#-that a lot of times animes will play up the popular yaoi pairings in the shows bc it’s good for business

[spacerhapsody]

It has recently come to light that my deepest, darkest (Digimon) fandom secret is that I didn’t always ship Taito, and @hazelestelle was kind/curious enough to ask the following question in that shipping ask game:

18. A ship you never thought you would ship but do.

Buckle up, kids, because it’s time for a (long) trip down memory lane.

The year is 2002, and after about a year of exploring the internet via small guestbooks and messaging boards, someone finally pointed me towards the central German anime site. And while I think I had seen a couple of people publishing their own stories online and had written one or two myself, I hadn’t realized before that the concept of fanfic was a whole thing, let alone how much of it there was out there.

I also didn’t know yet that you could properly ship things that aren’t canon. Back then, I thought Yamto and Sora were really cute together (probably I mostly thought Yamato was the coolest person ever and was using Sora to heavily project onto), and apparently so did other people, because I easily found and read quite a few stories about them.

Now what you have to remember is that tags or any kind of useful sorting system just wasn’t a thing back then, which is how I ended up with a sliiightly different story, but I didn’t know that yet.

The fic was labeled with all kinds of warning – but I had absolutely no idea what any of those words meant. I’d only just discovered that Taichi and Yamato were Tai and Matt’s Japanese/actual names and just figured “Taito” and “Yamachi” were other (nick)names for them, and since it was popular to just throw random Japanese words into your fic at the time, and half of the time people didn't even use them right, I didn’t bother to look up what “Shounen-Ai” and “Yaoi” meant.

So I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading, and after a couple of chapters I might have found it a bit weird that Sora was so little in it, but apparently I’ve also always enjoyed a good slow-burn, so I kept on reading. I don’t even remember when I realized that there was something going on between Yamato and Taichi, but I do remember that I was fascinated, and that I couldn’t stop reading, especially once it became obvious/something actually happened between them.  

(Why do I care so much about queer people, says queer person years before she figures out she’s queer herself, etc.)

Anyways, the story was long (and my internet time limited), so it took days, if not weeks of surreal summer evenings until I was done, but I read the whole thing.

And for whatever reason… I took this as my sign to start shipping Daisuke and Ken (and a variety of DBZ characters). XD

I’ve absolutely no idea why that was what I took away from the whole thing, it’s not even that I disliked the ship (yet), I always kind of understood why people were shipping them, maybe it was simply because Digimon 02 was much more present in my mind than the first season at the time?

But then I started looking for Daisuke/Ken stories (again, without a lot of help from the websites themselves), and it was an absolute nightmare.

You simply couldn’t find anything that didn’t have Yamato/Taichi as the main ship instead, that didn’t feature them as the reason Daisuke and Ken were figuring themselves out, or didn’t have them as the “older, wiser” couple at least one of them went to for advice, and I was steadily growing more and more annoyed by them.

And it was like this for years. I think it got even worse (Adventure, and thus Yamato/Taichi, has always been more popular than any of the 02 characters, and even more so after they lost their momentum).

They just were everywhere, in every goddamn fic, no matter what other pairing you were actually looking for. I was once reading some football RPS, and when the guys in that story were listening to the radio, the host mentioned someone had called in and asked to play the previous song, from Yamato to Taichi (or the other way round) – you can’t even make that shit up.

At this point they just annoyed me so much that I made a point of not shipping them, and I think I’d also reached a point where I was a bit tired of the whole “they’re rivals/always beating each other up, so they obviously are in love” trope.

I also discovered Taichi/Koushiro (which I still think is an amazing ship that at least the German fandom has always been completely sleeping on), so I had even more reason to not ship Yamato/Taichi.

And I honestly think it would always have been this way, but then tri. happened. And hit me with full force. Because they were older, and somewhat calmer/less aggressive around each other, but still very much themselves, and most of all so blatantly obvious.

I was still in denial during most of part 1, but I already knew when Mimi shoved them into a Ferris wheel cabin and declared the group had brought them together that I was fighting a losing battle, and by part 2 with the entire onsen visit and the bickering afterwards, it was over.

Look. I get it. They’re really it. They work so well together, there’s so much there, they’re the blueprint for so many anime ships, they give me way too many feelings. (Help.)

I still don’t really ship them pre!tri., though. Partly probably because of my history with the ship, but also because I like their dynamic so much better now, and because I simply like the idea of people getting together later in life, or at the very least after they’ve at least finished high school.

TL;DR: I never, ever thought I’d fall into Taito hell, and yet here I am, in the year 2k24, absolutely obsessed with them once again. Thank you, Digimon, you’re the gift that keeps on giving.

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda Under Cut

Kaede Akamatsu

She is a good person with good intentions in canon, and she takes care of the people she likes. However, in fanon, especially with a popular pairing, she is again the WOMAN who is either homophobic or the mean lesbian. Justice for Kaede tbh

I hate to be bringing up Danganronpa. But oh my god. This fandom used to be KNOWN for it's toxic treatment towards the female love interests of the male protagonists, and she is notoriously known as THE victim of yaoi for the entire fandom. She's a pianist and the supporting character, having some really cute moments with Shuichi Saihara, the (male) main character. Especially in 2019, she suffered immense hate because of the amount of Saiouma shippers, the most popular V3 ship and in the top 2 for the entire fandom which is the ship between Shuichi and Kokichi Ouma, the (also male, just like Shuichi, hence the yaoi victim) antagonist of the game. If I had a dollar for every time I saw people hating on her, specifically just because she "gets in the way" of Saiouma, I would be able to buy V3 at least sixteen times.

classic yaoi victim- most fics have her so OOC it hurts, what is it with 12 y/o saiouma shippers and turning her into a homophobic fuckass for the sake of their shitty wattpad yaoi-

Kyoko Kirigiri

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The anime series Danganronpa 3's ending somewhat implied she and Makoto are a couple but the fandom likes to ship Makoto with Byakuya much more. The same anime series also saw a lot of hatred against her character and well, it was already there because people also complain about how she acted in the original Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc game as well, unfairly in my opinion. She's really cool and really smart and just isn't the quickest to trust people, which makes sense considering she's in fucking death games. Her deduction skills and strategy played a big part in saving the people who did make it out BOTH times she was in killing games and in one of those cases she was even willing to potentially sacrifice herself for it. I'll stop now but she is my most mistreated fave

arguably the most important character in the game but gets tossed aside a lot because of the two male leads byakuya and the main guy (dont even remember his name ngl) and she is so pretty and cool and smart and i love her so yeah <3

[olivieraa]

I think one of the greatest things that could ever happen to me just happened, and I'm a lil emotional about it, idek where to start

First of all, its the simple things. I have a voice actor hobby for sure. It never went away. I didn't watch anime for 6-7 years and then coming back, my VA obsession returned immediately. I was like "JUST WATCH THINGS WITHOUT ANALYSING THEIR VOICES FOR FUCKS SAKE" but it didn't happen, it couldn't happen

Aside from rewatches, Banana Fish was a brilliant (sort of) return to anime for me. I got real excited about the amount of boxes it ticked

But I may have found something better

I randomly, and I mean randomly stumbled across this anime

I haven't even read the plot. Idk what its about at all. But a few things caught my eye.

So I've made a couple of posts about Kenjiro Tsuda, the voice of Kaiba, and how his popularity absolutely shot up out of the damn sky and into space thanks to Jujutsu Kaisen. Now he gets roles after roles and is in the top 10 VA's. And it made me really happy cause he's been around for so long and deserves it.

However, Hiroki Takahashi, the voice of Joey, has not had the same luck. He doesn't get many roles, and when he does, they're in... not that great animes. I would know. I watched them for him. It made me sad.

So to ever imagine an anime that they are both present in aside from YGO seemed so far, far off into the distance, esp seeing as they both only got (mostly) shit roles. And now Kenjiro is doing graaaand so its just Hiroki.

Like I said, I stumbled across this anime randomly. First button it hits

Its a BL.

Brilliant. If anyone is under the impression there are a lot of BL's/Yaoi's/Shounen-ais, then you're clueless. There's a massive shortage of gay romance in general, but in anime, its about 1% of existing anime. Lower actually.

Again, I haven't looked at the plot yet, I just like to see who the romantic leads are. First name I spot, Ono Yuuki, the voice of a big fave of mine. My man here

And who is he paired with? Oh... ohoho... no other than my main man of all main mans

And I've made a lot of posts about hearing Joey's voice in things, but 99% of the time I'm talking about the voice actor for season 0 Joey. He's way more famous and gets a lot of roles. The last thing I heard DM Joey in was a dumb anime called Endride in 2016.

So yeah, I'm happy to see him in a modern, leading role in general, but the fact that its a GAY modern leading role is why its extra important.

And they are both two big faves of mine. Rocchi x Joey. I so dig it.

And then what I didn't expect was, just casually over on the right, was my other dudes name

Tsuda Kenjurou

Fucking. Kaiba.

DM Kaiba and DM Joey. In the same anime.

Didn't even think that was possible????

Like wishful thinking is them both having the leading roles but NEVER. I COULD NEVER. Imagine that happening.

Having them in the same anime is enough for me.

BUT A GAY ANIME????????

I HOPE I GET TO SEE THEM INTERACT IN THE GAY ANIME. Even if he looks like some weird blue haired man. IDC.

Like I haven't read anything about this damn thing. Its just impressions. Joey is the dark haired one being teased by the blond? Uh, yeah. I accept. Kaiba's voice is in there somewhere? YEAH, sign me UP.

Also, I spot Uchida Yuuma there as well who played the lead blondie in Banana Fish. Honestly, its Joey reunited with his son.

I was tortured for years with bad animes. Only good animes from now on. Only good things. I'm not accepting anything else.

I am blessed.

And now I have to actually read the plot lmao

[malewifespike]

they really did not have to make death note this homoerotic that was certainly a choice that was made. or maybe this whole scene is more about the Jesus imagery of washing Light’s feet and like I get that but by god damn they made it sooooooooo gaaaaaaayyyy

[absolutebl]

Hello,

This is an industry related ask. I saw a meme that got me thinking about how people view the BL industry in entertainment. The post goes like this:

GMMTV has a system where they hire actors to work on BLs as a pairing and they ensure the actors gain a strong following before casting them in a het drama and they never work on a BL again despite still reaping the benefits of the fandom they acquired from BL.

