#hori is surpassing our expectations

[coladaminx]

he's gonna temporarily die and kacchan better catch him (╥﹏╥) i'm not lookin forward to this but i sense something crazy is happening..

[haleigh-sloth]

when I read JT arc in the manga I thought it dragged waaaaay to much but I was kinda fine with it because I thought that hori made the arc for us to get to know characters that he was going to use in the future but now I'm like, what is the point of it? the only thing that came out of the arc is deku's avatar powers, all the other character developments were pushed aside and made zero to none difference in the story

Yeahhhh....I really hated the JT arc because it felt repetitive as hell. But I mean, it kinda had to happen for black whip to make an appearance. It would be nice if it was not so drawn out though.

Regarding the development of the characters and them not mattering now--yeah that’s a writing problem. Now I’m personally not complaining because I’ve been WAITING for the main cast to switch over to focus on the main 3 villains and the 4 main students. I’m fucking THRILLED that Deku left UA. I was NOT looking forward to going back to everyday hero school life. It was out of place after the war. It wasn’t important at that point. I know some people are really upset over the students not mattering much now, but to be honest I don’t think they ever really mattered to begin with. Not when it came to the facing the main narrative challenges of the story at least.

UA itself is a representation of a BIG issue with hero society: only allowing an elite few to train their quirks. You can’t address this issue by feeding into it, and continuing on with life as normal. Society is crumbling and the school is a shelter for families. Why in the world would it be a time for the kids to go back to school as if nothing happened? That’s just my personal preference though. Hori may focus on the school again, I kinda hope not, but it’s not my story.   

But tbh it’s on Horikoshi for making the first 220~ chapters focus solely on the kids and the school, barely touching on the underlying issues of the story, and then suddenly switching it over to focus on the REAL content of the story with a villain arc. The villain arc really changes everything about BNHA. It’s when you see just how fucked up the hero system and hero society is. What makes a villain. What created our main villain. Not to mention how fucking tragic it was. I mean Hori made it beyond tragic, and sad. And at that point Hori couldn’t just go back to happy go lucky school stuff that didn’t address the underlying issues.

I know it sucks for the readers who got attached to the students. I don’t blame them, I mean the story was ABOUT them for 220+ chapters. But the FIRST sentence of the story was:

This was always the underlying issue of the entire story. Focusing on high school kids graduating a hero course from a school that only contributes to the toxicity of hero society was never going to cut it. It wasn’t going to address this first statement.

But again, people can feel upset because of the structure of the story. The way Horikoshi wrote it, to focus on the Class 1A kids for 220+ chapters and then suddenly veering away from it so he can conclude the story. I get it. 

I’m really hoping, and expecting the main cast by the end to be Midoriya, Shigaraki, Shoto, Touya, Bakugo, Ochaco, and Toga. Those are the characters I’m invested in. 

I wouldn’t worry too much about the students though I mean they’ll definitely play a role in the end game. It’s a “younger gen surpasses the older gen” type of story and, well, they are the younger gen. So they’re still a big part of the story. But they’re not the main cast anymore. At least it doesn’t seem like they are for now. We’ll see what happens with these spoilers tonight and where the story is going. 

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Horikoshi: This will probably not be super popular, but it’ll be fun!

Us: Oh, well that sounds nice!

Us, 290 chapters later: This Isn’t Fun Anymore Horikoshi

Horikoshi: :)

Anyways, welcome to the beginning of - hopefully - a long term and engaging project. I am basically aware of all of canon, and am up to date with the manga, but I haven’t actually read from the beginning of the series, and I’ve only watched the series up to the Deku v Todo fight in the sports festival. However, I’ve been curious as to how the manga portrays stuff that I’ve seen in anime gif form, and so I figured, hey, make this a project!

If you have questions or anything, the ask box is open for now. Meanwhile, I am going to head into the first chapter proper!

