#and and and! in the manga Yukine gets all these little arcs where he is alternately discipled by and discipler of other Shinki | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yatorihell · 9 months

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Noragami Reread Volume 14-17

Heaven arc in full swing and a lot of foreshadowing

Vol 14

'The world he sent her back to' final chapter line?????

Yato reaction to not knowing Hiyori's birthday, it's probably not something that would cross his mind since birth isn't a thing in his world

We never actually see what Yato does for her birthday party????

Kazuma forshadowing his betrayal to Yukine

Ebisu could've just called Kunimi when he got lost lol not a single thought in that head

Bishamon refusing to release Tsuguha is so stupid it's the only way to save her

'If I could just stay with Hiyori and Yukine that would be fine by me' hnnnn

God's exist for people vs Yato saving Hiyori at his own expense

People can only be truly saved by other people vs hospital arc vs recent chapter I hate this manga

Yukine sending Hiyori letters and Yato eating them

Just a fun little chapter, bit of Kazubisha and finding out the artist is actually Hiyori's brother at the end

Yato showing up to Masaomi and bynpinf into Hiyori after avoiding her for 2 months

'Just friends?' Yato what did you expect

For grandma Iki it's on sight she knows bad vibes when she sees them

Wonder if the Iki family can be like Father's lifeline for Yato

'Even one so immaculate and become bewitched by evil' Yukine downfall forshadowing

Grandma Iki asking will you protect my grandchildren vs recent chapter I hate life

'You've been my god of fortune for a long time' I'm so sad Adachitoka you make me so sad

Nora warning Yukine about Kazuma lol

Tsuguha breaking and that whole aftermath was... yeah

Saku suppressed his names with a spell but he's still out if it tbh

Kazuma be like lol I might be indebted to Yato but I'll still betray you

Vol 15

Time for Heaven arc

Yukine tells them Kazuma has betrayed them

Bishamon crying over surviving her shinki like babe she could've survived too if you released her

8 millions gods? Stop breeding

'I exist only for Viinas sake' get you a man who loves you this much

Yukine starting to have dreams about his past hnnnnnn

It must've been a ballache to draw the robes in heavens arc rip Adachitoka

It was a different shinki who got Ebisu, I wonder what form they take

Yato unsure of joining Heaven after Ebisu's death

Yato talks of defying heaven lol not foreshadowing at all

Then immediately asskissing to keep his god status

'I'd rather be a piece of shit' you are <3

Yato and Hiyori encouraging reconciliation between Yukine and Kazuma

Yato inviting Hiyori to heavens party

Tenjin didn't choose human guidepost because he knows they can betray you

Bishamon pissed Kazuma used resound on Yukine

Where's Suzuha's grave hmm I guess the cherry tree is it tbf since they visit it

Wish we saw more Bishamon and Hiyori

Yato as an obvious wolf in sheep's clothing

'To be blessed is to be buried' Yukine took it seriously

Foreshadowing of a god possessing a hafuri going rogue

I think this was the first chapter that released once I caught up with the manga

Everyone's so cute in their formal gowns, I like how Yukine's is blue and Hiyori's is probably red

Takemika being a little bitch to Ebisu

Popularity contest of the Gods and Stationmaster Tama appearing was such a nice touch

Matchmaking ceremony

Yato face when Kofuku says Hiyori's soulmate hsnbd

Yama is with her soulmate already that's cute

Hiyori literally watching her future being decided for her

It's so funny that all the soulmates are just like Yato

Oh Kofuku why did you tie it do you know what happened I'm so sad

Kiun vs Yukine

Hafuri sealed away foreshadowing

Takemika fight foreshadowing

Obtaining a hafuri requires an enemy which is why Takemika is so eager for a chance to fight

Bishamon gone missing and then it's like 2 years of stress

Hiyori wondering what it means that Kofuku tied thier plaques hhaaaaaa

Emishi bear god is so cute he won't kill you

Adachitoka working native gods in and their subdued nature with heaven, being happy to just live on their own land, being cultivated from reincarnation to make sure they don't defy again

After everything when asked his nature Yato still thinks of why he was born

Hafuri mono lore

Oh Kiun is so small circling Takemika in his little dragon form

Takemika needs to fuck off a bit no wonder you don't have a hafuri with that attitude

Yes Takemika you are pathetic whining for a hafuri

Oh no he's getting horny just thinking about getting a hafuri

Bishamon promising Heavens head to the hafuri

Marilyn Monroe moment for Bishamon I really love that dress

Shikki is such a look, our Batmon

Vol 16

Once again the serve on this outfit? Deadly

One year since they all met and it's Yukine's birthday (I'm ignoring what's about to happen)

Hiyori prayer to all be friends again hnn

Bishamon knowing how to track the Sorcerer from eye contact

Quick Father flashback, it's funnier knowing that he caused her death by driving her away

Heaven shows up so quick compared to the final arc lol

High treason declared against Bishamon

Ebisu trying to veto the subjugation order

Kofuku dead

Wonder what the other 7 unpardonable crimes are

Nora playing up to yukine to make sure Bishamon dies

Why did they change my balls are tingling

Ysto soft spot for Bishamon

Yukine having 50 aneurysms about yato revealing himself

Yatobisha dreams crushed they don't want a happing ending together

Yato can't reincarnate? Father stop gaslighting

Hiyori coming in with the steel chair on Father go girl

This is the most battle intensive we've been since like yomi

Hiyori showing up and fixing Yato's arm

Yato not abandoning Bishamon and wanting to live her innocence

Yukine crying because he wants to keep Yato safe

Vol 17

Kazuma offering to take Bishamon’s place for execution

Yato really is such a good fighter

'You aren't capable of truly loving people' Kazuma is self aware Bishamon doesn't feel that way (or does she)

'I will see him again' oh we didn't believe this for so long it took like 7 years

'He'll realise that he can't save anyone' vs recent chapter

Child Bishamon being punished by Father

Kazuma spell to help Yato and he's not even made up with Yukine yet

Bishamon god of calamity image

The Reveal that Nora knew her past already had us so shook

Nana past revealed and she was able to overcome it gave us so much hope for Yukine

Kazuma really thinks highly of himself lol of course they don't want a shinki to die instead of the traitor

Takemika being banned from lightning ad a child because of his nature

Mad how Takemika died from like a thousands cuts since the shinki slashed him to death along with the ayakashi

Takemika hiding his lightning and Kiun does it for him, they're such a good match

Yato Sekki bondage

Kiun puts himself in harm to make Takemika act and it works (not instantly)

Oh go crazy Takemika

What a form Takemika let him be a dragon

Yato shielding Sekki from the lightning because he's breaking a little

Once again the art is insane this entire arc

'I can't let Yato die no matter what' vs recent chapter

DO YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU TAKE HIM FROM ME

I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO PROTECT YOU

Kazuma is such a psycho I want one

Damn kazuma stayed in human form for 5 years never being called

Bishamon asking for a pet name

Kiun stuck on the shinki are objects for the god narrative

Takemika got that female rage go girl

God remember when he cut Yato's neck and we freaked this actually reminds me of Yato and father

'But mine will always be on my side'

That line up of Yukine's eyes with Yato's face

Splitting the dragon in half

Kiun bowing and allowing Takemika to be who he is

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lildoodlecat · 1 year

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Hi Jay!!! :D You know I was very pleasantly surprised to find you are also into Noragami! I have not one but two people keeping my activity saturated with notes <3. Dolphin was the culprit this time, we talked by chance abt how striking blue eyes + black hair are (probably in part because it’s impossible naturally in real-world genetics as far as I know) and I was led to this picture:

I was introduced to Yato, and his dorky cringefail demeanour was so captivating that I literally could not take my eyes off him 😂. I was babbling in the voice chat as far as my friends were concerned… so when I had the opportunity after pulling an all-nighter and having 1 braincell I started watching and boy we know how *that* went lmao. So I wanted to ask about your thoughts on the series! Who’s your favourite? Best scene? I love Yukine and his resulting ablution to a concerning degree asdjkd ^^

Hi Pav!!!

yeee I used to have a noragami blog theme actually sldkfjsd before i recustomized it to sormik and then ultimately switched to my current theme. Yato is the most cringefail lil guy i love him ✨ I used to watch the only 12 ep season that was out over and over when I was like,, god maybe twelve?? 13??? anyway

I also really really love Yukine he's such!!! a lil guy!!!! scrungle... I also really love his whole arc into the ablution scene i think that was my favorite part when i was younger as well :D

ummmm it's been a bit since i've seen the anime (esp s2 which i may have only watched once? possibly twice..) and i never got around to reading the manga (but i found out that it finished recently so i'll definitely see abt picking it up!!) however. how e ver. i can say with full confidence that Yukine remains my fav!!!!! and Yato is a close second <3 I really don't remember specific terms anymore but the the the thing where a shinki(?) can become even more powerful/special by risking their name for their god and ohmygod Yukine!!! again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hold him soso close and squeeze him very gently he's such a fun lil dude

oh oh another fav scene of mine is when Hiyori gifts Yato his own lil shrine,, sobs,,,, i think abt that one a lot ;w;

(bonus is that my sister made a little replica of that shrine in a woodshop class!!! hold on i'll get some pics)

(look how cute ✨)

There's probably some other stuff I liked but don't remember very well lol I'd have to get back into it all sometime!!

#i still have a little art of puffball yukine as my icon on my first email (that i still use)#he's just so cute. so beloved #jay talks back #noragami #i'm glad you're enjoying it pav it's a good one!!

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ultraericthered · 2 years

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Anime Update V2 19

Noragami Aragoto - Halfway through the season with the last two episodes of the Bishamon arc. I felt so terrible for Bishamon here and while at first I wanted Kazuma to face heavier consequences for the trauma he’d caused her in the past, having to live with his mistakes and atone for them is the better option. And I got soooo much satisfaction out of how things with Kuguha played out. Like Unalaq from The Legend of Korra, his compensation for being such an incredibly boring and unpopular antagonist is being so utterly loathsome, like somewhere between Tonpa from Hunter x Hunter (1999) and Takaoka from Assassination Classroom level of loathing. So watching him just lose his composure, throw a big tantrum like a whiny, attention-deprived child, and get forcibly cast out of his Regalia status as he’s screaming for mercy was cathartic as hell. While all seems well for not just Bishamon and her remaining Regalia family, but our main trio of Yato, Yukine, and Hiyori (who lived through this, thank God!), Nora answering a call from her father means that she’s far from done creating trouble for them to deal with.

Hunter x Hunter - Watched the final phase of the Hunter Exam to its (seeming) conclusion in both adaptations.

1999 - I thought the way things were depicted here were far less effective compared to the 2011 anime. Killua stating his one desire is to be friends with Gon is meant to reveal the sincerity of how he feels about Gon, but this anime already had him reveal that in the interview with Netero so this now has much less of an impact, not to mention he and Gon’s friendship feels a little understated in this version to start with. There is then a pointless skirmish between Gon and Illumi, followed by an equally pointless fake-out of Gon, Leorio. and Kurapika having to separate, which just felt like a time waster.

2011 - Thankfully those pitfalls were avoided in this adaptation. Moving the part where Satotz remarks that the true final phase of the Hunter Exam isn’t quite over yet to the very last scene was a great call, and Hisoka talking to Illumi about waiting “for the fruits to ripen” (in reference to Gon and Killua) was disturbing and scary as fuck here! If I’ve got one criticism, it’s with the dub, as I feel like Chris Hackney was rather miscast as Illumi’s voice. The voice he has in the Blue Water dub of the 1999 anime fits the character far better.

Fruits Basket - 2022 is halfway over and the characters in this series are already celebrating the coming of a New Year!

2001 - The first half of this episode was not particularly strong as yet again we’re treated to zany shennanigans around Shigure’s house that didn’t happen in the original manga. Most of it wasn’t that funny and I just felt bad for poor Mitsuru by the end. When the second half actually got to telling the proper story, it got much better, even though some of the stylistic and tonal choices admitedly still felt off at points.

