#MY aggressive cat shonen

[sarejinjin]

Yes. Sendo is my favoutite Hajime no Ippo character. How could you tell?

[phxtotaxis]

ABOUT

Lyoka is my OC and the main character of an indie comic Phototaxis of a Fighter, written and drawn by yours truly (currently on hiatus).

Half the time she's looking for a fight, half the time she's just bored.

She's a homeless orphan, a street fighter and a blind spot on the legal system due to not existing legally at all. She loves life above all else. She suffers from mental issues that make her switch wildly from unresponsive and aggressive (in actuality scared) instigator to a good-natured bad girl.

She's a weird cryptid, chaotic gremlin and an oblivious shonen protagonist all stuffed into one and generously infused with personal mental struggles. She can be your local cat-like creechur (albeit human, but y'know, the energy) who comes visit, she can be your weird little non-sibling, she can be a menace and a nemesis it's embarrassing to have beef with 'cause she's small and scrawny. She may even get a crush on your muse, who knows, but that doesn't happen overnight (definitely not when she's more concerned with getting food for tomorrow).

In the comic she meets a group of underground fighters and begins her new journey with them, learning to heal and trust and accept help, but for the sake of roleplaying potential here I am putting her at the very start of that. You might've heard some, you might've seen some, but she's still mostly skulking about alone.

You can (and are highly encouraged to) read about Lyoka in detail in MUSE INFO.

[faketextsfromlastmight]

Best of tags #12

 A compilation of my favorite reactions to this blog

@re-bon-bon-san on Todoroki’s behavior: (Link)

I thought Todoroki would be passive agressive but this is even better hahahahah

I don’t really see Todoroki as the passive-agressive type though... From what we’ve seen, Todoroki acts pretty blunt and emotionless when he doesn’t like something and isn’t afraid to show it. Then there are the sudden bursts of anger which contrast with his usual behavior and tend to happen when he’s REALLY pissed off.

@eternalflameprincess on Midoriya’s father: (Link)

#when will hisashi return from the war#he's a bastard until proven otherwise

At this point we know more about Ash Ketchum’s father than Izuku’s. This is a red flag. His child seems to have gone through heavy psychological duress as a child, growing up without a quirk, and yet he seems to have been rarely present. Even when Izuku gets seriously hurt and targeted by a terrorist organization, he’s not even mentioned. Inko has to carry the burden of making decisions regarding Izuku and meeting with All Might alone.

I guess it’s pretty current for parents of shonen anime protagonists to not be mentioned unless the plot requires it (e.g. Yugi Mutoh) but that only works on the premise that the parents are not really aware of their children’s shenanigans. But Inko has actually pretty good knowledge of what Izuku suffered. Why not involve his father as well?

@iprincezzinuyoukai​ on Shouto trying on a wedding dress: (Link)

#he would make an awesome bride...

Oh god, are you kidding? Shouto is Japanese for “bridezilla”.

@thatawkwardotaku​ on Aoyama’s French curse words: (Link)

Oh La la, Aoyama sonne comme un Quebecois 👀

Does he? I was aiming more towards a vulgar Parisian but I guess the grammar is kind of québécois-sounding.

@stephaliceslytherin​ on Aoyama using the word “écorcher”: (Link)

I must say I am not used to this verb being used in this sentence,  I woud have use "défonce" ^^.

You are correct, “défoncer” would be the go-to verb to use in this sentence for a standard French speaker. But I wanted something more threatening and specific because Aoyama is very extra.

@deku-secretlovechild on Deku being a stalker: (Link)

#i fuckin love oddly stalkerish deku hes so weird

Horikoshi made fun of Midoriya stalking Bakugou during their middle-school years in Smash (Link), so it’s semi-canonical!

@unappreciatedeggs on Aizawa naming his cat All Meowght: (Link)

All Meowght... how flattered would Toshinori be tho?

Eraserhead’s opinion of All Might be summarized as “like the man, hate his fandom”. That is something Toshinori would have to learn.

@lunarapocolypse on Mitsuki overpraising Midoriya: (Link)

....Okay, I know this is a lighthearted post, but this is exactly what my parents do. Comparing me to someone else to the point I start irrationally hating them. I’m confused at their motives now.

It’s a common parental fallacy, yeah. I think that, being the class nerd and an outcast, Midoriya severely underestimated his social intelligence. It’s pretty telling he immediately becomes a popular kid the moment Bakugou’s not at the top of the social ladder to put him down. Basically Midoriya is talented at making friends while Bakugou only seems to attract sycophants (up until his budding friendship with Kirishima, that is). Bakugou knew this from an early age and this envy is key to understanding how much he hated Midoriya. But Mitsuki overpraising Midoriya’s social skills in the privacy of Bakugou’s home would also explain a lot in this regard.

Interestingly the divide between Bakugou and Midoriya is probably mirrored by the divide between Mitsuki and Inko. Mitsuki probably envied Inko for having a calm, easygoing child who did as he was told. Meanwhile Inko probably envied Mitsuki for having a child with a powerful quirk who would “have it easy” in life.

@superbeenyrants on Bakugou’s communication problems: (Link)

I’m convinced several of Bakugou’s communication/behavioral issues with Deku actually stem from his troubled relationship with Mitsuki giving him a screwed up understanding of how you treat people you have an intimate, family-like relationship with, and especially how you settle frustrations with them. Judging by how Hori depicts them, it’s “screaming and hitting”. (Which completely explains the decision to have Bakugou’s dynamic with Mitsuki revealed before “Deku vs Kacchan 2″.)

Absolutely. The Remedial Arc pretty much confirms this with everyone criticizing the way Bakugou handles childcare “the way he was raised” (his own words). It takes Todoroki (whose history of abuse Bakugou is aware of) to convince him to change his behavior. Basically Horikoshi is laying the foundation of Mitsuki’s dismal parenting style as a freudian excuse for Bakugou’s pathological aggressivity. I hope this is explored further in a story arc, but we’ll see.

I guess Bakugou was raised with several ideas in mind, including but not limited to:

Violence is an acceptable way of expressing yourself,

Using violence against someone is an opportunity to teach that person a valuable lesson,

Showing weakness is always bad,

If you get hurt, it’s because you were too weak.

There’s a clear parallel between Bakugou telling Midoriya he’d better jump off a roof and Mitsuki telling her son he got kidnapped by the equivalent of Daesh because he was too weak. Bakugou is mirroring the violence to which he was always exposed.

@tumbling---star on Eraserhead’s holding Tokoyami’s birthday cake: (Link)

#since tokoyami is aizawas favorite student and all

Hey! Shouta Aizawa doesn’t play favorites. He despises all his students equally.

@janazzaa on Todoroki selling his own bathwater: (Link)

You know he would!! The real question is if he saves it for lunch.

#That makes the soba slurping chapter with Natsuo and Fuyumi very uncomfortable

So now the soba water is in Todoroki, who will thereafter take another soba bath, whose water he will drink, and so on, and so on, ad infinitum. It’s the circle of life, and it moves us all. So sayeth the Book of Shouto. For thou were made from soba water, and to soba water thou shalt return, for now and forever, Amen.

[natsspammityspamspamham]

I’m just gonna be talking about Tamaki Kotatsu from Fire Force. I didn’t read the manga beyond chapter 6-ish. 

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that a lot of Shonen manga didn’t always have a ton of great female characters. Recently, it’s gotten a lot better, but before Kotatsu is introduced, I feel like I want to say something.

Her introduction is poorly done. When I read her introduction, I was disgusted. I thought, “Ookubo, what the heck are you doing?!” I read her Wikia page which changed my mind somewhat. With her introduction getting adapted next week (probably), I’m going to be putting some stuff from her Wikia article here.

