#and THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND MOST ANIME ART STYLE I HAVE EVER SEEN OR WILL EVER SEE

[elodee]

HERMIT A DAY MAY - DAY 30

SmallishBeans x Mononoke

For Joel I chose the gorgeous anime mini series, Mononoke!

I chose this for Joel because Mononoke is the most beautiful anime I have ever seen. Others have come close, but Mononoke is number one for me. The bright colors, detail, and texture variation remind me a lot of Joel's base.

The show is animated with a paper texture and looks like a moving Edo era ukiyo-e woodblock print. Still images don't do the show justice, so please go watch it.

Do note, however, that the show is technically horror. The series is beautiful but very eerie and touches on dark topics. It also has a lot of surreal imagery that could be upsetting to some people, so discretion is advised.

To learn more about Mononoke and see my style references, go below the cut.

@hermitadaymay

(Gamers Outreach fundraiser)

Mononoke is the story of a nameless person known only as the Medicine Seller who wanders Edo era Japan. The enigmatic figure seeks out restless spirits called mononoke who bind themselves to negative emotion and haunt the living. The Medicine Seller finds ways to get close to the spirits and learns their purpose for lingering in the human world, then attempts to exorcise them. Every two to three episodes follows the story of an new exorcism.

The draw of the show, in addition to its beauty, comes from unravelling the mystery behind each mononoke, since the Medicine Seller can't perform an exorcism until he understands what happened to cause the spirit to become attached to a specific place or person.

The show feels almost like a detective story, but a really creepy one where you're not really sure what's going on half the time. Mononoke is unique, and definitely not everyone's cup of tea. However, even if the genre isn't your vibe, it's definitely worth watching at least some of it for the visuals alone.

Style references:

The show has a papery texture behind the animation, making even very simple shots look really detailed and beautiful.

Some episodes reach hyperpop levels of colors and patterns, though still using paper-like texture throughout. The results are stunning - I remember pausing episodes on my very first viewing just to take in some beautiful scenes.

The title design in a piece of art for Mononoke.

[loststolenorstrayed]

You all gotta watch Flip Flappers it’s such a fucking trip

[kasarasun]

what if I made a thing or it already was that while Airplane wrote the world, Peerless Cucumber illustrated it (only the animals. And Binghe, fighting the animals.) And then then then

He'd totally do it on an alt account, right?? Peerless Cucumber can't be seen making fanart!! (And he's good at it. Like, wiki is using his art in the monsters and beasts pages (that Peerless Cucumber volleyed for. He also separated it from the plant section.) Because 1 its good 2 the artstyle is consistent 3 there isn't a lot of monster official art, other than that one with the black moon rhinoceros python and those other ones and 4 it's really that good)

Haha incomprehensible parenthesis nesting aside, Airplane is watching the forums, right? Not sure about other stuff in canon but he looks at the forums and the fanart and the fiction and most of it is probably corn and binghe and just a little bit of mobei-jun and also the wives tm but!! There's also that guy!!! The monsters guy!! (People would probably suspect 'Drawing the Beast's Ire'- or some other sex euphemism I'm not good at making those- of being Peerless Cucumber because 1 the writing style is the same 2 Peerless Cucumber is the number 1 contributor to the PIDW wiki and a lot of it is the monsters and beasts section and it makes sense, yes??) Anyway, Airplane shooting towards the sky suspects but not too seriously suspects Mr ire of being cucumber's fanart alt but uh uh that ends pre-transmigration section

So, Shen Yuan starts running about, right? Things seem really... familiar, maybe thats the word?- for some reason. This is because every animal and plant he's ever drawn, sketched- maybe even thought about but that's a stretch?- is his design. The firefly parallels hold their forelimbs like butterflies. That is how far down it goes. Maybe it doesn't come up until later, but beasts and monsters from fanfiction get involved, oc species, too... anyway,

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky transmigrates 30 years (iirc) before Peerless Cucumber. He was an avid enough follower of Drawing the Beast's Ire to recognize that these are their designs! Here's where it gets really crazy. Xiao-Mobei comes along, and while he's still pretty young, Airplane can tell that this is Drawing Ire's design! Some aspect, maybe his ears or teeth, (this isn't a well built theoretical tangent) of Mobei isnt canon. Its Drawing Ire's. From that one Northern Kingdom collection. Whatever stretched his world building into coherence, completion, didn't just pull from fanwork, official art, whatever it could find, it went for Drawing the Beast's Ire's designs specifically. Damn that's crazy Airplane ahahaha moving on,

This is getting really long so I'll be a bit more concise, (want to know more? Talk to me. Please talk to me. I want to interact with the fandom. Ask me questions. Poke your fingers into my cage.) This all comes to head at the Immortal alliance conference. The monsters and beasts really start pouring in! And Shen Qingqiu/Yuan remembers his creations. However, he assumes that this is because like 1 other person maybe was Drawing ghost head spiders.

Hey, Peerless Cucumber really liked the monsters, right? The deadlier, crazier, more intricate, the design the better! So maybe, when he was drawing, he... added some things, really believable, logical additions, really just small creative decisions...

Anyway, the monsters that Drawing the Beast's Ire made were where it came to a head.

Lets have another Canon divergence. Maybe, during or after Binghe gets pushed in, out of the rifts comes a species that Drawing Ire created. It's beautiful, poisonous, beloved, and really quite deadly. Shen Yuan/Qingqiu, Peerless Cucumber, Drawing the Beast's Ire... realizes, quite like airplane before him, that he's illustrated, practically sculpted with his own hands, monsters from the Endless Abyss with claws and teeth and poisons as deadly as Peerless Cucumber thought that the really cool monsters could deserve. It feels like he's the one cutting, biting, poisoning his sweet little sheep. It feels like he's digging out the marrow from his little white lotus disciple's bones.

Ok it is shut up time 👍

[bestanimatedmovie]

Choose your favorite!

Vote in the other polls!

What fans say:

The Lorax:

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:

It had a very big impact on meme culture. And a really catchy soundtrack. Plus it has the silly sexy green man. What more could you want from a film.*

The Once-ler and the let it die song. This movie is glorious.

It is legit the mother of all great animated movies nowadays. From Mitchells vs the machines to the new mutant mayhem movie! The plot is so good and you can really see character development from almost all of the characters, plus the designs are BANGER.

THE MUSIC?? TOP FUCKING TIER. THE CASUAL DIVERSITY? IT ALSO HAS LITERALLY THE BEST SHOT IN CINEMATIC HISTORY (Miles rising after taking his leap of faith)

BRO THE ANIMATION IS SO SICK. The amount of sheer effort put into this movie is insane. The character growth was so amazing to watch and such a great movie to analyze. Best scenes are obviously the leap of faith. Actually gorgeous. And also the scene where aunt May sees Peter b after her Peter died. Her “you look tired, Peter” is just so heartfelt

Where the hell do I even start. The visuals are incredible and the plot is engaging. Every scene is perfect.

