#utena only missed this list by a hair

[crazy-coeurl-lady]

Three Characters

Reblog with 3 GIFs of fictional characters you most associate with your OC.

Michiru / Sailor Neptune (Sailor Moon):  very much Yuuqi’s feminine, musical, and heroic side.

Haruhi (Ouran High School Host Club):  Yuuqi’s more sassy and practical side.

Hitomi (Escaflowne):  Yuuqi at her most romantic and fantastical.

Tagged by: @narani-kha

Tagging: @qurcaqi @home-halone @arifarjournal @maral-oronir  @khunbish-avagnar @little-purple-thundercloud @astromancy @ascalonffxiv and ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO.

[paxesoterica]

Vaguely Spoilery Thoughts About MSG: The Witch from Mercury Episode 5

Looks like a lot of folks’ theories about Elan were correct, hope they gave themselves a cookie.

I’ve finally figured out which character from Revolutionary Girl Utena that Elan most closely corresponds with: Juri.

A lot of folks have already noted how Suletta and Miorine compare (and contrast) with Utena and Anthy (which I won’t go into more since that subject’s worth its own post); Guel and Saionji seem to have a fair bit in common (though Guel seems[?] like he might be more introspective, and might decide to change his behaviour earlier and more obviously than Saionji did); and Shaddiq, between his constant observation of other duelists, his appearance (long-haired bishounen whose shirt always seems to be open), being the head of the dueling committee, and even being accused of being a playboy, gives a lot of Touga Kiryuu vibes, though he hasn’t actually done or said a lot to deserve that (aside from that comment that *women* could be stakes in a duel, which is sus enough by itself).

Elan’s been a bit trickier to associate; I know some folks connected him with Miki (possibly on the account of him appearing to be intellectual and/or his friendly overtures to Suletta), but I think Juri is a much better analogue. Juri’s dueling episode, which is the first time we really get into her head, opens with her dueling and easily defeating her clubmates in the fencing team (check), and then compares and contrasts her and Utena, with Juri noticing those differences and getting enraged by them, resulting in Juri trying to take Utena’s rose seal and eventually challenging her to a duel (Elan could have easily paraphrased one of Juri’s lines: “The rose seal gundam isn’t meant for a girl like you!”), and of course there’s the Shadow Girl skit, in which the girl misses out on going to zoo (symbolically, a ‘normal’ life) and pretends she doesn’t care (Juri and Elan have very different reasons for feeling alienated from their peers, but the result of feeling jealous and bitter is still very similar). 

Behind the scenes, we’ve gotten to learn a little bit more about both Peil Technologies and Lady Prospera; the leaders of Peil give me the impression of a sci-fi witch coven, which is appropriate for the symbolism the series is using and given the nature of Peil’s research, and I’d love to hear more about the history between the scientist who’s working with Peil and Lady Prospera.

Poor Suletta; we, the audience, obviously know she should have listened to Miorine about the situation, but it’s understandable why Suletta didn’t: between getting engaged, almost getting expelled, *and* getting mixed up in a one-sided slaughter fistfight, getting asked to hang out with someone who’s only been friendly to you (and whom you might be interested in) probably seemed like a wonderful relief at first (not to mention that it was on her list). Whether she wins her next duel or not, the fallout of Elan revealing his true feelings is going to be painful for Suletta.

[keyofjetwolf]

Pitch Me your thing!

HELLO HELLO MY SUNBEAMS. For most every category, there was an impressive turn-out for pitches, so I thought we’d utilize the weirdness of this year’s GIFTENING to give something new a try. The popular vote winner for each category will happen on the first day, but on the second, the winner will be chosen from YOUR PITCHES. Mostly those pitches will be to me. The exception is in Miscellaneous, where you’ll be pitching to my family, because what I want to do and what is most entertaining isn’t necessarily the same thing.

So! How will we do this thing? GLAD YOU ASKED. I’ll link you to a form in a minute with space for one pitch. Once you fill it out, you’ll be asked if you want to do another. There’s no limit to the number of pitches you can send in! But remember that if you submit multiple entries for the same category, you’ll basically be competing against yourself.

NOW WE’VE GOT SOME RULES FOR DOING THIS (which I mostly stole from Holligay, because I have no creativity this year). Please read them carefully! I’ll toss pitches that break any of these, and I’d rather your hard work not go to waste.

Pitch Me is open for your submissions from RIGHT NOW (22 December) through the very last day of this hellyear (31 December) at 11:59pm MT.

The thing you pitch must have come from what was nominated for THE GIFTENING 2020. (Full list of those nominations in every category below the cut on this post.)

Entries must be unsigned! I’m looking to chose based on the pitch alone, regardless of who submitted it.

The pitch itself must be 100 words or less. HAVE PITY ON ME I CAN ONLY CONSUME SO MUCH.

If you’d like to get some help, ideas, feedback, all that good stuff, the Discord is a FANTASTIC resource I encourage you to use.

HERE IS YOUR PITCH SUBMISSION LINK

And, as promised, below the cut you’ll find the list of all the nominees in every category you guys sent in this year. IT’S A LONG LIST HAVE FUN WITH THAT

Anime

A Place Further Than The Universe/Sora Yori mo Toi Basho Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) Action Heroine Cheer Fruits Aggretsuko Aho Girl Air Master Akuma No Riddle Alien Nine Angel Beats! Angelic Layer Appare-Ranman Aria Aria the Animation Arrietty/ The Secret World of Arrietty (Ghibli film) Ascendance of a Bookworm Azumamga Daioh Baccano! Beastars Black Cat Blood + (the series) Bloom Into You Blue Drop/Tenshitachino Gikyoku Bodacious Space Pirates (starting right where you left off) BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense Boku no hero academia Bubblegum Crisis Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card Cardcaptor Sakura Castlevania the Animated Series Cells at Work Chaos; Head Chihayafuru Code Geass cowboy Bebop Cyborg 009 Death Note Death Parade Deca-Dence Demon Girl Next Door Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) Diebuster: Aim For the Top 2 Dog Days dorohedoro Dot Hack//SIGN Dr. Stone Elfen Lied Erased (Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi) Escaflowne Excel Saga Fantastic Children Fate/Zero Flip Flappers Fresh Precure Fruits Basket 2019 Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Ga rei Zero GaoGaiGar gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex Ghost Stories (dubbed) Girls' Last Tour Great Pretender Hoseki no Kuni/ Land of the Lustrous House of Five Leaves/ Saraiya Goyou Inari konkon koi iroha Interviews with Monster Girls Inuyasha Isekai Izakaya "Nobu" Jellyfish Princess/ Kuragehime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable Kaguya-sama Love Is War Kaleido Star Kannazuki no Miko Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Kemono Friends Kiki's Delivery Service Kimi ni Todoke: From Me To You Kino's Journey/Kino no Tabi (2003) Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni) Little Witch Academia Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files EP0 {"A Grave Keeper") Love is Hard for an Otaku Love Live! Sunshine!! lupin the 3rd part 4 Madoka: The Rebellion Movie Magic knight rayearth Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha March Comes in Like a Lion Mardock Scramble Master of Martial Hearts Mawaru Penguindrum Megalobox Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Mob Psycho 100 Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) Monster Mushishi My Bride is a Mermaid (Seto No Hanayome) My Love Story!!! My Neighbor Totoro My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom My Roommate is a Cat NANA Naruto Natsume’s Book of Friends Neon Genesis Evangelion (hateblog) New Cutey Honey Nichijou Ōban Star-Racers One Piece Ouran High school Host club Outlaw Star Paranoia Agent Perfect Blue Please Save My Earth Pop Team Epic Pretty Cure Fresh Princess Jellyfish/ Kuragehime Princess Mononoke Princess Principal Princess Tutu Project A-Ko promised neverland (/yakusoku no neverland) Psycho-Pass Ranma 1/2 Re: Cutie Honey Re:Creators Read or Die (OAV) Red Garden relife Revolutionalry Girl Utena Rose of Versailles Ruroni Kenshin Sailor Moon Sailor Moon (viz dub) Samurai Champloo (english dub) Sarazanmai School Days School-Live! Scum's Wish Senki Zesshou Symphogear (listed as just "Symphogear" on Crunchyroll.) Serei no Moribito (Guardian of the Spirit) Shin Sekai Yori (From The New World) Shirobako Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle Smile Pretty Cure (Japanese original)/ Glitter Force (english adaptation) Snow White with the Red Hair Sound Euphonium Strawberry Panic (yuri) Sweetness and Lightning The Devil is a Part-timer The Devil Lady The disasterous life of saiki k (saiki kusuo no Sai Nan) The End of Evangelion (movie) the Promised Neverland The Twelve Kingdoms Tiger & Bunny Tokimeki Tonight ToraDora Tsubasa Chronicle Umineko When They Cry Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid Vinland Saga Violet Evergarden Whispered Words (Sasameki Koto) With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun Yona of the Dawn Yu Yu Hakusho Yugioh Duel Monster Yuki Yuna is a Hero Yuri Kuma Arashi Yuri On Ice!!! Zoids: Chaotic Century Zombie Land Saga

