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rubywolf0201 · 10 months ago

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Thoughts on the latest episode of BUCCHIGIRI?! Episode 5

WARNING: *May contain spoilers so be cautioned*

- We get to see that NG Boys actually has a factory where all the members are doing unpaid labour. Making that faction all the more horrible.

- Matakara’s entrance and declaring to see where Akutaro is just so badass!

- But when Akutaro called in Arajin, who he now calls AJ, the latter ran in only just with his underwear. Poor Mata was so shocked at that and it’s pretty priceless to say the least.

- BUT that’s beside the point, because just as Matakara was questioning Arajin, Akutaro ruined the moment and Mata was prepared to fight him.

- Unfortuantely, because he has Ichiya with him, Mata was easily beaten by Akutaro and was promptly sent down to some dingy dungeon, tied up. 😢

- Arajin doing one act of small kindness by taking out the tape out of Matakara but still refusing to acknowledge him just made me a teensy bit upset.

- Akutaro kills the reunion scene again and Arajin not wanting to look at Matakara is just….heartbreaking in and out of itself. Not helped by the fact that Matakara kept crying out for Arajin’s name over and over again before the door slammed. It killed me.

- The whole flashback of that childhood incident is revealed. Apparently, some older kids trespass kid Arajin and Matakara’s secret training ground. Mata tried to confront them but sadly, he got beaten up pretty badly to the point of unconsciousness. Arajin on the other hand hid from them until said older kids decided to target him and all Arajin can do is run away all the while abandoning Matakara. And this all happened when they’re just 6-7 year old!

- I want to hit Arajin with a goddamn rubber chicken because of the earlier flashback scene of how Akutaro just drafts him into NG Boys easily by using his weakness for pretty women at the nightclub and he just falls for it easily.

- Oh well, at least, Senya is the only one who is aware of that. He was the one who sensed Ichiya in Akutaro after all.

- Just about any scene with Akutaro and how he invokes fear onto his members is just bone-chilling in and out of itself.

- Ok so we do have a backstory on Akutaro’s history with the gang, esp with Kenichiro and Minato Kai. Apparently, during their younger years, Kenichiro saved Akutaro from a bunch of thugs. This of course made Akutaro admire Kenichiro and so decided to train himself to be on his level and even transferred school to be admitted into Minato Kai (well he did wore a different school uniform in the flashback).

- Unfortunately, during his time at doing the daily matches Minato Kai, Akutaro decided to cheat and go against the honor code Minato Kai upholds by using a police baton and hit one of the members on the head. Kenichiro saw that and gave a pretty disproving look alongside the other members who watched that.

- It was at that point that Akutaro swore vengeance against Kenichiro and the whole of Minato Kai for kicking him out despite all the hard work he put in. (As much as I want to feel bad and whatnot, dude shouldn’t have brought in a weapon to a fighting match)

- Akutaro proposing to Arajin about how he would give him all of the women at the NG Boys club and Arajin just fantasizing about it plus his delusions about Mahoro would always be funny to me but at the same time, it’s getting old. Utsumi, pls let our main lead grow out of it and have him realize that Matakara is waiting for him.

- Senya just looking done with Arajin is priceless and more or less represents how the fandom just wants him to grow.

- Mahoro being the fandom surrogate when Marito took off his shirt and accessories. Also her just beating the ground and barrel all the while name calling the main leads a ‘Stone Pervert’ and ‘Blockhead’ but worrying about them under her brocon attitude respectively is just the biggest highlight lmao.

- Zabu was the biggest MVP in that not only did he rescued Matakara but even admitted to the whole gang that it was his fault for being used by Akutaro. I mean damn why isn’t he promoted cuz that’s some big balls of courage he has to admit his mistake of being used.

- Mata and Zabu thankfully managed to stop all of the Minato Kai and Siguma Squad underlings from fighting but not the bosses themselves.

- Jabashiri and Hagure crumbs but no word on Outa. Like what happened to the dude? Is he still out of commission?

- The marking on Arajin’s butt just started to glow and this made Senya fused with him unknowingly and Arajin just punched Akutaro.

- Reason above is because Akutaro started to talk about Mahoro and how he wanted to use her as a trophy girl of some sorts 😬

- Although that being said, Arajin pissed off a whole of the NG Boys squad and brought all of the members to the main gang.

- But bad news is that Akutaro sensed Senya in Arajin already. Though then again, there was plenty of foreshadowing that he already sensed it to begin with so.

- Matakara beaming like a small puppy but still thinking that Arajin never abandoned the Honki people motto just make me want to go ‘No mah boi, he just pissed off the whole members of NG Boys! He’s still distant from you!’

- Episode ends in cliffhanger with Kenichiro and Marito duking out.

#rubi’s post #bucchigiri?!#matakara asamine #arajin tomoshibi #kenichiro doman #akutaro shindo

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itsuki-minamy · 2 years ago

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"CRUSH ON BABY" (PROLOGUE)

NOVEL: REI RAIRAKU (GORA) / ILLUSTRATION: HIROKO UTSUMI

TRANSLATION: NARU-KUN

* List of Chapters

As he was approaching Shimokitazawa Station, he heard the sound of a piano carried by the wind.

Kamijo Yozora stopped the bike and looked at where the sound was coming from. A straight piano that anyone could play freely, located in a place in front of the station square. A young man sat in front of the woodgrain piano, his fingers dancing happily on the keyboard.

Although he had a certain level of technique, while he played majestically at that busy time, the rhythm was too free and the sound flow was chaotic.

Yozora, who was used to listening to professional music, found the performance quite unsatisfying, but many people in the plaza were drawn to the sound of the piano and stopped to listen.

Yozora looked at the pianist.

He seemed to be enjoying himself from the bottom of his heart, and he was making animated sounds. He surely was someone who really liked playing the piano. You could tell he was rough around the edges, but the pianist's fun carried over into the sound and energized the performance, drawing listeners in.

Feeling the pain deep in his chest, Yozora moved away from the young man who was playing the piano and started the bike again.

Heading to his own little castle, leaving behind the sound of the piano.

Yozora's Castle... the small bar run by Yozora, is located on the second floor of a multi-tenant building on the corner of the first street. Thanks to the help of the owner of the store where he had worked until two years ago, he was able to rent an empty space at a low price, so he opened his own store there.

He parked his bike in the bike rack at the side of the building, he walked up the narrow stairs and saw a door with a metal sign with "Nox" etched in a thin typeface. When the door is opened, you can see an authentic bar with an atmosphere that is contrary to the worn appearance of the building. Yozora turned on the light of a small, but fully attached bar, and rolled up his sleeves to start cooking.

The snacks that are served at the bar are dehydrated foods such as nuts, cheese, olives. In addition to items like prosciutto ham and other items that are always in stock, it offers a slightly changing daily special. At the time, he was planning to make a special butter chicken curry.

For daily side dishes, caprese, ratatouille, various stir-fries, salads, pate de campagne, etc. are prepared. Depending on his mood of the day, and the curry is usually prepared the day before.

That day he decided to make a terrine, so he organized the ingredients he bought over the counter.

While he boiled the asparagus, baby corn, red and yellow peppers, and shrimp, he made a bouillon soup and dissolved gelatin in it. He stuffed the terrine mold with the liquid bouillon gelatin and the vegetables little by little, taking into account that the color of the cross section will be beautiful.

"...Good."

He arranged it neatly in a mold as if he were making a work of art, he nodded, and put it in the fridge to cool and harden. He put the prepared curry on the fire, checked the taste and adjusted the spices.

After he finished cooking, he polished the bar counter and the small table with a single seat, and cleaned the floor.

In his spare time, he spends time checking the sake inventory, polishing glasses, and looking at magazines while taking a break.

At 6:00 PM, he flips the input label to OPEN. The shop opens at six, but the bar customers are late. He thought he would be free for a while, but the doorbell rang a few minutes after he opened the store.

"Thank you for your hard work, Yozora-kun."

A familiar face appeared.

A young man with a slender body, tall and well-proportioned, with an affable and kind face with slightly drooping eyes. He wore a dolman-sleeved bra top over a black turtleneck, loose-fitting pants, and the combined style of the top with the loose-fitting pants was simple but well-balanced.

He seemed to frequent the city's overflowing thrift shops, both as a buyer and a seller. That day he also had a shopper from a second-hand clothing store in his hand.

"Minase. Come to think of it, the store was closed today."

"Yes. I didn't have anything planned, so I thought I'd take a walk around town and do some light shopping, see Yozora-kun's face, and go home."

After saying that with a smile, Minase sat in his usual seat at the counter.

"Gin fizz, please."

When he asked that in a polite tone, Yozora gave a light look and placed the shaker and the main cup next to each other. He quickly measured the gin and lemon juice into a measuring cup, added the syrup, stirred in the shaker, and used a bar spoon to drip a drop onto the back of his hand to taste. He added ice to the shaker and shook. The cool sound of ice crackling in a shaker rang out on a small bass.

Minase watched the series of movements with sweet eyes.

"Yozora-kun, I love how you make cocktails. It seems to flow smoothly, it's beautiful."

As soon as he lowered the shaker, Minase told him that.

"...Thank you."

He hid his embarrassment and responded, pouring the shaker's contents into a glass filled with ice. Carbonated and gently stirred, he added a lemon wedge and placed it in front of Minase.

Minase slowly tipped his glass and said, "It's delicious." Yozora breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gin fizz is a simple cocktail and hard to balance. The taste differs from shop to shop. I've researched how to make it myself, but get a little nervous when asked to make it."

"That's right... Yozora-kun, you're already a professional bartender."

Minase said so reluctantly.

Slowly, the lower part of his chest ached again.

The image of the person he had just seen playing the street piano happily flashed through his mind.

But that little memory soon faded away, and Yozora laughed and looked at Minase.

"Even you, Minase, are a very good professional stylist."

"No, I'm still a kid. I finally graduated as an assistant and just got to cut clients' hair."

"And you're a model too. I bought a magazine you were in the other day. It's great."

Minase smiled sheepishly.

"Did you buy it? Until my salary as a hairdresser goes up a bit more, I keep thinking about it, but I'm really not fit to be photographed that much. Hibiki knows how to handle himself better in that realm."

Yozora shrugged at the name Hibiki that came out of Minase's mouth.

"Hibiki is too assertive about his existence, so he's not suitable to be a fashion model, right? His face is loud."

"Loud face."

Minase repeated Yozora's words and they laughed out loud.

The doorbell rang almost at the same time.

Yozora raised his eyebrows at the young man who opened the door after shouting "Welcome!"

"If you spread rumors..."

"What? Were you talking about me?"

Hibiki Aisaka, a young man who entered the bar, raised the corners of his mouth and slid into the seat next to Minase.

Hibiki is a handsome young man with a strong presence and aura. The sharp and slant eyes that make you think of a cat are impressive, and people's eyes are drawn to his face. It seemed to him that the role of model, whose role is to make readers project themselves in such a way that they want to wear the clothes he was wearing, would not really be suitable.

Also, his fashion sense is strangely unique, and it's hard to imagine him wearing the clothes that they have sent him.That day, Hibiki was wearing a T-shirt with a design that mixed English, Japanese, and Chinese characters, and it was strong enough to embarrass him.

"I told him that Hibiki wasn't suitable to be a model."

When Yozora spoke, Hibiki pouted.

"What's that, you bastard?"

"Don't say bad words."

"Eh?"

"No, no, what Yozora-kun is trying to say is that you have too much presence, so those clothes are only suitable for a mannequin-like model displaying clothes. He'd rather praise you."

"Minase."

He said his name as if to criticize him, but Minase kept smiling softly, and as expected, Hibiki leaned forward with a smile.

"Are you acknowledging my charisma?"

"Don't be put off."

"I'll ask you while you're in a good mood, but don't you feel like doing a song for me soon?"

"No. More importantly, what is your order?"

He asked in a weird way on purpose, but Hibiki said with a smile, "Give me curry."

"I have practice after this, so I'll drink water. A big helping of curry."

"It's not the kind of place where hungry people come to eat curry with water."

With a sigh, he immediately reheated the pot of curry. If someone tells him, "Yozora's curry is delicious," he doesn't feel bad.

"How about you, Minase? What snack do you want?"

"What's today's menu?"

"I made a prawn and vegetable terrine."

"How nice. Give me that, please."

Yozora nodded and took the hardened terrine out of the fridge and cut it. He put the brightly colored vegetables on it and held the small plate in front of Minase.

Meanwhile, he served the freshly heated curry. A creamy curry with large vegetables. The spice mix is changed little by little through trial and error each time.

When ordered as a side dish or after dinner, rice is served less, but the order came from someone misinterpreting the bar as a restaurant. The rice was also generously served and, in response to the request for a large serving, he poured a lot of roux over it.

Minase and Hibiki's eating habits were in contrast. Minase looked at the served terrine with a smile as if he enjoyed it with his eyes, then carefully cut a bite with a fork and brought it to his mouth. Hibiki, on the other hand, raised the spoon as soon as he put on the curry bowl and began to eat with refreshing speed.

But equally, both of them expressed their satisfaction with the taste with all their faces.

"It looks beautiful and fun, and the jelly is really delicious."

Minase smiled and said that.

"In Shimokita, a fierce battlefield for curry, I feel like eating Yozora's curry, so it's amazing."

Hibiki said that while he ate curry.

He was really happy when people thought the food and sake he made was delicious.

As Minase said, Yozora is a "professional bartender" who is attached to his bar and takes pride in the sake and food he prepares.

He doesn't think he regrets the future he didn't choose.

But...

As Yozora polished his glass, he watched Hibiki's face as he moved the curry spoon.

Even when Hibiki looked up at the wrong moment, his eyes met perfectly. Hibiki narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"We have a live performance this weekend, so come see us, Yozora. Then maybe you'll get the inspiration for the songs you write."

"You're persistent. That's why you say you don't write songs, right?"

"Again. Even if you're willing to. Do you hide your shame?"

"No, you're annoying..."

"Hibiki, I think it's bad to speak without sincerity like that."

Minase looked at Hibiki with a laugh mixed with exasperation. Yozora let out a deep breath.

