#Shinshi Doumei Kurosu

[shojoboy]

Remember how Gentleman’s Alliance Cross did the whole BL bait thing w 2 guys pretending to b dating, which wasn’t that unusual for shoujo really, but then actually had one of the guys doing it to prove to his genderfluid female-passing love interest that he prefers men so he couldn’t date her even tho she only presented femme because SHE thought he was straight, I think they end up together somehow but really wtf was this Shakespearean transgay drama doing hiding in the B plots of a early 2000s shoujo manga. I mean thanks tho, Tanemura sensei

[sutas-little-puppy]

Guess who has a new cosplay~~♡ Also legs for dayyyysss The wig is brighter in the picture than it is irl >x>

[afreakingdork]

Review Revisited: The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross

So after I posted my 2007 Manga Reviews I got to thinking about how those series formed my early manga opinions and how much I’ve grown as a person since reading them. In the spirit of that, I thought it would be a great idea to revisit those series of yore and update my reviews of them with my older, wiser perspective. 

The first up is the first that was on the list and a series that was closer to my heart than I remembered: Shinkuro (Shinshi Doumei Kurosu or The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross). Here’s the 2007 review as a refresher: 

ShinKuro: Or Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross for those that aren’t familar with it…Ok so I love this series and its awesome bottom line~ 1-3 are out currently, its one of those stories you gotta read over at least 4 times before you understand the plot, or maybe i have a focus problems who knows, all i know is you need to go out and read this, its got everything yo! Straight, yuri, yaoi…idk I’m not much of a gay fangirl, but hey ya gotta cover japanese basics~

Before I get into the veritable mountain of things I want to talk about (I mean, I have 14 years of feelings to sort through), I first want to tell a story of fate. When I decided to re-do these reviews, I went to look for my old manga. It’s not far, about 50 steps away to my bookshelf, but I didn’t see Shinkuro anywhere. Confused, I waited until the next time I visited my mom to look there and could not find it. I knew when I moved out of her house in 2017 I had sold some extra books to make the move easier, but couldn’t recall a specific memory of packing them up. I checked my email and the only clue was a listing on eBay, but there was no sold email attached. I’m usually really diligent with stuff like that, so I was totally stumped. Regardless, I had no manga, so I went ahead and started reading it on some pirating website. Now, I don’t condone these sites, but I couldn’t find the series anywhere else for whatever reason. I was only able to get a few chapters in before I just couldn’t take it anymore. The site I was using (one of the only sites to even have a pirated version. Seriously, why had this series totally disappeared from the US lexicon!?) only had a fan-scan of the series. Now, Shinkuro is something I’ve read many, many, many times and, while the fan-scan wasn’t unreadable, I kept getting really hung up on how different it was from what I remembered. I would read a line and my brain would make an error noise and respond with what the line should be. As I clicked through the pages, the errors piled up more and more and my brain was relentless about how the lines should have been translated. 

Frustrated, I totally gave up and the next time I saw my mom I told her of my plight. I could see the lightbulb go off over her head and she asked me if ‘that wasn’t the manga that didn’t sell on eBay and I gave to her to give away?’ I was taken aback; I hadn’t told her about the eBay email I found and instead only told her I couldn’t find the series I didn’t think I had gotten rid of. She said it was stored in a guest bedroom with a bunch of junk we were going to sell just before the pandemic struck last year. I was still incredulous, but she went back there with me to look for it. Now, no one knows my mom like I do, but I will tell you she is absolute garbage at describing stuff. She gave me this crazy description about a box that was the size of a loaf of bread and it had a hinge on it and I had no idea how that worked with cardboard. It took a long time, moving a metric shitton of full-to-the-brim boxes around to no avail. Since we were getting to the bottom of boxes that were stacked high, we were tag teaming the project where one person would lift and the other would rummage. It was at the bottom of a box in a 3-box stack that mom deemed the box incorrect by only shoving her hand inside. She said she felt a box, but it didn’t feel right so she moved on. I felt a pull and tilted my head so that I could see into the only sliver on the box, a tiny crack. I told her ‘I saw a box that looked kinda like a shoe box and is that what she meant by a hinge?’ She said she wasn’t sure, but we made quick work taking down the stack to reveal the smaller box. Upon closer inspection she said this had to be it and as I opened it there lay the entire 11 volume series. I tell you, I almost sobbed right there on the spot. What are the chances that I would try to sell the series, it wouldn’t sell (I listed all 11 volumes for 40$!!!), I would give it to mom to give away, she wouldn’t do so (she wasn’t sure what the age range for the books were), and then years later we would happen across it and mom would dismiss it while I pressed to check, to find these books. They were meant to stay with me is the only conclusion I can make and after re-reading the series I can say this is totally true, so let’s get into my renewed feelings: 

