#{ Especially given how he feels about everything that's happened either in the manga or via my threads. }

[pancake-breakfast]

JJK's got me really worrying about Yuuji's ultimate destination in the story at this point...

Warning: Major manga spoilers through Ch. 259 ahead...

He just feels too perfectly paralleled to Sukuna, and it makes me worry that he's gonna have a very difficult time not falling straight into the same path.

At this point, we know they're related, though I can't say it came as a particular surprise to me. It seemed an odd choice for Akutami to make Yuuji physically resemble Sukuna for no reason, especially when the audience can clearly see the two are tied together via the markings that appear on Sukuna's human hosts. This choice seems even more out of place when we see how Akutami specifically drew Maki and Mai to resemble each other, and Mei Mei and Ui Ui, and Toji and Megumi. So finding out Sukuna and Yuuji are blood-related? That makes sense, especially given how very little is said about his bloodline in a series that focuses so heavily on the passage of power via bloodlines.

It also explains some of Kenjaku's weird breeding plan. Of course he'd (they'd?) want to maximize the potential for Sukuna's vessel to be an adequate one. What better way to do that than to seek out the same bloodline and then force a magically engineered baby into it? (Freaking weirdo....)

But... like... Sukuna wasn't always the way he was. He used to care about people, and have ideals and such, but then all of that was gradually stripped away from him. With its loss, he lost his desire to bother with such things, deciding instead to live for the moment, to embrace his own pleasure and whatever happened to suit his fancy in the here and now.

I can't help but wonder if he was a lot like Yuuji. Someone who's strong, and who loves deeply, and... well, who has a penchant for eating weird things.

Meanwhile, in the story's present timeline, Yuuji is being gradually stripped of everything he values. He didn't mind so much if he died. Not that it didn't scare him. He did indeed blubber like a baby the first time he came face to face with his own death. But after getting through that and seeing the damage Sukuna caused to those he cared about even at such a low power level, he made some sort of peace with it, and from then on (and especially after Shibuya), there are multiple instances where he demands others do whatever it takes to destroy Sukuna should he come out again.

But now, he might genuinely be the only one of the Main Four who makes it out of this alive. Akutami once said that either only one of them would die or only one of them would live, and with one definitely down and things looking, at best, Very Not Good for the other two, it really feels like it's just gonna be one of them alive, and that one will be Yuuji.

How hard is it going to hit Yuuji to lose all of that? Will he still resemble himself if he loses everyone? And he hasn't just lost the other three. He's been losing other supporting cast since Junpei (if not his grandpa), and while he only knew Junpei for a very short period of time, Junpei's death hit him hard. Nanami filled a mentor role for Yuuji for all that time when Gojo couldn't, and after Yuuji lost Nanami (and possibly Nobara), he didn't wince at absolutely tearing Mahito apart. His cold fury and dedication to the hunt became so strong that it left Mahito, someone who had previously reveled in the threat of their own demise, terrified and cowering, seeking help from the one person he knew was still around and more powerful than himself.

And then to take away Choso... who Yuuji had gradually accepted as his big brother, who had stuck by him and looked after him and done his best not just to train but to encourage Yuuji when he most felt the only path forward for him was isolation and death. Yuuji hasn't yet had the breathing room to even try and process the loss of Choso, but it was very apparent in the moment where Choso sacrificed his all that Yuuji, while doing his best to encourage and thank Choso, was devastated.

The devastation has broken Yuuji before. When he saw Mahito take down Nanami and Nobara, he basically lost the will to fight. Todoh might have helped him find it again (much as he's helping Yuuji get back on his feet now that Choso's gone), but what happens if he loses Todoh? His recovery from the Shibuya losses culminated in that cold anger that killed Mahito. If he loses enough now, what form will that take in this fight against Sukuna?

Without Choso or Megumi or Gojo or Nobara or Todoh or anyone else he held most dearly there to bring him back down, what's to stop him from turning his back entirely on caring for others to protect his heart, from just embracing the cold and becoming a conduit for destruction?

It's worth noting he already feels like he's lost his way. Way back in Season 1, in the arc where he and Nobara face down with Eso and Kechizu, Yuuji realizes he crossed an important line he set for himself. He took lives, not of curses, but of beings that were at least somewhat human, and he confesses to Nobara he's no longer sure where the line for murder is for him anymore.

Nevermind that everyone else he knows seems to have already strode past it. It may not have been as important to them, but it was very important to him, and then it was gone.

JJK has never been a series where the day is won by the Power of Friendship(TM). In fact, the Power of Friendship has repeatedly caused people to make some of the dumbest, most self-serving, and ultimately most destructive decisions in the story.

Chances of the story suddenly wrapping up with the Power of Friendship or love or anything else like that saving the day seem... low.

But chances of the story wrapping up with someone embracing pure power to become the next monster that imposes their sense of order on things? That seems possible. Sukuna did it in his day, and wants to do it again. So did Kenjaku. So did the leaders of Jujutsu society, both on a large scale while hidden behind their screens and on smaller scales such as we see with the whole Zen'in clan. A big part of why those same leaders disliked Gojo so much was because he could single-handedly overturn them if he had a mind to fully embrace that monstrous role. A big part of why those same people feared Geto so much was because, without the guarantee of Gojo fighting against Geto, those leaders weren't so sure they could take him down. It's also why they wanted to execute both Yuuta and Yuuji. They've spent a lot of time as the current era's monsters, imposing their sense of order, and they will not give it up lightly.

But now they're gone. So is Kenjaku, and Gojo, and soon enough, Sukuna himself might fall. Who will fill that gap, and what kind of monster will they be?

The story has already described all of the most powerful students as monsters, and that's true just based on their abilities. But what will really determine how monstrous they are is what they decide to do with that power.

At the end of the story, what will Yuuji do with his power, especially if he's left all alone surrounded by nothing but rubble the corpses of so many he cared for, respected, and loved?

Looks like we'll find out soon enough, for better or worse.

[yuichiroswife]

Do you Survive the Narrative?

Yes, yet you cannot go home. It is not home for you anymore. Your hands shake when you pour yourself a cup of tea now, perhaps being a hero isn't what its cracked up to be.

Tagged: @crxstallium​

Tagging: @s-talking​ and whoever else wants to do this, just tag me.

[kyzveryown]

Retrospective — Union Cross

When KHUX ended, I was relieved but also disappointed with the finale. I was invested in the story and wanted it to have a satisfying conclusion. It was the complete opposite for me. Despite my discontent with the finale, KHUX is arguably the best written story within the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm not the only one with this opinion either. KHUX's story made the series better. What's wild is it's mobile game, but that's also a major downside.

KHX introduced mountains of lore and backstory while simultaneously setting up the next phase. This is stuff YOU CAN'T IGNORE if you're invested in the overarching story of the series. Unfortunately, this is all locked behind a mobile game which is a turn-off. I think KHUX would've worked better as a manga or novel series. Doesn't seem like the type of story you'd want to tell through a web/mobile game (...for eight years) but I digress.

What I liked about the story was the dark themes. There was death, loss, fear, betrayal, deceit, survival, sacrifice and despair. The Master of Masters is revealed to be a ruthless sociopath and everyone suffers because of him. But you learn and understand why and what his motives are. The Darkness wants to destroy everything which, despite being overly simplistic and cliche, makes them terrifying. You can feel how much of a threat they are especially with how brutal Strelitzia's death was. Everyone is a prisoner of fate — a fate forced upon them — and all they can do is unknowingly play their roles.

Those are some of the things that grabbed me. It's heavy. It's tragic. More importantly though, it makes you care about the story and the characters. People can relate to those things too. Almost everyone has lost someone, been betrayed/lied to, and felt trapped and not in control. That's what makes the story engaging to me. That said, the characters aren't all that. Aside from a small few, they were dry and had little to no substance. Although, that's not surprising given who wrote them. I'll keep it 100. As much as I liked Brain, he was just the "info dump guy" most of the time.

The build-up to the finale was the best I've seen in the series. Everything seemed like it was coming together. Each update progressed the story and added elements that made the overarching plot much bigger than anyone could've imagined. There was a significant weight to the story that got heavier as the Master of Masters' true intentions began to unfold, and Strelitzia's death was uncovered. For a moment, I thought to myself "this is the one". And then the finale happened. My investment in the story died after the finale.

I don't like what happened with Brain. I think the "Player is Xehanort" twist was unnecessary. The 'brotherly love' thing Lauriam tried with Ventus was weird. Strelitzia's death was undone. In fact, everyone who's dead can be revived via their data. Even better — when someone dies, they can reincarnate. Lauriam instantly forgave everyone for hiding Strelitzia's supposed death from him. Elrena was there because the plot said so. Lastly, the threat of the Darkness was reduced to nothing. Basically, and this is my opinion, the finale was the antithesis of what came before it.

It wasn’t all bad though. There was stuff I did like such as the Union Leaders interaction and battle with Darkness. I enjoyed the last scenes (and battle) with the Player, Ephemer and Skuld. Every scene with the Master of Masters and Darkness or Luxu was entertaining. Ephemer and Skuld's final moments were sweet. Ventus stepping to 'Darkness' was a cool moment. Ephemer did his thing with Scala ad Caelum (even though I think it should've been Brain). And lastly, the Player's sacrifice was the perfect send-off. They had the best ending until the reincarnation thing.

That said, I've accepted it for what it is. While I'm not invested in the story anymore, I still think it deserves a remake. The story is too important to be locked behind a mobile game. Granted, you can download the app and watch the cutscenes. It's not the same as actually playing it though (which I never did but will if there's ever a remake). My stance with Kingdom Hearts is the same as FFVII Remake; I'm just an observer. Whatever happens, happens.

[miraculouscontent]

Ask Explosion #9:

Asks answering previous posts:

Sabrina, I have one word of advice for you...

R U N

“Chat, please stop talking.”

“But that’s my thing!”

“YOU JINX EVERYTHING!!”

Ayyyyyy~

Well, it’s something, I suppose?

Answered this here.

It absolutely did. Bless you, kind and hilarious citizien. ;P

I’m torn because... on one hand, I want to give proper mythology and such for like--anything that’d be put into the show, but on the other, I liked the idea that Alix’s brother was just sort of a conspiracy who thought of stupid stuff (which is why I kept the concept for MC Jalil Kubdel).

Zoe did it really well in Scarlet Lady where Alix knew the actual mythology and started blurting it out whenever Jalil got it wrong.

New Asks:

Considering “Ikari Gozen,” I imagine Alya and Kagami don’t get along as well. I agree with basically everyone that Marinette and Kagami not getting along is bad, but Alya and Kagami not really getting along makes more sense and is more tolerable.

Since Alya is Marinette’s “““BFF”““ (supposedly), I could see her kind of being like, “You’re competing with my girl over the same guy,” and keeping Kagami at arm’s length, worried that keeping Kagami close will allow Kagami to be closer to Adrien since Adrien is an extension of their friend group (kinda, sorta, not really, but Marinette calling him a friend so technically--)

You know, Alya trying to be a good friend and help Marinette with Adrien in more subtle ways. It’s the wrong way to go about it but she’s trying.

LUKANETTE IS AMAZING IN TERMS OF PROGRESSION KDJNGJDFG, I ADORE IT. Every episode they share together, we either learn something new about them or see more details on their relationship.

I think I was already all-in before “Silencer,” but man, that episode just sealed it even more. I was like well dang, why does the love square even EXIST???

jfdngjkfdjgfdg

Incredible. Only problem is that the creator doesn’t know how to use it properly.

You mean fourteen year olds aren’t perfect human beings???? :o

(no, but really, that’s me all the time; like, she’s barely a teen!)

He’ll believe it if it’s Chat Noir who’s doing it. If Marinette ever does it though, he’ll be sure to shut it down. ;P

Ugggggh, the worst part is that I have the same exact fear that they really are going to be like yeah Ladybug you silly fool Chat Noir has been with you since the beginning!

I mean, we’re already basically getting that with the New York special; Chat was supposed to protect Paris and then didn’t tell Ladybug that he “had to” leave for New York (and the New York thing is inadvertently Marinette’s fault and parts of the fandom actually did blame her for it even though it was Chat’s choice not to say anything), then Ladybug gets upset with him when she discovers it mid-battle, which leads to Chat being distracted and Cataclysming someone (another thing that Ladybug can be “inadvertently” blamed for), then Chat gives up his miraculous so Ladybug isn’t even allowed to be angry and cue the later line of “I can’t imagine being Ladybug without... him.”

So clearly that’s saying something. Adrien doesn’t get anything close to that level and Marinette is chewed out for not asking him to stay when Nino had already asked him too.

It’s like--Marinette chooses to go after Adrien and then gets either nothing in return, or humiliated by the narrative, and then in the New York special, she decides to do nothing and everything still goes wrong while Alya yells at her for it. The “damned if she does, damned if she don’t,” on display is stunning. The girl tries to confess and it’s like, “no, not allowed, but Chat is allowed to confess.”

I still don’t understand this logic of his overarching plot but also “there’s not much of a timeline.” I think the only solid thing we’ve ever gotten was something about all the episodes in one season coming after all the episodes in a previous one, but there are still things that don’t add up? The only thing the season 3 production order will give is making sure the hero debuts work out (so no Viperion or Pegase before “Party Crasher,” for example).

It’s not really reliable. I mean, like--I’ve been experimenting with timelines for a while, and stuff like “Miraculer” baffles me. It’s basically non-canon with no value whatsoever. All it does is make “Heart Hunter” look even more confusing and treats Marinette even more horribly for not picking Chloe when she explicitly told Chloe that she wasn’t getting it back.

I’m not familiar with that one! Is it any good?

(Okay, I actually was too curious and ended up looking it up; fancy! I couldn’t have guessed that it was a webtoon! I started reading the 1st issue and before I knew it, I was on the 6th! Oops~)

Lila is totally Rashta, 100% agree. The fact that the comments have a nickname of “Trashta” for her, equivalent to Liar Rossi, says as much ;P

Because lessons that involve telling someone that they’re valid and allowed to feel a certain way don’t apply to Marinette. Isn’t it nice? :3

Not that I know of? Though I also don’t look for that kind of thing, so it’s possible that it exists and I just don’t know about it.

