#TOKI SHOWS MATURITY

[bl-bam-beyond]

SAHARA SENSEI TO TOKI-KUN (2024, JAPAN)

Episode 7

Post 2 of 2

Toki (HACHIMURA RINTARO) listens as it comes out that his crush Sahara (KIZU TAKUMI) and Sahara's former crush Nekoto (HORI KAITO) were separated by a misunderstanding (more or less)

Toki shows how true his feelings are for Sahara at his own detriment. He gives Sahara a push towards Nekoto allowing Sahara to pursue a feeling unfulfilled. Then Toki runs off.

Sahara realizes his feelings for his student out weigh what he once felt for Nekoto. And Nekoto sees it as well. The special connection between student and teacher. And insist Sahara go after Toki.

Note: Yes, Sahara is Toki's teacher and that's a line that shouldn't be crossed. However Toki isn't a child yet he is a minor. And is at the age of consent (based on Japanese law) though still murky waters. Sahara and Toki may end up together (previews suggest it)

@pose4photoml @lutawolf @kingofthereblog-boysloveed

[basu-shokikita]

something I’ll never understand is when people say they prefer Toki’s voice in season 1 like no that could never be me…I love his high-pitched tone, the comical cadence of his speech…I love him getting progressively becoming more and more incomprehensible and stupid-sounding…s2 and onwards Toki you will always be peak to me

[bunnelbaby]

anytime you worry about consuming not so child friendly content when regressed, just remember that the most well known age regression representation we have come from shows intended for mature audiences: nurse bendy from moral orel and toki wartooth from metalocalypse.

[sampersandman]

[MetalInsider] a couple of the times recently Brendon has talked about the themes of Masculinity. I may add on to this as I recall stuff, because there is actually depth to the stupid dick jokes throughout the show and the movie, it’s just happens that he’s explicitly acknowledged that more recently

where he’s basically talking about the scene where Nathan reconciles with the band and apologizes to Abigail, he’s literally reconnecting with them and consummating the relationship. But this theme is present in A LOT of the show, like I can’t stress enough how many times a dick joke doubles as some metaphor for their characterization. For instance, “Black Fire Upon Us” (the episode) has the alternate title “Dethrelease” because it followed Dethrecord, where they’ve finished it and now they’re trying to release the thing, But it’s also called Dethrelease because half of the episode is spent on the band (minus toki) trying to suck their own dicks. They’re interrupted by Toki being hurt and they talk to each other about how they’re not supposed to care about each other, go back to trying to suck themselves off (unsuccessfully) and throwing a release party (celebration of themselves) which gets cut short because mordhaus is attacked by the people who want revenge on Dethklok for how they’ve been hurt by the band’s selfishness. At that point they’re finally forced to be selfless but it’s too little too late and their manager is dead, and they can’t get their release. Going Downklok follows the same logic, with “going down” taking on 3 meanings. That scene in the movie becomes the final answer to it.

idk it’s just sad that there’s like 0 people around who actually want to talk about it because I’m pretty fascinated by the whole thing but I feel weird talking about this lol

especially for how long he’s been addressing it,

October 2009 November 2009

Like he reflected on it in that month’s time and came back with that answer haha, but it stuck. back to another recent interview;

I’ve considered it a lot and I think that with the movie there’s an overarching theme for all the characters where they have to confront their relationship with masculinity and what they consider femininity, in addition to what they literally call “gay” throughout the series (emotional investment and sincerity). In the show, their relationship with women and femininity is represented by their respective mothers. And in the movie, in order to finally mature, they have to embrace their “feminine sides” so to speak. Which is more or less the point of this line:

[sakuralovespossums]

Toki Wartooth x Mature Fem Reader

Warning: Mentions of abusive childhoods, trauma, brief graphic descriptions near the end

Unlike Toki, who always acts childlike and naive, your a lot more mature and calm

You always wear a resting bored face while Toki is beaming next to you. It’s a strange but kinda funny picture

You have a pretty smile tho (one that Toki absolutely adores seeing)

You actually also had a rough upbringing like Toki. You were the oldest sibling and your parents were pretty negligent, leaving you to have to take on the role of the adult around the house at a young age

While Toki’s trauma made him develop age regression coping mechanisms and develop a generally naive personality due to growing up in a heavily sheltered environment, yours made you mentally age a lot faster due to being exposed to so many stressful situations such as scraping for money, taking extra jobs, struggling with school, keeping your siblings fed.

Even after you and your siblings were old enough to live independently, the stress of having to care for another still never went away

It def shows in how you always take on chore duty around the Mordhaus. Cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc.

Toki can barely do any of those things, so he just watches from behind while snuggling you

Honestly he loves how domestic it all is since he one day hopes to live a simple family life with you

It’s such a jarring change to go from growing up financially struggling your whole life to suddenly living with a group of millionaires

You both struggle with talking about your families and childhoods, but try to slowly open up and support each other

Because of this, there’s a special deep level of trust between you two that Toki could never have with anyone else. Yeah he loves the other members of Dethklok like his family. But with you, it’s different since he’s never met anyone as patient and empathetic as you

When Toki sees you overworking yourself, he encourages you to stop and relax by grabbing your hand and taking you along on a trip to his favorite places like the zoo, park, mall, and other places. He never once lets go of your hand

He will easily lose his shit at anyone who even tries to antagonize you!!! If they value their life, they’ll know to just stop and fuck off. If not, well……..we all remember what he did to that one guy

The other bad members are no exception! They had better be damn nice to you!!

He always tags along with you whenever you go out to run errands, even if he’s needed in the studio. If he’s really busy, he’ll have tons of body guards go with you (no matter how many times you’ve told him you don’t need them)

The paparazzi and crazy fan girls say otherwise

Whenever Toki age regresses, you go along with it and play with/join him in whatever activity he’s doing

You make sure he never losses his deaddy bear

You have a rather soft voice that you use to sing lullabies or hum to Toki at night when he’s having a nightmare

Toki just knows you would make such an amazing mother and is determined to start a family with you. But only if that’s what you also want!! He knows you still have your own issues to work through first, as does he

Often times you’ll sit on his lap as he prattles on about his day or listen to you talk as he works on one of his models. Other times it’ll be him resting his head on your lap

Toki always goes to you when he’s super stressed, emotional, or having a panic attack. You gently hold onto him while rocking him back and forth until he regains his composure, then acts like he wasn’t just crying a minute ago

It was through this practice that you eventually realized that you also rather liked being rocked back and forth. Maybe it soothes your inner child who never received much comfort

You are one of the very few people to ever see and touch Toki’s back scars. That’s how much he trusts you

Sometimes you just take his hand and press soft kisses on his knuckles. His heart stops

You like to brush and braid his hair sometimes when it’s just you two. He also really likes it since your always so gentle

(It also kinda reminds you of when you would braid your younger sister’s hair as a kid)

You scold Toki about being less reckless with his pets and to be more careful. Thanks to you, Toki’s cat is still alive!