So, looking at my old review, I know exactly what my younger self meant by rereading the same bit 4 times to understand. Arina Tanemura has a penchant for putting 1000 screentones over every page and sometimes she swiftly moves through conversations and even locations between panels on the same page. It’s a breakneck speed to try to give every character of this ensemble class a time to shine. There’s also the hurdles of Tanemura’s style that can’t be ignored. When my partner saw the manga, he asked me if all the art really looked like that and I showed him that, yes indeed, and that was almost a pretty standard art style for shoujou manga from that time period. He was aghast and didn’t believe he could read something like that and I can totally see how that would be off-putting for the average reader (I’m not average in the sense that I’ve read it so many times I know all the ins and outs). For example, in middle school Haine cut her hair off and dyed it blond. She dyes it back when she goes to high school, but halfway through the series she cuts it and dyes it back to blond for Ushio’s sake. Tanemura doesn’t change ANY screentones during this time and you only find out that Haine dyes her her back ONCE AGAIN in a throw away line. I’ve held the pages up side-by-side and it’s totally indiscernible when Haine’s hair is blond vs. brown. 

That being said, one of the greatest parts of this series is how it was translated. There was so much love and care put into these Notes on the Text that it was the perfect series to start shaping my understanding of Japanese culture and writing. Instead of just a glossary saying what ‘-san’ meant as a suffix, these sections go so far as to explain why certain phrases were translated as they were and explain what the original Japanese text said and how it was a joke or a play on words. That is so rare to see in manga and I feel like it should be more standard. 

Now to face the elephant in the room head-on: let’s look into the LGBT+ themes in the series. 2007 Alex was quite afraid and prejudiced against queer culture. I can’t tell you where exactly it stemmed from because I don’t really remember feeling that way. I know it happened, I have evidence and my friends’ testimonies, but it doesn’t feel like I had that much hate in my heart. It’s systemic to our culture and that may be why, but regardless, I feel awful that I once felt that way. I was scared getting into this series that the LGBT+ themes would be handled so poorly as it often is in manga. Thankfully, that didn’t end up wholly being the case. In her author’s notes, Tanemura stated multiple times that she was not a fan of mlm or wlw content, but she wanted to use this series to push herself to do a lot of things she didn’t like otherwise. I want to put an excerpt on her final thoughts on those themes in the series here: 

I don’t know how the readers feel, but I’ve never been very fond of reading guy x guy and girl x girl relationships. But that was another reason for me to have done this series. I thought the series would have a nice twist to it if I tried to draw something I didn’t like. 

I regularly challenge myself to eat things I don’t like. I don’t like the idea of having dislikes, so it became an opportunity for me to get over that. 

And the result was... I still couldn’t get myself to be interested in it. So it’ll probably be a topic I’ll never write about again. But I think it was still worth it that I found that out. 

