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suginami-division · 1 year

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A knock is heard on the door of the Umemoto residence. Opening the door reveals Kaoru Shinozaki and Kanra Akemi, the latter holding quite a few boxes in her arms.

“Happy Birthday Ryuko!” Kaoru greeted giving the animator a two-finger salute.

"Ryuko-san! Happy Birthday!" Kanra loudly cheered, lifting her arms and showing Ryuko the multiple boxes they had brought with them.

Walking inside Kanra gently placed the boxes on the kitchen counter. Turing around Kanra walked over to Ryuko and gave him a giant hug lifting him off the ground a few inches. Ryuko couldn't help but wheeze as he felt his spine cracking in several places.

“Kanra! Put him down! He can't afford the medical bills if you break his spine.” Kaoru scolded.

“Oops! Sorry!” Kanra apologized and put the animator down.

“Alright Kanra why don't you get set up what you brought and I’ll give Ryuko his gifts.” Kaoru reminded the pink haired girl.

“Kay,” Kanra replied, picking up a few of the boxes leaving only the gifts behind, and walking into Ryuko’s kitchen.

“Alright, Ryuko Kanra’s got something planned for ya but first gifts!” Kaoru cackled picking up the biggest of the gifts and placing the box in Ryuko’s hands.

Opening the gift reveals a brand-new coffee machine. One that looked particularly fancy to Ryuko considering the touch screen it had on it.

“Hope you can put it to good use. Your current one looks like it's about to die.” Kaoru eyed the current machine in Ryuko’s kitchen. Looking at it like it had offended her. Picking up the next Kaoru passed it to Ryuko.

Opening the gift reveals a brand new drawing tablet and matching stylus.

“Ta-da! Built by yours truly and is infinitely times better than anything out on the market right now. I included a few features such as a 3D hologram mode which allows you to view your art in a 3D hologram. Heck, I even made it so that you can draw on the hologram.” Kaoru finished with a huge grin on her face as she explained her work.

“I have one more gift for you. It's not really physical tho.” Kaoru told Ryuko, pulling out her phone and typing on it for a second.

Hearing his phone ping Ryuko pulled it out of his pocket and his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull when he saw a notification that said someone had just deposited 10,000$ dollars directly into his bank account. Ryuko quicked turned his gaze back to Kaoru and saw that she had an amused look on her face.

“Just a little something from me Ryuko. Use it for a vacation it looks like you really need one. I hear Disneyland Tokyo is pretty good this time of year.” Kaoru winked. “Also, Ryuko I’m sure you have some experience with this considering your last…job but don't ask where the money came from… plausible deniability ya know?” Kaoru smiled giving Ryuko’s shoulder a quick pat.

“I'm done!” Kanra shouted from the kitchen.

“Oh good Kanra made you something. She thinks you eat too many frozen meals to be healthy.” Kaoru responded pushing Ryuko toward his kitchen.

Walking into his tiny kitchen Ryuko was surprised to see both his counters and table covered in all sorts of homemade traditional foods. Ryuko’s stomach growled as he saw all the dishes in front of him. It all smelled good to him.

What had caught his eye though was the cake in the middle of the table. It was white and with eastern golden dragons wrapped around the sides.

“Kanra how much food did you make?” Kaoru wondered seeing that Kanra had basically taken over the tiny kitchen with how many premade dishes she had brought with her.

“Just the normal amount of food I usually make plus extra for leftovers for Ryuko-san. Why? Did I go overboard?” Kanra questioned taking out another dish from the boxes she had brought.

“Kanra this enough to feed a small army.” Kaoru sighed, turning her head to look at Ryuko. “Oi! Ryuko call the rest of your team. Your gonna need all the help you can to eat all of this food. Even then I think there's gonna be food leftover.”

“H-Huh? Oh, it’s you guys thank you-Ah, you’re coming in?”

Ryuko seemed taken aback by the sudden surprise. As the two walked into his small apartment, the man could only shrug and close the door behind them and follow the two inside. His path was quickly interrupted by Kanra turning around from the stack of boxes she had brought in to give him a hug. Well, her way of hugging.

The poor man was unable to utter a word as he felt several things in his body get crushed (something might have snapped too). Thankfully, Kaoru was there to mediate not without punching him down verbally by insulting his income.

“F-Fuck both of you…” Ryuko rasps out as soon as he falls to his knees in the middle of his hallway. It wasn’t without him recovering quickly, coughing out his lungs from the deprivation of air he had experienced. “Those other gifts better not be some sort of weapon to torture me.”

Sitting down with Kaoru, Ryuko figured he might as well entertain these two intruders in his home. They were after all, meaning well by giving him a lot of birthday gifts… And with how Ryuko was doing, he wasn’t one to turn down free stuff, especially on his birthday. Opening the first one, he was surprised to see a new coffee machine. Sleek, modern and a touch screen? This was a lifesaver for him, with his old one beginning to break down. Kaoru of course had no hesitation to point that out, with Ryuko could only respond with a glare at the hacker.

With the next gift, Ryuko was surprised to receive such a futuristic tablet and pen. Being used to using an ordinary drawing tablet or even screens like at his work, a hologram feature in a tablet was really something else. “Fuck, Shuu was right when saying you go all out with these tech gifts. But, you gotta show me how the hologram shit works Kaoru. I’m not that familiar with this type of tech.”

“Wait, that’s not all?” Ryuko responded when Kaoru decided to add in one more detail. As the ping rang on his cracked phone rang out, his jaw just dropped at what appeared across his screen. Completely speechless, all Ryuko could do was nod at Kaoru’s request to not ask where the money came from.

At this point of their visit, Ryuko could hardly make any snappy remarks at Kaoru’s comments about his living style. Pushing the now dumbstruck animator into the kitchen, he was only able to continue to stare at the array of food Kanra had managed to set out for him. All their banter faded into the background as his brain tried to catch up with what was happening. He was only snapped out of his revere when Kaoru shouted out at him to call his team, which he dumbly nodded in acknowledgement, before walking out of the kitchen in a daze.

Ring… Ring… Click!

“Ryu-chan! Hey, hey! What’s up?” Shuu’s cheerful voice responded once Ryuko had managed to dial his number.

“Shuu…”

“Huh? Ryuko, what’s wrong?” Shuu’s tone quickly grew concerned when Ryuko answered in such an odd way. “Did something happen?”

“N-No nothing bad. Just…” Ryuko started to process everything and rubbed his eyes, feeling odd. “The Edogawa team girls, minus the scary leader came over and they made food.”

“Oh! Kao-chan and Kan-chan? Aww! That sounds nice!”

“Yeah, there’s too much so could you call Maki and get over here? We’re going to need help.”

“Oki-doki!” The detective chirps. “But hey, are you okay? You sound a bit… Sniffly?”

“Shit, sorry.” Ryuko coughs, “You know how Kanra is. I think something went out of place… I’ll probably need Maki’s help to fix whatever it is.”

“...Really?” an unconvinced voice responds.

“Really. Now quit fucking stalling and get over here. I'm fucking starving and I don't wanna wait forever for both of your asses.”

“Hehe, okay! I’ll be there in 10!” And with a click, Shuu had hung up, no doubt doing just as Ryuko had requested.

Now left with a more clear head, Ryuko took a deep breath. This was a lot for him, for these team members to do so much for him, despite being rivals. It was going to take awhile for him to process the thoughts and feelings he was experiencing but for now…

“Fuck it, I’ll enjoy myself a bit!”

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #hypnosis microphone #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic oc #hypnosis microphone oc #suginami division #sazanka zombeez #ryuko umemoto #shuu edogawa #happy birthday ryuko 2023 #edogawa division #kanra akemi #kaoru shinozaki #lowkey pathetic but ryuko crying over the money and food is just *mwah* perfect

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argumentl · 3 years

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The Freedom of Expression, radio version - Live special #3, August 9th 2016.

✯📆Kaoru starts by trying to remember when the last live special was, getting it wrong by saying it was at the start of year (It was actually in Dec). Kaoru comments on how the amount of staff in the studio is different from usual when they go live. They also have half-price off food from the supermarket to keep them going for 2 hours.

✵🐎They then welcome Hiranabe and Tasai to join them for the show. Hiranabe worries whether he'll still have a job in the morning after doing this show. He doesnt want to lose his job, as he just also lost a ton of money on the horse racing.

Kaoru then suggest they might get a visit from Kami at some point, and they will try to have a phone call with Dobashi, who is currenly in Brazil 🇧🇷.

He then gets started with the top 5 stories of the first half of 2016. Counting down from...

●5. North Korean satellite lauch/ America and Japan suspect an intercontinental ballistic missile launch - Hiranabe thinks American satellites are so advanced that America will know exactly what N.Korea is doing. Joe thinks the wording/phrasing in such news articles makes a big difference as to how the story is percieved.

Kami tells them he is ok to appear on the show tonight, as he managed to catch the last train home after work. He's now enjoying taking part with a beer.

●4. A boom in adultery - Celebrity Becky's affair (plus apology to her sponsers at a press conference) at the start of the year has set off a string of public revelations about the adulterous affairs of other celebrities, all of whom have also immediately held press conferences to apologize. Before this year, celebrities tended to use their personal blogs etc to address the accusations. Joe brings up something he heard from Nuclear Safety Chief Madarame Haruki when interviewing him about the 3.11 disaster. Madarame said that it has long been Japan's culture to never badmouth a samurai who has commited seppuku. Badmouthing such a person makes you worse than whatever they did. In this way, if celebs appear at a press conference with tears in their eyes and full of apology, they can avoid any future dragging about their past mistakes.

✵🏘️At this point Kaoru takes a break from the countdown to read out an email from a listener. The email is from someone who currently lives in their hometown, but is thinking of moving to Tokyo, so they want to know Kaoru's advice for moving to Tokyo for the first time as a single person. Kaoru says he moved to Tokyo 19 years ago, and lived in Nerima ward at first, specifically the neighborhood Fujimidai. This was to be near to where Dir's manager lived. The rent was ¥120,000 a month for a 2LDK apartment, which he shared with Kyo. Kami gives out advice to not be picky about specific locations when searching for a cheap place. Hiranabe brings up the website 'Oshima teru', where you can check to see which apartments have previously been the sites of murders/deaths. The rent for such apartments is often abnormally cheap.

✵🤭🤭🤭 Next Kaoru moves onto some news which interested Hiranabe a lot, the story being very typical of him....'Admission of squirting'. (Lots of laughs from the others, and Joe wants to know more 😆). The story relates to the model Darenogare Akemi. She appeared on a radio show and was denying the rumour that she was the type to lie still during sex, she claimed that she moves around and vocalises a lot during sex. The host of the show asked her, 'Yeh, but I bet you don't squirt?'. She replied on air, 'I do, I did for the first time a year and a half ago'. Hiranabe decided to dedicate a whole page in Tokyo Sports to this story.

Hiranabe was also fond of the Beat Takeshi 'Comǎneci pose' story, invovling actresses Ayase Haruka, Nagasawa Masami, and Hirose Suzu. This story was talked about previously on Ep 25.

✵☎️Next, they try having a direct phone convo with a listener. The caller brings up the news of the 2016 World Happiness Report, in which Japan ranked at #53. Joe explains these results are obtained by surveying local populations, but each nation has different standards of what happiness is. Kaoru thinks happiness is not something that should be ranked in this way. The caller then asks Hiranabe why he never learns to not spend so much money on women. He answers 'Because Im an idiot'. Joe asks the caller what she thinks Hiranabe looks like. She says 'a face which can't be broadcast'. (Laughs all round).

✵🎶Next they listen to a few of the new jingle entries. They like the second entry, which apparently contains phrases influened by a couple of Dir songs. They also like the fifth entry and ask Kami to do the voice-over on it, which they all find hilarious. Kaoru says he might use some of these entries on the show in future.

📞✵🇧🇷Next they connect via the phone to Dobashi, who is in Brazil covering the 2016 Olympics for Tokyo Sports. He is calling from the table tennis venue, as he is covering a match there. He says he has seen a few Japanese athletes win gold medals in other events, and encourages listeners to buy Tokyo Sports to read his reports.

They ask Dobashi various questions about security, and the local food etc, then Hiranabe asks him if he has any of the commemorative Olympic condoms, and whether or not he has used them. Dobashi says he has some, but hasn't used them. He opened one to check it out, and it was so thick, obviously not made in Japan (his words). Hiranabe asks him to bring some back as souvenirs 🤭😆

✵Before moving onto # 3 in the countdown, Kaoru reads out an email. This is from a listener who is a fan of Dobashi and wants to know what kind of woman he likes. Hiranabe knows his type..he likes kinda crazy women. Another email from 'radio name: 0.3mm' asks for some Olympic condoms. The last email asks them whether they like watching movies on regular screens, or on 3D/4D screenings. Kaoru prefers regular screens, otherwise he finds it difficult to concentrate. He recently watched the movie 'Shin Godzilla' (in 2D), and was anxious seeing familiar Tokyo landmarks getting trashed.

