of an anime. Just saying.

The Tale of Outcasts: 4.5/10

There’s something strangely endearing about The Tale of Outcasts, despite its many flaws. Does it read like every thirteen-year-old girl’s embarrassing stash of unpublished Ancient Magus Bride fanfiction? Yes, unquestionably. But you know what? There are far worse things to be. Maybe it’s the isekai exhaustion getting to me, but there’s something so refreshing about a cringey wish-fulfillment fantasy adventure populated by stock archetypes and hacky plotting that’s actually, like, wholesome? That feels like it was made out of genuine amateurish love for Victorian splendor mixed with demon furries instead of incel resentment that the world isn’t catering to their every whim? Yeah, it’s still cringe, but it’s charmingly cringe, not revoltingly cringe. I still can’t really recommend it unless you’ve got a real soft spot for deep-voiced daddy beast people who can be your angle or your dveil, but out of all the bad shows I kept up with this season, this was the one where I never minded clicking on that next episode button, and that’s gotta count for something.

Urusei Yatsura (2nd Half): 5.5/10

I think it takes a change in mindset to really appreciate Urusei Yatsura. True to its 70s roots, this is not an anime to watch for a constant sense of forward progression. This is a show to be enjoyed as a reliable weekly comfort, 25 minutes of mayhem every 7 days with a familiar cast of characters bouncing off each other endlessly. If you come in looking for a tightly woven narrative that’s always driving toward a forseeable endpoint like most modern anime confined to single cours runs, you’re likely to be disappointed. But if you let yourself just enjoy the chaos and don’t worry about what might come next, I think you’ll find a lot to like here. If nothing else, I appreciate Studio David sticking to that old-fashioned spirit. But I have to admit, I might’ve preferred a more streamlined adaptation that doesn’t waste a second of runtime. What can I say, I’m used to modern anime pacing. Or maybe I’m just annoyed by yet another instance of a tomboy character who wants to be more feminine. Which, you know, not Ryunosuke’s fault that particular trope has gotten so beaten to death these days, but still. Sometimes making changes for modern times isn’t such a bad thing, you know?

Revenger: 6/10

So y’all hear about this Gen Urobuchi guy? Apparently he was pretty famous back in the day or something, IDK. He’s been plugging away at his goofy Taiwanese puppets show for the past few years and slapped his name on the story concepts of a few high profile projects for extra buzz, but now at last, he’s returned to grace us with a full story and script from his own hands! ...and apparently from 17 years in the past as well, because from what I’ve heard, Urobuchi originally wrote Revenger back in 2006, well before the one-two-three punch of Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero and Psycho-Pass that would make him a household name. And boy does it definitely feel like a trial run of those shows. Not that it’s bad by any means; it’s slickly produced, the cast has good chemistry, and the Booch is clearly having fun coming up with creative ways for evil bastards to be mercilessly slaughtered. But that’s really all it is, with little of the staggering depth and emotional complexity that would later earn him a place among the greats. It’s a first draft of basically all the thematic ideas he’d later perfect: the corruption of systems of power, the failure of blind heroism, the necessity of finding hope even in the darkest corners of the earth. I still recommend it for any fans of creative edgy violence, but don’t come in expecting another Madoka. It’s a bite-sized snack of an Urobuchi show, not the main course. And I’m totally fine with that; it’s entertaining enough on its own modest merits to be worth a look.

Play It Cool, Guys (2nd Half): 6/10

Yeah, I knew this one was gonna grow on me. There’s nothing like a really good low-key deadpan comedy to put me in a good mood at the end of a long day. Really, I think Cool Doji Danshi’s secret weapon is how much it appreciates the mundane awkwardness of everyday life. I have been in many situations much like its titular characters, little moments of confusion where the pieces don’t quite line up how they’re supposed to and before I know it I’m putting my umbrella in the fridge because I momentarily mixed it up with the groceries. And also like its title characters, I’ve learned just how damn important these moments are to my life. None of us are perfect meat machines 100% of the time; in many ways, our clumsiness is what makes us human far more than our accomplishments. And there’s something so wonderfully comforting about watching these boys (and men) come to appreciate their own imperfections much as I’ve done of myself. We need more shows that celebrate that simple silliness as well as this one does. So if you’ve been looking for something to lift your spirits in this increasingly grim world, I cannot recommend this show enough.

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale: 6.5/10

Do my eyes deceive me? A non-isekai, shoujo oriented fantasy that’s all about slavery being a bad thing? Stop the presses, we’re defying all the norms over here! Between this and the new season of Vinland Saga, it feels like we’re finally starting to push back on the noxious floodgates that Shield Hero pried open, and I could not be more thankful for that. Now, is Sugar Apple Fairy Tale a perfect depiction of the dynamics of slavery? Fuck no, it’s a young adult wish-fulfillment romance about a hot sulky fairy boy falling for the woman that was once his owner, this thing’s as problematic as an Antebellum-era Uncle Tom’s Cabin ripoff. But at least it’s actually trying to say something about the effects of dehumanization on a societal scale and how it manifests, and I’d argue it succeeds more often than it trips over itself. Plus, how fucking great is it to have an actual shoujo romance again? Set in a charming fantasy world with some actual originality? Sugar Apple Fairy Tale’s not perfect, but its charms are evident of a trend I hope to see countless other shows follow. The more fantasy anime looks like this instead of The World’s Strongest Necromancer is Reincarnated With a Cheat Skill In Another World Harem (I just made that title up, but admit it, you weren’t sure at first), the better off we’ll all be.

Ippon Again: 6.5/10

We seriously need more good female-centric sports anime. The guys have been dominating the field with their shounens and seinens while the girls are forced to subside on moeblob table scraps more concerned with being cute than actually telling a compelling sports narrative, or else being handed the absolute bottom of the production barrel (cries in Farewell My Dear Cramer). Ippon Again isn’t gonna right the ship all on its own, but it’s a damn good first step. The characters feel like believable teenagers, their judo matches are given genuine weight and strong animation, and while it suffers from some tired sports anime cliches, it always executes them with heart firmly on its sleeve. At its best, it captures the same freewheeling adolescent spirit that defines the likes of A Place Further Than the Universe, and I don’t say that lightly. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s a damn good time with no caveats, and hopefully it’ll only be the first of many great lady-centric sports anime to come.

Tsurune Season 2: 7/10

If you’ve somehow forgotten about the first season of KyoAni’s pretty boys doing archery show Tsurune from back in 2018, well, I don’t blame you. As a testing ground for the studio’s rookie talent to take their first crack at putting their own show together, it was by far the studio’s most workmanlike production, an all-around solid experience but lacking the insane polish and panache that defines the KyoAni brand. But my god, what a difference five years makes. Tsurune’s second season isn’t just a massive upgrade on the production front, it’s a complete overhaul on the show’s entire look and feel. It’s sweeping and elegant, it’s vibrant and explosive, it’s as expertly poised and shimmering as a bowstring drawn at dawn right before it releases a brilliant arrow. This show has gone from KyoAni’s simplest looking show to one of its most richly cinematic, complete with earthier color tones and revamped score from Fruits Basket composer Masaru Yokoyama. Yes, it’s ultimately still just a show about pretty boys learning to shoot bows well as they overcome their issues together. But with such a massive step up in its look and feel, it’s officially become just as much appointment viewing as any KyoAni masterpiece.

