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fumiko-matsubara · 3 years

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THE CLIMB - Storyline (Assassination Classroom x Tower of God AU)

Status: to be continuously edited and added until I'm out of ideas

Here it is, the finalized storyline. Just like the actual Tower of God series, this AU also has 3 parts. But I've only managed to roughly write out 3/4 of Act 1 (and I still have yet to add details). With Act 2, certain arcs have already been planned through but others have yet to be finalised (ToG Season 2 was mad as hell, I just CAN'T help but to pick out arcs I liked from the original and translate them to an AU with assclass characters). And finally, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with Act 3 (but one thing's for sure was that Team DREAM as a whole gets their deserved spotlight - I grew a soft spot for them, you see hahaha).

Semi-annually, 1200 people are selected by Headon, the Caretaker of the Tower and the Guardian of the 1st Floor, to climb the Tower as Regulars.

Those Regulars will then be transported to 3 different testing grounds at the 2nd Floor.

So the 1st test at the 2nd Floor will begin with 400 Regulars present at each different testing ground.

The first 3 tests will all be elimination-types. The first elimination test will be: Narrow the number down from 400 to 200 by using any means.

Nagisa and Karma formed a truce then found Sugino while trying to stray away from the bloodied battlefield.

Chiba managed to prevent Nakamura and Maehara from killing each other when the test was about to be done.

The second elimination test will be: the remaining 200 Regulars must form a team of 3. Those who fail to be in a team will be eliminated.

Known teams in testing ground 1:

Karma, Nagisa, and Sugino

Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara

Terasaka, Kurahashi, and Mr. Talking Ostrich

Megu, Okajima, and Kazuma

Known teams in testing ground 2:

Isogai, Kanzaki, and Hayami

Yada, Hazama, and Okano

Yoshida, Muramatsu, and Hara

Known teams in testing ground 3:

Mimura, Kimura, and Takebayashi

Sugaya, Fuwa, and Sachiko

Shindou, Satomi, and Kokona

All the formed teams were transported to a new testing area – inside the gigantic mothership that was flying above the field they were all at before.

Chiba then gave a whole detailed rundown about the ruling class of the Tower to Nakamura, who lived somewhere in the Outer Tower (Residential Area) where many cultures normally have little to no awareness about the Royal Empire.

The Tower is currently ruled by King Daigou, who was the first to climb the Tower along with his 10 companions, who then became the Leaders/Heads of the Ten Great Families. They were Irregulars, meaning they were not chosen by Headon but instead had opened the gates to the Tower on their own. Irregulars are basically the Tower's rule-breakers, as they are unimaginably strong since they weren't restricted by the contract of a Guardian of each Floor, which is what Regulars form with them in order to be able to use the shinsu in the Floor they are in. Irregulars come in once every millennium.

It had been several ten thousands of years since King Daigou and the Ten Family Leaders had ruled over the Tower.

The Ten Families are so powerful that they rule over multiple Floors and are either affiliated or founders of certain well-known organizations. Every single descendant of these Family Leaders is blessed with strength, no matter how weak some of them are by their family's standards. Direct Descendants are especially gifted.

Though there are exceptions, the talents of these children usually depend on what their great family is known for - Akatsuki Family for their swordsmanship, Asano Family for their Light Bearers, Seo Family for their Scouts, Shimada Family for their incredible physical strength, Chiba Family for their Wave Controllers, Terushima Family for their mastery of manipulating Shinsu, Tsuchiya Family for having the strongest defensive power, Harukawa Family for their Spear Bearers and Lightning Users, Park Family for their great intellectuality with all researches about the Tower, and Yamazaki Family for their Flame Users.

Regulated by Test Administrator: Takokoro Takoro (Ranker – someone who had climbed the Tower and reached the top. They’re incredibly powerful). He brought his palm out and suddenly everyone was being pushed away by a strong current. Many have already flown towards the very back. While some managed to hold their ground for a couple seconds before the current became even stronger, thus ultimately pushing the rest of them back.

Now there's a thick water-like barrier before all of them, waiting to be crossed.

As the Tower is filled with concentrated shinsu since it's basically its source of life, Regulars should be able to withstand at least a certain amount of concentration in order to ascend the floors. And so, the third elimination test will be: All members in a team must be able to pass through a barrier of high concentrated shinsu made by Takoro. If a member fails, the whole team fails.

The fourth test will be a psychological type, regulated by Test Administrator Irina Jelavic (Ranker): There are 10 identical doors in a room. Open the correct one in under 10 minutes.

Karma: "All of them looked the same to me. There’s no way to tell them apart and figure out which is the right one. So might as well ignore the first rule and just open a door in less than 10 minutes!" (Irina: “I guess that works too…)

Nakamura: "There are no ‘more’ hints..? But you haven’t given us any though."

Maehara: "Wasn’t what she just said a hint..?"

Chiba: "Uhh, those are instructions."

Nakamura: "That would only mean that the hints were already given before we even entered this place… like those unnaturally loud screams after a long time of dead silence from the inside. It was as if you were purposely letting us hear those screams and deduct something from them."

Team Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara passed the door test after figuring out the whole point of the entire test.

A short break between the continuous tests. Chiba and Kurahashi instantly clicked while getting drinks from the vending machine.

Kurahashi Hinano is a feline person – a humanoid species with feline features and abilities. They tend to be Animas. They populate all the floors that the Chiba Family rules over.

Chiba Ryuunosuke is from the family of Chiba, one of the Ten Great Families that ruled over the Tower. This great family produces the strongest Wave Controllers. They also have the highest number of members.

Because there were too many teams remaining that monitoring their abilities at the same time was becoming too difficult, a bonus test was announced to be taken before the Position Test will begin.

Bonus Test: The Crown Game. Regulated by Test Administrator Karasuma Tadaomi (Ranker). Participation is optional and losing this game doesn’t mean failing the whole floor test. However, whichever team wins are automatically cleared from the entire floor and wouldn’t have to take the remaining tests.

Every Regular from all three different testing grounds will be present in the same testing ground.

Fast forward. Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara were the team that won the bonus test. It was pure gamble in Nakamura’s part that Chiba has enough tricks up in his sleeve to prevent anyone from taking the crown from him, even if it’s Karma.

Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara were all guaranteed automatic pass from all the remaining tests and leave the 2nd floor whenever they want.

However, Chiba insisted they stay for a bit to participate in the Position Test even if they won’t actually take the test.

He predicted that Nakamura would either be sorted to the Light Bearer or Scout position and will likely received the basic lighthouse or observer for free if she at least participates in the classes.

The same case for Maehara in the Fisherman position and thus might receive a basic needle for free if he joins the classes.

There are five basic Positions in a battle: Fisherman (Frontline Combat), Light Bearer (Support and Strategy), Scout (Intel and Combat Assist), Spear Bearer (Long Range), and Wave Controller (changing tides of the battle).

Karasuma Tadaomi handles the Fisherman classes

Hanamura Hanayo handles the Light Bearer classes

Irina Jelavic handles the Scout classes

Red Eye handles the Spear Bearer classes

Tadokoro Takoro handles the Wave Controller classes

That friend list assignment that the Scouts would have to fill up in a week, which was what brought a lot of the Regulars to become friends.

Fast forward. About 20 Regulars were guaranteed to pass the Position Test with how high their results are.

Hide and Seek Test. A Ranker (but with high restrictions) will be participating along with the Regulars.

Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara, who already cleared the entire floor, can only spectate through the screen along with the Test Admins.

Luckily the team that failed was the one where most of the members have high scores in the Position Test, so not too many actually failed the floor.

Final Results were out and plenty have actually failed because some were too injured and some just weren’t competent enough overall.

The Final 2nd Floor Test was a team test, where the remaining Regulars must form a team of their own and take a certain test. It’s either that team passes or not.

4 teams were formed and thus, there will be 4 different tests: a Scavenger Hunt Test, a Lost and Found Test, a Zombie Test, and a Heaven and Hell Test.

3 out of 4 formed teams cleared their respective tests.

An official registration of teams was announced. Line-up changes in teams were made. There is also the option of not choosing a team to join in yet, of course.

Chiba, Nakamura, and Maehara were now included. Team END was formed and registered.

2nd Floor cleared.

