#and it wasn't because it was from Kyoto Animation

[maria-taiwin]

I'm seeing a lot of fake news on the japanese stage play of MDZS (especially because a lot of toxic people are just taking the chance for the million times to shit on The Untamed, you are not so brilliant for that) so here two cents:

- this is a stage play, a theatrical experience, so IT'S NOT a live action. It will not be divided like an anime or a tv drama with numerous episodes. It will be divided in stage acts. Because it has a limited run, do not expect to be a 1:1 carbon copy of the book.

- recording on theatre is illegal, they catch you and you will get your ass kicked. If you go, do not expect you can film it with your iphone

- It will be up to the theater's discretion whether to release the opera on paid streaming or on a DVD. But again do not expect it will be so simple to find it on movies free streaming. If you have the chance, support economically the opera. (Tickets are by lottery. Entry is open until jan 7 and results are jan 11. The production is set in march-april on Tokyo and Kyoto).

- though you shouldn't expect to be a carbon copy of the book, especially because MDZS wasn't born to be a theatrical experience, your hype shouldn't be low. Yeah, the adaptation is japanese but the japanese opera is famous to stay faithful to the original source material, they are historically known to adapt from stories all over the world. Of course while using japanese elements, so far they've been faithful to the original source material about the main theme of the story, so you shouldn't be worried about faithfulness of the scenes.

- the jap opera is very creative as regards the scenography and set design. Your eyes will be blessed

- the actors are already skilled in BL genre. So is the japanese theatre. Do not expect it to be like thai BL, but I'm confident we will see kisses.

- no, the japanese won't give a fuck about other opinions, especially international opinions, so the stage play won't get canceled because of some random user on twitter.

- no, the japanese don't hate The Untamed, in fact it got very popular even there. The dvd/blu ray box entered top 10 best seller rank.

Congratulations on who will get the chance to watch this wonderful experience because japanese stage plays always are 😊

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 81 Mistrust Posting

Hello, dear void! LET'S! GO! ☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

Big spoiler this week in the editor's notes so the post is continued under the cut!

Editor's notes: First Page: 神奈備職員が"松"の妖術で爆散！！[Kamunabi shokuin ga "matsu" no youjutsu de bakusan!!] "Kamunabi employees are exploding due to the 'pine tree' sorcery!!" Last Page: 死んだハズの漆羽！一体ナゼ？！[shinda hazu no Uruha! ittai naze?!] "Uruha was supposed to be dead! What the heck?!"

Hakuri, Alone

Poor guy...

He hypes himself up but he's so shaky. My poor little guy who's been through so much but keeps trying his best. Hakuri, I love you. He's not in a great mental state but he keeps going.

It's really obvious now how out of his element he is- he's not used to any of this except the beat-downs and not being able to trust people. How to fight, how to keep himself stable when everything's riding on him, having people sacrifice themselves for him... he can keep going, and he will, but man he really could use an ally right now. Especially since his sorcery is seriously limited after he overexerted himself. Only two Isou blasts and he's out.

I'm glad we have his PoV and that he's the fourth thing the Kamunabi needs to protect at all costs. He's important! Hopefully he'll start to learn to see himself that way without more people needing to die for him.

Why is he the fourth thing? Well, because of the framing.

Note the Sword Master being chained to a spike like a dangerous wild animal...

Izaru (a name at last!) here's listing off the most critical things the Kamunabi needs to protect. The first three are expected: you need security to protect the other two, which we know by now are absolutely essential to keep out of the Hishaku's hands. The fourth? Well, it's the guy sprinting in the next panel whose sorcery is essential to thwarting the Hishaku by isolating the second critical item.

Speaking of names, though...

ManBearPig and Mr. Many Islands

He's Mutton Chops no more. Hello, Izaru (亥猿)! 亥 [i] is the kanji for the Boar from the Chinese Zodiac, and 猿 [zaru] is... the character for monkey. Or an insult for a sly person/hick. Hmm. He's definitely not a traitor still in my mind, since he's the guy with the most obvious faith in the institution. He's like an old bureaucrat who believes in the mission and the power it gives him. I'll leave the interpretation of his name up to anyone who happens to read this.

Izaru's kind of an asshole but he's an asshole who knows his shit and gets stuff done. I feel like he's going to be a thorn in Team Goldfish's side but not because he's evil, he's just got his own ideals. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

Right through the heart, damn.

As for Kashima (加島), his name's pretty generic. 加 [ka]: add, augment, increase and 島 [shima]: island. I sincerely doubt this links him to the small island country that got nuked by the Sword Master; it's just a common last name. He was a good guy though so rest in peace. Another person to add to Hakuri's trauma pile of decent folks who have died via a slash to the neck (at least this time it wasn't a suicide). Can we stop killing people in front of Hakuri? Please?

I do wonder how he's going to make it out of this. He really needs a strong friend to help protect and reassure him, but he's alone. Anyone could be an enemy- willingly or not. Chihiro's busy in Kyoto and can't be summoned right now, Azami's busy, Kudou's dead, Izaru's commanding things from the barrier room, the rest of the leaders are MIA. Who can help him reach the Shinuchi safely?

Well.

It's been teased for months over dozens of chapters since he was killed. His status was in doubt: Shiba couldn't find information, Chihiro outright refused to believe it, even the Masumi were unsure. Samura was revealed to have the power to heal on top of being a tortured soul that just wants to save people. The mysteries of how the bond to an Enchanted Blade affects the bearer over a long period of time are still unknown. And so, at long last:

HE'S BACK, Y'ALL

Cry for both of us, Hakuri!

WELCOME BACK, URUHA! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU! Seriously, the platonic duo of Hakuri and Uruha was one of my favourites and I hope we get to see a ton of them from here on.

The theory of Samura wanting to break the other Bearer's bonds to their blades through death then killing the Sword Master has increased validity now, in my opinion. It was stated that Suzaku can't actually reverse death -and Chihiro and Uruha were both confirmed dead- but it was also noted that Samura has gotten insanely strong since the war ended 18 years ago. He might be able to do it now. Kill his former comrades-in-arms to spare them from all going down when he kills the Master, except himself. He's got all that damn guilt... Chihiro, I hope you can snap Samura out of his grief before Iori becomes the newest orphan in the series.

Check out Uruha's outfit though! It's got elements reminiscent of the Steam Squad's uniforms- especially Fushimi's- added to it!

It's him, it's really him!

The new buckles on the collar are like Fushimi's (which he left undone), plus the pants and footwear are more similar to the squad's now. Congratulations, FushiUru shippers. Not only did Uruha come back but he got a wardrobe update that plausibly calls back to his dead (boy)friend.

It's a bit obvious after all the emphasis this chapter on how alone Hakuri is, but it's still nice to see the callbacks so we know this Uruha is the real deal. Even if someone else was able to replicate that bonkers sword style, only the real Uruha would know about the "centipede" moment on the train. So there's zero doubts and Hakuri has a strong ally to help him get to the Shinuchi! I'm not worrying about why Hakuri's being used as bait to lure out the core forces, nor what will happen to him if he successfully puts the Shinuchi into his storehouse, or what his deep desire to be useful will lead him to do. I'm just elated that he's got Uruha at his side. I will take a week of joy before we start to slide back down into anxiety.

I said in my chapter 47 and 48 yapfests that Uruha was the one set up to help Hakuri realise his own worth so now I can't wait to see how it happens. Uruha backstory, please? Scenes of the older silly guy teaching the younger silly guy? Honestly I just want to see them interact! Hakuri's total lack of self-awareness and both of their ridiculous behaviour tendencies are something I need a lot more of in my life.

I deeply wish to know exactly what happened with Uruha so if we cut back to Chihiro or Azami next chapter I'll be in mild distress. Not a lot since I love both of those characters and want updates on them too, but some.

Traitors

Pretty sure this is the girl and the blond guy were in the group panel shown last chapter.

Not really a surprise that there are members of the Kamunabi who are willing to betray their allies. The Hishaku are quite persuasive and I know the Kamunabi's got skeletons in their closet even if we don't know their exact shape yet. We still don't know which of the four who helped Kunishige hide leaked information yet, though. We need to know who the people in this top panel report to, I think, to get the full picture:

Which of you will become a foe?

I wonder where Hagiwara's loyalties lie now. Obliterating the Hishaku? Doing whatever it takes to stop the usage of Enchanted Blades? And hey, uh, where's Kazane in all this?

There's more than just two people out there killing their former allies, with a quota per team, per area too. So this was meticulously planned by someone with authority most likely. The traitor subplot is unfolding at just the right pace to keep me interested without feeling drug out or rushed. New details are revealed when they're needed and not too much or too little at once- the structure of this one is much, much better than the Hotel. I think we're on the up and up for the rest of this arc since the Hiruhiko sideshow is definitively over for now.

Some Accounting

Completely unrelated, Hakuri's just super cute.

Alright. Just for my own tracking:

KYOTO Chihiro vs. Samura set up at the hotel; Enten and Tobimune in use, Kumeyuri present but still bonded to Hiruhiko Iori, Ikura, all three Masumi on the hotel roof Hiruhiko, Toto, Kuguri on the retreat somewhere in Kyoto

TOKYO Azami vs. Samuraishaku set up in an arena with live music on the first floor of the Kamunabi HQ Hakuri and Uruha on the way to the Shinuchi several floors below Izaru with the barrier team Kudou dead in the elevator shaft, his team was wiped out too Unknown number of traitors eliminating other Kamunabi staff as part of a plan About 50 pine tree "bomb" carriers left Ichiki, Beard, Hairclips, Eyepatch, Earlobes, Giraffe Neck unknown Hatshaku managing hostage situation from outside Kamunabi HQ Yura, Jane, Derek, and other two core members unknown Two unnamed blades unknown

ELSEWHERE Shiba and Hiyuki guarding the two Bearers we haven't met yet

That's all I've got for now. Revel in the joy of Uruha being back until next week, kind void!

[taki118]

Yakuza Fiance ep 5 Manga Comparison

After the overstuffed ep 4 ep 5 is a breath of fresh air still some context missed but not as badly, as always the differences are below, and I'm using fantranslations cause I'm lazy.