Even if it did exist thought, I don’t see a problem with you doing your own regardless. Good luck if you do!

No. No I do not. ;P

GREETINGS FELLOW INTJ!

And yeah, I’m not really capable of not analyzing shows. There are some small exceptions, but they’re usually not full shows in the normal sense. If there’s an ongoing plot, my mind tends to be working at all times.

In terms of Miraculous, Season 1 was harmless enough where I was bothered but pretty quiet about it, but then it just got progressively worse. It really feels like one of those things you can’t unsee when it finally hits you, y’know?

I’m glad I was able to help you get that satisfaction you need (and appreciate Lukanette, of course ;3)!

Non-Miraculous Asks:

(some heavy Puella Magi Madoka Magica salt below)

Wow, this is a really dedicated ask! Nice!

Gonna go point by point here:

1 - Yeah, the whole thing with Homura not “being able” to save everyone... kinda questionable, and I didn’t really buy the arguments they used to explain it away. I think there was this one PSP game or something with Madoka Magica where you could kind of choose what happened (like, there were bad ends where Sayaka didn’t get her soul gem back in time and her body was partially decayed; ick) and I think there’s a good end where Homura saves everyone but--yeah, not canon.

I just don’t care for twisted stories like that unless there is actually a good end on the horizon (and I mean like “Everyone Lives and is Happy” good end). Angst is just so exhausting so the second I saw Mami’s head being bitten I was just like, “Ah, okay, so we’re doing this then.”

2 - Eugh, the sexism thing. It’s so... yeah, and especially this because the whole “girls are emotional” thing, I don’t really care whether or not the show is trying to “subvert” or “explain” anything, it just feels like poor taste and I don’t like it. (I also didn’t know about that Death Note thing because I didn’t watch it, but geez.)

3 - Wow, I’ve been away from the show for so long that I forgot what Mami’s wish was; I thought it was to “not be alone” or something (or maybe not die alone?? I really don’t remember), but either way, the fact that it follows some sort of genie wish logic is just--*sigh*--they’re teenage girls, come on (plus, the “genie wish logic” is really overdone to me anyway).

4 - The other thing about Sayaka is that it’s really predictable that she’d “die so quickly.” Basically everything was pointing to her just being annihilated at some point, and being Madoka’s best friend, it was pretty inevitable that she’d go.

((semi-unrelated, but someone also asked me which character’s name was lied about before episode 3 hit and they wondered if it was Sayaka’s; it was Kyubey’s))

Yikes. Sorry you had to experience that.

Anyway, I guess I’m not experienced enough in multiple fandoms to say for sure? If I was ever in a fandom, I would just blacklist the people/stuff I didn’t like, so I didn’t get to see a tong of “bad things” going on.

+ I try really hard not to generalize fandoms into one thing.

𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓝𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓼 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓾𝓹𝓲𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓑𝓸𝔂𝓼 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓐𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮 “𝓖𝓲𝓻𝓵𝔂” 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼

Oof, uhhh, shows, huh? That’s tough.

I think the main ship from Given (Mafuyu and Ritsuka) is really adorable (you might’ve seen the amusing video of their love being mutual before), and while I would’ve said the same thing for the kinda-sorta side ship, it gets--uh... really bad during the movie/rest of the manga, I’ll just say that much.

Mafuyu and Ritsuka though, totally adorable.

Inuyasha kinda? Though Inuyasha and Kagome are definitely not the kind of romantic chemistry that I lean towards (I find “the bickering couple” to be rather exhausting). Plus, Cardcaptor Sakura did the “male tsundere” better than Inuyasha did (though the Clear Card Arc was terrible, at least it’s not canon kinda-sorta? idk it seems like a mix of the anime and manga so...).

After that there’s...

uh

...

hm.

I mean, there’s probably a couple more examples somewhere, but--yeah, I’ve got nothing. Maybe if I thought back to all the generic children shows I watched when I was little (like those old Disney live-action shows; I had no taste when I was younger), there might’ve been something that satisfied kid me but idk.

I don’t remember what post inspired this, but I have no problem answering regardless, ahaha~

My main issue is Aang’s attitude about the whole thing. I’m not saying it was right of Katara to go out and get “revenge via murder” exactly, but I also think that Zuko had the right idea with allowing her to go and face the man who killed her mother so she could get some form of closure (also note that Zuko doesn’t express any sort of opinion when Katara decides not to kill him; he just wanted her to have whatever she thought she needed to heal).

It’s also the episode where Zuko directly confronts Aang on his “violence isn’t the answer” rhetoric which then goes completely ignored as Aang lionturtles his way out of the conflict. Aang is also not confronted on his point of “forgiveness is the first step to healing” (when Katara has a right not to forgive and Aang isn’t challenged outside of Katara commenting on it) and was permitted to ride his high horse when Katara “steals” Appa like, “It's okay, because I forgive you... that give you any ideas?” which is just--

reaaaaaally "holier than thou”-esque when Aang is like, ten, and Katara is a sort of motherly figure to him. The episode even has Sokka praise Aang for how “wise” he is and I groaned through the entire thing.

Another smaller thing is that it sort of makes the air kingdom look way too “perfect” by having Aang be the “source of wisedom,” especially when it’s like “violence isn’t the answer” while all the other airbenders are dead.

[thatoldijivibe]

YashaHime Episode 5 Iji Ramble

What I thought was just going to be a “Queen Kags got shoved into Kikyou’s shadow :|” two para turned into a bit of a ramble so.. incoherent rambling under cut. 

Will Kagome ever not have her worth be directly tied into the fact she’s a reincarnation of a GREAT PRIESTESS KIKYO? How about, I don’t know, Moroha was born from the great priestess who traveled through time, tamed the wild InuYasha, destroyed the Shikon no Tama and saved the world versus being likely corrupted by it like ANOTHER PRIESTESS WE KNOW? Am I the only one who noticed this? 

Why are our kids being stepped over for Taisho and Kikyou as far as recognition? Wat? WAT? 

And the rouge of Moroha’s. I don’t remember that being a thing in the Manga, but I thought InuYasha gave that rouge to Kikyou in the Anime series as a show of affection to her, saying it was one of the last remnants of what he had of his mother, Izayoi. And I remember Naraku showing that he had the rouge and crushing it in his hand as InuYasha to drive home his betrayal to her. 

I’m HOPING if it was restored that it was by Kaede and she gave it to Moroha after InuYasha and Kagome poofed for reasons still strangely unexplained because she knew it had been InuYasha’s, which is still a little odd that she’d give a gift he gave her mother’s essential rival as a show of devotion, but it’d be even more strange, imho, for InuYasha to have either given it to Kagome or Moroha after he’d given it to Kikyou. 

“Here you go, Kagome, Love of my life, bringer of my peace, completion of my world - Here is rouge that is the last remaining remnant of my human mother that I cherished so much I was nearly drowned over if you hadn’t stopped me from falling into the trap of her image.”  “It looks used?”  “Yeah, that’s probably from when I gave this to Kikyou, love of my life, bringer of my peace, completion of my world who I nearly tortured you with the thoughts that I would abandon you for her at the end of our journey and let her drag me to hell because of residual feelings for her and personal guilt. Just ignore those :)”

And, again, I’m probably thinking too much here but I’m so confused as to why Kags who fought so hard to be known in her own right and to be considered powerful outside of Kikyou’s shadow is nowhere being given her dues. Moroha’s blood having more taste of Taisho’s and the rouge being able to make her taste moreso like it? When her dad’s, his son didn’t taste as good or as alike to him? Is Kagome’s blood doing that? How does that even work? I know it’s magic and demons and all fantasy but this basic stuff MAKES NO SENSE!? HOW DOES BLOOD TASTE SKIP GENERATIONS? TELL ME SUNRISE, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!

Setsuna and Towa are the same as they always have been to me. I think even if I was a SessRin shipper I’d be pretty meh about these two. Towa, the fighting fiend, wanting to just apologize to a literal monster who sucks out the bones of living men and animals alike? Just apologize and move on? What? Even Kagome didn’t think like that and she was pretty pacifistic. Setsuna is everything about Sesshoumaru I didn’t enjoy so that’s a no brainer that I’m waiting for their scenes to be over so we can get on with the plot. ‘I’m not so weak I need to uproot my life to get the ability to sleep back. Leave me alone, annoying sister who came to the warring states era to essentially just help me with that one task.’

Moroha’s ingenuity still gets me and has me grin. The purification salt in her mouth for the demon was pretty awesome as far as smarts. Would like to know what her debt is about. Her silliness gets ramped up a little too much sometimes. I think they want her to fill too many roles to keep the trio interesting; smart and expositiony, aggressive and foolhardy, and a hint comic relief. Sometimes it works, but this episode I was kind of meh for me. She felt a little flat until the fight, but they all kind of did so I think maybe that was just an issue with an episode for me? 

Hearing her belt out InuYasha’s attacks was total fanservice and I was there for it, tbh. 

I hadn’t intended this to be a full blown rant about the episode, especially given that for all of the balls it rolled into motion it didn’t really feel like a lot at any given point. It moved at a breakneck pace, like they all have, as if they’re playing catch up to something and yet every episode really doesn’t have -that- much happen to it. It all gets crammed into the second half and is done quickly. I don’t remember the episodes of IY feeling like this, but maybe that’s just nostalgia goggles. I remember thinking as I was watching “This kind of a fight, if it’s part of such a big aspect of the coming plot, feels like it should have had an episode or two of build up and a few touch and goes with the enemy to signal its significance to the over arching plot.” Kind of like how some of Naraku’s minions would have an episode or three arc of a grand scheme that moved the team closer to their end goal or a revelation before being shooed off or how a major development/fight between Sesshoumaru and InuYasha would have an episode or two building up to them running into each other. 

InuYasha has always beaten you over the head with concepts but you could still get completely blindsided by something or they’d say JUST ENOUGH to get you interested or curious. Here, stuff that seems important isn’t given much time or energy narratively, stuff that doesn’t seem important is given a bunch of attention (Setsuna learning how to play violin really had to happen in 3 days? She couldn’t have had that been a developmental thing throughout and something to grow with?) and we’re getting bombarded with exposition about things but nobody seems to be talking about anything... interesting? 

 I can see them not necessarily ‘dancing around’ the subject of the inu tachi, if they all know why they’re gone and they’ve been gone for years then they wouldn’t be talking about it because it’s common knowledge; that’s natural. Narratively for the audience, though.. Why would that be obvious not to talk about but Moroha’s blood and lineage need attention? That’s where the logic breaks me. We already know Moroha is a 1/3 demon. We know who her parents are (We can’t go long anymore without someone comparing her to one of them anymore, which is getting old and repetitive.). They know who her parents are. Why do we need to spend a half of an episode of Myoga expositing about -who- her family line is and less about their being missing? Myoga talking about how she tastes better than her father, but no mention of ‘I miss him’ or ‘Poor Lord InuYasha, I wish I knew where he was’ or ‘He was gone from us too soon, Lady Moroha. You would have loved him.’ or anything like he used to go on about Taisho to his sons? He clearly was endeared enough to either InuYasha or Moroha to be hanging with her to the point he didn’t meet up with Setsuna to determine she was Sesshoumaru’s kid before now. 

The same thing goes for how Kohaku and Miroku and Sango’s boy (I can not remember his name for the life of me) Didn’t know about Sesshoumaru and his daughters or that Setsuna was related to him and, for all intents and purposes, Rin - who Kohaku had traveled with for some time? The lack of details or discussion around these things is feeling more contrived than natural at this point seeing as they clearly remember these people, they’ve interacted with them as adults (Setsuna’s memory of Miroku now confirmed) so the memory wipe thing seems... odd. Unless it’s a situation where they’re all enchanted to remember their existence but placated as to not to go seeking them out. Or maybe they searched and didn’t find anything but again.. Miroku talking to Setsuna and her not knowing who he was despite growing up in the same village they settled down in? Was that just an illusion? What is up with this timeline? 

I kind of hope we’re not going to get our fix of the old group through sequences like Kohaku and Sango’s son where each character hits a milestone or a type of demon and someone who knew the original group gives a “Oh, when your Mom/Dad fought that during their journey they learned/defeated it by doing this!” InuYasha got it a few times, but often that was because he was having to learn a new skill via Tetsusaiga, or Kagome needing to learn to do something Kikyou once did, but it was always handled with an almost sense of reverence and feeling of a new challenge, not so much ‘Here’s a clip that the audience would remember that this character will likely shrug off or seem weird learning because they don’t really care about people they don’t remember (All three) or even like (Setsuna).’ 

Final note: Where are the damned twins? I hope they have a boy crazy streak. Miroku was cringe at times with his groping but the girls being the flirty ones would be an adorable change of pace. 

[imagine-fight-write]

RANDOM - Banana Fish Review, Vol. 1, Part Four

(This was one of my fav gifs looking for gifs of Shorter.)

*There will be pictures/gifs included tomorrow, because this is already late & loading them is taking forever, for some reason.

Haha, no, I actually prettied it up 1/5/21. Yes, I’m glorious.

No I’m actually Dio DIO in this situation, who am I kidding.

(This transition from Caesar to Dio fascinates me, by the way.) (The GIF.)

The JOJO reference is because I’ve finally finished Diamond is Unbreakable! It was fun! I enjoyed it a lot! Ready for the next part!

But back to Banana Fish.

Hope you enjoy this!

So my plans failed again. Who is surprised? (Not me.)

I apologize profusely for the gaping void of Banana Fish-ness left since last I posted.

No really. I now have an alarm set for every Wednesday.

Let’s see how this goes. News Update: Maybe next time.

Also, my internet is still blitzy & rotten, otherwise I would’ve posted this yesterday (the 15th).

Now on to the in-depth, delighted gushing - er, review, of Banana Fish!

*Also, this is part 4, and 4 is a special number for me. Because of this guy:

And I can spell his name correctly!!! (It’s Ulquiorra, from Bleach, my 1st anime fan gushing love.)

Yes, I’m strange. Moving on.

