#Dragonball science!

[grymoria]

One of the main reasons why I like Dragon Ball so much is because of how it combines both Fantasy & Sci-Fi. I would like to live in a universe where both magic and futuristic technology can exist. I would to live in a universe where I can be around Fantasy Characters from Earth and Aliens from Outer Space. (Or Aliens from Outer Space that are based on Fantasy Characters from Earth.) To me Dragon Ball is a perfect mixture of the two genres and I cannot get enough of it.

[eerieayres]

Art Fight 2022: Lehmagra Andrill

Posting up some of my old art trades I missed. This one was from 2022.

OUTTA DA WAY! Blasting his way towards you is Halopromise's Saiyan space pirate and bounty hunter OC, Lehmagra Andrill!

I refined my technique for painting fur while working on this piece, and I do like how it turned out ^_^

I painted this for Art Fight 2022, an online OC art trade event that takes place through the month of July.  

Character © Halopromise Artwork © EerieAyres

[petnews2day]

Cuddly Cute Kittens Get Spoopy with 'BOOoop.'

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/DCvLa

Cuddly Cute Kittens Get Spoopy with 'BOOoop.'

Smirk & Dagger Games will release BOOoop., a new Halloween edition of boop., into retail in September 2023. This new edition of boop. (see “‘boop.’”) adds a little spoopy magic to the game with new meeples and a Halloween themed bed. Ghost Cats enter the mix, which can float between spaces on the bed. These […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/DCvLa #CatsNews #8216Akira8217, #Batman, #BuffyTheVampireSlayer, #DragonballZ, #DungeonsAndDragons, #GundamWing, #HarryPotterGenresWeCoverIncludeFantasy, #Horror, #JRRTolkien, #JLA, #LoneWolfAndCub, #MageKnight, #MagicTheGathering, #Pokemon, #SailorMoon, #Sandman, #ScienceFiction, #SpiderMan, #StarTrek, #StarWars, #Superman, #XMen

[farceargon]

Namekian Hcs

Alright it was about time I shared these.

Made the Icejin version of this over here ages ago-

Anyways LESGO! Below the cut for hcs from a self-taught biology nerd who relied on the internet <3 There’s uh... A lot of science-y stuff. SO SORRY I JUST LOVE THESE SNAILS SO DAMN MUCH- You don’t even understand how in depth I go with this dumb biology stuff I swear. It’s just a funny punchy manly man (but honestly super gay it’s great) show why am I going this far hELP

The species evolved from a carnivorous deep-sea fish: Long before the species ever evolved into their current appearance, Namekians were once a species of lobe-finned, deep-sea dwelling fish millions of years ago. The planet consisted of mostly water similarly to Earth in its early stages 3 billion years ago, albeit with rare few tiny land masses dotted around the surface that frequently submerged and rose as a result of tectonic activity. The species was a formidable carnivorous one that lived close to hydrothermal vents on the seafloor. Here the abundant minerals significantly boosted their growth and health in comparison to the surrounding creatures. Over time continents formed and sea level grew shallower, eventually resulting in the first instances of life moving onto land. Millions of years later and this species had become amphibious, then become reptilian as prey became more abundant on land. Clambering up the rocky, unstable shores had their hands and feet develop long digits and claws, their Rostral organ (an electroreceptive organ) moved from inside their snouts and instead grew into two appendages on their heads that had a similar function (detecting things through electromagnetic fields). As time passed the species eventually grew similar intelligence to apes on Earth, their bodies adapting and changing stance as they began utilizing tools. After millions and millions of years the first instance of the Namekian known today emerged. Namekian bodies are 50% cartilage and 50% bone, the red sections are a soft but sturdy carapace/shell: Unlike other species, only the main sections of Namekian bodies are supported by a skeleton made of bone (hips, spine, rib-cage, skull, shoulder blades, etc.). Their arms and legs are supported by and made of a skeleton of cartilage and muscle alone. This cartilage differs to the kinds found in other species, in that it is significantly stronger and capable of providing limbs with enough structure not to fall apart entirely. This is also what allows the species to stretch their limbs so drastically without causing monumental pain or tearing them apart. As well as this, their skin is just as tough yet flexible to prevent ripping or splitting. The cartilage and muscle within is capable of stretching/expanding and breaking, adrenaline released dulls the pain and allows for almost instantaneous regeneration upon the limb being retracted back to its original length (thanks to surplus of energy and blood supply). Despite the unusual strength of the cartilage, their limbs still need another way to keep the structure of the body intact. As a result the species developed a tough, yet flexible, outer shell that dots sections of the body (more notably the arms and legs where bones aren’t present). The shell is connected tight to the mass underneath the skin, keeping the general structure in place. This carapace developed from their piscine form millions of years ago, retained throughout evolution as a method of defense. The outer shell located on the torso is both used for structure, but unlike that of their limbs it’s also as a defense for their soft internal organs and bellies when in the process of developing offspring. As an added note, their powerful regenerative ability and cartilage skeleton is also what allows almost instant regeneration of arms and legs, while regenerating the main sections of the body (where actual bone is present) is far more intensive and draining. Namekians need to eat a decent meal at least once a month to stay healthy: No living creatures can survive based on water alone, the amount of energy animals need to survive surpasses that which basic photosynthesis supplies in plants. Similarly, in order to live healthy, long lives Namekians need to eat in order to supply their bodies with the nutrients/energy to keep trekking on. Their blood, like most reptiles/fish, is red a result of hemoglobin, which is a kind of metalloprotein that is responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. Most importantly to heal any injuries caused to the body. Hemoglobin is produced by iron, which tends to be why humans that are vegetarian or vegan need more iron supplements to make up for what they don’t get from meat consumption (also why they tend to suffer more from iron deficiency). Without this iron consumption the body fails to function as it should. Water alone provides little iron to the body, meaning that in order to gain the supply necessary to allow for their quick and powerful healing processes, Namekians need to consume enough food per month in order to keep their iron at a reasonable level. This applies in heavier amounts when a Namekian has entered battle and suffered substantial injury, where they need to keep iron supply up to allow their bodies to heal without too much drain or consequence. When left alone the species can survive on minimal food (provided what they do consume is high in protein) for months on end similarly to many reptiles. Fangs and claws come from predatory nature and are still used in combat to this day: As evolved, ancient predators Namekians boast sharp claws and long fangs alongside their receptive organs and large ears. Though having long since evolved beyond the need for animal instinct, the species still uses its claws and fangs in battle against their enemies through a special form of martial arts. The Namekian form of combat most often seen involves using hacking, slashing and stabbing movements with the claws and relies mostly on speed. Each movement is aimed at a specific weak spot on the target, usually the joints and softer/fleshier areas. The goal of this fighting method is to incapacitate and even bleed out the enemy before they can gather enough energy to hit heavily, dealing with foes before they become true threats. Thanks to their unusually high power level and ability to keep it growing with training, their attacks are capable of slicing through any skin and chipping away at armor (natural or fabricated). The most powerful of Namekians are even able to hack into bone with relative ease, all regardless of the enemy’s species. After the great disaster wiped out almost all of the species Namekian martial arts was almost lost. Luckily it was able to be taught to a few of the Elder Guru’s children and is slowly being re-integrated into the species’ combat training. Because of the nature of this style of combat only species with claws are able to use them, though clawed gauntlets can let others learn it decently enough if they have the patience. The combat is still less effective without the ability to stretch limbs as many of the moves taught rely on utilizing the arms much like bladed whips. Planet Namek has months-long winters when a side faces away from all three suns: Namekians have incredible cold resistance, able to exist in temperatures that other creatures can’t tolerate. Despite being naturally cold-blooded, Namekians are capable of manipulating their body temperature through their inherent and instinctual power (increasing energy levels to produce heat). In a way, this makes them a sort of hybrid between warm and cold blooded. Even though the species has this tolerance, the Long Night (the name given to the long winters by the Namekians) is mostly spent indoors as regulating body temperature drains their energy too much to be sustainable for so long (and is more often used for daily trips into the cold outdoors). Before the Long Night the species will spend weeks preparing, gathering and hunting for the food necessary to outlast the winter and collecting any materials necessary. While able to increase their body temperature, Namekians are incapable of lowering it beyond their base level. This means that even while doing better in hotter climates they still need shelter where the temperature grows too intense such as in open deserts. Namekian reproduction is possible through 3 strange methods: As an asexually reproducing species (although hemaphrodites) there are multiple methods that can cause a Namekian to undergo conception. More often than not these are considered unfortunate and are mostly uncontrollable. This is because of deeply ingrained biological instinct thanks to their asexual nature. A somewhat off topic note is that while Demon Clansmen are capable of instantaneously creating an egg in a form of rebirth, normal Namekians take somewhat around 9 months to develop their own and is not a form of rebirth. It’s merely a means of reproducing to keep the species alive. - As a sapient race not driven by mating instinct, Namekians are able to decide at any given time whether they want to have offspring or not. Having the mindset tells the brain to begin the process. This only works if the parent deeply desires to raise offspring and doesn’t take effect if it’s forced upon the brain. The process is often started at the beginning of the Long Night, where the 9 month development can be spent safe indoors with little movement, adequate rest and enough food to compensate for energy loss. - Incredible loneliness/isolation paired with heavy depression for an extended period of time (usually 2-3 months at least) can result in the process triggering. This method is more of an instinct based one, taking effect if the brain is tricked into believing that the species may be at risk of extinction and that it needs to force re-population to prevent this. One of the unfortunate two, Namekian parents often only discover that the process has happened once the child has developed enough to have a heartbeat (which is usually what gives it away in the first place thanks to the species’ stronger sensitivity and telepathic connection to their children). - Being left near-dead can cause the brain to activate a panic response, starting the reproduction cycle. Namekian bodies are capable of developing an egg even after death as the body supplies the mass and energy to the growing offspring. The flesh even produces a toxin that wards off scavengers, protecting the egg from harm. This was a former defense mechanism when the species was in its early stages, one that hasn’t been lost despite their significant evolution. Most of the species has forgotten that they are capable of this, likely thanks to not having had to deal with as much intense stress resulting in death (and nowadays because most of the species was lost to the disaster). The Dragon Clan’s ability to heal most wounds also played a part in preventing long-term recovery from mortal injury, which is what gives the brain the time to register the body’s decline. The second of the unfortunate two methods, being left in a near-death state for between 6-48 hours can jumpstart the panic response. Again, once started the parent may only realize once the development process has reached a later stage. - OH MY GODSJGHDSGNKDFH.... So much... If you read through this literally have a trophy on me and a gold star. Anyways that’s like part 1 honestly, I have so many more hcs I stg. You aren’t free, never. I just don’t wanna write a whole goddamn biology book as a tumblr post </3 The lesson to take away from this is that being a sapient, asexual species SUCKS. The cool stretchy limbs aren’t worth it.