Non-Anime Animated

Adventure Time Amphibia Animainiacs (Original) Animaniacs (Reboot) Archie's Weird Mysteries As Told By Ginger Barbie Life in The Dreamhouse Batman the Animated Series Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot Big Mouth Bob's Burgers Bojack Horseman Bravest Warriors Captain N: the Game Master Carmen Sandiego (1994) Carmen Sandiego (2019) Castlevania (Netflix) Cats Don't Dance Coco Courage the Cowardly Dog Craig of the Creek Cyber Six Daria Darkwing Duck Dragon Booster Dragons: Riders of Berk DuckTales (2017) Exo-Squad Fern Gully Fillmore! Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Futurama Gargoyles Glitch Techs Godzilla: The Animated Series Green Lantern the Animated Series Hedgehog in the Fog (Ёжик в тумане) Hey Arnold Hilda Infinity Train Iron Giant JEM Kim Possible Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts Legend of Zelda animated series (1989) Legion of Super-Heroes Liberty Kids Magical Girl Friendship Squad Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart The Legend of Korra Moominvalley Motorcity My Little Pony (Classic, NOT FiM) My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks Onyx Equinox Over the Garden Wall Over the Moon (2020 film) Owl House Primal Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure Redwall Rise of the TMNT Roco's Modern Life Rugrats RWBY Samurai Jack Seis Manos She-Ra (1985) She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Sonic Boom Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse Star vs. the Forces of Evil Strange Magic Super Mario Brothers Super Show Superman: The Animated Series Teen Titans The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo The Animals of Farthing Wood The Dragon Prince The Hollow The Legend of Tarzan (TV series) The Magic School Bus (1994) The Mysterious Cities of Gold The Pirate Fairy (Disney Fairies) The Powerpuff Girls (1998) The Real Ghostbusters Thundercats (1985) Thundercats (2011) Transformers: Prime Tuca and Bertie Twelve Forever Undone Venture Bros Wakko's Wish Wakfu Wander Over Yonder We Bare Bears (TV) Winx Club Wreck-It Ralph (2012) X-Men Evolution X-Men: The Animated Series Xiaolin Showdown

Live Action

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 28 Days Later 3rd Rock from the Sun A Series of Unfortunate Events American Horror Story: Asylum Babysitter's Club (2020) Batman (the old Adam West version) Better Call Saul Black Mirror Blackbeard's Ghost (Peter Ustinov) Boston Legal Boy Meets World Boys Over Flowers Bromance (Taiwanese tv series) Brooklyn 99 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Cadfael Cagney and Lacey Charmed (2018) Chopped Cleopatra 2525 Cloak and Dagger Clue (1985) Community Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Dead Like Me Dead To Me Deadwood Death Note (Netflix) Derry Girls Dimension 20 - The Unsleeping City Doctor Who (New) Doom Patrol Dracula's Daughter (1936) Escape to the Chateau Farscape Fingersmith Galavant Godzilla (2014) Gokushufudo (2020 Japanese TV drama) Golden Girls Good Omens H20: Just Add Water (somewhere in seasons 1-2) Happy New Year Harley Quinn movie Hateblog a REALLY STRAIGHT soap opera. Haunting of Bly Manor His Dark Materials (HBO series) Holes Hot Fuzz House Inception Inside No. 9 Iron Chef America Joan of Arcadia Julie and the Phantoms Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Kamen Rider Build Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Kamen Rider Fourze Killing Eve Knives Out Letterkenny Leverage Little Women (2019) Lucifer Matlock Majisuka Gakuen MASH Merlin Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Money Talks (1997 film) Motherland: Fort Salem Murder She Wrote Mythbusters Nailed It! Never Have I Ever Once Upon a Time Orphan Black Pen 15 PGSM Pi (1998) Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018) Pride and Prejudice: A New Musical Puppy Bowl Pushing Daisies Rome (hateblog) Russian Doll Sabrina Sense8 Sera Myu: Un Nouveau Voyage Shameless Sierra Burgess Smallville So Weird Star Trek: TOS (or their films) Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Star Trek: Voyager Stargate Atlantis Suckerpunch Supernatural (out of context speedrun the last three episodes) Sweetheart Switched at Birth Tall Girl Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles The Addams Family (1964) The Big Flower Fight The Booth at the End The Bride With White Hair The Crown The Fresh Prince of Bel Air The Good Place The Kissing Booth The L Word The Librarians The Magicians The Muppet Show The Pregnancy Pact The Room The Steve Harvey Show The Stranded The Untamed The Witcher The Wolfman (1941) Torchwood Twilight Zone (original) Twin Peaks Ultraman Nexus Umbrella Academy Van Helsing Warehouse 13 Warrior Nun What We Do In The Shadows (tv show) Will & Grace Wynonna Earp X-Men 2: X-Men United Xena: Warrior Princess