"Minase, you should choose your friends. Don't go the wrong way by hanging out with this dumb guy."

"Wait, Yozora-kun. Stop treating me like a weird kid."

Minase made a sour face, and shrugged slightly. Since the time they spent together as children was longer than the time since their meeting, Yozora tended to act like an older brother to Minase.

It's been about half a year since he saw Minase again, and met Hibiki. However, partly because they often come to Yozora's bar, it felt natural for the three of them to spend time together like this.

― "Finally I found you!"

He remembered the first time Hibiki came to the bar with Minase.

With cat eyes shining, Hibiki said to Yozora.

― "Do you remember ten years ago? I started listening to music that day. Make me a song."

Ten years ago, Yozora was fifteen years old. Known as a child prodigy, he composed his own music while taking piano lessons and giving informal concerts in restaurants and other venues when requested. Hibiki must have heard Yozora's music somewhere.

He doesn't remember, but it wasn't that he wasn't happy.

― "I'm sorry, but I've given up on music."

Still, that was the only answer Yozora could give, and it hasn't changed even now. For some reason, without hesitation, Hibiki kept coming to Yozora and asking him to compose a song jokingly.

Yozora looked back at Hibiki's face.

Having his own store in that town, he was able to live in peace. After Hibiki appeared, Yozora felt the ripples rising higher in his heart and muttered, "I won't make it.".

#gora #crush on baby

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specterthief · 2 years ago

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this is an interesting read, but i think when it comes to adam, you actually have the color associations backwards! there's a lot more to the color choices with him to consider than just his two S outfits. he wears blue when he's a child, actively being abused by his aunts:

he wears blue as a politician, still clearly under his family's control and having to carefully navigate the expectations of polite society:

in the flashback of his board being burned, both his father and tadashi are wearing blue (aiichiro's tie, tadashi's vest):

and he wears blue at his absolute lowest point, for his own "funeral":

the dark blue adam wears isn't an honest reflection of himself—it's the color he wears in his deeply repressed day-to-day life, where he can't even smoke and he has to come home to his aunts asking if he's disgraced the family name. it's the color of his childhood and his family trauma, the scars of which are what comes to a head in the final race, as he's shouting to langa about not being acknowledged or loved if you don't win.

conversely, he wears red at S, the place he created to indulge the parts of himself his family tried to crush. like he says, S is his one place of freedom:

of course his S persona in an act to an extent—a huge part of his character is that he's an entertainer, and when he's at S he's always putting on a show for the crowd. but between this and the persona he puts on as a politician, this is his more honest self, and it even slips through the cracks—when he gets the idea for the tournament, he can't stop himself tapping his feet like he would dancing at S, even in front of kiriko. his most emotionally honest scenes with tadashi are most frequently with him in his S costume (without the mask) as well, even. the passionate red of love and anger is this honest side of himself he's constantly forced to repress.

in the zone, even in the finale, his glowing outline is red to langa's blue:

which is also the same as it was with the boy he was skating with as a teenager:

and then leading into his breakdown in the finale, when he nearly loses to reki, the red of his outfit gets covered in mud:

he's mocked and unrecognized for his victory in the place he's supposed to be "king" of:

and when he realizes how alone he really feels, in the moment that seems to be him tipping over the edge into his suicidal spiral in the finale, he's surrounded by deep blue:

but then at the very end of the finale, the way that it's shown that he's back to his normal self and langa reminded him of the fun of skating is by having him back in his red costume:

in utsumi's TV guide A stars interview, she even commented on the fact that it's the first time adam shows up in this outfit in the daytime, and how bright the red looked. it's not him going back to putting on a facade—how much better he's doing in the end is shown through the fact that he's appearing as his truest self in the light of day, showing up to congratulate langa at his victory party instead of hidden away in his own "kingdom."

utsumi's coloring instructions were insistent on adam's color being red before the designs were even finalized—in her words, "the color of love and blood! he's a guy who stole the protagonist's color." (between that, cindereki and the stageplay pamphlets adam stealing things from reki seems to be a running joke.) his hair is only even blue because the colorist picked it to have a better color balance with langa (utsumi left it up to her to pick between that and purple, she just wanted something that would be "dracula-like"), and the colorist also talks about langa's mainly white outfit being made to contrast adam's red. from the very beginning the series was planned to end with a race between the two of them; adam and langa were created as foils as much as langa and reki were, and they have the red/blue palettes so often associated with rivals very intentionally. (sorry the links are in japanese, i wanted to have the quotes directly from skaters' backstage.)

(adam's whole presence as a flamboyant masked villain is also evocative of masked gundam characters and the many similar characters gundam inspired, the original and most famous of which being the "red comet", char aznable, who has a very complicated and intense rivalry with gundam 79's teenage protagonist amuro ray, who frequently wears/is associated with blue.

so considering utsumi's discussion about drawing on a lot of similar flamboyant characters when trying to characterize adam, gundam specifically getting namedropped in reference to him, and the fact that adam's voice actor played one of the gundam franchise's many char clones, this nearly 50-year-old red/blue rivalry probably had at least some influence on why sk8 uses the colors it does.)

i originally put this in the tags but actually i'm adding it in here as well, with regards to cherry, not only is pink a toned down version of red, he wears a red obijime:

and the colorist explains that she decided on utsumi's suggestion to use red, adam's image color, to represent cherry's determination to beat adam. so adam's color being red is relevant to cherry's design beyond the red/pink similarity, as well!

Hi im emi and i think way too much about sk8 the infinity part 261

COLOUR THEORY TIME i just had like, a brain blast in realisation.

Reki is yellow coded, langa is blue. Usually people would ASSUME reki is the "red" character of the show because of his hair, but i think that just helps to show off his passionate and firey personality. His colour is yellow because he is energetic, friendly and most often optimistic (especially when it comes to helping people learn how to skate or make friends)

Langa is blue coded, usually used for quiet, cold and mysterious characters, or those with lots of sadness (think inside out). BUT because he is pastel blue, his sadness is lighter because of people like reki lifting him out if it. He is still young and has time to grow.

Because they are yellow and blue coded, its different from what is the usual trope of red and blue which are most often rivals or opposites. BUT because theyre yellow and blue, theyre actually perfectly made to compliment each other. I like to see it as reki being the sun to langas moon.

Now. You know who IS red coded? Adam. He is passionate and all about love and anger, the two emotions most connected to red. Because he is red, it links into his whole idea of thinking he "belongs" with langa, but he is already fulfilled by being with reki.

Then we see adams colours slowly change from red to that dark blue we see him wearing in the finale. He comes to realise that he was chasing after langa because he thought they were the same (blue = sad and hurt. Adam being a deeper blue means his emotions and sadness runs deeper aka because he has had YEARS longer to sit with his feelings and trauma) but it takes langa, a fellow blue, being happy and excited and wanting to skate with REKI not him, to show him that he doesnt have to put on this red boisterous persona. If we look at Adam through the years, he's never really had a red-coded personality. It's always an act. How he thinks people wANT him to act.

He's a blue, just like his hair and the suit he wears.

Now. Joe and cherry.

Cherry being pink is so INTERESTING TO ME. Its seen as graceful and youthful, but is also just a toned down version of red. Cherry CAN be graceful and composed, but is also full of so much anger and emotion (especially towards adam) and the fact the two are similar in colour makes me so invested. I also think Cherry has a complex colour pallet- being not only pink, but also wearing deep blues and whites. He is elegant and complex.

THEN JOE. oh joe. My deep green giant. He is down to earth (haha get it) and is always trusting his gut with everything, AND IDK IF YOU HAVE NOTICED THIS BUT HE NEVER GIVES BAD ADVICE!! Green is usually associated with grounded and level-headed characters, but green is also the colour of jealousy. Joe doesn't seem like the jealous type, but he has this strange loneliness to him. All he has is his restaurant and Cherry. He never seems to be able to fully grasp what he wants, so finds his fufillment in other places.

Now onto the fact that pink and green ARE opposites and so are cherry and joe. Where cherry is quiet and reserved, joe is loud and energetic. Their lifestyles and jobs couldn't really be more different. They argue and bicker and always seem to know what perfectly annoys the other most.

BUT!! Pink and green (while being opposites) ARE ALSO COMPLIMENTARY!!!! they work well together beCAUSE theyre so different. And being together just seems to work out somehow.

ANYWAYS. Yeah. Sun and moon coded renga are very special to me :)

#fandom: sk8 the infinity #meta #long post #sorry to go off on your post like this #i am just Very Autistic and have given this a lot of thought

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kudouusagi · 3 years ago

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8 questions for Shindou Ainosuke

Interview from Animedia September issue, answered by Utsumi.

Q1: What is their fashion like?

He likes things with a clean silhouette. For his skater costume he's focused on the passion so it's red. Since he's the matador of love!

Q2: What is something they always have in their bag?

His cell phone. Since he needs it in order to do his Langa check and such. Also his cigarette case.

Q3: What kind of clothes would they wear on a date?

While Joe uses his body to look naturally cool, I think ADAM goes to great effort to put himself together. He'd be like "Today I'm actually going out with the person I like!" And of course he'd make sure that the person he was interested with knew and made plans to make sure they couldn't run away. That's pretty scary isn't it?

Q4: What kind of clothes are they attracted to on someone else?

In the series, you can tell from the scene where he became attracted to Langa, it wasn't because of his fashion or outer appearance, he's the type who is attracted to a person because of who they are. Of course I think if the person he liked wore clothes to make themselves look even better it would attract him even more. But that would just be in addition to how he already felt ☆

Q5: How do they buy their clothes?

Since I think he was raised wearing nice clothes, he's probably really fussy about them. He probably buys things at his appointed shops when new items are released.

Q6: What would they do on a shopping date?

I'm sure he’d come up with a wonderful date plan, and money would be of no concern. He'd probably take you somewhere with a dress code so before then he'd take you to get a complete outfit. You can be Cinderella ♡

Q7: How do they do their laundry?

Of course he leaves it to his servants!

Q8: If there was a picture taken of them about town, how would they react?

He'd pretend he's ignoring them while making charming poses. He can't pass up the opportunity for a photo op!

Profile

He's a member of a political family, the heir of the Shindou family. He wears stylish and elegant suits appropriate for a young politician. T the "S" he wears a mask to hide his face.

"S" name: ADAM Birthday: May 1st Image color: Red Occupation: Politician

#SK8 #sk8 the infinity

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skania · 3 years ago

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The Final Stroke: Thoughts on Haru's conflict (+Rin)

Okay so reading all the summaries of The Final Stroke Part 1 has left me with A LOT of thoughts. About Haru, about Rin, about Rin & Haru and how all the different character conflicts will be tied together in Part 2.

BUT since I have been waiting YEARS for Free! to feed me some juicy Haru conflict, of course I'm sinking my teeth into that first because peeling off Haru's layers has always been my favorite Free! sport.

It's been a long while since I've tried to get into Haru's head AND I haven't even watched the movie yet so I'm probably wrong, but here goes nothing. As per usual, it will be long and image-heavy because I can't keep things short and sweet to save my life.

Also, it's heavy on spoilers about The Final Stroke so please do not read without reading Fencer's summary first!

AND since it's basically impossible to discuss Haru without discussing Rin and vice-versa, please do also expect a healthy dose of RinHaru.

Utsumi: Indeed; it’s a path Haruka never would have chosen himself. But despite claims that he doesn’t care about winning or losing or scoring certain times, he’s always been attentive to Rin’s presence. [x]

Please assume there's a huge "IMO" attached to this whole post.

In Season 1, we saw Haru struggle to understand that the reason for his emotional turmoil was quite simply that he wanted to swim with Rin again.

In Season 2, we saw Haru struggle because he wanted to follow Rin into the Pro world, but he felt like he didn't deserve to do so because he didn't have a dream and thus, no strong feelings about competitive swimming itself.

Needless to say, there's a pattern.

In Season 3, the series kind of took a detour. Still, it did plant some seeds, the most important IMO being the following:

"After I hit 20, I will be..."

"If you ask me what lies ahead of me, I..."

"You can't survive without throwing something away. I didn't want to throw anything away. But I lost."

"Maybe I don't deserve to compete at the global level."

Road to the World adds some extra layers to all that by showing us just what else is connected to that fear of Haru's.

Because, what do we see after Rin tells Haru that no matter what wall [Rin] faces, the one thing that doesn't change is his desire to keep swimming with [Haru]?

We see the moment Rin tells Haru "aim for the world with me, Haru!". Then, the moment Rin asks Haru what his dream is—right when Haru finally felt free after achieving the dream he had that season, that of swimming with Rin again. Lastly, we see the moment Rin asks Haru "what will you do?" when it comes to choosing between swimming in a recreational pool, or the one used by the National Team.

Every single one of these moments brought Haru closer to his dream—and Rin is the common factor in them all. So when Rin tells Haru,

It's obvious by those flashbacks alone what Haru's answer is. He, too, wants to keep swimming with Rin in that world.

But before the thought can fully form in Haru's mind, Albert flashes through it. We immediately see Haru's disposition change, and the result is the most telling of all.

Just like always, the imagery is on point. Rin and his desire to swim with him give Haru strength and purpose and Haru clenches his fist—but this time, Albert seeps that strength from him until his fist goes limp. And suddenly, Haru doesn't know what to say to Rin anymore.

Because, what Albert makes Haru wonder, is this:

From my limited perspective (like I said before, I haven't watched TFS yet), I think that might just be where the heart of Haru's issue in The Final Stroke lies.

I think a big part of why Haru wants to win against Albert so badly is probably because he wants to prove to himself that he does deserve to be in that world—like Rin. That all his friends are right to believe in him.

And he feels even more pressured because he thinks he's running out of time.

All this pressure to win—not to feel the water better or to be the best in the water he loves so much, but simply to win before he's "ordinary"—does not let Haru swim freely. He doesn’t swim like himself.

He is probably terrified of his own limits and of how close he might be to hitting them, and this fear and pressure are binding him.

Moreover, while Haru decided that he wanted to swim in that world, the truth is that he doesn’t know what the future holds for him.

