#and with GAINAX too? holy shit

[tharizdun-03]

Kyousougiga Watchthrough

Episode 1: A Family's Circumstances and its Background

uhm... holy shit

Obviously, the first thing here is that the show feels very FLCL. Same kind of sporadic style of storytelling, with Gainax (like) visuals, lots of hints for stuff to be explored later that have few explanations now, and awesome music (tho obviously not the same type of music).

I'll admit, it was a bit difficult to keep track of everything that was going on, cause a lot happened very fast, but I think I followed along pretty well.

Visually, it is just gorgeous. Narratively; super fun concepts, already got some solid emotional hooks, and all around just felt like a fairy-tale come to life. I'm not sure what I'm getting into here, but I'm here for it.

Episode 2: What Came Was a Little Sister

Kyousougiga continues to be one of the most stunningly directed series I've ever seen with its second episode. Watching this show is like magic.

Narratively, it's still a bit difficult to keep up with, but I think it's more of an experience rather than keeping up with the plot specifics.

It seems like the show is structuring this with each episode centering around one character's PoV and then we'll pull it together in the second half.

I think it did a good job of tying us into Koto's backstory and motivation, but it's really just the gorgeous art direction, Shiina Gou's orchestral score, etc, which makes it so special. I can't tell if the story yet will come to match, but I'm here for it. 

Also, great opening. Awesome visuals, but I really love the song too. 

Episode 3: The Eldest and his Happy Science Team

Not much to say about EP 3. It continues to be a beautifully directed show, and while I'm not blown away by the story or anything yet, I am interested in seeing where it'll go, as it's obviously still laying out the groundwork, establishing our character motivations.

Episode 4: The Second Daughter and her Wonderful Monsters

EP 4 is Yase's episode, who doesn't care as much about going to the outside world, but just wants her Mother back. Like all the siblings really, it's about their love for their parents and the desire to be with them again. It's a very emotionally warm theme.

Episode 5: The Worries, Beginning, and Ending of the Young Third Son

I'm not resonating overtly with Kyousougiga or anything, but presentation-wise, it is just the best anime has to offer. Solid, emotionally based themes as well, so might pull something together for me a bit later on. Had a good time with EP 5 as well either way.

Got Penguindrum vibes from the cardboard cutout-like people. 

Episode 6: A Story Where Two Plan and One Worries

EP 6 confirms that Myoue is suicidal because he never got over it the first time. He loves his "parents", but at the same time, they brought him back and made him unable to die, without his consent. I'm expecting their reunion to not just be a jolly good time.

A lot of previously unspoken resentment rising to the surface all at once between the siblings here. 

Episode 7: Mom's Back, and Oh, Dad's Back, Too

EP 7 has their mother returning, and the siblings react perfectly in character. Yase is overjoyed, Kurama is a bit distant as he's suspicious, and Myoe is distant as well but because of his personal resentment. Good stuff.

Episode 8: Troublesome Talks Here and There

EP 8 introduced a bunch of world-building drama with all the planes at the risk of being destroyed, which I don't really care about as much as the family stuff, but still some good stuff there and I'm not too worried about it or anything. Looks nice as usual.

Episode 9: Let's All Think about What We Can Do

It's sweet how the fake siblings Inari created to keep Myoue company were the ones that ended up helping him more than their dad ever did. They might've been created to comfort you, but that doesn't mean their feelings aren't true.

Episode 10: A Manga Movie About People Who Have a Fun, Busy Life!

Kyousougiga's finale wrapped everything up pretty much perfectly.

Overall Thoughts:

What a directorial debut Kyousougiga was for Matsumoto Rie. Can't say the narrative resonated with me especially, but it's still a good story about family love. Its gorgeous aesthetics, rich direction, and spectacular soundtrack make it that much of an experience either way.

[flclarchives]

Amusing Himself to Death, an Akadot.com interview with Kazuya Tsurumaki (director of FLCL and assistant director of Evangelion) from around December 2001. In the article, Tsurumaki explains a few things about Evangelion, his mentality behind FLCL as a whole, and the meaning of the name ‘FLCL’.

Full article text is under the cut, or read the article in its original form [here].

Kazuya Tsurumaki was a relatively little-known animator when Hideki Anno selected him to work as the assistant director on Neon Genesis Evangelion. For the TV series, which became a smash hit in Japan and one of the touchstones of the current surge of interest in anime in the US, Tsuramaki served as the main storyboard artist as well as assistant director, and when Studio Gainax began production on a trio of Evangelion films Tsurumaki got his first directorial assignment.

As he tells the story, Anno came to him after Eva and announced that he was out of ideas and that it was up to Tsurumaki to dream up the next project because, "you are next." Tsurumaki let his imagination run wild, but by the time he had written a script, Anno - despite his declaration that he had no stories left to tell - was already several steps ahead of Tsurumaki and in pre-production for his next series, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijo, leaving Tsurumaki a chance to have complete and unsupervised creative control of his own series FLCL.

FLCL, referred to as "Fooly Cooly" (or "Furikuri" by its American fans), is unlike any anime series to come before it. Wild, maniacally fast-paced physical comedy; exaggerated, exuberant animation alternately pushing towards surrealist- as when mecha exuviate from a bump on young Naota's head - and deconstructionist - as when the animation literally stops and the story is told by a camera bouncing across a page of black and white manga art panels; and obsessively, often irrelevantly, referential to obscure Tokyo-pop bands and anime insider trivia; FLCL was hyperkinetic and disorienting, yet mesmerizing, almost transgressive, and undeniably original. It inspired enthusiastic admiration for Tsurumaki as a creator, even amongst the perhaps 90% of the series' fans who were absolutely baffled by much of it. One is tempted to refer to it as announcing the arrival of full blown post-modernism in animation, or perhaps as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable of the anime industry.

When Tsurumaki visited Baltimore to speak to American fans at the recent Otokon Convention, predictably, many of the questions were along the lines of, "Hi, I really loved FLCL [or Evangelion], but could you please explain this part of it to me?"

Tsurumaki answered all questions genially with a self-deprecating and often mischievous sense of humor. For example:

Why does Haruko hit Naota over the head with her guitar?

Kazuya Tsurumaki: Naota is trying to be a normal adult and she belts him to make him rethink his decision.

Why does Evangelion end violently, and somewhat unhappily?

KT: People are accustomed to sweet, contrived, happy endings. We wanted to broaden the genre, and show people an ugly, unhappy ending.

Why is the character of Shinji portrayed as he is?

KT: Shinji was modeled on director Hideki Anno. Shinji was summoned by his father to ride a robot, Anno was summoned by Gainax to direct an animation. Working on Nadia [Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water, one of Anno and Tsurumaki's earlier projects] he wondered if he still wanted to work like this. He thought that working on Eva could help him to change.

Is there any particular reason why so many Gainax series feature very anxious, unhappy young male protagonists with no parents?

KT: Yes, the directors at Gainax are all basically weak, insecure, bitter, young men. So are many anime fans. Many Japanese families, including my own, have workaholic fathers whose kids never get to see them. That may influence the shows I create.

Could you explain the mecha bursting from Naota's head in FLCL?

KT: I use a giant robot being created from the brain to represent FLCL coming from my brain. The robot ravages the town around him, and the more intensely I worked on FLCL the more I destroyed the peaceful atmosphere of Gainax.

