#heck even portraying them as rivals to friends would be more refreshing

[dizzying-faust]

I think for once I would l like to see NSR content where DJSS and Neon J are just friends. No friends to lovers or even rivals/enemies to lovers, just them being friends.

[skiecas]

mm looks like it’s time for some more haikyuu rambles from yours truly, this time about oikawa in fandom.

as a disclaimer, i’m not trying to say there’s any “right” or “wrong” way to interpret oikawa; he’s very layered and very nuanced, which are some of the reasons he’s so popular and relatable as a character. but i saw a series of tweets which i half-agreed with and half-disagreed with, so i just wanted to write out some of my thoughts on the matter.

now, these particular tweets were about the way oikawa is portrayed in fics, that he’s made to be too soft and not toxic enough. which i agree with… to some degree. another tweet claimed that oikawa is “not a nice person even a little bit.” which i disagree with. but, again, only to some degree.

do i think oikawa is a nice person? if he likes you, yes. do i think oikawa is a rude person? if he doesn’t like you, yes.

that’s honestly one of the things i love about oikawa myself. he’s rude and he’s petulant and he has no problem telling it to you straight when he doesn’t like you. he picks on tobio and he sticks up his nose at ushijima. he’s full of pride and ambition. he hates to lose. he’s self-centered to some degree. he’s definitely very narcissistic (sometimes for show, but sometimes genuinely).

but i don’t think this makes him “bad” or “not nice.”

here he is being perfectly sweet to the fangirls who like him and brought him food and want to take pictures with him.

and here he is showing support to his best friend in the exact way he knows iwa needs it in that moment—a subtle yet impactful slap to the back.

additionally, oikawa’s volleyball superpower is connecting with his teammates and accommodating them and tailoring his every move to what his spikers need; his playing style is the complete opposite of self-centered. and iwa has described oikawa as a “generally silly guy” in their middle school flashback. he’s a playful guy and he’s sweet to girls and good to his teammates and the people he does like. i’m not saying all this makes oikawa perfectly 100% nice—but it does offset some of the bad qualities.

i read an iwaoi fic once that i found had one of the most refreshing portrayals of oikawa i have ever read; he was rude and selfish and he thought mostly about himself, and he was perfectly aware of all of it. but when i got to the end of the fic, the author’s note said something along the lines of how the author hates oikawa but just found him very interesting to write. which shocked me a lot (mostly because that’s not something you want to read at the end of an iwaoi fic when you’re a huge iwaoi/oikawa fan, lol). this changed my view of the fic a lot, but also made me evaluate what it was about the fic that i felt had captured oikawa so differently from other writers (who actually like him).

the answer is basically that a lot of the fandom does indeed look at oikawa through rose-colored glasses. which is a perfect segue into the next topic: how oikawa is portrayed in fandom/fics.

why do i think oikawa is written off as too soft in fics? mostly, because he’s an angst magnet.

he has his knee injury and his fall from grace, and fandom loves to write him as sad, broken, and pining secretly over his best friend. (i’m also guilty, lol). i also feel like, because he used to get so much hate in the early beginnings of the haikyuu fandom, a lot of people began to write him in a much nicer light as a counter.

there’s also this trope in iwaoi fics where iwa is the macho man with no feelings, so oikawa must be his opposite: whiny and pouty and cute. and i know i’m not the only one who gets frustrated with this portrayal of oikawa. he’s a seventeen-year-old boy, but he gets written off as a whiny eight-year-old child who doesn’t take anything seriously and tears up at the first sign of trouble.

yes, he’s silly, and i wouldn’t exactly say he’s “toxic.” but he’s wily, cunning, and very intelligent. and he’s salty as heck. he wants to be on top, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get there. he’s also not one to forgive and forget.

i remember when oikawa made an appearance during the inarizaki match.

many people were quick to point out that oikawa watching the match must mean he’s cheering on kageyama or that he’s on karasuno’s side. which i personally thought makes no sense in the context of oikawa’s character. this, to me, looks more like the face of someone who’s frustrated that it’s not him at nationals, who’s maybe annoyed about his rival getting praises, who’s feeling salty and driven to do even better.

so then why do people “beautify” oikawa so much?

the thing about fanfiction is that it’s an escape. if someone wants to write oikawa being cute and happy and best buddies with kageyama/ushijima, there’s nothing wrong with that. he’s not always a good person, sure, but he’s not always a bad person either. he hums and skips when he walks and he loves being fawned over, but he also wrestles for volleyballs with kageyama and takes photos of kageyama bowing down to him. that’s what’s so lovely about him: the layers.

so, re: the fic i mentioned earlier.

did i like that it painted oikawa as such a horrible person? not completely, no. i definitely don’t think the answer exactly is to portray oikawa in a hateful light.

but i liked that it didn’t make him a perfect golden boy who’s never done anything wrong, because there are honestly not enough portrayals of him like that out there. to completely write off oikawa’s petulance and narcissism means essentially writing off a big part of his personality.

basically, my son is salty!

and rude!

and i love him for it!

-

-

i feel like this is disorganized as heck and doesn’t perfectly say what i want to, but i don’t want to make this into a three-page essay, so i will end here. lol.

as for the fic. i do actually still like it. but i don’t feel comfortable linking it in this post considering the context in which i spoke of it. if you’d like to read it, please message me and i would be happy to link it to you :>

[hey-its-kay-streams]

Hey its Kay reviews Pokémon Shield

Hey, its Kay. Welcome to my unsolicited review of Pokémon Shield. Sword will be my upcoming LP. First, some background about me as a gamer and then, the set up for the review. 

I'm a casual gamer. I do this for fun and as stress relief. I've played Pokémon since Gen 1; Yellow was my first game. I've played every generation to come out since. Dexit was upsetting, but not a major game changer, I've actually expected it for years. The fact that they claimed we'd always be able to have all our Pokémon and now it seemed to no longer be true, was a little upsetting. I play for the story and being able to do cute things with my mons. Sometimes shinys, and I've never really been interested in competitive. 

The review will be in parts, including; Characters, plot, Pokémon, graphics, postgame, featurettes. Each section will get a score out of 10 and a (hopefully) short commentary. Full disclosure, haven't finished the game yet. 

Plot.

6.5/10. Shallower in some regards than expected, nothing revolutionary.

I have to say upfront, it feels like there was an attempt made. As a long time player, it feels weird to go through the region and… let the adults handle the side plot. Goodness, it was actually refreshing in a way, to know that there are capable people handling things for once. 

Would it be cool to see? Heck yeah. 

Would it be cool to experience the aftermath? Absolutely. 

Did any of that happen? No. Pokémon has hard primed me to expect incompetent authority figures and reluctantly be pulled into local shenanigans that I have to stop and/or clean up. Champion Leon handled the thing? Awesome. Go to the next gym? But, things are happening, right there!

If the League Challenge is the A plot, Local Shenanigans (usually evil team) are the B plot. Together, they have built an interesting story in past gens. This time, the B plot happens concurrently, as usual, but doesn't become a concern for MC until the very end, where it intersects the A plot. 

We essentially have half the content we got in previous gens, plot wise. It doesn't feel great. 

Characters. 

7/10. Promising start, weak follow through.

Again, I can clearly tell there was an attempt made. Because so many of the side characters are on the Protection Squad. (My children 🥺). Again, the execution was shallow but there was potential there.

Hop. FFS, someone put that child in counseling. There are very concerning signs literally all over his house. The house is practically a shrine to Leon. Hop has a worrying inferiority complex, but his character growth, while inadequate, is a start. 

Sonia. 1st off, where are her parents? Why does no one support her? I wanted to smack Magnolia. I still want to smack her. I want to smack an old lady for the way she treats her granddaughter. Another bleeping inferiority complex, not nearly as bad as Hop, thank goodness. She's intelligent and capable and I wish that since our B plot got washed, we got to experience her research in more depth. Research assistant assistant instead of preteen vigilante? I'm here for it.

Bede. (I'll pronounce it Beed, until further notice.) He's an annoying little punk who doesn't have a humble bone in his body and just… disappears part way through the story. I found battling him lackluster, but it could have just been a type advantage that left me feeling like he wasn't much challenge. Hop was more interesting to battle. Personality wise, he was desperate to prove himself in a way that felt different than Hop, his motivations were his own. It just promises a payoff we never get.

Marnie. I like her, in general. The only character I didn't feel the urge to wrap in blankets, give a mug of cocoa and sign up for therapy immediately. She's got moxie, determination and an admirable goal she's working toward. Even if Team Yell is more an annoyance than a challenge, their connection to her builds depth instead of taking it away. Marnie is reluctant of their presence, chastises them when they cause trouble but comes off as pretty fond of them. As a rival, Marnie tops the list in terms of challenge. Her Morpeko was more trouble than I expected of a pikaclone, tbh.

And, if her accent isn't straight up, level 2 cockney, I'll riot.

Leon. Eat, sleeps, breathes Pokémon battling. Has no sense of direction, which, relatable tbh. 100% would be babysat by my Pokémon, too. Competent, confident, other c words. Cares about Hop, surprisingly. I was surprised at not only his awareness of Hop's depression but also his concern. They are not portrayed as particularly close, for all that Hop idolizes Leon. Otherwise, Leon isn't much of a person; he's an image. A pretty one, especially in his postgame outfit, but not a lot of substance. 

Professor Magnolia. As of right now, she's on 'Can Catch These Hands' list. Not a good look.

Gym Leaders. An interesting bunch. Milo is too good for this world. Opal is a riot who has the worst taste, but I guess we all have flaws, she was on the more challenging side unexpectedly. Allister is smol, must protect. Raihan and Piers were also on the tough side. In fact, to date, I have not yet won against Raihan. Sent my Pokémon to work instead. 

Rose and Oleana. Rose is... not exactly wrong. He’s hyper focused on the big picture, missing the details that build it. He complains of others not understanding his vision but, when did he share it? He bears the burden of knowledge, the weight of his task but spurns the everyday person and their ignorance. He's power mad.

Oleana and her triangle mouth set back Women's Rights by at least 10 years, single handedly. 

Pokémon. 

7/10. Blurb.

A mixed bag. 1000000000% cannot pay me to revive any of the fossils, screw that. Will do tradebacks for my LP, do not want. I like the Galarian forms overall, except meowth. New Pokémon weren't exceptional overall but I was pleased to discover and learn about them. 

Graphics. 

6/10. Great for Pokémon, lackluster for Switch.

Self-contained within the Pokéverse, this is a beautiful game. 8.5/10. Doesn't surpass SuMo but no worse. The Wild Area is a glimpse of what could be, what trainers around the world hope to get one day soon. Very soon. What we hoped for this game, lbr. For a Switch game, it doesn't meet first party  standard. 5/10.

Character graphics, not impressed. Individuals get like maybe 3 poses/idles. Hop glaringly recycles Hau's animations. Mon animations lack life. Move and battle animations also desperately need some TLC. 

Cities are another letdown. Beautiful but shallow. Nothing to do, nothing to see. You get maybe 2 interactions with NPCs, if you're lucky.

Postgame. 

X/10. To be determined.

Still ain't beat the game yet but from what I know of it from friends and PokéTubers, it's like, the Battle Tower and a bit of intrigue about the Hero of Galar. From a casual perspective, I guess shiny hunting, once you earn the charm. I am hearing good things about the Battle Tower so I will give it a shot as is my norm. Hopefully it'll keep my interest this gen.

Featurettes. 

3/10. Lacking in substance.

Past gens have had a concurrent side gig since they introduced contests in gen 3. The Pokeathlon was my favorite, with PokeStar Studios coming second. I did as much of contests and battle royals that was required to move forward in the story. In Galar, they seem to have combined the pomp and in game popularity of side games with the gym challenge. While it does make sense, it thins the depth of the universe. Where are the activities for people who like training Pokémon but don't want to battle? The league cup is a big thing, sure, but the only thing? Lame. We don't even get much about the Minor League, other than its existence. 

When I first learned about Max Raid Battles, I, like many others, immediately thought of Pokémon Go. I actually play fairly regularly. What I don’t do regularly are raids above level 2. Those require people. I ain’t about that life. SwSh solves that by providing NPCs if you can’t get other players but… they are Pokémon NPCs. 

No catch contests, no puzzles, no secrets, nowhere to walk with your mons, no legendaries. No arbitrary (re)quests from NPCs. I like the Rotom Rally, if only as a GPS because the wild area can be hard to navigate, and I have no sense of direction.

The currydex is more complicated than it needed to be. In consideration with the rest of the game, I think of all the content and plot we could have had, but we got curry. That requires way too many berries, I never want to shake another bleeping berry tree again. 

If you stuck around this long, thanks. This is the end. Overall, I enjoyed the game and look forward to my Sword LP, coming soonish.

[recentanimenews]

4 Reasons Why I'm Excited for Food Wars!: Third Plate

Food Wars! is an anime that took the world by storm. Or at least, it took me by storm. For the uninitiated, it follows the quest of Soma to become the top chef in his new cooking school. After growing up battling with his father to create the best-tasting food in their diner, he goes to school to level up and gain cooking skills to help him in his quest to beat his father. One day. Along the way, he sets the school aflame by declaring that he'll beat any person who stands in his way in a food battle and proves it by challenging people to battles almost too much.

  The premise isn't exactly unique, but what the show does with all of the elements is truly something special. It takes several facets of anime that I deeply love, and at least one big element of anime that I'm DEEPLY conflicted by, combining them together in a way that's not only palatable, but also funny, relatable, and drool-worthy. Add on a fast-paced plot, well-researched recipes, and a great character, and you're in business. Are you INTRIGUED yet? Let me explain further why I am so excited for this new season...

  #1- RAMPANT FANSERVICE

Ok, so here's the thing. I'm not a huge fan of fan service. I know, I KNOW. This is a very debatable topic. I get it. I understand. Let me explain before you decide to lambast me in the comments below. First, let me say that almost everyone, to some extent, likes fan service. You probably like some kind of fan service. Heck, that might be why you watch anime at all. I'm not saying that I don't like any fanservice at all, I just don't like all kinds of fan service.

  So, you might be asking, what's so great about the rampant fanservice in Food Wars!, especially if you don't like fanservice in the first place? Well, as I said, I do like some fan service- I like fan service that serves a purpose in furthering the plot or giving insight to characterization. At first, it doesn't seem like the fanservice in Food Wars! would do this. The artist portrays the characters in some incredibly suggestive ways. Seriously, clothes explode off. At some point or another, you'll see almost every character naked. And WHY???!?! Why does this show sexualize just about every walking, talking human being at some point or another? Purely to accentuate how MIND-BLOWINGLY, CLOTHES-EXPLODINGLY delicious (or horrible....peanut butter squid, I'm looking at you...) is. 

    This show is brilliant because it carefully uses fan service, something that is hugely popular with many people, and something that motivates a lot of people to watch anime, to further the overall aim of the show: displaying just how amazing the food is. By doing this, it makes the food the star of each fan service instance. Why are people getting hot and bothered? The food. What does that tell the viewer? That this food is EFFING GOOD. It contributes to characterization by showing the viewer how each student, judge, or random passerby reacts to each person's cooking. It furthers the plot by making the food the main star and letting the character's reactions to the food guide the choices they make in how they want to grow and diversify their cooking skills. Honestly, it's such a clever use of fan service, that I can't get mad at it. With this new season, I look forward to seeing more naked people lavishing their love and attention towards some gorgeously hand-crafted meals. Speaking of the hand-crafted meals...

  #2- OTHERWORLDLY FOOD PORN

The food in this show looks so good. Do you know something amazing? The phrase "fan service" isn't technically limited to showing off some skin. Fanservice can apply to anything placed in an anime of manga meant to appeal to the fans- sports anime, for example, is a form of sports fan service. Your Lie In April is a great example of an anime geared towards classical music fan service. So, does that mean that appearances of food in anime can also be considered fanservice??? YES, 100%, and Food Wars! more than delivers. 

  First, the art is absolutely gorgeous, depicting food in a way that is honestly impossible in real life. Seriously, I've tried to get food to look exactly the way it does in anime. Heck, I've made a profession of it, and I can tell you first hand that it is not an easy feat at all. Artists have the luxury of choosing the exact colors they want to use, of selecting the perfect lighting in which they want to showcase their food. They can draw on perfect grill marks, and render the most delectable crunchy panko coating.

  Second, the treatment of the food by the characters absolutely glorifies it. I've already discussed how the characters literally lose clothing over their appreciation of the food, but they way they verbalize those thoughts heightens the viewer's own understanding of what makes the food so delicious. Not only does it look good, but the running commentary from the character adds dimension- it tells the viewer what is good about it, what flavor elements are working together, what sensations and flavors they are getting hit with. This makes the appreciation of the food porn immersive. Not only do the viewers have something to look at, they have some context with which to appreciate it. As a result, the startling depictions of the food, coupled with the commentary makes the experience of watching and appreciating the anime more than two dimensional.

    Amazingly, the food porn doesn't distract from the plot, in fact, it sort of is the plot...

#3- CAPTIVATING PLOT

Ok, I know I love food maybe more than the average person, so if food isn't your thing, I promise there's more to enjoy about this show. The plot is fast-paced and always moving, which I think is a must-have for most anime episodes. To me, the sign of a good first episode is one that quickly establishes the plot, moves forward into introducing a conflict or challenge, and leaves the viewer wanting more. 

  Even just by looking at the first episode of the new season, The Third Plate, all the marks were hit. They quickly moved through exposition, skipping over introductions of new characters to focus on the important introductions- that of the main opponents of the season. It quickly set up the main conflict of this season, within the first five minutes, in fact. The episode built on that conflict and left us with a hype-train cliffhanger. Soma comes up with a daring and bold solution to the challenge his new rival has set before him.... and the episode ends there, leaving us longing for more- more information, more insight, and importantly, more food. 

    The best part is that the hype train keeps rolling throughout each of the episodes. At least, in the previous two seasons, this is definitely the case. Soma moves from one challenge to the next at a breakneck pace, with support from his friends along the way adding comedic relief and help to facilitate his character growth. There's never a wasted moment, no filler episodes- each episode has a purpose, but is at the same time enjoyable and fulfilling. We, as the viewers, never groan over a recap episode or sigh over a wasted moment. We know that Soma is on a mission- to beat everyone else and be the best chef in the school- and it feels as though every moment is somehow dedicated to supporting that dream- whether it's as a comedic interlude or through a friendship affirming helping hand, or as a straight-up food war. And, you know, those food wars...

#4- SMART FOOD RESEARCH

  From a food blogger perspective, and someone who has recreated multiple recipes from this show... I can say with absolute certainty that the people who work on this series did some serious research into food. Funnily enough, I didn't think about this too much until I was talking to someone who came to my last panel at Crunchyroll Expo. I had been talking about how clearly the food from this show had been well researched, and tested, and put to trial before even putting it into the manga, and the fan stayed behind to express his thanks to me for complimenting the cooking in the show. Apparently, all the food that shows up in Food Wars! is actually tested by an actual Japanese chef (Yuki Morisaki), and the recipes that appear in certain recipes are tested in real life before they get put into the manga. You know, that makes complete sense to me. 

    It's hard to draw and animate gorgeous looking food without having a reference photo to rely on. Surely they had to get that from somewhere. More than that, though, the way the ingredients and cooking are described in the anime are so specific and pertinent to each recipe, it's clear that a lot of effort was put into knowing what should actually go in the recipe. It's really nice, and refreshing, to see care and dedication go into the star of the show -the food- and to see that the creators actually care about being as realistic as possible, considering it's an anime... 

  From personal experience, I wish the recipes were provided with each dish, but what's really fun about recreating the food is being able to experiment, do your own research as to what should be in the food and what possible techniques were used in the cooking. I've tried multiple times to debunk the recipes and prove that they couldn't possibly have been made in the time frame of the show, but actually I'm surprised to say that most foods that appear in the food wars, despite how complex they look, can actually be recreated in the appropriate amount of time as long as you have your prep work completed. Except for Takumi's semi-freddo from season two. Seriously, that dish...

  In any case, from a food lover's point of view, this anime is a dream come true. The food looks good. The characters are dedicated to making the best of the best when it comes to eating. The hype is there. Best of all, it's obtainable in real life, if you want to put the effort into making your own versions of the food. 

  And so, all these things combined- great fan service, good food porn, fast-paced plot, and realistic food- make for a food lover's dream of an anime. And, to be honest, who doesn't love food? So check out Food Wars! The Third Plate, simulcasting every Tuesday at 9:30 am, PDT. I promise you won't be disappointed. 

    I hope you enjoyed this post! Check-in for the next anime recipe, coming soon. To check out more anime food recipes, visit my blog. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below! I recently got a Twitter, so you can follow me at @yumpenguinsnack if you would like, and DEFINITELY feel free to send me food requests! My Tumblr is yumpenguinsnacks.tumblr.com. Find me on Youtube for more video tutorials! Enjoy the food, and if you decide to recreate this dish, show me pics! :D

  In case you missed it, check out our last dish: Curry Buns from "Restaurant to Another World". What other famous anime dishes would you like to see Emily make on COOKING WITH ANIME?

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com