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demonslayedher · 11 months ago

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Karaoke Headcanons: Pillars, Kamaboko, Demons, and more

This all started when Kagaya felt the need to go out and do something with his family. (Actually, it all started with doing Tumblr polls about which Pillars would be the best and worst singers.)This was odd, as the Ubuyashiki family is not in the habit of family outings. The children were all cautiously excited to go to an arcade or something, but Kagaya is old-fashioned so he took them all out to karaoke. (Taisho Secret: Karaoke did not exist in the Taisho period. let me have my fun. These are entirely my own silly headcanons.) The children were shy at first because they aren't good at letting loose, but once their father smilingly encouraged them to have fun, they got really into singing TV theme songs, which quickly devolved into them acting out scenes from Power Rangers. Amane can only sing very classic, droning enka. Really deep enka. Kagaya tells them they all did a wonderful job, and then he sings some simple 1970s love ballads and the energy all falls away because the rest of the family is so relaxed hearing his voice. It was a refreshing outing, so Kagaya decides to cut the next Pillar meeting short to send all the Pillars out for karaoke together.

A few of the Pillars are grumpy about this but will not say no to a request from Kagaya. Himejima would really rather go home and sleep. When Sanemi starts to complain that he's too busy for this, Shinobu guilts him into staying but saying how he can't imagine him being so busy with only training if he's not also making poison and running a hospital. Iguro stays in the corner happy to watch Mitsuri when she's in the spotlight, but since he's in the corner and she's staying at the other side of the room to have easy access to the door to go back for more soft drinks at the free drink far, he's frustrated by seeing her more easily talk to Giyuu, who is sitting by the door because he was the last one in. Uzui has a set way of doing karaoke. Certain songs he must always sing or it didn't count as a karaoke session. He insists his warm-up songs don't count as turns. There are songs he hates other people singing with him even though they are ones people usually belt out together, but he gets angry when people don't provide the chorus voices like the "DA-DA-DAT-DA" parts of "Zankyosanka." He makes a bunch of weird adjustments to the volume and pitch settings and just leaves it like that so anyone going after him always has to readjust everything. He and his wives go out to karaoke together a lot and they have a wide repertoire of songs they do together and in different pairings and trios, but in any other group, he does not care about anyone else having fun. He's kind of a pain in the ass to have around in a big group. That said, Giyuu really likes watching and listening to Uzui perform.

Shinobu gives the impression of being a very skilled singer, but that's because she doesn't overdo it and she only sings songs that are within her range and suit her voice well, like "From The Edge." She has sometimes done karaoke by herself to try out new songs she likes, but she is quick to determine when they are out of her skill set. She doesn't push and shove for her turns, and she does take some satisfaction in colleagues complimenting her singing voice. Mitsuri and Rengoku are very enthusiastic in their praise, Muichiro comments in full sincerity that it was nice (but also, he doesn't remember what the point of all this was), and Uzui, who can spot all her restrained methods just by listening, begrudgingly admits she has nice pitch.

Mitsuri knows a lot of popular songs. She's a nice person to have in a karaoke group because she makes an effort to include people by picking songs everyone will enjoy or that a lot of people can sing together. She does not have a wide range of pitch, but she's very good at singing a lot of different kinds of songs in her own pitch. "Koi Kogare" is her favorite lately. Because she is in a position to move around the front of the room easily, she is usually quick to zoom in when Uzui is done singing to change the settings back to volumes and pitches that are more normal for anyone else. Shinobu and Mitsuri have a bit of a bet going on Giyuu. Shinobu suspects he is either a surprisingly good singer, or a really bad one. It's just a matter of picking the right song for him to test him out, as he is not reaching for the controls to put in anything for himself. Shinobu finally pokes him into trying "Gurenge" because "everyone knows Gurenge," so he relents, because he has heard it and sung along here and there. He's always liked that song because it played a lot in a diner where he likes to eat simmered salmon and daikon. Thing is, Gurenge is not an easy song. Everyone is shocked by how terrible he is on the first few lines, and Mitsuri is very disappointed because she had really high hopes for him to be a good singer. Giyuu can't hear quite how bad his pitch was at first, but after a few lines, he finds the right pitch. He's downright not bad after that, though he was flat here and there and had trouble hitting the high notes. Because Muichiro doesn't know what to sing, Mitsuri has been trying to help him find something he knows, and just when she thinks it might be hopeless, he says "Kizuna no Kiseki" seems familiar. Yes, he's heard that song somewhere. He knows it. Maybe. Mitsuri is thrilled, and because she knows it too, she says she'll back him up on it. Everyone cheers, and Muichiro does know the first few lines! He knows them really well, actually, and his pitch is pretty okay, and still childlike! But... but then he doesn't sing some of his lines, or he'll just sing a few words here and there... at... random... as they come back to him... Shinobu tries to help by pointing out that the lyrics are on the screen, so he doesn't have to have it memorized, but little by little he just zones out and Mitsuri is stuck singing it all herself, increasingly disappointed and embarrassed, because it feels like she's hogging the mic now. No one minds (except Uzui, who feels they should had just ended the song early if Muichiro didn't know it after all). Himejima is not unwilling to sing, but the problem is that his tastes are not popular enough to be in the sound bank. He hogged the controls for a long time, searching (with Sanemi's help) for anything he likes or at least knows enough to sing. He starts getting more and more frustrated, because there are songs he really does know very well as he does have a deep appreciation for music. Mitsuri suggests they just turn the system volume down as low as they can and let him sing something a cappella. He smiles and then drones on with something akin to Gregorian chant. Uzui is as patient as he can be but then he insists that they're running out of karaoke time by letting Himejima do something that is not karaoke (also, he can tell Himejima has a very long song in mind). Himejima is somewhat miffed. His singing isn't bad, but he knows he'd show them a much better performance if he had his shakuhachi.