Why doesn't FLCL follow one story?

KT: In the third episode Ninamori was almost a main character, a kid who, like Naota, has to act like an adult.  After episode three her problem was solved so we wrote her out.  She has many fans in Japan and we got plenty of letters about that decision.  For FLCL I wanted to portray the entire history of Gainax, and each episode has symbols of what happened behind the scenes on each of Gainax's shows.   Episode one has many elements of Karekano; episode two, a lot of Evangelion references, etc.

Where does the title FLCL come from?

KT: I got the idea from a CD in a music magazine with the title Fooly-Cooly.  I like the idea of titles that are shortened long English words. Pokémon for "Pocket-Monsters" for instance, and an old J-pop band called Brilliant Green that was known as "Brilly-Grilly."

Is there any reason why the extra scenes added to Eva for the video release were cut in the first place?  Did you think the story would mean something different with them intact?

KT: The scenes that were added to Eva for its video release aren't that important.  We added them as an apology for taking so long to get the video out.  Maybe they'll help people understand things, because the episodes were done under tough deadlines the first time around.

Can you explain the symbolism of the cross in Evangelion?

KT: There are a lot of giant robot shows in Japan, and we did want our story to have a religious theme to help distinguish us.   Because Christianity is an uncommon religion in Japan we thought it would be mysterious.  None of the staff who worked on Eva are Christians.  There is no actual Christian meaning to the show, we just thought the visual symbols of Christianity look cool.  If we had known the show would get distributed in the US and Europe we might have rethought that choice.

After the panel, Mr. Tsurumaki sat down to speak with Akadot.

Do you enjoy confusing people?

KT: I have a twisted sense of humor.  I'm an Omanu Jacku, a contrarian.  [Writer's note- Omanu Jacku is a folk character a bit like Puck, a mischief maker]

What do you see differently now that you're working as a director rather than only as a visual artist?

KT: As an animator I have only the art; as a director story is really big.  I still feel as an animator and I often have trouble putting the needs of the story first.

Did you intend from the start for FLCL to be as bizarre as it wound up?

KT: From the very start I wanted a different flavor.  To achieve this I had to re-train the animators to be as stylized as I wanted them to be because I wasn't drawing it.  I knew that not everyone would get it.  I deliberately selected very obscure J-pop culture and anime sub-culture jokes and references.  Because Eva was so somber I always intended to make FLCL outrageous and wacky.

Why the choice to break out of conventional animation and use manga pages? Was it at all a response to how many anime are using computers to achieve smoother and more realistic visuals?  Were you trying to go the opposite direction?

KT: I like manga, not only to read, but the visuals.  The pen drawings, the frame breakdowns and layouts . . . This is the first time I have used digital animation, and those bouncing manga shots wouldn't have been possible with cel animation.   Personally I'm not interested at all in using computers for realistic animation.  I'm impressed by it sometimes, but I'm interested in using computers to do what was once impossible, not to do smoother versions of what has already been done.  I want to be less realistic.

Has using digital animation techniques changed the way you work, or the way you feel about your work when you see it?  Does it still feel like it's yours if a computer did much of it?

KT: Before I got into digital animation I saw other shows that were using it and I felt that there was no feeling, it was empty.   As an animator, there's a sense of release when you draw a cel.  There's something there.  Working on FLCL, though, I learned that computers can do more, and, most of all, that they allow room for trial and error and revising, more freedom to experiment.  That is why I now feel that cel art cannot win against computers.  For actual animation everything is still drawn on paper.  That work hasn't changed.  It's the other stuff, the touchups, and coloring.  If we didn't use paper, maybe the feeling would change.

Earlier today you said that you were trying to broaden the genre by giving Eva a sad ending.  Does the sameness of much of today's anime bore you?

KT: First of all we didn't use a sad ending to annoy fans.  When they're upset, that really bothers us.  Personally, I think a happy ending is fine, but not if it is achieved too easily.  That's no good.

For all the fans that are confused at all, if you had to define in one sentence what FLCL is about, what would you say?

KT: FLCL is the story of boy meets girl.  For me it is also about how it's ok to feel stupid.  With Evangelion there was this feeling that you had better be smart to understand it, or even just to work on it. With FLCL I want to say that it's okay to feel stupid.

Even though it may be strange to us, do you have in your head a logic behind it?  Are you trying to portray a story that follows the logic of dreams, or is it supposed to make sense symbolically?

KT: I'd like you to think of FLCL as imagination being made physical and tangible, just as it is for me when I take whatever is in my head and draw it.

So what are you working on next?

KT: Right now Gainax has told me that they'll support anything I choose to create, but I'm having trouble coming up with any ideas.

Why is that?

KT: Releasing titles for market, I know I have to make something to please fans, but I'm not a mature enough person to accept that fact.  If I'm not amusing myself I can't do it.  I feel bad that fans have to put up with such behavior from me.  I apologize. 

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Diebuster, Episodes 1-2

And so we begin! And holy shit, what an improvement this turned out to be.

Aim for the Top(less)

Going into Diebuster, I had no idea what to expect. I knew it was going to be a huge stylistic departure from Gunbuster, but in terms of what connections there were gonna be between the two, I was totally blind. Was it gonna be a direct sequel? A spinoff? Prequel? Something else entirely? Well, two episodes in, I think it’s safe to say that Diebuster is decidedly a spiritual successor more than anything else. It’s got plenty of references to the original- names of special attacks and specific pieces of tech, the same general plot of a driven girl joining an elite space army- but it incorporates those ideas into its own fabric well enough that you don’t have to have seen the original to understand their importance here. This is as self-contained an OVA as Gunbuster itself was, borrowing plenty of motifs but otherwise content to do its own thing. So while I’ll certainly take notice of where the two shows parallel each other, and I’ll keep watch just in case some future plot twist does connect them into the same continuity, I think I’m overall gonna be okay if I take Diebuster on its own terms, without comparing and contrasting it to Gunbuster every other second. This is its own separate thing, and it deserves to be treated as such.

That being said, there’s one point of comparison between the two that I absolutely need to mention: Diebuster is so much goddamn better. Seriously, after how badly Gunbuster let me down, I am astounded how much more I’m enjoying its successor. Everything that Gunbuster did badly, Diebuster’s improved upon, and everything that was good in Gunbuster is mostly still good, if not ever better, here. I enjoyed these first two episodes profusely, as you can probably tell by the fact that I had enough observations at two episodes to stop and analyze them. Already I’m finding more of interest to talk about in this first third than I did throughout the entirely of Gunbuster. And that bodes well for the future. So let’s dig into the inner workings of Diebuster and figure out what’s making it tick so well.