This film has EVERYTHING. Humor, action, inspirational scenes, kickass music, absolutely killer animation, an art style that is an homage to comic books, loveable characters, a talking pig, DR OLIVIA OCTAVIUS, I could go on

This is the best superhero movie ever made, the leap of faith is one of the best movie scenes of ever

The animation style is better than all the others, and makes the movie funnier too! The representation is also good, and the romantic storyline isn't too prevalent in the movie. Probably the best animation Marvel has made. My favorite scene is when the villains show up to Aunt May's house -- its my favorite fight scene!

I’m sure this movie’s been submitted already because it’s arguably the greatest animated film of all time. I have a personal connection to it because I saw it in theaters on opening night with my late father, and we both loved it and I still do. The animation is revolutionary and it’s one of the only 3 movies that make me cry.

gsksvbsvsbsvs I love everything about it, I love the animations, the story, the soundtrack also the style of animation AAAAAA its so beautiful its art it belongs in a museum i get goosebumps everytime I rewatch it

It’s just so good. All the characters are amazing and I love Miles dad. It’s hilarious and sparked my love for spider-man. It’s such a sweet movie about finding yourslef and has such a powerful message. I totally recommend it so I’m not adding spoilers, but like. Ohhhh, it’s so good.

Interesting villains, well-developed character arcs, a fresh take on Spider-Man, unique use of animation, funny, good use of multiverse that adds to the nature of the story being told, complicated character dynamics

It's the best animated movie because A: it takes one of the most well known comic characters of all time, kills him off in the first few minutes, and then shows you every cooler version of him. B: Has a large amount of representation in its main cast, considering that they're all versions of Spiderman, and that requires a white guy by default. C: everything in it is so well done I can't pick a favorite scene, but the most iconic is the jump off the skyscraper window.

The animation is incredible, the movie has so much story and heart, and there’s a perfect balance between humor and seriousness. And the soundtrack slaps

This is probably the best animated film I've ever seen. The animation is definitely the highlight, the way they blend comic book art styles and 3D animation is an absolute joy to look at and is so overwhelmingly creative, every frame of this movie is gorgeous. The impact this had on the industry is undeniable, as we start to see more and more movies getting more creative with their animation styles. It's not just the animation though. All of the characters are entertaining, all of the jokes land and the story is really well done. It leaves me blown away every time I watch it.

This movie kind of changed the western animation industry from the ground up. Apart from being expertly written, funny, and heartfelt, it is also stellarly animated, with a unique visual style that takes direct inspiration from the comic books it adapts and mixes 2d- and 3d-animation in a way and to a degree that hadn't really been seen before in western mainstream. Its critical and monetary success paved the way for mainstream 3d animation to open up to new and excitingly stylised movies that were like a breath of fresh air between the generic Pixar-style animation that had been the largely unchanged norm in the industry since Toy Story circa twenty years earlier**. ITSV divides the screen like panels on a comic page, it uses dots and lines for shading and gradients, doesn't shy away from lowering framerates for stylisation, and makes liberal use of onomatopoeia, both to comedic and dramatic impact. Impact frames and SFX are often hand-drawn and stunningly colourful, and even the simple dialogue scenes astonish with an expressiveness and realism in their depiction of emotions that makes me rewatch a two-second scene of Miles laughing fifteen times in a row. My favourite scene has to be the What's Up Danger scene, the emotional climax of the movie. Set to an absolute banger of a song, it is the moment the entire film has been building up to. I won't spoil anything plot-wise in case you somehow haven't seen this movie, but both from an emotional and a visual standpoint it is Fucking Dope. Conclusion: Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse is my favourite movie of all time and I could talk about it for hours. If you haven't seen it, go watch it. Thank you.

Have you SEEN the Whats Up Danger/rising and falling scene? it's a work of art that makes me fall in love with storytelling all over again whenever I see it. Also the impact that it's had on animated film is absolutely being felt at current, if incrementally. Incredible film.

It has an amazing art style based on comics and mixed up due to genre differences. It's really fun and the characters are great, even the side ones. The story line is great and I love Miles and his family.

*Mod note: errr, quite a lot more than memes and music actually

**Mod note: amen

[gabessquishytum]

Dream's a software developer (I could see either as an architect for that large-scale view mentality or as the Senior level dev that keeps getting asked to move into management type positions and just straight up refuses because he's been doing code happily for the past fifteen years and doesn't plan on changing that now).

He enjoys his job enough. He likes computers and code. It functions exactly as told (for better or worse) and appreciates the straightforwardness of it all. He's a bit insufferable to work with, but if you have an issue, he'll readily help (just be prepares for critiques on your code in the process).

Hob works at the same company as Dream, but as a front-end dev. The work he does for his day job is kinda boring. All standard corporate style web design. No fancy scripts or fun colors. But in his spare time, he weaves Javascript and CSS like a wizard and creates magical, animated scenes across the page. Would it be easier to just make a video and play it on the page instead? Sure, but where's the fun in that?

Dream and Hob get paired together on a small side project for work. Hob does the front-end work, Dream does the back-end. They get on each other's nerves at first, until Dream spots Hob tinkering with his personal code on their lunch break and is honestly a bit in awe. He's found code beautiful in its own right (the way one appreciates a well-oiled machine) but he's never seen it wielded in such a fashion before. This is the moment he falls just a little bit (read: a lotta bit) in love with Hob. He was already starting to fall for that endless charm and wit of his anyways.

The company hits the first quarter of the New Year and with it come layoffs. Hob gets fired along with some other devs from Dream's same team (a younger pair of devs: Matthew and Jessamy). A fellow named Will comes along to help Dream finish the project in Hob's stead and Dream hates every moment of it. He misses Hob, more than he ever thought he would.

So, in an impulsive rush of anger and longing, he quits the company because how dare it toss someone as good as Hob Gadling out the door without a thought? He's halfway to the café he and Hob had started frequenting together when he realizes that he's just thrown away a career fifteen years in the making. But when he finally gets to the café and sees Hob tapping away on his laptop, he knows he's made the right choice.

Dream slides into the seat across from him and proposes that they build something wonderful together. So they create a small business of their own. They become a freelance web dev team (and steal Jessamy and Matthew as well) and with their skills combined, they take off. It's not huge, but for their size, they're incredibly popular. And Dream's certain he's never enjoyed his work more than when he's working beside Hob.

Later on, Hob proposes to Dream via a custom website with the most beautiful web animations he's ever seen before. And of course, he says yes.

