#Masaki Kaoru

[save-the-data]

Solliev0 | S01E06

Japanese Drama - 2024, 6 episodes

Episodes | Viki | YouTube | Netflix | WeTV | Catalogue

Native Title: #ソッリエーヴォ

Genres: #Drama

Tags: #Half-Brothers #Revenge #Friendship #Bromance

Cast: #Wada Takuma #Someya Toshiyuki #Yokota Ryugi #Isaka Ikumi #Masaki Kaoru

[onigiriico]

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So I got the VisuPri stageplay DVD and it’s beautiful. Please have a look at Dimitri holding a wedding ceremony for his bugs and Hyde being done with him for (almost) two minutes straight.

First time putting subs on a video so apologies if it’s a bit wonky 😅

I won’t be posting much about this for copyright reasons but this was too hilarious not to lmao

[haveyouseenthistoku]

[tinyreviews]

Tiny Review: The Boy And The Heron 2023. Passive boy in isekai.

Is there any story really? Or just contrived mishmash of events.

I really like the ending song.

The Boy and the Heron is a 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli, the voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake.

[may8chan]

[x0401x]

Hello, can you speak about episodes 7 and 8 of Tsurune S2, always enjoy reading your thoughts on the episodes, and thanks so much for sharing them!!

I've talked about episode 7 in a previous ask, so I'm gonna leave my impressions of episode 8 here. As a bonus, I'm also gonna talk about episodes 9 and 10, as an apology for taking so long to answer this ask. ;v;

I'm gonna start with the positive points, just like I did with episode 7, because there's so much goodness in this one. I love the first scenes so much. Sen and Man's morning practice with Shuu, Kazemai and the twins finding out that Ryouhei and Shuu are now friends, Daigo and Nanao bonding, the girls getting excited at Kirisaki's high school campus, Minato being a bow nerd... so wholesome.

But my favorite part has to be that moment where Kaito thinks the Kirisaki girls are about to approach Nanao and tries to block them out... except they go talk to Rika instead. That was so fucking funny. And so in-character too. Plus Seiya noticing the whole thing and giving Kaito a follow-up? Nice touch. He 100% would.

I love that we see more of the Kirisaki team in this episode. We barely get to see Hiroki and Daigo, so it was nice to have them interact in this one. I still think we have a major lack of them and the twins in this season, though, but given the direction that the anime is going, it can't be helped.

I like that we finally got the whole flashback where Minato learns about Eisuke's original shooting style and Eisuke learns about Minato being Saionji's apprentice. It's fascinating how much character study you can do in that one scene, especially the way Eisuke goes from flattered to straight-up hostile in a matter of seconds with a single piece of information. He's being nothing but sarcastic and petty when he says it's incredible that Minato was accepted as apprentice, but Minato (being Minato) doesn't take notice of it.

The joint practice was great and highlighted in very subtle ways why Manji should return to the team. Kaoru and Umetarou getting to have a role in that kind of warmed my heart. Also, the scene in the dorm. Just fantastic. The way we got to see everyone's rooms and the difference in size between the rooms of the first and second-years in comparison to the third-years'. Daigo's Noririn shrine. The crest of the dorm being purple irises. The nod to the novel during the takoyaki party time. Heart eyes. Nothing but heart eyes.

All in all, this episode was really damn good. The only things that had me raising a brow at certain moments were stuff that I have already discussed before, such as Eisuke for some reason insisting that his team should win without help from anyone, not even their school itself (except this time he had to reluctantly give in and take budget money for a training camp). Or Minato being a little too innocent and not realizing, even now that he's in high school, just how openly resentful Eisuke is towards him.

That last one bothers me in particular, as it implies that Minato has no negative feelings towards Eisuke simply because he doesn't notice how shitty Eisuke is to him. Not only is Eisuke's hostility mostly internal, Minato is also unrealistically oblivious of Eisuke's words and actions. The anime even makes a point to change his first interaction with Minato and make it so that Eisuke approaches Shuu instead.