Blue Lock (2nd Half): 7.5/10

Now that’s more fucking like it. Last season I bemoaned the lack of edgy death game nonsense I was promised in this edgy death game sports anime, but once we reached the second selection, Blue Lock kicked into high gear and made good on its premise at last. Betrayals! Allies turned enemies! Enemies turned allies! Overcharged homoerotic rivalries and break-ups alike! Overdramatic shonen boys trying to crush each other underfoot to grow stronger! Self-actualization through rejecting the power of friendship and embracing the power of “Fuck this guy!” This is everything I wanted when I first learned about Blue Lock’s premise, twisting the classic shonen sports formula into an equally blood-pumping tale of clashing egos and selfishness as everyone fights to become the best player by embracing their worst selves. It might have taken a hot second to get there, but now that it’s arrived, this show has become some of the most deliriously entertaining chaos you’re likely to find in the genre. Well done, you mad genius.

Buddy Daddies: 8/10

Man, whoever’s making the decisions on what shows PA Works produces is really on a roll lately, huh? It takes a real genius to look at premises like Ya Boi Kongming and Akiba Maid War and see an opportunity to create something truly special. But even that pales in comparison to the brilliance behind Buddy Daddies, a.k.a. “Hey, so this Spy x Family show is about to take over the world, right? What if we made our own version of that, but mix in the homoerotic buddy-cop energy of Tiger and Buddy to make it stand out?” That’s the kind of galaxy-brain thinking that’s rapidly making this studio a personal favorite of mind. And it’s that kind of confidence and pure solid storytelling chops that make Buddy Daddies just as entertaining and endearing as its most obvious inspiration. It’s not exactly the same- it’s set in modern day, it’s more focused on the child-raising than the assassin stuff- but it’s every bit as good at nailing that specific sweet spot of deliciously entertaining spy action, wholesome family hijinks, and the bittersweet space in between trying to reconcile those two worlds. Heck, Miri’s a way more realistic four-year-old than Anya ever was; you can tell the writers really did their research on what it’s like to care for a child that young. The year’s still young, but I think this show is already a strong contender for the feel-good masterpiece of 2023. Just don’t go in expecting the hot guys to kiss, because you will leave disappointed if you do.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady: 8.5/10

We’ve done it, folks. We’ve finally cracked the code on how to make modern isekai great. Step One: Center it on a female protagonist with an actual personality instead of an empty self-insert male-patterned cooler full of stale oatmeal. Step Two: Make your story all about subverting the exhausting masturbatory self-centeredness of vanilla isekai in favor of a symbolic or literal revolution to give power back to all lovers of fantasy instead of pandering to maladjusted thirty-year-old manchildren. Step Three: As part of that progressive reinvention, make it GAY. AS. FUCK. The Executioner and her Way of Life was a strong step in the right direction, but as good as that show was, there was clearly still room to push things even further. But now, at last, that potential has been fully realized by the stunning tale of a reincarnated princess and a genius young lady coming together to revolutionize the world. Folks, MagiRevo fucking rules. The main leads are wonderful separately and even more wonderful together, the production is strong enough to carry the story’s soaring ambition, and it’s a genuinely powerful exploration of the harms caused by archaic systems of patriarchal power, and how difficult it is- but also how necessary- to change what’s been leading a society down the wrong path for so long. And while it drags a little in the midsection, it all culminates in a spectacular final act and a final episode that had me sobbing in my seat for 25 straight minutes. This isn’t just the best isekai since Re:Zero, this is a triumph of queer fantasy carving its own revolution through a genre that’s desperately needed it for far too long. So come join me and raise your banner with Anis and Euphie, because their journey deserves all the attention we can give. I promise, you won’t regret it.

[lotus-pear]

Hi! (Sorry this is long. I wasn’t sure how to shorten it)

I saw your most recent post involving your social experiment with your friend and I figured I can (maybe) contribute data to your social experiment!

Context: I started watching BSD somewhere around 2019 (I think I watched season 3 as it aired or it had just finished and it seemed like the anime ended). I accidentally found it, the description seemed interesting and the names looked familiar (i.e., I recognised some of them as authors right away)

So, I looked up the characters and while trying to minimise spoilers (and somehow mostly succeeded in that?) and was exposed and was exposed almost exclusively to knkdz (I didn’t realise Chuuya existed until I got to episode 9 and wasn’t aware of any other ships). It’s also worth noting that I didn’t really interact with fandoms that much back then (the most— for all the things I was a fan of/consumed— was accidentally discovering and seeing knkdz fan content. It seemed like an interesting ship)

Anyway, then I watched the show (and started the manga). The result? For me personally, I found knkdz to be the least interesting ship (romantic or queerplatonic)— don’t get me wrong/that being said, I *love* their canon relationship and whatnot

(We’ll see if that changes after I read the light novels since stuff like new manga scenes/arcs, Beast and Dazai, Chuuya, Age 15 have affected my opinions on characters, relationships and etc)

Most of the relationships I like to see when consuming content is actually platonic, with the few ships I do like being mostly queerplatonic (off the top of my head, I think the only actual romantic ship I have is Fitzgerald and his wife?), and all relationships being treated as roughly equally important

(And, if asked to list my favourite ships by order, it would have more to do with my favourite characters than actual ships lol)

Note: I’m on the romance-repulsed area/spectrum (for lack of a better word that I can think of at the moment) of AroAce so, like, that probably affects things lol

(That being said, it’s nice to see that BSD treats all relationships fairly equally and contributed me to liking the show so much!)

a response that i’ll make sure to factor in! i will say however that i have to disagree w you bc even as just friends or even going lower as just work acquaintances kunikida and dazai are written to have a lot deeper relationship than they actually let on. none of this is elaborated on in the anime or manga bc the series’s main focus is atsushi for the beginning but if you read dazai’s entrance exam you get kunikidas entire inner monologue abt dazai and it’s very interesting how quickly they latch onto each other. dazai’s reasons are more tragic than he lets on i believe, but until we get that directly from him we can only assume he gets so close to the ada and kunikida especially bc kuni reminds him of odasaku. that’s a whole tangent i can go on separately but suffice to say it’s the reason why he fell hard and followed him like a motherless duckling everywhere in the beginning, bc he saw oda’s unwavering resolve and firm ideals in that man. despite being in a conscienceless world that weighs survival against humanity, both oda and kunikida fight to ensure their personal beliefs are still held up. dazai finds that admirable in both men

[formulaorange]

Fall 2023 Anime Review

The 24 episodes series this season are popping off. Honestly one of the better seasons for anime that we've had in a few years.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (1/2) - 16/28 Episodes This show almost feels like a fever dream. There's a fuzziness to the animation style that also gives it a ghibli vibe. Definitely one of the more memorable and important fantasy series out there. It has something about it that gives it more of a deeper meaning than other series and definitely feels like each episode is it's own piece of a puzzle. 10/10 - Masterpiece

The Apothecary Diaries (1/2) - 12/24 Episodes I wasn't sure what to expect from this series but I thoroughly enjoy it so far. I ended up going ahead and reading the manga because I wanted more content. Just a fun medical mystery type show with some goofy scenes and bits of almost romance? Looking forward to more episodes in the future. 8.5/10 - Very Good +

