#villain arc my ass he's kinda based in a disturbing way

[dusty-siltstrider]

In my quest to keep myself distracted from the temptation of watching leaks I finally started digging into league Machine Herald lore and how come none of y'all never told me league lore is actually amazing wtf

Like not only is jayvik the funniest shit ever with this new context but also Viktor is genuinely very conflicting and my brainrot for him has only increased. Watched a 20 min video and I was actually captivated.

Bro really helped a sad kid by giving him a treat and a brain implant and telling him to go beat the shit out of his bullies. He canonically heats up food with his goofy shoulder arm. Man fell into depression and got even more depressed over the concept of being depressed. He drinks choccy milk. Jayce saw him as a friend and Viktor thought he was "flamboyant and arrogant." I adore him. We are all league Viktor on this day.

[miscellanasaurus]

MHA 235

Again sorry for the late updates and to anyone who follows me because of my random and often spontaneous Vrains reviews i am working on my review but at the same time life seems to be getting in the way so sorry about that but never mind that onto the yugioh vrains review.

We open up with Re-destro clarifying how shigaraki decayed his attack in the3 official translation  which should appease the padantic ass hats over on reddit as well telling us how re-destro`s been perfecting this technique since his childhood days which is something i hope horikoshi delve`s into wheather or not his family indoctrinated the beliefs of the MLA into Re-destro in much the same way AFO indoctrinated shigaraki or if he choose these beliefs of his own volition and his family disaproved or hell maybe they supported the beliefs too in short i want some backstory on RE-destro...also small detail but those heart palpatations shown in the second panel “Badump” “Badump” is most likely the downside to his stress based quirk and considering stress is one of the major causes of heart attacks i wouldnt be suprised if Re-Destro died or was significantly weakened because of this.

We also get a beutifull worded panal from horikoshi that really shows the extent of shigaraki`s drive for destruction also i love the pure malice in the face i and how its completly different from any of his other expressions and in this case the lack of detail really adds to the tension.

This panal also has me worried as from the beginning i was under the impression that this villain arc would develop shigaraki`s goal into his own ideology but considering that this was the prime oppurtunity i`m starting to have my doubts and though it wont bother me if shigaraki`s goal remains as pure chaotic destruction i have to wonder how that will effect the story as a whole all i know is that there has to be a skybeam if superhero movies have taught me anything its that theres always got to be a gigantic skybeam.

howvever again the official translation has it as “all i can do is destroy” making this even more tragic for shigaraki and i really just wanna give hima hug while he goes down this unhealthy self destructive path

 We flashback to shigaraki`s past and as many people seem to have theorized it Shigaraki did indeed want to be a hero when he was a child also its hard not to notice the resemblance to little deku horikoshi`s kinda laying it on a bit thick but it doesnt matter that much to me

what i also like is that horikoshi doesnt portray it as black and white you can understand the complexitie behind his father and how in his own way he`s trying to protect him by cutting his dreams of being a hero short, does that make what he did right? of course not its still borderline abuse, though not physical that comes later. as well as being selfish and narrow minded but i can still appreciate the complexitie behind the father also noticibly Tenko`s absent from any scenes that portray his family in a less ..well there`s no other word for it, dickish fashion .

There`s something heartbreaking about shigaraki being compared to all might especially considering how much he detestes him also this is the second time its mentioned tenko didnt have a quirk yet now if they went to test him or not thats unknown however i have mixed feelings about the idea of afo giving shigaraki the quirk asi`m not particularly fond of backstorys of people being forced into villlainy by manipulating the chessboard in such a fashion so far its tolerable as it seems tomura was going to grow into a vilain without AFO`s guidence though thats not the theme of him as a character, and its afo who simply gave him the ability to become a powerfull villain though no matter what direction horioshi takes the story in i`m sure he has a plan for how his story will progress.

*Small note its nice how as a child shigaraki took the people no one wanted and played with thim rather similier to the Leugue 

We also get the full details behind the office scene from chapter 227 and i`l raise my hands and say i did kinda blunder by suggesting that Hanna did actually want to become a house wife that was a mixture of weird scans and no energy. the idea of a hero sibling team with little tenko is adorable and i kinda wish we knew what the shimura quirk is it`l either be revealed in this arc by flashback or ,hopefully not, shigaraki gaining said quirk that or we have to wait for deku to unlock it.

Honestly these few panals are heartbreaking and though i enjoy the creative narrative that reminds me of earlier 80`s comics the way this scene plays out is utterly gripping this is the first time child abuse has been directly shown in this manga neither immplied or kept just out of frame its direct and raw.

