#they're ALL characters in a shoujo manga tbh

[moonspirit]

The thing is that Aot is a shoujo manga where all the blushy schoolgirls (Armin, Eren, Mikasa, Jean, Reiner, Ymir etc) fall irreversibly in love with the cool-af heroes (Annie, Mikasa, Historia, etc) and spend every third page and panel wondering how to confess their love.

Only, Isayama was too shy to admit this straight-up so he made it with like... some blood.

[rose-of-the-underworld]

What are your favorite shoujo shows? I just started watching anime and would love recommendations.

AAAAAAAAAAAA! First of all, I'm sorry that this took two months to write up, but I am honestly touched that you asked me! Okay, so disclaimer that I wasn't deep into the anime scene until a few years ago (I'm a late bloomer), but shoujo is my bread and butter so to speak, so I'm happy to give some reccs! Note that this isn't ranked in any particular order, it's just as they come to me! Will give a summary and my thoughts on each. Also, most of these anime don't cover the entirety of the story published in their corresponding manga, but they're all a good starting point if you want to dive into reading the rest!

Putting under a read more because I'm more long-winded than I thought I would be

1.) Sailor Moon: The magical action-adventures of a teenage girl who learns of her destiny as the legendary warrior Sailor Moon and must band together with the other Sailor Scouts to defend the Earth and Galaxy.

Had to start with the original!! Now my love for Sailor Moon goes back to before I knew what anime even was. I caught wind of it when I was five years old and it was airing on TV for the first time, but I adored the show and my Princess Serenity doll. Now, please note that I really did not absorb much outside of the aesthetics and the insane dialogue of the 90s English dub before it stopped airing on tv and I forgot about it for a while, always meaning to get back into it, but never quite managing. Then during 2020 lockdown, my good friend and Sailor Moon expert @pollyannaisms started streaming little watch parties of Sailor Moon Crystal and boy did I fall in love all over again. I'm so happy that it came back into my life when I needed it most, tbh. It really is such a hopeful and optimistic series with some of the most lovely female friendships, one of the most beautiful and romantic love stories I've ever seen, and wonderful messages about loving yourself.

If you want a more streamlined plot with less episodes, I recommend starting with Sailor Moon Crystal since it follows the manga very closely and it's relatively short. 39 episodes across three seasons and then four movies - Sailor Moon Eternal parts 1&2 and Sailor Moon Cosmos part 1&2. Cosmos is FINALLY being released internationally on August 24th and I can't wait to finally see it, I've been rotting for it.

Now, the original 90s anime is also fantastic, it is just incredibly long with I believe 200 episodes and a few movies. It was airing as Naoko Takeuchi was publishing the manga so there's a lot of filler and the monster of the week format can get a little monotonous if you're trying to binge. I would say to take your time with it, but I do believe it's worth the watch because you get some wonderful character development episodes that are absent from Crystal. It's not perfect and there are some....odd choices made, but I do love it. Please note, that if you watch it in English through official streaming services, you'll be seeing a re-dub that Viz did with the Crystal cast when they bought the rights. It's a good dub! But man, I wish I could watch the original 90s English dub more easily (pirating such a long series is kind of an ordeal) because it has some of the funniest dialogue I've ever heard. Lots of people hate it, but I love the nostalgia factor and I personally find it hilarious.

2.) Ouran High School Host Club: Haruhi Fujioka is a studious girl who has recently enrolled at the prestigious Ouran Academy. One day, while looking for a quiet and peaceful place to study, she stumbles across a seemingly unused music room. Upon entering, Haruhi is welcomed by the members of the well-known Host Club: a club in which attractive boys amuse girls from across the entire school. However, when Tamaki Suoh—the founder and president of the club—startles the bright scholarship student, she accidentally breaks an expensive vase.

With repayment looking difficult for Haruhi, the Host Club members come up with the perfect solution to the girl's problem: work for the club and ultimately become a Host herself! Mistaken for a boy by her peers, Haruhi has to entertain various female students while coping with her fellow Hosts' extravagant personalities.

Ouran was the first anime that I ever watched on purpose at age 17, and it is very near and dear to my heart. It does come with some caveats, though. While this was the perfect starter anime for me (the friend who recc'd it knows me very well), it's not a good starter anime for everyone. It is incredibly over the top and is also a parody anime of shoujo romances, so some of the jokes might not land if you're a newbie. While I loved it at first viewing, I found it MUCH funnier when I rewatched it ten years later after having seen much more shoujo anime. Also, please note that Ouran aired in 2006, and while it was very progressive for the early 2000s, there is a lot of outdated terminology when it comes to LGBT topics, so tread with care and know that its heart was in the right place and we've come a long way in the last 20 years.

That being said, this series will always be one of my favorites. Aside from being insanely hilarious (and wildly out of pocket), the show has a lot of heart and characters who all genuinely love each other. It touches on feminism and gender and I credit it with making me bisexual.

3.) Fruits Basket: After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, high schooler Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves out...into a tent. Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Sohma clan, and it isn't long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Sohmas have a secret of their own--when hugged by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.

God. Fruits Basket is everything to me. This was the second anime I ever watched on purpose, recc'd by the same friend who showed me Ouran. She lent me her DVDs of the 2001 anime adaptation when I was 18 and it took me a few months to actually watch it but MAN. When I tell you that I was crying during the finale with my 8 week old kitten on my chest, and then when the 2019 reboot aired their version of the season finale, I was crying AGAIN with the same cat who was at that point 14 lbs and still snuggling on my chest. Full circle. It will never not be good. I would absolutely recommend that you watch the 2019 reboot over the 2001 version because it encompasses the whole story and has the budget for a much higher quality production. The animation is beautiful and I really like the music. The storytelling is phenomenal, thank you, Natsuki Takaya for my life.

Tohru Honda is truly one of my favorite characters of all time. There is so much depth to her, so much kindness and sadness and a heart full of love. She changes the lives of everyone she meets by just loving them unconditionally and has a legion of friends who would do anything for her. This is another story that features the struggle to love yourself, but it is also about the struggle to let others love you as well. The main romance is another top tier love story for me, and all of the side romances are compelling as well. I will warn you that the series deals heavily with familial abuse and with grief. For every laugh and heartwarming moment, there is a punch to the gut right around the corner. But god, it's worth it in the end. Fruits Basket is full of bittersweet moments of catharsis and it never fails to make me insane (affectionate). Fantastic characters and an excellent plot, it's one of the most compelling series I've ever seen.

4.) Kimi Ni Todoke: Sawako Kuronuma has had a difficult time fitting in, due to her shy nature and her similarity in name and appearance to Sadako from The Ring. On her first day of high school, Sawako meets the one boy who treats her like a normal girl-Shota Kazehaya. Through his selfless aid, Sawako slowly learns to come out of her shell and even begins to make friends for the first time in her life. However, with a new social life come social pressures. As she grows into her new identity, Sawako must learn to deal with such pressures as well as start to understand the unfamiliar feelings inside of her, especially in regards to the boy who made her new start possible.

This is probably THEEEEE sweetest thing I've ever seen. I watched it for the first time last year and I was legitimately crying happy tears in episode 1. If this is your first time watching, you're in luck! Season 3 just premiered after a 13 year hiatus! I've only watched an episode and a half so far, and I already love it so much. It has the exact same energy as the first two seasons. Sawako and Kazehaya are too adorable for words, and Sawako's two best friends are wonderful. This series does a great job of handling the real struggles of adolescents while also being full of optimism and love of all sorts.

5.) Kamisama Kiss: newly homeless teenager Nanami Momozono is trying to figure out her next move when she helps a stranger in need. Out of gratitude, he offers Nanami his home, a rundown shrine, and also his job as a land god. Now, Nanami must juggle high school along with the duties of a deity with the help of Tomoe, a reformed fox demon who reluctantly becomes her familiar in a contract sealed with a kiss. As the headstrong Tomoe tries to whip her into shape, Nanami finds that love just might have cute, pointed fox ears. With romance in the air, will the human deity be able to prove herself worthy of her new title?

This series made me CRAZY!!!!!!! Nanami and Tomoe are such a good nuisances to lovers story with a really interesting twist that I genuinely did not see coming! Nanami is adorable and Tomoe is the perfect house husband, I love them so much. This series is such a fun little romp through the supernatural world of gods, demons, and spirits, with an incredibly interesting cast of characters. The anime has two seasons and a few OVAs, but in order to see the latter, you're going to have to search the less than legal sites because they were never licensed internationally. Definitely worth it in my opinion to see the end of the story.

