#the way you’re leading the aki love club

[theorangepdf]

HE LITERALLY LOOKED SOOO GOOD IM BOTH IN LOVE WITH HIM BUT I ALSO WANNA BE HIMMMN

EXACTLY!!! MY FILM BRO GF!!! im OBSESSED with the pink hair and his style and his weird acting i cannot even tell you!!!!!

[chaeiimimi]

03 𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖔 𝖇𝖆𝖇𝖞

Summary: you weren’t really sure how it happened, but an average student who wore glasses and spent all her extra time on bookstores and library managed to date your school’s volleyball club setter. On your 3rd year of law school, your ten years anniversary to be exact, he went home from Argentina and it was a week before he was going back, he broke up with you with the reason of he can’t handle long-distance relationship anymore despite being at it for two years. You didn’t cry, you stood there as he was sobbing in front of you, you held his face in your palms and offered him a gentle smile, gentle enough to let him know you’ll support him and will always be watching him, together with the child in your stomach right now, but he doesn’t need to know that.

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two days ago you were living your life peacefully with your sons Haruto and Hayato

now you sit here face to face with your past lover who happened to be their father

“hey”

“hey”

you awkwardly greeted each other at the same time

Iwaizumi clears his throat loudly and excused himself mumbling something about getting a drink

“it’s been a long time” he says with the smile that always gives you butterflies

“yea” you answered curtly, you wanted to slap yourself for being too tensed, you would do anything to get out of this conversation

an awkward silence engulfed the both of you when he cleared his throat

“how have you been? I didn’t see you last year”

“i was busy giving birth to your sons” was what you wanted to say but you knew better and was only able to muster a small “great”

he nods and began to spoke up again

“so-”

“Tooru?” you thank the heavens when Himari arrived, looking like the model that she is

you watched as she leans down and placed a peck on his cheeks, the cheeks you used to pepper with bites and kisses

you looked at them together, they were indeed perfect for each other, a top-tier model and a world-famous athlete, there was no place for you in his life

“what were you doin- oh you were talking with your ex-”

as soon as Himari opened her mouth, Iwaizumi and Akira was already walking towards you

“oh look, it’s Sato Himari” Akira gives her a sarcastic smile

“good evening to you Akira, have you received my email? I sent you an invitation to come shoot with me for my next magazine cover” Himari states and gave Akira a nice smile

“I’m very flattered Hima, but as much as I enjoy wildlife photography, I don’t like shooting with snakes”

“Aki” you called out her name in a warning tone knowing fully well that she was about to start something

Himari just smiled tightly and said “I assure you there’s no snake in the set”

“I’m pretty sure there is, a big one too-”

“Akira” Iwaizumi called her in a low voice

you breathed deeply and forced yourself to smile

“You guys should try it out, a top-tier model and world-renowned photographer sounds like a legendary colab”

Akira looked at you like you were a crazy person

“that’s right, after all elites should hang out with the elites, a national team trainer, a national team athlete, a photographer and a model, sounds fitting does it? Oh I forgot, erm perhaps we have one more room for an errand lady” she said this with the most pleasant smile on her face

you were pretty sure she was referring to you as she sees you on your jobs

you may or  may not be imagining things, but veins were showing up on Akira’s forehead

“mind your words Sato Himari, that errand lady you’re talking about is now a certified lawyer, she’s educated enough to not get petty with you, I’ll gladly do that for her though, I don’t care about that crap, I’ll knock a tooth off of that nasty mouth any day-”

“Aki how about you go with me to the buffet I’m kind of hungry, excuse me” you immediately dragged your bestfriend away from potential trouble

Iwaizumi just gave Himari a stern looks and nods at Oikawa before trailing closely behind you

you led her to the buffet, you got yourself a plate and gave her a plate as well, while Iwaizumi took the plate from her, placing different kinds of sweets on it

“you really gotta control your temper love” he says still focused on getting sweets for Akira to calm her down

“that damned woman talking to you like she’s some sort of queen, she knows damn well about the twins, heck she was there when you told us about your pregnancy, that two-faced bitch!” you just listened to her ramble

“clinging on to her cousin’s ex-boyfriend like the bitch that she is, gosh I wanna slap that face so bad my hands are itching, Haji you better tell your bestfriend to not let his girlfriend open her mouth around me” she continues

“she’s not Shittykawa’s girlfriend, he hasn’t dated anyone in two years, she just kinda throws herself at him”

you’re heart kind of lightened when you heard this, but you stopped yourself, Oikawa and you has nothing to do with each other now

“that-”

“alright love, how about we eat this outside yeah?” Iwaizumi was quick to hold her waist and lead her outside knowing how to calm her down

you were also done filling your plate so you just decided to seat in one of the tables, giving Iwaizumi and Akira a time to themselves

you sat there and ate alone which you didn’t really mind, at some point Issei and Makki stopped by your table and you three shared lighthearted conversations, they eventually had to leave and you were once again alone

you felt a vibration on your purse and you immediately checked it out, it was a phone call from your mom, you answered the phone hastily

“ma?”

“y/n dear? are you coming home soon? Hayato has a fever, he’s looking for you” she sounded so worried

“y-yeah, I’m coming home soon mom wait for me” you abruptly ended the call and immediately stood up and made your way to the garden where Aki and Iwa was

your mind was clouded with so much worry that you didn’t notice Oikawa who was talking with both of your friends

you immediately grabbed Aki’s hand “Home- i need to come home, my son-my son is sick” it was the first time one of the twins got sick so you were worried beyond belief

Iwaizumi and Aki looked at each other

“I’ll drive you” Iwa says as you all exited the venue, ignoring the dazed look on Oikawa’s face

VBDSJBDSCBJ this chapter is kind of short, I have finals coming up :’) but i hope you guys still like it. You can dm or send me an ask if you guys want a tag. Reblogs and Comments are very much appreciated <3<3<3

[basically-i-write-shit]

Hey, i love your writing! Especially the yama aus and yama centric ones. I often see, in fics, that yama is often the one that pampers tsukki with love and affection and i wonder if we can just reverse uno card on that and make tsukki the one that is taking care of yama when he has a bad day and his anxiety/depression is sky rocketing. i just love some whump and yama being taken care of <3 thank you anyway. Hope you are doing well!

jfgfjdjsgh thank u <3 Yamaguchi is always always misrepresented, in my opinion. People need to stop portraying him as weak or whiny. 

The first day back to practice after the training camp is...surprisingly uneventful. 

Kei had, after all, been able to go to school still and saw everyone at least briefly. Still, after a week he’d expected the tone of practice to be different, but it’s not. More specifically, he’d expected Tadashi to act different- he was the only first year not in attendance of either training camps, after all. They’d avoided the topic pretty clearly after the initial bomb of Hinata crashing the camp, but in their text messages Kei could tell Yamaguchi was a bit more short than usual. Not really noticeable to anyone but Kei. 

Even still, Tadashi keeps a smile on his face at practice except when he thinks no one is looking. Except Kei is looking, and looking a lot, because he knows Tadashi. He knows how Tadashi thinks, and sees the increase in failed serves at practice, and knows a shutdown should be coming any moment now-

But it doesn’t. 

Instead, everything is calm and quiet. Kei takes a bit longer to change, since everyone wants to know more about camp, but when he eventually wrestles his way out of the club room and down the stairs, he sees Yamaguchi bouncing his leg nervously as he waits for Kei. When he sees his friend, the nervous habit freezes and he stands. 

“Ready?” 

“Yeah.” 

The walk home is, as is most nights, filled with talk about their day. Tadashi carries the conversation, as always, but something about the way he speaks feels...forced. Tadashi is avoiding the topic of volleyball altogether, despite the fact that it’s usually at least a part of the conversation. 

“Ah, this is my turn. I’m heading to Shimada’s place, so-” 

“Why don’t you come to my place tonight? We haven’t seen each much of each other in the last week.” 

“I don’t know, Tsukki, you saw me at practice tonight...I really need to work on them.” 

“And working too much can do more harm than good, Yamaguchi. Come on.” 

“I-” Tadashi starts, but Kei takes him by the wrist and begins pulling him down the road towards his house. Tadashi tries to protest more, but Kei decides to tune him out, continuing to walk with his hand around Tadashi’s wrist. He tries not to think too hard about how he’s basically holding hands with his friend. 

“We’re home!” 

“S- Sorry for the intrusion...” 

Kei’s mother greets them at the door, leaning against the frame as they take off their shoes in the entryway. “Kei, Tadashi, welcome home! Tadashi, I haven’t seen you all week, how are you doing?” 

“I’m good, auntie, thank you. Tsukki just got home late because of training camp, so I figured I’d let him rest instead of coming to study with him.” 

“Yet you stayed on video chat all night anyway,” Akiteru snorts as he passes the door, and Kei’s eye twitches. 

“Aki-nii, when does your college’s break end again?” 

“Not until after I get to see my little brother and his friends play at nationals, why do you ask?” 

“Can you leave anyway?” Kei deadpans, pouting when his mother tsks and gently hits his arm. 

“Be nice, Kei. I’ve got dinner on the stove, boys, so you can go study while it cooks and I’ll call you down, alright?” 

“Alright...” 

“Thank you, auntie.” 

“Oh, Tadashi, any time dear.” 

“Come on, Yamaguchi.” Kei, once again, grabs Tadashi by the wrist now that their shoes are off and leads him down the hall as if Tadashi hasn’t been to his house a million times. He doesn’t pull away until they’re at his door; he pushes it open, knowing Tadashi will turn the light on as they enter, and flops right onto his bed. His bag falls to the floor next to it with the dull thud of unfinished homework assignments, but he ignores them in favor of rolling over so he’s on the inner half of the definitely-too-small-for-two-people twin bed, patting the empty space next to him boredly. “C’mere.” 

Tadashi, used to sitting on the same bed as Kei but unused to him being so forward about it, cocks his head to the side. “Huh?” 

“Come lay down. You look like you haven’t slept in a week.” Tadashi’s eyes unfocus as he tries to process what Kei said, and Kei huffs, looking away. Too cute. “If I have to drag you around all week because you’re too tired from practicing too hard, I’m never sharing my notes with you again. Get over here already.” 

“You...invited me all the way over here to sleep, Tsukki? Because you think I’m overworking myself?” 

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Kei grumbles. “You’re free to do whatever you want, once you lay down, but yes. You act like I can’t tell your shoulders are as stiff as the King’s when he gets that stick up his ass. You’re stressed.” 

Tadashi snorts as he slides onto the bed next to Kei, their elbows bumping together as the sides of their thighs press firmly, shyly, together; it’s a position they’re used to by now, but it still sets Kei’s heart aflutter. “You’re too mean to them, y’know Tsukki. Half of your insults they’re too dumb to understand- you need to find someone to match your wit.” 

“That’s what you’re for, but you’re avoiding the subject Yamaguchi.” 

“Am not, you just said I seemed stressed and I didn’t think it was worth arguing when you’re right.” Tadashi says. 

“Well, you haven’t said why.” Kei turns and looks at Tadashi seriously, his eyebrows raised. “Is it because of training camp? You have nothing to worry about, you know. It’s not like we can get suddenly a hundred times better in a week, and I’m sure you were practicing hard at Karasuno.” 

Tadashi turns his head away from Kei, crossing his arms. “So what if it is? I know that, Tsukki, and even if I’m jealous I get why I wasn’t chosen to go so it’s not that. I just- Tsukki, the second years are getting better as well, and I don’t think I’m going to ever get a place as a starter, let alone a pinch server with Kinoshita-san’s serves getting as good as they are, and- and-” 

When he looks back to Kei, he has tears pooling in his eyes and his shoulders are shaking with a held-back sob. 

“I know it’s stupid, but I- I want to play with you again, Tsukki. But everyone is moving forward, and I feel like I’m stuck. Because coach wants us all working on serves, and I know I need to work on mine, but I also need to work on receives, and how am I supposed to get good at those when I’m not even good at the one thing that’s gotten me on the court so far? I’m not pitying myself, don’t you dare think I am, I’m pissed. I work so hard, and I’m going to be passed over again when the third years graduate, and I know it’s fair but that won’t stop the fact that I’m upset over it. I’ve done everything, and nothing’s wor-” 

“Yamaguchi, shut up.” 

Kei had taken in the rant with wide eyes, surprised at how much Tadashi had boiled over. He’d expected his friend to be upset, but the anger is something new. He doesn’t really know how to process everything, but he knows his friend is upset and this he can at least fix. 

“You’re doing the best you can, and that’s all that matters. Wasn’t it you talking to me about pride? I’m glad you’re not letting this get you down, but pushing yourself too hard isn’t going to help you much. What if you hurt your arm and can’t practice serves? Then what? Then you’re really screwed.” 

Tadashi, brows pinched together, bites his lip. “Tsukki, I-” 

“If you want, I’ll help you practice receiving some nights. But only if you don’t overwork yourself, and I’ll be checking in to make sure you aren’t.” Kei says. Tadashi stares at him, clearly surprised. “Deal?” 

“I- Yes, definitely, Tsukki. What about spikes?” 

“Don’t push it.” 

Tadashi laughs brightly, his shoulders slowly relaxing as he melts into the mattress. “Worth a shot, huh? And, uh- thanks, Tsukki. I think I needed the pep talk more than I thought I did...” 

“Any time, Yamaguchi.” Kei pulls out his phone now that the heart-to-heart is over and scrolls through it, turning his attention away from the way his heart hammers at the sound of Tadashi’s laugh. 

Yamaguchi leans his head on his shoulder to see what he’s doing despite Kei’s protests and, shortly after, begins to doze off despite his original protests. 

[frozenmikan]

We’ll make sure to keep our activities going, to tell everyone about how Aqours is doing, about where Aqours is from - Inami Anju, Aida Rikako, and Saito Shuka’s unwavering resolve

First years interview: https://aikyan.dyreatic.moe/post/624225195452940288/before-a-new-departurekobayashi-aika-takatsuki

Third years interview: https://ganbaramen.tumblr.com/post/625147563563204608/their-intention-is-always-to-be-by-your-side-the

If I gave up, Chika-chan would stop growing too

Love Live! Sunshine!!’s school idol group, Aqours, has just celebrated its 5th anniversary. The “Aqours 5th Anniversary Jimo Ai! Take Me Higher Project”, which includes the franchise’s first dome tour, has also been announced.

Inami: I expected quite a few big things to happen, since it is our 5th anniversary. But even I was surprised at how huge the entire thing turned out to be.

Saito: There really is quite a lot happening, huh?

Aida: We have Aqours CLUB 2020 too, and…

Saito: There are so many things happening that I can’t wrap my head around them!

Inami: Since the phrase “Jimo Ai” is in the title itself, it’d be nice if I could shout out to everyone that we’ve come all the way from Numazu, loud and clear!

What did you think of “Fantastic Departure”, the theme song of the dome tour, when you first heard it?

Aida: I feel like our songs have gotten more and more mature over the years.

Saito: Yeah, totally! It feels like our songs are growing alongside us.

Aida: Yeah, they’re songs from a genre that Aqours could never touch in the past.

Inami: It does seem like the melody was written to conform to current trends.

Aida: You’re right, it does sound pretty stylish. It also makes you want to dance to the beat.

Inami: As an artist, I feel like we’ve managed to establish exactly what it means to be Aqours. Of course, that includes the lyrics too!

Aida: You can just feel Hata Aki-san in every phrase!

Inami: Yeah, yeah! Especially the “dolphin” and “whale” lines.

Saito: Having words related to the ocean in the lyrics makes it feel really Aqours-like. I think it’s pretty interesting how there’s a gap between the mature-sounding melody and the lyrics.

How was the recording?

Inami: It was really tough…!

Aida: If I focus too much on singing in my character voice, my sense of rhythm goes haywire!

Inami: Yeah, that! When I first heard “Fantastic Departure!”, the first thing I worried about was how I’d sing it!

Aida: Our songs started becoming really difficult around “Jump up HIGH!”.

Saito: No matter the song, the first thing I think about is how You-chan would sing it, but you’re right, it was quite difficult at the start.

Inami: So what do you do?

Saito: I just sing the entire thing as You-chan.

Aida: For me, I let my character voice out when I can, and pay more attention to the rhythm when I need to. That leads to the up-and-downs in my voice, I guess?

Inami: For me, I try singing it once with my own voice, paying attention to the syllables I’d stress. This expands my horizons and gives me more ideas. After that, I try to think of even more ideas as Chika-chan, and that makes my singing more expressive, I guess?

Aida: I think it’s amazing how Chika-chan sounds like Chika-chan whenever she sings.

