#but if i remember correctly the anime is pretty faithful to the plot of the manga

[piratespencil]

What if you read The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas and asked, “What if the child was determined to escape their fate? Would it be morally right to help this child be free, knowing you would be dooming thousands to starvation and poverty and despair? Or would it be morally right to stop this child, even kill this child, to protect those thousands? And what if the child, in order to escape their fate, had to do terrible things? Had to hurt and kill? Is that child still innocent? Even as they get older? At what point does that child become a monster, even if they are a monster of your making? It is not enough to walk away - the child is here, at your doorstep. What will you do?”

If any of that sounds interesting to you then you should watch Dororo (2019), a one season anime that is pretty much exactly this concept except it’s set in feudal Japan and involves demon hunting.

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Ninjago the Island!!! 🏝🏝🏝

So, gotta be honest... this is not a Blind reaction thing, I actually watched it in French first so I know most of the stuff already 😅 It's entertaining, it got great animation, but nothing more than that in my opinion 🤷‍♀️

Still there is stuff I liked or I want to point out, and finally I'm seeing the English version so I can actually understand what the HECK they are saying 🤩

Alright, nothing else to say, here we go!

UNCHARTED

I haven't actually seen anything Clutch Powers related before Ninjago, is he always like this? I love that he is a jerk honestly, just wondering 😂

Press F for respect for intern Dwaine (at least he seems to like being... used?)

Clutch: It's just a bunch of rocks! It's not alive!

Totem: I'm about to end this man's whole career

Wait, Misako is part of the explorers club? ... that would have come in handy in season 11 to get the scroll of Forbitten Spinjitzu from the club instead of begging uncle Powers for it... *sighs* I don't mind plot holes in Ninjago like most fans I think, but if you wanna make Misako relevant again at least pay attention to the details 😅

Wow, after the end of season 13 I would've thought Wu was going to go through a midlife crisis, not Misako 😂😂

Oww, everytime I hear I get 😢 Bless your soul Kirby, always in our hearts 🖤🖤🖤

Well hello Brian

Always nice to see you 😊

Twitchy Tim must have been pretty interesting to voice 🤔 I like him enough, he's fun and all, maybe not at the level of the characters we got last season

Okay, the place is called the STORM belt, there are LIGHTNINGS, and the sand of the beach is BLUE. Are we gonna address any of these similarities to our Bluebell here or not? 😅

Wait, Tim was giving a hot air balloon tour, does that mean other people where with him? What of them? Are they dead? Did he let them die on the island?... am I reading too much into this? Probably 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Alright, the part of the boats? SO COOL 🤩🤩 I literally can't say anything bad about the animation at this point

Why did they think leaving Kai, Jay and Cole on one boat was going to be a good idea 😂 Also Zane just randomly doing sick tricks on his vehicle, love that nindroid

I'm guessing Nya is keeping her water abilities for her season 🤷‍♀️

Yep, yep, this is why the creators try to keep Pixal out of the adventures, with her everything is way too cool and easy to access to 😎😎

Twitchy Tim: There are statues that become alive!!

Lloyd:... so it's a season 2 stone army ripoff, we've seen worse

It's a cute episode overall 👍

THE KEEPERS OF THE AMULET

OKAY THE INTRO IS SO FREAKING COOL 🤩🤩🤩🤩

So Twitchy Tim has temporarily taken over Jay's role of spazzing out and complain about worse case scenarios... in another occasion they might have bonded over this, maybe 😂

Okay, survival position? MOOD

Nya: DRAGOOON 😱

Me: DRAGOOOOOOON 😍😍😍

Why am I not surprised that Jay was the one that named him Zippy? 💙 Also HE'S SO CUTE 💕💕💕 Love how in every adventure, we always get very different types of dragon in this show 👌 I'm a simple person, I see a dragon... 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

Oh-oh, it's the "Lloyd's done with this crap"'s face

This means serious business... am I that used to LEGO characters that this way of crossing arms on the chest looks almost normal to me? 😅

Soooo, Master of the Mountain clearly gave Cole too much development... because now he got demoted to "the one who is always hungry" 🤦‍♀️ I'm all for Cole's endearing love for cakes, which is super relatable, but if you're gonna push it on his fun side, at least be coherent 🙃

Is it just me or it feels like the writing of this special was made by someone different from the one of season 13? Like, it's not bad, just less engaging and witty. For now. Maybe I'm being premature 🤷‍♀️

New way of nerfing powers, we got... weird, sucking power totem thingies... OKAY

My gosh I really can't say anything about the animation, look at that! It's all cinematic with such a light! YES!! 🤩

I'M SORRY

WHY ARE WE LOOKING OVER THIS??? IT LOOKS LIKE COLE'S LAVA PUNCHES BUT THEY ARE JAY LIGHTNING FEET??? IT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT AGAIN??? WHY ARE WE IGNORING THIS??? 💙💙💙💙

So they at least addressed that lightning isn't a Jay's thing only anymore 😅

Alright, Jay having a mental breakdown because of a bridge because it always breaks, that's the Bluebell I know and love 😂😂 Nya telling him to keep moving was cute too 💙❤💙❤

Okay, I'm sorry but this really bothers me, what kind of lightning can instantly knock out the MASTER OF LIGHTNING??? Like, my gosh, really??? I hope they give us an explanation, like it's some sort of special lightning, because this really doesn't sit right with me. Jay is lightning proof, we've seen it in Skybound, we've seen it in Sons of Garmadon, I DON'T BELIEVE HE WOULD JUST BE KNOCKED OUT LIKE THAT 😡😡😡

Soooooo, storm amulet? Being one with the lightning? Is that the reason why Jay got to be the sacrifice? 😅

THE GIFT OF JAY

Alright, I am kinda looking forward for this one, what did Bluebell actually say or do to get him into trouble this time 😂😂

Oh, he just... introduced himself... well that was underwhelming

SENSEI👏YOU👏ARE👏A👏FREAKING👏GOD👏STOP👏GETTING👏KIDNAPPED👏BY👏RANDOM👏VILLAINS👏

Bring ooooon Lloyd Grills 💪

Okay I did like the little speech, definitely resonates with how Lloyd survived this long even though everything wanted him to give up, even his father... I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING 😭

Jay out there making the real questions 😂

Awwww Edna used to call him gift of Jay? I can totally see it, so cute 💙💙 Makes even more sense if Libber actually left Jay at the Walkers' door...