They met Okuda Manami on the 3rd Floor.

Yukimura Akari joined Team END at the 5th Floor.

Chiba Ryuunosuke failed to clear the 8th Floor and would have to retake it after 6 months. He insisted Team END not to waste time waiting for him when they could just continue climbing, since he can surely form his own team and easily catch up to them.

Team END arrived at the 10th Floor.

Karma heard about an informant who is supposedly very strong but for some reason chooses to stay at the 10th floor for centuries.

He had plans to recruit said informant into joining Team END but was also curious about why they chose to stay at the 10th floor for so long.

Being a Princess of Daigou is a very big deal, as they are granted a portion of the King’s power, making them even more powerful, and a great amount of authority in the Tower – be it a high position in the empire, access to even the most powerful weapons, or even granted the opportunity to rule a whole Floor to themselves.

Princesses are already extremely strong when in battle that even a single Regular Princess can possibly take down all the other 400 Regulars by herself in a death match. Meanwhile, Princess Candidates, especially the ones who had nearly won their title, are not that much weaker compared to the already selected Princesses.

Ranker and High Ranker Princesses would be unimaginably strong. Two High Ranker Princesses from the Terushima and Yamazaki Families were so strong that they even outranked the majority of the Ten Great Family Leaders in the Tower Rankings (tied at Rank 7th), even if the Princess from the Yamazaki Family had been missing for millennia.

A Princess is selected and born every 300-500 years. They usually come from the Ten Families, but in a rare case would a strong woman from a less noble family would overpower her competitors and win her place.

Tsuchiya Kaho (Position: Light Bearer-Defender hybrid) was the strongest candidate of the previous Princess Selection over 300 years ago, after Chiba Rena Daigou who then became the selected Princess of that time.

Karma attempted to recruit Kaho but was solidly declined.

Kaho remarked that she would’ve considered joining them if the rumoured remarkable Spear Bearer from the Chiba Family was still travelling with them.

Karma instead just requested information about the 10th floor test’s details, which Kaho happily scheduled a meeting with Team END in a couple of days.

Kaho came by the dorm that Team END was staying at. Nagisa opened the door and was about to greet her but remained frozen due to how incredibly powerful the shinsu Kaho was casually exerting.

Maehara stiffened at the sight of Kaho, or specifically, the emerald jewel that was on her hairband. Kaho of course noticed him, even if Maehara didn’t realize it.

Barely minutes after Kaho walked inside their shared apartment, she was already giving pointers to some of the Team END members: like how Hayami would need to have observers instead of a Defender, how the Light Bearers in their team would need to do more snooping to get all the information they need, or the fact that a Light Bearer’s lighthouse can actually amplify a Wave Controller’s baang to make them more powerful and lethal, and etc.

Kaho then specifically called out to Maehara, who flinched.

Kaho: “Even if you have shit control over your lightning shinsu, you can still be flexible enough with how you infuse it onto the weapons you use. Heck, you just have to be flexible with the very weapons that you use and then infuse your lightning onto them. The results may vary but it’ll be fruitful at least.”

Hara served her tea and brought her some sweets, which Kaho highly appreciated.

Kaho then got a sudden call and took it. Team END could only watch nervously as she blows into anger at the caller.

Kaho: “You failed to use your observer to collect such vital information mid battle, even though you claimed to be really good at multi-tasking..? Gosh you’re the most useless Scout I have ever encountered in the near 400 years of my life!”

Kaho: “I’ve had high expectations of you since the Seo Family were known for their talented Scouts and yet you’ve only shown incompetence… I’m starting to believe that the unremarkable male descendants’ syndrome isn’t just limited to the Chiba Family…”

Kaho: “Since you’ve failed from giving me actual data in exchange for floor test Intel, your team is not allowed to leave this floor until I get my 20,000 points payment. Got it?”

After the phone call ended, Okajima asked Kaho about the data gathering assignment she gives to Scouts.

Kaho then explained that there’s a way to receive floor test info from her without having to pay her points for it, and it’s to take the 10th Floor test and retrieve important battle data that Kaho can use as more floor test intel.

Kaho: “You know? Info for info? But naturally, a mere floor test info isn’t just gonna pay up all the Intel you’re gonna get from me. This is just in case you don’t have enough points to pay.”

Not long after, Kaho began relaying information about the 10th Floor test to Team END, sending data to everyone’s pockets, lighthouses, and observers. The more detailed info they want, the higher Kaho will raise the price.

Team END wanted to know the vital weakness of the divine sea creature that they will deal with at the final 10th floor test, but Kaho said the price for that info is very expensive since it would guarantee a floor test clearing.

Naturally, the prize was really expensive that Team END was reconsidering.

But Kaho suggested that they won’t have to pay her points for that vital information if they instead give her as much information they can give about a certain remarkable Spear Bearer from the Chiba Family. Information such as his skills, abilities, background, and… personality.

And so they did, and they got the floor test info they need.

Okajima still insisted that he’ll attempt to look for more useful info about the 10th floor test to give to her. Kaho promised that she’ll return the appropriate amount of points to Team END if he managed to retrieve that data.

He got that data and Team END cleared the 10th Floor with flying colours. Soon after, they went to the 11th Floor, leaving Kaho behind.

The Tower’s Administration Office announced the names of the Regulars who had died while taking floor tests.

One of those names includes Harukawa Kiriya, one of the direct sons of the Harukawa Family Leader, who had died while taking the 10th Floor Test.

Kaho smirks while reading the announcement from her lighthouse.

Kaho: “I told him not to do it since it can get him killed but that arrogance never fails to leave their systems, huh? Now look where that got him. Such a distasteful family indeed.”

She then made a call to Tsuchiya Hibiki, a relative of hers, while going through the opened files on her lighthouse.

Kaho: “One of the few teams that recently cleared this floor just now is called Team END. They have a member named Maehara Hiroto and he’s clearly an illegitimate descendant from the Harukawa Family.”

She quickly sent a file to Hibiki, which is likely accessible information about Maehara, including his photo.

Kaho: “His lightning shinsu may be as strong as a direct Harukawa descendant’s but he lacks control over it and he’s not a Spear Bearer, so he likely isn’t affiliated with that family.”

Kaho: “But just in case, I want you to keep an eye on him until he’s out of our family’s territories. If he shows any suspicions that suggests his affiliation towards that family, let me know about it immediately. I’ll hunt him down myself.”

Surprised, Hibiki asked if Kaho is finally going to start climbing the Tower again.

Kaho: “The current missing princess’s remarkable younger brother is said to be finally arriving. I will be accompanying him from then on.”

Meanwhile, being a member of Julia’s team, Ryuunosuke had just arrived at the 10th Floor.

Chiba: “Ahh I hope I didn’t make her wait for too long…”

Kaho and Chiba had reunited ever since Kaho had been selected as a Regular over 300 years ago.

Kaho then officially joined Julia’s team. But since she had already climbed until the 20th Floor, she wasn’t allowed to take all the upcoming floor tests with the team until they’ve arrived at the 20th floor.

Privately, Kaho advised Chiba to tell Maehara to stop flinching or even just freeze at the sight of any Tsuchiya, since it’ll likely just get him in trouble more than anything. It’s already bad that he looks so much like a Harukawa, illegitimate descendant or not, so it’s advisable to stop flinching whenever he sees a Tsuchiya since it’ll make him look suspicious. Most especially since the Tsuchiya Family rules all over the 16th-29th Floors and thus, those floors are heavily populated by Tsuchiya descendants.

Kaho: “You said that his mother was a Regular who had stopped climbing, right? And that he lived at both the Inner Tower (Regular’s Area) and Middle Area (gate between the Inner and Outer Tower) of the 67th Floor? That suggests that he had nothing to do with the Harukawa Family so he should be safe enough… unless he actually met his father, that is.

Chiba: “He said he never met him. He wasn’t told of what exactly happened but from what he told me, his father supposedly left right before he was born.”

Kaho: “I don’t know what his mother warned him about us for him to freeze at the sight of me, but he’s completely safe if he’s got nothing to do with his father then. While we would still keep watch just in case, the Tsuchiya family don’t really bother with illegitimate Harukawa descendants, let alone kill them.”

