#Hideaki - THREAD

[madhogthymaster]

The Familiar Yet Unfamiliar Horror of The Milk Games

CONTENT WARNING: Mental Illness, Trauma

This is Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag Milk... and its sequel, Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk... and the sound of an electrical short-circuit you're hearing right now is my anxiety sensors flaring off uncontrollably.

The Milk visual novels, as I would like to call them, are an unnerving, unsafe, decisively un-fun journey into the mind of a broken individual as she navigates an altered reality filtered through the disfiguring lenses of her mental illness, low-functioning neurodivergence and trauma. This isn't as much an allegoric representation of her deeply rooted issues as it is an abrasively surreal piece that aims to subject the player to the world as she perceives it, as her mind mutilates it, making every waking moment of her life overflow with existential dread. Milk accomplishes such devious goal thanks to its unique framework: the player is a voice in her head trying to help her buy a bottle of milk; a task made oppressively difficult by her fundamental inability to function within the "standards of society", at the very bare minimum. The first game assaults you with a barrage of fastidious, disorientating, senses overloading colours, sounds and shapes. The girl copes with it by "pretending to be the protagonist of a visual novel." She is the "milk" inside the bag of her multi-layered, anxious brain.

The second game forces the "milk" out of the bag, once she's home from the grocery shop, and becomes a disturbing therapy session: a nightmarish and morose stream of consciousness fueled by insomnia and very dark thoughts inside darker thoughts inside darker thoughts... It's a visual and verbose trip with recognizable artistic influences (somewhere between Satoshi Kon and Hideaki Anno) that does not relent and does not apologize for it, with its sharp black/red monochromes and suffocating aesthetics, with its dreams within dreams.

Milk Girl is trapped in her own head just as much as she is trapped in a reality that offers no support to her. She has to develop habits and coping mechanisms just to survive the day-by-day Kafkian horror of living. Do not take my word as an authority on the matter but I do believe these games come as close as it gets to properly capture what it's like to grow up as a neurodivergent child, along with the potential scars picked up along the way. As an autistic person, I find myself sucked into this vortex of unease, fear and dread that feels all too familiar yet unfamiliar. Existing in this perpetually fluctuating state of mind between feeling like a burden and hating the world for not conforming to you. However, make no mistake, Milk Girl is not your "puzzle to solve" as the purposeful ambiguity of the narrative framing demonstrates. Understanding "what's wrong with her" is not the goal here. The goal is Empathy.

The Milk visual novels are strongly, viscerally about Empathy. They are about connecting with people you don't understand, people who have suffered for faults not of their own and have been alienated as a result. People that deserve love and to be loved just as much as you do. People that need help but don't deserve pity or disdain for it. People like you but not like you, different yet the same. They (us) are human beings regardless if they are "relatable" or not.

In conclusion: these games are a deeply unpleasant experience and more so powerful as a result, the art direction is impeccably strangling and Milk Girl is an iconic character. Play them at your own discretion - especially if you are neurotypical. This was emotionally draining to write.

---

A/N:

I have had these thoughts on the series typed down since the beginning of 2023. In truth, most if not everything I put in the form of an article starts life as sporadic observations over on my Twitter account. Hence why I keep linking my threads on Tumblr, as well. Anyway, you can follow me there and on YouTube, of course.

The Milk games were developed by Nikita Kryukov. They are available on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Have a happy new year, or else!

[samasmith23]

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Prologue)

I’ve made it no secret on this Tumblr blog that one of my personal favorite anime franchises of all-time is Hideaki Anno’s magnum opus, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Comprised of 26 TV Episodes, 2 follow-up movies, and a 4-part reboot/sequel film teatrology, Evangelion has certainly made a lasting impression among both Japanese and American anime audiences. What started out as a simple deconstruction of the mecha genre ended up rapidly evolving into one of the most psychologically complex and multi-layered stories I’ve ever encountered in any medium, reflecting Anno’s own personal experiences with depression while also exploring themes of personhood, loneliness, self-worth, self-destruction, relationships, sexuality, love, death, and psychoanalysis in an incredibly earnest and thoughtful manner. I was personally first introduced to EVA through my best friend at university, who told me it was one of her personal favorite anime series, and subsequently marathoned the entire original series plus the Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion movies. For the longest time I’ve avoided the Rebuild teatrology since I’ve heard incredibly divisive opinions from long-time EVA fans who have argued that the newer films are vastly inferior to the original and miss the point. But following the release of the final Rebuild film, Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0: Thrice Upon A Time, I’ve heard many former detractors of the Rebuilds come around on the new films and argue that they actually expand upon the themes of the original series + movies in a thematically rich manner, further reflecting Anno’s personal experiences and growth.

And seeing that I own the original out-of-print ADV Films’ “Perfect Collection” DVDs for NGE and the Manga Entertainment DVDs for Death & Rebirth & The End of Evangelion, recently bought the GKids Limited “Collector’s Edition” Blu-Ray boxset collecting the both the original series + movies in high-definition (and includes both the original ADV/Manga Entertainment Dubs & the modern Netflix Dub), and Amazon Prime includes all 4 Rebuild movies for free, I’ve decided to do a complete marathon revisiting both the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series + movies, as well as watching all 4 Evangelion Rebuild movies for the first time ever!

This marathon will serve as a reaction/watch-through thread, as well as an in-depth analysis of the various themes & nuances of each episode & film! Plus, I’ll also frequently inject some lighthearted humor & references in these posts since in the immortal words of my favorite internet reviewer, Lewis “Linkara” Lovhaug, “I’m a snarky bastard!”