To start, she’s a fanservice character. That’s pretty much what she’s for on the surface. It makes fun a little at the whole “accidental” part of the common anime trope (whether it’d be through contact or walking into something or both). This has been done really frequently in Shonen anime out there. Naruto, My Hero Academia, Food Wars, Welcome to the Ballroom, Gintama, Magi, Inu x Boku, Amagi Brilliant Park, Kanon, Konosuba, Nisekoi, literally every single ecchi anime out there, etc. It’s literally so common that there have been compilations for it.

But beneath that, her description leads me to believe that she will become more than just that.

Not sure what counts as a spoiler so here:

TL;DR: She’s a fanservice character, but she has a lot of things going for her. Her introduction is weak, but it still looks up from there. She’s undoubtedly a strong individual. 

Manga readers feel free to add!

Tamaki has shown to be insecure about her strength compared to her peers, especially in terms of conviction as she felt she did not join the Fire Force for a particular reason. These insecurities build into anger before giving way to her newfound drive to catch up and improve herself. In spite of her doubts and aggression, Tamaki is a courageous person with a strong sense of justice and a drive to protect those around her. Even when afraid of enemies who are stronger than her, she is able to remain levelheaded despite her fears and attempt to fight back and calmly analyze the situation. Despite holding him in high regards, Tamaki immediately disobeyed Rekka Hoshimiya after seeing how he treated innocent people, even after being violently beaten she worked to find a way to call for help. Even when feeling deep sadness and confusion when she found out her commander's evil intentions, she turned against him and welcome to any punishment she received for her unknowing role in his crimes, no matter how minor.

Tamaki's initial showings do not reflect her true abilities as she had yet to tap into her full potential. Despite this, Tamaki has shown to be able to quickly assess her situations to plan out her next move and speculate about an opponent's abilities. These crisis management skills have proven valuable in saving lives. When backed into a conner, Tamaki has shown the ability to find ways of improving her firepower, like using her own clothes as fuel. As a member of Company 1, she is also a fully qualified sister of the Holy Sol Temple and able to officially deliver the rites for Infernals (the people who light on fire).

As a Third Generation pyrokenetic Tamaki is immune to most burns and can use her Ignition Ability to create herself in pink flames. Her powers grant her various cat-like traits when activated, including: cat ears, two forked tails and nails on her fingertips. This is an ability she dubbed "Nekomata". With her Ignition Ability active, Tamaki's agility and mobility are substantially increased, allowing her to run on all fours and across rooftops. She can use her forked-tails to propel herself forwards or upwards or generate a blast of fire, which is strong enough to break through building walls, strong or repel Infernals. She can also restrain her targets in a circle of fire by lengthening these tails, or using them as a distress signal by the same process. With additional training, Tamaki's abilities evolve to allow her to coat her entire body in flames which takes the form of a humanoid cat. She is also able to generate her larger, almost transparent flames in the shapes of fangs and other features. In this state, her flexibility improves dramatically and she is able to destroy large fire constructs created by powerful opponents.

That’s right. She’s really badass underneath her appearance. She was bullied but overcame it. She has survived a lot of what regular Shonen characters go through, and she does place 2nd in the character polls. 

[rwbyconversations]

RWBY Volume 6 New York Comic Con news

So this isn’t a proper panel summary thanks to the first half hour being just dead-air for the audience and a lot of the RWBY news being concentrated into one chunk near the middle and a Q&A. So if you want the details on everything related to Gen;Lock, there’s other sources like @genlock-analysis that have you covered. I’m a RWBY guy first and foremost. The stream for the panel can be found here. RWBY and Genlock start at 2:29:00. 

Also while I’m rambling, my spoiler tags for RWBY Volume 6 will be universallly “RWBY Volume 6 Spoilers,” and “RWBY Volume 6 Chapter X Spoilers,” both of which will be removed after the episode is made live the week later. Speaking of, this has a Read More because spoilers for the first episode of Volume 6 are within.

I will say upfront the first half hour of this panel is insane in how poorly managed it feels, particularly the part where a Camp Camp episode got shown for... whatever reason. For the record, they cut six times overall during the panel. 

Panel hosted by Gray, Miles, Kerry, Chad Jones from ScrewAttack and the RWBY Girls.

News that was already known: Shonen Jump manga (new manga art here), Qrow statue, After The Fall. 

Ruby’s character will be undergoing a shift- not a proper edgelord shift but she’ll be a bit more hardened. 

Weiss got a new update to her costume- it was a bit too soon for a full costume shift, but Weiss has gotten herself a red scarf and blue stockings (the scarf is a callback to the V4 World of Remnant on the SDC, where Weiss’s grandfather Nicholas was depicted with such a scarf. Also White Rose fans were really happy).

The panel had a brief teaser for the first episode of Volume 6. We open with a train battle, RWBY fighting off some aerial Grimm. It cuts to the White Fang hideout, where Adam has made his return. He wants his throne back but the rest of White Fang don’t accept him. They still remember how he ran away from the last battle. Adam kills them and takes the throne (cue an Aggressive Negotiations Prequel Meme). We also learn he’s still mad at Blake for betraying him, and is holding a grudge.The next scene showed RWBY and Co. in a train station, preparing to leave for Argus. Qrow sends a letter to Atlas to explain what happened in the Battle of Haven. Blake and Ilia say their goodbyes. Ilia’s going back to Haven to help Blake’s family rebuild. The two share a hug, then part ways.Sun shows up and says that he is going back to his home. He wants to team up with his old crew, including Neptune, who shows up to hit on Ilia. Blake jokes that he is barking up the wrong tree. After everything that happened in Volume 5, Sun decides he needs to become a better team leader. Blake decides she needs to be with her team. Blake gives Sun a kiss on the cheek and rejoins Team RWBY.

Rooster Teeth also will be working with DC Comics for some kind of RT show comic adaptation- various sources are reporting it as both GenLock and RWBY are getting comics

Sphinx Grimm confirmed, it’s the Grimm on the V6 poster.

First question is just a thanks. 

Can we get a What’s Up You Fucking Cunts from Barb? She obliged. 

Miles, what would you like the fans to ask you? Any question that has nothing to do with anything important. “What’s your favorite dinosaur?” 

Gray, what was it like to pick VAs for GenLock? Scary. 

Chad. Who would win between Pyrrha and Carolina? Arryn points out that Pyrrha could use her Semblance on Carolina’s armor and Chad admits that would tip the scales. 

Gray, what are Gen;Lock’s inspirations? Star Wars, Star Trek, Galactica, some Japanese shows like Giant Robo, Ultraman and Starblazer. Mecha-wise, early and modern Gundam, Full Metal Zero. A lot of cyberpunk like William Gibson’s novels. 

Chad takes the piss out of Gray for rambling about inspirations during a lightning round.

Miles, What keeps you wanting to write? "I love telling stories and at the end of the day I've come to realize it doesn't matter where you tell those stories but if you're given an opportunity to do it then you should take that chance cuz not everyone gets a chance.”

Ever miss your private lives? Most of the gang still find private time. To an extent yes, but the pros outweigh the cons.

What would your semblance be? Lindsay- summoning cats. Arryn never knows. Kara- something with money. Barb- Yang’s semblance. Kerry- the ability to have two different paths of thought at the same time without having anxiety. Miles- the power to take light energy and use them for flashbang attacks. Chad- some kind of sonic amplification. Gray- the power to put all the merch he bought in his luggage.

Would Prinny be in Death Battle? Chad doesn’t know who Prinny is. 

What’s the central theme of this volume? Nothing easy to talk about pre-release. “It’s part of a big lesson that needs to be learned by some people this season and hopefully you’ll learn it by the end too.” 