Continuing the countdown...

●3. Muhammed Ali's death. This was discussed in ep 39, about how Ali was very outspoken in regards to segregation. Despite Obama becoming the first black president, Joe questions how much discrimination against black people by white people in the US has actually improved. Hiranabe agrees with Joe, in that based on the news, race relations are not improving at all. Joe says we must be careful not to focus too much on the big headline of Obama as President. That doesn't suddenly mean everything is ok now.

Hiranabe then talks for a bit about his memories of prowrestler Antonio Inoki, who fought with Ali once.

●2. The eventual resignation of (former) Tokyo Governor Masuzoe Yōichi. Masuzoe had held onto his position as long as possible, claiming he was innocent. He's used specific techniques during press conferences to avoid getting cornered. Hiranabe was impressed with the words of new candidate Torigoe Shuntaro, who used the phrase, 'Everyone please get distracted', instead of the usual 'Don't get distracted', which candidates usually finish their speeches with. Joe draws comparisons with the 3.11 response. A third party investigation committee was set up in both the 3.11 case and Masuzoe's case, but if the guilty parties are choosing which lawyers make up the committee, its not very impartial in the end. Use of the word 'third-party' is another trick politicians use to try to look innocent.

✵☎️Next they take another phone call from a listener. This caller's first fave news of the year is the announcement of new Dir en grey tours. His second is about Pokemon Go. He asks if Kaoru plays. Kaoru says he's already given up, after getting to level 12. Joe interrupts to say Kami looks as if he's about to fall asleep.

Reaching the end of the countdown..

●1. Mystery Phoenix appears in sun. This is a story from Tokyo Sports back in May. Shapes resembling a phoenix have been spotted in various photos of the sun which were released by NASA. Tokyo Sports offered the suggestion of whether this might actually be real. Tasai hands a copy of Tokyo Sports out to everyone to show them the image, but Kaoru is more interested in another story on the same page: 'Discovery in Arizona of trunk from 20cm tall elephant with fish gills'. Joe then reads out some similarly crazy headlines from the newspaper in his hands. The question arises of whether this story merits being at #1.

✵To finish a quick suggestion of another live special at the end of the year, as long as everyone still has their job, and are not in Atami...., and Kaoru plugs his upcoming tours. In the last min, they all agree that Kami voicing the jingle was the funniest bit of the show. Kaoru wishes the listeners good luck at work tomorrow after staying up late to listen to the show.

Songs - Dir en grey/Amon (Symphonic ver.), Ill niño/God Save Us, Dir en grey/Un deux, Meshuggah/New Millennium Cyanide Christ, Dir en grey/Ruten no tou, Jakalope/Go Away, Dir en grey/Utafumi, System of a Down/Chop Suey.

To radio top page

#dir en grey #the freedom of expression #radio

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kyu-bri · 4 years

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| \y\O

@myrtenast3r J \ A \

COME LOOKIE PAW I CAUGHT ONE!

*ahem*

A quick giant rundown!!!!

Mami is a well-todo 15yr old girl of the 80s. She is very much in love with her Real Actual Explicitly Romantic Girlfriend Kyoko.

Mamis father is a medical scientist, currently working on a project to create synthetic organs and tissues for ailing people. He has recently teamed his efforts with an engineer with an affinity for Purple. I do not remember if purple guy made the animatronics but in my defense we recast who purple guy is believed to be every year.

Kyoko's father runs a very liberal unorthodox church, that believes in blasphemous things like Gay Is Okay and Abortion Is Not Murder

People murder Kyokos family over this

Mami finds her gfs church burning down, Kyoko the only one still alive- but severely burned and not hanging around for long

Kyoko stops breathing before they get to the hospital, and Mamis father, in panic and sympathy for his hysterical daughter, takes her into his lab and hooks her up on life support, he sets to calcifying her insides and rebuilding her bodyfunctions from the inside out.

The result is calcified balljointed skin and a brain full of electrified wire. Kyoko wakes up stoic and moving stiffly, slowly relearning how to articulate and react. The only semblance of her old self is being able to identify Mami, giving her joy and hope, and Mamis father severe anxiety.

Mamis father is secretly horrified at his frankensteinish recreation of a dead girl, he cancels his research afraid of what people might do if they could become completely synthetic, sentient machines. His engineering partner however, suggests ways to keep his discoveries from going to waste- by using them for entertainment purposes

Mostly headed by his partner, the Tomoe family opens a family restaurant business, quickly becoming renown for its state of the art animatronic technology, and by children for its adorable red showgirl

Mamis parents are killed in a sudden accident, leaving her as heiress to the business accompanied only by her stoic, ribbon covered stage singer girlfriend, and the creepy animatronic mechanic

Children start going missing

Mami discovers her fathers old partner has trained her undead android girlfriend to kidnap and murder children in addition to song and dance. Mami thinks thats fucked up

Dude turns on Mami but Kyoko kills him first.

Mami shuts down the business in grief and becomes a recluse, as some time passes she becomes unable to even confide in her girlfriend, now ex as Mami grows up and Kyokos left unaging with an electric brain that can only learn whats programmed, which would be creepy otherwise

A few years later, Madoka Kaname and timid Homura Akemi break into the closed down business. Homuras fondest childhood memories are of this establishment, and Madoka loves Homura very much.

Mami never figured out how to unteach Kyoko how to murder unattended children

Madoka is dead, as Mami frantically apologizes and scolds RoboKyoko and apologizes for the scolded RoboKyoko, Homura figures out what RoboKyoko is, she begs Mami to make Madoka the same. Mami can't pretend she hasn't learned the technology for different motives.

As she slowly rebuilds Madoka, Homura resigns herself to the same fate. She volunteers herself to become as Madoka will so she might always look after her.

Madoka reanimates somewhat more vacant and robotic then Kyoko, she learns the showtunes quickly though. In contrast, Homura is distressingly more aware, though discernably focussed on her only desire to keep Madoka safe. Mayhaps a side effect of being changed when both alive and knowing what was to come.

Considerably more traumatized now, Mami concludes that these girls need something to do with themselves. She reopens the restaurant.

She hires a security guard for the nightshift

Sayaka needed a summer job to distract her from her teenage angst and was pretty willing to work just for free pizza

The animatronics walking around at night and really wanting to get into her office is a great distraction

Sayaka isn't scared of ghosts nor death at this point though so she eventually confronts them. They just want to play with her. They're very lonely in the dark.

Sayaka suddenly recognizes Madoka as a missing girl at her school from a few months back. Sayaka is aware of the missing children rumors back when the place shut down in 87 and connects some dots.

Mami is here to relieve Sayaka of her post

Kyoko has learned that Murder Is Bad.

She stops Mami from harming Sayaka and forces the girls to come to a truce amongst their arguing. Sayaka has to promise not to tell the police about Mamis zombie performers and Mami not to kill her.

They're both lying

Mami leaves to let Sayaka find her way out. Going to the control room she *accidentally* triggers a security door Sayaka was just then walking through

But swiftly after, Homura prys the door open, and Kyoko lifts the unconsious girl and carries her to the lab. All while a ballet dancing Madoka pirouettes after them singing how everythings going to be alright.

Homura gets to saving the nearly eviscerated Sayaka.

Mami is confronted by Kyokos blankly staring face and does not interfere.

Sayaka is given a beautiful sparkling tail, and begrudgingly Mami installs a gel pool into the pirate themes play area. Though she does manage to communicate to Homura that Sayakas voicebox is much too dangerous to carry over

The building reopens the next week, though pirate bay is closed until they can be sure their new member can behave.

Sayaka is not stoic or stiff, she stays put and behaves largely out of the Depression

Mami does not advertise for another night guard

She gets saddled with one though. Two actually, this angry rich girl is very persuasive but really wants her dull boyfriend to be there to help her out.

Hitomi wants to find out what happened to Sayaka.

Kyosuke does not want to be here.

Djjsisjdisishdisus K THERE WE GO

I'll probably draw shit and update with it + a readmore later lmao

Cliffhanger there so I'm not spoiling the entIRE story if I wanna do anything for it later lmao

#pmmm #puella magi madoka magica #fnaf #kyomami #kyoumami #fnaf au #mine #long post #cant wait to see how my fisherman breaks

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precuredaily · 5 years

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Precure Day 117

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 19 - “What’s Important to You? Saki and Mai’s Wish” Date watched: 4 May 2019 Original air date: 11 June 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/HbpjSL5 Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

I’m in lesbians with you.

You kinda have to feel sorry for Michiru and Kaoru. Dark Fall has been their entire life, it’s everything they know, and it’s a bit of a hostile atmosphere. They finally branch out into the human world and experience kindness and compassion but they know that they have to destroy this world and the new friends they’ve made. They’re slowly undoing the brainwashing, but they’re afraid of what Akudaikaan will do to them if they betray him, so they repress their enjoyment and try to fulfill their assignment. They tell each other they believe fully in what they’re doing, but it sounds like they’re trying to convince themselves more than anybody. It’s essentially the struggle of unlearning an oppressive behavior, mixed with recognizing and escaping an abusive lifestyle. Deep stuff. So, what are the twins up to this time?

They want to personally destroy the Precures as a sign of their conviction to Dark Fall, and they have recognized that the Precures grow immensely stronger when their hearts are as one, so they decide to try to break them apart first in order to defeat them. They do this in the most simple way possible, by vanishing objects of personal importance: Saki’s softball mitt and Mai’s sketchbook. They have realized that when people are missing something, finding that object becomes the only thing they can focus on, because people have single-track minds. As predicted, both Saki and Mai are distracted by looking for their missing possessions, and forget that they agreed to meet up with each other so Saki could show Mai a beautiful scenic spot she found. Michiru and Kaoru also nudge them in the wrong direction, telling each of them that the other went home already and will probably be disappointed that their friendship meant so little. It seems like a good idea no paper.

However, the plan backfires as both Saki and Mai feel remorseful for missing a promised meeting, and they write each other notes to apologize, and stick them in their pencil cases. While they sleep, the spirits work their magic and transform their cases into special stationery kits with the ability to transmit messages to each other. At school the next day, the girls attempt to reconcile but other commitments and general awkwardness get in the way. They separately discover their strange new pencil cases, and Flappi and Choppi advise them that the spirits must have responded to their strong feelings, so if they write a message on the special paper, the other person will surely receive it. Sure enough, each of them writes a note for the other and the spirits carry them away. The two run to talk to each other after school but Dorodoron, not willing to let the Kiryuus steal his thunder, interrupts by turning the water fountain into an Uzainaa.

Michiru and Kaoru say, screw it, he probably won’t win but let’s see what happens. Maybe we weakened Precure enough that he’ll be able to best them this time! So they watch. Mai and Saki transform, but rather than being weakened by having their bond damaged, they’re stronger than ever, because both of them felt bad about the previous day and just wanted to apologize and make up. They’re both surprised by how strong their spirit power is today and how easily they repel the monster’s attacks, which REALLY pisses off Dorodoron.

(The cement on his ears is a reflected attack from the uazainaa)

The heroines finish it off and Dorodoron flees. Afterwards, they discuss how odd it was that they were so powerful today when both of them thought the other was upset with them, but Flappi and Choppi encourage them to read the notes they wrote for each other: both of them essentially saying they hope their partner finds the thing they lost. They formally make up, while the Kiryuus (watching from afar, see cover pic) remark that they’re truly called the legendary warriors for a reason, and vow to go all-out on them the next time. Seeing no more need for the items they confiscated, they return them, and Mai later comments that it’s strange that they were in their club rooms, but no more is said on the topic.

That evening, Saki takes Mai to the scenic location finally, a lakeside garden of wildflowers surrounded by hills. The setting is cast in the orange glow of sunset and it looks absolutely gorgeous. I’ll let the picture do the talking.

They discuss their strong feelings for each other and that’s where the episode ends.

If you don’t ship SakiMai by now, I’m lowkey judging you, unless you just don’t do shipping at all, in which case, carry on. But wow this episode is pretty unsubtle with the shipping fuel. Saki finds a beautiful spot and her first thought is “I want to bring Mai here on a date so she can draw all the pretty flowers”. Things don’t work out and both of their minds immediately jump to “I have to make this up to her, I hope she forgives me!” And the episode is filled with them giving each other looks.

I love every part of this. MichiKao’s scheme is smart, they just underestimated how close the bond between the two is or how they would respond. Instead of driving a rift between them, their sympathy for each other and sincere regret for missing the meeting brings them closer, and therefore makes them even stronger.

