#trigun is one of my top favorite series of all time after all

[oneguardian15]

okay okay, finally finished watching trigun stampede and i was not expecting that ending. the show honestly far exceeded my expectations

[greetingfromthedead]

Happy Trigun Fanfiction Appreciation Week!

While I encourage all the fantastic creators of this community, I just wanted to promote some of my lovely moots and other friends! ❤

While this includes ficrecs, you should definitely go and check out all their other work too! If you're at all into x Reader, you'll find plenty of lovely stuff on their blogs!

@jellys-compendium

Masterlist

💜My Papa (~1k words)

💜 Raiting: Everyone

💜 Pairing: Dad!Vash x reader, but it's mostly Vash being adorable with his kids

💜 Summary: A Cozy Dad!Vash Drabble. Vash tries to teach his two rambunctious twins a new word.

💜 Review: It is so friggin' cute! Vash being a dad is so adorable and if that's not enough to entice you to go read it, idk what will! It also inspired me to write my own Dad!Vash fic so that's something!

❤️ Lovebug (7.9k words)

❤️ Raiting: Explicit

❤️ Pairing: Sinister!Vash x f!Reader

❤️ Summary: You've been running for a long time, miraculously evading the destructive storm on your heels. But one fateful night you find yourself trapped and unable to escape the humanoid typhoon any longer. He'll make you regret running from him.

❤️ Review: It is so dark and so hot. Sweet god, it's like a Finnish sauna. Check the tags, but oml, it had be reeling.

@triplesilverstar

Masterlist

💜 A kiss in the rain (~0.3k words, but part of a much larger and fantastic series)

💜 Raiting: Everyone

💜 Pairing: Vash x f!Reader

💜 Summary: A rare occurrence happens on the desert planet.

💜 Review: This is adorable! A quick fluffy pick-me-up, but you should check out the rest of the "Of Bandits, Bullets, Ghosts, & Typhoons" series too!!!

❤️ A so called God on a mountain top? Well, better then freezing to death (~3k words, but there's a part 2!)

❤️ Raiting: Explicit

❤️ Pairing: God!Vash x f!Reader

❤️ Summary: You had gone to the area to learn about the local wildlife and the fauna. Sure the villagers were wary of outsiders, but you honestly hadn't expected to be drugged and tied to a slab on the mountaintop in nothing but a flimsy robe. So when a handsome blond stranger shows up claiming to be a God who are you to argue?

❤️ Review: This God!AU is fantastic! The smut is hot AF and Vash has feathers! What more do you need? This will have you hot and bothered in no time. And if you're like me, it will rot your brain too and inspire you to ponder your own take on the God!AU, it's just that good.

@novasintheroom

Masterlist

💜 A home for you and me (0.9k words, but part of the 150 Bullets drabble series)

💜 Raiting: Everyone

💜 Pairing: Vash x gn!Reader

💜 Summary: It's a new chapter in your lives and you both have to get used to the concept of actually having a home.

💜 Review: This is so cute and wholesome!!! Reader having zoomies is absolutely a mood and Vash is also so cute! This series is filled with such adorable stories!

❤️ Memories (0.7k words, but is part of the 150 Bullets drabble series)

❤️ Raiting: Everyone

❤️ Pairing: Vash x gn!Reader

❤️ Summary: Vash is plagued by unpleasant memories, but good thing you're there to be a shoulder to lean on.

❤️ Review: A bit angsty, but also so fluffy and wholesome like it should be! It's a great read and seeing into Vash's head is always such a wonderful experience in stories like this!

@bendycxmet

Masterlist

💜 Sleep Date (~1.2k words)

💜 Raiting: Everyone

💜 Pairing: Vash x gn!Reader

💜 Summary: Most of your and Vash's dates consist of getting cozy beneath the covers.

💜 Review: Really cute and fluffy! Who wouldn't want to try and crawl into his skin? So cuddly and sweet!

❤️ Crowd (~1.5k words)

❤️ Raiting: Everyone

❤️ Pairing: Wolfwood x gn!Reader

❤️ Summary: You watch as Wolfwood tries to find you in a crowd.

❤️ Review: This had be giddy and it has so many lovely descriptions. Wolfwood doesn't get enough love, but this makes up for it! It's super cute!

@vashs-turtleneck

Mastelist

💜 Stay (~0.4k words)

💜 Raiting: Everyone

💜 Pairing: Vash x gn!Reader

💜 Summary: Waking up the morning after next to your favorite travel companion.

💜 Review: It's a touch angsty, but mostly just cute fluff! A good wholesome read! Vash is just as cute as ever in this one!

❤️ Sharing is Caring (3.1k words)

❤️ Raiting: Explicit

❤️ Pairing: Vash x f!Reader x Wolfwood

❤️ Summary: You, Vash, and Wolfwood have a bit of a wild evening together.

❤️ Review: This is absolutely delicious! this fic will stay with you for a while and put dirty thoughts in your head long after you've finished reading it. It is so god damn hot. I mean you get a threesome with Vash and Wolfwood. What else is there to say???

If you've scrolled this far: Thank you for your attention! Please, go check out these fantastic creators and also all the other stuff under the tag #trigunfanficappreciation! This is a fantastic community with so many talented creators and artists! I'm sure everyone will find something they enjoy here!

If you enjoy what creators put out, please please please, show them some love! Comment, reblog and like! It motivates your favorites to keep writing and creating art! Thank you!

Thank you @trigunfanfic / @beelzebby666 for this event! ❤❤❤

[cafecliche]

fic writer meme!

[RISES FROM THE DEPTHS] I'm here!! Thank you so much @uhuraisgay and @englishsub for the tags, and also for reminding me that I've missed Tumblr

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 50 even - which was more than I thought!

2. what's your total ao3 wordcount? 187,448

3. what fandoms do you write for?

My fic-writing impulses come along like cicada seasons, except without any regularity whatsoever: I do a lot of dabbling in a lot of fandoms, I can never really tell if something's going to light my brain on fire. Most of my fic output came from Yuletide for a long while (I loved the grab bag aspect and writing little treats for small fandoms, but then my holidays got busier), and then Yuri on Ice and MDZS were my biggest fandoms by far, especially MDZS. I've written Yuwu recently, and I'd love to write some Trigun, LoZ, or Mysterious Lotus Casebook one of these days.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

grow

the only way out

The Guests of Cloud Recesses

detente

bespoke

And the soft animal is our runner-up at #6!

5. do you respond to comments?

I usually don't unless it's a request or a question, but I read and treasure every one.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I am too tender for Bad Endings for the most part, but my canon-verse Nie Huaisang fic after me comes the flood does not end in a particularly good place for anyone involved. (But even then, we know it gets better for him eventually... albeit at the expense of several bystanders)

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I tend to write pretty gentle, occasionally LIGHTLY bittersweet happy endings (that's the cafecliche guarantee baby) but part of me wants to say 'the only way out' (and probably 'the yunmeng accords' series in general) here. I tend to write fic when I want to play around with the emotions or relationship dynamics that can already be found in canon, so 'the yunmeng accords' is probably as close to a fix-it as I'm going to get.

8. do you get hate on fics?

Not usually! I was part of the Great MDZS Anon Hate Train of 2021, but that was the worst I've ever gotten by several magnitudes - the vast majority of commenters are fabulous.

9. do you write smut?

Not yet! It's not off the table, though.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you have written?

I actually don't think I've ever written a crossover! The closest I've ever gotten was when I look over my shoulder, but even that's 'Wangxian in a Conjuring-esque ghosthunters in love situation' and not really a formal Conjuring AU.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I've had plagiarism brought to my attention a couple times, but truly just a handful. I still remember getting a message on FF.net that someone had ripped off a line from my Black Lagoon fic. The SCANDAL of it all.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

MDZS is the first fandom where I've gotten translation requests, which is always so cool! To my knowledge, I've had fics translated into Russian, Spanish, and Ukranian.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but brainstorming fic concepts with my brilliant friends is one of my favorite thing in the world.

14. what's your all time favorite ship?

omg ever? Well Victuuri and Wangxian have been the ones that really lit my brain on fire (if I own the Nendos, it's serious) but let me also throw it back to Fakir and Ahiru in Princess Tutu. That is ROMANCE.