So thankfully they did keep the conversation I said the dropped last time. Re-ordering things is still dumb to me (I think the Renji talk would have been a better cold open) but at least its here. Though again there are some differences

For one they took out Yoshino noticing all the missed calls/messages from Kirishima which is a funny thing. The anime does make up for by actually having Yoshinos head move around the room as Kirishima points out weak points which is a nice gag that takes advantage of the medium (wish they would continue that)

(Not relevant but I think the box of sauces they show at the end of the scene is reference to an extra the manga had about Tokyo not having a bunch of sauces that Osaka has)

For once the anime adds in a scene that isn't ominous starring, giving us Yoshino looking at test results to flow into her fears about the actual exams, which is nice.

So its not a change here but due to pervious change the dialogue in the anime makes less sense. So as I said in ep 4 when Yoshino is talking to Kirishima about her dad he lets her in on the fact he's looked into her family so when Yoshino asks him here how much he knows about Tsubaki it makes sense. Because the anime dropped this bit the anime view has to assume that like Yoshino assumes he did this.

So here is a bit they dropped during the conversation after meeting Tsubaki that I feel like is a waste

Yoshino more explains what she means when she says Tsuabki is such a Kyoto girl, noting they went all the way to Ise once and just had food from a Kyoto restaurant chain. Its funny and sad to see it go but overall ok to drop.

This isn't like a dialogue change but a shot change kinda I havent mentioned it much but a lot of the shot choices the anime makes are odd but this one is a bit of a loss. When Yoshino looks at the sandals in the anime she just does a height comparision with Kirishima and its cute but

But its not as cute as Yoshino tugging Kirishima by the arm to look with her. Also it cuts that Tsubaki is starring at Kirishima who's obviously enjoying the attention.

The conversation Tsubaki has with Kirishima about his behavior towards Yoshino (which FYI is really important and I could talk more on) is pretty accurate a few reorderings but this was dropped and i just think its a shame

Its good insight, and an added visual to help bring everything across.

Anyway the lead into Tsuabki and Kirishimas "date" is much the same the big drop is this bit with Yoshino

It again shows that she is a lot smarter than she gives herself credit for, knowing what they'll talk about.

So the ferris wheel scene is pretty accurate but they left out a rather important bit where Kirishima is explaining his theory about Yoshino having never lost a kidney.

They don't show HOW Kirishima knew the scar wasn't quite right for kidney removal, in the anime the assumption is that he looked it up in the manga they note that he had a specialist take a look this specialist being one of his friends with benefits. This is important because this lets you in one WHY Kirishima is primarily with these women (and they are all women) all of them have something he needs, connections, information or skills that he does not have access to normally. He's not just sleeping around for the fun of it even Ayano the girl we see in ep 3, she's a model with boyfriend who has connections. This is subtle set up to pay offs down the line as Kirishimas actions are better explained. Its a rather important loss and really eye opening on re reads as things begin to click.

and this leads into another thing where technically its the same but subtleties are missed. The anime just has Tsubaki note this is an odd convo on a ferris wheel and questioning why Kirishima is so fixated on Yoshino, before Kirishima talks about the train ticket.

The manga however first has Kirishima state he wished he could be on the ferris wheel with Yoshino, which adds context to why Tsubaki asks her question. Then Kirishima hesitates, he thinks for a moment before bringing it up because he knows this information will get to Yoshino and he's weighing his options. It adds weight to what he says letting the reader know that this is indeed important. Also it removes a line where Kirishima explains he wasn't given any extra funds so he had to scrape it together another hint for later.

So the rest of the ep is pretty accurate, nothing I can really take too much note of, not as much as other episodes but what was dropped is pretty disappointing in many ways.

[yazzydream]

List of Direct Pop Culture References in Season 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen

I kept trying to find a comprehensive list somewhere but couldn't. So, here's one for me.

Ninja Warrior and Mirko Cro Crop (Ep1)

Sasuke, or Ninja Warrior as it's known as in multiple incarnations, is a sports reality show in which competitors attempt to complete a four-stage obstacle course.

Mirko Cro Crop is the ring name of Croatian mixed martial artist and kickboxer Mirko Filipović. And yes, Sasaki-senpai does clarify that Mirko's not dead.

Jennifer Lawrence (Ep2)

This one is possibly the most infamous reference in JJK actually. Of course, Yuuji is referring to American actress, Jennifer Lawrence. Gege Akutami said in the fanbook Yuuji became her fan after seeing Silver Linings Playbook (2012).

Super Smash Bros. (Ep5)

When the second years first ask Nobara and Megumi to participate in the Kyoto School Goodwill Exchange Event, Nobara's first thought is a Smash Bros. tournament. She'll use Meteor Smash so you can't get back up. All the better if it's the Wii version.

Onita (Ep6)

When Yuuji first starts lamenting his lack of ability to use a Curse Technique, Gojo cuts in that Yuuji can use a power bomb. Because it's something Japanese wrestler Atsushi Onita (who is not a sorcerer as far as we know) can do anyway.

Shonen power techniques (Ep6 cont.)

Yuuji then proceeds to list several other abilities from other shonen series. The Spirit Gun from Yu Yu Hakusho, Bankai from Bleach, and Dodon Ray and Kamehameha from Dragon Ball.

Lord of the Rings (Ep7)

For his training on controlling Cursed Energy, Yuuji is made to watch a variety of movies. For the adaptation, the animators interpreted the cry for Sam as a scene from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

Actually, in the manga, Akutami was referencing I Am Legend (2007). The movie stars Will Smith and his only companion, a dog named Sam, in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Uh, things don't go well for the dog.

Gojo's other movies (Ch13)

Additionally, there were a few specific movies Akutami had in mind that wasn't carried over to the anime. (Though, honestly, some of these DVD covers in the anime look so familiar and detailed I suspect they are references to other movies. If anyone can identify any of them lmk!)

Anyway, here are the ones we know of in the manga!

Léon: The Professional (1994), The Descent (2005), The Host (2006), The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1967). And the movie that Gojo spoils about the super annoying heroine who dies spectacularly at the end is Deep Blue Sea (1999). And yes, if you squint and zoom you can see which dvd has the cover for what movie.

Oikawa Tōru (Ep9)

A blink and you'll miss it stand-in of someone that suspiciously looks like Oikawa Tōru from Haikyuu!!

Castaway (Ep11)

Yuuji makes Junpei laugh when the former unexpectedly recreates the scene from Cast Away (2000) when Tom Hanks' character loses his illusory best friend...

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Ep11, Juju Stroll)

This entire Juju Stroll is a parody of Neon Genesis Evangelion episode previews. With shots that are reminiscent of NGE and a dramatic and frantic voiceover. The standout shot to me was the one of Yaga sitting with his hands folded in front of him in classic Gendo Ikari fashion. They even had Yaga sitting over a burning camp stove just so they could get the orange glow reflecting off his glasses. Ha!

Luncheon on the Grass

The full convergence of all the characters was completed by episode 13 in the first opening. The idyllic scene is based off of Luncheon on the Grass (aka Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe) by Claude Monet. I like how Panda is in place of the dog.

I wonder if Todo being half naked here is further reference to the more scandalous, The Luncheon on the Grass, by Édouard Manet which is what Monet's own painting is a direct take on. (That painting depicts a nude woman sitting with two fully dressed gentlemen.) ...Or it could just be Todo being Todo.

Ichiro?! (Ep15)

Utahime, incensed, tells Gojo to respect his senpai! I'm a bit hesitant about this one, but it may be a reference to Ichiro Suzuki jokingly complaining about not being respected as a senpai during the 2009 World Baseball Classic celebration. Baseball is HUGE in Japan, and the celebration looks wild. It may be iconic enough that it can be casually mentioned and most Japanese would know what Yuuji was talking about. Also, considering the Jujutsu Koshien episode about to come up, it may've been foreshadowing. (Found here)

Sebastian Stan (Ep15, Juju Stroll)

Another famous American celebrity! When asked about her type in episode 15's Juju Stroll, Momo was drooling over a picture of Sebastian Stan. Stan is most well known for playing the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes in the MCU. I wonder why her answer didn't pass muster with Todo. Maybe she hadn't had the chance?

Pepper (Ep16)

Nobara, smack-talking to Momo, says the Kyoto school have their own "Pepper-kun" that she should turn into scrap. Mechamaru immediately knew she was referring to himself. 😆 Pepper is the semi-humanoid robot that SoftBank introduced at a conference in 2014.

Great Teacher Gojo (Ep18)

Great Teacher Onizuka, aka GTO, is a classic series about a former biker gang member becoming the best teacher to a class of problem children.

Boogie Woogie

Boogie-woogie is a genre of music, but Todo's Cursed Technique, "Boogie Woogie" is specifically a reference to boxer, Muhammad Ali, who was recorded playing boogie-woogie on camera. (Which ties into an even more extensive reference regarding his mentor. But I won't spoil it here for anime-onlys.) I dare say, Todo's attitude may be a bit Ali inspired too. Haha

Ma-kun of Tohoku (Ep21)

When up to bat during Jujutsu Koshien, Nobara says people call her "the Ma-kun of Tohoku" which... doesn't make sense, since Masahiro Tanaka (affectionately called "Ma-kun" by fans) is already a baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. 😂

Additional trivia: JJK did a collab with the Rakuten Eagles in September of 2022.

Game of Life (Ep24)

And finally, we end the season with some of our villains playing The Game of Life board game. That spinner, colors, and design are pretty unmistakable. Something extra I spotted is that Choso already managed to get married!

*Edit: Had to include this link to officially licensed JJK Game of Life.

Aaand that's everything, I think. But let me know if I missed anything!

*Edit 7/23:

Gojo Satoru's Go Go Gojo! (Ep6)

The Juju Stroll at the end of episode 6 references the Igo/Go game series Hikaru no Go. At the end of Hikaru no Go episodes were post-episode segments called "Umezawa Yukari's Go Go Igo!"

Props to r/sofastsomaybe for pointing this out, because like a fool, I dismissed the Go reference as a coincidence.

Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller, and Inoki (Ep15)

During Todo's nichijo fantasy of himself and Yuuji, Todo quotes, "What fool thinks of defeat before even trying?" Incorrectly attributing the quote to something teacher Anne Sullivan said to disability activist, Helen Keller. Todo is actually paraphrasing pro-wrestler, mixed martial artist, Antonio Inoki. Who said, "What kind of idiot thinks about losing before [the match]?" during a pre-match interview.

