#ufotable has always had a problem when it comes to adaptations

[bootlickerhawks]

Twice/Hawks Anon: I too was expecting more from the Red Light District arc of Demon Slayer. Maybe it’s because there’s a distinct power difference between Upper 6 & Upper 3, but I didn’t think Daki/Gyutaro was all that impressive. Yeah, episode 10 blew me away, but Daki’s ability was too similar to the Spider Demon Rui’s.

I actually really liked Daki and Gyutaro, tho I am annoyed with how Daki was constantly undermined after Gyutaro made his appearance.

The rest is under a read-more cuz I went on a bit of a rant ^^' buckle-in cuz I'm gonna be Very Salty

I’ve talked about this with 1 or 2 other bloggers, but I also expected Uzui’s wives to have bigger roles. They barely contributed anything. The anime made Hinatsuru seem even more unhelpful. In the manga, she sneaked the kunai to Tanjiro whereas the anime had Tanjiro run to where she dropped it. I wanted each of the wives to have their own speciality. For example, Suma uses smoke bombs, Hinatsuru wields the Kusarigama, & Makio fights with sai like Elektra. Other people have said this, but couldn’t we have had a female Upper Rank who’s powerful on her own & is the sole holder of her rank? I also wanted to see more of Tengen’s sword forms.

My biggest complaint abt this season are the characters. Aside from Tanjirou (and arguably Zenitsu) all of the characters are one-note. The most egregious offenses being Nezuko and Tengen.

We get hints of depth with Tengen but nothing concrete. We get a couple of scenes where Tengen is shown to be insecure (calling himself talentless and comparing himself to Rengoku) but we never get an answer as to why. We can speculate that it has to do with his dead siblings or his shitty brother, but that's only speculation we don't have much to go on. At least he had a cool fighting style and he was "flashy" (why is he obsessed with flashiness? Initially I thought it was because of his shinobi life-style forcing him to live in the shadows and suppress himself, but nope! Just another question we will never know the answer to 🙃).

And Nezuko... Poor sweet Nezuko... I had high hopes for her but it turns out she's just a plot devise. She has 0 personality and it pains me to say that. There could have been so much interesting conflict and development with her character and we were so close to getting it after she transformed during her fight with Daki but No! Fuck that! Gotta put that muzzle back on! God forbid she have any kind of agency! The way the show, (literally!), infantilizes her is the cherry on top of the cake!

I was looking forward to a character arc between Tanjirou and Nezuko where they struggle with her demonhood. It could have been interesting to see Nezuko struggle to show empathy and compassion to her brother in the wake of Rengoku's death. Or have Nezuko struggle to remember her human life, knowing that she cares abt Tanjirou but not remembering why. Or have Nezuko slowly break free of the brainwashing (the fact that Tanjirou doesn't blink an eye at the fact that his sister got brainwashed in mind-boggling to me).

There are so many paths her character could have taken, especially with the ham-fisted parallels between Daki/Gyutaro and Tanjirou/Nezuko, but no 🙃 she's just there to be a deux ex machina 🙃

I had no idea that Hinatsuru snuck the kunai to Tanjirou in the manga and now I'm even more disappointed :/ Uzui hyped up his wives but in the end they barely accomplished anything and they had bland personalities. (don't get me started on Suma, how tf am i supposed to believe that she used to be a kunoichi?! i could have accepted her behaving that way if it was revealed that she used to have to suppress her emotions or something. but no we get nothing, once again)

Daki's character, despite tying up nicely with her brother's at the end, is such a disappointment. she had such a cool design and was pretty threatening at the start of the arc but by the end she turned into a whiny incompetent muzan simp 🙄

The way the female characters are treated is so disappointing and from what I hear it's not gonna get any better later on :/

I'll still watch future seasons purely because of the great ost and superb animation/fight choreography but i've stopped giving a shit abt the characters, I don't have much hope for the future of this show when it comes to my emotional investment (it doesn't help that i've already been spoiled abt all the major deaths too :/)

[metalandmagi]

Summer 2019 Anime Worth Watching

Summer is here, and with it brings another new season of anime! In case you’re feeling lost and want to find some new shows to pass the time, here’s some of the anime I think are worth checking out...because some really good shows tend to fly under the radar. I think there’s some genuinely interesting stuff this season, so hopefully you’ll find something you like too. 

I also have a Winter list and a Spring list and a fall list now!

And here’s my master list for 2020

New Shows!

Given: A *cough* BL *cough* romance anime in which tsundere highschool guitarist Ritsuka Uenoyama is on the verge of losing his passion for music when he stumbles upon the sleepy-eyed Mafuyu Sato who constantly carries a guitar around that he doesn’t know how to play. Drama and musical shenanigans ensue. This was by far my most anticipated show of the season, because I happen to have read a few chapters of this manga and liked it a lot. The only reason I stopped was because I wanted to hear the music in this music oriented story...so naturally the anime makes me very happy. Not only is it sweet and cute with great animation, but it’s also hilarious. Sato is also basically a human incarnation of a lost puppy, and you just help but fall in love with him and the other characters! AND NOW WE HAVE TWO GAY MUSIC SHOWS THIS SEASON! 

Dr. STONE: An action adventure anime that takes place 3,700 years in the future after the world is struck with a mysterious phenomenon that turns the entire human race to stone. Our protagonists: the genius, scientific minded Senku Ishigami and the muscle-y comic relief Taiju Oki, must find a way to rebuild civilization and turn humanity back to normal using the POWER OF SCIENCE! It’s fun, good looking, and way more interesting than I thought it would be. I’m not very attached to the main characters yet, although it’s still early. I’m mainly sticking around for the plot, the comedy, and the answers to the crazy amount of questions I have after watching the first episode!

Fire Force: An action/drama where super powered fire fighters must protect Tokyo from people who are spontaneously combusting while our hero Shinra must find out who started the fire that killed his mother. More than anything, I’d say this show is definitely worth watching for the cinematography and action because almost every second has been high flying dynamic animation that really grips you. It reminds me a lot of Soul Eater, the story and characters have a lot of potential, and you know an anime will be good when the girls have muscles too!

If it’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord: Can you tell it’s based on a light novel? A slice of life set in a fantasy world where an adventurer named Dale stumbles upon an adorable lost little girl in the woods, who happens to be branded as a criminal. So of course Dale basically adopts her and tries to find out how she came to be with him. It’s basically fantasy School Babysitters without the tragic depth to it (but there’s room for potential). Yes, this is definitely the most wholesome show of the season, but it’s to be expected considering it’s basically Japan’s latest attempt to get people to have more babies. Personally, the most interesting aspect of this show is the fact that Dale and his “daughter” can’t speak the same language. Unfortunately, the light novel ends up pulling a Bunny Drop...so I sincerely hope the anime doesn’t try the creepy romance factor. So for now, if you feel like puking up some rainbows, give this one a try. 

To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts: An action drama where, during a civil war, one side used “forbidden technology” to enhance their soldiers and basically turn them into badass monsters. The only problem: the soldiers who were turned start to lose their humanity and end up killing humans for the fun of it. Now our protagonist must hunt down his fellow soldiers and kill them before it’s too late. Honestly, this show has some pacing issues and can be a bit stilted in terms of its character interactions, but what kept me watching was the last 5 minutes of the first episode. I was so not prepared for the roller coaster that was the first episode’s ending, and now I’m extremely intrigued. Besides it’s made by MAPPA so I would at least give it a couple episodes to see if it’s for you.   

Vinland Saga: The story of a young boy named Thorfinn’s journey to become a great warrior and while the adults deal with going to war. IT’S THE ONE WITH THE VIKINGS!!! It basically feels like a darker, grittier viking version of Moana. I’ve heard literally nothing but praise for this manga for so many years that my hopes skyrocketed as soon as I heard Wit was doing the adaption. And it has definitely lived up to the hype so far! It’s a great action historical drama to fill the void after Dororo. The only problem is no one will watch it because it’s on Amazon Prime.

