#they have not stopped using the same picture of PV for the whole thing

[ehatnow]

I cant get over these fucking PNGs

[januaryedgelordess]

I'd like to discuss a SnK theory with someone, it's on the possibility of a different (or expanded) AnR theory.

Disclaimer: Perhaps you should read this post with the lyrics for Akatsuki no Requiem by Linked Horizon in mind, but I also don't stand by the original reddit theory a 100%.

--

One of the questions that lingers around the fandom is: "who would've survived the Rumbling had it been done as originally implied by the themes and foreshadowing of the story?". Some believe only Eren and Historia would have had that chance, but they might be mistaken.

The first proof I have in order to back this claim is AnR's official art as drawn by WIT Studio during the production of season three of the anime:

(Note: these are originally four different images, the source of this collage is vaguely anitwt).

Just as shown in the original PV by Linked Horizon, each of these characters are standing by a gravestone while holding a bouquet and looking conflicted. Now, to counter the original AnR theorists, I propose that Eren —and by extension, Historia— weren't the only ones to live on with regret in their hearts, instead, Levi and Hanji survived as well.

Why did they survive? Is my conclusion solely based on these pictures? Well, just in part.

I believe Attack on Titan was never meant to be a one-sided story, and that one of the various themes that weren't thoroughly explored in the later chapters, a theme which was instead rushed and swiftly overlooked, is that of the conflict between "Nationalism" and "Internationalism". It's obvious and needless to point out that Yaegerists were the former, but the latter never take a name for themselves. However, we get a rough idea of who they might be, one of them is clearly Hanji Zoe:

Another internationalist is obviously Onyankopon:

Another one is Armin and so on, and so on.

Are they the only type on people on Earth? Of course not. Notably you also have those who have egotistical motivations, like Jean, who just wants to get married and live a peaceful life in the inner cities; or the Hizuru ambassador, Kiyomi, whose motivation is monetary gain. The world isn't black and white in AoT so, to clarify, it's unnecessary to classify every character in the dichotomy here presented.

Now, if Yams hadn't downplayed this interaction, we may have had a better thought out plan to stop the Rumbling and, possibly, a less moronically cringy way for "The Alliance" to be presented.

Why is that? It's because of various reasons. First, one of the most observant characters, Hanji, is notable for having spied on some of Eren and Historia's interactions (the "You look happy — that's because I am" scene for example) but by the end of the story the audience never got a reason as to why this observant behavior happened. If Hanji really is as cunning and observant as she is portrayed to be, she should've been the first character to suspect that Eren is the father and, therefore, that Historia's pregnancy's due date was off. Instead of the survey corps discussing this info, we get some random officers discussing irrelevant rumours about it. Isayama I mean, Kawakubo played Hanji Zoe dirty, in my opinion, in this scenario.

If Hanji had noticed that important information, and if that info had been shared with the Survey Corps, as was natural for her character to do, "the Alliance" may have had been able to act sooner against the AT.

Now, would more prep time save the world from devastation? No, I don't believe so. I believe it would, instead, make them have a slightly more realistic last fight by a) having them recruit actual soldiers and weapons for the final showdown, heck, if they have enough time even other countries would chime in, vs Hallu-chan and the Attach Titan; and, therefore, b) not having them rely on a Deus Ex Machina to defeat Eren.

That way, Hanji would live on with regret, knowing the Alliance did everything in their power to defeat the Attack Titan but failed miserably in the end. Instead of having her smile as her ghost-self at whatever the hell the canon battle achieved, she'd mourn the world that's been lost, and she'd feel regret for not being able to save it.

Now, for Levi I haven't done a thorough analysis yet, but I believe it's not difficult to see why humanity's strongest soldier would survive this ordain. I'd really like to hear someone else's thoughts on that matter.

Also, I'm in no way trying to imply LeviHan was supposed to be part of a kino ending, but I'm not too into that ship so I'd like to hear someone else's thoughts about it and on why they were the only two members of the alliance to survive according to WIT Studio's AnR official art.

Now, onto the second part of "who survived the Rumbling?". The next piece of information contradicts previous statements, and it also contradicts an AnR ending to some extent, but bare with me, please.

Exhibit A, Mikasa and Armin should have survived:

However, for Kruger's prophecy to succeed, I stand by my previous statement that "the Alliance" should've acted sooner, and that Armin is part of the Internationalist faction ready to "save humanity". Why do I believe that? It's easy, first, let's remember this quote from the moment Erwin died:

Note how, not only does Eren say Armin will save the humans, he also implies Mikasa will know it'll happen (so she'll be alive by the time the battle ends).

And, piggybacking on that moment as well, Armin would've been able to use his intellect to make a plan to divert the Rumbling titans. I'm adding this here to stress something that can't be stressed enough: Armin shouldn't have had to fistfight Eren twice, and he shouldn't have had to steal someone else's kill. Now onto that kill...

Should Mikasa have been the one to deal Eren's final blow? In the canon version of the story it's shown, in a rather cringy way, how she has to make up a whole different scenario inside her mind to get the mental strength to kill him. To me, Mikasa instead should've used the devastation caused by the Rumbling to completely break away from Eren's character and to be able to see past the "you're being brainwashed" narrative. Now, besides some of Isayama's interviews, there's other proof to back this up: the Historia-Mikasa parallels in Ending 4 and Ending 1:

Ending 1: https://youtu.be/O4wezNlsxB0

Ending 4: https://youtu.be/o05UK9lXtC0

We see some petty similarities in both: how both girls seem to be inside a pond or a lake, a snip of them running when they were young, etc.; but we also see some more important things for this theory: their growth as a person (how they survived whatever the past cast upon them), and them catching up to the people who they look up to and love.

Now, two things we know about Historia are that her beloved Ymir left her and she had to learn to accept it and move on; and that her sister, Frieda, died and she, without initially knowing even that she'd lost her, had to learn how to live on her own when she was young. Would Mikasa and Eren be able to have an end like that? I think it was implied that it was possible, but other than that, as part of any healthy development of her character, it is important for her to move on just as the Eldian Queen did: even if Eren chose to live a life apart from her (like Ymir did to Historia's early knowledge) or even if he were to die (like Frieda did).

Also, I have some doubts about Mikasa being the one who was supposed to kill Eren, since the one who was foreshadowed to be a Helos' parallel, and who'd fit the role just as well is Reiner, but I won't discuss that here.

So, to me, Mikasa was never an Internationalist, but for the sake of her character, a break-away from Eren should've been a good conclusive act.

As to some other parallels between Mikasa and Historia we have this part:

In which it is implied that they share the same burden by birth, and the same destiny, possibly. Mikasa is shown to be embarrassed about it but Historia seems to be thoroughly delighted.

With this parallel I'd also like to recall two other threads left undone: the Azumabito clan and the Ackerman mystery.

First, the Azumabitos. It's implied that their land is to "the Orient", and we also get a small snip during the Rumbling which implies they have a coast (it's obvious their country is a direct reference to Japan, needless to say). All of which would imply that, as it does in the Real World ™️, Hizuru is almost the Eastern-most Nation of AoT's world as well, and therefore, it may be one of the last countries that the Rumbling would have reached. If you add that they were the first people to send an ambassador to Paradis, you get: Hizuru being the first nation to be included in a possible Internationalist "Alliance" (had it been done in the appropriate time) against the Attack Titan; and you also get that this would increase their possibilities of surviving, at least just in part, the Rumbling.

Why is this important? Because AnR's lyrics do not imply the world will be completely and absolutely obliterated. AnR's lyrics imply the world will live on but the power dynamic of the world will be reversed: Paradis will rule, while the rest will be forced inside the cage.

https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Linked-Horizon/Akatsuki-no-Requiem-TV-Size

Now, the Ackermans. Just as Historia and Zeke posses a special particularity by virtue of birth (they are direct descendants of Ymir), which make them valuable assets to "breed" for whoever is using the Eldians (be it Marley, the Azumabitos, or the First King), I believe the outside world would be interested, at any part of the story, to have an Ackerman in their line of defense against the Eldians. In this case the Mikasa-Historia parallel is strengthened, simply because it would be interesting to see Levi or Mikasa confront that part of their destiny (to make the Ackerman clan continue for the sake of a plan, while acknowledging they're the only survivors). Perhaps Hizuru would've been the country to try and make use of that potential? This parallel was, of course, never used, but it would've been delightful to see it exploited at some point in the AoT timeline. However I acknowledge that continuity is impossible in a world without titans, unless one of the surviving countries on Earth are in serious need of Olympic competitors, of course, so perhaps it should've been mentioned before The Rumbling arc.

.

Well, this turned out to be more like a vent or a rant than a theory now, and I wish I could've had discussed it quietly with someone instead of just posting it here. There are some other nuances to this analysis that I would like to explore in the future (since this isn't thoroughly thought out) In the meantime what do you all think of a new AnR theory like this one? Does it make a little sense? At least a bit? I hope so. Thank you for reading and sorry about the grammar mistakes.

TLDR: I believe Armin, Mikasa, Eren, Historia, Hanji and Levi should have survived and also it's possible for Hizuru to have survived. Please feel free to point out any flaws.

[yakitori-and-eyeliner]

New Chp 35/36 thoughts:

Spoilers and thoughts will be under the cut, read at your own risk and most of all remember that everything is going to be okay friends!

So first of all, that PV for new chps 35/36 was HORRIBLE, heartbreaking, confusing and just what the heck is what was THAT comes to my mind. Those were only some of my thoughts, well...with A LOT more cussing too. Anyway, the most interesting thing about the new chapters that stood out to me were the callbacks/references to earlier chapters/the guys and MC’s relationship in general.  For starters I’ll start out with Victor: 

So in chapter 18 MC begs Victor to kill her to save the dimension they are in because Dark Swan MC is trying to take over her body. Victor at first refuses and then starts to lose it (I mean...who wouldn’t?) and agrees to kill her, but only does so after promising to find her/bring her back all while crying. (side note: men who cry and look beautiful are like a unicorn so apparently Victor is a unicorn now) While MC is talking to him calmly, smiling and trying to show him that it is okay. So in chapters 35-36, the roles are reversed with MC stabbing Victor. It looks like she is crying when you zoom in; while Victor looks very calm and to me looks like he is quietly talking into her ear. 

Just wow, don’t get me wrong things got really REAL and serious after chp 11, but chapter 18 was the moment I realized that this game wasn’t a normal otome game, but something more. Chapter 18 is what made me stop and just stare at my wall for an hour because I was still trying to accept that Victor had just stabbed and killed the woman he loved. A surreal moment for me. 

