#yuichi can hit pretty hard

[wanderinguteruspress-blog]

He’s got you flustered Leo, can’t keep your story straight. (Not that he’s ever been straight)

Donnie is deeply enjoying watching Leo fumble.

Further aftermath of this -

[gonetoforks]

Poor Yuichi... Isn't he tired?

1. Can he make cute stuffed animal sounds when he's hit or falls to the ground?

2. How does he feel being surrounded by people different from him? (Since he is a stuffed animal and the others are flesh and blood).

3. Has he ever been in more complicated situations, on the verge of death, or seriously injured?

4. Is he too careful with his katana? What nicknames have the turtles given him? Does he know about Mrs. Cuddles?

5. Do some yokai know about him? Draxum, Big Mama, Hueso?

6. What was each turtle's and Splinter's first impression when they saw him? And how did Yuichi react?

7. I could see that Leo used to be afraid of him. If he isn't anymore, what does he think of Yuichi now?

Sorry for so many questions, I really liked the Au 👉👈🥺 (you can choose to answer some questions if you wish)

AAAAA NO WORRIES THIS IS LITERALLY ME WHEN PPL ASK ME QUESTIONS ABOUT MY BRAIN BLORBOS;

‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

1) yes, yes he does

2) He’s pretty used to it! both sides of his family are pretty different from him, the Cuddles’ being almost completely inorganic & his family in Japan being yokai. He doesn’t really feel it actively so much as it’s led him to think of himself as, *waving hands around face* different. For a few reasons, but it’s no more of an issue for him round the turtles than it usually is :D

3) He’s lucky enough to not have had serious injuries, his organs are pretty well protected by flexible metal! The most danger he’s been in is when he had to run away from a family gathering blind into a forest. (When he cries, water can get too deep in his eyes, & since they’re cameras they short out and go offline.)

But basically, it’s really hard to kill or injure him cause he’s kinda like if an octopus had metal protecting its organs lmao

4) He is absolutely not, since he can stitch limbs back on & sew himself up like nothing, Miyamoto has to constantly remind him to be more careful haha. (Since he’d be a yokai in Rise, his ghost lives in the Ki-stone; the Usagi family uses it as an artifact similar to the scrolls Splinter shredded in S1)

He has a few nicknames but they aren’t really used regularly; Jersey Jack, Raggedy Ichi, Cottontail, Skewer-Me-Elmo, mostly one liners like those haha. but Miyamoto calls him Ume-chan (lil plum) pretty regularly hahaha

& unfortunately yes, he is quite familiar with mrs cuddles ( ´△｀)

5) Yeah! Draxum’s seen him around cause he hangs out with his kids, Big Mama hasn’t really taken much notice cause he hasn’t done anything yet, & hueso knows him as “the guy who always orders motor oil to go with his breadsticks.” ksjfjaksjskjs

6) When they met, Raph was scared shitless for a solid few seconds, Don was like “hahaha you terrify my brother haha, who are you.”

Mikey, same as Cassandra & Magicsaurus, chilled out quickly & was excited to meet a new person & have a fun time with a new friend.

Leo was like “lmao, you from Jersey?” & Yuichi said “Yeah lmao,” & Leo was like “no wayyyy, surely you are evil and crazy/hj” and he proceeded to be completely biased towards Yuichi’s “jerseylike behavior.” (Yuichi in reality was just reminding Leo of all the things he dislikes about himself cause they’re so similar. Once he realizes this, their rivalry becomes a lot more jokey like Teru and Mob from mp100 & they grow closer)

Splinter did not really mind his presence either way, just some kid, friend of his kids, in his house.

Yuichi reacted in a very boisterous & unserious way in response to their interest & hesitation. & when he found out they were attacked by his aunt he was very apologetic haha, he got them a fruit basket that said “Sorry my estranged aunt attacked your home, the rest of my family dislikes her too, have some fruit, so sorry.”

7) After Leo & Yuichi grow close, Leo begins to see him as a person he wants to stay close to. He thinks he’s impulsive, arrogant, but he also sees how he affects others and how they feel very easily. And he can talk a LOT. Note how in the show, Leo goes silent when he runs out of ideas, he’s incredibly stressed, & his family isn’t taking notice of him. As opposed to his family who he always feels the need to talk around to “cope,” Yuichi is the guy he trusts enough to let the mask slip and go quiet when he runs out of mana.

They get each other ( ＾∀＾)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaa genuinely tysm for all the questions, I’m happy you’re so interested in him!! ((o(^∇^)o)) leosagi doodles be upon ye 🫵

[3m0n3rd]

Atuff abt my turtlez that I wrote on a discord sever once but changed sum stuff

Tw for rap3 and abus3

okay so Lee/Leo goes by she/him- shes REALLY masculine physically but like he wants to dress up and act pretty a lot of the time. Leo is (and I'm debating this) bisexual or saphic! Lee has Anorexia and PTSD. She really tries to be an older sibling like RISE! Lee tries be there and present, trying to make his siblings forget about their childhood so that everyone is just happy! which doesn't really work... But again he is just trying her best. -- Lee's love life is wonky, before Usagi came, he was in LOVE with karai and soon started dating her. But when Usagi came, Leo started to feel some stuff but not strong enough for him to leave Karai. So he's always felt shitty about hurting yuichi because he's a dear friend to her. I feel like his VA would be like Pearl from steven universe or something like that.

donnie is like the one who I heavily based off of my but still gave them their own personality uh they/them (and sometimes He/him) Bro is t4t and bisexual and nonbinary. So Don boy is rlly emo.. But like most of the other four, they don't really dress up since no one is there to see them. BUT many ppl don't know this abt donnie but the spike choker he wears, they only wear it around Arrow, if they wear their googles that means their in their lab. But if they aren't wearing those accessories their just hanging with their bros. Donnie has AFRID, OCD, and schizophrenia. Which this causes a lot of difficulties in his life. Arrow in his mind Is their savior, basically their nothing without them. So Donnie tries to change everything about them to make Arrow like them more. ex. He says their fave artist is ICP, Arrow's fave duo. But in truth his fave band is MCR. I think Don's VA would be 2012 Donnie in some sorts of dib from Invader zim.

Mikey is so kawai-chan from aphmau, yes call me cringe idc. any but mostly he/him. Mike in the earlier seasons would be straight, until he realizes he's asexual!! But other then that, HES SCENE!!!! but again like everyone else he doesn't rlly dress up. Unless he wants to. Mikey loves april! their like BFF's for life! Fun silly fact, Mike was originally was suppose to HATE April, but later I got into the 'moon and sun' duo more. Oh mike has adhd, autism and dyslexia. Mikey is really the glue to their family much like in RISE!. So he tries to keep everyone happy like Lee. Mikey has never really told ANYONE this but while splinter never hurt Mike when he was younger, he treated him as the favorite child because occasionally he would ||Rape him.|| Which didn't effect Mike that much because he just blocked it out of his memeory. Mike's VA would DEFFINATLY be something like honey senpai dub from Ouran High school host club or like Beast Boy from Teen Titans Go!

I hate raph/hj. I really just don't know how to feel abt him because he reminds me of me a the most, in the worst ways too. okay he/him and ally! but later become poly and bi with Casey and Mona Lisa. (this was because I REALLY couldn't decide who he should end up with lol) Raph is basically a dick half the time and not in the way people like. He's easily irritated, makes fun of others for no reason, and will just hurt someone cuz he wants to. But deep down he tries his best, he just hates that everyone can act okay with what happened while they were kids. - Raph has PTSD, anger issues and autism - Lee was the one who got hurt most of the time, Raph was the one who was hurt the worst once. Splinter straight up put BOILING water on him because he wouldn't stop picking on Mkey. (this also leads to Raph being very distant from Mikey) So a way to relieve his PTSD is to just either hit shit really hard or just sleep with the million stuffed animals around him. Idk wut his VA would be, maybe Damon Salvatore from the vampire diaries or smth like that

[angelmichelangelo]

brothers

chapter seven

verse: 2k12/idw/human au rating: t word count: 3.9k

read on ao3!

x

When Donnie doesn’t answer his calls right away, Leo doesn’t quite panic at the jump.

Donatello, his immediate younger brother, only beating Raph by a smidge (a three minute twenty second smidge to be specific) didn’t have the best track record for keeping himself looped into phone calls and text messages or even the odd email once Brown University had pretty much whisked him away from him.

Still, there wasn’t a greater pride present in Leo’s very being when his brother had been accepted into the prestigious school — a life long dream having squashed the reputation that kids in care just didn’t do things like that.

Donnie had flourished in his new found independence. He had made new friends, rabbited on a mile a minute when he’d first relayed all the exciting new experiences of his first few weeks. It’d all been so fresh and inviting, only leaving a slight pang of longing when Leo had to finally let him go and do this part of growing up by himself.

But despite all of that, it’d also left a sour taste lingering in his mouth. Six months ago, the world had shifted on its axis. Six months ago it was like the moon had grown just a fraction of a bit heavier and all of its rotation was sending everything out of place.

Six months ago, Donatello vowed to never speak to Mikey again. 

And six months on, he’d held out on that promise.

Leo stares blankly at the empty phone screen that lights up in his hands.

The thread of messages to his brother stops short, maybe a few weeks ago when he’d curiously asked him if he’d be able to come down for Yuichi’s birthday.

He’d offered up his apologies but had an underlying strong no to his words. He could lie all he wanted about lectures and homework and whatever else college had entailed for him, but it was obvious that the sole reason he’d avoided making the trip down just for one night was simply for the presence of another.

In a way, how things had panned out, he guessed it was a slight blessing Donnie hadn’t been there to witness it all unfold; fanning the fire of their already blazing problems.

His thumbs move across the screen faster than his brain can catch up.

Mikey is in trouble. 

He backpedals, erasing it entirely.

I need to talk to you. 

He scoffs and deletes it again.

His thumbs hesitate before they finally move again.

Hey D. Know things have been hard but need to tell you this regardless. Mike in bad way. Missing for four days now. Doing all we can to find him. If he shows up at yours just keep him there until I can get to him. Love you. Miss you.

He hits sent and feels his lungs spasm as air floods back in quickly.

He isn’t expecting a response, not straight away anyway, so he locks his phone and drops it into his work locker.

He’ll check in on it in another five or so hours, hoping to hear from just someone today that isn’t just bad news. 

He closes the locker door, sealing away the fate of what lies on that phone whether his brother decides to answer it or not, heart thumping in his chest with each step as he goes about his shift at work.

[blue-nardo]

"The Attack."

OOC: OKAY MORE PLOT BECAUSE I'M ADDICTED AND IT'S THE ONLY THING I CAN WRITE RN!! In this thrilling installment, we see a fight, Leo and Yuichi, and we sprinkle the seeds for future problems.