I won’t take the time to break down homophobia in Japanese society, but I find it interesting that Tanemura sees queer relationships not as a real thing in her stories, but instead as a commodity that she can compare to tastes in food. I found the story lines really compelling. Take Maora, for example. Tanemura refers to Maora as eccentric for cross dressing in her author notes, but in story Maora is actually characterized with a surprising amount of care on the subject. While some may view Maora as a ‘trap,’ I would instead posit that he’s genderfluid. Obviously he goes by he/him, but I think it’s so interesting that when told that boys couldn’t marry, Maora goes to great lengths to present as a female so Maguri and him could be together as they always wanted. When Maguri rejects this because he’s gay and prefers male presenting individuals, Maora holds on to his ‘femininity’ because it means something to him. All the work he put in is a representation of his love and later becomes something that he enjoys doing. There are, of course, a few pitfalls. I’m not a fan of the fact that when going to the Emperor’s Association meeting, Maora feels like he must dress more masculine because it’s a serious event (giving the connotation that dressing feminine is just a frivolous thing). I also really hate one of Maora’s final lines in the penultimate arc when the student council is breaking into Shuichiro’s house and he says “Don’t you blush! I’m a guy!” before kicking someone. I think Tanemura meant for that to be a cool one-liner, but instead it just undercuts who Maora is. 

On the flip side, I really like how Ushio’s love of Haine is characterized. While Ushio’s means of capturing Haine aren’t the best, I think her love is a beautiful arc. Ushio fell in love with a blond yanki that happened to break into her house to hide when she was at the lowest point in her life. When Haine has her night with Shizumasa and decides to ‘move back into the light,’ time stops for Ushio as Haine leaves her. Ushio is left looking for that person who saw her when everything else in her life was filled with hate. There is a beautiful story there where she realizes her love for Haine isn’t romantic or sexual love, but instead the powerful love in friendship. This story always holds the different types of love in high regard. It is stated multiple times that Takanari and Haine both hold their best friends in their hearts higher than their romantic partners and I adore that. It’s such a healthier way to represent relationships. Your romantic partners shouldn’t just supersede your other loves just because. 

The development of loves on the other hand can be a bit rocky. The bonus story between Kusame and Komaki is always one I held in such high regard because it’s characterization of changing love. Kusame, who’s been in love with Haine, starts dating her sister Komaki out of obligation and he ends up falling in love with her not because she’s similar to Haine, but instead because of how different she is and how those were things that he grew to appreciate and love about her instead. Can you say relationship goals?!  Contrasting that, you have the relationships between Itsuki Otomiya, Kazuhito Kamiya, and Maika Rikyuu. Maika and Itsuki were secretly dating in high school and Kazuhito sweeps in, steals the position of emperor from Itsuki by underhanded means and ensnares Maika in a marriage due to obligation for her family’s failing company. Over time, Maika grows to love Kazuhito and the whole thing always left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe if the pages had been given a little more time it could have worked, there’s small signifiers, like how Kazuhito and Maika met and were friends before he pulled his repulsive plot. There was a precedent that the two got along and could have fallen in love, but instead it went full Stockholm and that is painted as ok. I do want to take a moment to say that scene where Itsuki returns from visiting Maika for the first time since all that happened where his current wife Ryouka stayed up because she was afraid he was going to leave her and he reassures her that he would have never done so was downright incredible. 

The timeline of Maika losing her memories confounds me as a way to keep her away from Haine. I know Kazuhito didn’t give her much choice in the matter, but she had a whole other child before she started to lose her memories and there is quite an age difference (like 7+ or so years) between Komaki and Tachibana, where Maika had her memories (for a few years?) and just made no effort to contact Haine in any way. It just seems overly cruel and unnecessary when Maika wrote a letter to Haine saying she would continue to write even though she couldn’t see her. I know a maid was watching her, but she couldn’t send a letter? She already sent one letter! Kazuhito’s goal was to give Haine back to Itsuki so she could live freely without the burden of his influence because he knows he’s an asshole that only cares about Maika and clipped her wings. He wants to atone for still keeping Maika trapped by letting Haine soar, but keeping Haine from at least talking to her mother through letters is just erroneous. That didn’t keep her free from him, it only made her miserable from not being able to talk to her mom. Ugh, just writing about it makes me so mad. 