Next up is Kiro: 

So this is was just crushing to me Kiro is so sweet and so loving to MC. The whole Helios/Black Swan connection aside, I think MC and Kiro’s relationship is special. All the relationships are special in some shape or form, but there is just something about Kiro and MC that makes my heart happy. I’m still blown away that all the guys knew her or have some sort of connection with her in the past; while Lucien, Gavin and Victor’s past connections with her have been explained, Kiro’s is a bit of a mystery. Maybe they were in the same place when Black Swan was conducting experiments on children but again, it hasn’t been fully explained. The only clue we have is this photo from chp 9 and the fact that Kiro mentions that she didn’t remember him.  So seeing Kiro’s new SSR card I was immediately taken back to chp 8 and I sat here blinking because that was when I started to realize all of the new SSR cards for chps 35-36 are connected to past chapters. Kiro’s SSR card is pretty self explanatory but still heartbreaking nonetheless.  Next up is Lucien: 

What the heck is up with poor Lulu and rain?! He LITERALLY has the WORST luck with rain! He lost his family in a car accident when it was raining and his new SSR card has him on the ground hopefully napping in the rain with MC crying over him. What the actual hell? I’m still working on getting to really like/fall for Lucien but this is just awful and I am NOT looking forward to dealing with this. Above everything, I truly believe Lucien loves MC with all his heart and soul, as twisted and backwards as he be can be sometimes...he cares.  Next up is Gavin: 

Gavin is afraid of fire, this is mentioned in chapter 12. So fire and Gavin have always been an issue, which I’ve always been curious about because wind increases the strength of fire. Wind can’t also put out fires sometimes too, maybe not as easy as water can...but still. I’ve always been fascinated by that. Anyway, in the earlier chapters MC is investigating something at a hotel where a Black Swan lackey sets it on fire. She gets trapped inside and of course Gavin comes to the rescue, but it’s pretty scary situation at first and traumatic. So seeing his new SSR card where both Gavin and MC look to be barely clinging to consciousness while fire is all around them is not good. Also ironic that Gavin saved her from a fire before, but apparently can’t save her or himself from fire a second time? Yikes. 

Last but not least is Shaw: 

This picture is cropped but if you see the photo/card of him floating around, it looks as if Shaw is badly hurt with a stomach injury. Also, I am VERY confused about Shaw. Is he part of the guys now? He has cards but is in the “other” section, I don’t get it and it’s VERY frustrating. Just wanted get that out, lol. ANYWAY our skater boy does not look like he’s doing very well and I’m a bit bummed because we are just getting to know him on the EN server so it’s hard to try and make a connection with this yet. I am looking forward to getting to know him better, but right now I’m just lost.

To conclude, things look really, really bad right now for MC and the guys. I never thought in a million years an otome game would be like this EVER, but here we are! The horrible part of it all is that we are so deep within the story and the attachment to the guys that it’s not like we can turn back now! Personally, I think Elex is trying to pull a fast one on us because come on, they would kill MC but would they REALLY kill off our guys? No freaking way. Plus, with the dimension/alternate universe stuff in this game, I am not drawing conclusions for these new chapters, not everything is what it seems! I mean Mr. Love started out as a cute, fun otome game and now look at it!! LOL, what are your thoughts?! 

[salthaven]

Make a Change P15 (an Explanation and Summary)

Part Fifteen (An Explanation and Summary)

So, as I recently posted, I don’t plan to continue this story any longer. As much as I loved writing it, I also...fell out of love, I suppose. I just don’t have the time, passion, or motivation to try forcing myself to write it anymore, and it’s unfair to you guys to have to accept a sloppy second, something thrown onto a document for the sake of a word count and an update. I want to write stuff I’m proud of, and that just wasn’t happening with this story.

That said, one reader asked for a summary, so that they could get some closure. Luckily, I have some notes that I took as I planned the story and started writing it, and I thought you’d like to see some of them. This includes three things: 1. The schedules for most of the main characters 2. The heroes I was planning on bringing in and 3. All of the ideas I had for “Who on Earth will Marinette end up with?” (This was a doozy.) Along with this, I want to talk about other pairings I had in mind. 

With that all said, let’s hop right in!

The Schedules:

I really planned out their schedules, just so I could start figuring out who the Quantic Kids would be. I had a general idea in mind: Each student at Collège des Arts would have to take their four core classes (History, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science), a language, and then their last period would be a two hour block that focused on their artistic talent. I set it up this way so that I could integrate the Quantic Kids into Marinette’s life. (Along with this, I made it so the whole school had lunch after fourth hour, so that the morning had four hours of classes, and the afternoon had three. I note this, because some schools separate lunches based on fourth hour, so that there is an A, B, and C lunch. I...did not feel like dealing with that, and I wasn’t sure how French schools do it but I doubt it’s like that.) 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s schedule: 

1. History (right next to Félix, later on stuck between him and Adrien) The original plan never had Adrien’s arrival, it was supposed to be a moment of comic relief where Marinette and Félix were just kind of half awake and barely conscious at any given time during first hour. This is why their history teacher, Mr. Marcel, was either wide awake or dead asleep. I thought it’d be a cute moment to show off the dynamics of their exhaustion or energy, depending on the day. I didn’t show this off nearly as much as planned, however, because I shifted my focus soon after.

2. Language Arts (with Allegra). A nice, calmer class seemed perfect for Marinette, who’d probably still be waking up. Allegra is calm and classy, so it only made sense to pair the two up for the second hour.

3. Science (Claude’s here!) Loud and exciting, just like their class seems to be, it was a perfect pairing. 

4. Math (with Allegra and Claude) I wanted to show off Allegra and Claude’s...chaotic dynamic. 

5. English (with Allan) Marinette wants to be a fashion designer, and she had to take a language, so she thought “hey, fashion is pretty big in America, let’s learn English”. (It was also the only class I could think of that she and Allan would take...more on that later.)

6. Fashion Design. Pretty self-explanatory.

Allegra: 

1. German. Allegra likes opera music, and wanted to mimic the sound of some German singers accurately. 

2. Language Arts (with Marinette, as mentioned above)

3. Science (a different teacher than Marinette and Claude, though. What a pity) (Also I apparently called it ‘physics�� in my notes and I just noticed.) 

4. Math (With Marinette and Claude)

5. History

6. Choir (She’s a singer.)

Claude Mercury:

1. English (It was for the theatre, but also for Shakespeare, but more accurately….for Shakespeare’s more inappropriate humor.) (and memes)

2. History

3. Science (with Marinette) (Lots of explosions and fires were planned)

4. Math (With Allegra and Marinette) 

5. Language Arts

6. Drama. He was just a simple thespian lad who wanted to have fun and make friends, what can I say?

Allan:

1. Math

2. Science

3. Language Arts

4. History

5. English (with Marinette) He likes hip hop and rap, and wanted to learn English rap, too. He, like Claude, also loves their memes, and I planned to have a few moments where he explained some to Marinette. 

6. Dance. Mainly hip hop, although the boy can break dance a little bit

Félix Agreste: 

1. History (with Marinette) He’s tired in the morning, but good at reciting dates. Again, had a lot more planned for this.

2. Math

3. Spanish. (“Come on, guys, it’s logical. It’s one of the most spoken languages in the world.” -Félix, probably.) I also planned for Félix to already know English. I wanted a cute chapter where he tutored Marinette, only for Claude to start dramatically monologuing because ‘why do you help her but never help me? The betrayal, Fe, the betrayal!’ 

4. Language Arts

5. Science

6. Music (he’s a piano boy in my heart) (maybe also good at violin) (a classy young man) 

Adrien Agreste:

1. History (with Marinette)

2. Language Arts (with Marinette)

3. Science (with Marinette)

4. Math (with Marinette)

5. Chinese (with Marin- oh, wait, we’re done with that!) This class, along with his next, is another reason Adrien relaxed so quickly at the school. By taking Chinese at school, he was able to convince his father to stop the at-home lessons, clearing up some of his schedule.

6. Music. Same as above, playing piano at school meant he didn’t have to do it at home so much.

The Heroes:

“But salthaven, you already introduced the heroes! Envision and Viperion, remember?” Haha, as if those were the only guys I had planned?

Yeah, I had more. Four more.

I wanted the Quantic Kids to be heroes. I had three of them for sure chosen, names and Miraculi assigned to them. (Allegra was my only problem child, but I’ll explain that below.)

The first was supposed to be Allegra. I was going to make her the Fox, with the name Mélodie. I’m pretty sure that was her original hero name, back during the PV stage of this show, and I wanted to pay an homage to her inspiration. But then Félix got it, because I didn’t end up giving him the Cat (yeah, I was really salty when I started this, and I was planning to go the same route that I do in my ao3 fic, Of Patience and Pettiness, and take away the Cat from Adrien to give to Félix.), as Adrien learned from his mistakes. So Allegra waits, and Envision springs to life with Viperion.

Next would be Allan. Miraculous: Bee. Name: Mellifury, based on Mellifura (aka the Africanized Killer Bee) + Fury. He was supposed to be an unexpected storm. A dancer, he uses rhythm in a way that throws off opponents. Uses the spinning top like it's another limb, throws the game way off when first introduced. 

Then we’d have Allegra. After a while, I decided that the Rabbit would be best suited for her. Messing with timelines is a tricky business, but Allegra has a knack for details and organization that would leave her cruising through her tasks with some practice. While it’s nothing musical, it would be fun to see. Name: Cottontail. 

Finally, after an interesting fight that would cause Nathalie to lose the Peacock...Claude would step in. Bold and flashy, the thespian knows how to strut his stuff. But again, he’s a thespian, and theatre kids know when it’s time to hide in the shadows and stay unseen and unheard. With dark blues that can hide in the name and stand out in the daylight, Claude would become Le Paon, turning the tide and becoming a major help for the team. [At first, he dealt with some sickness, but after a talk with Ladybug, who in turn talked to Fu, the Miraculous was fixed and Le Paon could fight as easily as the rest.] He’d use sentimentals wisely, although he’d have a bad habit of monologuing as he created them. 

The Ships:

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Our first question: Who the hell was Marinette going to end up with? Well, that answer changed throughout the story.

The first choice: Félix. I wanted Marinette to move on from Agreste...and fall in love with Agreste. It humored me, and I was in love with a bunch of Felinette one shots at the time. (And, again, very salty towards Adrien at the moment.) 

But then I redeemed Adrien. No problem, I thought. Marinette could choose between one of the boys...and the other would date Luka! (I mean, did you see the Instagram picture of Luka and Adrien. Luka with either Agreste would be cute, just imagine the musical moments they could have together)

But then I Akumatized Juleka, and Luka was right there...and I made Marinette fall for all three guys. So I decided “Hey, she can just date all three!” And so that’s the final choice, because I’m apparently a sucker for poly ships. 

But I mentioned other ships, didn’t I? So let’s talk about those!

First: Luka with an OC. Yep, I was going to bring in a new girl. It was actually going to be one of my friends, due to a conversation we had that went as follows:

S.H. (Salthaven): So I’m thinking that I’m going to pair up Félix and Marinette. Thoughts?

F. (Friend): Okay, but what about Luka?

S.H.:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

F.: Well then pair me up with him!

So I did. Or I was going to...but then poly ship idea happened. 

As mentioned above, I also considered Luka with either of the Agreste boys. Whoever Marinette didn’t date. Again, couldn’t happen because I went for that sweet poly route. 

Finally: Claude and Allegra. What can I say, they act like an old married couple in my mind!

And that’s everything! Once all the heroes were chosen, and romantic confessions set aside, the Miraculous Team was going to gear up and take down Hawkmoth once and for all. Fun times, the end, we all get a happy ending.

So I hope that makes up for my rather abrupt end to this story. Thank you all for the time you put in, reading my writings, and I hope you enjoy the other works I plan to create! Until next time. <3

[x0401x]

Reports and Highlights: Yuukei Roadshow in Tokyo

Compilation of info found on Twitter, Togetter and Privatter. Many thanks to ayara-resara for indicating them all.

