#honestly i thought 2023 was a really good year for animation in a lot of ways and if anything disney's output sucking contributed to that

[weedle-testaburger]

seeing people mournfully talking about how disney is falling apart makes me feel like the sickos guy bc i don't just like that the mouse and its corporate conservatism are suffering, i like that it's not got such a chokehold on mediums like animation and superhero stuff now

[formulaorange]

2023 Fall Anime

This is honestly a loaded season full of new shows based on relatively new manga. Lots to look forward to

Spy x Family - Season 2 One of the most fun SJ series that have come out in a while. Season 1 was killer, high hopes for season 2.

Goblin Slayer 2 I didn't realize they were even making a second season. This was such a killer series. I'm really hoping they don't fall into the many mid-tier fantasy tropes out there in anime right now. I thought the appeal of the show was really Goblin Slayer himself and less about the lackeys along the way. So we'll see how it goes.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End This is definitely one of my highly anticipated series. It's about an elf who was part of the Hero's party and her life after he dies. (Since elves live longer) Definitely a darker take on fantasy but has some really solid fantasy and adventure vibes.

Rising of the Shield Hero - Season 3 Season 2 was pretty disappointing and slow. While this looks like it'll be more fast paced, it does look like a tournament arc of sorts. I know some aren't a fan of that kind of arc, but honestly I think it's exactly what this series needs to pick things up again. We'll see.

The Faraway Paladin - Season 2 This was legitimately one of my favourite fantasy series. I thought it was really well written and didn't rush things like other series. I'm looking forward to this season.

Sequels/Continuations: Eminence in Shadow - Season 2 killer series with an anti-hero main character. Definitely worth checking out. After-School Hanako-Kun Hanako-kun spin off Dr. Stone Season 3 - Part 2 One of the best novel concept series with nothing else in it's genre to compare to. Definitely didn't drop the ball on the recent seasons and still worth watching. Dead Mount Death Play - Part 2 One that I didn't particularly enjoy, but has a decent sized manga following. Tokyo Revengers - Tenjiku Arc The continuation of the series. Might be just me but it feels like the series fell off after the first season. The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent - Season 2 A more mature take on fantasy isekai that just started to get into romance at the end of last season. A solid combo of shoujo genres. The Ancient Magus' Bride - Season 2 Part 2 One that I haven't had a change to check out yet but have only heard good things about. Hypnosismic - Season 2 a weirdly addictive musical/rap series. Unique characters and honestly solid rap battles. One I'll be enjoying. -- Related - Paradox Live - Music battle with what looks to be the same style of animation and solid character design. Definitely worth looking at if you're a fan of Hypmic. The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse A sequel of SDS. Looks like it could be a fun watch for the fans of the series. New:

Shangri La Frontier A new manga fantasy series. This may be a horrible way to describe but it is what it is - a new age SAO- full dive fantasy game. A gamer who only plays shit games, gets into a new massively popular MMORPG and is op. One that I'm excited for because it ticks all the fantasy game boxes I like.

Undead Unluck A relatively new manga series that gained a lot of traction in the last year or two. A gory action comedy that's super chaotic and a lot of fun.

Shy Brand new hero manga series about a shy girl and her anxieties and struggles going into the hero world who grows and gains confidence as she becomes a better hero.

Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions This is a manga series that I have kept forgetting the name of so never got a chance to read but all the covers for the manga look phenomenal. Likely the anime doesn't do him justice but it is what it is. Essentially sherlock in anime form. A PI with issues and the wholesome police detective work together to solve crime. Other New Series: Green - Fantasy Pink - Romance Red - Action Purple - Drama The Kingdoms of Ruins A world where witches were hunted down by humans as science surpassed magic. A kid who was raised by a witch swears revenge on mankind. This honestly looks solid. The animations are very cool looking and the mc seems to be an anti-hero. Will be looking at this one. Under Ninja A well known manga series about modern ninjas. Definitely a unique series for this season. The Apothecary Diaries A historical medical mystery show. I've heard the name before and I've also only heard good things. Will be worth a watch. A Girl & Her Guard Dog The granddaughter of a crime syndicate goes to highschool out of town and the current young boss lies his way into the same school. Would be cute romance if it weren't for the fact she's 15 and he's 26.. Butareba - The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig What the title says. A girl finds him and the story goes from there. I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness The usual light novel title. Honestly, doesn't seem as yikes as I initially thought, might just be harmless breaking the rules kinda thing. Could be fun, also a Capybara that strikes fear into people's hearts. My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer Looks like a wholesome series where an adventurer finds a baby, raises it and she becomes so strong she's busy working all the time. Just a cute father daughter relationship in a fantasy setting about her wanting to come take time to see him but being caught up in OP fantasy battles. Ragna Crimson Dragons vs Humanity - a human and a dragon team up to destroy all the dragons. Action fantasy series. Berserk of Gluttony I honestly added this because I thought it was hilarious. Looks like a combo of knock offs - the Gluttony skill from Tensura (reincarnated as a slime) and the mc being called Fate with the main girl who looks exactly like Sabre. I'll be skipping but its' here so you know.

[animebw]

I’m gonna be honest, I thought going into Winter 2023 that this was gonna be a bit of a dump season. One of those seasons where anime just kinda sits around farting and we all wait patiently for the actual Good Shit to start coming out again while pretending to catch up on our backlogs.

That... has not been the case.

Bofuri Season 2: Seriously, how does this show get so many incredible action cuts?

Buddy Daddies: Look, it’s probably not gonna be gay, but Spy x Family meets Tiger and Bunny is something we all need in our lives, okay?

Campfire Cooking in Another World: Couldn’t even last a full episode of this one before my eyes glazed over. Dropped.

Endo and Kobayashi Live: Now this is pretty charming! Pity the animation’s such garbage, though.

Giant Beasts of Ars: It’s a damn good season for fantasy anime, y’all.

Handyman Saitou in Another World: Could actually end up a halfway decent isekai SOL if it stops being so goddamn terrible at structure.

High Card: This is exactly my brand of Anime Bullshit(tm) and I am so on board.

Ippon Again: An actually great female-led sports anime? With major A Place Further Than the Universe vibes? Do not sleep on this one, y’all.

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: Damn. Good. Season. For. Fantasy. Anime.

Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible: As far as Takagi-san knock-offs go, this one is pleasant enough.

The Magical Revolution of the Oh Fuck It These LN Titles are Impossible to Remember Just Call it “MagiRevo”: Buckle up, folks, we might just have another Actually Good Isekai on our hands.

Malevolent Spirits Mononogatari: It’s Noragami but shit. Dropped at 1 episode.

Nagatoro-san Season 2: Yeah, turns out I’m still not above the occasional well made trash.

Nier Automata: Genuine question, is this gonna be an acceptable substitute for the game or will I just be spoiling the experience for myself?

Onimai: I fucking hate the Mushoku Tensei studio so much and I hate myself even more for deciding to stick with this one.

Reborn to Master the Blade: This one might be soon for the chopping block, but I’m holding out hope that its story can overcome its middling production values. We’ll have to wait and see.

Revenger: GEN UROBUCHI’S BACK BABY YEEEEEEHAW

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale: Take notes, Every Isekai: this is how you explore slavery in a fantasy setting.

The Tale of Outcasts: Feels like a 13-year-old’sedgy  Ancient Magus Bride fanfiction. Honestly, though? I kind of really dig it.

Tomo-Chan is a Girl: LET. TOMBOYS. BE. TOMBOYS. WITHOUT. SHAMING. THEM. FOR. IT. Dropped at episode 2.

Tokyo Revengers Season 2: At this point, I’m just watching out of morbid curiosity of how bad the manga’s ending supposedly was.

Trails of Cold Steel: The Northern War: Easily the weakest fantasy anime of the lot. Giving it one more episode to impress me, otherwise it gets the drop.

Trigun Stampede: Y’all are buggin, the CG here is incredible.

Tsurune Season 2: Good god, the glow-up from season one is nuts. KyoAni just does not miss.

Vinland Saga Season 2: Okay, manga readers, let’s see if watching a bunch of sad men farm is as incredible as you say.

[skitskatdacat63]

Vettonso x Similar Helmets

SV Germany 2012 x FA Monaco 2013: Gold & Dark Red

I think a lot about Vettonso and their mutual relationship witn gold. They're both golden boys, they're both seen lit gold by the sunshine on many podiums throughout the years, both have worn golden boots, and as you can see here: both have worn golden helmets. The parallels in these particular helmets makes me feel insane. Both are: gold with dark red accents, both have their birthplace's coat of arms(Bergstraße and Asturias), both have team animal motifs, and both have symbols to represent their two championships(You by now know the signifigance of the ones on Fernando's helmet, but I think the ones on Seb's are actually a callback to his Formula BMW days when he used to put the smiley stickers on his car for every win.)

And did you know both of these helmets were designed by the same helmet design company? Yep, both of these are JMD helmets. I know JMD helmets are/were pretty popular, but still, there's something to me about Fernando commissioning the same designer that Seb has been using since he was a literal child. Parallels, am I right?

SV Japan 2010 x FA Japan 2023: White with Black & Red

Haha I remember @protocolseben and I discussing this a bit back in September when Fernando's helmet dropped. I honestly think Seb is such an innovator and trailblazer in terms of helmet design, and you can see his influence in helmet design as recently as this past season. I'm not sure if he was the first ever driver to don a matte white helmet with red accents as a representation of the Japanese flag, but it certainly envoked him in my mind when I saw Fernando's!!

I think Fernando's is pretty similar to all of Seb's 2010-2012 Japan helmets but I like this one the most so! I think if Seb wasn't restrained by the Red Bull logo, he def wouldv'e put the red circle where Nando put his so I think Fernando did a really good job, even if unintentionally, at emulating Seb's sense of design.

SV Singapore 2012 x FA Singapore 2012: Sparkly!