When I first saw the post I laughed because I have always joked that a lot of these actors see BL as doing dirty work that allows you to get to higher levels, but when I began to think of it I ended up feeling sad. The GMMTV pairing I thought of when I saw this was BrightWin, I have never watched their series so I don't even know much about their chemistry together but from social media I have seen that they still do promotion and sponsorship using their ship despite the fact that they probably will never be in a BL together again.

Now I don't think any actor should take a project they don't want but the thought kept ringing in my head that they see BL as something dirty which in turn make me feel dirty. This is more of a me problem as I often struggle with internalized homophobia. I am christian and I come from a place where hating gays is normal as queer people are the equivalent to demons. It took me years but over time I have come to realize that queer people are people and even if I can't completely understand them I don't want to pour energy into hate. Most people think I am strange when I defend queer people because they are so strange here. In fact, I didn't want to start watching BLs at first because I considered them as not queer enough and fetishized depictions. Over time I have come to realize that there are good stuff as well as bad ones.

My main point is that thinking of how the rest of entertainment must view BLs just brings all those feelings forward. What is your opinion on how BLs are viewed in entertainment? Do you think my thoughts are merely clouded by my own prejudice?

I have a short answer for this:

In Hollywood right now no one thinks of, cares about, or even knowns, BL.

Leaving that aside. I have a long answer too.

The "rest of entertainment" specifically Asian countries probably regards BL much in the same way the publishing industry regards romance and for much the same reasons and I talk about that in this post. It's a marketing, queer, and feminist issue. And I talk about that, and it's dirtiness specifically around dubcon and being a queer person who likes BL here.

I hope they help make you feel a bit better.

I will add, since you mentioned christianity that for you shame is likely also in play. Shame for liking soemthing deviant, shame for being a fan of anything at all (that's not sports or god).

Many fans have existed for a very long time under various cones of shame. Those who like fantasy and sci-fi, video games, RPG, LARPing, fanfic, erotic art, anime, yaoi, even kpop. To be a fan of something means at some point you will probably be shamed for it. Unfortunately, enthusiasm and love are often perceived as exploitable weaknesses by those who do not possess a similar capacity for immersive joy. Such people are pitiable, in the end, for they will never know true passion for shared ridiculousness.

I'm one of those who got stubborn about it and decided to mount a defense (which for me meant advanced degrees). But it's a battleground to make it clear that just because a thing is popular, romantic, charming, cute, appealing, sweet, or fun doesn't make in unimportant.

Finally, all industries that produce pop culture are inherently (or grow to be) corrupted and polluted in some way. Film, music, art, publishing, you name it. Any industry that makes money off talent and image is going to end up with gate keepers and middleman whose sole function is exploitative. Because that's how entertainment makes money.

It is possible to still love a thing while knowing its inception is flawed. That is not weakness, that is survival. Without the uplift that enjoyment gives us, without shared bits of pop culture and entertainment, without art (in whatever ridiculous form you need to consume it) there is no change, or growth, or connection within culture (or across cultures). There is no exploration of boundaries, there is no challenge to the social norm. There is no entertainment and distraction. And there is no escape from reality and the mundanity of everyday life.

If you need it, it's there for you, as flawed as it may be. Like a chipped glass, it still holds the water you need to drink to stay hydrated.

And I won't look at the smudges if you won't.

[askgundamwingfans]

This concludes the answers so far for the first set of AskGWFan Questions. If you have anything you wanna ask the group, use the ask function on tumblr or send me a dm!

What's a character/ship you've learned to appreciate? What made you change your mind?

Relena x Dorothy. Both as characters and as a ship. Part of this is that I hadn't seen all of the series at the time I first did fandom, but I had seen Endless Waltz, and that was the extent to which I had known Dorothy. She doesn't even interact with Relena in EW!! I had no impression of her (besides whomst??), and I honestly don't even remember if Relena ever appeared in fics I read since a lot of them were AUs anyway. However, after seeing the series and MISS RELENA and all of Dorothy's... Dorothy, I think she's got some great cult appeal!! And my mind really changed on both when I saw the whole series properly. I'm not sure I would have been on board with them at the time since I was less discerning about how female characters often get developed poorly, but I don't regret that I experienced Relena and Dorothy fully at a time where I could appreciate them.

I eventually started to appreciate Relena more, she grows up a lot by the end, even if she definitely should not be handling the responsibility she has...

Honestly breaking outside of the typical ships by reading more fics broadened my horizons. Writers I loved ventured into non-typical and I found myself enjoying the exploration. I think over time it had less to do with the ship and more to do with the characters as the fandom aged.

I've been reading a lot more yaoi since interacting with the larger fandom. I've always loved non-traditional gender roles in romance stories, and I don't know why it took me so long to try yaoi? I've read some yuri but never in Gundam Wing. Interacting with the yaoi community has opened up a lot more characterization of the pilots for me, which have always played the role of "tough, emotionless boys" in my headcanons.

Howard. He’s amazing and hilarious and as I get older I’m more and more like, is this the only sane character? I used to just be like “who is this weird guy?” and now I’m like “why isn’t there more Howard?”

What characters/ships do you think got some negative flack? How has the GW fandom's attitudes towards those characters/ships changed?

The scientists hahahahahaahah. I think for the most part unless you are in a niche group, the scientists are generally seen as child abusers to varying degrees. Tsubarov? Everyone still hates him but acknowledge he has a flair for the dramatique. Camp villain appreciation I guess. Relena was definitely shat on, being at the unfortunate intersection of romantic rival and 'annoying' female lead. Again, as someone whose canon experience was informed by Endless Waltz more than the anime, I don't remember if I had any opinions on her at all. However, I think people have admitted where they were wrong (whether owning up to bashing, or speaking up about fandom broadly).

Well besides the obvious Relena, one character that got so much hate and bashing in 1xR circles was Sylvia. I remember one of the first things I checked when I got back into fandom was Sylvia's role in the show and was surprised to see how little she actually does?? She's literally in one episode but was constantly dragged into 1xR stories to be a romantic rival for Relena. Pretty much the same role Relena took on in a lot of 1x2 stories. I guess we just got away with it because she was a minor character. It was just interesting to me that 1xR fans gave some girl the same treatment that 1x2 fans did to Relena. I think that realization helped me put aside the Relena bashing and move on from it. If I don't see Sylvia as an evil character anymore, why would Relena bashers? And I was really happy to find that I was right. As the fandom moved away from romance-centric plots to look at self growth and politics, less characters became target for fandom hate/bashing, and we moved on.

Well, back in the olden days Relena and Wufei were probably the ones who got it worst. Dorothy. Hilde. Zechs. Treize. Heck, even reasonably popular characters like Duo and Quatre had their own "defense" societies against some of the fanon surrounding them. But fans have grown up over the years and portrayals of the characters and various ships have too. (2x5 for instance has gone from a total rare pair to one of the top GW ships on AO3 which I find a fascinating trajectory.) Have we evolved into a perfect utopia? No, and there will probably always be complaints about how a given character or ship is popularly portrayed. I certainly have my bugbears, just like anyone else might. But it's a long time since I've opened up a fic and seen character bashing of the sort that was common c. 2001. People might not be shy about sharing their opinions on their own blogs, but picking fights on other people's content? Flame wars? Not so much these days. The GW fandom might be smaller, but we're also closer-knit. Fandom is about having fun; finding the pockets that bring you enjoyment and finding ways to filter out the rest, and I think we mostly get that (or we're just too old and tired to have much fight left in in us lol).

Well, very early Relena and Duo battles made me nervous of the fandom back in the day, but I think those mainly came from places within ourselves that we can see now don’t need to be at odds. I love them both and I am glad to see the fandom embrace them both on their own merits. I think it’s easy to be anti- when you are younger and appreciative when you are older (and I totally understand how people could be anti! No judgements. I just love everyone and want everyone to be happy. Except Zechs. He has some SERIOUS explaining to do.)

Oh, Relena *definitely* had a lot of negative flack. I'm glad most of us seem to have mellowed out about the poor girl. It's hard to hate a kid when one is in their 30's, lol

Relena of course, but also 3x4 was seen as the “lesser” ship back in my day and there wasn’t much depth or enthusiasm by many other fans.

[nadziejastar]

Sora: Don't worry. I've got a friend out there who will help. He's always picking up the slack for me.

I think if it was pulled off well, and Isa was properly differentiated from Saïx, then I don't think most diehard fans would oppose it. Among the general KH fandom, the biggest obstacle in my opinion is that Saïx is extremely unlikable (deliberately so). We never got a big reveal showing how Isa was Norted, like we were supposed to. It's left to the realm of innuendo and subtext.

It's not like it wasn't obvious he was possessed, but it was never stated outright. Still, I thought it was very easy to see where they were going with Lea and Isa ever since BBS. Saïx was very nasty, yet Isa was Lea's best friend. You can just tell that they were originally planning to give Isa an extremely endearing personality, if he was supposed to make up for how bad Saïx was. I'm sure if his backstory was shown in detail, he'd be way more popular. Isa was done dirty.

Riku: Sora can find the brightest part of anything, and pull off miracles like there's nothing to it. It's pretty hard not to smile around him.

Huge Akuroku fans might not like it, but I doubt it would cause a huge backlash or anything. I mean, let's face it. There never was any canon support for that pairing anyways. People are still free to ship it if that's what they want, just like they did when Xion was created as the obvious object of Roxas's affections.

And simply put, yaoi pairings are the most popular ships in KH. So LeaIsa has that working in its favor. SoraRiku is the most popular ship overall, and Lea and Isa were actually pretty similar to them in BBS. Two boys with cute character designs, complementary opposite personalities, and who are really close? KH fans eat that stuff up. I wouldn't be surprised AT ALL if LeaIsa was conceptualized, in part, based on the popularity of SoraRiku. I personally think that Nomura wanted to move away from AkuRoku as much as possible due to the inappropriateness of it, so he tried to create an appealing alternative ship.

