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courage-a-word-of-justice · 5 years

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I’ll be rolling out the tags around about the time of this post.

Sarazanmai 3

Kisu = kissu (kiss). Update: Or kisu (on the right side of my equation). You do you, subbers.

Goma-ae.

Gomennassara! (Oh, I get it…!)

It never occurred to me that a “micanga” was a bead or small pierced round object of some sort. I thought it was a race track sort of thing, but for soccer. Update: It’s a bracelet/anklet thing.

Wait, so what brought on this change of heart from Kazuki??? Is it like the 1st episode, where it was a daydream that was cleverly presented as real? Update: Yep.

Oh…have you noticed all the victims of Reo and Mabu’s scheme are men of the NEET/freeter age, or approaching that?

Notably, the signature pose of the Sarazanmai seems to be similar to the one Kazuki and Enta did in the soccer team.

I find it interesting that Enta is now the initiator of the Sarazanmai and thus the one to steal the shirikodama. I mean, he used to be the one with the least stakes in the Dish of Hope scenario…and now look at him!

Ooh, Toi is sharpening his ruler! (Or whatever you do in Touken Ranbu with that lil’ beater of his.)

Oh wait, I forgot Ikuhara always has a last-minute twist! Go back, go back!

It seems like Haruka has some kind of illness…hmm. Update: Oh, it’s not an illness per se…spoke too soon.

Haruka’s talking about the Little Prince…hmm. Last time I really bothered to engage with that story in any form was Star Driver.

Fruits Basket 2

I don’t think I ever really chose a side on the Kyo vs Yuki debate, but I guess I always subtly sided with Yuki (even though the end pairing is Tohru and *bleep*). <- sorry, had to censor myself

“It’s important for me to get to school every day!”

Kabedon! Eeeeee! (LOL, I really am a squealy person at heart, aren’t I?)

The writing says “she misheard [what Yuki said] as ‘being sick’”, so it was quite lucky that the word “sickened” worked in context.

Yuki has some mad ninja skills…LOL.

Shigure in a suit looks goooooooooood, man (<- gender neutral use of “man”).

“…the days ahead will be fun.” – Oh, Tohru, you don’t know how wrong you are…(says someone who completed the manga)

Fruits Basket 3

I’m hearing the OP for the first time…and it sounds like an ED. (Probably because I read some impressions that said the same thing earlier today.)

“…included in the zodiac?”

Ooh! Momiji! Wait, er…I didn’t expect him to be so high-pitched…

Lookit the tiny cat icon on the side! It’s cute!!!

*yells* It’s Kagura!!!!!!!! She ain’t my favourite, but man, is it great to see another familiar face!

I’ve been wondering what the title meant when it said “what year is she?” It means “year of the zodiac”.

Fruits Basket 4

“Shii-chan”…?

Kyo-kun ran away before Kagura even started making dinner…

Was Kyo’s katsudon a joke…? (Cats-udon, geddit?...No?)

“…marriage is a girl’s greatest dream.” – That used to be so, Tohru…nowadays, it ain’t.

Lookit how Kyo’s eyes lit up when he talks about his teacher!

OPM 2 2

That title’s…even more counterintuitive than “OPM 2 1”…hmm.

It’s…kind of dark right now.

I think there was bourbon on the counter. Someone likes to drink around here…

I guess with the mass animation exodus, OPM seems kinda…monologue-y. And cheap…

…nope, I take back my words. They were merely saving up for this action scene.

BSD 28 (S3 Ep 3)

Seriously, what are those metal things Dazai was wearing? Anyways, I like how it’s absolutely the norm that Chuuya swears now and I was part of forming that. Because I don’t swear a lot, I think Chuuya makes a nice outlet for my own frustrations...that’s what could be said, anyway.

D’aww. Someone acknowledges Chuuya’s identity. Ain’t that grand? (Now you see why I like Chuuya more than Dazai these days, huh?)

