#honestly Dai and Tatsuya will always be my favorites in this list

[soaringlanddormitory]

Different reactions of the Soaring Land Dormitory when their wife brings up kids

Shizuya: *pauses for like 5 minutes* aaaaahhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH???? Sung: *calm as hell* Oh cool. Sure. If you want them, then let’s have them. Dai: *posing while biting a rose* We're making babies tonight. Kaoru: *red faced but he's trying to calm down* Of course! I-I've always wanted to have a family with you. Henrique: *literally drops anything he's holding* Can you repeat that? Tatsuya: *slams hands on the table* MI YOU'RE A FUCKING 5 YEAR OLD.

[luminisvii]

RATING! ALL! THE CHAR CLONES!

i love char and gundam loves him too so because i am BORED i'm gonna rate all characters that the wiki tells me qualifies as a char clone!

many of these men will be rated on aesthetics and their wiki blurb alone since i have not watched all gundams

i tried to include pics but it SAID i can only use ten. WHAT? how am i supposed to rate how sexy they are?

Char Aznable

the man. the myth. the legend. i love him so much. hes super fucking hot bc of how bad he is. like an absolute madlad he goes around destroying the zabis and giving amuro hell. hes so good that despite being on team evil he regularly tops popularity polls and is widely regarded as being super attractive. im asexual but i agree. char is supreme. he and his red mobile suits cannot be topped. 20/10

Quattro Bajeena

now, char might be evil, but this guy is totally a stand up dude who is definitely not char. and the hyaku shiki? top tier. also very sexy. maybe char should take a lesson or two from this lovely man. 18/10 could not possibly be char himself

Glemy Toto

i have not watched ZZ. this dude upholds the tradition of stupid ass names in gundam. he just kinda look like hes a good person, though, which would be nice, but i prefer the evil men here. 6/10 love the idiotic name

Afranche Char

apparently a literal char clone. don't give a fuck. 1/10

Carozzo Ronah/Iron Mask

this guy really takes the mask thing seriously. i have also not watched F91. i love the just robot lookin mask and the purple color scheme. 8/10

Anavel Gato

this guy is kind of a chump. i get the feeling i'm supposed to find gato very cool, but all i could see was a total loser pushover as long as it was in the name of zeon. although to be fair, he was basically one of the most enjoyable characters in the mess that is stardust memory. 7/10 too much of a zeon apologist

Chronicle Asher

i called gato a chump but this guy looks like a tool. hes got the mask! i know nothing about victory gundam but this guy looks like, okay. 5/10

Schwarz Bruder

im ignoring the other guy listed with him on the wiki bc Herr Bruder is in fact, awesome. he isn't on team evil like some others, but he doesn't need to be. hes a JESTER NINJA. what's not to love? somehow, despite me thinking i knew the twist that was coming, he was still full of surprises. you cannot possibly predict the actual twist here. he really teaches domon how to get shit done. 15/10 absolutely sublime take on the trope

Zechs Marquise

not only is he voiced by takehito koyasu, but he chars so hard he chars three times as fast! we LOVE his dedication to being a char clone. i will never forget how treize challenged him to a fair fight and he was just like nah lmao. you go you stinky man! 10/10 for char-ing hard

Lancerow Dawell and Jamil Neate

i am fascinated by after war X and i'll watch it one day. it seems like the wiki is confused about these two and is going with very surface level details for these two being char clones. however i'll rate them both higher bc i think mr. neate's sideburns and glasses are just top tier character design. 9/10

Harry Ord

10/10

Rau le Creuset

i think i saw him in the like three episodes of SEED i watched. he definitely looks the part. seems kinda lame though. 6/10

Athrun Zala

this kid is hilarious, and also the most likable character i met in SEED, and he even has a quattro phase as he goes by alex dino! we'll give him points for effort. 9/10 you tried

Neo Roanoke

definitely not mu la flaga. hes also voiced by takehito koyasu. his mask looks kinda dumb, but i think the long hair look upgrades my man mu. takehito koyasu makes everything sexier. 8/10 bc i also simp for dio brando