2019 - Much improved all around, but one part did raise an issue - Yuki and Kyo not looking forward to meeting with Akito and Kagura respectively at the Sohma Family New Years gathering was brought up quite a bit, like those two are the abusive family members the two boys are most wanting to avoid. But the equivalence falls flat when you remember that Akito exploding with rage, screaming and lashing out with violence at their loved ones is played dead seriously while Kagura behaving the exact same way was played for laughs! It just reinforces what a disaster the writing for Kagura is, and we can’t even say this is a double standard based on “girls abusing guys is funny, but guys abusing girls and other guys isn’t” ‘cause, spoiler alert, Akito isn’t a guy! So it’s just an all around failure in the writing.

Rozen Maiden - The two episodes about Suiseiseki’s twin sister and the old man she lives with and how he’s slipped into madness due to the tragic loss of his son and his wife being comatose were, as can be inferred by just that description, the heaviest that this show has gotten to date in terms of how fucking sad that story is, and if that really was the boy’s ghost inside the mother’s dreamscape then that makes it all the heavier. Suiseiseki’s whining at Souseiseki got a bit old, but I like that they both have a new home and family now.

Fate/Stay Night - Gilgamesh got dealt with rather anticlimactically by Shirou and Saber’s combined power, so of course he’s not done yet and we’re going to have to face him at his full power later. But far more distressingly than that? At the very end of the episode, Shirou comes upon some dark secrets being kept by Kirei at his church.

Revolutionary Girl Utena - That Wakaba and Saionji episode, and their whole relationship, didn’t go the way I’d expected. While Saionji isn’t a total sociopath like Touga and is more capable of sincerity and decency regarding how he feels, his narcissism and constant want for status that matters and could take him out of Touga’s shadow made giving into temptation too easy for him when Mikage gets his expulsion reversed, at which point he totally disregards Wakaba again and leaves her feeling like nothing special. Poor Wakaba!

Love Live! Nijigasaki School Idol Club S2 - This second season continues to be a glowing step up from the first in its next two episodes, with Lanzhu reaffirming her stance on performing solo and being the center of attention, finding out more about Mia regarding her background and relationship with Lanzhu, Yu struggling with her composition assignment, and the total delight of Kasumi, Kanata, Emma and Rina stalking Lanzhu throughout a daily routine. The second episode also did something no previous Love Live! anime did by actually incorporating a “subunit” group into the show itself, as the four girls I mentioned there form Q4RTZ and make their big debut. The show is even starting to sound more like Love Live! than before. The opening song, Lanzhu’s songs, and Q4RTZ songs - all bangers!

MAR - Jack’s first fight in the War Games took an incredibly mean-spirited turn. All the demonstration of how strong he’s gotten and how well he can hold his own in a fight even when at a disadvantage, while his mother, the now reformed Rougilo brothers, and this mysterious delivery man are watching from back at Jack’s farm home, only for a single wrong move to turn it into a humiliating loss for Jack as he’s mistaken for being a no good pervert! Felt real bad for him, but I do have to give Pano props for her quick thinking there.

AMC: Gintama - 3 episodes of this show this time, one where Odd Jobs met the Gendo Ikari-looking government guy and had to retrieve and then kill the pet octopus of an alien prince, one where the Chief of the Shinsengumi doggedly pursues Shinpachi’s sister until Gin beats him in a fight all while the rest of the Shinsengumi’s exploits are being followed documentary style, and the last being sort of an immediate followup where Gin does battle with Vice Chief Hijikata when he comes after him during a job. Still such an insanely fun cartoon, and from all I’ve heard it can only keep getting better.

AND

Belle - This movie came out last year and now I finally got to see it. It drew me in with Suzu’s personal story and how she channeled all of her painful emotions over the tragic loss of her mother and her desire to sing into the online virtual metaverse of U and then totally changed gears from anywhere I’d been expecting that story to go by turning into a modern day Beauty & The Beast retelling. Honestly, I didn’t really get that into U itself, it’s kind of an eyesore at points, so playing out a compelling enough story with it definitely helped to keep me engaged. The biggest point of contention for me is that like Weathering With You, this is a movie that sort of falls apart in its final act. The idea that damn near the entire world, online AND offline, had gone bonkers over the mystery of the Beast’s true identity, the unfortunate implications behind who the Beast really is and why he is the Beast, and the sheer amount of narrative contrivances that even launch the story into a second climax right after a legit phenomenal sequence that seemed like the big climax already, broke a good deal of my immersion in the film and made me ready to see it just end already. But admittedly, the overall film and the high points it hit even in that final third were beautiful, and well worth the watch.

#Anime Update #Anime Update V2

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cranbeary · 4 years

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noragami ch 90.2

generally people seem to be.. happy? for yukine? but i’m getting some real bad vibes... spoilers of course

i want so badly to say “yeah yukine you go honey you did awesome, you really showed that horrible man” but somehow i feel like the reality of the situation is that... he made it worse? the abusive father got his momentary retribution, but what happens after? does he just go to a different bar and continue to do the same shit? does he get angry at the child for “making a scene” in the first place and abuse him even more? i feel like TD knew that he should whisk yukine away there before things took a dive again because this new power is definitely something he can exploit and he doesn’t want yukine to realize the harm it brings too.

looking at it again though, there’s that moment where the father is flipped over the table and the kid is calling out to him and yukine looks a little... concerned? confused? like maybe he didn’t intend for harm to come to that guy, and even though that kid was just verbally abused, he doesn’t wish harm on his dad and something’s turning in the back of yukine’s head telling him that maybe he doesn’t want to hurt his dad after all because that won’t make it any better. before yukine even knows if the dad is okay he suggests looking somewhere else, possibly wanting to get away from the scene due to guilt? and then he hears “divine punishment” and sees the man’s face and that train of thought gets derailed completely.

now that that’s out of the way though just.. hoo got some other thoughts

i just wanna say, it’s not immediately apparent when you’re looking at the manga page by page, but the pages where yato thinks about how yukine saw him as his abusive bio dad and kazuma thinks about how he’s a coward look like they would be formatted similar to a double spread, with yato on the right and kazuma on the left and the pages are pretty much exact mirrors of each other and i think that’s really beautiful and effective. kazuma’s positions on the page mirror those of the random boy and possiblyprobably point at how his state is beginning to deteriorate as well, and he’s starting to get a little ayakashi of his own on his shoulder (metaphorically).

but the image of yukine’s father is mirrored by that of the crow ayakashi being destroyed. so i’m wondering... is this a message of hope? that yukine’s father will definitely get punished in some way for his actions? or is it a little deeper than that, and it’s trying to say that just like the crow ayakashi, yukine’s father is just a small blip on the map of Bad Things Happening Right Now and is just a tool of TD’s in the end as well.

also adachitoka coming at us again with the double/triple meanings... divine punishment can mean punishment from the gods, or a punishment to the gods and by extension, yukine being able to enact “divine punishment” is another demonstration of his purpose in this arc being to punish yato.

#noragami #chapter 90.2

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hellanoragami-blog · 6 years

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Chapter 79.2 Thoughts

Heeeey guys. I’m up really early this morning, so I’ve decided to try to dissect the chapter. There is a lot of interesting things to cover, but overall I really liked it. It has a lot of pain and worry tied to it, though. A big thanks to @fast-moon for a speedy translation!

In the continuation of chapter 79, we’ve picked up directly where we left off. Hiyori has begun to read through her journal, only to find that almost all of them relate to Yato in some way or another. (It seamlessly ties into a discussion that Ami and Yama are having behind her, lol.)

But things take a serious turn, because Yama explains that Fujisaki has simply disappeared, and so has his father, apparently. Father is--we know--currently resting and recovering from the toll taken on his body. But what about Fujisaki’s father? Where did he go, and what are his concerns about his son’s injuries? Is that why he’s suddenly disappeared?

I wonder if perhaps we’ll see Father claiming another form, soon. With Bishamon now knowing his face, and the nuisance posed in further involving Fujisaki’s family, I feel as if Father wouldn’t want to gamble the risks of keeping his current body. (It’s confusing, because we’ve never actually seen Fujisaki’s father, nor do we know much about the relationship he has with his son. It makes it hard to pin down what exactly he’d be doing in this situation regarding his child’s injuries.)

Hey, look! Tenjin’s riding an Ox! Oh, wait. It’s just his regalia? Cool! We now know what forms two of his shinki take, as well as their alternate names. I don’t have much to say about that. But his conversation with Hiyori is different. As suspected, literally everyone know about Hiyori’s feelings but her--even Tenjin! She goes on to ask him, the one who would know most out of anyone, whether it’s true or not that Gods can love humans.

I kind of already figured his answer, and I was right in thinking that their way of loving is just different than human love. But it’s not inherently a good thing for a God to love a human. As he said, they get drawn more to the near shore.

The more attached Yato gets to Hiyori, the more he’d be willing to do to ensure her happiness and safety. This includes wreaking havoc upon whatever threat to her that he sees. (Think back to the Bishamon arc, where he was fully prepared to kill a fellow God under the false assumption that she had harmed Hiyori.)

Also- pg. 25, Amaterasu’s watching. ;)

Tenjin does have a valid point, regardless if we agree with it or not. Gods aren’t inherently the same as humans; they simply take the form of man. Just as Amaterasu is the sun, and Tsukuyomi is the moon. “Is pledging (romantic) love to something that isn’t a person a particularly logical act?”

In a non-biased context, the answer is of course, no.

Even with Tenjin urging her to cut ties with Yato, it’s simply out of her hands now. Yato is the only one who could do that, and with their fates tied, they’re stuck together. Maybe it’s inevitable that Hiyori will forget Yato, but it wouldn’t be permanent. That’s hinted in the fact that she’s able to recount this tale to us.

At the end of chapter 1, Hiyori uses the words, “Soon, Yato would meet me.” This implies that everything that is currently being told has already happened. The story already has an ending, and we’re being shown the story through her narrative. Already, this is kind of obvious by the small hints throughout the manga; the most popular one being when she isn’t able to recognize Yukine as a human spirit the way Yato can.

Hiyori’s description:

Yato’s description:

Again, notice Hiyori’s usage of past tense versus Yato’s use of present tense. Although we are also being shown what she’s telling us, we’re also shown things that she personally didn’t see, and this comes from Yato. Could he also be telling the story alongside her? I’m interested to find out. It may mean that they will in fact meet again. It certainly gives me hope!

Now! Onto some (mostly) lighthearted scenes!

We shift attention to Yukine and Nora, who are playing a game of badminton. But things go horribly wrong when Nora runs right into a trash bin, and ends up getting covered in rubbish. Yukine must have had the idea to take her back to Kofuku’s for a bath, conveniently able to do so because the Goddess of poverty is away in takamagahara to strike fear into the heart of Takemikazuchi for repair costs.

Nora is completely in awe of the place, exploring things she’s never seen before. It looks like a child’s wonderland, to her. (Notice she thinks almost everything in Kofuku’s house is a toy. ...To be fair, there are a LOT of toys in Kofuku’s bathroom.)

In fact, most of what we see of her in this chapter reminds me a lot of what we see in Yato: not a lot of experience in the way of doing things age-appropriately, and having a very naive approach to some things. (Seeing her with that shower shield around her face reminded me of a frilled dragon. Cute!) We also see two names on her, one on her hip, and the other on her arm. These were identified by fast-moon to be the names belonging to Ebisu and Take.

Clue One that things are not entirely as they seem. I don’t entirely distrust her just yet, though. She drops her hitaikakushi in the bath, and she gives it a look of what appears to be contempt. Does that mean that she’s growing more and more unhappy with who/what she was before? Or is it regret over her involvement in a possible plan executed by Father? She folds it not-so-neatly in her hands, and the scene changes to show Yukine attempting to cook.