Kaho: “Our goal was to not reduce the ever-growing Harukawa population, but rather strip them off their power. Specifically, those who become Rankers with the intention of sharing that power and influence to the Harukawa family as they bear their name.”

Kaho: “Ryuunosuke, your goal was to become a High Ranker, no?”

Chiba: “Yeah, and I feel like that’s also what my family expects from me.”

Kaho: “Naturally, because that would make you the first ever male descendant in your family to become a High Ranker. Since it’s such a big deal, everyone’s eyes are going to be on you if you were to achieve that and I wouldn’t be surprised if your family’s going to milk the hell out of the attention you’d be getting and benefit from it… just like what they did when Rena first became a Princess of Daigou.”

Chiba: “Ugh… that one lasted for years. It doesn’t help that both of our parents are Rankers, heck my mom’s a High Ranker, so even that was bragged about and made it into the headlines!”

Kaho: “Tell me about it… The Harukawa family’s no different for that matter. Shit, I think they’re even worse.”

Chiba: “Oh they’re definitely worse.”

Kaho: “With that thought in mind, if an illegitimate descendant has plans to join the Harukawa family when they’re becoming a Ranker or close to becoming one, that’s when we get rid of them. If your dear friend shows no such interest even after he had climbed so far high up, our family will definitely leave him alone. So don’t worry too much.”

The hatred between the Tsuchiya and Harukawa Families was so strong that killing and assassinating is even involved. Tsuchiya Kaho was promised to be fully forgiven by the entire Tsuchiya Family for failing to become a Daigou Princess if she managed to kill at least one member of the Harukawa Family on her own throughout her climb at the Tower.

The Harukawa Family was infamous for the womanizing tendencies of their male descendants, a reminiscent of their Family Head, Harukawa Izaki, who had many wives. Thus, it’s no surprise that not only does the Harukawa Family has the highest number of existing Family Branches, they’ve also produced the highest number of illegitimate children.

The main reason why the Tsuchiya Family made it their life mission to kill any Harukawa who shows potential or even interest to climb the top of the Tower was to forcibly make the Harukawa Family lose their power and influence by reducing the number of Rankers they will have despite their large number of descendants.

The Harukawa Family also has the same goal but are less successful at achieving it. This is because although they have high attacking power and lethality rate, every single Tsuchiya descendant, direct or not, were all born with incredibly high defensive power that only the most talented Great Family children can break through.

The only reason why the Harukawa Family had never surpassed the Chiba Family in terms of having the greatest number of children was because descendants of their family were actively being killed by certain members of the Tsuchiya Family, which also regulates their population.

Bearing the Tsuchiya Family crest meant being strong and brave enough to carry the burden of the family’s both good and wrongdoings. The crest is immediately obtained when a Tsuchiya successfully killed at least one Harukawa descendant. The crest is an emerald jewel that was attached on any accessory according to the bearer’s personal choice (e.g. Kaho’s hairband). Very few people outside the Tsuchiya Family are aware that a crest-bearing Tsuchiya meant that they have killed a Harukawa.

Maehara was one of those very few people who knew, hence why he froze at the sight of Kaho and her hairband.

Sometime later, Chiba called Team END to give each other updates about their respective progresses.

A little after that, Chiba privately called Maehara and told him what Kaho had warned and reassured him about.

Maehara: “Fuck, so she does know!”

Chiba: “Dude, you look like the typical Harukawa offspring. That yellow lightning isn’t helping either. So is being a playboy.”

The climb resumes.

Julia’s Team:

Nagasawa Julia

Okamoto Akeboshi

Kazukata Shindou

Akatsuki Seria Daigou

Ookuwa Sachiko

Tanaka Kazuma

Mori Mitsuki

Seo Hinagiku

Chiba Ryuunosuke

Tsuchiya Kaho

Kitazawa Ayaka

Park Jungyoon “Masato”

Fukiyose Eiji

Kanemoto Shiori

Tersuhima Daisuke

Shimada Miho

Julia’s team made it to the 20th floor. But because of how the 20th floor tests work, they have to be separated into much smaller teams.

Team DREAM was then formed.

Ryuunosuke, Kaho, Ayaka, Masato, Eiji, Shiori, Daisuke, and Miho

Realizing that a large-member team was just going to hinder them in the future with the way how some floor tests are done, it was decided that the split teams will begin travelling separately.

There were no complaints that Team DREAM consists of 5 different descendants from the great families since Julia’s Team is travelling with a Daigou Princess.

There's the Regulars Ranking which is dependent on what Floor one is on.

F-Rank Regular – those who come into the Tower on the 2nd Floor

E-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 20th Floor

D-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 30th Floor

C-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 50th Floor

B-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 75th Floor

A-Rank Regular – those who cleared the 100th Floor

After clearing the 20th Floor, both Julia’s Team and Team DREAM have become E-Rank Regulars.

Yamazaki Miki officially joined Team DREAM after the 21st Floor Test.

Team END encountered Team ACE at the 16th Floor and was furious that they failed to clear the floor because of them.

Chiba: “O-oh... the 16th Floor you say?”

Nakamura: “What floor are you on now?”

Chiba: “…the 25th Floor.”

Nakamura: “…Ryuunosuke.”

Chiba: “Yeah?”

Nakamura: “The plan was for you to catch up to us… not the other way around.”

Chiba: “...So I’m figuring out a way to persuade my family into getting us a large enough place to house us all at the 30th Floor when we arrive there. If everything worked out, you know where to look for me ahaha…

Team DREAM rushed to the 30th Floor in order to compete at the 30F Workshop Battle, which is an item tournament held for E-Rank Regulars at the Middle Area in every 5 years, with exclusive items made by the Workshop as prizes.

Almost all items and weapons of the Tower are made in the Workshop. Although there's a location on the Middle Area of each Floor, there are only 7 main headquarters and one of them is on the 30th Floor.

The Chiba Family rules all over the floors with the 7 main Workshops, including the 30th Floor.

Chiba Ryuunosuke plans to win the quinquennial Workshop Battle as a way to convince his family into doing a favour for him rightfully.

Chiba: “I may be one of the rarest sons that the Chiba Family have ever produced, having similar privileges as all of my sisters and all, but that doesn’t mean I’d just get everything that I want on a silver platter. And so I thought… If I did something favourable for my family, they might abide by my requests no matter how absurd they can be.”

Kaho: “A favour for a favour..?”

Chiba: “Yep! A favour for a favour.”

Kaho: “Huh. Knowing more and more about your family is starting to make me think that we’re not all that different in the long run.”

Chiba: “Hah. All the Ten Great Families are all just the same from the very beginning… though ours are particularly messed up. Perhaps that’s why there’s a growing alliance going on between them.”

-- (To be added) --

#sorry for the abrupt cut at the end there since that's all I've written out so far ahaha 😅#but I'm going to continuously update this post whenever I get the chance to #I'm at this point where I'm still struggling to think of different tests for Team END to take #that's why they lack screen time #bur fear not #once I've got everything figured out they'll be appearing more and more often #assassination classsroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #assassination classroom x tower of god au #tower of god au #my ideas #my writing

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pkjd · 4 years

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A new key visual and additional cast for the "Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T" anime “Dream Ranker” arc has been revealed.

-Additional Cast-

Ryouko Kuriba (CV: Atsumi Tanezaki)

Shaei Miyama (CV: Mayu Mineda)

Rakko Yumiya (CV Sayumi Suzushiro)

via: toaru-project.com/railgun_t/

#Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T #anime

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tetrix-anime · 4 years

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Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T - New key visual for Dream Ranker arc

#toaru kagaku no railgun #a certain scientific railgun #mikoto misaka #kuroko shirai #kazari uiharu #ruiko saten #key visual

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megaboy335 · 3 years

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Mega’s Top 2020 Anime

The year 2020 is finally coming to an end. It’s been an unusual year to say the least. Coronavirus more or less almost cancelled the entire spring anime season, which lead to a strange anime schedule for the rest of the year since delays have trickle down effects to what was in the pipeline. To be completely honest, this was not a good year for anime. I watched only a handful of very good shows, and the rest were mediocre at best. The top 5 shows I talk about here are definitely worth watching at least.

So with the introduction out of the way, lets get into this. As usual this list is just my opinions. Don’t take it too seriously.

