#this one goes out to all my yuri enjoyers out there

[spro-o]

some Melban brainrot :3c

featuring some more fem!Melban and a revived cowboy AU

[wlwcatalogue]

Some WLW (?) Jdrama & Kdrama recommendations!

Jdramas and Kdramas have a (not-entirely-unearned) reputation for being very straight, but here are a few which are either canonically F/F or which prominently feature a female-female pair-- please enjoy! For those who enjoy following series in real time, Chaser Game W and She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat S2 are both airing this January 2024 :)

As with my post on anime with yuri subtext, since subtext is so subjective, this list only includes series which I’ve actually watched, and so is by no means intended to be comprehensive. Also, it doesn't include any webseries, since those probably deserve a post of their own.

At-a-glance list:

Miss Sherlock (8 episodes, 2018) (subtext)

Night Light (20 episodes, 2016) (subtext)

Tokusatsu Gagaga (7 episodes, 2019) (subtext)

Painter of the Wind (20 episodes, 2008) (canon?)

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat (10 15-minute episodes and counting, 2022~) (canon)

Sono Toki, Heart wa Nusumareta (5 episodes, 1992) (canon)

Chaser Game W (10? 30-minute episodes, 2024) (canon)

Doctor X (7 seasons and counting, 2012~) (subtext)

Bonus: SKY Castle (20 episodes, 2018) (subtext)

Summaries under the cut!

1. Miss Sherlock / ミス・シャーロック (8 episodes, 2018) (subtext) – MyDramaList | AsianWiki

The elevator pitch for this show is simple: it’s Sherlock Holmes, but where Holmes and Watson – here named “Sherlock” and Tachibana Wato, and played by Takeuchi Yuko and Kanjiya Shihori, respectively – are both female, and the cases are all set in modern Tokyo. As with other adaptations, mystery-solving and the budding relationship between the two leads takes centre stage, but Miss Sherlock manages to carve out an identity all its own.

There’s a calm beauty to its visuals, which favour sunlight and urban greenery, and the show’s focus on former doctor Wato as she tries out new jobs and goes to therapy means that there’s a surprisingly high number of slice-of-life scenes. It’s also subtly more female-focused than the source material; Sherlock’s gossipy but good-natured landlady Ms. Hatano (Ito Ran) is as much a member of the household as Sherlock and Wato, and the cases often revolve around female characters. But more than anything, it’s just really fun to watch Sherlock and Wato’s relationship bloom as they snip and snipe and are utterly unable to stay out of each other’s space (literally – the body language and blocking is *chef’s kiss*). Their relationship is the heart of the show – watch this one until the end, you won’t regret it!

(CW: psychological abuse, manipulation, and genre-typical murder, violence, and gore)

2. Night Light / 불야성 (20 episodes, 2016) (subtext) - MyDramaList | AsianWiki

(Note: spoilers for the mid-season twist, but it’s impossible to allude to a good portion of the F/F subtext without doing so, and I think knowing the twist ahead of time doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.)

Night Light is a rather odd show. It’s simple enough on the face of it, a story about  successful but ruthless CEO Seo Yi-kyung (an icy Lee Yo-won) who tries to mold the younger Lee Se-jin (a puppy-eyed Uee) in her own ambitious image, only for her protege to develop the conscience she never had and move to stop her dastardly plans… but upon watching it’s a totally different creature,  thanks to the alchemic reactions of some delightfully contradictory acting choices (Uee’s performance convinces viewers less of Se-jin’s supposed latent desire for power and money, and more of a deep love and devotion for the CEO) and the unintentionally (?) inneundo-laden script (“If I like something once, I never forget it– whether it’s a dress… or a person,” declares the CEO less than ten minutes into the first episode while gazing intently at Se-jin).

Honestly, it’s a wonder this series ever got made, but you certainly won’t see me complaining! The first part is full of boss/subordinate goodness; Se-jin is unable to resist the CEO’s magnetic pull despite her hot-and-cold behaviour, while the CEO cannot bring herself to push Se-jin away completely. And then, when Se-jin makes her mind up to stop the CEO, it morphs into a corporate take on a (subtextual) lovers-on-opposite-sides situation, where it is precisely Se-jin’s feelings for the CEO that motivate her to stop her. In short, it’s a workplace GL fan’s dream.

Note: If you do watch it, skip the corporate politicking cutscenes with the old men, you’ll thank me later. Also, there’s a prominent male character who is the CEO’s ex and who works closely with Se-jin in the second half, but don’t worry, all the M/F romance is in the past (and doesn’t get much screentime)– he and Se-jin aren’t interested in each other at all.

3. Tokusatsu Gagaga / トクサツガガガ (7 episodes, 2019) (subtext) - MyDramaList | AsianWiki

Nakamura Kano (Koshiba Fuka) lives and breathes tokusatsu shows (think Power Rangers, if you’re not familiar), but keeps it a secret from her work colleagues to avoid being shunned or laughed at. And yet she yearns for connection, so when she sees a woman on the subway bearing a keychain from her favourite show (Yoshida Hisami, played by Kurashina Kana), she is determined to find her again.

Although ostensibly about being a tokusatsu fan as an adult, this show is rife with queer subtext, and not in the usual way. It deals with the difficulties of staying in the closet (regarding being an adult tokusatsu fan), the desire to connect with other queer people adult tokusatsu fans and how one might do so through hints and signals, parental disapproval arising from gendered and social expectations (that tokusatsu shows are for boys, and magical girl shows for girls), intersectionality and finding comradeship with other minorities people who are excluded due to their interests, and even generational gaps wherein younger queers fans may underestimate the obstacles that still exist. Although all that might sound a bit stressful, it isn’t actually! Difficult incidents are handled with sympathy and a dash of wry humour, and the show never loses sight of the fact that it – above all else – is a story about finding queer community in the face of a heteronormative hostile world, told with warmth and the nuance of lived experience.

4. Painter of the Wind / 바람의 화원 (20 episodes, 2008) (canon?) - MyDramaList | AsianWiki

Adapting the novel of the same name by Lee Jung-myung, Painter of the Wind takes as its protagonist a gender-bent version of real-life Joseon-era painter Shin Yun-bok (Moon Geun-young), whose paintings are used to weave a tale of artistry, political intrigue, and romance, and more than anything else to offer modern-day viewers a glimpse of everyday life in 18th-century Korea.

While it may sound like Dickinson’s boring cousin, apart from having a common preoccupation with reframing historical works, another similarity the two shows share is that Painter of the Wind is also very gay. Starting from the first episode, Yun-bok meets and becomes fascinated by the courtesan Jung-hyang (Moon Chae-won), who despite her initial aloofness is drawn to Yun-bok’s intellect and sensitive demeanour. It’s a real meeting of the minds, their witty repartee in early episodes reminiscent of Twelfth Night’s Viola and Olivia, and their relationship isn’t siloed off from the main plot either: Yun-bok’s infatuation quickly starts causing issues with her academic career, and the two eventually have to contend with Jung-hyang’s precarious position as a courtesan as well.

Unfortunately, all this is undermined in the back half of the show, which tries to gaslight viewers into thinking that Yun-bok’s feelings for Jung-hyang were purely platonic all along and that she totally has romantic feelings for her much older male mentor— but hey, at least it’s an open ending. Despite everything, though, I can’t think of another serious historical TV show which features such a prominent F/F narrative for its main character, even nearly two decades later. (Let me know if you have any others! And no, Gentleman Jack doesn’t count, it’s not exactly traditional in style!)

(CW: period-typical sexism)

5. She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat / 作りたい女と食べたい女 (10 15-minute episodes and counting, 2022~) (canon) - MyDramaList

Based on Yuzaki Sakaomi’s manga of the same name, this simple but sweet show follows home-cooking extraordinaire Nomoto Yuki (Higa Manami), who yearns to cook large-scale dishes but doesn’t eat enough to justify making them. Luckily for her, her neighbour Kasuga Totoko (Nishino Emi) has a massive appetite!

It’s always lovely to see more grounded stories about working women, especially when they’re as cute as this one. Though it touches upon some slightly more serious issues, such as with regard to gendered expectations surrounding food and cooking, it’s primarily a feel-good slice-of-life show about two women getting to know each other by cooking and eating delicious food together.

Side note: if you’ve started it and think the show doesn’t look cosy enough, stick it out for a few more episodes, the production values improve after the first part! Also, the series was renewed for a second season with double the episode count (for a total of 20 episodes) which will start airing on January 29th this year, so this is the perfect time to jump in!

6. Sono Toki, Heart wa Nusumareta / その時、ハートは盗まれた (5 episodes, 1992) (canon) - MyDramaList

Sono Heart, as it’s nicknamed, starts off as a typical heteronormative high school romance: bumbling protagonist Shiina Hiroko (Isshiki Sae) is desperate to get closer to her crush Katase Masato (Kimura Takuya), star of the school basketball team and all-round nice dude. However, a spanner in the works comes slouching along in the form of female classmate Aso Saki (Uchida Yuki, in her debut role), a mischievous, short-haired personification of trouble who Katase turns out to have feelings for. One day, Hiroko gets into a fight with Saki, and they end up having to stay together after school as punishment. But that afternoon gives them the opportunity to bond over a heart-to-heart conversation, and things seem to improve… until, just before leaving, Saki kisses Hiroko. And then everything changes.

Or rather, everything changes eventually. What’s great about this show is that it doesn’t take shortcuts: Hiroko doesn’t instantly fall in love with Saki. Instead, what you get is a surprisingly layered portrait of a high school girl whose coming to terms with queerness is merely a natural extension of reckoning with her burgeoning sexuality. And, because Saki is self-destructive in her depression and makes a game of belittling, worrying, and infuriating anyone who cares about her, it’s really a story about what it means to love another person rather than a romantic ideal. A word of warning, though: Katase is actually quite a large character, as he and Hiroko end up becoming friends. Also, the ending is very abrupt and inconclusive, though rest assured that it doesn’t try to roll back Hiroko’s feelings, or pair either girl off with a guy.

(CW: self-harm, attempted suicide, bullying, homophobia, underage drinking)

7. Chaser Game W: Power Harassment Boss Is My Ex-Girlfriend / チェイサーゲームW: パワハラ上司は私の元カノ (10? 30-minute episodes, 2024) (canon) - MyDramaList | AsianWiki

Probably jumping the gun here as only two episodes have aired as of writing, but I feel honour-bound to recommend this as it’d probably appeal to a lot of people, if only they knew about it! Chaser Game W is a standalone spin-off of Chaser Game, itself an adaptation of a manga of the same name by Matsuyama Hiroshi and Matsushima Yukitarou, but you don’t need to know anything going in.

Protagonist Harumoto Itsuki (former Keyakizaka46 captain Sugai Yuuka) has been assigned a new job: her company has been asked by a Chinese conglomerate to develop a game adaptation of a GL manhua, and she’s been tapped as the project leader. However, what appears to be an exciting prospect soon becomes a terrifying one, as the person sent by the client to supervise turns out to be her ex-girlfriend from university (Lin Dongyu, played by Japanese actress Nakamura Yurika), who is now married to a Chinese man (played by a Japanese actor) and has a child, but remains hell-bent on exacting revenge on Itsuki for their bad breakup. This is a romantic (melo)drama rather than a psychological thriller, though, so you won’t be watching Itsuki getting terrorised the entire time. While she is understandably upset by her ex’s current behaviour, Itsuki can’t forget about their happy days together, and Dongyu herself veers between being a sneering bully and craving Itsuki’s affection.

Do note that the show isn’t without its flaws: it’s very Japanese about the Chinese thing, which is to say it’s filled with comments which range from somewhat offensive to borderline racist, and the script will probably give you a headache if you know even the slightest thing about game development. Your mileage might vary on the ex too, as she can be really quite nasty to Itsuki and her teammates. But if you can overlook those issues, this is a rare prize indeed: a TV drama focusing on a canonical F/F pair, who are specifically exes, and in a workplace setting.

(CW: bullying)

8. Doctor X / ドクターX (7 seasons and counting, 2012~) (subtext) - MyDramaList | AsianWiki

To be very honest, I was in two minds about including Doctor X on this list. It is, with a few notable exceptions, misogynistic and reductive in its depictions of women (especially in the first two seasons), gives too much screentime to objectively awful and subjectively annoying men, doesn’t respect the work done by medical personnel apart from surgeons, and on the technical front is formulaic, repetitive, and often lazy in its writing and presentation. Unfortunately, the dynamic between the genius surgeon protagonist Daimon Michiko (Yonekura Ryoko) and her anaesthesiologist wife partner friend Jounouchi Hiromi (Uchida Yuki) is almost unparalleled in its excellence.

The premise of the series is basic indeed: Daimon Michiko is a freelance surgeon with a healthy disrespect of rules and authority and, unluckily for her detractors, a cast-iron guarantee that she will succeed in any surgery, no matter how difficult. She’s initially portrayed as a lone wolf who’s dismissive of the entire hospital system and anyone who’s part of it— but her interest is piqued by the anaesthesiologist Jounouchi, who is skilled beyond her peers and chafes against the idiocy of her colleagues. For all its flaws, the first season – which is more serious and edgy in tone compared to the others, and isn’t an ensemble cast like the post-S3 seasons – is a fantastic depiction of two people being perfectly matched in skill, intellect, and outlook, and how they come together despite one being standoffish (Jounouchi) and the other not being used to reaching out to or even respecting other people (Daimon).

The seasons after that sadly ditch the emphasis on Jounouchi being Daimon’s professional equal, but in exchange offer up another rare and unexpected gift: two women in their late thirties / early forties who are partners both at work and in private. Jounouchi is Daimon’s designated anaesthesiologist, assisting with nearly every surgery, and she spends so much time at Daimon’s agency-office-slash-house you’d think she’d moved in. Also, after a point they just start being wonderfully dorky and comfortable with each other, while still being consummate professionals in the operating theatre. Although the show is very much focused on Daimon Michiko as its sole protagonist, Jounouchi is undoubtedly the character most significant to her – even more than Daimon’s father figure, the head of the freelance agency – and this is highlighted in the story from time to time. They are very, very good. I just wish the series was better.

Note: If you’re curious, I would recommend watching the very first episode in full– by the end you should know if you’re invested enough to continue, otherwise drop it and live in the happy knowledge that you dodged a bullet. If you aren’t so lucky, I’d advise skipping the surgery segments when they start to bore, and in general to skip liberally. Also, season 4 is not worth watching as a whole, except for the last two episodes, which absolutely should not be missed. Sigh. I can’t speak to seasons 6 and 7, due to having paused mid-S6.

Side note: If you’ve watched Doctor X already and liked it (or at least like Daimon and Jounouchi), but haven’t tried Miss Sherlock yet, definitely give that a go because there seems to be a big overlap in the fandoms. Maybe it’s because they both feature a genius protagonist, have the two largest female characters being work partners, and domestic vibes…?

(CW: sexism, genre-typical gore)

Bonus: SKY Castle / SKY 캐슬 (20 episodes, 2018) (subtext) - MyDramaList | AsianWiki

(Note: slight spoilers for the early episodes, but it’s necessary in order to give a more accurate recommendation regarding the F/F subtext, especially as the show is not primarily focused on any one relationship.)

This one’s a bonus because unlike the others on this list, there’s no close relationship between two female characters which could be interpreted in a romantic light. That’s not too surprising as the show is all about the women of a several super-wealthy families trying to get their children into the top Korean universities (equivalent to the Ivy League) whilst supporting their husbands in the rat race: a decidedly heteronormative premise, albeit one that’s executed in an award-winning manner.

So why am I listing it? Well, it’s because somehow, in this series about heteronormative and highly gendered nuclear families, it features possibly the most erotically-charged dynamic I have seen, even taking season 1 of Killing Eve into account. (Though it takes some time to get there, so if you try it out, please watch at least the first four episodes before making a decision!)

That honour goes to the problematic gem that is the relationship between the main character Han Seo-jin (Yum Jung-ah), who is willing to do whatever it takes to get her daughter into Seoul’s top medical school, and star tutor Kim Joo-young (Kim Seo-hyung), who is known for her 100% success rate. It starts off with a mild push-and-pull, when Han Seo-jin wants Coach Kim to take on her daughter, but is wary of the shady rumours surrounding her; the tutor stands firm, and Han eventually has to swallow her pride and accept the risks. Where it really comes into its own, though, is when Coach Kim starts to pose a legitimate threat to everything Han cares for: her daughter, her marriage (or rather, what her husband can give her), her position in the world. It becomes increasingly clear that Han should just walk away, and indeed she tries to do so many a time, only to bend in the end because the coach is key to fulfilling her dearest wish– and so to Han, for all she rages and resents and fears, Coach Kim is nothing less than temptation itself. This is the beating core of the show, and even as the plotting disintegrates and falls into melodrama in the second half, their scenes together still crackle with delicious tension every time. Watch it.