6.) Yona of the Dawn: Sheltered and spoiled Princess Yona is the only heir to the throne of Kouka. Yona's perfect world comes crashing down when a heinous act of treason threatens to erase all that she holds dear, including her birthright as the princess of Kouka. Left with no one to trust but her childhood friend and loyal bodyguard Son Hak, she is forced to flee the palace. Faced with the perils of surviving in the wild with a target on her back, Yona realizes that her kingdom is no longer the safe haven it once was.

Free from the shackles of naivety, Yona vows to do everything in her power to become strong enough to crush her enemies. With Hak by her side, she must piece together the remains of an ancient legend that might be the key to reclaiming her kingdom from those who conspired to steal it from her.

THIS SERIES MADE ME CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yona of the Dawn honestly ticks all of my boxes -- sheltered princess who needs to learn how to fight, political intrigue, betrayal, heartbreak, ancient magical legends, and a princess/bodyguard romance. The anime (and OVAs) are only a very small part of the story, but it was excellent regardless. The manga is incredibly long and actually just celebrated its 15th anniversary; it's regarded one of the greatest shoujo manga of all time. I had started reading the manga a few years back, and I REALLY need to get back into it, especially since it seems to be inching closer to the end. But if you love action packed fantasy adventures, this is the story for you!

7.) Inuyasha*: Suddenly finding herself in feudal Japan, schoolgirl Kagome teams up with half-demon Inuyasha to retrieve the scattered shards of a sacred jewel.

*Technically, a shounen, but has the vibes of a shoujo. I need you to know that last year when I had covid, I watched 50 episodes of this series and the first movie. And then I was compelled to make the following image:

Inuyasha is a long one so I suggest pacing yourself, but it is so so worth it! This is another action packed fantasy series with awesome characters, fantastic writing, and a heart stopping romance. The creator, Rumiko Takahashi was already an experienced mangaka when she made Inuyasha, and it shows. She's excellent at naturally weaving the romance into the overarching narrative and there's a maturity to her writing that makes this story about young people feel so intense and complex in the best way.

8.) Maid-Sama!: Misaki is class president of a formerly all-male school. A beacon of hope to the female students as well as teachers, she rules over the boys with an iron fist and a heart of ice. A popular male student stumbles on to her secret double life- working part-time as an upbeat and cheery waitress at a maid cafe! Misaki is forced to make a deal: spend some time with him, or have her hard earned reputation destroyed by revealing her embarrassing secret.

I will warn you, there are elements to this anime that have not aged well since its airing in 2010. A lot of it is very feminist in that early 2000s way! But it also includes that early 2000s brand of "problematic" possessive (and maybe a little too inappropriate) love interest and some outdated romance anime tropes. But all in all, I think it's worth a view. I really love Misaki as a character so much, and her relationship with Usui is fun and frustrating and very, very sweet.

9.) My Love Story!!: With his muscular build and tall stature, Takeo Gouda is no ordinary high school freshman. However, behind Takeo's intimidating appearance lies a pure heart of gold. Unfortunately for Takeo, his appearance does not bode well for his love life. As if his looks were not already enough to scare girls away, Takeo's cool, handsome best friend and constant companion Makoto Sunakawa easily, and unintentionally, steals the hearts of the female students—including every girl Takeo has ever liked.

One day, when Takeo saves cute Rinko Yamato from a creep on the train, he falls in love with her instantly. But with handsome Sunakawa around, does Takeo even stand a chance?

It's rare to see a shoujo series with a male protagonist, but Takeo is honestly perfect for the role and deserves everything good in the world. This is such an adorable anime with the sweetest couple on Earth and the best friend that anyone could ever ask for. Takeo and Rinko are both down so bad for each other and they're both adorable, awkward clowns. They were truly meant to be! Takeo's friendship with Sunakawa is also such a vital and lovely part of the series and shows that your platonic relationships are just as important as your romantic ones.

10.) My Little Monster: Shizuku Mizutani is apathetic toward her classmates, only caring about her grades. However, her cold view of life begins to change when she meets Haru Yoshida, a violent troublemaker who stopped attending class after getting into a fight early in the school year. He is not much different from her, though—he too understands little about human nature and does not have any friends. Much to Shizuku's surprise, he proclaims that she will be his friend and immediately confesses his feelings toward her upon meeting her.

Because of her lack of friends and social interaction, Shizuku has a hard time understanding her relationship with Haru. But slowly, their friendship begins to progress, and she discovers that there is more to Haru than violence. She begins to develop feelings for him, but is unsure what kind of emotions she is experiencing. Together, Shizuku and Haru explore the true nature of their relationship and emotions.

This is a story about a boy and a girl who struggle with love and friendship. Opening yourself up to other people forces you to be honest with yourself.

Here's another "problematique" anime that I fell head over heels in love with in spite of certain things that didn't age well. I'm a simple woman, give me a cold girl and a feral boy who are obsessed with each other and don't know how to function in society and I'm sold. While Shizuku and Haru's bizarre, never-on-the-same-page romance is the overarching narrative, an important part of the series is the two of them learning how to make friends and find community with other socially dysfunctional weirdos. The friends that they make are just as interesting as the two of them and are equally important to the story.

This is another series that I highly recommend reading the manga for, since the one season anime doesn't get far enough into the story for a satisfying ending. Shizuku's revelations about herself and her character development in the manga genuinely made me cry, and Haru gets some good development as well. Their relationship progresses in a very sweet way as they work to understand each other and respect boundaries and communicate.

11.) Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun:

Chiyo Sakura is a cheerful high school girl who has fallen head over heels for the oblivious Umetarou Nozaki. Much to Chiyo's confusion, when she confesses to her beloved Nozaki, he hands her an unfamiliar autograph. As it turns out, the stoic teenage boy is actually a respected shoujo manga artist, publishing under a pen name. A series of misunderstandings leads to Chiyo becoming one of Nozaki's manga assistants and befriending many of her quirky schoolmates. This slice of life comedy follows Chiyo as she strives to help Nozaki with his manga and hopes that he will eventually notice her feelings.

I adore this series to the moon and back. Both adorable and absolutely HILARIOUS, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, is a wild ride from start to finish. The slow burn to end all slow burns, this ongoing 4-panel, slice of life manga has been ongoing since 2011, yet remains hilarious and so does the one season anime. This is another parody shoujo anime where some jokes might go over your head if you're a beginner, but I think it's easier to digest than Ouran, and would be a fine starter anime. This is another clown4clown romance, but Chiyo and Nozaki aren't the only ones. Their friends are a vibrant cast of characters who tend to fall into classic shoujo manga tropes (though not always in the ways you'd expect) and all have their own incredibly silly and off the wall will-they-won't-they romances.

This is such a fun series that never fails to make me laugh, and often makes me swoon. It's both ridiculous and relatable and you can't help but root for every single character.

And I'll end it there! I have quite a few other series that are near and dear to my heart but these are probably the ones I talk about the most. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading. Anon, I hope that you enjoy your adventures in shoujo anime!

If anyone ever wants to talk about any of these series, my inbox is always open. Seriously, I am always dying to talk about all of these!

[soo-won]

Hello!! I'm new to the Akayona fandom. I love fantasy, military, and historical, so my friend referred me to read this manga. I immediately fell in love with Su-won (Soo-won?) and then his advisor (sorry I can't remember his name…I always call him Su-won's advisor) I saw your posts, and they are all great!

I have a feeling that people in this fandom don't think like me. I mean I feel like people blame Su-won and his advisor so much, though they were just doing the best for their country. My heart is broken because I've been loving and respecting Su-won from the beginning. I don't get why the characters who care for their country with their lives are portrayed as the "villain." Their behaviors, to me, are easy to understand. There were many kings, emperors, and counselors in Chinese history who acted like that.

The main characters seem to care for their own love more than the fate of the country and its people. I feel so boring since the castle arc. Do you think the mangaka is honoring the romantic love/family relationship more than the fate of a country?

I don't know if you read the manga "Red River" (Anatolia Story) by Chie Shinohara. It's a shoujo manga, but the balance between the romance and military in this is so good. I can't find this balance in the Akayona.

(Sorry for the mistakes because I use tool to translate. I hope you have a good day ahead!)

Hi Anon thank you for the ask! And welcome to Akatsuki no Yona!! Drop the anon i need to catch you and add directly in my friend list if you love Suwon and Keishuk(Kye-sook) omg...I'm glad you like my posts too!! And that made you come forward like this to me...I feel honored smh.