Iguro, in the corner, has been hoping no one has noticed him not singing. But he's also kind of indignant that no one has noticed.

Sanemi has brushed off attempts to get him to sing, which makes Shinobu suspect that he is either a very good or a very bad singer. Rather than get him to sing, she instead engages him in conversation to try to fish out of him what songs he likes. She suspects he likes a lot of songs that have gotten popular for being tearjerkers, and she suspects he sings them with full sincerity, if he ever happens to sing along. But maybe he just listens. He also seems to like rap, and he starts to perk up like maybe he'd be willing to perform some, but Shinobu would prefer not to listen to rap so she finds some reason to disengage from the conversation.

Rengoku has been very enthusiastically cheering everyone on, including banging tambourines with no sense of rhythm (Uzui has forbidden him to touch them during his songs). He admits he's not much of a singer and doesn't have much of an ear for pitch, but there are a few songs he knows well enough to try. Everyone of course encourages him to go for it, as it will probably be a good laugh for everyone, including Rengoku, but then he starts looking up "Homura."

It's one that he has heard a lot because his mother liked it, he explains. Sanemi is nodding along, saying it's a good song, and Shinobu suspects it might be one of Sanemi's favorites. Rengoku apologizes, saying he'll probably butcher it, and he can never find the right pitch at first, and Sanemi nods, saying how it's hard to find the pitch until the song gets going. Shinobu is so sure now.

Rengoku takes the mic, and everyone is ready for some terrible noise they can laugh about for ages to come, but then Rengoku sings. "Sayonara... arigato... koe no kagiri..." It's so low that he's hard to hear unless everyone is quiet. It's a rich timbre, but quiet like a prayer whispered into the mic.

"Kanashimi yori motto... daiji na koto..." The next couple lines go on in the same fashion. With his eyes closed, Rengoku is fully focused on the song, with no idea about the wonder with which everyone else is captivated.

As the song picks up, though, Rengoku has found his pitch.

"KONO! MAMA! TSU-DU-KU TO OMO!TTEITA!!!"

"No!! No, damn it, Rengoku, you almost had it!" Uzui shouts with his hands over his ears. Sanemi is nearly as upset. "Belting it isn't singing it, man!! Tone it down!!"

"YOBIAAA-TEI---What do you mean, Shinazugawa?"

"Yes, show him what you mean," Shinobu insists and sticks the other mic in Sanemi's hands. With people cheering (it started with Iguro, who was taking some pleasure in seeing Sanemi put on the spot, and then others joined in), Sanemi, beet red, has no choice but to take over just in time to find his pitch for the chorus.

And he's really not bad. Everyone cheers more, especially Mitsuri. Rengoku has totally forgotten about singing and stands there next to Sanemi, stating into the mic how good Sanemi is at this.

Little by little, though, Sanemi gets too into it. He starts pushing the emotional side of it, going past the better reaches of his pitch, and then by the "o-whoa-o-o" part he has lost himself to singing by emotion rather than better judgement. Everyone's kind of over it, and Rengoku, who is still holding the mic, finally joins him in butchering the last part. They don't have much time left when Mitsuri finally notices that Iguro never had a turn. He says that's fine, he prefers just watching, but now that Sanemi had his turn to be put on the spot, he's not letting Iguro get off easy. Mitsuri squeezes her way over to that side of the room to sit close to Iguro and go through the song bank with him. This is both wonderful and awful; he does not want to sing (especially because he won't sing well with bandages on his face, and even if he takes them off... well, still not likely to sing well), but if Mitsuri offers to sing with him----oh, if she sings with him, then maybe it's ok if his voice just fades out and she takes over! He tells her he can only sing something soft. She thinks that is so-o-o-o-o cute and sweet, so when he tells her to pick something out, she picks the sweetest song she can think of: "Kamado Tanjiro no Uta."