Toki loves to pick you up and carry you a lot. He just REALLY needs to have you in his arms at all times!! He can also never get enough of your kisses, touches, and comforting words

Always has an arm around you, especially when around other people

He boops your nose

His WOWEE is the cutest thing you’ve ever heard

A cute thing about you is that beneath your composed exterior, your actually easy to fluster and surprise, which Toki def takes advantage of just to see your adorable blush reserved for him

You don’t often get angry much. One of the few times you did was when the band pulled that kidnapping prank on Toki for his birthday in Tokyo. You quickly noticed how genuinely disturbed he was and yelled at the others about it

He fell in love with you a bit more since then

The band actually likes/respects you for always being there for Toki, who they see as their little brother

When the band rescued him from Magnus, you were so gutted to see your usual cheery boyfriend look so………broken

It took so many months of careful touching, talking, and so many tears for him to return somewhat to his normal self. You never left his side and always stuck close by him

Now he firmly believes your his soulmate

When you find Magnus, your gonna skin him alive

[tokiro07]

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2025, Issue #9: Endings Week

One Piece: Rodo brings Luffy and co. to the ruins of the palace and explains Loki and Hajrudin's pasts as half-brothers and children of King Harald; Gunko continues to torture Loki until evil!Shanks, Figarland Shamrock, decides they need to take another approach to bring Elbaph to heel. ...What do you mean people are still arguing about Shanks being a rat? This entire chapter is about two pairs of half-brothers, it's not being subtle; unrelated, Gunko using her arrows to enhance her limbs feels like a deliberate parallel to Luffy and likely is meant to further muddy the idea that Luffy is the single successor of Joyboy

Undead Unluck: On the anniversary of their first meeting, a wedding is held for Andy and Fuuko...who are both stupid enough to forget about it; they race to Stonehenge to decide who tops tonight, but end up touching down at the exact same time, and get married beneath the full moon. This may be, for me, The Greatest Jump Ending Ever; I couldn't possibly sum it up better in this blurb, I can't wait to write my full review

Roboco: A director makes a documentary about Roboco, which is naturally 100% fabricated. Honestly, I kinda want to read THAT version of Roboco

Sakamoto: Sakamoto and Shin get ambushed in the dark, so Sakamoto uses Shin's telepathy to detect enemy assassins. It's nice to see how quickly they formed a rapport, no wonder they became partners

EluSam: As Tokiyuki approaches marrying age, more and more girls start noticing him; Tokiyuki reveals he was somewhat aware of Ayako, Shizuku and Mima's feelings for him, but he never considered them as viable options because he didn't want to elevate any of them above the others; Kojiro, man among men, spells out the obvious and sensible solution - POLYAMORY!!! MATSUI, DON'T YOU PLAY WITH ME!!! THIS BETTER BE THE REAL THING!!! MAKE ME ACTUALLY LIKE ELUSAM!!!

Witch Watch: On summer vacation, Chami's mother insists that Chami take up swim lessons like she said she would, but she ends up going to Nico's house to be lazy instead, making up a bunch of excuses about being a celebrity and not wanting to be recognized or seen in or swimsuit publicly; Nico uses a spell to make the air feel like water so they can swim privately, but accidentally raises the water level to skyscraper heights, forcing them to swim to a skyscraper for safety; the two walk home, and Chami is recognized and seen publicly in her swimsuit. Easily my favorite running gag in Witch Watch - people abusing magic to avoid certain outcomes and getting fittingly punished for it

Blue Box: As Chinatsu looks back over the years she put into improving, Yumeka looks back over the same time that she didn't and realizes that she's now the one chasing Chinatsu. I have trouble getting into a lot of sports series cus I can't follow the sport aspect, but moments like these where the characters shine through always get me

Akane: Kashio sees that despite the language barrier, Akane's refined Rakugo is able to reach the French audience; after the show, he begs her to come back to Japan, and she reveals that was already the plan. I said last week that Akane looks the same post-timeskip, and I stand by that, but there's definitely a subtle change; I want to say she has longer eyelashes and slightly more centered bangs, but I feel like there's something more that gives her this new air of maturity

Kill Blue: Eri develops a new temporary antidote for Juzo, allowing him to temporarily return not just to his true age, but to his prime; before deciding to take the fight to Oka, Juzo has fun with the Home-Ec Club and visits Noren's ramen shop one last time just in case he doesn't make it out alive. This feels pretty definitively like it's meant to be the beginning of the end - Juzo's in his ultimate form, he's actively putting a stop to the feedback loop; having another arc after all of that would run the risk of cheapening the sentiment, but I've been wrong before

Nue: Yoshichi is revealed to be an Impure Child, which is apparently a social taboo despite the fact that it makes him a ridiculous powerhouse fighter; through sheer grit, Gakuro manages to overcome their difference in power and experience and lands a solid blow. Gakuro using the fragments of his sword as floating platforms sounds cool, shame I couldn't tell what was going on through these messy panels

Kagurabachi: The Masumi bring Iori to a secure location and inform her that she'll forget everything and go back to school in 24 hours, but Chihiro realizes that she's living the life he would have had he never known his father, giving him second thoughts; he offers to explain everything to Iori so that she can make the decision herself. I'm such a sucker for parallels, they're such a great way to flesh out our understanding of a character

Chojo: Chojo, Ippongi and Cop-Bot get into an argument about their singing and enter a competition to prove who's the best, only to be trounced by Mr. Guy. I'm surprised Chojo's bad at singing, I don't remember that coming up during the idol arc

Astro Royale: As the Japanese Yakuza Association threatens Hachiku's little brother, Hibaru convinces Hachiku to turn on them as he also declares war personally. A nice sentiment to save Hachiku's brother, but the guy's a human trafficker and Hachiku has barely had any real development, so I'm not interested in getting attached to these two

Kiyoshi: The Black Parade turns out to not be some far-off event, but coming in about a week, just before the sports festival; best girl Oka comes to thank Kiyoshi for saving her and apologize for her part in summoning Asuta Roth, and Kiyoshi assures her that she's not responsible and that he'll take care of everything. Suddenly jumping to the Black Parade sure feels like a cancelation moment, but we've already established that there are two other Great Demon Lords, so this is probably just the Arlong Park of the series. Hopefully

Hima-Ten: Kanna lands a bit part in a movie and needs a touch-up on her hair, so Tenichi suggests she go to his mother's salon for a discount; Tenichi's mother immediately clocks that he's become a harem protagonist and sets him up to go on a date to the amusement park with Kanna. We're getting FOUR Kanna chapters in a row??? It's not canceled already and we're speedrunning her getting let down are we??? You have to live to prove that modern polyamory is just as acceptable as EluSam's historical polyamory!!!

