#also it’s not even funny at how bad i am at writing kanji

[zaddyazula]

i am learning english what is a particle

[kotopeachii]

if you had to punt exactly one playable persona character into the sun, who would it be and why?

i have to pick just one? aww...

well, i classify my urge to punt someone as how much i hate and despise and fucking loathe them. but my reasoning behind hating a character is based on multiple factors;

do they have/learn good skills/abilities?

are they well written in the story?

are they well written in their social link?

writing aside, do i like them as a person?

now, the only games i have played out of the persona series are 4 & 5(NOT ROYAL). i read the p1 manga and am only watching playthroughs of the game, so i am not at all in any place to cast judgement on those guys, nor do one of those factors even apply to them... so that already narrows it down a whole bunch. i would never punt a single p1 character. they're all great (except maybe kei just for the 4th one) (but he's great. i love him. i think about him and get sad)

and i'm also eliminating the protagonists for obvious reasons, so we've already disqualified 11 characters. and with that out of the way, we can officially begin...

PERSONA'S PERILOUS PLAY OF PUNTING POTENTIAL!!!! (contains spoilers)

every character will be able to score out of 3 in each factor, and the one with the least amount of points wins the game as the Most Puntable. it's kind of like golf, which is funny, because i also want to punt golf players into the sun.

our first contestant is YOSUKE HANAMURAAAA

now, i was going to grab a fun little image of him to provide this post with visuals but i always forget that 90% of his search results on google are. uh. hm.

well, this is our situation. can i give him a pity point for that?

for number one, i can say...... 3/3. he was ALWAYS on my team during the whole game and i built him up well. like i was raising a son... sniffle... they grow up so fast...

i have to admit, it was a little annoying when he kept missing crits on the golden hand but is that his fault? no-hohohoooooo, it's merely a turn of fate... (and his fault. fuckyouyosukefuckyoufuckyougaaaah)

for number 2, i rate it 2. he's an ooooookay character in the main story, a lot of his harassment of the girls and kanji really tick me off and there's literally no good explanation as for why he does that other than just being an asshole, but. i guess being an asshole is just part of his personality.........?

EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT THERE SHOULD BE GREATER CONSEQUENCES FOR HIS ACTIONS BECAUSE COMMUNICATING THE IDEA THAT BAD PEOPLE GET OFF SCOT-FREE IS TERRIBLE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. i don't give 2 shits about fanservice as a whole (in regards to harassing the girls, not the homophobia, that's just annoying) but can we stop making the grounds for it being sexual harassment

number 3 gets a 3! his social link is AMAZING and i CRIED and hes GAY and LOVES HIS FRIENDS!!!!!! if i wanted to do a character analysis on him then i would write a different post, but this is me trying to figure out who i would punt into the sun. so. moving on

number 4......... 1/3. for the previous points in number 2, he is an absolute dickhead and no amount of people-pleasing habits and homoerotic chemistry will make me like him. every person who is mean to him is right.

oh boy, just yosuke's section was reaaaaaaaaaally long... i'll try and shorten it for you, okay?

up next is chie satonaka, my personal favourite persona 4 girl if that sets the baseline for anything.

look at her :] she's so silly :]

for number one, i'm sadly going to have to rate her below 3... like. 1.5? is that allowed? i'll say it is.

she's the party member equivalent of a burner phone. unlike yosuke who's by my side forever and ever, chie is only good until teddie gets a persona and then she's so publicly humiliated that she accidentally misses every single hit. galactic punt YOURSELF MOTHERFUUUUUUUUUCK

number 2, 3/3. no explanation needed, literally just her shadow boss fight and the beauty pageant and her friendship with yukiko and her everything.

number 3... also 3/3. a lot of people give her flack for deciding she wants to be a cop, which i get because acab fuck yeah, but where adachi is a cop just to get attention and a gun, she actually intends to protect people. chie learns to help herself so she can help others... augh... AUGH CHIE I LOVE YOUUUUUU

ahem. number 4, 2/3. she's definitely a sweetheart and she seems fun to be around but i have to admit she's definitely a little annoying sometimes.

and now it's time for chie's bestest friend ever, yukiko amagi!!

she gets a pity point for being a lesbian... not just a lesbian but one having a crush on a straight girl. we've all been there hunny bun. let's watch romcoms and eat ice cream together while crying ok?

number 1..... 3/3 fuck yeah my main healer always coming in clutch!!! after a certain point she stops being the main fire user and the player is supposed to take that role but then she has KICKASS HEALING ABILITIES!! support characters are always my favourites (which might foreshadow my rating for haru.......)

1/3 for number 2. that might sound harsh, but! but but but!

they kind of sucked the life out of her after her dungeon. the only real defining personality traits she has are in her social link, which is unfortunate because so many people hate it!

i don't hate yukiko. never

3 gets a 3. it's a good story actually, and like i said it helps me see yukiko as. like. a person. and a lot of people say it's bad writing that her story ends with her deciding she wants to manage the inn, but let me put a lot of emphasis on 'deciding'. she chose that path for herself after being told she was allowed to do what she likes, and y'know what? i don't think that's bad!

nobody likes being forced to do something. i know i struggled a lot with doing homework because i always felt trapped in those deadlines and expectations, but i didn't just give up on school. improving my grades was my own choice, and i realized that i had potential to change myself despite my situation and succeed! that's what yukiko's social link is about. not giving in to other people's expectations, but thriving in the environment you're given...

i just said i wanted to shorten everything and now i'm ranting. always number 4 is a 3/3 she's literally just a girl and her laughing thing is cute idgaf.

KANJI TATSUMIIIIIIIII

subtracting a point for those shoes. get out.

number 1 is a 2/3. he was cool, but nobody ever compares to yosuke. i mainly used him for his physical skills rather than magic because yu took that role very easily, and when paired with teddie or yukiko he's just a boss. but he's not my favourite party member in the world

number 2, i'll be blunt, 1/3. WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO YOU MAN. we all saw how yosuke and everyone else and the whole damn story treated him. we all saw the line where he asked naoto to be femme so they could "make him a man". shut the fuck upppppp

number 3 is his saving grace. i know some people don't like that they never elaborated on the sexuality thing (or the... sexism..??) and i get that, having a character who's canonically mspec but only vaguely mentions it once and never again is really annoying and a half-assed attempt at representation. though i interpret his reconciliation with his sewing hobby, an aspect of him that everyone thinks is unmanly and should be shamed, as a metaphor for his own sexuality. similar to daisuke and soccer being a stand-in for his anxiety around romance and girls. in that case, it's a 3/3.

(plus there's the line "it's so cute it'll give you diabetes" and... kanji... *facepalm*)

number 4. he's cutie. a little weird, but cutie. 2/3

and now, a girl who needs no introduction.

god my feelings for her are as mixed as my auntie's desert lasagna. ("let's mix it up," she says...)

i don't have anything against the navigators. they're pretty good. i say 3/3.

however i hate rise's writing. -4/3. negative numbers are cheating? I DON'T CARE!!

her dungeon is a STRONG start to her character, like with everyone else. i love rise reconciling with the fact that there is no "real me" and everyone has different sides of themselves that they need to make it through life... and the fact that it ties in with teddie's conflict of feeling hollow, like an alien or an impostor only pretending to be alive........ oh my god! hiiiiii!!!!! love it!

and then rise's main bit in the story is crushing on the protagonist.......... sigh.

i really really REALLY hate that about her actually. i really hate forced romances. and before you go calling me a hypocrite for liking souyo and not yurise even though souyo has the exact same amount of flirty moments between them, that's because those two are really subtle with each other and have a really good initial friendship to back it up and also ties in with their actual personalities.......???? (we can debate forever and ever if yu has a personality but i say he does. he's consistently portrayed in other adaptations and spinoffs. he's got so much in common with yosuke)

but rise just kind of sees yu and goes "hey handsome. killing shadows all by yourself?" and it's like eeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh.... 90% of the time she's on screen it's to flirt with yu and the other 10% is serious moments or when she's with anyone but yu. there's no moments where she gets to be casual and friendly with HIM, where we get to see DEPTH to their relationship, it's just purely flirting. and i hate that. so much. is this a one-night stand? no? then give me some actual fucking chemistry

and i feel like all of that smushing-dolls-together time takes away from a lot of genuine scenes with rise where she....... yk.... shows off her personality?

the hot springs and the trip to tatsumi port island are held dearly in my heart because rise DOES SHIT. she's silly and goofy and playful and maybe she says some stuff that's a little perverted but it's not to the yosuke degree. i like the idea that rise flirts with ALL of her friends, not just yu; it makes her feel like she's really part of the friend group, which is the investigation team's strongest suit.

rise and yukiko both have any personality ripped from them in favour of dumb bits that aren't even funny and that post of mine analyzing their dynamic during the school field trip is so everything guys they're so great as a duo i need to see more of them pleapelpslepalpelspes.......

...whoops. i ranted.

number 3 gets a 2/3. it's kind of just a rehash of what she learned in the main story, which is fine, but not ideal.

rise as a person is 3/3. absolute silliness all around. love her

KUMA KUMA KUMAAAAA

look at this fucking guy. ridiculous. i hate him. he's so annoying and dumb and he sucks

3/3 on party member he's totally goated

3/3 on main story he makes me feel the whole spectrum of emotions and then some

his social link is automated so technically thats a 3/3 too

3/3 person he might be an annoying little shit but i have 2 younger cousins. i understand yosuke. it's endearing to me

teddie is peak. i would never punt him.

now............to.

entirely honest, i'm on my second persona 4 playthrough to complete the social links i never finished and... naoto is one of those. so i will be unable to determine the rating for one of the factors. but luckily i'm not shit at math so it'll work out in the end

for 1...... honestly they're a good party member as well, but because i didn't get very far in their social link, i didn't unlock that ability where she's able to withstand a deadly blow meaning he would just be constantly dying. like. constantly.

but that's kind of the only thing i like about naoto. i have to rate their main storyline a 1/3. it's absolutely shit and the gender plottwist (ughh) is so badly done. i'm personally thinking up a rewrite for his character because i think they were onto something with the message about misogyny in the workplace but she's so SHITTILY executed that it's just muddied

naoto as a person is..... ok. 2/3. i don't find many things about her that exceptional or fun. i don't think about them often. if this were my rewrite of him it'd be waaaay deep down in the negatives because they are an ASSHOLE but i love them way more :3

and next is ryu.............uh........ actually, this is way too long. much too long than you probably anticipated... um... maybe i'll cut it short, make a part 2 later.

until next time........ on PERSONA'S PERILOUS PLAY OF PUNTING POTENTIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!

[arcplaysgames]

didn’t you keep saying you didn’t even like p4g when playing? how is p5r worse? genuine question. is it the pacing/characters/story?

cw: P5R negativity, fans might wanna skip this

I think you missed my final round-ups on P4G because outside very specific criticisms (Izanami being bad writing, the P4MC being an anchor around the throat of the game, and JESUS FUCK THE MUSIC WAS SO BAD) I was overall pretty positive on P4G. It has ups and downs, but the ups far outweigh the downs. I think if you check this blog with /tagged/p4 you'll find my two big Final Thoughts posts. I honestly think P4G gets a bad wrap. I'd give it a final score of, like, 7 out of 10.

It's just not Persona 3 Portable Girl Route, which I still maintain is the best scenario writing and some of the best character writing of the series, and I think the structure is much more solid. Also the music is the best I've heard yet.

P5R, I am currently doing the Kaneshiro Arc and I have recruited Makoto. My issue with P5R is probably three-fold.

One: I think that the cast is dramatically weaker than P4 and P3. Like, I'm kind of shocked at how weak the cast is. So far I like Morgana the most, but I think it was my friend Bane who pointed out that Morgana tends to be a very divisive character because he's such a strong character compared to everyone else. Me, I need this. I desperately need this because I think Ryuji and Ann feel incredibly weak, and while I am thrilled to have Yusuke, he's.... like mid-tier. For P5 he's godtier but he's mid-tier for P4 or P3.

I was talking to a friend and basically said that this game fails the Homestuck Rule of Writing, honestly. Like, when you are writing really distinct characters, one of the best shortcuts is to just.... make them passionate in uncool ways. Give them weird hobbies your audience probably will not share, but let the level of passion they have make them feel stronger.

Like, Chie is obsessed with kung fu, Akihiko and Shinjiro have a running fight about protein vs vegetables that's really funny, and Kanji just keeps a sewing kit on him and will fix people's hems on the street. Remember when Junpei met a gothic lolita girl by the train station who was making art in her own blood and was like "haha awesome you seem cool! Wanna hang out?"

God, I miss Junpei every day.

So far, honestly? No one in P5R passes the Homestuck Test. I keep complaining I need some weirdos and that's what I mean. I am kind of just "ugh" on this idea of "oh so and so gets better" but like. No one in P3 and P4 needed to "get better" (okay except Yukari but her arc fucking rocked).

Two: The technical quality of the writing of this game is so much worse than P3 and P4 imo. It's something i have a hard time explaining and I'm to a point I have just given up on even cataloging it because it feels like I'm complaining about something small, but it's a small thing that keeps happening over and over and over and over, until it's just this overall severe lack of polish to the entire game. Which, when I am dealing with a game that feels as overproduced and maximalist as P5R, having the actual script be this rough in a way that was easily fixable with another pass is just a rock in my shoe.

Three: I am severely fucking torn on the entire concept of Joker. In a way, Joker feels like a direct answer to my biggest criticism of P4G, that the MC was such a non-character, a complete void with nothing to balance the story on, a problem so severe that by midway through, P4G was about Yosuke instead of P4MC. And that sucks. Having a MC with no impetus, only reaction, just didn't suit the structure of P4G.

Now, we have Joker, who frankly is a great character who addresses those complaints perfectly. He has an easily detectable personality, he has more frequent and more interesting dialogue choices, he has quirks and oddities, and he has a compelling backstory that lends itself to the core themes and mysteries of the game.

Except: the Gay Options have been removed.

I was able to play P4G as a homogay from start to finish, which frankly softened some of my anger about the entire experience. Not to be flippant, but Reverie The Fourth's only traits were "calm dude" and "fuckin GAY".

After how queer P4G was, the complete absence of that in P5R is.... isolating and disappointing. It's something I am pushing through but the game's repeated calls for rebellion and pushing against what people think of you feels trite with how relentlessly cishet it all is.

At the end of the day, at the moment, I consider P5R easily the weakest of the Big Three. Maybe my opinion will change! But at the moment it's really not getting better.

I was talking to a friend and I think that the Perfect Persona Game would be

fully gender neutral protagonist, just don't refer to their gender at all, don't gate anything around gender, just don't

the setting of P5R

the cast of P4 or P3

Frankly if you gave me the same game, Persona 5 Royal, but inserted SEES or the Investigation Team, you would have the fucking greatest modern Persona game.

[god-of-a-thousand-demons]

My before, during, and after impressions of the investigation team

Before

Yu: “I know nothing about you but you are pretty”

Yosuke: “he looks like a 2000s jpop idol”

Teddie: I didn’t even know he existed

Chie: “aw she’s cute!”

Yukiko: “oooh. pretty”

Kanji: “he’s a punk, my favorite heheh”

Rise: “Omg she’s so cute and she shares a voice actor with tohru honda!! My babie and probably fave!!! Pretty girls and idols ftw”

Naoto: “TRANS BOY I LOVE YOUUUUU AELUGAHH”

During

Yu: “he’s kind of boring. not in a bad way but he just doesn’t stick out much and doesn’t have much of a personality, especially compared to joker

Yosuke: “Pfft. He’s a fucking dork I love him. But also shut the fuck up Yosuke I will NOT tolerate you hurting kanji I will drop you for him and kick your ass in a HEARTBEAT!!!!”

Teddie: “I fucking hate you die die die you’re so gross and annoying evil violence death hatred rage”

Chie: “she’s kind of annoying :/“

Yukiko: “she’s kind of annoying >:[. Also I hate her voice acting, she has weird infliction. I don’t care about you or what you’re going through at all”

Kanji: “ohhhh my beautiful boy, my beautiful boy!!! I love you so so much. You’re perfect. I love you. I love you.”

