#and seeing the shoujo genre die off

[nono-bunny]

I have yet to watch the Barbie movie, but the more I hear about it the more convinced I'm becoming that I'm probably not gonna like it, and it sucks because I LOVE Barbie but... That's just the thing.

The Barbie movie was made for the people who dislike Barbie as Mattel's way of reclaiming her as a the feminist icon she was literally ALWAYS meant to be from her very conception... And also serving as like, their most visible way of fighting the weird "Barbie promotes unrealistic beauty standards" thing that's been attached to her for forever

Like. The Barbie movie feels like it's literally meant to make people that hate Barbie reevaluate their opinions on it to boost the brand image, which? Yeah, it's probably actually doing a good job at that as far as I can see from the reactions, and I for sure am happy to see more love and less hate towards Barbie!!!

But also... At the same time it very much feels like it's not gonna be a movie for people in my position- those that grew up playing with the dolls and/or watching the CGI movies. I don't need to be convinced that Ken is Kenough or whatever, I don't need to see Margot Robbie as Barbie cry for me to know that Barbie has been unfairly hated... I don't need that movie to tell me that it's OK to love Barbie despite all the very real issues it encountered along the way, because fr the "unrealistic beauty standards" thing is infuriating to me, fUCK OFF WITH THAT SHIT IT'S NEVER BEEN A REAL THING, AND ITS THE WRONG THING TO FOCUS ON WHEN CRITICALLY EXAMINING THE BARBIE BODY MOLDS and anyway....

That movie isn't for someone who already loves and appreciates Barbie now, but it's also like. Literally not even targeting the core audience of the Barbie brand in at attempt to introduce new kids to it, because it's all just. A weird, bloated and way overdue stunt of damage control, but it's also the first one I've seen to have such an impact so I can't even like? Hate it because it DOES do what it's meant to, it's just... Kinda focusing on the completely wrong thing? Current fans aren't overly impressed with it the way a lot of newcomers are, and it doesn't attract new young fans because it doesn't even attempt to appeal to them... So in the end, rather than serving as a big ad campaign, it feels much more like those long Youtuber apology videos using receipts to disprove a rumor and regain positive public sentiment

2023 Barbie isn't for the Barbie people, it's for all the people who looked down on them for liking it, and... Yeah, while that's still important and satisfying to see in it's own way, it also definitely very much stings to have the biggest Barbie thing in forever very deliberately focus on pleasing everyone who DOESN'T like Barbie rather than those of us who DO.

I feel like I might enjoy/appreciate the Barbie movie on it own if I manage to detach it from the Barbie I already love, but... It's almost certainly not gonna be like, a fun "Barbie Movie" for me to watch, because everything I've seen points towards it using the cool aesthetics, the unfair and bad criticism of it and the historical circumstances of Barbie to deliver a feminist message rather than being like... A movie fully about Barbie, for Barbie, by Barbie... Which is what I would expect from a "Barbie Movie"

Anyway, everyone go watch Barbie in The Diamond Castle, it's very lesbian cottagecore, it's good shit

[greycaelum]

My shoujo ass cant stop thinking of kenma and masaki wit my baby sai...................

Kaleidoscope Series—Clouds and Mochi Chapters: { First Princess }

—Gojo Satoru X Wife Reader

𑁍 Genre: fluff, domestic life, parenthood

𑁍 WC/CW/TW: (1.7k)—/overprotective Dad Satoru, he's having a girl dad dilemma, lovey-dovey moments, fluff, overall domestic life, 3rd munchkins cameo, slight mention of jujutsu society, childhood friends—/

𑁍 A/N: Trick or Treat! And Satoru got the treat from his Baby Cat! In exchange for a stomachache~

Gojo Satoru... never in his life thought he would die this early...

He can't believe time has passed so much that his bones are starting to hurt when he moves or that his already white hair can get any whiter... or that—

"Love... I have never once doubted where our kids got their drama skills." You sighed, interrupting his monologue.

"Baby!" Your husband whined from the couch and stomped his feet. "She's just 13!"

"Exactly... Calm down 'Toru." You sighed and wiped your hands on your apron. You could see Kouki watching over his two younger siblings in the backyard... Satoru, on the other hand, is having a midlife crisis because of his first daughter.

Barefooted, he trudged to the kitchen and hugged you from the back, a petulant pout on his lips.

"I should have taught her to kick harder as a kid. Maybe I should enroll our daughters in an all-girls school instead. It's not too late y—"

You stuff his mouth with the mochi you're making, effectively shutting him up and, at the same time, calming him down. His ranting turned to munching, and his chattering mouth soon turned to a chin resting on your shoulder while you make snacks for the kids with a husband stuck to your back, hugging you like a teddy bear, asking for bites of what you're making.

You wiped your hand after putting the new batch of brownies you made in the oven.

"You know Saika would never intentionally do anything to make you disappointed. But she's a growing girl, a very good girl at that. Barring her from exploring will not solve the problem." You sighed and turned around to stare at your husband's pouting lips. Gosh, he never grew up from the pouting phase. "If we try to stop her from exploring, she might tend to be sneaky instead. How can we give her guidance if she doesn't feel accepted?" You smiled at Satoru, washing off his worries with your words.

"I know... It's just that..." Satoru blew out a frustrated sigh. "I don't want her to get hurt. She's too young for this, y'know..." He hugged you, burying his face in your neck.

You inhale a large breath and pat his back, empathizing with your husband and his dilemma for being a girl dad. You wonder if you'll ever feel this too with your sons... Or if your husband is simply just being the sensitive big teddy bear he is.

"Y'know, Love..." You trailed and took his face in your hands. "I hate to break it to you like this, but..." You chuckled. "Saika is just with her classmates doing a school project."

Saika has been telling you for one week straight how she's so excited to go over to her friend's house for the first time and do their project, something about some baking activity in home economics, which you agreed with delight. Satoru was also happy about it... until he asked who was her group partners.

"Masaki and Kenma and Iori, and..."

The rest of her partners were ignored the second Satoru heard familiar names.

"Masaki... Kenma?"

"Still! Did you see how that Chiba boy dared come to my doorstep every Tuesday morning to pick up my Cat? That brat, when he grows up, I swear when he grows u—"

You poked his cheeks with your fingers, stopping his plans.

"Baby, you see that?" You pointed to your eldest son, making flower crowns for his youngest sister while his younger brother kept climbing on his back. "You and Kouki have been watching over her since she was born. Do you think your son will be this calm if he doesn't trust Saika's friends? We both know how protective he is of her sister, and he knows Masaki because he goes to school with him almost daily."

You kissed Satoru's frowning brow, easing his temples while his arms remained around your waist, still with the bit of pout on his lips but not as hysterical as earlier.

"Can you blame me? I'm clingy with my first princess." Satoru sighed. "She was so tiny when I first held her. I was so scared if I breathed too deep, she would cry. She's so precious and fragile that I can't handle it. If she cries, it would crush me..." Satoru's words were muffled as he sank into your arms.  

"Mnnn... I know. Must prepare our youngest girl if you suddenly bawl out when she finally gets a boyfriend two decades later.

You didn't have to pull his face up to your eyes to know how Satoru turned several shades paler and sucked a nervous gasp against your collarbone. You saw your two youngest munchkins run to the front yard and the famous single-double tone of knock on your doorsteps.

He left you as quick as a bullet train and ran to the door where, as expected, his Cat was, holding a basket of sweets, and behind her... was someone Satoru would pronounce as his mortal enemy years from now.

Maybe because Masaki is the one he often sees, Satoru never really paid attention to Kenma. That was a long time ago. Saika was just a toddler back then, oblivious to what a 'boyfriend' meant, and took it too literally as a male friend.

"Papa! Look, I made mochi for you!" Saika's eyes lit up, and excitedly enumerated the sweet he brought home for everyone.

"Hey Princess, did you make all these? Lemme have this one~" Satoru looked in the basket and got a cheese stick, then praised his daughter for making them very good... that's a lie, it tastes like the Baumkuchen you threw out coz it was three days expired. But he can't possibly say that in front of his precious daughter, who will probably cause him to go in and out of the toilet later.

"Sir, good afternoon."

A serious voice greeted Satoru.

In his straight stance, hands behind his back and feet against each other, Masaki bowed to Satoru. Saika was used to this. Masaki would greet her Papa, and her Papa would grunt with the same constipated look he always had every time Masaki came into their home.

"Masaki-kun, thank you for bringing Saika home safely." You appeared behind Satoru with a smile. The kid looked up and greeted you formally as well.

"Good afternoon, Lady Y/n..." The young boy visibly softened his stance at your sight, but when he saw Satoru watching him like a hawk, Masaki instantly straightened up again like a soldier under his supervisor's stern glare.

"How about you come inside for tea, Masaki-kun? I made some baklava." You warmly invited, patting Satoru's shoulder in silent warning. Saika already went inside, calling her siblings.

"I... I'd love to, Lady Y/n, but my mother told me to be home by 3 in the afternoon." The boy looked a bit somber as he turned down your offer. You know his parents are stricter than others, so you cannot find fault in such an answer.

"Then next time, I'll make some milk pan. Saika loves those." You didn't miss how his eyes sparkled at your offer and the subtle scoff of Satoru on the side.

The kid waved goodbye, but just then, a rushing Saika almost collided with you in the hallway. She ran past you and Satoru towards Masaki, who was already at the gate.

You couldn't hear what they were saying, but based on the cellophane-wrapped baklava your daughter was handing towards Masaki, you could only chuckle and hold down the hand of your seething husband, dragging him a little more inside the house, just enough so the two of you can spy on the kids.

Your husband silently huffs and walks into the house, holding the basket of sweets Saika brought home, calling the kids to share the treat. Though you didn't miss how he ordered his men to watch over Masaki to make sure the boy reached the Chiba Estate safely.

Later that night, you saw Satoru talking to Saika over an ice cream, the two of them huddled up on the couch, playing some Mario Kart.

"Papa doesn't like Masaki, Mama?" Kouki, in his pajamas, walked closer to you, asking you to dry his long hair from the shower.

"You know your Papa, you'd never hear the end of it if it comes to boys." You carefully wring out the excess water from his artic tresses while he hummed and stared at his sister and father fighting over the last spoon of the ice cream.

"Masaki is better," Kouki said with a long look.

"Why so?" Oh? You quirk a brow at your eldest's remark.

"His family is a branch of the Gojo Clan, though the Chiba clan is a minor family, at least that lessens the complexity of explaining about normal citizens and sorcerers." Kouki huffs.

"Since when did my son start thinking of this stuff? Sweetheart? Is that all?" You chuckled and hugged your eldest, pinching his nose. 

"Of course, it also makes it easier to hunt him down if he hurts Cat's feelings," Kouki grumbled with a pout. Just like his father, thankfully, your youngest son is just a toddler, or else you don't know how to keep your three boys from guarding their sister like an apparition against other men.

