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EYESHIELD 21 (2002-2009) by inagaki riichirou & murata yuusuke

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X-Men Evolution has such an interesting Gambit. On one hand, this is the worst design he’s ever had. On the other hand, this man has maximum brain cells at all times, zero himbo energy whatsoever. In most on-screen appearances, Gambit is either some form of comic relief, love interest, or the old "Can we/can't we trust him" because he's either a reformed villain on his way to redemption, or he's a wildcard with uncertain allegiance who's about to cause problems by stealing something.

X-Men Evolution Gambit is so fun because as a clean-cut villain henchman, he's totally removed from all of those things. He’s 5% fun and 95% business, definitely one of the most competent villains in the show. Maybe even the most competent, if you measure tasks attempted vs. tasks succeeded. He and Rogue have Vibes, for sure, but aside from the Cajun Spice episode, they don't actually exchange more than a few lines in the whole series. And when those lines are exchanged, Gambit retains all his brain cells and doesn't get distracted from the task at hand. When Rogue sweeps Magneto’s base in the season 3 finale, it takes Gambit exactly .5 seconds to figure out 1) she’s being mind controlled, 2) Mystique is behind it, and then he puts up the longest fight of anyone in that episode, including Magneto. This Gambit would never fall for Morph/Mystique’s shenanigans i.e. "I'm Rogue, teehee, just got total control of my powers overnight and you should come kiss me." This Gambit would clock that shit in two seconds and start throwing cards.

Yes "enemies to lovers" something or other, but it's honestly refreshing to see a recurring Gambit onscreen who is wholly separated from Rogue, from the comic relief role, and from the inner torment of trying to be a good person, because it gives us a Hypercompetent Villain Gambit who Gets Shit Done being only 19(!) years old. And he does it all with that bowl cut and like one inch of facial hair.

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EYESHIELD 21: BRAIN x BRAVE (2024) by inagaki riichirou & murata yuusuke

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Eyeshield’s getting a new special volume with the one shot and some extra features, let’s go. Still holding out hope for an anime announcement in the future

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Japanese Linguistic Observations in Spy x Family - part 4

Part 4 - Furigana and double meanings

I discussed in Part 2 how Japanese is comprised of three different alphabets: hiragana and katakana (together referred to as "kana") which represent pronunciation, and kanji which represent meaning. With there being over 2,000 kanji in common use, as well as various ways to pronounce any one kanji character depending on the word it's in, children learn kanji gradually throughout their school years. So manga and books aimed at a younger audience will typically have kanji "translations." These are comprised of small kana called furigana which are printed to the right of the kanji to show how to pronounce it. In the below panel for example, the one word that has a kanji is the 嬉 in 嬉しい. The furigana shows that 嬉 is pronounced うれ ("ure") to make the adjective "ureshii" (happy).

Sometimes manga authors will use furigana+kanji in creative ways to convey different meanings to words that specifically suit their story/characters. This alternate way of translating kanji is called 当て字 (ateji). One way of using ateji is to help introduce fictional terminology. In SxF for example, Ostania and Westalis are made-up words, but Endo assigns them their own kanji: 東国 for Ostania and 西国 for Westalis. The second kanji for both of them is 国 which means "country," and the first kanji for Ostania is 東 which means "east" while 西 for Westalis means "west." However, to differentiate them from the actual words these kanji represent ("toukoku" and "saikoku," which mean "eastern country" and "western country" respectively), Endo writes out their pronunciations in katakana next to the kanji. You can see this in the panels below.

Even though they're not real words, by assigning them kanji that represent what they are – "east country" and "west country" – even without any context, Japanese readers get more information about these terms than English readers do thanks to the use of kanji and furigana.

Another way manga authors can use ateji to suit their needs is by telling readers to pronounce otherwise normal Japanese words in the "language" they want. For example, the word used for "codename" in SxF is 暗号名, which is a real word that is pronounced "angoumei." However, when we look at the furigana that Endo assigns to it, he specifically tells us to pronounce it like the English word "codename" (コードネーム).

Since SxF is a series that takes place in a fictional version of Europe, Endo must have found it more fitting to use English for specific keywords like this.