1) Kaguya-sama Love is War? (Season 2)

The second season of Kaguya-sama took everything from season 1 and brought it up a level. The visual gags became more impressive, the voice acting was just as good, and the show is delivering sharper writing as we get deeper into the manga.

Season 2 added two new notable aspects to the show. First, a new member to the main cast by the name of Iino. She adds a new angle to exploit for the skits as someone who adheres strictly to the rules. This often means Iino and Kaguya frequently bump heads. In fact how they interpret a situation can be entirely different, which creates numerous misunderstandings between them. Second, Kaguya-sama began expanding the skits into long form stories. There were a series of skits that form an arc spanning an entire episode, or in some cases multiple episodes. Episode 11 was the highlight of the season where Ishigami confronted his past to overcome the bad stigma surrounding his character. Additionally, the story added depth to his connection with Shirogane while making us realize there was more to Ishigami than meets the eye. Kaguya and Shirogane also both became a little closer as the tangled web of their schemes yielded unexpected results at times.

Kaguya-Sama has an ova and season 3 planned. I eagerly look forward to seeing what new crazy situations the characters find themselves in.

2) A Certain Scientific Railgun T (Season 3)

After waiting 6 years since the conclusion of season 2, the Railgun anime finally returned to adapt two more arcs from the manga.

The first half was a Railgun version of the Daissheisai Festival arc. This version focuses on a completely different event in the arc with a story involving Misaki, Misaka, and Dolly. It pulls us deeper into the story threads established in the Level Upper and Sisters arc of what the scientists were doing out of the public eye. We meet the original Misaka clone and how Misaki came to meet her which adds a new layer to the current Misaka and Misaki relationship that we never knew. We see how Misaki is also a victim of the dark experiments occurring behind the scenes in Academy City. The experiment to turn Misaka into a level 6 was a very hype moment. Railgun’s Daissheisai Festival arc definiely hit all the right notes.

The second half of Railgun season 3 was the Dream Ranker arc. Like in previous seasons, I found the 2nd cour arc to be weaker than the first half. Indian Poker is a fun concept, but didn’t cleanly tie into the overall story. I also found it weird how special cards that can exchange dreams suddenly exist out of nowhere. Additionally, this arc brought it characters from the Accelerator spin-off which I wasn’t familiar with. It had a few cool and funny moments scattered throughout. The final fight at least brought the conflict to a satisfying conclusion. The only thing holding back Railgun for me like always is my lack of knowledge of the greater Raildex universe. Hopefully this won’t be the last we see of Railgun in animated form because I picked up the manga and the next arc is pretty neat.

3) The Journey of Elaina

The Journey of Elania is an anthology-centric anime where we follow Elania on her adventures. The first episode is a prologue to how she became a witch and the origins of her ambitions. Episode 2-onwards follow a fairly straightforward template of Elania arriving at a new location. She notices something isn’t quite right or learns about something from a local. As the story unfolds, Elania often takes a backseat role and opts to watch things playout. An anime of this style always brings a mixed bag to the table with the kind of stories that are told within the universe. Each episode/adventure is only loosely connected through the main character Elania traveling to a new location, but otherwise they are mostly independent besides a handful of recurring characters.

Naturally this format means there are both great and not so good episodes. There are bitter sweet tales, comedic, and even a few darker entries mixed within this show. In particular, there were a few standout episodes that cemented this show as something worth watching. Episode 7 was a comedy episode split into two halves. One half showed how two towns divided by a wall were ironically doing the same thing to the wall on each side. The second half recalled how Elania accidentally started a grape stomping tradition in a tiny village. Then there was episode 9, the darkest entry of the show so far, when Elania went back in time to help someone save their childhood friend. However, this person came to realize she hardly knew what her childhood friend was really like. Lastly, the last episode was unexpectedly deep where Elania met various alternate versions of herself and had to confront a dark version spawn from the events in episode 8. It showed how her journey can take all sorts of directions if events had transpired even a little differently.

A high part of the appeal to me was never knowing what kind of story we would get each week. Was it going to be light-hearted? Serious? Would it focus on Elania or not? Her adventures were certainly full of unexpected happenings. The light novels are 17 volumes in and still going. I wouldn’t mind seeing more if they ever wanted to make another season.

4) Tonikaku Kawaii

From the prolific author Kenjiro Hata comes an anime adaptation of his newest work under the “Crunchyroll Originals” label. The story is simply about a guy who is head over heels for his new wife and can’t get over how awesome it is living with her. Tonikaku Kawaii is a simple show that chooses to highlight the little moments between our main couple Nasa and Tsukasa. We go through all sorts of everyday events with them such as the act of buying a ring, a new television, bedding, and meeting each other’s family. All the characters are so earnest you can’t help but enjoy their silly banter. There is little to no drama here to drive the story forward. You just get to enjoy a newlywed couple discovering new things about each other as they go through everyday life.

However, at the end of the day Tonikaku Kawaii is far from complete and is honestly the type of show that likely wouldn’t make my list most years. It hardly scratched its overarching story during the 1 cour run. The thing that put it over the top for me was simply how likable each of its characters were. They all present their emotions like an open book and you come to enjoy the little quirks of each one. I was slightly confused at how this show became a “Crunchyroll Original” when anything by Hata would have probably gotten an anime sooner or later. There are plenty of other Weekly Shonen Sunday series that could really use an outside force to help them get animated. I can only hope it did well enough for Crunchyroll to consider investing into more from the magazine .

5) Ahiru no Sora

As usual, my list usually contains at least 1 show that began in the previous year. Ahiru no Sora is an anime that not a lot of people watched, but became one of my favorites each week. This is a 4 cour basketball series about a main character named Sora who is too short for basketball. Despite this set-back, he has a deep passion for the game imparted from his mother and wishes to someday find the same success as she did at the sport. The story begins when he enrolls in a new school and has to build the basketball club from scratch. However, the catch is the basketball team is basically non-existent. He ends up creating a team from a group of unlikely people: the ones who were bullying him. Ahiru no Sora presents a down to earth human side to the sport. There are no fantasy or supernatural elements found in this story. It follows a group of rough around the edges guys whose lives gets back in order through playing basketball together.

All of the main characters go through a decent amount of growth as their personal stories are explored, and Sora especially is taken through a series of events that allow his character to grow more than anyone. I was pleasantly surprised at how emotional it got at times. There was some real heart put into this series. In the middle of the show it genuinely felt the team had hit rock bottom. They lost a major game, the club room was lit on fire, and Sora lost his mother all right in a row. It was the recovery from that period and how each member matured from their experiences that solidified Ahiru no Sora as one of the top shows this year. The only thing holding back the show is that it's left incomplete since the manga is on-going (and actually on hiatus at the moment). I hope there will be an opportunity down the road to have more episodes.

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Disappointments of 2020

1) Deca Dence

I enjoyed Death Parade, Mob Psycho 100, and Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer was pretty good too. So I figured another original anime from Tachikawa Yuzuru would be something I would like, and yet Deca Dence barely resonated with me. I could never wrap my mind around the setting of the show where robots would enter an alternate world called “Deca Dence” for sport or how these robots had a human persona in the game. The humans were effectively NPCs in the game to the eyes of the robots. The show no doubt had a story it wanted to tell, and it certainly went through the plot beats it wanted to hit, yet I could never get invested in the show. I’m still looking forward to whatever Tachikawa Yuzuru does next. I’ll just consider this as something was not for me.

2) The Day I Became God

This show marks Jun Meada’s 3rd anime original project with P.A. Works. I understand that Angel Beats and Charlotte are flawed shows, but that did not stop them from being enjoyable for me. This unfortunately did not apply to The Day I Became God. At a base level it has many of the usual troupes you would expect from a Jun Meada title: the humor, baseball, an emotionally driven story. The place where this shows failed hard was having no backbone to back up the story it was trying to present. I enjoyed the comedy in the early episodes quite a bit and was somewhat intrigued by a subplot in the background that was slowly creeping up on the main plot. Ending each episode on a countdown to the end of the world helped to keep a looming sense of unease during the early part of the show.