Miscellaneous

Alpha Flight #41-62 Anime music dance party, the logistics of which are to be determined! Ask Hot Pocket and/or Mina-pup AskSharknado: Giftening Edition Attempt to make French macaroons Commentary on old Goggles Critical Role Crowdsourced: A Black Mirror-style day where Jetty has to ask what her choices are of the audience for everything! I give you a menu, you decide what she has for dinner? What does she wear? Does she walk on the track or do the eliptical? Does she go to a movie with Doc or play a video game with Mike? Can be done alongside other stuff. Doodle Day Dramatic readings of fan fiction! Drunk History (or whatever your favorite subject would be) with Jet Wolf! Drunk Sailor Moon Exorcising Closet Ghost Fic Prompts Day Figuarts Day! (Not specifically freeing anyone, just various fun poses and such) Guess the plot of a show based on its opening Her Shim-Cheong (manhwa) House of X/Powers of X Hubby's Choice IDW Jem comics liveblog Intros Only (watch show openings, give commentary, guess what show is about, etc.) Jackbox Games Jet Wolf paints along with Bob Ross Jet and Doc go to Heaven/Hell, respectively: Jet gets to write reams of words about the awesomeness of Rei Hino and Doc has to read all of them and say ONLY NICE THINGS. Jet does Tiktok dances Jet Liveblogs Holligay: A Nature Documentary Jet Ranks Sailor Moon Image Songs Jet Reads Goosebumps Jet Reads Legion of Super-Heroes Jet redesigns the Wolf and Gay offices! Jet shows off her knitting Jet Wolf attempts to recreate scenes from Sailor Moon with Mina and Hot Pocket and/or whatever is in the house Jet Wolf reacts to Sailor Moon tiktoks (in blog form) Jet Wolf reads Love and Rockets. Jet Wolf reads the Jem comics by IDW Jet Wolf reviews her old top 100 Sailor Moon moments list Jet Wolf talks about Archie Comics Jet Wolf talks about each cel she owns and why they are so awesome. Jet Wolf writes Poetry Jet Wolf's Top 5's Jet, Hubby and/or family play board games Jetty Rants and Raves Jet Wolf tries to crack the Gravity Falls Codes Kiwi Blitz on Hiveworks Let's Play on Webtoon Liveblog: Favorite X-Men comic book arcs Livestream Pathfinder one-shot LOONA (Collection of music videos with an ongoing story/universe about GIRLS who are FRIENDS and SAVE THE UNIVERSE) Lore Olympus on Webtoon Mike regales us with "the story of your love" while you get increasingly embarrassed Mina and Hot Pocket day - liveblog like a nature documentary Mister Tsukino Does His Taxes and the Household Budget (Sailor Moon fan comic by Shadowjack) Nancy Drew: Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake Not So Shoujo Love Story on Webtoon Pitch Mishaps for Untitled Senshi Game (it is a lovely day in Juuban, and you are a Horrible Minako.) Pitching hubby's favorite media at (readers/holligay/jill/momigay) Playing with dolls (because how could 3 women not have any dolls between them) Re-Take By Studio Kimigabuchi (All Ages Version) Real or Fake Anime (people submit descriptions of anime you guess if it is an anime that actually exists or not) Reviewing succulents Scavenger hunt! Not entirely sure how it would work, maybe folks could send in asks for you to show things like your favorite Rei Hino object, or the thing that's been with you the longest, etc. sewing/knitting/baking tutorial Share or rant about a Roman history topic Sleepless Domain on Hiveworks Talking to Docholligay 2: Doc Harder (basically you talking to Doc's future womb evictee while still in there and telling them stuff like say the greatness of Rei Hino) The Monster Duchess and Contract Princess (manhwa) The Polar Bear Plunge--I take Jetty to our finest Lake Elmo in January, and she jumps in! Note: THIS IS NOT DANGEROUS, WORRYWARTS. I'll bring a life preserver, I've done it before, and I would do it with her if I weren't pregnant. The Senshi Helpline--The Senshi, taking your advice questions, here and now! The World of Moral Reversal Virtual knitting/crafting circle! Let us craft and chat with you! What-If #24 Gwen Stacy Lived Worm the web serial Write an explanation for a drawing we send you! Yuri Hell's Kitchen

[applepi00]

Emi Liveblogs: Revolutionary Girl Utena Ep7, Unfulfilled Juri

We’re at 8 stopwatches, 6 slaps and 4 Egg speeches.

Anthy knew there would be a duel before the Student Council did, and knew who would be duelling even though there were two council members who could’ve fought.

I don’t remember if there’s a reason Utena does these lunges but I remember they happen a lot. And also Juri thanks for trying to explain everything. She’s a cool senpai.

Jesus FUCK Juri. Can we try maybe not slapping a girl over nothing?

I still can’t work out why this knife throwing thing is here. If anyone has thoughts, please let me know.

This is only here because I love Juri and she’s beautiful and also this shows that she curls her hair everyday and to isn’t a perm. Like that’s dedication. Also Juri’s design gives me Rose of Versailles vibes, especially Oscar.

This looks flirty until it’s straight up aggressive. The conflict in ideology is interesting, and comes through a lot during the duel.

This shadow play is about missing out and feeling awful but insisting you wanted to miss out anyways. Juri hiding her feelings for Shiori, not giving them an opportunity to be reciprocated, in other words: missing out. But the denial is her shell, it’s her protection from being hurt.

And the power of miracles wins. Plus it didn’t help you, Juri, to be thinking of your unrequited love while fighting a duel.

Juri’s duel song is interesting, it makes contrast between light and darkness, listing darkness related dieties, and interestingly enough lists Lucifer among the light. Lucifer, the light bringer, could be related to miracles, and with Juri’s disdain of miracles him being the devil could work.

“You must hate me for what I’ve done.”

“No, I hate myself. Because I can’t make you realize how I feel.”

Someday, Juri, someday Shiori will know your feelings.

[realanimeguru]

Heyyy could you recommend any good high school setting anime∩^ω^∩

.....BRUH... high school anime is half of all anime!! XD nevertheless i will do it. i’m gonna categorize again since high school settings are so broad. i’m also gonna try to avoid the most obvious ones and go for lowkey titles instead, so, i’m only reccing titles with under 200k members (listed on MAL.)

Comedy:Silver Spoon (from the author of Fullmetal Alchemist. a kid who moves to the countryside to do and learn farm stuff, really does not know how to do or learn farm stuff)Asobi Asobase (might seem like a moe “cute girls doing cute things” show, but the girls are genuinely funny and expressive. the true mark of comedy is ugly faces)SKET Dance (a gag comedy. some would call it high school Gintama, which it actually had a crossover with once) Handa-Kun (a prequel to Barakamon, but isn’t necessary to watch both. a look into the main character of Barakamon’s high school days)O Maidens in Your Savage Season (a non-explicit sex comedy. an embarrassing but relatable coming of age story) Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (a very quirky group of girls aspire to be animators. you’ve probably seen the opening meme’d a time or two) High Score Girl (a gamer romcom set in the 90s with real 90s video games. recommended especially if you’re interested in that)Please Take My Brother Away (a personal fav...! a real depiction of sibling relationships. the brother looks like a cool guy but he’s a grade A dumbass) You and Me. (also fond of this one. a calm, soothing comedy. not laugh out loud hysterical, just comfy and cute)School Babysitters (also comfy and cute. about babysitter boys)Cromartie High School (an absurdist gag comedy. very bizarre)Hidamari Sketch (also comfy and cute. girls go to an art school)Wasteful Days of a High School Girl (similar to Daily Lives of High School Boys but with an all female cast. i like the short-haired girl who is definitely a lesbian) Princess Princess (a guy transfers to an all guys school, who turn the prettiest first years into “princesses.” a kind of slow comedy but i’m also fond of this one) Drama: The Anthem of the Heart (a movie. from the staff who did Anohana. a girl cursed so she can’t speak finds out she can still sing.)Bloom Into You (shoujo-ai. has a melancholic tone. a girl who believes she can’t fall in love with anyone and a girl who is deeply in love with her)Smile Down the Runway (a poor designer boy and a model girl too short to be a model try to follow their passions in an industry that doesn’t want them) Sounds of Life (dramrom in a Koto club. i get the feeling that it’s similar to Chihayafuru, but with more music) His and Her Circumstances (dramromcom. honestly wasn’t sure whether to put this in comedy or not, but it has enough drama to be put here. enemies to friends to lovers)Electromagnetic Girlfriend (2 episode OVA, eps are 40 minutes long. a mystery thriller about a guy who suspects the girl who has a crush on him of murder)Classmates (shounen ai. movie. a sweet, quiet, slice of life.)Hana yori Dango (a 90s dramrom. lots of love triangle drama, if you’re into that)