In the novel, Minato knows very well that Eisuke has a deep-seated grudge against him and Shuu, and both of them have been directly and indirectly offended by it in every interaction they have with him, yet Minato chooses to be nice to Eisuke regardless. It takes Minato a while to get rid of his innitial resentment towards Eisuke, but he does, and he does it consciously. He acknowledges that Eisuke is mean as hell and doesn't make up any excuses to justify why he's liket that (because, let's be honest, this is what we'd get in any other sports series). Yet he still decides to be good, not because he's naïve, but because he has matured. That's the difference. Novel!Minato sees Eisuke for what he is and accepts it. He takes in the bad things Eisuke has said and done and forgives them. Rather, I'd say he makes them null. Not because Eisuke had a reason to be like that (nothing justifies it), but because Minato is quite literally above it all. It had irritated him at first, but after he went through a certain amount of enlightenment, it just stopped mattering. That's Zen and that's what his character is about.

The anime seems to think Minato is pure simply because he's clueless. To be fair, he's clueless about a lot of things, but he learns. And then he picks the right path, sometimes consciously, sometimes subconsciously. It all depends on what the situation calls for, and in this case, it was calling for a conscious choice.

Now for episode 9.

Another wholesome one, though not as much, as there was some friction going on. It's funny that the friction was one-sided on Eisuke's part, though.

Again, this episode doesn't have negative points aside from what I've already mentioned a lot before. I like that the anime also took some time to make Kazemai and Tsujimine bond a little. It was refreshing and cute. I think, if the author had more space within the page count of each volume, she might've included something like this in the story.

Speaking of bonding, gotta love that the show is finally giving us proper interaction between Seiya and Kaito, especially Seiya fucking around, but it's hilarious to me that it was done in the most non-gay manner possible. The scene where Seiya doesn't wear his spare glasses on purpose just to get Kaito to do things for him is the finest example of that. In canon, Seiya makes it very clear that he's pissed and wants Kaito to make up for breaking his glasses, and Kaito responds to his demands without question because he feels genuinely sorry and wants to be forgiven. After all, he broke Seiya's glasses by accident in the novel when Seiya tried to stop him from breaking Eisuke's whole face, so Seiya is twice as angry and Kaito is twice as guilty. And of course, the anime didn't show what happens after that. Nor did it show Seiya's implied jealousy of Nanao, his prank on Kaito during the night or him cleaning up Kaito's face the next day.

The anime is also insisting on Eisuke's don't-wanna-own-anyone-anything attitude without explaining why exactly he is like this. It's getting a little tiring to see that in every single episode and not be given a concrete reason for it. We got an explanation as to why he's so hellbent on winning against Shuu and Minato, all right, but why the insistence in not relying on anyone? The only thing I can think of is that anime seems to be trying to sell him as a tsundere. They keep trying so hard to make him cute and likable and don't see that it makes his character kind of confusing. He's so determined to win, yet he keeps nitpicking his methods only when it comes to relying on adults and on using money. Even money from the school and club budget, which he 100% has the right to use as a student. He wouldn't be owning anyone anything for that, since his family is literally paying for him to go to school in the first place. Make it make sense, KyoAni.

Also, I really like that the anime decided to give us more details on his relationship with Shigeru, but did they have to add that scene where Eisuke is rude as fuck to him? That one made me cringe big time. I don't know how it got translated in the subs or dub but I don't like that dialogue. Nope. Not cool.

Especially not cool when it's followed by, you guessed it, Masaki and Eisuke's exchange at the beach. It's a very different interaction from what we got in the novel and seems to have been framed in order to favor Eisuke and how amazing he is. In the novel, they have a talk during practice, prompted by Eisuke's willingness to do anything in order to get a hit. He's basically doing yumiate, which isn't the point of kyudo, so Masaki approaches him discreetly and lectures him in the nicest, most indirect way possible, AKA the Zen way. But in the anime, Zen is out the window. Masaki and Eisuke even boast about their school getting stronger and being the one that will crush the other's team, and I can understand Eisuke having that kind of beginner mindset because he's just a teenager, but Masaki? Hello??? Winning isn't the goal. Even having a goal isn't the goal. Kyudo isn't a sport. That's literally the first thing about it and KyoAni forgot. They got so caught up in trying to show off that they completely slipped up in this one. I'm crying blood. They 100% don't realize this was a fail.