15. what is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I would have really liked to have one more entry to 'the yunmeng accords!' I had a couple of ideas that I really liked, but nothing that caught fire quite enough to dive into it. That said, I am currently working on something short and Yunmeng Shuangjie-related, at the very least...

16. what are your writing strengths?

Emotional through-lines, pacing, and that sweet, sweet catharsis. I'm drawn to particular fandoms when they leave me with an emotion that I need to break down over the course of several thousand words, and I know that shows through in my writing.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Choreography! I'm not a very visual thinker, so sometimes it takes me a while just to figure out how to block the characters in a given scene. I also have a lot of trouble getting into a draft until I figure out the voice, which, when it comes to fanfic, will either come to me extremely easily or not at all.

18. thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

Yeah, absolutely! (But if you don't speak the language, do your research!)

19. first fandom you wrote for?

[rubs my temples] an X-Men crackfic.

20. favorite fic you have written?

Oh my god. WELL. 'grow' and 'the only way out' I think are the best fics I've written, and 'when I look over my shoulder' and 'the soft animal' are also extremely close to my heart. But 'detente' might be the favorite child. It just gushed out of me.

I think a great many of you have been tagged at this point, so sorry for any double-tags, but: @bluecrystalrainingdaggers @tigerjpg @floofyfluff @vinelark and anyone else who'd like to go for it!

[otaku-tyriq]

Hi again.....Thanks for answering my ask. Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any anime (can be series or movies)? Sorry if you have already answered this ask before.....

Ohhhh this ask is fun but also pretty hard to answer cuz there are so many anime I love! Anyways: SPOILERS FOR THESE SPECIFIC ANIME UNDER THE CUT: Promare, Trigun Stampede, Classicaloid, Yuuri on Ice, Moriarty the Patriot, Tiger and Bunny, Scott Pilgrim takes off, Vanitas no Carte, Naruto and DGray Man

1) The kiss of life from Promare

This and Galo saving Lio after he had been kidnapped just gives Galo and Lio as a ship major classic disney couple vibes like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White and has essentially sedimented Galolio as one of my favourite ships of all time for the rest of my days.

2) Because I am Vash the Stampede from Trigun Stampede

Literally the moment this entire series had built up towards, the two twins’ ideologies clashing and Vash proclaiming that no matter what he will always love humanity.

3) Every time Schubert says Beethoven Senpai from Classicaloid

It’s just pure comedy gold and cracks me up EVERY TIME!

4) Victuuri Proposal from Yuuri!!! on Ice

I mean…. It’s a canon gay proposal and one of the most influential queer representations in all of Anime. How could I NOT love this???

5) Live Liam from Moriarty the Patriot

I will admit this was a hard choice between the first time Liam and Sherlock meet and the "catch me if you can, Mr. Holmes” scene, but my final decision ended up being this one. Just the build up and Sherlock being too damn stubborn to even think about letting Liam become a Martyr. The speech of talking Liam out of committing suicide for the greater good and that he is not the monster he thinks he is aaaaahhhhhh i love it all. But I love this scene especially because I am a slut for characters jumping of high places to save their loved one.

6) You are not dying, Kotetsu from Tiger & Bunny

Literally the main reason why I ship these two and believe they’re in love. Just beautiful and tragic and Barnaby having learned how to cook Kotetsu’s favourite dish aaawwweeeee.

7) Wallace’s husband from Scott Pilgrim takes off

Is it the best joke in the anime? Nah there are objectively better ones out there. Does this line live rent free in my head regardless? Yes

8) That gay ass Dance Scene from Vanitas no Carte

Gay

Gay

Homosexual

Gay

9) Gaara vs. Rock Lee from Naruto

I had loved Rock Lee since the very moment he had shown up on screen the first time, but this moment right here, especially when he took off those weights, solidified him as my favourite naruto character for eternity. Just this boys unyielding determination to achieve his dream even without being able to use any ninjutsu is remarkable.

10) The Earl plays the 14th melody from Dgray Man

It’s …. Idk how to explain it, to hear a song previously associated with the hero of the show, being played slightly off key by the main antagonist sends chills down my spine.

[hellsingmongrel]

That sure was a fuckin’ JOURNEY

(Spoilers, AGAIN, for Trigun, Trimax, and Tristamp)  Welp.  I hyperfixated on the entirety of Trigun Maximum that I got through it in like a day combined of reading, and that was WILD.  Actually had a headache from fixating so hard and from all the megasads, but now that I’ve seen the conclusion, I’m feeling a lot clearer in my brain.

What made me kind of cackle at the end was that Meryl and Milly.  Became REPORTERS.  People who complain about Meryl being a reporter in Stampede can just sit down.  It’s canon.  They just moved the timelines a bit.  Also, HOLY SHIT was that the most “The Power of Love and Friendship” solution to the battle I’ve ever seen out of a magical girl anime!  And honestly, it made SO MUCH FUCKING SENSE.  Needle-noggin’s unending, exasperating pacifism actually did save the world!  Who would have thought???  And I sure as Hell did not expect EARTH to still be functioning and sending out rescue ships!

NGL, though, there was a stretch where I legit was worried it wouldn’t have a happy ending AT ALL, and boy did that make me even more worried!  It was SO DARK.  So much death and horror and actual sexual assault (which is the one that I REALLY didn’t expect, and especially not with the character it involved, wow, :U)  Nor did I expect Knives to come out of it on the other end actually going “...Wow, ok, yeah, I was a shit.”  And for a while, there, it felt like a TOTALLY different story than it started off as!

Nightow did a good job of bringing it back around full circle at the end, and in such a way that yeah, Vash was having to be back on his bullshit all over again, but he didn’t have the weight of everything he was running from emotionally weighing him down like he had before, which made it seem so much nicer!  Sure, he’ll have to deal with people getting hurt and killed, but it seems like he’s not going to be putting the blame for literally every little thing that happens on his own shoulders.

I gotta say, when it comes to Stampede, I’ve seen some people saying that the Knives we get in episode 11 is super out of character and he would NEVER do what he did, but man.  I gotta say.  After reading the entirety of the manga, I do not agree with that criticism.  There was a time there when he SUPER tried to shut down any compassion he had for Vash, so I can totally see him trying to use him for his own goals.  I’m still excited to see how they handle the rest of the story they’re telling with the new series and stand by my assertion that Stampede Vash should be wrapped up in blankets and given cocoa and lots and LOTS of therapy and hugs and cuddles and head pats and told everything’s going to be ok.  But he seems like a much younger Vash, who you only saw a few times in Max, but who had the same sort of naivete.  It’s an interesting reimagining for the boy, but it all still feels very much like our favorite donut-addicted doofus.

Also, I have mountains of Vashwood feels that I don’t have the current capacity to handle and will have to stew on for a while, because GOOD LORD that was one hell of a fucking ride in THAT regard, too.  Meanwhile, literally his relationship with Meryl and Milly feels almost like the protective, constantly-worrying parent.  I know Meryl and Vash is a huge ship, and that’s totally valid, I just do not see him feeling that way for her at all.  o_O  The part where she was bawling and he was kneeling down to talk on her level had HUGE “adult talking to an upset child” vibes for me and nope.  It just reinforced the “This man looks like he’s barely old enough to drink, but he’s literally old enough to be everyone’s great, great, great grandparent!”  He still lights up like a giant golden retriever puppydog when they show up, because he adores the fuck out of the insurance girls, holy shit! It just doesn’t seem romantic to me at.

All in all, I gotta say, when I was big into anime and manga, Hellsing was my top favorite and Trigun was my second favorite, solely based on the Trigun anime.  But after the really unsatisfying way Hellsing ended for me, and after seeing the way Trigun Max was done, it absolutely blows Hellsing out of the number one spot for me.  It’s just SO GOOD!  I was seriously doing myself a major disservice, not reading it for so long!  Not that I had much control over supply chain issues for very small rural towns with little access to foreign goods.

There’ve been rumors that Dark Horse is planning a special edition rerelease of the manga (same as they did for Hellsing a few years ago, apparently.  That’s on my bucket list) and I will ABSOLUTELY be buying those if and when they do!  GIB GIB!  LEMME HAVE PHYSICAL COPIES!  I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED!

[edenwolfie]

20 questions for fic writer

I was tagged by @naamah-beherit! thanks for the tag, this one was fun!

