#[and he'll never get closure or understanding or anything with his father much like the HK because him and the Shame are dead]

[ambrosiustheunknown]

Character Analysis - Severus Snape

No because I feel like people don't truly understand Severus Snape's character when they say that he's nothing but an asshole and Death Eater who bullies children and did horrible things.

Did he do horrible things? Yeah. And did he bully children? Yeah. Was he an asshole? Yeah. Did his death and guilt relieve him of blame and responsibility? No.

But he was more than just an asshole. He had his reasons, no matter how shitty they may be. And even though his reasons are shitty, I think he at least deserves some consideration. Why? He made most of his shitty decisions as a child. An abused, discriminated against child. Think of it like this:

Meets Lily after ten years of abuse at the hands of his muggle father

At 11, is separated from Lily and is put into a notoriously discriminated-against house

Is (unfairly) antagonized by James Potter and the Marauders (while I do admit that yes, he probably gave back as good as he got, he couldn't have done that until at least his 2nd year because he was raised without magic. he also did nothing to cause the bullying in the first place [as far as I know, correct me if wrong] )

Was bullied and abused up until 5th (?) year

Is humiliated and sexually harassed (because yes, threatening to take off a peer's pants is sexual harassment in my opinion) and lashes out at Lily during this time of intense humiliation and is promptly abandoned by her

Is almost murdered by Sirius Black who receives no consequences

Goes on to join the Death Eaters at after years of being an abused outcast and stereotyped as nothing but a slimy Death Eater

Is then forced to become the potions professor at Hogwarts

1-2 years later, he turns traitor against Voldemort (around 18-19)

The only person he's ever had care for him in his entire life dies

He's only 19-20 when Voldemort is vanquished. I'd say that it's safe to assume that he never got help/support/closure surrounding anything he went through. As far as I'm aware, there's not a single person within the entire series who is shown to support Snape, which leads me to believe that no one ever told him to get help after the first war, and considering his life up until then, he most likely didn't know to get help. He spent the rest of his life doing a job he hated and was forced into, was a spy, and was split between two powerful and dangerous masters.

With all this in mind, I'm unashamedly a Snape supporter (not an apologist, there's a difference). He was an ass who did horrible things but there's more to him then that. The students he taught didn't deserve his ire, and he did and watched horrible things be done, but he's so much more than a Death Eater, and his background and potential to be more than a spy is so interesting to look at and think about.

Edit: A reblogger has mentioned that in the books, James say's he'll remove Snape's pants. In England, 'pants' refers to underwear, and that we never actually find out if James did that. This definitely sexual harassment.

[lightlycareless]

but what reaction would the zenins have , especially naoaki 😳🤯 with the babies

Hi!!! I'm going with the twin girls au :> although these can be in general 🤔

Off we go to the reactions from the rest of the estate.

Being real, I think most of the clan would not like the fact that the heir had two girls to begin with. However, since Naoya and Y/N are known for being strong sorcerers by themselves, it was only natural that their kids would inherit those talents.

However, they'd still find a way to make them feel less, either by giving backhanded compliments, or voicing how a "son" would've been much better.

Naoya would immediately shut down those comments. We're talking about a man that has now learned how wrong his family is (in more ways than one) and having suffered from similar comments in the past, understands all too well how hurtful they could be, so he tries to shield his children the best he can.

As for reactions, let me put it like this:

Mai and Maki would love your kids, cause they love you very much :> there's no denying that. Would play with them as often as possible, they're like (are) the cool aunts. SPECIALLY if they're girl twins like them, it's probably the first time they ever felt happy with being twins I reckon.

Junko, Mai and Maki's mom, would keep her distance. It's not like she dislikes the kids, she just feels uncomfortable—however, she would like to watch the babies from time to time, silently gush at how adorable they are and remind her of when her daughters were babies too.

Ogi couldn't care less—in fact, I think he'd hate them just because they're a reminder of what he could've had, but didn't. No one allows him to get close to the kids, not even his wife.