It’s interesting to me that in her distaste for LGBT+ themes, Tanemura was about to have a polyamorous ending to the series. It’s disheartening that the only reason she didn’t do so was because she could only imagine there would be a power imbalance where Shizumasa would have been a pitiful party in such an arrangement. It’s not like I was rooting for a threesome (especially since two of them are twin brothers), but it’s an outdated view on what polyamorous relationships are actually like. Also, Takanari is the clear winner and I’m not sure why it’s ever a question for Haine. When you break it down, Haine really only spent one single night with Shizumasa while she actually had months and months of time built up with Takanari to build the foundation of a real relationship, but that’s neither here nor there. 

Overall, I’m so glad I re-read this series and I will never try to resell it ever again. It means so much to me and even though it’s CW levels of dramatic happenings (I can’t believe Toya pulled a gun on and shot Haine), there is a market for those things and they’re enjoyable in how bizarre they are. There’s obviously some failing to the story, but as a whole I still love it, even nostalgia aside. I think it’s a great series for those new to shoujou drama’s to read! 

Verdict: 

Read Right < Left 

[recentanimenews]

In Animated "Fate/Grand Order" Promo Prepares To Introduce You To The Woman of Agartha

When Fate/Grand Order first launched, it promised a seven-era epic Grail battle royale. That actually reached its climax in the Japanese version of the game last year. But never fear. There's lots more to come, as Japanese servers are now into Epic of Remnant, a 1.5 bridge to part two of its story. The second sub-singularity of this, Legendary Underground World Agartha: The Woman of Agartha, is starting up, and, presented in a webcast with Mafia Kajita, Ayako Kawasumi (Arturia), Nobunaga  Shimazaki (Arjuna) and Satoshi Tsuruoka (Gilles de Rais), an animated preview builds the hype.

        This Epic of Remnant bridge will include

Episode I: Shinjuku Phantom Incident (新宿幻霊事件, Shinjuku Genrei Jiken)

Keywords include: Free-Transforming Street Ruffian (変化自在の無頼漢, Henka-Jizai no Buraikan), Magic Bullet (魔弾, Madan), Empress of Puppets (人形の女帝, Ningyou no Jotei), Ally of JusticePerpetrator of Evil (正義の味方邪悪なる者, Seigi no MikataJyaaku-naru Mono), Phantom (幻霊, Genrei, lit. Phantasmal Spirit), Gentleman Criminal (犯罪紳士, Hanzai Shinshi), The Phantasmal League of Fiends (幻影魔人同盟, Genei Majin Doumei), Fallen Star (落ちる星,Ochiru-Boshi), TraitorDouble Cross (裏切り者ダブルクロス, UragirimonoDaburu Kurosu), Lament Beneath the Moon (月下の慟哭, Gekka no Doukoku)

Episode II: The Woman of Agartha (アガルタの女, Agaruta no Onna)

Keywords include: The Hollow Earth (地底大空洞, Chikyuu Dai-Kuudou, lit. Great Underground Cavern), Hero of Brutal Insanity (暴虐と狂乱の英雄, Bougyaku to Kyouran no Eiyuu), The Brilliant Fortress (煌々たる城塞,Koukou-taru Shousai), Jungle of Gold (黄金の密林, Ougon no Mitsurin), The Fragrance of Peaches (桃の芳香, Tou no Houkou),The War-Cry of the Women Warriors (女戦士たちの雄叫び, Onna-Senshi-tachi no Otakebi), Phantasmal Metropolis (幻影都市, Genei Toshi), The Skies of Void (無空の天, Mukuu no Sora), The Distortion of an Undistorted Wish (歪みなき願いの歪み, Yugami-naki Negai no Yugami)

