#the mangakas work tend toward the extremes

[untilyouremember]

Star Crossed!

Available digitally

Available in print

[jjs-brainrot]

Are there any yuri manga/anime that you would recommend to a new fan of the genre? Everyone swears by Utena but I don't think I have the mental fortitude for a show like that yet.

Sure thing!

Bloom Into You by Nio Nakatani

(manga and anime)

It's the classic newcomer entry point but there's a reason it's still as highly lauded as it is: It is just that good. It's got excellent drama, the main two characters have a really great and intriguing dynamic between them and it much more openly acknowledge the queerness of it's characters then a lot of yuri before it did. A lot of the more recent yuri mangakas regard it as a major inspiration, and the anime getting as big as it did tends to be seen as one of the major factors in the yuri boom we've been experiencing the last 4 years or so.

Both the anime and manga for it are excellent, though the anime only covers the first couple of volumes (which unfortunately is something I can say about about most stuff on this list as yuri anime tend to not get more then a single cour...)

Whisper Me a Love Song by Eku Takeshima

(manga and anime (not recommended))

Had to get at least one band yuri on the list. Unfortunately, the recent anime for Whisper Me a Love Song kind of turned into a trash fire. Which sucks as the manga itself is quite excellent. Early chapters are very cute and sweet and the later chapters have some very spicy drama.

I really can't recommend the anime for this one so it's a manga only recommendation outside of maybe checking out a playlist of the songs from the anime when they appear in the manga.

How Do We Relationship? by Tamifull

(manga only atm)

Hands down one of the best examinations/dissection of what it means to be in a relationship from any romance series I've ever read. Every character feels like they're written as people with their own likes/dislikes and feelings towards romance and sex instead of romance character archetypes. it genuinely feels like you're watching people navigate their differences to make a relationship work rather than a "these two were made for each other" style romance series.

That being said, this is probably the hardest to read series on this list as it can absolutely get way too real at times and also does not shy away from talking about heavier subject such as homophobia, trauma, etc.

School Zone Girls by Ningiyau

(manga only atm)

This is basically a Nichijou/Daily Lives of High School Boys style slapstick comedy but full blown yuri. If you're a fan of stupid x stupid, this is the series for you as there are so many morons (affectionate) in love with each other here.

Unfortunately, the manga is currently on indefinite hiatus while the mangaka works on other projects which is the main downside of this one but it's still def worth checking out.

I'm in Love with the Villainess by Inori

(light novel(audiobook version also available), manga and anime)

Otome game villainess isekai romcom that is very gay while also being extremely frank when it comes to discussing queerness, bigotry and uneven wealth/power distribution. It's a series that that ardently refuses to use subtext at every turn which is quite respectable given how many yuri tend to dance around discussing queerness outside of "they're in love". It's not perfect and does have its flaws (enough to get labelled as "problematic" by the usual ingrates) but its strengths easily elevate it to one best yuri series from last couple of years.

The anime and manga are both excellent (with both the JP and EN dubs of the anime being fantastic) but they are pretty behind compared to the light novels (anime only goes up to the first chapter of the second book and the manga is roughly 70% through the second book). The light novels are genuinely excellent reads so if you get caught up on the other two, I'd def recommend picking up the LNs.

Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit by sometime

(manga only atm)

What if Kamen Rider but yuri?... That's basically it on my sale tbh. It's an extremely gay yuri tokusatsu. It's genuinely a crime that it has not gotten an anime or an actual live action tokusatsu...

[zwoelffarben]

You do know that the author of hunter x hunter is very much still alive? Like togashi is not dead you could ask him about interpretations if you had the chance

Ah. I understand the confusion. See, "The author is dead" doesn't literally mean, "The author's metabolic processes have ceased." I understand that the mangaka of hunter x hunter, Togashi, is very much alive.

It's a type of literary analysis, in which the only thing considered is the text as it presents itself. Authorial intention is ignored in favor of evidence presented in the text, and it gets a bit wibbly with regard to ongoing serial works, because the author is still able to produce and indeed semi-regularly does depending on the author) new text despite being 'killeded' by the critical analyst.

I'll regularly joke whenever a living author presents for the fandom's consideration their personal pet headcanon or textual interpretation, that even if all the author are dead, that doesn't mean we can't seance with the cool ones.

But despite joking like that, I tend toward interpreting from an even more extreme variation on the typical death of the author lens of analysis, which I arrived and called, "The author is dead and wrong," in which I don't ignore the authorial intent, but I only ever care about it in so far as I can use the text as evidence to 'contradict,' 'disprove,' or otherwise argue count to that authorial intentional as being coherently present in the text.

The author is not some unfalliable god crafting a coherent world: they're just some human with a pen and paper: same as you: same as me. And they, same as us, can and probably will get something wrong.

So yes, I could ask Togashi for his interpretations of the characters (or I could if I spoke a lick enough of japaneseto say anything of substance). But that'd defeat the point of me interpretated the text because it wouldn't be me doing any interpretation.

The author is dead and the text must speak for itself.

[tonyglowheart]

I feel like some people are so weirdly entitled about fan tls, like do they realize they're getting it for free and only because the tl wanted to share the original work?? Idk why it's so hard to be polite to them and why they feel they need to publicly want to argue with the tls over minor stuff

I do agree somewhat, I think there's a lot of reader-prioritizing attitudes surrounding fan translations. Beyond that, I also think ppl seem to... discount the amount of work and/or legal liability translators perhaps put themselves under?

But I think some ppl reading fan translations also mentally divorce themselves from infringement on their part, bc well, it's the translator's faults, if they didn't want me infringing copyright then they shouldn't have done it themselves. But that's not really how it works, you are still accessing essentially pirated works, and yes as int'l audience typically it doesn't have as muuuch a financial impact on the original creators, but when things do start getting licensed I think the, like, Japanese & KR manga/manhwa industry parallels & what you see mangaka/manhwa artists saying about pirating hurting them on twitter start coming into play.

Plus, for me, I think sometimes ppl are using MXTX's works as a generalization for all danmei, when really what I'm concerned about is the precedent that sets with EN spaces. Like sure, MXTX as one example may be able to take the hits from pirating and what not. But "smaller" authors and works won't. And I do in fact worry about precedents & building attitudes I see.

And like... idk it's just interesting/weird to me, I think that sometimes ppl try to apply fanfic author/transformative fandom etiquette where it doesn't apply (like, I think per U.S. law, translations don't actually constitute transformative works/a new copyright the way a fic would, it's still legally under the same copyright? but I'm not a lawyer so take this with a grain of salt), but then ignoring other items of fandom etiquette (esp treatment-of-authors/content creators etiquette) that I do think would apply.

My, perhaps controversial lmao, take is that I do think translators are under a different/"higher" level of standards/scrutiny than fanfic authors are, and thus their work SHOULD be open to critique or discussion. I don't mean be mean and nasty to them the way everyone was to ExR when everyone suddenly decided it was okay to, but just that translations ARE a claims towards authorial intent & interpretation in a way I think transformative fanworks aren't, you're not so much playing in a sandbox at that point as you are making claims to the authority of your interpretations. And my general take is, I think multiplicity of translation/translation-related interpretation only helps people who don't have access to the source language or aren't as familiar with the source culture, not hurts. Although I do also want to add/caveat that there is indeed an etiquette to fan translations such as not stepping on an existing translator's toes, so I'm not condoning ppl who start translating where someone else left off and posting it publicly bc they "think the translator is too slow" either.

Basically... I do think it's a complicated situation/topic when you start digging into it, as most things are, and there are lots of competing access needs at play that I think ppl need to keep in mind/mind more than I tend to see around. I think sometimes by way of countering a certain prevailing view of a time, ppl tend to go in an other opposite extreme, which I also often think isn't... quite it, either.

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

just out of curiosity, what would you say is unusual about Odas use of the japanese language? Of course after reading it for almost six years I got that not every Mangaka gives every single one of his characters a distinctive laugh or kind of "punny" names. But what else is notable in general?

Oh this is a cool question! Disclaimer, first off, that I haven’t actually read many manga besides One Piece since it’s my go-to reading practice, so I don’t have THAT much to compare it against, but I can think of a couple things.

First of all- you mentioned the punny names, but I’d expand that to, the amount of non-Japanese names in general is really unusual for such a big manga. Both for people and places. Like, it’s not the only one by any means, but it is uncommon for big manga to have a main character whose name can’t even really be properly rendered in Japanese (Luffy’s name is written as ルフィ in Japanese, which is said like ‘Rufi’). Oda’s even got some occasional wordplay in his location names that only works in English, which is really interesting- like, @opbackgrounds recently pointed out Elbaf is fable spelled backwards. 

For the actual usage of Japanese, though, Oda tends to write in a heavily, mmm, verbally accurate style I suppose? His characters’ words are transcribed exactly how they’re said. And because his characters for the most part speak extremely casually, that means there’s a lot of little ways his writing differs from standard Japanese. Like, all ない/nai endings are written as ねェ/nee(?) instead, which I think is a dialectal thing, and he’s got a tendency towards contractions, like replacing これは/kore wa and それは/sore wa with こりゃ/korya and そりゃ/sorya. Or like, you might have someone (Sanji) saying something like うるっっせェ/urusssei, which is meant to be a heavily emphasized form of うるさい/urusai, which is ‘shut up.’

Which makes One Piece uniquely hard to read, when you’re a language learner. 

There are a lot of other smaller things as well (tendency towards katakana for certain casually insulting verbs like ナメる comes to mind) but I think that sums up the gist of what makes his writing different. 

[transhawks]

Its nice to see someone else who sees enji for his bullshit and doesnt thirst/gloss over him. This maybe TMI,but i panicked when i seen him and whatnot because he reminded me of my brother who beat the shit out of me for years(he raised me),since i was a kid till now. I went through mental and physical shit and so i absolutely hate Enji because theyre so similar. But then to see people do THAT to him,kinda fucks with my head you know? Like "oh maybe my brother deserves redemption"(1)

Two points. I’ll address the trauma under the cut. 

1. My argument is also “if by chance you like redemption arcs so much that Endeavor is likable to you exactly for this reason” you’re getting conned. The narrative Hori has written is not conducive to a good redemption arc. In every actual instance we’ve seen him abuse his family, he is not regretful or remorseful - anything approaching that concerns squandered potential, not concern over his family. Even his attitude towards Shouto now is tied in the idea of being a hero and letting him be a hero of the type he wants to be. 

There’s no actual understanding on what it means as a family, besides occasionally giving the woman he canonically forced into a marriage to be a breeding sow before having her institutionalized after she developed what amounts to psychosis from his abuse and control over her, flowers. Flowers. 