Jinichi is in complete awe that Naoya would want to have kids in the first place, but not surprised that he went through with it. He's very precise when it comes those things, and from there he'll just stare at him and you whenever interacting with the kids—idk, he still doesn't believe it's happening. I guess in my mind he never considered that his family would want to have kids (Toji is like the prime example of that)

Naobito is... idk. He never really cared about having kids, so anything about lineage and whatnot is irrelevant to him, but I guess that in the deep confines of his mind he likes the fact of having grandchildren. Specially if they're strong, he'd be very proud of them, show off that they're related to him and whatnot. Do not expect him to be involved, and honestly? You and Naoya are kind of happy he isn't.

As for Naoaki, Naoya's oldest brother... he'd be shocked that the two eventually made amends, enough to have a family together. He just never thought the two were each other's type, or that it was in Naoya's plans to become a father. But it happened, and he just keeps his distance as well. Maybe he hoped he'd be that man, the one to have your kids or something, who knows. Either way, in the short moments he'll be able to see the kid, he'll note that they look like you, as maybe even hope that they act like you too. This whole situation is 100% the reason he stops talking to you all together. It's the official closure of that chapter.

And I don't think I'm missing any other relevant character :> I'd say that most of Naoya's brother would be somewhat confused that Naoya is possible of having adorable children or something hahaha although everyone thinks it's thanks to your genes 😂

Thank you so much for indulging me with this ask!! I want more baby stuff :') I'll see what I can write.

Have a wonderful week, take care, and hope to see you soon!!

[hopefulstarfire]

So a few days ago @kohakuhime pointed out to me that the scene where we see Alister piloting that Kaiba Corp plane? Probably means this man has probably been employed by Kaiba Corp, since it'd be more difficult to just knock the pilot out and sneak on. Plus, if he worked for Kaiba Corp in any capacity, he could more easily get dirt on the man and slowly try to get closer for when the time was right.

This has been on my brain ever since because of what it means in terms for my OCs. Because I ship Iris with him.

Iris is someone that's just. Nice to the Kaiba Corp staff. She makes a point to at least say hi to everyone. It's very casual and half the time she just looks dead inside because ya know she kind of is, but she also knows who and what they're working for. And frankly somebody's gotta at least be polite. Kaiba absolutely pays well and gives great benefits but she knows her best friends people skills are Not The Best at times and also she knows exactly how the Big 5 are as people.

She meets Alister and they have a similar kind of humor to them and both love reading so they kind of pass off recommendations to each other or she'll bring coffee on her brief trips in to go grab something before she has to speed off to work.

Alister originally sees her as the perfect tool. She's Nesbitts daughter, illegitimate or not, and she's close with the Kaiba brothers. He'll do whatever it takes to get justice for his own brother, for his family.

But the two slowly become close. He starts to actually care about her and wishes in another life things were different.

The time comes for Paradius to execute their plans and take the God Cards. He goes to make his move on Kaiba and, while it takes him a minute after the mask is revealed to let it click, he knows that name and the red hair and he's calling Iris absolutely livid. At this point, he knows she wouldn't betray him, not like that, but did she know? Was he going to go after her too?

And Iris' heart absolutely shatters. Because it takes a lot for her to open up. She cares about people, she kinda has to in the career field she wants to go into, but placing her trust in people and really letting them into her heart and her life is a different story all rogether. And he was one of the few that managed to do that.

She gets and understands the reasonings when they come out. There's a sense of shame that resurfaces about what her deadbeat bastard of a father designed, how much damage it did to innocent lives...including to someone she considered her friend. And, as hurt as she is at his lies and using her, as angry as she wants to be and feels like she should be, she can't find it in herself to do so; and him disappearing from that hospital hurt more, feeling like she wouldn't get closure with him about if anything about them was real to him. And when she finds out that Dartz manipulated him into all of this, she wonders and questions if he regrets it; if he regrets hurting innocent people in it. If he would have done things differently had he known earlier that Dartz was using him just as much.