(CW: suicide, psychological abuse, child abuse, bullying, murder)

[musicalmoritz]

I love fics that let Aoinene be messy

I know the general attitude towards this ship is “wow cute lesbians, good for them” but it makes me so happy when people actually address the conflict of their dynamic. Aoi wants to open up to Nene but Nene is too consumed by her own problems to notice. She makes Aoi feel invisible, and as a result Aoi keeps her at a distance. They both lie to each other to the point that neither of them really know who the other is. Nene forgives Aoi way too easily for her actions during the Grim Reaper arc because in her eyes, her best friend can do no wrong. Aoi can be very passive-aggressive to Nene sometimes, leading me to believe she harbors a lot of bitterness towards her. These are elements that make the ship more interesting, their conflict gives them more substance than just being the fluffy side ship to Terukane. Speaking of which, it strikes me as odd that the ships involving men are praised for their toxicity whereas the wlw ships either have their problems entirely erased or are hated for not being perfect

This is why most of my Aoinene fics (especially the longer ones) involve miscommunication and arguments. I like seeing them struggle before they get to be happy, putting in a mutual effort to work out their problems. I like fluff twice as much as the next person, but angst with wlw ships just hits different for me. It’s sweet that a lot of fics have Aoi viewing Nene as the solution to all her problems but hear me out…what if she’s not? What if Aoi starts out being more in love with the idea of Nene as her savior, and then has to come to terms with the fact that Nene makes her feel just as lonely as everyone else does? But she still loves her, so she’s stuck on whether to confront Nene about these problems or keep it all inside. And poor Nene knows something is off but she can’t for the life of her figure out what it is and she’s too scared of change to bring it up. It’s not overwhelming amounts of toxicity but they’d have to actually talk shit out before riding off into the sunset together

I personally believe Aoi to be BPD coded in canon and that is how I write her in all my fics, so the concept of Aoinene (and AoiAoi) as an FP dynamic is also interesting to me. Nene is the one person Aoi can stand and those feelings become so strong that they’re almost unbearable. She starts splitting with her when she realizes Nene has been lying, she grows to hate her at times but she still bases so much of her self-worth on what Nene thinks and she’s terrified of losing her. This is another area they need to communicate in but because Aoi is allergic to admitting her true feelings, it’s more-so something Nene has to pick up on herself. She can be a little dense but when she truly loves someone she lets them know it so I like to have her give Aoi the reassurance she needs

This post is a bit self-indulgent and everyone is free to write them however they want but idk, I’d love to see more fics that let them have problems. Especially ones where Aoi finally opens up to Nene and they properly talk out the Grim Reaper arc. And also more fics where they’re both allowed to be flawed!! Let Nene be selfish and let Aoi be bitter!! This kinda goes for every TBHK character because I LOVE fics that explore their flaws without getting ooc. I want to see them be the worst while still being sympathetic

My main point here is that Aoinene is just as deserving of conflict and angsty plots as every tbhk ship and that’s something I’d like to see more of with them. Toxic yuri enjoyers…you know what to do

[min-pathologica]

sick of people slandering characters in the name of other characters sigh. putting specific characters under the cut so no one tries to argue w me on this :p drdt chapter 1 spoilers lol

yes min did wrong teruko, yes teruko’s reaction was fair, no that actually doesn’t make min wrong!! or vice versa!! this is a death game!! people are forced to do shitty things to preserve their life!! you do not have time to think maturely about a situation after killing someone in self-defense!! think honestly, this stranger you don’t like is standing over what looks like your friend’s corpse with a knife and there you are, fully visible and loudly yelping by the doorway, hands too full to make a smooth escape, seconds to think of something before he fucking slashes you. for me it’d almost be instinctual to throw the bucket, at least to free my hands and stun him. for me at least. maybe some of u would be able to run. but min did the former, and i don’t want to hear this “she should have ran” because she had like 5 seconds to think of something. like. you have 5 seconds to devise a solution to the riemann hypothesis, you’re not going to think of every answer and rank them by correctness. same goes for fight or flight. this part is literally just fight or flight lol. so next she whips out the knife pen and swipes open that bad boy light switch (wow girlboss been playing that yandere simulator). obviously the fab fashionable ultimate student knows about electrical safety and its inverse, so it came in handy when she needed this brit down on the ground. so he fucking died, and ‘oh shit i just killed this guy, what am i going to do oh god i’m going to die i should’ve ran’ no wait if i just frame teruko i’ll survive. guys if you don’t have an active death wish, enjoyment of pain, and reversed instincts, you are going to do dumb shit to avoid getting your ass killed. you are going to take the easiest route you can think of. even if it hurts everyone else. dying is really scary guys, when it’s up there in your face dancing on your nose and it could actually happen and is more than a what-if. i hear these edgy 12 year olds out there with “haha i’m so concerning knowing how to dispose of a body! i bet i could actually get away with murder!” you aren’t accounting for adrenaline deariepop. you aren’t accounting for any of the many circumstances that will inevitably come with killing someone. you will not get away with murder girlboss. so min carries on with the framing, she does a pretty good job for having like ten minutes. and at the trial the adrenaline has not gone away in fact it has come back full force with a helpful heaping of guilt. probably. y’know. cause she’s guilty. and when it comes out that she framed teruko, yes teruko’s reaction was fair, you shouldn’t be all happy skippy bible school after nearly getting killed. so anyway gay hug. doomed yuri. yes. you get it. then min fucking dies. teruko’s cranky and needs a nap. because who wouldn’t. and i say cranky with all my heart and love, because i too am cranky after writing this out

so tl:dr people get messy and make mistakes when in life-or-death situations. therefore i think neither min nor teruko should be slandered for their actions in chapter 1. cool

[neko-naruto]

can't deal with that feeling (without my body reelin')

Summary: Casey and Rafaela meet, things escalate very fast

Warnings: swearing, mentions of hockey related injuries, April can be read as straight or aroace

Authors Note: they are so fucking yuri. i need to be put down. hope ya'll enjoy

Casey Jones is nothing but trouble.

April O'neil doesn't do much in ways to tame the vigilante either, taking deep enjoyment in the chaos that the ravenette sows.

"Oi! Toss me down a puck!" Her voice held a shockingly low timbre too it, April tossed a puck down to her best friend. The ravenette caught it on the blade of her stick and tossed it back and forth before slapping it across the ice, "Woohoo! Score!"

"Hey hockey girl! When do you plan on finishing up so we can do that tutoring of yours?" April shouted down to Casey who was meandering across artificial ice comfortably.

She shrugged, "Dunno, how much work do we have left?" She gives this caved in grin, having lost a tooth or two to a terribly misplaced puck in her teeth when she decided she didn't need protective gear. Still she makes her way to the bleachers, shooting stray pucks to the back net as she goes.

"How much math did you skip?" April countered with.

Casey gives this wounded sound, "I really hope you're a good tutor, you better be worth the twenty bucks I paid."

"So we have a lot of work then?" April asked smugly as the hockey player dropped down beside her and unstrapped her skates, quick to replace them with battle boots.

Casey slid her skates into the base of her sports bag, baseball bats, hockey sticks, a golf club, she was set for everything but academics. She leaned back, "Any ideas on where we could study, babe?" It's mostly in jest, and April laughs so Casey'll have to to play it off as a joke.

"You know I don't like chicks," April answered with, "But I know a few places, Jones."

She hoists the bag onto her shoulder and barely aches despite the weight of it all. Again, with the caved in grin, "Worth a shot trying," She takes the lead, "Show me the way."

-/-/-/-

It happens faster than she can pull out her hockey stick to fight.

Slammed against the ground by a figure dressed in all black while some green assholes fought them off with April. All she could do was try to stand up and rush over with a baseball bat in hand, ready to bash open a head.

"Casey! Just stay put!" It's April, Casey ignores her.

Slashing the wide end of the bat against a rib cage she hears a shatter unbecoming of anything organic. Then there are sparks and she rears back, an elbow finds itself firmly planted in her humerus before something spiked is jamming into a throat and popping off a head. Then they turn around and she's face to face with something beautiful but not human in the slightest.

"If you're gonna get in my way then make yourself useful!" The words are spat sharply with a certain resonance of femininity despite the muscle, it makes Casey feel like vomiting with how many butterflies are present in her stomach. She nods dumbly, grip on her bat tightening before she launches herself at a different enemy.

The same mutant follows her, hacking and slashing with pronged weapons while she lays out heavy hits. There's grace to each motion the mutant lays out, every kick and every punch and every stab. Casey is pretty sure she's infatuated with it, infatuated with something about it.

By they time they're in a pile of shattered gears and further mushed brains Casey's heart is pounding in her skull. Her back is pressed against a shell, hands grasping the baseball tightly. Something is tickling the back of her neck and it isn't her own hair, something rough and torn and fabric.

"What's your name?" Casey asked, breathless, tired, worn.

"Rafaela," She answered with, voice just as rough as Casey's.

"Cool," The ravenette answered with, "You're one of April's freak friends aren't you?"

There's a nod, the fabric against Casey's neck shifts and that's the only way she can it's a nod, "That's me, and my sisters."

"Sisters?" Casey asked.

Rafaela laughed, "Don't get your hopes up, Miley's straight as an arrow, Leona is the chastity queen and Donatella has her sights set on April."

"And you?" Casey asked, pushing her luck until it shoved away Rafaela if she was unlucky.

"Single, girl kisser," Rafaela answered with bluntly, "You?"

"In a similar predicament to your own, Raf," She gave a hum as she spoke.

"I take it you play ball?"

"Prefer hockey,"

"You could teach me, we'll call it a date,"

"You're awfully fast to trust a human,"

"April was with you, she's safe enough to trust, and if you aren't," she gives just enough pause for a couple rapid heartbeats to pass, "Your head will look lovely on my wall."

Casey can't help but shiver at the threat, "That's hot."

Rafaela laughs, "Come with me to the lair girl, we'll work out a skate date later."

-/-/-/-

Her knees shake as Casey glides her across the ice, hand in hand. It's laughable really, a warrior like Rafaela reduced to nothing with a pair of skates designed by her big sister and a sheet of ice below her. Casey doesn't laugh though, she just holds on extra tight so her date doesn't fall.

"And you like this?" Rafaela asked.

Casey shrugged, "It's a lot more fun with a hot girl other than me on the ice, sadly April said no, because she doesn't like girls."

"Aw, how sad," Rafaela mocked, "I'm right here, Case."

She leaned in to press a kiss to the tip of Rafaela's beak, her nose, above her mouth but below her eyes, "I know, I'm just bitching."

"You must have a masters degree in it,"

"I'll let go of you,"

"I take it back! Just, please don't leave me out here,"

"No one's gonna see us, I locked the doors,"

[piracytheorist]

Ranking SxF episodes least favourite to most favourite

No, I have nothing better to do. Temperature reached 42 degrees today (Celsius. That's 107 if you're American) and it was like that most of the day so going out was out of the question. We were also let off work today so I had a little too much free time so what was left was being inspired by a random video for another show and going at it for SxF!

This is all my personal judgment heavily based on stuff I liked. You most certainly will disagree with me and that's fine! Just don't argue with me because that's just personal opinions, I'm not trying to change anyone's minds or prove anything!

I didn't want to say "worst" in the ranking because even the episode I consider the weakest, you'll find out soon which one I'm talking about, is still a great episode that I've enjoyed watching in my rewatches. Just not as much as the other episodes.

There's a high chance I will change my mind after a while on this. I made the rankings quite quickly and more on instinct than anything else. But hey this is my blog I post what I want.

I chose to rank each episode by five criteria, the things I love the most about the show: 1) Humor (intentional or not), 2) Character (defining or cool moments and such) 3) Cute (mostly Anya and Bond adding to that XD) 4) Plot (how much development there is and how well the action is delivered) 5) Feels (of any kind).

So under the cut the rankings go!

#25, Least Best: 10. The Great Dodgeball Plan

Humor: 7/10 Character: 5/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 4/10 Feels: 4/10

Yeah, I don't have much to say about this one. As far as fillers go, it's pretty good stuff, and the anime team did a good job adding new scenes to expand it so that they could fill an entire episode about it, instead of shoehorning this chapter into another episode that wouldn't be relevant. Again, it's a good episode, but one I had no problem skipping in my, like, fifth rewatch of the entire show XD

#24: 22. The Underground Tennis Tournament: The Campbelldon

Humor: 6/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 4/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 5/10

I'm not into sport-y action in fictional media, and this episode has a little too much Nightfall and almost completely no Forger family moments so it was doomed for me to be at the bottom. Don't misunderstand me, the action was good and Nightfall's ridiculousness was enjoyable. But not something I'd rewatch a ton of times. I also like that we got a little bit of political mention in this one, so plot points were added.

#23: 17. Carry Out the Griffin Plan/ Fullmetal Lady / Omelet Rice

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 3/10

I think I've made my stance on the moments of Damian bullying Anya clear, and no episode of the show has made me as uncomfortable as this one has. It's still got nice moments between Anya and Becky and I love the small glimpse into Sylvia's life and the ending with Yor and smol Yuri, but my biases don't allow this episode to go any higher.

#22: 20. Investigate the General Hospital / Decipher the Perplexing Code

Humor: 7/10 Character: 5/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 5/10 Feels: 7/10

I'll be honest, I feel kinda sad this is so low because Anya is so adorable and such a GremlinTM in this one, but there's only so much her little back can carry. Extra feels though for Twilight worrying over Anya's stress. Again, a very well-standing episode as far as fillers go, but not one to keep me at the edge of my seat.

#21: 19. A Revenge Plot Against Desmond / Mama Becomes the Wind

Humor: 7/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 6/10

I have to be honest. I don't really like George. He annoyed me more than anything else. Most of my enjoyment of this episode comes from the second part. Yor's part was funny and cute and even sweet, especially at the end, but as far as this ranking goes, the George plot dragged it down. Interesting addition, however, that xenophobia has run so deep in this country that George fears he'll be sold off as a slave in Westalis, so plot point up.

#20: 7. The Target's Second Son

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 8/10

The two different part of this episode, once again, make the ranking a little skewed. I actually love the second part, especially the discussion between Loid and Yor. Loid picking up Anya and whispering in the sweetest voice ever about recording Spy Wars for her makes me fucking melt. Unfortunately, it's tied to an episode with bullying and no retribution, so it's dragged down a little.

#19: 18. Uncle the Private Tutor / Daybreak

Humor: 9/10 Character: 6/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 6/10

Yuri was fun. Daybreak was ridiculous (affectionate). Anya was cute. Twilight in action was interesting. I want to remind you that I absolutely adore this show, so this episode being number 19 on the list doesn't mean it's bad. It means it's very good but not epic like the ones on the top of the list.

#18: 23. The Unwavering Path

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 7/10

I laughed so hard at Yor decimating the tennis ball with the racket, that alone earns a high humor point. I loved the moment of Twilight supporting Carroll Campbell after he beat him at tennis, so character points added for that. Plot was interesting, at first I was annoyed that the tennis match was for nothing but then I found it interesting that it kind of paralleled Nightfall's obsession with Twilight. Feels points added for the end where Twilight goes and buys his girls' favourite snacks :D

#17: 25. First Contact

Humor: 5/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 5/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 8/10

This one is only so low due to the limited points in humor and cute section. This was, after all, a serious episode, but you'll see down the line that there are other serious episodes that got more points in humor and cuteness. It still got 9/10 for character thanks to a great introduction on Donovan and 8/10 for plot and don't get me wrong, it's still a great episode that I like rewatching. It gets extra feels points because of Becky being best friend material and because of the "Is that why you're using force to bring other nations to their knees" moment. Hey, I never said the "feels" part didn't include angst :)

#16: 6. The Friendship Scheme

Humor: 7/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 6/10

Unsurprisingly, the first part is more favourable to me. Yor saving Anya and Anya supporting her and loving her is adorable. We get a bit of spy stuff, we're introduced to the Handler and we love it, and Anya's punch was absolutely delicious.

#15: 8. The Counter-Secret Police Cover Operation

Humor: 9/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 6/10

I'll mourn the day where I'll watch the ending of this episode and not laugh hysterically. It's so dramatic, especially with the music added to it, I've laughed every single time like the first time I watched it. Again, Yuri is both satisfyingly funny and with good character motivations, with a great setting of his extremism and not a condemnation of him for it. A bit of cute points added for the Yor and Yuri flashbacks.

#14: 4. The Prestigious School's Interview

Humor: 8/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

I'll always love the ridiculousness of the Forgers bringing three sets of clothing for the interview. Character points very up especially for Loid defending Yor and almost going ballistic on Swan. Feels especially for the ending family scene, and this whumper also appreciates how the anime added the bandage around Loid's hand :)

#13: 13. Project Apple

Humor: 7/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 7/10

Again, I feel it's unfair that such a good episode ranks almost in the middle but that's just because the competition is very high lol. A good balance of Anya being an Ulcer-Inducing GremlinTM, Bond being the bestest boi, Anya and Bond being the cutest duo as well as all the other pets at the adoption fair, great introduction to the Doggy Crisis Arc, and Bond and Anya bonding!