Kochouki: Wakaki Nobunaga: A fun brightly colored historical anime about the famous warlord Nobunaga when he was a young teenager. I honestly don’t know what the tone of this anime is going to be from here on out, because it’s going to go from “fun thieving shenanigans with pretty boys” to leading people into battle, but it got me interested. I know putting Nobunaga in an anime isn’t exactly original, but this one seems like a fun ride...and it looks gay as fuck. 

And I have to shout out some that haven’t premiered yet...just in case...

Try Knights: This one doesn’t come out until the end of July, but you bet your ass I’m going to be watching it because it’s an original anime about PRETTY BOYS PLAYING RUGBY! And I have a feeling it’s going to be very... different from the other resident rugby anime All Out. 

Yokai Ningen BEM (Humanoid Monster BEM): Okay, this one’s not out yet either, but the trailer had a really cool vibe to it, so I’m including it anyway. It’s a remake of the 1968 anime in which a group of yokai who look like humans fight crime in the big city. If nothing else, the music is cool, and it’s made by Production I.G, so why not?

*UPDATE* The first episode finally dropped, and holy crap I’m so into this. It’s basically Durarara mixed with Psycho Pass mixed with Bungo Stray Dogs. The first episode has me completely hooked!

Next seasons and continuations!

As always there are some leftovers from the spring season that are continuing into the summer that I highly suggest!

Carole and Tuesday: The musical sci-fi anime directed by Shinichiro Watanabe wherein a rich runaway named Tuesday meets a streetwise girl named Carole, and the two decide to start a band together. Now Carole and Tuesday must rise to stardom in a world dominated by android created music. It was by far my favorite new show of the spring, and if you can find a way to watch it (because it’s still not available legally anywhere aside from Japanese Netflix apparently) I wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s got the best and most diverse music I’ve seen in an anime in a long time, an interesting setting (apparently it takes place in the Cowboy Bebop universe!?), and very well rounded fun characters. And I'm dying for a soundtrack release with all the songs!!!!

Fruits Basket 2019: Yes, the remake of the classic 2001 anime in which a girl moves in with a family who can turn into animals from the zodiac is getting a full run. And thank God because I just can’t say goodbye to it after only 12 episodes. It is so stunningly beautiful in both animation and story subjects that I don’t know what I would do without it. The characters feel so much more fleshed out, and I feel like I learn a lesson about life each week even though I already know most of what’s going to happen. If you never watched the original because thought you were too “cool” to watch a shoujo anime, give it a chance. Because if you think it’s just a generic love triangle romance show, you couldn’t be more wrong. The reboot is so good at portraying different kinds of love and how the presence of love and family can change lives AND IT’S JUST SO FREAKING GOOD! 

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba: In case you missed Ufotable’s newest project, this is a shounen anime that follows a young boy named Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko who has been possessed by a demon and their journey to turn Nezuko back to normal while fighting demons along the way. I still feel like this is a pretty basic shounen anime story wise, but I really like the characters, especially the villains. It has some of the coolest fighting/power mechanics I’ve seen in awhile, and the animation is very cool and different!

Ace of Diamond act 2: Our favorite shounen baseball anime is continuing into the summer. And I have very mixed feelings about this season so far. We are getting some fun new characters and some great scenes with the team, but the games are very...choppy and rushed. Apparently this is how it goes down in the manga, and we’re in for some good Sawamura development...but it’s still touch and go for me personally.  

That’s it for now. Most of these are available on Crunchyroll, except Vinland Saga, Carole and Tuesday, and Kochouki: Wakaki Nobunaga. Since Try Knights and Yokai Ningen BEM aren’t out yet, I don’t know where they will be available legally. 

See you next season!

[tainbocuailnge]

My friend mentioned the UFOtable Tales animes also getting the Weird Rewrite treatment when they adapted it, which has me curious about their approach to long narrative games and anime adaptations in general. Reading Realta Nua on its own had me wondering about Nasu's sense of pacing at times but then a lot of the adaptations just went and bum-rushed it. How well *can* exposition translate to a visual medium anyway? What would you do in their position?

i don’t know shit about tales animes bc I’m avoiding as many spoilers as possible while I work thru the games at my own pace so I can’t and won’t talk about those specifically

anyway the hardest part about exposition is always trying to find that balance between showing and telling. not everything needs to be said and its important to respect your audience’s intelligence but at the same time you can’t leave things too vague. one of nasu’s signature moves is explaining his metaphors with other metaphors and that’s something that’s never going to translate to the screen well but considering the nature of the source material i think in the case of fate it’s fine to be a bit wordy in your anime. fate is a story about character relationships first and fantasy battles to the death second so in production too the emphasis should be on the former. the biggest problem with ufotable’s fate adaptions has always been ufo shying away from internal monologues and thus failing to deliver vital information (altho they’ve done a lot better at it with heaven’s feel so far) because they focussed on the fantasy battles instead.

that obviously runs the risk of boring your audience with all talk and no action but it IS possible to keep that interesting. imo shaft is one of the best studios out there when it comes to presenting long mono/dialogues in a visually interesting way so I think it’s good to look at how they work when it comes to adapting stuff with a lot of long wordy exposition like nasuverse. a lot of shaft stuff is just two people sitting and talking but they still have really recognisable and interesting visuals and if you compare like, monologues in ubw or fate/zero to monologues in madoka or last encore the difference is super obvious (remember risei and tokiomi just walking circles around kirei in the first ep of zero? good times)

pacing is a whole beast on its own too, but imo in the case of fate the biggest difficulty is again because of the emphasis on personal relations over big fantasy battles. you can’t rush relationships the way you can battles so if you hurry past the countless small bonding moments scattered across the many words of the vn the story as a whole is going to feel stilted bc the core isn’t there. that’s why deen’s fate anime absolutely blows, it didn’t have time or budget for anything so none of these characters are like, friends. bc of that i would personally prefer to shave off a few seconds of a fight scene to show some small mundane character interactions than the other way around

i’m no director nor did I properly study anything like this so I’m not about to pretend I have all the answers but I know enough to know that shit’s hard and there’s bound to be a million factors that I don’t even know about that make it even harder. im gonna point out dumb decisions like ubw dedicating an entire episode to a character that barely even existed in the vn but i dont like endlessly ragging on adaptions for not being the exact same as the source either bc shit’s just hard man. art is fucking hard

[lightaflametoburnmethrough]

Compilation of all the KaneHori/HoriKane smiles from Ep 1-6.

Ya see, I was very impressed with episode 7 but at the same time, I missed the Second Unit soooo much, especially these two who are technically the first TouDans I’ve gotten to know. So I wanted to cheer myself up a little by collecting all those moments where they were smiling at each other.

Reciprocating or one-sided, I’ll take ‘em all since I don’t know whether the next ep will still be focusing on the First Unit or not. Or when the angsty mood hanging over the Second Unit will go away. *facedesk* S’why I need this to look back on to survive until then. (´；ω；`)

Warning: Image heavy since yea, it’s technically just another screencapping spree of mine, nyahaha~ ( ￣▽￣) 

Please also excuse my noobness, I’m still quite new to this fandom.

*wordless screaming and excessive flailing about*

How to get me hooked onto something: Present me with an interesting pair dynamic to delve into. Do that and I will likely stay FOREVER.  ヾ(≧∇≦)ゞ 

Ok, discrepancies between adaptation and game aside (like very, very, very shhhh! let me enjoy the anime plz-aside), the fact that Kane-san always reassured Kunihiro every time he doubted himself since he began this whole time-traveling-protecting-history affair is just…and smiling with that annoyingly handsome face of his while he’s at it, it’s just…

*clutches heart*

No wonder Kunihiro is so taken with him. <3

Look at them. Kunihiro so eager to move on to the next assignment (precious baby~) while Kane-san is all “but I’m tired…” yet still smiling anyway.