(And she can't exactly judge him either. She would have gone to hell and back if that had happened to River and or her Mom, the Kaiba Brothers and Roland. And she helped kill Nesbitt and the rest of the Big 5, twice, if you really think about it; it's not like her hands are clean.)

When Iris gets that chance post series, and they slowly begin to patch things up, there's a sense of relief she'll never fully be able to put into words. But she's just happy he got out of it alive and she's gonna do whatever it takes to help him heal.

To help them both heal.

[danieyells]

Messy mutterings about Chapter 55 spoilers with a small angst warning, copypasted from discord with little cleaning and edits lol

I'm imagining Raphael sent Luke away so he wouldn't interfere with him killing/fighting Michael and Simeon went along with the idea and is in the human world too so Luke's not, y'know, on his own in a strange new world and to reduce Luke's suspicion and all. But as Michael and Raphael are fighting or whatever Luke somehow learns what's going on/realizes why things are off and rushes home to try and stop it.

He tries to get between Raphael and Michael(perhaps his back, Raph perhaps striking while Michael is lost in thought missing the brothers, spaced out, staring at the wall where their portraits were) and is struck violently by Raphael's spear instead. Simeon, ofc, followed him home to try and protect him but is too late because of Luke's own determination to protect Michael bonus if he grows a little in this scene--just magically, because his current smol form is too weak to help surely but if he were a little bigger, a little stronger, maybe he could make it in time--!! and Luke is impaled.

He doesn't die but none of the three wanted Luke hurt in this confrontation--Michael is angry at Raph for attacking/being violent in the first place, Raph is mad at Simeon for failing to restrain Luke, and Simeon is like is now really the time for this because hello Luke is hurt.

Angels are made of strong stuff, he's not gonna die but he'll be in a bad spot if they don't get him to an angel who specializes in healing. I've elected this to be Uriel for now although I've been told that Raphael is generally percieved as the angel of healing--but with OM canon his reputation sonfar is so hostile I'm gonna say that may not be the case. Michael (or Raph) can stave things off for a bit but he's not healing specialized either--they're all Archangels and Seraphs but their fields are elsewhere, mostly combat.

(Luke tries to assure that he's fine and attempts to remove the spear. They don't allow this because the spear is, of course, keeping most of his blood in at the moment.)

They can't fly him to someone because it'd be bumpier so they have to carry him or call/run/send for help--so other angels do learn what's going on and speculation begins. Luke is hospitalized and Raph and Michael and Simeon stay with him while he sleeps, kinda tensely, not really ready to talk out whatever happened. But before he passed out Luke tried to tell Raphael not to fight/kill Michael, to talk to him instead. He wanted to tell him to talk to the demons/humans too, they're not as bad as they think(he and Raph are very likeminded so he thinks 'maybe Raphael will listen to me since I'm starting to see that I was a little wrong maybe') but he couldn't get it out.

Simeon messages the demons, Solomon, and MC and says he won't be returning to the human world/devildom for a bit because Luke was hurt in the CR. Mammon, having had recently gotten attached to Luke, is stunned and angry and anxious and wants to know what happened. Simeon isn't ready to tell them yet, and Mammon demands Barb make a portal to the CR for him to check on Luke--surely Barb is also worried because he cares for Luke too!

Diavolo says they're not allowed to go and Barb agrees(he felt as much before Diavolo said anything too.) Simeon agrees because there's some unrest now and speculation and with an exchange student angel having had been injured by a notoriously demon-skeptical Archangel some angels are worried the demons may be involved in this somehow and if demons suddenly showed up it'd make things worse. Mammon curses his helplessness because his new little brother minion is hurt and he can't even check on him. Simeon feels helpless too--he's an archangel, a Seraph, but he can't help Luke either.