“That Genie we met seemed really worried about his friend Al,” Xion remarked eventually. “But then he said he’d respect his friend’s wishes. I guess you can’t just jump in and do everything for them, even if you want to.”

Idly swinging her legs, she took another bite.

Axel leaned his head to one side. “Your friend’s wishes, huh…” It feels like I have heard that before, a long time ago, when I was human.

IMO, LeaIsa is what SoRiku would have looked like if it was actually specifically written to be romantic in nature. Sora and Riku had a very strong bond and Riku was very protective of Sora, but it also had that competitive rivalry aspect.

“He worries too much. Thinks he has to help Sora do everything…” Axel grimaced in irritation.

“But, Axel, aren’t you the one worrying about Riku and Sora?” Naminé giggled softly.

“Me, worry? You think I need to be worried about those two?” He stretched backward and rocked the chair back and forth, like a restless child.

LeaIsa had no such thing. It seemed like it was going for a purely protective dynamic, with Lea wanting to step in and do everything for Isa because he constantly worried about him.

“Say something. Have you even thought that maybe I can’t erase Roxas?” Axel said, in a playful tone, and Saïx finally looked up. “It’ll be all right. Cause I’m tough.” Axel puffed out his chest.

“How stupid,” said Saïx, and for a moment he smiled.

Also, not only was Lea protective, he apparently liked to show off for Isa. I just can't read this interaction as anything but flirtatious. It reminds me of how Sora and Riku were showing off for Naminé about protecting her from a shooting star. No other male characters in KH interact this way with each other. And Isa was a shy and softspoken boy who only came out of his shell for Lea. If they managed to emphasize these characteristics and successfully carry them over to the adult version of LeaIsa, then I can't see any reason why it would not be widely supported. I imagine most shippers would find it very cute.

“Why are you talking to me? There are heaps of other people to talk to.”

“I don’t want to talk to rough old men,” Larxene clearly intoned.

“If that’s so—there’s Demyx, or Marluxia, who joined just before you did. And then there’s Zexion. There’s also Saïx, in a way—”

And I think that's exactly the direction Nomura wanted to take them: cute. It would be a surprising but charming twist, considering how rough Saïx was. And I think it's why he specifically gave Saïx a different character design. Axel is very attractive. He is youthful and kinda looks like he's wearing eyeliner, too, which is neat. He was always fangirl bait, basically. Saïx was handsome, but he was still originally made to look like a villain. More rough around the edges compared to Axel.

I have no doubt that Nomura wanted an adult Isa to look more like he did in BBS. That's how he looks in the illustrations that were made after he was changed into Axel's best friend. And I mean, Isa's design is definitely going to be a lot more appealing to most shippers than Saïx's original design. That was no doubt intentional. IMO, Isa was created specifically with shipping in mind. He was obviously designed to look distinctly feminine and pretty. Softer facial features, slimmer build, etc. He has even softer features than Riku, who is also a pretty boy and huge fangirl bait.

IMO, Isa is the single most feminine KH male. I think this was intentional and based on the Sun/Moon theme. Sun is masculine, moon is feminine. So, Isa was also intended to be yaoi fangirl bait, no question. He was meant to be a very cute character. Both in looks and personality. It's why he has the Bunnymoon Mystery Gear and why Axel's fondest memories involve ice cream. He even has cute clothing, like that jacket with the little moon on it. It's just...cute. Basically LeaIsa was going for an adult yaoi vibe. They eat ice cream, play frisbee, and act cute together, since they want to relive their childhood. Done properly, fangirls would eat it up, of that I have no doubt.

In general, there is huge support for same-sex pairings in anime things. Sure, there will always be some opposition, but I don't think it's really a huge issue in these types of niche fandoms which love slash and shipping in general. Look how much demand there was for gay romance options in Fire Emblem. Korrasami was the most popular ship in TLoK and actually became canon. It was warmly received in general.

And KH2 had a very bromantic ending with Sora and Riku. And the series skyrocketed in popularity after that game, so it obviously wasn't a huge turn-off for that many people in the KH fandom. Female KH fans tend to like yaoi and male KH fans are already playing a Disney JRPG with a bunch of pretty boy heroes. In my experience, most male KH fans online don't seem to mind gay characters or anything.

And you know, KH isn't really heavy on romance anyways. Friendship has always been the most prominent thing in Kingdom Hearts. That wouldn’t change. The most canon pairing is Sora/Kairi and all we see between them is paopu fruits and hand holding. Even if LeaIsa were unambiguously canon, I still think it would be depicted in a very subtle way. It's not like it would have to be shoved in everyone's face, or become a distraction.

IMO, Nomura originally intended for them to be an ambiguous (but heavily implied) gay pairing. If the series didn’t have so much corporate interference, it would have remained that way in KH3. They even kept Isa’s outfit the same. The little star and crescent pin that Isa wore in the epilogue is a sun and moon symbol. All the games were building up to Lea using the power of waking on Isa in KH3. 358/2 Days was able to imply that Axel/Lea loved Isa, and that was fine because it was a smaller release that flew under the radar. 

Then suddenly in KH3 their relationship was not okay and had to be downplayed. I don't think that was a coincidence. KH3 had more than just the JRPG audience in mind. KH Days was a JRPG with Disney elements. KH3 was a Disney game with JRPG elements. Disney was a lot more strict with KH3 since it was a bigger title and had modern stuff like Toy Story and Frozen in it. Even if LeaIsa was ambiguous, who knows if Disney had any objections to it or not. They can be very conservative.

I think Square and/or Disney was definitely worried about casual fans disliking it. KH3 had a much stronger push to appeal to casual fans than any other game in the series. And let’s face it: a large percentage of people playing KH3 probably only played KH1 and KH2 (or it’s their first one). They didn’t play BBS or the “spin offs”. They don’t know Isa, they only know Saïx. 

And I can see many of them disliking the ship if it became canon because of that. KH3 clearly wanted to keep things familiar to causal fans. Incorporating Lea and Isa’s REAL backstory into KH3 was not a priority. Familiarity was. So sadly, Lea had to go back to being Axel and Isa had to stay Saïx. Then there’s people who just play for the Disney aspects and don’t even like the story. They might not like it, either. 

[suzu-kun22]

What is up with Shizaya?

Okay, this post is going to get very personal and is very opinion based. Y’all ship who you want to ship, this is mostly just a rant about Shizaya because it is literally impossible to avoid. So I’m going into why exactly this makes me so damn angry. It’s seriously a problem. But if you ship it, this is nothing against you as a person. Shizaya just makes me very angry.

Recently, I felt a sudden craving for Shizuo Heiwajima content. I’m not sure where the craving came from, but I had it. Now this craving is not abnormal for me, Shizuo is one of my favorite anime characters after all, so I decided to search tumblr for content of my favorite angry bartender. Much to my dismay, I had to scroll through at least 10 Shizaya related posts before I even got *one* of just Shizuo being awesome on his own.

Now, this isn’t a problem with Izaya as a character. In fact, I adore Izaya almost as much as I adore his little sisters, who I strongly believe were criminally under-utilized by the series. Izaya is a fun, charismatic, interesting villain who is entertaining to watch and plays off the world around him in fun and interesting ways. The problem with this situation I found myself in is that I utterly despise Shizaya as a ship. In fact, it is the ship I use as an example when I’m trying to explain what a ship I would never ship looks like.

Shizaya is frustrating for me to see because it’s one of those ships that I know would never ever be as widespread as it is if the two characters concerned were not both men. I have no problem with same-sex pairings (just look at like more than half of the fan art I reblog on a regular basis) but I do have a problem with same-sex pairings that only exist because the characters involved are the same sex. It also just straight-up makes no goddamn sense. Shizuo is literally the only person in the Durarara!! universe that Izaya canonically despises. The only one. Minus the fact that I’m not even sure if Izaya is capable of feeling love, that’s a lot of people for him to be into in a sexual way who are not his *sworn fucking enemy.* Shipping Izaya with Kyohei, Shinra, Namie, or even that buff red-haired woman from X2 makes more sense because these people actually willingly spend time around Izaya. They may not like him as a person, but they can tolerate him enough to be around him. Shinra and Izaya are even canonically childhood friends. Izaya seems to actually somewhat care about Shinra, why does no one go anywhere with that?? I don’t ship it, but it would be so much more tolerable than Shizaya.

Shizuo is kind of in the same boat. Obviously he has a lot more enemies (or just people he doesn’t like) than Izaya does, but he also has a lot more legitimate and healthy friendships than Izaya. More people who can stand being around him long enough to cultivate a sincere and genuine romantic relationship. Izaya is not one of those people. When it is actual stated canon that two characters utterly despise each other, that usually doesn’t mean that they secretly love each other. Shipping Shizuo with Celty (they’re my brotp), Shinra (again, brotp), Kyohei (yet again, brotp), or Vorona makes so much more sense to me. I personally ship him with Vorona because I see the ways that their strengths compliment each other. For example, Vorona is strong enough to not get hurt or panic when Shizuo gets angry, but he’s a genuine and compassionate enough person to show her that she had worth and that he loves her for who she is.

Now, look at the alternatives presented, especially the ones I elaborated on, and answer one question.

How could a relationship between Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima be healthy for either party?

Izaya doesn’t see Shizuo as a human. Shizuo’s own self-worth is already pretty garbage because he sees himself as an instrument of something he hates (violence) and is scared of hurting people he’s close to, so how would Izaya’s belief that Shizuo is a monster help assure him in anyway?

Izaya doesn’t know how to hold a conversation or even be a normal fucking person for five minutes. Shizuo is not a patient man, and he is certainly not patient enough to sit down with Izaya for hours and hours on end just to get him to function like a normal human being.

TLDR: Shizaya is only popular because it’s a light-dark yaoi ship. If you think about it longer than 2 minutes, the relationship would actually be very unhealthy for both parties involved and there are many alternatives (even other m|m ones) that would be much healthier for the characters involved and wouldn’t involve snapping canon under your goddamn foot because in canon they despise each other almost as much as I despise this ship.