She pushes him to the front and is so flushed and excited to watch him that the thought doesn't even occur to her to stand up and join him. She just stares with a big expectant smile and glimmering eyes. And then Iguro suffers, through a long, repetitive song about someone he hates.

Everyone else suffers too, because his voice is muffled, low, clearly unpracticed, and unsuited for the high notes. Everyone just kind of sits around politely and awkwardly. During the flute solos, Himejima really, really wishes he had his shakuhachi. Muichiro audibly asks why Iguro doesn't just stop, but that brings out Iguro's stubborn side and he sings all the way to end, just glaring around the room for the instrumental parts. Mitsuri apologizes later for bullying him into singing it because it clearly made him very uncomfortable to sing in front of people, and he insists that there is nothing to apologize for, for she was just making sure he had fun too. She asks if he means that, and he insists, yes, he loves that song. He insists and will deck anybody who suggests otherwise.

With that, the Pillars have run out of time. Uzui used most of it.

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So then there comes another day when Tanjiro and friends have finished a mission up easily, and since they are all doing fine with no injuries, there is no need to rush back to the Butterfly Mansion. Why rush just to make Nezuko have to stay in the shadows? No, suggests Zenitsu, they should go somewhere that is already save from sunlight in the daytime so she can have fun with everyone. They should go to karaoke!

Actually, Zenitsu has been practicing romantic ballads for her, but the only way he can get her there is to pretend it's a group thing. Zenitsu tries to make it seem like that at first, giving other a chance to sing. He puts on Gurenge, because everyone knows Gurenge, right? He looks to Tanjiro, who happily assures him that he knows Gurenge, and he really likes that song. Good, good, so Tanjiro can take a turn first, and he gives him one mic, and then they might as well keep Inosuke busy right away so he doesn't get impatient, so he gives the other mic to Inosuke. He turns around to make some volume and pitch adjustments on the sound system, but then he hears the most HORRID NOISE. After the initial shock he looks back around to see Tanjiro "singing" and Inosuke trying to eat the mic.

No! No, no, no, bad, Zenitsu scolds him and takes the mic. He quickly exchanges it for a new one. Since they just got there he tells the staff it was broken in the first place, but he Thunderclap and Flashes his way back to the room before the staff can ask why it's all wet.

When Zenitsu returns he finds Tanjiro still "singing." He gives the new mic to Kanao, and she does nothing with it. Zenitsu awkwardly tells her she can jump in whenever she wants to and he'll just tell Tanjiro to shut up. She's probably got a good singing voice, after all.

Kanao pulls out her coin. She flips it. She looks at the result, puts the coin, and then continues holding the mic and otherwise doing nothing.

Zenitsu isn't sure how else he's supposed to engage with Kanao, so he leaves her be and snags the mic out of Tanjiro's hands to insist he gives someone else a turn (and give everyone's ears a break). Zenitsu, being a good host (or at least look like one), he offers the mic to Genya and smiles and says it's his turn.

Genya, arms folded, scowls at him and says he's not singing and this is stupid.

Zenitsu isn't sure how else he's supposed to engage with Genya either, so backs away. Gurenge winds down to a close with no one singing it anymore. But oh, would you look at that! It's a super romantic song coming up next, and it happens to be Zenitsu's turn! He picked this song out especially for Nezuko--a duet will have to wait for someday when she doesn't need to wear the bamboo, of course, but in the meantime, he shall serenade her--

Tanjiro apologizes, because Nezuko is fast asleep. But Tanjiro is happy to sing with Zenitsu.

Inosuke, meanwhile, has discovered the free drink bar. The gang is promptly kicked out and banned from that karaoke chain.

The Lower Moons aren't invited to the karaoke party, but Mukago works at a karaoke place (not all demons can find work as oiran, after all). Kyogai tries to come sometimes but she always lies to him that all the rooms are full. Enmu works there too, and he spends all his time with his ear pressed to the door and wishing he could be invited in to sing too.

Muzan is in the biggest, snazziest party room with the Upper Moons. He sings a few very classy oldies here and there, but of course only ones that make him sound really good. Douma insists that he should sing Michael Jackson, but Muzan only glares at him for trying to tell him what to do. (Plus, he's touchy about anyone accusing him of stealing the look.)

Kokushibo sings whatever old folk songs are in the song bank, but he is overly serious about songs which now feel dated or just for children. His performance is really dry and monotone, but no one can complain. Muzan can, but he chooses not to because Kokushibo is a good subordinate.

Since Muzan isn't going to, Douma sings Michael Jackson songs on every turn he gets. Hantengu is really nervous about how Muzan looks more and more annoyed about it, but Gyokko is swept up enough that he duets with Douma on some of them. Douma recreates a Vine by banging on Gyokko's vase while singing the "Annie are you ok" line.