<< Previous Show || Index >>

Before reading any further, I highly recommend those who haven’t seen the first show’s reports to read them, since one is related to the other. I advice those who have already read the previous reports to take a look at the bottom of the post again too, because I’ve managed to find and translate more info on it.

@kon_noooo

Q.: Is Kano left-handed? A.: Ah~, I kinda feel like I’ve heard something about this from Sidu-san~! But there’s also the possibility that we’re being deceived... There’s a chance that he’s actually a vigorously right-handed right-hand shot! He seems to think of himself as cute. Like, “It’s so cute that I’m left-handed~”. Please wait for an official announcement on that...

I asked about this when I was getting his autograph... I’d wanted to confirm it no matter what...

(T/N: The “right-hand shot” part is a gatcha reference. Scoring a big hit from the right side is called “right-hand shooting”.)

@enehai_hiyori1

LISTEN UP!!!!!!!!! JIN SAID THAT ASAHINA-SAN IS A CUTE GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, y’see, I asked about what she likes.

I’m getting lots of reactions here so lemme tell you about when I got his autograph...

Q.: Does Asahina-san have anything that she likes other than cats? A.: She’s a cute girl who likes normal stuff. (The nuaces are difficult here so I can’t convey the whole idea, sorry.)

This is something that had been decided since the very beginning: she likes pancakes.

Jin-san: She probably wouldn’t make them herself, though. Me: She’d be like, “You do it”? Jin-san: She’d be like, “You do it”.

Jin-san: I wonder what state her bedroom is in... Me: Indeed...

Me: I tried to think of Asahina-san’s way of thinking (preferences), but I couldn’t come up with anything at all... Jin-san: Eh? She’s a girl who surprisingly likes normal stuff, isn’t she? Staff member: She is. I don’t remember the details so well but how much does that staff member know...?? They said something about “24 hours a day 365 days a year”. They did say that.

@takephotos12

Jin-san said, “Actually, just how much of what Kisaragi Shintarou says to his comrades is the truth?” and that’s too much for me; I’m in pain. I remember him saying before and after this that he was “going to kill a Kisaragi Shintarou cluster”, but my memory is kinda flying off the nest, so I hope I wrote this in my memo.

@nagihararion

Me: I like Haruka-senpai, so I dressed up like him today... Jin-san: Uwah~! Amazing! That blue plaid is really Haruka-like! Speaking of Haruka, I wanna make a spin-off with him as protagonist or something... Me: !?!?!?!! My memory is fuzzy from the point he said “spin-off” onward so I don’t remember it very well, but I feel that he talked about how he “wants to write it” and said that he’d “probably publish it”... I recall him telling me to “look forward to it”... probably...

By the way, I was dressed mostly like this back then:

@Tanapi_May

Me: When will Takane-chan’s birthday be revealed? Jin: Hu~m, I have no plans for it right now... but it’s a very important day. Some big incident or something of the sort will happen. Ah, but it might be in the future edition... Me: “Future edition”!? Jin: Yep, Takane-chan maybe being a Mama... Me: “Mama”!? I asked about this when I got his autograph.

@knkd3131

I only took a memo of the colors of the limelights during each song and my impressions on them, in case anyone wants to use it as reference... 🙇‍♀️

1. Imaginary Reload Lights: blue, green. The background guitar was cool. 2. Shissou Word Lights: purple, blue, green. It stopped at the second “watashi wa” (lol). 3. Additional Memory Lights: red. The interlude was long (nice). The last hook was emo. 4. Lost Day Hour Lights: white and peach with a mirror ball. Lights during the last hook: orange, peach, yellow, white and purple flashed on and off. Jin kept raising his right leg and his smile was cute. 5. Yume no Hana I don’t remember this one. It was a request from the last person to ask a question in the Q&A corner. “A song from THE BACK HORN that Jin-san likes.” 6. Remind Blue Lights: purple and blue with a mirror ball. 7. Solitude From the MV. Jin’s first independent album will be released. He wants the album to be like a picture book of short stories that will make us think he wants to create a new self separated from Kagerou. 8. Mermaid Lights: blue, green. A song from the album. It depicts a honeymoon. A song about boarding a plane alone. Jin: It’s a sad song, isn’t it? 9. FREAKS Lights: white, red. Lights during the last hook: peach, white, green, orange and red flashed on and off. Once upon a time, there was a clumsy monster. The song is about him, who entretains the crowd in a circus group today as well. Jin-san was lifting his right leg in this one. It was the one I liked the most, super emo. Parts of the song that I was able to catch: “I cried out of emptiness” (from the hook) “They laughed at me, who couldn’t become anything” (from the first part)

@shiunteen

I was overwhelmed by “FREAKS” and how its lyrics tear your body apart when you catch on Jin’s full-throttle melody and some other bits; the tears poured out of my eyes with pitter-pattering. Even though I don’t know anything about Jin, it left me in tatters, like, “Aah, he has it so hard; he’s suffered so much; must’ve been so painful”, and I saw in it the earnestness of an artist’s story depiction. I wanna listen to it again soon.

@yuzu_cosp

PV of MekaRelo

A funny story (about Jin’s chronically bad health) 🎵 Imaginary Reload

Q&A 🎵 Shissou Word

Q&A 2 🎵 Additional Memory

Break 🎵 Lost Day Hour

Lottery 🎵 [Requested song] Yume no Hana (THE BACK HORN)

Remind Blue Encore

Solitude

Jin’s first solo album will be released! 🎵 Mermaid 🎵 FREAKS

The editor of Mekakucity Talkers, Kuroda-san, was the host this time too.

Jin-san entered the stage with a mask on. “‘Why is that?’ Is what you’re thinking, right?”

He’d fallen into a bad condition at the end of the year. Caught a persistent cold that wouldn’t get better at all, and just when he thought he had finally cured himself from it, it turned into influenza. It got better a week prior to the concert, and when he thought he’d be able to do the live just fine, his molar swelled up two days before. Since his tooth was swollen, he got an edema in his face, and so he put on a mask.

There were cavities doing bad things to the root of his molar. He was told that he had no choice but have the tooth pulled out, but he explained that he had a live concert to do, so he received symptomatic treatment. He got three injections on the spot, in a place that had him going, “You’re gonna inject it there!?” and went home. Next morning (the morning of the day before the concert), he had an incision in addition to the injections, so he was in a lot of pain.

“Loxonin is amazing; it’s the only thing I can rely on.”

“Master, I’ll have the same as always,” he said as if to make his order → Jin-san and Kuroda-san’s drinks were soon delivered to the stage. One of the songs was the theme of the drinks...

🎵 Imaginary Reload

(On the tooth) “Thanks to the Loxonin, I’m not feeling pain, but it’s hard to move my mouth. Like, ‘it won’t go any farther than this point’.”

(Regarding Kuroda-san’s question of, “How’s the Imaginary Reload drink?”) “It’s carbonated, and I can’t be having carbonated drinks. Also, I had an incision yesterday, so all the more...”

Q&A Corner ①

Q.: Where do Hiyori and Hibiya live? A.: This would become a matter of “where is the setting of KagePro?”. There are models for it. I was indecisive as to whether I should reveal the actual place or not. In the series, it gets messed up (by terrorists and the like), so we’d decided not to announce it for the time being. As for the model of where the two live, it’s based on a village from somewhere in Hiroo Town, in the Tokachi District of Hokkaidou (where Jin-san himself used to live in the past). If you go there, you’ll figure that it’s a place where perverts are born (because it’s too full of nothing).

Q.: What’s Tsukihiko’s eye color? A.: Ah, I’m also curious about that (lol). The eye colors are important, so they’re all decided, but I told Sidu-san that “Tsukihiko is a normal human being”. Sidu-san also thinks lots of things out, like, “Won’t it be passed down to his daughter and granddaughter?”. In the Kisaragi family, too, there’s the setting that the father has orange hair and Shintarou takes after him, and the mother has black hair and Momo takes after her.

The comics would be over soon. They were going to end, but will continue.

This time, they’re following the track order of the album...

🎵 Shissou Word Right before the second hook, Jin-san ate the lyrics by the middle. He started singing again as if nothing had happened.

Q&A Corner ②

Q.: What kind of “story that -- the eyes” are Daze, Days and RED? A.: Daze and Days were made to be the theme songs of the anime from the very beginning, so I haven’t decided on that. If I were to give a subtitle to RED, it would be “the story that changes one’s eye color”. It’s a song about how two friends, one who likes to play around and one who is the studious type (memory is faint here), become self-conscious of the fact that the other has grown up. That “their eyes have been dyed into a color that they had never seen before”.

Q.: Please tell us about what you hesitated to say regarding Shintarou in the previous Q&A... A.: Ah, it’s the topic that will come up in this month’s Gene. Shintarou is the protagonist, but I didn’t get to delve into him, and there are more depictions of other people’s viewpoints than of his. Shintarou will be in the continuation of the series and will be a school teacher. Since marriages between characters and things like that are esteemed, I’ll write the continuation story, but this will be in a parallel what-if world. The next protagonist and abilities have been decided too. There are also new characters, characters that remained the way they are and characters that have grown up. It might not happen just in Japan. I wanna hurry and write.

Q.: How did you come up with Benisake-chan? (T/N: For those who don’t remember, that’s the name of the salmon mascot that Momo likes.) A.: I’ve always liked trout salmon ever since my days in Hokkaidou. I couldn’t eat it after coming to the Kantou Region because it’s expensive here, so I had it delivered from my family’s home and when I ate it for the first in a long while, I noticed that it makes you stinky even if you only touch it a little bit, so I was like, “This is it!!” and made her up. Sanrio’s Kirimi-chan was invented immediately after that, and it made me go, “Hey, hey...”. She was cuter and had me like, “This is how a mascot character is supposed to be”, ww.

Q.: What do you create first, tune, lyrics or melody? A.: I started using VOCALOIDs after the band I was in broke up, and when I thought of “doing what I wanted to do”, I considered creating a story through albums and started KagePro. I’d decided from the beginning that the story would include phrases that go “a story that ○○ the eyes”. KagePro was the first thing I made in which I created songs from world-building. Sometimes, songs come out of phrases like “Oh, my dirty!”. And the phrases come from requested themes.

🎵 Additional Memory

(10-minute break)

The song that Jin-san was happy to write out of the ones from this album... 🎵 Lost Day Hour

Lottery (prizes below)

A picture with Jin

A Jin can badge set

A special (signed) ticket holder and two bookmarks of the study books series

Mekakucity Talkers (signed)

A poster of MekaRelo (signed)

A secret present (which would be mailed at a later date, since Jin-san couldn’t look for it in his house due to his poor health condition)

The right to request a song

The request → a song from THE BACK HORN that Jin-san likes.

🎵 Yume no Hana (THE BACK HORN)

“This is the last one...” he said, and a video played after he was done, but then he was like, “I’ll come up and play one more song w” (swinging his body forward).

🎵 Remind Blue

Jin-san leaves the stage. The PV of Solidute plays. At the end of the PV, the confirmation that Jin-san’s first solo album will hit the shelves is announced.

Jin-san reappears on stage. “I’ll release a full album,” he says. He composed Solitude about four years ago and sang it at CDJ before.

“They’re songs I made because I wanted. I’m looking forward to this the most.”