"Mama! That's unfair. You didn't comb my hair tonight." Saika called from the living room as she saw her brother all fluffy and well-groomed from your hands.

"I can comb it for you, Cat!" Satoru added. Kouki soon joined the huddle, poking fun at his sister.

Needless to say, whoever tries to ask for your daughter's hand, they'll have to go through a lot. She is, after all, the first princess of the most important boys in her life... Just like that, you can't help but wish that if ever... she did find the man of her life, he would treat her as precious as you all have treasured her... Just like how her father has cherished you, or maybe even more.

Satoru chuckled and put down the comb.

"See, my Little Treasure is as pretty as ever!"

—GreyCaelum

PLAGIARISM IS A CRIME

Check out the Masterlist for more

All rights and credits of the Jujutsu Kaisen character(s) mentioned images(s) and songs(s) used, belongs to their respective owner(s)

General/Kaleidoscope Series Taglist: @ice-icebaby @aeanya @gummy-dummy @tender-rosiey @lexiene @nevermoresworld @loml-riri @pelicanpizza @emichou-chan

[honey-milk-depresso]

Batboys watching anime with reader

You know my ass went FULL ON LOCK MODE with Tim. I went crazy- 💀

***S/o is above 18, which means characters below are also aged up!

Doing requests until 1 Feb! Please see my pinned post and read the request rules on the navi! Thank you!🩷

Batbros watching anime with you

Dick Grayson

He’s watched a few 90s anime before, more the basic ones like One Piece and Pokémon, and he probably still watches them to this day. Boy has old CDs he has and you should probably try finding a Blue Ray (or use his if he can have Tim help fix it because it’s good as dead 💀) because he’s popping in every CD of old anime’s he have lying about.

“Wow, I didn’t know I had cowboy bebop! Or Slam Dunk!” He got a few rare gems, which makes it all the more fun to sit down on the couch under a blanket as you huddle and watch the nostalgic 90s anime shows together while eating popcorn.

He doesn’t mind watching new, modern day animes, just be prepared for when you two watch sad anime shows because he will sob like it’s the end of the world.

“NO, WHY WOULD KAORI DIE LIKE THIS?? AND SHE LOVES ARIMA- OH MY GOD IM SO—”sobs even more. He gets emotional while watching them because it’s so sad that it’s sO GOOD-

Loves dancing to those danceable anime music with you. He goes ALL. OUT. He even sings all of it in Japanese like wow-

I would love to hear him sing Cruel Angel’s Thesis in his Discowing suit and with goth makeup on it because it “sets the mood”, PLEASE-

Overall, great time watching with Dick. <3

Jason Todd

You expect someone like him to like Chainsaw Man, Trigun or something like those grunge-y, guns and knives animes, right? I mean, he does, but only with you and ONLY with you will he let his inner Magical Girl enthusiast ass shine. Because he LOVES Magical Girl animes. That’s probably the reason and one point of time why he wore red ribbons around his arms, he wanted that Sailor Moon experience and Tim might’ve just teased him about that era without knowing his love for Magical Girl animes and Jason might’ve flipped and freaked the fuck out and started chasing him down the manor.

Jason watches Sailor Moon, Madoka when he feels edgier than usual, Cardcaptor Sakura, every Precure series, Tokyo Mew Mew, man has all these shows somehow. He swears they weren’t through illegal means and he just worked very hard to gather all of them. He also might be a shoujo anime fan because if he loves Jane Austen books, you bet his ass would be reading Fruits Basket, Maid Sama or something because of course he would.

Also a Studio Ghibli fan, although watching the Tale of Princess Kaguya might make him feel too much, especially getting pissed off with the dad who forces his daughter into a wealthy life without her input and- yeah, you gotta calm him down as he cries bitterly and sourly with a pout on his face.

The two of you can go on and on about debating about unclear endings of animes all day long. You know the “AND SHE WAS A PRINCESS” video? That’s Jason.

Great man to watch anime with, and he’ll gladly be your Tuxedo Mask to your Sailor Moon (and not the “But you did nothing meme- or the other way around- he don’t mind being the Usagi-). <3

Tim Drake

I’m very convinced this man got into his whole detective shit because he watched Detective Conan and honestly I can’t blame him. Tim has probably the largest vessel of anime knowledge out of all of them. He doesn’t really have a specific genre he likes but he’s pretty fond of old 90s and 80s animes. He can explain the whole lore of One Piece, Fairytale, Pokémon like Jesus Tim, calm down- 💀

I can see him watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain or Key the Metal Doll because he likes that little bit of horror nature and mystery and thriller in his animes although he really doesn’t mind watching Haikyuu all over again if you want to.

Might introduce you to underrated and/or old animes like Revolutionary Girl Utena, Nadia the Secrets of Blue Water, every Studio Ghibli movie, those kinds of animes that give off the really pretty and aesthetic old anime animations that is just so pretty to watch and with really good storylines that both of you can cuddle on a couch together and watch. I bet he even watches anime with you even before you two got together, so you guys pretty much have “watching anime together” as part of the foundation of your relationship. Owns so much manga that you can’t even count, too.

Just… don’t make him watch those really slow burn, comedy love animes, specifically Love War. Not that he don’t like romance animes, he watches Ouran High School Host Club and Your Name, trust me, but Love War? He is going absolutely insane because of it.

“OH MY GOD- PLEASE JUST KISS ALREADY. ME AND S/O ARE ALREADY TOGETHER FIVE MONTHS AGO ANF YOU TWO ARE STILL TOO PROUD TO ADMIT YOU LOVE EACH OTHER WHILE BLUSHING- JUST KISS ALREADY-” <3

Damian Wayne

Damian likes anime. Would 100% go to an anime convention with you as a date if you’re up for it. He doesn’t mind (surprisingly- just for you only-).

He doesn’t necessarily like showmen animes although he has enjoyed a few, but he really loves slice of life, I feel. It just feels like he wants to put himself in a normal life and with a tad bit of drama in it like what the characters go through. The touching ones like Hyouka or Natsume’s Book of Friends.

Also animal related anime maybe except Beastars because he didn’t understand shit-?? He calls that peak anime. Aggretsuko, Chi’s Sweet Home and My Roommate is a Cat?? Damian loves this shit, he watches it intently with his arm around you. Even if he doesn’t smile, you know he loves it by the way his eyes sparkle.

Just don’t tell his brothers. He will seriously feel betrayed if you do so because he only watches these kinds of shows with you: the cute animal ones that are actually wholesome and/or funny.

The whole family is into Studio Ghibli, and he is no exception. He feels like it’s the best kinds of anime to watch with you when you guys just want to turn in for the day and huddle up on the couch. It’s one of the rare times he relaxes and softens and he’s glad to have quality time with you. <3

Duke Thomas

He likes anime! Studio Ghibli is definitely a favourite of his and he would gladly watch it together with you! He also love a fair bit of Shounen animes, the more popular ones like Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Haikyuu, or Spy x Family. He likes them a lot!

A big fan of romance animes too: Ouran High School Host Club and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (if you two are in the mood to huddle on the couch together and cry).

Duke doesn’t mind any kind of anime so long as it doesn’t have too much horror or gore like… Higurashi. He gets chills when that anime is mentioned. D-Don’t watch it for your own sake if you don’t know. And if you do, avoid it with him at all cost because he will.

Duke also like singing some good anime songs with you and you guys can go crazy and dance around, just not as dramatic as Dick.

He would be super excited to spend a date with you watching shounen anime movies like from Jujutsu Kaisen and he would be so hype to spend time with you being a fanboy while also sharing that romantic air for the shared love of anime between you two and the love that you two share, although that love is far stronger. <3

Reblogs help! ^^

[headphonemouse]

I've been trying to watch shoujo romance anime lately.

Historically I've never been into it, and I'm still not into it. But I remember reading something somewhere about how many young teen romance stories are all about what's appealing as a fantasy to a high schooler, even if it's not something they'd want in real life. So when watching it you can relax on calling out how unrealistic it all is.

And I see that. The cold nobleman you've been married off to is mean to everyone but you. The gang member is big and scary but only protects you. The popular senpai who is liked by everyone but he only has eyes for you. The handsome new teacher, the boy next door, the beast in the woods, One Direction, etc etc. None of these are realistic or even desirable in real life but in this fantasy they are all attentive and kind and reliable and want to be with you forever and ever

I think it's great that this genre exists so that people could indulge in their fantasies without thinking about trivial things like how many people your bad boy gang member has carved up or how many peasants your nobleman is exploiting. I think watching shoujo romance is a great exercise in suspending your disbelief for the sake of not losing the main point (the main point which is that the main girl is getting swept cleanly off her feet). I think more people should be able to indulge in the expectations of different genres without focusing too much on things the author didn't give half a thought about*. Sometimes you need to get way too invested in shitty romance tropes and cheer on the female lead with all your heart, just to feel something. And sometimes yeah, her mundane enemies DO need divine punishment for trying to get between her and the male lead, in the form of a surprise truck on a rainy day (I kinda wanna see the interloper get isekai'd. Enough blank sheet isekai protagonists I wanna see someone who spent the entirety of their last life being a straight up cunt, die miserably, then wake up and keep doing it. I dont want them to get better i want them to Win)

*not saying this to discourage deeper media analysis, of course. But sometimes you just gotta let it go

I just looked up shoujo anime ratings of course furuba is on top. I wonder if my opinion on this genre would change if I watched a good show? I watched most of the top rated ones when I was in school but I don't think I finished any

[raeseddon]

Had one of those "well *that* makes sense" moments the other day when I realized that the specific American cartoons I watched as a kid all but assured I'd adore Shounen and (some) Shoujo manga later in life-- I'm talking your YST/Ronin Warriors and your Pretear's and the like-- the ones that take time to really push and examine the psychological impact of being told "you are the world's only chance at survival, and for as competent as they seem, everyone else around you is winging it as much as you are."

(I tried, but couldn't get into Madoka Magica, it struck me as one of those shows that people were reading way too much into to justify liking something that was that dark and unabashedly misogynistic. There's deconstructing a genre, and then there's punishing your main characters because you think they deserve it for having certain feelings/beliefs that are stereo-typically associated with their gender.)

The American cartoons I've been jumping between watching are the D&D cartoon and Mighty Max, and man, the mid-80's to early 90's really had a thing for not just cryptic but borderline cruel "mentor" characters who's primary flaw was having planned things out sometimes thousands of years in advance in their heads only to become very flustered and upset by the main characters deviating from "the plan" -- a plan that more often than not said mentors never reveal in full because they know their protege' will disagree with it vehemently. (See: Dungeon Master in D&DC and Virgil in Mighty Max.)