Seishun Amigo (Ep15)

At the end of that same daydream, with tears and snot streaming down his face, Todo says, "'In our hometown we were invincible,' huh." (地元じゃ負けしらず) Which are a part of lyrics from the popular song, "Seishun Amigo" (青春アミーゴ) by Shūji to Akira. "Seishun" means "youth" and "amigo" of course being the Spanish word for "friend."

Amusingly, I found this JJK fan cover video of the song. Lyrics translation included.

The two references above were found thanks to Aki Tanaka.

Continued in this reblog chain.

[freshtomatoesddd]

Mizu X Fem!Reader

Summary: You're a hunter living in a village near Kyoto. One day you go out to get firewood when a snowstorm sets in, but a mysterious traveler agrees to help you back. You give him food and shelter as thanks, but his stay lasts longer than expected.

Winter was the worst time of year. The wind grew colder, carrying snow that piled up in a matter of days. You used to love winter, it was the only time of year your father didn’t take you hunting. Now you know why, now you know animals hated winter as much as you did, preferring to hibernate than deal with the harsh weather. Unfortunately, you didn’t have that option. You needed to eat, but how could you when there was nothing to hunt? Whatever. Thinking about it would only get you worked up. You need to conserve your energy for the rest of the season.

Like the bright individual you were, you decided to go cut firewood in the middle of a storm. Not like you had much of a choice. You ran out the previous day, but decided it was a problem for another day. Well the next day arrived, and you needed firewood. Despite wearing three layers, the cold bit into your skin. Your fingers grew numb as you gripped the axe, struggling to gather enough breath to cut down a single tree. What the hell were you even doing? Just look for smaller wood. You smacked your forehead. Duh!  

In a stroke of pure luck, you managed to find perfectly cut firewood in the middle of the forest. The remnants of a fireplace sat nearby, probably a traveler who left from the cold. Whatever the case, you gathered the wood and made your way back. The storm had grown fiercer, winds whistling past you as you struggled to see through the snow. What a nightmare. At this rate you’ll get lost and freeze to death, all because you didn’t want to cut firewood yesterday. 

A blue figure stood in the distance, their cloak blowing in the wind. Initially you ignored them, but as the storm picked up you quickly realized there was no making it back to the village. Against your better judgment, you approached the figure. Maybe he can help. He hadn't moved an inch since you first saw him. A wooden hat obscured his features, his feet dug into the snow.

You cleared your throat. "Excuse me?"

The man said nothing, not even nodding in reply.  He raised his head to get a better look at you, revealing what his comically large hat was hiding. The orange glasses did a poor job at hiding his eye color, a dark blue that started through your soul. Every bone in your body froze, paralyzed under his piercing gaze. What's up with his eyes? Was he white? No, he looked…mixed. You looked down, your gaze falling upon the sword on his waist. Great. He wasn't just half-white, he was a swordsman too. If he wanted, he could cut you down right here and now. A lump slid down your throat; you better not give him a reason to. 

"What?" he uttered. 

"Uh." You took a step back, not wanting to stand too close to this mysterious swordsman. Unfortunately you still needed his help, and you scrambled for the right words. "I'm lost, but my village is nearby. Can you help me?"

Something about him that sent a chill down your spine. He wasn’t moved by the winds or the snow, standing firm like an oak tree in the middle of a storm. “Does your village happen to be near Kyoto?” he said, his voice nearing a whisper.

You nodded. “Well, it’s not super close but close enough, I guess.”

The man lifted his head, just enough for you to get another glimpse at his eyes. What an intense, unforgiving gaze. It stared right through you, like he wasn’t even considering you. After what felt like an eternity, he finally gave his answer. 

“Very well.” He walked past you. “Show me the way.”

Relief washed over you. It was stupid to rely on a stranger to lead you home, especially a man, but it’s not like you had a choice. Besides, he didn’t seem so bad. Most men would have jumped on you the moment they realized you were lost, but he paid it no mind. He didn’t seem like the type to care about many things. 

You noticed that his kimono was worn and muddied, and so was his cloak. His feet dug deep into the snow, allowing him to push past the roaring winds. Who was this man? More importantly, what’s his name? In your haste you forgot to ask him, which was pretty rude now that you think about it.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Mizu,” he muttered. 

His voice was so soft you could barely hear it through the howling wind. ‘Mizu?’ A strange name for a strange man. 

“And what’s your name?” Mizu asked.

You told him your name and he nodded, continuing his trek through the snow. ‘He’s quiet too.’ Maybe he wouldn’t be so bad.

Navigating through the storm was difficult, but thankfully Mizu helped you back before your fingers fell off. It was ironic. You lived here, but you needed someone else's help to get home. Then again, there wasn't much to return to. The village was just a collection of 10 to 15 homes.

"What a small village," Mizu muttered. There was something in his voice, a certain disdain you couldn't put your finger on. "Where's your house?"

You took him to your house. It was a small wooden hut with two rooms: the main room and the bedroom. Snow slipped its way inside, the gale making it hard to close the door. Mizu helped, easily slamming it shut. He was quite strong for a skinny guy, so strong that you didn't expect the door to close so quickly and fell forward. 

Mizu caught you before your head knocked against the door. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks."

He looked at you. A hint of concern glimmered through his orange glasses, even if it was for a moment. 

"I see." He let go and sat at the edge of the room. "Please let me know when the food is done."

"Oh, alright…"

You went to the fireplace and quickly lit a fresh fire. It was exactly what you needed after spending who knows how long in that snowstorm. Too long, that's for sure. The cold melted from your skin as you rubbed your hands together, and you stole a glance at your mysterious guest. He'd taken off his hat and set it aside, along with his cloak, but his glasses stayed on. 

Mizu was an observant man. He must've known you noticed his eye color back in the snowstorm, so why bother keeping the glasses on?   

"Is something wrong?" he asked. 

You looked back to the fireplace. A part of you wanted to lie and say nothing's wrong, but you were a horrible liar, so it was better to tell the truth. Hopefully he wouldn't cut you down for it. "Why do you wear those?"

"I'm sure you know why."

You hesitated. "I just want to know why."

A long silence filled the air. Mizu said, "You don't want to see me without them."

"How are you so sure?"

"How are you sure you won't recoil in fear when I do," he retorted.

He was right. You didn't know if you'd be afraid or feel the opposite, but there was one thing you knew. 

"You helped me in the snowstorm when you could've easily let me die. I don't want to make you feel like you have to hide something about yourself," you fumbled for the right words, "I'm just trying to be nice."

"Enough," Mizu spat. "I don't need your pity."

It wasn’t pity; it was the farthest thing from pity. What you felt was gratitude. Sure he was strangely quiet, but if he hadn’t helped you then you would’ve been a frozen corpse on the side of the road. But it wasn’t your place to talk about this. The two of you just met, after all. Offending him was the last thing you wanted, so you said nothing. You looked at the fire. It was large enough; time to start cooking.

You placed a pot atop the fire, letting it heat up before dumping in some water. There were some dried meats and vegetables in storage, so dried meat stew it was. You went to the back and brought out the ingredients, laying them out on a small wooden counter. The meat was ready to cook and the water was boiling, all you had to do was cut up the vegetables. Much like collecting firewood, you completely forgot to sharpen the knife. Not because you’re lazy or anything, you just can’t find the energy to in-between hunting and chopping wood. The life of a hunter was a tiring one, and boring too. Nothing ever happens in this village, and the things that do are just typical neighborhood gossip. 

Pain stung your finger. Blood dripped onto the counter. Damn. Thinking about neighborhood gossip left you distracted, and you ended up cutting yourself. It didn’t hurt, but now dinner preparations would be delayed. Just great. You’re stuck in the middle of a snowstorm, the tips of your fingers are freezing even inside, and you can’t eat anything to warm up. 

“You’re bleeding,” Mizu said.

You wrapped your finger in some cloth. “Sorry, I guess dinner will have to wait.”

He looked at the cutting board. “It’s alright, I'll do it.”

“But you’re my guest.”

“It’s better than not eating.” He picked the knife up. “I’ll call you when it’s done. In the meantime, take care of your finger.”

Despite the knife’s dull edge, he cut through the vegetables without issue. You took his advice and dressed your wound, wrapping it in some gauze before returning to the main room. 

Mizu was stirring the pot, tasting occasionally to season. The vegetables were already mixed in, and so were the meats. He briefly turned to you before his attention returned to the pot, eyeing it so it wouldn't burn. A man who knew how to cook? That’s like seeing a dragon in real life.

“The fire is too hot,” he said, “Next time you should keep it low.”

You sat beside him. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

“I can do a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

Mizu shrugged. 

“Can you chop wood?”

He nodded.

“Do you know how to clean?”

“That’s specific.”

You chuckled awkwardly. “Sorry, I’m just not used to seeing a guy cook, and do other stuff like that.”

“You mean housework? Everyone should know.”

You lit up. “Exactly! It’s so annoying. When my father used to make me do everything. Cooking, cleaning, decorating–even though we have nothing to decorate with.”

A chuckle slipped past Mizu’s lips. “I know the feeling.”

You raised a curious brow. “You do?”

“Yeah.” He paused. “I used to…work for someone, he made me do things like that.”

“You were a servant?”

“Not exactly?”

“A slave?”

He gave you a glare.

You tried to laugh it off. “Haha, sorry.”

Mizu’s gaze returned to the pot. He was silent for a moment, like he was digging up old memories. “He treated me kindly. Up to a point, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” You were definitely overstepping now.

Thankfully he didn’t pay it any mind, he just kept stirring. The stew had a thick consistency, dried meats and vegetables swimming in the dark brown soup. Mizu set the spoon down, and behind his sapphire eyes you caught a glimpse of something you've never seen from him, vulnerability. 

“I helped him around the house. It didn’t end well.”

You sensed that there was more to it, but didn’t want to push. “I think the stew’s ready.”

Mizu nodded. You poured him a bowl before having one yourself.  A wave of umami swept you into a trance. The meat was sweet and savory, the vegetables had absorbed the stew’s flavors perfectly, and the soup itself was hearty. It was exactly what you needed on a cold winter night. 