Rooly of Cooly

The most obviously striking thing about Diebuster, especially in comparison to its predecessor, is its visuals. Whereas Gunbuster was clearly an Evangelion prototype with its dips into existentialism and its overall grounded aesthetic, Diebuster is firmly a product of Gainax’s FLCL era. It’s got the same flavor of hyper-stylized aesthetics, right up to the very particular stained-yellow color of the sky. And the action is similarly bananas, with enough jagged-edge robot mayhem and meticulously crafted dynamic chaos to make Imaishi proud. Rubble sprays across landscapes in elastic waves, characters deform and make goofy expressions on the regular... hell, it’s even got FLCL’s conceit of pulling robots out of head-based pocket dimensions (not to mention Princess Lai’C’s Haruka-esque motorbike) That said, this is probably the one area where it falls a little short in comparison to its predecessor; some of the CG used can get kinda jarring. It’s not as flawless an aesthetic experience as Gunbuster was, which is a shame. Thankfully, it still packs a hell of a punch when it needs to; all the messy, ridiculous, over-the-top action is a blast, especially when it’s constantly throwing out ideas as ridiculous as Nono heat-butting a giant space crab to make it shatter into perfectly segmented pieces. That kind of lunatic energy is what makes the Gainax/Trigger aesthetic so damn entertaining at its best.

But you know what’s really impressing me about all this nonsense thus far? In between all the crazy action beats and over-the-top characters, the worldbuilding is actually pretty damn good. I know, I was surprised too, but it’s actually freaking coherent! The reveal that we’ve been on Mars the whole time at the end of the first episode is genius; we’ve spent the whole episode wandering among this unique, unusual setting, wondering what it all means, and then we pull back the curtain by blasting into space and realizing we haven’t even been on Earth this entire time. And the show’s overall shockingly good at communicating this scope and depth with hardly any outright exposition. Stuff like the space cadets sitting down for a drink at the bar still in their robots, not even dancing around the reveal that Nono’s weird powers come from her actually being an unregistered AI, how the characters will toss out Proper Nouns as if they’re phrases everyone around them is already familiar with, it all grounds this bizarre universe in a very particular sense of place. You get a sense of the history and culture behind this intergalactic civilization just from how the characters live their lives in it. And the few bits of direct exposition it does give just raise even mroe interesting questions. What exactly does it mean to be “topless?” Why does the power wane as you age out of it? How does this process influence the current military hierarchy, especially in relation to one of the Buster warriors being an outright princess? It’s all utterly nonsense, but in proper Symphogear fashion, it’s coherent ridiculous nonsense, and it’s got me interested to discover what secrets this universe has in store.

Nono in Space

Of course, interesting worldbuilding can only take you so far without good characters to get you invested in it. And thankfully, Nono’s the kind of straightforward, heart-on-her-sleeve protagonist I never get tired of seeing. There’s a great shot right near the beginning as she’s talking about her dreams to be a space pilot, and we see a spaceship blasting through the atmosphere... until it turns into a plate that she accidentally breaks. It’s a great little editing trick to sell how far her dreams are from her reality, and she just keeps racking up great moments from there (”Newton, you jerk!”) She’s helplessly devoted to the idea of heroism, but she’s not exactly naive about it either; she knows exactly how outclassed she is by everyone around her. But she shakes off her insecurities regardless, because she believes doing the right thing comes before everything else. Her fear at staring down a space monster for the first time is quickly overcome by her desperation to save her manager from being crushed under its corpse. And when Lai’C threatens to betray her ideals by letting a spaceship full of people die, Nono doesn’t hesitate a moment to call her on her bullshit and remind her what it means to be a hero. She’s a courageous, determined girl, and it’s really endearing to watch her eccentricities bounce off her more subdued companions.

Speaking of those companions, this is as good as time as any to once again talk about the dreaded fanservice. Because another thing Diebuster has in common with FLCL, as well as many Trigger/Gainax works that have come since, is a tendency to try and comment on sexuality while still indulging in it for audience gratification. I’m not gonna pretend that the constant panty shots and boob jiggles aren’t objectifying and eye-rolling, because they are. But much like FLCL, you get a sense that there’s at least a point behind all the fetishistic leering. Pretty much all the male characters who interact with Nono view her sexually in some way, which brings about all the aforementioned voyeurism. They prod at her and harass her because it’s a kind of power trip for them. But Nono herself? Nono doesn’t really give much of a fuck. She’s just out doing her own thing, not even paying attention to what the guys are thinking unless they actively start tossing her around. Nor does she seem to pay any mind to her nudity when Lai’C’s hosing her down in the baths. Perhaps that’s related to her being a robot; we conceive of AI as a tool for our use and enjoyment, but Nono’s fully in control of her own narrative, no matter what anyone else thinks of her. Hell, she doesn’t even hesitate to whip some tiddy out when she thinks being Topless is literal. She’s got no shame about her existence, which makes the leering less uncomfortable than it might otherwise be. Yes, it’s still dumb cheesecake, but in comparison to Gunbuster, where it felt like that was all it was, this is a definite step up.

Can You Hear my Heartbeat?

And actually, that’s really where it becomes clear how much better Diebuster is than Gunbuster (and I promise I’ll keep my promise and stop comparing them after this, okay?): it lets the girls tell their own story. Noriko and Amane, while both potentially interesting characters, were compromised by having their arcs shackled to the men in their lives. They were subsumed by Smith, Coach Noriko’s dad, to the point where it felt like they only existed to prop up the images of those male figures. But Nono and Lai’C? They are decidedly the masters of their own destiny, driving the action with their own choices, taking control of the situations they’re in, and pushing the narrative forward on their own terms. I don’t feel like I’m watching them get dragged around at the whims of some dude; I feel like I’m watching the proper protagonists of this take embrace their agency and take matters into their own hands. Even putting aside the gender-related issues, that’s a major improvement in writing quality. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that Diebuster’s also seemingly decided to turn its predecessor’s absolute worst aspect- the romances- into its absolute best.

Like, I know I joked about the Noriko/Amane chemistry, but holy shit, y’all, Nono and Lai’C are fantastic together. And I don’t even think this is just my shipper heart seeing things that aren’t there; Diebuster is making a very conscious effort to position these two as an outright couple. They’ve got the shojo sparkles and odd-couple chemistry down pat, their blush game is super-strong, and their teamwork in Buster 19 at the end of episode 2 has already started them down the path of opening up to each other on a deeper level. Plus, you’ve got a very deliberate parallel drawn between Lai’C’s creepy dependency on Nicola and her later freedom with Nono. The way Lai’C listens to the beat of Nicola’s heart to remind herself of his humanity is so clearly framed with romantic, even sexual coding, not to mention lots of deep shadows of unease. So to have her then put her ear against Nono’s chest instead at the end of the episode, this time framed with comfort and closeness as she relaxes into her partner’s bosom as naturally as breathing? Yeah, that shit doesn’t happen by accident. That’s a clear directorial choice intended to make the audience view Nono and Lai’C relationship in a very certain way. Even without the confirmation that Nicola’s up to no good, and thus likely on a crash course to breaking Lai’C heart, it’s 100% obvious who Lai’C is going to end up closest to when all is said and done. In other words, this is just a gay Magical Girlfriend anime where the girlfriend herself is the protagonist, and honestly, I’m super-fucking down for that. Congrats on winning me over, Diebuster. Let’s see what else you have in store.

Odds and Ends

-DON’T PUNCH THE DOG FOR FUCK’S SAKE

-”When you beat that monster, my heart went doki-doki!” Nono likes strong women confirmed.

-”Can I have your autograph!” askjdhaskhd well so much for his attempt at seriousness

-Ooh, that black and white static as the space monster soared by was great. Way to sell its terrifying presence.