Come to think of it…a person hasn’t died in this show for a while, have they? It just goes to show you that despite one of its major stars being a guy obsessed with shinjuu (double suicide), the creators seem to be emphasising the sanctity of life itself.

Oh, I never thought they had an explanation for Dazai’s coat…

What is the age difference between Chuuya and Dazai anyway??? They’re both 15 during the LN that’s called that, but the exact difference…what is it? Update: Dazai’s birthday is June 19th and Chuuya’s is April 29th, so the difference is 1 month and 21 days (using the idea that 7 days = a week and May is 30 days, that’s 51 days in all).

Ooh, we’re getting Fyodor, Ace and the unnamed kid soon, aren’t we? That also means we’re in unknown territory for myself, too…hmm.

OPM 2 3

When did Saitama last meet Charanko anyway? Charanko is voiced by Toshiki Masuda, so I would’ve kept an eye out for him, but the art shift and the years between seasons mean I don’t remember anymore.

Oof, “justice crashed Mumen Rider’s head” is more like it.

CGI banana…Just saying “CGI banana” is funny.

Kimetsu no Yaiba 4

Headpats, headpats all around!

Hooo…boy. I already knew Sabito and Makomo were dead because Crow and Irina’s collab post was called “The Names of Dead Children”, but how it was delivered…was such a powerful move.

I saw the blonde boy who’s in the OP…hmm. Update: His name is Zenitsu, according to the next-ep preview.

OPM 2 4

When comparing this dissection of monsters against Mob Psycho…the biggest monster Mob has is himself…hmm.

I didn’t expect Saitama to actually enter under Charanko’s name with that wig he got…

“…name as a martial artist.”

Mojo for the dojo, it seems this man wants.

I think the centipede senpai is CGI. Hmm…

It’s been years…I’ve forgotten what Ponytail Head’s name is! (And I call OPM one of my favourite series in anime…!)

Sarazanmai 4

“Writers exist between life and death.” – …is Ikuhara expressing his own thoughts on how anime writers are treated…?

I anticipate a soba pun (soba = noodles and soba = beside [someone]).

“…gives a s***…” – Says you, Toi, with the “Golden Poop” in the background. Then again, that’s just an English pun. Don’t mind me.

Comic Sans…you can’t escape it, even in this day and age…

Yude = to boil, soba…is the noodles. (The “o” on the end of the Monster of the Week’s first name means “man”.) Ikuhara uses Monster of the Week names in service of symbolism, while Takamatsu uses inconsistency for the sake of humour.

Intetestingly, there’s a spiralling blue thing in the background of the dance number and it says “soba” (katakana) and “desire” (yokubou, in kanji).

The headline translates to “Tragedy! It was next to me, but then…” (Kigeki! Sakki made soba ni ita noni…) The subbers had to accommodate the soba pun though, so they went with “so bar away”.

Hmm…now Toi takes centre stage…

2007, huh? How old are Kazuki and co. again?

This is probably the least surprising secret of all, y’know. Also, I think Keppi and Kazuki have cucumbers in their mouths.

They have subs for Stand By Me now!!! Oh mai globbb!

W-Wuh?! I can see why he’d hate Haruka (feelings of “why don’t my parents look at me the way they look at him anymore?”), but…this really turns this entire story on its head!

Kimetsu no Yaiba 5

Interestingly, the “My” in the episode title is Onore (an “I” indicating professionalism).Come to think of it…what is Tanjiro’s pronoun of choice?

Aww…the fact Tanjiro kinda looks like the demon’s (previous body’s…?) bro made the scene kinda cute. Possibly, it could be even enough to drive someone to tears…not that I was driven to tears, of course.

Well, here’s Zenitsu.

This angry kid reminds me of Mike Teevee (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). He seems like a rival, but he’ll disappear soon enough. Also, LOL, a sparrow instead of a crow.