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 8

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 897,063 lol

3. what fandoms do you write for? Posted Labyrinth, Star Wars, MDZS & TGCF, and written but not posted for Star Trek, Marvel, SVSSS & Trigun

4. what are your top five fics by kudos? #1: Just say yes (MDZS / Kudos: 10,035) #2: Just say there's nothing holding you back (MDZS / Kudos: 6,024) #3: Sigh No More (Star Wars / Kudos: 5,546) #4: I’m aching and I know you are too (MDZS / Kudos: 4,481) #5: ’Til our compass stands still (TGCF / Kudos: 3,962)

5. do you respond to comments? I do try to as much as I can when posting a fic, but after I've finished fics unless I have something to add or a comment particularly moved me, I tend not to due to it being a little time consuming and repetitive to work through--though all are loved and appreciated beyond words!!

6. what’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? None of them lol. Look upon my collection of fix-it fics and weep (at their fluffy endings)

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Again, all of them, but I think ’Til our compass stands still is the one that makes me smile the most.

8. do you get hate on fics? I have gotten a couple of odd comments, but is very rare.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind? Oh yeah. The smutty kind? Whatever takes my fancy really, I've posted a lot of my soft shit, but there's definitely some darker/kinkier stuff in the old WIP pile.

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written? Not really one for crossovers, only one I started was for Star Wars/MDZS that I will likely never finish.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? Good old Sigh No More was one of those fics that was being sold on Amazon amongst a number of other folks fics.

12. have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! My series Just Say Yes has been translated to Russian.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? No, I have not.

14. what’s your all-time favorite ship? Boy that's a hard one. Probably K/S. They the OG for good reason.

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Honestly, if I actually want to finish it, I will make it happen. I also don't start posting until I am sure I have the whole thing plotted out and can finish it. I have a lot of WIPs, but many are little disconnected scenes I like to play with like Barbies that don't really have Plot and I don't really intend to finish. I suppose if the Wangxian brain took me again, I'd like to finish the WIP titled 'Canon Typical Dubious Consent' fic, but it's a huge mess and would need a lot more coherency to it.

16. what are your writing strengths? I think I'm pretty good with dialogue, character, and plot.

17. what are your writing weaknesses? The bits in between those things, descriptions and such. I also have a penchant for reusing words a lot and repeating myself, though I do try to clean that up in edits lol

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? If it's there for a reason I don't see why not, but I also likely wouldn't do so mainly because I'm not particularly fluent in anything other than English and would worry too much about fucking it up.

19. first fandom you wrote for? Labyrinth on ff.net a thousand years ago

20. favorite fic you’ve ever written? Definitely ’Til our compass stands still, that one is my Baby.

I'm tagging whoever feels like doing it!

[dk-wren]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "dk-wren"?

Hello Anon!

Thank you so much for the ask. I really wish I kept better track of the fics I've read and enjoyed for myself, as well as to answer your question a little better. The 10 I've chosen represent both a mix of my all time favorites and some of my recent favs.

(I'll link all of them at the bottom of the post for the sake of formatting and to help with the flow of reading. Also, if you are the author for one of the fics I've listed and would like to be tagged, please let me know! I'd be more than happy to!)

Buddy Daddies

Let's Make this Last Forever & Practice Makes Perfect by ZsBrainrot

Love these fics as they both explore Rei and Kazuki's relationship and some of their earlier moments as a couple (or as they begin to realize their feelings for each other). Love their other BD works too, but if I had to narrow it down, I'd say these are my favorites from Z.

Every Reason Not To by Jenanigans1207

Just a sweet little fic of Kazuki talking to Rei about how he is nothing like his father and that he is loved and wanted by both Miri and him.

Bolt from the Blue by AlexiasRei

Fun crossover with Spy x Family and the Forger family. Also, love how all the parents get a little slice of action to show off their (some more than others) hidden identities.

Spy x Family

Cold. by MyriadOfThings

I remember this being one of the first Spy x Family fics I read and it has continued to stand out to me. The angst of Twilight still having to leave the Forger family after Operation Strix was a success, seeing Yor as Thorn Princess going to any length to find out where her husband is, and the ending!

The Woman in Red by nightofmynyx8

I think this was the first series I read on AO3 as it was being released. Literally, remember being so excited whenever I saw a new chapter dropped. Also, loved seeing Yor take center stage in this mission and protective Loid.

Trigun/Trigun Stampede

Take Care by Lunarame

I'm always interested in how different artists explore Vash's wings and how he reacts to their appearance. For most of his life, Vash has constantly been on the run, so I love the tenderness of Wolfwood just wanting to take care of Vash and his wings in this fic.

Waiting at that shallow grave by riotintheheartt

I really enjoyed this piece from the Vashwood Big Bang that took place recently (and still might be taking place). This is the first one I started and quickly fell in love with it. I was super intrigued by the premise and loved how it was told in a non-linear way.

Banana Fish

I always wanted to protect you - Flying by Enora_Wings

Shorelines by snowcapped_detours

Guess who just watched Banana Fish? Me! And guess who's been reading fics to cope? Also me! Jokes aside, these represent some of my more recent faves, especially for the Banana Fish fandom. It's also fun(?) because they sorta represent two sides of the scenario of what if Ash reunited with Eiji.

As for your second question, Anon, yes, there is a story behind my name Dakota (or DK) Wren.

Dakota (and the nickname DK) was the name of my favorite doll growing up. Looking back, I realized how much the scenarios I would imagine in my head and how I would dress her should've been a big indicator of the geeky, fandom lover I am today. I knew others would play like school or mall with their dolls, and then you had me dressing her up and pretending she was going to SDCC, Star Wars Celebration, etc. In a way, playing with Dakota when I was little was the first time I could really embrace this side of my personality without feeling the need to simmer it down or pull back on how I expressed my love for all these things. That's why, when creating this name, I knew right away I wanted Dakota incorporated in some way.

As for the "last name," Wren, that was pulled from one of, if not my favorite character, Sabine Wren from Star Wars Rebels. I discussed why I love Sabine so much and what she means to me in a previous post, but basically, I loved how she used art as a form of resistance. For her, the power of art could cause as much change as physical power. And for someone who spends a lot of time in the arts, I just really loved this aspect of her. Likewise, I loved how she was portrayed in Star Wars Rebels as this character who was both strong and emotionally vulnerable. The complexities of her past, and how she must deal with them in the present, is what caused me to love her even more. Since Dakota Wren was going to be my pen/writer name, the way her artistic side is emphasized throughout Rebels, and my general love for her, is what caused me to pick Wren as the second part of my name.

.

.

.

Thank you again for the ask! I hope you enjoy the fics if you take the time to read them. I've only really gotten into reading fics from these fandoms (even though I'm in a few more) so I apologize if you were hoping for fics from a fandom I didn't list above. Also, if you (or anyone else) has any fic recs from these fandoms, please send them my way!

Thank you as well for asking about the story behind my name, it was really fun to talk about! Maybe not the most interesting or elaborate, but both parts of my name mean a lot to me, so I'm glad I could share the story of how I created my name!

-Dakota Wren

Links to the all the listed fics:

[neonscandal]

Hi ....Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any anime (can be series or movies)? Sorry if you have already answered this ask before.....

This is an incredible ask which inherently will come with some serious spoilers! This was also really tricky trying to determine what makes something my favorite - was it the funniest? The craziest? The biggest plot twist? I used the benchmark of what moments do I wish I could watch for the very first time, all over again. I broke the difference with eight, hope you don't mind!

⚠️ Spoiler Warning covers the following series (specific benchmarks will be given) for Sk8 the Infinity, Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Yuri on Ice, Trigun, Fushiigi Yuugi.

SK8 the Infinity S1 E6, allusion to S1 E10

Starting off light! One would assume that one of the most iconic scenes in Sk8 is the slap heard round the world but I found that more heartbreaking than anything. My favorite moment of Sk8 is easily Miya cockblocking Joe on the beach because what a flex, first of all. Secondly, the build up and subsequent (unknowing) teamwork of our favorite motley crew of skaters? 😘👌🏾 Chef's Kiss and *peak* comedy.