🎵 Mermaid (a song about someone boarding a plane all alone on their honeymoon)

When he only played the songs he was asked to play, it was like, “Lie low.”

🎵 FREAKS

“I’ll do other concerts so please come again!” With this one sentence, it was over.

@BlueD01

On the topic of Jin-san’s tooth: “My mother always told me to brush my teeth so I always brushed it... How did it turn out like this...? It’s like it comes from the side of the tooth...” *proceeds to explain the proggression of the cavities*

Q.: Jin-san, when you’re create a song, do you give them to a character after making the song? Or do you come up with a character and make a song for them? A.: I formed a band in high school in the past and we used to be active, but though I’d wanted to continue on the band, the others wound up turning into “adults”. From there, I was recommended to use VOCALOIDs, but I could only make incomplete songs, like, the type of song that you play a little bit and just two people in the audience go, “wa~h” at it. Back then, the common usage of “eyes” caught my attention, like, “people become idols when they draw in the eyes of others”. So I started making KagePro. Also, I’d wanted to make idol-like songs. And that is connected to the following topic. I wanted to write a story of growth. Just like Hoshi wo Tsunagete from Kemono Friends, you can make stuff that goes, “this character is like that~”. It varies with each song.

So, Jin-san wanted to create idol-like songs. Also, Kisaragi Attention (he didn’t state this but most it likely) is a song with the theme “it doesn’t matter if one’s own nature (their sense?) doesn’t match them, as long as a third party accepts it”, and it seems it turned into an idol song from this.

Jin-san: *sees the lottery poster* I want that poster... The host: Do you not have it? Jin-san: I don’t. I might’ve given it to my mother.

(After the lottery) Jin-san: I’d wanted to bring it over from my house, but lots of things happened... I’ll mail the big deal on a later date. After the concert ends, please... talk to the staff member over there. We won’t do anything bad with your personal information. *laughs*

@bonus_time34

During the introduction of the colaboration drinks: “We did this in Oosaka last time, and we prepared the same stuff for Tokyo.” He called the drink a “soup”. “This soup has a nice color, huh~. Master, I’ll have the usual (lol).” A red “soup” came straight from the back. “It’s almost as if it was already prepared, lol.” The host joked as it was brought to him, “You’re getting VIP treatment, huh (lol).”

First half of the question and answers corner. “Think of a question with my songs as the BGM (lol).”

“Jin-san is in a period where he uses ‘I really like you’ in his songs a lot (lol)!”

“Now comes the song by your beloved uncle for your other beloved uncle: Additional Memory.”

Jin-san waving his hand as he retreated into the waiting room looked so happy and cute that everyone waved back. I wound up lost as to whether I should applaud or wave.

“How was the album?” “It was the be~st!” some people raised their voices. “I listen to it a lot too. But I don’t cry. I did cry when taking the injections, though (lol).”

“I’m glad I was able to compose this one: Lost Day Hour.” The prolongation of his voice during the hook was wonderful. The high-pitch parts were beautiful. “This song is about the character called Kokonose Haruka.” (My memory of this talk is faint.)

To explain the rules of the lottery: anyone who made an additional order would get a lottery ticket. “(The special present) Could be a signed truck tire (lol) or a signed light-motor vehicle with an expired license (lol). Something that would be a pain in the ass (lol, lol).”

Here, he talked about brushing his molars. “‘How do you brush your molars?’ The dentist’s face looked like a lightning had fallen in front of him.”

The request of the lottery winner was for Jin’s favorite song by THE BACK HORN. “I’m indecisive about this one (lol)! Seriously?! Okay, then!” He played Yume no Hana. He was excited and seemed to be having fun. To the person who made the request, thank you... “I didn’t think I’d get to play THE BACK HORN. It was the best.”

Then, we had the last song... or so he said. “Though I say this is the last one, we will play a video, and I’ll come back after the applause, so I might play something once more (lol),” he stated. “Let’s see each other again somewhere else. This has been Jin. Thank you. Here’s Remind Blue.” The arrange of the second part was amazing. The hook of that part... was great...

The animation of Solitude was cool but the lyrics were good too... Below are a sketch I made of the girl from the video while watching it, as well as a drawing I made of her relying on my memory.

“I played this at COUNTDOWN JAPAN. Is there anyone who listened to it?” About ten people raised their hands. “So there is~. I had thought something along the lines of, ‘let’s do this (solo album)’ after releasing the second album. I was asked things like, ‘Won’t you make that into a CD?’ by the people who listened to Solitude. I’m the one looking forward to it (the release of the solo album) the most.”

He introduced a new song from that album, Mermaid. “Weren’t your titles always supposed to be written in kanji and katakana!? What happened (lol)!?” “Nothing happened (lol).”

“Until I started using VOCALOIDs, my songs felt like holding a concert for only two people while going, ‘It’s destruction~! I’ll tear up your eardrums~!’ (lol)” “It’s been about eight years since last time I made something just because I wanted to compose and listen to it. I wanna make stuff that I feel like conveying.” It seems he composed it based on that. Unlike KagePro, this album will be like a “collection of short stories”.

Mermaid was a song about a honeymoon. The high-pitched hook was melancholic. Jin-san also said this, but it was like a fairy tale.

When he was making songs on request or KagePro songs: “It was like, ‘Even if you have a scenario in your head, lie low’.” He managed to put the things that crossed his mind into songs. He did it...

(A little before another song.) “Can I do it? It’s okay, isn’t it (lol)?” “I’m happy to release (the song) in this occasion (talk live concert).”

The thrilling melody of FREAKS is damn great. It’s a song that gives you courage.

This one was really the last song, so Jin concluded it with his farewells. “I’m thinking of playing many other new songs.” So he’ll do concerts again...? Ambiguous...

After this, there was an announcement, and an autograph session of sold goods and sets.

From the time I got Jin-san’s autograph: when I said, “I like Kisaragi Momo-chan! Thank you very much for always!” he replied, “She sure is popular, huh~”, so I think there were probably about two more people before me who showed the appeal of a Momo fan.

It was a really fun talk-and-play show and I wasn’t able to cool down my excitement. I wanna go again...

@mine1_Hedgehog

Yuukei Roadshow in Tokyo Memo

(About his tooth.) His face was swollen, so he came wearing a mask, but even after his cavities healed a little, instead of going “wah~”, he ended up feeling dejected. “It was like, ‘Did I put on weight?’”

This time, the host ordered a drink that was named after one of the album’s songs! “That’s right; if you pay for it, you get a drink.” He thought it had a good color and was happy to receive it. “Then, Jin-san, you order yours too,” he was prompted. “Master, give me the usual soup.” → “Oka~y.” And so, a red drink came to him as if it had been waiting for a cue. It was an Imaginary Reload one.

The first track was Imaginary Reload. The lights were green. I got emo when listening to that yapping electrict guitar song being played with an acoustic guitar... He’s good with the guitar...

Once it was over, the host was like, “It was a cool song with a dashing sense to it, huh?” and Jin-san interjected, “That’s right.”

When he was asked why he wasn’t having his drink, he said, “I can’t drink anything carbonated right now (because of his molar).” “Don’t cry~” Why did he choose that, then? “Carbonated drinks seriously sting. They make me feel awake.” “It’s literally an ‘imaginary reload’.” “It smelled of blood.” Seriously, why did he choose that?

Here we had the first questions and answers corner. *Looks at the letters displayed on-screen* “This is like a detective drama!” “You can ask about anything, even if it’s not KagePro-related! It can be about secrets regarding Jin’s birth and things like that too!” [roar of laughter] “It’ll finally be revealed...!”

Shintarou’s mother is set to be originally from Hokkaidou. Speaking of which, Momo-chan had mentioned this.

HibiHiyo’s village is based off the village where Jin-san used to live in the past. It’s linked to a town, but the place is actually a weird gathering of villages that you could hardly call a town. There’s seriously nothing there at all. “You’d understand if you saw it, but it’s a place where perverts are born. You have nothing to do there except be delusional.”

(On the topic of Tsukihiko’s eye color.) Sidu-san is in a zone unknown to Jin-san regarding this. In volume 4, his eyes “don’t open because he’s laughing”, but in the manga, he indeed has them closed at all times, www. Jin-san said he had normal eye color, but Sidu-san’s “normal eyes” are wicked, so we can’t know for sure.

There was a lottery after this. The rule was that people would win based solely on the amount of food they got. “You don’t have to spend too much money. That’s not the kind of game it is.”

*drinking his beverage* “Is there anyone here who was also in Oosaka? [lots of hands go up] “I love you...” [roaring laughter]

Second track was Shissou Word. He trailed off at the first verse of the second half like, “wata(shi wa)...” and then resumed after three seconds as if nothing had happened. I forgot why, but he said “I love you~” again afterward.

I think Shintarou is a smart, lovable and good person, but Jin-san sees him as mysterious. He doesn’t know very well how much of what Shintarou says is the truth.

Jin-san was shocked that Vegeta and Bulma from DB got married. “That yankee and Bulma...” It seems he thought he was gonna die.

Everyone thinks that so and so are in a romantic relationship and will definitely get married! Jin just hasn’t written that yet! Even though this kind of thing goes on (in fandom), he can’t bear to see these sprouts of hope get plucked. That’s why the future story that he’ll write next will be like a parallel/what-if thing, and won’t become the future of the normal route. There’s no definite answer to the things Jin writes.

The next protagonist is already decided. The new characters too. It might also happen in places other than Japan. For Mekakushi-dan, there’ll be those who will appear just like they were before and those who will appear grown-up. I think it’ll be a good story.

@natunyudo

Jin-san: How was the live? Me: It was great! I also went to the one in Oosaka, but it was so good that I also came to this one in Tokyo... Jin-san: Thank you very much. How were the new songs? Me: They were good! Jin-san: Which one did you like most? Me: Ah... Mermaid! I was touched...! Jin-san: I’ll do my best in the other new songs! I’ll also make even better albums than this one (MekaRelo)! Me: I’m looking forward to them! I’ll buy them for sure! Ah, also, this... *hands over a letter* Jin-san: Wah~, thank you so much! *stares at the letter fixately* There’s a musical note written here~🎵 *sees my name written at the back* Thank you very much, [my name]-san. Me: ......!!? (He called my name...!!???) Jin-san: I’ll also do my best to fix my cavities! Me: Ah... please do your best! I’ll be cheering for you!

@nozunozu0815

Me: Thanks for having me win the lottery! Jin-san: Ah, it was you?! We also met in Oosaka, didn’t we?! This time, unlike back in Oosaka, we obsessed with the CD order for the songs so it was different, right? Did you have fun? Me: There was Imaginary Reload and it was really the best! Speaking of which, that person who’s been an Asahiner for seven years came today too, but there was no My Funny Weekend. 😇 Jin-san: Ah, that’s true. You noticed it. You see, I can’t open my mouth to sing My Funny Weekend. 😇 That one has really high notes~, honestly~. Me: Indeed. Since your mouth is swollen, it might be difficult. 😇 But getting to listen to new songs was also the best! (He finishes writing the autograph)... If it’s okay with you, can we shake hands? Jin-san: That’s fine! Thank you for coming today! I intend to do this again somewhere else, so please do come listen~! Me: Thank you very much too! I’ll definitely go! And I’ll definitely not wash these hands anymore! Jin-san: Please stop that, ww. Please wash them, ww. Seriously... you’ll get influenza, ww.

