#which is super neat and cool because i actually cannot solve that the way i can solve a bad couple days

[authorofemotion]

ok update on my mental health bc if i don’t over share here then what’s the point y’know

[menshusband]

\\ this is a bit long. skip to the end if you do not want to read it all!

i love Cloudy because with him i would be free to keep a straight face, which others consider “unhappy”, and because i relate to him.

i love Joker because he thinks that what happened to him will happen to anyone who does not smile. not that he cares about others, but since i am in his life, he does anything possible to make me smile without a knife.

i love Bane because he knows what sufferance is, and has a kind heart, thus he would do anything to protect me.

i love Arthur because he is mature and serious, but has an awesome humour at the right moment, always. he would help me focus when there is need to, and laugh when i am down.

i love Benji because he is a technology genius. because he plays videogames and chews a gum during work, yet he is responsible. he is a bit nervous, but i do not blame him considering his job. he would try to keep me out of his work business, “it is too dangerous. i cannot tell you. and then itʼs top secret!11!!” ...but he would give up either to my puppy eyes or my stubbornness. he is definitely a bit underrated, too.

i love Chuck because he is fast. i am a pretty slow person, and i get called out quite a lot because of it. but he would tell me that it is alright, and he would take me on his back and show me what it is like to go that fast. if i liked it, he would help me become faster; if not, he would just let me have some rides every now and then. ... and then he is a dork.

i love Fred because he would make me laugh at any time of the day, in any way possible. he would have success 9/10 times. that one time i would not stop crying, he would just hold me and tell me comfort words, and tell George to shut up.

i love Hermes because he is really caring, friendly, chilled out, always has the right words, and he is fast. he would help me trip on my own tongue less, and would slow down his talking when he sees i am not getting much. he would give me a ride flying at an insane speed, just to be very unfunny because he knows i do not like heights. but he knew that i would like it and that would help me overcome my fear.

i love L because he is a very smart boy. he would help me stop lying completely, even for the small things. not that i usually lie - i actually hate lying - but i do not always tell the whole truth.

i love Lumière because he is romantic. i am not really much, so he would just be the nicest man on earth and offer me to dance, take me to beautiful places in Paris and to stargazing at night. and then he would also teach me french.

i love Marshall Mellow because, although he is shy, this never ever stops him from bringing to an end all of his orders, or anything he starts at all, whatever it takes. he would protect me in any way possible and take care of me.

i love Peter because he is fragile. because he needs to be taken care of, and i want to. i want to help him. because he has a trauma, and it will take him time to overcome it. and i want to be by his side all the way through it. i want to be his comfort anchor for when he wakes up from a nightmare, and he looks for something real to cling on in his bed. i want to help him understand it was not his fault, any of it, and that the spirits are finally gone. that he is safe, with me.

i love Sherlock because he is not an easy one. he has his very own way to think, to act, and i love it. i would do anything he would ask me to, and he would teach me all the things he knows - which are a lot. when he would catch a criminal and we would be home, he would feel guilty not to thank me for my help - even if small; and despite his bad skills in showing affection, he would call me and gimme a kiss on my forehead to thank me.

i love Stanley because he has been through a lot. kind of same story as Peter, but Stan is a bit stronger. i want to help him understand that he is safe now, that IT is gone, and will never come back. that none of that was his fault, and that his life still has got much for him.

i love Timon because he tries his best. he is a free spirit, yet he tries to adapt to his herd lifestyle. he tries to explain kindly why he thinks that he is not where he wants to be, and he always tries to fix his mistakes; yet everyone always sees him under a bad light. i relate to him in a way.

i love tin man because he is kind hearted and extremely caring. he is sensitive and, although he might not be the bravest, he never steps back when it comes to help someone.

i love Tulio because he is realistic. he is rational and always looks for a possible way out of things. he would help me solve my problems and teach me how to be down to earth and think quicker. he is very lucid, and despite how much he is attached to gold, he is always able to listen to his “little voice inside his head” and do the right thing. he is not insensitive.

i love Tschakko because he is brave. he is pretty smart in his own way, and protective as well. he is respectful towards women and always ready to attack someone or use dynamite, even when unnecessary. he would probably try to soften and not to yell as much as he could when i am around, knowing it startles me, but still would give me - kinder - orders to help me not to be too lazy.

i love Marvin because he is literally crazy. he is also really precise. he would definitely teach me how to use a gun and, as opposed to Benji, he would have no problem involving me in whatever his friends and he get caught into. does not mean he does not care about me– as soon as i get hurt, he will go insane and.. yeah.

i love Mickey because he!! is!! my!! childhood!!

i love Miguel because he has a big heart. he is a very human person, and a dreamer, which i really admire; not many people are able to. i love his way of thinking and how he stands for justice always, no matter what.

i love Ryuk because... because?? this is pretty hard to answer lol. he is funny, and.. a shinigami. i know he cares about me and would definitely have a crush on me at some point, but i frankly do not know how far he would go to defend me. but, i do know that he would be interested in anything i do during the day, both as human and as me myself, and would want to know what i want to do with the Death Note.

i love scarecrow because he is damn smart. that is it.

i appreciate Bobo because he is an adorable dork!! he might get annoying sometimes, but i would love to take care of him and patiently explain him everything. ... however, cannot deny that seeing him getting slapped upside the head by Tschakko or Cloudy would crack me up a LOT.

