#but Ichigo JUST LEARNED how to do Special Appeals

[i-miss-music-247]

Y'all I just finished episode 17 of the first season of Aikatsu. I'm sitting here stunned but I also have some Thoughts™

[venus-says]

Aikatsu! Episodes 06-10

A bright smile to light up your day

I had a shitty day, and tomorrow promise to be just as a shitty so let's get some healing from idols.

WE SHARE THE SAME PROBLEM ICHIGO. Is very frustrating just writing up my name like a peasant in every contract or receipts, it makes me feel so boring and bland. But I never could come up with a design I feel good about. orz one of the reasons why I hate my name Thanks for kicking me in the balls, Johnny. OTL

The face of evil. 😂 Once again Aoi representing me. Gosh I love Ran. Hey nice to see they mention about brands and such, it was about time. (I hope we will start to see those soon, I'm getting tired of their school dresses)

also ICHIGO YOUR SIGN IS NO PRACTICAL AT ALL. The only time Johnny seems to make sense Ichigo just throws that through the window and says "I'm just gonna train", oh boy. 😅 Can't believe they're really doing the autograph session XD Okay I'm glad this episode wasn't just about getting a sign and that Ichigo learned that she also needs to care for her fans while doing it. Valuable lessons. NEW COORD, YAY! The song is still Idol Katsudou but I'm happy we're getting something different. Next is an episode about twitter, oh god XD

Okay what's the deal with making Nao see the girls training all the time? This makes him look like a creep. Ichigo, you need to stop Aoi, I think she's just a little obsessed. These cards came out of nowhere, what the fuck. Okay as much as there's things in this episode that I don't like I've gotta say this moment of Aoi and Ichigo just before Aoi's performance was really sweet. I almost cried. Man I love prism spiral. Another performance with no appeal 🤔 I wonder why. Uhhh I like this ending making it unclear of who sent the message. I'm pretty sure it was just Mizuki but still is nice to have this feel of mystery in the air. Okay next episode (and probably the last) before I go do the dishes from dinner.

Oh this is the episode about Hikari. You know I've always been curious about why is Hikari so popular. I've always seen her everywhere but she's just a side character so this always intrigued me, I hope I'll find the reason behind it now. Why is Ichigo recording a vlog? 😅 "Her singing is in another level" have you listened to the same songs as I did, Aoi? XD her voice sounds very weird to me 😅 Ran's story about how she got her first Spicy Ageha cards is so adorable, omg I wanna hug her.

PRECIOUS!!!!!! Idol Katsudou again...? 😅 Okay Hikari's voice here sounds more natural than in her cd. Ohhhhh first signs of Soleil coming together, I'm excited! So the episode ended and I still don't see anything special about Hikari. 😅 Do people like her just because she was the first non main character to get a CG performance? Or does she appears again later in a more relevant and likeable situation? Anyways, I managed to finish the cleaning faster that I expected so I think I'm good to do like yesterday and watch more two episodes. LESGOU.

Oh so this special audition is just like a normal school exam, I thought this was for a gig. XD I like how they make such a big deal of Premium Rare coords when nowadays idols are already debuting on PRs without we even seeing them in other coords of their brands. Damn this must be frustrating for the ogs. 😅 Anyway, I love how shy Ran actually is. 💜 Damn I just realized the A part of this episode ended before the 7 minutes mark. This is gonna be important huh? Oh is the Splash girls, I didn't knew they were part of the series since this early. Damn, Angely Sugar is old. Oh they actually got their PRs in this episode, I was expecting this to be in the next episode since, well, we've only seen them performing in branded coords once.

DAMN ICHIGO. Ok now I understand why climbing cliffs is so important in Aikatsu as a whole. Major RESPECT. Forget everything I was saying about them getting PRs even though we've only seen them in their brand coords just once. This was well deserved. Congratulations girls, specially to you Ichigo.

I'm glad someone actually touched in this subject. 😅 You did great girls! (Even though the trio appeal of season 1 is very weird, still kudos to y'all)

Okay let me watch the Otome episode and call it a day.