Inami: I’m so glad to hear that! I’m sure all of us feel the same way, but if there was something I couldn’t do and I gave up on it without trying, Chika-chan would stop growing too. Because I feel very strongly about not wanting to stop Chika-chan from growing and developing, I challenge myself and do my best in everything I do.

Everyone in Aqours is the type to just go for it instead of worrying about it

How about the coupling song, “Aqours Pirate Desire”?

Aida: The lyrics certainly are very forceful. Our lyrics used to be things like “Got it!” and “Heave-ho!” after all, so they’ve definitely have gotten a lot more forceful compared to back then. There’s that, and how the pitch has become really low. It’s almost a full octave lower, so I was certainly a little flustered at the start.

Saito: The first thing I thought after hearing it was, “It’s so low!”

Inami: Yeah, I was like, “Dang, this is gonna be a tough one” (laughs).

Saito: I couldn’t help but wonder whether You-chan would be able to do it. That’s why I asked them to let me listen to my own singing over and over again during the recording.

The song’s atmosphere gives off the impression of a rather wild Aqours.

Inami: You’re right. It’s the first time we’ve had “pirates” as the theme of a song, after all.

Saito: They told us to go all out with the coolness during the recording!

Aida: It is a rather cool song, after all.

Inami: Maybe it’d be nice for Aqours to appear on stage while showing off our cool side. Up until now, we’ve always had a refreshing, cheerful, or straightforward look, so I think it’d be pretty fun to show off Aqours’ unyielding and firm side too.

Aida: The atmosphere Aqours gives off has changed quite a bit too, huh?

Inami: Yeah. Personally, I want to show off even more different sides of Aqours!

Tell us about your favorite parts of each song.

Aida: I like how the lyrics of “Fantastic Departure!” tells a story of us not knowing what’s in store for us in the future. But after seeing many, many things on our way here, we still want to continue discovering what’s ahead of us, and that there are still places for us to go. That made me really happy, and they’re all phrases I really love.

Inami: I’m really glad that the lyrics strongly convey how Aqours will keep pushing forward while also giving off the feeling that this is a new start for us. For “Aqours Pirates Desire”, I like the phrases like “Snatch it for ourselves!”, phrases that Aqours has never really had before. What about you, You-chan (Saito-san)?

Saito: I guess I like the lyrics in the chorus of “Aqours Pirates Desire”. I feel like it really gives off the feeling that Aqours will do anything, that we want to be given the opportunity to do anything and everything.

Inami: All nine of us are the type of people to just go for it rather than worrying about it, and maybe that personality of ours got through to Hata-san as well. For “Aqours Pirates Desire”, I find the part where we say we’ll “sail the seven seas” and “go beyond even that” interesting. We don’t usually end our sentences so forcefully too, and the word “crossbones” really packs a punch… The song is just packed with the new Aqours.

Saito: Though Riko-chan’s a part of Guilty Kiss, so I guess she’s already used to the “crossbones” part.

Aida: I wonder… Though you have to admit that there’s something about how all nine of us can now perform a song like “Aqours Pirate Desire” together, and not just as our subunits.

Inami: Yeah. Most of the Aqours members already like cool songs, and that’s being put to good use here. Maybe we’ll be able to go even further with this concept now that we’ve sung this song, and that gets me really excited.

Aida: It’s quite interesting how although the song is quite stylish, it still feels undoubtedly like a “Love Live!” song when the nine of us sing it.

The entire arena dyed in orange: “Memories never fade”

This January, you performed at Love Live! Fest together with μ’s and the Nijigasaki School Idol Club, breaking the walls between the franchise’s groups. What left the deepest impression on you at Love Live! Fest?

Aida: Can I talk about something that happened when we were off-stage? It’s got to be μ’s “Snow halation”.

Inami & Saito: That really was something!

Inami: We were waiting on the ship for our turn to perform, and because we just enjoy ourselves fully once we’re on stage, the wait before we go on stage leaves the strongest impression on us.

Saito: Yeah, that. The peak of our emotions happened when we were waiting. At that moment, I just felt really glad that I was part of Aqours.

Aida: Seeing the arena glow orange during μ’s “Snow halation” made me realize that memories truly never fade. It’d be nice if we could make the people watching one of our lives feel the same way one day.

Inami: Maybe this dome tour is our first step to achieving that. I’m also really glad that we’ve become capable of considering “sometime in the future”.

Any memories of your own performance during Love Live! Fest?

Inami: When we appeared on stage on our ship, I was really thankful that we were here as Aqours. When I first heard that we’d be appearing on the ship, we talked it out and agreed that we wanted to dance. We acutely felt the meaning behind us having to live up to the animation, as well as the power the nine of us have together, so we wanted to put that in our dance on stage.

After our performance, what we saw from the ship felt really special, and that made me really glad that we performed on the ship. Realizing that made me emotional once again.

How about you, Aida-san, Saito-san?

Aida: We were the opening act for both days, kicking the performance off with “Mitaiken Horizon”. That left a very deep impression.

Saito: Love Live! Fest was our first time performing “Mitaiken Horizon”. Also, it had been quite some time since our last concert, so I was really nervous.

Inami: I knew that I’d be frustrated if we didn’t manage to capture the attention of the people in the audience who were seeing us for the first time. I really gave it my all to make sure that we fulfilled the role of being the opening act and passing the baton on to the next performers.

How were the performances by the members of the Nijigasaki School Idol Club? They even put on some solo performances, right?

Inami: It’s really amazing how they performed on stage alone!

Aida: Fest was right after their 1st Live (Love Live! Nijigasaki School Idol Club First Live “with You”) too. Adding on to that, they even performed on the same stage as μ’s did. So that’s quite something.

Saito: If that were me back when I first debuted, I’d probably be terrified.

Aida: Yeah. Just having the courage to perform solo on that stage is already really amazing.

Inami: Amidst an audience that’s focused on them, and only them, I could tell that they really wanted to dye the entire venue in each and every one of their colors. That was just really emotional.

“We’ve started communicating with just our eyes”: The second years are the balancers

After five years, do you feel like you’ve grown?

Saito: I guess I now know how to look better in photos?

Inami: That’s really important!

Saito: I used to look terrible in photos! But now, I realize that I'm at the point where if I spot the camera cranes during a concert, I'll be like “C'MON LOOK OVER HERE" (laughs).

Inami: I used to be bad with photos too… I really wish I could change my artist photo I took way back then.

Saito: Yeah! Seeing that photo being used for some TV performance just makes me want to scream: “Just change it already!”

Inami: Exactly. Also, I used to be a very negative person, but I’ve definitely become overwhelmingly more positive over the years. Chika-chan is cheerful no matter what, and nothing can break her. She has so many ideas that it’s almost funny, and she still influences me to this day!

Chika-chan is so positive that sometimes I wonder whether she even knows the meaning of the phrase “giving up”. She’s been pulling me along, in a good way. Even now, I still have a lot to learn from her actions.

Aida: For me, it’s definitely my stamina. I really had no stamina at the start. I think I was the worst among everyone in Aqours. Especially during our 1st Live (Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours First LoveLive! ~Step! ZERO to ONE~), I’d lose my breath halfway through a song, and just singing my solo part was pure suffering.

But I could feel myself slowly becoming more fit, day by day. There are still times when I feel like it’s too much, but it doesn’t show on my face anymore, so I guess I’ve grown in that regard.

Inami: Yeah, I get you! I’m really glad that I can now perform “Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?” with a smile on my face the entire time (laughs).

Saito: “KimiKoko” is still pretty tough, even now…

Aida: Other than that, I feel like I’ve changed in lots of ways, so many that I can’t even begin to count.

Inami: During these five years as Aqours, every one of us has managed to take on and overcome different challenges, so I think about how much we’ve grown almost every day.

What do you think about the bond between the second years?

Aida: If we’re talking about the anime, the bond between the second years really solidified around “Aye-aye, My Friend” (episode 11 of the first season of the anime). I feel like after that, we took on the role of watching over the other year groups, with You-chan and Riko-chan supporting Chika-chan together.

Inami: And Chika-chan just throws her everything at anything she’s doing.

If I were to talk about myself, I’ve become much better at grasping Chika-chan’s emotions during our concerts. I’ve become able to find joy and perform songs alongside both of them with a smile on my face, even though they used to be songs where just singing and dancing took all my effort and concentration. I guess that’s when I feel the bond between us.

Aida: For me, because I know that their dances will definitely be perfect, I feel like I have no choice but to keep up with them.

Saito: Our songs as the second years are really energetic, so that shows how close we are.

What’s something that you’d never lose at versus the other year groups?

Inami: How we can be both playful and serious at the same time! That’s something I love about us too.

Saito: When push comes to shove, we’ll definitely get things done, but when we joke around, we go all out too.

Inami: Yup. We’ll mostly be fine, no matter what happens. We’re able to follow up on absolutely anything.

Aida: That’s also because of how much we trust each other.

Saito: We’ve started communicating by our gazes alone a lot more recently, right?

Inami: We can tell what the others are thinking just by looking at their eyes.

Aida: Working together as a year group feels really reassuring, in a different way from when we’re together as nine or in our subunits.

Inami: Even without talking it out, we’ll end up saying, “OK, we’ll give it a try, we’re fine!”. That’s why it’s really easy to be with this group.

Saito: The three of us as a group are pretty balanced, huh?

Inami: Yeah. Because the three of us often have to keep the conversation going during MCs and such, we have quite a lot in common. When my mind is completely occupied with reading the script in front of me, the two of them will follow up or respond to what I say with something appropriate. That’s something I can really count on, so I get to enjoy myself during livestreams and such with them around!

That, and our sense of time is pretty similar. Just when I start thinking that our MC segment during a concert has gotten a bit too long, and that now’s a good time to wrap things up, Riko-chan (Aida-san) will wrap up the conversation, and so on...

Aida: That’s something I tend to do… I’m the type to want to move on to the next thing right away. That, and to stop the first years from going on any longer (laughs).

Inami: It’s clear-cut, easy to understand, and interesting. I really like that part of you (laughs). You-chan is really good at following up when I pass the baton to her, so I can throw a topic at her without worrying too much. That’s why I feel like we’re balanced as a group. No matter what happens, our energy levels are just right, and I think that’s one of the second years’ strong points.

Be proud of the fact that you made our dome tour possible!

There’s still some time before we get the full details, but is there anything in particular that you’d like to do for your dome tour?

Aida: We’ve ridden on a ship and a steam locomotive, so I wonder what’s next.

Inami: If we’re going with the lyrics, it’s going to be a whale next. How about whales in our member colors?

Saito: I feel like people will just wonder what we’re riding on (laughs).

Aida: I guess I want to try all kinds of things without being constrained by what we’ve done up until now. Since being able to do a dome tour isn’t a given, I’d like to reflect on the fact that we’ve been given the chance to do this and leave no regrets behind.

Inami: Aside from our numbered lives, we’ve also been given the opportunity to perform an Asia tour and fan meetings. And now we have a country-wide dome tour; I think that’s really amazing. That’s why I’d like this tour to be one where we enchant everyone with Aqours’ radiance.

Saito: I wanna mess around during a concert…

Inami: Yeah, I do want to play around with some of the songs. Of course, there are songs with the choreography set in stone, so we’ll show that off when we can, and mess around when we can.

Aida: It’d be nice if the concert were something like a festival.

Inami: Yeah! I want the tour to be one that’d get everyone’s heart pumping, one that’ll make everyone in the audience realize their love for Aqours and the songs we perform!

Is there anything you’d like to be able to do by the time the dome tour starts?

Inami: There are quite a few songs that we haven’t performed yet, right?

Aida: I think there’s more than ten of them. Like “Bouken Type A, B, C!!”, “KOKORO Magic ‘A to Z’”, and “Dance with Minotaurus”.

Saito: Yeah! I can’t wait for “Dance with Minotaurus”.

Aida: That, and some more new songs, right?

Saito: The Aqours CLUB song too.

Inami: …Wow (laughs). They’re all songs with different styles and genres too, right?

Saito: Yeah. Especially the tour’s theme song.

Aida: The bridge seems pretty tough too.

Inami: Err… As soon as we can perform our new songs, I hope we can have fun while performing them! (laughs)

I’m sure your fans are looking forward to the 5th anniversary project too.

Saito: I was actually pretty surprised myself. We definitely only managed to make a dome tour happen thanks to everyone supporting us.

I’m really excited that we’ll be able to perform at huge venues, but I’ll make sure to not forget my roots too. To do that, I’m already thinking about re-watching the first and second seasons of the anime, as well as the movie before the tour kicks off. So, I hope everyone reading does the same too! Also, do watch over Aqours, who’ve surely leveled up since our 5th anniversary!

Aida: I never expected to be able to put on such a large-scale concert for our 5th anniversary. It's definitely thanks to all the fans who have been supporting us all this time that we're being given the opportunity to do this. 

I think all of our fans should be proud of themselves because they’re the ones who brought Aqours all the way here to our dome tour. I hope to make this tour one where I get to express my gratitude to everyone, and I look forward to your support!

Inami: I hope even more people get to know about “Love Live! Sunshine!!” and Aqours through this interview, and I’d be glad if we left an impression on you. Aqours is in the process of challenging ourselves in all kinds of directions, and I think there are still many words and songs we can bring to everyone.

Although we already have an anime and a movie, personally, I want to start writing a new story with the nine of us in Aqours! With that desire in my heart, in order to tell everyone about how Aqours is doing, and about where Aqours lives, I’ll make sure to keep our activities going. I’d be grateful if you’d come along to witness Aqours’ world for yourself, and I’ll do my best to gain your support from now on as well!

What are the charm points of each of the second years?

Inami Anju -> Aida Rikako

Aqours is a group of voice actresses, actresses, singers, and many more, so all of us had different levels of experience when we first started out. Riko-chan (Aida-san) was never constrained by any of those roles, and she has a very clear idea of what she wants to do as “Aida Rikako”. I thought she seemed rather mature.

What’s more, Riko-chan really loves acting, and I myself love acting too. As we attended more recordings together, we gained the ability to throw all kinds of different lines at each other.

Throughout these five years, I think the person I’ve always talked with the most about “what I should do for Aqours” is Riko-chan. No matter what I talk to her about, she’ll definitely reply with a message or some idea that’s uniquely hers. What she says is very encouraging. We’ve been pouring out our love for acting and our characters together this entire time, so I think she’s the person I can open my heart to most easily.

Inami Anju -> Saito Shuka

You-chan (Saito-san) is very friendly, and since she’s the closest to me in age, from the very start our relationship was somewhat similar to that of childhood friends—just like our characters. Although she’s friendly, she knows where to draw the line, and she’s the type to take the feelings of the people around her into consideration without realizing it.

She never lets it show, but she’s really responsible. She’s really serious, and I believe she was given the leapfrog (in “Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?”) and the center position for the 2nd single, “Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM”, because she always challenges herself to do her best.

All three of us second years are serious, and we’re all balancers, so we just grew closer naturally without needing to work ourselves up over it too much. In the end, I usually have the responsibility of wrapping the conversation up. But both of them always watch over me by my side, to share in that burden of mine. There are things that I’d only share with the two of them, and all three of us have worries that only the other two understand. But, even if we don’t put them explicitly into words, we somehow can understand each other, and our emotions resonate with one another. So, I really appreciate and trust both of them.

Aida Rikako -> Inami Anju

When Aqours was first formed, Anchan was still a teenager, but she was the perfect leader from the very start. She really has her life together, and she has no weaknesses whatsoever. I was actually quite worried for her at the start… To me, it looked as if she constantly had a huge weight on her shoulders. But, at some point, it looked like the weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she became better at depending on the people around her. So, I think she managed to strike a good balance.

That, and she cares the most about the other Aqours members. She’ll be the first to come to our rescue no matter what happens, and she’ll be the first to notice and follow up if someone is feeling down. She’s really mature and dependable, despite being three years younger than me (laughs). When we’re performing together, I feel like I can leave everything to her, and our performances only manage to happen because of her.

Aida Rikako -> Saito Shuka

She’s so capable that you wouldn’t think that she’s the youngest. She’s been hard-working ever since our 1st Live, and the professional attitude of the other two second years is something I really need to push myself to keep up with.

Shuka will never let her exhaustion show on her face; she’s always smiling. She’s usually the mood maker, the energetic one in the group, but she actually pays a lot of attention to her surroundings. She’s also a kind girl who’s capable of noticing the subtle changes in the facial expressions of the people around her.