“…my whole body hurts.” – Welp, that’s what happens when you lose sleep fighting demons for 7 days straight…

Why the obvious names? (re: Haganezuka – that is, hagane means “steel”…also, Nichirin contains the character for “sun” (at least, I think so…?) and Yoko can be understood to be/homophonous to the word for “sunlight”)

Tanjiro, son of Tanjuro…LOL. That was probably deliberate – it means the first son follows in the father’s footsteps.

For some reason, I wanted Haganezuka to pop out of the comic for the next-ep preview…aww.

Shield Hero 17

How many times did Fitoria say “I’m going to kill the heroes” and Naofumi say variants of “no”? Because of that, I had half a mind to jump ship and head to RobiHachi instead…but keep going.

That cowlick stuff was probably the most fun I’ve had with this show in a while…heh.

Oh great…Naofumi expanded his pseudo-harem to two bird waifus…then again, I had a stupid grin on my face seeing Fitoria’s old master, so maybe it’s not all bad, y’know?

Post-credits scene…keep watching!

Wah-wait…what the heck was that explosion???!!!

BSD 29 (S3 Ep 4)

That’s…Topaz (unofficial name)…ohhhhhhhh dear…

Oooh, Katai! Katai! Yay!!! (As you can tell, I had a very small thing for Katai. He reminds me of En-chan, y’see.)

The CGI in this OP…you can tell there’s quite a bit of it, huh?

It’s Deadmau5 (as the fandom used to joke)!

Fyodor’s eyes of disgust as Topaz dries his hair…hmm.

Older Topaz looks surprisingly like Oda…I don’t remember that exact shot, but it might’ve been in the manga. His background also reminds me of Chuuya’s.

OPM 2 Ep 4 (OPM 18)

“Irksome insect”…says the giant insect.

I think I saw a 7-11 pastiche in the background.

Why does the bird have a human hand in his belly? What??? (LOL)

This tournament arc don’t feel so hype, now that MHA’s is over…

Someone likes Donkey Kong… (referring to Marshal Gorilla and the other Kong guy (Heavy Kong))

Sarazanmai 5

…oh wow. Y’mean Kazuki is adopted???

“Why don’t you say anything, even though you know about me now?” (from Toi) – Probably because Kazuki is as f***ed up as you are, if not worse.

What are those sparkles coming off Sara’s face…? Not sure if they’re a shoujo thing or just…gratuitous sparkles.

LOL, Nioino Fukuro. Basically “pouch of scent” when you insert a space between the second I and the second N and change the first name kanji, plus change the “no” to hiragana.

I know the title of the song is Kawausoiya (translates to “awful otters” or something like that), but “soiya” doesn’t make much sense on its lonesome.

Wait…does that mean Sara is the creature? Or there are two Saras that can look the same, but one looks like the human and one is more kappa-like???

For some reason, I’m getting changeling vibes here…that Kazuki wants to look different to the rest of his family because he knows he’s different.

Hey…there’s this thing called the tourist gaze. It argues that because people create notions of reality differently, people have different ideas of what makes a trip “good” and “authentic”. In the same sense, Haruka’s “false” connection with Kazuki!Sara has become his reality, so it’s not wrong to say this Sara is real for him.

Oh…I just realised some kanji that appar early in the OP are the kanji for “extraction”.

So, uh…in a sense…can I interpret Kazuki’s love for his real mother a Fruedian thing? It seems all men’s love can be interpreted to be Freudian in some way or another…also, Sara kind of looks like his mother in a very “surface” kind of way. That is, they have a very passing resemblance to each other. Update: I’ve been reading some Stephen King lately and if I took anything away from that experience, it would be that everything is Freudian when it comes to men’s experiences. That’s why I say that.

Kimetsu no Yaiba 6

…*remembers something from the collab that was along the lines of “Astral doesn’t like Tanjiro’s green jacket”* Astral’s not gonna like this, then. (For those who don’t know the context, “Astral” is AstralGemini of the Zodiac Room.)

*Tanjiro is told he might not go very far with his demon slaying* *Tanjiro reacts with happiness that he’s on his way to get Nezuko human again* - Uh…I know I’ve watched my share of shonen, but I kind of didn’t expect that and yet also did.