Shangri La Frontier (1/2) - 12/25 Episodes I genuinely enjoy this series. It does have a bit of an SAO vibe initially but it moves past that real quick. I think it's one of the more enjoyable series for people who actually enjoy and appreciate video games. Overall, the game itself just looks like a lot of fun and you can tell the mc is enjoying it too. 8/10 - Very Good

Shy - 12 Episodes I don't know why people aren't into this series. I think it would definitely have done better had it come out during the peak of hero shows but it still hits. I think it's a really well done story and the animations are also satisfying. Reminds me a little of Justice League or Young Justice. Honestly a fun watch. 8/10 - Very Good

SpyxFamily - Season 2 - 12 Episodes This show never disappoints. Each episodes is just as entertaining as the first season and I don't feel like a single episode has been wasted so far. I'm still very much looking forward to future content. 8.5/10 - Very Good+ Dr. Stone - Season 3 - 11 Episodes For some reason I always seem to put off watching this series but as soon as I get into it, it's so worth it. Definitely still holding up to the pilot season and I'm just as stoked for future seasons. Solid consistency. 8/10 - Very Good The Eminence In Shadow - Season 2 - 12 Episodes This had such a banger first season. Definitely just a fun show for me that I try not to look into too much when watching. Has straight forward fun protagonist and the story hasn't flopped so far. 7.5/10 - Good+ Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions - 13 Episodes The first few episodes come off as a cheesy Sherlock spoof but it definitely takes off on the later cases. It becomes less overall about the cases but the combo of the two and the different situations they end up in. By the end of the season I felt like the cases they worked were fun and interesting and I liked the character building. 7/10 - Good My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-rank Adventurer I gave this 3 episodes. Honestly I think ending it at episode 3 was fine.. The story feels weak but it's a nice short story if you watch the first 3 episodes and don't care the whole demon lord plot. 5/10 - Average The Rising of Shield Hero - Season 3 - 12 Episodes I got through about 4 episodes and really enjoyed it and then it just went downhill. It turned into some kind of monster raising anime with a side of shield hero. I initially dropped it but decided to come back and finish it because i'm still attached to the overaching story for some reason. I found the last 3 episodes were decent and did add to the overall story but I still had such a rough time in the first 3/4. 4.5/10 - Less than Average Goblin Slayer - Season 2 - 12 Episodes I was so disappointed by this show. I honestly can't remember how the first season ended but I don't feel like it needed this season. Felt much more like the standard harem isekai with very little interesting aspects to the story. Not to mention the whole elf incest story line they threw in there. Definitely won't be coming back for a 3rd season. Had a really hard time getting through this one. 3.5/10 - Bad/Very Bad

[ping1n]

Tag game (thank you @chickenmcnuggies )

took me a week to get around to this lol

Last song I listened to: I was just on the train so I was listening to my generic garage/punk rock playlist, the last of which was The Mirror by Himalayas.

Currently Watching: Not a lot really. I was watching the dungeon meshi anime but I've finished the manga now so I'm just keeping up to see how they animate it. Also managed to get my sister to watch it so I'm rewatching the first episodes with her.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: I do like sweet stuff but I'm allergic to milk which puts most chocolate off the cards. I also have a fairly high spice tolerance but I wouldn't eat something just because its spicy (I will add whatever spice is in my kitchen to literally anything I'm cooking though). So I think savory is the winner - my go to food at my uni is a steak pie, which you can get for pretty cheap at literally any cafe/bakery, and is nice enough.

Relationship Status: I dont think I'm aromantic but the whole idea sounds exhausting so I'm unbothered.

Current Obsession: I am trying my absolute hardest to beat Terraria Calamity. I just managed to beat Devourer of Gods after 88 ATTEMPTS and now I'm struggling against Supreme Calamitas (and im only on revengeance :'( ). I'm also playing dwarf fortress a lot when the terraria is too hard.

Tagging @tobias-exists-again (which tumblr does not recognize for some reason. hopefully that tagged you correctly), @almost-correct-quotes, @ehovel and @auroras-void

[veg-hotwings]

Things I expected from MHA because of the fandom VS canon

I started actively watching MHA last october, after dropping it years ago because the first two minutes bored me.

But in october I caught a fever and had absolutely 0 energy, so all I could do was resting on the sofa and watching TV. I decided to give MHA another chance, it looked chill and lighthearted after all, and I actually enjoyed it.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much I finished the whole thing in no time, and dragged one of my best friends along. In December I rewatched it with him again and ordered all the manga (including Smash, Team-Up Missions and the characters books). Now I'm up to date with every chapter, have merchandise, cosplays, read hundreds of fanfics and written a couple myself, and plan to go to one of the biggest conventions here in Italy all because of it.

I can almost say it saved me at the time. It wasn't a nice period, and MHA helped me a lot to ease my mind, find comfort and understand things from my own childhood. It gave me something to be excited for (like the weekly updates and the new season), other people to talk to, a creativity boost and even a job.

BUT!

I arrived in the fandom quite late, and the biggest reveals and theories had been already made (no, I didn't expect Dabi to be Touya, so thank you fandom for spoiling this :'D I was so mad!).

So here's a list of every difference between fanon and canon that shocked me - in other words, what happened in the manga that I didn't expect because of fans' headcanons. I'll keep this updated for my own pleasure v.v

EraserMic family & Shinso: I sincerely thought that Aizawa and Hizashi would be living together with Shinso and Eri (blame this on denki.darling on TikTok), and that we'd be seeing Shinso more frequently.

Hawks and the LoV: I believed Hawks would be spending some time with the whole gang, including Shigaraki, but they never actually met! He didn't even stay at their hideout, he only knew the PLF mansion in Gunga!

Hawks and Dabi: This is a tough one, as they're my supreme OTP. As I remarked in another post, they only share 6 canon moments together. Six. It's nothing. I was really convinced there would be more scenes of them together, also to build up the divorce betrayal scene, but there weren't. I started shipping them because of the fandom, not the anime, and only later caught up with the manga, so I spent a couple of days feeling really stupid and sad and questioning myself on why would I ship them if they really barely talked to each other. We don't even know about their first encounter! But eventually I sobered up and started shipping them even harder. Also, I totally fell for the childhood friends thing. Another stab in my heart when I found out it was purely fanon.

Dabi's past: Reading plenty of fanfiction, I thought Enji phisically forced him to train his quirk and that was the reason why Touya burned up and became Dabi, so when I read Dabi's past in the manga I was very lost, to say the least. I couldn't get it. Endeavor surely wasn't a nice father, but he wanted to protect Touya from his own quirk. He didn't push him! Instead, he pleaded him to let it go and focus on other things. It was Touya who did that to himself, and now throwing a tantrum because his dad didn't pay attention to him anymore. I started to dislike the character, and man, was I wrong. I reevaluated his whole story after chapter 350 in April. Seeing Touya like that, seeing him being afraid, alone, heartbroken and still wanting to apologize and put everything behind him broke me. And then he comes home to a household that seems to have forgotten about him, to a father that still beats his children, and that was his last straw, the final confirmation that his life never had meaning. Only then I started reading character analysis and understanding the truth. That neglecting children is abuse. That feeding a child with dreams up to the point they become his whole world and purpose and then stripping him from them is abuse. I was so blind to this and to my own childhood, because something very similar happened to me. Since then, I began relating to Touya a lot more. Not justifying his actions but understanding his pain.