She really felt into the fountain because she was trying to touch the rainbow, oh boy 😅

They really wanna emphasize that Otome is a Pop idol, don't they? Watching this on April with a Christmas event being announced is very weird XD Otome's Pop'n Popcorn CM is freaking adorable, send help. Is Otome _really_ in love with Ran? XD well I can't blame her. OTOME IS PRECIOUS!!!!!!!

"KYUIN TO SOUL GA SHOUT SURU NO DESU" Isn't fun that Angel Snow is a song about winter and all but the stage is the most spring-like possible? Lol Okay this was very Orihime Ex Machina but I'm glad Otome's will have another chance, she's a cutie and she deserves it. u3u Okay I guess that's it for today. Tomorrow is the Christmas episode. I can't believe I'm saying this on April. LOL Anyway, see ya~

[precure-stuff]

So out of curiosity how does pure pallet compare to the other aikatsu protagonists from previous seasons? I’m still a little new to this franchise 😅

Well I’ve only watched Stars and just started Aikatsu(the first season)

Yume was interesting because she was learning all the ropes in Aikatsu and lost a lot to Laura/Rola. We learnt about dresses with her and saw the efforts she put in. Her mysterious power also came into play and gave us something to care about. Pure Palette formed and started winning a bit too fast. In Stars we still got to see other characters work toward their goals eg Mahiru’s rival, Ako’s acting. And we got to see Yume consult other people on what to do. She had a clear goal that was clear and achievable. Pure Palette isn’t that unique in that Aine wants to make a million friends and that has nothing to do with Aikatsu. I cant recall Mio’s goal. Pure Palette as a whole doesn’t put in as much work as Yume did and so their wins don’t feel very justified.

As for Ichigo, she was a pretty good idol at the start with the Special Appeal she pulled off in episode 1 but the anime made it clear she had a lot more to learn. She had to work for her Premium Rare, and competed in auditions. they never depowered anyone to let her win. They let Ran talk down to her and teach her. Aoi was able to have a solo episode without drowning out Ichigo. Ichigo’s kindness stands out a lot in season 1 nd I think thats what makes her really likeable.

[mageinabarrel]

2018 was yet another year of evolution in my journey as an anime fan. Throughout the year, I spent less time watching anime and less time engaging in anime-related activities like doing freelance writing, blogging, and livetweeting shows. So as I started to consider “my year in anime,” I wondered if I would have much to say.

I needn’t have worried. The year is 2018 and anime is still good, so in the spirit of the 12 days of anime project (that I didn’t do this year)—here are twelve anime things that brought me some joy this year.

I Rediscovered Anime Crushes

It had been a long time. A long time since I’d felt those little flutteries you get when an anime character is really cute, really good, and really nice. But even before I knew that Ginko was a space princess, I was enamored. Cute anime girls are a dime a dozen, but characters that exude genuine warmth and care in the way Ginko does—from her time as a princess all the way through her cathartic moment in Planet With‘s finale—are something special.

So I spent a nice time with Planet With, amidst all of the show’s other wonderful strengths, feeling a cozy bunch of crushy feelings about Ginko Kuroi. It’s silly, but it was nice to be reminded what it felt like to have an anime crush once again. And, seeing as Ginko is far and away the Best Girl of 2018, my heart couldn’t have made a better choice.

Space princess! Space princess! Space princess!

Finding My Fate Anime Niche

I’ve never really been much of a Fate fan. After an extremely poor experience with Fate/Zero, there’s never really been much to attract me to the sprawling franchise. But when you’re needing an that you can put on while washing the dishes and cooking and Netflix shoves Fate/Apocrypha into your face, what can you do? You can watch it, be surprised at how much you enjoy it (especially Astolfo), enjoy the fact that the two opposing Ruler characters are both Catholics, be wowed by the stunning animation of #22, and finish the show somewhat more positively disposed to Fate than you’ve been before.

This will lead you to give Fate/Extra LAST ENCORE a shot, and after the show gets over its early inclination to appeal to the audience’s presumed base desires for Nero, you’ll be stunned as the show pulls a truly evocative atmosphere out of the now-cliché SHAFT stylings you thought were too tired to be effective. You won’t understand quite everything that happens, but the tremendous thematic coherence and the way the character relationships evolve from dull to genuine will grip you. It’ll be one of your favorite anime of the year. And, in combination with Apocrypha, it’ll leave you feeling like maybe alternate universe Fate series are the ones for you—which is good to know.

