#who are perfectly fine btw I just wanna work on taking relationships as case by case

[clownboybebop]

just had a preliminary consultation with a new therapist, and for once in my life I actually gave them relevant and helpful info on what I was looking for and what my actual difficulties are instead of cock dick balling it and just kind of hoping the severity of my dysfunction will be conveyed through cordial small talk

[tsuki-sennin]

Mina-san, bonne lecture~! (Tsuki recaps his feelings about Kamen Rider Saber, a personal essay.)

So, Saber... what a wild ride it's been, huh? Just a quick heads up, this is very long and rambling, and also contains spoilers for everything in Saber. It's fine if you don't wanna read all this, but I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.

TL:DR, Kamen Rider Saber's an undercooked hot mess I absolutely adore, warts and all.

Speaking as objectively as possible, it's a 6/10. Probably closer to a 5 than a 7... it's not great: All the different plot elements are cluttered and weirdly paced; character focus is disjointed and clearly biased toward certain characters, leaving great ones like Kento and Ogami, interesting ones like Kamijo and Hayato, and underdeveloped ones like Sophia and especially the Shindais in the dust; not to mention its balance of comedy and drama is off, and while both are very effective, there's a lot of mood whiplash that can take you out of the story. I also feel like a lot of the easily avoidable character conflict could've been easily resolved, even in universe, by simple conversations. Be careful Fukuda, I think Inoue might sue you if he finds out you've been biting his style and doing it worse.

Rider shows have a very frustrating tendency to drop cool form ideas and not do anything with them, and I don't think it's ever been more the case than with Saber. There's a similar argument to be made with the majority of Heisei Phase 2 after Gaim, but wow. The suits are expensive to make without just straight up recycling everything, I get that, but man, I really wanted to see more Wonder Rider forms. How come Touma got all the fun, eh? Of note are the Blades King of Arthur forms (which look amazing by the way), Espada's Jaaku Dragon forms (one of which I even drew last night), even the non-elemental random Wonder Ride Books all have awesome design elements that go tragically unused. Even if the other Swordsmen just kinda have the ones they do get to use slapped onto them, that's at least something. Touma also just straight up only uses Diago Speedy twice and never again. You have cool props guys, don't waste them like that!

Speaking of waste, Espada, goddamn. Since most of the Wonder Ride Books are Story Type and he needs one very specific Story Book to transform, he doesn't get much of... anything, really! No Wonder Rider forms like Blades, Lamp Do Cerberus being exclusive to Ganbarizing, only getting to use the Ride Gatriker like once, he even spends the second and third arcs as a completely different Rider, then once he comes back he doesn't get a King of Arthur-granted upgrade or even a Necrom Espada form. ...at least, not yet anyway. I'm holding out hope for Espada x Necrom and the eventual Saber V-Cinemas. Extra Rider stans, we will be well respected someday.

The Unreal Engine CGI used for fights in early Chapters was pretty good but wow it feels disconnected and they really drop it quick. I feel like if the animators had more freedom to use as many forms as they want, we'd have gotten a lot more mileage out of the books beyond... decoration basically. I actually really liked the CGI sequences, they felt creative and were fun to follow along with.

The soundtrack is pretty great on its own and conveys what it needs to, but they seriously overplay the orchestral themes. It honestly feels kind of... stock at times. I think my favorite parts of the score are when it winds down, since it feels a lot more natural and lets the cinematographers and actors speak for themselves.

As awesome as I think Falchion's design and the Mumeiken Kyomu are, The Phoenix Swordsman and the Book of Ruin comes up short as its own standalone thing. You'd think 30 or so minutes of non-stop action would be awesome, and it almost is? It's as good as a typical episode of the series with a higher action budget, but it kinda drags on a bit too long; and although I think Emotional Dragon looks cool, it feels a bit tacked on. Coming off of the incredible Zero-One REAL×TIME, it doesn't give you much room to breathe, which Rider films are typically great at handling. I also thought the resolution for the kid's subplot was kinda forced. He does an okay job at acting considering his age and doesn't overstay his welcome, but I really don't see how 20 minutes of violence and action is enough to convince him to be brave enough to go play with the other kids. 5/10, it's closer to a 4 than a 6 and I think that maybe Zero-One should've stood on its own if they really had to push back Kiramager Bee-Bop Dream because of the pandemic.

Alright, with all that said... As imperfect and undercooked Saber was, like Ghost I can consider it a personal favorite, 10/10. Call it a guilty pleasure if you want, but holy hell it's just the show I needed. Takuro Fukuda has a talent for creating fun, wonderful characters and utterly fascinating worldbuilding and concepts. It's a shame he doesn't utilize them fully, but hey!

The action and fight choreography are pretty top notch as usual. Lots of beautiful shot composition and set pieces, and plenty of great angles to help keep up with the extra busy action. I love watching the suit actors perform and they deserve all the respect in the world for their hard work in those hot, sweaty, and heavy costumes. Their visual design is also top notch, with lots of unique and fascinating forms and cool weapons I desperately want to play with despite being broke, all with spectacular finishers and hype jingles with the voice of Akio motherfucking Ohtsuka calling them out. A real feast for the eyes. Not a single bad suit among them, yeah I said it, fight me.

The crossover specials are soooo good too.

-I went over my feelings on the Zenkaiger crossover episodes in a separate post (good luck finding that btw), but to sum it up, they were great character moments for Zox and the Shindai siblings with lots of great screwball comedy and some good old fashioned meta humor.

-The Ghost crossovers are great little side stories all about how Daitenku Temple somehow had the Ghost Ijunroku Wonder Ride Book? I genuinely have no idea why it was there, or how Makoto had the Specter Gekikou Senki, and as far as I remember neither of their origins are explained. Did Luna or Tassel hand them off to them and told them to wait for a sword guy? And why do these generic French Revolution Gamma villains working for Danton get their asses handed to them so easily by Kanon, who literally just became a Rider? I thought that Makoto deciding to adopt all the Kanon clones into his family was both hilarious and adorable though; considering all the crap they went through, I think it was a good ending to this plot. Gimme Espada x Necrom already Toei/Bandai/Fukuda/whoever I need to yell at, give Kento things to do, I beg you.

-I haven't actually seen Super Hero Senki since it's not available for subbing yet, but apparently there's a Journey to the West plot starring the Taros and Ohma Zi-O and I want to see that so badly.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra? Yoohei Kawakami? A match made in heaven, that's what they are. All of their themes are absolute bangers. All of them. Almighty, Kamen Rider Saber, Sparks, Taju Rokou, all excellent and empowering pieces. Rewrite the Story, Will Save Us, and The Story Never Ends are all amazing inserts done by the cast, and it makes me wish we had even more of them to help break up the monotony of the score.

The characters are what easily make this show such a great watch though. For the most part, they have great personalities and chemistry, consistently fun and interesting scenes, well acted and... sometimes well-written development, and deeply investing personal stakes.