(If you're curious about what inspired this, here's the website: http://www.species-in-pieces.com)

This is such a good concept for a story!!! I really really love aus where Dream and Hob are coworkers. Dream being the grumpy, awkward guy who hides behind his coffee mug while Hob is the popular, chatty one who tries to get Dream involved in fun office activities or socialising after work - it makes so much sense to me.

And Dream quitting his long-term dream job because he's mad that genuinely talented people have been laid off? I love it. Dream just has this inate appreciation for hard work and good art, and that's exactly what Hob (and Jessamy and Matthew) do. How dare the stupid company not understand that they're firing people who deserve to thrive and grow in an environment which actually appreciates them? Everyone is shocked that Dream has quit (not only that, he sends around an email to everyone in the company from the ceo all the way down to the work experience guy, outlining exactly why he quit) because he seemed to be the type to play by the rules and never leave his comfort zone. Apparently, Hob has really helped him bloom into a much more confident person, able to express his principles and strive for better.

And Hob isn't surprised, because he always knew that Dream had the courage, talent and ambition to strike out on his own. Maybe he just needed a bit of love and understanding. Which Hob is only too happy to provide.

Their work together sometimes involves long hours and stress, but Dream wouldn't ever want to go back to the slightly soulless corporation where he used to be. Even if he's tired and a little frustrated by Hob’s disorganised workspace, Dream is perfectly content. There's nothing better than curling up in Hob’s lap while he taps away on a line of code. Plus, he has a great time building their wedding website. Hob got to propose, so Dream gets to celebrate their upcoming marriage with his own expression of love through code. The theme colours are, of course, black and red <3

[swallowprettybird]

Hey! This question is from an anonymous..

Who inspires me?

Thank you for this question! I have so much to say 😍❤️

I have so many people's blogs that inspire me. Unfortunately, they won't all fit here, but there are so many wonderful people, know that you are wonderful! 🫶

Too many letters below in random order under the cut 👇

@bakersimmer inspired me so much with her story and legacy ❤️ I love her light and engaging writing and storytelling style ✍️

Saffron is just a cute little devil whom I love very much 😁 and Anselm.. keep your eyes peeled! ehhh my lovelies 😭❤️

Also, her style of screenshots and game seems to be my favorite on simblr ✨

@onestormeynight and Penny, Blair and Rosie life and them story, they're so so cute and warming my heart ☺️ I adore their story because it is full of family love and understanding, it is a wonderful portion of happiness every episode :з

@elderwisp your arts it's something magical!It inspires me a lot, I love this aesthetic, and it hits the heart 100%, your simstyle very fine and sm tasteful 🧡 and tesselate such a goooood story ohmhm my gosh so good 🤌

@youredreamingofroo i love your Roo universe hehe ❤️ I like to discover him every time learning details about his life and character, it seems as if he is another good friend of ours on Simblr 🤭 It's very inspiring to know own characters better too) And of course, I admire your renders, they are very beautiful and high quality!

@kuroashims and her beautiful blog dedicated to One Peece ❤️ 🧭 If you're like me and have never seen this anime, you'll want to know more about it after discover her page, and if you're a loyal fan, you'll love it even more! Her style is unique in its kind, you won't see anything like it in the sims. And the way she conveys emotions and feelings with just one picture without many words is just something beautiful. It is very inspiring. Elfy is also a wonderful person and a so kind warm friend. 🧝 Je t'aime, ma chère ☺️( btw your French vibe is very inspiring too 😍🤌 belle, incroyablement belle 💅🗼)

@changingplumbob and her amazing stories with amazing families. I love each of them. Kirsty plays the game with a huge and contagious passion. Each of her oc's is different and has its own story.

It's touch me and makes root for each character, through victories, mistakes, and life circumstances. She also has a great sense of humor! Her game sometimes throws up such funny situations! In general, Kirsty knows how to turn the usual gameplay into an exciting journey and I definitely recommend you to join. Also, I am very impressed with her playing style. And if I'm ever going to play a ts4 (as gameplay lmao), she'll definitely be the one to inspire me how.

@holocene-sims i love all about Grant and his life. This is such a vital and real, deep story. I love experiencing all the happy and poignant moments with him as well. His example teaches me not to give up and to live in spite of everything, and to be honest, the thought of this sometimes supported me in difficult moments.

I love talking with you about him and the family and about Junga, she's wonderful. 😇 I'm always looking forward to new episodes.

And Ana is my main inspiration for my main story. If you see a new episode of Cursed Chronicles, you should know that part of the gratitude lies with Ana. ❤️

@matchalovertrait and her beautiful lovely sunshine Noemi and her family ❤️ I will love them always 🥹 It seems to be the warmest, kindest and most loving legacy I know) I like to read it at least to recharge my batteries with this wonderful atmosphere and I immediately want to create something cute and wonderful ☺️

btw Dulce and Ángel has grown so charming!

@miralure your sims just incredible and i love your lookbooks ❤️🤌 You inspire me a lot to create and remade my sims and stand at the CAS like never before! looking forward to hearing new posts from you ☺️

@wistfulpoltergeist You have no idea how much I appreciate this person and his support from the very beginning of my blog❤️ Євгенку ну ти справжнє найсправжнє сонечко 🌞☺️🧡He is a real sunshine. And of course, I adore him both as a creator and a storyteller and as a dad/mom of two beautiful cats Aidan and Arvin 😁 this teo boys so lovely and hot 🤌🔥 і я сподіваюсь ще почути від тебе багато історій ☺️❤️

@aniraklova I think looking at her screenshots, you don't have to say anything, do you? This is an absolutely sky-high level of aesthetics 🤌💅 And I admired their work long before I started the blog, becouse all her cc and all art is something very very inspiring, she really inspired me to create some characters and recent cyberpictures :h Карі ти просто крейзі в найкращому значенні цього слова 😘🔥💋

@vermutandherring another wonderful creator who amazes me with her skill and beauty, It's just so gorgeous, this builds and scenes are incredible and everything I see there I dream of either seeing in my game or just admiring endlessly, so talented artist просто золоті руки 😍

@stellarfalls people who I may not follow much, but people who I consider my great inspirations, who make me want to move on, develop and improve my screenmake skills 🧡 at one time she impressed me a lot with her story&creations and I am still impressed, thank you friend ❤️

@aheathen-conceivably I've probably said it before, but you really do inspire me in a very real way, besides the fact that your dynasty is more than sims, it's a whole bunch and a storm of emotions, these are such real, well-developed characters, I almost cried a few times over some moments... for everyone who is not familiar with the dynasty of this wonderful author, I highly recommend you to read it) and besides, your work inspires me to write my own story too :з it really inspired me for some points of the sequel and thank you to your blog for that)

@circusjuney your style and story, are some of my favorites, and Ellie and Max are the ones I'm really rooting for and worried about ❤️ your blog is very inspiring to me in gґso many ways and makes me glad to be here on simblr ☺️✨🫶

@papermint-airplane I may not have known your blog for that long, but I get excited every time I read about Aiden and his friends again ❤️🫶 I really like your writing style, it's engaging, light and catchy, I love adventure, so it really inspires me to write. and I'd like to send you a special hug as a former fan of the TS3 hehe 🫂

I would also note @weirdosalike because I can't help but note that I am fascinated and obsessed by her story, which makes me just as passionate about creating something 😁

I almost forgot about @theosconfessions Scarlet is so gorgeous, you know what inspires me about your blog? your absolute passion for what you do!