It’s obvious that he’s still struggling with his feelings over the situation. But hopefully, it’s not enough to be hurting Yato. Next, Nora rejoins Yukine for dinner. (In a very cute outfit, nonetheless. Adachitoka, are you trying to kill me with cuteness?? Lol.) Yukine next suggests they study together, and Nora says something that really seems to hit a nerve with Yukine.

“Dead people, studying? It’s pointless.”

Ahh. So it’s hinted that Yukine isn’t entirely accepting of the way things are, after all. Whether he realizes it or not, the fact that those words bothered him to that extent just shows that he knows it’s true, deep down. Trying to emulate a life that a living person would is essentially pointless, and he knows it. But it’s what makes him feel happy and fulfilled with what he has.

That texture, though.

We know by now, that when this texture overlay is used, it either foreshadows a topic resurfacing in a Big, Negative way, or when a character realizes something that could end up leading to a key event of sorts.

In short, this page felt very serious and ominous, and it kind of worries me. The word ‘promise’ is also used quite a bit here, which feels a little suspicious in itself. It’s also kind of scary, because Yukine just unintentionally showed Nora one of his biggest weak points. I hope it’s not going to be used against him later.

Nora, please. I’m beggin u girl. Have a change of heart.

It does look like she’s having a change of heart regarding Yukine learning the God’s Greatest Secret, though. Before, she wanted to destroy him with it. But now she wants to make sure he doesn’t get near it. Which he agrees to... but we know it’s going to happen, eventually. Sad to say, he’s already been inflicted with liberation. So learning about his past is inevitable.

Yukine reveals his worries about stinging Yato, which is important; at least he realizes that it’s bad to be getting his emotions involved like this. But Yato’s not around for him to talk to, and that makes all the difference. And with Yato being hit by both Yukine and Kazuma’s shitty feelings, it’s bringing him great distress and discomfort.

(Also quick note, I’m curious as to why the name plate says Iki. Iki would be Takamasa’s last name, wouldn’t it? Unless he took Sayuri’s name instead. Uncommon, but some people do it here in the US. Do people do that in Japan as well? I’m going to assume it’s the case for now anyway, since it’s Hiyori’s maternal grandmother’s house.)

Alas... Father. What are you doing in front of Hiyori’s grandmother’s house? How did you even find out where it was? (If he followed her home, that’s just creepy.) What I wanna draw attention to, though, are the blank pages of her journal. Blank pages. Blank. I hope it’s just the newest pages that haven’t been written in yet!

But... I feel very certain that Father is influencing something here, just from Hiyori’s mention of her body feeling heavy. (Yes, I think it was Hiyori’s dialogue, despite it showing Yato; particularly with the way it follows up in her POV in the next box.) Part of me is worried that the page is implying that Father is leaving, and he’s already set something into motion. I hope I’m wrong.

Hiyori... please hold on to your memories.

#nana discusses noragami #noragami #this wasn't as long as my previous analyses but I covered what I felt like I needed to #noragami spoilers

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natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk · 6 years

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Top Five Yuki Kaji Roles

Just starting this, I know I’m going to be leaving out a bunch. To be fair, he has too many (good) roles. Sometimes he doesn’t fit the role (which is the fault of the casting director), but I think he does a good job with whatever he plays.

Not going to lie, this list is influenced by: - How much I liked the series as a whole - Casting decisions - Character development (how much I liked the character) - Other things that have to do with my personal opinion

In this list, I will also not be including any series that I haven’t watched. An exception in this list is Attack on Titan because I have watched a lot of Eren’s pivotal scenes, and I feel like (even though I avoid the horror genre), he still deserves a spot here.

Due to me not watching all the anime he’s in, I will just list the shows that won’t be included on this list because of this reason alone: Haikyuu (Kenma), Guilty Crown (Shuu), High School DxD (Issei), Donten ni Warau (Soramaru), Servamp (Kuro), Black Butler (Finnian), Black Bullet (Rentarou) Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Kouichi).

I also won’t even be mentioning Ao Haru Ride. I don’t like Kou. Voice didn’t match, anime wasn’t my thing, etc. I cringed too much watching that anime. That is all.

Honourable Mentions:

Walker Yumasaki (Durarara!!)

Ironically, this character is an otaku. He’s so goofy, and I remember hearing his voice and going, “I recognize him.” And considering the fact that I watched Durarara before I really got into voice actors, that’s quite something. He makes a lot of pop culture and anime references, and I can respect that. Walker and his partner in crime Erika are a very iconic duo.

Ayato Kirishima (Tokyo Ghoul)

We just went from a one to a ten, didn’t we? Well, that’s voice actor range. I hated this casting decision at first. I thought that it was bad and wanted nothing to do with that. I eventually did change my mind. Could they have done better? Yeah, but I eventually grew to like it (love is too strong a word).

Naoya Nifuji (Wotakoi)

Back to the pure, are we? Ironically, Kento Itou (who plays Hirotaka) is born in 1988 (according to the Idolmaster Wikia while Yuki Kaji is born in 1985. Anyway, Naoya (sometimes called “Nao-chan” is honestly such a pure kid. He’s kind of bad at video games, but he gives it his all for the sake of others. Watching him just makes you want to give him a pat on the head. His innocence and purity are definitely exemplified by Yuki Kaji who nailed this role despite being a supporting character this time.

Sonic (One Punch Man)

RIP Sonic’s ballsack. Okay, but seriously, that scene was painfully hilarious with emphasis on the pain. He did a good job portraying it (along with Madhouse’s animation which just added the absolute torture on his face along with the jiggle). I thought this didn’t standout voice-wise at first, but I rewatched the scene a few times and have had the whole thing grow on me... as horrid as it was. Here’s the scene.

Meliodas (Seven Deadly Sins)

Okay, this is partially because I didn’t like the Seven Deadly Sins. Ban is a much better character than Meliodas. I didn’t like Meliodas as a character, but it was no denying that he had a good voice actor backing him. Meliodas’ English counterpart was none other than Bryce Papenbrook (who I don’t like). Go figure, I think he portrays the perverted hero quite well even if I don’t like him.

TOP FIVE

5. Shion (No. 6)

I have so many thoughts on this anime that need to be saved for another time. Shion is one half of the dystopian duo (*cough* SHIP SHIP SHIP *cough*). He’s an intelligent sheltered kid at first, but then he gets wrapped into stuff that’s way bigger than him. Shion has a painful “Eren-like” transformation scene. Every protagonist has to experience pain on a large not-human scale, right?

4. Shouto Todoroki (Boku no Hero Academia)

Who can forget that Shouto vs Deku fight? That was full of epicness. I was almost jumping in my seat when I watched it. The “Handcrusher” isn’t always the most perceptive socially (same), but he has so much power... as long as he gets his sleep. He might not have the most emotional range, but he does have a lot of good moments. It weirdly took a while for this role to set into place for me, but now he’s one of my favourite characters.

3. Eren Jaeger (Attack on Titan)

*intense screaming* Yeah, that’s kind of this role in a nutshell. “I will kill all the Titans even though I am one!” It’s not every day where you see a bunch of giant nudists eating smaller clothed what people. There are too many scenes that Yuki Kaji has crushed in this series, and this is probably his most iconic role. He does a lot of stuff to support the show too which I respect. Get ready for season three people!

Bonus:

2. Yukine (Noragami)

Okay, Yukine is already dead, but you can tell that the little dude has been through a lot. Give him a break. He’s kind of witty and childish at times, but a lot of people don’t seem to like this character. This is partially because of how he was introduced to the series. He was bratty at first, but guys, look at his circumstances and where he’s coming from. He lives with a guy who doesn’t pay him. The guy he works for can do whatever he wants and experience little pain whereas he thinks one dirty thought and everyone goes wild at him. Yuki Kaji portrays the emotional pain of this character so well. That’s partially what I missed in the dub. He weirdly has a lot of youth in his voice despite being so old (I think anything over 30 is old). He really put his all into this role, and I really like Yukine and what Yuki Kaji did with this character, and I can’t stress that enough.

Here are some seiyuu event clips. The slipper incident is infamous. Miyuki Sawashiro is a legend for starting that. The cleansing scene was epic and a pivotal moment for Yukine’s character. The last one is a live voice acting session of that scene (Slippers Incident) (Cleansing Scene - Cast Comments) (screaming in real life)

1. Alibaba Saluja (Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic)

It’s kind of hard to find people who have: 1. Watched this show 2. Watched it subbed But if you have, I commend you. I have watched both seasons and reads a couple arcs of the manga (I’m still about a hundred chapters from finishing the whole series). I’m really bad at explaining how much I love this character/role and why, but I’m going to try. If you don’t get it (or even if you do), go watch the show. It’s one of my favourites to this day. Alibaba is one of my favourite shounen protagonists. He’s goofy, makes honest mistakes, and tries his best. He’s similar to Naruto in ways, but I prefer Alibaba because he’s so much more relatable, and he has logic. According to his weaknesses, he gets fat easily. But anyways, this character has been through a lot. He has lost so many people along the way, and his life is a rollercoaster with him just grabbing on and hoping for the best. Yuki Kaji makes me laugh when the story’s funny and moves me when the story’s emotional. He makes the character who he is, and when I read the manga, I still read it in his voice. I can’t see it any other way. I love this character a lot, and I wouldn’t have anyone else voice him. As much as the dub is good, I refuse to watch it dubbed because I have so much attachment to the Japanese voice cast. This was the first non-Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh anime I watched. I have a massive soft spot for it. Can I just add how it also does a great job with its female characters? Morgiana is one of my favourite anime characters of all time. Here are some funny moments (part 1) (part 2) Here’s the seiyuu event subbed (part 1) (part 2)

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astrollamatorescue · 8 years

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Yukine’s death: In further detail

I think one of the biggest mysteries in Noragami is the question in matter of how Yukine died. I have no doubt in mind that we will all learn the fate of how Yukine died later on as the series continues, however, there is just something so sad and absolutely awful regarding the ways of how Yukine could have died when you actually analyze all the clues the author gives us. (This is gonna be long, so prepare yourself.)

I feel like everyone is made to assume that his father is to blame due to his implied abusive nature, and that Yukine could have died because of the injuries he received, BUT (although I do agree to that in some degree) I don’t really think this is the reason why. I’ve honestly never really believed that his injuries could have killed Yukine, since it would never really explain WHY Yukine is afraid of the dark, and also why he felt like he was suffocating in that box they put him in Chapter 70.

But, okay, let me just get into this theory before it gets too long:

So, I think we should ALL start off with THESE to look at first. Right off the bat, we see luggage, and right next to it we see a mother and some little girl (assuming it’s his sister) leaving with the exact same luggage. I think it’s safe to assume that his mother and sister left, and for some reason Yukine was left behind with a very drunk and either mentally or abusive (or both) father. More importantly, its THIS photo that stands out to me.

Those mails doesn’t seem to be bills to me, but more like correspondence. Yukine, I feel, was sending letters to either his mother or sister, telling them about something that his father did not like. Do you see that authoritative gesture the dad makes with his foot? Stomping on them in such manner? That isn’t a, “Yukine, what have you been sending behind my back?” or, “Darn, these bills are a fucking bitch.”

This is a, “What the fuck have you been doing,” and a “Oh, so you think you’re smart?” It’s very authoritative. And it’s scary. It’s definitely mentally abusive when you think about it.

Then, of course, we get this:

Don’t know what it is? Here.

It’s a post box. When we first meet Yukine as a little fluff ball, he was floating around the post office like he was waiting for someone to come, or waiting for his mail to come.

I think the most saddening clue as well is this:

I don’t know if you guys can see if that clearly, but let me just mark it.

To be honest, you guys can argue that it’s just the shading that made the wrinkles on Yukine’s wrist look deep. And it was the shading that made the bandages look wet at some parts and the others dry. And so for this, I consulted a friend who is an artist, so let me just leave you with this: The rest of the bandages that doesn’t seem to be green because of the color scheme is gray. However, how curious is it that the bandages is a MUCH darker gray in the areas of the skin?

AND THIS IS THE MOST HEARTBREAKING BREAKTHROUGH I FEEL NOT MANY PEOPLE GET.