“This is so good,” you said. 

“It’s alright.” He grabbed your plate. “Let me wash it for you.”

“Are you sure? It’s my house, let me do it.”

Mizu insisted. “I’m sheltering in your home, eating your food. This is the least I can do.”

How strange. Not only was he soft spoken, polite, and knew how to cook–he was also nice. Normally this would set off alarms in your head. A man being nice usually meant he had ulterior motives, but you didn’t get that impression from Mizu. He didn’t look at you with desire nor indifference. You weren’t used to men like him; you didn’t even know they existed. Yet there he was, cooking you dinner and washing your dishes because you let him stay the night. 

“You’re very polite,” you said.

Mizu set the dishes under the counter. He returned to the fire, warming his hands. “I try to be.”

There wasn’t anything else to say, so you joined him by the fire. The cold bit into your skin, a shiver running down your spine. You rubbed your hands, wondering if there would ever be an escape from winter. With the animals hibernating, the chances of catching any game were slim to none. It won’t be until late winter–when the ice starts melting–that you’d see animals again. Until then there would be nothing to hunt; no food. This was going to be tough a winter. Another breeze wisped by, another shiver running through you. 

“Are you cold?” Mizu asked.

“It's nothing.”

Mizu grabbed his cloak, his voice low from the cold. “Here.”

“Oh, I can’t–”

He handed you his cloak. “Take it.”

You sensed he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so you didn’t. You took his cloak. It was large and billowy, easily helping you warm up. 

“Thank you.”

Mizu nodded. He walked to the corner of the room and laid down. “Good night.”

“Are you sleeping on the floor?”

“Yes.”

“I have a spare futon in the bedroom, you can sleep there.”

He hesitated, but sleeping on a warm mattress was too tempting an offer to turn down. "Thank you. "

You took him to the bedroom and laid out the spare futon. It was something you often did for your late father, like second nature. Because of that there was little distance between the mattresses, something you hadn't realized before you laid it out. 

Damn. You didn't want to give the wrong impression, so you tried to push the other futon farther away. Mizu noticed your apprehension but thankfully said nothing. He simply thanked you once you were done and lied down, eager to sleep on something soft after a long time.

It was strange sleeping next to a stranger, but you were relieved. Mizu hadn't read into your intentions, and you got to repay his kindness. You even caught yourself thinking it's a shame that he'd leave in the morning. If it were possible, you'd like to cook him a proper meal before he leaves–without cutting your finger.  

Read the rest here.

[tothelasthoursofmylife]

Travelogue: Kuroshitsuji

I've been back from my vacation for a few weeks now and decided to write a little bit about it. :) I will restrict myself to Kuroshitsuji-related things.

I spotted some Kuroshitsuji volumes fairly early on in my trip (they were in the first bookstore we visited!), but it took a bit longer to find some merch, and the first thing I spotted was this:

A clothes-hanger XD

Thankfully, it wasn't all that Animate store had in stock. Right below the clothes-hanger were tapestries, and just around the corner was the rest of the merchandise. And it was so great to spot Kuro merch in shops that didn't have S1/S2 art on it for once (that's, unfortunately, still the norm in Germany for some reason?).

(As you can see at the bottom of the last picture, it says 8.17 to 9.15 - I first spotted that merch on September 16. It remained there until I left nearly a month later, only the event info was removed.)

That Animate also had the volumes, of course, with Sebastian and Ciel on the divider (and their cousin series right with them!). They were also in the seinen corner which is why I didn't find them immediately.

We were a few days in Tokyo too, and I found more merchandise at Tree Village. I liked its selection a bit more because I don't care much about acrylic standees and buttons (though I did end up buying some for other fandoms...).

If the puzzle had a nicer motive I would have got it 100% because I love puzzles. The Emerald Witch posters better be stunning so that we can get stunning puzzles of them too.

Amiani had some merch too.

Below Amiani was a second-hand figure store whose name I didn't catch. I, unfortunately, couldn't explore it (my siblings and I were running late already and our mother and cousin were waiting downstairs - and while Akihabara was fun while we were briefly there, an absurd amount of people in the anime shops we visited reeked like they hadn't had a shower in months) but I did spot a Ciel and a Sebastian while waiting by its entrance, so that was nice.

I had really hoped that I could find some old Kuro merch in second-hand stops. Something from BoC or BoM or BotA; something from a special collaboration - anything, really. My brother got really attached to a series of second-hand stores (Book Off) because they had the video game guidebooks he had wanted for ages. We had a Book Off close to where we stayed, but he would also drag us to larger ones farther away, so we spent quite some time in Book Offs (and we also went to K-Books in Tokyo). Each store was amazing, and I searched them carefully every time, but, well, apart from DVDs and manga volumes, I only found Kuro stuff once.

I have no idea what was going on, if Kuro fans just don't like to part with their merch ever, or I was just super unlucky (and I was unlucky in some other timing aspects argh), but that was everything. Just cards from a cafe collaboration. They are very beautiful; however, I didn't end up getting any. Maybe I should have got one because they make good bookmarks but I found other things I wanted more and I had hoped I would find more Kuro stuff elsewhere...

(Also, oddly enough, Grelle's cards were the least expensive of them? Undertaker's were either 770 or 990 Yen, and Grelle's were "just" 350.)

(I guess I might have found more if we had been in Akihabara for a longer time/in more shops there but time was limited and people were just too stinky...)

Do you know what existed in overabundance everywhere? Twisted Wonderland merchandise. You could enter any store that carried anime merch of any kind and get showered in Twisted Wonderland merch. So if you're a fan or that game, you would 1000% find something. (I've never played it myself.)

Oh, and there were posters too!

(These posters were on the way to an absurdly deeply placed train platform, and it felt a bit like a fever dream encountering them for the first time.)

We also went to the Kyoto Manga Museum which was a great experience and very unlike any museum experience I had in Germany. The museum informs you about the history of mangas and how mangas are made, but it also collects and preserves mangas, from really old to new ones. They are not only display articles though. Apart from some very old mangas, you can just pick and read them too (inside the museum or on its lawn in front of the building).

I think this is something that only be done in certain places. I doubt a museum like that would work so well in Germany. (Mangas wouldn't be put back, wouldn't look as neat anymore, etc. (99% of books in second-hand stores are in very neat condition too, and people go there just to read those books too if a library isn't nearby/well-stocked and because new books are wrapped in plastic. When they're done reading, they just put them back where they got them.))

Right by the museum's entrance is the "International Mangas" area, and the first shelves you see when you come in are the German mangas - with the German Kuro volumes right on top!

The museum also hosts temporary art exhibitions; when we were there, it was a Delicious in Dungeon one. (I haven't watched/read it but the exhibition was fun still.)

The museum was warmly (and threateningly) recommended by some old family friends (they really wanted us to visit there). They were also very surprised to hear that anime/manga is very popular in the West too. It didn't matter what kind of anime/manga it was too: They were surprised that Demon Slayer is so well-known and popular here too. They got very excited when they spotted my Kuroshitsuji purse. They couldn't believe we knew Detective Conan or had Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne or Inazuma Eleven on TV, etc. They were even shocked I know and play the Ace Attorney and Professor Layton games.

(They were also happy to hear that my brother and I used to watch Doremi on TV around the same time they got up early to watch it on TV too before school. We moved away but still did things "together" without knowing.)

I think it's very fun how popular Japanese media in the West is - and how Japanese people, apparently, don't even know about that. I don't know if it's just them, but they're my and my brother's age (20s-30s) and in touch with these things and didn't know. We also met up with older people, and some also read mangas and were surprised we did too; their surprise was more "understandable" at least because they're 50-80(+) years old.

We visited a few shrines too, of course. One of which was rather interesting because everyone seems to have sponsored it. (And that's why everything looks extremely clean and pristine, like it was only just built.)

For example, Soma's VA Shinnosuke Tachibana.

And the entire Straw Hat Crew???

In Tokyo, we were also in Disneyland.

Because it was during the Halloween Party period, many people were in costumes which was super fun. There were a lot of Twisted Wonderland cosplayers too. We encountered some, i.a., at the Snow White Well, and they were very kind because they quickly made way for us to take pictures too before they resumed their photoshooting.

We went on the Haunted Mansion Holiday Edition ride (which is Nightmare Before Christmas themed), so Yana's Tweet later on was fun to read. Her assistants went for her, and I did too. <3

And now on to my little Kuroshitsuji haul :)

I got the Japanese Character Guide! The German guide was the first Kuro thing I ever bought (in 2015; did a quick trip into the city during a free period right before chemistry class heh). The translation might be wonky and inaccurate at times, but I have the book very dear nonetheless for that sentimental reason.

I love to compare editions from different languages, and look how thick the Japanese one is in comparison!! (That it's smaller in height was unsurprising because Japanese books are mostly that small but I was taken aback by its thickness.)

I hope we get a new character guide. The one I got was from the 41st print; it's time for a new one, but I guess we'll have to wait until the series ends for it, if we get one at all.

I got the severed heads too <3

I spotted them in Animate for the first time, but didn't buy them then. By the time we went to Tree Village, their price was reduced, and I got them <3 They weird me out a little but they're also very squishy.

The pocket mirror was the first piece of merch I got on the trip (you can see it in the shop if you scroll up! it was the last one they had), and I was very happy to see and get it because I always wanted a foldable pocket mirror like that. (I already have a Kuroshitsuji pocket mirror with UT on it from when I was in a zine; however, because it isn't a foldable one, I never used it orz One day, I will find a suitable little bag for it and I get to carry it around without fear.)

And a little Ciel keychain because it's so cute <3

It was a lovely trip, and I leave it at that, or I will dissolve into sappy rambling because it was a very special trip too.^^

[hillbilly---man]

tell me all about your trip, what was your favorite thing you did, what's something neat you didn't expect, did you eat anything cool did you buy any souvenirs

Aaaaaaah thanks for asking! It's hard to answer so I've been thinking on it for a bit lol

My favorite thing I did:

Genuinely I don't know! I'm inclined to answer Ishinomaki/Tashirojima (Cat Island) though, mostly because of how off-the-beaten-path it was.