Trigger warnings are mentions of injuries, canon typical violence, and mention of character death. Enjoy!

"LEO HELP!"

That's the plea Leo hears from his communicator mere moments after he's been attacked by sentient goop. It had tried to attach itself to his face like some kind of parasite, and maybe he was still having a hard time breathing because of it, but he didn't care as he opened a portal, dragging himself, Donnie, Casey and Venus into the side of the ship where Cass and her team had been looking. 

They see a large beast, with wires connected to it from somewhere high in the room, towering over Mikey, Cass and April while Raph holds it off in his astral form. Leo's first thought is that he has to get Raph out, that he can't let him be taken again, that it hasn't been ten years yet - please don't take his brother from him again - when the beast stops, directing its attention directly on him. 

"Host…"

The wind is knocked from Leo's chest as he's yanked back from his brothers and into the wall. He hears Donnie and Venus shout for him, but can't really focus on anything outside of the ringing in his ears as his vision starts to swim. The stitches in his arms ache something fierce as he tries to weakly pull away the slimy grossness keeping him cocooned. There's the sound of fighting somewhere in front of him, but there's only one word in his head that seems to matter. 

"Prime. Prime. Prime. Prime."

Leo's gasping for air now as his vision goes dark, and he weakly kicks at the air in front of him. There's a roar in the distance, and a bright flash of light, and he's starting to think that maybe he's not getting out of this one either. 

It's creeping in his skin, under his bandages and going straight for the cuts he got from Sister Kraang. He's going limp now, and his finals thoughts are going to be that of how he hopes his family won't hold back, that they'll put him out of his misery if he turns. 

"IKUZO!"

The familiar sound of a sword slicing through air greets his ears, and suddenly gravity has its hold on him again as he's suddenly freed. He hits the ground hard, choking for air as two pairs of arms grab him and pull him up. He tries to blink, tries to listen for the voices calling his name, before finally Leo sees the faces that have been haunting his mind for days. 

"Yuichi? Miyamoto?" he rasps weakly, and he thinks about how that means his larynx is probably bruised. "What… you both have to go, now."

"Not without taking out this thing first," Yuichi growls, and it would be so much more attractive if Leo could actually think right now. 

"What is it?" Miyamoto asks. His grip on Leo is firm and tight, protective, and despite the circumstances, Leo actually feels safe. "Is it a Yokai?"

"Alien," Leo coughs as he tries to stand, using Miyamoto for support. "Kraang monster… Must have been hiding out here… Gotta get the… The herbicide!"

"APRIIIIIL O'NEIL!" He looks up to see April mashing a vial of the stuff onto the giant Mutt, and he watches with relief as it reels back from his family. Thankfully, they all seem to be okay, with Donnie, Casey and Mikey in the air while Raph and the others catch April from her fall. Already he wants back in the fight, to portal and teleport his team to where they need to be. Unfortunately for him, his sense of balance doesn't agree right now, and Miyamoto has to catch him again when he tries to stand. 

"Oh gross," he hears Yuichi cringe. "What is all this stuff?"

"DON'T - " Leo's eyes go wide when he feels Yuichi's hands go to the Kraang slime on his arm. He smacks Yuichi's hand away, pure adrenaline keeping him up as he pulls back from Miyamoto. "Don't let this stuff get on or in you! Trust me, it's not gonna end pretty if it does!"

"Leo, are you okay?!" He hears Mikey call for him, and he turns to see his baby brother jumping down towards him, with way too much fear in his eyes. "Are you hurt??"

He shakes his head, keeping Miyamoto and Yuichi and Mikey at a distance. He can't touch them while this is on them. His eyes dart to the stains on Miyamoto's shirt - he's pretty sure it's offensive to call it that, but he doesn't know the actual name for it… 

"Miyamoto, take off your shirt."

Both Yuichi and Miyamoto turn to him with wide eyes, a clear blush on both of their faces. Mikey seems to follow his line of thinking though when his eyes land on the purple stains of the bright blue fabric. It isn't long before he's gasping and trying to pull the shirt off as well. 

"You can't get this stuff on you!" Mikey insists as Miyamoto lets him pull it off. "Trust us, it always ends ugly!"

"But what about Leo?" Yuichi sounds worried, almost, but Leo's eyes are back on the fight. 

"Use more of the herbicide," he directs Mikey, ignoring the question. "Tell Donnie to go semi-lethal too. Don't let that thing get into the city."

Mikey nods, and his chains begin to glow as he quite literally flings himself back into the fight. Leo rolls his shoulders back, and leans down to grab his swords. He stops though, when Yuichi steps closer, and glances back up at the Usagi brothers. 

They're worried, they both are. He gets it - there's a fight going on, and they've got questions. So he has to make it quick. 

He picks up his swords, giving them a testing twirl before gesturing to the Mutt. "Don't let it cut you, don't get this junk on you. Worry about me after the fight."

"Leonardo-San, are you - "

"Hey, listen we'll have plenty of time to debate if I'm okay or not when we take this thing down, now let's go!"

They win the fight, of course they do. Between all of their mystic powers and Yuichi and Miyamoto joining in, it's all too easy. April's herbicide does most of the work in taking the thing down, and Leo brings them all home once he's sure it's dead. Casey is quick to shove him into a hot shower as he gives himself a full body physical. There aren't any new injuries that he can see, so nothing that the Kraang ooze can infect him with, and he has no way of knowing if the stitches on his arm kept him safe from anything getting in there. 

Removing his bandages, he glares at the bruising spreading out from his cuts and tries not to overthink. It's just purple, it's not pink, he reasons. It could just be bruises from the attack, nothing else. 

He decides that Casey can't know, and neither can his brothers. Not in the event that this is nothing. Right now they need to focus on the mission and keeping the Foot Clan from bringing the Kraang back into this fight. That's the priority, and he can worry about his arm in the meantime.

"So what was all that about?"

He lets out the most undignified shout when he hears Yuichi's voice, whirling around to see him standing in the doorway. He looks smug, like usual, probably pleased with himself that he managed to sneak up on Leo again. 

"What happened to, 'sneaky ninjas are the most dishonorable creatures known to man?'" He rolls his eyes before sitting back down on the toilet seat, rewrapping his arm. "And obviously it was a giant Kraang monster, or did you miss that part?"

Yuichi lets out an annoyed sound, and Leo feels just the tiniest bit of pride in that. As attractive as Yuichi may be, he still likes to piss him off.

"You got covered in that purple ooze and acted like it was a zombie virus thing when you got it off my brother. Who, by the way, you totally embarrassed asking him to take his Yukata off like that. You know he's the biggest prude ever, right?"

Leo rolls his eyes, but doesn't look up, instead focusing on getting his arm wrapped up. "Is that what that's called? Noted. Next time I'll ask him to take off his Yukata, not his shirt."

"Okay, I get it, not the point," Yuichi groans, before deciding that he's suddenly welcome in the bathroom, stepping closer to look at Leo's arm. "You haven't answered my question."

Leo gives him a scrutinizing look, before extending his arm out for Yuichi to finish wrapping. "The reason I did that is because it kind of is a zombie virus thing. Just an alien zombie virus."

"Haha, very funny." There's silence, before Yuichi's ears go straight up. "Wait, you're being serious?"

"Yup," Leo hums, popping the P. 

"Jeez…" Yuichi's hands pause in their movements as he seems to deflate. Leo wants to comment on it, but Yuichi beats him to saying something. "What about you…?"

Leo pauses, tipping his head to the side in confusion. "What about me?"

Yuichi gestures silently to him with his free hand, indicating the lack of purple ooze all over Leo's body. "You were soaked with the stuff, and you were attacked before. How do we know you don't have the zombie alien virus thing?"

It's… A surprisingly good question. Leo had thought Yuichi wouldn't notice, or if he had, wouldn't think to bring it up. The rabbit had already established his own total lack of a brain cell, Leo figured that it would have applied here. 

"Short answer… We don't," he sighs. "But until I know for certain one way or the other… That information stays quiet, okay?"

Yuichi narrows his eyes. "A leader doesn't lie to his team."

"Compartmentalizing. Need to know."

"And your family isn't need to know?"

Leo inhales sharply at that, glaring back at Yuichi. Normally he doesn't really mind their banter, only really reacting because he thinks it's funny. That being said, family was off limits. 

"You don't know the whole story," he huffs at Yuichi. "I want us to focus on stopping the Foot Clan first. If this," he points to his arm, trying not to think about the future that it implies, "gets worse? They're the first to know, and we deal with it then."

"Deal with it, how, exactly?" Yuichi crosses his arms as he glares down at him, and Leo isn't sure if he likes that expression or if it makes him nervous. 

Leo lets out a slow breath, keeping his voice even. "... Casey will know that he can't hold back. If chopping it off doesn't work… I know he'll get them to do what it takes to stop me."

The silence is unnerving, but Leo won't be the one to break it. Yuichi needs to understand that this isn't a game, or a lighthearted mission, not like he wants it to be. In a past life, he might have made a joke to ease the tension, but that was before the Kraang took his brother from him. Before he'd learned how long he'd really had his brothers for in Casey's time. 

Before his heart had stopped beating to stop them. 

Yuichi's eyes go wide as the realization hits him, and for once Leo thinks he can't see the usual judgment or anger that shines in his bright red eyes. The thought of what could be, or what could have been, when it came to his own brother? Leo knew from personal experience that it was a lot to take in. 

"So… What now?"

Leo sighs, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall. He doesn't have the answer for that yet, but he can think of one on the fly. His mind has always been good at that, but he never learned to recognize that until recently. 

"Now… We make sure that we clean that wreck of anything Kraang related before someone in the city gets into it," he answers. "We can't let the Foot open a portal, and we cannot let anyone get infected. Capiche?"

"Uhhh, what does that mean?"

Leo can't help the smile on his face, even if he wants to. He needs it, he knows he does, because he's got this nagging feeling that pretty soon smiling isn't going to be easy. 

"It means… You're standing over me while I'm stark naked and tenderly bandaging my wounds," he teases, enjoying the blush on Yuichi's face. "I'm flattered, really, but I thought we were done with fake-out make-outs?"

Yuichi throws the bandages in his face, and Leo laughs as the rabbit storms out of the room. "Still waiting for you to make up for that by the way," he calls after him, grinning when he hears what is definitely not a nice string of words in Japanese shouted back at him. 

He inspects the bandages, nodding his approval before closing his eyes again. Rest, that's what he needs to plan their next mission… They've got this, he tries to reason with himself. They'll be okay. 

… First things first though, he thinks as he pulls out his phone. He needs to know more about Prime… and what the Mutt meant by, "Host."