So, brief recap, since I’m not sure anyone has read Part 3, given how terrifyingly long it is. If you missed it, here’s the link:

https://imagine-fight-write.tumblr.com/post/632014616404344832/random-banana-fish-review-vol-1-part-3-my

Please love & like it & repost to the rest of the Web. I worked tremendously hard on it.

Yes it’s long, but oh, it was delightful! There was snark! Delicious food! Wine! Fabulous mustaches! Mysteries! I gushed so much!

(And snarled at the wonton waste of good breakfast food, which I will not forget & always condemn.)

*I mean, I know people who will throw up if they have breakfast in the morning. But it’s important to eat so you have energy to do things & feel good.

And Dino took a perfectly beautiful breakfast & essentially wasted it for no good reason. I was so mad.

We meet Dino Golzine, a.k.a., Ash’s worst nemesis /enemy (note, I can’t spell nemesis) and major reason for why his life sucks.

(Although society doesn’t help either. Though the police try. They really do. Except what’s his face who’s complete scum & thoughtless, but we won’t meet him til Vol. 2. Plus I don’t think he has a name?)

But yes, Dino Golzine. All around awful person, and not safe around children (or anyone, really.) He’s low-key in this scene, mostly using verbal assaults (to great effect) but just you wait. There’s a reason he’s a mob boss.

Ash snarks, to great effect, but he’s no match. Dino has all the cards and all the dice (cards & dice being metaphors for power, & how he involves awful, painful memories of Ash’s past & tries to manipulate & order him around. Brrr.)

But Ash rallies, and ultimately refuses returning to be Dino’s heir / toy.

We meet Shorter! Huzzah!

(End of recap.)

It’s clear right away Shorter & Ash are old friends. They exchange quips about Marvin. We learn Marvin holds a mean grudge, so savvy readers can guess it’ll come to play later (it does.)

Shorter’s last line is strange.

“Just don’t put me in the position of having to kill you.”

Which is kinda out of the blue. I don’t know what to make of it. It doesn’t spoil or fore-shadow anything (unless in a very confused, round-about way) because that never happens later. So I’m confused.

Ash laughs it off and goes zooming off on his motor-bike / motorcycle (not sure which).

Note, from this short scene we already learn Shorter has his own sources of information - he knows Ash went to Dino’s, fast enough to be there before their conversation ended (unless he was just lucky to be there already  - why was he there?). He already knows about Ash’s talk with Marvin, with enough detail to warn Ash about Marvin’s temper & that Marvin likes him, which is a bad combination.

Shorter is smart & cares about his friends, warning Ash about Marvin. 

Aren’t friends great?

Especially after meeting such a dominating if soft spoken monster like Dino?

The answer is yes.

Next, we get this hilariously great shot of Ash running up the steps to his dingy apartment (pg. 47.)

 It’s reminiscent for me of a scene in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1, when Jonathan & Dino have their epic fight in the Joestar mansion.

There’s a part where Jonathan does this epic flip up to a second floor via sword (it’s epic) & it ends with this a few-seconds-longer-than it-needs-to-be shot of his butt. You can’t miss it. I’m usually oblivious to such things & I noticed it. I laugh every single time.

Anyway, back to Banana Fish.

(The atmosphere of grunginess (it’s not a word, I meant dirty, ugly, rough) & spartan furniture is great. Just look at those walls. I adore it. 

(But would never want to live there.) Ash is clearly not rich & after Dino’s rich mansion, this is a stark contrast.

Also, there are no pictures or posters on the walls (which are festooned with dirt and cracks instead.) In fact, there’s almost nothing in terms of personal effects at all.

This baffles me. I mean yes, I assume they’re all dirt poor, living in a gang & working for the mafia on the side isn’t something you do for the luxuries. But surely they’d have something.

Or maybe it has something to do with Japanese decorating aesthetics? Meaning, Japanese appear to be more spartan than Americans in terms of decor (see the book, In Praise of Shadows, for example.) 

* I can’t spell aesthetics. Why do I even use that word?

The apartment just looks extremely bare compared to others I’ve seen in movies depicting this era. Is what I’m saying.

Look at those bare walls. (It hurts me.)

Thoughts? Comments on how Japanese, Americans, and Europeans differ in basic decorating styles? Comment below!

Also remember as always, Banana Fish is both set & was written in the 1980’s, well before the “modern” style we have now.

Unless - wait. There is something very important to Ash which he’s clearly hiding in the apartment he goes to, which I assume only Skip & select members know about.

So maybe this isn’t actually Ash’s main base, where he sleeps & hangs out?

Yes, that must be it.

If you’re confused, I’ll explain once we get done with this section.

Moving on.

We meet Skip!!!! (Pg.47)

Black characters (and Latino) are still, alas, extremely rare in manga, anime, & other media, so all the cheers for including Skip so early & as such an important character.

Because Skip is very important. For multiple reasons. More on that later. Also note, 1 of the gang members Ash busts earlier is also black.

Again, the dialogue is great here between Ash & Skip, establishing Ash’s trust in him. Which is no small thing.

Skip is like Shorter, (agh, both their names start with S) sweet, but also has a nose for news.

Arthur’s going to get it, hah!

There’s yet another reference to it being early.

Though there’s no specific time mentioned . . . Nope, not since Ash found the poor, dying banana fish dude.

Does Ash usually sleep in? Is he a night owl? He was wandering around at 1 in the morning last night, after all.

*Yes, technically it was early morning, but it was still dark, so bite me.

But then, he was also suspicious & keeping tabs on his 2 gang members. So, who knows.

But I’m going to guess he’s a night owl.

Ash sits on the bed, and after Skip mentions everything is good, “him, too”.

 Ash gives his 1st real, genuine smile. Gentle, relieved, no hard edges. Just pure happiness & relief. It’s sweet.

(Also, I just realized the “him, too” is supposed to be a surprise / shock for the reader & I spoiled it earlier. I do apologize.)

Skip offers to get coffee but Ash declines, deciding to nap, which reminds me:

Actually, drinking coffee before you take a nap can, for some people, actually make you sleep better.

Also, short cat naps (15-30mins) can boost your energy and mood.

Naps are good for you!

I almost wondered if the comics Skip had on the table might’ve been manga, but remembered it was the 1980’s and, far as I know, manga wasn’t big the U.S. yet. Alas!

Which is funny if you think about this being in a manga.

Skip goes to leave. Ash puts his hand in his pocket and gets this intense, almost fierce expression on his face (middle panel, pg. 48).

I was absolutely baffled by this reaction for a long time, but finally figured it out. Ash’s reaction is supposed to be baffling, because what he realizes right here will be revealed in the next few pages.

Skip, concerned, asks what’s up, but Ash brushes him off and sends him off to buy coffee. (After which I sincerely hope he takes a nap, because he needs one, he’s been up all night.) Sleep is good for you!

Skip is able to buy coffee with a single coin. A single coin.

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

All my tears, and curses on inflation and overpriced coffee! And Starbucks!

Anyway, we learn Arthur’s going to get it (and Skip is the best spy ever) and the scene cuts to:

Our favorite person (not) Dino Golzine, tending his orchids.

I like this. It’s a rather unique hobby for a villian. I assume to give him a refined, elegant, and exact air.

He’s interrupted by Angie & his fabulous mustache (snickers) and this delightfully comic scientist person (who might be important later? The face sameness makes it difficult to judge, & I’m too lazy to consult my other volumes, which are not close by.)

But his entrance is priceless (pg. 50). I mean seriously, please go find it if you haven’t already. It’s dramatic, with a big WHAM! & he looks so cartoonish. 

I love it.

Dino tells him, essentially, “don’t disturb my orchids” and me being an non-gardner person, I wonder: is it actually true loud noises can disturb flowers?

Comment below!

Anyway, Dino quickly establishes yes, he did send Ash’s gang members to kill the poor banana fish guy who started this whole mystery, and yes, it was important.

There’s a great panel (pg. 51) of scientist dude, drawn much less comedic, the whole panel black except for a white aura around him sweating and clearly in distress.

He whispers, “It - it’s gone.”

Dino snaps to attention with a leonine look, exactly like a cat who has just spotted another cat. It’s easily my favorite picture of Dino so far, very striking.

The dialogue is brilliant and snappy, short and direct.

“What is gone? . . . You’re positive? . . . Just a small amount.”

And we get the grand reveal:

Ash, taking out a bullet shaped capsule (was the shape intentional by Yoshida?). A capsule he’d clearly taken from the dying banana fish guy. There’s a great panel on the bottom of pg. 52 of Ash’s questioning expression and a ?

He unscrews the capsule and pulls out a tiny vial.

Thinks of the address the dying banana fish guy gave him.

Ash goes into the next room, where we see the silhouette of someone sitting with a plaid blanket draped across their knees.

He expresses his first real look of vulnerability, and gives a wonderful line:

“Go see . . . Banana fish . . . He said it and died. And you say it and you might as well be dead. Who did this to you? Griff . . . Please tell me, big brother.”

Everything clicks together (almost.)

Griff /Griffin is the soldier shown way back in the very beginning. The one who left for a few minutes and came back insane and shot up his squad.

Who’s now a human vegetable.

Banana fish is clearly responsible. Somehow.

And Dino is mixed in with it (of course). Pieces are coming together, but questions still remain.

Until next time!

[sleptsin]

A Quick Analysis On Belphegor

     Alright time to go over my many screenshots and analyze what they gave us of Belphie’s character in the last two chapters. Not beating around any bushes. Shit is long. Like. “ I threw this into docs to check and it came out to 4 pages ” long.

His Attention

          First of all———  !! I’d just like to point out how  RIGHT  I was in saying that he’s super attentive of those he chooses to care about. Whenever they’re talking about his bros nothing seems like a surprise to him unless it’s a  TOTAL  change of who they were before as with Satan’s relationship with Lucifer. But when it comes to Levi he basically says, “ Knowing him, he was thinking this wasn’t he? That’s just how he is. ” Or when choosing an outfit with Asmo he says exactly, “ As if Asmo would ever be satisfied with an outfit like that. It’s not nearly bombastic enough for him. ” And shortly after, even  ASMO  says that he pays a lot of attention to the MC if you choose ‘ I owe it all to Belphie ’. ( I didn’t try the other option so idk if he says this regardless ). He pays attention and  OTHERS  pick up on it.

     While it can be excused because they’ve lived so long together, I’d like to say that there are still plenty of things you can  NEVER  catch onto even if you know someone for a lifetime. There’s also people like me who, while I love my friends so much, don’t always pick up on things. Some are just better than others and I feel like that  MORE  accurately applies to the brothers. They notice things sure, but not  EVERYTHING  like Belphie probably does. And there’s a plethora of things they can be familiar with only because it’s been a constant or a habit.

          It’s also worth pointing out that even despite being locked up in the attic for who knows how long, Bel still knew his brothers incredibly well and that attention to detail didn’t falter.

His Imprisonment

     I also want to take a moment and mention how the way Belphegor talks about being kept in the attic seems to imply that he’s been kept there for  QUITE  a while. The exchange program is supposed to last a year and we’re given no real timeline to keep track of things. Even if we sum it up to roughly a couple months, he speaks as if it’s been much longer— and when you take a moment you realize it actually  HAS  been. When he got into his fight with Lucifer, that was before the program even began. It might not have even been in the planning stages ! The proposal could’ve simply been thrown out there and then after gaining support it underwent all the preparations. How long could  THAT  itself have taken ??

          Even when you first meet him in the attic and have the option of asking how long he’s been there, he  ANGRILY  responds with, “ That’s a good question. How long has it been now, I wonder ? Well, one thing I can say for sure: I’ve been in here for a very, very long time. ” So yeah. Seems reasonable to say it’s been at the very least a year already.

     Belphie doesn’t seem like the dramatic type or one to necessarily over-exaggerate. He refers to himself as having been a  PRISONER  and I don’t count that as exaggeration either because he really  WAS  a prisoner in his own home and the effects of it are quite evident. He addresses it a couple times and one of his lines on the home screen refers to Levi. And it actually seems to counter a home screen line of Levi’s that says they’re more  ALIKE  when you think about it. ( Which they kind of are and I’ll get into a little of that later ). But it basically says that they’re different because Levi  CHOOSES  to be a recluse while he had no choice in being imprisoned and he legitimately says that in the regard, “ Levi has nothing on me. ”

          While the game has them make up in these chapters, I don’t believe Lucifer’s simple apology is really enough to make up for the damage. As I said, it  REALLY  affected Bel and extended for quite a while. Bel missed out on a  LOT  and is deeply saddened by it. He regrets not being involved even if he couldn’t help it. This is the same brother who already struggled with loneliness and is now a stranger to everything that happened for the last 1+ year. I think it’s more accurate to say that he accepted the apology but hasn’t  TRULY  forgiven him yet. And for the moment could be swept under the rug while he personally works on getting over it.

His Effort

     I have enjoyed the game immensely in showing us what Belphegor is capable of. When they work part-time in Hell’s Kitchen that  SINGULAR  time, it’s emphasized that the restaurant works its employees tirelessly. Despite this, he still held his own and was the only one not actually tired in the end. He’s even the one who made sure everything was flowing smoothly, properly, and implied to have  HOUNDED  Mammon and MC in doing so. This seems to suggest that Belphie actually has an incredible reserve of energy to tap into when he so chooses. A reserve that’s built up from all of the sleeping he does.

          In other words, although he’s the sin of Sloth and is  INDEED  a sleepy boy, there’s plenty of opportunity for him to apply himself. It’s just a matter of wanting to— and he usually doesn’t want to. Hence he chooses to  SLEEP  instead and immerse himself in his very attribute.

     However, the game also shows us that he’s pretty well-rounded and can also be deeply involved or helpful when it comes to his brothers and  THEIR  own interests.

i.e. he and Satan bond over their dislike of Lucifer and orchestrate pranks against him, he enjoys video games and manga alongside Levi  DESPITE  not wanting to let him know, and he has a great sense of fashion to the point he knows what would better / best suit Asmo

     And I really  ADORE  this about him because it continues to build him up as more than just the ‘ cat-napping seventh born ’ and actually gives him a place among his brothers as the one that can easily and probably best navigate among them  ALL.