.... oh okay i need a chapter 2 😣😖

There are many more authors whose work I am just getting to know, and I really like them ❤️ Sorry if I didn't mention you i love your blogs too 🥹🫶

[theangrybooknook]

The Apothecary Diaries

What, we are talking manga now on this blog?

Of course!

Ever since I fell into a Maomao/Jinshi shaped hole on Crunchyroll, I have been taken hostage by this story. Needless to say, I immediately went on to read the manga and found myself captivated even further - so much that I am actually shipping Maomao and Jinshi, and those who know me know that me shipping a straight couple happens once every ten years. But the chemistry between them- oh, where could I possibly begin!

But, as always, first things first.

Synopsis: The young apothecary Maomao grows up in a brothel and lives with a physician whom she regards as her adoptive father. On her quest to find new herbs, the young woman is abducted by human traffickers and sold to the Imperial Court to work as a maid. Soon, however, her skills as a healer and her incredibly sharp wit attract the attention of the eunuch Jinshi, whose true identity is a well-kept secret. Soon, Maomao finds herself in the very midst of the intrigues of the court as the personal food taster of the Emperor's favourite consort, and it is there where the mysteries begin...

Truth be told: The Apothecary Diaries did not lure me in immediately. I had seen the manga in some bookshops, but the art style gave me the impression of "yet another shojo manga" and I did not bother reading the blurb. Then, I got a subscription to Crunchyroll and decided to give the anime adaption a try and-- here we are. Now that I have also read the manga and still follow it, I felt the need to give a review.

When looking for manga to read or anime to watch, I can be very picky. I am not easily impressed by what is currently popular and I need a story to grab me by the throat and shake me thoroughly, only to rip out my heart, tear it into pieces, mend it and put it back again. Most anime and manga that are currently popular in Germany are of the shonen genre, which is not really what I am into. But how would I classify The Apothecary Diaries?

What Natsu Hyūga has created with her Light Novels and now with the manga is a beautiful mix of romance, mystery, and comedy, embedded in a gorgeous historical setting inspired by Imperial China. Set at the Imperial Court, the reader is thrown into a fantastical world of pomp and splendour where everything, from things to food to women, is at only one man's disposal. What sounds like a classical harem trope is one only to a certain extent. The system of the court is merely described, not glorified, but also not judged. In that, Maomao is an excellent main character to follow as she mostly observes and makes her conclusions, only to state at the end of it: but it's not my business anyway. I am not sure if I have ever seen/read a main character like her before that draws such a strict line between her own life and the business of other people - perhaps she is a bit like Jane Eyre, but with a passion for poison. The deadpan exchanges she has with Jinshi definitely reminded me of the conversations between Jane and Rochester, minus the psychological manipulation.

Maomao could have easily become a Mary-Sue character with little personality beyond her enthusiasm for all sorts of poison. However, she is a strong-willed young woman with flaws that are entirely believable, such as her assumption that she might lack typical human emotion due to her upbringing. At the same time, she stays wary and follows the advice of her adoptive father to never make assumptions out loud, and to never ask questions, lest she might fall into something that is none of her business and might harm her in the end. She is aware that as a woman not following a traditional path, she must be even more careful, but at the same time, does not judge women that follow or even want a traditional life. Jinshi is intrigued by that, but also by her skill and her wisdom which she never flaunts, but only ever expresses as a passion of hers that she is not ashamed of. It is a pure joy to watch Jinshi grow fond of her, yes, fall in love with her for what she is, says, and does, while Maomao stays all the while entirely oblivious, not thinking of herself as particularly pretty or lovable based on her low social status. Said status does not bother her much and she does not attempt to change it even though it would be within her means to do so - her decision to stay away from what could become her birthright is entirely understandable for the reader and makes Maomao even more fascinating.

The character of the eunuch Jinshi is a masterful mirror of reader reactions to Maomao up until the point where his own story unfolds. Born at court to a mother belonging to an emperor and raised in a golden cage, his true identity is unknown to most beside a selected few that also keep his identity hidden. The purpose of this secrecy is slowly unveiled just as the reader learns of the weight resting on Jinshi's shoulders, and Maomao's appearance at court seems to shake him out of a rigour he has been subjected to for a very long time. Although everyone's favourite at court, Jinshi is alone in his beauty and Maomao, observant in terms of both plants and people, soon realises how lonely the man is and how deep the secrets run. After all, the man is far too beautiful to be a eunuch. But even here, she stays true to her credo of not getting involved in anyone's business unless she is forced to, even as the chance arises to learn the truth.

Especially noteworthy is that while the world of Maomao and Jinshi is a golden one at court, Natsu Hyūga does not shy away from depicting the horrible things that humans can do to each other. Various darker topics are covered: human trafficking, child abuse, rape, pedophilia, the exploitation of women and children in the name of royalty, envy, and the illusion of free choice. The world of The Apothecary Diaries is not a kind one to women - Maomao points that out, reflects on it several times and knows that she, by her gender alone, is viewed as inferior. It does not stop her from pursuing her goals, but it keeps her incredibly aware of her surroundings. Many times, stories like that fall into the trap of creating a female main character that is "not like other girls" and constantly belittles the women and girls that seemingly fit the picture. Maomao might not be a courtesan, concubine, noble lady, or consort, and she might not necessarily have traditionally female interests such as fashion and jewellery, but she never belittles the women around her for their interests or life choices. This is an incredibly refreshing take and speaks of the excellent skill of the author to create a female character that is special, in some ways The Chosen One, but also likeable, obscure, and true to herself.

The manga is still ongoing, and I have no doubt that the story will take the reader down many dark and twisted paths. As for myself, I am rooting for Maomao and Jinshi as well as for the vast array of lovable side characters such as Gao Shun and Ba Sen, the consorts, the courtesans, and many more. I am excited to watch this story develop further and I am glad that I clicked "play" on that first episode two weeks ago. What a jewel of a story I have found there, and what a joy it is to follow the story of the incredible, funny, and absolutely insane Maomao.