If Horikoshi goes out and does a redemption narrative solely on the basis of Enji being a hero, I’m sorry, but you guys are getting shit. You are not getting a redemption arc worthy of stanning such a character, you’re getting half-assed shit that makes no sense and also just cheapens any emotional depth that the Todoroki arc so far has.And you know what?! That’s understandable; shounen has this problem! I remember being so, so pissed at Naruto post-698. I found the ending horrible, and after a brief attempt at following Boruto, I found everything about it so wretched I just gave up completely on a fandom I’d been in for a decade. And with distance I can just say this: it was badly written, disjointed and thematically unsound and that seems to be an issue with a lot of Shounen Jump manga. 

Whether its out of touch editors, mangaka with severe personality issues that worsen in the extremities of the kind of job they do, or just a complete lack of understanding that their paying userbase is not twelve-year old little boys any more, Shounen Jump has problems managing their manga. That’s why things like Naruto and Bleach are so...messy. And shounen as a framework doesn’t work well with narratives unless they are shortened.

So, to reiterate, I think Enji is a terrible human being, and also because of what Horikoshi seems to be attempting, a terribly written character too. And that if, against what I see as common sense, you really want to stan him as a character, you can and should be demanding better character development for him. I’m not seeing any.

Now for part two. I had the same reaction to 203, anon. I didn’t see a part two for your ask, but I’ll say this: what people seem to misunderstand is that there is nothing new or novel about fiction that redeems abusers, especially male ones who are in some position of power. In 90s comics, which Hori takes influence from, had so many antiheros that were utter jerks and had to go on such arcs to redeem. We like the idea of people striving to do better. It’s a hero’s journey kind of thing, if you like Campbell’s theory on that.

And, generally, I agree! I like people doing better, coming to terms and atoning for their harmful actions! But not at the expense of their victims, which generally tend to be women and children. 

The thing is, people forget that there are movements for victim rights and credibility because historically, in many western and eastern societies, there weren’t avenues for them, or tolerance. So this idea that people liking Enji being ‘subversive’ ignores that people like Enji in real life get away with what they do to others, and get to keep the power that allowed to do it. 

And even worse, real life abusers, when they get exposed, get to go on ‘redemption’ tours, apologize, and continue on... or, if you’re Louis CK for example. come back a year or two later, and yell about how oppressed you are for being made to be accountable at all while people with power defend you and give you platforms.

We are so forgiving towards abusers and want them to do better, which is why we let them tell us how sorry they are and how they’ll do better, and then they get to live life like they always have. It’s why parents who public shame their child or verbally abuse them get to keep their children, because ‘how others raise their kids is their business and they’ll do better’. We get to hear people debate whether they did anything wrong in the first place, how there’s an overreaction, and then whether ‘they’ve atoned enough’.

Where does that leave the victims? Especially when we go to supposedly ‘not reality spaces’ like fandom which...have the same shit, on both a fictional and real life basis (there’s been plenty of fandom drama over Big Name Fans using their clout to be creepy to underage kids).

It leaves us with the cold reminder that the world is truly never going to really care for us.

And, also, anon. If you don’t feel your brother deserves redemption or forgiveness, don’t give. No one is entitled to you giving him, not him or not people who do things in the interest of ‘civility’. I hope you find peace in your choices and memories, but please don’t make people in this fandom, who think their niches of fandom, especially ‘edgy’ ones, as besieged identities, gaslight you into accepting harmful behavior.

[dropintomanga]

On the Industry, Fans, and Piracy - My Feelings on Manga Today

This year has been quite an interesting one for anyone who’s involved in manga industry happenings with regards to piracy.

As most of you may know, an infamous manga app known as Mangarock was finally shut down this year after years of proliferating as a “legit” manga-reading app on the Apple and Google Play Stores. They finally got shut down when a Western comic artist found their work being distributed on the platform. While this was good news, there has been criticism about whether there were signs of subtle prejudice towards manga (since it’s a foreign medium) as it took a Western comic to bring things to attention.

There was also the news of Mangamura, a well-known Japanese raw scan site, and how the head honcho of the site got arrested in the Philippines this year and will face consequences for his actions. (Update: 12/21/2019 - Now Mangastream and Jaimini’s Box are out of the game with regards to scanlating popular titles)

While this is good news for people who love to support the manga industries in both Japan and overseas, things are still the same. The pirates will keep coming over and over again. I wonder when enough is enough or maybe I’m just tired of hearing the same old debate on legal vs. illegal manga.

I see multiple Twitter threads from pro-industry folks on why everyone should support buying manga. I also see threads on why manga publishers suck. They’re both right if you ask me.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how this industry vs scanlators fight is similar to what I’ve been reading about in the mental health field recently - psychiatry vs. anti-psychiatry.

Psychiatry advocates believe that taking medicine is the best way to solve mental health problems and mental illness. They realize that things can happen in the human brain that lead to something worse. However, they think a lot of issues warrant medication when it may not be the best solution.

Anti-psychiatry advocates believes that medicine isn’t the best way to solve mental health problems and mental illness. They dislike how the mental health care system treats people with mental health problems. Yet they believe that “mental illness” doesn’t exist.

So throwing it back to manga -

The manga industry believes that supporting the industry involves purchasing their books at any costs. You buy the books, you support the mangaka drawing them. Yet the system that drives the industry is terrible. As we all know from Bakuman and tales from manga professionals, the system to become a successful mangaka involves often-poor working conditions in the form of long hours, strict deadlines, and a good amount of isolation.

Scanlators believe they are doing the manga industry a favor in providing free exposure to titles that would go undiscovered by fans. More often than not, scanlators do what they do without any care for profit. However, they tend to go a bit extreme with regards to translating certain text. Some scanlators also become a bit too egotistical for their own good and end up causing ridiculous drama among other scanlation groups over material they are technically stealing.

Tying this back all together with all regards to comparing psychiatry vs. anti-psychiatry and industry vs scanlators, there’s a third party being affected that’s ignored in both debates.

For the 1st war (psychiatry vs. anti-psychiatry), there’s not enough focus on the seriously mentally ill. The seriously mentally ill are the community suffering the most right now and present a great deal of harm to themselves and others. A 3rd party group that addresses them would utilize certain views and rejects certain views from the psychiatry and anti-psychiatry movements to help the seriously mentally ill. They are often forgotten as a lot of money goes to those whose mental health issues aren’t as bad on both sides. 

For the 2nd war (scanlations vs. legal manga), you can argue that there’s a huge crowd of fans that are willing to pay for manga as long as you give them almost everything on one platform a la Steam/Netflix at a very low price. That platform also needs to be easily accessible with little-to-no regional restrictions. There are so many fans in certain parts of the world that can’t purchase manga due to lack of access to bookstores/libraries or availability of them. I’ll put this in caps in case people don’t get it - THE WHOLE WORLD IS NOT THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER NOTABLE AND PROLIFIC COUNTRY. I sometimes think certain fans that are able to buy manga forget how lucky they are.

A side note: While a huge step forward for legit digital manga, Viz’s Shonen Jump isn’t enough because not everyone likes shonen. All the other subscription services are fine, but everything’s kind of fragmented a bit compared to how Crunchyroll has almost everything anime-related (though they are going through a big streaming war that’s causing fragmentation as well).  Though to be honest, I think the scanlation community and the manga industry have to band together on one thing I think both sides can all agree on - it’s the relative value of manga compared to other forms of media in general.

To explain, I watched a video feature on the mangaka Shinichi Sakamoto, creator of Innocent and Innocent Rouge. Sakamoto goes into a discussion about manga’s value that really got me thinking. He talks about how manga is treated as “disposable” and how he tries to make his works worth keeping and remembering.

In the end of the video, Sakamoto says: “I feel manga is something that is read, then thrown away. For example, people would read a manga during their work commute and throw it away once they finish reading it. Or they would read a manga at a restaurant during lunch break. Then they would close it once the food is served and forget about it. I thought at first, manga was something that was read then thrown away. However recently, since I started to adopt my current style, I now want to make something that stays close to readers. Something that remains. It’s what currently motivates me to draw manga.

I ask myself what to do in order to make something that stays for a long time, using themes or opinions that they stay engraved in the minds of readers without being forgotten. I keep this in mind in order to leave something behind. It is what motivates me.”

The quality of manga made in Japan isn’t the best. The paper is comparable to toilet paper. If you ever browsed through a manga magazine in person, it feels like going through a super-thick newspaper. Compare that to overseas volumes of manga and it’s a world of difference. I’ll admit that publishers like Viz Media, Kodansha Comics, and Yen Press do a great job in making their printed manga high-quality albeit at a higher cost to fans.

Yet I realized that there’s a larger number of manga fans who don’t care about quality as long as what they want is accessible and cheap. That’s a big reason why scanlations have exploded and will continue to do so. Convenience is something that a lot of outside forces now push onto everyone. I frankly love print books, but I wonder what if the price of printed manga volumes reaches a certain point that makes me go “Yeah, I don’t think I can buy printed manga anymore.”

In the end of the day, even if you make it look pretty as hell and close to a luxury product, manga is still a “throw-away” item with little relative value to a lot of fans thanks to how it’s originally conceived in Japan combined with how internet culture takes advantage of what the meaning of “free stuff” is. Not everyone will find a sense of belonging with manga the same way that fans do.

There are certain folks that support purchasing manga that say things like “Wages need to be raised because they’ve stagnated” and when it comes to fans reading manga on an illegal site, their views sound like “You should buy no matter what” and/or “Just don’t buy.” I know there are those who will point to manga sales and they still aren’t exactly affordable to some fans. 20%-33% off titles with a high price point to begin with may not feel like a significant discount to someone who may not be a hardcore manga collector. Maybe it’s better to say, “You know what? Let’s just smash capitalism for ruining everyone’s lives” or better yet, “Let’s promote wage growth so that manga fans can actually purchase manga and manga artists can survive.”  

For now, let’s all be like Sakamoto and promote how valuable manga can be because appreciating the arts makes people better human beings than learning how to make a “efficient” website/software program look good for someone whose end goal is usually profit. The arts is what keeps people from turning into robots. Yes, this sounds like I’m saying “Let’s have the manga pirates keep doing what they’re doing then.” What I’m suggesting is that everyone from the top down (government, etc.) has to take charge in promotion of anything related to the arts (which manga and comics in general are a part of), not just the regular folks, as they appear to be all on-board the "let’s mindlessly consume/produce everything with ruthless efficiency” train.

I feel sympathetic towards anyone who works with on the American side of manga publishing (or anything that’s based in Japan) because Japan’s mentality on promoting their works overseas is awful. The Japanese want a level of control in how they want to be perceived outside of their own country. Compare that to a country like Korea (where K-Pop is now featured on major American TV networks), you can see how bad Japan is promoting their own brand of pop culture to the world. If you want an example, just look up Nintendo’s history of taking down anything overseas that looks to violate their principles of promoting their games.