Like I said in the one above, it's crazy how much Seb influenced helmet design. He was pretty much the pioneer of sparkly helmets for Singapore, right? It drives me absolutely insane that there's actually pictures of them together in such similar designed helmets. It's kinda funny actually that even though they're pretty deep in the championship fight at this point, and Seb just got one up on Fernando; Fernando is wearing a helmet that is a direct influence from Seb!!! Is that not insane???

Also, Fernando trying to be camp with trying the now in vogue sparkly Singapore helmet, and Seb accidentally completely blew him out of the water with his outrageous light up LED constellation helmet. But god yeah....to have pics of them in matching helmets from this era particuarly makes me emotional ;;;

SV Hungary 2021 x FA 2022: Pink with Dark Blue

I really could've picked any of Seb's 2021 helmets, but I thought this one matched the best with Fernando's main 2021 helmet(with the color pallet.) Also one thing, it's crazy how much control BWT has as a sponsor, I don't think I've ever seen another sponsor go so hard at having a chokehold on individuality. I like that we got pink liveries and pink helmets, but I don't think they should have that much control.

I'm almost kinda sad there wasn't any Miami GP in 2021, because I think that was the only unique helmet Fernando had in 2022. But these match pretty well! Pretty in pink!! It's crazy that their parallels in the 2020s are ongoing even before Fernando actually takes over Seb's seat. Thanks BWT I guess?

SV Abu Dhabi 2022 x FA Abu Dhabi 2022: Fernando's Seb Tribute Helmet

AND HERE WE HAVE THE PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE!!! The ultimate conclusion, it literally couldn't get better than this!! This is still unbelievable, like how is this an actual thing that happened!? Fernando intentionally branding his helmet, the only symbol of individuality in F1, with his rival's flag colors, HIS FLAG!!!!! Not to mention the literal "Vettono Best Moments" collage he posted alongside it....and the hand-holding....and everything that happened with them at Abu Dhabi 2022....

But god, after years of incidentally making parallel helmet designs, Fernando decided to officially tie the knot of the red string of fate, and make a helmet directly referencing Seb's. I think it's funny because as I said with two of the previously mentioned ones, those Fernando designs are pretty much inspired by Seb's, and here he is openly making one directly inspired by Seb. I don't really have words for how this actually makes me feel because it's just. Yeah. The most open and clear declaration of love and respect and admiration one could ever make. TO ME.

[lurrkingly]

Do you have any tips for a young artist?

okay GOOD QUESTION so I'm gonna just start typing about some things I wish I had known as a young artist and keep adding to the draft of this answer as I think of things. LOL.

Advice I'm definitely qualified to give young artists:

1) If you are primarily an artist that draws humans or humanoid characters, I need you to internalize this very important fact: There is NO race, shape, type of body, etc. that you are 'unable' to draw. Y'all it is 2023 and Twitter is a cesspool of idiots running around INSISTING that they simply "can't draw black people", "can't color dark skin", or that "black people don't fit into my style."

But you, young artist anon, YOU know better now! Go tell all your friends! Spread the good news! There is no fundamental inability to include diversity in the subjects of your art--there is only unwillingness to learn.

Because that's the thing--a lot of people who say these kinds of silly things will also say that the don't want to 'get it wrong' (I typed and deleted a whole other tangent here. lol). The important thing about approaching diversity in your art is that you are earnestly trying, respectful, and open to being corrected. Hard to go wrong that way! There are tutorials abound--research is your friend!

2) Related: encourage yourself to explore and celebrate variety as you cultivate your unique style. and DON'T SKIMP ON THE FUNDAMENTALS! DO NOT!

I'm going to talk a little bit about what it was like for me when I started "really" drawing at like. 9 or 10. (cont'd.)

I got really into drawing because some friends of mine liked to draw anime in their free time in class. I centered my early drawing life around emulating a style that was strictly anime. Drawing realism or semi-realism seemed so ugly to me! I had no interest in it.

In addition, I came away with a message that harmed my self-esteem greatly, even if I didn't know it at the time: black people don't look good in an anime style. You just can't do it!

So I never tried to. I had a narrow focus, and I was reluctant to explore outside of it. If I'm being honest with myself, I hamstrung myself pretty hard by not being open to exploring a variety of styles. I also thought that the fundamentals of art (principles of lighting, color, shape, and the human figure, etc.) were a waste of time for me to study up on. I knew what I wanted my art to look like--pretty anime pictures! Lol.

All of the above is why I don't think I actually started to get "good" at art until September of 2019, roughly a trillion years after I started to draw. I know that because of those art summary memes, lol. Here, for reference:

tumblr compressed the image to shit, so you'll have to take my word for it, but yeah! lol.

Anyways, the point is this:

You will go through many stylistic phases in your life as an artist. This is normal, and honestly, I'd celebrate it! Be open to any number of unlikely stylistic influences. They may take your artistic sensibilities in a direction you'd never expect. All in service of developing your unique artistic voice.

If you want to be good at what you do, you will need to create a strong base of knowledge for yourself. This is what intentional study of the fundamentals does. Get that shit in your brain while you're young!!! You will be planting the seedling of your artistic prowess in much nicer soil, and future you will thank you for it.

3) Developing artistic skill is NOT A RACE! You will hear this advice a lot, but I'd like to talk about a specific nuance that I think is important.

There are a number of reasons why it would make sense for you to think that it is, in fact, a race. For instance, there are roughly a kajillion other artists in your age range. A lot of them are on social media, cultivating a following. A lot of them will be "better" than you.

Do not get attached to the idea of being a brilliant young artist. You will not be young forever. If your idea of skill is entwined with your identity as a young person, what happens as you get older? I'll tell you: You start to see more and more people who are way more talented than you, and at least five years younger, and it can really really hurt you because you have not been set up for success with the right mindset. Your pride and joy was not being a creator--it was being a young creator.

Being an artist, especially in the age of social media (jesus, i sound so old) is an emotional investment as well as a practical, skill-based one. If you do not take care of yourself emotionally, if you do not approach creating art and posting it online with the right mindset, you will destroy yourself. Worst case, you end up bitter and hating art altogether.

If you are able to remain reasonably detached from social media response in general--great! That bodes well for you. But that's a skill, like anything else, so it's much more likely that the way your art is received on social media will affect you.

If you are very young, say, in your teens, and your art is exemplary, you will probably receive a lot of comments about this! They might be astonished that you, at so young an age, are so advanced in your skill. It is GREAT to be proud of yourself for accomplishing so much at a young age, don't get me wrong. Feels nice! But just like you will be advised not to let mean comments go to your head, you need to be thoughtful about how you receive comments that praise you for your age specifically. You need to be firm in the understanding that your age is not what makes your art exceptional. Your art is exceptional because YOU made it and because YOU honed your skills!

Beyond that, stuff that you probably already know: comparison to your artistic peers can be very encouraging and motivating; conversely, it can also be stressful and lead to unfortunate emotional spirals. You know yourself best--engage with or steer clear of comparison according to your comfort. You're not on your friend's artistic journey. You're on your own one. This is a very cursory thought on the topic of comparison, but I don't think I could offer you anything you don't already know about it, y'know?

4) This one... I'm gonna try to get across a very specific point. My point is this: Know what success looks like to you, and be honest with yourself.

The definition of 'success' may evolve for you as you develop, but I don't think it's ever too early to have a frank conversation with yourself about what it means for you, specifically, to be a successful artist.

Do you want to develop the skill to draw or create a specific idea in particular? Do you want a kajillion followers on instagram? Do you want to build a portfolio that will get you into a specific creative industry? Do you want to cultivate a steady stream of commissioners? Do you just want to relax and get ideas out of your head? And any other infinite goals.

Obviously I'm saying this without placing a value judgement on anyone's definition of artistic success. This is a highly personal sort of thing.

The reason I encourage this is because it can provide additional direction to a young artist, for whom the world is an oyster. Different enduring goals will require slightly different approaches to art as a field. This goal may inform what you draw, what medium you use, your higher education & career plans, where you choose to post your art (if at all), how much effort you must invest in building a brand for yourself, the role of social media in your life as an artist, the kinds of artists you devote energy to being peers with, etc. Hope that makes sense!

Anyways, I hope this advice is helpful. I'm always happy to answer other questions related to this sort of thing. Go forth, young artiste--I believe in you!

[jariten]

May-July 2023 roundup

Okay little by little preparing for regular posting on this blog to resume and thought I'd start with catching up on the roundups!

Midori no Uta by Taiwanese Yan Gao, who first garnered attention for illustrating the original Japanese edition of Haruki Murakami's Abandoning a Cat: Memories of my Father, tells the story of college student Lü after she moves to Taipei for university. There she spends less time on academic pursuits and more on music live shows. She then meets Nanjun, an amateur musician who shares his love of music with her. This leads her on a trip to Japan to look for the band Happy End's album Kazemachi Roman, which leads her to an instant love for Harumi Hosono and his music, and her first infatuation as she grows closer to Nanjun. This is maybe the first Taiwanese comic I've ever read and I loved every second of it. The Japanese translation was really great. Beautiful naturalistic cityscapes and I really adored how Lü's emotions were depicted. Everything Yan Gao was referencing was very interesting too. I love a college coming of age too. I really really hope someone takes the initiative to license it and that she gets another tankobon out soon.

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Yoko Komori was also a lovely little coming of age, although at an elementary school level. I really want even more understated but impactful stories like this on the english market and I'm really happy this one got licensed despite its age (it first came out in 2013). And speaking of more understated stories, Frieren by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe is soooooo good. Def a worthy comparison to a series like Delicious in Dungeon with how it is an earnest fantasy that decides to approach the staples of the genre from a novel perspective, altho I love how the atmosphere and tempo is completely different, really recommend for anyone who likes more low energy or relaxing stories. And PLEASE anime fans please watch the adaption when it premieres this fall!!!