Pretty sure he wouldn’t make that face if Kunihiro wasn’t there with him. Pretty sure the reason why he’s making that face at all is because Kunihiro is there with him.

…trying not to think of how lonely Kane-san was before Kunihiro came to the Citadel cuz dammit, this isn’t a sad post! I won’t let it become a sad post! I won’t! (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

Alright, I am thoroughly convinced that Kane-san doesn’t smile that openly or freely for just anyone.

Granted, he became more serious after he was appointed as captain of the Second Unit because he had to and all so I can’t be entirely sure…

But even so, his interactions with Kunihiro still feel different. A special kind of different.

Like here, I can see that he’s clearly trying to get Kunihiro more situated into their job. But at the same time, there’s a sense of ease that’s not present when he’s around other people. Like, he can make the effort without it seeming like an effort on himself.

And that’s probably because he knows Kunihiro. He’s familiar with him and trusts him.

So it should be no surprise where his confidence in Kunihiro comes from.

Even though Kunihiro has insecurities in his own abilities, Kane-san is positive they can fulfill their master’s expectations. Because he knows Kunihiro can.

And I just love that. I love how it’s not just Kunihiro admiring Kane-san all the time an impression I get a lot from fan interpretations and that Kane-san also has such a firm belief in his partner. It goes both ways. It’s mutual.

And it’s because they’re in that kind of a relationship that Kane-san can make such an expression. One that is specially reserved for Kunihiro which he doesn’t show to anyone else.

Of course, I love that battle-charged ones, too. Those have their own charm.

It says to me “forget Saniwa for a moment, I’m gonna fight so ya with me, partner?” and you know Kunihiro is because it’s them we’re talking about. Izuminokami Kanesada and Horikawa Kunihiro. Companion swords. Would go to the ends of hell together but never without the other if they could help it.

At least that’s how I see them with how much I know right now. *chinhands*

Also, uuugghhh, I can’t get over how wakizashi and tantous look so great in the dark. Especially when you get to see the glow of Kunihiro’s beautiful eyes which makes him look ten times more intimidating and dangerous and twenty times removed from his more polite and amiable demeanor. He goes from sweet child to teenage assassin in a matter of seconds.

Hmm, yea, I approve. Give me more of this Kunihiro. In fact, just give me all the Kunihiros. (*＾▽＾)

Have I mentioned that casual danger dialogue is one of my favorite things? 83

*MORE WORDLESS SCREAMING*

This is my top favorite KaneHori moment in the entire show so far (they look the best in these shots, too).

If I die, resuscitate me with this. XD

I also love the fond tone in Kane-san’s voice when he calls Kunihiro “cheeky” in Japanese. *giggles* x3

Kunihiro so happy and proud that Saniwa chose Kane-san to lead the Second Unit. <3

There’s no reason behind these. I just like that they’re in the same shot so I put them here. :3

I’m also not freaking out over them sitting next to each other and introducing themselves together when the unit does self-intros. No, I’m not.

( ◞･౪･)

It’s scenes like these that makes me glad I sold my soul to anime, lol.

In all seriousness, though, this is wonderful. If Kunihiro weren’t here, I doubt there’d be anyone who can effectively calm Kane-san down and have Kane-san hand over some of his burdens and let Kane-san fall back on those who are supporting him in general.

If there are any misgivings about this unit’s assignments, well, then this shouldn’t be one of them.

Also, why some of ya’ll draw Kunihiro so short in fanwork? Sure, he’s not that tall (compared to Kane-san who is like grown-man tall) but he’s not short either!

Again, the mutuality but this time it comes full circle.

Just like how Kane-san knows Kunihiro will follow through with what they’re ordered to do, that he has confidence in Kunihiro to do what’s expected of him, Kunihiro has absolute faith in Kane-san’s abilities to fulfill their master’s expectations as well.

The thing is, Kunihiro never says it out loud. He never says that he’s the one that’s certain of it. Just that Saniwa made the decision based on their careful deliberation “so that’s all that matters.”

And I think the reason why there’s no need for Kunihiro to give his input is because Kane-san already knows Kunihiro thinks that way and Kunihiro knows that Kane-san knows that he thinks that way.

So really, words are unnecessary. Even belief is unnecessary. Kunihiro knows for a fact that Kane-san will make a good captain and it must be very comforting for Kane-san to receive that indirect reminder, like an undercurrent of support added to the task Saniwa has assigned him.

Especially at that point when their unit has only been recently formed and everybody was still in the awkward phase because they haven’t gotten used to each other yet. It’s nice to know someone’s willing to follow his lead because he’s him and not because it’s Saniwa’s order.

I like how even when they’re in a room full of people, they still manage to have a conversation that’s somehow exclusive to the two of them.

I mean, they don’t even need to say much. Sharing a look is enough.

<3

And after this, episode 5 NEVER happened, OK?! Everything went fine! The mission went fine! Everybody returned back FINE! There were NO problems! Dx<

Not sure if it’s the dialogue or the sun setting in the distance or what but there’s something very warm about this scene. Two swords reminiscing about their former master…without it needing to go down Depression Lane because Hijikata Toshizo……

Yea, I appreciate that they let these two have this at least. My boys don’t need more angst than what they’re already going through. TwT

I swear, I’m not going to let this post end on a sad note even if it kills me! *flips a table to distract myself from feels* (ﾉ｀Д)ﾉ:・’∵:.┻┻

You know everyone’s still taking their time to get over what happened at Edo, especially Kane-san. Yet despite him taking it the hardest, he doesn’t want the others to start worrying about him and his own problems. Kunihiro most of all, I’m sure, because it’s a given that Kunihiro will be the most concerned.

So he tries to brush it off. Though the attempt is very weak seeing how exhausted he is so forcing a smile must make it even more tiring for him.

I mean, in a tiny way, it’s sweet that some part of him may be thinking “I don’t want Kunihiro to worry, he’s still new to this, I gotta look out for him, I don’t want him to get discouraged, I don’t want him to blame himself for not being able to assist me, this was his first mission, for god’s sake!”…but that just makes it all the more sad because it’d be so much easier for him if he just lets himself rely on his team. If he just lets himself rely on Kunihiro like he normally would because then he wouldn’t have to put up a front and Kunihiro wouldn’t have to go through an extra heap of feeling unneeded when in fact, he is very much needed right now.

God, ya big baby, would you just let yourself be taken care of?!

｡･ﾟﾟ･(>д<)･ﾟﾟ･｡

…I’m okay. I’m okay and you know why? Because I’m gonna bet $100 that this is the scene they’re gonna re-show when Katsugeki Season 1 ends andand it’s going to be perfect because Kane-san will be okay, Kunihiro will be okay, they’ll be more than okay because they got each other (hence the peaceful smiles, d’aww~), the Second Unit will be okay and get to stay together and by then, they’ll all have gotten over themselves to be badass and inhumanly pretty again…except they’re always inhumanly pretty but just better without the angst.

Oh, and gorgeous backgrounds because ufotable knows how to deliver those.

（ ๑ ￣ ◡ ￣ ๑ ）b

Yea, I’m gonna need this to happen at least once in-story, too.

Ok, that’s all until part 2. Bai~! (●´・∀・｀)ﾉ”

[karereiko]

Pointless Zestiria X post (you can skip it) Talk about sormik, other canons and silly dreams

You know I had dream tonight about last episode of anime. It's coming close so idea of going through sea of salt once more  (after almost month of curing my wounded soul) started to stress out my brain once more. Not mention reading yesterday post about salty comment about possible Sorali ending.