Narrating it all is the delightfully eccentric Tassel/Viktor, portrayed by Romanesque Ishitobi "TOBI" of the Paris-based Les Romanesques. I was utterly confused by his presence at first, wondering why there needed to be a narrator when the story would've been perfectly fine without it. He even got a special spot in the opening despite having no stake in the plot despite seeming to live in Wonderworld, who the hell is this guy? But then I thought "OH MY GOD, HE'S THE MAIN VILLAIN USING TOUMA AS THE HERO IN HIS OWN TWISTED STORY, THE BASTARD". I thought it'd be some subversion of expectations, true form, "That Was His Mistake!" shit. Trust me, it made a lot more sense in my head. I'm very happy that they didn't do that, as I grew to love having male Yuuka Kazami as my narrator, and when he was shown to be actually important by being friends with Yuri my mind was blown. And doubly so when I realized just how deeply necessary to the plot he really is.

Rintaro/Blades is up there as one of my all time favorite secondary Riders, since his curiosity is always consistently funny and adorable, his forms are all gorgeous and impressively designed, his relationships with Mei and Touma are absolutely sweet and compelling to see unfold, and his arcs about becoming willing to call out those he views as family and coming to terms with his feelings of inadequacy and both moving past and using them to strengthen himself are always great lessons to pass on to kids. ...even if they took like 10 goddamn episodes to be conveyed in what could've been 5, but hey, Takaya Yamaguchi does a stand-up job all throughout. Rider veteran Eitoku's refined, almost logical movements with the Suiseiken Nagare absolutely beautiful to see in action, and his final form having the same white and blue color scheme as Zooous's base form is an amazing touch I don't see appreciated enough.

Mei Sudo's also absolutely wonderful, serving as the perfect emotional core of the story, responsible for most of the funniest lines, sweetest character moments, and some of the most deceptively compelling drama. Asuka Kawazu brings the perfect energy for such a dynamic and well rounded character, and absolutely nails her scenes of quiet turmoil. As much as I would've loved her to become a Rider, I don't think she really needed to. She's already done so much to help, and as cool as it would've been to see her pick up a sword and fight alongside them as Espada, Calibur, or Falchion she's already endeared herself to me as one of my favorite supporting characters in the whole franchise.

I can't get enough of my homeboy Kento Fukamiya/Espada. Like Rintaro and everyone else for that matter, he also suffers from Saber's pacing issues; and like his predecessor Valkyrie from Zero-One, he doesn't get a proper upgrade aside from his Wonder Combo, instead becoming an anti-villain using a completely different powerset and shifting the Raimeiken Ikazuchi out of focus for the Ankokuken Kurayami, and I feel there's a serious missed opportunity to see him use Jaaku Dragon with Alangina. However, Ryo Aoki's performance is probably among the most easily praiseworthy in the whole cast, managing to convey both Kento's kind and knightly stoicism as Espada and his emotionally unstable despair as Calibur perfectly, in conjunction with Yuji Nakata's experienced and expressive stuntwork.

Ren Akamichi/Kenzan's a dark horse favorite for sure. I remember back when Saber was first picking up, people hated this breezy mad lad for being such a simple character at first. Overly concerned with strength? Black and white world view? Annoyingly energetic? Agh, real-feeling character flaws, I hate them, get him away from me! But then y'all came crawling back. Eiji Togashi's apparently a bit of a rookie actor, and it really shows with some stilted delivery and the way he sometimes bobs his head when giving his lines, but man he improves dramatically as the series goes on. His inexperience ironically ends up really selling his character development, and his unexpectedly beautiful relationship with Desast is special evidence of that. The Fuusouken Hayate's three modes and Satoshi Fujita putting them to excellent use through his stellar acrobatic movements are also really cool.

Why did Luna have to be a child for so long? Does Wonderworld not age whoever inherits its power? Well since Luna randomly becomes an adult in Super Hero Senki and some of the final episodes, I guess so? Miku Okamoto does a fine job for a kid actor, but she's basically done all the heavy lifting for the whole series and doesn't give Mayuu Yokota enough time to get a feel for her character as an adult. How did she choose Touma to inherit the power anyway? Does she just subconsciously decide to trust him with it upon seeing how kind and passionate about storytelling he is? Well if that's the case, why didn't Kento get at least some of that power too? He's just as important to the merchan- I mean Luna-chan, isn't he? Why did Tassel pick her over someone who isn't a literal child who'd be understandably terrified about basically becoming an embodiment of storytelling?

Sophia also kinda suffers from the same problems. Rina Chinen's voice is very pleasant to listen to, but she doesn't really do much beyond serving as a source of exposition and support. I think her dynamic with Mei's adorable, and given her kindness I can certainly understand the respect Northern Base has for her, but she doesn't really contribute a whole lot. If she could use the Kurayami and become Calibur all this time, then why didn't she take it from Kento and Yuri and do so earlier when Kento decided to go back to being Espada? I know she's not much of a fighter and as the closet thing the Sword of Logos has to a leader after Isaac's death I'd understand not wanting to put her at risk, but considering Storious is destroying the world, and she's very evidently kicking a lot of ass in the first part of the final battle even in the basic Jaaku Dragon form, I think it would've helped a lot, just sayin'. Tassel at least has the excuse of being unable to interact with the real world, but Sophia obviously didn't just be put in charge of Northern Base just because she's a pawn in Isaac's plans right?

Ryou Ogami/Buster is also a victim of the disjointed character focus. I have no problem believing he's an excellent father and fighter thanks to Yuki Ikushima and Jiro Okamoto, respectively, but he feels a bit flat and simple in comparison. His rivalry with Desast is randomly dropped, his wife doesn't even show up until the final episodes, he's kinda sidelined in terms of action a whole lot. I imagine that must've sucked for the Rider Dads out there. He does get to star in his own manga, and that was pretty good, so I guess I can't be too mad.

Tetsuo Daishinji/Slash fares better though. Hiroaki Oka, being a Kamen Rider fanboy himself, manages to make him among the most relatable characters in the series. Not only are his hyperfixation on swordsmithing and anxiety played surprisingly believably, Hirotsugu Mori letting him cut loose is extremely cathartic and hilarious, and you really feel for him when the Onjuuken Suzune becomes the first victim of Calibur!Kento's sword sealing.

Yuri/Saikou's another dark horse favorite, for me at least. "Oh great, Avalon guy's got even more merchandise to sell, I wonder what his Sword of Light is- it's himself. Well... that's different." I admit, I didn't like him at first. He felt like he was there to fill out character dynamics in the absence of both Rintaro and Kento, I thought his gimmick was too silly even if his design and jingles were bangers, I didn't particularly care for his power set. But then XSwordman came around I totally got it. He's an endearing, hard-working man trying his best to catch up on all the cool shit he missed, unafraid of experimentation, ready to throw down at a moment's notice, serving as a wonderful bit of consistent support for our heroes, a truly knightly individual, an absolute Chad. and goddamn does he make me worry. Tomohiro Ichikawa, I salute you good sir.

Even if they fall short compared to the rest of the cast, the Shindai siblings are at least cool enough to not wanna write out entirely. They kinda devolve into comic relief after they become allies, something that villainous Riders from Chase onwards are very prone to doing, and it's especially awkward in their case because I think that they kinda get off scot-free for obeying the obviously sinister and crazy Isaac for so long, as well as driving a wedge between a lot of people and threatening children in Reika's case. I think their sibling dynamic is nice though, even if Fukuda recycled it from Makoto and Kanon and has some... questionable possessive undertones as a result. It's cool how they're basically foils to Touma and Rintaro though. The dispassionate and methodical Reika/Sabela is beautifully played by Angela Mei and her moments of emotional depth are fascinating to watch. Her Rider form is a thing of beauty, and its use of literal the Eneiken Noroshi's smokescreens and Yuki Miyazawa's precise and deadly stinging strikes are a joy to watch. And while Ken Shonozaki's not given the best direction as the undercooked plate of 7-Eleven fried fish that is Ryoga/Durendal, he manages to sell him as an experienced and hardened warrior with an awkward side that's especially evident in the Zenkaiger specials. His goddamn RWBY weapon that is the Jikokuken Kaiji is absolutely sick, I'm a sucker for transforming weapons and its combination of time and water powers is really cool, especially with Yasuhiko Amai's deliberate and forceful acting in the suit.