Ichi: After being knocked out fighting the World Hater, Ichi finds himself in his Magic Circle, an inner world where his acquired Magiks are kept; outside, Desscaras and Togeice team up, prompting World Hater to retreat...for now. Shame that we ended the ceiling battle so soon, but I'm satisfied, and I like the lore implications of the Magic Circle

Shinobi: The Ninja Public Safety Force sends another ninja, Suzume, to act as Aoi's boyfriend since Yodaka's actual feelings for her seem to have compromised his ability to protect her; because of Suzume's shallow and misogynistic view of Aoi, Yodaka resolves to prove that he's the best fit for the job. Suzume's ability to charm women is so uncannily efficient that I have to wonder if this is his Kekkai

Hakutaku: The dev team laments Hideout Plan's failure; Hikuma's old bully Sano gives it a try, and comes to realize that he and Hikuma see the same good traits in each other but not themselves; undeterred, Noto calls everyone together to strategize their next game. I thought for sure that Hakutaku was going to end next week, but apparently we're only doing two new series this coming round, so it looks like Hakutaku's got one arc left in it

Syd Craft: Souffle gets captured and has a bomb strapped to her; a message left by the mysterious Zero Craft gives a hint for how to save her, and claims to intend to keep masterminding more cases out of love for Syd; as the ship sinks, Souffle kisses Syd to give him the air he needs to solve the puzzle and save them both. I think it says something that I forgot IMMEDIATELY that the Scissorleg Killer mentioned the obviously Moriarty/Mycroft-esque Zero Craft; seriously, I spent that review talking about Elio coming out as trans, clearly that reveal was the last thing on my mind

Ruri Dragon: Ruri helps students from other classes warm up to her by warming up their cold food with her fire breath, an obvious hazard that she's definitely getting cooked for. A super cute chapter, but it once again raises the question of where all the dragons are in the modern day; I know it's not Shindou's priority, but I hope we get a dive into the lore soon

Top 3 of the Week:

Undead Unluck OBVIOUSLY

Elusive Samurai for FINALLY giving me what I want!!! Unless Matsui is TEASING ME?!

Kagurabachi for an interesting bit of characterization for Chihiro

It's only UU that left, but somehow this feels like the week of endings; EluSam and Akane had timeskips last week to lead into what's likely their final phases, Kill Blue and Kiyoshi are acting like they're building up to a climax (even if they're not), and Hakutaku is frankly lucky to still be alive all things considered

I'm probably just being pessimistic since I won't have UU to look forward to anymore, but it feels like a big shift is coming soon

Whether it does or doesn't, I have every intention of enjoying what Jump has to offer!

[ssruis]

7 and 12 for the ask game? •v•

12 - favorite NPC:

SEIR💃🏻YU🕺IN💃🏻 SA🕺KU💃🏻RAKO‼️‼️🔛🔝💯

Unless we’re counting nonhuman npcs because I also love nenerobo and usachan. She’s tied with them.

7 - popular hc you disagree with/hc you have that you’re surprised isn’t more popular:

(Under the cut because I don’t shut up)

Do not agree with “kanade is tsukasa’s sibling” at all. It’s cute & no disrespect or hate to the people who enjoy that hc have fun and enjoy yourself. I’ve seen it done well. but as an annoying canon purist I have to say that I think it completely misunderstands both tsukasa’s mindset around being an older brother & his relationship with toya (wrt why he considers toya like a brother).

Tsukasa isn’t adopting younger siblings left and right, he’s just modeled so much of his personality off of being a good older brother that it is deeply entrenched in what he thinks a star should act like. It’s why he places so much importance on being a responsible senior/role model at school. “I want to be a star” & “I want to be a good older brother” get combined in his brain as a kid -> “what a star acts like is (traits that make a good older brother) so I will be doing all of these things when interacting with others” -> he just acts like that now.

He’s very caring & helpful towards everyone but that’s 1) not an “you’re my sibling now” thing 2) often overshadows the fact that he can be pretty self absorbed in fanon. While this helpfulness is definitely genuine and I do think he likes to make other people happy, he also is doing it because it’s how he believes he should be acting as a future star and he likes to be viewed as a responsible mature helpful person. He is doing it for himself AND for others. & notably he’s a lot more likely to show the older-brother-tsukasa side to his close friends & especially his siblings whereas everyone else gets world-future-star-tsukasa.

Toya is his brother because they’ve known each other for like 10 years. And (imo) because there was an unconscious “saki is in the hospital and I can’t do anything to help her and I have nowhere for these big brother tendencies to go. Thankfully there’s a sad little blue thing for me to act like this towards” thing going on in tsukasa’s head & toya was very “sad little blue thing that really needs someone who’s first priority is making toya happy” at that point so these two factors combined to create a very beautiful and strong sibling relationship.

I think half of my beef with it also stems from the fact that this hc often overshadows his relationship with saki (& to a lesser extent toya) in fan works and I adore the relationship tsukasa&saki have so it makes me :(.

Kanade is Tsukasa’s age, they’re both nearly adults, & kanade has niigo and her grandmother to support her. While I think it would be sweet if they became friends I really can’t see them forging a strong bond as it is. Also I know this hc popped up because hirose said he’d want kanade as a sister but I also want to point out that for that same question toki said he’d want tsukasa as a brother iirc. So.

Honorable mentions go to any form of angstkasa, any interpretation of rui&nene drifting apart that places the blame on nene, any hc that makes rui malicious & conniving or emu stupid, “x female character and x male character are siblings” with zero reason for it beyond the fact that for some reason a m/f dynamic can’t be platonic it either has to be familial or romantic, etc.

Hc I have that isn’t more popular… I know it’s probably been disproven in canon, but I like to think that Rui’s mom’s job is very animal focused (zoologist maybe) and this is why he has a fondness for so many strange animals and a wealth of animal facts ready to be deployed at any moment. I also think he watches random documentaries/video essays/podcasts/etc while working on stuff and this is partially why he knows so much random shit.

I also think rui is a dog person (he likes cats he just really likes dogs) & tsukasa is a person who claims to not like cats but is universally loved by cats. like they will not leave him alone. so now he’s fond of them and has become a cat person.

Other assorted ones:

> nene does like physical touch (from friends) she’s just also so so so prone to over thinking every single social interaction that she doesn’t feel comfortable initiating it. so emu being someone who wants to be touching her 24/7 actually works well for her.

> I think emu can ride horses. Her family has horse money and she seems like a kid who would like doing that. She can understand horses… horse whisperer… wxs has to go to a stable for some reason and a super skittish horse approaches emu and really bonds with her & rui is like (looks at emu and the horse) (looks at nene) ahh I see.

> tsukasa would watch and read a lot of musicals/plays/etc when he was home alone as a form of comfort and this is why he talks like that. Still thinking about “parting is such sweet sorrow” or whatever he said to vbs in the new years event like we get it you’re a theatre kid tsukasa.

> nene has some degree of coding knowledge and dabbled in game making in the time period after she froze on stage & before she joined wxs. she never finished making a game because 1. Really hard 2. Anytime she’d be struggling with something it would remind her that she wasn’t as close with rui anymore and she’d get sad

> emu has a lot of random strange talents but because she’s friends with rui “oh i know how to do [thing he has literally zero reason to be good at]” kamishiro this has never been relevant. She could, however, break out her parkour skills at any second (ominous).

> emu’s looney tunes esque parkour skills are a result of going places and climbing things she was not supposed to as a kid. Shes managed to keep her joyous and whimsical outlook and thought process partially because she’s been working at pxl since she was little so she’s constantly interacting with kids.

> nene thinks reptiles are pretty cool but she could never own one because feeding one mice would gross her out & she would die if she had to feed one bugs.

> When wxs were doing their ambassador shows shousuke would get them 2 hotel rooms with 2 beds each but because wxs are pack animals (of the clown genus) emu would frequently drag nene to rui + tsukasa’s room and they would all hang out until tsukasa made them all go to sleep at a reasonable time.

> tsukasa & emu can sleep anywhere anytime. Nene has mild insomnia and rui has both awful insomnia and struggles to sleep unless he’s somewhere familiar. even if he’s dead tired. Somehow the sound of Tsukasa’s cartoonishly loud snoring became familiar enough to rui’s brain that it made it easier for him to sleep.