Then in typical Jun Meada fashion, the plot of the show hit all at once. Episode 9 was the big climax where the subplot and main plot collided to send the show into its “true” storyline. The hacker kid who uncovered everything about Hina in the early part was poorly utilized and underdeveloped. So when he joins our main group in episode 10 for a short period of time, his presence makes very little sense. I can only describe that part as a 10 hour VN plot condensed into 10 minutes. The male lead Narukami has almost no personal stake in the story. Hina is hilarious in the comedy episodes, but lacks any sufficient character arc built up to carry her into the final section. Jun Meada is trying to sell this as a love story between Narukami and Hina, but I just don’t see it. Narukami spent at least half the summer trying to wow his childhood friend only to suddenly change at the last minute. It felt so haphazardly put together.

The Day I Became God is an extremely bare bones Jun Meada story. It goes through the motions of similar elements to his previous works, but comes out feeling emotionally hollow. While Angel Beats and Charlotte also felt rushed in the grand scheme, I can at least say he got the emotional aspect right. This will be remembered as one of, if not Jun Meada’s weakest title.

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Top OPs/EDs of the Year

1) Jujutsu Kaisen Opening 1 - The song is great, but it’s the visuals that really sell this opening. Each shot is brilliantly connected to showcase how everything in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen is layered. There is far more than what meets in the eye in our surroundings. Curses and humans co-mingle more than you might think.

2) A Certain Scientific Railgun T Opening 1 - There still hasn’t been a bad Railgun opening yet. Flipside once again delivers a song that once again never failed gets me in the mood for the episode each week. The visuals highlight some of the best action moments in the arc too.

3) Black Clover Opening 10 - Unlike the other songs on the list this year, this a slower somber song. It always makes me think of Nero’s backstory and how the story was leading up to the fight versus the devil. The black and white aesthetic with rain conveys how everything is laid bare for this major story climax.

4) Kaguya-Sama Love is War? Opening - Just like how this season is more character focused, the opening animation is basically a 90 second skit. It never fails to get to get me in the mindset for the hijinks that are ahead in the episode. The song itself is also a great follow up to the previous opening.

5) Rent-a-Girlfriend Opening - It’s a colorful opening that highlights the best aspects of each character. It completely conveys what the show is about with some nice music. I love how fun and upbeat this opening is. It definitely helped to set the tone for the episodes each week.

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....and so, that brings 2020 to a close. The North American anime scene is shifting once again with Sony buying out Crunchyroll. Hopefully the result of the merger keeps Crunchyroll as an entity alive. I’ll be curious to see how everything shakes out. In the coming year I am most looking forward to Chainsaw Man’s anime. The manga is quite an experience and anime viewers will be spinning their heads over learning how such a series was published in Weekly Shonen Jump. I think it has a good chance of being one of the most talked about shows in the new year.

Lets hope 2021 is a good one.

#Mega's Words

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mutsurrinik · 4 years

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GOOD EVENING!!!

FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THOSE WHO LIKED MY LAST POST HUHY. I really appreciated it as a returnee in tumblr. I'm glad to know that i'm not the only one who is hyped about the series 🥺.

Wayback 2014, i started to read and watch the to aru series and the overall concept of the anime just amazes me. I love how the concepts in the series is formulated. Not only it's genius, it is a masterpiece indeed 👊

Anyway, i made a playlist on spotify of openings from to aru series 🙂 I'm considering to add the ending songs too and some OVA songs or just make a separate playlist of it. Anyway here is the playlist that i made 👇

Here's the link in case you want to listen to it and follow the playlist also 😁- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5ReoYtajWvOMMdlySfITT3?si=GG3IaKtQR6m_dQJ8NG2rHw

++i hope i can find group chats here in tumblr about to aru series because i seriously want to get in touch to people who are hyped about the series too!! If none, maybe let us make one perhaps? What do you think? 🙂

Anyway, TO ARU KAGAKU NO RAILGUN T EP15 NO DELAY!!! ON SATURDAY!!! (MAY 23, 2020).

Can't wait for the dream ranker arc (supposedly episode 16) especially saten and frenda's friendship!!! Well, before frenda gets fren/// 😜😢

😁 ciao!!!

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jen-iii · 4 years

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Oh hell yeah the second half of season 3 is gonna be the dream ranker arc does this mean that 1) we get to see Mikoto go into Junko’s dream lmmaaaooo and 2) (SPOILER) DO I GET TO SEE THAT MF GOLEM ANIMATED HELLLLLL YEEEAAAHHH (also them meeting scavenger would be siiicckkk)

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deerheadlights · 4 years

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Going to be posting parts of my Nanowrimo from 2017 because everyone else is posting things for people to read while bored in quarantine xD You may need a web PhD in 335-330 BC to really feel it hit different...

“What are you waiting for?!” Podaleirus was shouting at the Athenian commander. “Their focus is on the walls, a quick sortie to the back and you’ll be the heroes of Greece, throwing off the Macedonian yoke!”

“They have a rear guard” he answered, gaze shifting from one man to the other. Three men stood at the crest of the lowest foothill of the Kithairon, watching the surge of troops around the 7 gates of Thebes. Tydeus could see from the Athenian’s eyes that no talk of glory would get him and his fellows to face the sarissas of Alexander the Macedonian’s rear guard. He cut off as Podaleirus drew another breath “We’ll scout out a route around them.”

Tydeus could feel his friend’s rage even in the darkness. “How much money have I given that man, and his family, and his handlers and the whole damn Acropolis to have them stand here and cower before that boy Macedonian? I can’t believe this is happening”

“Athenians have always been all talk.” Tydeus gazed along the siege lines. He had hoped after the nightmare at Charonea he would never see that many Macedonians in Boeotia ever again. The combined strength of Athens and Thebes had been crushed, and the Sacred Band, the military symbol of Thebes that he and Podaleirus had once been part of, had been decimated. Noblemen like Podaleirus had fled the new regime and settled in Athens, and Tydeus had followed.

“Not just that. They said the boy king was dead. No one even reported him crossing Thermopylae and he’s already here.” Now that had been news, the report of Alexander’s death while fighting Illyrians. The last three months had gone by quick as a blink. The people had risen up and killed the leader of the Macedonian garrison. Tydeus, Podaleirus and all of the Theban exiles in Athens had come running back, there had been celebrations for days. The idea had buoyed them through the news that a Macedonian army had come down to mete out punishment for killing the garrison. Even then they had insisted it must be Antipater, who had been closer to Greece. To assuage fears Podaleirus and other nobles had brought their families back to the city: when the army came, they wouldn’t leave again. That was the real source of Podaleirus’s desperation.

“Alkyone is safe in the Temple of the Amphion with the other noble women” Tydeus tried to assure his friend. “The seven gates of Thebes won’t be breaching without a longer assault, enough time for our Southern friends to steel their livers and get to fighting” “I know, but I should have never let it get so close”

They had moved towards the western edge of the city where farms lay abandoned to the siege. The rows of troops started to ebb. “There’s a gap forming here, already gotten busy looting easy picki—“ Tydeus’s blood ran cold, the gap wasn’t from troops moving outward into the farmlands, but moving inward.

“The moon gate is breached”

“No – That’s not—“ He felt Podaleirus stiffen at his side then just empty space. “You go back to Commander [name], I have to get my daughter!” the call came from the darkness. What? He can’t go in there alone, it’s suicide. Tydeus was running after him before the thought had run it’s course. Unfortunately he knew, from every childhood foot race, to the [Chithraon] games to their training races as part of the Sacred Band, Podaleirus was faster than him.

He could already hear the yelling from the fighting inside the gates. Luckily outside the phalanx the Macedonian troops didn’t have their signature sarissas, the longest spears in the world, but their formation was wreaking havoc on the disorganized just-freed slaves that were the first defence of the city. They didn’t expect an attack from the rear though. He dropped a man with a chop against the back of the knees, keeping against a slum wall. His cry in the back of the formation caused enough confusion to break through a gap. His shield was unslung and he gave one of the front rankers its rim in the teeth before continuing towards Podaleirus.