These last few episodes, the villains have all been doing something I like: changing their strategy, and that’s a problem that a lot of Precure shows continue to have. Michiru and Kaoru themselves are trying to resist the allure of friendship, and there’s actually a scene right before they vanish the girls’ possessions that Michiru flashes back to the scene from last episode where Saki and Mai brought them pastries for helping at the sale. She tries to clear her mind of any lingering doubts, but every word they exchange makes you realize that they’re trying to convince themselves that Precure are bad and need to be destroyed. These aren’t the same two girls that met Saki and Mai in episode 14, they’ve grown, and they have more growing to do in the next few episodes. Brace yourselves, because it’s about to get intense.

One last note, this appears to be the final episode that Imai Yuka voices Kaoru. Her voice is notably different in the next episode, and the credits for SS20 confirm that she is voiced by Okamura Akemi.

Kaoru voiced by Imai Yuka (今井由香) in episode 19

Kaoru voiced by Okamura Akemi ( 岡村明美) in episode 20

According to the wiki, which cites a 2010 blog entry, Imai Yuka stepped down because she became pregnant and frequently had intense morning sickness, preventing her from being able to work reliably. She’ll be back to play a few other minor characters in other shows.

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari!

Miracle Drop Count: 6

#Precure #Pretty Cure #Futari wa Precure Splash Star #FWPCSS19 #PCD117

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poppeeta · 5 years

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21 Questions Tag

Rules: Answer 21 questions and tag 21 people you want to get to know better

I was tagged by the always lovely @padfootz-princess! <3

Nicknames:

Posy

Posita (these two only used by my relatives, please respect that)

Poppy

Pops

Pop

Poppetta

Popita

Poopy

Mama

Hey you, be careful!

Zodiac sign:

Capricorn

Height:

5′2 6′3

Hogwarts house:

Ravenclaw

Last thing I Googled:

How to shrink objects in the Sims 4

Fave musicians:

Andre Rieu

Louis Armstrong

I actually can’t think of anything else because I’m multitasking lmao

Song stuck in my head:

Piel Canela- Nat King Cole

Following:

304

Followers:

690 (should I do something for 700? let me know!)

Do you get asks:

Yes, and I love it

Amount of sleep:

7-8 hours in good days

Lucky number:

Numbers can’t do shit, you have to do things yourself.

What are you wearing:

PJs (I should be asleep lmao)

Dream job:

I already have it! (Teaching)

Dream trip:

IRELAND ever since I was a teeny tiny teen

Instruments:

My voice on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Languages:

Español

English

un peu de francais...just the right amount to vaguely understand posts in french on the internet.

German and Italian when I have to sing with the choir

Favourite songs: (oof here we go, no particular order, I wont put links, but I’ll put lyrics that I love. I apologize for making this post so long)

Creo en ti -Miguel Bosé (This one reminds me of my grandma) “Creo en ti y tu ausencia pasa a ser mi eternidad. Tu silencio mi paz, tu recuerdo mi motor y a pesar de todo creo en ti”

Wish You Were Here - Cover by Ninja Sex Party, Original: Pink Floyd (I was listening to this when my mom called to tell me my grandfather had died) “We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year, running over the same old ground and how we found the same old fears...Wish you were here”

In Your Eyes - Cover by Ninja Sex Party, Original: Peter Gabriel (I’ve been obsessed with this song for the past two monhts) “Oh, I want to be that complete. I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes”

Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles (Never fails to calm me down. Ad hoc for a morning walk right after the rain) “Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting. Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear”

Rainbow Connections - Garfunkel and Oates (If I ever get married, I need this song in my wedding) “I used to feel uncertain, but now I realize when I wanna see my future, I just look into your eyes. Too vast to hold, and too small to name, it's no wonder why you have to stand between the rain and the sun to see a rainbow in the sky”

I Get to Do It With You - Garfunkel and Oates (Sweet, simple, funny) “Every dream I have is sweeter cause I pursue it with you, if times get tough, I'll pull through it with you”

Si Tu No Estás - Rosana (Makes me cry everytime) “Pasearé en un cielo sin estrellas esta vez tratando de entender quien hizo un infierno el paraíso, no te vayas nunca porque no puedo estar sin ti”

Carta Urgente - Rosana (aka my funeral song) “Hay cosas que siento tan mías que no son de nadie. Hay cosas que escribo contigo y hay cosas que sin ti no valen. Hay cosas y cosas que acaban llegando tan tarde”

Cant Help Falling In Love With You - Elvis Presley (I feel it in my heart everytime I sing it with my choir) “Take my hand, take my whole life too for I can't help falling in love with you”

La Innombrable - Julius Popper (Local band, brings back good memories) “Hazle saber cuanto antes que ella es tu vida, hazle notar cuanto antes que no hay nadie más. Mírala en sus ojitos y hazla querida hazle sentir cuanto antes que ella es tu mar”

The Happy Song -Kate Micucci (I’d like to think this is me if I was a song) “I am lucky, you are lucky, let us get lucky together. Whether the weather is cloudy or breezy, I'll be there to say "Hey, come on! Let's take it easy!"

Caderas Blancas - Mon Laferte (*blush*) “Sé que lo entiendes al mirarme de frente, sé que no soy la única que esta sintiendo esto. Todo va y viene, amor. Que bonito se siente esta turbulencia, llegaste, amante divino, como una tormenta”

Cielito de Abril - Mon Laferte y Manuel García (brings back nice memories and makes me wanna travel) “Hay una luna creciente para mí,y para el loco cielito de abril. La noche me trae claridad y esta vida que se me va...”

Vendaval - Mon Laferte (Good song to listen while drawing) “Yo necesito amar a quien me quiera de verdad.Tal vez sea involuntario como un espasmo sicario, un vendaval”

Flor de Amapola - Mon Laferte (I started to pay more attention to this song after Sam gave me that mutual tag. Its a very nice song) “Yo busco algo diferente.Yo sé que hay algo que perder.Tenemos un vicio: Aullar a la luna llena. Me quedo contigo y tú dejas que se pueda porque contigo yo sueño despierta, no sé, te mueves en cámara lenta; flor de amapola, creces entre la yerba” Random fact: Sleep paralysis is so common to me that I dont get scared anymore Aesthetic: Early morning walk back home, pink skies, that after rain smell. Rain boots and puddles. Stepping on crunchy leaves I’ll tag: @clouis-loumentine @3amgameover @lostgeekette @ebimanami @frida-pal @octoshott @queen-of-tombs @kratqa @bluebutterfly1 @kitsune-senpai @mermist-uh @deleted-fishie @akemi-rose578 @kitteynn @notapineapple1 @princetozier @rascet @randomfandom-bs @kmysstuff @transmarlon @rahrex BONUS: @king-of-clubs98 @love-struck-bois @anomalyah

#tag game #long post

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clarafell · 6 years

Note

"homura-chan..." the young serial killer murmured whilst standing within the darkness of madoka's kitchen, branding for what it seemed to be a bloodied knife. "i'm so sorry, but, I couldn't let her do this to you...." even his face had some blood on it & so did the floor, as well as the nearby counter. "you hardly even sleep anymore.." but madoka herself seemed to be strangely missing. "so... i just killed her." that was until he moved aside, revealing her dead body. "do you hate me...?"

Listen to this song for some happy thoughts!

↳ @delightful-envy

It was pleasantly quiet on the this afternoon. She planned on kicking back and relaxing after a long night of fighting witches. Today had been going so smoothly since it was finally the weekend. It meant that she could catch up on her sleep or even going shopping. Homura had been caught off guard when the peaceful afternoon was disturbed by the sound of Kyubey. The cat-like creature’s voice was stressed but overall emotionless. Still such a cute voice according to Madoka or Mami. Maybe she could hang out with someone. Maybe Envy would like to come over? After she took a little nap just to be more well rested to avoid falling asleep with Envy again. Alas, Kyubey ruined her peace and quiet—

Hurry, Homura Akemi, hurry!

Kyubey warned her that something was wrong and it was at the Kaname household. With the mother of Madoka at work and her father seeming to take her little brother to the park, Homura had no clue that the house was empty. She knocked once or twice in a quiet manner, hands not giving her the strength. She looked into the windows, frightened at the silence. Kyubey didn’t go into detail but he told her to hurry. She had been quick to call Mami in advance, telling her to meet up. But Mami was running late and Homura had arrived at the house first. Bright as always on the inside and brimming with happiness from the little garden filled with tomatoes and other plant life, Homura knew where Madoka’s house was. She had been hesitant, knocking harder before she turned the door knob to reveal that the door was in fact open. If it wasn’t open, she would have done the unthinkable and smash a window in or even slip into the Madoka’s normally cracked open door. It was how Kyubey himself often got in, anyway. Homura was so foreign when she stepped inside Madoka’s bedroom in the past timelines, always in awe over how cute the room was. (It was such an honor that she got to be in the same room that Madoka slept in and spent her days in. It warmed her heart that she had been invited inside Madoka’s home in the past timelines. Madoka trusted her so much to do that… Or maybe she was just friendly.) She met her parents a couple of times now in different timelines. She has already seen plenty of pictures of her little brother whom Madoka adored, liking to take plenty of pictures. They liked to draw together. Homura joined in one time as she was invited to eat dinner at the Kaname household just a few days ago. It was so pleasant, the food melted into her mouth. Her father cooked so good and her mother chatted with her, making her in awe over how cool her mother was. Madoka had been flustered with how many questions her mother asked of Homura. It was a pleasant time where Homura actually had a homemade meal and not some sort of little meal with a convenient store like instant ramen or something.

Homura forgot what it was like to have a family dinner yet alone a warm meal. Such a fond little memory. Even her parents were so nice and so caring even to some stranger. They were wonderful parents and a wonderful couple with such a strong bond that made Homura also smile. But on this lonely afternoon, the parents were thankfully away and so was her little brother. What would have happened if they saw Homura just break into the house and looking for any form of danger? They would think that she was losing it or something. Maybe she was losing it, a little voice in the back of her head muses as the paranoid female wanders the empty household in search of danger. Of anything. Of Madoka. But when she stumbled into the kitchen that was unusually dark, Homura had spotted a figure. Still clad in her uniform, Homura had froze up in her spot at the sight of Envy. She had told him of Madoka in her tired nights, telling him of the dinner she had with Madoka and her family. Telling him how she forgot what it was like to eat such a well prepared and steaming meal. She told him that she wished she could repeat that cherished event over and over. After all, Homura told him of her days when she was gone for a bit in order to catch him up on her current events. She trusted Envy and she also liked to tell him anything new except the puella magi business that she often kept under wraps. F͙̘͍̠̽̂́ọ̻̠̝ͣ̉͂ͤ̾̈́r͔͍̺͖͚̠̄ ̡̬̳͉̘ͪͧ̈́͗ͫ̑h̊͛i͓̓͊ͪs̬̖͓̓̇̃̿͠ ͉̦̞̟̜̹ͨ̓s͖̣͙͇̫̤͍ͭ̒̿̔ͬ̀a̟̟̥͙̼͈̺͘f͑ͥ̋ͧͪ͏͖̺̼͉͙e̸͈̫̺̯̅̊ͧͅͅt͍̯̣̰̒͞y̪̖̟͐̇ ̢̻̲̳̰̣̥̹̍̒ͮͩ̓̓͒āṋ̪̱̙̤̇̒ͤͬͤ̚d͔̜͉̹̜̦͉̓ͪ̃͂ͥ̑̾ ̪͑̿͂͆͊h͚̗̗͊͌̇ē̡̼̹̆r̙̻̭ ͖̖̬͇̰̲̃ͣͣ͛͂s̵̫͚̦̙̦̳̍̍̊̇̔ͩ͌ä͇̳͎́̽ͨ͌ͫn̛̞̳̗̭ͥ̐i̤̦̘̟t̼͓̬͎̞͑͘y̫̜̖͕̐͒ͦ.̷̣̮̹͆̽͐ͩ

“Envy?” When she saw Envy, her first instinct was to just look at him and his face. She had spotted the blood on his face and her first instinct was to assume it was his blood. Her tone had been worried and surprised as she peers at him, mouth opened to stare at him. She took one step closer, arms at her side as one of them raises to reach out a hand. But she pauses at the sight of his bloodied knife and that was when the familiar, sickening scent of blood hit her harshly. She went pale at the smell and her stomach lunges forward in disgust, feeling her world go dizzy. She was never able to stomach blood so well even with all her fights and her wounds and the deaths. She was handling it better compared to her first days as a magical girl. “Envy, why are you here? Its…” She is pausing on her words, almost about to say that it was dangerous. She was still in the automatic mindset that the culprit of the silence and the blood was a witch. Her eyes land on Envy’s body, violet eyes scanning to look for any symbols on any exposed skin. For all she knew, the witch’s kiss mark could be on his tongue. But her search and her senses stop for a moment upon hearing the apology. He truly meant it, she knew for a fact. That tone of voice. He was sorry, but for what?