[skyflyinginaction]

Shin Megami Tensei IV FINAL Official Setting + Shinwa Sekai he no Tabi translations 

I don’t own the raw scans or the translations in this post all credit for the translation belongs to Miel who did a wonderful job on it. The Nanashi bio was already translated by Dijeh and the rest are translated by them.

Asahi

In the early scenarios, she was supposed to be a tomboyish character who often used foul language. As you can see, she ended up the complete opposite (lol). Asahi was designed as a child whose parents had lovingly raised, and had her life planned out for her to survive in this destroyed world. They were hoping that she would one day be able to see the light of dawn, hence she was named Asahi. We based her design off themes of the sky, hence the goggles, hat and the blue color scheme to make a pure, orthodox heroine.

Navarre

A harmonious, all-green presence… Actually I just came up with that after (lol). But I think the meaning of Navarre's scarf color was shown pretty well in the game. His ghost form and the fact that he would be a partner was decided from the very beginning. I wanted him to be able to run around the map following the MC, so I suggested a mascot-like design that could float alongside the MC. I'm glad he was able to re-appear as a likeable character (lol).

Nozomi

In the previous game, she was an event character with only pixel art, but in this game, we decided from the very beginning that she would be a partner along with Navarre. We tried to keep the same imagery she had from the previous game but designed elements unique to this game. After she became one with Danu, I wanted a change in both mind and body. Her hair and eye color, as well as her physique are all mixed with Western features, and when compared to the main characters who are all children, she looks like a mature adult lady.

Hallelujah

We had planned to create a mixed-race child who would show what kind of world setting it was in this game. His brown-colored skin was the only thing that still remained of his initial draft; every thing else about him was totally changed from the initial planned scenario. We gave him a Ashura-kai styled outfit, as well as a school jersey to make him look like a child delinquent. The pointy ears and black nails were to give him a demonic feel. When he transforms, he changes color, and I think it perfectly represents the devs’ ideal image of him.

Chironnupu

When Chironnupu was created as a demon, I was requested to make him a mascot-like character. They did not want a standard cutesy character, but rather something that had a “Megami Tensei" type of cuteness. There are very few legends about the Chironnupu, so I got ideas from keywords such as Ainu, fox, divine spirits, and hunting, and instead of simply drawing a fox, I made him a young spirit that wears a carved wooden mask.

Gaston

When I first heard that Navarre’s younger brother was going to be in the game, I laughed… and I was very surprised. Of course they must have the same hairstyle and facial expressions to live up to the family name (lol). Since he is an elite member of the newly established Samurai group, I put his Samurai uniform over his inner wear, so that he looked like a medieval musketeer but set in modern day. The cross symbol represents God and the four archangels. Michael's spear was originally meant to defeat Lucifer, so I based its design off Lucifer’s motif.

Toki

Out of all the characters, this character had the most changes and was the most difficult to design. In the early designs, she was made to look like a miko (TN: shrine maiden) who served Lilith, so I wanted her design to emphasize her young age when compared to Asahi and Nozomi. That design later evolved into a tall, ephemeral type of girl, and then later, finally settled into the design of an assassin. She’s designed as a member of the Ring of Gaea, and her unmasked face has the cuteness of a Japanese doll but also a beauty that exudes an exoticism. 

Nikkari

This is a character that appears right at the beginning of the game, but we did not originally plan to have an illustration for him. However, there was a request for a illustration to show the worldview of this hunter from Tokyo, and how the world and the people he cared for were being overrun by demons. Thus we created illustrations for the 3 of them: Nikkari, Manabu, and Master. The name Nikkari is based off a famous sword, but you’ll just have to find out whether or not his sword is the real deal by playing the game.

Manabu

As a more senior hunter, he has become a unique character. Like Nikkari, we had initially only planned to have pixel art for him, so we made sure to exaggerate that reggae-like feel to convey his love for reggae, even if it's a tiny pixel art. Compared to veteran hunters, he didn't have much experience yet, so we designed him to still look a little naive. Having designs for the sub-characters was not initially planned, so I only had a short amount of time to design them, but I was able to take a breather and had fun while drawing them.

Master

When I was making drafts of his design, I borrowed the design of the adult form of the protagonist (lol). Since the character is a former hunter of an inhabitable society and a master of the company, I gave him unshaven stubble and thick arm hair to give him that rugged feel, but also gave him the outfit of a bar waiter to give him a sense of tidiness. Anyway, it feels like a strange coincidence that the pilot-style outfit worn by the original adult protagonist ended up being worn by Asahi instead. I wanted to see how well he would do.

Swordsman Hunter

During the idea stage, there were many variations for a non-human hunter. This is a lightly armored female hunter whose main weapon is a sword. Her personality also seems outgoing.

Professor Matsuda

This was the initial idea draft for Matsuda. Back then he was planned to be a NPC that you can speak to but didn’t have a character portrait. His facial expressions can’t be seen clearly from the small portrait, but you can see his hunched-back posture.

Elite Hunter

An elite hunter who has a high rank and is well-dressed. It's the type you don't see very often in the underground world of Tokyo, but it seems there’s actually some hunters who are living a privileged life out there.

Punk Hunter

A female hunter that catches the eye with her standing hair and studded clothes. Strong female hunters who live by fighting with demons are all cool-looking. The same goes for Nozomi. It’s no wonder Asahi admires them.

Child Hunter

The boy with the spear is an NPC you can talk to. During the designing stage he was made to be a little child hunter but the final version of the NPC seems to be older in appearance.

Gaea Elder

An old man who was created as a member of the Gaea. Compared to the fierce male members and cold-looking female members, he’s more of a good-natured old man character.

Asurakai Member

Most of the Ashurakai members were thugs in suits, so we had the idea for a man who actually looked dangerous because he had a drawn knife in his hand. Might’ve been a change after Tayama’s death.

[junkh3ad]

Another thing I love about Pickles is how he’s the mom of the group. It may not seem like it at first but it seems like he always had this caring, maternal energy deep down all along. Was it all the mommy and daddy issues? Since his parents neglected him, Pickles had to grow up at a young age and take care of himself. And then, he extends the need to take care of his bandmates. Not complaining. I love mama Pickles 🖤 can’t say the same if Pickles has an actual kid of his own tho.

But all that mothering must be tiring to him. Having to be an adult all his life can take a toll on his emotional well-being. Since Pickles is the most mature of the band besides Nathan, i think it’s hard for him to find someone to nurture him since he’s the one who had to do all the nurturing. Sorry I didn’t send an ask in a long time. I ran out of headcanons.

HI ANON I MISSED U I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT YOU THE OTHER DAY!!!

i agree with you on this i love Pickles The Mother so much, he’s so amazing to the band. Being an adult for so long definitely exhausted him for sure, smoking/drinking definitely being a coping mechanism for him to escape that when he can. I do however think that he’s nurtured back, im a nickles truther always and i really do think while their relationship is “odd” to the regular person it’s definitely the healthiest relationship either of them have had in their whole lives.

Nathan takes care of Pickles in ways that might not seem like such a big deal but mean the world to the other. Buying him things that align with his interests, taking him out to vineyards to wine taste (another excuse to get drunk, it’s brutal.) Even having Jean-Pierre special make Pickles Cinnamon Buns on the weekends just for him and no one else.