His Personality

     Sadly, despite being able to fit in with any one of his brothers, it seems like apart from Beelzebub, the street doesn’t run  BOTH  ways. Yes, everyone makes up. But this doesn’t exactly change how things will actually be from that point on and it definitely doesn’t change the past. Levi himself remarks how Belphie has  ALWAYS  been difficult to approach even at the best of times. It’s noted that they’re both the socially awkward brothers and Bel doesn’t enjoy large gathering atmospheres and prefers to be alone than attend them. Compared to Levi who can at least  FORCE  himself to bear with it, he takes the first opportunity to find a space for himself away from it all. From this we know he’s good in small to medium sized groups but beyond that is overwhelming for him.  WAY  past his comfort zone.

          Additionally, we also now know just how disconnected from everyone he is if they always had difficulty going to him. This make you wonder if the strangeness and distance they treated him with in these chapters hasn’t actually happened a  NUMBER  of times thereby explaining why he was so unfazed by it all when it shouldn’t have been okay. I don’t believe he’s completely unaffected so much as he’s just  USED TO  the occasional cold shoulder.

     These brothers are the Avatars of Sin and clearly not immune to the very things they cause. In fact, I would almost go to say that they feel it to an  EXTREME  and merely have varying degrees of a handle on it. That is to say that Belphie potentially has a seriously hard time given the vastness of Sloth and just covers it decently well. ( See here or his bio for some insight. ) And the greatest sadness to this is how the brothers are all fully  AWARE  of things that aren’t typically okay. They’re aware of their own familial issues and just  CHOOSE  to not aid or ignore it. Excuse it if you will with ‘ they’re demons, they lack morals ’. This is their family that they claim to care deeply about and have to live with for several millennia and you’re gonna just not make it better ? Shame on them. And for added note——  this isn’t just how I feel about in regards to Belphie but  OTHERS  as well such as Mammon.

          Continuing on though, because this isn’t about that. It’s relieving that Belphegor still has so much personality beyond his hang ups. He looks at everyone for who  THEY  are as seen by how he is the first and only one so far to tell the MC he’s there for them and  NOT  because of their connection to Lilith. At the same time he’s an incredibly bratty boy in his texts. It’s almost like in story he behaves one way and in text it’s another. Like he’s carrying out a specific appearance in public and DMs are him  NO  holds barred. ( Which we know he’s aware and likely capable of picking out images to portray through outfit deciding with Asmo ). He can have an attitude and has no fear saying what he  REALLY  thinks / feels and especially doesn’t like anything that even remotely gives the assumption that someone views him as a child.

     He gets bored easily and can’t stand it, is most likely an insomniac due to feeling more awake the later it gets, and is  ALWAYS  looking out for Beel via combination of being so close to him and having a special twin connection. Nonetheless, it’s enough to assume that he’s highly considerate of the others as well and that Beel is just priority.

          THIS IS PROBABLY ENOUGH FOR NOW ;;;      Thanks to anyone who actually reads any of this !! I might have more to say in the future but I wanna hits the brakes on this before it drags out any longer.

[badlydrawndrawnings]

Semi-formal critique/rant about a lack of  P1/P5 comparisons

When the first Persona 5 PV came out, there was a general agreed consensus that Persona 5 was going to be the Persona 2 duology (with Innocent Sin being the most compared Persona 2 game) of the modern games. This consensus grew more and more as more playable characters were introduced, character info was released, and certain gameplay elements were introduced, like demon negotiation and GUNS as a secondary ranged weapon.

That last one is more of a Persona 1/SMT gameplay element but whatever.

By the time of the game’s release, and with more people playing the game/watching let’s play and walkthroughs (and the anime, and the seemingly slow release of the official manga I can only occasionally find ~not Mementos Missions btw~), this consensus was and is still around. It’s not as strong as before, but it’s there. There are also some people that like to say the two games were handle the same way (with Innocent Sin once again being the most compared Persona 2 game) via characters and certain plot points. I actually made an old post about it, right here.

With the Japanese Release of Persona 5 Royal, these claims exponentially rose again to strong levels to where I literally wanted to go into Tim Barry’s Royal Stream chat and type ‘please stop talking about persona 2 and nyary please stop talking about persona 2 and nyary.’ Why? Because after watching much of Royal to the best of my ability, I come to the realize that, Persona 5 Royal at least, is trying to be the Persona 1 of the modern games. And fair warning, I will go into major spoilers for Royal in depths, based off what is known.

We have Reiji Kido and Goro Akechi, bastard children who revenge over their father is their main goal. Yet due to one factor being present (or absent), they show the different outcomes of their fates, one being able to move on after his revenge for thirst and live a normal life with his own family, while the other who fate is unknown (in Original Persona 5; Royal will be touch upon under the read more) as his revenge possibly costed his life.

We have Masao ‘Mark’ Inaba and Ryuji Sakamoto, two good teenagers who are momma’s boys and delinquents at their school. Yet the title of delinquent is either truthfully earn because of actual delinquent-like behavior that will lead to a future career, or a title gradually earned after an accident that costed a possible future career had it never happened at all.

We have Eriko ‘Elly’ Kirishima and Ann(e) Takamaki, both who are in fact one-fourth American models. Yet given how they appear so differently, it must have factor into how are treated by other student, with one looking more of the typical Japanese person she is deem odd mostly due to her ‘eccentricities’, the other appearing more foreign with blonde hair and blue eyes due to a chance of genetics she is treated unfairly due to rumors and enforcing negative stereotypes.

Once you get into the Royal Third Semester, the comparisons grow into new levels that took me by surprise.

For one, we have Kasumi Yoshizawa. Kasumi can be best describe as the love child/clone of Maki (with that red ribbon and some parts of her personality) and Naoya (P1′s Manga Protag’s background of sorts). For you see, Kasumi is not Kasumi. She is Sumire Yoshizawa, twin of Kasumi Yoshizawa. Sumire loves the real Kasumi, but the poor girl is envious of her older and much more talented sister. It grew and grew until Sumire is full with such negativity and hate with her life as how it is and how she is, Sumire couldn’t handle it anymore and decides to go into traffic to possibility kill herself.

And the real Kasumi dies trying to save her younger. Needing counselling for her depression and guilt of what happened, Sumire’s cognitive of herself change into her believing (with someone’s help, who I will discuss) she is Kasumi and lives her life as Kasumi. It’s only until the Third Semester does Sumire remembers the truth. It took awhile, but Sumire was able to overcome everything and awaken fully, with what appears to be Kasumi herself -that’s right a dead person- becoming Cendrillon. 

So one is wondering who the heck made Sumire believe she is Kasumi? It’s none other than Takuto Maruki! Everyone figured this man shouldn’t be trust, but oh boy. We weren’t expecting any of this sorts! For one, Takuto is a Persona User. Now, adult Persona Users are canon since the first game with Takahisa Kandori, but it’s Kandori we ought to focus on (and only Kandori in Persona 1).

Kandori is nothing like Takuto. Kandori is a business man through and through, being the head president of the Sebec Branch in Mikage-Cho. Both men believe it or not, have the same goal of sorts of imposing their ideal version of the world over reality with their own means, Takuto with his Persona Powers that sort became supercharge after Yabadadoo’s defeat by the PT, Kandori with the Deva System Sebec build.

Takuto honestly has good intentions, wanting a world where people can be happy without heartache and pain, which started when his former girlfriend had to go to the hospital after her parents died (in what I think was a burglary gone wrong). In fact, Takuto’s status as an antagonist is interesting. He knows the PT and has a Co-op/Confidant with Joker. While exploiting them for his research, he does so in his belief he is going to help them and everyone else because his way is the best. In fact, Takuto believes himself so much, he wants to make sure his ideal world will happen by trying stop Joker from sending a calling call by using Goro as one weird last resort.

Because according to Takuto, the real Goro is dead. The real Goro was taken hostage on Shido’s ship, but the destruction of the Palace pretty much doom Goro to a watery grave. Because of Joker’s unknowing wish to see Goro again (if you pick the right option), Takuto was able to use his powers to start the Third Semester on 12/24, the day where Joker canonically has to turn himself in. The Goro here is in effect, Dream!Goro who is eerily just like the real Goro. When Joker decides to listen to Dream!Goro of not accept the dream world and to accept reality as it is, that’s when Takuto takes out the big guns (aka, use his Persona). After losing to the PT via Personas, Takuto makes another go at it by almost became GOD by fusing with his Persona. When he goes back to his human self, Takuto fucking fights Joker in a fist fight and you pretty much ask yourself:  how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man? But at the end, Takuto accepts it, and is given a second chance at life.

Kandori is just a selfish prick who only cares for himself. How much of a selfish prick? When the Deva System got attached to Maki’s subconscious and her Ideal World, Kandori decides to exploits Maki’s powers (via Aki, aka, Girl in Black) as a mean to his own end of becoming GOD. He also couldn’t give a shit about the P1 crew, hating them all and likes taunting them. Kandori couldn’t care less about his half bastard brother’s revenge goal, but comments Reiji does have that Kandori blood lol. 

And believe or not, Kandori is one of the few Persona villains to win. He actually achieves his dream of being God of a new world...and feels unfilled by it. By the time the Persona 1 crew confronts him, the man is particularly wishing for death because he has nothing else to live for since who knows how long his world can last. Kandori would have probably at surrender to them if Nanjo didn’t push Kandori into one last fight. Like Takuto, Kandori fuses with his Persona (though it’s not like he planned it), but he dies in this battle, pretty much as a empty man and as a possible warning of a wrong future.

Though Kandori gets the last word by revealing to the P1 crew that he isn’t the real person they should be focusing on. That goes to the real Maki, who is still sick in her bed (as it turns out, the Maki everyone is with is the Ideal Maki of real Maki’s dream, who is nothing like her).

(I forgot to mention it, but there’s also a brief moment on 12/31 when Joker dreams of an empty and dark Shujin Academy. It’s really similar to St. Hermelin during the parts the P1 crew have get lost travel through the school.)

With that being said about Royal, one can see what Persona 1 elements show up, how it works in both the original based game and Royal re-released, and the understand how Royal is trying to be the Persona 1 of modern Persona games. Yet people are still only taking about Persona 5 and how it’s like the Persona 2 duology (mainly Persona 2 Innocent Sin; I seen way too many people discuss in the Tim Barry chat how getting posses by your Persona came from IS but it was there since the first game).

And so I finally has to ask the question I thought I would never ask:  Why do Persona fans tend to not make P1/P5 comparisons? 

Is there something about Persona 1 that makes it easy to not make these comparisons? Like, I know the earlier games aren’t easy to play (especially one; I actually can’t play in First Person games in general because I get headaches from the format after half an hour or so of gameplay). That’s why the option to watch a let play walkthrough, reading the manga, listening to the audio drama, or do a combination of all the above exist. 

But is there’s something in Persona 1 in all of its materials, that makes it unworthy of talk like Persona 2 to be worthy of a comparison to Persona 5? I am in no means bashing the Persona 2 duology at all but I genuine want to know, without the need to cause discourse.We already have enough as it is. 

[taki-flower]

So I just finished reading Banana Fish and it fucked me up. Those who read it knows what I'm talking about about. When I was contemplating reading it, I read a review of the manga that said the ending was both sad and fitting.

It is true. Everything - from Eiji's ticket to Japan for Ash, to Ash running after him after seeing the ticket and his letter, to Lao catching him off guard and stabbing him out of a misguided attempt to protect Sing, and then to Ash dying with a smile and with tears and blood staining Eiji's letter - is horrendously sad and fitting.

When Blanca is leaving Yut-Lung's service, he has once said, "Rather than hate and be triumphant, Ash chose to love and be destroyed" (Vol 18, chap 57).

This, I think, has always been a central theme of Banana Fish. People call Eiji Ash's Achilles' Heel and perhaps they are right. Ash risks so much to keep Eiji around and to protect him, even though the sensible thing would be to send him away because anyone can see that Ash treasures him and doesn't want him to get hurt. Eiji is Ash's weak point, a target on Ash's back in plain sight ready to be exploited, and it is exploited, constantly. Ash walks right into Dino and Yut-Lung's hands with himself and all their information on Banana Fish, all their hard-work that he and Max toiled over, all because Blanca threatens Eiji's life and Ash cannot beat him. Ash is prepared to give up everything -his life, his pride, his freedom- all for Eiji.

Because he love. Because he loves Eiji and is loved by Eiji in turn (or maybe it is the other way around. Who fell first? Maybe it has always been both). Ash loves Eiji and he may fear for Eiji's life, but he has never feared loving him.

I think in shounen manga, there's lots of times when villains use the protagonist's friends against them and inevitably, the sentiment the villain expresses is, "I am strong because I am alone, and you are strong too, but your friends held you back. Had you been alone, perhaps you could have beaten me, but here you are at my feet, because you care and your friends are in my hands. That is your mistake, your folly, caring for people that can be used against you."

That is in shounen manga and at the end of the day, the protagonist and the friends will somehow beat the villain by working together and by the sheer will of power of friendship. I like those stories - believe me, I do- because it's all about hope and I like the hopeful message it sends.

But at the back of my mind, I always think, "But it's true, isn't it?" The villain's words - however blunt and unpleasant they are - are true. Maybe the protagonist and their friends do escape in the end, but why did they end up in such a situation in the first place? Is it not because the friends are captured, tipping the balance towards the villain, and ultimately forcing the protagonist's hands to take crazy risks to rescue their friends?

How many times has a rescue mission been launched in Banana Fish, not just for Eiji but because some of the gangs' members are caught during an operation? They could have left them behind, it would have been understandable especially given the highly secured locations they get locked in sometimes, but that has never been on the table. People get killed, that is life, and they can't do anything about it beside remember them and move on. People get captured, though, and what the remaining ones will always ask is "So what's the plan to get them out?"

They call it loyalty, they call it brotherhood. They never call it love, but it is. Love.

Banana Fish is by no means a shounen manga in the conventional sense. They don't have the power of friendship, miraculous powers or anything of the like. People get shot at, remarkable people who we spend hours and hours with, and then they die, because no matter how remarkable and amazing and beautiful they are, in the end, they are all human beings and all it takes for a human life - no matter whose - to end is one well-aimed blow.