3 Perfect Episodes

If you asked me to name my favorite episode of TV anime of the year, I’d probably give the honor to Hugtto Precure‘s #16. But, fortunately, I don’t have to make such a specific choice here, so I can also add Yama no Susume S3‘s #10 and SSSS.GRIDMAN‘s #9 to that list. If you watch these three episodes (honorable mention to Hugtto #4), you’ll likely see the stylistic similarities between them. Of course, there are also plenty of things to distinguish them from each other, but it’s those similarities—a strong affiliation with cinematographic language, a tight grip on the power of atmospheric storytelling, and a webgen animation-adjacent visual style favoring bold and flat colors—that stayed with me.

But more important even than those smaller details is a sort of ideological unity that these episodes share. Each is distinctly a cartoon, yet also displays an impressive level of cinematic sophistication. Although some might be tempted to place cartoon and cinema in opposition to each other, these three episodes are a brilliant refutation of such narrow thinking—they embrace, even dance, in the best qualities of both. They are proof that cartoon-making and film-making are not separate arts but, rather, one and the same.

Hisomaso Wins Everything

When it comes to TV anime this year, one show stands head and shoulders above the rest for me: Hisone to Maston. Yet another show confined to the Netflix dungeons, I wasn’t prepared to let the streaming giant deprive me of my chance to watch Mari Okada’s return to TV anime weekly, and Hisomaso, yes, was worth it. From story to scripts, background art to character design, OP to ED, Hisomaso had it all—including the X-factor of the adorable dragons.

In short, there was really nothing else that aired that was anything like Hisomaso. Cute and quirky throughout, thoughtful and incisive at times, funny and dramatic in turns, this anime had basically everything. In the final rundown of the year, I expect it’ll likely go criminally under-watched, underrated, and under-remembered, but such is the reality of the anime times in which we live. I, at least, will remember Nao head with immense fondness. We salute you, brave solider, and all you stand for.

An Ode to a Strawberry

What do I think of Darling in the FranXX? I think it’s bad. I didn’t finish it, but I watched enough to consider it a representative portion, so I’m comfortable making that kind of wholistic statement. Basically, I think the very early criticism I made of the show proved to be a crucial flaw in the whole dang thing. But Ichigo? Ichigo was very good. She might have done a few things wrong, but not many. I liked Ichigo. 苺 means strawberry, and Ichigo was a very good strawberry with a killer character design.

No anime watcher is unfamiliar with the phenomenon of a good character—or even just a character the really appealed to them personally—stuck in a bad show, but I’d be hard pressed to think of another character who surpasses Ichigo’s gap between her relative goodness and the quality of her show. Not only was she cute and a childhood friend, but it was fascinating watching her navigate her complex feelings for Hiro, try her best to be a good leader for her team, and struggle against her own flaws. Best girl? Heck yeah. Eat your heart out, Zero Two stans!

Matsumoto Chocolate

This year, Rie Matsumoto (Heartcatch Precure! Hana no Miyako de Fashion Show…Desu ka!?, Kyousougiga, Blood Blockade Battlefront) storyboarded a few random episodes for other anime here and there. But in the time that she’s had a last major project, which if you’re counting like I am is THREE DAMN YEARS, other of her contemporaries have had multiple films released and done other great things. Meanwhile, aforementioned storyboards, the Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond ED, and whispers of a possibly discontinued film project aside, Matsumoto’s existence itself has been in question.

That’s why, when “Baby, I Love You Daze,” a music video/commercial directed by Riechang-kantoku herself and backed with some legitimate animation power, appeared almost out of the blue, I experienced a rush of joy unlike anything else I felt this year. Not only was Matsumoto back with something completely original, but it was a delightful, energetic little thing emblematic of pretty much everything I love about her as a director.

Please 2019. Give us something, literally anything. An announcement, an actual show or film. I don’t care. Give us back Rie Matsumoto.