Attack on Titan S3 E16

I could talk at length about the exquisite exposition of Attack on Titan and how each rewatch sprouts new easter eggs of foreshadowing as the world unfurls for the viewer. But the truth is, out of the entire series, the moment that I would want to rewatch for the first time is Erwin's rallying speech in Shinganshina. In addition to inspiring goosebumps and anxiety when I hear it, it is a perfect storm of emotions as concurrent events unfolding are all coming to a head. It's a wretched life and a hopeless situation made worse by the all-or-nothing corner they've been backed into. The standoff is more poignant as it's a reckoning of Erwin's own past of valiantly using others as cannon fodder if only as a means to a strategic end. A man we now know to be possessed by the obsession of proving his father right, presses forward ceaselessly while never seeing a future beyond that and we're never given the time to fully digest that. "A Perfect Game", indeed. The speech manages to be heart wrenching every time. Including when the dub pops up in my music library.

Yuri on Ice S1 E10

Hot Take: Every sports anime is a BL. You cannot convince me otherwise. BUT THIS WORK OF ART!? Literally the exception that proves the rule. Episode 7 was GOOD. Like, "ohmygod-ohmygod-ohmygod, IT'S HAPPENING!" good. Episode 10 was a cultural reset ✨ and what I wouldn't give to see it for the first time all over again. From the viewer's perspective, Viktor picked up his life with one foot in a relationship when he decided to coach Yuuri. It was alluded to, hinted at, his susceptibility of Yuuri's affection should it ever be thrown his way but in an almost detached, puckish manner. A manner that frazzled Yuuri so he could never take it seriously. So what a comedy of errors to know, after finally finding a working rhythm and even exchanging rings, that Yuuri was the one who made the first move!? OMG. Iconic plot twist, truly. The bonus evidence of his champagne fueled revelry is one of my all time favorite bonus sequences.

My Hero Academia S3 E18, S6 E9 and Heroes Rising (Indirect Manga Spoiler Ch 337)

Maybe a bit biased since I'm most plugged into this series at the moment (I like GIFs and only get 9 a post), but here's a treasure trove of moments! I've recently gotten my niece and nephew into MHA and rewatched everything from S1 to the current season and all movies while seeing how they digest everything. I tried to tweet about it because it's truly novel seeing things for the first time through their eyes but didn't really keep up with it. Since I'm reading the manga (and need to pick back up on posting about it), I have a renewed perspective on certain moments so see below:

Iida rallying Aoyama from the figurative edge during the provisional exam and how it inspired Aoyama to sacrifice himself so someone he perceives as noble can be slingshot across the finish line. Humorous of course since we know Iida was like a hair away from murder a season or so ago. When this last ditch effort unites the rest of Class 1A and serves as an impetus for them all to pass together? BRUH. With what we've seen of Aoyama and what we later learn, rewatching this scene actually made me a bit more emotional as it added a layer to his duress that we don't comprehend just yet.

Bakugo's hero moment which mirrored Midoriya's own hero origin story. Don't get me wrong, Bakugo is no stranger to sacrificing himself. He and Midoriya make it a habit of saving one another. But this specific moment marks itself indelibly as deliberate insight into Bakugo's character growth because we hear his thoughts in that moment which seems to mirror Midoriya's. TBH, the episode was good but reading that for the first time? Phenomenal. It felt more impactful somehow.

The final fight scene against Nine with everyone coordinating to use their quirks to the best of their abilities while knowing they were outclassed. Bakugo and Midoriya seamlessly working together and then the (non-canonical IG) transfer of OFA with Deku risking quirklessness again and Bakugo warning him against it. *Cue Sarah McLachlan-esque soundtrack.*

Trigun (OG Run) S1 E 23

I slipped down the Adult Swim to Toonami pipeline of anime so Trigun was one of the first anime I fell in love with and kicked off an enduring adoration for characters voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch. Wolfwood's showdown with Evergreen and the subsequent scene at the church as he makes his peace before dying forever altered my brain chemistry. On the one hand, I loved Wolfwood's character as he played off of Vash so well, comedically. At odds but similarly aligned in the greater good though the means to the end weren't always in sync. I could appreciate the dissonance of his character, holy man who kills; unsavory priest, etc. So I would have been sad to see him go either way, but the life he imagined for himself as he was dying? Knife in the heart. Knowing that ultimately, legendary gunslinger Vash the Stampede made such a visceral impression on this ne'er do well priest, moreso than the God he served and that that was his undoing? Twist that knife, baby. That last bit I can appreciate much better as an adult where, as a kid, I could understand how moved I was without realizing the complexity of it. Truly devastating.

Fushigi Yugi S1 E33

I'm realizing that a lot of my favorite characters tend to be really irreverent and rough around the edges. These very same characters tend to have compelling depth beyond their surface level brashness and character growth that stays with me. Such is the case with the graceful and beautiful Nuriko of the Suzaku warriors. As a kid and also for a series of that period, I could understand that Nuriko had a rich complexity and appreciate the relief that they were accepted wholeheartedly by Miaka and the warriors. The character was so deeply steeped in grief that it defined them and muddled their identity over the course of their life. Upon finding a new mission, they were able to come into themselves but only by slowly letting that grief go. So it is ironic that this person, shortly after finding peace in who they were, was marked for a death that would critically galvanize Miaka and the rest of the warriors to carry on and see the mission through to the very end. This episode became a core memory and I distinctly remember bawling.

[chimerafflesia]

Top 5 90's/2000's anime?

it was so hard for me to choose I wish I could recommend all my favorite anime forever. but I picked out a few that stand out for me

5. obligatory Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 mention because it was my first anime ever. although many will say brotherhood is the way to go I am always gonna vouch for '03 because it's unique and amazing in its own right. fma as a whole means a lot to me but '03 specifically will always have a spot in my heart because it introduced me to anime as a whole. edward elric pioneered the way. for what? just everything I think.

4. TRIGUN BABY!!!! lord I love this series so much. the original trigun anime deserves to be in a hall of fame. should be in all of them actually. banger character designs banger story banger dub I could go on. I originally watched trigun back in february 2021 and then rewatched it to cleanse after trigun stampede (lots of feelings about that one) and it's just so unbelievable. I will die for the dub version I will argue it's the best way to watch it. dub knives lives on in my brain always. trigun is simply the best.

3. Naruto the life altering shonen series. I watched it for the first time back in 2020 and went on a year long spiral with it (I still love it infinitely to this day) it's just. I can't even explain it it's one of those if you've experienced it you know anime. yes it's so mainstream yes it's goofy and easy to make fun of but god that shit changed my life hardcore. I met so many wonderful people through it and i'm forever grateful that I watched all 700+ episodes of it. also my good friend sasuke is in there. who would I be if not for sasuke.

2. GOKUDO. ONE OF MY FAVORITE ANIME THAT NOBODY HAS HEARD OF. A 1999 CLASSIC THAT WENT TRIPLE PLATINUM IN MY HOUSE. I found it through a random youtube video of all things and when I looked at the dub cast it had a ton of people I was already familiar with so I gave it a watch and Oh My God. ITS SUCH A FUN SERIES. it's an adventure series and the main bit is that the MC is more an an antihero than a hero but it's just such a silly and fun show with a lot of kickass characters with great designs. I literally bought this show on DVD because I wanted to own it forever. I don't wanna spoil too much of it but. my final message to the world: everyone please watch gokudo I don't want to be the only fan of it anymore. most underrated gem of all time.

1. Yu Yu Hakusho. my favorite battle shonen of all time changed my life changed the world i've watched and read it and it just doesn't get old. the chapter black arc is in my top 3 anime arcs of all time. unbelievably great worldbuilding and storytelling togashi is just a genius. the anime is so striking and has such a wonderful feel to it and the soundtrack is killer. I always recommend it for ppl wanting to get into shonen/anime in general. massively impactful for me personally. love it to death.

[cosplayinamerica]

GARRETT

I’ve enjoyed costumes for as long as I can remember. As a kid, Halloween was always an excuse to make costumes. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I became a more serious cosplayer. While I was in school, the original Star Wars Battlefront came out and I fell in love with the Stormtrooper and Clonetrooper armors. After searching the internet and reading all kinds of websites about the armors, I eventually bought a kit and started costuming in earnest. This was back in 2006 and I’ve been building, buying and modifying props and costumes ever since.