Daichi Kamijo/the Second Calibur, for as brief as his story was, was a pretty cool starter villain. Hiroyuki Hirayama brings this poor bastard to life in a genuinely touching way. I love how as Calibur he goes full force on his creative use of Wonder Ride Books for attacks, and his debut as Jaou Dragon got my blood pumping. His end is also deeply tragic, and I really felt for him when he realized just how badly he fucked up. Hayato Fukamiya also does wonders for the backstory, and while he also doesn't get much to work with, Mitsuru Karahashi makes his regrets and love for Kento feel genuine.

Legeiel and Zooous are both very intimidating and entertaining villains. On top of being just the right balance of goofy and threatening, Kairu Takano and Koji Saikawa's stage presences are both very strong, and their mixture of camaraderie and in-fighting is extremely believable. Zooous's rivalry with Rintaro feels incredible to see through to the end, and although Legeiel doesn't get quite the same treatment, Elemental Dragon had such a cool debut that it more than makes up for it. Their final fights are also absolute spectacles. I don't think their sympathetic angle works even close to as well as it does with MetsubouJinrai or even the Gamma, but I get it, power corrupts, and you probably feel a lot of sadness and regret for things you've done when you die unless you're a right bastard.

Isaac/Master Logos/Solomon is kinda generic. As wonderful as Keisuke Soma is, he doesn't get much dimension to work with. The result of that is while he nails being as smug and punchable as possible, he feels almost... comically generic. Genta Umemori from Shinkenger was full of personality! He was also basically some guy, but he was fun, he felt connected to the rest of the cast! Meanwhile the only real time we get to see Isaac's depth is when we see him crying over his failures. I almost appreciate him being unapologetically evil though, since I've seen way too many shows where redeemed villains get off scot free for way worse things, and some where they outright demand you to sympathize with them despite them doing nothing to warrant it.

Bahato/Falchion surprises me by not just being a movie villain whose actions affect the main plot, but also being a movie villain who actually gets to appear in series as a recurring threat! ...and it's not a particularly great showing on his part, sadly. Masashi Taniguchi does a wonderful job with what he's given, but his character feels like a retread of Eternal without any of what made Katsumi Daido a compelling and frightening villain. I'd like to believe Yuri when he says that he used to be a good person and a hero to the people, but I can only hear so many anime villain monologues about the pointlessness of life and the beauty of destruction before I can never take them seriously again. ...I think that's his biggest problem, actually. I thought he was an overall uninteresting and generic villain in the movie, and the cartoon nihilist he's shown to be in series is only a small step up. He still feels like filler. If only there were a far better written and much cooler villain who takes on the Mumeiken Kyomu after his de--

Desast is probably one of the finest anti-villains I've ever seen in recent years. On top of an absolutely badass character design and the excellent combination of Kazuya Okada/Danki Sakae's suit work and Koki Uchiyama's stellar voice acting, his story being so thoroughly intertwined with Ren's makes their shared journey and bromance a borderline Shakespearean tragedy. His struggle for identity despite Storious treating him as nothing more than a failed experiment and the Sword of Logos treating him as a mere monster really gripped me, and the way he uses what little time he has left to encourage Ren into blossoming on his own is absolutely beautiful. I think his enmity with Ogami is criminally underexplored in series, considering he killed several of the previous Riders and how Ogami's in desperate need of screentime.

Then there's our main villain, Kamen Rider Storious. Robin Furuya brings an incredible amount of charisma to this character, expertly portrayed as both a sinister, manipulative bastard , and as a lonely, tragic figure that arguably makes him feel even more villainous. Speaking as a struggling writer myself, it's easy to feel stuck in the idea of "fuck it, who cares, maybe everything is predestined", but I can't imagine what it's like to know that as the truth and carry it with you for all that time. All of your grand ideas have roots from your experiences, and you're not the only one who even could have those experiences. It's easy to just fall into despair and give up trying, but would that make you happy? Sure, Storious is sadistic, he may be fulfilling his goals, he may be ungodly powerful... but it's not enough for him, is it? All of his friends are gone, one of them even at his own hand, he probably doesn't have any idea what to do after he destroys all the world's stories, Touma even reached his full power before he did, and his downfall is so predictable that even a blind person could see it. He even seems to welcome it, what's up with that? But then I realized... OH MY GOD, HE'S THE MAIN VILLAIN USING TOUMA AS THE HERO IN HIS OWN TWISTED STORY, THE BASTARD. He's so far gone, he's so desperate to stick it to the Almighty Book, he's willing to twist the archetype of the Hero's Journey so hard, it snaps in two. What I think is interesting is that he's ironically trying to chase the trend of "edgy superhero story" that became super popular in the 21st century. The Boys, Brightburn, Kamen Rider Amazons, The Sentry, No More Heroes, Magical Girl Site, even mainstream comics from DC and Marvel... Surely Storious must've seen the cruelty and tragedy these stories are filled with, but he chooses to go through with trying to force the world into this direction anyway. Did they, along with seeing the ever-popular tragedies of legendary playwrights and bleak satire of the twentieth century fuel his despair?

And yet... there's one who stands in determination against his ideals.

Our hero, Touma Kamiyama, the titular Kamen Rider portrayed by Syuichiro Naito and Kousuke Asai, he speaks to me on a personal level. There're plenty of jokes to be made about his procrastination in early chapters, his godless fashion sense, and him doing the funny run up the slope, that's all fine and dandy, but I rarely feel so connected to a character the way I did Touma. The struggle to create, find companionship, live your life, reach out to others... these're things a lot of people struggle with, and of course you see them depicted a lot in media about creators, but Saber gets to the root of what the greatest thing about storytelling really is. Giving people hope, while using the pain of the past as fuel for the future. Sure, Storious may be right about how every story has been done as far back as human civilization gets, he may even be right about how any spin or creativity humanity has is outright predestined. It should be pointless to even try, right? That's where Touma Kamiyama disagrees. He didn't spend all that time fighting and creating just to give up at the idea of predestination. His novel writing-fueled creativity in his early training, his devotion to his friends that let him surpass Kamijo as Dragonic Knight, his compassion for the Primitive Dragon that let him combine their powers to destroy Legeiel as Elemental Dragon, his resolve that let Xross Saber dethrone Solomon, and his passion for the craft of storytelling that let our heroes channel their wishes into Wonder Almighty... all stemming from the belief imparted onto him by his predecessor that "Hope lies beyond your resolution." And that you decide how your story ends. He may not be the greatest Rider to some, he may be as lame as others think he is, he may not even be my favorite, but I have no issue calling Touma Kamiyama... Kamen Rider Saber, one of the all time greatest carriers of the Kamen Rider name.