[misakarose]

no worries about answering late! take all the time you need. i'm sorry to hear that life's been stressful, but i'm glad you've got a great support system to get you through.

i've been alright, mostly busy with work. i've been trying to find time to edit and write more, but it's been hard since it's always crunch time before the holidays. once everything settles down, i'm looking forward to relaxing with a cup of tea and catching up on anime!

speaking of anime, what are some of your all-time favorites? or, if you're more of a manga reader, what are some of your all-time favorite manga? hope you're having a great day/night!

- your animanga secret santa

yeah, the holidays are always pretty crazy. it's my favorite time of year but it can for sure be stressful jdhsg;akdfhjg I'm with you though, trying to find time to edit more, as well as find motivation for it... I wish I wrote more! I used to write like crazy and I still absolutely love to do it, I just never have the motivation to do it these days. I don't even remember the last time I actually posted something I wrote. I hope you find that extra time to express your creativity!! I think it's really important to indulge in your creative side... now if only I could actually live up to those words myself lmao

my all-time favorite manga/anime is World Trigger!! it's not super popular or well-known outside of Japan, which is an absolute crime. it deserves so much more love and appreciation. ;-; I highly suggest to check it out if you have time!! the original season of the anime is hit-or-miss, toei didn't do a good job at adapting it, but seasons 2 and 3 are *chef's kiss* amazing, and the manga is fantastic all-around!! I personally suggest reading the manga and then watching seasons 2 and 3, but there are good things about season 1 so... whatever floats your boat. Jin Yuichi is my all-time favorite character and I wish I had more people to scream about him with jaehrg;oaseghr

other favorites of mine include Jujutsu Kaisen, Boku no Hero Academia, the To Aru series (mainly Railgun), and Madoka Magica. there are others that I really enjoy but those are definitely at the top. what about you?? what are some of your faves?? ❤️

hope you're doing well~!!

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Fire Emblem Three Houses (ENG vs JPN) - Opinion

This is just an opinion post for which I prefer. I have 650 hours and counting on the game, so I’ve had time to listen to a bit of both. These are the voices I prefer. I can’t say for sure which voice or dub is better. Overall, they’re both pretty solid. 

Byleth (Male): Yūsuke Kobayashi | Zach Aguilar I feel like Kobayashi’s voice fits better. I just didn’t like Zach’s interpretation for Byleth or Tanjiro. 

Byleth (Female) Shizuka Ito | Jeannie Tirado This one is more of a preference. 

Edelgard: Ai Kakuma | Tara Platt Again, I feel like this is more of a preference. I just feel like Tara Platt doesn’t sound like a teenager either. Ai Kakuma gives her more of a softer and more “girly” vibe if that makes sense?

Dimitri Kaito Ishikawa | Chris Hackney Chris is funny with Dimitri’s character. He goes from the whole “don’t eat the weeds” to the emotional scenes that are great, and as much as I really, really, really like Ishikawa’s dialogue as well, I didn’t get the nuance from the script of the Japanese version. 

Claude Toshiyuki Toyonaga | Joe Zieja This one is a tie. I couldn’t choose. I know everyone prefers Joe because he’s very involved with the fandom, but Toshi is really good too. If it makes sense, he gives Claude more of a romantic vibe? He seems a lot more flirtatious and suave in Japanese, but I will admit that there’s more nuance in the English script. Regardless, the confession scene feels way better in Japanese (Toshi does a lot of otome games so maybe it’s from that)

Hubert Katsuyuki Konishi | Robbie Daymond I don’t really like Hubert all that much, to begin with. Katsuyuki makes him sound less like a cartoon villain and more like an actual potential good guy to S-Support.

Dorothea Juri Nagatsuma | Allegra Clark When you have Dorothea and Mercedes on your team, you can only take so much “ara ara”. Allegra (not the allergy medication) also makes her sound a lot more natural. I personally didn’t notice the first time I played through that she was double-casted, but after a couple of times, I got tired of the whole “let’s hire one actor/actress to play more than one character!” 

Ferdinand Taito Ban | Billy Kametz Billy Kametz just won a Crunchyroll Award for his dubbing of Shield Hero, and I can definitely see that he’s really talented. He’s pretty prolific with his roles in other anime too like Cells at Work and Demon Slayer. Both of Ferdinand's voices are a good fit, but nothing beats the FE meme of “I am Ferdinand Von Aegir” 

Bernadetta Ayumi Tsuji | Erica Mendez I don’t really like either. You can open any dub out of a can, and Erica Mendez has a 50/50 shot of being there. Bernie’s JP voice is like a broken squeaky toy though, so Mendez just automatically wins. 

Caspar Satoru Murakami | Ben Diskin Besides double-casting (which I’m not a fan of), Ben just made Caspar sound like too much of a child even with the time skip. 

Petra Shizuka Ishigami | Faye Mata Petra’s English is probably a contributing factor. Localization does wonders.

Linhardt Shun Horie | Chris Patton You can also find Patton in a lot of other dubs. However, I just preferred Patton’s a bit more because it made him sound a bit more grown-up. Not to mention, some of his lines just fair better in English.

Dedue Hidenori Takahashi | Ben Lepley There’s such thing as making a voice a little too low, and after playing Crimson Flower, hearing the pain in Dedue’s voice after he loses his best friend is quite something.

Felix Yuichi Jose | Lucien Dodge Felix is a whiny brat, but I feel like Yuichi makes him feel like less of a whiny brat. 

Mercedes Yumiri Hanamori | Dorothy Elias-Fahn There was no competition. Yumiri’s voice is the absolute perfect fit for Mercedes. Elias-Fahn’s voice made her sound like a cartoon dinosaur.

Ashe Yūki Inoue | Shannon Mckain There’s a lot more character in Mckain’s voice. 

Annette Takako Tanaka | Abby Trott This is purely personal preference.

Sylvain Makoto Furukawa | Joe Brogie This one is a tie. I couldn’t choose. Joe Brogie does bring that “f-boi” vibe, but Sylvain’s confession scene in Japanese was really sweet while his English version was... passable. Furukawa’s got too much experience with those kinds of things. 

Ingrid Manaka Iwami | Brittany Cox She makes Ingrid sound so sweet, and her voice has so much more emotion and character compared to Cox’s version which sounds so flat at times. Also, her death line is infinitely better post-time skip in Japanese. 

Lorenz Hiroshi Watanabe | Ben Diskin Nobody likes Lorenz. 

Hilda Yūki Kuwahara | Salli Saffioti Again, there’s more nuance in the localized version. 

Raphael Takaki Otomari | Zachary Rice The amount of “himbo” energy stuffed into that dub is legendary. 

Lysithea Aoi Yūki | Janice Roman Roku Aoi Yuuki is a symbol in the seiyuu fandom because she does a lot of voices for little girls. 

Ignatz Shougo Yano | Christian La Monte They tried to do something with the JPN dub that didn’t quite work. They tried to make him sound much higher pre-time skip then made his voice hit puberty, and while I appreciate the authenticity and efforts put in, they couldn’t make it consistent so his voice was constantly going from high to low when exploring the monastery post-time skip. 

Marianne Sawako Hata | Xanthe Huynh I just prefer her more soft-toned voice. 

Leonie Sakura Nogawa | Ratana I don’t like Leonie that much really. 

Jeralt Akio Ōtsuka | David Lodge I like both, but Lodge is a better fit for the narrator too. 

Rhea Kikuko Inoue | Cherami Leigh I really like Cherami as a voice actress, but this feels like a great miscast. Her singing voice for Rhea isn’t great either, and her screams felt subpar at best. Kikuko Inoue really gave her that “wise old lady” vibe. 

Sothis Tomoyo Kurosawa | Cassandra Lee Morris I don’t really like Sothis. I still say that they could’ve made a better character than that. Her child voice is offputting too. 

Manuela Sachiko Kojima | Veronica Taylor No preference here because I never cared for her or ever really put her in combat. 

Hanneman Kenji Hamada | W. T. Falke Hamada’s voice was a bit too deep. Besides that, the same as Manuela. 

Catherine Chie Matsuura | Laura Post No preference here. 

Alois Manabu Sakamaki | Dave B. Mitchell His character is based on puns, so of course, English dubbing will prevail here. 

Seteth Takehito Koyasu | Mark P. Whitten Mark dubbed some fan lines, and his voice is much more distinctive and isn’t associated with any big-time characters yet (cough Dio). 

Flayn Yuko Ono | Deva Marie Gregory Yuko Ono’s voice is way too high. It rivals Bernadetta.

Jeritza Atsushi Imaruoka | Patrick Seitz Patrick did a great job directing this dub, but Jeritza sounds like he’s constantly about to yawn in the English version. 

Shamir Yurina Watanabe | Allegra Clark Their voices are extremely similar in quality. I just have a bit of bias, and I don’t like double-casting. 

Cyril Kengo Kawanishi | Griffin Burns I don’t like Cyril. Yuri Junya Enoki | Alejandro Saab Junya provides a really good voice for Yuri. It makes him sound even more like his character if that’s even possible. Junya gave much more of that trickster “Claude” kind of vibe. It’s hard to decipher, but despite being kind of similar, Junya wins by a landslide despite Saab providing a stellar dub. 

Balthus Subaru Kimura | Aaron Hedrick I think it’s because of the localized script. His voice is also a perfect fit for the character. 

Constance Sarah Emi Bridcutt | Kirsten Day I can’t take all the “OHOHOHOHO” laughing all the time. 

Hapi Sachika Misawa | Christine Marie Cabanos Hapi’s localized script is really down-to-earth and adds to her character more. 

[arecomicsevengood]

Is This How I See Jaime?

Objectively speaking, I am not that old. Still there’s no getting past the fact that I am getting older every day, like everybody else. I might not be at the point where my body betrays my age, where I ache all the time and grunt when I stand, but my mind still carries with it the weight of decades of lived experience, and this can at any moment make me want to lie down.

There are few artists that capture the feeling of aging quite like Jaime Hernandez. Partly this is because of his working method. No one else does what he does, making serialized comics for close to forty years, that tell stories with the same characters. These are not truly STORIES, utilizing flashbacks that provide crucial context to events and create literary effects, even as the overall narrative they tell moves forward in time and builds an attachment between reader and character comparable to long-running television series. Still, when broken up into serialized installments in issues of Love And Rockets, it can frequently feel like nothing is happening. Often, what you get in an individual issue is around fifteen pages, split between multiple pieces focused on different characters. These fragments are focused, compressed in a manner closer to cinema than television, but you’re still only getting what might amount to three to five minutes depicted on-screen. With a few exceptions, what you get in an issue is not a complete short story with a beginning, middle, and end. For all the influence the Hernandez Brothers have had on alternative comics, reading the people they’ve influenced will not prepare you for how much Love And Rockets is modeled off of serialized comics, and how much of its power it draws from continuity and extended engagement.