Rey Za Burrel

how many char clones does the SEEDverse have? i do appreciate rey's early 2000s brooding anime boy look, though. 5/10

Gilbert Durandal

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY SEED CHARS!!! this guy doesn't even look like a char clone, but he has the same voice actor and also apparently tries to drop shit on earth. we stan a king, honestly. 6/10 being in SEED deducts points

Hal Vizardt and Vladi Zarth

the wiki wont even give me a picture of these guys. 2/10 they get a point each

Ali Al-Saachez

i hate this guy. he sucks. normally i would find such endless villainy entertaining, but ali simply cannot work it in a way that's fun to watch or even in a way where you're like 'he's got a point.' he just sucks and i wish he could have been funny. we already have a char clone in graham anyway, so why are you here? bitch. 0/10 i was waiting for him to die

Graham Aker

he has all the tropes of being a char clone, and i loved him at first bc of his flair for drama and poetry, but alas! he got more and more sidelined for a different motherfucker. it's okay graham, i still love you! your mr. bushido phase was hilarious! 9/10 you deserved so much more

Full Frontal

hes getting points for the hilarious name but thats it. he is otherwise very boring. you cannot make me love a man just bc he is a literal char clone. 3/10

Zeheart Galette

AGE is also on my "deeply fascinated" list. eventually, eventually. i kinda dig this one's look. 7/10

Tatsuya Yuuki

initially, i hated yuuki bc i thought he was beating on middle schoolers for fun, but then i learned the dude is so goddamn passionate about gundam that he HAS to share it with others and honestly? king shit. while he's technically a char clone, i think he's actually a graham aker clone. the dude stans 00. an admirable position to be in. i love yuuki so much and hes my favorite build fighters character. 15/10 i will always respect the meijin

Captain Mask

the name is hilarious. hes got a cool mask too. i'll maybe watch recon one day bc of how ridiculous the reputation is. 8/10

Lady Kawaguchi

the rare female one, and proves that the kawaguchi name requires you to be extra as fuck. compared to yuuki's raw passion, she's cool and knows it, and doesn't need to flex. sadly doesn't get to do a lot. 10/10

McGillis Fareed

MCGILLIS MY BELOVED!!!! perhaps the only char clone that matters. this dude brings back the classic level of backstabbing, the supreme attractiveness, and in general, being an awful person. but i can't help but feel for the guy. he was trying his goddamn hardest to overturn a fucked up system. he also simply could not fathom having friends. mcgillis might only do the mask thing for a little and also wears a wig (McWiggis) but i forgive him, because the moves he does in bael are truly sexy. i adore mcgillis i have to rate him high but he cannot overtake the classic. 19/10 would let him betray me

Kyoya Kujo

even the wiki doesn't seem confident in this one. i like his look though. hes kinda got some gentle eyes, so i will assume he's the more quattro flavor of things. 6/10

Masaki Shido

BRUHHHH HE LOOKS LIKE A KNIGHT. 10/10

Honorable Mentions:

Master Asia

i didn't think he truly qualified as a char clone. he hits the villain thing and technically has some ideals aligned with char ? but he's a little too different. lacks majority of the archetype tropes. i still love him though 9/10

Vidar

hes got a mask and wants revenge. definitely not gaelio. the problem is, we already have mcgillis in IBO. i just don't register gaelio as being a char clone, because mcgillis is out here being the worst. gaelio is a wonderful character in his own right for all the opposite reasons that mcgillis is fantastic for being the worst. 10/10 i want nothing but the best for him

Ulube Ishikawa

just bc he has a mask covering half his face and is evil doesn't mean he's a char clone, wiki! and how dare you take away from schwarz just to be like "well ulube has a mask" WE HAVE ONE ALREADY!!! i also hate ulube. he is not a particularly charismatic character, but he isn't supposed to be. 2/10

and thus is my arbitrary ranking of the char clones. some people think char clones are bad. i for one, love them! i hope future entries have more masked men.