i appreciate Cooky because he cares about the others health!!! he always cooks healthy meals for them and does not want them to skip a meal. he is also a bit smarter than the others, sooo, a tiny bit less irritating..? lmao.

i appreciate Ralphy because he is so neat!!! Sunny is right, he is very nice!! his attempts to be a dwarf in the beginning were so adorable! i am glad his dreams came true and that he got to be a dwarf!!!

i appreciate Speedy because he is hilarious. despite he is a bit slow, i cannot say word to it, because i myself am! and then, he tries his best to stay behind others and help, which is nice.

i appreciate Sunny because he is solar, and always tries to light up everyoneʼs day. he always sees the bright side of everything, which i am.. almost never able to, so he would definitely help me a lot with that.

i appreciate CASE because IT IS SO ADORABLY SMART AND GREAT

i appreciate TARS because IT IS SO ADORABLY FUNNY AND BRAVE

i appreciate the Cheshire Cat because. he is a damn fluff ball, i would love to hug him all day. he is the cutest and obnoxiously clever.

i appreciate Gumball because he is just ridiculous, in a loving way!! he is the best when it comes to dumbassary and thus make me laugh. i am happy i consider him my brother :)

i appreciate Darwin because he is a bit more rational and sensitive, and without him, Gumball would probably be dead a long time ago. although sometimes they might keep me out of their “boys business”, i love seeing them sharing their unique bond.

i appreciate B. B. because he.. alright, give me a second. i ran out of words lmao. i appreciate the fact that he is vegetarian! and i love the brother bond he has with Cyborg. i am glad to think they would involve me in their nerdy projects. also, he would totally let me have a ride on whichever animal i would like hehe.

i appreciate Raven because she is so cool!!! i always wanted her to be my sister. i have always admired her rationality and intelligence. and then!! she is daughter of a demon!! she has super cool powers!! WHAT!!!

i appreciate Cyborg because he is neat!! he would let me watch him fix or create any technology piece he comes up with, and try to include me as much as he can in any project or event that is up!

i appreciate Robin because he tries his best to be a good leader for everyone. he tries to be responsible and focus on saving the city when the others do not! he is not very patient as a leader, but i cannot blame him. i myself am a bit too irascible at times.

i appreciate Starfire because, despite she might look a bit dumb, she is just a nice, pretty princess. she is sensitive and cares a lot about the others, and enjoys living on earth, which i am glad of! she has made enormous progresses since when she came here, considering she was already a teen when she arrived. and then, she has super cool powers too!!!

of course there are many more reasons why i like my f/os, but letʼs just say these are the “mains”.

i have made this long, long post not only because i wanted to give at least a reason per f/o, but also because i wanted to give you all a help. this is a good exercise for you and your f/os both, especially when you feel like you are not very close to them. try to say why you love them, or why you have fallen for them first, and try to include something they would do for/with you. this can help!

[soaring-ravenclaw]

Hello! I'm a fellow Ravenclaw, and I was wondering. Do you happen to believe in breaking the steriotypes of our house, and do you believe that Ravenclaws often get bad grades, are more creative than witty, often procrastinate and hate studying?

I am so sorry I am only just seeing this now! Sorry for not responding sooner. But now that it’s 1 am and I am itching to write paragraphs I’ll answer this now isdufgbi.

So of course the stereotypes surrounding Ravenclaw don’t apply to everyone since we can’t all be neatly sorted into houses, but I think a lot of the things people say are accurate, at least the ones I've seen which are probably Ravenclaws working to break stereotypes set by other houses.

Ravenclaws are probably much more motivated to research something that actually fascinates them rather than something they are specifically told to do, so instead of doing like math homework, they procrastinate by reading pages and pages of analysis on their favorite TV show or something like that (and this is speaking from personal experience as well. I cannot tell you how many times I read Zodiac threads instead of doing Biology homework).

I also feel like there are two types of Ravenclaws - the ones who need to work hard to get good grades and those who seem to have it come to them naturally, ya know, those people who don’t have to study for tests vs the people who spent all night just making the flashcards with the info. And I don’t mean to say that those who don’t need to study are lazy or anything, it’s just some take in information more naturally or easier than others, so they’re all set after just listening to a lecture in class. So those who have to work for their grades but decide not to probably get bad grades, while other Ravenclaws probably get as good grades as any other house. I could be wrong though because like I said, Ravenclaws would probably rather daydream about a novel they could write or start doodling a scene in their head than listen in class or do their work.

I keep going back to the point that most Ravenclaws are probably more invested in learning about something that actual interests them but it’s literally my favorite thing about Ravenclaws and the biggest reason why a lot of stereotypes are broken. Ravenclaws are probably a lot more creative, because they want to write about this really cool idea they just had or play around with this neat color palette they just saw rather than solve riddles or do Intellectual Things™ like other houses think we do. Like, yeah we could get back in our dorm, or we could stay up all night outside the door jotting down random lyrics that pop in our head.

And of course we shouldn't let people hold us to the stereotype that all Ravenclaws are bookworms and super smart because that’s simply not true, not for all of us at least. I think the thing about Ravenclaw’s is that we want to accomplish our goals, but we want to accomplish our own goals in our way, which probably don’t relate to academics, and even if they do we’re too stubborn to get help, which is why we get bad grades.