Other than that, this scene is all about praising Eisuke, and his only flaw is that he doesn't take it to heart due to his trust issues. Like. At this point, it just feels like we're being force-fed the same information over and over again because Eisuke just keeps getting so much attention, way beyond what seems necessary, while Kirisaki is relegated to the sidelines with Shuu being the only exception (but even he isn't getting as much attention as in the books). It's a little bit too obvious by now that KyoAni is trying to invest in Eisuke as their trumpcard to attract a bigger audience for this season. They're doing with him the same thing they did with Seiya in S1, changing his whole character in a desperate attempt to make him endearing and seem desperate to make the fans like him (as well as Koushirou, by extension). They also have to fill up the extra time they get from trying to get rid of any actually gay content, so they're giving us excessive amounts of him, while simultaneously managing not to expose what truly matters.

I mean, I don't know who else noticed this, but after getting this far into the story and having so much Eisuke content shoved down our throats in every episode, we haven't been presented to a lot of basic things about him. For example, the fact he has photosensibility and that's why he wears a hoodie all the time. Or his claustrophobia. Or his mental and emotional instability. Those are all things that make him relatable, but they're not cute, so there doesn't seem to be much interest in showing that part of him. So yeah, it's not really about Eisuke, it's about how KyoAni can use him as a tool to get viewers hooked while simultaneously buying time.

This trend continues into episode 10, where we begin with a flashback of how Eisuke joined Tsujimine's kyudo club. Eisuke is portrayed as the guy who brought the members of the club together and is leading them single-handedly to the nationals like some messiah. The novel scene where he tries to cheat during practice half-assedly makes it to this episode, with Touma making the mistake instead of Eisuke (for no reason other than not knowing any better) and Eisuke deciding to cover it up instead of doing it himself. Once again, Eisuke is doing something wrong, it's watered down to make him look good even when it's not a good look.

At long last, Minato finally finds out that Eisuke basically sees him and Shuu as enemies on a personal level. Not because he realized it but because Koushirou decided to spill the beans. And yet it doesn't seem to affect him much. In the end, he manages to know and stay clueless at the same time, so there's no need for him to make an effort to process and accept Eisuke and his resentment.

On the topic of Koushirou, he's as out of character as can be, but I like his description of what goes on in his mind when he draws the bow. The Heike reference was great. An awesome nod to how old kyudo is and how much it permeates Japanese culture. Chuunibyou as fuck, but good.

And then there's Masaki and Eisuke's convo at the baths. Nice visual language where Eisuke is in the smaller bath in comparison to Masaki, which highlights that Masaki is more experient, more mature and more knowledgeable, therefore more skilled. The content of the conversation is also good. The only problem is that the anime is getting closer to a territory that I'm not sure it wants to go, which is to present Masaki as an excellent coach only when he's lecturing someone from a different team. When he's teaching Kazemai, he's portrayed a fine mentor, but his real worth only ever seems to be revealed when he's before either Kirisaki or Tsujimine. That's where he truly stands out. Easy to tell that it's because those moments are mostly shown through Minato's perspective in the books, with him either admiring Masaki or longing for him all the while, and KyoAni is having none of that gay shit. But by trying so hard to keep Minato and Masaki five feet apart like two bros sitting in a bathtub, they accidentally make Masaki a better teacher when he's helping out or making demonstrations to rival teams.

I'm losing my mind because, holy crap, what have we come to? Masaki is literally having a bonding moment with Eisuke out of all people before having any bonding moment with Minato this entire season aside from that one scene at Yata Shrine, if you can call that a bonding moment at all. KyoAni has managed to make them barely give a fuck about each other in the span of 10 episodes. Actually, screw that; it managed to give them nothing to care about regarding each other aside from club-related stuff, since KyoAni has rid the anime of anything these two could bond over to begin with. Masaki didn't get his scar saving Minato's life, Minato's hand injury was never a thing, their fight never happened and so neither did their make-up, we never get to see what Minato is thinking outside of the dojo, Masaki's background is never touched upon again aside from archery-related facts, Minato didn't get sick so no hospital scene, etc. The list is endless. They've been stripped bare of any reason to care about each other on a personal level, so they just... don't.