For some reference, most people who visit Japan for the first time (while technically it wasn't my first, it was my first as a tourist so I planned it like a first-timer) stick to a relatively small area: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, etc, sometimes heading to Hiroshima.

[not that I think you personally need a geography lesson Kas but just in case someone reading this might]

But this place was up in Tōhoku (inside the red heart on the map) so it didn't have that touristy feel.. which isn't a bad thing to have but I thought it was neat to get away from that for a bit.

But yeah! In addition to that incredible hotel I mentioned in my other post (Tama Hotel in Ishinomaki), the city was really chill and the island was gorgeous. It had this whole "old declining fishing village vibe" to it which was so interesting. Plus the views of the sea were incredible:

Not to mention the cats! Which, despite the reputation of Japan's animal islands seemed to be in no worse health than your average stray cats I'd say. Several were also neutered. The island didn't feel overrun, it just seemed like a place with a whole bunch of them. And they were so friendly! We'd be walking down the street and a cat would see us and just start excitedly trotting towards us and beg for pets. My sister even got to hold a bunch of them! (You're not supposed to forcibly pick them up, so she wouldn't hold them if they showed even the first sign of wanting down)

A gif of them as a gift:

Something neat I didn't expect:

I didn't expect people to be so delighted by us speaking extremely basic Japanese to them!

Well, I did kind of expect it a little bit I didn't think it would be SUCH A BIG DEAL.

I've been very casually learning Japanese for a while, but it's mostly Duolingo so it's not like I like, know the language or anything. I went there with some vocabulary and just enough confidence to use a word or two. But when I hit a cashier with a "daijoubu" (I'm fine) when they ask if I need a bag or even just an "arigatou gozaimasu" (thank you) at the end they seem to be so much happier about the interaction. I honestly wonder if they're used to white tourists being kind of difficult and stubborn.

By far the most unexpected bit of useful vocabulary I used was "douzo":

Exiting an elevator at the same time as someone else? Old lady gets on the bus and you want to give her your seat? Someone in a store reaches for the same product you were reaching for?

Just gesture to the thing you're offering, smile, and say "douzo" to let them know they can go ahead. Doing that got me so many smiles from people! One old couple was so happy about it that they talked to us for a little while (we didn't understand much of each other but I caught that they were in their 80s and they caught that we were going to the aquarium) and they even helped us find our next train!

Did I eat anything cool?

I felt like I didn't really get a chance to be very adventurous with food this time! My sister is very picky and refuses to eat pork (it's not a dietary restriction or anything, she just thinks it's gross), raw fish, or cold entrees. Also, we were both pretty sensitive to the smell of seafood during the trip. This meant we were really limited on things like ramen, bento, sushi, etc.

We relied a little too much on American chain restaurants I think. But we did get to eat some good Japanese food though!

We went to this one place called Yakiniku Like (it's a chain and I think it's kinda trendy on tiktok bc it's very tourist friendly). You get a small grill in your table and you order your meat on an iPad and cook it yourself. It was pretty good! Not very adventurous or interesting though.

Snack foods are good too! I finally got to try Japanese pudding (good!), coffee jelly (not my thing but I understand why that pink haired kid I'm always posting about likes it so much), convenience store fried chicken (heavenly), and those strawberry-whipped cream sandwiches they sell at 7-11 (why the hell don't they sell those here).

Also, so many green grape flavored candies! We should do that more

Did I buy any souvenirs?

A little bit!

I spent most of my money on food/transport/logistics so I kind of found myself hesitant to buy too much stuff. I did get a bunch of pins and magnets though!

My pins:

I'm not taking them off my bag but I've circled the new ones! I got a bunch of vintage Olympics pins at a flea market on our first day, and I also got some from the Ghibli Museum and Rabbit Island.

(also in looking at this, I just now realized that I have two Lake Placid 1980 pins on my bag....)

And my magnets:

I collect refrigerator magnets when I travel even more consistently than probably anything else. Every time I travel somewhere I try to get at least one. I came back from Japan with several, lmfao

OH! Also I won this ugly little guy in a UFO catcher and I love him

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

For the first time in probably... 5 years? Bit more? Bit less? I rewatched A Silent Voice. I wanted this to bookend the KyoAni groupwatch because it's pretty much their only standalone feature film, and I already know it's good and I like it, so it seemed like a nice spot to finish off with. And, yeah. I feel a little more complete having done this. Also feels like spring cleaning in a sense because I torrented the ITBD release and that was a clean 40GB I've finally gotten to delete lol.

But anyway. I've kind of had a bit of an arc with this movie. I watched it a long time ago, honestly think I gave it a 10 at first, and then hovered it down to a 9 at some point, and I'm pretty sure that happened when I read the manga. For a while there I thought the manga was straight up better, primarily because the manga is more. It's longer, there's more time spent on the supporting cast, there's more scenes pertaining to the main cast, there's an entire subplot about making a movie, and it continues for about a full volume's worth after the movie ends. And, you know, that's all a good thing, right? Everyone's fleshed out, there's more time with these characters, their relationships are better realised, it's all good.

But at some point, and I admittedly couldn't really tell you when, I started to prefer the movie. I haven't reread the manga whereas I've rewatched the movie several times which probably caused this, but I noticed that I'd basically forgotten everything that had happened in the manga that wasn't in the movie, and I think that's because I kinda stopped caring. Like the characters are more fleshed out, yeah, but when I'd be remembering the series I'm only really remembering Shouya and Shouko plus to a lesser extent Yuzuru. There's a movie making arc, but do I care? The best part about this story by far is Shouya and Shouko. Two wounded individuals trying and struggling to reconnect with each other but also their desire to live at all. It's a story of guilt and of redemption and of how painful it can be wanting to live despite everything. At some point I'd convinced myself Naoko Yamada and Kyoto Animation made the right call cutting a lot of stuff from the manga, because it gives the story a clearer focus on its best part. Their relationship is the thing that I care about and it's the thing the movie decided was the most important. Just cut the bullshit, the movie's better for it.

And so we get to today's arc, wherein I feel like I've realised that the movie simultaneously cuts too much and yet too little at the same time. It does focus primarily on Shouya's story of redemption and his development with Shouko, but a lot of other things are still kept, sometimes to the movie's detriment. Does the movie benefit from having Mashiba be a character? He's fleshed out in the manga but in here he just shows up, wants to be friends, and then gets yelled at. Shouya and Shouko's whole narrative would feel less muddled without him. Although at the same time he was a fleshed out character in the manga and it'd be better if that came across in this adaptation at all. Like you can cut him and it'd be better or you could have more of him and it'd be better. We're basically in a sour spot where entire parts of the movie don't really work because they should have a different level of focus - whether it's more or less. Entire swathes of this movie feel somewhat meandering because it doesn't commit to either approach. It wants to present everyone faithfully but it also cuts a lot of everyone's scenes to focus on Shouya and Shouko stuff. This leads to this whole thing where certain characters like Ueno and Kawai are really hard to get a read on because we don't spend the time we do with them in the manga. But again if we did it might just be sorta boring? Like do you see the problem I'm having. The movie's caught between a rock and a hard place. There's a perfect version of this story somewhere but it's neither the manga nor is it this anime. Cutting like half the cast is probably my preferred option but that's also a little nuclear and enough of them are important to where that probably wouldn't work. But again it doesn't really work as-is and it mostly works in the manga but it's also a little dull. There is no victory to be found.

And with those very mixed feelings aside that I don't think I communicated all too well, I have in fact lowered my score for this movie once again, and now it is down to... 8/10 lol. Yeah no I can say all that shit but I mean the movie's still an audiovisual masterpiece and has a fantastically written lead pair and tons of very strong emotional moments, like I still found myself crying several times during this rewatch. It's got by far the best depiction of bullying I've seen in anime such that the things it has to say about why bullying happens and what it does to people feel extremely potent and relatable. There are characters I don't love if everything I already said wasn't proof enough but certainly the lead pairs' family members in particular are incredibly likeable and compelling characters that are involved for lots of the strongest scenes in general. There are aspects in which the movie is a little confused and I think should've been adapted slightly differently but god damn if it isn't a gripping story all the same.

That's all from me, bye lol.

[animehouse-moe]

Manabu Otsuka, Mappa, and Jujutsu Kaisen & Yuri On Ice!!

Today (or well, yesterday in Japan), an interview went live with Manabu Otsuka (who is the CEO of MAPPA), which is equal parts disheartening and disappointing, making it an important read for any anime fan out there, and I'll explain why here.

The single largest red flag here is this paragraph. They want to reach the heights of Kyoto Animation and Ufotable, but in a fraction of the time. This entire concept is a fallacy and just ridiculous in nature.

Why? Well, because Ufotable became a studio in the year 2000. They are just past 20 years of business. Kyoto Animation? That ones a little more valid since it was 1985, so I'll just provide an example to the former.

Ufotable, as a studio gained massive critical acclaim and success with Kara No Kyoukai / The Garden of Sinners, thrusting the studio into the limelight. The year that movie was released? 2007.

Only seven years after the official formation of the studio, they put out an insane success as a studio. Of course, that wasn't entirely consistent, but when you speak to the critical acclaim and refinement of a studio such as Ufotable, Kara No Kyoukai is by no means off of the table. Though, it's not like Fate/Zero was much further behind in 2011.

These dates will remain important later, but I just want to address the final part while I'm here.

Otsuka's solution to "catching" these studios that have a decade or more experience over Mappa? Brute force. Need experience to get better? Well, we're just cram in as much as we can to improve. Oh, but you're worried about quality? Don't worry, we'll make sure to maintain high quality.

Forget what's going on with Jujutsu Kaisen, forget even the issues with Hells Paradise. Series that they 100% funded struggled with production, outsourcing an incredible amount of frames to Chinese studios, even the original season of JJK and its movie struggled with production timelines while delivering.

The sheer hubris of Otsuka as a producer and the CEO of the company is impossible to grasp. During a season where staff members have been crumbling on social media, getting upset over complaints and words from fans, struggling to do good work, Otsuka believes it a good time to provide an interview about front-loading on productions to increase the rate of growth with the studio.

Incredibly frustrating to read, I can't imagine how the actual staff from Mappa feel about the direction they're being dragged in.

But that's only one of two parts to this interview that are just beyond repair.