This Bit is about Liz and the Blue Bird…

Wow, I saw a lot of anime movies (in theatres!) this year! Thankfully, I wasn’t asked to be on any year-end anime panels, so I wasn’t forced to make a choice that would kill me—to pick my favorite anime of the year. Liz and the Blue Bird, which is a stunning, delicate, spectacular, [blah blah blah how to make actual words about this damn thing] film, would be one of the top contenders, although as you’ve seen I can barely articulate what about it impressed me so much. But this is a blog post, so I will try.

If we set aside the craft elements (HA! You coward!), the heart of Liz is that its resolution is about something like learning to let go. Mizore and Nozomi are different people, with their own paths to follow in life. And yet, at the same time, they love each other deeply, and that love makes such realizations difficult to even perceive—as both struggle to do throughout most of the film—and to accept. But that catharsis of letting go, which is in many ways similar to the slow process of grief after the death of a loved one, is healthy. Love can tempt us to possessiveness, to illusions of control and ownership. But we may find in letting go that love can flourish in newer, healthier, and truer ways than we’ve known. [Editor: This paragraph might be complete garbage. Please give Bless some leeway if you think so. An attempt was at least made.]

…and This Bit is about Maquia.

I could not pick between Liz and Maquia if you asked me. I could not do it. Unlike the previous pair of Yamada/Okada analogues, Koe no Katachi and Anthem of the Heart (which is dominated by Anthem), these two films are at once so similar in concern (love) and yet so different in every other way that I could not, in my great fondness for each, possibly choose between them. They are, together, the best anime I saw this year. Fortunately, unlike with Liz, I’ve already struggled through the pain of writing about stupidly good things with Maquia. So you can read that if you like.

Maquia‘s merits left to my prior writing, the other thing that made Maquia particularly special for me as a moment in my 2018 anime-watching is what it represents for Mari Okada’s career. Okada was the first anime creator’s name I ever learned, and it was because she had been involved with so many anime I loved. So seeing her continue to grow as a writer over time, seeing her reputation improve, and seeing her career flourish to the point that she was the chief director for her own movie has been really special—and Maquia is, in many ways, the culmination of that journey so far. Here’s to you, Okada-san! May you have many more works to come!

Owned by Macross. Again.

Early in the year, I watched Macross Flashback 7. Now, Macross has some horribly gratuitous parts to it—and I love them all—but you could make a very, very compelling case that FB7 is caps them all. The plot of the OVA/movie/special/whatever is that Ozama Lee finds some VHS tapes that basically contain the footage of Macross 7, which results in most the main members of Macross Frontier coming over to his and Ranka’s apartment to watch them. Yes, the Macross Frontier characters get together to have a Macross 7 watch party. I could type that out again in all caps, but I won’t.

That on its own is pretty pandering, but then the whole thing concludes with a Sheryl and Ranka mega-medley of Macross 7 songs with Basara even appearing in some of the background vocals. I was basically in tears by the end of the performance, which is just ridiculous, but that’s just what Macross does to me. It swings for the fences, trusts you love Macross, and gives you the fanservice you want, with big guitars and Sheryl and Ranka belting “OMAE NO MUNE NI MO LOVE HEART” in unison, and the gleeful stupidity of it all just smacks you in the gut and you feel the tears coming because it’s Macross, dammit, and you love Macross. Point, Shoji Kawamori.

A Comic Girl Isn’t As Good as a Doujin Game Artist, but I’ll Take It Anyways

If 2017 was the year of Saekano Flat, then 2018 was the year of me desperately hoping I’d find another show about creatives that would move me in the same way. I didn’t, but I did find Comic Girls, which gave me enough periodic artist anxiety that it earned a mention here.

Actually, looking back on Comiga, I think I actually didn’t give the show the credit it deserved at the time. While it was airing, one of my main complaints about it was that Kaos’ perpetual incompetence made it difficult to believe that she was indeed a manga artist with an editor, but then I think about my own haphazard art practice habits and my own incompetence despite my desire to be an artist and suddenly I feel like maybe it was spot on. So, just like Kaos, as down in the dumps as I might feel about my work and my talent and the speed at which I’m progressing, I’m not going to give up. Even though it hurts sometimes, I’m not going to give up! So yeah, thanks for that, Comiga.