This pacing demands a certain level of expectation-free interaction, which is crucial to deep relationships. It’s worth noting Jaime’s strips run alongside his brother Gilbert’s work, which is similar in some ways, but by no means the same. Gilbert’s body of work is a lot more complicated, due in part to how prolific he is, the meta/self-referential/self-deconstructive elements of the stories he’s telling, and also how he draws tits like Mark Newgarden draws noses, that just keep getting larger. He deserves a deep critical reading, but I don’t have the energy, money, or time to keep up with him. Running the two brothers’ work side by side makes Love And Rockets implicitly about family, which then in turn becomes a subject each cartoonist explicitly makes work about. And not just “chosen” family, but the actual people who’ve known you your entire life. Which is, inherently, a concept which both means more the older you get, and remains somewhat alienating. As a reader, it helps to be prepared to extend to Love And Rockets the goodwill one would a family member, to begin to get on its level.

On a superficial level, making work about family seems somewhat conservative and nostalgic. That’s not to suggest it’s not valuable, or worth fighting for. There’s just a certain adjustment of values or attitudes a reader needs to make to get on board with the work, that might be at odds with the punk rock alternative comics reputation that precedes it. The comics themselves are built on a formal language of cartooning that’s older and out of fashion: Sixties Ditko comics, Lil Archie, Dennis The Menace Goes To Mexico. This adds to a feeling of being about aging in a way younger art cartoonists inspired by their same-age immediate peers can’t get to. For instance, I love Olivier Schrauwen, and I can see the influence Yuichi Yokoyama has on his work, and I view the two of them as peers in dialogue, creating the future of comics, which creates a totally different reading experience than I get reading work that feels more in dialogue with the past. The formal choices of the Hernandez brothers, including that their work appears for the first time in serialized comic book formats, calls conscious attention to history. Consciousness of the past hurts, and this truth is a huge element of the plots and themes of Jaime’s work.

It’s the sheer graphic strength of Jaime’s drawing that enables it to stick in the memory. He’s able to capture a tiny gesture and render it iconic through use of line and spotted blacks. The precision he brings his images gives them a certain ease of recall. This is the crux of a two-page spread at the climax of The Love Bunglers where, as a bunch of different stories and images are recalled, now rendered at different angles, they’re all there in your consciousness, in a mix of your memories of the comic and your memories of your own individual life. It’s a hugely cathartic climax.

However, both Gilbert and Jaime have this aspect to what they do that can easily frustrate a reader, and it is seemingly inextricable from the core of their power: Once a point is reached where you can easily follow along, and a satisfying conclusion to a story occurs, the next several issues will completely destabilize that and you will again not know what exactly is going on. For instance, if you read the Perla La Loca collection, collecting the “Wigwam Bam” and “Chester Square” graphic novels, by the end of it, you will have a very exciting experience that should convince you Jaime Hernandez is one of the greatest cartoonists in the world. Reading the Penny Century collection of the work that followed, plenty of stories will leave you feeling like he lost his touch, or is spinning his wheels. At the end of the book, and the “Everybody Loves Me Baby” story, you’re knocked flat on your ass again, but if you had read the original comic books as they came out, who knows if you would’ve stuck it out that long.

This, by the way, is one of the most realistic things there is. Life’s “things just keep happening” quality will fuck you up time and again. While I haven’t given up on life just yet, I have stopped reading Love And Rockets a few times. I’m not the sort of reader who sticks with a series out of inertia. I have always been hyper-aware of the value of my comic-book buying dollar, and therefore pretty fickle. If I read two issues straight of a comic that feels like it’s treading water, I would be done with it. I’ve gone back and picked up things after the fact and filled in gaps, or I’ve switched to reading trade collections checked out from the library. I bought the first two issues of the recently relaunched Love And Rockets volume 4 in one go, realized that it was continuing stories from Love And Rockets: New Stories, and didn’t go back for more, put off by the stories’ continuation from the previous volume.

It’s only now, with the release of Is This How You See Me and Tonta, that I am reading the stories that followed up The Love Bunglers in a complete form. They blew me away. The effects Jaime’s going for at any given moment may be subtle, but they accumulate, and this accumulation then becomes the true effect, and why I analogize it to aging: There’s this sheer weight that results from how things just continue to happen, and each time they hit you with what feels like more force, even as the moments themselves are minor ones. This is a true-to-life feeling that is very hard to capture. It’s present in the relentless pace of Charlie Kaufman’s masterpiece Synecdoche, New York, but that is a movie too intense to rewatch for many. Jaime’s work is built around you returning to it, which means it has to be somewhat inviting, and include levity.

Is This How You See Me focuses on the characters of Maggie and Hopey, introduced in 1981 as teenagers, now presumably in their mid-fifties, happily married to other people but still weighing the possibility of cheating with their ex. The characters return to a “punk rock reunion” in their hometown, to reminisce on the past with old friends, and old characters we haven’t seen in years appear, visibly older than when they were last drawn, but still recognizably themselves. This plot lends the comic some elements of nostalgic fan-service that I intellectually feel an aversion to. It feels almost like the plot is designed transparently for those purposes. Bringing back old characters would strike me as a crass project in the pages of X-Men or Legion Of Super-Heroes, but the naturalism of Jaime’s approach means that it allows him to show me things I legitimately haven’t seen in a comic book before. It’s probable they’ve been in movies or books, but I would argue they work better in comics.

For instance, there’s a scene where the reunited cast are showing each other photos on their phones.  This is a normal thing people do, and so surely it has been depicted in a film. But in a comic, there’s this weird meta element to it. Smartphones have text message conversations appear in little word balloons, right? The word balloon being a technique comics used to depict speech, as part of their normal communication system of images. Then, when interacting in physical space, people show pictures to each other, using this device they usually use for the mimesis of speech over distances, but they’re communicating using pictures to show what their life is like. Which is what the comic itself is doing more generally. So, there’s there’s this semiotic quality to the gesture of the outstretched hand with phone in it which feels really profound when depicted in comics, while it would feel sort of stupid and uncinematic in a movie, where the aging theater audience would have to squint and ask their neighbor what is being shown in the text message they’re seeing on screen.

Similarly, we see the married couple of Maggie and Ray, separated from each other for the length of the weekend, fretting over how much they should be in communication, drafting texts and deleting them. There’s an intimacy people who live with each other share, where much of what they encounter apart from the other person they want to talk to them about, because to be close to another person is to have them in some ways always present inside your head. Depicting the writing of a text, and then the decision to delete it, captures both the intimacy of a couple and the intimacy of one’s own private thoughts, in a way that only a form with the intimacy of a comic is able to depict effectively. Prose alone can’t capture the fluctuations of posture and self-presentation which is the heart of deleting a draft.

Concern for one’s image is depicted as well in the title pages to individual chapters, showing characters taking pictures of themselves in mirrors with their phones. These pages seem to depict not so much the cultivated selfie but the self-awareness of the drafting process, the titles above them taking on a certain poetry, built around the words spoken to oneself unconsciously that are the opposite of the language one chooses to send in a message to convey a precise thought.

This stuff really impressed me, and it all fits within a language of small gestures. While there are tons of books that are about how connection works in the digital age, it also always feels like that stuff is a commentary on how young people live. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything as interested in how people in middle age use these devices. Of course, it’s possible examples exist in work targeted to older audiences, and I just missed it because it wasn’t marketed to me.

It was actually Jaime’s other 2019 book, Tonta, that spoke to me more. Here, the aging the book is about is a coming-of-age thing about a high school student, and the book has this spirited youthful quality to it from the outset. While other, darker, plot elements unfold as it goes on, what was interesting to me is that the noir-like narrative that exists as a counterpoint in the finished book might not have even seemed part of the same story to a reader of Love And Rockets, where the character nicknamed Tonta just sort of suddenly emerged. There’s even a few pages in this collection given over to narration by Ray, who otherwise doesn’t appear in the book. These elements don’t seem dissonant or like they don’t belong. It just makes the book itself feel loose, like it feels as free and exploratory as a teenager looking for something to do. Placed together inside a book, the disparate threads become united by having a main character to pay attention to how developments of the plot affect her. The book has a real tonal arc as it unfolds, and the way the book gets you in its grip from such a goofy start seems to replicate how the stories about the Maggie character developed over time, here captured in miniature.

The sum of these two books will at some point only be a portion of a future volume of the Love And Rockets library, the formatting of the Perla La Loca and Penny Century books I mentioned earlier. There are portions from recent issues of Love And Rockets that are natural continuations and codas from these books, and what tapestries these fragments will be woven into is unknown to me. Another gutpunch could be just around the corner or years in the offing. There’s really no way to know what the future holds.

[sambart93]

2018.05.04 WakasamaGumi Mairu (2): IceCream [Review]

This is the second installment in the WakasamaGumi series! I believe they are based off a book collection (see here). The first installment is here, and the DVD order is here.

Official Site here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 PreOrder the DVD here My Review of First Stage here

CAST and CHARACTERS

Tamaki Yuki as Minakawa Shinjirou Irie Jingu as Nagase Shiono Akihisa as Sonoyama Kaoru Nakamura Yuichi as Fukuda Harunosuke Yasukawa Junpei as Koyama Miyazaki Karen as Koizumi Sara Inoue Sayuri as Shido Shinako Wagou Shinichi as Maki Atsuyuki Kobayakawa Shunshuke as Souma Koyata Hashimoto Zenichi as Anno Kazuma Takeshi Naoki as Souma Kakunoshin Matsunami Yuuki as Tatsusaki Hiromitsu Onodera Zuru as Katou Tomoe Kamakari Kenta as Tamai Kazuma Itou Yuuichi as A Niwa Reporter Awane Makoto as Koizumi Takuma

Ensemble: Kida Haruka, Nakano Yuka and Ashida Chiharu

*

NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: This was a lot of fun (I feel I say this a lot but it is important!). I think I liked it just as much as the first one but for very different reasons. Don't get me wrong, neither version is perfect or what I would be satisfied with but they were good and fun enough in their own way. The first one was a lot of fun because of the story, the cast (I liked many in that cast and even the ones I didn't know I enjoyed for the most part), the songs and because I was new to MMJ so things like the paper props they did were so much fun and fascinating to me. This time I felt like the comedy really shined through and hit the mark very well, the adlibbing was very good, the main story was great (it focuses on Tamaki character Mina-chan and his dream this time), I really liked the side plot with the brothers too. I really liked the cast changes for the most part (I love Tamaki and Shiono, and Yuichi wasn't too annoying -- sorry NY lovers but I've never liked him for some reason). But I don't particularly remember any of the songs being memorable, unlike last time, and personally the romantic story line A. confused me (because of what happens in the first stage and to my knowledge) and B. girls being bitches because of jealous is really over done and just not fun to watch. Also I don't like how much they changed Wagou's character. And I really wanted us to stay focused on the military guys - I wish most of them had been back this time around. I do love Tamaki's Mina's story but I felt we lost a lot of stage time with the Wakasama and such I was really looking forward to see the ridiculousness between Kenta's character and Wakasamagumi. There has been a 3 stage announced so I hope we get more Wakasamagumi and a lot of the military back next time. And less romantic lines. Also I really enjoyed the NEW characters, especially the brothers, so it'll be great if they come back alongside Tamaki next time around. Rating: 6/10

SPOILER REVIEW

The story for me didn't quite have the impact this time round. While I loved the main plot line: Mina-cyhan realising and making his baking dreams come to life, and I loved the brother plot line; one trying to protect the other but both of in severer poverty; the other story lines just bored me; I really, really, really, really HATE romance in stories, ESPECIALLY when it's the troupey 'bitchy girl sabotaging nice girl because she's jealous' bullshit which is what we have here. Also I was super confused; in the first play they make it obvious that Sara is in love with Nagase but THIS time around we see Sara falling for Mina-chan and it's like WHICH ONE WOMAN?! Don't flipflop between your TWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDS!' so that ticked me off.