A couple of ground rules for this marathon, however:

First, I’m going to be watching the original English dubs since they’re the versions that I’m personally most familiar with and am incredibly fond of the main cast (i.e. Spike Spencer as Shinji, Amanda Winn Lee as Rei, Tiffany Grant as Asuka, and Allison Keith as Misato). I personally have not watched all of Netflix’s new dub, from what little I’ve seen of it I feel that it’s vastly inferior to the original ADV & Manga Entertainment dubs. While the new dub does include a talented cast of voice actors (especially non-binary VA Casey Mongillo in the lead role of Shinji…), the new translation provided by Studio Khara suffers heavily from hyper-literal translations of the original Japanese script which sound incredibly awkward and unnatural when spoken in English, lacking the same level of emotional weight that the ADV and Manga translations allowed for. While the original dubs have their fair share of flaws did take some creative liberties, they were mostly faithful IMO and possessed a greater sense of energy and passion behind them.

Second, I’m going to be basing my analysis of each episode & movie based off the aforementioned DVD and Blu-Ray collections that I own, and will note key differences between the two versions. This will especially pertain to the ending credits theme song, a karaoke rendition of Bart Howard’s iconic “Fly Me To the Moon” which was completely removed from all international versions of NGE when Netflix acquired the licensing rights for the original series + movies in 2019, replacing the ending theme with an alternate version of Shiro Saigsu’s “Rei I.” So while my original DVD copies keep “Fly Me To the Moon” intact, the iconic song is sadly absent from my new Blu-Ray boxset.

Third, Episodes 21-24 of NGE are unique in that they later received “Director’s Cut” versions following the conclusion of the TV broadcasting of EVA, reanimating key frames and including entirely new scenes which were developed for the Death & Rebirth recap movie. My DVD copies included both the original “On-Air” and “Director’s Cut” versions of these episodes, whereas the Blu-Ray solely includes the Director’s Cuts. While I personally feel that the Director’s Cuts are the far superior versions of these episodes, I’m going to analyze both versions of these episodes back-to-back to highlight key-differences between them.

Lastly, I’ll be watching the infamous TV ending in the form of Episodes 25 & 26 before I watch the redone movie ending in the form of The End of Evangelion, which stands as not only one of my all-time favorite anime movies, but one of my Top 5 favorite movies period. Additionally, in-between the TV ending and The End of Evangelion film I’ll be watch the Death & Rebirth film which is simply a condensed recap of Episodes 1-24 of the TV series. It’s also worth noting that there are two different versions of the film, with the “Death” portion of the film covering the recap, while the “Rebirth” portion is the unfinished first 30-minutes of The End of Evangelion (it ends immediately before Asuka’s doomed fight against SEELE’s Mass-Production Evangelions). The version of the film on my Blu-Ray release is Death (True)², which completely omits the “Rebirth” portion of the film, while the original DVD includes the “Rebirth” portion. So I’ll be watching the “Death” portion on the Blu-Ray, and the “Rebirth” portion on the DVD.

And with all of that out of the way, let’s us officially begin the launch sequence for the "Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon” saga!

[soberandgentle]

Hideaki Kawashima, "Thread", 2008 Acrylique sur toile

[canmom]

Animation Night 71: Blue Blazes, part 2

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Animation Night! Tonight will be the first Animation Night running on Nausicaa, my newwww computtteeerrrrrr :3333

There's some exciting things coming up on Animation Night. AniObsessive recently wrote a fascinating article on one of the major works of Jiří Trnka, and as soon as I can find a decent quality encode with English subs, we'll be showing that for sure! But for now... I still don't quite have all my usual torrenting systems setup on this computer. So I think I'm going to take the easy out this week and follow up on the thread from last week to watch the rest of Blue Blazes!

So to briefly recap... Blue Blazes (Aoi Honō) is a TV drama based on a semi-fictionalised autobiographical manga by someone who went to university with Anno. Thus it follows Moyuru Honō, a student at the Osaka University of Arts. He's an obsessive manga otaku with a particular thing for Leiji Matsumoto, and lives his life in a constantly bombastic way, swinging from hope to despair in just a moment. Honō convinces himself that he is in a rivalry with Hideaki Anno, who is in fact everything Honō wishes he was - just as much of a huge anime and manga nerd (and obsessive Ultraman fan who is constantly acting out Ultraman-style slow motion when he lies down) but with the real drawing and animation talent. The story follows Honō's struggle to make his name in anime or manga.

The show is driven by Honō's internal monologue, and gets a lot of mileage out of its exaggerated manga-like presentation. But not everyone around Honō is a normie - we have some pretty colourful side characters like future mangaka Kentarō Yano, seen above, president of the manga club and always there to rub in Honō's failures with his full on ojousama laugh. There's also a love triangle between Honō and supportive Tonko on the one hand and athletic Hiromi on the other. Meanwhile... the other strand follows Anno and the circle of friends that will one day form Gainax, with Anno as the ridiculous manga-protagonist type who will sit down a visiting cousin to watch all of Gundam.

What's the interest from an animation perspective? Well, you know I'm interested in early Gainax, but it's also a brilliant sendup of animation school and sakubutas [translator's note: 'sakubuta' is a pejorative term used on the imageboard 2ch for fans who are overly obsessed with animation at the expense of everything else. Sakuga fans have adopted it as a joking term of self-reference] and very dense with nods to the old anime and manga that inspired it. So it's basically a chance to weeb out. Here, someone's broken down all the allusions in the OP...

And here, I'll post a few other clips from the first couple of episodes. Here's Honō's first encounter with Anno...

Here's Honō trying to figure out how to explain the appeal of Yoshinori Kanada's animation to his crush...