In this world of man-eat-man, the strong survives and the weak dies, and sometimes, being strong means leaving the weak - leaving sentiments - behind. Ash could have easily run solo without Eiji and maybe he would have been better off, but Eiji soothes him, makes him feel human. Humans die, however, they're so horribly vulnerable. Ash knows and he keeps Eiji by his side anyway, because as much as Ash is protecting Eiji, Eiji is also protecting Ash, keeping him sane.

Blanca has once mentioned that Eiji is Ash's Achilles' Heels, but later, also says, I wonder, and the reason for that is because Eiji protects Ash's soul, keeps him grounded when it is so easy for him to be pulled into the darkness of the Mafia and all its cruelty and violence. When Ash feels vulnerable and lost, it is Eiji that he turns to. Ash once asks Eiji to stay just for now, that he won't ask for forever, but Eiji gives it to him anyway, forever, without asking for anything in return. After Ash is captured by Foxx, Ash can't stand anyone touching him, but he lets Eiji embrace him and his shaking gradually stops and he calms down as he leans on Eiji.

I wouldn't call Eiji a double-edged sword, per se, just because Eiji had never been sharp even when others try to use him to cut Ash Lynx, but Eiji has always been Ash's selfish risk, his presence the only thing Ash allows for himself, even when he knows it isn't wise. He knows the risk, accepts the price without batting an eye ("Kill yourself with this gun, and we'll never touch that unremarkable Japanese kid again," Yut-Lung says, and Ash takes the gun and shoots himself in the head without a single pause. When he realizes it isn't loaded, he asks for a bullet, and Yut-Lung doesn't understand, of course he doesn't, but Blanca does), because if the price to pay for those few stolen moments of happiness with Eiji is his freedom, his life, his everything, then so be it. Ash will gladly pay it.

Same with the ending. It isn't Eiji's fault that Ash dies, but Ash let down his guard because he is always vulnerable around Eiji (even just via letter), which allowed Lao to take that opening and kill him. That is the truth, but what is also true is that Ash is completely fine with dying for a reason like that, dying for and because of Eiji, dying for love. "Rather than hate and be triumphant, Ash chose to love and be destroyed," and that is exactly how Banana Fish ends.

That being said, I don't think Banana Fish's message is that you can either hate and be triumphant or love and be destroyed. But rather, if shounen manga's message is 'friendship/love is a source of strength and not a weakness', then Banana Fish is an acknowledgement that 'friendship/love is both a source of strength and weakness, but that's a price we're willing to pay for this sweet thing called love.'

Banana Fish tells us that in life, shit happens, people die, and sometimes, if you're lucky and willing to take the jump, you'll find something you can die happy knowing that you experienced.

Or someone you can die happy knowing that you met.

[icouldbemoreclever]

Hello again! How are you? So, I’m being emotionally destroyed now via the Chimera ant arc (lord have mercy on my soul), and I had to wonder how other anime characters would be able to handle the emotional trauma of it. So, consider this scenario: Deku, Bakugou, Uraraka and Todoroki somehow end up in the HxH world and become friends with Killua and Gon perhaps during the exams, hoping to find a way home. How do you think they would change as people especially in the aftermath of the CA war?

I just finished the CA arc for the second time as well, so Ifully understand your suffering and offer my condolences. You’re just askingfor more sadness by imagining other characters suffering through it :P

I think that because the bnha world is more idealistic,things would be pretty hard on everyone. Out of all of them, maybe Todorokiwould be able to stand it the best, since he’s already been through some badsituations himself. The others come from pretty normal backgrounds so I thinkit would be harder for them to make sense of what they experience. I don’t see any of them being strong enough to take on the Royal Guard, that’sfor sure.

First I’m wondering if Bakugou would… even survive lol. TheCA arc and especially the palace invasion calls for very strict following of plans,often with stealth involved. But Bakugou seems like he’s not great at listeningto… anybody. Bear in mind that I’ve only been keeping up with the anime so I’mnot sure what his character is like in the manga right now. I can see Bakugoumaking big mistakes early on by rushing into things with the chimera ants andprobably getting at least injured (this is assuming Kite would let him go toNGL in the first place). Seeing the horrors of NGL would probably make himreact even more violently to try and deflect the trauma. If he does survive, Ithink he’d hate seeing his own weakness and want even more to become the best,but maybe he would learn to fight smarter rather than louder. Seeing realtragedy and suffering, and seeing how his own tactics can make it worse, maybethat would bring some change in him.

For Deku, I can see the palace invasion going badly for himstrictly because his main strategy is “break every bone in my body to win”. I’mthinking about say, him fighting against Youpi that way. It might go kind ofthe same way things went with Shoot, who was taken out of commission prettyquickly. If Deku were to go with Gon and Killua to find Pitou, I think he mighthave more time to strategize and would do better. But I think either way, forsomeone as idealistic as Deku, the CA arc would take a huge toll. Not only isthere massive amounts of horrors committed by just the normal ants, but thepalace invasion is just a lesson in futility. Everyone in this scenario isfaced with their own weakness and inability to stand up against such strongvillains. Not to mention, compared to the world of bnha, they are all fightingbehind the scenes to save the world, and likely no one will ever know who theyare or what happened there. I think it would be very hard for Deku to come toterms with this because of how different it is from his idealized view of beinga hero. There are massive amounts of people in the CA arc that cannot be savedand I think this would be hard for him to handle. In specific to seeing Gon-san (since you mentioned it in your other message), I think seeing the idea of a strong, all-sacrificing hero subverted in such a dark way would really mess with Deku’s self-image too. Deku already has the tendency to take his powers too far and hurt himself to win, but with Gon-san the motivation itself is so rooted in rage and sorrow that the outcome of humanity being saved from Pitou is not even an afterthought. I think this would shake Deku’s fundamental beliefs about the world even further.

Uraraka might come out of it a little better than Deku, Ithink. Obviously she’d be just as traumatized by the events as everyone else(honestly, when Kite brings Killua and Gon to NGL – I can’t believe some of thethings they had to witness). I think these things would really horrify Urarakatoo, obviously. But I think in terms of the palace invasion, she’s a bit moreequipped to handle things. Her powers lead her to more of a support role inthis situation (imagine if Meleoron and Knuckle could float while invisible?).Unlike Deku, she doesn’t tend to take everything onto her own shoulders, Ithink. She doesn’t have that desire to be the Symbol of Peace all on her own.So while the horrors would take their toll on her like they would any person, Idon’t think she’d have a major shift in her ideals and how she sees herself asa person. I think it would just have her strive to become stronger and to thinkabout how she can improve to help prevent these things from happening.

For Todoroki, like I said maybe he would be slightly lessmessed up by all the terrible things they see, though I don’t think he would becompletely unaffected by it. He’s used to being stronger than most people, andpretty self-assured in his abilities, and I think that would continue over intobeing able to deal with some of the lesser ants with ease. But again with thepalace invasion, I don’t think even Todoroki would be strong enough to fightany of the Royal Guards successfully. Todoroki’s not someone who grew up withideals about being a hero like Deku, he was kind of just raised that way as agiven. So I can’t know how much his view of the world would change. I think hisself-assurance would take a great blow, if even he is unable to do substantialdamage to the guards. I think the lack of control that any of them have overthe situation would be the biggest thing here. Todoroki might go on to be moreopen to others and to teamwork, as he is faced with a situation where he cannotrely only on himself. I feel like he might be shaken into becoming closer tothe others, since now he has a trauma that he shares instead of just one hecarries alone.

Forgive me if I’m misreading their characters at all, Iwouldn’t say I’m as familiar with them as I am with hxh characters, but this isjust my take on it. It would be interesting to see how things might play out alittle differently with their extra powers involved, but I’m writing this as ifthings go generally in the same way. I think they’d all have a lot to deal withafter, especially if they then found a way back to their own world – it wouldbe a massive shock. After all, they are still just high school students. I hopeUA has some nice school therapists to help them with the aftermath lol.

[luki-fanfic]

So…my original plan was to get all of my ongoing fics updated before New Year’s.  However, I’ve had several 14 hours shift one after the other the last few weeks, so I haven’t even been able to THINK about updating fanfic.

Since getting my fanfics done wasn’t going to happen, I decided to take a look back at what has been a much longer time in the fanfiction world than I realised, and list some of the writers that I’ve admired and appreciated, even if I’m no longer in their fandoms or reading their work, as we ring in the next year:

Macx

Macx is one of the very first fanfiction authors I can vividly remember reading and going ‘wow.’ I discovered them back when I was in the Godzilla: Animated Series fandom (and boy am I showing my age with that revelation).  Until then most of the fanfiction I’d read was short or pairing heavy, but Macx’s stories were long, and heaving with plot, well written characters, and fascinating ideas that I loved more than the original series.  Every now and then, Macx would pop up in other fandoms I was in, but their greatest gift to me was inspiring another author -

Vathara

Vathara, Queen of the Crossover.  Who liked Macx’s Godzilla fanfiction so much they got permission to write in their universe, and is responsible for getting me into so many fandoms I’ve literally lost count.  

Every time they bring out another crossover, I usually find myself digging up information on Wikipedia so I can understand the other half of the fic.  They also are one of the very few authors I know that almost always releases the full fanfic in one go, which allows no cliff-hangers, and essentially a must-read novel showing up overnight.  And novel is the word.  Vathara is like the Michael Crichton when it comes to writing, there’s so much detail, and what feels like an insane amount of research into various ideas.  I have no idea how much of it is accurate, but nearly every fic I read feels like a deep dive into the meta of the original canon, to the point that with many fics, I have to remind myself that her work isn’t canon (and when it comes to her Yu-Gi-Oh fics, that’s kind of gutting)

Cywscross

Here’s a name that wont surprise anyone.  I think I found them via Harry Potter, but honestly, I can’t quite remember.  They can almost rival Vathara in the number of fandoms they’ve sunk me into.  For one thing, I never would have given Katekyo Hitman Reborn another chance had it not been for their Harry Potter/KHR crossover, and considering how much KHR is part of my fanfiction career, that’s a pretty big thing.

What I loved about Cywscross was that when I found them, I was getting really exhausted from reading nothing but pairing after pairing after pairing.  It was getting really hard to enjoy fanfic, because that’s not what I was reading it for – later I’d realise I was asexual and this suddenly made a lot more sense – but Cywscross wrote interesting ideas that were focused on the characters and plot.  There was next to no romance, just friendship and interesting plots – everything I was looking for.  The only downside was that the fics were usually unfinished, but that’s the way with a lot of fanfiction.

It also gave me hope that my own work could be popular – Cywscross was regularly at the top of the favourites in the fandoms, despite no pairings or sex scenes.  I didn’t write a lot of longer fanfiction at the time, but I hoped that when I did, people would want to read it despite the lack of relationships.  

Sadly, I don’t read a lot of Cywscross’s fics anymore, since they’ve migrated into Teen Wolf, which, despite my best attempts, I really can’t get into fully.  They’ve also started to focus more on pairing fics, which are still good and something I’m into more now than I used to be, but not what I enjoyed reading their work for.  When they leave the Teen Wolf fandom, maybe we’ll wander into the same fandoms again.  

Esama

No surprises here. Esama might be a pairing writer, but their ideas are always so interesting.  Especially when they decide to pull off a crossover.  I nearly had a heart attack when I realised they’d stepped into the KHR fandom – and mourned when they chose to remove all of their fanfics from the net.  So happy that decision was reversed, especially when it comes to their Final Fantasy fics, which have always been some of my favourites.  Also have a very special place in my heart for their Doctor Donna fic, which I so sorely wish was canon.

John Tomorrow

Of all the writers I ever read, John Tomorrow is the one whose talents I envied the most, as they could achieve something that many writers can only dream of.  Engaging fight scenes.

John Tomorrow wrote in the Final Fantasy 8 fandom – and wrote a tournament fanfic.  Just stop and think about that for a minute.  The arc most anime’s get that almost feels like filler and an excuse to introduce new characters, and he wrote one intentionally.  On top of that, it was astonishingly good – his talent was bringing characters to life, to the point that you could genuinely visualise them fighting right in front of you.  

As an added bonus, there was a genuine mystery to the plot.  It wasn’t fighting for the sake of fighting, which took it from good to fantastic. He also managed to achieve something I’ve always wanted to do, a ‘rashomon’ fanfic, which took the events of a single day from several different characters points of view.  

They’ve since left fanfic to try and publish original work, but I’m not sure if they ever achieved it. You can still read some of their work on fictionpress though, under the name Michael Kenny.

Red Witch

When X-Men Evolution was my favourite show, Red Witch became my go-to author.  Ironically, unlike a lot of other crossover writers, I really don’t like her most popular works.  Instead, I prefer their more comedic canon-adjacent fics involving the Brotherhood.  Are they canon? Dear god no. Are they hysterically funny to the point I genuinely didn’t care?  Hell yes. Half of their fics had me in literal tears of laughter, and considering I was going through a bad time when I was watching X-men Evolution? That was everything I needed.  I haven’t read their work in years, but I still smile thinking about some of her pieces.

LittleMewLugia

LML was my definition of guilty pleasure for a very long time.  The Transformers (live action) fandom was my second major fandom, and by far the biggest I’d been in.  Up until then I’d mostly been in small manga fandoms and Final Fantasy 9.  So, coming into a fandom where you could get a thousand views overnight was just a little bit overwhelming.  

I found a lot of great writers here, but I admit I had a certain weakness for a very particular type of fanfic.  I’m a sucker for transformation stories, and Autobot!Sam was pretty rampant here – I had my own attempt, but then I found LittleMewLugia, who also clearly had a passion for the transformation genre.  I’d also grown more into pairings after going through so much glut (you either learn to appreciate pairings or just don’t read fanfiction after some point), so I was looking for transformation and simplistic pairings.

And by GOD, did they deliver.  Admittedly, a lot of the fics followed a very similar plotline, but I didn’t care – a lot of pairing fics follow the same plot.  Movies follow same plots – why fix what works?  I just loved reading their stuff.

I’ve long since left the Transformers fandom, but I’ll always remember her work fondly for always giving me something that might not be unique, but would familiar, and something I knew I would like.