Anyways that’s my ramble over, again sorry for seeing this so late and for the big essay, I get way too carried away. I hope Ravenclaw stereotypes don’t get you down, because they’re just that - stereotypes. Only a true Ravenclaw knows what Ravenclaws are like so don’t let the Gryffindors, Slytherins, or even Hufflepuffs of the world tell you otherwise!

[thebarricadebabe]

Well, I guess I would be letting myself and the 12 year olds down if I didn’t have a little comment on the Sherlock Shenanigans tonight.

I just read the VOX article instead of watching it (I’d link it but I’m lazy, go find it thought, it’s really good and gives you all the spoilers with excellent points).

If this is the end of the series, I couldn’t be more disappointed. I am not going to lie, season one and two of Sherlock are some of my favorite episodes of television ever. I say this having rewatched them recently, so it’s not just hazy fandom nostalgia influencing me here. Are there problems? Yeah, especially with the female characters involved, but for the most part they are super fun and a really neat adaptation of the original Holmes stories, which I have treasured for a long time.

I’m just gonna focus on season 4 here but things have been on the down for me ever since season 3, because they broke the case format. I know procedurals get boring and all that, but there is a balance between personal exploits and fun crazy mystery solving.

Season four was nothing  but fanservice and lies. Lies that Moriarty was back, something that actually got me to watch the series opener like a goddamn idiot, and then it turns out that (spoilers if you care) it was all Sherlock’s lost sister using pre-recorded clips of him (this was the first of several what the fuck moments I had reading tonight’s episode). Fanservice about pirates and dogs and Sherlock interacting with babies, and the usual will they/won’t they tension with Watson even though we have been assured many many MANY MANY times that they in fact will not.

This is nothing new. We never found out how Sherlock survived, we never see any consequences for his straight up murder of Magnussen, and Moriarty explicity says “I’m back bitches” and then oh noooooo he’s still dead, and it’s all a crazy sister whose entire narrative only serves to torture Sherlock, just as Molly’s entire narrative is to hopelessly idolize him until she gets tossed like a ragdoll, how Irene’s whole narrative was to be his equal, but how could she when she’s a slut? Like how Mary’s whole narrative was to drive Sherlock and Watson apart and “ruin all the fun” (I’m not gonna deny that she really did do that). 

The whole sister thing is the biggest plot twist though: It turns out Sherlock was a soap opera the whole time! That was the literally the dumbest thing I’d ever heard of in my life. There was practically no build up to any of that besides her whole Master of Disguise thing, not in previous seasons. If this is where the story was always heading, it feels, frankly, like a rip off. 

And then the curveball comes out of nowhere that this might be the last series of the show, which just makes the whole thing even worse. I honestly feel that the series might stand an honest chance of returning to the fun of the first two seasons  at this point. Even though all the emotional fallout of the last two seasons was never, and probably will never, be resolved, I would deal with it to get back to genuinely fun episodes of crime solving television. Seriously, John Watson becomes a widowed father, sees Sherlock go through addiction AGAIN (I cannot fathom the way they dealt with this plotpoint, it was beyond bananas), and has a gun at his head again at the end of this episode. None of that will ever be dealt with. The baby might as well be non-existant (left in the care of the equally invisible Molly), and the Baker Street boys will continue to be somewhat gay, now that they’re free of that fucking nag Mary, and they’re just guys doing dude stuff and being cool. 

But I would take it if it meant that we could have an hour and a half of fun. zany, crime shenangicns, and not this self aware fan service bullshit that thinks that it is way smarter than it ever was to begin with. 

As storytellers, you have an obligation to finish your story, so says John Green. Mofftiss need to stop the bullshit, because they probably just permanently sunk Sherlock.

[chimepunk]

What novels or book series would you recommend?

oh fuckin boy dude so many. 90% of what i read is either gay or scifi/fantasy or both, and some are technically for a younger audience but still great, so thats what most of this is which hopefully you’re cool with here goes

this got super long so i’m putting it under a cut. bolded titles are the ones that i’m super recommending, though i love them all

novels

the coldest girl in coldtown by holly black - vampires! a trans character! a bi character! one of the most novel approaches to vampires in fiction that i’ve seen! 10/10 would recommend

the darkest part of the forest by holly black - again, holly black is one of my favorite authors. this one’s got faeries (the proper vaguely unsettling kind that i’m all about) magical music, girls embracing their sexuality, girls being knights, interesting sibling dynamics, and a super cute m/m pairing

les miserables by victor hugo - ok yeah, it’s like 1400 pages long and historical fiction, but i love les mis a lot ok. it’s gotta be on this list just because it owns my ass. it’s like a old drunk french man trying to tell you about the june rebellion but he keeps getting distracted by things like people’s personal lives, the intricacies of the parisian underworld, and how much he wants to fuck the sewers. it’s wonderful

the night circus by erin morgenstern - magical circus that mysteriously appears for days at a time and then vanishes? a competition between young magicians drawn out for years? a wide variety of fascinating side characters? (i will say that the synopsis available for the book is somewhat misleading, as it’s actually less about our two protags and more about the circus itself. but that’s what makes it so enchanting)

the song of achilles by madeleine miller - retelling of patroclus and achilles story to be explicitly romantic. will make you feel like you’re floating on clouds and then rapidly crush your soul. sort of a happy ending? but it’s still a tragedy. their ending is the same as it was in the illiad so if you’re not prepared for that then maybe don’t read

