#but yet i also have very complicated feelings this is the closest the manga will rlly get to unhealthy relationships in family

[cursezoroark]

this panel is so good at scaring the shit out of me.

[yggdraseed]

My Deal with Giselle Gewelle

So, let me preface this by saying that I'm trans. I'm not saying that to invalidate the feelings of other trans people, just to specify that mine isn't some outsider's perspective. There's also spoilers for Bleach: TYBW, but I'm guessing that there aren't a lot of interested parties left who don't know about this. You probably also know this goes into transphobia, necrophilia, and rape, but if you don't, uh... trigger warning! Reader beware, you're in for a scare!

Recently, an episode of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War came out in which noted bitchy asshole who uses too much product Yumichika Ayasegawa misgendered darling, sweet murderous trans babygirl Giselle Gewelle. It's also implied that upon necromancing Bambietta's corpse, Giselle had sex with her, probably against her will. That's all pretty fucked up, and I want to talk about it.

I started my transition about ten years ago, and exposure to trans or gender non-conforming anime and manga characters in general went a long way towards me accepting I was trans. Looking back, Giselle was one of the most significant characters to me at that early stage. I've always loved her design, and she was the first legit trans character I ever really saw and resonated with in anime and manga.

Get this: there used to be this thing in Shonen Jump's manga line-up called the Big Three. The most influential, bestselling manga in the bunch. One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. And you wanna know something? Bleach was the first one to have a trans woman character. We can debate whether or not Giselle was good representation, but you know what? At the time, the closest we ever got was Haku pulling the "Oh, by the way, I'm a boy" card in Naruto's first major arc back in the early 2000s and a constant bombardment of okama jokes in One Piece. Okama is a derogatory term for gay men and drag queens, and for a long time, Oda could not get enough of making jokes about big, hairy men in women's clothing.

Now there was also Alluka Zoldyck in Hunter X Hunter, but the vast stretches of time Hunter X Hunter spends on hiatus makes it unclear to me whether she or Giselle came first. But within the Big Three - a designation which doesn't mean much now, but meant a ton back then - Giselle was first. Hunter X Hunter was never quite considered part of the Big 3. But either way, I think Alluka is the better character in terms of how her being trans is written. She's cute, she's precious, she's perfect in every way, and I'll make you pay if you say a single bad thing about her.

Years and years later, Oda would go on to write Kikunojo and Yamato. I still have complicated thoughts about Yamato as trans rep, but Kiku is great trans rep for being a relatively minor character. Oda has also phased the okama jokes out of the story over time. Jujutsu Kaisen also has a subtle, but well-handled example of a trans woman in Kirara Hoshi. She doesn't get nearly enough time in the story, and her identity hasn't been explored yet, but I hope GeGe will unpack that before the story's conclusion.

I tell you all of that so you realize that even if Giselle could have been handled better, Kubo was the first of the Big 3 authors to even try to write a trans girl. Not a femboy, not an okama - a trans woman/girl. He also gave us Charlotte Cuulhorne, and while Charlotte's depiction flirts with being just an okama gag and nothing more, she's so fabulous and so positive in her outlook on life that I can't bring myself to be mad.

So let's look at Giselle as a character. She's very cute, with her big eyes and goofy, purposefully adorable mannerisms. None of the other Sternritter girls try to be cute in quite the way Giselle does. Meninas likes cute things, but doesn't act cute, and that's as close as it gets. Unlike the other Femritters, Giselle wears clothes that cover up as much as possible. Even Liltotto's outfit shows off her shoulders and thighs some; Giselle keeps her shoulders and neck completely covered by a baggy sweater, and her legs covered by tights. Kubo drew a swimsuit picture with the Bambis all together, and he opted to put Giselle in a swimsuit with a skirt. It's pretty apparent that Giselle has concerns about how she looks and covers up as much as she can out of dysphoria. As a card-carrying member of the big jacket-long pants-closed toe shoes gang, I can tell you that when you're not very progressed with your transition, it's like that.

I think you can also make the argument that part of why Giselle acts so cutesy is because of her insecurities and feeling like she has to make up for them by being extra, overtly feminine and adorable. It's like that.

There's not a doubt in my mind that Kubo intended for Giselle to be trans. But is she good trans rep? Probably not, but she might not be as bad as she's made out to be.

People who criticize how Giselle is depicted as a trans character have two or three go-to arguments. Three points of interest to say that she's being written in a transphobic way.

1.) Yumichika scopes her out as trans and misgenders her.

2.) Charlotte says she and Giselle have a lot in common.

3.) The most damning: what Giselle does to Bambietta.

So, I've never liked people using Yumichika as a litmus test for how Kubo feels about trans people. Let me explain something to you: Yumichika is a bitch, an asshole, and the consummate gadfly. One of his defining traits is his awful personality and his inability to resist saying cruel, petty things to others. He's awful to Charlotte and he's awful to GiGi, and he's pretty much awful to anyone besides Ikkaku and Kenpachi, but especially Charlotte and GiGi.

Yumichika is an allegory for a closeted gay man. He has this deep admiration, respect, loyalty, and arguably love for Kenpachi and Ikkaku that's led him to stay in the 11th Division even though it's not where his talents are best put to work. He's adept at kido and his zanpakuto is based in kido, but he refuses to use the former or reveal the latter to his squad because he doesn't want them to reject him. The 11th Division is the manly man squad, all testosterone and sweat and bulging muscles and... ahem. Sorry, I got a little carried away. It's all very erotic. Anyways, Yumichika wants to be close to the men with whom he shares a bond of emotion and martial loyalty alike, and he refuses to embrace his gifts because of it. He's afraid his friends in the boys' club will kick him out for having interests and inclinations that most of them look down on.

I think you can make the argument that Yumichika hates Charlotte and Giselle precisely because they're being true to themselves, meaning they've made a leap he hasn't yet. He's too scared of what might happen if he doesn't keep the lie going about his zanpakuto, and he resents Giselle and Charlotte because they overcame a similar fear of rejection. And he expresses that by rejecting their truth, i.e., misgendering them. This is the interpretation I like the best. It's a sad fact that lots of gay men, closeted or otherwise, refuse to accept trans women.

Charlotte says she and Giselle have a lot in common, and honestly, I don't think this is transphobic either. If you choose to read Charlotte as a trans woman who isn't stereotypically feminine, but is true to herself, then what she's stating is just a fact. She and Giselle may not look the same, and Giselle may have an easier time passing, but they're both trans women if you ask me. And I think Giselle reacting with discomfort isn't innaccurate, either. Charlotte's confidence is admirable in some ways, but I think it sets of Giselle's alarm bells that she's going to be outed and rejected. Lots of trans women - myself included - are haunted by this fear that we'll never pass, never be accepted, or will be incapable of retaining our desired presentation as we get older. It's like that.

So, that brings us to the Bambietta Incident. Not quite as wide-reaching as the Shibuya Incident, but about as traumatizing for some, apparently. Full disclosure, I don't believe any heinous acts should be censored from fiction. If it makes you uncomfortable or awakens traumatic memories, then I'm sympathetic to that, but I do not believe that the right answer is to sanitize every work of fiction of every immoral act that could have that effect. You know where your limits are, so don't count on authors to protect you. Most of them won't, and I think you're stronger and smarter and more able to navigate a world with fictitious depictions like that in it than you realize.

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, Giselle probably sexually assaulted Bambi. And is that right of her to do? Fuck no, it isn't. But nobody's really debating if that's right or wrong. The problem is that if you look at it a certain way, this is just reinforcing the old, awful stereotype of trans women being predators in disguise. Lots of shitty writers have done that, and it sucks.

However, those depictions assume that trans women are predators, by definition. Or at least sexual deviants. We could go down the rabbit hole of how sexual deviancy has historically been defined by people who use sex as a form of control anyway, but I'm not well-read enough to do that and - well, you've seen how long this post is. Be honest, you wouldn't want me to even try.

The point is that a depiction like that assumes trans woman = deviant. I don't want to make that logical leap here, because that means you need to assume that Kubo wrote Giselle with the intention that she assaulted Bambi because she's trans. I'm not a mind reader, so I'm uncomfortable with acting like I can know Kubo's intentions. It's a bad look to us in the Western sphere of the anime fandom, but I'm not sure how Kubo saw it. He might have not realized how it would look until that chapter was out there and he couldn't undo it, but given the fact they kept it in the anime, he either probably doesn't see a problem with it or there were other rewrites he saw as more important to allocate his mental energies to. Writing Bleach burned this man out, so I'll cut him some slack if so.

My point is, I'm not sure if you can say for sure that the story intends you to believe that Giselle assaulted Bambi because she's trans. When you look at it, Kubo seems to have a more in-depth understanding of trans people than some of you might have first realized. And I mean, shit man, he gave her biology manipulation powers. Every trans girl's first pick for super powers is shapeshifting or some form of biology manipulation. He knows. He's onto us. He's familiar with our ways. The jig is up, girls.

Looking at the broader scope of the narrative, Bleach is littered with characters who perform heinous actions and are not just shoved out the "All Villains Die" airlock. Chief example being Mayuri. The man committed war crimes, experiments on human beings, turns his own subordinates into bombs, and is heavily implied to have performed some very sexual deeds to reconstitute his daughter Nemu after Szayel parasitized her. Yet he still saves the day multiple times and he isn't gotten rid of, because he's more useful to the side of overall good alive than dead. Bleach is one of very few series to have characters who perform heinous deeds and still be treated as humans, rather than reducing them to those deeds and nothing else.

Plus, nobody really treats it as an issue with Kubo's writing that Bambietta killed one of her own fellow Quincies in cold blood just to vent her frustrations. I think because it's sexual and because Giselle is trans, she ends up being the lightning rod when... let's be honest, compared to what some of the Shinigami have done, what Giselle did is kind of quaint. She even helps rescue Candice and I think Meninas after they're taken captive by Mayuri in the novels, and she's considering releasing Bambietta from her control.

Given what we've seen, I think it's less accurate to pick on Giselle and try to say she's a case of Kubo being transphobic, and more accurate to say that living in the Shadow Realm under Yhwach's cruel, exploitative regime has made all the Sternritters fucked up in their own unique, vibrant ways. And for that matter, Kubo never kills her off. He clearly likes her enough to want her to still be around after the end of the series.

When you look at how Kubo draws Giselle in the manga and in illustrations after the manga's conclusion, you can tell he enjoys himself when he's drawing her. He always lavishes her facial expressions with detail, and you can feel love radiating off the page. That's more than you can say for a lot of the Quincies. I think Kubo was overjoyed to not have to draw PePe and his Vollständig anymore.

So like, yeah, Giselle is my problematic fave transgender character. And I don't think she's even as problematic as people's kneejerk reactions are to think she is. If you disagree, I don't care, I don't value your opinion. Particularly if you're not trans. If you're an ally, then that's sweet and all, but never try to speak for trans people about depictions of trans characters. If you are trans and Giselle made you uncomfortable, then I'm sorry you feel that way.

[ryuichirou]

So do you have any more kuro ships, or is it just sebaciel and greenviolet?

Anon, I thought I’d just give you a link to the post where we mentioned our Kuro ships, but the post was written exactly a year ago (woah, this is freaky), and didn’t have a half of our ships, because after that point we read more manga and ended up having a lot of new ships.

So I wrote a new list and talked too much about everyone lol And I still think like I failed to mention a lot of ships and people…

A lot of these are “wow that would be hot” types of ships, and unfortunately I don’t have a lot of sketches (or any) for the majority of them, but maybe one day… I hope :”)

Beware of spoilers… and Ciel ships. A lot of Ciel ships.

Sebastian/Ciel – well that’s a given. Can’t talk about these two in this post, because it’ll be way too long, but maybe one day I’ll be enabled to write a long-ass essay about why they work so well as a ship… We used to dislike them lol mainly because we didn’t like Kuroshitsuji back in the day.

Undertaker/Ciel – not real!Ciel for now (haven’t seen a lot of him yet, so we’re a bit conflicted), just our og Ciel. Looking at some of the official arts, sometimes it feels like Kuroshitsuji is Yana’s sick “love” (heeeeavy quotes) triangle between Sebastian, Ciel, and Undertaker lol And this is much more complicated than that, but it’s still a fun idea, especially considering all the visual motifs and symbolism. But even without all that, Undertaker teases the hell out of Ciel, and this is always the best thing possible.

Lau/Ciel – speaking of teasing Ciel lol I love how annoying Lau is to Ciel sometimes, and how he is still one of the closest allies that he has. And Ciel doesn’t even trust him (or anyone), but is somehow okay enough with him to not only do business together but also play card games and such. I also love how to Lau, Ciel is like this ultimate entertainment: there is always something fucked up or fun going on in his house, so of course he’s going to come visit unannounced. Ciel is also pretty cute to him, and I can’t ignore this fact lol Of course he’d want him to wear a cute dress. This ship has a lot of aesthetic value…

Abberline/Ciel – “who?” you might say, and I shrug. Only the best character in the entirety of Kuroshitsuji? No biggie, really. In all honesty, this kind of started as a joke that went too far. For some reason, whenever Ciel sees an earnest man, he just can’t help himself and starts teasing (and straight up flirting with) him, and Abberline is very earnest. I love how he always teases him, how both he and Sebastian keep calling him “Underline” and stuff. It’s nothing too serious, but I feel like Ciel at the same time has some kind of a soft spot for Abberline because of how good-natured he is, and still is very condescending towards him somehow. Abberline is of course super oblivious and confused.

Diedrich/Vincent – this is pure insanity. I almost feel bad for Diedrich for putting this ship there, but it’s so stupidly entertaining, they are so great together, and by that I mean “wow Vincent really did fucked up this man’s entire life and went “I know you’re not going to do anything about it bitch <3””. They would make the best problematic sitcom about a toxic relationship…

Diedrich/Ciel – The Emerald Witch arc, man. It changes people. I can’t say that this is like a well thought-out ship, it’s mostly the whiplash from Ciel in a dress (again, for some reason) smugly commenting on how much Diedrich has changed that killed us. But all this aside, the idea of Diedrich being haunted by Vincent’s ghost he sees in Ciel’s eyes is also very amazing. Nothing healthy or good about that. But amazing.

Lau/Ran Mao – I’m sorry, these two are weirdly delightful. Maybe I just love Ran Mao too much and Katsu loves Lau too much, but the idea of them just always having the best of times together and being unapologetically horny while also actively making everybody around them sliiiightly uncomfortable is the best. Wait, what’s even better is the fact that they just keep lying about being siblings lol Are they doing that because everyone thinks that they are related because they think that all Asian people look the same? I hope they do.

Finnian/Ciel – these two really grew on us, well, we liked Finny even before due to his unhinged nature, and these two have a dynamc that is reeeally our cup of tea?? Very loyal but a bit naïve and absurdly strong (and creepy) boy + his young master?? Their interactions in the Emerald Witch Arc are wonderful. Finnian’s backstory is extremely sexy.

Finnian/Snake – really really love their dynamic and their bond, just two weird boys doing weird boys’ stuff. We haven’t read their part of the latest arc yet, but when we do, I’ll probably draw a couple of sketches of them, I really want to.

Greenhill/Violet – these two need no introduction… 🦁🐺💚💜 lovelies…

Redmond/Bluewer – while Herman and Gregory absolutely overshadowed these two, I want to note that we do love these boys too, and I really need to draw them too at least once. I still think about that one person who asked if we’re going to draw them… I feel so bad… they’re good together… I love smug assholes with glasses-wearing nerds…

Undertaker/Othello – these two are intriguing. What happened between you two? What’s going on now? The fact that Undertaker used to be so different from how we know him today is also very interesting, we would love to learn more about them, PLUS! Height difference + Othello cute.

Sebastian/William – I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THEM OH MY FUCKING GOD!! The Circus arc!! The amount of "mattaku"s William was sending Sebastian's way, talking shit about him all pettily, talking about how much he hated being stuck in the same tent as him, just how much more "please fuck me but I am playing hard to get though" can you get? I am sorry, this is our Sebastian/annoying shinigami ship.

Honorary mentions:

There are a lot of characters that we really love but don’t have any ships with (yet???), and examples would be Charles Grey, Cheslock, BLAVAT SKY!!!!!!!!, all the cunty boys from the Weston College arc LIKE MAURICE FOR EXAMPLE, Alois… kind of. Also women, but I’ll mention them later.

We love Alois very much, he is very special to us for a lot of reasons, but we didn’t really end up shipping-shipping him with Claude? I absolutely love Alois’ love for him, both in a shippy and in a character writing level, but Claude himself just doesn’t give back anything, which is exactly the point I guess. Ironically, this time around we got kind of invested in Claude/Ciel, because hoo boy this guy went absolutely bananas lol it was so entertaining to watch.

Ironically, the one character whose interactions with Alois we absolutely loved was Luka. And in a dramatic turn of events, the Shrouds ended up giving us a dynamic that is surprisingly similar to them, I guess Yana enjoyed these two as well. Well, you’ve probably heard us talking about this dynamic: “I would do anything for you even if it means everyone else dies, I just want you to be happy”, with a younger brother that looks so innocent but in actuality is very sinister and determined to do anything for his brother’s happiness. We ship them.

Also… Real Ciel? A can of worms that we aren’t quite ready to tackle yet lol Mostly because there’s little to no info about him yet.

Also also I can’t not mention women. Women of Kuroshitsuji are way too gorgeous, this isn’t fair. When Yana got asked about who she drew them for (considering the audience of the manga), she said that she drew them for herself and I felt it so much. Unfortunately, I can’t name any ship with them, but Nina, Jane, Mey-Rin and Ran Mao are… great. You can easily guess which arc completely annihilated me lol, I would love if it were a yuri manga….

Ending on a much less cursed note, we like Agni and Souma as a unit as well as their relationships and themes (and how they mirror Sebastian and Ciel), but we don’t ship them romantically because they’re not our type of relationship.

[echidna-auxiliatrix]

Been thinking about Alien 9 this morning (as you can tell by my reblogs) and Kumi, specifically the thing with Kumi and Kasumi and why Kasumi strangles Kumi in episode 4 of the OVA.