The final chapter's definitely not as great as some other Rider finales, but goddamn. Primitive Dragon consciously choosing to save Touma is so sweet and such a great emotional payoff, I loved jamming out to the opening theme while our boys lay the smackdown on Storious. Wonder Almighty's a fitting final bit to close the main series out with, if not exactly a great one. I think the cover is great, and the book's body is a lovely shade of candy apple red, but I really don't like how its pages are just the covers of the other books copy-pasted onto onto the pages, that feels lazy. Maybe if it were a panorama of all the books' characters, I'd like it a lot more as a symbol of how unified the Swordsmen are, but eh, what can you do? On a related note, does this mean all the "last episode extra final forms" of the Reiwa Era are gonna be named after their series's opening? That's a neat idea.

I felt a lot of feelings seeing all those video messages of Rider fans all across Japan talking about their favorite stories, and how their passion and fond memories help reshape the world. Mei's monologue at the ceremony about is also really touching and- IS THAT A HUMAGEAR!? :O

Y-yeah dude, it is! Wow, where have you guys been for the past 48 episodes?! Are you guys doing okay? How come you're like... the only one here? Is the technology of Hiden Intelligence only really that prevalent in that very specific metropolitan part of Japan and they're just not coming around much over here? Is it like Dragon Ball where anthropomorphic animals are just vibin' with humans while the heroes are off kicking ass? Apparently he's played by Hasegawa Keiichi, who wrote this episode and had the award ceremony named after him. ...is Hasegawa Keiichi a HumaGear in this universe then? Did he set up this award ceremony in Touma's honor? If so, why is it named after him? Did reading one of Touma's books lead to his Singularity? I know this is just a cameo, but... god, I have so many questions that probably will never be satisfactorily answered.

Overall, if I had to compare Saber to anything, it'd probably be Sam Reimi's Spider-Man trilogy. It's awkward, stupid, overwrought, undercooked, illogically written, scattershot, cheesy as fuck, and has a tendency to squander its otherwise fine execution; but the sheer passion for storytelling, sense of spectacle, deeply fascinating characters, and belief in the ideals set forth by the cast, crew, and fans are absolutely admirable. Improvements would certainly make it an overall better experience, to be sure, but there's something deeply captivating about how wonky this series is. Seeing everybody get their happy ending after all they've been through felt extremely gratifying though, and I may have to wait another for the epilogue to and then wait for Revice, but... man. I'm hella proud of our awkwardly-emoting, fashion disaster novelist and all of his heavily flawed friends for carrying the Kamen Rider name on to the future. Here's hoping Revice will keep it going.

Alright, that's everything I wanted to talk about. Sorry this was so long and ramble-y, I had a lot to say. I'll probably be liveblogging Revice as episodes of that come out, so... look forward to that, I guess. See ya.

[just-a-creep-babe]

Matchup!

Commissioned by @poweranon thank you so much luv, I hope you enjoy <33

~Requests are closed~

Masterlist: x

I match you with: Homicidal Lui

It’s no secret homeboy’s an absolute sweetheart

Or at least, half of him is skdjdhskl

And around someone he loves?

Whew boy, this mans will treat you right 😤👌

You’re quick to catch his attention from the beginning ngl

Because, not only are you pretty out there, but he also thinks you’re stunning

Your long & wavy hair, your cute facial features, your sense of style—hell, even just the shape of you & how you’re the cutest height has his heart throbbing in his stitched-up chest :”)

Boy’s not necessarily shy, but he is a bit of wallflower

So he’s absolutely elated when you come up and talk to him cause he’s not used to being seen like that, y’know?

And when he gets to know you, he sees how friendly & patient & kind & forgiving you are and he’s just?? Already madly in love????

Despite being a wallflower, he‘s been in a good amount of relationships before the whole incident

So he does know what it takes to woo someone, and he isn’t shy when it comes to romantic interests and dates and such uwu

Btw this mans? A total hopeless romantic

The first date, he brings you flowers, offers up his scarf if you’re cold, opens every door for you—the whole shebang

He’s super caring & considerate & kind—an absolute sweetheart ngl <3

You can tell he clearly likes you, and he’s pretty serious about wanting a good relationship with you

The only obstacle that comes in your way is, well, Sully

Lui warns you as soon as he can about his other... less pleasant side, and he tries to reassure you beforehand in case Sully does or says something that might hurt or upset you

And the first few times you do meet Sully, things ends up... actually not too bad, all things considered

Sully’s mad protective of Lui, in his own way, so he ends up grilling you a bit and testing your patience & boundaries to see if you’re a good fit for him

He knows you mean a lot to Lui though, and he doesn’t wanna ruin what the two of you have, so he doesn’t take anything to the extreme

He just kinda acts like an annoying shit, but hey, it’s nothing you can’t handle ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Homeboy’s mad relieved things went well after you meet his other half skdjskdjls

And after a while of seeing you & getting used to you, you and Sully actually end up getting along really well?

Like,, y’all just vibe

It’s almost surprising to see Sully develop deeper feelings for someone like he does with you

You end up being his sort of partner in crime, where y’all do a bunch of dumb & impulsive stuff and it’s way too much fun

It also tends to be a lil dangerous too skdjdhsl

But there’s no actual threat becuz Sully would never let you get hurt—he‘s just as protective of you as he is of Lui uwu

And every time Lui finds out what the two of you did—whether by remembering himself, you telling him, or just seeing some kind of mess y’all left behind, he gets worried

He tries to strongly urge you not to do anything like that again, but he knows you’re impulsive and you are safe with Sully, so he Pretends He Does Not See

He’s just a concerned bf, what can I say?

Both appreciate your ride-or-die kinda loyalty so 👏damn 👏much 👏 you have no idea

Lui because it reassures him that no matter how fucked up he might be, he knows you’ll stay by his side

His only concern is that he might end up being toxic for you, especially if you can’t cut him off if it does reach that point, but that only motivates him so much more to treat you right

And Sully appreciates it cause he knows you’re the real deal, babey ;)

He doesn’t want you leaving Lui or him and hurting him, so he’s damn happy you’re the type to stick around :>

And both boys are also definitely hardcore ride-or-dies as well, so y’all make quite the team 👀

Despite that, no one’s perfect, and no relationship is either, so you do have your fights

Mostly with Sully, who sometimes doesn’t know any better & takes things too far

But point is, they’ve seen you get mad, and they’ve regretted it BIG TIME

Sully actually ended up apologizing once—a no bullshit I-know-I-was-wrong-and-I’m-sorry apology—which is saying A LOT

Because that boy? Never once in his life admitted he was wrong

And he did it for you, completely acknowledging what he did and that he hurt you and everything??