#12: 3. Prepare for the Interview

Humor: 8/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

After the first two episodes were packed with plot, the third episode comes with great balance of character and dynamic moments. Especially having read the original manga chapter, I feel the director and animators did a great job adding more stuff to expand this episode. The flow was so natural I felt shocked to know almost half of the episode was anime original. With all three Forgers coming together at the end to catch the thief, and with Twilight having a realization at the end of how Yor inspired him, I love what this episode makes me feel.

#11: 15. A New Family Member

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 10/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 9/10

An excellent conclusion to the Doggy Crisis arc and welcoming of Bond in the family. That moment in the above screenshot alone is enough to make the cuteness skyrocket. Plot doesn't need to be high as it's the conclusion of the arc, but feels and humor more than make up for it. The only thing I would say about it is that it's hard for me to watch it on its own, it kinda needs to follow the impact of the previous two episodes. Which says a lot about how good the build-up and conclusion of that story was, by the way!

#10: 9. Show Off How In Love You Are

Humor: 9/10 Character: 8/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 9/10

A lot of humor for Yuri's overdramatic reaction at the first part! Also for Anya's reactions the next morning XD This episode is very defining for Twilight's perception of Yor. He opens up to her about feeling jealous of her relationship with her brother, and the next day, from the first moment he feels hesitant and guilty over doubting her. Yor unintentionally but honestly proves how much she already cares for him and respects him and it's the beginning of her realizing how much she values being a part of the Forgers. Overall, satisfying and fulfilling despite the secrets those two keep from each other.

#9: 5. Will They Pass Or Fail?

Humor: 10/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 8/10

This episode sold me with how unapologetically it gave no single fuck. It was ridiculous and they loved making it so and it shows. Such kind of humor is art. A relaxing episode (for us, certainly not for Loid) after the heavy packed introductory episodes and the stressful interview one, we get to sit back and enjoy Twilight becoming the butt of the joke and get his butt kicked, while Anya, Yor, and even Franky have the time of their lives. Princess Anya is adorable, especially with her badly-acted "Oh, no, save meee" and the ending scene of Loid and Anya warms my heart!

#8: 12. Penguin Park

Humor: 8/10 Character: 7/10 Cute: 10/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 9/10

PENGUINS! Enough said! I had so much love for penguins as a kid that if I was gifted a huge penguin plush I would be hysterical. Among the best fillers, it still has a solid plot and good character moments, and I absolutely adore how Anya tries to help Loid in his mission in such a way that the only reason he doesn't get suspicious is because she's too little for him to imagine ever being involved in something like this. Which adds both to the humor and the feels. Extra feels because again, this whumper appreciates an exhausted Loid :D

#7: 11. Stella

Humor: 7/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 7/10 Feels: 9/10

Anya showcasing massive amounts of bravery and kindness, and finally being recognized for it. Twilight feeling genuine pride for her. A legit intense moment of a kid almost drowning. A grand rescue! It's SO GOOD YOU GUYS!

#6 21. Nightfall / First Fit of Jealousy

Humor: 8/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

My biases all out in the open. A subtle hint that Twilight is genuinely happy as a part of the Forgers and I become a puddle of feels. At the same time, while it's clear we should root for Yor and distrust Fiona and her methods, it's great character building for her and spot-on dynamics between the rest of the characters. Anya rubbing her face all over Yor and Bond to basically tell Fiona "begone you foul witch we are happy as we are" is perfect. Loid supporting Yor (with a heavy hint that it actually means a lot to him that Anya is happy with Yor as her mother) and then showing a hint of genuine emotion that's so strong he doesn't even realize is seeping through his smile and I AM DONE. It's the beginning of my end.

#5: 14. Disarm the Time Bomb

Humor: 6/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 6/10 Plot: 9/10 Feels: 10/10

I cannot express how much I love the "You know nothing about war" scene. It's so raw and so human and so disturbing (in a great storytelling way) that this moment alone makes me trust fully in the way Endo will handle the story in regards to war and politics later on. It's more of a character moment, mostly for Sylvia but in a subtler way about Twilight too, so it deserves a solid 10 in that regard. Plot is still heavy and action-packed, some humor and cuteness manages to sneak in, and then there's the moment of Bond having the vision of Loid dying which I kid you not, when I first watched the episode I felt like someone punched me in the gut. That alone skyrockets feels up to 10, but then there's also Anya apologizing to Yor for running off on her own and Yor hugging her tight while being realistic about the situation. Deserved spot in the top five.

#4: 16. Yor's Kitchen / The Informant's Great Romance Plan

Humor: 7/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

Look. I tried to be as honest as possible in my rankings, and I ranked each episode separately before seeing where they ended up on the list. The fact that with absolute honesty, this episode ranks so high says a lot about how, though combining two wholly different plots, it does so many things I love about this show so good. Yor feeling accepted and genuinely happy over seeing Loid and Anya enjoy the food she made for them means so fucking much for me. That's her revelation of love for this family, and she's still got way to go before she even falls for Loid romantically. It's still a filler but it's so good for character and long overdue focus on Yor. Franky's part has sufficient humor and character on its own, and with Twilight deciding to console him at the end it's all tied up with a neat little bow.

#3: 24 The Role of a Mother and Wife / Shopping with Friends

Humor: 9/10 Character: 9/10 Cute: 9/10 Plot: 6/10 Feels: 10/10

I unapologetically barely acknowledge the second part of this episode because the first part hits SO HARD that the second feels like a commercial break in comparison (apologies to any who loved it. I actually find it a great part on its own, but when put next to the first part, it pales in comparison for me).

This episode ended me. I don't know if I'm biased on my rating because I recorded my reaction to watching it, and I saw myself laughing so hard and so often, as well as saw my own near-crying face in both scenes where baby Twilight was shown, that I can't help giving such high numbers on the humor and feels part. Though okay this episode wants you to feel stuff, so maybe it's just the humor part that may be a little biased. I wouldn't actually consider it the funniest episode of the season. Anyway, I don't think there's actually a lot to say regarding why I rated with the numbers I rated. It's a great episode that has a lot to say about Twilight, Yor, and their relationship and connection, and it's made with so much love by everyone, from Endo himself, to the cast and crew. I love it and I will continue to love it.

#2: 2. Secure a Wife

Humor: 10/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 7/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 9/10

Yor's introduction is, for real, one of the best and most satisfying character introductions I've ever had the pleasure to lay eyes upon. She is flawlessly presented in her full glory, with her (natural) weaknesses revealed. From her first episode you learn everything you need to know about her, and she is seamlessly inserted into the plot and the lives of the established characters so past that, you get to enjoy her being an irreplaceable part of the story. Her motivations are clear, her character agency is well established, and it's all done succinctly and efficiently within 20 minutes of screentime. It's fabulous. At the same time, the episode delivers great humor, a bit of expansion of plot and world building, as well as feels for how Twilight and Yor start connecting without even realizing it, and the hands-down best proposal scene I've seen in fictional media in my entire life.

It's for a fake marriage and still nothing compares to it. Your otp could never.

#1: 1. Operation Strix

Humor: 9/10 Character: 10/10 Cute: 8/10 Plot: 8/10 Feels: 10/10

A quite honestly perfect introductory episode. In a little more than twenty minutes of screentime, it establishes all of the following:

Twilight and Anya's characters and motivations, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

The basis of the relationship between Twilight and Anya.

The plot of pretty much the entire story.

A succinct presentation of the political situation without long exposition scenes.

The mood and setting; a careful balance of found family humor and realistic anti-war stance.

At the same time, it manages a tight and self-sufficient episode plot that fits the characters' backgrounds and MOs, it delivers meaningful flashbacks, and all that while being honest about what it's trying to be, without fanfare and badassery trying to cover up leaks like flex tape. Every scene, every shot, every second has a reason and meaning. Paired with episode 2, it's genuinely a near flawless introduction to everything Spy x Family is about. It gives you all you need and prepares you for the awesomeness that follows!

[aihoshiino]

who are your favorite OnK characters (apart from Ai)?

i love that you clarified 'apart from Ai' because my blorbo brainrot derangement so thoroughly speaks for itself <3

From the main cast, I'd say my faves are Kana, Aqua and Ruby in that order. Up to Tokyo Blade I'd say I like all of them about equally, but from TB onwards, it's more like Kana --> Aqua ----> Ruby. Not that I dislike Ruby or anything…? There's just some weird bumps in how she's characterized post Tokyo Blade and I especially just really don't like Black Hoshigan Ruby as presented in the manga so she's kind of a miss for me in that regard lol. I looooove her in the first 30-40 chapters of the manga though and especially the anime… Yurie Igoma's portrayal of her is so cute and sweet and earnest. It's fucking insane to me that Ruby is her first main role in a show?? I rly can't wait to see where her career goes from here because I really think she's gonna blow up.

ANYWAY… From the side cast… Melt my beloved <3 His arc in Tokyo Blade is so fucking good and tbh his interlude chapter was easily my favourite of his. Sooooo excited to see his glowup moments in season 2. I'm also really fond of Miyako for similar reasons! The anime especially does a ton to make her and Ai's relationship a lot warmer and closer and that combined with her relationship with the twins has me so fond of her. I like Ichigo a lot as well, though that's kind of mostly just in the context of his and Ai's relationship and the Strawberry Productions family dynamic in general and I'm not necessarily crazy invested in him as a character on his own.

I also ADORE Kyun and Nino. Viewpoint B is my favourite OnK sidestory and Kyun and her relationship with Ai are a big part of that. I'm also SOOOOOOO excited to see more of Nino in the main story… I was always so fascinated by the 45510 narrator and the mess of emotions that story lays out re: her relationship with Ai so it's been such a surprise and a delight to see her getting additional development and seeing her relationship with Ai being fleshed out even more. Huge w for gay people and evil women enjoyers everywhere.

This also might sound bonkers but uh, Ayumi Hoshino is also one of my favourite side characters?? Yeah, Ai's shitty mom! I am just so endlessly fascinated by her and am really sincerely in awe of how incredibly well realized and well characterized she is across the literal four pages of on-screen panel time she gets in the entire manga. Her abuse is so, so foundational to literally everything about Ai and her presence was this horrible black smear across Ai's past that we could never get a proper look at, so the absolute gutpunch that was the anticlimax of seeing her in person for the first time and realizing how sad and pathetic and normal she was……………. bro…………………. I may have a lot of issues with how Akasaka writes certain things in OnK but he writes toxic moms in such a raw and real way, I can't get enough of it

[sapphicdib]

FIRST: Looks to the Moon! And if you want to Hunter as well?

HEHE YOU KNOW ME SO WELL <3

Fav thing about them:

Moon: Her. Just her. Her entire adorable being. Her structure, how calming it is to be inside it. The way she hangs upside down on her rig a lot, especially when examining you. Her cute nicknames for you. The way she thanks you for bringing her things. Her lil beepy voice she has before giving you the mark. Everything. Her personality, her puppet, her breathtaking structure. I can’t choose one and I will not.

Hunter: Her story! How selfless her mission is, and how she’s a little creature doing her best to save someone she’s never even met before. She uses her limited time to save someone who suffers the same fate as her—body breaking down, seizing and collapsing. I also like that she’s pink :)

Least fav thing about them?

Moon: Impossible. Nothing.

Hunter: I guess…how neglected she is? She’s never anyone’s favorite campaign (just get good at the game, scrubs), and she was the only scug that didn’t get an updated ending/attention in downpour. Obviously artihunter means she’s popular within the fandom, but game-wise a lot of ppl seem to forget about her, when it’s honestly a REALLY fun campaign!

Favorite Line:

Moon: “And so clearly, this forced broadcast is directed to you, Five Pebbles.”

Idk what it is about this line specifically, but I legit cannot read it without bursting into tears. I managed to hold it together but I read that line in her broadcast and just lost it. I cried for like 30 minutes and had to go hug my mom.

Hunter: Obviously she doesn’t speak in the game, but here’s one of my fav line(s) from a fic Im writing:

She’s very proud of her name :)

brOTP

Moon: Is it weird to say Moon and Ruffles? It’s so cute that Moon named her and Ruffles seems to stay around even after the campaign. I headcanon that Rivulet struck out on her own to find out who she was, and after many adventures, decided that Ruffles was who she was.

Hunter: Ruffles too!! I see them having a cute sibling dynamic thanks to lilypad :3

OTP

Moon: LILYPAD OF COURSE!! DOOMED YURI MY BELOVED !!! Sig n Moons personalities work together so well and I love them sm ;-;

Hunter: APPLE JUICE!!! Monk x Hunter!!! I would have said artihunter but apple juice has captured my heart so hard i can’t help it.

nOTP

Moon: I don’t rlly like Eclipse but that’s just cuz I hc Moon is a lesbian. Also Waning Crescent/Slivermoon just doesn’t do it for me.

Hunter: Cherrypie…sorry cherrypie enjoyers I just can’t see it :( I feel like gourmand would see Hunter as more of a daughter figure.

Random Headcanon:

Moon: BEEPS! She beep-snorts when she laughs and often tries to hide it but Sig has made it her life mission to make Moon beep-snort-laugh as much as possible hehe

Hunter: She acts a LOT like Sig. Despite her ferocity in battle, she’s pretty goofy and playful during less intense moments. She also considers herself as Sig and Moon’s daughter (as do they)

Unpopular Opinion:

Moon: SHE IS NOT JUST “BORING FEMALE CHARACTER.” She has personality! She’s insanely stubborn when it comes to using her seniority privileges and obviously takes her role as local group senior very seriously. She is “nice and kind” but that doesn’t make her flat/stereotypical. Of course she’s gonna be nice to the player, you’re a little helpless animal.

Hunter: PLAY HER CAMPAIGN. PLEASE. It is not as daunting as you think it is, ESPECIALLY if you’ve beaten downpour cats! It IS challenging, but for me it really brings back the spirit of the original game: youre a helpless little creature. You can’t generate spears out of your ass, you can’t make explosives, all you can do is run slightly faster and throw spears slightly harder. You have to use your wit and skill to get through it, but it is so worth it.

Song I associate with them

Moon: Afterlife by Shadow Cliq

Hunter: No Mercy by DeathByRomy (it’s an artihunter song but god it goes hard)

Favorite Picture of Them:

MEWNIE…

And not to suck my own dick here or anything but this is my fav drawing i’ve done of hunter, my new year’s resolution was to learn to draw scugs so here’s my fav drawing of her i’ve done so far :3

TY FOR THE ASK!!

[magiefish]

OH GOD OH NO OH FUCK ME OH SHIT OH NO <- Just finished listening to Neverland

Further, more coherent, thoughts (and spoilers) beneath:

*Through gritted teeth* There is no alternative. There is no alternative. There is no alternative.

Anyway I really enjoyed that episode. I had forgotten what an enjoyable and satisfying conclusion to a story arc felt like. NuWho really sent that one through the Oubliette of Eternity.

I've never watched classic who romana but I *love* her dynamic with the doctor. The bit where they're under the console alternating between yelling technobabble and whispering plans? Effervescent.

The bit where Charley is like "Oh no! The Doctor!" and the co-ordinator says "Who?" mockingly. Brilliant.

The sound-effects were also really good. Charley's screams as she got "transfigured" were genuinely harrowing. And the moment of silence before the casket explodes? Gorgeous

The Never-People are really cool. Sentris' backstory was messed up and I like her character in general (also the doctor told her 'don't get your halo in a twist' or something? Much to consider design and symbolism wise)

The whole 'oh we're sorry the government did those terrible things to you, but don't worry, it's all a thing of the past now bit!' immediately followed by the reveal that no actually the horrors are ongoing you just didn't notice. Was certainly. Interesting. In the contemporary political climate.

TARDIS THAT HIDES AS A PLANET!! NuWho should really do more tardises disguised as unlikely objects. Work that chameleon circuit. Let's have a TARDIS necklace or something.

Rassilon seems a lot chiller here than he is generally depicted as in new who? Maybe that's just what the time war does to a motherfucker. Also he's dead? Didn't know that was a part of the canon.

Charley is honestly so delightful. She has so much wonder and curiosity but she's not afraid to assert herself, and she's frankly far more willing to put her own personal hang-ups aside for the greater good than the Doctor is.

Speaking of which, I find that a lot of New Who stories that try to do 'the darkness of the doctor' lean really hard into the potential ruthlessness and egotism and anger of the character (see Ten) but honestly I've never seen those as the Doctor's primary flaws? They're definitely angry with certain people and species (see Nine and the Daleks post-Time War) but their self-centeredness is not just being kind of controlling and ignoring the wishes of the people around them occasionally, it's also tossing their own health and safety aside at a moments notice. Sometimes being self-centered isn't just about being selfish or self-involved, it's also thinking of yourself as an isolated individual who's death or self-destruction won't affect the people around you who care about you, and that is definitely one of the Doctors major character flaws.

They also suffer from what I affectionately term "Best friend related object impermanence" in which they become incredibly attached to singular people and even when it's a them vs the universe situation if they're right in front of them they just kind of forget the universe exists and always put the companion first, usually at a detriment to themself. Like, if they can't see it it may as well not be there, laws of time be damned.