METAL OVERMAN KING GAINER

In 2018, I finished watching Overman King Gainer. Inspired by my positive experience with Reconguista in G, I was interested in watching another original Tomino show, and settled on King Gainer mostly because I’d seen the OP on YouTube, and thought it was awesome. This proved to be a good choice, as King Gainer has many good reasons to watch it. I enjoyed the show quite a lot, and had fun tweeting about it and learning about some aspects of its production.

But that OP… I went out a bought it and let me tell you, there is nothing like coming to the end of a run with the Overman King Gainer OP pumping in your ears as your make a final sprint to the tree that marks the end of your workout. King Gainer‘s broadcast ended in 2003, but that song is timeless. 2018 may have been a crappy year for the world as a whole, but according to iTunes I listened to “King Gainer Over” about 60 times, so it’s impossible to say whether the year was truly bad or not.

And those were the highlights of my year in anime! I’ll probably put together a little graphic at some point for my top shows, but this’ll be the only blog post from me wrapping up the year. Happy New Year’s to you all, and here’s to a wonderful 2019!

What were some of your favorite shows, episodes, moments, or anything else of anime in 2018?

12 Anime Things that Made Me Happy in 2018 2018 was yet another year of evolution in my journey as an anime fan. Throughout the year, I spent less time watching anime and less time engaging in anime-related activities like doing freelance writing, blogging, and livetweeting shows.

[techouspeaks]

A Review Of Something: Aikatsu

Idols in virtual reality? I take a look at Aikatsu and the next review will be of Aikatsu Stars! Warning, this review may contain spoilers.

Anime genre is full of idol anime. It’s been a big hit for a while and truth be told, it’s hard to tell when it started, but the one that kick started the idol anime craze of recent would have to be Pretty Rhythm. I would say Macross Frontier except the whole idol thing didn’t seem to really kick in after that.

What made PR stand out was the fact that idols would have special jumps during their dance performances. (Plus they were figure skating.) Not long after, Bandai would create a series that gave PR a run for it’s money, to where the successor of PR, Pripara would seem to copy it and that series is Aikatsu.

Aikatsu stands for “Idol Activity”. The series takes place in a school where young girls would learn to sing, dance, and create virtual costumes to perform on a virtual world stage. That’s right. Virtual reality. When people put on on these ear phone sets, they’re allowed to see a virtual stage that can take place anywhere and see a special aura on the idols. Each aura is different to each individual idol.

Instead of sewing dresses, the dresses are made in these cards and set in a wardrobe like computer, in which the character goes through to the virtual stage. The dresses pop on as the girl goes through each of the card pieces, creating the complete outfit. Each card comes from a brand, either of other brand makers or by her own brand. Each brand has a different theme of their own, such as Angel Sugar is cute with frilly outfits and Love Moonrise with a celestial theme that is mature and romantic.

The first series centered around Ichigo, her friend Aoi and Ran as they attend one of these special schools for idols, Starlight Academy. Ichigo is unsure of being an idol at first but later starts to be more into it, as she performs with the greatest idol of Aikatsu,  Mizuki Kanzaki. Together they go through hardships, happy days and days of hard work as they become better idols and better people in general.

As time goes on, new young idols show up to take the place of Ichigo and her friends as they graduate and move on in Season 2 and 3.

 So, it’s basically your run of the mill slice of life with idols in a virtual setting. How does it hold up? Well, I’ll go on with some of the things I don’t find bad but it does make the series a little weak and that’s the characters and over all story.

The characters aren’t bad but the main cast most often feel one dimensional. Ichigo and her successor, Akari are positive, happy go lucky leaders. Major differences is that Ichigo is more down to earth and at first, didn’t want to be an idol but changed her mind after seeing Mizuki perform. Akari is more clumsy and naturally wishes to be an idol from the start. Then you have the mature ones Ran and Sumire, the bubbly and hyperactive ones Nina and Otome, ect. Most of the time the characters just feel like a type than a character, with a exception of few such as Yurika, Rin, Hinaki and Mizuki.

I’m not saying they’re bad. In fact, I do like Mizuki and Hinaki, (blonde hair girl pictured above) which are of the few characters that don’t feel too one note or a character you’ve seen. It’s just you’ve seen many these characters before and kinda know what’s going to happen to them. They’re charming at least, just not really that deep.