As a result, at least to me, it feels like they barely exist within the story. I feel like I've hardly seen them at all this whole time, even though they were always there. I've learned nothing about them even though we've been shown a lot of stuff about Minato, because almost none of it was his emotions or the inner machinations of his mind. It was mostly just facts. This is probably the most fatal mistake that Yamamura Takuya made in S1, and he's repeating it in S2: he seems to have no interest in Minato as a protagonist.

This anime almost feels like an experiment to prove that Minato and Masaki are so deeply connected to each other as characters that when you take Masaki out of the equation, Minato is almost empty. Nearly every bit of personal information regarding Minato is related to Masaki one way or another, and Minato is usually the readers' gateway to getting to know Masaki. So when KyoAni insists on keeping them away from each other, the result is that they lose a lot of their essence and the story is left with holes in it, which KyoAni tried to fill up with Seiya in the previous season, and now they're using Eisuke for it. In short, Minato is being pushed to the background in the story he was supposed to be leading as the main character while secondary characters are used as a disposable means to draw the audience in because the director apparently can't bring himself to give two shits about him.

And, like, some people will enjoy this season and some won't, but regardless of opinions, this approach is objectively a fail on KyoAni's part. Whether the anime is good or not on its own is up for debate, but as for whether it's a good adaptation or not, I think we can all agree by now that no, it isn't. Not even because it's not faithful to the original, but because it keeps committing these narrative suicides. The plot doesn't care much for its own protagonist and tries to seek depth by latching onto a specific character. Minato is basically becoming a secondary character in his own story.

I think episode 10 did a great job on showcasing that, even though it obviously wasn't the intention. Especially the latter half of it, from the moment Minato and Eisuke get stuck in the elevator. In the novel, this scene was about both of them, but mostly about Minato. In the anime, it's entirely about Eisuke. Minato is literally used as a vessel for more of Eisuke's backstory to be revealed. We don't get Eisuke hyperventilating and Minato helping him stay grounded because he's had the same experience after the car accident that took his mother's life. Instead, we get Eisuke receiving a call from his aunt about Shigeru being hospitalized for the nth time and Eisuke freaking out. We don't get Minato collapsing with a fever from the emotional batter and Masaki taking him to the hospital, which leads to a heart-to-heart and Minato getting the necessary strength to overcome the hurdle. Instead, we get Minato and Masaki taking Eisuke to see Shigeru, and the whole thing is about how Eisuke feels and how helpful they were to him. This ordeal was originally Minato-centric in the books, yet KyoAni does everything in its power to make it be about Eisuke instead, because the original content is too inexcusably gay for the screen.

Which brings us to the last scene of this episode before the credits roll: the car scene. The only thing it has in common with its novel counterpart is that it's a scene where Minato and Masaki are having a conversation in Masaki's car at night in the middle of nowhere. I do like that it added a reference to volume 1, because we completely missed Minato's inner monologue during the last match in S1. But that's about it. We didn't get anything else.

And then the credits roll, and we end this episode with Minato promising that Kazemai will defeat Tsujimine. Again, the whole point of kyudo goes way over KyoAni's head. So does the point of Minato as a character. Minato isn't my favorite character, but I almost feel bad for him. I wish someone in this production team would bother to make him the protagonist aside from when the tournaments are going on.