good omens by neil gaiman and terry pratchett - a demon who’s not very good at being a demon and an angel who just wants to collect his books in peace thank you very much try to sabotage the end of times. absolutely hilarious

fairy and folktales of the irish peasantry by w.b. yeats - the best collection of irish faerie stories by one of my favorite poets. if you like creepy and tricky faeries i would def recommend checking these out

rootabaga stories by carl sandburg - another collection of folktales, this time inspired by the american midwest. kinda weird, kinda zany, very neat

the poison eaters by holly black - a short story collection of faery stories that are sometimes creepy, sometimes touching, sometimes gay. my personal favorite is about a library science student who finds a book collection where the characters come out at night and interact, but they’re all really great

series:

alex rider adventures by anthony horowitz - teenager gets recruited by MI6 as a spy, has incredibly high success rate, gets pretty fucked up along the way but damn those one liners tho, maybe have some self preservation alex? just a thought

all for the game by nora sakavic - about a fake sport called exy that’s kind of like indoor lacrosse but more violent. contains: crime families, found families, an aspec protag, girls kicking ass, unhealthy levels of sass, wonderful slowburn m/m that you can’t even see coming for a long while, and a happy ending for everyone!! i came for the gays and ended up reading all three books in two days. also you can get the whole series for less than five bucks on kindle! (note: tw for rape, physical abuse, torture, ptsd, child abuse, drug use, alcoholism, some use of slurs, mentions of past self harm, mental illness)

artemis fowl by eoin colfer - more faeries, but this time they live underground and are way more technologically advanced than humans. the first book focuses on our anti-hero trying to catch one and steal their gold, and they quickly become allies and solve faerie related cases together!! one of my favorite series growing up, and i cried in the middle of the hallway at school when i finished the last book

camp half-blood series by rick riordan - does rick riordan write a lot of mythology books? yes. do i love them all? yes. neurodivergent kids! kids from a huge range of racial and ethnic backgrounds! queer kids! collect them all! ft. greco-roman mythology and a lot of stupid jokes

emelan series by tamora pierce - ok this is easily one of my favorite series of all time. non-western high fantasy setting (picture greece/turkey, china, tibet, mongolia, scandinavia, etc type settings), following four young mages who have unique kinds of magic as they train and grow their skills and become powerful in their own right. only one of the kids is definitely white (jury’s still out on sandry), one is a lesbian, one is ace, one is pan, all four are raised by a loving f/f couple, body diversity, one of the best found families i’ve ever read, feminism, discussion of racism, classism, cultural identity, war, and so much more. it’s so so good and so under-appreciated please read all of the emelan books 

the dark is rising sequence by susan cooper - full disclosure i have not finished this series yet but i’ve re-read the first book a million times. it’s a neat take on arthurian mythology, with dark forces trying to take over and kids getting shit done

diviners by libba bray - psychic teenagers in 1920s new york! i’m a slut for prohibition, but these are also super fun and have likable and real characters, and doesn’t only focus on wealthy white people having parties which is nice. the occult! government conspiracies! historical references! genuinely scary situations! it’s rad!

the enchanted forest chronicles by patricia c. wrede - i adore this series so so much. it’s about a princess who’s father keeps telling her that she can’t have hobbies like fencing or cooking or conjugating latin verbs because they’re unladylike and insists that she marry this doofus prince that she couldn’t care less about. so she runs away and volunteers to work for a dragon and proceeds to send away all the princes that try to rescue her. it’s genuinely funny, has a really neat magic system in the later books, great female friendships, cats, dragons who have no time for your gender roles, and wizards who are the most ridiculous group of antagonists you will ever see

the infernal devices by cassandra clare - i really really do not like the author of this series but it also broke me so it must go on the list. if you’re familiar with the mortal instruments or shadowhunters on freeform, it’s set in that universe in the 1870s in london and it’s very steampunk and very angsty and it made me cry a lot

the kane chronicles by rick riordan - see: camp half-blood series but egyptian

fablehaven by brandon mull - oooooh fuck me up i love this series. this is another one meant for slightly younger readers but all of brandon mull’s series are so wildly imaginative and i’m a slut for world building so. the premise is basically that there are secret preserves all over the world that house magical creatures, and five of these preserves have vaults with artifacts that when brought together make a key to this massive demon prison. an evil society called the society of the evening star is trying to get the artifacts to open the prison, and a different group who is allied with the preserves called the knights of the dawn is trying to get to them first to prevent this from happening. there are dragons, light and dark powers, crazy convoluted vaults to get through, and some really cool creatures and characters

beyonders by brandon mull - this guy again! this one’s about a parallel world called lyrian that people on earth can only get to through small liminal windows, and usually can’t get back through. the story follows two kids, jason and rachel, who get stuck in lyrian and end up becoming major members of the resistance against the evil emperor maldor. just like fablehaven, the world building is insane and you’ll fall in love with all the characters. this is yet another series that made me cry in the middle of class when i finished it

the kingkiller chronicle by patrick rothfuss - this is series is long as all fuck and the last book isn’t out yet but it’s my #1 favorite series of all time. i found out about it bc a cashier at a local grocery store held up the line to write it down for me and i never went back. parts of it are achingly, hauntingly beautiful, other parts are hilarious enough to leave you in stitches, others make you want to pull your hair out. there’s sass, recklessness, beautiful and deadly girls, an overwhelming love and emphasis on the importance of music and storytelling, magic that’s more like science, ethnic adversity, student loans, a thing that might be a cow or might be a dragon depending on who you ask, and more quotable lines than you could dream of. the audiobook by nick podehl is also fabulous, and lin manuel miranda is producing and adapting it for the screen and maybe stage at some point in the future!