[No. 1 - Izuku Midoriya: Origin]

Wow, you’d almost think this kid would grow up to be a villain or something, with that kind of attitude, huh? No way that this kind of attitude would ever come to bite him in the ass and force him to reevaluate his entire character and kickstart his character development.

(Before you say anything, I like Katsuki as a character, but DAMN did he have to do a lot of growing up. I suppose when one is at the bottom, the only way to go is up… unless you have a pickaxe.)

One thing I actually noticed right away, and I dunno how much it’s used in other manga (seeing as I currently am not reading any other manga and the last ones I read were… a long while ago…) is the shape of the text boxes in order to convey emotion! It’s actually hella neat and a little detail I wouldn’t think about adding if I were in his position (not that I can draw all that well, but that’s not my point). You can practically hear the warbling in Izuku’s tone and the rougher edges in Katsuki’s!

(Also, question for the English sub while we’re at it, why the fuck does Katsuki sound like he’s a goddamned adult when he’s fourteen. What the fuck.)

Interesting little thing here, Katsuki not actually using his quirk here against Izuku; his hand is trailing smoke from his explosion, but it’s not a direct burn wound. Not that he should be doing this at all, but with the number of fics I see where Katsuki literally gives Izuku second or third degree burns, I think this is a reminder that canon Katsuki has some modicum of restraint, even this early.

Before I forget, hello winged kid who definitely has no plot significance whatsoever. No siree.

(If you are new to the manga/show and are reading this as among your first introductions to the fandom, first off, I am so sorry. Secondly, expect me to be… definitely making a lot of sarcastic quips to things in the future.)

Onto the second/third page, which is supposed to be a full spread, but is split up into two pages on the online reading site. RIP, but I will not complain about free access to the whole manga. 

Lookit this green bean. I love him so much. I can’t wait for him to suffer.

Izuku: wait, what?

Anyways, a few things to note:

Who the fuck is this guy? I looked into the wiki but he apparently doesn’t warrant a page or even a mention as one of the background faces of the series, but look at that fucking claw, man! And those boots and jets! He’s very obviously themed after a baseball catcher, so I’m going to guess that he has some kind of quirk that deals with either drawing projectiles to him, or perhaps in throwing projectiles… in either case, it’d be something like Snipe’s quirk, so maybe this is his less howdy-happy sibling.

Oh right, the chapter. The other heroes we see on the scene in this two-page spread are Death Arms, Air Jet, and Kamui Woods. 

Also, something I want to point out that I’m sure others have but just struck me while looking at this spread - multiple people are recording / taking pictures of this. I wonder if part of the reason for the villain industry to be as strong as it is is because the villains, even if they know they’ll lose, still get their own sort of fame in being in the news? That… might explain a lot about how there can be enough villains to even run an entire damn industry.

(Well, that and a lot of sociopolitical commentary on BNHA society, but we don’t need to get into that now. Maybe wait two hundred or so chapters first.)

Not gonna lie, I had to double take because I was like ‘wait, what is Ochako doing here?’ but then I realized it was just a random civilian; she doesn’t have those side bangs Ochako does. But now I almost wonder what sort of world we could have had, if they’d met a bit earlier.

Onto the fifth page (fourth is just a filler page, nothing on it), and we get treated to this gem:

Tag yourself I’m the guy who’s slackjawed because his kid is fucking glowing.

The first four examples of quirks shown in this flashback are the luminescence, telekinesis, ice, and that flame-headed(?) mutation. Of them, we actually see hints to the fact that quirks have drawbacks, as the girl with ice is drawn with the same frostbite backlash as Shouto, while the flame-headed kid is… well, I have no idea, but they do not look to be happy.

Also, I love the nod Hori does to the heroes of our era as silhouettes! This is just more evidence to me, along with the fact that the first quirked kid is born and presented in a modern hospital, that this series takes place sometime in the future. I… even calculated the years it could technically be, based on information we get in a few chapters, but I’ll save that for then.

Onto the sixth page! A nice shot of Kamui Woods getting into position, and man is that giant quirk unnerving.