He has no long-term, tangible plans. Unlike Rin, who wants to win a gold medal, Haru just wants to swim "in the whole world". This, added to the fact that he thinks he’ll be ordinary by 20 and that he has not managed to beat Albert, makes it so Haru is basically blinded to what the future can bring for him. He can’t see that sight.

Part of the reason for this, I feel, is that the series has never addressed the big elephant in the room.

What exactly does Haru get out of competitive swimming, besides swimming with Rin? Because "swimming in that world" is nice and sweet and idealistic, but it doesn't cover the fact of racing itself.

I used to talk a lot about why Haru needed to find a reason to enjoy competing even when it isn't against Rin. That he needed to find a reason to want that for himself. I even thought S3 may finally go for it, but it ended without Haru finding meaning in that "world of wins and losses", as he used to call it.

Usually, he’d look at Rin to point the way forward. And it is knowing that Rin (and to a lesser extent, Ikuya) is there fighting with him and aiming for the world as well that gives Haru some reassurance.

However, from what we know from the summaries, Haru isn’t thinking of them when he swims. He is entirely caught up on needing to beat Albert because of what it has come to represent to him.

There’s also the issue of Haru’s competitiveness. Haru spent a long time suppressing it and only indulging in it with Rin. But he has always wanted to be the best in the water—the one who "feels" it best.

It wasn’t that he wanted to win, or that he hated losing; it was just that he couldn’t simply accept that there was someone who could feel the water more than he could. (x)

So when you combine all of this, I feel like Haru has lost sight of the most important thing—that instead of swimming just to win, like it’s a job, he should swim to feel the water he loves so much and, most importantly, for the team (with his friend’s feelings in his heart).

That way, he could swim like himself and the water won’t be sad nor lonely.

This all sounds like a lot and it is. Haru is all but suffocating under this weight.

So, when Rin comes and tells him that [Haru] will be facing Albert alone—that they aren’t fighting him together, like Haru hoped for—Haru snaps.

It’s not only that what Haru perceives as the biggest obstacle to his dream (Albert) is standing before Haru (alone) and Rin won’t be there to share his struggles, but also that Rin is the reason he’s there in the first place because Rin is the one that made Haru stop wanting to be ordinary.

He’s the reason why he’s gotten to this point and the reason he came into the global stage and ran into Albert. He’s also the biggest thing Haru will lose if he can’t win against Albert—because if Haru’s dream ends, he won’t get to swim with Rin in that world anymore.

And now Rin’s walking away from swimming free and leaving him alone with this beast of a swimming machine and with [Haru’s] own limitations. And Haru feels trapped. He feels bitter. He feels betrayed. Terrified.

And, of course, lost. Because just like Rin once said, "Without you, I have nothing to aim for, you know?"

So, he snaps.

And by burning bridges with Rin, the very embodiment of "For the Team", the one person that he has always wanted to swim with most of all, the one whose feelings he was still connected to above all—by virtue of swimming together in that world, by sharing a dream—Haru now feels like he's truly alone in the water.

Haru is essentially turning his back on the very reason he swims for—in more ways than one. So, he’s becoming a second Albert. Only there to win, not to have fun.

Because that’s the thing. Haru says he’s doing it for his dream, but since he can’t see that dream clearly, he lacks direction. All he can see is the immediate future and all that stares back at him are his own limitations—embodied by Albert himself.

Albert represents, then, the road Haru must not take. Haru can’t be all about becoming stronger simply for the sake of winning—and he must definitely not do so alone. Like Ikuya said in S3, if Haru isn't gaining that strength for someone else (the team), there's no point.

So, since this is Free!, Haru needs to go back to his roots and truly swim for the team once again. But I feel like he also needs to re-contextualize his dream and truly define what it entails, for once and for all. Which, if we go by everything we've seen so far—should involve swimming with Rin.

Only then will he be able to swim freely again.

There's A LOT of foreshadowing and things from S3 that will most likely play a role in that and I haven't even touched Rin's choice to not swim free anymore, but this has gotten really long and I've run out of image slots lmao so I'll just have to ramble about those some other time 🙇‍♀️

#rinharu #harurin #nanase haruka #sharkbait #me: swimming idiots #the final stroke spoilers #skip this if you don't want any spoilers!#I am so sorry for this huge wall of ramblings but Haru is back to being fascinating and I'm loving every second of it #this post has a huge brain storming feel to it because it's basically while I wrote while trying to make sense of my thoughts on haru's #I may be 100% off though since visual cues are essential in getting haru and I haven't watched the movie #but making a fool of myself is part of the fun so speculating here I come lmao

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redxblueihateloveyou · 4 years ago

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oi, did Utsumi do a bridal carry as a preview for ep12.. the ep12. RH bridal carry for a RH like ep 12 ending? *fingers crossed*. Haha hope dies last, okay, here we go.

- Adam being like “me... fall?!” brought me back to Akashi Seijuuro’s “me...lose?!” and it suddenly got me thinking... I wasn’t in KNB fandom when it aired, but did ppl someone think of Akashi as a villain back then, just curious, pls write me xD;

- Dumbass audience cheering on Adam when he did his beatings, but seconds later abandoning and laughing at him the moment he fell was a classic seriously. Oh, the herd feeling, love it each time. Cherry laughing tho was so nice, but he was still in his Adam bubble, not even noticing Joe, who only notices him lmao;

- Now, on one hand, I’m happy for Reki, since I prayed for him not to be a support and did say that he can easily give anyone a run for their money if he’ll just use his board making skills (I jokingly said turbo acceleration, but predicting rain also works, I guess, I mean, idk my iphone is always lying to me about the weather but ok lolz). On the other hand, I still don’t get the point of his character and the 4-episodes-stretched drama with such unsatisfying.. ehmm.. unraveling.

I’m not even gonna mention that he still didn’t talk to Langa and Miya, but that’s not gonna happen already I think. But let’s just do a quick recap. Having fun skating was his thing from the beginning and he didn’t care to be the best or that he can’t skate like the talented ppl can, he was running aroung teaching Lanaga and telling him that fun is the best part of it, then Langa outbested him and he couldn’t do things Langa does, so he had an emotional break down about not being as talented and wanted to be like them, but couldn’t. Then he came to a conclusion that it doesn’t matter if he’s average, since all that matters is that he’s having fun doing it, going back to the very beginning, and suddenly he’s in fact not average and he can do things Langa does. That, that is... I mean.. I’m in confusion. This whole drama was for nothing, ended with nothing and all along the most unsatisfying big plotline I’ve witnessed in sports animes, I can’t believe they dragged it for 1/4 part of a season.

- Tadashi giving Adam up to Langa, thinking that that’s gonna make him happier is such a period drama, I can’t even. They give off so much “Emma” and “Pride and Prejudice” type of “I’m blind to see where my happiness lies” vibes that I’m literally dying already.

I mean do not tell me it’s not a period romance. Cause one thinks that his social status can’t allow him to be happy with him and gives up on them so he won’t ruin the other’s social image, the other one is mad about it and trying to force him to speak up for himself, humiliating him in a desperate attempt for him to finally break and say “enough”. One mistakenly thinks that his second half is elsewhere, why the other one is stupidly ready to give him up, if it’s gonna make him truly happy, thinking he’s not the right match for him, not knowing that he’s in fact his true happiness. So they’re both blind and hurting each other and it’s just... delicious, finally some good fucking food.

the ending bit made me die a little bit, so now I can’t help but get my hopes back up again. If what I see what I think I see and if episode 12 is gonna be what I think it’s gonna be, I might just get invested. Please, don’t let me down, they might just hit all the right spots. Cause I already know a perfect song for them. Bc I honestly do not care for any other ships there.

I mean, I saw already ppl on twitter calling them a dark version of rinharu lmao. If so, they must be that emotional explosion of ep12 that my heart was waiting for.

And don’t think I didn’t notice all the scenes again this episode lmao.

And how after they fell apart they both lost fun in skating and one got angry (not to this extent, but still). How one dropped skating bc he thinks he hurt him, but no one else around know what truly happened. And the fact that Adam is now angry and saying that he’s all alone and then... he will bring him back.. right right? cause it was all a misunderstanding in the first place and he in fact just wanted to be with him all along, pls do this, pls.

Now if I'm gonna get an epic “love saved him” ep12 scene, once Adam realizes that Langa is not his Eve, then I’ll might just have the ship in this anime I’ll be invested in.

Anyways, if Adam is not gonna be brought back by his true love the same way Akashi and Rin was, then I don’t want it.

Do the Rin’s “he finishes the race, but it sucks and he’s still not happy”, so he gets even more angry, cause even Eve didn’t help, breaks the board or smth, and yells at Tadashi “are you happy now? I’m still sad and lonely.” and how he hates that he made him love skating so much in the first place, but then just left him and then Tadashi will yell how he just wanted him to be happy “was I doing it all wrong?” and then the truth will come up.

Like no matter what others say I still think Ainosuke knows already that the anger and madness and sadness won’t go away even after he’ll skate with his fake eve, deep down he must know it already and he knows whose “betrayal” hurt him in the first place, so like do u think he’ll fail during the race, cause he is hella vulnerable now to even enjoy it. Or will go through with it and be like “why am I still heartbroken?” and then it’ll hit him?

I know the theory of him realizing it after Tadashi is going to be send to jail by taking a fall for him, but I don’t want it really, pls don’t send anyone to jail. I want a happy ending. Pls hang everything on one of the aunts, this is the only way to exit this soap opera in a right way. Then Tadashi will accompany Adam to visit everyone to say “sorry, I hit u with a board”, but he will give everyone daisies instead of roses lmao

P.S. The fact that Adam doesn’t know how to accept hugs and any physical affection.. that’s one of my fav tropes in pairings. There’s almost always one in my otps who is like “hugs are gross” until that right one comes or/and been taught that love is pain/weakness/etc. So please, Tadashi, I’m waiting. You know your pairing is my last hope for a new otp from this anime.

#sk8 #sk8 the infinity #anime #adam x tadashi #tadashi kikuchi #sk8 adam #shindo ainosuke #adashi

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actiaslunaris · 2 years ago

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[Text ID:] When I talk about solitude I am really talking also about making space for that intense, hungry face at the window, starved cat, starved person. It is making space to be there. Lately a small tabby cat has come every day and stared at me with a strange, intense look. Of course I put food out, night and morning. She is so terrified that she runs away at once when I open the door, but she comes back to eat ravenously as soon as I disappear. Yet her hunger is clearly not only for food. I long to take her in my arms and hear her purr with relief at finding shelter. Will she ever become tame enough for that, to give in to what she longs to have? It is such an intense look with which she scans my face at the door before she runs away. It is not a pleading look, simply a huge question: “Can I trust?” Our two gazes hang on its taut thread. I find it painful.

May Sarton, Journal of a Solitude

#solitude #longing #on trust #this is how i adopted taki: the cat who wanted and i wanting her #simply sitting with her patiently as she ate #getting closer and closer every day #but without her having kittens and then capturing her by taking her kittens #she wouldn't be my cat now #if she hadn't had the kittens #she would still be a feral cat with no one who loves her #of course also my brain: this is about yukawa and utsumi #where utsumi always runs away

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fromzerotoeuphoria · 4 years ago

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re: RinHaru in Australia was not lazy

@waywardfacegarden replied to your post:

the sad fact that i've seen all of those comments smh. like did you even watch the same ??? damn anime ?????? did YOU ???????

NONONONO. the other time i saw someone said that rinharu in australia was just "lazy and rushed writing to please rinharu fans bc they didn't have anything this season and then would be bitchy about it" and i'm like ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

H O W can you call the VERY episode where haru literally discovers what his dream is "just plain fanservice/lazy writing" ?????????????????? like that ep is SO IMPORTANT O U T S I D E of rinharu. the fact that they call it lazy just bc we "didn't have rh this season" like are you??? serious????? yeah, we didn't have that much EXPLICIT rh moments like on s1, but EVEN THEN, there was a LOT of rh in subtle moments. and the fact that it actually lines up with canon material that is RIN the one who makes haru discover his dream bc yk who's the one that always manages to stir feelings into him????? RIN. the fact that utsumi herself told that it could happen bc it was RIN and only RIN who did it. the fact that you can clEARLY SEE RIN CARING ABOUT HARU'S FUTURE NOT ONLY AT THE END BUT A L L THE DAMN SEASON????????? like he kept pressing on not to be annoying but bc he CARED and he wanted to make sure haru cared about himself, too. about his own desires. like even if he didn't choose what rin wanted for his future, he was okay with it, he just wanted to make haru feel better and have a dream FOR HIMSELF. AND THE FACT THAT PEOPLE KEEP CALLING THIS RUSHED WHEN YOU SEE ALL THE SIGNS OVER ALL THE FREAKING SEASON IS BC YOU DIDN'T CARE TO PAY ATTENTION/YOU'RE IN DENIAL/YOU HATE RH. BC IT'S SO FREAKING OBVIOUS SO IF YOU DON'T SEE IT IT'S YOUR FAULT

It’s like an echo chamber, all these comments that they keep repeating amongst themselves and deceiving themselves into believing. It’s so baffling, I can’t help but laugh at how blatantly their comments go against everything that is actually canon.

I legitimately cannot wrap my mind around it, and I’m pretty good at playing devil’s advocate and looking at the other side. I totally get not shipping RinHaru and personally feeling that Haru x Makoto make a better pair. That’s your opinion, and it’s valid. What’s NOT valid is pulling random wild crap out of your bums that completely disregards what’s actually in the anime, somehow deceiving yourselves into believing that crap, then going around claiming it’s canon when everything—from the official content, director, voice actors, staffs, anime, drama cds, and even the characters themselves—goes against your claims.

Like, sure, have your headcanons, and maybe in your headcanon Haru only sees Rin as a rival and doesn’t deeply care and freakin yearn for Rin to be in his life (which is actually canon, as established in the entirety of Season 1, the novelization and Starting Days alone, not to mention the extra official content like mooks, skits, drama cds and the movies). But don’t get delusional about it, ‘cause no matter how much you keep chanting your headcanons within your echo-chamber, it won’t ever make them canon.