I imagine MC then offers to visit instead--they may be a powerful sorcerer now but they're still just a sheep human with an inhuman aura right? They wouldn't be as concerning for the general populace. After some consideration the demons and Solomon agree this would be okay, as does Michael and Simeon [and Raph maybe] but they say to wait a few hours/a day or two before doing so, just to allow some cooldown/recovery in the CR.

(In the meantime Mammon reviews one of Luke's recent text chains to him where he's baking something. He tries to copy all the steps and instructions and clumsily makes some cupcakes. They're ugly and Mammon isn't known for his stellar cooking, but they kinda relieve him a bit and Beel says they taste alright, so Mammon asks MC to bring them to the CR for Luke for him--there's enough for Michael too since he's probably going through a hard time. It's not like he cares or anything!! He's just building up credit! They'll owe him with interest when this is all said and done!!!)

Idk what'd happen afterwards--it's probably the first time MC meets Raph so it's not under the best circumstances and he definitely wouldn't trust sweets from a demon. And even if he was gonna fight/kill Michael he doesn't trust that Mammon would give him anything safe and instinctively would tell Michael not to touch them, let alone Luke if he's awake to do so. So it's not like he hates Michael, he just. Things need to change and he tried to incite it the only way he knows how--or, rather, the most effective way, given how quickly things changed after the Rebellion. A spear to the throat makes anyone listen. A rebellion is what made Michael change, so maybe it will help him go back to normal too.

(Maybe Luke is awake enough to hear them talking about these things and weakly asks if Raph is going to be exciled over this--the first thing he says since passing out. They're surprised because. He got injured trying to protect Michael but he's still trying to protect Raphael, Michael's assailant? But Luke understands how Raphael feels because he feels the exact same way--or he used to. He didn't trust demons or humans or sorcerers or the exchange program, he didn't think they should get along at all. And he saw how sad Michael was without the brothers and hated them for that too--and Raph feels the same way, right?

Angels are all family. Raphael, Michael, Luke, Simeon, even when they disagree, when their views don't align due to time and perspectives and experiences and ages and positions, they're all brothers. And Lucifer and them were their family too. Even if they disliked them or how they behaved, even if they resent their rebellion and its effects they were still family and they loved and cared about them.

And Raphael doesn't want to see Michael hurting anymore either--certainly not over people who don't care anymore, certainly not over people who turned on them and Father, who must hate them as well. . .but he's been with the brothers for over a year now. Maybe two or three at this point. And he may have only learned it recently but. . .they haven't forgotten. They probably don't hate them. And the demons, the humans, even those unfaithful and the practitioners of dark magic, the fallen, they're not as bad as they thought. They're not necessarily their enemies. Raphael doesn't know it like Luke does because he's never left the CR aside for war and maybe visiting the human world briefly too, right? But if he'd consider things differently, if he's allowed a chance to learn, Luke himself promises Michael, promises Father who's surely watching as he always is, that he'll understand. Raph made a rash decision albeit after many many years of consideration-- but it was out of ignorance, so please forgive him and give him another chance and don't excile him? On top of that he needs a chance to learn and do better--imagine how he'd feel, being turned into something he hates or fears? It will help him learn, sure, but it also may only make him feel worse or make him do something more rash or result in another Fall if he has supporters.

Raphael doesn't hate Michael--he just wants things to be different. Perhaps to go back to normal. And he doesn't want Michael to mope over the loss of the seven brothers and Lilith anymore either.

And maybe in this time, since they'd have to decide what to do about Raph, Michael requested Diavolo come over too--y'know, in case Raph is exciled, they'd want Diavolo's approval and reassurance to keep an eye on him too. So maybe he or Barb, as they arrive in the room, would approve of Luke's appeal--ask what Michael and Simeon And Raph and MC think. They could always bring him in as an exchange student too! 😘 That worked for Luke!