Saito Shuka -> Inami Anju

Even among the nine of us, she pays a lot of attention to crafting her role. Since Anju’s the leader, I’m sure she felt a lot more pressure than the rest of us when we just started off. But, she managed to overcome that together with Chika-chan, and she’s now our dependable leader. Aqours would be nothing without Anju as our leader, and we can rest assured because she’s our leader.

Saito Shuka -> Aida Rikako

How she pays attention to her surroundings, and how she always has her life together. That, and I really like how she’s a little out of it (laughs). Because she’s serious, there are times when my jokes don’t get through to her, but that’s because she really values the franchise as a whole, and because she has a very strong will. I like the ups and downs in her personality.

Q&A with Inami Anju, the voice of Takami Chika

Q1) Tell us something you love about Takami Chika-chan!

There’s too many, so this is going to be hard… Among the many things, I really love how she’ll never break, and how she can continue chasing her own radiance for her entire life.

Q2) Is there something you want, or something you want to do right now?

I guess it’d be time.

That, and I really want to get a scuba-diving license someday. When I first experienced it through one of the interviews for “Love Live! Sunshine!!”, I was told that I had a knack for it. Seeing a sunfish in Numazu’s oceans is one of my dreams!

Q3) Is there a book or a game that you’ve been hooked on recently?

Because I’ve been casted in “Boku no Hero Academia” (as Toga Himiko in the stage play), I’ve been reading it recently. If it’s a game, it’s gotta be “Pokémon”.

Q4) What did you want to be when you were a child?

This is really embarrassing (laughs), but a pâtissier. Oh, that, and becoming a mermaid. That was a serious dream of mine. 

Q5) What do you normally do on your days off?

Sleep, play games, work out, and go for chiropractic sessions. There are some days where I just spend the day taking care of my body.

Q&A with Aida Rikako, the voice of Sakurauchi Riko

Q1) Tell us what you like about Sakurauchi Riko-chan!

How she really cares for Chika-chan. She’s always the first to notice if Chika-chan’s feeling down. Of course, she loves everyone in Aqours, and she’s always caring for everyone. I like how she’s usually the support for all of the Aqours members.

Q2) Is there something you want, or something you want to do right now?

It’s not easy to do this at this point in time, but I want to go on a solo trip someday.

I’ve always wanted to visit France. I love “The Rose of Versailles”, and I really want to visit the Palace of Versailles. Also, visiting some hot springs would be nice.

Q3) Is there a book or a game that you’ve been hooked on recently?

“The Promised Neverland”. I’ve always liked the comics in “Young Jump”. I also have the complete set of “GIGANT”.

Q4) What did you want to be when you were a child?

A singer.

That was my first dream, though along the way I became open to more than just singing.

Q5) What do you normally do on your days off?

I don’t set an alarm and sleep in until midday. Then, I watch TV, and just laze around mostly. I usually don’t go anywhere except for places around my house, so if I had the entire day free, I’d like to visit a shopping mall or something a little further from where I live.

Q&A with Saito Shuka, the voice of Watanabe You

Q1) Tell us what you like about Watanabe You-chan!

Can I talk about something physical…? (laughs) Since she’s in the swimming club and the school idol club at the same time, I really admire her discipline, and I also really like how strongly she feels about wanting to do something together with Chika-chan, and how she really cares for her friends.

Recently, I’ve really taken a liking to her curves.

She’s not too fat but not too thin; her body is the epitome of a healthy high school girl, and that’s really great!

In episode eleven of the first season of the anime, “Aye-aye, My Friend”, there’s a scene where the camera focuses on her thighs; the thought that went through my mind was, “That’s perfect!”. Her face also looks really pretty from the side. I like how she’s so beautiful that I don’t even have the words to describe it (laughs).

Q2) Is there something you want, or something you want to do right now?

I wanna go to a grilled meat place for some beef tongue! If the beef tongue is sliced thinly, I could eat that forever. But, I’ve started asking for a larger portion of rice with my meals, like a high school boy, so I think it’s about time for me to start cutting down.

Q3) Is there a book or a game that you’ve been hooked on recently?

I’ve liked this for the longest time, but “Bokura ga Ita (We Were There)”. I really love the character Yano Motoharu from “Bokura ga Ita”, and I seriously wonder whether he’d appear in real life. My brain is infected with shoujo manga, so I really want the heart-throbbing scenes in shoujo mangas to happen to me too.

Q4) What did you want to be when you were a child?

I really wanted to say “an idol”, but that was embarrassing, so I said I wanted to become a preschool teacher. But, ever since I was a child, I was dancing in the center for the dances we did in preschool performances, and I often thought that someday I’d become someone who’d be performing on stage.

Q5) What do you normally do on your days off?

I guess I go shopping by myself most of the time. Recently, I’ve started using my days off to go for massages or to visit a beautician, to keep my body in top shape. Most of the time I end up shopping somewhere on the way back.

TL: xIceArcher

TLC: arbshortcake

QC: Cornsplosion, Yujacha

[sneyrwrites]

|Cold Blooded| Nishinoya Yuu x Azumane Asahi

Wordcount: 2,3k

Genre: Angst

Warning: FEELS

A/N: This broke my heart a little. I had so much fun participating in this collab, and i really hope i could portray the song corretly since i have little to no experience with writing songfics!

The way you've been treating me Is getting out of hand

And you walk around Like you're so innocent

It was silly, wasn't it? How he always fluttered around Kiyoko, declaring his feelings for her, when in reality the only he wanted to throw his body at in a bone-crushing hug was Asahi. But he couldn't gather the courage to come forward and put his heart out in the open. Not until they were alone in the gym, at least.

Once the Ace started doubting his capability and spiraling into a loop of self loathing Nishinoya couldn't take it anymore, not when Asahi was denying everything the small libero loved about him, and in the importance of his role in the team.

With their backs against the wall, sweating bodies sitting next to each other, and as their shoulders pressed together, he tried to calm his thundering heartbeat, trying to contain the retorts that were begging to be shouted at the top of his lungs.

But when Asahi said implied it was better for him to just quit and leave the team, Nishinoya snapped, his hands gripping the neck of the Ace's shirt harshly and bringing him really close to his face. The emotion raw in his eyes as he held back tears that appeared when the guy he had feelings for dragged his self-esteem to the dirt like it was the most normal thing to do.

"Stop talking!" With barely contained anger, and the tension between them thick as a vault door Asahi let out a shaky exhale before Nishinoya's lips crashed against his.

A surprised sound came from the back of his throat, his shoulders tensing and the heat rushing up his neck as he observed with big eyes Nishinoya's frown above his tightly shut eyes.

The kiss was all but careful, with his mouth harshly moving against his shocked sempai's, hands still imprisoning his shirt in a tight fist. The kiss was in fact corresponded, but only halfheartedly since Asahi never once relaxed. His breath caught in his lungs.

Nishinoya pulled away first, the flame within his brown eyes still ignited but more dim than it was before. Taking in the red face of his sempai he realized what just happened, and even if he was still pissed, he rushed to apologize for his bluntness, but Asahi rushed to say it was fine, waving it off with his hand.

But it wasn't fine, not to Nishinoya at least.

A kiss as just a kiss, but he wanted it to be much more than that.

I lost my sight And you're leading me on

Is it 'cause you're used to guys always doing you wrong?

Even after they left the gym's corner where they shared they first kiss, things remained the same between them, except for the fact that they could hardly look each other in the eyes without their faces exploding with color.

Their small moment was shoved at the back of Nishinoya's mind, as he tried to focus in his training, and not in the disappointment that came after it.

His interactions with Asahi became sparse, and it pained him immensely. Why couldn't things work out in his favor for once? The world seemed to mock him as the days went by and their relationship kept going downhill.

Until one day the stars aligned and things seemed to brighten up.

Walking down the halls to the third years classroom needing to find Daichi to let him know he wouldn't make it to practice, the last thing Nishinoya expected was for Asahi to pull on his arm and wrap him in his arms.

"I'm sorry... But i need to do this." His brown eyes bore into the liberos with an intensity that killed all the questions that were about to tumble out of him " I Can't hold it anymore Nishinoya." And just like that, their lips met in a hesitant small kiss.

Nishinoya could feel the curious eyes of everyone in the hall, and he knew how inappropriate what they were doing was, but he couldn't find a damn to give when Asahi held his face in such a tender way that could melt him. His eyes fluttered close, and he felt like he was floating, his body filed with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Even after the kiss ended, it took him a minute to reopen his eyes, almost afraid that when they focused, everything turned out to be just a trick of his heavily sleep deprived mind. But his heart leaped excitedly when Asahi remained in front of him, looking at him with a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

A fake cough broke their moment and grounded Nishinoya. Turning around, he found Daichi and Sugawara staring at them.

"What was that...?" Daichi asked with eyes glimmering with amusement. "When did you planned to tell us? Huh?" Clasping his hand in their shoulders he gave them a reassuring squeeze.

"Uh..." Nishinoya could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks, showing how flustered he really was. "I... He... We uh..." Words seemed to run away from him as he tried to come p with something to say.

"Relax Nishinoya! I'm only teasing." Daichi chuckled.

Too embarrassed to noticed anything else, Nishinoya missed the disappointed look Sugawara was throwing Asahi's way, who avoided his eyes at all costs, searching in the crowd for someone in hopes he witnessed the exchange he just had with Nishinoya.

Do you really love me? Or is it just revenge? 

Lately, you don't seem so genuine.

The smell of coffee filled Noya's senses as they sat in a small coffee shop two blocks away to the school's building.

His hands gripped his mug, trying to dissipate the stiffness in his fingers winter brought along. Asahi sat in front of him with a coffee of his own, observing out the window to the cars that passed by, his eyes not meeting Nishinoya's. The libero was relieved tough, because this way he could observe the way the shy sunshine that peaked from out the windows made his boyfriend glimmer.

Nishinoya's face was full of adoration for him, but how embarrassing would it be if he caught him staring in such a way.

The tingling from the door signaling someone's arrival snapped both boys' attention to it. Two figures entered the almost empty shop, and Asahi's breathing stopped when he saw them, his fist tightening around the white porcelain until his knuckles turned white.

Nishinoya was confused, to say the least. It was rare to see the calm boy get worked up over simple things. Azumane's hard glare towards the couple installed unease into his chest, because Noya knew that look.

It was the same one Tanaka sent to whoever dared to get close to his precious Kiyoko-san, one that spoke of jealousy and threats. Surveying the couple, he recognized Karasuno's uniform first, and then he noticed one of them was his upperclassmen Akio, who had tried the club before deciding it wasn't his thing.

"Asahi...?" He tried to catch his boyfriend's attention, failing miserably.

At his words, Akio turned around with wide eyes, and a blush crept on his cheeks. He was obviously uncomfortable with encountering them, and most specifically, with Azumane's stare, who kept stabbing daggers in his date's back.

The screeching sound of the chair being dragged startled Nishinoya. Asahi got up like lightning and bolted out the door, leaving him and the coffee behind and completely ignoring his pleads to wait. Nishinoya quickly grabbed his belongings and got up to follow after his boyfriend, sending an apologetic smile in Akio's way who looked at him with something close to pity.

His look wrapped cold around his heart as he got out and searched around for Asahi, seeing him walking towards his house in hurried steps. Falling behind him, he kept quiet until they reached his house and went to his bedroom.

And I feel your fear Surrounded by your skin. 

 You feel my heartbeat Vibrate so violent  

Inside of your head I see it in your eyes

You're no good for me And love is blind

Asahi never intended for things to go this far.

The guilt builded on his shoulders like a ton of bricks, but he was in too deep. The only thing he ever wanted was Akio back, but now he doubted his approach was the correct one. Nishinoya really care for him and he was risking the boy's wellbeing in order to get his crush to regret rejecting him.

Laying in bed next to him in bed, Azumane ran a hand through his hair, exhaling heavily, trying to ignore the shame and sadness that kept pushing tears to his eyes. Nishinoya shifted beside him and looked up at him.

"Hey... Is everything okay?" Nishinoya had noticed his change of demeanour after they encountered Akio in the coffee shop, his eyes letting him know what his mouth couldn't express.

He was afraid, and Azumane was to blame. Trying to comfort him, Azumane brushed his knuckles against his cheek, mustering strength to put up a cheerful facade. Nishinoya leaned into his touch, exhaling through his teeth at the tenderness of his boyfriend, and Asahi could almost feel the anxious and dark thoughts that loomed in his mind underneath the fair skin.

"Yeah... Yeah, everything's fine." Wrapping an arm around his neck, Nishinoya brought him closer, pressed tightly against his chest, his heartbeat hammering against his ribcage and not going unnoticed by the small boy in his arms.

"Um... If you don't mind me asking. What happened back there?" Asahi's shudder at the dreading question as he pushed himself up from the bed.

"What do you mean?" He played dumb. Of course he knew what he meant, but he wasn't really to come clean about his actions just yet.

"About you storming out and leaving me behind out of nowhere...?" Nishinoya replied. Knowing full, it wasn't out of nowhere and that the sudden outburst was linked to the other third year.

"Nothing." He replied defensively, his tone sharp and cold

"What do you mean nothing? It didn't seem like nothing to me." Nishinoya pushed focus on getting the truth out of him.

"I said it was nothing! Why do you keep asking? Do you have something to blame me for?" The Ace knew he should just keep quiet, but the stress of the lie and seeing him Akio took a toll in his better judgment.

"What? No!" His tone rose because of the  situation.

"Then leave me the hell alone! God, you're so annoying sometimes..." Asahi's words felt like a slap to the face, and they propped Nishinoya up and out of the bed.

"Oh! Excuse me for caring about my boyfriend!" Asahi visibly flinched at the term and Nishinoya tried to pretend it didn't hurt him.

Sighing heavily and getting up, Asahi spoke

"Look, i think it's better if you just go..." Asahi turned around, shying away from his boyfriend's eyes, trying to avoid witnessing the flash of hurt behind them. Busying his hands in his hair, he tied it up in a bun to appear collected when in reality his entire body was shaking "Seriously Nishinoya, just leave."

His shoulders were tense, and the shuddering breaths that lifted them were only a proof of just how uncomfortable Asahi felt with him in the room.

"Wh-what do you mean Asahi?" His voice shuddered, trying to contain all the frustration he felt at the moment, "What happened? Is this because of Aki..."

"Just Go!" Asahi snapped at him, interrupting his sentence. Turning his head around, the cold in his eyes seemed to freeze Nishinoya to the core as he flinched. The Ace noticed this and sighed, trying to recompose himself a little "Please?"

Nishinoya stormed off of his house after that, not even bothering to say goodbye, all his energy focused in containing the hot tears that gathered in his eyes.

As he laid in his bed that night, the fight replaying over and over again, he tried to figure out what had gone wrong between them. Was Asahi no interested in him anymore?. The thought horrified him, anxiety clutching his heart as waves of insecurity threatened to drown him, dragging him down.

Was he too much to handle? Not enough for the big and mighty Karasuno's Ace?

Nishinoya wasn't stupid, or at least not as dense as everybody thought him to be.

He could see the way Asahi was acting strange specially when they walked the halls of the third years. The hand that would usually settle for holding his smaller one as they walked suddenly would be draped around him with an urgency that had nothing to do with whatever they were talking, and if they walked in front of the class 3-b Asahi, in a bold and out of character manner would pull him in for a kiss.

Nishinoya never questioned this, way too happy for the kiss. He was okay with PDA, in fact he loved it, but the nerves and the fear of making Asahi feel uncomfortable always stopped him. Now that he kept brushing hi off and giving him the cold shoulder he could see the pattern. Who was on class 3-B and why was Asahi so adamant in the seeing him with Nishinoya?

It didn't take a genius to connect the dots and figure out that the person was the same guy who walked in the coffee shop that day.

Betrayal clawed at his chest in the same fashion tears clawed up his throat. Heavy sobs rocked his body as the facts dawned upon him. Azumane wasn't really interested in the relationship.

He felt dirty and used, his trust broken just like his heart, and as he chocked on broken cries.

[ft-dads-au]

Lean On Me

Lyoray Week 2020 Prompt: Reconciliation Pairing(s): Lyon & Gray, Lyon & Aki, Siegrain x Gray (mentioned)

A Collaboration by @mdelpin​ and @oryu404​

AO3 | FF.Net | Takes place after Chance Encounter

Summary: Lyon gets a visit at his office from Rogue, asking for his help in reconciling with his brother, Gray. During their conversation Lyon gains new insights, and discovers some of the things his friend has been keeping from him.