Even Lui, to this day, is a lil Shook tbh

Other than that, no matter how optimistic Lui tries to be, he can & does get discouraged just with how life is & everything that’s happened to him

So honestly, you always believing there’s good in the world, and especially good in him, really just makes him unspeakably happy

He‘s super humble he has the privilege of calling you his <33

You bring so much joy & positivity & excitement to his life—he doesn’t know what he’d do without you :”)

Sully doesn’t really care much for that hopeful mushy-gushy stuff, as he calls it, but it goes without saying that he really loves you too

Even if he sometimes doesn’t wanna admit it when he’s being a lil shit smdh

And he especially adores how you aren’t afraid to be who you are, even if you are contradictory uwu

He likes that depth & complexity; loves himself a lady who can see broader perspectives and consider both sides of the same coin 😏👌

Honestly, this boy (these boys??) really love you so damn much, it’s insane

They never thought they’d be able to trust & love again like they do for you

There’s no pressure to always crack jokes around them either, because they’re more than happy to just kick back & relax with you in their arms for some nice peace & quiet 😌👌

And they certainly don’t want you feeling like you need to keep up a facade around them—they just want you to be happy & safe & comfortable with them :”)

They’ll do their best to encourage you when it comes to your studies

But if you don’t wanna keep pursuing that field of education, they’ll gladly offer up their help to get you on a path you’ll be content with

Money,, kind of isn’t an issue when you’re with them 👀

Sully steals from his victims skdhlsl

Last but not least, Lui likes texting to keep up with the people he cares for

Which is understandable because, let’s be real, boy’s paranoid something bad’s gonna happen since that is a recurring theme in his life :/

So he will text you a lot and he’ll be over the moon if you text back

He’ll get worried if you don’t, but he also knows you’re kinda bad at it & it’s not your fault & you’re prolly fine

You might have to reassure him that you’re not getting randomly stabbed and you can take care of yourself every now & then

But even then, he might just like,,, secretly check up on you without your knowledge to reassure himself that you are safe skdjdjsk

Boy just doesn’t wanna lose the light of his life, yknow?

Like I said, a very loving & concerned bf uwu

NSFW

Alright so Lui is very much so also a switch

And if you wanna take charge in the bedroom, that’s more than fine by him 😏👌

He looks sO damn fine all tied up, whining and trying to buck up into your hands if you wanna tease him a lil 👀

He’s also a bit of a masochist, so feel more than free to pull his hair, bite him & smack him around a bit 👅💦

If you mark him up, he’ll go feral

You can get as rough or as slow & teasing as you like—baby boy can take it all~ 😏🤤

All he asks is that you cuddle up with him afterwards and tell him he did a good job & that you love him while playing with his hair or gently kissing his forehead :3:

This mans loves dat soft aftercare so damn much 💕

If you let him take control, he’ll be more on the sweet & intimate side

The chances of him getting rough are slim to none—like he doesn’t really wanna mark you up or anything because he’s scared of hurting you :<

He’d rather leave feather light touches over your skin, worshiping your body and praising every inch of you instead uwu

Don’t get me wrong though, he’s still perfectly fine with getting a lil kinky ;)

He’s more than willing to tie you up and trying new toys & positions, but his hard limits involve anything that might hurt or degrade you

Sully, on the other hand, is almost the polar opposite

He loves having control and has absolutely no issue getting rough & leaving plenty of marks

If you wanna dom Sully, you might have to work for it a lil 😏😉

He’s not opposed to being submissive, he just tends to naturally dom more—and even when he is submissive, he’s a huge brat

You can slap him around as much as you like & tease him to death, but he’ll still lie there, panting and clearly very much so needy, asking if that’s all you got~

And he won’t admit it but he also enjoys some affectionate aftercare too uwu

Since Lui knows his other half tends to get sadistic, he’ll make sure you have at least one (1) safeword

And he’ll make sure Sully knows what it is & respects it

Sully wouldn’t cross boundaries on purpose, but Lui’s just a bit wary of his other half sometimes

Which is understandable honestly 👁👄👁

When he notices the marks his other half left, Lui won’t be able to help but feel guilty

He knows he didn’t technically do it, but in a way, it still is him

And he knows Sully wouldn’t take things too far, what with the safeword and all, so it definitely is consensual, but still, boy will just feel Bad™️

So he’ll be extra loving & caring the next time y’all do the do

And he’ll kiss over the bites and scratches, murmuring how beautiful you are and how much he loves you while slowly stroking your skin, his hips evenly rolling against yours, hitting your pelvis with every slow, soft thrust~

He’s totally the type to set a romantic mood, too

Rose petals, soft lighting and smooth background music are a regular occurrence tbh

Boy just wants to show you how much he loves & appreciates you <33

Also, Lui tends to enjoy your cottage core fem style while Sully digs the aggressive butch style

So if ya wanna get them riled up a lil, you can just dress the part and hint at sex the slightest bit—rubbing up against them or grinding yourself onto their lap when they’re holding you—and they’ll almost immediately pop one

They’re too easy to tease~

Sully will flat out deny how easily you get him riled up, but he won’t release his hold on your hips, keeping you pressed against the very evident bulge in his pants 🥴👌

While Lui will just get flustered before wrapping his arms around you and evenly trying to rock back up into you while quietly moaning & gasping against your neck 🤤

At the end of the day, both boys just wanna make you feel good~

They’re more than happy to go down on you whenever you need it—your wish is their command~ 💋✨

Besides Lui’s hard limits, both are down for pretty much anything & will gladly experiment with different things if you wanna spice things up a bit 👅💦

But chances are, things are already spicy enough as is because, after all, it does takes quite a lot to satiate two people in the same body 😉💋

[ninatranslates]

Just thoughts about some of the official NDRV3 translations.

I just wanna discuss a few of the things I’ve seen talked about here and there. As a couple of side notes, (1) these are just my opinions. You’re free to disagree, but don’t lose your mind over it. 

(2) There is no one true way to translate a language. Give the same text to a bunch of different translators and they will all come back with different results. Therefore, there can be multiple “correct” translations of a single text. And in the end, fans are allowed to use whichever they like best. 

(3) Literal meaning isn’t all that makes up a language. Keep in mind that translating is a balancing act between meaning, nuance, and feeling. Sometimes you need to choose one over the other. Translators will try their best to minimize this, but some things are bound to get lost in translation. This applies to any language.

And (4) what counts as an acceptable English equivalent for a fan translation may not be appropriate for an official localization, and vice-versa. This is because they target different audiences, and naturally, the same text is perceived differently by different people. NDRV3 fan translators will assume their audience is familiar with Japanese media, know a bit of the language and culture, and have played the past DR games. On the other hand, the official localization is targeting a general English-speaking audience to sell their game as much as possible. This includes those who are new to DR and Japanese media, and the localization team needs to take care not to alienate them, since they make up the bulk of the western audience. 

Anyways, if you’re interested about my thoughts so far or are curious about a few of the localization choices, keep reading for more. But note that I’m not a professional or veteran translator, I’m a young Japanese-American who likes anime and translates for fun. Don’t take my opinions as the word of God. 

There are no spoilers. 

Here are some things about the localization that I agree and disagree with:

STRONGLY AGREE (I wish I thought of that):

Luminary of the Stars, Kaito Momota - This is great, they managed to make it sound both cool/epic and short/sweet, while capturing the nuances of his catchphrase 宇宙に轟く百田解斗, uchuu ni todoroku Momota Kaito “I am Kaito Momota, who will become well-known/famous throughout space”, but in a “they will speak of me in legends” or “my legends will spread throughout the galaxy” sort of way. I’m jealous. 

Nyeeeeeh - Cute, funny, and lazy! Admittedly I have trouble translating unusual onomatopoeias, and Himiko’s habitual んなー was no exception. Literally spelled as nnaa, I tried to translate it as “uhnaa”, but I still wasn’t quite happy with it. “Nyeeeh” is so much better gaaaah.