What the fuck is with those feet, Hori. Those aren’t feet.

Next we see how the crowds are reacting, basically with no panic or concern. One guy is just casually letting his boss know he’ll be getting in late. And Backdraft! That is some serious water manipulation, but it seems like it has to be the water they’re in contact with? Also, is it just me or is that a portable pressure hose on their back?

And of course, Izuku being excited over hero stuff, as one does. He’s so babey faced, going back to current chapters after this is gonna be fucking wild.

Onto the seventh page, and here we are with the ‘you’re pure evil’ speech to someone who’s… just a robber. Seriously, dude? I get that you’re still fairly new to the scene (I think he might not be from a hero high school, but a late join program, but that’s another post), but like. You can’t just call random people ‘pure evil’ and correlate petty crime with like, actual mass murderers, or else people might start to see things in black and white and, you know, create the idea of ‘villainous people’ and so push even more innocents down the path of desperation and criminality.

Wait, sociopolitics later. Izuku being a hero fanboy now. Even able to utter Kamui’s attack call as he’s calling it out, with some seriously cool visual effects-

And on the eighth page, we have Mt. Lady crash the scene. Literally. She just fucking shows up outta nowhere and fucking leaps up and delivers a kick right to the villain’s chin, throwing him back through the train bridge wall and sending debris down to the ground below. Sure hope there weren’t civilians there!

Also, hello to that random guy on the roof watching this. I think in Smash they made that guy her manager or something.

I love how Izuku and the other guy are like ‘what the fuck’ while the press just shows up out of nowhere and is like. Hyperfocused on her. (I’ve heard some issues with the portrayal of media/reporters in the series, but since I have no experience with that sort of thing, I can’t say much on it.)

The last panel of this page shows that, fortunately, there were no civilians on that part of the street (even though it being rush hour and the huge crowds on the other side of the bridge should have suggested otherwise… but what do I know?)

With page nine, we get to see our first case of villain apprehension, which to note does not include any sort of quirk suppressors. Because those don’t exist. Otherwise Aizawa and the Eight Precepts’ erasure bullets would not be such huge deals to everyone. I mean yikes, though, the guy is fucking muzzled. And you can see the damage done by Mt. Lady in the background, both physical and emotional. Not to mention…

What the fuck is that face.

But yeah, this notes that performance in heroics determines not only what they’re paid by the government, but also how much fame they get. No way a system like this could backfire in any capacity, right? Right? (cough).

I love how Hori uses Izuku’s muttering habit as the border for the text bubble when the kid zones into his little world. Also, gigantification is noted to be a common and strong quirk, so we really should see more OCs with size altering quirks in fics in the future, you hear me? Honestly, with it being common, I would almost expect there to be entire buildings, or maybe even neighborhoods / blocks dedicated to catering to size shifters… wonder what those places look like.

Also aww, the guy saying good luck on the heroics dream to Izuku and Izuku just sparkling. What a cutie. Can’t wait for him to suffer. :D

Izuku: No seriously, what-

Anyways, I’m cutting off here since we then transition into the next ‘scene’ and this is a long chapter - 55 pages! Besides, this has already surpassed 1700 words, I don’t need to ramble on too long in one post. 

Lemme know what you think, and I’ll be back with more soon!

[arkus-rhapsode]

My Hero Academia Chapter 223 Review

Well, I’m back! Yeah, if you wanna know why I took a break it was because whenever there is a villain centrist chapter it is usually pretty good. But it seems I underestimated Horikoshi and this isn’t a mere chapter. No, this is basically like the pro hero arc and that it will focus on the villains as protagonists for a little while.

So without furthur ado, let us begin.

We open on the current time with Shigaraki fighting against Gigantomechia. And as expected, they aren’t doing so good. We get some narration from Spinner on it.

We also see that just a flex from Gigantomechia’s arm causes a burst of power.