We had a conversation like that. 😇

[polandspringz]

📝📕💔👖🙋

First off, thank you so much for this ask! I love Kagepro and since August 15th is tomorrow I gotta kick that celebration off early. 

📝 favorite lyric/s:

I’m currently torn between “Lost Time Memory” (cause I’m basic) and “Remind Blue”’s lyrics. From “Lost Time Memory”, I’ll be citing Jubyphonic’s translation since it’s a little clearer:

Cry to god, a boy, no stronger

And in those days he stood, no falter

A summer smile I won’t remember

No, it stays the same forever

And as for “Remind Blue”, this is Will Stetson’s take on the final chorus:

The darkened haze, your laughing face, and now the time you leave me 

Repeat again, and start to blend, and fade into my memory 

Yet as we grow, of this I know, no matter where we go 

There is one thing that stays the same, because your smile still remains

Jin is not doubt a master musician, to the point that even his old songs still surprise me. I was listening to Jinzou Enemy again yesterday and just noticed how similar the build ups of the final verses before the chorus are, and almost cried by how overwhelmed I was. It was even really a leitmotif, it’s just his style and the way he is able to get emotion even through a Vocaloid as he has them desperately speed up before they deliver the solid message of the chorus. These lyrics too, I’ve always found them to the be the ones that get the most core part of Shintarou’s character, and the Kagerou Project’s story through. If I had to pick a third option to though, it would be something near the end of Ayano’s Theory of Happiness.

📕 favorite retelling of Azami’s story:

Surprisingly, I felt like MCA did a great job showing Azami’s story. Maybe it was a little rushed when we got to the episode actually dedicated to her and Shion, but it was a very clear depiction. I loved the paper cutout/stained glass art they used for each episode ending dedicated to her wandering the world. As much as the manga and novels were more indepth about her creation and such, it was a nice touch the story book feel of the animation.

💔 3 things you hate about it:  

Kagerou Project and groundhog day stories in general have a very interesting premise. You can repeat a story multiple times and explore new routes and character motivations and still have them start over again and do it again. You never really have to let the story “end”, really. The cool thing about Kagerou Project, and one of the things about it that inspired me in my own writing from it, was how it essentially used the time loop to do a video game style “bad end”, “good end”, and “true end” in literature and animation. However, I think Jin truly didn’t know when to stop with this. I liked the fact that each medium of the story conveyed a different route, but it left things messy, especially in the manga’s case, and a lot of the time it felt like we still never got the whole picture. I know the songs are the backbone and the plot outline/story beats and the novels are the end all be all, but the manga bugged me because while it gave us two very interesting bad ends, it still feels like we didn’t get the victory we deserved. Across all the mediums, I feel like Jin and the production team (because I don’t blame Jin solely for the issues MCA had) I felt like we should have seen more routes, or at least maybe the same core routes with a few changes. Like how “in a day’s” has Konoha involved in the hostage situation, that’s just brushed over in the manga, I think the series would be more enjoyable if one of the more visual mediums had done multiple runthroughs and went into depth about Route XX, the bad end, and eventually all ending with Summertime Record’s truth.

Secondly, the anime is a hot mess. We all knew that, and even though it made me cry because I loved seeing the culmination of Jin’s work, I really disliked it. Similarly to above, I wish it had at least 2 cours so we could have explored the routes more. I liked that we started the series with Ayano talking to Shintarou in the Daze, but when adapting Kagepro, I think starting more in medias res (say show quick flashes of Outer Science?) would work better and help draw the audience in. Establish early on that something bad is coming, time is looping, something. The third thing I really hate is that the anime just sort of threw the songs in there instead of taking the time to tell the story. It was a nice touch, but making a bunch of glorified music videos took away from the story and the plot development, and we already had good music videos already. In Lost Time Memory, hell, they reused clips from the original PV and the manga in the credits. And with the way Ayano’s Theory of Happiness worked out, even in the blu-ray version, I just felt like it was cringey. 

👖 if you had to wear one character’s clothes for a month, who would you pick:

Momo, specifically, her idol outfit. I’ve already made it for a cosplay once and love big dresses and being flashy, so why not?

🙋 if you could meet 3 kagepro characters who would you pick and what would you do together:

This is hard but, probably Shintarou, Hibiya, and Konoha. I really want to give the whole cast a hug and just comfort them after what they went through, but in the case of Konoha, the moment he turned into Kuroha I would not hesitate and destroy him before he could touch the Dan.

[jyuhachi1994]

KIRAMUNE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2019 -10TH ANNIVERSARY- EXPERIENCED REPORT! Part 2

Before I continue, here is the picture of how the stage was set up

「Orange - all stage, black- arena seats, blue - big moving stage, red - small moving stage」

(SOURCE: https://twitter.com/kiramune_fan/status/1122766162968793088?s=19) 

Anyways, I bought my ticket for Day 1 from a friend in Instagram, and she got A Stand in 3rd Base side. They started letting us in at 12 in the afternoon, and it was unexpectedly fast. When we entered the Dome, they were playing MVs, and yes, MVs from 2009! Feels! Watching their MVs on a big screen! I also couldn't contain my excitement since they were showing PVs of their recent released albums and will be releasing, and guess what, they showed VERSUS!!!!! Namidai, Yocchin, and Kakki were so cool! It was a short PV, like 10 seconds? Or 15? But the hype was there! When there were lots of people inside, you could really hear the cheering!

Okay, so I wrote everything I could remember from Day 1! Honestly, I couldn't remember much since Day 2 really had a big impact to me! And yes, Day 1 was really different from Day 2!! I cried lots during Day 1!

We headed to our seat, and actually at first we sat at the wrong row. We thought our seats were at the very top of A Stand, but turned out much closer to the stage! I mean, to the small side stage! I also had a chance to meet with my friend from Twitter, who is from Singapore!

[A-chan, N-chan, and me! When we were still sitting at the top of A stand, we were even getting excited that what if they used cart and go around?! We would be able to see them (well it didn't happen, and we moved closer to the stage]

[International Fans! From Singapore and Canada! Their seat was really close to the stage hahaha!]

~

Five minutes before 3:00 PM, we thought they would start the Reminders for Rules and Regulations, but nah, they played one more MV, and it was Namidai's. After his MV, black screen then Ever Dream played, and after the 2nd chorus, the Rules and Regulations were showed, courtesy by chibi Kiramune Members. And after that, they played Ever Dream again, then finally it's show time!

The intro video really made me cry! Hahahaha! They were all clips from 2009! And the member introduction started with the latest members SparQlew, Yocchin, Trignal, Nobu, Kakki, Namidai, Hiroshi, Miyu, and then special guest! CONNECT! Seriously the cheer was really loud!!

I had no idea what colour should I choose next. I had three, so one of them was Purple for Hiroshi's, but the other two, I kept on changing them.

Then, first song was Bokura no Egaku Mirai, gosh! I stayed with purple, red and white for my blades {Hiroshi, Miyu/Ryouhei, Nobu}. Their entrance was so grand! (Here's a correction here, sorry, I just remembered their entrance, the stage split into half was when CONNECT entered, their entrance was the big moving stage lifted up along with the members, and they moved towards the end stage.) They were all wearing a very flashy clothes of blue, with mostly blue and I think there were shapes on it and the colour of each members were there!

SparQlew's got a part for Bokura no Egaku Mirai, on the first chorus, they got the KAmiYU's part, it was really divided into five of them. And the second chorus, they got the Uncle Bomb part.

Things really get wild on the next one! It's their special medley! The first one was Miyu, and he sang "doko ma demo", and I would be honest, I couldn't concentrate to where should I look, since they just spread! And all I could remember were SparQlew went to the main stage, and the others spread at the long centre stage. So I just searched for Kamiya-san, and he was smiling so bright coming towards to our side! Me and my two friends just lost it, since the three of us Like Kamiya-san! It was special song medley, after Miyu, Hiroshi sang "shirikagiri" at the very end of the middle long stage, yes near us, and I was shouting again!! And sorry, but my eyes just followed him, but when he went to the other side, my eyes just went towards SparQlew members, ChibaSho and Hozumin went down the stage, and made all the fans on our side went crazy. The other three were on the other side. Since yes they went to the smalllll side stage, I could clearly, clearly saw their faces! I am into SparQlew, especially Hozumin! So I really got excited seeing him there!

Lol! Anyways, after Hiroshi, the order was on how they entered Kiramune. Namidai sang UTAO, Kakki sang Endless journey, Nobu sang Hello, Ms. Sunshine, Trignal sang Gentei Kaigi Ready Set Go!, Yocchin sang Wasshoi, and SparQlew sang Hajimari no Sora.

After SparQlew, Miyu finally introduced our nii-sans! The return of CONNECT and the whole dome went wild! The first song was Say Hello! And I was shouting on top of my lung with "Hello! Hello!" While crying! Too much feels when they showed up on top of the small moving stage. The other members were still there, and the dome was really hype-up! CONNECT stayed at the moving stage, and by the end of Say Hello, the members gathered around the small moving stage at the centre of the middle long stage. After Say Hello, CONNECT's next song was cone sen followed by Pride reamer!

After CONNECT, the order of the performers were on how they entered Kiramune. So from CONNECT up to SparQlew.

Again, I would just write all I could remember. And all of them except SparQlew sang 3 songs, and Miyu had a medley song, and the songs were from his early albums.

There was a video playing behind Miyu, his early performance of エール in Kirafes. I couldn't help but cry again, since it was his debut song, and first Kirafes performance. After that, he had a song medley, five songs from his early albums.

Hiroshi also sang 3 songs from his early albums, it was really nostalgic! My tears really didn't want to stop! The butterflies at the background were so beautiful!（笑）

Namidai sang Yellow Man from his new single release, and my tears just stopped, yes, literally stopped! So Namidai started from the end of the middle long runway stage, and at the very main stage there was a tall yellow ranger came out, and he danced 'gui gui (do it)' the dance step from Yocchin's song, idk if you watched the Kirafes2015 one, the encore part. Because of that Namidai asked him "aren't you Egu?!" Though he denied, we all knew who it was. I think Yellow ranger was there for only 15 seconds.

Kakki was up next, and we were looking for him, we could hear his voice, but nowhere to be found, but then on the other side of the dome, people start cheering. He was on a big cart! A cart with Kiramune logo star on it! オシャレ!

Next was Nobu! Oh, I could remember very well when he sang Sai Saikou, he used both the small stages on each side. I couldn't help but fangirl too much since I could clearly see Nobu's face while singing Sai Saikou! I really love this song! He sang it with KAmiYU last Kirafes, then he sang it this year again, and I was able to see it closer! 

I apologize for Yocchin but during his part, I went to the washroom! But I could hear his voice, and there was fireworks. I returned exactly at the end of his 3rd song. He was playing guitar for Dramatic Surf Coaster!!!!!! Actually, I regret missing this part!!!

Trignal was up next, and I never thought that they would sing Message From Live first! My memory here was a bit hazy. Because their entrance on 2nd day had a big impact, I couldn't remember at all! But I could remember that they were on cart, not the same with Kakki, but the usual small ones.

SparQlew was next, and they performed two songs from their new album, Bokutachi no Horizon and Abracadabra! They were so cute! So cute! The dance step levelled up! To why I said that, I apologize but when I watched KF2018 Bluray, you could still see that they weren’t in synch still, but this year, man they nailed it!