Sports:Welcome to the Ballroom (a dramromcom dancing anime. by Production IG, who did Haikyuu!!)Aoharu x Machinegun (airsoft gun competitions. like Ouran High School Host Club but with weapons. this one’ll be a hit or miss with some but i liked it. the main girl has rabies)Ace of the Diamond (honestly really surprised this was under 200k! Sawamura is a baseball boy who likes shoujo manga and he is made of love.)Stars Align (a tennis anime. i’m plugging this again because i really want more people to watch it) Big Windup! (not surprised this was under 200k at all. REALLY deserves more attention. also about baseball. has really good character writing)Tsurune (archery anime. one of the gayer ones (episode 10 fuckin wrecked my ass.) made by KyoAni, who did Free!)The Prince of Tennis (tennis! also one of the gayer ones. a lot more popular in Japan. got No. 32 on the official NHK top 100 most popular anime in 2017)Baby Steps (also tennis! but far straighter! has a good, genuine romantic subplot)Cross Game (baseball. a pitching girl and a batting boy rivalry romance)Yowamushi Pedal (bicycle racing. an otaku joins a biking club on the condition that if helps them win then they’ll join his own dying anime club)

Fantasy/Supernatural/ECT:Beastars (i’m gonna count this as fantasy since the characters aren’t human. basically zootopia but SERIOUS and darker.)Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun (i am HIGHLY recommending this one. especially the manga but the anime works too. about a girl who becomes a ghost’s assistant. it’s a very good supernatural romance)Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun (about a human who goes to a demon school and is terrified but ends up becoming friends with all the scary demons. it’s spoopy!) Kimagure Orange☆Road (an 80s anime. a guy with an esper family and love triangle drama)Iroduku: The World in Colors (a depressed girl sees the world in black and white, gets yeeted back in time, and can suddenly see every color at it’s brightest. it does bank on that, the color design is really pretty) Revolutionary Girl Utena (ALSO very surprised this was under 200k. Utena is a classic? oh well. magical lesbians. got No. 30 on NHK’s top 100 list)Ghost Stories (you literally have to watch the dub for maximum enjoyment. has some very very raunchy humor though. about kids fighting ghosts)Boarding School Juliet (i decided to throw this in this category since it has a fictional setting in a fictional country. it’s high school romcom romeo and juilet)

if i did this right then there should be a TON of anime you’ve never heard of before. i went for a hidden gem set of recommendations. XD ...by the way, i genuinely hope you’re doing okay with this virus going around. may you have plenty of toilet paper

[mahoutoons]

Magical Girl pet peeves

Its no secret that I LOVE magical girl shows. However, there are some things about some of the shows and the fandom that annoy me. So I’m gonna list them here.

1. When the pink girl is always the main character/leader. Listen, I love pink as much as the next person, its my favourite colour in fact, but don’t you think a pink character as the main character/leader gets a bit tiring after some time? How about a blue magical girl as the main character? Or a purple one? There’s nothing wrong with diversifying things a bit. 

2. When the magical girl looks exactly like her civilian form when transformed, save for a few accessories, but no one notices. Seriously, no one thought that Usagi Tsukino looked even a tiny bit like Sailor Moon? All she did was put on a tiara and some hair accessories, its not like her voice changed or anything.

3. When the shows try to pair up a child or teenager with someone much older than them. Looking at you, Cardcaptor Sakura and Yes!Pretty Cure 5. I don’t care how mature Rika is, SHE IS STILL TEN YEARS OLD, and should not be dating a 30 year old who is her teacher. Same for Nozomi and Coco, like, COCO IS HER TEACHER. Even with Shugo Chara. Sure, Amu and Ikuto are only 4 years apart but, Amu is 12 and Ikuto is 17. That’s still too much of an age difference.

4. Underage fanservice in adult magical girl shows. For God’s sake, SUMI WASHIO IS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, SHE SHOULD NOT GET ANY FANSERVICE! And this is also what puts me off watching Nanoha. The story sounds interesting, but the loli fanservice is off-putting. 

5. When certain villains do horrible shit but are still forgiven. I can understand villains like Eas, Regina, Taruto etc being forgiven. But villains like Kisshu and Demande? I draw the line. I don’t care if they sacrificed themselves, they still assaulted the underage main character. They don’t deserve to be forgiven.

6. When the show gives most of the spotlight to only the main character. One of the main messages of magical girl shows is the power of teamwork. Putting almost all the spotlight on the main character completely misses the point. Looking at you, Dokidoki Pretty Cure. 

7. People who say PMMM was the first dark magical girl show. It wasn’t. Utena, Princess Tutu, Uta Kata and Nanoha existed before it. Heck, even Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon have their dark moments. Madoka is just the first POPULAR dark magical girl show. 

8. People who STILL call every magical girl show a Sailor Moon ripoff. Come on, I thought that habit died a long time ago. Plus, Sailor Moon didn’t invent the Magical Girl genre, it just popularized it.

9. The “Why don’t the villains attack them while they’re transforming” joke. Seriously, stop. That joke stopped being funny a long time ago. 

That’s all. Do you guys have any magical girl pet peeves?

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Plunderer 1 | Hanako-kun 1 | Richard-shi 1

Plunderer 1

It seems…there was some kind of promotional showing which I missed the boat on? Well, that’s why Plunderer is on my winter visual, anyway. (refers to coverage on Animanga Spellbook)

My mother was watching Hatena Illusion earlier today – I didn’t go to watch much of it, since that would spoil the surprise for when I tackle it later – but the one thing that annoyed me was the high-pitched girl voice, as it does. I bring it up because it’s pissing me off here too.  

Okay, when you se CGI in the first few minutes of a show…that can’t be good. At all.

Hina’s Count is in her inner thigh, because she needs to flash everyone while she advances the plot. Thanks a lot, ecchi show. (words dripping with sarcasm)

Um, call me “feminist”, but why was the assumption she was looking for a boyfriend first up??? Can’t girls survive on their lonesome???

*facepalms* Why is the focus on Hina’s thighs when she’s being asked for money?!

Gah…faced with boobs, nosebleeds and thighs…this is ecchi paradise. Not a place I’d like to be, really.

Kanji are rare, huh? Must be a non-Japanese or Chinese place.

This hat…Hina’s hat. It’s pretty rare to see that style of hat in an anime.

Lemme guess, the Ace is that pervert *points at Licht*. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were.

This star guy is probably a fake. You can tell from Nana’s reactions.

Ohhhhhhhhhkay, can we not…? This is basically sexual harassment.

If this guy were so high and mighty, couldn’t he just steal the Ballot with those Abyss hands of his…?

*shrugs* Why should I give a s*** about this guy anyway? I already guessed Licht is going to be the Ace…

Lemme guess, the “negative” is also fake.

This action scene isn’t very good…

See? I knew it. I’ll f*** off now. (Yeah, I should probably phrase it better than that.) I’ll pause it until I can hear Ume, then drop this show like a hot rock.

Hanako 1

I was put off by the title and the style of the characters, but the reviews were good, so I’m here.

The shadow aesthetic reminds me of the one episode of Utena I watched.

The Hozuki aesthetic is very striking! It reminds me of Ranpo Kitan.

What’s up with the perverts today? *points upwards at Plunderer’s Licht* Also, those magatama hair decs Nene has are pretty interesting. (Note if I randomly bring up someone’s name without having to have learnt it, I probably read the promo stuff and/or reviews.)