Though that seems to just be a portion of his abilities. As it seems this guy can fight for more than 48 hours before needing rest and recharge. And even in his sleep he’ll be able to attack you. He also grows larger in battle, though no word if it has like reset after awhile. With what the doctor said about Gigantomechia, I’m wondering how much of this is a quirk or just strange physiology.

We see that Shigaraki is the main target and the others can tag in and out.

I kinda love this moment as we learn that the doctor gave them some money and Toga went and bought a new coat with it. I don’t love it because the joke, I love it more in the context of Horikoshi being like “I need an excuse to draw Toga in something cute.” Even though her primary clothing was sweater.

Its not a nitpick, so much as it, just one of those moments that makes you laugh when you think about it. Though, Spinner brings up this important point that Toga had joined for Stain and there is almost nothing about Stain left. Accentuating that point is Spinner not wearing his stain costume (Yet). And remembering the highway chapter, Spinner is the most introspective and one holding Stain to the highest belief.

And here is where we really see the point of this mini arc and that’s basically the parallel of Izuku’s journey. When Shigaraki takes a break from fighting and we see him all battered and bruised,he’s equated to a young boy chasing his dreams. And considering the reckless self destruction Izuku subjected himself to, we see Shigaraki doing the same. While his wounds aren’t self inflicted, he is still throwing himself at something that, in pure power, he is outclassed and will get hurt.

And yet he’s not stopping. Shigaraki’s dream matters more to him than by his physical health.

We get a funny as hell scene with Twice and Compress when Twice gets called by Giran. However, on the other line is the CEO that was torturing Giran. He tells them to check the news.

We see that severed fingers have been placed around Japan in places where the League of Villains have operated. I also would like to take this moment and acknowledge the All Might Statue in Kamino. That’s a really nice touch.

We see the CEO and I’m skipping ahead and we find out his real name is Rikiya Yotsubashi (I’m wondering if he goes by that name or if he uses an alias as Destro’s last name was Yotsubashi and it would be telling if you shared a name with a guy who was the leader of a people’s army.). His villain name is Redestro. Which is kinda lame. Maybe its suppose to be like “Reborn Destro,” but the extra ‘Re-’ just makes it sound a bit goofy. Maybe if it was like Destro the second or something. Wait where was I?

Oh yeah, we see Redestro with the hostage Giran and he explains his view point. Tearing down society and rebuilding it in a way that allows people to utilize the full power of their abilities. This really sounds like he wants to be Armstrong from Metal Gear and make this sense of “true freedom.”

Shigaraki tries to brush them off, seeing it as just another Overhaul. But unlike Overhaul they don’t really have anything like the quirk bullets that will make it worth teaming up with.

But they find out that Giran was tortured, those fingers at the sites of their crimes are Giran’s, and he tried to erase his client data and wouldn’t give up the villains after everything. However, the liberation army was able to restore the data thanks to the help of a member of the liberation army is an IT guy. Speaking of we get our intro to all the heads of the liberation army.

Yeah this is bad. I’ll talk about this later, but these guys are far different from Overhaul. Not just in power and motive, but scale. Also lets look at each member individually (Mainly cause I want to get a bit of snark in).

Tomoyasu is the head of an IT company called Feel Good Inc. Which I really hope is a Gorillaz reference.

Hanabata is a politician, though that would make sense. If they’re trying to regain control of society, best have someone in a position who can affect laws. Also his party is called Heart Seeker, and I really hope that doesn’t allude to the idea that because he’s hot, people voted for him.

Kizuki is the head of the publishing company printing the Destro books. Also, I knew about Shueshia being the company that published Jump beforehand so this parody got me when I first read it. Also, with the fact she’s selling the books and that an arc ago we had Hawks saying he wasn’t happy with the idea of someone profiting from it. So did Hawks ever interview Kizuki? Hori get on the canon version of that and fanfic writers get on the smutty version of that.

And while Redestro is obvious, I will at least take this moment to say, I like his design. While Overhaul had that cool aesthetic with the plague doctor mask, Redestro looks like a middle-aged business man. He’s not drawn as some super hot, Light Yagami looking guy. He look normal and a bit unattractive. Its unique I feel. Usually that kind of character design is the one assisting their Bishounen bosses.