Damn, this is gonna be a fun one. See you next time!

[adobe-outdesign]

BATIM Chapter 5 Liveblog

I am in no way emotionally or mentally prepared for this LET’S DO THIS

Spoilers under the cut (duh).

Henry, stop calling Joey your friend

I like the perspective from the cartoons, very interesting

Hehe, she drew Tom

Allison seems to be fairly unlucid compared to Alice

oh hey I was right, he did doodle the Bendy animatronic’s hand

Tom. dude, not cool

what the fuck else do you watch us to watch Allison

why the fuck did you call him Tom to begin with if you didn’t know it was his name

hehe, invisible ink

oh, she does have a halo, it’s just invisible. I thought the headband was her halo, but maybe not

true bros fix other bros arms

oh, so that’s why they leave, that makes sense

TAKE THE SPOON

aw, such a charmer

I’M ON A BOAT, I’M A BOAT, EVERYBODY LOOK AT ME

oh, okay, this is happening

SAMMY, MY BOY, GREAT TO SEE YOU. or not. actually no

is it pretentious to start an “outdesign is right” count? too bad I’m doing it

Outdesign is right count: 1

I wonder if he joined the hivemind? It’s not his voice and it’s got a bit of an echo to it

HE AIN’T NO FACE

yes, yes it is.

Henry, why do you break everything you touch

“GO BACK TO YOUR PUDDLES” Allison is just an angry mom

oh shit, there’s a lot of miner searchers

JESUS CHRIST

boy, if that ain’t evidence for the “Henry is an ink creature” theory than I don’t know what is because literally all his bones should be broken by now

it would be really clever if it was Henry who left the messages on his first visit to the studio, given that he managed to escape once and Allison says whoever left them knew how to escape

ah, maybe the last reel refers to the last reel used to make the final cartoon? possibly Bendy? or Henry if he’s an ink creature?

This could go against Joey being Bendy - but at the same time, if the Ink Demon was made on the first attempt, wouldn’t everyone be dead because all he does is murder the shit out of people? If that’s the case there’s definitely a secondary Bendy running around.

Alternatively: Maybe this was before they figured out the sacrifices? Thomas doesn’t mention anything about anyone going missing. Maybe that’s why you need the people - cartoons without people are just moving ink with no personality or anything. (”there’s just something unworldly about him”).

am I hallucinating or is that Charlie, like, huge? though it’s probably the same one in the trailer so maybe not

“likewise, we would also like to dismiss the idea that our accountant had a complete mental breakdown and is now drinking gin in the closet”

leader because Bendy’s the main character, maybe?

did... did wally get killed over a chocolate cake

Though more importantly: food-lover, even at the expense of other’s? Another check on the Boris checklist

was that Sammy’s cake

spoilers: first-attempt Bendy was Beta Blobby Boi (though once again, I think this goes against the idea of it being the Ink Demon, because Thomas would be very dead if he got near him).

Also, the whole “these things are soulless” thing - IE this Bendy doesn’t have a soul and thus isn’t a person. And it’s only at this point that he says he’ll get them a soul, which the Ink Demon definitely seems to have

Surprisingly, Joey’s office isn’t as over the top as I thought it would be

Joey you’re such a piece of shit

“I’ll be straight with you” no part of Joey is straight

this also adds up - first abominations made, then Alice is the first cartoon with a soul made using the CK1

well this looks safe (get it? because vault? I’m a genius)

please be a tape from norman in here I miss him

ink demon has the last reel, maybe?

“I need three gears, a crowbar, AND THAT GUY’S PROSTHETIC ARM”

okay, that was legitimately hilarious

reminds me of Norman’s stroll in 3

“death” okay this sounds promising

christ on a fucking cracker

that sounds like confirmation that Henry probably isn’t an ink creature (yet?). He’s waded through ink before

you’re here because Joey’s a dick

oh, now you say that

maybe this is where cartoons are re-created? Looks like a Boris in there, though impossible to know if it’s our Boris

hey, new cartoon clips on the walls!

mildly suspicious that there’s a Joey tape in Bendy’s space. could be nothing though

wait. wait this isn’t a tape. Joey where are you

BOY IF THAT AIN’T CONFIRMATION I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS

Outdesign is right count: 2

oh great, now you can fucking shape shift

CHRIST HE RUNS FUCKING FAST

Joey why. do you have this

I like how the wall animations are actually animated shorts, mostly from the contest winner’s. Rosemary’s Babysitter and Hell in a Handbasket are in there

his horns are so.... wiggly

good fucking riddance

HOLY SHIT, THAT POST I MADE WAS RIGHT, THE REAL WORLD IS IN COLOR. THAT WASN’T EVEN AN ACTUAL THEORY

Outdesign is right count: 3

no wonder Henry complimented Jack, he’s clearly a hat person himself

these storyboards seem to be for AUs? One is called “Bendy wins”. or maybe these are all the alternate endings that can be unlocked?

1963 adds up with the present day - 1933 was when 30 years was, according to Mike Mood

the rendering here is really freaking cool, as it actually does look realistic

so this is a good ending, I think? Like, this is... heaven, maybe, seeing as there’s sketches from the studio and good AU things (Wally has grandkiddens!), but Joey(? I think) is also here? And it’s not like Henry knows where he is? plus it kind of seemed like he died at the end there

and badabing, there’s Joey’s wheelchiar. all the way from my chapter 2 theory baby

wait, is that why we keep having flashbacks? so the “we’ve been here before” thing is correct?

holy shit, this animation is fucking gorgeous

HENRY HAS A LAST NAME BABY

So is the idea here that Henry is also a drawing/character that Joey made, and that’s why he keeps going back to the studio?

Maybe the entirety of BATIM is a story? You can see the characters and inspiration on the walls, even down the studio going bankrupt

I mean, overall I really enjoyed it, but I still have a ton of questions (what happened to Shawn, Grant, and Lacie? What about Norman and Alice’s corpses and the Bendy animatronic? Plus the ending is... strange and Gainax-y.

This should only be one ending according to the achievements (the Main Ending), so let me see if there’s more that might explain things...

Hmm, okay, not seeing anything right now in a quick search. There definitely is more than one ending according to the achievements (and even the storyboards at the end) so I’ll hold off judgement until then. Might update this post later if there is something.

[tumblunni]

WHOOPS A DOODLE

Okay I tried to attempt making my first lets play video and somehow i forgot to enable game sound, lol! Just hearing my voice over gaping silence would be boring as hell, but especially bad because Ciel Fledge has an absolutely AWESOME soundtrack and at several times I just plain stopped and jammed out, haha! I was so excited for it and it was even better than I expected!!!!