Deku's corruption: This is stupid, but I was almost convinced he actually would have joined the League to be with Toga XD

[lostcauses-noregrets]

Eruri is my favorite ship but for personal reasons, I have very strict limits when it comes to fictional content and find very few fics that I am comfortable reading. I feel really alienated within the fandom because everyone has tastes that are not mine and can enjoy the most extreme content without any problems... As an eruri veteran, what do you think of the tastes of the fandom and how Erwin and Levi are generally perceived within it? What is your opinion on the evolution of tastes in the fandom as it grew? Do you feel more in tune with how Erwin and Levi were perceived before or today? And finally, what kind of fics do you like to read and (if you don't mind answering) what kind of fics will you never read?

I’m glad you are clear about setting your own boundaries, but I’m sorry you’re struggling to find content you’re comfortable reading.  I know it can be dispiriting if you feel you’re out of step with your fandom, but preserving your own comfort is always important. 

In terms of your questions, I’m going to break this down if that’s okay. 

As an eruri veteran, what do you think of the tastes of the fandom and how Erwin and Levi are generally perceived within it?

The first thing to say here is that obviously the Eruri fandom isn’t a unified whole.  It’s a large and diverse fandom with many different communities spread across multiple platforms and continents so it’s almost impossible to make generalisations. I’m not on TikTok, but I know the Eruri fandom on TikTok is quite different to the fandom on Tumblr or Twitter.  There’s a huge Asian and Japanese fandom too of course, and their perception of these characters, their motivations and actions, can be very different from Western fandoms.  @tsuki-no-ura's excellent blog gives a fascinating glimpse into what gets lost in translation.  

I also think fans’ perception of these characters depends on when and how they came to the series.  Anime only fans will have a different perception from manga fans. I think that fans who followed the series in real time have a different attachment to the characters from those who came to the series after it ended and were able to consume the whole story from start to finish.  

If I was to make a sweeping generalisation though, I’d say that the fandom’s perception of Erwin and Levis is pretty true to canon.  Most Eruri fans perceive Erwin’s emotional depth, the burden of guilt he carries, and the toll that pursuing his father’s dream takes on him. Erwin is a visionary, he can be ruthless when the occasion demands, but he never sacrifices life needlessly, and every soldier lost under his command adds to his burden.  

If you step outside the Eruri fandom, which I do very rarely, you will find a very different perception of Erwin. In some quarters he is still regarded as the ruthless, heartless, military commander who cares nothing for the lives he throws away. These are the fans who will swear blind that Erwin would have supported the Yeagerists and Eren’s genocide. I can only conclude they read the series with their eyes shut. 

Levi is crude and awkward but also deeply kind and compassionate.  He is loyal to a fault and devoted to those he loves. Many fans perceive Levi’s love language as being acts of service, which is not out of keeping with the way he is portrayed in canon. There is a beautiful quote from Kamiya Hiroshi, who described Levi as the last stronghold of Erwin’s humanity and I think that really sums up how he is seen by the fandom. 

O: “However, in coming back to being a human, it was when he talked to Levi, probably” (K: *assents*) “Well, all this time, probably, Levi was the last fortress, I think, that he can be as human.”

Ono Daisuke and Kamiya Hiroshi’s Dear Girl: Stories translated by @tsuki-no-ura

What is your opinion on the evolution of tastes in the fandom as it grew? 

Like I said in the ask about Marley Erwin that I answered yesterday, I think that after Erwin died in the manga it freed writers to explore a myriad of AUs and what-ifs.  However it’s notable that there are still many new authors writing fics set in the canon universe.  Fics set in the period between ACWNR and the SnK manga are enduringly popular.  Obviously once Marley came into the picture that gave writers a whole new world to play in and many seized the opportunity enthusiastically. The various merchandise franchises and collaborations have also provided fertile grounds for writers.  The Sukiya AU was a gift to the fandom.  Ditto Mer Levi and King Erwin. 

Again, I hesitate to generalise, but I have noticed a bit of a trend over the last year or so for some writers to focus on darker aspects of Erwin’s character and his relationship to Levi.  Virgin Eruris also seem to be in vogue.  Not sure where that’s coming from. Trans Eruri fics have also grown in popularity over the last few years. 

One of the things that’s interesting about the Eruri fandom is that the ending of the canon series appears to be having no impact on the popularity of the ship.  The manga ended two years ago but the fandom is still growing. There are now a million different ship weeks and challenges to cater to almost every aspect of the ship. Last year we had Eruri Valentine Week, Femruri Week, Eruri Fluff Month, Eruri August, Dark Eruri Week, Trans Eruri Week, Bottom Erwin Week to name but a few.  There really is something for everyone. 

Do you feel more in tune with how Erwin and Levi were perceived before or today? 

Ooh that’s a tough one. Fandom communities tend to be transient by their nature, so if you stick around for longer than the norm, it’s inevitable that your interests may fall out of line with new influxes of fans. I’m not going to deny that I do sometimes feel out of step with large parts of the fandom, as though I’ve stayed in the same place but the fandom has moved on. I will always be nostalgic for the Midnight Sun era, it was such an intense time, and despite the pain of the Serum Bowl, I'm glad I experienced it.  But again, the Eruri fandom is so large and diverse that there are still plenty of corners where I feel right at home, where I can hang out with other fandom dinosaurs 🦕 At the same time, it’s really exciting to see so many new fans discovering this amazing ship.  The Eruri fandom has always been blessed with incredibly talented writers and artists and it’s great to see new generations of fans carrying on this tradition. I’ve been really blown away by some of the new creators that have come to the fandom over the last couple of years.

And finally, what kind of fics do you like to read and (if you don't mind answering) what kind of fics will you never read?

I don’t mind answering as long as we’re clear that these are just my personal preferences.  No shade on anyone who loves things I dislike and vice versa.  

My preference is for fics that stick closely to Erwin and Levi’s canon characterisation, but I love AUs as much as canonverse.  I adore fics that explore Erwin and Levi’s growing relationship.  I’m a real sucker for hurt-comfort and I don’t shy away from fics that explore the impact of grief.  I love reading smut.  Well written BDSM fics that understand trust, catharsis and consent own my whole heart, but at the same time I adore fics where Erwin and Levi teach each other that they are worthy of tenderness and love.  I’ve really grown to enjoy creature fics and you might even catch my reading omegaverse from time to time, but only if it’s written by seabear or @flecksofpoppy Historical AUs are absolutely my jam and I love fics that really inhabit a sense of place. 

In terms of dislikes, I won’t read fics where Erwin is gratuitously cruel or callous or where he mistreats or manipulates Levi. I also dislike fics where Levi is naive, incapable, clingy or weepy. I find jealousy a real turn off and avoid it like the plague.  I don’t mind reading first times but I have no interest in fics that focus on virginity. I’m not keen on mpreg, breeding kink, nesting and some of the squickier aspects of omegaverse. I dislike fics about marriage and weddings, with a few notable exceptions. I’m not a huge fan of parental Eruri fics, and I actively avoid fics where Erwin or Levi parent any of the Shiganshina trio. Zevi is an absolute hard nope from me, even when (especially when?) he is the abusive ex. Having said all that, there are always exceptions to the rule. As a wise friend of mine once said “you’re only one fic away from shipping your notp” and a really talented writer can make you fall in love with tropes or scenarios that you previously hated. 