I realize that I’m sounding like this Japanese manga creator who criticized publishers for how they handle piracy. Well, I dislike how manga publishers or professionals involved with the manga industry will shame fans for reading scanlations/raws. Almost everyone that reads scans/raws tends to be a fan of manga in general. A lot of them may not be unaware of the nature of scans (especially fans who meet mangaka in person and tell them they read them online). And even if they were aware, have you noticed how wages have stagnated for a lot of people across the world versus inflation?

Plus, how often do shame tactics work on people? They’re just as effective as most diversity training workshops hoping to change people’s bias on visible differences (spoiler alert: not very well). They never change anyone’s minds at all due to being short-term solutions that ignore the shamer’s role in perpetuating the problem. I realize changing minds takes a long time and requires a LOT of nuance (AKA not good for making immediate money), so it’s easy to focus on quick and fast.\

I also don’t like how scanlators disrespect localization efforts at times. I don’t like seeing multiple instances of swear words when most Japanese (or people in general) don’t talk like that in real life. Yes, some localization efforts are full of cringe. Appealing to a bigger array of new readers is important to having an industry thrive. Having just loyal customers isn’t enough.

Loyalty can only go so far. So many people don’t care about brands and/or will switch whenever it’s convenient to do so. There’s always a psychological disconnect between community and profit. That’s why you try to get as many new consumers as possible so they can become great word-of-mouth spokespeople for your stuff. Given how a good number of anime/manga fans stop consuming either medium after a certain age, replenishment of fans is an absolute necessity. I wish scanlators who frown at legit translators who bust their asses off to make manga accessible to a wider audience realize this.

There’s a final thing I want to address regarding the whole debate about scans and it was something I noticed at Anime NYC this year. So this year, Artists’ Alley and the Exhibit Hall were put right near each other on the same floor. In years past, they were separated via different floors or on different sections far away from one another in the same floor. I had a troubling thought and reading one convention recap reinforced it.

It’s the fact that Artists’ Alley is almost always fan works and the close proximity this time clashes with the Exhibit Hall vendors’ sale of official merchandise. There are anime industry members who dislike an arrangement like this with good reason. Bootlegs are a problem in an industry largely associated with piracy. Yet fans LOVE Artists’ Alley. Anime cons can’t just gut them to please industry folks. Supporting the fan artists at Artists’ Alley is a win-win for fans and con organizers. 

Also, some of the artists at Artists’ Alley I spoke to all read scanlations in some way, shape or form when discussing certain series. I have no damn desire to play moral police with those artists because I know they are lovable and messy people. Just enforce the golden rule - don’t be a dick in a public setting even if you have a good reason to because you will never change anyone’s views that way. 

I know some issues have to be made public, but go through proper channels first since I don’t want to see someone being labeled a mood killer without proper context in places that are supposed to be safe for fans.

Another thing - I have friends (both ‘20s and ���30s) who work full-time jobs that read manga in not-so-legal sites. Some of them I’m very close with. I’m not ending friendships with them over the fact they may consume media differently. The one thing I can say is that even the best of the best will have questionable beliefs/do questionable things and all you can do is figure out what’s really important to you - their actions or the consequences of their actions. Don’t expect the people you idolize will think the same way you do in every thought you have. Everyone has their own closet of behaviors and thoughts that will always irk others.

So for anyone who’s confused on whose side I’m on, I’m on neither. I know the truth is a lot more complicated than what most people will tell me. I do want manga to thrive more overseas. It’s just that outside of Japan, regardless if you pay for or pirate a manga, there’s no appreciation for lifelong reading. Reading is treated as a pain than pleasure in the Western part of the world. Many anime fans are only tempted to read a manga because of how cool an anime adaptation of a certain series is or just from buzz. 

More than anything, I feel like there should be a bigger effort in promoting a sense of lifelong reading. I sometimes get jokes from corporate folks that I like to read and it’s depressing since libraries are always threatened by budget cuts. Reading books (fiction & non-fiction) has helped me processed a lot of things for my mental health. We got to do a better job in emphasizing that reading can be for fun and not just for achievement. Still, buy whatever manga you can for the artist’s sake if you really like the works (not for the publisher’s due to how I feel about capitalism sometimes). If you still want to read or prefer scans, then that’s your thing. You know, I’m glad I’m not really a pro-industry person and a pro-fan. I live in both worlds and feel like I have a balanced understanding of how people act in certain situations versus how they behave normally. I make a joke now that if anyone who works in marketing wants to really understand what their customers are like, they should go to a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and see the misery there.

I guess you can say I blame Japan more than anything as I do buy what I can from the American side of things. I know the hard-working folks in the U.S. manga publishing business probably get frustrated with Japanese bureaucracy to a certain degree at times. 

Next year will be the start of a new decade after a decade of slow then fast growth in all things anime and manga. Things are going to get better and worse for anime and manga. Maybe once Luffy finally gets the One Piece treasure will manga piracy be severely hampered by then. I have some doubts because this is all reliant on what Japan will do as manga is here to stay in overseas markets. I know more Japanese manga editors have been traveling overseas to understand what’s going on outside of Japan. That’s a good start. So I just hope that the final chapter over here involves cultivating a joyful love of reading because I feel technology has to really pick up on that.

When reading really matters to everyone and takes some precedence over video in the minds of people, maybe we can see some meaningful progress in a battle where we might be fighting the wrong side(s) and/or missing a bigger part of the picture.

Regardless, it’s a fascinating and fun time to be a manga fan. I’m glad to have met many people who love and read manga regardless of how they consume it. Those experiences have provided so much value for me.

Manga may be considered “trash” in many ways, but to loosely quote a certain popular Naruto ninja, it’s at least better than giving up on the true joys of life.

Addendum (12/21/2019) - Two days after this post was made, two of the biggest manga scanlation groups on the net, Mangastream and Jaimini’s Box, decided to stop translating all Weekly Shonen Jump titles. I’m indifferent about either platform going away (or completely gone as Jaimini’s Box is still doing titles from other manga magazines). The one thing I will say is that Mangastream took advantage of the growing push for convenience in the minds of people over the last decade. I think about how much tech companies have abused “convenience” to generate unintended division and in some ways, Mangastream was like a tech company when they saw their ego being stroked by the large fanbase they were getting.

Photo Source: The Japan Times For one of my favorite takes on scanlations, read “Why Do Scanlations Persist?” from What Is Manga? There’s also this podcast from GeekNights about manga distribution in the United States which added some fuel to this post.

[jinjojess]

I've read your critiques of Makoto and they had pretty good points. But now I'm wondering... how would you say his characterization could be improved, in both gen and ship contexts? (Admittedly it's partly because I kind of want to write both Naegis/Kirigiri/Fukawa into a polyship but want to make the egg sibs less annoyingly bland.)

So first things first, you don't have to change the characters if you don't want to. Some people like Naegi as he is, and that's fine!

For me though, I need a little more out of a character. When I write Naegi (usually as Kirigiri's best friend), I tend to give him some realistic flaws. I let him get frustrated or annoyed at the trash fire that is his social circle. I let him feel discouraged or exhausted sometimes with always having to keep morale up. I have him have moments of feeling insecure or condescended to. Sometimes his way of doing things is wrong, and he has to apologize and change.

I also like to give him more positive qualities too. I have him tease his rich friends about being rich and out of touch. I have him roll his eyes at the drama of it all. I have him gently real talk his friends about harmful habits. I have him be genuinely excited about giving thoughtful gifts (instead of it just being a thing he does to curry favor with someone). I give him hobbies (usually video games, karaoke, and comedy) and paint him as an easy-going extrovert who enjoys trying new things.

There's lots of fertile ground for making Naegi a well-rounded and interesting character, he just sadly gets used too often in canon as either an audience stand in or a plot device.

Re: Komaru, you already have way more to work with--canonically she's got an inferiority complex, a very intense interest in manga, a life dream of being a mangaka, is as equally obsessed with Maizono as her brother is, a short temper that can trend dangerously toward the extreme, a sincere belief in the supernatural, and is the victim of a disturbing amount of sexual harassment/assault (which one can easily extrapolate has given her trauma).

Good luck with your fic, anon!

[vapormaison]

2019 Best Japanese OST Press/Repress: Elfen Lied by Tiger Lab Records

Like many late millennials with artistic pretensions, I used to have an “Anituber” channel back in the wild west days of youtube. From 2010-2013 — roughly corresponding with my first three years in university — I reviewed DVD releases from ADV, Manga Entertainment, Central Park Media, and Geneon — all the big players in Western anime releases at the time, all dead and gone now with the rise of streaming. Everyone but Funimation — a sad irony and perhaps telling about the nature of the dubbing industry that the studio with a serial rape problem and established casting couch was the only one to survive.

In the interest of maintaining my personal ethics, posterity, and sanity I’ve long since deleted that channel. While there was definitely a “moment” on the platform for a nineteen year-old cokehead film student in front of a MacBook webcam doing his best Slavoj Zizek impression, that moment has long since passed. I’ve long since cooled on “substantive” media critique anyway. The world doesn’t need another Eisenstein-aligned Marxist analysis of Neon Genesis Evangelion — or, a 6-part series on using Lacanian techniques to develop a leftist praxis for Fate/Stay Night. Media exists in the present moment to be a salve for the postmodern hellscape we inhabit together.

As an interesting sidebar, the most popular video on that channel — raking in just north of 10k views over its lifetime from 2011-2015, was a twelve minute video essay on the 1995 anime Elfen Lied, where I asserted that it was the ultimate expression of contemporary Japanese anti-modern rage. While I don’t find myself particularly nostalgic for any of the content on that channel, I’m actually kind of proud of that one in particular.

While most of my analysis was fixated on the visuals, narrative, and recent oeuvre of its mangaka, Lynn Okamoto, and series director, Mamoru Kanbei, I did lay out a framework on why I consider it to be one of the most successful soundtracks ever produced for an anime. I did not heap this praise lightly, as that roughly fifteen year period of 1995-2010 was bookended by the OSTs of Evangelion and K-On! — and certainly proved to be one of the most sonically iconic periods that the medium has ever produced.

it was also one of the first soundtracks that spurred my own history of Japanese OST collection.

And, then, almost a decade later, I found out that Tiger Lab was releasing a vinyl of Elfen Lied.

In spite of this, when I originally the news, I felt a tinge of trepidation. This is not to throw shade at Tiger Lab, however — but at the reputation of previous releases of the Elfen Lied soundtrack in Japan. A quick adventure with google translate across the Japanese net for various Elfen Lied OST roleases — especially on CD — will reveal for you a lot of contempt from Otaku and anime-enthusiast audiophiles for any number of reasons. Most hinge on the quality of the physicals. This is often because Japanese physical media releases of anime soundtracks are often laden with fresh, exceptionally crisp and clean-sounding masters for CDs, and usually exclusive posters and other content geared toward the “collector” nature of many Otaku. This has usually not been the case with Elfen Lied.