Kumi is the tallest in the alien party. She’s also very parentified by her mom, and is also the one in the party that has bore the most responsibility throughout her life, having been the class representative since kindergarten. In animation, taller generally means older -- there are exceptions, but generally this is the case. I think Kumi is one of these. In Kumi’s case, being taller probably simply means that she went into puberty earlier than Kasumi and Yuri. Along these lines, I think it’s also significant that Kumi is the only character who’s having romantic feelings -- her crush on Yuri is pretty damn obvious. I think Yuri returns these feelings, at least a little bit, but they clearly arose in Kumi first.

I want to point out that Kumi was the one buried in the sand in episode 3 at the beach -- I also want to point out that in the manga, the girls gave Kumi’s sand body breasts and pubic hair. We see that Kumi is physically uncomfortable, and looks as if she’s having trouble breathing. The anime, understandably, censored the details that the manga left in, but I think those details from the manga are significant, in that they sort of confirm what I was saying earlier about Kumi hitting puberty earlier. Kumi’s in the early stages of puberty, but she’s not a woman, therefore the pubic hair and breasts don’t quite fit from the viewers perspective, but they do fit from the girls’ perspective.

It’s glaringly obvious that Kasumi’s brother was sexually abusing her. The imagery and dialogue in the series makes it abundantly clear. Kasumi is also very intentionally characterized as the most innocent, the youngest-seeming one in the alien party. This puts Yuri in the middle, as the average girl. Anyway, Kasumi’s brother is older than her, though it’s never said exactly by how many years. In any case, this is incestuous sexual abuse. Which is a complicated thing. Clearly, Kasumi misses her brother after he’s been sent away. Her parents seem very laissez-faire -- a.k.a. neglectful. So the only way Kasumi could receive love, affection, etc. was through her brother and his abuse. So of course she’s lonely, vulnerable, and not doing well after he left. Not that she wasn’t those things before -- just that she was able to bury those feelings and distract herself from them when her brother was around. It’s terrible and heartbreaking. 

Kasumi can’t admit to herself that her brother hurt her. If she did, her whole worldview would crumble. She speaks positively of her brother throughout all 4 episodes. Yet Kasumi’s still hurt by him. She wants love but doesn’t want to have to take abuse in order to get it. Nobody does, let alone any child. Kasumi is also afraid of change -- afraid of puberty and growing up. All three members of the alien party are, in their own ways, though Yuri’s angst is most obvious. Kasumi feels that once she stops being a little girl, sex and abuse will be inevitable; there will be no other way to be loved than to be hurt. Guess who’s closest to being a woman out of the alien party? Yep, it’s Kumi. Kumi represents what Kasumi fears -- puberty, growing up, having the body of a woman, and having romantic (adult) feelings. If Kumi represents these things, then when she’s tasked with cutting Kasumi out of Yellowknife, then she’s robbing Kasumi of this unhealthy, amniotic static state where she can be with her brother forever. That’s why Kasumi strangles Kumi. She’s trying to kill what she fears.

[opheliaswritings]

Love For Yashiro Nene ⍣ ೋ

2/6

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Her Relationships With Others:

Over the course of the events, does Yashiro Nene’s relationship with others change and go. They may influence her or relate back to her.

Hanako-Kun:

I have already gone into depth with this in my hananene analysis, but for the sake of this one I will give you a quick rundown.

Hanako and Yashiro’s relationship are a pivotal part to the manga. It’s cute and fun on a surface level, but when you look deeper it’s a lot more complex. Right from the start, their love is forbidden and complicated with Yashiro being a human and Hanako being a supernatural. Hanako tries his best to understand Yashiro, but he simply can’t as supernaturals can not understand humans. The distance between them is too great for even Hanako to get.

Hanako is also, indirectly and directly, responsible for most of the affairs that occur in the manga, more specifically the ones that affect Yashiro. Starting from the Picture Perfect Arc do we see him kidnap Yashiro to trade her life for Aoi’s in the severance. All of this just so she can live. Yashiro made a wish to him, a wish for her to live as long as 100 years and Hanako is set on fulfilling it. Even if it means breaking Yashiro’s promise multiple times and not listening to her. 

Yashiro has come to a point where she believes that she should die for everybody else’s sake, and more importantly to be with Hanako. Hanako does not want that, but Yashiro also does not listen to him. She is willing to die if it means being with him, and/or her friends being okay. This resolve is something Hanako does not want at all.

They are friends and something a little more, but they really do care for eachother, yet the miscommunication and lack of understanding is a big barrier between the two. But an understanding between a supernatural and a human, between a cursed prince and a mermaid, it’s nigh impossible.  

Aoi Akane

Aoi Akane is one of Yashiro Nene’s friends, more importantly her longest and closest one. They go all the way back to middle school, and they've been friends ever since. Aoi and Yashiro share a huge love for romance so they always like to tell eachother all sorts of their own romantic affairs. Aoi also likes to humor Yashiro with scary stories, even though she herself is not very fond of them. Aoi is also the nominated princess of Kanome Gakuen for being synonymous with beauty itself.

Though they may care for eachother, Aoi conceals her true self from Yashiro. We learn over the manga that Aoi has a strong habit of bottling up her emotions and wants for a plastic personality. Aoi is a victim of bully, assaults, and ostracization, so she compiled numerous mental issues. She doesn’t have a high opinion of herself, but she looks down on others. She doesn’t allow herself to be close to anybody, yet she gets jealous over people who are.

Before, Yashiro was like everybody else. Distant and jealous of Aoi, until she started to hang out with her more did she really learn to respect and genuinely care for her. Yashiro really does cherish Aoi, so it’s no wonder she would be so distraught over losing her, and be willing to lay down her life for her.

Yashiro is the one person who Aoi allows herself to reveal slivers of her true self, the one person she truly feels comfortable with. Aoi feels strongly for her as well, so when Yashiro started to avoid her due to her business with Hanako her depression deepened. She became willing to sacrifice herself, to be gone from this world.

Now, Yashiro and Aoi finally reunite. They realized how much they mean to each other and embraced in a hug! They still haven’t had a proper talk, but there’s hope in their relationship for them to properly understand each other.

Minamoto Kou

Minamoto Kou is one of Yashiro Nene’s newer friends, but a very dear one as he was almost always there for Yashiro whenever there’s something supernatural happening that could threaten them. Minamoto braves situations with Yashiro to protect her. They are both naturally sensitive and kind people so together they are a funny duo. But, they can also relate and rely on each other, as both of their princes are supernatural, yet they still want to help them whenever they can. They are really good friends though, as without each other they wouldn’t have made it so far!

Kou cares tremendously for his friends just like Yashiro. So when he learned of Yashiro’s short lifespan he immediately tried to find a way to help her, even if it meant hurting himself in the process. Kou has a streak of always endangering himself in the suspense of others. He always likes to play the hero from the stories, who can do the right things to save his friends. He got involved with Natsuhiko to find a solution, as well as risk his life several times. This is not even mentioning Mitsuba, and the lengths he will go for him despite Mitsuba’s protests. Kou can’t bring himself to let go of Mitsuba, like how Yashiro can't let go of Hanako.

Minamoto Teru

Minamoto Teru was the eye of Yashiro’s affection ever since her first day of high school. He has excellent grades, dashing good looks, very charismatic, kind, reliable, and everything you need to curate a perfect prince. Yashiro longed for him, to the point of making a deal with a supernatural being and becoming a mermaid if it meant having him. So could Yashiro ever have this perfect prince? Unfortunately no. Even in the end Yashiro’s feelings will remain unreciprocated as his heart lies in another damsel.

However, this perfect Teru is just a façade. He may be very talented, but to say he is enjoying any of this is very far-fetched. Stress and exhaustion plague him, but he puts on a flawless smile. Unlike his brother, he is very serious as seen how he has tried to expel Hanako multiple times, without a care for what people might say. As the story goes on Yashiro sees more of who he really is. With the loss of her craving for romance and the start of her feelings for Hanako, she lost feelings for him. Though they still remain good friends where Teru is willing to help her multiple times.

Akane Aoi

Akane Aoi is a weird individual who Yashiro only knew as her best friend’s childhood friend, and admirer. Akane is a reliable, good student, and overall somebody who everybody respects. That is until you involve Aoi, then he’ll be a lot less reliable and more crazy. He is head over heels for his childhood friend, to the point where he will be violent for her.

Akane and Yashiro are only acquaintances. They are not very close, but they can understand each other to a certain level. They both had their crushes stuck on the other side where they both had to try and rescue her. Akane, just like Yashiro, is as immature and reckless when it comes to love. But unlike her who has not found her prince, he has found her princess. He believes that they are right for eachother. To both of them, love is eternal and as such is everything.

At some point do both Akane and her create an alliance after a date with Minamoto. They recognize that the other is somebody who they can trust to help get back their lost loved ones.

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[daisyachain]

I read Haruhi Suzumiya as a reaction to Evangelion specifically. Am I wrong? Maybe! Eva used and/or started a lot of real common tropes in anime/manga/light novels. The points I’ve got in my favour is that Nagato is explicitly a Rei clone (Ayanami and Nagato both being the names of battleships according to TvTropes). The jargon and mysterious vague organizations draw a more tenuous link (The Organization and the Data Thought Entity ring of NERV or SEELE). Kyon for his part is an anti-Shinji, an aggressively cynical and genre-aware protag instead of the most naive boy alive.

[[MORE]]

If Haruhi is an Eva parody, we’ve got a pretty easy Yuki = Rei and Haruhi = Asuka love triangle. Mikuru is harder, but Mikuru (big) has elements of Misato. Taniguchi and Kunikida are pretty clearly Toji and Kensuke. Random classmates whose names I always have to look up. Leaving, drumroll, Koizumi as Kaworu. No explanation needed there.

The closest Haruhi Suzumiya has to a running plot is Kyon and Haruhi’s romance. They butt heads, they barely seem to like each other, and every arc has to end with them reconciling or making some kind of choice that brings them closer together. Similar to Shinji/Asuka it kind of fills the role of Only They Can Deal With Each Other. Except it’s actually a fun little friendship instead of a dumb annoying godawful mess because I hate Eva and it’s a pain to even think about. They’re literally destined to be together via time loops and the very fabric of the universe as woven by Haruhi.

Only, the love polygon that was such a big part of the Eva (especially the fan response to Eva) is integrated into Haruhi despite the foregone conclusion. Disappearance is an in-universe KyonYuki AU. Kyon has to accept Yuki’s feelings and reject her advances to save the day. Kyon being horny for Mikuru is a recurring (annoying) plot point where an excess of attention or kindness towards her triggers whatever plot-driving conflict with Haruhi that is going to happen in that story.

So the closest thing to a recurring plot in Haruhi is the Kyon/Haruhi romance, and one of the major recurring complications (after Haruhi being an unmanageable nuisance) is Kyon straying from Haruhi. Both of the female SOS brigade members are threats to the endgame that Kyon has to deal with to win the day. Except—there’s a third SOS brigade member! Koizumi.

Koizumi’s a parody as much as a character played straight just like everyone else. He’s the soft-spoken ambiguously motivated bishie that starts with Kaworu but trickles down through a series of White Haired Anime Boys. Canonically he’s got a crush on Haruhi and handles it through OHS-prohibited levels of passive aggression and insinuating that Kyon is into her.

That’s not the whole story. There’s a running gag of Koizumi borderline flirting with Kyon like Kaworu does in his scenes. So! Just because of who he’s parodying, Koizumi is as much implied to have a thing for Kyon as Mikuru. Which means that following the structure of Haruhi, there has to be an arc where Kyon and Koizumi’s friendship is tested and leads to Kyon definitely choosing Haruhi over him. I don’t think it’s happened yet, because Koizumi never gets his own spotlight. Also hard to do, since Koizumi likes Haruhi as much as Kyon. The romantic conflict goes two ways.

What does set Koizumi apart from the girls isn’t his unavailability as a romantic interest, it’s the role he has in the plot. Mikuru, Haruhi, and Yuki rarely chat with Kyon. Mikuru is classified, Haruhi decrees instead of conversing, Yuki doesn’t say anything ever. Leaving Koizumi to handle most of the dialogue Kyon has with another person. He’s got a strong presence throughout the various stories despite not getting his spotlights (like Mikuru and Yuki) because someone has to talk about all the cool math stuff the author found in his old textbooks that day. He doesn’t need a colour story because he’s always there.

The closest thing we get to a Koizumi episode is the Surprise arc. It’s been a while since I reread, but I remember the climax being Kyon and Koizumi storming the school to rescue Haruhi from the anti-SOS. There’s no conflict separating them at any point in the arc, Koizumi isn’t ever tempted to join the anti-SOS or whatever. It just doesn’t line up with Yuki or Mikuru’s roles. I don’t think that there are ever going to be more Haruhi Suzumiya books after that one 2020 bunch, they’re just a silly few parody novels that occasionally have some adventure or puzzles. Still, it’s so obviously making fun of Eva that it feels wrong for it not to close the circle and have a short Kaworu story. For old times’ sake.

[lunaekalenda]

Omg can I request a scenario with Levi in season 4? So you know how he's supposed to keep watch over Zeke in the forest? One of the Yeagerists finds out their location and lies to Levi that his wife is giving birth so Levi rushes back to town and leaves the other soldiers in charge of keeping an eye on Zeke. And by the time Levi meets up with his wife, she's very confused as to why he came in such a rush. I've read the manga so I also want to add onto what happens next but idk if you write manga spoilers so 😭 anywho the explosion doesn't end up happening tho! :D

ofccc!!! i hope you like it!! <3 sorry if i wrote to much fluff it just came :’) i took some manga spoilers so read under your own risk under the spoiler line!!

a/n: i didn't took the canon manga words or events!

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

❁ levi x female!reader

❁ some bad talking against zeke :’), pregnancy and death.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

Zeke opened another wine bottle and drank, being cautious with the book he has been reading. Levi looks at him, his face totally unexpressive but his eyes look at Zeke with disgust. They have been days in that place, sleeping in tents, near the Forest of Giant Trees. He’s in charge of Zeke, with some of his closest soldiers, who are now drinking some wine in reward for their hard work, even when Levi told them to have some water instead.

“Come on, Captain. We also want to have fun...”

He couldn’t stop his soldiers, they deserved it. He looks to the campfire in font of him, the flames reflected in his grey eyes. He thought about his family, the one he’s about to have. You’re pregnant with his baby, the baby you two wanted for a long time. Armin told him he estimates less than a week for you to give birth.

And he’s trapped in this forest with a fucking bastard. He looks at Zeke. He seems strangely calm, as he wasn’t being watched by humanity’s most strong soldier ever. The one that cut his arms and legs more than once, and was about to kill him at least another two. But he didn’t learn about it, and keeps trying to get killed.

“Levi, you look too serious. Do you want some wine?”

“Drink it yourself and hopefully you’ll choke to death.”

“That’s not very sweet for a married man, Ackerman.” Levi raises an eyebrow, taking his blade out and cleaning it slowly. Zeke looked at the blade, shimmering in the light. He took his eyes to the book once again. Some fast steps were heard. Levi took out his blades and, with a look to his soldiers, they all stood in their positions. A little girl, with the Corps jacket, searched the Captain with her eyes. He looked at her.

“Captain Ackerman, I have news from the District!”

He looked at his soldiers, one of them behind her, in case she tried to hurt the Captain. Levi’s gaze told them to be alert around her. Zeke looked at the girl from behind his book.

“Talk, then.”

“It’s your wife... She’s having complications with the birth. She’s about to have the child, but the possibilities of them both surviving are minimum.”

Levi’s eyes reflected true terror while he was listening to her. He looked back to the bearded man. He keeps reading, while drinking. He looks then to his loyal subordinate.

“You should go, Captain. We’ll have an eye on this man.”

Levi nods. He looks at the girl closely, analyzing her. He talks before taking his horse.

“Keep one eye in this girl too. She seems like a liar.” Right after that, he rode his horse, going as fast as he could. During all the way, he though how you were. How the baby is. If you two are okay. If he's late to save one of you. 

He obligated himself to fix his attention on the way and keeps going, He arrived to the city at almost night. He searched his home, the one the army gave him after getting married, to avoid the Captain and his wife living with them. He opened the door with his hands shaking, and almost run to the living room. He smelled rice. Then, the sound of a knife. He also took out his blades. You both encountered in the corner of the kitchen, your hand holding tightly the knife and his holding the blades. Both of you looked at each other with surprise, before you let go the knife and run towards him. His hands found your waist.

“Levi...” you whisper. You have missed him a lot all this time. He hugged you, his eyes full of tears. He’s trying to relax his breath, but you notice. “Why did you come so fast? Weren’t you watching Zeke?” 

He nods, his hand caressing quietly your belly. 

“It’s the baby okay?” you nod, confused. “And you?”

“Of course, I’m fine. Why?” he sighs before hugging you again. His head buried on you hair, your belly against his worked abdominal. 

“I thought I was late to save you. I thought I lost you and our baby.”

“No, no. Armin came half an hour ago. He told me I’m really healthy and the baby is in a good position to give birth to. We’re both totally fine, but we were missing you.” You pout. His lips found your neck. 

“I also missed you.” His hands cover your belly, and he receives a little kick. You laugh,

“It has been kicking for a while now. It’s the Ackerman gene.” Levi lets out a little laugh. He also knows he has to go back to the camp, to keep watching over Zeke and interrogate the girl who is she and for who does she work. But his soldiers are there, just a minute more. He gets on his knees, near to your baby bump. His hands keep being warm against your covered skin.

“Daddy missed you a lot this days, hm? But we’ll be all together really fast, baby. Don’t make mommy feel bad, yes?”

“I can’t see you as the strongest and fiercer soldier alive if you talk to my belly like that.” He lets out a little laugh, but his brain made “click”. That girl was a Yeagerist. For sure. This was all a trick to make Levi come here and leave his post.

“You have to leave this house. Fast. And don’t go out for a while. They have an eye on you.”

“Were I’m I supposed to sleep then?” You ask, lost and confused. He takes a couple clothes from your wardrobe and put a brown cape on you, covering your head and your bump. “Should I stay with my parents?” you ask. He shakes his head while he keeps searching things you might need. Also, some baby’s clothes, because he’s sure you’re about to give birth.