May 13, 2020

Lyon grabbed the large cup of coffee he’d bought from his car’s cup holder while stretching his other arm to snatch the suitcase that lay on the passenger seat. He yawned, still tired from his unexpected late night.

He got out, shoving the door shut with his hip, the car’s alarm engaging automatically as he walked towards the elevator of the underground parking garage. Once inside, he pushed the button for the Lobby, closed his eyes briefly, and readied himself for the rest of his day.

When he entered the building that housed the offices of his law firm, Reitei Law, his mind was already on the appointments he had scheduled that day, as well as the cases he would have to review.

Arriving at the metal detector Lyon emptied his pockets, placing the contents in a small container as he did every day and waving at the security guard as he walked through.

“Have a nice day, Mr. Vastia,” the guard greeted him as he handed him his belongings.

“You as well.”

Lyon put the cup in the crook of his elbow so he could open the door, looking forward to the thirty or so minutes of peace he’d have before his first appointment. He realized, however, that he would have to wait as he found an unusual scene playing out in front of him.

“I’ve told you, I need to see him right away, it’s urgent!” A man stood arguing with their receptionist.

“And I’ve already told you, Sir, Mr. Vastia does not see anyone without an appointment. I’d be happy to try to find you an opening, but he is booked solid through next week.”

Lyon remained silent, not wanting to make his presence known until he had a better grasp of the situation. He intently studied the man, trying to connect him to any of the cases he was handling, but although he seemed familiar, Lyon was able to discount that connection.

“That’s not good enough,” the man slammed his hand on her desk.

“That’s it!” the receptionist fumed, “I have tried to be polite, but if you don’t back off right now, I will need to call Security to escort you out.”

The man immediately brought up both his hands, waving them in front of him, “You don’t have to do that. Look, I’m sorry, it’s just urgent that I talk to him today, I had to get a sitter for my kids.”

Lyon continued to examine the man with interest. He was tall with long dark hair that was put up in a ponytail, his annoyed stance reminding him of someone, although at the moment, the resemblance escaped him. That was until he turned around, and Lyon recognized the man who had been at the Dads Club Meeting the previous evening. The one who had been so interested in Gray.

Lyon had asked Gray who he was, but his friend had only said the guy was no one important, in a moody way that made Lyon immediately realize the exact opposite was true. But try as he might he’d not been able to get anything more out of him.

The rest of his evening had only gotten more interesting from there. And now that same man was here looking for him, and Lyon would be lying if he said he didn’t want to talk to him. Realizing that if security became involved, he’d lose his chance, he made a split-second decision.

“It’s alright, Risley, I have a few minutes before my next appointment. I’d be happy to see Mr. uhm?”

“Fullbuster, Rogue Fullbuster, well Eucliffe now,” Rogue pointed at his wedding band.

Your brother? Really?! Damn it, Gray!

Lyon wanted to throttle his best friend. He should have realized the second Gray went into obstinate mode that it was family related. Now that he could get a good look, he could definitely see the resemblance.

“Right this way,” Lyon said politely, once again wishing he’d been able to get more sleep. He led Rogue to his office, opening the door and waiting for him to enter so he could close the door behind them.

Lyon gestured toward the chairs that faced his desk, “Take a seat.”

Rogue sat down, and Lyon joined him at his desk chair. They stared at each other silently for a moment.

“Well then, how can I help you, Mr. Eucliffe?” Lyon grabbed a yellow legal notepad and a pen, preferring to take notes and entering them into the computer later on.

“I don’t know if you recognize me or not, but you were at the Dads Club Meeting last night. You went with my brother, Gray.”

“I was indeed at the meeting last night,” Lyon agreed, “As to who I was with, I don’t really comment on my private life to strangers.”

“So you are dating him!” Rogue exclaimed, “When did he get back? How is he? What happened with Siegrain? “Where can I find him?”

Rogue continued asking question after question, but Lyon had a hard time keeping track of them all. He tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t manage it, exploding into loud guffaws instead. The idea of him and Gray dating was just too ridiculous.

“I needed that,” Lyon commented, once he was finally able to get himself under control. “Rogue, was it?” He waited until the man nodded before continuing.

For once, he wasn’t exactly sure what the right way to handle a situation was. He knew there wasn’t much use denying he had a personal relationship with Gray considering Rogue had already seen them together. Lyon could see that he was looking around his office. It would only be a matter of minutes before he noticed the only personal item Lyon kept, a picture of himself with Ur Milkovich that had been taken at his graduation from Lamia Scale University.

Ur was his mentor and somewhat of a mother figure, but she also happened to be Gray and Rogue’s aunt.

“I suppose there’s no harm in telling you that I was Gray’s college roommate at Lamia. To be honest, I’m surprised we’ve never met before.”

“So you can help me talk to him?”

Lyon could see the hope in Rogue’s face at his words, and he hated to destroy it, but then again, given what he did for a living, he was used to it.

“I’m afraid that’s really all I can tell you. Gray is my friend, but he’s also my client, and I’m not at liberty to discuss clients.”

“Wait, he’s your client?”

“Indeed,” Lyon agreed.

“Why did he hire you?”

“I’ve already told you, I can’t answer those types of questions.”

“Fine, what types of services do you provide?” Rogue demanded stubbornly, making a face that was so very much like Gray’s that Lyon couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Look, as much as I would enjoy sitting here and playing twenty questions with you all day, I have an appointment to prepare for, so If there’s nothing else I can help you with, I really must ask you to leave.”

“It’s been six years since I last spoke to him,” Rogue declared, his shoulders slumping at the admission, “and I have no other way of getting in touch with him. Please, you’re the only lead I have.”

Lyon took a sip from his coffee. He knew better than anyone that, given the situation Gray found himself in, he desperately needed to reconnect with his family. Especially after what they had learned the previous evening, but Lyon’s hands were tied both legally and in friendship. He’d hoped to get that process started by getting Ur to visit soon.

Gray had never talked about his younger brother much, and Lyon was embarrassed to realize he’d all but forgotten he had one.

He wanted to help Rogue, but he also knew Gray couldn’t be forced into this, not when he was still so emotionally vulnerable. Even now, Lyon was reasonably sure that Gray had only told him the facts he needed to help him escape and defend his case against Siegrain.

He’d known Gray for years, and he was well aware that Gray had an unhealthy habit of burying his feelings. The information he had was but the tip of the proverbial iceberg, one that Gray was determined to keep submerged.

“Can you at least tell him I’m sorry?” Rogue interrupted his thoughts, and Lyon could see the quiet desperation. He’d seen it in his clients often before, usually during nasty custody battles that weren’t going their way.

Lyon opened his mouth to explain his position once again, but Rogue didn’t give him a chance.

“When I first saw him last night, I was furious. That he would be back in town without even a call was just the last straw, but then I saw he had a son. I didn’t even know that. I have two sons.” Rogue held out a picture of himself and the blond man he’d been with the previous evening holding the twin boys that Aki had been playing with.

“I’m sorry, I can’t take that,” Lyon was quick to respond.

”Just look at it,” Rogue pleaded, waving the picture in front of him, “I’ll be the first to admit that our family is messed up at the moment, and I know I hold some of the blame for that. I was more focused on trying to protect Gray from Siegrain than in listening to what he wanted, and I probably made everything worse, but I only did that because I love him.”

“Mr. Vastia, I don’t want our sons to grow up not knowing each other. They deserve better than that.”

“Lyon,” he corrected, clicking on the tip of his pen repeatedly as he considered what he’d just heard. Maybe there was a way they could help each other out after all.

“Lyon,” Rogue repeated, “All I’m asking for is the chance to get to know my brother again, for both our sakes.”

Lyon picked up the phone in his office and dialed the receptionist, “Risley, can you come in here for a second? Thanks.”

He opened his briefcase and rifled through the papers inside until he found what he needed. Looking up when Risley entered, he handed her the folder. “This meeting is going to take a bit longer than I thought. Can you have Mrs. Johnson fill out these forms when she arrives? Put her in Conference Room One, I’ll meet her there once I’m done.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Vastia,” Risley left the office, but not before looking at Rogue curiously.

“Does this mean you’re going to help me?” Rogue asked as he fiddled with the wedding band on his finger.

“No, it means you’re going to help me help your brother,” Lyon noted, “Now, tell me everything you know about Siegrain Fernandes.”

0-0

He had scribbled pages and pages of notes from his conversation with Rogue. Even though most of it was hearsay and wouldn’t stand up in court, it had served to give him a clearer picture. To say that he was furious at Gray was an understatement.

In exchange for the information, Lyon had agreed to consider talking to Gray about maybe getting in touch with his brother. Although he had still refused to accept the photograph, Rogue had left it behind, and he’d stuck it inside his briefcase before heading into the conference room to meet his client.

Thankfully, the rest of his day had been routine: appointments, phone calls, research, filing motions, and scheduling court appearances. It had kept him occupied, but now he was on his way home, and he felt the frustration build.

When he’d first met Gray Fullbuster, they had not hit it off at all. Lyon had thought he was arrogant and self-centered. Now that they were older, Lyon could admit that he’d seen what he’d wanted to see, threatened by both his considerable talent on the ice and by his familial connection to Ur.

He had seen Gray as his replacement, even more so when Ur had ensured they were paired as roommates and asked Lyon to watch out for him. Taking a particular interest in him, just as she had in Lyon.

Yet, over a few months, they had found they were quite similar in many regards, including their determination to give their all to win. Which was why Lyon could not for the life of him understand why his friend would have failed to tell him all the things his brother had shared.

Embarrassment? He supposed that was possible. When they had been at Lamia, they had both been untouchable, and Gray had lost that after his injury. Lyon remembered how defeated he’d seemed after he couldn’t play hockey anymore, but could that really have changed him that much?

He’d been against it when Gray had told him about the modeling during one of their lunches, but he’d had no indication that anything had been off, and he’d been too busy with law school to really concern himself with it.

Still, none of it mattered anymore. The fact was Lyon couldn’t really help Gray properly if he didn’t have all the information. Not as a lawyer and certainly not as a friend.

He was determined to get to the bottom of things tonight. With that thought in mind, he opened the door to his apartment, smiling at the little boy that ran over to greet him with his arms up in the air.

“Hey, Aki,” Lyon greeted, “Did you miss me?”

The little boy nodded eagerly, and Lyon picked him up with one arm, cradling him to his side as he walked over to his desk to drop off his briefcase. He was still getting used to the idea that there were children out there who weren’t scared of him. It was a nice feeling.

The smell of food being prepared alerted him to Gray’s location. “Hi honey, I’m home,” Lyon called out to him.

Gray raised an eyebrow at his greeting, “Honey? Something I should know?”

“Gods no,” Lyon chuckled, “Just had someone ask me if we were dating.”

“Oh, was it that woman on the third floor?” Gray asked as he stirred the pasta sauce. “Sorry about that, she wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I told her I was gay.”

“Oh, great,” Lyon complained, “She was cute.”

“Meh, you can do better,” Gray mumbled, pouring the contents of a box of pasta into a pot full of boiling water.

“Pasta again? I know you want to help out, but I don’t have time to go to the gym.”

“Sorry dude, I had a housekeeper,” Gray shrugged his shoulders, “Pasta and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are about the only things I can make that won’t potentially kill you.”

“Maybe you can let me cook sometime?” Lyon pointed out.

“You don’t exactly have the most normal of schedules, Aki can’t wait that long. Besides, there are lots of cute girls at a gym,” Gray reminded him, “And it’d be great for your stress levels.”

“Whatever,” Lyon put Aki down and loosened his tie, “I’m gonna go change.”

He walked into his room, tossing his work clothes into the hamper provided by his laundry service and changing into some shorts and a t-shirt. Lyon had no idea how he was going to bring up the topic with Gray, but he knew he’d at least have to wait until Aki was out for the night.

Walking back into the kitchen, he opened the fridge, grabbing two beer bottles, and opening them. He handed one over to Gray and put some juice in a sippy cup for Aki.

“Did you hear back from that embassy guy?” he asked, thinking that Gray had seemed unusually calm considering the news he’d received. Rather than just being out of the country for work, Gray’s parents had gotten caught up in a civil war. They’d been stuck in Alvarez for years now.

“Not yet, but you know, I was thinking about it all day,” Gray remarked,” It’s been years at this point, and the government hasn’t done anything to help them so the most they’ll be able to tell me is whether they are alive or not. If they had died, they would have called me, right? So that must mean they’re okay. And now Gildarts knows about it, and he’s someone who gets results.”

“Gets results? What does that even mean? He just looked like a big kid at that meeting last night.”

Hearing the timer go off, Lyon handed Gray a colander for the pasta and set about grabbing some plates and cutlery.

“Don’t let that fool you. Gildarts might seem harmless, but he’s Special Forces,” Gray explained as he drained the pasta in the sink, setting aside a portion that he began to cut into smaller pieces for Aki.

“Is that how he lost his arm and leg?” Lyon wondered.

“Yeah, it happened on a mission a few years ago, my old man was pretty broken up about it. I’d been worried when I heard, but I gotta say, it doesn’t seem to have slowed him down any. Anyway, he’s got lots of connections in the government, so he should be able to find out more than what some bureaucrats will tell me.”

They sat down to eat their dinner and watch a show with Aki before his bedtime. The little boy lay with his head on Lyon’s lap, stretching his legs until his feet touched Gray. He’d started doing that a few weeks earlier, and Lyon still didn’t know how to respond to it.

“You can run your fingers through his hair if you want, he likes that,” Gray suggested like he’d read his mind.

Lyon huffed as if he didn’t need to be told such a thing, but the truth was he was hopeless when it came to this stuff, something Gray had caught on to fairly quickly. He wasn’t used to people showing him affection like this, liking him not for shallow reasons, but for who he was.

Truth be told, he wasn’t sure he deserved it, he was in the business of breaking up families. Most of the time, it was what was best for everyone, but he knew many of the kids he tried to help didn’t really see it that way when their lives were being torn apart.

He could certainly relate to that sentiment. His childhood hadn’t been particularly pleasant. Sure, his family had been loaded, and he’d never wanted for anything material, but that is all he’d ever had. He’d grown up in a noisy home, one that was full of anger and recriminations. His parents had been fighting with each other ever since he could remember. When he was ten years old, they had finally decided to get divorced, and things had turned even nastier, with Lyon stuck in the middle. Reduced to nothing more than a pawn they used to hurt the other.

Aki laughed, shifting in his lap and making himself comfortable. Lyon slowly moved his hand down to pet the small head, holding his breath as he ran his fingers through the little boy’s hair and tensing up when Aki turned his head to give him a beaming smile.

“Relax, you’re doing fine,” Gray soothed, adding in a teasing tone, “and I don’t know, maybe breathe?”

Lyon ignored the childish desire to stick his tongue out at his friend, too fascinated by how this all made him feel.

“He likes you,” Gray remarked casually.

“Yes, but why?”

Gray shrugged, “What can I say? He’s a Fullbuster, terrible taste in men.”

Lyon snorted but kept playing with Aki’s hair. As soon as the show was over, Gray turned the TV off and picked up Aki from Lyon’s lap.’

“Wow, you really did a number on him, he’s out. I’m gonna go put him to bed.”

“Alright, I have some notes I need to enter into the computer,” Lyon grabbed another beer from the fridge before walking over to his desk. He opened his briefcase and pulled out his laptop and legal pad with all of the day’s notes.

While he waited for Gray to come out, he reread the information he’d jotted down from Rogue. Once his laptop had booted up, he opened up his law firm’s software and entered Gray Fullbuster in the search box.

First, he added the names Rogue had given him, Rogue Eucliffe, Hibiki Lates, and Eve Tearm, under the category People of Interest. Then he set about creating a timeline for the events Rogue had told him about. He was still typing away when Gray came out of the bedroom he shared with Aki, closing the door gently behind him, baby monitor in one hand.

“Productive day?” Gray asked, stopping at the fridge to get another beer and setting the monitor down on the counter.

“Yeah, it turns out one of the guys from the Dads club came to see me today, wanting to ask for my help. So I guess leaving those business cards paid off.”

“Oh? Was it the guy Gildarts was talking to, what was his name, Luke?”

“Loke,” Lyon corrected, “No, I know him, he’s a lawyer too.” He waited until Gray had sat down before he pounced. “Actually, it was weird, this guy wanted me to help him find his brother. Can you imagine that?”

Gray gripped the arm of the table but said nothing.

“Your brother Gray, he was your fucking brother. You didn’t think that was worth mentioning when I asked you last night?”