Ah, yes. I’ve seen those comments too about Australia. It actually makes me laugh because it’s such a blatant display of insecurity 😂 Those comments are lazy, like they’re flailing around blindly in the dark to find anything to try and discredit Haru and RIn’s deeply interwoven relationship because RinHaruralia was just too much for them hahaha. But that’s not really the problem: the problem is how they totally devalue Haruka’s character development by devaluing his experience in Australia as “lazy writing” to give rinharu shippers a scrap to pacify us (as if we needed that when we have majority of the canon content to feast on, but yeah sure huns).

The staff put so much care and thought into Haru’s dilemma in discovering his dream, and in the end they knew that the only one who’d be able to give Haru the push he needed was Rin (x). But despite Australia being a feasting of RinHaru, Australia wasn’t about any ship, but about Haru’s character growth and finding his dream, just like you said. It’s tragic that something so important as Haru—the boy who stubbornly kept running away from deciding on his future—finally embraces the future and discovers his dream is debased to “laZy wRiTiNg” and mere fodder to “sAtiSfY tHosE riNhArU sHiPpErS.” It just goes to show how much these kinds of mh shippers actually don’t care about Haru at all.

And okay yeah, Season 2 definitely wasn’t focused on Haru and Rin’s relationship like it was in Season 1; instead, it focused on all of the character’s development, but most importantly: Haru’s character development. Yet the fewer RinHaru scenes in Season 2 don’t hurt RInHaru at all—in fact, Haru and Rin having fewer interactions goes to show just how strong and powerful RinHaru is. Just like before, Rin was still a constant facet in Haru’s life, even when he was absent. And though Australia wasn’t about RinHaru, it doesn’t change the fact that, as the KyoAni staff revealed, only Rin could accomplish giving Haru that push into discovering his dream. And Haru himself confirms this is Take Your Marks episode 4 when he tells Rin during The Bench Scene:

Haru spent more screentime with the Iwatobi squad during Season 2, and yet it was Rin who got him walking towards the future. Goes to show the power of RinHaru’s bond runs way deeper than antis would ever like to admit.

And yes! ^_^ All the subtle RinHaru moments were still so sweet and meaningful. If Haru and Rin didn’t have a special kind of relationship built on genuine care and love for each other, Rin would’ve never taken Haru to Australia, Haru would’ve never blindly gone with Rin, and Rin wouldn’t have been the one to help Haru find his dream (a dream that has Rin integrated all throughout it).

The antis calling it rushed are just pressed that it wasn’t their bias who was the only one who could move Haru the way Rin did. Trust me, if it was Makoto in Rin’s place, they would be worshipping Australia (and all of Season 1 + TYM + Road to the World) as a certified omen from the Canon Gods declaring Mako//Haru as the official ship (this actually goes for everything RinHaru, imagine if all the RinHaru moments replaced Rin with Makoto, those very same people saying RinHaru has nothing would lose their minds over how “canon” Mako//Haru would be).

#free!#rinharu #harurin #haruka nanase #rin matsuoka #rinharuralia #free! eternal summer #free! iwatobi swim club #anti makoharu #but not anti makoto #free! comment reply #comment reply #free! meta

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first-batter-hatagami · 4 years ago

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I did the test Utsumi linked. Guess it’s pretty spot on.

Type “The Logistician” (ISTJ-A)

Traits

Introverted - 81% Observant - 98% Thinking - 72% Judging - 82% Assertive - 76% Role - Sentinel Strategy - Confident Individualism

Introduction

My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty... it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.

The Logistician personality type is thought to be the most abundant, making up around 13% of the population. Their defining characteristics of integrity, practical logic and tireless dedication to duty make Logisticians a vital core to many families, as well as organizations that uphold traditions, rules and standards, such as law offices, regulatory bodies and military. People with the Logistician personality type enjoy taking responsibility for their actions, and take pride in the work they do – when working towards a goal, Logisticians hold back none of their time and energy completing each relevant task with accuracy and patience.

Logisticians don’t make many assumptions, preferring instead to analyze their surroundings, check their facts and arrive at practical courses of action. Logistician personalities are no-nonsense, and when they’ve made a decision, they will relay the facts necessary to achieve their goal, expecting others to grasp the situation immediately and take action. Logisticians have little tolerance for indecisiveness, but lose patience even more quickly if their chosen course is challenged with impractical theories, especially if they ignore key details – if challenges becomes time-consuming debates, Logisticians can become noticeably angry as deadlines tick nearer.

Associate With Those of Good Quality if You Esteem Your Reputation...

When Logisticians say they are going to get something done, they do it, meeting their obligations no matter the personal cost, and they are baffled by people who don’t hold their own word in the same respect. Combining laziness and dishonesty is the quickest way to get on Logisticians’ bad side. Consequently, people with the Logistician personality type often prefer to work alone, or at least have their authority clearly established by hierarchy, where they can set and achieve their goals without debate or worry over other’s reliability.

Logisticians have sharp, fact-based minds, and prefer autonomy and self-sufficiency to reliance on someone or something. Dependency on others is often seen by Logisticians as a weakness, and their passion for duty, dependability and impeccable personal integrity forbid falling into such a trap.

This sense of personal integrity is core to Logisticians, and goes beyond their own minds – Logistician personalities adhere to established rules and guidelines regardless of cost, reporting their own mistakes and telling the truth even when the consequences for doing so could be disastrous. To Logisticians, honesty is far more important than emotional considerations, and their blunt approach leaves others with the false impression that Logisticians are cold, or even robotic. People with this type may struggle to express emotion or affection outwardly, but the suggestion that they don’t feel, or worse have no personality at all, is deeply hurtful.

...For It Is Better to Be Alone Than in Bad Company

Logisticians’ dedication is an excellent quality, allowing them to accomplish much, but it is also a core weakness that less scrupulous individuals take advantage of. Logisticians seek stability and security, considering it their duty to maintain a smooth operation, and they may find that their coworkers and significant others shift their responsibilities onto them, knowing that they will always take up the slack. Logisticians tend to keep their opinions to themselves and let the facts do the talking, but it can be a long time before observable evidence tells the whole story.

Logisticians need to remember to take care of themselves – their stubborn dedication to stability and efficiency can compromise those goals in the long term as others lean ever-harder on them, creating an emotional strain that can go unexpressed for years, only finally coming out after it’s too late to fix. If they can find coworkers and spouses who genuinely appreciate and complement their qualities, who enjoy the brightness, clarity and dependability that they offer, Logisticians will find that their stabilizing role is a tremendously satisfying one, knowing that they are part of a system that works.

Logistician Strengths

Honest and Direct – Integrity is the heart of the Logistician personality type. Emotional manipulation, mind games and reassuring lies all run counter to Logisticians’ preference for managing the reality of the situations they encounter with plain and simple honesty.

Strong-willed and Dutiful – Logisticians embody that integrity in their actions too, working hard and staying focused on their goals. Patient and determined, people with the Logistician personality type meet their obligations, period.

Very Responsible – Logisticians’ word is a promise, and a promise means everything. Logisticians would rather run themselves into the ground with extra days and lost sleep than fail to deliver the results they said they would. Loyalty is a strong sentiment for Logistician personalities, and they fulfill their duties to the people and organizations they’ve committed themselves to.

Calm and Practical – None of their promises would mean much if Logisticians lost their tempers and broke down at every sign of hardship – they keep their feet on the ground and make clear, rational decisions. Peoples’ preferences are a factor to consider in this process, and Logisticians work to make the best use of individual qualities, but these decisions are made with effectiveness in mind more so than empathy. The same applies to criticisms, for others and themselves.

Create and Enforce Order – The primary goal of any Logistician is to be effective in what they’ve chosen to do, and they believe that this is accomplished best when everyone involved knows exactly what is going on and why. Unclear guidelines and people who break established rules undermine this effort, and are rarely tolerated by Logisticians. Structure and rules foster dependability; chaos creates unforeseen setbacks and missed deadlines.

Jacks-of-all-trades – Much like Analyst personality types, Logisticians are proud repositories of knowledge, though the emphasis is more on facts and statistics than concepts and underlying principles. This allows Logisticians to apply themselves to a variety of situations, picking up and applying new data and grasping the details of challenging situations as a matter of course.

Logistician Weaknesses

Stubborn – The facts are the facts, and Logisticians tend to resist any new idea that isn’t supported by them. This factual decision-making process also makes it difficult for people with the Logistician personality type to accept that they were wrong about something – but anyone can miss a detail, even them.

Insensitive – While not intentionally harsh, Logisticians often hurt more sensitive types’ feelings by the simple mantra that honesty is the best policy. Logistician personalities may take emotions into consideration, but really only so far as to determine the most effective way to say what needs to be said.

Always by the Book – Logisticians believe that things work best with clearly defined rules, but this makes them reluctant to bend those rules or try new things, even when the downside is minimal. Truly unstructured environments leave Logisticians all but paralyzed.

Judgmental – Opinions are opinions and facts are facts, and Logisticians are unlikely to respect people who disagree with those facts, or especially those who remain willfully ignorant of them.

Often Unreasonably Blame Themselves – All this can combine to make Logisticians believe they are the only ones who can see projects through reliably. As they load themselves with extra work and responsibilities, turning away good intentions and helpful ideas, Logisticians sooner or later hit a tipping point where they simply can’t deliver. Since they’ve heaped the responsibility on themselves, Logisticians then believe the responsibility for failure is theirs alone to bear.

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toshinori--oda · 4 years ago

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I took Utsumi’s test and received interesting results.

Type: The Logistician (ISTJ-A)

Introverted - 99%

Observant - 72%

Thinking - 90%

Judging - 92%

Assertive - 68%

Introduction

My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty... it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.

Associate With Those of Good Quality if You Esteem Your Reputation...

...For It Is Better to Be Alone Than in Bad Company

Logistician Strengths

Logistician Weaknesses

Judgmental – Opinions are opinions and facts are facts, and Logisticians are unlikely to respect people who disagree with those facts, or especially those who remain willfully ignorant of them.

More information can be found here.

#about

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arcaneranger · 6 years ago

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Final Thoughts - Banana Fish

Strap in, because this one gets complicated. Also, spoiler alert for both this and for 91 Days, because I can’t just talk about one thing, I have to swerve way out of my lane. If you don’t want to be spoiled or read a lot of rambling, I’m giving it a recommendation.

Let me start by throwing in some context. Summer 2016 saw the release of an original show by Studio Shuka (best known for the sequel seasons of Durarara!!) called 91 Days, a mob story with very deep homoerotic subtext about a boy taking revenge for the murder of his family by a crime family by infiltrating said family and becoming a close confidant to their leader, who also happens to be the insanely attractive Nero. His hotness isn’t especially relevant to my criticism, but like...

Woof.

Anyway, mob stories as a rule do not have happy endings - they usually involve villainous protagonists that have to do very bad things in order to accomplish their goals, which are also often not very noble in intention. If they happen to accomplish something good, it’s a side effect. In the end, Nero becomes very aware that his new friend has been systematically destroying his family since the moment they met, and after a lot of bloody violence, the show ends with the two of them walking alone down a beach on an overcast day. They talk about their experience, and both of them know that despite genuinely growing to like one another, it’s far, far too late for this to end well. Nero pulls out his gun, and the screen cuts to black a moment before he pulls the trigger.

It’s fucking powerful, and the entire time I watched Banana Fish, I was thinking about that ending. While Banana Fish is a very different show, if you really boil it down, it’s also a mob story about taking revenge for the loss of your family, and the things you have to do in order to achieve such a selfish goal as vengeance.

Banana Fish ends up swinging a lot wider than 91 Days, ultimately, because it brings in a lot of even more adult concepts and handles them with varying results. Rape, for instance, is mentioned a lot as something that happened in the backstory of several characters (all of whom are male, though they weren’t always the actual victims), and it’s neither handled carefully nor is it glamorized. The main character Ash actually seems to have developed a complete lack of caring about his own sexual well-being from having been involved in a lot of child pornography, and many times over the course of the story he uses his body to seduce men he needs things from because his good looks and experience are enough to make basically the entire cast want him.

But the only one he wants is the Japanese college student who suddenly got caught up in his plans, and becomes magnetized to in a way he’s completely unable to handle.

Banana Fish is the single most queer-coded show I’ve ever seen that never has the subtext rise to become pure text. The author herself has stated that in all the time Eiji and Ash spent together, they felt as lovers, but never consummated that feeling. They do embrace intimately whenever they see each other after a period of absence, but even when they share a room, they have separate beds divided by a nightstand. It’s almost strange how sudden the stop on this relationship is, like after displaying a lot of male affection and even kissing at one point (as part of a ruse), the two of them suddenly no-homoed.

I think this is probably a result of the time period the story was originally written in - like I said in my premiere review, Banana Fish as a manga was published from the mid-eighties to the mid-nineties, in a time where the U.S. was facing the AIDS crisis (so media endorsing gay relationships between men were generally not widely accepted due to the massive stigma) and Japan was...well, Japan has pretty much been “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” for a very long time. So writing a story that goes right up to the line for readers that seek such things out (who were certainly there, BL as a genre is now a staple in Japan, particularly among women, whom Banana Fish was targeting since it was in a shoujo magazine) but doesn’t step over it was probably ideal for the time period.

However, I really question whether the author in question (Akimi Yoshida, just to get her name in here) was opposed to changing this position, or if director Hiroko Utsumi ever considered asking her for her input, because the story has been updated to take place in the present day, when being gay in America is not a particularly big deal, especially in New York City. I’m really afraid that it’s going to be a while before we get explicitly queer shows in Japan that don’t involve the tired aggressive, rapey seme archetype like DAKAICHI or even Bloom Into You, because this would have been a pretty good chance to try that out, given that MAPPA already made a show two years ago that also toed the line without ever actually showing Yuri and Victor being together on camera (and no, even the kiss doesn’t count, they deliberately cut away from it).

We also have to deal with the fact that these stories don’t have happy endings.

After the conflict is over, and after resolving to never see Eiji again for his safety, Ash is given a letter from him that contains a plane ticket and a heartfelt plea to understand that Eiji was never afraid of his partner despite all of the violence he had been involved in, Ash begins to run to the airport, towards his happy ending...and is murdered, because cosmically that’s what he had earned. While I fully approve of this as an ending, it is still pretty firmly an example of Burying Your Gays, and warrants a lot of scrutiny because of that.