No ship questions. A pleasant surprise. Panel was quite dry, too much cutting and skipping and the first half hour was a complete chore. I’m also very disappointed to hear that Ilia’s not going, since her dynamic with Weiss could have been a highlight of the season in Atlas. 

So yeah. 4/10 panel, too many cuts.

[namixart]

To start off 2019 with some positivity, I'm going to make a list of things that I absolutely love and make me happy in my favourite shows, movies, books, games etc. Small things, big things, no particular rhyme or reason. It was surprisingly therapeutic. Feel free to reblog and add your own!

Link being left-handed now let him use sign language Nintendo please

The entire Sector 6 Market section in Final Fantasy VII and the Honeybee Inn in particular

Zuko's character arc

The Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack

Final Fantasy X's worldbuilding

Everything about Disney's Mary Poppins it put me in a good mood for three days straight

How Percy absolutely adores his mum and is supportive of her relationship with Paul (after a while)

Edward Elric

(Yes. Just Edward Elric as a character, person, concept, actions...)

Major character design kink: boys with long (ish) blonde hair (see Edward, Link, Zidane, Howl)

Final Fantasy IX's soundtrack

Aerith and Tifa being close friends despite both being in love with Cloud

The Gentleman Bastard Sequence's worldbuilding

The fact that one of the characters in Zootopia speaks with my city's accent in the Italian dub (you never see it in any movie)

Final Fantasy IV's world being just vague enough that it tickles my creative bone to expand on it

Kingdom Hearts I using original storylines for the Disney Worlds

How Yato's eyes are very a very clear indication that he's a supernatural being in Noragami, being unnaturally light and bright

That one panel in the Kingdom Hearts II manga where an almost-naked Pete carries Maleficent bridal style out of the collapsing tower

Sleeping Beauty's art style and instrumental soundtrack

The fact that two super popular shonen manga/anime have leads who are super smart instead of being dumb muscle or the stock happy-go-lucky-not-very-bright protagonist (Fullmetal Alchemist and My Hero Academia)

How some of the Olympians like Hermes and Poseidon are so casual when interacting with mortals

The scene where the Spaceport is revealed in Treasure Planet and the look of the film in general

The first few chapters of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga before card games took over the plot

People in the Gentleman Bastard Sequence being emotionally honest despite being literal con artists

The theatre motif in The Republic of Thieves

Cloud, Aerith and Tifa threatening Don Corneo, but especially Aerith saying that "she'll rip it off" if he doesn't cooperate

Locke and Jean becoming pirates in Red Seas Under Red Skies

The Hunger Games movies being the most accurate film adaptations I have seen in my life

The Kingdom Hearts soundtrack, especially the vocal tracks, Dearly Beloved and The Other Promise

Final Fantasy VI shoving you in what usually is the backstory of a videogame and literally destroying the world

Edward defending Mustang when he had his sight taken from him despite them having spent 90% of their screentime together bickering

Tony Stark and Peter Parker's relationship in the MCU

Sophie throwing a tantrum after she realises she's in love with Howl and creating deadly weedkiller to express those feelings

Darcy being a goddamn social Disaster in every incarnation of Pride and Prejudice

The relationship between Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye

The Once Upon a December sequence from Anastasia

The mere existence of Zamira Drakasha and Ezri Delmastro and everything they represent

Sokka's role as both the strategist and the goofball in the Gaang

Peter Parker sharing a hot dog with Loki when he could have asked for anything because Loki owed him a favour

How the plot of Kingdom Hearts is so ridiculous we don't even question it anymore

Enormous muscly men I can still categorise as "super adorable and sweet" (Major Armstrong, All Might)

Howl being the biggest drama queen in the book

My Hero Academia's fantasy AU ending

Spider-Man (PS4) nailing the Friendly Neighbourhood Spidey aspect of the character and letting him interact with civilians

That moment when I was sure Bakugou was going to join the League of Villains but then he didn't and I've never been happier about being wrong my entire life

Zuko practising before asking the Gaang to join them

SNAP SNAP SPARK SPARK

Harry's wonder at every new thing in the Wizarding World

The fact that Spider-Man's backstory could just as easily be that of a villain but instead he's a hero and he has the biggest heart

Jake and Amy being in an Adult and Communicative relationship while still being themselves and each other's best friend

Winry being just as much of a prodigy as Ed and Al and building Ed's automail at 11 years old

Percy Jackson starting out as a standard straight white kids' series and Riordan adding ALL THE DIVERSITY as soon as it got popular enough that Disney couldn't say no

Charlie Weasley just outright trespassing into Hogwarts to smuggle an illegal dragon out

The soul and essence of Pride and Prejudice being passive-aggressiveness and sarcasm

Apollo's haikus in Trials of Apollo

Every scene using Deep Canvas in Tarzan

Winry and Edward's diametrically opposed reactions to the realisation they're in love ("Oh I guess I've fallen for him alright moving on" vs "Fuckfuckfuckfuck oh shit no why oh god aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh")

Lilo & Stitch's watercolour backgrounds

The fact that Roy Mustang's womanising persona is a facade to hide the fact that he's a) a huge nerd, b) going to overthrow the government and c) in love with his lieutenant

The "makings of greatness" speech in Treasure Planet

Spider-Man (PS4)'s swelling score as you start web swinging

The Battle of 1000 Heartless in Kingdom Hearts II

Sophie proudly describing Howl to Abdullah, him assuming she was listing flaws and her getting angry about it

Edward and Alphonse being atheists despite having literally met their version of God

The fact that Amajiki is one of the top three hero students despite his crippling anxiety

Rubicante recognising Edge as a warrior and apologising for Lugae's horribleness

Edge unlocking new powers out of sheer rage

Sora throwing a tea party at the end of Dream Drop Distance while his best friend was still asleep

The backstory in Skyward Sword about Hylia and the first Link

The "immoral manga" omake in Fullmetal Alchemist

The School Festival arc in My Hero Academia, Eri finally smiling and Deku and Mirio being the best big brothers I've ever seen

Kingdom Hearts III finally coming out this month

McGonagall's cat form resembling her human form

Edward finally breaking down at the end of Fullmetal Alchemist god I love this boy so much he has such a big heart

The Enlarged Suit Scene from Howl's Moving Castle

Most of Howl’s Moving Castle is a delight to be honest

Kairi's reaction at the news that she would be training with Axel in A Fragmentary Passage

The bonfire scene in Cosmo Canyon from Final Fantasy VII

Uraraka deciding not to focus on her crush on Deku in order to grow as a hero

Rydia summoning Titan and raising a mountain at the ripe age of seven in Final Fantasy IV

The friendship between Percy, Annabeth and Grover

Kairi and Lea looking like they're going to be a team in Kingdom Hearts III

Greed (at least the second one) claiming that his goal in life is to have everything when in fact he only ever really wanted friends

The Main Theme of Final Fantasy playing during the scene where the characters not in the final battle pray for the party in Final Fantasy IV

The Overture from Phantom of the Opera

Locke Lamora from the Gentleman Bastard Sequence being named after Locke Cole from Final Fantasy VI

Luna Lovegood never having to change who she is and remaining weird and happy

Terra Branford becoming more human by feeling not romantic love but maternal love for a bunch of orphaned children

The "You're not alone" scene from Final Fantasy IX

Darcy respecting Elizabeth's refusal of his first proposal and working to become a better person after she points out his many flaws

Neku learning to open up to people in The World Ends With You and literally saving Shibuya through character development

Bakugou's slow development into a better person

The sketchy animation during Disney's Dark Age

The official character artwork for Skyward Sword

Harry and Sirius's relationship

Spider-Man being a street-level hero and being super humble even though he can literally lift Thor's hammer

That little high-five between Sora and Remy in the 30 seconds trailer for Kingdom Hearts III

Rosa and Rydia immediately ignoring the boys' order to not come to the Moon and stowing away on the Lunar Whale

Plus Edge's adorable "Y-you're here too!?" in the DS remake

Cloud not being allergic to smiling and joking around in the original Final Fantasy VII ("Let's mosey!")