And as interesting as Aikatsu is in the first three seasons, story tends to get stale at times, repeating lessons you already know, due to season 2 and 3 starting off with new characters. That’s another issue too. There’s so many characters and they try to make them different but often feel a little flat at times. The only thing I will says that at least in terms of style, they do try to make character seem a bit different. Like Nina and Otome are twins practically in personality, but Otome’s theme is candy and fruit, while Nina is monsters and cute mechanical toys. They have different likes at least to change it up, though not by much.

However, even as I say this, I will say I prefer following these characters than most characters in other idol anime such as Love Live and Idol Master. I couldn’t get myself attached to many of the characters in Love Live with the exception of two and most of the time, the characters in both Love Live and Idol Master sound so whiny, I don’t even care what their personalities are. I just either want them to sing, because they sound less annoying surprisingly when they sing or just shut up. With the Aikatsu characters, I at least don’t feel annoyed or feel hatred towards any of them and again, I like more characters in this than any of those series.

Oh and there are some interesting plot lines. In some episodes they do a random mission, in which something will happen like a character becomes a vampire and it’s up to the main heroes to stop them and turn everyone back to normal. Or the school upholds a special stage where a character is sneaking in somewhere trying to steal something. Usually these episodes are in there because acting is part of the idol activity, as idols have a character of themselves. Basically a persona of themselves. That and they help the character physically or emotionally sometimes.

Those episodes are usually the ones that stand out because it happens unexpectedly and they’re the most fun to watch episodes.

The things that do make the series stand out for me especially is the animation and how it improves over the seasons, the designs of the outfits and the songs. 

The animation does improve in time, which is a good sign for any series in general. The 3D animation used in performances starts out pretty crappy, but as seasons progressed, the rendering becomes so much better.

The designs of the idol costumes of Aikatsu is gotta be the best designs I’ve seen in an idol anime. They try to make each one different and fitting to the person that wears that brand the most and it really shows.  Mizuki’s (purple hair girl in the pink) brand Love Moonlight and Love Queen are one of my favorite designs. 

(Anime above is Love Live)

Lot of idol anime tends to have either designs that are way too flashy and frilly, they all look the same, plain or too much sex appeal...Seriously, there is nothing sexy about middle school and high school age girls. Even Aikatsu, who has a “sexy type” brands, least are more settle! The characters least don’t have large boobs and some of the skirts are actually long. 

 Aikatsu sometimes goes over the top and sometimes the idols may have to wear similar outfits, but for the most part, they put in enough detail and unique flare that makes the designs flashy but still appealing to look at and respecting the character’s own style. That and again, they don’t try to make the characters over sexual, even with midriffs and the skirts. You can tell they’re just trying to sing, dance and do a good performance. I dunno if it’s just because the age of audience is different between those anime and this, but it’s rather refreshing to see an idol anime that doesn’t focus in on boob shots, don’t have moments that seem a bit perverted and having characters that don’t look like they have water balloons stuffed in their bra.

The songs in Aikatsu are awesome. While you’re not going to expect Celine Dion range of vocalization, you can expect some catchy tunes that...Big shocker! Aren’t all love songs! They sing about other things besides first crushes, wanting someone to fall in love with them and partying.

That’s one thing that often turns me off about a lot of these idol anime. Most of the time, the songs in other idol anime are nothing but love songs with occasionally one or two songs that may be about something else. While they’re not all bad. In fact, as stated, I do like it when Love Live u’s and Aquors sing, but how many songs about love can you possibly write? 

Aikatsu songs are different. Some sing about love but most subjects range in achieving one’s dreams, working hard, relaxing and enjoying life, something about the character’s trait, telling a story, positive feelings, dealing with negative feelings, parting from friends or loved ones, being grateful for what you have, growing up and moving on. They sing about different things and often the song matches the character’s that sing them. That’s what I love about Aikatsu songs. They don’t feel like a broken record and all sound different and unique. 

That’s what makes Aikatsu songs more memorable than most other songs. I like the music from other idol songs but you’ll more likely find me humming a song like Precious, over a song from Love Live or even Pretty Rhythm any day.

So with further a due, I award Aikatsu a good 7 stars out of 10. The characters can be slightly one dimensional at times and the story can be flat sometimes but the characters are charming, they don’t sound whiny and the songs, animation, concepts and designs are all the more worth going through the weaker sides. Put on your best dress and see for yourself!

7 Stars

Level: Great!

Next, will the successor of the first series be better than it’s predecessor? Find out, as I review Aikatsu Stars! 

[saranel]

Thanks for the update to TEF! Love ALL your fics! I'm wondering if you think there would even be any attraction between Urayoru if they never grew up together? Would he even have made it to Captain? Would they have been friends, anyway? Thanks and looking forward to your answer :)

Tyyyy!

And I love your question, because one of the things that makes the UraYoru relationship so special has always been their connection since childhood.  So what happens when you take that away?

For starters, I believe we’d be looking at two different people.  Not radically so, but to put it in the words of one of my favorite quotes about relationships:

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” – Carl. G. Jung  

(THE AU I DIDN’T KNOW I NEEDED UNDER THE CUT)

If TBTP is any indication, Kisuke in his youth was a far more reserved person than the behatted trickster Ichigo first meets.  And bear in mind that this is a Kisuke already influenced by Yoruichi, so I can only imagine how much shier he must’ve been as a young boy.  What’s interesting, however, is the slow reveal that Kisuke in TBTP was still the same deep down, he simply lacked some of the confidence that was most likely the product of his tenure as a Captain.

I don’t believe Kisuke’s playful (and darker) side was the result of his association with Yoruichi; I believe that she drew out what was already there, lying dormant.  Kisuke and Yoruichi are kindred spirits in many ways, but differ in the way they express themselves: where she will make no apologies about her brazen nature and openly tease someone, Kisuke is a manipulator who employs subterfuge to produce the same result, and not only enjoys it, but also feigns innocence –however poorly- after the fact.  

One of the aspects of Kisuke’s personality I enjoy the most is the occasional peek into his more sinister side.  And as much as Yoruichi seems to encourage it and even share it at times, I think that with Kisuke, it goes much deeper.  In fact, I firmly believe that a friendless Kisuke could have easily become someone dangerously close to Aizen.  It’s not that Kisuke doesn’t have a moral compass, or that his friends and loved ones act like it, but rather Kisuke strives to be better because of them (see: his completely new attitude toward Ichigo once he starts to truly care about him). 

There’s also the matter of motivation to consider.  Fun though the anime version of TBTP was, we have no idea how Kisuke and Yoruichi came to the decision to nominate him for Captaincy.  Our only clue comes from Kisuke’s reflection after his first day, where he muses out loud that Yoruichi was right:

This implies that Kisuke did need a bit of convincing, but the quote he repeats explicitly states that Yoruichi’s main argument was that becoming a Captain would be ‘interesting.’  At no point does Kisuke say anything to the effect of: “Yoruichi-san was right; it’s high time I stop messing around.” What this tells me is that Kisuke, like many a genius before him, was bored.  As averse as he seems to be to assuming responsibility, he’s a natural leader when he’s confident, and I’m willing to bet Yoruichi, who knew him so well, also knew that this was the kind of challenge he needed to truly shine.  

Even more tellingly, Kisuke wastes no time in going forward with his plan to create the SRDI, which tells me it must’ve been on his mind for a while.  But a Third Seat simply doesn’t have the necessary clout to get an organization like the SRDI approved by the Powers That Be, which leads me to believe that this was yet another reason Yoruichi wanted him to get the promotion.  I can easily picture Kisuke talking her ear off for years beforehand about his sole ambition.

What I’m getting to with all this prologue is that a mind like Kisuke’s would not have been content to remain idle for long, with or without Yoruichi’s intervention.  Sooner or later, one of his superiors would have taken notice, so I think he would’ve made Captain anyway, even without Yoruichi there to give him a swift kick up the ass nudge.  Personally, I would love to picture him as a dark horse of sorts from the Fourth Division.  Y’all know how I feel about Kisuke’s bloodlust, and the idea that Unohana could have discovered him, so to speak, as a Kidō genius and a secret zanjutsu badass (now even more so because of her tutoring) makes me beyond giddy.  Just try and picture him as the deceptively meek underling from the healer squad who suddenly shows up for the Captain Exam and jaws start dropping all around when he whips out Benihime.