Ugh…it’s the return of CGI Tanjiro…the vegie patch looks good in CGI though, for some reason.

Lemme guess…with a title like that (Swordsman Accompanying a Demon), could it be that Kazumi is a demon???

“I don’t get it at all.” – LOL…that was unintentionally funny (for the second time in this show, the first being Hand Demon).

BSD 30 (S3 Ep 5)

Moby Dick crashing into Yokohama? It was literally years ago for us!

I’m pretty sure these Park guys didn’t exist in the manga. Update: Nope, they did. I’ve read the corresponding chapter, it’s just that that was also 2 years ago…just like the last we saw of the anime.

I love how the “gyaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” ended in blood splatter, literally.

The Park guys apparently come from ch. 44 but Katai comes from ch. forty…what? One? Two? It’s not 40 (Hitori Ayumu), that’s all I know.

Katai is a good boy. You’ll see why in…oh, a few seconds.

Oh, I love the ending of this story. I already know the ending, but seeing it again will be a whole new bag of laughs!

Uh…I forgot how much of an interruption the anime’s humour is. My dream of a “whole new bag of laughs” is at least half dashed…*shoulders slump*

Apparently Atsushi cut his hair himself…not sure if that’ll be a spoiler for later, but it’s still something cool to know.

“So it’s your letter?”

Katai is basically me when it comes to my husbandos. See why I love him???

Come to think of it…I haven’t properly listened to the ED yet! Better do that while I still have the chance.

Fruits Basket 5

Shigure is such a troll…just like I remember him.

Fruits Basket 6

Hatori! Ooh! He’s hottttttt! Sizzling!...Okay, I think you get my point already…

I think someone else (Amelia from A Girl and Her Anime…?) pointed this out…but I don’t understand a speck of German outside 1 – 10 (I remembered the German word for “six” way too well when I was younger). So it would help if they bothered to make the German English as well.

For some reason, the stick figure was both obviously a cost-cutting measure and also elevated the hilarity of that scene…!

I don’t quite know what the Japanese equivalent of the “macaroni and cheese” thing was, but it conveys the same idea in the two languages and makes people laugh along the way, so…*shrugs shoulders* Makes sense, I guess.

Tohru is kandou about meeting an author. Kandou means to be deeply moved (noun form).

LOL, Hanajima reading the book.

…Oh my goodness. I just realised Fruits Basket has a lot of characters with fringes. 90s fringes for everyone!

“…a cartoon about a cat and a rat that are always fighting…” - Come to think of it, Tom and Jerry is popular in Japan.

Shield Hero 18

I think this episode title ends in inbou, which means “intrigue”.

This show is clearly trying to play the same cards over and over again…

Shield Hero 19

Hypocrites! Hypocrites everywhere! *does Buzz Lightyear hand gesture from the meme*

OPM 19 (S2 Ep 6)

The reason the fat guy is called Dave is not just because of B/V confusion, but because debu (without the line in the middle) is a slang word for…wait for it…”fatty”.

Interestingly, Murata previously worked on a oneshot called Gokiburi Buster. I wonder if this Cockroach Boi is from there…?

Did you notice the guys behind the umpire, who had a stretcher at the ready…?

“Mr Saynuthin” seems to be “Nanmoien-san” in Japanese.

“Waganma” seems to be a play on wagamama, or selfish. However, I can’t pin down the pun in the father’s name...

Well, well, well…at least someone acknowledges Speed of Sound Sanic (the ninja, not the CGI abomination or the monkey) is hecka-speedy.

Charanko (the real one)…he has ashi no ura (the back of the foot) written on his bandages…LOL.

Sarazanmai 6

Apparently Kazuki’s (foster) family all wear the same kind of stripes…which is what Kazuki means when he doesn’t want to wear the same kind of clothes as his family.