Oof sorry, that was a long ass answer.  Thanks for your ask, it was interesting to sit down and think about some of this stuff.

[commander-revan]

what do you think akane and touya's life together would have been like if she had been able to go to sekoto peak?

Oof, so this is something I've thought a lot about, and maybe someday I'll even write an AU for it (assuming I ever finish the fic I'm working on now).

In an idealistic world, what would probably be the most mentally healthy thing for them to do would be to give up on their dream of becoming heroes. Touya could let go of seeking his father's approval, and channel his rage and pain into art, something that all of the world could see, that proves he exists and exists for a reason. And while Akane isn't good with people in any universe, she could use her self sacrificing and protective instincts (what Dabi calls her tendency to take in broken things, like himself) to work in animal rescue in some capacity, maybe even training service dogs.

But, even in a world where Touya lived, neither of them are ever in the best mental state due to everything they've been through, and both of them are too stubborn and determined to give up on their goals once they've set them. Touya would still want to prove himself, and Akane would still want to find out what actually happened to her mom. (Spoilers for my own fanfic because it'll be a long time before I get there so whatever, but it's All For One related, and her mom was basically involved in a situation similar to some of the plot in the Vigilantes manga. And AFO also stole her quirk and put it in a Nomu, so that'll be fun once I get around to the Paranormal Liberation War arc)

I've got a lot of sort of disjointed thoughts on this though, so bear with me for a bit, lol. I think that in a world where he lived, she would almost not make it to him in time, but something would make her realize that despite what was going on with her family the same night, that she needed to go find him. She'd find him crying under the tree and either the area under his eyes would have already caught fire, or his whole body would have just erupted into flames. She'd get there, see him, grab him, and dive into the water he had tried to get to on his own. He'd still suffer from some rough burns that he'd definitely have to go to the hospital for, but I think seeing her show up could have jolted him out of it enough for the flames to die down before the water douses them completely.

I also think given what almost happened to him, and the fact that she did lose her mom that same night, Akane would actually admit her feelings for him, and tell him she loved him. Which, while it wouldn't fix things for Touya, it would maybe help him heal and realize that he shouldn't have to fight for Endeavor's love/attention so much.

That event would scare both of them enough that they'd start trying to reevaluate their training techniques, and since Enji only ever taught Touya how to burn, they'd make it a priority to try to figure out how to turn down Touya's flames in case something like that happened again. Maybe even going to Rei, Fuyumi, and Natsuo for tips given their ice quirks. (Also maybe discovering Touya's latent ice quirk sooner? We still don't really know what's going on with that in the manga, so we'll see.)

Akane would probably be able to convince him that he should look into support gear to help him stay cool and not burn himself as much (not really sure if there is support gear that could help that, but fuck it, it's a fanfic), that unlike what his father thinks, it doesn't make Touya any lesser for needing it, it's just that others have an unfair advantage.

With Touya not dying, I think Rei would have improved a lot faster in the hospital, and given how apologizing to his mom is one of the first things Touya thinks of when waking up after his coma in the manga, I think they'd write to her/go visit her a lot more. Touya and Rei could start having more honest conversations about their life at Akane's urging since she never got to have that relationship with her own mom. And because of that, I think Touya would realize how much of a monster his father is sooner, even if deep down he still craves that approval, he'd see how Enji's behavior isn't ok and none of them ever deserved what they went through. Which would make Akane and Touya try to make looking out for Shoto a priority. Even if there is still a bit of that jealousy there, Touya would be able to see past it and see how much pain Shoto was in.

Akane would probably try to reach out to someone, maybe even All Might since Endeavor hates him so much, to tell them about what Endeavor was putting his children and wife through. I'm honestly not sure if that would result in the kids being taken away from him (I do think the HPSC and the courts would just ignore any evidence of abuse though) or Endeavor changing at all. But maybe All Might would start doing wellness checks on the Todoroki's at least.

Akane and Touya would still probably go to U.A. and similar to the rooftop trio, they'd want to follow through on their promise to start a hero agency of their own together. With Touya learning to want to be a hero for himself and his family along the way, instead of chasing the Number One spot and status like his father.

Akane's father would still die her first year at school, and she'd probably still see Vlad King as a mentor figure, whether she ended up in 1A or 1B. So her experience there would be a bit similar to what it already is in some ways. Though instead of living in a U.A. dorm set up after her father's death, I can see Fuyumi and Touya petitioning their parents for her to live with them, and for her to share a room with Fuyumi.

I can see both of them being highly critical of hero society as a whole once they become Pros, maybe not enough to join the League or anything like that, but enough to try to change things from the inside, at least for a while. Ultimately I'm not sure where that would put them by the time we get to current events in the manga, but those are some of the basic ideas I have.

There would still be a lot of difficult times for them, sleepless nights, some bouts of suicidal ideation, tough battles, and that sort of thing, but they would absolutely be happier. They'd definitely be one of those insufferably cute couples that would burn the world for each other. Even if they are heroes, that still doesn't make them the best morally in some situations, and they'll always choose each other first before anything else, even at the cost of innocent lives.

[a-small-tired-lonely-potato]

Hiiiii !!!

How are you? ^^

I just saw your post from a few months ago ( this one https://at.tumblr.com/a-small-tired-lonely-potato/hi-ive-seen-some-of-your-posts-about-mairuma-and/6c7a5uv63rvk) and since you said that we could ask you about your opinions of different characters I wanted to ask, what do you think of Balam ?

I only watch the anime so I'm not up to date with the manga but I really like him, he's adorable and seems like a really good teacher too !!!!

Balam Shichiro is my favorite Bird Teacher.

He is one of my favorite characters in the entire show! And I would adore sharing my thoughts on him.

(note, sorry to all for my absence, Christmas time was chaotic and my batteries were hella drained, even doing things I liked doing took waaay to much outta me, hopefully when I finish moving in my mojo will come back)

When Balam first showed up, like when we first meet him in class, I thought he'd only be a teacher with a couple odd quirks that the gremlin side of the fandom would froth at the mouth for.

I wasn't entirely wrong about that, but I was wrong about him being only that.

"I showed everyone your wings, not out of malice but it still probably sucked showing people something you might be embarrassed about, and I'm sorry, so you can see something I'm embarrassed about so we can call it even." I thought that was a very sweet gesture to give someone, because Iruma was worried about showing his back, not in the way Balam was thinking but still.

It was just such pure kindness, then we got Iruma's sudden confession after being shocked by that kindness and Balam's reaction just sealed my love for him immediately.

At first his excitement gets the best of him, I mean if I spent my whole life hearing that the study I was invested in wasn't even real and that I was crazy for spending so much time on it, only to have living, breathing, Talking Proof! I might get overexcited and almost pass out too.

And then he immediately turns on his teacher switch, realizing that Iruma was in incredible danger and had no way to defend himself if the truth came out to someone who shouldn't know and he should be keeping his humaness a SECRET and that Dumb Naive Boy just up and decided to out himself!!! For What??!? TEA!? KINDNESS!?!