Vash the Stampede was the first cosplay that was completely homemade. He also was constantly evolving and being modified. We killed 3 sewing machines making the first duster coat because the heavy duty vinyl would jam up constantly. The gloves and boots were constantly being changed because I wanted to add different details or found a better way to make it. This was back in ‘09 I think, so I don’t remember exactly how things went, but there was plenty of good feedback and folks liked what I did..

One good memory I have of him was when Trigun Badlands Rumble came out. There was a special screening at a convention, AnimeFest I think, and I got up front and posed for people yelling “Love and Peace”  and hyping people up. Totally improvised and nobody threw me out so I’d call that a win!

Vash is definitely not a summer costume, let alone a TEXAS summer costume. That said, I wore it plenty of times in the heat. Both coats I have were made to open quickly so I could get air, but basically I’d just sweat and deal with it.

Once upon a time I was a member of the 501st Legion, a Star Wars charity group. I’m no longer a member anymore only because life is so busy and I haven’t the time, but I did a few events with them. The one that sticks out in my mind was a Christmas parade benefiting Children’s Medical Center. I participated in full Stormtrooper armor in the cold while having a broken shoulder. Earlier in the year I had fallen and busted my shoulder but stuck with my commitment to the event. I marched the whole time focused on getting to the end, the cheers were my motivation.

The Dark Knight trilogy, in particular the second movie, The Dark Knight, are still my favorite Batman stories. I grew up on Adam West’s Batman and the animated series from the 90s, but the Dark Knight made Batman feel real. I’d tried so many times to get a good batsuit put together but always was dissatisfied. Eventually I broke down and got my hands on the UD Replicas suit I’m wearing in this book. The cape and cowl were individual purchases from Etsy. So really I didn’t make anything on this one but I had a blast wearing it despite all the sweat!! Folks always love Batman and having an opportunity to make smiles is great fun.

Cosplay is a great hobby and I love it for the creative process, but more so I love it for the interactions with people. It’s an opportunity to talk with someone who loves the same things, and the ‘play’ we put on is like a handshake between friends.

(Top : 2009 / Bottom: 2018)

[yoko-kurama-the-sex-god]

Recommendations for entertaining yourself at home.

Anime

Yu Yu Hakusho (fantastic dub, funny, moving, great character development, this show has it all)

D.Gray-man (serious but fun, gets heavier in later episodes)

Black Cat

Black Butler

Princess Tutu (weird but amazing, especially if you like fairy tales)

Fairy Tail (I haven't finished it, but I love it, wonderful characters)

Inuyasha (discovered it late and haven't finished it, but it gives me yyh vibes)

Saiyuki (love the characters and humor, but only watched the first season because the dubbing was different for the next, please watch the dub)

Ouran High School Host Club (a romcom, but the female lead is amazing)

Sankarea (dark but oddly cute)

Birdy the Mighty: Decode

Cowboy Bebop

Trigun

The Vision of Escaflowne (ok not gonna lie, it's not that good but it has a special place in my heart so I had to add it)

Yuri! On Ice (gay figure skating!)

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club (no homo swimming, it wishes it was yoi)

Blue Exorcist

The Devil is a Part-Timer!

Movies

Wolf Children (touching, I cried several times)

Your Name (beautiful all around: story, art, music, everything, cried a lot)

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (weird and tragic)

Sucker Punch (heavy themes)

The Princess Bride (classic, if you haven't seen it, what are you doing with your life)

Leap! (Ballet but fun)

The Shape of Water

The Phantom of the Opera (the one with Girard Butler)

The Raven (about Edgar Allan Poe)

Pirates of the Caribbean (the first three, the other two are good separately but you'll be disappointed after the first three)

Anything Monty Python, but I'd start with Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Anything Studio Ghibli, personal recommendations are Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Secret World of Arietty, and Princess Mononoke

Spaceballs (sci-fi parody)

Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Top Secret (spy parody)

Clue The Movie (comedy)

Rise of the Guardians

The Road to El Dorado

Anastasia

Disney

Mulan

Tangled

Sleeping Beauty

Brave

Frozen

The Princess and the Frog

Malificent

Tv Shows

Lucifer

Castlevania

Versailles

Sleepy Hollow

Castle

Dexter

Once Upon a Time

Video Games

Sally Face

Fran Bow

Night in the Woods

Undertale

The Legend of Zelda series

Rime

Slime Rancher

Stardew Valley

Rise of the Argonauts

Spore

The Sims

Zoo Tycoon

West of Loathing

Kitty Powers

Books

The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward (adult vampire romance, but with fantastic characters and I'm so deep in it send help)

The Looking Glass Wars trilogy (can't remember the author but another variation on Alice in Wonderland)

Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr (fae)

Shiver series by Maggie Stiefvater (werewolves but instead of the moon they change with the temperature)

Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn (werewolves and other supernatural beings in the modern age)

Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice (gay opera singers)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

Spice & Wolf light novels by Isuna Hasekura

Warriors series by Erin Hunter (yes the tween series about cats)

Guardians of Ga'Hoole series (yes the tween series about owls)

Manga

Fullmetal Alchemist

Black Bird

Black Cat

Death Note

Genju no Seiza (this series is unfinished and I don't know if it will continue, but it's really good)

Fruits Basket

I know a lot of these are old, but I got into some of them late and thought there's probably others like me. These are just some of my favorites so hopefully you'll find something to stay entertained!

[plantdaddyddadtnalp]

So, I was traveling through old favorites photos and came across one where @sexykaworunagisa posits a sci-fi story that busks the trend of “dragons in the past, robots in the future” with the idea of a future full of specially bred dragons.

After seeing this I was reminded of an amazing story I read a few years ago and wanted to tell them about it, but nothing remains of them on tumblr. So, all three of my followers, you have been specially chosen to discover the book series called “The Pit Dragon Chronicles” by Jane Yolen!

It stars a young boy who was debted into slavery alongside his mother who soon died. He works for his freedom at a dragon breeding farm on the planet of Austar IV, a prison-colony-come-planet that is essentially Australia combined with the planet of Gunsmoke from the Trigun series. It’s by an large a sandy wasteland with little bits of depressing forests and scrubland oases (plural for oasis).

Austar IV is pretty much what you’d expect a space Australia to be like if it was from the time period where it was transitioning from prison colony to independent world. There are three known plants and two known animals (well there are seven, but these tree get top billing) the spikka tree which is tall, thin, and rather depressing to look at if you’ve ever seen another type of tree, and two small floodplane weeds, blisterweed and burnwort. Both are somewhat caustic but can be smoked recreationally if a slow descent is in your wheelhouse, but they’re the perfect food for baby dragons! Well, dragons of all ages, really, but there’s an entire arc around raising a baby dragon on the stuff, so sue me. And rounding off the list of Austarian flora and fauna is the only known predator of the dragons. Well, the defenseless babies anyway. The Drakk are large, scentless, black, snake-headed bat creatures that eat eggs and baby dragons, have highly caustic blood, and reek to high heaven when killed.

Without spoiling too much, our main character, Jakkin, discovers a forgotten hatchling that had been miscounted when getting a new mother dragon settled in for the night. Seeing a chance to escape bondage he secrets it away in the frigid night to raise it as his own in the hopes it would succeed in the dragon pits (mostly just blister and threat displays with a few swings here or there, dragons are hard to raise and no ones wasting their hard work by getting their dragon killed) and win him enough money to pay off his debt. And given there’s four books in the series and I still haven’t read the last three, whose to say how successful he is?

[imitationpersonne]

Get to Know the Blogger

Can be used for RP and non-RP blogs to get to know a bit about the person behind the screen! Repost, don’t reblog!

1. FIRST NAME:  My alias is KumaraDosha, and you can call me that, Kumara, Mara, or something else you have learned I go by. :3c

2. STRANGE FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: I have an extra half a vertebra in my lumbar spine, bigger on the left side, that makes my back less stable and more susceptible to pain and injury, and part of the reason I had to change my career from being a surgical technologist was because of that wear and tear.

3. TOP THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE ON A PERSON: ...I really don’t know how to answer this. Attraction is so finicky for me, and “aesthetically pleasing” really just depends on the person. I guess all I can say is the most identifiable “type” of person I’d be attracted to are sort of...waifish women? Maybe Scandinavian features, IDK. Something vaguely similar to Anya Taylor-Joy’s soft looks, any hair color.