Rise: “I love you but not nearly as much as I thought I would and that disappoints me :/ also youre really weird around Yu and kind of a jerk to kanji and I don’t like it. *minus social points like the sims*”

Naoto: “I like you but not nearly as much as I thought I would and that disappoints me :( also you are definitely 100% absolutely trans and I love you for that / love that for you”

After

Yu: “Yu narukami I fucking love you. The best boy. Holy shit you’re so great” Not surprising bc I have “always loving the main character” disease lmao

Yosuke: “I love you and though it was a bit rocky you’re a great character and a wonderful person. I will now spend all my time writing / thinking about situations where you grow from your ignorance and become the best person you can be. Also holy shit you are so gay and homophobic”

Teddie: “I still think you’re gross but I don’t really hate you in the same way. Definitely still the least favorite but I know the game wouldn’t have been the same without you and you do have your good moments so fine. You pass.”

Chie: “ohhhh chie I love you so much!! You’re such a good girl. You’re so funny and sweet and you’re also so strong in so many ways!!! I care you a lot. Also I love imagining you as yu’s best friend, you get along so well!”

Yukiko: “girl I am so sorry for the disrespect. I love you. You’re a wonderful girl, a good person, and a good friend. You struggled through so much and it was so heartwarming seeing you grow beyond your faults and stand strong on your own. Also you’re so funny and I really like your voice actor a lot, I can say she sounds awkward because yukiko herself can be pretty awkward”

Kanji: “best fucking boy of all time ever holy shit. About halfway through the game you became my fave and you never left that spot. You are so wonderful and so kind. You went through so much and have such a big heart and I treasure and value you for that so much. You are such a special boy and you have such greatness waiting for you, and I know Yu and your mother will be there to encourage you. Also I love your mom!! Also you’re just so cute!!! You sew and blush so easily and are finally confidant with yourself and it makes me so emotional!! I related to you and your struggles a lot and it was so heartwarming to see you overcome them. Also soukan forever I love you two together so much <3333”

Rise: “I love you. You’re a good girl. Your route was fantastic, I’m just disappointed how they didn’t even attempt to merge your changed personality into the main story. You stay very stagnant despite having so much growth on your own and it makes me sad. Also girl stop being weird to kanji and Yu and kiss naoto yourself.”

Naoto: “oh my lovely lad. My trans child. You didn’t get much time to shine or show off your character so I don’t feel like I know you very well but I treasure you. You’re adorable and I care you a lot, I wish they gave you more focus <///3”

I didn’t find it difficult or excruciating to rank any of their bonds. I only missed naoto by one rank but that was because of time constraints. The routes were all so well done and I enjoyed seeing all of there characters grow and transform. In main story I think they’re all good arcs to varying degrees and it was such a joy when the whole team was finally together. I love the investigation team so much <3

[damejanai]

2020.08.12

2020.08.12 S: I cried like shit recently....my heart was in pieces... K: Huh? What happened? S: After reading manga...it was so good, that it may be cry.. The one called 'Karakuri circus" K: Oh! S: it was the first time I read something by Fujita Kazuhiro, and it was so good, I finished it in two days, while crying K: Wow that's many volumes! S: 43 volumes... ... Recently my tabs are all related to 'Karakuri Circus' K: Ahhh, please, watch the anime too S: Yea and then I found out, Ishikawa san is in it! K: Yes S: You're in it, and it's a good role too K: Well well yeah I didn't have much air time but S: Ahhhh you know, I kept rereading the best lines from this work K: Uh huh, and hey, can I brag about something? Can I? I'm gonna do it S: Huh? You brightened up suddenly K: Hahahhaha, Manga artist Fujita Kazuhiro S: !!! K: Drew my character S: !!! K: and signed it for me S: Really?!?!?! K: I have it displayed S: That's awesomeeeee K: I've bragged S: I'm gonna cry K: Hahahhaha --- ~Summerholic! ~ S: Oh, " Saito san, it's almost time for your next single to be released on streaming.' huh? K: Oh! S: Yes, my next single will be released on 19th August, 'Summerholic!' K: That's next week! S: Eh? It's it okay for me to be the Artist Saito Soma? K: Ahhhhhh.... Well well yea K: Ahhhh that's quick eh? Since 'kagome kagome' (referring to the last part of Petrichor) S: Ahahhaa right, kagome kagome. For the jacket of this single, it was a photo during evening of a dimly lit room. If you watch the MV you'll understand K: You'll be releasing an MV too huh S: Yes, ahaha the MV will be something unlike anything I've done so far K: Really? Like what? S: If I had to say one thing about it, it might not the cool type of MV, it's those funny type. Hahaa I don't know if I can say this K: The songs that Soma san write aren't those funny ones right? S: the song is a upbeat band song, but the MV is like... 'Huh?' kind of K: Huh what what? You're raising my expectations S: Hahahahaha K: Will you be cosplaying? S: Hahaha, well it's in that direction K: Really? Tarzan would be good S: That's totally.... Quite holic-ish huh, totally enjoying the summer K: Summer-ish too, won't the tropical jungle vibe be good? S: Well like the title, it shows one enjoying summer in a certain way K: What... Are you going to do a cosplay of your past self? S: No no, what do you mean? That's a noo K: Will you be that tanned surfer dude? kind of summer S: With the M shaped bangs? K: Ahhhhh that would be exciting! S: That's why I grew my hair out? wwww --- ~Manga~ Q. I like romance comedies but one type I don't like are sibling romance kind of manga, because I have a younger brother who is 2 years younger than I am, and that's an age difference that appears in most sibling romance. Also he calls me 'oi' or 'omae' in front of others but calls me 'Yui chan' when we're at home. Please tell us your perfect type of siblings! S: That's cute~~~I'm okay with reading sibling ones but I don't have much heart fluttering instances K: Umm, there's a method to read them S: hhahahahaa K: You constantly doubt if they're related by blood S: Ahhhh K: As long as they're not blood related, it's still within my threshold. I have a sister 4 years younger than I am, so it's weird.. S: Ahhhh K: Wait, but I was okay with Oreimo though S: It was okay huh! K: Huh I wonder why... It's because it's Nakamura san! S: What kind of logic is that! --- ~Soma started buying manga online~ S: Ooh what's that about....i'll buy it....ah, i bought volume 13 by mistake K: Then you'll have to get the other 12 S: Ahhhhhh......oh well, i shall buy them S: Recently, dameraji has become like this... K: Just Otakus, welcome! To the undergound!! --- ~Kanji~ Q. Do you like kanji? K: Um well, I shan't talk about whether I like it or not.. I'm bad at it.. S: Ohhhh K: Because I can't read them, I, can't really read a lot of kanji S: Ahh is that so? K: After living with namikawa San, erm, living...em living sounds weird S: Hahahahaha, there were many weird things about what you just said K: I mean, I do a program with him.. S: Yes I see K: And when he asks me how to read a kanji,  I'd be like... 'I don't know',  and we'll check it together S: Ahhhh I seee,  like sometimes even though we may know the meaning by looking at the context,  and sometimes we miss it when were checking our scripts...and when we reach that part during the recording well be like,  huh? K: Totally happens~ and also for Smart News,  there's a section on 'difficult-to-read-kanji' and I'll always read it S: Yes yes,  that's convenient right? K: Totally convenient ~Dameraji Photo Studio~ K: Since they brought us the Number 24 karaoke collaboration drinks here for us shall we pose with them? S: Alright~

[DOWNLOAD] 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Yp5Xdwi4_z03jPajH9BEbL7R02brXk8P?usp=sharing

[shanethvarosa]

Music Review: 2020

My blog has been a lot of things over the years, but it did originate as something I used to publicly review music; especially in the Visual Kei scene. Since I began the blog so many years ago, I had actually been hired to review Visual Kei and J-Rock music for an actual website: VKH-Press.com, work I am very, very proud of to this day. However, with not much news to comment on or work to critique, I haven’t been as active. Plus, personal issues always seem to stand in my way. However, I always take the time to discuss my passions at the end of the year. There were so many incredible releases, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and so I wanted to take the time time to discuss my favorite releases and, maybe, the not-so-favorites as well. Quick shout out to Bastille’s Goosebumps EP and Megan Thee Stallion’s Good News LP as I did not get to listen to them before I wrote up my lists, but were still excellent releases. See my thoughts below! 

Overall, there were about 75 albums or groupings of albums I listened to this year and split them between various tiers. Starting with the bad tier, there were actually only ten albums listed here and mostly just because they were seemingly unnecessary collection albums. For example, another Satsuki collection? Rides in ReVellion releasing two greatest hits LPs after only five years of work? Beyonce releasing The Lion King: The Gift again? None of those felt like necessary releases. There weren’t many albums that really screamed bad to me this year, but I really could not stand Vanessa Carlton’s “Love is an Art” or Justin Bieber’s “Changes.” The only other albums on this tier were just underwhelming compared to what I know the artist is capable of, but the “best bad tier album,” in my view, was The 1975′s “Notes on a Conditional Form.” 

The mid-tier albums had all sorts of reasons for being only mid-tier. They weren’t quite bad or outright unnecessary, but are mostly by artists who put out work that was nowhere near the caliber of their usual work or were re-releases or other collection albums. For example, Tove Lo’s “Sunshine Kitty: Pawprint Edition” or Man With A Mission’s remixes/b-sides/covers albums. Nice to have with good quality music, but I wish we’d just have had brand new EPs or LPs. 

The good-tier albums were all really excellent releases, but didn’t hit home the way anything on the “God-Tier” list did. Here, I’d like to share a quick top ten: 

10. Taeyeon’s “Purpose: Repackage” & Japanese EP, “#GirlsSpkOut” 9. Charli XCX’s “How I’m Feeling Now” 8. Miyavi’s “Holy Nights” & “Holy Nights: 2020 Lockdown” 7. TK’s “Sainou” 6. PVRIS’s “Use Me” 5. Buck-Tick’s “Abracadabra” 4. Katy Perry’s “Smile” 3. Alicia Keys’ “Alicia” 2. Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” & “Club Future Nostalgia” 1. Ava Max’s “Heaven & Hell

Without furhter ado, though, the God Tier Top 25: 

25. Acme’s We Are Visual Kei: Essentially a collection album of several songs that were b-sides that never made a full-blown album. This LP was loaded with some of Acme’s best work and shows that they are going to be here for a long time, despite Div not quite working out. Recommended tracks: Mononoke Requiem, Gekiyama Celluloid, Houkago no Shiiku 

24. Alanis Morisette’s Such Pretty Forks in the Road: Admittedly, a huge fan in the 90′s and loved her cover of Seal’s Crazy. However, before this album I didn’t really listen to much of her body of work and I can see why today’s youth might not listen to this album. It is very “adult” insofar as it deals with her struggles in marriage, parenting, religion, etc. Her vocal performance is exceptional and her song writing remains some of the best in the business. Recommended tracks: Smiling, Nemesis, Reasons I Drink. 

23. Niall Horan’s Heartbreak Weather: Not my usual cup of tea, but for some reason Niall’s music makes me feel softer than normal. He’s very cute and charming and his words are always so romantic. It feels more genuine than the music made by other members of One Direction and kind-of reminds me of earlier Taylor Swift writing, but from a male perspective. Recommended Tracks: Put A Little Love On Me, Arms of a Stranger, Still. 

22. K/DA’s All Out: I don’t even really understand what this is, but I love it. There’s something to do with League of Legends? Cartoons? International pop stars? Whatever it is, I’m totally obsessed. These songs just completely slap. Recommended Tracks: The Baddest, More, Drum Go Dum. 

21. Darrell’s Brilliant Death: This might even “officially” be a single, but there’s enough content to market it as an album. Darrell is a band formed from the ashes of Deathgaze and Ai’s solo project. Who knows why Ai didn’t just continue after his solo album, Confusion, but he decided to go back to the band-format with confusingly-named Darrell. This album is then, incidentally, mostly Deathgaze covers. It brings the production into the new era and gives you a lot of nostalgic love for old hits. Recommended Tracks: Brilliant Death, Evoke the World, Abyss. 

20. Alice Nine’s Fuyajou Eden & Kuro to Wonderland: Neither album was particularly long, in fact these were glorified EPs that could’ve been merged to one two-sided LP, but in either case... Both albums had something really special to offer and felt like a true comeback after years of name changes and finally going back to their original, kanji-styled name. Recommended Tracks: Kakumei Kaika -Revolutionary Blooming-, Testament, Replica, Glow. 

19. Mucc’s Aku: This album felt very long in the making after a series of weird singles that didn’t feel like they were going anywhere. Ultimately, a lot of those singles did not make the album including my favorite one: Taboo. The resulting album, though, did feel very cohesive and thematic and even featured one of this year’s heavy hitters: Hazuki. Recommended Tracks: Aku -Justice-, Memai, Ameria. 

18. Miley Cyrus’s Plastic Hearts: This person is absolutely one of my favorite people in music. I’m pretty sure they have comeout as genderfluid/non-binary, so I want to stick with safe pronouns, just in case. However, they’ve always been a favorite and as they’ve come out as such a champion for the LGBT, I love them even more. The album though gave me a lot of hype for something very 80′s rock, but didn’t quite give me what I expected. All in all, the music was fantastic, just a little off-beat from expectations. Recommended Tracks: Gimme What I Want, Angels Like You, WTF Do I Know. 

17. Rina Sawayama’s Sawayama: I didn’t expect to fall in love with this girl the way I did. My boyfriend recommended “STFU” to me as kind of a joke because the song discusses a lot of Asian racism that I’m always criticizing people in my life for falling into, but then the song was so bad ass I checked out the album. There were so many different types of music on it and she really did a good job with all of them. Then, with the deluxe edition coming out and the hardcore club banger “Lucid” being involved... Just really brought it all home. Recommended Tracks: Tokyo Love Hotel, Lucid, Fuck This World. 

16. Amber Liu’s X: This was just an EP, but every song on it was great. Amber Liu was from f(x), a K-Pop Icon Group, but she always seemed like the odd one out. She was such a tomboy, so silly and funny all the time, and didn’t really behave like other Korean idols. I mean, really, she isn’t actually even Korean. I believe she’s Chinese American. In either case, the EP really noted some of her own personal strugles in the business and also remaining pretty fun at parts too. I saw her live in Philly before COVID-19 and she was truly excellent. Recommended Tracks: Numb, Stay Calm, Other People. 

15. Blackpink’s The Album: Not much of an album at only 8 tracks, but that’s K-Pop for you. I bet next year I’ll be putting “Blackpink’s The Album: Repackage” on my top 25 list. The quality of the music was pretty dope though, all things considered. It was a very solid debut effort with all of their previous songs being somewhere in the same lane as this one. I still kind of believe they are a reminder of what 2NE1 could have been, but they’re doing well enough on their own. Recommended Tracks: Ice Cream, Lovesick Girls, Pretty Savage. 

14. Hazuki’s Year Over All: Kind of a weird way to word it, but Hazuki basically released two albums this year in different formats. His work with his band, Lynch., was pretty magnificent. I’m not one to usually dwell on a Lynch. album. Their singles or featured tracks are what I usually get into, but the actual album (Ultima) really did a good job of showing how versatile Hazuki can be. His solo album, Souen -Funeral-, was an entirely stripped down, gothic orchestral album of Lynch. covers and other J-Hard Rock artists. Hearing it done like this was almost transcendental. Recommended Tracks: Xero, Idol, Ray, D.A.R.K. 

13. Sam Smith’s Love Goes: They had me scared that their album wasn’t coming this year once they pushed it back, back in May. Then again, at the time, an album called “To Die For” was probably super tone deaf. In any case, literally every single released for this album had me in love. So, when they all got included in the final version, I was thrilled. Sam gave us a bonus song after the album as well, but I can see why that one didn’t get on. In any case, this is a huge step up from “The Thrill of it All,” which I didn’t really care for. Recommended Tracks: Another One, Dance (’Til You Love Someone Else), Forgive Myself. 

12. Troye Sivan’s In A Dream: I love this kid. He’s so gay and so not shy about it and it really makes me smile. The EP comes after his last LP, Bloom, where the title track basically talks about bottoming for the first time and this new EP deals with a few other queer issues over weirdly produced beats that just... make sense. Recommended tracks: Stud, In A Dream, Easy. 

11. Matenrou Opera’s Chronos: Unfortunately, this band just lost their guitarist again. Their original, Anzi, was basically the most consummate guitarist in the visual kei scene that wasn’t Hizaki and he left them. Their sound wasn’t quite right since and they seemed to just get it back with Chronos when Jay left them. I guess we’ll see what they do next, but I think Chronos could be their last great release. Recommended Tracks: Chronos, Silence, Reminiscence. 