And ends up chastising the boy for hours

And you know what? I'd do that too, That confession scene gave me a heart attack Iruma, what in Delkira's name were you thinking?! Thank God you stumbled upon the ONE demon who wouldn't immediately eat your dumbass.

And after that my love does nothing but grow every time we meet, he has such pure honest dad energy

I adore his vibes.

The first thing he does is make sure no one else knows so he can guarantee Iruma's safety, for no other reason then Iruma is his student and is an endangered precious species and he has a responsibility to keep the boy safe and help him grow.

He makes picture books for Iruma when he hears he's having problems with studying so he can make sure he has the knowledge to survive the demon realm, and from there on becomes Iruma's closest ally and confidant, at least in Bablys.

He can't tell any of his friends or his other teachers about him being a human, and while Grandpa Sully is sweet he can't always be there for Iruma, neither can Opera. So Balam becomes his de-facto guardian, and then also becomes someone he can talk to when he's unsure.

And while I loved him in the Walter Park Arc my favorite moment of him comes much later.

There are spoilers ahead so I'm gonna make a block in orange so you can skip if you dont wanna get spoiled for it.

~~~~~~~~DONT READ! HERE BE SPOILERS!~~~~~~~~~~

So after the HeartBreaker exam Balam calls Iruma to his office to give him a full check up (He's probably become his doctor since he's the closest thing the demon realm has to a human expert now that i think about it) and after checking up on him he drops some bitter truth on our boy.

He brings up the attack by one of the teachers, and that even though two other students were attacked with one being injured, the teacher was primarily searching for and targeting Iruma.

He brings up that the teacher more likely then not, has figured out that Iruma was a human, and he gives Iruma two options going forward. Either seek out the Border Patrol to send him back home to the human realm, or stay by Sulivan's side under lock and key for the rest of his lifespan.

Iruma, when faced with two options he doesn't like, does what he usually does, and makes his own option. He decides to devote himself to getting stronger so he can stay with his friends and be safe.

Balam then admits it was a test of Iruma's conviction, and to make sure he understood the danger he was in.

And it just melted my heart, because he truly cared about Iruma at that moment, and wanted him to be safe, but also wanted him to follow the path he wants.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~END OF SPOILERS!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other then that, his relationship with Kalego as being each other Best Tolerants (I fully believe Kalego would die before he admits to caring) gives me life, and I love how different their relationships with Opera are!

The one problem I have with Balam isn't even with Balam himself, It's with Sullivan, Because Balam's Bloodline Magic is BUZZER, A lie Detector Magic. Didn't think maybe Iruma might've wanted a warning about the One Demon who could for SURE out him?!? No heads up on that??? Thanks For Nothing you useless Grandpa.

Balam's protective nature and kind demeanor coupled with his immense power and frighting appearance reminds me of my Father, Whom every single person we meet is terrified of because he's 6 feet of pure muscle and his resting face looks like death, but he's really just a big teddy bear! Anything that reminds me of Dad is great to see in manga because usually dads in anime and manga suck so Balam gets all the love points!!

Very Dad Behavior, well done.

I love his closeness with Sabnock and Azz-Azz when he becomes their personal tutor in the Forest arc, he really shows how much he cares about his students. He just wants the best for them.

And yeah! I just adore our Bird Teacher, he's the best and can do no wrong. We stan a King.

Thank you for the ask! I love blabbing about WTDSIK and am hoping to get back in the saddle on answers! Love that people are enjoying my incessant long ramblings!

Peace out Babes!

[dekusheroacademia]

Ochako has feelings for Deku, but they are not explicitly reciprocated in the manga

Does Deku have feelings for Ochako? We do not know. Because Horikoshi never showed that to us. Deku could have them and they are very deeply hidden, Deku could develop them in the future, in the epilogue, Deku could have decided to put them aside too and we never knew… but what is canon?

MANGA SPOILERS

A) THE MANGA AND WHAT IS THERE

Canon is just what the manga shows to us, nothing else. Everything else is added by interpretation.

We see Deku blushing and being clearly affected by Ochako, when he meets her. In these cases we also see his thoughts. We have him thinking about talking to a girl the first time, and then talking on the phone with a girl.

Deku's blushes are always connected to Ochako "being a girl", not Ochako being Ochako, so much that we see him blushing around Hatsume when he also gets his "first time a girl actually comes even closer to him". And we have of course Deku blushing when Toga mentions romance.

Later on, Deku stops blushing at every interaction with "a girl".

We have other two occasions of Deku blushing around Ochako. One is during the classes vs each others, where Mina comments on Ochako jumping in to save Deku, and Ochako blushes. Deku blushes too, but it is almost an afterthought. We do not see him having that specific reaction to… Mina`s words? We do not know if he heard them. We see him blushing while looking at Shinsou. This scene was so small that the anime even deleted it.

Later on, Deku blushes again in a small scene where Deku and Ochako accidentally pick each others as the Christmas Secret Santa gifts. There is no extra dialogue or interaction between them in that scene, so it is hard to say if this is another case of "the first time ever that I give a gift to a girl" or what. The rest of the interactions between Ochako and Deku are friendly, non romantic in nature.

(some examples:)

Another small "romantic" interaction could be Deku complimenting Ochako's hair during their talk, while looking at the city. The comment is very small, there is no blushing and it is part of a list. I do consider it romantic, but it is hard to say if it was objectively added to be romantic, still, from what we know of how Horikoshi showed romance (blushing), we see that there is nothing:

On the other side, we also know that Deku never has that full-on full face blush that we see him having with Ochako, even if the latest we see that blush is, if I am not wrong, Class 1 A vs Class 1 B.

B) HOW COULD HAVE HORIKOSHI (SUBTLY) DONE IT?

Now, we know that Horikoshi has started to give Deku less and less introspection, so sometimes it is hard to understand what he is thinking. But there are three or four main scenes that Horikoshi could have easily added/changed to show us that Deku also is in love with Ochako. He decided not to that, on purpose, and the first and last examples are the most obvious:

1) The licensing exam. We know that Toga could easily feel Ochako was in love/had a crush, just like her. She recognized the feeling in Ochako, just after meeting her once. When Toga is pretending to be Camie, she can see how Deku interacts with Ochako… and her comment is just "He really trusts you". Horikoshi could have used this moment to show us, indirectly, that Deku also had the same feelings for Ochako. Toga could have confirmed that to Ochako, but if Horikoshi had meant to keep the feelings secret, then Toga could have thought back on that scene later on. She could have lied to Ochako, she could have said "He really…" and not finished the sentence. Instead we have no reason to believe Toga is lying.

2) Class 1A vs Class 1B. Ochako jumps in to save Deku, by calling Shinsou, but the whole aftermath of it is about what triggered black whip, not what stopped it. We could have seen Deku, instead of Uraraka, reacting to Mina's words and trying to deny them. We could have seen a scene of Deku going to thank Uraraka and being all embarrassed and blushing about it, to show that he was affected by it because of romantic feelings, but we have nothing.

3) The talk. When Ochako and Deku talk about Toga, it is clearly no time for romance. But this is a story, there is no need to make it about romance, but there are ways, especially in a visual medium like a manga, to imply such feelings. We could have had a classic "Ochako looks at the city, Deku looks at her".