[whatamigonnawatchtoday]

The Boy and the Heron

2023. Animated Fantasy

By Hayao Miyazaki

Starring (voices): Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Shōhei Hino, Ko Shibasaki, Kaoru Kobayashi, Jun Kunimura, Keiko Takeshita, Jun Fubuki, Sawako Agawa, Shinobu Otake, Karen Takizawa

Country: Japan

Language: Japanese

[randomrichards]

THE BOY AND THE HERON:

Boy stewing in grief

Enters a world of life and death

Learning how to live

[stuff-diary]

The Boy and the Heron

Movies watched in 2023

The Boy and the Heron (2023, Japan)

Director & Writer: Hayao Miyazaki

Mini-review:

What a wonderful film. I knew Hayao Miyazaki would not disappoint me, but I didn't think I'd love The Boy and the Heron this much. I'm really glad I stayed away from all the promotional material, as Ghibli originally intended, cause that allowed me to be taken by surprise by this story, this world and these characters. It's definitely Miyazaki's weirdest and most esoteric film, and one of his most ambitious too. But that Ghibli magic we all love so much is as present as ever, and the movie is just so original. I really can't think of any other films like this one, and it kept me enthralled during its entire run. Its fascinating rumination on life, death and grief takes center stage through some of the smoothest and most delightful animation I have ever seen. Not to mention the character and creature designs, which are among Miyazaki's most fun work. To sum up, this is a must-watch for any Ghibli fans, and I recommend going in as blind as possible.

[shinmiyovvi]

Bell Ocs from COD Black Ops Cold War 💖

I got lazy with doing the lineart but anyways, this was supposed to be a redraw of the previous fanart of these two. Now then, let me introduce to you my sweet yet deadly Japanese babygirl and a criminal-minded and smuggy Russian boi Kaoru Sasaki and Dimitri Volkov 💖 I'll introduce these two troublemakers to you guys soon 🤭

The old fanart of Kaoru and Dimitri

(Side note: I AM SO HAPPY WITH THE CHANGE OF ART STYLE LIKE JUST LOOK HOW IT EVOLVES OUT OF NOWHERE 😭💖💖💖)

[milliondollarbaby87]

The Boy and the Heron (2023) Review

Mahito a young boy who during the war loses his mother and must then move to the family estate in the countryside away from Tokyo. He then must deal with a new stepmother and a mysterious grey heron that had been following him around, heading into an ancient tower will change everything as he knows it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ *Original title: Kimitachi wa dô ikiru ka* Subbed version Continue reading Untitled

[save-the-data]

Solliev0 | S01E03

Japanese Drama - 2024, 6 episodes

Episodes | Viki | YouTube | Netflix | WeTV | Catalogue

Native Title: #ソッリエーヴォ

Genres: #Drama

Tags: #Half-Brothers #Revenge #Friendship #Bromance

Cast: #Wada Takuma #Someya Toshiyuki #Yokota Ryugi #Isaka Ikumi #Masaki Kaoru

[jmunneytumbler]

Hayao Miyazaki Swoops In Out of Retirement to Deliver 'The Boy and the Heron'

Hayao Miyazaki Swoops In Out of Retirement to Deliver 'The Boy and the Heron'

Boy? Or Heron? (CREDIT: GKIDS) Starring: Japanese Cast: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Yoshina Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Shōhei Hino, Ko Shibasaki, Kaoru Kobayashi, Jun Kunimura English Dubbed Cast: Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson, Karen Fukuhara, Gemma Chan, Christian Bale, Mark Hamill, Florence Pugh, Willem Dafoe, Dave Bautista Director: Hayao Miyazaki Running Time: 124 Minutes Rating: PG-13…

[wutlaikalikes]

April & May drawings

I only have one drawing from April and that is Kaoru. The only reason why I stopped drawing is because I don’t have any more pages left on my sketch pad. I haven’t been using my tablet so I have forgotten I can draw on it. The last image is a screenshot of a dairy app.

[hirocimacruiser]

K12 Nissan March from the 2003 Nissan March Cup

NISSAN MARCH CUP

East Japan Series/West Japan Series/Champion Cup

●Nissan March Cup

The 2003 March Cup was switched to the current model K12 and refurbished. Two series were held, EAST JAPAN and WEST JAPAN, and Kaoru Ijiri won the title with an overwhelming performance in both races. Furthermore, he dominated the championship match held in Suzuka, making the new March Cup truly a solo stage for Ijiri.