I think it's because The Doctor's so old and they already know almost everything about the universe so they need their companions in order to experience the wonder of it again but ultimately that just kind of leaves them in a bit of a co-dependent relationship with them. Which is a Yikes for them from me, but I also love relationships in which two people are entangled with one another in an deeply unhealthy way, so I will be both patting them on the back and pulling out the popcorn to see how it goes this time. (Can you tell I'm a Face the Raven-Heaven Sent-Hell Bent fan)

What Thirteen was really missing was a deeply messed up relationship with Yaz. Where's My Toxic Yuri Chibnall.

What I'm trying to say is: The Doctor is a merciful and compassionate character who tries to do what they think is right, and what they think is right is usually the option that ends with only him getting hurt -- this does not mean that they are good.

And The Doctor and Charley, ohhhh boooooyyyyyyy there's a lot to unpack there that smarter people than me already have but just. Charley accepting death and being grateful to the Doctor for giving her these adventures and actively telling him to shoot her to save the universe. The Doctor refusing to shoot her because he can't accept her dying and choosing to essentially kill himself instead of her. AGhhhhhhhhOuGGGhhhhhhOWwwwwwWWWWWW-

Platonic "I love you"s. Mwah.

The bit where The Doctor tries to send Charley away to a party and hide the truth of the situation from her and she puts her foot down and chooses to go and confront the Time Lords using an old trick he taught her. Queen. Assert your agency. Don't take shit from him.

GOD I LOVE THE ANTI-TIME CONCEPT. I'm just really into ideas about primordial chaos and dream logic and paradoxical identities like "I exist but I never was" or "I am this person but I am also not this person", nom nom nom, I was eating so well this episode.

I also love me an Ancient Horror and Messed Up Rhymes or Chants That Forewarn Their Coming (see Nowhere King from Centaur World) so, again, I was eating SO well this episode.

Love characters who have no identity so they take it from other sources like fiction or the external environment. Delicious.

Moffat, Flux-Chibnall, and RTD-2 wish they were Neverland so bad.

Wait hang on. Could The Frog from "It Takes You Away" be Zagreus? I know the Solitrax is a different thing but it's such a similar concept that I'm just going to make that my personal crack headcannon now. You can't change my mind. There is no alternative. It's just too funny.

Sentris, upon The Doctor running off into the TARDIS and dematerialisting: Agh, just ignore the silly bugger, what could he possibly do now?

The Doctor, rematerialising the TARDIS around the Time Station: WHAT'S UP BIITCHESSSS-

A few minutes later:

Romana: The paradox has been resolved, thank goodness! The Web of Time is fixed, the future continues, and now I shall return to look after Gallifrey! Is there any advice you can give me, Matrix!Rassilon?

Rassilon: No, Romana. You know I cannot speak of the future.

Romana: Yes, of course, that makes perfect sense. And even if there *were* an impending catastrophe, I'm sure you'd warn me of it. Well, goodbye Rassilon! Thank you!

Rassilon: .....Okay boys, she's gone. Drop the Zagreus mixtape.

Charley: Doctor, what's wrong? Have you been injured or something?

Eight: Injured? No. I've not been injured. This TARDIS contained all of the Time Station when it exploded. This ship was filled to bursting with a great mass of the fierciest, fizzing, energy!

Charley: What?! Anti-Time!?

Eight: A crude term for such a matter of life - and death. But now that the breach is resolved, now that the problem of you is resolved, well, all that remains of that stuff in this whole reality is held in here.

Charley: What? In the TARDIS?

Zagreus: *Laughter*, oh, no no no. In here.

Voice of girl whose favourite things include "Strange case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde", "Another Twist", "The Fly" and "Penumbra: Black Plague";

Anyway, girl if your man starts talking in nursery rhymes and his voice becomes distorted that ain't your man that's Zagreus.

In conclusion: They were right. That Doctor sure could Become Zagreus. Wonder what bearing this will have on Hades II. Go listen to the Eighth Doctor's Main Range audios, they're all available on Spotify :gun:

[dankovskaya]

hiiiiii this is such a silly question but as the premiere kory enjoyer do u have recommended kory readings? i've only read her in some of her team comics (like ntt and outsiders etc) but i was wondering if she had any standout issues. i trust ur opinion most of all

HI ELLAAAA. I know this isn't exactly what you asked for but just for future reference @/princesskoriandr made the definitive Kory reading list right here.

I'm linking this because you are not going to like my answer to this which is that upwards of 90% of the Kory writing worth reading and taking at all seriously happened in NTT 😭 Like I hate to say it but even with all the issues of racism and misogyny irt her character as written by Wolfman, you're basically always losing SOME degree of nuance or interiority (or just overall interest in exploring her as a character) with essentially any other writer.

It's also been too long since I read any of it for me to remember individual issue numbers off of the top of my head 💀 BUT on a quick skim of that reading list (and assuming you've read at least the very beginning of NTT), I will recommend:

NTT v1: #16, #22-25 + Annual 1 (this arc introduces Komand'r and just expands their lore + that of Tamaran, the greater Vega system, etc), #26 (this is like the aftermath + when Dick and Kory officially start dating I believe)

Tales of the NTT v1 #4 (BIIIIIIG Kory backstory lore dump. Very important.)

NTT v2: #6 (This is the beginning of an arc I don't really remember and don't really care about. Just scroll through the issue until you see Kory wearing the "WE LOVE GAR" shirt and then read everything she says bc I love that scene LMAO), #13-19 (this is the dreaded Kory political marriage arc where Dick loses his nasty mind and he is hella racist to her basically the whole time but you do learn a lot about Tamaran and Kory's family etc. Funnily enough this segues directly into tiny Jason's temporary stint on the team cause everyone was having a mental breakdown.), #22-23 (extension + conclusion of that arc), #39 (literally just koryraven yuri. literally.)

Teen Titans Spotlight: #1-2 (Kory has a journey of self discovery after stumbling upon Apartheid South Africa. You could not make this shit up.), #19 (this is an event tie in but it's also like 100% A Day In The Life of Kory <3)

I'm going to recommend from New Titans very sparingly and with caveats as this is when they started running out of ideas and eventually did a backflip into the garbage disposal but: #71 (Titans Hunt arc is not fucking important but I recommend the first issue purely for reflections on dickkory), #97-109 (I KNOW this is big but bear with me. This is dickkory falling apart to marriage to falling apart again era + koryraven yuri part 2. Literally just skim everything until you see Kory. The actual wedding issue is #100 and after Demon Raven crashes it Kory gets like, possessed/impregnated by a piece of her soul or something and you see the psychological repercussions of that in the background of the succeeding issues until she blasts off in 108, and then 109 is KYNASF'RR. The issue that singlehandedly justifies the existence of New Titans for me. If nothing else read that one. You can keep reading/skimming until #114 if you want but not super necessary it gets. Weird. Basically Kory and Dick just mutually separately realize their relationship is inhibiting their growth as people 😭 #114 is their official breakup issue. Or it would be if Kory didn't stand him up when they were supposed to talk about it on account of not really wanting to see him LMAO.), and #127-130 is one of those arcs that is just confusing to read if you haven't been following everything going on with all the characters involved Lmfao BUT it's another Kory/Tamaran arc and the one where Tamaran goes the way of Alderaan so. Relevant. Raven is still inside Kory also during this time LMAO.

I would NOT recommend reading Titans 99 for any character other than Garth Lmfao BUT #47-50 of that book is an arc centered on her that's like... passable.

She's in Teen Titans v3 as a mentor character but I find that book horribly fucking boring so I haven't read most of it but the popular panels of her tending a garden of Tamaranean plants is from #7

Convergence: New Teen Titans #1&2 is good and also basically functions as a recap of why dickkory did not work out even though in this universe ironically it does. Lmfao

Other than that.... yeah. She's in Outsiders and Titans v2 but the sad fact of the matter is that if Kory isn't on the lineup of a team book, she's relegated to essentially a cameo character, and if shes on a team book that isn't from the NTT era, she's unavoidably going to be mischaracterized, sidelined, flattened, possibly character assassinated, or just generally not prioritized for storylines and character development or treated as a nuanced and multidimensional character.

[historyhermann]

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure Spoiler-Filled Review

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure is an original magical girl series directed by Koji Ogawa. It is produced by Toei Animation (which uses the "Izumi Todo" pen name for studio's producers as series creator), a studio founded in January 1948. It's known for over 240 anime, including Cutie Honey, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Smile PreCure!, and Sailor Moon Crystal. Ryunosuke Kingetsu is the show's head writer. As a warning, this review will discuss murder, death, trauma, attempted murder, psychological manipulation, and other mature themes.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the sixty-eighth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on March 3, 2024. On PCM it says this was posted on Mar. 4.

This series has an intriguing story. A girl named Sora Harewataru (voiced by Arkia Sekine) travels to Skyland's main city to watch the birthday of Ellee, the Kingdom's only princess. In an effort to escape her captors from the Underg Empire, she and Ellee (voiced by Aoi Koga) end up in Sorashido City, within Japan. While there, she comes across Mashiro Nijigaoka (voiced by Ai Kakuma). Later on, she meets Mashiro's grandmother, Yoyo (voiced by Tomoko Shiota), a non-human animal named Tsubasa Yuunagi (voiced by Ayumu Murase) which can transform into a Puni bird, and a young adult woman named Ageha Hijiri (voiced by Ayaka Nanase). All of them work together to stop the Underg Empire's evil deeds, and planned kidnapping of Ellee, even if it puts their lives into jeopardy.

Originally, I hadn't planned to review this series. The series isn't as environmentally focused as Tokyo Mew Mew New, nor a dark fantasy like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a comedy such as Tweeny Witches, or a magical fantasy like Little Witch Academia. I changed my mind after reading an Anime News Network chat-log stating that the series "breaks the mold" by introducing the first boy in the Pretty Cure franchise, and an Anime Feminist article by Cy Catwell, which described the series as enjoyable, upbeat, feminine-targeted, and "incredibly empowering."

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure is more than a magical girl series where Sora transforms into Cure Sky, Mashiro into Cure Prism, and Tsubasa into Cure Wing. Sora has some of the strongest character development of any character in the entire series. She goes from someone who claims she is a hero to the reality, with many bumps around the way. She is only rivaled by what Tsubasa goes through, who is a species of bird, and can't fly, causing his fellow bird peers to make fun of him.

Like other magical girl series, there is yuri subtext, specifically between Sora and Mashiro. In fact, both of them have a combo attack against any Ranborgs summoned by Kabaton (voiced by Yasuhro Mamiya), a general of the Underg Empire. As the series goes forward, their connection with one another gets stronger. It interlinks with camaraderie between the PreCures. For instance, Sora and Mashiro reassure Tsubase, increasing his self-confidence, helping him face his fears and insecurities.

One of the more interesting twists is the reveal that the grandmother of Mashiro, Yoyo, is from Skyland. She helps out the protagonists by connecting a magic mirror back to Skyland, and later, an inter-dimensional tunnel, with the right materials. She is a wise, guiding force, for the characters, and is often aware of more than what she reveals.

While Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure has characteristics typical in the magical girl genre, including transformations, friendship, heroic elements, youth, and femininity, this series is more than that. There are no heterosexual relationships. Rather, there's the aforementioned yuri subtext and a focus on friendship, with the creation of a found/chosen family among the protagonists. Unlike Sailor Moon, two characters buck the idea of the PreCures as princesses: Sora and Tsubasa. Both appear to be more down-and-out fighters, not royalty. Mashiro is the closest to being a princess-like apart from Ellee (an actual Princess).

Uniquely, Sora sees one of the key generals in Skyland, Captain Shalala (voiced by Saiga Mitsuki), as her rolemodel-of-sorts, rather than a king or prince. Just as significant is the fact  Tsubasa is a part of the team, showing that the magic-based and gentle power of magical girls isn't just for girls. Instead it makes clear that men can fight without punching or having lots of physical training. In fact, the latter is done by Sora but not anyone else.

There's some parallels between Tsubasa and Steven Universe, in that both do things seen as "girly" and "feminine." However, the latter develops it more than the former. Steven uses his mother's shield (with a rose in the center), his power for self-defense, rather than offense, and often cries, to name a few elements. Despite these differences, Tsubasa is a relatively well-developed character, as much as any other protagonist in this series.

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure is more than a series focused on heroism, which uses sky as a main motif and features characters with their own signature power moves. For one, it is novel that Sora spares Kabaton life after he fails his Earth mission for the Underg Empire. As a result, he lives a new non-evil life in Sorashido City.

Sora is just as compelling. She makes up with a fellow guard that she trains alongside in Skyland, showing she has become more of a hero. She wants to fight evil and cares about those around her. Of course, this is not unique to Sora. Other protagonists act similarly, including those in other magical girl series. For instance, the Sailor Scouts in Sailor Moon often go out of their way to protect others, especially if those people are near and dear to them.

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure shares the message that any obstacle can be overcome, even if it seems insurmountable. Something similar is communicated in Ippon Again!, except the latter series primarily states that hard work can lead to good results. The former is different, as it is more about the value of teamwork and friendship. Of course, this is present in Ippon Again!, but fights are more one-on-one, while those in Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure often feature multiple heroes fighting at once.

The Skyland arc is one of the more gripping plotlines. Sora becomes a member of the Azure Guards and fights against the villainous Battamonda (voiced by KENN / Ken'ichirō Ōhashi), along with other defenders of the city. This arc indicates that near-impossible challenges can be met. Mashiro and Sora use all of their magical girl energy to stop a bomb from destroying the capital of Skyland. This two-episode arc is short-lived. It ends in the fifteenth episode, setting the stage for a return to Sorashido City. The King and Queen are incapacitated by a curse-of-sorts. Captain Shala presumably sacrifices herself to save the city.

In the next two episodes are some of the series' strongest. This arc features protagonists returning to Japan and the grandmother, Yoyo, finding a way to heal the King and Queen. They work together to cheer up Elle and Battamonda follows them, declaring he will stop them no matter what. As was the case in episodes before this, there are huge battles, but everything is always rebuilt afterward. There is also a nice bonding scene, in another episode, between Sora and Mashiro during a relay race, bringing them closer together.

There was some controversy about the sixteenth episode of Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure. Some claimed that one of the banners used had a Japanese imperialist origin. Whether that is the case or not, it pales in comparison to what happened with Oshi No Ko (which is returning with a second season this year). There were even complaints about a subset of that series fandom harassing the mother of professional wrestler Hana Kimura. She previously said that she doesn't want to blame anyone and praised the series for raising "important issues" but wondered if anyone gave it "the proper consideration before releasing it out into the world."

Apart from that, the camaraderie between the characters, the aforementioned yuri subtext between Sora and Mashiro, and the value of self-love are important series themes. When the heroes are pinned down, they use all the strength they can to beat the villains, even if they are facing stronger monsters. This is the case in the eighteenth and nineteenth episodes. In those episodes, Ageha Hijiri goes from being an 18-year-old woman who teaches at a nursery school to a magical girl named Cure Butterfly. She becomes an integral part of the PreCure team. The new opening in the nineteenth episode features her in a much more prominent place.

One of the best parts of the eighteenth and nineteenth episodes of Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure is the fact that Ageha is not some refugee from a magical land (as is the case for Sora and Tsubasa). She's an ordinary person in more ways than one. Having a character who is passionate about primary school education is great. Many magical girls are teenagers, so they aren't necessarily thinking of their future careers. That sets Ageha apart.

Surely, Mashiro is also an "ordinary person," but Ageha is different. She cares about the students of her nursery class. She defends them, and the school, after she transforms into Cure Butterfly. By the nineteenth episode, she has settled in with everyone. She even works with Tsubasa, who's worried about her, to develop a joint attack named "PreCure! Titanic Rainbow." This magic spell involves one person using a paintbrush, turning a being into rainbow, and then using it against an enemy, if I understand it correctly. Basically, it is "death by bird butt," to put it simply. It's even more powerful than Mashiro and Sora's joint spell, named "Updraft Shining."

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure harps on a theme expressed in episodes of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Cleopatra in Space, and in I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Viewers are told that overwork is bad and that breaks are good. This series goes even further: it makes clear that no one should take on everything by themselves, but should share the burden with others. By the end of the nineteenth episode, Tsubasa, Mashiro, Sora, and Ageha all divide up the house duties, embodying elements of a cooperative housing situation.

Ageha's overwork and over-dedication are the result of her determination to give back to everyone. The series depicts the former as something people shouldn't not strive for. Fitting with the anti-overwork message, collaboration is emphasized. This is not unique to this series. It is present in many magical girl and superhero series, especially when characters in those series are part of a team. Coming back to Ageha, I am reminded of the twenty-eighth episode. In that episode, it's revealed that Ageha knows a well-known model (Maria Saotome), and a well-known model and designer (Kaguya Saotome). Both are her sisters. A divorce separated them and they took different paths. The episode ends with each sister agreeing to do their best and bring a smile to faces of other people, whether in the fashion world or within the classroom.