Okay…so the first set of kanji that appear in the OP are the one for “desire” and the ones after that are “extraction”…geddit? (LOL)

Oh my glob…how in the name of Iyami does Osomatsu-san get so popular that after I watched the first season of that show, it starts appearing in other places as well????

I saw a translation of the Reo and Mabu tweets and apparently at least one of them can make ningyoyaki (a type of cake you can make in all sorts of shapes – scroll down a bit on that page and you’ll find the description of ningyoyaki there).

Uhh…ghh…Keppi pole dancing was disturbing…*soul floats out of body temporarily*

Reo (I think that’s Reo, at least) has ningyoyaki…Update: Yup, that’s Reo.

“Headdress”, huh?

Why does this episode 6 feel like ending material…?

Wait…you’re saying Reo and Mabu are princes of the otter kingdom??? Wuh???

BSD 31 (S3 Ep 6)

(Lucy blushes) Wow…now there’s an option for a het ship right there…not that anyone will take it.

I saw a GIF of Atsushi floating naked and face down in the water (because Irina), but…I forgot exactly how the scenario before it went, so I LOLled.

Oh yeah…this chapter had a tie-in with Mizuki Tsujimura, because Mizuki knew Kyoka’s mother. Also, it shows you can inherit Abilities…

It’s Truck-kun and the curse of the isekai!...Okay, I’m kidding.

Oh yeah…this is the chapter about the Headmaster…

I haven’t been in a good place mentally for the past few years or so, due to my world basically fragmenting around me, so the words “don’t hate yourself” are strong ones coming from a place both nostalgic and new.

Dazai inherits a particularly interesting space in Atsushi’s life. He’s like a brother and father wrapped up into one (Kunikida is the nagging mother in that analogy, LOL), but also obsessed with suicide to the point he can also be a liability.

“…didn’t tell anyone…”

It’s also interesting to compare Tohru (of Fruits Basket) and Atsushi. They’re both selfless, but Tohru’s selflessness is shown to be a double-edged sword while Atsushi’s gives him a lot of resentment but is overall a positive thing.

Aww…seeing Atsushi slowly tear up almost made me tear up too…

Fitzgerald Rising…that’s the name of the chapter where…oh, sorry. It’s been years, so I’ll let it all play out for you and me again without mentioning any spoilers until they happen in (close to) real time in the show, okay?

Fruits Basket 7

This is the first time there’s been English lyrics on the OP for this show…I think.

Who’s this “he” Tohru’s referring to when examining the woman’s picture? Akito, probably, but I’m not 100% sure…Update: It was Hatori, actually.

“Shii-san”, “Haa-san” etc. is…cute. *cue “O kawaii koto…” from Kaguya-sama*

I get the feeling that Shigure is almost like a prototype Dazai (Bungou Stray Dogs). Or they just have a lot in common.

“Are these my just desserts?”

Demon Slayer 7

Nezuko’s playing whack a mol-er, demon, isn’t she??? (LOL)

Whoa…it must be mighty freaky to be floating in a swamp of dead people’s possessions…

Welp, Tanjiro…that’s one way to say “hands off my sister”. *nods* By cutting the demon’s hands off…

I like the contrast between Tanjiro’s callused hands and Kazumi’s smooth ones.

Hey…why does food always get wasted in movies and other media…? I know I’m applying real-life consumption habits to media, but it always looks quite wasteful, y’know…?

OPM 20 (S2 Ep 7)

I never noticed that shot of Watchdog Man in the OP before…huh.

Pig God’s shirt says DEV. It’s a pun on debu (fatty)…again.

Ooh! I saw him in the OP! Flashy Flash! I’ve never seen him in action outside the OP before, but I know his name and appearance from reading around.

“You all are the strongest swordsmen we have.”

Seriously, Saitama, just get something to stick the wig on and you wouldn’t have gotten into this mess. Maybe superglue…(okay, I’m kidding about the superglue).