Well, in the context, it is “high hopes”, but the characters just mean “expectations”, so they’re not that high, so to speak…

LOL, this (Nene) is basically me and my seasonal husbandos.

Oh, I just saw Minamoto passing by and Nene didn’t even notice it! LOL! Update: Turns out it’s just a guy who has red glasses but otherwise looks like him.

Lemme guess…she’ll bump into him from around the corner. It’s a shoujo cliché - c’mon, you can do better than this, show!

Did Nene turn into a fi-wait, that would mean this is the second time in anime that’s happened since Classicaloid! *eyes sparkle* Amazing!

A-Aw, Nene…? That’s…so cute!!!!!!! Gah! I wanna support you!

That action scene relied on shaky camera a bit, but it was better than I was expecting for a show like this (a Hozuki-style supernatural romance).

I thought this was gonna pull a Noragami and Hanako wanted Nene’s soul, but nope. Just her labour. Guess this is another In/Spectre, huh?

The preview blended so seamlessly into the episode I couldn’t tell which was which and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing…

Oh, Akari Kito! Nezuko’s VA.

Lerche, huh? Makes sense. They did do Ranpo Kitan, which has much the same aesthetic.

The actual preview was…more interesting (i.e. more like a comedy TV short), which is a lot less impressive than the thing I thought was a preview.

Richard-shi 1

This is the 3rd entry on my hype list. ID: Invaded made 2nd by debuting beforehand and 1st was a spinoff to an established premise (Magia Record), so I hope I was putting my support in the right place.

The scenery is nice in this show.

The pun is that Seigi = justice, so the ep title could be “justice of the pink sapphire”.

I was using the spelling of Richard’s name from ANN when I put this series on AniList, so I didn’t expect it to be “de Vulpian”.

The joke (Hero of Justice) is that Seigi Nakata is kinda like seigi (no) mikata (ally of justice).

Wait, why, whatttttttttttt?! Who keeps jewels in their fridge?!

It turns out Takadanobaba Station actually exists.

Education major? No wonder she’s so trusting…likewise, economics is probably why Seigi is so black and white on his morals (although Richard did just throw that back into his face earlier). Update: I say that because in order to succeed in education, you need to be sociable and trusting of parents, colleagues etc., while economics is very numbers-based (even if the people behind it may be money-grubbers).

LOL, that “Tfantasy and Co.” was so clearly a parody on Tiffany and Co.

This thing about records reminds me of how hackers (or crackers) can resurrect most things if they have enough to work with. It makes me feel nostalgic, to think about IT like that again.

Is it just me, or is there CGI in this show…?

Padparadscha…the only thing I remember about that stone is that it’s got lotsa holes in it (from Houseki no Kuni). Hmm, I can see why Richard thought it was a pink sapphire, though. Update: Then again, the link says padparadscha can be a sapphire too and the bit just after this says padparadscha is a sapphire of a certain colour. (Richard was only saying it was pink – and thus less valuable than the padparadscha - to ascertain Seigi’s motive, as he says.)

The quality of animation that occurred when Seigi was crying…it’s a bit worrying in comparison to some other shows (*thinks about Eizouken*).

I completely was able to predict Richard had the buns for Seigi to share with Hiromi.

Y’see? Words don’t lie, but they have a lot of nuance to ‘em. I say that because when I was researching Richard to submit his info to AniList, I discovered his foreign looks are because at least one of his ancestors was British with Sri Lankan heritage.

LOL, I like how Richard dismisses all the other royal milk teas. He’s just a little bit snarky, but not too much.

Update: Oh yeah, Shouko’s name has the character for “crystal” in it and it can alternately be read “Akiko”.

[jewlwpet]

@palaceperspective had the idea that someone could make a post about just the snippets we see in the series of Touga’s and Nanami’s childhood. I think that’s a really neat idea. I was going to make this part of the general post on Touga I’m making, but I think that’s long enough as it is; I’ll just include a link to this post in that one.

I tried, at first, to leave creator commentary out until the very end, because I know some people prefer to reject certain parts of it regarding the Kiryuus’ past; however, I couldn’t do this because.it simply makes too much of a difference regarding the flashbacks in episode 10. Still, there’s a lot in the scenes that stands regardless of that, which I talk about plenty.

The specific piece of commentary I’m thinking of is this bit from Yoji Enokido, scriptwriter and planner for the series and movie. Aspects of the movie are discussed in there, so do expect discussion of childhood sexual abuse.

Touga’s birthday cake has 12 candles, so it’s likely, though not certain, that this was his twelfth birthday. It’s very obvious that this household is very rich and decadent: No surprise. I don’t know what kind of flowers those are; I wonder if they have any special meaning. It probably doesn’t represent his birthday: His birthday is June 6. The birth flowers for that month are the rose and honeysuckle; this I find in English-language and Japanese sites alike. Japanese Wikipedia also lists birth flowers for each individual day of the year (pretty cool); June 4 corresponds to the evening primrose (Oenethera), the ice plant (Lampranthus), and pink baby’s breath (Gypsophila). This doesn’t look like any of those.

Touga is sitting on what looks like a throne, but he seems to be on display for the guests (all adults) more than anything else. They’re peering at him like a museum display or an animal in a cage. One of them holds a bouquet of white roses, which generally represent innocence and purity... also, according to one site I’m looking at, “new beginnings.”

Nanami arrives at Touga’s party late and covered in dirt.

No comment that she’s late, only that she’s dirty. No one cares that she was missing... which, in hindsight, makes a lot of sense, because a child with much adult supervision surely won’t find an opportunity to drown a kitten.

I really don’t know how I haven’t thought about this before, but Nanami just says she “brought” this kitten. I have very little doubt at this point she spent a good portion of the day running around the no doubt extensive estate grounds trying to capture a kitten.

I’m not sure what to think about Nanami calling this woman Mama. I figured these were all strangers or servants, since they were saying “Touga-sama” and “Nanami-sama.” Touga still has short hair, so they’re still living with their original parents. I wouldn’t expect Nanami to have any memories or photos from that time, but it seems she does, just not going back far. But all of the adults here are faceless, none singled out. I’m not sure if the original parents are here, or if she just... assumes that the servants who have interacted the most must be her mother and father, and they never corrected her. Either way, she ended up forgetting them.

I want to note that not only are all the adults in Nanami’s memory are faceless silhouettes, they only interact with her to scold her and take away things that are precious to her and that she worked hard for. I think that’s probably how it was for her, growing up.

I think he’s in earnest here. It makes sense that he’d be pleased by Nanami’s gift, seeing as she’s the only one who was actually trying to make him happy... it showed that someone, at least, cared. Given how extremely weird and creepy this party is, it seems like... maybe it was an auction. Except, it must not have resulted in anything, if it was his birth parents who originally forced him to grow his hair long... maybe Nanami arriving late, covered in dirt, and carrying a stray kitten in a box had something to do with that. In which case... No wonder Touga’s happy about it.

"His smile was something for me alone.” You know what, I can believe that.

Similarly, his annoyance with Nanami, when he yells at her to leave him alone, also seems genuine.

It makes sense that, even before Touga begins deliberately manipulating Nanami, she would develop an unhealthy obsession with obtaining his affection, because based on what we see in this, she probably has no other source of affection in her life.

It also makes sense to me that this might grow really frustrating for someone who is constantly being made into a spectacle and showered in invasive attention (and according to what Enokido said, that’s just the beginning).