Ageha isn't the only one who struggles in Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure. Throughout the series, Mashiro often works on picture book illustration and writing. In the twentieth episode, she has writer's bloc and is unable to come up with a "good" original story. She believes she is borrowing from too many other stories. A mother reading to their daughter inspires her. Although there is an obligatory fight scene in this episode, with a monster summoned by an annoyed Battamonda, she still submits her drawing in time for the town's picture book contest. Even though she doesn't win, she dedicates herself to drawing again, which comes up later in the series.

Otherwise, some characters use their knowledge to assist their fellow team members. In the twenty-first episode, Tsubasa defeats Battamonda's summoned monster because he knows that clouds are made of "tiny bits of water and ice." He is helped by the other PreCures, who use their magical attacks, including a joint attack with Ageha. At the episode's end, Yoyo gives him a book and Mirror Pad to help him learn more. In a later episode, Tsubasa connects with Shoko Amauno who knows about airplanes and flying. He uses it to help defeat the summoned monster. The former episode made me think back to a middle school science class I look which included a lesson about different cloud types. I probably still have the handouts from that class!

One of the most heartbreaking Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure episodes follows. Battamonda tricks Sora. He claims that she planted the dark hatred in his heart. Captain Shalala is inside the monster he summoned. He manipulates the monster to attack her. Other PreCures save her, but don't purify the monster after he claims that Undergu energy is keeping her alive. The monster-of-sorts, and Battamonda, disappear. He declares he will continue to play with them until their hearts are "in pieces." The latter happens with Sora. After she says she "doesn't want to fight anymore," her mirage pen disappears, so she can't transform! In this way, Battamonda is one of the worst villains in the entire series. He engaged in psychological warfare against Sora because he tried to make her feel afraid / hopeless / less confident without physically hurting her.

The twenty-third episode brings this full circle. Sora returns to Skyland, believing she has lost everything, since she can't access her powers. While her parents respect her decision, her brother does not. Her friends are worried about her. Yoyo says that she doesn't know how people move forward when their dreams are shattered. Her friends Ageha and Tsubasa are unable to get her out of her funk. Instead, she thinks about the good times she had with Mashiro and that running away isn't what a hero does. While reading Mashiro's letter, and blushing, a new mirage pen appears (a product of her feelings for Mashiro?). Her father tells her that a dream isn't a one-time thing, but can come back repeatedly. Almost like Superman descending from the sky, she comes back with force, and does an amazing Sky Punch.

Unsurprisingly, Battamonda is annoyed. The Mirror Pad collects the right amount of energy before their purification. After Sora does her combo attack with Mashiro, known as PreCure! Updraft Shining, the Captain is released from the monster-of-sorts. She is weak and recovers. The yuri subtext here is strong. Sora and Mashiro hug one another, with Mashiro calling Sora a "hero girl." Mashiro gives Sora back her hero journal. Sora says she will get stronger so that Battamonda, who's on the run, won't hurt her anymore. After this high-stakes action, it is no surprise that they somewhat relax in the next episode after healing the King and Queen with the potion they have collected, and become famous in Skyland.

Ellee is ominously described as a "child of destiny." She appeared out of nowhere, then the King and Queen adopted her. Ageha predicts, in the twenty-fifth episode of Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, that Ellee will get her own magical powers. They first manifest themselves in her being able to talk to animals. These powers come in handy when fighting a monster summoned by Minoton, another villain of the week, as you could call them. This comes up again in the twenty-ninth episode. Ellee bonds with a stuffed animal, in contrast to Sora, who's terrified out of her mind (she dislikes the animal as it is kowai rather than kawaii), until she learns the animal can talk because it is magic.

This mixes with episodes which have comedic moments or lessons. At the end of the twenty-sixth episode, Mashiro's parents arrive and spend time at the cooperative house-of-sorts she is living in. They have "I Love Mashiro" shirts with them. This embarrasses her, but they only stay a short time before flying back overseas. In another episode, all the PreCures are pulled inside the mirror pad. After Ellee accidentally activates "hidden wild lessons" mode, they go through lessons of sorts. Somehow, they get back just in time for the fireworks. The "obligatory" beach episode, episode thirty, is a bit laid-back. Even so, it includes scary parts: Sora almost drowns while fighting Minoton's summoned monster. In the end, they all have fun time and eat a meal at a beach restaurant.

This series never criticizes the beauty myth or beauty industry. On the other hand, Ageha could have been a model like her sisters, but chooses to be a nursery school teacher. As such, this series bucks the usual storyline, where she would become a model. It echoes how Fuuka Miyazawa, protagonist of the The Aquatope on the White Sand, chooses to leave her idol life behind and work at an aquarium in Okinawa. At the same time, Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure is less girly than Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure, which is much more centered on makeup. The focus on makeup being part of magical transformation is not new, but its central to this franchise.

The thirty-ninth episode is a turning point. It marks the introduction of Skearhead (voiced by Mitsuru Miyamoto). He claims to be ruler of the Undergu Empire, working on behalf of Empress Underg (voiced by Takako Honda). He kidnaps Ellee, to the shock of her friends, but, somehow, she escapes and new PreCure emerges: Cure Majesty. She saves her friends. He withdraws, saying he will remember the name "Cure Majesty." They all are glad that Ellee is ok. In the end, Sora resolves they need to get stronger to defend Ellee from new enemies. This mixes with superb animation throughout, which is often rad and tip-top.

In the next few Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure episodes, Ellee comes into her own. The fact she is Cure Majesty becomes apparent, even though she can't transform at will at first. Skearhead tries to eliminate her, with Minoton reborn with Undergu energy. He wants all the PreCures to disappear. Whether she gives off vibes from the beginning of Steven Universe or not, her friends are more than happy to help her, as the first toddler PreCure in the franchise. Aoi Koga does a great job voicing all her iterations! Coming back to the character, she leads the way to an ancient ruins where they come across the Majestic Chroniclon, giving them all a super saiyan power boost, and they beat back the dark energy.

Mashiro attempts again to become a picture book author in the thirty-fourth episode. Battamonda, living in the human world as "Monda," in a terrible apartment, next door to Kabaton, tries to "discourage" Mashiro. He claims he is an art student and tries to gain her confidence. However, this does the exact opposite. Mashiro felt down after reading her story at the local library and some kids called it "boring." Later, she thanks him for his words and which surprised him. This was the first time someone cheered him on. At the same time, Skearhead makes more appearances, even as the heroes beat him back with the Majestic Chroniclon's powers.

Episode thirty-five is one better Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure episodes. It centers around Tamaki Shinomiya, a student who also attends Sorashida Academy. She requests Sora be their special coach. Tamaki is injured and can't throw before the next tournament. This puts the team in jeopardy because she's their ace. This episode isn't notable because Skearhead appears, Tamaki learning that Sora is a PreCure, Sora carrying Tamaki in a bridal carry, nor a baseball pitch defeating a conjured monster. Rather, Sora finds a friend who connects with her, even though she isn't a hero with magical powers. Secondly, the episode realistically shows the time of Tamaki's recovery. As a side note, the baseball club loves Sora. The yuri subtext is as strong as when people cheered for Marika Kato when she entered the academy in an episode of Bodacious Space Pirates.

Skearhead gets more dangerous, threatening kids in a nursery school in the thirty-sixth episode. He arrogantly declares, in the episode afterward, that only he needs to know why he is targeting the PreCures. In the process, Tsubasa and Ageha fight alongside one another. Ageha cheers up a sad kid (Takeru) who wants to stay at nursery school. She meets the nursery school teacher who gave her confidence all those years ago. That teacher happens to be Takeru's mother! Ageha and Mashiro also reflect on when their friendship began. They learn that their favorite tree was chopped down and made into a swing that everyone can use. In the second of these two episodes, the monster fight seems unnecessary and obligatory. This is an issue with some, but not all, episodes in this series.

The PreCures continue to take risks. They meet a "flightless" dragon tribe with Tsubasa's help, while Skearhead harasses them, even turning a bell into a monster. In the latter case, Ellee watches a television special about weddings with Aegeha, Sora, and Mashiro. Afterward, she's determined to marry Tsubasa. While he agrees to "play wedding" with her, Ellee is serious about it, and Tsubasa has a nightmare about the marriage. She even holds his book hostage in response and declares she hates him. The episode ends positively. Tsubasa vows to be Ellee's knight and protect her forever. She sees the other PreCures as her friends forever. She doesn't think she is married to anyone. This makes clear that the "marriage" was only a method to ensure she would be friends with Tsubasa forever. On some level, this episode shows the problems with child marriages.

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure's forty-first episode shakes everything apart. It begins with Mashiro struggling to come up with a theme for a writing contest. Monda acts nice, claiming that power is only for the ones who succeed. She tries to cheer him up and says she likes fallen leaves. Later, Skearhead calls Monda worthless, saying he doesn't deserve to exist, and she defends him. But she is not the one shaken: rather it is Sora. She confronts Skearhead who says the "one they love" wants them to attack the PreCures. She isn't sure what he means. While Monda's words about fallen leaves echo in his mind while the words of Skearhead echo in hers.

This leads to the next episode. Tsubasa researches how to generate a specific type of energy, specifically having in mind a protective shield around Skyland (this foreshadows what happens in a later episode). Sora begins to have feelings of self-doubt. She puts on a strong front to the Captain, but wants to figure out these feelings by herself. Her friends say they will be there for her, supporting her where necessary. It's revealed that Skearhead knows about Tsubasa's research, implying there is a mole providing information to him. Sora continues to hesitate to fight. This clears up when she talks to Skearhead, explaining why she stopped fighting, saying that PreCures are fighting on behalf of the "one they love."

Skearhead retreats but is unfazed. Typically, he declares that "thinking and worrying creates self-doubt in battle" and threatens to destroy the city. In response, she asks if he ever hesitates or worries when he is fighting for someone. She demands an answer from him as to why he is hurting others and making everyone suffer. He says she doesn't need to know why. Instead, in his mind, she needs to "disappear." He calls her naive, saying her beliefs will result in the city's destruction. Sora doesn't give up. She doesn't care if she is naive. She uses her Sky Punch to purify the energy he's gathered. Before he can talk, he's shaken by her power and cowardly flees. Sora later tells her friends what he told her. She remains committed to learning why he is hurting people.

These serious Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure episodes are mixed with fun ones, like the Halloween-themed thirty-ninth episode. Battamonda dresses up as "Cure Pumpkin" and claims he is a PreCure. He wants to make the PreCures look bad, but his plan is an utter failure. He runs away, ashamed and apologized, while all the PreCures get candy. In some ways, the episode sets the stage for the forty-third one. In that episode, Monda agrees with Mashiro, who tells him that she decides her own worth. He attacks Skearhead, who believes that those without power are "worthless."

In addition, he gives Mashiro back her transformer-pen. She is able to, with help of her fellow PreCures, fight back against Monda. He was turned into a monster-of-sorts by Skearhead. Although they almost lose, Mashiro uses one of her spells to make Monda's heart "shine." A combo attack by the PreCures allows them to purify him. He is forgiven by Sora. He apologizes to Mashiro for ripping her notebook. It almost seems he is on the road to becoming a better person/being.

In the series final arc, more about the "far past" comes to the forefront. Empress Underg tells the PreCures, in the forty-fourth episode, that the Skyland castle was built on "tears of sadness." She wants revenge for what happened in the past. In an almost Steven Universe-esque manner, Sora proposes they talk with her, but she challenges them instead. Their massive attack fails. Their strength is no match for her, and they fall down, transforming back into their usual selves. The Empress blames everything on Ellee, who is shocked to hear this slander. In response, she freezes time thanks to the Majestic Chroniclon.

Ellee, Sora, and Mashiro travel back three hundred years into the past. They meet Princess Elleelain of Skyland. Sora and Mashiro are unable to transform. They do what they can to fight the Ramborgs. Sora remembers the classic stories. As the Empress declares, fighting only brings tears. This episode of Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure makes one thing clear: Ellee is the reincarnation of Cure Noble. This is continued in the forty-fifth episode. Cheer Noble is cheered on, condemning the Emperor of the Underg Empire for attacking against defenseless Puni birds. The Empress, a being born from the sea of Undergu energy, says that strength isn't "everything," standing against Skearhead's conceptions.

What I found fascinating is that the male characters are the ones who promote the idea that strength is "everything." This is one of the feminist messages of this series. Even the Empress tries to stop the fighting, but her father won't listen. Her effort is successful and supported by Cure Noble (who says that fighting brings only tears), and the present-day PreCures (Sora, Mashiro, and Ellee). This is scuttled by Skearhead. He uses the meeting between Cure Noble, the Empress, and Emperor of Underg Empire as a trap/distraction to attack the city. Rightly enraged, Cure Noble goes on the attack and accidentally hurts the Empress. Even so, they achieve peace, but Skearhead is unhappy.

These events have reverberations in the present: the Empress is hardened and refuses to consider peace. Instead, she plans to wipe them out. The PreCures beat her. Skearhead whisks her away before they have a chance to talk to her. This plotline is interrupted by the forty-sixthSoaring Sky! Pretty Cure episode. It centers around ways to cheer-up everyone in Skyland's main city. They have a celebration which resembles Christmas. That episode is one of the only ones without a villain battle. It includes nice Sora/Mashiro moments, with both pledging to protect the world together.

The audience learns about what really happened at the same time as the PreCures. This includes the revelation, in episode forty-seven, that Ellee is a manifestation of Morning Star, otherwise known as Princess Ellee-Lain. She tells them that she put her power in the Majestic Chroniclon. She informs them that good relations between Skyland and the Underg Empire suddenly ended, without warning. Fading away, she tells them that the world's fate is in their hands. Hilariously, while Ellee remains as a teenage girl most of the time, she goes back to becoming a little kid when she gets hungry.

Skearhead is crafty. He claims that he would lay down his life for the Empress. On the other hand, he traps two PreCures in a bubble. He intends on draining their power and attacking the city. Skearhead disappears into nothingness after Ellee (as Cure Majesty) attacks him. He claims this is his "last lesson" to the Empress. Understandably, she is horrified. Sora tells her the truth: if she had talked to them, it wouldn't have come to this. The Empress claims that Cure Noble attacked her father and ended the relations between her country in Skyland. Conveniently, Skearhead isn't there, so no one can get to the truth and question her story's validity.

The story that the Empress tells gives the audience a window into her perspective. She believes that Skearhead saved her and says she has lost everything. She claims she has nothing left due to the reported "death" of Skearhead at Ellee's hand. Echoing Cassandra's wildly-powerful moonstone powers in Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, she calls forth all the Undergu energy, and tries to destroy the entire city. The PreCures do what they can to stop her. Some citizens are evacuated. Even former villains, like Kabaton, Minoton, and Battamonda, reappear. They are now on the side of the PreCures.

At first, it seems like the PreCures have made a breakthrough. She goes back to her normal form after they tell her that strength isn't everything. Mashiro and Sora do their PreCure Updraft Shining combo attack to purify her. Before she can say anything, Skearhead, like a unhinged groundhog, pops out of nowhere. He stabs her through the body with a spear. This action is either attempted reginicide [killing of a queen] or, more specifically, attempted tyrannicide since the Empress is effectively a tyrant.

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure's penultimate episode raises the stakes. Like a light bulb flickering on in a dark closet, the Empress remembers something she'd forgotten: Skearhead killed her father. He replaced her actual memory with a false one. To cover his tracks, he created the memory that Cure Noble betrayed her. This ensured that her body and mind would be tied to Undergu energy. He reveals his true form to the PreCures: an incarnation of Undergu energy named Darkhead. He psychologically damages the Empress even more, declaring that he doesn't love her at all. This causes her to realize that everything she believed has been a lie. This is all part of the series' feminist themes.

This all leads to one of the best series sequences. The PreCures travel to the Underg Empire to save the Empress. Along the way, PreCures continue peeling off to fight the Ramborgs. By the end, only Sora and Mashiro are left. They confront Darkhead who only saw the Empress as an effective "vessel" believing that a "hero's light" was inside her. He sees Sora as a better vessel. He uses the sea of Undergu energy to turn her into Dark Sky! While this energy flow is poisonous to PreCures, she fights him regardless. Through her determination, she beats him, with the help of Mashiro. She is able to purge him from her body permanently.

Although Skearhead / Darkhead is gone (in a sense) and the Empress is healed, as a side effect, their battle is not over. Before they begin, they bond with the Empress. Sora defines a hero for her: a person fighting no matter what stands in their way and believing that your convictions are right. She admits that she isn't great or naive enough to call herself a hero. Her friends have always supported her. The PreCures prepare themselves to fight, and win against, an evil snake beast known as Daijurg (another form of Skearhead / Darkhead).

In the Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure series finale, the Empress rejects Daijurg/Darkhead/Skearhead. They all de-transform since they have been transformed too long. Sora raises their spirits, declaring that the ability to be a PreCure is infinite, and inside them. In effect, she says that everyone has infinite possibility. Somehow, they are able to defeat the snake monster on Earth and purify it. Everything ends happily. The Empress declares that they will have a lasting peace in Skyland. Kabaton, Minoton, and Battamonda join her.