Basically, I’m not sure how I feel about it and I don’t know that I ever will be.

But now that I’ve gotten all of that off of my chest, Banana Fish is a terrifically-plotted mob action story that seems to have gotten a lot of love and passion out of studio MAPPA, easily comparable to Yuri On Ice!!! from 2016. The action is brutal and satisfying, the twists are fantastic and kept me guessing right till the end, and the entire thing plays out much like a Shakespearean tragedy. I just wanted to express my disappointment that in a show as well-written as this one, with critically acclaimed source material, Banana Fish couldn’t take the one extra step that would have made its finale that much more meaningful, because I was sick to death by the end by all the emphasis on what good friends its leads were.

8/10!

#banana fish #arcaneanime #tl;dr #multi 2018 #final thoughts #qft

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buildridernews · 6 years ago

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[Review] Kamen Rider Build (Overall thoughts)

It's that time of the year where Rider fans become emotional, potentially sad, potentially thinking about the future. Here, we’ll be talking about the setting, characters, plot, and really dig into that ending.

But I guess first off, I’ll say one thing here: If you’ve followed the blog closely, you know that I really fell behind on the show a lot. That has nothing to do with the show, it’s just a me thing. When I watched, I was enjoying every episode, and kicking myself for letting so many episodes go by without watching it.

With that said, let’s get into the reasons why I found it entertaining.

Kamen Rider as a whole has all of these tropes and recurring themes going all the way back to the Showa era, and while Build has those things, it creates a unique setting around it.

We're introduced to the world of Build after what is essentially a post-apocalyptic event, at least for Japan. The Skywall left them separated, with hints of a war in the midst due to the item that would grant any one of them absolute power.

At best, most Rider shows have a mysterious event took place in the past, more often an isolated incident that doesn't really have that much of an impact until the end of the show. This feels like a more impactful version of Kabuto's "A meteor previously destroyed one of our cities" opening premise, as it gives us a very unique setting where Japan is split into three types of nations, with robot sentries and abnormal mutations running around.

More importantly, we aren't even halfway into the show when a status quo hits us and we're put into a proper war between the nations. It leaves us with empty cities for most of the show's run.

I know I commented on this a while back, and I kinda feel like it needs a followup now that the show is over: The show was dabbling in a lot of what I call "Real world monsters". Back when Gaim was going on, I recall thinking it was unexpected for a character to comment so realistically about how humans are always at war with each other, because it seemed like a heavy subject for a kid's show. Fast forward to Build where that's just the entire show.

We spent the last year with a kids show dabbling in war and conspiracies, and when it became apparent that they were leaning heavily into these subjects, I wondered if maybe the show would take a much different direction in the end, causing us to go “Yeah it was weird when the show talked about war for about 1/3 of the story”. But as it turns out, that theme stuck and resonated in the characters. They go through a lot over the course of 49 episodes.

It's not uncommon for a Rider protag to be affected by a death, but Sento actually causes the death of a human and is legitimately haunted by his actions, not to mention the baggage of being the brainwashed creator of a combat system that started all of this fighting. It's also not uncommon for the protag to frequently hit an emotional rut that leads them to a newfound resolve, but I feel like this show really justifies it.

Sento frequently struggles with the idea of heroism because he keeps being challenged by these contradictions about himself, and the idea of heroism is constantly being mocked by the more cynical enemies he faces - even so, he kept fighting. He was once a member of Faust, he lost control and took a life, his father turned out to be one of his enemies for a bit... The dude went to hell and back, and I feel like his final form debut - as late as it was - felt so earned because of all he went through.

And this is to say nothing about his genius! I love Sento because he lives up to the hype. Before Build began, they talked about how Sento was the smartest of all the Heisei Rider leads, and it shows. He not only made his own Rider gear, as well as gear for other people, he also FREQUENTLY displayed his intelligence by planning ahead outside of battle. The dude would plan ahead by a couple episodes, even. He accounts for a lot of things and it's so satisfying to watch him get the upper hand, especially knowing just how much emotional baggage he has to carry. It’s beautiful catharsis.

When it comes to the amnesia angle, followed by the Katsuragi reveal, I figured it was a nice twist. It makes more sense once you get further along in the show and learn more about who Blood Stalk was and why he had these powers. It was also interesting to have Katsuragi exist in Sento’s head after a while, giving him more staying power than I actually expected. I also must commend them for not only doing the “Katsuragi remembers who he is” subplot, and doing it for more than one episode. I’m just overall really pleased with how those things all worked out.

It also must be said that the show did a great job sticking to this "The hero is created from evil" trope from the original Kamen Rider. They said from the start that this show would be focused on that idea, and they never strayed from it. Pretty much all the Riders (save for the villain) are kind of a different flavor of that idea. Just in general, I think it can be said that the show was consistent.

And I can't talk about Sento without immediately talking about Ryuga. Along with the things mentioned about the main character, they also said that this show would be about “the feelings between these two men!” (context~), and once you see the first couple of episodes, you get what they mean. It's clever to have two leads who are such opposites, the classic Brain VS Brawn. The two played well off of each other til the very end.

Ryuga was also nice to have in the cast due to the (at the time) lack of background for Sento. The main character already had his origin story a while back, so most of the early episode were just about him doing his usual hero thing. Ryuga, on the other hand, gave us an on-screen origin story. We actually get to see his transition from a selfish hothead to a hero who wants to fight for the sake of others, and by the end of the show he goes out of his way to sacrifice himself like Sento would’ve.

Knowing where the plot eventually went with Evolt, it makes so much sense why Ryuga got this much focus, right down to the winter movie teaching him more about why a Kamen Rider fights for the sake of others. It just all worked out so well.

Kazumi was a character I was super interested in. I loved the actor in Kiva, and when he was introduced, it seemed like he’d be playing a charming character once more. But as we learned more about him, I think he turned out to be a character with more depth. Don’t get me wrong, Otoya is the best thing about Kiva, but I think of him as a cartoon character with some hidden depth, whereas Kazumi feels like a human being.

I was a little uncertain on what they were gonna do with him at first - he was treated as a soldier of sorts who had amnesia like Sento, and his trio of Hard Smash bros seemed upset that he didn’t remember them. But as you kept going, you learn that he was just pretending to have amnesia for a reason, which is clever.

Kazumi is tough, but you realize that he has heart once you see his friends get killed off one by one. He will show no mercy towards the people who caused him to lose his only friends, and that sense of heroism eventually made him a part of the team.

The transition from antagonist to hero was natural, and I loved the character, whether he was being comical or serious. The actor knew how to play both.

Gentoku is where things get a little more shaky.

I’m sure I’ve said before, but Gentoku was a character I didn’t put much stake into because his role as Night Rogue was obvious, and to me, Night Rogue’s role in the story was obvious: He was the strongest villain we had as of episode 1, meaning he would be killed off by the first power-up Build obtains. That being said, the character stuck around, which makes sense in retrospect since Build’s not about killing.

Gentoku went away for a while, then came back as an edgelord. While I found some part of him interesting and thought he rocked that look pretty well, the backstory was just a little too over-the-top edgy for my liking. It honestly felt pretentious in a way. I kinda just let him do his thing.

Then they did something interesting with him, revealing that once he became Rogue, the nebula gas that made him so villainous was wearing off, and he was now starting to show some heroism as he rescued his father from the people he was taking orders from. Then once his father died in his arms, his transition into a hero would begin.

And, okay. Okay. The comedy they use on him at this point is a bit out of place, as fun as it was. It’s one of those things where, if you want to you can form a headcanon to make sense of it, but it’d be nice if they addressed it themselves. When he was just being a good guy, I found him really endearing.

Oh and since he was palling around with the gear bros, I guess I’ll just say that... I said what I needed to say about them in their last episode. They were badass but a little too cool to have any personality outside of being a duo, so they didn’t do much for me as characters. But they looked cool.

Utsumi is a character i don’t have as much to say about, but since I’m talking about Riders I guess I’ll reiterate what I said before.

Like Gentoku, I didn’t have much stake in Utsumi at first, but I figured since he was working with Gentoku, he probably had something to show. When he ended up getting shot and fell off a bridge, I thought it was a lil weird he came back without seemingly being hurt. Then that one episode addressed it by saying he was a cyborg now, a twist I was not expecting, but it was an interesting choice.

I was honestly hoping that Utsumi would come back as Rogue, only because it’d be fitting if Night Rogue got killed off by Utsumi using a name stolen from him. But it made sense for Gentoku to be Rogue, of course, and Utsumi had some fun moments as the man giving him orders.

Once he turned to Evolt, after seeing his mentor die, I thought it was a liiiittle forced, and honestly thought he just cracked. But once again, that one episode addressed it by revealing that he was still loyal to his mentor’s cause and was... kind of a secret hero all along.

Utsumi turned out to be more interesting than expected, and it’s a bit of a shame he’s-- well I guess he’s fine now thanks to the ending, but I wouldn’t have minded him being fixed if we weren’t aiming for that kind of ending.

Now... we talk about this guy.

Okay, so, Isurugi is an interesting character on his own. He’s an astronaut! He makes coffee now! He has red shades! He was a super fun supporting character, and I think it was brilliant(ly heartbreaking) for him to turn out to be a villain. It makes up for how obvious Night Rogue was.

Blood Stalk was definitely the more interesting villain to follow because he was playing a much different game than the other groups in the show, and he seemed to have a lot of power on his side that wasn’t totally explained for a while - a friend and I figured he was actually an alien just screwing with humans, and I can’t believe that was such a perfect prediction.

I suppose once his role as Evolt is revealed, he sorta sssstops being interesting in that regard, because he’s no longer mysterious. A good way to put it, which I saw going around, is that he feels like a Dragon Ball Z villain. Not too much depth, just an uncomfortably strong guy that’s toying with people and will be destroying this planet once he’s had his fun. And I’m fine with that I suppose, I like a DBZ once in a while.

About this point in the show, I saw some fair criticisms about the pacing of the plot that suggested it was getting dragged out, aaand I kinda see that but kinda disagree? It definitely feels like Build and Evol keep getting the upper hand on each other, but I think of that as a display of their intellect. They’re playing this big game of chess, and sure, that can elongate a plot, but I found it entertaining at least.

Now if there’s any criticism I have about the show by this point, it’s that we never really get a true followup on Isurugi once Evolt leaves his body. Like, we know that he was chilling out in the hospital, unconscious, but the next time we see him is in the ending when everything has been fixed.

Supporting characters next.

Misora is a character I don’t have a whole lot to talk about, she was fun when she delivered deadpan comedy, her connection to Isurugi (and thus, the villain) was interesting, found the Mii-tan stuff a little unnecessary but it provided some fun banter with Kazumi... decent gal. It was heartwarming seeing her live a normal life in the ending. She’s been through as much emotional turmoil as the Riders.

Sawa was interesting, because I expected her to just be a journalist, but she turned out to be a huge player in the villains as a spy. She was eventually caught, and I thought it was both surprising and impactful when she remarks that she was actually supposed to kill herself at one point and couldn’t bring herself to it because spending time with the heroes made her realize what it was like to have real friends. She was used cleverly, even if her backstory seemed pretty crazy.

As for other characters, man there’s a lot. I think it’s enough to say that what I talked about in previous reviews is still applicable now. Namba was interesting, and the way they bring back previous victims is clever. I don’t think there’s anyone that didn’t serve a purpose.

Hoo boy, been going for a while... I think it’s time we wrap this up and talk about the ending. Well, at least saying things I didn’t talk about in the last review. I’ll assume you know where all the characters are as of this change in their timeline.

It was THE cathartic moment for the show, because leading up to the final episode, you really see everyone drop like flies. Kazumi knows his fate and goes in for one last rodeo, Utsumi sacrifices himself, Gentoku tries to live up to his father’s legacy as a man of the people, and Ryuga attempts to send Evolt away for good. Even Sento started to get some of that death aura in the final battle...

A common complaint for a Rider show is the undoing of death. The best known example of this is in W, and I’d also put up Fourze. That moment when they kill off a character in a big dramatic way only to undo it in the next episode. It’s a tad cheap, and while you could say Build did that, I think it did it well - it creates a new world where all our favorite characters didn’t go through all this turmoil, while still making it a bit sad by not having them know each other. In that sense, they did die, but at the same time, they live.

I guess the first thing I wanna bring up is... wow we did the Ryuki ending, huh? Ryuki is like 2002 so it should be okay to spoil. Unlike Ryuki, the protag(s) remembers what happened, so that makes things more interesting and opens the way for future crossovers, albeit without a huge cast.

Zi-O is using time travel to work in Build (so they just went to a time when Build and Cross-Z were still rocking their first forms), we don’t know what the upcoming winter movie will be doing, so all we can look forward to for the moment is the Cross-Z movie. Very interested to see how that goes.

I will also address that there’s some weird implications to this new timeline that unfortunately haven’t been addressed in the show, and I HOPE they do in the movie because this is a big burning question: Is the technology still the same, and did the Mars mission still happen? Because without Evolt’s presence, Mars would presumably still be a planet with life on it.

Well, okay, I’ve done some thinking and can kinda address that, but not really.

Namba was involved with Japan’s unmanned space probe. As we see in this new world... I guess Namba is a non-military company now, meaning they probably wouldn’t have contributed to the space mission? I dunno, that’s my best guess. It’d probably also explain why we don’t see Guardians.

It’s a bit of a stretch if that’s the intent, just arbitrarily retconning Namba, but I guess it serves as an explanation. Still, unless life on Mars just ceased to exist a long time ago, someone has to have seen something when they looked into a telescope.

With that burning question out of the way, I dunno if there’s much else to talk about with this new world. It exists, and I wanna see what they do with it.

And that... finally, is all there is to Build.

I enjoyed the hell out of this show. It was dark, it was emotional, it was funny when it wanted to be, and it was solid all the way through. Well, okay, like any show, it has flaws. But I think that when a show has so much positive stuff going for it, that can negate the flaws. I consistently had fun from start to finish and I don’t always get to say that.