We see that Redestro has satellite cameras on them and that he could sick the heroes on them. But we get a bit more insight into him. The one who must lead the way is Destro and it seems the League after they forced All Might into retirement are the face of evil to the world. As such, Redestro must destroy Shigaraki himself.

While this seems lik one of those cliche “I’ll do it myself moments.” I actually think from the way he speaks, Redestro really does have his dad’s philosophy ingrained in him and he wants to show of the extent to which it grants. Also he probably has like a trap set.

Our chapter ends pretty well actually and I’m hyped.

Post Chapter Follow Up: There is really no negatives in this chapter aside from not much action and maybe one of two pages that feels like filler. But as a whole, its good.

The biggest strength of the chapter is Shigaraki’s journey. Again, as spelled out last week, the whole point of this is that Shigaraki must surpass all for one. Just as Izuku must surpass All Might. As Izuku grows stronger, so to must Shigaraki grow as a villain. He betrayed and outplayed the Yakuza, but he did it with the help of the heroes targeting Chisaki. But now, now he has a beast that won’t recognize him and another beast declaring war on him.

It doees sem like this arc will end with Shigaraki earning Gigantomechia’s respect by beating Redestro. But I’m very curious to see how that goes. As we see, Redestro is a far different villain from Overhaul. Overhaul was calculating and strategic, but he was just as underground as Shigaraki. He had men and disposable equipment, but he was still pretty small. Just a piece in a growing underworld.

But Redestro is actually far larger. Not only does he have more money, but more influence on the public as saw with his choice to go into support tools. He however waits in the shadows a lot more. Which you would have to do as a public figure.

Also we see how much more different than Redestro is in his goal. Like Shigaraki and Overhaul, he wants to change society, but he’s actually far closer to Shigaraki than Overhaul a Overhaul wanted to control societ. He was trying to refit the concept of the Yakuza into the modern age and make a way where he controls both crime and society. Basically making him the “Overlord” or “Godfather.” But Shigaraki and Redestro want to destroy current society. They likely wanna lead it, but they are going to literally change the fundamental structure and replace it with a new one. Shigaraki is just being more open about it.

So yeah, this’ll be Shgaraki’s moment. If I had to predict, if he beats Redestro, it’s likely that he’ll take all of his Liberation army and his support tool manufacturing centers. So this is Shigaraki looking to profit big time off of this.

Also, I love all the small touches in this chapter. From background detail to dialogue, there are the little bits of visual storytelling that I love.

Final Verdict: 9/10

Good buildup

Great characterization

Really makes you think about the complexities of the villains in this world

[zanyanimalstechnologytaco]

My Hero Academia, the series, the fan media, the community all was a mistake of our time

I hate this show. More than Naruto and more than Fairy Tail. I hate Izuku, I hate Kstsuki, I hate how everyone and everything is just being forced to like everything about them, I hate All Might, I hate the Hero Association, I hate how light hearted and shallow arcs end. And I hate how things ended up with my once favorite character, his ship and everything I ever expected to be better became much worse and theres no male based fan media to or communities that allow my project myself in shouto anymore, seriously hes manly than "Cant stop Sparkling" guy now adays based on all the fan stuff he has about being with deku.

Todomomo was a mistake and Todoroki is a mistake. All bnha ships are unholy and wrong. Bnha is all shallowness and impure GARBAGE. I used to love bnha and was a big todoroki fan. But the more I invested through time in this character, the more i felt alone and isolated from the fandoms intention on shouto being bland fangirl fuel, the more I felt more distant from the character and not even the manga supports my reasons to invest in todoroki whom hori treats like the most shoehorned false hype emo in the show. And that offends me deeply, you got all these characters and the ones that you are expected to take seriously (and live through vicariously) are the most important characters in the show. Deku, Bakugou, All Might, Mineta, Kirishima and even Endeavor are these character and he obviously builds up there hidden character development in abilities and progression, shouto still struggles with his own personal development and is basically the same as he started with the added bonus of jobbing.