4) Chapter 348. This is the most glaring one. Toga mentions love and boyfriends, and Deku reacts quite strongly. This could have been the easiest way for Horikoshi to set up a Deku who reciprocates Ochako's feelings. It is clear that Deku is blurting out the first things he thought about being a boyfriend and romance, and Horikoshi could have made him make the connection between romance and things he did with Ochako. Deku could have said something concrete "someone whom you spend time with / train / share lunch / buy gifts for / go to the mall". Instead, Horikoshi decided that Deku was only going to offer abstract things, and he also adds that he never really thought of love - which means that up till this point he had never even thought about any feelings he might have for anyone. So Horikoshi explicitly, almost, says that Deku does not (yet?) explicitly reciprocate Ochako's feelings. At all. His connection is made with All Might, actually.

Another small thing is the way Horikoshi defines love in BNHA. We only have three characters who have a big arc about love: Ochako, Mina, Toga and La Brava. Both Ochako and Toga define love as a feeling connected with "wanting to be like the one you love". I am a bit rusty with La Brava, I would have to re-read those chapters, but if I am not wrong she mainly wants to protect the one she loves, while for what concerns Mina she likes the idea of love and it is used as a joke, not a main theme.

So we have also an indirect way love is defined, protecting the ones you love in their goals (La Brava, boosting the ones you love) and wanting to be like the ones you love. Both these traits are explicitly associated with romance.

From Deku's side, we never really have him boosting other people's goals, as far as I remember. We never see him taking a step back to boost someone's else goal. Even when he comes to save Iida, Iida's goal there is killing Stain - Deku gives him a teaching moment about being a hero. An example could be Todoroki and his journey of forgiveness, as Deku gives him advice, and then supports him.

A more direct thing associated to love is "being like the ones you love". Deku never associates it with Ochako. Ochako does it with Deku, but never the reverse. We have Deku instead associating "being like the ones you love" with All Might, Bakugou, Iida.

So yeah, I think Horikoshi decided to simply not give us anything from Deku's side. Do I know why? There are three main options, in my opinion:

Ochako's feelings are not about a possible Izuocha romance, but about her character arc, so Deku is kinda the object, but not a subject that has to act in it. This might be the case because we know that Toga was added with a certain plot in mind (love = imitation?) and that Ochako was later modified to fit Toga's character (as said by Horikoshi himself)

Horikoshi is sexist. He easily associates female characters to romance, but has more "important" things for his male characters.

Horikoshi specifically wants to make Deku a character who never really thought of romance ever, so he has no feelings on romance with Uraraka or anyone else. And this might end up changing at the end when Deku, post war, starts living the life of a normal teenager.

[novelmonger]

I just finished Trigun Stampede, and it's left me feeling so disappointed, because it could have been...so much more.

To be fair, I have to acknowledge that the storyline is distinctly different from both the first anime and the manga, and while it retains certain similarities to both storylines, it's kind of its own story--and not a bad story, either; it was engaging and interesting in its own right. I especially liked how it handled Vash and Knives's history, what it did with Wolfwood's backstory, and how it wrapped things up at the end.

But the point is that my disappointment with Trigun Stampede has nothing to do with which anime is a closer adaptation of the manga. (I'm due a reread of that anyway; there are a lot of details of the Trigun Maximum portion that I don't remember very well.) When I compare the two animes, I just...enjoy the first one so much more.

It's all very subjective, of course, but here are some of my thoughts:

Where's my girl Milly? :( Why'd they take her out? Did they really think Roberto was a good substitute for silly Milly, the giant girl with the huge gun and the innocent voice, who comes across as an airhead but is actually really sharp? I'm sorry, I'd much rather have her in the party than a jaded, world-weary alcoholic who honestly feels like a less-interesting Wolfwood most of the time. Also, having Milly around meant that Meryl could take the role of the straight man most of the time, whereas the Roberto-Meryl duo is like...two straight men. Just doesn't have the same spark as Meryl and Milly :/

Vash is so much less goofy in this one, he's practically a different person. I mean, yes, his heart is the same, and in a lot of ways the goofiness is a mask and something Vash uses to keep himself from despair (better to laugh than to cry and all that). But it's still a huge part of his personality, and a huge part of what I love so much about Trigun in the first place. I love how the first anime will switch back and forth between being utterly hilarious and dead serious. Trigun Stampede, on the other hand, is almost entirely serious. As a result, the serious moments don't have the same impact as they would have if they came at the tail end of a string of ridiculous hijinks. I probably wouldn't think of that if I hadn't seen the first anime and knew how the story would feel with that kind of tone, but there you are.

There's so much less time to get to know the characters. You can really tell that Trigun Stampede's primary target audience is people who are already fans of the story, because they don't let the story breathe in the beginning. I really got the sense that we're supposed to already know who these people are and why we love them, rather than getting introduced to lovable characters for the first time. I have to wonder whether I would care about any of them if I didn't have tons of episodes where I'd gotten used to them and their quirks and had the time to really learn what they're all about.

WHERE IS BRILLIANT DYNAMITES NEON?! HOW CAN YOU BRING IN THE BAD LADS GANG WITHOUT THEIR FABULOUS LEADER?!?!?

Okay, I'm going to say it: I hate the animation. Sometimes it looked really good (particularly everything with the plants), but other times--especially when it came to character animation, particularly facial animation--it was so...sluggish? It was like the mouth movements couldn't keep up with the voicework, and every movement a character would make would take twice as long as it should, like they were moving through water or something. I'm certainly not against CG animation in anime, but I've seen it done so much better than this. I didn't know such a stylized art style could veer into the uncanny valley, but that was the feeling I got over and over again while watching this anime. It was so distracting that sometimes I found myself staring at their faces without reading the subtitles, and had to back up.

Oh, that reminds me: I'm sure there's a whole host of reasons behind them changing Vash's voice actor, but...I'm sorry, Masaya Onosaka is Vash the Stampede to me. He did such a good job with both the serious and the goofy sides of the character. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka did a great job; I have no complaints with his performance. But...he's just not Masaya Onosaka. It's probably a good thing that this iteration of Vash wasn't as ridiculous and all over the place, because I'm not convinced Yoshitsugu Matsuoka could have pulled it off.

The new character designs were okay for the most part. Not my favorite, but generally not a problem (though I'm not a fan of Meryl's outfit; it makes her look like a kid somehow). The only real problem I have is that Vash's floppier, softer hairstyle makes Wolfwood's nickname "needle noggin" just...not work very well. It was clear why he would give him such a nickname when Vash's hair was sticking straight up like a shock of wheat, but this way? Doesn't look like needles at all. His hair isn't noticeably spikier than anyone else's.

There weren't really any surprises or suspense in the story, because everything was shown in a fairly straightforward way. Not necessarily a problem, I suppose, and it makes sense that they have to cut to the chase more quickly when they've only got 12 episodes to work with. But I missed the way the first anime would just drop hints, show a little bit of a flashback, then move on for another episode or two. Particularly when it came to the nature of what, exactly, Vash is. They basically tell you right away in the first episode what's going on, rather than letting you wonder and slowly piece it together over time. I don't like that.

All in all, Trigun Stampede just doesn't hold a candle to the first anime. Now I'm off to rewatch that one, and then probably reread the manga.

[xbuster]

Pardon me if this is jumping the gun and you planned to do this after your cutie honey viewing, but what's your general opinion/take on the tone of the series as a whole? I've heard a lot of mixed stuff, ranging from it being sexual in a tasteless and often concerning way to it being a fun, cute erotica series. From your gifs especially a-go-go it's making me want to watch it and to me itooks like a fun time, but I wanted a little insight form someone who's viewed the series a whole and recently too