I also in this period really enjoyed reading Ai ga Areba Ii no da by Ikuemi Ryou. This year I've read so much text heavy manga so reading one with a lot of silent panels and textless sequences was so refreshing, and really moved Ikuemi up on my priority list, I'm really looking forward to reading more.

Yoko to Tora by Fuyuko Kurosaki was another fun surprise in the sense that honestly when I pick up 4-koma on a whim I don't expect too much (Making Azumanga Daioh my first kinda set the expectations too high), and its no Azumanga but I still found myself wanting to recommend it. Imagine if you will a world where cats are plushie shaped and have the general intelligence of a child meaning they can understand and make themselves understood to humans without speaking, they go to school, and have friends they like to hang out with. This is the world of Yoko and Tora and all of their friends. Much like Chiikawa its the little world building details that elevate it from just another cutesy comedy. But don't get me wrong it is a cutesy comedy.

On a whole other track, Keimusho no Naka by Kazuichi Hanawa (licensed as Doing Time back in 2004), was a really fascinating depiction of life in prison as told by a man who had to do time over illegal weapon possession charges. The vivid details of the interior of the prison and the oppressive routines they had to endure from the people who run it was very enlightening. Not to mention Hanawa's artistic talent is like, crazy to me.

I'm still not making promises but posting on here is something that I want to do, so I'd like to ask if there's a preference to consistent posting (queue running consistently over the span of weeks) or if occasional sporadic bursts (queue runs inconsistently or just for a couple of days at a time) is fine too

[izanazqueen]

The end of August. ~

izana kurokawa x birthday reader.

a/n: this is my second piece dedicated to izana for his bday month and the entry to the sano collab 2023 hosted by the lovely @fueledbysano - no warnings just fluff + more fluff ! -

~

August 30 -

izana knew the day. his birthday. to that mind- he couldn't honestly care less. there wasn't any single year in the past where he would think twice about it without desire to acknowledge it but for some strange reason he stubbornly went and decided to listen to his subordinate when kakucho told him that maybe he should stop by on his way back home to the apartment at the newly built gigantic pet shop he had over heard other people talking earlier about that just opened up in the main heart of the city. he wanted to dismiss the younger with no want whatsoever other than returning to his abode to be by himself for the remainder of the dreaded day until he heard him say between under his own not so subtlety made murmurs and moans mumbling about not giving a shit that he was going on telling him all about the fresh aquatic tank that was apart of the feature. ' fine- i will pass by outside. ' kakucho fonldly smiled at his king - ' sure. izana - ' it didn't take a genius to make it known well that his boss was elated at the idea of it.

~

making his way across town izana was rushing through the zoo of people crowded in the busy streets of yokohama when he saw that a large sum of them were crowded in one area. figuring that this had to be the place kakucho had been speaking about when he walked a little bit slower not very much interested in the idea in the first place but still curious as to what could be inside those large glass windows- way too glaringly sunny outside hitting the reflections to really get a good view of the inside. from the exterior izana could tell that they ones who run the place must have a lot of money and experience with this because it was well-made and stunning from the quality of the the brick work and architecture surrounding the arched doorway. his mind went in full interest of what could be possibly hiding beyond the entrance.

~

trailing on inside he noticed there were walls of animals and products designed to attract even the most unwilling of eyes to be drawn in. he didn't want to waste much time in this place that was packed almost as tightly as a concert venue- it was all of the ridiculous noise that was too much for him in addition to the amount of screaming children and small barking from the playful pups that had him turning away- ready to storm out of the place without a second thought until his eyes met a sign with a closed doorway that read "aquarium- please keep down. do not scare the fish." perfect. izana had darted though the door as quick as possible to free his ears from the deafening annoyance to find just a few others occupying the dark area shining from the rich shades and hues of purple and blues from the brightly lit blacklights of the huge majestic tank filled with an array of vastly different domesticated sea life- his every dream come true. he stared half gaped- drawn in widely openly amazed at the fine specimens he was witnessing in front of him. there were so many varieties and different kinds to view that he almost let himself slip a subtle pleased grin grace his features- almost.

~

izanas eyes scanned the tank- tracing the small lines and rows of the little schools swimming with eacother and landscape of all different sizes and colors of camouflage for the fish to play and hide from watching eyes. figuring he wouldn't go and let his efforts coming into this place be in vain and feelings of conflict whether he should possibly even bring one of the variety home with him stirring in his chest- he stared to explore more of what the vast stretching room length tank had to offer. while making his way through the different options slowly trying his best to not look too interested but in his mind the thrill was too much and starting to get to him. there were so many to choose from and he didn't know where to begin to try and choose one.

~

as he stared he saw across the room a small area where the fish had been separated from each other. they were known as beta fish- the only kind of fish that could not be in contact with others due to its tendency to attack them on sight not stopping even going in for blood. how amusing- he thought. it sounded a bit to familiar to his own ears- probably the reason why he admired them the most. before he could reach the area with the small clearing between the onlooking patrons his eyes caught a flash of his favorite color amidst the crowd- a deep shade of fire red. izana blinked twice before noticing the beautiful gown hugging your skin and curves practically sparkling under the lights reflecting from off of the fish tank- glowing in front of his eyes. he couldn't help but aimlessly make his way next to you to get a better look at the gorgeous sight that was this tantalizing spectacle to behold in this place.

~

izana came to see as he approached your side that he noticed you had no particular interest in anything else in that room other than the one little fish you just kept on staring at. ' is that one your favorite? ' he bubbled at you- with a smirk written over lips that was unbeknownst to him. 'oh sorry. did you want that one? cause i - ' you responded almost half aware that there was even a person beside you. turning your breathe got stuck in your throat as you glanced at him noticing his white platinum short undercut hairstyle almost illuminated by the glow of the aquarium in contrast to his his tanned warm complexion paired with a set of red dangling traditional style earrings and his large attractive lilac eyes underneath his radiant strands. you were completely taken back- he was one of the finest men you had ever seen before. his light eyes watching you as he waited eagerly for you to finish your thought from earlier as you were speechless and struggled to compose your thoughts. responding now a bit shyer in your tone you met his stare with a cheerful delighted expression matching with his own. ' well it's just- that one right there is sad- at least that's what it seems to me .. ' izana was left flustered at your words- drawn back right at the moment you had said them out loud.

~

' well, why would you say that ? ' izana paused for a moment staring into your concerned eyes. ' - how could you even tell what that little guys thinking? ' he perked his head to the side- full on curiosity now rolling through his mind. you glanced back at the tank and spoke without looking back too afraid of him seeing the nervousness written all over you from how close he was to your body. you felt the air around you become filled with his sweet aroma from an almost lavender trace to his cologne he was sporting- a pleasant scent that was teasing the the last of your desires. he was a put together well dressed very handsome gentleman that was not like anyone you'd seen throughout the time spent you'd been in this city. you responded to his questioning of your thought process after taking in a second to form the right words 'there is no way of knowing- honestly.. i mean he's just kinda keeping to that little corner not even bothering to notice the people all around him- he must be real lonely and hurt inside to not even desire a home with one of these - ' cutting you off he spoke strictly. ' maybe he likes it better that way.. ' izana wasn't speaking only about the fish now. feeling a bit annoyed by your words it left him with an even more irritating stinging feeling in his chest. you felt sorry for the little fish- he saw it in your eyes that were practically welling with sadness and threatening to spill actual tears in the process of speaking about how you felt for it so dearly. ' why don't you bring him home with you then if you think it's that lonely?'

~

' well i would but i can't actually- i don't have the proper place right now. im kind of in between moving and would not be able to give him the right attention going between the two- sadly. ' concern in his lilac eyes but not wanting to pry he left it alone even if he was now interested in knowing your situation beyond these walls. in that moment izana couldnt take his eyes off of your frame - almost studying your every move making you turn away back to gazing at the small red fish swimming around slowly in the corner of it's tank. you continued ' but i really wish i could- he deserves to be with a caring person who will give it the attention and loves it probably desires desperately. ' izana flinched- your words affecting him in a way you would never know. ' fine- i'll take him then. ' your eyes began to shimmer with hope. with a delicate smile you beamed at him ' you will!? oh that is fanatastic! - ' his stoic face melted unnoticed to himself to a softened smirk feeling as the brick wall around his heart had been crumbled to dust. why were you so damn pleased about that little fish getting a place to go to? he couldn't understand your motivation but he was truly humbled by your genuine content and relief on your face. for a moment he thought maybe you two were similar- the reasons flooding his brain with possibilities without a clear answer. izana wanted to ask you just as to why it was so important to you but before he could speak- your arms wrapped around his waist cause of how your pure excitement took over before you could even realize what you were doing. izana's lavender orbs expanded beyond the largest possible way and he became totally enraptured by your sudden embrace of him.

~

the scent of your perfume hitting his brain and the soft touch of your gentle hands that had accidentally slipped sliding under past his dress shirt had him practicing his breathing patterns in short breaths inside of his small pants from how close your body was to his own tempting him that was causing him to erupt in flames. you realized quickly that you crossed a line with someone you had barely known and quickly pulled apart from him in your flustered panic. ' i'm sorry about that. really- i just.. ' izana gathered himself in dread of his facial expression in that moment. 'it's fine.' he mused back at you. ' don't worry about it. ' normally if someone had the nerve to place a hand on him he would have met them with his swift heel kick to the jaw. yet right now- he couldn't get enough of it. wanting with the most endless passion to grab you back and feel your warmth against him in that tight arm lock that had left him heavily reeling- from how much he needed to feel you again. there was no way he could admit that to himself let alone to you. his pride wouldn't allow for as much. he put his palm on your shoulder the closest thing that izana could bring himself to try and do to relieve this tension around the two of you.