Despite being in its first year since being renamed K12, the March Cup has had over 30 entries in every race. The reason for this is that it targets not only beginners, but also drivers who are no longer satisfied with the number-free racing that is popular these days. A race-ready kit car was sold at a value price of less than 1.6 million yen. As a result, drivers who had driven K11 until 2002 were able to make a smooth transition, and it became extremely popular.

The EAST JAPAN series, which takes place in Motegi, Tsukuba, and Fuji, and the WEST JAPAN series, which take place in TI and MINE, will each hold five races. In addition, the championship race, which used to be held during the series, has now been changed to the end of the series, and the driver with the most total points earned in this race and each series will be awarded the Fairlady Z. Needless to say, this was one of the attractions.

The memorable first race of the new March Cup was held at TI. The winner here was Ijiri Kao. The driver, who had extensive experience not only in touring cars but also in formula racing, continued to dominate. At Fuji, the opening race of the EAST JAPAN series, he remained in 5th place due to contact on the final lap, but this was the only race in which he lost. From the second round onwards, it was all pole-to-win. He was originally scheduled to only appear in the opening round, but he re-entered the WEST JAPAN Series from the third round.

He won three consecutive games and won two titles. Ijiri categorically stated that the reason for such a fast advance was ``I was able to finish the car faster than anyone else.'' However, at the same time, he also acknowledges his own growth. ``Perhaps because I was able to win the March Cup, I am able to race while keeping an eye on the big picture. Before, I was only thinking about the short term. Now, I can run with a lot of leeway, and I am able to set the time on the lap I aimed for in qualifying.

Now I can do it.'' There is no way that Ijiri would be weak even in the championship match. Although there was a fierce battle for second place between Masaki Nishihata, Shingo Kanaya, and former motorcycle racer Kazuto Sakata, he managed to come out on top and completely dominate the 2010 March Cup. Of course, you can also hold Fairlady Z in your hands. It's been 10 years since March's one-make race, and it's just the 20th anniversary.

At this juncture in history, even more fierce battles are expected.

PIC CAPTIONS.

The new March Cup has gained popularity not only from participants but also from spectators due to its cute appearance. However, the exhaust sound is loud and the movement is sharp. Attractive and impressive that sets it apart from numbered races

The March Cup is an easy and inexpensive introductory race, but it also uses a data logger, making it perfect for serious skill development. There were 36 entries at Fuji at the start of EAST JAPAN SERES.

From the opening round, Ijiri's speed was outstanding, and his rivals were lagging behind throughout the year. He is currently winning the special award Z for his performance worthy of leaving his name as the first-year champion.

[demifiendrsa]

NieR:Automata Ver1.1a -  Promotion File 008

NieR:Automata Ver1.1a will premiere on January 7, 2023.

Cast

Yui Ishikawa as 2B

Natsuki Hanae as 9S

Hiroki Yasumoto as Pod 042

Kaoru Akiyama as Pod 153

Commander White: Chiaki Kano

Operator 6O: Keiko Isobe

Operator 21O: Mary Hatsumi

Adam: Daisuke Namikawa

Eve: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Atsumi Tanezaki as Lily

Ayaka Suwa as A2

Staff

Director: Ryoji Masuyama

Series Composition: Yoko Taro, Ryoji Masuyama

Character Design/Animation Director: Jun Nakai

Music:MONACA

Action Supervision, Prop Design: Shun Tachibana (Key Animation, My Senpai Is Annoying)

CG Action Supervision, Blender Supervision: Masaki Inada

Blender Supervision: Takahiro Kawakoshi 

2D Work: Mie Hiraga

Military Research: Ken'ichi Kaneko

Art Supervision: Hiroshi Katō 

Art Director: Hirofumi Sakagami

Art: Totonyan

Art Setting: Takeyuki Takahashi

Color Key Artist: Takahiro Mogi

CG Director: Yuusuke Noma

Sub CG Director: Takeshi Ōkawa

Compositing Director of Photography: Toshiaki Aoshima

Editing: Akinori Mishima

Sound Director: Yukio Nagasaki

Animation Production: A-1 Pictures