AGREE

K1-B0/Keebo - Probably the most controversial, and I’m probably offending people by saying this, but there’s actually more to Kiibo’s name than you’d think. Before they released his name, I was wondering how they would translate it, since there are just so many elements in his name that a simple “Kiibo” or “Kibo” can’t carry over. I think this deserves a longer explanation, but basically, K1-B0 and nickname Keebo preserve most of the nuances and intentions that were in the original Japanese. From the obvious and stupid humor, to the cuteness, to emphasizing his robotness and humanness at the same time, to giving off the right first impressions, and to setting up some of the intended expectations... The only thing that’s missing is the “hope” wordplay. But hey, unless you can think of a feasible way to overlap “Kiibo” with “hope”, it’s just one of those things that’s gonna get lost in translation. Also, whether “K1-B0″ and “Keebo” will work still depends on the execution of the dialogue. However, both キーボ and K1-B0/Keebo gave me the same “wow that’s so stupid, I love it” reaction as both a Japanese and American fan, and I was just really impressed by how they were able to replicate it so perfectly. Anyways, I can still understand why people would hate it, since it is just such a jarring non-name. But as long as you don’t work for NISA, you’re still allowed to call him whatever you want. In case you haven’t noticed, the Japanese language doesn’t use alphabets, and there’s no one true way to romanize his name. So K1-B0, Keebo, Kiibo, Kibo, Ki-bo, and Kībo are all acceptable ways to spell キーボ. However, “Kibou” is incorrect, since that’s just “hope”. It’s the difference between キーボ and キボウ. But I won’t hunt you down for it, it’s not that big a deal.

Oma - Similar to Kiibo, except not nearly as complicated or as big a deal as fans make it out to be. Ouma, Oma, and Ōma are all acceptable ways to romanize 王馬. But since they already used the “Oma” method of spelling for every other character in every other game, making an exception just for “Ouma” for no real reason would be inconsistent and unprofessional. The “Oma” spelling is also the most common way to localize Japanese names (ex. Pikachu from ピカチュウ pikachuu and Goku from 悟空 gokuu). Even among real-life Japanese people living in America, they are more likely to spell their name the “Oma” way, though the “Ouma” way isn’t uncommon either. The fact “Oma” means “grandma” in another language is irrelevant, since last I checked, this is an English localization. As an example, did you know Japanese people find the French phrase “qu'est-ce que c'est” really funny? It’s cuz it sounds like ケツクセ... as in, “Your butt stinks”. But I’m not gonna tell the French to stop saying “What’s up?” because they’re implying someone farted in Japanese. Or hey, even my own first name means “newly-bloomed na flower” in Japanese (新菜 nina), but it basically means “fresh vegetable” (xīncài) in Chinese. Or an even better, real-life localization example would be Miyazaki’s Laputa: The Castle in the Sky. The fact that la puta means “the whore” in Spanish didn’t force the English localization to change the name of the castle, though they did understandably drop it from the title. “Laputa” is something the Spanish dub needs to worry about, which they did, they changed the name to “Lapuntu”. Anyways getting side-tracked. As you can see, a normal word in one language can mean something silly or inappropriate in another language. This literally happens all the time. And if you don’t like “Oma”, you’re still free to call him “Ouma”. Just because it’s unofficial, doesn’t mean it’s incorrect. Really. It just. Does not. Matter. Also here’s every other main series DR character who got the same treatment: Kyoko (Kyouko) Kirigiri, Mondo Owada (Oowada), Sakura Ogami (Oogami), Toko (Touko) Fukawa, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (Kuzuryuu), Kazuichi Soda (Souda) Rantaro (Rantarou) Amami, Ryoma (Ryouma) Hoshi, Shuichi (Shuuichi) Saihara, Korekiyo Shinguji (Shinguuji), Kirumi Tojo (Toujou), Monotaro (Monotarou)

Piano freak - Not quite sure why people were upset about this other than excessive nitpicking. In Japanese, you could call nerds “(obsession) idiot” in the way that all they care and think about is their obsession and nothing else. But this isn’t how “idiot” is used in English, so the best equivalent is actually “(obsession) freak”. However, “idiot” is acceptable for a fan translation, since many anime fans are familiar with the meaning and connotations of バカ (baka). 

Monokuma Kubs/MonoKubs - Pronounced Monokumaazu, the direct translation is “Monokumarz” or “Monokumaz”, which works just fine for a fan translation, but doesn’t quite carry over the connotations for a general English-speaking audience. It’s like the huge gap in feeling between “The Doraemons” in English and “The Doraemons” (ザ・ドラエモンズ) in Japanese. (How many of you are actually familiar with The Doraemons btw lmao.) Using “the”, the plural “s”, and “ers” (like workers and singers) is normal in English, but using them in Japanese gives off squad or team vibes with a dash of silly humor. “MonoKubs” does just that while sounding nice and simple. “MonoKubz” would’ve been great too, and fans can still use whatever they like best.

NEUTRAL

Voice recasting - One word. Budget. 

Dub quality - I think the quality is pretty expected since the voice acting industry in America isn’t nearly as big as in Japan. But I also have zero interest in dubs, so I’m pretty biased on this one oops. My assumption is they’re doing the best they can. Also English speakers mispronouncing foreign names is nothing new. Even though I do find the memes funny, I don’t expect people who don’t speak Japanese to get it perfect, just like I don’t expect Japanese voice actors to get their English perfect.

Mastermind - The most literal translation of 首謀者 (shubousha) would’ve been “ringleader”, except “ringleader” doesn’t sound nearly as cool or memorable as “mastermind”. So they chose impact and rule-of-cool over literalness and subtlety. Which is understandable. Besides, if they wanted to be literal, they should’ve gone with “puppetmaster” (黒幕 kuromaku) in the first game. I think both “ringleader” and “mastermind” are acceptable here. 

First-name basis/no honorifics - I personally prefer when translations preserve honorifics. It just says a lot about the character and their relationships. However, just like there are no perfect English equivalents for all the Japanese ways to say “I” and “you”, there’s just no exact English equivalent for all these honorifics, so using them risks alienating the general audience. Also, this is what they went with for the other two games, so it’d be a little bit awkward changing it now. This decision doesn’t match my personal preference, but it’s a completely understandable and common one. 

DISAGREE

Male delinquents - Tenko uses the term 男死 (danshi) for men, which is a pun on “men” and “death” to show her disgust for them. However, there’s a big difference in meaning and implication between “I hate male delinquents” and “I hate males”. Also not as punny as “menace” (credit to @oumakokichi for the pun). I worry they did this to avoid offending guys... but there’s no way to know for sure. My opinion of "male delinquents” could also change depending on its execution.

Kiyo - I can understand that English-speakers might have trouble pronouncing Japanese names that are more than three syllables... but this feels like they’re dumbing down the audience a bit. Come on, let the boy keep his name!

STRONGLY DISAGREE (Just. Why.)

Gonta’s Tarzan speak - Gonta has the intellect of a child, and speaks like one, sure... But he doesn’t speak like a caveman. He’s perfectly fluent and literate in Japanese, so this seems like inappropriate stereotyping to me. My guess is someone really misinterpreted Gonta’s character and dialogue, or wanted to treat feral children “realistically”. Not a fan of this at all.