They have ordered tons of food for their party. Since they have a Lower Moon working there, the food is of course all freshly chopped up humans. Akaza sneers at it and doesn't want to be there. Douma is bugging him to sing, and he barks at him to back off, but when Kokushibo gets on his case about not disappointing their master, Akaza relents. He puts on Linkin Park. If he was alone, he'd sing "Homura" instead.

Hantengu has a nervous breakdown when it's his turn to entertain Muzan, so he falls apart into four pieces. They all start arguing about what to sing, but Sekido sees Muzan is getting impatient and he gets them all in line to start singing Backstreet Boys. Karaku complains that N*Sync is better.

Gyokko doesn't get a turn to pick a song. No one gives him one. He's stuck just singing backup for Douma, or being used as percussion.

Daki is a very frequent karaoke goer. She's got a very wide repertoire. As soon as she's in the room, she logs into the system with an avatar decked out in fancy accessories, and she competes in all the national singing contests. She gets very frustrated by the singers out there who consistently outscore her, and sometimes, Gyutaro has tracked those people down and killed them. Gyutaro likes the lyrics of "Asa ga Kuru" and wishes he could sing that for Daki someday, but clearly that will never happen so he keeps that wish to himself. He does not sing, and no one ever pushes him to sing because they don't want to hear it anyway. He's happiest seeing Daki rock it instead.

Nakime is there too because she's cooler than Enmu, who is still waiting outside the door and lip-syncing to everything. Nakime, however, is not singing. She's just there to judge everyone.

At some point, Douma did something right by putting on Bohemian Rhapsody. Everybody's into it; partway through they even make Zouhakuten take on the role of the poor boy, though he sings it in a pretty hateful tone.

Muzan eventually gets sick of it before the song is done, and he trashes the place, and he leaves. Mukago is stuck cleaning everything up by herself because Enmu is no help. The end.

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Meanwhile, Murata does a lot of hitori-karaoke (karaoke by himself). The Kakushi sometimes have pretty normal karaoke outings. Yushiro would be more than willing to go if Tamayo ever showed any drop of interest, but she does not. There are one or two Wisteria houses with karaoke rooms. Taisho Secret: Karaoke did not exist in the Taisho period.

#headcanons? Nah #this turned into #my fics #kny silliness

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ladyloveandjustice · 11 months ago

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why are y'all giving this poor kid a thirty question interview let him sit down.

okay so I had to google to see why that's a funny answer, and came across a full metal panic tumblr that answers this very question! See it here. According to askfullmetalpanic:

In TV media you have to be more careful about product naming than in novels, so they changed it to made-up artists. If you want to look up the real people it’s Hiroshi Itsuki (an enka singer/composer) and SMAP (I think many people have heard of them, they’re a boy band).

It’s not that it’s a ‘stupid’ answer, but wildly unexpected, not to mention a bizarre combination. In the anime, the boy band SMAP was replaced with a girl pop group more similar to something like Morning Musume. And then you have Hiroshi Itsuki, a much older artist who uses the more traditional style of song.

It’s like saying you like the Backstreet Boys (or Spice Girls, if you use the anime change to a girl group) and Frank Sinatra lol

Sousuke is now a man of diverse tastes.

#nev watches full metal panic

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fuckyeahmeikokaji · 11 months ago

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Meiko Kaji (梶芽衣子) with another popular Enka singer, Kaori Mizumori (水森かおり) at UtaCon, October 10, 2023.

Posted on Mizumori's Instagram.

#Meiko Kaji #梶芽衣子 #Kaori Mizumori #水森かおり #UtaCon

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faceimploded · 6 months ago

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A certain song that describes (a hypothetical) Ceroba

Edit:

@engisanic pointed out there's literally a line in the pacifist route, right before Ceroba engages in battle:

"I almost wish you never showed up in the Wild East. Maybe then I could've continued to bury my sorrows in the Saloon."

Thanks for the correction! Original post below:

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I've been hooked on reading fanmade Undertale Yellow written works (i.e. fanfiction), and I notice there's a sort of headcanon(?) that mostly involve Ceroba getting drunk most of the time as a way to cope with grief.

Incidentally, while reading up on more fics, a certain song started playing, and I realized it does describe this aspect pretty well, so I'll be breaking the song's lyrics down and include some personal interpretations (though if anyone has some insights or info to add, that'd be great!)

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「思い出酒」

omoide zake

Memories (brought forth from sake)

by Sachiko Kobayashi (小林幸子)

Feel free to listen to the song linked above in the title first—there's even a translation provided by the channel jpoptranslationsbyalulu, thought there are some nuances from other sources that I don't quite agree with (hence the personal interpretations).

Presuming that Ceroba does drink a lot, this song would make a lot more sense in that context—even more so that it's (modern) enka, a type of sentimental ballad where the song's theme often involves romance and bleak life themes, perhaps like heartbreak or loneliness. A love song of sorts in some ways.