And here's Anno being just as much of a nerd about Miyazaki's episode of Lupin III Part 2 (see: Animation Night 143).

Hopefully enough to whet your appetite! It's a pretty easy show to pick up so even if you didn't come by last week, would love to see you and I can catch you up on anything important.

We'll be going live now at twitch.tv/canmom and starting the show in about 15 minutes!

Next week we'll be back to actual animation, I promise.

[cestcirque]

A VERY non-rebloggable, VERY temporary post for me to gush about this old project that Kabu was part of

CONTEXT:

The Hyakunin Isshu is an anthology of 100 poems by 100 poets from Japan’s Heian period, written in now obsolete language and loaded with meaning. Something I dove into while writing The Cardinal Set.

This audio is from a project (cheekily named Hyakukisu) that turned the original 100 poems into 100 full love stories meant to evoke the specific emotions of each. Voice actors were brought in to act them out, the listener being the other half of the story. Poems 10, 21, and 37 were Kabu’s. I obviously won’t post stories in full, but I do think his poem readings are lovely.

TRANSLATION / ANALYSIS (for once, not translated by me!) ⤵

[0:00] Hyakunin Isshu 10, Semimaru

これやこの 行くも帰るも 別れては 知るも知らぬも 逢坂の関

Here it is where many come and many go, part to meet again, some as friends, some as strangers— Ōsaka Barrier.

One of my favorites out of the whole anthology. What originally stuck me about this one was the four sets of oppositions—coming and going, parting and meeting, friends and strangers, and Ōsaka Barrier, which at the time was the colloquial division between the east and west of Japan. Also notable is the wordplay in Ōsaka (逢坂) or “meeting slope,” and while it references a specific place, the last measure is also often literally translated as a “barrier on this mountain-slope of meeting.”

[0:11] Hyakunin Isshu 21, Priest Sosei

今来むと 言ひしばかりに 長月の 有明の月を 待ち出でつるかな

Simply because you said, “In a moment I will come,” I have spent the long Ninth Month waiting only for the lingering moon to appear.

I still love this one because it was my first encounter with the idea of an “ariake moon” (有明の月), a moon that rises late enough to be visible in the early morning sky. The ninth month of the lunar calendar (pre-Meiji) was also called the “Long Month” for its lengthening nights. So the poet never states that “I have seen the dawn after a long night,” and yet the feeling is clearly implied.

[0:23] Hyakunin Isshu 37, Fun’ya no Asayasu

白露に 風のふきしく 秋の野は つらぬきとめぬ 玉ぞ散りける

The wind gusts fiercely over the pure-white dew in the autumn fields, how drops scatter like a myriad of pearls not yet threaded on string.

Analogies like this were apparently common at the time, so the significance of this poem and why it was chosen for this anthology has been lost. But I have no others to compare, so I love it. Dew was often compared to jewels and jewels on string often compared to life. The only notable difference I’ve seen pointed out is the fact that these gems have not yet been strung, as opposed to the more common image of having been broken from string.

[thecorsetcollection]

dvd collection j-z

Jabberwocky dir. Terry Gilliam Jackass the Movie dir. Jeff Tremaine Jackass Number Two dir. Jeff Tremaine Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door dir. Gregory M. Wilson Jenifer dir. Dario Argento Jennifer’s Body dir. Karyn Kusama Joe Dirt dir. Dennie Gordon Joshua dir. Travis Betz Ju-On dir. Takashi Shimizu Ju-On 2 dir. Takashi Shimizu Kids dir. Larry Clark The Killer dir. John Woo Labyrinth dir. Jim Henson Lady Vengeance dir. Park Chan-Wook La La Land dir. Damien Chazelle Lake Mungo dir. Joel Anderson The Last House on the Left dir. Wes Craven Let the Right One In dir. Tomas Alfredson Lost Highway dir. David Lynch Lovely Molly dir. Eduardo Sanchez Machine Girl dir. Noboru Iguchi Magnolia dir. Paul Thomas Anderson Man With a Movie Camera dir. Dziga Vertov Martyrs dir. Pascal Laugier Melancholia dir. Lars Von Trier Metropolis dir. Rintaro Mirrormask dir. Dave McKean Mister Lonely dir. Harmony Korine Muppets From Space dir. Tim Hill The Muppets Take Manhattan dir. Frank Oz Moonrise Kingdom dir. Wes Anderson Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind dir. Hayao Miyazaki The Neon Demon dir. Nicolas Winding Refn Oddsac dir. Danny Perez Oedipus Rex dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini One Hour Photo dir. Mark Romanek Otis dir. Tony Krantz Pan's Labyrinth dir. Guillermo del Toro Paprika dir. Satoshi Kon Pi dir. Darren Aranofsky The Place Beyond the Pines dir. Derek Cianfrance Pulse dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa Ran dir. Akira Kurosawa Rec dir. Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza Rec 2 dir. Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza Rec 3 dir. Paco Plaza Rushmore dir. Wes Anderson Saw dir. James Wan Shin Godzilla dir. Hideaki Anno Silk dir. Chao-Pin Su Slashers dir. Maurice Devereaux Sophie’s Choice dir. Alan J. Pakula Spirited Away dir. Hayao Miyazaki Spun dir. Jonas Akerlund The Straight Movie dir. David Lynch Suicide Club dir. Sion Sono Sunset Boulevard dir. Billy Wilder Suspiria dir. Dario Argento Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance dir. Park Chan-Wook Synecdoche, New York dir. Charlie Kaufman A Tale of Two Sisters dir. Kim Jee-Woon The Texas Chain Saw Massacre dir. Tobe Hooper Threads dir. Mick Jackson Time Bandits dir. Terry Gilliam Timecrimes dir. Nacho Vigalondo Tokyo Gore Police dir. Yoshihiro Nishimura Tourist Trap dir. David Schmoeller The Tree of Life dir. Terrence Malick Umbilical World dir. David Firth Unborn but Forgotten dir. Im Chang-Jae Un Chien Andalou dir. Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali The Untold Story dir. Herman Yau Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend dir. Hideki Takayama Versus dir. Ryuhei Kitamura Videodrome dir. David Cronenberg The VVitch dir. Robert Eggers Wassup Rockers dir. Larry Clark Where the Dead Go to Die dir. Jimmy Screamerclauz Whiplash dir. Damien Chazelle The White Ribbon dir. Michael Haneke The Wind Rises dir. Hayao Miyazaki Wolf Children dir. Mamoru Hosoda The Work of Director Chris Cunningham The Wrestler dir. Darren Aranofsky Y Tu Mama Tambien dir. Alfonso Cuaron A Zed and Two Noughts dir. Peter Greenway