Ultimately Raph probably wouldn't be exciled/become a Fallen but be given another chance. Maybe he's stripped of his title temporarily, until he's sufficiently deemed to learn about demons, angels, their history together, culture, whether or not they can get along, etc--so he's bitter, but thankful. And Michael understands that perhaps he's been allowing how much he misses the brothers and Lilith to cloud him and maybe it's time to move on and make changes to the Celestial Realm again after all this time. Bonus points if the bros came along and he was too distracted to sense them--someone's like "oh you're moving on? So we came here for no reason after all?" and ofc he's happy to see them again and gets to hang out with them again for a while before getting to say a goodbye with more closure. And he hangs off of Lucifer's neck the whole time they're there lol he and Dia bond over being Lucifer fanboys too.

Luke's okay in the end--a little worse for wear because being stabbed by Raphael is Not A Small Ordeal but he's okay and he shows a little more maturity. But he's also still same old Luke who will happily point out how awful demons are and use it as an excuse for distrust/fear--but he's more mindful of it now because he feels like he needs to set a good example for Raph lmao.)

[thebluesberries]

Name: Benjamin Hanston

Nickname(s): Benji

Birthday: February 22nd

Gender: Cismale (He/Him)

Age: Twenty-Two

Sexuality: Bisexual

Height: 6’0’ | 180cm

Hometown: Portland, ME

Role: The Cleric

AESTHETIC

When he was small Benji's mother used to call him "fledgling" as it took the boy a couple of years to grow into his height. For some time he was lanky, awkward, and terribly skinny. His father believed even the smallest gust of wind would push him down. Now his lanky structure when he was younger is filled out with lean muscle from running a cross country but he certainly hasn't grown out of his awkwardness. Tousled, curly, golden-brown waves, bright blue eyes, and a chiseled bone structure frame his strong - yet soft face. He has grown out of his 'boyish-ness' completely leaving him a handsome young man. Yet, he still has his sprinkle of freckles across his nose that darkens in the sunlight.

PERSONALITY

For a guy who’s a genius in mathematics and sciences, Benjamin acts like a serious dumbass at times. Nobody’s sure how it came to be, but the guy just doesn’t seem to understand social cues. He has a complete (unintentional) disregard for any form of social order, ranging from the popularity pyramid to authority. Benji often ends up doing outrageous or simply awkward/strange things, which either drives people away or pulls them in with curiosity. You could say that his intelligence heavily outweighs his emotional intelligence. His anxiety can sometimes make him a little skittish and hesitant at times, but most find him quite 'endearing'. With so much pressure on his shoulders, he's prone to fits of closure and isolation, but he'll always lend a helping hand when someone needs it.

Awkward, a bit clumsy, and definitely not fit for the whole 'saving the realm' business. In fact, Benjamin was really just trying to graduate. (Good god— how was he ever going to actually catch up to his coursework at this point.) Despite his intelligence, Benji has a certain naivety to him due to his social ineptitude. He takes others at face value and will believe just about anything. He's quite trusting and rather easy to manipulate. He's a terrible liar as well and brutally honest without even meaning to be.

Some hide their humility behind sharp commentary and wicked stares, but Benji is rather open. In fact, if you didn't think he was an introvert, as he is, you would think that Benji himself is a rather talkative individual. For all those who believe that inherently nice guys don't exist, you've obviously never met Benjamin Montgomery Hnaston III because he's literally a sweetheart. A rather intelligent, clueless, anxiety-driven sweetheart, but a sweetheart nonetheless. He's the type you can trust on a night of drinking to make sure that everyone gets home because he's rarely the one, unless forced by friends, to get drunk, the one who's fiscally responsible, and he's also just a sensitive person. In both respects where, firstly, he really takes critiques and shots against his person hard, but also that he's really attuned to the needs of other people. He may be terrible when it comes to conversations but sometimes you don't necessarily need words to be empathetic towards others. A pushover at times, sure, and someone who can be used by others depending on how alone he is in the situation. But a truly kind heart, at the end of the day.