Its heartbreaking to watch tenko endure this whilst everyone else looks on helplessly and it certainly adds some more nuance to deku and shigaraki`s little mall encounter and how his family is honestly a reflection of both hero sociaty as people just look on not bothering to do anything and is a genuine sociatal problem in japan as a whole if you want to considere this political commentary you can though i doubt horikoshis making this manga for that one purpose and its unlikely thats his purogative .

Honestly despite only being prominent in one chapter i already enjoy shigaraki`s dad as a character the conflict of emotions as no matter how you look at it nana chose her career over her child at whilst that might be for the better good, whole lot of it it did to, you can still understand the resentment he holds for her in a sense he`s Kota without a deku unable to let go of his resentment for being left behind

he even admits what he did was wrong and i feel this sums up shigaraki`s life  best the fact taht it wasnt a tragedy from beginning to end much like Dabi`s presumably is it started off bleak and then escalated to a full on nightmare as we end on this disturbing panal of shigaraki anjd his poor corgi  

all in all i enjoyed this chapter though to be honest i`d of preferred it if shigaraki could recall his backstory from the start of the seriese and have it leading up to this moment with a bunch of flashbacks scattered throughout as it adds such a complexity to him as a character but other wise i enjoyed it 

[ace-reviews]

Top 10 Favorite Gintama Characters

I think the time has come again for another Special Gintama Review(TM). I could wait and post this on Saturday when I do my proper reviews of stuff and junk, but weekdays are for Gintama Reviews and Special Gintama Reviews(TM) are still Gintama Reviews.

Anywho, these are my favorite idiots from that stupid show, in no particular order.

sir not-appearing-in-this-list is already getting his complaints ready

1. Gintoki Sakata

I feel like I probably mentioned somewhere already that Gin-san is one of the best main characters in all of anime, but in case I didn’t, Gin-san is one of the best main characters in all of anime. As far as shonen leads go, he’s beat out only by Kenshin Himura and Mob, two characters that I mentioned in my Top 5 Shonen Series list are two of my favorite characters, period.

Like every shonen lead, his primary motivations revolve around his friends, but unlike most shonen leads, he also trusts them to be able to take care of themselves when the shonen formula doesn’t force him to play the hero. That’s really one of the few reasons I like Kenshin more: he simply fits the genre a bit better. 

Even so, Gin-san is a great character. He’s funny when he needs to be, takes things seriously when he has to, and manages to simultaneously subvert and embody traditional expectations for a shonen hero in a way that makes me extremely jealous of Sorachi’s writing abilities.

Really, I could go on and on about Gin-san, but I’ve got 9 other characters to talk about, so let’s move on.

2. Toshiro Hijikata

I heard someone say once that Roronoa Zoro is Kazuya Nakai’s best role, and with all due respect to that person, they’re fucking wrong, because Hijikata is Kazuya Nakai’s best role (at least, of the ones I’ve seen. I admittedly have not checked out his entire filmography).

I’ve mentioned multiple times that Hijikata is my favorite (though I’ve also admitted that he’s not the best character). I believe kids these days refer to him as an “anime husband”, or something like that. I mean, what can I say? I have a type. And dark-haired buff dudes who try to be cool but really aren’t is pretty much that type. If he had glasses he’d be too perfect, so it’s probably a good thing that he doesn’t.

And mayonnaise is tasty stuff, man. I’m not so sure about putting it on rice, but mayo is made from eggs and eggs are good on rice so it’s not that out there.

3. Sogo Okita

Man, Okita’s a fun character. I love characters who can say really disturbing shit with a straight face, and bonus points are awarded for him looking like a generic anime bishi while he does it. He’s also one of the few characters whose gotten to rescue themselves, which is something I often complain about when they don’t get to do that.

Okita has some of the best interactions with the other characters, and though I don’t think he’s gotten to have that many proper fight scenes (he’s usually just blowing shit up with a rocket launcher), when he does, he can be a pretty scary fighter. That scene in the train with the dude in that one arc was pretty fucked up, man. Okita’s fucked up, man. I’m moving on.

4. Kotaro Zura Katsura

For a second I couldn’t remember Zura’s first name. I started typing Kogoro, but that’s the actual guy he’s based off of. Then I thought it was Koshiro, but that couldn’t be it, either, because it’s too similar to Toshiro. Then I finally remembered that it’s Kotaro and felt like a dumbass, because Kotaro sounds like a little kid’s name, and that’s something I think of every time his first name is mentioned.