~

he spoke with care for someone for once in his voice and in a wispy light tone he said to you - ' cmon. let's get to the checkout before i change my mind - ' not wanting to sound even a tinge of desperation in his voice to make that ever so beautiful smile on your face come back to light- which it did as soon as he said them. ' ok! let's go- ' you happily exclaimed with pure joy echoing in your tone clasping onto his firm large slightly sweaty hand from how truly nervous he was being around someone that was as attractive as you were to him. izana didn't ever want to let go- as you raced as fast as you could with him to the counter out front to purchase the prized red beta before he could say otherwise. as you made your way through the crowd your hands started to pull apart trying to get past the people swarming around and your heart twitched at the feeling of him grabbing on to your own tighter as to make sure you didn't let go of his. if he could have seen the small sweet smile that had spread on your face knowing he was the cause it he probably would have went unstable with his thoughts of what that meant but you hid it as rapidly as you reached the register feeling the warmth on your cheeks from how the feeling of him against you was affecting your mind.

~

that night- izana placed the little tank he had bought for the red fish arranged perfectly on his night stand next to his bed. he stared at it with intent as it looked with it's small black eyes right back into him. his grin widened thinking to himself how it must be glad to have someone to be with now no longer alone in that dark back corner of the aquarium. he felt for a second of a hint of jealousy in it's tiny reflection for himself- before his mind chased to the moment he first witnessed you in that stunning red garment with every one of his senses starting to tingle with each breath that left his lips practically sighing from the feelings burrowing their way through his heart. izana felt ashamed for letting you leave the pet store without as much as a way to contact you again. settling himself in- he grabbed his acoustic guitar and began strumming with strokes of pretty notes filling the air with the aura of his solemn mood. glancing over towards the tank he stopped momentum and began playing a bit slower when he noticed the little red companion glaring straight at him moving quickly from what he assumed to be the music. placing his guitar down on his mattress he sauntered on over to where the fish was now swimming much more now in tiny motions. ' huh, you must like that sound don't ya- little guy? ' izana spoke to the fish aware that it couldn't give him a response.

~

izana bent down closer to get a better view of it's nice tones of red and golden colors and he noticed that something was sticking out slightly from under the tank. the receipt was stuck to the bottom a little bit crumpled up so izana grabbed it out from underneath the fish's new home to toss it away in the trash when he saw the small finely written numbers scribbled on the back side with a tiny little heart next to it.

~

- ' y/n ' izana read it out loud and with his mind running endlessly- he was left there completely speechless and distraught. knowing he should have been the one himself to have asked you but taken back by your action of boldness and desire to contact him feeling restlessly anxious he practically ran over to where his cell phone was charging grabbing it without hesitatation. izana slowly entered the digits as to not mess up the code to hearing your gentle voice once more. catching his breath he paused before hitting the call button momentarily desperate to know exactly why you had chosen to give him your personal contact when he thought back to how much you wanted to find his new found companion a home- how lonely you thought he was there all alone in that pet shop. now nervously pressing the call button because of the fear that he was initially right about you two being similar- he panicked and almost hung up when he heard you speak clearly through the other end- ' hi! ..is this- by chance izana? ' the world felt shaky and he was on cloud nine from how delighted you sounded as he struggled to make his voice sound normal. 'how'd could you guess? ' it was the only thing that he could get out. izana could feel his vocal chords trembling in sequence of his words as if they had a mind of their own. ' i'm so glad!- ' you answered him in a high pitch elation of your enthusiasm for it actually being him that called you. ' where you waiting for me to call you all evening? ' izana said now with his heart giving a curious beat thrumming through his veins. he couldn't believe you- even having the guts sticking the receipt carefully back in his purchase without him noticing to begin with. ' yes- i have been mr. izana. - it took you long enough.. thought maybe you didn't want to see me again that maybe- ' ' .. kurokawa. ' he ended your sentence for you. ' my name is mr. kurokawa.' he retorted to you with dignity. continuing his thoughts he went on- ' and yes. i would very much like to see you again. - y/n. ' your sultry voice had him way beyond the point of caring of his weakness for you showing when he heard you squeak in your praise. ' oh thank goodness! - well .. are you by chance busy this evening?.. ' tonight. he thought back to what the day was as he peeked at the clock seeing it was only 9pm- still technically his birthday. izana mustered the courage to give you his response in honest. 'well- no. just home hanging out with my new friend. ' the simple act of him saying so made him hear in your voice the smile the was evident on your face even if he couldn't see it. hearing you on the phone had him in a state of glory for having the nerve to dial the number in the first place- happiness taking over him in every way imaginable. his face had burned up at the next thing that came out from your lips- ' mind if i come by- to visit you two? ' izana had felt himself go numb in shock without knowing how to answer. the response he gave was a bit mufled and barely audible but you had heard him no less. ' i - actually would like that a lot.. ' this time izana spent his birthday for the first year ever with someone other than himself. making him feel satisfied deeply and content. not only cause of that little fish now stuck with him for life but because this was the special day that he had been fortunate enough to meet you. it was now and would be his favorite day of the year to look forward to from that day on -

@izanazqueen © -all rights reserved.

please do not copy / repost my work

[hydrxnessa]

woooo christmas oc art done !!!

(i respect artfight artists who are able to do mass attacks with like more than 20 characters. goodness gracious. how do they do it.)

anyways !!! the year of 2023 draws to an end. and honestly i'm quite happy with this year! broke through 1k followers on both instagram and tumblr, 600 on twt (i still hate that site), so thank you so much !!

anyways incoming cheesy message

i didn't really expect much from this year starting from january. i was in the tmnt fandom but i wasn't really interacting w it much because .. god that place is a toxic cesspool. i never really interact with fandoms much anyway, just draw one piece of fanart and enjoy the franchises from a Very safe distance away. but you can't really gain friends from just lurking in fandom spaces, so usually i felt pretty lonely. but thats how its been for me for a while.

that is, until february rolled around. i already knew of the game Doors since it got released - i played it through multiple times with friends and that was kinda it. just another roblox horror game quickie. then, i believe it was melly's animations that somehow dragged me into the fandom? that and also there was an uprise in doors content because of the hotel+ update. and there i saw the rooms creatures, in which i was like Oh My Godf i NEED to draw A-120, they are soso silly. they are so squiggle. (ambush was also my bbgirl<3). i NEED to make my own designs for them

aaaand uuh yeah that basically kickstarted my doors phase. i began to start my own AU of doors senVerse, and people loved it. people on here were so kind and welcoming, saying that they loved my designs and were also inspired by me? like woah, usually i'm the one getting inspired from others. people were getting inspiration from me?? heck, even looked up to me? that's crazy, i would've NEVER thought i'd get here ngl. explain this year to last year me and she would've NEVER believed you. and that gave me motivation to continue my doors doodles.

i gained a lot of moots n friends from this fandom. and i MEAN a lot. heck i even made the decision to make a discord server and ohmygodf i do NOT regret that decision. i met and made cool friends and got closer to peeps on there, thanks for sticking around i love u guys<33

whether or not you followed me for doors content, stray, tmnt, heck even oc content, thank you so much for being here. thank you for liking, reblogging, commenting, or even sending me asks on my blog! i can't express my gratitude and appreciation enough in words. you've all helped me get through this year, so thankthankthank you, i love u all/p !!!!

i hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season as we come close to this year's end; merry christmas and have an amazing new year soon !!!

here's to a new year !! mwah !!!

-ness :3

[jq37]

Please let us know if you solve this mystery!

OK! It’s the end of the year so let me compile everything I was able to come up with (with the help of everyone I dragged into this–you know who you are and thank you and I’m sorry). 

To anyone who’s just seeing this and doesn’t have context, in November, right before the movie Wish came out, I made a longish post questioning who Allison Moore was (which, incidentally, is the first post that comes up when you Google “Allison Moore Disney”).

The reason I was curious about who this random writer is is because she’s credited as one of the co-writers of Wish, Disney’s 100th Anniversary Feature Film BUT she has no obvious experience writing for animation, children, or fantasy when everyone else on the main team has credits on stuff like Frozen and Encanto. I thought it was bizarre that there would be someone so green on a project so big so I went digging. 

Here’s what I learned:

(1) Moore wasn’t originally announced as being attached to the project. Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and Fawn Veersunthorn were all mentioned when the project was officially announced in Sept 2022 (for example). Moore was not. And you’d think they’d mention the *co-writer*, right? You don’t start to see her name until a year later in Sept 2023 when the trailer dropped (for example). So it seems like she was brought onto the project later. Of course, this could just be a normal quirk of the industry or something I’m misinterpreting, but I think it’s worth mentioning. 

(2) Moore seems to have a lot more credits in stage writing than she does in screenwriting. I wasn’t able to 100% confirm it until recently (I’ll get to that in a second) but she’s written a bunch of plays and it seems like this is where she has most of her bona fides. 

“Allison is the recipient of two Jerome Fellowships, two McKnight Advancement Grants and the Bush Artist Fellowship.”

That sounds fancy. But it still doesn’t say “Top Choice for Disney Anniversary Movie” to me. That’s not a statement on writing quality. I haven’t read/seen any of her plays. It’s about the subject matter. Look at some of these synopses:

None of that really screams Disney. Which isn’t to say people can’t have range. George Miller wrote all the Mad Maxes but also Babe and both Happy Feet. But if I was hiring someone for a really big project, I wouldn’t want that project to be their first attempt at expanding into that genre. 

(3) This isn’t actually inherently important but she was on an episode of Nailed it. That’s where this picture comes from:

She won the first round and the game ended in a three way tie for the first time in the show’s history. 

The only reason this is noteworthy in the larger scale of things is that, until very recently, this was one of only two places online you could see Allison Moore talking. The other is this very short interview on the red carpet during the premiere. 

There’s nothing in that interview that explains anything. It’s mainly her talking about how it was fun working on the movie and how good the movie is. 

Honestly, good for her for not being Extremely Online, but it really felt like I could get a bit of a handle on everyone else who’d worked on this project in a high profile way but not her. Which is part of why I started down this rabbit hole to begin with. There was nothing to show where she might have had a connection or an interest or anything that would connect the dots. 