4. A FOOD YOU COULD EAT FOREVER AND NOT GET BORED OF: Ice cream/shakes.

5. A FOOD YOU HATE: Olives.

6. GUILTY PLEASURE: Assigning characters of different fandoms Homestuck godtier classes and aspects.

7. WHAT DO YOU SLEEP IN: Usually an old, big shirt and pajama pants.

8. SERIOUS RELATIONSHIPS OR FLINGS: Serious relationships only, if not neither.

9. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN THE PAST AND CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WOULD YOU AND WHAT WOULD IT BE: I might go back and pick sonography as my major first, instead of trying nursing school, getting psychologically abused and mistreated by nursing teachers, having a breakdown and quitting, getting a surgical technology degree after being treated poorly by teachers/students/staff, quitting surgical tech work after 3 years due to depression/anxiety and physical strain, then coming back to school for a third time with past healthcare-school trauma and trying to get a bachelor’s in sonography. Then again, I learned a whole lot--educationally, about life, about the behaviors and cultures of healthcare workers, and about how people are--in those other schools/professions, so I’m not sure that’s worth giving up? I’d be very much richer right now, though, and not dependent on family or in debt. Plus, surgical technology is actually really cool (and still very much a passion of mine), and I don’t want to give those experiences and memories up. So maybe I’d just nix the nursing school, do surgical tech for a few years, and then go for sonography. Who knows, man; life and its consequences are so unpredictable.

10. ARE YOU AN AFFECTIONATE PERSON: Probably not. I am very sensitive to rejection if I’ve been honest or vulnerable, so I usually only gush over people I trust and honestly feel that way about.

11. A MOVIE YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN: I really don’t know if there’s any like that for me?? But I guess The Signal is a movie I like to show people and watch with them, because many haven’t seen it, and I find it fascinating. I also love Tron Legacy a whole lot.

13. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP ANY ANIMAL AS A PET, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE: I would choose a Samoyed dog, if I were able to have it well-taken-care-of (which I can’t do at this point, which is why I don’t have one).

14. TOP FIVE FICTIONAL SHIPS: Oh boy, uh. At the moment? It’s hard for me to give any ultimate lists, because they can all be terribly mishandled or cringe depending on how they’re portrayed, which often somehow turns out to be popular in the fandom, and that spoils it for me a little bit... You know what, screw the rules; I’ma throw out a bunch--six from BNHA that I favor atm and then a diverse cast of some oldies I still like that will be more than five. Not particularly in order of rank...

From BNHA, Monoma Neito x Shinsou Hitoshi; Monoma Neito x Midoriya Izuku; Monoma Neito x Kuroiro Shihai (there may or may not be huge RP bias here); Bakugou Katsuki x Uraraka Ochaco; Bakugou Katsuki x Todoroki Shouto; Shigaraki Tomura x Dabi.

From other fandoms... Kuja x Terra (Dissidia Final Fantasy), Genos x Sonic (One Punch Man), Akabane Karma x Asano Gakushu (Assassination Classroom), Beyond Birthday x L Lawliet (Death Note, but ONLY from an epic-long series of canon-divergent fanfictions that nobody’s going to have heard of), Yami Bakura x Yami Yugi (Yu-Gi-Oh!), Aoba x Noiz (Dramatical Murder), Matsuoka Rin x Nanase Haruka (Free!), Eridan Ampora x Sollux Captor (Homestuck), Caliborn x Dirk Strider (Homestuck), The Batter x Zacharie (OFF), Sniper x Spy (Team Fortress 2). ...The hate/enemies/rivals ships are kind of a theme, aren’t they.

15. PIE OR CAKE: Cake.

16. FAVORITE SCENT: At the moment, I really like the Snowflakes and Cashmere body wash at Bath and Body Works. Also Butterfly Flower. Also give me baking cookies or blueberry muffins.

17. CELEBRITY CRUSH: They all disappoint me. They’re just human beings, often not very good ones.

18. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO: Heaven, bitch. (Okay, maybe an island resort or a cruise or something.)

19. INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT:  Introvert who can appear extremely extrovert in comfortable company. I guess ambivert fits better.

20. DO YOU SCARE EASILY: Depends. In real life, I’d say not really, but if you can find a way to trigger my imaginative paranoia, then maybe. I can’t play scary video games, because they make me way too tense, but I absolutely love watching other people play them, and I get very scared, especially by jumpscares (but in a fun way, LOL). I also love watching horror movies (though most are embarrassingly un-scary). I do not like jumpscares in movies. Cheap. I also love reading/hearing creepy stories that are presumably true (that’s usually what triggers my imaginative paranoia and puts me in a bad headspace, but whoops, still interesting to me).

21. IPHONE OR ANDROID: I’ve only ever had iPhone.

22. DO YOU PLAY ANY VIDEO GAMES: Yeah. I wish I played more, but I seem to procrastinate a lot on playing games for some reason, and I’m not that good besides. I prefer PC to consoles, and I have tons and tons of games on Steam (many that I haven’t gotten around to trying yet), but I also have a PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Games of note that I have played a decent bit are Zelda Breath of the Wild, Fallout 4, Skyrim, Darkest Dungeon, Smash, Saints Row 3 and 4, many of the Final Fantasy games... And a heck ton more, uh.

24. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS: Pay off debts, share with family/friends, charity, invest in rich people stocks or whatever, and also live a nice-ass life. Honestly not sure if I’d quit working entirely...? I tend to get depressed if my life doesn’t have meaning like that. I have to give something back to the world. Besides, a million dollars literally lasts like under 20 years in normal circumstances...? That’s not something you retire on as a young person, unless you’re investing well...which I would need help figuring out how to do. I hate managing money.

25. FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU HATE: Off the top of my head, probably Jane Crocker and Aranea from Homestuck.

26. FANDOM THAT YOU WERE ONCE A PART OF BUT AREN’T ANY LONGER: Trigun fandom! I still love that series...!

tagged by: @galaxythixf

tagging: You, but only if you like me, even if from afar. :3c

[redscullyrevival]

Kristie’s Favorite Anime of 2018

Here are the (overall) transcripts of my end of the year audio posts covering my favorite anime experiences of 2018. All audio can be located on podbean but tumblr is typically more receptive to the written word and I’m still learning how to do audio levels and editing; it makes sense if people rather read my goofy thoughts!

So starting from the bottom and working our way up to number one, here is my #1 top pick, my favorite anime of 2018!:

Megalo Box Directed by Yō Moriyama From TMS Entertainment

Megalo Box is the 50th anniversary project for Tomorrow's Joe which is a boxing manga written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba. When it was published in 1968 Tomorrow's Joe really struck a cord with Japan's youth and the working class and the character of Joe has gone on to become a pop culture symbol of sacrifice and work, representative of the strength of the downtrodden and disenfranchised. 

1968 was the start of many grass roots movements in Japan, that year alone saw hundreds of student protests against nuclear-power; US occupation; Vietnam, government and educational corruption; economic imbalance, it was a time of campus rebellions and smaller towns and prefectures pushing back against big companies, against societal standards of success and happiness, and it was done violently.

Tomorrow's Joe, a story about a wandering juvenile named Joe struggling in the slums of Tokyo who takes up boxing to survive, captured and expressed the frustrated feelings of the lower classes and dissatisfied student bodies in it's time. Every iteration of the story that's been told, four films three tv shows, has tried to adjust to contemporary emotions while maintaining it's core idea on fighting truth to power.   

Megalo Box absolutely accomplishes this and hot damn it does it in a cool fucking way!

Megalo Box takes place in a futuristic setting but relies on telling it's story through the aesthetics and visual cues of the past. All the boxers wear "gear", a metal framework attached to their arms which makes their attacks more lethal, and there is a made up science and technology and blahblah it's futuristic! It's not high science fiction but it's not today and now. You get it.

Junk Dog is a young man in the megalo box illegal underground making money by throwing fights as directed to him by his partner Nanbu. Junk Dog is not satisfied with his existence. He's poor, doesn't have a name, doesn't have citizenship, doesn't have control over if he wants to win a fight or not. One night he comes across the leader of the Shirato Group who is the big company behind megalo boxing and they've just announced a open tournament called Megalonia where if you place in the rankings no matter what you'll get a shot at the belt. Junk Dog picks a fight with Shirato's bodyguard who happens to be of course a world class Megalo Boxer named Yuri - they don't get around to fighting but the encounter changes both of them and instills a transformative, and yeah I'm saying it I don't care, romantic rivalry within them and we go from there. 

Nanbu and Junk Dog fake citizenship to enter the tournament, they find backing, help, and a tangled web of training, money, hardship, corruption, self perseverance and self preservation takes off.

This is a really good show. Every week my husband Lee and I were just - we were dying to get around to this show we needed that new episode BAD. There is so much that is good and enjoyable and engaging about this incredibly dense and layered sports anime, it's almost overwhelming to talk about. Who am I that I can explain in a mere 15 minutes what Megalo Box accomplishes and does so wonderfully, ya know?! 

Megalo Box is a series that, as I briefly mentioned before, relies on a very distinct era of anime storytelling; this series looks and feels like something you found in the back of Blockbuster in their one row of anime. 

Like, you'd find Meglao Box between the one of each VHS copies of Appleseed and Kite that every Blockbuster ever had - this series, very specifically, not only perfectly emulates and bottles the designs and animation strengths of popular anime from the late 80s to the late 90s (things like Wicked City, Bubblegum Crisis, Gunbuster, Evangelion, Trigun, and Cowboy Bebop) but Megalo Box successfully sells itself as that found gem, as that personal awe inspiring experience of being lucky enough to come across something, try it, and be blown away...

And I know that sounds kind of kooky, but I lived through that era of anime; Megalo Box's choices to de-rez it's footage, to add graininess, to do tightly cropped sequences as though the aspect ratio has been adjusted from an original format, is not lost on me or I imagine anyone who did the work trying to access anime before the days of DVDs, streaming, and simulcasts - here in the English speaking world and in Japan. That experience is more universal than one would assume; it's a nostalgic kick that visually defines this show and works magnificently well in creating shorthand world building. It's easy for me to get behind anything the show does because I already know this kind of show, which again I know sounds crazy or silly but I really believe that that's what Megalo Box was going for.

I 100% think anyone younger than me or not even an anime fan can pick up this series and be entertained and get really into it because, it's again, really good: But that doesn't mean the series isn't trying to recall a very particular time frame of storytelling trends and character work. This series is absolutely doing that and I'm bring it up because I want that to be highlighted and known, 'cause it's fantastic!

It is the visual presentation that carries the bulk of this series through it's more generic turns. We all know a boxing story, because it's always the same story, but Megalo Box utilizes it's biggest advantage over it's live action counter parts by injecting it's world with a visual coding that creates a new experience that feels familiar, that feels known, which doesn't hurt it's commonalities with other boxing stories but enhances them towards new personal spaces with it's audience. Which is, uhh, very cool.

Megalo Box is gripping from the very start, it builds and grows in it's layers of depth and character work, it can make you cry AND want to learn to throw a punch; the dance between the show and viewer is so good! Haha, I'm having a hard time explaining what I mean in this regard, but if you've experienced Megalo Box you know what I'm trying to say.

Megalo Box feels personal, it feels reflective of our hardest struggles, of anyone's fight. And that's the hallmark of the pop culture imprint of Tomorrow's Joe, of the strength and legacy of this franchise and why it's still making the rounds; it's an underdog story that moves beyond just wanting to see someone win but one that latches onto you and won't let go, Joe's wins become your wins and rooting for him creates a form of self belief. AND it looks and sounds cool as hell!

Megalo Box impressed me and delighted me every step of the way and by the time we got to that last episode - I can't even begin to explain the tension that was in my house! Lee and I just... After a while our engagement to the show became verbal. During a fight lee would mutter "Get up!" and I'd go "oh jesus" and we'd say stuff like "get him" be giving advice and like, that's pretty intense. To be so in it you're involuntarily responding in an attempt to direct events? That's not something that happens usually happens to me and it happen more and more as the episodes went on that by the end we were both very literally on the edge of our seats hands covering our faces as though in prayer. 

So.

Megalo Box is it for me! It's the years winner, by total knock out.  

[recentanimenews]

Crunchyroll All-Stars: Larry Ogunjobi on Going to Conventions from Anime Expo to Japan

  Anime fans come from all walks of life and in all shapes and sizes. Some are students, some are scientists, some are doctors, some are artists, and some are even well-known athletes! Crunchyroll All-Stars is a series of interviews highlighting elite professionals who harbor a passion both for their art and for anime. 

  Today’s profile is on Larry Ogunjobi, a defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals. Growing up during the Toonami era, Ogunjobi would go on to take his passion for anime all the way from Anime Expo in Los Angeles to even conventions in Japan. We spoke with Ogunjobi about how Naruto’s lessons have helped him his entire life, why so many athletes relate to anime characters, and more!

    When did you become an anime fan?  Was there a specific moment that affected you or changed the way you felt about something?

  It started when I was younger when I was in 5th grade or so in elementary school. I used to always play video games and the first game I ever got was Zelda. After gaming a little bit I’d go to school and talk about the games.  Then I remember on Cartoon Network there was Toonami at 9 pm, and then on Saturdays, you’d get all the good anime — Dragon Ball Z, Trigun, Wolf’s Rain, Case Closed, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho — those were my introductions to anime. I always enjoyed it.


  Then came Naruto...I feel like I grew up with Naruto! Watching him as a kid and growing up to get married in the last episode of the last season of Shippuden.


  I also remember getting a Dragon Ball Z  video game for Playstation. I saved up to buy a PS2 and got really into that game.


  Anime always told a story. You got your main character and sometimes he’s maybe a knucklehead kid or has some problems. There’s always that origin story that grabs you and you figure out more of what the show’s going to be about. For me, it was always about the character development -- you have a character and things don’t go their way...do they quit or do they push through it? I always took those kinds of life lessons and nuggets that anime have in them, and my appreciation just grew and grew into a real love for anime. Now it’s just a part of what I do.


    Are there any ways you engage with your favorite anime series or characters aside from watching them?

  I ended up visiting Japan.  It was really cool going to see a convention out there. The excitement the people there had for anime was amazing. It was like their Super Bowl! 


  When I was young, people would knock anime sometimes so it was awesome to see people enjoying themselves, being happy, getting all dressed up. I remember seeing this reenactment of the Naruto fight with Pain.  These were just people walking by each other and they really did it!  It was just very cool to experience.


  Have you ever bonded with someone else over anime?

  One of my mentors in the NFL is Geno Atkins (Defensive Tackle on the Bengals), and I was with him in LA and there was an Anime Expo out there at that time. So I was talking to Geno about anime and he started rattling off a list and I could tell he was for real so I told him about the Anime Expo and we decided to head over to the convention.


  Overall, I’m slowly starting to see more people, more pro athletes show their fandom. We’re able to put ourselves in the same shoes as some of these characters. There have been times in a game where I have put myself in the mindset of a main character from one of my favorite anime. When you find someone who watches anime too, who does that same kind of thing, who’s balling, it creates that bond.


    What’s your favorite anime series of all time?

  Naruto.  I know it’s a mainstream anime and an introductory anime for a lot of people but I REALLY watched it, with subtitles, and I’d wait week after week to watch it. From elementary school into middle school and then going all the way through it to college till it finished. And I felt like “Damn, this is really over?...” I had really invested in it and it really followed the development of my life. I was an overweight kid (obese), a troubled kid. I really started football because my mom took away my Xbox, and then after that, I went through my first real season of football. I remember we had an awards banquet after that year, and when the award for most improved JV player came up, they called my name. I thought my best friend at the time was going to get it but I got it...and it really got me feeling like I earned it and my hard work paid off.


  I was biking and running at the YMCA every day and went from 350 lbs. To 247 lbs., bulked back up to 267 lbs., and ended up getting five scholarship offers. Ended up going to Charlotte for college.  Now I’m in college and with Naruto, the anime is going on throughout all of this for me (probably like the Pain arc or somewhere around that).  It felt like we were going through our trials and tribulations together; it was actually really cool.  Now I’m working hard, I’m grinding in college, and the only thing I could compare my process to was these storylines in anime — I knew I was special and that I was the main character of my story — and I ended up being the first player ever drafted to the NFL out of my college.


  Then as I'm finishing college, Naruto finished...it was just so cool and such a special experience.  I have a lot of favorites but that has to be #1.