I don't think that it's a case. It would be like Namco shooting themselves into heads. They already posted article in „Romance” newspaper in japan featuring Sorey and Mikleo. They probably see that posts saying about sormik on unfotable tweeter have more like 600+ favs when normal Zestiria X and Alisha things have like 50-/+. They wouldn't bring the wave of hate on themselves if they are sane.

Yet, I'm not looking forward to read about last episode of anime.

So, back to my dream. I dream story for last episode of anime where Ufotable made Heldalf disappear in first seconds of episode like Smaug dies in first 10 minutes of 3rd Hobbit. So after that Sorey is possessed by new bad guy jumping from nowhere. Team fights him and after beating Sorey to the ground team doesn't know how to return Sorey back to normal. Then Mikleo leaned down to kiss him. Camera doesn't show it clearly but you know Mikleo is kissing Sorey (as to not cross line to showing their lips together in anime, airing in japan since they aren't open to things like that).

Sorey is returned to normal. There is skip after all that to inn room where Sorey and Mikleo is talking about last battle and what to do next. Mikleo is still shaken by last battle and fact someone possessed Sorey. They sitting around 15 centimeters away from each other but Sorey rises his arm above Mikleo's shoulder and says sorry for worrying him and giving him his support ( whole anime didn't do even single scene like this, when Sorey is grateful for Mikleo's feelings, like he was in game and seeing this made me really happy in my dream). Anyway Mikleo is moved and he falls with his head on Sorey's lap and cries.

There is where my dream ended and I was sad that it wasn't real. It was damn stupid, it was cliche, it was cheesy, it was silly for Mikleo to act like this. And yet I can feel that real last episode of anime is going to be worst than this. Worst than silly dream just like rest of episodes were.

I'm not saying that Sorey and Mikleo romance was perfect in game. If you watch scenes and skits clearly you can see how much they take care of each other. We have famous Sauna skit. But they aren't labeled as romance and that's Sormik main problem. Namco made them always stood beside each other but always with some space between them. Many scenes just scream that this is the right moment for them to hold hands or just put hand on other's shoulder. I'm not talking about kissing, none tales story had it, but since one putting of Mikleo's hand on Sorey's shoulder we didn't get anything like this later. I read somewhere that while making game they have „toned down” their relationship, yet I don’t know if that's true/real. I didn't saw note talking about it myself. The other question if it's real is what they „toned down”? Did Sorey and Mikleo hugged? Did they held hands on some point? We will never know.

We have words of „One and only” but that all we got and it would never let some people stop screaming that Sormik isn't canon. We have „unfinished” confession from Mikleo. Because I think it's main problem that made anime look like this. That made sormik fandom die faster than you can say Xenosaga.

There is no clear announcement that Sormik was suppose to be canon. Not in game. Not in anime. The words of „one and only” aren't enough for some people. No amount of explain behind Alisha leaving party, Mikleo being Sorey's one and only, that Sorey and any girl would work out going to change people minds.

I don't think fans who support Sormik need any more prof of them being canon. It would be nice but not necessary. We want it so others could stop hurt Mikleo, so both Sorey and Mikleo could be happy and other characters could be themselves.

When I thought about romances in tales games, and yes I played them for 10 years right now, many romances weren't greatly done. But since it's boyxgirl it's easier to find simple looking in eyes with affection, grab hands or supporting each other as romance affection.

Sormik as it is now it's hard to clearly label as romantic for everyone. Some may think it more or less or just simply brothers relationship.

Let's look at other Tales games. At beginning I want to say that I support those couples too just like Sormik.

I think most unclear romance is YurixEstelle. After watching gameplay I asked myself question, was that love? Or simply friendship? Really, compare to those two Sormik is already romance. Someone can say but Yuri tried save Estelle so many times! They had alone talk with each other before final battle.

Sorey and Mikleo had moments alike this a lot with other ones and I don't think Yuri even once said Estelle looks sexy after sauna. If YurixEstelle are canon then Sormik too in Tales of games style.

LloydxCollete was nice done, we clearly see Lloyd care for Collette and it's not only because she's his childhood friend. Symphonia anime, also made by Ufotable was heaven compare to Zestiria. It followed main plot, didn't change characters personalities and the most important thing, it cherished LloydxCollette canon. So don't get me wrong over hating Zestiria X. I wanted simply repeat from Symphonia, to see Zestiria story/moments as anime and I got something that trashed plot and characters.

Xillia, as much as it's clear that canon pair is JudexMilla they doesn't touch or kiss to feel that they are canon. They only hold hands at the end before... they simply parting ways. I remember loving those two, Jude's love for Milla was so sweet and ending broke me. I never played Xillia 2 because I was afraid it would ruin my beloved canon. Did someone said that Milla didn't start to romantically care for Jude, or Jude for Milla? No. Even the reality when he was human (ehem Sorey) and she spirit (ehem Mikleo) didn't make canon less possible. Milla may over live Jude, but that's another story.

From all clearly romance canon couples from Tales games I can say are: ShingxKohaku (he clearly says in game at least twice that he loves Kohaku), KylexReala (this whole game goes around their romance and later when Reala's going to disappear Kyle don't want for that to happen. They hug a lot too.

Tales of games have a lot cuples that comes from childhood friends: ReidxFarah, VeiguexClaire, LloydxCollette, AsbelxCheria, SenelxShirley (if in the end they are canon... Well, their relationship is complicated too, first Senel loves Shirley's sister, but she died, then some people ship him hard with Chloe (ehem... she tried to kill him)) and SoreyxMikleo are just as another one of those couples.

So, to end this post, anime isn't going to help Sormik matter, it made it only worse. I don't think we ever get side story in any crossover game that would say „Sormik are romantic canon.” There is no way, even other canon couples rarely get their relationship on romance level in those games (usually they are at beginning level when they just know each other for some time example: LukexTear, LloydxCollette are mostly childhood friends usualy). We won't be able to hear anything beyond „Sorey wants to spend rest of his life with his CHILDHOOD friend Mikleo” (Asteria's radio audition) or Sorey knew Mikleo's true name but oh well they are boys, it doesn't mean Mikleo told it as romantic confession (Berseria, Berseria guide that says it's different when boy telling another boy his true name). Even Zelos joking about Sorey and Mikleo being on date (Asteria) isn’t going to help everyone view Sormik as canon or let tell sormik supporters that we have nothing to worry about and just enjoy canonical Sormik.         

First episodes of anime gave hope about Sormik being something even more big than in game, but it was quickly destroyed. It was treated even worse from episode to episode. What comes from Ufotable sketch of Sorey and Mikleo sleeping on eachother shoulder, close and happy if it wasn’t in anime?

As for myself I'm sad about anime waste as whole Zestiria, not only Sormik. I don't care how Zestiria X looks like, I don't need to watch it. But each time I think that we never going to get because of Zestiria X a GOOD adaptation of game like Abyss or Symphonia had (gosh, even eternia was better, at least characters wasn't so ooc even if it plot was awful, graphic too, but it was in the end only filler to main story. No one tried to change main plot). Chances for reboot of anime is 0%. That's it. We never see tickle fight, fake marriage scene, Sorey losing his resonance, Rose hitting him, Dezel death (no, no kamikaze kill without real reason), fight with Tiamat, night at Lastonbell, EVERYONE seeing Sorey and Mikleo's past, the ending of story... The only nice scene from game we got was Sorey holding his breath to let Alisha communicate with Lailah. That's all.  

I love Zestiria OVA. It has perfect pacing and it was close as possible to game. I just simply wish we got something like this instead of Zestiria X.

[lia-nikiforov]

Fall 2016 Anime: Last impressions

What, me? Posting something that’s not Yuri on Ice? Did I wander to the wrong blog? Oh right, this isn’t supposed to be a Yuri on Ice blog to begin with, oops.