[arbitrarygreay]

Standby for Stranger In Paradise spam

So there's this post going around about how Hideaki Anno wanted to use an excerpt from Borodin's Polovtsian Dances as the OP for NGE. Of course, my first thought is "100% he wanted to use the Gliding Dance of the Maidens section, most famously as adapted by Forrest and Wright into the song Stranger In Paradise for the musical Kismet." (Although I guess the 3/4 General Dance section could also be appropriate? Based on some the clear classical music expys used for other science fiction anime from that time or older.) Anyways, I originally planned on reblogging that thread and posting an example video of Stranger In Paradise, but then it became too hard to pick just one. And besides, it's been too long since I did a spam. But I will say, it is kind of ironic that when Cruel Angel's Thesis was done for the OP, that Anno didn't use Stranger in Paradise for the ED instead. Like, amazingly there's not a Sinatra version, given that they did eventually go with Fly Me To the Moon, but just about every single other crooner covered it. For double the irony, in 2001 a mecha anime did end up using Gliding Dance of the Maidens as a major music motif: RahXephon! VgmDB also gives me several more credits, too, so this is a piece all over the otaku-sphere. Hell, half of the time it's even just acknowledged as its original classical music form (Aozora Yell, Nodame Cantabile, Hibike Euphonium, etc.). (Although, come on, Japan, use some of Borodin's other stuff, too! String Quartet No. 2 is also a fount of banger melodies!)

[comicconradio]

While North America is set to see the king of the monsters return on two fronts, as Apple TV+ is set to create a new television series focused on the MonsterVerse and a new movie arriving next year will once again see Godzilla facing down Kong, this year will also see a new entry for Godzilla arriving in Japanese theaters from Toho. At present, there isn't much information outside of a release date and a logo to give kaiju fans much to go on, though a new rumor is circulating when it comes to the film. With Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse giving the lizard king plenty of opportunities to do some city-smashing these past few years, it's actually been a few years since we've seen the Japanese iteration do the same. With 2016's Shin Godzilla, director Hideaki Anno introduced what is considered by many to be the most terrifying iteration of the king of the monsters to date. At present, it hasn't been revealed if this new film will be a continuation of the Shin version of the kaiju, as the previous film did end on something of a dangling story thread as it would seem that this version of Godzilla wasn't quite done with its evolution.⚡️🍿🍿🍿 #comiccon #spoilermagazine #news #losangeles #podcast #magazine #art #instagram #galaxy #film #tv #hollywood #feature #movies #fandom #graphicdesign #nyc #spoiler #comicconradio #comicbooks #godzilla #monster #toho (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Co4tveirRaJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thefilmsimps]

The End of Evanglion (dir. Hideaki Anno)

-Jere Pilapil- 9/10 I wrote about this one already, here, but I’m revisiting the whole Neon Genesis Evangelion shebang with the final “rebuild” movie playing in IMAX at the end of the month. Usually I don’t write quite so much the second time though, except to update my thoughts. This is a bit different, though: when I originally logged this movie, I was remembering the series via memory from the last time I watched it, maybe mixed in with the manga, which I read in the interim. This time, I went straight in after finishing the series (with a brief detour through the Evangelion: Death recap/montage movie). I had remembered the broad strokes of the series, but not the specifics, And that matters, contextually, for this specific movie. Hideaki Anno’s The End of Evangelion is, famously, a bit of a re-do: the original finale of the “boy pilots a robot to fight monsters” series, episodes 25 and 26, specifically, delved into the mind of main character Shinji Ikari (Megumi Ogata in the Japanese language version). And that would be fine, as the whole series is a portrait of broken psyches, with Shinji’s in the center, but the previous episode left things off in a quizzical way, and wrapping up the emotional threads of Shinji’s story left the physical threads of Shinji’s story and everyone else’s fates, um, strongly implied to put it politely. And so this movie can’t help but be a bit of fan service: much of the extra runtime is spent making explicit what was implied in the series. Our heroes, basically, confront the end of the world (and I can’t get more specific than that both because of spoilers and because it is, truly, complicated as fuck). This stretch gives us final, loving, closing arcs for the secondary and tertiary characters. Justice is served and ass is kicked throughout. The first half of End of Evangelion is an expertly crafted sci-fi war movie, filled with intrigue and spying and double turns. But we still wind up in Shinji’s head, essentially, for the second half, as he sorts through every bit of a psychological crisis one may have. I love and respect that Anno, after all the criticism and confusion. Essentially, the fate of humanity is in Shinji’s hands, in a way. Here, Anno contemplates the impossibility of people knowing or understanding people and the equal pull of needing to be with people. Through it all, the animation is rich and evocative, full of grotesque and unsettling imagery, abrasive avant-garde techniques, and impenetrable walls of dialogue interspersed with live action footage of movie theaters, empty and full. Going through the whole thing, yet again, is a rich and rewarding experience. At this point, I just feel Shinji’s emotions along with him on a visceral level. It’s interesting, though, that given the redo, a chance to expound upon or clarify his work, Anno chooses not to. He instead murks it up with one of the most enigmatic endings I’ve ever seen in a movie. The final scene of The End of Evangelion feels like it could be interpreted in infinite ways. The more I watch the movie in different contexts, the more I”m drawn into its mysteries. It’s a befuddling, yet, depending on how you look at it, resonant and fitting end. Until the next one.