Otsuka directly credits Yuri On Ice!! and In This Corner of The World for the success and modern image of Mappa. But wait, isn't there supposed to be a Yuri on Ice movie happening at some point? Oh yeahhhhh, it's in production hell and Mappa won't say a word about any actual developments.

I think the only good thing to arise from this paragraph is the fact that they give credit to In This Corner of The World and have recently released Alice and Therese's Illusion Factory. It's the first movie they've release since 2016 that is not a complement to an existing anime IP.

Still, incredibly disheartening to see them credit such foundational series and yet stray so far from them. But hey, they're adapting battle action shonen #3451 so it's all okay.

Anyways, the numbers I mentioned earlier. It took Ufotable 7 years, or even 11 if you want to focus on TV anime only, to find massive success as a studio.

Mappa? They did it in 6 years with Yuri on Ice. Yuri on Ice!! quite literally built Mappa into the studio it is today. Otsuka admits that as fact. But still, Yuri On Ice!! remains by the wayside as a priority for the studio that owes it its standing in the anime industry.

I know that a lot of high level staff with various studios are very much out of touch with the industry as they focus on tradition and the more enigmatic (to Western populations) Japanese business practices, but this exists on an entirely separate level.

Which is incredibly disappointing because there's good conversation from Otsuka about independently produces anime and the monetary challenges that face a studio. But it's hard to feel sympathetic and agree with them when they handle so many other aspects so poorly.

So yeah, I'm not really sure I have some grand reason for why people should read it, but I think it's important in pulling back the curtain on the industry and your favorite studios to realize that these are all corporations trying to make money before they do anime.

[yorozuyaxxangelsxxicons]

Gintama Sentence Starters: Funny Edition

Gintoki: "Blah blah blah... Put a lid on it. Are you in heat, or what?" "I mean, I get so cranky if I don't have sugar." "Was your sister raised by a gorilla or something!?" "Ow ow ow ow ow!! What did you do!? Is that my brain leaking out?" "I-it should be okay, you know... Wake Up TV's astrology segment said... I'd be lucky this weekend." "Whoever ate it, raise your hand now, and I'll only kill you three-fourths of the way." "Can't you say something like, 'Leave me, ____, you go on ahead'?" "How long are you going to go on and on and on like some stupid, gum chewing, Kyoto girl on her cell phone?" "SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE, FREAK!" "So, what do we do now? Can we touch your ass or something?" "Clearly you're the one who needs help! You can't do jack shit!" "GIVE ME YOUR BALLS." "'Is this love?' My ass!" "It's all my fault. If only I hadn't gone to pachinko! I'll repay you by doubling it in pachinko!" "Believe in yourself! Believe in the dick of the owner you believe!" "You have an ultimate move, even though I don't? Isn't that unfair?" "T-Toei Animation's gonna kill us!" "What? I never said I was talking about you. You actually thought your family was rich? You actually call yourself Richie Rich?" "Mr. Kakashi from Class N had his Sharingan stolen after school yesterday." "Hey, bitch. I'm done with Kingdom, so get me all the volumes of Terra Formars within three minutes, or I'll have your head." "I'll curse your family for seven generations, damn you!" "It was far too large to be called a sword stuck in my ass."

Shinpachi: "Sheesh!! You hide a filthy soul behind those beautiful eyes!" "You two think that anything with a mustache is Mario, don't you!?" "Why are you pretending to break your bones!?"

Kagura: "Don't need a license to hit and run, yessir!" [text] Good morning. Your poop is very smooth today! "We're not toilet paper for you bastards to wipe your asses with!" "Behold me, the 30,014th shogun!"

Hijikata: "You wanna sleep permanently? Huh?" "Why leave the party, pal? It's a nice fight. Let's have some fun!" "What do you mean you missed!? Hey! Look at me!" "Okay. Don't come back." "Then how about a handshake? I'm a real Bentendo fan." "You Zega fans should be quiet and play your Creamcast, stupid. Keep waiting for your sequel to Shenmue, stupid." "I'm going to defeat Breeza!" "Hey, just give me some balls. You have some, right?" "Have you heard of a penile break?" "I'll lick the soles of your sandals or anything you ask me to!" "You can use the tepid kiddy bath over there. It's probably your style." "I don't remember allying with you, either. Crazy bitch." "You're not innocent, are you!?"

Okita: "He doesn't look hurt, but trust me he's suffering inside." "Just so you know, I was supposed to work really hard today, but I took the day off." "Isn't he stereotypical? He thinks he's Vegeta. He's planning on casually joining in." "Go buy me a Yakisoba pan, and JUMP, too. Of course, you pay for them." "I'm going to investigate whether the octopus balls actually have octopus meat in them." "I'll cut right to the chase. Could you let ____ fuck your robot girl over there?"

Other: "Look, you just keep your mouth shut." "Your heart isn't big enough to embrace their wonderful flaws, and that's why you aren't popular with the ladies!" "A leader must use any means possible to lead his organization to victory. As such, you'll play Uno with me! Because I'm good at Uno!" "____ made me pay 108 yen for a Yakulk the other day. Did they make you pay, too? It wouldn't be fair if I was the only one who had to pay." "Quit acting like you're a leader already, damn errand boy." "To remove this apparatus, either go to your nearest church or withdraw 3 million yen from an ATM and deposit it to my account." "If sorry was enough, seppuku wouldn't exist in the world." "In my country, '(insult)' is just how we end sentences. I wasn't implying anything, (insult)." "Is she a man or Orochimaru?" "Quit talking about my butthole like it's some parking stall!" "The hell are you doing in my house!?" "Why are you sneaking into my house in the middle of the night to make fried rice all dramatic-like!? And turn off the damn music! It's bothering the neighbors!" "You're the one... who bent me over."

Other (Multiple Lines): "Now we can't use the 'I wanna eat your cooking' line." "Oh, well. Skip a few steps and go with 'I wanna eat you' instead." "That's skipping too many steps! What kind of irresponsible advice is that!?" "I'll help you outta there. 'hee, hee, hoo' got that? Together now. 'hee, hee, hoo'." "I'm not a pregnant woman, you moron!" "This is ____, and this is ____. Understand? Let's write them down ten times each." "Oh, fuck you!"

[epickiya722]

i want to ask u questions about the star rebirth au!!! but idk if they would be considered spoilers or anything but whatevs!!! 1 - how did the culling game end? like, do u have a list of characters u plan to bring back from the dead/keep alive or leave dead/kill? 2 - idk if i asked u this bfr but do u have any songs/playlist in mind for this au?? if so, pls leave the link to it!! 3 - did u had any outside inspo to make it? like other animes/movies/books? 4 - do u have any idea of how many chapters u plan to write?? anddd thats all i have (for now)!!! this au has been living on my mind rent free lmfao and above all, thank u sm for writing this!!!

That gif of Anya just touched my heart. She is so precious!! Anyways!!

There are spoilers mentioned for the manga though! So anyone who isn't caught up, I do advise you be mindful about continuing on!

Also spoilers for the Star's Rebirth AU if you haven't read those fics yet. [Link below for those who do want to read it.]

1 - In this AU, it pretty much ended the same way it does in canon (since the manga is now in a different arc now), but there are some slight changes I gave such as have Takako and Yuji meet, therefore she joins the others against Sukuna and Kenjaku. I loved her character too much so I decided to put The Pink Sky and Cherry Blossoms in the AU. I'm glad I did because I enjoy writing her.

It's the same case with Yuki. Here, she doesn't die. She survives. Hana and Takaba are still here, too. The Kyoto students are also in this AU.

Kenjaku is actually still alive, but immobile.

Hiromi, I do want to write him in somehow. I haven't decided to either have him die or have him survive just as Yuki and Satoru, I forgot to mention him, have done. Probably the latter.

Now, yes, some of the characters that are dead in canon are dead, but it doesn't mean they probably won't make an appearance.

Cases being Suguru and Kaori, both who are dead in canon, but they did have speaking roles in the fics (His Mercy and His Mother, respectively). Kaori, I needed to write a fic for her desperately.

The only one who are explicitly dead in this AU but stil alive in canon is Sukuna. Uraume, I'm actually living that ambiguous for the timing being.

I'll be honest, when I first wrote His Role, it was just on whim as with most of my fics. Even the fics that follow. I don't exactly plan on who will show up or a scene, but I have an idea and as I write, I create that vision as to how I think it would fit in. I just go with the flow!

2 - I actually don't have a Playlist! I just listened to whatever songs that I wanted, but four songs I do remember listening to on repeat during His Role and His Mercy was Fujii Kaze's Matsuri and Shinunoga E-Wa and Kvi Baba's Tired But Fine and Tombi (which is Trigun Stampede's opening song). During the writing for TPSaCB, I repeated Megan Thee Stallion's Cobra. I love that song and it actually helped me captivate Takako's emotions during that fic.

3 - Actually no! His Role was written during a time I really wasn't feeling like myself at all. I had an idea and I went to putting words together. Writing that fic helped me feel better. And truth be told, I wasn't expecting the reception I got for it. Though, it does make me happy.

4 - I have no idea how many fics will be added into this AU. To be honest, when during the writing the first fic, I didn't plan to add a sequel but I decided why not? The timing was perfect since Yuji's birthday was coming up and I wanted a fic out for it.

Here's the AU for anyone interested. ⤵

And please feel free to ask questions anytime!

[localtrashstan]

Just giving an update on what manga I've been reading (even though nobody gives a shit) from my local library as well as just talk about them and stuff ig. It'll basically just be stupid ramblings so no spoilers or anything at all lmao literally just me being dumb.