[bansheefunk]

Just watched: Littlest Pet Shop, A World of Our Own season 1, part 1

18 abr '18 Overall I don't know where to start I have so much to explain... So I like the previews show, not for the waifus nor the cute art direction but the cute animals "thinking they're people"  that was cute and that was enough for me. If we hold the new show next to the old one it's really obvious this one is meant for younger girls than the preview show, the preview show was lets say 6-8 this one is 4-6, it feels lighter and more tender, easier to assimilate, you know what I mean, it's one of those "you know when you see it", early on I felt disencouraged because of this, I'm a man who matches cartoons but I have a cutoff point when it comes at a very young audience but later on something clicked with me, most of the plot were very grounded dealing with how the characters relate to each other and their problems and I released that this show's plot is how little girls imagine being an adult is like, how adult go on their lives trying to coexist and enjoying things children's think adult like but still has a very childish feeling, a couple of episodes were build around social cue normal adults will be used to but here the character are oblivious to them, not dumb or immature just naive, I don't have a problem with that bit it just feels kind of alien. Basically that is what has charmed me so far, it's very childish view of adulthood and I feel I will enjoy the whole show. Beside that the art direction is quiet enjoyable. The intro and outro themes are fashionable, I dunno about the music from the previews show but this time they feel like pop hits from today. The mise en scene is amazing, the whole town looks so utopian but above all like a toy, it's whole city that looks like a very expensive kindergarten or baby nursery and that's so charming. the overall look of the show takes from the previews one's cartoon modern aesthetic and ads gradients and textures feeling like a natural evolution and giving a feeling that reminds me of a late 00's flash game, I love it.

Episode 1 This episode starts with a newcomer cat coming to the town, Roxie (The overly excited dog) strolls him around and this is a very easy way to introduce the audience to the whole thing but this newcomer cat disappear soon enough to give room for the real plot, Roxie has to house sit for a friend but she is befriend by a gang of thots that get her in trouble. This is an example of a plot that could work in a serious story adapted for children under the filter of "this is how children thinks adults are like" and it's kind of accurate. Also on the thot gang there is a snail and I can't wrap my head around that, snails aren't cute and this one tried really hard to be cute but I'm not buying it. Plus in other episodes we see lots of animals that are traditionally not seen as cute and cuddly, that is surprising but kind of strange for me.

Episode 2 Roxie is now living with Jade (Goth black cat, very grumpy), Roxie wants to be a good friend and do something nice for jade who is immune to kindness, Roxie gets lots of idea from different people but none clicks with Jade. this is an innocent story about friendship, a deeper conflict filtered for children, fanboys will see this as lesbian romance and it really gives that vibe. Also in the bar/club were the main cast hangs out the barman is a fish in a ball full of water, that's so strange but now I'm wondering why on TV shows the main cast always has a restaurant, bar, cafe or something similar were they hang out and are friends with the people there, that's so irreal.

Episode 3 The pets go to a fair/amusement park, Jade learns to be friendly to a random raccoon that isn't a pet irl but found his way to the town by being nice. There isn't much here, it was a nice adventure.

Episode 4 Everybody on the town has something stolen, Roxie and Jade team up to solve the mystery inspired by the crime shows Roxie's owners watch. This whole thing felt like a fairy tale, a strange problem has a very common solution I expect most episodes to be like this, I don't know how to describe the "this" but I want to be proven wrong.

25 abr '18

Episode 5 We have an episode with a musical contest, this strikes me as such a girly thing, still the conflict goes on how Quincy (The fainting goat) can't sing but at the end they find him a place I don't have much to say beside that Quincy was really cute and that mouse guy that joined the cast came out of nowhere. I'm disappoint that the song they sang for the contest was hip hop, it wasn't memorable.

Episode 6 Roxie wants a slumber party and invites the rest of the female cast, it would had been funny if she had invited the guys but at least we get petunia (The thot sheep) and a duck from Edie's (The campy parrot) acting class. Tumblr has taught me that girl sleep overs are actually kind of boring and never like we see on TV, still Roxie wants to have a slumber party like on the movies rushing from activity to activity until she falls asleep and misses the real fun. I've mentioned that what charmed me about this show is that this is how little girls imagine adult life is like, grown women do not have slumber parties, they're similar but not called like that... the point is that in this episode the female crew were little girls without parents telling them to keep the noise down, just what the target audience dreams of. Also Roxie got a bouncy castle on her house but Jade ruined, was the that thing a rental? Did Roxie bough it with future plans? Either way is disheartening.

1 may '18

Episode 7 The episode goes with Roxie collecting old toys for charity, grabbing an old toy from Jade that later on turns out that it was very special for jade setting Roxy in a painful quest for it. At the end Jade lets go of her toy clown stepping into maturity and she adds that now Roxie makes her feel loved like that clown did and that ramps up the lesbian subtext like if there was no tomorrow. This was a nice episode, we saw lots of characters and places across the city, hell we even saw Jade's toy being take by a little kitty who was going around with her mom, that makes the city feel lived in and I love that.

Episode 8 Town fastest rabbit hit up on Roxie and Bev on the gym and for some reason the prepare to race against him and enlist an athletic dog that Roxie finds hot (beware shippers) and in top of that Petula gets into it teaming up with the fast rabbit and making the main gang bet for humiliation after the defeat. Incredibly they lose, the commenter on the event even said that rabbits are supposed to be fast and his victory was no surprise, so the audience celebrates the gangs effort because of how novel it was. At the end that resolution was actually very surprising it's refreshing to see a message like that.

10 may '18, night

Episode 9 So this episode opens with the girls doing yoga at the park, the mere fact of such thing makes me stop in my tracks. Anywho, this is now a Bev centric episode, this came late but it was good, Bev meets with an old turtle friend to get a backstage on a popular talk show and turns out the host that Edie admired so much is a jerk, nothing special but this show keep proving me that this is how little girls see adult life because this episode could easily be a chick flick

Episode 10 So this is an episode of Trip (The hamster) and Quincy (The goat) being best bro and doing manly shit like going on adventures but at the end the main conflict is fixed by talking seriously to each other. The last LPS cartoon and this one had a pair of guys that were best bros, Sunil and Vinny and now Trip and Quincy, an episode of them being bros and going into adventures is the last thing I would had expected in a show aimed a little girls, in cartoons aimed at girls male characters some times will play very big roles but this episode goes far beyond that and I should not be surprised about that because brotherhood is a thing that fascinates women so this may be some little girl's first yaoi ship, that's kind of concerning.

17 may '18, past midnight

Episode 11 Bev gets the main gang an invitation to a party on a cruiser with a royal corgi, this set up could had come from romance novel so I'm not surprised it's here and thinking about this episode it feels like a parody of a romance novel, I have never read one but this is the kind of thing I would expect of one. This set up fall apart in the end and we're reminded that this is a show for little girls, no couple kiss, social norms get broken and this formal party turn into madness with the main theme playing over it at the end. I don't know what to say about this plot except that the female goat Quincy met was cute but I'm sure we won't see her again.

Episode 12 I have to be honest, my hearing failed me and most of the dialog flew over my head, the plot deals with Bev doing something risky and the other pets trying to save her but at the end turns out their efforts were in vain, Bev didn't risk her life. A thing that really got my attention is that the main gang meets a spider, I always try to imagine how these character will look on the more human side of the anthropomorphism scale, like most furry characters but in this show we see so many species that rarely get furry art some times I have a hard time imaging them beyond their present design, kudos to the toymakers and the people behind the cartoon for stepping out of the comfort zone of cutesy and cuddly animals. Also I've mentioned that the shows theme is so up to date and I was wondering what'll be like to watch this in 40-50 years...

24 may '18, evening

Episode 13 This episode gets kind of paradoxical, the pets feel they've become too soft and decide to go camping to reconnect with their animal part by going to camp but I'm beyond sure even in their normal homes they're quiet domestic, they never been to a forest so their concerns are mis aimed. They get in some trouble but fix it all with teamwork and this made me notice that this show maybe more 'action' packed than what I thought before, it's not just petty drama but the pets do get in adventures.

Episode 14 Roxie caught Jade falling on her back, very different from any other cat. Roxie is incredibly incompetent keeping her mouth shout and so ends up telling everyone while runs around to tell people to not tell anyone. I don't know what to say. I can't really find a comparison for how would this plot go done in a more serious tone, I know it is about gossip but the set up is still too far out.

31 may '18, night

Episode 15 So when a an episode is interesting I have something to tell beyond the episode's plot but now I have nothing to say beside recapping stuff I've said before in other reviews. Jade becomes a fashion icon after this world's equivalent of [I really want to insert a reference here but I don't know any significant fashion bloggers, I was going to say Perez Hilton but he posts gossip and not fashion so I don't know] and everything she wears becomes a fad, Jade as the grumpy goth she is hates all this attention while Edie gets jealous. This plot doesn't have a clear adult equivalent, perhaps there is one but I have yet to see it. I'm afraid that my argument that this show is how little girls imagine the adult world to be like is crumbling.

Episode 16 remember the Sponge Bob episode 'Squirrel Jokes'? This is like an inversion of it. Quincy becomes a comedian making imitations of his friends, Edie was just on a TV PSA and people is laughing at her character through Quincy's imitation, but Quincy learns fast enough and pull an Andy Kaufman making an imitation of himself. I'm fascinated by how this is the opposite of a plot another cartoon did, such thing must had happen before but nobody must have noticed it. Also Quincy and Edie share an intimate moment at the end that is a tremendous shipper bait.

6 jun '18, night

Episode 17 So the pets get in a cruise once again, Bev's relative who is captain appears again and that's kind of a neat detail, they remember that character exists but I feel he's only a device to justify the pets getting into a cruise. Either way the plot of this episode is that the new act for the cruise's entertainment, a hypnotists husky, hypnotizes the crew and herself by accident leaving the ship unprotected, Bev takes over, uses our main gang as crew and is a terrible captain. The hypnosis scene gave me a tremendous "This is somebody's fetish" moment but thankfully the whole episode wasn't build around it. I'm feeling my argument of "this is how little girls imagine adult life is like" holds no basis anymore, the pets are in a life of endless vacations and petty drama, this isn't a soap opera like I imagined it'll go.