For reference, Fawn (who was one of the Directors and story writers) has the kind of resume that I was expecting Moore to have when I initially Googled her:

Smaller jobs on other kids/animated movies (Hop, The Lorax, Despicable Me 2), some storyboard or art work on other Disney stuff (Frozen, Moana, Zootopia, Ralph), and then a big break (Raya and Wish). Based on my understanding of the industry (and I know a fair bit because it’s one I’m interested in professionally) that’s a very typical track to get to the writing side of animation.  

A couple of people speculated that Moore got onto the project in a mentorship capacity. Now, I’m a Black woman who writes fiction professionally when I’m not on this hellsite (affectionate) with the rest of y’all. That means I have firsthand experience with what mentorship looks like in writing–both official Diversity and Inclusion type mentorship and more organic “Let me take you under my wing” type mentorship. I have *never* seen anyone get a job this high profile at the jump just due to mentorship alone. Going from zero to Disney’s 100th anniversary is kinda insane. This wasn’t some B project or something. It was a Big Deal Project. And this is Disney so they could have hired basically anyone they wanted. So you have to assume this was an active decision someone made and not just a thing that happened for lack of options. But in all my searching, Moore wasn’t mentioned except to just say she wrote the screenplay with Jennifer Lee. It was just the baking show and the Youtube clip.

Until today.

(4) I’m going to preface this by saying this doesn’t actually answer the question in a big AHA! way, but it is the only interview I’ve seen about Wish from Moore besides the red carpet clip.

On December 15th, Moore gave this interview with the San Antonio Current.

I stumbled across it while searching for a different piece of information and eagerly clicked to see what she had to say after three weeks of silence after the movie dropped on November 22.

Here are some highlights:

-In high school she was a theater kid and thought she wanted to pursue acting. 

-I college she did playwriting and eventually she got her MFA from Iowa (which has a weirdly great MFA program btw, and also, this interview is how I confirmed she was the playwright Allison).

-When she started on the theater track at her college, she told them she was a playwright so she could study that too even though she’d never written a play before. So it sounds like Wish isn’t the first time she’s just jumped into a new thing without experience. You have to respect the hustle.

But this is the most important line in the interview because it’s like, an answer and a non-answer all in one. She’s asked, “How did you go from writing plays to writing for TV and film?”

And her answer is, “I had a whole career writing for theater, and then when my son was born, I realized I needed to make more money, so I started pitching for TV. I worked in television for about a decade. In the midst of working in TV, I continued playwriting. That's how I got on the radar at Disney.”

Which kind of sidesteps the most intriguing part of the question? Like, first of all, it’s not 100% clear if she means her playwriting or her TV writing caught Disney’s attention. I’m guessing playwriting, but I could be wrong. Secondly, who is “Disney” in this situation? A Disney recruiter? A Disney director? Did Jennifer Lee see a production of Slasher: A Horrifying comedy while passing through Texas and think, “Her. I want her to be my co-writer on this children’s film.” And what did she do to impress them so much that they right away put her on the the *Anniversary Project*? Like, I know I keep harping on this but I can’t stress enough how big of a deal this is. It’s hard enough to write for just your average sitcom or little movie. To just jump on something this big is baffling. I obviously don’t expect Disney to be justifying their every hiring decision publicly but, usually, when someone is doing something like this, it’s very obvious why they were chosen and, even with this sliver of explanation, it’s still frustratingly opaque. And with the strange post hoc timing of the interview (seriously, doesn’t promotion usually happen PRE movie release?) It almost reads like an interview that exists because someone realized the lack of any online presence was weird. 

(5) When she was a kid, Allison Moore had a crush on Fox Robin Hood. That’s not at all important to the mystery, that’s just information she volunteered during the interview and that I’m now sharing with you. So when you search her name now, the top results are me wondering who she is, her IMDB, and her talking about how she liked Fox Robin Hood's little hat. Which isn't a LOT of information, but it’s more than we had before and that’s something.  

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Thoughts on TOTK Ganon's appearance?

A lot of them!! Some would say: too many!!! Too much!! So much so that I was almost starting to turn this ask into a TotK early review, so I'll simplify my answer a little.

I have not finished the game yet, but I have seen the memories and a good chunk of it, but my opinion is therefore incomplete and subject to lapses in judgement/hasty positions. Also, my opinion on this is kind of a buzzkill and I already made people depressed and bummed out by explaining it, so I'm putting it under the cut to avoid hurting the good time of people who might not want to think about this/might disagree on this description alone (and I understand, since it's an opinion that also depresses me!!! I wanted to like everything!! I wanted to be blown away!!).

I think this Ganondorf is like OoT Ganondorf redux, but with even more problems than OoT Ganondorf, somehow??? which is honestly a flex at this point.

(I love OoT Ganondorf to be clear, but the flaws are pretty undeniable and you have to navigate through a lot of bullshit to get to the good parts)

Between the green skin that lacks any proper justification in the context of the game (I say this because I always hear "oooo but it's because he's a demon/undead" and uhhhh no, it's not because of that apparently), the fact that he's half naked but we're never ever meant to conceive him as a human person in any way but merely as a constant physical threat... Like I'm certain the famous Ganondorf Designer did their utmost to give him justice and there is an obvious attention to details in his design, and I'm not blaming them or anyone in particular for the Nintendo treatment --but it does add up to something quite uncomfortable in his characterization regardless. Even the fact that his face rigging is extremely flimsy and makes his emoting feels super strange bugs me (I heavily suspect it's because it's way less soft anime and structurally very different from any other face in the game, especially around the jaw, and so they had to do a custom rig and had to work around its limitations --it's all speculation, and I am always here for Unsettling Ganondorf Faces, but it kinda felt accidental and not intentional like in WW or TP). He's at once a lot and really not much. I find his characterization beyond barebones. Even Twilight Princess Ganondorf had more to him than this (like the man was fascinating in comparaison, show me a guy claiming to be chosen by the goddesses while sitting on a throne next to the decapitated statues of said goddesses any fucking day over what we got here)

I like the mechanical aspects he introduces; the gloom is cool, the hands that grab you are amazing, the bosses are such cool callbacks --and he's just causing messes and putting parasites in things!!! You go girl. I do love that he's having his little puppet Zelda run around causing hijinxes, that's very fun of him and my favorite part of his character in this game so far, tho I don't know if that even counts as him --and I'm not 100% sure what that even says about anyone?

But here's the thing: nobody (beyond * arguably * Rauru) seems to be allowed to have a character arc in this game, so it's hard to come up with anything to say since he's the sole cause of conflict while being almost completely motivation-less. I don't think anyone is written particularly competently honestly; it just shows more with him because a Ganondorf who's not well written reverts back to Ganondorf at his most generic expression of a baddie imaginable, with a side-serving of, quite frankly, really questionable orientalist themes that I see little excuse for being handled the way they were in the year of our lord 2023. Like I'm kinda shocked not to see more people calling the racism for what it is, because it's... pretty blatant. But that goes beyond Ganondorf and that's the whole game, and I said I would try to keep my scope limited, but!!! I will screech about imperialism eventually!!!

The other aspect of that discussion, which is inevitable, is how much does TotK erase everything that came before? I'm sure there are some amazing Zelda theorists out there who will find a way to reconcile all of this, but for now, I get the sense that Nintendo wanted to get away from their messy timelines (fair) and reinvoke some of the old songs for a new audience, and in doing so scrubbing the slate clean. My problem is not so much that they wanted to do this (even if I think BotW's solution was, strangely, much cleaner and more respectful of their own history), but what they introduced instead: and, in Ganondorf's case, he's kind of reduced to a parody of himself --one that is so unbelievably unsympathetic and impossible to relate to and also responsible of his own oppression and also not oppressed since he attacked first!! and also oppressive?? (I made A Sound when I heard the line about Rauru talking about "the last free gerudo village falling" bitch!! free according to whom??????)

Removing a lot of the Goddesses/Triforce thing (so far, maybe it will come up) also does this conflict zero favors in my opinion, as it makes everything and everyone's actions much less fated and an expression of self-determination/resilience over their predestination, and much more uhh political in a bad way, while still borrowing the aesthetics of divinity to justify its own mind-numbing moral simplicity.

I don't know. Maybe the third act reveal will really surprise me and make me reconsider my position, but it would take a lot to scrub off all the dedicated efforts made to flatten Ganondorf to his lowest possible denominator (him and his people honestly my follow-up to the gerudo post will probably be Oops! All Salt) for the sake of the most brazenly imperialistic and feudalist Hyrule to date and its really weird and uncomfortable reimagined origin story.

So uhhh, Thoughts Bad! I guess thoughts bad. :(

(Matt Mercer did a great job with what little he was given tho, and so did every voice actor)

[polyamzeal]

“Polyamory In Anime” panel at ACen 2023

Over the weekend at my favorite anime convention, Anime Central (ACen), I attended a panel called, “Polyamory In Anime” by @hiriajuu-suffering​ . So I wanted to give them a signal boost and talk about my experience at the panel.

Anyone that knows my backstory will know that I was actually introduced to polyamory during a panel at an anime convention, Geek Kon 2015. “Non-monogamy in Pop Culture” is a panel that changed my life. So I toyed with the idea of doing a polyamory panel at an anime con as well. But I was skeptical about how much that would pull people in. Even though that panel at that small con was really full. I think I just figured that the world was very different in 2015 compared to now. So I ran a panel twice in the past year that has a section talking about non-monogamy in anime but focuses more on sexual orientations and gender identities portrayed. And in it I pretty much just assume by this day and age that all weebs know what polyamory is unlike me in 2015.

Hiriiajuu-suffering made a very different assumption about the anime community and I think he made the right call! He focused a lot more on the basics of polyamory and especially defining various different terms. Maybe I just have a good brain for memorizing vocabulary words because I never found polyam terms confusing but it is quite a meme that they are overwhelming. And from what I could tell, the audience was very interested in this and eager to learn. I realized that the mistaken assumption I made is that while yes a lot more people in 2023 have heard of polyamory than in 2015, most people are still newbies that just starting off and learning! I have been in my own bubble of non-monogamous weebs for so long that I kind of forgotten that most people have only heard lots of these terms in passing.