10. BoA’s Better: A very recent release that hasn’t had much time for me to digest. This is strange for me to put it so high on my list for that reason, but BoA is one of my all time favorites. She never disappoints me. This album was no different. It wasn’t exactly up to par with “Woman” or “Watashi Kono Mama de Ii no Kana,” but it definitely gave us some new and very iconic Queen BoA bangers. Recommended Tracks: Cut Me Off, Start Over, Temptations. 

9. Kesha’s High Road: A semi-step down from Rainbow, only because a lot of the same melodic elements and, sometimes, even beats were used on this album too. However, her vocal performance was outstanding and she even gave us a new dirty-pop song with some interesting indie-pop tracks to go with it. Plus, who doesn’t love a Big Freedia feature? Recommended Tracks: Resentment, Raising Hell, Tonight. 

8. Lady Gaga’s Chromatica: Anyone who knows me knows I don’t really love Gaga anymore. After all the drama with Madonna and her experimentation with “Joanne” I didn’t think I’d ever like her music again. However, she definitely won back big points for me on Chromatica. It was finally fun, weird, dancey, and then simultaneously emotional and I was really able to get back into it. She’s always had the voice, but on this one it also showed us that she still has what made us love her. Recommended Tracks: Rain On Me, Plastic Doll, Enigma. 

7. Koda Kumi’s My Name Is... Angel + Monster: She is, very likely, my Japanese Pop Queen. She always makes these absolutely outlandish bangers of dance tracks that have such a great attitude and beat and when she released re(CORD)... last year? 2018? Who can remember... I thought she could never outdo herself. Then she released “Lucky Star” and I was floored. I was a bit disappointed when they were only to promote a “My Name Is...” collection album, but then, to my surprise, a full set of new tracks came out just after that just blew me entirely away. Guess the last 6 albums must be pretty great, huh? Recommended tracks: Killer Monster, Work It!, Alarm. 

6. Grimes’ Miss Anthropocene: I’ve never been a big fan of Grimes, but when Violence came out I was really looking forward to whatever album this was going to end up promoting. The song is actual fire, but then the LP ended up being some kind of experimental Gothic Pop with Asian Pop influences I never expected. I doubt I’ll ever find something she does this good ever again, but it was really a musical light in the darkness of this year. Recommended tracks: Darkseid, Delete Forever, Violence. 

5. Kylie Minogue’s Disco: Admittedly, my draw to Kylie has always been that she is like some kind of Australian Madonna. Madonna being one of my all time favorite artists... In fact, number 2 for all women I listen to, Kylie has some big shoes to fill with her sometimes generic pop that she puts out. However, I haven’t really truly loved a Kylie song since “Get Outta My Way” and then this album comes out filled with tracks to love for the rest of time. Recommended Tracks: Miss A Thing, Till You Love Somebody, Magic. 

4. Chanmina’s Notebook/Angel: I don’t have really any way of knowing how popular Chanmina is in Japan or if she is as popular in the Japanese Queer Scene as she should be, but god damn does she know what she’s doing. Her music is raunchy, bitchy, and condescending at it’s highest and deeply personal at it’s most mellow. There is no “lowest.” “Notebook” was a two-sided album and “Angel” a strong follow up EP, but all the recommended tracks are from “Notebook.” If you have not listened to “Picky”.... go do it now, I’ll wait. Recommended tracks: Picky, Baby, Lucy. 

3. The Weeknd’s After Hours: Incidentally, I got into The Weeknd after someone said something shitty about him here on Tumblr! I took their likely-valid criticism and went to check him out for myself and I gotta say, I love his work. The beats are literally always on point and his voice is like silk. This album provided more than a few iconic songs and I always can’t wait to see what he does next. Recommended Tracks: Alone Again, Heartless, Blinding Lights. 

2. Halsey’s Manic: The singles and features she did between Hopeless Fountain Kingdom and Manic gave me such insanely high hopes and I was not disappointed. HFK was a strong album of course, but this was near perfection for me. I think the production of this alt-pop album was the star of the show because it wasn’t all one way, there were heavy-bass songs, interesting piano riffs, striaght up punk rock, all of it. She really made an album quite like it’s namesake. Recommended Tracks: Ashley, Killing Boys, Still Learning. 

1. Dexcore’s Metempsychosis: A newcomer to the visual kei and death metal scene, they’ve been putting out single after single for years in preparation for their extemeley long and multidaceted debut album. With a total of about 33 songs, the entire second disc was rerecorded singles from their early days and some even got new lyrical treatment. The main series of songs were, of course, also totally flooring and all of the recommended tracks are the new ones. If you haven’t checked them out by now, you have to! Recommended tracks: Cibus, Scribble, Period.

[piduai]

Hi, this is really random but i would be very grateful if you could give me some insight on your translation process! i enjoy all your gk translations and i also have been translating a manga with a group(very bad choice) and i wanted to ask you how do you prefer to translate , do you usually change the structure no matter what to fit to the eng language or do you usually keep it closer to the original jp language ? i usually like to keep it closer to the original language cause eng sometimes can never convey certain things (eng is not my 1st language so it feels that way to me) but i just wanted to ask your thought process if you dont mind sharing! thank you~

rip to having to work in a group bestie, you’re braver than the us marines...

when i translate things i am possessed, i do everything in one go. i translated half of the gk fanbook in 3 days in 3 sittings, usually i’ll just open my text and i disappear off the face of earth for 4-5 hours, concentrating 100000% of my attention on what i’m doing and only taking a few bathroom breaks (that’s how i work too, i need to be forced to take my lunch break) so by the end my brain is super fried and i’m too disgusted and exhausted to even go back and check for typos LOL one day i will proofread what i already posted. hopefully.

as for how i translate, i usually try striking for the balance of language-appropriate and natural-sounding. my end goal is for the text to be legible and sound natural, ideally i would like it to sound the closest to something that was originally written in english (or russian). i try to avoid internet speak unless the original text also uses slang, and i usually just let go of details that aren’t essential and only serve as decoration in the original. for example in interviews the questions are more often than not very flowery and over-complicated in structure, i see no point in translating close to the original if the only thing that matters there is the question itself.

i’ll also let go of over-specific things that mean something only in a context most people just won’t understand. for example in the q&a in the fanbook the question about shiraishi being a hunk or a clown originally was ‘is shiraishi more of a nimaime or sanmaime?’. nimaime and sanmaime are roles assumed by actors in kabuki theatre, one being of an attractive man in a love scene and the other being of the comedic relief. i could have decided to be language-accurate and translate it as such and then make a translation note with the explanation, but chose to go for the context instead because at the end of the day that was the point of the question. if there’s the option of bypassing technical accuracy in favor of meaning i will take it if it makes the text easier to understand.

there’s a lot of things english can not convey though, you’re so right. for example tone and the usage of keigo are SUPER important in japanese because it gives you an insight on both the character and the way they interact with others; there’s a world of difference between characters who use ore, boku or watashi, but it is absolutely impossible to translate. ideally i would like the text to be accessible (in theory) to people who don’t know the next thing about japanese, but i tend to keep the suffixes (sans and chans) and words such as sensei without looking for equivalents, even though they don’t sound natural in english at all. in interviews i try to keep the tone rather light-hearted and funny, in manga i try to imagine how the lines would sound in real life spoken by a real person and adjust the tone as needed.

there’s also the way words are used in language context and dictionary definitions. for example the word ‘sabishigariya’ is listed as ‘lonely person’ in any given dictionary, but its usage 100% of the time in actual language would rather be ‘person who hates to be lonely’. the difference is subtle but it IS there. people treating japanese as a fictional language only used by manga characters is kinda cringe, they do it all the time, i keep seeing them trying to dissect a sentence by ‘analyzing’ each kanji in a word by separate meaning even though it simply does not work like that. i try to apply my knowledge of a speaker into, again, making it sound like something an actual human being would say in real life.

but it all is circumstantial, at the end of the day. more often than not i just read something, translate it in my head, write it out, and decide if i’m satisfied with it. if i’m not i just rewrite it. wouldn’t say there is a formula that i necessarily apply to it all the time. 

[greatfay]

controversial opinions?

Cold pizza actually not good. Tastes like angry bacteria.

There’s a completely separate class of gay men who are in a different, rainbow-tinted plane of reality from the rest of us and I don’t like them. They push for “acceptance” via commercialization of the Pride movement, assimilation through over-exposure, and focus on sexualizing the movement to be “provocative” and writing annoying articles that reek of class privilege instead of something actually important like lgbtqa youth homelessness, job discrimination, and mental health awareness.

Coleslaw is good. You guys just suck in the kitchen.

Generational divides ARE real: a 16-year-old and a 60-year-old right now in 2021 could agree on every hot button sociopolitical topic and yet not even realize it because they communicate in entirely different ways.

Sam Wilson is a power bottom. No I will not elaborate.

Allison’s makeover in The Breakfast Club good, not bad. She kept literally and metaphorically dumping her trash out onto the table and it’s clearly a cry for help. Having the attention and affection of a smart, pretty girl doing her makeup for her was sweet and helped her open up to new experiences. Not every loner wants to BE a loner (see: Bender, who is fine being a lone wolf).

Movie/show recommendations that start with a detailed “representation” list read like status-effecting gear in an RPG and it’s actually a turn-off for me. I have to force myself to give something a try in spite of it.

Yelling at people to just “learn a new language” because clearly everyone who isn’t you and your immediate vicinity of friends must be a lazy ignorant white American is so fucking stupid, like I get it, you’re mad someone doesn’t immediately know how to pronounce your name or what something means. But I know 2 languages and am struggling with a 3rd when I can between 2 jobs and quite frankly, I don’t have the time to just absorb the entire kanji system into my brain to learn Japanese by tomorrow night, or suddenly learn Arabic or Welsh. There are 6500 recorded languages in the world, what’s the chance that one of 3 I’ve learn(ed?) is the one you’re yelling at me about. Yes this is referring to that post yelling at people for not knowing how to pronounce obscure Irish names and words. Sometimes just explaining something instead of admonishing people for not knowing something inherently in the belief that everyone must be lazy entitled privileged people is uh... better?

Stop fucking yelling at people. I despise feeling like someone is yelling at me or scolding me, it triggers my Violence Mode, you don’t run me, you are not God, fuck off. Worst fucking way to "educate” people, it just feels good in the moment to say or write and doesn’t help. Yes I’ve done it before.

Violence is good actually.

Characters doing bad things ≠ an endorsement of bad things. Characters doing bad things that are unquestioned by the entire rest of the cast = endorsement of bad things, or at the least, a power fantasy by the creator. See: Glee, in which Sue’s awfulness is constantly called out, while Mr. Shue’s awfulness rarely is because he’s “the hero.” See also: the Lightbringer series, in which the protagonist is a violent manipulator who is praised as clever, charming, diplomatic, and genius by every supporting character (enemies included), despite the text never demonstrating such.

Euphoria is good, actually. It falls into this niche of the past decade of “dark gritty teen shows” but actually has substance behind it, but the general vibe I get from passive-aggressive tumblr posts from casual viewers is that this show is The Devil, and the criticism of its racier content screams pearl-clutching “what about the children??” to me.

Describing all diagnosed psychopaths as violent criminals is a damaging slippery slope, sure. But I won’t be mad at anyone for inherently distrusting another human who does not have the ability to feel guilt and remorse, empathy, is a pathological liar, or proves to be cunning and manipulative.

It’s actually not easy to unconditionally support and love everyone everywhere when you’ve actually experienced the World. Your perspective and values will be challenged as you encounter difficult people, experience hardship, are torn between conflicting ideas and commitments, and fail. My vow to never ever call the cops on another black person was challenged when an employee’s boyfriend marched into the kitchen OF AN ESTABLISHMENT to scream at her, in a BUSINESS I MANAGED, and threaten to BEAT the SHIT out of her. Turns out I can hate cops and hate that motherfucker equally, I am more than capable of both.

Defending makeup culture bad, actually. Enjoy it, experiment, master it, but don’t paint it as something other than upholding exactly what they want from you. Even using makeup to “defy the heteropatriarchal oppressors!” is still putting cash in their pockets, no matter how camp...

Not every villain needs to be redeemed, some of you just never outgrew projecting yourself onto monsters and killers.

Writing teams and networks queerbaiting is not the same as individuals queerbaiting. Nick Jonas performing exclusively at gay clubs to generate an audience really isn’t criminal; if they paid to go see him, that’s on them, he didn’t promise anyone anything other than music and a show. Do not paint this as similar to wealthy, bigoted executives and writing teams trying to snatch up the LGBTQA demographic with vague ass marketing and manipulative screenplays, only to cop out so as not to alienate their conservative audiences. And ESPECIALLY when the artists/actors/creators accused of queerbaiting or lezploitation then come out as queer in some form later on.

Queer is not a bad word, and I’ve no clue how that remains one of few words hurled at LGBTQA people that can’t be reclaimed. It’s so archaic and underused at this point that I don’t get the reaction to it compared to others.

People who defend grown-woman Lorelai Gilmore’s childish actions and in the same breath heavily criticize teenage religious abuse victim Lane Kim’s actions are not to be trusted. Also Lane deserved better.

Keep your realism out of my media, or at least make it tonally consistent. Tired of shows and movies and books where some gritty, dark shit comes out of nowhere when the narrative was relatively Romantic beforehand.

Actually people should be writing characters different from themselves, this new wave in the past year of “If you aren’t [X] you shouldn’t be writing [X]” is a complete leap backward from the 2010s media diversity movement. And if [X] has to do with an invisible minority status (not immediately visible disabilities, or diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, persecuted religious affiliations, mental illness) it’s actually quite fucked up to assume the creator can’t be whatever [X] is or to demand receipts or details of someone’s personal life to then grant them “permission” to create something. I know, we’re upset an actual gay actor wasn’t casted to play this gay character, so let’s give them shit about it: and not lose a wink of sleep when 2 years later, this very actor comes out and gives a detailed account of the pressure to stay closeted if they wanted success in Hollywood.

Projecting an actor’s personal romantic life and gender identity onto the characters they play is actually many levels of fucked up, and not cute or funny. See: reinterpreting every character Elliot Page has played through a sapphic lens, and insulting his ability to play straight characters while straight actors play actual caricatures of us (See also: Jared Leto. Fuck him).

I’m fucking sick of DaBaby, he sucks. “I shot somebody, she suck my peepee” that’s 90% of whatever he raps about.

“Political Correctness” is not new. It was, at one point, unacceptable to walk into a fine establishment and inform the proprietor that you love a nice firm pair of tits in your face. 60 years ago, such a statement would get you throw out and possibly arrested under suspicion of public intoxication. But then something happened and I blame Woodstock and Nixon. And now I have to explain to a man 40 years my senior that no, you can’t casually mention to the staff here, many of whom are children, how you haven’t had a good fuck in a while. And then rant about the “Chinese who gave us the virus.” Can’t be that upset with them if you then refused to wear your mask for 20 minutes.

Triggering content should not have a blanket ban; trigger warnings are enough, and those who campaign otherwise need to understand the difference between helping people and taking away their agency. 13 Reasons Why inspired this one. Absolutely shitty show, sure, but it’s a choice to watch it knowing exactly what it contains.

Sasuke’s not a fucking INTJ, he’s an ISFP whose every decision is based off in-the-moment feelings and proves incapable of detailed and logical planning to accomplish his larger goals.

MCU critique manages to be both spot-on and pointless. Amazing stories have been told with these characters over the course of decades; but most of it is toilet paper. Expecting a Marvel movie to be a deeply detailed examination of American nationalism and imperialism painted with a colorful gauze of avant-garde film technique is like expecting filet mignon from McDonalds. Scarf down your quarter pounder or gtfo.

Disparagingly comparing the popularity and (marginal) success of BLM to another movement is anti-black. It is not only possible but also easy to ask for people’s support without throwing in “you all supported BLM for black people but won’t show support for [insert group]” how about you keep our name out your mouth? Black people owe the rest of the world nothing tbh until yall root out the anti-blackness in your own communities.

It is the personal demon/tragic flaw of every cis gay/bi/pan man to externalize and exorcize Shame: I’m talking about the innate compulsion to Shame, especially in the name of Pride and Progress. Shame for socioeconomic “success,” shame for status of outness, shame for fitness and health, shame for looks, shame for style and dress, shame for how one fits into the gender binary, shame for sexual positions and intimacy preferences, shame for fucking music tastes. Put down the weapon that They used to beat you. Becoming the Beater is not growth, it’s the worst-case scenario.