But also I made a few flubs here and there and i was nervous and awkward so its probably best that i rerecord it. Cos I was dumb and decided to name the characters after my ocs and then halfway thru i was like OH WAIT people first discovering me on youtube would have no clue who those people are, lol! Plus I got super hyper attatched to Ciel immediately and felt like I couldnt really roleplay as grumpy Gremory. I immediately started talking to the damn screen already I REALLY CHERISH MY VIRTUAL CHILLLLLD

and AAAA the worldbuilding already has me hooked!! it isnt just a shoddy sci fi setting in name only like one of the Weird Android Games i’m gonna post about soon. like there is SO MUCH deep effort put into how the logistics of the government work in this post apocolyptic world, and loads of optional lil details you could miss! like for example you start the game with one expected intro tutorial mail in your inbox, but also three extra ones in the opened section. And they’re in-progress news updates on the currently unspecified ‘disaster’ that happened to sector 5. All dated several weeks apart and being like ‘praise to our glorious leaders! the battle is going great! don’t question anything!’, ‘never forget the losses we had at this battle today, we will rise like the phoenix and defeat our enemies!’ It raises even more curiosity about what happened, and gives a lil nugget of extra info-now we know the disaster was a battle with an enemy of some sort, or at least that’s how the news team is framing it... hmm...

and AAA ATHE BOSSA NOVA MUSIC I think thats the term for it?? and the really huge resolution awesome graphics??? and the sheer amount of detail to everything??? and holy shit THE FEATURES ALSO AAA THE FEATURES!! you can pick gender neutral pronouns or other titles for your protagonist! and even though they’re a faceless self insert like in the Princess Maker games you actually get to choose stuff to make them be like you! you can pick a bunch of backstory choices that give you different stat boosts to the child you’re raising, and apparantly there will be more choices during the game to change your parent’s stats and thus unlock more boost traits?? they’re a big presence in the game?? in this parenting game?? your parent actually has a stats??? aaaaa just as a person who’s a big fan of this genre i am just SO APPRECIATIVE of the changes they made to the formula! it really shows that the creators know A LOT about the genre and about common player complaints and wishes! like there’s a sort option on the list of jobs and classes and you can do alphabetical and by cost and stuff!!! AND YOU CAN DRESS YOUR KIDDIE UP IN EVEN MORE COSTUMES THAN USUAL!! YOU CAN PICK OUTFIT PARTS SEPARATELY!! ITS SO EXCITING!!!

and AAAA I’m so excited for all the new features that’ve never been in this genre before!! there’s this cool fully animated system for showing your adventure battle things, and a unique match-3 puzzle game battle instead of turn based or top down fighting. And you get ‘battles’ as milestones in your different aspirations too! this unique fight style can work in different ways for stuff like a swimming class test or cooking a cake! and also there’s a way bigger focus on story and worldbuilding and awesomeness!! and you can make friends and your kid can make friends and you can take them as party members together into adventures instead of only as romantic interests to get special endings. And that means there’s also lots of platonic friend choices and even stuff like friend values with her school teacher who will come and fight post apocolypse mutants together, yo! O_O and you can unlock bonus multiplier trait things and equip them to help at training your different stats! you get two of them at the start from your mom/dad/parent’s backstory choices, and then can get more from.. mystery things?? milestones I assume! cos there’s this system of achievements being framed as milestones set by the adoption company, so the government sends you rewards for being an exemplary citizen. There’s so much worldbuilding even in the lil gameplay chocies aaa!!! And you can talk to your lil kiddo and i love her and you can talk to her and do so many more bonding activities than expected and TALK TO HER AAA!! I actually have a form of direct interaction instead of just ordering her to do stuff. And the tutorial seemed to imply that she’ll develop like.. personality values?? And get goals and like or dislike certain jobs?? I’m so excited?? Aaaa???

god this game looks SO GOOD and lol i spent like a whole hour just going SQUEEEEEE at all the cool lookin things and rambling forever and then i lost the footage :P but i’m realizing that maybe a lot of my WOWWWW moments wouldn’t make sense without the context of having played other stuff in the genre like Princess Maker? so maybe i might do a short vid on that after the first episode of ciel fledge or something. not a full LP but just a summary of the goods and bads of that series and why i’m SOOOOOOO relieved to have a new entry in the genre that’s lacking all the.. grossness. cos seriously no matter how addictive the gameplay is, PM has a stupid gainax anime thing of sexualizing the daughter and treating it more like a waifu raising simulator T_T Ciel actually looks like a child and acts like a child and you act like a proper parent!! and its wholesome!! well its got dark stuff but the dark is ‘post apocolypse’ not INCEST! aaaaa im just so happy and i love my virtual daughter and i havent even really started playing yet haha!!!

[knightofbalance-13]

Thoughts on Little Witch Academia Finale

* Well, that is indeed the missile from hell. * An alarm is going off, potentially warning everyone of the apocalypse: Humanity tries to hit the snooze button...Why am i not surprised? * Yeah, I think knows now. * Man, i don’t think i noticed this before but Chariot is gorgeous with her natural red hair. * No Akko, she meant the imp she keeps locked down stairs. * Technology, amirite? * Damn it Croix, you should know hatred breeds hatred! Have you never seen Tumblr?! * Oh so NOW you give up huh? Not like ten episodes ago before you fucked everyone up? * Oh don’t you dare try blaming Chariot for that! * As always, Akko saves everyone. * And your in a Trigger anime, catching up to a missile would be like the twenty third impossible thing that studio has done. * I wonder if the “Nine New Witches” thing became a legend? * Makes for Diana to help Akko take it out: She is the second strongest witch left...Too bad people will say it’s for shipping. * Dawwwwww, Sucy * Shut up Croix * So...The Shiny Rod can basically do anything? Neat. * Man, White really suits Akko. * Well Akko, keep getting fired up: You’ll need all the magic and SPiral power you can muster. * I think Akko should be in front...or can she still not fly yet? * Considering LWA is like the second anime now to believe in the impossible, that’s a pretty dumb statement. * And off they go! * Lotte for MVP. * Oh, so it’s like a several stage rocket? * Jasminka for MVP. * Constanze for MVP. * Maybe someone should make sure Amanda ends up in England... * Why are people not rioting? * Sit down, Council of Old Dicks * Humanity, amirite? * God damnit, your son is more of man than you have ever been, and that includes when you made him! * Aw, Andrew sounds worried. * HYPE THRUSTERS 2.0! * I like the rundown of places, shows just how many people they’ve influenced. * Epic Fail, Humanity. * Oh great, it’s the fucking Original Life Fiber of magic missiles! * The power of believing motherfuckers! * Oh shut up Old Fart #2! * You tell him Andrew! * This is beautiful: Humanity was ready to tear itself apart a minute ago but was able to put their hearts and faith into two people, setting aside their differences. * Andrew, it has been a pleasure watching you. *Salutes* * Finally, an Old Guy whose not a dick! * A missile that fires missiles...Great... *Surfing Akko on a broom fight a hate monster: Doesn’t get any better than this. * Figures Akko would turn hate mini-missles into small, furry animals made of magic. * Diana’s manuvering reminds of that time I fought Asgore. * I call haxxes! * Nice use of Akko’s transformation magic. * Damnit Diana, you had one job! * Is-is Akko gonna be oka-WHAT WAS THAT?! * Fuck, I don’t like Dianakko shippers but I don’t want Diana to die! * Awesome use of Chekovk’s Gun. * You know, I got a special son for moments like these that I’ve been saving for Little Witch Academia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNQvLECht08 (Not kidding, t5he song works amazingly well with the final fight.) * Killed a hate missile and made everyone smile too: Akko is fucking amazing. * Look at that boy’s face: No doubt he’s got a crush. * Indeed it is Croix, indeed magic is. * Bye Shiny Rod, say hi to Senkestu and Kamina for me... * So...you’ll be back in the year 3000? * You’re too good for her, Chariot. * Damnit, Akko STILL CAN’T FLY?! * Oooooh Trigger, Are you gonna? * The hat returns! And...HOLY SHIT! SHE’S DOING IT! AKKO’S FLYING! Not only that, SHE DID IT AFTER ANDREW GAVE THE HAT BACK! THIS IS BETTER THAN CANON CONFIRMATION! THANK YOU TRIGGER! * Little Witch Academia, if this is really teh last time we meet, I want say how proud I am. From just a cute feel good story to a journey rivaling the likes of Gainax;’s Magnum Opus, Gurren Lagann, I wanna say how glad I am to have seen you grow so far. And though I’d be ecstatic for a season 2...This is good as well. Thank you LWA, thank you everyone who read these stupid little posts, thank you Trigger. Good Night and remember, a believing heart is the magic of the world!