Thor and Loki starting to mend their relationship in Ragnarok

Into The Spider Verse has a scene where Miles uses Spider-Man comic books to figure out how to use his powers and it's the best and I love it

You know what, Into The Spider Verse as a whole because I saw it a while back and I'm still gushing

[seakittens]

Free! vs. Toxic Masculinity

So I was thinking the other day about how people always project negative stereotypes on Free, accusing it of queerbaiting and shallowness and other things of that nature. I disagree with most of this, and wanted to take an opportunity to highlight something that I think Free does really well compared to other sportsani or shows primarily focused on guys. Something that I think sets it apart from other shows considered fangirl-bait. And that’s the way it deals with and confronts concepts of toxic masculinity.

I am not going to provide a whole explanation of toxic masculinity. If you want a full refresher, watch this. But for the sake of this discussion, it’s the idea that traits such as showing emotion, non-aggressive friendships and likes associated with femininity (flowers, love of fluffy things, children) are  “feminine-coded” and therefore bad for a man to embrace. Toxic masculinity champions men who shun emotions, turn friendships into competitions and reject “girly” likes.

So how does Free handle this concept? Well, first I’d like to point out that I think part of the answer to this is why I reject the notion that Free (the show, not the marketing) is shipbaiting. I believe the intent of Free is just to portray relationships. It just so happens that these male relationships are different than what most audiences are used to when it comes to male friendships, and the result is behavior that people extrapolate to mean more. I’m not saying this extrapolation is wrong, just that I don’t believe it’s the show’s intent. Free wants to tell a story about friendship, about male friendship, about healthy, positive male friendship. And that’s something that simply just isn’t done often.

Most male friendships in anime are characterized by competition and that competition is viewed, in many cases but not all, as a negative thing. A thing that must be overcome in order for a deeper friendship to result. The push is that the characters stop seeing each other as something to overcome. You will find this in most shonen anime, which honestly has some of the deepest male friendships.

Free turns this concept on its head. Obviously, you have the deep childhood friendship between Makoto and Haruka, which is characterized by support and trust but without the senpai trope that is usually attached to male friendships of this nature. You have the friendships between Nagisa and Haruka, which should be the annoying shota and the tsundere, but Haruka thinks highly of Nagisa and really grows based on his insight. Again, there’s is not so much the senpai trope because as much as Nagisa idolizes Haruka, he also teaches him.

And then you have Free’s champion of rejecting toxic masculinity: Rin. Rin is a character defined by emotions. And while some are the typical masculine aggressiveness and competitiveness, he’s also known for his sensitivity, tears, and tendency to burst into flowery speeches about love and friendship. Rin is framed as your typical jock in his skill, build and even shark-tooth antagonist aesthetic. But his personality is anything but.

Rin’s tears are not mocked but embraced. They are viewed as a positive thing by other men. Haruka encourages them, to the point of smiling when he sees Rin shed them. Sousuke encourages them, even to the point of giving Rin space so he can cry. Rin openly cries at romantic movies, overt displays of friendship and sheer happiness. This embracing of male tears is why the odd line from Makoto to Nagisa in ES 13 feels so jarring. "Boys don't cry." I don't even have an answer for that one. It was just 0_o. 

Yes, Rin is embarrassed and tries to hide his tears because Rin is still tied up in biases of masculinity, the same way he tries to defend himself when he's being too sappy, but that Rin can still bring himself to shed them is significant. Rin does have traces of toxic masculinity as a result of his character trope. Rin has grown up without his father and assuming he had to be "man of the house." 

But Rin is also presented as the guy who loves flowers and romance, adopts stray cats and talks about dreams. Again, this goes very much against the image Rin presents as the jock bad boy. It's much different that the typical depiction of male friendships as dudes being jerks to each other even when they're bros.

But, Kitty, you cry, Rin is a jerk in S1 of Free. Right, you are. And this is viewed as an aberration to Rin's original personality and something that must be understood, and with help, overcome. That is the plot of S1. That Rin is the jerky rival is the trope. The twist is that Rin is not actually the jerky rival and is actually emotionally trouble and under the impression that his previous sentiments were wrong. Something he abandons in S1.

So supportive male relationships are the key to both the climax in S1 and in S2, with Haruka's anxieties. Which is nice to see and a theme that I hope continues in S3. 

Then we have Rin and Haruka's relationship. This is probably my favorite part about how Free tackles toxic masculinity. Free takes the perceived main conflict of Rin vs. Haruka's rivalry (whereupon you expect it to resolve when Haruka wins) and makes it more about learning why the negativity of that rivalry is WRONG. So the conclusion to the conflict isn't a final match or even RH working together to defeat a bigger conflict. It's literally just resolving the negativity itself, which is Rin's fear of unimportance to Haruka and Haruka's inability to tell Rin how he really feels. In fact, this confused many original fans who expected the conflict to end with Haruka realizing he doesn't need to fight Rin and then walking away from the rivalry. But the show instead says it's not the rivalry that's the problem, it's the way in which the rivalry is expressed. Which was through toxic masculinity. Rin's need to defeat Haruka.

Once this problem is resolved, the rivalry is less about defeating the other and more about pushing each other to their limits. Which is a supportive rivalry. 

Usually in sports anime, the conflict is resolved by defeating the rival and this makes the rival reassess the main and declare them worthy. This creates a deeper relationship that allows them to compete on a more even ground. But Free doesn't care about who wins. It's not about that. It's about the relationship of the characters. Which is why even though in S1, the characters win the race, they are ultimately disqualified. Because the results don't matter. What mattered was resolving the emotional conflict between Rin and Haruka.

And the end result is the extreme example of the opposite of toxic masculinity, which is Rin openly crying, showing physical affection and showing how happy he is to be with his friends again. It's not couched in any shows of feigned masculinity either. Rin doesn't get all flustered by his actions. He openly embraces them. None of the guys is embarrassed; they're just all so happy to be friends again.

Which is why Free leaves so many, including me, with such a positive message. While the latter parts of the series didn't execute this nearly as effectively, they have their overall theme of supportive male relationships amid sports. And I do appreciate how this is carried over into S2 in that Rin's drive to race Haruka is still not about defeating him, but about pushing Haruka to realize just what he can accomplish. Rin doesn't want to defeat Haruka; Rin simply wants to race with Haruka because it makes him happy. And that, in itself, is a really powerful message for male relationships.

Traditional sports anime would have Haruka realize he doesn't NEED to defeat Rin and that he doesn't need their rivalry and leave Rin to stew with his own feelings until he has some sort of epiphany but Free DOUBLES DOWN on the rivalry and says no Haruka DOES need the rivalry to grow. Rin and Haruka beating each other is never treated as a BIG thing, save the time that it was shown as a NEGATIVE thing because of WHY Rin wanted it. The win almost never matters, and it's very important that Haruka's loss isn't a matter of losing to a rival, it's a matter of losing RIN.

So when the whole "it made me just as happy" scene occurs, people might originally think it suggests that anime will take the traditional sports anime route. But Free INVERTS that by having Haruka double down on his need for Rin and their friendship. And yes, Haruka needed to learn HOW to express himself through Iwatobi to be able to reach Rin on that level, so Iwatobi is crucial to the resolution. The show is all about embracing your emotions and opening up. Which is a direct contrast to how men are usually expected to behave.