Oh and all the hype about him being cool and attractive, just irrelevant blanket statement extra tidbit filler, nothing meaningful but to make shouto explained why hes special, I prefer it if the story elaborates this by "showing" it, which the author just skims through with him and hand waves consistancy with contradiction in other following scenes making him seem like a weaker/dumber from before(ex. Fighting Festival(shouto a top tier student in every respect according to deku) to Stain Fight(Shouto is nothing but quirk reliant) according to Stain). Strongest quirk wise, this is all he has for him but even hes not even the most talented or intelligently trained with it, which makes me wonder of all shouto is just a blanket statement based character that just meant to exist to explore how insignificant he is with all his power and advantages compared to the main duo and other coming of age based events involving the cast. Even his father represents this more than his son.

Todomomo seems to relate to this, but its meaningless, just like everything else shouto has been portrayed by fans, based on how much the author puts his narrative into play which is also meaningless in the grander context of the story. Why make momo and shouto work together in the first place only to not build that relationship in future developments.

That pairing I hate(todomomo), I didnt hate in the beginning only to me because it was the only humanizing aspect todoroki had not related to his family and later the forced shoehorned dynamic with deku and bakugou, it made sense because the two are socially awkward people despite their supreme standing in the class and as first years and yet they both encourage each other by standing firm to overcome their own lack of socialization skills to grow as ideal people and improve socially, which seems to be working for momo now not shouto who's still the brooding loner elitist type(only has friends with elitist characters like friends too) . Now it's a husk and a relic of a potential investment in shoutos own story, I dont give a damn anymore, shoutos has no real anticipating developments to compel him to me, his quirk is boring as fuck since it's just a shooting targeting spammer, he isnt a good character to entertain me from a personal way, he really is a broken record of the same issues with a new idea, his family outside of endeavor and overcooked guy is more boring than him, and god I hate him with deku and bakugou which gives me more a reason to not bother with anything about him specifically since they will always overshadow him as story narrative and progress development narrative types, and I hate those two more. They are really just stand ins as horikoshi escapist fantasies, and both of them get more attention than any character as narratives who pretty much get the most attention in doing the most awesome feats and accomplishments as main roles. The new movie was about that. Shoutos accomplishments center around how he plays second fiddle to that basically instead of exploring the potential of being a pure equal to deku and bakugou, he gets the second in command villains or does something less than them in battles they already excell at in quirk control.

It's all worthless, shouto should not be this popular anything, and eventually this reflects in the popularity polls recently, which I noticed in the west from the previous one, shouto was less recieved by a significant margin compared to the main leads as a third place holder, maybe it shows me that todoroki is losing favor slowly, it makes sense, the author is not doing anything with him that makes people catch interest with the plot about strong heroes and villains getting more relevant as major players, while hes stronger than most the class but not plot relevant with his strength like deku has. Bakugou is like just like deku since the plot focuses on his strength to and is naturally stronger than Shouto via being the more badass and more aggressively driven he gets and thus gets as strong if not stronger and more skilled than shouto out of sheer plot armor. Shouto is just getting hotter and cold, bigger and more raw and unrefined in his power, so he has to control it which is still not as grand as bakugous perfect skills and genius and deku grander scaling in brains and brawn. If I were to make a guess, shouto is just going to to be behind them both as a stronger quirk user eventually and more about being a defensively capable than battle capable like kirishima and ochako, fitting for a major yet minor character, which disappoints me even more since shouto can be more battle creative than both of them if the author didnt have a bias in making deku and bakugou better than him despite having a stronger quirk.