[redxblueihateloveyou]

i don’t get where ur getting jealousy from reki? rewatch the rain scene, not once does he blame anything on langa, nor does he even begin to imply that he’s upset at langa for being good. the closest he gets is calling langa a “crazy genius,” which honestly is fair lol he’s insanely quick at picking up skateboarding.

he’s mad at himself, and he’s asking what he’s doing wrong to not be improving as quickly as someone who just got introduced to his favorite activity. on top of that, he’s scared for langa (which is why he made him promise not to skate against adam in the first place — he could’ve so easily killed reki, and he doesn’t want langa in that position), and now he’s hearing that langa’s going to skate against him anyway.

imo making everything going on with reki into a “he’s jealous and overreacting” situation feels a lot like diminishing the character the writers gave him.

I didn’t even get why you wrote this at first. Tbh kinda weird judging about how I feel about the “whole thing going on with his character” by like two of my lines of the after-episode yelling about the one thing I didn’t appreciate. I in fact didn’t write any character analisys, I just yelled about that one thing: that I didn’t like that he was jealous. I also didn’t write that that was the whole reasoning behind his behavior and literally anything of what you said, so I do not know where you got this.

While I completely agree with all these reasonings you’ve listed behind him being so upset, the one that shines the most and shown the most is “I’m not as talented as you all” and “look at them shining so bright and I am not”. Yes, he’s partially scared for Langa, but that’s not once in his focus. His focus is comparing himself to others and not in a way “yeah, I’m not like that, but I can be great too”, but in a way “why am I not like that”. Why can’t I jump as high? Why am I not as brave/adrenaline addict cause “you find this fun. I’m just scared”. 

And one of the definitions of jealousy is “being unhappy and slightly angry because you wish you had someone else’s qualities, advantages, or success”. So like, you’re telling me you don’t get where am I getting jealousy from him.. like as in you don’t get it even a bit?

I’m in no way saying that that’s all that he feels, I just wrote that I was upset about this being a part of it, cause I do not respect this trait, even tho it’s natural for many people. 

He didn’t imply that he’s upset that Langa is good and I’ve never said that anywhere. But he did make him feel bad about being so good. That’s like different things.

I get like why he got majorly triggered when he heard about everyone calling him “Langa’s friend”. It’s completely understandable yeah, you know I’d get triggered too, that’s kinda humiliating, you know, I’m the first one who always yells “you can’t be someone else’s trail”. But it’s the way he deals with this whole thing that I don’t like.

Also he’s not actually thinking about what he’s doing wrong, he’s mopping and pitying himself. 

I’ll try to explain why I dislike his position on other examples like this in sports animes. In KNB there’s Tatsuya. He also was good at basketball, but wasn’t naturally talented as GOM and Kagami, he actually honed his skills to point where he got so flawless he could fight on the same level with the raw talent. He in fact didn’t give up and be like “well, life gave you all talent, but not me so fuck this”, the only thing that bothered him is that Kagami would pity him and wouldn’t play against him full strength.

Then there is Kuroko. He also was always on the background and never chosen as 1st or even 2nd line-ups no matter how hard he trained. He cried alone, yes, but did he ever threw tantrums at GOM about how they’re so lucky that they crazy geniuses? No. He was depressed, yes, but not AT them, making them feel bad that he’s “not like them”. With a help of one he found a different way in which he can actually even beat all of them. And mind the fact, they ARE crazy talented. And he did want to proove himself SO bad to them. I think what GOM loved so much about him is the fact that he in fact never treated them as these “unreachable stars”, he was like “yes, I am not you, it’s true, I’m completely different, I don’t shine bright. but does it mean that I’m worse than you? heck no.”

You see where I’m getting with this? They just took it differently. Like “yes. I am in fact not as talented. so what?”

Reki right now on the other hand reminds me of those dudes, who stopped playing in the middle of the match, because Aomine was too good at basketball, so “what’s the point of us even trying”.