I'm not sure how to approach this appropriately though, as generalizing an entire fandom feels wrong no matter the case, but Yeah, you could say many readers and fans don't feel like you do. I'm glad you feel this way though, it makes myself feel less alone, and I hope it can be mutual :') Worry not, there are many people sharing similar feelings even if I wouldn't say it represents the majority and the most vocal part of the fandom.

First I think it's important to separate the fandom's perception of things and the framing of the story itself. It's related of course, it'd be denial to claim that they don't influence each other at all, but I don't think it's 1:1 either. I don't think the story frames Suwon and his group as wrong or right. But akayona is a story from the POV of Yona and centering around her above all, it's the perspective and feelings of this girl discarded for the greater good of this perfect King, questioning if it's really for the best, if there isn't any other way to be a good King but to sacrifice others? What of these discarded feelings? Of these (more or less) innocent lives? What can Yona do from her specific position, always embracing her feelings? I think it's important to keep this in mind because that's the starting point I'd say, and that's why yes, when Suwon, Keishuk or others will do something that hurt Yona's personal feelings, they will be portrayed in a way that makes most reader feel for Yona and despise them for it. I can't relate though, neither do you from what you say but again, I think it only represents Yona's perspective and not relating and agreeing with all she feels is not wrong per se. Plus, many times again even recently, it has been made clear that Yona and Hak trust Suwon and think he's a good King, they even kinda work together with Keishuk too, they're not villains at all. The story never said that. They hurt some people deeply, that's something that will never change, but the entire conflict of the story is about this and wouldn't exist at all if it was black and white and Suwon/Keishuk were villains. I don't think they're as terrible and so hard to understand and sympathize with like many people make it like either, so that's their problem tbh like...Suwon was overwhelmingly endearing and sympathetic to me far before his backstory was "fully" revealed to us, and from the very first chapters his conflicted emotions and humanity are shown to us that I can only wish people who think otherwise would reread from the beginning and pay attention to what has always been there.

As if the main characters (we call them the ddhhb if you're unaware :o for "dark dragon and happy hungry bunch"!) care for their own love more than their country...I can't really tell, and I think it'd be a bit unfair to them to judge them for it. I think they care for their country. Yona's development is in big part about doing something to help her country the best way she can and getting stronger for this sake, and Hak's development is partly being able to care and protect more things than Yona alone. It starts with the dragons, then he goes to war because he genuinely wants to protect his country too, etc...Like, whatever their heart prefer in the end, I think it's also about how they refuse to give up on anything anyway. Suwon is someone that prioritize his country before the rest, and I admire and love him for that, but I don't think Yona and Hak are wrong for caring for their friends and "love" like they do either, and in the end, both sides are complementary. Yona cares about love in a world that cares too little for it, where people throws away their own feelings and tramples on others for great causes, and Yona wants to protect all these things and her own feelings. Suwon and Zeno let go of what they care for their goal, and it's good "objectively", but it's tragic and sad, and Yona/Hak struggling so hard to let go of anything in contrast is important for this reason. In the end, Akatsuki no Yona is all about these feelings that seem stupid and unreasonable, and how to find a way to use them to make a better world, making them coexist with reason and a great cause? It's like...I find it really hard to qualify a character selfish or selfless, because you can turn it around in countless angles and make it one or the other as many times as you want. What is selfish or selfless to one character will be the opposite for others.

However, because of the perspective and focus the story chose obviously from the start it picked a side, Yona's, which makes it that Suwon's side inherently takes the shorter end of the stick. And I have many complaints about the way the story executes all these things but I genuinely don't think akayona was ever about who's right or wrong at all. The fate of the country is very much an important stake too in this final arc, as we still don't know who will end on the throne for sure yet, despite Suwon's intentions. The war is technically not over yet either, the country is in disarray and people are trying hard to hold it together. It focuses more on Yona and her friends right now because they're the heart of the story too, and we follow Yona, and they're important like that to her, but as ch247 adresses, after saving her friends she intends to come back to Suwon too. And we know she trusts him. It doesn't mean I personnally don't wish it focused more on other characters and parts of the plot and that I'm not frustrated by anything either...I very much do but well...wait and see I guess. I'd say let's try to keep our hopes low and focus on what is definitely there for now. I honestly still struggle to get over everything since the castle arc too, as many things were really painful (and not in a good way) to me in this part of the story, but well, it has many interesting parts too, so for now I focus on that and I'm waiting for time to heal some of those old wounds lol.

I don't think Kusanagi-sensei, the mangaka, honors one thing and not the other. She honors love and feelings for sure, but the story, through Suwon's character, focus on how to not make it at the detriment of the fate of the country either. That's what the conflict between their parents was about as well, and the development of Yona and Suwon's relationship is for it to be different and not end up the same way, to be able to find agreements midway, to work together, etc.

I haven't read Red River but I've heard about it since they rereleased it recently in English! It wasn't on my planning list tbh but now I'm curious and want to check it out soon...I'll try to get to it soon, thanks!

And no worries, my english is far from perfect either lol, I hope you have a great day as well, I hope I could answer to your questions and worries well! Another manga I can't help but to compare akayona a lot with is Magi by Shinobu Ohtaka...I think you could really like it, it kinda makes all that pains me in akayona pleasant and healing to me...It's a shonen, but I really recommend it :)

[cantsomeoneelsedoit]

Ch 37: Undead + Unluck

Little fanartist

This cover is super sweet and the little details like the stubby crayon and the way the socks gather are so wholesome! I love the blending of genres, too. Little Fuuko has drawn a sports manga scene from You-Me and has a magical girl on her shorts, and the cover itself is a time travel.

Space soccer club invasion arc sounds like a real page-turner, tbh. I'd read it.

The panels we're shown all match up with something that happened during the Acks battle. ⬇️

They point out several times that To You, From Me has 101 volumes, which corresponds with the tablet that keeps track of penalties.

Something that bugs me here is that Juiz gives them instructions without explaining why doing those things is important.

I wish she would give them more context like what she thinks they might find. It feels like she's still keeping some of the important info to herself.

Andy concludes that they'll need to make a manga to get into Shueisha HQ. Which is just an absolutely delightful thing to happen after the heavy Unbelievable Arc.

Fuuko has every fanfic author's dilemma:

Andy mentions Osamu Tezuka, the "Father of Manga," whose famous works were created in the 1950s-80s. One of his later works was Black Jack, and the main character has some similarities with Rip.

Black Jack also has some chapters that have been changed or removed from publication, much like You-Me.

Tezuka used what he called a "Star System," which was his rotating cast of recurring characters that appear in works in his universe, similar to looping in UU using the same character types for each loop.

Andy tells Fuuko to write what she knows best.

Fuuko says she's especially interested in learning more about herself through writing the story, so that she'll be able to summon even greater strokes of Unluck, which takes us back to Chapter 4, when Andy was trying to do the exact same thing:

BUT, now that Andy knows he won't die even if the world ends, what's the point of Fuuko trying to give him the best death??

What's the point of Andy's big dream to have a wicked sick death? What's the point of him staying with Fuuko? Unless, of course, he's developed feelings for her!

Andy gathers a team of helpers (except Shen, whose power is too dangerous for this project, but it's nice to see him speaking Chinese) and says he'll do the storyboards. Mico even brings Fuuko a set of robot arms to help her draw more quickly. Tatiana gives her some interesting advice on how to use them...

"Imagine looking down at yourself from above." BECAUSE THAT'S HOW FUUKO'S GONNA WRITE THE STORY! She's looking down at her own life and putting it on paper. She's writing what she knows!

There's even a panel of her drawing her manga!

Having Fuuko write her own manga is fun in a Bakuman kind of way, but I also think it's a comment from the God/Author. This is just one of the many ways the God/Author is making them suffer and toil, and of course the author feels that this is a real test of character and strength. They're making the characters suffer as they have.

It also gives the IRL author Tozuka a chance to throw in some light gags about the manga business and let Andy wear a fun hat.

No, he doesn't look like a shoujo manga artist--- he looks like Osamu Tezuka!

Poor Andy, he tried!

The Shueisha rep tells her a lot of very specific feedback that's probably the same kind of things Tozuka heard when he submitted Undead Unluck! The manga Fuuko submitted, with its wilder-looking Andy, matches up pretty well with the one-shot that started UU. I hope she left out the gropey parts.