To back up these terms and different styles of polyamory, several anime titles were listed off and briefly talked about. Unsurprisingly there are a lot more negative examples of non-monogamy in anime than positive examples. But I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing since we touch upon where some of these shows went wrong and how they could have fixed themselves into more positive polyamory.

And then the shows that do show positive polyamory (which for me are Girlfriend Girlfriend and My Next Life As A Villainess) felt like so much of a triumph. I really enjoyed when we got to cite these examples. 

There were a ton of shows listed that i had heard of but never really thought of through a polyamous lens (check out my series) so that gave me ideas for future anime reviews on this blog. I never thought the list would be so long. 

If I had one gripe it would be that some of the definitions of those pesky terms and labels I personally disagreed with. So I guess I do see why people say they are so confusing after all. But they were explained well enough that I got the point being conveyed.

I think the more important part was the concepts and ideals. There was a lot of “why someone might want to be polyamorous” weaved throughout the whole panel and I think it was so good that even fully monogamous people could learn a lot of lesions from those ideals. It was really beautiful!

I wish there was more time at the end for discussion. I had a lot to say but I mostly tried to patiently wait until the end as I didn’t want to constantly be interrupting during it. And then even at the end I wanted to make sure that other people got their input in first since again I didn’t want to steal the show and already felt like I did say a decent amount during it. I was in the front row with part of my polycule so that alone felt like I was contributing to the visibility of polyamory people. Although I honestly wish my entire polycule could be at a polyamory panel at an anime convention together. New goals!

I had decided a few weeks ago that I want to take a break from running panels at all cons but this one really inspired me and got me thinking that maybe I would run a polyamory panel at a small Midwestern anime con and stay away from running at the big ones for a little bit. I don’t know, we’ll see. I am really happy that Hiriiajuu-suffering did this panel and put so much hard work into it. The community, both anime and polyamory, really need content like this.

[alicenpai]

🌟

anime north 2023 con report

finally posting this - thank you to everyone for a wonderful anime north!! \o/ this con prep season was the longest ive ever prepped for a con, and i think it was the busiest con for me ever. it makes me so happy to see people taking my art home!! 😭

so thank you for coming by anime north and chatting and supporting me! and thank you esp to the people who came by gifting their own merch?!??? - either fanart or ocs?! and im honored to see your beautiful ocs?!?? what the hell you guys are the GOAT thank you all 🥹🥹

it was so busy that i wish i had time to walk around & talk to other artists! i really wanted to get dango and onigiri at the delta too.. didnt really get time to eat so im sorry if you saw me shove 10 timbits in my mouth at the end of the con. yes i really did that .

throughout the con i kept saying "he just like me.. HE JUST LIKE ME FR!!!!!!!" every 5 seconds like an NPC. im sorry if you had to hear that more than once.

---

i wasn't able to post my con catalogue for AN on tumblr and instagram... i was so busy.. dying... maybe if i do other cons this summer ill post something similar. i had a lot of new stuff this year so formatting it was rough haha. here it is! more thoughts under the cut (bc this report really is more for me, but maybe someone can find something useful)

---

this is more for me honestly, so it will be really long. but i'm sharing it in case it may be helpful for others. i find that i'm always looking back at my old con reports, so typing out all of my thoughts are really useful to me. overall a great con, fellow artists and customers alike really inspire me to do better in my art.

comparisons to last year: (since i didn't end up making a con report last year!!!!!)

location: the artist alley layout was huge, and im really happy there are a lot more newcomers to the con scene. i know how much my first con experience meant to me, so i want others to join in on the fun! i don't know how the artist alley staff managed to fit so many artists in the building now! we got placed in a corner where there was a lot of breathing room, and a lot of traffic. i got lost a few times (didn't actually have time to walk around, but you know, it was to get in and out of the con centre and to the washroom/water station) because the amount of tables was overwhelming however, and the layout was super confusing. however i didn't feel as if there were any significant bottlenecks in traffic when i was taking some walk breaks.

commissions: last year it was still busy, but i still had some time to draw a handful of commissions. this year was a non stop barrage of customers! i think i may retire on the spot commissions at cons, just because ive always found it too stressful to draw right at the con, even if the traffic is slow. (and im lazy)

fandoms: last year i felt that it was... never so difficult to sell niche and old fandoms...? most people bought primarily 3 things from me at AN 2022, and not much else was touched. it was a struggle, and i even wondered if my art plateaued, if it wasn't good, if i should stop doing conventions altogether, at least for a little while. this year was so surprising with how much love there was for old and niche fandoms. two people from quebec came by and noticed the old fandoms and mentioned that if i was able to come to otakuthon, i should, people in mtl love nostalgia.. i'm gonna be honest otakuthon was pretty bad expenses-wise for me, but i heard it picked up since cons came back in 2022. it is a really beautiful city so mayhaps.. i will come for miss montreal.................

---

and a separate section on the new merch i made:

the new sticker sheets i printed (one piece, baccano, breaking bad/better call saul) did so well! nts to add luffys scar bc apparently i forgot... ive seen this dumbass's face for hundreds of eps and yet i still forgot .

these are a far cry to the sticker sheets i designed in previous years. many sticker places restrict you on how many stickers you can place on a sheet due to spacing requirements... the more stickers you have + the closer they are, the higher the margin of error, which i understand is why many professional sticker printers have these restrictions in place.

the artists i worked with for my AN stickers are so genuinely nice and accommodating with my requests. I just went wild haha. the sheets with the most stickers are brba/bcs at 27 stickers and one piece at 32 stickers.

2021 (top) vs 2023 (bottom), the chara stickers on the new sheet are larger & 2x as many item stickers! the new design makes greater use of the space. my octopath 1 stickers are meant for planners but you could use it for anything!

in 2017 i could only realistically fit 6 ish stickers on a sheet (for vinyl, not cricut home printing) due to printing restrictions. these costed about $3.30 CAD per sheet from s/ticker/mule (not worth it for the price point AT ALL... but i wanted to try sheets for the first time)... and yes it's a tiny 4x7 as well. it was a hard sell for $7 in 2017. but im glad artists have been pricing them a bit higher + sheets have become much more customizable.

now on to charms:

i am so obsessed with this borderless charm look on the new charms... they look like candy... thank you guys for loving my new charms!! i tried out a new technique with designing charms. and im so happy with how they turned out. the charm manu was super accommodating and they are so much better than vograce who fucked up my order so bad in 2022 🤡👍

the soul eater charms from last year were kind of a precursor to this. last year i tried something a bit different than my usual with the transparent bgs, which require full bleed in the file setup, and that was already pretty new for me. i find that charm sales are usually pretty mid for me, so during the pandemic i took a soft break from making them, and i wanted to do research based on others' designs and really tried to improve my design sense. to me i want to design charms that aren't just a flat piece of artwork that gets printed, but something that utilizes the capabilities of the acrylic material it gets printed on 🤔

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fandoms/merch types i want to try next time i table:

more soul eater? it's one of my favourite animes and im very happy for the soul eater love this year. my partner kept selling out of her soul eater prints even though it was her first time tabling!

fma! ive been rereading AND rewatching it lately. it's one of my top 5 anime of all time so me drawing anything for it is a struggle, the bar is set so high. i never end up having the time or ideas to draw anything for it (and the aesthetics are very different from my usual taste)

shadows house has been one of my favorites recently!

dungeon meshi, the print i made was back in 2018 and i think it's time to retire it! it sold out at AN, thank you! with the way the story has developed in the last 5 years, i really want to draw something new for it if i can.

blue period needs more love!

golden kamuy.....

and many more.....

i also want to try mini prints maybe...

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administrative stuff:

next time before the con, i definitely need an organized chart i print out before the con so im not.. literally writing down each transaction... 🧍‍♀️

clamps...?

possibly new display? grids even with plastic panels are heavy... and they can be a pain to put up. this AN we had our neighbors and good friends @nappotuna & @stripeyworm helping us put the grids up, they did an absolute speedy banger job! but it might have taken way longer without 4 hands on the grid work.

if we had used tape to hold our prints up as well who knows how long it would have taken. we used magnets, apparently a lot of people were using them at TCAF. they were so easy to put up and adjustable. *jesse pinkman voice* MAGNETS, BITCH!!!!!!!