“No, that’s too obvious.” Levi’s brain was working faster than ever. You need to be in a comfort place, so sleeping in the barricade it’s out. Then, you should be with someone who knows how to help you giving birth. A place where a pregnant woman won’t be found and hurt.

“Historia.” he whispers. “Can you walk fast?”

“Of course.” he took your hand and guided you. You talked to Historia a couple times. You know she’s also pregnant, and protected by some guards. He guides you fast. When you’re in a campsite house, near the town but kinda hidden, he knocks. 

“Were you talking about Queen Historia?” you ask in a whisper. He nods. A soldier opens, without recognizing Levi. His head totally covered by his cape.

“Sorry, this is restricted area. It’s an orphanage...”

“We know that.” Levi takes his cape out of his head. The soldier stands straight and puts his hand in his heart as a salute. You two do the same.

“Tell Historia she’s my wife. They have been rounding around our house, so I hope the Queen can give a favor back and let my wife sleep here until we’re safe.”

The soldier ran up the stairs, to talk to the Queen. He came back faster.”

“The Queen accepts. She’ll be in the best care and, if she gives birth, she’ll be in the hands of the real matrons. Don’t wprry about her, Captain Levi.” He nods before looking at you again. The soldier lefts to give you privacy.

“Be careful. Talk to them if you feel bad or if you need something. And, please, don’t make efforts. The baby it’s near and...”

“Got it, Levi. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. You should be careful, I don’t want you to get hurt, or worst...”

“I’ll be okay.” he answers. “Just looking to a barbed man. I’ll be back faster than you think.” He takes you again between his arms. You bury your head on his chest, hugging him stronger. 

“I don’t want you to go.” you say in a whisper. He pats your head before giving you a kiss.

“I’ll be right back.” he says. You enter the orphanage with his little smile promising you you’ll be together soon.

-------------------s p o i l e r s  a h e a d -----------------------

Then, he runs back to the camp. Things seem quiet there. Levi hears his soldier’s voices, followed by a scream.

And then the click of a thunder.

All the soldiers he had there were now titans. From different sizes and type, but they had the face of his comrades. And a blonde-haired bastard was running in front.

“This fucking bastard...”

He was surrounded by his now-titans comrades. He had no exit, just killing them. When will this nightmare end? He saw his friends getting killed, he killed friends. He's tired of this macabre game.

“I’m sorry, guys. I’m so sorry...” he thought, before starting to move his blades against his friends’ necks. He saw his faces, his families, every time their blood got into his uniform.

His teary eyes weren’t an obstacle when he kept fighting. He saw Zeke, in the hands of a titan, covered by other two. He killed the first one silently.

Zeke searched him, founding nothing, looking surprised.

He killed the next one. There was just the one carrying Zeke left

“You thought I was not going to be able to kill my comrades? That’s dirty play.” Zeke looked at the man with fear in his eyes before turning into the beast titan. Levi smirked.

“Pathetic.” Zeke says. Levi's blades are covered in blood. "I'm going to kill you."

Zeke took the head of the titan carrying him. He looked around for Levi. A near movement caught his attention, making him throw a smashed titan head to a branch. Levi cut branches to distract Zeke, right before covering his neck with thunder spears.

"Did you think that converting my subordinates into titans will stop me? that i wouldn't kill them? You don't know how many comrades I killed."

Zeke's neck exploded, making is titan fall. Levi went back to the flor and searched Zeke between all that blood and flesh. He was charred.

"I'm not going to kill you... yet."

Levi took Zeke by the head and dragged him.

"I'm so sick of you, barbed bastard."

[hadesisqueer]

I'm bored so now I'm going to talk about Weiss and the Bees (mostly Yang). And there's nothing you can do about it.

When it comes to Freezerburn, I mostly like them as best friends (I'm more of a Whiterose/Bumbleby girl) but I would also really like them as a couple if that were the case, and totally understand why people ship them. Same thing happens with Monochrome, and Ladybug (INTERACT FOR FUCK'S SAKE). I'm gonna be talking about this as friendship.

Okay, but really, do you guys ever think about how Weiss had no fucking idea about what was happening at the camp when Yang found her?

(Honestly the only RWBY thing I haven't gotten my hands on is the manga and the anthologies -I've read the comics, the books, etc- because I couldn't find them, so correct me if I'm wrong lmao).

The thing is, back at Beacon, Yang and Weiss weren't really close. They were both closer to Ruby and Blake (though Weiss spent half of her time in the first volume butting heads with those two). They were teammates, yes, they got along (and sometimes argued too lol) and they cared for each other, but they still didn't have the same relationship. Like, Blake and Yang were partners and Beauty and the Beast and all that so of course they were going to be close. Same with Ruby and Weiss -partners, and you've read Snow White and Rose Red, they're probably supposed to be a representation from that tale as well-. Ruby and Yang are sisters so it's pretty obvious that they're close. I don't even have to talk about these two. And during the first volumes, Blake and Weiss were both, let's say, foils of each other, coming from very different places and yet having so much in common. One privileged, ignorant human, the other a misguided faunus. Both alienated by their abusers into thinking like them. Both from important families in their societies; one of the families is loving and caring, the other one is fucked up. Both came to Beacon basically running away from their abusers. Both had a complicated past with the White Fang. And of course, both of them had to deal with a broken legacy; Weiss is still dealing with it. They were both, literally, Black and White, and really understood each other. So yeah, their interactions during the series were always really nice to watch, because they really understand each other in those terms (that's why I loved that scene with Blake holding her hand showing support in volume 7).

Now, before volume five, Yang and Weiss never really had an important scene together. Yes, there was that cute scene after that fight against FNKI, the jokes and arguing and of course the legendary “what's that supposed to mean” in vol 3 (she shipped Bumbleby since Beacon fight me lol). But never really meaningful, not like the Bumbleby talk in Burning the Candle, or Weiss being kinder to Ruby and becoming friends, or- you know what I mean. They cared for each other, but the thing is, they didn't see each other as more than the rich girl and the funny girl/great older sister. I don't think Weiss even knew about Raven (again, correct me if I'm wrong, no mangas) before all that stuff. I assume Ruby talked to her about Summer and her loss, but did she know that Summer wasn't Yang's biological mother?

Because of that, I'm still finding this incredibly funny and yet so sad at the same time. Because, imagine being Weiss. You've just been kidnapped, and you're trying to escape. And then you see one of your teammates, your friend that you haven't seen in a year and you never thought you'd ever see again, right there, and she tells you that you're both going to Ruby (she immediately includes you). Not only that, she also tells you that the woman who kidnapped you is her freaking mother. Like. What the fuck. Again, maybe Ruby told her (if she did, I doubt she included the bandit part lmao), but if she didn't, Weiss probably was like “wait what do you mean isn't your mom dead? What the hell is going on?”

But well, she hugs Yang. Because (and I think people tend to forget it) the last time she saw Yang, she was incredibly injured. She had lost her fucking arm, and was probably still unconscious by the time Weiss was taken by her father (no one can tell me that if that bitch hadn't taken her, she wouldn't have stayed in Patch with them and Tai wouldn't have adopted her), meaning that she probably didn't even get to say goodbye to her, just like she couldn't say goodbye to Ruby. And now she's reunited with Yang, and apparently Raven is taking them to Ruby (who is also with JNR, some of her best old friends at Beacon) and she's just so happy because she didn't think that would happen. She really considers RBY her family. And also, again, the last time she'd seen Yang she was really hurt, so seeing her being okay was really a relief to her.

Except she wasn't okay, and she notices as soon as they start talking to Raven. Because, if Weiss really didn't know about Raven, she's just found out that Yang had been abandoned by her own mother. She literally sees how Yang loses control of herself (she flinches, which is another sign of Jackass' abuse) and how the poor girl even asks why Raven left her. She really notices how Yang is not okay at all. Yang isn't behaving the same way she did at Beacon; she's seen her down or furious, but never like that. It's been a year since she last saw her. A lot happened to her. And maybe, she also realizes that she'd never known Yang as well as she thought. Because, again, Yang was the cool older sister, the hot party girl that punches stuff and makes jokes. What else was there to know? Well, there it is. Not only has she been through hell since the Fall of Beacon, with the whole losing an arm and PTSD thing; Weiss also finds out that Yang had some serious abandonment issues and a fear of loneliness she'd never known about. The whole time at Beacon, she'd just been assuming about Yang. Just as Yang had clearly been assuming about Weiss as well.

Then there's a little calm in chapter 7 and for a while, it all seems fine; RWY and JNR are all messing with each other, remembering good times as they eat and laugh, catching up. For a while it felt like they never left Beacon and it just probably felt great, all of them being together. Yang seems fine. And next chapter, when the two of them and Ruby are just sitting and enjoying coffee and talking about how great it is being together again, it all seems fine too. And then Weiss and Ruby mention Blake and that's when Yang snaps.

Weiss loves RBY with all her heart, and it's clear that Ruby and her would accept Blake back without blinking if she came back. Which is why they're both surprised for a second when they see Yang react like that -Blake was her partner, after all, they were the closest, so why doesn't she want her back? Again “What's that supposed to mean?”

But after the whole Raven thing, Weiss clearly understood one thing: that Yang hated being abandoned, and in Yang's eyes, Blake had left her just like Raven did. Weiss knows what it feels like to be alone, so she gets that. But Weiss also understood that Blake hadn't left her just like Raven, because she saw Blake reaching for Yang's hand, apologizing as she cried. She knows Blake didn't leave them because she wanted to be alone; in her eyes, she was the one to blame for what happened to Yang. So she left, because Blake would rather have Yang and the rest being safe and hating her for leaving than anything like that happening again because she stayed. She was wrong, of course, but Weiss understood. And a part of Weiss herself knows what being abused and running away feels like as well.

Which is why the conversation in V5C8 is just so perfect. Because of the fact that she understands both of them, she's able to get through Yang, make her finally open up, and help her understand Blake's perspective too. Weiss was just the perfect person to do that.

I know we make a lot of jokes about Weiss being the Bumbleby wingwoman, but it exactly isn't a joke; Weiss really is the “wingwoman”. Whether you see it in a romantic way or not, that conversation was crucial in Blake and Yang's relationship, and Yang accepting Blake back too. And in romantic terms, I'm pretty sure that Weiss realized that Yang really had serious feelings for Blake because, well, Weiss isn't dumb. I think that conversation and All That Matters made it pretty obvious for anyone who wasn't in denial. I still laugh at people who are still in denial. I mean, c'mon, you don't have to ship it but at this point, thinking they're just friends is kinda dumb.

I love Weiss.

[tamamatango]

Let’s talk about Kururu, again

Apparently the fandom is growing all of a sudden so I feel like talking about Kururu again cuz that’s all I know how to do and it’s been a while

First off disclaimer that fandom is fandom and anybody can interpret any character any way they want and if you like to portray a character a certain way for whatever reason go for it, more power to you (unless you put them in pedo/incest relationships that are displayed as good in which case fuck you). But in my personal Kirbpinion(TM) the Funimation dub was a fucking mistake because so many fan content creators write a way different Kururu than what he is in canon cuz the dub never got to his best episodes and also upped the sadism to ridiculous levels. Listen I know it’s funny to joke that he’s the kind of guy that has 3 medieval torture chambers but hear me out. Kururu is by no means a perfect person, he’s genuinely pretty rude/blunt (though sometimes his straightforwardness is justified :P), has an ego, sometimes acts pretty gross around others and likes extreme and elaborate pranks way way way too much BUT.

Assuming you’ve watched far enough into the series (like 100+ eps) I do not really understand the interpretation that he doesn’t care about anyone and that friendship and love are things he is totally incapable of. He says that yes but if you pay enough attention to his dialogue it becomes pretty apparent that he displays this attitude for multiple reasons. One is that he does genuinely have a hard time expressing the emotions he feels and often has awkward/guarded ways of doing so. But also he says many times over the course of the series that he has a “reputation” to keep up and wants people to call him a jerk; he wants to look cool and rebellious all the time and he thinks a nasty apathetic attitude is what earns him that status (not claiming that’s a healthy mindset, mind you). He wants to have full control over the way people see him and he gets super frustrated and humiliated when he can’t. This is probably why he gets so upset when people talk about how unpopular he is, because he’s spent so much time honing his image to a T and is like why the fuck isn’t this working?! In other words even though sometimes he is just an actual pain in the neck a lot of his asshole antics are part of a carefully manufactured persona, and he will do anything down to labeling his own memories to prevent other people from seeing through his facade and discovering the parts of him that are vulnerable.

And God forbid anyone does figure out that he does care quite a bit for the people around him, or at least if he didn’t at first he does now. Early on in the series he was commonly referred to as “depressing” and while the meta reason is probably just the anime writers just didn’t know how to adapt the character yet (he started out a little differently in the manga), in canon I believe he was just even more inclined to push everybody away from him, and as he began to get used to working in a group he gradually opened up. He commentates on how “soft” he’s gotten since he came to Earth a couple times, and the fact that he’s surprisingly one of the most loyal to Keroro out of the whole team (in many episodes where everyone abandons Keroro for being dumb he leaves last) and goes out of his way to help when he thinks it’s warranted (he asks for money when things aren’t dire yeah but hey labor deserves compensation :V) shows that he is dedicated to his team. There’s even episodes where he doles out some kind of moral lesson to the squad in his own Kururu-y way, especially to Keroro and Tamama. Even the Hinatas he’ll pitch in to protect when he has to, and we all know he’ll pretty much drop everything if Saburo needs him.

Speaking of which. I think the unspoken reason why he’s best friends with Saburo (besides the surface-level stuff like they’re smart and nerdy and seen as enigmas by everybody else) is because Saburo is the only other person in the cast who understands Kururu’s particular struggle of putting on airs as a means of self-defense all the time. He basically has a carefully managed celebrity life (that he has to constantly work to hide in anime canon), a somewhat formal/reserved public life, and the more quirky enthusiastic side of himself he only shows when alone and to the few people he’s close to and god damn that just sounds like the most exhausting juggling act ever. He has an outlet to free himself through his art but he still has to live with nobody quite knowing what he goes through on a daily basis, which is probably why we see him off on his own for most of the series (until he gets to warm up to everybody better...wonder who that sounds like) and occasionally have his bouts of frustration and insecurity like in 229 where he says “fuck it I’m gonna fight the apocalypse alone because I need something to do,” 354(? I think that’s the number) where he talks about just dropping everything and starting over, and I think one of the Christmas eps where Giroro has to like beg him to go to the Hinatas’ party cuz he says he’s “busy” even though he’s just sitting around pretty much (UPDATE: it’s 294 the implication is probably that he has his show or something but cmon that’s only like an hour lol). I am going off on a tangent now but anyway the point is he and Kururu are the most complicated communicators of the cast and they share feelings only they understand which is why they can more or less read each other’s minds and know exactly what to do when the other is in trouble.

Back to Kururu. Keroro, from what I can tell, is the closest to him out of the Platoon; Keroro gets freaked out by Kururu’s pranks sometimes yeah but they have a lot of common interests as the fun-lovers of the group and Kururu’s also kinda been interested in Keroro enough time follow him around for almost his entire life up to this point so there’s that. He also gets along with the other people he‘s around; we know he and Aki get along from the beginning because of how dynamic their personalities are but later on he gets close to Fuyuki to the point where they just hang out for the heck of it sometimes, and even though Natsumi is very justified in generally disliking him (many of Kururu’s more Eugh moments tend to involve her) even she seems to rely on him often, and in the cursed puppy episode she knows all his favorite foods by heart so she must care in some fashion lol. Dororo and he aren’t evidently super close but I think they get each other on some level as the (in-universe) least popular of the platoon and Dororo at least respects his abilities, and has clearly come to figure out his subtleties based on 229. Giroro and Mois...things get complicated. Just putting on record that I’m not a fan of either ship between Kururu and them. I’ve said this before but I think Giroro and Kururu are in a turbulent sibling-adjacent relationship in that they have completely opposing attitudes but they have a begrudging sense of respect for each other and, ultimately, they’re teammates, so they’ll defend each other when someone they don’t know tries to mess with them. I really don’t think the flirty stuff on Kururu’s end goes beyond teasing and I got kinda sick of that running gag if I’m being honest. (You can probably tell which frog I ship Kururu with by now :P) Mois went from something of a rival to Kururu to his lab partner, which is probably why he goes easier on her than he used to and even strikes up something of a friendship because the only other person he knows that might be capable of handling his technology is an Earthling who’s still against the invasion despite his lax attitude so. She helps :V

Now the question is why Kururu acts like he does if his relationships really aren’t all that bad and I think there’s two components to this. I’ve made it clear by now I think he’s autistic but your mileage may vary there. I think personally his childhood did something to the way he processes things as well. In Secret of the Kero Ball, he’s got a bandage on his head which may imply he got hurt somewhere and then he almost drowned which canonically definitely did something to him lol, was mostly seen alone so who knows if he has a family he still talks to, and then he got drafted into the army and placed into a high-ranking position of great responsibility at a very young age; it’s kind of a no-brainer why he rebeled and got demoted eventually. I’ve got plenty of headcanons about what his early days in the Military did to him but that’s for another day because good God this post went on too long.

In short: Kururu is possibly the most complicated character in the show and the F in Flanderization stands for “Funimation.” That’s it I’m never writing another essay about pee-color frog again I will make real content again at some point I promise

[be-gay-and-do-crimes]

Todoroki Kids Quirk Theory

Enji Todoroki, AKA Flame Hero: Endeavor, who has a very strong fire Quirk called “Hellflame”, wishes to beat the Symbol of Peace: All Might at all costs, but he realized that his Quirk and strength alone wouldn’t be able to do that since All Might was always two steps ahead of him.

So, he decided to create the “perfect” offspring that will be able to defeat All Might in his name. A child with a devastating strong Quirk that will take the spot as Number One Hero and never let anyone take it away from them.

Enji searched for a woman with a Quirk as strong as his or that will complement it in the child, and he found one.

A woman with snowy, pure white hair with  — ironically — an ice Quirk, Rei. He saw an incredible display of said Quirk if he took the decision to make a child with her, that or her family is one of generations of strong ice-based Quirk users.