H͕͎ͦ̚̕͝o̢̹̩̤̩̤̊ͬ͑͜͟m̸̙͔̥͙̈͊ͦ͑̿͒ũ̼̮̭̳̯̲̬̊̌ͣ͋̃̓r̯̤̟̺̜̻̗͖̪̓ͯ͆̃͝a̪̫̭̰̘̱̬͐͗ͣͭͣ̇̒ ̺̺͖̗͖̼͗́̕A̤̾̍̿ͧ̋̇͡k̷͍̗̯͕ͤ̈ͨ͂̉̂̌͞e̶̟̱̼ͯ́͛̃̃m̮̤̂̒̈́ͪ̒ͨ̕i̻͎̤̭̝ͥ̒ͥ̚, t̥̘̟̱͎͖̑̀̋ͣh̏ͦͧ̂̏i̺̱̣̦̣̅̈́ͨ͐ś͈̖̥ͮ͂ͨ̚ ̲̋̽̑̂̉͒ͯh̞̟̬͓̀̎ͦuͭͣͨͪ̏ͫm͇̺̻̞̿a̒͑̾͐ͬ̀̔ṉ̥̳̙̾ ̘ͯͬ̊̚ḵ̮̜ͥ̋̐ͩͫ̚ǹ͑o̙̹w̪̗̎̅s̘͛͂ͤͩͬ̾ ÿ̸̸́ͫͭͫ̏͋͗̃͏̸̜̣̠̳̱̮͎ō̴̡͇̙͕̩̉̐̾͑̀́͡u̴̯̮͚̩̦ͥͮ̊͌̓ͥͫͧ̅́̇͋ͅr̾̑ͮ̓͐͒ͩ̉ͦͭ̆͒̓ͩ͂҉̸̸̡̮͈̮̞̫ ̧̛̫̻͍̙̞̼̪̣̣̲̥̘̍̌͛͐̒́ͅn̨̢̛̦̠̺̘̲̅ͮ̾̊͛͒ͮ̓̋ͦ̿͌͆̄͂ͬͧ̎͟͝ͅả̸̷̮̲̮̜͎̳̭̠̙͈͈̠̠͎̭̲͋̐̽̽ͫͩͨ͝m̬͚̤̭̬͉̯͈͖̯̭͕͎͇͔̯̠̪ͦ̐͐̽͋̾ͨ̐͌̓͛ͫ͊̔̽̀͘e̷̷̜͍̝̹̺̯̲͈͎̣͔͆ͩ̓ͥ̊ͨ͐̈́̀͊̆́͟ͅͅͅ!̒̒̊̽͊͊ͦͨ̄̄͘͏͏̷̲͇̜͕̬̹͈̘̫̪̺̗͙̪͍͝ͅ

It sounds roughly like Kyubey.

…c̡̺̭̪̯͟a̧̛̲̞̳͞ǹ̫͜ ̡͙ y̸̧̯̣̙̖̫ͪ̄̾̈̈̍ͪ̇̀ͧ̑͝ǫ͈̠̖̝̩̦̩͚̘̻̀̐ͫ̿̉͆ͩ͊̽̈͛̊͊ͣ̆̿͆͜͠u̴̬͉̭͇̹̦̫̞͓͔̳ͪ̌̐̿̀ ͏̧̬̭̥̺̪ h̻̠̯̟͚̪̙͔̲ͣ̐ͤͬͫ̇̅̊́͜͝e̸̞͓̗ͩ̍̔̓̎̊ͭ̑a̗̞̱̝͂͑ͨ̈́̂̋́r͍̙͎͉̲̈́̕͟͡ ̗͉͎̲̳̘̹͎ͫ̍́͘͠m͑ͧͭͣ̆͏̩̳̱̕ͅê̥̙͈͊͟?̧̖̹̹̱͖̝̬͇͆̉͋ͮ͑ͬ͊̋̏ͅ!̵̱͔͛̓̑̾̑́ͩ̒

That sounds like Mami’s voice—

Maybe she didn’t hear Kyubey or hear his telepathic remarks. She also didn’t hear the worried remarks of Mami, who was trying to communicate with Homura as she rushed to the scene. Maybe her mind didn’t want her to catch on. Maybe she didn’t want to believe the warning bells in her head. Maybe she wanted to blame the witches on all of the world’s evil or tragedy. The floor and the counter were covered in blood. Splatters of it but not as bad as the pool of blood that Envy stood in. He was shielding her from what lays dead behind him. But upon hearing that keyword, Homura felt chills run up her body again and this time she had actually acknowledged them. “Envy, what do you mean that you’re sorry…” She began and stopped and soon felt a horrible pit in her stomach, realizing that she did not see Madoka so far yet. Something happened. For a moment that felt like ages, she wanted to believe that Envy had killed an intruder that got inside the house. But that, she knew, was very unrealistic since Envy himself was the intruder. As Envy stepped aside to reveal the body of the pink haired classmate, Homura had let out a strangled cry that soon morphed into a scream. Her hands flew to cover her mouth as she stares at the body, unable to believe her own eyes. This must be a nightmare. W̲ͣ͐̉̚ĥ̶̨̥̩͖͝ỹ̷̵̯͎͉̂̐̅͐ͭͨ̀͝ͅ ̸̨̘̦̣̱̞̟̯͕͓ͩ͑̑̀̓͒͗ͯ̃w̴̷̦̟̝̖̖̬͐̾̔͛̏͆̿̍o̢͎̠͙̦̜̪͇͗̓̍ͯ͜u̷̳̫͉̜̤̖͎̞͋̈͛͊ͯ͟͠l͈̬̫͐ͭ̕͟͜d̻͇͚̥̜͈̺͚ͯ͗̓͗͞ ̊͊͞҉͙͔͕̦̮̠Ë̱̩̖̪̪́̎̋̒ͪ̃͂͢n̢̨̤͍͋v̷̸̫͐̍̕y̸̜̭̭ͭͥ̈́́͠ͅ ̩̭̱ͮ͘d̵̢͍̫͎ͪͮ̇̊ͬ̄̅ͭ́õ̩̗̙̞̅ͭ̋͞ ̴̛͚͖͖͊̌ͮ̐ͥ͋̉̃t͔̞͈̰̥͑̂ͯͮ̔̍͋̓̉͜h̙̗̩̩͓̙ͯ̆̆̎̂̀́͞ḭ̱͓̹̻̞̻̺̊̉̐̑̅͝s̻̘̩̱̟̮͚ͫ͐ͤͯ͒ͯͤ͆͟͠?̴̖͕͉̭̫̦̄͛ͩ͗̎ Homura couldn’t stop picturing the sound of Madoka’s screams and pleas for help as tears begin to run down her face. Messy, ugly tears that was soon followed by ugly sobs and violent shakes of her head. That denial in her head and heart were strong. She knew of his killings, she knew of them but she never knew who he killed. W̧̯̯̲̳͍͊̃a̤̲ͩ̾̍͆s̶̲̖̫̓ͦͬ̒̿͛̋̾̓ ͉̬̼̭̠̭̻͙̩̔ͭ̎ͫ͑͑̏̃͜s̼͓̀̍̍̔̋̿͡ͅh̸̠͓̟̹̉̍̕e̷̫̥̻͈̝̲͎͌̈̓͊́̉͡ ̲̗̟̬͇͈̻ͣͭ̀ͣ́̋͋̊̊̀s̗̳̆̑ͯ̎͗͌̚ͅo̸͇̖͎̺̭̭͈̖ͮ͋̓̓ͪ̎̆͛̾͢ ̸̡̩͉̥͚̮̥̯͐ͤͭ̒̾̚̚͝s̹͙̺̫̖̥̺̻ͣ̅͌ͣ̊̈ͯ̀͜e̢̹̠̞̦̭̟̭̤̋̒ͩ̏̾̀͑́̚͢l͚̪͕̗̱͙͆̇̈́͑͒ͤ̐̀͞f̨̩͍ͮ̓į̨̮̱͇͇͐͐ͮ́ͫ̔͒̔s̺ͥͫͤ̎h̤̘͇̽͐̚͞ ̣̼̜̙͙͔ͣ̍̅ͦ̚͜͠ͅṱ̷̷̞̗̱̍̎ͬ̇o̠̯̗͉͂̅͂̉̆̂̂ ̳̱̙̰̞̲͒̒́c̶̙̻̏ͧ̏ͭ̋̅̾̚r̢̩̟̼ͯ̈́̓ͣ͑̓̀ͅy̨̛̗̩̳ͩ͡ ̞͎͕͓̣̒͑̋̂ͯ͠a̸͈͚ͦͣ͂n̢̜̹̳̲̎̌͋d̡͙̤ͯͥ̒̋̒͋̆̈́̎ ̶̷̘͖͎̋ͤ̃w͖͇̬̭̭̾̏ͫ̃ͮ̿ͧͦ̈͟͞o̟̮̘ͣ̅ͧr̖͓̪͕̋̈ͮͥ́͡r̷̡͎̭͉̣͗̾̈́y̷̨̦̳̏ ̢̩̠̩̯̬͖͔̩ͣ̌͐́f̨͍͓̺͗̈ͬͦ̒̌̇͛o͖̮̦͇͉̾̉͆ͦ̕r̗͎͍̯̦̻̘̿̅̊ͩ ̥̰͍͇̠͖͙̦̻ͤM͕̻̘̖̻͚̯̋͌ͪͧ̏̎̐̌a̢̦̩̼̅͐̑̏d̵̪̟̔͆͊o̷̮͔̻̖̦͋͂̒̌ͫ̚̕k̸̢̳͓̙̖͎̝̈́ͯͪ̾̚͠ả͓͈͉̘̲͢ ̮̠̰̦̣͙̺̉͊ͅb̶̴̲̝̫̦̾̊̊͐ͥ̆u̽̇̇̿͠͏̭̞̬͍͠t̛̤͔͎͙̝̭͗ͧͅ ̨̛̫̪͔͍͙͉͈ͯ̋͆̓̊͜n͓̙̯̭ͫͮͫ͟o̡̲͇̲̯͛ͦ̍͝ț̰͖͈ͩ̔ͦ ̰̬͖͎͈̰̹͎͉̈̄͢t̲̺͊̈̎ͧ̿̈́h̬̩̓̍ͮ̇͆̚͠ḙ̜̗͊ͨ͛̽̐ͪ̉͜͞ ̶̜͉ͪͮ͂ͤ̓̒̾r̷̼̮̱̬̈̇ͩ̄̔̇͝ͅe̡̻̗̲̣̩̽̾͑̈́̇͊͞ͅs̱̤̞̥͍̭͓̥ͯ͒ͭ̓͑ͦ͌͌t̴̜̯͓̱͎̆ͣͫ͛̕ ̹̘̙͈̯ͨ̔̊ͤͥ̇̀͝o̵̰̞̹͈ͭͩͩͦf̵͙̦̰̯̺̳̙͎̾̓͆͆̀̃̇͡ͅ ̴̨̜͕̎ͯͤ͌̔̀h̛̥̦̳͍̔̿ͣ͊̾̉̀ͯ͟i̢͉͙̘͉̤̊ͥ̾̾͢s̷̰̭͚̐̌̉̇ͦ̊̌ͣ͝ ̸̡̤͇͈̜̖̳͔ͮ̓̎ͦv͇̱̘͍͈ͣ̃̌iͨ̇͏̛̭̺̝̙̫ͅč͓̗ṭ̱̦̘͔̬̳̬̑͑i͎̥̱̲͋̇m͑̿̽ͥ͊̒́̕͏͔̺̖͈͙̳̩s̸͈̯̥̭͈̮ͬͭ ̨͖̅̍ͅt̶̝̘͒̐̒͑ͫ̽͘ǫ̷̻̹͗̉̎̚͘o͕̥̻̖̓̂ͥ̒ͬ̊̐͆?̷̨̪̻̦̺͓͙̹̗̝̐̾ͭ̆̊͊͛͘ How could she be so selfish and just cry for Madoka? Shouldn’t she cry for all of his victims? Or has she just tuned them out, wanting to believe that they never existed? Homura hated how her thoughts were spiraling out of control. Why couldn’t she stop these tears? At least her crying and the dark light made it harder to see the body of Madoka. She was almost glad that her head was looking over to the left instead of the right. If Madoka’s head had laid in the pool of blood and stared at her with eyes of betrayal, Homura would had fallen to the floor and to her knees. Oh, thank goodness Homura didn’t have to see her expression or her eyes.