A fissure appears: Ellee, Tsubasa and Sora prepare to go back to their world (Skyland). Mashiro stays behind on Earth. They say their goodbyes. The most emotional moment is between Mashiro and Sora. She even jokes about how many times they held hands and says she loves Mashiro's smile. In response, Mashiro calls her cool and strong. This break doesn't last long. The next morning, Ellee, Tsubasa, and Sora come back so they can eat breakfast together. The series ends with Mashiro making a picture book featuring all of them, and herself. It's akin to Rapunzel's journal in Tangled. In a post-credits scene, Cure Wonderful, from the currently airing Pretty Cure series, Wonderful PreCure!, makes her debut.

This series is better than the decent adult PreCure, entitled Power of Hope: PreCure Full Bloom, a clear nostalgia trip. Its longer than Delicious Party Pretty Cure, the previous series in the Pretty Cure / PreCure franchise. That series had forty-five episodes. After this series ended, Wonderful PreCure! replaced it in the same time slot on All-Nippon News Network. Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure could have been longer. In a weird and unfortunate coincidence, Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure had more episodes, including the film as one episode. That is despite the fact that final season had its final series order cut from thirty-six episodes down to twenty-one, resulting in a total episode count of sixty.

If the series received another ten episodes, it could have involved a corrupted Cure Sky becoming Dark Sky as a cliffhanger, possibly turning against her fellow PreCures. She could become a fallen magical girl of sorts. The latter led to fanart of Dark Sky and Cure Prism together, sometimes in very compromising positions. In the series, as it stands presently, the day is saved, arguably, by lesbian love between Sora and Mashiro. Additional episodes could have canonized this yuri subtext. To my knowledge, there aren't any canon lesbian characters in the PreCure franchise. There's only subtext which fans recognize from time to time.

Whether there is wasted potential or not, the writers clearly wanted to quickly wrap up the series. This allowed the series to set the stage for Wonderful PreCure!, the next PreCure series.Although I enjoyed the series conclusion, since it tied up loose ends, I don't understand why all the PreCures couldn't have lived together in the human world. Perhaps some fanfiction writers will imagine these possibilities, and others, adding to the over 180 fics for the series on AO3.

The show's crew and cast are talented. Series director Koji Ogawa worked on other Pretty Cure and magical girl series, along with Chaos Dragon and Dragon Ball Super. Ryunosuke Kingetsu was head writer for Ninja Nonsense and Futakoi Alternative and a writer on Märchen Mädchen. Series character designer Atsushi Saitō, worked on Clannad, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Healer Girl, Is the Order a Rabbit?, K-On!, and Love Live! Superstar!!. The fact that I enjoyed watching most of these aforementioned series made me like this series more.

Voice actors for the show's four protagonists are just as experienced. Akira Sekine voiced Princess Charlotte, a protagonist of Princess Principal, along with characters in Asobi Asobase, Assault Lily Bouquet, Akebi's Sailor Uniform, and Birdie Wing. Ai Kakuma voiced Hazuki Kudo in Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible, Ilia Coral in The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, and Natsu Umehara in Ippon Again!. She will voice Kaori Tachibana in Whisper Me a Love Song in April and Yuri Shibasaki in The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today in July.

Ayumu Murase and Ayaka Nanase, who voice two other protagonists, are also seasoned voice actors. Murase voices Kento Yamada in Skip and Loafer and Hachi in My Roommate is a Cat. Nanase voices Mary Read in Fena: Pirate Princess and Noa Shiragiku in Tsurune. Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure voice actors Aoi Koga, Tomoko Shiota, Yasuhro Mamiya, and Saiga Mitsuki are known for their roles in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, The Demon Girl Next Door, Asteroid in Love, Princess Principal: Crown Handler, Yurikuma Arashi, Ouran High School Host Club, Maria Watches Over Us, Spy × Family, and Stars Align.

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure can be streamed on Crunchyroll, and, hopefully has a DVD or Blu-ray physical release in the U.S.

© 2023-2024 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[bicth-and-in-that-order]

I’m back—I have more to say

6. I’m in Love with the Villainess by Inori

Oh god💀

So the hot new yuri on the block is “I’m in Love with the Villainess” and while I lament that the femme blonde is back, the dark hair girl isn’t that masc so I’ll give it that.

What to say about this yuri, what to say, what to say…I have very conflicted feelings about this yuri because on the one hand, it has incredible highs and the main character deeply resonated with me on a personal level. On the other hand, however, it contains some of the worst, most disgusting tropes I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading.

Well, that’s enough beating around the bush, let’s get into it. So I’m not going to keep saying “I’m in Love with the Villainess”, and “IiLwtV” is too awkward for an acronym so it’ll be shortened to “Villainess Love” from here on out. So Villainess Love is unique in that it’s an isekai yuri; a depressed as hell 20-something office lady named Rae gets reincarnated into her favorite dating sim game. The thing about her and what is indeed the namesake of this yuri is that while the dating sim is centered around 3 princes for the romance options, Rae only has eyes for Claire, the tsundere villainess character. She goes out of her way to ignore the 3 princes to pursue Claire, and just like Rae, this will be the last time I mention them💀

By far the best part of this story is how it plays with both the isekai and dating sim tropes by having Rae not only be self aware of the world she’s in, but have this encyclopedia knowledge of the game, which she uses to her advantage to get close with Claire. Rae herself is a very comedic, over-zealous character, announcing her love to Claire within the first few pages of the story and having masochist-levels of enjoyment from getting tormented by her. Of course, there’s more to her going on underneath, which gives her a level of complexity, but I’ll get into that later. Claire, meanwhile, is a VERY typical rich girl tsundere character, she’s so by the numbers that I don’t even need to go into her personality. She literally does the “oh ho ho ho” laugh unironically and has generic sad anime backstory #55: “my mother is dead”. I believe this was done with intention though, since Rae will literally point out when she’s having her “dere” moments. In fact, their dynamic actually reminded me of the gag rom com manga “Maria Holic” and I wonder if that was a major source of inspiration for the author becuase the resemblances between the two are uncanny. With that being said, I didn’t find Claire to be all that interesting until their actual romance develops, which, let’s talk about that.

So out of all the yuri manga I’ve read, I actually found the romance between Rae and Claire to be the most compelling, yes, even more compelling than Beauty and the Beast Girl if you could imagine. This is because Villainess Love actually talks a great deal about homophobia and homosexuality in a real word context. Which is practically unheard of in a yuri manga:

I was so shocked by this, it actually caught me off guard to see a yuri acknowledge homophobia and heteronormativity in a way that didn’t begin and end with “we love each other but we’re giRLs🫣🫣🫣” . Rae acknowledges that she is in fact gay and that the gender of her lover is in fact important to her. This conversation will actually get expanded upon later when Rae opens up about her experiences as being a lesbian irl and getting ostracized for it in high school, which explains a lot of her behavior up until that point. And I will say that her story deeply resonated with me. Especially since I went through similar experiences as Rae and I also clamped about my gender preferences after I faced severe homophobia.

Rae’s story also reflects how keenly aware the author is of her audience, she knows us anime obsessed gays are reading her work and really leans hard into that aspect, not just for comedic purposes but for for character writing as well. It creates an organic reading experiences that will have most readers going “ah, I’ve been through that before” or “I know how she’s feeling” which is an incredible thing for a writer to pull off. Kudos.

Now, despite all the praise I’ve given Villainess Love thus far….I wouldn’t actually recommend to anyone, like at all. To talk fully about this aspect, I’ll have to go into heavy spoilers so, if you don’t mind then join me under the cut

So I want to preface this by saying the existence of these elements isn’t the problem, it’s how Villainess Love handles them which is the issue.

For whatever reason, the author thought introducing an incest storyline into the mix was a good idea, it adds nothing to the story and actively ruins one of the better characters, which is hugely disappointing, but whatever. The problem is this:

I’m willing to go out on a limb here and say that no, I don’t think the author’s intent was to claim that incest and homosexuality are on the same level. If you take into account that this world takes place during Victorian era England then categorically speaking, homosexuality was often referred to as “forbidden love” , Oscar Wilde can attest to as much, and while I don’t think that modern Japanese lesbian Rae should’ve given this speech, it’s not the worst of the worst. No that belongs to the lesbian rapist (sigh)

So Villaness Love bravely marches into the territory of rape and sexual assault and sadly doesn’t come out of it unscathed. Sometime after the incest plotline, a new character comes into the mix who is a distant relative of Claire’s and looks like a reject kase-san. To sum things up, her purpose in this story is to push Rae to confess to Claire by…threatening to rape her if Rae won’t do anything about her feelings :\

And , okay, if this is the direction the author wants to take the story then fine, but it’s handled so sloppily, and not once is this kase-san reject ever given consequences for her actions in the story. She just kind of pops up to be a “love” rival then leaves just as soon as she comes and then everyone pretends like Claire wasn’t just about to become a sexual assault victim.

A boring character or lame ass plotline is one thing, a story can bounce back from that. What it can’t bounce back from is having a poor message, especially when it comes to topics like rape and incest. Unfortunately, an otherwise adorable manga is marred by such distasteful story decisions that I didn’t even buy the physical copy for it and I got the physical copy for fucking kase san and Yamada so my standards are in hell, but this somehow goes even lower than that. And it sickens me so much to the point that I don’t even like watching the anime because I have to keep seeing that incest girl pop up on my screen, and be reminded of what a good character she used to be.

And it truly is such a shame because if not for the rape and incest, it would’ve been one of my favorite yuri manga of all time for the relatability of the main character and the social commentary alone. I wish I could give it all the praise in the world, but I cannot. My purpose here is not to detract you from reading this story, if none of what I said is a dealbreaker then be my guest, but I see this series praised a lot and while it’s well deserved in some regards, I want to be absolutely 100% transparent with Villainess Love. So yeah those are my thoughts byeeee

Rambling thoughts of various Yuri manga I’ve read

1. Kase-San and Yamada (Morning Glories sequel series) by Hiromi Takashima

notice how Kase’s name is first, which is representative of her being the main one to cause problems in their relationship

If you asked me what my favorite yuri manga was like 2-3 years ago, I’d say Morning Glories and Kase San everytime. Every avid yuri fan has either read or watched Morning Glories because, at the time in 2010, it was groundbreaking, and I stand by the fact that the original series still holds up to this day. It was cute, sweet, wholesome and only had a few obligatory “we love each other but we’re giRLs😳😳😳” moments. Most of all it wasn’t a pseudo-incest-straight-male-porn-pandering-garbage-fest—also known as “Citrus”. Was it cliche at times? Yes, but they all are lol. Did they add to the dumb ass “blonde femme and dark hair butch” trope? Also yes. But it was adorable and it was my first ever yuri so it holds a special place in my heart.

And it SEEMED like it was only going to get better in Kase San and Yamada, the sequel. The girls would be heading to college and the story could theoretically focus on more mature topics while they navigate their new relationship. Keyword: theoretically. Unfortunately, instead of exploring interesting relationship dynamics and storylines, the plot of each story arc boils down to: Kase is insecure because a man breathed next to Yamada or Kase is being completely insensitive to Yamada’s feelings…again…—> ✨miscommunication drama ✨—>big over dramatic apology scene—>boring makeup sex or other romantic gesture.

Literally that’s how every single plotline goes. Kase is so goddamn dumb and insensitive to Yamada’s feelings and Yamada’s a complete doormat who can only stay mad for 0.2 seconds before getting pussy whipped like a spineless ass bitch. And for all that Yamada sacrifices for Kase; her hometown, her dreams, her apartment, what does she get in return from Kase? Oh that’s right; bare minimum romantic gestures and a neglectful partner who can’t even call her “girlfriend” in front of others:

Like I thought we were over this shit. It’s been THREE years of them together, a whole anime production, and god knows how many irl years and we’re going back to “we love each other but we’re giRLs😳😳😳” WHY???

And then Kase later goes onto bet her entire three year relationship over the ugly bitch in the next panel, so now I’m questioning whether or not Kase even loves Yamada with the amount of bullshit she’s put her through. Which COULD be an interesting plot point, but Kase never gets any consequences for her actions and the creator genuinely thinks this is romantic and full of tension so I’m 10000% positive that this arc, just like all the others, will end with some makeup sex and we’ll be right back to step 1. Sigh.

2. Tamen De Gushi by Tan Jiu

Tamen De Gushi’s problems are interesting because it’s entirely because of the Chinese government

So today’s dark haired butch and blonde femme of the day are Sun Jing and Qiu Tong, respectively. Their personalities aren’t anything to write home about, if you read ANY high school yuri romance, then you know exactly what happens in this story beat for beat. But, BUT, however derivative it is, I find their dynamic very endearing and down to earth. Idk maybe it’s just the translation, but other yuri stories often have this very inauthentic “anime” vibe to it. Which is to say the characters act very cutesy, overly dramatic, and have this stilted, caricature-esque acting of how the creator thinks teenage girls are supposed act.

However, I’m happy to report that Tamen De Gushi is a breath of fresh air in this regard. The characters and interactions they have are grounded and feel organic, which makes them feel like real people, not aliens pretending to be human. This really elevates the humor in turn, oh did I mention that Tamen De Gushi is super funny? Because Tamen De Gushi is super funny, here’s one of my favorite panels and it’s all because of Sun Jing’s goofy ahh expression:

Like go girl give us nothing

If you’re wondering why I haven’t spoke much about the actual romantic relationship between the girls, that’s because there isn’t one💀 Which, okay, that’s not a fair assessment, they have a ton of romantic tension and they flirt a lot. It’s certainly building to a great romantic relationship, but it can’t quite get there due to legal/political reasons sadly. 😔

For some background information, Tamen De Gushi isn’t actually a Japanese manga, but a Chinese Manhua, still a comic, but the distinction is important to make because the censorship laws in China are a lot more restrictive of lgbt+ content than in Japan. Allegedly, the creator was told by the government to cease all explicit lgbt+ content “or else”. Which is why, after they share their big lesbian kiss towards the middle of the story, that’s kind of it. You’re stuck waiting for something to develop, but nothing really happens. The comic very quickly becomes a collection of slice of life segments and cute pictures that imply a relationship between the girls, but not really ;) ;).  Now things are just kind of left in purgatory for the foreseeable future and, well, that’s Tamen De Gushi y’all.

Compared to Kase San and Yamada, the characters were much better, which is not saying much, but without an actual romantic storyline, there’s just not a lot for me to comment on to be honest. It’s really pretty though, look at this art :

3. Beauty and the Beast Girl by Neji

my personal favorite and the BEST yuri I ever read

So next on the list is Beauty and the Beast Girl (I’m going to abbreviate to BatBG from here on) , which I already spoiled my feelings on the matter so this will basically be me gushing about this story for several paragraphs straight, enjoy.

Contrary to what the title suggests, it really has nothing to do with Beauty and the Beast’s story except in name. The main girls are Lily Blind, who is actually fucking blind 💀 and Heath the monster girl. Already I’m happy because instead of blonde femme and dark hair butch, it’s blonde femme and of-course-you-have-purple-hair-and-pronouns butch. Lol, all jokes aside, Lily, unlike her blonde femme counterparts is quite assertive and voices her opinions all the time. In fact, she’s the one who pushes Heath to be more open and communicate with her rather than the other way around. This is, in part, due to the story BatBG is trying to tell. I say BatBG is in name only to Beauty and the Beast because Lily isn’t trying to find the “beauty” within Heath or learning to love a beast or whatever, she’s fine just the way she is and her love for Heath is unconditional. Plus the only thing beastly about Heath is her appearance…which I’ll harp on later, but her behavior is in no way different from a regular human except in very rare, specific moments.

At its heart, BatBG is a story about forgiveness (the creator literally says as much) , but it’s also about the cycle of violence that results from being outcasted and deprived of love. BatBG is set in a world of humans and monsters, where the monsters are outcasted and either have to stay away from human society like Heath or assimilate themselves by hiding away their monster like traits, which is a really queer narrative on top of an already queer story. I don’t want to go into too much spoilers, but sometime before the beginning of the story, Heath in-directly hurts Lily before they ever meet. However, it’s not about Lily needing to forgive Heath, or trying to get over the pain she inflicted upon her, rather its Heath learning to forgive herself and in effect, learning to love herself as much as Lily loves her.

Another big aspect of BatBG is disabilities, Lily Blind is in fact Blind lol and while there are times she struggles with her blindness, she never views her disability as something she needs to be ashamed of and never, ever, blames Heath for it or holds it against her unlike what many, many, many, many other stories end up doing. Her blindness isn’t treated like a super power either, it’s a legitimate disability. She just accepts that it’s a part of her and goes onto say that if not for her blindness, she would’ve never met the love of her life, which I found to be an incredibly profound thing to say.