Enji then bribed Rei’s family into allowing her to marry him and create a powerful successor. And as Rei didn’t have a say in this, their Quirk Marriage set sail. And eventually they had four children, few of which we already know of, if just slightly.

And in this post, I will theorize said children’s (possible) Quirks.

(I wrote this jazz on a notebook like,, three or two years ago so I thought why not post it here as wrong as I may be with it,,,have patience fam,,)

From older to younger would be; Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shouto, with each of them having an age gap of 3-4 years (a bit on the fence with Touya and Fuyumi here, since we don’t know how exactly old he was, so there could be tidbits of the theory that those two are twins).

A rundown of the kids, starting with the firstborn;

Touya Todoroki

Very little is known about Touya, even simple yet crucial facts like his hair color are confusing due to the Manga and Anime adaptation. What we do know is;

He had red hair.

A fire Quirk stronger than Endeavor’s but a body that couldn’t withstand it.

He died at a very young age of either 12 or 14/15 by causes most likely related to said Quirk.

To add to his weak constitution inherited by Rei, Touya looks to be the shortest out of all his siblings, despite being the oldest. I’d also say he was he meekest of them all, if only for a few years if I go by his body language in the two (2) full images we’re given ( i.e. clinging onto natsuo’s shirt, keeping his arms close to his body, hair covering his face— namely his eyes, likely to avoid making direct eye-contact with endeavor):

I’m personally inclined to believe that he had Enji’s turquoise eyes too, seeing as either his eyes or hair seem to be a distinct telltale sign of the fiery factor of his Quirk. and then boom he had gray eyes all along,, or either sectoral-heterochromia, or central heterochromia and the manga is deceiving us

Fuyumi Todoroki

The one and only girl of the four siblings while also the second born of Enji and Rei. Like her older brother, Fuyumi’s colors (her eyes) differ from the Manga and the Anime, but since we’re following the latter’s palette...

She has gray eyes like her mother behind a pair of red glasses.

Has mostly spiky/messy white hair with red streaks.

She is a primary school teacher.

Her behavior is more like Rei’s; soft-spoken and kind.

As another color-fact, out of everyone else in the family, she’s the only to use colors related to red (any color of that palette, contrary to her younger brothers that deliberately seem to avoid anything related to that color, and so use mostly cold tones).

She can’t handle hot weather.

Her Quirk is unknown, if she even has one, but it should’ve been deemed weak or useless by Endeavor if she wasn’t put through the training Touya was, therefore becoming the first of her brothers to suffer from his neglect.

Natsuo Todoroki

Natsuo seems to be the most hellbent and prominent out of his siblings on his hate for their father, voicing his thoughts about him at any given chance, and also the one that looks closest to Rei. 

Pure snowy white hair, but spiky like Enji’s.

Gray eyes, fully resembling his mother with nothing red that could remind him of his father, unlike his frame which is bulky like Endeavor’s.

Repressed anger issues.

He feels sensitive towards warm weather.

The tallest out of all his siblings.

Funny enough, Natsuo is a combination of Rei’s looks and Enji’s muscular build. Any signs of a Quirk are unknown, but either way he was deemed useless and thrown into the burning pile along with his big sister.

Shouto Todoroki

The golden egg of the Todo Children. The one Enji could, after so much time, call his masterpiece, the perfect offspring to finally topple All Might off his high horse. Everything Touya failed to be, Shouto is. A perfect combination of both himself and Rei.

Perfectly split white and red hair.

A gray eye and distinctive turquoise eye.

Ice and fire.

Shouto’s Quirk is Half-Cold Half-Hot; allowing him to create ice and fire from his right and left side respectively. He needs the two sides of his Quirk to nullify their drawbacks; too much of the right side leads to frostbite or hypothermia, too much of the left side leads to either overheating, dehydration or self-burns.

Now that we know the Todo-kids, their personalities, and Quirk too (or lack thereof), let’s dive into theorizing of the lacking two;

Fuyumi and Natsuo   — The Flukes

Going off of appearances, I’d say Fuyumi could be the exact opposite of Touya. While having Rei’s eyes and most of her white hair, I’d say she could have her same ice Quirk but not being able to withstand it. Contrary to Touya that has Enji’s fire Quirk, but a constitution more adapt for ice.

I.e. She could create ice as strong as Rei’s, but the constitution of her body is weak and causes her to easily fall into a light to severe case of frostbite or hypothermia. Or on the other hand, she can create ice, but isn’t as strong as Rei’s, thereof a disappointment. On the third hand I just pulled out of my ass; an extremely weak fire Quirk, a constitution more suited for ice.

Natsuo is a more complicated case here. He looks nothing like Endeavor aside from his jock build, He looks like Rei down to a tee, and that makes me think of three possibilities for his Quirk.

He is resistant to ice AND fire, but isn’t able to manipulate them in any way.

He is able to resist and create ice, and seeing as he only had Rei’s part of the Quirk, labelled as an immediate failure for Endeavor.

Or the option I have no compelling argument for but I’m really bias to believe: He’s Quirkless, plain and simple. If this one’s the real deal, then it’s likely that he’d be the BIGGEST disappointment out of all the other kids to Enji. I mean, one thing is having just one side, but not having neither? In a world were 80% of the world has a Quirk as useless as it may be?? In his house??? Outrageous!

Any of these options lead to immediate alienation of his family so either is acceptable tbh.

SO! To try and wrap this whole mess up with some nice percentages!

Touya is a 100% of both of his parents’ 50%

Being able to create fire but with a constitution more adapt to ice.

Fuyumi could be/is a 100% of her parents’ 50%

Being able to create ice — that could or not be stronger than Rei’s — but having a constitution more adapt for fire. Therefore, if Endeavor ever tried to train her, she’d have no visible burn marks whatsoever.

Natsuo could be/is a 100% of his parents’ 50%

Being able to withstand fire and ice but not manipulate them in any way.

Or the unfortunate one, being part of the 20% of humanity that doesn’t have a Quirk.

Shouto is a 200% of his parents’ 100%

Being able to resist AND create both fire and ice to an extent as long as he uses one to counter the side effects of the other. I.e. using too much fire might get him a third-degree burn if his ice doesn’t cools down the effects and keeping his body temperature at bay. Having a constant balance between the two, one not being able to work fully well without the other — as much as he hates it.

yeah that’s it thanks for coming to my ted talk please message me with things to write gdi i’m bored and scared for the hobo man

[littlenekosfan]

i love jugram versus uryu so much... especially their point of view of Friendship

jugram is a very complicated character, its hard for us readers to understand his actions vs his beliefs bc not only he rarely acts upon them but he never really gave us a proper glance to his intentions/values... i remember watching a video where the person pointed out that jugram is the type to only commit to a relationship if he can get something out of it... i understood what he meant bc jugram says it himself in the manga

but that point doesnt stand bc bazz exists, jugram is still in touch with bazz with no hostility and still in good terms (somehow) despite just being a mere sternritter like any other... i mean, what does bazz have to offer to jugram ? he isnt yhwach, he wont give him a high ranked position or anything, yet with bazz, he still considers him as a friend

then what does jugram mean in that exchange? i believe he's saying something like that simply bc he doesnt understand ishida, both of them dont have the same concept of "friendship" but that doesnt make one have the wrong/unhealthy definition of it, ju/bazz vs ichi/ishi friendship are very different and we understand ichishi better simply bc we not only relate more but we witness their friendship grow unlike juazz, where their friendship has been broken by trauma and they never got to, talk it out... so in other words, juazz arent "friends" like we (readers) know of irl, there is not proper label to their relationship but its certainly not a one sided one nor based on hatred... 

jugram compares uryu’s loyalty to his when both of them clearly dont have the same backgrounds, thus making them incomaprable in that matter... jugram you cant compare a 17yrs old boy who hated his now closest friend bc he was a shinigami and joined in the army only in order to protect him... when You lost your friendship over lack of maturity and manipulation (from yhwach ofc) and never took the time to fix that up bc the result might be worse than it currently is... uryu had a chance, you didnt, or at least, think, since you never tried...

i also love this reply from uryu telling jugram how he follows ichigo and believes in him simply bc he’s his friends, and friends should love eachother,, jugram’s passive reaction (shown in the panel) says a Lot, especially for the closed character he is, few words about the importance of friendships made him clench his fist and he doesnt even reply to this... it really got him 

its just sad how jugram has been taught that kind of thing.. we all know how insecrure young jugram used to be, and it shouldnt be discarded in his current age behavior/persona bc jugram wasnt always like that, being cold and closed, he used to be a kid, he used to smile, he used to love, just like we do, but he has been taught that these are useless feelings or useless relationships... his coldness isnt because he is like that, that it’s his personality.. its bc this is the only way he can keep a line between his duty and his heart, the colder he gets, the more he wants to protect himself.... its such a sad character....

this is just me rambling, dont consider this as a full breakdown of their pov about friendship bc there is a LOT to unpack... (maybe someday ill do it!)

[dekatsu]

“Because Kacchan and I lived in the same neighborhood, we’ve known each other since we were little. He was the type who could do anything he tried his hand at, a rascal who led the group of neighborhood kids. Good or bad, Kachan was full of confidence, and I thought he was so cool.”

This is how Izuku described Katsuki at the beginning and very important, if you want to try and understand why Izuku views Katsuki the way he does. 

For those who didn’t grow up in a neighborhood with many kids who all got together outside to do all kinds of mischief, Katsuki’s is basically the packleader. He does things the others wouldn’t dare do alone, gives them a lead to follow and experience new things. We see in a flashback that they trespass through a broken fence and Izuku looked like he wanted to protest but with the words I quoted above, he smiled in an admiring way and followed after Katsuki. 

As someone who grew up in such a neighborhood, I can tell you that it’s positively thrilling to group up and explore. And Izuku is someone who is inherently timid, yet very curious. His curiosity is not only limited to heroes but to everything else as well but his personality makes it hard to live it out. 

For Izuku, Katsuki was awesome and a way to gather courage and explore as much as he wanted. We see them hang out alone and do stuff together in flashbacks a lot. Also, Katsuki got into fights, admired the same hero as him and wanted to become a hero, too. He was right on his way of getting there, so to small Izuku, he was the closest thing to a real hero and eventually became his symbol of victory.

Now we all know Katsuki started developing a complex around here. I’m not going to go through Katsuki’s emotional stunt because there are enough metas discussing this. 

However what’s important to note is that Izuku and Katsuki’s fallout was gradual. It started with Izuku finding out he’s quirkless, Katsuki being mean to him, Katsuki pushing him away and eventually, when their little group of friends fell apart, Katsuki bullying him. 

Izuku got waned off Katsuki. He grew used to Katsuki’s behaviour and eventually it just became dull and natural for Katsuki to be mean to him. It’s why Izuku doesn’t react strongly or feel as victimised as you all say he should. 

Izuku says multiple times that Katsuki is neither good nor bad but that’s only because there existed a time in which he knew Katsuki to be his own hero and someone he could explore the world with. Izuku knew the Katsuki who was awesome before it go revealed that Izuku is quirkless and he blamed Katsuki’s bad behaviour toward him on the fact that he is quirkless now. 

So to Izuku, who got bullied by everyone around him for being quirkless, Katsuki’s mean behaviour was only natural. It fell within the norm. Another reason why he didn’t feel as victimised by the bullying as you all want him to be. 

Katsuki first and foremost, was someone Izuku looked up to and admired from the very beginning. And Katsuki never lost the attributes Izuku admired in him, he just gained many “unpleasant” ones, so Izuku could hold on to him as something positive and not a bully. It’s why Izuku unconsciously copies even the bad habits of Katsuki and why Izuku never talks bad about him. 

To add to this, Izuku and Katsuki were close friends as children. Now I don’t know about you, but if you have a friend, someone you admired as much as Izuku admired Katsuki, you tend to forgive even the most outrageous behaviour. You are mad for two to three days, max. a week and then inevitably get over it because the person is too important to you and somewhere in your mind, you look for ways to justify their behavior.

Also notice how whenever Katsuki does something others perceive as too much, he gets told to put a lid on it (nicer and/or meaner of course), but it’s never Izuku who tells him to change his behaviour? Izuku never told Katsuki to change or behave differently (apart from their fight with All Might, where Izuku got fired up because his symbol of victory said something about losing.)

It’s testament to Katsuki’s packleader days with small Izuku following him and I think it’s adorable how he’s just like “K-Kacchan” because yeah, that’s Kacchan alright.  

I’m in no way trying to excuse Katsuki’s bullying or downplay it. That was straight up asshole of him. But I’m trying to explain why Izuku doesn’t hate him and never did. He always looked up to Katsuki and tried to stand next to him as a hero, by overcoming his own shortcomings. 

Don’t project your feelings onto him. Izuku is aware more than anyone that Katsuki is not perfect but Katsuki is just what Izuku needed to chase to become who he wanted to be, that’s why Katsuki’s so important to Izuku. That’s why Izuku doesn’t stay stuck in the past but accepts the current Katsuki.

That’s why they can move on after Deku vs Kacchan 2.

And Katsuki through much trial and error, eventually saw that Izuku wasn’t after his ass with a complicated agenda. They can actually overcome their past and are actively doing so, if you follow the manga. 

So the claim that their relationship was abusive and will forever be abusive is absurd because there is canon proof that it’s changing toward a healthy rivalry. Even All Might recognised it. 

Katsuki himself has taken to help Izuku and I strongly believe it’s his act of redemption and his way of making it up to Izuku. Also Katsuki is the only one who has cried in front of Izuku multiple times in the manga because he, too was deeply affected by their misunderstandings, just differently. So to say he’s an emotionless asshole when it comes to Izuku is provably wrong. 

Of course I am still hoping we get that apologise and a good old talk. But that’s up to hori. Right now bakudeku are at a comfortable place even without it, so I think his apologise might come more in actions than words. 

Anyway, those are just my thoughts and they might be incorrect but thank you for listening. 

[missstormcaller]

BLEACH JET Artbook Talk Vol 2 - Translation (Q16-30)

ABOUT CREATION

Its distinct characters, selection of poetic dialogue and countless array of illustrations are all a grand attraction of "BLEACH". We reveal how they came to be born and close in on the secrets behind the creation process.

Q.16: How do you come up with the Kidō and Zanpakutō incantations?

Kubo: I just do somehow.

—— J: That you're able to just do it somehow, is nothing short of amazing. When it comes to the visual impact and sound, which angle do you prefer to tackle it from? Kubo: I guess both the sound and visual impact at the same time? Speaking of which, I haven't composed a Kidō incantation in a long time. —— J: They exist in a variety of categories, such as the explosive types, the binding types and so on. Where does your vision of their respective techniques come from? Kubo: I'm not at all sure. I wonder where the conception of my ideas originate from. There were certain things which took inspiration from song lyrics for example. —— J: They rhyme pretty good don't they? Kubo: I think I'm seeking to make people start wanting to repeat the words themselves. Or rather, I want people to feel a somewhat good vibe when they say it, like the seven-and-five syllable metre. That, I would say, is the case for given names or the names of  techniques, pretty much everything. Furthermore, I have a feeling there were also things that took inspiration from the likes of mythology, "The Devil's Dictionary" and phraseology that appeared in books of that kind, but I honestly don't remember at all (laughs). —— J: Isn't Hirako supposed to release his Bankai in Narita's novel too? Kubo: Narita put forward a request, asking "may I get Hirako and Hisagi to release their Bankai?" and he followed up with "if it's okay with you, please tell me their names" to which I replied "I will think about it", I finally finished thinking about it just the other day. Though, as a matter of fact, I haven't relayed that information to him yet. —— J: I'm looking forward to it (laughs). Do you associate ideas from the impression of the character? Kubo: I draw out a great number of words by way of considering the abilities of the technique, the original Zanpakutō name and the character's image. After consulting with Narita about the establishment of Hisagi's Bankai, I said "perhaps this will do" and the direction I took became something like "bodies that are tethered together",  consequently I began writing a list of all the words relating to "binding", "rope", "chains" and "prisoner". By establishing a successful link among all of that, it becomes a matter of combining the words and such…. —— J: So then, your process begins with the task of expanding a list of vocabulary first and foremost. Kubo: That's right. —— J: Which character's Bankai name caused you the most struggle to devise? Kubo: This time, Hirako and Hisagi are probably up there in first place (laughs). Hisagi might have taken the most time. —— J: Apart from that, did you contrive ideas from the image of characters like Ichigo and Byakuya? Kubo: I had no troubles at all when it came to that case. Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu is taken from part of a name of a monster I was thinking about drawing in another manga. —— J: Oh! When did that one-shot happen? Kubo: It's "Rune Master Urara" my debut one-shot for Jump magazine. For a period of time, I was having fun coming up with monsters that could appear in that work, it was a time where I had devised a many number of them, the name of this super strong monster-like enemy with the whole length of its body pitch black was "Tensa Jūzen", that's where I took the "Tensa" part from. —— J: The roots of Tensa originate from there huh. However, Tensa did not appear in "Rune Master Urara" right? Kubo: Yes. Well, it was the configuration of a character that I would draw in the event that the work got serialised beyond this point. The visuals for Dondochakka is also something I had devised around that time. In order to get serialised in jump, I went to around three meetings and, well, failed on all attempts, but in those course of events I produced up to three chapters worth of work and showed it to Asada san who was my editor in those days. I presented Dondochakka's character visuals in several patterns of the second or third chapter which I had submitted, but Asada told me "don't make such a scary-looking guy the ally"…. I thought "you're kidding me, isn't he adorable?" but it was hopeless. Though, since I liked him so much I thought I'd try to use him for "BLEACH" (laughs). —— J: Are there other characters with this kind of case as well? Kubo: I only recalled that through our chat just now. Since I was not able to use the character in the other work, I'd say that's probably just about the only case. Also, with regard to Orihime, she puts her Shun Shun Rikka into operation by way of her hairpins doesn't she? Although this is also a matter from before "BLEACH" was serialised, Orihime's powers were at one point completely different to what they are now, there was one version in which she would sprout horns and a tail. Personally I thought this was cute as well, but I was told by Asada "the heroine can't look like this monster!" (Laughs) I'm relieved it was Shun Shun Rikka in the end though (laughs). —— J: Were any of the monster-like individuals of Hueco Mundo, like the Arrancar and Fracción, also based on rough drafts from around that time? Kubo: In that instance, I believe I just drew them more on the spur of the moment. —— J: Were there any complicated characters that made you feel something like "this character was not all that strong in the past, but since they're getting stronger, I have to start thinking about their Shikai or Bankai!" Kubo: I guess that would probably be Hisagi. I didn't think he would get that strong (laughs). —— J: Characters such as Byakuya give the impression that they were super strong from the very onset after all. Moreover, when you achieve Bankai, the fact is it remains imprinted in the history of Soul Society. Kubo: correct. It goes down in the records. —— J: I'd never have guessed that Hisagi would possess that much strength! Kubo: Hisagi doesn't really seem to be the calibre of some hotshot does he (laughs)? Although, that ill-suited impression about him is Hisagi's likeable side anyway. —— J: That pitiful aspect is the good thing about Hisagi isn't it? I mean, it's like you you just end up poking fun at him. Kubo: That's what I said even when Tōsen left, normally it would be just fine to promote the lieutenant to captain with the change in circumstances, but I thought "Hisagi and Izuru can't possibly be captains could they?", the pair really give the impression that they don't have what it takes. These two shine more as vice captains. That's why I created the forced post of "acting captain" and settled the matter there. Depending on one's viewpoint, Hisagi is kind of a hero-like character who has come to gradually develop as a result of all the various hardships that have befallen him. —— J: He is a hard worker isn't he? Though, even Hisagi would have been outstanding befitting of his talent when he first enlisted. Kubo: It's also neat how that is like the peak of his life. But on account of acquiring Bankai, I can say he has talent!