As a regalia, Yukine has bandages. Fucking. Bandages. Guys. Why would bandages appear in his weapon form if it wasn’t important for him? As if these bandages weren’t a big part of his life? That’s honestly why I feel like self-harming was a thing Yukine did constantly. It wouldn’t make sense why these bandages would appear even after death if it was a temporary and insignificant thing for him. His father was so UTTERLY horrible that it pushed Yukine to this extent, and that’s so horrible.

So let’s keep looking at this father of his, shall we?

This, I feel, reveals a lot. It’s the, “What does it mean?” picture that the author keeps throwing at us. Where is this? I don’t know. After countless of hours researching on arc bridges in Japan, forests, and railways, I could not find a single photo that had that exact same building anywhere on the internet. I now know that the areas where the author draws the Noragami characters are actual real places, however, I JUST CAN’T FIND THE FUCKING LOCATION.

So finding out where this site could possibly be is an idea thrown out of the window-- for now. But, let’s pay attention to the boy. All this time, I thought it was Yukine.

I mean, it had to, right?

Right?

EH, WRONG.

His

Hair

Doesn’t

Match

Again, ya’ll can fight me saying it’s just a dark lighting and you just couldn’t see the spikes in the hair. LIKE, THE AUTHOR CLEARLY MADE SHADING AND LIGHT CAPTURE IN THE BOYS HAIR SO YOU CAN SEE SPIKES.

AND THOSE AREN’T HIS SPIKES. That haircut is flat.

So who is this boy? Is it even a boy, or a young man? It can’t be his father. The detail in the hands look far too young. And, this isn’t like the author is giving us this picture for nothing. They keep on throwing this picture to our faces in the manga over, and over, and over again. It’s significant, and tells us the last moments on Yukine. And it doesn’t seem Yukine spent his last moments at home, being abused by his dad, and being buried in the backyard. This site has BRIDGES. Trees that belong in forests, Also, where is the coffin? Cause those metal parts around the picture definitely don’t look like a coffin like most people think. Yukine is far out, away from cities, so how did he get there?????

I think it’s good to look back at the genre of this manga. It’s shonen, so we can rule out sexual abusive like some people have theorized. We can rule out anything so gruesome, because this manga is already dark as it is, so it wouldn’t be like...Yukine being stabbed 12 times in the chest and left to die. Yukine’s dad definitely played a part in his death, and this is where the theory comes in.

There is so many implicit messages that depict Yukine being trapped in something, and getting so scared and utterly desperate to get out something. The author wouldn’t have put so many details in Yukine’s fingernails, and the picture of a boy hovering over some kind of opening keeps getting repeated in these scenes where Yukine is calling out for his dad and attempting to scratch his way out.

Theory: Yukine, did not, in fact, die of the inflicted wounds caused by his father, if he even hurt him that badly. It’s more likely according to the information given that Yukine died of suffocation, and this is more likely manslaughter. Perhaps the boy isn’t even a boy, but his dad, seeing as Yukine kept on calling out for his dad. His dad buried his son alive, or made someone else carry on his dirty deed for him. Yukine’s father had full intent to get rid of his son, and unfortunately, Yukine must’ve suffered a slow and painful death.

His life had gotten pretty shitty as it neared it’s end, and I don’t know about you, but no character has ever gotten me this sad to the point where I cried in episode 9. Because it seemed he wanted to live so bad, and this young boy, barely even a pre-teen, suffered a death so horrible.

I just feel like unlocking the story behind Yukine’s death might happen soon in the next upcoming chapters, and I honestly can’t wait to see what kind of character Yukine’s father was.

#Noragami #Chapter 70 #Yukine #hiyori #Yato

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skyheaven1231 · 8 years

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As fate would have it - Chapter 36

Chapter 36 - What is this about?

(possible manga spoilers up until chapter 54) (Also sorry I’m so late this week. I’m sick at the moment so everythig runs through queue. But I forgot the chapter so ... sorry (/v\)

Words: 1622

“What in the world are you doing Hiyori?”, Yato asked, a confused expression on his face.

“NOTHING! DON'T LOOK!”, the half Ayakashi screamed and threw a towel in his face, trying to cover his eyes.

She was standing in their bedroom, her old school uniform's shirt halfway put over her head. It was a hilarious picture and Yato burst out laughing as soon as his mind had caught up on what he was seeing.

“STOP LAUGHING YOU IDIOT!”, she screamed embarrassed. “Why are you wearing your old uniform?”, he said, trying his best to hold back his laughter.

“I … I-I'm … I … just … w-wanted t-to … well … see i-if it still f-fit”, she answered. “Looks like it does!”, Yato answered after Hiyori had pulled down the shirt.

It really did. It got slightly tighter at some parts but other than that, she looked just like twelve years ago. Like she was still the school girl Yato had met. The only thing that had changed was the length of her hair.

“Y-Yeah. It does”, she discovered surprised, “I thought that it, well ... wouldn't. Guess time doesn't change everything.”

“See? I told you that you haven't changed in all those years. You are still the same old Hiyori.”

“I … I think so”, she put on a little smile.

“You've been thinking about being older again haven't you?”, Yato asked after a short break.

“Yes. I can't help it!”, she sighed.

The blue eyed god took her hands and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose before he went over to the closet and started to look for something. Hiyori wanted to ask what he was looking for but right in that moment, Yato pulled out something and immediately started to take off his shirt and his track paints, revealing his favorite capypa underwear. Right when Hiyori was about to open her mouth and ask what he was doing, Yato put on her old uniform. Before she knew it, he stood in front of her wearing her old middle school uniform and smiled at her.

“See, I still fit in this one as well!”, he announced happily.

“Well you aren't aging you jerk!”, Hiyori retorted laughing and threw a pillow into his face.

“Hey!”, the god replied and threw the pillow back into her direction. “What are you doing?”, Tsuki, who had been listening through the half closed door, asked, making her way inside.

What she saw in front of her was the funniest thing she had ever seen. Her mother in her old High School uniform next to her father, wearing the same one that Tsuki was wearing. The young girl couldn't hold back her laughter, causing her parents to join her.

Caught by the commotion, Yukine peeked inside the room and he didn't know if he should run or laugh along.

After he had witnessed a scene such as this, there was no way it could be unseen. Tsuki put on a devilish expression as soon as she spotted Yukine and said: “You know daddy, I got a spare uniform in my room.”

“OH NO!”, Yukine screamed after Yato's face showed the most terrifying grin he had ever seen. “Hold him!”, the god screamed and Tsuki jumped forward, dashing at her big brother. Yukine ran like he never ran before. Slippery floors didn't matter, he had to stay on his feet. Furniture was no obstacle for him, he just had to jump over it. Doors should not stop him, they only had to be opened way faster than usual. But it was no use. Tsuki had lured him into a trap and there was no where else to run off to. “Don't! Please! Tsuki I'm begging you! You can't do this to me!”, he desperately begged.

“Come on big brother, it's just for fun. It won't hurt I promise!”

“No! PLEASE! NOO!”

Luckily, Yukine was released from his suffering when Yato entered the room, holding his phone and telling him that they had been called out for a job.

Never before had the young boy been so glad that a job came in when it did.

“Let's go!”, he said and rushed to his master's side, “Oh and one last thing.”

“What?”, Yato asked confused.

“Put on normal clothes!”

After Yato was wearing his tracksuit again and he had said goodbye to Hiyori and Tsuki by giving them a kiss on the forehead, the two boys left.

Their job actually came from Tenjin and they helped him out by getting rid of a few Ayakashi that were threatening the students of a school nearby. If Tsuki had known what this job actually was about, she would have insisted on tagging along and use her powers but Yato would never agree to it. She was still learning how to handle her gift and those Ayakashi were way to big. How to deal with small ones, that was something she had become pretty good at but as soon as they got bigger, she wasn't able to get a connection yet. There was also the fact that Hiyori and Tsuki were planning on visiting her parents since the young girl hadn't seen her grandparents in a long time. She had been looking forward to this for weeks now and something like Ayakashi hunting shouldn't prevent her from spending time with her family. The task had been easy enough for the experienced team. Yato and Yukine were working together perfectly after all the years of practice they got. In practically no time the two boys were back at Tenjin's shrine again, where an unfamiliar figure was talking with the wise old god. A middle aged woman dressed in traditional garment was talking to Tenjin. “This is rather sudden. I certainly do not remember anyone mentioning that another colloquy was taking place this year” the two boys could hear Tenjin say as they got closer.

“It is true that there has been no official announcement yet”, a soft female voice coming from the figure in front of Tenjin explained, “Anyhow, there have been recent events that require a colloquy as soon as possible. I've been send here in heavens behalf to bring you to the meeting place at once.”

“What is going on?”, Yato asked as soon as they reached the two. “Are you the Yato-god?”, the woman asked. “Yes.”

“Then I shall send you off to the heavens as well. A meeting has been ordered in behalf of her majesty and all the gods are to gather at once without further ado.”

“A colloquy? Now? Like, right now?”, the blue eyed god asked disbelieving.

“Yes.”

“W-Wait a minute. And what is it about? I mean, there must be a good reason for it if it can't wait!”

“I have not been ordered to talk about the reasons. I have not been informed about the reasons myself. My only task is to escort you to the meeting place. If there are no more questions, I would ask you to accompany me now.”

Of course there were a lot of questions left but the two gods had no chance to ask because all of them were immediately send to the heavens. Tenjin, Tsuyu, Yato and Yukine found themselves in the middle of the building where the gods usually gathered during their meetings.

The hall was full of other gods and their guideposts. There was a lot of commotion in the room since everyone was asking around if anyone knew the reason for this sudden action of the heavens.

“What the hell?”, Yato asked a little annoyed. “It appears we have no choice on weather we want to participate or not”, Tenjin asserted.

“Oh great. I have to message Hiyori and tell her that we will be gone for a while. Who knows how long this is going to take”, and as he spoke, Yato pulled out his phone and typed a text message for her.

“YATTY!”, the four of them heard a familiar voice from the distance.

Just a few steps away, the others were standing together in a group. Kofuku, Daikoku, Bishamon and Kazuma were now making their way over to their friends. “We were already looking for you! Do you have any idea what's going on here?”, the pink haired goddess asked.

“No”, Yato answered, “You don't know why we are here either?”

Everyone shook their heads at once. Slowly, Yato started to get a strange feeling.

“Did something like this ever happen? Such a sudden meeting? It seems like everyone is freaking out because of it”, Yukine asked curious, observing his surroundings.

“I guess it only happens pretty rarely. Last time they gathered everyone in a rush was … when … “, Kazuma started to explain. “When they sent the obligation force after Ebi”, Kofuku finished his sentence.

“But even so. They never sent us here immediately. We had no time whatsoever after the heaven's guards came to get us”, Bishamon added.

No one knew what to say until suddenly the group started to move. The gods were sent into the conference room while the guideposts were ordered to stay here for the time being.

Through the gaps in the massive group of gods Yato could make out the outlines of Ebisu trying to reach the others but he didn't manage to fight against the force of the group. Before they knew it, they were all covered by the anonymity of the conference room and couldn't tell where anybody was anymore.

And just like that, the colloquy began.