He did it for her but she never asked for him to kill Madoka. She had struggled to stand as she leaned on the counter before her legs started to buckle down and fail her. She had peered at the body of Madoka, already seeing enough of her blood as it was in her dreams. She stared at the body, feeling numb and hurt at the same time. Oh, she had hoped that Envy had finished her off quick. No, no! That was not the way she should think… But if Madoka had gotten a swift and quick death, it would have been over at least less painfully. As Homura peered at the body, she forced herself to look up at Envy as she avoids the blood on the counter while using it to support herself. She felt sick to her stomach and even worse with the fact that her horror was turning more into emptiness instead. Was she truly getting used to seeing death if she was feeling so empty? Like a pumpkin with all of the guts inside being removed, the dark haired girl would stare at Envy. She felt horrible, unable to figure out what her emotions were. She didn’t know what to feel or say or think. H̴̨̤̲̘̼̀̎͌̋ͪ̎ͨ͂͗̈́͌̚e̷̫̩͎̬̲͓̦̻̥̰̣̥̤̹̼̘͈̜̎ͭͣ̎̆ͦ̏ͩ̃͆̉ͣ͊̿͠ͅ ̷̢̨͓̜̩̟̩̱̼͔̊ͤ̽̾͋ͬ͑̌ͤͨ́̐̏̅ͯ̓͜͡ḑ̟͓̖̳̬̤̣̜̫͋̍ͭ̈́̾̊̑͂ͫͥͩ͒ͭͤ̚͢ĭ̅͒̇̐͗̏͐͑̿ͭͫ̈̍͂̄͋͑͐҉̢͠͏̸͎̞̮̫̜͖ͅͅd̸̡͈͓̯̳̙̗̰̐ͪ͋̐ͤ̈͑̍ͪ̉ͫ̌ ̵͒̈́ͥ͗̐̀ͯͤ̒ͭ͏͈̬͍̙̦̙͓͓̫̞͓͇͘͡i̾ͬ͑̽̔̓ͪ̊ͧ͊͒̋ͭ͒̂͟͏͕̦͍̘̮̺̪̹t͛̈́͐ͮͨ̋҉̛͏̻̮̟̻̖̞͞ ͙̭͔̠̯͇̺͙͉͇͚̰̳̥͈̯̙͈͗̿̔̏̄̉̊͌ͥ͋ͮ̚͡͞f̸̡̦͉̗̥͉̣̥̬̠̺ͧͩ̄̔ͪ́͢͠ô̸͇̮͎̱̤̖̮͕̝̲͑̃̔͋̓̇͞ͅr̷͉̠̩̞̱̱͉̼͎̹͇̣̙ͪ̓͌ͣ̆̈́ͪ̇͂͒ͨ͜͝͞ ̴̾̽̉̒ͪ͋͟҉̬̣͓̦̭͎͖̀͢h̶̢̗͈͙͍͈̲̘̞̯̞͓͇ͭͫͩ̈̇̓̀̈́̑ͯ̆̇͑͐ͦ̈̔͜͝e͖̝̰̭̟͔̪̬͙̣̩̺͖̦̭̭̣͕ͪ̍̀̓ͤ́̑́͡͡r̋͆̈͑̾̽ͫ̔ͫ͌̔҉̨͙̥̘̙͕͓̰̟̳͜ͅ.̡͙͉̠͉̭̹̮͚͉͈̝̥̖͇́ͧ̓͝ͅͅ This was her fault. If she would have taken medicine to help her sleep and force herself to make a better sleep schedule, this wouldn’t have happened.

“Envy, y-you… You d̰̝̩̗͔̞̼̀͒̑ͤ͑̓ͨ̋ͨ̿ͮͯ̿͋́͜͞i̴̸͉͓̝̙̙̫̻̲̠̝͍̬̠̯̇̽ͥͨ̓̊̆͒̇ͧ̎ͯ̓͋̔̓̇̚͘͘d̴̩̙̣̼̲͍̹̺̬̩͈͇̂ͣͥ̆̈̕͝n̷̡̟̦͚̯͓̺̺̯̩͕̮͙͖̺̗̰̗ͨ̉̄̾ͯ͊ͥ̽͆͐͌̚ͅ’̢͈̰̥͙̰̜̟͓̒̓̄̆̅́͞t̟̻̳̖̝͇̯͉̣̪̄ͪ̆̒́̕ ̴̴̢͔͎͉̮̝̟̙̩̞ͩ̀̎͒̆̊̎͟h̨̢̧͉͇̫̹͐͛ͦͩͬ͐̿̓ͤͣͬ́̾̈́́a̵̛̤̹̬̮̻̹̞̖ͨ̄̅̓̿ͧͥͪ͛͋ͩ̎̒̀͑̊̃͜v̧͓̮̝̮͉͈͖̜̟̪̟͙̟̺̩̞̦̻͖ͤ͆̈̂̓̎ͧ̀̚͘͝e̛͉̩̪̭͖̖̦͖͓͇͔̜͖̓̋ͭ̽͛̈͆̿̄̎̏̀̚͘͟ ̴̶͛̄̈ͪ̎́̌͑̄̒͏̳̖̻̲̙͙t̞͇̯̳̞̦̯̰̮͕͎̩̻̙̫̫̳͋̉͛͛͑̾ͩ̈ͪͫ̾ͧ͑ͦ̚͟o̧̢̦̭͚̖͎̱̗̲̙͈ͩ̎̑̍̈ͤ́ͮ̀̃̓̃̒̕͟͝ ̶̖̣̗͈͚̣̺̹̖͚̩̦ͭ̑̊̍̍́ͨ͆͌͞ͅď̳̲̱̋̎ͦͭ̊̓̒̂ͮ̆̆̔̾̎̏̀̚͝o̧̜̱̮̫̙͚̹͇̮ͥͬ͒̽̽̓̿̈ͬͬͣ̈́͐ͧ͛̾ͤͅ t-this for m-me. She…she…” Homura was surprised to hear her own voice as her body trembles, tears refusing to stop. “I could h-have gotten better with my sleeping on my own. You d-don’t understand… It wasn’t Kaname-san’sf̨̪̟̣͉͙̪̬̄ͭͨ̔̊̉ͥ̾́͗̆͌͋ͣ͛̀̚ͅa̢̼̜̤̩͓̜̲͇̺͎̳͖̦̪̱̯͇̪ͮ̓̍̈̽̀͝u̷̷̧̪͖̟̘̬̘̻̙̝̲̺͊ͤͨ̍͒̒ͫ͛̕͜��̜̹̗̜͖̻l̢ͦͤ̉́̆ͤ̔̊ͪ̀̀ͥ̓̓̒͟͏̖̘̮͖̰͔̖̼̩̳͎͟t̛̳̳̙̻͔̭̭̻͚ͤ̋̑̋ͧ̍̔͌̿͐ͮ̀͐…” Homura found herself using her sleeve to try to wipe away all the tears and even the snot from her running nose. What could she even say? This was all her fault for being so careless enough to trigger Envy into killing someone so precious to her. “Oh, Envy— You—” She should have been rightfully angry at Envy for doing this. She should pick her over him and avenge her name. In her mind, there was conflict over what to do. How was she going to explain this to Mami? The veteran magical girl had no idea about Envy and certainly would have warned her to stay away from him. Scold her for being around such a dangerous person. She would look at her and be disappointed in her. She would blame her for Madoka’s death if Homura told her the truth. But in this blurry moment, all Homura felt was the urge to mourn and to sit in a corner and cry. She stares at Envy, having a hard time with composing herself back to a whole person instead of pieces.

Ḍ͇̪̪̣͇̠͔͕͓̦̖̪̣̯͈̺͓́ͥ̊͋͜o̸̎̅ͣͤ̋̉͋ͬ̆̈́̓̔̈͋̋͠͏̶̘̘͎̥̪͎̱̣͎͎͕̬̱̤̞ ̶̴̳̬͈̲̙̬̺ͥ̔̀ͣ͂̕͘͜y̶̴̧̳̤̟̹̜̮̜̳̦͚̖͎̤̪ͪ̈́̿̃̏ͫ́̈́ͭ͋̍͐̏͡ô̘̗̞̠̹̲̭͍͚̗̫ͮ͌̅̏̒ͮ̑̉̇̈͋́͟ͅu̡̟̤̳͖̰͙̫̝̙͇̩̠̭͚̰̞̍̀ͪ͑͆̒̾ͬ̅͌ͯͦ̏̏͒͐́̀ ̯̘̙̪̆ͩ̈́̇̓̉͜h̶̼̦̼̯̱͍͛̂̓̄̅̈̑̋̇͑̍͗̆ͫ͊͗͜͡a̶̤͎̫͙̖͎̖͔̼͖͖̩ͤͦͣͤ́ͭͭ̑́́ͅͅt̢̠̱̤̜̝̙̜̰̠̠̭̝̯̘̭ͥ̄̌̀̃͌̚͢͞e̴̡̙̣͕̦̣̙͙̿̈́̋̃̿͆̿͌̓̑̈̌ͧ͑̓̐͞ ͔̻̜͍̭̩̞̟̬͉̹̭̣̘̪͈͕̗̋ͪ̓̌͌̕͡m̓̃̃̓͒ͯ͗͂̈͗̄̒ͭ͂̿ͥ͆͂҉̴̘͈̮̲̹̘͠e̿ͬ̉ͬͨͣͭ̉̈́͏̥̱̖̲̭̼̲͕͎͓̦͎͚̠̻͞?̶ͫ͛̅ͬ̂̍̓̂̾̔̇̾̾ͫ͌͂ͣ҉͏̠̣͇̪̤̤̮̭ Oh, his voice sounded so quiet and so curious but so hurt. She couldn’t tell if he was scared of her own answer as Homura stares at him, trying to find her voice again. As she opened her mouth to speak, the sound of multiple gunshots were heard. Mami had arrived and quickly registered the scene as dangerous. She had shot Envy with her grand rifle, silver and quick as ever. Mami had been fast and silent and very quick to rush over to Homura. It was Mami who took care of the messy scene and brought Homura into an embrace, telling her to stay over at her apartment. Homura was quiet the whole night at Mami’s apartment, refusing to sleep. She remembered watching on the news that very morning of the police taking out the two bodies. Alone and eventually leaving the concerned and yet morning Mami, she had returned to her own lonely apartment. She remembered going to the funeral for Madoka. She remembered crying over the casket of her dear friend. Envy, however, didn’t have a funeral and no one seemed to really care. (W͈̞̤̝ͩ̂̀h͚̠̉̏̇͌y͗̌͢҉̭̪̬̫͇̰̳ ̛̗̣̝̺̰̯̹̦̽ͯ̏ͦw̸͐ͥ́͘͏̼̻͉̰͓̹̭̙ͅa̻̒̄̈́̆̂s̶̥̦̑ͭ͐͛ ͖̞̞̬͓͖̜͑̋̃ͨ̊ͮ̀ͫ͞ț̴͚̻͎̬̎̔͋ͧ͘h̏͑ͤ̄͗̈́̚͏̺͙͎̥ͅi̴̙̠̣̰͕͓̗̩͂̈́͛ṣ̸̵̯̻͖̏̎̈́̇̈́ ̴̩̮̬͂̓͊̈͌ͤ̐̽̔ẉ̠͖̫̲̼ͮ͠͞ͅo̢̥͍͗͐̅ͬͧ̽r̜͈̩̻̓͗̀̀͜l̸̙̝̻̥̄ͩ̅͑̏͋ͦͥ͜d̩͕̫̰̗̥̠̉͟ ̵͎͓̋͟ş͇͖͈͔ͣ͗̍̓̉͛ͪ̀o̷͔͙̭̖̪̟̽͂ͮ̀ͫ̿ͥ͊͛ ̫̹͚̣̻̯̠̎̽ͪ̾̔ͪ̿̓͘c͕̩͚̹̹̰͛́͊̏ͪ̅͘r̴̡̝̠̜̦̫̲͚͙̊̒ͨ͟u͈͓͖͇͚̘ͧͦ͆͐̊̃̾͗e̴̦̙̩̜̟͖̣͖ͫ̀͒͋̑ͤ͗ͤ̌͢l̡̞̂͋̊͋̅ͦ̓͘ ̮̖͈̪͍̉̽ͭ̀̑ͥ̀̕t̢ͧͪ̆͐͌ͨͬ̀͏͕͙͓͙̗̟̥õͯ͌͂̿͆̈͏͇̙̱̻́ ̶̫̣͂͊e̡̻̳̝̗̘̜̖̳̓̄̌̓͊͐̍̋ͅv̧̦̜̫̱͓͉̦ͥ̽ͭ̎͊̇ͧ̈́͞͠e̶̺̩̖͎̼̦̊ͣ̈ͪ̇ͣ̈́͜ȑ̸̡̯̼̹͓̦̖̺̑ͩͧͫ̊y̛̙̜͌́ͦ̒ͤͅ ̨̙̙̼̣̝̈́͊ͪ̓̽̌͌͊̕s̨͕̠̪̜̦̮̝͙̔̓ͯ̾͘͝i̷̧̫̅ͨ͒́̚ͅn̷̲̪̞͔͉ͫͧ̒̒͛̅͝ͅͅg̲̞̠̥̺̲̜͂̐ͅl͙̪̥̪̃͋̓̓̄e̡̗̦͔ͧ͊́͡ ̙̖̼̲̾̈͐́p͇̝͚̂ͫ̄ͩ͒̀̀e͎̪̗̬̥̐ͭ͠r̟̲̫͖͓̗ͮ̒̍ͯͅͅs̴̸͓̙̪̠̄̊̂̈́̿̿̀̊͡o̧̗͙̟̾ͬ̆̕͞n̽͏̱̠̥͕̪͙͉?̛̈ͦ͒͋҉̨̣̱ D̶̸̛̜̩̜͎̠̠̯̗̀͞i̷̯͓͖͚̖̯͢͡͝͞d͈͉͕̯͎̦̣͙̤͇̘͜G̵̜̪̼̲͕̖͙̫̙͛̌ͦ͗͊̈̊ͪ̈́̀̅̀̀͜ͅo̸̴̴̞̲̟͉̭̤͕͙̪ͣ̑̔̒̂ͥ̀͗̆̈́̈̿͆͛ͬ̈̃ͥ̄d̴̖͔̼̤̮̺̣̲͒̂̓ͫ͌̔̄͊̄̀ ̨̖̪̹̰͖͓̰̦̠͙͇͙̆ͥ͌̿̌̍͒̂̓͆͊̌̓͢͡n̵̸͍͓͚͈̳̫ͤ͋͆͋ͥ͋͊̔ͥ͐̽ͪͥ̉̇͗ơ̴̳̜̟̬̲͔̱̝̙̰̘̭̊͐ͮͫṭ̵̡̫̥͓̼̅ͦ͋̆ͫ̋͋ͧ̌ͪ͐͗̒ͭ̍̓̊́͘͠ͅ ̛͉͈͓̼̞͈̘̘̥͖̘̝̯̠̗̙̪ͣ̒ͦͨ͊͌͛̀͢͠ͅc̡͙͍̠̹͕̮̣͐̊͐ͨͫ̐̿̏̽̄̌̈̉̓ͭ̐̑͑̓̀͠a͋̊̐̋̉͒ͤ̄̒ͯͭͧ̿̚̚͏̷̭̥̘͈̺̝̳̥͕̲̪̩̪̫̯̫r̴̛̮͇̭͕̝̬̙͎̰̯̙̣̙̹͎̪̿̇̋ͦ̊ͬ̒͊͑͘ë̸̴͉̞̠͖̫̣̟̟͕̭̣͕̦̹̗̼̽͊̂̇̈̆ͮ̐ͫ̌̚͘͝͞ͅ?̷̛̰̳̯̥̮̳͇̥̿̃̋͊̏̍̃ͮ̏̇̏ͬ̊)