After SparQlew, it was talk corner. First day, SparQlew with CONNECT, Miyu, and Kakki. I would try to remember what they talked about here. But, they talked about the weather. They were somehow blaming Iwata-san since he is an Ame-otoko, but thankful since Suzu-san was there, and he is hare-otoko. There was one time that it became so bright on our part, and they were worried on the other side since we could feel the warm, but the other side was freezing. I could remember they were saying how CONNECT were really ojiisan since SparQlew members were with them. I couldn't remember if it was during the MC talk, but they talked about SparQlew's hair. Since Hozumin, ChibaSho and Takuto had their hairs dyed, and they didn't want their hairs to be the same. Also, they talked about their Kirafes experienced, since last year they were only guests, and their real first Kirafes was in MetLife Dome. Also, Kakki and Takuto already had planned to have a drink once Takuto become 20 years old! Also Miyu pronounced SparQlew with perfect English!

~Second Half and Encore~

[karama9]

ML Sugar and commentary: Animaestro

So it turns out I still don’t have the kind of follow-through ability required to do one of these for every episode of season 2, even though they do all deserve it, but I wanted to quickly go through Animaestro... for pretty much the same reason this started in the first place: thanks to people tagging their salt (much appreciated btw), I can void most of it, but nobody can be expected to remember all the time, and I don’t have the tag blocked on twitter, so I still stumble upon some of it.

Which means I want to re-establish some balance!

So, right from the first scene, we get two big treats: the PV is now an actual movie in the ML verse, and we got a great Ladynoir/Marichat (it’s Marinette but she’s kind of reacting as Ladybug) moment: Marinette reacted to the movie title having Cat Noir’s name before hers, and to the idea that Ladybug couldn’t do anything without Cat Noir, and to the idea that she was afraid of cats... by protesting she was not afraid of cats.

Cat Noir gets first billing? No problem there, they’re a team, he’s just as important as she is so it doesn’t matter either way. Pushing it to saying she can’t do anything without him? No problem either. She does need him. This whole scene shows how highly she’s come to think of him and I love it. Master Fu has been clear that he sees her as the leader and he relies on her more, she knows she’s the one who purifies the akumas, she knows she’s the one who’s picked allies so far. But it doesn’t detract from the fact she sees Cat as an equal and an essential ally. She’s not just saying that when he asks her whether he can be replaced, she means it from the bottom of her heart and this one little line in this one little scene proves it.

(On a lighter note, is her supposed fear of cats going to be a joke when she uses the mouse miraculous?)

Kagami scaring away Chloe was very cathartic. I really like Kagami as a character... she’d be too overbearing for me to enjoy her company in real life, but she’s a wonderful example of strength and confidence. And I really want to know what her Mom and Gabriel are up to! 

Adrien being a perfect little gentleman but being nervous enough to not think of just brushing the crumbs off the chair was touching. I don’t think it’s out of feelings for Kagami... it’s about expectations. Must. Be. Perfect. Eep! Dirty Chair! No, no, not acceptable! Adrien.exe has stopped working.

And speaking of dirty chair... how do we all feel about Marinette teaming up with Chloe to, basically, attempt to embarrass Kagami and drive Adrien away from her? I’ve seen some salt (as I mentioned above) and I know many fans feels like the girls are being made to act petty more than the guys and that it’s not cool.

I disagree. Yes, Marinette and Chloe are misbehaving here. Yes, it was a bad idea. And yes, it was out of the fear of losing Adrien, so, over a love interest. The part I disagree with is the idea that the show keeps showing girls being mean to each other over crushes while all the guys are cool as cucumbers and do not act out because they’re in love.

The main villain is terrorizing Paris and willing to hurt as many people as it takes to get his love back. Andre Bourgeois does whatever it takes to secure the love of his wife and daughter. Cat Noir lies about his relationship with Ladybug to chase away a potential rival. Theo gets akumatized because he’s jealous. Nino chooses to stay with Alya in Zombizou rather than continue to try and help Ladybug solve the crisis. Ivan’s insecurities over his crush for Mylene led to StoneHeart. Kim decided that if he couldn’t have Chloe, nobody could have love.

It’s all romantic, and of course I don’t think Ivan, Kim or Nino are bad people, I most certainly don’t, but it’s all guys putting their love above everyone else’s interest. A lot of it is a big step above pranking your rival.

It’s also a theme. The show is all about emotions potentially leading to bad actions, and over and over again, we see that even love can be the catalyst. Did I mention the MAIN VILLAIN is acting out of love? And it’s not excused. It’s just a fact. That’s his motivation, and he chose to allow it to make him Hawkmoth and he chooses to hurt people for it.

Remember Star Wars? The Jedi are supposed to deny themselves romantic entanglement because love leads to fear, and fear leads to hate, and hate leads to the dark side? This is literally what’s happening in this show. Repeatedly. I’m not saying Thomas is taking inspiration from Star Wars, they’re both just drawing from the same idea that strong emotions can impair judgement and can also induce selfishness. It’s human nature. 

And Marinette is not immune. Never has been. She’s been irrational about Adrien since day 1. Her and her friends pranked Gorilla to try and get a date, and also caused trouble for Roger by getting him involved. And this time, the stakes were artificially inflated because Marinette didn’t act out of fear Adrien might get closer to Kagami or just out of the desire to get closer to him - thanks to her famously overactive imagination and Chloe feeding into it, she convinced herself she might lose Adrien forever through his moving away. 

Love led to fear, which led to desperate actions. 

Now I actually like that this happened, because in the long run, when Marinette finds out what Hawkmoth is after, it’s going to hit very close to home. She’ll relate. She knows what it’s like to love someone so much that being with them suddenly justifies things nothing else would. She’ll either be conflicted on whether or not he’s all that bad after all, or she’ll realize she sinned too and learn to control her own emotions better. Quite possibly both.

And it’s not just the girls being like that. The guys are too and much more dramatically. So I don’t feel like it’s the girls being badly written. They’re written realistically, with love making them lose sight of the bigger picture. 

So between the fun moments, the awesome akuma (seriously, how cool were those 2D transformations and references?? Very cool, that’s how cool), and Marinette struggling with her heart and getting not akumatized but led astray by her emotions and fears, I really enjoyed this episode.

And if someone tells you Marinette is written as doing bad things because she’s a girl and that it’s sexist writing, please remember that Gabriel Agreste, a man, is not putting cakes on chairs: he’s turning people into monsters and letting them try and destroy the city and hurt and/or kill people. With the hope that Ladybug will NOT be able to stop them, so it’s not like he knows it will all be reversed anyway. And if you need a non super villain example, Mayor Bourgeois is constantly committing injustice out of love for his family. He’s also a man. Both act much worse than Marinette ever did and they don’t have the excuse of still being a kid who also happens to live under more stress than average.

[lycorogue]

So I FINALLY watched Oblivio... and I have thoughts....

First of all.... just... EEEEEEEEEEEE! I mean, I know that the whole episode was basically voided out by the end because of the Miraculous Ladybugs, but still.... EEEEEEEE

Also... this ended up getting pretty long, and I don’t like flooding people’s dashes with long posts if I can help it. The TL;DR version is that I love the caliber of writing used in this episode, and I hope the writers keep up with this standard. Yes, people may be salty because it’s a tease, and the events basically null out at the end, and the reason for Oblivio to be akumatized is kind of lame, especially considering it’s DJWifi, but all-in-all, this was by far one of my favorite episodes of the series.

For all of my thoughts and reasons why I loved this episode, check below the break.

Marinette is so badass in this episode, and I love how much it showcases her strategic mind. Adrien was determined to kill me before the episode was through. Plagg is a bit of a self-centered coward, but he’s also further proving why he’s my favorite. Tikki has some of the most agency showcased all series. DJWifi is terrifyingly adorable. The comradery of the class is so heart-warming. Finally, amnesia episodes are fun “what if” scenarios if done well, and I think this one was.

“Looks like you and I were at the same costume party.” “We must shop at the same jewelry store!” Adrien, sweety, honey, darling, you are just too precious! XD

Marinette again calling Tikki a “bug mouse” and Adrien again calling Plagg a “genie” was beautiful! <3 I love the call-back! I also love how Marinette again cowered with a very “WTF” mindset, while Adrien once more cupped Plagg in his hands; perfectly calm and excited to see the kwamis. <3 <3 <3

So, I get it that the “phone -> turtle” drawing was supposed to mean “Call Fu”, but did anyone else get that it was also a nod to who Oblivio was? Alya being the phone and Nino also being the turtle.

I LOOOOVE the unity of DJWifi, even if it was a joint-akuma. It just shows how in sync they are. Plus, even their banter was equally true regardless of who said it, such as “You remember your BFF, Oblivio, don’t you?” I mean, I know they don’t realize how true that statement is, because they don’t know who LB and CN are, but... still... perfect.

“I’m not convinced this monster is really our best friend.”  XD Adrien... Adrien stop. Please stop. Holy crap, stop! XDDDD

The fact that Adrien, without any memories, is still an instinctive protector... I <3 this kid so much!

Adrien bowing when he “meets” Marinette, and her return curtsy was just too cute. I love these dorks! And I love how we get to see how they would actually be around each other if they just got out of their own way. I mean, that blush when their hands touch as they both try to lock the bathroom stall? Precious. The way Adrien was BEAMING as he complimented Marinette as being “someone who always has the right idea at the right time.” Adorable. How Adrien moved to help Marinette out of the air duct just as she leaps out, and she topples him, and they both jump back in mild embarrassment after snuggling on the floor for a second or two? Magical!

Plagg justifying everything he does around the Camembert! XD He likes to make sure he’s my favorite character, doesn’t he?

Marinette, sweety, how is it NOW is when you come up with the idea of breathing on Adrien’s phone to figure out how to unlock it? Where was that ingenuity back during Copycat? XDDD

Can we talk about the fact that Adrien has his bodyguard listed in his phone as simply “G.” ???? XDDDD Holy crap, you guys! Also... going back to the episode Copycat, we know Adrien had Gabriel listed as “Father” (technically, it was “Pere”)... sooooo, did Adrien downgrade his father? Did he become so disconnected that he changed the listing to “Gabriel Agreste”? Also.... no one else has their last name listed, so why is he using his FATHER’S last name in the listing? To be fair, Marinette doesn’t have her parents listed as “Mom” and “Dad/Papa” either. So maybe they learned to put their parents’ names into their phone in case someone else has to call them during an emergency? I know that’s why my own mother is listed by her name with ICE after it (In Case of Emergency).

While it was strongly implied with episodes like Anansi, I love that this episode confirmed that Adrien and Marinette did indeed exchange phone numbers since Copycat. <3

The call-back to the ML anime PV being a canonical feature-length film about the duo was fantastic, and the fact that Marinette recognized the costumes and was able to piece together instantly that it’s her and Adrien was brilliant! 

The fact that Marinette having a glamour shot of Adrien as her phone backdrop, and Adrien having dozens of pictures of Ladybug in his phone gallery had them believe they’re dating is hilarious! Like, seriously, kiddos! Also.... why didn’t they find it weird that Adrien ONLY had pictures of Ladybug and NOT Marinette? A bit odd if they’re dating, no? (Alternatively, you could argue the same about Marinette not having CN photos, but you could write that off as her not wanting to accidentally reveal that her boyfriend is a superhero...)