A friend of mine in Kanagawa quipped “Sometimes it sounds better on the DVD” in regard to a number of OST releases of soundtracks from anime produced by Studio Arms with CD releases published by VAP. Admittedly, some of it must have been born in resentment, but I’ve always trusted the man’s opinion — as he’s invested a small family fortune into building a shrine of sorts to that studio’s output. He chalks up the poor release quality to the studio’s inability or lack of funds to master the content properly for a CD or HQ digital release, and VAP’s decline in release quality during the early 2000s roughly corresponding to a sale to another Zaibatsu. “Studio Arms made hentai for many years to stay solvent, maybe they could not send a good master to VAP [the publisher]” he told me. While I can’t know if it’s VAP, Arms or another studio handling the CD-master work, a cursory check of their oeuvre seems to confirm confirms that claim of his — but I acknowledge I’m wandering into uncharted waters here.

In spite of all that — I ordered the wax from Tiger Lab and was duly impressed. In lieu of reviewing each track as per my usual review format, in the following section I want to talk about my listening experience from the two formats I own the soundtrack in — the SA/VAP published CD from 2004 and Tiger Lab’s release. Once we finish going into the core differences — and why this vinyl is absolutely worth your purchase over competing physicals — I’ll go into the virtues of the listening experience on the whole.

Part 1: Comparisons of Select Tracks

I suppose the expectation is that I start off by taking about the most iconic recording from the series — the OP, Lilium. In the spirit of defying expectations, I’ll begin with what I consider a better litmus test.

My personal shit-test for a good master and press is how well it can handle a track that is sonically robust and diverse, crossing genre and form — requiring an intensive, sufficiently wide mix and refined master. You don’t get that on every OST album — but Elfen Lied offers one such potential track in particular, and that particular track happens to be my favorite composition on the entire album. Uso Sora, composed by Kayo Konishi and Yukio Kondo is a truly magnificent piece, and it’s used brilliantly in the series — for those familiar, I only need to quote one line: “M-m-mommy…?”.

It begins with lulling piano chords that gradually build in tempo and energy with the addition of percussion, and then it undergoes a full metamorphosis in its last minute or so to become an aggressive, frenetic techno piece with distorted lows and an angry drum kit. Mirroring the evolution of its subject in the show with understated aplomb, and functioning as a robust and enjoyable composition divorced from its source — it really deserve more recognition than it receives, but I do not doubt it will ever step forth from the massive shadow cast from the haunting chorals of Lilium, and the brilliantly directed visual intro that accompanied it.

Needless to say, Tiger Lab more than passed muster here, to the point where I’m almost blown away by just how good it sounds compared to the rest of my Elfen Lied related physicals. I experienced a definite brightness from the vinyl master over my stereo that I don't get from a lot of other Western label releases, like say Milano, which tends to cash in on a Westerner’s preference for warmth.  Tiger Lab deserves credit for this approach, because it genuinely feels like a more authentically “Japanese” sound. In my experience, the Western labels that care the most about the dedicated audiophile adhere to this sonic profile, and Tiger Lab deserves all due credit here.

Finally, I might as well include my thoughts on Lilium. In short, it sounds fantastic. The mix here really brings out the most of the chorals, and provides crisp and clean sounds where you want them most. It’s also one of those tracks where you can just feel the dynamic range before you even hear it. I ended up listening to these on my Cambridges, and I’ve got to say that’s there’s something in the way they treat this particular profile of song — strongly vocal dominated, extremely muted piano, and supporting string inhabiting the negative space — absolutely incredibly. It put the KEFs to shame. I’ve always asserted that you’ve got to pair certain songs with certain speaker pairs. I’ve never been a huge devotional music guy, and I’m not entirely sure that the Cambridge or KEFs provide ideal profiles for the track. That said, Lilium sounds great anyway.

But I can envision these on a pair of high end Yamahas, or a pair of vintage Blaupunkt bookshelves sounding as stone-cold killer as Lucy when Kouta’s threatened.

I sent a rip to my friend Hiroshi, the StudioArms Shrine man, who immediately snapped up a copy after listening. I also learned that it was actually the first vinyl purchase he’s ever made after two decades of serious collecting. So perhaps that is a testament in and of itself!

Part 2: Physicality

I rarely devote an entire section to talking about the vinyl/OBI itself, but then again, Tiger Lab has put out a release certainly worthy of this. First off, the cover, which pairs perfectly with the overall aesthetic of both the series and previous soundtrack releases. I can imagine this being a release that has already attracted some attention by Japanese collectors, as the cover seems to tap into a certain sense of continuity that I know are a huge hit with that community. It certainly pairs well with my two releases from VAP, and a laserdisc set that I have. They all opt for that very iconic Klimt Vienna Secession style with appropriate creative flourishes — but I like Tiger Lab’s take on it the most. The side characters populating the back in a choral array reminiscent of the Beethoven Frieze is also a really nice touch for any enthusiast of the fin-de-siècle style.

I picked up the pink vinyl on release, one of the few pink vinyls that I’ve bought that at least feels thematically consistent with the release and not just a default “vaporwave” or “city pop” or “future funk” styling. Diclonii rock the pink hair, after all. That all said, I’m wishing now that I got the “metallic gold” edition, as its another color that feels both apropos and stunningly beautiful. With all that in mind, this is also one of the better waxes that I’ve felt in-hand, and manages to feel robust. I’ve yet to find specific info, but it certainly feels like a 180g.

In conclusion, I’ve got to give immense credit to Tiger Lab for handling this release with a class and vigor that few Japanese publishers have given it. It certainly bodes well for the future of anime releases on vinyl, and makes me eager to fill out an emergent collection.

[thefloatingstone]

Oooo I remember that I asked you once about The Ancient Magus' Bride and you said you were interested in watching the anime. What did you think of it?

AH! Yes I’ve finished The Ancient Magus bride by now! :D

I liked it quite a bit, yes! :D I enjoyed watching it a lot and I REALLY like the character of Elias. But more than that what I liked the most about the show which I was NOT expecting is its strong focus on the importance of existing. Both for yourself and for other people.

The entire show is, essentially, about a person battling with the idea of suicide and the worth of existence, as well as concepts of death and life. All of which I found extremely moving. It was not something I had expected of the series at all and I liked it a LOT.

I was also really really REALLY happy with the attention the series gave to like... accurately portraying Faeries. Something which is VERY important to me. The show took a lot of care in really making sure it captured how faeries tend to operate as well as their own unique grasp of “morals”. And how Faeries can be very strong allies but even when they will literally die to protect you, you should never completely trust them. Such as Chise’s close friends constantly trying to drag her away to the Faerie world. As well as things like Queen Titania and King Oberon’s relationship. Which is equally romantic and passionate but also very aggresive and in constant competition with each other. Things like that which really showed the Mangaka and the show writers really did their research. Something I extra appreciate since Celtic faerie lore is so very far removed from Japanese folklore. I just really appreciate the extra effort into getting details correct.

On top of this I also really liked the characters. Elias is extremely likeable despite is tantrums and problematic nature of wanting to eat his wife. And Chise, despite being very low-key and morose does not come across as boring and flat as Bella Swan did in Twilight for instance.

My only nit picks are the one instance near the middle of the show where Chise recovers from what was shown to be a very serious injury, and she seems to quite literally “shake it off” which bothered me as it felt rather contrived and dramatic convenience to have Elias react a certain way. I’m not sure if this situation was better handled in the manga or not. And I felt the main villain of the season was written to be very strong and interesting, but the pay-off at the end of the season felt a little rushed and lacked the gravitas the show had been building up to at that point.

Also there were one or two very small moments where I felt scenes or visuals dragged on too long and I have a suspicion it was to pad the episode’s time.

However, I did really and sincerely enjoy the show very much!! and I look forward to whenever a second season will be made! :D and I hope the problems the first season had regarding its main villain will not be present in the second season.

I also look forward to seeing Elias and Chise’s relationship deepen as they’ve managed to at least make a start by this point. And I want to learn more about Elias’ backstory, as well as have questions answered about Chise’s parents. I wish the show would have a moment where she truly opened up her lingering fears and sadness regarding her mother to Elias, as a good romantic couple and story would, but I don’t know if the show would do such a thing with the tone its going for, or if they will just have Chise deal with her own internal problems herself and “become stronger” for it without the input of her husband. Because the latter tends to happen way more in Anime than I really like. Which would be fine if it were not for the fact that a romance is about building a relationship between two people. And I’d like to see these characters lean on each other a little more.

I really enjoyed the internal growth of Chise in season 1, but I am hoping Season 2 will build upon this and start focusing on the two characters as a growing relationship, and we don’t just have a repeat of season 1 dealing with internal conflict. I enjoyed it very much for season 1, but we need to move forward and I don’t want the story to lean back on its strengths and stagnate as a result.

I’m looking forward to Season 2 where the shaky foundations of the relationship can be strengthened with deeper trust between them as people. As I feel its the direction the story needs to work itself towards.

(also its just me but I really hate the theme songs haha ;v; )

but yeah. tl;dr I really liked it a lot and want more.

[engelchenyugi]

Someone to believe in

Rivalshipping is one of the ships I actually see working out in canon-verse which is more thanks to Takahashi and his illustration for them.

(It feels great that one of my head-canons turned out to be realistic enough for even the mangaka to consider as a possibility.（๑✧∀✧๑）)

I see them forming a business relationship. Kaiba who came back from the Ancient times and made his peace with Atem now has to keep his eyes open in order to find a new rival which is Yuugi. There are quite a few things about Kaiba's and Yuugi's relationship people often seem to overlook. It wasn't Atem who first saw through Kaiba's mask but Yuugi. Yuugi who always had been an outsider in his class must have been used watching people.

He learned to read them because he adapted to them. He never wanted to make people angry or have them think ill of him which of course lead to him being more or less ignored by his classmates. Yuugi has shyness issues in the manga and he can't really say what he thinks as he fears hurting other people or being misunderstood. The manga explains Yuugi's personality, his complexes and how he deals with the people around him perfectly. When the manga starts, Yuugi has been in his class for quite a while but to the reader it is described in a way as if Yuugi was new there. He explains the minor characters and seems to have a lot of knowledge about them although he never actively talked to them. This way of narrative is pretty interesting and unusual.

He is wishing for friends and wants people to see him which is interesting as it shows that Yuugi has spent a lot of time just observing the people around him which explains why Yuugi can tell if someone lies or tells the truth. He has the ability to look through other people's lies which became all the more clearer when Kaiba exchanges his Blue Eyes White Dragon card with a copy.