OPM got really childish this time…

#simulcast commentary #one punch man #Fruits Basket #The Rising of the Shield Hero #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer #Sarazanmai #Bungou Stray Dogs #chesarka watches bsd #Chesarka watches Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari #Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari #Chesarka watches OPM #Chesarka watches Sarazanmai #Chesarka watches KnY #Chesarka watches Furuba

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mild-lunacy · 6 years

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Why Shipping is Not Always Neutral

Most reasonable people in fandom believe shipping is always neutral. That is to say, it doesn't matter what you ship, it doesn't impact your understanding of the characterization or plot, and it's neither right nor wrong. Then there are the people who think *some* (non-canon) ships are just crazy, while their (non-canon) ship is superior. This is obviously why the whole stance originated. Still, however much people like to apply the 'all's fair in shipping and stanning' philosophy, it actually doesn't apply to canon ships. And it doesn't *always* apply equally to fanon ships. But rejecting *any* canon ships is automatically not neutral.

That is to say, if you think a canon ship sucks, that's not 'just' another fan opinion; it's a critique of canon. Unless, of course, it's portrayed as a failed relationship (and the canon may or may not signal the relationship will fail from the beginning, so in some stories this gets pretty subjective). In some narratives, you're expected to be invested in certain relationships and then... let go. Naturally, not everyone can do that, let alone every time. In a good story (like with Sarah J. Maas and the Throne of Glass series or with The Raven Cycle), you'll be able to see why things happen the way they do. Not doing so becomes a sign of a closed-minded reader. There's a good explanation possible for why it *had* to turn out the way it did. Sometimes it's a bit more complicated, 'cause a character died or just disappeared for no good reason, so... taking sides is understandable. It's just not *neutral*, basically.

I read someone anonymously confess that they don't ship Kaz and Inej in Six of Crows, and people were like, well, you've got the right to your opinion but you're wrong. Which I agree with, insofar as it goes. That person also was glad Matthias died-- and that's different. I think that's fundamentally different. You can easily not care about Matthias. Truth: I enjoyed him but I wasn't that upset when he died; he was only there in the end to make Nina happy. It's not necessary for the story that you care if he's dead; it's probably better if you don't (or you may not enjoy the ending). It *is* necessary to care about Kaz and Inej, 'cause their arc is a major part of the narrative. If you don't appreciate them, you won't really appreciate the books in general. The line between 'appreciate' and 'ship' gets fuzzy though; it's certainly possible to enjoy a romantic or platonic relationship without going that extra mile to ship. It's just... most people in fandom have clearly never realized this. Possibly because that kind of mild attitude is by nature not fannish.

A lot of people do get this with canon slash ships, which are automatically labeled important and necessary to the story (unless the person is pretty obviously hating on queer pairings). No one on Tumblr or Instagram these days really goes very far in dissing Adam/Ronan in TRC, in any case, mostly 'cause they're queer. Either way, people's feelings on gay male relationships seem to take precedence. Plenty of people have much to say about how much they don't ship Blue/Gansey and how they don't like them (at least without some additions or alterations), and so on. Those people usually do care about Blue and Gansey individually, but have their own ideas about what's best for them (usually it's to be queer, but it could be anything). If I had to guess, that confession about Kaz and Inej probably has something to do with how 'healthy' or 'necessary' that relationship is. My point is that it's actually a pretty big and serious statement of philosophy about the whole canon world, not 'just' a ship, 'just' an opinion.

Of course, a lot of times, a story will play on creating drama and disagreement between readers about possible future ships (especially stories with love triangles). And not every story has a central relationship that you have to care about to get the show. BBC Sherlock is on the other end of the spectrum from an ensemble show like BtVS. You can easily like Buffy alone, or with Angel, or with Spike, all with an equivalent understanding of the show, although it gets iffy with fanon ships. You can probably get away with focusing on a slash ship like Spike/Angel as long as you still care about Buffy. I think it's (just barely) enough of a true ensemble show that you may get away with not caring too much about Buffy... but my feeling is that this is only true to an extent. In the end, it's All About Buffy, and so ultimately you have to give Buffy's needs precedence in judging the relationships and events. It's not the same with Six of Crows. It's not an ensemble in the same way. Every character and relationship is much more important, but I would argue that both Kaz and Inej are the 'main characters', though Matthias and his arc is pretty important. If the reader didn't appreciate that, a big chunk of the text just... clearly flew past them. It's not neutral.