---

merch i may shelve/do less of:

i really appreciate when artists talk about these kind of things behind the scenes... when products do well, when others dont, products w surprising responses, the factors that we think affect sales... the hard truth is that not everything sells, just bc the art is good =/= good sales, etc etc.

lately ive found it so fun to design sticker sheets over individual die cut stickers!! i understand now why some people only specialize in stickers!! it's also such a pain to stock individual characters and have greatly varying levels, bc of customer interest, and bc of how printing stickers works, you often get extras of random characters due to overflow 😭.. like at some point I had 7 jeannes and like only 1 of the other vnc charas bc the printer had so many extras and she's arguably less popular HDHFJSJHDJS anyways, i think i'll probably do less die cut individual stickers for my next con...

anything old that i only have 1 or a few copies left (meaning i won't reprint) i may not have for display anymore bc of space concerns... before my next con ill just post them on social media to have people claim them!

i may want to do less 3" charms in the future...? theyre a hard sell online prob bc i cant really do deals (i could but id have to be checking the stock every few hours which is not ideal), but they do a lot better in person due to deals.

it's been fun to try specialty products (I've tried scrunchies, stamps, pouches, microfiber cloths, coasters, enamel pins), but i... find they dont sell well for me... maybe my art doesnt have that wide mainstream nostalgic merch type appeal idk... maybe im just not good at designing or advertising them wahahaha. (specialty charms are still charms and i wouldn't necessary consider them a part of this)

my jojo buttons were really popular at anime north 2019 and fan expo 2019, but when the part 5 anime concluded, i noticed that interest for the interest completely moved on 😭 (or it's possible that everyone who was interested bought the buttons already?). part 6 anime didn't rejuvenate the same level of interest. it was a struggle to sell even more than a handful of these at each AN 2022 and 2023. right now they're taking up a lot of space in my con luggage that i'd prefer for newer, better art. i still love the art i did, but unfortunately, i think ill give them a go if i get into otakuthon (and maybe fanexpo too), then it'll be time to retire the jojo buttons. sometimes fandoms come and go so fast, and it's difficult to keep old merch around when they don't have any more interest and when they're occupying a lot of space.

my banana fish lollipop charms do not sell well, and i only sold 5 of them in a 3 year period, across cons and my shop. i created a bargain bin at AN, and it really helped me get rid of old things! unfortunately even in the bargain bin i could not sell a single one of the banana fish charms. maybe it's the art that's not appealing, the characters aren't recognizable, the price point for a lollipop charm was too high, i wasn't hitting the right audience, the market was slow around the time, even when it was included in my promo post... etc. these lollipops were my first time making specialty charms. unfortunately i think that's the last time making lollipop charms, and about time to recycle these charms, so that i have space for fresher and better art!

other thoughts moving on:

maybe go back to simplifying my art a lot more... if i keep making drawings like my great ace attorney tarot + zine, witch hat atelier print, and pandora hearts print, then id not only take 1 month per illustration, id also be destroying my arm 😭 i stopped stylizing my art in 2021 bc i found that my art was getting sloppy in 2020 + i was really struggling in life drawing in school. i needed to buckle down and be more conscientious when drawing poses, learning anatomy and structure... and bc getting back into anime in 2021 really helped me cope with the isolation of the lockdown, so that had a huge influence on my style. but bc of that i think it just took longer and longer to make illustrations and that's something i no longer really wish for.

i really like the period of my art in 2017 with a lot of my persona 4/5 art bc it still has structure even though it's simplified... and the style in my zelda icon... mayhaps experiment a bit more this summer if i can...

[dasloddl]

okay I’m currently going through my Spotify wrapped through the years and it’s a mess

2016: we don’t talk about it… lots of music my mom listened to and she basically shaped my taste in music back then. The songs are pretty alright… but then there’s some songs I don’t wanna talk about because it’s embarrassing (generic pop and other stuff you listen to at 13), bit of twenty one pilots tho… I found them in this year

2017: experimenting with music myself… we have twenty one pilots, against the current (a LOT), Dat Adam (also a lot), some kpop, generic pop and still some mom influences from the year before

2018: a BIG mess… from the descendants soundtrack over my chemical romance/twenty one pilots/fall out boy over the same kpop from the year before over some 80s bangers over piano music to dubfx/monolink (electronic/dance/reggae) with some more 2016/17 mom influences and don’t forget the basic pop

2019: uhm can you tell trench released end of the year before? Definitely… the whole album and more twenty one pilots is featured predominantly in this year… loads of 80s, billie eilish, some fall out boy/p!atd… and some pop (that is getting better tho) and the same electronic/… mix

2020: twenty one pilots obviously, cavetown, ajr, (children’s) film music and random songs I thought were cool… dinosaurs in love (a highlight), Lorde, still the electronic/… mix, oh and girl in red

2021: all the gay™ songs, one direction/Louis Tomlinson/Harry Styles (yep, I had my 1D phase… like 10 years too late), Grace Vanderwaal was a big one, Ruelle (yes, I also had my shadowhunters/Malec phase)… still twenty one pilots, but not as much

2022: glass animals (yes, dnf phase)… still the gay™ songs, lots of songs I heard in series/movies, twenty one pilots, 80s stuff (I listened to music for 105.706 minutes that year… that’s 1761,76 h… or 73,41 days… or 10,49 weeks… or 2,62 months)

honestly I’m glad my taste in music is getting better… I can’t even look at the 2016 playlist without wanting to slap my younger self into some senses (I mean the good foundation of knowing who twenty one pilots were were there, I just didn’t really use it)… 2018 for sure was my self discovery phase and I think 2019/2020 was when I finally discovered my taste in music (it’s still all over the place but at least it’s music I actually enjoy)

Honestly I might even know what my 2023 wrapped kinda looks like… but I guess I’ll only see in like November…

[repurposedmeatlocker]

6, 12, 26, 33, 42 and 47 for the movie ask? <3

6. Favorite movie from the 90's I technically already answered this one with a whole list of films....BUT WHATEVER. I realized I didn't add Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999). I love them both, and they honestly hold up super well for cgi animated films from that decade. The first one is especially kind of wonky, but I never really noticed that as a kid. I think because the story and acting is so well done, and choosing the focus to be toys was so clever for the technological constraints of the time.

12. Are you against book-to-movie adaptions? I wouldn't say I'm "against" it. Some of my favorite films are book-to-movie adaptions. A lot of films transition to the medium really well. Some are even more engaging to me than the book. That being said, I think it is RARE for instances like that to happen. Kind of a shot-in-the-dark. More often then not, when I read a book before and even after watching the film adaption, my first thought is "oh this is a lot better". As a result, I try to account for them as their own thing with individual merits rather than a direct comparison. I DO think that some choices for film adaption are unnecessary, because I cannot fathom how someone could take the book and make it into a film that is actually good and/or better than its original form. I don't think someone should necessarily be stopped from trying. Maybe they will surprise me. It has happened. Not often enough for me to be enthusiastic though.

26. Best experience going to the movies? I've definitely talked about it before, but it would have to be seeing Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker with my friends in 2019. We were all unashamed haters, and were lucky enough to be in a packed theatre also full of haters. The engagement from the audience was so visceral and fun, we didn't feel any shame laughing/clapping at inappropriate times. When Ray came onscreen for the first time someone yelled "hot!" Apologies for anyone in that theatre actually trying to enjoy the movie, but also it was Rise of Skywalker, that shit was just laughably bad.

33. An overrated movie Barbie (2023). I wasn't exactly over-the-hill excited about it when it was announced. I chalked it up to me just not being that into Barbie dolls as a kid. Then everyone started shouting really obtuse praises and I was a bit curious. When I actually saw it I was just like "that is it? This is what people were calling "sublime feminist cinema"? This is what conservatives all through the United States were getting scared of?" I don't know. No shame to anyone who the film did speak to. I sincerely love that for you. I'm just a bit tired of people using that as an excuse to call ANYTHING they like "nuanced" or "high cinema" without irony. I don't think I would be as bitter as I am towards the movie if people appreciated it as it was: a campy, fun summer flick. Sometimes a film is just that, and that is ok! We don't have to call everything "high cinema" in order for it to be valid and treated seriously.

42. Films you wanted to watch, but never got around to watching? SOOO MANY. My watchlist is so huge. Generally, ANY David Lynch film, ANY Cronenberg film, and ANY John Waters film. I sincerely don't know why I've been putting these off for so long despite being aware of them for so many years and actively WANTING to see them. At this point there isn't a good excuse anymore.

47. Favorite road trip film Thelma & Louise (1991) is so good. I cannot sing it enough praise. Closely followed by A Goofy Movie (1995), genuinely.

[kyuuxmizu]

I went to watch both events for the Gintama Ato no Matsuri!!

The afternoon event via live-viewing in the cinemas

The evening event inside the actual venue, Ryogoku Kokugikan~

IT WAS HONESTLY THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!

(2023 is also my 15th year as a Gintama fan so what better way to celebrate than attend the matsuri!!!!)

Hihi we used the penlights inside the live-viewing theater too.. hey most of the ppl in our row were using it too okayyy😂😂 It was so much fun!!!

ofc nothing beats the experience of watching it LIVE inside Ryogoku~🥹🥹

3Z Anime announced!!!! Everyone was like majiiiii????

They kindly asked us not to post any spoilers on social media until the evening event ends, so I kept mum about it XD

Upon arriving at the Ryogoku, my friends and I took pics of our matching Sonjuku ita-bags!! 🥹🥹 (Mine is the Takasugi one hehehe)

So many ppl!!

Then I went to pickup my preordered goods, which I'll post later!! XD

Outside Ryogoku~

Inside Ryogoku~

With my sibling wearing our matsuri shirts and sukajan~

We won the tickets during the Advance reservation lottery so we got pretty good seats~ マス席 in the first floor and facing the front! My friends were seated on a different row T^T

On to the event~ (A lot of screaming and crying XD)

I already knew most of what was gonna happen since I watched the afternoon event so I thought my hype would be dampened??? But the emotions just kept flowing!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭 (Tho ngl I wished they unveiled the 3z anime in the night event instead... I was expecting another bomb to drop actually hahahah xD)

The atmosphere inside Ryogoku... everyone's so passionate!!! You could feel the love not only from the fans but also from the seiyuu and bands as well!!! Aaaa I love Gintama and it's fandommm 🥹🥹💞💞

Never watched One Piece but the hype inside the venue and Kitadani's energy was so high it made me sing along too, idk how I managed to do it cuz I barely know the song😂😂 they went all out with this even parodying the OP of One Piece and the seiyuu mimicking the strawhat pose😂

Then the 生アフレコ went a trip down the memory lane🥹🥹 Makes me wanna rewatch everything all over again 😭

I started getting emotional when ChicoHani started singing ヒカリ証明論 (Kiheitai tapos Bansai death scene talaga..mashaket po mga mamshie...😭)

And サクラ舞う暁に..it's my fave ChicoHani song okayyy Chico shouting Matsuri ja Matsuri jaaa🌸🌸🌸 So fun to sing along with the crowd!!! Almost everyone switched their lights to pink!! one brain cell~ XD

Their surprise was the Samurai Heart cover!!! 😭😭😭

ChicoHani's gntmと出会わせてくれた song, Pride Kakumei!!! When the Honeyworks guitarist shouted "saikou da saikou" waaaa the hype!!!!! Crowd went crazy!!