And of course everyone else does their own thing in showing pickles that he’s appreciated. Toki will make him drawings or buy him something cute (It remindeds me of yous pickle!)

Skwisgaar will spend more time with him generally, while they may not talk but the company is always nice for Pickles. He’ll compliment his drumming more frequently when recording.

Murderface has issues showing how he cares about his friends, pickles especially considering he’s a parental figure he never had. But i imagine he leaves pickles small gifts of appreciation and spending more time with him.

i just. i love them. they’re a family and it makes me so warm and fuzzy inside to think about them all being a family together.

[skwisgaarthritis]

[OC]: Irma Bjelland, daughter of Skwisgaar Skwigelf and bass player of the Swedish hardcore punk band Nekrotysm

+

(full bio below!)

Name: Irma Bjelland 

Age: 20

Birthday: December 13th

Height: 5’8”

Hair: Black (dyed)/Blonde (natural)

Eyes: Blue

Nationality: Swedish

Family:

Skwisgaar Skwigelf (biological father/manager)

Ylva Bjelland (mother, deceased) 

Ulla Bjelland (maternal grandmother) 

Surfetta Skwigelf (paternal grandmother) 

Thousands of illegitimate half-siblings

Toki Wartooth (legal guardian) 

Appearance:

Irma is a relatively tall young lady with long blonde hair that meets her mid-back and blue eyes. She wears her hair in two braids, reminiscent of Wednesday Addams.

She is modeled after American musicians Taylor Momsen and Billie Eillish.  

Although naturally blonde like her father, she dyes her hair black to distinguish herself from him. Despite this, she seems to be inconsistent on the upkeep, and her blonde roots are very visible. Whenever she and Skwisgaar argue, he always likes to point out that her blonde roots are showing. She resembles her mother in face alone, but she is often seen wearing heavy amounts of makeup to allow herself to stand out. 

She has several facial piercings, including a ball-stud on her upper lip and a ring in the center of her lower lip. She also has a piercing on her left eyebrow. She also has the word “disrespect” (spelled "disrespekt") tattooed across her cheekbones and a tattoo of a millipede across her clavicle and right arm. She also has the words "Daddy Issues" tattooed on the back of her neck, which she gets specifically as petty jab to Skwisgaar.

As a child, Irma is depicted having blonde hair, but still wearing her hair in two braided pigtails. She is also seen wearing an off-white floral-patterned frock and a red apron.

Personality:

While she hates to admit it, Irma mirrors her father in a number of ways. She is a cocky, proficient musician and is often regarded as a musical genius. Much like her father on guitar, she can play bass incredibly fast and takes a great deal of pride in what she can do. She also serves as her band’s primary songwriter, and she’s written multiple songs about her dad, including “I Wish You’s Die”.

Irma is known to be smarter with her money than Skwisgaar. She seems to always have the most advanced guitar technology and recording equipment, such as a distortion pedal that makes her bass sound like “literally Beelzebub”, or a bracelet that also serves as a flask for storing extra booze at “boring” industry parties. 

Irma tends to be a bit smarter and more mature than Skwisgaar, sometimes to a point where the other members of Dethklok think she is older than she really is. However, other times she can be highly petty and overly dramatic, especially when it comes to her father. She physically assaults him after seeing him try to sneak away while explaining to Charles and the other members of Dethklok the circumstances of her life.

Irma is quietly insecure and secretly yearns for the approval of a father figure. She constantly rejects Skwisgaar’s attempts to connect with her in favor of bonding with his other bandmates, namely Toki and Murderface.  

Irma is a lesbian, and takes after her father’s ways of sleeping with multiple women -- as well as his preference for thicker women.

Also like Skwisgaar and Toki, she speaks in a fake Scandinavian accent, and uses misplaced pluralization.

Biography:

Birth

Irma Bjellund is the only daughter of Ylva Bjellund and Skwisgaar Skwigelf. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden on December 13th. 

Ylva was Skwisgaar’s girlfriend for a time when he returned briefly back to Sweden. At the time, Skwisgaar lived with his mother Surfetta and stepfather, Tyr. When it turned out that Surfetta was cheating on Tyr, Skwisgaar fled Sweden without telling Ylva and returned to join his band, Dethklok. Before Ylva could locate him, she was tracked down by her own mother, Ulla, a cult leader.

Unfortunately, like Skwisgaar, Ylva was also living in Stockholm in an attempt to appear normal. She is originally from Halsingland, living in Stockholm to hide from her abusive mother.

Childhood

Although the circumstances of her death are never clear, it is safely assumed that Ylva was killed by her mother’s cult. It is also not clear if Irma remembers her mother at all, since it’s implied she died when Irma was young, but she does carry a picture of her mother in a locket. She holds a grudge towards Skwisgaar for abandoning her mother, and thus abandoning her.   

Not much is known about Irma’s childhood although it is clear she was abused. Growing up, due to the living conditions she was forced into, she became fascinated by different kinds of bugs, particularly millipedes. She mentions that the cult in her childhood subjected her to a number of traumatic experiences; such as being present for “consummation” rituals and having to take psychedelic mushrooms as a child. She says she was force-fed psychedelic mushrooms so often, she says that it is a “miracle” that she has a grasp on reality still, if at all. 

Additionally, Irma is possessed by a mythical Nordic entity known as Tusenfoting, which can be summoned when a drum pattern of a particular BPM is played. How or why the Tusenfoting possessed her is also unclear, but it is safe to assume it was the result of the cult torturing her. When the Tusenfoting is awakened, it attacks living things and drinks their blood.

Although Irma doesn’t like to talk about it, she stabbed her grandmother in order to escape her clutches, leading three other teenage orphans who lived at her commune. Later on, Irma taught two of them to play the guitar, while Mina had already known to play the drums as part of cult rituals. 

Growing up, Irma was a huge fan of Dethklok, despite her grandmother’s disapproval. She claims she learned how to play bass while listening to Dethklok on bass-boosted headphones. She looks up to William Murderface, citing him as her favorite bass player of all time. 

Relationship with Skwisgaar:

Skwisgaar first learns of her existence when her band, Nekrotysm (a pun on the word "Nepotism"), goes viral on TikTok for their cover of Dethklok's "Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle" and conspiracy theory spreads on the internet that suggests she may be his daughter.

Skiwsgaar originally refuses any responsiblity for her as any of the mothers of his children should have signed a waiver that removes him of paternal responsibility. However, he is later informed by Dethklok manager (post-Doomstar Requiem) Charles Ofdensen who Irma's mother is; his now deceased ex-girlfriend Ylva, who passed by mysterious means. Charles tells Skwisgaar that, legally speaking, he was not a member of Dethklok at the time of Irma's conception, and therefore has to, at very least, contact her.

Irma, for the most part, resents Skwisgaar for his absence as this led to her being raised by her grandmother -- Ylva's mother, Ulla, a high priestess of a pagan cult.

Skwisgaar, plagued with guilt for what Irma had to go through, does genuinely apologize for the way Irma grew up, but Irma initially decides not to forgive him. Skwisgaar is unfortunately is too emotionally immature not to stoop to her level of petty name calling. They tend to get into petulant arguments over meaningless things – such as where on Skwisgaar’s fretboard he uses a capo, or the simple fact that it was actually the father she claims to despise so much that recorded the basslines she learned to play bass along to. 