Then, of course, we have the powerful scenes in ES 12, where Rin openly admits his admiration for his rival. It’s usually something we see a junior say to a senior, not someone his own age. So it means a lot here in terms of openness amid male friendship and healthy rivalry.

But aside from Rin, who pretty much constantly ruins his image with his emotional nature, the Free boys are not concerned with typical notions of masculinity. In fact, in the rare occasions they are, it's almost jarring. So it's not just the overall absence of toxic masculinity that makes Free stand out, but also, unlike other female-targeted shows, it actively CONFRONTS toxic masculinity and shows how it can be overcome. At least to a certain extent.

Oh yeah, I must also point out that I'm not sure if this was Utsumi's original intent or if just a result of her lack of male bias and desire to tell a story exclusively focused on male relationships. We see Kawanami continue this tradition in TYM when Rin is so happy at the idea of just being able to swim with Haruka one more time before he leaves for Australia. "Swimming with you is a great enough surprise." Looking forward to more examples moving forward.

[nyctohyloph0bia]

🐾Welcome to my alterhuman blog!

Hello! We are 🌺Reko [ it/he ] , 🌲 Silas [ he/him ] 🌘 Yuro [ he/him ], hosts of the Cabin In The Woods Hub 🌲. We are bodily 19 as of 2024 and our collective name is 🌲Woodland [ No pronouns, use determiners (the), or just it/its ].

Please read our CARRD (guidelines, requests, my ALTH identities and more!) , my likes n' stuff come from @woodlandscab1n , previously known as "itsmeowmeowtime"

-Last updated: 24/09/24

✒️📖 Journaling and plural blog on @scribere-diurnus

💾🎬 Fictionkind blog on @bolts-n-fingerguns

🏛️📜 Currently working on an archiving blog and website named The Alterhuman Hub! Check this tag for updates!

🎨 Dividers by @spectral-pup and @sable-dream ! Check 'em out!

🐾🌊Rainfang pack member. (on hiatus currently!)

🌟Tiny pack member.

🌿 Identities !

🌺⊶‣ Polymorph. Russian sable, Cacuraptor, Mountain Nyala, Wolf, Coyote, Cryptid Cat, African Wild dog, Leopard Seal (?) therian.

🌺⊶‣ Sonic "Spikes" The Hedgehog, Leon S. Kennedy fictionkin. Both canon divergent. I'm sort of a fableing for Spikes, only label that seems to describe what I experience.

🌺⊶‣ Wolfhearted, canine parahearted.

🌺⊶‣ Holothere, Interanthrope, physical therian. polymorph stuck in a humanoid form. Might change as I discover more about myself. Probably a delusion? Not sure!

🌺⊶‣ Shonen protag, hurting hero archetrope.

🌺⊶‣ White Fang, Sonic Unleashed talehearted.

🌲⊶‣ Personalization of Woodland persona, fictive of OVA Sonic.

🌲⊶‣ Russian sable therian.

🌘⊶‣ Songkin. A whole genre/theme of music, mostly rock vocaloid and other types of rock.

↑ For more alth identities and info on my kintypes go to my carrd ! ↑

📜 Important posts n' playlists !

Posts I feel either proud of, coining of terms or has relevance.

📅🌌 - 30 Days Of Alterhuman Art Prompts.

💘📖- Coining of Talehearted ¦ 🔄🌌- Coining of Gendermorph ¦ 🎏🐺 - Werewolf Therian flag ¦ 🎏🌌- My personal Otherkin flag ¦🌺🎨 - Re-coining essay of Astylic. ¦ 💘📖- Re-Coining of Talehearted

💖🌟 - You are Otherkin, You are valid. ¦ 🐾🐕 - Very important message (VERY!!!) ¦💖💫 On Voluntary Nonhumanity , Part two.

🎶📼 - Pack inspired , General Therian inspired , Stray/Feral/Carnivore inspired , Cryptic horror inspired , Winged inspired

🔖 On the go tag list !

💌- #info - information on alterhuman stuff

🎨🐾- #kitty cat art - my art!

💬🐾- #kitty cat rambles - my crazy ramblings, it's most likely alterhuman related

💬❓ - #kitty cat answers - an answer to an ask, feel free to ask or say anything to me, i do not bite! most of the time...

🔖💭(Almost) The Full Tag List , Warnings included

📷🐾-#kitty cat media - op picture that is not art.

🎨💬- #kitty cat request - it's a requested doodle, goes hand in hand with my art tag!

🎶🎧 - #kitty cat playlists - custom playlists

💟🪔 - #kitty cat moodboard - custom moodboards!

🔮🕒- #packed up and ready to go! - Queue/Scheduled !

🗣- #discussion - alterhuman related discussion and/or discourse!

🐾 - #community - interaction with the community; people looking for traction on something important, just looking for friends or me interacting with my friends!

🌴 - #tips - DIY gear, 'kin euphoria inducing practices, general being in touch with your 'kinness :]

🌺- #positivity - For those days that you need to remind yourself to be happy about your identity, make you feel validated and loved. :]

🛑 Warnings (in media or text)

I will tag the following general triggering content:

⚠ personal vents , fictional violence , (non-fictional and fictional) animal death/injury, (moderate and up, fictional or non-fictional) blood , hunting, bug, suggestive content, eyestrain, gifs , flashing.

Misc triggering or concerning content:

⚠ (fictional or not) animal aggression , (non-fictional) outdoor cat, (non-fictional) prey-predator interaction, (nonfictional) anthropomorphism, ex: probably a cute, harmless animal video or post which only crime was putting human emotions on it.

[lethesomething]

On sexuality in the BNHA universe

This is the part where I go Full Nerd on you guys. (also where I finally admit to overthinking literally every fictional universe). In case the title isn't obvious, a lot of this will be on the nsfw side, and there's also quite a lot of speculation. Under a cut to protect the innocent.

So. One of the more common jokes about BNHA is that Bakugou Katsuki, the boy with the nitroglycerin sweat, is so very angry because he can't relieve tension the traditional way, through masturbating (in case things... explode). It's an observation that doesn't take into account how emotionally stunted mister Explodo Kills is (causing part of his aggression), but at the same time, it makes a lot of sense. It's basically a riff on one of the consequences of having a quirk that turns your sweat explosive. So obviously I'm going to take that joke and turn it into an overanalysis of a fictional world.

The ideal form is still fairly classic

In the BnHA universe, heroes have pretty much taken the place of our models, actors and musicians. They're superstars and role models. As such, they help shape the world view of society. Now, the first female hero we see in BnHA, is Mount Lady.

She's a conventionally attractive woman in a skin tight suit who is introduced to us butt-first, in a move that is a direct callback to American superhero comics (and the kind of poses that the Hawkeye Initiative spoofs). Over the course of several appearances, Mount Lady uses her looks and wiles to get free shit, be it food or (presumably) lucrative marketing contracts for shampoo commercials. The idea here, then, is that Mount Lady is a bit of a sex symbol, and that she is aware of her sex appeal, using it to her advantage. You see this with other female heroes (who, I realize, have been designed for a typical Shonen Jump audience). There’s Midnight, who definitely uses her sexuality in her heroing, but there’s also Bubble Girl's underboob and the Dragon Hero's old school qipao dress. These heroes exude and adhere to a certain traditional feminine form. To put it bluntly: they're hot.

At the same time, a lot of the men do the same thing. Several of the main heroes, not the least of which being All Might, are of the buff, bara variety. Big muscular men with necks and biceps wider than their heads. Endeavour is like that, as is the Blood King and Deathgoro.

These heroes very much embody an ideal that is close to comic books, and also close to that of most societies today, where ideal women are lean, with big boobs and butts, and ideal men are buff. These are the traditional sex symbols that people like Mineta are obsessed with.