[don-lichterman]

Tomb of Annihilation' Miniatures Boxed Sets

Tomb of Annihilation’ Miniatures Boxed Sets

WizKids revealed two new D&D Icons of the Realms: Tomb of Annihilation miniatures boxed sets for release into retail in November 2022. These new miniatures are for use with the Tomb of Annihilation Campaign from Wizards of the Coast, which was launched back in 2017 (see “Next ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Storyline Announced”). They feature key characters, villains, and monsters from the campaign setting.…

[spdk1]

REVIEW: Dragon Ball Z Movie 1 - Dead Zone (1989)

An Anime Film – a.k.a. Dragon Ball Z Movie 01: Ora no Gohan wo Kaese!! (Bring Back my Gohan!!) I can count the number of Dragon Ball Z films I’ve actually watched on one hand, largely because I used to listen to gate-keep-y fanboys that would tell me “this isn’t canon, and is terrible because of that”. I’ve grown to utterly despise this sort of mindset, and even though the few examples of older…

[mischieflily]

Introducing: Nel >:)

(I revived an irken OC from 2008 who I only ever drew once [well, twice, but on one sketchbook page - included here as the last image] and then did nothing else with her until frickin SIXTEEN YEARS LATER but hERE WE ARE.)

This is 99% my friend Nick's fault. IMPORTANT: he is the one who drew the 2nd and 3rd images here, those are not my art!!

Anywho, if you'd like to learn more about her, info is under the cut.~

Nel is an assassin hired by the Tallest to take out Zim. She's highly trained in stealth and combat and technology and all that jazz, so she hacks into Zim’s security remotely and does all this research about him (and subsequently, Dib) completely undetected.

She then “crashes” on Earth right in Dib’s flippin' backyard (she ACTUALLY crashes the ship, on purpose, but does calculations to ensure her survival and her ship's ability to be repaired).

Dib finds her (obviously, she's in his backyard), and he’s like “OH SHIT, THERE'S ANOTHER IRKEN, IMMA CUT HER UP FOR SCIENCE! >:)” but she's like “WAIT, I’ll tell you all about my race, just don’t hurt me.” This piques Dib’s interest because he can get info to use against Zim, plus she is injured and can't fight back so he doesn't think she'll try anything. He decides to just put her in alien cuffs and take her inside.

Over time, they slowly become friends huehue (or so it seems). She tells him more and more stuff about Irk which Dib uses to get an edge on Zim and his crazy schemes. The two of them bond and find out about each other, and Dib is glowing because he has a friend who is on his side and is actually treating him nicely!

Meanwhile, Zim notices Dib getting the upper hand more often, and also that Dib is not paying as much attention to him lately, and eventually finds out there is another irken hanging out with him and becomes WILDLY JEALOUS because how DARE the Dib ignore him - HIM!!!! He is ZIM!!! When confronted, Dib is like “you’re just mad because I keep stopping you” and Zim’s like, “YES I AM!!!!” But there more are layers to it than that. Zim's just INCREDIBLY bad at feelings. They all are. Lol.