If the underground had a karaoke box, I can imagine Ceroba singing to this.

With that, I'll be breaking down the song into stanzas and analyze each of them as follows:

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Japanese

Romaji

English (literal translation)

Let's start with the first stanza:

無理して飲んじゃいけないと

muri shite nonja ikenai to

"Do not force [yourself] to drink"

肩をやさしく抱きよせた

kata wo yasashiku dakiyoseta

Gently embraced the shoulder

Putting these two lines together, the nuance is that someone walked up to the singer (or speaker) and is warning her not to drink too much before pulling her into a gentle embrace.

It's interesting though that the second line is left ambiguous since there's nothing to specify who's doing the action (in this case, embracing their shoulder). As a result, some may interpret this as the speaker finding comfort and relief in the drink itself rather than a person.

Then again, the first line already indicates a sort of quote (と), so I think this was more in the literal sense of a stranger talking to the speaker.

You probably see where I'm going with this, but somebody (likely a certain sheriff) caught Ceroba over-drinking, and he's telling her to take it easy as he comforts her.

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The song heads straight to the chorus (where the first and third lines are repeated, so I'll focus on the second lines in future choruses):

あの人どうしているかしら

ano hito doushiteiru kashira

How is that person faring?

噂をきけばあいたくて

uwasa o kikeba aitakute

[I] want to meet them upon hearing those rumors

おもいで酒に酔うばかり

omoide zake ni you bakari

Only drunk in sake and memories

Being close friends, it's no surprise that your friend's wellbeing will be a constant in your thoughts, but the second line seems to indicate a pretty strong desire, a longing to see them just thinking about them, just hearing a single mention of their name.

If only we knew what Ceroba was really thinking... Hm.

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The second stanza:

ボトルに別れた日を書いて

botoru ni wakareta hi wo kaite

[I] write about the day I parted from the bottle

そっと涙の小指かむ

sotto namida no yubi kamu

and lightly bite my pinky wet with tears

It took a while for me to understand the 'bottle' part, but the speaker, who had such a strong tendency to lean towards drinking, is now putting a hold on drinking (parting from the bottle). Well, putting the sake bottle away anyway. Because the speaker is now drunk on something else: a certain feeling, a certain longing. A desire strong enough to put them off drinking (for even a day?) and long for this person it pains her.

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The second chorus is the same except for the middle second line:

あの人どうしているかしら

ano hito doushiteiru kashira

How is that person faring?

出船の汽笛ききながら

defune no kiteki kikinagara

I hear the steam whistle of the ship

おもいで酒に酔うばかり

omoide zake ni you bakari

as [I] get drunk on sake and memories

Perhaps the speaker is still drinking, but at least this one time, she seems to be pouring her heart into a letter.

Really, most of the lines here are self explanatory, but that changed line makes it feel more like a farewell, as if the person the speaker longs for is about to leave her, or go some place far from her reach.

Almost as if the beloved person just... you know.

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Third and final stanza before the last chorus:

いつかは忘れる人なのに

itsuka wa wasureru hito nanoni

Even if they're someone [I'll] forget one day

飲めば未練がまたつのる

nomeba miren ga mata tsunoru

When I drink, memories [of that person] will surface once again

It seems like the speaker has somehow managed to get over their problem... until they drink again. She's back to drinking. A relapse. Except this time, now there's an extra layer of heartbreak and longing.

Personally speaking, I don't really think about someone unless they're someone I wish I never met, or if it's a loved one who's... fallen. I think people don't really think about others until something bad happens. Either way, that relationship from earlier seems to have crumbled and is now only a memento for life (which the speaker may or may not choose to remember).

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The final chorus with this line changed to:

あの人どうしているかしら

ano hito doushiteiru kashira

How is that person faring?

くらしも荒れたこのごろは

kurashi mo areta kono goro moNeglecting [my] life these days,

おもいで酒に酔うばかり

omoide zake ni you bakari

[I am] drunk in nothing but sake and memories

Back to square one, but it's reached a point where she just doesn't really care about her life or current state anymore, and the only seeming comfort is her initial solution: to drink and lose herself in long gone days and sake.

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Well, all of this is just a what-if analysis so it may not even apply to canon.

Also, I just noticed the beginning of the song just sounds very North Star. Starlo-ish. Hehe.

Time to write a fic involving this song.