Episode III: The Tournament of the Seven Blade-Master Heroes (英霊剣豪七番勝負, Eirei Kengou Shichiban Shoubu)

Keywords include: Pentacle (五芒星, Goubousei), The Beautiful Beast Smiles (美しき獣は嗤う, Utsukushiki Kemono wa Warau), Empyrio (エンピレオ, Enpirio), Purgatorio (プルガトリオ, Purugatorio), Inferno (インフェルノ, Inferuno), Zen and the Sword Are One (剣禅一如, Kenzen Ichinyo), In-Laiden Karma (埋め込まれた宿業, Umekomareta Shukugou), The Seven Blade-Master Heroes (英霊剣豪七騎, Eirei Kengou Shichiki), The Blade-Maiden of the Empyrean Eye (天眼の剣士, Tengan no Kenshi), Void and Infinity (無と、無限, Mu to, Mugen), The Annihilation of All (一切鏖殺, Isai Ousatsu), Rage Overflowing (狂瀾怒濤, Kyouran Dotou)

Episode IV: Salem of the Heresy (異端なるセイラム, Itan-naru Seiramu)

Keywords include: Witch Hunt (魔女狩り, Majo Gari), Witch Trials (魔女裁判, Majo Saiban), The Most Heretical of the Witches (最も異端なる魔女, Mottomo Itan-naru Majo), The Great Calamity (大いなる厄災,Oinaru Yakusai), Anno Domini 1692 (西暦1692年, Seireki 1692 Nen), Seven at the Gallows (七つの絞首,Nanatsu no Koushu, lit. Seven Hangings), Inescapable Accusation (逃れられぬ告発, Nogararenu Gokuhatsu), "Salem," Massachusetts (マサチューセッツ "セイレム", Masachu-settsu "Seiremu")

Servants (with true-names to be revealed in the story) for Agartha include:

Caster of the Nightless City

Assassin of the Nightless City

Berserker of El Dorado 

Female Servants, as well as Astolfo, Enkidu, and d'Eon, will receive a Bond EXP bonus throughout the Sub-Singularity.

------ Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime. 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[animefangirl22]

She'll be fine. She is strong after all. But people who are strong, are never without wounds. Weaklings will run away before they get hurt... But for those who are strong, the depths of their wounds will increase with their strength.

Kasuga Togu, Shinshi Doumei Cross, Chapter 37

[recentanimenews]

Saber Musashi Joins "Fate/Grand Order" For New Year's Event

The Fate/Grand Order smartphone RPG is gearing up for the kick-off of Epic of Remnant, a 1.5 bridge to part two of its story. In the meantime, it's gotten in a bit of New Year's celebration that including introduction of a new gender-swapped servant with legendary Japanese sword-genius Miyamoto Musashi. 

     Epic of Remnant is described:

The character that narrates the Trailer PV of Epic of Remnant gives that the story is to take place following the failure of Retrogression Canal・Genesis Light-Year (逆行運河・創世光年, Gyakkou-Unga・Sousei-Kounen) (also the name of the Arc Drive used by Aozaki Aoko in Melty Blood) -- "a bit of detective-work" that serves as a prelude to the 2nd Project. The coming conflict will be premised upon something that Chaldea critically overlooked in their efforts to preserve the Common Sense of Man -- "the beloved legacy of the King of Magecraft."

  And, the new year's goodies...

Episode I: Shinjuku Phantom Incident (新宿幻霊事件, Shinjuku Genrei Jiken)

Keywords include: Free-Transforming Street Ruffian (変化自在の無頼漢, Henka-Jizai no Buraikan), Magic Bullet (魔弾, Madan), Empress of Puppets (人形の女帝, Ningyou no Jotei), Ally of JusticePerpetrator of Evil (正義の味方邪悪なる者, Seigi no MikataJyaaku-naru Mono), Phantom (幻霊, Genrei, lit. Phantasmal Spirit), Gentleman Criminal (犯罪紳士, Hanzai Shinshi), The Phantasmal League of Fiends (幻影魔人同盟, Genei Majin Doumei), Fallen Star (落ちる星,Ochiru-Boshi), TraitorDouble Cross (裏切り者ダブルクロス, UragirimonoDaburu Kurosu), Lament Beneath the Moon (月下の慟哭, Gekka no Doukoku)