a modern faerie tale by holly black - guys. i love holly black. almost everything she’s ever written is on this list. this one is fairly self explanatory by the title, but it’s gritty and dark and has those lovely creepy faeries that she’s so great at writing. also a surprising m/m couple in the last book, both of whom are characters in the other two installments. (tw for drug use/addiction, brief sexual assault, and probably other things that i can’t remember right now)

the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater - also in my top 3 favorite series of all time, i cannot begin to describe this series. i first read it while up in the nc mountains which improved the experience to a surprising degree, but it’s stuck with me for the last several years. basically 5 teenagers go in search of a dead welsh king, but along the way there is magic, psychics, ghosts, a sentient forest, dreams becoming reality, curses, teenage shenanigans, classic cars, swearing, church, kisses and not kisses, illict hand holding, a baby crow, bisexuality, a death list, hitmen, and nicknames and it will consume your heart before you know what’s happening to you (tw child abuse, implied sexual assault, substance abuse, dissociation, mentions of past suicide attempts, body horror, gore, and disturbing scenes esp. in the last book)

six of crows by leigh bardugo - a team of criminals band together to break into an impossible fortress, fall in love, con an entire city, and get rich. set in the same universe as the grisha trilogy (which is also good but not as good as soc), this is basically a heist followed by a con, but pulled off by ruthless teenagers and with the help of magic

curseworker trilogy by holly black - crime families, magic that can only done through touch so everyone wears gloves, moral ambiguity, and a twisted romance. one of holly black’s best and most underrated series

baccano! by ryohgo narita - this is a japanese light novel series which has been adapted into an anime, but is much more extensive in print. the plot is extremely convoluted, but an absolute ride spanning several centuries, although the bulk of it is in the 1930s in nyc and chicago. there’s an elixir of immortality, crime families, trains, a solipsistic assassin and his mute assassin gf, serial killers, a demon with a catch phrase, murder, explosions, adorable couples, gambling, a gang leader named jacuzzi who is always terrified, killer corporations, and much much more

no.6 by asuka asano - another japanse series, this time focusing on two boys, one who grew up in a utopian city, the other who grew up outside the walls after the city destroyed his life. they meet when they’re 12 years old, and several years later, they’re reunited when the outsider rescues the city boy from arrest. they, along with a pimp and a nonbinary dog hotel owner, try to expose and overthrow the government. also ft. drag performances, mice who like shakespeare, killer bees, and boys falling in love.

the merlin saga by t.a. barron - my favorite take on arthurian mythology, chronicling merlin as he comes into his power. there’s a vividly magical island, giants, amulets, talking trees, stones that will try to swallow you, a swamp witch, celtic deities, huge wicker hats, poetry, new kinds of fruit, people that are also deer, and human’s long lost wings.

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Leaves The Forest With Episodes 36-42

Welcome to THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Daniel Dockery aka That Dude That Won't Shut Up About One Piece, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 29-35, and we continue this week with episodes 36-42.

This week, the theme is Leaving The Forest For Some Rad One-On-Ones. The next stage of the Chunin exam starts as the passing teams leave the Forest of Death and are now randomly placed in a series of one-on-one fights. Those that have watched the show know that we're basically counting down to Rock Lee's classic fight against Gaara, but there are some fights here that shouldn't be ignored, particularly the one involving Sakura and Ino. But we'll get to that soon. For now, let's dive right in and talk about the hot button political issue that's on everyone's minds these days: shadow clones. 

How do you feel about the use of clones in Naruto? I remember not liking them for some weird reason back in high school, but now I like how dynamic they can make the action scenes sometimes. Do you think they're overused? Have a lot more potential?

Paul: I wouldn't say Naruto's Shadow Clone technique is over-used. They keep allowing enough time to pass that I forget it's his main technique, and they also keep coming up with creative ways to use it (exploding a giant snake from within, disguising as a giant shuriken, disguising as his team mates to get the drop on an enemy, etc.), so I like how it's a fairly well-defined power that is made interesting by the versatile ways Naruto uses it to solve problems.

  Joseph: Yeah, it's used creatively enough and it's a cool technique to begin with. I just feel bad for the animators who realize they need to draw a dozen of the same character fighting a dozen of another character for an upcoming scene.

  Kevin: I am literally counting every single shadow clone each week, so clearly you were not alone in thinking that they are overused. Personally, I quite like that Naruto actually tries to be clever with how he uses them, transforming them to overcome an otherwise difficult situation several times already. Later on, we'll see other uses, and both Shippuden and Boruto expand on the idea even further, so there is a lot of untapped potential to come.

    Kara: I've seen them used creatively, which is kind of neat. At the same time, that creative use of them has made me super paranoid. We've seen Clone Jutsu combined with the Transformation Technique on multiple occasions already. It's made for some cool diversions and unexpected wins, but I'm getting to a point where I'm not even sure who's really onscreen in battles. If that's the point, fair play to the creators.