Blackkat

The newest writer to make it to this list.  Although I’ve never been a big fan of Naruto, the fanfics are so much better than the canon, and enough of my favourite authors have dipped their toe in the waters here for me to keep reading.  Especially when it comes to time travel fics – which given the fiasco that is the canon timeline, can only make things better.  And Blackkat not only delivers unique time travel fics, but a word count that makes War and Peace look like some light reading – in a timespan I refuse to believe is possible without a TARDIS.  Seriously, where do they find the time and dedication?

[nighttimefjaeril]

As promised, here’s more info on the middle-schooler quartet of my Ibun “Kids investigating mysteries with shady uncle Jikaku” AU :’3

Houmei is 12-year old going on 13 (his birthday will happen during the vacation). He lives in Yokohama and is sent to visit his Great Uncle Jikaku for the summer, who used to live and work in Tokyo but has retired in a rural village in the Tohoku region, where he hails from.

Given we literally don’t know anything about Houmei’s backround, I’m having a hard time coming up with anything too specific linked to his family life; as a general rule, I’d say his family situation isn’t the easiest. He lives with a caretaker, and Jikaku is related to them. The two are completely estranged, and the reason he was sent to him was because of issues between him and his caretaker; as he’d become increasingly rebellious and problematic growing up, hoping that Jikaku would straighten him : D But caretaker definitely has issues with their life as well. Overall, things at home aren’t the best and Houmei isn’t all too unhappy to live at his uncle’s for a couple of months, despite having troubles adapting to such a different lifestyle at first : D He’s an extremely intelligent and curious kid, a day-dreamer, and an avid reader of mystery and fantasy novels. He comes off as extremely well-mannered at first, which surprises Jikaku given the situation he was told, but he soon learns that it’s all an act of course : D He knows how to hold a façade in order to get away with things, and is extremely manipulative towards adults and kids his age alike. At first the other boys find him odd as he talks of weird stuff and acts ditzy at times, but as they’re all misfits they end up taking the outsider in pretty much right away. He’s the type to hide his problems , real feelings and thoughts behind a dorky smile. He doesn’t have much interest in leadership, but thanks to his natural charisma and adventurous spirit he ends up being the driving force of the group by default. On the other hand, he can be a bit of a slob at times and gives into laziness easily. Much like Sho'un, he has a problem with authority, but unlike him he’s able to find sneaky ways to break the rules. As for now he has no definite life plans nor dreams; he knows that if he’d work hard enough he could easily enter any college and take on any career, but he also very little interest in formal studies and he’s the type who prefers researching stuff on his own (he has a very broad knowledge for a kid his age, but he’s not driven enough in his studies for his level of intelligence and pretty listless). His favorite subject is literature, but he wouldn’t have troubles with anything if only he applied himself. His hobbies include reading and writing, skateboards, videogames and daydreaming. He’s learning to play guitar but he’s too lazy to practice often (he also has a pretty good voice).

Jyoan is a 13-year old going on 14 (his birthday is in late September). He lives with his mother and two sisters (one older and one younger) and his younger sister’s father. His biological dad is not in the picture. He doesn’t have a good relantionship with his step dad and his family situation also isn’t ideal, and for that reason he tries to stay away from his house as much as possible (he usually stays at Ganpuku’s house most days of the week). His family was also struggling with money a lot in the past, even though nowadays they’re doing better economically after his mother got married again, he’s still known as the “poor kid” at school, and he was being made fun a lot for being… extremely feminine (no day has gone by without him being called a fag by classmates or his step dad). He used to be bullied a lot more in the past, until he started to clam back (also his friendship with dangerous kid Sho'un made the transition easier :D He’s considered a bit of a punk himself by his peers). Of all his friends, he’s the one who hates living in the village the most and dreams of moving in the city as soon as possible. He’s an extremely ambitious and driven kid, and puts his status above all; he lives for receiving praise and attention by others and puts a lot of efforts in everything he does for that; he has good grades but he’s the type to truly shine only in what he likes (he excels in arts). He’s a sensitive boy, pretty mature and deep for his age (or so he thinks lol), but at the same time can act pretty bratty and and has a really bad temper; the more he’s obedient with teachers and authorative figures the worse his attitude towards with his friends and siblings. He’s also extremely foul-mouthed and gets reprimended for it a lot by adults. He may or may not have a one-sided rivalry with Houmei, as he basically represents everything he wishes to be… or so he thinks (not that he would dare to admit that of course). His hobbies include fashion, drawing, pretentious movies and books that are way beyond his comprehension level for his age (but he still watches/reads them anyways ‘cause that’s what cool kids do right?) and singing.

Malcolm (aka Ganpuku) is 13 (he was born the same year as Houmei but has had his birthday already). Being born in May he started school one year earlier and so he’s in the same grade as Jyoan and Sho'un (they’re all classmates as there is only one class per grade in the local middle school, too). He lives with his parents and one older sister, and his family owns the local convenience store. Ever since he was a child he has been helping his parents carrying it voluntarily as he really likes working there, so he spends a lot of time inside the shop. He has quite the business acumen and loves money and hopes to be able to better his family’s average income someday with a business-oriented job. He has a very good relantionship with his parents, especially his mother. His family hails from the US, but he and his sister were born in Japan. Because of their western appearance and names, they have been both seen as outsiders in the village small community and could never really fit in, if not with the other misfits. For that reason he hates using his real name and goes under “Maru” instead, as it’s close to the japanese pronunciation of “Mal”. He and Jyoan have been best friends since kindergarden, and he gets along with his sister a lot too. He’s a very bright, loud and cheerful kid, he’s the friendlist of the trio and he’s the one who accepts Houmei into their group right away. His hobbies include eating and cooking, as well as manga and videogames: one could say he’s a bit more childish than the others, but he’s often more insightful and smarter than people give him credit for. He’s also extremely affectionate and protective of his friends and family. His grade are pretty good, and he’s basically excels in everything his deskmate Jyoan doesn’t and viceversa :D He’s good with maths, science and economics (and English ofc as it’s the language spoken home), while Jyoan is better at humanities and art. He has pretty clear plans for the future and he definitely wants to go to college and land a high-paying job in the economics field, to grant his family and himself financial stability. Much like Houmei, he also falls victim to laziness pretty often, which may be a hindrance to his dreams of success :D (I’ve talked about his hobbies before, I would include that he’s learning to play the piano but wishes to switch to something more “fun”, like drums; he’s also into soccer and baseball and fantasy books/videogames)

Sho'un is 13 going on 14 (his birthday is in December). He’s an only child and his father is a monk and owner of the local temple (in Japan monks can marry and have children). As you can imagine from his appearance and rebellious attitude, he isn’t exactly the dream heir his father wishes, and for that reason his relantionship with his parents are extremely tense. He also tries to avoid being at home as much as possible and sleeps over at either Ganpuku’s or at his cousin Ryuzen’s student apartment in the city(he doesn’t really get along with him all that much, but he likes his cooler roomates better lmao). From a very early age he was considered a “difficult kid” for a his rebellious strike and attraction to… darker things (he’s the type who idolizes yakuza, smokes in the school bathroom and steals shit as a test of courage). For his reason he has a pretty bad reputation in town and peers and thier parents are pretty scared of him. That, coupled with the failed expectations of his parents, just reinforced his bad attitude and made things worse. He used to be pretty lonesome until he became friends with Jyoan and Ganpuku when they started middle school, thanks to their involvement with the music club. In fact music is his biggest passion, he plays bass and guitar and wishes to start a band someday (school band secondary plot? Probably lol). Music and art are the only subjects that interest him, as for the rest he’s a pretty much a slacker who doesn’t put effort in his studies and has terrible grades. He often says that if he can’t make as a musician, he would open a tattoo and piercing studio. Despite his “tough” exterior, he’s actually a pretty laid-back and reserved kid, not very talkative but mindful, and once you get to know him he’s actually very caring and approachable. He’s the type to defend his friends no matter what, and follows his own moral code that doesn’t accept dishonesty nor ambiguity. He has a somewhat melancholic and pessimistic streak that he tries to conceal with his insolence; of all the four he’s the one who has more… grown-up interests (meaning he’s the only one who’s very much into girls, the others are a bit of late-bloomers in comparison^^’); he’s also the one who tries to bond with the older guys via his cousin, and he tries to emulate them. His hobbies include gravure magazines gangster movies, rock and punk music, playing instruments and sketching out tattoo design.

[oxourry]

OnS 57 Survey - Results

At 558 responses, the Owari no Seraph chapter 57 survey has come to a close. 

I will say that since this was my first time doing this, I knew it wouldn’t come without errors. It wasn’t until like 50 responses in that I realized I could have worded things better, not included so much leeway in some questions, left more write in options, and also included a couple more important questions. If I ever do one of these again I’ll have learned from this time.

There were two questions that took in opinions from respondents and in total all of those totaled up to about 600. Obviously, I couldn’t add every single one here, but I tried to include as many as I could to give you all an idea of the current mindset of the fandom at the moment. Things get pretty lengthy so this will be all under a read more.

Also, I know I shouldn’t have to say it, but sometimes this fandom can be demonically soul sucking, so don’t start any of that fandom wank bullshit because there are opinions here that you don’t agree with. We’re all mature enough to rant about it in private. Thank you.

Anyways, let’s start.

Though it was close, it seems the 18-24 age group are the majority in this side of the fandom. Not only that, adding up the other numbers (It should be noted that there was 1 person that responded with 35+, unfortunately, it seems like there’s barely even a tiny line to acknowledge it) minors happen to be the minority in the fandom if even by a small percent.

The graph speaks for itself, though it really does make me wish I could survey the SQ readers in Japan. Would the Male-Female results be flipped?

Among the 86 write ins, Instagram was the most popular with 30 respondents using it as a primary OnS social media platform. Amino and VK were the follow ups with 8 respondents.

I find this one very important. It shows the reaches of the survey doesn’t exactly speak for a diverse portion of the western fandom. Overall, I think it sticks in this little Tumblr niche of ours.

2 (0.4%) respondents began with the Light Novels. 3 (0.5%) respondents began with the Anime and Light Novels. 4 (0.7%) respondents began with the Manga and Light Novels. 15 (2.7%) respondents began the series with all three.

27 (4.8%) respondents have been following OnS for 4+ years (My condolences).

The two below ‘For the art’ and above ‘Other’ say ‘Someone recommended it’ and ‘Seeing posts about it on social media’

Here are a handful of responses from those that chose Other

Soundtrack by Sawano Hiroyuki

I was interested in knowing how would an anime based in Nagoya turned out (I lived in Nagoya for a year)

Found it under "new anime" section and just tried it

I found on mangapark and just checked out of curiosity

I'm a slut for anything Kagami writes. Especially MokuAri.

Played Tales of Zestiria, saw Seraph in the title of OnS, watched it

The option above ‘For the plot’ states ‘I’m not caught up’ and the two options below ‘For the art’ state ‘For a specific plot point/mystery’ and ‘For the fandom discussions/fanart/fanfics/fanvids/memes’.

While a majority of respondents originally got into the series for the plot, it seems like sticking around for a character and ship barely managed to become the new top reason.

A couple of write in responses

because I am a fandom grandma-- I fell in love with it and can't get her lazy ass out

I don´t really know anymore... I´m too deep into and it´s just a part of my life right now

Moving from the demographic questions, this next section was based off of character and ship preferences

Originally, I had omitted the ‘both’ option, but the person I had do a run through of the survey at first claimed she couldn’t pick between them. Given the disparity in the vampire and humans here, my guess is that the vampires really do have audience favorability when it comes down to it.

Shinoa’s squad takes a majority of the audience’s interest with the Sanguinem vampires falling in at nearly half as much. 

Some of the write ins

Honestly, they're all interesting, there are so much we don't know and it really is intriguing.

Hyakuya kids, I refuse to believe that a group that meet for a few months is more important than another group that you knew for years

The Hiiragi Family

Specific characters from each(Yuu, Mika, Guren, Shinya, Ferid, Krul, etc.)

Mika, Yuu, and Shinya hold the crowns for being the most popular in our end of the fandom. Shinoa and Krul trail behind in fourth and fifth place.

Akane was the most popular write in, having 2 of the 9 write ins go to her.

A few other write ins

Is Mika's happiness a character because I can't wait for them to return

Shuusaku

Yoichi's right cheek

Kureto, Mahiru No Yo, and Guren happen to be the least favorites with Ferid in fourth place and Saito and Shinoa tying for fifth after a considerable percent gap.

Tenri had 9 write ins of the 27.

Other answers given were

Seishiro

At certain times, the main character(s) will start to become annoying.

Kagami Takaya

Everyone else that's not Yoichi's right cheek or Mikaela Hyakuya

Mahiru and Mitsuba's weirdly drawn boobs

Mika, Shinya, and Yuu take the lead for most physically attractive with Guren and Crowley following in fourth and fifth.

Gekkoin was the most frequent write in with 4 of the 13 write in responses going to him.

Other write ins included

Everyone's gorgeous tbh

Kureto's eyebrows

An overwhelming majority of the fandom happen to be shippers or at least have a ship they have some positive feelings for. Only 25 (4.5%) of respondents don’t ship anything.

Yuichiro/Mikaela, Guren/Shinya, and Shinoa/Mitsuba take the top three spots.

There were a few popular write ins.

Mikaela/Yoichi (15), Kureto/Guren (8), Kureto/Aoi (8), Krul/Ferid (5), Kureto/Shinya (5), and Lacus/Rene (5)

The next section covered Chapter 57 and general feelings about plot points and the manga.

Though it’s kind of close, majority of respondents seem to have a midway satisfaction with the manga at the moment. There’s a definite lean to the optimistic side of things.

After this, I then asked if respondents could give a more detailed explanation for their answer. I received 346 responses and while I can’t put them all on here, here are a handful of opinions.

This story is still a baby bird, so I'm being patient with it. Besides, monthly manga always feel slower

After the time skip everything became rushed, characters just numbly move from plot twist to plot twist repeating the same "what should we do" conversation every time they get any new info. Characters make worrying statements that the framing shows as positive and people and character motivation driving plot points are resolved and thrown out like they were nothing.