Anyway, the manga impressed the Shueisha rep enough that she agreed to let Fuuko see the original manuscript for To You, From Me.

Now we know why we've been hearing so much about this manga, starting from page 1, chapter 1 where Fuuko is holding it while standing on the bridge over the trains. It's not just an "artifact" in the story. An ARTIFACT was used to write it!

Masterpost

[watermelinoe]

can you recommend some isekais?

ohhh anon you bet your buns i can!! so i'll just say that i love the villainess isekai trope, and i love historical political intrigue, aristocratic scheming, power struggles, etc. i personally like f/m but only if the male lead is secondary to the female lead. i like a male lead who falls in love first and devotedly supports his female lead while she does important plot shit, even better if she's completely oblivious to his feelings. but the second a good f/f villainess isekai exists? i will devour it so fast. (you have no idea how let down i was by i'm in love with the villainess. i may never recover.) ANYWAY here you are:

kanata kara (manga, complete): 90s shoujo fantasy romance, a young woman finds herself spirited away to another world where she is prophecized to release an evil monster currently sealed inside a wandering young swordsman. i really loved the worldbuilding and the fact that noriko has to learn the new language bc she doesn't automatically know it like in most modern isekai. and i love that it emphasizes the good in people, and the importance of the connections we make with each other. noriko is unquestionably vital to the narrative even if she can't fight. i also personally love the art style but i get that it's not for everyone!

sengoku strays (manga, complete): shounen with a female protagonist who knows kendo, no romance, written by a woman! totally underrated imo. a high school girl ends up back in the sengoku era right in the middle of nobunaga oda's rise to power and ends up fighting alongside his allies. i didn't expect to like this one as much as i did.

the villainess is a marionette (manhwa, ongoing): double-reincarnation story, princess kayena hill has already had two past lives. in this one she is working to survive the power struggle for the throne by gathering her own allies... most of whom so far are women - her maids - and she's really protective of her people (and they're really devoted to her). when she shows up to the rescue when her maids are in trouble, without spoiling the situation, i was kicking my legs bc she's just the coolest. there's the male lead, who's in love with her, but she's largely too busy with other shit. i would also die for her so i get him tbh. the art is gorgeous!!

a wicked tale of cinderella's stepmom/i raised cinderella preciously (manhwa, ongoing): 37-year-old protagonist, she wakes up in the body of mildred vans, apparently the wicked stepmother of three daughters (included stepdaughter ashley vans), and makes it her mission to help cinderella marry her prince and ensure her other daughters find good marriages so she can retire to a cottage somewhere. this obviously doesn't go as planned. the manhwa deals quite a bit with the misogyny of the time period and the girls trying to find their own way, while wanting to protect each other and mildred, so they all hesitate to go for what they really want. the female characters of the vans family are all well-rounded and devoted to each other. this is a slow burn with lots of secret identities and misunderstandings. i have my own theories based on what we know so far, but the big question right now is: is ashley really cinderella?

not-sew-wicked stepmom/i'm a stepmother, but my daughter is just too cute (manhwa, ongoing): another wicked stepmother isekai, in this one the female lead wakes up as snow white's evil stepmother, abigail friedkin, but all she wants to do is get close to her daughter and design clothes for her (she was a children's fashion designer in her past life). this manhwa deals heavily with misogyny and disordered eating - the female lead was always overweight in her past life and snaps when she finds out her stepdaughter's tutor is restricting her meals, for example. also, if you like rococo era fashion, you'll really enjoy the dress designs, especially the chemise dresses - the manhwa explores the misogyny surrounding women and girls being forced to wear uncomfortable clothing. this is also the second time i've actually seen period blood depicted in a manga or manhwa (the other was akatsuki no yona, which i absolutely recommend)! i do have to give a trigger warning for the reveal of past child sexual abuse. the perpetrator is dead before the start of the manhwa but the manhwa deals with the remaining trauma.

the villiness flips the script/it's time to change the genre (manhwa, ongoing): i really like the villainess genre alright. the female lead wakes up in the body of judith maibaum, abusive aunt to the male lead of a tragedy novel, a boy named luca winterwald. she plans to send him off with his uncle to live out the novel's storyline so she can live quietly, but instead he claims she's really his mom so that she has to come with him to the winterwald estate. he turns out to be quite different from the novel, much more jaded and quick-witted (obviously i'm pretty sure why that is but it hasn't been confirmed yet). i also really like the male lead in this one bc he's so straight-forward. it's not really a slow-burn in that regard, and most of the plot is focused on the political intrigue and trying to prevent the tragic events of the novel.

master villainess the invincible/i'm a martial art villainess but i'm the strongest (manhwa, ongoing): you guessed it, yet another villainess isekai! in this one the female lead wakes up in the body of the villainess of a martial arts novel, hae-won tang. when she eats a random root that unseals her chi, she discovers that she's actually an incredibly powerful martial artist. as she tries to help the people around her, she inadvertently becomes embroiled in the politics of her clan and the battle to prevent the rise of the demon clan, a role that was supposed to be fulfilled by the original novel's male lead... but he's not really up to the task. and not to be bi on main but... the female and male leads here, whew. also i don't want to give spoilers but when the women in this manhwa go apeshit, it'll do something to you, okay.

rn i have 55 manga/manhwa in my isekai list on my anilist so ummm yeah, these are just my very very favorites!! if there's one you wanna ask me about to see if i've read it/heard of it, go for it bc i feel like i'm the only weebfem here who's allergic to most shounen gjhfdkgjfd shoujo/josei supremacy

[wondernus]

alright nu, I remember giving you a list of recs before and now I bring more with commentary 😏 now you don’t have to read any of these but they’re some of my current reads that I dig :D

Starting off with…..

1. Lion Heart by Choi Soohyun

Manwha, Josei, modern, medical romance, married-to-work-chaebol x equally-married-to-work-surgeon, he fell first then fell harder, hilarious side characters, contract relationship, immaculate chefs kiss, INSANE ART pls they’re so hot

Season 1 complete, season 2 just started

2. The Top Couple Is a Bit Sweet

Manhua, shoujo but walks the line of josei a little, modern, romcom drama, showbiz, another contract relationship 🤩, more insane art with a hot couple, I haven’t read very far but the vibes and chemistry are off the charts tbh, he totally fell first, power couple frfr

Season 1 almost complete I think

3. I Stan The Prince

Manwha, shoujo, historical but lots of modern references, romcomfan, TOOTH ROTTING SWEETNESS, ML has actual mfing emotions and shows them, she fell first he fell harder ordeal, original work so no novel, not as cliche as you may think, MORE INSANE ART, one of my top faves of all time omg, this one is for the kpoppies

Season 1 complete, season 2 just picked up after a two year hiatus 🥹

4. The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague

Manga, josei, modernc slice-of-life, supernatural office romcom, SO WHOLESOME, lot of memes in this one, ML is sososo sweet, FL is too cool, japanese lore is what makes this supernatural, side couples are equally amazing, just super cute light read

Volumes 1-7 completed, vol.8 ongoing

5. Run, Meil

Manwha, shoujo, isekai, historical, romcom, memes are abundant here too, girl gang is so comedic, ML is sweet, FL isn’t dumb and is actually smart nor does she care about original storyline, og!fl is a cutie too and gets her own happy ending, miscommunications are mild and get spoken through, I’m super picky about shoujos but I love this one

Season 1 complete, season 2 TBA

6. The Girl and The Geek

Manhwa, josei but cute like a shoujo, modern, romcom, slide of life, MAJOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, super sweet and natural love, they make each other better 🥹🥹🥹, their families can be annoying, her family I can’t really forgive, but his family is only initially overbearing but you def warm up to them, humble rich CEO dude, miscommunications but their handled pretty well and actually does something for the plot, ugh the story is so good

COMPLETED WITH SPECIAL EPISODES

idk if you follow Stray Kids but ml is so han jisung coded, there’s a recent photo of han that is soooo this ML 😭😭

HONORABLE MENTION BC IDK IF I REC’D IT BEFORE BUT I’VE TALKED ABOUT IT

7. You Are My Desire (aka Daydreaming About Me)

Manhua, josei, romcom drama, starts off in high school but later half is in college, first loves, some mature topics in relation to family problems, idek what to say but god I just love them sfm and I think the artist is from the same studio as the Hidden Love artist, the novel is sauuuuur good, comic does it justice but I recommend the novel even more

Season 1 ongoing but novel is complete

HI AUTUMN!! i'm sorry this was from so long ago alskfjlasjdf but I added every single one of these recs onto my reading list so I'll be getting to them when I have time and when they're close to being finished. here are some of my recs in return!!! (these are all completed)

L -> R

father I don't want this marriage: I think this one just ended but GOD I love a good reincarnation manhwa and a DILF. the plot is really cliche but I just love the genre so much

the dilettante: E2L mafia member x secret agent. what more do you want?? (I wanted so much more that I looked up the original korean novel and went to a forum to read about what happens in the novel)

bring the love: I hate how some people dropped this because they didn't like the art style but this literally has to be one of the best romances I've ever read. the characters are mature and they communicate really well. they touch upon a lot of social topics that aren't usually talked about in the historical genre. green flags all around.

do you know anything about tpo kageyama-kun?!: plugging a kagehina dj because I squealed when I read this and literally reread it over and over bc of how cute it was

[nyoomzz]

Thanks for answering my ask about why I suddenly love BL and GL more than het romance....I'm grateful to know that there is someone who also knew how I feel....

Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 7) favorite BL and your top 3 (or top 5) favorite GL? And why do you love them? Sorry if you already answered them....Thanks again....

hiii no problem! sorry this took a while to answer im always bad at choosing top picks so this time i just went with my favorites that i consider still haven't seen talked about that much :D

(the titles with a star next to it are mature themes and/or has nsfw scenes, please don't read them if you're still below 18 years old)

yuri:

- *tsukiatte agete mo ii ka na (how do we relationship): i love how simply candid and honest it is at portraying messy relationships between not-quite-adults doing their best to grow. i really enjoy where the story is going because it's something you rarely see in manga!

- ohana holoholo: i wish there's more family-themed gl but im always happy we have this! it's painfully sincere and i love how we dive in into their lifes and see how they're involved with the bigger cast of characters

- shoujo manga protagonist x rival-san: a bit more of a lighthearted comedy, taking the standard trope of shoujo protagonist vs the love rival and putting a silly sapphic spin on it which is something that i absolutely need. its cute moments really shine through!

- yuri de naru ❤️ espoir (yuri espoir): my beloved that i can never shut up about. the cute artstyle takes you in a fun spin on meta commentary of yuri tropes only to slowly reveal that things might not be as sweet and happy as it seems... no one is doing it like them

- yuri to koe to kazo matoi: revolving around the feelings of women finding their place in the world, chasing for what they truly want. this is a bit of a spoiler but it centers around characters in the aromantic and asexual spectrum which makes it even more special to me!

bl:

- *iki dekinai no wa kimi no sei (breathless momentum): i love everything from the premise to how they grow to care about each other, it's hilarious and cute and their dynamic will always remain one of my favorites ever

- *tabun kore kara ai no hibi: the main theme about the joy and pain of creating just resonates so hard, the main characters' struggle portrays it very well and seeing the growth really made me happy!

- tonari ni: natsume ono's paneling and writing is just so special, there's this somber quality to it that absolutely draws me in. it complements very well the quiet yearning in the story

- *tenjite koi to iki: tbh this is just an excuse to talk about hayane dento's works, i always have a hard time choosing a favorite because they all have such great writing! i think about this one the most because of how melancholic it was paired with their beautiful storytelling

- boku no papa to papa no hanashi: ive read a lot of family-themed bl but this will always take the cake! the love this little family have for each other and how they grow together will always get to me

- *link and ring: just an absolutely loving relationship, you can see how much the main couple cares for each other it's just so sweet to read!

- achira kochira bokura: more slice of life than bl really and that's why it's so dear to me, it's a very natural depiction of two boys with opposite natures slowly being part of each other's lives. there's a sequel too!

[rarebritney]

What are your favorite Mangas and/or animes stylistically and then story wise?

I really need both style and story to grab me if it's gonna hold my attention! I love the style of more ornate, shoujo style art- nothing holds a candle to the art style of the Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura mangas, they are so so special... Speaking of Cardcaptor, Clamp manga tends to be extremely beautiful to look at, and the stories are often epic, though somewhat nonsensical, but in a way that feels very dreamlike... Chobits and CCS:Clear Card fall into this category for me. Equally, Ai Yazawa manga is extremely special to me, they're all incredible.. my favorite is Gokinjo Monogatari, I just love the character of Mikako so much, I think she really snapped on that particular character design. There's something really beautiful about the story in the sense that it captures how high stakes everything feels when you're a teenager, even when the story is just about who is dating who and what everyone wants to do when they grow up. It's a really sweet slice of life romance that captures girlhood really well. Paradise Kiss is probably the ultimate romantic fantasy manga for me- if you ever daydreamed about being a muse to a tempermental bisexual genius who makes couture specifically for you to model..... yeah. Its just a perfect premise, it's also heartbreakingly real at times which just makes it even better... Totally different, but I love Chainsaw Man SO MUCH I don't think it can really be touched by other shounen's currently in publication- it's next level honestly. I also love My Dress Up Darling, its kind of a silly franchise because of the way it makes itself look like such a horny story when it's actually a wholesome romance about people coming into their creative selves. Other manga I love: Tokyo Revengers (Love the boys...so many boys...) Tokyo Mew Mew (again, character design is beyond cute) umm I really want to read The Girl from the other side but the omnibus is so expensive! Tbh i would need to do a second post abt anime bc thats a whole other thing for me lol

[daz4i]

Hi hi my love!! ^^ So you asked for asks right? :3 I realize a lot of the times when I send you these I tend to ask you to rank stuff lol so I guess I'll lean into it? How about top 5 (or 10 if you have enough) anime series or top 5 (or 10) animated movies? :3 It's pretty general but I figure it should give you a lot of room to go over some of your favorites ^^ Sending love and good wishes!!! ❤️

ehehe thank you my love 🥺👉👈🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

i wanted to do both but then i did the top 5 anime and i got very carried away with my explanations so i kept it as just that. anyway:

1. haikyuu!! probably my favorite show ever tbh. i think hq has a perfect story, like it uses its genre to do everything right, and its impact on the outside world is amazing as well. as for the series itself, it's just beautiful (ignoring that one episode in season 4) and has a very unique style, stellar voice acting, awesome soundtrack, delicious symbolism, and it really gets you hyped for volleyball :P it's very easy to get attached even to the most minor character bc the story is written in a way that lets almost everyone in this HUGE cast (well over a 100 or even 150 named characters, i'm pretty sure) shine, and you're guaranteed to find someone you like. the only downside is you'll probably end up rooting for every team so eventually a team you like will lose a game (likely to another team you like) and that hurts every time fr. and still!!!!! it manages to be so feel-good and optimistic and really gets you pumped and inspired!!!! i think anyone who is even just open to try sports anime should check it out, it's def one of the most accessible I've seen in that genre (in a sense that it doesn't expect you to already be familiar with the sport to understand the story)

2. honestly?? osomatsu-san. probably bc it's very dear to me like emotionally, season 2 was still releasing when i was stuck in the hospital for a few months, and it was like a light i held onto every week (i was also following a few mangas back then but those were harder to follow. due to oso-san's skit nature it was always a good time) and i mean, ichi was my first f/o before i even knew that term existed hehe. it's one of these shows i wouldn't actually recommend to anyone unless i know they're ok with gross or edgy humor but i do think it's really good, i love how meta it is, and i think it uses its premise to deliver maximum entertainment!

(oh my god that was so much gushing abt a silly skit show i am so sorry <- guy who wrote most of the hq gushing after typing this part up. he was not aware)

3. ok so this one's really niche, idk if any of you have even heard of it heh. it's called bungou stray dogs-

ajdkflhlh while i have my gripes with how they adapt the manga, i do still think it's a very good anime as is. it was good enough to get me hooked on the story and characters and want to learn more and follow the story further, yknow? it's beautiful and i love its use of colors for symbolism, it has really great voice acting, and the energy is kept up throughout it enough to remain engaging. it's honestly a show I'd recommend everyone to at least try 🤔!

4. persona 4!!!! from one mediocre adaptation to a GREAT adaptation. i think p4's anime is really really well made - it manages to translate a game this long into a coherent and interesting story, gives its characters time to shine, and maintains a perfect balance between fun and emotions. also it has probably the best dub I've ever heard. naoto's anime voice dni. also i think episode 26 is a true masterpiece i think everyone should watch it

5. ngl. it's a three way tie for me. between shows i only watched once and don't have a lot of attachment to beyond that, but i think they're really good for very different reasons. gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun / great pretender / blue period. i won't go into details on why i love them all bc this post is already long enough. but if you're reading this you should check them out 🫡

also if this post convinces you to check out any show mentioned here you legally have to tell me ok? esp if you end up liking it 🧐🔥🔥

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

Hi dost!!!!!!!!