“There was nothing to say, he made his feelings clear a long time ago,” Gray’s shoulders slumped in defeat, recognizing that Lyon wasn’t pleased. “Your acting skills have improved since college,” he noted.

“And yours haven’t,” Lyon snapped, “I knew there were things you were keeping from me, and I wanted to give you time to tell me yourself, but you had no plans to do that, did you?”

“I told you before, I don’t care about me, I only care about what happens to Aki.” Gray protested.

“And I get that, but what you don’t seem to understand is that I am your lawyer. I need to know this shit to help you keep Aki safe.”

“I thought you were my friend.”

“Don’t give me that, you know I’m both. And for the record, as your friend, I’m plenty pissed at you too. He cheated on you, Gray. Before you were even married. What the hell were you thinking?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Gray mumbled, “It’s over, isn’t it?”

Lyon got up from his desk and moved over to the table to sit across from his friend.

“I already know he hit Aki, did he hit you too?”

“NO!” Gray defended, pushing his chair back and standing up, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation.

“Sit your ass back down,” Lyon demanded, quickly backing down as soon as he saw the defiance reflected in Gray’s eyes.

“Look, you trusted me to get you out, why can’t you trust me with what happened?” Lyon pleaded.

“Rogue doesn’t know anything that was going on. We were barely speaking at the time.”

“And why do you think that was? He told me he called you plenty of times, and I bet you that if I requested those phone records from the cell provider, they would back him up.”

Lyon sighed, “Siegrain isolated you long before you were married, Gray. Controlling who you did and didn’t talk to, controlling your finances, your career. He was controlling you, and you’re not doing yourself any favors by protecting him.”

“Is that what you think this is?” Gray’s laugh grated on Lyon’s nerves, it was brittle and full of self-loathing.

“If it isn’t, then please tell me what it is.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know,” Gray whispered and Lyon could see that he was holding back tears, “Yeah, it took me years, but I realized what he was doing. How do you think that makes me feel? To know that I let it go on for so long, that if it wasn’t for Aki, I might still be there now, begging for whatever attention he chose to give me.”

“Angry? Worthless? More disappointed in yourself than anyone else could possibly be capable of? Trust me, I’ve been there, but you’re not going to get out of that by pretending it didn’t happen, and frankly, it isn’t like you to shy away from a fight.”

“I didn’t want you to find out,” Gray took a shuddering breath, and this time there were tears, “Stupid Rogue.”

“Gray,” Lyon rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out what to say, “You and Ur, and now Aki, you guys are the only family I really have, but you have a brother who cares about you. Enough to risk getting manhandled out of my office by security today, just to get a chance to reach you through me.”

He moved back to his desk to grab his suitcase, retrieving the picture Rogue had left him, and bringing it to the table.

“He wanted me to give you this-” he slid it right under Gray’s nose, thankful for his decision of taking it after all. Having a visual confrontation with one of the missing parts of Gray’s life turned out to be more useful than he’d thought, and for a second, he could see Gray falter.

“Your brother wants to apologize to you and at least give your kids a chance to get to know each other,” Lyon continued, “I’d say it’s worth considering, but that’s all up to you. I’m not going to get involved with that any more than I already have. And when you’re ready to talk, I will listen. As a friend.”

He stopped speaking, realizing that Gray wasn’t really paying attention anymore, too focused on the picture.

“Do you think they’re happy?” Gray wondered.

“They haven’t come to see me for legal advice yet,” Lyon joked, trying to lighten the moment but got no response.

He walked over to the living room, to give Gray some time alone. Finding a hockey game on the TV, he sat down, glancing at the dining room every now and then to make sure Gray was still doing okay. After a few minutes, Gray joined him, still holding on to the picture. They sat on the sofa quietly until Lyon noticed with growing alarm that Gray’s shoulders were shaking.

When this happened with a client in his office, he usually called Risley in, and she took care of it, but there was no one here to do that.

“Are - are you okay?” Lyon asked, feeling like an idiot. Of course, he wasn’t okay, he was crying for God’s sake! The only other time he’d ever seen Gray cry was when he found out he couldn’t play hockey anymore, and once again, Ur had handled it.

Gray shook his head, and Lyon moved closer to him, trying to think of what he should do. At a loss, he did the only thing that came to mind. He pulled Gray down until his head was on his lap and ran his fingers through his hair as he’d done with Aki earlier.

Gray looked up at him in surprise and chuckled through his tears, wiping his eyes as he declared, “Oh my God, you really suck at this.”

“Fuck off, I’m trying my best,” Lyon groused.

Gray didn’t comment any further, bringing the subject back to more comfortable grounds. “Aki seemed to like playing with the boys yesterday, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, it was kinda cute. I’d never seen him around other kids before.”

“He’s never really had much chance to,” Gray admitted, looking embarrassed.

“You’re already changing his life for the better,” Lyon pointed out, continuing to play with Gray’s hair, the repetitive motion feeling oddly soothing to him as well. “Just goes to show, you made the right choice.”

“I can’t believe Rogue has kids too,” Gray sniffled, “or that my parents haven’t met any of them. It’s all so strange.”

“Yeah,” Lyon agreed, “Does that mean you’re going to talk to him then?”

“I want to, but I was such an ass to him,” Gray admitted, and Lyon could hear the regret in his voice.

“Do you miss him?”

“Yeah.”

“Then apologize. Let him yell at you for a few minutes. In the end, isn’t it worth it?”

“Maybe,” Gray hedged, “I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t make me call Ur,” Lyon threatened playfully, and Gray mock gasped in response.

Once Lyon felt Gray had calmed down enough, he announced, “You should know, I’m gonna do whatever I can to make sure that Siegrain can’t touch either one of you ever again. And I’ll say it again cause it bears repeating. When you’re ready to talk, I will listen, and I won’t judge you.”

Lyon waited for a full minute before ruffling Gray’s hair and adding, “I mean, I already know how much of an idiot you are.”

“Takes one to know one, asshole.”

Lyon chuckled, feeling much more comfortable with their usual insults than with all the sensitive topics and emotions they’d been tackling.

“Are you even watching this?”

“No, in all honesty, I’m exhausted,” Lyon confessed, “You?”

“I’m gonna watch for a bit, Invel’s playing, and I wouldn’t mind watching him get punched a few times.”

Lyon snorted, remembering how much the two men had hated each other in college. It was a pity too, Gray had been a much better player. “You do that, I’m gonna go to bed. Night, Gray.”

“Night.”

Lyon was almost to his bedroom door when he heard a very faint “Thank you.”

He turned to acknowledge it, but Gray was already focused on the game, the picture of his brother’s family sitting on the sofa next to him.

You’re welcome.

Lyon smiled and closed the door behind him.

@lyoray-week​

[flibbityflob]

When the Last Sword is Drawn (Shinjinkouen)

I got to see the last sword shinko!! It was a pretty damn fun experience, my first ever live yukigumi shinko, and whilst the casting didn’t end up what I wanted it to be (I was praying for Agachin to get that lead), I was still REALLY impressed, and had a great time!

Ayami Sera, 102nd Class, as Yoshimura Kanichirou (Nozomi Fuuto) – she’s rough, really really rough. She didn't have Daimon’s accent and it really affected the story and the character. She was clearly trying to emulate Daimon a lot and I really think it hurt her interpretation. Daimon has this natural aura and maturity about her and Amichan, being a baby, just. Didn't. I thought she was good, but nothing solid. Her voice is sweet and she's very very earnest, but boy is she lacking. Apparently she's come a long way since phantom earlier this year but I'm not sure she's gonna beat the hulking titan that is Agachin, a year older than her but so much more tracked. Good for her though. Yoshimura is a deceptively hard role, kind and earnest and youthful and yet sad and mature, a killer who does so because there's no other way. He's ruthless and moneygrabbing but he needs to be sympathetic and amichan is just. Young. She plays the role well but she doesn't convince me for even a second. She’s also the GIRLIEST person I’ve ever heard in my life, holy SHIT. It’s cute!

Irodori Michiru, 99th Class, as Shizu/Miyo (Maaya Kiho) – Holy hot damn michiru can sing now?? She's never been an amazing singer in my mind, and this role isn't that heavy on singing, but man she impressed me. I found her better at playing miyo than I did shizu, but I think that kind of bratty selfish teenager is something that she's naturally just brilliant at. She doesn't quite have the natural grace that Kiichan has, she doesn't portray the loneliness and agony shizu faces in the way I've grown accustomed to, but she impressed me.

On the topic of these two, I felt Daimon and Kiichan's absence so hard in their relationship. Daimon and kiichan made it work, their romance wasn't hugely explicit but holy shit was it the basis for a lot of the entire show. Amichan didn't sell the pure primal fear Daimon did when she found out shizu tried to kill herself. Not did I feel the longing and desire Daimon fucking radiated when given the option to hold someone who looked just enough like his wife to make the pain go away, even for only a second. It's a super personal thing for me but it just makes the show worse in my eyes.

Suwa Saki, 99th Class, as Oono Jiroemon (Ayakaze Sakina) – I love this girl. It's her last year of shinkos and she's really fucking good guys. She was quiet and restrained, yet also really emotional. I found her friendship with Amichan a lot more earnest and giddy than Saki and Daimon, and it worked a lot better for the youthful nature of this shinko. It’s not necessarily better, but I REALLY liked that friendship. She seems angrier about a lot of stuff than Saki was, at least to me. Saki was playing it a lot more akin to traditional Japanese customs of honour, and duty, and Suwa was a little more prone to expressing her emotions. Her emotionality might partly be because she only has to put that into this role once, but I was impressed.

Agata Sen, 101st Class, as Hijikata Toshizou (Ayanagi Shou) – BOY I'm almost incomprehensibly biased, this girl has taken me in and ruined my life and I'm not entirely sure I can BE objective. She was different to Shou. Where Shou was endeared by the combined nonsense of Harada/Nagakura/Okita/Saitou, Agachin just wants to get rid of them. She just wants them all to go away and stop being so annoying so she can finally go to bed. She's perfect and hot and beautiful and she got the lightest role she could have but she ROCKED it. I honestly feel like her honkouen role was bigger than her shinko role, or at least far more impressive and more likely to stick in her mind, but I don’t really care? She’s handsome and imposing and carries a kind of maturity and strength FAR beyond what she should be pulling out as a ken-5. She was perfect I will hear nothing against her it was exceptional.

Seika Rian, 100th Class, as Saitou Hajime (Asami Jun) – she was really impressive!! I wasn't sure what I was expecting from shinko Saitou, but she impressed me. I don't have TOO much to say but I loved her and especially her relationship with Ikenami. She’s adorable at iride, has the nicest smile in the world, and I just really love her. I think she’s one of those kids to keep an eye on, she won’t be going anywhere but she’s a talented actress and I really like her.

Manomiya Rui, 100th Class, as Okita Souji (Towaki Sea) – another surprise!! I love Rui, she's got the sweetest smile and the friendliest face and she always seems so delightful at iri and I didn't know what I was expecting from her Souji but it was different. Hitoko plays him with an anger and a charm and Rui plays him a lot more. Sad, I think. Melancholic and restrained and I really liked that interpretation. If you’re looking for someone who has a lovely smile and a charming energy, I really can’t recommend someone more than Rui. I’ve always said, there’s a version of Alex who isn’t in her current club, and is in Rui’s, and that Alex is very happy because Rui ROCKS.

Other mentions

Arisu Himeka (102nd) playing Hime’s role. She’s having fun literally every time she’s onstage, and she was entertaining in the background.

My personal MVP, Yume Maoto (100th). She’s funny as HELL, upping everything Souno Haruto was getting up to, leaving the whole audience in STITCHES.  

Soumi Haruma (103rd) coming out of nowhere looking like a 70s mafia baron and having a voice like an angel. She sounded amazing, and I was expecting absolutely nothing. She’s the most masculine otokoyaku I’ve ever seen in my life, it’s AMAZING.

Kirara Umi (100th) had Ai Sumire's role, and it turns out she's an enka style singer. It didn’t change her solo that much, but it was a really fun surprise and it just added a little extra charm to the song

Aoha Reiya (104th) as Kari – I don't have anything much to say other than I just thought she was really charming?

Jun Hana (102nd) did a really good job as the older version of Mitsu, even though that role really is just. Nothing. I just thought she was cute and I'm excited for Hollywood Gossip.

Ichika Ao (102nd) was ADORABLE, she was adorable and I liked what she was bringing to the role more than Ayana did? That’s not really a slight against Ayana, just that I found Ao REALLY impressive, and fucking adorable.

Hiyori Haruma (101st) had her douki (Agachin)’s role as Ikenami. She wasn't anything exceptional but she WAS cute and her and dynamic with saitou was cute, I thought. She was more teasing than Agachin was, but I think a substantial part of that was due to the fact Rio’s Saitou felt a lot softer than Aasa’s. I think with this role especially, I’m VERY biased, but she did a good job, so props to her! I will say, Agachin and Izumiko have a super cute dynamic in skystage content, and I love them together. They’re really cute together, I enjoy their friendship a lot. Izumiko also really captures the feeling that Ikenami is the underclassman of the Shinsengumi, trying to butter up the superiors before having a change of heart and developing as a person. Her scream of “Yoshimura-san!” was also… really good. Heartbreaking, and really good.

[hotcocosharing]

Dance It Up Part 1(Aki Fujishima x OC)

Fandom: Finally, in love again & Kissed By The Baddest Bidder Category: Drama, Smut, Angst Character: Aki Fujishima x Hikari Sho, Baba & Ota Notes: Erotic dancer, Baba & Ota, do I need to say more?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aki Fujishima POV 

Giving one last glance behind to make sure I’m alone before stepping inside the building, I push the heavy door open and sweep over the inside. The corridor is dark with almost nothing in sight, remembering the rules, I quickly reach my inner pocket and put the masquerade mask on.

Reaching the end of a hallway, I stand still and rest one shoulder against the wall with my arms crossed, my eyes track downstairs. The entire club is a mixed shade of blue and purple, the glass dome ceiling is wired with spotlights while purple flowers patterns are projected to the floor. Making it hard to determine whether the leather couches are in pink or violet, the two individuals sitting there are easily spotted though.

“Come on down!” One of them says, waving his hand in the air. Walking down the stairs with their eyes on me is rather unsettling since most of the attention I get is from the opposite gender, “You’re right on time, we’re just getting started.” The man in burgundy continues and pulls me to his side while his blonde friend pours me a glass of wine.

With an easy click, music begins to play. The two men clap their approval and a gigantic spotlight illuminates the middle part of the stairs as stage, revealing a pale, blonde lady with her bare back facing us. Swaying her hips to both sides, she turns and grins at us, walking down slowly as she begins singing in a low and seductive voice. Once she’s reached the bottom, she makes her way to the guy in striped suite and deliberately smirks at our direction before straddling on his laps. Numerous of similar routines carry on one after another, from blonde to brunette and ginger head; swaying and grinding to the beats flawlessly until our final attendee.

Her awkward walk of shame and wave of hello casts a huge contrast to what we’re repeatedly shown, a sneaky grin curls up to the three of our lips spontaneously.

“As entertaining as it is, Miss.. ” I glance down to the single-sided resume which clearly has no relevant experiences, “…Sho.., we are on the hunt for erotic dancers and strippers……” Our prey’s eyes dart around the place like a lost little lamb seeking help among a pack of wolves, the duo rush to her sides- the blonde angelic face rips the rem of her shirt and ties a ribbon in front, putting her waist and bellybutton on display which her hands are desperately trying to hide while his friend puts his fedora on her head, covering her bangs but not her blushing face. Choosing a song randomly from the tablet in hand, I watch her intensely, suppressing a laugh as the two begin leading her to dance.

“If you want us to hire you, now is the time to prove it.”  

OC Emi Sho POV

Nope. I should have been more than fully aware after last weeks sad attempt of engaging in an S&M ritual I’d nervously decided to take part in after replying to a less than courteous advert online that this — this situation, right here, right now I’d fallen into was pushing my limits clear onto overdrive. What limits? Well that of comfort, morality and clearly modesty. When I’d taken up my publishers' suggestion of an erotic novel steered towards a female audience; when I was told to get inside the head of the kind of woman others want to be - I hadn’t expected this. To be up on stage, glared at like an insecure piece of meat that would ultimately hinder any ounce of confidence I had rather than hone it.

As supportive as the devil faces on either side of me attempted to be; it was a quiet, near squeak like apology of sorry that burnt across the tip of my tongue as I tried to neatly scatter away; making a run for the dressing room just off stage where I’d left my backpack and coat, grabbing them in a rushed haste as I felt every other set of eyes I’d done my best to avoid since I got to this place… whatever place this exactly was… and headed straight for the exit. Flight mode in this evening over fight as my heart began to race and a sick, repugnant taste coated the back of my throat.