  Who’s your favorite anime character of all time?

  Have to stick with Naruto for all the reasons mentioned above. He’s so relatable to me. He was different from everybody. I remember my grandpa telling me I was special and that I was different.  At the time, I was an obese kid...I didn’t know what he was talking about.  But I just knew that me being different and working hard would pay off.  God always finds a way to make things work out for you.  Are there going to be trials? Yes. Are there going to be tragedies? Yes. But the triumphs are going to outweigh everything.


    Who would you rank as the top anime hero ever?

  One of the best characters I’ve seen develop into a hero is Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul.  I’m big on mental health, and you see all the phases he went through. He has to deal with that headache of being on two different sides of the world. He was a human just a little while ago, and now he has to survive on eating flesh...it was a crazy segue.  Being a ghoul, soft-spoken...he really develops into this boss!


  There’s so many anime though: Naruto, Goku...his demeanor is fire.  He always wants to get better.  He’s very relatable. Whenever there’s a super-strong opponent, Goku’s always ready to try them out and give it a go. Even if the person he fights is stronger than him before the fight, Goku evolves during the fight to become better than his opponent. Facing and going through obstacles you become better on the other side. Like the Goku who fought Nappa and Raditz isn’t the same Goku who fought Jiren. He always elevated his game to meet who he was fighting.


  Who would you rank as the top anime villain ever?

  Dio from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.  MAN!..I’ve never seen a villain so dedicated to messing with a family! He REALLY had it out for the Joestars. It was a generational show: you had the first Joseph and Jotaro, and Dio still found a way to be that ultra villain who stays in the mix. There’s not a lot of villains who have been able to stay so relevant. Dio was kicking ass for a minute before he got beat up. I enjoyed him as a villain for sure.


    Have you ever taken any elements or learnings from anime and implemented them into your daily life?

  Yes, with Naruto his motto was never going back on his word and never giving up. In life, you’re always going to go through ups and downs but Naruto always found a way. He also had a great support system, which is really important. You need to have the right people around you. And with rivalries, I’d apply the ways Naruto and Sasuke or Goku and Vegeta approached rivalries. Having someone next to you that you look to as a brother, but who pushes you to new heights and great places.


  It feels like more and more athletes are showcasing their love for anime — what’s anime fandom like in NFL culture? And what do you think it is about anime that attracts athletes?

  Anime is definitely becoming more and more prevalent. A lot of guys will gravitate towards each other with gaming and things like Call of Duty and Fortnite. I’m a D-Lineman and I feel like there’s so many D-Linemen around the league who are fans of anime. You see anime characters go through intense training and we do everything we can to be great at what we do, to improve our technique, and it’s very relatable for guys.


  It also helps us decompress. We have a hard job. We’re in the offseason right now. You get up, you grind, and you work. Sometimes it's just fun to watch someone else's story.


  Like I said, I’ve always felt like I’m the main character of my story, and when you believe that you start to move in a different way and start to workout that way. The concept is so relatable to real life. And in general, guys just like it too.


  Social media has also made anime way more known. Before people didn’t talk about it much and now guys in the league are posting about it and you learn all these guys like it. Then you start talking about anime with them, now we’re sending each other anime to watch, like “Yo this one is about to come on, you got to check it out”. A whole bunch of guys on my team like it, and you start giving people anime to watch and they come back to you like, “This is fire!”


  Also, I’m big into anime but I didn’t realize how big anime was till I saw my baby sister and how into it she is. She draws the characters. Man, she’s caught up on One Piece!

    What would your message be to someone who recently discovered anime and was thinking about getting into it?

  My message would be to figure out what you personally like. Anime has a little of everything: sci-fi, action, sports anime.  Find one that’s similar to something you already enjoy watching and then go from there.


  If you’re new I’d also watch an anime that doesn’t have a whole bunch of episodes in each season so you can fully get into it, like a Mob Psycho 100 or Attack on Titan.


  I remember watching the first half of the first episode of Attack on Titan and I wasn’t feeling it right away, and I remember being in college and working out and visiting the Student Union and I remember falling asleep after working out, and right next to me was where people were hanging out and watching anime. Then I woke up to hearing people cheering. I had seen some of the first episode but they were watching the 2nd episode and Eren had just gotten eaten by the Titan, and I was talking junk like, “How can the main character get killed like that?!”...Then the next scene he turned into a Titan and I was like, “Oh man this is HARD!”


  You have to give each anime a chance.  Most anime develop really well throughout.  I remember with God of High School I started it and was like “ehh, it’s alright”, but I ended up watching the rest of the season and was like “Wow, this is really nicely done!”


  Also, be open to watching subbed and dubbed anime. Give yourself an opportunity to like it.

By: Guest Author

[theantisocialcritic]

Archive Project - April 2, 2014 - Avengers Confidential

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher, 2014. Kenichi Shimizu, Studio Madhouse 83 Minutes Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KVnRR5QIus ————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————— So I watched Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore over spring break, and honestly I was not impressed. The best thing it had going for it was that it was made by Studio Madhouse, creator of Hellsing Ultimate, my favorite anime of all time (they also did Deathnote, Animatrix, Last Order FF7 and Trigun, as well as contributions to several Studio Ghibli Films and Marvel Anime productions but I haven't seen any of them yet….)!!! Usually their combination of traditional hand drawn anime and CGI animation flows together pretty well, but when its sloppily done its very easy to tell and Iron Man had that going on. The story, though high minded was a bit sloppy and predictable. Though making it as an anime was probably the best way to approach the material! I'm not a fan of the Marvel Knights Animations AT ALL!!! I think they look ugly and come across as lazy, given that they only do the moving graphic novel… thing… Approaching a Comic Book adaption as a anime works really well because the aesthetics of both genres complement each other and, generally speaking, I imagine a lot of Avengers fans would be anime fans! The style is also a good style to compete with Warner Brother Animation's approach; an aesthetic mix of Anime and Western animation that works really well for productions like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and The Flashpoint Paradox. Avengers Confidential is, or at least appears to be, a sequel to Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore. This movie focuses no the characters of Black Widow and Punisher (obviously). Both had big roles in the last movie and I think its implied that this is continuing their story. In the story, "<a>Punisher</a> is taken into <a>S.H.I.E.L.D.</a> custody after interfering in a top secret mission. In exchange for release, Punisher and the <a>Black Widow</a> are teamed up to take down the terrorist arms dealing organization <a>Leviathan</a> who plan to auction stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. technology" (wikipedia). How good is it? Well compared to Iron Man, much better!! I had a lot of fun with this one! Avengers Confidential was much better executed. The writing for this one was a step up from the last movie. All of the characters felt more fleshed out and interesting. Only The Avengers themselves felt one note, and I will get back to that. The narrative was a little more ambitious! While the first one appeared at glance to be challenging, it resolved all of it's plot threads up in a little bow so that the status quo was unchanged by the end of the movie. This felt riskier and had more of an edge to it. The animation was really good too! It complimented the action scenes well. It still had the problem with the CGI and Anime not meshing as well, but it was used much less this time and was kinda overshadowed by the scenes it was used it, and how cool they were. I will say though that a few dialog scenes looked a bit clunky. Now of course this is AVENGERS Confidential, not just Black Widow and Punishor. So naturally, as was teased on the box art and commercial, The Avengers show up! Honestly though thats a spoiler and I wish I could deny it because their introduction into the movie was really creative and fun! For most of the movie we never see them, they are just teased repeated as this larger than life thing that is looming in the distance, ready to join the fight at any point. All the nods to them build unto the final action scene. This is where the CGI takes over a bit, but its easy to get caught up in how awesome the scene it though! All the characters do "their thing" and it's awesome to see!! Hulk Smashes! Iron Man does his Iron Man thing! Thor "for midgard!!"'s! Its just a wonderful moment! It payed off the rest of the movie really well! I can point to this as a good example of pacing as well as setup and payoff. If your a fan of the Avengers movies i'd recommend you check this one out! It's no lasting film for the ages, but its a lot of fun for fans of this series! I might even go buy at after the next price drop! Its only like $15.00 right now, but hey I'm cheap :P ————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————— Avengers Confidential is now available on DVD and Blu-ray! Thank you for reading! Live long and prosper! Sources: "Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher." Wikipedia. N.p., 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.