BUT, I really liked the ending for Sara's development. Most of this play she's either being attacked by the horrible idiotic girl, or she's being forced into omiai's // arranged marriages by her father. And finally at the end she confronts her father and explains 'I don't want to get married right now. I was go out and find out what I can do and do I want to do.' which was really great and girl-power. It was great seeing Sara get her control and power back into her life. She's pretty girl-power and strong in the first stage with all the protests and supporting the right to be 'free' so with this stage forcing conservative views on her and other girls trying to hurt her through jealousy, she does lose herself for a bit in this. But seeing her come out and realising what she wants and what she wants to do is so empowering. I love Sara -- yes, you heard me! She's one of the few female characters that I love and I'm so happy she found the strength to tell her father no. And what made it even better was that her father was understanding and accepted her choice! It was such a feel good moment. I kind of hope, thinking about it now, that the third play is focused around her. In the first one we focused on Nagase and his time at the military, then this time we focused on Mina and his dream to open his own bakery, and hopefully next we have Sara pursuing her dream and focusing on her. It would make sense because they're childhood friends and have always been together so I do hope! I assume the next stage is following the next book so I'll have to find out what the next installment is.

*searches* Looks like the next one is ‘Wakasama to Roman’ and there seems to be a spin off with the yellow cadets too called Meiji, Kiniro Kitan and Meiji, You Modan.... so we’ll see what happens next.

I was completely onboard for the cast changes, or at least I accepted the cast changes for Tamaki and Shiono.... AND now I've only just realised that Yuichi replaced Someya. Which doesn't make sense; I thought it was an obvious end for his character at the end of the first one. I guess that's why he doesn't have as big of a role this time around because he already got his head on straight and already has a girl in his life. But... you could've just not had him in it.

I like the scene in the beginning when the boys are slacking off at Mina's bakery/cafe and an officer walks in and they try to hide but JP forgets his sword and the guy is like 'oi!' and points to the sword and JP hastily grabs it and they run out of the store. I guess they still haven't matured since the first stage xD Shiono's character was funny because he'd get his sword out for any type of conflict or the moment that didn't suit him and everyone else had to hold him back xD I didn't realise until later but he replaced Kubota Hidetoshi which is a shame because I really liked him in the first one, but I guess Shiono is a good choice as a replacement. BUT he doesn't have the scar this time?!? What's that about?! They actually ate sweets during the show and it made me so hungry.

I really, really liked Kobayakawa's character! He was just the sweetest! (haha get it?!)

I've heard that Takeshi is a dweeb in real life but I've only ever seen him as Doudanuki in TouStage and in this and his characters are pretty similar in these two; very angry, very aggressive and very 'my way or the high way' kind of thing, so much so that he hurts the people around him (ie. manba-chan and in this, his brother). But I really liked the ending when he and his brother made up and TamaChan kindly offered them jobs at his shop and all of a sudden Takeshi was just the cutest and happiest character, running around and helping xD

KenKen's character was fucking ridiculous this time around! Unfortunately, he has no where near as much screentime as he deserves. But when he's playing Tamai he's ridiculous and pompous and feels above everyone as usual. But then he falsl for Shinako and becomes this romantic, idiot mess. And then there's other times where he's playing the waffle ghost and going around as like a narrator and doing these stupid dances and just being ridiculous. Everyone was laughing so hard. OH there was a moment when it was Shiono, JP, Yuichi, and KenKen. The three of them were facing KenKen in a line and KenKen had his back to the audience. KenKen started talking but messed up right away and the three of them just broke down into laughter immediately and KenKen tried to keep it together but you could hear him wanting to laugh so hard! It was a really good moment. KenKen was like ‘I’ll beat your ass!’

Wagou's character was also confusing. In the first one he's this quiet, mysterious, starts to get stupid towards the end in a funny way, ninja character. But in THIS one he's basically his Osomatsu on Stage character; a big shot with lots of confidence and completely pompous. So I am not sure why they brought him back and/or why they gave his character a complete 180 change.

The end dancing scene is funny because it's obvious KenKen character is still in love with Shinako. I also liked the dancing scene in general, it was sweet yet still had a nice balance of comedy in it.

TamaChan fell out of character at one point and it was totally cute. Something happened, and he just burst out into proper laughter. It was the cutest thing! Then during the curtain call, KenKen was showing off the marshmallow goods and started opening it up and showed the faces on the marshmallows before putting on into TamaChan's mouth and TamaChan yelled Wagou's character's line of 'DELICIOUS desu!' and Wagou got embrassed because previously in the play he had messed up that line a little so TamaChan was getting payback. Then Wagou pulled this angry sulking face at TamaChan and TamaChan (mouth full) was like 'I swear I'm not making fun!' so Wagou redid this line straight away so he could come out on top xD

Tamaki actually ices the cake here! So god knows how many cakes they wasted in total! I just hope they ate them every time! Or that the cake is fake but just the icing isn't.

JP's repetitive comedy part was catching swords with his barehands and then those swords being ripped out of his hands and his reaction everytime was perfect and so funny! His character is an idiot. It cracked me up everytime!

The Aftertalk

The aftertalk consisted of: Yuichi, Irie, JP and Shiono. It was super funny! They talked about what sweets they like and/or recommend to people so they said:

Irie: Monte Blanc << He mentioned he can eat 6 in a row and everyone was like 'WTF?! HOW?!' Shiono: Crepes and came make them himself. He used to work part-time at a crepe store. Yuichi: recommended Rokkatei which sounds like a famous sweet shop here JP: Choco with strawberries inside. And he also liked Rokkatei here

The Ex-Aid kid, Iijima Hiroki (how many fucking Hiroki's are there?!?!?!?!?) was there tonight! He walked in and he's tall and so freaking skinny!! He looks so much better in real life than on TV xD He has this white t-shirt on and flappy hair; no mask, no glasses. Just waltzed in.

*

GOODS

I’m lucky JP isn’t so popular so I didn’t have to try the random badges myself. I feel like KenKen will be easy to get too.

*

And there we have it! Stay tuned for more reviews/reports coming up!

[creepy-crowleys]

Subject: Re: Filth wants Bingo! From: Rum

You’re okay, right? You looked kinda zonked out while you were fighting that thing and now you aren’t answering. Or moving.

I guess it did look like it hit pretty hard. You’re probably just resting.  Superheroes need breaks too!

But umm... you can always rest in our apartment if you need to. I promise it’s safer than being on the street!  As long as you don’t touch any of the weird stuff in Yuichi’s room.

[skygatecreations]

what up i was tagged by @kaitenkenburokuren

RULES: Answer all the questions, add one of your own and tag as many people as there are questions

not tagging that many ppl either.

not taggin no one because I pmuch know all of em pretty well and they all busy being awesome at life. but thank for the tag, these fun despite how smartass I sound.

under cut lmao <- same bro

1. Coke or pepsi? coke <-same

2. Disney or dreamworks? Disney has a higher hit vs. miss ratio with me, but Dworks got some good ones.

3. Coffee or tea? Coffee bro.

4. Books or movies? prolly movies. usually animated sh** that I use as ‘inspiring background noise’ and don’t actually watch a lot of the time.

5. Windows or mac? Windows cause it’s what I know best. Also I don’t tend to  like Apple’s monopoly-ish-ness.

6. DC or marvel? Marvel pm strictly because I like the movies. No clue on comics...Also ol X-men cartoon Storm was my homegirl as a youngling. I honestly think she might have subliminally created the thing I have for white hair lol

7. Xbox or playstation? Playstation cause that’s what fell into my lap.

8. Dragon age or mass effect? no.

9. Night owl or early riser? night owl <- same

10. Cards or chess? cards...but preferably neither because I’m uncannily terrible at non-video games...k actually pretty bad at vid games too but the nons...Jesus Christ 8/

11. Chocolate or vanilla? Are we talking ice cream because that kinda important op. like get yer sh** together...anyway if yes, then Chocolate.

12. Vans or converse? probably neither. not usually my look...also I’m picky as Hell.

13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash or Adaar? ...what you just call me bro?

14. Fluff or angst? angst in certain doses. Also I’m picky even with that.

15. Beach or forest? both.

16. Dogs or cats? both

17. Clear skies or rain? both kinda - no like...that patchy sort of cloud+sun after it rains that makes the light look all awesome and sh**

18. Cooking or eating out? eating out, but if I learn to cook more it’ll probably be a harder call.

19. Spicy food or mild food? mostly mild. There if like, 1 at times very spicy food that hurts me but tastes freaking amazing lol but been trying some slightly spicer that my normal jam foods lately.

20. Halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas? can’t decide. strangely apathetic at this...slightly concerned about myself now. thanks for the existential crisis, man. 

21. Would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot? maybe a lil too hot tbh. just increase water intake and *thumbs up*. cause a lil too cold makes the migraines worse. like ‘difference between vom-ing or not’ worse.

22. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Flight bro.

23. Animation or live action? Animation. like good 2D Disney-ish stuff, not this eyesore bullsh** on CN these days.

24. Paragon or renegade? Apache attack Helicopter. idk.

25. Baths or showers? shower <- same...I like baths but I don’t have a plug for the tub so they don’t happen much...

26. Team cap or team ironman? shut up I haven’t seen that movie yet.

27. Fantasy or sci-fi? depends on the mood.

28. Do you have three or four favorite quotes, if so, what are they?

‘Fall seven times, Stand up eight’, ‘Don’t be afraid of dying, be afraid of not living’, ‘Fly as far into the crash as you can’ (or ‘drive’ if we talkin cars) ‘You panic, you die.’ ...idk, a lot of stuff I heard from people that are generally a lot braver and cooler than I am lol.