I'm almost willing to give Virgil more of a pass than DM because there's genuine PTSD and survivor's guilt going on in Virgil's case, whereas DM has compartmentalized things so much the only time he shows any regret for how he treats the main characters is when they quite literally snap and tell him that's it, they're done, fuck it, someone needs to die. (It shows how frustrated with modern social media I am when it's actually refreshing to hear a cartoon say the words kill and die. God that's depressing....)

Virgil has watched his previous protege' sacrifice his life for The Cause and it's one of the biggest reasons he gets upset whenever Max "goes off-script" because literally everything he's planned up to that point has been about keeping Max, the literal child savior, alive...while at the same time forgetting he's a child and that kids can be really good at improvising on the fly. And where Virgil learns to trust Max's instincts in the end, there's nothing of the sort between Dungeon Master and the kids in the D&D cartoon-- he leads them around from one traumatizing situation to the next, relying on Hank's innate willingness to trust people who help him and play on his good samaritan streak--which is so strained by the end the only reason he continues to trust DM is because it's the only thing he knows how to do, and he knows it. So it's really, really hard at the end of the day to have a lot of sympathy for Dungeon Master, while Virgil at least works through some of his issues.

Come 1995 and of course I'm going to see the parallels between Mighty Max and YST/Ronin Warriors-- sketchy mentor characters contrasted with really bright, caring and trusting main characters (with a fantastically written female lead this time as well!)and later Pretear. In fact a huge part of me feels like Himeno and Max would benefit from being in group therapy together-- especially with the "everyone around me lied by omission almost right to the end because they refused to believe I would mature to the emotional challenge of handing The Truth" plot point.

TL;DR

American cartoons in the mid/late 80's and early 90's weren't quite as "dark" or edgy enough to catch the culture zeitgiest that anime later did--<i>but</i> if anime had taken longer to catch hold here in the States, you can absolutely see where American cartoons were stepping up to the same level of maturity, aging with their audience and filling the emotional need for more mature stories that had been growing the entire time Regan had his iron-fisted control of the FCC.

[mewtonian-physics]

Why I Like Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Yes, This Includes Rebellion)

I actually highly recommend people who haven't seen it but are shunning it based solely on what they've heard to read this. I'd say 'if they don't mind spoilers' but I get the feeling most if not all of them have already gotten all the spoilers without the proper context. Anyway, yeah. I have a lot to say about this show.

Let me just say right off the bat that no, I do not like Gen Urobuchi. He's done some truly horrifying things. I do not believe Puella Magi Madoka Magica to be one of those things; however, if someone is turned off from watching it due to his involvement I have no issue with that.

On to address the biggest argument I tend to see against this show.

"It's torture porn!"/"It's just a bunch of teenage girls suffering for twelve episodes!"/And so forth.

I feel like there's a double standard here. For example, there's another show I like called Hunter x Hunter. Hunter x Hunter has an extremely long arc generally referred to as the Chimera Ant arc.

Now, the Chimera Ant arc involves a lot of fucked up things. It's many chapters and many episodes of Gon and Killua, who are around 14 or 15 at the time, going through absolutely horrific trauma. This includes: all but watching a mentor figure die in front of them; fighting inhuman creatures, many of whom used to be human; being put into life-and-death situations by people who evidently don't care that much about their wellbeing; fighting amongst themselves; being driven to the brink of despair and becoming something truly horrifying and wanting nothing more than revenge; and almost dying many times.

These elements I listed... are some of the main things I see people complain about with regards to Madoka Magica.

Yet I have never once seen anyone call Hunter x Hunter torture porn. Not even the Chimera Ant arc specifically. I'm not saying that that never happens, but I've never seen it personally, and I certainly doubt it happens to the degree it does with regards to Madoka Magica. And the Chimera Ant arc is much, much longer. It is drawn out and horrible and gutwrenching and honestly, at some points, genuinely sickening.

So I can't help but wonder, why the double standard? To give people the benefit of the doubt, I tend to assume it's one or both of the following:

Madoka Magica is a magical girl show, which is not a genre you would typically expect such dark content. (Or, at least, it wasn't.)

It's because Gen Urobuchi is involved, and his other works cast a (fully justified) negative light on this one. Again, if this is your problem with it that is your prerogative and I do not blame you. But I actually rarely see people bring that up.

If I'm being less generous, I could say that perhaps it's some form of misogyny--that since the main characters of Madoka Magica are girls, it's worse and more unforgivable than it is for boy characters to go through similar things. (Because girls apparently can't handle trauma like boys can, or something? I don't claim to understand the reasoning behind it.) But I doubt that's actually the case in most situations, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was in a few.

Though really, if people want to complain about magical girl torture porn, Mahou Shoujo Site is right there. (God, I hate Mahou Shoujo Site.)

But that's enough with the rebuttals. I'm here to talk about why I personally like it.

Quality

I mean, come on. In terms of technical skill, this show has so much going for it. Outside of the occasional awkward moment (as showcased in the famous Meduka Meguca), the animation is stunning, particularly in the witch's labyrinths. The music is amazing and adds so much to each scene--some songs that played in particularly heartwrenching scenes still make me sad just to listen to. In my personal opinion, the voice acting in both the Japanese and English dubs is fantastic. (Though I know that's subjective for a lot of people.) The storyline is concise and does what it needs to do without padding things out or feeling rushed. Even the recap movies are worth watching for the new material they offer, to say noting of Rebellion. So much symbolism is packed into it without feeling forced (okay, except maybe for the 'Love Me Do' bit; that one felt a little excessive)--it's just something fun to think about. Hell, they came up with the runes system when they really didn't have to, and it's a great touch. On a purely technical level, I think Madoka Magica is amazing.

(General) Lack of Sexualization

Magical girl series are scary because they are a haven of fun costumes but also at high risk of oversexualizing teenage girls. I'd say it's the second worst genre in that regard. Although it's not perfect, particularly in regards to some of Mami's portrayal, Madoka Magica tends to steer away from sexualizing its characters. (Magia Record, on the other hand, went full tilt into that, which is a major factor when it comes to how much I despise it.) It does have some troubling moments, and honestly whoever animated the opening for the original show should come meet up with me some time (I just want to talk, I swear...) but I appreciate its general avoidance of the problem. (Also, the long transformation sequence in Rebellion not having a single moment of that at all is soooo refreshing. I love magical girl transformations. Right up until they start making the characters naked. Looking at you again, Magia Record... and like ten thousand other shows on top of that.)

Characters

My god. My god. I adore the characters. All five of the main girls feel so real to me, and they subvert expectations brilliantly. That calm, collected mentor figure? She's horribly lonely and acts like that because it makes her seem a lot stronger than she feels. The 'hero of justice'? So focused on her ideals that she doesn't see the truth of the matter until it's already too late. The selfish rival? Traumatized from her own time trying to be a hero and the horrible consequences. The cool, mysterious girl? An anxious kid trying to protect her only friend (and/or crush). And unlike a lot of magical girl shows, the main protagonist isn't a leader at all--she's just a normal kid watching her life fall apart around her and trying desperately to figure out what to do even as everything seems completely hopeless.

The character development feels genuine, and not just that--this show's portrayal of mental health issues is something I'm never going to forget. I watched it for the first time when I was the same age as the main characters and hadn't yet realized just how bad my own issues were, and I felt seen in a way I didn't fully understand myself. The scene where Madoka bursts into tears at breakfast because she's just realized the danger she was in and is grateful to be alive to eat breakfast with her family is heartwrenching. Kyouko and Homura closing themselves off to the world because their painful experiences have left them feeling like they can't rely on anyone else is horribly believable. Mami hiding her loneliness behind the façade of a cheerful, cool big sister figure is painful. And Sayaka. My god, Sayaka. I'll get into her in the next section.

Witches as a Metaphor for Depression

So, this is pretty obvious. I mean, it's despair that makes a magical girl turn into a witch. The things a witch leaves behind are literally called Grief Seeds. But it feels so true to life even outside of that. Watching Sayaka's ideals, hopes, and dreams get crushed and her subsequent spiral is something I've seen multiple other people talk about relating to in the same way I did. Sayaka is perhaps the most relatable character in the show for someone with depression. She starts out as a confident, cheerful, idealistic girl, and then the real world hits her. The world where there are truly horrible people who do awful things for no reason (the men on the train, for example). The world where good deeds don't necessarily get rewarded and good intentions don't make everything turn out okay. The world where sometimes things just suck and no amount of ideals can change that.

As her Soul Gem gets corrupted, it becomes more and more similar to severe depression. She experiences fatigue and dissociation and hopelessness, and she lashes out at her best friend for not being in her shoes even as she knows what she's doing is wrong--she runs away crying in the rain afterwards beating herself up over it. And at the end, when she reaches a point of absolute despair and no longer holds any of the ideals she once had, having become disillusioned with reality, she implodes. She draws into herself and creates a world of the things she loves, and attacks Madoka and Kyouko when they try to bring her out of it. She gives up entirely on the world and on herself. And supernatural influences or not, that's something a lot of people with severe depression can relate to.

But it doesn't stop there.

Rebellion And Its Inevitability

I've seen people talk about how they think Rebellion was out of character and unbelievable, but I have to disagree with that perspective. Rebellion is horribly believable, and despite the relative happiness of the main show's ending for everyone else (Madoka's speech about how people should hold on to hope and keep trying even when things seem impossible still brings tears to my eyes), Homura never really got any closure, and it's honestly not a surprise to me that things turned out how they did. I mean, think about it. The girl she spent literal years trying to protect just disappeared in the end, leaving her little brother and Homura as the only ones who remember her. No one else is even aware she ever existed at all. Homura says it herself in the movie--it made her feel like she was going crazy. Like her most precious memories with the person she loved most were just things she made up. How is a traumatized teenage girl supposed to deal with that? And yes, Homura is still a teenager--no matter how many loops she went through, she never actually aged. Her brain is still at the developmental stage it was when she started--that of a fourteen-year-old girl. She's not an adult and expecting her to make perfectly rational adult decisions is unfair--hell, expecting even an adult to make perfectly rational decisions in that kind of situation is unfair! And even though she decided to play the role of the devil, on some level she really thought she was doing what was best for Madoka, because the amnesiac Madoka told her that what happened would make her sad. Homura still spent the whole movie trying to do right by Madoka, even to the point where she was desperate to die so that Kyubey couldn't hurt Madoka anymore. Sure, her actions were hardly selfless, but again--this is a scared, traumatized teen in a desperate situation making a split-second decision. Even if she thinks Madoka will hate her for it, on some level she thinks she's doing the right thing. Actually, that's how you can tell--if it was a purely selfish action, she wouldn't accept Madoka potentially hating her. She'd want to keep Madoka by her side forever. But she doesn't. She accepts the fact that Madoka might someday hate her for what she did. She wanted to save Madoka even if it meant damning herself. And she didn't go about it in the smartest way, but yet again--scared, traumatized teenager.