  David: For now it's ok, used sparingly and diversely enough that when it is the "twist" in a fight I'm usually into it. Genjutsu as a whole is more what I have a problem with, especially as the series goes on - when nothing you are looking at is ever necessarily even real, it can become hard to get invested in fights.

  Peter: I'm noticing a lot more my second round though how Naruto uses them only exclusively for deception. Just about every real threat can KO Naruto pretty easily so it's all about misdirection. One thing I'm loving about Boruto is that he uses them a lot more kinetically, redirecting and accelerating himself in various ways using his clones and wind jutsu as springboards. It's a cool twist.

  Jared: If the clones were an overpowered ability, it'd probably be much worse, but as it stands, I think they're fine. Especially since for the most part they've been used for deception in Naruto's case. The only times when it feels excessive is when Naruto creates a butt ton of clones and they aren't that effective, outside of blowing up a big snake.

  Danni: I wouldn't say they're overused. Every ninja in this show seems to have their one "thing" they're great at, we just see the Shadow Clones the most since Naruto is the protagonist. I do hope he develops more techniques as he gets more experience as a ninja, but for now I'm content seeing how creatively he uses his clones.

  Nate: I always love seeing simple abilities used in creative ways, and since the idea of Shadow Clones are so synonymous with the idea of a "ninja" in fiction, it's cool to see Naruto use them so extensively. Also as Peter pointed out, it's really cool to see the different ways Naruto, and later Boruto, individually use Shadow Clones.

  Carolyn: I don't mind them, for the most part. It does occasionally become a bit much, but I think they generally do a good job of creating danger without simply overwhelming the scene with nothing but clones.

  Noelle: I think they're pretty alright. I feel like a 'special move' only becomes repetitive when it's used in the same way, over and over again, but the series is doing a good job of avoiding that. Every time Naruto's clones come out, he uses them in a different way, so it's still unpredictable how they will be used. As long as they don't become one-note, I don't have any issue.

  Well, the Forest of Death is over. How did you like it? Think you could pass it? Have any recommendations for streamlining or expanding the next Forest of Death phase?

  Paul: There's no way I would pass The Forest of Death; I'd get eaten by leeches or a giant snake within the first 10 minutes. My only recommendation for streamlining the experience would be not to stuff a recap episode right before it gets going, because it breaks the rhythm of the story arc.

  Joseph: If anything, the anime could have built upon this test without venturing too deep into filler territory. I would have liked to see more of the natural dangers of the forest, AKA more of those massive centipedes. The one thing Naruto's world is missing so far is a sense of peril outside of the ninja-versus-ninja action.

    Kevin: Easiest answer first: I'd die immediately. As for whether I liked it: it is enjoyable to watch, but it is probably the weakest of the tests, largely due to the overlapping stories making each individual thread more difficult to follow. For streamlining the test, I would recommend introducing Orochimaru earlier, maybe as the leader of the Sound ninja like how he appears in the third test preliminaries room, so that all of his plot stuff can start before the Forest of Death, and so more time can be devoted to the Genins' actual survival and tracking.

  Kara: I can't pretend I wouldn't have tried to sneak a peek at my scroll and thought I was being super stealthy about it. I'd just be lying out there like a free snack for the forest critters.

  David: I enjoyed it overall but if I were to change one thing it would actually be to put Orochimaru later; the intensity of that conflict incidentally wound up mostly overshadowing everything that came after it. Really a nitpick though, because other than that I have nothing but good things to say. The Sound Ninja sure are cool.

  Peter: Lowkey love the forest more than the subsequent tournament(s). Putting characters against one another in a featureless room is one thing, but juggling multi-person fights in a massive, multi-level forest environment is something else. You absolutely cannot skip this arc. Sasuke vs Orochimaru is one of the best fights in the series and Sakura gets one of her best moments. OK, maybe after the Sound trio fight...

  Jared: I'm a goner like thirty minutes into this test. Some big bug's gonna come across me and I'm just gonna fall over and tap out. The only thing I could see being expanded upon is just the actual forest being more of a threat since most of those kind of just get taken care of fairly quickly and moved on from.

    Danni: If you told me that I have to spend five days in a forest I would give up before the test even began. I really enjoyed this part of the exams. It not only had some fantastic fights but also some of the best character moments in the show. It really gave more of the rookies time to shine, which I appreciated. I think the one change I would make would be to stop letting super murderous legendary ninjas infiltrate it and attack the genin. Someone really should have said something.

  Carolyn: I mean, I've never even been camping ...

  Noelle: I think I enjoyed Forest of Death better upon the rewatch than I did originally. My first run as a kid, I knew plot-important stuff happened, but it wasn't what I was interested in, so I didn't care for it much. That's still pretty true- it's not my favorite portion of the Chuunin Exams, but looking at it with an analytical eye vs purely consuming it has done it some favors. Would I survive the exam? It's not impossible, but I can't say my chances look good.

  We're now beginning a string of one-on-one matches, which is honestly something that I've been waiting for since Naruto began. First time watchers: Did you think that there would be more at this point?

  Paul: I didn't know what to expect, but I'd like to point out that putting another preliminary test in the form of elimination style deathmatches in between The Forest of Death and the final test of the Chunin Exams seems like a really crummy thing to do. But, hey, ninja aren't exactly known for playing fair...

  Joseph: Ah, the requisite shonen pseudo-tournament. I'm a sucker for these, and there's a lot of battle variety in what we've seen so far here. Also, we finally got our first really gross power in the form of parasitic chakra-eating insects. More gross powers, please!