Works by minorities do not have to be focused on their marginalized identities. Some ladies want to ride dragons AND other ladies. The pressure on minorities to create the Next Great Minority Character Study that will inevitably get snuffed at the Oscars/Peabody Awards is some bullshit when straight white dudes walk around shitting out mediocre screenplays and books.

Canadians can stfu about how the US is handling COVID-19 actually. Love most of yall, but the number of Canadian snowbirds on vacation (VACATION??? VA.CAT.ION.) in the supposed “hotbed” of my region that I’ve had to inform our mask policies and social distancing to is ASTOUNDING. Incroyable! I guess your country has a sizable population of entitled, privileged, inconsiderate, wealthy, and ignorant people making things difficult for everyone, just like mine :)

No trick to eliminate glasses fog while wearing my mask has worked, not a single one, it actually has affected my job and work speed and is incredibly frustrating, and I have to deal with it and pretend it’s not a problem while still encouraging others to follow the rules for everyone’s safety and the cognitive dissonance is driving me insane.

It’s really really really not anti-Japanese... to be uncomfortable with the rampant pedophilia in manga and anime, and voice this. I really can’t compare western animation’s sneakier bullshit with pantyshots of a 12-year-old girl.

Most of the people in the cottagecore aesthetic/tag have zero interest in all the hard work that comes with maintaining an isolated property in the countryside, milking cows and tending crops before sunrise, etc. And that’s okay? They just like flowers and pretty pottery and homemade pastries. Idk where discourse about this came from.

You think mint chip ice-cream tastes like toothpaste because you’re missing a receptor that can distinguish the flavors, and that sucks for you. It’s a sort of “taste-blindness” that can make gum spicy to some while others can eat a ghost pepper without crying.

Being a spectacle for the oppressive class doesn’t make them respect us, it makes them unafraid of us. This means they continue to devour us, but without fear of our retaliation.

Only like 4 people on tumblr dot com are actually prepared for the full ramifications of an actual revolution. The rest of you just really imprinted onto Katniss, or grew up in the suburbs.

Straight crushes are normal. They’re people first, sexual orientation second. Can’t always know.

The road to body positivity is not easy, especially if what you desire is what you aren’t.

You’re actually personally responsible for not voluntarily bringing yourself into an environment that you know is not fit for you unless you have the resolve to manage it. Can’t break a glass ceiling without getting a few cuts. This one’s a shoutout to my homophobic temp coworkers who decided working a venue with a drag show would be a good idea. This is also is a shoutout to people who want to make waves but are surprised when the boat tips. And also a shoutout to people who—wait that’s it’s own controversial opinion hold up.

Straight people can and should stay the fuck out of gay bars and queer spaces. “yoUrE bEInG diVisiVe” go fuck yourself.

[steppesthetic]

I don’t really have a title for this one. It’s just the end of Yamamoto Taiga’s story in season 1 of @for-peace-war ‘s japanime game. It only really works after following along with a very dense tabletop campaign. But I was proud of writing it, and got emotional doing so. So I want to show it off.

In the afternoon heat, morning glories withered. Their vines, along with bitter gourds, clogged up the window as they sneaked up the side of the inpatient wing, forcing the light to filter through with a sickly jungle glow. Summer was coming, and earlier than last year. Time kept playing its games.

Taiga realized he’d slid the yearbook much farther down his lap from where he’d begun. How many hours he had spent glaring at one glossy page, seeing the warped dents of his and his classmates’ pens better than the ink used to write the messages themselves. Between them, fresher marks, leaving deeper wells in the page. There was no space for an unbroken line, so the kanji spilled out onto the page like rent innards. The results were much less poetic than he’d hoped after the almost choreographed haphazardness of how they were written.

garden of dying Wisteria there in she Made her last dance and I saw her lips move to extoll others…? No. 

Thirty-one characters made a poem much larger than this. The copy was already bursting at the seams and could barely recall a single moment crammed into the everything he’d written back at the complex. Just reading it cheapened what he felt that night, the last day of rest before the world all fell apart. More spilled out at the fringes, in ever more isolated syllables

Longing for death is masturbation ^ ??? What the fuck is that? Chaos…? An infinite number of universes? Wishing for an enemy is murder In want of one, I turn the pen on myself.

More general, like the original, but full of hokum lecturing. The hand holding the pen that offended him so whipped back and sent it on a vicious curve to the door. He immediately regretted it. Like a weak hand bolstered by gripping a sword, his deprived shoulder began to ache miserably in the absence. Hot shame rose up his cheeks. He couldn’t see straight. He shook from the effort to repress it before it welled up into something humiliating. It only shook more tears loose.

It was always Yamamoto Taiga’s greatest fortune in life for those females of his species to find him at his weakest and least appealing. So this trend was continued even in the better world to which he had been ferried when the door opened, a quick, confident step breaching the doorway before it hesitated.

“Tate... oh.” 

Though he avoided looking, from the sound of her voice, the way she stomped in, more like an athlete than a woman, and at the very least the name she used, he knew the source immediately. And he knew she could see. With desperation he rubbed his palms into his eyes, desperate to look sick, or groggy, or like someone worsening his eye strain--which he was certainly doing. 

“Hey, Taiga, if you need me to--”

“No!”

He almost shouted it, being much too quick to correct her assumption. “Uh--no, no. Stay, if you want.”

It felt wrong to ask her to continue this uncomfortable exchange, but his request was weakly worded, and it gave her plenty of opportunity to excuse herself. Surprisingly, she didn’t take the out. She stepped closer, no doubt noticing the unhinged scrawl before him and the glossy sheen on his face. Feeling brave, he hazarded a glance up. Annoyingly there was only concern. If she resented the way a grown man cried, she wasn’t showing it. He was grateful, and furious with himself.

She took the seat next to his bed, not saying a word. He could feel her eyes on the book. This made him feel defensive, and he slapped it shut.

“I’ve… already read most of it.” Chisaka tilted her head at him. She hesitated. Taiga could see she’d been trying to hold that remark in. 

In that moment there were remarks he wanted to make, too--like the last time he saw her, she was bleeding out on his bed, or like how she was good with a gun but hers was obviously shit. But strangely enough, other remarks bubbled up. Feelings, more than memories, like he lived vicariously through another Taiga. The Taiga he imagined holding a woman for reasons beyond her being on the brink of death. The latter won out.

“Is doxing me not enough? Yuu… idols are treated better than I am, right now.”

He could see a flash of something on her face before it settled into a more impassive annoyance, as she became her cool self again. “Wha? No, I was almost last in line. You can see. I didn’t have a lot of space left to write...”

“Ah… which means you saw my... fan club.”

She didn’t take the bait. “Are you trying to be subtle? Is this subtle to you?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about!” He felt a smirk and hated himself for it, but it was too strong to repress. This finally got a sigh out of her.

Chisaka closed her eyes and bowed her head, readying herself for a prayer. “Fine… congratulations on losing your virginity, Yamamoto-san. May your impending doom as a salaryman in a shrinking economy be relieved, if for a moment, by the warm touch of experienced hands in the only non-transactional comfort you will find in your adult life. I am happy for what nearly losing a knife fight, in spite of having a gun, has earned you.”

A silence followed, awkward and stunned, but Taiga did nothing to help. He could almost hear the deliberations taking place in her head, her wondering if she’d gone too far, asking herself why she’d chosen that line of attack. For his part, he was a little stunned. But as he felt the sting, there was also the sweet salve of how much effort she had to put in to fire back. He relished it like the slowly shifting green light from outside.

“Well… I was supposed to give you this.” She pulled out a notebook from her bag, flipping through the pages. “I guess your mother noticed you scribbling your little notes, but I should tell her that you’ve already made all the addendums you wanted to…?”

His hand snatched at it. He was fast; but to his cheek-warming shame, she was predictably no pushover in a tug-of-war. Even he could see where this would go if he really tried for it, but still he clung on desperately. To see a mother’s love and her child’s love for the written word converge in such a way was too much for him to handle. Besides, he was bored.

“You wouldn’t stand in the way of a mother and her only son, would you?!” 

She smirked at that. “... Hm. What were you writing?”

At that, Taiga was truly taken aback. Yuu must have noticed this, for her grip on the notebook slackened just as his did. “... Poem,” he finally said. There was little to say for it except that it existed, and yet it still nearly felt a betrayal to speak out loud.

Not given much material, she finally let go of the notebook. It was cheap and thin, and felt light as he flopped it on his lap. A thousand scenarios played in his head at once. None were realistic. All assumed she would know of what happened, of the way a woman looked at a man she was prompting to run her through, with no fear but dreadful resolve burned in her near-black eyes. Or that she was a girl from a drama or anime, or one of the more pernicious fantasies he’d spun in his head once those commercialized distractions had bored him, so full of self-denying empathy that she could read into anything she didn’t know, accept her limited place, and give him comfort. How could she know? Why should she care? And wasn’t this all so masturbatory? He wanted to remember the horrific events of a world which might as well have been some insane dream. It was unsustainable. Even thinking about abandoning those thoughts brought a fresh wave of heat to his eyes. He became vaguely aware of a voice to his right, but in front of him saw the silent horror of a 14 year old girl hearing a love poem read to her.

In that moment, he could see perfectly that he did not run away from her misunderstanding. Even then, he knew, she wouldn’t hate him or strike him for what he had shared. He saw in those eyes a vulnerability, a crack in porcelain, and something writhing underneath. Whatever he was made of (old, wadded paper mache) was breaking apart too, as he could see reflected in her. What child wouldn’t run away when presented with such terrible truth? 

The only thing to bring him back was the impression of a figure moving, and the dreadful promise that it meant. He snatched the nearest part of it he could, finding a smaller wrist in his hand. It didn’t resist him, but he clutched it like a magpie would its treasure. “--No!” 

A long pause. Yuu and Taiga both looked down to where they were stuck together. “... I’m not leaving.”

In truth, he could feel, she wasn’t. Her body warmed the space between him and the edge of the mattress. Embarrassment. Humiliation, even. If anything, he couldn’t let those feelings bring him to tears again, so he repressed them, shuddered. Every breath out felt like an exorcism, painful. After the third one he knew something of what he wanted to say next.

“It was a love poem. I wrote it for a girl in middle school. Weird, huh?” His cheeks were wet this time. His resistance didn’t seem to matter anymore.

“Writing bad poetry in middle school? No.”

“This is the funny part. At the end of all the bad things. Right towards the end. All I could think about was that poem, and the girl I read it to. She just… froze. Eyes wide as saucers. She looked--she was so scared. And I thought I’d… fucked it up somehow. So I ran. And tried to forget it. But all I could think about… was that girl, and the poem, right at the… end.”

Yuu groaned. It didn’t sound exasperated. More like she was working out a math problem, or finishing a stretch. “You mean, you were thinking of this poem when the knife maniac attacked...”

“Uh--yes,” was all he could say. What else? But there was something else. And after a retching impulse in his chest, it all came out, burning his throat as it went. “--And--and--she was so afraid. Like a deer, just frozen in front of me. I could see them in--in--in the shooting. In his eyes. She--he was just afraid, another life, and I could feel the jolt, I could feel the pain, I could feel the arms around me shudder. And you harm someone else and you think if it’s for something, and it’s meant to be, and it’s right, it should be rewarded, but it’s not. It’s simply someone suffering. And the least you can do is feel it--right? You caused it!”

The two memories merged. Both fake, both real. He ran through a mass shooter with an ancient katana. He saw Keiko before him, arms outstretched, ready to embrace him. He pulled the trigger. She was gone. He was a hero. A life lived beautifully, erased. A life squandered, made heroic. On this one action the world turned, the destruction of someone beautiful and good.

Her wrist had slipped out from his grasp, but in its place their hands were joined at the palm. She simply held it there, loosely. “... Who was the poem for?”

A final jolt. This time it felt like a relief. The last, lazy wave of the receding tide, but the furthest to reach in. She stood next to him on the bridge as they wondered, one aloud, one quietly, their luck in meeting again. “You’re never going to believe it…”

“Try me.”

A wan smile. It was almost comforting now, if it weren’t for all the pain needed to reach this point. He wiped his eyes. “Well…” He looked up at Yuu. She seemed to be gazing down with an easy calm, but unobfuscated concern, and… dread? He jerked his smile upward, apologetically.

“Well, Ka-ch… Yukimura Kazane and I have always enjoyed a… special--”

“--Hey, just remembered I need to go somewhere. Sorry!”

“--No! No! Wait! She moved out after that year. Don’t even remember her name!”

She stood up, but stopped there. He let go of her hand… but she didn’t let go of his. She sat back down on the bed.

“It’s… hard to make words out of why I thought about that poem. Even to you. But you remember the gun chat…”

She nodded. “Unfortunately.”

“I was deep in it. For a long time. I wanted to go out like a hero. Do something great, pay the ultimate price. Always about death, sacrifice. I wanted that great adventure before the world came crashing down. I craved it. And I got it. I got to live it. And the only thing I could think about… was that poem. The only good I’d ever done. Where that girl was. If she was safe. Happy. Loved. If you’d be safe. If the school... If I would survive. And now…”

There were more words, but they weren’t words. They were hardly even feelings. Hints of things that would frighten him in the future. Monsters under the bed. 

Yuu patted the mattress next to him.

“Hey, scoot over.”

“What--?”

“Just scoot over.”

He slid over to the far side of the mattress. Swinging her legs over, Yuu laid on top of the sheets. Separated, but not by much. The bed was certainly not made for two, even if neither was particularly broad. Her shoulder pressed against his. She looked straight up at the ceiling. A window A/C growled to life on the floor above.

“... You really cared about that bad poem.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“You tried writing since?”

“Not… not particularly.”

“But… yes, you did.”

He looked over at her. “Explain.”

“Come on. They might as well make those conspiracy sites creative writing credit. You made up your own share of bullshit over the years. I even remember some of it.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled.

“So… share your work with the class, Yamamoto-san,” she coaxed with a nudge.

“Kay. Two things. First, it’s the last story I made up. And it involves you…”

“Of course. I’m prepared for some hiki bullshit.”

Feeling encouraged, even emboldened, he thought of something and smiled. “Do you… ever remember someone who went by Ran?”

A pause. He could feel the pillows dimple as she shook her head at the ceiling. “... No? Should…!! Wait!” She propped herself up on her elbows. “He like, tried to neg some nudes out of me. A couple years back. When I said no he’d send me these pictures of strangled birds… and… fish documentaries?! For like a year...”

He was already laughing at the thought. The difference between fantasy and reality merged again. He could no longer tell which was real. Or if they were merging into a synthesis of realities. 

Willfully, he burned the steely face of Fujiwara Keiko over this muddled memory. The dreamy face of Keiko in the garden. The doe-eyed fear of middle school Keiko in the courtyard annex. They wouldn’t be forgotten. They couldn’t. But in other things… maybe, this world could exist on its own rules. Even independent of the soul who birthed it. 