UNDECIDED

Atua - Honestly not sure what to think of this, since I know nothing of Polynesian mythology. I don’t know if naming Angie’s god after a real-life term for Polynesian gods and spirits is appropriate, since we don’t know if Angie’s god is actually an atua, and especially because her religion is depicted as shady and cultish. I think depicting her religion this way would’ve been (arguably borderline) acceptable as long as her god remained unspecific and made-up. And considering that most Japanese people are agnostic, possessing a general, unspecific belief in a god or infinite gods/spirits, I did assume this was the intent of the original context. But I just don’t know enough about Polynesian culture to form a concrete opinion. Like, does the Japanese text make references to Angie’s god being an atua? Are there any atua that fit the description? Or is it like Shinto where there are an infinite amount of all kinds of kami? How much care is being put into accuracy and respect for the culture in the English localization? My gut reaction is “strongly disagree”, but until I hear some thoughts from Polynesian DR fans, I’m going to remain undecided. 

Anyways, just wanted to get my thoughts out there. In general it seems the localization is trying their best, but there are a few glaring decisions. Again, you’re welcome to disagree. Just remember your human decency and don’t be rude. Everyone lives a different life and perceives things differently, and just because something is imperfect or unpopular doesn’t mean you can’t like it or you have to hate it.

Thanks for reading, I welcome any friendly comments and additions!

[omgmarysuebs-blog]

Pokemon OC | Aaliyah Hale Grace review

So here’s the next kawaii little edgy girl we’ve found, this time it’s a Pokemon OC and everything about her is just... my god, so stupid. But read for yourselves.

"They say people work through their stages of grief. I was thick into the anger phase. Depression was supposed to be next. Then, if one was normal, acceptance. They say it's the healthy, sane thing to do. It's too bad I wasn’t either of those things." -- Excerpt from The Hurricane Child (Hale's Origin Story) Well, that sounds... depressing. Rather dark for a Pokemon OC don't you think? But I mean fine, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. As the only pair of twins in tiny Pallet Town, the Grace sisters were always a bit of an anomaly. As the more outgoing of the two, it was Rayn who inherited all the Trainer genes in the family, and left for her journey at eleven. She made it all the way to the Kanto League Elite Four, but ultimately lost to Lance. Her second journey took her to Sinnoh. While her sister was creating waves in the Sinnoh League, Hale was perfectly content working as Professor Oak's assistant. She had the same ambition and pride as her sister, but channeled them in other activities closer to home. However, one day, when she receives a call from the Sinnohan authorities, informing her that her sister has gone missing and is presumed dead, Hale's world turns upside down. How do these people know that her sister has gone missing? She's a traveller and on an adventure so she usually wouldn't stay too long in one place right? And she set off on her own. Why is she presumed dead? And why do these "Sinnohan authorities" call her and not her mother or something? Hale is just a child. Due to a lack of leads, evidence or witnesses, Rayn's case is closed and investigation concluded. Furious, Hale sets off to Sinnoh herself, armed with only a PokeDex and one of Oak's test subjects as a Starter, desperate for answers. Alone in a strange, foreign land, Hale realizes there are secrets to her sister's disappearance that go all the way to the top -- and if she wants to know what happened to her sister, she might have to beat the truth out of Cynthia herself. First off why is she even presumed dead if there are no evidences or witnesses whatsoever? And cases like hers don't just get closed like that. Why did she take a test subject from Prof. Oak as a starter and not a normal pokemon? And why the heck does she wanna beat Cynthia so bad? What does Cynthia have to do with that??   Personality: Growing up with a sister like Rayn, who excelled at everything, Hale always lingered in the shadows. Of course, this was the way she preferred it. While she came out of her shell a little after Rayn left on her journey, Hale was always a little more subdued than her twin sister, but much more resourceful and tough-as-nails. If Rayn was gold, Hale was iron. Hale's pride is both her greatest strength and her fatal flaw. From a young age, she was taught that life doesn't owe you anything; if you want something, you have to work at it. It's this lesson that shapes her as a person, a trainer and -- later in life -- a Champion. However, it's this same trait that has landed her in countless messes, some of which she wasn't able to sweet-talk her way out of. Hale is incredibly self-aware, knowing exactly what her strengths are and where she needs to work harder. If there's something she wants, she will go after it with a frightening ruthlessness, no matter who she has to step on to get there. Blue sometimes refers to her as the world's most useless sociopath, as she has an almost-entrepreneurial criminal mindset when it comes to certain things, but will entirely fail at everything else. She isn't entirely lacking in emotion, however; the people she cares most about are those who have managed to worm their way into her inner-circle, while everyone else is expendable. I can't see Blue ever saying something like that and also criminal mindset? I mean... ok. The rest is fine though. Sign Language Hale was taught sign language by her mother's mute Gardevoir, Skittles, who was very strict about using them to communicate. While her mother was fluent in it, having spent her entire life with the Gardevoir, Hale would sometimes forget and speak out loud, which would result in Skittles tripping her psychically. Hale was forced to practice with Skittles every day, until it came naturally to her. These days, this is what she uses to talk with Red and communicate battle strategies to Ozzie. Why would a mute Gardevoir need to know how to use sign language? Pokemon only ever say their own name in the anime or just make weird noises in the games. They don't need sign language. Why would the Gardevoir force her to learn this and even punish her when she forgot to use it? I see no sense in this. Btw Red is not mute and she isn't either, she could still talk normally with him even if HE was. And why does she need sign language to talk to her pokemon? Why does Ozzie know sign language??

Music Hale is a pretty good singer. She doesn't have the skills of an opera singer, but she can hit a few decently high notes. She also carries around a small harmonica that she's had since the age of three. Her team is very fond of it, and one of their favourite downtime actitivies is gathering around her to hear her play. Glory also joins her sometimes, tweeting along to the music.