And then things get complicated

But this is also a universe where people like Tokoyami exist. A large amount of heroes and future heroes have some kind of animal head. Several of these, too, are role models. There's Centipeder, Orka and the snake headed Habuko Mongoose. And that's not even getting into more exotic ones, like Cementoss, Thirteen or Kurogiri (the villain's smokey bartender).

In other words: this is a universe in which it is very obvious that the classic ideal human form is not attainable for everyone. Going further, this is also a universe where traditional human sexuality will not work for everyone. Tokoyami, awesome as he is, can not kiss (he can, and should, be kissed, and often, but that's beside the point here). Cementoss appears to have hands that are blocky and cement-like, making them far from ideal for sensual massages. Kurogiri... Does Kurogiri even have a body beside that metal ring thing? How would that bastard reproduce?

This means that with the onset of quirks, sexuality in the BnHA society would have gotten progressively more complex. It's one thing to fuck a glowing person with horns, it's another altogether to try and make babies with someone that's made of slime. This is a personal headcanon, but I do feel that such an evolution would make society much more accepting (right after the part where they try to burn all the people with quirks at the stake). Like, the first kid with horns or bat wings at school probably had a Really Difficult time, but a generation later, this sort of thing would be normal. Bluntly put: it's hard to shame someone for a furry kink, if they're literally married to a hero called Hound Dog. Incidentally, I assume this would also mean LGBT+ people would have an easier time being accepted. The hero team Pussycats has a canon trans member, for instance. And like all pro heroes, he probably functions as a role model. In a world where some people can disintegrate others by touch, sexuality and gender identity are literally just another trait by which to find your own identity. Being judged for it seems stupid, especially if you consider the inherent dangers posed by these new genetic mutations.

Let's enter TMI land

So back to the Bakugou joke. If you think about it, this is a legitimate issue. Several people's quirks are dangerous when not completely controlled. Kirishima famously got his facial scar when he was three and rubbed his eye, at the same time that his quirk first manifested. Now imagine the dangers of being a hormonal teen with an acid quirk (Mina) or, well, nitroglycerin sweat (Bakugou) and trying to navigate your budding sexuality.

There is, currently, in our real world, a rare condition called 'sperm allergy'. For a heterosexual woman, it means having sex can be itchy,painful and altogether unpleasant. Now extrapolate that to a world with quirks. Bakugou's mother has glycerin sweat. Glycerin allergy is a thing that exists. What if you're allergic to the down in Tokoyami's feathers? What about sensitivity to cats? Shellfish allergy? What if, through some extremely unfortunate chain of events, you're an ice woman forced to have sex with a man that is literally on fire (and is also just... one of the worst human beings alive).

If you think a little bit too hard about it, finding a suitable partner in the BnHA world is an extremely complex concept. Finding someone that is sexually compatible is already hard work in our world, but it becomes exponentially more difficult if you have to factor in things like frog tongues. It really wouldn't surprise me if there were some very specialised dating sites in this universe.

Oh the TMI gets so much worse

If I've learned anything from my exploits on the web, it's that the sex industry is one of the more... creative industries. And in a world where finding a partner is, for some people, a dangerous and complicated quest, you bet your ass that the sex industry is thriving. Also? Super specialised. I don't doubt for a second that this universe has certain professionals who chose that career specifically because of the quirk they have. Just off the top of my head: Enlarging body parts? Check. Hardening quirk? Check. Resistance to poison/fire/acid/whatever? Double check cause they're the exact clients who can't go elsewhere. It probably goes even further when you include certain kinks. Furries (again) come to mind.

And, I mean, anyone familiar with anime is probably already aware of the... possibilities of something like Suneater's tentacles (you hear that rushing sound? That's the sound of furious fingers writing Tamaki centered fanfic).

[junkobears]

...wait, you will *never* get bored ? REALLY ? Then I must ask for my bro Hoshi, my other bro Momota, and my gurl Tojo

Nope, I will NEVER get bored! I can 100% promise you on that! Until all the DR characters have been exhausted, I suppose? It’s the only series I get submissions for, haha. ANYWAYS more V3 spoilers:

Hoshi

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff  (I went with Ravenclaw purely cuz the other three houses don’t fit him IMO. Also his experiences with being jailed for murder and losing everything, and how wise but jaded/depressed its made him become as a result just seemed more ravenclaw IMO)best quality: Really well-done portrayal of someone struggling with depression/suicidal tendencies, moreso than Saihara IMO. His attempts to find a reason to live but being shot down constantly was heartbreaking. On a lighter note his design is by far the best out of the ‘comic relief design’ squad. Super cute and appealing!worst quality: Dying early. But this is more that I felt Chapter 2 would’ve had more impact/meaning for his character if he had his suicidal/reason to live struggle over a longer period of time, cuz in canon it just seemed pretty rushed otherwise. Otherwise his death was fitting.ship them with: Nobody in particular honestly, not because I don’t like him, but more he just isn’t the type to be shipped/in a relationship IMObrotp them with: Momota, Akamatsu, Kirumi, Harukawa, Ouma, Yumeno, Shirogane needs to stay away from: Japanese fandom, 15th place on the official poll is so goddamn wrong on so many levels, when there are like 6-7 worse characters than him.misc. thoughts: Forever glad he wasn’t a comic relief pervert character, one of the best writing decisions in V3 in general. I’d totes go to a cat cafe with Hoshi any day of the week!

Momota

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (again, this isn’t a hard choice… Momota is pretty aggressive, quite reckless and rash with his emotions and choices, but ultimately wants to protect and help the others and be a leader figure? Gryffindor for the shonen hero archetype for sure.)best quality: I liked his antagonistic but cooperative relationship with Ouma in Ch.5, it was leagues more compelling than anything involving the Forced Hets or Boring Terrible MC. His design has also weirdly grown on me, it’s really fitting for his character/talent, great VA alsoworst quality: The random sexism he has towards Harukawa for being an assassin, or specifically using weapons. Girls cannot ever use weapons ever. stfu Momotaship them with: Ouma,brotp them with: Akamatsu (fellow leader figures), Harukawa, Chabashira, Yumeno, Hoshineeds to stay away from: Kodaka’s bad writing, Reddit fandommisc. thoughts: I’d find his attempts to keep the group united and morale high more convincing/interesting if he ever tried to bond with anyone besides Saihara and Harukawa, I thought that was kind of flimsy writing. Don’t talk about how the group is falling apart and in danger constantly if you never talk to anyone else ever. Also the anime romance with Harukawa was set-up in the most awful way ever, and diminished the impact of both Ch. 5 and their characters hugely, have them bond in a realistic manner please rather than just “I BELIEVE IN HER. FOR NO REASON. SHE ISN’T EVIL despite all evidence saying otherwise at the time.