Ikuhara’s commentary for this episode really hits home when the scene is given a close examination:

When I was a child, the center of the party always seemed to sparkle.

I was always standing on the sidelines, gazing at that sparkle from afar. I thought the sidelines were my place. Surely I could never approach the center of the room.

But then, I was chosen! I touched that sparkle in the center of the room, and no mistake. Still, I know full well that it’s something that won’t last forever.

The day the contract ends, I’ll turn into an “unchosen girl.”

So I’ll go back to the sidelines again, eh?

--Smash the egg’s shell.

For the revolution of the world.

“The center of the party” was/is both figuratively and literally where all the worst things are happening, and Nanami, without knowing it, is striving to get there, next to Touga, before anyone else can take that place by his side, and that’s what her whole story is about.

I’m just going to say, on that note... it’s super messed up to read "in order to protect his younger sister, Touga accepted his lot” and then think about the fact that he ended up using her as a pawn anyway, was already at that point by the beginning of the series, and ended up actually sexually assaulting her in episode 32. Just. Nice going. Ugh.

The other major flashback we have is from episode 9. It seems to be slightly later.

"See, it’s pouring down! That’s why I told you we should have quit after the tenth match!” “I couldn’t help it. You’re the only one I know who’ll let me practice on them.”

And here we see the beginning of Touga’s habit of making excuses for everything he does... no. I don’t think this means anything; it seems innocent enough. This Touga has grown his hair out, and he has a friend, Saionji. They appear to be very close.

His reaction to hearing the funeral bells is interesting, though. He looks very interested and not at all disturbed.

Touga says nothing when some adults come by to ask about a missing girl whose parents have just died. When Saionji keeps talking afterward, Touga doesn’t respond but is looking into the distance very intently.

When Saionji brings him back to reality, he starts walking towards the church they had passed earlier. He explains to Saionji that he thought he saw three coffins there before. Generally I think the assumption then would be “someone else died too,” but Touga is led here by the story of the missing girl. He strides over to the coffins very quickly and immediately starts opening one, despite Saionji’s protests. Sure enough, a voice is heard telling him not to open it, but he doesn’t anyway. The next part is interesting: he tells her that people are looking for her, and she asks if he’s going to tell them where she is.

I don’t think I’ve seen any analysis of this scene other than “Even as a kid Touga thought nothing of fondling this complete stranger’s hair.” Which is an interesting point and brings up the question of where he learned this from. But I think it’s equally interesting that he was just going to leave her to die and that this, to him, is “being an ally to girls.” Being “feminist,” even though I’ve read that in 1990′s Japan it was common for that term to be misused.

...It occurs to me that this is actually very different from how he treats girls later: well-intentioned and absolutely wrong, but in pretty much the opposite way from how he treated Utena later at the end when again he claimed to be looking out for her. That Touga tried to take control of her in order to “save” her. This Touga basically goes, “Well, if this seven-year-old wants to die, we should let her, because that’s her choice.”

The camera pans back to him when she says that living on just makes her sick.

The next pan to Touga happens when she says, “I’ll never come out into the sunlight again.”

Saionji thought that Touga must have shown her something eternal so that she was motivated to keep living on. In reality, Touga didn’t have anything to offer her. I have a feeling he suspected he was right. But clearly, he wasn’t that far gone yet; he wasn’t at the point of stopping everything, of no longer going through the motions of life. But it seems like he could get there. So why didn’t he? What changed? It turns out Ikuhara wrote about this in his commentary on this episode:

When he was young, he met a girl. She said things like “Everyone is alone” and “There’s no such thing as eternity.” A deep despair: He couldn’t save the girl. But the next day, there she was in the sunlight, with “something different in her eyes.”

Something had saved her.

He wanted to know the true nature of the “miraculous power” that had done it.

When he met her again, he tried to “rule” her heart. His thinking was that only “the joy of being ruled” could save people. He believed that was wherer the “power of miracles” dwelled.”

I think that says a lot about Touga. It probably took some time to get there, though.

The new manga is, of course a different continuity, but I want to take a moment o cover it because it explores how the scene might have gone if Touga and Saionji had found Utena just a bit later. The subtext of Touga feeling that the girl in the coffin is perhaps right is made explicit in this.

Utena: Living on makes me sick. Touga: You’re right. Life is so unreliable.

He says that outright. And I think that anime Touga was likely thinking it. So when this Utena says she’s decided to live on, Touga is surprised.

He hangs onto every word she says and seems especially moved by the phrase “revolutionize the world.”

Back to the anime. The anime doesn’t have any more scenes from the Kiryuus’ past, but of course we get some insight in episode 37. I’ll start at the beginning: Nanami says that the two of them used to share everything. There are some pictures we see to represent that:

“But now Big Brother doesn’t care about me at all.”

I’m going to use the empty movement gallery for the next couple of screenshots because these photos went by v. fast:

As you can see, these are all Short-Haired Touga... also, none of these seem to be much older than that flashback of Nanami’s.

We catch some more glimpses when Nanami notices the lack of photos from Touga’s early childhood and is desperately rifling through all her pictures with him.

I would comment on the fact that we never see him in the regular (non Stu-Co) Ohtori uniform in these, but then, Nanami isn’t wearing the normal uniform in any of these either, and we know she used to be a normal student... so I think it’s just because we don’t get to see all of the photos.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Shield Hero 11 - 13 | Price of Smiles 12 (FINAL) | Morose Mononokean II 12 - 13 (FINAL) | Spec Ops Asuka 11 - 12 (FINAL) | My Roommate is a Cat 12 (FINAL) | Mob Psycho 100 II 12 - 13 (FINAL) | Yu-No 1 | Fruits Basket (2019) 1 | We Never Learn 1 | Kimetsu no Yaiba 1 | Kono Oto Tomare! 1 | Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin 1 | Fairy Gone 1 | Rendai Utena 1

Notably, Sarazanmai’s first ep isn’t here, but it’s a huge contender for making my spring watchlist.

Shield Hero 11

Okay, someone’s trying to remind me of Goblin Slayer, aren’t they…? *grumble grumble grumble*

I wonder if Naofumi has a Thunder move like those guys…?

Why isn’t Raphtalia, who was cursed by Rage Shield, affected, but Filo, who was eaten by the zombie dragon, is???

Price of Smiles 12 (FINAL)

Is Huey…not an a$$? Is he just really tsundere…?

Fingers don’t move that way, Layla…

Post-credits segment. Keep watching…

I feel like making Stella and Yuki meet off the back of Layla’s death was a bit much and pushing the button together was a bit…much-er, if that’s a concept. Anyways, see you next time!

Morose Mononokean II 12

The Cobweb = Above the Spider (by literally translating that ep title, that is).

I’m finally listening to Koura’s voice. Koura sounds like she’s always teasing Itsuki…

Jinja = Shinto shrine. That nuance is missing from the translation.

Why did that one track (when Itsuki was escaping) sound like Mission Impossible…?

What’s an analeptic? I can’t seem to pause the video…Update: Apparently my ad blocker was stuffing with the pause button. Also, an analeptic appars to be a restorative drug, or describing a drug as restorative.

Rippou sounds so enthusiastic (sarcastic) when Shizuku offers to make him tea.

Spec Ops Asuka 11

Wat. A girl in Thailand going “nya”? Update: Uhh…apparently the girl in Thailand…was Peipei??? Wuh???

Hmm…I never actually put 2 and 2 together regarding karate and the whip. It makes sense in retrospect, though.

“…sever the…” – Sever the…what, exactly?