Episode II: The Woman of Agartha (アガルタの女, Agaruta no Onna)

Keywords include: The Hollow Earth (地底大空洞, Chikyuu Dai-Kuudou, lit. Great Underground Cavern), Hero of Brutal Insanity (暴虐と狂乱の英雄, Bougyaku to Kyouran no Eiyuu), The Brilliant Fortress (煌々たる城塞,Koukou-taru Shousai), Jungle of Gold (黄金の密林, Ougon no Mitsurin), The Fragrance of Peaches (桃の芳香, Tou no Houkou),The War-Cry of the Women Warriors (女戦士たちの雄叫び, Onna-Senshi-tachi no Otakebi), Phantasmal Metropolis (幻影都市, Genei Toshi), The Skies of Void (無空の天, Mukuu no Sora), The Distortion of an Undistorted Wish (歪みなき願いの歪み, Yugami-naki Negai no Yugami)

Episode III: The Tournament of the Seven Blade-Master Heroes (英霊剣豪七番勝負, Eirei Kengou Shichiban Shoubu)

Keywords include: Pentacle (五芒星, Goubousei), The Beautiful Beast Smiles (美しき獣は嗤う, Utsukushiki Kemono wa Warau), Empyrio (エンピレオ, Enpirio), Purgatorio (プルガトリオ, Purugatorio), Inferno (インフェルノ, Inferuno), Zen and the Sword Are One (剣禅一如, Kenzen Ichinyo), In-Laiden Karma (埋め込まれた宿業, Umekomareta Shukugou), The Seven Blade-Master Heroes (英霊剣豪七騎, Eirei Kengou Shichiki), The Blade-Maiden of the Empyrean Eye (天眼の剣士, Tengan no Kenshi), Void and Infinity (無と、無限, Mu to, Mugen), The Annihilation of All (一切鏖殺, Isai Ousatsu), Rage Overflowing (狂瀾怒濤, Kyouran Dotou)

Episode IV: Salem of the Heresy (異端なるセイラム, Itan-naru Seiramu)

Keywords include: Witch Hunt (魔女狩り, Majo Gari), Witch Trials (魔女裁判, Majo Saiban), The Most Heretical of the Witches (最も異端なる魔女, Mottomo Itan-naru Majo), The Great Calamity (大いなる厄災,Oinaru Yakusai), Anno Domini 1692 (西暦1692年, Seireki 1692 Nen), Seven at the Gallows (七つの絞首,Nanatsu no Koushu, lit. Seven Hangings), Inescapable Accusation (逃れられぬ告発, Nogararenu Gokuhatsu), "Salem," Massachusetts (マサチューセッツ "セイレム", Masachu-settsu "Seiremu")

   5★ Saber Miyamoto Musashi - illustrated by Hirokazu Koyama and voiced by Ayana Sakura

  Craft Essences 

Cheers To 2017 - Illustrated by Pikazo Mika 

  First Sunrise - illustrated by Kiichi Mifuji

  Firing The First Arrow - illustraed by Jiro Suzuki

  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - illustrated by Riyo

  There's also a soundtrack release, now scheduled for March 1st

【カルデア放送局より】 3月1日(水)発売「Fate/Grand Order Original Soundtrack Ⅰ」のジャケットイラストを公開！全国のCD取扱店舗／通販サイトほかにて、予約受付中です。詳しくは販売店にお問合せください。 #FateGO http://pic.twitter.com/If8PdGOKk4

— 【公式】Fate/Grand Order (@fgoproject) January 1, 2017

      via Fate/Grand ORder Wiki

 ------ Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com