Otsu-chan so cute I didn't expect the fox at all (Gintama always subverts expectations so true even for events like these x3)

Toshi always up for anything riding the Thousand Sunny Sadaharu-Eli ship hahahah And Sakaguchi-san!!! 🥹🥹

Then 生アフレコ again~!! XDDD

Surprise was KUROKO's special appearance (with Suzuken as Murasakibara and Nakai-san as Imayoshi!! Chiba-san's side comment: なんかイチャイチャする 😂😂😂😂)

SuzuKen funny he said he could hear Kensho Ono from the Kuroko mascot hahahah

plus GINCHAAAN (for the evening event)

It was so adorable how Sakaguchi-san took a pic of Gin-san and Sugita on stage... He really loves Gintama, ne (The whole cast loves Gintama!! that alone makes it so special)

Sugita's side comment: he wants Oguri Shun to join too hahahaha

DOES so cool!! Everyone switched their lights to red when DOES started their set list~

It's also no secret that Wataru-san loves Gintama sm, he mentions it in his SNS accts frequently🥹🥹 ワタルさんかっこ良かった...有難う! Crowd shouting Wataruuuu Bravo!!! XD

The SPYAIR covers gosh 😭😭😭 I almost cried listening to the Wadachi cover 😭😭😭 (I did cry when I rewatched it through Abema haha 😭😭😭)

From the band's message in the end, it was apparent that SPYAIR really wanted to attend but alas they have no vocalist yet 😭😭😭

The highlight of the event for me was Yama-chan's surprise appearance 🥹🥹 LITERAL CHILLSSSSS I mean... THE KOICHI YAMADERA...

Apparently, Yama-chan never attended events like these and Ato Matsuri was the first one. That alone just made me.....🥹🥹🥹😭😭

is Gintama that special he agreed to make an appearance 🥹🥹😭😭

Or did Higuchi-san (producer) really splurge their budget on him ahahahah

We were joking that they must have spent most of the special guest budget on Yama-chan that's prolly why no other guests appeared 😂

And gosh that man has range.... I also learned that Yama-chan voiced Donald Duck from Kingdom Hearts..!!! That's why his animal and nature dubs (from the special Matsuri manga) are on point 😂😂😂😂

He can sing too (He sang JPN version of Prince Ali and Circle of Life) and had a duet with Hirano Aya (Nobume VA) for the Yakuza game 😭

Koyasu-san was a no-show as usual (I had high hopes since he attended the Isekai Oji-san seiyuu event at Anime Japan last year) He had a voice message tho, saying his ponpon was in pain (basically he had a stomachache) 😂😂

And then there's Sugita's closing message 😭😭😭

That even though gntm has ended 4 years ago, he hasn't forgotten about Gintama

That he'll be Sakata Gintoki until he dies..no, even if he dies 😭😭😭GURL I GOT SO EMOTIONAL!!!

Then he says "Chinko"!! how very Gintoki!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

And finally the Ginpachi-sensei anime which will be part of a series of projects for Gintama's 20th anniversary (which will last until 2026!!!) I am so excited 😭😭😭😭

AAAAAAA MY HEART AND WALLET ARE READY

As Suzuken said 終わらないね銀魂ァァ

Thank you so much Ryogoku~ See you again in the next Gintama Matsuri!!!

[jenoutof10]

Hi.... If you don't mind me asking, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....

hi! i definitely dont mind, this is such a fun ask so i'm SO SORRY ive only answered now 😭 also im horrible at explaining my thoughts so please bear with me...

1. jujutsu kaisen

i can go on and on about jjk but I'm trying to keep this short so I don't go on an endless rant. OKAY. i love the power system of jujutsu, it's simple but also pretty flexible and creative, i love the historical and traditional aspect of it + how it ties into clan culture, i love how it branches into barrier techniques, reverse cursed technique, binding vows, etc. for characters like gojo in particular i love how he's pictured as the strongest and how akutami shows the gap between him vs all other sorcerers, like he was in a whole different league and how his birth changed/tipped the balance of the world of jujutsu. i love the whole "saving others" thing like how yuuji wants to save everyone, megumi wants to save good people, nobara wants to save the people who mean alot to her, gojo thinking abt how he can only save people who want to be saved, geto wanting to save sorcerers from non sorcerers, etc. i like how the series has aspects of history (like how sugawara no michizane was a sorcerer and how his descendants include the gojo clan is ⅓ of the three main clans of the series, and basically the entirety of tengen (lol)). i love the anime adaptation and how crazy the animation is (when s1 came out i was alr baffled but after watching s2 and looking back at s1 im even more impressed at their development), the manga's artstyle i was a big fan of but now not so much (the scratchyness and alternating thick and thin rough lines around the time of shibuya arc were PEAK). besides that as a buddhist myself, the multiple buddhism references in the series really cemented my love for it as it felt familiar and it feels like ur getting a shout out esp since most shows feature themes of catholicism and christianity.

2. blue lock

i'm honestly unathletic af idk why im here. i think what hooked me was the whole individualistic + egoist concept and the elimination setting (like squid game) 🙏 for me blue lock's prime is [2nd selection, 4v4] until the end of [u20 arc], i really liked the art style during that period! sadly, i feel blue lock has fallen off ever since the current NEL arc, it feels as if theyve deviated from the original ego concept (fuck this whole "protagonism" thing man wtf) and the artstyle has undergone changes im not particular to. also the anime wack af.

3. bungou stray dogs

im going to be honest. i did NOT like bsd. s1-s3 was too all over the place for me and i really did not get the series at all, i actually thought it ended but then they released s4 & s5 in 2023. almost a year since s4 came out, i came around to watching it and i got HOOKED, i think a big factor was that there was less fillers and a lot more action scenes, plus the detective vs mastermind thing truly popped off in s4 + s5. besides that, i enjoyed the introduction of new cast and the return of previous ones (now as allies). sure, there's plot holes and the anime cuts off a handful of scenes but it WAS an incredibly enjoyable watch. plus i'd say bsd has mountains of content (atleast in comparison with other serieses) because besides your usual manga, anime, and occasionally stage play adaptation. you have the alt univ. BEAST, light novels like stormbringer or 55 minutes, wan!, and even bsd gaiden (which has nothing to do w the main series)

4. haikyuu

THE classic. it was the first anime i got into when i started quarantine and it brought back my animanga phase. i love how the characters all have interesting stories to tell, their own motivations and personalities. lots of teamwork, teambuilding, found family(?) aspects, plus all the themes have their own specific themes which i dig a lot (ex. inarizaki and their foxes + shrines). plus i love how this series captures the thrill of watching sports, it MIGHT be overexaggerated to some but i get lightheaded when theyre at match-point and on the verge of losing so it does provide some kind of high. OH and i like that they show realistic wins and losses.

5. hunter x hunter

i have not read the manga but this show was serious to me. i'm a sucker for meta and power systems, and nen is like... actually insane. i love the characters SO MUCH, the variety of designs and appearances, how the series shows the way they grow throughout their adventures and experiences, the way they show a character's relationship with the rest of the cast, etc. it also gives a somewhat nostalgic vibe? i love the opening, endings, OSTs + narrator. it truly does feel like ur tagging along on their adventures, it was a real tearjerker for me tbh.

6. avatar: the last airbender + the legend of korra

i think atla is an amazing show bcs 1. cool setting and world building 2. the cultural references 3. cool dynamics 4. character personalities and development 5. cool power system and fighting styles 6. found family etc etc... ITS A COMPLETE PACKAGE. im p sure not much are fond of tlok but i love it. i think some reasons include the fact that korra isnt like aang, but i think thats what makes tlok interesting, korra is 17 when the show starts and the show continues to follow how she grows and develops into a fully realized avatar both physically and spiritually. i also think its bcs of how they modernized bending and how lots of the cultural aspect is lost but i think its an incredible and interesting way to showcase real life modernization.

7. jojo's bizarre adventure

jjba CHANGED ME 😭 this series is actually insane like if it was a person please get it to a mental ward. i think as an artist, it holds a very dear place in my heart. the show itself is absurd and unbelievable so it keeps you on your toes (dont mind the plot holes and inconsistencies, at some point you're just gonna have to live with it). but the selling point for me is the characters, everyone has amazing, colorful and distinct designs that match well with their personalities and overall air. not to mention the artstyle and references in everything to everything? lol. the show's different parts also feature different main casts, dynamics and storylines, sometimes they do a callback to a previous part.

okay! it was very hard choosing between the 7 of them but i think they actually were the ones that truly left an impact on me. thank you so much for the ask i finally got the chance to ramble about the stuff i consume 😭😭😭 there's a lot of media I'd love to talk about and mention so maybe one day ill make a post on hopefully all the media ive consumed.

honorable mentions:

genshin impact

i started genshin in 2021 when 1.3 came out, i was dead serious about this game during quarantine. i love liyue so much its what truly got me hooked (everything from the music, the sights, etc. for me liyue/pre inazuma was prime genshin), i enjoyed building characters and doing showcases too. started losing interest when sumeru came out and slowly stopped logging in/playing daily. the reason i wont put this in the actual list is bcs im pretty clueless about the new characters and story, nor do i have much interest in them. (i came back to do the lantern rite event, love the new liyue regions!)

detective comics

i love action and fights, especially when they feature powers, so liking superheroes makes sense 🤷 DC gets shit on alot bcs of the DCEU but the films aside i like DC better than marvel. im particular to gotham and the batfam, it's just more dark and gritty, plus there's lotsa drama going on LOL. the gotham knights cast also branches alot like to young justice (I LOVE YOUNG JUSTICE 😭), teen titans, titans, birds of prey, and ofc justice league.

chainsaw man, mob psycho 100, code geass, assassination classroom, neon genesis evangelion, trigun, fairy tail