[niigoki]

like, I am honestly in shock over that trailer and I have a lot to talk about it so?? i will do that?? right now?? this is gonna be personal and all over the place because i really can’t do words when it comes to what FLCL means to me haaha

so, for those of you who know me for my lapidot fic Never Knows Best, this is the anime that inspired the title and pretty much all of the fic itself. It’s a short anime called FLCL that aired in 2000 (some of you weren’t even born in 2000 i think????) and it aired till 2001. It has six episodes. It’s a mess. It’s the best anime in the world. for me.

SO like,,,

of course I didn’t watch it when it aired, I was like, six at the time. I remember watching FLCL when I was in high school and figuring out life, you know the drill. I was starting my weeaboo years, it was one of the first anime I watched. The first time, I actually dropped the show on the first episode because it was just too nonsensical for me lmao

Then my friend insisted on me watching it. (Thanks Malu, holy shit.) That friend was also the one who made me confess to my current girlfriend back then?? We’re together for 4 years now.

I should really get in touch with Malu again, fuck.

anyway

where am I going with THIS OKAY so. I watched all 6 episodes of it in a day and I was left speechless. It spoke to me in such a deep level, like nothing ever had. Nothing ever came close to what FLCL means to me. Ever.

I’m not sure anything will

some people who have been following me for a while know this, I think, but,, you know when you say “oh this show is my religion”? Well, in this case it really is. it seems dumb, i know, putting it like that. But my entire philosophy in life comes from FLCL. From Mamimi. From Haruhara Haruko. From Takkun. These characters reflect who I am. When I didn’t even know who I was, they did. They helped me through some shit. Still do.

I have a FLCL tattoo on my wrist. It’s a yellow vespa with “never knows best” on top of it. It was my first tattoo

I was scared of what would come of this new season. Because FLCL was essentially Gainax; it was everything Gainax should have been for the rest of its life after Evangelion endded (also another show that reflects who I am, but I’m not gonna get into that). So hearing that Production IG was going to handle the animation made me feel uneasy. I thought the characters designs would change, the animation would change, the.... feeling of what FLCL truly is would cease to exist.

But watching that trailer..... man

it brought me back to my high school days, when I was still figuring shit out. And hell, I’m an adult now. And I still am figuring things out. 

Life is just you trying to figure things out and watching everything around you explode in a mess of bad decisions and good fleeting moments that make you want to stand on a bridge at dawn and eat stale bread with some company as you watch the river beneath. There’s not a place like that in my city, but there are places I can go to get that feeling.

that FLCL feeling.

so yea, this show is about growing up and becoming an adult. I grew up, I am an adult. I still don’t know shit. I can’t believe I was lucky enough to have Haruko come and save me once again as a 23 year-old mess of a person. like,,,, this show coming back in 2018 makes me certain that my life will change again in 2018. fuck

fuck 

i’m so excited for this change

cause you know. i still don’t know best

and i’m sure i never will. 

thank you for showing me this. and welcome back, FLCL.

[ayanxmi]

♚ ♢ ✎

The mun’s interpretation - ( accepting )

♚ - Do you agree with fandom interpretation of your character?

Well, there would have to be a character for me to agree with to begin with… and that’s typically the problem that I have seen with Rei in the Evangelion fandom over the decade. Rei is, without a doubt, the most popular character in the show since primarily I’ve dealt with people who cared little for Shinji and his problems, thinking him as a whiny shit, and also couldn’t put up with Asuka’s level of bitchiness, thinking her as completely ungrateful. I can argue against both since I’ve seen the series to death and, honestly, I can see the merits in every single character in this holy-mess-of-philosophical-fuckery. Rei, however, rarely gets talked against at all. In fact, very few people even talk about her at all when you get to the fandom about her. They either complement her ‘ beauty ’ and say she’s ‘ precious ’, or simply acknowledge her presence and don’t consider her greater role in the overarching story and just see her as a background character, and that portrayal isn’t typically much better when you looked over quite a few fan-fictions like I have over the years. 

The same is true there as Rei either does nothing, or she’s there to provide a tragic element or do exposition and that’s it, and the few stories that have her do anything at all present her as the Rei from the dream world in the last episode / Angelic Days, which while not bad at all ( in fact, one of my favorite interpretations of her in this regard comes from the fanfic Nobody Dies, who’s a psycho-super genki stalker who loves to meme and has godlike powers, sneaking around and surprising people in ways that not even Batman can outclass ) it still fails to properly portray Rei Ayanami. And really, I think the problem comes down to a failure on Hideaki Anno’s part because, as it’s been said, Rei was actually intended to be creepy and unnatural, someone who’s supposed to look human but not quite to the point to allow for discomfort. Unfortunately, the idea was presented far too subtly I feel to properly convey what they wanted to tell the audience about her and instead, way too many people sympathized with her and wanted to hold her like she’s precious and really needed to be protected or dismiss her for being extremely shallow, something I have a problem with most, if not all, characters who are described as an ‘ Rei Ayanami-type ’, because they wind up doing the same thing repetitiously and don’t even bother to give a reason why, making a ‘ moe character ’ ( which makes sense since Rei was the character that, sadly, gave birth to moe ) that needs to be protected and, consequentially, has absolutely no depth whatsoever because they are repeating the same thing without understanding who Rei Ayanami actually is.

Rei Ayanami is, like they mentioned in their intention, is someone who tries to be human but clearly isn’t. Her emotional capacity & growth is heavily stunted. Her inability to truly die has left her without a concept of fear and, thus, without a concept of self because there’s nothing truly about her that she’s afraid of showing to people. She does what she does because she must, but she is also aware of the fact of who she is and that no matter what she does, it’ll never amount to anything for too long because she’s aware that everything’s going to end by her hands anyway, so she has an extreme lack of passion in anything that doesn’t have the name Ikari, as they are the only people who give meaning to her purpose. She lacks understanding of being a person, and yet, is simultaneously wise and knowledgeable enough to tell people at a glance and see their pain. The best way to describe Rei is that, while she lacks it’s depth, she’s still as far and wide as the ocean. What you see is exactly what you get, but to comprehend the sheer size of everything she is so mind-boggling it can’t be easily quantified in a few words.

So, the short answer is that while I can see why she’s rarely focused on by people compared to Shinji and Asuka, I also can’t agree to them because I understand there’s more to her character that can’t be ignored. It’s that simple.