The outside chill went straight through to the bone. That’s what I guess you get for wearing little more than what some could consider only just more material than a bikini. Flinging the jacket on - I wanted nothing more of the mess I’d endured and was now to become. Cellphone plucked from my jacket pocket, I called my agent, supervisor, publisher and sniffled helplessly into the phone until the call went through to message bank - the repetitive sound of a voice I wasn’t t happy to not hear, informing me that if I left my name and number, he’d get back to me as soon as possible.

Sighing; I hung up, unable to speak and instead pulled the journal I kept on me at all times out of my backpack, beginning to scribble down the first few words that came to mind. That of my comfort, that of my concern, that of the fact I wanted —- so, so, so badly to just give up. If it weren’t for the financial need behind a new publication; I’d have given this novel idea the scrap.

Eyes stinging a painful hue of crimson; tears running the mascara I was wearing down to the corners of my lips and the cold of the wind which had caught up to the sidewalk where I stood; scribbling like a maniac lost in the wrong part of town, the sound of footsteps finally caught up. Shit, shit, shit, fuck….. I’m going to get raped, murdered and tossed in a gutter. Keeping my back faced to whoever it be that was approaching - I spoke up quietly, asking a direct yet simple, “Can I help you with something?” before discretely peering over my shoulder.

[virmillion]

As Above, So Below - Part 4

Part 1 // Part 3 // Part 5 // Masterpost

It’s ya boi back at it with a second fic in the same day because they’re on vacation and time is an illusion - also sorry this one is twice as long as the last few, I apparently love writing from Logan’s perspective because descriptions are too fun

Ship(s): None yet

Warning(s): None, but let me know if you need something tagged

    Logan strolls calmly through the corridor of the palace, adjusting his blue tie to sit straight and unwrinkled. The sun rises with the dawn outside, the floor-to-ceiling windows casting sunbeams into the hall, illuminating specks of dust dancing in the air and warming the space like summer. This is one of Logan’s favorite times of day—the silence at daybreak, a whole palace to himself as all of the other inhabitants doze peacefully for a few more hours. A close contender is late at night, when everyone else has retired to their rooms, or raided the kitchen already. The quietness and his own company are all Logan really needs, and just toss in a good book with some Crofter’s-jellied toast for a good day.

    He reaches the end of the windowed hall, immediately feeling colder in the next room, with its curtains drawn and doors tightly shut. The library. An ideal room, full of towering bookshelves overflowing with every genre imaginable, organized thousands of different ways every week—one of Logan’s favorite hobbies. But that’s a task for later. For now, he continues through the cold room, trailing a hand over the only cypress desk in the room—a dark slab of wood amidst a handful of pale brazilian cherry tops. Fond memories live within this desk, of late hours preparing for royal court visits, or burning eyes from straining to read with the shrinking light of the candle wick, of escaping the havoc of Exolas and its problems for more peaceful, distant worlds.

    In the hall and down the stairs, Logan runs his hand over the red mesquite banister, admiring the smooth finish—the palace staff finally replaced the offending old oak railing. It was like a stain overlooking the grand space before it, painted in a red and white pattern so unnatural it might well have been hundreds of candy canes lining the steps.

    Having thoroughly criticized the old decorations, Logan jumps from the third-to-last step to the floor, allowing himself a small smile at the pleasure of it. An old tradition from when he was younger, a little less of a daredevil now than he was then—sliding down the railing on his stomach, face-first and hands in the air, isn’t exactly the safest way to get down the stairs anymore. It probably wasn’t necessarily safe in the first place, anyway.

    On to the kitchen, just starting to see the beginnings of activity as the cooks prepare breakfast. Logan lifts a hand in greeting to the head chef, Grace, who waves back with a batter-covered spatula.

    “Hi Lo!” she calls out, “why haven’t I seen you lately?”

    “Busy with royal nonsense, you understand,” Logan replies, sidestepping someone carrying a platter larger than his head.

    “Definitely, but when are we gonna see you down here more often? You’re missing training,” Grace whines, looking back at her oven as Logan recalls the near misses of a knife to his head in their ‘training.’ Admittedly, not a displeasurable time.

    “Maybe so, but I would assume you’re missing it, too, if you’ve clawed your way to head of the kitchen staff. How long, precisely, has it taken you to get here?”

    “Couple weeks, but you know I’m gonna fight tooth and nail to keep it.” Grace expertly flips a giant rainbow chocolate chip pancake to prove her point. Undoubtedly a special request from one of the younger denizens of the palace.

    “I’m sure,” Logan grins. “I’ll look into coming back for training, as I do rather miss it.” He plucks an apple from a basket by the door and calls goodbyes as he slips out of the kitchen, wiping the apple on his shirt and heading for the stairs again. With the apple’s tart flavor spreading over his tongue, it’s time to traverse the endless hallways to find and wake Roman.

    As Logan lifts a fist to knock on the tall white door, adorned with red ribbons and rubies, it flies open, Roman’s beaming face behind it.

    “Since when do you wake up this early in a good mood?” Logan asks. “You’re the last creature alive I’d associate with being a morning person.”

    “Because I finally found one that’ll stump you!” Roman declares triumphantly. He holds up a book of logic puzzles, from which he gives Logan one the first time they see each other every day. Needless to say, most of those who live in the castle avoid going to the bathrooms frequented by the pair in the morning, since they likely don’t want to hear another riddle when they’re just trying to pee.

    “Alright, let me have it.” Logan smiles, biting into the apple again. Roman rarely gets this excited unless the puzzle is really hard.

    “Okay, so there’s this guy trying to get into a secret club, right? So he stakes out the club building and watches other people get in. The person guarding the door says a number, and the one trying to get in says a number in response. The guard says twelve, so the first member says six. For the next person, the guard says six, so the second member says three. When the guy trying to sneak in goes up, he’s given the number ten, so he says five, but they don’t let him in! Why not?” Roman summarizes all of this from the longer description in the book, snapping it shut with an air of confidence that Logan won’t be able to solve it.

    “Roman, I had high hopes for you! This one should have been far more difficult, given your excitement in its introduction,” Logan remarks.

    “Big words from someone who hasn’t solved the riddle yet,” Roman pouts. Logan swallows an apple chunk and gives his answer.

    “Not out loud, I haven’t. The guy sneaking in should have said three—three letters in the number ten, three letters in the number six, six letters in the number twelve.”

    “Way to kill my mood.” Roman sticks his tongue out, tosses the book into his messy room, and links an arm with Logan, stealing a bite from his half-eaten apple.

    “First of all, if you would give me a better riddle, I wouldn’t have to ruin your mood. Secondly, I’m about to make it even worse,” Logan reassures him, snatching the apple back.

    “How so?” A note of dread tints the edge of Roman’s words. Logan making a threat is never a good sign.

    “Today is AKI day.” Assessment of Kingdom Issues, otherwise known as sitting on a throne and doing nothing while citizens talk at Roman, letting Logan deliver the harsh blows before allowing Roman to comfort the people. What fun. “Come on, Princey, down to the throne room, where many great joys and adventures await you in the riveting political scheme of Exolas.”

    “I thought I said not to call me that,” Roman grumbles, pretending to be upset. Logan ignores him, carrying on through grand ballrooms, expansive hallways, and peaceful lounges to arrive at the second largest set of doors in the palace. Just ahead of them in size is the entry doors, which proudly guard the building at three stories tall. The doors now in front of the pair are backed with white birchwood, the towering gates looming over the hall. They consume all light and attention with their inlaid rubies and diamonds, spitting it back in glittering patterns across the walls. Even the pashmina carpet, embroidered with gold, dances in the light of the shining stones, all crawling up the door and intertwining with gold piping as it runs across silver lace. Breathtaking, to say the least, but too manufactured for Logan’s tastes.

    He throws the door open without a moment of hesitation to admire the shifting reflections of the jewels, exposing a room to rival the doors themselves. A long, vermillion carpet leads up to an elevated stage of hickory pine, polished to smooth perfection. Upon the stage rests one throne, cushioned with rose red and held up by a frame of gold inset with pearls. Only one throne, as the king never lowers himself to interacting with his subjects for AKIs. Dotting the walls of the room stand great marble columns, covered in reliefs of the king in stuff of legend, defeating every obstacle in his path. There’s but one column remaining incomplete, just to the right of the door; some servants hammer away at it, revealing a scene of Roman dueling a dragon.

    Having already become desensitized to the scene over their many years of entering the room, the two boys walk right past it all, hardly noticing the striking progress on Roman’s column, or the fervent bows of the workers they pass. Roman settles heavily into the throne, situating his sash to be unrumpled before resting his right ankle on his left knee. Logan takes up position to the left of the throne, holding his shoulders square and clasping his hands behind his back. Roman twiddles his thumbs impatiently as Logan looks on, watching the large doors swing shut to allow unhappy people to line up behind them before coming in to yell at a prince who has absolutely no control over their rotten lots in life.

    With a forceful clearing of his throat, Logan kicks the foot of the throne before holding out something very important that Roman somehow managed to forget—his crown. Honestly, it’s a downright miracle that Logan doesn’t just wear it himself at this point. He’s got half a mind to do so, but the other half is preoccupied with sorting out problems for those lucky enough to be able to vent their misdirected anger at Roman.

    As Roman finishes adjusting the crown on his head, the doors swing open like a gaping mouth, allowing a castle guard to escort in the first unhappy citizen. Haggard, with tattered clothes and filthy hair, but the shoes on their feet are just shy of being worn all the way through, indicating that while this person might be down on their luck, they haven’t yet reached the bottom of the barrel, typically shown by wearing paper bags for shoes.

    “That city of convicts is out of control!” they yell, prompting the guard to shift into a defensive stance. “Every day, they’re always out and about—”

    “Doing what?” Logan interrupts, already disinterested and a good deal irritated. “Being human? Trying to move past their soiled backgrounds? Avoiding airheads like you that refuse to accept that some people have it worse than others, and that leads them to make regrettable bad decisions?” The person below Logan and Roman opens and closes their mouth a few times, not unlike a fish gasping in air. With a scowl, Logan jerks his chin at the door, prompting the guard to show the person out. “You aren’t the first person to complain about them,” Logan calls, “and I’m certain you won’t be the last.” Roman gives a half-hearted apology, but the snobbish complainer is already gone. Embarrassment, anger, or something else has made them rush out in a huff, without waiting for the guard, but quite frankly, Logan doesn’t really care.

    The next person ushered in carries a basket of spoiled fruits and vegetables. Evidence, in Logan’s opinion, is always more useful in these situations than empty grievances aired for the express purpose of seeing the inside of the palace. This person has some issue about pesticides from a neighbor killing all of their crops, a real problem with an actual solution, finally.

    Logan leans down to murmur in Roman’s ear, “send them back with a cease and desist notice for the neighbor, and have the guard take them to the kitchens for some produce-friendly pesticides. Say to ask for Grace, and mention that Logan sent them.” Roman repeats as much to the basket-carrier and the guard, pleased when this citizen walks out in much higher spirits than the one before.

    AKIs aren’t so bad, truthfully. Just exhaustingly tedious. With few real problems and all too many complaints about the city of convicts, Logan and Roman are at their wits’ end, and it’s not even lunch yet.

    “It’s about the city of convicts,” the latest person says, barreling straight through Logan’s automatic ‘holier than thou’ speech. “Not the convicts themselves, but there are these two boys that are nowhere near as rough as the other people in that city.” Before Logan can attempt to interrupt the person again, Roman holds a hand up in a stop gesture. This might actually be worth listening to. “Both of them have purple hair, kind of like yours,” they bow to the prince and Logan in turn, “and I’m just not sure that it’s in their best interests to leave them out there. I don’t know the two personally, but I’m concerned for their safety.” The person bows low again before allowing the guard to lead them out. The door shuts behind the pair and remains so. AKIs over.

    “Now that’s an interesting one,” Logan remarks. Roman gives a noncommittal grunt of agreement, rising from his throne in search of food. Making a mental note of the latest complaint and carefully filing it away for later consideration, Logan follows.

Tag List:

@reality-isfor-muggles @artistictaurean @adfandertime @virgils-old-sweater @karaidemon @dudapoconeh @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @fallingamor @ghostdorkphil @tinysidestrashcaptain @punch-you-with-friendship @pattykrabbies @virgils-hoodie @twettypuff @justanotherpurplebutterfly @lizethemotherlycat @skyshade48 @tree4life25 @andromeda-galaxsander @sombraplayslazertag @lemonpepperpizza @erlenmeyertrash @raincloudverge @potatoes-and-depression @milomeepit @coffeestudylive @sakurahayasaki

[recentanimenews]

INTERVIEW: Laid-Back Camp Producer Shoichi Hotta on Creating the Comfort in Season 2

  While camping may be typically thought of as a summer activity, the Laid-Back Camp anime series attempts to show how fun can also be had in the colder seasons. Based on the manga by Afro, the series follows the Outdoors Activities Club as they travel and camp around Yamanashi Prefecture, which lies just west of Tokyo.   

  Planning producer Shoichi Hotta has been the driving force for the anime adaption since Season 1, and also took the leadership role for Season 2 when it aired this last anime season. While the series is all about showing the joys of traveling, COVID-19 introduced challenges for the staff and fans as the places people normally would go to were closed to stop the spread. Despite that, Hotta says the show was able to “provide some positivity and hope for the future,” and hopes that fans can go out and explore soon, much like Nadeshiko and Rin.

  Crunchyroll had a chance to speak with Hotta about how the staff approached Season 2 as the world changed around them, working with the voice of Solid Snake himself, Akio Ohtsuka, and his hopes for the future of the Laid-Back Camp franchise. 

  Please introduce yourself and tell us how you were involved with Laid-Back Camp.

  I am an animation planner and producer. I have worked on Kakegurui (Season 1) and HaNaYaMaTa in the past. On Laid-Back Camp, I was given the role of a producer. Among other things, I write proposals, gather funding, plan marketing, comment on music, and communicate with the central production staff — the directors and screenwriters. I also determine what makes Laid-Back Camp what it is, and ensure that we stay on track. Basically, I’m Laid-Back Camp’s handyman.

  Could you please tell us about what you mainly do on Laid-Back Camp Season 2?

  My work centers around the creative process and promotion.

  My most important job is to lead the script development. I guess you could say I’m the showrunner. I attend meetings, give my opinions on the script, and discuss things with the directors and screenwriters. We take pre-production really seriously in the Laid-Back Camp team.

  Promotion is important, too. I come up with advertising procedures and proposals, speak with the advertising team, and plan ways to make sure we can get as many eyes as possible on the show. I write little bits of high-exposure text as well, such as in the plot, introduction, and catchphrases.

  I care for the Laid-Back Camp staff’s wellbeing, too! Although I may be a bit of a quack in that regard (laugh).  

  How did the production of Laid-Back Camp Season 2 differ from Season 1?

  First off, I think we’ve improved the quality. The animators and musicians, voice actors have all become even more skilled, and they were really able to bring it.

  But I think the biggest difference has been the enthusiasm. For Season 1, we were all motivated by our love of the original manga. You could say it was pure. And because of that, we were able to make an anime that the audience loved as well. But as a sequel to such a beloved show, we felt the pressure that much more. So for Season 2, we were determined to try something new. We wanted to make something that was right for our times and that presented a new set of values. We worked extra hard to improve the show in every respect, and I think it shows.

  How was C-Station (anime production) affected by COVID-19? What did the staff do to adjust their environments?

  The production environment was definitely affected. In fact, it wasn’t just C-Station, but the dub studio as well. We wore masks, limited the number of people attending meetings, sanitized and ventilated – we did everything we could do. We transitioned quite quickly, I believe, to working from home. Thankfully, none of Laid-Back Camp’s main staff has been infected so far. I’m confident that we’ll overcome this so long as we cooperate and look out for each other.

  You mentioned at Otakon 2019 that you, along with the director, Yoshiaki Kyougoku, as well as several other staff, went on a camping trip as part of your research. Did you go camping for Season 2 research as well? If you did, could you tell us where you went and what you did?

  Of course. The director and the C-Station staff went to the places that appear in the show and had the same experiences as the characters. The locations featured in Season 2 were further away than the ones in Season 1. They told me that getting there was exhausting. I’ve tagged along a few times, too. The most memorable spot for me has to be Mt. Minobu in Yamanashi Prefecture. We climbed before dawn and waited for the sunrise. I remember it being really cold. The locals treated us to some amazing amazake and dango.