Notes:

Okay there is something that I think is really scary and I just have to get it off my chest. (NOT MANGA SPOILER FREE!!) I am writing all of these Chapters 1 month ahead. And every month when a new Chapter of Noragami comes out something similar is happening?!?! Like ... HOW? O.O It started when the Chapters about Yukine's name cracking were published and then in the Manga ... IT HAPPENED TOO! Then I was writing a chapter that included Kofuku and Daikoku ... and then the Chapter where it wasn't sure if Daikoku would survive came out! I've written a chapter where Hiyori got drunk and published it around the time when the Heaven arc came to an end and they gathered at Kofuku's to drink! I've written about Ebisu in a chapter after not mentioning him in a while ... AND HE GETS A CHAPTER IN THE MANGA AROUND THE TIME IT'S PUBLISHED!!! Now in this chapter Hiyori was trying on her old uniform ... AND THREE DAYS AGO IN THE CHAPTER SHE WAS WEARING HER OLD UNIFORM AS WELL!!! WHAT THE HELL HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE????? I swear I had no idea that these things were going to happen in the Manga when I created these chapters!! I wrote all of these things way before there were even raws out! (I've got someone to proove this btw lol xD) I'm starting to feel freaked out about this ... alright ... enough rambling. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! ^^

Next Chapter: Caught

#noragami #noragami spoilers #noragami art #yato #hiyori #yukine #tsuki #tenjin #fan art #fanfic #my art #my writing

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kurisus · 8 years

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Noragami general thoughts

Special reread edition, since I finally finished my reread and am ready to die when chapter 73 (which doesn’t exist) comes out

This is going to be very long so buckle down

The ENTIRE outcome of Kamuhakari was foreshadowed starting in the Underworld arc.

Meaning Adachitoka had all of this planned for a VERY long time

You can see from my Snapchats that beginning with Ebisu’s forceful execution the characters are kinda like “Uh idk if that’s entirely necessary” “Why does heaven think of this as a game” and so on

Not to mention later on Kazuma talks about becoming Yato’s enemy and protecting Bishamon till his last breath

And Yato half-jokes that he will commit high treason

Overturning heaven’s rule is discussed several times as well

There’s a lot more but you get the gist

Not to mention, this arc also plays on the Underworld arc’s use of irony, except here the irony only becomes apparent once you’re looking back on it knowing what happened

Point being, there was a lot of obvious foreshadowing we overlooked because of the month-long wait and there being more important things to focus on at the moment

Remember when everyone was praising Yukine for becoming a hafuri? And then you find out that maybe that’s not such a good thing, and then our three known hafuris are all put through different hells concurrently (really, it’s no wonder Kiun doesn’t want to be one)

Not to mention the whole “blessed” and “burial” thing and the very real possibility that Yukine died by being buried alive, though I’m also pretty sure Amaterasu or someone used that phrase when he was sealed in the box (which was also called a stone coffin or sarcophagus....hmm......)

One of my main reasons for rereading also is because after chapter 72 everyone’s pretty much in agreement that the arc is over and we can put these nasty memories behind us

Also because there IS disagreement about how the arcs divide up so I wanted to see if the arc being over was the case

Because I always thought we were in the same arc since chapter 42 or so, but then I see people talking about the “Sakura arc” and “hospital arc” and “rebellion arc” and that sort of thing so I was like “am I remembering wrong are we in a new arc”

So pretty much everyone agrees about where the first three/four arcs of the show begin and end--Introduction, Yukine, Bishamon, Underworld, and after is where we run into problems

I’m hoping that my viewpoint can provide us with a little more consistency as far as what exactly happened

Basically, the arc I’m gonna call the “god’s greatest secret arc” began with chapter 43 (42 kinda hinted at it but the term wasn’t dropped until 43) and continued through all those other things

The reason those other mini-arcs aren’t their own separate things each is because we never got a break

After the Yukine arc we got a couple of chapters to calm down, same with Bishamon, and the Underworld arc had two chapters to close out the resolution since a lot of stuff happened, and then chapters 40 and 41 were just kinda random silliness (especially 41; 40 was about Yato trying to become a god of fortune so it was looking to the future) and then 42 begins to shift the tone back to dark

The so-called Sakura arc was only like three chapters, as was the hospital arc, and there was no break between those and the chapters around them; the dark tone shift kept right on going through the end of Kamuhakari

So did chapter 72 end the god’s greatest secret arc?

Well, I hate to admit it for a multitude of reasons (this arc STILL not being damn over being the primary one), but I’m not so sure it did

It COULD have, but we really need more information to determine so and I don’t like saying it because we’ve been waiting SO LONG for this arc to end

It seems to me that 72 was more of a bridging point--whether this is between two arcs or just continuing to a different part of the same one remains to be seen

There definitely was an ending there, don’t get me wrong: the good guys won their fight, everyone lives, they’re spared and cleared of charges, and they all go back home

Not to mention the fight at Kamuhakari was a buildup of stuff since the 40′s, like the god’s greatest secret, Kazuma betraying Bishamon, Yato finally becoming a god of fortune, and the whole deal of if a god can actually change their nature

But there are also a LOT of unresolved plot points: what will become of Kazuma, what Nana will do now, Yukine remembering his past slowly, the heavens still not willing to let Yato and Bishamon off the hook so easily, the list goes on

On that note, I’m still unsure as to the reason Kazuma stung Bishamon--the eye on his neck appeared after he said he was going to protect her, so was this when he decided to flee?

Haha man I really missed a lot of stuff in the recent chapters because I was reading with a very elevated heart rate so the small details flew over my head but now that I know how it ends I was able to calm down somewhat and figure out the bigger picture

The trio is back together for now, but all is not completely secure, concerning Yukine especially

Oh my god I have so many feelings about Yukine

He DIDN’T want to go to Kamuhakari, he DIDN’T want to fight Takemikazuchi, he DIDN’T want to defy heaven

Talk about not deserving something, damn

No wonder Yato blames himself for everything--Yukine wanted no part in this but got dragged right into the middle of everything

Honestly, this just makes everything so much worse because I think I knew of this but didn’t really think about it and/or forgot the extent of it

I’m sure this is also a fact that Yato is painfully aware of, so it will be interesting (suffering?) to find out how he progresses from here

Basically, in summary, this arc’s “end” is tentative at best because it seems like a bridging point to another segment of the same damn arc

But again, we won’t know for at least a few chapters yet, so we’ll see how everything pans out

If this arc is not, in fact, over yet, we’re left with the frightening and all-too-real possibility that this could be the final arc of Noragami and they just started moving into it very early

I have my doubts about that but I don’t think we have too many arcs left either way considering the typical length of monthly mangas and how long the god’s greatest secret arc was (at most, two arcs are left in this series’ run)

Honestly, the whole Kamuhakari event was so painful to read monthly (I caught up a couple weeks before 55 came out so I’ve been here since before then even) and we were complaining about how much it “dragged on” (a term I’ve always been reluctant to adopt because there was a lot that needed to be resolved after all)

But rereading it does give me a new perspective; the fight goes by MUCH faster and MUCH more cohesively when you look back on it in this way

So actually, while this single fight was longer than the whole Underworld arc, the second time around it has a lot to it and is very complex but it is a fast read as well

If you get the feeling that the fight did drag on I do recommend you reread it since your perspective does change a lot

That being said, I will always have awful memories of waiting month after month in the hopes that finally this stupid fight will be over since I was anticipating the arc’s end from the moment Bishamon pulled Nana from the box, and things still went on for over a year after that

And THAT being said, I almost feel like it couldn’t get worse but Adachitoka will challenge that and hurt me much more than ever

So what I’m expecting out of the next few chapters, aside from some comedy for a damn change, is an explanation of the covenant, some light shed on Father and Nora (Yato DID say he would explain things to Tenjin and Ebisu later), and Yukine’s past because now that it’s starting I’m just so rabidly curious

I’m sure I forgot a lot of what I wanted to say but this post is already a fucking novel so just take it for now

#Noragami #Noragami manga #oh my god this is so long I'm sorry #live update

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yatorihell · 9 months

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Noragami Reread Volume 11-13

I'm so sad Adachitoka you make me so sad

We've hit the Sakura chapters and the hospital arc and I am not having a good time

Vol 11

They're visiting Suzuha's tree they've not forgotten him

Coo phone where are you baby

Yato shaming Kazuma for being like That with Bishamon

Father is like 'I want to have as much fun as I can' then makes that woman jump off the balcony

Father wants to save Hiyori from his worthless son jshd

'She might take Yato away from you' 'that would never happen' lol suffer

'Just being near him is enough to bring someone disaster' why did we ignore the red flags

Father stop saying you got dumped dieeee

Crush his balls Hiyori

Yato clinging to Hiyori wanting her to talk about her problems

'I have to do something for her' grant her wish lol

Capyperland trauma here we go

Yato using his money for someone else is such a development

Kofuku wanting to ruin Yato's smile hsh

Hiyori preserving belief that Capypers are real

Yukine deserves to go to Capyperland

Kms the trio are all together they're so happy even with all the disaster happening

Hate that the Marry Me sign wasn't in the ova

'Can we stay together a little longer' sad to say I think a little while is over

'How much can I trust your words' hand scene had me more feral than the season 1 ending

Yato's goddess Hiyori dream would be a fun little ova

Kofuku backstory time

Kofuku being banned from shinki but taking Daikoku because he's hot, I wonder why Heaven didn't make her release him

Daikoku giving Kofuku a name in return

Daigo was so cute but all I can think of is the Kagome children, creepy bastard is probably in there

Yato cutting Daikoku's ties but it was fake and they worked it out together I'm so sad

Daikoku would raise Kofuku if she even reincarnated I'm so sad

Bubble era Kofuku is a look

Mayu's past but what we really wanted right then was Yukine's

Father letting Yato make memories to destroy later die challenge

Gods greatest secret and Sakura arc let's go

Vol 12

'If he'd lived his shadow would be longer than mine' mine would be a lot shorter if I was stood on a cliff

Fuck offff Father croc ass bitch makes himself known

He's really making him play video games

I forgot what happened to the old word

Necessary evil foreshadowing

'I won't do anything to Yukine' liarrrrrrr 'Hiyori chan on the other hand' zsgcgcf DIE

'You're a taker' vs Yato giving Hiyori his last breath I hate this manga

Father die challenge

Yato calling Hiyori my pure white yet more foreshadowing

Love how they've both been sent photos of the kiss/trip out of spite

Nora go away (I forgive you)

Is that Father's hand on Yukine's shoulder during the fight sjhdb

'One day Yukine will belong to your Father' dieeee this had us pressed for years until it happened

Bishamon seeing Yato in a new light

Yato's concern for Yukine after the Nora fight he's really got the daddy issue and daddy solution package

'I was getting hot and heavy with Hiyori'

Yato reveal that he has a lifeline

'You wanna dig out my tush crystal'

Hiyori tail memories let's goooo

God this is so fucked up look at all baby's murders

Yato's Sakura tree has me quaking cos you know when we see it again it's bad!!!!

Baby Yato is so cute

Nora's reaction to being given away for Yato to name

I wonder if the black background and boom boom SFX are meant to represent the womb fir Nora's memories

Yato immediately starts swinging once he gets a sword

Yato and Sakura meeting and he has the attention span of that butterfly

Sakura smacking the shit out of Yato he needs it tbh

Father ready to punish Nora even without proof because Yato's lethargic, not blighted

Yato experiences geniune, no strings attached affection for the first time?