I think Zura only ever gets to not be a joke when Takasugi is around. I’m not typically one to indulge in critfic, but I suspect that Sorachi thinks people who cling to the past and refuse to acknowledge when they’ve lost are a bit of a joke.

Either way, he’s a funny dude, and when he gets to be cool, he’s very cool.

And, uh, he is fucking that bird, right? I mean, it’s obvious to everyone that Elizabeth is intelligent, and Zura’s hanging out with him all the time. He cannot still believe he’s just a weird animal. Zura’s smart enough to run a fairly large and effective terrorist cell, so he can’t be that stupid.  His insistence that Elizabeth is a pet has gotta be some kinda sex thing. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.

5. Elizabeth

Kamui was originally on this list, but then I realized that I can’t put Zura here without also including Elizabeth, so now this list contains zero villains. Sorry, Gintama villains. Maybe I’ll do a list of y’all once I can actually remember 5 or 10 of you off the top of my head.

Anyway, Elizabeth is hilarious. Just the sight of him is hilarious. This could be The Elizabeth Show and just be 24 minutes of him sitting and staring at the camera and it’d still be top notch entertainment. All hail Elizabeth.

6. Kyubei Yagyu

Kyubei’s great because they’re a canonically nonbinary character, and there aren’t that many canonically nonbinary characters in, well, anything.

Kyubei spends the majority of the series trying to figure out their gender identity and that dude who's always trying to force them to present as female is annoying and I hate him, but the arc where they do figure themselves out is one of my favorites, and not only because I enjoy Rule 63 stories.

Plus, I’m not one to really care about shipping, but Kyubei/Otae 5ever.

7. Tae Shimura

Not much to say about Otae. She refers to herself as the queen of Kabuki-cho, and it is a well-earned title. Her relationship with Kagura is one of the best in the series, and you really have to feel for her, having to put up with an annoying little brother and a gross stalker, though she handles both with aplomb. Though one must wonder how she hasn’t saved up enough to restore her family’s dojo yet, considering hostesses do not make a small amount of money. I kinda wish she was a bit more involved in more stories, but it kinda makes sense why she isn’t (she has to work and make an actual paycheck while Shinpachi is busy not getting paid to work for Gin-san).

8. Otose

I like badass old ladies and Otose is the badassest old lady ever. It really says a lot that she managed to be one of the 4 Devas despite being the only one with no combat abilities to speak of. It was implied that having a pet Gin-san was part of it, but I doubt that’s as much of a factor as they suggested.

Her relationship with Gin-san is one of the most important ones in the entire series, and it was a huge factor in why Gin-san’s fight with Jirocho is one of the best fights in anything ever. I don’t know that someone who only watched that fight out of context would find it as impressive (though it is still beautifully animated).

9. Taizou Hasegawa

Every time I find myself having to type his first name, I have to look it up because no one ever uses it.

Hasegawa is a bit of a one-joke character: his life sucks because the antics of Our Heroes keep getting him fired. Despite that, it manages to remain a consistently funny joke, mainly because he refuses to hold anything against Our Heroes (though by this point, he probably should). I think part of the reason the hard-boiled dude from that one episode doesn’t really work as a character is because Hasegawa is already that character. He may not be a detective, but he still tries to play everything as coolly as possible.

Plus at one point he had a dog. Dogs are cool.

10. Kagura

Hey, look, I saved the best for last this time.

Hijikata might be my favorite, but Kagura is far and away the best character in the entire series. Hell, she’s the best female character in all of anime, and possibly all of other things, too.

She can kick anyone’s ass to hell and back without breaking a sweat, pretty much everything out of her mouth is hilarious, her relationships with all of the other characters in general and the adult women in particular are the best, and, best of all, she’s a teenage girl who not only acts like a teenage girl, but isn’t sexualized, like, at all. It’s great. Sometimes she’s acts more like a grade schooler than a middle schooler, but that’s not atypical for a 14-year-old. 

I’ve been wondering a bit lately just how OP she would be if Gin-san taught her how to fight with a sword, and I kinda want that to happen, even though I know it never will.

So those are my 10 favorites. I like a whole lot more than just 10 characters, but I didn’t actually have that much trouble narrowing it down. The lack of villains on the list is mostly just because the villains don’t hang around as much so I haven’t gotten as attached to them as I have to others.

We’ll be back to our irregularly scheduled nonsense tomorrow. Till next time.