After a very shitty semester and my Mom’s and sister’s vacations messing up with my anime watching schedule (plus a shitty vicious cycle of not watching anime to work on thesis-not working on thesis because stressed from not watching anime), I finally finished catching up with Fall anime, barely on time before Winter begins (I know some winter shows have premiered already, but none that interest me. Rakugo’s on today though!!!!). So here’s a rundown of the best and worst of this most fruitful Fall season. If there’s a gif it means I forgot to take a screenshot of the last episode whoops.  (worst to best my dears, you know how this goes)

Dropped:

Shuumatsu no Izetta: I really tried. Even after the stupidity of episode 4 put me to sleep, I tried to give it a second shot, but episode 6 was literally everything that is wrong with modern anime and ugh, please release me from this hell. Of course having a strong female character was too progressive for a yuribait show, you just had to make her have insecurities about her normal-sized boobs (vs everyone’s ginormous) and dedicate 25 entire minutes to show that she’s actually a real girly girl that likes pie. Ugh. And I didn’t even mention how stupid the “Izetta’s secret might be revealed” plot element was. That was some garbage writing if I ever saw one. Most of what I’ve read after dropping it seems to indicate it was the best choice

3gatsu no Lion: I’m confused with this show. The production values make it very attractive to watch. There is a harsh and interesting story and character drama happening. Episode 5 was particularly great, and some of the storytelling devices are implemented brilliantly. But for some reason I can’t bring myself to care? I don’t know. The more I see the three sisters, the more the scenes with them bore me to death. I found the idea of watching episode 6 terribly not-compelling so I decided to put it in the back burner and wait out. Maybe I’m just incompatible with this mangaka (I really hate HachiKuro). People seem to be loving it, so maybe I’ll give it another shot at a later date.

Touken Ranbu Hanamaru: This was my biggest disappointment of the season because episode 2 was so good. It tickled all my rekijo bones in the best way. But then it just… nothing ever happened? Also the way all the sword boys gush about how much they love the (invisible but obviously audience-proxy) “Master” is way too transparent and took me out of whatever little interesting character dynamics might be going on. What could be an interesting theme –the swordboys having regrets about not protecting their past owners and being tempted to fix it- is wasted in a “it’s okay, I have a new master now!”. Even with my fujoshi goggles there was little of interest because the boys were so infatuated with the Master I couldn’t even enjoy any of it. Held out until episode 9 and just couldn’t be arsed for more. Maybe the more serious ufotable show will be better?

Nanbaka: I don’t know what went wrong with this mangaka that suddenly decided to turn a perfectly fine comedy into a Very Serious battle shonen thing? Especially mid-arc? The New Year tournament had revitalized the show, I was having a load of fun with it, but then it suddenly turned all dark and serious and nonsensical? The only thing tempting me to go back for the last three episodes is Hajime, he’s a champ. But yeah, the shift in tone was too drastic and kind of spoiled the show for me because I was loving it exactly as it was. It didn’t need the drama. Some people seem to be liking the new direction but ehhhh… idk. If I have time.

The worst:

17. DAYS: It was hard to choose which of these two was gonna be the poop prize winner, but in the end, given how much I struggled to even sit through the last couple of episodes, I guess DAYS takes it. Honestly seldom have I seen a show so infuriatingly ruined by “protagonist no jutsu” i.e. things just happen because a dude is the main character. Kimishita scored three completely bananas goals in that game (bless his heart I love him), but Tsukushi gets all the credit for earning the free kicks and second balls and shit and he’s the one credited as the “hero” of the game. It’s amazing that such an insufferable protagonist is part of a show with an otherwise endearing supporting cast. Now will my love for Mizuki and Kimishita be enough to pull me into watching season 2? Tune in some time next year to find out! (spoiler: most likely no unless it comes out on a boring season)

16.Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku: I called this show the winner of the “Showed its cards too early Award” since episode one, but boy I didn’t expect it to continue doing the exact same thing over and over through its entire run. At some point it became a very unsurprising formula of showing a character’s tragic backstory at the start of the episode to fabricate last minute sympathy to make up for lack of proper characterization, only to have the character in question murdered in increasingly distasteful ways. I always knew best girl Top Speed wasn’t long for this world, but the way they handled it was gratuitously vicious. Couple that with a barrage of villains, none of which were remotely compelling or had any interesting motivations, a poor man’s Kyubey, a protagonist that is even more infuriatingly passive than Madoka herself (at least in this aspect, MahoIku surpassed its intellectual mother), and a resolution that basically says this whole thing served no purpose whatsoever and you’re left with just a feeling that you could’ve done something better with your life. I never expected grandeur from this show, and in fact I guess it turned out to be about as bad as I could’ve expected it to be, but that doesn’t really erase how terribly dissatisfying the ending was. I guess that’s one weakness that Dark Magical Girl shows have yet to overcome. 

Normally a “the meh” section would be here, but I dropped all those shows for lack of entertainment and time, so we’re skipping straight to

The okay

(I liked these shows but none of them changed my life and I was severely tempted to drop them at least once)

15.Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: I have rather complicated feelings about this show. The writing has improved immensely since the second half of S1 and they’re doing a fascinating job at working the different shades of moral grey. Mika’s sick relationship with Orga continues to keep me on my toes. But with only 12 episodes left I’m still not entirely sure of where this is going, and most importantly, it stinks of tragedy and there seems to be a general lack of joy in both characters and story, so I always go to watch it with little enthusiasm and maybe a bit of anxiety.

14.Girlish Number:  This one turned out way better than I expected it to be, although perhaps for different reasons than most. Usually when I hatewatch something, it’s for the pleasant schadenfreude I get out of seeing something continue to fail miserably week after week (see Sailor Moon Crystal or Mayoiga). In that sense, I wasn’t hatewatching Girlish Number but boy was I getting schadenfreude about seeing the exploitative producer go on a downwards spiral and the shitty LN anime adaptation turning up a complete failure. But because this was the source of my enjoyment, the finale was, to say the least, dissatisfying. If the show had ended with Chitose getting a proper comeuppance and landing different jobs (in non-shitty-LN-anime) that forced her to climb her way back up instead of trying to have  sudden fabricated popularity, while Kuzu got his ass fired that would’ve been cool. But the “Oh I ended loving this production” ending was ehhhh. It felt the show ended going milquetoast on its criticism of the industry. Criticized the seiyuu idol units but still had the seiyuu sing the OP and ED criticized the cheap swimsuit fanservice but still had a swimsuit episode etc. I mean they went really damn hard on the industry, so it was weird and a little frustrating that they didn’t go the whole way, given how they’d already guaranteed to lose the buying audience anyway.

13.Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari: It’s hard to explain what went wrong with this one because, if you asked me, I’d say I really liked it overall. But the key problem is perhaps that I adored the first two episodes so deeply and then somewhere in the middle it kind of floundered and went in a different direction than what I expected –which isn’t inherently bad, mind you- but it’s weird that there’s so little actual udon in the show when they’re in the title. The finale was good in idea, but I feel it failed to make the emotional landing, and that they capped it off to be a sort of commercial for Kagawa prefecture was just… weird. So uh, it was a good show but definitely didn’t live up to the promise of the first few episodes.

12.Uta no Prince-sama Legend Star:  For me, this and Magikyun are basically tied, because, although I have more love for Utapri due to how long it’s been around and how I’ve grown so endeared to the characters, I can’t say Magikyun did anything worse or better. But anyway Utapri! Revolutions had me losing a little of my love for the franchise, but Legend Star was really great! The music improved drastically and we got some truly neat character arcs. The Otoya arc was surprisingly good. It’s sad to see they’ve fully committed to shitty CG dancing though ): But oh well, the Quartet Night song was great and there’s even more anime coming because Broccoli does like printing money after all. Almost forgot to mention it, but Haruka is hardly relevant this season and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but I’ll also say I didn’t particularly miss her.