[gt-ridel]

writer truth and dare game: 🍬🦋 and 🎨

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character As much as I love Uncle Ingo as a concept, If we're going directly off of the game, I don't think he really cares about us any more than the average hisuian rando. ( ཀ ʖ̯ ཀ) 🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately I've been in a pretty poor state lately, so there's nothing from my heart I'd especially like to express just now. It's mostly gloomy. ╮(╯∀╰)╭ But one thing that I have been rotating in my noggin lately is starting a Patrion, since my teaching work has dropped off dramatically and I could seriously use the money. Unfortunately, I don't think that I have anything of value to offer. (:,з」∠) 🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it LITERALLY impossible to choose. What a demented question! But here are a few artists whos work I admire! NOTE: I'm pretty sure none of these people fall into this category? But just in case, I shall reiterate. I do not care about fictional drama, or if someone creates art of kinks or whatever that I don't personally like/approve of. That is literally none of my business. As long as they are not drawing child porn or something, I don't want to see your callout post. BE TOLD. In no particular order: #1 @cloudy-dreams has such a soft and appealing art style. I could look at it for hours! Her art tastes like marshmallows, and you can't change my mind. She's one hundred percent of the reason I got into Welcome Home, even though I usually like to wait until projects like this are finished before investing my time into them. #2 @nosnexus has been consistently creating INCREDIBLE Dimension 20 fan art, which is what first drew me to their account. with vibrant colors and lots of attention to small detail, both in character and background, they are WELL worth checking out! #3 @grassyneptune draws THE most beautiful Half-life character portraits I've ever seen. I wish I could do line and color work like them. *dreamy sigh* #4 @critterbitter gives every character SO much expression in their movements, they even made a gosh darn lamp instantly recognizable as a sassy mean girl. I am forever surprised and terrified by the sheer volume of quality art they manage to create in such a seemingly short amount of time. Honorable Mentions: @fronomeeps has a deceptively simple style, but once again captures a lot of character in seemingly few lines. @choochooboss is not afraid to take on complex pieces with dynamic angles and detailed backgrounds. @waywardstation moves away from the traditional anime look in their PLA art, and instead injects a style completely their own. Are they a professional illustrator? I'm not sure. But they sure could be. There are SO many others. Honestly, I could go on and on and on. But I should probably wrap the post up. Hope these were more or less satisfactory answers!

[1moreff-creator]

Thank you DRDT crew!

Even though I’ve only been a fan for a short time compared to others, the amount of love I have for this series is hard to put into words. It has slowly grown to be my favorite DR-related media of all time, for a multitude of reasons. Everything about it is remarkably impressive, and I just wanted to say thank you for bringing us such an amazing experience.

I got into DRDT through Weeby Newz’ streams. I had just finished binge watching her SDRA2 streams, but this “Danganronpa Despair Time” one looked interesting. Especially because I kept seeing a video by Ocean Unknown popping up in my recommended, which said something about “David’s reveal”. So I decided to watch those vods too.

Fast-forward a binge watch, and… I was in love. It didn’t even register how attached I’d gotten to every single character, and how intrigued I was to see how everything would play out.

I absolutely wouldn’t have started a Tumblr blog without DRDT. But now I have, and it’s been one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in fandom. So, from the bottom of my heart:

Thank You!

Thank you for the dedication to do such a long and arduous project!

Thank you for the beautiful art! I’ve always been a fan of DRDT’s unique style, and those animations always take my breath away, no matter how many times I see them.

Thank you for all the amazing characters you’ve brought to life! I love them all so much, I could thank you for each one individually.

… So I will.

•Thank you for Teruko! Because she’s one of my favorite protagonists from anything ever, as her intriguing and complex personality is always a joy to analyze.

Also, uh, thank you for the prosopagnosia rep. I probably have that too, but I would have never found out without DRDT. It really explained a lot about my life, so it can be said this series has changed me forever :D

•Thank you for Xander! It’s refreshing to see a character like him being so important to the story, with so many mysteries still surrounding him!

•Thank you for Charles! Because this nerd is one of the most likable and enjoyable characters I’ve seen in any fangan.

•Thank you for Ace! Because he manages to be both very funny and very interesting and complex whenever needed.

•Thank you for Arei! It’s always nice to see a ‘mean’ character with such well thought out motivations and such drive to change.

•Thank you for Rose! Her attitude always makes me feel calm when I think about her, and I’m really interested in seeing where her character and themes are going to go.

•Thank you for Hu! Another one I’m really intrigued by, I can’t wait to know more about her!

•Thank you for Eden! For showing that even “the nice one” characters can have depth and complexity. Also representation win, the nicest girl ever is a lesbian!

•Thank you for Nico! They are so, so interesting. I feel like I’m overusing the word “intriguing”, but they really are so fun to think about. Also representation win for the enbies! Love to see it.

•Thank you for Whit! Because he’s funny, and interesting, and there’s definitely something wrong with him it’s nice to have a character that doesn’t have any big issues :D

Just kidding! The reason I love DRDT so much is that everyone gets to be a little fucked up, as a treat!

And representation win! The coolest guy ever is bisexual!

•Thank you for J! She’s funny and cool and- you guessed it, intriguing. I am running that word to the ground, but it’s true for everyone!

•Thank you thank you thank you for Veronika!!! She’s so great. She’s fantastic. She always brings a smile to my face, she’s so perfect in every way shape and form. God I love her so much, I want her to go as insane as her crazy little heart desires. And more representation! Sorta jealous of the pansexuals who got this freak (affectionate).

•Thank you for David! How can a character be so complex, that you look at Literature Girl Insane and decide it needs more literary references to properly convey them? Well, David’s the answer, and geez. He’s just so fantastically written, it’s incredible. Another big win for the bisexual community imo.

•Thank you for Levi! He’s really cool, and everything about him is interesting.

•Thank you for Arturo! Because as much of a weirdo as he can be, his entire character is just really, really interesting.

•Thank you for MonoTV! Because it’s funny and its personality has to be one of the most unique I’ve ever seen for mascot characters.

•Thank you for Mai! I mean, who?

•Thank you for Unnamed Classmate! Because they’re really nice and I can’t wait to see where they go.

And of course…

•Thank you, so much, for Min! She may very well be my favorite character from anything ever. Everything about how she’s written is phenomenal, her personality and struggles are so well developed, I could gush about her for hours! She means so much to me, I can’t properly describe how in love I am with her.

Thank you for the laughs! From the arm wrestling scene, Charles getting obliterated by MonoCredits, “milk tastes good”, Teruko tripping over Nico… Not to mention the greatest joke ever conceived: the bathroom investigation. I laughed for a solid minute or two when I first watched it, just replaying the funniest thing ever on loop.