Pff, Jay made the connection I would've done honestly 🤷‍♀️ Like, him being the master of lightning really didn't give these dudes any impression or inspiration? Any cool idea, full Road of El Dorado style? 🙃🙃

Lloyd out there abusing of the animation budget 💚💚💚

Somehow these ninja never actual sneak in, it's always a huge mess everyone knows about beforehand 😂 It's familiar though, I'm used to it and happy with it 👍

I might not be the biggest Misako fan, but you know what I am a fan of?

LEGO HUGS 😍😍😍😍😍

Dang it uncle Powers, you just got here to make a mess did you 😅

Not the first person of the fandom to say this, but Jay looks absolutely lovely with that flower crown 🌺🌺🌺

Oh poor greenie

Lloyd just has the worst luck 😓

Jay: Why would I be the gift?

Kai: Yeah who would want Jay?

Nya: Huh, me?? 😡

Got some very good Jaya for this little special, can't complain 💙❤💙❤

I mean, not matter how big of a snake Wojira might turn out to be, we've already seen the biggest and the second biggest snake of all so 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Whoa, at last... IT WAS THE FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER THAT HAD SOMETHING HE SHOULD'VE TOLD WU A LONG TIME AGO!! 😱 Wu, you got pulled a Wu, how does it feel? 😂

Again, Jay freaking out, kinda my jam it's too funny 💙💙

Wow Kai way to be hominous offscreen 👏👏 I miss talking about my flame babe, this really isn't his time 🤷‍♀️

THE TOOTH OF WOJIRA

So when I first watched this I was genuinely, really excited about knowing the truth behind all this. It turned out very different from what I first thought, but at least in this case it's okay (besides I was pushing with the lightning meaning just to see Libber again 😅😅😅)

I feel like the guys get their powers stolen or blocked so much it takes them a minute to remember "Oh wait I can literally burn my way out" 🤷‍♀️

SPINJITZU YAY 🤩

I... forgot that Misako knows how to fight 😅 She knows how to do spinjitzu too if I remember correctly...

NYA BEING LIKE "OUT OF THE WAY IMMA SAVE MY BOYFRIEND AGAIN" ❤💙❤💙

Gotta love how they were all crazy worried about Jay, like, this is something that never changes through the show. They really care so so much for each other 💕💕💕

Ooohhhh, okay, so Wojira does seem to be the main villain of next season according to the story. I remember Tommy saying that we needed to have faith and this is probably why. The special was okay, nothing too much, and hopefully that too much we will see in Nya's season 😍😍😍

What the- pff, I didn't notice this the first time 😂

At this point I can't tell if that one short with the chicken of the movie carried a hate or a love for chickens in the actual show 😂😂

Nice to see Jay standing up for himself at least for a little while 💪 Also Lloyd being "He's our trouble", aww family 💜

THERE IT IS

MY BRUISE HEART IS SOARING 🖤💙🖤💙

Gotta give props to the voice actors, voicing an explanation while fighting must be pretty hard! WE ARE BLESSED WITH AN AMAZING CAST!!! 🤩🤩🤩

And there he is, our favorite jerk... shaved Ronin 😂 He does look a little weird, but it's fair, new animation and all. Not the weirdest until now 🤷‍♀️

I genuinely had to make a mental check to see where we are with Ronin now, like, he started as a villain, then a partner, he betrayed us, became an ally, he hunted the ninja, then joined them, that timeline was erased, he was around in SoG and... wow this man is chaotic 😂😂

Yaaaay, Twitchy's last minute redemption act! Lloyd is too good at motivational speeches 👏👏

A bit of Lava OTP/BrOTP

Cause it's good for the heart ❤🖤❤🖤

Okay, Scooby doo reference, why not? Also honestly, I'm confident Ronin has seen A LOT of jails and prisons... probably won't stay behind bars for long 😅

Mammatus: sorry for imprisoning you and almost killing your friend

Kai: no biggie, that's how we make friends in this show

Alright the "And Clutch Powers" gag made me chuckle 😂 ... wait where is he- DANG IT UNCLE POWERS

Okay, this is the last time I say it I promise, but I mean. I MEAN

THE ANIMATION GUYS 😍😍😍

Aaaaand sensei you jinxed it 😅 But you apparently awakened Nya's season so I'm gonna forgive you on this one 😉

FINAL THOUGHTS

There are a few little details that bothered me a little, and it wasn't as exciting as I maybe hoped it was going to be, but it was fine. Enjoyable still. These characters make me like the show, even when it got nothing too impactful 🤷‍♀️

But I got triggered about that lightning thing with Jay 😅 I guess I'll just fanfic whatever I had in mind...

Don't have to repeat myself about the animation *chef's kiss*

The writing was really less engaging, a little normal in a way? Idk just a feeling. Nice to see Ronin again though, I really like him. And nice to see Jay freaking out, I really like that too 😂

To be honest I wanted to put down my thoughts on this one because I REALLY wanna do the same with Nya's season 🤩🤩 I already know that Maya is gonna be there and I am so HAPPY already!!! 💙💙💙

So that's it from me! Thank you for reading me ranting, see you next season! 😊

[tinamaetales]

Fine, not fine

When the pandemic broke out in 2020, I was left with nothing to do. Our WFH arrangement during those times is not something I consider as a heavy workload so most of the time I just find myself alone with my own thoughts – which is one of the scariest scenarios for me. To kill time and distract myself from my own self-destructive thoughts, I decided to watch documentaries on Youtube but there really isn���t enough for me so despite not having a huge salary, I decided to subscribe to Netflix and from then on, I was able to watch a lot of movies, series and documentaries. I really wanna write a reflection on each of the stuff I’ve watched but I’m too lazy these days (and yet, here I am writing one).