The situation is immediately worsened when Irma develops a close relationship with Toki Wartooth, who takes pity on Irma when learning they had similar childhoods. 

Skwisgaar later finds out that Toki is campaigning to legally adopt Irma and be her guardian. 

Relationship with Toki

A nasty custody battle ensues when Skwisgaar finds out Toki wants to adopt Irma, with most of Dethklok taking Toki’s side. Nathan points out that Skwisgaar is only mad because Toki is the one who wants to adopt her, and that if Nathan and Abigail wanted to adopt Irma, Skwisgaar would have handed her over to them without hesitation.

The court comes to an agreement that the primary responsibility for Irma would be given to Toki, as Skwisgaar has not proven himself to be responsible around children, given the number of paternity lawsuits he’s already faced. 

In turn, Toki is Irma’s official guardian, and it is agreed Irma would live with him at Mordhaus. Of course, this technically means that she now lives with her actual father and has to see him everyday. 

Even Toki and Skwisgaar do quite a bit of co-parenting toward Irma because Toki’s innocent nature makes him a less than responsible parent. While Toki means well, he doesn’t always make decisions in Irma’s best interest. For example, he hires Dr. Rockso to be their new manager, to Skwisgaar’s horror, and he immediately fires Rockso and takes over the role as Nekrotysm's manager.

Skwisgaar and Irma share one of their most notable bonding moments as they take turns beating the shit out of Rockso.

(I plan to write more soon! Stay tuned for my short fic series the "Metalocalypse: The Nekrotysm Chronicles") Last revised: 05-10-2023

[thatwritingho]

no cause i have thoughts about pickle in the movie that are exactly this like. pickles has to support everyone but who’s supporting him 😭😭

Exactly!!

Pickles is stuck as the only one who:

1. Is capable of helping his friends, whether that be due to emotional maturity, life experience, etc.

2. Cares enough to actually try. (Bear in mind, I do mean on an emotional level. Physically, they all make sure everyone else is ok and not in danger.) We see him consistently caring much more about his bandmates than they do about him, and it breaks my heart. Like in SnBII, when he said to Tony "How could you replace me, we've been friends for years?" and Tony just shrugged and said he didn't know, it just happened. Like... Pickles still considered him his friend and was heartbroken to be replaced, and Tony' facial expression didn't even change💔

But... Pickles needs support, too! Sure, he finally told his mom to go fuck herself in Season 4, but all of those wounds from his family, the ones that caused him to become an alcoholic at under 10 years old, are still there. Pickles has serious abandonment issues that never get addressed, and he's consistently had to push all of his own trauma aside to take care of everyone else.

Pickles has to babysit all of his bandmates at the funeral. Toki is regressing hard because of his trauma, but neither Murderface nor Skwisgaar will help, and Nathan didn't even show up, so it falls to him. Then Skwisgaar and Toki drop him in the trust fall and seem to not even notice.

Pickles has to be a good friend and a rock for Nathan, even though Nathan was a very, very bad friend to him from Rehabklok all the way through Season 4. And while, yes, Nathan gave one (very short) apology at the funeral... that was only in regards to the Abigail situation, not anything else. Then Pickles has to be the one to slap sense into Nathan and get him to feel enough emotion to write the song to save the world.

It all just breaks my heart for him. I hope he gets a good therapist after all this.

Til then, I'm fixing it in fic!

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #520

Yuri!!! on STAGE event pamphlet, Shunichi Toki's comment

>I gave all that I had into recording of my parts

After I got the role, and before Leo made an appearance in the story, I have been thinking for a long time about what kind of character he is going to be, and how should I play the role to make him a charming character, but when the recording started, it just felt like a short moment. I gave all that I had when recording my parts, and I didn't have any regrets, so I did feel a sense of satisfaction. On the other hand, I was a little worried if I managed to get into the world of this anime as Leo, but I've got a lot of messages praising my performance, so I felt reassured. Only then I could really think that "ah, it was all right".

>The strength of Leo, who can get through his own failures

Leo-kun seems very mature, and he doesn't show his weaknesses to people. I remember very well, how he was trying to get through his own failure, after he failed in his FS, falling on the ice, and still remembering that the music saved him. I remember that very well, because I really was thinking a lot how to portray the unfounded worry that he felt at that moment, and his strong will to work even harder, something that he doesn't really show on the outside. I'd like to play the role of Leo-kun more.

>Message for the fans

Standing on the stage of such a big event, together with my great seniors, I may not make much sense. If something like that happens, I'd be very grateful if you are forgiving with me, the same as with Leo-kun and Guang-Hong, as we all are the young, inexperienced ones.

[wakaposting]

i think toki can compliment and give shige genuine praise with a little bit of pushing but. it's very... it's very Serious. like. the weight of what shige means to him is so much so that he chooses his words very carefully. he needs to make sure he comes across well... it's different than mindlessly blabbering on about how great his retainers are. he wants to stay poised in front of shige, wants to show his maturity, his ability to speak properly... it's not that there's a difference in how strong his feelings are, but he just Can't seem to let himself be so free with his compliments and love... not vocally with him, anyway. he struggles with that. I think the only time he'd be able to get starry eyed and worked up enough to blurt things out is if they were intimate and it was Really hitting every single note for him, or if they chased each other around until his heart was racing and his face was flushed

[sampersandman]

Here’s something I said so many times since this clip dropped that I forgot to even post it here: I’m pretty sure this plot element was added to the script as a reflection of what Brendon experienced with adult swim

Galaktikon II was the original vision for Army of the Doomstar, and you can find people working that out and successfully describing the events of the movie pretty much beat for beat back when that album released. The relationship with their fans was something left out, I kind of assume that was already supposed to be resolved in Doomstar Requiem. In addition to that, Brendon talked about wanting to explore Toki and Abigail’s relationship following Doomstar Requiem so I’m not too sure whether or not I think that she was always going to be dropped as a love interest. I really appreciate that she WAS to be honest because it’s actually pretty mature of Nathan and Brendon to acknowledge the fact that he projected everything he wanted out of life onto her- and there was never any actual relationship there. That being said, creating a last second love interest that was used as a plot device for conflict and as a prize, who deliberately avoided Nathan, and basically had the personality of a female Offdensen otherwise, was something that got a good amount of criticism from the audience. She was almost universally hated. So: I’ve been wondering if this was also a meta commentary moment? Like Brendon himself was apologizing? Lol

Always curious if we were actually supposed to buy that the conflict was over Nathan “stealing” Abigail from Pickles too, because it was Skwisgaar/Nathan/the Media that said that and never Pickles himself.