[aimhleas]

@welivetoserve

                   "Please don't start right here." Clearly the volume didn't work as Akio spoke up, looking over at the pair momentarily before back to the movie. Hideaki let out a chuckle and wrapped his free arm around Tsuneo, keeping his partner close.

                   "After the movie, okay?"

[hastyph]

Esporadicamente, Vincenzo costumava ser reconhecido por seu tempo como piloto de racha. Na época em questão, ainda que o italiano fosse tão jovem e sequer houvesse atingido a idade considerada legal para estar atrás de um volante, realizava as manobras mais arriscadas e imprudentes na pista, como se não tivesse uma vida pela qual prezar. Portanto, o modo como dirigia refletia claramente a experiência que havia adquirido, ao longo dos anos, com corrida clandestina. Como a japonesa havia lhe informado que não iria muito além de água, na festa de reinauguração, não fez questão de manter-se são e sóbrio. Sob o efeito de álcool e alguma substância ilícita qual não se recordava com clareza, sem contar no quão aborrecido estava com todos os ocorridos de uma única noite, foi um verdadeiro milagre ter chegado vivo ao sobrado de @hideandseeaki​. Vivo, não à salvo, mas inteiro em partes. A cabeça do líder, que via mais a si mesmo como um rei, estava prestes a explodir. Com a destra ensanguentada e coberta por cacos de vidro, alguns hematomas e contusões que ganhou ao se meter em uma briga qualquer, sem contar com os braços cobertos por arranhões e ferimentos após ter derrapado e quase atropelado alguém, a sua mente estava longe de ser a única lesionada aquela noite.

Sabia que a polícia não tardaria em estar atrás do seu nome, e que as crianças da gangue logo dariam falta da arrogante autoridade, mas Vincenzo estava mesmo era pouco se fodendo. Já tinha problemas o bastante para se preocupar, e por hora, mesmo que fosse o furacão em carne e osso, tudo o que mais desejava era ter um único minuto de paz e calmaria — e sabia que poderia encontrá-lo com Hideaki. Como a mesma havia lhe assegurado durante a festa, aquele encontro não passaria de mais um em que não iria ocorrer nada entre os dois. Contudo, o moreno não dava tanta importância, não ao todo. A verdade é que apreciava estar com a asiática, não por querer algo ou com qualquer má intenção em mente, mas porque a amava. A operadora de bombas era uma das poucas pessoas por quem genuinamente tinha qualquer sentimento verdadeiro, e além de amá-la por quem era, Vincenzo já havia admitido admirar as suas habilidades, inteligência e incontestável competência. Era uma das razões pela qual desejava tê-la como Python.

Apesar da notória delonga que levou para chegar à residência, devido aos incontáveis empecilhos que surgiram durante o seu caminho, Vincenzo conhecia como a palma da mão as estradas que o levariam ao seu encontro. Aquela visita estava longe de ser a primeira, e estacionando com a moto diante a janela que sabia pertencer ao seu quarto, a primeira coisa que fez foi lhe enviar uma mensagem. Sequer estava em condições de digitar, mas era uma opção mais favorável que utilizar a buzina. 

[23/04 às 02:45AM]: “olh a porra da sau janwla, hideakki”.

Rezava para que estivesse suficientemente legível, porque era o máximo que conseguiria, encontrando-se em circunstâncias tão precárias. Portanto, devolvendo o celular ensanguentado para o bolso da jaqueta de couro, ainda não contente, pegou o que havia restado do seu maço de cigarros e um isqueiro. Ao passo em que aguardava por Murakami, encarando o interior do cômodo através da janela como um perseguidor pervertido, desgastava o cigarro em tragadas desmedidas, descontraindo os nervos. Não estava em uma de suas melhores, mas quando é que um Python estava, especialmente Vincenzo Cecchinato?

[heart-ruled-moved]

So! I’m starting a thing!! Every Sunday from now on I’m gonna host my own OC Showcase! 

Why? Because tumblr is full of people who miss out on the amazing creativity of a lot of people in the rp community, and I’m on a mission to try and change that; and hopefully spread a lot of smiles in the process! Plus it gives me a chance to overanylze the shit out of all your children ahem

Featuring this week  Hideaki Hanzō from @rxll-the-dxce

So! To start off with, wanna know something cool? Hideaki here was actually inspired by a real historical figure!  Hideaki Kobayakawa, to be exact - a Samurai who’s gone down in history as a traitor in the battle of Sekigahara. To make a long story short because we’re not here for a history lesson - this young commander defected the east out of pure fear after being involved in the massacres of an earlier campaigns with Korea. 

The Hideaki I know, of course, isn’t an exact counterpart - but heck, that would be boring if he was.