As I mentioned, I watched a lot of stuff on Netflix but the last three that I’ve watched lately (before I start being invested with American Horror Story series), Angel’s Last Mission: Love, The Good Place, and Mystic Pop-up Bar tend to have a common theme – life, death, afterlife. I didn’t even do it on purpose; I was just really interested in the plot of their stories. What these 3 shows have in common is that they discuss about the morality and consequences and these days, I’m really interested in those topics. Lately, I’ve been questioning myself about what kind of person I am – am I good or bad? I also keep on having an internal debate with myself as to whether or not there is an afterlife and if there is, then where will I end up? Heaven or hell? Those questions are kinda giving me some headache these days but at least it’s a good distraction from my own self-destructive thoughts. Somehow, Philosophy seems interesting to me now (during my College years, I dreaded that subject but still managed to get a 1.25 final grade lol). Anyway, here are my thoughts about the shows:

Angel’s Last Mission: Love

Major lesson: Keep the faith

This kdrama has such a beautiful way of presenting its story that you will fall in love with it in just the first episode! (Also because Kim Myung Soo’s dimples are to die for, omg I’m so in love) Anyway, this drama’s plot is interesting: an angel who disobeyed the law (he’s not allowed to meddle with the lives of humans especially since he’s a guardian angel for animals) on his last day was given the most difficult mission – to make the fallen ballerina know what love is. As I am writing this, I can’t help but feel emotional because the show knows how to attack one’s heart. I will not be telling more of its plot for I might end up spoiling it so I’ll just provide my major take away from this kdrama. (This is one of those kdramas that I can watch again and again coz it’s beautiful)

I was raised in Catholic faith, which is really not a surprise for a Filipino like me since this country is heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, but ever since I’ve become an adult and finally opened my eyes and allow myself to stop living under the notorious gaslighting of people around me, I struggled with my faith in God. It’s really difficult living a traumatized life. In 2018, I seek for professional help and was diagnosed with Dysthymia and Social Anxiety Disorder. And despite therapy and medication, I have not yet healed and sometimes feel like my situation is getting worse. As such, I felt so alone in my struggles which became the reason why I relate to Yeon Seo’s character. People labeled her as a cold bitch and most of them are expecting her to just move on and heal without fully understanding where she is coming from. When Yeon Seo said “Do you know what it feels like to be left behind? It feels like I’m abandoned alone in an endless desert” it hit close to home. I know that one’s pain should not be an excuse for acting up and being mean but people should also understand that healing is different for all of us – we heal at our own pace at our own time. Pain can change a person – I know it fully well for I’ve become a completely different person because of all the pain I’ve been through. But what this show taught me is that God is a merciful God and He will not let us be drown into the abyss of darkness…..somehow, He will make a way to get us back on track and sometimes it’s in ways we never imagined it to be. Like how they sent angel Kim Dan into Yeon Seo’s life, God will also be sending us the answer to our prayers for He loves us and He is the only one who will never give up on us – even though we gave up on ourselves.

The Good Place

Major lesson: There is hope for humanity

I’ve been obsessed with sitcoms since 2019 (if I remember the year correctly) for they’re easy to watch and just fun but I never expected that a sitcom will make me become philosophical and somehow question my own morality: am I a good person?

For a show with only four seasons and fifty-three episodes, The Good Place sets the bar high for a sitcom.  It did not drag its plotline but is able to tell the entire story in a way that leaves the viewers satisfied with it. The Good Place is a story *SPOILER ALERT* that revolves around the afterlife lives of the four main characters: Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason who all end up in the “good place” because they earned enough points on Earth but there’s a catch, two of them are not actually meant to be in the good place. Eleanor and Jason both mistakenly went to the good place because they died at almost the same time as someone with the same name as them but the other two actually deserved to be in the good place. The dilemma started when Eleanor admitted the truth to Chidi, a Philosophy professor who specialized in Ethics for he is torn between helping them or snitching on them. But perhaps the biggest plot twist of all, *SERIOUSLY STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT ANY MORE SPOILERS* they are not really in the good place. All four of them are in the Bad Place disguised as the good place and they were specifically chosen to torture each other, just like what Jean Paul Sartre said, “Hell is other people” Now this gets interesting because while none of these four people have committed heinous crimes which can then make them deserving of a spot in the bad place, the actions they’ve done during their lifetime on earth has bearing. At first I find it surprising how Chidi and Tahani end up in the bad place considering that Chidi spent his life in the pursuit of goodness and Tahani is a philanthropist who raised millions of dollars for charities. But then, as the show progressed, I understood. Chidi’s vast knowledge of morality made him become an indecisive person which led towards the suffering of others. Chidi made other people suffer because he finds it difficult to make a choice. On Tahani’s part, she raised millions of dollars to help improve the lives of others but such is a self-serving interest – she did not do those things because she wanted to help but because she wants to make herself look good. On Eleanor’s part, while she did not commit serious crimes, she was a big ass jerk towards others during her time on earth. With Jason, although he is kind, his actions often lead to disasters and although unintentional, harm towards others. With these in mind, I guess it’s safe to say that humans are doomed for the things we do are most of the time self-serving. It’s hard to make it to the Good Place because in one way or another, we do some things that affect others in a negative way. But what this show also taught me is that while it’s true that hell is other people……humans have a chance to improve and be better when given the proper environment as well as when they help each other out. Just like what Michael said “The point is, people improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don’t?”

At first, this show kind of made me realized that I’ve been a bad person….that most of the decisions I’ve made in life are self-serving….I only do things that benefit me and I could not care less about other people but my biggest realization here is that, I acted this way because my unhealed pain and trauma is manifesting itself. I have been hurt way too much that it made me become a bad person and end up with the mantra that life is shitty anyway so why try to be good? And because of that, I felt bad. Now, I try my best to do good things, not because I want to feel good for myself but because it’s the right thing to do. I have come to the realization that just because I was hurt does not mean I have the right to inflict pain on others. I know that morality is not something that can easily be answered since it’s such a complex thing and humans are flawed but as what Michael said (he has a lot of great lines from the show, I can’t help but to keep on quoting him) “What matters isn’t if people are good or bad. What matters is, if they’re trying to be better today than they were yesterday. You asked me where my hope comes from? That’s my answer.” Please, please, please watch The Good Place! I guess it’s one of the best, if not the best, sitcoms ever.

Mystic Pop-up Bar

Major lesson: Grudges are the heaviest to carry/ the art of letting go

One word to describe this k-drama? HEARTWARMING. With only 12 episodes, this k-drama was able to provide me comfort and healing. I did not actually expect much from this as I only watched it because of Yook Sungjae but what I failed to realize is that this kdrama’s approach to storytelling will be heartwarming. The plot is pretty simple for a fantasy drama: a woman, Weol-ju, runs a pop-up bar in order to fulfill her mission of settling the grudges of 100,000 people but as the years went by, it became difficult for her to have people to open up. When people fail to open up about the grudges they are holding, then it will be difficult for her to help them in solving their problems. And since it is taking her way too long to finish her mission, she was given an ultimatum of having to finish her mission within a month – good thing is she found two people to help her with the case: the afterlife police agent Gwi and the human with special ability of making people open up to him just by having a slight physical contact with them, Kang Bae. I love the way these three main characters complemented each other and I sometimes wish that I was given the chance to be a customer at the Mystic Pop-up Bar not just to have them help me solve my grudges but because sometimes, all we need is people who will listen to us.