29. Youtube or netflix? Youtube. Can’t afford netflix. check yo privilege damn.

30. Harry potter or percy jackson? HP. not even close.

31. When do you feel accomplished? *bitter, empty laughter*

32. Star wars or star trek? Not a space opera fan but if I have to choose, Star Wars all the way. because it’s a little LESS space opera.

33. Paperback or hardback books? hardback but can’t say no to all the free classic ebooks that I’ve been finding. Bro. Read the Jungle Book(s). the REAL ones. That mess is epic. All movies made of it so far are SH** and it will anger you once you learn how sh** they really are.

34. Horror or rom-com? Rom-com if must choose. because I have an overactive imagination and I will have f-ed up dreams. My sleep pattern is sh** enough as it is lol...and yet I listen to a lot of ‘true scary story’ narrations...

35. TV shows or movies? tv shows because easy background noise

36. Favourite animal? MANY. Dogs, cats, horses, sharks...

37. Favourite genre of music? MANY. like...only criteria is “do I like it?’. notables are classic rock, epic soundtrack-y sh**, and I’m super hooked on synthwave right now...which basically means I like 80′s synth music...

38. Least favourite book? idk, if I dislike something that much I stop reading/don’t read. I guess Hunger Games series qualifies tho compared to everything I’ve read. Not a bad story, but I really...don’t like first-person perspective...so cringe. sooo shamelessly made for self-insert fantasies.

39. Favourite season? fall I guess.

40. Song that’s currently stuck in your head? toss up between Neo-tokyo and Running in the Night (totally freaking different vibes? told you I like a lot of sh**)

41. What kind of pyjama’s do you wear? usually-loose camisoles and soft pants/shorts, preferably of Jersey material. I dislike fuzzy ‘warm’ sh**. let the blankets do their damn job lol

42. How many existential crises do you have on an average day? my whole life is one big existential crisis.<- SAME BRO

43. If you can only choose one song to be played at your funeral, what would it be? Bruh that dark.

44. Favourite theme song to a TV show? tbh AS a theme song? ...probably Yuichi ikusawa’s WARRIORS from one of the Yugioh openings. Pretty damn epic. only up to a certain point of the full song tho (opening cut is fine). eventually he starts doing this weird actually laughable thing with his voice and ruins it.

45. Harry potter movies or books? Books. movies are good for book movies though.

46. You can make your OTP become canon but you’ll forget that tumblr exists. will you do it? OTPs are great but I have friends on tumblr and some that I I’m having active interactions with and are expecting stuff from me. I sacrifice the OTP for my duties. *salutes*

47. Do you play an instrument and if so, what is it? *more bitter laughing*

48. What is the worst way to die? anything slow. Bonus bad points if you are alone and have time to think of your fam and friends and how your end will effect them...that got dark again. moving on :)

49. If you could be entirely invisible for a day, what would you do? idk man, maybe just go around looking for wild animals to hang out with without their knowledge...or the risk of being mauled. Or go places I’d never go by myself because ghetto-as-hell and just chill.

50. If you could have personally witnessed anything in history what would it be? The first hop of the Wright Flyer. Dawn of powered flight bitches. 

51. If you could understand animals but you could never understand humans again, would you? ...bruh. No. like I know a lot of people would think that would be cool and sh** but if you think ‘people just don’t get you’ now, imagine if you really were incapable of communication. like...sh** would suck. And you’d have to be a hermit somewhere with no money cause no/extremely limited livelihood options...is my adult showing? I feel like my adult is showing.

52. What is your most favourite album currently? I don’t really do albums. I pick and choose what I like.

53. What is your favourite TV show character? lots of them. usually the dudes with complex/’juicy’ backstories...which is pretty boring because a lot of people would probably say that. because those tend to be the most interesting.

54. What is something you were obsessed with as a child? doggies idk

55. Do you have any tattoos/piercings and if not would you like any? just single earlobe piercings.

56. Biggest pet peeves? hard to call. a lot of things annoy me lol. maybe people not taking responsibility for their own actions/bullsh**.

57. A place you’ve always wanted to visit? Close between Germany or Japan, I got family both places. Japan narrowly wins.

58. cheesecake or carrot cake? carrot cake if it good...and doesn’t have deer turds- I mean raisins. ...I think I got all of them? idk you see one I missed lemme know.

[bethygauw]

[2/3] Enstars: B’s-Log January 2017

Released in November 2016.

Unit Song CD 2nd Series Vol.5: Ryuseitai Cast Interview

Lyrics translations are by Rain! (Dreamwidth)

General note: Ken’ichi Maeyamada (Hyadain) is the lyricist and composer of Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!! . His previous works include Nichijou OP and Kuroko’s Basketball ED1.

Yuichi Jose (VA of Chiaki Morisawa)

Q: Firstly, please tell us about your impression on the songs when you first listened to them.

Jose: When I first listened to the demo tape of Ryusei Fireworks, judging by the melody I thought it was Akatsuki’s song. But when I started singing it, I was like, “Oh, this is Ryuseitai.” (laugh) In a good way, it betrayed my expectations. I mean, when the five of us sing, any song becomes Ryuseitai’s song. The chit-chat is super fun in this song. As for Shooting☆Star!!!!!, when I think about it we haven’t used the phrase “shooting star,” even though it’s supposed to be the meaning of “Ryusei.” I find it surprising. Compared to the first series, the dramatic feel in the song that pictures their hidden strength and strenuous effort is getting stronger. The songs are also tied more strongly to the stories in-game, and there are various instances that picture the bonds between Ryuseitai members as well as the bond between Ryuseitai and all of you Ryusei Pink. I had the opportunity to sing all that, and it’s a perfect song for it. I feel that they have slightly matured, blasting through their own path with unwavering conviction, even if they are hurt at times.

Q: Then how did the actual recording go?

Jose: I have to use my energy in every single Ryuseitai recording, so it was a hard work. In order to bring out the character in a playful song that is characteristic of Ryuseitai, I would have to make arm gestures no matter what. This time we launched a firework, comforted a baby… I was worried if my gestures would become noise in the recording (laugh). In the first series, (the voice actor of Midori Takamine) Takumi-kun had his recording right after me and I felt sorry because the headphones were drenched with sweat… But this time, no one recorded after me so I didn’t feel as guilty (laugh). As for Shooting☆Star!!!!!, the chorus doesn’t go boom, but it’s meant to slowly sink in—I had a hard time making it feel like Ryuseitai when it has a different feel from the usual. When I listened to the others’ singing except mine, they sound cute like Ra*bits, so I would try to hold that down. Or rather, I want to support them in order to make up for all the trouble [Chiaki] has caused (laugh). When I sing as Chiaki, I can’t sing unless I root my feet into the ground strongly and put my might into it, so when I finished I could feel it on my lower back. Chiaki sings the whole pre-chorus, so I was completely exhausted. In Ryusei Fireworks, the “Ha! Ha! Ha! Soiya!” gave me a hard time. Even when I’m at home practicing, I was already thinking, “Oh boy, this part is gonna hit my lower back pretty hard during recording” (laugh). It’s quite a feat to sing Ryuseitai songs alone, and it seems we have another song eligible for entering that endurance competition. I’d like all of you to challenge yourselves and practice it.

Q: Please tell us the appeal of each song.

Jose: Shooting☆Star!!!!! has a message where you have to support one another even if you’re hurt, become one, and move forward while doing your best. Although Chiaki is not part of it, there is a feel of unison in the parts where the other members are singing something like “blue and green make the earth.” After that, it’s not like Chiaki unified them, but I think that part gave a sense of unity where all of them became one. They’re frank with one another. As for Ryusei Fireworks, everyone is nothing but balls of energy (laugh). Ryuseitai’s belief is that you’ll still act cheerful even if something awful happened to you. This song speaks something like, “we are there for each other, and we’ll stay positive,” and I thought it has a really good presentation.

Q: Ensemble Stars has been extending its reach through appearances in various kinds of media. Could you promote the series to the readers who have not yet been exposed to it?

Jose: Chiaki Morisawa is a man of passion, but there’s a fundamental reason why he’s the way he is. Of course, not everything is confirmed, but I really admire his way of living. He works very hard to be the ideal person he wishes to be, and be a man of passion. It makes me wonder if he’s seriously a high school student (laugh). It’s not just letters in a word—true passion is his appeal. In both good and bad ways, Ryuseitai won’t be Ryuseitai without Chiaki, and Ryuseitai and Chiaki can’t exist without one another—they’re something like a family. Ryuseitai isn’t the academy’s model unit, and Chiaki would bring up an unusual proposal and cause so much trouble to the producer, to all of you players. Each individual’s potential is not that high either, and I wouldn’t describe their team work as perfect. But everyone is on their way to combining into one, into Ryuseitai. I’d like you to walk together with them too.

Q: Please give a message to the fans who are looking forward to the release!

Jose: The previous CD placed second on the Oricon chart, a happening that caused such a big fuss on the Ryuseitai members LINE group, and I was really grateful of everyone’s support. But I was worried if there could really be something new Ryuseitai can give (laugh). I mean, there is a representative song, Yumenosaki Ryuseitai Song, and new units have been added in the past year. But, the songs in the second series are masterpieces that brushed off that worry. I was also able to re-discover possibilities of Ryuseitai’s future, and I’d like all of you Ryusei Pink to sing together with us too. Please give us your support.

Kotaro Nishiyama (VA of Kanata Shinkai)

Q: Firstly, please tell us about your impression on the songs when you first listened to them.

Nishiyama: At first, I thought Ryusei Fireworks was like Akatsuki (laugh). When I considered the festival theme only, there was a part of me that accepted how Ryuseitai is singing something that is not characteristic of a hero squadron. But after listening and singing to it many times, I could really picture the characters singing. As Kanata, I sang while thinking, “Ah, I wonder if Shinobu-kun would approach the lyrics this way,” and “If it’s the Commander, I wonder if he’ll sing it this way.” It’s a lively song that pumps you up. In Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!! too…. It’s not call and response, but there are parts where the vocals are chasing one another, so I think it’ll be a song that can fire up the audience too.

Q: Then how did the actual recording go?

Nishiyama: The lyrics in Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!! are what Kanata-kun doesn’t speak normally, so I hope I could bring out his cool and manly side. Other than that, I suppose it would be the unison with Midori-kun. I don’t think this combination appears a lot, so I hope you can pay attention to that part. I’m also looking forward to how it’ll turn out! There are English phrases in Ryusei Fireworks’ chorus, and for that part I kept in mind to make it as Kanata-kun as possible, singing the line as if it is in hiragana. I would sing the line “FIRE FIRE” like “fai-yah fai-yah,” to bring out his character. Other than that, for example in the second chorus too, I got to make it sound a bit like a spoken line, so there are traces of Kanata-kun scattering all over. Whenever I have recording as Kanata-kun, I would always have his merchandise on the music stand. I would place Kanata-kun there, and I would think of it as a mirror, transform into Kanata-kun and have recording. This time, I brought the heart-shaped cushion badge! He’s making such a big smile on this one, so I had the recording while imagining Kanata-kun having fun.