God I hate this series. Theres no likable characters that are relatable or even human, there all shallow power and fanservice fantasies, the only character in class 1s that acts less cartoonish and serves as a stand in audience Surrogate is jirou and tail guy, but they are all about being generic looking compared to the unrealistically attractive guys and girls, the looney toon designed comic relief, and the recycled shonen trope cast. But if anything shouto represents all these shallow functions the most, and it's made him a less than a character too, it made him a sellout fan appeal type with no credibility as a character, which is why men dont like him due to not showing much concern to connect to him as a human narrative, at least the characters compared to him are showing why they(despite acting like shallow cliches) are interesting characters to care about, shoutos thing is telling about how tragically sympathetic his character needs to be as the only important thing about him, not as a part of him as a character to endear towards while he grows and helps build up a leading narrative with his development. His story doesnt help any part of the main lead or rivals growth, or his class, or his own personal objectives for his goals as a hero(being like all might and surpassing all might is a all purpose blanket statement to keep him near deku and bakugou as a power hype, not a individual self defined person). Dragging out objectives(season 1: being anti endeavor on surpassing all might which in the end pledges to learn not to do that and become better, season 2.Learning from the festival and from then on to being able to take endeavors legacy and take his training seriously which compared to deku and bakugou isnt enough to show much, Season 3. Promises to make people depend on him, doesnt happen since hes still the unapproachable person people in his class know him for. Season 4. Still makes promises hes gonna be a dependable hero, still accept his fire side, still be his own hero, things he repeats and fails to attempt because hori is lazy or just doesnt care about showing how much hes changed compared to his mary sue duo. etc) that dont happen and are inconsistent with new story details is why shouto is dead to me. High expectations about him are problematic since the author has agendas that don't involve story relevancy about him compared to the actual leading roles, plus the fan reception helps effect how I feel about shouto to, hes not even popular enough to have drawn pornagraphy with most all the girls and high quality momo hentai fanservice artists and circles, fucking mineta and your average joe otaku faceless male is more likely than shouto instead. That's how much the value shouto means to anyone than just a fangirl targeted audience which is just gay or bishi equivalent to sasuke fanworks and the feminine answer to male targeted audiences of characters like deku, bakugou and mineta, the worst and most common types of shonen stock characters in the series.

I hope this series and all the fans get tired of this shit when it gets eventually cancled. Or maybe it has. I dont really keep up with it anymore.

[recentanimenews]

INTERVIEW: Legendary Voice Actress Kikuko Inoue

Among the industury guests at Anime Central 2018 was Kikuko Inoue, a veteran voice actress whose work has defined anime for the past two decades. We had a change to interview her about her career, relationships, and history in the industry as a star so great she needs no introduction, because she provides it herself!

Kikuko Inoue: Hello, my name is Kikuko Inoue, I've been a voice actor for 30 years, but actually the joke is that I'm 17 years old and my fans respond with "Oi! Oi!" so every time I'm at an event I use that introduction. Within the voice acting industry, I have a lot of voice actor friends who have joined what I've created, called the 17 Years Old Club, such as Horie Yui and Tamura Yukari. So, one of my first prominent roles was Kasumi from Ranma 1/2 and she was the older sister I got my nickname "oneechan," or "older sister" from that role. I was also Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess and I've acted her on several different occasions, and for quite a long time so I feel like that's a role that's watched over me for a long time. Actually I get a lot of offers for mother or older sister characters, and especially recently I've been offered a lot of mother-like characters, but of course there are characters that are good mothers and bad mothers and I... will play both. *Laughs*

When I play these rather evil or bad mothers in shows I'm pretty sad to play those roles and have to be the villain in that case, but then, usually it's the case that the story has the child maturing and growing up, and overcoming such obstacles, and being able to move the audience in such a way that I, at the end of the show, feel very relieved to have been a part of it. The most recent example is The Ancient Magus' Bride, where I played Chise's mother, and she was a rather evil mother, but that the main character was able to overcome that obstacle was a big relief to me.  Since I do voice a lot of characters that are the mothers and older sisters, it's actually kind of refreshing and exciting for me to start to voice some of the villains as well. When I actually do voice the villain characters I get to say lines that I would definitely never utter myself in real life, but in a sense it's kind of like a feeling of catharsis. Of course other than anime I also have voiced a lot of characters in games and quite varying roles, such as Boss from Metal Gear Solid and I-No from Guilty Gear, so I'm definitely happy with my job and my life.