Q.17: I would love to know Sensei's process when he's thinking up characters! Although it might differ depending on the character, I wonder if 'the face suddenly springs to mind', or 'the outfit floats into your head', or if the 'name appears before you' etc….

Kubo: Since I just manage to draw my characters somehow or the other, it's not so much procedural…. —— J: Does "somehow or the other" mean that maybe you think to yourself "let's draw some guy who appears to give a certain air of strength", or "let's draw some guy who seems the type to deceive others?" Kubo: The idea is already in my head. Rather than thinking about it through the flow of the story, when I envision it, it's as if a substance like milk or mud begins to accumulate, something resembling a humanoid form floats around aimlessly within it, after I pluck it out, its image is gradually made clear, I think that's how it feels? —— J: That's pretty abstract! Kubo: By that point I would have more or less settled on things appearance-wise, with that frame of mind I then either compose it on paper as a rough draft or leave it floating in my head…. Aside from that, if any names come to mind I make a note of it, from among these rough drafts and notes I combine a set of ideas that makes me say "ah, this person will be the one to enter the stage this time", and finally I specify the role. —— J: So then, you compose the names and designs separately? Kubo: Yes, I think I quite often do things separately. —— J: So it's practically like how Ichigo was was searching around for his Zanpakutō through Ōetsu Nimaiya's training? Kubo: If I had to make a comparison using "BLEACH", then I think that analogy is the closest you can get. Generally, when I think to reveal a new character, I already have just the right person in mind. The story as well the characters is something that comes from me, so there is an outline from the very beginning. —— J: A number of unpublished materials have appeared for the first time in this artbook, but basically a large quantity are rough sketches. You would very often draw it and then put it aside for the time being. Does this mean there are hundreds of blueprints for characters dimly occupying a space in the back of your head?

Kubo: That's true, they have been there for some time now. When I put forward new characters, it's almost like taking that vision out of my head and making a clean copy. However, sometimes I don't have time and can't make the appropriate adjustments, so their faces start changing gradually in the manga (laughs). In that sort of sense, I have never been troubled by things such as the storytelling, or scenes that establish new characters. —— J: Are there any characters who, for instance, you had actually planned to put out on the Shinigami side, but ended up being revealed on the Arrancar side instead? Kubo: There is no character whose blueprint has changed to that degree. —— J: On the same subject, which character would you say came to be revealed in the most underdeveloped state and changed at a later stage? Kubo: I think the character who underwent the most change in terms of appearance, is Ulquiorra. When Ulquiorra made his first appearance, he had quite a different face. The personal image of him which existed in my head didn't change during the the creative process, but later when I looked back on my work I thought "his face looks a lot different huh?" —— J: I see. Kubo: In some cases, when an idea for a character appears in my head, their looks, personalities and sometimes even as far their colouring are all decided then and there, as for other characters those things are gradually decided upon. —— J: Do you feel the volume of these characters increased day after day? Kubo: It's not that they were created on a continuous basis, but rather in waves. Sometimes I produce five or six characters in the space of an hour or so, and sometimes it seems I produce none at all for days or even months. Therefore, the characters multiply either when I'm in the zone or when it's absolutely necessary to create them. —— J: From the considerable number of characters that appear in "BLEACH", I'd say the state of 'being in the zone' can't last forever, even if you can yield five characters in an hour. Kubo: And this is after a great number of cuts have been made too. These were unreleased characters that I felt, did not suit the universe of "BLEACH". Then there's the unreleased characters that have the right aura which I am able to present in "BLEACH", but I am not sure which part of the story I should apply them to. —— J: Are they characters which were not even suitable as Shinigami, Arrancar or Quincy? Kubo: I make a rough decision on the location and scene before I start designing them as either Shinigami, Arrancar or Quincy, but then there are some individuals that make me think something like "There's no panels to spare to introduce this guy to story. What role would he have played?" So, perhaps by some chance they will make an appearance if the timing is right when I draw something? —— J: That is certainly a treasure-trove you've been sitting on. Kubo: There's also the characters that make think something like "I wonder why this dude came to mind?" (Laughs) Q.18: The unique names which belong to the characters of "BLEACH" are impressive, but how do you come up with these names? Kubo: Even when I think about character names, I consider the sense of sound. The example I often cite is Hitsugaya Tōshirō, because it needed to give a cool impression, I thought a name that begins with letters either in the "sa column" or "ha column" would be perfect. I feel those sounds come across most smoothly. That reminds me, I believe Hitsugaya had a completely different name belonging to the "sa column" right up until the last minute. —— J: I'm curious about the name which got rejected. Kubo: The fact that I had forgotten about it, likely means it wasn't a good name to begin with. In addition, I consciously try to avoid names from the "ma column" because it doesn't sound cool. —— J: I get the impression that you take a great deal of care in the way you use consonants. Bambietta Basterbine for instance is all B-B-B. Kubo: That's right (laughs). —— J: The types that rhyme are nice as well, like Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Kubo: I'm often told that with regard to Grimmjow. —— J: It sounds cool, so it's a name that makes you start wanting to say it out loud.

Q.19: Regarding the characters' theme songs, I wonder how you visualise your characters to determine their songs through a piece of musical composition?

Kubo: When I'm planning and designing a character, a song that's familiar to me could start playing in my head and I think "that works a treat", in some instances when I'm drawing the scene in which the character first appears, a song that's playing in my head could naturally become their theme song.

Q.20: Are there any characters that received new theme songs around the time of the last chapter?

Kubo: Well, I've got nothing off the top my head. —— J: So the vision you decided on at the beginning, remains as unchanged as before? Kubo: Yes, that's true. Even if I had tried to listen around for a theme song once more, the one I chose in the beginning will always be the best suited.

Q.21: Each character has their own theme song, but do they also have their own fragrances to suit their image? I imagine it would be interesting if sensei did a collaboration with a perfume brand….

Kubo: I'm not all that familiar with perfumes, so please feel free to ask a perfume manufacturer instead (laughs).

Q.22: I'm curious to know if there are any characters who who radically transitioned away from your initial conception and setup, both during and before the series.

Kubo: Grimmjow is the one who underwent the biggest transformation. I get the feeling I've mentioned this elsewhere, but Grimmjow was initially set up to die before long, it was my plan to make him exit the stage as the story progressed, however when it came to the crunch I began drawing, and by the time I had finished drawing that week, I had already felt it was a waste to kill him off. I thought "this guy is too good", so when I informed my editor at the time that "I changed my mind, I'm going to abandon the idea to kill him off", he told me "to be honest, I also thought it would be a waste to let him die", this is a conversation I remember quite well. —— J: It certainly seems as if the side to him which is wilfully arrogant and confrontational would mark him out as an easily defeated character, however out of that, components like revenge and fate were affiliated with him and thus he became a great character.

Q.23: I would like for sensei to tell us if he is particular about anything when he's drawing female characters!

Kubo: I, don't think I'm good at drawing females. —— J: There's no way that's true…(laughs)! Kubo: For that reason, I'm not very particular about it. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say "I hope they look soft" and that's about it. When the series first commenced my lines were rigid, and I should say I was fairly annoyed by that….That's why I want to draw my lines softer for females. —— J: Noel's thighs in "BURN THE WITCH" when she was riding her broom, as well as the straps of her holster biting into her skin, that appeared to be most supreme level of soft (laughs). Kubo: Well, I'm glad to hear that (laughs). As a matter of fact, I even came to like big boobs because I was attempting to draw bodies with a softer look. —— J: So you came to like them while challenging yourself to draw a soft look. Kubo: Originally, around the time I was still a student, I liked small boobs better since they were easier to draw. —— J: That would apply to Rukia too. Kubo: But then I thought to myself "man I really suck at drawing a big bust", so when I was drawing "ZOMBIEPOWDER" I firmly decided that "I want to get good at drawing a big bust", once I had observed a sufficient number of big boobs in the hopes of drawing lots of them, I gradually came to like it. —— J: (laughs) Kubo: I won't be able to draw them better unless I like them after all. Since I grew to like them, I think it became possible to draw voluptuous figures with a more racy look. —— J: That is glorious (laughs). I remember quite clearly, some time ago, it was said that Kawashita​ Mizuki sensei is an artist Kubo sensei considers skilled at drawing. Kubo: That's true, it goes without saying that she is skilled, I am fascinated by those who can draw things which in my opinion I wouldn't be able to draw for myself. I can't do line art like Kawashita sensei.

Q.24: When Kubo sensei paints in his colours, does he use Copic markers? Or a graphics tablet?

Kubo: Copic markers. —— J: What about digital painting? Kubo: I can't do digital at all. In the past, there was a period between "ZOMBIEPOWDER" and the serialisation of "BLEACH", I used to challenge myself when I had the time, however I found that I couldn't draw at all like that. I thought "this is hopeless." —— J: You had tentatively challenged yourself right? But these days there are drawing programs like "Jump PAINT". Kubo: It's an app isn't it? These tools are becoming a lot more user-friendly huh. After all, back in those days there was nothing but the likes of "Photoshop" and "Painter". —— J: Nowadays, fellow manga artists will meet up and draw illustrations with their iPads on the spot. Kubo: They meet up and exchange drawings? —— J: They all jointly contribute by setting themes for each other, then start drawing something with their Apple Pencils, apparently these gatherings are really exciting. Kubo: I recently purchased an Apple Pencil. I tried using it, only to find that I was totally incapable of drawing on it . When Jigoku No Misawa and his wife (Matsubara Makoto) last came to visit, Makoto san tinkered around with the Apple Pencil for a little while even though she couldn't draw, she was telling me "if you play around with this thing here then this will happen, you follow?"…. Then it got to the point where I was able to draw on it (laughs). It appears that I'm just useless with devices. I think it would probably be a lot fun if it reached a point where it's more accessible for me though. —— J: When you're drawing on an iPad, you're drawing on glass, so the sensation of drawing on paper isn't the sensation being transmitted to your hand. Although, it appears that recently they started selling screen protectors which make you feel like you're drawing on paper. Kubo: I would be able to draw with something that feels like an actual pencil, that's insane don't you think!? Well, I'm slowly running out of reasons not to work digitally (laughs). But, the biggest reason is that my eyes tire. That's why I wear glasses that cut off blue light when I play video games. I would have to wear those glasses the whole time when it comes to drawing digitally right? Given that it would end up altering my perception of colours, on second thought, I feel it would be too difficult to work with digital as my main art medium.

Q.25: Please tell us the approximate duration of time it takes to go from rough draft to one page of a manuscript. I also draw manga and illustrations so I'm very interesting to know. I'm looking forward to your response!

Kubo: In my case, my storyboards become my rough drafts as it stands, so it's a question of how I should go about calculating time. If we're speaking with regard to the time it takes for the drawing process, it depends on what's on the page itself after all. And considering the fact that I was getting through fifteen pages a day during the series…. —— J: Is the duration of that time used for inking your sketches? Kubo: Yes. At my slowest I spent 8 hours for fifteen pages. Therefore, it would be roughly 30 minutes for one page. —— J: That's insanely fast (laughs). Kubo: However, midway through the series, I felt it was a detriment to my health, so I asked if I could have the number of my pages decreased. That made things much easier. From there I worked through thirteen pages a day. I would spend a day and a half inking my sketches, but I would always reserve just four pages for the other 'half'. Somehow I manage, or to be more precise it may be down to the fact that I am forced to finish with great momentum if there are four pages remaining. —— J: Do you prefer to compose your pages in a sequential order? Kubo: Yes, I feel more excited about it that way. I too want to get charged up along with the climax of the story in my manga (laughs). If I first start drawing a scene that takes place after the end of the climax, I don't get excited for some reason. As a result, when the distribution of my pages is poor, I'll end up continuing with the scene thinking "this is wearing me out", but then my thoughts become something like "if I can overcome this, I'll be able to draw some great faces!" I did my page distribution chronologically in order enjoy the drawing process. —— J: It's an intuitive method but makes sense nonetheless.

Q.26: What do you do when you're at an impasse with regard to material for the story? In addition, please tell us what you place the greatest importance on when drawing manga.

Kubo: Whilst drawing I'm already thinking about the next chapter, so I don't really find myself at an impasse much when it comes to material. During the series, I would construct my storyboards in accordance with the course of events, then I would start inking and at the same time would have devised the following chapter. —— J: Some illustrations are for coloured title pages, some are almost a kind of continuation of the story, and others are poster illustrations that have no relation to the story at all. How do you decide which one of these to do when you're drawing your storyboards? Kubo: On the occasions I get to create coloured title pages, I bear it in mind when I think "this is the sort of painting style I want to do next", and by the time I get around to making a coloured illustration I feel like I can compose any one of those things. Whenever I didn't have the luxury of time, I would search for painting techniques in a short span of time (laughs). —— J: This Gremmy illustration (JET volume 1, p.277) exudes quite a malevolent atmosphere, but is this the painting style you were attempting to go for? Kubo: I think I wanted to go for a creepy feel, I painted it using a brush and my fingers. —— J: So you start by having some idea of a painting style. Kubo: Well, I think that applies to pretty much everyone (laughs). —— J: By the way, roughly how long does it take for you to think about the composition of each arc in "BLEACH"? Kubo: It's more or less determined at the introduction of the arc. Around halfway through the Arrancar arc, I participated in a stage event at Jump Festa, there I was asked "how much longer will 'BLEACH' continue?" I said "I will draw two more arcs and then it's complete." So, setting aside the length of the story, at that point in time, I would have been deciding the endings five chapters into the arcs. —— J: I see…. So then, I wonder what you place great importance on in terms of drawing manga? Kubo: What comes to mind when asked about an area I place great importance on, or rather, an area I'm 'particular' about, is how to lay down the foreshadowing. I compose the foreshadowing element by dividing it into stages, but since this element in itself is explained in the novelisations through text, I won't talk about the 'stages' here. Nevertheless, I believe the things you discover on the first reading are not foreshadowing to begin with but rather an ice breaker, or to be more precise something like a freebie I give away to readers that says "please anticipate things to come from these depictions in the near future!" After the big reveal you go back to read it again at which point you're able to say "so this was foreshadowed!?" Now that in my opinion, is foreshadowing. There are two reasons for this, one, I like thriller movies, though do you sometimes have predictions that you've made midway through those thrillers, I mean ones that completely hit the mark by the conclusion? —— J: It happens every once in a while. Kubo: I hate that, I think to myself "if it's supposed to be foreshadowing, then keep the reveal hidden properly!" and "surprise me with the reveal why don't you!" (laughs), second, I think a great amusement of the manga or rather the storytelling, is that after enjoying the main story you get to debate with friends that it's "neither this way, nor that." —— J: Indeed it is exciting to exchange differences in interpretation with friends. Kubo: If those debates are the most exciting part, then I hope when people discover new bits of foreshadowing after looking back on works they've grown to love, that they get to experience an indescribable feeling in the moment they made that discovery. I think "BLEACH" could also be one of these much loved works, so I wanted to set it up in a way where each time one would reread the story there would be a new discovery, and then a sense of joy which can only be savoured by those who have reread the story many times over.

Q.27: On the inside cover of volume 27, sensei talked about packaging [of an iPod] and book jackets, but in truth the paperback volumes of "BLEACH" already had a reputation for its exceedingly cool look. Is there an aspect you are particular about in your design and style choices even now? I would like for sensei to comment on attaining strong aesthetic preferences.

Kubo: I like design in itself, so although It's not the case that I'm particularly conscious of it, I'm always picky about it nonetheless. After creating the original format for "BLEACH" paperbacks, I was thinking to use the same one until the very end, therefore you will only find minor changes throughout. So when it came time to publish volume 1, I thought "I want to give it an aesthetic that's different from other comics." This means things like all the front page poems, and drawing the huge volume titles on the front cover. Even though I would buy Jump Comics all the time, I never realised there was volume titles, when I was asked "what would you like to do for the volume title?" by Jump Comics editorial staff, I thought "why doesn't anyone use volume titles in their design?", as a result I decided to use volume titles in my own. —— J: you have a point, it usually only appears in small lettering above the title of the work. Kubo: Exactly. I always think "what a terrible waste." If you don't make use of it design-wise, then contrary to expectations, the presence of the volume title will end up interfering with the cover art won't it? —— J: Even the designers among these questions have reputed "BLEACH" to have an aesthetic that's different from other comics.

Q.28: Within the story of "BLEACH", I believe there was a many number of instances where you depicted members of the cast in a heroic last stand or momentarily on the verge of death, but what are you conscious of within yourself when expressing a character's 'death'? Is there anything you pay extra attention to?