Edit 2:

Just realized this song applies to Chujin as well

#undertale yellow #ceroba ketsukane #thoughts #song analysis #// I still think they're friends but that's what fics are for #// don't let that stop anyone from shipping tho

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vocalsynthbdays · 1 year ago

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happy birthday sachiko(vocaloid 4) and yoshida-kun(voiceroid+) !!!!!! [jul 27]

sachiko

yoshida-kun

Sachiko is a japanese synth developed by yamaha in collaboration with Sachiko Promotion Inc., and released in 2015. she is voiced by Sachiko Kobayashi, an enka singer, and illustrated by Midori Fuu. sachiko(synth)'s headdress is based on the official flower of sachiko kobayashi's hometown, the Yukitsubaki (snow camellia). sachiko(synth)'s physical version released in aug 2015. her 3d model was created by Kakomiki for the windows100% magazine

yoshida-kun is a japanese synth developed by ah-software, and released on 22 oct 2010. his birthday is 27 jul though. he is voiced and illsutrated by Ryo Ono (FROGMAN). on 30 oct 2014 he got a voiceroid+ ex bank. yoshida-kun is originally from the flash animation SGuy and the Family Stone, though he is most recognisable from the flash game series Eagle Talon, in which he is a member of an evil organization who have the intention of taking over the world. these were created by frogman, and developed by DLE. yoshida-kun is 24yo.

logos

sachiko model

cast of Eagle Talon

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notebotted-x31 · 3 days ago

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honestly for splatoon 4 i hope we get enka singers

I think it would be neat :)

#splatoon

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arcplaysgames · 2 years ago

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the plant's plastic, isn't it

yeah the plant is plastic

can't a boy and his cat just have a fucking summer vacation without being locked in a dream panopticon

its nice to see you girl but where the fuck is igor, in my recollection when igor has not been around, shit has been Fucked.

(I assume they couldn't get the VA for this gig, but also: i love Igor? yeah.)

It's fucking Zuckerberg, Reverie, come on. You shouldn't have installed that spyware shit on your phone!!!!

i'm gonna be real, the textures are NOT fantastic in this game, lmao. I am gonna peek at settings later. the aliases need some more anti juice.

there's a statue there?????

/googles

oh huh i.......... never noticed that. i just noticed the pretty trees. whoops. i'm a bad tourist.

Rather than directing us where we need to go to get the camping shit, the shitty AI is like "hey INSTEAD I am going to direct you to an idol event nearby" this thing is atrocious and we should uninstall it and go back to mapquest

also, I have made an Executive Decision. I am resetting my emotions on Ryuji to zero. I am taking my hatred and ire and all the times he made me uncomfortable as the player of the video game, and I'm putting them all into a box and putting those emotions away. I am going to give Ryuji Persona5Strikers another shot to not be a contemptuous little shitheel I want to eject from the story.

Mostly because his voice actor is doing such good work and I would like to like Ryuji.

But if he dehumanizes or sidelines Morgana, the deal is off, okay? Okay.

ANYWAY, Ryuji is like, hyped for this instagram girl.

Reverie only hangs out in coffee shops that have oat milk and attends shows for bands you've never heard of, he doesn't care about influencers.

OH WOW OKAY

Alice Hiiragi.... Hiiragi......... why the fuck is that familiar..............

oh, Hiiragi was the Enka singer who was married to Namatame in Persona 4 before the scandal went down. I wonder if that's relevant or just a coincidence.

oh okay so something screwy is going on and she's going to, like, kidnap all the people who have cards, or something? is she the white rabbit?

lmao no she actually references the white rabbit later. okay. i DO like her theme and vibe a whole lot, even if she is giving heavy Acid Trip Pastel Tim Burton Bad Guy energy. But Wonderland is honestly a very cool foundation for a neat villain, so I'm cool with that.

thanks, they're fake so everyone thinks i'm a soft boy when really i'm more punk rock than iggy pop at a ramones concert. hi.

I appreciate the consistency, Morgana, lmao.

uh "Keyword"?????

oh my god EMMA is just a reskinned Metanav fffffff

YOU KNOW WHAT reverie i am blaming you for this. You should have informed Morgana that you had a dream in the Velvet Room, since Morgana literally was born there and it might've clued him in to "oh hey maybe shit is going down" instead of being blissfully oblivious in vakittycation mode like a chump.

huh the anime cutscenes look way better in this game than in P5R actually. dunno why.

BUT YEP IT SEEMS ALICE HAS A PALACE. the Cognitive World is back.

oh okay that seems bad. so everyone who friended Alice with the EMMAnav is getting their hearts torn out???? what does that mean exactly? it seems bad. people need their hearts or weird shit happens, either Apathy Syndrome or having their cognition rebooted like in P5.

I am Concerned.

oh my god what is Happening there is so much on my screen right now

i think i might be bad at this oh dear

the first move Reverie learns is a pole dance, though, so I'm pretty psyched for that. maybe this will be the game where Reverie finally gets to follow his dreams and wear a skirt.

everyone is off their game at being a Thief i see

me IRL out loud: oh my god i love you

WHAT A FUCKING LOOK THAT'S AMAZING

i am sad she is probably just the first arc villain because WOW i am DIGGING this. god that FLAMINGO HEAD STAFF this is such High Kitsch, it's giving me everything.

asklfjds;af /laughing hysterically to self

okay persona 5 strikers we are starting on some high notes huh

reverie are you sure you aren't dreaming, man, this feels like a dream you might've had except the person stepping on you in stilettos would be a mean boy.

maybe that's Reverie's type. bisexual but mean-attracted.

aaaaaargh my Odin is outta battery, i gotta recharge it.