The Q&As were also really funny, and I never really had an issue with the way the were written. I fully understand and support if you decide not to do them ever again, but they were fun while they lasted. From Nico’s favorite ice cream flavor being “the flavor”, to us forgetting people can have friends aside from Mai I mean who, all the way to that time you directed us to inform ourselves on what a pant pocket is.

Thank you for the tears! Because I still can’t watch Min’s final hug without my chest hurting, a lot. Even some of the frames from the Sleepy MV, that beautiful piece of art, get me to tear up just looking at them.

Thank you for the mysteries! From the murders which are really fun to theorize about, to everything related to Mai Akasaki and the multiple source code secrets. And don’t even get me started on the LGI MV, that insanity (affectionate) has been eating at my brain ever since it released. Everything about it is fantastic, even the things we still haven’t solved.

Where’s footnote 8, dev?! Did you put it in your pant pockets?! (/j)

Also, tangentially, thanks for introducing me to the LGI album. It’s a really good album ^^

Thank you for the research you’ve put into everything! Things like Ace’s talent causing his eating disorder are really appreciated, they show a genuine care and love for the project.

Thank you for all the little details you might think no one notices, but that we love to see! Things like the first Nonstop Debate ending in perjury, Teruko listing Xander as one of the people whose secret was unrevealed, David’s eyes being different in his genuine breakdowns to his little thing in Ep 11, strychnine not being listed with the other custom weapons because Charles made the list, the note Xander received having a proper full message which has been obscured (I can only make out “it is” at the bottom, but it’s clear the message is there), the charm on Teruko’s thing-that’s-probably-a-MonoPad-but-may-be-something-else being the same as Unnamed Classmate’s phone charm, all the interesting details in the character profiles, among so many other things.

This also includes details revealed on Q&As. Arei being ambidextrous, Teruko liking “girly” clothing, Xander having a weak sense of taste, Ace having 9 siblings, Veronika’s earring being related to a friend, all the favorite and least favorite colors and ice cream flavors. As well as the few things we know about people like Felicity and Elliot that made the community fall in love with them for no apparent reason. It just makes them all seem so human!

Thank you to the voice actors, as well! They’ve all done such an amazing job, no exceptions! In particular, Veronika’s unhinged laughter, the dialogue after Ace’s almost murder, Min’s last words, David’s speech post the “guilty as charged” incident… but it’s all fantastic, all the characters are voiced really well.

And thank you for so much more! If I kept going, this post would never end. DRDT just means more to me than any finite number of words could ever convey. Without your work, the days pass by tastelessly /ref. So, one last time for the road:

Thank you for everything!

(God I love the Sleepy MV so much. It’s so pretty!!!)

[shizuostrans]

Which artist do you think portrays Shizuo the closest to your vision of the character? Thank you and have a nice day!

ooooh this is a good question. there are a lot of amazing designs for him that call to me as shizuo on different levels and that’s the beauty of art! i could go on and on about each manga artist’s portrayals of him and fanartists’ unique art styles and how one captures the best warm smile or scowl or hair tufts or sad brown eyes to me. there’s just. so much to love.

but i'm too shy to tag my fave fanartists and the shizuo i see when i think about him has been yasuda for a long time.

i have beef with how he developed several of his other designs but to me he far and away does the best job at bringing narita’s description of shizuo to life. i've seen a lot argument over narita’s design choice (that i'm not sure how much is genuine?) but each passage written about his appearance is filled with intention and it shapes and means the world to me. :)

bc beyond his height everything about him screams and should scream Most Normal Guy Ever.

even how he presents himself is said to make him appear like he’s playing dress up as someone imposing than actually being imposing. and that’s the kicker. once he’s seen in action he goes from being an unassuming person that anyone with the slightest bit of fighting prowess believes they can take out to the most terrifying person in the room for the exact same reason.

suddenly those traits that make him no different than the next guy become the traits that place him Starkly Outside Normalcy. every part of his design is etched with purpose. he’s lanky without visible muscle bc his body and power and character brute force past logic, he wears sunglasses to hide how soft his eyes are remarked to be, his bleached hair and bartender getup come from those he respects and he uses them all to create an identity to warn others off bc nothing else about him does UNTIL he makes it known how out of the mold of conventionality a freak of nature like him is. then everything clicks into place.

unrelated but it’s not mentioned in the anime that shizuo’s anime-typical vein throbbing is an uncanny phenomenon remarked on by various characters with izaya even saying most would think it’s due to a medical condition which is such a hilarious creative choice that i love to bits.

narita put SO much thought into his character design to the point where every facet of it is tied into his narrative and even slight alterations can detract from that. it makes every one really resonate with me and you can feel that attention to detail that yasuda does with shizuo too. any artist that incorporates all those components into their design of him care for him and his character a great deal which has had the most impactful effect on me. and that amount of care is almost impossible to replicate beyond the artist who was first tasked with drawing him.

(satorigi akiyo is a very close second tho. yasuda is obviously more limited in the amount he draws but she gives shizuo a greater range of expressions even for the same emotion and honestly yasuda walked so she could run in every other capacity but i can not and will not forgive her for giving shizuo blue eyes.)

[lost-harts]

The Destruction of Creation: How bobbin lace versus machines relates to digital art versus AI

This is something that is completely my own opinion, no real research has been done, just observation. I, as a whole system, have been thinking about this for a while and just needed to get these thoughts out.

In the back end of September 2023, I began to learn a skill I've wanted to learn for over a decade, lacemaking. It's one of those hobbies that is always on the edge of dying out, but there's always resurgences and weirdos like me making sure it keeps its head above water.

To some lace is something ugly, for old grannies and yellowing curtains in old houses. To others lace is only for the romantic and sexual moments in their life, a wedding dress and lingerie. But most people can agree, it's a bit old fashioned and not for the every day. I thought a lot of lace was ugly myself when I was young, but then I saw antique bobbin made lace and suddenly I could see what people wanted really. The beauty of fine lines building up something like an eternal snowflake.

When I had an income I used to commission artists fairly frequently, but one sort of artist I couldn't afford to ever commission were those with the highly detailed, beautifully shaded, realistic backgrounded art. Theirs was around £300 and rightly so with the hours of work they would spend on each piece and the years of honing that skill beforehand. But these pieces of art were wanted and some people when they can't bear to part with money, or an appropriate amount of money, will spend their time instead working out work arounds.

In the 18th and 19th centuries lace was found all over clothing, especially clothes for the upper classes. But as industrialisation thundered ever louder in the 19th century and the middle class became truly distinct, they wanted this lace for themselves to appear more like richer folk, but also to adorn more numerous items of clothing that factories allowed one person to own. And so it becomes, why pay a village woman to take a good couple of months on your lace collar when we have machines and factory workers now that can make the rest of the outfit in days? Surely a machine can be made that will do it quicker and require less money? And yes they could. These machines very quickly became the main way people would get lace, especially Bedfordshire and Bucks Point style laces.