Is Nel actually growing closer to Dib or just acting? Will Dib find out what's going on? Will Zim be assassinated?? Find out on the next episode of Dragonball Z! Er, I mean, these are questions I will not answer right now in case I write fanfiction. But oh do I have the answers. Ehehehe.

Also, Nel may or may not be short for a longer name 👀

Anywho, hope you enjoy these doodles / this... AU? Fanfic? Shrug.

[yurimother]

Yuri of Absence and The Chair of Yuri: Combining Lesbian Manga and Science Fiction - The Secret Garden

This article was originally written in 2021 as part of The Secret Garden, YuriMother's exclusive series of articles, available only for Patrons. If you want to access other articles and help support Yuri and LGBTQ+ content, subscribe to the YuriMother Patreon.

In the “olden days” of Yuri, which is really to say anything in the ‘00s or earlier, there was not much variety in the mainstream Yuri market. If you wanted to read a manga about the romance between two women or watch an anime with clear lesbian elements, choices were between a sweet school story or a classic tragic school Yuri story. As I have mentioned many times recently, one of the most significant advancements in the recent Yuri genre is the advent of sub-genres. Once considered an element or subgenre itself, Yuri hosts various works from isekai to feminist literature. However, one of the most curious and certainly most well-known subgenres is science fiction.

Yuri science fiction is in the spotlight right now, with everything from visual novels like Synergia to webcomics like Ratana Satis’s Soul Drifters. However, one of the most prolific and rightly celebrated titles is Iori Miyazawa’s Otherside Picnic. The series began publishing under Hayakawa’s Bunko JA imprint in 2017, and over the past few years, it exploded onto the scene.  It has an upcoming sixth book, a manga adaptation serialized in Monthly Shounen Gangan, healthy overseas publishing, and of course, an anime adaptation helmed by Kase-san and Stiens;Gate director Takuya Sato. It has garnered praise from critics CBR, Anime News Network, and Erica Friedman of Okazu. I wrote glowing reviews for the first few books, complimenting its worldbuilding, pacing, and characters. However, Otherside Picnic did not spring out of anywhere. Indeed, it is the product of gradual shifts in Yuri and sci-fi storytelling and Miyazawa’s genius theories and knowledge of the genres.

The mixture of Yuri and science fiction is not anything new; it predates most other forms of Yuri save Class S school romances. You may not picture many of these when you think of modern Yuri sci-fi, but as early as 1975, we had Yuri stories like Boku no Shotaiken that included small sci-fi elements, in this case, transferring the mind to another body. Over the next two decades or so, a time during which so few Yuri titles surfaced, it is occasionally referred to as Yuri’s “era of Darkness,” multiple titles sci-fi titles including Dirty Pair, Project A-Ko, Bubblegum Crisis, and Iczer featured science fiction settings and Yuri elements. At this time, Yuri was not much of a genre as we think of it today, but more of a factor inserted into a larger narrative. Think of Yayoi and Shion from Psycho-Pass for a more contemporary example. In fact, except for Iczer, none of these titles feature any outright lesbian characters, just female casts with “Yuri-ish” moments of women standing close together and being companions.

These titles feature two key elements that many current series have shifted further away from, soft sci-fi and Weak Yuri. Soft, as opposed to hard science fiction, is the more established of these two scales. Science fiction can be separated between outlandish and impossible ideas, sometimes known as science fantasy, and those based in reality, research, and the hard sciences such as physics, astronomy, and mathematics. Sorting works between these two labels is, ironically, not an exact science, and fans and critics alike argue about their precise definitions. However, let us consider soft and hard science as a spectrum, with outlandish premises like Dragonball on the soft end and the reality-based concepts of Space Brothers at the other. One can sort most titles along this continuum. M Alan Kazlev does an excellent job dissecting this scale in further detail. Many of the titles we enjoy today, including Otherside Picnic, inhabit this transitory space, as it is not fantasy. Still, its reliance on anthropology and psychology’s soft sciences may put it a small step below more grounded hard sci-fi. Still, it is far above the aliens and superpowered robots in ‘80s anime, so we shall consider it hard sci-fi for the sake of this argument.

*Note: Many science fiction circles use the abbreviation sci-fi for soft science fiction and SF for hard science fiction. For ease of readability and common vernacular, this article uses “sci-fi” for both instances.*

Sci-fi Yuri did not break out of soft science fiction territory until very recently. In the 1990s, Yuri underwent dramatic changes thanks to Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, which helped reform it as a genre rather than a feature. Maria Watches Over Us revived S Yuri traditions, and new titles were set in schools and focused on modern girls’ lives. In the 2000s, Yuri magazines began serialization and featured stories such as Kisses, Sighs, and Cheery Blossom Pink and Strawberry Shake Sweet (both serialized under different names). Despite being primarily aimed at adult women, the magazine found success with male audiences, prompting new stories appealing to men and boys. These works reintroduced action and science fiction into the genre with pieces like Kannazuki no Miko: Destiny of the Shrine Maiden, Blue Drop, and Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl (Yuriboke does a better job breaking all these down). However, all these were still vehemently in soft sci-fi territory, with Kashimashi’s only surreal element being an alien because the author was, to simplify grossly, unable to fathom the existence of transgender people (coming full circle from Boku no Shotaiken). Possibly the only contemporary mainstream hard sci-fi title to include Yuri and enjoy a modicum of success was Qualia The Purple. However, this series did not have the genre-defining power that later works would.

However, what changes between these series and those mentioned earlier is the Yuri itself. The relationships become much more explicit and central to the plot. You can deliberate whether or not Bubblegum Crisis is sapphic, but just try sitting someone down and arguing that Kannazuki no Miko is not built around the crux of two women holding romantic interest in each other. Yuri science fiction author Gengen Kusano proposes a dichotomy similar to soft and hard sci-fi to analyze these titles, Weak and Strong Yuri. He explains it in his own brilliantly convoluted and philosophical way, but in short, Weak Yuri relies on using logic and the mind to make the real imaginary, while strong Yuri is about emotionalism and realism, making fiction into reality.

Strong Yuri is Yuri that focuses on realism through feelings and emotions. Kusano describes it as fiction characters having real emotions. They have strong connections and affection for each other that are real and powerful. The audience experiences the feelings between the characters as they are felt and portrayed. Think of how emotional the exclamations and love, sorrow, confusion, and affection are in titles like Bloom Into You and Citrus. In a sense, they can be so strong that they transcend their fictional confines and become real, as they are experienced by considers, a stage called “radically Strong Yuri.” Most explicit Yuri, which is not subtext or suggestive content but in-your-face lesbianism, is Strong Yuri, although not all Strong Yuri is outright depictions of lesbianism; it is a square rectangle situation, not all rectangles are squares, but all squares are rectangles.