As mentioned, Weol-ju’s mission is to help people settle the grudges they are carrying and she makes it happen by having people go inside her pop-up bar, let them tell their stories to her and then she will eventually offer them a special drink (which she disguises as an alcohol) that will make them fall asleep so she can enter the dream world and do her work in settling the grudge. While watching this drama, I can’t help but wonder: why do people drink when they have problems? For someone who never drinks and is not interested in drinking, I’ve always been curious of it. They said that alcohol tastes bitter, so I don’t understand why it seems to be helping people in dealing with their problems? Some say that by drinking, it helps them escape their reality for a while. I did some research about this topic and according to Origins Recovery, alcohol contains anxiolytic properties which means that it helps in inhibiting stress or anxiety. As for the bitterness, I heard from someone that as time passes by, the bitterness become sweet unlike life itself in which as time passes by, it becomes more overwhelming. I guess drinking really helps people to take a pause from the absurdity of life despite its bitterness as well as the headache that follows after drinking. Moreover, who am I to judge people who rely on drinking when their life becomes a mess when I also have my own ways, sometimes self-destructive, of finding an escape from this horrible world that we live in? After all, when life gets too tough, we all just want an escape – even though it’s temporary.

With every episode, Weol-ju and her squad helped people settle their grudges and each time they do, it makes me feel emotional. This show makes me realized that all of us are carrying grudges we don’t talk about and when we do not have the avenue to vent it out, then it eats us up alive. All of us are no stranger to struggles, but it is important to be strong and courageous. We can choose to struggle alone but asking for help does not mean you are weak.

Let me end this blogpost by putting my favorite line from Weol-ju: “No matter what’s making you suffer right now, things will settle and pass eventually. Hang in there until then, and you’ll find yourself stronger”

x,

TinaMae

[sparklespectres]

I feel like I remember Chris Sonnenburg justifying the lack of moms in the show to him being a man/dad and understanding that better, but that’s not a good enough justification for me (I’m pretty sure he said that but it was a while ago so feel free to correct me if he didn’t). The fact that Arianna was the only living/decent mother that any of the main characters had (that I can remember) and that she was in the background most of the show without any development is just unfortunate.

And now that I think about most of the female characters in the show other than Rapunzel (and Arianna, but, like I said, she barely did anything in any episode she was in. Also the queen and princesses from Ingvarr. But they were trying to take Cass away from Corona, which, from Rapunzel’s POV, was a problem so...) are at least somewhat viewed/portrayed negatively/as villains at some point in their time on the show, if not for their whole appearance. Like I just looked at a list of all of the characters on the show and:

Adira was viewed as cryptically annoying and untrustworthy

Calliope was labeled annoying and pretentious

Cassandra had all of the stuff with the moonstone, and before that Eugene always commented on how she was “cold-hearted”

Captain Creighton pretty much just wanted to kill the wolf for her whole episode

Kiera and Catalina were thieves and Catalina ended up being a werewolf

Clementine was a separatist (the negative attitude towards the saporians, who, if I remember correctly, were led by a woman, is a whole other issue)

Fernanda Pizazzo was competition for Varian and portrayed as caring more about making something look fancy than having it have any purpose

Friedborg is viewed as creepy and was given an unnecessarily odd set of facial features that didn’t have any relevance to the show; I guess they just did that because they could?

Lady Caine was portrayed as vengeful because of Fredric’s corrupt, unnecessary arrest of her father, and then was sent to jail for that logical desire for revenge

Madame Canardist was shown to be greedy and dishonest (not to mention the stereotypes contributing to that)

Mother (from freebird) manipulated Raps and Cass into turning into birds so she could keep them for her collection

Mrs. Crowley almost always seemed angry or annoyed

Mrs. Sugarby was a disciple of Zhan Tiri

Petunia was a thief who pretended to be Kiera’s mother so she wouldn’t blow her cover

Ruthless Ruth was rumored to be a violent, mean thug

Seraphina was running from the ocean police (that’s definitely not what they were called but it sums it up pretty well)

Stalyan was Eugene’s ex who put him and Rapunzel (and others) into bad situations in an attempt to get him back

At first, Vex was okay with helping the Baron and endangering others for a bribe

Willow was portrayed as immature

The other ladies in waiting/Handmaidens were gossips or just didn’t have any role. Faith was portrayed as incompetent by Crowley and by Raps bc of her unrealistic expectations based on Cass.

And those are all of the notable female characters that make an appearance at any point in the show. The only ones I didn’t mention were Gothel and Zhan Tiri (who was in Demanitus’s, a man’s, way) , who, guess what, were villains.

Some of these portrayals did change with time, but the fact that almost EVERY female character was portrayed negatively at some point is kind of problematic?

And sure, you could say around the same amount of male characters also had negative portrayals but with the Pub Thugs, Eugene, and Lance, the only references to their past crimes and stuff are for jokes, which is not the case for the women of the show. They make sure to make it so that the bad things they have done seem like they happened decades ago, unless the character is one that it just a flat antagonist with no redemption. Even with Varian, in between Rapunzel’s Return and Be Very Afraid, he’s just chilling and everyone acts as if he’s done nothing wrong (for the most part). They only bring up his unhappiness with his crimes when it’s convenient for the plot. Otherwise he’s just the “perfect sweet baby” that the fans want him to be.

Then there’s all of the guards (like Stan and Pete and the Captain, although the captain is much more vilified than the other two), and the Corona citizens (like Feldspar and Xavier. Also Monty who is a jerk to Rapunzel but mostly gets ignored by season three and he just helps fight against Cass/ZT). They, along with characters like Quaid and Nigel and other characters like them, really don’t do much wrong, and if they do, the criticism is much less emphasized than with female characters.

Frederic never really has to deal with the repercussions of his actions. He just kind of lets Rapunzel follow the rocks and has the memory wipe as a get out of jail free card. Edmund is also just accepted by Eugene and everyone else almost immediately, and the backstory they give him makes him a character that people don’t want to dislike bc of sympathy.

But here’s the funny thing: even if the same amount of male characters were portrayed negatively/criticized, there are more male characters in general than female characters, so the proportion is less. There are around 30-40 notable female characters in the show, while there are 50-60 men. This theme continues with the animal companions, where the only girl is Fidella, who is also the least fleshed out of all of them.