But people adapted, learnt how to make quicker simpler, less impressive lace that was still pretty, known as torchon lace. They fended off the machines for a good thirty years too, the machine makers unable for those thirty years to get machines to copy torchon lace correctly and quickly. They jammed and tangled, causing more trouble than it was worth in the eyes of factory owners. But come the 1870s, lace making machines had 'improved', making torchon lace also and a skilled art quickly began to fade.

I see this in artist communities I'm a part of too. Digital artists discussing how to imprint their art with un-copy-able code, make the AI falter and spend longer to make something worse. I've seen other artists saying they are dropping their hyper realistic art styles though, so they can be quicker and lower their prices so people will still commission them maybe? Trying to remove a distance between arguing with AI through prompts and reprompts to get sort of the picture you want for free and paying a human who you can clearly describe what you want and pay them. It truly is the same story happening once again.

But the most sickening thing for me is my thoughts on the hyper realistic art style. I had been on DeviantArt since I was 12, I loved this sort of art, seeing book characters, anime characters bounding about, leaping through the air, hair flapping and clothes swishing about with gorgeous lighting.

So much time and skill and learning went into getting there. I know this really. But now, I have to catch myself when I see art in this style because my first thought is 'Oh, AI rubbish is getting better with hands'. Art, that is beautiful, just on the off chance it is cheaply or freely made without skill, is rubbish. Put in the bin and discarded. That doesn't mean I think we should admire AI art. We should hate it for what it is, the machine that snatches food, ideas, skills and artistry from people, just as machines did over a hundred years ago. It really sickens me.

Because I know people began to think the same thing about lace. It became tacky, nothing special, rubbish. Something that was once an asset just like jewellery, trod into the dirt because everyone could have it now as it was churned out by machines. But hundreds of years of skills were stolen by those machines. Those machines and inventors couldn't come up whole cloth with those lace designs. They needed the lace makers to even exist.

I have no real conclusions other than, please don't let AI art make you hate an art style just because it steals from it. And maybe people should like lace more, especially bobbin made lace like I'm learning to make.

[bestanimatedmovie]

Choose your favorite!

Vote in the other polls!

What fans say:

Inside Out:

Besides the fact of "being a Pixar movie", this movie is a masterpiece, and it has really impacted me. Its message about accepting that "bad" emotions such as sadness are part of life and have its positive side and that "good" emotions like joy can be negative and toxic is really important and one that I'm still trying to internalize 8 years since I first watched the movie.

Wolfwalkers:

The animation is absolutely gorgeous, with a unique style. The music is wonderful, the story is touching. What's not to love!!!!!!

It's beautiful! If I'd watched this as a young girl it would've done something to my brain, in a good way. It's about being stifled by England and those in power, in 1600s Ireland. It's about little girls becoming best friends. It's really sweet, and wonderful. I love the scene where Robyn gets to really have fun and play as a wolf.

Wolfwalkers has beautiful stylized animation. The story is about conflict between the oppressive English colonizers of an Irish town, and their old ways of living in harmony with the forest. When the main character Robyn is in the town, the style she and the backgrounds are drawn in have an angular style made up of flat shapes that don‘t turn in perspective, similar to a woodcut print, showing the limitedness of the town worldview. When Robyn is in the forest at first she is drawn in the town style, but as she is introduced to Mebh, the style shifts to a loose, pencil-lined style with soft shapes and forms that turn three-dimensionally. Later, at key points in the story, Robyn shifts between these styles to reflects whether she is conforming to or breaking away from the town‘s rigid system. It‘s a beautiful way to subtly tie animation to storytelling. I also of course love the story for its queer, environmentalist, and anticolonial themes. It‘s an excellent movie and everyone should see it.

It has some wonderful animation, especially in the wolf scenes, and tells a story that pulls from the history of the English colonisation of Ireland.

The art style is gorgeous and the story is lovely.

It is the most beautifully done 2d animation I've ever seen, beautifully drawn and with such interesting stylistic choices for the backgrounds and the character design, the best shapes. Perspective is really played around with in wide shots that show the town, giving it an even more boxy and closed-off feel to it! My favorite scene would have to be when the song Running With The Wolves by AURORA plays. It makes me cry like a baby they're so beautiful and playful and free and learning to have strength and courage.......

It tells a really beautiful story about identity and friendship and being brave enough to stand up to your oppressors

The animation is gorgeous and well-utilized to convey tone/mood and also little wolf girls are valid and the scenery is [chef’s kiss]

The animation is really stylized which I like. The art style is one-of-a-kind, changing slightly depending on what's happening in the story. Like, for example, Robyn, one of the main characters in the story, started being drawn using cleaner lines when she was still "civilized", in contrast to Mebh, a girl from a tribe that lives in the forest and can turn into a wolf. As Robyn started becoming "wilder", spending time w Mebh, the lineart becomes more sketchy. It's just a really really pretty film. The story is also really really good. The characters are complex and develop throughout the movie. You can understand why Robyn's dad acts the way he does, but still allows him to see the errors in his ways. Also Mebh and Robyn are just fuckin adorable. This movie made me cry so hard and I hardly ever do that Also the soundtrack? MYGOD. perfect. Favourite scene is definitely Mebh and Robyn's wolf scene where Robyn was learning how to be a wolfwalker. The music and animation in that is so good. Idk i really i really love this movie bc it feels so... ALIVE. It uses the animation medium really well, doesn't shy away from the 2Dness and stylizeness of it, which I wish more animated stuff would do.

The animation !!!! Is so gorgeous !!! The art style is so gorgeous, in some places super details and in some moments mimicking medieval styles with symbolic (rather than realistic) perspective, it's so so so beautiful. The music is also amazing, and the story is beautifully put together, it will make you weep.

[deuce-t]

I'm so glad someone else agrees with me that sleeping beauty is the best princess movie!! It's got that kind of scary and dreamy feel that fairy tales should have and the art style is so unique and beautiful! I can't blame people for liking the newer ones more but I get so tired of looking at the same CGI girl with different hair this time every movie

Exactly! Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a lot of the newer Disney movies, and I like all of the cgi princess movies (counting the Frozen franchise) that I’ve seen, but I’m such a sucker for 2D animation and Sleeping Beauty is so visually pleasing in every way. The way the backgrounds are painted, the fluidity of the character animations. I mean the scene of Phillip and Aurora dancing in the woods almost ended the movies production because they had to keep redoing it so it looked perfect, so much went into the production. And the music! The use of castonettes in the fight scene between Phillip and Maleficent gives me chills every time. And I’m a sucker for good vs evil, I love a villain I can sympathize with and give a good redemption arch too, but put a classic “they’re just evil” story where good will prevail no matter the odds and I eat that shit up. It’s refreshing since that’s not how the real world works. In my opinion Sleeping Beauty is the single most artistically pleasing Disney movie ever.