Also I do not like his priorities, I guess, but that’s my problem as a shipper already. Cause I can’t help but compare, since the parallels are everywhere and it’s Utsumi. Rin and Haru had this misunderstanding, where Haru thought he hurt Rin by beating him in swimming, but all that Rin thought at this moment was “my god I’m trash, I can’t even fulfill my dead dad’s dream”. He also has like low self-esteem and was afraid to fail, but at the end literally all he was mad about in the 1st season is that he thought his feelings weren’t mutual and *cries on top Haru* “I just wanted to swim with you” and that’s literally like he said his forever unchanging thing he wants in his life... to swim with him.

He literally like never ever treated Haru any differently bc he’s flawless at swimming from birth and got like “well duh, easy for you, you’re like this” (but that’s maybe cause he’s also very talented in my opinion, despite the fact that he mostly works hard for it his life), cause it sounds well a bit wrong in my opinion, like “you’re lucky you were born like this, but not everyone is that lucky, so yeah, think about that all day while I won’t talk to you”. He instead writes dithyrambs   about how beautifully he moves, how his stamina is so great and laughs and with love says “awww my monster” like it excites him that Haru is like that, but when Reki said that crazy genius thing on Langa’s face was written like “in this case I wish I wasn’t”.

And this barely talking with Langa moment at school was kid’s behavior. At this point it’s like his main priority is to make Langa feel bad (which I’m sure he deep down doesn’t want, but still does it). The only thing this will lead him to is Langa not skating either.

I feel like it all goes to him failing bc he’s clearly not in the mood and he won’t be on top of his game and only then Reki I’m guessing will wake up, but that to me would be unsatisfying for some reason idk. Anyways I’m still hoping for them to surprise me.

So far I’m just not the fan of his way of dealing with this. Also so far Langa priority is to be with Reki and enjoy skating with him, but Reki’s priority is “Why can’t I be like that?”

I’d rather see them playing it out like he can’t skate at full patential bc of the trauma of seeing his friend hurt, than just go make boards and not try other ways of beating the talents, but that’s another story already. Anyways to me these last 4 episodes will be crucial to me when it comes to how I will feel about his character. It just can become a big “meh” still. Depends on how it goes. In whichever way it ends it can still be a cute ship, but I’d just personally want it to be you know THE ship. Will see.

[365days365movies]

March 13, 2021: Kwaidan: The Woman of the Snow (1963)

Y’ever see Interviews with Monster Girls?

Absolutely one of my favorite slice-of-life anime from the past few years, and I genuinely want to rewatch it! Might do so after this, honestly. The conceit of the series is that the main character, a biology teacher named Takahashi, is trying to better understand and help with the issues of the “demi-humans” that attend the school.  There’s the vampire girl, Hikari; the dullahan (best character), Kyoko; the math teacher succubus Sakie; and Yuki Kusakabe.

Yuki, as implied by her name is a yuki-onna, also known as a snow-woman. Now in the show, she’s a shy girl who’s always cold, and she’s great. But in mythology, the yuki-onna is...different. A tall woman with long black hair and blue lips, the serene snow woman appears to travelers in blizzards, and freezes them with her icy breath.

While the yuki-onna does have a soft side, she’s best known for her vengeful nature. The only stories that I’ve heard of come from the anime, honestly. There’s one with two woodcutters, an old one and a young one. Old guy gets frozen, young guy doesn’t. Don’t quite remember the reason for that. In another story, the yuki-onna is brought in by a kind young man, and she melts in the warmth. I know there are others, but those are the ones I remember.

Oh, and there’s a Pokémon based on this one, too. Pokédex entry says this about it:

Froslass, the Snow Land Pokémon. An Ice/Ghost type. Legends in snowy regions say that a woman who was lost on an icy mountain was reborn as Froslass.