While the above examples are fairly common throughout all manga, especially those that have a lot of fictional terminology, Endo also gets creative with using ateji to form double meanings that lend insight into the characters' thoughts/feelings. And we get one of the best examples of this in the very first chapter:

This is the scene where Twilight's saying that he became a spy to create a world where children don't have to cry. The word for children, 子ども, should be pronounced "kodomo," however, the furigana is telling us to pronounce it as じぶん (jibun), which means "self." By creating this double meaning of Twilight saying he'll make a world where children and/or he himself doesn't have to cry, points out in a subtle yet poignant way just how much Twilight's trauma as a child shaped his determination to make sure other children don't have to suffer the same fate. It's a brilliant way of showing a deeper side of the character that he wouldn't outwardly show.

A similar example occurs in chapter 49 during the cruise arc, in the scene where Yor is guarding the room at night, thinking about how she was dragging her feet during the Barnaby fight. Her last thought during that scene is wondering what she's fighting for, however, even though the word used is いばら姫 (ibarahime), which means "Thorn Princess," the furigana tells us to pronounce it as わたし, which is the "I"/"me" pronoun that Yor uses.

The ambiguity of reading the word as "I" or as "Thorn Princess" emphasizes how she's struggling with her Thorn Princess identity at that time. It can almost have a different meaning when reading it one way or the other. For example, reading it as わたしは何のため ("For what reason am I [doing this]…) or as いばら姫は何のため ("For what reason is Thorn Princess [doing this]…) gives the impression that she's trying to distance herself from "Thorn Princess"…that she's unconsciously seeing herself and "Thorn Princess" as different people.

Another example that's not as deep but still interesting is from chapter 87, where Sylvia visits Fiona in the hospital and tells her not to push herself so hard, even for his sake, with "his" referring to Twilight. The kanji used is 黄昏 (tasogare) which means "Twilight," but the furigana translation is あいつ (aitsu) which means "that guy/that person."

This is a clever way to use kanji/furigana to indicate that Sylvia is indeed aware of Fiona's feelings for Twilight by having her not refer to him by name, but also informing the reader that she definitely knows who she's talking about.

I also find it interesting that all three of these examples are spoken from a character we're viewing from behind. I think it's just a coincidence, but still interesting 😅

I'll wrap up with one more example from chapter 58, where Loid notes that his understanding of Bond is lacking, just like Anya. Once again, the word for children, 子ども (kodomo) is used (Loid likes making double meanings with that word, doesn't he?) but the furigana translates it to アーニャ(Anya).

I interpret this as him saying he needs to understand children better, but he specifically means Anya (even though he doesn't want to admit his particular yearning to understand her).

If you're wondering how the anime handles these ateji, it seems to vary. In the anime version of the chapter 1 example, Loid says the correct kanji translation "kodomo," but in the chapter 49 example, Yor says the furigana translation "watashi."

The anime seems to use the reading that would make the most sense if spoken out loud by the character.

I haven't read enough manga in Japanese to say that this use of furigana+kanji to create double meanings is a common thing, but even if it is, I'm sure Endo has his own unique style of doing it. I know there's more examples in SxF that I missed, and unfortunately I don't have the time to look through every chapter to find them. But if you happen to come across any others, feel free to let me know 😃 I may amend this post or create another one if more interesting examples pop up.

<- Return to Part 3

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Not to ramble about es21 but just saw a take on Twitter that presented Hiruma as someone who is clinging onto his persona (so his hair, the piercings, the threats— the things he allegedly does for the sake of scaring people) because he doesn’t see/understand himself, with the implication that he needs to stop clinging onto these things and face reality (eg, grow up). This is within the context of him in university and continuing to maintain his dyed hair. It’s a sentiment that I don't agree with and suddenly felt like rambling on about the topic lol.