11.Magic-Kyun Renaissance:  I’ll say this about Magikyun, it was less dumb than I expected given the title. I mean it was super dumb, but it could’ve been dumber. It was also a lot of fun, had neat visuals and surprisingly good songs? I feel it could’ve ended in episode 9 because it doesn’t feel like the new resolution in ep 13 actually added anything of note to the story or the characters, but it was okay. It’s harmless dumb entertainment and that’s what I wanted it to be. 

The good

10.Flip Flappers:  It’s always great to see passion projects like this, even if they don’t always stick the landing. In the gayest anime season, FliFla gave us a lesbian visual spectacle that was among the best animated experiences of the year. While narratively it blooped a little in the last third and became a weird Eva-ish nightmare, it sorta kinda worked out at the end, although definitely didn’t live up to its initial dreamy potential. And it was very lesbian, although I feel it was lowkey creepy lesbian since Papika is somehow an adult??? I think they explained some things too much and left others glaringly unexplained. Some weird things happened in that production that hindered its potential, but it’s still a fascinating series to look at, even if you don’t dig the character dynamics (which are adorable but in the end didn’t do much for me). Could’ve done with 100% less creepy robot though     

9.Classicaloid: I’d call Classicaloid the Bungo Stray Dogs (season 1) of the Fall because while it wasn’t what I wanted or expected, it managed to grow on me. I was on the edge of dropping it because the wacky one-note humor wasn’t working for me at all, but with the introduction of Schubert and the slow drip of answers to our questions of what is even happening in this show, it became notoriously more fun. Definitely the strongest moments of the show are when we get to see the Classicaloids having flash backs to their past lives (the episode about Beethoven and his loss of hearing was particularly brilliant) and while I still mostly have no idea of where this is going at all, they’ve definitely got me hooked wanting to know what Bach is even planning.

8.Drifters: This might have gone even higher up the ranks if not for all the homophobic and sexist jokes ugh. But I guess it’s a testament to how entertaining it is that I watched it all through and would still watch the upcoming second season (or maybe it’s a testament to what a good job it did in tickling my very specific rekijo bone). The characterization of Nobunaga in particular is absolutely brilliant, and the little nuances in the interactions between characters of different time periods are fantastic. Cool action sequences and interesting strategizing and politicking. But I reckon this isn’t something that’s gonna sway the non-history buffs. Also ew the sexist and homophobic jokes. The show has great comedy without that, please don’t be so gross Hirano.

7.ALL OUT!!: It had a bit of a slow start, but once it started picking up with the practice matches and developing the team, it’s just gotten exponentially better! Especially since the addition of the coach. DAYS could learn a thing or two about how it isn’t necessary to make the inexperienced main character the sudden “hero” of the team to make for a compelling sports story. That said I still do not understand about 75% of how rugby works at all, but the endearing cast and the passionate games make up for it. Also the horrible hair. Definitely looking forward to where these kids will go in the second half.

The excellent

6.Fune wo Amu: This is a case of me one-sidedly having expectations that a show can’t live up to and thus I don’t enjoy it as much as I could. Which is no fault of the show itself and it is in fact one of the best anime of the season (arguably the year). It does fail on the entertainment department, but compensates with beautiful craftsmanship and a wonderful portrayal of human feelings and relationships. While it wounded up being Very Heterosexual (and the main couple develops in a rather cold and questionable manner, but hey, the wife wasn’t forced to give up her dreams to become a housewife. A+ for progress! ) the portrayal of Majime’s camaraderie with Nishioka (and Nishioka’s very great relationship with his gf!) was really the heart of the show, and just for that it’s absolutely worth the watch.

5.Natsume Yuujinchou Go: I think it’s rather telling to the quality of the season overall that Natsume Yuujinchou somehow fell just slightly above the middle of the pack. I do feel this season of Natsume was weaker than the previous ones, but to be honest I can’t quite pinpoint why. Maybe it didn’t feel like we reached a new milestone in Natsume’s development or in learning about Reiko –in fact, it feels we learned conspicuously little about Reiko this season-, although the final episode and the Touko episode were notable highlights. With a sixth season already in the works, I have little else to say other than, even when it’s not in top form, this is still among the best one could ever hope to get from anime

4.Bungo Stray Dogs 2: Remember how season 1 was good but not what I wanted it to be? Well, season 2 wasn’t exactly what I’d originally hope BSD would be about but it sure as fuck was fantastic! Starting with the flashback episodes to Dazai’s time in the Port Mafia and the story of Oda Sakunosuke, to the introduction of the American writers and the follow-up with Kyouka and Atsushi’s arcs as well as Akutagawa (!!!!) it was a genuinely amazing season that completely justifies watching the first one even if you weren’t entirely convinced about it at first. My only gripe is the lack of Kunikida, but this season showed that Dazai is the lynchpin of this series and he fulfills that role to perfection. I loved loved loved this season and I hope we get more of this series.

3.Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable: While it floundered a little in the second cour (seriously I was happy Shigechi died, he was an awful character), it picked itself right back up in the third and the battle against Kira –who is an astonishingly amazing villain- was just week after week of blood-pumping excitement and fun. Not every episode was perfect, but the package as a whole is fantastic. At moments it felt more like Kishibe Rohan’s Bizarre Adventure, but even that was okay because every member of the cast was so great. You can see the passion David Production has for this franchise, and I’m hoping they’ll continue adapting it. While Joseph is still Best JoJo, I think part 4, with its incredibly strong cast and creative set up might be my favorite arc so far.

2.Haikyuu 3: vicky’s probably gonna hate me for this but If I’m honest, the Shiratorizawa match wasn’t my favorite in the manga. I love the development Tsukki got through it and I commend Furudate for how brilliantly he’s been working in making these characters grow in such satisfying ways. But Shiratorizawa, and Ushijima specially, is the epitome of OP rival and that’s something that’s never really worked for me. It felt like the Rakuzan game in Kurobas, there were moments in which it felt that it just never ended. And I was worried about how they were going to work it into ten episodes. I think it’s a testament to the anime team that they managed to make it not actually feel like 10 episodes, and that they’ve made this one of the most exciting matches to watch in all of Haikyuu. It was truly spectacular and I can’t wait for S4

THE BEST

1.Yuri!!! on ICE: Joke’s on you, this was a Yuri on Ice post all along!! Even if my conflicted feelings about the ending had been sourer and heavier, I would have no doubt that this is the best show of the season (and the year). It’s taken me a while, but after having chewed on my feelings for a couple of days (while fighting the denialists with all my might) I’m even more confident about it. I don’t even know what more praise I can rain on this beautiful, beautiful show that has literally saved me so many times during this really difficult trimester and I am ever so grateful to its creators for giving us such a beautiful gift in such dark times. Now please end our suffering and confirm a season 2, because just like Victor and Yuuri can’t live without each other (canon!) I can’t live without them anymore ;---;

What a strong season this was! A high note to end an otherwise shitty year! Thanks everyone for following this nonsense blog and I hope this new year brings us all more beautiful anime (and less menstrual cramps for me). Winter shows I’m watching premiere literally today so I’ll skip the “anticipation” rundown and go straight to my watchlist in a couple of weeks.  As always, I’ll be happy to hear which were your favorite and least favorite shows of the season, but I know y’all never answer to my questions ;----;

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Heaven is a Place Called Love

One of the thing the quarantine took away from me last year was movies. Theaters took a helluva hit and pickings were sparse online. It was kind of a struggle for my review blog but i found ways to keep it going. A couple of great flicks dropped on streaming. Palm Springs immediately comes to mind. More than that, 2020 basically reshuffled a ton of flicks for me. The Green Knight bailed, The Batman got pushed back, and Black Widow got shelved several times. One that i had been looking forward to that slipped through the cracks was the third Heavens Feel flick. I am a complete and total slut for the Fate franchise and own the first two. I have been patiently waiting for the third to drop but then COVID happened and derailed the world. Now that things have settled down, I've finally got a chance to sit down and finish the trilogy. It’s been a few years but, finally, closure! As such, i wanted to review this bad boy as a whole, all three films, and try to be unbiased about the critique. Try.