No, even before that, we see Yuugi look at Kaiba with some kind of concern. He knows that Kaiba is up to something and he is sweating. Kaiba is smiling. Kaiba is acting. He acts like a normal teenager and if we see the whole picture, Kaiba is loved by the masses and he has fans all around the world which is also explained by the shareholders of Kaiba Corporation who only choose Kaiba as the CEO because of his popularity and his reputation among gamers. Kaiba is known as a genius. More than that, he knows how to manipulate people and make them like him. Kaiba is faking a smile and acts like a likable and kind person – which he is absolutely not, as he is pretty devious, self-centered and so full of himself.

Yuugi was the first person who ever saw through his masquerade and Kaiba should have paid more attention to Yuugi and not only to Atem. This is something he will learn after DSOD. I'm pretty sure that Kaiba will accept Yuugi as his true rival (since he already did acknowledge his skills in the end of DSOD) and that they will get closer in a human level during their work on Spherium. I like to imagine how this change slowly comes to them and how Kaiba more and more understands how much he needs people around him, especially his brother and Yuugi. Although Kaiba would never say so, he does need people around him, because if he is all by himself he is rather destructive. He pays no attention to himself and easily gets absorbed in his job, fully forgetting everything around him because he can't deal with his own weaknesses.

And this is something I find very interesting. Yuugi has full right to hate Kaiba. To avoid him, but he chooses not to. Yuugi makes a decision which is surprising to the reader (mostly to Jounouchi) and to Kaiba. He calls Kaiba a friend, saying that they have the same passion and that they're alike. He visits Kaiba in the hospital, fully knowing that he is not going to wake up. This alone shows that Yuugi has forgiven him and that he is even worried about his well-being. The man who put his friends in danger and tried to kill them. The man who would captivate him and make him face his own weaknesses. It's so difficult to understand why Yuugi would forgive him after everything he's done. It’s easy to say that Yuugi is in general a kind boy, but it’s not like he can’t be angry or hate people. Even Yuugi can be quite unforgiving and hold grudges, but there must have been something he gained from his encounter with Kaiba – something he realized during Death-T he wouldn’t have been able without him.

Kaiba and Yuugi have some kind of special bond between them and both know that. Maybe Yuugi is grateful to Kaiba because only due to Death-T he was finally able to address his true feelings and the possibility that there might be someone else inside him that is taking control over his body once he loses consciousness. He needed an extreme situation to say what was bothering him. Without the severe situation they were in, he would have never had the guts to tell his friends his fears. It was the whole situation, facing deaths and not knowing what's happening next, that made him despaired enough to address this matter – which was a good thing and helped him to overcome his fear and realize that his friends would always be there for him, even if he had another person inside him. 

Yuugi calls Kaiba a friend. He offers him help. Both manga and anime. He never shows negative feelings towards the man who put him into hell and even laughed at his misery. There is a lot of respect between them, especially coming from Yuugi’s side who would address him with “Kaiba-kun” while Kaiba would just call him by his forename. Yuugi has a lot of respect for Kaiba and seems to admire him in a way. Yuugi, just like Atem, considers Kaiba a noble duelist. And this way of thinking, the way he sees Kaiba, is to me really exciting to explore.

Kaiba must have realized that, too. Kaiba knows what a kind person Yuugi is and that it makes no difference for their awkward relationship whether he pushes him away, because Yuugi keeps coming back. Yuugi does not give him up and that is something Kaiba needs. Kaiba needs a person who is willing and able to stand up against him and does not mind being rejected. Kaiba rejects Yuugi so many times and shows him that he does not believe in his friendship-is-magic bullshit that one should think Yuugi would finally give up on him. But the more often Kaiba rejects him, the more likely for Yuugi to come back.

And that's why I like their relationship. Kaiba is an asshole and Yuugi still chooses to be nice to him and call him a friend. This whole relationship is messed up and the older they get, the more Kaiba will understand how important Yuugi is for him.

Personally, I really have problems imagining Kaiba in a lovey-dovey relationship because he is does not like showing his weak sides since he is afraid people might take advantage of him. Due to his past with Gozaburo he was taught to suppress his own emotions and strive for success. As the mangaka said, Gozaburo truly thought that this was the best and he actually considered himself a good father which is why he never realized the slowly growing madness inside his son. Furthermore, Kaiba truly regrets having killed his father. He considers himself a patricide and this burdens him. Even stated by the author of the manga:

“To Kaiba, he was a father, but he just wasn't a "typical" father. When he carried out his administration shift, Seto didn't think that Gozaburo would die. Now without a foe due to Gozaburo taking his own life, he slowly started to lose his sanity. He himself felt guilty of committing "patricide." Being an important keyword in this series, the word "patricide" always haunts him. You could say Gozaburo implanted the design that "games equal death" into Seto.”

Kaiba has emotions. Kaiba is easily manipulated. Kaiba is a human-being and it's not like he never regrets anything. There are plenty of things that haunt him. He is obsessed with crushing the past and find a way to the future, because he himself can't go on. He can't do that. He can't forget his past and is chained down by his memories. He needs to repeat these words so often not to convince Yuugi-tachi but himself. Fighting against his own emotions, his past and bounds to other people gives him strength and he seems to believe that this is the only way to reach the future. Abandoning anything around you is the only way to focus.The only way to create a path to the future is to destroy everything. Kaiba tends to think in extremes. All or nothing. Black or white. There is no middle way and he is not willing to accept any other people who oppose his way of thinking.

I'd like to quote something that Takahashi said about Yuugi's and Kaiba's relationship:

“[...]Seto searched for the meaning in fighting said to take down your opponent down in a game on your own. Fighting, and, for example, what's known as war, is a battle between two nations, while Seto considers fighting a personal war to the bitter end. That's why I think Yuugi's character is so significant. Seto, without Yuugi as his rival and without an enemy that he must topple, would not be able to exist.“

Kaiba can't exist without Yuugi, because he would choose the path of destruction and lose himself. Although the mangaka is talking about Yami no Yuugi, rather Atem, it’s something that I see as a general character trait of Kaiba. Kaiba needs someone who gives him a reason to keep fighting, someone to believe in. As shown in DSOD, Kaiba can't deal loss. He absolutely can't. He would never openly admit it or say it out loud, there is a special connection between him and Atem. (I know that the dub destroyed this moment and made him say something he wouldn't say, but I just ignore the bullshit America once again came up for Yuugiou and instead pay more attention to the original version.)

Kaiba does not need to say what he thinks, because it's obvious. His expression shows how he truly feels and that this rivalry-thingy he has going on with Atem is much more than that, equaling the love to an important brother you need to have by your side to realize your own mistakes and show you the way. Atem is Kaiba’s mentor. Kaiba is focused so much on Atem that he can’t see the world around him anymore. That’s just what he is and even in the future, Kaiba will need someone who gives him a reason to be alive. Someone who motivates him to grow and improve and the only one fitting for that role is Yuugi. Yuugi is the only only capable of handling him and has proven that he is worthy to be his next rival.

The movie makes sure to show that Kaibas has a place to return to and that meeting Atem is not the last or the ending of his journey but only a stepping stone to a brighter future where his past stops haunting him.

And later on, it's Yuugi who will fill this role, even going far beyond that. Working together, sharing their passion for games and being able to live their dreams and make anything happen they desire will help Kaiba to regain his humanity. Of course, he will never go head over heels for Yuugi and tell him how much he loves him, because his actions and his looks are enough to ensure Yuugi that Kaiba absolutely treasures him.

[gaijinschoollibrarian]

Manga and Women: Buying Manga for School Libraries in the #MeToo Era

When I talk to other school librarians about manga and anime, many of them voice a similar concern: the manga they see has horrible treatment of women. These are not invalid concerns, especially as school librarians are working to make their collections more inclusive and affirming. And when students are requesting series that depict sexual harassment and assault as comedic occurrences (I'm looking at you, Seven Deadly Sins), or at the very least, series which treat women solely as sexual or romantic beings, I can't blame my colleagues for their hesitation.

That said, there's a lot to unpack with this debate. There are elements of Japanese society that are inherently different from American society. Many school librarians also know nothing of the distinctions between genres of manga, or have only heard of what's most popular among their patrons. Manga is often seen as the way to get boys reading, and so masculine titles tend to be extremely popular for purchasing. What I'm going to do is try to unpack these things, piece by piece, to try and provide some context- and maybe show my peers that the stereotypes of shōnen manga are not all there is out there to purchase.

Societal Differences in the Perception of Gender

If we all work from the supposition that gender is a social construct, then perhaps it might be easier to understand that Japan's constructs are similar and different to Western constructs. Japanese media can come across as being both freer and stricter with gender roles. Here are a few things you need to understand about Japan in relation to women:

Japan is ranked 110 out of 144 countries on the World Economic Forum's annual report on gender equality.

There is only one female member of the Japanese Cabinet.

As of 2017, only 3.4% of executives in Japan were women.

The ratio of female-to-male physicians in Japan is 21%.

Japan has been trying to improve the standing of women in society, but it's been difficult.

Japan has a long history of having a traditional gender balance of labor wherein women are expected to raise children and take care of housekeeping, while men are expected to work. Japanese society generally has a very heavy line down the center in this division, much more so than there currently is in the West. Since 1986, the Equal Employment Opportunity Law has been in place to try and provide more gender equity in the workplace in Japan, but it's been a struggle. Part of the problem is that there was no penalty for employers who did not adhere to the changes.

Japan, also, has a serious problem with the way it handles and reports sexual harassment and assault. Certain occurrences which Western women consider assault are not necessarily seen as such by Japanese women. In her article, "Shifting attitudes toward sexual violence in Japan", Masami Ito describes her experiences:

When I was in junior high school, a young man who lived in the same apartment building flashed me in an elevator, blocking the entrance as he did so.

When I was in college, a middle-aged man cornered me in the box seat on a train and masturbated in front of me.

When I was in my mid-20s, a man pressed himself against me in the aisle of a convenience store and then followed me home. I had to call my father for help that time.

And, of course, I have been groped on trains many, many times.

Until recently, I never considered these incidents to be sexual assaults, nor did I ever view myself as a victim. I told myself that such things happened all the time and I was never physically hurt. I compared my experiences to those of other women and I considered myself lucky.

In Japan, there's even a word for men who grope women on crowded trains: chikan. Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department reported 1,750 cases of groping on the trains. (I attempted to find figures on this particular crime in NYC from the same year, but was unable to find any exact report of figures.) It's such a common occurrence, it's often a plot point in manga. In My Love Story!! the protagonist meets his future girlfriend by stopping a man from groping her.