Regardless of what’s going on with the male characters, if a show is about a princess and her desire to be independent, and the show is able to make an attempt to portray her as a strong, generally unproblematic woman (although a lot of us know that she does have flaws, they are brushed away very easily bc they don’t want her to be in the wrong) it should not be that difficult to make other female characters that share those traits and aren’t royalty/related to her.

Anyways this is just a personal observation and you can disagree with whatever you’d like. This is how I feel and I am not trying to persuade anyone to feel the same way if they do not want to; I am simply calling something out that I just noticed while thinking about it.

[ichika27]

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 2020

So, I guess this is the end? I also watched the OVA and I heard there’s gonna be a 2nd season so we’ll just have to wait. Anyways, here are my thoughts...

(This is gonna be pretty long for some odd, unfathomable reason)

Story:

Years ago, after Azalie had accidentaly turned herself into a dragon after a ritual gone wrong, everyone else in the Tower of Fangs declared her dead except for Krylancelo who leaves and vows to get her back. Krylancelo, now calling himself “Orphen” travels to find a way to turn her back to the way she was and protect her from those who want her dead.

Characters:

Okay, so the show jumps from the present time to some flashback of Orphen’s school days so we got a lot of characters ranging from Orphen and his companions Majic (his apprentice) and Claiohm (a rich girl who wanted to travel and so stows away on Orphen’s carriage) to those from the Tower of Fangs - specifically those from the Childman Class especially Leticia (Orphen’s older sister figure) and Forte (another classmate of theirs whose trying to take over what Childman left behind).

Of course, we also have Azalie who got turned into a dragon but the flashbacks shows us what kind of person the “Chaos Witch” used to be before the transformation.

They’re all interesting of course but some more than the others as there are those who tend to have less screentime. I feel particularly bad for a certain someone who dies in the present before we could get to know him more. Also another someone who could’ve been really helpful in the current issues but just had to die. I’m gonna spoil if I say their names so I won’t.

My thoughts:

I’ve seen the original series years ago when it aired in our country dubbed. I might not remember everything about it but I am gonna make a few comparisons based on the stuff I remember and episode 1 of the 1998 series since I felt like rewatching that one.

Art-wise, while 2020 version isn’t that bad, I prefer the 1998 version because it looks a bit more serious and different compared to how the 2020 version just feels the same as other series coming out nowadays. I wish they’d just made the 1998 art better (cause it does have flaws) instead of remaking the whole thing. The 1998 version is also more detailed compared to the simpler one of the 2020 version. Also, the characters look younger than their 1998 counterparts. Especially you, Childman (who I didn’t recognize at first and then I went ‘wtf?!’ when I finally knew who he was).

(Personality-wise, I prefer 2020! Orphen to 1998!Orphen who seem kinda more untrustworthy unlike the misunderstood 2020 version. I also with there was more to Claiohm and Majic than seemingly being sidekicks cause they do have moment where they shined but not enough to make them stand out compared to the characters that showed up in the flashbacks

The OP, “Calling U” took a while to grow on me but it’s catchy once I had gotten used to it. Still, “Ai Just on my Love” has this special place in my heart and also, it’s much more badass sounding. The ED didn’t need to try cause I liked it the first time I heard it.

So, let me just say that the older series have a more “serious and dark” vibe to it: from the art style to the darker lighting (either that or it’s just an old show so the quality is like that idk) and the way it presented the story. Even the world they live in seemed different from the 2020 version cause it felt more vast and abandoned even though there are towns (Totokanta of 1998 had less trees and seemed to be in a desert unlike the 2020 version, for one.). The scene where Claiohm first sees Orphen from the tower while she was in the lake just... the feel of that scen, you know? It was night and quiet and it did give that mysterious atmosphere it was going for.

And Bloody August!Azalie’s entrance in the 1998 series was scarier than the way she appeared in the 2020 anime. The 1998 series had the other characters talking about an urban legend and then there were dark clouds, black lighning and ghost. The 2020 version, Azalie just flies down to Totokanta and destroys some stuff with no fanfare.

The new series felt more shounen and lighter for some reason. So in a way, I guess the OP choice is fitting.

Their clothes though: Majic’s clothes from the 1998 version looked a bit more modern than the replacement he has in the new one wherein he does look the part of a sorcerer’s apprentice on a journey. Meanwhile, Claiohm’s dress from the 1998 version only showed up in the beginning and when she went to travel, switched it with a white button up and pants making me feel like the theme of Majic and Claiohm’s outfits changed lol. Nothing against it though cause it looks good on them.

Now, the way the series went? It’s kinda a mess in my opinion. If I remember correctly, Orphen’s entire backstory was a spoiler in the 1998 version and the flashbacks come out at the latter half of the series while here, they started off with Azalie’s dragon transformation and everyone who knows just refers to Orphen by his old name (plus I don’t remember them ever calling Azalie’s dragon form Bloody August in the new series). The flashbacks also come out frequently that it felt like there were more of those than the present time (which meant Majic and Claiohm didn’t really have much important screentime). And since there were tons of flashbacks from Orphen’s school days, the present time plot is somewhat put on halt. I wish they’d just dumped all of those later on in the show instead of sprinkling them everywhere cause while I appreciate the backstory as I get to learn more about the Childman Class students, it just felt messy. But I guess this happened because, this is gonna be a spoiler alert but they dealt with the Dragon Azalie issue fairly early on. The old series, I think, went for the other route that finishing off the Dragon plot line was the climax of the series and is at the end.

Speaking of flashbacks, the worst type is also in this version. I get that showing some important scenes from a few episodes ago is needed at times for effect but there were flashbacks that could’ve been cut shorter and would’ve still worked. It felt like padding and it was annoying.

Personality-wise, I prefer 2020! Orphen to 1998!Orphen who seem kinda more untrustworthy unlike the misunderstood 2020 version. I also with there was more to Claiohm and Majic than seemingly being sidekicks cause they do have moments where they shined but not enough to make them stand out compared to the characters that showed up in the flashbacks. Especially in the action scenes where they’re usually just there being protected.

I heard that the new version is more faithful to the LN so I’m not gonna complain much but I hope they fix the pacing in the 2nd season. That said, it was fun and hopefully the next season is, too.

If you got this far, thank you and hopefully you weren’t super bored at this point! (But then again, maybe you read the entire thing cause you’re bored and got time to kill? Hehe thank you for picking this to waste your time on).