On that day when Walpurgisnacht arrived, Kyubey did not have Madoka to coax into becoming a magical girl. Mami had died after the quick transformation of Sayaka. Poor Sayaka did not take the death very well and she had went into a blind rage, blaming Homura so much for arriving so late. But Sayaka blamed the killer the most out of Homura. Mami had tried to naturally convince Sayaka that it was not anyone’s fault but the killer himself. Homura had remembered how Sayaka was lashing out at anyone and everyone including herself. Sayaka was so hurt, losing her best friend. It was the first time Homura really and truly saw Sayaka turn into a witch so quickly. After the passing of so many faces, Homura stopped going to school and just buried herself into the empty household of hers. She didn’t go out to hunt witches. When she did leave the house to cleanse her Soul Gem, the gem was almost at its limit when she actually decided to leave. When she did leave to fight, it was a violent fight where Homura had fought and fought even after the witch dropped the grief seed. But when the day of Walpurgisnacht came to destroy, Homura was all alone in her fight. She also had no one to fight for anymore. No allies and no time to sleep or eat. No time for laughter or what if fantasies. She punished herself, allowing flesh to bleed from time to time in her messy bedroom. But she fought the witch that haunted her dreams and failed again and broke down. When she reset the timeline, she grieved and isolated herself even when she transferred into the class. People wrote her off as gloomy or depressed or maybe it was her heart giving her trouble. When she did meet Envy again, she did not tell him of Madoka. All she did was avoid talking about herself and tell him that she was sorry. Homura had done the same to Madoka too, telling her that she was sorry on the first day of class. After just barely meeting the two of them again, Homura would hide herself in her bedroom. Healing would take time. But each time that Envy would come with just even the smallest of blood stains, tears would start to form in her eyes. She would leave the room and request that he cleaned off the blood, telling him that it didn’t suit him. Blood should not suit anyone. She didn’t tell him why she would start crying. She was just glad that he respected her wishes and didn’t press onto the matter. Homura didn’t hate Madoka nor Envy nor any of the,.

A̛͂ͮ̋̊̿̍ͦ̈ͯͭͩ͆͘҉͚̫͕͈̙̘̲̦͜l̶̲̲̬̤͇̹̪ͯ̃̆ͮ͌̍̅͋̍͆̅̂͐͂͒̄ͨͪͮ̀ͅͅļ̢̛̝͚͕̇ͩ͗͌ͦͤ̐͌͌͛ ̴̛̲̞͈̠̭̲̥̯͖̰̰ͨͤ͒ͩ̀́̐ͣͯ̂̈͘͝ͅḦ̍͌ͥ̓͑̆͊ͫͮ͛ͤͬ҉̵̶̨͎̬̙̯̯̥͉̳͙̲͕̹͚̱̻̺͕͈o͑͂ͥͣ̓́̑ͤ͐̀͏̵̢̡̮͎̼͇̩͈̳̹͈̳̟m̷̡̧͙̪͍̰̥͙ͭ͛͋̓̈̎͆͊͊ͅu͙̤̰͍̱̮̘̩͎̪̤̹̫̭̯͂ͨͨͥ̒̽ͩͭ̒̌͒ͥ̅͒̑͟͝ŗͧͣ͐̌͒̃͂͌ͥ̌͊ͯ̒ͩͣ̽͆҉̧̹͙͎͖͙̬͠a̴̸̾̓̄͗ͪ̌͋̊̽ͧ̀̑̂̏̔͐ͤ͗҉͎̥͔̹͡͞ ͬ͌̎ͣ͛ͨ̉̓̈̓ͦ̂ͣͦ̂̑̚͟͏͡͏͍̮̞̦̯̼͍̮̱̞͔ͅd͆͂̀̉̆ͥ͏̵̴͕̙̪͓͚͔͍̟̤̯̭͔͖̯̦ͅi̷̷̡̥̼͓̜̬̭̤̲̫͓ͦ͑̉͛̂̑̓͜d̊ͭͨ̿̀́ͭ̔̓̈́̀ͦ̚͟҉̶̼̜̬̬̖̼̬̮̹͙̟̭̠͜͠ͅ ̙̠̹̫͎͇̰̦͙̞̟ͬ̏̉̒͌̂͊̓͜͞ͅw̃ͪͤ͛ͦ͠҉̷̢̘̗͈̦̠͓̺̙̤͖a͑̇̇̾͒̋ͧ́҉҉̴̡̹̜̯̺̘̼̯̥̞̠̮͜ş̶́ͦ͆̌͟͏̘̫̝̤̜̟̲͖͓͕̳̻̫͔͎̺͘ͅ ̸̹͕̫̭̟̱ͨ̀ͬ̇ͥͬ͘͜͞ḃ̃ͩͥ҉̡̬̞̭͙̖͇͎̻͍͙̭͇̺̞̮͇l̞̠͚̖̞̩͈͍͈̪̱̘̬̂̈́̇́̅ͭ͟͝aͬ̅̋ͨͬ̾͊ͪ̆͢͏̧̥̘̟̭̦͔̮̫́͡m̨̠̩̣͆̅̋̇ͬ̑͐̀͜ȩ̧̬͇̗̹̺̣̙̝̥̬̫̫̘̃ͦ̓ͥ̉̇̄́͒̏͌̿̊ͯ͜ ̏͑̎̿ͩ҉̸̨̛̺̬̩̳̰̺̤ȟ̶̶̤͚͍͓̝̳̮̦̺͚̬́̿͆̇ͤͧ͆̈͜ͅe̸̛̘̻͍̠̳̔ͤ͊̐̀͊̆̈́ͤ̃͒̿̋̒̑͐̚̚͡r̵̵̵͚͈̙̞̘̩͇̜̱͚̱̱̳̜͍̝̽͒͆͊ͦ̀̋̓ͨ̋̀̚s̻̟͉͍̣̘̪̯̠̹̬͇̖̯̆̒͑ͬ̿̈̿ͬ̒̑ͭ̀e̴͉̼͚͈̩̥̳̖̙͉̙͗ͨ͒̑̓̚ͅͅļ̓͒̒̇̓ͦͪ̈́ͨ͛̋̌ͯ͂ͭͦ͢҉҉̞̘̖̩͓f̸̧̢̙̭̙̳͓̟̣̹͕̅͋ͪ̉̔͑͑̿ͯ̒͂͋͆̀͠.͉̖̟̤̠̞̣͍͈͍̮̞͙͋̂̽̽̽͂͌͂͌ͧ̐̉̆ͫ̎̌͐̊̉̕͜ It is always her fault. In her always cold hands, she kept her feelings of self-hatred bottled up. On nights when she did sleep, she was haunted by the many forms of a dead Madoka. Murdered by her own hands or by a witch or by Envy, she would always wake up in a cold sweat and pick up her cellphone. She would stare at her always empty contact list, expecting names to be in there. On those nights where she shut down, she would call her mother or father. She would leave a voicemail, asking for them to call her back. They normally did call her back yet it was always late. Homura took to her journal, preferring to flip back to happier times in her entries in order to calm herself down. There are days where she would hide away from the world, breaking down in emotional fits until she was ready to leave the see the world. If Madoka would notice these changes, Homura would tell her that she wasn’t feeling good and lying to her best friend each and every time. Over time, her lies got better and better. If Envy had questioned her, she would either not answer and shake her head or she would just tell him of her bad dreams. But she never told him the dreams were real and she never gave him any details on what the dreams were about, too paranoid that she would hurt someone’s feelings or ruin everything again. Sometimes, the dreams morphed into reality and flashbacks. Her performance in battle had weakened and yet she unfortunately always survived somehow much to her own dismay. Over time, she did heal and start to recover. To this day, she has suppressed so many bad memories and refuses to believe that they really happened. If anyone questioned it, she would just blank out or break down or pretend that it was just a dream. On nights where her guilt consumes her, Homura would stare at the gun in her hands and wonder h̟̝̉͌o͕ͣ̈͂͂͑̚ͅw̘͇ ͙̯̖̣̜̞ͯ̈́͛ͨ̊͟ͅl̝͓̣̈́̄͐ͫ͆͐o͔̬̲̹̅͐͐n̵̼͚̤̞͖ͭ͐̎g̶̠̞͖̗̈ͬͫ́̽͂ͅ ̡̦̪̈́͗̈́̈ͥi͚̯ͨ͂̈́t̷̤͎͕ͮͯ̒ͪ̒ͤ ̷͕̪͉͎̮̋͊̈́ͮ̈́w̭̳̖̦̭̙̉͌o̸̲̪̺͇͎̘͂̈́͊ͩ̚u̮̜ͥ̀̔ͣͥ̉ͦ͡l̳̭͓̱͚̮͔̊̈́̃ͦ̅ͬ̃d̨̘͈ ̻̝͍̱̤̙͘t͍̀ͭ̑͠a̢̜̤̓͆kͩe̤̯̟̩̬̜̎̊ ̢̘̘͉̭̤͍̎f̘̮̹ͧ̕o̟̍̄̐ͬͣr̻͕͇̋̑̕ ͉̪͍̫̘̹̥̽̉s̨̹̩̦̼͚̩ͪ̿̓͂o̺̜̗̫̳̳͉̔̎̓ͮ͊̎ͥm͕̺͇͕̼e͒o̶̥̗͔̭͗ͦͧ̆̾̀ͅͅń̳̥͖̫̟̓̿ͫ͋ͯe̙̘̠̮̗̻̭̒̆̌̇̌̓ to find h̶̞͍̬͓̜̲͉̯̺͕̺͈͕ͥͦ͐̚e̶̖̲̠̬̩̣͙̠͇͍͍͔̭̮̪̰͕̖̥̅̍̇̍̈́̽ͫ̒͋͝r̸̛̗̝͈̣̩̻̰̺̬̲̼̿͗͌ͪͥ͌ͤͥ̇̌͛̑͌́ ̡̰̝͇̮̰͓̻̖͈̲̭ͬ̈́͊͗̒ͭ́o̡͗̏͂̊̄̇ͮ͌͊̄̔҉͕̯͈̝̠̬͙̗͈̼̦̣͇̭͇͍̘̣͜w̷̢͂̒ͭ̃̃͞҉̞͍̯̩̮͚̟͔̰̪̝͕̰̞͓̗̱̝͖͢ṉ̶̗̫͕̺͚͉̓ͫ̍̋͗ͩ͂̂͊ͭ͌ͫͣͪ͐̇́͜͡͞ body. But somehow, Homura would lower the gun and remind herself that she has so many unfulfilled promises in her head. She had to kill off Walpurgisnacht before she even thought about killing herself.