To me it seems like deliberate framing. He kept talking about getting a wife and kids and he shared that sentiment once again in AOTD right after Pickles is playing mom to the band and getting told by Offdensen that he needs to be as good a friend to Nathan as he can. It never goes so far as to actually contrast Abigail and Pickles, like say flashing his face after Abigail’s whenever Nathan is experiencing PTSD, I might think Brendon didn’t want to mislead/bait the audience when his primary objective was most likely to stress the significance of friendship over romance. That seems on brand with what he’d been saying in a lot of interviews going into this, that the entire show was an exercise in masculine relationships. Though he also said this lmao

Finally, On a more somber note: I think the big funeral at the beginning may have been in part a dedication to Jon

[discotenny]

IDEK WHERE THE IMAGES R FROM IM SEEING EVERYWHERE BUT CANT FIND VIDEO BUT HEY LOOK DID U SEE THIS (from someone random blog post bc idek where to find the original)

https://www.tumblr.com/lochness-art/733533305005293568/no-one-asked-but-here-r-my-opinions-on-the-new

NEW SPRITFESSS TIME SKIP REAL TIME SMIP REALFL

NEW SPRITES NEW SPRITES AWAHHWAHFHEAJIORERER

I posted my thoughts on the outfits when that big compilation image came out but now that we have visible LEGS for the all the charas now I feel obligated to update my thoughts fdsafadsfs. Put under a cut cause I have a feeling its gonna be long fdsfdsafs

Original thought post

Original post listed in the ask

ALSo, the images are from the new hypmic flava trailer posted on their yt channel here :3

Ichiro: We saw him in full before, but I just want to reiterate how they intentionally got rid of all the connections Ichi had to the bros within his clothing. From Jiro's blue on his sleeves, the zip up shirt they all shared, and having the iconic BB lettering not there anymore- it seems like they're trying to distance Ichi's character from being so bro centric. Maybe to show growth how he's going to be more independent? It's a bit odd because being dependent isn't Ichi's flaw, that's Jiro and Saburo's... Maybe it's to show how THEYRE distancing from HIM 🤔

Jiro: This hair change is such a W for Jiro fans!! It was unclear if he actually changed it in art prior but this is a W SUCH A W!!! I miss the white stripes on his shoulders for contrast reasons but he looks just like a more mature version of his old design. It looks like he's wearing the checkered shirt instead of wrapping it around his waist which is cuter and makes much more sense fdsafdsfds.

Saburo: He looks all grown up LOL The time skip is only supposed to be a few months from what I recall, so at most he's now 15 but imo I think they're keeping them to og ages tbh. The mustard is such a good look for him! The more pastel yellow and school uniform esc coat of his old design did a lot to keep him looking / feeling young so this new design feels like he's growing up to be more comfortable to be who he is ;_;

Samatoki: He looks just as hot and he's somehow showing even MORE skin despite having a jacket lmao. Those popping buttons I see you Toki fdsafdsaf. Again he looks less like a gangster / yakuza but I wonder if they're trying to lean into that look. He pretty. Real pretty...

Jyuto: Thoughts have pretty much stayed the same, it reads like an Extra Wardrobe outfit rather than something he'd wear on the daily. In the new arc did he stop wearing his uniform since the government shut down? Did he just say fuck the dress code? I do like the outfit, it makes him look a lil more sleazy LOL

Rio: Rio looks good he looks good!! I don't have much thoughts on him since I never really do but I still find it hilarious he has the same pants as his old outfit.

Ramuda: He looks excellent as always but I do agree with the original poster that I miss his blue :C I think the yellow makes him look really young and it kinda doesn't jive with me ??? I love the hat though he looks very very cute. Ramuda also has the best shoes in the cast and I appreciate they didn't change it.

Gentaro: Gentaro is so funny I think they legitimately just made his back cape longer?? He also got rid of the high collar undershirt, which probably symbolizes that he's hiding less of himself to his friends. I love Gen but I need to see him not in motion to see how well this outfit fits him. ATM I think the longer cape messes up his silhouette by making him seem like a rectangle.

Dice: I miss the trench coat!! I miss the trench coat!!! I don't care if it would be smelly I miss the trench coat !!! I think getting rid of the black parts on his collar and outside his sleeves kind of make him look too... normal??? Like idk, where's the spice!! Give him fingerless gloves or sm shit he needs SOMETHING to make him look less like just a guy :C He's cute but I think his old fit is >>>

Jakurai: He looks SOOOOO GOOOD. We've seen this in full before but he looks CUUUTEEE. Like I'm no Jakurai stan but hooo boy that coat does smthn to me. He looks looser, like he's gonna have some fun, maybe go to the mall or smthn he looks good !!!!! Anons brought up Jakurai removing his doctor coat as a symbolism for his savior complex going away and I think it's really cool !!! One of the best new fits imo.

Hifumi: I like his og outfit much better I'm sorry 😭😭😭 I think with Materno's main color being light grey, Jakurai being in white, Doppo being a light grey now, Hifu being that off white just makes him blend together with the other members. Maybe it's the fact that he's set against a white background but he just gets lost among the other two. Having the darker colors concentrated around his head / upper body helps though.

Doppo: I love him my baby I love him I lve nye my baby my vobeoteoy frmajwfmweoijfghuefuwafjewanjmisafkowafewoawfeaiow. I say from my last post: "He’s getting loose he’s getting silly he’s CRAZY DOPPO IN THE HOUSE !!!"

Sasara: I like the outfit on it's own but I kind of... hate how it's matching with Rosho. SasaRo enjoyers rejoice but I don't like how it doesn't allow Sasara (and Rosho in turn) be his own character. It was mainly an issue I had with Rosho but this new fit puts in on Sasara too, that it kind of forces you to look at him in the lense of his relationship with Rosho rather than who he is as a chara on it's own. Also they made him less colorful :CC The bowtie is super cute though I like it.

Rosho: Rosho does look cute but again I wish it wasn't so obviously a callback to his relationship with Sasara!! I do like the hair, it's very cute fdsafdsa. He looks a lot more comfortable and a lot more confident but I'm unsure if its due to character development or just for cool points. Rosho looks like he smells good

Rei: He's too grey 💀 TOO GREY !!! I think getting rid of the hat and glasses was such a downgrade it does not look very good. It's a lot of my issues with Hifu's outfit without actually having a good clothing design to make up for it. I think it's nice how it could possibly be a call back to Kazuma Kiryu but that doesn't really make up for it :/

Kuko: I was wrong his hair did not get shorter 💀💀💀 But he is INCREDIBLE !! IT'S VERY GOOD!!! I have nothing to complain / nitpick about I think it's very good. (one nitpick I guess FDSAFDS. His bright hair now seems a bit out of place against the darkness of his clothing. Maybe making the purple accent stripes blue or red would have made it better? Unsure though.

Jyushi: He looks very good but I wish they gave him more interesting pants they're very underwhelming compared to his incredible top!! Like imagine sm crazy shit like lace racing stripes, some peekaboo patterns in triangles at the bottom of his flares, it would be very cute !!!

Hitoya: Very cute, very good, a stark improvement from his original look I have nothing else to say fdskafdasfdsa. Again, a 35 year old baby.

I think for some of the characters the outfits really really really really work (Doppo, Hitoya, Jakurai) but for a lot of them I think their original looks were much more iconic and much more fitting to themselves (Dice, Sasara, Rei). I hope we still get content put out with their original outfits because I'd legitimately be sad to never see Dice in his trench coat again :C

[concerthopperblog]

Dethalbum IV: Last Call with Dethklok

On August 6, 2006, Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha had a vision to create an adult animated television series on [adult swim] that would be centered around a melodic death metal band named Dethklok. The show featured fictional band members: Nathaniel Explosion – voiced by Brendon Small (vocals), Skwisgaar Skwigelf – voiced by Brendon Small (guitars), Toki Wartooth – voiced by Tommy Blacha and Mike Keneally (guitars), Pickles – voiced by Brendon Small (drums), and William Murderface voiced by Tommy Blacha (bass). Brendon Small wrote the music for the show and it would serve as vital pieces in many of the animated scenes throughout the show’s history. The show would instantly be a hit on [adult swim]. So much of a cultural phenomenon, that Brendon Small would go on to release The Dethalbum in 2007 featuring songs like “Murmaider”, “Awaken”, and “Bloodrocuted”. The album would be produced by Ulrich Wild, who was known for producing albums for bands such as Pantera, Static-X, Stabbing Westward, Deftones, and Breaking Benjamin.