I want to be clear, and maybe the panels of My Love Story!! do something to show this, that the problems of sexual harassment in Japan are seen as problems by people in the country. There are Japanese feminists and citizens who want things to change. Last year, the BBC released a documentary titled Japan's Secret Shame, which went into the experiences of three different women who were raped in Japan. It's not available at the moment, but if you can find a way to see it, it may give insight into the issue if you want to know more.

Shōnen, Shōjo, and So Much More

The complaints I hear the most are in relation to what is known as shōnen manga. Shōnen is geared toward boys between ages 12 and 18. There's a reason this stuff flies off the shelf with our male-identifying patrons: it's literally made for them. The longest running series in Japan are shōnen manga, and are household names here in the West (you've probably heard of Dragonball Z, I presume). Typically, these are high-action, hyper-masculine stories. And while there are exceptions, such as My Hero Academia, there's a large history of "fan service" in shōnen. There's also some pretty big issues with some of the creators of shōnen titles.

For example, the author of Rurouni Kenshin was found with an enormous backlog of child pornography DVDs. Not only did he have this material, he admitted his attraction to young girls. His manga is currently still in publication, after he paid a fine of only ¥200,000 (about $1,800 USD). No, I am not joking.

I don't want you to come away from this thinking shōnen manga is evil, by the way. What I want is for fellow school librarians to know that what they're seeing is just a fraction of what manga has to offer. Some shōnen has female protagonists (Yotsuba&! features a mostly female cast with little to no fan service, as its main character is a child). And a lot of women and girls read shōnen.

Shōjo manga is the counterpart to shōnen: manga written for girls between the ages of 12 and 18. Honestly, shōjo can have its own issues. Some titles feature girls whose identities revolve solely around romance or a desire to get married and make babies. Kidnapping and threats of sexual assault can be normal (the idea being that these girls need to be saved by their boyfriends, who frequently are much older than them). There's a whole slew of manga revolving around schoolgirls having romantic relationships with their teachers. So, I also don't want you to think that being labeled shōjo makes the content automatically appropriate for students.

I recently reread a manga I loved as a teen, Ayashi no Ceres. It featured multiple rather explicit sex scenes and the main character dropping out of school to have a baby. It was an easy decision to select other series over that one, although I still consider it a classic. I leave it to students to select series with those sort of themes at their own pace through alternate pathways such as the public library, bookstores, or manga apps.

However, I do want to point out that shōjo manga is a category in which feminine fantasy and identity is often at the forefront. And while this is the case, there are many shōjo manga which widely appeal to boys. Titles which spring to mind are Escaflowne and Magic Knight Rayearth.

There are other categories as well: seinan (for adult men), josei (for adult women), kodomo (for children), and gekiga (for adults, with a more "artistic" and "literary" reputation). The differentiation between adults and teens has more to do with the difficulty of the Japanese than the content or target demographic. Gekiga is probably the most "different", because it strives to be taken more seriously. (I have a plan to talk more in-depth about each category in their own posts).

Look For Women

When purchasing, if you are looking to move away from the pure moe that is popular among certain titles, I'd suggest looking for women who are mangaka. The likelihood that problematic behavior will be present is lower, and honestly, women creators can always use the boost. Series that are beloved by boys are written by women: Fullmetal Alchemist, Inu-Yasha, and Ranma 1/2 are examples (admittedly, the latter two were both written by Takahashi Rumiko).

Note: I kept this fairly pared down, so if you'd like to know more or have any questions, please don't hesitate to comment. If you would like me to go more in depth on any topic, please let me know, and I will do an expansion in a future blog. I have some deeper dives planned, but if I know of a direction people specifically want me to go, I’ll tackle it.

[undeadimpulsereviews]

Poputepipikku (Pop Team Epic) Review

Pop Team Epic is an inspiration; spawning a movement of people who believe art is in the eye of the beholder. Instead of the high octane beautifully animated/illustrated moments of One Punch Man, or the surreal and dark moments of Berserk, or even the over the top fan service that is Monster Musume. We find people coming together to convey to the world that this series is something that breaks the boundary that is manga. Stemming such inspirational quotes as this one. “If you think that "wtf is this anime?" or "is the creator of this anime kill himself?", let me tell you something, It's an art. Art is Genderless, Art is beyond, and that what this anime brings to us. Even the director himself seems regret to bring this art to the audience, that's the point of art. Even van Gogh had a masterpiece art, but he depressed anyway and cut his ears.” - Some person on MyAnimeList. Beautiful, simply beautiful... if that were true, but Pop Team Epic is not art. It’s plain and simple trash.

Pop Team Epic is a comedy 4koma manga from mangaka Ookawa Bkub. The series started it’s run April 29th 2014. It was serialized in Manga Life Win which is a magazine under the Japanese publisher Takeshobo. Pop Team Epic, or Poputepipikku, garnered a decent amount of popularity and it went on to get an anime adaptation and is slowly being published over seas. Currently the manga is licensed for English audiences thanks to Vertical Inc. The anime is planned to get a second season with the first ending at twelve episodes. I always knew of the series, but never tried to get into it. I’d see screenshots from the anime and manga frames, but it never caught my interest. However, a third party gave me a push toward the series and i gave it a try. Normally, people would say “ don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” yet in this case that is a safe action. Pop Team Epic gives the reader little to nothing in terms entertainment. It starts as a referential parody piece with mediocre jokes, and then later just throws all that away and delivers less. It doesn’t have a story, but the overall structure is nothing all that impressive; the characters are boring and can sometimes be annoying, and the art is nothing more than copying what was previously done and pasting it to save time and effort. It’s not trying to be detailed, but honestly it’s unclear what it’s trying to be.

Now I’m not saying someone isn’t free to like the series. If you like Pop Team Epic then more power to you. You’re not wrong for liking the series. This manga is not for me and so I’ve dropped it. What I can’t stand by is the fact that people are treating this like it’s the most influential, artistic manga to come out this year. This manga is not art in anyway. There is nothing revolutionary about Pop Team Epic. If you think this is art then I’m sorry, but for the first time on here I’d have to say you are dead wrong. This can easily be illustrated with just the framework of the manga itself.

Pop Team Epic doesn’t have any concrete story to it. The manga is a series of short stories featuring school girls Popuko and Pipimi. The series is a parody comedy piece that attempts to satire pop culture in Japan. Other references to pop culture around the world are made from time to time, but it’s mainly focused in Japan. Pop Team Epic is a four panel style manga. A four panel, or 4koma, for those who do not know is where each page of a chapter houses only four panels. All four panels are placed vertically and are the same size and shape.

Usually each page is a different short story; Pop Team Epic follows this trend. 4koma’s tend to be lighter on linear story, but it’s not uncalled for. Take for instance the series Tsurezure Children. This series is a 4koma, yet doesn’t fully follow the same framework.

Instead of doing only four panels to a page it’s eight, but it can still be considered a 4koma due to it’s framework. Tsurezure Children has a story to it that is told through short encounters. It’s completely linear and will at some point reach an end point. Pop Team Epic does not have a story and instead is just a bunch of random short jokes. There is nothing wrong with this, but it could potentially benefit from more story. The problem arises from the comedy itself. In the beginning the comedy is already extremely bland. There are some moments that are mildly amusing; they don’t make the reader laugh out loud, but they can produce a chuckle or two.

For example the page above, the first part is unneeded; however, the last two panels are actually somewhat amusing. When the reader can understand the references they are alright at best. Yet, less than halfway through the current amount of chapters it starts to fall off even more. The punchlines go from being something that can make sense to just nonexistent.

What is so humorous about these pages? What’s the joke? Over time Pop Team Epic gets extremely boring. It feels like so much of the comedy is either lost in translation or just not there entirely. Almost like the mangaka set up each page so they could explain their reasoning for the joke and it’s meaning. There by destroying all the comedy. A lot of pages follow this trend of losing the story. It starts talking about one thing and then in an instant that thing becomes irrelevant and then is replaced by another confusing thing that never connects to the first.

Yet here lies the first problem of why people think this is art. The humor mostly present in this series are similar to memes. Not good, well thought out memes, but poorly done and childish memes. However, this style spans a big demographic, and a decent amount of people believe that this constitutes it being called an art piece. Some others believe it’s art because it is something new among the monotony of ecchi, harem, shounen, etc, manga that are currently airing. While I can’t defend every series that comes from Japan; if you believe this to be a fact then you just strive to read terrible manga. There are plenty of series that are far more artistic than this trash fire. Though the problems don’t stop there. While Pop Team Epic doesn’t have any linear story, it’s cast never strays from the base two.

Pop Team Epic doesn’t present much in terms of characters. There is Popuko, she is the short blonde haired girl who is quick to anger. Then there is Pipimi; Pipimi tends to be the calmer of the two. She is tall with blue hair and blue eyes. These two make up the main cast of Pop Team Epic. Any other character presented is either a reference to something, or just background material. The two girls are not only boring, but never develop due to the lack of story. The only thing that drives them is their small emotional range. Popuko is always getting angry and that plays a big role in the manga’s comedic attempts. Pipimi is regarded as the voice of reason, though this gets extremely bland really fast. Not much can be said. The manga offers so little in terms of character. The same can be said for the illustrations of the manga as well.

4koma manga aren’t usually know for their abundance in detail. Most of the time the characters are present in the frame and there is a decent amount of white space. The same rings true for Pop Team Epic; however, there is something that this series does that others don’t. The illustrator for Pop Team Epic likes to minimize work as much as possible. It’s anyone's guess as to why this is. They could be lazy, or it could be for efficiency; it’s hard to say. The method in question is simple copy and paste.

Notice in the two pages above all the illustrator did was take a previous panel and add a thought or text bubble. So black may have been added in the white space and vice versa, but the characters never move from their original spot in the frame. While Pop Team Epic isn’t trying to be the next Berserk or Otoyomegatari; it certainly doesn’t try hard to be anything really. The illustrator has also “attacked” people through the manga who have called them out on the copy paste method. A lack of effort doesn’t make something interesting. In my opinion it’s lazy and just down right poorly handled. 

I don’t understand the popularity of this series. At least over seas it makes no sense. I can understand that Japan loves this kind of over the top aggressive style of humor (referring more to the anime than the manga in this case); however, this series is terrible. It acts like it’s something and yet presents nothing. It’s boring and lazy in it’s design. It’s less likely that the reader won’t understand the jokes due to a loss in translation, and more likely the jokes will just fly over the readers head because they are funny.

No part of this series is art; the story is nonexistent and the overall framework is boring. It doesn’t bring anything new to the table and attacks it’s readers more than it welcomes them. The cast is uninteresting and provide nothing to the reader, and the art provides as little effort as they can manage. The comedy is hit or miss; it leans mostly towards miss, and even when the jokes hit they hit poorly. Though according to the mangaka that’s not their fault; it’s your fault. You didn’t understand their comedic style which was apparently clearly presented. So I ask you, what makes this series art, because all I see is a mangaka who thinks they are always in the right when clearly they are wrong about the methods they practice. 