Kirumi

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (another one that I feel isn’t up for much debate, Kirumi embodies a lot of Hufflepuff traits. Loyal to her bosses/friends/country, extremely hardworking no matter how much effort it takes or pain it puts on her, the darker aspects of these traits meaning the majority is more important over a small group of individuals, etc)best quality: Best murderer in V3 who isn’t the mastermind, and had the most compelling/morally grey dilemma out of all the killers. The needs of the many vs the needs of the few, and the sheer dedication to her goals despite how much pain it causes herself/others is just fascinating IMO. Kirumi also has the best design out of the cast, she is BEAUTIFUL. Best execution in the game, and top 5 in the series as a whole, it’s so thematic and fitting in every way possible.worst quality: Dies early, like Hoshi, but again this is more that I feel Chapter 2 and Kirumi’s loyalties changing from the V3 cast to her ‘country’ and her betrayal would be more impactful and heartbreaking if she had been around longer to bond with the cast more. It would’ve been a more interesting/less twee sacrifice than Gonta in Ch. 4 IMO. Otherwise I’m fine with her case.ship them with: Shirogane, Akamatsu, Celes, Junko, Soniabrotp them with: Ouma, Hoshi, Chabashira, Amami,needs to stay away from: The fandom who doesn’t appreciate her enough, Love Hotel,misc. thoughts: Seriously, Thread of Agony is an amazing execution. I can’t praise it enough. The Spider’s Thread Imagery and similar themes worked perfectly for Kirumi’s character. Also in mastermind!AUs I support Kirumi being the new mastermind, cuz her design is perfect for it (black/white design, spider web designs could be seen as a bullet breaking glass like in the Non-Stop Debates, severe loyalty could be used as severe loyalty to Junko/Team DR or w/e). Should I write this?

[recentanimenews]

Manga Economics 101

Last week, I published a brief summary of articles on the state of the manga industry, drawing on in-depth reports at The Beat, Publisher’s Weekly, ICv2, and Anime News Network. Krystallina, a contributor at The OASG, just posted her own thoughts on the subject in a provocatively titled essay “Is the Industry in a More Precarious Situation Than We Realize?” Her analysis looks at several key factors, from the current retail economy to the abundance of titles. One the strengths of her approach is that she doesn’t just focus on sales figures; she also considers the potential impact of trade deals, box store closings, and the overall economy, arguing that changes in the unemployment rate or NAFTA could have a real impact on the American manga market.

Are we on the verge of a second manga bubble? Krystallina hedges her bets on this question, but I’m inclined to say no. Manga publishers have followed the example of other culture industries — film, music, gaming — by making their products more accessible than before. And while companies such as VIZ, Kodansha, and Yen Press are aggressively pushing digital manga, there’s still a robust market for print.

In other news…

Kodansha just announced four new additions to its digital manga initiative: Natsumi Eguchi’s Hozuki’s Coolheadedness, Kotono Kato’s Altair: A Record of Battles, Ryosuke Tomoe’s Museum, and Tsutomu Nihei’s one-volume Blame! Academy and So On. Look for all four titles on March 21st. [Anime News Network]

Debuting this week at The Japan Times: Neko Pitcher, a gag strip about a cat with a mean fastball. [The Japan Times]

Did you miss the Assassination Classroom train? It’s not too late to find out why this goofy action/comedy is a perennial best-seller; VIZ recently posted a 52-page excerpt from volume one on its website. Go, read! [Weekly Shonen Jump]

Calling experienced editors: VIZ is hiring! [VIZ Media]

After a long hiatus, Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith have revived their Off the Shelf column. The latest installment looks at three recent releases: Anonymous Noise, Platinum End, and Welcome to the Ballroom. [Manga Bookshelf]

Joe McCulloch puts Zelda: The Twilight Princess under the microscope. [The Comics Journal]

Claire Napier pronounces Saso Akira’s Shindo “timeless, ageless, infinite.” N.B. This smart-looking drama is available through Crunchyroll. [Women Write About Comics]

In case you missed it, here’s a link to Shaenon Garrity’s blistering take-down of Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World. [Otaku USA]

Check out the cover for Ayako Noda’s Sennetsu. *Sigh.* [Brain vs. Book]

Joshua Paul Dale files a mouth-watering, eye-popping report on charaben (character bento boxes). [CNN]

Tyler Rothmar reviews Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien. As Rothmar observes, Toriyama Sekien was an important figure in the development of Japanese art; Utagawa Hiroshige and Kitagawa Utamaro were among his proteges. [The Japan Times]

Angel Cruz jumps in the WABAC machine for a fond look at the Sailor Moon R movie. [Women Write About Comics]

LM compiles a list of interesting links on queer culture, Japanese fashion, and Yuri!! on Ice. [The Lobster Dance]

Emil Ferris’ My Favorite Thing is Monsters is 2017’s first surprise hit. [The Beat]

This week’s must-read essay is Allison Ziebka’s illustrated history of American romance comics. Considering the degree to which superheroes dominate comic book stores today, it’s astonishing to realize that in the late 1940s, “one in every 5 comics published… was a romance.” [Girls Like Comics]

By: Katherine Dacey

[super-mane]

So finished seeing the first season of  Be/astars, some spoilers mostly but dumb stuff

I still feel incredibly uncomfortable with the fact they use the terms male and female but like makes sense because animals but at the same time I need to remind myself they weren’t degrading each themselves when they call themselves that...

The anime should use more realist comportments of animals made no sense why the gang of lions had no lionesses when they were the ones that do the dirty job in real-life. But who I’m kidding they would need to make female characters not useless and that’s a big no-no, ahh how I despise anime...

Still hate how they use the herbivore = defenseless baby, maybe this change doubt it but I hope (no not with the gun), rhinos are aggressive, hippos kill more people than crocodiles, and not even entering on the fact many herbivores can kill carnivores. And have carnivorous that eat each other or even just kill one another if they see each other, cannibalism is a thing.

Why the herbivores don’t have claws? Bunnies have claws, the worse offender is the anteater character, have you seen an anteater!? They have huge claws!

And excuse fucking me what you mean my rabbit genes wants me to be eaten!? That’s not how nature work at all! Okey weird parasites I’m looking at you but shush it, most animals would fight a much bigger animal to survive even have a saying that “The cornered rat will bite the cat.” for this reason, would be more realistic if she punched the wolf or act aggressively towards him if he got closer to her, but whatever the herbivores in this world are into vore...

Louis what the actual fuck was your childhood!? Why your rich father even paid to have you? Does he not care that giving money to these ones will continue the black market? He could gun down the place and get a free kid out of it, is he involved in the black market? You know thinking about it and how the guard treated him good I think yeah, what an asshole!

Why smaller animals don’t have their own school? Like it seems pretty risky to mix small animals with bigger ones.

And did the anime called a Louis a Bambi or was just the br dub? I need to know!!

And how have dog breeds on this world, did some wolves simple thought “Hey let’s inbreed ourselves to be weaker wolves full of inbreed diseases!?” or the author simply liked dogs and include them?

But overall the main plot is quite a drag to me, the world doesn’t seem that can function because the carnivores are violent and well the herbivores want to be eaten too, so how even have herbivores? Or is just Haru that is into vore? Why this world eats kids? Were the woman/girls on this world? Like I understand is shonen so it has the mentality women are just for romantic interest but is so bizarre seeing how the school and the world are like 80% male even on the crown shots...