This whole issue really started when people started mixing up fanon and canon ships. Or rather, the distinction and/or idea of fanon started to lose importance. This is pretty natural to people, who tend to think their opinion is reality at the best of times. I guess from that perspective, mere tolerance of others' ideas is already an accomplishment. Understanding of the text and/or reality thus becomes really extraneous for most people. Perhaps I'm the one discounting the importance of maintaining harmony; I realize that's probably the central problem on the Internet these days. I should have focused on how cool it is that those Kaz/Inej fans on Instagram were so chill even as they disagreed. I shouldn't take it for granted, let alone disagree and be more forceful. I just think it's useful to think about *why* that (or any other) opinion on a pairing may be wrong.

#ya lit #shipping #oh fandom #characterization #pointless rambles #me myself and i #six of crows #raven cycle #raven ❤️#pynch #sherlock feels #johnlock feels #throne of glass #reader response #buffy feels

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solimavi · 7 years

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An Analysis on the Sexualities of Tweek and Craig

Quick Introduction Spoiler: This analysis reaches the conclusion that both of these characters are gay. But not just that they’re gay. That homosexuality is “the point”. If I were to start this analysis by saying their sexualities don’t actually matter in the grand scheme of things, I’d be a liar (based on my observations made in this analysis). And I’m not just talking about their homosexuality mattering in terms of representation. Their homosexuality matters in terms of mattering to South Park. Don’t get what I mean? That’s what this analysis is for and that point will be made especially clear in the last section.

Before I can get to that big chunk of meta, I will also be going over the character sheets.

First of all. I will NOT touch anything pre-Tweek x Craig. This is why I dislike my old analysis, it draws too many points from old episodes. To try and make a statement about modern canon using old information is to assume there is intended continuity that goes years back. And in this case, it also assumes Matt and Trey seriously thought about the sexualities of these two minor characters before Tweek x Craig. And being honest, I don’t think Matt and Trey thought about Tweek and Craig much in general before TxC. Craig didn’t have his modern characterization fully established until “Pandemic” (he was mostly just a rival to the main four before then) and Tweek just straight up stopped existing for years.

I also won’t go into Tweek x Craig because I think plenty of people have hit upon that episode already (including myself in my old analysis on Tweek). If you want to see the points I made on Tweek from that episode, here you go .

Them as Superheros and the Character Sheets

On to the character sheets! These (obviously) aren’t all of them, but they are the only ones relevant to this analysis.

It’s obvious these sheets aren’t completely accurate. The only straight Cartman is and will ever be is a straight up liar. But I don’t think that makes ALL of these sheets inaccurate. Making a superhero persona =/= always making a character completely distinct from who you actually are (though you COULD do that). Think of an actual superhero with a secret identity. When we talk about something like Batman and Bruce Wayne, are we talking about two distinct characters or are they ultimately the same character leading a double life? Easy. The latter. So it’s fair to say some of the kids treated their superhero personas that way. But how do you determine how the kids went about their superhero identities?

Let’s look at Kyle. He went all out with making his character and at one point, even directly says he dropped some of his personal information in favor of making his superhero more believable as an alien.

That makes the rest of his character sheet questionable as to whether or not the information applies to KYLE, not Human Kite. Maybe he came up with an asexual gender-neutral alien race? Or maybe Kyle really IS asexual? It’s hard to say. The point is that this character sheet is for sure not completely accurate to who Kyle actually is. He treats Human Kite as someone distinct from himself as an actual person. Because of that, the things on his character sheet should be taken with a grain of salt.