First, LOVE the pink it brings me joy.

Second, I would like to ask you about your favorite metanarratives!!!

hiiiiiiii omg!!!!

my tumblr experience just looks like this <3 i really like pink and i love searing my eyes

did u know you are the first person who's ever taken me up on the 'ask me about my favorite metanarratives' header? :0 thank u for that!

my favorite metanarratives that i'm talking about there are the play rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead and the webnovels omniscient reader's viewpoint and the scum villain's self saving system! basically, ragad is about two self-aware hamlet side characters, svsss is about a guy who enters the world of a story, and orv is about a story that enters the world of a guy! but the reason my header is that is that i just generally like 1) stories that are straight up just about someone ending up in the world of a story/a story world being real for whatever reason 2) stories that look at themselves and their genre and analyze it in depth, and 3) stories that use #1 to do #2, as well as analyzing something deeper about the human condition!

for example, rosencrantz and guildenstern is about fate and mortality; my transmigration (person ending up in the story world stories) favorites are often about how one person's actions can make an impact, as well as taking apart all the vices of the genre they're in!

orv is BRILLIANT at sending a message via its meta format btw, because the protagonist has this tool called the fourth wall which basically stops his emotions from being affected as much by things- because he views what he's in as a story, is what the text tells you from his pov, but it's kind of just disassociation which was ALREADY a thing he did because he had mad trauma! and also, there are themes about understanding each other and how well you really know each other, and the protag kim dokja thinks he understands the protag of the NOVEL and he doesn't, and just like. it's good!!

but in terms of taking apart genre vices, scum villain's amazing at that, and balancing comedy and this inherent tragedy of the situation they're in; i have another thing i like, mistakenly saving the villain, which takes and saves a cannon-fodder type danmei (Chinese boy's love) character who would often have been ignored/genuinely looked down on by the story, and saying 'hey, screw this, nothing of what happened to him was his fault and also maybe he's right and bloody revenge IS okay' and exploring the ramifications of that while deconstructing these ideas of like. young virgin mcs and stockholm-syndromed mcs and censored stories!

and you can tell a light-hearted story while still going a bit meta! my favorite book series as a kid was story thieves, which did the AMAZING thing i'm still thinking about of having each book be a different genre with one of them being a choose-your-own-adventure novel with a self aware protagonist. that stuff awakened something in me for real! and stories that don't have that literal story-within-a-story aspect can still do all this stuff, like gekkan shoujo nozaki kun is a manga about shoujo manga that gets a bit meta occasionally with characters in the story having more stereotypical equivalents in the main character's manga, and mostly uses that to uhh (checks notes) be incredibly gender! it's good!

tbh i think these are just the people i follow/am mutuals with but i see a lot of posts about things being metanarratives or characters being 'doomed by the narrative' or whatever by people who aren't talking about this stuff that is GENUINELY so meta and that bothers me, like those elements are there but come on!! u would like all of this stuff i'm talking about if only you knew about it . ... (let me introduce u to character doomed by the narrative: yue wuhuan who quite literally keeps getting LIGHTNING thrown at him from the sky because plot reasons GOD HATES HIM AND HE SHOULD BE DEAD) (also, we're all usually actually talking about metafiction but shh. ignore that there could be a more precise term.)

sooo uh yeah!!! thanks for asking haha i hope this ramble is the start of a beautiful friendship

[fmet]

What are your fav works? I know you like csm, nohome, mob psycho. What else?

Sorry for replying late angel. I love lots of works, some I've finished and some I haven't (and probably never will). I'll try and think of all the notable ones, but I'm putting it under a readmore as I have no clue how long this will be.

I like much of Fujimoto's works, and I've watched OPM season 1. I've read welcome to room 305 (?) from WaNan, who's the author of no home. I would recommend you check all of them out just for fun if you like any of what you've mentioned in this ask!

I like Berserk. I try to tamper the harshness of my criticism for it due to Miura's passing but sometimes I just dgaf about being polite. It's a beautiful manga with interesting things to say about religion and growth and devotion, though, if you can handle the rampant women-hating both in the work and in the fandom. I haven't finished it.

I like Evangelion because Asuka is in it. That's it. I've watched the main anime and movie but I haven't watched any of the rebuilds or read the manga.

I love loooooooove Wayama Yama she's a seinen/slice of life mangaka and I would encourage you to read all of her stuff. Most of it's translated on mangadex and her style of art and writing is so distinctive and charming and sneakily hilarious I adore her so so much! Karaoke Iko! Is the most cinematic, and the first of her's that I read, but you can start anywhere tbh.

I love HxH. I read the manga starting from the end of 2011 anime a few years ago, and I've been trying to pick at it again because I forget a lot but I'm slow about it. It's a long shounen and it's very shounen in the ways that it's shounen so if you don't like that sort of stuff I would steer clear, but it's also poignant and really emotionally jerky and the characters are very engaging. The fandom is annoying as those of popular shounen tend to be however.

I read up to 300something of BNHA when I was like 16 so I have thoughts about it but none of them are that serious or engaged anymore. The same case with demon slayer. They're a type of shounen that's very easy to grow out of, IMO. I just like imaginifn the characters transgender I have a lot to say about them transgender.

I...enjoy Devilman. I like old archetype-building offensive yaoi from the 70s it's like crack to me. I really really enjoy it.

This spring I read Dungeon Meshi, and I liked it. Kabru is a lesbian and Falin/Laios are my favorites.

This summer I read and finished A Cruel God Reigns by Moto Hagio, Otoyomegatari by Kaoru Mori, and ~100 chapters of Golden Kamuy. I Reread and finished Chi No Wadachi by Shuzo Oshimi. I loved all of these works very very much but my reasons for loving them are all very different and I would inspect HEAVILY before committing to reading any, specifically the first and last ones. I need to read more seinen/josei. I have many thoughts about all of these but my audience is primarily interested in things outside of them so I'm not very motivated to them. I may one day though.

I've started reading Dragon Ball btu not very seriously. I like that little saiyan he's like a petri dish of yeast to me. Also Patalliro (longest running shoujo, first anime to feature homosexuality, also mpreg). These are all old/dated franchises and you can very clearly tell when reading them.

That's the brunt of it I think. I have a mangacap blog @yaoicel if you want to scroll through some of the one-off things I've read but I haven't posted on it in almost 3 months.

[anulithots]

Do you mind if I ask you some random thing? I used to love shounen and shoujo manga equally....But ever since I found BL & GL manga/manhwa and mlm & wlw fanfics 3 years ago, my interest in het romance decrese a lot, and what I search for is just the dynamic between mc (male) and male lead or mc (female) and female lead...I don't want to read mc (female) and male lead or mc (male) and female lead...And what I want to read mostly are just mlm or wlw stories....

What do you think is happening to me? Is it really weird?

OHmigosh I'm so sorry for letting this sit in my ask box for so long.. I'm still trying to think of a good answer/ way to phrase this.

I think it's because there aren't many societal expectations with GL and BL.

With m/f relationships, that's expected from society. So sometimes the writing plays into those sorts of expectations. And there's something wonderous about love without the expectations.

(One reason why I love QPRs in fiction, there's absolutely NO expectations whatsoever, no 'you must get romantically married with these specific steps and there's all these dos and don'ts' )

And perhaps there's more of a focus of the character dynamic versus just 'oh they're in a romantic relationship' with wlw and mlm ships? But honestly cannon ships can be like that in general. (I'm biased toward queer platonic/character dynamics with romance as a side though.)

So while I don't think there's anything wrong with this whatsoever, there's lots of good m/f ships as well! The great thing about diversity is that it doesn't mean that we should love m/f ships less, it means we should love all types of relationships (or no relationships) more!

Amy and Oliver from Space Boy, Xu Shanshan and Dong Yi, (all the cannon m/f couples from link click tbh) Hunter and Willow from the Owl House, Sokka and Suki from Avatar the last airbender, Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa from Six of Crows, Mattias and Nina from Six of Crows, and honestly Yuta and Maki from JJK are not a bad ship (they silly I like them.) Katniss and Peeta from the Hunger Games those are all good m/f ships in my opinion!