I honestly disagree with those who are just ranting and raging about the last chapters, every (and I have to make an emphasis on this, EVERY) story needs some developement and that may take time, you can't just rush things and expect that complex aspects of the story will be explained in the most simple and stupid way just to go back to the action as soon as possible. I'm okay with knowing more about the story and the characters and get more details to think by myself of what could happen in the future chapters

The story feels like it's been spinning its wheels since the Shinoa squad teamed up with Ferid and Crowley. I actually liked the newest chapter quite a bit since it made some definite progress on the plot, but most of the other chapters don't seem to move things along enough for how many pages they have.

I'm excited we're finally get some plot development with Shikama being the first progenitor, though I feel like some things, like the three-month time skip was unnecessary and created a halt in the story.

Although not perfect, which is why I only gave a 4, I do feel like things are progressing smoothly and we continue to see interesting plot developments as the stories moves on.

I can't say I'm a fan of the direction Kagami is taking, but at least the plot is moving forward.

Generally I like how it is going, I just hope they have a good explanation for Shikama Doji being with Kureto and Shinoa at the same time. I'm excited about how everything will play out and I think they are on a good way.

Reading this manga is like drinking a margarita that you know is spiked with laxatives to be fucking honest

Majority of respondents didn’t expect Shikama Doji to be the First Progenitor while 34 (6.1%) totally saw it coming. Overall, I think the plot reveal caught most people by surprise.

This question was a bit divided. 58 (10.4%) of respondents wish the First Progenitor was someone else.

Among the write in responses we have:

I'm kind of wondering why he is so weak as a demon (e.g. Yuu is a lot stronger than Shinoa, but maybe that is their own strength?) I hope it will get explained

I wanted it to be like Dracula

I'm okay with it, but I also wish it was Yu

I'm not sure. While it was pretty obvious to me it still came out of nowhere, there weren't much hints at all, I just thought it was them via process of elimination, no one else gave off a vibe of being the First Progenitor. So I think it wasn't well developed at all, it's kind of like Scrappy-Doo being the villain of the first movie, except it makes sense in that case considering his history as a character both in the series' plot and in the fandom, and the reveal was better handled.

This question was hilariously split among everyone’s opinions on what Kagami has planned for this part of the plot. It makes me a bit eager to see what’ll happen to see which faction will be right lol

Half of the respondents would love for Yuichiro to just chill out with the next majority hoping Yuu is successful in reviving the deceased and the world doesn’t get harmed from it.

Most respondents don’t believe Shikama Doji will be the ultimate Big Bad. There will either be someone working alongside him or above him. Maybe God? We’ll see.

Majority don’t believe Shinoa will ever be at odds with her squad, though 20 (3.6%) respondents think she will be.

Although a hefty portion aren’t too confident in guessing what Kagami has planned, majority believe Shinoa will unlock the power Mahiru No Yo spoke about by having a desire to protect her squad.

Of the 27 write ins for this portion, some respondents believed this:

She will realize her feelings for Yuichiro, but I don't think it will go as far as having sex or a sexual encounter

One of the 7 sins that is not necessarily lust that awaken some strong desire inside her. Envy.

as seen before, probably killing one of her brothers

Over half of the respondents hope to see the power of family pull through with Shinoa getting the full power of her demon though over a quarter of people hope that she never unlocks that power. 18 (3.2%) of respondents do hope she has sex or a sexual encounter with Yuichiro to awaken her demon.

A few of the 31 write ins:

Something unexpected and cool

By having sex with Mitsuba

By pure wish and strong will

I hope she doesn't because I don't want to see her become her sister. I want to see her grow powerful without the aid of a demon.

Recognising her feelings for Yuu.

Through a sexual encounter with Crowley

While most people believe she is a set antagonist, a significant portion of people aren’t too sure.

Here are some of the write in responses:

Enemy of my enemy type of ally

I believe she was used by saito

Yes but not of her own accord. Seeing that she's mostly demon now.

Part of it, but not the mastermind behind everything

No, Mahiru no Yo is probably just a puppet trying to rebel

Majority don’t believe him to be an antaognist in the bigger picture of things, though a considerable fraction aren’t too sure.

He's just... weird. I don't trust him nor his intentions.

He's like the middle man-ish.

No, he's probably doing everything to contradict Saito, who is trying to contradict Shikama Douji.

I think Ferid is simply doing what Saito manipulates him into doing, by doing the opposite of what he THINKS Saito wants.

Though it’s close, most people aren’t too sure where Saito stands in the end.

I think Saito works for Shikamadouji but intends to betray them

A victim-turned-villain who's familiar with the antagonists' plan and so participated in it

Majority are hoping to see the Michaela factor get more attention in the narrative with the seraph gene falling behind in second place. 

Yoichi getting revenge for his sister

Asuramaru's and Krul's backstory and relationship

The Hiiragi family

The downfall of the JIDA

Explaining what the hell is going on with Guren. He's already with the main characters anyways, might as well give an explanation.

And lastly, I had asked for closping opinions on chapter 57 and Owari no Seraph as a whole before ending the survey. I received around 250 responses. While I can’t post all, here are a handful.

As a whole, I wished that we saw more representations of the characters' mindsets on the current situations. Their minds have to be pretty messsed up after all the things that have happened, but we only see how the characters act so impulsively in the moment and only hear their current thoughts that we don't get to know what they think of the consequences and impacts of their decisions. It may be because of my intense liking for Tokyo Ghoul, but I would really like to see the impact of the many things going on. I think it will help us understand characters like Yuuichirou, Mikaela, Guren, Shinoa, and tons of other characters better.

There is so much potential in the world Kagami has attempted to build, so much that can be explored in this series. There are some really incredible characters if they get the proper treatment. I really hope it doesn't get ruined or that Kagami doesn't take the easy way out with cheap/bad plot devices (such as Shinoa awakening her demon by having sex with someone, especially Yuuichirou, because that's cheap and boring and so unbelievably unoriginal). I adore this series so much, so I hope it gets the development it deserves.

I have faith for a solid story, even if I don't personally agree with every plot point.

WHAT IS MAHIRU ACTUALLY 

Kind of surprising, but overall I think it's okay as long as it's written well and everything ties together in the end. This new reveal could add a bunch of new plot points which might be odd because I think there's a lot of other things the writers need to explain or get into. I guess I'm just trying to think positively about what this could add or mean for future chapters.

Thanks to OnS, I've been able to find a niche I thoroughly enjoy spending many hours enjoying fanfics, shippings, discussions and fangirling over some of the characters.The Anime is Ok, but I absolutely adore the Manga

I want Crowley's thicc in my thrussy 

Needs consistent characterization as opposed to 'whatever mood the situation requires' as it's been doing, if it can pull that off then I think OnS would be able to flow better even if the plot development is slow

If we don't see Shinya's bare chest or dick by the end of this manga, what was the fucking point? @ Kagami 

I think the author worries too much on hitting various shonen tropes, and also making a commercial product. The manga would probably improve if it changed magazines to something less mainstream and less shonen focused.  

If Mika dies by the end of this manga, I will rip my asshole inside out

kagami why

Again, thank you for particpating in the survey! I will definitely do it again at some point if I can and hopefully I’ll be able to give more in depth analyses from the questions provided. Hope you have fun interpreting this stuff as you will lol

[icharchivist]

Ok so I know there's theorys that Dice is from a rich family or maybe Otome's? son due to how fling posse is connected to the government; what if Dice is part of the family from the previous government? Now I know there has been little to no info on the previous gov but Stella, especially with the stuff on Dice being a king from a fallen kingdom, has been giving me ideas haha. Also fling posse might hate the gov? Like Ramuda wants to kill Otome and Gentaro seems to not like it with the whole1/2

2/2twin theory thing. But anyways those are just some of my ramblings that I thought of while listening to Stella (again) haha. Sorry if this made no sensr

______________________________________________________

Oh no no don’t apologize it’s neat i’m glad you came and told me about it!!! Hi!! welcome here overthinking about our boys!! (and wow overthinking listening to Stella is such a mood nonny ily)

But by all account i think this theory could stand just as much as him being Otome’s son, especially if we take Stella to the word yeah! 

Like yeah, the Posse seems to be really against the government in some way or another, Ramuda had expressed wanting to tear it all down (and all of humanity with it which implies already some very dark history and resentment for the government for him to be this extreme about it)(and the fact he has little to no past outside the government, that his name means “Random Number” and that apparently in the TDD Drama Tracks (only something i’ve been told by a friend so sorry if it’s not entierely accurate) he becomes extremely evasive when they discover a plot of children trafficking to someone involved in the government- yeah there might be a lot of shady things there) and Gentaro at least has the government keeping a close eye on him for a reason or another, which seems at least to be that Gentaro has some knowledge over shady elements of the government whenever he experienced them or has reasons to at least be on a watchlist. (the twin theory ofc but twin or not it’s something that Gentaro knows about the child trafficking going on that we know happened as described by the TDD drama track-)

But then we have Dice and, pardon the pun, but he seems to be Ramuda’s trumpcard by all account, his joker dare i say. I have no doubt Ramuda picked them all for a reason and so he did for Dice, and obviously him being Otome’s son would be a sort of, like, keeping Otome at bay, like waving her son in front of her to somewhat have a control over her - if it’s not that, then Dice must be still a sight that must have that strong of a message against the government. 

Dice in particular has expressed absolutly no opinion over the government, so honesty god knows what he himself might be thinking about all of this. Stella is the only dive we have on that but since it was written by Gentaro and perhaps with forshadowing of the writters we don’t know how much is something Dice “I live 100% in the present” would think, how much of his own experience actually leaked into his verse.

NOW HOWEVER just like you said, if we take Stella for its word, Dice is presented as a Fugitive, a King that had fallen, with a throne far out of reach and even if i remember well, a mention of a closed door that was the result of all the war and desolation, and the system in power, which pretty much looks a lot like what we know of Chuukiuko and what Otome’s government has instored (the motif of door/gates is still used a lot to reference this specifically government controlled section of the country after all).

So while ofc it still gives some elements for the Otome’s son theory, there are perfect arguments to be made as of him being son of the previous’s minister for exemple. It would give complete different reasons for Dice to run away, one being really of a fugitive running for his safety and would give all sort of reasons on how he would burry this specific part of his life away and even more so his whole search on “why he was kept alive” (as by stella) and “him wanting to feel alive” (as for his motto)

Imo i think Dice is definitly associated with one of the Major Power In Place in the Government, either before or after Otome’s rise to power, and that’s exactly why Ramuda had reached out for him: Dice’s presence in his team possibly passing a message that Dice isn’t even aware he’s sending. 

Him being the son of the previous government would make more grim how he accepts what befall his way in a way, as in a way, he would already have lost everything and would have been in danger if he hadn’t given up everything - which, again as you point out, fits a LOT his verse in Stella. 

The Otome’s theory is still very compeeling to me though bc i do end up caring more giving a face to his potential parent ahah, and there would be implications of Dice distancing himself from his mother on his own terms, and there could still be still a conflict in Dice as well, his family is responsible for what happened now with the government. However it does make that you have to reach in his verse in Stella than the alternative that can work quite litteraly if he was the son of the opposition. 

All we really have about the opposition tbh is the brutal execution Otome did on live TV by killing the previous prime minister in the TDD’s manga, which again can feed this theory especially in regard to Stella (”the throne is behind a monochrome window” that Dice says, everytime i hear “monochrome” i think of a picture, or an image, a TV perhaps - quite litterally that could refer to this Coup d’Etat, but again there’s room for it to be about both Otome or the Opposition - it is just FAR grimmer if it is the Opposition bc it would imply seeing his parent being killed on live TV and oof. That said that would raise a whole tone of concerning questions as of how Dice was willing to bet his life for a hypmic if his father indeed died because of it and oof. So much angst fuels for headcanons there.)

The other thing that Stella could hint at as of Dice being son of the opposition would be the fact he was “driven away” rather than leaving on his own volion - so it depends again on how litteral we should take Stella on that regard, but there is definitly a subtext there. Ofc like i said we can reach for the other theory in say, “was driven away because his morals didn’t allign anymore with his family” which is also something echoed in Stella “ Is the ideal belief the poison that leads to death?” but there’s also nothing that contradicts him being the son of the Opposition with that either. (it depends if you think it’s “he always had those beliefs via his family and it became a danger when Otome got into power” or “he couldn’t even face his own mother anymore”. Honestly any takes bring to angst and i’m IN for it).

In the end what it changes is whenever Ramuda is using him as a reminder to Otome than she didn’t destroy the full previous government, or almost a threat/hostage by keeping her son (after all she doesn’t need to know the details of his alliance with Ramuda and Ramuda could use it all that much- and since he’s in friendly terms with Dice it’s not like Otome could do anything for/against Dice without Dice to be suspicious). Either way i do feel like Dice would much more likely be a Taunt against the Government, as far as Ramuda’s goal is concerned. 

I still feel strongly for him being Otome’s son bc the Drama™ but you’re entierely right that the subtext about him being perhaps the son of the opposition is there in Stella and can be supported by pieces of canon. The thing is that most of the elements we have mostly hint at “Dice is linked to a Powerful part of the Government” so every clues can be used as a double edged sword, but still there. And all of those clues still hints at a LOT of Drama.

And I love Drama. 

So yeah I really like both theories and tbh I didn’t even think much about the possibility of him being the opposition’s son before that so that was a cool exercice to try to think about it, and it does bring a very cool alternative storyline. I think i’d be content with both personally but i really dig them both.

So thank you so much for sharing :3c i truly appreciate and that’s a tons of fun! 

Thanks for the message ;O

[hellanoragami-blog]

Chapter 74 Thoughts

Wow!! There sure is a lot of subliminal foreshadowing for such a silly chapter!! Unbelievable. :) Now I get to dig in and dissect it!

We’re told right off the bat that Fujisaki hasn’t been attending school. Though I don’t believe it’s because of the flu. (Quick note here, it really is flu season! Please go out and get your flu shot, if you haven’t/can! It’s pretty nasty this year. I just got over the worst of it, myself!)