But a wave of Illyrian skirmishers swept in to separate them. Tattooed barbarians. Tydeus’s short sword caught a man through the gap in his cresent moon shield. Another one with blue dogs or frogs or some other wild northern garbage tattooed on his face took his place. The tight focus of years of training slowed everything. A spear point crashed against his shield, and Tydeus’s sword was caught against his as the man went down. He was already arcing a blow before the man’s Boeotian voice stopped him “Sir! Are you here with the Athenian reinforcements?” A farm slave with a scythe, leader of a ragtag group of farmers and herme makers had saved him.

“Ay, they’re here, on that hill to the south, gawking”

“What do you mean—“

But Tydeus had already gone. I should rally them, he thought, what kind of citizen am I? But he had only one goal on his mind. Podaleirus had evaded the Illyrians and going up the Sacred Way in a full sprint. Then he leaped and came down on his face. Why? Why had he jumped? It made no- Tydeus saw the spear shaft in his back, like it had miraculously grown like a sapling. Then he heard the yelling behind him. He turned, and there was the tattered Macedonian garrison, that had held out, waiting for Alexander to arrive and free them from their siege within a siege in the stockade on the Cadmea. The man who had thrown the javelin was still following through when the sword caught him in the neck, ground against the spine. Then they were all on him. Tydeus had been a champion at duels, but fighting off a regiment single handedly was the sort of foolishness a bard dreams up and no real soldier believes. He covered himself with his shield, trying to step back to Podaleirus’s side. “Macedonians on the Sacred Way!” He found his voice “Macedonians climbing towards the Temple of the Amphion!”

And suddenly the men of Thebes were at his side. The farmers, freedmen, potters, dyers, herme-makers, sculptors, just like a normal day on the Agora, but with swords and knives and scythes in their hands. His throat was thick with emotion, whatever the Sacred Band had been, this was the true phalanx of Thebes. But he could see beyond them, more and more Macedonians thronging the Moon Gate. Not just Macedonians, Plataeans and other citizens of cities that had lurid histories with Thebes were part of the army, cutting people down in the street and charging into houses. “Position Change!” Tydeus roared, shoved the man beside him in his place and made for Podaleirus.

He was flat as a deer struck with a javelin, and it twitched with his breaths. Tydeus’s hope fled as he saw it was lodged in his left kidney. How could this happen? Podaleirus turned to him suddenly, like a spooked horse and spoke in gasping exhales “Go. Get Alkyone. Not Athens. Go to. Rhodes. Or Sardis. Ionians. And. Persians” “Shhhhh” He settled him in his arms. We lived through Charonea, Leuctra, fought alongside Epamonidas, saw Thebes become the star of Boeotia and then Greece… to be speared in the back by a Macedonian dog. “Get out. Now. Leave me. I… did this.” He blames himself for financing the rebellion, Tydeus thought. “Shhh, no the Macedonians did.” But it was too late, the blankness was coming over his eyes and his muscles gave their last jerks. My brother. My erastes. The cold fury came over him then, only once before had he felt it, when Podaleirus had been wounded in the Lacedamonian campaign. But now it was worse, so much worse. He wrapped him in his chlamys, dropped his shield to balance the weight, and sprinted up to the Temple.

Alkyone tugged a curled tendril. It was already limp and had been uneven anyway. She’d had to do the curling herself after all the slaves have been requisitioned for the extra work to defend the city, then freed. Gods knew that Thraka could probably kill people as well as she curled hair, she had heard Thracians trained their women like men. I wish I had some training, or a sword, or even a curling stone Alkyone reflected. Stuck in the temple amongst the other high born ladies and some priests she felt like a bullock in the slaughter pen. The dark sidelong looks coming her way from everyone else weren’t helping either. Her father had promised to bring back Athenian aid before he left last week, but no one had expected Alexander the Macedonian to come down the coast so quickly.

“Stand up tall as a beacon, you are a Podaleirid descended from Aphrodite (Asklepios??), and it is up to you to keep the people’s spirits up” he had said before he left. Well she was standing tall, only because if she bent only a little she was sure she would topple over and vomit. The bright saffron dyed veil she had chosen looked enough like a beacon, she saw to her chagrin that most women had chosen more somber dress. Most of her clothes were still in the house they had been staying at in Athens for the past 3 years since Macedon defeated the combined might of Athens and Thebes. Father had bought her the veil when the news had come that their old King Phillip had been killed. “Soon you’ll be wearing this on the slopes of the Kithairon for the Daedala again, little dove” her father had said, but the king’s young son hadn’t been the pushover everyone had bargained for.

She saw a priestess of Athena give a meaningful look to her companion and caught the word “abandoned.” No, father would never abandon us, abandon me, she thought, he said himself he was only bringing me back from Athens because he knew we could beat the Macedonians. But then, where was he? The din outside sounded like a festival day, but edged with bronze and clanging, like there was a whole parade of bronze beaters instead of just a few in a contingent. She wished she could just fly away like her pet heron she had released in the morning. Hopefully he’d be smart enough to fly back to the courtyard in Athens.

The din sounded so loud that when there was a thump on the door it was deafening. Everyone in the crowd gave a start, like flies on the beach buffeted in the wind. The old fat priest of Apollo squared his shoulders “This the ancient sacred precinct! No violence is to be done at the –“ “It’s Tydeus son of Medon” Alkyone felt a sigh of relief rise in her chest. Tydeus was practically her uncle, if he was here father must have sent him, everything would be alright! But then she saw his face, and the fresh stab of fear felt so much worse for the second’s respite. Once she had watched an old bear being baited, a rather poor show, he had just stood, huge and imposing, but with blank sad eyes. Tydeus had the same look about him, nothing but a huge bundle on his back. His eyes gazed around the crowd but looked past all of them at the same time. “…Tydeus?” she whispered, suddenly her throat was so tight she could hardly make a sound. His gaze snapped to her like a hawk to a song bird foolish enough to keep on singing “Alkyone! Come here! Come on!”

“Wait, what’s happening?!” The priest trailed in Tydeus’s wake, everyone moved aside as he walked towards her.

“The Moon Gate was breached, and the garrison got free.” So many gasped at once it sounded like a wind gust.

“But our men are fighting in the street! And the Athenians and Spartans have arrived?” The portly priest pushed his way in front of Tydeus, who turned his mad bear look upon him. “They’re sitting in the hills watching it happen. Alkyone –“ He grabbed her arm.

“So what are you doing?” The priests normally deep voice had risen to a hysterical octave “Grabbing your family and leaving? You coward! We agreed to fight to the last man!” He went to hit Tydeus’s unprotected side, but he just buffeted him with his other arm and knocked the priest flat. “The sacrilege—in the Amphion—“ he sputtered as Tydeus pulled Alkyone along and stepped over him. Suddenly everyone’s voices raised to compete with his. “What do you mean they’re not coming—“”Coward!” “Please take me too!” “Go back and fight, we can still win!” She saw one woman take out her pins and step forward threateningly. “Get ready to run” Tydeus said without looking at her. Alkyone nodded numbly at empty air. So we had lost but father hadn’t abandoned me. I was just going to have to run through a siege to god knows where.

Some irate woman had torn her veil nearly in half before they got to the outside columns of the temple. Alkyone’s chest felt too tight. It was like that awful day after Charonea but a hundredfold worse. At least there had still been some sunlight left when the runners had come calling out the calamitous news. And when the people cried out in the agora, it was only from grief than physical pain. And when she had fled with her oika, at least when she looked back the towers and pillars of Thebes stood strong against the twilight sky. Now, as Tydeus half led, half dragged her towards the Clay Gate she could see the ruins of the barracks corner, houses set a-light and carts being plundered. It was all too much when, as she choked back a wail, Tydeus muttered “Good.” “What could possibly be good?!” Alkyone keened. Gods, I sounded like a fury. “They’re all pouring into the side gate so the walls are no longer surrounded” his voice sounded too eerily calm and consistent, like a steady wind in the blustery autumn. “But how will we get the gate open by ourselves?” The closest gate to the Cadmeia was opened with several men; it was 5 times the height of a man. “There are ways for just two people to scale a wall.” They stopped at the wooden gatehouse, pasted to the wall like a swallow’s nest. Within Alkyone saw coils of rope and a narrow stairway. Pressing to the top of the stairs, Tydeus secured his bundle to a large basket attached to the ropes. “What is all this?” “Getting grain in and out during seiges. The boys were getting it ready, thinking it would take longer to breach…” Running over a pulley, the rope slowly lowered the basket to the other side of the wall. When it returned, Tydeus gestured for her to get in. It was a large enough basket to fit comfortably. When she was lowered, Tydeus called down, trying to keep quiet but have his voice carry at the same time “Wait a bit for me, I need to find the counterweight,” and left her view.