  Kara: I'm not a big watcher of shonen anime, so the whole drawn-out story arcs/fights thing has always been kind of a joke at best for me. Now actually engaging with it? I... really kind of like it. I come primarily from giant robot and magical girl fandoms, and I love over-the-top fights. I was worried I'd be bored by this long string of one-on-one matches, but I'm actually digging it a lot.

    Peter: This is just Kishimoto flexing all over other shonen authors. "Yeah, I think I've got like 20 unique fighting styles I can break out for all these side characters." One thing I love in particular is how gross/horrifying a lot of powers are and the characters react appropriately. No one is getting anywhere near Shino for the foreseeable future.

  Jared: Having watched/read shonen series in the past, I'm not too surprised we haven't gotten a ton of one-on-one fights. Given how many characters we've been introduced to, it makes sense it's been a lot more group fights. Plus, with some of these early prelim fights basically being jobber matches, maybe it's a good thing this didn't happen until now.

  Danni: I have been a bit surprised at how many of the battles thus far have been group affairs. My understanding is this is the tournament arc-equivalent for Naruto, and tournament arcs are always the best arcs.

  Carolyn: I was also surprised that it took so long to really get into the one-on-one type battles because I remember that arc as being my favorite on my first watch. I'm actually quite glad there haven't been too many up to this point, I feel like that makes the tournament arc stand out even more.

  And, because I love asking people what their favorite fight in a particular anime is, I'll ask it here: Favorite fight in Naruto thus far?

  Paul: There are so many great fight sequences to choose from, but I'll be basic and say that my current favorite is the Sakura vs. Ino match because it offers another opportunity for Sakura to shine and because I'm a sucker for anything involving a cross-counter punch or a double-knockout finish.

  Joseph: I love me some puppet trickery so I gravitated toward Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankurō.

  Kevin: ... Any chance you can ask again next week? If I have to answer for the fights thus far, probably Haru versus Sasuke/Naruto. I ragged on the fight when it happened because the characters could literally just run 20 feet to get away, but it showcased various character motivations, advanced Naruto and Sasuke's relationship and gave the audience a glimpse of the Nine-Tailed Fox's power, all while being one of the highest stakes fights thus far.

  Kara: Sakura vs. Ino. I feel like I'm finally getting all that Sakura characterization I've been wanting for weeks, and I enjoy the way it's paced between the action sequences. Plus I'm a fan of getting creative with jutsus, so Ino's hair rope got me. Mainly, though, it's cool to see two people so equally matched that they just straight up knocked each other out.

  David: I can't decide between, well, literally any of Sasuke's fights. The animators love that boy, and his style itself feels more like actually choreographed combat instead of the big power plays that require another character to spend the next five minutes explaining what I just saw. Sometimes when they really don't even need to - glaring at the end of Shino's recent battle here.

  Peter: Depends on what we're talking about. Action and animation it's definitely Sasuke vs Orochimaru. Narratively, the Haku fight. If we're just talking about the tournament so far gotta go with Sakura vs Ino. I forgot how hype that finisher was. Actually completely forgot about this subplot... not sure if that indicates how much they follow up on it later on...

  Jared: I really dug everything about the fight against Haku and Zabuza on the bridge, but I was real surprised how much I dug the Sakura vs. Ino fight. This really felt like a good way to continue Sakura getting her push finally, but also it was kind of neat to see how it was built around Ino's mind body switch jutsu, but really just boiled down to being an old fashioned fist fight with a great rivalry and build attached to it.

  Danni: Sasuke vs. Orochimaru for sure. There have been a fair few fights that I've really liked parts of, but that's the first full fight that blew my mind from start to finish.

  Nate: Seconding Kevin here, but I'll gush about that next week. So far, it's probably Sakura vs. Ino, since we get one of the most straightforward ninja fights, using multiple levels of technique even at a small scale like this, and ending in an awesome cross counter. Good job, ladies.

  Carolyn: So far, I'll have to agree with the Haku fight, just because of the emotional ramifications that came out of it. We still haven't gotten to my favorite favorite fight, though.

  Noelle: Also agreeing with Nate and Kevin, can we get this question next week? I think as of right now, it has to be the Haku fight, because it was really meaningful. A lot of the fights have been fun but just alright, where that one and the fallout of it gave me a genuine emotional reaction. It's a good fight. Animation-wise, Sasuke vs Orochimaru takes the cake.

  Sasuke's "grim n' edgy" character is Naruto's equivalent of the "Characters spend years charging up their moves" joke about Dragon Ball Z. It's something people make fun of even if they haven't seen the show. But honestly, I don't really mind Sasuke. How do you feel about him now that you've gotten to know him a little better? Be honest.

  Paul: I was going to say that I hope Sasuke has more interesting development to his character than just his role as an avenger struggling to grow more powerful in order to defeat his evil older brother, but instead I'll just say: 

    Kevin: If I'm being honest, he's actually less edgy than I remember. Sure, he scoffs a lot and goes off to do things on his own, but even now things can catch him off guard, he emotes more than I thought he would and he sees Naruto as someone he actually wants to fight, showing that they see each others as equals, instead of Sasuke thinking that he's better than everyone like when he was first introduced.

  Joseph: Sasuke comes off as more of an antisocial loner than someone who is particularly edgy to me. I don't have strong feelings toward or against him, so I'll just say "he's fine."