“Then we must have told each other everything. I couldn’t hide my identity from the girl I love.” Adrien, you are going to kill me. You are attempting to murder me. Why? WHYYYYYYYY!?!??!?! Also, it’s adorable that you already figured out again that you love her. I mean... <3 <3 <3 Also also.... coming on a BIT strong there, Romeo! You JUST figured out “you’re dating” and you drop the L-word on poor Marinette? If she could remember that moment she would also die.

Just.... just Adrien’s beaming pride that he gets to be around Marinette this whole episode, and all of his soft looks. The kid may lay it on a bit thick, but holy crow, if she didn’t realize her love for him like Adrien did for her, HOW COULD SHE NOT FALL FOR HIM AGAIN DURING THIS EPISODE!? Like, geeeeeeez!

I love how Marinette had her normal “Ladybug Vision” shots to figure out the phone decoy, but the items just didn’t light up in the traditional red and black spots since she was out of costume. Instead, they were gray with pink dots, to match her coat! Beautiful! Brilliant! This further confirms that this is just Marinette being brilliant instead of a side-effect of the super powers. (Yes, she used the “LB Vision” when her powers were nullified in Sandboy, but still... further and definitive proof)

Also... the jackass picture drawn on the post-it note! Savage!

GUYS! ADRIEN HAD “LB Vision” TOO! He had “Adrien Vision”! AND IT WAS AMAZING!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Okay... Adrien’s cardboard box Chat Noir costume!? How friggen precious was that!? And the fact that he EVEN MADE A FRIGGEN TAIL AND BELL!? How extra can this boy be!? If/when I have a child, I hope to god they’re just like Adrien! <3 You precious, over-the-top, nerd of a child! 

Speaking of his cardboard costume.... HOW QUICKLY DID HE THROW THAT COSTUME TOGETHER!? LIKE, WHAT!?!?!?! Granted, no one actually adheres to proper 5-minute countdown timing in this show, considering LB zipped away from the building nearly SEVEN minutes after accidentally triggering her Lucky Charm, and she HAD to have taken at least a minute to run up to the roof in the first place, but still.... HOW THE HELL DID HE COVER HIMSELF IN TAPE, CUT OUT CAT EARS, DRAW ON THE FRIGGEN POCKETS AND CENTER ZIPPER TO DECORATE THE DAMN THING, MAKE A FRIGGEN TAIL AND PAPER-BALL BELL, PUT THE COSTUME ON, AND MAKE IT TO THE ROOF IN TIME TO SAVE LB? That was like... 15 seconds of screen time!

Backtracking to the “Marinette Vision” solution to avoid Oblivio until they figured out how to transform again, how brilliant was Marinette to give Tikki the mug? First of all, she could create that coffee trail, secondly, since Tikki was holding something she’d have to remain tangible while opening the door to the floor below. This, in particular, seemed quite a brilliant move, since Tikki accidentally phased through the elevator doors before. It is quite possible that either (a) Tikki doesn’t remember how to remain solid when pushing against something, (b) Marinette doesn’t realize Tikki can control it, or (c) a happy combination of both. Regardless of WHY Marinette did it, the fact that she trusted that Tikki holding an object would HAVE to keep her tangible, and therefore could press the lever to open the door, was so clever! A+

“Thanks, but I don’t feel like a superhero at all.” “You’ve already proven that you are one, with or without costume.” Adrien, you precious, darling child! <3

THERE ARE FRIGGEN EMERGENCY USERS GUIDES!? LIKE, WHAT!? Okay, that was a bit Deus ex Machina, but it works...

Marinette’s freak-out over the accidental activation of her Lucky Charm was fantastic!

MARINETTE, YOU IDIOT, YOU MISSED HIS LIPS AGAIN! WHAT IS IT WITH YOU KISSING HIS LEFT CHEEK INSTEAD!?!?!?! (Also, how great would it have been if that somehow jogged his memory by reminding him of Mari kissing him at the end of Mayura?)

I LOVE THAT SHE’S HAVING FUN BEING A SUPERHERO THIS TIME! She was so timid and unsure of herself in Origins, it’s fantastic to see this confident girl (thanks in part to Adrien) trying out her powers for “the first time” and having fun with them! 

Plagg being utterly confused as to what’s happening to him as Adrien calls out “Plagg, Claws Out!” is amazing and beautiful and makes me love Plagg even more! Poor dear! <3

Adrien still calling Marinette “M’lady” simply because he was trying to cover up accidentally calling her by her actual name. So great!

“Okay, I’ve got no idea what the Hakuna Matata is, but I trust you.” Adrien! Stooooooop! I’m dying!!!!!!

Guys! Guys! Guys! People can be merged together to create an akumatized villain!!!! I know I touched upon this above when I mentioned how in sync DJWifi were, but this is amazing! I wouldn’t have thought as much, especially since Alya’s twin sisters, arguing over ONE item, were EACH turned into a Sapotis, and they couldn’t have been more unified. Alya’s twin sisters basically have Hive Mind. So the fact that they were EACH a copy of the akumatized supervillain sharing the same akumatized object, and yet DJWifi MERGED.... like... I could write a whole post just talking about THAT!

THE KISSSSSSSSS! THE FRIGGEN LADYNOIR KISS! AND THERE WAS NO “BREAKING A SPELL” ELEMENT, AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. AND THEIR HANDS SLOWLY TIGHTENING AS THEY KISSED; NOT WANTING TO LET GO OF THE OTHER. AND THE KISS WAS LIKE 15 SECONDS LONG! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND WONDERFUL AND THE FACT THAT ALYA IMMORTALIZED IT MADE THIS WHOLE EPISODE WORTH WHILE, AND EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Alya: “Uh, Ladybug? Cat Noir?” CN (unblinking that DJWifi are alone with them on the roof): “Guys! You haven’t seen a supervillain named Oblivio, have you?” Nino: “You’ve defeated it already, dude.” Alya: “Actually, he was... us.” LB & CN (in unison and completely accepting of that fact): “Oh. Okay. Pound it? Pound it!” These dorks!

THE LOOK ON LADYNOIR’S FACES WHEN THEY SAW ALYA’S PICTURE!!!!!! <3 <3 <3

Alya: “Remember when we visited Montparnasse Tower?” Oh.... you mean the tower YOU GUYS ARE STILL VISITING!? Nooooo.... >_> They don’t remember it at all. Thanks, Oblivio.... -_-

Okay, can we talk about the reason DJWifi became Oblivio? Because... WHAT!? First of all, they are on a field trip and decided to sneak off to a walk-in closet to.... play a game on one of their tablets? Seriously? And they were caught just before they kissed.... I mean, I know it’s a children’s show, and we saw a flashback still of them playing the game, but are we SUUUUUURE they weren’t about to play “Seven Minutes in Heaven” in there????? Secondly, Nino says “You guys make fun of us for playing that game, saying it wasn’t our age and all.” But then a bunch of kids in their class confess to either playing it or wanting to start playing it. Including Mylene, who tells them “everyone loves that game.” Sooooooo.... two things here: (1) were they REALLY being made fun of for playing that game like Nino claimed, and (2) why was Gentle Giant Ivan part of the flashback shot of classmates laughing at the discovered couple? He doesn’t seem to be the one to tease and bully, plus his girlfriend likes the game. Since it’s established as a great game for couples because you have to find “the right partner” (and Rose backs this idea up by saying she plays with Juleka), it’s a decent guess that Ivan plays with Mylene. So.... what is going on with Nino’s recollection of what happened???? Third, it doesn’t seem like them to sneak off from the class simply to play a game... again, I’m thinking more was going on there (get on that, other fanfic writers). Finally, they got jointly akumatized because they were embarrassed that their classmates found out they play a “kid’s game”? Really? REALLY!? Nino and Alya were each akumatized for much more devastating reasons originally. Do they really care THAT MUCH!? I call foul on this akumatization, as much as I love the rest of the episode.

Adrien finally showcases more of his EQUAL FOOTING with Marinette (ya know, as a partner; not a sidekick), by leading her to the bathroom in the first place, coming up with them trying to signal for help from an empty office suite, coming up with the plan of creating the diversion so they could sneak out using the emergency stairs, helping LB figure out that her Lucky Charms are just HINTS at how to stop the akuma, and making sure his identity is hidden via his cardboard box costume so Ladybug wasn’t fighting alone. Basically, if he stopped using his time to either try to woo ML or protect her like a shield, he could prove himself as more than just a “sidekick-like” superhero. He could truly be more of a partner. He has potential he hasn’t tapped into, or potential Marinette hasn’t allowed him to utilize due to CN “screwing around” a lot of the time. Heck, even in the footage of them getting hit, he clearly joked about them being a couple again.

Marinette: “I can’t believe it! I. Actually. Kissed. Cat. Noir! How could this have happened?” Tikki: “Who knows? Maybe you still have some things to learn about him.” Tikki, you sly bitch! XD You know full well that CN and Adrien are the same guy! I love you, even when you infuriate me. XDDDD

Adrien moping for all of 3seconds about LB “finally falling in love” with him, only for him to forget the experience, and her forgetting her feelings. Plagg’s mocking about how unlucky he is (because I love snarky Plagg). And finally, Adrien, the silver-lining sunshine boy that he is, noting that he now has hope. If she could fall for him once, she could possibly do so again. These kids are going to kill me.

I love this episode sooooooooo much! We got to see so much potential in this episode. We got hints of so many new factors to this universe. And there is a sort of souvenir of the episode, so it isn’t ENTIRELY for nothing. (I can’t wait for some sort of call-back to that kiss!) For me, a fanfic writer, this episode is GREAT for fodder. I can use it as a reference point of how these two morons would act if they just got over their nerves and acted as a true couple. <3

9/10!

[gocchisama]

Nadeshiko Glass Cannon : Thoughts on Hirate Yurina (平手友梨奈）

Amidst the chaotic world of internet, lot of debates emerge and many arguments clashes. One of them is fan’s talk on Hirate Yurina’s situation. Is she being unprofessional considering her Center status of keyakizaka? Is she a sensitive girl whom we should give some safe space? For someone as complex as her, it’s hard to build a reasoning from twitter, more fited to one liner thoughts. After a long hiatus on this blog (since summer vacation), i will try to express my humble opinion on this topic.

First, let’s get into context. Actually i believe it started during Futari saison, where you could notice a drop of attention (during promotion), but nothing to be worried about. FujiQ concerts, Republic of Keyakizaka were completed in outstanding fashion, with fireworks and water pistols. However, during Zenkoku summer tour, fans noticed another drop in strength, especially in-between concert Tokyo Idol Festival, were Techi was quite low tension. In Sendai concert, she didn’t interact nor even looked at fans once. Anyone could have guessed that Yurina was under pressure in both physical and mental aspect through summer and she would eventually recover. Kaze ni fukaretemo was an upbeat atmosphere with lot of smile, contrasting with the angry toned Fukyouwaon. A song that was supposed to lift a little bit the burden off her. Unfortunately, few  more broadcasted TV performances showed another low tension, depressed center. To the point that many fans pointed out this as clearly unprofessional. Japanese fansite had their biggest article (600 comments) on Techi’s behavior.