The large bundle he had carried sat opposite. Thank Hera for Tydeus, he knows just what to do and he brought supplies. What could be in there? She folded back a corner and felt bile climb her throat. A few fingers stuck out, just the brother and sister finger, but each had golden granulated rings, with swirling patterns etched in her memory. “Father?” The word wouldn’t come out. She pulled the cloak back further. The hand felt strange, not cold but just lukewarm. She heard the basket scrape along the wall but she couldn’t look up. She could barely see Tydeus cover the hand again through her tears. When he picked him back up and put him on his shoulders she just gazed down at the flattened grass. “What- what happened? Who killed him?” Suddenly that seemed extremely important. “Some Macedonian. I killed him.” Alkyone looked up. Tydeus had tears on his face too, and that horrible far away bear look. “But it was Alexander who truly killed him. He’ll have to die too.”

A harsh call rang out, closer than either of them had expected. “We have to go” Tydeus said, marching ahead. “But Athens is the other way!” “We’re not going back to Athens, after they see this, they’ll be ready to lick that Macedonian’s cavalry boots. Anyone related to the rebels will get thrown to the wolves.” “What?!” But my clothes, my jewelry, my pet heron... “We’re going to Ionia. Sardis will be safe enough. We’ll lie low until the Great King of Persia shows the Boy King some discipline.” Alkyone got up, shivering slightly. Her rent veil wasn’t much protection against the year’s end chill. Ionia.

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#333 bc #Alkyone

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mysterylover123 · 5 years

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BNHA Rewatch: Episode 41 “Kota”

mysterylover123

OK so just a few comments about my last post before we get into it!

First of all, like I predicted, it did get flagged, but quickly restored. Secondly, an ask pointed out that the scene with Bakugo reprimanding Deku about Tomura is not, actually, in the episode. I’m not sure why I thought it was, but oh well. I’ll try and double check next time before I post the recap. Anyway, off to recap-ville. Episode 41 time!

Quirk training! The anime seriously elaborated on this from the manga, where it was just a few pages.

WOOF. At this point Todoroki has spent more screen time in season 3 without clothes than with.

wow that looks like good cake. They did not skimp on the desserts here.

FULL VERSION! Gotta say, Ragdoll and Tiger really round it out; it just looks kinda silly when it’s just Mandalay and Pixie Bob. They have a really impressive clatch of quirks too, ngl.

I wish they’d given Deku more than basic boot camp training. I’m kinda split on how they handled Tiger being trans; on the one hand, he’s a cool hero who kicks serious ass and has respect, on the other the characters make a slightly disparaging remark about him...but that could be what a transgender person would deal with in reality, and this series isn’t exactly presenting a utopia...I don’t know, it’s the same way I feel about Pixie Bob’s age thing. I’d like to give it the benefit of the doubt and it could be a lot worse, but it could be a lot better, too.

Oh my. Breathless, finding-his-resolve Deku is giving me rather impure thoughts.

I’m not sure what purpose making them cook for themselves serves, honestly. Iida tries to come up with one, but it kinda comes across like the WWP are just being lazy. The kids are training hard all day, wtf is wrong with having food pre-prepared for them?

Maybe it was just for another excuse to humiliate Bakugo. At this point, he hasn’t even done anything. Karma just hates him.

Or to give us this shot of Momo and her main love interests. Momo standing up for Shoto’s rights, cute TDDMM moment!

Aw poor Kacchan!

Feels overload! Also, kinda low-key ship Todo/Ochaco sometimes. I dunno, they seem like they’d have a good repertoire.

Wow Momo’s getting a lot of moments this episode ain’t she!

Deku is inexplicably drawn to pissed off, antisocial spiky-haired punks who seem like they need saving from their own temper, ain’t he? (Good god Kota looks like a BKDK lovechild in this scene, doesn’t he? Same Kacchan eyes).

BEHOLD, THE SINGLE SADDEST IMAGE SET COMMITTED TO SCREEN! OMG THE FEELS. (Someone give me a firebending Deku au fanfic, please!)

Toga’s complaining about how not-cute her outfit is. I think the fanbase would disagree.

Dabi sure loves monologuing, doesn’t he? Maybe he isn’t Toya after all; the other Todoroki’s don’t like to talk this much. Anyway, cute sleeping babies!

OMG Bakugo’s shirt. It’s like he wanted to remind us that he’s cut too, ya’ll. Deku isn’t the only one with abs of steel. (I think Kaminari’s the one under the pillows).

Poor remedial course babies! I feel them. I’ve been having bouts of insomnia lately, like, 4 hours of sleep type, and I can’t imagine that schedule they’re on. Honestly, I know they’re trying to make ‘em stronger, but depriving them of good food and sleep is not going to help with that. I’m pretty sure most workout advisors advocate keeping your basic needs provided for for maximum performance.

Aizawa is telling Ochaco and Aoyama that they nearly failed. I think this is an important point that all the people who try and excuse the Uraraka/Aoyama v 13 fight need to remember. Even Aizawa called them out on their mess up. It was a fluke, and there’s something deeper getting in the way of their success. Everyone else either passed by changing, or failed by refusing to change. These two need to be challenged in the same way, or they’ll never change for the better.

The dream 3some is finishing each other’s thoughts! Wow, that used to just be a BKDK thing, but Shoto has effectively nudged his way in there. Also, I love the symbolism of Kacchan looking at his own reflection here. Visual metaphors!

“Is All Might - I mean, the other teachers, coming?” Haha Deku don’t even pretend like you care about any of the other teachers.

Oh I see that’s why we had to have them cook their food! So we could prove who secret best girl really is. And tease Kacchako a little. At this point I’m not sure who most wants a threesome with the Wonder Duo, Uraraka or Todoroki.

Ooh, Shoto’s gaining on her!

Honestly, this is one of my favorite Tododeku moments. I kinda like their smaller moments even more than the “big” moments with these two, where they’re having dramatic stuff. The little stuff like Shoto giving Deku such emotionally intelligent advice. It’s very strong.

Expectations vs reality

Team Animal Bromance Solidarity

Team Just F*ck Already

Team Maximum Cuteness

Team Saved Bakugo and Tokoyami’s Asses

Team Femslash Initiative

Team Poor Ojiro

Team Polar Opposites

Oh no my bbs all alone! I’ll be your teammate Deku!

Everyone on Team Ojiro is unsatisfied.

Tsuchaco begins!

OMG THEY’RE SO CUTE! (THE TODOBAKU ARC!)

NGL, Yui Kodai is really pretty and has a legit awesome quirk. Underrated Best Girl of Class 1B.

Holy Shit that Music tho! The League of Villains is In the Building! (Metaphorically, anyway)

This is the arc where I stopped thinking of the LOV as boring obstacles and started seeing them as kinda awesome.

“Kota” really picks up the momentum of Season 3, throwing us straight into a “holy crap” plotsplosion with little adieu. There’s a little more setup to go before we just jump straight into the chaotic, violent and transformative Training Camp Arc in the upcoming episodes. I pretty much binge-watched the whole first 12 episodes of Season 3 in one sitting the first time I watched it, so I don’t know what it would be like to watch these week to week. Next up: BEST BOY DEKU’S ARMS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.

BKDK CORNER:

Nothing really in the actual episode, but I wanna acknowledge Best OP’s heartbreaking BKDK nod:

“don’t come deku” OMG episode 45 is gonna break my heart all over again in’t it?

Also the ED:

“Cause I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this place” (Todoroki’s sitting with them too for some bonus TDBKDK points.) Subtle, Bones. We know which way your bread is buttered.

BEST GIRL OF THE EP: Mandalay!