ATTRIBUTES

likes. classic literature + piano + snow + colder temperatures + the smell of mint + reading + classical music + iced coffee + winter + chocolate covered strawberries + comfort of silence + collared shirts + the color blue + accents + peanut butter anything + cats + comedies + turtle necks + marvel movies + car rides with the windows down + long walks or jogs at night + tattoos + boys & girls + tomatoes

dislikes. being in the spotlight - entitled people - snakes - the taste of mangos - parties - sports (he's horrid) - thunder - loud crowds - anticipation - making big decisions - feeling anxious - the heat - pranks - fire - awkward small talk - being disturbed/interrupted - the dark - family - summer - writing papers

strengths. mathematical and scientific genius, patience is his virtue, kind, logical, he can make a mean virgin Shirley Temple, he once took a master class for salsa dancing at the retirement home and would now considering himself to be adept at the craft.

weaknesses. a bit insecure, terribly anxious, naive, blunt, perfectionist, physically weak

fears. dying young, large bugs, spontaneous combustion (yes it can happen, he's looked it up), dark and confined places, peer pressure, dark and long alleyways (he's had a fear since he was seven and watched an informational video that strange men would approach him and force him to snort a line of cocaine in a back alley)

ABILITIES

holy fire manipulation | Benjamin has been given the ability to manipulate holy fire which in essence is divine light. It burns hotter than any open flame and is specfically strong against demonic presences.

healing | He is able to perform spells of healing quite easily, ranging from minor cuts to broken bones. Larger wounds are much more difficult and complicated— the spells not only taxing to the individual but himself.

limited necromancy | Death is not something to be messed with and Benjamin doesn't ever want to touch the spells lining the back of the book. Perhaps more haunting than there purpose is the fact that each of them come with a price.

the Asgarath | Benjamin was gifted the Asgarath by the Queen, a book apparently bound with dragonhide and impossible to destroy. It contains the extensive healing magic of the Cleric Order as well as Necromancy.

HISTORY

Estranged from his family due to his intelligence and their need to exploit it, raised by his older sister, picked the college that was farthest from home in an attempt to escape.

[tigerlover16-uk]

As someone who likes hearing your thoughts on DBSuper and anything DB related in general, how do you think Toyotaro's influence in the DB world will be remembered? Honestly the man has done nothing but disappoint by writing poor plot points while dissing many characters and putting Vegeta up on a pedestal. Granted, he's not the first writer to commit these mistakes, but if he keeps this up he'll never make it big in the manga world. Think he can make a comeback with the DBSuper manga?

It’s still strange to hear people actually have interest in what I have to say, but gratifying nonetheless. Thanks for that.

And honestly, God only knows on both accounts. Public opinion on things can radically alter within weeks, and greater time and reflection can give fans a lot of time to look deeper and re-evaluate their opinions on certain works, for better or worse.

Ken Penders was once a beloved writer for the Archie Sonic comics, with many of his stories being longstanding classics. Then his stupid lawsuit happened that resulted in all the characters he created being ripped out of the comic haphazardly, forced a reboot that nobody wanted, and was probably a factor in the recent unceremonious cancellation of the comic right before a 3-part story could be concluded and any kind of closure could be had on anything. So as soon as all that nonsense turned him into the anti-Christ for the Sonic fandom, people began re-reading his work now as more critical adults compared to as impressionable children and realizing that a lot of what he wrote, while there were definitely some merits (There’s a reason people were angry so many of his characters and ideas weren’t allowed to be used anymore), his writing actually had a ton of problems and some of his stories were outright stupid. Endgame gets the worst of it, going from a well regarded would-have-been ending for the comic that changed the series forever, to a subject of mockery for it’s numerous plot holes, weird character decisions and just overall messy story.