[kitkat-the-muffin]

I’ve been hesitant to post this because I’m afraid of it becoming popular and blowing up my notifications but I just have to get it off my chest

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, one of the most artistically beautiful films I’ve ever seen, would not be possible if it weren’t for the animation industry’s obsession with making CGI look “realistic”

You’re probably wondering what I mean. After all, when comparing the two movies in the Puss In Boots series, the first one definitely looks more realistic while the second looks more cartoonish

But a cartoonish art style is not a downgrade. A really bad art teacher once told me that “in order to draw good cartoons one has to first master realism.” While this advice did not help me in the slightest, I think I finally understand what she meant

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish isn’t in a realistic art style but it still feels real in its own universe thanks to the techniques the animation industry learned from realism. I’m struggling to properly put my thoughts into words so let me try an example

You know how people used to compare the dog from the first Toy Story to the cat from Toy Story 4? And how realistic the cat looked while the dog looked ugly and plastic? Imagine if those animators tried to remake the dog with their new techniques

If they aimed for total realism, it’d look realistic but unrecognizable from it’s original design. However, by taking the road to realism and then turning at the fork into cartoonism, the plastic looking dog can be both realistic and recognizable when art styles are merged properly

I think what my old art teacher was trying to say was that if I draw a cartoon nose without perfecting a realistic nose it’ll look off or something. That’s not really true, art styles are forged from the artist’s own experiences and efforts, but I understand that the physics of a sketch should match the physics of reality

Hair should move with the wind, a character’s weight should be consistent, arm length mustn’t change every frame, etc etc. The efforts of CGI animators to master these physics and then attribute them to fictional settings and scenarios is admirable. Ever see those behind the scenes videos for Tangled and how they animated Rapunzel’s hair? That’s so cool how they meticulously made sure it felt natural wherever it landed

Animation was not made to be a substitute for Live Action (looking at you Lion King remake). While it may be utilized as such, its true purpose was to be a medium for unachievable spectacles, such as a small mouse in red shorts piloting a steamship. Animation should be based on this divergence from what is unrealistically possible in our reality and what may be possible in another

That’s why Disney’s live-action remakes aren’t as good as their original films, because they change the context of the medium. If you suddenly introduce a world where Fairy Godmothers exist in live-action, what makes our world so special in comparison?

Anyway uh with how long this post is it probably won’t blow up, so my notes are safe for now. I hope those who do find this post learn something though

[kookies2000]

Just came back from Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken. And let me just say,

Holly,

Mother

Fu@# That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!!!

Is the story simple? Yes, it is. But it's super cute and sweet! But the real show here is the animation. The world building is too cute and gorgeous, especially the lighting. Oh man, the lighting was gorgeous! Breath taking!! I can't describe it, I just can't! You have to see it!!! It's just as beautiful as The Last Wish but in its own style. The Last Wish was mostly bright and had a sketchy look. This one uses 2D animation from time to time, but the real art is in the lighting and gray/dark coloring. The dark background and neon lights are beautiful.

I swear, this film and Elemental are being underappreciated right now.

[444lpblue]

The Witch and the Beast #2 - The Witch's Pastime: Final Act

Screenplay: Yuuichirou Momose Storyboard: Toshiyuki Sone Episode Direction: Masahiko Suzuki Chief Episode Direction: Makoto Tamagawa Chief Animation Direction: Hiroya Iijima Animation Direction: Makoto Shimojima, Kazuharu Tada, Miyoko Shikibu, Miyako Nishida, Geun-Su Lim (Monster AD: Shouya Gotou) Key Animation: Yuka Anze, Yasunori Yamaguchi, Kouichi Takai, Ryou Suzuki, Mizuki Nakane, Shouya Gotou, Tomokazu Gunji, Aya Nagumo, Mayu Nakamura, Mitsuyo Tsuno, Riku Yamahira, Kazumasa Takeuchi, Hideo Maru, Seon-Hui Kim, Studio Toy Box, Kou Kitakaze

Better late than never, right? On my first watch of this episode, I'm not going to lie; I was a bit harsh on it. I couldn't keep the inconsistency and off-model nature of the episode out of my mind (most of which I hope will be fixed in the Blu-rays), and it kind of blinded me in my real assessment of this episode. I want you guys to keep in mind that this is one of my favorite mangas of all time, so I have very high standards for it. Seeing these production issues crop up just isn't a great feeling when the animation itself is already quite limiting.

Despite all of that, I'd still describe it as a reasonably decent episode, though not quite on par with episode 1. However, it did feature some remarkable shots that were visually stunning, courtesy once again of Hirotsugu Kakoi's art direction plus his team at Kagoshima Ramecahirim. The storyboarder of this episode, Toshiyuki Sone, while quite derivative of the manga, I believe, had many shots that make great use of the excellent background art and has a serious sense of depth.

When the scenes are good, they're REALLY good. I've noticed that the show particularly shines during nighttime, and I absolutely love it; it has become my favorite visual aspect of the series so far. Recently, I saw someone describe The Witch and the Beast as a grotesque and gory show, which is only partly true. This manga is aesthetically inclined, balancing the gory and the beautiful, and I believe these specific shots emphasize that quality. The new city setting is dark, empty, and moody, yet it's visually captivating—almost like eye candy. The ethereal lights style, illuminating everything, coupled with the depth and details presented in the aftermath of the victims, all come together in a gory yet beautiful amalgamation for example.

The animation in this episode was still overall limiting, but it wasn't one that particularly needed much per the narrative (of this episode). As mentioned before, the consistency really bothers me, along with some odd choices that could perhaps be attributed to the direction of this episode. The zoom in with Ashaf casting his spell looked low-res when zoomed in and somewhat disrupted my immersion in the episode. Guideau hitting the handrails had this weird effect applied instead of proper animation, which felt awkward. The entire restaurant scene in the second half of the episode was extremely off-model. Despite these issues, the actual episode, both in the narrative adaptation and the background/board ideas, still meshes pretty well with my vision of the manga.

I also hope that, considering this is arguably one of the less important arcs, when we reach Episode 4, which focuses on Johan and Phanora's arc or beyond (don't worry, I'll write about Episode 3 right after this), there will be an improvement in the production levels compared to what we've seen in this episode. I'm optimistic that they've been saving their staff for these more significant episodes. While I acknowledge that this isn't the best production ever, I appreciate the art direction, some of the storyboarding has been quite good, and the show as a whole has been a decent adaptation of the manga. However, I would like to see more consistency going forward.