Weak Yuri is cemented in the areas of thought, logic, and epistemology. It deals with the theory of mind, the ability to attribute mental states to others or ourselves. For example, when we see someone smiling or laughing, we may not feel their emotion ourselves, as we do not have direct access to their mind, but we recognize that they are happy. In Weak Yuri, one uses their theory of mind to observe facts and deduce the existence of a Yuri relationship, even if one is not present. So-called “Yuri-ish” titles like Yuru Camp or K-ON! do not outright state or depict romantic or sexual attractions, but is attributed by the viewers onto characters.  Said observer witnesses the interactions between girls and, using that factual and observable data, puzzles out a lesbian attraction they prescribe to the subjects, whether real. Shipping culture relies on Weak Yuri’s logic Kusano’s most extreme, “Radical Weak Yuri,” the relationships of real people, like idols, become imaginary through these projections.

Blue Drop and Kashimashi may have been soft Sci-fi, but unlike the soft sci-fi, Weak Yuri series of the twentieth century, they featured Strong Yuri and placed it more as a central aspect of the work with other elements built around, rather than as a side element. The next revolution in sci-fi Yuri came when hard sci-fi titles began production. A few of the principal players here are Kusano himself, Otherside Picnic Creator Iori Miyazawa, and editor Rikimura Mizoguichi, all of whom feature in the viral Yuri Made Me Human interview of Miyazawa. Most of the theories and ideas discussed in this article, including Kusano’s Weak and Strong Yuri arguments, came from these seminars.

It all started with Kusano’s existential widescreen Yuri baroque proletariat hard sci-fi Love Live AU fanfic of the popular ship NicoMaki, consisting of Nico Yazawa and Maki Nishikino. The revised edition of this story, Last and First Idol, was published in 2016 and became the first debut title to win the prestigious Seiun Award in 42 years. Satoshi Maejima’s post-script essay at the end of the Last and First Idol collection gives far more detail into these works’ history. However, Idol was the first prominent story to feature Yuri in a hard sci-fi narrative. It was not perfect. In fact, in its push to feature gruesome content and insane hard sci-fi that Yuri is pushed to the wayside during most of the story.

*Author’s note: The first time I read Last and First Idol, I was completely unaware of its contents, which was a shocking experience; the story comes with a severe content warning).

Last and First Idol did not create a woven hard sci-fi, Strong Yuri narrative. However, it was a definite proof of the concept, a testament that the sprawling details and imagery of hard Sci-Fi could work with Yuri relationships. Kusano’s next short story, Evolution Girls, which would appear alongside Last and First Idol in the collection of the same name, saw the author focus more on emotionalism and create a Strong Yuri work. Nevertheless, Last and First Idol was a massive success. Future hard proof that Yuri hard sci-fi was coming in force came in December 2018, when Hayakawa Shobo ran a special edition of its long-running S-F Magazine featuring Yuri stories. The issue, planned by Rikimura Mizoguchi, proved so popular for the second time in its then 59-year history, the magazine had to reprint before release.

While Kusano was developing theories on Yuri and Hayakawa Shobo worked to push the public eye onto Yuri sci-fi, author Iori Miyazawa was refining his own Yuri premises, ones that, though he did not know it at the time, would not only see Strong Yuri and Hard sci-fi standing side by side in the same story but would synthesis the two into a unique product that could attract new fans and expand the borders of science fiction and Yuri. The work in question, of course, is Otherside Picnic. This light novel series about girls journeying to another world to hunt creatures from occult internet lore is to date Yuri science fiction’s best execution.

As Miyazawa admits, he strives to create Strong Yuri by focusing on emotionalism and realistic characters. However, such character-driven narratives are often at odds with hard science fiction, which requires dense walls of text to explain the complicated science behind its concepts and world. Miyazawa avoids this trap by utilizing Yuri tropes, specifically scenic Yuri and “Yuri of absence,” and integrating Yuri relationship into these explanatory literary lectures. Examining the latter first, rather than using narrative or exposition dialogue to unravel the intelligence behind the world or elements of science fiction, Miyazawa uses the relationship between Sorawo and Toriko.

In Otherside Picnic, explanations of the mysterious Otherside come primarily from two sources, dialogue and Sorawo’s inner monologue. When Sorawo and Torikko discuss a nuance of the paranormal creatures they investigate, it no longer becomes a large infodump but a Yuri scene about their relationship through their interactions and responses. According to both the strong Yuri theory and Yuri’s traditional definition, these emotions and discussions are the crux of the genre – stories about females’ relationships. Similar emotionalism fills Sorawo’s inner monologues, specifically in the frequent romantic admirations of Toriko. Thus, an explanation existing in that same space becomes Yuri, as it mirrors the same emotions and attraction. Merely by placing the usual exposition into interactions and relationships, Miyazawa was able to open hard science fiction to new readers, who may have been apprehensive before because of these text walls.

Miyazawa’s other secret weapon is, as he describes it, “Yuri of absence.” Relying on the principles of Strong Yuri, that Yuri is fiction made real through emotions, Yuri of absence extends these parameters outside of characters. As Strong Yuri relies on feeling, not observable data like characters, anything that invokes two women’s feelings together is Yuri. It could be a song, or an empty bench, as one can imagine two women on it and feel emotions tied to that. Of course, taken to its extreme, nearly anything can then be Yuri, as I have joked before, gesturing to an empty chair proclaiming, “Behold, a Yuri!” However, Miyazawa uses this Yuri of absence sparingly, rendering it closer to scenic Yuri’s intimacy.

Scenic Yuri, a particular type of Yuri of absence, focuses exclusively on setting and imagery, a feature that works particularly well in science fiction as according to Masahiro Noda’s “sci-fi is all about images.” Traditional Yuri uses character interaction and supplements it with images and sights that help communicate characters’ emotions and intimacy, like fleeting shots or descriptions of the sky. Take the shot from Kase-san and Morning Girls where Yamada stands by the bus stop. The distance between the girls, the tree in the foreground on Yamada’s side, and the pole on the right all invoke emotion and help tell the girls’ story, distanced by their differences and upcoming life paths. Now remove the girls, the scene remains, as does its meaning and emotions, whether the characters are present or not.

Scenic Yuri is employed vigorously in more male-targeted S Yuri (a minority of the Class S genre). Here, the imagery provides intimacy so that the voyeuristic viewer could look into the characters’ private and forbidden lives, specifically the girls in all-girls schools. Take the shot from Strawberry “Mo Man May Enter Here” Panic. The sweeping view of the Strawberry Dorms atop Astraea Hill, a place where men are forbidden, gives the consumer an exclusive inside look at the private home of its subjects. Otherside Picnic uses these same scenic Yuri principles in its descriptions. In this case, the intimacy does not come from a place where men are prohibited or a shot describing women’s relationships. Instead, the reports of abandoned ruins and deserted open fields where only Toriko and Sorawo exist provide extreme intimacy. It is an emotional view of two of the few women in this world with nothing but each other; thus, Yuri.