Seeeee? OK, enough background, let’s get to the movie! Film ain’t gonna watch itself, y’know. The second of four tales presented in the film Kwaidan, listed here:

The Black Hair (黒髪, Kurokami)

The Woman of the Snow (雪女, Yukionna)

Hoichi the Earless (耳無し芳一の話, Miminashi Hōichi no Hanashi)

In A Cup of Tea (茶碗の中, Chawan no Naka)

Here we go again! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (2/4): The Woman of the Snow

We start, well...in the snow.

An eye glares at us through it, eerily, and we’re told of two woodcutters, Mosaku and Minokichi (Tatsuya Nakadai), an old and young man respectively. They travel from their village to the cold mountainside, and are one day beset upon by a fierce blizzard. As they trudge through it, eyes are watching them in the background. It’s extremely eerie, to be honest.

The old man is lost in the blizzard, but the young an struggles through it. As he does, he looks up and sees eyes in the sky, as if made of the moon itself. He finds himself trapped on one side of the river, and also managed to find the older man once again through it all. They make it to the hut of a boatsman, who’s already left down the river before the blizzard. But the wind is strong, and the door swings open as the wind wails, as if a voice were crying on it.

The younger woodcutter settles in for the night, and then OH NO

FUCK ME DUDE THAT’S GODDAMN TERRIFYING

The older woodcutter’s dead as SHIT, frozen by the breath of the Yuki-onna (Keiko Kishi). But she seems to like the younger man, smiling in a way that has scared him and me off of water for life. Like, it’s intense enough that even liquid water would remind me of this terrifying spirit. Same with the dude. But here’s the thing: I can tell you guys about this. He can’t.

See, she spares the younger woodcutter’s life on one condition: he can NEVER tell ANYONE about it. If he tells anyone, INCLUDING his mother (she specifies that), she WILL come and kill him. And odds are gonna be that that’s exactly what he’s gonna do, the great numpty.

She leaves, and the blizzard eventually subsides. The man is found and nursed back to health by his mother. A year passes, and Minokichi doesn’t say SHIT about what happened. One day, he’s cutting wood in the forest, against a sunset that is definitely a set-backdrop, but still looks gorgeous. He walks past a beautiful woman, and asks what she’s doing out there. The woman is on her way to the city of Edo, and is hoping to secure a job there.

However, the two get to know each other on the walk, and start to talk. He introduces her to his mother, and we learn that her name is Yuki, and I REMEMBER THE REST OF THIS STORY NOW. It’s from Tales from the Darkside: The Movie!

YEAH. I’ve seen Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, and I haven’t seen The Godfather, I KNOW. Anyway, the film adapted this story into a short called Lover’s Vow, and replaced the yuki-onna with a...gargoyle monster, I think? Its never made completely clear. Anyway, the same thing happens, where he witnesses the creature kill somebody, and it spares his life if he doesn’t tell anyone of the encounter. He agrees, then later on meets a woman with whom he falls madly in love, and THEN...well, hold on a hot sec, here. That’ll spoil the movie.

Anyway, just like the story, this woman is the yuki-onna. I mean, c’mon, her name is Yuki, for Chrissakes. The two fall in love, and eventually have sex in a field. We had friends over, and I was gonna watch this movie at the time, and it’s a good thing I didn’t because that’d be awkward!

They marry, have three kids, and spend about ten years together. However, soon after this, Minokichi begins to realize who exactly Yuki is. The light on Yuki’s face reminds him of the night that the yuki-onna came. Without thinking about it, he tells her about that night, which he’s never told anybody about.

Here’s the thing, even during the day, we’ve seen eyes in the sky. Because she’s always watching him. and watching his actions. And as he tells the story of the yuki-onna’s visit...well...

Yeah, it’s her. After that dumbass is done with his story, she revealed herself, and spurns him for breaking his promise not to tell anyone, in exchange for his life. And he just broke that goddamn promise. And how she’s gotta kill him, and take the kids away from him as they transform into snow children, but like in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, right?