All in all I think Homura's despair was inevitable under the circumstances. Rebellion's ending makes sense to me. And I love it just as much as the main show.

Okay, I'm going to call it there since this post is stupidly long already. Hopefully it helped explain at least a little bit of my love for this show.

[toskarin]

ok maybe im crazy but i dont see any girl hating in madokjaa wait why cant i backspace anyways i think even though the girls usually die its not like shit is fucked. its a very optimistic ending (in the original series at least) and while rebellion's ending isn't exactly happy there's still i think a promise that life will get better for them, and that homura isn't doomed foorevever GOD let me backspace PLEASE

Madoka is a weird situation largely informed by its intent as a series, which is also something Urobuchi himself catches too much blame for, given that Iwakami is actually the one who conceived it and suggested marketing it to children as a regular magical girl show

the intention of Madoka was to deconstruct the magical girl genre, but it approached it from a very questionable angle. ignoring off-hand comments where Urobuchi famously hyped up the series by comparing the girls to Al-Qaeda, it's still pretty mean-spirited

at most generous, the issue is that they tried to do a Neon Genesis Evangelion to mahou shoujo, riding on shock value and controversy from complaining parents to promote the deconstruction of a genre aimed at a completely different audience than the one they actually marketed to

I think it's a good series, but it's got a skeevy aura around it to this day

[addictedtojmanga]

Shoujo manga recommendations - otome game isekai

So, after 10+ years reading shoujo manga, I’ve read over 1k titles, admittedly, a reasonable amount is one-shot (or at least a collection of), but nonetheless, over time I had to expand my interests.

Lately, I’ve started reading the otome game isekai genre, and decided it’d be nice to share the ones I thought were best.

Most of them are pretty much the same, but the best ones usually have a twist, so...

! Warning: You’ll most likely want to beat up 1 or 2 characters from each one, but worry not, so do I and the other characters

1. Fiancée's Observation Log of the Self-proclaimed Villainess

Crown prince Cecil was so brilliant that everything in life was easy to the point of boring him, then one day, his fiancée Bertia suddenly said "Prince Cecil, I am a villainess!" Claiming that this world is the same as that of an "otome game" from her past life and that she is playing the role of the "villainess" in it, she aims to play her part well and have their engagement annulled. With that goal in mind, she sets about causing turmoil in Cecil's daily life.

This one definitely takes the gold for me. Super sweet and pretty funny.

2. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Most people would prefer being the protagonist of a world full of adventure, be it in a game or in another world. But, unfortunately, a certain girl is not so lucky. Regaining the memories of her past life, she realizes that she was reborn in the world of Fortune Lover—one of the games she used to play. Unfortunately, the character she was reincarnated into—Katarina Claes—is the game's main antagonist, who faces utter doom in every ending. Using her extensive knowledge of the game, she takes it upon herself to escape from the chains of this accursed destiny. However, this will not be an easy feat, especially since she needs to be cautious as to not set off death flags that may speed up the impending doom she is trying to avoid. Even so, to make a change that will affect the lives of everyone around her, she strives—not as the heroine—but as the villainess.

This one takes 2nd place! It has a different result than others, and the FL is great - everyone is, to be fair.

3. Of Course I’ll Claim Palimony

"I'll annul our engagement!" My fiancé suddenly declared?! Apparently he's in love with the recently transferred count's daughter and is planning on making me the villain in order to annul the engagement. Although I have no lingering attachments about the engagement, I do have to claim a hefty consolation fee don't I?

This is sooo good. The FL is spectacular and manages to stand out - even if just a bit - from the rest of the genre.

4. I’m a Villainous Daughter, so I’m going to keep the Last Boss

Avoid the BAD END! That's the goal of the villainess in this plot-twisting story!! She has been reborn into the world of an otome game as the villainess, Irene. Using her memories of her former life, she recognizes flags indicating she's en-route to the bad end, so she makes a plan to conquer the last boss (the evil king Claude), make him her lover, and see if she can open up a new route!

Pretty funny, and the FL is bold. Also, the ML is a bishounen.

It’s one of the few mangas from this genre that has been completely translated, and since it only has 13 chapters, it’s a good way to start out.

5. The Plain & Unnoticeable Me is No More

Elaine Lana Norris, who was born at the top of the aristocratic daughter, was declared abandoned by her second fiancé at the school's founding party. Lana, who has been made a villain daughter, is driven out of her home by a strict grandfather. But there is a secret in Lana that everyone doesn't know about?

I don’t want to give out any spoilers, however, it suffices to say that she accepts her role as the villainess.

Ok, I think these 5 are my favorite, but the ones below have been selected as well, so they’re still pretty good and worth reading.

6. The Villiainess Is Adored by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Kingdom    

Tiararose was supposed to be disengaged and exiled from the country. “This was the Otome game I had played!” She realized on the day before the story’s ending??……. Shall I wait for the judgment? But, I did not do anything too cruel……. Thinking so, the ending continues. But, during the judgement??something that was not possible in the game happened. The neighboring crown prince courted the villainous daughter Tiararose.

ML: 10/10 FL: 8/10 (too insecure for my taste)

7. Endo and Kobayashi’s Live Commentary on the Villainess

She’s always putting on that grumpy face even though she’s not actually that upset! Oh, why can’t she just be honest with herself…!??? She is a tsundere, after all? When her embarrassment levels exceed a certain limit, she will explode into anger. However, the point that she’s suppressing under the surface is that she wouldn’t mind that sort of thing if it were in a less public place.? As Endo-kun passionately reacts to the antics of Lady Liselotte, the villainess of an otome game, Kobayashi-san provides a painstaking breakdown of her tsundere behaviour. Suddenly, one person could hear their voices; Liselotte’s fiancée, Prince Siegward. That is where this story begins.

8. I’m the Villainess, but the Capture Targets are too Abnormal  

The villainess, Mystia, remembered her past life on her 10th birthday and has unwittingly turned the characters in the otome game "Kyun Kyun Love School" into yanderes! In order to avoid becoming the love rival of the "heroine" who will lead her to her downfall, she starts making every effort to break off her engagement with her "prince-like classmate"! That’s was what supposed to happen...But, because of her kind personality, her favorability increased instead!

It’s still in its beginning stages, but seems pretty solid.    

9. Though I May Be a Villainess, I'll Show You I Can Obtain Happiness!  

A collection of one shots.

Great way to start out, it has quite a few options, so if you don’t like one, give another one a try!

10.  The Villainess, Cecilia Silvie, Doesn't Want to Die, So She Decided to Cross-dress!      

I was reincarnated into the body Cecilia Silvie, the villainess of an otome game. According to the plot, what awaits me in the normal route is either a slow, painful death or an instantaneous one... Essentially, every route leads to my demise. Then I'll change my fate! And that's why I decided to become a man. However, I made a mistake during a certain event, and the story began to head down an unexpected path...?

I haven’t seen any other like this, and if you like gender bender, this one’s for you!

11.  I’ll Become a Villainess That Will Go Down in History ― The More of a Villainess I Become, the More the Prince will Dote on Me

Alicia is the eldest daughter of the noble Williams family—a bloodline that excels in dark magic. Her jet-black hair and golden eyes command a powerful presence, but her most unique features are, without a doubt, her sharp tongue and malevolent nature. By all means, she is a villainess, but also a fictional character from an otome game!

12. I’m Not a Villainess!! Just Because I Can Control Darkness Doesn’t Mean I’m a Bad Person!

The novel The Saint Beloved by the Prince is set in the land of Lacia, where spirits control the elements, each of which is overseen by a "Spirit King." On rare occasions, these Spirit Kings may bless a single human, granting them immense magical control over their respective element. The heroine, Amelia Logan, and the villainess, Claudia Leitzya, are two sides of the same coin, blessed by the Light and Dark Spirit Kings respectively. However, while Amelia is beloved, Claudia is hated and rejected due to her dark skin, ebony locks, and aptitude for dark magic. After dying in modern-day Japan, Sakura is reborn as an infant Claudia. While difficult at first, Claudia tries to adjust to this new life, all the while accompanied by the Dark Spirit King Gerald. But even this task is far from easy; people fear her at first glance, no matter how she acts toward them. Still, Claudia is set on changing her fate from the novel, proving she is a good person and breaking free from the shackles of a "villainess."

13. Rebirth of the Villainess: The Life of Letizia after the Engagement Annulment      

For some reason, the duke's daughter, Letizia, was plotting to break her engagement with the prince. Her plan succeeded and the prince, none the wiser. But shortly after the engagement was terminated... The King collapsed! In that moment, she recalled her memories of her past life as a nurse and she fully utilised her knowledge & experience as a nurse, to save the King's life. Thinking she had achieved what she wanted, she thought she could finally relax, drinking her favourite beverage and leisurely spend her time, she instead somehow keeps getting involved in incident after incident. The slow and peaceful life is now nothing but a dream!? Lazy daughter, busy seeking freedom and laziness!

14. I Won't Become a Villainess. I'm Just a "Normal" Duke's Daughter!

A Japanese person reincarnated into an otome game chock full of death flags for the villainess, Rosalind. "I'm going to live an enjoyable life in this world!" Making full use of the game knowledge to avoid death flags, for some reason events keep happening one after another?! Contracting with spirits, helping her father (the prime minister) with his work using her modern day knowledge, taking a walk with the holy beast... and on top of all that, even starting up the heroine's event...? Will Rosalind be able to smash through every unknown death flag that comes her way...?! And will she be able to be fluffy lovey-dovey with the supporting beastkin character she liked from her previous life?!

Cute. Has beasts.

15. Milady Just Wants to Relax      

She worked herself to death in her past life, but then she was reborn in another world as the villainess Ronia! As expected, her engagement is broken and she's expelled from society, but now she takes that chance to live peacefully, and even opens a cafe with the help of her fairy comrades, which is becoming unexpectedly popular with beast-kin...?

Also cute. Also has beasts.

16. I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!            

Violette, a proud and beautiful daughter of a duke, commits a crime out of jealousy towards her half-sister. Convicted, Violet faces her own heart with sincerity in a prison cell and regrets her sin. Then time rewinds to a turning point—to her first meeting with Maryjun one year ago. Violette makes a decision. She will not make mistakes this time. Without committing a crime and bothering anyone, she will live an ordinary, plain and inconspicuous life...! However, incidents contrary to Violette's expectations occur one after another...?!

17. I Became a Villain Daughter

On her 15th birthday, Hinase Kaede, a young girl who was working as a part-timer, perished in a traffic accident. Upon her death, a self-proclaimed “God” appeared, declaring that Kaede would be brought back to life. However, Kaede’s happiness was short-lived and her soul was thrown into Erika, the villainess of an otome game! In the original game, Erika became a saint candidate alongside the heroine, committed evil deeds over the course of the candidacy, and ultimately faced condemnation. Thus, Kaede decides that she will not get close to the main characters of the game so as to avoid the bad end, but yet——?