Episode 18 The pets are going camping, why? Why do they take vacations? They don't work! They live this life of endless leisure! — I can't with this anymore, these pets are trust fund babies... They tell scary stories around the campfire and we get clips of them but they're done in the normal style of the show feeling like they have no contrast. One of the stories mentions a human, a dog catcher being like the boogieman of this world, that was interesting but beside that there isn't much to this episode.

13 jun '18, night

Episode 19 So Jade fell into this fad of crystals but is keeping it in secret. It's a strange set up, Jade does seem self aware enough to know she defying the expectations of the people around her and that's is why she's is so weary of Roxie and Edie, because they'll make a big deal out of her acting different and that's a type of attitude she doesn't like but in my mind I have the feeling that Jade will embrace the fad and tell Edie and Roxy to buzz off but at the end this set up showed us how austere and secretive Jade is, I'm left puzzled.

Episode 20 Trip becomes a meme, but it's more like a meme from 2006, it's just an embarrassing video of him like the Star Wars kid. The joke goes is that Trip is oblivious to the fact he just humiliated himself and he goes around proud enjoying his fame to the point he organized a live show. Trip is a strange character because he doesn't have a defined gimmick, all the other characters from the main gang have something but Trip always felt flat on that matter, I think that before the show started the promotional material pointed towards him being a ninja(?) or an action guy but that hasn't been played too much in the show and even if the show was set on that being Trip's gimmick then this episode was a little out of character. Trip should have something but this episode doesn't help him to grow and had a really cheesy ending.

23 jun '18, night

Episode 21 So Edie gets all over herself, this time she takes a character out of the stage into the real world, she thinks she's a real psychic now and goes to the park, sets a tent and start to give predictions to the people. This episode addresses the criticism that 'psychics' relay on making ambiguous predictions to sound accurated once something fits the prediction but they don't go too deep with that and instead we have Edie snapping out of it mostly by herself. I don't know what to think but I feel that flavor of "this is what little girls imagine adult life is like" has returned.

24 jun '18, past midnight

Episode 22 So this episode deals with something I should had seen coming but now that I have it I'm kind of surprised. Roxy, Jade and Edie have to take care of a bunch or naughty and aggressive puppies, they fail but this setup really caught my attention, I don't remember many cartoon dealing with childcare and babysitting in this manner. I mean this is a show for little girls and the core audience may find the topic interesting but I can't recall seeing it on any other cartoon and that has made this episode so interesting for me.

5 jul '18, night

Episode 23 So Bev gets bored and decides to try roller derby after a team invited her to join. This episode reminds a lot of The Game of Their Lives, the movie that I just saw, Bev's team is full of losers who put no effort into the game, she struggles and struggles to rise them until they one one match and then they celebrate, it feels phony like in The game of Their Lives because they do not address the fact they they probably still come last in the league and who know if the team still had that fighting spirit after Bev left.

Episode 24 Trip becomes rich after selling his outlandish invention on Paw Tucket's equivalent of Dragon's Den. I remember I've said that I feel Trip doesn't have a gimmick but I feel one is growing on him, it's hard to explain but Trip is a guy who who falls into success and finds a way to ruin it, kind of like Kramer from Seinfeld but Trip has a very different personality. Still, it's too fuzzy to arrive to a conclusion yet, Either way I enjoyed the mise en scene on this episode, I want an office like Trip's. Also Quincy and Edie spend a lot of time together in this episode, is this ship baiting? I don't think a show for 4-6 years old girls would play with such a thing.

Episode 25 So Bev works as an assistant for the duo of magicians who are not getting along. The magician duo composed of a rabbit and a dog had an interesting gimmick, the rabbit is all serious while the dog clown around the tricks, they have an amazing dynamic in the stage and that reminds me a lot in 2001 I saw a live stage show of a magician and a clown with a similar dynamic, I just feel it's an amazing combination and seeing it again here really warmed my heart. On a similar note is sad that in the previews LPS show Sunil and Pepper never had an act like this together. The dog also reminds me of the argentine comedy troupe Les Luthiers for whom part of the joke is the fact that they look like serious performers of classical music. This was a really enjoyable episode and I hope we see more of the rabbit and dog due soon.

Episode 26 A shepherd dog arrives in town, Roxy and jade try to introduce him to the place but he falls over trying to run after a sheep, Roxie is kind enough to invite him to recover at their home but jade is having none of it. I think this plot has been done before, like one of those standard plot that cartoons recycle. Overall this episode was just bland, can't say much beyond hat.

Overall The first season isn't over yet, and I'll be reviewing the second part whenever it comes out. this show has charmed me, everything is cute and nothing hurts, specially the mise en scene, paw tucket feels like an utopia, where everything is shiny and clean, I want a place like it to be real so I can not live there and call its inhabitants rich assholes.

[talkativelock]

I’m new to the world of anime and I’m a bit confused. Why are same sex pairings not possible in shonen mangas? (Bnha for example) Why do writers (and promotional products) emphasize or even hint at slash pairings if it’s not going to happen? It feels like they know which pairings are popular and even provide canon support to build up the pairs. It doesn’t make sense.

Good morning, my friend, and welcome to the wide wide world of popular media. This is a complicated issue so I’m going to give you the broad strokes and it will still be very long but I reccomend doing your own research on key concepts like queerbaiting, homophobia in Japan, and yaoi as a thing.

What you’re talking about is referred to in the western world as queerbaiting; intentionally providing content and subtext to a queer relationship so that people who are invested in that kind of thing (usually straight women or queer people of every kind) will continue to watch your show in the hopes of payoff. 

In the west this is practically an artform. Writers and directors already spend more time developing the character and relationships of male characters than the do female characters, who don’t need good characterization they only need good boobs, so adding a bit of sexual tension between your mostly male cast as they form extremely strong friendships for the sake of character development is an easy way to gain desperate viewers. Usually, unless being creepy and fetishistic, the straight women are there because they crave a romantic story between two characters with equal development and a deep emotional connection which you’re far more likely to find between two men then between anyone and a woman. Queer people are there because we’re desperate for positive representation in genre tv and continue to hold out hope that we will get an actually well developed slow burn romance.

For an example of a western show that encapsulates all of this look no further than Supernatural, which builds up the sexual tension between a lot of it’s male characters so high it doesn’t even know what to do with it when it refuses to pay that off. 

In the west the corporations and producers are generally uninterested in giving any attention to The Gay Subtex in the hopes that it will go away. In Japan, especially in something like Shonen, there is a bit of a different approach.

Generally speaking, Shonen Jump, the titan in the Shonen manga industry, won’t be risking their brand by allowing a gay relationship to be text in one of their stories. Especially their stories that, as the name suggests, are technically geared towards teenaged boys. Yet, just like everywhere else in the world, teenaged girls are driving a lot of the craze and teenaged girls want that previously mentioned deep emotional romance between equals that is basically only possible between men in media. Cue a marketing strategy that is popular in Japan and even more insanely popular in other Asian countries with a thriving pop culture driven by media like South Korea; queerbaiting by design at a corporate level.

Jump plays up your ship by offering merch specifically about them in a semi-romantic position or merch with pairings on them that “aren’t couples just friends we swear” because they know that you will buy the ship wall scroll and they’re happy to make money off of you and the idea of gay people while at the same time claiming no affiliation. The most popular chapters of the manga tend to be ones with good shipping moments or emotionally resonating fight conclusions so Jump’s ranking system causes many authors to continue to ship bait in order to stay high in the rankings.

Basically, the entire system is rigged for money with no intention of delivering. There are a lot of other cultural factors that go into this like the yaoi subculture, homophobia in Japan, the more tactile nature of friendships between everyone in Japan as opposed to in the west (watch a few Japanese vine compilations and you’ll see what I mean very quickly), and the Very Complicated effect of western media and fandom on Japanese media and vice versa. I strongly encourage you to do your own research and use the google for good.

The good news is that you will continue to get Japanese merch and story moments geared towards the most popular ships that you can buy and love and that ship wars are actually useless because none of us are canon or going to become canon (except the m/f ships but ship wars are still useless there because the writer Doesn’t Care and Does What They Want). The bad news is that, just like everywhere else, representation is scarce and you’ll have to turn to fanfiction to get the payoff to all the deep emotional connections and unresolved sexual tension they put in canon.

TL;DR: Queer relationships are not possible in Shonen stories because Shonen Jump won’t be doing that to their brand anytime soon but they’re still happy to bait that for the money and devotion of fans like you and me. It feels like they know because they do, the bastards.

(side tangent; while not technically shonen and having little baring on Jump as it was about adults and a completely original anime, Yuri on Ice really shook things up by bringing the yaoi to sports, something that is usually the domain of shonen stories, and becoming extremely popular because of it. Only time will tell the effect of Yuri on Ice on the whole of the anime and manga community, or lack of it as the case may be)

(also, please do not despair my friend. Just because our ships will not be canon doesn’t mean that we should give up on them. I, for one, will continue to ship my queer ships and write about them and you’re welcome to join me. Maybe someday we will see a ship like TodoDeku be canon in a Shonen story and I sure would like to still be around to see it)

[putschki1969]

Lisani! 2010 Pamphlet - Kalafina Q&A 50 Translation

Hey! ( ･ω･)ﾉ Yesterday @mistress-of-the-obvious was kind enough to share her scans of the pamphlet and after quickly browsing through these questions, I thought it would be quite fun to translate them so you all know what’s going on ^_^. Of course we know a lot of this stuff already but all in all, the Q&A was quite insightful and there were a couple of new facts here and there. Please enjoy!