Q: Please tell us the appeal of each song.

Nishiyama: At the end of the chorus in Ryusei Fireworks, there’s a line, “Your smile becomes our energy.” The director asked me, “Sing it with smug!” so I made a smug face, Kanata-style (laugh). It was so much fun! It’s easy to follow the rhythm in the song too, and the singing is explosive since the very beginning, so in a way it was easy to make a smug face (laugh). I think it’ll be a song that fires up the karaoke room. As for Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!!, there a lot of memorable parts after the first time you listen to it. Especially right before the end of the chorus—overall, I made sure to keep the word “comrade” in my mind. It’s very Ryuseitai, where the personalities are all over the place, but they are united to the point they can share their suffering and pain. I tried to express Ryuseitai’s bond, where they are aiming for the same goal. Ryuseitai exists because the Commander is there, and because he is there we could gather. Also, Kanata-kun is like the Vice Commander, and I think that is one of the reasons for their unity.

Q: Ensemble Stars has been extending its reach through appearances in various kinds of media. Could you promote the series to the readers who have not yet been exposed to it?

Nishiyama: When we recited a script in an Enstars event, I thought Ryuseitai has a really good balance. There’s the Commander that pulls everyone along, there are three children who are loud and making a racket, and there’s Kanata-kun who acts as the gentle mother. I think it’s a unit that is like a family. Also, I feel that it’s so easy to think of Ryuseitai dearly. In a way I also think of myself as someone like a big brother next door, so I guess that’s how you make yourself wanting to cheer for them. As for Kanata-kun, I like how he’s devoid of lies. What he says is always straightforward, and he’s also straightforward with how he likes himself. It feels refreshing to act out that part of him and this purity makes me feel secure. A lot of people think of him as a mysterious boy, and that’s not wrong, but I hope you can look out for his kindness and how he would be there for others.

Q: Please give a message to the fans who are looking forward to the release!

Nishiyama: I think everyone knows that Ryuseitai members get along with each other, but the voice actors also trust each other a lot. Whenever something happens, we would report it to the LINE group, for example, “I just finished recording”! Even for the spoken lines in Ryusei Fireworks’ interlude—it started in an event. We casually brought up how we were hoping there will be spoken lines [in the songs]. And then Yoshiki Nakajima came up with ideas and in the end we got to talk it out with the staff. Because of Ryuseitai’s team work, we could do various things. We crammed everything we wanted to do, and I think they became songs that are crafted with love, so it would make us really happy if all of you can listen to them lots. Please listen to them and sing to them many, many times!

Yoshiki Nakajima (VA of Tetora Nagumo)

Q: Firstly, please tell us about your impression on the songs when you first listened to them.

Nakajima: For Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!!, I’m always under the pressure that it’s a song by Maeyamada-san (Hyadain), so… (laugh). I was nervous waiting for what kind of song it would be, and it turned out to be something typical of Maeyamada-san. A lot of his quirks are packed into the song. But on top of that, it is also a very Ryuseitai song, just like usual, so I was very relieved. As for Ryusei Fireworks on the other hand, also because of the intro, I thought, “Isn’t this Akatsuki’s—!?” But when I tried to sing, it became something that can pump up the mood like the usual Ryuseitai.

Q: Then how did the actual recording go?

Nakajima: Tetora is a man who won’t cut corners and relax one bit. So it’s really tiring to sing with his voice. When I looked at the lyrics and music score, I thought it was going to be okay if it’s at this level, but when I turn into Tetora to sing, the calorie consumption isn’t normal after all (laugh). Aside from the melody, Ryuseitai songs also have background vocals and spoken lines, so I feel that I also spent my energy in those parts.

Q: Please tell us the appeal of each song.

Nakajima: Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!! is the “gold standard,” or rather, it’s a song that shows Ryuseitai’s coolness out at the front. But that being said, it’s a different type compared to the previous songs. It gives the image that they are singing with such style on a quiet stage. Also, dialogues are unique traits of Ryuseitai’s songs, and they are also in Ryusei Fireworks’ interlude. Actually, I was the one who came up with the dialogues in this song. There was nothing at first, but I thought I wanted to make it more Ryuseitai, so I consulted with the staff and the other members in advance and had them included. Apart from that, I’d like you to pay attention to parts such as the Enka-like line that packs a punch. [1]

Q: Ensemble Stars has been extending its reach through appearances in various kinds of media. Could you promote the series to the readers who have not yet been exposed to it?

Nakajima: The units that appear in Ensemble Stars have concepts that are the gold standards, as in, it makes you think many are quite idol-like. But Ryuseitai is “a unit of heroes of justice,” something you would question whether or not they are idols in the first place (laugh). Because of that concept, they have this unique trait where it’s easy to feel affection towards them, no matter your age. It’s just that the members are all eccentrics, which is a regrettable side of theirs… (laugh). And Tetora, who is part of the unit, is quite the unusual individual himself. But when he’s with Ryuseitai, he naturally becomes the straight man… Actually, the actors too—when the five of us are together we turn into our characters! You can see that in the events too, so please come to see us at least once.

Q: Please give a message to the fans who are looking forward to the release!

Nakajima: We gained such popularity thanks to all of you, and there are always lots of people coming to the events and the like, so it makes me really happy. We greatly value the game as well as such opportunities. The second CD is about to be released, so there may be stories that dig deeper into the background of each character. Other than that, new units have also been added, and we the actors are also looking forward to future developments. Please give us your support for many years to come.

--(t/n)--

1. Second pre-chorus: “Both fists and mikoshi too,” which is sung in Enka-ish style.

Takumi Watanabe (VA of Midori Takamine)

Q: Firstly, please tell us about your impression on the songs when you first listened to them.

Watanabe: When I first listened to Shooting☆Star!!!!!, I thought it was a really cool song. The lyrics, compared to words that Midori-kun normally says, seem to be something that would come out from the innermost part of him. So I was really troubled with how I should express it. Until now, I think Ryuseitai had been presenting themselves as allies of justice and everyone’s heroes. But in Shooting☆Star!!!!!, it seems that each of them has found something they want to protect. In that sense, they’ve matured. With Ryusei Fireworks, I thought, “Ah, it sure is Ryuseitai’s song.” (laugh) It’s a song like a festival, which can’t be produced by other units. At the same time, I was wondering if Midori-kun could properly participate in the festival in the end… (laugh)

Q: Then how did the actual recording go?

Watanabe: The first CD series was my first song recording ever, but this time I also felt a bit of pressure, although in a good way. The story is moving forward in-game and it got me to think about how I can insert Midori-kun’s feelings into the singing even more than the first series. The key signature was high so it was difficult, but I was told by the staff that I was able to project my voice better than the first series, so I’m glad. Other than that, the line “I’m depressed” was also difficult to say, as if trying to match the level of difficulty of the singing (laugh). It’s rare for Midori-kun to raise his voice, so if his voice is too loud it would be “fashionable depression” (laugh). I think the fans out there will also pay attention to the spoken lines, so I tried my best not to shake my voice. That spoken line connects well with “Life, even if it’s hard today, | Shall we forget the bad things and sing?” and I think there can be two different meanings. To Midori-kun it would be, “Even if it’s hard for him, it’ll become fun when he sings with everyone,” and to those who are listening to the song, “Please cheer up.” I sang the songs thinking about all that. But really, it was my first time saying, “I’m depressed!” that loudly (laugh).

Q: Please tell us the appeal of each song.

Watanabe: In Shooting☆Star!!!!!, Midori-kun sings the line, “Risk your life.” It’s a phrase he will never say normally, and he won’t say it even if he thinks about it. So conversely, it makes me think that in truth he thinks about it. Then comes in the question, what does he protect? May it be the transfer student or Ryuseitai, I suppose he will risk his life to protect the person(s) important to him. I haven’t listened to the finished product, so I’m in the dark as to how everyone else sings, which is making me fidgety (laugh). But I sang desperately. As for Ryusei Fireworks… I had an easy-going recording session (laugh). I hope you’ll be able to tell how much fun Midori-kun is having when he’s together with Ryuseitai members. He’s indecisive when he’s alone, but if he’s going to have a festival with these members, I bet he’ll have so much fun. Of course, he has his own way to enjoy himself. Other than that, there’s a line, “strike the evil named melancholy,” and I’m a bit bothered by it from Midori-kun’s point of view (laugh). He may wonder if he’s actually evil (laugh). But this way, he may think, “I’m also part of Ryuseitai!” and gives encouragement to others.

Q: Ensemble Stars has been extending its reach through appearances in various kinds of media. Could you promote the series to the readers who have not yet been exposed to it?

Watanabe: Midori-kun is really tall. But all he talks about is “I’m depressed” and “I want to die,” so probably the only thing about this boy that was growing is his physique. His mentality stays childish, he behaves like a spoiled child on his own, and says that he’s suffering. After all, he said that he enroled into the idol course by mistake. But, by having members full of unique personalities in a unit called Ryuseitai around him, his stance about idols is changing, and I think it will continue to change. Ryuseitai is an energetic and powerful unit, enough to change a pessimistic boy like him. It’s a hero squadron unit that cheers people up. He joined such unit and is in the middle of developing. But, along with his body, his mentality will start to grow from now on. He’s an honest and delicate boy who has only started sprouting.

Q: Please give a message to the fans who are looking forward to the release!

Watanabe: The unit songs from the second series are both packed with cheerfulness that is very much like Ryuseitai. I hope you can look forward to how Midori-kun deals with a cool song and a song that cheers people up!

Anju Nitta (VA of Shinobu Sengoku)

Q: Firstly, please tell us about your impression on the songs when you first listened to them.

Nitta: Hyadain-san is handling Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!!, so when I first listened to it I was very surprised! The lyricist also says “Ken’ichi Maeyamada”, so I was like wow. The song has Hyadain-san written all over, so I was happy that I got to sing this song. I think it’s a song that puts the Leader in a spotlight, so we’ll have Jose-san sing it with perfection, and the four around him will act as support! As for Ryusei Fireworks, it’s like The Unrivaled☆Meteoranger if you compare it to the previous songs. It’s a type of song that makes you go “Wasshoi!” and “Soiya!” just like the lyrics (laugh). I hope it’s something that lifts up the mood in the karaoke.

Q: Then how did the actual recording go?

Nitta: I put my might into the spoken dialogues in both songs, hoping I could bring out Shinobu’s character. In Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!!, it would be “The yellow flames” that follow the main lyrics. In Ryusei Fireworks, it would be “You are Members,” or “Wasshoi” or “Soiya.” There are a lot of lines inserted into the main lyrics in this song (laugh). With the spoken lines in Ryusei Fireworks, it was Yoshiki-san who came up with some parts of it and shared it in Ryuseitai LINE group. I think it fits perfectly. I had it recorded many times, so I think it’ll be something good.