    Was your research for Laid-Back Camp Season 2 affected by COVID-19? How did you overcome those challenges?

  Actually, we finished the last of our research before COVID got to be as bad as it is now. So it didn’t affect our research too much. I guess you could say we were quite lucky.

  How do you think the audience might have reacted to Laid-Back Camp Season 2 in light of the lockdown measures that have made it necessary for them to stay at home?

  That’s a difficult question. We never expected such a worldwide crisis during pre-production. If it weren’t for COVID, I’m sure our audience would have been able to visit the featured locations or gone camping or whatnot. That was my personal wish, and unfortunately, it never came to fruition. But I do think we were able to provide some positivity and hope for the future. We can all go out and have some fun when this is all over! I’d be ecstatic if Laid-Back Camp is able to provide such hope.

    Akio Ohtsuka-san is definitely a star on the show. There was a mini-project last year where Ohtsuka-san would ride Shima Rin’s moped and go camping. How was this project brought to life? Do you hope to put together camping projects with Ohtsuka-san in the future as well?

  Akio Ohtsuka-san’s narration turned out to be an irreplaceable asset to the Laid-Back Camp anime. His gentle, warm tone of voice made the end product that much more enjoyable. The project, Aki Camp, started off on a whim. The team was discussing what we could do for a fun April Fool’s event, and I happened to blurt out, “Why don’t we make a show where we get Ohtsuka-san to go camping?” I honestly never thought we’d actually do it.

  Maybe it was divine inspiration. I’d love to make more, of course.

  What do you have planned for the Laid-Back Camp media franchise? Do you think that when the coronavirus crisis is over, your audience will go to the places that are featured in the show?

  We’ve already announced plans for an animated movie in 2022. The main staff is hard at work towards its success, so I hope that’s something that you’re looking forward to.

  Every place featured in Laid-Back Camp is lovely. I really hope people visit those places once we’ve finally won our battle against the coronavirus, and I hope we can continue to support that fight.

    Do you have a message for the Laid-Back Camp fans abroad?

  I’m deeply thankful for your support of Laid-Back Camp.

  Laid-Back Camp is a very Japanese show. I’m honored that such a show would be loved not just in Japan but overseas as well.

  There’s nothing special about what’s depicted in Laid-Back Camp. I’m sure there’s plenty of the same in your own lives. The world is in a serious situation right now, which is all the more reason that I hope you take care of yourselves and of the people, places, and environment around you.

  And I look forward to meeting you all one day! Thank you.

  COPYRIGHT: ©afro,HOUBUNSHA / Yurucamp Committee

      Kyle Cardine is an Associate Editor for Crunchyroll. You can find his Twitter here.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Kyle Cardine

[thenichibro]

Spring 2017 Anime First Impressions

This season doesn’t really seem to have a posterchild show like last season, which had both a new KyoAni work and Konosuba’s follow-up. However, there’s some good slice-of-life and top-tier fanservice, so as usual there will be ups and downs, weighted towards the latter of course. (This paragraph is short because I had a huge rant here about Anime Strike and its effect on consumers/businesses, but I’m pretty sure no-one who follows me gives a shit about actual discussion of the industry, so I’ll spare you.)

With MAL links, and original shows marked:

Alice to Zouroku (MAL) Starting off we have a hefty 40-minute episode, which follows Sana, a girl with supernatural powers, escaping from a reserach lab. She is chased by the organization's other power-users, and snares the other main character, Kashimura, in a bad-CG-filled car chase. I like Kashimura as that sort of grizzled old man type moreso than a generic teenage protag in this sense. His no-nonsense attitude contrasts well with the haughty-yet-childish one of Sana. In addition, I like the subtle humor near the end of the episode that contrasts what you think Kashimura's line of work is with what it actually is. The animation looks somewhat plain, and the CG is honestly just bad. The entire sequence could have used hand-drawn, but for a solid 2-3 minutes it was hard to look at. Other than that there isn't anything especially new here - reality-warping powers, dangerous medical research - we've seen it before. I don't really think this needed a 40-minute episode, but we'll see where it goes.

Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records (MAL) Any show with a school uniform that highlights midriffs gets points in my book. Starting off, we have the eccentric (in this case lazy) teacher, Glenn, starting at a magic school. There's the haughty noble girl, Sistine, oft-embarrased by the teacher's antics, and her quieter sister Rumia. While setting itself up as a comedy in episode 1, episode 2 has everything from a shouting match culminating in a slap to military thugs sexually assaulting Sistine - so I'm honestly not sure which way this is going. The boastful-but-easily-embarrased Sistine contrasts well with the smooth-with-nothing-to-back-it-up Glenn. We have the brewings of a wider plot, with why Glenn was assigned to the school if he's a bum and Sistine having a goal of discovering secrets of a floating island. The animation overall is still quite good, which helps in a magic-casting show. Helps the fanservice out too. I don't have high expectations for this show, but the lower the bar the easier this show will impress.  I just hope it focuses on a single direction in the plot instead of trying to have comedic episodes and dark episodes.

[Original] Sakura Quest (MAL) Starting with a bubbly OP (and ending with a similarly fantastic ED), we have the first slice-of-lie this season. I love the genre, I love the country locale, I love the art, and I loved Shirobako. I have high hopes. Our main girl Koharu wants to get out of the country and get a job in Tokyo, but the job she gets (by mistake, even) is back in the country at a tourism board. Sakura Quest puts an interesting spin on the country locale, setting Manoyama up as both tranquil yet struggling - and I like it. It brings a sense of realism to an oft-idealized setting. The language of taxes, grants, and the real strategy of creating "mini independent states" to boost local tourism echoes Shirobako in its depiction of life, and that's good. Koharu is plucky, insistent, and overall just a joy to watch. I'm refreshed any time a show does something about not high-school students or teenagers in general. Focusing the story on adults that have established lives (or even better, that are trying to establish their lives) gives the slice of life genre, well, new life. Showing the smooth transition between the comedic and the sentimental, with background music to match, the tonal shifts are nothing abrupt, a the first episode flowed well. P.A. Works certainly has a hit-or-miss record with original shows, and Sakura Quest thus far is more Shirobako and less Glasslip. I'm looking at an AOTS contender already.

Clockwork Planet (MAL) Starting off with an impressively boring action sequence, we have our heroes led by a (I'm sure incredibly powerful) kid defeat a bunch of automatons. A world created entirely of clocks, and a main character (Naoto) obsessed with tinkering with them. My primary conception from the summary was more apocalyptic, with the main character being a wandering junker who finds an automaton (Imagining the world looking sort of like Gargantia, with less water). Maybe I'm just standoffish because instead we got a high school kid with an annoying voice that finds a girl who proceeds to call him "Master." This is of course after the fact that despite Naoto being unable to fix a single clock, he easily opens and fixes the girl, one of the most top-of-the-line automatons created. Naturally. As far as the "clockwork" aesthetic goes, instead of a rusty, machinic society the world looks exactly like any other city, except with random gears everywhere. At one point it shows a character driving an otherwise normal car, but in the door of the car there are gears that look like they aren't connected to anything, just there to remind you of the title. Regarding the animations, they're not great, echoing the facial style of something like Baka to Test or Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? - only this show is airing in 2017. Also, a shot shows a bunch of gears falling from a guy's hand feels the need be CG. Ugh. Shoved-in fanservice on top of all of this makes this a show I already regret starting. Avoid.

Eromanga-Sensei (MAL) Next up, we have the second original series from the famed creator of "It's Okay to Fuck Your Sister if She Likes Porn," This one uniquely titled "It's Okay to Fuck Your Sister if She Draws Porn." Sibling bonding over erotic fiction/art. Wew. Nothing else to expect from OreImo's creator, but similar themes do not a similar plot make. I hope. The first episode is the reunion, where Masamune finds his shut-in sister Sagiri is Eromanga-sensei, his LN ero-artist. I'll give it this - Sagiri is leagues cuter than Kirino. Man, fuck Kirino. Naturally the art is similar to OreImo, especially Masamune, only I think his hair's a bit greener. Other than that, though, the animation is smooth. Eromanga-Sensei starts off on a much more sentimental note, with discussions of dreams, mourning parents, etc. Other than one main fanservice-y scene and the fact that they connect over erotic art, the sentimental is certainly preferable. ClariS return for the ED of ep1, and it's fantastic as ever. I mean, seriously, Nexus as the OP for OreImo was the best part of the show. Judging from the key art this may well become a harem, but we'll see. So far it beats OreImo, but that's a low bar.

Sakurada/Sagrada Reset (MAL) I don't know why the changed the romanization to "Sagrada," but then again I don't know Japanese in the first place. Sakurada Reset follows Kei and Haruki, with the powers of recalling the past perfectly and being able to reset time, respectively. The town of Sakurada gives people the powers for basically no reason, but on the other hand that's not really the point - the assumption is that this is normal. Set up to be friends by Soma, the enigmatic class rep, Kei aims to get Haruki to help him help people, using their powers. Haruki is adamantly opposed, for fear Kei could exploit her, as she herself doesn't remember anything after resetting. Sakurada Reset certainly doesn't set itself up as a comedy, but rather a series of sobering investigations undertaken by Kei and Haruki. There's a lot of pseudo-philosophical bullshit off the bat ("You're unable to believe your own righteousness, yet you continue to be righteous."), and yet the show isn't interesting enough for me to look any deeper. Add to that a surprisingly dark first investigation topic, and I'm already kind of tired of this. If you like HaruChika (which I didn't) with darker themes, then give this a watch. Otherwise, I'd avoid.

Hinako Note (MAL) Back on the slice of life train, Hinako Note follows, well, Hinako, a girl who sucks at speaking, moving to Tokyo to go to high school and get better via the theater club. She moves into a bookstore-cafe combo, living with Kuu, who likes books so much she eats them, and Mayu, the short girl who dresses like a maid. Also introduced is Aki, the quiet landlady and a theater troupe leader on the side. The only conflict is that the theater club is shut down, and so Aki suggests Hinako simply form a troupe with the rest of the girls. The OP/ED show we'll meet a fifth girl, so I expect that soon. Speaking of the OP/ED, they're both incredibly fast paced, sung by the cast, and remind me of Teekyuu's OP style, if you like that. The animation is pretty good, though the show really likes going into chibi-style a lot. Probably more a style choice than budgetary problem, and I don't mind it. Overall, it seems like the theater setup could produce a wealth of interesting scenarios, and the girls are cute. Not much else I need.

[Original] Tsuki ga Kirei (MAL) Last on the slice-of-life roster, we have an self-described slow paced school story, and an original from feel. studios to boot. I'm excited. Starting in the third-year of middle school is interesting, because that means all the relationship-forming is already done. (To be done away with when they get to high-school though, I'm sure). Akane is a sincere, shy girl on the track team, while Kotarou is a similarly shy novice writer and spends club time as the school's librarian. They share off glances at each other, leading to a nervous, stammering meeting at a family restaurant where not much else happens. "Slow-paced," to be sure. The animation matches the shows sort of muted tone, with no massive eyes (or tits), no multicolored hair, etc. It's clear Tsuki ga Kirei aims to tell a more-or-less realistic love story. One thing I did notice, mostly in the beginning of the episode, was the crowd shots combined with CG. Honestly, just do closer shots so you can avoid CG-ing people. It never looks good. The first episode sort of confirmed my feeling that this show will be a nice way to decompress each week, as we watch Akane and Kotarou grow slowly closer. If the title's any indication, their relationship will have its awkward moments, but there's nothing more essentially youth than that, right? Unlike many original works, this show doesn't look like it will go in any strange direction, and that consistency is relaxing. Give this a watch.

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho (MAL) Furry Berserk, I guess? ZeroSho follows the unnamed beastman "Mercenary" and Zero, a mage, as they search for Zero's Grimoire, the basis of all magic. The show follows a typical fantasy setting, with mages at war with a ruling empire, and beastmen subjugated by everyone. Interestingly, "sorcery" differs from "magic" - the former requires a summoning circle, long casts, etc., while the latter is quick and far more deadly. More interesting is the fact that Zero wrote the book on magic. I normally enjoy overpowered characters, and in this case that power is packed into a cute, ahoge-sporting mage loli. Definitely a plus. Something else the struck me as unique was the comedic moments throughout the episode. Thus far Mercenary and Zero play off each other quite well, and I'm interested to see where it goes. There's the standard background of discrimination against beastmen/witches and Mercenary's war-torn past, but at least if it's been signposted now it won't be jarring later. This show surprised and impressed, and I'm interested to see how it goes. And man, Zero's cute.

Anonymous Noise (MAL) For whatever reason, I've been waiting for this to come out for a while. I'm not sure why, but when there were any cast announcements or key visuals, etc. I always recognized the name. Anyway, Anonymous Noise sees Nino Arisugawa - "Alice," a loner singer starting high school reunite with her childhood singing friend Kanade Yuzuriha - "Yuzu." Right from the start, this show is very, very shoujo. The eyes, the immediate drama, everything is very shoujo. Not necessarily a problem, but be aware that's what this is. Amazing how a dramatic reunion could immediately turn to "Never talk to me again," but that's the genre I guess. Regarding the music, as this is a musical show, there was one main performance, and if I'm honest I thought Alice's voice was quite rough. The music per se isn't a problem - the sound echoes Scandal or Stereopony, bands that do some harder rock that I both love. The vocals, at least in the song they played, weren't to my liking. I was unaware of just how shoujo this show is, and I hope it doesn't become any more overbearing than it already has. I have low expectations on that front. From the insert song and the ED, I know I like the sound, so if the vocals keep up and the shoujo stays down, this won’t be bad. On the other hand, I can't say I expect both of those things to happen.

Sin Nanatsu no Taizai (MAL) Best for last, amirite? Aka “Seven Mortal Sins,” SinNNT is unabashed, unapologetic fanservice. As a quick note, make sure to skip the HorribleSubs release on this one, only because their release is censored. Censored like Shinmai Maou no Testament censored (and that's bad). Anyway, the story involves Lucifer falling first to Earth and then to Hell, where after a short sexual assault by Leviathan (Envy) she proceeds to challenge the other sins for control. Back on Earth, the nun Lucifer passed as she fell to hell (as well as giving her some blood) is having her own daily life. (Don't worry, there's still groping between her and her friend). There's over-the-top transformation sequences, grandiose music, and plenty of inane sexual situations. I honestly have no idea where this show is going - whether it's going to be in Hell, on Earth - but let's be real, no-one really cares. The animation budget is actually pretty great for this show, and that means the fanservice is top tier. As if I need to write anything about this show - it's distilled fanservice. Watch it, or don't.