But he lost himself. One more memory would need to be said out loud before it merged. “So, when I doxed you, and we met on neutral ground…”

“When I doxed you, and we met at the Green Tea Palace…”

“--Mm, yes. Anyway. He was there. Ran, in the flesh. A living, breathing, PSIA stooge. Tracking us for years…”

[sumeshi-t]

the idea of making hc’s of children is sosososo cute. i’ll follow ur steps chloe @akaashit-baeji lolol this is gonna be really self-indulgent buuut my excuse is that it’s my birthday so here it goes... i'm writing the last half of this with a hangover and a bad case of dysmenorrhea... sucks 2 be me

Oikawa Teru (及川 輝)

his name “輝“ means “bright”, and this boi lives up to it because, let’s face it, he’s gonna be like his dad. he embodies this “brightness”, in a way that he’s smart, and he makes sure he and his team’s (or whichever team he’s going to be in) will shine on the court

wavy/curly hair and a victim of my and his dad’s astigmatism. always has this cheeky smile, and he gets my brimming energy so he’s really approachable and charming

very good with words; it’s like he always knows what to say

when he plays he also wears contact lenses

but don’t be fooled. in their generation, it’s him who has to put iwaizumi’s son in check. he knows everything about his teammates too, he knows more than what he lets on (which sometimes, they find creepy, but they all know he means well)

anyway, unlike his dad, he doesn’t really mind having geniuses around. instead, he watches them very closely; something like “mutualism”. he knows what he lacks and he knows he can learn from them too, vice versa.

is into horror games. in his free time, he and his sister take turns playing. and they decide it by seeing who can last the longest without flinching/screaming. he’s annoyed because his sister’s better at it 

has fans, ngl. i mean look at him. however, the female fans especially, are pretty on guard. he’s approachable, but anytime they see him with his sister... they back out. he doesn’t mind, he loves his sister and it actually amuses him. he’s the same when it comes to the boys who hang around her too!

basically protective siblings who are always there for eo

is very neat. can’t concentrate when something is out of place. he keeps his nails short, has a somewhat flowery scent. yes, he uses female perfumes because he despises strong smells.

bug-catching was his childhood hobby just like mine’s was. used to sneak beetles in iwaizumi’s son’s backpack back then

he will never admit it but he actually asks his sister for fashion tips because his taste sucks ass so bad

basically his major problem or issue in life is getting compared to his father (he’s also a setter). he hates that so much, being hidden in the shadow of his dad, and when people just recognize him for being oikawa tooru’s son.

something he and ushijima’s child relate to so strongly. they’re friendly rivals; might end up being teammates in their career hmm

so when he’s the one stressed, he skips practice for a day just so he could recollect his thoughts. usually stays in the library to read books he picked up based on the titles; might either open up to iwa or his sister later on, it depends. then when he’s okay, he doubles the amount of training

Oikawa Rie (及川 麗恵) it’s /ri-ye/ oki

so the kanjis are: "麗" meaning, beautiful and "恵" is blessed. tooru thought of this name obviously

also has curly hair like mine. has that tiny mole below her eye just like i do. actually has lots of moles over her body; one time she fell asleep on the couch her brother drew connecting lines between the moles on her arm and called them constellations. it was nice she thought but still, the next day, teru had to wear a band-aid over his nose bridge.

she’s just a year younger. is less “vibrant” than her brother, a bit more serious. has a resting bitch face and she’s not even sorry about it and i love her for that

she’s actually relieved she looks like that, or else she knows the girls in her class would flock to her just to get in her brother’s pants. usually brushes them off with “ask him, not me” or “do you think that’s any of my concern?” 

her tongue her words damn never get to this baby girl’s bad side she’s gonna burn you alive. like fr when she’s angry, oh she’s gonna show you that she’s angry. but tbh she's very sweet, leaves little notes or little gifts to her friends every now and then

she just doesn’t want her brother’s heart to be broken (she’s heard stories from her mom about her dad’s many hs exes), and she knows teru’s struggles

therefore

doesn’t really like volleyball that much. it’s because she didn’t get to grow up with her dad around, she felt like it separated her from him. she’s not mad at him though. she’s very supportive of him and her brother.

used to play vb though when they were kids. but that’s all it was for her

she’s the team’s honorary manager lol the occasional “i brought you guys sumn” or “something-kun, a girl from my class says she likes you so do your best” etc

the team’s lil sister how bout that

despite being tolerant of horror games, this girl is vvvv squeamish. she cries at the sight of internal organs or blood. biology lab was the worst time of her life 

when she dug up my hs videos she was shook to discover i once did theater. and thus begins her interest in theater too

and??? baby girl is actually???? really really good???? 

the girls she used to shut down nicknamed her “prima”, short for “prima donna” she hates it. hates it more when her closest theater buddy was the one who spread that around

immediately went to the gym to spike some balls from her brother. baby girl was crying because she was just so pissed.

she was given ice cream and sweets afterwards. ugh it’s so cute idk she’s baby to the team skksksk they protecc

in that upcoming play, her first ever performance, the whole team got front row seats and howled when she came on during curtain call; it was vvv sweet and memorable even if the guys were kinda reprimanded afterwards lmao

which is why, in return, boiis also have a hard time approaching her because damn??? the vb team as your knights???? excuse me??? 

oh have i mentioned she has a sweet tooth? mygod. she has a stash of sweets in her room. teru has had to sneak some away because she might get tooth aches or diabetes

her pastel nail polish is arranged by shade, her body clock is fucked up lmao she hates the mornings; has succulents by her window which she names after various characters from books/plays etc she’s for sure gonna be a theater actress tho

asks help from iwa’s son for math. even her brother’s 0% help. teru is smart but a terrible teacher. she’s an above-average student and that’s all that matters for her. she can leave the spotlight to her brother because she only craves one type of spotlight

Miya Seiichi (宮 聖一) and Miya Seiji (宮 聖二)

their names literally mean “聖” sacred then “一” is one, and “二” is two

atsumu thought it was funny. when they were kids, seiichi’s nickname was “juan” and seiji’s was “tutu” (i gave them the nicknames)

when the twins discovered the meaning behind the nicknames, they hated it. especially seiji, he despises it vvv much

so when they were hs, seiichi = chi, seiji = ji for the people they're close with

as we can see here, the twins unfortunately got my curls. seiichi likes his hair as is. he doesn’t like the thought of dyeing his hair just to be differentiated from his twin. in fact he enjoys twin jokes, enjoys tripping people up about it. seiji on the other hand, grew tired of his brother’s jokes and by the time hs started, he sacrifices his soft hair. 

between the two, seiji is the one who has my ugly eyesight. add to the fact that he reads a lot (once he starts he can’t put it down. so he reads in the dark, in a moving car etc)

the piercings was a thing that happened between them, and their cousins (which were also twins wtf)–it was a 2v2 vb thing and they lost

surprisingly, the cousins weren't pleased bc atsumu didn't scold them for getting piercings (but for playing half-heartedly). seiichi wanted the piercings tho tbh it was the perfect excuse. ngl, seiji also wanted them.

first let's talk abt seiichi, aside from the fact he also got my mole (he feels it makes him look cuter tho)

seiichi's into vb, but not a setter. he's the ace. may or may not push through with it as a career. he hasn't decided yet. is actually a bit sad that seiji didn't join the vb club in hs, he wanted them to be like his dad and uncle.

seiichi doesn't have any uh, quirks like shutting the whole cheer squad up like his dad does. but he usually dribbles the ball five times before any serve (this is something i did before) and he likes the 'ooooh hey' thing the crowd does when he goes for a serve

his side of the room doesn't have much stuff going on except workout equipment. he follows what exercise plan i give him as da PT mom that i am, and he is very strict with his diet and with what he eats–he's close to not needing a calorie counter anymore; but not a picky eater. he loves his uncle's cooking very much and he is jealous he can't cook even if he tries

he can do beatboxing, he learned it through youtube lmao his spotify playlists are da bombest; he learns a lot in youtube tho in his free time. his current interest is magic tricks and french (he thinks he can use it to woo that girl from class 4)

he hates insects, and hates mess. he has had to scold his twin about it that it escalated to them having this imaginary line in the middle of the room

anyway, he's straightforward. but not rude. he just doesn't like any pretenses so he says what he thinks or feels is right. may or may not have led to some misunderstandings, but he owns up to his mistakes if he crossed a line

next, seiji

even if he looks like a nerd with his glasses tbh he is not he actually hates studying. you can love reading without having to love studying right? he's that dude

the only time that he regrets dyeing his hair was when he realizes couldn't change identities so his brother could take his exam for him

his side of the room is littered with his sketches, notes from books, pencils everywhere – he drew a bunch of ants one time on a paper and made it look like they're real ass ants and placed it on seiichi's pillow

to solve this problem, atsumu has planned to give him a tablet for his next birthday

quits vb in hs because he kinda lost interest? he still finds it fun but he doesn't wanna be put under the pressure that his dad and uncle left for them lmao

he's in art clubs tho

he designs banners/posters for the team anyway. they use his strategic mind from the shit he's read for any plays and stuff so when he's not drawing, he's thinking

he might look like he has no emotions, but tbh he is more emotional and empathetic than his brother. he cries easily over the simplest things, like those grandparents vids, or rescuing animals and stuff

and thats why he doesn't let people in too much bc he knows he'll be hurt (dw seiichi knows this vvv well, and even if they do have arguments, he loves his lil bro and helps him about this)

has once begged to have a cat at home–seiichi didn't want bc he knows his twin is gonna leave him for clean up lmao

he can cook period.

he's gonna either be an architect or an animator, still hasn't decided.

his music taste sucks lmao. his youtube recents are filled with cooking stuff; in constant conversation with his uncle abt cooking lol it be cute sometimes atsumu is jealous bc he feels his son is closer to his brother than with him

he is forgetful that's why his stuff is messy lol he keeps misplacing stuff, sometimes it's literally in front of him and he's just 'where????'

but remembers dates well, remembers plays well. he's good at nitpicking tiny nearly insignificant details. just anything outside studying? he's good. dw he passes his classes but he hates giving effort for that shit lololol

[mahoikutranslationproject]

MGRP Black: Character Names

So the time is finally upon us (even though it’s cutting it very short thank you very much Monthly MGRP). We now have a name of the Magical Girls from Black.

These are my WIP transliterated names. They may be subject to change (especially one of them since it’s a kanji situation), but here are the names and some interesting opinions I have on ‘em

Calcolo (カルコロ)

Such a cute math girl. Incidentally, Calcolo is also the name of a children’s math board game-ish kinda thing (like Monopoly) in Japan back in the day. 

Tetty Goodniegl ( テティ・グットニーギル)

And this is where the whole WIP name comes into play. Meet our cover girl, with a last name that can be... let’s say taken in a couple different directions. The way I went about it is to figure out what would logically make sense, and with her transliteration being Gutt, I didn’t even use “Good” at first. That is, until Tetty herself saved me. What do I mean by that? I mean that the key lies in her mittens. Each hand spells out “Tetty” and “Good”, so I went with that. Separating Tetty and Good, leaves just Niigiru. For now, it might be Niegl, but I have a sneaking suspicion it could be a morph of Onigiri, a bizarrely applied morph from Onigiri to Niigiru, but a morph nonetheless. (Incidentally, if I were to just Englishize that morph, that would mean her last name is something like Goodrice).

Miss Lille (ミス・リール)

Miss Lille’s little Anime snippet is interesting. It concerns a lady who is very rich who wants to give alms to the poor. I wonder if she’ll end up being that nice in canon? Incidentally, Lille is also the name of a city in France. Whether that’s actually relevant or not is beyond me, though. But it’s a cool fact!

Wrappy Tip (ラッピー・ティップ)

What can I say about Wrappy? She’s covered in wraps, and has probably the best name in Black. I mean, Wrappy Tip. It’s almost Funny Trick levels of best name in an arc.

Drill Dory and Ark Arlie (ドリル・ドリー＆アーク・アーリー)

Double feature! Also it seems Arlie changed her first name (maybe cause she took off that faceplate). We finally have the fourth ABC girl, Drill Dory!!! I gave her that name because the ABC girls in Japanese try to keep the first phoneme similar. Aamaa Aarii, Aaku Aarii, Doriru Dorii. Etc. I figured Dory is much closer to the Drill in spirit. Their Anime snippet claims they’re rivals. Will they fight? Time will tell (in 24 hrs as of this writing)

Mepis Pheles (メピス・フェレス)

Mepis’ name here comes from the demon Mephistopheles, and indeed, she’s a demon in her Anime snippet. Her name is also another case of a purposeful misspelling, メピス・フェレス (Mepis) rather than メフィストフェレス (Mephis). Also, her Anime snippet involves bodyswapping with a boy, which makes me cautiously optimistic that she’s male pre-transformation. I hope. I pray. Maybe? We only have 2 right now MGRP, please.

Kumi-Kumi (クミクミ)

Kumi-Kumi is a Magical Girl with a pickaxe to grind (chop?). Her anime snippet is my favorite of the bunch. It concerns her finding a sword in the stone, and instead of pulling it, she breaks the stone. Thinking out of the box.

Kana (カナ)

Kana. The enigma. Not sure what to make of her. She’s so dead-eyed, and she has a zombie-like appearance to her. There were human forms posted on twitter and I have a slight idea who she might be based on that.

Classical Lilian (クラシカル・リリアン)

My pick for arc villain (if it’s one of the main cast and not another Keek). Her face, it’s the face. She’s gorgeous though. Look at her. Her Anime snippet even casts her in the role of a Goddess in some pseudo-Isekai plot. She’s got a weather theme going on it looks like. Wonder what her powers will be?

Thunder General Adelheid ( 雷将アーデルハイト)

Where do I start with her? I love her. Her design reminds me half of Jotaro Kujo and half of Raido Kuzunoha. She also has that Imperial aesthetic going on which is always a plus in my book. I look forward to see what she can do (please don’t die chapter 1, at least make it past 4, 5 chapters?).

Narakuno Indiko (奈落野院出ィ子)

...

I hate kanji only names because there’s almost no way to tell without furigana. Case in point, @NyanNyan was written as @娘々, which would be best read as @KoKo. But nooo, it’s NyanNyan. For now though, this is how you would normally spell her name, and is subject to change when I get the book. I’m confident in the first one, Narakuno, since her Anime title katakanas her name to Narakuno. The last one is just the proper normal pronunciation of those kanji for now.

Princess Lightning (プリンセス・ライトニング)

I’ll be honest, I guessed Princess Storm at first (since all the Pure Elements seem to be named after disasters), but Lightning ain’t so bad. Interestingly, her Anime snippet paints her as a sort of dark counterpart to the Pure Elements, and has them start in Episode 15 of the PE’s own Anime series. Whether or not she’ll be opposed to the PEs (or if she’ll meet, say, Deluge), is a question for another time. I’d like to see a full-on Princess fight, though. Her appearance does raise some questions as to who made her, and why.

Sally Raven (サリー・レイヴン)

This... I hope... is a Cutie. Her Anime snippet stars her in Cutie Healer Angelfeather, so it’s a good start, but she’s also still a middle schooler. I wonder if she ends up being one. We do know her real name is Sally Torihara, which marks the first real name reveal right now (at least it should be Torihara, grrr kanji names).

Psyche Plains (プシュケー・プレインス)

Of all the names, I did not expect hers. Psyche Plains is just so out there for a water gun girl. Incidentally, her Anime snippet implies that her powers include changing the liquid inside of her gun. Powerful, if used correctly.

Ran Yui (ランユウィ)

Goldfish girl (These are Japanese goldfish), whose Anime snippet reads like a goldfish version of Unmarked. I am also hoping she is an actual goldfish, but I have no idea if that’s what’ll happen. Her name itself is a weird one. As far as I can tell, it’s literally just a name, like Ran Yuui. It could be a reference, if so I’ll be sure to edit it about later on.

Snow White (スノーホワイト)

Needs no introduction. She’s tired. She’s been through a lot. She lost Fal. An interesting tidbit about her Anime snippet is that she gets a new mascot named Hyoropon. Who is that? I don’t know. Is that canon? I don’t know. BLACK, COME OUT ALREADY!

Well, those are all the main casts of Black and my short opinions on them!

Now here’s hoping Black pulls another proper two-parter (and leads into White for the true Snow White finale).

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Ink Theory

Debut: Splatoon 2

You know, for all the months I’ve been writing for weirdsplatooncharacters.deviantart.gov, I’m surprised it took me this long to get to my absolute favorite Weird Splatoon Characters, Ink Theory! Now, as we all know, it is a scientifically proven fact that Splatoon music slaps. Anyone who’s played Splatoon knows that, and anyone who disagrees is a coward who has never heard of taste. How disappointing!

But can you boil down music that slaps to a science? In-universe, the band Ink Theory decided to put that to the test, blending “academic music theory with modern sensibilities” to create what, in theory, should be the jamminest music of all! So what does the jamminest music of all entail?

Being able to shred a trumpet, apparently! I did not know that was possible, but then I played Splatoon 2, and learned that everything is possible. That’s Great!

Some people, again, cowards who have never heard of taste, might say this music sounds bad, but personally this is my favorite music in the game! I love the diversity of the Splatoon soundtrack, and I love the absolute chaos that seems to unfold whenever one of these tracks is playing. Is it just me, or are matches where Broken Coral plays the most chaotic matches of them all? And by extension, the best matches?

I am glad that Splatoon has frantic jazz tracks, and even more glad that there’s a canon in-universe band that produces these frantic jazz tracks, and even MORE glad that said jazz band consists of six lesbians. Don’t believe me?