Battling Despite the fact that she never wanted to be a Trainer, Hale finds that she's a natural at battling. Strategies and team-building comes fairly easily to her, and her ability to communicate with her Pokemon without spoken commands makes her unpredictable to her opponents. Even Cynthia, who she has a pretty antagonistic relationship with, grudgingly respects her skills in this field. So she even communicates with them with sign language during battle? Are the pokemon supposed to always look at her for commands during a fight? That's pretty unpractical. And why does Cynthia hold such a grudge against her? Pokemon Team: Oh my god get prepared ya’ll. Jason [ team member ] Garchomp Jason was one of Professor Oak's lab experiments, a trade between him and Professor Rowan to study dragons from each other's regions, Oak having sent him a Dratini in exchange. When Hale sets out for Sinnoh, Professor Oak gives her the Gible as a Starter along with his blessings. Jason and Hale have a rough start, but it develops into an unbreakable bond, the two considering each other family. As the oldest and strongest member, Jason keeps the whole team in line, with the others following his orders as much as they do Hale's. Jason is the team's Ace. He has a strong sense of justice and will always be the voice of reason whenever Hale decides to do any... less-than-reputable things. So the two trade pokemon to study them but then he just decides to give it to Hale instead? Wheres the point in that? I also think that a dragon type for a starter is a little bit extreme but whatever. Ferro [ team member ] Lucario Ferro was the result of a trade-gone-wrong and Hale ended up with a Riolu she never really wanted. She tried to return him, but upon running his details through the database, she was told he'd changed hands so much, it was impossible to match him with any one single trainer. He'd just fallen through the cracks and was forgotten. Feeling terrible, Hale decides to give him a permanent home. Ferro adores his trainer, seeing her as his savior and mistress. The hero-worship makes Hale uncomfortable, but she loves him all the same. Ferro is the team's Brawler. After an accident where his chest-spike is ripped off, Hale jams the Lucarionite in there to prevent him from bleeding out, after which he remains in semi-permanent mega-form. Okay so this is the biggest bullshit. Alright how did this trade go wrong exactly? Why would nobody want a Riolu?? They're pretty damn popular actually. And now for the worst part: the Lucarionite-incident. WTF is wrong with you that you just ram that thing into its chest and then just LEAVE IT THERE instead of idk going to the pokemon centre to get him healed/saved or anything like that??? There's a reason you can only use these stones once in battle, it's because it's super exhausting for the pokemon to be in this state. This Lucario would be on his knees all the time. And semi-permament mega-form? How wonderfully kawaii and overpowered. What was going through this persons mind when they came up with this? That poor pokemon. Btw how do you rip off a chest spike... sounds pretty stupid really. Indra [ team member ] Luxray Indra was captured as a Shinx and trained to perform in a circus. However, he was too feral and unpredictable to control, which resulted in the death of his trainer. Hale happened to be in town just as the circus was about to leave and the ringmaster literally paid her to take the Shinx. Indra is the wildest, most dangerous of Hale's team members, and the older he grows, the more she fears he'll snap. Eventually, she strikes a deal with him: as long as he doesn't kill them all in their sleep, he can stay with her and grow stronger. Else, she'll leave him behind and his skills will never improve. Indra is the team's Wallbreaker. Eventually he comes to terms with his trainer, and while they'll never be best-buds, there's mutual respect between them. Why would you take a pokemon that has killed it's own trainer before? And one that could literally kill all of you any second. What a responsible person Hale is, right? Indra is clearly not made to be in a pokemon team. And why does every member need to have such an edgy story and not just "got caught on this route"? But of course that wouldn't be special snowflakey enough. Glory [ team member --deceased-- ] Pidgeot Glory was the first member of the team that Hale actually caught -- well, not exactly. Hale wanted a Pokemon that could fly her around (a dragon is not comfortable for long journeys) and decided on a Starly, but her aim was so off, the pokeball ended up catching a Pidgey instead. Glory is incredibly high-maintenance and will straight-up refuse orders she deems as "inconvenient", but she also has a strong maternal instinct and eventually comes to see the team as her fledglings. Glory is injured badly during Hale's championship showdown against Cynthia, brought down by Cynthia's Garchomp. Hale chooses to wait until the match ends to take her to the Pokemon Center, by which time it's too late and Glory succumbs to her injuries. Hale has never forgiven herself for putting her victory over her Pokemon's life, which is why the Championship title means nothing to her. This trainer doesn't seem to care much about her pokemon, does she. First Ferro, then Indra and now this. But hurray it's the first pokemon she's actually caught herself! So to make it a special snowflake it had to die and to also make Hale more edgy because pff the championship title now is useless to her. What is happening, I thought Pokemon is happy and not so extremely dark. Ariel [ team member ] Togekiss Ariel is a gift from Red, who adopts her from the Johto Daycare Center, after he hears of Hale's Championship tragedy. Still reeling from the loss of one Pokemon and having lost complete faith in herself as a good trainer, Ariel turns out to be a miracle at a time when Hale desperately needs one. Hale is incredibly protective of Ariel, terrified that she'll lose her if she ever lets her fight, but Ariel turns out to be more than capable of holding her own, even relishing in the thrill of battle. Ariel is the team's Tank. Despite her adorable appearance and personality, she earns quite a reputation as a harbinger of doom whenever Hale releases her into a fight. Another pokemon she didn't catch herself. How nice of Red right? Inari [ team member ] Ninetails Inari is a bit of a legend in Sinnoh -- not only are Ninetales a rare species for the region, a shiny Ninetales is one of a kind. Hale knows Cynthia has her eye on the creature, and sets out to capture her for the sole reason of pissing her off. Of course, Inari is a fiercely proud pokemon who won't serve a trainer, but Hale manages to convince her that she's the least of all evils. Inari finds it difficult at first to find her place in the team, unused to the life of a trained Pokemon, but she and Hale manage to bond over their shared loathing of Cynthia. Inari is the team's Sweeper. There's something very mysterious about her, almost otherworldly, that creeps people out. There's a rumor going around Sinnoh that she reaps the souls of those who piss her trainer off. What is the problem with this author??? Why is Cynthia such a bitch in her book? Why would Inari hate Cynthia for trying to catch her but not Hale who literally only wants her to piss Cynthia off? Of course she needs this edgy legend about her because she's not already special enough. And every trainer OC needs at least one shiny in their team. Classic. Ozymandias [ team member ] Vaporeon Hale bumps into Ozzie when they're both lost in Eterna Forest. She spends over a week looking for his trainer, until she's finally forced to accept that he's been abandoned there, and considers taking him, as an Eevee could evolve to fill any potential weak-spot in her team. She can't understand why anyone would abandon that. When she takes him to the Center for a check-up, she learns why. He's diagnosed with a hyperactive-personality disorder that makes it hard for him to even focus on orders during the chaos of a battle, let alone follow through on them. Hale, who's always loved a challenge, devises an entirely new form of battling tailored specifically to Ozzie, relying only on hand-signals instead of words. Ozzie is the team's Wildcard. He's incredibly impulsive and prone to getting himself and his team into trouble, but escapes unscathed every time due to his incredible luck. And the last special snowflake. You can't have one normal pokemon can you? And again with the hand-signals. This pokemon has a hyperactive-personality disorder so it shouldn't be able to focus on anything for a longer time. Training it with hand-signals is like the worst you could do with such a pokemon. And I still don't understand how this is even supposed to work during battle. So that's that. Now let's look at some of her trivia. We didn't put the whole thing because it's mostly boring stuff but here are a few that stood out to us. Hale never set out to be a trainer -- she just wanted to find her sister -- which is why most of her team consists of rejects and outcasts who end up coming along for the ride, instead of pokemon she actually captured for the sole purpose of battling. This doesn't change the fact that Hale and her entire team are still one giant special snowflake. Btw if she just wanted to find her sister why did she go through the whole thing and even battles the elite four and the champion too? After story-events, she debates about giving up her place as Champion and returning to Pallet, but decides not to because Cynthia would be in charge again until a new Champion can be crowned, and Hale would rather be trapped in Sinnoh than allow that to happen. WHat is her deal with Cynthia I still don't get it! Who cares if she's Champion again I thought Hale only cared about finding her sister anyway?? She grew up admiring both Lance and Cynthia, although story-events lead to her losing her respect for both of them Lance too now? What had to happen for a person to lose their respect completely for people they originally admired a lot? EXPLAIN girl, what are you doing. Alright so our advice:

Give more explanations for her story and especially her hate for Cynthia. Tone it down with the special snowflake syndrom. Give her a few normal pokemon. And for fucks sake SAVE THAT LUCARIO. Don’t do that kind of shit people, please.

All in all just don’t make such fake edgy and creepy characters for a jolly fandom like pokemon. It just doesn’t fit and feels out of place. I could never see Hale in the official anime or in a game.