Blue Exorcist

I think I'm on volume 16 at the moment. I've been reading this one on and off for about 3 years now because I constantly forget the library exists, and if I get busy, I read a lot less. So, yeah, got back into this one and since I'd stopped after the events of the Kyoto Saga anime, I just watched that again to refresh my memory on what was going on, although I remembered way more than I thought I would. Anyways, I've really been enjoying this one, I've got so many theories and I can't wait until I catch up to see if any of them are correct (I'll probably get there very quickly as I've checked out 16 through 22 recently and will probably have that finished in about a week or so). Rin is my son and I love him sm, he's so stupid 🫶 and so precious. I've seen a lot of spoilers for this series online by accident and so I know some of the future events and some of them I'm not as happy about but I'm gonna trust that everything will work out eventually because I want all of them to have a good ending 😔

Kimi ni Todoke

I've only got nine more volumes left, so I just went ahead and requested them all. This story is probably the cutest one I've been reading lately, and I really like it. However, like Blue Exorcist, I've been reading it off and on for quite a while now. Sometimes my attention is difficult to hold, and unless I own something or I'm actively obsessed with it, I have a very difficult time remembering that some things exist or how much I like them until I've been introduced to them again. Regardless, I find this one to be very cute and wholesome. I like a slow burn but sometimes I find myself growing frustrated with them. This one wasn't like that for me through most of it asides from a few parts as I hate the classic non-communication and misunderstanding tropes despite the fact that they're very realistic for most relationships, especially for teenagers. Having said that, I think everything that's been thrown their way is handled very well and I think there's some good advice in there.

Teasing Master Takagi-san

I actually saw the anime on Netflix for this one first and loved it. It was very cute. To my surprise, some of the events in the anime were different than in the manga, but given the genre and formatting I didn't mind that at all, I actually found it to be rather cute and fun. The characters are very clearly awkward middle schoolers with a crush and whatever but I still find it cute. The dynamics between Takagi and Nishikata is super cute and is probably the most endearing part of each character. Unfortunately, since this series isn't as popular and I live in the middle of nowhere, they only have volumes 1-3 and then 5-7. Weird. I'm guessing volume 4 went missing so they just removed it from the catalog since that unfortunately happens an awful lot over here 😒🥲

Naruto

Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking! "An ani-manga fan that HASNT read Naruto?!" Well, yes. I've seen the first 3 seasons of the original anime but I never really got into it. I like each character for the most part, but something about this series makes it difficult for me to focus on it. The anime is worse than the manga for me, probably because there's a ton of dialogue over scenes where practically nothing is happening. I really don't like that in anime, even though I do watch a lot of older anime (I mean, I'm a huge Yu Yu Hakusho and old Sailor Moon fan, for one). In the manga, it's easier to skim, or it'll eventually just show up again later and probably be explained once more, so I don't bother going over all that. Not to say that explaining things is bad, I just think when there's a lot in the first 6 volumes of your story, that gets boring really fast. That might just be me, though. Despite all of those complaints, I do enjoy it, although battle shounen isn't really my favorite (I say even though I also just confessed to adoring Yu Yu Hakusho), I do like it enough to continue. Perhaps because I'm clearly not the target demographic, it's more difficult for me to get into. Sakura isn't as annoying as I remember her being (I was like 15 when I saw the anime) and Sasuke is...less edgy in the manga? I feel like the anime kinda butchered his character a bit (although I could argue they simplified all of them a bit) and kind of just boiled him down to being an edgy little asshole. Or maybe Im just remembering the anime wrong idk, I never liked Sasuke when I was watching it but now reading the manga I really like his character and I find him interesting. Naruto is still my favorite, though. I gotta admit, I love characters that fall into the loveable idiot category!

Yona of the Dawn

This one is definitely one of my favorites that I've recently gotten into. I've noticed in the last 5 years or so I've made a shift to reading more shojo manga and even shounen written by women. I'm not sure when this exactly happened, but I was looking at my bookcase one day and realized well over half of my manga series I'd started collecting were written by women! Yona of the Dawn is honestly one of my favorite stories I've read in a while. Even though I'm an adult woman I definitely look up to the strength that is in Yona as a character. She's very strong without fitting into that stereotype I see often in American media (you know, the "i don't need anyone" kinda thing where sometimes they're even mean or cruel). Yona is kind, caring, and just everything I think more people should aspire to be. She sees issues in her country and does something about it. Getting help from others doesn't make you a weak person, and I really like seeing her growth and development as a character through the series. Doesn't help that I also find the others very endearing as well! Yun is probably going to be making it on my ani-manga sons list bc I just find him so adorable for some reason. As for the dragons, I think Sinha is my favorite, but I really do love them all. And of course I like Hak, too. I just wish he was more open with Yona about his feelings because she's too dense to notice. I'm only on volume 12, though, so that very well might change. Also excited to hear that the manga is in its last arc, I'm looking forward to being able to finish it and not have to wait too long because I'm rather impatient...

The Apothecary Diaries

I have had this one on my mind since I started it. I devoured these books, absolutely devoured them. Now, I'm waiting for the next one to come out very impatiently. My library doesn't have the light novels, so I probably won't read them for now despite really wanting to. I've got so many theories! I'm also a huge Jinmao shipper!! Love them so much. I actually didn't think I was going to like Jinshi when he first appeared, but he definitely grew on me. Doesn't help I also happen to like men that are pathetic and down bad for whoever it is they like and Jinshi definitely fits the bill there.

DanDaDan

I actually just started this one, I've only read 2 volumes. So far, I absolutely love it, though! I didn't think I was going to, but I do! It's a bit weird, but the characters just make the story, and I love Momo and Okarun. I love how awkward they are with each other, they're so cute. It's funny, because while I was reading it, it for some reason reminded me of Chainsaw Man, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the mangaka actually used to be one of the assistants on that series. Just a nice little fun fact that made it made sense to me. Not sure whether it's the art, pacing, or humor that made me suspect that, though. Maybe a mix of everything? There is a huge content warning on this one, though for SA and just a lot of other general sexual content (like jokes, mostly). While that part of the series I definitely don't really like (the former, not the latter), I do still enjoy the story and the characters.

Anyways, I'm planning on starting another once I've read all of Kimi ni Todoke and Teasing Master Takagi-san since I've got almost all of them read (or all the ones my library currently has). I'm thinking for my next one, I might do Snow White with the Red Hair, One Piece, or maybe try to finish Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen since I haven't finished those and my collections for either are on the back burner. All I know is that I'd prefer something very long or something finished. I'm tired of waiting for new volumes of almost everything and yet...I keep starting new ones! Like, right now, I really want to try Sakamoto Days, Undead Unluck, or Blue Box but all of those are still on-going so I don't want to have to wait.

Anyways, that was my little post ig.

[richs-japan-tabi]

Independent Excursion: Media Reflection

I chose The Tatami Galaxy, written by Tomihiko Morimi, as my media representation of Japan. The anime, adapted from the novel of the same name, is centered around Kyoto University. However, many other notable locations in Kyoto are also featured. I decided to go to some of these locations.

The first location I visited was the Shimogamo Shrine. This shrine is featured at the beginning of the first episode for its hidden ramen cart nearby, Cat Ramen. Unfortunately, the existence of this ramen cart is fiction. However, I still thought it would be fun to visit the shrine. The surrounding area of the shrine was beautiful, with thick woods arching over paved walkways.

Next, I visited Demachiyanagi Station. Being close to where the protagonist lives, the station is explicitly mentioned in the anime. While there wasn't much to see there, I ate some ramen in honor of Cat Ramen. I got the lunch set for only 1,000 yen and as you can see in the photo below, it was enormous. I highly recommend Kamomachi Ramen in Kyoto if you're in town.

After finishing eating, I embarked on the Kyoto University Clock Tower. Being a vital part of the anime's plot, it was a unique experience seeing it in person. I will elaborate further in the reflection portion, but I found it an incredible experience to see a scene from a piece of media in real life.

Finally, I ended the day with the most significant location, the Kamogawa Delta, featured in one of the anime's most memorable scenes. As Master Higuchi plays his iconic song here, the night sky is lit up in awe-inspiring fashion. Seeing this location in person made me feel a new connection to it. As one of the anime's most emotional scenes, it gave the location a weird nostalgic feeling.

Reflection

The Tatami Galaxy is a coming-of-age story of a student trying to find the perfect college life. The main protagonist is unnamed, with the name "me" in English. Every time that Watashi has doubts about his college life, he is transported into a world where he is in a different "circle." Circles are social-oriented clubs in Japanese schools, similar to many American clubs. Each time he begins a different life, the Kyoto University Clock Tower begins winding.

The Kyoto University Clock Tower looked very similar to the anime. However, I couldn't help but feel there was a difference between the anime and the real-life campus. It may be due to when I went, but it seemed much quieter. Perhaps to emphasize Watashi's perceived importance of campus life, the anime uses a variety of different colors and camera shots to make it seem more active than reality. However, this might be because of the time I went or that I wasn't allowed to explore the campus.

Another main character to mention is Master Higuchi, an eighth-year senior who lives in the same dorm as Watashi, the protagonist. Higuchi is always seen wearing a yukata and claims to be a god, passing on "wisdom" to his disciple Watashi. While his claims of being a god are seemingly absurd, his personality is beloved by many. Furthermore, the author often purposefully makes it unclear whether or not his claim of being a god is true. Who else would allow Watashi to transport to parallel universes?

One of the anime's most infamous scenes is Higuchi playing a song on the Kamogawa Delta, where the Takano and Kamo Rivers meet. Traveling to this site, there was some slippage between reality and the anime depiction. Firstly, in the anime, Higuchi is the only one in the Kamogawa Delta, making it seem like a majestic place fitting of Higuchi's mysterious character. However, traveling to this site, it becomes immediately apparent that it is a heavily traveled tourist destination. I even asked someone to take my picture there in Japanese, and they turned out to be Chinese!

Higuchi's song lyrics are seemingly nonsensical on first listen, talking about a triangle, a circle, and a square. However, they perfectly represent human's desire to be perfect. Throughout the anime, Watashi is so focused on achieving the perfect campus life that he forgets about the opportunity "dangling right in front of him," repeatedly foreshadowed by the fortune teller. When he finally forgets about his perfect campus life, he notices what he must do: ask out his crush.

Higuchi's song perfectly suits Kyoto's natural beauty. The Kamogawa Delta was a place where I could be mindful of the world around me. Sitting on the same rocks as Higuchi, I was reminded that it is sometimes important to forget about the ends of our ambitions and focus on what is in front of us now.

[active-mind-15]

Okay wow, I was meaning to come back to this post since I saw it and now I've submitted my last assignment for the week and I have time so HERE WE GO!

Akashi/Mibuchi, platonically or romantically, is CRIMINALLY underrated and under-discussed and I don't know why. Like you said, it is literally the only queer ship where it is canon that one person likes the other, but there's so much more to their dynamic that I feel like I need to talk about before I explode.