Sometimes when her former friends look upon her as strangers, Homura can hear their angry and hurt voices. She can see blood on them. She would see their empty eyes. They hate her and that’s okay for she hates herself too. But Homura had a duty to keep marching forward instead of giving up and ending herself. No time for looking back, Homura would keep on going and try her best to cope with all the bad memories. All the bad things will not matter when she keeps everyone alive and defeats Walpurgisnacht. Even if she can keep everyone alive, their deaths still haunt her. She can recognize their screams and who which scream belongs to. She has seen everyone at their worst and she has heard their finals last words. She has seen many sides of a lot of people.

Homura decides to dream of more simple and unrealistic days, building up a picturesque world where everyone is happy. Later down the line, this make believe world will be her witch’s barrier and her dream. The girl who could not sleep will become sleeping beauty with her tainted soul gem and she will dream of a happy world - where you fight off nightmares and everyone is alive. Everyone is not alone. One day, she will shatter her own dream and wake up to make that dream a reality. Even if she plays the part of the self-proclaimed devil, she will make everything better one day. For now, she has yet to prick her finger on the spindle and she has yet to truly fall into a death-like sleep. For now, she is awake and facing each day with desperate determination. Soon, ş̡͔̯̰̘̞̠̞̹̜̈́ͯ̐ͧͥͮͣ̏ͥ̅̑̑̅̈̽ͪ́̚͜ḽ̴͙͕̲̻̟̭͍̗̜̫͖̻̲̲̝̰̌͊̋ͬ̐̕e̢̱͚̥̱̝̩̰͓͕̦̬̭͕̖̯͊̓͆̏̕̕͝e̞̳͎͔̖͈̺̩̯̯̜͙͔͍̲̖ͮ̐̑͌̃̆ͦͩ͋̕p̵̡̱̲͉̥̙͇ͩ̿̾͆̋̃ͥͤ̆̇̾͞ĩ̸̛̜̺̹̝̳̺͚͖͈̼̀͛ͥ͊̒ͤ͋̅͑̾̚n̷̏͂̎͒̓͊͒̃̀ͨ̊̄̔͛̉̆͛ͨͪ͏̫͙̲̟̘̲̳̦̯͖̝͞͞ͅͅg̶̢̐̈ͣ͂͐͌̃́̓͡҉̩̩̠̻̣͝ ̛͛͒̇ͪͣ͜͏҉̴̻̣͉̜͎̥̘̘̥̞̦b̡̖͉̬̩͔̖̫̠͍̰͓̼̩͎͔̠̱̲̺̔ͪ̒̑̇̾ͩ͒ͦͤ̾͋̾̀eͭ̊̓̈́̅̊ͧ̃̏ͩ̃̍̕҉̖̹͍͈̤̲̯̬̪̠͘ͅͅa̶̻̼̝̠̺̭̺̖̖̦̳͓̟̦̝͈̠ͥͩ͗͑ͤ̽͐̈́ͦ̅̿ͩ̒ͭ́͞ͅû̗̫̹̮͕̹͈͎̼̯̯̜̲̣͎́͌͊̀͋̎̉̓̕͟t̷̢͗ͫͧ̅̊̿ͩ̈́̾͊͆ͬ̔̈̈͒҉͓̰̜̟͝͡y͖͈̩̖̏̈ͬ̆ͧͫ͊ͤ̀͐̾̊ͯ́̃ͮ̇̔͘ ̷̂̓ͣ͊̀͟͠҉̗̺̯̤͔̯will prick her finger and be allowed to dream of sweet nothings.

#❛ ✧ ┊ the fairy tale gets a little darker after midnight. answered.#❛ ✧ ┊ beware of those bloody thorns. ic.#delightful-envy

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liuwdere · 7 years

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Women Directors in Anime Panel - Transcript

Here are the slides and audio. (I dunno why you’d want the audio if you’re reading a transcript, but hey, who am I to judge.)

Prior to the start of the panel proper, I played the Animator Expo shorts “Endless Night” and “Tomorrow From There” so the early comers weren’t stuck sitting around with nothing to do. I then put on the first Kyousougiga PV as a lead-in to the presentation.

Hi guys, and welcome to Women Directors of Anime. I’m Micchy. You can find me on Twitter @liuwdere, where I post very bad content most of the time and also have opinions on figure skating.

To start us off: Who can name an anime director? Anyone, go as basic as you like.

Hayao Miyazaki, the obvious one.

Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Ninja Scroll.

Challenge: who can name a female anime director?

Sayo Yamamoto.

That’s cheating, I showed her name earlier. Well, anyway, point is, they’re a bit harder to think of.

Raise your hand if you’ve seen one of these shows. Looks like just about all of you. Yuri on Ice? I see a few Yuri on Ice fans here. (Audience member: “I don’t know what that is.”) Well, congratulations, you have seen an anime directed by a woman!

Why talk about anime directors? I’ve seen several panels about fictional representations, strong female characters, so I would also like to bring some attention to the real-world anime industry and representation in that aspect of anime. There are a ton of women working as key animators, writers, in-betweeners in anime, but very few have managed to get the higher roles of production. This is not to say the lower roles are not important—they’re super important. With key animators, I’m a huge fan of Megumi Kouno, who key animated Shelter, if you’ve seen that. This topic is kind of arbitrary, but there are some talented ladies out there and I want to talk about them. Also, honestly, it’s also possible to be very comprehensive because there are like, 25 of them.

What do directors do? Basically they oversee anime production. Their involvement can vary; some of them are very involved in the storyboarding, the music choices, the writing, while others are a little more hands-off, a little manager-like. Some directors rise on the production side—they’re good at managing people, good at making sure people have their stuff done on time, and that’s what gets them in charge. Some of them start as key animators and eventually take over the lead visual development. Of course, they are all beholden to the will of the production committee, which is made up of the sponsors and execs in charge of the show, because money—money’s gotta come from somewhere.

Where are all these ladies? If you look through the industry, they tend to be clustered in a few genres. Number 1: kids’ shows and long-running franchises. We’re talking things like Precure, with the Suite Precure, Happiness Charge Precure, and Heartcatch Precure movies. [Yoko Ikeda, Chiaki Kon, and Rie Matsumoto] all started by directing episodes of the show before taking charge of the movie. Cardfight Vanguard G, the second season. [NOTE: This is actually inaccurate; Yui Umemoto is not a woman. Apologies for the mistake.] The File of Young Kindaichi Returns, also the second season. [Both Umemoto and Ikeda] were taking over established franchises.

Where else? We’ve got kids’ shows, and obviously, anime for women. We’re talking shoujo and josei manga adaptations, otome games, what I like to call “manservice” (though this genre classification is really loose), and boys’ love.

With shoujo manga, you’ve got Vampire Knight (anime Twilight), Otome Yokai Zakuro, Nodame Cantabile (a romcom about music students), and Skip Beat. We’ve got Sailor Moon Crystal season 3, Ristorante Paradiso (old man moe), the fifth season of Natsume Yuujinchou (Kotomi Deai taking over from Takahiro Omori), and Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun. (I hear a few shouts, nice.)

Otome games: These are visual novel dating sims where you play as a heroine character and get your choice of pretty boys to date. On that side of things you’ve got La Storia della Arcana Famiglia, Magic-kyun Renaissance, Diabolik Lovers, and its sequel Diabolik Lovers More Comma Blood—directed by two different women, because of course they are. (This is my favorite bit of Diabolik Lovers—you throw her into the pool. Just throw her in a pool.)

Manservice: This is what I like to classify the sports shows, the boy idol shows, the historical romances and stuff. We’ve got Meganebu! (cute boys doing cute things in a glasses club), Hakkenden, Prince of Stride; Free! (with one exclamation point), Cheer Boys!! (with two exclamation points), and Yuri!!! on Ice (with three exclamation points).

Boys’ Love: There’s a conversation to be had here about how women are kind of co-opting gay men’s stories, but that’s a topic for another day; I’m not talking about that today. You’ve got This Boy cycle from Soubi Yamamoto. These are a series of independent films, all short. Doukyuusei from Shouko Nakamura, a lovely story about two high school boys falling in love. And on the trashier side of things we have stuff like Junjou Romantica, World’s Greatest First Love, and Gakuen Heaven. Personally, I recommend Gakuen Handsome.

It’s important to note that even in these genres, most of the anime is still directed by men. Super Lovers—anyone?—that’s directed by a man. And of course, you can find women elsewhere; these are just the genres you’re most likely to find women. After all, who better to make anime for women than women?

Where else are they? If you look towards the edges of the industry—the avant-garde, the experimental animation showcase projects—you can see that some of these projects give younger women a chance to take charge of their own short films. Space Dandy was supposedly directed by Shinichirou Watanabe and Shingo Natsume, but in actuality, they gave a lot of creative reign to the individual episode directors, which is why every episode looks so different. Some of them were women. Panty and Stocking was another case of this. There’s also Japan Animator Expo, a series of web shorts released over several years, which featured quite a few women.

Talking about the women in particular: I’ve grouped them for convenience. I’m going to start with the ladies at Kyoto Animation.

A little about KyoAni: KyoAni is a unique studio in that all their animation is done in-house with a salaried staff. This is the case with most of the industry; most other studios hire animators freelance. Okay, you come in, you draw these few cuts, you go home. The only other major studio to do this—to have a salaried staff—is Studio Ghibli. Kyoani also has a strong focus on training young talent. Their veteran animators will spend a lot of time providing guidance to the younger staff. (Another studio that does this is Studio Toei, which produces Precure.) Both of these factors make it very conducive to nurturing young talent. Two of the names at Kyoani are Naoko Yamada and Hiroko Utsumi.

Naoko Yamada [the first female staff director at Kyoani] is probably best known for directing K-On. What I want you to notice about Yamada is her astute attention to character animation and body language. If you’ve seen any Kyoto Animation shows, you know what I mean; [the characters] act in specific ways, and [the animation is] very shiny, very polished. This particular attention to body language is what eventually got her the directorial position for A Silent Voice, which is about a deaf girl. Obviously [the girl] communicates through sign language, so you can see why the body language would be important there. (Also, [Yamada] likes legs. She has a lotta legs in her storyboards. It’s pretty obvious; you see knees all over the place.)

[A Silent Voice PV]

Going on to another woman at Kyoani: Hiroko Utsumi, who directed Free. It should be pretty obvious that this show was helmed by a woman just from the butts and abs on display [for the female gaze]. I mean, characters in-universe state, “Oh my god, those are really good butts and chests and abs and shoulders.” So that’s a thing.

Here’s where I get a little wibbly-wobbly: What I like to call the “Penguindrum alumni.” This is because there were several women working on this particular show that later went on to head their own projects. To talk about them, I need to talk about Kunihiko Ikuhara. This guy is the infamously eccentric director of Revolutionary Girl Utena, Penguindrum, and Yurikuma Arashi. He’s heavily influenced by the late Osamu Dezaki, with a strong focus on visual metaphor, cinematic language, and very surreal imagery. On one of his projects, Penguindrum, there were a bunch of ladies who were episode directors and assistant directors who later went on to lead their own projects.

The first one I’m going to talk about is Mitsue Yamazaki. A lot of her work is really pretty, but personally my favorite is her comedy work on Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun. Here’s a clip where two boys play a dating sim game and get a little too into it.

[Nozaki-kun - Tomoda]

Another one of these ladies who worked on Penguindrum is Shouko Nakamura. She did a lot of early work at Studio Gainax working on Gurren Lagann and Panty and Stocking. You can see the Gainax influence in her style with loose, relaxed lineart—you could contrast it with, for instance, KyoAni’s polished realism. Last year, she directed a boys’ love film adapted from a manga by Asumiko Nakamura, Doukyuusei.

[Doukyuusei PV].