Well then believe this Splatoon art posted on Valentine’s Day! That’s an entire day dedicated to romance! We have a whole triple date worth of lesbians here! It’s weird, there was an entire Nintendo Direct on that day, featuring Mario Maker 2 and a new Weird Mario Enemy, and yet somehow, this image is what stood out to me the most.

But enough talking about the band as a whole! Let’s talk about the six individual members, because they each have a whole lot more to talk about. All of this is under the cut!

Name: Yoko

As the band’s trumpet player, and focus of their sound, Yoko serves as the band’s frontman, though, from what I can gather through “translating her bio in google translate,” her relationship with the other members of the band is a little bit distant. In fact, it’s not just that, it seems she just. Has depression! Her bio more or less mentions her feeling a bit dreary regardless of the weather, though nonetheless, she is always to give a solid performance on the trumpet, so that’s good I suppose!

You might notice that as an Inkling, Yoko has four differently colored tentacles, which is not really a common thing! Apparently, she has a mutation that causes her tentacles to appear different colors, which might sound cool, but it’s also likely to draw unwanted attention, and apparently, if my translations are right (they probably aren’t) leave her susceptible to atmospheric pressure.

Yeah, it’s a bit unfortunate that Yoko lives such a terrible life. They could write anything they wanted for this weird squid girl, and they decided to give her depression! But it’s not all bad! Let’s zoom in on that Valentine’s Day art!

Apparently, her hat doesn’t have gibberish Splatoon characters, but actual Japanese kanji! Kanji that spell out “Karen.” And who’s Karen?

Name: Karen

The band’s pianist, and from all logical evidence, Yoko’s girlfriend! While Yoko is the band’s frontman, Karen is the band’s founder, and she is (currently) the only Nautilus we’ve seen in the Splatoon universe! While squids, octopuses, and apparently cuttlefish are all pretty heavily anthropomorphized and humanoid in this world, nautiluses are more-or-less exactly the same, just larger and with longer tentacles. In fact, can we focus on that for a second? I love that Karen’s entire body is like, 85% tentacle. If she wasn’t wearing a dress, Karen would mostly just be a writhing mass of tentacles.

But Karen isn’t a nudist! She’s a pianist! One time she listened to the music of Hightide Era (another obscure Splatoon band) and said, “wow, this slaps,” and after that decided to start her own band! She graduated at the top of her class, and combined with her positive attitude, she’s been able to get a lot of moral support from her bandmates. Karen’s life is fortunately, nowhere near as difficult as Yoko’s, but she does occasionally worry about the band lacking proper motivation, which I suppose is a fair enough thing to worry about if you’re leading a band.

And this might just be me, but I feel that Karen is totally the mom friend of the group. Like, this was something I thought before I knew the names or personalities of any of them, but all official information is completely backing me up here. I mean, her name is Karen for crying out loud! If you have that name, you’re probably either a mom or a computer.

Name: Bibi

Okay, let’s get this all set straight. Bibi is cooler than any of us will ever be. I mean, look at her. You could say anything you want about Bibi, and not only would she be able to blow it off, but she’d probably make you look like a fool for saying it in the first place, and to make it all the more humiliating? She does this all while playing the kazoo.

Shredding the trumpet? Playing a kazoo and looking cool? I mean, Ink Theory is full of all sorts of impossibilities, and I am here for that.

Bibi’s bio was unfortunately kind of hard to translate, but I was able to pick up that she’s the member of the band that gets the most mainstream attention, and is kind of sick of being swarmed by the paparazzi all the time. Also, she’s never struggled much financially. Oh yeah. She’s rich and fabulous. Again. While playing the kazoo. I’m usually not a fan of rich people, but I don’t know if the law legally allows me to say anything bad about Bibi. I fear the repercussions for that.

Name: Aachin

Alright, so what species do you think Aachin is? Any guesses?

Three.... two... one...

Okay! Time’s up! She’s an urchin! A very specific type of urchin, actually,  Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus! No common names in English over here, I’m afraid! But if you didn’t figure it out already, Aachin’s name is really just “urchin.” Because she’s an urchin! Look at her hair, it’s based on a test of an urchin, rather than the spikes we are used to seeing, but don’t worry, if a spikier urchin is what you want, we still have that! I guess Aachin just likes to go around with a shaved head.

According to what I translated, Aachin grew up in a strict household, always appreciating contemporary music herself, but as time passed, she grew to appreciate modern music as well. Now! The last sentence of her bio actually threw me for a bit of a doozy a few months back, as after trying to figure it out like seven times with no better tools than Google Translate, I believed that Aachin had fallen in love with someone depraved! Did they seriously just put this funny urchin in a toxic relationship?

Nope! I’m just terrible at translating things. Apparently the gist of that sentence is just that she’s a bit shy and inexperienced when it comes to romance, and she admittedly falls for people who are “bad,” in some nebulous sense of the term. Are we talking like, 1950s cool biker bad? The person that corrected my mistranslation said “slobs,” so maybe she just falls in love with people who are really messy.

While it’s good that this lovely urchin is not in a toxic relationship, I still think she deserves better, on sheer account of being Aachin. She always deserves better. Even if she has it good! She deserves better. Because I love her.

Name: Mayaya

Up next we have Mayaya! Mayaya is a sea anemone (not a sea cucumber as I previously believed) whose facial anatomy slightly baffles and scares me, but that’s okay, because I still love her.

Another top-of-her-class graduate, Mayaya’s own professors said she’d be best teaching music herself, but Mayaya decided she’d rather have fun making her own music, and decided to join the band! She plays “percussion,” which seems to suggest any percussion instrument other than drums and cymbals, and she doesn’t just play for Ink Theory! While Ink Theory is her main squad, she apparently freelances percussion for other bands in her free time. Which bands? We don’t know! It’s never specified! But any time you hear any percussion ever, just know it might be Mayaya herself playing.

Name: Kitamura

And last, but not least, we have Kitamura, the band’s drummer, who might just be the most adorable character design I have ever seen in any piece of media ever! And that’s saying a lot, considering all we’ve covered on this blog. Urchins are hardly ever unlovable, and the little ribbons simply make her all-the more adorable, but what really draws me in here are those eyes. Now, urchins don’t technically have eyes (though their spikes can function as a makeshift compound eye) but as far as eyes go, Kitamura might have some of the most precious looking eyes they could give an urchin. They almost look scrawled on! Heck, part of me wonders if Kitamura just draws on her own eyes to look cute. It’s either that, or her eyes just naturally look like that, and I am personally fine with either possibility.

Oh! Right! Her lore! There’s actually not too much about Kitamura that we know, but we do know that she is fittingly, the band’s mascot, lives on her own, and pays close attention to her curfew. She apparently has a high singing voice also, but we never hear it because none of the Ink Theory songs have vocals. Maybe someday! Maybe someday...

In the Valentine’s Day artwork, we see Kitamura getting to eat a whole lot of ice cream. Do you think Kitamura deserves that much ice cream? Because I do.

This is far from all I have to say about these characters, but there’s not much more I really can say without diving deep into headcanon territory, so I suppose that’s all for now! I hope you appreciate this deep dive into Splatoon lore, and have a wonderful day!

[kanasmusings]

[Translation] StarMyu Season 3 Kao Kai - Character Q & A - Part 2

Here’s part 2~! It covers Kasuga-chan, Irinatsu, and Chiaki! I had so much fun reading all of these because it just gives us a glimpse about how the new Kao Council are outside of their usual activities in school~ After this, the new songs will be posted~! 

Now, I’m wondering-- Who’s everyone’s favorite new member for now??? XD 

※ Please don’t re-post and re-translate this interview under any circumstances. If you want to translate it to your native language, the kanji is readily available in the anime official website.

Anyways, full interviews under the cut, enjoy~!

[Kasugano Shion Q & A]

  1.) Please introduce yourself.

- Musical Department 3rd year. I’m the Kao Council’s Kasugano Shion.

2.) What first impression do people usually have of you?

- “Behaved”. And then when we get to know each other a bit more, it becomes, “You’re kinda weird.”

3.) But really, it’s?

- I don’t think that I’m a noisy person. I don’t know whether I am weird or not, too.

4.) What are you confident in?

- I don’t get surprised no matter what happens. My fortune-telling hobby sometimes warns me greatly about certain happenings.

5.) What are your weaknesses?

- … Shiki and Irinatsu said that I sometimes get easily offended…

6.) What was your nickname in middle school?

- “Shion,” and “Haru.” When I got to high school, Irinatsu started calling me, “Kasuga-chan.”

7.) What’s your favourite way to travel?

- If the weather is good, I like to walk.

8.) What was usually written on your report cards?

- … “One flaw he has is he’s quick to be offended.”…

9.) What’s one thing you absolutely can’t forgive?

- When Shiki’s keeping things to himself-- If he experiences a painful memory then… I won’t forgive myself.

10.) What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

- Fix my bedhair. Since I have soft hair, it takes quite a while to fix it in the mornings.

11.) What’s your favourite food?

- Shiki and Irinatsu have said that I like things that have a lot of calcium in it.

12.) How do you spend your days off?

- Lately, I’ve been researching ways on how to make fortune cookies. I can eat as many as needed until I get the “great luck” fortune.

13.) What is one bad point about yourself?

- … That maybe I really am… a bit quick to be offended.

14.) What’s your favourite place?

- I love the school’s rooftop. I feel so calm when I do fortunes there. I feel like I’ll make a really accurate fortune reading and stuff like that.

15.) How do you relieve your stress?

- I’ll try to predict what my luck is for that day. Fortune-telling is not “magical” at all but is based on data so, it is connected to self-analysis, too. Above all else, it makes me feel at ease. If that doesn’t work then… I’ll make a voodoo doll of the person giving me stress.

16.) What’s the thing you want to do the most right now?

- I want to oversee my students properly while they prepare for the upcoming Ayanagi Festival. I also want to be of help to the other first years even if they’re not my pupils. That’s because it’s what Shiki would want, too.

17.) What subjects are you good at?

- Math and science. I like subjects that have a definite answer.

18.) What subjects are you bad at?

- Japanese language. There are a lot of questions that have multiple answers depending on the person answering them so, I just can’t feel convinced about it.

19.) Sleep or eat, which one can you not live without?

- Shiki… I wonder if he’s eating and sleeping properly. Lately, I’ve been a bit worried about him…

20.) Any parting words?

- The Wheel of Fortune… I feel like something is about to happen…

 OMAKE:

21.) What’s your favourite drink?

- Green tea and o-shiruko.

22.) Are you skilful with your hands?

- I might be dexterous. The other day, I had Irinatsu play with me and I did some tarot card table magic. It went better than I thought it did.

23.) Favourite weather?

- A sunny day with a slight breeze.

                                  »»————-　★　————-««

[Irinatsu Masashi Q & A]

  1.) Please introduce yourself.

- I’m the Kao Council’s Irinatsu Masashi~!

2.) What first impression do people usually have of you?

- “Are you half [foreign]?” Ain’t that funny? (laughs)

3.) But really, it’s?

- I’m Japanese! (laughs)

4.) What are you confident in?

- ‘Course I’m confident in my ability to make music. It’s a talent I inherited from my mom and dad after all~ That’s enough to make me feel confident in it, right?

5.) What are your weaknesses?

- I get hungry quickly. I munch on stuff even during meetings sometimes and Ryo-chin glares at me (laughs). Sorry, Ryo-chin!

6.) What was your nickname in middle school?

- “Masashi” “Irinacchan” “Nacchan” “Massan” “Masa” That too much? (laughs)

7.) What’s your favourite way to travel?

- Running! Sweating it out’s the best!

8.) What was usually written on your report cards?

- “Too lax,” or something? I was living in my grandma’s house when I was in elementary school, y’know? That’s why my body clock was like an old man’s, too.

9.) What’s one thing you absolutely can’t forgive?

- I tend to forgive anything! In exchange, it’d get pretty scary when I become super angry, ‘kay?

10.) What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

- I let out a loooooooooooooouuuuuuuuud voice! It relaxes me and ain’t it gonna help you wake up if you get surprised by your own voice?

11.) What’s your favourite food?

- Shaved ice. Unlimited sea grapes. I also loved the chanpuru* my grandma used to make me. Grandma, are you doin’ well~?

12.) How do you spend your days off?

- There’re times when I just laze around at home, there’re times I go to cafés to look for inspiration, too. I found a really good shop lately! It’s got a good atmosphere and at night there’s a piano being played there, too!

13.) What is one bad point about yourself?

- Only one is boring (laughs). Go ask everyone!

14.) What’s your favourite place?

- The work-room is my castle. It’s got everything there in order for me to express the music I make. Oh, and then after that, ya just gotta wait for your imagination to overflow!

15.) How do you relieve your stress?

- I play the piano fervently in a sound-proof room. I get drunk on hitting the keys as loudly as I can (laughs).

16.) What’s the thing you want to do the most right now?

- Camping! “Chiaki-chan, wanna go with me?” I realized I asked him that back when we were second years. That guy’s definitely the outdoorsy type and he’s got good physique. He looks like he’s good at putting up a tent!

17.) What subjects are you good at?

- Music’s gotta be number one, y’know? And then, social sciences? Like Japanese and English. I write lyrics, too, after all.

18.) What subjects are you bad at?

- Hm, I don’t think there’s much. I love everything.

19.) Sleep or eat, which one can you not live without?

- If I were to choose, it’d be food, probably~ Ah, but sleeping gives me good ideas, too~ Both are very important, y’know?

20.) Any parting words?

- The Kao Council will do their best to fire up the Ayanagi Festival, ‘kay?! Expect a very hot atmosphere, got it!?

 OMAKE:

21.) What’s your favourite drink?

- Hot coffee. Doesn’t it feel refreshing?

22.) Are you skilful with your hands?

- I play instruments so the dexterity between my right hand and left hand is pretty different. If it’s attacking someone with tickles then, I’m an expert (laughs).

23.) Favourite weather?

- Definitely sunny!

 Translator’s Notes:

* “Chanpuru” is an Okinawan stir-fried dish and is kind of a stable food in Okinawa. It’s also called a representative of Okinawan cuisine.

                                  »»————-　★　————-««

[Chiaki Takafumi Q & A]

  1.) Please introduce yourself.

- I’m Chiaki Takafumi. Nice to meet you.

2.) What first impression do people usually have of you?

- I get called flashy a lot. I think it’s ‘cause I grow my hair out.

3.) But really, it’s?

- I’m pretty serious and don’t have a lot of free time.

4.) What are you confident in?

- I’m pretty good at embroidery. Every year during April, I make a huge amount of stuff for my younger brother and sister.

5.) What are your weaknesses?

- You might not understand but, it’s “mochi”. When I was a kid and we went to a mochi-making event, I kept seeing Ryo eat it while looking so disgusted. I saw that and I ended up disliking it, too. Eating something with such a sour face is nonsense, you know!?

6.) What was your nickname in middle school?

- “Takafumi” and “Fumi”

7.) What’s your favourite way to travel?

- There’s really not any but, I do want to have a driving license soon.

8.) What was usually written on your report cards?

- When I was a kid, “Very mature,” was always written. I’m the eldest child so when I was still the only child, I was pretty behaved. There were a lot of people at home that it was hard to go out.

9.) What’s one thing you absolutely can’t forgive?

- Fuyusawa Ryo.

10.) What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

- Make breakfast. Lunch and dinner are what my younger sister’s in charge of so, I have to at least help with breakfast.

11.) What’s your favourite food?

- Likes and dislikes aside, I make sure to finish anything my sister makes for me. She makes me a character boxed lunch everyday so, it’d be scary if I got teased for that.

12.) How do you spend your days off?

- Taking care of my family. Though, Irinatsu keeps inviting me to go camping. What nonsense.

13.) What is one bad point about yourself?

- I think it’s me spoiling my students too much. I’m probably weak to those younger than I am.

14.) What’s your favourite place?

- We moved to a newer building since 2nd term started but, I was pretty fond of the old school building we used during the 1st term. The facilities are old but it’s calming.

15.) How do you relieve your stress?

- Going back home and playing with the kids.

16.) What’s the thing you want to do the most right now?

- I feel like I won’t be able to relax until the Ayanagi Festival’s test stage is over. Making sure my students get into the Musical Department is what I wanna do the most for now.

17.) What subjects are you good at?

- I’m pretty fine with any subject but my specialty is probably kanji, geography, and calculation.