The Great

The animation of display throughout the entirely of the trilogy has been exceptional. Seriously, UFOtable are gods when it comes to this type of sh*t. Tones of motion porn, tons of chaotic energy, wonderful effects and an attention to detail that is rarely seen in anime. Most films ave sequences where the animation kicks it up a notch but these films stay at an eleven and shift into a much higher gear with the scraps.

Speaking of the battles, my goodness, are they spectacular! I don’t want to single any one out because, seriously, all of them are incredibly excellent. I’ve only ever seen quality clashes like this in the first HeroAca film and the Super Broly film. Like, these thing are a real feast for the eyes!

The Good

I adore this plot. Seriously, it’s great. I mean, again, biased, but of the three branching narratives from the original game, Heaven’s Feel was always my favorite. Sakura is, for me, the only option as a romance and they tell her tragic life story perfectly. I like some of the filer additions, they help to flesh out the characters and make their motivations far more understandable, something the first telling kind of lost in all the convoluted melodrama.

I have to say, a lot of the performances are great. The Japanese do a wonderful job of imbuing these animated characters with real soul and emotion. Again, i felt so much for Sakura, even knowing her story beforehand, and i have to give credit to her voice actress, Noriko Shitaya. This chick has been voicing Sakura for a few years but she really gets to sink her teeth into the character with these films and it’s totally felt.

I think some of that shine coming off Shitaya can be attributed to the direction of the film. The captain of this massive undertaking is Tomonori Sudo. Dude IS the Fate director. He’s been in the big chair for Fate/Zero, Unlimited Blade Works, and even Garden of Sinners; All of which are brilliant adaptions which i love to varying degrees. Seriously Garden of Sinners has no right to be as good as it is and Sudo brings that same energy to Heaven’s Feel.

Also, i need to give a nod to the US voice cast. They were able to instill that respectful but realistic energy to this ridiculous and over-the-top characters.

The Okay

These things are long, man! It’s literally six hours of content. Beautiful content for sure, but SO much of it, a great portion of which is slice of life stuff. Not a ton of people are going to want to put in the work to understand the world outside of the spectacle and i can see that detracting form the overall enjoyment. It’s a f*cking shame because the character work presented in this trilogy is some of the best in the entire franchise.

Like all Fate entries, there is a ton of convolution and Heaven’s Feel didn’t escape that. It is a quirk of the franchise, like all TYPE-MOON products but it’s part of their charm. I can see people turned off by that though, especially here in the States. We don’t do cinema, or storytelling, like that and i kind of hate it. It makes for lousy, repetitive, predictable, plots. Definitely not that issue in this one but completely foreign to the American palette.

There is some very problematic content that is broached rather delicately. Basically, Sakura is a victim of brutal sexual assault. It’s a defining actor of the plot. It doesn’t define the character but it is a huge part of how she is shaped emotionally, which of course it is. I don’t have a problem with it, mostly because I've know about it for almost two decades, but i can definitely see this being an issue for the modern social atmosphere. This will definitely turn of a lot of people and you should know that going in, if you choose to do so. There’s nothing too explicit but there is a scene that is pretty f*cked up if you’re not expecting it. I would suggest looking in the Heaven’s Feel route of the game before checking out the films if you’re triggered by this kind of content.

The Verdict

Of course i loved these films, are you kidding me? This blog is riddle with Fate content! I’ve been a fan of this franchise sine it first released and have been following the franchise, and TYPE-MOON, ever since. It’s been seventeen years and I'm still a shill for these worlds and my favorite, Heaven’s Feel, is, so far, the best one represented! Seriously, this trilogy is incredible to witness. It’s gorgeous, putting on display some of the best animation I've seen in years, while delivering some very difficult emotional content at times. It gets dark, the darkest of the three Fate routes, but it’s never bogged down in bad taste. All of the performances are exceptional, especially for an anime, and the direction is the best among all the UFOtable adaptions. I’ve waited seventeen years for the Heaven’s Feel route to get the anime treatment and i am not disappointed. If you’re a fan of Fate, definitely check this out. If you’re a fan of animation, definitely check this one out. It is a real experience!

[recentanimenews]

Anime NYC 2019, Day Two

Saturday started with a live drawing from TAa, the author of Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family. Denpa’s panel Friday did not have much time to introduce her, so this was very welcome. She loves Fate, and her art is excellent – throughout the panel she drew Saber smiling and holding a rice bowl.

TAa started doing Fate fanart as a hobby, then was asked to do a chapter for an anthology, which is how she got a foot in the door. She was then approached to do the EMiya Family manga as a one-shot, and then when it was successful it got picked up as a series. She did that plus her day job for a year and a half, then this became too much, and now she draws manga full time.

She has assistants now, but did not at first, which shows how much work she was putting into the series. As for Fate itself, she got into the series through Fate/Zero, then bought the FSN game and became totally obsessed with it – this is why she started to draw art. She also loved Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, FSN’s sequel game, though notes it’s very hard to find these days. (One of the Emiya Family chapters with Assassin was almost an adaptation of a scene from Ataraxia.)

Ed Chavez, who was the moderator of the live drawing, talked about how cute and soft the anime was, and also the time and budget that UFOTable put into it. When she first heard about the anime, TAa thought she was being pranked! It was a rapid production from inception to release date – possibly as the company is so familiar with the Fate characters. She also got some new ideas discussing things with the anime staff.

When thinking of a new idea for a chapter, usually the food idea comes first, then she thinks of the characters that best suit that food. She also incorporates a lot of seasons and holidays. Type-Moon has almost no involvement at all – this is all her.

We then got some Q&A. She enjoys Japanese food as her comfort food, says obviously she’d want Shirou to cook for her if she had a choice. She and the editor do eat the meals that are in the manga – a tonkatsu was her favorite, though that chapter is not published yet. She was then asked what her favorite characters are to draw – she loves long-haired characters, particularly Rider.

Someone asked if we might see Bazett, the star of Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, and someone else asked if the mysterious robed figure hanging out with Gilgamesh is Caren rather than Kirie. She hedged on the second, but definitely has Bazett in mind for a future chapter if she can think of a good way to introduce her and incorporate the food. Someone also asked about New York City food in the manga – Shirou buys bagels for everyone?

It was agreed that the flashback episode with Shirou and Kiritsugu was the best of the anime episodes. She tries to keep the series very kind and “happy in life” – since Fate was a big battle game originally, she wanted to see more of the day-to-day life. As such, don’t expect a lot of Zero characters or the Lancer “hot dog” joke from Ataraxia. This series is too nice and sweet for things like that.

This is considered the right time for a series to come out – not because cooking manga are new in popularity – in Japan, they’ve always been popular – but because of the popularity of Fate, which ten years ago was not as high. She was also asked her favorite heroine, and the audience tensed – it’s a dangerous question. She likes them all, but picked Saber.

My next panel was Square Enix, which was doing its first Anime NYC panel. After quite a bit of audio difficulty, we started with a video showing off SE’s most famous properties. Tanya Biswas (formerly with Yen) and Leyla Aker (formerly with Viz) are the people behin things in America, with Masa also on the panel as the Square Enix rep. Masa has been to this con before, notes how fun it always is.