Yato get out of the tits

Yato learning kindness from humans and how to be a kid

'I want to be with sakura a little while longer' WHERE HAVE WE HEARD THAT BEFORE

And then he ruins it by killing

Adachitoka really gets the emotion down to a T in this manga Sakura's face is perfect

Sakura finding her purpose is to teach Yato

Father punishing Nora again for Yato's actions but he's a good dad (joke)

Nora like 'and I took that personally' when Sakura notices she has 2 names

When you read it you're like oh she evil but then next chapter you know she didn't know what would happen

Father said its for her own good

Vol 13

Love how we've ignored the whole Hiyori storyline lol when did she last ask to be fixed

Kazuma trying to put a spell Yato he's that crazy, even if it was a joke that bitch has issues

Yato wondering why Father is putting ayakashi in humans then thinks of Hiyori jdjj

'You like Yaboku don't you?' now we're confronting the feelings (I wouldn't say they're all the way there yet but she cares for him)

Oh I'm so sad stop bringing up that in centuries Hiyori will be dead and Yato will be alive

IMAGE OF HIYORI WITH HER CHILDREN

'When people die no one can ever see them again' I hate this line stop haunting us

Yato and Yukine guarding Hiyori at school and you can see Yukine's bag floating midair

Love how Hiyori just bodies Yato when she thinks about liking him and he enjoys it

Hiyori wanted to be a doctor when she was little

Hospital attack was such a curveball I was riveted

Yukine's name chips oh it begins I hate this

'You'll lose your future' haaaaaaa she did now she hasn't

Yatobisha team up

I love how Yato looks in this chapter

Bishamon bare handed killing ayakashi she's just that powerful

Tsuguha getting hit and it's just game over basically

'You're going to make Yato take care of it again' several gun emojis I hate this fucker

'However they want to save her it's up to them' with a kiss apparently <3

'Neither of us can do anything but kill stuff' vs most recent chapter has me all sorts of ways

'I don't have to cut anything I'll figure something out' CAN YOU then again her cord is gone nkwnso defacto win if she remembers him

'How can I save Hiyori' kiss <3

'I'm always here to help you'

'I want him to wrap me up in that gentle light and forgive me for everything I've done' IS THAT HOW IT FELT WHEN SHE GOT NAMED HUH

Hiyori half phantom was such a level up

Bite him it's a love language

LET ME BE WITH YOU

MAKE HIYORI A SHINKI

HIYORI WANTS TO BE WITH YOU

Oh the hug I'm so sad Adachitoka you make me so sad

'I can't let you come to this side yet' I'm so sad adachitoka you make me so sad

Oh what are the chances they won't even see each other final chapter lol (I will die)

#noragami aragoto #noragami #hiyori #yato #yukine #goodbyenoragami

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 5/28/19

Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World, Vol. 1 | By Kakeru | Seven Seas – This was another “I’ll get the first volume, how bad could it be?” sort of book. The answer is pretty bad, at least for readers of my taste. That said, for those in the market this is aiming for, Creature Girls must be a dream come true. A monster girl story with actual coitus, as well as deep down analysis of the girls’ bodies, almost to the point of parody. The plot is the standard “guy transported to fantasy world” stuff, and there’s a few mentions made of battles against enemies that he helps them with. But the target reader is not here for that. He is here to see monster girls show off their boobs, swear they’re 18, and get screwed. This book gives that to you, in spades. I’ll pass on future volumes. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 32 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Oh boy, more full volumes of volleyball. They sure do (punches fist in air) PLAY that volleyball, huh? OK, OK, let me see… the twins’ backstory was quite good, and I enjoyed the end, where we see more of Hinata’s growth to the point where Tsukishima even praises him, as much as Tsukishima is ever going to praise anyone. And credit to the author, 32 volumes in, for continuing to find ways to not make volleyball boring. There are great poses and a fast pace which reminds you why this is such a popular series. The pace is not fast enough that the game is over, though, and I’m fairly sure that the next volume will have me groping for words once more. It’s a good series, though. – Sean Gaffney

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 4: Diamond Is Unbreakable, Vol. 1 | By Hirohiko Araki| Viz Media – Ten years after the final battle between Dio and Jotaro in Cairo, the fourth part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure returns to Japan. In the first volume of Diamond Is Unbreakable, Jotaro has come to the town of Morioh to investigate a series of crimes and to search for Josuke Higashikata, his uncle and the illegitimate son of his grandfather Joseph Joestar. When Jotaro finds Josuke he discovers a high schooler with a very powerful Stand and a hair-trigger temper (both literally and figuratively) to go with it, a potentially dangerous combination. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure continues to be a violent and grotesque series—the human and animal cruelty present will be too much for some readers—but I continue to love it for its strangeness, over-the-top action sequences, and ridiculous characters. Josuke in particular is one of those delinquents with a heart of gold that brings me tremendous delight. – Ash Brown

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 3 | By Waco Ioka and Midori Yuma | Viz Media – I’m wondering how much of this series is going to be Aoi healing people’s hearts through the power of delicious food. Oryo spends most of the volume sick (well, the impression is she’s also hiding), but even she will eat Aoi’s food. We also get backstory on Suzuran and Akatsuki, and take a trip back to Japan so that Suzuran can pay her respects to the late Shiro, and also stay behind. It’s a perfect opportunity for Aoi to stay behind as well, something her captor knows only too well, but she chooses to return anyway. This series looks pretty slow burn, so I think the food may outweigh the romance for a while yet. But I’m OK with that. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 9 | By Canno | Yen Press – Half this volume is Yukine and Ayaka, who are coming to realize that “winning” or “losing” is not the be-all and end-all of their relationship. Good thing too, as Ayaka finally wins. Elsewhere, we see a girl who’s a repeater (she was injured and couldn’t get attendance credits), so is something of a loner, but also a cosplayer. She ends up falling for a younger, puppy-dog sort of girl, but it’s hard to get over putting people at a distance, so they end up breaking up quickly. But is it really over? This volume frames the “main” pairing right in the middle, with the ‘volume’ pairing as a bookend, and it woks very well. Next volume is the last, so I suspect it will be all Ayaka and Yukine. – Sean Gaffney

Little Witch Academia, Vol. 3 | By Trigger, Yoh Yoshinari and Keisuke Sato | JY – The spinoff comes to an end here, and there’s no real climactic finale—they have to win a flying contest against another school, but Diana is ill, so Akko tries her hardest (and mostly fails) and succeeds in the end, because she’s just that plucky. In the end, I think this spinoff probably works best for the groups it’s marketed for—kids and those who watched the anime. I wasn’t as fond of it as I was the other ones, as it’s clear that any character development is going to be in the main series. But as an advertisement for the main series, it’s excellent—I certainly would like to see more of everyone. Something to get your niece for her birthday—at three volumes, it’s even affordable. – Sean Gaffney

My Monster Secret, Vol. 16 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – Every new volume of the series after its first “ending” seems to be designed to annoy me—something that also befell the very similar Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, if I recall. As the cover might give away, this volume doubles down on the teacher-student romance between Akari (who has at least appeared a lot) and Sakurada, best known as the least developed one of Those Three Guys, who looks much older than he is, which I guess is supposed to take the curse off the creepiness but doesn’t. Elsewhere, there is still some good comedy—I particularly liked the chapter with the supermarket sale—but more and more it appears this should have ended with the mutual confession. – Sean Gaffney

One-Punch Man, Vol. 16 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | Viz Media – Still far too serious, and now faced with Saitama barely being in it. Certainly if you like cool fights it’s a good read, but I can get that from a dozen other manga titles. I read this for silliness, and that’s in short supply here. I did like the idea of the superhero “Megane,” who is pretty much just a guy with glasses. There’s also some good development from Garo, whose analysis is top tier, but who sadly is a bit too focused on the wrong things. But then again so are the A-rank heroes—there’s a fair bit of hypocrisy here. At least Genos knows what’s what, and we also get the return of Bang, who has a grudge of his own. It looks like Saitama will show up soon, and thank goodness. Who needs a totally serious One-Punch Man? – Sean Gaffney

Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 15 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | VIZ Media – Revolution is approaching as the most senior of Iesada’s ministers signs a trade treaty with America without waiting for Imperial approval. This fellow silences his detractors with harsh punishments and winds up assassinated by the end of the volume for his trouble. Meanwhile, the pregnant Iesada has evidently been gotten out of the way by somebody, but it’s unclear who, leaving her bereaved consort Taneatsu in the dark about her demise for a full month. Now he’s doing his best to guide her clever successor, who has just been married to an Imperial prince. She was concerned about deceiving the emperor, since the shogunate’s part of the deal was to oust foreigners, but a big reveal in the final pages proves they’re the ones who’ve been deceived. Still great, if sad. Poor Taneatsu. – Michelle Smith

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, Vol. 3 | By Tomo Hirokawa, based on the story by Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – The danger is ramped up a lot more in this volume, which also comes with the return of a familiar face from the Progressive series. When it comes to “NPCs can surpass their programming,” no one’s done it more often than SAO, with the current Alicization arc being all about that. Kizmel was (storywise, at least) first, though, and it’s heartwarming to see Kirito and Asuna reunite with her, even if she doesn’t know who they are. That said, this side story is still all about Premiere, who has a role that she is clearly there to fulfill… and also there’s more than one of her? Not for casuals, but SAO fans should find this a lot of fun. – Sean Gaffney

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 11 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – The joy of our whole team of six catching up with one another is tempered by the reminder that there can be only one winner of this race… and that the others are going to drop back and fail. It’s a hard lesson for Onoda to absorb, and by the end of the book he’s still struggling to. The rest of the book is filled with the most manly cycling ever, fortunately, and I have to say pound-for-pound this series even manages to out-shonen the Jump titles. That said, holy hell, this is a long race, and we’re still not done. Sports manga go on forever, and nothing says that better than this omnibus, which equates to vols. 21-22 of the original. I hope Sohoku eventually wins. And by that I mean Onoda. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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ultraericthered · 5 years

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Anime Update 28

CLANNAD After Story - There’s a difference between predicting how a story is going to play out and watching HOW that story plays out. I called from last episode that Kazuto Miyazawa was dead rather than just in the hospital, and that Yukine (and her brother’s entire gang, as it turns out) had dedicated themselves to this elaborate lie in order to keep the gangs from fighting. But I was not prepared for getting to that reveal to be as emotional as it was. The final minutes in this episode were the most choked up I’ve gotten watching this show since the final minutes of Fuko’s arc. Given how calm and chill Yukine normally is, seeing her get more and more emotionally distraught until she finally breaks down after a botched attempt to impersonate her late brother and get the fighting to stop was just gut-wrenching, as was the revelation that she only ever entered this gang-leading lifestyle as a way of mentally keeping her brother alive to compensate for having not been as close to him when he actually was alive. Thankfully, coming clean about the whole thing, visiting her brother’s grave and showing everyone how much making peace between the warring gangs had meant to her brother prior to his passing and how much it means to her now was able to get that wish fulfilled. I’d dare say that Yukine is officially #2 Best Girl of this series to me now, apologies to Fuko. Speaking of Nagisa, though, she provided one of the best comedic relief moments prior to Tomoya and Sasaki’s fight, with her enticing sales pitch of her mom’s baked goods to Sunohara and the gang members seeming blatantly set up like a raw deal but she was honestly clueless that it would turn out the way it did. David Matranga also did a phenomenal job with his voice acting for Tomoya at the climax, sounding perfectly enraged. The note it closed out on was curious, to say the least. What is the deal with the orbs of light? First one showed up at the end of the Katsuki two-parter and now another one showed up here? Is there a connection between this and the alternate dimension the Ichinoses speculated about, and the Girl and Junk Doll in the Illusionary World? And why is Tomoya the only one who’s been able to see them? Clearly it all adds up somehow, but I’m not sure how yet.