[gascon-en-exil]

FE16 Wave 3 DLC Speculations

...Because it might come this month, and I’m bored. Plus I enjoy writing out these sorts of things before something gets released and then going back afterward to see how much I guessed correctly.

Jeritza

Definitely available on Crimson Flower, possibly exclusive to that route. He can be auto-recruited at the start of Part 2, like Gilbert.

If he’s available on any other routes it would be a pain to get him while working around existing content. Say you’d have to complete the Caspar/Mercedes paralogue and then finish the Fort Merceus battle, netting you Jeritza for...all of two/four chapters. This game lacks a Gotoh archetype, but with how unit customization works should it even have one?

Proficiencies will have to consider both his normal pre-promote swordmaster look and the modified dark knight that is his alter ego. Swords/lances/reason/riding? He might also have a proficiency or budding talent in bows, to have something in common with Mercedes and as a nod to their shared Crest being associated with a sacred bow. Weaknesses in faith and authority seem reasonable.

Reason spell list should be all or mostly dark spells, for the same reason as Hubert. It’s an Aesthetic.

Supports: Edelgard for necessary character development, Lysithea for the connection between Houses Hyrm and Ordelia, Felix so they can be edgy swordsmen, of course Mercedes, Caspar to give them something beyond a paralogue you can’t get on CF, Manuela for that one time when they hooked up(?) and then he stabbed her, Hubert for plot development on all the evil stuff they get up to together in Part 1 with a possible side bonus of awkward UST or catty ex banter because Jeritza is physically Hubert’s kind of man.

He can bang f!Byleth, and to add insult to injury to Mercedes’s pleas for him to remove his helmet/mask the only time you see him with nothing on his face is his S rank CG.

Anna

Available on all routes, though if it’s not until you find her secret thingy and her shop opens her availability will be pretty bad. It could always be a different Anna than the one who runs the shop, I suppose....

Hard to guess at proficiencies when she tends to jump around, but she’s most consistently in thief-style classes so swords and bows are a safe bet - as is authority with how good she is at getting people to do stuff for her

The blurb doesn’t specific new supports in the paid portion of the DLC, so it’s possible she might not have any other than the obligatory Byleth one(s). For reference in Awakening and Fates the only non-Avatar/Avatar spawn character she can support is Tiki, so this wouldn’t be unusual.

Her shared paralogue with Jeritza will be all manner of absurd. It might even get him to emote! (Disclaimer: not knocking the VA who I know to be good from other roles, I just really don’t get why Jeritza sounds perpetually catatonic in the game currently.)

Monastery Activities

I had to go back and check what Fates’s hot springs do, and now I remember why I never used them: they’re pure fanservice. Three Houses’s sauna may be slightly better off, similar to sharing a meal where you pick two characters to raise their motivation and support points. The trade-off to not needing cooking ingredients is that it’s only available once a day. Depending on whether it would be considered unusual in Japanese hot spring culture for teachers and students to bathe together the sauna may only be available in Part 2.

But on the subject of fanservice, I demand dialogue laden with subtext for all the usual suspects, especially in the Lions. Gay bathhouses are very much a cultural phenomenon that needs some acknowledgement when working with a cast like this.

Petting the monastery animals...yay? I don’t even notice them honestly, but I guess some people care about this being added. 

As for the other proposed new facilities, there’s plenty of room to work with between that fenced-off balcony south of the dining hall and the massive greyed-out space on the east side of the map that already has two or three buildings in it. Wave 4 is getting some too, so I’d wager they put this wave’s new content in the smaller balcony space. Personally I’d like a way to trade resources like crops and fish, to cut down on the need to save scum at the greenhouse and as a way to get rid of surplus of unneeded resource types other than just selling them. It would also be nice to have more activities like choir practice that raise units’ skill ranks outside of class and battle.

Not getting into online features, because I don’t use them and see no reason to.

I’m wary of the new quests, because the battle ones just take up time for skirmishes and the fetch quests are all forgettable unless they’re silly. Just don’t add another trading sequence....

Maids/Butlers

...Whee. The idea of a maid/butler battalion is so patently ridiculous that it demands some kind of overpowered ability to justify it. It’s such a shame that there’s no dagger weapon type in this game, or there might have actually been a slim chance that these would have appeared as playable unit classes. As for the costumes, I still haven’t played around with the sports team ones and likely won’t be touching these either, or whatever else they come up with. You know they’ll be gendered too, so if you want to see Dimitri/Dedue/Ferdinand/whoever in a maid outfit it’ll still have to be in fanart.

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

[Death Note] Near: Anime vs. Manga Potrayals

I love Death Note. But, I have to admit that when it comes to the anime and the manga, the latter has my preference. This is for several reasons, primarily that it adds more detail, but another crucial point in which I favor the manga over the anime is Near's portrayal. I didn't think much of it at first, but when I read the manga, I couldn't help noticing just how different of an impression that Near made on me, as opposed to his anime counterpart. The more I thought about this, the more hate I saw Near get in the fandom, the more it bugged me.

Of course, there will always be those people who hate Near just for existing, pretty much, but the most common reason I saw for disliking Near was that "he was too emotionless", and "a boring, dull character. As I also found, many people who believed that also had not read the manga.

I have to say, unfortunately; in my experience, the anime's portrayal of Near did make him seem like such unless you dug really, really deep - almost irritatingly so. When I first watched the anime, I was on Near's side. For one thing, I found his emotionless persona to be cool and unique from most heroes in any series. For another, I really, really wanted to see Kira die, so...yeah. Despite this more favorable opinion of him, after I finished the anime, my love for Near was nowhere near (Death Note and its endless puns) what it is now.

In contrast, after I read the manga, I found myself much more invested in Near as a person. As I read the manga, layer after layer was added to the character of Nate River; by the end of it, Near was on the road to his current position as one of my favorite characters in any fictional work to date. After doing more analysis on him and discussing him with other DN fans on Quotev (thank you so much to all of those who analyze Death Note with me, I have so much fun during our debates about it and I've learned a lot of things), my adoration only increased. If I have to rank him in my favorite fictional characters (and believe me, I'm familiar with a lot of fiction, be it games, manga, anime, books, visual novels, you name it), Near would definitely be in my top ten.

I love that boy.

To put things in perspective, I'll begin with a list of similarities between Near's anime and manga portrayal (and I'm obviously speaking characteristics, not physical appearance):

1. His puzzle/toys obsession

2. His antisocial nature and complete lack of life skills

To be honest, that's pretty much all that I can recall that remains nearly identical between the anime version and manga version of Near.