Spouting out the entire bio of the I know Hideaki’s would be impossible ( linked under his name if you wanna check it out ), but I will give the cliff notes version:  Hideaki was born into a very decorated military family, whose sons and only daughter were all experts in their field and great soldiers. In contrast, though, Hideaki’s got a lot of chronic illnesses and an overall very frail body weighing him down. The result of this is a life of abuse, and a boy who would desperately try to prove himself through his life to bring honor to his family in the only way he can : with military strategist as the ultimate strategist. The treachery her would later preform out on the field, similar to his historic counterpart would be the first time he would hear an alter ego created by his own terror: The Ultimate traitor.

- Now I’m sorry for completely butchering what’s honestly a much more complicated and incredible story that Bekki has written out for this guy, but I needed to give at least a small introduction.

All this to say, though, I’ve been fascinated with Hideaki as a character from the first day I was introduced to him. It’s incredibly humanizing despite the terrible things he deals with- you can still related to the want to fit in, the fear of disapointment and the way she writes his fear is palpable. But she also avoids a lot of the traps I see writers of canon characters fall into when it comes to creating tragic backstories. Although Hideaki is incredibly shaped by his trauma, he still manages to stand on his own, and is far from a ‘perfect baby who never did anything wrong’ that I see a lot. Explaining why would...take about 5 more paragraphs and I don’t want to make this post too long. 

tldr; I regret nothing about being biased about how much I love this kid. Follow. You won’t regret it.  

[rxll-the-dxce]

Still felt like this guy got cold, even with the cape and hat. Kazuichi doesn't bother asking Hideaki about it anymore. "You're shivering like crazy, dude." he muttered, out of concern rather than any kind of annoyance as he stepped away for a moment, grabbing a blanket he'd gotten into the habit of keeping around for him. He drapes it over his shoulders, giving a moment of hesitation before he takes his freezing hands into his own. "Any better?"

The Hanzo were predisposed to feeling cold, it ran through the family. That was very much one of the reasons why all of their uniforms would be designed with thick layers and thermal inlays. But even then, it wouldn’t be enough when it got particularly cold. Hideaki often wondered if he was more sensitive to the cold than his siblings - possibly thanks to all the nights in cold cells and drawers he’d spent in childhood. 

His hands instinctively gripped for the blanket as it was wrapped around him, smiling gratefully at his boyfriend and leaning closer to him. It would ease the shivering somewhat, though he still twitched just slightly (almost barely noticeable now when it was Kazuichi who touched him at least) when he felt his hands taken. Kazuichi was warm, and Hideaki found himself drawn to that. 

“Much b-better,” he stammered. Shifting his body a little closer to the source of the warmth on instinct. “Th-Thank you, Kazuichi-kun... Wh-Where would I be without you...”

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Gintama the Final

I’ve always been in love with stories.

As a kid, I devoured as many books as I could get my hands on. Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, yes, but also Neil Gaiman and Thomas Covenant and countless other authors and novels I’ve long since forgotten. Ditto movies, TV, and animation. I consume stories more ravenously than anyone else I know, perhaps moreso than most people on the face of the earth. The experience of losing myself in fiction, of seeing myself reflected in the struggles and triumphs of imaginary people, has meant more to me than I can ever properly put into words. Heck, the reason I started this blog in the first place is because of how desperate I was to communicate that feeling to others. Stories have helped me understand life, helped me better myself, helped me find friends and community I never would have otherwise. Stories matter to me. Stories will always matter to me.

And no story has mattered quite as much to me... as Gintama.

Gintama is, without question, the greatest work of fiction I’ve ever experienced. It’s the funniest comedy I’ve ever laughed at. It’s the most exhilarating action romp I’ve ever cheered at. It’s got the single greatest- and largest- cast of characters you’ll ever find, in anime or elsewhere. Its plot effortlessly sets up the longest narrative domino chain ever and brings it all masterfully crashing down. It weaves together countless threads, countless ideas, countless ways of telling a story, all somehow working in lockstep within the same universe. And just as the cherry on top, it’s also the greatest story about stories ever told. Through its jokes and its drama alike, Gintama is a rousing battle cry for the power of storytelling to change the world, a masterful guide to smashing tired tropes apart, a full-throated argument for the importance of letting old, harmful stories go and letting new, brighter tales take their place. It will make you believe in the power of storytelling- and the importance of doing it right- even if you’re the most jaded person on the face of the earth. And it accomplishes all that while still being, itself, the greatest, most entertaining, most moving, most overwhelming, most beautiful story anyone has ever written. Gintama is the standard against which I judge all other media, the impossible bar that can never be reached again but must always be strived for. Even three years after I finished its TV run, it remains the unmatched pinnacle of all the fiction I’ve seen.

And now, almost two decades after Hideaki Sorachi wrote that first chapter... it’s finally over.

Gintama: the Final is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s the final installment of Gintama’s story. It’s the conclusion to over 360 episodes of buildup and payoff. It’s the final battle for the fate of Edo, the final challenge for Gintoki, Shinpachi, Kagura, Katsura, Takasugi, Sakamoto, Otae, and everyone else in this rowdy, ridiculous city to overcome. Picking up right where the Semi-Final OVA left off, this movie wastes no time jumping straight into the action (well, almost no time; the hilarious recap segment that kicks the whole thing off is the perfect primer for the chaos to come). It’s a nearly movie-long climax, racing from start to finish on pure adrenaline as every single character faces down the remnants of Utsuro’s grand design. Now that the show’s done all the hard legwork of actually setting up the characters and stakes and emotional investment, the movie finale can jump straight into the fire and low the audience away with one staggering action setpiece after another, all building on each other to incomprehensible heights of awe until it finally slows down for a twenty-five minute epilogue at the very end. I’d almost compare it to End of Evangelion on that front; two legendary shows with endings compromised by production issues, finally getting to end things on their own terms with the cinematic scope such grand finales deserve.