“What we thought as punctual exhaustion, leant towards chronic mood swings”

Objectively speaking, it’s hard to deny Hirate’s special status in Keyakizaka. As unmovable center so far, she naturally represents the face of the group, and is scrutinized by fans and regular japanese audience alike. Even though TAKAHIRO sensei makes an effort to give highlights to everyone, choregraphy  still hugely rely on the 0 position. Even if other members do their best to pull their best shot, a weakened Techi will 100% draw attention of the viewer, even unconsciously. This is something fans of other members noticed “we can’t help looking at techi being expressionless” “the contrast between uplifted members and a moody yurina is striking”. Since we agree on the amplified impact of a weak center in performance, we also should take into account management goal. Who are they targeting? Regular audience, like those who watch Kouhaku utagassen at the end of the year. Those potential fans are very sensitive to first impressions of a performance, and won’t bother learning keyaki’s history if performance is not satisfying. Even though some fans would defend her since she’s only 16 and having an insane workload, it is clear we should at least address the issue. The question is, do we let things go through despite fans discontent having their oshimen performance shadowed by techi’s condition, and having potential fans not being impressed by keyaki’s act anymore?

What i believe cause an uproar among fans, is the thin gap between an idol personality/character and the idea of professionalism in the entertainment industry. Idol subculture is suffering from stereotypes (and sometimes, justified) where female members put fake smiles and do quirky gimmicks to please middle-aged male fans. Asking Techi to change her attitude during performance could be seen as not genuine, or even worse, forceful. Such blasphemy considering Keyakizaka are identified as “idols who don’t smile and rebel against adults”. Quite troublesome to argue against “don’t force her to be someone she isn’t”, but is it really what it is about? Following her since the beginning, Techi has showed a wide range of emotion in Keyakizaka. Granted, she is the reserved and shy type, but more than enough i’ve seen her enjoying doing radio, interacting enthusiastically with members during variety shows, being high tension meeting comedians. The PV of Kaze ni fukaretemo showed her being full of smile. Techi absolutely can be in a good mood. So why isn’t she like that during key moments like Single promotion in TV music show? Are we going to risk an average performance in kouhaku utagassen?

“while being rare, Techi shows her kiddy side in private”

To get answers, it’s necessary to process bits of information given here and here in interview and making-of. In the latest rockin’on japan interview (that you can read here), she explains that she always aim at the greatest performance, and that she would go as far as saying “if it’s not that good, i won’t do it”. A perfectionist mindset, that could explain her polarizing performances. An hypothesis would be, because she sees single promotion on TV show as routine, she’s doesn’t put her max in it, while her solo dance with Ken Hirai is seen as challenging, thus her breathtaking performance. Because Keyakitte kakenai is considered as routine shooting, she keeps her profile low, letting others like Oda nana shine. Unlike what has been said before that Techi has multiple persona, she is actually a straightforward person. Meticulous during rehearsal, she let loose during performance, only moving through raw emotions rushing in her mind. In all performance, she is expressing her self. She said that all keyakizaka singles pictured what she felt at the time, especially the fourth single. This is when she felt anger that she could bring her best fukyouwaon performance ever in makuhari. Because she has trouble grasping the style of kaze ni through her emotion, she has yet to best it. 

In short, she shows great professionalism because she wants to transcend the idol status with performance never done before (summer tour last Fukyouwaon was epic) . The drawback, is that she is not enough in control. By letting herself loose, there’s a risk she isn’t able to convey the song spirit according to her very high standard. She is literally a glass cannon, high risk, high reward. It makes sense that her relationship with other members was quite complicated. Because she applies this absurd standard to herself only, like a burden, she couldn’t open her heart easily; because she was afraid to be misunderstood inflicting such negativity (self criticism) to herself. She doesn’t want to put this pressure on members she loves. 

She doesn’t cares about position or popularity (that can be source of tension between the girls). Alone, she always push herself further away. Can you be introverted and straightforward at the same time? Techi proved it was possible.

“Yurina allows Keyakizaka to reach new artistical heights, but she’s also who makes the group vulnerable to worrisome performance”

We can always make assumptions on who she is, to find a culprit, to determine what’s wrong or right. Instead, I want to believe that every stakeholders have a responsability in this. Yurina, who unconsciously don’t compromise, and management who put her in center of songs that doesn’t fit her personality. So far Keyakizaka singles were successes because Yurina found herself in all of the songs. But choosing center need to be primarly determined by who can embodies the song best, and not by blindlessly following a “center pattern”. In my opinion, Techi was viable as a center for Kaze ni, but this time other keyaki members were too, like yuipon or akanen with positive attitude.The benefit would have been to avoid the current unconsistency Techi is having.

Health condition still plays a big part in this; Yurina have been center for so long it must have drained her long term. To change center would not only give her some mental rest to recover, but also give a great opportunity for another member to shine. Keyakizaka fandom is mature enough to see this change, also Zenkoku tour has finished safely, so there’s no obligation to continue with Yurina to build a storyline anymore. Another advice to management is to create a more comfortable environnment in order for Techi to find balance in her lifestyle. Reaching artist level thanks to her unique mindset is one thing, but hurting herself (not stopping even though she’s exhausted) is a mistake as well. It’s totally plausible that because she doesn’t want to disappoint, she cast aside her own health to keep performing. An “immature” behavior, that is not her responsability. It is up to management to say “STOP” and preserve her.

It’s not easy to find ourselves. It’s not easy to open our heart. Yurina showed great courage seeking help to other members, and it tells she’s more conscious of her limit, a step to the right direction of an equilibrium within her. She need to put faith in members, in staff and last but not least, something i haven’t seen yet, to fans! Because yes, we are part of the whole. As fans we also have opinions, feelings toward our oshi that inspire us. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind. 

“It is at our lowest point that we are open to the greatest change.”

[gelato-of-the-day-blog]

February 3, 2017   

        Okay I already messed up this blog in so many ways. So here’s the deal. There’s no way for my followers (#famous) to get notifications when I post something new if you do not have a Tumblr account (because I know you all live and breathe to hear about my life). So if you want to know when I have a new post please contact me (if you are reading this and don’t have a way to do that kindly leave because I do not know you) and I will text/email/etc. you after I post. Second, there is no way for you to comment on my posts if you do not have a Tumblr account and I would like some feedback from time to time. If you want to help me with this, please contact me and let me know what you think. I know at this point you are probably thinking “Tumblr seems to suck, why are you using it?” and I asked myself the very same question. The answer is that I just spent the last hour trying to make a new blog on various different sites and it wasn’t working the way I wanted so I’m just sticking with this. Finally, third, I hate to admit that I did not have gelato today. Yes, I am feeling just fine but when you hear about my day you’ll see that it just did not fit in. I did however eat this very fine sandwich (”dope” as the young people would say), which I will also elaborate on later.

       So to start where I left off yesterday, we went to dinner at Zaza with Jackie, Olivia, and their 4 other roommates. It was honestly underwhelming. I got fettuccine Bolognese and it was basically pasta and meat. No sauce. It wasn’t bad but I like my Bolognese #saucin’. I also got my first bruschetta of the trip (PV friends you feel me). After dinner we once again raced home to get ready. Me, Sab, and Cart walked across the bridge to meet Courtney’s best friend Jordyn at her apartment. We got a little lost on the way but we figured it out (the numbering of the buildings makes zero sense. It’s not in any order). Jordyn is on a different program here and lives in an apartment of 10 people, all with very interesting personalities. Think my dorm room freshman year. Jordyn got in a fight with Shmarra (one of her roommates) about the noise level and it was very uncomfortable for everyone else there. But also very funny. Proud of Jard for holding her own! It was Ebony’s 21st birthday (another roommate) so we headed out to Yab to celebrate. That is in fact the name of a club. We left to go there at 12:30 and were still somehow like the first people there. The music seemed to be catering toward American college girls (Miley Cyrus, Drake, good throwbacks) so we liked it there right off the bat. We danced, had some fun, ran into a bunch of boys who go to Vanderbilt who are friends with Grant. I actually recognized a few because I had met them before. One asked me what my name was and then asked me where I was from. I said “New Jersey” and he said “No I mean where is your family from? Your last name sounds exotic.” I said “It’s not.” He asked me to spell it and when I did, he told me he thought it would’ve been like Gabeé. Maybe I’ll change it. Justin showed up again later and once again took me and Cart into the VIP section. So nice of him but I’m still waiting for the day I can get in on my own and be the one to say “They’re with me.” We left way too late and I was once again starving. When we got home I google “late night food in Florence” and found one place open til 4am. Going to have to try it sometime.

        Woke up and 8:30 for another orientation session. Just why? Got another chocolate nutella muffin on the way which was the highlight of the morning. We were freaking out about being 5 minutes late and then other people casually strolled in like 25 minutes late. Kk. They spent over an hour repeating everything they’ve been telling us for days while everyone around us was just talking to each other, not paying attention, and not even trying to whisper. The whole room was echoing and it was just so overwhelming. When Amy starting asking trivia questions again I was so done. When we were finally released we had to go to the post office to get a Permit of Stay. The post office was so beautiful and had a much more efficient system than post offices in the U.S. However, no one working there spoke English (except to tell me that my credit cards were freezing the computer) and they scheduled all of our follow up appointments (apparently you need to go to the police station to get finger-printed if you’re living in Italy) for May after we leave. So that’s good. Still need to figure out what to do about that. Then we were free for the afternoon! After some misguided directions we made it to Antico Vinaio, the famed sandwich shop. We got on line but it was like being at the Millburn Deli; they moved really fast and you had to know what you were doing. I, of course, did not. I was the person you hate at the deli asking a million questions, looking confused, and not being able to decide what to get. I held up the whole line asking what the different meats were (how was I supposed to know? I don’t eat many meats) and just chose ham to keep moving. I couldn’t stop again to ask what the cheeses were so I just told them to give me whatever went best with the ham. I got pecorino. Never would’ve chosen it but it was incredible. Best part of the sandwich. We then had the most ~abroad~ moment of the trip so far. We ate our sandwiches while walking by the side of the Arno river and then sat to finish them on a bench outside the Uffizi gallery. It was amazing. Everything was beautiful and the sandwiches were so good. It was the perfect Florence lunch. (Only downside: we struggled to escape the birds who were after our food and screamed in fear multiple times).

        Then it was time to run errands. We probably went to 12 different stores and got maybe half of the things we needed to get. Apparently hangers don’t exist here. All of our feet were in so much pain we had to go home. Then it was time to prepare for my interview. I sent the roomies off to dinner and waited for the call. I think it went well. It was really quick. I met the roommates at dinner right next to our apartment where I ordered bruschetta and fried potatoes. The 2 most important food groups. The fried potatoes were actually French fries so we all had some. The waiter told us that pretty girls in Florence get free drinks so we took the limoncello even though we didn’t really want it. Can’t say no to free things! We finished at 10:30 so a lot of places were closed. I’ll have to try to get some gelato tomorrow. We are now just chillin in the apartment, even bordering on straight clowning with Courtney and her toothpaste fascination, and back to our roots reading horoscopes. Happy to not be going out. Need a night off and gotta get up early for our trip to Chianti. I hope it’s actually fun (aka worth it). I have to look trendy right? Like for wine vineyard/castle pictures in the Tuscan countryside? But I might still end up in leggings. We’ll see. I’ll let you know tomorrow! Night peeps