Now, let's get into the differences.

1. His intelligence

Yes; Near is a clear genius in both the anime and the manga. However, the manga shows more examples of this. For one thing, Near's extremely complex explanations in the manga are nearly paragraphs of text long. The anime never shows him giving any such detailed analyses, which is probably part of the reason why there are those who complain that Near gets too much plot armor. For example, the infamous "figuring out who X-Kira is scene": I have to say, the anime utterly failed in that, if you ask me. The scene blatantly seems like filler and just completely unrealistic. I mean really - Near's eyes lighting up like his superpowers are being charged and hyperspace blurring behind him? Yeah...no. I can understand why that seems like plot armor. In contrast, the manga actually bothers to thoroughly explain Near's thought process and the evidence backing up his conclusion.

Also, there are two plans of Near's that are cut out from the anime (that I can remember):

- His plan to get the mafia to return the Death Note (if I remember correctly): (Confession time - I forgot the contents of this plan, aside from it requiring Light to pose as L and threaten the mafia somehow.) Obviously, coming up with plans takes intelligence, but Near appears to come up with this strategy on-the-spot, making it all the more impressive. Light cracks his own plan (that gets his dad killed, so touching) so it becomes immaterial, but it still shows the levels of Near's intelligence.

- His plan to get a member of the Task Force on his side: A.K.A. we see how badass Near is. He requests that a member of the Task Force meet with the SPK in person - that member turns out to be Mogi. As they talk, Demegawa unleashes the mob on the SPK's headquarters, cueing the "drop the money from the sky" scene. Now, this was a failed plan of Light's to take out Near and the SPK, but not only does Near counter this plan - he actually uses it for his own benefit. He orders Mogi to be bound and gagged to prevent him from making any noise, and when the Task Force contacts them to ask if everyone is safe, Near lies straight to their faces and says Mogi had a heart attack on the way to their new base - meaning, Kira is aware that Mogi is in the SPK's hands and is trying to prevent him from giving any information. Naturally, the only ones who know this are the Task Force and the SPK, which means that Kira is among the two groups. This is what ultimately leads Aizawa to ally himself with the SPK - the suspicion towards Light that reblossomed thanks to Near's machinations.

2. His snarkiness

So, in both the anime and the manga, Near has some snarky moments, though significantly more in the manga. However, in my opinion, the anime left out the most significant snark from Near in the series. When Light comments that the SPK members all died despite Near's best efforts (this was after Sayu's kidnapping, where Mello acquires the Death Note and kills most of the SPK), Near replies, "Yes...I was somewhat prepared for this the moment you handed over the notebook, but it sure does hurt." He throws the implied insult back at Light's face (who is the placeholder of L at that point in time). Near shows more willingness to take the initiative and be a little more aggressive in the manga (given the fact he snarked off at L the Second). In fact, the second one of the plans cut out of the manga that I mentioned earlier also shows this difference between anime and manga Near.

And now, we arrive at what is my biggest problem with Near's anime portrayal -

3. His humanity

I can actually understand why anime-only people saw Near as a soulless robot. The anime does not provide any show of emotion from him whatsoever unless you dig ridiculous deep into the situation to the point where you almost feel like you're reading too much into things. Near is not a robot - he is a human being, and on a human being, this is simply unrealistic. On the other hand, the manga cleverly throws in subtle nuances that lead you to question and analyze Near's softer sides without directly showing them to you. It adds a much more interesting spin to his character and makes you question what exactly caused him to become the way he is - all in all, the manga's portrayal makes Near much more interesting than the anime's.

Let's begin.

- The mass murder of most of the SPK

Alright, so Mello writes all the names of the SPK that he has access to, promptly killing them. In the anime, Near simply sits in his chair with a stone-cold expression, and doesn't look at all concerned as his colleagues literally fall to the ground, dead, around him. By contrast, in the manga, he actually looks pained. From the way his gaze is intently focused on the dice structure and his bothered expression, it's almost as if he doesn't want to look. Obviously, this makes for a much more relatable and realistic character in the eyes of the audience - showing visible pain at the death of his coworkers. It also makes you begin to think about Near's character specifically because he seemed so emotionless. We're introduced to Near and see how devoid of feeling he seems to be the first few chapters of his appearance, and then bam - he's clearly upset as his colleagues die. At least for me, it got me thinking about Near's more human sides

- His interactions with his subordinates

Near's interactions with the members of the SPK remain largely the same in the manga and the anime. In my opinion, though, two important scenes were cut out from the anime that adds a lot more to Near's character. For one, there's the scene where Near disbands the SPK officially and explains that they'll now have to operate as an underground organization. He goes on to warn his subordinates of how dangerous their positions will be should they choose to continue under his lead, as he will keep trying to catch Kira. This is significant to me because he actually offers them a way out. Going even further, he admits that he's afraid - "I'm scared, so I'm not going outside". This ability to understand and sympathize with the possible fears of those who work under him adds yet another layer of complexity to Near - he prefers to seem almost inhuman and strange and his behavior, but has no trouble admitting to a very human quality - fear. I should also add that this line is refreshingly vulnerable in a way, meaning that Near is close enough to and trusts his subordinates enough to drop the facade at least a little.

It also displays his capability to see through and grasp the perspective of others emotionally and not just pragmatically. This is something that I find Light, and to a lesser extent, L, to be lacking in. They can both accurately predict the next moves of their opponents by putting themselves in their foe's tactical situation and practical mindset, much like Near. However, unlike Near, they fail to do the same when it comes to more sentiment-based areas.

And the other interaction is when Near admits that Mello is dangerous, but he also remarks on his belief that his subordinates will be fine. "That may very well happen. But I have faith in your excellent skills."

As you can tell from this quote, Near praises his subordinates for their abilities. Unlike L or Light, who use the Task Force/Kira followers like chess pieces almost all of the time, Near allows his subordinates some freedom in their actions. Notice that he doesn't tell them exactly what to do should Mello try something - he simply states that people of their caliber will be able to get out of a difficult situation. This is very different from the condescending way that L and Light tend to treat people working under them. The Task Force/Kira's followers are older than L and Light, yet they treat them like children because they know that their intelligence is inferior in comparison to their own. This shows a blatant lack of respect. In contrast, Near, despite knowing this, respects his subordinates and holds them in high enough regard to give them free reign over such things. It may also be influenced by the fact that Near is aware that despite his ingenuity, he is still a teenage boy and his subordinates likely have more general life experience than he does. And we as humans tend to hold the opinions of our elders in high regard.