Yes, I’m comparing this adaptation of a crass, poop-filled Shonen Jump manga to the series that literally defined the face of modern anime. Deal with it.

Because Jesus fucking criminy hopscotching Christ on a bagel, this movie is amazing. It’s nothing but gobsmacking moment after gobsmacking moment, one jaw-dropping action beat immediately being topped by the next one, a never-ending cascade of sword strikes and punches and explosions and energy blasts all cracking off with the brazen confidence of a series standing at the top of the world, putting on one last spectacular fireworks shower before packing it in for good. To call it epic would be an insult; to call it legendary would be the understatement of the century. And thanks to that big shiny movie budget, it’s all rendered in some of the most stunning animation I’ve seen all year. Every frame is gorgeous, every blow is beautiful, every moment is brought to life not just with polish, but with genuine grace. From the chaos of battle to the moments of love and connection- and yes, even to the batshit absurd comedy- this movie is a visual marvel. Gintoki and Utsuro’s final showdown, in particular, climaxes in a sequence of wordless visual storytelling edited so perfectly, bringing so many of the shows’ most powerful themes and arcs to a close just through the flow of one shot to the next, I almost couldn’t believe it was real. There’s no way human hands could have put something so beautiful together. It just isn’t possible.

But that’s always been the beauty of Gintama, isn’t it? Every time you think it’s finally peaked, it somehow keeps rising higher. This show is defined by doing the impossible over and over again, never resting on its laurels, always striving to be that much better, than much bolder, that much more satisfying to watch unfold. So really, it’s only fitting that The Final manages to blow my expectations out of the water once again for the road. This may not be the most complex or challenging arc Gintama’s ever done, but in terms of sheer impact, this may well be the highest peak it’s ever reached. So many characters, big and small, bringing their story to a close. So many thematic ideas all woven into a grand tapestry, finally complete after fifteen years on air. This show started with such humble beginnings, with roughshod animation and a story that was only barely showing signs of the monster it would grow into. And now, it’s reached its end with an veritable atom bomb of a climax, a sprawling epic reaching its end with unparalleled fireworks and a production lavish enough for the gods themselves. If there’s a bigger glow-up in anime history, name is, because I don’t think it exists.

And I’ve seen that change in real time. I’ve seen this show grow from its humble beginnings, getting better and better by the episode, until it stood head and shoulders above all its contemporaries. I’ve laughed louder, I’ve cried harder, I’ve fallen deeper and deeper in love with every last character living their ridiculous lives in this ridiculous city. Where so many stories falter as they go, Gintama’s footsteps only grew surer. Where so many stories peak well before they end and gradually lose when made them special in the first place, Gintama never stopped setting new gold standards of quality. And where so many anime’s ending fizzle out in disappointment, Gintama sent us home with one of the greatest finales to any piece of media I’ve ever seen. This scrappy underdog has accomplished something that so few of its shonen contemporaries even come close to: it lasted for hundreds of episodes and never stopped improving for a second, finally ending its run as the best possible version of itself. I thought I couldn’t love Gintama any more than I did at the end of its TV run; I’m happy to say this show proved me wrong one last time. I love Gintama more now than I ever did before. I love every step of the journey it’s taken me on. I. Love. Gintama.

But now, it really is over. No more false starts or fake-out endings or unexpected delays for the anime staff to use the characters as mouthpieces to complain about. Gintama is really, truly over. This incredible story I’ve spent god knows how many words gushing over has come to an end at last.

And you know what? I couldn’t be happier.

That may honestly be the most surprising thing about Gintama: the Final. Going into it, I was so certain that when it was over, I’d feel empty. I’d feel sad knowing that this was all the Gintama I was ever going to get. Now that it is over, though? All I feel is joy. Joy that it ended as perfectly as I could possibly ask for. Joy for all the good times its given me over the years. Joy that I was given something so unspeakably beautiful to carry with me for the rest of my life. Will I miss it? Fucking absolutely. But as this show itself is well aware of, all things in life must come to an end. We can’t hold back the future forever; times change whether we want them to or not. All we can do is move forward, taking with us the things that truly matter and letting them enrich the paths we have yet to walk. Gintama may be over, but it will always be a part of my life. The feelings it brought out of me, the thoughts it inspired in me... my life will forever be touched by the Odd Jobs crew and all the dumbasses they befriended over the years. I couldn’t be more grateful for the journey it’s taken me on.

And I couldn’t be more grateful for being able to share that journey with all of you.

Gintama: the Final is a masterpiece. But really, did you need me to tell you that? The final chapter of a story that’s only ever gotten better, a story that’s already re-written the rules of what’s possible in storytelling too many times to count, a story that’s blasted so high into the atmosphere it might as well be in orbit at this point... what else could it be, but a masterpiece? It’s joy and wonder, shock and awe, beauty and bravery in equal measure. It’s the perfect ending to a perfect show, the pinnacle of a tale with far too many pinnacles to count, one last hurrah to celebrate everything it’s been able to accomplish. It’s astonishing. It’s unbelievable. It’s an achievement that shouldn’t be possible. It’s one of the most satisfying endings to any piece of fiction ever. It’s a goodbye fifteen years in the making that somehow leaves you wanting for nothing. It’s the last, greatest achievement of the greatest story ever told.

It also features a scene where a tear-jearking reunion is interrupted by Gintoki’s legs detaching from him and becoming sentient old men after being pooped out of Sadaharu’s ass.

It is, in other words, nothing more or less than Gintama.

And there will never be any higher praise than that.