1. What was the first CD you bought? "口マンスの神様/Romance no Kamisama" by Hirose Kōmi and "パラシューター/Parachuter” by Folder (W) "BOY MEETS GIRL" by TRF (K) A Destiny's Child album (H) 2. Which song do you have on repeat right now? Kalafina's new song (W) Makihara Noriyuki’s "SPY" (K) Acid Black Cherry’s "Maria" (H) 3. Which artists do you look up to? Celine Dion (W) Ozaki Yutaka (K) DREAMS COME TRUE, Beyonce (H) 4. Who would you like to have a singing session with? Celine Dion, Spitz, Joe Hisaishi (W) KARA (K) DREAMS COME TRUE, Beyonce, Acid Black Cherry (H) 5. Who would you really like to meet? Hayao Miyazaki (W) Girls' Generation (K) Myself from a previous life (H)

6. What’s your favourite anime? All Ghibli works, "Evangelion" (W) "One Piece" (K) CLAMP's work (H) 7. What about your favourite manga? "Honey and Clover", "NANA", "We Were There", "Love★Com", " Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind ", "Oishinbo", "Monster", "Slam Dunk" "Evangelion", "Kyou no Nekomura-san " (W) "One Piece" (K) Works by George Asakura, Hidaka Banri, Mitsuki Kako etc (H) 8. Now your favourite game! My specialty is watching others play but I like "Final fantasy" and "Dragon Quest" (W) "Pokemon" (K) "Nonograms" (H) 9. What’s your go-to song at karaoke? "LOVE" by Nat King Cole (w) "喝采/Kassai" by Chiaki Naomi (K) "未来予想図II/Mirai Yosouzu II" by DREAMS COME TRUE (H) 10. Which songs would you like to cover someday? All the popular oldies (W) Ozaki Yutaka's "OH MY LITTLE GIRL" (K) Song with English lyrics (H) 11. A story hero you look up to? Ashitaka, Kaito Kid, Lupin III (W) Sailor Moon's Tuxedo Mask (K) Mickey Mouse (H) 12. A story heroine you look up to? Nausicaä, Sailor Moon (W) Sailor Moon (K) Sakura (H) 13. What do you most enjoy doing right now? Doing research for my cooking, exploring the city with by bike (W) Doing lives (K) Talking with the other members (H) 14. How do you relax? Reading a book while nestling into my bed (W) Yoga (K) While I am taking a bath (H) 15. What are you doing first thing in the morning? Mute my alarm at least twice (W) Open my curtains (K) I rub at my eyes (H) 16. What would your ideal off day be like? I’d take my time getting up, enjoy a relaxed breakfast, then I’d go see a movie and do some shopping and lastly, I’d have some fun in Disneyland! (W) I’d do some yoga and take a walk, I’d enjoy lunch on my open terrace and at night I’d have dinner with a good friend (K) I’d spend the day sleeping (H) [Surprise, surprise XD] 17. What made you cry lately? I got very emotional while talking to one of my friends (W) When I finally found a solution for something that was troubling me, I cried out of relief and immediately felt refreshed *laughs* (K) During an interview I was talking about our live performances, the thought of all these people coming to see our lives made me incredibly happy and brought tears to my eyes (H) 18. What’s something that surprised you lately? The high quality of children's clothing (W) A friend started to work on her abs and now her midsection is super thin (K) A bug was flying right at me (H) [Keiko as always obsessed with fitness! LOL at Hikaru being attacked by bugs] 19. What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened to you recently? When I tried on the aforementioned children’s clothing *laughs* (W) Eh? Nothing comes to mind... (K) Slipping even though there was nothing on the ground (H) 20. Is there anything you would like to start doing? I’d like to improve my English conversation skills and I would like to start mountain climbing (W) I wanna take cooking classes (K) I’d like to work on my tolerance for spicy food  (H) 21. One of the things you like about yourself? I am not shy in front of strangers (W) I am very positive and proactive (K) I think I have a very calm nature (H) 22. One thing you do not like about yourself? I worry too much about everything (W) I don’t think I am very smart (K) I am too indecisive (H) [You underestimate yourself, Keiko!!! You are always eager to learn new things!!] 23. What’s one of your habits? Pinching my nose after yawning (W) Putting on lip balm even though my lips aren’t dry (K) Talking in dialect. (H) 24. What can you not live without? Lip cream and a pair of fashionable glasses (W) Lip cream (K) Afternoon tea (H) 25. One of the “best” moments for you? When I am waving my arms and singing together with the audience (W) When I managed a smash while playing tennis! (K) When the three of us harmonise perfectly (H)

26. What’s something you are very particular about when it comes to yourself? I need to wear my favourite pyjamas when I am sleeping (W) The length of my bangs, down to the last millimeter (K) My eyebrows (H) [I wonder what Hikaru means by that? Does she always take extra care of her eyebrows? Or does she want them to look a particular way? o.O] 27. A daily habit of yours? Gargling (W) I always eat soup and yoghurt (K) Listening to music (H) 28. What’s something “weird” about you? When I am alone at karaoke, I will try to do some strange imitations but it won’t look anything like the original (W) Pretty much all day I am curling my toes. It’s rather troublesome (K) My sense of humour (H) [LOL at all three replies. I wanna see Wakana acting all weird and crazy in a karaoke room] 29. Something you can cook well? Spaghetti aglio e olio, simmered chicken with lemon cream (W) Spaghetti Napolitan (K) Amberjack Teriyaki (H) 30. What is your favourite fashion style? Black tights + shorts + tunic dress + jacket + fur muffler + beret + boots (W) An edgy rock style and a doll-y look (K) Cute + sexy (H) [Yup, Hikaru is always dressed in a very sexy way with all those see-through tops and such. I wouldn’t call her style cute tho. It’s more edgy and casual with a hint of sexiness if you ask me.] 31. Do you have any cosplay you'd like to try? Sailor Moon (W) Ruffy (K) · Cat (H) 32. What did you want to be as a child? Manga artist (w) Radio/TV announcer (K) Singer (H) 33. Where would you like to go on a date? Disneyland or a road trip (W) A place where it’s quiet and cosy with lots of greenery (K) Going to the places we both like (H) 34. What would a perfect proposal sound like? Something simple without being too stiff or too elaborate (W) "I want to cherish you for the rest of my lifetime" I really want someone to say this to me *laughs* “I would love to spend the rest of my life at your side” (H) 35. A place you wanna visit? Egypt! (W) L.A. (US) (K) Switzerland (H) [Yes Hikaru, come to Switzerland. It’s just a short trip to Austria from there XD] 36. Are you more of an “uke/passive” or “seme/active” type? Seme (W) Sometimes seme, sometimes uke (K) Both *laughs (H) [One track mind. All I am thinking of is yaoi/bl XD; I am actually surprised Wakana is the only one who sees herself as exclusively “seme”] 37. You are running late! What’s your excuse? I’ll apologise and come up with a tiny little lie along the lines of, "Sorry! I missed my stop!" (W) “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I am sorry!” (K) Sorry I am late, I lost track of time looking at cute clothes (> _ <) (H) 38. You just won a hundred million yen in the lottery! What are you gonna do with it? I’ll put half of it aside for my savings, with the other half I’ll buy a house for my family and I’ll travel overseas with the members of Kalafina and our staff (W) I’d buy a plot of land (K) I’d save all of it (H) 39. You are in a tough spot and in need of help! Who do you want to come to your rescue? Doraemon (W) Ruffy (K) My family (H) [LOL at Kei’s and Wa’s answers] 40. What do you associate with the word "Love"? Victory! (W) Patience (K) Doesn’t want anything in return (H) 41. What do you associate with the word "Music"? Kalafina’s song "Ongaku" (W) Being tied together (K) Connections (H) 42. How would you encourage someone who is dealing with a difficult situation? It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything, don’t push yourself too hard! (W) I will be there for you when you are ready to talk (K) I know it hurts right now but things will get better! (H) 43. If you could make one wish, what would it be? I want to be able to fly up into the sky (W) I want peace for everyone on earth (K) Please let me live a good life! (H) 44. If the world were to end tomorrow, what would be your final meal? Gyoza! (W) Chirashi Sushi made by my mother (K) A meal surrounded by all my loved ones (H) [No surprise there at all, Wakana XD] 45. Please share a secret you have never shared before! I am a big old scaredy-cat! (W) It’s a secret (K) Truth is...I have a big mole on the sole of my foot (H) [Why so secretive, Keiko????] 46. What is your best memory in 2010? All our live performances!! Our lives in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka and of course our first Asia Tour!! (W) Having met so many people through Kalafina’s music, I feel like each and every person has become a part of me (K) Being able to meet so many people (H) 47. Describe the year with a single kanji/word! 充実/Completion!  (W) 学/Studying (K) 寅/Tiger (H) [No idea how to inerpret Hikaru’s answer o.O Edit: I should have made my troubles clear here. I am aware that Hikaru refers to the Chinese zodiac year, the kanji cannot be understood otherwise but I wonder how to interpret that. Does that year encompass certain things? Obviously with all kinds of zodiac signs, there are certain predictions and such but does she really refer to that? Seems like something Wakana would do o.O ] 48. A brief comment regarding Lisani! LIVE 2010!! Lisani! LIVE is the best! (W) For this final event of the year, we would like to sing for everyone and have fun together so that all of us can feel united! (K) I am happy to be able to participate in such a nice event! (H) 49. A brief message for all the fans who came to see you! Thank you everyone for coming!! Let's make it a memorable day!! (W) Thank you! I feel incredibly happy that I could spend these precious moments together with all of you! Until next time! (K) Thank you for coming to see us! I am happy that I can meet all of you! (H) 50. How are you gonna celebrate the finished event? Karaoke, Disneyland, Onsen! (W) At a restaurant that serves some good and dry ginger ale (K) Anywhere, as long as it’s fun! (H)

[rainbowravioli]

Unpopular opinion: Victuuri is the pairing I love the most for the time being, but I wish people would stop holding it on a too high of a pedestal – worshipping it like a God or some sort of that. There are flaws that shouldn’t be overlooked and people should stop downgrading almost every single BL works or m/m pairings out there in favour of Victuuri and acting morally superior towards others. (1)