♢ - What’s your opinion on different interpretations of your muse?

Honestly, I’ve always loved to see other people take a crack at a character I play ( or other interpretations of character in general ) because it’s always been fun to see what other people see and both complement and argue from a different perspective. It’s why when I play with my Ryuko, I always value other Ryuko’s and their interpretations, even if I’m slightly guarded and argumentative about things I see them do that I can’t see either the character nor my interpretation doing. It’s still fun to see it.

Rei is very much the same way. Even in spite of what I said is the common problem in the fandom above, I still appreciate any and all interpretations whether they themselves fall into the same conundrum or not, because they still focus on her specifically and they must see something in her that’s worth focusing on and developing in some way. So, really, they just ramify the fact of what I said about Rei being as far and wide as the ocean. They really are another view into that ocean that is Rei and it’s truly enlightening to see someone else talk about Rei and what they think or feel she is, even if I don’t necessarily agree with that viewpoint. I joke about how Rei is my baby and all ( I also joke about how much shit I am too ), but it’s honestly fun and it really helps both me and the other person to question what we see there and help us get a better grasp of her character.

✎ - What do you wish the author would reveal/had revealed about your muse?

Though a lot of my opinions of what Hideaki Anno should have revealed are far and wide ( namely, a real explanation on what the hell Adam & Lilith are beyond the small hint we got in NGE2, or why Kaworu is really confusing to follow with all of his timey-wimey talk ), I’m typically satisfied with a lot of the mystery we get with Rei because, well, she’s just that. A mystery. Someone you aren’t supposed to understand well, but know enough to want to ask questions and think on why she’s like that. So, specifically talking about what I think Hideaki Anno and Gainax should have revealed about her doesn’t really work because she’s already, in my mind, perfectly described in the series if the subtleties are paid attention to, and it’s fun to quiz in on who she really is because of those subtleties.

But, what I can say I would like to have been more elaborated is what in the hell those apparitions of Rei actually were. Like the image we see at the very beginning of the series of Rei in the middle of the street before vanishing despite being wounded and across town, or how she repeatedly appeared in Shinji’s dream-state in ep.16 & 20, conversing and interacting with him as an actual entity rather than a figment of his imagination ( something the manga hints even more towards, especially when Shinji’s trapped inside Unit-01 ), or in the two scenes in End of Evangelion where she’s standing over Misato while she died or at the very end where she’s floating in the red sea looking back at Shinji before vanishing. We get a hint at quantum mechanics and metaphysics being involved in ep.23, and I have my own opinion on it, but the lack of direct elaboration at all does have me pulling hair occasionally.

[horrible-monstrosity]

17 We open with friendly neighborhood dumbass Akko studying studiously, sitting on a bench in a sunny grassy field which she ignores in favor of a massive stack of books like the bookworm Lottie only sort of is, while redhead side witch bitches about dropping out of school because she's just too cool. An... interesting entrance into the episode, to be sure.

Redhead turns herself into a dashing boys' school student. ..... Did the spell make her grow bollocks

"even though no one's asking you?" is a pretty weird way to ask someone about their dream. I don't think anyone asked redhead to become a broomdancer, or robots girl to become robots, or... anyone to do anything they just wanted to do. and again, she has already accomplished what she says she wants to do- the yeti, in the next episode robert girl, the fairy strike... this show does not know what it has done or what it's doing.

... Wait, are they really here to just fucking steal the grail from the school? why? I've already forgotten why they wanted it, and why petty theft by a couple of randos is so easily accepted as a method of getting it back. Are there no witch authorities who might have wanted in on this? Later redhead says it "belongs" to the guys' school as a way to deflect explaining how it works... shrugg

Have I mentioned yet that I like the supporting trio more than the main three? I could probably write a whole fucking essay on that. All three of them are straight-up archetypes... but that alone is enough to make them at least basically functional as characters. Because that's *why* archetypes end up as archetypes- it's a grouping of character tropes and traits that hits a chord with people. And that's why "cunning normal" was such a fucking retarded concept, Kiznaiverrrrrrr-

It's kinda weird she stays disguised even after getting caught... I guess this is actually consistent; it's been shown before you need to use another spell to transform back, meaning unlike most settings ontological inertia actually applies. but then later on the transformation seems to start slowly undoing itself for no reason anyway. How does this work? magic router?? why'd akko even take that?... whatever

we finally get some violence against witches (threatened but never put though because of course not), which doesn't explain anything but at least characterizes the guys as your entirely typical medieval-styled witch not-likers. The fact that this is what passes for an improvement in this fuckshow of a shitshow is just fucking sad. there are some actually tense and brutal scenes in there, some nice visual shots, like akko getting thrown on the table tied up and the distant side-shot of the guy getting hit by the armor... that aren't killed by wackyness! Amazding! ... Though it still doesn't quite work, probably because the show is still clearly too light-hearted to, say, actually use the torture devices. But them being pulled out isn't a wacky gag either aside from a bit of the reaction. what tone is this?

"y u no use ur magic on me??" "because there's no reception here dumbass the fuck do you think this works like"

Yet another interesting unaddressed plot point- magic was what got them into this mess and turned blong guy into an armored monster, and while a witch was the one who stopped it little to no magic was used in doing so, she basically just needed to smack him hard enough. It seems like the takeaway from this is that witches are perfectly fine people, but magic still needs to fucking die. hmm

by the way what happened to the wordfinding plot this episode

So clearly this was Croi boi testing her angery magicks, but I have to wonder... *why* is anger magic the strongest sort? I mean, it can basically only be arbitrary, but how convenient that her evil energy-having plan can't just go off by spreading feelings of sunshine and happiness.

18 "trained to catch every gost in 12 days, but the goal is one gost in one year"... This is literally, exactly, what Lottie says. What? Literally one minute in and like 20 seconds of dialogue and already this shit makes not a single lick of fucking sense.

akko trips and fucks things up again okay we fucking get i- why was that enpugh to breakm the fucking robort? akko's own body must be the most destructive object know to mankind.

We return to the generic wackey-qwackey humorisms the show had mostly shed in the last couple episodes, and it feels more forced than ever before. After all these thng I can't actually believe Akko's still this shit... and apparently the show itself doesn't either, since as soon as Akko finds something she can actually do it entirely stops. Once she starts working as a convincer/go-between/gopher, not a single thing gets broken. In other words, Trigger just abandoned her character development to churn out and force out more mediocre obligate humor. But at least it was only for, like, half of the episode.

on the other hand once she gets her shit back together the cards get brought back. That was always a kind of interesting little thing, that Akko knew some things even other witches didn't because of the fandom-ing that brought her to the school where she was otherwise so far behind everyone else. I mean, that just raises the question of why the other witches apparently never saw these cards and I feel like I asked exactly this many an episode ago so let's just move the fuck on again

isn't the ship from the OVA? it looks like the shiny rod... and like the same old vaguely eva-lagann looking shit. I forget what it was from Gainax that looked like that, but definitely it was something.