Whenever a Rider show ends, I come back to my little list of shows. I’ve seen all of the Heisei Kamen Riders, so I like to make a list of which ones are my most favorite to least favorite. Here’s the top 5 of that list, in descending order.

Gaim - Solid story, solid characters, just a fun trip all around.

Build - Unique premise, strong characterization, consistent.

W - Nicely written plot with fantastic monsters and memorible characters.

Ex-Aid - Great concept, good characterization, pretty solid execution.

Den-O - Fun and funny, interesting cast, compelling story.

It’s really lucky that the shows I’ve made blogs for are ones that I enjoyed enough to put so high above the others. And as I’ve said in the past, I’ll be stepping away from doing new blogs, especially since a big crossover show would be insanity to keep up with in the style of blog I like to do.

With Build basically over, I’ll pop in now and again to do an occasional review of the movies/bonus material.

Thank you for following up to this point. It’s been a fun ride.

#kamen rider build #reviews #feed

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kiss-ace · 6 years ago

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A beginning to a end

WARNING this fic does contain Chiharu....so if your don’t like it then please don’t read it. Read at your own discretion. As always let me know what you think.

Today you were supposed to meet Chiharu's parent ~His mom for the teacher home visit. To say the least you were dreading this trip. Originally you and Rikiya were supposed to go together but he "got sick" last minute. So now you had to go alone. Even though you have met Ms.Utsumi on multiple accounts your heart was still hammering. Ms. Utsumi had finally regained enough health to have visitors, but she still isn't ready to work. Chiharu was so excited to give you the good news, so you couldn't bring yourself to tell him you weren't looking forward to the meeting.

~~~~~

You hesitantly rang the door trying to put on your "award winning teacher smile". You let a sigh escape your lips when Chiharu opened the door instead of his mother. "Ms._____ please come in", he gave you a look that silently asked what's the matter. You simply shook your head at the look and followed him into the dining room. "Ms_____ it's so nice to see you again, won't you join us for dinner?" She smiled fondly at you.

~~~~~~

You felt your heart break in two. Not only had you broken the no dating rule, but your dating a student. You felt as though you had deceived everyone; their trust, respect, and confidence in you. But you couldn't deny the fact that you did in fact love Chiharu and you wanted what’s best for him. As you watched him light up as he talked with his brother and mother you knew what you needed to do. You were going to break up with him. You awkwardly cleared your throat and stood up to excuse yourself. You bowed deeply to Ms. Utsumi. “Ms.Utsumi, thank you so much for your hospitality,.. I’m sorry..*sniffle* for all the trouble I’ve caused you. Please excuse me.” You quickly straightened up and ran out the door not waiting for anyone to reply.

~~~~~~~

Chiharu raced after you. “ Miss._____ stop. Wait up. Where are you going!?” He continued to chase after you. When he finally caught up to you he grabbed your wrist and pulled you into an embrace. “ Chi-Chiharu” you felt the tears you had been trying to hold back start to resurface. “Mi…______ why did you run away like that?” he whispered into your neck, pulling you closer. You reached to embrace him back but stopped yourself. “Chiharu…I’m breaking up with you” you managed to choke out. You felt his arms loosen around you as your words struck him. “W-what…do ..you mean your breaking up with me ______?” the hurt was palpable. Your lip quivered as you spoke. “Chiharu…I really do love you, but I just can’t ignore how happy you looked back there. You have so much potential, a bright future ahead of you….I just can’t stand in the way of that…I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.” “______” he kissed you softly yet firmly. “_____ I’m happiest here with you in my arms, your lips on mine, and being the only man you love. I see my future here with you____, you are my future.” he said in between kisses. He kissed your lips,cheek,nose and forehead. “ And if you don’t believe me then I’ll have to prove it to you everyday with my words and actions.” he playfully nipped your neck. You laughed as you let a single tear fall.

~~~~~~~

Little did you two know that someone had taken a picture of Chiharu and you kissing as well as him entering and leaving your apartment.

#chiharu #ASA

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mkdremareriser · 6 years ago

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“Rider Rewrites: Build” + Theories about the Future of Build’s Story

Fuuuuuuck me, it’s been literally years since I’ve done Rider Rewrites. In fact, so long that I only ever made one Rider Rewrites, and that was for Ghost, a season that a lot of people have problems with (like the main character, though like I said in it, I actually enjoyed Ghost). So for a while I was thinking “I’ve been free from college for a while, so why not try doing Rider Rewrites again?” and here we are. I’m gonna do Build, since it DID recently finish, and I’ve already gotten a few ideas about what I’d change with it. This is also gonna have my opinions about the final episode in general (since it seems like there are quite a number of people who didn’t like it), and also my theories about where Build’s story will take them, primarily with the Zi-O crossover movie (since I’m sure what I’ll theorize with the Build arc in the TV series proper will be debunked fast) and Build NEW WORLD.

So since it’s been a long while since I’ve done a Rider Rewrites, I feel like I should restate my criteria as well as add some new ones:

- I’m only doing KR seasons that I’ve personally watched to the end, which are Kuuga, Ryuki, Blade, Den-O, Kiva, and all of the Phase 2 Heisei Riders. - No requests, I’m only doing this ‘cuz I feel like it. - Again no actual schedule, but this time I’m hoping to do at least a few more after this. - This is heavily opinion based, so there are definitely gonna be disagreements with what I’d do. I’m fine with different ideas and opinions, just as long as you respect mine as well. - This is all written under the premise that I'm a writer with an “infinite” budget, since I understand that with the restrictions that the real staff and cast have (such as cost of effects, timing, and having to edit things to fit a standard-length episode), they likely wouldn’t be able to do it. - My changes are likely not going to be in chronological order, it’ll probably be all over the place in terms of thinking. - I’m doing this without any knowledge about Kamen Rider Build: Be the One, so any changes that I’d make that are answered in the movie, I’ll take back. This will likely be the same for any future Rider Rewrites, since I’m intending to do these immediately after the TV series itself has finished, as it’s typically where my ideas for changes is the freshest.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to it.

SUMMARY:

The setting; 10 years ago, a space mission to Mars brought back a mysterious item dubbed the Pandora Box. Amidst the celebration of finding such an item, a mysterious man interrupts the ceremony by touching the alien artifact, which activates it and creates a giant wall known as the Skywall that emits a red glow, and divided the country of Japan into three new ones, Touto, Hokuto, and Seito. The light that was emitted from the Pandora Box’s activation affected the minds of those present there, namely Gentoku Himuro, who was there in place of his father, future Touto Prime Minister Taizan Himuro, who couldn’t make it, future Hokuto Prime Minister Yoshiko Tajimi, and future Seito Prime Minister Masakuni Mido. Their minds were affected by turning them into war-thirsty people who sought to use the power of the Pandora Box to their desires, and it was only by Taizan Himuro’s intervention that the Pandora Box was kept out of everyone’s hands. But in the background, a mysterious organization known as Faust begins to act, desiring to take the Pandora Box for itself.

Build follows the amnesiac genius physicist and scientist Sento Kiryu, the titular Kamen Rider Build, who seeks to find out his true identity, as well as convicted murder and former MMA fighter Ryuga Banjou, who transforms into Kamen Rider Cross-Z. They are aided by Soichi Isurugi, a mysterious man who runs the cafe nascita and acts as support by providing information in the lab underneath the cafe, his daughter Misora, who uses her connections as the internet idol Mii-tan to get information as well as being the one responsible for purifying the Fullbottles, which are necessary for Sento and Ryuga to transform with, and Sawa Takigawa, a reporter who’s in need of a big scoop, who also uses her connections to provide information to the Riders. Together, the nascita team fights against Faust and their leaders, Night Rogue, a malevolent man with the powers of the Bat Fullbottle, and Blood Stalk, his lackadaisical second-in-command who has his own plans and intentions. But underneath it all, things are much more complicated than it seems....

MY OVERALL OPINION:

I love Kamen Rider Build. It’s easily one of my favorite KR seasons I’ve ever seen. it’s not perfect, I can acknowledge that. Hell, if it were, I’d probably wouldn’t even be doing this Rider Rewrites for it. But that doesn’t change how I feel about it. I really enjoyed the characters, the plot, the designs, everything about it. But with that said, let’s get into

WHAT I’D CHANGE:

- First off, I think what I’d change is the introductory scene for the Hokuto Three Crows and Kamen Rider Grease. While it wasn’t bad, per se, it did come to my attention some time ago that in that introductory scene, Akaba uses a laser to destroy several buildings (probably killing a bunch of innocent bystanders while doing it) because he was getting bored waiting for Kazumi to join them. Which severely clashes with how we’re supposed to feel bad when he dies fighting against Gentoku as Kamen Rider Rogue. Instead of having Akaba lasering those buildings, I’d have the scene be that Kiba and Aoba are watching their tablet, and they turn around to face Akaba as the Castle Hard Smash, punching away at a Guardian he destroyed before using his laser on it (significantly weaker than what we see in the show, the trade-off being that he can use it more often as an attack now, since he barely used it in the first place). Kiba would chide Akaba about disobeying Kazumi (since I’m also imagining that the beam would damage another building (just not as much as in the original scene), but it would zoom out to show that Kiba is sitting on a Guardian he destroyed, and Aoba had planted a foot on one he did. Akaba would then detransform, revealing that he was different from a regular Smash, and would call out to Kazumi, it playing out much like in the original scene, where we see him having broken through the Skywall as Kamen Rider Grease and having destroyed the Touto Guardians. I feel like this change would help make the Hokuto Three Crows more earning of sympathy, since Akaba wouldn’t have just unnecessarily caused large-scale devastation. - For that matter, give some more time to the Hokuto Three Crows, since we barely know them outside of their relation to Kazumi. Aoba suffers this the most, since he dies first and very early on. According to Kazumi, he was a person who really cared about his friends, and would even cry for a complete stranger. I would like to actually see that, like give Aoba a scene where after he had fought a couple of Guardians (or the Riders), he sees a civilian scared to death of him, and tells them to go, that he’s not there to hurt them. Make him the most like Kazumi in that regard, so that his death stings him and the other two all the more. - Related to giving characters more screentime, do the same with the Washio Brothers. As they were in the series, they were just to be the “sidekicks” to Gentoku while he was on Seito’s and Nanba’s side and little else. For Fu, I’d like to emphasize his relationship with Rai a lot more. Make it that while he’s loyal to Nanba, Rai is the person he cares just a little more about. For instance, have it that when Rai goes back after losing to Kazumi in the Touto-Seito battle, Fu tells him that he’ll take care of things in a genuine tone, and do a brotherly handshake of sorts with him (which would be when Rai hands him his Gear Engine to let him transform into Hell Bro’s). And have it that whenever Rai’s down, Fu is always concerned for him before Rai insists on him finishing the job and tossing his Gear Engine to him. For Rai, I’d emphasize his prideful nature and loyalty to Nanba a lot more. Like, make it being a Nanba Child is a badge of honor for him, especially since he was the one chosen to be the Engine Bro’s. Have it so that in a lot of the fights we have with him, he’s talking down against his opponents about how inferior they are to him because he’s a Nanba Child and they’re not, and that with each fight that he loses, he becomes increasingly desperate to show that he’s superior to the point when he and Fu are offered to take the Nebula Gas infusion before their fight with Evolt, that he’s readily accepts it and pressures Fu to do the same (who I’d imagine would be just a liiiiiiittle apprehensive, but not too much as to not do it since he’s that loyal to Nanba as well), and that he has an even bigger breakdown about Evol being that much stronger than them, even after that Nebula Gas infusion. But still have Rai going down swearing his allegiance to Nanba, but this time as a way to comfort himself about the fact that not only is he not as strong as he thought he was, but that he’s now dying in front of his brother. Also, I think there could’ve been more of an effort to give the Washio Brothers more interactions with each of the characters, since they really don’t have any sort of significant relationship to any of the characters, even to Utsumi and Sawa, both of whom are also Nanba Children with them. - Show Sawa doing her espionage and information gathering. As funny as the “It’s better that you don’t know” gag is for me, I do understand the frustration some people have about her being this incredible character, yet we rarely ever see her doing her thing. Personally, the lack of her actions I chalk it up to the fact that doing unsuited stunts is that it’s time-consuming to teach actors who don’t have any experience with doing their own stunts, that using unsuited stunt doubles is harder to do since you have to match their physique to the actor’s/actress’s, and that it’s altogether too much money and too much of a risk that could injure them. For the purposes of Rider Rewrites, we’ll be ignoring that. Let’s see Sawa take down a bodyguard in front of a doctor who has access to Banjou’s medical records, let’s see Sawa sneak around to get information, just show her doing more things. - On a related/off-topic side note, I don’t really necessarily think that just giving her the role of like, another Rider or a Rider-like user is really conducive to her character. Like I understand the want for more female Kamen Riders/Rider-like characters, but I personally don’t see it as something entirely necessary. Honestly, in my opinion it kinda makes it feel like the female characters are only useful if they can transform and fight alongside male Riders, and that’s sorta more disrespectful, since we have just as many non-Kamen Rider/Rider-like male characters. Though admittedly with Build, there were none of those. Plus, if it’s on the basis that “we need more female representation in Kamen Rider”, I feel like Magical Girl shows like Pretty Cure kinda fill a similar niche. - Give Utsumi more of a personality other than just being a blind follower of whoever’s the main villain at the moment. Like show more of his inventive side, but have Nanba and Blood Stalk/Evolt dismiss his original inventions and praise the ones that he’s copied, and show his frustrations with that more, but that it’s not enough to break his loyalty to Nanba. Also do more hints about his nature as a cyborg, since that’s one of the few things I feel like genuinely comes out of nowhere in Build besides a few jokes about him being one. Like have Blood Stalk/Evol make fun of him for thinking so much like a computer, or have Utsumi move around a little unnaturally at some points (mainly whenever he’s transformed into Night Rogue or MadRogue). - On the topic of Vernage, I don’t really have a problem with how she’s used, especially within the context of the series, since she’s on a time-limit that grows shorter each time her powers are used. People seem to think that she’s done nothing, but remember, without her emptying the Touto Fullbottles and her defeating Evolt so many years ago, we wouldn’t have a story. - I don’t necessarily have a problem with Sento as a character, but as a Rider, I feel like we should’ve gotten him to use more of his Forms, especially since we’ve established early on that he likes to use different Best Matches and Trial Forms to his advantage. Like, let’s see more of his Best Matches with the Fullbottles we rarely see, even if it’s only used once in the series. Let’s see him use Best Matches like BeetleCamera, or DogMic, or TurtleWatch, or UniRaser, any of them. It’s a shame that later on he mainly relies on RabbitRabbit, TankTank, and Genius Form. Speaking of which, let’s see Genius Form use more of the Fullbottle powers. We see Sento use the Diamond Fullbottle’s powers to defend himself against Evolt’s attack in one episode, so I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t use the other Fullbottle powers as well. - Related to the lack of Form usages later on in the series, we can also circumvent this by just using the Fullbottle finishers of weapons that can use them, like the Drill Crusher, the Beat Closer, the Twin Breaker, the Transteam/Nebulasteam Guns, the Knuckles, and the Fullbottle Buster. Like let’s see the effects of using those Fullbottles have on the weapons, as well as use them more for Charge/Discharge Crushes. - For Ryuga, I’d say that I’d like to see him use the basic Cross-Z suit for a little longer before upgrading into Cross-Z Charge, since it didn’t get to really shine, even after he had to go back to the Build Driver, since he almost immediately gets Cross-Z Magma. Same deal with Great Cross-Z, since it’s a fantastic repaint of basic Cross-Z, though I don’t mind its lack of usage as much as I do with basic Cross-Z. As a character, I don’t have any problems with him. In fact, he’s easily become one of my favorite secondary Riders, and I’m absolutely excited that he’s getting his own V-Cinema next year. He deserves it. - If there’s anything related to Ryuga I would change, I would add more new scenes of him and Kasumi to make it so that we feel a bigger connection between them. Like I love how he still thinks about her even after the 2/3rd point of the series, but it’s always of the same scene. Like, show me more scenes of them together so I can feel like it’s a real relationship. - Kazumi’s character I feel like was fine, but I would definitely tone down his fanboy tendencies at some points, since it was a little over-the-top. I wouldn’t get rid of them, just tone them down a little bit. I’d also wouldn’t give him a new form before Grease Blizzard, since I feel like the impact of Grease Blizzard is because it’s a new form and that it was dangerous thanks to the multiple Nebula Gas infusions he took. Maybe instead of a second Twin Breaker and the Dragon Sclashjelly, he gets a new weapon first, like maybe his own Beat Closer (which is one of my favorite Rider weapons that sadly doesn’t get used often). Hell, call it the “Beat Greaser” and give it new sounds and a paint job and make it a Web Exclusive toy. Bandai loves doing that. - Gentoku’s also fine. At first I felt like I’d have the most problems with him when he was revealed to have a redeeming arc, but after all was said and done, I think it worked for him. Like the nascita team didn’t immediately accept him joining them like I worried about (since he did kill Akaba and was in general partially responsible for the terrible things that happened to each of the characters), and he truly does earn his place with them instead of it being “Oh, I guess we all immediately forgive you for your transgressions.” - Blood Stalk/Evol as a villain is fantastic. He’s got charm, he’s got power, he’s got some of the coolest Kamen Rider designs I’ve ever seen. My biggest problem is his somewhat simple motivation of getting stronger because he’s supposed to be the “superior being”. Like I’m sure in “Be the One” they reveal more of his motivation and background since members of his race also make an appearance, but for now, I’m mainly just going off on the TV series since I have yet to watch the movie. Personally, I would give Evolt a bigger backstory. Like I would make it so that Evolt had been a high-ranking soldier of his race that was entrusted with the Evol-Driver (something that he named himself because he’s egotistical) and the Pandora Box in order to fight a war against another planet. But after that, he became enraptured with the powers that the technology gave him on top of his own that he ends up going off on his own to become stronger and stronger, as well as becoming smarter and smarter with how he handled things. This would eventually lead him to Mars, where he meets his match against Vernage. But as he is, he works as a fantastic villain. - Overall, I think I’d give the series more breathing space to allow it to expand and explore everything, And with that all said and done, I’ll talk about my thoughts on the final episodes.