On the friendship front, since Yoruichi is out, this means that Kisuke didn’t grow up in the Shihōin estate and thus never met Tessai, either.  So I see him as a pretty withdrawn kid who only barely socialized during his Academy years, got a little better at it as an active Shinigami, and just because their friendship gives me life, I like to picture a possible scenario in which he struck a friendship with Shinji before he made Captain.  Which would’ve helped bring him out of his shell a bit.

As for Yoruichi… I think that Kisuke’s absence from her life would have marked her in deep, but not easily noticeable ways.  I’ve spoken before about my headcanons re: the Shihōin Clan and how the pressure to live up to their expectations affected Yoruichi’s life.  Personality-wise, I don’t think Kisuke was as big an influence to Yoruichi as she was to him, in the sense that I think she was already a spunky, outspoken kid.  If anything, perhaps she learned to exert a small measure of control over herself earlier on than she would have without him.

I do, however, believe that Kisuke was a massive catalyst in the way Yoruichi balanced duty and personal desires, because I think that the Training Grounds he built for them was the first true taste of freedom Yoruichi ever had.  And without it, I can picture her having a much more tumultuous relationship with her family, and a far rockier path to becoming the head of her clan.  And given how both Kisuke and Yoruichi do not trust easily, their absence from each other’s lives would’ve made them even less likely to open up, in the sense that their relationships (both platonic and romantic) would’ve been far more superficial.  For Yoruichi, I believe the exceptions were Kūkaku and Tessai (and perhaps Kaien, to a lesser extent), which would’ve made her a significantly less lonely child than Kisuke, but still without someone who understood her intimately.

So basically, I believe that without Kisuke, Yoruichi would still strive for the same excellence in her career and reach Captaincy before he did, though perhaps later than she did in canon, since they both also lacked a good sparring partner.  Yoruichi’s proficiency with Kidō would not be quite at the same level, and similarly, Kisuke’s hand-to-hand combat and Shunpō prowess would’ve suffered as well.  Not to a terrible degree, since I think both were talented enough to excel even on their own, but they wouldn’t have become the legends they were until after they met in this ‘universe.’

On a personal level, Yoruichi would, as mentioned above, appear more or less the same person to the unknowing eye, but would have an even harder time opening up to anyone.

So what would happen when a meeker Captain Urahara met this version of Captain Shihōin?  Well… sparks for one thing ;)  Chemistry is something you either have or you don’t.  It can’t be forced, and those two have it in spades, so there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t in this universe as well. 

I don’t think Yoruichi would have been very impressed with Kisuke upon first glance.  That is beyond finding him cute, because c’mon:       

In order for her to actually take notice, she would have to be afforded a peek into his darker side, and the way I can see it happening is either during a joint mission, of sorts, or better yet, during his Captain’s exam.  Cute little woobie shuffling into the exam room all smiley and puppy-like, then he pulls out Kannonbiraki and Yoruichi is all: “HOLD THE FUCK UP.”

Which, of course, piques her curiosity and leads her to try to get to know him a bit.  Perhaps by getting him to talk about the SRDI, and talking about the inventor side of her own family. And by the time they’re done talking, she’s more stunned and impressed by his genius than she’d like to admit.  Kisuke, in comparison, is a goner the second he hears her laugh, this is not even up for debate.

The way I see romance blossoming in this scenario is a little ass-backwards, to be honest xD As in Yoruichi finds him interesting enough to take him to bed and sees it as a completely casual affair, whereas Kisuke is 1000% smitten and tries to win her over bit by bit.  Which he does, of course, but it takes a while, because Yoruichi is a stubborn, stubborn woman.

I can even picture them being non-exclusive at first (mostly on her side) and then her slowly coming to the realization that she’s only really interested in him, so the prospect of seeing other people gradually loses its appeal until it vanishes altogether.

…………………..

……………

……You realize, of course, that now I must write this AU.

…………..Dammit.