BUT SO FAR besides me fucking sucking at the gameplay THIS IS A GOOD START.

#p5s #persona liveblog

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ethereal---spirits · 3 months ago

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Happy Seth Birthday!

#otd #moi dix mois #seth

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fictionstudent · 4 months ago

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“Her Blue Sky” is about much more than it appears to be

I love music. I love drama. And I love anime. And there’s a ton of movies that satisfy my thirst for such good films.

But, you know, there are some movies that experiment with something new. They keep their characters in a creative situation, as if just to experiment what will happen once the dominos start falling. These films play with their characters, keeping them in awkward and tough situations that even though are unrealistic, they seem too realistic to be true.

One such movie is Her Blue Sky. It’s based on the theme of love and romance, as most of them are, but it expands it to so much more. It had this eerie similarity to Anohana—and that’s when I found out the main creative team behind the two were the same.

It gives its characters stories and experiences, and then throws them in a situation that they can’t really comprehend. And it then observes what the characters do, and how they do it—carefully documenting each shot.

And I’d love to yap about it.

***

Plotline

Firstly, let me acquaint you with the plot of the movie. Her Blue Sky is based on Aoi, the little sister of Akane. Their parents had died thirteen years ago. Akane had wanted to go to Tokyo for college with her boyfriend Shinnosuke, but now that her parents had left them, she had to be in the city, taking care of her little sister Aoi.

Shinnosuke, or Shinno as his friends called him, was really passionate about music. He was a guitar player and he wanted to make it big as a singer, hence his dream of going to Tokyo. But, now that Akane was not going with her, he made a tough choice—he left her behind. He left her in the town to leave for the big cities, searching for his big break. But he made a promise to himself—that he’d come back. When he makes it big, when he’s achieved all that he could, he’d come back to take her up.

And thus, Akane was held back in town by her responsibilities, especially toward Aoi. Aoi hated this. She hated that her elder sister had to constrain herself so much because of her. Akane, all through her life after their parents’ deaths, had worked so hard to raise Aoi. And now, Aoi was about to pass high-school. Just like Shinno, she was passionate about guitars, and wanted to leave for Tokyo to make it big. But more than that, she wanted to free her sister from her responsibilities. She wanted her sister to do stuff she couldn’t just because she had a little sister she had to feed.

And that’s how this story begins—Aoi and Akane are peacefully living their life together, until something unbelievable happens.

Shinno from thirteen years ago comes back.

Aoi was in the back of an abandoned shrine, or something like that. It was a place where Shinno and his band used to practice, along with Akane and Aoi by their side. And, one day, Shinno from the past is there.

It confuses both Aoi and her friend Tsuga. Wait, he’s named… Masatsuga… in MAL. Why was his real name never used in the whole freaking movie?!

Anyway, Aoi couldn’t believe this. She and Tsuga—I mean, Masatsuga—find out that it’s a “living spirit”, created from unresolved conflicts or needs or something. I don’t remember. But they get that if Shinno ends up with Akane in the present, this spirit would vanish.

Shinno had been Aoi’s inspiration to take up music in the first place. And it was evident how he cared for her in the past—he called her “Eyeball Star” and would always say how he wanted her to be the bassist of his band. And somewhere, she’d begin to like him.

But there’s another thing, now. Another guy—Tsuga’s father, a divorcee, who was also Shinno’s and Akane’s friend in the past, wants to marry Akane. But Akane is not interested.

Aaaand there’s another thing, now. Shinnosuke, from the present, has come back to the town. As the backup guitarist of an Enka singer who’s called to the city to perform.

And this Shinnosuke has changed.

The singer’s bassist and drummer poisoned themselves with food—and I don’t know how I can edit such an abomination of a sentence. Anyway, they can’t play now, so Akane suggests that Aoi can replace the bassist, and Tsuga’s dad can be the drummer, since he was the drummer of their childhood band.

Shinno hates the whole idea. He’s constantly talking about how he doesn’t want to play with amateurs, is always pointing out Aoi’s mistakes, and is overall very rude to her.

She couldn’t believe how much he’s changed. He used to call her his “Eyeball Star” and how it’s like he hates to see her face.

So there’s the dilemma—she wants Akane to end up with Shinosuke because Akane loved, and maybe still does love, him. But she also wants Akane not to end up with him because this Shinnosuke is an entirely new person than who he was thirteen years ago. But she also wants the past Shinno to vanish, but she also wants him not to go anywhere.