I know the problems in yaoi and I’m not going to defend it since I don’t even read and like yaoi but I understand that yaoi is purely fantasy for straight women as it stands for “yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi” (no peak, no point, no meaning). Yaoi is also a subgenre of hentai – to quote Wikipedia, “In Japanese, hentai describes any type of perverse or bizarre sexual desire or act generally aimed at members of the opposite sex from the persons depicted.” (2) What I’m trying to say is, people shouldn’t compare Victuuri to yaoi in general because it’s two different genres and of course the point of YOI is not about having sex. This is also why in shonen-ai or gay couples in non-BL works tend to have healthier representation and YOI is not the first to have a canon gay (and healthy) couple in non-BL anime. Patalliro had did that long ago before some of us even born, and they even kissed (the first same-sex kiss featured in anime). (3) Heck, the two male leads in Samurai Flamenco got married before Victuuri was canon. I also know that yaoi and shonen-ai are outdated terms and BL is the right one but I don’t see much difference (Yaoi is BL with sex while shonen-ai is BL with no sex. I forgot to mention that hentai is not a genre, it’s anything that has porn). Thus, I don’t want to compare YOI to BL works because BL is mainly focusing on gay relationships while YOI is mainly focusing on figure skating or Yuuri’s growth. (4) And we all agree that YOI is not BL and the romance is just a subplot, right? But if I were to compare Victuuri with something, then I would compare it to some sports/bishonen anime that doesn’t have the guts to go any further than teasing (Free, Owari no Seraph, Boei-Bu, etc) to hook fangirls in. P.S. I love your opinions and meta! Don’t mind any of the haters, it’s not cool to hate somebody just because of conflicting opinions. Keep on writing, your meta is my drug :3 (5)

Awwww anon, you’re sweet

I agree with you that Victuuri is not BL and should not be compared to it. BL is a genre and while it has been developing in recent years (look at things like Doukyuusei), it still continues to exist within its own framework, with its own history, themes and tropes it typically conforms to. Yuri on Ice is not BL, it’s a sports anime that happens to include a same sex couple between two men. It’s also certainly not yaoi considering how the term is applied to works of a graphic sexual nature (though I would hesitate to call it a sub-genre of hentai, they have different histories and origins but I get where you’re coming from).

That said, I also agree with you that people should not use Yuri on Ice or Victuuri to diminish other works that portray healthy gay couples. That said, while Victuuri is far from perfect, both in canon (lack of resolution and communication problems brought upon by the finale) and in Word of God (~platonic wedding rings~ kill me) it did a lot of things right. It is extremely beloved for a reason and it gained notoriety over things like No.6 and Samurai Flamenco for a reason.

I’m a big fan of No.6 and it has that beautiful thing over Yuri on Ice where we had two kisses on screen that were not at all debatable on whether they were kisses or not or whether they were romantic or not. That said, Nezumi and Shion don’t exactly have a happy ending. And in fact, their entire story is less than happy. Understandable, considering they live in a distopia and are trying to take down their corrupt government. And again, I love No.6 and I love Nezushi, but Victuuri does have the “advantages” of: a) being from a more mainstream anime with a wider audience, b) having a relationship that is happy all the way through, even with problems, and ends happily, c) a more natural, arguably more realistic development to the relationship. Still, No.6 has been receiving constant praise since it aired by the people who watched it. It’s an important staple when it comes to representation.

Samurai Flamenco is a prickly case of what do you consider to be canon? Is it what you see on screen or what the author says? Which interestingly is a big question with Victuuri as well, but staying with Samurai Flamenco for a moment. If you go with what happens on screen than indeed, it’s canon, they end the series kind of engaged, and post-series material indicates they married. The problem specifically with this series is the infamous post-finale interview where the staff completely dismisses any sort of romantic interpretation of the relationship. Now, I say screw them, and so does most of the fandom. People basically ignore that interview, but we can’t deny it exists. Now a reason why people may not praise Samurai Flamenco for representation the way they do Victuuri probably comes down to how the series is not very well known and is also just downright weird. It’s also easy to dismiss the “let’s get married” scene as not being really serious (though I would argue that doing so is ignoring who Goto and Masayoshi are as people and how they develop through the series). I mean, compare it to the scene where Victor and Yuuri exchange rings and it’s a strikingly different set-up and mood.

That said these animes do have the huge advantage of having actual confirmation of characters’ feelings and romantic intentions through both words and gestures. It’s very unfortunate that Victuuri can be considered ambiguous at this point, what with the whole #kissorhug (and if it was a kiss did Victor mean it romantically) and ~platonic wedding rings~ (I die a little bit inside every time) and never ever saying “I love you” or referring to each other as a significant other. There’s also the matter of the staff interviews and the language they use to talk about Victuuri. Soulmates =/= romance. The Free! staff also calls their characters soulmates, but nobody is waving the banner of representation on that side of the fandom.

Let’s compare Victuuri to Free! then. I’m very familiar with it so I’ll go with that, since I’m aware of the other two examples you mentioned but haven’t actually watched them.

Free! made baiting into an art form. Good lord, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anime do baiting as well or as profitable as Free! is doing. Thing with Free! though, is that it profits from multiple pairings. You can combine the Free! boys in any whichever way you want. Sure, there’s more evidence for certain pairings, but lack of evidence never stopped the fandom (looking at SouMako). And things is, KyoAni wants you to do this, they want you to ship the characters and buy the shippy merchandise and they know exactly what they are doing with a lot of their content. That said, Free! has genuine emotion and development with its characters, which is part of why I think it’s so popular. There is depth there, whatever your preference amongst the main ships is. That helps sales. But they will never take that extra step with any pairing.

Yuri on Ice doesn’t play the field the way Free! does. Victor and Yuuri are very much exclusive in their affections. They don’t have romantic coded scenes with anyone besides each other and, other than Yuuri’s crush on Yuko, they are not shown to be attracted to anyone other than each other. Their relationship drives the story, while with Free! multiple relationships drive the story (which is normal, the main characters are a group and the main theme is friendship).

Now, going back to what I said above on how you consider canon - I consider Victuuri canon and nothing Kubo says in interviews will change what I saw on screen with my own eyes. My dear co-captain @soobaki on the other hand, doesn’t, because of the lack of resolution and confirmation from Word of God. This is interesting when compared to Free! however, because one must ask: what’s stopping Free! to be as canon with its ships as Victuuri? (spoiler alert it’s money but) And here I’m going to look at one of the big ones and one of the “unofficial official pairings” according to KyoAni merch from s2 going forward: MakoHaru.

MakoHaru never kiss on screen and they certainly don’t get engaged or exchange rings. But they have an extremely deep bond that goes beyond friendship that gets developed throughout the series. Oh and they get a heavily romantic coded love confession.

Oh but Rita, you say, that doesn’t count! That’s only platonic love! Look they are even talking about swimming and putting their relationship in swimming terms, the way they do for most of the series. It’s not romantic!

Ah, but Victuuri does the exact same thing with skating. Victor and Yuuri constantly talk about their relationship in skating terms and skating metaphors. And never once say “I love you”.

Then we have the things staff says in interviews. Some things said about MakoHaru were how “they are each other’s other half”, “their relationship is an inviolable sanctuary”, writing their dialogue feels like “writing a married couple”, referred to Haru wearing Makoto’s shirt as “boyfriend’s shirt”, saying that unlike the other characters in the group Makoto is “drawn to Haru’s existence alone” and not just his swimming. All of these things are very reminiscent of the sort of things the YoI staff says about Victuuri, how they are “soulmates” and “can’t live without each other”.

The fact that I can even drawn comparisons like this is exactly the problem with the current status of Victuuri, which I’ve already talked a lot about. But like I said, Yuri on Ice can’t fully be comparable to bait anime like Free! and the rest because it went further than those and because it doesn’t contain the group element. Mappa is not trying to sell you Victor x Chris or Yuuri x Phichit, there’s no basis for that. Or for any pairing that’s not Victuuri. Unfortunately, Victuuri can still be considered ambiguous as it stands and its resolution was extremely lacking since it stopped the on-going romantic progression we’ve been having for 10 episodes. Add to that things like The Rings being missing from most of the official art and there’s a strong argument to be had about Victuuri being next-level bait.

Alas we are currently experiencing Schrodinger’s Victuuri, and it will only ever leave that limbo with either the staff finally giving acknowledgement to them as couple (which they are) or with the series going forward and sparing 10 seconds to establish them as a couple, with no margin for doubt or ambiguity. 

[tialovestelevision]

Spotlight: Sweet Blue Flowers

So… this is going to be my first Spotlight article. Expect another at some point soon-ish about Minami Kamakura Girl’s Cycling Club, or maybe about WWE Breaking Ground. These will be me talking about a show that I recommend people watch, without doing episode-by-episode breakdowns.

In the case of Sweet Blue Flower, I’m choosing this format because I don’t think she show would respond well to the way I do my episode writeups. It’s an exquisite piece of pacing, neither too fast nor too slow, and constantly pausing to write observations would be to do it no justice. I essentially binged it over the weekend, watching all eleven episodes in two days (nine of them in one night!), and that feels like the best way to experience it. I wouldn’t recommend sitting down to watch it if you don’t expect you can finish an episode. It’s currently available to watch on Crunchyroll, which has a free trial and some degree of free access. The manga, which I plan to read, will start its release in September of this year. Viz is doing the translation. They have… kind of a spotty record. Their good work is really good; a lot of what they do isn’t good. I’ll update you on how well the English-language manga turned out once I’ve read the first volume.

So… what is Sweet Blue Flower? It’s an eleven-episode single-season anime series based on the first four volumes of a manga series of the same name. It’s a high school yuri story - a romance between girls - set in the city of Kamakura, about 50 kilometers from Tokyo and standing in the shadow of Mount Fuji. Kamakura has been showing up in a lot of my anime viewing lately (the bicycling show I mentioned up there is also set in Kamakura), and I’m starting to learn my way around the city a bit in spite of never having been there. These are both shows with an intense sense of place.

I suppose I should talk a bit about yuri. No, I should back up a bit and talk a bit about homosexuality in Japan. No, I should back up a bit and talk about homosexuality as a sociological phenomenon, period.

Our understanding of how human sexuality works is a new thing, still evolving. At a physiological level, it’s always worked the way it works now - people are attracted to who they’re attracted to, social pressures and the world around them shape how they respond to that and what they express and a bit about what they find attractive but do not determine the core of it - but different times and different cultures have responded to that in different ways.