Yuri science fiction is easily the most exciting place in the genre right now. Its creators are experimenting with new theories and storytelling methods to expand the boundaries of what science fiction or Yuri alone could never do. The subgenre has undoubtedly come a long way from its Weak Yuri roots and continues to grow. Industry leaders like Miyazawa and Mizoguichi will continue to push into this excited and uncharted territory, using tactics new and old to bring together Yuri’s emotional and romantic core with science fiction’s epic and provoking imagery. I have few doubts that we have seen all these pioneers have to offer and that Last and First Idol and Otherside Picnic are just the beginning.

Sources

Friedman, Erica, and Kishiji Bando. “Shoujo Yuri Manga Guide.” Yuricon, 29 Mar. 2011, https://www.yuricon.com/oldessays/shoujo-yuri-manga-guide/.

Hanson, Katherine. Yuri No Boke 百合のボケ 〜百合が好きだ〜: Sci-Fi Yuri Anime and Manga. 17 Feb. 2012, http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2012/02/sci-fi-yuri-anime-and-manga.html.

Kit, et al. Tomo Choco Podcast Episode 58: A Trip to the Otherside. https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/tomochoco5287491142565609/id/14974343. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Komatsu, Mikikazu. “S-F Magazine’s Yuri-Themed Issue Gets Reprints Before Release.” Crunchyroll, https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/12/18/s-f-magazines-yuri-themed-issue-gets-reprints-before-release. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Kusano, Gengen. “[R-18] #SF #矢澤にこ 【SF合同サンプル】最後にして最初の矢澤 - 節足原々（セッソクハラハラ）の小説.” Pixiv, https://www.pixiv.net/novel/show.php?id=4992326. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

M Alan Kazlev. “The Scale of Hardness in Science Fiction.” Futurism, https://vocal.media/futurism/the-scale-of-hardness-in-science-fiction. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Masayuki Sakoi. Strawberry Panic S01:E21 - Like a Flower. Madhouse, 2006. tubitv.com, https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/558933/s01-e21-like-a-flower.

Maser, Verena. Beautiful and Innocent: Female Same-Sex Intimacy in the Japanese Yuri Genre. ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de, https://ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/695. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Miyazawa, Iori, et al. Yuri Made Me Human, Part 2. Translated by Kati_lilian, 24 Aug. 2018, https://teletype.in/@kati_lilian/S1yjBCJgH.

Miyazawa, Iori, and Rikimaru Mizoguchi. Yuri Made Me Human — Interview with Iori Miyazawa. Translated by kati_lilian, May 2018, https://teletype.in/@kati_lilian/SJA8KwjjN.

Moore, Caitlin, et al. “The Winter 2021 Preview Guide - Otherside Picnic.” Anime News Network, https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2021/winter/otherside-picnic/.167892. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Nicki “YuriMother” Bauman. The History and Future of Transgender Representation in Yuri - The Secret Garden, January 2021 | YuriMother on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/posts/45495024. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

---. “Yuri Is for Everyone: An Analysis of Yuri Demographics and Readership.” Anime Feminist, 12 Feb. 2020, https://www.animefeminist.com/yuri-is-for-everyone-an-analysis-of-yuri-demographics-and-readership/.

Pinansky, Sam. Interview with J-Novel Club’s Sam Pinansky. Interview by Erica Friedman, 1 Oct. 2019, https://okazu.yuricon.com/2019/10/01/interview-with-j-novel-clubs-sam-pinansky/.

Sarantos, Constance. “How Otherside Picnic Breaks the Yuri Genre Mold.” CBR, 10 Jan. 2021, https://www.cbr.com/otherside-picnic-breaks-yuri-genre-mold/.

“「SF冬の時代」は雪解けを迎えた 早川書房・溝口力丸 Vol.1.” KAI-YOU Premium, https://premium.kai-you.net/article/201. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Snapshot. https://www.cbr.com/otherside-picnic-breaks-yuri-genre-mold/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Takuya Satou. Watch Kase-San and Morning Glories. Sentai Filmworks, 2018. vrv.co, https://vrv.co/series/GYQWD1X1Y/Kase-san-and-Morning-Glories.

Walter, Damien. “Science Fiction vs SciFi vs SF: What Is the True Definition?” Damien Walter, 7 Aug. 2018, https://damiengwalter.com/2018/08/07/science-fiction-vs-scifi-vs-sf-what-is-the-true-definition/.

YuriMother. “LGBTQ Light Novel Review - Otherside Picnic Vol. 1.” The Holy Mother of Yuri, 12 Dec. 2019, https://yurimother.com/post/189635367305.

This article was originally written in 2021 as part of The Secret Garden, YuriMother's exclusive series of articles, available only for Patrons. If you want to access other articles and help support Yuri and LGBTQ+ content, subscribe to the YuriMother Patreon.

[aokozaki]

Bill Watterson (of Calvin and Hobbes fame) once said in a commentary for one of his books that "specificity is funnier than generalities" - explaining why Calvin's dad isn't just generically a white collar worker, but specifically works at the patent office.

And I first experienced the truth of this when watching Dragonball Z Abridged, where they made the choice to have one of the aliens have an Aussie accent because he's from "Space Australia".

That's funny on it's own, I guess, but it becomes gutbusting when he goes on to specify that he's from "Space Brisbane", adding his support for his local team with "goooooo Space Broncos!"

Much like Msytery Science Theater 3000 writing lots of niche jokes that only parts of the audience will get (but making enough of them that every viewer will get at least some), humor isn't just stronger in specificity, but when it's targeted at only a few people!

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest Abridged Review

Originally posted August 21st, 2016

Let’s celebrate the beauty of the abridged series.

The World’s Strongest Abridged is a celebration of what an abridged series can do, which is appropriate, given that it was released to celebrate Team Four Star reaching two million subscribers earlier this year. As a movie, it’s designed to showcase the ways an abridged series can modify the original text to address problems within a story, clarify the motivations of individual characters, and make the storytelling more efficient, all while adding a clever sense of humor that wasn’t present in the original.

Most of what’s done in World’s Strongest is standard territory for this show: the sexist conditions Bulma is kept in are made fun of (are the chains really necessary?), characters like Goku are simplified down to a single desire (to correct the mistake that Master Roshi was the world’s strongest fighter), and the fat is immensely trimmed (often by making fun of how quickly anyone other than Goku is dispatched).

The majority of the jokes in this movie are character based as well, with Team Four Star playing to their greatest strength as comics: character interaction. If this was all Team Four Star had done with this film, it would’ve been a solid addition to the Dragon Ball Z: Abridged canon, and I doubt anyone would’ve complained.

The World’s Strongest is special though.