If I had to guess, it’s most likely due to his injuries. Remember, Fujisaki’s body is human. That assault by Bishamon looked pretty nasty, so it would take some time to recover. But I bet you, he’s still keeping watch via Mizuchi. He’s still plotting for later, undoubtedly.

A quick pointer, the date says the 27th on Hiyori’s diary. As @fast-moon pointed out in their translation notes, Yukine’s “birthday” would be the 29th of November. Previously thought the 24th, but this correction is more accurate.

And in the beginning, we see the word ‘unforgettable’ quite a lot. I get the feeling this is foreshadowing something for the future. What, I’m not sure. But it’s very obvious, and I’m certain that it’s going to carry over into future events--especially because of Hiyori’s dialogue.

“This looked like it really would be an unforgettable memory...”

There’s not really much to report on, as far as the practice goes. Although, I kinda relate to Hiyori here; this whole chapter screamed ‘second-hand embarrassment’, haha. But y’know, Yato’s very...extra, when it comes to showing how much he cares. It’s still very endearing, though, no matter how embarrassing it is.

The next thing I wanted to point out was the three sacred treasures summoning Yato. Not Amaterasu. I’m still willing to bet that the whole thing of how a shinki appropriates a God is coming into play here. They’re the ones who seem to be in control of everything. Not Amaterasu. I believe this is what Adachitoka were trying to hint at, without making it obvious: we shouldn’t be holding Amaterasu accountable. At least, not completely. The treasures are seen as Gods themselves, practically, so it’s no wonder that they’re seen as important figures in Heaven’s political system.

There’s not really much I can say about the talk regarding the God’s Greatest Secret...although, it is established that they decided to leave well enough alone--at least for now. (Haha, it’s implied that Takemikazuchi was eavesdropping a little. I wonder what he’ll take away from that conversation?)

The group returns home and it’s pretty obvious that Yukine’s been tending to the shop and waiting up for them pretty much all day. He’s adorable and is a good boy. (I’m not dismissing Hiyori’s next dialogue; maybe we should be looking out for Yato’s well-being, also. Though, it’s best to assume no one is safe, being the series it is!)

The next morning, Yukine finds the shop empty again, and remarks how irresponsible they’re being by leaving the shop unattended. He prepares to take over, but is soon interrupted by the appearance of Coo Phone. Not gonna lie, if I got a letter from a family member to meet up somewhere when they could have just told me before, I’d be a bit uneasy, too.

Mizuchi is shown next, and from what I can gather, her body language says that she is reluctant. It’s obvious she is debating whether or not to approach Yukine. Yukine spots her though, and moves quickly to approach her himself. (Obviously in a more open and hostile way. Mizuchi is actually pretty closed off, which isn’t that unusual given her personality.)  Of course, Hiyori interjects him next which leads to a pretty problematic page.

“It was so easy to cross over to that side.”

That’s some pretty troubling dialogue. It’s obvious that Yukine still harbors quite a bit of bad feelings from when he struck Bishamon, and he’s worried that he became too much like Mizuchi. While it’s clear that he does not wish to kill, he does wish to protect Yato at all costs. Which...means that he isn’t above killing, now. At least if it ensures Yato’s safety. This is where Hiyori may be a bit wrong in her thoughts.

I’m not saying that Yukine and Mizuchi are entirely alike. But the more paranoid Yukine becomes regarding Yato’s well-being, the darker his heart will become. As Tenjin said, humans can be unreservedly cruel, when they have something they want to protect. It doesn’t make Yukine a bad kid. It just makes him desperate. Yato is like family to him, and he doesn’t want to lose him. 

Being that he was most likely abandoned by his own father in a way, he may have a few issues with losing those he’s close to; especially after being sealed away in that sarcophagus. If Yato were to disappear again like he did in the Underworld arc, Yukine would probably--ahem--McFreakin’ Lose It.

Hiyori next takes Yukine back to the shrine where they first met. What follows is the dance routine that Yato has staged, which is both equally heart-warming and embarrassing. (Go hard or go home! I really liked it, in all honesty. It was very sweet.)

Yukine of course feels quite grateful for everything, and goes to be by himself to reflect. He even starts crying, which could be a mix of both happiness and sadness. (But mostly happiness at having found a place where he truly feels that he belongs, with people that really care about him.)

Then, there is of course, the kiss. Oh, I’m gonna talk about it, alright. It feels like something that just jumped out of a fanfic. (To be perfectly honest, a pixiv user does have me crack-shipping the two; though I never expected it to take an indirectly canon turn? What the hell, Adachitoka. This was not something I wanted. What are you two doing?)

We don’t yet know the meaning or intention behind it. Does Mizuchi really love Yukine? Notice the ‘dai’ inflection in front of ‘suki’, in the Japanese version. That does seem to indicate more love, instead of just like. But taking their history into account--especially Mizuchi’s personality--it’s kind of hard to piece together how she truly feels. Although, it is quite clear that Yukine stirs her up in a way that she isn’t used to. She doesn’t usually allow things to get to her, but Yukine is canonically the first one to ever bring out her more extreme feelings.

First, she felt irritation with him. It’s hard to say if she still hates him, but I’m not sure it’s love, either. The most puzzling fact is that Mizuchi doesn’t have a history of lying. She may hide things, and have a warped view of how to treat others, but she doesn’t lie. At least, she hasn’t before.

There’s a lot of speculation as to what the kiss could mean, though. A few fans, both in the English and Chinese region, seem to believe it could be connected to Liberation. Some believe that Mizuchi can perform that ability while she is in her human form, and just inflicted Yukine again. Although this isn’t a certain thing, it is something to consider. A short spoiler from the end of the magazine reads, “What does Yukine see in Mizuchi’s eyes?”

Basically, this could bring bad or good. Most likely bad. Yukine has expressed his hatred for Mizuchi, and judging by his expression, he definitely didn’t want it to happen. He’s shocked.

This is kind of a recurrent theme in the manga though--stolen first kiss, I mean. A stolen first kiss can make one feel tainted, and seems to depict a loss of innocence, to an extent. (Especially if it wasn’t consensual, which this clearly was not.)

We don’t ever get a good look at Mizuchi’s face at any point in this chapter, so it’s really too hard to say what she is feeling. I think that’s going to be shown next chapter, which will hopefully make it easier to decipher exactly what direction this development will go in. Noragami is, before anything else, a Shonen series, however. So I don’t really expect anything substantial to come out of this kiss; at least where romance is concerned.

Ahhh, we’re gonna be facing something sinister again soon...

[sage-nebula]

I wanna send BlueEx ships for the meme but I'm having a hard time choosing one. Pick your favorite between Rin, Shiemi, Bon and/or Izumo x3

Why not all of them? ;D

Rin/Shiemi:

I definitely ship this.

Aside from the fact that I’m 95% sure that this is going to be the canon endgame pairing (or at least one of them), this is one of the rare cases in shounen manga where I feel perfectly comfortable and happy with that because of how wonderfully it’s being developed. Although it was established pretty much from the start that Rin thought Shiemi was hecka cute and had a huge crush on her, their relationship has still been primarily developed in the arena of friendship rather than the arena of love interests. I mean, for starters, Shiemi hasn’t even realized until recently that dating Rin/being romantically involved with him is even a possibility; and when she did realize it, she asked him what the difference between romance and friendship was, because she honestly didn’t know (given that this would be her first relationship and they’re both still quite young!), and he didn’t have a real answer either (aside from what you’d expect from a hormonal teenage boy =P). Because of this, all of their interactions from Shiemi’s side have been steadfastly rooted in friendship, particularly since Rin was one of the first friends that Shiemi ever had (her second ever friend, actually, after Yukio), and she didn’t even realize that he considered her to be a friend at first, considering he was stupid and lied about it when Bon teased him about it right after Shiemi started attending the cram school.

And you know what? From Rin’s side, things have been pretty focused on friendship, too! While not as obvious as Shiemi, Rin also has a pretty much friendless background; he was always getting into fights and being disruptive as a kid, and as such pretty much no one outside of his family wanted anything to do with him. The fact that the other ExWires consider him a friend is shocking to him, which is what makes it so heartbreaking when they all become terrified of him a couple scenes later thanks to Amaimon’s shenanigans in the woods. But it’s because of this that even though Rin has a crush on Shiemi (and has since he saw her, pretty much), his interactions with her have still primarily been platonic. Even in instances where he confessed that he liked her, or asked her to dance—even in those cases, Rin still put their friendship first, rather than his desire to date her. They’ve been steadily coming closer as friends and companions rather than love interests, growing as people in addition to building their budding relationship. And we can see that this is only going to continue with Shiemi formally turning him down for the time being, because she feels that she still has a lot of growing to do, and wants to continue to grow as a person (and wants him to wait for her, though she refuses to say that out loud because she knows it isn’t fair—baby). So this is a rare situation in a shounen manga where it’s very, very evident that even though Shiemi is Rin’s primary love interest, she’s also much more than just his love interest, and whatever eventual romance they have is going to be one built on a solid foundation of friendship. I’m pretty sure this is going to end up canon, and I’m excited for it, because we’re seeing relationship development in this series on par with FMA, and that’s pretty hard to accomplish.

Rin/Bon:

But that said, I also definitely ship this!

I’m pretty sure that the BlueEx mangaka is going to go the typical route of only having het ships, so I don’t have any hope for this one being canon. But that said, if it was, I’d be really happy with it! This is one of those rare instances in shounen manga (so many of those) where we see an actually healthy rivalry. Rin and Bon are rivals, sure, but they’re rivals who encourage, inspire, and support each other. Even when they fight, it’s clear that they aren’t fighting with the intention to be hurtful, per se, but rather because they’re coming from opposite views and they’re both headstrong, passionate people who sometimes have a hard time seeing where someone else is coming from. This has made it difficult for both of them to reconcile with others in the past (most notably, both of their fathers—but god damn it, Bon, Rin warned you). But with all of that said, it’s also pretty apparent how they each care about the other quite a bit and hold them in high esteem. Rin has felt that Bon was super cool since the moment they met (and only had that opinion drop when he saw Bon going off on his own father, making the same mistakes that Rin himself did), and while Bon was eternally frustrated by what he saw as a lackadaisical attitude from Rin at first, the fact that Rin continually managed to succeed and so very plainly cared about all of them regardless of the circumstances won Bon’s respect, too. I also think that, as of S2E5, Rin flipping out on Bon for treating his father like that has cut deep to Bon’s core as well. I think that is what is inspiring his change of heart toward Rin after the whole “son of Satan” thing repulsed him so.

Essentially, I think these two are a wonderful example of rivals who actually boost each other up rather than tearing each other down. They have a lot of similarities and differences, and while this causes clashing sometimes I think that, on the whole, they work beautifully together. So I ship this, too. x3

Rin/Izumo:

I like this … but I lean more toward brotp. 

I do think that Rin and Izumo work pretty well together. They’re both honest, blunt people, which means that communication isn’t likely to be an issue. Izumo also knows what it is to be a pariah, ostracized and looked down upon by others for being unapproachable or frightening, which I think is a big part of the reason why she was the first of the ExWires to reach out to Rin after what happened in the forest. Rin isn’t afraid to cut right through Izumo’s BS, either, which is something that she needs considering that she has a lot of it (I mean, I love her, but it’s true). So I definitely see the merits in this ship, especially since—like every other possible ship among the ExWires—it’s been developed wonderfully as a friendship.

That said, I will admit that the attitudes of some Rin/Izumo shippers have been pretty terrible from what I’ve seen. Namely, I’ve seen quite a few of them tearing down Shiemi with some pretty horrible things (everything from calling her a useless bimbo to accusing her of not caring about/being afraid of an ungrateful toward Rin, wtf), and that kind of behavior can cool me off a ship real fast. It’s fine if you prefer Rin/Izumo, but you don’t have to bash Shiemi or Rin/Shiemi in the process of celebrating your ship, you know? So I do like Rin/Izumo, but at the moment I’m more solidly in brotp territory thanks to the way some Rin/Izumo shippers have behaved.

Bon/Shiemi:

I haven’t really thought about this too much, but I think it could be really cute! I could see Bon getting flustered with trying to date someone like Shiemi, who is still pretty sweet and, well … I don’t want to say naive, but she is learning about romance via shoujo manga, so. =P (Which isn’t all that different from Rin, so hey!) I could especially see Bon trying to follow tropes to the letter, too, but getting flustered when things don’t go exactly the way he thinks they’re supposed to, and ultimately just throwing caution to the wind to just be himself. I don’t know, I really haven’t thought about it, but it could be cute! I wouldn’t be opposed, even if I mostly see them as a brotp at the moment.

Bon/Izumo:

Again, I haven’t thought about this one a lot either, but it could be cute/funny, even if I … don’t really see any romantic chemistry between them at the moment at all, heh. I’ll have to get farther in the series before I can really make a judgment on this one either way, since at the moment they haven’t interacted very much beyond insults and arguing.

Izumo/Shiemi:

EXORCIST GIRLFRIENDS. I really, really like this one because of all the wonderful development they’ve had. I mean, let’s not kid ourselves, they started off on a horrible foot. Izumo was downright horrid to Shiemi (something Paku called her out on, finally), and Shiemi took it because she was so desperate to make a real friend for what she felt was the first time in her life (because she didn’t feel that she was on equal footing with the Okumura twins). But thanks to Paku’s callout and Shiemi’s steadfast tendency to be wonderful, Izumo realized the error of her ways and has really improved. These two have had a steadily developing relationship built around the fact that they encourage and support each other. Izumo, thanks to Shiemi’s support, is realizing that there are people who support her outside of her one friend (Paku). And Shiemi, thanks to Izumo’s encouragement, is finding her own confidence and inner strength and is learning to stand back up when things get her down. I’ve also seen spoilers from a most recent chapter in which, after Shiemi makes a rather shocking declaration, Izumo is the one most upset about it, which really shows how far they’ve come, both as individuals and as companions.

So yeah, I definitely ship the exorcist girlfriends. ♥ They’ve come a very long way and I’m so, so happy that they’ve been allowed to develop such a strong, wonderful relationship outside of their relationships with the male characters. Seriously, bless Blue Exorcist, it makes me so happy. ♥

(Put a ship it my ask box and I’ll tell you if/why/why not I ship it.)