Japan has no native word for “lesbian.” It has no native word for “bisexual.” They use the English words as loanwords, and use them rarely. Yet crushes - and even full-blown adult romantic love - between people of the same sex have been part of Japan’s history, its stories, its legends, forever. Mori Ranmaru and Oda Nobunaga - and, for that matter, Mitsuhide Akechi and Oda Nobunaga - are popularly accepted as being pairs of lovers. Yuri and yaoi anime have immense popularity, and same-sex sex is fairly common in Japanese pornography.

What Japanese lacks words for, then, is not the feelings. It is not the act. It is the identity. And, usually, when something goes unnamed, it is because there is a stigma attached to it.

There is no gay marriage in Japan, or anywhere else in Asia, though Taiwan is floating it as a possible thing now. There is no formal recognition of same-sex partnerships. There is no approaching it as though a girl’s love for a girl is the same thing as a girl’s love for a boy.

And that’s why hearing those two words - “lesbian” and “bisexual” - from the lips of a major character in an anime, to describe another major character in that same anime, was a surprise. That’s why seeing, though not hearing, a third character respond to that with introspection was a delight.

I’ve mentioned that I’m transgender before. It comes up, occasionally, in expressing how moments make me feel - Joyce’s throwing Buffy out in “Becoming,” I expect, played very differently for me than it would for a cisgender straight girl. I was knocked out of the idea of blogging “Futurama” by an early-series transphobic joke, which makes me sad because there’s a lot there to like that I’d love to talk about. That I am both transgender and a lesbian, and suffered spiritual and religiously-motivated emotional abuse growing up, give me a huge amount of connection with Tara and with Wesley, and that almost certainly affects both the way I write about them as characters and the way I feel about their stories. So it is with that in mind that I say this:

I am 36 years old, and have watched television my entire life. In 36 years, I do not think I have ever seen a character on TV who I more closely identified with than Sweet Blue Flower’s Manjome Fumi. Yes, she is cisgender, and Japanese, and from an upper middle class family, but… her height and her discomfort with it. The way she hesitated before joining conversations, the way she responded to being sad (or, for that matter, happy) while alone by taking something and curling around it. Even little incidental moments… someone thinking she, in spite of how unathletic she was, would be a good addition to the basketball team simply because of her height. Watching her was watching me.

I love her for it.

I should probably talk more about the show. Kamakura. Yuri. School. Oddly for a high school anime, this one has main characters from two different schools. Matsuoko Girls’ Academy is a secular school; though there’s no real indication of whether it’s public or private, it feels private. It’s also part of a ladder system, where a student who graduates the Fujigaya middle school can enter the high school without an entrance exam. Fumi and Yasuko attend Matsuoko. Fujigaya is a Catholic girls’ school with its own ladder system, which Akira and Kyoko attend and Yasuko used to attend before transferring to Matsuoko. Fumi and Akira are childhood friends who were separated when Fumi’s family left Kamakura while she was in elementary. Akira defended and comforted Fumi when she cried. Also, when they were in elementary school, Fumi was short for her age and Akira was tall for hers; by high school Fumi has had a growth spurt that has made her exceptionally tall for a girl while Akira has not and is now almost a head shorter than Fumi. Yasuko plays basketball. An immediate attraction forms between them. Kyoko has had a crush on Yasuko for a very long time.

I… can’t really talk much about the plot. That’s another reason not to do this episode-by-episode, really. It’s not about the plot; it’s about what it makes you feel. About the honesty of the characters’ emotions. The rawness and reality of them.

And the art. Good god, it’s a beautiful show. I think the last show I watched that I was this absolutely taken by the art in was “Maria-sama ga Miteru” in the mid-2000s. I’ve gotten more picky since then. This show is utterly gorgeous. The watercolors, done by the original manga artist, in the closing credits are breathtaking.

This show is worth your time. It’s amazing.

[erucchii92]

Hey guys~ As usual, I am late. Wednesday was yesterday for me. This also happens to be my first T5W post of the year. :D As you all know, Top 5 Wednesday is a discussion group on Goodreads, started by Lainey and now moderated by Sam.

This week’s topic is Favourite Non-Written Novels. Basically, it means any top 5 fav manga, comics, graphic novels…etc. any others books except for the normal novel, you can list it down.

Mine will definitely be filled with manga, haha. I mostly read shoujo manga (romantic, sweet, fluffy manga that is sure to make a girl’s heart go doki doki), and yaoi manga (LGBT manga, well, yaoi specifically focused on gay love). But sometimes I do like to read action/ fantasy manga.

So, on to the list…

1. Kingyo Sou by Fujitsuka Yuki

Summary:

During springtime in their second year of high school, Asuka fell in love with Masami after seeing him play the Harmony Drums during the festival. However, Masami is deaf, and in his own soundless world, he has closed his heart. With this, their miraculous but painful love quietly begins. A pure midsummer love story that will warm your heart. Fujitsuka Yuki’s long awaited debut comic!

I think this is probably my favourite manga of all time. It has 8 chapters with one short bonus story, split into two books.

I love Asuka and Masami’s love story, the way that Asuka is not scared off when she found out that Masami is deaf and continued to pursue him romantically, and how Masami is slowly falling in love with Asuka.

At this point, I think I’ve read this manga more than 10 times.

2. Ichihara Yukino

Summary:

Teased unmercifully for his past as an orphan and a slave, Teito has only his best friend Mikage to ease his days at the elite Barsburg Academy – and his mastery of the magical art of Zaiphon! But even that will not be enough to save him when he discovers a horrifying secret behind the ruling Empire. Trapped in an ancient battle between a wicked Death God and the Seven Ghosts and guided by three mysterious priests, Teito discovers a power that could save the world… and shed light on his own mysterious past.

This is definitely one of my favourite action/ fantasy manga. It has 100 chapters, split into 17 books. There are sweet parts that makes you go awe, sad parts that make you cry and funny parts that make you laugh so hard. There’s even epic bromance scenes (which is probably one of the main reasons why I love this manga so much). Imagine if I still collect manga novels. I would have spent roughly RM 663 for this series alone.

3. Beauty Pop by Arai Kiyoko

Summary:

Although a truly gifted hairstylist, Kiri Koshiba has no interest in using her talent to pursue fame and fortune, unlike the three popular boys in the “Scissors Project” at school. Determined to become the best makeover team in Japan, they give showy makeovers to handpicked girls. As much as Kiri tries to shy away from the Scissors Project spotlight, she finds herself responding to beauty’s call…

When I first started reading this shoujo manga, it immediately reminded me of Prince of Tennis (God! I love that manga so much), but instead of about sports, it’s about hairstyling and stuff. I didn’t know I would end up loving this manga a lot. I’ve read this manga like more than 10 times too, and my gosh, I always end up not sleeping when I started reading because I just want to get to the next chapter and the next. Haha This manga has 51 chapters + 3 bonus stories, split into 10 books.

4. Sex Pistols / Love Pistols by Kotobuki Tarako

Summary:

People are starting to act very odd around Norio. This average, normal boy is suddenly getting a lot of unwanted romantic attention and he can’t figure out why! A broken leg and a fall down the stairs into the arms of a handsome stranger set off the beginnings of an explanation, and it is one Norio never could have possibly imagined. Soon a whole new world opens up for Norio, revealing a secret society of special people evolved from animals other than monkeys. This society has a complex structure and its members are ranked by rarity and desirability, and it turns out that Norio is a particularly rare breed and his DNA is in much demand! How will he survive in this modern jungle where he’s suddenly the prey?

I first read this manga when I was 16. You see, I love fanfictions, I love SLASH PAIRING, and I absolutely love mpreg. So, I decided to look if there’s any mpreg manga, and what do you know? There is one, and it is called… SEX PISTOLS. Or Love Pistols, it depends.

At first, I was only lured by the promise of mpreg, but I didn’t expect myself to fall in love with the manga. The characters, the stories…all of them. Damn. I find myself laughing, squealing, ranting in frustration and crying while reading this. As of now, the manga has 49 chapters, split into 8 books, and is still ongoing.

5. Shinshi Doumei Cross (The Gentleman’s Alliance Cross) by Tanemura Arina

Summary:

In return for a business loan of 50 million yen, the prestigious Kamiya family gave their daughter Haine away to the Otomiya family. Haine, now an Otomiya, is appointed to the student council of the exclusive Imperial Academy, a private school for the aristocracy. Even though Haine is of proper lineage to be on the council, she finds herself struggling to find her place among the many secrets of its elite members, especially those of the president who holds her heart – Shizumasa Togu, aka “the Emperor.”

Haine has been in love with Shizumasa Togu from the day she read the picture book he wrote as a child. She enrolls the Imperial Academy to be close to him and is accepted as a member of the student council. But with that, dark secrets start to reveal themselves! Why does “The Emperor” act differently? Is Haine really in love with Shizumasa? Why did her father sell her and why doesn’t her mother write to her anymore?

I bought this manga because I love Arina’s arts, and damn, this story is so <3. Far-fetched, not realistic but still makes my shoujo heart go doki doki. Icing on top is that it has yaoi love. Maora (the person on the cover) is a guy and loves his childhood friend, also a guy. But then, I’m not sure if it could be considered gay love, because Maora ended up dressing up as a girl so that his childhood friend would accept him. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure if what Maora and Maguri have is yaoi, because I think Maora is genderfluid and dresses up as a girl most of the time.

Honorary mention:

These two manga are in my top 10 list, and also two of the classics.

1. The Prince of Tennis by Konomi Takeshi (1999). It has 379 chapters, split into 42 books. (Imagine collecting this series O.O)

2. Gokusen by Morimoto Kozueko (1999). I think this one has 50+ chapters, split into 15 books.

So, these are my favourite non-written novels. Do you love reading manga? Have you read any that I’ve mentioned? I’d love to know what your favourite non-written novels are. :)

Cheers,

Top 5 Wednesday | Favorite Non-Written Novels (14th Feb ’17) Hey guys~ As usual, I am late. Wednesday was yesterday for me. This also happens to be my first T5W post of the year.