Dragon Ball - I really have to try and imagine what this part of the saga had to have been like for people back when it debuted. Dr. Slump was a very popular old manga, Akira Toriyama’s first major successful work, that even spawned an old anime series titled Dr. Slump: Arale-chan. As goofy as Dragon Ball can get, it’s tone is starkly different from the madcap cartoonishness of Dr. Slump, yet Toriyama decided to connect the two series’ as being within the same universe because why not? So as a result we got this really fun crossover where Goku and General Blue end up in Penguin Village, and somehow both of them get set on course for Senbei’s house. And in this set-up we’re given some really great moments like: - Arale and Goku meeting, which it itself sets a nice contrast between the tones of these series’ and their own little worlds. Goku is naive, innocent, and not the brightest child, but Arale is on a completely different level of innocence. She’s always happy, always running and playing around, never seems to have the clearest picture of what’s going on, but is an unstoppable force once you put her in any sort of activity or interaction. It was really cute watching how she and Goku got along, seeing them ride the Nimbus cloud together. - Akana and Taro being UNABLE to get on the Nimbus cloud ‘cause they’re not pure hearted. I get that it’s because they started off as delinquent punks, but it’s particularly insulting for Taro since by this point in time he’s turned his life around and is on the police force. - Speaking of, that surreal moment where Taro and the entire Penguin Village police force knows and fears the Red Ribbon Army. Like, the moment it’s name comes up, Taro freaks the fuck out and gets every cop in town to prepare for a possible attack, not realizing that only one guy from the army is there. This does great to dissolve any barriers between Penguin Village and the world of Dragon Ball. - General Blue meets Suppaman/Sourman. Our current Dragon Ball antagonist interacting with a recurring Dr. Slump antagonist is something you didn’t know you needed until you saw it happen. Blue remarking “the bow tie is unnecessary” as hanging a lampshade on the one article of Sourman’s costume that stands out in how it’s different from anything on Superman’s costume, just cracked me up. - Blue’s meeting with Obotchaman. This was actually an incredibly uncomfortable moment in the original version because it suggested Blue is a pedophile who was developing a gay crush on this child - the animation still suggests this. Since that doesn’t age well at all, Funimation did a change that actually really worked - Blue likens Obotchaman to his dead or disappeared little brother Samuel, to the point of believing he might BE Samuel. This small change does A LOT for Blue’s character; it implies a backstory where his little brother was smarter and more capable with handiwork than he was and was always so helpful and doing everything for him, but one day his life was lost somehow, so Blue had to dedicate himself to learning to be as capable at everything as his little brother had been. That’s why he’s super-humanly strong, why he prides himself on being a tactical expert, why he’s so good with traps and devices, and why he worked his way up to a commanding position in the Red Ribbon Army. It’s all to fill a void. Thus rather than feeling repulsed by Blue in this scene, I end up feeling sorry for him, especially as it ends with him telling himself “When will you realize your brother is never coming back? Focus on your mission!” He really did love his little brother dearly, so maybe if he hadn’t lost him, things could’ve been different for him and his work for the Army wouldn’t be all he had. - The part that immediately followed, with Blue intimidating the police by breaking off the handcuffs, demolishing that car, and taking one of their speeders. Why is he so frightening? is what I asked myself. - When Blue manages to give Goku the slip but then crashes his vehicle due to Arale running into it, and then the interaction between him and Arale (and her weird fairy friends) that followed. I couldn’t stop laughing at his epic freakout over just how fucking insane this place and it’s residents are. Honestly, I can’t blame him one bit. - The climax at Senbei’s house, where Senbei is shown up by his Deus Ex Machina infant son TWICE (first he fixes the Dragon Radar when he couldn’t figure out it’s design, and then later creates a whole new Dragon Radar out of spare materials!) and we get the final confrontation with General Blue. Blue really showcases what a despicable, horrible person he is, holding a knife to a little girl to force her family’s compliance, paralyzing Goku again so that can take his Dragon Radar and make off in one of Senbei’s planes, and despite taking what he wanted and having a perfect opportunity to leave, taking the opportunity to punch Goku to the ground and attempt to impale him on a tree. The “game of tag” Arale played with him in order to save Goku thus comes off as a great relief, with Blue getting the pummeling and Team Rocket Exit he deserved. And seeing this makes Goku realize that Arale is, in fact, even stronger than him, making him start to understand how much limitations he has and that he’s got to overcome them with more training. A great, classic Goku moment and it’s serviced by the protagonist of Dr. Slump. Love it!

So this was overall kind of a big filler in the saga done for fanservice of both Toriyama’s series’. There could’ve easily been a much different, quicker skirmish between Goku and Blue that got the same end result of Blue getting Goku’s Dragon Radar. But that doesn’t really matter when what we got was such goddamn glorious FUN.

(Oh, almost forgot to mention - when Blue took the Dragon Balls and set the time bomb at Kame House, he set the time for exactly five minutes. I was never remotely worried for our heroes. This series goes on to prove that A TON of shit can happen in five minutes!)

Love Live! - I was legit startled when Season 2 began not only with Honoka being Student Council President now, but a recap of the time that led to this done in song form set to the tune of the usual recap music. I was wondering where we were going from there and then the second Love Live competition was announced. I liked how Honoka recognized the importance and value of the position she holds now, what that means to her school, so she was very hesitant about µ's actually entering this Love Live, especially when the prospect of them inevitably clashing with A-RISE was brought up. A-RISE intimidates the shit out of Honoka with how good they are, so I could understand why she’d think that a humiliating defeat that would reflect badly on the school and on her as it’s Student Council President would be the only outcome of such a competition. But of course it all worked out in the end with the infamous scene with Honoka shouting “RAIN, GO AWAY!” and actually making the rain go away just like that. The second episode was another one about nothing in particular aside from µ's starting to train themselves and trying to think up new original songs, but if drama is this show’s Achilles’ Heel, then it’s strength other than comedy is in it’s earnest, down-to-earth sincerity when it allows it’s nice, peaceful moments to just play out and the characters to just be themselves, saying or doing whatever. It’s particularly good for Rin - I’m enjoying her more this season than I did in the last. Maki as well because this season really kicks into high gear her famed dynamic with Nico. And after a single episode of seeing it, I ship the fuck out of it. Pairing together Maki, the first year who tries to act super mature but can also be childish and awkward, and Nico, the third year who acts super immature but can also be smart and sensible, just works perfectly.

My-HIME - Well....uh...those sure were some fireworks. I mean, a dude tragically and pointlessly lost his life, leaving the girl who loved him traumatized, but I guess everything else about that festival went off well. How is it that this week gives me two different occasions where something tragic happens regarding a character named Akane AND two different occasions where a guy is just randomly killed at the end of the episode, with the main characters none the wiser about it? I’ll say one thing this episode did for me, though - reinforce that I’m watching this show for the characters, NOT for this story. Cause 8 episodes in, I still can’t even grasp the story. Like, what all is going on around this school? What is this series ABOUT? If District 1 is the organization behind the HIMEs then why are they also the bad guys? If Nagi works for District 1, why is he clearly on the side of whatever’s making the Orphans? What IS making the Orphans and how does that blonde haired choir girl factor in? What’s going on between the nun and the art teacher? What the fuck is the Searrs association, why is Father Greer involved with it, and why is his daughter this killer android out to eliminate HIMEs? Why does a HIME girl losing her Child ‘cause the thing or person they cherish most to dissolve out of existence? What is that damn crippled bitch planning in all this? What was the point of Akane other than for the narrative to make an example of her? See, whatever all is going on here, I don’t care. It’s a great example of when shoddy execution lets down any potentially interesting concepts for a story. What keeps me watching is that I like Mai. I like Mikoto. I like Natsuki. I like Tate, and Raito, and Haruka, and Shizuru, and Midori, and Nao, and Nagi, and all the most prominent players involved. I want to see shit happening to them and how they respond to it. Along with some neat action sequences and a great school campus environmental atmosphere, that’s really what makes the ride worthwhile.

Ace Attorney S2 - Not sure why they made “Turnabout Memories” into a one hour special rather than divide it into two episodes, but I think it was a smart call to place it in the dead middle of the season before shit gets real and things introduced in this one start to get payoff in the second half. I loved that this case followed Mia as the main defense attorney, and wow was she ever different back then from the wise, confident, experience defense attorney who mentored Phoenix. As a rookie she was notably more awkward and prone to frantic emotional outbursts. Nick himself was also very different as a college kid, but at the same time not TOO different aside from lower emotional impulse control and more youthful immaturity. Seeing Winston Payne back in his prime as a “rookie killer” prosecutor with a green suit and ridiculous pompadour hair was also hilarious and I enjoyed his antagonistic part here more than I did in previous cases he featured in. There was surprisingly a lot of comedy in this one, putting it among the funniest cases in the series. I actually found myself really liking the evil ex-girlfriend character, Dahlia Hawthorne. Her ridiculously overdone Incorruptible Pure Pureness Good Girl act, complete with the parasol umbrella and the butterflies always fluttering around in her presence and her...interesting vocabulary choices, was just so over-the-top and so transparently fake after just a little while of putting up with it that it was a delight. She proved to be a FAR less pleasant individual than she made herself appear (major props to her VA for expertly handling the transitions between the facade and the real character just by shifting her tone of voice) and I guess her going all demonically evil towards the end was pretty scary....but just look at this bitch. Knowing that this is an absurdly horrible person, don’t you just want to laugh at how absurdly NOT horrible she tries to pass herself off as being? By the end of it all, I only had one major issue and it had to do with this plot being thought up well after the story of the original Ace Attorney game was written - we’ve seen many times that Phoenix is a man who carries with him the feeling he had in a childhood incident when he was put on trial by his class at school, when no one was on his side and everyone was accusing him of having committed a crime he didn’t commit. He did NOT carry with him whatever he had to have been feeling when he was put on literal trial in a real court of law, being accused of MURDER due to being set up by his OWN GIRLFRIEND. It makes no sense; Edgeworth defending Nick in class when he was accused of theft sticks with him, yet Mia defending him in court when he was accused of murder never got a passing mention, in thought or in dialogue. And his heartbreak of Dahlia betraying his trust must’ve not left that deep a scar either ‘cause he goes on to face similar issues of misplaced trust (Matt Engarde). I feel it’d worked better if someone else was framed for murder and Nick was just there as a witness - the same thing could’ve ended up happening with suspicion going onto him and him learning that the supposed love of his life had been setting him up from the very beginning, without him needing to be the prime suspect in that case. Because otherwise, I did like seeing the beginnings of Mia and Nick’s relationship, seeing Mia inspiring Nick to go into the Defense Attorney career so that he could one day meet and reach Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. And...oh yeah, there was something about an attorney who was close to Mia but fell into a coma ‘cause Dahlia poisoned his coffee. No idea who that could be!

Nadja of Tomorrow - I hereby retract part of what I said about Episode 26 and Episode 28 ‘cause holy shit, THIS was hands down the cruelest, most mean-spirited episode in the show. I mean, what the fuck? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? I know I should be focusing on the good stuff this episode gave me, as there were a lot of great exchanges and thought-provoking subject matter that got to the heart of this show’s core themes and all that, but...good lord, I cannot wrap my head around what the rationale could have possibly been for ending the story of Jose (who I forgot to mention before was voiced by Akio Ohtsuka, doing a stellar job as usual) in the unbelievably, needlessly bleak way they chose to end it. He was finally happy again, finally willing to put his grievous past behind him and look towards the future with positivity, finally overcame his lack of care for his own life, he’d found something to live for again and was all set to leave Carmen and all of Spain behind to go pursue his dream of becoming the world’s greatest matador by showcasing the art of bull fighting around the world, just as Carmen was pursuing her dream of becoming a great flamenco dancer again....and then he just gets hit by a carriage in the street and he fucking dies! With Nadja completely oblivious to the fact that it happened as the Troupe heads towards Greece, even though Jose’s last thoughts were about her. Even the payoff to the whole “Nadja is the sun” thing that Kennosuke brought up two episodes ago can’t be fully enjoyed when put next to this totally unnecessary death to accompany it. If they’d stopped at Jose making his plans to travel the world, that’d be a perfectly satisfactory end to his story. Were they wanting to go for cruel irony? That when Jose no longer feared death, death never came for him, but now that he’s re-embracing life’s wonders and has reason to live on, THAT’S when death comes for him? You didn’t have to stretch Jose’s story out for three whole episodes just for that! Did the writers really just not like Jose as a character and wanted to off him? Then why off him yet spare Carmen, who was by far the worse person between the two? I just can’t make heads or tails of this creative decision. This is one of the episodes in the show’s second half that I did have a vivid memory of purely because of that death coming out of left field at the last minute. It felt random then and it still feels random now, and not in a way that made it an effective tearjeker - if anything, it gives way to disbelieving laughter from me every time I see it. It was a good episode and a solid conclusion to the Jose and Carmen story before that point, but man did they ever trip at the finish line. Rest in peace, Jose. You deserved better. A lot better.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam - And with that, we’re halfway through the series! What a finish to the fight in the highlands. I enjoyed seeing how feral Master Asia got. The guy looked like the living dead at this point yet was still insistent on fighting on because he’s comes to hate his own pupil that damn much. I’m not kidding here - whatever father-son type of relationship Master and Domon had in the past, it is DONE. Master wants Domon dead and Domon has long since made peace with his Master’s memory. And then there was the awakening of Domon’s burning Gundam coupled with the end of Shining Gundam. Rain mentally connecting with Domon until reaching Shining Gundam and literally possessing it should’ve just been too goofy to take seriously, but they really sold it, especially in how it visually replicated how the ED Credits has been looking this whole time. The moment where Burning Gundam rose, obliterated Master and left the highlands behind with that lovely song playing in the background was beautiful. It felt like the proper payoff to Domon and Rain’s adventures this whole first half of the series, and now that everyone’s in Neo Hong Kong for the final battle, the second half promises to be even more exciting. Gundam fight all set! Ready, GO!