And the second plot is going to ??? I don’t know like oh the wolf not going to eat the bunny maybe... not even himself knows that, showing that carnivores are violent by nature and are a problem to their society but at the same time I think is going to go “We need each other to exist” and really hope they don’t go this route because a world only with herbivores would exist ok, the real animals can’t do it because they need nature balance, but sapient beings? Nah... we mass-produce food so bet they can too.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/26/19

Black Clover, Vol. 17 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – As predicted, friends are fighting friends in this one, as a good deal of the cast have been Possessed By Elves. Not Asta, of course; he’s our hero. But Yuno seems to be affected… except he proves to be the only one with the mental strength to throw it off. I’d roll my eyes at this if it weren’t Black Clover, a series that runs on clichés. Speaking of which, remember that nun from chapter one? The one Asta is theoretically still in love with? She returns here as the villains go after the orphanage, allowing Asta and Yuno to return and show off how much they’ve grown. Black Clover loves to run on things we’ve seen before, but this volume may have had a bit TOO much of that, as it was unsurprising. But still fun. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2 | By Mika Yamamori | Viz Media – I will admit, this series is going to live or die on how far it takes the teacher student romance—I don’t THINK it’s endgame, but as with most shoujo it’s hard to make sure. (Shonen romances are nice enough to telegraph the winner in the first chapter.) It’s well-crafted, and the author seems to be aware of the issues it involves, but we shall see. Till then, I do enjoy the kids hanging out with each other, particularly when Suzume manages to be so sleepy during a study break that Yuyuya’s mask slips off and she starts berating her in front of everyone—though the masochistic guys she then starts to attract are less welcome. I enjoy the sense of humor and characters in this, despite some issues. – Sean Gaffney

Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2 | By Mika Yamamori | VIZ Media – Daytime Shooting Star continues to be far better than it seems like it’s going to be, with a student-teacher romance at its core. The important factor, of course, is that Suzune’s love for Shishio is unrequited, though he does finally become aware of it at the end of this volume. One thing I really love is that there’s drama—Suzune has made friends with Yuyuka (who has a subplot of her own in which she slips up and shows her true belligerent self and gains some masochistic devotees as a result) and is attempting to shield her from the knowledge that the boy Yuyuka likes (Mamura) instead likes Suzune—but no cartoonish, over-the-top villains. There’s just complicated circumstances and likable characters and it’s all really great. I hope it doesn’t spoil it all by doing something stupid like hooking up Suzune and Shishio, at least while she’s still a student. – Michelle Smith

Emanon, Vol. 2: Emanon Wanderer, Part One | By Shinji Kajio and Kenji Tsurata | Dark Horse Comics – This is two large short stories continuing the story of a young woman who has memories going back to the dawn of time. We get a better understanding of what happens when she moves from mother to daughter, and what happens to the mother—it’s disturbing and a bit terrifying, no surprises there. The current Emanon also has a twin brother, something that’s never happened before, and their reunion is as awkward as you can imagine. As for the first story, boy howdy that is a lot of nudity. It’s absolutely gorgeous—the art alone is worth buying this for. But boy howdy, that is an AWFUL lot of nudity. Interested to see where this goes next. – Sean Gaffney

Golden Kamuy, Vol. 11 | By Satoru Noda | Viz Media – This volume gives us the Golden Kamuy equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde in two lovers, now reunited after he gets out of prison, who love to make love and also love to kill people. Naturally, they run afoul of the 7th Division, but the action sequences are absolute gold. Meanwhile, Sugimoto and company are running into a new outlaw running around defiling animals. Biblically. If you’re the sort to be bothered by a two-page spread of a man screwing a deer… well, you likely stopped reading Golden Kamuy long ago, but I feel I should give the warning anyway. It’s also sort of hilarious, like a lot of Golden Kamuy‘s grossest moments. Even for a series that runs on pure “what the hell?” this volume was pretty bonkers. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 3 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – Even when our lead couple have successfully coupled, there’s still intrigue. Zenjiro NOT taking a second lover is proving to be, you’ll pardon me, a royal pain, and his pretense (which is somewhat true) that he’s so gaga over Aura that he can’t even look at another woman will only take him so far. Worse, once Aura’s pregnancy gets out, it turns out that Zenjiro’s ancestors may actually ALSO be from this world, which means trouble if the two magical powers combine in their child. Fortunately, our hero is also really good at contractual language, something we rarely see in an isekai. I’ll be honest, this is a LOT more interesting than I was ever expecting. I want more. – Sean Gaffney

Queen Bee, Vol. 1 | By Shizuru Seino | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I read Seino’s Girl Got Game back in the day, but truth be told, I didn’t like it very much. Queen Bee is definitely an improvement, though I continue to not love Seino-sensei’s approach to zany comedy. (I just think too hard about where random chainsaws came from, for example.) Anyway, the premise here is that Mihane Hirata is an aggressive girl with a scary face who’s in love with the class prince, Toma. He thinks she’s interesting and wants to get to know her, but doesn’t want her for a girlfriend. What I didn’t like was all the background characters who keep popping up to comment about how hideous Mihane is, but what I do like is both Mihane’s self-loathing and Toma’s insistence that she should just be herself. If this were longer, I might pass, but as it’s complete in three volumes, I will probably finish reading it. – Michelle Smith

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!, Vol. 1 | By Take| Seven Seas – Given the titular heroine, all puns intended, and the fact that the book literally has a raised cover so you can see her boobs stick out, you would think this would in fact be pretty lewd. It’s not. Aside from one or two accidental gropes and a brief shot of Uzaki in the shower, this is not a title about boobs. What is it? Well, picture Teasing Master Takagi-san if she were actually bad at it. Uzaki really likes her sempai and wants to hang out with him all the time. He finds her overeager personality and ludicrous breasts to be rather exhausting, but doesn’t dislike her per se, so they do in fact hang out a lot. Slice-of-life then occurs. If you like that sort of manga, and can tolerate the breasts, this is worth a look. – Sean Gaffney

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 | By Kousuke Oono | Viz Media – One of the manga debuts that I was most looking forward to this year was The Way of the Househusband. The premise is simple enough—a legendary yakuza boss known as The Immortal Dragon has left the underworld behind and now lives a his life as a stay-at-home spouse—but Oono’s execution is brilliant. The intensity, fervor, and complete earnestness of this former yakuza in his approach to household chores, shopping, and all the rest is magnificent to behold. I would certainly be interested in learning more about The Immortal Dragon’s wife and the story behind them settling down into marital bliss, but even if that is never more than hinted at, I expect The Way of the Househusband will continue to be immensely satisfying and ridiculous in the best sort of ways. I was not at all disappointed by the first volume and am eagerly awaiting future installments. – Ash Brown

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 | By Kousuke Oono | VIZ Media – Tatsu used to be a revered yakuza known as “The Immortal Dragon,” but now he’s given up that life to pursue happy domesticity. Seldom has a series won my heart so quickly. It actually wasn’t the “cozy yakuza comedy” aspect, though that offers plenty of amusing scenarios, from Tatsu thoroughly intimidating an unscrupulous door-to-door salesman to drafting rival thugs to help him at a bargain sale to taking cooking lessons with a bunch of ladies to exclaiming “hot damn” over a great deal on cabbage. No, it was the cat, curiously sauntering into the background to survey the goings-on. The kitty has the best reactions (and some bonus chapters of his own). Tatsu’s career-woman/otaku wife Miku is great, too, and I look forward to the story of how they met. This short volume goes by swiftly, but it is quite the treat. – Michelle Smith

Why Shouldn’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love? Vol. 1 | By Nekomata Nuko and teffish| Sol Press – This book is like just eating pure sugar from the bag. For once the demon lord is the one summoned to another world. He’s fine with that, as a) everyone hated and misunderstood him in his own world, and b) his summoner is a hot young woman raising two cute orphan children. He’s nice. She’s nice. The kids are nice. Even the tsundere kid is really nice. There is an evil lord and his evil assistant, and they are the standard “I have no redeeming features” brand of evil, but you get the sense they were put in by editorial decree. The author just likes writing sweet married life scenes. I don’t know whether this deserves more volumes, but it was pretty good. – Sean Gaffney

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 3 | By Kamome Shirahama | Kodansha Comics – It’s titles like these that make you realize the sorts of things Harry Potter didn’t do. After resolving the cliffhanger of the previous volume, Coco continues to learn how to be a witch, helped by a young man in a potions workshop who can’t see colors, which makes it hard to, well, tell potions apart, as absentminded folks don’t really label them well. He’s a smart cookie, though, and shows her a shortcut that might help save her mother. Meanwhile, a lot of forces are making things more difficult for her—both actual antagonists, giving her secret powerful ink, or her own teacher, who may be more of a smiling villain than anything else. One of the best new titles this year. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown