#final thoughts

[misterbeaverfever]

i. Need tontalk aboit demo 4NOW

BLOCK TALES DEMO 4 SPOILERS BELLOOWWW!!!

the helpful griefer png here to make the cut and hide spoilers

(i hope this works. If not just scroll past Very very very fast Ok)

entails both my personal pros and cons!! all my opinion, i just wanted to ramble a bit about it :-)

LAST SPOILER WARNING!! LITERALLY SPOILS LIKE MOST OF DEMO 4!! INCLUDING GRIEFER CALL CARD + NEW GRIEFER DIALOGUE!!

Ok Hi

where do I even BEGIN??

the music is always been one of my favourite aspects about block tales, and the music in demo 4 was absolutely phenomenal. ESPECIALLY Ancient Tomb, Vermillion Village and Bizville Docks (my personal favourites)!! although, personally, I didn’t feel like The Ancients theme fit with the atmosphere the boss gave off with its appearance and dialogue. but the song was still incredible. go listen to the OST when you can, it’s amazing as always!! block tales music literally never disappoints

speaking of the Ancients, its?? their?? design is absolutely superb. at first I couldn’t stop staring at it, and then I COULDN’T stop staring at it because I kept DYING and needing to START OVER!! closest i got to raging over block tales. worse than the 3 fears in the pit and i mean that. i will NOT be doing demo 4 on hard mode im not mentally ready yet Give me 7 more years

Ok moving on Shivers I ADORRREEE FICTIONAL PIRATES!!! I HAVE PIRATE OCS!! I LOVE PIRATE CHARACTERS IN MEDIA!! I LOVE OTHERS PIRATE OCS!! so you can imagine how excited I was when they first showed up in THE block tales!!! i’m in love with the way they speak too, they’re how I strive to be!! i also hope that Calypso and Kyoko get reunited Let them be Happy Ok

Ok so ive established I Love Pirates. Fictional of course. So. You can ALSO imagine how absolutely distraught I was when I found all the pirates lying dead dude. my only complaint is I wish more was done with them. they would have made a great bunch for future demos…. but a man can only dream…. bursts into tears

and. i dont know how many people will share this opinion but i absolutely AODRE the great flocci?!?! I WISH HE HAD A BIGGER ROLE IN DEMO 4, BECAUSE HE’S SO CHARMING?! misterbeaverfever when he sees a fictional well-designed character that speaks in a recognisable/abnormal way

PLEASEEE COME BACK IN FUTURE DEMOS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEE!’! his design. his dialogue. his face. perfect. hes perfect. But not as perfect as my goat GRIEFER

if its a misterbeaverfever post griefer MUST be mentioned

Griefer Card. Griefer post-venomshank. Oh my goodNESS

griefer to griefer eye contact

yes griefer the plant features DO make you look cooler

CANON GRIEFER LORE DROP. I’m so extremely unbearably happy AND I’M SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM AGAIN!!!! ITS BEEN SO LONG MY GOAT!!!! now i have more about his character to leech off of

I. LOVE. HIM. HE WILL BE ACCOMPANYING ME IN EVERY SINGLE BATTLE. AND HIS NEW DIALOGUE IS SOOOO SWEET

he invites us to play games Ougggh erupts into FLOODS of tears WHY WASNT THERE AN OPTION TO SAY YES LET ME PLAY GAMES WITH GRIEFER

WAAAGHHHHAAAGHHAAGHH

BLOCK TALES IS JUST SUCH A CHARMING GAME DUDE. it has so much heart and personality, and thats what ive always loved so much about it. all the characters are so wacky and distinguishable and unique— its so easy to just latch onto them and go ‘i Love this guy actually’

I WILL BE MAKING ART SOON!! AND LOOKING FORWARD TO DEMO 5!!,

[artemisdesari-blog]

Careless To Let It Fall ~ Final Thoughts

I finished Careless To Let It Fall the other day (start reading here, there be spoilers ahead). Usually, when I finish writing a story, I like to sit down with my journal and write a little bit about the experience. What I wrote, why I took that route, my thoughts on the final outcome, and so on. It helps me process the story and get me into the head space to move onto something new.

Careless To Let It Fall has taught me a lot of things about fanfic, about myself, and about fandom in general. I won't elaborate about all of that here because I'd be here for the rest of my life, but in short: It has taught me that even in old and sprawling fandoms, there are still new ideas to explore. It taught me that when I wobble about writing a trope so many others have also written (Mandalorian Obi-Wan) it doesn't matter that there are dozens of other stories like it because fans will almost always follow the "two cakes" philosophy. It showed me, once again, that my own ability to judge the length of my stories and how long they will take me is sorely lacking, and it amazed me with how many comments and kudos and pieces of fanart I received over the two years I've been writing and posting.

As for the ending: it went precisely where I wanted it to. Dooku died trying to redeem himself, in very small part, for the path he had helped to set the galaxy on. Obi-Wan has grown from uncertain and a little adrift based on Qui-Gon’s actions in The Phantom Menace to confident and assured. A leader in his own right who has taken a different path and emerged tall and proud but still, over all, a Jedi. Which was the most important thing of all for me when finishing this story; Obi-Wan might have walked the path of becoming a Mandalorian, but at his core he is still and always will be a Jedi first.

Often, when I read Mandalorian Obi-Wan stories, the Jedi gets a bit lost. And doubtless there are times in Careless where the Mandalorian seems to overwhelm the Jedi. That's only to be expected during a war. But in the final chapter, three years after killing Sidious, Obi-Wan is still a Jedi. He is the heir of Tarre Vizsla, but not as Mand’alor as many readers thought would happen. He is Vizsla’s heir as a Jedi. He is creating a new branch of the Jedi Order on a world where the Jedi are not typically well received, but he seems to be succeeding.

At the end of all of the mess, Obi-Wan is still a Jedi. Yes, he has married according to Mandalorian custom (and totally manufactured in universe Jedi custom), but he is still a Jedi. He and Cody are capable of functioning together, and apart, he accepted Cody's decision to be with him when they confronted Sidious, even knowing it could cause Cody’s death. He outright rejects the idea of training the child of his closest Mandalorian friend because he knows he is not the right choice due to their relationship and the fact that the child has abilities that others are more specialised in. There is so much love there, for Myles and his son, but not attachment.

Obi-Wan began as a padawan: a little bit lost, uncertain of his place, trying to find himself and his feet. He ended as a master, a leader, a husband, a friend, and about to send his own padawan out into the galaxy.

And it only took me 142 chapters and 489k words, 21 months, and hundreds of hours of writing and researching to get him there.

[littlehideyhole]

WWDITS Finale thoughts from a Nandermo shipper:

Ngl I thought the writing was fire. I know we all wanted a kiss but I’d argue we got something way better, here me out

Going from this decade long power imbalance to a relationship built on mutual trust and respect (with the last thing Nandor doing in the series is prove to Guillermo that he is seriously committing to a 50/50 work load) is a really good story arc and I think the logical next step WOULD have been romance

I thought the writers were sending “HEY we love the idea of them getting together but we don’t have enough time to show that in a way that feels satisfying (they’d probs need another season of them crime fighting and building on that trust cause they got some baggage but that’s a fanfic for another day)

And that’s okay!

If we learned anything from this show it’s that, despite patterns, the vampires genuinely do grow. I feel like the implication was “they’ll get there, we just won’t be around to see it”

The only thing I love more than cheeky fan service is realistic well written character arcs and this finale gave us BOTH (idk what the other endings were but I got the sitcom one)

Listen I’m not saying I wouldn’t have loved a big romantic kiss and a “what does this mean for us” stumble into romance from the finale. I would have LOVED a final gentle hand holding shot but I also think the Guides monologue was almost a direct message to the fans “hey guys listen Nandors gotta a lot more work to do on the romance side of his mindset and we don’t have the episodes to get there so”

I mean they basically said “no matter what, they’ll head back to each other” and if that’s not canon idk what is

[ecargmura]

Wind Breaker Episode 25 Review + Final Thoughts - Season 3 When?

Haha, Cloverworks just drops three voice actor reveals for Mizuki, Momose and Takiishi and then ends the episode without elaborating if Season 3 is in production. I don’t particularly care that Wind Breaker got a live action adaptation, congratulations, as I care more about when Season 3 news will drop.

Basically, the finale is Umemiya and the other third years telling Sakura, Nirei and Suo about the deeper origins about how Furin came to be. Originally, Furin was a place of chaos like how Sakura initially believed it to be, but five students enrolled into the school as first years and helped shaped the school to become the way it is now. However, there are those who opposed the new change and left, which is why they’re mentioned as shadows of sorts. Endo was one of those shadows and the most infamous one at that. However, there is someone even stronger than him—Chika Takiishi—also the only person that Umemiya admits to have never been able to defeat.

But yeah, it was really interesting to see how Furin became the way it is. I like the fact that not everyone accepts change and the opposers decide to leave. Man, if only people in real life could just disengage with their disdains… The city and school changed for the better and the people within too. Heck, spending time at Furin helped Sakura develop as he originally came to Makochi because he heard about the old Furin, but he’s grown into liking the person he is now with this new Furin. Though, I do wonder how and why Sakura was never updated on outdated information as the changed only happened two years ago—which is still pretty recent.

Though, my favorite part of the episode was the hilarious banter between Sakura and Sugishita as the latter made the funniest faces when he realized Sakura’s group was at the meeting. The way he just crushed the cup and then unfurled it to piss off Sakura was so hilarious. I also love his smirk after Umemiya praised him. They’re so funny together—I need more of their silliness.

The finale ends with the reveal of three new voice actors for the three newly introduced characters. First, we have Mizuki, the third of the Four Kings and he’s voiced by Tomoaki Maeno who you might know as Zhong Li from Genshin Impact and Decim from Death Parade. Regarding Maeno, I initially wanted him to voice Tsubakino before his official VA reveal. I find it funny how my one-off seiyuu speculation came to fruition, but for another character. To be honest, I didn’t expect they’d give Mizuki such a deep voice, yet at the same time, it doesn’t sound off. In my head, I always thought that Mizuki could go either way because his character design is a versatile one as one could go deep and give him a uptight and stoic bespectacled vibe which requires a more masculine voice or a reserved, composed bespectacled vibe which requires a softer one.

Momose, the one that likes to draw, is voiced by Kotaro Nishiyama who has coincidentally voiced another Momose from another anime, specifically My New Boss Is Goofy. To be honest, Momose’s voice is a bit more masculine than I expected, but it’s still a cute voice! If you’re not familiar with Nishiyama, he voiced Ryuichi from Gakuen Babysitters and Atsushi from Boeibu!

I’m sure every Wind Breaker fan who read the manga have been anticipating who Takiishi’s voice actor has been since the anime aired. For me, I originally wanted Takiishi to be voiced by Soma Saito, but he got to voice Seiryu instead. Because of that, I had three other choices in my head. The first choice after Soma was Miyu Irino; the second was Yuki Kaji and the third being Hiroshi Kamiya. Given that Endo is voiced by Daisuke Ono, it definitely felt like the production staff really wanted the OnoD and HiroC combo, hence why Takiishi’s voice actor is the Hiroshi Kamiya. To be honest, I think it’s a good choice as Kamiya can voice the stern, stoic characters very well—he did voice Akashi from Kuroko’s Basketball after all. Also, this shows that the production staff really are going with the pattern of having Shounen Jump MCs be main villains for each antagonistic organization with Kamiya voicing Saiki from The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Other examples of this pattern includes Choji who share the same VA as Denji from Chainsaw Man, Natori with Yuuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen and Natsuki Hanae with Tanjiro and Okarun.

Hopefully, news of a third season will be announced soon because I am hyped for the upcoming arc! Also, I do like how a lot of Wind Breaker reactors have the same thumbnail picture of Takiishi. It’s amusing. Let me know your thoughts on the finale!

Final Thoughts 

I felt like this season showed that Wind Breaker is different from the usual delinquent anime in that they have slower moments that focuses on character growth and that it’s not always punches and kicks. The lack of action scenes towards the middle of the season was something some viewers had complaints about as they wanted the action, but I honestly didn’t mind. This isn’t a story with an overarching plot—it’s like vignettes of Sakura’s time at Bofurin and how he becomes the top of the school in the future. Character development is essential for a story like this.

Regarding the major arcs for this season, Keel was a short one, but it was meaningful in that it helps Sakura learn from his shortcomings and develops into the person he wants to be. I honestly love that each arc in Wind Breaker is essential because of the lessons Sakura learns and the people he meets. I think that the Roppo Ichiza arc is a culmination of the stuff Sakura learned in the Keel arc as he behaves a bit differently than he did in the previous arc. It shows that Sakura is someone who listens and learns.

There have been a lot of divisive comments regarding Tsubakino as he is a boy who presents femininely in appearance. I honestly don’t get why people whine about him. Tsubakino is a good representation of the overarching theme of “being true to yourself” in Wind Breaker. He’s confident in what he is and no one is going to stop him. Also, if you think Tsubakino is unsettling, you’re not ready for the fruit apocalypse that is Endo because Tsubakino is just a fruit compared to him.

The other characters introduced are an interesting bunch as Keel are, so far, the only group of people who haven’t been given redemption—and for good reason too. Still, I do like that the story gives such a variety of different characters and they’re all rather different in personality and appearance, so no one gives off a particular “same-face syndrome”. I quite like the Roppo Ichiza crew because they’re so funny.

What surprised and excited me the most about this season was the voice cast because Wind Breaker really likes using big names instead of hiring new faces like a lot of shounen animes tend to do. Season 2 continues with big names like Junya Enoki, Natsuki Hanae, Daisuke Ono and Hiroshi Kamiya. I think that being a voice actor fan and having people speculate and anticipate is also the fun of Wind Breaker!

Most of all, I enjoyed this season because I got to interact with a lot of people, whether it be through this blog or on social media. I think that being able to befriend people and make connections is a beautiful aspect of enjoying something. I hope that same feeling is maintained when season 3 comes out! Let me know your thoughts on the season as a whole!

[invisiblegarters]

High School Frenemy Final Thoughts

I know, I know. I'm super late with this one. To be honest I was just going to keep it for a set of micro reviews (as if there's anything micro about any of those, sigh), but well. *looks down* Yeah. So here I go.

Oh my gosh this show. What can I even say about this show. Gird yourself because you think I was long winded before? Ha, you don't know long winded. The thing is that this show was completely off of my radar. To the point that I don't even remember if there was a mock trailer for it at some point, and to this day I don't think I've seen the official one either. The only reason that I bothered watching is that one of my mutuals was telling me about it and I said, "huh, this reminds me of School 2013 I think it was. I watched it because of my undying love for Lee Jong Suk." To which they replied, "oh yes, I think it's an adaptation of that." And since I had watched that one and remembered liking it well enough, I decided to binge watch the first eight episodes (all that were out at the time). I've never been so happy for an "eh, I guess" watch in my life. Because this show was so good. Part of it is the source material - School 2013 was an excellent show that explored themes of friendship, the pressure that students are put under by parents to succeed, the trouble people get themselves into when they are desperate...it's just great. And this show explores that as well. Part of it is the cast - everyone was amazing even though I will never stop being mad that I loved Foie's Mr. Sung as much as I did - but in the end what it is is the same thing that got me with Peaceful Property: this show has heart. What I loved most about this show is how hard it fought the idea that is so prevalent today that people are stagnant. That is a lesson that I really wish we had more of in today's world - so often we're willing to hate others forever based on something they did years upon years ago, often with very little evidence that they've continued to do so as they grew older and ultimately, wiser. So often the thing that we are holding against them happened when they were teenagers. And so often those opinions have changed. But we don't account for that, and neither do some of the teachers (most notably the Vice Principal) in this show. They see Class 2 as a project, or irredeemable thugs, or lazy and unmotivated. And Class 2 isn't really interested in changing that belief. It isn't until someone actually expects them to do better - not demands it to get money for the school, but because they know that they are capable of it - that the kids start to change. But it's not really changing, as Mr. Sung points out later. It's that they're growing up. As we all do. And finally, they're doing so in an environment that is allowing them to actually grow. But it's not jus the kiddos who are learning. It's the adults too. Because shockingly enough, we don't stagnate after we hit 20, either. So many people in this show are in the process of change. Of striving to be better. Of learning - sometimes hard - that their way of doing things isn't the only one, or even necessarily the right one. Not that everyone in the show did change. Jeng remained a dick throughout, and I appreciate that, because while I do love the heartwarming message the truth is that some people actively choose to make the wrong decision and then keep on that path regardless. At the heart of the show, though, was friendship. Fractured friendship that is being mended, tested friendship, new friendship, and friendship that is so fierce it causes people to reach down into the darkness swallowing you and yank your stubborn ass out by force, even if they have to enlist the help of every single person in the class to do it.

Shin and Saint's friendship was of course front and center, and I adored it - these two are so ridiculous about each other in the absolute best way, and I think we all knew that Shin was never actually that mad about Saint breaking his leg but about breaking his leg and then leaving him - not only taking his dream but also taking the one person, ironically, who could have made it bearable: himself. The amount of pain all over Shin every time he saw Saint's big pleading puppy dog face was enough to know that, but if we didn't get it they then had him literally scream it at him (to be fair, pretty sure Saint didn't get it. He's lovely but also kinda dumb, poor thing). Their friendship was the glue that held the show together, and it was threaded throughout even when they were barely talking or had worked things out and then somehow managed to adopt the rest of the class as their unruly kiddos. They were glorious, and both Sky and Nani did such an excellent job that I immediately put Wu on my to watch list even with that absolute farce of a mock trailer. I will watch anything these two are in together, BL or not. And I genuinely did watch most of HSF without shipping Saint and Shin, although by the end I was convinced that no they're in love actually (Shin absolutely is aware of this and Saint is not. See lovely but dumb). GMMTV's first branded bromance pair? I'd be down for it. That said, Saint and Shin's friendship wasn't the only one in the show that got me. Eve and Peeta did too, as did Airy and Eve. I liked them a lot - Eve and Peeta's friendship is being tested a bit by her overbearing mother sticking her big foot in where it isn't wanted, but I really loved that when it came down to it and Peeta was starting to fall apart Eve only cared about her well-being. I also really liked that despite the initial dislike and distrust between the girls from the different schools, Airy was actually a really good friend to Eve, level headed and giving decent advice when she and Peeta were in the middle of falling out. I also liked the way she and Tangmay went to bat for Eve when they thought that Jan had kicked her out of the Thai competition due to preferring Peeta instead, and then apologized when they learned they were wrong.

The one friendship I did not expect to feel so much about was Ken, Knot, and Nate, though. I thought they were going to be just a trio of hapless bullies, there to be fought against and not much else. But no. Instead of making them two dimensional bullies and not much else, they made them well rounded human beings who adore each other to pieces, who clearly bonded because they feel like they have no one else (this is especially shown in Ken's case, that dude's dad sucks). The way that Knot begged both Nate and Ken to please think about their futures because he loved them so much. The way that Knot and then Nate pretty much dragged Ken out of Jeng's gang by the scruff of his neck (with help from Saint and Shin, resident Batmen and aforementioned coparents to a bunch of kids only a couple of years younger than them). The way they rallied around him and were willing to do just about anything to help him out. That's love, and it won me right the fuck over with ease.

Ken in particular got me in a damn chokehold. The way his face would get whenever anyone treated him like a friend always made me feel a bit teary. And the way that he really did start trying once he realized that there were more people than Nate and Knot on his side, and that he didn't actually have to fight the world.

I also really need to take a moment to talk about how amazing Mark Pakin was as Chadjen. Just an amazing performance. I really hope that he gets at least a nod for it.

I guess this turned into more of a love letter than it did a review, but whatever. The show was amazing and I loved it. The only criticism I have is that I feel like Ken's father's turn around was a little too pat. I do like that the kids weren't the only ones learning lessons and changing, but I don't buy that one conversation with Ms. Jan took Ken's dad from drinking too much and saying things like his son would never amount to anything and it was a waste of time to care about him to sincerely wanting to make an effort. I also wish that we'd seen at least some of how Shin's mom went from very reluctantly allowing Saint back into their lives (understandably, to be honest, considering everything) to making him food and treating him once again like part of the family. I have my own thoughts about it, and we didn't have to see it, but it would have been nice.

In the end those two things did keep this show from passing the Moonlight Chicken Test…but not by much. 9.5/10, almost my perfect show.

[miss0atae]

Takara's treasure, final thoughts:

I'm glad Takara's treasure will have another spin off episode because I was not ready to say good-bye to such sweetness. It was really a nice romance. Slow but steady.

In the end Takara found the courage to accept that his feelings even his possessiveness weren't inherently bad. When there is love, there is hope. It's funny how he appeared as the mature senpai at the beginning of the series while Taishin was the lost mentee coming from outside of Tokyo. However, Taishin is so much more comfortable with his love than Takara. His confidence in love and the good things it can bring, made Takara more secure and he could finally accept that there is no good or bad when it comes to feelings. You can't control everything, but as long as your significant other / friends / acquaintance is okay, then you shouldn't worry and imagine the worst.

I feel Takara was the one who learned the most.

[sorakazeno]

I totally relate to what you were saying about fans ruining Sailor Moon Super Live! I was seated in front of a guy who screamed THE ENTIRE SHOW! It was like he was trying to take away from the show. He ruined it in a way. He was just yelling constantly and cheering. I think he was drunk or high too. He was like....not right but definitely ruined the experience for me. I was pissed. I was in the VIP section too!

Bummer! I'm sorry you had such a bad experience at the show! I have to say I am impressed the man still had a voice for screaming for that long!

I understand everyone was really excited. I am was too of course. But we are here to see a show. I want to hear and watch them. Scream at the beginning, fine. But then chill later. Sadly I think it the mentality now to be as loud and obnoxious as possible during a performance to how the performer they appreciate them? It was too much.

The fans cheered at lot at the 2019 show in New York and started singing along which really surprised the cast in the musical portion. They were at least decent during the show from what I recall.

I'm hopping we will see more Super Live shows in the future and maybe fans can cool it a little so we can all enjoy the show and cheer on the cast when appropriate. Afterall, how often are you going to be able to see a live musical???

[neospokenworld]

SPRING ANIME 2025 FINAL THOUGHTS

The Spring season comes to an end and with that the anime that aired also do too. Here I am once again with a final thoughts post about the anime that I actually finished lol

So just a bit of a clarification before we start, due to some mental stuff that isn't of much worth talking about I nearly dropped every anime I was watching due to severe lack of motivation to continue them, they weren't that many but I still for a while just stopped watching everything then slowly came back with the three that I'll share here.

I ended up ''dropping'' To Be Hero X; Lazarus, and the Guilty Gear anime in the end. So while To Be Hero X and Lazarus will probably go for a double cour situation I'm pretty sure Guilty Gear is just 12 episodes and no more, I can't really say much about them because this was around episode 5 for all of them but I'll probably go back to at least Lazarus in the future since that was a vibe I was fucking with lol.

But anyways, let's begin!

WIND BREAKER

So this one is kind of cheating since I'll be going for both seasons here, but it doesn't matter much lol.

A bit of a backstory first: I was going to watch this anime when it came out... Last year I think? but ended up deciding against it because it's poster felt kinda generic honestly. Fast Forward to about a month ago when Tsubaki was first introduced and for the first time since it came out I start seeing a lot of the show, either from people liking it or a minority who was upset that he got introduced. weeks pass and from episodes 5-9 I keep seeing scenes and stuff and finally I decide to give it a chance like 2 weeks ago, the result?

I'm... Greatly surprised by it, at first I just expected it to be a regular anime that I'll watch like an episode daily and not much else, but I gotta say that I was extremely surprised by how interesting it started and just how it continued regarding the themes it presented and how it handled them. From Sakura with his struggles forming close relationships with people and realizing that he doesn't need to be on the defense all the time, to Tsubaki's backstory about how he accepted himself by who he is rather than faking it; this show handled all of it's themes really well which was really unexpected for me, at most I was expecting some good choreographed fights with a nice plot lol

And speaking of the fights they just have such a good choreography, it's like they just went all in with it. Even with the usual fictional super resistance all the punches and kicks have actual weight to it, so you can definitely feel each attack they land, definitely a highlight of the show

As for the story, you can definitely see these 2 seasons as introductory since we only get to see the actual bad guys (Endo and Chika) until S2, and even then we don't get properly introduced to either of them until the last 3 or so episodes of the season. Not a complain though, since I pretty much liked the more lighthearted tone it has on this 2 seasons, felt like a nice show to watch a couple of episodes every day.

In the end I was deeply surprised with how good this anime is, from a nice story to amazing characters and fights this one is extremely good altogether.

ROCK WA LADY NO TASHINAMI DESHITE

You know, if I had a coin for every year I've seen an anime about 4 girls forming a rock band I'd have three, which isn't much but it's funny that it happened thrice

I'm starting to realize that this is my favorite anime genre lol

Going for the anime, I absolutely loved it from front to back. It was funny as hell, it had really good characters in all 4 members plus Lilisa's little sister Alice (My favorite is a toss between Isemi and Lilisa) The fact that all of the scenes of them playing were mocap'd by the members of Band Maid really plaid off as it was both a delight to see and hear, and speaking of hearing the music was just extremely good altogether; definitely gonna end up listening to Band Maid in the future looking at it lol.

The humor was really great too and while the Yuri elements weren't the center of the show they were still very prevalent with how Lilisa and Otoha were on stage (c'mon, those performances were way more than just music 99% of the time lol). And finally that last episode was absolutely insane!! I don't like comparing it to both Bocchi the Rock and Girls Band Cry since all 3 of these are very different from one another, but I think that the final concert they had this season has to be the most hyped I've been on any of those three anime together, hell I would say it was the most hyped I've been watching anime since watching Dandadan episode 4 like half a year ago!

Hopefully this gets a second season in the future. I know that right now it doesn't have enough to make it but I really want to see more of Rock Lady, no matter how long it takes.

THE APOTHECARY DIARIES SEASON 2

6 months have passed, and The Apothecary Diaries has come to an end...

This season was so good, definitely a highlight of the year. I LOVE the slow pacing this anime has, which made the buildup for the main arc of the story so much better all in all. The comedy was also pretty good aswell and the vibe at least for the first half of the season was pretty chill, at least for the majority of it.

And I say the majority of it because well, near the end of the first half we had the entire arc where we got introduced to the feifas and where I would say the big arc of the season revealed itself and god what an arc it was. Even when it felt like it was slowing down you could really feel the tension rising up until Jinshi accepting who he really is and commanding the army to defend the kingdom against Shishou/Shenmei's plans, it was extremely good

Going into the characters I wanna point out Shisui. Absolute top tier character, amat first I wasn't so sure about her but she quickly rose into one of my favorite characters of the season, to the point that I ended up tearing up because of her on these last two episodes. She was such a good friend to Maomao even to the very end after all the twists and turns she did and also to Xiaolan, which is sad that she couldn't say goodbye to in the end.

Rest of the new characters on Suirei (already seen on S1 but formerly introduced now) and the three twins were really good as well, even if the latter had very little plot relevance it helps make the inner palace feel more alive.

In the end this season was very good from start to finish. This anime just continues to be so good and it's kinda sad how it doesn't get talked about enough, like sure it has a lot of fans so I wouldn't call it underrated or unknown, but compared to other anime it just feels like it gets overlooked quite a bit. But anyways, I'm super excited to see the new season which just got announced too (or is it a spin off? I don't really know lol) hopefully it gets released soon because this one was really good

And yeah that's it! small ranking for all the anime that I saw, and in a couple of days I'll be posting the first impressions for the summer anime that I'll be watching. All of the anime were extremely good so in the end it's really a tough one to do, but this'll be the final ranking:

Rock is a Lady's Modesty

The Apothecary Diaries (in the winter season it takes the first spot btw)

Wind Breaker S2

PS: Jinshi has a big frog 🐸 lol

[deadkraker]

Now that I’m done freaking out about it, I honestly find it fitting how this ended the same way it started.

Despite how great it was the peaks of dsmp for me at least were never the highly scripted and thought out story lines, it was the little things that got it started, friends making a story on the fly and having fun while doing so, that was the core of the whole thing. And for it to end in the same fashion, with two friends, now grown up and moved on, roleplaying on the same now deserted and laggy server for the final time, feels right. It was always the ending we needed. It was that spark that got lost somewhere along all the fame and conflict, one that I am glad shone for the last time just for us.

[yen-sids-tournament]

The Results Are In!!

*Sadly, the execs aren't paying attention to lil ol' us, so nothing is likely to change.

Treasure Planet 2 is the winner, earning the title of the most disappointing and irrational of Cancelled Projects. Maybe it was the unfair reasoning, maybe it was the lost world building, maybe it was the discarded story line but it is a clear missed opportunity for everyone.

Second place is the lesser known Appalachian-set tale My Peoples (or A Few Good Ghosts/Once In A Blue Moon). Two things we learned from this project's journey is that a) many people were unaware of the story and b) Chicken Little should have been on the chopping block instead.

Before we close the book on this tournament, we want to share a few tidbits we learned and ramble our thoughts.

A new Oswald show with Jon Favreau is in the works. It has been marketed as a live-action-animation hybrid form. Aside from being able to see the full MGaDD episode, there are also saved animatics and full animation clips for other projects like Aristocats II and My Peoples and Fantasia 2006 and Kingdom Hearts. We think if the Mouse Company wanted to, many of these could easily come back. We would love a new Fantasia. Princess Acadmey could only be improved with many of the new female characters since it's cancellation (Moana, Mirabel , Raya, Judy Hopps....). We don't think Lizzie McGuire would have been out of place on Freeform or even as streaming only. But they need to see the monetary value, and we just want the artistic expression.

Lastly, we want to share our favorite memory of the tournament as a whole: During the Semi Finals (Muppets v TP2 and Oswald v My Peoples) there was a moment of time when all four projects has exactly 22 votes. It was very exciting and we would be shocked if such a momentary tie event ever happens again.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a project, voted, liked, and shared for the tournament!

We hope none of you were irrevocably traumatized by these reminders/revelations, but that you gained something meaningful here, even if it was merely a space to vent.

[blsongbird]

Battle of the Writers (final episode)

Final thoughts -

Improvement

1. Tutoryim chemistry was great.

2. I liked the concept of 5 famous authors sitting down to write a BL novel.

3. I like how they pulled inspiration from their lives and grew together between the lines.

[ecargmura]

A Terrified Teacher At Ghoul School Episode 24 + Final Thoughts

Uh, Satelight, since when did you get the budget and why did you spend it all on the finale? Not that I’m complaining too much since everyone looks amazing, but maybe you should’ve put more effort in the previous episodes too? On that note, I can’t believe this is the final episode of A Terrified Teacher At Ghoul School! Time flies so fast!

Now that the truth of Kuniko’s past comes out, the fact that she decides to stall time and let Sano bring Haruaki to the rooftop was really noble. In this sort of situation, people would’ve convinced Kuniko to be the one to go on ahead, but since she’s the only one strong enough to subdue Kurai, she has to make the sacrifice to stay behind, knowing that she’ll have the chance to talk to Nyuudou later. The fact that the two do get cute anime original scenes at the end does make up for it. While they aren’t dating just yet, they’re at first-name basis with each other now, signifying a closer bond than before.

I also really liked Tamao’s scenes. He wanted to show off his 38 to Nyuudou, and it was also the key for Haruaki to win the competition as Tamao is the only one nimble enough to bring it to him. I do like how Tamao’s tone drops the more stubborn Hajime becomes. He spoke a bit politely towards him, but when Hajime refused to reason, Tamao just lowers an octave and starts speaking a lot more bluntly. He’s usually cute and sweet, but even he can be dangerous, as he mentioned to Hajime that Haruaki isn’t dangerous because he chooses not to be. In fact, a lot of the youkais in the school have extremely dangerous powers and they’re only a threat if they choose to do so, yet they don’t.

I was wondering how the twist of the Haruaki with Sano being Amaaki the entire time was going to play out as the difference isn’t noticeable in the manga as it’s black and white. In the anime, Haru and Ame are colored differently and have different voice actors. If you didn’t notice Haruaki’s different voice in the previous episode, then you might have been surprised at the twist. I do like that Gakuto Fujiwara had to speak in a higher tone, as if he was mimicking Ryota Osaka, and then lowering his voice two octaves and adding the Kansai dialect. Besides, this isn’t the first time Ame had to disguise as Haru, so him bluffing the whole thing and fool Hajime was an easy feat that caught both Hajime and Kurai off-guard. No one in the school knows about Haruaki’s family due to his family background, so Kurai definitely didn’t see the twist of him having a twin while only a handful of students knew. The part where he started smothering himself over Haruaki was super adorable. He definitely reminds me of Yuri Briar from Spy x Family in a way…

Hajime’s overprotectiveness stems from his desire to let there be peace in the youkai world and between youkai and human relationships all for the sake of protecting his son as a way to promise his late wife. While his intentions are good, the way he handles it isn’t. I wonder if the words Ame, when he was pretending to be Haru, was from prior experience in that when he was introduced in the beginning, he was super overprotective of Haruaki that he had to be humbled by Sano and the other students in order to let loose. Hajime was like Ame, but a lot more stubborn as he hadn’t seen eye-to-eye with his own son for so long. In a way, I do like that Hajime isn’t antagonistic, but he very misguided.

Regardless, the part where Renka thinks about her son’s name was really nice. Even if their time was short, Hajime really did love Renka and she did as well. Even though giving birth to Rensuke would be life-threatening for her, she still went with it because she wanted to. The way she named Rensuke means that she wants him to make endless connections with others, which is why Class 2-3 and his friends are dear to Rensuke. They help him become who he is and why he chose to stay at Hyakki.

I guess my only gripe is that we don’t really know how Renka and Hajime got together. It’s just there. Like, was it an arranged marriage? Did they meet one fateful day and fell in love? The manga doesn’t really delve into this either. It just mentions that human and youkai couples do exist but doesn’t elaborate too much on it. The only other interracial couple known in the story are Hijita’s sister and her human husband, but they’re minor characters. It’d be nice if Yohaji had a future arc dedicated to a youkai and human love story, but I guess that’s what Haruaki and Rintaro’s relationship surmounts to if the author does make it canon?

Final Thoughts

It’s crazy how the anime I just chose to watch for Fall 2024 happens to be a hidden gem and something that I really enjoy! It’s thanks to A Terrified Teacher At Ghoul School (or Yohaji) that I made new friends and got to interact with more people on social media. Heck, I did put this as the anime I enjoyed the most in 2024! Most of all, I got to find another manga I am into.

Yohaji is seriously underrated. People might be turned off by a few things presented in the beginning like Haruaki’s fetish for uniforms that could be taken the wrong way, but it’s all around a gag manga that’s not afraid to shift genre at times. In fact, Yohaji basically has everything from comedy to action and from straight romance to potential queer ones. The author is not shy to put in everything and expand the world of their story because of it.

Because this is a school-environment story, there is a vast amount of characters. I do like that Haruaki isn’t the only human in the story and that the story doesn’t just focus only on him being afraid and teaching the youkai students, but it’s an expansive world where they intermingle. I love that a lot of the characters are different types of youkai and they have very unique backgrounds like how Beniko is raised by three dads, how Rintaro is from an all-female family except for him, how Mame is from a yakuza family and so forth. But having so many characters does have its downside as some characters aren’t as prominent as the others like the Satsuki, Daisy and Marilyn. I think those three have the least amount of screen time and focus compared to other 2-3 classmates. There are also a lot of teachers too, but the story makes you want to care only for a few of them like the teacher trio, the principal and Ebisu. Speaking of Ebisu, having gods be included into the story is also interesting seeing how Tanaka’s vision of a supernatural world isn’t limited to just youkai. Despite that, the author really knows how to make their characters have a role in the story no matter how minute they may be. That’s a good sign of storytelling, coming from a writer myself.

While the setting primarily focuses on the school, it’s never stuck to the classroom only and that the scenery does change a lot thanks to a special youkai magic door and other factors like field trips or home visits. I think it’s creative in a way because a bad storyteller would only try to focus on the classroom happenings, but a good one knows how to take that one-room setting and make it shine. In all honesty, school stories can be a hit or miss because of it—it’s a good thing that majority of authors that use the school setting know how to expand it.

The voice cast was surprisingly great. Despite the all-star cast from the drama CD getting recasted for the anime, it’s still a very good cast. A lot of the students are played by rookies, so I won’t say too much about their performances but the stand outs amongst the rookies are Saku Hyuuga playing Fuji, Reo Tanie playing Mame and Yuri Fujishiro playing Momoyama. Hopefully, Yohaji will be a good start for their career to flourish. Other than that, the adults are played by a plethora of high quality voice actors. Ryota Osaka is definitely the standout with this role basically making him abuse his lungs and throat due to the numerous amounts of times he has to scream. Another standout to me is Shun Horie as Rintaro because I usually associate him with voicing cute boys, so him voicing an adult and a rather calculative one that speaks in the Kansai dialect really stood out. The last of the standouts is Shouta Aoi as Akira because, like Horie, I usually associate him with cute femboys. Having Aoi voice a crazy psychopathic doctor was NOT on my bingo card, but it was welcomed. What’s also crazy is that the minor characters are all voiced by rather well-known voice actors like Haruaki’s parents being voiced by Kenichi Suzumura and Mamiko Noto, Mame’s dad being voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi and Hatanaka’s kids Saki and Kamae being voiced by Megumi Han and Mutsumi Tamura. It really makes you wonder if the lack of animation budget went to the casting…

And for the downsides, the anime really was not very pleasing to look at occasionally. The faces often look derpy and the way they animate certain chapters make the pacing go too fast that all the emotional immersive aspects is gone, like Episode 15 for example. The pacing and wonky animation really ruined the first “dark” arc of the story. On top of that, the anime changed a lot of things around and made it anime-original and sort of ruined a few things. One example is the entirety of episode 16 where it animated two manga chapters but made it entirely anime original. Yohaji is a story where the littlest of details is key to many different character stories and world building, so removing one is like rewriting an entire planet. The music was alright. Nothing too boring nor too ear-catching. 