See, the true genius of World’s Strongest is not in what Team Four Star is doing with mastery here. No, the genius of World’s Strongest is that they take the concept of an abridged series to an entirely new level, treading new water by rewriting the entirety of a character’s arc and story so as to make it more uplifting, happy, and funny.

Dr. Wheelo, the primary antagonist of World’s Strongest is unlike any antagonist we’ve yet seen in this series. To wit, he’s hardly even an antagonist himself; his assistant Dr. Kochin is the one who kidnaps Master Roshi to serve as the new body for Wheelo. Wheelo wants no part of this at all, though: he laments Kochin’s transformation of his elderly assistants into the “Bio-Warriors,” and he protests Kochin’s insistence that their base in the mountains is an evil lair, proclaiming it to be a laboratory for performing at worst, neutral science.

The only time Wheelo shows any aggression, in fact, is after everyone else has finished their pointless fighting, stepping forward in his cyborg body to claim a new one of his own so that he does not have to sit helpless and witness these “atrocities.” Wheelo is ultimately a man of peace, and when he is offered a body of his own by Gohan, he gladly accepts this resolution, patiently waiting a year for the Dragonballs to recharge and his wish to be granted.

What’s more, thanks to the foil of Kochin, Team Four Star is allowed to have this “mad scientist” story both ways, as Kochin serves as a charismatically inept antagonist, with each of his plans for defeating Goku and his friends being foiled rather quickly. The original story, about two mad scientists looking for a new body is both subverted and upheld, as Wheelo gets his happy ending and Kochin meets a timely demise.

It is also worth noting how important Gohan is to achieving this resolution. While he doesn’t get much agency outside of the ending, within it he still proves himself to be, on a certain level, the strongest of all our heroes, as while Goku and Krillin are both gung-ho for executing Wheelo, Gohan detects a kinship between himself and the scientist.

They are both very kind and curious people, and in noticing this, Gohan sees that unlike many of the other antagonists in the series, it is important that Wheelo be spared, even after all the damage he has seemingly caused. Interestingly, this is the kind of strength that Goku showcases throughout the series itself, constantly sparing enemies like Vegeta who might well have been better off dead, but that strength is nowhere to be found in him here. Instead, it belongs to Gohan.

The World’s Strongest indeed.

Rating: 5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

[towritecomicsonherarms]

TEN NEW COMICS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT BECAUSE MY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE FUCKING WIZARD!

Click the links for more info!

Starhenge: The Dragon and the Boar - “A future Merlin travels to 5th-century Britain to prevent monstrous time-traveling killer robots from robbing the universe of magic.” You ever read a synposis and go ‘um yes fucking please!’

Public Domain - “This fun and heartfelt series written and illustrated by Eisner winner CHIP ZDARSKY (SEX CRIMINALS, Daredevil) explores a WILD ALTERNATE WORLD where comic book creators aren't properly acknowledged or compensated for their creations!! Crazy, I know!!”

Sins of the Black Flamingo - “ OCCULT NOIR. MIAMI SLEAZE. Sebastian Harlow is the Black Flamingo, a flamboyant and narcissistic thief who gets his kicks stealing mystic artifacts from the wealthy and corrupt of Miami's occult underground. When his latest job leads him to his biggest score so far, the hedonistic outlaw discovers something he wasn't looking for-something to believe in.”

Do a Powerbomb - “Lona Steelrose wants to be a pro wrestler, but she's living under the shadow of her mother, the best to ever do it. Everything changes when a wrestling-obsessed necromancer asks her to join the grandest pro wrestling tournament of all time, which is also the most dangerous! It's The Wrestler meets Dragonball Z in a tale where the competitors get more than they ever bargained for!”

Seven Sons - “JAE LEE returns to creator-owned comics with his first new title since 1994, a seven-issue limited series. SEVEN SONS is The Fugitive meets the Book of Revelation. Delph, a young man who may be the Second Coming of Christ, runs for his life as he attempts to learn the truth behind his existence.”

Samurai Sonja - “ An ALL-NEW SONJA! The Sengoku period of Japan: A time of near-constant civil war. Sonja, daughter of a slain samurai, is eager to prove herself worthy of her family's glorious history. But in a desperate moment, Sonja will make an awful deal with a dreaded sea goddess: She will be gifted magical armor and weapons capable of slaying mythical beasts! But if she falls in battle, her bloodline will be erased, her family's name no more. “

The Closet - “ A tale of existential familial horror by JAMES TYNION IV (THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH, RAZORBLADES) and GAVIN FULLERTON (BOG BODIES, Bags). Thom is moving cross-country with his family and dragging the past along with them. His son, Jamie, is seeing monsters in the bedroom closet and will not let them go.“

The Ward - “From the writer of Star Wars: The High Republic comes an intense medical drama brimming with fairies, trolls, and real human pathos. St. Lilith's is a secret hospital for supernatural creatures. The personnel are overworked and the facility is underfunded. It's a place, and a life, Dr. Nat Reeves thought she left behind. Until a wounded woman (with a tail) appears on her doorstep.”

The Lonesome Hunters -  “An old and out-of-practice monster hunter in hiding crosses paths with a young girl that forces him to confront these chaotic creatures. As the beasts invade their tenement, they set off on a supernatural road trip to stop these ancient evils in a story that explores the ways that youth informs adulthood and how early traumas can haunt us of in old age."

Mindset - “When an introverted tech geek accidentally discovers mind control, he and his friends do something unexpected - they put the science into an app to help users break their technology addiction. But as their Mindset app achieves a dangerous cult following, lies, conspiracies, and murder come to light. Are they helping people or controlling them?”

=============================

Image Comics killing it as usual.

[brawltogethernow]

How come you got into One Piece but not Dragonball?

Ha, I guess I see the logic behind this question! Well, I enjoy that One Piece is a Journey to the West-inspired story with a powerful idiot for a protagonist, but those aren't the elements I'd consider the draws for me. In the short-term I like power of friendship stories a lot, and in the long-term I ended up vibing with a lot of OP's more slowburn themes (feeding everyone, dunking on the rich, disowning your parents, thumbing it to totalitarian governments, defining freedom, etc. etc.). One Piece is also... Despite the state it's ended up in (very heinous tiddies), it was noticeably non-horny for a pretty big chunk of it, and it has still not capitulated on never doing romance subplots. This is a draw for me.

I didn't catch either of these dubbed on TV at an impressionable age - that would be how I sampled Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon simultaneously and went on to only care about one of them - so I actively sampled them both after hearing about them when I was getting into anime as a teenager who'd just figured out how to stream things. ...I specifically remember staring deeply into a technically correct but extremely useless summary of One Piece before deciding to give it a shot. ("After eating a fruit said to be from the devil, Luffy the pirate CANNOT SWIM.") And I was like, 'Well this is Fine(tm), and I am learning new vocabulary' (after picking up Japanese question words from ygo Season 0, One Piece filled in my pronouns and basic family terms), and then I hit Arlong Park and was like, 'I AM CRYING WITH MY ENTIRE BODY THIS IS NOT FINE,' and like, after you've passed Arlong Park OP owns your ass. I almost dropped it when Foxy happened because the pacing had been starting to suffer from the threat of running out of source material and that arc was just, the last straw, but I switched to the next part of the manga instead and thank god because the manga is even better. What an absolute treat to get to read Water 7 and Thriller Bark as a second beginning of the OP experience. I have still not experienced Foxy in either medium and if I have my way I never will.