AND

SSSS Gridman - Oh God. Oh man. Oh wow. Just....damn. I put this one off for as long as I could. Episode 9, “Dream”, the episode that, midway through it’s run time, flips the script on the entire series you’ve been watching to this point. For the episode’s first half, you’re watching an incredibly unnerving (but sometimes funny ‘cause Akane Shinjo is involved and she’s real good at balancing the two moods) situation where Yuta, Rikka, and Utsumi are trapped inside their own respective dreams that are being generated by Akane and her newest kaiju, with Akane projecting her soul into all three dreams. You don’t get the information of what’s going on and how Akane is doing this right off the bat, it’s something that’s gradually revealed, with these red lights at a train station constantly signifying the switches between dreams. In these dreams there is no Gridman, no kaiju, no memory of what the situation had been for the past several episodes, so Akane gets to have her magic do-overs with the three main characters and hang out with them as a friend rather than an enemy - we ever get a repeat of her and Utsumi’s comic store bonding from Episode 6 in here. As Akane and Alexis prey on our unsuspecting heroes and the dream-making kaiju fades in and out of reality due to it’s core being a dream world manifestation (even as Anti keeps trying in vain to attack it - thanks for the comic relief, Anti) there’s a sense of worry for them and how they’re going to awaken from the dream that has ensnared them. Then we get into the episode’s second half and the perspective changes. One by one by one, each “friend” of Akane’s comes to realize that what they’re experiencing isn’t real, that they need to leave this falsely created friendship with Akane to the wayside and wake up in order to do what they need to do. Each dream, in succession, ends in the exact same way - with Akane left behind, all alone. By the time Rikka determines she has to eject herself from that bus (where she and Akane are in a direct mirror of the bus scene from last episode), Akane is breaking down and pleading for her friend, at least one single friend, to stay with her and be a nice, comfy, pleasurable part of her life that she can control...but all three of them defy their “programming” and abandon the dream, abandoning her. After all three dreams have broken and yet another kaiju of Akane’s has been destroyed, Akane finds herself questioning if she has any options left, since there seems to be no way for her to win with her kaiju OR to win at keeping friends and having a perfect life....and in her depression, she lets herself fall from the high ledge she’s on. And just as heartbreaking as this attempted suicide is seeing Akane’s reaction to how it gets botched by her natural survival reflex, since in this world she’s it’s God and cannot die - she slams herself against the nearby fence with an anguished cry, and then goes sulking off into the dark, dreary, lonely night, a sad, pathetic, miserable failure at everything.

In the span of a single episode, the audience’s sympathy and worry for the well-being of has shifted from the Gridman Alliance, thought to be our protagonists, to Akane Shinjo, thought to be our antagonist. To make it extra clear, Gridman states outright that there still remains one person who’s still lost inside their own dream, someone who needs to be awakened from it and made to face reality again...Shinjo herself. All along, Akane has been the story’s actual protagonist. This was never about stopping her - it’s about saving her. She’s not truly an evil monster; she’s a very sick, depressed, emotionally and mentally unwell kid who’s confused and in pain, self-deluded into thinking living out this full retreat from reality and riding the power high she gets from it is her dream come true when in actuality it’s a nightmare that’s only worsening her mental health and emotional state, only further isolating her away from true friends, a true life, true happiness. And there’s someone who stands to gain from keeping her in this nightmare - Alexis Kerib, the true monster in this story. For all the horrible things she’s done, it’s all too easy to sympathize with or even relate to Akane. She’s lost from her own life, her own existence as her true self, and she’s past the point where she can even see the way back. She’s in desperate need of guidance, away from the toxic influence that is Alexis, who like a true predator, only ever encourages her to stay on the path to self destruction by telling her she’s the most brilliant, most perfect girl in the world and is doing nothing wrong. And dammit, I am fully invested in this now. I want to see Akane make it out alright. I want to see Alexis burn for the things he has done. I want Anti to find self worth and forge a new path for himself if he can just stop defining himself by “raawr, I must destroy Gridman!” I want to see this digital world set back in order so that the lives living there won’t have to suffer anymore, and this includes Akane. I want to see Akane and Rikka become Official Girlfriends!

Long story short, this episode functioned as the audience’s wake up call to reality, as it turns out the show has a narrative running through it that is WAY deeper than what you could’ve expected to find in a show like this. And in 3 more episodes, I’ll have seen it to it’s end.

#Anime Update

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hellanoragami-blog · 8 years

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Chapter 74 Thoughts

Wow!! There sure is a lot of subliminal foreshadowing for such a silly chapter!! Unbelievable. :) Now I get to dig in and dissect it!

We’re told right off the bat that Fujisaki hasn’t been attending school. Though I don’t believe it’s because of the flu. (Quick note here, it really is flu season! Please go out and get your flu shot, if you haven’t/can! It’s pretty nasty this year. I just got over the worst of it, myself!)

If I had to guess, it’s most likely due to his injuries. Remember, Fujisaki’s body is human. That assault by Bishamon looked pretty nasty, so it would take some time to recover. But I bet you, he’s still keeping watch via Mizuchi. He’s still plotting for later, undoubtedly.

A quick pointer, the date says the 27th on Hiyori’s diary. As @fast-moon pointed out in their translation notes, Yukine’s “birthday” would be the 29th of November. Previously thought the 24th, but this correction is more accurate.

And in the beginning, we see the word ‘unforgettable’ quite a lot. I get the feeling this is foreshadowing something for the future. What, I’m not sure. But it’s very obvious, and I’m certain that it’s going to carry over into future events--especially because of Hiyori’s dialogue.

“This looked like it really would be an unforgettable memory...”

There’s not really much to report on, as far as the practice goes. Although, I kinda relate to Hiyori here; this whole chapter screamed ‘second-hand embarrassment’, haha. But y’know, Yato’s very...extra, when it comes to showing how much he cares. It’s still very endearing, though, no matter how embarrassing it is.

The next thing I wanted to point out was the three sacred treasures summoning Yato. Not Amaterasu. I’m still willing to bet that the whole thing of how a shinki appropriates a God is coming into play here. They’re the ones who seem to be in control of everything. Not Amaterasu. I believe this is what Adachitoka were trying to hint at, without making it obvious: we shouldn’t be holding Amaterasu accountable. At least, not completely. The treasures are seen as Gods themselves, practically, so it’s no wonder that they’re seen as important figures in Heaven’s political system.

There’s not really much I can say about the talk regarding the God’s Greatest Secret...although, it is established that they decided to leave well enough alone--at least for now. (Haha, it’s implied that Takemikazuchi was eavesdropping a little. I wonder what he’ll take away from that conversation?)

The group returns home and it’s pretty obvious that Yukine’s been tending to the shop and waiting up for them pretty much all day. He’s adorable and is a good boy. (I’m not dismissing Hiyori’s next dialogue; maybe we should be looking out for Yato’s well-being, also. Though, it’s best to assume no one is safe, being the series it is!)

The next morning, Yukine finds the shop empty again, and remarks how irresponsible they’re being by leaving the shop unattended. He prepares to take over, but is soon interrupted by the appearance of Coo Phone. Not gonna lie, if I got a letter from a family member to meet up somewhere when they could have just told me before, I’d be a bit uneasy, too.

Mizuchi is shown next, and from what I can gather, her body language says that she is reluctant. It’s obvious she is debating whether or not to approach Yukine. Yukine spots her though, and moves quickly to approach her himself. (Obviously in a more open and hostile way. Mizuchi is actually pretty closed off, which isn’t that unusual given her personality.) Of course, Hiyori interjects him next which leads to a pretty problematic page.

“It was so easy to cross over to that side.”

That’s some pretty troubling dialogue. It’s obvious that Yukine still harbors quite a bit of bad feelings from when he struck Bishamon, and he’s worried that he became too much like Mizuchi. While it’s clear that he does not wish to kill, he does wish to protect Yato at all costs. Which...means that he isn’t above killing, now. At least if it ensures Yato’s safety. This is where Hiyori may be a bit wrong in her thoughts.

I’m not saying that Yukine and Mizuchi are entirely alike. But the more paranoid Yukine becomes regarding Yato’s well-being, the darker his heart will become. As Tenjin said, humans can be unreservedly cruel, when they have something they want to protect. It doesn’t make Yukine a bad kid. It just makes him desperate. Yato is like family to him, and he doesn’t want to lose him.

Being that he was most likely abandoned by his own father in a way, he may have a few issues with losing those he’s close to; especially after being sealed away in that sarcophagus. If Yato were to disappear again like he did in the Underworld arc, Yukine would probably--ahem--McFreakin’ Lose It.

Hiyori next takes Yukine back to the shrine where they first met. What follows is the dance routine that Yato has staged, which is both equally heart-warming and embarrassing. (Go hard or go home! I really liked it, in all honesty. It was very sweet.)

Yukine of course feels quite grateful for everything, and goes to be by himself to reflect. He even starts crying, which could be a mix of both happiness and sadness. (But mostly happiness at having found a place where he truly feels that he belongs, with people that really care about him.)

Then, there is of course, the kiss. Oh, I’m gonna talk about it, alright. It feels like something that just jumped out of a fanfic. (To be perfectly honest, a pixiv user does have me crack-shipping the two; though I never expected it to take an indirectly canon turn? What the hell, Adachitoka. This was not something I wanted. What are you two doing?)

We don’t yet know the meaning or intention behind it. Does Mizuchi really love Yukine? Notice the ‘dai’ inflection in front of ‘suki’, in the Japanese version. That does seem to indicate more love, instead of just like. But taking their history into account--especially Mizuchi’s personality--it’s kind of hard to piece together how she truly feels. Although, it is quite clear that Yukine stirs her up in a way that she isn’t used to. She doesn’t usually allow things to get to her, but Yukine is canonically the first one to ever bring out her more extreme feelings.

First, she felt irritation with him. It’s hard to say if she still hates him, but I’m not sure it’s love, either. The most puzzling fact is that Mizuchi doesn’t have a history of lying. She may hide things, and have a warped view of how to treat others, but she doesn’t lie. At least, she hasn’t before.

There’s a lot of speculation as to what the kiss could mean, though. A few fans, both in the English and Chinese region, seem to believe it could be connected to Liberation. Some believe that Mizuchi can perform that ability while she is in her human form, and just inflicted Yukine again. Although this isn’t a certain thing, it is something to consider. A short spoiler from the end of the magazine reads, “What does Yukine see in Mizuchi’s eyes?”

Basically, this could bring bad or good. Most likely bad. Yukine has expressed his hatred for Mizuchi, and judging by his expression, he definitely didn’t want it to happen. He’s shocked.

This is kind of a recurrent theme in the manga though--stolen first kiss, I mean. A stolen first kiss can make one feel tainted, and seems to depict a loss of innocence, to an extent. (Especially if it wasn’t consensual, which this clearly was not.)

We don’t ever get a good look at Mizuchi’s face at any point in this chapter, so it’s really too hard to say what she is feeling. I think that’s going to be shown next chapter, which will hopefully make it easier to decipher exactly what direction this development will go in. Noragami is, before anything else, a Shonen series, however. So I don’t really expect anything substantial to come out of this kiss; at least where romance is concerned.

Ahhh, we’re gonna be facing something sinister again soon...

#nana discusses noragami #noragami #ease me back in AdachiToka-sensei #I anticipate the next chapter with caution.

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