- His words about L

In the anime, Near doesn't say much about L at all. There's barely anything suggesting that he feels any kind of attachment to L - in fact, it seems as though he actually doesn't see L as all that great. In the manga, however, either Aizawa or Mogi calls Near out on his use of borderline illegal methods. His response is, "For Mello and I, L is the only person we adore, and the only person who deserves our respect. And the one person we respected was killed by Kira, so we're willing to use any methods necessary to defeat him...don't you think it's only natural for us to feel that way?"

This quote proves two things about Near. First, he did respect L. Second, it reflects on his humanity once again. Near is basically saying that it's only natural for himself and Mello to want revenge on Kira for killing the one person they respect. The desire for revenge is also a very human trait, and the fact that Near shows a deeper understanding of such matters says a lot about him.

- Speaking of everyone's contributions

In the anime, Near states that his victory is thanks to Mello. In the manga, he elaborates upon this, giving credit to the people who had a hand in defeating Kira and placing special emphasis on Mello - basically, he's indirectly thanking all of them. This is already interesting in itself, but what really stood out to me is the way Near dismisses any contribution he made to the case. Even though he provided the backbone for the defeat of Kira during Death Note's second arc (without his initial plan, nothing anyone else did would have meant jack shit), he gives himself no credit. He seems to place more value on his gratefulness towards the others for helping him rather than savoring the feeling of his own success, which is, to me, an admirable trait.

- His reaction when Light tries to write his name on a scrap of the Death Note

Light, sneaky little bastard that he is, managed to write 'Nate Rive' on the scrap of Death Note paper that he had hidden in his watch. One more letter and Near would have...you know, died. The thought is too painful.

We never do see Near's reaction to this in the anime, which I found almost offensive. Seriously, Near almost died and his reaction to his brush with the grim reaper isn't even shown? By contrast, the manga shows that he's alarmed. Though he regains his composure within the next few seconds, the single panel of his shocked expression was all that we needed. It's very understandable, as a human being, to fear death. The fact that Near showed surprise at the very least when he came close to meeting his end makes him more relatable.

And finally...

- Eating chocolate at the end of the manga

When working with the Task Force to solve a new case some time after Light's death, Near is seen playing with his toys and...eating a bar of chocolate. For one thing, this is an obvious way to honor and remember Mello. This alone is touching, as it shows that Near really does miss Mello and wish that he hadn't perished.

But recently, a friend of mine pointed something out that I hadn't thought about before (I love hearing her theories about Death Note, they're always so insightful and well thought-out, not to mention that talking to her is just enjoyable in general). Chocolate is a commonly known stress reliever, and Near is now the new L. Him eating chocolate at the end of the manga, in his new position, could be signifying that he is, understandably, like any sane person would be, stressed out. He now has to bear a considerable burden on his shoulders for the rest of his life as the new World's Greatest Detective.

So, there we have it, my rant analysis on my problems with the anime's portrayal of Near. Overall, the manga just made Near a more complex and interesting character. Thanks for reading.

[sugirandom]

365 days of writing: day 156

Day 156: Averted

               It was a bit of a crazy day today. First, in the morning when we went to my pre-op appointment we found out that my schedule was moved up to Monday the 19th instead of that Friday since my doctor wanted to have Friday off. Luckily it’s at the same time so hopefully they won’t delay us and make me a very cranky patient but it was still pretty shocking. I also found out that we went through all the trouble of getting letters ready for insurance before my surgery and they aren’t going to even evaluate whether or not they’ll pay until after my surgery. That was my first dose of anxiety for the morning but mom assured me that it should be just fine and that she’d have my stepdad complain if they try to get out of paying since we got them everything they said they needed. For now I choose to have faith that it will get paid for. Since some people on me message me on this matter please do not message me saying something lke “that would really suck if they didn’t pay for it.” Or anything about that please, I know people are trying to be nice when they do that but honestly it just makes me anxious. I hope I’m not coming across as rude or anything. I’m just trying to keep that matter out of my mind until it becomes an issue. I guess I can start a Gofundme or something if I absolutely have to but I don’t think I will.

               As for the second matter, I opened up to mom about my nervousness regarding going to the seminar and having to stay in a hotel room with my stepdad and given that he’s been a little harder to deal with lately for whatever reason my mom sympathized with me and confessed that my stepdad had some worries of his own regarding the issue. So, in the end we decided I would skip going to the seminar once I was reassured that my boss would have no issue with it and that this would not put my job in jeopardy. Once I was told that I felt a huge weight lift off of me. I’m going into work tomorrow but I’ll stay at the office when my stepdad leaves and with a lot of people leaving it should be pretty quiet. I might work Friday too but only if Poppy or my mom are willing to bring me in. So, I feel like I dodged a bullet there to be honest.

               I watched a little Dragon Ball and I skipped out on LoI again just because I had a nerve-wracking morning but I think sometime during the week I’ll try to get myself to watch it. I’m pretty sure I only have 6 episodes left to go so that shouldn’t be too bad, especially since it’s getting a tad more decent in its later episodes. The Dragonball episodes both felt like filler since both episodes were one-episode stories but it’s hard to tell with a story like Dragonball since it’s a comedic Anime and even the manga coild have one-chapter stories for all I know. After all, one episode I thought was a filler for FMA was actually in the manga so…I guess the more decent filler could possibly be in the manga as well. Though manga, in my experience, tends to use lighter or more comedic one-chapter stories to make fans laugh before they get into really serious plot. A calm before the storm if you will, which was what LoI’s Anime was trying to if you remember correctly…

               Anyway, I probably won’t too much longer since it’s already 5:15 and I know I should call Poppu to see what she wants us to do for dinner but I wanted to say that a few people are talking to me on the dating site again. Today a girl messaged me yay! Another girl, since I was mostly attracting the attention of Gay men I was worried that I wasn’t attractive to girls. I do like guys too, don’t get me wrong but I’d like to have girls as an option too. I kind of convinced myself Japanese girls wouldn’t be interested in me but maybe that’s just my stupid self-confidence talking again. I mean I think I at least have a better chance of making friends with Japanese guys since they’re usually too shy to approach girls, let alone foreign girls, so I think the should feel more at ease around a fellow guy. This is just a trend I noticed overall though, obviously not everyone fits that trend. Well…alright, off I got for now.