Overall I give Pop Team Epic a 2 out of 10. The only reason it’s not lower is because it does manage to supply some humorous pages. While not amazing they do garner attention. Again if you like the series then have fun with it. If you find it funny and enjoyable then I’m happy for you. Yet, please do yourself a favor. Before you sit here and think to yourself this series is the mangakas artistic expression; that this series is art. Please take the time to actually look for worthwhile manga and anime. There are a huge amount of series out there that are far superior than this pile of garbage.

Thanks for taking the time to read this review; I realize that I may anger some people with this review, and not everyone will agree. That goes for any review; however, given the popularity of Pop Team Epic it’s unavoidable. If you have something to say please be reasonable with how you say something. If you come at me with fire in your eyes, unless you take the time to speak your piece and speak it in a sensible manner, then I will not give you the time of day. The review for Monster Hunter is still coming, I will be a couple days late. College is reaching it’s end for this year so my focus is mainly there. Thanks again and I hope you have a good day. 

[yourhealthmattersblog]

The enjoyment factor is exceptionally

A real warrior needs no blade

There are extremely couple of mangas that will go beyond the approach of manga in general; queen of posion the legend of a super agent doctor and princess is among several few elite mangas that with ease. Makoto Yukimura has the ability to tell a lovely psychological story concerning revenge and power, seated in severe realism, a thing that many mangaka just can refrain.

queen of posion the legend of a super agent doctor and princess begins utilizing a legendary prolong that takes up worrying the first 54 phases of the manga. The extend fellows Thorfinn on his mission for revenge against the smart harsh mercenary leader Askeladd. We get a flashback in the beginning explaining why Thorfinn wants his vengeance (I'll disappoint why because it is a major looter). What makes this even more intriguing than your regular retribution story is Thorfinn is verified to work under Askeladd's mercenary team, and also Askeladd understands Thorfinn wants to eliminate him in an excellent battle so Askeladd generally utilizes this truth to regulate Thorfinn into doing his will. While the expand reaches its maximum the dynamic of their relationship starts to be as well as much more complex.

Yukimura consists of the audience right into the center of the battle between Denmark and also England, which works as the primary background for a lot of the lengthen and also uses a literary technique known as in medias res. Yukimura does not often arise ontop show battle as some shounen optimal battle where the fantastic people are usually protected as well as gain, as well as the crooks are beat with the power of friendship. There are none bad or heros, battle. The battle needs reasonably vicious physical violence to some brand-new loaded with this set, eyes are taken from their outlets, intestines are spilling on the floor, and hands are being cut into pieces. Begin to downturn, practically to the degree of missing while as the manga continues action as well as the battle, along with the emphasis becomes even more regarding personality psychology, and political interest, approach.

Very couple of mangas may highlight specific therapy in a much reasonable method. The most effective example to reveal this could be Canute, Denmark's timid soft spoken king. Canute is presented as a character that despises abuse and also conflict; he often has his caretaker Ragnar speak for him and is exceptionally scared, as well as he is very womanly. After the fatality of a close one (Not claiming that to avoid spoilers) his identification totally transforms, he is presently shrewd and doubtful and also it has a much deeper check out the world and also progressively comes to be stressed with power. Deaths often tend to be used in this manga to activate a relocate psychology for the figures and even to make a philosophical declaration.

The atmosphere of dogeza de tanondemita is undoubtedly one of the very best I've seen. You'll agree with me after reviewed queen of posion the legend of a super agent doctor and princess manga. It's old, in its atmosphere happening in 11th Century England, but there's plenty of space for creative thinking. It is clear before writing queen of posion the legend of a super agent doctor and princess, Yukimura had actually reviewed English as well as Viking history. The manga can be generally thinking about how confidence, citizenship, and also disgust are affecting individuals involved in the manga in addition to society.

Yukimura additionally utilizes realistic look in his beautiful art. The eye to information is taken to a hyperbolic degree in queen of posion the legend of a super agent doctor and princess. The art for something as easy as an area features an outrageous number of deepness towards the food figures are eating, or even guides on a rack, from the rug on the ground. Yukimura likewise supplies lot of detail to human faces; the art is incredibly brand oriented which helps highlight the qualities in someone's face. The breathtaking scenes of open plains, huge areas, and large fights are simply awesome. All that being stated the graphics is visually spectacular; numerous of the best graphics manga is providing.

The enjoyment factor is exceptionally high. The history has each of the gore and abuse we Americans took care of love and the background never ever really feels slow-moving, old, comparable, or unimaginative. Evaluating this manga is actually a fulfilling experience and no one should steer clear of the opportunity. From its subjects on religion, the character of guilt, redemption, and self-discovery, it is practically difficult to not have the capability to associate with it. It's little uncertainty that queen of posion the legend of a super agent doctor and princess will be a work of art to withstand the examination of time. What I'm essentially stating to you, who like to read manga online, that you NEED to go to review it currently! Find out more related details at https://sorelldifilippout1.wixsite.com/allabouthealth/post/erlpl2x2d75o4rksm08ly1623787742

[driftingglass]

aaaa i read why you love Katsuki and Izuku's dynamic! Can you also tell as why you love Killua and Gon's? *w*

[ WARNING: Discussion of the Hunter X Hunter anime/manga/characters below. If you haven’t read the manga or watched the anime and don’t want any spoilers of any kind, do not read. ]

*Holds breath.*

HOLY. Oh damn. This. THIS is where it gets real, my friends.

Anon. You have no idea how pumped I am to answer this. I’ve got it all ready to go, and please, if it’s a bit scrambled at times… that’s just how my brain is. All composed of bunny trails and dumb theories that may or may not be connected.

Alright. Here it goes. 

Why do I love KilluGon? 

Or… why do I love the dynamic between Killua and Gon in general?

As I’ve stated in my response to another Anon about why I love the dynamic between Katsuki and Izuku from Boku No Hero Academia, my love for a ship is constructed based on a few important details.

It depends on whether or not I respect and intensely admire both characters involved in the ship, and whether or not I find their dynamic interesting, with or without evidence to support a romantic inclination.

Now, in order for me to dive into the reasons why I just… honestly, adore Killua and Gon as individual characters as well as the ship, I have to pinpoint my connection for respecting them to the manga/anime as a whole.

Hunter X Hunter is my favorite anime of all time. 

Now, there is a reason I’m pointing this out, as seemingly unneeded it may appear. For, the main core reasons why I adore Killua and Gon as characters and their ship so much is connected to the overall appeal of the anime/manga in general.

It’s common sense to those who have watched Hunter X Hunter (and if you haven’t… what are you even doing with your life?) that numerous traditional shōnen manga tropes are either inverted, discarded entirely, purposefully subverted, or deconstructed within a story that contains arcs with no conclusion, but rather a continuous, streamlined story. 

As far as my personal experience, I started watching Hunter X Hunter with little to no expectations. I was completely blown away with what I received, and almost all of that is owed to the reasons I listed above out of pure respect, awe, and wonder at how the mangaka has been able to craft a story that’s so complex and rewarding with characters that face continuous hardships, growth, and struggles that we can relate to. 

I consider both Gon Freecss and Killua Zoldyck to be two of the greatest anime characters ever created, especially when considering the shōnen demographic.

Those who have watched the anime and read the manga know that both characters subvert traditional tropes presented in their storylines as well as their personalities. 

The author has taken numerous risks with showing his star characters in incredibly twisted circumstances that presents them in extremely nontraditional (and even, at times, antagonistic) ways. I love the risk factor taken with this series.

Now, without including any spoilers in this post, I can safely say that Gon Freecss, in particular, is one of the greatest deconstructions of any character-specific category I have ever seen. 

And Killua, while incredibly complex and going through tremendous character development alongside Gon, introduces traits that are highlighted in the other that the reader/watcher would never expect upon entering the show/manga for the first time. 

Alright. So. I want to make one thing abundantly clear with this ship. 

Many people consider Killua Zoldyck to be canonically in love with Gon Freecss. 

I respect that opinion, and I’ve entertained the idea myself, particularly with the dialogue choices, artistic liberties taken in the 2011 anime, and the reputation the author has in general of subverting shōnen tropes in his other works.

However… I do not believe that we have enough evidence to actually pinpoint Killua being romantically interested in Gon, simply because of the genre in particular. At least, for this very moment in the manga and where the anime ended. 

I do think that the potential is there, but it depends on where the story will be heading in that regard.

Could I be wrong? Absolutely. 

Could I be right? Yeah. I could. 

But, that’s a discussion for another time. 

Does this make their dynamic any less human, complex, or phenomenal? 

Absolutely not. Not in any way, shape, or form.

It’s because of the fact that we’re not sure about the possible romantic undertones between Killua and Gon that we have the freedom to deconstruct, theorize, and discuss these characters in general. 

And, this is only made possible through fantastic writing, characterization, and the undeniable one-of-a-kind friendship and connection formed between two incredibly flawed, damaged, and different characters. 

Gon and Killua go through the unimaginable and demonstrate the true essence of friendship with elements that are so human and complicated that it’s just… so impressive, that it’s able to be conveyed at all in an anime.

There are specific aspects that make their parallels all the more interesting. As I’ve noticed myself, and my two OTPs, I tend to ship characters that have very fascinating parallels and have “foil”-like connections to one another. 

Gon and Killua are not foils, as far as I can tell, but they do challenge and push each other to reach the ultimate goal, and it’s due to their mutual companionship that they are able to face the struggles they come across.

Similar to my other post regarding the dynamic between Katsuki and Izuku, I would like to present more complicated bulleted lists showcasing the inner complexities that balance Gon and Killua as well. 

So, hopefully this helps.

Let’s Focus on Gon Freecss First.

Gon, for all intensive purposes, is very simpleminded and driven mostly by a slightly skewed form of logic that is only understandable to him, both morally and culturally.

He is ambitious and ultimately one-track-minded, very driven towards a goal that could either cost him or others’ lives. 

Because of these factors, Gon is ultimately a bit of a selfish character, despite his normally good intentions. He is very much driven by his emotions.

Again, Gon’s logic is a bit skewed, though in a way that is far more complex than some give him credit for. It’s shown often in the 2011 anime, with his judgment and, at times, butting heads with Killua’s far more perceptive views on certain situations. 

Gon’s logic is based on what he sees as a genuine fact brought to attention by what he sees as the path towards success and growth. 

Both he and Killua are extremely hard workers and have been ground to the bone to achieve the strength they have.

Gon acts primarily on adrenaline and instinct, in definite contrast to Killua’s personality elements. 