With Dragon Ball I just, started the manga from the beginning? It just didn't grab me. I don't even know how much of it I read. It doesn't feel like a lot, but I have no idea. Enough to get tired of it! None of the humor was landing for me because it was largely in various veins I find mildly unpleasant, the kind of big empty-feeling setting isn't really my vibe, and there just wasn't anything else going on. The DBZ abridged series was fun but also failed to capture my interest, ditto the occasional liveblog or video game watched over someone's shoulder.

I see people compliment Dragon Ball as an entry in the comics medium sometimes, and I might sit down with it again at some point for that angle now that I care more about the science of putting comics together. (Have also been meaning to resample Bleach for this reason.) I also understand that it has a pretty established spot to uh, skip to the trolls, as it were, so I might do that if I really just can't pay attention to the first era.

But yeah for now Goku is nothing to me. He's just a guy. I don't know him.

[petnews2day]

Ladybug and Cat Noir Series Kicks Off at Family-Friendly Price

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/VLDkt

Ladybug and Cat Noir Series Kicks Off at Family-Friendly Price

Mad Cave’s Papercutz imprint will release Miraculous Chibi: Volume One: Pizza Pursuit and Other Cat Tales, the first volume in its new Ladybug and Cat Noir graphic novel series, at a family-friendly price.  The 64-page 6” x 9” volume will retail for $7.99.  The new graphic novel series, announced last year (see “New ‘Miraculous’ Graphic […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/VLDkt #CatsNews #8216Akira8217, #Batman, #BuffyTheVampireSlayer, #DragonballZ, #DungeonsAndDragons, #GundamWing, #HarryPotterGenresWeCoverIncludeFantasy, #Horror, #JRRTolkien, #JLA, #LoneWolfAndCub, #MageKnight, #MagicTheGathering, #Pokemon, #SailorMoon, #Sandman, #ScienceFiction, #SpiderMan, #StarTrek, #StarWars, #Superman, #XMen

[roy-dcm2]

Gohan's Journey

I’ve always found people’s insistence that Gohan should have taken up the mantle as the main character a bit odd when you consider the original Dragonball series. This was Goku’s adventure from chapter 1, why would that change? To this day, two decades since Dragonball Z ended, fans rage that Gohan has turned into a wimp, or he looks like a dork in his track suit, or that he STILL doesn't get enough focus.

But I can see why some people might identify with Gohan more. The audience gets to watch him grow from a crybaby with zero fighting ability to a skilled and powerful warrior. (Unlike Goku, who started very strong but very naïve, and mostly just expanded his horizons.)

So, I decided to examine Gohan’s growth through the Hero’s Journey, the monomyth, to see what might make Gohan’s journey so resonant.

One thing to keep in mind is the Hero’s Journey isn’t a concrete list of steps, but more of a reoccurring set of themes that seem to happen in every story. It’s also possible different people interpret the same thing differently, and that not all the themes apply to all characters the same way.

I. Departure

Many people are familiar with the first theme, “The Call to Action” where the Hero must leave behind the familiar world and head into a new world of adventure. While some take the Call willingly, others are pushed towards adventure.

In the beginning, Gohan's familiar world is turned upside down with the arrival of Raditz. Not only is Gohan separated from his family, the audience also witnesses the Dragonball world cross over from a world steeped in Chinese Mythology into more modern science fiction with the introduction of Alien Races. Gohan’s small world is also altered after his father dies, and he is dumped in the wilderness to fend for himself.

Before moving forward, the Hero goes through a phase where he “Refuses the Call.” This phase varies from character to character, there is no measure of how long a hero must resist. Famously, Luke Skywalker refused the call to adventure for about five minutes, the time it takes to drive back to the farm and see his family slaughtered. At this point, the hero cannot go back to the way things were before. Piccolo makes it clear for Gohan. His father is dead, Raditz killed him, and two stronger adversaries are coming.

Not only that, but the wilderness is surrounded by desert, so there is no hope of going back home. At this point, Gohan is firmly in a “new world,” surrounded by wild beasts, and a lingering threat looms in the horizon.

At this point in the journey, the Hero usually receives “Supernatural Aid,” usually an artifact of his people. We could assume that it is the Dragonballs. He’s had the Four Star with him most of his life, it is an heirloom, and it’s when Piccolo explains that they can be used to revive people that Gohan stops crying.

Alternatively, I’d say it’s the gi. The first costume he wears is styled after his father’s clothes, and as Gohan grows, he alternates between clothes that honor his father, his new master, and later even the Saiyan race. The moments after this, when he’s not in his martial arts suit are usually presented as embarrassing.

In the manga, after receiving his new costume, the next time we see Gohan, it is six months later and he can shoot lasers from his hand.

For the next part of the journey, the Hero must make a willing decision to embark on the adventure, known as “Crossing the Threshold.” The fillers of the anime make Gohan’s growth a bit more clear. He encounters many challenges and monsters, and he even escapes the wasteland and makes it home. The act of willingly going back to training, could be seen as Crossing the Threshold. But this didn’t happen in the manga. Gohan seems to have resigned himself to training, and showing up for the battle with Nappa and Vegeta is a natural extension. It seems to me Gohan doesn’t make the willing decision to join the adventure until the Namek Saga. When they need people to go to outer space, Gohan defies what his overbearing mother expects from him and insists on going. Akira Toriyama once said that since Goku had become “Strongest Under the Heavens” that adversaries in Dragonball Z had to come from above heaven. While they had already faced two villains from beyond the Earth, Gohan (not his father) is the first to journey beyond heaven.

II. Initiation

After this is the “the Initiation Arc” as they hero faces many trials and travels the "underworld." In Dragonball Z, I see Namek as the Underworld. Now, Gohan is not dead, nor did you have to be to travel the underworld in ancient mythology. He is traveling a world with two “dead civilizations.” Namek, civilization of his mentor, which has been drastically reduced after climate change. But also the Saiyan culture, culture of his father, represented by the invading aliens, who like the Saiyans are warriors that commit genocide, and steal whole planets. Of course, Gohan’s trial is to obtain the Dragonballs, while avoiding the "demons" (Freiza's forces) while staying out of the grasp of the “King of the Underworld” himself – Freiza. A normal hero’s journey also contains a Goddess, a Temptress, and other perils, but like I said in the beginning, the Hero’s Journey is a set of reoccurring themes, not a checklist to insist on following.