So yea basically, like what you like, diversity is amazing, there shouldn't be expectations wowow, all sorts of dynamics are fun and all the sorts of people are wonderous and should get to look at the stars.

[flibo23]

Candy

I really have to thank my mum who sometimes decides to make me watch some shoujo anime out of the blue, so I stop just watching stupid shonen all day. I started watching Candy Candy kind of ironically with her but then I really started liking the anime, although it was made for children I got used to the style after a bit. It has so much charm, it's earnest, it's so sweet that when bad things happen it hurts even more. Life can be all this but also difficult, and seeing Candy braving through all of it was really heartwarming. 115 episodes and I could have watched more. I don't think I would have done the same things Candy did at some point, but she's just better than me lol. She was honestly a really good role model for girls, I'm glad this story exists

I think maybe, aside from Candy Candy, the male characters had more charm than the female ones, but it depends on the person: I had very conflicting feelings on Annie, because sometimes she was not a great friend tbh, but Patty was really sweet. Anthony and Terence were something else tho: Anthony will always be in my heart, such a cutie pie, and Terence is timeless. I really felt like a girl from the 80s cheering for him and Candy ahah

Obviously special mention for my boy Stear, my number 1 fave but I thought he was called Steve for like... 60 episodes. The wonder of watching stuff without subtitles. A total sweetie, loved his arc. His brother Archie is an enjoyable character too, love how he's always ready to throw hands, but compared to other characters there isn't a whole lot

I love starting things casually but then falling in love with them, maybe I should follow my mum's advice a little more

Anyway, spoiler for the 40 years old anime

So... shonen are good, but do they make you cry thinking about how fragile young love is. Anthony's death was terrible and probably the first time I thought things could get serious in this time, actually cried for him... The way this completely blindsided me. Their sweet love was true and filled with joy, its end shocked me. But I'm glad that although she moved on, Candy never stopped thinking about him in some way

Terence and Candy were perfect for each other, nothing else to say. Them slowly falling in love at college, Terence being a child-friendly bad boy who actually listened to her, who defended her when she was hassled by her bullies, them growing together. And when Terence left the school Candy had no reason to remain either. Their break up was so painful to me, and later seeing Terence so destroyed made me forgive him completely; that situation totally sucks and it's a bit convoluted tbh, but I understand

I love how in the second Italian dub they snuck "Terence leaving Susanna" in the final episode just to give hope to the readers lmao, I totally fell for it and then my mum told me it was an addition

Albert ??? I had a feeling he was part of the Andrew family but I didn't expect all that. I like his affection for Candy and how their stories tie together so well, especially how they're connected by Anthony. The build up to it was insane. Although I didn't think he could a love interest due to the age gap but I don't mind tbh. From what I understood they do end up together in the manga

I think I have stronger feelings for Terence but in the end every love interest was perfect for the life stage Candy was on, maybe this is the most realistic part, nothing assures you a person will be with you forever

My God, Stear... At first I felt weird saying he is my favourite but who else. He's silly, kind, always there to help, wears glasses (which is always a plus), I loved to see him on screen. Hearing his reasons to go to war made me reconsider him a bit, for the better: wanting to stop "being a rich kid who spends his time making useless inventions", I can see why a boy of his time would decide going to fight for a better future was a good option, even though he knew how terrible war can be. I already found him charming enough when he made "useless inventions" because they were mostly made for his friends, and I enjoyed seeing him becoming more skilled and basically an engineer, taking care of an airplane and making the carillon, but seeing him mature was amazing, realising how lucky he was, while people on the other side of the ocean kept dying and suffering while he lived in luxury. The fact even his brother didn't take him seriously when he told him he wanted to make something more of his life is just so sad. And his death scene ? I actually hoped we wouldn't see it but it was better this way: he saw his dead friend in the enemy in front of him and couldn't shoot. It's a slow and beautiful arc for him, I can't even be mad about it

I peeked at the manga, Patty says they had a vacant grave, I actually wondered watching it if they had retrived his body but that's sombering

Such a good person all around, he deserved the world

so yeah this anime ruined me, can you tell

[blueskittlesart]

i know you love tamaki but thoughts on each of the other hosts? my favourite is mori <3

full disclosure tamaki was my first real conscious fictional crush at the ripe age of 11 and TO THIS DAY i have to pause the show during the piano scenes to recover my dignity so he will always be my number one. my everything. my absolute love interest of all time. i could write essays on him for real. i HAVE written essays on him. that being said i can absolutely talk about the other hosts bc im literally obsessed w this show

haruhi was the gender blueprint. truly. girlboy swag. she and misa amane death note were definitely like. the two most influential characters on my personal style in middle and high school. this doesn't say anything good about me. she is also multifaceted and well characterized in a way that's SO refreshing for a romance protagonist. character of all time. also btw im the exact demographic this show was written for meaning i was a tamaki/haruhi truther from the very beginning. where is the tall blonde prince boy to my short stupid gnc bitch. when is it my turn to be happy

hikaru and kaoru. yes i know the twincest thing is weird but i am CHOOSING TO IGNORE IT because 1. the show is making fun of shoujo tropes. its SATIRE GUYS and 2. they are literally so well characterized that it MAKES SENSE THAT THEY DO IT. ugh. anyways kaoru was always my favorite of the two bc i love a man thats in tune with his own emotions. i like hikaru in theory but i think if i knew him in real life i would murder him. i am also obsessed with their characterization and backstory in general bc their specific brand of trauma is one that i so rarely see represented in media and i think they had a very realistic response to it?? like they're genuinely very well written characters i like them a lot. i could also probably write an essay about them

kyoya. im obsessed with him. hes a genius. hes an asshole. he runs a literal profitable business pimping out his besties. girls somehow like him despite him never actually showing affection to any of them in canon. hes literally the worst person alive. hes genuinely kindhearted despite everyone in his life attempting to beat it out of him. hes GAY. this is a joke mostly but i truly think that every decision in his life post-middle school is made because he is obviously, painfully in love with tamaki and also completely oblivious to this fact. like the show might attempt to make you think that hes got a thing for haruhi but literally every decision he makes is for tamaki's benefit (the manga is even MORE explicit about this btw and it makes me insane) and the entire time hes in denial about the fact that tamaki is literally everything to him. it's hilarious. "and so kyoya met him" uhhh fellas is it gay to consider the single most important event in your life to be meeting another man

i kinned honey in middle school for real and every time i think about it i want to die. i unfortunately still like cake. and rabbits. and i am still blonde and short. i might be haunted by this character for the rest of my life

i didn't get the appeal of mori at first tbh which might be a result of watching the anime 2 million times but never reading the manga LMAO bc he really is just a filler character in the show. but hes fun and i like him well enough. im sort of hoping he gets a little more room to be a real character in the manga tho bc ive like. just gotten out of the chapters that were adapted directly into the show so we're in uncharted territory now. im waiting for his chapter im SURE its coming

[magicalgirlmindcrank]

Madoka was my first and really only magic girl anime, what do you reccomend thats better?

You can pretty much throw a dart at a list of mahou series and hit one that's better tbh but some recommendations:

-most precure series. Some are a bit of a miss but Star Twinkle, Heart catch, happiness charge, futari wa, mahou tsukai, Yes! precure 5, and I believe the current season Tropical Rouge are all pretty good seasons and it's hard to go wrong with precure.

-Princess Tutu. Does what Madoka Magica Fans claim pmmm does insofar as being a bit of a deconstruction. REALLY good show with some wacky fantasy elements.

-Sailor moon, especially the first three series but particularly the first one. Hard to compile a list of magical girl series without mentioning sm lol. It's a classic for a reason and I'm really a fan of the art style especially the backgrounds in this series. The characters themselves are iconic too, Sailor Jupiter has been a long time favorite.

-Tokyo Mew Mew. To be honest this one doesn't exactly excel in any one aspect going off my memory but it's a solid show and it helped popularize Maid Cafes, the show and manga predate the first permanent ones. Ichigo is an iconic catgirl and I will forever have a soft spot for this show.

-Cardcaptor Sakura. I'm really bias here to be fair as it's probably my favorite show, period. The characters here develop in such a natural yet staggering way throughout the series and the work put into making Tomoeda feel like a real city people live in comes through in aces. Also it's pretty queer in a lot of ways both Sakura and Syaoran being pan and bi respectively in canon and it's pretty heavily hinted her brother is involved with her main crush at the start of the series. There's other stuff too but if I talk any more about ccs imma start rambling.