[fifth-of-arcana]

Okay, listen up for a second

At the end of the episode (ep 9) ACCA and URA-ACCA revealed that none of the girls would fight if they knew what they were really fighting for. I feel like this whole setup is a business for them, they don't care about the well being of the girls that fight (their death only becomes an inconvenience to them when they give the protective amulets to the girls because if they were to die with the amulets it would be a waste, the amulets themselves aren't there to protect the girls it's a long term investment. If they cared even a little about the girls they would have given those amulets to the main quartet at the start.) what they really care about is their investments and their profit. But what could they even profit from?

I think, the show, by bombarding us with constant supernatural elements, wants us to assume that ACCAs are after something supernatural, but is everything really supernatural?? The entirety of the show can be explained logically if we assume that the girls don't travel to a magical realm or an alternate reality but rather just fall asleep and dream.

Dream about premeditated scenerios, scripts and characters. Considering the fact that ACCA has the means to follow the girls to their "alternate reality" (i.e. dreams) why wouldn't they be able to weave them as they like as well? They could be reaching back to the memories of the girls that purchase a wonder egg and make up a copy cat of their recently passed away friend. Eggs themselves could be the devices that help them monitor and mess with the dreams of the girls. But what's there to gain from forcing these highschool girls to fight with their life on the line and face their biggest regret?

It's makes an entertaining watch.

Their reason could simply be recording these dreams to sell them (this could be what neiru's company actually work on, not research but a new form of entertainment?) We as the viewer come back every week to see what the girls will face and how they'll overcome it, if it works on a wide real life audience why wouldn't it work in fiction I'm sure this could be advertised to the extremely rich as a niche entertainment platform where they can put bets and even design the levels the girls will face.

+ I also doubt that ACCA's have the power to revive those that committed suicide, even if my theory is completely off the fact that they never directly address what would happened to the person that committed suicide seems suspicious enough. It's the classic word play + misleading that the mahou shoujo genre loves you to make.

[quirrrky]

⚡Can i ask for a zenitsu scenario where he starts dating this girl who is like a dreamgirl to him but she starts treating the reader (zens bff who is obv in love with zen) badly to the point she really hurts readers feelings (i have a fear of being hated by everybody, like feeling their rejection maybe you could use that) but zen doesnt know until he catches gf saying or doing sumn bad? im sorry if its too specific i came up with it while setting up the christmas tree please make it very angsty and then very fluffy it would make me so happy i also love your writing and your blog in general is so pretty im sorry for the lenght

ALWAYS YOU

Rating: K Genre: Angst, Fluff

HI ANON! I TRIED TO MAKE IT AS ANGST AS POSSIBLE, I HOPE I PULLED IT THROUGH AND THAT FLUFF IN THE END IDK IF IT’S FLUFF ENOUGH, BUT I H WISH YOU LIKE THIS ONE!  OH! IT’S COOL TO HAVE A CHRISTMAS TREE AT HOME AND I HOPE YOU GET TO PUT THE STAR AT THE TOP HEHEHE. AND! DON’T YOU WORRY ABOUT THE LENGTH!

ALSO! FEEL FREE TO JOIN MY ON-GOING EVENT, 12 DATES OF CHRISTMAS! 

Zenitsu was “in love” with her. He told you she was his dream girl and she possessed everything he’s looking for in a woman. You kept on wondering what did that girl has that you haven’t. Was it because she’s all pretty and glammed up and you aren’t? But you knew that you wouldn’t change for the world since you’re perfect the way you are.

And it’s because you are you that you know how to get Zenitsu’s laughter, his jokes, his stories. Though some found his crying incessant, you found it cute—a special part of him that sets him apart from others. Nobody gets that but you. Not even her. That’s why you can’t help but die from within whenever you’d see them together.

You thought to yourself that maybe if you’re just smart enough to discern your own feelings a lot earlier, you wouldn’t have to see her that close to him. Maybe if you’re just brave enough to confess your feelings, he wouldn’t have to hold her hand like that because that would be you in her place.

You’d plaster a smile on your face whenever Zenitsu would turn to you, but you knew that you couldn’t keep up the farce much longer. You have to go your own way—you can no longer bear to see them together like that wishing he’d look at you that way he does with her. Not when she already told you to stay away.

“Please just go away. He doesn’t need you anymore. I’m already here.”

You were his best friend. You were there through his highs and lows. Zenitsu never thought that the day would come when the two of you would ever get separated. Whenever he’d imagine what his future would be like, you were always there, a part of the person he’d like to be. You dreamed together yet you were growing apart?

The familiar face that usually welcomed him every morning to school was gradually fading away, until he just noticed that you’re drifting apart from his life. Even if, he finally had her hands in his, her attention all to him, there’s still a space in his heart that only looks for you. Zenitsu honestly didn’t know the reason why until he heard her.

“Please just go away. He doesn’t need you anymore. I’m already here.”

At the moment, he heard her say that, he didn’t think through confronting her, “How can you say that to Y/N? She’s my best friend.”

Was that the reason why you’ve been avoiding him recently?

“Are you trying to choose her over me?” She asked confident about his answer.

He doesn’t need you anymore.

But he needed you. He needs you in his life. Perhaps, more than he thought. Only you can understand him deeper, only you gets his jokes, only you were there to listen to his stories without trying to change who he actually is. And he wanted to do the same to you. He wanted to listen to your stories, laugh at your joes and be there when you cry. Just the way you are and the way the of you were.

“I’m sorry.” Zenitsu told her as he took your hand and you both ran away.

You couldn’t believe what was happening. It was like a scene from a shoujo anime the way you were running away from everybody. Soon, a laugh escaped you two while your breaths were catching up at your speed. You stopped at your favorite street corner with heaving breaths.

“Y-Y/N-chan! I can’t believe this. I-I broke off with her!?” Zenitsu said in utmost disbelief.

You just gaped at him still testing the waters. “Yeah, I mean…it’s okay if you choose her instea-“

He cut you off when he started crying. “i CaN’t BeLievE I aLmoSt LoSt yoU y/N!-chan!”

This made you hold back your own tears, because everything he said resonated with you well. Because yes, you thought you’d lose him for real too.

“They were right. We can’t live without each other. I’ll just stick with you and only you from now on!” Zenitsu announced gaining his resolve, which left you surprised.

It might be too early to start from now, but it’s great that you had each other back. It’s even greater that he finally realized how much you meant to him. Only time will tell, but now you knew you’d have this time in your hands. You just didn’t know it but he’s actually planning the same.

☾ masterlist: Zenitsu ✧ KNY ☾ ⁺˚*·✧ request guidelines ✧⁺˚*·

[ladyloveandjustice]

Belated Spring 2020 Anime Overview: My Next Life as Villainess

For the Spring 2020 anime season, I mostly watched continuations of shows I was already into. The one new show I did pick up was My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! follows Katerina Claes, a spoiled young noble girl deviously scheming to win the heart of a prince- oh wait, never mind, she hit her head and remembered her past life! Turns out she’s an eighteen year old Japanese otaku chick who died and got reincarnated as the villainess in her favorite otome game. 

If you don’t feel like reading the wiki article, an otome game is basically a female- targeted dating sim where you play as a blank slate main character and date a bunch of pretty boys (and sometimes girls, but usually only if you go outside the mainstream ones), unlocking their backstories and collecting all the romantic endings.

Having played this game, Katarina is well aware that the Villainess character- who constantly tries to interfere with the game’s heroine and whichever boy she’s pursuing- is either exiled or killed in all of the games endings. And now she IS that villainess, living in the world of the game and all its characters! Does that mean she’s doomed to a horrible fate? What’s a girl to do?

Well, if you’re Katarina, what you do is be supportive and kind to the people around you and in doing so accidentally get every single character in the game to fall in love with you. And yes, this includes all the boys the heroine is supposed to date, the other female romantic rivals the heroine is faced with and the game’s heroine herself.

That’s right, we finally got us some bisexual romantic comedy hijinx last anime season, my friends! My Next Life as a Villainess was the delightful little show I really escaped into during these anxious pandemic times . All these girls casually falling in love with Katarina without it being treated as ‘weird’ was what particularly drew me to this show and warmed my gay little heart to see. It was honestly the perfect fluffy, low stress watch during these high stress times.

Anime has long been oversaturated with ‘harem’ stories- where a usually unwitting protagonist somehow gets a bevy of beauties in love with them- but it’s still unfortunately really unusual to see bisexual harems, especially ones with a girl at the center, so right away there’s a big draw to this story that helps it stick out from the rest.  (And worry not, the story is largely focused on Katarina having fun with these pals-who-are-not-so-secretly-in-love-with-her, rather than having a ton the dubious shenanigans you see in more sexually charged tales.)

Harem protoganists also famously tend to have the personality of potatoes, being so painfully bland it’s unclear why so many people would fall in love with them in the first place. But that definitely not the case for Katarina. She’s brash, ridiculous, kind and INCREDIBLY dense, and that for a pretty dynamic combination in this setting! She does genuinely come off as a fun person to be around. Unlike a lot of modern isekai shows, she doesn’t stumble into having incredible magic powers or skills, so her compassion is genuinely her greatest strength and what saves the day and wins hearts time and time again.

Katarina’s five brain cells doing their weekly check-in

(The moment she won my heart was when she responded to a tragic Frozen style situation with her friend locking himself away from people because he believed his magic was dangerous by taking an axe to his door. My kinda girl!)

The premise also allows for some plausible built-in reasons for the characters to take such special notice of Katarina- having been raised in a different world, she isn’t beholden to all the social rules, class divisions and noble family drama all the other kids in this very specific midevial-esque fantasy world are so embroiled in. This combined with her naturally earnest, accepting and straightfoward nature means she’s able to cross boundaries and reach out to them in a way they aren’t accustomed to. She was significant in each character’s life because she genuinely was the first to show them acceptance and affection without pretense, if only because she isn’t even aware there was supposed to be a pretense.

Katarina’s focus on trying not to die and her fear she’s going to meet the same fate as the villainess in the game also at least gives some kind of a basis to her comical obliviousness to everyone being in love with her. She assumes that everyone has to be into Maria (the heroine) and terrified of her because that’s how the game GOES okay, that’s CANON! Of course, this logic stretches thin as time goes on and it would be abundantly clear to most people that things have diverged greatly from the game’s storyline, but the show makes it clear that Katarina’s determined, one track mind is as much a gift as a curse. 

Her bullheadedness when it comes to picking up how everyone REALLY feels about her is an intentional gag on the show’s part and even her love interests are well aware of what a colossal dumbass she is and not afraid to point it out!