Well...no, actually. Because, to my surprise, their kids together is what stops her. Because he broke his promise, she can no longer be a part of their lives. But she loves the children, and also loves him. She tells him that he better raise them right, and with care. If he ever mistreats then, she’ll kill him. And then...

She’s gone. Minokichi leaves the sandals that he was going to give Yuki outside, heartbroken at the loss of his wife, and at his own idiocy. She accepts his gift.

And that’s The Woman of the Snow! VERY cool. Pun...lightly intended. See you for Number 3: Hoichi the Earless! That title worries me! See you there!

[obakatamago]

I was tagged by @tatsuya-kiyama, thank yoooou! But honestly this is hard for me. Took me a half a day to think up my favourite anime. I don’t really have much really favourite characters, but here is a list of which I find interesting: 

Top 10 favorite characters from ten different fandoms:

1) Kate Takenomiya from Prison School - This is an Ecchi, soft porn manga, but there is something in the story that attracts me to read it. It has awesome drawing skills, witty plot and hilarious story. Kate is mean, bitchy, but I guess that’s why I love her. My second favourite from the manga is Hana, by the way. 

2) Adrien Agreste from Miraculous Ladybug - Adrien, who also known as Chat Noir, is the cute sunny boy whose many girls have a crush on him. But take away his wealth, status, good look, he has also have a good heart; someone who is willing to help anyone even an enemy (I think). Precious sunshine! I love to think that Chat Noir is Adrien’s true personality, who is free to do what he loves without the burden being Adrien Agreste.

3) Mumen Rider from One Punch Man - This guy earns my respect the most in the story. Mumen has no power, no ability, he is just a down-to-earth guy helping out people as much as he can, even when he knows he has no match against his opponent. 

4) Flash from Justice League (animated) - I love this series, a lot. Most of the characters here are fleshed out really well. Some of my favs are Superman, Martian Manhunter, The Huntress, Black Canary. I even like some of the villains, notably Morgan Le Fey’s designs. In this animated series, Flash is portrayed as the most inexperience/immature of all the original member. But he is one guy you hardly hate, and gradually I come to like his cute dumb joke and innocence.

5) Celes from Final Fantasy (6) - Sometimes I like a character not because of his look or character, but because of his theme song. Celes’s has one of the best I’ve ever heard. If I remember correctly, Celes was a traitor at first, but in the end she was the one who gather the whole team back together. 

6) N from Pokemon - N is the first character in the series I started to pay attention to. N is your innocent antagonist who has been used by the main villain, but later he is willing to open up his mind and accept different ideology, which he find it hard to do at first. I personally interpret N as an introvert who spent a lot of time on his own when he is little. Quite nerdy, but nevertheless, good hearted. 

7) Godot from Phoenix Wright - I find that the prosecutors are much attractive compare to the attorneys in this series... Godot, which is the prosecutor in the 3rd game, has that “powerful” built which I like XD The ending for the game is also rather sad, you know :( I personally think Edgeworth is a more challenging opponent but overall I still prefer Godot. Oh I like Franziska and the Gavin brothers too.

8) Vash the Stampede from Trigun - Vash is the character you will actually look down in the first place. He is the worst womanizer, childish; he’s able to hide his extraordinary gun skills with his clumsy look. You’ll need to keep reading his story to gradually figure out more of his positiveness. 

9) Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes - Travis is an Otaku whom you’ll never guess that he is actually a first rank assassin. Just this background of his makes me feel that he is one fascinating guy. I don’t really like this Travis x Silvia couple, it looks off to me, but I find it amusing watching Silvia flirts with Travis. 

10) Osaka from Azumanga Daioh - Another manga full of characters with each of them have their own personality. Out of all I like Osaka the most. She has a really different mindset from others. If someone is going to invent a time machine, it’s gonna be Osaka--- (but she is not a bright student though...).

Whew, so here are the 10 characters I like. It takes time for me to actually love a character, so the top-10 list will always be changing. Anyway, I’ll be tagging @injured-bunny and @ozrockbitway