"I already know I won't be as good as Constance"... Man, when Akko's good, she's fucking good. She really isn't trampling over someone else with the conviction that she's always right about everything, she's just so excited she wants to draw a fucking robort. And then Candace loves it and is inspired to make it actually work. it's fucking cute man

gosts viral on social media Normies can't see gosts, but presumably Akko can. How is this actually determined? Rather, the deeper problem is that the line between witches and normies was never defined. There's some implication that it's hereditary, since everyone aside from Akko comes from a "witching family", but the very existence of Akko belies that. So if anyone can train to become a witch, how much training do you do before you become witchy enough to see gost? Actually, should people with latent potential be able to see gost? If Akko is bad at becoming a witch, logically there should be some people who would be better at it relative to her. Shouldn't there be some people in the crowd who can see gost as is? Also, do any males exist with any amount of witch potential, who could see ghosts on their own? If they had never called attention to it by doing the "gost can't see normie" thing, there'd be nothing to really question- you could assume witching is a skill like any other that people could aquire, that's often handed down through families like any other job or career, and that some people are just kind of terrible at. Buuuuut they had to get in this lame "muh on muh cell phone at tuh evuuuunnnt" joke and didn't think it through. Good work, Trigger, keep it up

how is many crow? how many gost We're shown each cube succing up at least one gost each, then multiple cubes forming one crow, but then there's a whole fucking lotta fucking crows. How many gosts were there? How many were left after the large amount that were already taken out? There's just an unmeasured infinite supply of gost somewhere offscreen to conveniently move in as needed. Trigger didn't think this through. And then a super-giant mega-crow shows up which must have used up even more gost. Great

and then the robort- OKAY TRIGGER WE GET IT YOU WUZ GAINAX ONCE CALM THE FUCK DOWN this is just so boring. YEAH, A FUCKING ROBOT, WE GET IT TRIGGER, YOU FUCKS HAVE FUCKING ISSUES. GAINAX-SENPAI WILL NEVER FUCKING NOTICE YOU, GET OVER IT. ... reactions from the peanut gallery are on point tho. akko even credits constantinople for her part in making this possible. she's a good kid. so good. too pure for this fucking show - the robort runs out of energy- WHY DID YOU NOT BRING A ROUTER YOU FUCKNAUTS THERE WAS ONE IN THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEEDING EPISODE WHY - it's a drill. it's a fucking drill. ........ i want to cry acid.

team cubes it blastign off againnnnnnfuck this gay earth

aww man akko doesn't even want to be thanked but compton gives her a training broom anyway. it's beautiful.

19 an old tradition and a new power... croix-was-write is written into the very fabric of reality in this show. good and then mom-diana fucking dies. LOL BYE BITCH.

why would you have the head-appointing ceremony randomly every few years rather than, like, when you need to appoint a new family head? it would even affect the exact same urgency, just have events come to a head so she needs to be pulled out of school and become family head now. why are they electing a baby teen as family head anyway? what age are these kids, anyway? akko looks like ten sometimes.

the second diana says "muh respekt for convention!!" you know she's gonna be treated as full of shit. it's over something we've never heard of and had no reason to assume, anyway. i don't even know "you know about the words?" you've blabbed them to everyone including the rival school that wants to execute you all, so why are you surprised?

...... LOL WHUT THE AUNT LITERALLY HAS GLOWING RED DEMON EYES WHAT THE FUCC?

.... Andrew is one of the best fucking characters in this shitshow of a show. The amount of fucks he's come to not give... Just invite the witch girl your father knows and hates to ride in your car squished up between him and yourself. And dad-man just can't fucking do anything about it. Holy shit lol and lol these british people sure fucking love soccer. boy i sure bet this isn't hammed-in foreshadowing for some fucking bullshit that's going to happen in the last episodes!!!! i'd fucking bet my lyfe on it !!!!!!

what fuck is diantha wearing We get another one of those nice moments that makes me hate the rest of the show. Akko, being energetic and people-oriented as always but somewhat more constrained due to the awkward and unfamiliar situation, tries to go for the teddy bear as an attempt to start some conversation with Diana... Diana yells at her not to touch it, and she actually does not touch it. Now go back and watch the robot episode again. HMMMMMMmmmmm Except it wasn't about the bear, it was about the box of Chariot cards, because of course Diantha actually likes Chariot, bet no one ever saw that twist comingHEY WAIT A MINUTE, didn't one of the earlier episodes hinge on Akko knowing something Diantha didn't because of the cards?? It can't be because Akko was the only one to autistically memorize them all, because Diantha is smurt character and should have remembered it at least somewhat just from reading it normally. kindness from diana, when the rest of the family and household is by akko's own statement even worse.

old lady yells at akko while unfitting music plays

[knightofbalance-13]

My Thoughts On LWA Episode 24

- Fuck you Croix -A Gainax/Trigger protagonist beating thye bad guy by holding back emotion...Yeah this is gonna back fire. -You know, my guess is that Chariot wieldinga magic lightsaber came from Studio Trigger collectively asking themselves: “How much more geeky can we get?” -Fucking hell Chariot, how strong are you? - WIth that illusion thing, trigger has achieved a level in geekiness. -So...magic Iphone beat magic Lightsaber? -Oh look, it’s the teahcer with the hate boner for Akko. Nice save. -SO humanity just douched the fake rod into activating? -God damn it humanity, all of this bullshit over a fucking soccer game? -Huh, the Soccerer Stone looks like a Core Drill - ANd now Chariot shrugs off a two story drop and leaps up three stories: What is she, fuckinbg WOnder Woman? -And now you are all Akko. Feel the suffering. -A mecha spider, really? -Well, this doesn't look ominous. - SO the World reconstruction magic was bubbles and stars and streamers? ... Huh, i think we found the nine original trolls. - HA! Get what you deserve bitch! -Bet Chariot’s just chilling, giggling at all the silly stuff. - Being Andrew is suffering. - Actually Croix, consi8dering Akko and Chariot were chosen to unlock it: yeah, this could very well be. - Yeah, I don’t feel sorry for you. AT all. Nice try with your temper tantrum Croix. - God damn it Croix, now everyone’s gonna die. -Technology, am I right? -Chariot, you are too good for own good. -Huh, that kick reminds me of the Izamui Kick...Chariot also sounds familar...let me check something... ... ... Holy shit. So apparently Chariot’s voice actress is Noriko Hidaka. For those of you whop don’t know, she also voiced the main character of Gainax’s first solo anime, GunBuster. So the person voiced by teh woman behind the first Gainax anime is teaching Akko, whose attitude basically makes her a stand in for Studio Trigger. .. Well, ain’t this a whole new level of meta? - Actually Chariot, the person who ACTUALLKY stole Akko’s power was that person you’re currently saving. I suggest you leave her to die3 for her sins. -As much a that is gonna rile up the diakko shippers, who are kind of high strung already, I like how both Diana and Akko are holding the Shiny Rod. -Fucking hell Chariot: Points for seflessness but she kind of deserves everything coming to her. -Akko is gonna open a can of Simon grade whoop ass! -Akko just “Legend of Zelkda’d” that dragon. - Oh...My. I hope this ends well. - Akko...you are precious. - “But Chariot is Chariot. And I’m me.” ... Did... did Akko just reach Simon’s level of development? Holy shit. - Congratulations Akko, you suffered as much as nay of your Gainax/Trigger kin. (yeah, including Simon.) You deserve it. - How’s it feel to be outdone by a twelve year old? - God damn it Trigger. Just for that, you owe us a season 2.