-Flip Flappers. A few issues with this one but if you liked Madoka Magica this is like a way better version. Artsy type mahou show with two leads who are very gay together except this one they end up together, alive and happy! Wow! Who knew such a thing was possible? Even has some weird time stuff. It's also only 12 episodes and has one of the cutest ending themes I've ever seen/heard.

Some other ones I've not personally watched but hear good things about from trusted friends:

-creamy Mami

-Ojamajo DoReMi (there's a few series under this and they're all good from what I understand)

-mermaid melody pichi pichi pitch

-Shugo Chara

Some shows/series to avoid like the plague:

-Magical girl rising project

-mahou shoujo site

-mahou Shoujo ore

-magical girl apocalypse

All of these basically take the Madoka Magica formula of making girls suffer simply for the fun of watching them suffer and crank it to like 11. Ore is also very transphobic. Questionably Yuuki Yuuna goes here, I've heard it ends alright but I only got a handful of eps on before the ableist overtones made me stop. Really hype initial transformation sequence for the lead tho.

On a brighter note, some Magical Girl-likes worth watching:

-little witch academia (particularly the 25 episode series on Netflix)

-Revolutionary girl Utena. Lots of really good themes and art here, considered a classic and extremely queer.

This list isn't complete by any means and there's probably a few notable ones I've missed that just slipped my mind at the moment but this list as is is a few weeks solid worth of media and a good starting point imo~

[astersofthesky]

I decided to reread the MHA LN Chapter 4, you know, the canon bkdk angsty slow-burn fanfic 😌😌 Spreading the BKDK LN agenda because WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS MORE !!

Anyway, I FOUND ANOTHER TRANSLATION but sadly OP haven't finished it yet 😢

And since I need an emotional outlet so I can scream at how they're so canon, Im'ma do it here ahwjdhfjsh 👀✨

Warning: Long post; potential manga spoilers

– I forgot that this chapter literally started with the angst 😭 Deku saying that he can't imagine having lunch with Kacchan is like a pain in the gut. He just wanna be friends with his Kacchan again 😢

– One word, ✨SOULMATES ✨ afshshahah PLS, even the universe can't help but ship them together 😩✋ they're fruityness is on whole a new level I CAN'T 💚🧡

– I see what you're doing Bakugou 👀 You really can't leave your sweet broccoli behind huh?? Also, crybaby Macchan and aggressive Takkun?? 🤔 Do I need to say more? 🧐

– If that's not flirting then idk what is 🤷 also, "In front of my soba? Really?" (Todoroki, probably)

– There's no ss but I just wanna give a special mention to jealous!Bakugou. No cos srsly, implying you're not friends with Deku as if you're not dying to hold his hand then getting irritated over Todoroki claiming the "friend" card 😩 Just, Bakugou, don't @ me ☺️💢

– The angst had reached full force it seems ಥ‿ಥ The line was cut but it actually says "Not friends, just childhood friends" 😭😭 and I am telling you Im'ma throw my brand new book when Bakugou explicitly acknowledges Midoriya as his boyfriend. Because before they were rivals, Bakugou and Midoriya were first friends. And I'm not saying that they aren't one now because we as readers, can definitely see they care for each other. But the question is, do they already see the other as a friend and not just a mere rival? They don't cos they're boyfriends your honor

– Tbh, It still haven't sinked in that this is kind of canon 🤧 This is such a cliched romantic scene like wtf?? So what's next? The full moon is illuminating half of Bakugou's face, red eyes glowing and face soft from the natural white luminescence or something sappy like that?? 😩😩 I love it

– Izuku in this LN chapter whenever he talks about Bkg: ✨ THEIR RELATIONSHIP ✨

– I know, I get it. You don't have to shove it my face every single time Deku 😌 and pls, why are you still flirting at the middle of the night?? Or was it pining that I see 🤔 i mean comparing each other to their kid parallels 😕 hmm a severe case of mutual pining indeed

– Yes yes, of course you're only looking for food stalls Mr. Bakugou "Tsundere" Katsuki, I completely don't believe that you're worried about the kids. No! of course not! Who says you want the kids to reconcile so they wouldn't experience the pain that you and a certain green had gone through?? Hahaha I mean It's not like they're your parallel what??hmmm no no, go on, look for takoyaki or smthn ☺️☺️

– Wait, did the last part say '"Bakugou grabbed Izuku's face and pushed it away..." Aksfksjdhdisjs what in the actual gay fanfic is this??!! Or wait, is this what Bkg usually do to Deku in the official art he's like, I love agressively gripping your head as I entangle my fingers on your soft curls but no homo💀

Since OP's translation isn't complete, I'm going to use Lau Ren's translation and yes I'm continuing this shit even though Tumblr mobile only lets me post 10 pics per post

– Bkdk domesticity with children pt. 95736 💚🧡 They love kids so much 😩 Yk I'd donate my kidney just to see this ANIMATED ✨ like this has so much fluff potential 🤧 Or at the very least a drama CD. I'd ascend 😭

– WHAT THE FUDGE ?!! I'M SCREAMING 😭 I SAY IT AGAIN 💞 SOULMATES✨ and pls, it has my favorite fic trope, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings. Anyway, I need a minute to collect myself cos I can't move past the "With the said person himself nearby, Kacchan thought his fate had gone crazy" ( ≧Д≦) dammit Katsuki, why r u so gay. Izuku loves you, you emotionally constipated gremlin

I have reached my 10 picture limit so I'm just gonna copy paste some of the twts 💀 I hope I don't get in trouble lmao Xd

- Kacchan fixed his gaze to Deku who looked relieved. "He..."

- Somehow, Kacchan remembered the fight they had after All Might's retirement. It was the first time they were able to let out their conflicts sincerely. Although his fear towards Deku had decreased since then, there was still a feeling of disgust about Deku being a hero who save others residing in Kacchan.

- He couldn't understand it. But he knew, there will always a being whom he cannot understand

– Bkg rlly said 👀 on Deku while having angsty thoughts ಥ╭╮ಥ Looking back on this tho, I just can't help but be proud when I remember 285. Bakugou is loud but he is very rational in battles. He thinks of a plan on the spot meaning he's mind is on work 24/7.

– When he had his "My body just moved on its own" moment, Katsuki had understood Deku and his nature to "Save to Win." It'ss that Katsuki must not analyze it with his brain, but instead feel it with his heart 💚🧡 And this is the reason why I badly want to see him on the manga 😭 that was some MAJOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I'm ahwjdhfjsh

– Takkun and Maachan's pinky swear deserves their own mention. They're so pure 😩✋

- He said he still hasn't done hatsumoude so Kacchan can go first, but Kacchan refused and wouldn't let Deku do hatsumoude before him.

- Kacchan tried to take a head start, but in the end, they ended up visiting and praying together.

– AND WE'RE BACK with the gays 😌 hsjdjajs they compete with every single thing it's honestly cute. Also YES THEY PRAYED TOGETHER and shoujo scenes with the main couple praying on the shrine but make it BKDK flashed before my eyes 😖✨

- After finishing their prayers, Deku looked at Kacchan, "What did you wish for?" "Shut up."

- Even with Kacchan's sulking expression seen from the side, Deku felt that they had wished for the same thing.

– DEKU YOU'RE BEING TOO LOUD!! I just can't with these two 😩✋ Both of them are down so bad for each other and you can't tell me otherwise 💚✨🧡

- With those serious eyes, Deku knew they were aiming for the same thing. Win to save, save to win. To be the best heroes.

- Deku knew well that he and Kacchan are polar opposites. But even so, Deku couldn't imagine a world in which Kacchan doesn't exist.

– Deku just went 😍 on Kacchan and thought "I CAN'T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT YOU 🧡💚" (insert Imagine by Ben Platt)

– I can't even stress how much I love this line, y'all this is so misleading I-- this is too much 😭 Anyway, I believe this go both ways. Bakugou can't also see a world without Deku in it, and since Deku decided to be the self-sacrificing person he is, I'll just SCREAM IN CH. 304 ( ≧Д≦)

- Seeing the two praying side by side, he commented, "so you've become good friends now, huh."

- Both of them immediately opposed, and Kacchan threatened to explode Shoto's mouth for saying such a disgusting thing.

– Let's go Todoroki, best wingman 🤣 And flustered Bakugou makes a reappearance hdjsja Dammit half n' half I ain't flirting with Deku fvck you

And this is where it ends afshshaha anyway bkdk canon 💚🧡