18.) What subjects are you bad at?

- Those shapes in math and time, too.

19.) Sleep or eat, which one can you not live without?

- I’m an early sleeper… Staying up late is nonsense.

20.) Any parting words?

- This term’s Kao Council members are independent. We don’t interfere with each other’s guidance policies and we respect each other’s opinions, too. But—Not having disagreements would make things too smooth, right? I wonder who’s being such a goody-two-shoes here…

 OMAKE:

21.) What’s your favourite drink?

- Floats. I don’t care about basic drinks.

22.) Are you skilful with your hands?

- Ah, I’m dexterous.

23.) Favourite weather?

- Sunny, probably.

                                  »»————-　★　————-««

※ Please don’t re-post and re-translate this interview under any circumstances. If you want to translate it to your native language, the kanji is readily available in the anime official website.

If you enjoyed this, please consider buying me a ko-fi here to support my work! It’ll be a really big help. (o^▽^o)Thank you!!

[arcplaysgames]

P4G Post-Mortem

deep breath. this is a LONG post.

it's still not as good as P3P but it's pretty good

What I Liked:

The characters in P4 are pretty fucking good, I'm not gonna even try to lie. They are all much rougher and messier than SEES. I noticed right from the start that the maturity level of this cast was a huge step down from P3P, and that actually bore out through the entire game. For this game and for this tone, it worked. Just due to P3P's solemnity and its obsession with death, I don't think anyone in P4 would fit into the P3 cast. They each suit their environments well. .

The voice acting in this game is tremendous and frankly saves the game from its dodgiest moments of writing. If Yosuke was not performed with so much depth, he'd be nothing more than The Teammate Everyone Secretly Hates. All of Chie's flaws and the times her personality chafes are smoothed by how fucking consistent and empathetic her performance is. And I feel like both Rise and Teddie are character I would have straight up not liked if they were not performed so fucking well. Also Troy Baker turns in another stellar role, what the fuck else is new. .

The villain was just better in P4G. Strega was a fucking joke that I could never take serious because who the fuck could with trashy coachella jesus? Adachi though? My god. What a fucking great villain. The unfurling of his character was tremendous and I loved almost every minute of it (except for the shoe-horned sexism that the game itself basically dropped the second it could lmao). .

I went into P4G braced for impact re: a lot of ambient discourse over the years, and I wound up flinching much less than expected. I think it's a very flawed game in how it tackles sexuality and gender, but I think personally it has a bad rap that is maybe undeserved. Kanji is truly a bisexual king and while I totally get the disappointment around Yukiko deciding to stay in Inaba, I think the nuances of her arc get glossed over a lot because it's fairly complex. And while I wish Naoto got the actual exploration he deserved, there was a lot fewer microaggressions than expected. Which, low bar, but the bar was there nonetheless. .

Yosuke is such a fucking complicated nugget of a character. I found I really enjoyed the rollercoaster of our resident closet case, because I really did genuinely grapple with what I felt about him for the entire game. And I think my favorite moment of the game is still Yosuke's quiet moment with Reverie after the talk with Adachi. That was great. If anyone could have survived in SEES, it's Yosuke honestly. .

Until the Izanami thing, I did really like the plot of the game a lot. Like with P3P, I think the ending is....... Fine. Honestly, its interesting that they seem to have opposite problems. I found Reverie dying at the end of P3P kind of unnecessary and disappointing. The sheer sunshine happiness of P4G was a little too neat for me. But the way the plot got SO fucking crunchy when you finally meet Namatame, that was tremendous. .

The writing is just better overall on a technical level, I have to admit. I like the plot and themes and twists of P3P more, but the writing was much rougher and we all know it. The writing in P4G is better, more naturalistic, and is so frequently genuinely funny, I'm a big fan. .

I am going to have some Stuff to say about the protag in a bit but one thing I did like about P4G: You can play this game gay. Oh my fucking god you can play a huge flaming homosexual in this game. At almost every single turn when the game asks you to be het, there is a Get Out Of Het option available, and they are often really fun picks. Does it fucking suck that Yosuke is transparently in love with the MC but is not romanceable? YES. I THINK EVERYONE WHO CAN SHOULD INSTALL THE MOD TO RE-IMPLEMENT THE YOSUKE ROMANCE. But I cannot deny that Reverie Vantas was fucking gay as hell and I was a big fan of that aspect of the game. .

This game has Kanji Tatsumi in it. Like. What else can even be fucking said?

What I Didn't Like So Much:

yeah yeah blah blah arc is a nerd no one cares but some of the arcana associations here just weren't stellar. Some were good, so I forgive it, but Yosuke was not a fucking Magician, Yukiko was not a High Priestess at ALL, Dojima as the Hierophant frankly baffles me, and why the fuck is Nanako Justice? Are all Persona children obligated to be Justice? .

The music sucked. I'm sorry. I played all of P3P and all of P4G and even though P4G had more variety of tracks, I found myself actively annoyed by the music fairly often. I think the battle themes are either mediocre or Actively Bad (god i hate Reach Out To The Truth). I'm literally going to go put on FeMC's battle theme to detox right now. .

Naoto. Naoto was a huge disappointment once they joined the party. Oh, in main scenario scenes I loved Naoto and he got a few of the funniest lines in the game. But the way the game went in so hard on the gender thing in Naoto's recruitment only to just whistle and non-nonchalantly nudge all that under the rug after-- I have thought about it a lot and I think I would have preferred they tried ANYTHING with Naoto rather than just wussing out on the entire thing. It's so palpable that Atlus didn't know wtf to do with what they set up with Naoto, and I literally would rather they have tried and landed on something offensive and bad than the completely anemic SLink Fortune turned out to be. how the fuck did you make FORTUNE boring? Goddamn. .

Unfortunately I think the ending might just be really mediocre. The final reveal felt like a joke, the last boss was so blah after Adachi-cum-Ameno-Sagiri. It feels like the game peaked with Adachi and the rest of the story coasted with a slow miasma of diminishing returns all the way to the final ending. Izanami just is so boring as True Villain. LIKE HERE IS THE THING I KEEP COMING BACK TO. Nyx, right. Nyx is technically revealed as the final villain very late in P3P. But with the themes of P3P and its foreshadowing, it feels like you were always fighting Nyx. P3P is truly and deeply about what it means to be alive, and that to live is opposition against an inevitable outcome. You will someday fail, but there is beauty in struggling each and every day until your eyes finally close. Even if it is not named Nyx until the end of the game, you have been fighting Nyx the entire game. Izanami just.... sucks because Adachi has already covered the ground she does and better. Adachi is the actual confrontation against falsehoods and complacency. He's already given the player the question (and frankly at least he HAS some arguments, unlike Izanami). And then another 20 to 30 hours later, Izanami is all "wait do humans NOT want to live in a fog of lies? fucking wild." It's just a very meh ending. .

Which is not helped by the pacing. Holy shit I got impatient when P3P made me wait a month to give Ryoji an answer, but P4G is so badly paced it drives me kind of batshit. .

I've talked about this a lot but I really miss characters having their own stories together. Yosuke and Teddie eventually get this, but literally every single time this game HINTED that the characters were off hanging out together instead of with Reverie, I was thrilled, and it just didn't happen enough. There is no equivalent of Yukari and Mitsuru's promise, there's nothing like Ken, Akihiko, and Shinjiro's shared history, there isn't a wrench in the plot like Junpei and Chidori. P4G is afraid of that friction, of letting the characters exist outside your influence, and it's a fucking shame because it makes everything more shallow.

And the biggest problem I have with P4G...

actually i'm gonna put that in its own post, this is already long

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep20-21: Everyone's Gonna Die For Like the 3rd Time

So a few days ago I kinda tossed my phone at my bro and I was like “listen, it’s dead, don’t ask why this has happened, but I can’t get it to boot. I don’t even want to deal with it right now. I’m so over it. You fix it.” And so he fixes it by doing a factory reset and was like “so...what happened?” and I was like “I can’t say right now, it is too embarrassing.”

So, keep that story in the back of your mind as we go into this episode.

It’s a Final Threat like a Final Fantasy sort of meaning of the word Final, I see.

Anyways, a review:

Anyways, Noah has a superpower now that uses these pink balls of power. There’s only 6 of them, so it’s not quite Dragonball, unfortunately. They have some writing on them but I don’t know enough Duolingo to tell you what it is right now.

Especially since I kind of stopped using Duolingo a few months back, so now all of my limited Hiragana and few scattered kanji are gone forever. Thanks brain, glad I spent like a year trying to learn that. Domo. What I tried to go and do in order to read half my twitter feed.

YEP. THAT’S RIGHT.

Yugioh broke my freakin phone.

So anyways, I tried doing a reverse image search on my PC, which is how I got Calligraphy up there. Which I realllllly don’t think is uh...the word. Then, by using a handwriting reading website I got “to fight”, but because I have pretty BAD handwriting in English even, and because I don’t know the order of strokes for really any kanji at all, that was the only one I could find.

If y’all know Japanese, I’d be very curious as to what these are. It’s probably related to something vaguely religious as that’s been Noah’s MO this whole game.

And yes, now that my phone works again, I could just try and re download Google Translate, and give it another go, but this image might actually be cursed, as is Yugioh tradition.

(read more under the cut)

But before we do anything in this upcoming duel, Pharaoh wants to make sure to immediately tell Noah he’s a freakin weirdo as quickly as possible.

Noah is not that surprised. I mean Noah is a computer brain that’s been isolated for 6 years before going cray, he does not care if Yugi thought he were the king of England. Which Yugi was once in a spinoff game, the King of England.

We get a little explanation as to why Noah has such a God Complex (without playing a single God card, ironically) in that he likes to play this rare deck that Pegasus made that I guess Kaiba and Yugi sort of forgot about? I don’t blame them, I would also try to forget about this deck.

I like that no matter where Pegasus travels, he puts on that same Banana Republic khaki white-person uniform and just marches out there. The same outfit he wears digging in Egypt is the same outfit he wears visiting Indonesia or India or Canada wherever this is.

This is probably somewhere famous, but I don’t recall it off the top of my head, forgive me. There are a lot of massive relief sculptures in Asia.

Anyways, after that one travel through the vaguely East/South East, Pegasus had a *phase.*

Now listen, I don’t really think it’s my job as a reviewer to say if shoving vaguely religious/mythical/cultural iconography into playing cards is a good idea or a bad idea, because that’s been talked to death in a million other articles you can just go and read. Every art piece has it’s own reason to exist, and every artist is their own person with their own unique life experience. I have had to sit through so much weird ass installation art and avante garde performance art, that I have learned solely one thing about art critique. I am not art Jesus. I cannot save a piece, I cannot condemn a piece. So, I will not throw down, and I will not prop up--unless of course it is weird little shorts on your main villain matched with long black golfing socks--but I am allowed to say--

...huh?...

Remember how about ten or so episodes ago I was like, low key a little confused that it appeared like Yugioh was waltzing casually into religion territory? Remember how I was like “dude do they realize this is a reference to Lazarus? Like, they’re saying Kaiba could have been THE Lazarus?” Remember when I thought that was a big deal?

Well, Yugioh turned to itself and was like “hold my beer” and then just straight up outdid itself in so many weird ways. And don’t get me wrong, most of these cards are overall fine, nothing really all that shocking, but still like...

...OK, kid’s show. I’m sure all the children in the audience understood the references in this 100%.

Also, the fact that Noah is like “I turned to somewhat religious deities from antiquity to fight your ass” is kind of funny when you recognize he’s fighting a literal Pharaoh who has like 2000 of them of them under his belt already (counting himself). Like, nice job, Noah, you got like...12 in that deck? Congrats.

Anyway, Noah and his slightly problematic deck gets thrown by a bunch of Yugi’s cards and then Noah just plops right out of this giant dude. Or dudette. I didn’t really catch the gender on the Seraphim that is actually a fairy card. But, it was like Noah was being birthed for a second time. Well, third time, if you count when he was reborn as a robot.

So long story short, now he’s a boy again.

Noah had the foresight to put his clothes back on before he fell out of this gigantic robot god thing who’s name I’ve forgotten. A shame, it would’ve been a good gag to just see how long it takes Noah to realize he’s ass naked when he’s a robot who has no sense of touch. Or...body.

Anyways, Yugi’s friends immediately start doing what they do best, which is to trashtalk the other team so badly that it would get you tossed out of most sporting events. It backfires on them not just once but...several times, and I’m telling you, it is surprising that they never actually learned in this entire episode that all they ever had to do was shut their mouth and stop backseating.

But apparently, it’s courageous to catcall your opponent. Its a sign of undying friendship as per Yugioh law.

Anyways, we’re gonna get death 169 this episode, so stop scrolling right now and then think to yourself--who’s it gonna be. Who’s gonna be death 169?

Some of you (all of you) might know this show by heart but for those who haven’t (none of you), this’ll be our little interactive portion.

OK, here we go.

YESSSSS HE FINALLY DIED.

I knew that if I kept saying “Duke will die next” that eventually the dice fall in my favor. It took like 5 or 6 deaths before this actually happened, but can I say “called it?” Is that allowed? I’m gonna say “called it” and pretend that I called this.

Although, unfortunately, I did not call everything.

Wow, Tristan won the shipping wars! All of them! He’s death 169! So NICE!

I did not predict that at all, I honestly thought that 169 would be Duke, and Bro thought it would be Kaiba. We were both so wrong.

It makes sense though. Like he is the littlest horny monkey here. He deserves 169.

Anyway, then the sad stuff starts piling up. Just like so much sadness at once. Yugioh does not pace sadness like, at all, so you never get a chance to grieve since so many deaths are back to back in this show. And by back to back I mean, they play only one round of cards in between each death.

The writing team was so excited to kill everyone off, that it was the fastest rounds of cards I’ve ever seen this show play. We should tempt them with killing off their core cast more often.

So, seeing that half of his friends have been cursed with an eternity of being brain dead and living out their existence half alive in this weird digital universe, Pharaoh starts to doubt everything about his own abilities.

How weird is it to solve your ghost’s existential crisis when you’re trapped in some VR world he shouldn’t be able to exist in anyway?

But youknow, Pharaoh does this sometimes. Sometimes Pharaoh just gets really anxious if not enough people are telling him “It’s OK, Pharaoh, you’re basically a God. You already died once even so how could it possibly be worse? You’ll probably be OK!”

It’s the typical Yugi meltdown that accompanies every Yugi duel, except Pharaoh style, so it’s lower pitched and his hair is a little bit taller.

Noah tries to take advantage of this lapse of confidence, but Pharaoh’s melt down isn’t quite enough to make him quit a game.

Again, Noah seems constantly shocked that all of Kaiba’s friends and Kaiba himself are just incapable of putting cards down and walking away. This is like the 4th time he’s begged these kids to just stop and they just kept going.

And then, it’s time for the romance of the ages that we completely forgot existed. That’s right, shippers rejoice, YugixTea is back on the table, and it’s entirely because everyone else is dead.

Show, can you even be bothered? Like I feel so bad for y’all who shipped the canon ship because they just...forgot about y’all like...a lot.

But don’t worry, it’s still very vague, and instead of giving any sort of sentimental dialogue, Tea is just going to tear into Noah like a yummy sandwich.

Also, Tea thinks that Pharaoh has control over turning people to stone, that’s a weird thing she thinks now. 

I mean for all I know, he can totally do this. Why the hell not? Go ahead, Yugioh. Surprise me.

And then...Noah just kept her alive a little longer?

I know that he was turning people into stone every turn but did I hear that wrong or did he seriously take a turn longer to freeze Tea, just to spite her?

What is it with the Kaiba’s and Tea? I make jokes that she’s the Mom of this mess of a family, but even Noah let her live way longer than anyone else here.

He got over it, though.

And then Pharaoh decided to die.

Like he wasn’t actually dead, he was just low on lifepoints, and was like....that’s it. I’m done. Goodbye world. It was a good couple of years that I haunted the Hell out of everybody through this weird, very strange child. See you next Millennium.

And then he just kind of took a nap.

Like canonically, Pharaoh just took a nap in the middle of this duel. He is out for like...kind of a while.

Pharaoh melt-downs are kind of the worst because they do seem to involve him completely shutting down. At least in this game, he isn’t lying completely flat on his face, as I have seen him do in a duel before.

PS How does this work?