I thought human!Giess didn’t exist anymore under that armour…so seeing him surprised me.

Sometimes I feel like I sympathise with Chisato more than Asuka or Kurumi…that’s how developed Chisato is.

Mob Psycho 100 II 12

Serizawa is playing Bomberman.

I like the symbolism of the umbrella as a “light”.

My Roommate is a Cat 12 (FINAL)

The ep title is “Kimi to Boku to” (You and I and…). Presumably it should end with “everyone else”…or something.

Wait, wasn’t Subaru’s umbrella handle round before??? It’s straight now!

What a waste of a perfectly good umbrella!

Somehow I knew Subaru would go to Nana once he needed cat knowledge.

*Subaru rescues Haru* - *cue Lion King song* Ahhhhhhh ze ban yaaaaaaaaaaa…or something like that.

Why is it that I want a dub for this so…darn…badly???!!! Wait…*record scratch* it already has one. Scratch that.

Shield Hero 12

“I can’t stop trembling,” Raphtalia says as she stands there, still as a statue…geesh.

I’d assume there’s a Meteor Shield in there for Naofumi as well…?

Come to think of it, we never learnt that weapon merchant guy’s name until now, huh? Elhart. I’ll try my best to remember it.

Spec-Ops Asuka 12 (FINAL)

Twin-headed Dragon Peipei, huh?

Morose Mononokean II 13 (FINAL)

*Fuzzy gets punched away* - Fuzzy, noooooooo!

In the same way Mob became a so-called “bishonen” for s2 ep 5 of his show, Hanae became kind of hot – but also kind of weird – for the finale.

Notably, the “Ashiya” Abeno is referring to is only Hanae…not Sakae at all. Hmm.

Mob Psycho 100 II 13 (FINAL)

“Bishonen” Mob returns!

I keep getting the feeling that Mob will sacrifice himself this episode. It’s a very Mob thing to do, but…I worry about him, because without him we have no show.

*explosion* - I wanna yell “KANEDAAAAAAAAAA!” Is that appropriate for this scene?

I LOLled at Dimple wearing Serizawa’s chunk of hair, haha.

Anyways, that was way too fun (and way too worrying at the end). See you next time!

Yu-No 1

Okay, first episode of this particularly meager season…coming right up!

I’ve never had to watch an ep on phone for subs before…I much prefer a bigger screen.

Okay…as soon as I heard Potato-kun say “Panties?” I knew I was in for a bad time. I’m watching based on the title and the series image, not the fact it’s based on an adult VN.

I can’t believe we have to be told about these ladies from the guys first…I feel sorry for Yuki.

I-Is Arima-mama the kind of person one would call a “MILF”…? I dunno since I don’t swing that way.

Seriously, how long ago did Potato-kun’s father die??? (I know his name is Arima Takuya, but…he’s “Potato-kun” to me, even as a joke.)

Potato-kun is so obviously following his…pen island, so to speak.

Ah, Potato-kun. The only time you make me laugh is when you humiliate yourself on public news. Thank goodness this show isn’t particularly lewd…yet.

It’s like Grand Blue…only with less drinking.

Seriously, why does Yuki call Potato-kun “boss”???

The one time I hear the name “Neumann”, it’s this time travel show, of all things…*remembers von Neumann architecture* Yup, that’s where I remember his name from. By the by, Googling “Neumann space” yields this site on travelling to the…stars? Wrong frontier, folks.

Okay, that was probably the least exciting way to pull off a big reveal like that. Drop.

Shield Hero 13

To be honest…I like Rise better…

“You’re are surrounded.” – I know you’re in a hurry to sub your content, CR subbers, but seriously?????

It’s always funny to see Motoyasu get a good socking from Filo, LOL.

Fruits Basket 1

I have zero experience with OG Fruits Basket outside 1 episode I didn’t really finish (but finishd the entire manga and may have caught a tiny bit of it - not enough to mark on anyone’s anime list as “complete” - while it was on TV), so…this’ll be interesting.

This is exactly as I remember it! Beautifulllllllllllll…so beautiful I wanna cry…(Keep in mind I binged most of the manga years ago, so it’s getting harder and harder to remember the exact story every day.)

Holeeeeeeeeeeee…sugar. I just realised how old Fruits Basket is! Also, rumour has it Motoko has differently coloured hair in the OG version, but I didn’t watch (or didn’t remember) that part, so…I don’t have a standard to hold her up to, really. Plussssss…I love how Motoko and her Prince Yuki fanclub are like Mean Girls. The reason I had to check up how old Fruits Basket is is because of that comparison. Mean Girls is from 2004, thereby being 5 or 6 years younger than Fruits Basket.

The angelic “ahhhhh” in the background really sold how good Tohru’s food was (for Hanajima).

This CGI fan is going to haunt me until the end of my days, isn’t it…?

Ouch…I think I just realised why Fruits Basket is so powerful (at the part where Tohru is working hard at her job). It resonates strongly with those who are lost in life. I found I couldn’t really relate when I first read it though, which may have been attributed to the fact I was…what, 13?...at the time.

Shigure, you a$$!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanna kick you for laughing at poor Tohru!!!!!!!!!!!

Photorealistic clouds…no. I think that Indian festival with the dye (I don’t remember which one it is off the top of my head) happened to my eyes…(i.e. my eyes…my poor eyes…)

I didn’t think Vickeblanka was capable of doing slower songs. This song’s kinda nice…but only because I heard the last few seconds of the ending (the rest was obscured by background noise and I don’t have time to play it again).

Between the comment about Shigure and the comment about the clouds, I was internally bawling about how stupid and spoilt I’d become. This is the power of Fruits Basket!

We Never Learn 1

Hmm…I thought the manga of this (or what I saw of it, at least) was kinda vanilla, so…this’ll be an experience, one way or another.

Yuiga’s face game is spot-on, LOL.

Aw, this show encourages the growth mindset…how cute. *does Kaguya-sama face*

The eyecatch is about what classes the main trio are in, but Furuhashi is taking it as related to boob size…*sigh*

The sign just says “library”. There’s no need to contextualise it more than that…

Yup, this is vanilla like ice cream…

Come to think of it, why did I pick this series up? I’ve read the manga parts that correspond to this episode…Well, I remember when this series was still new. I think it was that it was refreshing to see these guys so gung-ho about uni, because recently I’ve been in doubt about my own future (and to tell the truth, I’ve been thinking different things about what I want to do at different stages of my life anyway). I’ve literally only settled on the things I’m doing because I suck at everything else, but I can do whatever I put my mind to…for most things I try. Much like Fruits Basket is for those who are lost in life, We Never Learn is an affirmation that you can change your future…or something like that, anyway.

…The disembodied mouths creep me out…anyways, this show isn’t bad, it isn’t 100% a keeper either (unless I get co-opted into a collab for it). It’s just squarely in the middle.

Boob grope…eesh. That brought down the keeping factor down a little.

Kimetsu no Yaiba 1

[big chunk of information redacted because it’s me stressing over what has to be done before I go overseas...and also it reveals I had a collab for this lined up, which I’m trying to keep a surprise at the time this post went out]

To be honest, I don’t like 1st person cam.

Hmm…there’s more CGI than I’d like to admit is in here…

I remember reading a while ago that the “Tan” in Tanjiro is the word for “charcoal”.

Take = bamboo, and he’s a woodcutter kid. LOL.

This is exactly as I remember it! It’s kinda cool, since the smelling thing is obviously foreshadowing.

I remember I didn’t quite get the idea that Nezuko was growing in size in the manga…well, now I just did.