My Next Life as a Villainess isn’t without its flaws, and the personalities/backstories of some of the ‘love interests’ Katarina gathers may be a stumbling block on some- mostly the male ones.  Geordo, “the black hearted prince” has a bit of the “ possessive shoujo bad boy” archetype about him, and though he’s far from the worst that genre of love interest has to offer (there’s not much bad he can get up to due to Katarina’s obliviousness, the lighthearted nature of the show, and his rivals constantly getting in his way), the way he refuses to break Katarina and his engagement off despite her repeatedly asking him to, as well as some of his lines here and there, are definitely NOT cute. 

Keith is Katarina’s adopted brother, but clearly has a thing for her too. On one hand, they only first met when they were nine and he fell for her pretty immediately. On the other hand, he still refers to her as “sister” constantly which is kinda eesh. 

The other two guys are all right- Nicol’s big thing is he’s inexpressive and doesn’t talk much which, considering show doesn’t spend much time inside his head, doesn’t make him a very interesting character in the ensemble (maybe he comes across better in the novels) but there’s nothing wrong with him. Alan is undoubtedly the Best Boy in my book. He’s another common trope- rambunctious and competitive with Katarina but clearly soft for her- but he’s done well and they have a lot of cute moments together.

I find the girl love interests to be a much more interesting group overall, though this may be my obvious bias talking. Sophia has the strongest connection to Katarina, their backstories being intertwined in a surprising and touching way (I’m told in the novels her affection for Katarina was treated as more platonic, but the anime definitely plays it up as having romantic elements). Maria’s original role as the game’s heroine puts her in the most interesting position (and would make her the most narratively satisfying choice of love interest, if the show was actually interested in choosing). And while Mary is comically tenacious in her pursuit of Katarina, she’s doesn’t ever act ‘sinister’ or overstep boundaries in the way Geordo does, her “scheming” only really amounting to straightforwardly asking if Katarina wants to ditch her fiance and run away with her. 

As I mentioned, one thing that really contributes to My Next Life as a Villainess being a relaxing watch is that the queer characters are treated with casual acceptance. Mary in particular isn’t subtle about her crush on Katarina, but nobody bats an eye at her and she’s completely open and comfortable with herself too. The observing maid notes that the girls are in love with Katarina with the same bland affect as when she notes she notes the guys are. And while the social practices of the nobles are pretty heteronormative- girls are always engaged in arranged marriages to guys, the guys are expected to dance with the girls (something Mary complains about!)- there’s apparently a booming queer romance novel industry that inspires our young wlw.

Katarina, having grown up in a different world, seems to be the one most prone to heteronormativity of her group. She never really considers  that a girl would ever fall in love with her, but is also never hostile to the idea. It’s telling that when Mary very clearly indicates her desired romantic partner would be a girl, Katarina’s the only one that gets tripped up and has to walk back her assumption that Mary would be talking about a guy. 

Mary LAYING DOWN THE LAW

Also, Katarina has  SEVERAL “she’s so cute! My heart is beating faster!” moments with the other girls, on par in frequency with her moments with the guys. This strongly hints she’s an oblivious bisexual disaster.

So, My Next Life as Villainess is a fun, frothy watch and the rare positive example of silly wish-fufillment that’s inclusive to a wlw audience. But is the actual plot good, or remotely complex? The answer to that is no, the plot is fairly predictable and one definitely shouldn’t got into this story expecting a deep examination of the nature of fate or anything like that.There’s no real explanation of big reason as to why why Katarina was reborn into this game world and so on.

 The antagonist that does eventually emerge plays off otome game tropes a bit, but ultimately isn’t that interesting or built up all that well. . The attempts at drama the show makes towards the end fall a little flat, especially since it tends to rely on very-late-in-the-game-exposition-dumps (dark magic isn’t even MENTIONED as existing in this world until like, the second to last episode where it becomes relevant and we get a vague infodump explaining its mechanics). The conflict honestly almost feels shoehorned in and the climax is pretty standard and doesn’t really utilize the big cast of characters all that well

But in the end, that’s okay! The show makes it abundantly clear from the beginning it’s not here to be Deep, but to be some silly fun. And it really fulfills that purpose well, from it’s catchy, peppy theme tune to its consistently warm tone. It MAY get repetitive at times for some, and I do have some quibbles- like how I found the childhood segments to be some of the shows best material and wish we could have stayed in that section for a bit instead of rushing through it, how I wish Katarina had kept her cute little scar, etc- but overall, it was definitely the soothing balm I needed during a very rough time and I absolutely recommend it if you’re looking for a chill, feel-good watch.

 And hey, a second season’s supposed to be on the way too, so there’s something to potentially look forward to!

[junikshanasar]

Yona’s Cult of Personality

idk dude, I have world history and it’s remarkably helpful in understanding our society and politics, and also amazing in understanding world-building. Like, does anyone read Spy x Family? More people should read Spy x Family, it’s absolute gold, but anyway the conflict between the fake countries that serves as background to the story is so obviously based on WW2 and the Cold War. I actually got super excited, and it made the manga 10x more fun.

But this post is not about Spy x Family, it is about Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn). BEWARE OF SPOILERS AHEAD.

I know it’s like, one of the ‘big shoujo’, that a lot of people like, but I tend to procrastinate on reading more famous and mainstream manga for... absolutely no reason actually. But whatever, procrastination doesn’t need a reason.

Anyway I kept seeing it recommended everywhere, even my mom really liked it (we used to read manga in the library during my brother’s hockey practice - before covid ofc). So I finally read Yona of the Dawn two months ago, and absolutely loved it.

I feel like I say that for a lot of manga, but my tastes are all over the place, so. (it’s what happens when you’ve read manga from practically every genre)

Anyway I loved it, loved the characters, loved Yona. I tried so hard to make Yoon and/or Kija my favourite, but they came second to Soo Won no matter how much I liked them. Like rip, the guy everyone hates is my favourite. But it’s whatever, he’s a very good character, and my heart aches whenever I think of what he, Hak, and Yona could’ve been. I adore this author’s story-telling (so freaking funny), and I was pleasantly surprised to find they were the same author of some short works I enjoyed reading awhile back, so I’m glad I finally tried this series.

Right so while I was reading Yona, we were talking about the famous/infamous (depends on where you’re from) former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and like, bro.

This guy’s whole rise to power story sounds straight outta a novel. Or manga.

For real though, like he has comrades that help him, a bunch of which die in dramatic ways. Like, this one guy, Abel Santamaria, was a leader along with Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro, for the Moncada Barracks Attack that basically jumpstarted Castro’s revolution. They all got arrested by the government afterwards, and like Santamaria was tortured and killed. Apparently his hands were sent on a tray to his sister? She was also a member of the revolution, but like the tragedy of her bro’s death and the death of her boyfriend led her to commit suicide.

But yeah, after being released and chilling in Mexico for a bit to stay on the down low, Castro comes back with Che Guevara and begins the fight against current government run by Fulgencio Batista, who everyone lowkey hated cause he was corrupt and mean. 

So Castro starts from gaining the support of the people. He promises change and like actually does stuff to prove it, like asking for shelter and food from the peasants, and then paying them back through labour. He and his men treated them respectfully, and kindly, even going as far as to teach people how to read and stuff. His revolution was known as the 26th of July Movement, named after the day of the Moncada Barracks Attack that was the spark for all this, but they had a super funny nickname, Los Barbudos, which basically means ‘the Bearded Ones’, to describe what most of them revolutionaries looked like lol.

They were infinitely popular amongst the poor as a result, and through garnering public support and fighting against Batista’s army with guerilla tactics, the revolution overthrew the government and Castro eventually rose as leader of Cuba.

You’re probably wondering why I gave you a super brief history lesson (I omitted a lot of stuff), but consider this:

Who else comes back to their nation with a bunch of new allies, after staying on the down low? Who else aids the poor people in their country and treats them with kindness and respect, spreading their popularity throughout the public? Who else has a super funny nickname for their group?

Yona does. Guys, I was painfully reminded of the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch while doing the reading on Castro’s rise to power. There are so many parallels it felt like an epiphany. Yona is Fidel Castro.

Jokes aside, I felt like I finally understood the politics going on in the manga, and what exactly adviser Kye-Sook was so scared of when he found out about Yona’s spreading reputation. I thought it was a little weird, especially since in the eyes of the people, Soo Won was a much better king than Emperor Il (Yona’s dad). He was afraid of Yona’s innocent creation of a cult. 

The term ‘cult of personality’ usually refers to when people adore a figure almost religiously, which is why most dictators you read about in history, like Castro, ensure they build up appeal within the public so they can rise to power (once they’re finally in charge, efforts to maintain this ‘cult’ often dip into something more fear-based). For Castro, he promoted himself as the ‘saviour’, who would save and protect the Cuban people from Batista, and then later from the USA. Of course there’s more as to the why and how and what, that I’m itching to type up, but it’s not relevant to this post.

If you recall, in the manga, the story of the ‘red dragon’ is one that is a legend of their land, and the ‘red dragon king’ is someone who was and is revered (especially in the Fire Tribe). Yona becomes associated with this legend, which only makes sense as she is his reincarnation and has collected the four dragon vassals from the legend. Due to this, she becomes immensely popular amongst the people in addition to her reputation of helping the poor, particularly in the Fire Tribe, and solving issues around the nation such as the human trafficking in the Earth Tribe town, Awa, and the drug issues in the Water Tribe’s town, Nadai.

She becomes someone who actually does something for the people, similar to Castro. So all in all, Yona builds a name for herself, and somewhat unintentionally creates a cult of personality wherein the people adore her. I thought this was a super fun comparison that shows how exactly Yona’s rise to power is happening. Personally I think she’ll be an amazing Queen when the time comes (I hope it does), especially after witnessing all her character growth. As much as I like Soo Won and believe he is a remarkable King, he lacks that empathy he’s locked away, something Yona has that allows her to help the people that much quicker and more effectively, as well as come to more peaceful and efficient conclusions (i.e. the resolution of tensions with Xing Kingdom).

Anyway, I can’t believe I only recently figured out that the best world-building works off lessons and events from history (like, it’s pretty much common sense, huh?).