Well, I haven't viewed the series as a whole yet since I haven't finished the original anime (though I'm around halfway through so my opinion on it is pretty decided), Flash (and it's movie), or The Live, (and a couple manga like the seemingly unimportant sequel written by Go Nagai and some spin-offs) but my opinion on the franchise from all that I've seen has been all over the place and I simultaneously loathe and love it. This is because that both of what you've heard about it is right. It is tasteless and gross and it is cute ecchi (I can't say it ever really becomes erotica but Re: Cutie Honey got very close). It really depends on what you read and watch. I'll tell you my opinion on each entry of the Cutie Honey franchise I've consumed so far and whether I think it's worth checking out.

Go Nagai's original Cutie Honey manga: This is where it all started. It's also the worst part of Cutie Honey and it's not even close. My opinion of Go Nagai is very low. Of his big hits, I've read Cutie Honey and Devilman, but I've also read a few of his other works and of all of them, I've only enjoyed Devilman (I am planning on reading Mazinger Z eventually too though). The rest is all atrocious. Go Nagai is a terrible mangaka. It's actually amazing that I really loved Devilman because I had bought Cutie Honey thinking that I would love a magical girl manga written by the man who could create something as unique an experience as Devilman and it ended up being one of the worst things I've read. Almost all the fan service comes from sexually assaulting Honey, it's very uncomfortable to read. The plot isn't very interesting until like halfway through volume 2, but by that point the story is already almost over. There's a reason it was cancelled. No, it's not worth reading, but unfortunately it did shape how most Cutie Honey adaptations were structured so reading it does set you up to understand the many references the other manga and anime will make to it. It's up to you if you want to actually read that, but it's only 2 volumes long so it's a quick read at least.

The first Cutie Honey anime from 1973: This is what made Cutie Honey into an icon. It ignored almost everything from the manga to make it into something enjoyable, mostly just borrowing characters, enemies, and abilities from the manga while focusing on making an enjoyable monster of the week show. Fan service is often, but fairly light, so it's not as uncomfortable as it was in the manga. Honey actually has a personality in the anime. In the manga, she was kind of incompetent and whiny with nothing really interesting about her. In the anime, she's witty, funny, and really skilled at dealing with her enemies. This means she's fun to watch when she's posing as a civilian because she'll charm you with her personality and she's fun to watch as a fighter because the action scenes are well composed and she has many ways to fight Panther Claw. The manga didn't feel like it took advantage of her ability to transform at all, despite that being her main draw. The anime introduces a ton of different forms, with new ones being introduced each episode. The first episode introduced her main 5 forms outside of her identity as Honey Kisaragi and Cutie Honey and has a fight scene with every single transformation. This was a great way of showcasing her abilities as a fighter. It was honestly really impressive. This anime is a must-watch, it lays the foundation for what other good adaptations would borrow from.

Hideaki Anno's live action Cutie Honey movie: This was the first thing I had seen with the name Cutie Honey on it that I actually enjoyed. Its relationship to previous versions of Cutie Honey is thin, really just using the general idea of the character of Cutie Honey and the names of some other characters from the manga. The roles these characters fill are almost completely different from their original incarnations except for maybe on or two surface level similarities. This actually works in its favor because of how bad the original manga was. Anno's vision is fresh and the plot is engaging. It has some problems, like Honey's characterization not being very good, and some of the lighter moments being a bit boring, but whenever Panther Claw appears it becomes very fun with really unique fight choreography and special effects you could only see from a team that worked on Gainax anime. There's some fan service, but it wasn't as ecchi as the manga and anime. It's not a must-watch, but it is worth your time and serves as the groundwork for the next two entries.

Cutie Honey a Go Go!: This manga is very loosely based on the screenplay for Hideaki Anno's movie. There are common elements that both share, but it's ultimately a very original story when compared to the movie. It's also pretty fun. It's a lot more focused on the character of Natsuko Aki, with Honey not even being involved much until a few chapters in. It's a fresh idea to follow a character who isn't Honey, but I really like how Honey was portrayed in this manga and while I did like Natsuko, I still probably would have preferred to see more of Honey. But like Go Nagai's original, this manga was sadly cancelled with volume 2 and ends on a cliffhanger reminiscent of the original. It's a fun read, but you won't get a complete story. The art breathes new life into Honey and while I wished there was more, I still enjoyed my time with it. It was also the closest to being as ecchi as the original manga, but it's actually fun with it and it never made me uncomfortable to see Honey suddenly get naked.

Re: Cutie Honey: This is the horniest Cutie Honey anime I have seen and it's amazing for it. Gainax knew how to do fan service and since this was an OVA and not a TV anime, they were allowed to go all out with it. Instead of feeling like Honey was constantly getting assaulted, the scenes where her clothes are shredded or characters are suddenly naked feels more playful, and at times erotic (especially episode 2 when she has an intimate moment with a certain character). This anime is very clearly based off Hideaki Anno's movie. Like all the characters from the movie appear in the OVA, they have similar roles and similar design philosophies, but most of their characterization and arcs are different and that helps elevate it over the movie. Honey isn't as naive and annoying, she's more like the Honey from the original anime. Witty and funny, playful and sexy. She's a competent fighter and fun to watch in any situation. It's not at all like Nagai's original vision and that's what makes it so good. Definitely a must-watch.

Cutie Honey Universe: Probably the most disappointing entry on this list. It's started off interesting. It looked to be the closest adaptation of Nagai's manga while distancing itself from the main elements of what made the manga so bad. It was a TV anime, so it wasn't very explicit, but the Blu-ray release uncensored it. But it still wasn't on the level of ecchi you would see in Re or even a Go Go. Unfortunately, it was still trying to somewhat adapt Nagai's manga and that really held it back when Universe would decide to recreate scenes from the manga. While they weren't as bad as the original, these scenes still weren't very good most of the time. The characters of Junpei and Danbei were dialed back in the 1973 anime, but they're far more annoying in this. Even the original parts of the plot (of which there are a LOT) weren't good. Like at all. By the midpoint I had gotten so bored that I put it on hold for half a year and when I got back to watching it, it was just bad. It was not a good anime and I wouldn't recommend it unless you really just want to watch everything Cutie Honey. The character designs were so 2010's anime with barely any originality, it would get really bright sometimes and wash out the details in the art for no reason, and most of the actual animation wasn't very good. And not in a charming way like the 1973 anime. I don't know, there were some things I liked but they would usually go to waste. It was just really disappointing because I think there was potential. It was also the only series to not use the iconic theme song.

tl;dr definitely watch 1973 and Re: Cute Honey, they're fantastic. Watch the Anno movie before Re if you want to see what Re borrows from it, but you don't need to. Read a Go Go if you like any of the three I just mentioned because it's also fun. If you really want to know what Cutie Honey was intended to be, read the original manga first, but definitely avoid it if you don't care. Universe isn't as bad as the original manga, but it's also not really worth watching for any reason besides just wanting to watch all Cutie Honey anime because it was honestly pretty boring.

Hope that helps!