On the other hand, we have the Star Wars Prequels. People HATED those movies with a burning passion for years since The Phantom Menace proved a let down for many, and I mean they violently HATED everything about the movies and insisted they killed Star Wars as a whole.

Yet nowadays with the Force Awakens re-invigorating the franchise as a pop cultural juggernaut and yet splintering fan opinions further, many now admit that the outcry to the prequels was WAY overblown. While a lot of old school fans still hate them, many are now willing to admit they did have good ideas and moments and were more mediocre than bad, and there’s a generation of people who grew up on and love the movies more than the original trilogy (Myself included) that can more comfortably admit to liking them and discuss why out in the open without being attacked and ridiculed (Mostly).

The movies are still huge base breakers and will always have the reputation of being disappointing follow ups to the legendary original trilogy, but after Clone Wars proved to everyone that great things did and still are coming out of that era in the timeline, most are willing to admit that the movies weren’t as damaging as they once thought.

Both examples go to show that anything can happen with time. We can make predictions, but we don’t know for sure how something is going to be regarded five or ten or twenty years from now. Doctor Who was a complete joke after it’s initial cancellation and before the revival came around, now it’s a beloved mainstay of pop culture in and outside of my home country again. Even Dragon Ball GT, while not well regarded, is generally seen in a more forgiving light by more people now than it was for years after it’s initial airing here in the west.

Truth is for most of the time he’s been writing the manga, Toyotaro has actually been popular and liked by the fandom. Right up through the end of the Future Trunks saga portion of the manga, the man has had a swarm of Dragon Ball fans passionately insisting that his is the “True” canon of Super and superior to the anime in every way. There are still people that think that way.

It was only about the time he got to Goku Black’s first confrontation with Vegeta that a lot of people really started doubting him, thanks to how ill regarded manga Black is by most in the fandom, especially compared to how beloved he was in the anime even by people who don’t like the saga. And then came the revelation that Toyotaro re-used panels from his Dragon Ball AF fan manga for the series, and apparently incorporated some ideas from it, basically literally trying to canonize his fanfictions and apparently basing Goku Black’s personality on his OC Xicor (And as we’ve established, that worked out SO WELL for him), and suddenly a lot of people realized something was up.

Which paved the way for a lot of people that had been critical of the manga up to that point, such as @dragon-ball-meta here on tumblr, to shed some light on a lot of his questionable writing practises. His treatment of Goku in several instances that made him out to be more dismissive and in several cases annoyed with his children in particular starting to gain notoriety, which hit a breaking point when chapter 27 came out last month and caused an uproar over the “Goku didn’t know when Gohan was born and Vegeta called him a terrible father” nonsense that basically looked like it was canonizing the “lol, Goku’s a bad father” meme (The most disturbing part… Toyotaro has apparently said that Goku is his FAVOURITE character… yeah… let that sink in).

I think that was the final straw for many that basically turned the man into a joke for a huge portion of the fandom. It was one of the worst controversies I’ve seen in this fandom for quite some time, so naturally just about everyone was talking about it. The Japanese fandom I’ve heard was really ticked off about it especially, given Goku is still the most beloved character in the franchise over there, even being recently voted the most beloved anime hero by most age demographics in the country.

So, his reputation has already undergone a major shift since he started writing the manga. He still has his fans who will stick by him through thick and thin, but many people meet him and his work with a lot more scrutiny than they did before, and many people consider him a joke (Gochi fans especially).

If things continue the way they have been, I feel he’s likely to be regarded as “That fan artist that draws good stuff, but shouldn’t have been hired to write an official manga because while he had a few good ideas, he REALLY wasn’t up to the job” that’s what it’s looking like anyway.

Could he make a comeback? Who knows, despite my own outrage with the Goku moment last chapter and my issues with how the Zen Exhibition match is apparently being handled so far in the current chapter, the guy did have a good idea in giving us a more fleshed out introduction to the Gods of Destruction at the start of the Universe Survival saga. For all we know despite these issues, his handling of the rest of the story could actually turn out to be really great and people might prefer it over the anime. Anything’s possible, really. How many people thought My Little Pony’s latest iteration would become one of the most popular and talked about cartoons of the decade?