But, now that I know, history class is a little more exciting! ~\(≧▽≦)/~

[dilucatic]

characters : summer troupe

request : Hi!! I just found your page and I can't wait to see more your writing! Since you were open for asks, could I maybe ask for headcannons or a little blurb of a nb reader who's friends with summer troupe? Thank you so much!! - ❄

word count : 695

additional notes : this is all platonic !! i might do a blurb for this later but for now i just did hcs !! i didnt plan on formatting it like this but it just kind of,, happened while i was putting it together,, i wrote for summer troupe as a group + small bits for each member utc. i hope u enjoy :D

summer troupe’s such a lively group,, prepare for some chaotic™ times with them

you’d have so many inside jokes together !! they start so randomly and so often,, they die off kinda quickly but it doesn’t take long for a new one to come up.

you’d have movie nights at least twice a month yep yep. the genre’s changed up every time. the one time you watched a horror movie together it ended with tenma close to tears, kazunari live streaming to tell his followers about it and muku having to sleep with the lights on </3 horror movies were off limits after that

they love hanging out with you in general !! they’d plan things pretty often, making sure to bring you along as much as they could. they’d invite you to every one of their shows and look forward to hearing your praise afterwards. they’d ask if you wanted to join them for practice every now and then too !! maybe even ask you to be an improv partner.

they’d introduce you to the rest of mankai pretty quick if you weren’t already familiar with them,, it wouldn't take long for you to be spending a lot of time staying around the dorms.

tenma is so grateful to be friends with you !! he probably tries to do little things for you every now and then because he wants to be a good friend but,, they dont always go well,, like he’d buy you new clothes he’d think you’d like but they end up being way off from the size you normally wear. he fully trusts that he’s safe from pranks and jokes around you but acts like you’re a traitor if you ever do jokingly go against him </3

yuki totally says that you and muku were the only ones keeping him sane,, you aren’t safe from his bluntness though, he will come at you without hesitation </3 he’d also ask you to come shopping with him !! he likes to hear your take on the different clothes and designs he considers. he’d find it hilarious if you ever decided to come out and tease tenma out of nowhere pls his lungs would suffer 

muku loves spending time with you !! he enjoys showing you any new shoujo manga he finds if you’re interested in that kind of stuff. if not, then he’ll end up telling you about the ones he’s reading anyway,, he can’t help himself;; he also puts in the effort to learn about any of your interests. he asks you about them often, wanting to hear about the things you enjoy because he talks to you about his own interests so much.

kazunari posts 80% of what you guys do together on instablam,, probably has a whole story dedicated to you and natsugumi. he keeps the other 20% for himself. he’s kind of sentimental about friendship, so he feels like its better off to keep some things private. he’ll jokingly talk about posting even the smallest things but he never goes through with it :> sometimes he likes to reminisce and look back on the memories he has with you. he’ll send you random videos and pictures he finds funny throughout the day. even if it’s 3am he’ll send it without even caring about whether or not you’re asleep

misumi invites you to come triangle hunting with him whenever you’re around !! he says it’s extra fun with you there to help. he also claims that you almost manage to find the best triangles out of everyone in mankai, only coming after misumi himself. he’s actually,, really good to lean on when you need him. he won't hesitate to offer you a protractor and tell you about his gramps when he sees you feeling down :(

kumon thinks you’re so cool !! he’d be the first one to come to your defense if anyone were to be mean to you >:( they’d have to get through him first before they could say anything bad about you >:( he often brings you along to practice with his bat. he’d love to teach you more about the sports he’s into if you’re interested. he’d look forward to playing together sometime !!

[touchmycoat]

svsss extraordinary you!AU

shoujo main lead Luo Binghe, the poor kid at Cang Qiong on a scholarship that only barely takes care of his ailing mother’s hospital fees, relentlessly bullied yet relentlessly optimistic

shoujo love interest Shen Qingqiu got looks got smarts got money, top of the school hierarchy, most prominent member of the school’s peak tier trio of heartbreakers, nicknamed, what, the Lords? the Immortals?

secondary love interest Yue Qingyuan also got looks got smarts got money, is the son of the school’s president, famously kind and super darling and popular. Mournfully plays the erhu in LBH presence a lot while SQQ steals LBH’s attention from him

B-plot male lead Liu Qingge, the grumpy pants of the peak lords but also gao fu shuai, son of corporate scion

B-plot love interest Shen Yuan, LQG’s fiancé who’s been pursuing him for ten years, but LQG hates his guts. Has a chronic heart condition that causes many convenient plot lines

One day Shen Yuan begins to grow increasingly aware of the weird page-flipping noises he hears, the gaps in his memory, the way he does things he doesn’t actually want to do, like weep in the middle of a courtyard after LQG snaps at him to stop following him around

Genre-savvy SY sees LBH being bullied, sees the Peak Lords, sees the way everybody immediately forgets any and all rude or “uncharacteristic” thing he says, and makes the educated deduction that he was in a shoujo manga. He’s bound by weird rules here, whether or not he wants to—he’ll always chase after LQG no matter how horrible the things LQG says to him are, he’ll always appear in tropey scenes to help forward the romantic plot line between SQQ and LBH

like when LBH gets locked in that bathroom stall! where did those random wet wipes in SY’s hand come from?? he helps LBH out, and keeps up this constant sighing litany of “oh you poor thing, suffering this shit writing, how many times will they shove you into a locker how many times will they beat you up, how many times will SQQ give you a random debt and demand you be his servant this is such BAD WRITING”

but LBH of course doesn’t remember any of it

as SY develops this habit of commentating on all the scenarios’ being shit, one day he suddenly enters a scene with the super busy school administrator Shang Qinghua, who hears him, and suddenly is all “!!!!!!!!!” and drags him aside

SQH is all “bro, oh my god you’re conscious thank god” and SY is like “??? who are you?” and SQH is all “You don’t remember???”

“What are you talking about?”

“Bro, we’re not from here. This isn’t our world. But thank god you’re awake, seriously, I’ve been so scared this whole time watching you all run around with your bullshit romance plots seriously it’s like they didn’t try at all and that’s coming from me hahaha... Well anyways, we have to wake everybody else up, okay? If you can be woken up... Maybe they all can too.”

“...Who are ‘they?’”

For personality reasons, they decide to try YQY first. SY points out that he’d been talking shit to their faces this whole time, but it’s never worked, they’ve never remembered past the next required plot scene. But they investigate anyways—or well, SY investigates, since he’s the one actually popping in and out of the scenes, while SQH is the most background extra to exist and still have a name in this manga.

SY tries a handful of things, but they never seem to work. YQY is always still staring longingly at SQQ and LBH from afar.

One day, when he’s near giving up, SY asks YQY, “what do you like so much about him anyways?”

“...I don’t know.” Classic shit writing for side characters, Yue-dage!! I’m sorry you got so shafted!! “I just... I just really feel like I’ve always loved him, and have never known how to stop.”

“Man, sorry to hear that, unrequited love must really burn.”

“Well you’d know best, wouldn’t you Shen Yuan? Heheh. I appreciate your commiseration.” Here, YQY’s expression grows frustrated. “I just... I just wish he liked him back, is all. He not liking me back is one thing, but to watch him suffer too? Why can’t he just give him a straight-forward answer already, you know?”

SY, blinking, “I... Sorry, you lost me. You wish who liked who back?”

“Luo B—”

“Shen-xuezhang!” LBH comes bounding over, ditching SQQ mid-convo. “Yue-xuezhang.”

Ah, darling main character, you can’t just leave your love interest behind like that!! This is why Yue Qingyuan keeps hoping you like him back!

“Um, I’ve actually been having a little trouble with the new math material lately, and I think a tutor would really help...”

“...Ah, sorry,” YQY says, attention completely on SQQ glaring at him in the back. SY of course thinks this is about their love triangle with LBH. “I’m no good at math.”

“That’s fine,” LBH dismisses way too quickly. “What about Shen-xuezhang? Please?”

“I don’t mind,” SY says, frowning. “But I doubt the plot will let me. Isn’t your tutor supposed to be Yue Qingyuan, any way you look at it?”

FLIP

SY is LBH’s tutor. SY reluctantly gives the author a little kudos for going out of the box with this one, but he assumes, of course, that he’s meant to be forwarding the love triangle. LBH asks if SY is going to the annual school ball with LQG, and SY goes “aha,  I’m supposed to invite him, doll him up, and bring him to the ball to shock SQQ and YQY’s poor hearts mhm.”

LQG also shows up. Cue scene. SY asks LQG if they’re going together and LQG yells at him and refuses to go and, heroic heroine Bingmei says he’ll go with the quietly crying SY. Typical.

They go the ball. YQY is there first, and SY gets ready for YQY to get the “oh my god he’s beautiful” close-up glowing shot when he sees LBH, but to SY’s surprise it doesn’t come. Instead, it’s when SQQ shows up that there’s some sparkles, and what’s this, a delayed stage effect? What kind of poor scene management!! SY wants his money back!! But at least SQQ gets the glowy close up when he sees LBH.

But before SY can inquire further, he’s flipped into another scene with an angry LQG, snapping at him about using his family’s corporate power to pressure LQG’s family into making LQG keep SY company etc. etc. SY is helplessly sniffling while on the inside he’s like god let me die this is so contrived end the scene already.

The scene finally ends, and he completely snaps out of the weepy setting. He slaps LQG on the arm mid-sentence and is like “shut up for a second, let me ask you a question about YQY—has he been acting strangely recently?”

LQG is a bit startled at first, but does answer. “Not particularly, why?”

“He hasn’t been... asking questions? Talking about gaps in his memory? Hearing strange sounds?”

“Why are you asking??”

“Sigh, grumpy pants Liu-juju of course you’re no help. But that’s not your fault.  It’s not like I’m not taking any of your shouting to heart, though it still sucks a surprising amount to be shit on all the time about a health condition I can’t even help, I’ll be honest. But anyways, I’m off.”

“...Sorry.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t mean to shout about your heart condition,” LQG grits out. “I said I’m sorry.”

“Oh. Wow.” Come to think about it, this is SY’s first time talking to LQG outside of a scene. “Huh, I guess you’re actually not a bad guy, without bad writing? They really did you dirty. Don’t worry about it man.”

[bubbleshowerlalalala]

Bad boy!Iwaizumi x Reader

Disclaimer: GIF doesn’t belong to me.

Summary: The entire school fears Iwaizumi as he is rumored to be the scary bad boy, but you think rumors are dumb and was proven right.

Genre: Fluff, AU

Word Count: 1.6K

Iwaizumi was feared by everyone in the school, he had a temper and a scowl that seemed to be his only expression. He always came into class bruised and sat at the end of the class next to the window. And so, he was labeled as the bad boy that no one wanted to cross.

Since mostly everyone was scared of him, he had a few friends, one that was the opposite of him, Oikawa Tooru. His best friend was loud, popular with the girls, and always got his flat ass beat by Iwaizumi. But they were best friends regardless.

You thought his bad boy rumor was stupid since he sat behind you and never caused you any trouble. In fact, he was always gentle if you needed to tell him mundane details about class duties. Another reason why you didn’t believe rumors was because you had one about you. People around you seemed to think you were stuck up since you never really dated. It’s not like that at all, you just weren’t interested in trying to date for fun when you didn’t have any feelings for anyone.

It was the first class and everyone was out of it. Iwaizumi was fast asleep behind you, you could tell by his soft breathing. Spacing out, you doodled on your note and hoped time would go faster.

Lunch break came at last; you quickly got your lunch box out of your bag and got out of class. “Ah, it’s like time slows down during classes,” Your friend yawned as you both walked through the corridor. “I know,” You whined as you stretched.