Because of these factors, Gon seeks the balance to his temperament and recklessness through Killua’s (rather ironic) stability and caution. Of course, the over-reliance between the two leads to catastrophic consequences, which all ties back to the elements of them both that are, ultimately, human.

Now, Let’s Focus on Killua Zoldyck.

Killua, as stated above, has been referenced in the 2011 anime to be the offset to Gon’s temperament. In other words, he’s very much the person who calms the other down and redirects his outbursts towards something else.

At times, Killua demonstrates the need to assert control in their dynamic, which Gon does not have a problem with despite the intense way that they can, while unintentionally, take advantage of one another’s weaknesses while simultaneously boosting one another’s strengths. 

Killua is cautious, analytical, observant, and both outwardly cocky and insecure. He is also, above all things, loyal. 

Despite the intense nature of his character, the only person who rather effortlessly breaks down Killua’s walls and introduces him to a new understanding of the world is, in fact, Gon. 

Killua’s loyalty is, arguably, the main factor of his character that roots himself to Gon. No matter the situation, he will pull through for Gon. Gon is, essentially, his world. 

Killua comes from a rather twisted family background with traces of moral ambiguity and questionable relations to his parents and siblings. 

Gon is an only child and is seeking his father, while Killua seeks his family companionship in Gon and values the other’s perspective to a point that is both freeing for him as a person and damaging. 

Another thing needed to be made clear with discussing the gray, less-than-pleasing aspect of their friendship…

None of these discussed personality traits and reasons excuse any elements of their relationship that are damaging, because there’s plenty of pain in what happens between them. But, that’s part of what makes it all fascinating. 

And, I think that’s what it all comes down to. Despite the craziness in their world, in the two of them as characters individually and the indescribable, believable connection they have, one thing is made abundantly clear. 

Killua and Gon’s relationship is the most complex, fleshed out, beautifully presented, tragic and fulfilling dynamic between characters I’ve seen in an anime. Ever. 

This is, of course, my opinion. But there is something that needs to be said with Killua and Gon and their inseparable connection. 

It’s because of Gon that Killua knows he must take a step forward and grow on his own while being apart. It’s because of Killua that Gon has reached the milestones he has, that he’s even alive. 

The both of them balance each other out, survive together, challenge each other, suffer through the worst of the worst, and still remain steadfast in a companionship that is so brutally human and complex that I will forever laud the two of them (and their fantastic ship) for existing in the first place. 

I love them as best friends. I love them as characters. I love them as romantic interests because I’ve never been so convinced that it could happen not only in theoretical discussion, but also in the canon universe. 

And that is something that I don’t think will ever be repeated. 

Gon and Killua are the epitome of complex, relatable friendship that treads the lines of the ugly and the beautiful in the best possible ways. These factors make their dynamic breathtaking, awe-inspiring, tragic, wonderful and human in both platonic and romantic ways. 

*Releases breath.*

Believe it or not, I could say more, but… those are the overarching reasons. Anyone who hasn’t seen Hunter X Hunter needs to just watch it right now and experience it for themselves. No amount of words can express the justice of these two. Ever.

THANK YOU ANON. 

[sweetness-pop]

My YouTube Comment On Pairing: Yako Katsuragi x Yuya Higuchi! 💞💞💞💞

Hiya everybody! 💗🍓🌟Sweetness-Pop🌈🍭🌸 here! On YouTube, I, currently as🌟Symbol🌈Of🌸Sweetness💖, have this nonstop habit where I tend to type in long, detailed comments, which I’d love to use my creative mind to good use. & So I thought, why not share with all of you....to give the ultimate example of my definition for my phase “sweets”. I just copied my YT comment & pasted it on WORD, so here is what I typed about 1 of my OTPs:

Yako Katsuragi & Yuya Higuchi from Neuro: Supernatural Detective(aka Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro) by Yusei Matsui who is obviously famous for Assassination Classroom. ���

Yako Katsuragi:

Yuuya Higuchi:

 🌟Symbol🌈of🌸Sweetness💖

11 months ago (edited)

So for those who are solid romantic NeuYako shippers, I would so not read this comment if I were you!😰

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Btw, I was close to shipping Neuro & Yako, but in my heart, I believe that I see them as a bizarre mentor & pupil in a platonic way. With Neuro being more like a surrogate father for Yako especially after her dad Seiichi was murdered, Neuro, Yako's papa #2.😁

Not to mention what deepens my thought is when I read in Yusei Matsui's 2016 interview that he answered in 1 of his questions that he's great with father-figure/child relationships for an audience. So that was a nice reminder that not only Matsui considers Koro-Sensei as a paternal figure obviously to 3E, but also Neuro to Yako.☺

 But what's super important is that I want to say that for romance, I actually find myself shipping Yuuya Higuchi x Yako Katsuragi!

❤♥🧡💛💚💙💜

 I just couldn't help it because to be perfectly honest, those two are realistic & could have the potential to become lovers!

 I believe that after the HAL arc, it's implied that Higuchi fell for Yako after she saved him from his guilt, she indeed "captured the criminal's heart."

There were even more moments between them in the manga, which is a hell of a lot better.

 What if before meeting Yako, Higuchi actually has never thought about or just wasn't interested in love & that he never even had experience, but all of that changed when Yako came in to his life, & suddenly....he falls in love for the very 1st time?💓

 Imagine after the completion of 2nd work, Assassination Classroom back in '16, Matsui will finally make up his mind & bring back the MTNN series as a sequel especially after that cliffhanger from the final chapter, 202. & in the sequel, Matsui will have fans by surprise by doing his usual & crazy ship hintings by making Yako & Higuchi become even closer, which includes the 1st name base:Yako-Chan & Yuya-Kun, & Higuchi's in love with Yako even more. The two would be revealed to even do stuff together like have breakfast, lunch & dinner, go to places like arcades, malls, internet cafes, Disneyland, Sega Joypolis & spas,...& perhaps spare keys to each other's places.🥞☕🍱💑🥃🍝🍷🎡🎮

And timeskip Higuchi now wears a white gold watch on his right wrist, he cherishes so much as he's always wearing it. Why? Because it was a gift from Yako on his 20th birthday.⌚

 What if Matsui will make Higuchi so in love with Yako that he does not pay any attention to other females at all, not even to check out? Matsui will even have Higuchi having intense sexual feelings towards Yako as he'd have 0 reaction when it comes to other women especially with those who have much bigger breasts than Yako. But when it comes to only Yako, Higuchi gets turned on, his urges would get to him. Higuchi would even fantasize about Yako like when she's in a bikini, wearing an apron naked, taking a shower, seducing him, & in his mind, he visions her clothes falling off of her as her naked body is covered in his blanket as she lays on his bed. He'd even dream of making love to her.

🍒💥🛏

Imagine Higuchi being the 1st one to have ever see Yako as a woman, he'd not even be bothered that she has small breasts like possibly a B cup, in fact Higuchi would believe that Yako with a full heaving 38B size is perfect & beautiful on her, & that he prays that they'll never grow bigger...in a way, Higuchi's love for Yako will be described by Matsui as romantic, loyal, strong &....perverted.

 Yuya Higuchi could even be one of those supporting characters who deserve justice like the 2 JUMP females Hinata Hyuga from Naruto & Orihime Inoue from Bleach. NaruHina💝IchiHime💖& soon HiguYako💗

 In fact what if Higuchi's love for Yako will have us even reminiscing the true love that Kaede Kayano felt only for Nagisa Shiota in AssClass? Also what if while doing a lot of colorspread of Yako & Higuchi together, Matsui were to even draw them together in a crossover with Nagisa x Kayano?

💚HiguYako♥ x 💙Nagikae💚

Plus imagaine in the MTNN sequel,to save him, Yako gives Higuchi the hits kiss except it'll be naughtier & more erotic than Nagisa's on Kayano there'd be tongue wrestling, & sounds of moaning & breathing that are extremely hot & heavy with passion.💏🔞

 Then in a much later chapter/episode, Yako at 20 & Higuchi at 23 lose their virginity to each other.Turns out that because of how much he loves her, Higuchi is unexpectedly so good at makin' love for his first time with Yako who enjoys the passionate pleasure too much ....with "Romance" by Penicillin, opening theme of other Shonen JUMP series Sexy Commando Gaiden Sugoiyo! Masaru-san playing in the anime version.🔞💏🛏🍒💥

  & Now to wrap this up, imagine Matsui ending the MTNN sequel with an epilogue taking place in 2023, 13 years after Neuro's death(sorry Nougami😞). Yako & Higuchi are married(with Yuya adopting Yako's surname😏), & together they have 4 kids.....& a male pet capybara named Yoshimaru.

💍💒👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🏠

 The kids:

1st, daughter Yuzue. Champagne blonde hair, blood red eyes & light tan skin. She is her mother's spitting image with her father's eyes. Her hair is kept in a half-up, half-down twintail style that is similar to Misa Amane's from Death Note(also JUMP). When she's a teen, her breasts are in a perfect full B cup like Yako's. Takes after her alot especially with the unstoppable giagantic appetite...like mother like daughter. She was born on January, 3 2013. Her name in the kanji 柚永 means "citrus eternity"🍋

 2nd, son Yahiro. Black hair with an ahoge, brown eyes & pale skin. Looks just like his father with his mother's eyes, & wears glasses like his late grandpa Higuchi. He was born on July, 15 2017. His name in the kanji 矢博 means "arrow abundant"➡.

 3rd, son Yuusei(like the mangaka😊). Blonde hair, blood red eyes & light tan skin. Bears a strong resemblance to Yako like her little genderbender with Yuya's eyes. The sei in his name, was after late grandpa Seiichi Katsuragi. He was born on May, 30 2019. His name in the kanji 勇星 means "brave star"🌟

 & 4th, daughter Yasumi. Brown hair, brown eyes & pale skin. She actually inherited her brown hair from grandma Haruka Katsuragi. She likes to keep her hair in twintails as a little girl. When she's older, she shockingly grows breasts that are alot bigger than her mom's & big sister's lol!

She was born on November, 6 2022.

Her name in the kanji 康心 means "peaceful heart".❤

  My OTP of MTNN....HiguxYako!😍

& That was 1 of my favorite comments on YouTube. I hope that you all had a nice reaction when reading all of this.😆 I so hope that Matsui will someday give his debut series MTNN a comeback in the future. I’m so glad that this series is Weekly Shonen JUMP, it even came out on the year that I started high school, which was 2005. I’ll write more sweets for HiguYako especially about their children: Yuzue, Yahiro, Yusei & Yasumi someday.🍋⬆⭐❤ My next post will be part 2 of my “Pilot: Crossover Sweets”, I am almost done typing it, so I should have it done by around next week.

So see ya soon!💕🤩