Now that I’ve gotten this far, I suppose I can add a bit of a disclaimer. So BatBG is waaaaay more explicit about the physical affection between the girls than in any of the previous stories I talked about. Heath and Lily are constantly kissing on, hugging, and almost always flirting with each other, and make no mistake, these girls do be fucking. The sex scenes are never perverted or gross, but genuinely super sweet and romantic, which makes it way hotter imo (huh imagine that🤔). And aside from being hot, it also serves a purpose! Lily’s pretty damn horny underneath all her nice girl antics and while it’s not a major part of her character, it does give a slight edge to her personality and, most importantly, balances out the dynamic between Heath and Lily. It would’ve been very easy to fall into that boring trope where Heath is aggressively horny and Lily is the submissive blind girl, but by making Lily be the one to initiate the sexual encounters, it not only compliments Heath’s more reserved nature, but breaks the stereotype that people with disabilities are pure precious being who couldn’t possibly have sex, which is ableist af btw. Many people think the existence of any sex scenes at all is superfluous, but in BatBG, it truly elevates the story, the characters, and the romance in ways that wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying without it.

Now, with as much praise I gave BatBG, there is one criticism I have, but it’s a quibble really, and it can be explained in a single image:

There is a dissonance between the story and the art, the story says: “Heath is a big, ugly scary monster”

The art says:

And like yes, it can be argued that Heath is simply regurgitating the things bigoted people have said to her, but at no point in the story is this ever challenged or brought up in any meaningful way. Lily is blind so she doesn’t know what the hell she looks like and the other characters aren’t any help either. It’s not a big deal or anything, it just would’ve elevated the story if Heath was actually kinda ugly/more monstrous and not incredibly beautiful because right now it’s giving skinny girl who calls herself fat all the time, and it’s like, babe, who tf are you fooling? 😭

Other than that, BatBG is incredibly profound despite its premise being so deceptively simple and I love it to pieces so …yeah! READ IT.

4. Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit by sometime

Well, at least there are no blondes

So imma just abbreviate to SiL btw

Alright, let’s get started. The premise is that a villainess falls for the super hero girl and then that plotline is dropped in about 16 pages. I’m not even joking, the villainess falls for the hero, loses her job as a villain and then joins the hero all in one chapter. The REAL plot is actually about a council of evil alien-humans who want to destroy humanity because of generic super villain reason #434: the leader of the aliens is sad and misunderstood :( I’m not even going to lie, I had 0 interest in “X” (the generic ass name of the main villain) and her band of useless lesbians. They did literally nothing in the story except be a nuisance and contribute to X’s incel breakdown at the end. Their inclusion actively made SiL worse because the story has this weird tonal problem where in one breath the villains are portrayed as complete jokes and then you turn the page and now they’re shooting children like girl what💀 And these useless lesbians hog sooooo much of SiL that desperately needed to be given to Honey trap and Hayate to develop their relationship.

When the story DOES actually focus on Honey Trap and Hayate, it’s pretty good, even cute at times, there just wasn’t enough time given to them to flesh their relationship out. As it stands, Honey Trap and Hayate don’t have much of a dynamic, or personality for that matter. Honey Trap’s main gimmick is that she’s extremely horny for Hayate and delulu:

Aside from that, she’s a great value version of Heath, but even a watered down character is better than, like, nothing. All I really know about Hayate is that she’s nice, heroic, likes wearing tacky clothes and ….that’s it. She loves Honey Trap because…………they fought together a few times so why not🤷‍♀️ I’d say at least that’s better than Tamen De Gushi, but actually it’s not because these grown ass women don’t even kiss , all we get is a love confession and their gremlin love child and that’s supposed to be satisfying I guess.

And the worst part is that SiL has the audacity to pretend the romance was something that it clearly wasn’t:

Girl…yall were “””enemies””” for 10 panels.

Now, it’s stated they have been rivals for a while, but I guess Honey Trap forgot all of that because the moment she sees Hayate’s face, my good sis is pussy whipped for life. And that’s in spite of apparently being the evilest one out of the evil group because Honey Trap has no grudge or baggage toward Hayate. She immediately turns good with no issues and Hayate is only distrustful of Honey Trap for 1 or 2 speech bubbles and then she’s not. Anything else that happened was off screen, which means it didn’t happen. Ironically, the very next entry on this list will do a MUCH better job at an ex-villain love story, but for SiL, there’s just not much going on.

Another reading of this story is to call it a “parody” but…no, it isn’t. SiL isn’t a comedy, yes there are comedic moments that poke fun of the genre, but the rest of the story genuinely wants you to take it seriously. Except it can’t. X and her league of dimwits are boring as piss and they oscillate between Saturday morning cartoon villains and child murderers seemingly on a whim. So I can neither be endeared to them nor take them as a serious threat. Honey Trap and Hayate are there, but I lament on all the potential lost from what could’ve been an amazing relationship.

5. Yamujiburo/Kianamaiart’s Hanamusa webcomic

This one is kind of cheating, but I also don’t care let me talk about hot MILFs💀

So the final entry on this list is a webcomic series by one of my fave artist: kianamaiart! And it’s right here on tumblr so check it out!

I stumbled upon this webcomic a few weeks ago, fell in love and now I want to talk about it. This yuri pair thankfully has no blonde femme in sight and instead features two popular Pokémon characters: Jessie from Team Rocket and Delia Ketchum, Ash Ketchum’s mom. What I love about this ship and the world Kiana creates around them is that it’s a very unconventional pairing. There’s just not many romances where a single mom falls in love with an ex gang member and the best part is, Delia being a mom is a big part of her character and she doesn’t ignore Ash in favor of her new relationship with Jessie. She has time for both and doesn’t prioritize one over the other, which many ppl fail to do even irl so good on you Delia!

Now, as for the romance it self, Jessie and Delia are a unique pair. Jessie’s overconfident, brash, drama queen personality doesn’t automatically put her in the “dominant” role and Delia’s sweet, motherly personality doesn’t automatically put her in the “submissive” role. Their dynamic in the webcomic actually plays out in the reverse, Jessie is the one who gets easily flustered and Delia’s…intense, to say the least:

(But Tbf if Delia looked at me like that I’d be at her beck and call too💀)

This subversion of these tropes creates a fun dynamic for the couple and it’s super adorable to see how their energies bounce off each other in each new situation Kiana puts them in. I also love how both Jessie and Delia inspire each other to live out their dreams and they become better versions of themselves by being together.

And one last thing, I don’t have any smart commentary to go along with this, I just really like this drawing of Jessie:

no thoughts, head empty

Final Thoughts

Soooo yeah, that’s the end of my dissertation on yuri comics. I know I ended up dragging a lot of popular yuri, but it wasn’t my intention to make you guys hate any of things I talked about. These were just my thoughts as an avid yuri fan, so let me know your thoughts as well, especially if you read any of the yuri I talked about. And even though I’m super picky about the type of yuri I read, I’d still love to hear any recommendations. Who knows, it might dethrone the undefeated champ that is Beauty and the Beast Girl.

[cjcroen1393]

You know what? Screw it! I’m gonna explain to everyone WHY I call myself a yaoi fanboy and WHY i don’t bash the genre or its fans.

With all those asks I’ve been getting trying to start discourse, I feel like I might as well.

Before I go on, I’m not going to go too deep into any personal shit obviously but I don’t entirely need to in order to do this. Still, like JaidenAnimations, I’ll only be giving the cliff notes version, okay? Okay.

(That said, this still ended up being longer than I anticipated so under a cut it goes!)

So I first started to notice how not-straight I was around high school and at that same time I was getting really really into anime and manga. I was also becoming a major troper, perusing TV Tropes on a nigh constant basis. Yes, this is relevant because they had a whole library of anime and manga for me to discover.

And of course there was also Fanfiction.net, Deviantart and Tumblr itself. Those were pretty big influences.

So why are these relevant? Well it’s because these are all where I discovered how much I liked seeing anime guys kiss. And that was also part of how I came to terms with the fact that I was bisexual.

I think it started out small. Ouran High School Host Club, not yaoi but contains many references to the genre, was my first “proper” anime, and I got into Hetalia later on. Later, while waiting for episodes of Monster on SyFy channel’s anime block, I watched Descendants of Darkness, which isn’t yaoi but is kinda “yaoi adjacent” if that makes sense. I really enjoyed it, but more specifically I loved it for the strong, affectionate bond its two male leads had. It wasn’t a perfect show, no, but it was enjoyable and it was easily my first peek into what would someday become my fondness for yaoi.

Next I got into Gravitation, I believe, my first actual yaoi and likely the most quintessential of them. It was a fun show for me, but I won’t deny, it was problematic to a degree. Still, I enjoyed it and Ryuichi Sakuma remains one of my favorite anime characters to this day.

and of course, over the course of all this, I was getting really big on reading gay fanfics.

Now how did all of this help me come to terms with my sexuality? Well, you may not believe this, but it kinda…and I hate this fuckin’ term but “normalized” same gender relationships for me? Like, the more yaoi or yaoi adjacent works I read and watched, the more I thought “yes, it is normal for me to be attracted to other men; it is okay for me to want a romantic relationship with another man”.

I’m not gonna pretend it wasn’t problematic of course. A lot of yaoi is problematic; aside from the…questionable relationship the genre has with consent, it should still be remembered that most yaoi—not all, but most—is written by straight women, for straight women and with a straight woman’s understanding of how gay or mspec men work. I am not denying that, and I generally avoided the skeevier shit, like all those ones where the “dominant” partner is portrayed as predatory and gross.

BUT—and this is very important—regardless of that, yaoi was still an outlet for me. An outlet through which I could explore my sexuality and become more comfortable with it. I didn’t have a lot of exposure to works that do lgbtqa+ representation better—the only western media exposed myself to was a bunch of cartoons where the gays were either non existent or stereotypical side characters and frickin’ Harry Potter which was determined to never have any lgbt rep at all—nor did I have a lot of works that went into detail about mlm relationships. Yaoi and anime/manga that borrowed from the genre was my main outlet to explore that stuff…and it helped me a lot.

And here’s the thing: I don’t even do yaoi shit anymore. I still ship gay couples more than straight ones but I don’t think in terms of the yaoi genre anymore. And for good reason! We now have plenty of gay representation in media! It’s wonderful and I’m happy about that! I’m ecstatic! I’m so glad we as a community have been getting better representation over the years. Even in the anime industry, we got stuff like Nabari no Ou, Yuri on Ice, Sk8 the Infinity, etc., works that are either explicitly lgbt or have undertones thereof and sometimes are even written by lgbt authors (the author of Nabari no Ou is non-binary, for example).

And yet…I can’t really bring myself to rail against yaoi or to bash it or its fans or do anything of the sort like that. Because while it may be a slightly cursed and embarrassing memory for me…it still helped me more than it harmed me. I know my experiences are not the same as everyone else’s, I understand that. And again, I know the yaoi genre has issues. I’m not denying that at all.

But at the same time, I would really, REALLY like it if y’all didn’t treat my experiences as invalid, simply because of the media I used as an outlet or god forbid, my identity as a bisexual.

Anyway, I just had to share my thoughts on this matter. Sorry it was so long. Peace out everyone.

[help-im-a-gay-fish]

Okay I had to do some stuff, but here I am rambling about relationship between Killer and Nightmare in Colours of LOVE.

Some of this I might mention before some of it might be your and Jann or Yuri ideas... Anyway!! The way I see that:

Even though this is soulmate au Nightmare and Killer aren't perfect fit for eachother. They are perfect fit in threesome - Ccino softens rough edges of both of them, and changes their attention from being mad on eachother to carrying about Ccino together (especially at first when he is really depressed). But before that... It was hard.

Killer is really open about everything he thinks and feels. If he founds someone who is attractive he will flirt. Even when he is already dating Nightmare. And also he always shows his affection to Nightmare everywhere, in public too. That's cute and sweet, but Nightmare is really closed person so that makes him really uncomfortable. Night often got jealous with Killer flirting with anyone else, got embarrassed with his kisses and all on public, and in general is a bit annoyed with Killer's actions. Killer on the other hand doesn't really understand why Nightmare is so "tensed" (he is not, Night is just much more calm, but Killer don't get it).

They were braking up and coming back again a few times, because they had argued a lot about everything and got tired of this. Right now they are on their "best days" - they started to date again a few weeks ago and right now they are through some stuff, they understand eachother better, and pretty chill about eachother weird actions. Like in the second page Night is a bit flustered by Killer's kiss but he almost used to that. Same as he is worried about being late, since Killer is almost always late, but he is more or less fine by that. On next page (which you haven't seen yet), there are an interesting dialog between them, and I will definitely write some of "subtext" about it when I will post it.

Actually if they haven't met Ccino they would break up again after a few months. And maybe come back again after a week.

Also! Interesting thing about third soulmate: at the beginning of the comic (before Nigh met Ccino) Killer is 100% sure that they have third soulmate, but Nightmare is sure for about 60%. Killer is existed about that, he knew knew that he is polyamorious for a long time, but Nightmare hesitates a lot, because he can't really imagine himself in polyam relationship. It feels weird and also he is soooooo jealous about Killer paying any attention to anyone except him, that he worries to become "third wheel". Will it be different with Ccino?? Who knows (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

Hi kotikaleo!!! This was super fun to read.

Firstly I'm going to tag @zu-is-here since she started the studio verse

It's definitely an interesting insight to your comic and the characters!

It reminds me a lot of an early version of my own ideas about the studio verse nightkiller relationship! And I can definitely see the way we have bounced headcannons of each other paying off.

Them still dealing with a softer kind of lovehate dynamic is an interesting one. It doesn't seem to be as extreme as my version, but it's interesting that it's still there.

The fact that they are meant to work as a 3 makes sense as well. If they are supposed to be bounded as a 3 it makes sense that three they their relationship would be unstable. They don't work as a two, but they are soul mates and something would always pull the two of them together.

I'm also curious, since Nightmare isn't 100% sure that the lack of colour is due to them being soul mated to another person. I wonder if he ever felt like the universe got it wrong? And that he'd been mated to the wrong person? Or perhaps he felt it meant that him and Killer don't have soul mates and that's why they have some connections.

It sad boy.

Also if Killer knows he's poly by nature, is that something that causes disagreements with the 2 of them?

And now for mine and @jann-the-bean version.

This story has been something that we mostly developed in tumbler DMs but both me and Jan wrote a story about it. Jan wrote

KillerNight(s)

And I'm writing

Round and round till we all fall down

Nightmare and Killer's relationship started off baddddd, it basically started as a mutual dislike for one another. This is due to their conflicting personalities and morals.

Nightmare was originally quite excited to meet Killer, as he'd heard a lot about the actor. But almost straight away he found Killer to be rude, childish and irritating. Killer found Nightmare to be stuck up, snobbish and entitled.

The two first met at an awards ceremony and got into a yelling match after a few drinks and were separated. From there their dislike for one another was made quite well known to the public because of a social media battle back and forth.

This only went on for a few months however, as the characters of 'Killer' and 'Nightmare' were cast to play together.

Nightmare and Killer agreed to be civil in order to function while working and get the filming completed as soon as possible.

As they worked together, their dislike turned into a playful banter and respect for one another. And then something else shifted.

Now Killer has a reputation for being a player and one who likes to sleep around, as you said, he's open about his interest in people when he has it and enjoys casually flirting with just about anyone.

Which came to include Nightmare.

Nightmare paid no mind to it really, though he couldn't understand why it embarrassed him so much.

Killer comes to find Nightmare to be very attractive and enjoys his reactions when teased, he rights him off though because he was under the impression that Nightmare was straight, and he'd never try to change that.

It was a day when they were talking about Killer's eyes and how it's caused him to struggle, that Nightmare tells him that he thinks his eyes are very pretty and that they are an attractive quality, and something in Killer breaks and he kisses him.

So Killer feels like he messed up and the two avoid each other. But it causes Nightmare to start questioning things about himself.

Nightmare at this point had only every dated women. He assumed that he was straight. But after that kiss a lot of buried feelings are dragged to the surface and exposed, and he realises that he's also attracted to men.

So Jan goes into full details about this, in the fic Killernights, but basically Nightmare confronts Killer about the kiss and Killer tells him he 'has a thing for him'

The two go back to Killer's flat to talk, but their normal banter, leads to flirting and then another kiss. And Nightmare who is curious and suddenly craving new sensations becomes lost to him. Killer who finds Nightmare physically very attractive, also gets wrapped up and the two of them sleep together.

Nowwww this is getting long so I'll try to shorten it down a bit.

Basically, it's an amazing night. It's passionate, enjoyable and a lot of fun for both of them. Upon finding out Night has never been with a man, Killer guides him carefully though the process.

After that night the two can't stop thinking about each other, even though they both planned for it to be a one time thing. Again, they avoided each other until talking after a while.

And killer admits his desires for the other, and offers Nightmare a safe environment to experiment with his sexuality, where he won't be judged.

To cut a long story short, this spirals into a passionate and carnal, on and off booty call/fling with each other that spans for years.

Other that time they grow very close with each other, and come to recognise the similarities that they share, and have soft moments of just enjoying being together with one another.

For Killer, Nightmare is the first person to ever tell him he had beautiful eyes and mean it. The first person who wasn't at all put off by them.

To Nightmare, it feels like Killer is the one person that will never pick Dream over him. And he makes him feel wanted and desirable in a way few have before.