Honestly, it’s how I expected it to go, and I’m pretty satisfied with it. I’ve seen some people express dissatisfaction with it, and it’s understandable. But with the fact that their plan involved combining two Earths to create one new Earth, it’s hard to not imagine it going that way. Like, if the Earth’s combined and everyone was alive and had their memories of the previous universe, then what was the point of the tension and drama? Likewise, if the Earth’s combined and everyone that died stay dead, then what was the point of combining them? Personally, the Earth’s combining and everyone’s alive but without the memories of the previous universe is the better outcome, because it shows us how the world is without Evolt and the Pandora Box, and makes us wonder where Sento and Ryuga will go on from there. Speaking of which, I have a couple ideas of how the nascita team will reunite and regain their previous memories. I’m willing to bet that in either Zi-O’s and Build’s crossover movie or Build NEW WORLD, that they’ll all coincidentally meet at the nascita cafe, where they start wondering if they all know each other since each of them feels like the other is familiar, before being pulled into the movie’s plot. Maybe it’ll happen, maybe it won’t, but I’m hoping it does.

#kamen rider build #kamen rider build spoilers #build spoilers #spoilers #rider rewrites #kamen rider

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sambart93 · 7 years ago

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2017.09.19 Nanbaka Review!

I got to see JP again ^_^ *peace sign* And I’d always wanted to watch Nanbaka but after a friend told me they gave up after the first episode, I was a little cautious but the fact it got a stage meant that it was good and popular right?...right?! So I watched the anime about 2 weeks before I saw the stage and I loved the anime immediately! It’s so much fun yet still has really dark moments in it! Give me season 3 now!! Anyway, so because of that, I was super excited for the stage even more! And also with the visuals and it having such a great cast: I always enjoy Tomorun’s performance, I love JP, I really like Ire and want to support him whenever I can (without going out of my way), it has NAOYA in it as probably my (most/second) favourite character -- it was looking promising!

Lets get on with it!

Official Twitter here Official Website here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Video Coverage 1, 2, 3 PreOrder the DVD here, here or here

CAST and CHARACTERS

Akazawa Tomoru as 15/Jyuugo Kitazono Ryo as 1/Uno Shiozaki Ire as 69/Rock Yasukawa Junpei as 25/Niko KIMERU as Mitsuba Kiji Utsumi Daisuke as Yozakura Kenshiro Hashimoto Taito as Goku Samon Takagi Shun as Hitokoe Mitsuru Utsumi Akiyoshi as Tsukumo Miyamoto Hidemitsu as Musashi Hoshino Yuta as Rian Inagaki Seiya as Godai Yamato Okuyama Keito as Tanabata Seitaro Momiyama Kenta as Sugoroku Hitoshi Gomoto Naoya as Sugoroku Hajime Ensemble

NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: Guys!! This was absolutely hilarious and so much fun! They were joking when Tomourun said in the dress rehearsals that it's basically idiots running around for 2 hours, because that's literally what happens! It's complete comical madness and it's SO MUCH FUN! I enjoyed this so damn much!! I don't even know where to start with this! It's entertaining, purposely and accidentally funny (parts that are scripted and parts that are adlibbed), there's a lot of audience participation (even teasing one of the characters xD), the songs are very well done, the characters are enjoyable, the story is simple with a lot of madness thrown in, the staging is great and how it's used, lots of running around the theatre so everyone can get close to them, even though it's hilarious I actually ended up crying at one part towards the end, Tomorun's acting was on point as usual, the costume are great, it's just... just go and watch this god dammit! I preordered the DVD at the venue because it's that good! I am trash... Seriously, everyone needs to watch this if they want a good time! I also highly recommend the anime/manga to get a little taste of the show before you start this stage. I need the dvd for this NOW! I need a second stage NOW! Rating: 9/10 - one of the best I've seen this year.

SPOILER REVIEW

PRESHOW

I knew my seat was row 1, but I really didn’t know just how damn close my seat would really be! Also that I'd be right next to the DAMN stairs! I freaked straight away! And then I freaked out even more when I had the ENTIRE row to myself until about 2 minutes before the show started, until eventually one person either side of me finally showed up. There were on 3 of us, in the first row, on the right hand side, right next to the stage! It was ridiculous! I was so happy!!

I've always had good luck with seating for both JP's and Tomorun's stages. Usually for JP I get within the first 2 or 3 rows for a seat and then with Tomorun, he was right next to me and fighting right in front of me and (this is where I get creepy) his clothing brushed against me when I saw Messiah (here). Also it’s thanks to Tomorun (and my friend recommending I see Binan Koukou because he’s a good actor) that I discovered MakiChan -> we all know my love for MakiChan <3 anyway, so in Nanbaka, Tomorun was literally running past me or stood on the steps or crouched down on the right side of the stage. I think he noticed me pretty much straight away too (I don't know what his eyesight is like) because he seemed to flick his eyes over to me when he could get away with it. When he first went onto the stairs next to me I could see him turn and look right at me a moment before going back into his character. I got all dokidoki <3

Before the stage started they were playing hard rock like Metallica, which is a wonderful starter to set the mood for this stage! I absolutely loved the songs they were playing so it got me even more excited! And then the music itself in the stage is so good! But I've jumped ahead.

OH! Before I forget, there was one girl who had very obviously come to match Hoshino Yuta; she had this red Chinese-like dress/top on and her hair was platted. I love when fans indirectly cosplay to match the characters -- even though I've heard you shouldn’ do it. I know at places such a Tenimyu and TouMyu there's a strict rule about cosplaying and that it's not allowed so I always assumed it was for all the stages too. But sometimes fans do it where they're still wearing normal clothing and such (I've seen quite a few 'not' MakiChan cosplayers at his stages), it just so happens to be very similar to what one character is wearing xD

Anyway, lets get onto the rest of the stage.

THE STORY

This is very faithful to the anime/manga and we do the main introductions then we go into a new guy joining, next the Taikai is announced and so they do three of the competitions: the Daruma knock out; the Karuta; fighting competition. All the while, someone very suspicious with cuts on their neck and running around the prison and naturally this makes 15 go insane but the others take care of it. However, Musashi provokes him and his duel swords come out and Hajime has to fight him. Finally we get the prison scene where Musashi explains his past and asks 15 to find the guy for both their sakes. Hajime tells him because cell 15 won Jyuugo still has time to say what he wants and he says 'Chance wo Kure / give me a chance' and he returns to the cell and story ends.

So it's a complete story in a way BUT because of that final scene and the mystery of Jyuugos imprisoner (which is still a mystery in the anime too) they could very easily make a second stage. WHICH I want! Right now! Like tomorrow!

I recommend you watch or read the anime/manga before seeing this stage if you want to know the story and get an idea of what could very well pop up in it.

THE STAGE

This stage was so freaking good! I cannot flail enough about how much I enjoyed this stage! Everything was amazing! I loved how faithful to the story it was but they still left a lot of room for extras and higawaris and improvised comedy and such. I love which parts of the anime/manga story they decided to use for this stage. The pacing was great too! Also, there was never a dull moment in this because of how they paced the story and how ot developed and because of how much comedy there was. BUT that's not to say it was just purely comedy; it hard it's dark moments too! I was a little confused during the '5 minutes before show time' part when they said 'oh another extra rule; please laugh a lot! Also, at the end, please cry!' but seriusly, they didn't need to tell us that. I naturally cried. Both at the sad and dark part at the end - also because Tomorun's acting is so freaking enticing and amazing -, and because I enjoyed myself so much I cried through happiness at feeling so satisfied and so entertained for 2 hours, as well as sadness that it was finishing.

I left the theatre and I was literally like this inside:

It was just so amazing,hilarious, fun, heartwarming, such a good production!

I loved the set and who they moved that around and used it. I loved the costumes and how freaking faithful and perfect they looked and acted as the characters. The music and the musical numbers were so great! I enjoyed pretty much all of them and I defintitely want to rip them into MP4s when I get my hands on the DVD - which I preordered without evening thinking about it. I was straight in line to preorder that baby and didn't care how much it was going to cost me -- especially because Nelke are known for not really putting backstages on their DVDs (I kind of do hope we get a backstage for this one because the cast talked about how idiotic their rehearsals were and how fun they were; I want to see that!), but the stage itself, even if I get just that, is so freaking worth the money for this dvd. I loved how they used the projection mapping; I loved the physical props they did; I loved the ridiculousness of this stage. It's just all good right! I actually cannot think of one thing I was disappointed at in this stage << and that's rare as pigs flying for me isn't it!

Did I already mention the comedy was gold? BECAUSE IT WAS! I loved it all! Some scenes/moments I want to mention:

☆ There was a LOT of running around the theatre both on stage and in the seating area which was really nice for all the audience; everyone kind of got chance of being near the actors xD

☆ During the initial introductions scene; Naoya's character Hajime is supposed to be this serious and no messing around character, but during this part, Naoya/Hajime was tapping his fingers against one of the rails along to the beat while Seitarou lipsynced along with this huge smile on his face - immediately this set the mood for 'this is going to be ridiuclous and hilarious!'

☆ I really loved the scene where Uno won and would sang during the Karuta Competition and the other three (Niko, 15 and Rock) were to the side on an upper level dancing as stupidly as they could!

☆ AND!!! They did the famous BLEEP scene (it's in the anime too) during the Sports Day Event! I cannot believe it made it into the stage - I loved it! Tomorun was in charge of the bleeping with this massive bleep machine around his neck. It was hilarious! Even during Rock's solo song moment, Tomorun still had it wrapped around his neck so Tomorun 'played' the deck like it was a keyboard or something xD he was seriously rocking out to each.

☆ NONE of these boys gave anything less than 120% energy and performance in this stage. They were all beautiful covered in sweat and using so much freaking energy - it was so much fun to watch! I don't even know why Ire bothered to have his shirt somewhat zipped up because it was pretty much all undone anyway and the sweat coming off him was a spectacle. Tomorun sweated like a beast too and he was hardly wearing anything -- although those 'chains' around his feet and neck would've caused a lot of that sweat.