I kind of doubt that will happen. My problems I’ve already brought up aside, the manga cut out Krillin’s character arc, all of Gohan’s scenes, didn’t adapt the Resurrection F arc (Meaning it didn’t properly build up Frieza for his comeback here, so the manga can’t function as a self contained story with only the original Dragon Ball manga being necessary to understand things that happen in it), cut out the Hit two parter further building on his character and abilities, and further ironing out his rivalry and odd friendship with Goku, completely botched Frost’s character compared to the anime, while also screwing Piccolo over badly in their fight, as well as removing most moments featuring the supporting cast and even reducing Future Trunks to a foot note in a saga that was literally designed as an excuse to bring him back, and is known for rushing through the story compared to the anime in a bid to catch up considering how ridiculously behind Toyotaro has gotten thanks to the monthly schedule.

Which is an especially bad thing if he does that here, considering this saga has to accommodate the majority of the Z fighters getting character moments and good fights, including re-introducing Android 17 after a long absence, as well as introducing and fleshing out slews of new characters. And given his alterations to the Zen Exhibition match which really look like they’ll hamper Gohan’s role and screw Buu over completely, and his poor handling of the Super original characters that aren’t Beerus, Whis, Gowasu and Botamo in the last two sagas, I find it likely he’s not going to do a great job with most of them. Heck, I fully expect Krillin to get knocked out instantly as a joke rather than helping to knock out two opponents with Roshi and 18 and holding his own against Majora.

Again, I could be completely wrong and he could do a good job, and I’m just being judgemental and jumping to conclusions. But I’m finding it hard to be confident that he can make up for his set backs, even if he does end up doing some things better. Which isn’t saying much, his last two sagas he wrote did a few things better than the anime, and they were still worse stories overall.

If he does turn things around and actually writes a really good or even great saga and generally cleans up his act going forward, I could see Toyotaro making a comeback in the eyes of the fandom and being remembered in at least a more fond light than he is now. But if he screws up as badly as I fear he might and like he’s been doing lately, I can only imagine his standing in the fandom getting worse, and at best he’ll largely just be forgotten and ignored by most fans when Super finally concludes, or he’ll be a laughing stock. How that’ll effect his career in professional manga writing, I don’t know, but it likely won’t do him much good.

I guess this whole thing is a learning experience for fans wanting to start working on the actual properties they follow. Even if they’re extremely talented in one aspect (Toyotaro with his drawings) and have passion for what they’re doing, that doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to do a good job if they’re on writing duties, and they better put their absolute best efforts into things and think things through clearly, because their contributions WILL be scrutinized and they will have a significant impact on the franchise in general.

A lot of fan artists and fanfiction writers do great stuff and deserve to be respected, I know people who have written stuff that’s better than professionally published stories and in some cases are better than parts of the series the fans were adapting from. But there’s a REASON why fanfiction writers aren’t usually hired to write for the works they follow, and why it’s often considered a bad idea. And Toyotaro in many cases has done a good job of proving that point.

I really don’t hate the guy, whatever you may get from how I talk about him. I just want to make that clear for everyone, especially anyone who likes his work reading this. I kind of envy him as a fellow fan for getting to work on writing an official Dragon Ball story, I’d die for that opportunity, and I will still give him credit wherever it’s rightfully due, especially with his art. I just wish he thought things through better and didn’t make as many questionable choices despite having so much more time and being in a better position to plan things out than the anime writers had.

Will Toyotaro make a comeback? Good question, probably not, but we’ll see. I’ll say this though, for all his problems his adaption and the things going on in and around it is at least interesting to talk about, and at least we’ll have some nice artwork and drawings of all our favourite characters to look at however things turn out.