Brendon would enlist the help of metal veterans Gene Hoglan (drums), Mike Keneally (guitar/backing vocals), and Bryan Beller (bass/backing vocals) to help with touring as Dethklok. Currently, the touring band now consists of Brendon Small (guitar/lead vocals), Gene Hoglan (drums), Pete Griffin (bass/backing vocals), and Nili Brosh (guitar). Dethklok as a band has released a total of four LPs with their latest release, Dethalbum IV, on August 22, 2023, by Water Tower Music. So, let’s talk about Dethalbum IV and what to look for when you hear it!

The very first (1) track, “Gardener of Vengeance” begins with a brutal assault of thunderous double bass drums from Pickles/Gene Hoglan (Death, Testament, Dark Angel, and Strapping Young Lad) with some crunchy riffs courtesy of Brendon Small. When Nathan Explosion/Brendon comes in with his bloodthirsty vocals, the listener is once again transported to a land that is all so familiar. The land of brutality that is Dethklok. “Gardener of Vengeance” is the perfect track to kick off this album.

The second (2) track, “Aortic Desecration”, is also the first single released from Dethalbum IV to the public. Well, they picked a great single to get old and new fans alike eager to hear the entire album. “We’re all going to die!” will go down as one of the brutal beginnings of a metal song. I feel some Morbid Angel influence interwoven in this vicious track. I cannot wait to see Dethklok perform this song live and sing “Aortic desecration. How could I be so wrong? Disemboweled publicly. This is the dying song”.

Track four (4), “Mutilation on a Saturday Night” showcases Pickles/Gene Hoglan’s abilities to bring out some guttural thrash beats as the band creates another Dethklok metal masterpiece. One of my favorite tracks off Dethalbum IV is track ten (10), “SOS” is an epic 4:39 minutes’ worth of Dethklok’s ability to formulate a barrage of crunchy riffs mixed between double bass blast beats and Nathan/Brendon’s vicious lyrical accompaniment.

Track eleven (11), “Murmaider III”, closes out the unforgettable saga of Dethklok just as it began with “Murmaider” on The Dethalbum. Dethklok (allegedly) closes out their discography with the following quote, “The Murmaids sing/The Blackened fire/The blazing sky/The pluming ink/The sea beast cry/His final sleep/But we survive”.

While knowing that this might be the swan song for Dethklok, you can take solace in knowing that this entire album owns up to this enormous task. Dethalbum IV from start to finish is a testament to Dethklok’s growth and maturity in recording new material. From The Dethalbum to the latest Dethalbum IV, the evolution of their technical production and prolific songwriting is brutally illustrated with songs like “Gardener of Vengeance”, “Aortic Desecration”, “SOS”, and “Murmaider III” off Dethalbum IV. For 17 years, Dethklok has captured the attention of metal heads across the globe and now before the possible final chord is played on their current tour in Los Angeles, they have cemented themselves in the halls of the metal pantheon. Brendon Small had a vision with Tommy Blacha that spawned a movement in comedic callousness and extreme metal.

You can still order/save Dethklok's new album, Dethalbum IV, and listen to "Aortic Desecration" by following this link today!

Track listing

1. “Gardener of Vengeance”

2. “Aortic Desecration”

3. “Poisoned by Food”

4. “Mutilation on a Saturday Night”

5. “Bloodbath”

6. “I am the Beast”

7. “Horse of Fire”

8. “DEADFACE”

9. “Satellite Bleeding”

10. “SOS”

11. “Murmaider III”

  Don’t miss DETHKLOK on The Babyklok Tour with BABY METAL!

 THE BABYKLOK TOUR 2023:

 Wed-Aug-30-23 - Houston, TX- 713 Music Hall

Thu-Aug-31-23 - Dallas, TX - South Side Ballroom

Sat-Sep-02-23 - Orlando, FL - Orlando Amphitheater

Sun-Sep-03-23 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy

Tue-Sep-05-23 - Nashville, TN - Nashville Municipal Auditorium

Wed-Sep-06-23 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre

Fri-Sep-08-23 - Pittsburgh, PA - UPMC Events Center

Sat-Sep-09-23 - Wallingford, CT - Toyota Oakdale Theatre

Sun-Sep-10-23 - Alton, VA - Blue Ridge Rock Festival

Tue-Sep-12-23 - Philadelphia, PA - The Mann Center

Thu-Sep-14-23 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Fri-Sep-15-23 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom

Sun-Sep-17-23 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre

Mon-Sep-18-23 - Toronto, ONT - RBC Echo Beach

Wed-Sep-20-23 - Grand Rapids, MI - GLC Live at 20 Monroe

Thu-Sep-21-23 - Chicago, IL - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom

Sat-Sep-23-23 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Festival

Sun-Sep-24-23 - Milwaukee, MN - The Rave/Eagles Club

Mon-Sep-25-23 - Minneapolis, MN - The Fillmore

Wed-Sep-27-23 - St. Louis, MO - Saint Louis Music Park

Thu-Sep-28-23 - Omaha, NE - Steelhouse Omaha

Sat-Sep-30-23 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium

Sun-Oct-01-23 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex

Tue-Oct-03-23 - Vancouver, BC - PNE Forum

Wed-Oct-04-23 - Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater

Sat-Oct-07-23 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock Festival

Sun-Oct-08-23 - Las Vegas, NV - Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort

Tue-Oct-10-23 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theater

Wed-Oct-11-23 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theater

Thu-Oct-12-23 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theater

 Curious about Concerthopper? You can find more music-related articles, interviews, various photo galleries, indie music reviews, our ‘Bars & Bites’ section, our exclusive “She Said, She Said��� column, or become a Concerthopper at www.concerthopper.com. Sign up for our monthly newsletter by following this link: The Setlist! Please ‘Like’ our page on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date in 2022, on all music-related events/festivals such as Relix Presents Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, and Keller Williams and The Keels: Live at The Eastern, AmericanaFest (2023), Ghost RE-Imperatour U.S.A. with Amon Amarth: Ascend Amphitheater, The BabyKlok Tour: BabyMetal & DethKlok @ Coco-Cola Roxy (Atlanta), Celebrating 20 Years of Ocean Avenue: Yellowcard @ St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview (N.Y.), Sweet Oblivion Tour - Baroness: Live at The Masquerade, The Used: Live at Buffalo Riverworks, Elder w/ REZN & Lord Buffalo: Live at The Earl,  Twins of Evil Tour: Boris & The Melvins @ Variety Playhouse, Beast in Black: Live @ Exit/In, It Still Moves Anniversary Show: My Morning Jacket @ Fox Theatre, and Nth America Tour: Wolfmother @ The Eastern following us on all social media formats: Concerthopper on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  You can also follow my concert hopping on Facebook and Instagram for even more photos not available on Concerthopper.com.