Sitting at your usual spot with your friends, you noticed that you forgot to get yourself a drink, “I’m gonna head to the canteen, does anyone want anything?”

As none of your friends wanted anything, you quickly headed to the canteen and was delighted to see no one ahead of you at the window.

“Can I have banana milk, please?” You and someone else at said at the same time.

You turned to see Iwaizumi and he was mirroring your surprised expression. He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, you also started to feel flustered so you also looked away.

“Hmm.. Sorry kids, there’s only one left,” The canteen lady put the milk box in front you two.

Iwaizumi pushed the milk into your direction, “You take it,” He didn’t really hesitate to give it to you.

“No, you take it,” You said as you pushed it back.

He looked surprised that you were arguing back, but picked up the milk and gently pushed it into your hands. “Seriously, I don’t want it,”

You weren’t going to let him give it to you, you could drink something else. “It’s fine, I don’t feel like it now,” Saying that, you put the milk box into his hands and walked away as fast as you could.

He’s really cute.

Little did you know that Iwaizumi was staring at your retreating form with a light blush on his face.

“You’re such a soft boy,” The canteen lady smirked at Iwaizumi and broke him out of his trance.

Getting back to your friends, you wondered why your heart was pounding even though you didn’t run. “Hey, why are you blushing?” One of your friends asked.

“Huh?”

“Did you do something naughty?” Your other friend teased with a smug face.

“You guys read too much Shoujo,” You said and put your hands on your cheeks as they laughed at you.

Returning to class after the break, you saw the banana milk box on you desk. You turned to look at Iwaizumi’s desk but found it empty. Holding the milk box, you smiled and put it in your bag.

As the school day was coming to an end, you packed your bag and headed to the door. You couldn’t wait to walk home with your friends; putting out your phone you started texting them, and without noticing what’s in front of you bumped into someone.

“Oh, sorry,” Lifting your head, you saw Iwaizumi. “Ah, Iwaizumi! Thanks for the milk, you didn’t have to do that,” you added the last bit looking away from his eyes.

“I-it’s fine, you don’t have to thank me,” Iwaizumi wanted to die for stuttering in front of you. He rubbed his neck, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You couldn’t believe he wanted to see you tomorrow. “Yea,” you smiled. Moving to the side to leave the class, he moved to the same side to enter then you both did the awkward side to side dance at the door until you stopped and held his arms to stop him. “Sorry,” you said as you rushed outside.

Shit that was so cringy!

Iwaizumi put his face in his hands as he wished for his death again, and to make matters worse for him, a smirking Oikawa popped at his side. “What’s this? A lovesick Iwa-chan?”

“Shut up, Shittykawa!!”

The very next day you put chocolate cookies at Iwaizumi’s desk. He looked really surprised when he saw it, and gently tapped your shoulder for your attention. “You didn’t have to,” he softly said as you turned around.

“I know. I wanted to though,” you said with a smile before turning back to the board.

A week has passed and you noticed that Iwaizumi was attending classes more; you guys also shared conversations more than usual. And before you knew it, you started falling for him.

Today you had after school chores, watering the plants. What you weren’t prepared for was the sudden summer rain that showered down. ‘Damn, I could’ve returned home early,’ you looked at the plants you watered.

Hurrying inside, your wet uniform shirt was clinging onto your torso. Putting your arms around yourself in attempt to hide your now visible bra, you hurried to your class.

“Hey, isn’t that the stuck up girl?” You found three boys sitting at the stairs.

One of them stood up, “I hear she never dates, but look she’s trying to get boys’ attention,”

You backed away as they started getting closer to you. “Hey drop the shy act, we know you’re doing this on purpose,” Their leader, you guessed, grabbed your wrist harshly.

“Get the fuck away from her!” The leader got punched square in the jaw, and you turned to see a furious Iwaizumi.

Your savior took off his jacket and put it around you, “Are you okay?” He looked into your eyes.

Before you could answer, Iwaizumi took a punch by one of the minions, and the other one cradled their crying leader.

“Iwaizumi!” You gasped.

“You bitch,” Iwaizumi growled and pounced on his attacker.

“Iwaizumi, stop!” You tried to stop the fight, but Iwaizumi was straddling the boy and hit him enough to make him pass out. “Hey asshole, apologize to [Y/N], or your friend ends up in the hospital,” Iwaizumi addressed the leader.

You didn’t know why he was defending you, “They don’t have to, let’s just leave Iwaizumi,”

“No. Not until they say they’re sorry,”

The leader slowly got up, “I’m sorry!” He said a bit too loudly to you, “There! We apologized now let us go!” You could see he was tearing up again.

Iwaizumi got off the minion, “If I see you touching her again, you’ll be sorry. Now fuck off,” He glared at them. They didn’t need to be told twice as they ran for it.

Looking at his busted lip and bleeding knuckles, you approached him and held his hand. “I’m sorry,” You softly said.

“It’s fine,” Iwaizumi tried to pull his hand but you held it still. “No it’s not! You’re hurt,” you pulled him in the way of the infirmary. “The least I could do is patch you up,”

He complied and quietly walked with you. Seeing as it was after hours, the nurse’s office was empty. You made him sit down, and you brought the tools to treat him.

Looking at his injured knuckles, your heart clenched. “You didn’t have to fight them,” You quietly told him as you wrapped his hand.

“I couldn’t let them get away with disrespecting you like that,” He seriously told you. Your heart raced at his confession and you found it hard to look at him but you needed to treat his lip.

Gently dapping a soaked cotton on his lower lip, you tried to focus your vision only on that. But now you really want to kiss him.

Iwaizumi turned his head and stood up, “Thanks,” He said softly, and you could see his ears getting red.

Standing up, you held onto his wrist, “Hajime,” You softly called out his name in attempt for him to stay. You still held his wrist as he turned to look at you.

“Don’t say my name like that, [Y/N],” He quietly said as he backed you to a wall. “I wouldn’t be able to control myself,” Putting his hands on either side of your head, he leaned closer.

You gently held his face and leaned in, “I don’t want you to,” Closing the gap with your lips, you kissed him softly as not to hurt him, but was surprised when he deepened the kiss strongly, not caring for his injury. He groaned into the kiss when you hugged him close, and broke it by pressing his forehead onto yours.

“I like you,” He shyly admitted.

“I like you too,” You smiled with a light blush. “Please don’t get into fights anymore,” Holding his face, you attempted to sound stern but he just chuckled.

“Okay, I’ll try,” He kissed your head.

[the-bromance-rec-blog]

This drama is pure gold and I’m obsessed.

It is completely, absolutely beyond my comprehension that this isn’t more popular. Apart from being an amazing show by itself, it checks off every single tick on my personal requirements for a perfect bromance show. God Gracious.

Folks, really, if you are in for some angsty, intense, mesmerising, and above all, i’ll-sacrifice-my-life-for-you sort of bromance, do yourself a favour and watch this.

The Guest (K-Drama)

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Detective, Supernatural, Horror/Exorcism, Drama

Synopsis (taken & modified from MyDramaList):

Twenty years ago, Yoon Hwa Pyung, a young psychic born into a shaman family, learns about a powerful demon called "Son" (Guest). The demon has the power to control other demons and allow them to possess weak people. The possessed people then go mad, kill their families, and stab themselves in the eye. Hwa Pyung, Choi Yoon - a young boy born in a religious Catholic family, and Kang Kil Yeong - the daughter of a detective, fatefully meet when their families get interwined in the killing spree of this mysterious demon.

Twenty years later, the demon killings starts again. Hwa Pyung is now a taxi driver who uses his power to seek out possessed people in order to help them, Yoon is a Catholic priest who is talented in exorcism, and Kil Yeong is a detective who doesn't believe in ghosts. The trio meets again and tries to work together to defeat "Son".

Length: Complete - 16 episodes, 70 minutes each

Personal review:

+ The bromance.

+ The bromance.

+ The bromance. Yeah, I think you get my point by now...

This is the kind of bromance that I’m always begging to see in every fictional material I consume. Chemistry that grows naturally and believably - checked; Characters going through life-and-death situations together - checked; A duo consisting of one that is calm & reserved and the other hot-tempered & reckless - checked; Protective of each other from beginning till end - checked.

I’ve been a fangirl for a long time now - the amount of fiction with bromance that I have seen would not be below the 100s range. And I can confidently tell you: the male leads’ chemistry in this show easily makes it to my top 3. I mean, when was the last time you saw two characters literally racing against each other to see who could die for the other person first?

And have I told you about that ‘underwater’ scene in the finale? Beautiful is an understatement. Period.

Introducing the one underwater scene that tops all underwater scenes ever known to humankind.

+ These are the 3 words I’ll use to describe the story: Captivating, haunting and solid. The Guest had me rewatch the whole thing (with better definition and better sound system!) immediately after I finish it the first time, no joke. Packed with great plot twists and a praise-worthy mystery, the show effectively uses this whodunit formula to have you keep guessing “who is the real villain?”. Also, it would be easier to appreciate it if you don’t mind horror and some minimal, ‘well-censored’ gore. After all, this is a show about exorcism.

+ The cast: The main cast is a trio of a taxi driver, an exorcist priest and a police officer (this combo somehow sounds like it comes from a fanfic...) who are closely connected to each other through a tragic encounter. Let me guess what you are thinking: “There is a lady in the poster so one (or both) of the male leads gotta fall in love with her and mess up the plot with their cheesy romance!”. I am here to assure you: There is zero romance in this show. Among the trio is pure teamwork to defeat a common enemy. There chemistry is just brilliant and oh-so-naturally developed.

Trust me also when I say this: I freakin’ love the female lead, as much as I do the male leads. She is strong, hard-headed and a total badass. As impossible as it may sound, her role in the team is to protect (yes, she protects the 2 male leads lol) and to mediate the guys whenever they quarrel (which is all the time, by the way (￣▽￣)). Take my words: You don’t come across a female lead like this everyday. This is rarest of the rare.

I’d also like to take this chance to declare my adoration for Kim Jae Wook who took on the role of our ultra-cold-on-the-outside, super-sweet-on-the-inside priest. Sir Priest, you are too handsome to be real and your legs are unworldly. Are you sure you didn’t pop out from some shoujo manga?

I’m totally not sorry it took you a long time to scroll past his ridiculously long legs...

Once again, Korea does their wonders with their casting choices. Every single actor and actress - main and supporting - does their job remarkably and adds so much life to the story. Bravo, just bravo.

+ The filmography: Surreal lighting, gorgeous angles, excellent colour palettes. 11/10 score - I rest my case.

- Negative point? What negative? I’ve met a Korean drama that completely engulfed my heart and soul - what makes you think I have anything bad to say about it?

Very important advice: If you are giving this a go-ahead, watch it in the highest definition you can possibly afford to. You’ll thank me later.