Now let’s look at Tweek and Craig. These two, unlike the others, tie in their superhero personas to who they actually are. How can I say that for sure? Because they literally put their actual names into the names of their superhero personas.

Because they keep their real names in their superhero names, that’s a pretty big indication these superhero personas aren’t meant to be completely distinct from them as people. And there’s nothing from the superhero histories they came up with or in the game dialogue to suggest they’re meant to be distinct. They’re just Tweek and Craig, now with super powers.

Though of course, those sheets and this explanation of them aren’t quite solid enough proof to end this analysis at that. But I do think the argument is solid enough to not toss the character sheets aside as completely invalid. They make excellent tools for comparing what’s claimed on the sheets and what the characters show in behavior.

But I’m not done here with their superhero personas. This IS an analysis on the sexualities of Craig and Tweek so it would be criminal not to bring this up. Wonder Tweek most likely based his costume and powers more on Wiccan than any other superhero, despite naming himself after Wonder Woman. Here is a fantastic post on that

Why does that matter here? Because Tweek skipped over modelling his costume and abilities after the big name superheroes and wanted to be more like Wiccan, an explicitly gay superhero who isn’t well known. Kids often admire and make role models out of characters they can see a part of themselves in. Tweek found this powerful superhero character that shared something big in common with him, so he wanted to use Wiccan as a model for his own superhero persona. Like how many little girls like dressing up like Wonder Woman. Which, to me, is very adorable and heartwarming.

The Subject of their Sexualities within the Series

On to the last point. The idea of them liking strictly boys is something the series likes to come back to. Even if they’re things meant to make you laugh more than anything. Whether it’s Craig bringing the subject up for no apparent reason and bluntly saying “I’m gay” in his monotone voice, or Tweek not bucking out extra cash to impress a flirty waitress who wears her shorts extra tight and short and then at another point proclaiming his love for “sausage” - the writers bring you back to the idea that “Yes, they’re GAY”. This type of content wouldn’t be thrown in if they intended for you to think otherwise.

And I’m not just talking about bringing the fandom (who are watching this stuff more closely) back to the idea of them being gay, I’m talking about the average viewer. I’ve seen quite a few playthroughs where seemingly more casual fans laugh at how awkwardly Craig brings the subject up and how straight forward he is. Or ignore the notes the Raisins Girls have on Dog Poo and Butters, but then chuckle once they see Tweek’s. These scenes serve to remind the audience as a whole that these characters are gay (using humorous methods to do so - this is a comedy after all).

I’m pretty sure everyone has noticed how much the others characters love to point out that Tweek and Craig are gay at any chance they get. They’re constantly referred to as “gay” or “homosexual”. It’s constantly thrown in at complete random, with even the news anchor from “Put it Down” calling Tweek a “young homosexual boy”. Almost seems like they’re trying to rub these two characters being gay into our faces doesn’t it?

Because that’s EXACTLY what they’re doing. And here’s where the meta comes in. When those other characters remind you that Tweek and Craig are gay, that’s SOUTH PARK reminding you that they’re gay.

Looking back at the Tweek x Craig commentary reveals these reminders are intentionally brought up a lot and serve to work as parodies. Here’s a quote from the commentary: “It’s basically kind of the show saying look how cool and up to date we are! We now have a gay couple on it and it shows how proud shows can be of themselves for having gay couples.” Link to the commentary

Matt and Trey describe the excitement of the townspeople as being a metaphor for the show itself being excited and proud to have gay characters. The moments after TxC meant to remind you that these two are gay are a continuation of the show proudly showing off its gay characters and the fact that they’re gay.

Like I said earlier. The show strongly wants you to know that they’re gay. And at the rate they’re going, an analysis like this one will eventually be completely unnecessary in telling you that Tweek and Craig are gay. Because that’s something that’s only going to grow increasingly more blatant as the show goes on.

In conclusion, both of these characters are super gay and that super gayness is super important to their now more prominent roles in South Park.

#south park #craig tucker #tweek tweak #sp creek #analysis #gay

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