If you’re wondering which episode she did on Panty and Stocking, it’s the one where Panty’s sex tape gets leaked.

Akemi Hayashi: She saved the human race from the Zentradi in 2009. Actually, no, she didn’t. Fun fact: her name happens to share the kanji from a possible Chinese rendering of Lynn Minmay, from Super Dimension Fortress Macross, which made researching this one kind of hard. (I was like, I wanna find out about this director, but was only getting results for this anime girl. I like Macross and all, but that wasn’t what I wanted.)

Akemi Hayashi for real: She, like Shouko Nakamura, did early stuff at Gainax. You can see her work going way, way back—if you’ve seen the 1997 anime Revolutionary Girl Utena, she did key animation on the opening sequence for that. She’s been the animation director for a number of high profile projects, including Casshern Sins [and] the Rebuild of Evangelion films. She hasn’t had a full TV series or movie debut yet, but she has directed a few short films and the penguin episode of Space Dandy. What I’m going to put on for you next is a short film done for a collaboration project called Ani*Kuri 15: fifteen one-minute shorts from different creators in the industry. Hers was called “Namida no Mukou,” roughly “from behind tears.” Like Shouko Nakamura, she also has a strong focus on fluid animation. I especially like her use of subtleties in facial expression and body language, conveying emotion through that.

[Ani*Kuri 15, “Namida no Mukou”]

Getting to directors who did not work on Penguindrum (which is a ridiculous classification in itself): My personal favorite, Sayo Yamamoto. This lady is super extra: when she was in college, she wanted to work on animation, but the faculty told her, “No, you can’t work on animation.” She said, “Heck, I’m working on animation anyway,” and did. She caught the attention of director Satoshi Kon to work on Millennium Actress. Stuff happened and she didn’t end up working on that, so her first work at Studio Madhouse was some animation on Trava, which later became the basis for the movie Redline, if you’ve seen that. There she got noticed by Shinichiroh Watanabe, director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. She was brought on to be an episode director on Champloo, and that’s where she says she first got creative control over her project. [Yamamoto] has also directed a lot of opening and ending sequences; if you’ve seen the first ending sequence to Attack on Titan, that was all her: the sketchy charcoal drawing, that’s her.

Yamamoto’s one of those creatives that has a strong influence over story direction as well as the visuals. For instance, she has a fixation on the femme fatale character, as well as gender and sexuality in general—especially female and queer sexuality. You’ve got Michiko and Hatchin, which is about Latina women, one of them a lesbian. The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, literally an entire series about what makes the femme fatale—Fujiko Mine, the femme fatale character in the long-running franchise Lupin III—what makes her tick, and why is she bad? That show is about interrogating that.

Yuri on Ice also addresses sexuality in a way that’s a little more subtle than her previous works—YOI is a lot lighter, less gritty than the “sex and murder” tone of Fujiko Mine. Part of this is because it is a collaboration with manga artist Mitsurou Kubo. But you can still see hints of this fixation on sexuality and femininity in [for instance] episode 3, where Yuri literally works to channel his inner Fujiko Mine. There’s also a queer character in Fujiko Mine, so yeah, gender and sexuality is a big thing in Yamamoto’s work.

Also, butts. Sayo Yamamoto isn’t that open to giving interviews, but from people who work with her, we have reports that yeah, she was very insistent that they draw butts very well. She says figure skaters have such nice butts you can put things on them, and was really insistent that the staff draw them all. Also, she is on record saying that she liked the scenes in Lupin III where Fujiko took her shirt off—make of that what you will.

Beyond her fixation on butts and sex, she also has a focus on fairy tale imagery and sketchlike charcoal/pencil drawings. This is the ending sequence of Rage of Bahamut (which is getting a sequel this season, I’m so excited) and it’s quite gorgeous.

[Rage of Bahamut ED]

Wasn’t that pretty? (Audience member: yes.) As much as I would like to talk about Sayo Yamamoto all day—I will seriously talk about Sayo Yamamoto all day if you let me, so don’t let me—next we have Rie Matsumoto.

Rie Matsumoto is a director who started at Toei, animating and directing episodes of Heartcatch Precure. (If you don’t know what Precure is, it’s basically My Little Pony, but magical girls and Japanese. That’s the kind of fandom it has. Maybe a little less bad, but not the point.) At Toei, she directed the original promotional video for this series called Kyousougiga, which became a web series and eventually a 10-episode TV series. Then she went AWOL for a few years, later reappearing at Studio BONES directing Blood Blockade Battlefront. (She’s also really cute, I think. [Audience member: It’s true.])

Matsumoto’s another one of those creators with a strong storytelling stamp as well; she has a hand in writing a lot of these works. She as a creator is eclectic as hell. Kyousougiga is like a dozen shows in one, about nostalgia and regret and salvation through platonic love and depression and narcissism—it’s great. Some of the themes that reappear across her work, especially in this original part of Blood Blockade Battlefront, are family bonds, salvation through familial love. In Blood Blockade Battlefront she basically added an entire subplot that was about two siblings reconciling with each other, because that was [the story she wanted to tell]. That’s not even in the manga at all.

For Blood Blockade Battlefront, the artist of the manga [Yasuhiro Nightow] had only one request to the anime staff, and that was to make an opening sequence worth seeing a hundred times. That’s a pretty daunting task, but Rie Matsumoto was like, “heck, I’ll do it.” I’ll let you decide whether she succeeds or not.

[Kekkai Sensen OP]

Every frame of that thing has so much, the composition’s superb. Matsumoto is not directing the second season, unfortunately; she says she’s told the story she wanted to tell and no longer has interest in telling more. Someone else will be taking charge of that second season!

Here’s Soubi Yamamoto, another one of my favorites. No relation to Sayo Yamamoto. Soubi Yamamoto is unique in that she’s basically entirely independent. Most of her work she wrote, directed, and animated almost all by herself—kind of like Makoto Shinkai, director of the current hit Your Name, as well as Five Centimeters Per Second, Garden of Words, if you’ve seen those.

Yamamoto’s really young. Her This Boy series: This Boy Can Fight Aliens, This Boy Caught a Merman, This Boy Suffers from Crystallization, and This Boy is a Professional Wizard. They’re all standalone, thirty-minute shorts. She made the first one of those when she was 22. (She’s like, 27 now. Really young.)

Characteristics of her style: When you see a Soubi Yamamoto thing, you know it’s Soubi Yamamoto. It’s got a saturated color palette, limited animation (since it’s basically just her), on-screen text and manga-like textures/aesthetic. She also has a pretty large hand in writing most of her shorts. You see themes of loneliness, isolation, the difficulty of maintaining interpersonal connection—and boys kissing, there’s quite a bit of that too. What she did not write was MEGANEBU, her one and only TV series to date. This is about a bunch of guys in a glasses enthusiastic club. It’s about as dumb as it sounds. In this scene one of the characters is trying to go to club and is sidetracked by a praying mantis.

[Meganebu, episode 5 - about 3:00-4:30]

The rest of the episode escalates from there—he brings out a suit of armor and a flamethrower just to get past this bug. It’s pretty great.

Atsuko Ishizuka. She was the first [female] staff director at Studio Madhouse. In 2008, the head of Madhouse Masao Maruyama said of her that she was probably the most talented young director in the industry at the time. She’s managed to get a foothold in the otaku market with No Game No Life and several other reasonably successful properties.

She’s also very fond of very, very bold color design. Personally I think she goes a little overboard with it most of the time, but in this 2009 show Aoi Bungaku I think she handled it well. This show is an anthology of adaptations of Japanese literature. Ishizuka directed episodes 11 and 12, “The Spider’s Thread” and “Hell Screen,” both based on short stories by Ryuunosuke Akutagawa. (Has anyone seen Bungo Stray Dogs? Yeah, it’s that guy. He’s actually a real person.) Hell Screen is about a painter who’s commissioned to decorate the tomb of an emperor with his glory, but when he’s faced with the suffering and strife that’s going on in the country he paints a picture of suffering instead. This is the scene where he finally breaks when his daughter is burned before his eyes. [Its exquisite use of color] is really gorgeous; y’all should watch it.

[Aoi Bungaku, episode 12. No link, sorrymasen.]

Aoi Bungaku has unfortunately never been licensed because the market for adaptations of Japanese modernist literature is kind of small. (Its audience is me, mostly.)

Moving on, we have Eunyoung Choi. Choi is a longtime collaborator with avant-garde director Masaaki Yuasa. If you’ve seen Tatami Galaxy, Ping Pong, Kick-Heart (which aired on Toonami a while ago, I think)... they also did an episode of Adventure Time together. Most of Eunyoung Choi’s work has been with Yuasa, so you see their styles kind of merge, with loose lineart, flexible animation, favoring dynamic motion over consistent character models. She did direct the ninth episode of Space Dandy herself (Yuasa came later in the second season with the fish alien episode). This is the episode where Space Dandy and the crew go to a planet where all the living things are plants.

Interesting to note that Choi is Korean, and not Japanese; if you look at the edges of the industry, with the ‘artsy’ projects, you can see a bunch of non-Japanese people. Kevin Aymeric, French background artist; Michael Arias, a director from America; Thomas Romain, French mech designer; Bahi JD, Austrian animator; a lot of them work on the same projects because they’re all buddy-buddy with each other.

So she’s directed this lovely but trippy episode of Space Dandy. [It’s a unique style on display here.]

[Space Dandy, episode 9, about 15:30-17:30]

That was Eunyoung Choi. Here’s another lady: Ai Yoshimura, who directed Oregairu, Blue Spring Ride, Dance with Devils, and Cheer Boys. She’s pretty good at handling moments of intense emotion: in Blue Spring Ride there are so many scenes where you can just feel the atmosphere dripping with romantic tension. (Sometimes it’s bad.) But my personal favorite thing of hers is Dance with Devils, which is basically an anime Broadway musical about a girl and demon boys. This show had the brilliant idea of making Cerberus a mashpotato dog. And he has a musical number. You guys should see it ‘cause I love this show to death.

[Dance with Devils - Loewen]

This show also has wonderful numbers like an extremely wannabe rap and a song called “Emo Liar.” It’s “I Won’t Say I’m In Love” but with anime boys and more screaming. Anyway, that show is great and I feel like everyone should watch it, but that’s just me.

I feel like I should mention the most prolific director in the entire industry, [Chiaki Kon]. I don’t think this is even a complete list of her work. Here I have Golden Time and Sailor Moon Crystal. Season 3, since the first two were directed by someone else. She, uh, sure does put out a lot of work. Not a lot of it’s very good, but there sure is a lot of it! Props to her for getting so many jobs. I mean, as much as I love Nodame Cantabile, those two seasons are not good. Also Junjou Romantica. I’m not gonna say anything about Junjou Romantica, but… Junjou Romantica.

Literally everyone else: I of course did not have time to get to everyone. A couple of names I like on here:

Noriko Takao directing Saint Young Men, which is about Jesus and Buddha chilling in an apartment in Tokyo, and it’s pretty great. That will probably never get released over here because fundies.

Kotomi Deai directing the second season of Silver Spoon and the fifth season of Natsume Yuujinchou. She took over Silver Spoon from SAO director Tomohiko Ito, who was currently then busy with SAO.

Sayo Aoi directing The Merman In My Bathtub. See, there are actually two gay merman anime. I just think that’s incredible.

I also really like [Mitsuko Kase’s] Ristorante Paradiso. It’s the kind of show you watch if you’re really into older men. Like, if you want to sit back after work, chill and watch reasonably attractive older men do their thing, that’s the show for you.

(I have seen basically everything on this list. Some of it’s pretty bad. Some is actually decent. Not [Yukina Hiiro’s] Chu-bra. Nnngh, we don’t talk about Chu-bra.)

The anime industry today is obviously changing. There’s more anime produced now than ever before; we have dozens of new shows every three months. Go back a few decades, we had a dozen new shows a year. With that boom, the women’s share of the market is definitely growing. You see this with a lot more anime directed at women: the idol shows; the sports anime,which are intended for younger boys but have a significant female following anyway (hot guys); Touken Ranbu, which is more of a thing over in Japan than here; Osomatsu. With that, we have more female-led projects than ever before.

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The wages in the industry are terrible. Animation is a really hard job! It takes a lot of skill, and they get paid almost nothing for it. Also, the industry is kind of a boys’ club and has been since the beginning. On the bright side, a lot of these women are really young and will probably do good work in the future, so I’m gonna beg you guys to support them by watching through legal channels. (I’m shilling for good friends at Crunchyroll.)

I then went through a few resources and places to watch the good cartoons, concluding with the same two Animator Expo shorts from before the panel for the people who showed up later. Thanks for playing!

#women in anime #anime boston #transcript #long post #very very long post

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