Kubo: It's the timing. It's either something like "this is still not the right place to kill him off" or "it's ideal for this character to be killed off here." It's not a question of luck as far as the characters are concerned, but rather a question of whether or not it goes along with their characteristics. The side that survives is certain to have good fortune after all. I reckon the scene where Ulquiorra fades away also matches his nature. —— J: Is there any character who ended up dead even though you hadn't originally planned to do so? Kubo: Not off the top of my head, I think not. It's the same for the reverse too. Grimmjow is pretty much the only exception. Grimmjow originally lived as long as he did because I didn't come up with his death scene, but I think he would be dead if I had decided as far ahead as that death scene. I would probably be thinking "this way of dying is the coolest!" and because of that, I think I would have killed him off since I want there to be a cool aspect in my depictions. Although my depictions can give the impression that 'this person looks to be on the point of death here', my thinking is "I still want to make this character do so-and-so after this" and I don't let them die. —— J: Izuru was still alive with pipes attached to the hole in his chest after all. Kubo: About that, after thinking "there are gaps in the hole on Izuru's chest, if the moon could be seen through there, that would be super cool!" I really wanted to draw that. When he was revived in a zombie-like state, the staging of the scene where the moon was visible, is to make it appear as if the moon was actually in Izuru's possession. For that alone I put him on the verge of death for a time and then let him survive. —— J: So from a choreography viewpoint, there are times you like to think outside the box for characters that are made to survive. Kubo: Given that I'm fairly passionate about choreography, there's something about it that makes me go like "I want to draw this scene, let's do it!" —— J: By the way on the topic of Izuru, 10 years later is he still alive? Kubo:  I suppose he's ‘alive’. Which reminds me, I didn't draw Izuru 10 years later…. He would be too pitiful if he was dead, so I consider him alive (laughs).

Q.29: Compared to when the series first began 15 years ago, what is the thing that underwent the biggest change?

Kubo: The biggest change in terms of the work, is my art style!

Q.30: I was surprised by the fact that two characters appeared on the final volume cover only. On LINELive, voice actor Morita san said "it is a truly fitting illustration for the last volume", I also thought indeed that is true. That the two individuals from the beginning of the story would bring it to a close, is very typical of "BLEACH" I think. What sort of thoughts did Kubo sensei have after drawing Ichigo and Rukia for the final volume cover?

Kubo: The story originally began with these two, so I thought I should try to end it with these two as well. Since I already knew how many volumes the final stages of the series would end with, I began assigning "this character to appear on the cover with this volume…", I could draw characters who were not able to appear on the front cover for a while, such as Uryū and Renji, but I wondered if I could put Ichigo and Rukia together on the final one. Given that it's been a single person per cover the whole time, I then grew to wonder if it would also exude a special feeling if I put the two individuals on the last cover alone. Those two are the faces that represent "BLEACH" after all. "BLEACH" didn't start with just Ichigo, neither did it start with just Rukia.

Translator’s notes:

“The Devil’s Dictionary” by  Ambrose Bierce

The "ha" and “sa” columns refer to part of the Japanese syllabary table

Quote from BLEACH volume 27 “I bought an iPod the other day. [...] The best part was the packaging, I couldn’t bring myself to throw away the acrylic case my iPod came in even though i have no use for it. I hope someday I could create a bokk jacket so good that no one can throw it away.” Tite Kubo.

[seasaltmemories]

Sarazanmai Hot Takes and What it Means for a Character to Be Likeable

Lol I knew the episode 8 fallout would be intense but rather than mind my own business, I’ve decided to help stir the pot

I’ve only watched Revolutionary Girl Utena but I’ve read up on Ikuhara’s other shows and in comparison Sarazanmai comes off as much lighter and more straight-forward in my opinion, yes a kid got shot in the last episode but the core conflicts and real meat of the show has stayed grounded in its slice of life elements, depending on how the climax plays out we might get more ambiguity or higher stakes, but the kappa stuff has always served as a potential solution to the boys’ problems and I could see a lot of the same conflicts and arcs taking place in a completely realistic setting

All of that is to say that despite this I find it harder to really root for and love the characters than expected, it’s not even because I really dislike anyone but because that more grounded setting complicates matters

For example, Enta is probably one of the most controversial characters in the show and he has the most realistic problem, having a crush on a close friend, there have been discussions back and forth about how selfish and overstepping of boundaries he can get but also about how he is just a dumb kid still learning to cope with these feelings, but like few acknowledgements that both sides can be true?

And I feel like the reason is, Enta’s situation is so universal people can either see themselves in his behavior, or people who have really hurt them in it, a lot of people have been the third wheel feeling as if they do everything for others who don’t acknowledge their work, but a lot of people have also had jealous friends who resent your outside relationships and/or sabotage them, like while it is a hot debate on tumblr now on whether it is ok to like terrible, problematic characters or not (spoiler alert it is) people don’t bring up the flip side that a character can have their actions be understandable and at their core they can be well-intentioned yet you can still dislike them

Ikuhara’s work is all about not being able to reduce people to good and bad, that what matters the most is people’s active decision to help one another and try and make the world a place that is just a little bit brighter, so anyone trying to neatly organize this love triangle into heroes and villains by saying X is a good boy and Y is murking up things, is just clearly missing the big picture

Because hot take, the boys’ relationship falling apart is less the result of one instigator and more the culmination of all their flaws making the situation worse and worse

However I still come back to earlier statement of having trouble connecting (lol) 8 was probably my fave Sarazanmai episode so far but I still have yet to be too emotionally compromised or in love with a particular character, I think they’re all solid and well-written, but the closest that I would say I get the most excited to see is well Sara

And the answers to that is people are shallow individuals, myself included.  Likabelity has nothing to do with a characters’ morality or complexity but more about what they offer the viewer, sometimes a viewer will be drawn in by that morality or complexity, but it can easily be anything else

Like for the reason Sara is the closest to my fave is bc I’m really fond of that one shot of her in the op, her design is the most interesting plus I just tend be drawn more to female characters, and I’m curious about how she factors into the larger plot, looking at the fandom as a whole, the Otter Cops are by far the most popular characters a part of that has to do with their prequel manga (which I’ll get back to) but even those who haven’t read it tend to like them a lot, and why? Because they have a cool dance number/song, are attractive plus voiced by popular VA’s, are all but suggested to be in a relationship and people want to know more about their plans, I doubt even if Enta dies, Reo’s popularity will waver in the slightest and there’s nothing really bad about that

But returning back to me specifically, I think the fastest way for me to really like a character is if I can see them in a variety of different situations and enjoy them for it, and I think where Sarazanmai has fallen short of that “absolute love” thing for me is bc while it has really captured their individual flaws, but less nuance has been given for why we should root for them specifically

I tend to describe RGU as introducing its cast in the most basic sense in its first 13 episodes, showing their deepest darkest flaws and hang ups in the second 13, and then in the last third making us love them despite that, that’s a very simplified version of events but an example it fits is Nanami, who is a haughty school bully and primadonna, while she matures over the series, even before that starts I began to root for her once the Egg episode showed just how insecure and unsure she is, but besides showing her vulnerability it also showed her strengths, such as (a much more healthy level of) devotion and love for those she cherishes and even later on, a determination to not fall into old mistakes again

Episode 7 was a bit of a breather was meant to serve the same function, but the boys just kinda have a bland generic niceness when they’re operating at their best, it is that grounded setting that is working less for me, because at their core they are just normal teenagers growing up, so at their best they are just average, I think despite the boys having the more developed storyline, the Otter Cops are more popular bc many readers feel like they already know them better bc they have seen at least a version of them be domestic dads and just live their lives

I still have time to be proven wrong, and even if it just maintains its quality I will still be satisfied with keeping up with it each week, a lot of this is filtered through my own POV so don’t feel like you have worse taste if say this has you crying bucket loads but RGU did nothing for you, but I find it interesting to see how old tropes have new meaning when placed in a different setting

[fuanteinasekai]

Meta #3: The One Where It Gets a Little Weird

Please note: this meta is heavily focused on recent manga developments, so if you don’t want to be spoiled by it you should catch up on fan translations. Okay these aren't spoilers anymore.

Also, while I think reading my previous two metas would be useful in understanding some of this, I don’t really consider this a continuation per se, since this is purely focused on developments in the manga. I really didn’t want to get distracted by anime issues, for reasons which will perhaps becomes clear. 

There are two recent stories with particular relevance to Tanuma and Natsume. (Well, three, in a way, but we’ll get to that later.)

First, “Tenjō-san,” a story that’s mostly about the four boys tracking down a mysterious, supposedly yōkai-related artifact for Himura-Sempai, a graduating senior from a different high school. Of particular note are two things: 

The unusually strong theme of mortality. The story opens with Kitamoto in the hospital, having scared the boys with a bad fall. He’s fine, but Natsume and Tanuma are very worried. There’s also a subplot about an elderly man who once went on a similar mission with his own boyhood friends. He speaks wistfully of “Tetchan and the others” as if he lost contact—or they died. It's a reminder that human life is short—sometimes shorter than expected—and one cannot wait forever to figure things out.

Tanuma’s complicated feelings make a spectacular comeback. Both chapters of the story have at least one meaningful exchange between Natsume and Tanuma. In the first chapter, Tanuma encourages Natsume to be open about his doubts by telling him, “I still sometimes want to see the same world as you, but I think it’s because we see different things that we’re able to confirm things for each other.” In the second, he tells Natsume that he might need to keep Nishimura and Kitamoto in the dark just so he can have space to be normal, “Since I, out of worry, ask you if there’s a yōkai straight away.” This is framed as a self-deprecating remark and an expression of deeper insecurities, but also as something Natsume doesn’t understand (that is, doesn’t agree with).

The next arc is another long Natsume-Natori-Matoba story about the complicated lives of those who can see yōkai, and the different paths those lives can or should take. This story reinforces the image of Natori as a protective and somewhat controlling big brother, complete with another incident of Touko-san aggressively adopting Natori. It also emphasizes the difficulty of intimate relationships, implied to be romantic, when one has a connection of responsibility to the yokai world.

The story after that is where it gets… interesting. Setting aside my own personal preferences, at the same time as I’ve seen a lot of queer subtext between Natsume and Tanuma, I’ve also always [until recently] assumed Taki would be the eventual implied wife. She’s the only girl Natsume counts as a friend, much less close friend, and she’s the closest anyone gets to being on Tanuma’s level of intimacy. Having said that, I wasn’t happy about it. Compulsory heterosexuality is one of my least favorite tropes, because it always cheapens romance and I am a huge romantic. There are essentially no obstacles between Taki and Natsume—certainly none she wouldn’t share with basically any other girl—which makes the concept of a romantic arc extremely weak.

Yet not only did the opening of the next story appear to confirm our compulsory heterosexuality, it did so in such a laughably cliche way it seemed to circle right around to subversion: 

It opens with a girl who acts like she has a crush on Taki (but not explicitly), squealing about how “lovely” but “difficult to approach” she is.

Nishimura-the-Projector assumes Natsume will be upset by Taki’s “boyfriend.”

Natsume claims to be upset because he was left in the dark, rather than because she has a boyfriend per se, which under cliche-logic reads as “denial” even though it’s a perfectly valid reason.

Jealousy trope-storm without actual jealousy.

The boyfriend is actually a relative! Heehee! Nobody acknowledges that this is heteronormative gossip at its finest.

Taki talks about her brother as if she’s trying to hook him up with Natsume??

Natsume notices… the brother… is “the cute type”???

No seriously, why would you do that now of all times?

In any case, this was all tremendously upsetting and frustrating. Since I would have to wait yet another four months (or longer) to see Tanuma again, I decided to temporarily skip the second Taki chapter and spend that time on a thought experiment/coping mechanism: What if it were a subversion?

At first I toyed with the idea of writing platonic Taki/Natsume and romantic Tanuma/Natsume separately, but it didn’t work out. While the idea of subverting “boys and girls can’t stay friends” in isolation is admirable, it’s not something with any basis in Natsume Yūjinchō. That is, Taki’s lack of romantic potential—if intentional—has always been illuminated by contrast with Tanuma, whether through the Furry yōkai/Ito-san pseudo-arc I described in Meta #2, or through more direct comparisons as in “The Time-Eater.” Thus, platonic Taki/Natsume and romantic Tanuma/Natsume are two sides of the same coin, and I approached my theory with this in mind.

Since this story was obviously heavily centered on Taki, with Tanuma having nothing more than a brief mental cameo, the only way to draw Tanuma in for comparison is the “pseudo-arc.” In that light, I created an outline of how the next three chapters should proceed if Midorikawa-sensei did intend a subversive, queer platonic Taki/ romantic Tanuma theme.

First, the real-world logic. There are two basic reasons why Midorikawa-sensei might write romantic Natsume/Tanuma the way it’s gone so far:

Standard editorial censorship. Natsume’s Book of Friends isn’t an international juggernaut, but it’s popular enough to be a reliable cash cow. So there’d be more pressure to stay within the heteronormative lines than in an “indie” manga. In this case, Natsume/Tanuma would never be fully canon, but consistent subtext.

Quiet natural development. That is, if Natsume/Tanuma wasn’t originally intended but grew organically out of character development, then there’d have to be a transition period from “nominally platonic” to “explicitly romantic.” Since they’re both boys and this is a mainstream manga (not BL), it would have to be handled much more delicately than M/F romance.

Some combination of 1 and 2.

The first is actually fairly common and much more likely than the second, though the second is technically a slightly better fit with how things have gone so far. Either way, we’d still be at the “subtext” level for now. With the socio-cultural context Natsume is being written in, shifting a character from “presumed straight” to “explicitly queer” is a complicated maneuver. M/M ship bait is very common, and even a sympathetic audience won’t necessarily trust build-up to be real. So if you want your audience to actually follow the romantic development, it makes sense in theory to present it as platonic emotional development (with subtext) as long as possible before moving on to romantic text. And the subtext, for the most part, can’t be the sort of thing that reads as ship-bait. Which makes “eventually canon” difficult to distinguish from “intentional, but permanently subtext.” For this reason, I won't bother to separate the two.

So, drawing on the way Midorikawa-sensei has written in the past, my theoretical pro-Natsume/Tanuma progression looked like this:

A second chapter of Taki, in which Natsume is implied to be a brother figure (consistent with my initial subversive reading—there are a lot of parallels between Natsume fretting about Taki and Taki fretting about her brother + Natsume and her brother both have complicated relationships with yokai that conflict somewhat with Taki's fangirl-glasses). This creates a sense of depth and longevity to their relationship, while at the same time pushing a more explicitly platonic reading. The “omg Taki has a boyfriend” opening subtly injects a question of romance into the entire pseudo-arc (not so subtly into Taki’s half), answering with “no, they’re like siblings” to the Natsume/Taki question, but leaving Natsume/Tanuma open in the second part. Ideally the girl with the crush on Taki from the beginning should return at the end as a nod to the queer reading, and to close the “Taki needs to talk to more girls” loop that was interrupted by the fake boyfriend. 

The second part of the “pseudo-arc” would be two chapters heavily centered on Tanuma where:

There should be some sort of thematic parallel to the first (Taki) part, with a corresponding focus on Tanuma. I speculated that there might be a family theme, since we don’t know anything about Tanuma’s mom (in retrospect a poor guess—in Taki’s story the “family" was mirrored to Natsume), but it doesn’t matter what as long as it’s a definite parallel. [This is the basis for subtextually carrying the romantic question over to Tanuma.]

The parallel should be explicitly acknowledged in some way, however brief. [This acknowledges the existence of subtext and invites the reader to notice and pay attention.]

There should be other, smaller parallel moments, akin to the previous pseudo-arc’s Taki-Tanuma “lonely” mirroring. [This reinforces the existence of the parallel even though the plot is very different.]

The Tanuma story should escalate emotionally. For example, since Taki “listens to Natsume,” Tanuma should do something stronger like “take care of Natsume.” [This reinforces the romantic imagery, in contrast with something more brotherly.]

The trend of Tanuma being emotionally centered on Natsume, in contrast with Taki’s family focus, should continue. [ditto]

Tanuma’s feelings for Natsume should be more romanticized than Taki’s feelings, ideally on a level with “The Other Side of the Glass” and similar stories. [ditto]

No explicit references to romantic feelings, but a story more like a love story than Taki’s. Depth vs. surface. [ditto]

Ideally a reference to the “pond of emotional intimacy” would be super-great, but probably too much to ask. I think Midorikawa-Sensei forgot about it.

So what really did happen?

Just before returning to university, Taki’s brother says “I suppose I could leave [someone like] you in charge of my little sister,” which could be interpreted as deputizing Natsume as “older brother” in his absence. [I don’t want to make any definitive statements about translation at my level of Japanese—it can also be read as a patriarchal approval of the “presumed boyfriend,” though if Natsume is considering Taki that way, it doesn’t seem to fit Natsume and Sensei’s identical reactions.] Natsume then proceeds to explain her brother’s situation to Taki before happily allowing Girl-With-Crush to distract her with sweets. The ending feels very neat—as if their relationship issues have all been more or less dealt with. It’s essentially the opposite of what I expected from romantic Taki, in which we might see a certain ambiguous open-endedness, tension, or a sense that Natsume is reevaluating the way he sees Taki. There is none of that here.

And then there’s the next story. As predicted, it was heavily Tanuma-centered. This alone isn’t terribly meaningful, since we hadn’t seen Tanuma in a while. However, it also had a few… similarities to my outline:

It parallels Taki’s story with a “visitor” theme, and with the way the visitor arguably mirrors Natsume himself. 

Natsume acknowledges the thematic parallel: “A visitor every day? I wonder if it’s family like that time with Taki.” I had to take a moment here to laugh hysterically; I wasn't expected it to be this obvious. (Taki: “boyfriend” → family | Tanuma: “family” → ??)

Several mirrored moments, mostly in the first chapter, including “what kind of person?,” Nishimura as contrast, the running, the explanation-of-the-problem, the shocked reaction to meeting, the final-bench-discussion and so on.