  Kara: Sasuke isn't as bad as he's made out to be in jokes and fandom, but I can absolutely see where those jokes come from. Also, it really feels like Sasuke is meant to be the star of this show but Naruto just kinda grabbed the camera from him. Which is not a complaint - I really dig the idea that our lead even has to fight the show itself to get noticed.

  David: It's weird, he himself is fine, so I think upon this watch I've realized his reputation comes more from how the other characters talk about him. How many times has he or someone else called him an "avenger" so far?

  Peter: I remember him being more obnoxious and his constant styling on enemies really sells his super cool persona. Obviously the animators, and probably Kishimoto, really love it when Sasuke fights people. He still hasn't broken out his goth romper yet though, so...

  Jared: I honestly thought he'd be worse than he has been, but he really hasn't been too bad. There are certainly times where he feels like a character of that late '90s/early '00s time period, but that's just what was in vogue. Plus, anybody who does a piledriver is alright in my book. Although, I was playing the latest Code: Realize fan disc and his voice actor is in that, so I can't escape him.

  Danni: I expected him to be very single-minded in his edginess before this watchthrough, so I've been pleasantly surprised by how much personality he shows, both exhibiting fear in the face of enemies like Orochimaru and camaraderie with Naruto.

  Nate: You kinda need this sort of character--the quiet, cool guy--to play off a hot-blooded shonen main character. You see it all the time--Rukawa in Slam Dunk, Kageyama in Haikyu, Yuno in Black Clover--and it really helps balance things out in terms of story and action. I've always seen Sasuke as the necessary edgelord--Naruto wants to see the good in people, but Sasuke's just there to do work.

  Carolyn: He's not so much edgy as super standoffish and that can be off-putting. It really does feel like he's the main character at times, but that's OK with me. Naruto can be a bit overbearing at times.

  Noelle: I have very mixed feelings on Sasuke, but the meat of that comes later. From who he is at the moment, he's a very troubled kid who's fairly smart, but is still kind of awkward when it comes to dealing with other people worming their way in. There's nothing wrong with that. Later is when my complaints will start to roll in.

  Okay, so this has nothing to do with Naruto, but I like the fact that our Slack channel momentarily discussed what Shakespeare adaptations would be like in anime. What Shakespeare play do YOU think would work best as a shonen anime.

  Paul: First off, I'd just like to apologize for steering the conversation in that direction. As the resident English/Creative Writing major with a background in theatre focusing on Shakespeare, I am fully to blame for that. That being said, I stand by my original assertion, which is that there should be a Shonen Jump version of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, set in OUTER SPACE, with transforming giant robots.

  Joseph: I haven't read Shakespeare since college and I was also an English major. How about Romeo + Juliet as directed by Baz Luhrmann and depicting the forbidden love between Naruto and Sasuke. Oh wait, that wasn't the question. I'm gonna leave my answer as is, though.

  Kara: Twelfth Night. Romance plot and mistaken identity sound more shoujo, but hear me out. Plenty of B plot to work with thanks to Sir Toby and the servants, fictional setting (Illyria) so the character designer can just go off if they want to, and an underdog (Viola as Cesario) getting thrown into fight scenes constantly. Also Malvolio is a massive scenery-chewer.

  Peter: Definitely Othello. Main character and his partner try to hold everything together fighting all their friends who have betrayed them. Even the love interest he has yet to kiss seems to betray him. Then you find out it was his best friend the whole time and cue final battle with them repeatedly yelling each others names.

  Jared: If you really want to get a lengthy shonen anime that spans generations of characters, the Henriad tetralogy of Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V would be perfect. Plus, I'd love to see how they'd adapt the bizarre French language cursing scene from Henry V. Considering there really aren't that many Japanese manga adaptations of Shakespeare outside of Requiem of the Rose King and a few others, this is a market that I would love to see get fully explored and expanded regardless if it was shonen or not.

    Danni: Is now a good time to mention that I never did the reading in my Western Literature class and just spent every period reading off of Sparknotes?

  Nate: For a senior year English project, we remade the third act of Macbeth as a kung-fu story, so I'd probably be down to do that again, this time in shonen form with 1000% more yelling.

  Carolyn: The Tempest and Macbeth are my favorites. The Tempest is so magical I could easily see it working as a fantasy type anime. It would also make a pretty great "Hero's Journey" type thing. But really I would just kill to see the three witches from Macbeth show up in an anime series. That would be awesome.

  Noelle: I really and truly love Macbeth, and I'd love to see it in anime- especially since things like the witches would be great horror fodder. Also Hamlet, since Hamlet also has things like ghosts and pirates inbetween all the stabbings.

    COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 14

Bowls of ramen consumed: 2 bowls, 3 cups

Shadow Clones: 121

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!

Here's our upcoming schedule!

-Next week, on MARCH 1st, we’ll talk about EPISODES 43-49 as NATE MING returns! The elimination tournament continues, and we start one of Naruto's most legendary fights!

-Then, on MARCH 8th, the Chunin Exam finals begin in EPISODES 50-56, with CAROLYN BURKE hosting!

-On MARCH 15th, DANNI WILMOTH covers EPISODES 57-63--Naruto settles a grudge as the finals heat up!

Have any comments or questions about episodes 36-42? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 43-49?

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Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. He has a Twitter that he uses. 

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