[pokefan531]

Yuki’s Story Chapter 84 - Back to School

Chapter 84 Yuki is walking to school. She enters the school property and sees Minoru. Yuki: Hi Minoru! Minoru: Hey Yuki! Yuki: How was your summer? Minoru: Pretty great. Yuki: Sounds good. Yuki sees Rin coming. Yuki: Hey Rin! Rin: Hey Yuki. Leon appears. Leon: Hey guys! Yuki: Hey Leon. We're finally here. Leon: Yeah. They all went to their classroom. Yuki sees Kaname. Yuki: I bet she wants to talk to me. Kaname is walking to Yuki. Kaname: Long time no see. I remember what you did to us. Yuki: I don't want you to ruin our first day, so move along. Kaname: It's okay. We got what we deserved. Yuki: Huh? Kaname: You see, after you and your friends got us in trouble, we were sent to summer school. Yuki: Did you give up on us? Kaname: After all the lessons we learned throughout the summer, yes. Yuki: We'll see about that. Kaname left. Minoru: I don't believe her. Yuki: Me to. The teacher comes in. Sensei: Hello class! I hope you guys enjoy your summer. Today, you guys will be doing physical exams in a few hours. We will head to the clinic after doing language arts. Later, they are in line by the clinic. Each students goes in alone and do physical exams. Yuki comes out from the clinic and smiles. Yuki: I got no issues. They said I'm pretty healthy. Next, Minoru comes out and he does not look happy. Minoru: They said I'm a bit short and thin. Yuki: It doesn't sound bad to me. Minoru: It's been like this. I always get told I'm not fine. Yuki: Hmm. Next, Rin comes out and look happy. Rin: Finally. I passed. Thanks to my cheer leading and yoga exercise, I finally got a good score. Yuki: Wow. Next, Retasu comes out and hums. Retasu: I passed. Rin: Me to! Minoru: It's good to hear, but I don't know how I never pass. Yuki: I do think the height and being thin is a bit out of hand. Minoru: I'm just that way. I can't help it. They see Leo coming out. Leo: Passed. Retasu: Me to. Next, they see Kaname coming out, angry. Kaname: How dare you guys not pass me? I can't believe it! Girl1: What happened? Kaname: It's pretty private. They embarrassed me! Yuki talks to her friends. Yuki: Well, looks like she still have problems. Leo: I bet. Next, they see Eru coming out with tears. Eru: (sniffs) Rin: What happened? Eru: I didn't pass. Rin: How? Eru: They said I (sniff) am not healthy. Retasu: May I read the paper? Eru: Yes. Skip the last page. Retasu: I know. She looks at the front page. Retasu reads it. Retasu: You need improvement on your body. You are not strong enough and you are underweight. Minoru: That's what they said about me. It doesn't seem right. Yuki: Well, I never heard you got actual problems. Retasu: The exams are pretty strict, if not more than our doctor appointments. Leo: You're right. Eru, don't cry. It's just a lousy exam. Eru: Ok. During lunch, Yuki is sitting with groups of her friends and fans at the rooftop. Boy1: How was your summer? Yuki: Pretty great. Boy2: Did you travel? Yuki: Yes. I went to Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo. Girl1: Did you went to Akihabara? Yuki: I wish I said yes, but I didn't have time. Team Phase looks at the group from the distance. Hiroshi: She still has popularity. Kaname: Yes. I tried to get her to believe we changed. Lila: Don't. We have to show it, not tell. Hiroshi: Yeah. Let's go elsewhere. They went to have lunch by the seats by the side of the building outside. Hiroshi: We are still targeting Yuki. We are gonna have a different image of ourselves. Touko: How? Hiroshi: I did all the homework during the summer so we can get her more effectively. This time, Yuki can't do something about it afterwards. Mizuro: I hope so. We saw couple of plans last week on our warehouse. It looks epic. Hiroshi: Yeah. We are gonna make ourselves redeemable for everyone here. We could give them treats or offer them something special or help them. Lila: I would choose to be helpful. I am her competitor after all. She helps others and makes them laugh. Kaname: I can do treats. Remember we started off with giving people stuff like toys or perfumes? Hiroshi: Back when we had a open club before Rin and Yuki smashed it. Touko: We can just continue to do what we were doing as an open club. Hiroshi: Exactly, but we gotta do it different. We can be friends with couple of people here to make it seem like we are the good guys. Lila: Yep. Can you tell us what to do with Yuki? Hiroshi: Sure. While we win our goal to be popular, we will secretly get Yuki. By that, I mean we must do something that will ruin her popularity that Yuki will be humiliated. Kaname: Yeah. When we looked on our plans last night, we still don't have an actual plan to do that yet. Hiroshi: That's because we need to take a look at Yuki for a while before we come up with something to smash her fame. Mizuro: Yeah. Kaname: Thankfully, I have class with her. Hiroshi: Exactly. Lila has the same gym schedule as Yuki's class, and the rest of us sometimes see her on other parts of our time here. Mizuro: After we get Yuki, will we do something similar to her friends? Hiroshi: Yes. However, we are only focusing on our reputation and Yuki. That way, we can steal her popularity. Later at gym class, Yuki kicks the ball and have the wall bounce it back and then she catches it. Minoru: When is the next game after school? Yuki: Probably next week. They see Lila coming to talk. Lila: I heard Kaname was being crazy this morning. Yuki: So are you gonna leave us alone? Lila: For now. We're just going to be ourselves. Yuki: I don't care. Just be elsewhere. Lila: All right. Lila left. Later, after Yuki finished jogging, she talks to Minoru. Yuki: Hey. I was told by Ren to visit one of the rooms on the third floor. Minoru: Aki told me the same thing. Yuki: They said they have special surprise. I wonder what it is. Minoru: Me to. After school, Yuki, Minoru, Leon, and Oka are walking to the room Aki and Ren told them to visit. Leon: There is the door. Yuki opens it and see Aki and Ren having a small cafe with three good looking guys. Aki: Welcome to Fujiwara Cafe. Ren: We just opened up our small cafe today. Aki: We got some snacks, drinks, and cute boys that will be working with us. They see three boys. Yuki: I know them. They appear on our game sometimes. Rukio, Nako, and Kaito. Rukio: Hey guys. Nako: We got menus by the door. Kaito: Awesome. Minoru: Impressive. Ren: Totally! Leon: I'll grab some things. Aki: Go on. Yuki talks to the boys. Yuki: How was your guys day? Kaito: Epic. This after school activity is something we can spend more time in school during our senior year. Nako: We are really excited for this. Yuki: Sounds good. You guys are waiting to hang with the ladies? Rukio: Pretty much. Nako: So far, we hanged with Aki and Ren. Yuki looks at them and they're blushing. Yuki: Seems like both are pretty friendly. Kaito: They are. We were hanging with them at the beach last month. Yuki: Cool. Rukio: It was two of them and the red hair girl from your class. Yuki: Rin. Nako: Yep. Yuki looks around. Yuki: Be aware, Team Phase are acting suspicious. They're faking their kindness so everyone can forget who they really are. Kaito: I still remember. I'm glad your friends helped you to prove your innocence. Yuki: Yeah, but they're always gonna plan to do something new like that. Nako: I see. Aki comes with tea cups. Aki: Want some tea? Yuki: I'll have apple juice. Aki: All right. You boys want tea? Rukio: Yes. Kaito: Thanks! Nako: Do you still have your fan club? Yuki: Well, when senior year started, no one was able to reserve a room or time for a fan club this time. Kaito: So sad. Rukio: Did you have fun with your boy, Minoru? Yuki: Yes. We play lots of cool activites. Rukio: Sounds fun. Later, Yuki is in her room, playing video games with Ryo. Ryo: It sounds like a typical day at school. Yuki: Yep. Ryo: Your birthday is coming up. Yuki: Yep. I want to be an adult. Not only I can buy mature games on my own, but to do cool things. Ryo: Like what? Yuki: Own a car, do awesome performances, being more independent, be a role model, and adult activities like hiking. Ryo: You sure love cool things. Yuki: Oh yes. I'm thinking of buying a sports car for my birthday. Ryo: That's nice to hear. Yuki: And get this. I would take pics of myself with a car. Ryo: I bet your peers would love it. Yuki: And that's one things I wanted to do. They continue to play games with each other. Next Chapter: Yuki's Adulthood. Yuki's birthday is coming up, and she is turning 18. Not only will she become a legal adult, but she wants to be one to be able to do adult things that she finds cool. Her friends are happy for Yuki to be a legal adult. Now that Yuki is a legal woman, what type of activities will she do next? Tune in next time!

[hermanwatts]

SUPERVERSIVE: A Look at Slice of Life

Slice of life was never my favorite genre, but there are a surprisingly large number of excellent slice of life anime out there, some of them among my favorite shows of all time. Below I’ll highlight some of the best.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable

Yes, this is slice of life and no, I’m not being ironic. Diamond is Unbreakable is the fourth part of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Saga. This time around our protagonist is Josuke Higashikata. Josuke is a typical Japanese high school student living with his single mother in the seemingly quiet town of Morioh. He’s popular with the girls, has great hair, and is generally a pretty swell, if goofy and a little mischievous, guy.

  Naturally, nothing is as it seems. It turns out Josuke is the son of Joseph Joestar, the protagonist of JoJo’s part 2. He has the Stand ability Crazy Diamond, which has the power to break apart and repair whatever it can punch. And not everything in the little town of Morioh is quite as quiet as it seems. In fact, you might say it’s all a little bizarre…

JoJo’s tends to tackle a different genre every part, and while slice of life isn’t the first thing you think of when you think of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, it is a surprisingly effective fit. The cast of part 4 is the most likable of all the JoJo casts, and this is in no small part due to the time we spend seeing them hang out and go on their weekly adventures. Despite having a spectacular villain in Yoshikage Kira (whose episodes are admittedly the best parts of the show), it’s that slice of life, teenagers-just-messing-around vibe that makes part 4 feel so unique. Of course, it helps that part 4 also has some of the coolest Stand battles in the entire series as well. Highly recommended.

Ancient Magus Bride

Chise Hatori is a sixteen year old Japanese girl who has totally given up on life. Unloved, unwanted, and alone, she makes the decision to sell herself into slavery, under the theory that at least the person who buys her would want her around.

At the auction she is bought for an enormous sum of money by a mysterious mage with a…cow?…horse?…skull in place of a head. The mage, Elias, is hundreds of years old, and after giving Chise a home in Britain and treating her with kindness, he tells her his true motive: To make her his apprentice and, one day, his bride.

“Ancient Magus Bride” is an utterly gorgeous show, both visually and musically, with one of my all-time favorite soundtracks – “Here” has to be one of the greatest OP songs of all time. It is impossible to listen to it and not understand the sort of show you’re about to see, to get a sense of the otherworldly fantasy that makes up its heart.

And heart is the name of the game. “Ancient Magus Bride” is full of heart. It takes its time, building up the unusual relationship between Chise and Elias and expanding its world. Luckily, both Chise and Elias – especially Elias – are compelling and fascinating characters.

But it’s no secret that the true draw of Ancienct Magus Bride is its setting. “Ancient Magus Bride” technically takes place in the modern day but feels timeless. The way it captures the world of fairies and magic is dead-on perfect: Dangerous, mysterious, and inhuman, but beautiful too. The rules are never fully explained but it all makes an intuitive sort of sense: This is just how magic works.

In its second half the show drops in quality a bit, but it’s nothing extreme – certainly not a “Death Note” level collapse. In fact I wouldn’t call it a collapse at all. It remains high quality until the end, though I have a big issue with a writing decision made in the finale. But that’s ultimately a small part of what is overall a fantastic, and highly superversive, show. VERY much recommended.

Dennou Coil

Dennou Coil follows the daily lives of a group of children who live in the fictional city of Daikoku. The children have adventures and navigate school and relationships. Nothing special. Your typical kid show….with one difference.

“Dennou Coil” takes place in a cyberpunk future where special glasses overlay a virtual world on top of the real one. The virtual world has realistic animal AI and is incredibly tactile, seemingly a part of the landscape as much as physical objects. Hacking is illegal, but in the kids’ world, hackers are at the top of the social totem pole. And maybe there’s more to the virtual world than meets the eye. Maybe it’s not so virtual after all…

Ah, I love “Dennou Coil”. It’s absolutely fantastic, up there with my very top tier of shows along with standouts like “Death Note”, “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”, and “Silver Spoon”, among others. The setting is one of the coolest I have EVER seen. “Ordinal Scale”, which also used this idea, didn’t do it justice. All of the ramifications, good and bad, of such a system are thoroughly explored.

The animation and art style are also top notch. I’ve seen comparisons to Ghibli but I think the style is closer to Mamoru Hasoda than anything Ghibli has done. It feels incredibly distinct, and very fun to look at.

At the risk of sounding kind of social justice-y I also like the fact that the main character isn’t your typical adorable moe girl. She isn’t ugly or anything like that, but she’s average looking and kind of nerdy. It’s a refreshing change.

The mystery that undergirds the plot is also fantastic. The episodes leading up to the finale get increasingly intense, reaching an explosive and incredibly superversive climax. This is more than a merely excellent show, but a transcendently brilliant one up there with the greatest anime of all time. I can’t recommend it enough.

Haibane Renmei

An giant egg pops up out of nowhere in a mysterious town called Glie. A girl, who is soon given the name Rakka, hatches from the egg, where she grows wings after hatching. The girl has no memories of her life before she ended up in the egg, yet is able to talk and function normally; all she can remember is a vague dream of falling.

We learn quickly that this is a normal occurrence in the town. The winged people – who are soon given halos as well – are known as the Haibane. They live in abandoned buildings and can take or use whatever items the regular humans leave behind. Despite this arrangement the humans treat the Haibane kindly, and the Haibane in turn work various jobs throughout the town, up until the day they take their “Day of Flight” and leave forever. Throughout the show Rakka slowly learns more about the origins and secrets of the Haibane and about her best friend, Reki, the oldest Haibane who hasn’t yet taken her Day of Flight.

That’s a long set up for a pretty high concept show, and to its credit the show takes advantage of that concept. “Haibane Renmei” starts off as a dreamlike and fascinating slice of life, but as the story goes on and some of the mysteries slowly get answers the bits and pieces add up into a sort of psychological mystery centering around Rakka and Reki.

It’s hard to say anything more about it, because what makes this show great – and it is great – is best experienced without knowing about it in advance. It is an in-depth exploration of the themes of redemption and forgiveness, ending with the conclusion that life really does have inherent value and meaning. The slice of life elements are interesting because the setting and concepts being explored are interesting, but what brings it to the next level is the nuance and intelligence with which it explores its themes and resolves its character arcs. Once again, this is very highly recommended.

Silver Spoon

I already wrote about “Silver Spoon” at length, so I’m keeping this short. “Silver Spoon” is the story of Hachiken, an extremely intelligent first year high schooler who succumbed to intense pressure from his overbearing father and bombed his entrance exams. At the recommendation of a counselor he makes the decision to go to an agricultural school, presumably to get a new perspective on life. And that’s the story. No fancy sci-fi or supernatural elements here.

Mostly what I want to do now is clarify something: I don’t think I made it clear enough that I REALLY loved this show. It’s so good, it shares an honor with “Magi” as being the only unfinished anime whose story I decided to continue through the manga (which is also fantastic and highly recommended – man I hope it gets a season 3 one day…).

The characters are fantastic, and it shares the theme from “Fullmetal Alchemist”, Arakawa’s other masterpiece, of exploring the value of life, this time through the food we eat. The soundtrack is gorgeous and it has some of my favorite tracks in anime, like “Hello Especially”, which somehow manages to have a Japanese-country twang to it. Like “Dennou Coil” before it, this is a slice of life that transcends the category of “Great”. It is among the best anime I’ve ever seen, and I can’t recommend it enough. Considering it’s me we’re talking about, you KNOW it has to be great at everything it does if I’m recommending it despite it having no real action, magic or gadgets. It really is THAT good.

Robotics;Notes

Robotics;Notes is the story of Kaito and Aki, two childhood friends, now in high school, who start a robotics club with the goal of building a giant robot of their own and winning a robotics competition. As the story unfolds a conspiracy is discovered involving the company that makes the robotics ubiquitous in society, ultimately culminating in a one on one battle to, uh…actually I’ll let you all see that one for yourself.

Nobody ever really remembers “Robotics;Notes” exists, yet it was a big enough deal at the time it came out to get a dub. It’s too bad, because I honestly love the show. What makes it are Kaito and Aki. Kaito starts off looking dangerously like he’s going to become unbearable quickly, with the “gimmick” that he’s obsessed with video games and will only do favors for someone if they can beat him in a game. It becomes clear pretty quickly, however, that Kaito’s too-cool-for-school attitude is a persona he uses to cover up the fact that he’s a compassionate and kind person, willing to go out of his way to help people and prepared to make sacrifices for those he’s closest to.

Aki is great as well. She’s your typical super-cheerful anime heroine, whose boundless optimism and drive to accomplish her goals move much of the plot. Like with Kaito, this exterior masks an interior depth, with her optimism fueled largely by a deep-seated fear of failure and the ever-present feeling that she’s somehow disappointing her more intelligent older sister, whose parting words before leaving their home constantly haunt her. The likability of the leads is the main thing that keeps the viewer invested in their story.

The conspiracy underlying the whole plot ends up getting convoluted and more than a little absurd, but I can’t deny that it lead to more than one great scene and a cool as hell finale. It’s a shame this show has become so forgotten, because I highly recommend it.

Interesting side note: “Robotics;Notes” is one of a series of shows that takes place in the larger “Steins;Gate” universe, but outside of a couple of very subtle references this can basically be ignored completely.

I have watched two other slice of life anime, “Clannad” and “March Comes in Like a Lion”. While neither was bad, per se, I did not like either show for a variety of reasons I may go into another time.

I can confirm that, for those of you who like such things, each show has a very good dub but “Silver Spoon”, which has no dub at all, and “Diamond is Ubreakable” (“Clannad” also has a horrendous dub, incidentally). “Diamond is Unbreakable” may have a good dub, but I can’t tell you as I’ve never seen it.

I’m quite glad I decided to give slice of life a shot in the end. If I hadn’t, I’d have missed out on some excellent shows. Give them a shot and see for yourself.

Next up: Recommended comedies. It’s coming!

SUPERVERSIVE: A Look at Slice of Life published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/