However, their are still parts of their relationship that conflict. Of course a healthy relationship will always have some conflicts. But for Killer and Nightmare the conflicts clash and fight with each other.

That along with both of their past traumas, (I wrote about Killer's back story here) means they find it difficult to talk about genuine feelings and what's bothering them. Causing things to bottle up and blow up over time.

They also find it impossible to admit that they actually love each other deeply.

They tried to be in a full on committed relationship once, (which I'm writing about in Round and Round) but it didn't work out for these issues. As well as the fact that Killer is poly by nature, and therefore gets anxious and uncomfortable in a relationship with one person only. Which he won't talk to Night about for the reasons stated above.

Enter Ccino.

Now Ccino is the missing piece for Nightmare and Killer.

He's soft and gentle spoken, which easily helps them calm down when things get heated between them. He also provides a safe and loving space to open up about what things are bothering them.

Nightmare and Killer's also, as you said, spend more energy caring for and sometimes worrying about Ccino, so they have less energy for the constant fighting.

Ccino was the missing piece. He's the person who will cuddle and read books with nightmare, but also the one who's super into affection, which Killer loveesss.

A relationship would never work between just killer and Ccino, since Ccino wouldn't be able to keep up with Killer's libido and killer doesn't know much about Ccino's mental health. And Ccino wouldn't work in a relationship with just Nightmare because Night's colder and more straight forward personality would leave him affection staved after a while.

They just work together! They are basically soul mates in this universe as well!

P. S Nightmare in this universe was also very veryyyyy jealous when Killer showed interest in Ccino. Which is something he took out on Ccino till Killer stopped it. After falling in love with Marshmallow he regrets this a lot.

I'M SO EXCITED FOR MORE. COLOURS OF LOVEEEEE

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Yuru Yuri

Sometimes, it feels like time is moving faster than we can keep up with it. That’s true for a lot of aspects of life, but it’s especially true with art and entertainment. The Avengers barely came out a decade ago, and yet it feels like popular cinema has already completely re-oriented itself around that movie’s success, for good or ill. Movies, TV, video games, music, all change and evolve so fast that even just looking back a few years in the past feels like a peek into an entirely different era. Things that were fresh and exciting when you were ten suddenly become stale and played out by the time you turn twenty. Blame the internet, blame the audience, but that’s just how things are now.

All this is to say, Yuru Yuri is nowhere near an old show in the grand scheme of things. But watching it eleven years later made me feel very, very old indeed.

On a base level, Yuru Yuri is like any standard-issue Cute Girls Doing Cute Things you can think of. You’ve got a central group of four moeblobs in an all-girls school, a supposed afterschool club that’s really just an excuse for said girls to goof off and get up to silly shenanigans, the student council wants to shut them down but really just exists to provide some quirky side characters, and the overarching plot is basically nonexistent. The two gimmicks that set it apart are 1) The genki baka protagonist is such a nothing character that her non-presence is the central joke of her role in the show, and she’s often completely ignored in favor of focusing on any other character, and 2) It’s gay. And I don’t mean the usual wink-wink-nudge-nudge-imply-but-never-confirm stuff endemic to the CGDCT genre; these girls are actually, explicitly down bad for each other. Other than that, though, is is as barebones as Cute Girls shows get, a pure gag comedy that rises and falls solely on the strength of its characters and jokes. Those looking for meatier, more substantial storytelling need not apply.

To be clear, being barebones and solely a gag comedy isn’t a bad thing. I’ve enjoyed plenty of shows that are mostly just excuses to stack jokes on top of each other as fast as possible. And for the most part, Yuru Yuri is funny. There’s at least a few good jokes every episode, nothing that makes me laugh out loud but plenty that makes me snicker. Akari’s non-presence as a protagonist is pretty entertaining, especially when she keeps getting muscled out of introducing each episode. There’s solid comedic timing, witty banter, decent chemistry, all the things you need for a good character-based comedy. Props also to Doga Koba on the animation front; the way everyone’s faces and bodies squish and contort really enhances the absurdity of some of these gags. Character animation is often something of an afterthought in anime comedy, but Yuru Yuri embraces it to great effect. As disposable popcorn fluff goes, you could do a lot worse.

So why does this show make me feel so tired?

This was the question I found myself asking all throughout Yuru Yuri. I’d reach the end of an episode- an episode with plenty of jokes and moments that legitimately entertained me- and my first thought would be, “I really don’t want to watch another one.” As funny as the jokes were in the moment, my enjoyment of them always seemed to dribble away into indifference by the time the episode was over. Something about this show just was. Not. Clicking. And if the problem isn’t the jokes themselves, then the issue must lie in the other half of the equation: the yuri.

Now, this may come as a shock to you, but I am a huge fan of yuri. It’s okay, take a moment to pick your jaws up off the floor. Lots of my favorite anime are yuri. My favorite love story of all time is yuri. Aside from One Piece, yuri manga are basically the only manga I read. Falling in love with yuri was a huge step in my journey to realizing I was genderfluid. I can gush about Symphogear, Revue Starlight, Flip Flappers, Demon Girl Next Door, Hibike Euphonium (it counts fuck you fight me), Revolutionary Girl Utena, Mage and Demon Queen, Bloom Into You, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Kase-san, and Adachi and Shimamura until I’m blue in the face. The depiction of WLW romances in fiction means a lot to me. So a show like Yuru Yuri, who’s central gimmick is all about girls being gay for each other? I should eat that shit up like popcorn, no questions asked.

And then the first gay thing that happens in this show is Akari’s sister being a siscon who plasters every square inch of her room with pictures of Akari in a reveal set to horror movie music.

This is the last we see or hear of Akari’s sister in the entire first season. It’s never brought up again, it’s never a relevant factor in anyone characterization, it’s just a one-off gag that doesn’t mean anything. But this... jarring first impression sets a tone that the show never manages to shake off.  And this is far from the last, for lack of a better word, Problematic(tm) joke to be found here. Boob jokes and unwanted groping are frequent sources of comedy. The vast majority of kisses are sexual assault played for laughs, often showing the victim crying and dead-eyed after being forced to kiss someone against their will. There’s an implied relationship between a student and a teacher that I’m hoping it just one-sided feelings on the student’s part, but I can’t really be sure. And of course, because this is an episodic comedy with no ongoing story and can’t shake up its status quo, none of these potential relationships ever progress beyond their tropey starting point. The characters are perpetually locked in a cycle of expressing and hinting at gay feelings for each other without ever acting on them in any meaningful way, trapped at a distance from each other that makes real romantic chemistry impossible.

Perhaps it’s unfair of me to expect true emotional intimacy from a gag comedy. But as someone who’s only recently begun to understand myself as queer, there’s something incredibly alienating about Yuru Yuri’s depiction of queerness. When you sell your show on being gay and you introduce that gayness with “lol creepy incest,” when the only real moments of physical affection are assault played for laughs, that makes me question who this show is being made for and why. What, exactly, is supposed to be entertaining about a world where queerness is omnipresent but hollow? Where the comedy is all about being gay and yet actual relatable gay interactions are nowhere to be found? Hell, even a show as mediocre as Asteroid in Love had yuri elements that felt somewhat genuine, if idealized, to the experience of being in love with another girl. Compared to that, Yuru Yuri might as well take place on another planet.

Maybe a comparison will help. Do you guys remember when I reviewed Tonikawa back in Fall 2020? How I described it as a wish-fulfilment power fantasy that commodifies the concept of marriage itself as something to be consumed for personal benefit? To quote myself from that review:

“It cares about marriage as a commodity. Something to be packaged and handed out as a reward... a shallow grab-bag of surface-level treats to be indulged in mindlessly with no consideration for the girl on the other side... something to consume like a chocolate cake with no need to worry about putting in actual effort.”

Well, swap out “marriage” for “yuri”, and that’s how I feel about Yuru Yuri as well. It’s a fetishization of lesbian romance in the same way Tonikawa was a fetishization of straight romance, a buffet of yuri for an audience to shove down their gullets by the fistful wholly disconnected from the reality of gay love. Take a scoop from the Comedic Assault tray! Here’s a dollop of Unwanted Groping! Make sure to fill up a plate with That One Girl with Yuri Goggles and Nosebleeds! While you’re at it, grab a nice hot bowl of Sexually Charged Rivalry! Don’t miss out on the Adoring Kouhai Moments! And how about a dash of Siscon just to spice things up? It’s all-you-can-eat, so stop worrying whether or not it’s healthy for you and dig right in! Eat, eat, eat to your heart’s content!

What’s that? You want an actual sit-down dinner prepared with love and care? A full three courses of Actual Gay Romance? Well, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong restaurant.

And that, in the end, is why Yuru Yuri makes me feel so old. This show feels like a relic from a time when this was all yuri could be in anime, when this grab-bag of tropes that barely danced around the reality of gay feelings was the best we could hope for out of supposedly “gay” anime. Sure, shows like Revolutionary Girl Utena and Cardcaptor Sakura had already proven the power of queer romance well before Yuru Yuri, but they were more exceptions than the rule. Now, though? Bloom Into You is one of the most beloved, well-respected manga of all time. Symphogear’s final season was one of the highest-selling anime of its year. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is one of Kyoto Animation’s biggest success stories, especially with the second season being their triumphant return from 2019′s arson attack. And even on the BL side of things, shows like Yuri on Ice and Given have further pushed the boundaries for the popularity of gay romance in anime. Never mind the explosion of Western cartoons that have embraced gay romance over the past decade. There’s still much progress to be made, sure, but queer stories have come so far since the olden days of 2011. And watching Yuru Yuri today, all I can think is how much better things have gotten since then.

Yes, there are still funny jokes to be found here. No, this one show is not some immoral disgrace on the medium. But looking at Yuru Yuri from a modern perspective, all I see is the symbol of a vapid, shrink-wrapped, insincere perspective on queerness from days gone by. We’ve outgrown the kind of yuri this show represents, and in my eyes, we’re all the better for it. So in the end, I can only give this first season a score of:

4.5/10

Hopefully future seasons will be better. But I won’t be checking them out quite yet; I’ve got a 2012 poll to make first. See you then!

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Game Review - A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986

Before diving into the meat of Oracle and Bone’s A Summer’s End, I want to talk about the women behind this game Tida Kietsungden, and Charissa So. So and Kietsungden have done nothing but impress me since the announcement of A Summer’s End. They have repeatedly demonstrated their immense effort and dedication to creating a beautiful and thoughtful experience. Through conversations with the studio and reading their blog entries, I gained a remarkable understanding of how this game is both a tribute to classic cinema and a love letter to the Yuri and LGBT community. Through careful research and thoughtful expression, the two women navigate and acknowledge complicated issues, including Asian LGBTQ history and Hong Kong’s delicate political situation with grace and maturity. I am in complete awe of both women and their work. However, regardless of my profound respect for these creators, I still endeavor to offer my unfiltered thoughts on the visual novel, giving praise and criticism where appropriate.

A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 is a Yuri visual novel set, as you may have figured out, in Hong Kong in the year 1986. The game follows a young office worker, Michelle (Fong Ha) Cheung, who has a chance encounter with a free-spirited woman named Sam (Ka Yan) Wong. Both women feel drawn to each other, and the game explores this mutual attraction and the budding relationship which emerges from it.

This plot follows the standard girl meets girl story that has permeated the Yuri genre for the past several decades. Like most Yuri stories, the older and more experienced woman, Sam, is rebellious and beautiful, with long dark hair and a dominating persona. Michelle, although far more naive in the ways of love, breaks the trend of this trope by being the more sullen of the two. I would have liked to see the game diverge a bit more from the standard story of the genre. Fortunately, A Summer’s End is a romance story between adults who do not work together, setting it apart from the norms. It even includes a coming out section that creates a more robust LGBT identity than any tale of temporary schoolgirl love.

The story is well put together and well presented. The story is told primarily from Michelle’s perspective. It mostly takes place over a few days, during which Michelle engages in a whirlwind romance with Sam. This story features the struggle between her feelings and passion and her devotion to tradition and her mother. The progression of her affection is unrealistically fast. The story feels a bit rushed, and many of the societal and personal quagmires the game stumbles upon are not sufficiently developed or confronted. Had the game indulged in a more prolonged and tumultuous struggle for Michelle, conclusions would have felt much sweeter, and the story would have gone from good to great.

Even with this massive missed opportunity, there are plenty of exemplary moments and aspects of the narrative. The game pulls no punches addressing Michelle’s slightly overbearing mother and the conflict between the two. It would have been incredibly simple to take the easy route on this one. Still, the developers stuck to their guns and manage to explore a challenging situation satisfyingly, all while keeping the characters realistic and sympathetic. In fact, every scene relating to LGBT rights and history is flawlessly executed.

There are also some fantastic chapters, including a thrilling but refreshing bike ride and a flashback scene that recontextualizes certain events from another perspective. The many references and allusions to classic cinema including some older lesbian films and plenty of Asian works, are particularly noteworthy. However, the best part of A Summer’s End by far is the setting.

The location and time period is intrinsic to Sam and Michelle’s tale, as it is shaped by and reflects contemporary culture and LGBTQ rights. Oracle and Bone create a vibrant and lively world, a jaw-dropping depiction of Hong Kong in the 1980s. Everything helps feed into the creation of this world, including a fantastic and retro UI, small touches such as a Cantonese subway announcement, and objects encountered like a disposable camera help convey a strong sense of the period. However, the soundtrack sells it more than any other element, save perhaps the artwork, transporting the player to the era. While a few tracks are the standard easy listening affairs one expects from visual novels, there are tons of excellent city pop and disco beats, complete with plenty of synths and confidence! Finally, a visual novel soundtrack that contributes more than just background noise!

Sadly, the game’s dialogue choice system and branching paths are far more of a hindrance than a help. I can honestly say that the game would play better and be way more enjoyable as a kinetic novel. Most choices feel inconsequential, changing nothing of the story and resulting in almost the exact same response from other characters yet, they have a hidden points system. If you do not earn enough points, parts of the optional adult content will be unplayable until one goes back to find the right choice. I spent several hours replaying, and eventually skipping through, the game to unlock all the scenes, and finally gave up with one CG left unseen. The only choice with any actual effect is painfully evident in its consequences. One option leads to the bad ending, which is well written, but no reasonable player would go down that path unless they just wanted to see the whole game. The second unveils the true good ending, which no player in their right mind would not pursue, as again, the choice is obvious and adds nothing to the game. There is no reason to put in an alternative ending or tedious dialogue choice.

The characters in A Summer’s End are well constructed. Sam is adventurous without being obnoxious and has a mature though appropriately unrefined demeanor. Michelle is extremely curt and somewhat distant, although she displays a sharp wit and more timid nature on occasion. Both women participate in engaging, deep, and thoughtful discussions, often with each other, although sometimes internally, and thus feel well developed and complex. Unfortunately, their chemistry, while not absent, is not enough to sell the whirlwind romance. There is insufficient expression of their feelings and attractions, both internally or through dialogue and actions, so their inevitable closeness feels unearned.

However, even in the short game, both characters change with each other, especially Michelle, as she becomes more affectionate, confident, and caring. She begins to embody some of Sam’s warmness while never losing herself. Some of my favorite dialogue and interaction came from her towards the end of the game, although I will not spoil it. Additionally, side characters have a strong presence thanks to their firmly established characteristics and a profound effect on the narrative. Each has their own sprite and mannerisms, helping cement them as fixtures in A Summer’s End rather than tacked on assets.

The visual novel contains optional adult content, which is installed in an extra patch and can be toggled on and off. I played through the game with and without it and can happily report that the story is just as fulfilling and complete without it. Although the unlockable nature of these scenes is aggravating, they are very well written and sensual without being exploitative. There were moments I did not care for as much, such as Sam getting carried away at one point, but it felt very realistic and incredibly sensual. The artwork in these sexual encounters is some of the best in the game, embracing darker colors and showcasing intense desire.

Speaking of the artwork, it is stupendous. The game is bright and striking, with amazing backgrounds complete with luminous neon signs, glaring televisions, and life and activity oozing from every corner. The backgrounds are so beautiful and detailed they could effectively serve in place of CG art, although there is plenty of that asides. The character models and designs are similarly excellent, with expressive poses and faces. The various outfits, of which the game has many, embody iconic 80’s fashion. Artist Tida Kietsungden draws both the characters and CGs with a distinctive hand-drawn style, which allows them to play well off each other and add to the beautiful presentation. The detail and care that went into the aesthetics are enormous and elevate the game at every moment. 

A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 is a vibrant and intimate experience. The fantastic setting and flawless artwork surround a compelling and thoughtful story about lesbian love and desire, societal expectations, and the bonds between family and lovers. It is rough around the edges, with a slightly rushed story that leaves little time to wallow in complexity and an awful dialogue system. However, it will win players over with its striking presentation and sophisticated subject matter. I look forward to more from this studio and highly recommend you check this game out!

Ratings: Story – 7 Characters – 6 Art – 10 Music – 8 LGBTQ – 8 Sexual Content – 3 (8 with patch) Final – 7

Purchase A Summer’s End on Steam and itch.io, available April 23

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