For one, I don’t think the way he presents himself is solely for the sake of intimidating others. It’s definitely a factor, but I also think he just likes it. It’s like everything else he does— the renovated club room doesn’t do anything to intimidate rival teams but he did it anyway because he likes flashy, gaudy shit. His cartoon violence guns are certainly to intimidate people, but he also just likes guns. His trick plays are to confuse the opposing team and to make up for the lack of formal training that the Devilbats have, but he also just likes trick plays! It suits his personality, that’s just the kind of dude he is. He exaggerates aspects of himself to get a rise out of people, but they’re still aspects of him. Imo, what unnerves people is that he’s so unabashedly himself, and who he is is unhinged and calculating and contradictory and unapologetic. I’d even argue that his ‘unhinged’ side is him at his happiest, and when he gets quiet and pensive, he’s at his most tense or disappointed or like, bored with life lmfao.

And as far as canon goes, at least imo, it presents Hiruma as a person who is very honest with himself about who he is. He has no illusions about his limitations and isn't shy about letting people know that, not to mention how shameless he is in his goal of winning. He doesn't give a fuck what other people think of him, which I think is a pretty good indicator that he's comfortable in his own skin.

That being said, I do think he’s got trust issues when it comes to letting people in emotionally or allowing people to see his vulnerabilities. I think there’s enough in canon to suggest that this is probably because he’s been totally independent for so long and so learned to rely only on himself. Like, all we really know about his background is that he’s been living alone since middle school and has an estranged father lol. Throughout the series we see the exceptions to this in Kurita and Musashi, as well as new people joining those ranks like Mamori and to an extent Sena and the rest of the devilbats. Hiruma's arc is coming to trust and believe in his teammates, rather than solely operating on statistics and probability.

But I don’t think a guy having some trust issues necessarily means that he doesn’t know himself. For such a trickster-like character, he’s remarkably frank about what he wants and why.

And tbh, on a personal preference level, I find any future where Hiruma matures in a way that has him becoming more ‘normal’ low key a tragedy lmfao. I could see him choosing to stop bleaching his hair somewhere down the line because he can’t be assed anymore, but I cannot see him getting a more conventional haircut or developing more conventional tastes. Hiruma would continue to be a goth-punk who’s too into football and gambling even as an old man, change my mind.

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Rogue III by Sam Johnstone

instagram.com/nightshift_sam

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X-MEN ‘97 – Tolerance is Extinction, Part 1 (S01E08)

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Monta/Sena reading at lunch and Having Realizations™ for a friend! Thank you for your patience in waiting for me to finish this haha.

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Finding a new favorite fictional character is like, will you be temporary or will you become a permanent part of my personality for the next 10 years?

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For the Gambit fans who are not confident with French, quick guide for your posts and fic:

Chère: when addressing someone who's female.

Cher: when addressing someone who's male (also probably someone who's gender non-confirming, because French is big on the gender binary and patriarchy. If you're French-speaking and know an alternative please enlighten me, I want to know).

Mon chéri: when addressing someone who's male/gender non-confirming.

Ma chérie: when addressing someone who's female.

Mon ami: when addressing someone who's male/gender non-confirming.

Mon amie: when addressing someone who's female.

Mes amis: when addressing a group that is all male or of different genders (even if women are included).

Mes amies: when addressing a group that is all-female.

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"Sugah... I-Ican't feel you"

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"Sugah, I...I can't feel you..."

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Spy x Family

Season 2 Episode Posters 

Missions 26: Follow Mama and Papa

Mission 27: Bond's Strategy to Stay Alive | Damian's Field Research Trip

Mission 28: Mission and Family | The Elegant Bondman | The Heart of a Child / Waking Up

Mission 29: The Pastry of Knowledge | The Informant's Great Romance Plan II

Mission 30: Plan to Cross the Border

Mission 31: The Fearsome Luxury Cruise Ship

Mission 32: Who Is This Mission For?

Mission 33: The Symphony Upon the Ship | Sis's Herb Tea

Mission 34: The Hand That Connects to the Future

Mission 35: Enjoy the Resort to the Fullest | Bragging About Vacation

Mission 36: Berlint in Love | Nightfall's Daily Life

Mission 37: Part of the Family

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Eyeshield 21: Brain x Brave special 21st anniversary one-shot color spread

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I drew the Desmond family as Tim Burton’s characters