Before leaving the “Abyss,” the Hero has a moment referred to as “Atonement with the Father.” It means giving into a higher power, when all other resources are spent. Obviously, for Gohan, escaping Namek would be leaving the Underworld, and to escape the clutches of Freiza, Gohan must put his faith in his literal father. Goku becomes a Super Saiyan, and will hold back the wrath of King of the Underworld, while Gohan and their friends escape.

III. The Return

The third act of the Hero's Journey is also known as Rebirth. At this point all the characters that had died during the first arc are resurrected, but the rebirth of good, also means the rebirth of evil.

Freiza is alive, and not only that, but the Red Ribbon Army, an enemy long dead, returns to take its revenge. The symbol of evil reborn is the Hydra, and as they say - "Cut off one head, and two will grow in its place."

The themes of rebirth permeate the Android and Cell Saga. Vegeta is reborn as a Super Saiyan, Piccolo is reborn after fusing with Kami. There is another half-human / half-saiyan born. Freiza is reborn in Cell.

The final test of the Hero’s strength ends with Apotheosis, the Hero being raised up to a “Godly” level. After transcendence, all doubts fall away, and approaches the world in a whole new way. He is finally, fully transformed from what he used to be to what the world needs him to be.

Obviously, for Gohan, this is his confrontation with Cell. Cell is a Chimera of everything Gohan has had to struggle with. It is the thing that killed his father, his father, his mentor, his friends, and the monsters from beyond the darkness of time. A fitting final trial for a half-breed hero. And when Cell comes back for a second round, stronger than before, Gohan must also now, defeat HIMSELF.

Finally, there is the Return. To return to the old world, the Hero usually requires the aid of his friends, and of the ordinary people of the world. Of course, Gohan gets help from their friends to defeat Cell, and Mr. Satan (the people's champion) ends up taking all the credit, which allows Gohan to return to his ordinary life, and all of humanity is safe. But the ordinary life is not the same as it was before. Goku was gone, as it was in the beginning, but now, Gohan is the mightiest warrior on the planet.

Every culture has its own version of the monomyth, a tale where we see the main hero transformed from the naive into the wise, like a child to a fully grown adult. That is what makes it universal.

Subconsciously, we are drawn to those types of heroes, even as we, the audience, are all transformed by the journey as well.

[brazenautomaton]

Say more on the antimemetics division ending? I dont know what you mean by the Goku thing (I read the whole series of stories very fast recently, and haven't watched any dragonball but know a decent amount about it through osmosis)

Goku has nothing to do with it and that's the point,

read more cut

so the guy Adam gets all the way to the super vault where what's his face is hiding, right, and he's like "Ah, I'm a blob now! I have the machine! I've been waiting for the key to the super meme that can defeat 3125! Even though memes are ideas I will not explain this idea! But oh no, you don't have the key to the super meme! Only Marion did!"

So Adam is injected with a science fiction drug that brings her back in his mind, and she becomes the super meme. She ascends, beats 3125 with a fight that is more like doing math than a fight, and goes off to become a star looking down on us.

None of these things have anything to do with the traits of the characters we've seen or the ideas that have been present in the story. This meme, this idea that is so powerful it defeats 3125, is handwaved away in a summation. Adam doesn't get back Marion because he was connected to her, knew her, was affected by her even without his memory, or anything that made his character traits relevant. He got her back by being injected with a science fiction drug. Marion doesn't defeat 3125 by showing off anything about her personality -- she doesn't beat it by, say, inserting herself in with no memories because you're as good as you get on your first day. She doesn't cynically and bluntly deconstruct the logical flaws in its composition the way she has so many other things. She doesn't reveal she realized something about what she'd been doing to set this up without remembering it. There isn't even a call back to any of the other stories where she learns something and then someone dies and she has to amnesticize herself and the whole thing is pointless. The thing she does to win has nothing to do with anything that she is, or anything in the story. The story just tells us she can be the core of the super meme, and then she beats it, and it's like doing math, and there is no detail, and it is not linked to anything we know or saw, and then she vanishes to be a star.

Now imagine this. Adam gets to the secret vault with Doctor Blobulous. And Doctor Blobulous says "I have a way to ascend a meme up high enough to beat 3125, but I need the core of the idea that can beat 3125! You aren't the one who has it, but someone does!" And he injects Adam with the science fiction drug, and Adam sees Goku. From Dragonball. And Goku rises up into space to fight 3125, and he shoots it with the biggest energy blast ever, and 3125 is blasted into the Sun and dies, and Goku flies off to the galaxy to save other planets in danger.

That ending makes exactly as much sense as the real one. It has exactly as much to do with the preceding story as the real one. In fact, it would be slightly more valid, because Goku is the idea of a hero for a lot of people on this planet, and Marion isn't, and Goku represents an ideal to them, and Marion doesn't, and Goku solves problems by flying into space and blasting, and Marion doesn't.

[sweetescapeartist]

Not speaking about MasakoX but What Ifs in general: what would you like to see in a Dragonball AU?

Lol. Yeah I'm done answering questions about MasakoX's What Ifs for a while. I ain't very interested in them to begin with. I liked the other videos/series he stopped making.

As for my thoughts on a DB AU I would like to see... A story with more balance in terms of power and character usage.

I mentioned in an old post how I would make SSJ work. Saiyans need a tail in order to turn SSJ. If the tail is removed, then they revert to base similar to their Oozaru forms. But, their tail always regrows. This helps identify them as Saiyans too. Also, this would raise the stakes & allow for the non Saiyan characters to participate in battles more often. I would have the humans learn magic too since Earth is very mystical. Spells that change their aura while also giving them a speed, power, durability, stamina, or a healing perk. Imagine the humans doing Naruto hand poses to cast a spell on themselves, or announce some kind of jutsu. Different from the bukujutsu/flight. And "jutsu" means "art/technique/magic." (Also I dont know much about Naruto in case ppl think I do. I just know basic stuff.) But back to DB, magic is very powerful. So that mixed with martial arts would be a smart combination. Imagine Krillin using magic to fly super fast while on Namek instead of ki (like how Babidi uses magic to fly). Krillin would go completely undetected. Or a human character using a spell to create a protective barrier on Earth so that certain attacks wont destroy it. Or the humans using a durability spell so they can use the Kaioken without damaging their bodies. So, while Saiyans focus more on brute strength, humans focus more on ki & magic abilities. And Piccolo is somewhere in between.

Another AU I think would be fun is inspired by Injustice. Bulma creates some sort of pill that temporarily gives human characters the abilities of Saiyans. So when they take the pill before a battle, they grow in power during combat. But the effects of the pill dont last long enough for them to get a zenkai boost after the battle. And since they aren't truly Saiyans and are using science to mimic Saiyan abilities... When the human fighters take the Saiya Pill, they can't transform into Super Saiyan. Instead, they transform into False Super Saiyan. They get the golden aura & maybe their pupils would disappear. This allows for humans to have a pseudo transformation.