First up, let's talk about the nickname "Sei-chan". There are so many layers to this nickname. In both the manga and the anime, Akashi is portrayed as this final boss character, very godlike and untouchable. So, for someone like Mibuchi to call him something as cute as "Sei-chan" seems insane.

Akashi had a couple nicknames in Teiko like "Akashicchi" and "Aka-chin" (brought to you by Kise and Murasakibara, respectively), but 1) those were nicknames given out to all the miracles + Kuroko and Momoi, so Akashi wasn't a special case. 2) both nicknames used his family name, Akashi. There is still a level of formality that both of them keep by doing that. 3) both of those nicknames were given to Akashi before he switched personalities.

Fast-forward to high school, Akashi has long switched to his other personality which is known to be colder and more tyrannical. And yet, despite all of that, Mibuchi met Akashi for the first time and was basically like "Yeah, that looks like a Sei-chan to me." Mibuchi sped-ran through all the levels of formality and went straight to closeness by using Akashi's given name, Seijuro. Mind you, Midorima, the miracle Akashi has gone on record saying he gets along with the most, calls him "Akashi". Even Momoi, a.k.a. the queen of giving the cutest nicknames to all the miracles, simply addresses Akashi as "Akashi-kun". None of Akashi's friends had ever used his given name until Mibuchi came along. And, honestly, Mibuchi is kind of iconic for that.

And, for someone as high and mighty as Akashi seemed to be, you'd think that he wouldn't stand for such a cutesy nickname. But Akashi has zero problem with it. He is supremely unbothered by the fact that this person who he just met is not only calling him by his given name but tacking on the -chan suffix, something Mibuchi doesn't do for anyone else on the team but Akashi. Say it with me now: SPECIAL 👏🏿 TREATMENT 👏🏿.

Moving past my unnecessarily long rant about Akashi's nickname, if you pay attention during the anime/manga, you'll notice that Mibuchi is the one who accompanies Akashi to most places. For example, Mibuchi and Akashi work out together.

And (even though this is a special episode that is full of 4th wall breaks) Mibuchi accompanied Akashi to Maji Burger in the 3rd KNB fan disc. Keep in mind that both Mibuchi and Akashi go to school in Kyoto, which means Mibuchi braved a 4 or 5-hour round trip just to see Akashi meet up with and chat with his friends from Teiko.

Speaking of that fan disc, the part that barely anyone talks about but is so integral to MibuAka potentially being a ship that has a two-way attraction, this part where they're discussing Valentine's Day chocolates and Mibuchi straight-up asks Akashi if he would accept chocolates if he made them.

And what does Akashi say in response to this???

"Yes, of course. I'm looking forward to it." HELLOOOOOOOOOO

And Akashi is not stupid or oblivious. In the Replace Plus chapters, he tells Nijimura that he already knew about Momoi liking Kuroko, and it's Midorima who is shown to be the oblivious one out of all the miracles.

And you can argue that of course he knew because Momoi was being obvious about it with her behavior, but I would argue that Mibuchi is also not very subtle either. Calling Akashi (and only Akashi) by a pet name, accompanying Akashi to all these places even when he doesn't have to, and on top of that, wanting to make Akashi Valentine's Day chocolates after hearing that Momoi also wanted to make Kuroko Valentine's Day chocolates? Yeahhhhh Mibuchi you're not fooling anyone with that, I'm sawry.

Akashi is incredibly observant and it's a running joke in the anime/manga that he practically reads other people's minds because he seems to always know what other people are thinking. There's just no way he's not aware of the optics of a boy giving another boy homemade chocolates on Valentine's Day. Let's not be silly here! Akashi knows exactly what Mibuchi is doing with that gesture and he's perfectly okay with it and even encourages Mibuchi to do it!

And even if Akashi is somehow not romantically attracted to Mibuchi, it doesn't change the fact that Akashi is still very much Mibuchi's baby. Case in point:

I don't even think I need to explain this photo. Look at how excited Mibuchi is to make sweets for Akashi, although poor Akashi is probably sitting there wondering how on earth he's supposed to eat all of this. (As a side note, I will never get over how adorable Akashi's face is in this photo. His owlish expression is so precious and makes him look like a middle-schooler again. 🥺)

Also in the Zero Step video, remember when Rakuzan went to a photo booth to take pics together? Notice how Mibuchi is the only one actually touching Akashi. If you watch the clip in full, Akashi even leans into Mibuchi a little. Mibuchi deffo has some sort of privileges that the rest of the team doesn't. The only person who ever got close to Akashi like that is Nijimura, but I'll explore the NijiAka dynamic another time.

But yeah, you can see Mibuchi likes going out of his way for Akashi, taking care of him, fussing over him, and worrying about him in general. Like in the KNB drama CD season 3 vol 9 and also in the Replace Plus novels, when Mibuchi thinks that the other two Uncrowned Kings are bothering Akashi too much, he'll scold them for doing so. It's giving "Don't worry your pretty little head over it, I'll handle it".

*looks at notes* okay, I think I've said enough, so I'll just wrap up this post with some final words. I really love the Akashi/Mibuchi dynamic. Even if it ends up being one-sided attraction/infatuation, their interactions with each other are still super wholesome. Honestly, I would have liked to see more of that in the anime/manga because with all the responsibilities Akashi has to shoulder, it's good he can have someone to lean on when it gets too much. Mibuchi kinda functions like Nijimura in that sense (before he made Akashi captain, that is). But at the same time, it's also different. There's this nurturing side of Mibuchi, and Akashi just brings it out of him. And the reason why Akashi doesn't push him away is because, deep down, he needs someone like Mibuchi in his life.

So many people saw Akashi as unapproachable, and yet, Mibuchi didn't care about all that. To him, Sei-chan is Sei-chan and nothing will change that. But yeah, I have said all I can, so imma just leave it there.

It's crazy that Akashi/Mibuchi is so unpopular in the KnB fandom because it's the only queer ship where it's canon that one likes the other. Maybe it's because those who only watched the anime don't know about it ?

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

KyoAni groupwatch... takes a 24 day hiatus to get through the GONZO season of Full Metal Panic before we can get to KyoAni's contributions, because this is an actual plot-heavy show and straight up skipping this first season just to get to the KyoAni stuff would be a genuine disservice.

But this is the final thing! Full Metal Panic is the only remaining KyoAni thing and then we're done. I will have seen every single Kyoto Animation thing to completion. Fuckin crazy.

We'll get to the waxing sentimental later though, because Full Metal Panic groupwatch is gonna take about a month and a half in full anyway. And again, to start with, is this GONZO first season. It seemed fine? I guess? Idk, most of the characters and the comedy is pretty annoying from the get-go, blond guy especially can die. We've not got much indication of story yet other than a military sending some of its members to a Japanese high school to protect a girl in secret. They monitor everything she does, pedo blond guy hangs out in an invisible mech to stalk high school girls, the works. To what end isn't really clear yet, but there's plenty of show left to find out. Not really a strong start but for how long we're gonna be watching this I hope it picks up.

Also very very brief aside the torrents I thought to grab are using the western funimation BDs from I guess back in the day, and they've got a fun little error in them

The voice actress Yukari Tamura whom does have a speaking role in the first episode is falsely credited with director of animation credit. I kind of knew this was wrong straight away anyway but double checked ANN to see if this wasn't just a thing I didn't know she also did and yeah no obviously it wasn't, this is just straight up a mistake. Might look for a better torrent later, we'll see.

[animehouse-moe]

Jujustu Kaisen: The Brilliance Behind Alisa Okehazama's 'Hollow Purple'

First, let's just appreciate how incredibly well S1 captured Gojo's infamous Hollow Purple technique. Absolutely loved it when I first saw it, and I love it more and more each time I go back to watch it. Similarly, I end up falling deeper and deeper in love with Alisa Okehazama's titular track for the moment, despite my initial distaste. I think it's a song that many might write off, that they may feel is "disappointing". But truthfully, putting it more into context with the story, and with Gojo, I think it's probably the best track Okehazama could have made for The Strongest, and I'd love to tell you why.

Anyways, as a refresher for how this tracked is used in the anime. We begin right from the beginning of the track as Gojo's revealed to have made it through the curtain, but soon skips further into the track for a more "build up" moment. From there, tensions rise and we pretty well follow the overall flow of the track until the biggest moment.

So what is it that makes Hollow Purple an actually good track?

The Story

To many that have listened to it frequently, I'm sure you've all wondered about why the latter half/end of the track sounds so unlike the rest of the OST in style? Why, it's just a more typical electronic-sounding track that has a surprisingly upbeat feel, of course it'd feel out of place with the rest of the OST.

But that's exactly why it's like that. Is Gojo known (in this season) to have ever despaired? To be on the ropes, to struggle with an opponent or enemy?

No! Of course he hasn't. After all, he's the strongest. That's why this song is like this, that's why it's a great addition to this OST and probably the closest to perfect you can get for Gojo.

This track is the story of the despair and challenges of the Tokyo and Kyoto students and staff, that is evaporated by Gojo's presence alone. It's a track that builds up from the moment of the reveal, changing the pace of the music as we head further and further into the song. It takes the tension of the moment, the overwhelming power and intensity that Gojo brings, and creates a backdrop for his entrance.

Gojo is the shining light of the Jujutsu World, the self-proclaimed but unanimously agreed upon strongest. He would never suffer, never struggle or despair, so of course his moment in his track would convey this. Of course his piece would bring the energy, bring the excitement and wipe the challenges of characters like Yuji right off the map with Hollow Purple. It's the capstone of the Kyoto exchange event and is the defining track for Gojo through season one.

It perfectly defines his role in the world and how allies see him. The song is a reflection of the exertion of Gojo's power in the Jujutsu world. And it's just plain amazing when you come to understand that. The hype, the excitement that the music conveys in the moment, it's so incredibly fun. Because that's what Season 1 Gojo was: fun.

Also, if it wasn't clear, this thought was definitely sparked by the hollow purple of S2. I didn't hate it, but I do have a bone to pick with re-using the OST from an earlier moment in the soundtrack. It's Gojo's defining moment, the sequence that earns him the title of The Strongest, and it's weakened by re-use and the subpar music composition of this second season.