They did a recap of prior licenses, and trailers for two of them. Most of these have been talked about before – A Man and His Cat, Cherry Magic and Soul Eater’s Perfect Edition got the most talk. They also gave away A Man and His Cat merch, including a fantastic plushie. We then got several new announcements.

Ragna Crimson is a dark fantasy title from Gangan Joker. A man sets out to get revenge on the dragons who destroyed his partner. The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) is probably the title I was most interested in. A woman working in the palace and trying to keep a low profile is found to have knowledge of herbal medicine, and after saving a royal heir, she’s promoted and ends up involved in palace intrigues. She’s apparently quite eccentric. This runs in Big Gangan.

Beauty and the Feast (Yakumo-san wa Edzuke ga Shitai) is a May-December romance, sort of, as a 28-year-old widow finds herself cooking for her 16-year-old neighbor, and food (and possibly romance, but mostly food) follows. It runs in Young Gangan. The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! (Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai!) is a Gangan Joker title about a former demon villainess who’s now in modern Japan and also a cute little girl. Can she get her poweres back? Can her frustration stop being cute? Likely no to both questions.

By the Grace of the Gods (Kamitachi ni Hirowareta Otoko) just had its novel licensed by J-Novel Club. It’s from SE’s MangaUP! app and stars a reincarnated salaryman reincarnated as a boy with magic powers, who discovers that slimes are more valuable than you’d expect. Finally, we get the only novel of the panel, NieR Automata – Yorha Boys. It’s a prequel to the game, and another novel in a series which has already had some novels released by Viz Media.

Next up was Yen Press, who had a ton of new books and also a ton of light novels. The biggest surprise came first – High School DxD, whose manga was licensed in 2014, finally is getting the light novels released. This was a constant request, right up there with Date a Live and Gamers!. I recall not liking the first manga much, but suspecting I’d be more interested in a prose version. Now I get to see if I’m right.

They alternated between manga and novel announcements, so next was Bestia, a Shonen Ace series about a boy who goes to London to discover his past and finds magical beasts and adventure. We then got another surprise LN – High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World, whose manga started coming out in 2018, from the creator of Chivalry of a Failed Knight, also recently licensed.

Lust Geass is a Young Ace title that will play well with fans of ecchi manga, the story of a boy who finds a spell that will cause women’s sexual desires to explode. Restaurant to Another World has already had a manga release digitally via Crunchyroll, but Yen are now going to be releasing it in print. And another light novel, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy (Seiken Gakuin no Maken Tsukai) which combines demon lords and magical academies – two hot genres in one!

A monster girl harem manga came next, To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? (Sekai wo Sukuu Tame ni Ajin to Asa-chun Dekimasenka?). It turns out our hero is destined to father the hero who will defeat the demon king… and so everyone wants to sleep with him. (When did Yen Press become Seven Seas?) Another light novel follows, more on the slow life side: Banished from the Heroes’ Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside (Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life suru Koto ni Shimashita), a Kadokawa series whose title is its premise.

Sadako at the End of the World (Shuumatsu no Sadako-san) is a post-apocalyptic Sadako manga, where she finds that those who watched the videotape are delighted to see her, as she’s another human being in this wasteland. It sounds fun, is complete in one volume, and ran in Comic Gene. Another light novel, In the Land of Leadale (Leadale no Daichi nite), about a girl with injuries who ends up in a game world. Judging by the cover, this is also a slow life series.

A yuri manga is next: I Love You So Much I Hate You (Nikurashii hodo Aishiteru). A Kadokawa manga, it’s an office life yuri title with adult concerns and problems. The last novel announced is a one-shot, Three Days of Happiness (Sugaru Miaki), a dark fantasy about a young man who sells his lifespan for cash. It’s apparently quite interesting. Lastly, Yen has licensed the Carole and Tuesday manga, based on the anime, which runs in Young Ace.

Q&A then started, but remembering how excruciating that was last year, I left early.

My last stop was J-Novel Club’s panel, with Sam Pinansky and Aimee Zink introducing a giant pile of new series. They started with two new print announcements – Sexiled, which has had huge buzz ever since it came out, and My Next Life As a Villainess!, which is also getting an anime next year. (More villainesses are coming later in this panel.)

Kodansha has a new imprint called Legend Novels, and from it JNC licensed five new novels. (No new manga announcements this time, these are all novels.) The Economics of Prophecy: Avoiding Disaster in Another World (Yogen no Keizaigaku) seems to be along the lines of Realist Hero, as a reincarnated economics whiz and a princess with prophetic abilities try to save the world.

Kobold King features a gentle man who was very powerful and respected in his time trying to quietly relax and befriend the local kobolds… who are very mistrusting of his powerful self! Outer Ragna (Game Jikkyō ni yoru Kōryaku to Gyakushū no Isekai Kami Senki) doesn’t have the Japanese protagonist, a livestreamer, enter a game world himself – instead he possessed the female lead! Her Majesty’s Swarm (Joō-heika no Isekai Senryaku) has a girl ending up in a game as an evil queen, and unlike a lot of villainesses in these sorts of books, seems to embrace her evil. Also, spiders warning for this one.

Isekai Rebuilding Project (Isekai Saiken Keikaku) was touted by Sam as the first North American book with “isekai” untranslated in the title. It’s about a Japanese man who is called to “fix” worlds where the isekai’d hero has saved the world and gone home… but left too many cultural issues that can’t be put back inside Pandora’s box. Also, the hero has a friend who is a dragon. Seems to be a slow life title.

A new partner for J-Novel Cliub, Pash! Books, gives us the next few series. Teogonia was described as “what if a Ghibli movie was a light novel?”, and he notes this is pure Japanese fantasy about a booy who awaken old memories and discovers the real rules of the world. The World’s Least Interesting Master Swordsman (Jimi na Kensei wa Soredemo Saikyou desu) sounds like a cross between One-Punch Man and I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years, as a reincarnated boy practices his sword skills for 500 years and is the strongest around… but his techniques are boring!

We’re then told about a new label, J-Novel Heart, that will be publishing shoujo light novels! This has long been requested by fans. (By the way, My Next Life As a Villainess!, which is a shoujo LN in Japan, will switch to this new label in print.) The first book is called Tearmoon Empire, which features a spoiled brat of a noble who ends up getting killed because of her family. She ends up redoing her life, and (despite still being spoiled) tries her hardest to avoid getting killed again.

The Tales of Marielle Clarac (each book will be called “The _______ of Marielle Clarac”) isa romance and mystery book, as the rather plain noble girl tries to figure out why the super perfect man of her dreams wants to marry her – is there an ulterior motive? It’s a good book “for wallflowers”. The Bibliophile Princess (Mushikaburi-Hime) is another book with mystery, conspiracy and intrigue, and (as you might guess) has a book lover as the main character.

I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! (Watashi wa Teki ni Narimasen!) is another in those “my reawakened memories tell me I’m actually a villain who gets killed off” sort of books, only instead of trying to fix things with the various handsome young men this girl tries to flee from everything. That won’t go well. Fukushu wo Chikatta Shironeko wa Ryuuou no Hiza no Ue de Damin wo Musaboru, which has a tentative but unapproved English title of The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap, has the best friend of the heroine abandoned in a forest, then turned into a cat. We follow the friend as she tries to get revenge on the “heroine” who abandoned her.

The final license was the biggest surprise: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Isekai, a doujinshi light novel collaboration between six light novel authors, including those behind Tanya the Evil and Re: Zero. It’s a short story anthology, essentially, that began when the authors asked themselves what they’d do if they were isekai’d. This is licensed directly from the authors – no company involved! It’s also pretty short, so should be available soon.

That was the final announcement, and I then headed out to get dinner and type all this up. Tomorrow we get one big panel, and that’s about it. Surprise me, Kodansha and Vertical!

By: Sean Gaffney