Oh-hoh-hoh-hohhhhhhh! Giyu Tomioka, me boy! There he is!

I didn’t know Giyu Tomioka was basically a ninja, LOL.

This is definitely one of the better series out there this season. It might not be the best due to its sheer amount of shonen trappings, but it’s still dang good! (I like Giyu Tomioka already, but now that I think of it, I’d like to see Lightning Boy in action within the show and not just the OP…hmm.)

[Sarazanmai 1 is not here because I saw it at the anime club first. I do intend to cover subsequent episodes here though…]

Kono Oto Tomare! 1

I find Funi’s video player unwieldy, to be honest. Maybe it’s because I’m too used to CR’s…

Oh! It seems like the Defence Club has a legacy now!

Surprisingly, this is very funny…!

Hmm…this seems like a show where you should ship people, but there doesn’t seem to be enough of a connection between anyone that I can see anyone shipping. I guess that’s why this thing is basically a shoujo in appearance, huh…?

By the way, who’s “Nadeshiko”? Takezo…?

Do you guys even know what a koto is? If you do, that’s great, but if you don’t, you’re going to have to infer…that’s a bit nasty for an ancient instrument the West doesn’t know about. Then again, this clearly isn’t something made for the West.

I’m wondering why the culprits confessed so easily…

Well, that was…alright. I went “aw” more than I expected and laughed more than expected. It’s not going to top the other shows I’ve got though.

Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin 1

For some reason, I’m just not used to calling this show “Midnight Occult Civil Servants”…that sounds clunky. That’s why I’m calling it “Mayonaka” for short…oh yeah, right now Funi is undergoing maintenance which is why I had to shuffle Mayonaka forward. I was meant to be doing Fairy Gone in this slot, to be honest with you.

Hmm…*thinks about time talking with Plyasm* *thinks about how Seo trid to kick this Reiji Kyoichi person* I see a resemblance here…with the kicking and all…Update: There is a guy called “Reiji” in this show, I just read “Kyoichi” wrong because I was trying to type up comments here.

Somehow it never actually occurred to me that Seo was a gender-neutral name. I’m normally quite good with these things…or maybe it was Ply keeping me up late that’s making me not notice…or even the fact I’m not listening to Seo’s voice, since that’s sometimes a hint to a person’s gender in particularly ambiguous cases (I’m currently not listening to the audio). Update: Okay, that’s definitely a man’s voice coming from the effeminate-looking Seo.

Oh yes…I forgot to mention, this show does an awful lot of telling and not showing.

I keep noting this episode is set on April Fool’s Day…what a day for pranking, huh?

I’ve seen a Cait Sith in anime before…so there’s a dog version too (Cu Sith), huh?

Tape? That’s so mundane…then again, I guess this is what happens when you have boring jobs in interesting places, huh? Reminds me a lot of my own stabs at this kind of story.

This is…angel-tengu Romeo and Juliet…

Now this is the real Reiji…I think?

Ohhhhhhh crab balls…these CGI angels look terrible.

I never thought cherry blossoms could look so terrible…urgh.

I’m of two minds when it comes to this show – on the one hand, I like its plot (it’s better than Charlotte in this field, at least). It’s a bit cliched, but it might lose against competition like Sarazanmai or even Kono Oto Tomare. On the other hand, its visuals are kinda…ugly.

Fairy Gone 1

Fa-Fanatica…? What sort of name is that??? (That’s not a good sign if I question the first name on the screen now, is it?)

Lay Dawn, would you please…lay down? (Okay, that joke only works with a particular pronunciation of “down”, but you get the bad pun…right? Right?)

So this is Spec-Ops Asuka without the huge boobs, I expect? That would make Fairy Gone at least 10 points (on my anime list) better than the thing I’m comparing it with.

I think the tiny symbols under most of the credits are stylised English, although I was looking at a credit for a guy with the surname Yamamoto and it wasn’t quite working.

The CGI is one of the better efforts I’ve seen, but still slightly obvious.

Veronica’s run reminds me of Akira from Devilman Crybaby. You know the one GIF of him running while leaning forward at an impossible angle? That one.

Post-credits scene…keep watching.

This is another anime Jesus…(the first one was Kagura’s dad in Ga Rei Zero.)

Rendai Utena 1

(Update: This was an anime I had to watch via VPN. Notably, the last time I resorted to one was B Project...however, no one remembers that but me, so the last big time I had to use a VPN was for Sakamoto Desu Ga?.)

Uh…yeah. This is the one Buddha anime this season. But before you run off, screaming about how blasphemous I must be to Buddhists, I’ll have you know I was originally not intending to watch this…if you know me well enough, you’ll know I like bishies. Only after I compiled my to-watch list for this season did one of the star bishies show up and convince me to watch…yeah, now you can run away screaming. (Oh and if you’re interested as to what image caught my attention enough to make me watch a show…it’s the top image on this CR page – not the thumbnail, the other top image.)

Okayyyyyyy…for a show about bishies, you sure aren’t capturing me right now with this plight of a salaryman.

Aw, dangit. I actually liked the few moments this was a zombie anime! Give me High School of the Dead, but with bishies instead of jiggly-boob girls! *shakes fist at cloud*

Oh, great…I can’t even tell who’s who around here. They even had little name cards and everything! So much for my great memory…*grumble grumble* But hey, at least I recognise some names…not from being Buddhist, but from other anime. I mean, Miroku is the guy from Inuyasha and Fudo Myouou is the guy who inspired Okurikara in Touken Ranbu, yeah?

Uh, hey. Isn’t sloth meant to be a vice? Isn’t “lounging around” a vice???

Another thing. I get the feeling that putting these guys in tracksuits is just trying to coast on the success of Touken Ranbu. Touken Ranbu is nice, but only because I was familiar with the source game and a bit about the fandom. This? I have no such basis.

Lotus Head – Bonten – his nagging is starting to get on my nerves already. I came for Taishakuten, not you!

Yeah…even in Touken Ranbu, they have washing machines. Convenience, but also…vice in terms of that old-timey Buddha stuff, I guess…? Update: Actually, I thought about it and I don’t think they’ve ever shown a washing machine in Hanamaru, but I think they might’ve had a fridge.

Wait, wait, wait…the bird was a bishie tooooooooo?????????????? I think that’s the biggest bending my brain’s going to get all premiere season (for this season)! Even more so than the entire debut of Sarazanmai!

Wait, wait, wait…Bonten likes porridge?! D’ya mean “congee” or “oatmeal” kinda porridge? I can’t tell because I’ve got the volume off, but if it’s the latter then Bonten wouldn’t have known about it. Update: It appears to be the latter. How Bonten would’ve ever known about porridge…I don’t know.

New aesthetic – Taishakuten’s hair. I like me a man with a ponytail (which is why I fell hook, line and sinker for him in the first place), but his hair done up like it is in the bath…*swoons, then goes back to normal* That is all.

What’s up with Paomi anyway…? And…this is kinda petty if the central conflict is just getting Shaka to get off cooking duties. That’s too low a conflict for even Hanamaru, methinks.

So…you introduce all these Buddha guys and then expect me to care about some human who doesn’t even have a name? Wuh…?

Okayyyyyyy…I’ve never seen an earthquake that was that fast before.

Wait, wait, huh???????? The guy who voices Taishakuten is…Choreo (Brave Beats)??????????? Oh no, I should’ve listened to it! Anyways, I’ve decided I’m dropping it, simply because if I want Taishakuten only for his looks, I can just find a wallpaper of him.