Thank you, Gintoki. Thank you, Shinpachi, Thank you, Kagura. Thank you, Katsura, Takasugi, Sakamoto. Thank you, Otae, Kyubei, Tsukuyo, Sacchan. Thank you, Hijikata, Kondo, Okita. Thank you, Shoyo. Thank you, all the characters whose names it would take far too long to list. Thank you, Sunrise. Thank you, Bandai Namco. Thank you, Hideaki Sorachi.

Thank you, Gintama.

And thank you, everyone reading this now.

We will always be... forever Odd Jobs.

10/10

[yoshinyari]

{ HOSHINO-SAN !

@adonischosen || cont from { x }

No matter how trivial the task may seem to her, for an officer like him, it still warrants watching out for her! Of course, due to the entirety of the situation, maybe he should have been more... subtle about looking out for her, but it’s not like their job is a secret to her, and Okazaki and Yoshinari both know well that it’s best to stay vigilant.

And... even though these had been orders, really, he wants to make sure she’s good to go!

“Please, it’s my job! And I really don’t mind. Making sure you’re safe and sound is my top priority,” Hideaki says, beaming, “Not that you can’t handle a grocery run, but I’ve got your back just in case!”

One of these days he’s going to talk himself into a hole with her too. If he... hasn’t already.

It’s a rough... job. And honestly, he’s not the best at holding back his tongue when there’s something he has to say! That’s probably why he gets “punished” so often but... that’s not the point!

He hadn’t intended to follow her in, just hold the door open for her, stand watch outside, and open it again when she left. He didn’t want to intrude too much on every aspect of her life, after all… She deserves privacy..! But, she… stops? Go on, it’s okay, Hoshino-san! Shop to your heart’s content!

Her fingers grip his sleeve, and he very quickly finds himself unable to fight back at all, being pulled along by her slow walk as the door shuts behind him. “If it’s fine, then I’d love to help out, Hoshino-san!” This would probably be a good time to go ahead and grab some food for himself too… that isn’t Okazaki’s palate.

Besides, this is... also part of the job, right? Since he’s gotten the okay to stand by her side and keep watch, then he should take it!

Wait… help her pick out what she makes for dinner? A homemade dinner… by someone like her? Something normal? He’s sure it’d be really good! But what can he say, when just the prospect of helping her out… Doesn’t a chef want to stay in charge of their meal?

“For dinner… I think…” He pauses… Wow! He’d really think anything would sound good… but if they’re being practical, then it shouldn’t be something too expensive or time-consuming, right? More for! “I think it doesn’t have to be anything too complicated! It shouldn’t be! Even simple things can taste really good with lots of heart put into them, and it still won’t be anything weird like what Okazaki-senpai would make me buy...”

He very quickly glances around, just in case, even if he knows he’d likely be able to sort of know if he was around. Maybe... “But it’s you that’s making it, Hoshino-san, so I don’t doubt that it’ll taste good, no matter what! I don’t even have to have the cooking itself to think that!”

[kob131]

“You “I don’t need to reach to show how RWBY is badly written!”

And yet you do.

See that’s kind of the issue. How many times have I looked back into the show, looked at what was being referenced and couldn’t even understand what the fuck was said or how that conclusion was reached beyond the OP ignoring and twisting everything to their own ends?

Hundreds, if not THOUSANDS, of times.

If you really didn’t need to, why is it after so many readings of criticism I found a handful of actually valid ones? Why is your failure rate goddamn something close to 99%?

“If you dislike the RWDE tag or RWBY criticism then you’re just admitting that you’re not mature enough to like something and acknowledge it’s flaws!”

Yeah...we’ll wait to show how even YOU don’t believe a word you just said.

“Here’s a thread about blindly watchcing RWBY-”

Which started in 2017 when it was popular to bash RWBY. And nothing says they blind watched it.

“-And a video clip talking about criticism!”

From FMF, who has been caught editing the commentaries to suit himself. Even the clip you yourself give shows how much this is shit. 

FMF plays the clip about the commentary with Miles saying that they structure their episodes so that they didn’t have one girl gone for too long and yet he portrays this as a piece of criticism they got...despite nothing about that clip saying it was criticism they got. Then again, when you gave the time stamp, it was specifically AFTER the clip he played (starting at 7:34 instead of my 7:23). Almost like you were trying to hide how shit FMF point was by cutting context.

What was that about not needing to reach?

“Jumping onto criticism to get angry doesn’t make you good!”

AKA ‘Don’t like, don’t read’. How did you react when the creators said that?

“FF14 got better because they LISTENED!”

Hideaki Anno also listened to his ‘criticisms’. That made End of Evangelion...a finale even the Evangelion fanbase is split on. And RWBY criticism as a whole is closer to those criticisms than FF14′s. I should know.

“You shouldn’t CODDLE them”

Just gonna keep loading that gun huh? Don’t blame me when it backfires.

“You care more about your bad cartoon than your fellow man!”

Ignoring how another show got similar accusations-

You have literally said that people who disagreed with you and called you out should have been beaten by their parents more.

Fuck off.

“People don’t have to make shit up to make RWBY look bad!”

If I wasn’t critical myself I’d be saying bullshit.

“get over yourselves!”

...

So, you agree with SU Critical right?

Surely you must, since they use the same arguments, the same reasoning, the same accusations, the same criticisms and the same stances right?

Oh that’s right, you act towards them no differently than I do towards RWDE. That’s the big nail in your coffin, the shotgun shell that blasts off your kneecap. Even if you think it was only the target that wasn’t okay and not the actions or accuracy- It still applies to you as well with RWBY.

If you took one minute to actually think about how and why people act and operate this way, you’d realize that you have the same patterns. I did myself.

So it doesn’t matter what arguments you use, you already decried them before. Because like with SU crits, it was never about the show. It’s always been you.