☆ I loved when Yozakura Kenshiro did his solo song, Hajime and Jyuugo were sat on the floor looking bored, and the moment the song finished, they both yelled 'kimoi!! / that's disgusting!' it was such perfect timing and of course everyone laughed.

☆ Poor Tsukumo! He was just bullied non-stop the entire stage! I was hilarious, pitiful and adorable at the same time! As soon as he appears, Rock, Uno and Niko are like 'you're a ninja!' and Jyuugo is like 'who's this poser? Why you here?' so Tsukumo immediately go shot down. Then (either the same scene or the next) the Cell 13 (Jyuugo, Niko, Rock, Un) guys start chanting a mean name at him and I remember JP/Niko and Jyuugo turning to the audience to signal them to join in so Tsukumo had like 500 people calling him a mean name for ages xD it was so funny! One other moment that stuff with me was when he went to go off stage one time, and he suddenly yelled 'ouch/itai' as if he's stuck on one of his shurikens or a nail, but then he immediately went '.... nani mo nai/there's nothing there' -- can you HEAR the laughter coming from me?! No? Well, my descriptions are making the hilarious scenes less funny. But just you wait til the DVD comes and you can see it for yourself! Tsukumo just had the worst luck and was treated like crap throughout the entire play, but it was just so hilarious.

☆ Speaking of pitiful people, we have Mitsuru who just before he commentates the Sports Event, he's in the seating area and said: 'How many people bought bromides?! *most of the room* How many people bought MINE?! *3 people put their hands up* well now you've done it, I don't care anymore.' and moped up the stairs xD

☆ The show I saw, Naoya messed up his very first line and everyone died laughing, but he acted like he hadn't messed up and was so professional and just owned the mistake and acted like it wasn't one. Naoya is so good at everything he does. He's so good! Even when he had no lines he was still pulling the best faces ever and interacting with people ec.

☆ At scene towards the end of the stage: Mitsuru put his mic against Kimeru's chest to hear his inner thoughts, and then did it to himself and then tried it again on Kimeru but didn't work the second time around, so he poked the mic into Kimeru's butt and Kimeru tried to get off stage as quickly as possible. AND THEN Mitsuru put the mic right against Naoya's face so he couldn't talk!

I need a second stage like... already. I need, need, need a second stage, especially with this cast and staff!

Seriously, who was the director and script writer *googles* Kawajiri Keita - huge freaking kudos for you! I'm pretty sure this guy was the one who did Hatsukoi Monster too... thanks for making such a great script and adaptation!

Now for some things about the actors or the characters I want to touch on...

ACTOR COMMENTS

Akazawa Tomoru as 15/Jyuugo:

I'm always ALWAYS super impressed with Tomorun but I never make a mental note of placing him being one of 'the top 2.5 actors'. But after this show, my brain has very much definitely implanted this memo into my brain. He always does amazing.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if he could do Jyuugo because Jyuugo is this weird happy but dark character with lots of internal turmoil and secrets but why was I worrying?! It was stupid of me to worry about Tomorun as Jyuugo because he was

Which reminds me; is he popular? I always thought he was pretty damn popular but no one really wanted his random badges; I didn't see anyone buy his bromides; me getting a Row 1 seat is weird because I would've thought it would've been more difficult to get such a seat because I assumed he was super popular. Is he like UeChan in that Tomorun IS popular, just many people don't go out of their way FOR him and his shows? I love Tomorun, he should be popular, he should have more love... he should have al the love... more than what just Izawa gives him... which is a lot to begin with... anyway................

I really, really loved Tomorun's eye contacts! They were so vivid and amazing! You couldn't not look! It also helps that Tomorun has this wide round eyes that catch people's attention anyway. But when he's literally next to your foot and looking out in thought or shock, you can't not be attatched to his eyeline and eyes.

I also really loved Tomorun's little ballad where he talks about his cell mates about 20 minutes into the stage, as well as I loved his final song where he talks about them again and wants to be with them. Both of them are completely different tones but the songs are beautiful and Tomorun sang them so well(!) in fact, I don't think there was one bad singer - which surprised me. I expected Tomorun, or JP or even Naoya to be bad but.... nah. Everyone was either decent or really good!

Talking about Tomorun's sweat above remained me to mention something else about him. He is so freaking tiny! He's just bones and energy! He's so damn small! And due to the very few and thin clothing he wears in this, it was so much easier to see his collar bone and his tiny legs and stuff! I hope he eats -- he must do because he's never out of energy but it was so surprising to see this tiny boy give off such a huge and great performance. I've always liked Tomorun's acting <3

If you have any Tomorun stage recommendations, definitely let me know!

ANYWAY...

Kitazono Ryo as 1/Uno:

Surpringly either he, his character, or both, were the most popular for this stage; everyone was buying his goods, everyone wanted his trading badge, and you could just feel the air and tension rise when he had solo songs or if there was a moment you could cheer and 'woooh' for him. He got a bigger applause and wooing in those moment we were allowed to interact than Kimeru which really shocked me. He did great as Uno though; he was perfect. They were ALL perfectly casted xD

Yasukawa Junpei as 25/Niko:

JP was just adorable, as I predicted, in this!!! It was nice seeing him do something light and fluffy and fun and happy again! Yet it was a different type of happy to his Konchuuger character. This character is very much a child and very innocent and JP really pulled off the innocent and cuteness of Niko <3 I feel like the character really suited him and I hope they do a second stage and he's back for him.

I want him to do more cute roles! He’s an awkward but really nice guy in real life yet he always does these sexy and/or dark roles, and I super want to see him being more like this:

Look how cute he is!!

But JP too and is freaking skinny looking in this stage because, just like the others, there wasn't really much fabric on him! He isn't as tiny as Tomorun but he's close enough! His tiny little legs and cute little butt. But anyway...

KIMERU as Mitsuba Kiji:

Kimeru never ceases to amaze me. He's always so freaking fabulous and owns his characters! The two girls either side of me were clearly his fans because they clapped and cheered so hard for him. He got to do this ridiculous, flamboyant performance and made to audience clap along every time and properly woooooo and cheering for him.

In one scene, Naoya turned to him and said 'by the way... why you so small?' And he's like 'I am NOT small!'.

He was so good and was perfect for this character! I want to see him do this role again! He was so much fun and he looked damn good in those heeled boots! I think I vagueley remember some thrusting dance moves from those hips of his at one point too... *coughs*

Utsumi Daisuke as Yozakura Kenshiro:

I feel Utsumi did a great job at bringing this character to life. I didn't really know him in the anime, but in the stage Utsumi really fleshed him out and was much more memorable in the stage compared to the anime. His singing was so good too! Maybe he was the strongest singer...

Hashimoto Taito as Goku Samon:

Taito got to use some of his breakdancing/acrobat moves in this stage which was great! But unfortunately, while I love him in the anime, his character stage time and development was very small in this one. He was a very minute character and role. Which is a shame because Goku is a character I like and I wanted to see him get more stage time. Hopefully in the second one *fingers crossed*

Hoshino Yuta as Rian:

Hoshino made me giggle during the fight scene; he's clearly not flexible because he couldn't kick that high and he was barely able to go a cartwheel. This is a type of character we've seen Hoshino do before so of course he nailed his role and did well; Rian is the type of character he's used to and is a pro at.

Momiyama Kenta as Sugoroku Hitoshi: I really loved how in the stage, even though they find out she's a he, people like Niko and Rock still treated Hitoshi as a girl and were still like googly-eyed over him xD

Gomoto Naoya as Sugoroku Hajime:

This character was perfect for him! He got to yell and insult people for two hours which is something we all know he's a master at! I love, love, love Hajime and Naoya was just PERFECT. He gave me the Hajime I wanted AND more because he's a pro at acting and knows how to take characters, give the performance the audience wants and adds to it so we get even more enjoyment from his character! He was the perfect Hajime <3

AND Naoya can actually sing! I was so shocked! They ALL can legit, properly sing!! They sounded soooooo good!

AFTERSHOW - MIOKURI (Actor Send Off)

I was super excited about the Miokuri even BEFORE the show started! I knew Naoya was going to be there as I had checked the night before. But when I rechecked the information they had pinned up, it had Kimeru for this day too! And after seeing his ridiculously, entertaining, amazing performance in this, I was nervous to see him too!

The line went: Kitazono Ryo (I do NOT remember him being in that line), Kimeru, Takagi Shun, and lastly Naoya.

KIMERU was super duper genki and just had so much energy with everyone. He was like ‘ara! Arigatou! Kawaii!!’. And then we had Naoya who was at the end of line with his hands together in front of (or behind him, I don't quite remember) him and he bowed to everyone just like the gentlemen he is, and he was so professional and calm and just so.... ‘manly’ is a good word to describe him.

GOODS

The pamphlet's pictures are so good! I have to show you some!! My thought process is basically 'So cute!!! So cool! DAMN THIS PIC IS NICE!!':

I looked at the pamphlet before show and it was adding to the already crazy excitement that I had. After the show ended I just HAD to get my hands on Tomorun’s bromides also because he was so amazing seriously -- did I already say that?

And that’s all for today folks! Hope you enjoyed it and I made you all more excited for this stage!

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norihisahyuga-archived · 8 years ago

Text

A Few Pointers.

Utsumi Yukie/Onuki Keiko Battle Royale 1000~ words. Sfw.

Yukie finds herself crushing on a girl at the beach.

She’s seen more of Class 3-B this summer than any summer before, but with everyone much older and at least half of the students now owning their own cars with licenses to match, Yukie Utsumi is hardly surprised. Stretched out on her beach towel, protected from the sun’s burning rays by the shade of her umbrella, she’s comfortable and happy to just watch everyone do their own thing while she relaxes. After all, it had been a busy year for her.

Being class representative always meant an unusually large amount of work; she and Motobuchi had been the class representatives in junior high. He had dropped out of the running in high school though, focusing on his studies instead, and Yukie can respect that even though she had gone for class rep again. Instead of working with Motobuchi, she finds herself working with Mimura instead, a challenge of its own because his focus is horrible.

It means she’s gotten to know Shinji’s friends better, though, as they often drop in when she and Mimura are supposed to be working. Back in junior high, she would have eaten that up, being able to be closer to Nanahara, but her crush on him had faded after their last year. She still likes him plenty, though, enough to be his friend and to be there for him when she can be.

It also means she’s gotten to know Shogo Kawada better, has learned he’s not the same hardass everyone thinks he is, because he’s Mimura’s boyfriend. And that also means she’s gotten to know Shogo’s ex-girlfriend, because the two of them are still friends after all this time.

“That’s cheating, Shogo!” Mimura is holding a volleyball in both hands, scowling at his boyfriend from the other side of the net they’re divided on. “You can’t spike directly into my face!”

In answer, Shogo just shrugs, giving his broad shoulders a roll. “Then you ought to move out of the way when your face is directly beneath the ball, shouldn’t you?”

“Would you two stop fighting? Mimura, it’s your team’s turn to serve, so get into position.” Keiko, on Shogo’s side of the net, is having none of their arguing, shaking her head at the both of them. “We didn’t come all the way out here to listen to a lover’s quarrel.”

The volleyball team had continued on into high school, Yukie having given up the captain’s position to Haruka once it became clear which of the two of them is better in the position. And they had become quite good, and it wasn’t less than ordinary to see people picking up the sport during the summer once they realized how much fun the girls had playing. Yukie is proud, of course, because it’s part of her lasting legacy, and she likes knowing that even some of the best athletes at Shiroiwa High aren’t as good as she and her friends are.

Mimura stomps his foot, then turns and tosses the ball to Nanahara. “Shuya, you’re up.”

Well, not all of them suck. As Shuya serves up perfectly, Keiko is right there on the other side of the net to send it sailing back. Her instincts are incredible, and Yukie loves watching her play. She loves watching how Keiko’s bare feet are uninhibited by the sand, how she almost seems to glide against its grainy surface as she plays. Maybe they should think about recruiting her.

When the game finally breaks down, Mimura and Sugimura arguing across the net about where a ball had landed, Keiko walks away, shaking her head. There’s no hiding the smile on her face, though, and Yukie finally sneaks out from beneath her umbrella after telling her friends she’s going to go buy something to drink. There are always plenty of vendor carts arranged on the hot sand, after all, and to her relief, Keiko is heading for one of them as well.

Yukie jogs a bit to catch up with her, wincing at how hot the sand is beneath her feet. “Onuki!” she calls out, pleased when Keiko stops and turns to her, waiting for her. “Your form is perfect.”

“How would you— Oh wait.” Keiko stops and snaps her fingers just as Yukie reaches her, a pleased smile spreading across her face. “That’s right, you’re on the volleyball team so you would know. In any case, thank you. I haven’t played since I left Kobe.”

“I didn’t know you were on their team.” The two of them start walking together, and Yukie reflects that Keiko being a former player makes plenty of sense. After all, her form is perfect, and her instincts are incredible. She’d been able to mark Mimura’s entire team so she could counter.

Keiko sends her a sideways smile as they fall into line behind a group of younger kids, producing a bill from her bikini top (Yukie only blushes a little when she sees this trick). “I was the setter, actually, but I’m taking this opportunity to try out the other positions, too. I was pretty good, our team went pretty far in competitions, but I just kind of flew under the radar when I moved to Shiroiwa. Shogo’s been on my back about coming and talking to you guys.”

“Setter is my position.” Yukie bites down on her lower lip at the thought. How strange is it that the two of them played the same position on the volleyball team? “We obviously don’t need a new one, but I know a couple of girls are making noises about focusing on academics soon.”

“I know it’s your position, I’ve been to the games. You’re actually quite great considering you just started back in junior high.” Keiko pauses, then turns to face her. “Is that an invitation to try out? It might be a good way for me to get out of the house more often.”

Yukie grins at her and, even though it’s a risk, she links her arm with Keiko’s. “Definitely. I’ll talk to Haruka about it and we’ll get everything set up at the start of the year.”

#battle royale #yukie utsumi #keiko onuki #femslashfeb2017 #*f: mine #*f: br #*f: yukie #*f: keiko #*f: femfeb

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