“I always get her to listen to me.” → “He always listens and smiles for me.”; “I too [will listen to you] the way you always listen to me.”  → “You’ve kept me company so many times when I was mixed up with yōkai, so […] I will keep you company, too.” (When I initially wrote my outline, I had missed that he uses もらう for Taki’s listening, which downplays her intent. So even though his description of Tanuma is similar, this is an upgrade.)

Pretty blatant difference in romantic subtext, here. Taki is emotionally preoccupied with her brother and their grandfather. The climax is her brother giving her the gift he made with their grandfather as a small child. Tanuma is emotionally preoccupied with the gap in power between himself and Natsume and how that affects their relationship. The climax is watching their yōkai mirrors, in matching vessels, spiral together into the sky.

Tanuma clutches at his heart when Natsume calls his name. Tanuma wants to “see the same things Natsume sees, together,” Tanuma wishes he could be strong so Natsume wouldn’t “worry and [I/we could]…”. Natsume feels that Misuzu is “seeing through” him right after Tanuma calls him a friend. A lot of interruptions, unfinished sentences and unspoken feelings. Etc. Though Taki’s story opens with romantic cliche, and Natsume is very determined to be helpful, it’s Tanuma’s story that’s thick with romantic imagery. Taki’s story, by contrast, romanticizes the protective, sheltering image of the older brother, who cares for his little sister (and vice versa) even though they can't quite understand each other.

In terms of the “love story”: again, Taki’s emotions are centered on her brother. Tanuma’s are centered on Natsume, with even his desire to get to know yōkai being fundamentally tied to Natsume. Tanuma in particular is written with strong undertones of longing and trying to find a way closer, while Natsume gets little chance to think deeply or speak to Tanuma alone, distracted by the Misuzu problem and how it relates to Tanuma’s health and happiness. Tanuma’s story is also much more open-ended. While Taki’s story seems to end with a sense of satisfaction, Tanuma’s is full of tension. The question of how they come together safely (platonically or otherwise) remains unresolved.

The pond continues to play a metaphorical role as a place that symbolizes what they do or don’t share. Though Tanuma cannot see the pond itself, he can see shadows ordinary people cannot—in “Same Scenery” he referred to these shadows as something only the two of them could see. For Misuzu and Sasame, it is a literal halfway point between their marshes, and a place where they meet specifically to be together.[IMO, this is why it doesn't appear in "The Days-Eater": the symbolism of the pond is specifically tied to the two of them, so it would be inapproprate to reference it in Taki's presence.]

So… what does this mean? I don’t know. I promised myself I would let go of the queer reading if I got anything less than a Taki-Tanuma pseudo-arc—even if I got a story that heavily romanticized Tanuma without paralleling Taki’s story. Actually getting what I wanted, exactly what I wanted, is less satisfying than it might seem. Set against the overwhelming prevalence of heteronormativity, it's left me in a curious limbo of uncertainty. It’s hard to swallow the idea that my accuracy was a complete coincidence, but I may have been wrong about the reasons for this pattern. 

While it’s objectively lazy, there’s a great deal of precedent in letting superficial romantic features like “cuteness” supersede features like devotion, so long as the former is opposite sex and the latter same sex. In other words, I may have the pattern backwards, with Tanuma being set up as platonic soulmate, and Taki as the romantic lead. Perhaps we are meant to draw a parallel between Tanuma and Taki’s brother as a “difficult older brother” figure (even though Tanuma is younger), given they are both “easily possessed.” If so, they have little else in common. The (simultaneous??) mirroring between Tanuma and Taki would probably be for the purpose of establishing Natsume’s most important platonic, non-family-like relationship as equally important to romance. This isn’t exactly inconsistent with the emphasis the manga places on the importance of platonic love.

Still, it’s an odd choice to make Taki’s feelings primarily about someone else if the story is meant to set a romance in motion, particularly in contrast to Tanuma. And the older brother/Natsume mirroring would have to be unintentional, since it’s a bit, um, awkward otherwise, which would mean the undeniable Misuzu/Natsume mirroring is coincidental. And so on. At its heteronormative best, “The Troublesome Two” is a story about Natsume’s crush on Taki, and Taki’s love for her brother and late grandfather. At its potential best, it’s a subversive story about how an unrelated boy and a girl can care deeply about each other without having romantic feelings—and about how girls aren’t necessarily more emotionally and socially competent than boys just because they’re girls.

In any case, Tanuma’s story is worth looking at a bit more closely.

First, a summary of the actual plot:

Tanuma receives a mysterious, persistent, explicitly gender-ambiguous “human” visitor who turns out to be Misuzu (the powerful horse yōkai) in disguise. He’s excited by the opportunity to get to know a yōkai, so Natsume decides to support him, despite his fears, by hovering like gnat and glaring at Misuzu while they go around looking at scenery. Eventually it’s revealed that Tanuma has been quietly possessed by Misuzu’s fellow marsh guardian… soulmate… friend thing, and that it’s this “Sasame” who Misuzu has been interested in, rather than Tanuma. There’s a climax where Sasame tries to escape being removed from Tanuma, and Tanuma empathizes with their relative lack of power because he sees Sasame (who is very weak) with Misuzu as being similar to himself with Natsume. Sensei confronts Sasame about their motivations, thereby leading to Sasame voluntarily leaving and joining Misuzu in their wooden-doll-possessing-competition… thing. 

Though nominally platonic, the story is romantic and emotional, centering on the gap in power between Natsume and Tanuma and their mutual attempts to bridge that gap without actually talking about it.

The first thing I’d like to talk about is the imagery.

Chronologically left to right this time. Tanuma looks odd on the right because of Sasame. Friendly reminder that Midorikawa-Sensei hates drawing hands.

Japanese culture is not physically demonstrative or openly emotional in general, but young children and teen girls are allowed far more leeway than teen boys and adults. So much so that teen girls can even hold hands in a “romantic” way and still be assumed to be straight. This is not as visible in Natsume Yūjinchō as in Midorikawa-sensei’s other work, since there’s only one recurring teen girl. But it is visible in her art for Season 6 of the anime, where Sasada and Taki are holding hands in the background. It’s also apparent in the way that different characters express themselves. Female characters are more physically emotional, and more visibly vulnerable than male characters. For example, male characters do not usually hold their hands in front of their stomach or their chest—a somewhat defensive gesture—and will ball up their fists at their side instead. (Or use Sensei as a shield.) Male vulnerability is mostly expressed through facial expressions.

So even for a boy like Tanuma, this kind of emotional gesture is notable. A single example would be interesting. Two is suspicious. Three is a pattern. This fits the theory that this story is meant to break open a new arc in Natsume and Tanuma’s relationship; changing course requires far more effort than staying on the new course. It’s exactly what Taki’s story was yelling about right before it veered off into “family” territory—except Tanuma’s story stayed consistent. The hand-over-heart, standing-on-water scene was on the very first page, without even a chapter cover to get in the way. The longing, out-stretched hand is from a scene that sets the emotional context for Tanuma’s behavior. The heart-clutching is part of the climax. Every one of these is directly or implicitly linked to his feelings about Natsume.

The out-stretched hand is particularly important. This is the dialog that sets it up:

あのヒト妖だったのか… すごいものだな　普通に人間に見えているのに… ささいで小さな妖との繋がりのかけら　夏目はいつもあんなに苦労している　それを知ってるのに夏目が見ているものを一緒に見てみたいと思ってしまう　ー夏目は強い　おれもそうだったらあんなに心配させずにー　… どうしたんだ　おれらしくもない　…なんだか欲ばりだ

“[Spoken aloud to himself] That person was an ayakashi…? What an amazing thing. Even though they look like an ordinary human… [Internally] Such a tiny, insignificant fragment of a connection to ayakashi. Natsume is always going through so much trouble. I know that, but I still find myself thinking I’d like to see the things he sees, together. —Natsume is strong. If I were too, without worrying him— [it would be possible to do something]… What’s the deal? That’s not like me. …Kind of greedy.”

When Tanuma is talking to Natsume about something similar in “Tenjō-san,” his wording is vague, potentially even reading as envy though that doesn’t really suit the context. He says he’d “like to see the same world as [Natsume], sometimes.” Here in the privacy of his own mind, he’s more clear. This scene, with it’s implication that Tanuma wants to share Natsume’s world, is implicitly romantic—particularly in light of Taki’s furry yōkai story. 

Though there were several moments when Natsume seemed suspicious of the nature of the furry yōkai’s feelings for Taki (never explicit), it’s reading the letter at the end that seems to convince him. In this letter, the yōkai expresses their gratitude for Taki’s help, and their desire to “see the beautiful mountains and beautiful valleys” with Taki. In fact, the wording itself is suspiciously familiar.

If we set aside the obvious differences and focus on the emotional core of the letter, we get:

[~]をともに見てみたいと思ってしまった。

“I found myself thinking I’d like to see [the beautiful mountains and beautiful valleys] together.”

Compare Tanuma:

[~]を一緒に見てみたいと思ってしまう。

“I find myself thinking I’d like to see [the things Natsume sees] together.”

There are two differences here. One, the word for “together”: the yokai’s letter uses the formal/written ともに, whereas Tanuma’s thought uses the casual/spoken 一緒に. The words are otherwise completely identical in meaning, so this difference should probably be considered functionally meaningless. The other difference is actually in Tanuma’s favor.

What I translated as “I find/found myself thinking” is the auxiliary verb しまう. This word has no real equivalent in English. It means “to finish completely” but is commonly used to add a nuance of lack of intention and probably regret to an action. For example, where an English speaker might say “Oh no, I forgot!” the Japanese speaker would say “I forgot—shimatta!” If “shimatta” sounds familiar, that’s because it’s very common and can even be used on its own (where it is frequently—and hilariously—translated as “damn”).

Here both furry yōkai and Tanuma are using しまう to express regret or even self-reproach for their seemingly futile desires as well as (in Tanuma’s case) the sense that the desire is selfish. The difference is the conjugation. Furry yōkai uses the perfective aspect—often taught as “past tense” because that’s the primary use—which indicates the completion of an action. Tanuma is using the imperfective, which indicates a lack of completion either because something is ongoing (recurring, not continuous), or because it is yet to be performed at all (future).

Grammatically there are a few different interpretations of perfective vs imperfective, but in this context only one thing makes sense. The furry yōkai is encapsulating his desire as a singular experience, something they have wrapped up and set to the side (consistent with their refusal to engage directly with Taki or allow Natsume to do so for them) and don’t expect to deal with in the future. Tanuma, on the other hand, considers this desire to be an issue he struggles with repeatedly and sees no quick end to. Even though he, like the furry yōkai, knows it to be impossible, he can’t let it go—and nor can the story.

Regardless of any potential parallels to Taki’s furry yōkai, this desire to see yōkai in order to share them with Natsume is a major theme. While we do occasionally go a few pages without being reminded, Tanuma’s motivations in this story are neither subtle nor subtext. The logic is fairly straightforward:

Knowing a yōkai ⇒ having a connection to the yōkai world ⇒ having a connection to Natsume’s world ⇒ being closer to Natsume.

The scene above lays it out all but explicitly, but this motivation is referenced multiple times (not in order):

—“I can’t let him keep worrying forever. If there’s anything that would help hurry things along even a little…” [While investigating a dream.]

—“I was happy that your ayakashi friend seemed to take an interest in me.”

––“[I miss feeling like I knew a yōkai but] I still had a good time, in the end. I got to see the same things as you.”

—“So that means I get to know a yōkai Natsume knows?”

The last one is rather telling. First, because it confirms the connection to Natsume is important to him. Second, because he says it while holding Sensei. Sensei does not “count” for this purpose because Sensei is not inaccessible. Even completely ordinary people like Nishimura and Kitamoto interact with Sensei on a regular basis, albeit without realizing he can talk. Tanuma wants more than that. But even more, he wants more than what’s available to, well, Taki—the other “ordinary” person who talks to Sensei.

Yet all of this serves only to reinforce a pre-existing theme. For Taki, the yōkai world is intrinsically emotionally bound to her grandfather. For Tanuma, it’s emotionally bound to Natsume himself. Further, he sees it as a barrier between them that he needs power to overcome. This has a long-running basis:

—When they first meet, Natsume makes it clear he wants to talk to Tanuma because he believes Tanuma can see the same things. Tanuma, likewise, wants to meet Natsume because he’s heard they’re similar. It makes sense, then, that he would see their relationship—and his worth as a friend—as being strongly tied to yōkai.

—In Tanuma’s special, his second major appearance, he frets about his weakness being the reason Natsume always lies and disappears without warning. He knows that Natsume is trying to protect him from yōkai trouble, but secretly fights the fear that Natsume is disappointed in his lack of power. The story ends with him wondering whether Natsume will ever tell him “what color the fish [in Tanuma’s yōkai pond] are” and whether he’ll ever be able to ask. Natsume talking about the yōkai pond, then, is established as a metaphor for Natsume opening up and treating Tanuma as a genuine friend.

—In the mirror arc, Tanuma borrows the yokai’s sight (i.e. power) because he wants to see what Natsume is reacting to. The yōkai later tells Natsume “It was what he wanted. […] Even though he knows [you’re trying to be kind] he doesn’t understand. Even though he’s right beside you, not knowing…” Earlier in the story, there’s a mildly comic set of exchanges where he repeatedly gushes about how “amazing” Natsume’s ability is.

—In “The Other Side of the Glass,” Tanuma’s flashback to Natsume not paying attention while he plays shogi connects the yōkai world to Tanuma’s perception of being kept at a distance. That is, Natsume is mentally drawn away from Tanuma by things that Tanuma (normally) cannot even see and therefore cannot work against. Tanuma eventually breaks down because he feels that in trying to be involved, he’s become “a burden” who “doesn’t know how far to intrude” and “doesn’t want to put up walls because of that.” At the end, he’s wistful about leaving the yōkai world and losing his sight.

—In “Distant Festival Lights” Tanuma reveals he “never even imagined” that yōkai were real until he met Natsume. Thus yōkai as something real to be wondered at must be inextricably bound to Natsume himself.

For several stories afterward, this desire is shifted to the background as the narrative focuses on what Tanuma can do: provide emotional support (as with Natsume’s story about his unwed grandmother) and run interference in the background. Tanuma’s desire to see yōkai does not come up during this calm period. However, the theme starts to creep back in with the ryokan story, along with his lack of faith in his own abilities—he assumes a real vision was “just a dream” because there’s nothing there when he wakes up, and apologizes to Natsume for reacting to it.

In Tenjō-san, he talks about how he feels about Natsume’s world:

夏目の世界はあいまいなものがいっぱいなんだな　おれは…やっぱり時々夏目と同じ世界を見てみたいなと思うけど　見えるものが違うからこそ確認しあえることもあるのかもしれないなって…

“Your [Natsume’s] world is full of ambiguous things, isn’t it? I… still think I’d like to the the same world as you, sometimes. But I also think maybe there are times when it’s because the things we see are different that we can confirm things for each other.” [Emphasis is original.]

In other words, this story is really just foregrounding something that’s always been subtext.

Which brings me to my next point: the use of mirroring. I assumed from the start that Misuzu was a mirror for Natsume in order to parallel Taki’s brother as a mirror. There seemed to be some basis for this in the first chapter—in spending so much time talking with Tanuma, Misuzu was preventing Natsume from talking to Tanuma. (Natsume frets about not getting to talk to Tanuma “at all” because the guest had been coming “for a few days.”) And in taking Tanuma around to look at various scenery, Misuzu’s actions are suspiciously similar to what Natsume worries about failing at: “Even though I have him right beside me, I keep him company with nothing but talk of scenery we cannot share.” [Emphasis mine.] The mirroring ended up being more explicit than I expected: Tanuma openly compares Sasame and Misuzu’s relationship to his with Natsume. This is an interesting narrative technique, for a couple of reasons.

Sasame—and Misuzu in particular—are not just yōkai. They are yōkai who act very differently from humans, to the point that it’s specifically highlighted. Of all the yōkai Natsume knows, Misuzu is one of the least human. They chose the form of a horse. They have a frog as a “retainer.” They once “tested" Natsume’s worthiness with a deadly curse. And in this story itself, they complain that they don’t understand why Natsume won’t just order them around, even though they specifically allowed him that power. In other words, they express themselves in ways that are not easily mapped onto human behavior. This is important because it allows the Misuzu/Sasame to Natsume/Tanuma mirroring to be opaque in many ways. For example, it’s not at all clear what the Natsume/Tanuma equivalent of possessing identical dolls and having a boisterous contest would be. This means that the story can move forward with strong emotional overtones while also refusing to define exactly what kind of relationship they’re supposed to have. It’s a convenient excuse to have two characters behave in a very romantic way without having to justify why they’re not actually in a romantic relationship. This is nearly the opposite of Taki’s story, where the use of her brother as mirror (if intentional) has strongly platonic overtones.

Another example of deliberate (and clever) muddling is in the presentation of Sasame and Tanuma’s emotions while Sasame inhabits Tanuma. Both characters are implied to be influenced by the other. Tanuma says “What’s the deal? That’s not like me. Kind of greedy.” Later, Sasame tells Sensei not to worry about Tanuma because “There was something off with me. [It’s not like me to] take advantage of the child of man this way.” Neither of them are really suggesting that the nature of emotions are strange, only more self-centered than usual. This suggests that their desires are so aligned, they effectively amplified each other, creating a stronger sense of desperation and thus greed. For example, both of them enjoyed their “daily routine” with Misuzu and Natsume, for related reasons. Sasame wanted to share Misuzu’s world, and Tanuma wanted to share Natsume’s world via Misuzu. 

However, since Sasame!Tanuma’s actions are influenced by the emotions of both characters, it’s difficult to tease out exactly who is feeling what. When Tanuma is so happy to get dragged off by Misuzu, is that because—as he later tells Natsume—he was “happy that your ayakashi friend seemed to take an interest in me”—happy that part of Natsume’s world was actively trying to involve him? Or was it because Sasame was happy about Misuzu’s active involvement? To a certain extent, it’s beside the point. These characters are mirrors. What Tanuma feels about Misuzu is what Sasame feels about Misuzu is what Tanuma feels about Natsume. Both want to be closer and more involved. Both are afraid of being left behind, of being “unable to keep up.”