Q: Please tell us the appeal of each song.

Nitta: As for Ryusei Fireworks, it would be the lines before the chorus such as, “Light up the festival” and “Thrust them up high.” Everyone was singing their solo lines, and then it builds up towards the end. It feels extremely good to sing with that kind of flow! The flow in Five-Colored Shooting☆Star!!!!! is also good. I also like the toned down chorus right before the last one, where it becomes quiet. When I looked at the lyrics one line by one line, there are lines “In the black night, yellow lightning” and “On this green and blue planet.” I like how the colors are combined. I think Shinobu-kun will like it, and well, so do I (laugh). It’s cool, isn’t it? There are a lot of parts I like.

Q: Ensemble Stars has been extending its reach through appearances in various kinds of media. Could you promote the series to the readers who have not yet been exposed to it?

Nitta: Shinobu-kun is a shy boy. Even though he’s set to be a character that is lonely, he met comrades, Ryuseitai. He becomes good friends with Yuta-kun, Hinata-kun and Mao-kun. I think he’s a character whose development can be seen clearly. In the second half of the year, he really becomes cheerful and even gets treated coldly by the transfer student (laugh). But I think their relationship has developed into one that allows things like that. In that sense, I suppose he’s a character that makes you want to tease him. But recently, he’s got really cool card illustrations, and I bet no one could’ve imagined it back in the early days. It’s also really exciting since his left eye is exposed (laugh)! Shinobu was also really cool in the event Nuclear Ignition ☆ A Sparkling Quintuple-Color Supernova, right? I was just so happy! But the reason why we can see that part of him is thanks to Ryuseitai, I believe.

Q: Please give a message to the fans who are looking forward to the release!

Nitta: Each song has different directions and charms. They are seriously songs that will make you want to listen to them many times and sing together. By all means, pick a color you’d like to assign yourself with, gather the rest of the members and sing together! I’d like you to have a party and sing together with everyone. Please support Ensemble Stars and Ryuseitai from now on too!

[olivereliott]

On the ground at Mooneyes: BMW unveils a 1800 cc custom

We’re in constant awe of the Japanese custom motorcycle scene. Our compadres in the Land of the Rising Sun have an approach to customization that’s as unique as their culture—hallmarked by unrivalled levels of creativity and craftsmanship. But thanks to geographic and linguistic limitations, it’s a world we mostly admire from afar.

The Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show is the best of Japan’s custom moto (and hot rod) scene, distilled down to a potent one-day hit. And last Sunday, I was there to take it all in.

Also known simply as the Mooneyes show—after the company that’s been organizing it for 27 years—it’s a must-attend event. Roughly 300 motorcycles, and twice as many cars, cram into the Pacifico Yokohama convention center. And an estimated 15,000 spectators pour through the doors.

It attracts the biggest names too, both domestically, and from across the water. Kengo Kimura of Heiwa showed off his BMW R75/6. Kaichiroh Kurosu of Cherry’s Company brought along a chopper that floored me. And Shiro Nakajima of 46Works revealed two knockout builds that we’ll showcase soon.

Winston Yeh of Rough Crafts (above) popped over from Taiwan. Go Takamine of Brat Style, Shinya Kimura (below left) and Roland Sands (below right) all made the trip from California.

Countless bikes from smaller builders were strewn between the big names, making it impossible to take every detail in. And there was a lot of detail: from exquisite paint jobs and pin striping to intricate engraving and next level engineering.

I even strolled past a monstrosity that’s powered by two (yes, two) Shovelhead motors; the work of Hot Chop Speed Shop.

But I was there for one bike in particular: a ground-up custom from Custom Works Zon, dubbed ‘Departed.’ BMW Motorrad commissioned the project, so they flew a select group of journalists out to see it in person, soak up the show and experience Tokyo for a weekend.

The bike’s powered by a prototype engine, that BMW tell us may or may not make it into a future model. It’s a boxer—but it’s far heftier than any boxer currently in the Bavarian marque’s lineup.

The biggest clue’s in the name; BMW are calling it the ‘R18,’ so we’re guessing a whopping capacity of 1,800 cc. The pushrods hark back to classic boxers, and it’s very clearly not liquid cooled. (We hung with friendly BMW staffers Antonia Cecchetti and Matthias Runde, who both did an expert job of shutting down any further discussion.)

Zon’s Yuichi Yoshizawa and Yoshikazu Ueda were given only the motor to work with, but even that wasn’t left alone. The ‘breast plate,’ valve head covers and air box are all custom, and the guys added in a pair of Dell’Orto carbs on one-off intakes.

The rest of the bike is almost completely hand made. Zon built a steel trellis frame, then capped it off with hand-shaped sheet metal bodywork. The BMW rolls on custom alloy wheels, measuring 21” up front and 26” out back. It’s held up by girder fork up front, and a custom-built swing arm with a mono-shock out back.

I quizzed Yoshizawa-san about his inspiration, and he cited land speed racers as a reference. He also walked me around to the back of the bike, and pointed out how the entire machine is sleek and streamlined, to emphasize the sheer mass of the motor.

In typical Zon fashion, the craftsmanship is outstanding, and the build is littered with stunning details. There’s the inventive gas cap, the subtle striping and gold work, the gorgeous hint of leather on the barely-there seat, and the tasteful Zon/BMW mash-up logo up top. (We learned this weekend that ‘Zon’ means ‘sun’).

Custom Works Zon took home the coveted ‘Best in Show’ award, along with two additional judge’s picks. I wasn’t the least bit surprised—it’s an astounding machine, and easily my favorite bike at the show.

The Hot Rod Custom Show is more than just pretty cycles and hot rods though: it’s a colorful, whacky celebration of all that Kustom Kulture embodies. I wandered around the venue with old and new friends for hours, navigating through the flea market-like sections between vehicle displays.

We saw everything from patches to hand-made key rings; Japanese denim to unique Hot Wheels collectables. We witnessed lengthy queues as devout fans lined up for exclusive Mooneyes merchandise—including one-off Vans that are only sold at the event. There were artists, tattoo artists and pin stripers all hard at work—and even hairdressers.

The show is a true melting pot, a blend of Mooneyes’ SoCal style and Japanese tradition. It’s amazing how polite and orderly the rough-hewn world of motorcycles and hot rods can be: passersby will even pause for you to take photos of the machines on display, to avoid walking through your frame.

It’s also hard to believe that a show of this magnitude occupies just one day. I spent the rest of the weekend exploring as much of Tokyo as I could, along with Hermann Kopf (below center) of the Brummm Chronicles, Chris Nelson of Iron & Air, and Morgan Gales of Hot Bike (below left)—who are all an absolute riot to kick it with.

We wandered around the Shibuya and Harajuku area, dipping in and out of quirky fashion stores and thrift shops. We visited Japan’s largest BMW dealership, ate tacos, drank Japanese whisky, and wrapped up the weekend up with a traditional shabu shabu meal.

Then—just as I found my groove—I hopped on a plane home, roughly 48 hours after I’d first touched down.

Japan left a mark on me: her peculiar customs, her heated toilet seats, Tokyo’s relentless buzz, and the extravaganza that is the Hot Rod Custom Show. I left exhausted, but inspired…and itching to go back.

Images by Hermann Kopf (HK) and Wes Reyneke (WR), with special thanks to BMW Motorrad and Tadashi Kono.

[3m0n3rd]

okay just wanted 2 infodump abt my teetlez so this might be a lot...

LEONARDO!!!

okay so Lee/Leo goes by she/him- shes REALLY masculine physically but like he wants to dress up and act pretty a lot of the time. Leo is (and I'm debating this) bisexual or saphic! Lee has Anorexia and PTSD. She really tries to be an older sibling like RISE! Raph and be there and present, trying to make his siblings forget about their childhood so that everyone is just happy! which doesn't really work... But again he is just trying her best. -- Lee's love life is wonky, before Usagi came, he was in LOVE with karai and soon started dating her. But when Usagi came, Leo started to feel some stuff but not strong enough for him to leave Karai. So he's always felt shitty about hurting yuichi because he's a dear friend to her. I feel like his VA would be like Pearl from steven universe or something like that.

DONATELLOOOO <33

they/them (and sometimes He/him) Bro is t4t and bisexual. So Don boy is rlly emo.. But like most of the other four, they don't really dress up since no one is there to see them. BUT many ppl don't know this abt donnie but the spike choker he wears, they only wear it around Arrow, if they wear their googles that means their in their lab. But if they aren't wearing those accessories their just hanging with their bros. Donnie has AFRID, OCD, and schizophrenia. Which this causes a lot of difficulties in his life. Arrow in his mind Is their savior, basically their nothing without them. So Donnie tries to change everything about them to make Arrow like them more. ex. He says their fave artist is ICP, Arrow's fave duo. But in truth his fave band is MCR. I think Don's VA would be 2012 Donnie in some sorts of dib from Invader zim.

M1CH3@L@NG3L0 X33

any but mostly he/him. Mike in the earlier seasons would be straight, until he realizes he's asexual. But other then that, HES SCENE!!!! but again like everyone else he doesn't rlly dress up. Unless he wants to. Mikey loves april! their like BFF's for life! Fun silly fact, Mike was originally was suppose to HATE April, but later I got into the 'moon and sun' duo more. Oh and I think Mike either has autism or ADHD, I'm still deciding. Mikey is really the glue to their family much like in RISE!. So he tries to keep everyone happy like Lee. TW TW TW TW TW TW TW Mikey has never really told ANYONE this but while splinter never hurt Mike when he was younger, he treated him as the favorite child because occasionally he would Rape him. Which didn't effect Mike that much because he just blocked it out of his memeory. Mike's VA would DEFFINATLY be something like honey senpai dub from Ouran High school host club or like Beast Boy from Teen Titans Go!

RAPHAEL >:c

okay he/him and ally! but later become poly with Casey and Mona Lisa. (this was because I REALLY couldn't decide who he should end up with) Raph is basically a dick half the time and not in the way people like. He's easily irritated, makes fun of others for no reason, and will just hurt someone cuz he wants to. But deep down he tries his best, he just hates that everyone can act okay with what happened while they were kids. - Raph has PTSD and anger issues - While Lee was the one who got hurt most of the time, Raph was the one who was hurt the worst once. Splinter straight up put BOILING water on him because he wouldn't stop picking on Mikey. (this also leads to Raph being very distant from Mikey) So a way to relieve his PTSD is to just either hit shit really hard or just sleep with the million stuffed animals around him. Idk wut his VA would be, it def has to be someone snarky and rude but idk who

erm anyways.. ask me anything Abt my au!! PLZ.. PLZ!!!!