Overall, if you want an anime that gives you laughs, I would recommend Yohaji, but watch the anime first because if you’re a manga fan and dive into the anime, the discrepancies will egg at you. The manga is definitely better, though. Will I be reviewing it by volumes? Of course! Keep an eye out for manga volume reviews from Arum Journal! Let me know your thoughts on the anime as a whole!

[mysterygreedgrrrl]

About the final chapter:

@sweettsubaki

Put it best:

"That's because if he hadn't done that you wouldn't have cared that they died.

That's the point he's trying to make. Having people care. You might not be able to help those who are already dying but you might help the next one. It's unfair but not trying is worse.

That's his point.

Now whether you like or hate how he did it is a different story."

Mha you may have not been perfect, but thank you for a pretty fun story with memorable characters and a lifetime of wonder in my heart throughout my teenage years.

See you soon for a new journey, maybe someday.💚

[miss0atae]

Final Thoughts about High School Frenemy:

It's the end, the series is over and I will miss it. To be honest, when it started airing, I didn't really want to watch it. I thought it wouldn't be for me (especially as it was a remake and I haven't watched the OG version). However, I had nothing to watch on a Monday so I gave it a try and fell down the rabbit hole. I became quite obsessed with the series.

It made me write long posts about the series (shorter one too, but they don't require the same energy) and it usually means that I'm captivated by what I'm seeing when I take the time to write them. The cast is really good and they did a great job playing their characters.

The chemistry between the main leads is what drew me first into the story. I thought they were carrying the show, but the series surprised me because they gave more screen time to their secondary characters, in the last quarter of the series. I really wanted to see that. I understand why it happened later and it kinda makes sense now.

If I have a small complaint it would be that the women characters weren't really interesting. They would have deserved a better role and better stories. It's a shame because I'm sure the actresses would have done a great job.

Overall, I really liked this series and it will probably among my favorites in 2024.

[essentialthyme]

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow, Final Thoughts

The fact that is a title alone is enough to bring me to tears. This fic that I wrote, it means more to me than I ever thought it would. When I wrote the first part, it was meant as nothing more than a singular tumblr post with no planned follow up. And then you asked for more, and I wrote it. I found solace in a character with no more than ten minutes of screen time, and wanted more.

Then Dustin's pov came along, and I had a vision of what this could be, and just wrote. There was no outline, there was a minor plan. I placed myself in these characters and told them to go. Certain scenes and moment were in mind, and I let them come when it felt right. I knew where it needed to end, but let the characters take me there.

This fic was a first for me. My first outsider pov fic, and the first in which I didn't have a direct outline. I had to hold myself back, and there were many moments lost that may never be seen. Things that I had wanted to write, but couldn't find the space to. If I ever were to come back and write more for this fic, maybe I will get to them.

But really, what this post is, is to somehow explain how this fic helped me more than I thought it would.

As with anything I write, I find little things of myself that I can use to help write these characters. There is always something that I use to help me get into their mind, but it has never been to the level this was. The catharsis that I experienced while writing this fic was unmatched.

With Wayne, I wrote the unexplainable feelings that one has seeing their loved ones go through intense medical treatments while the world keeps spinning. How, even though it feels impossible, you have to keep moving and doing other things while fighting with the darkness. And how, in the end, life can come back to you in ways that you cannot imagine.

In Eddie, I wrote for my family members who have received diagnoses such as his, and the pain they must have felt in that moment. But also, their mindset of continuing to find joy in their life, and not letting their diagnoses dictate how much they can still live.

In Steve, it was that cursed thought in my mind that no one in my life reciprocates the love I have for them, and the small ways that thought is always proven wrong.

But, no one can quite match Dustin, and how his pov has helped me. If you were to ask me which character in Stranger Things I related to the most, it would always be Dustin. I was that nerd with a fascination for the unknown, and a laugh that was never quiet. And the story that I gave him in this fic was one that I relate to a lot.

In Dustin, I wrote my frustrations about being kept out of the loop of my grandfather's cancer treatments, and the anger that I hold of hearing of his initial diagnosis from a facebook post. In Dustin, I wrote my struggle to move on and age after experiencing the pain of the Covid pandemic that started when I was seventeen. And the struggle of feeling so affected by it while coming out completely unscathed. In Dustin, I wrote of the fear of growing up, and leaving my younger self behind, but now knowing that they are always within me wherever I go.

In this fic, I wrote about the friends that stick by me every step of the way, and the community I have around me. I wrote about healing, and growth, and more importantly, the beauty of life. I wrote about finding the light while feeling stuck in the dark, and how warm it feels when held in your hands.

To "Chills Right to the Marrow", to Wayne, Dustin, Eddie, and Steve, this is goodbye. Thank you for all you have given me, it was needed more than I knew.