On a similar note, we return to the mirroring between Natsume and Misuzu. Misuzu smirks through much of the story, but shows serious vulnerability on more than one occasion—right before returning to smirking. This suggests that Misuzu is hiding just how invested they are. Though they express themselves in very yōkai-like ways, Misuzu is just as concerned about Sasame as Natsume is about Tanuma. Misuzu even uses the same phrase, 付き合う or “to keep company,” as Natsume. That is, Natsume says he will “keep [Tanuma] company” with Misuzu because Tanuma has “kept me company so many times when I was involved with yōkai.” Misuzu later explains their own behavior, saying that they only intended to “keep Sasame company in whatever it is they want to do.” Both, then, are shown to not entirely understand their companions motivations, but to want to indulge them regardless. The implication is that they mirror each other in their style of showing affection.

Further, both Misuzu and Natsume seem clueless as to their companion’s desires. Natsume shows progress in understanding, but is repeatedly distracted by Misuzu. Misuzu, for their part, claims that Sasame retains possession of Tanuma because Tanuma is “comfortable” and “easy to possess,” apparently unaware that Sasame is specifically enjoying the new type of companionship with Misuzu that having a human body offers. On the same note, Misuzu’s confusion about why they want to spend time with Sasame!Tanuma in such “odd” ways is interesting in the context of being Natsume’s mirror. It suggests that Natsume himself does not quite understand how he feels about spending time with Tanuma like this. The reveal that Misuzu was actually talking to Sasame only makes this confusion more poignant: Misuzu does not understand why they are enjoying simply walking around, looking at nostalgic places with their favorite companion, when they had come for a boisterous contest. This is another good example of how being yōkai make the parallels somewhat opaque.

Another interesting point is the way in which Natsume’s feelings balance Tanuma’s. Though we’re given somewhat more access into how Tanuma feels, due to Natsume being distracted by Misuzu, we do get a hint of the broader problem. Natsume is worried about whether Tanuma will “listen and smile” for him “forever.” Then he chides himself for only “keeping Tanuma company with nothing but talk of scenery we cannot share.” When Tanuma sympathizes with Sasame, he points out how “unbearably painful” it is to be “unable to keep up with your friend.” Both Natsume and Tanuma use いつでも “forever” in the context of trying to make their companion happy. For Tanuma, it’s because he knows he worries Natsume. For Natsume, it’s the concern about Tanuma's interest in "scenery we cannot share." Tanuma is worried about spiritual power, and how it would (in theory) facilitate being closer to Natsume. Natsume, on the other hand, is worried about his actual relationship skills. He knows that he’s not giving Tanuma as much as he should, but doesn’t seem to have any ideas about what he should give. The only thing we have to go on is “scenery we cannot share,” which suggests that moving forward might involve finding scenery they can share—exactly like they did with Misuzu. So there’s a sense that they’re both actively trying to find a way forward, but they’re not communicating well enough to do it right.

There is one way in which the story could be read as explicitly platonic. When describing the marshes that they and Sasame protect, Misuzu describes them as being “like identical twins.” If this is intended to mark them as “surrogate twins,” then obviously that would be a platonic reading. However, I don’t think this is the case. Instead, I think this more “soulmate” subtext. After all, it’s not Misuzu and Sasame who are described as “identical twins,” but the appearance of their homes. And place, in Natsume Yūjinchō, is often a stand-in for something like heart.

For example, many of Taki’s stories happen in her home, to symbolize the importance of family to her. Likewise, the Fujiwaras home is a symbol of the affection and safe boundaries they provide to Natsume. Natsume had to let go of the “Natsume” family home before he could move on from the loss of his parents. More dramatic is Reiko’s field of flowers: isolated, hidden from human and yōkai alike, a secret for Reiko alone, yet beautiful—and blue for Souko, the girl who came the closest to seeing her true self. The pond that’s so important for this story is also symbolic: it’s both the place where Natsume and Tanuma’s powers meet and the place where Misuzu and Sasame meet to be together.

But more directly relevant is the story of Gen and Sui: the gods who inhabited a “set of two” dog statues and protected a village from afar, until Sui’s statue was destroyed and she became a demon. The term 一対 implies either a perfectly matched set, or items that are nearly identical but with a twist (like male and female or silver and gold). So while the word “twin” wasn’t used in that story, it’s conceptually very similar to how the marshes were described. Misuzu is an explicitly genderless horse-person and Sasame is literally formless, but Gen and Sui were heavily anthropomorphized and explicitly gendered as male and female. And while the nature of their relationship is never explicit, Gen and Sui made much more sense as a romantic couple than as siblings. For one thing, their style of speech is consistent with an old-fashioned couple (similar to Touko-san and Shigeru-san’s). They also use similar romantic language as other couples, like wanting to “be able to be together forever” and being “happy because you were there.” So the reading that Sasame and Misuzu’s “twin” marshes are symbols of emotional compatibility—and their need to be together—is at least consistent with how Midorikawa-sensei has written in the past.

For a while I was troubled by the symbolism of Sasame’s fading marsh in this context. It’s a terrible fit for Misuzu and Sasame (and thus Natsume and Tanuma) being “like identical twins,” but didn’t seem to fit much better with the idea of their hearts being “like identical twins.” But eventually it occurred to me that the fading of Sasame’s marsh along with their powers did fit with a certain view of “heart”—just not the limited scope of love. In Japanese, “heart” has roughly the same set of metaphorical meanings as in English, but with an additional dash of “mind” depending on context. So think emotions, deep thoughts, sincere beliefs. Sort of an “inner self” thing. In this context it’s easier to understand how Sasame’s heart has been weakened. With their diminishing existence and the “widening gap” in power, Sasame is emotionally stretched thin. Fading hope, the strain of feeling left behind by someone they adore, the belief that the one thing they have no control over is the one thing that matters the most. This is Sasame’s fading heart—and this is what they have in common with Tanuma.

And in fact this fits Sasame’s dialog, as they wonder whether taking advantage of Tanuma, and focusing so much on Misuzu’s power, means their heart has grown “barren” along with their power.

This might be depressing but for the implication that it’s not actually Sasame’s or Tanuma’s power itself that has made them feel this way. It’s the fact that they have been following an old, inadequate rulebook with Misuzu (and Natsume), and need to communicate in order to adapt. Sasame frets about power, but when they comment on the “liveliness” around Misuzu, Sensei makes a point:

にぎやかから満たされているとも限るまい

“I suppose we can’t assume that lively surroundings always mean that one is fulfilled.”

This triggers Sasame’s memory of Misuzu’s “nostalgia” comments, and their realization that “It’s not as if [Misuzu] came hoping I would just be strong.” In other words, there is something about Sasame (Tanuma) that is important to Misuzu (Natsume) that cannot be replaced by all the other “lively” people and yōkai in the world. What exactly this means for them and their future is left unspoken, but it’s clearly emotional:

“I’m sorry [for what I did], child of Man. Surely, even without being able to keep up…[something they want will be possible]”

The way the story ends, as well, feels pointed. As I mentioned earlier, Taki’s story did not fit my conception of “setting a romantic arc in motion” because it felt too finished. The only thing arguably unfinished in the end is Taki’s new friendship with Girl-With-Crush. The end-cap is Natsume cheerfully affirming the importance of keeping promises to family-figures (in this case Sensei, to whom he promised an eclair for dealing with Taki). This is superimposed over an image of the gift from Taki’s brother and grandfather: a rock painted with floral designs (it's a fake yokai connection [the stonewashers], but authentic feelings). The overall feeling is that Natsume has solved all their issues. He convinced Taki she could talk to him, figured out why her brother was acting weird and helped the siblings uncover the gift that was meant to help tie them together, then finally observed Taki having positive social interaction with someone who wasn’t yōkai-adjacent. (Note that Natsume had nothing to do with Taki’s new friendship; it was the girl herself who worked up the courage to approach Taki. And she used sweets—the language Taki speaks—to do so, showing a higher level of mental compatibility than anyone else thus far.) There’s no sense that Natsume’s feelings about Taki have shifted, that he sees her any differently, or that he has any curiosity about her future romantic life.

On the other hand, the ending of Tanuma’s story does what Taki’s didn’t: it leaves a suggestive opening. Tanuma happily says goodbye “Again, tomorrow!” in much the same way as Misuzu has been, implying a return to regular close interaction—and perhaps a more deliberately “daily” interaction. Then Misuzu reappears, and smirkingly tells Natsume “Tanuma Kaname is a rather fun/interesting guy.” Choosing to use Tanuma’s full name for the first time is all but a wink, and using 中々 for “rather” suggests either they’ve begun to see Tanuma with new eyes—or they think Natsume has and they’re making a point of noticing— 中々 has a connotation of “unusually high” or “more than expected.” Natsume’s unimpressed reaction suggests he’s not pleased at the idea of Misuzu’s renewed interest or teasing, and he pointedly reminds Misuzu of Sasame, asking how their “contest” went. Misuzu’s counter that it is, essentially, private is overlaid on an image of the contest’s meeting place: the pond which, to Tanuma, symbolizes both the connection and the barrier between him and Natsume. The pond whose dripping water Natsume was distracted from when Misuzu arrived. This has a strong implication that there’s something about Natsume and Tanuma’s relationship that’s not meant to be shared outside the two of them.

This is all… more than a bit suggestive. But it’s not explicit.

It’s not clear how Misuzu and Sasame will move forward, considering they ended with the same “competition” as usual, but we know they have learned from the experience. Both Misuzu and Sasame found that they enjoyed a quieter way of being together, and Sasame began to realize that Misuzu sees them as more than just someone to play games of strength with.

Likewise it’s not clear how Natsume and Tanuma will move forward, though the fact that they spent time basically looking at scenery together is a neat counterpoint to Natsume’s lament that he “does nothing but talk about scenery we cannot share.” It’s also something they can do without Misuzu or Sasame—as they did with the fireworks so long ago. They do make explicit progress when Natsume, hurt by Tanuma’s reticence, reminds him that “it doesn’t matter whether it’s yōkai or not, if something is bothering you, you should tell me!” However, this is only a single facet of their problem. It’s the sort of thing they ought to have been taking for granted by now, but it doesn’t really answer the question of what they can actively do together to find contentment. There’s a sense that they’re making progress, but still have somewhere to go. Acknowledging that they want to talk about something other than yōkai is simply the first step in that direction.

In the end, there’s still quite a bit I haven’t gotten into: the use of suspiciously suggestive wording, and the way Misuzu is positioned as a subtextual rival. The way Tanuma’s insecurity about his powers mirrors his insecurity about his relationship with Natsume. The various connections to earlier stories. Tanuma’s romanticization of selflessness and the way this, with his insecurity, is an obstacle in their relationship. But this meta needed to end at some point, so this is as good as any.

I’m still uncertain as to the intent of this story. I still don’t know whether it meant to lay down romantic subtext or just sort of stumbled clumsily into it. But no matter what, it’s a deeply emotional story that solidifies Tanuma’s singularity and significance, and the importance of being closer to Natsume. So whatever may happen with Taki, or with Tanuma, there is some comfort to be had in that.

[icharchivist]

can you talk about your opinion on Wisely ? I kinda have no opinion of him aside from "weird psychic noah who's in the secret with Road, also a slob at using his powers"; so I'd like to be enlightened about him in general/if there's subtle characterization on him or anything

oooh boy that’s gonna be hard. I can pull on essays when I have a starting point on what to say, kinda? but from scratch it’s... complicated. 

Especially since Wisely is kinda recent. I mean I lived his introduction in the manga. And by virtue of being “All Knowing” he has to remain mysterious or else he would ruin the fun, so...

this is kinda the problem with Wisely, we know he knows much, much more than anything we can imagine. So he seems too tied to the lore of the story rather than his own person, so it’s harder to pinpoint stuff about his development the way we can with any of the characters. Even the Bookmen who are linked to the lore aren’t... Living embodiment of that lore and memory like Wisely is.

That said, I kinda love him? 

We have so few scenes with him but what we can gather is that yes he’s all knowing, that he’s a dork, he’s as sadistic as his family, that he LOVES his family, especially the Earl and Road 

Which kinda makes sense? they’re the two that “hadn’t changed” since his days. Even if he knows the others’s “memories” (both litteraly and their noah memory) he’s new and barely know them. Hell if Tyki is anything to go by, Tyki finds him creepy because he creeps into his mind. Wisely can know eVERYTHING about Tyki but Tyki doesn’t know jackshit about Wisely. and that’s the case for everyone else.

Besides, he’s arriving right at the moment everyone has questions about the 14th and the only one who have answers are Road and Wisely. The thing is: Road is surprisingly the “Eldest Sister” of the gang: Since she survived the massacre, she saw the awakening of all the others Noah, and we can see she, for exemple, helped Skinn toward his, making it likely she did the same with the others. So I can see everyone accept Road knowing more than most, they’ve been used to that all along.

But Wisely is the new guy. He’s the last one to come back to life. Everyone should be his “senpai” by “birthstatue” but that punk just came and declared he knew better than everyone else and immediatly started to hit off with Road and the Earl.

Hell, especially for the likes of Sheryl I wonder how much kinship between Road and Wisely might sting. They all would believe they know Road well and all, that she was their eldest figure, that she joked off with them and loved them, and suddenly that new guy arrives and they start to keep secrets together and obviously have a bound that trancended Wisely’s death.

Tbh it’s probably why the guidebook mentioned that Wisely since then made himself join the Kamelot family. He can therefore remain close to Road WHILE pissing Sheryl off. If that’s not a Goal.

If anything though the fact Wisely can only create weird relationship is something that kinda puts his relationships into perspective? He seems like a nice, outgoing guy. He knows what goes on in anyone’s mind. Hell, in the manga’s bonus you even see him kinda like the exorcists. Having no boundaries to explore someone’s mind makes that Wisely can easily pinpoint them out, but yet he doesn’t seem to change his attitude a lot. I imagine he can take a glance at someone’s brain and wonder whenever or not it would be fun to hang around with them or to make their lives hell. It’s kinda fun that he’s not trying to adjust to anyone, he looks for his own fun.

What I loved with the Grey Log was how much apparently, Wisely and Tyki are enjoying “acting like hobos” in front of Fancy Sheryl. (from refusing to take bath to eating fishes out of pounds)  Tyki used to be alone in this disaster but now Wisely 100% supports him. And even more than him just finding out what’s the most fun, this is probably the closest thing we’ll ever get to Wisely connecting to his human life. And the fact he’s still carrying it on with pride is kinda amazing to me? Apparently the Jasdebi twins also love to play dress up with him? which is hilarious? (there’s also a bonus of them bullying Wisely by pulling his bandana if i remember). And he has a pet toad that apparently comes from when he became a Noah. I have no idea what to make of that aside that it is very cute.

So... trying not to look at the guidebook... wisely is so new we barely have enough info on him. And he’s too surrounded by mystery.

I think it’s undeniable that he cares for his family and that he is himself a rather playful person. He knows too much and we don’t know enough so we can’t relate.

Okay so one thing i think about, aside from the fact he kept contact with Road (which is WILD because Sheryl got very angry at the Bookmen and started to go further in his tortures when Road disappeared but somehow wisely could just have cleared it up?? But then I doubt Wisely cares much for whatever the hell they’re doing, and whatever Road is doing must remain a secret even from their family), and that he seems to be very adamant to protect the Earl:

When the Earl has his massive breakdown crying about how he is not Mana, Wisely hugs him tight and tries to calm him down right? Wisely obviously knows something, and it’s even to wonder if he could dig deeper about Mana Walker (even if we KNOW he knew Mana D Campbell). But he remained... so soft. So careful. He saw the Earl’s meltdown and was only preoccuped with making it easier for the Earl. It’s rather sweet and it shows that he has a very concerned side to him.

I think all i can say about Wisely is how... easily he could have been someone else? He could so easily have stayed distant in his own self-important mind. He could so easily be dropping every information he has on people. He could so easily just not care about making connections with people he can read like open books. He could so easily just know what someone would expect and act like it to controle them. But.... all of that isn’t in Wisely. For a All Knowing Character, he’s surprisingly gentle, he’s surprisingly outgoing, fun, trying to make connections. He tries to bound with people on his own terms, with his own preferences.

So i think that’s what I find interesting with Wisely? His archetype could have been anything, hell, it could have been a parallelism to the Bookmen’s lack of emotion (and perhaps the fact he so much as LOVE his peple serves as one, that he doesn’t hold back from having feelings despite his knowledge, that could work as a foil) but mostly the idea we can get of him he’s that he’s sweet and funny and teasing. 

And it was a nice addition to the Noah cast. I mean that we know well, we had the Earl (duh) who’s very sweet and caring, Road who is more playfully teasing and also caring, looking over how everyone deals with their internal issues, overprotective ect... We have Tyki that is extremely bound to his own humanity and therefore has the dilema of being the one who awoke his Noah so much he cant get back ot his human life. We had Skinn who was full of anger and frustration. Then we had The Twins, who represent a cruel childishness, who are always defying their family’s being (while loyal to the cause, they’re just brats). We had Lullubel, more stoic, more duty focused. Then we had Sheryl, the sadistic manipulator, sweet talker who prepares political horrors with a sweet work of tongue. And Nea... who’s Nea. (i’m not really counting the others ones since they’re not that developped. Fiidora perhaps deserves a mention under “sadistically childishly horrifying”)

Wisely works a bit how caring the Earl can be. And the fact he bounded more easily with Road and Tyki is also something to take into account. He’s the knowledge, he’s a manipulator on the feelings he can gather yes, but we also see him as more gentle, more playful, not in the amounts of cruauty we saw the youngest of the cast (.. which just reminded me the twins are actually 18 while Wisely is 17. Not that it matters when Wisely remembers all his past lives but.. still.). 

Ofc while all of them remains a certain amount of sadistic ofc.

Idk i guess it’s.. a question of what he could have been and what he adds to the cast that kinda gets my attention? and there’s mostly a lot to picture in his dynamic with his family and perhaps the Exorcists if we take the Komui Corner for granted.

THIS IS ALL OVER THE PLACE but unless i have an idea where i’m supposed to go i end up.... all over the place.

Idk i like him fine. Not a fav by all account bc i still wait to see how he might develop (if a character like him can develop) but.... we’ll see.

Take care!