RANKER: The Test of Courage Teams

8. Ojiro and Mineta (poor Ojiro!)

7. Iida and Koda (normally Iida’d be pretty cool, but this team does basically nothing)

6. Jiro and Tooru (get knocked out pretty quickly.

5. Momo and Aoyama (they seriously saved everyone)

4. Solo Deku (who is better than most on his own and also saved Kota)

3. Tokoyami and Shoji (who are seriously metal)

2. Uraraka and Asui (another seriously awesome duo)

1. Todoroki and Bakugo (just add Deku for maximum perfection)

#my hero academia #season 3 episode 3 #kota #midoriya izuku #shoto todoroki #katsuki bakugou #himiko toga #kota izumi #katsudeku #bakudeku #this episode is heavy on the slash ships #they're all over it #femslash #ot3 slash #just slashiness all over #that kickass ending theme tho #pretty much overpowers everything don't it?

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saruouka · 5 years

Photo

Doppelganger from dream ranker arc!

From my friend’s request.

#toaru kagaku no railgun #kuriba ryouko #toaru #A Certain Scientific Railgun #fanart #saruouka #my artwork #My art stuff

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magical-xirl-4 · 3 years

Text

Favourite Railgun Anime Arcs and my sloppy explanations for why I liked them:

Sisters

Best Arc, easily. Broke my heart so much but was worth it for all the development Mikoto got.

Daihasei Festival

Another solid arc. Entertaining, thrilling, enthralling if you will. Made me fall in love with the show all over again.

Poltergeist (+ Big Spider)

This one built up on the Level Upper Arc really well, and the pay off to the season is the best part about it, it was so satisfying.

Dream Ranker

I enjoyed this one a lot! Was hesitant to continue T because I loved Daihasei so much, but it really delivered.

Level Upper

The OG. I have a soft spot for this one but it was hard to get into the anime at first because of all the filler present in it.

Silent Party

Not that bad of an arc but disappointing in comparison to Sisters.

#a certain scientific railgun #excited to see what they do for jailbreaker and first year. lowkey hoping they do first year first or just do jailbreaker over 25 eps #a certain scientific railgun s #a certain scientific railgun t

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bittertomato · 5 years

Note

1-15, Misaka Mikoto. 😘😘😘

HAHAHAHHAHA *INTERNAL SCREAMING*

Thanks Mika XD

1. how long have i known about them

Since like… 2013 I think?? I forgot when I started watching Railgun. It was when Railgun S was already airing. My friend had actually recommended the anime to me before that, but I told her it didn’t interest me.

Fun fact, that was probably me denying anything gay. Not that Railgun is specifically gay but it’s pretty not straight okay.

2. whether or not they’ve ever made me cry

Yeah from sheer frustration at all the stupidity she goes through lol. It’s been how many volumes and Mikoto still doesn’t understand magic and the stuff Touma goes through? It’s been how many volumes since Mikoto has worn actual clothes??? KAMACHI PLEASE HAVE MIKOTO AND MISAKI CHANGE INTO ACTUAL CLOTHES THEY ARE IN LONDON IN THE DEAD OF WINTER CAN YOU PLEASE-

3. whether or not i have any merchandise/objects with them

Okay so besides her nendo (where I’ve had her trade outfits with Saber lol), I also have this super cool clearfile celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Railgun manga:

That is definitely Mikoto with her “gal pal” Kuroko. Yep. Totally just gal pals.

4. what about their personality i like

SHE’S SUPER COOL. Besides her tsundereness for Touma, I don’t think there’s any part of her that I don’t like. She’s a tomboy who wears shorts under her skirt (though part of the reason is because she wears kinda childish underwear and she’s a bit embarrassed about that). She kicks ass and has a strong sense of justice. She’s fourteen.

5. what about their backstory makes me emotional

She was barely eight years old when the researchers in Academy City scammed her of her DNA map and made military clones of her. And when they realized they couldn’t clone her potential to reach level 5, they reallocated the clones to a different experiment where they were basically mass murdered for research.

Mikoto doesn’t find out about this until later, but it just really gets me because at the time this literal child just wanted to help other people (suffering from neurological damages like Muscular Dystrophy) but she basically gave the evil people the key to do all their future evil deeds. She didn’t know but it still haunts her to this day.

My poor child.

6. the moment of theirs that made me the saddest

When she was about to give up her own life to stop the Level 6 experiment by letting Accelerator kill her. I hate Touma being a big damn hero, but at that time I was glad for his deus ex machina. Cus otherwise Mikoto would have died for nothing because like the idiot said, “No one would be happy in the end.”

Especially after seeing her side of the Sister’s Arc, we know how hard she tried. In Index it was just Touma meeting Mikoto and stopping her from committing suicide. But in Railgun we see all the shit Mikoto went through- and then all for nothing because she can’t stop it on her own. The fact that this child who was used to being OP (as the third Level 5), did her absolute best, and couldn’t change anything just broke my heart.

I was never a fan of my favorite characters crying, but god did this girl go through hell. I came so damn close to crying.

Nothing tops Euphemia’s death from Code Geass though.

7. the moment of theirs that made me the happiest

ALL OF THEM DON’T MAKE ME PICK. ANY TIME SHE COMES ON THE SCREEN I’M SCREAMING.

I guess just the fact that this girl is so popular that she has her own spinoff series that is equally as popular as the main series.

8. something about them that made me laugh

She’s always calling Touma an idiot and not understanding why he doesn’t ask for help more when she DOES THE EXACT SAME THING HAHAHAHA. SHE’S ALSO A BIG DAMN HERO ALSDKJFDSKLFJ. The irony is funny.

9. my favorite canon outfit of theirs

Hm. This is a tie between her winter school uniform:

Her “infiltration” outfit during Railgun’s Sister Arc:

And her rebooted “infiltration” outfit during the Dream Ranker Arc:

Sorry but I’m not a fan of her summer uniform.

10. my favorite moment with them in canon

I CAN’T PICK. Honestly any moment when her opponents underestimate her because they don’t realize she’s the third Level 5. If I had to pick, I guess maybe during the Dream Ranker Arc when she’s fighting against Seike? Her hat gets knocked off and once recognizing her, Seike stares at Mikoto with an “oh we fucked up” face and gets electrocuted XD

11. my favorite relationship they have with another character

With Kuroko: Kuroko is Mikoto’s OG partner until she started getting involved in things that she’d rather Kuroko not get involved in. But they still work together, like the current Jailbreaker arc where they’re both bleeding and injured wow. They also both have a strong sense of justice, so they’re the perfect crime fighting duo. Even though Kuroko keeps insisting that Mikoto is just a civilian XD

Ngl though… Kuroko is really weird. But only when she’s around Mikoto. She’s actually very level headed and practical when Mikoto isn’t in the vicinity.

With Misaki: Surprisingly they work together; once they’ve gotten past their mutual animosity toward each other. They’ve cooperated together in Railgun first during the Daihasei (a shaky start), a little better during the Dream Ranker Arc, then also analyzing the AAA to break through the Windowless Building in NT19 (or something; I forget). As Junko says, they make the perfect infiltrating duo because Mikoto can hack while Misaki alters human memories.

Misaki hasn’t had a lot of anime screentime yet so no good gifs of her with Mikoto orz

12. what i like about the way the fandom portrays them

Well, she’s certainly well liked so she has a lot of content (canon and fanworks).

13. what i dont like about the way the fandom portrays them

I… don’t feel like fanfics illustrate her full badassery? Idk just my thought. Not that there are very many Toaru fics aside from shipping her with Touma in the first place.

14. what i liked about the way canon portrayed them

Again, she’s popular so she’s relevant even in the Index side of things. And I’m glad the Railgun side story exists to really give Mikoto a chance to shine (without the presence of a certain misfortunate idiot). Also having Mikoto interact with people not Touma.

Her character’s also very complex. It’s often easy to forget that she’s only fourteen and allowed her flaws. But she’s certainly the type that I look for in fictional characters (the talented aces who seem like high class unapproachable ojou-samas but they’re actual stupidly quirky, altruistic, and possesses a strong sense of justice).

15. what i dont like about the way canon portrayed them

I hate how the only way for Mikoto to be relevant in the Index side is if she’s tsundere-ing over Touma. I guess I can only find decent Mikoto characterization in her side story…

#tomato replies #mika #thanks for sending me another one heh #i know you wont get anything i ranted about #idk many people who watch to aru #sigh #just bandit and quill #mikatchu #I LOVE RANTING ABOUT MY FAVS

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