It’s confusing, yes. It’s so confusing I didn’t understand the situation completely until I wrote it down like this. It’s confusing for Aoi too, and you feel this confusion in the plot. I won’t tell you about what happens later, since… well, I don’t want to ruin your plot. And I don’t quite remember most of act-two. But let’s assume that the other reason doesn’t exist.

Anyway, I like the idea. The concept of someone from the past coming to the future is something that still feels fresh, even though there are so many anime that follow such a troupe. I can see how much I’d love to talk about its theme. But before that, lemme rant about the characters

***

Characters

The characters seem more of archetypes than real people, I’d say. But they’re really well-developed. They all have their backstories and arcs that are worked upon.

Firstly, let me talk about Aoi. She’s one of those teenagers who, because of their puberty, think they can do anything. She’s always making these plans about how to make her sister, Akane, end up with Shinno or Tsuga’s dad or whoever and whatever. She wants to go to Tokyo and thinks she can do it. She can, but it’s clear she doesn’t really have a hold of her life that she thinks she has. Even though she’s always thinking about her sister’s love life, she could do little to nothing about who Akane chooses. And the way she talks about going to Tokyo seems childish too, like she doesn’t really know what’s actually gonna be ahead of her once she steps foot in the city.

Her arc was interesting too. By the end, she begins to realize that even though Akane is her sister, she does have a life after her. Aoi is her everything, but Aoi doesn’t rule her life. Akane is strong-willed, she never regretted staying back in the city, and she certainly doesn’t need Aoi’s help in her love life. And Akane really is that. She is strong. But she’s also kind and nice.

Shinno is another character that I’d love to talk about. He’s passionate about being a musician. And he’s left his town, the girl he left, and so much behind to go to Tokyo and make that dream come true. And in the process, he’s lost himself. He’s lost his charm. And the sparkle in his eye. And I’d talk more about him later.

Chika is a side-character in the story. And she’s there to… well, just being there. As Aoi’s friend. But she looks cool so props on that.

***

Theme

The story as a whole brings in new concepts and ideas. The premise of meeting your past lover thirteen years later and being still in love with them is something I’ve not really seen so much, except in the epilogues of Your Name and other anime films as that, maybe. But it was the first time I saw this idea explored with such depth.

And let’s talk further about Shinnosuke. I loved the theme his story symbolizes. I believe Shinnosuke tells the story of most of us who leave something behind for the dreams that we’ve seen as kids. And as we tread through this path, we face the realities of this world. And that passion… We kinda lose that. Maybe it’s just temporary, maybe not so for some. But there’s a change.

We get tired as we face rejection, as we plan day in and day out about our big breaks, and how we constantly see them never happening. And then we try again. That’s what it has been like for me as a writer, to be honest. I write a book, dream about it being published, being something big, but soon I see how messed up it really is. And then I throw it away and start writing another one.

Shinnosuke symbolizes that childhood, that passion that we lose as we face the complexities of the real-world challenges with this dream in our minds. But sometimes, all we need is to look back. Look at that child who dreamed of doing something, becoming something. And we need to see how far we’ve been, and how far we’ve wanted to go, and how far we still gotta go to make that dream a reality.

When the younger Shinno meets his elder counterpart, he tells him what a disappointment he’s turned out to be. He didn’t want to be a lame-ass background guitarist, a backup, for a goddamn Enka singer. He tells him how he can’t believe he’s standing calmly, waiting for someone to do something, when Akane goes missing. That’s when the present Shinno realizes the dreams he once wanted to chase. And how much he loved Akane.

Aoi and the spirit Shinno try their hard to bring the spirit out of the shrine—for some reason, the spirit was unable to leave it from the very beginning, because of some invisible walls. And as they’re pushing and pushing so that they can go search for Akane, who they can’t contact and who no one knows is alright or now, the Shinno’s old guitar in the background starts to struggle. And as he gets out, the guitar breaks. And not many people might realize it, but the writer wanted to show how much Shinno, especially the present one, was bound by his dreams—that of becoming a musician. And how he had just been freed of them. Yeah, now that I think about it, the scene really freed him. His conversation with his younger self freed him from the burden he was carrying. Music was a passion for him, not a job. He… can’t give up now. He can’t give up on music and come back to the town just because it’s convenient for him. But his aim was not just to be a musician… he still has stuff to do. People to prove.

And that scene shook me to the core. We as artists are slaves to the art. We strive for perfection. We strive for people to see our art. And we got to free ourselves of this burden to make art that actually matters, to make art that actually frees you, not burdens you. And that’s such a powerful message.

***

Conclusion

Sorry, I yapped too much about the theme, LOL. I really liked Shinno as a character, probably because how much I resonated with him and Aoi.

Her Blue Sky is not just about romance across ages. It’s also about passion. And struggles that come with it, to some extent.

#writers and poets #media analysis #writers on tumblr #anime and manga #anime review #criticism #film review #review #writerscommunity #writeblr

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