I know I’m not supposed to think about it, and I’ve held back on talking about it for 20 episodes but like...Noah uploaded the mind of Yugi. Not Pharaoh.

Pharaoh’s mind is attached to Yugi through the puzzle...but the puzzle is not attached to the computer in any way. While Yugi’s brain now has a labyrinth problem, that doesn’t mean that Pharaoh would even be here. He is a magical ghost attached to Yugi’s body which is Not Actually Here.

So like...how is this happening?

Can you seriously trap Pharaoh here in this realm? You can’t, right? Like it isn’t possible, he’s the only one who’s not ever actually here in the first place.

Like...Pharaoh should be able to just wake up in the pod, open the door, and walk right out of there, just like he did with Bakura in Season 1 when Yugi got turned into a playing card. Mind you, in Season 1, Yugi’s soul was dislodged and not his brain, but this just seems like a little bit of a retcon.

I have already thought about this more than the people who made this kid’s show, so I’ll let it go, but this is one of those things I have to try real hard not to think about because...

...if Noah has full control of all their brain functions and projects images on to their brain via hallucinations, then how can they hallucinate anything else? How can you pass out and have dreams?

Which doesn’t matter of course--this doesn’t matter to the plot really, as this is a kid’s show and so just go with it--but I have been thinking about this in the background for 20 episodes and this is where I kind of couldn’t ignore it anymore because we’re gonna dive into some hella weird territory, get ready.

So anyways, Yugi comes down like some sort of cherubic angel and it was very hammy and legit pretty funny I mean look at this.

If this were Sailor Moon, Yugi would be ass naked and have huge, beautiful fairy wings covered in holographic glitter and cherry blossoms.

I’d normally just put in a picture of the infamous last episode of Sailor Moon I’m referring to in order to make this joke complete, but knowing Tumblr I’d be flagged in like two milla-seconds because this blog gets flagged KIND OF A LOT FOR A RECAP BLOG OF A KID’S SHOW, but just google it for yourself and bear with me here cuz like,

These two?

Same energy.

I see this image and I can immediately hear that woodwind just bounce off the back of my brain. It’s like conditioned in me although I allllways skip the intro.

So in this dream/literal brain world reality that they’re walking through, despite being in a digital world, Yugi has stuffed some hand selected hallucinations that seem to have like...a personality embedded into each.

So...Yugi can just create clones in his head that act like he remembers his friends act.

Really interesting superpower there.

And yes, this does mean that Pharaoh not only has no long term memories, he flat out refuses to check on his short term data as well. He is just acting purely on a margarita mix of impulse and anxiety. He is such a freakin mess.

I can’t believe this guy went on a date once.

And like, of course this is all a metaphor for how even if your friends can’t be with you physically, their memory is enough to push you forward when you’re feeling all alone. It’s a nice moral of the story, it’s just that it’s a little spooky when it’s literal.

So yeah, Yugi has a fake Kaiba at all times just flinging insults at him from within his own mind. It’s one thing to say you got the voice of all your rivals, friends, and parents pressuring you in the back of your mind, but to literally have them always stowed there, trapped together in the back of your mind is...that’s very Yugi.

This kid needs so much help.

PS nice little frosting on the cake that that he does not store any family members in the short term memory zoo exhibit. Sorry Gramps, you were uninvited from this show in S2 when Bakura knocked you unconscious and you fell off screen and then we just...forgot to ever check up on you ever again.

I’m sure Gramps is probably fine.

DON’T THINK ABOUT IT, GUYS.

I keep thinking about it and it never comes full circle. Just--the hearts of our dead friends are in these cards, although the friends we were just talking to were absolutely fake people that Yugi has copy-pasted into his clip board in his brain hut. Also, these cards were drawn before they would have given him these cards so they didn’t...actually give him cards. They just...lodged their hearts in there real good.

Although their minds are trapped in a weird rock state and their bodies are trapped in some pods...their hearts are good to go wherever.

It doesn’t matter, in the end, Yugi played a bunch of different moves--I want to say like all six cards in the longest and most complicated Yugioh turn in the history of the Earth--in order to finally end Noah.

I can’t have nice things.

Speaking of, I forgot to mention the most tragic death of this episode.

.

.

.

He may have been resurrected, but his soul was deffo disconnected with his body, or at least my PAD data (during Monster Hunter fest even) and all of my pictures and videos are gone. My auto correcting is also really effed up now, and it’s been auto correcting in kind of...really offensive ways...and I have no idea why because it’s only been rebooted for like...2 days. So it’s almost like my phone got resurrected as an evil person or something like it got Marik’d or something. Either way, I had a fun time explaining some texts at work that my dumbass phone decided were a cool idea.

The things I do for this side blog.

Anyway, if you just got here, this is a link where you can read these from the start in chrono order.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

One Punch Man 13 (S2 Ep 1) | Afterlost 1 | RobiHachi 1 | Kimetsu no Yaiba 2 - 3 | BSD 25 - 26 (S3 Eps 1 - 2) | King of Prism - Shiny 7 Stars 1 | Shield Hero 14 - 16 | Double Decker! EX 3 | Sarazanmai 2

The shows that have made it this season will be getting their tags...soon. Because I fell behind early in the season, trying to read ahead is nastier than it really should be...

Update: I forgot to roll out the tags...! Sorry about that.

One Punch Man 2 1

This season’s name…sounds counterintuitive, to say the least.

I love how Genos is carrying a box of hijiki (which looks like hair) and Saitama’s wearing a shirt that says “hair” (in kanji) all over it. It’s funny for a bald man and his “work of modern art”.

I never knew Genos was so blunt. Maybe because the last season was a good 2 – 3 years ago…and was by Madhouse and Shingo Natsume, and so this feels slightly different.

Oh, Sonic…! I didn’t realise how much I missed you! (Not to mention, you look hot with the off-the-shoulder shirt, y’know?)

“Enoki” is a type of mushroom.

Oh, Garou!...Oh wait, there isn’t much more of the episode left, is there…?

Afterlost 1

Oh great…this is the second time the subs don’t work on my device of choice. Then again, it seems to be a problem with the ad blocker and not the video…Okay, fiddling with the ad blocker worked.

Let’s play Spot the Main Character Amongst All the CGI Guys! Yay! (obviously sarcastic)

Without the volume…this OP is, to not put it lightly, s***.

Shoumetsu means “extinction”, not “lost”.

And the reward for Jankiest CGI this season belongs to…

Okay…this is stupid…if it f**ks up even more, I’m out of here!

I know the horned owl is your mascot, but that doesn’t mean you needed a real owl.

Waittttttttt…how did the scientists know Yuki’s father was responsible for this stuff anyway?

I feel like Takuya was shoehorned in. I mean, there’s a better example of this character type in Naofumi (Shield Hero).

This guy’s name, as we know it, is Geek. Wow (sarcastic). Also, I find it funny Takuya has a “ta” on his licence plate.

“…she’s just a package.” - Welp, you don’t get any more blatant than that for female denigration! I think Anime Feminist had a field day with this one.

Come to think of it, I saw some helmets back at Geek’s place but Takuya never seems to use one…

You had one job, Takuya…*sigh*

I swear I said a few previews ago I don’t like 1st person cam…no one ever listens to me, do they???

Not dis shitto agen!

Okay, enough complaining. It seems Yu-no wasn’t bad enough, so they had to produce something like the Chaos Dragon and Seisen Cerberus of old…

RobiHachi 1

It’s Takamatsu being Takamatsu again. Also… I forgot to mention this earlier, but…Taiga Umatani seems to be related to Kurari Umatani (who is credited for Boueibu), so…I wonder if it’s a collective writer’s name for Studio Comet, like Izumi Todo for Toei? The only thing that goes against that is the fact “Kurari” existed during the Diomedea days of Boueibu. Also Isekandar seems to be related to Yamato’s Iscandar (which Takamatsu seems to like, based on the fact he once used Matsumoto metres as a shorthand for being in space). If you don’t understand, Yamato’s endgoal contains a place called Iscandar and that’s by Leiji Matsumoto.

Okayyyyy…what are these rabbit creatures…? But yes, it does smack of Boueibu simply because the episode layout’s the same.

Hmm…? So Robby seems be En (the do-nothing life) in spirit, but Kinshiro in background, but also he runs away from his fortune. “Hmm” indeed.

Oh! That’s what this string of misfortunes reminds me of! The monsters of the day from Boueibu.

Acrymalide.

Hatchi is a Kinshiro in looks but an Atsushi by being a goody-goody.

Hmm…they actually bother to show girls now…apparently Takamatsu went to a boys-only school, which is why his original works focus on dudes (as in, you can pick out when Takamatsu is adapting someone else’s work because it has a heavier focus on girls as supporting characters).

Mechs and spaceships are probably two of the only ways I accept CGI…and you, Takamatsu sir, have just done it (the latter)!

Aw! Lookit his (Hatchi’s) face light up like a Beppu’s! It’s cute!

Hatchi getting out the hatch…lame, but still somewhat effectve on me (because that’s my wordplay game you’re playing, Takamatsu…!).

LOL, it’s a transforming mech. It seems my words from a few comments earlier were basically foretelling the future.

Kimetsu no Yaiba 2

Yikes, “Sakonji Urokodaki” has a lot of strokes…

My Little Sister Lives For Headpats…hey wait, don’t all anime kid sisters do that(?)

For some reason, I know the “Don’t Lose Your Way” meme from Kill la Kill and yet I’ve never…watched KlK…?(!)

I swore that was Giyu (it’s the haircut, I swear), but it’s a random demon…

When all you have is a hatchet…use your head. (LOL)

Ooh, nice eyecatch!

This is really black comedy, in a sense. (I remember this demon fight from the manga which is why I say that.)

Hmm…this wispy stuff wasn’t in the manga.

Come to think of it, I don’t know how Tanjiro got his scar…

If you squint really hard, you can see CGI Urokodaki and Tanjiro…

He probably has no footsteps because of his shoes. Or the fact he’s a ninja. Were there ninja in the Taisho era…? Update: Tanjiro has the same kind of shoes…oops.

Come to think of it, Daisuke from DN Angel had to dodge traps every day before he became Dark…(thinking of this because I reread the first volume of DN Angel recently)

Oh! Manga panel preview! That’s quite fun, really.

Kimetsu no Yaiba 3

I just really like how Tanjiro’s eyes grew larger with what was clearly resolution before he closed the door.

Why do the non-descript hunters look like Giyu too…?

I’ve never seen KnY so comedic…and that’s coming from someone who thought the Head Demon fight from last episode was funny.

Welp, this is…kinda interesting (<- says a fan of Touken Ranbu).

This letter writing…it reminds me of Kekkai Sensen somewhat.

This realistic water…it’s beautiful, but it looks like it came straight out of Niagara Falls. Is that…too realistic for anime?

“No matter…”

It’s a fox version of Speed of Sound Sonic! Then again, the real Sonic is around this season and probably won’t be happy about that comparison…

Is “that guy”…Giyu? Or the demon who slaughtered Tanjiro’s family?

Spider lilies! I didn’t mention it last time, but the symbolism of the spider lily makes the ED real cool.

Bungou Stray Dogs 26

I’v read the wiki page for Chuuya enough to know the next few eps involve the LN Fifteen, so even though I haven’t read a translation of the source material, I know some of the ins and outs of it already.

Ooh! Kitty! (If you’re a manga reader, you’ll know the cat’s significance.)

I think at this point in time, all viewers are used to Dazai’s bulls*** by now.

Is it just me…or did Bones use CGI for the city? It actually looks kind of good…! Sasuga Bones!

I have a fic that predates Fifteen and could be set in the same period (the fic’s vague enough that it could’ve been them at 15, 18 or even 12)…and basically the only thing I got wrong was the fact Chuuya doesn’t have his hat (because I wrote Chuuya as having his hat in the fic). Also, the banter is tenser than I imagined it, but that’s subjective and something only I, the fic writer, can compare.

I wonder who the yellow-tinted Ability holder is…? Update: That’s Randou. Spoke too soon.

There was a box in the subs…I wonder what symbol that might’ve been.

“…closest to the explosion.”

BSD 3 2

Oh, so that’s what Randou was for! I see now.

Chuuya may be OP, but he’s one heck of a fun character…also, he’s not as OP as Saitama, so…yeah.

Oh, the ED from last time is the OP. I should’ve known.

I like the almost storybook-style of this episode!

I thought Dazai was faking releasing the hostages…I was wrong.

Face-stealing aliens return! (They were around last ep too, I think, but they were harder to see then.)

Again, watch for the cat!

Well, with only one suspect (or 3, if you count the Sheep kids), it was quite easy to figure out one of them was behind it. I kind of suspected Randou, anyway, considering what I’ve learnt from all the mysteries I’ve read.

Because I was watching this episode with the volume down low (so I could hear the OP and ED), the volume really did work wonders for the plot this ep…!

King of Prism – Shiny 7 Stars 1

This is the final debut of the season, so basically how this and Shield Hero perform will decide what will stay and what will go. Oh, yeah…apparently this is the companion to a movie, but the movie and TV series have slightly different content.

This dude’s (the one at the very start’s) so grumpy.

…welp, I didn’t expect it to be that much CGI.

This chunk of exposition…makes me feel like I missed something. It was probably in the previous movies, come to think of it…

Basically, this is…uh, Makura no Danshi or Room Mate all over again??? I’m noping out of here…! Bye!

Shield Hero 14

I’m putting this on the chopping block…just so you know.

…uh, age gap romance? It’s hard to tell at this stage, but they (Filo and Melty) sure act like it is romance.

Welp, this survived the chopping block. “Raphtalia backstory” is a good enough reason to stick around for, isn’t it?

Double Decker! EX 3 (FINAL)

I always miss the OP when I’m not watching Double Decker, but I miss the ED even more…

I can’t believe they tried to get away with a Spirited Away parody…!

I can’t believe I get to see Dr Apple all buttered up like this…

I love how Kirill is censoring himself. (At least he can prove he’s not a girl, unlike Valery/Milla, whose entire shtick is the confusion between genders.)

Oh! I think I know the answer to the case already! It was Kirill’s soap, so Doug is the “killer”. But then…why is it Derick, of all people???

LOL, the angles were so reminiscent of Detective Conan…

Underwear-stealing sextuplets…? Why does that kind of sound like Osomatsu-san…?

Ahh…I really am going to miss this ED. See you next time!

Shield Hero 15

I never thought Raphtalia would be so angry…that’s Naofumi’s job.

Okay…it’s the age-old question: do demis listen with their animal ears or their human ears? Do they even have human ears??? (That’s 2 questions, isn’t it…?)

Uh…CGI dinosaur, much?

Shield Hero 16

…and of course, the Queen is a loli. Of course (<-sarcastic).

“Why’d I even have to feed this KFC farm?” – LOL, but I wonder what it sounded like in Japanese…? (i.e. I didn’t listen to it and when I try to do that, there’s always something over the top of it…)

Sarazanmai 2

I wonder if I’ll ever get used to watching Ikuhara on a weekly basis…?

Kappamaki…geddit?

Wait…y’mean, Keppi’s breath smells like cucumbers? Uh…okay, TMI.

Enta’s Japanese house kind of looks like the one in Mawaru Penguindrum.

Wait…why does the Japanese word for “Fish Buffet” (Osakanazanmai) end in –zanmai? Does that mean Sarazanmai is…Dish Buffet?! (LOL)

Notably, one of the signs said “Union” in katakana. It must be an English play on words…y’know, trade union and union = connecting with each other? I’m surprisingly enjoying myself a lot with Sarazanmai, by the way. I didn’t think I would, but I am!

I think that might be Irohassu water. Or Dasani. I saw both those brands in Japan, but I don’t remember which had the green flowers.

Oh…my goodness! Nekoyama (Cat Mountain) Mokichi (written with kanji for “hair” and “luck”). It’s a Boueibu monster! Frick, I’m laughing too hard!

It’s very small and very thin, but the word next to the cat in the eyecatch is neko.

“…Meow God!” – It’s a pun on “Oh, My God!” but with a “meow” in it. It’s pretty forced, but it does get the nuance of the joke across…

Why the heck did the subbers choose “herb” as the word for weed in this? “Weed” is sufficient, right? Right…?

Well…if that spurt of water wasn’t symbolic…I don’t know what is.

The title translates better as “…but I want to steal”. Y’know, add a little force into it.

The two As and the “sara” below it seem to make a zombie face, huh?

Ooh, that ending…