You've been voice acting since 1988, how has the field that you work in changed and developed over that time?

At first when I debuted I would just receive the script and be told to go to the studio, and then in front of the screen when I saw the footage for the first time I would be asked to voice act the role, but then maybe five or so years after I debuted I was actually able to receive a physical copy of the footage and be able to practice or view it at home before actually going to the studio. Once we got what a lot of us call "homework" we were able to practice many times over until our movements and our voices perfectly matched the mouth movements of the characters, so that we were able to nail it when we went into the studio.

Which role of yours do you think was the most important for your career?

I view all of the roles that I have played as my children, so I cannot honestly say one is more important than another.

A lot of the American voice actors talk about how when they record they're recording alone in the studio, but I believe in Japan they sometimes do group sessions. How does that work, do you do voices all at the same time or record on your own?

Yes, they definitely assemble the cast all together in one room, and this is common for all of the work that we do.  First we do a test run where everyone recites their lines and then the director has specific instructions for each actor where they say, "I want it more like this or like that," and after that instructional phase there is another test and then it goes onto the recording so a twenty or thirty minute episode probably takes three to four hours for us to record.  

*She stands up to stand in front of a screen in the room to visually demonstrate the recording process she's explaining*

So as you can see, this is the screen where the footage is playing, there's probably three to four mics in the center of the room and everyone is sitting around in a circle, or a semi-circle and when it is your character that comes on-screen you have to find and open mic, it works like musical chairs, so you go to the first open mic to recite your lines and then as soon as your part is over you sit back down.  The work for the mic is pretty technical itself so a lot of the newer voice actors have a hard time finding a mic, or getting to the mic in time, so that's something that the voice actors have to learn.

  Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist is a bit different from the type of character you often play, what was it like performing that role?

  Even though Lust is a villain, she's a really cool character. *Laughs* Also, she's shown on a lot of the promotional items for Fullmetal Alchemist, so she's a pretty prominent character as well. When I was playing Lust, I pulled out the deepest depths of darkness within myself and then channeled that into the role.

Anime is really popular here in the United States, what do you feel about people seeing themselves in your characters and cosplaying them?

I really love cosplay! When I see someone cosplaying a character that I voice I get so excited that I wanna run over and greet them right away, and actually yesterday I took a lot of pictures together with people I saw that were cosplaying characters that I've voiced.

In 2009 you founded your own talent agency, Office Anemone, what got you interested in your own agency and how has that experience been?

Actually the president and other co-founder of Office Anemone is my older sister, who said "let's work together and form an agency," so I eventually decided that I would join her in her quest, but even though I left my previous agency, the voice acting industry is a very small world so I am still very close with a lot of the voice actors that I worked with and I still speak with them on a regular basis. There's a sort of wordplay with the name Office Anemone, where "ane" means "older sister," and "ane mo ne," is "with my older sister," but also anemone is also the name of a flower in Japan, so people associate it with that, so it has a double meaning.

  You've mentioned that you're friends with Tamura Yukari, how did you feel to see her and other friends rise in popularity over the years?

I'm very happy! I'm always happy to see someone succeed, and as I said earlier the voice acting industry is a very small industry so especially with my friends I'm very close, and very happy to see another member of the Seventeen Years Old Club succeed, since I see them as siblings.

Have you met any of your American counterparts, who've voiced the same characters you've voiced?

Yeah, since I've been to a few events in North America I've been able to meet a fair number of voice actors, and yesterday doing my autograph session the English voice actor for Ed was doing his autograph session in the booth right next to mine, so I got to meet him and that was exciting.

Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess is one of your most well-known and beloved roles, what about that performance specifically makes it so popular?

I think it's just the aura and existence of Belldandy is so sublime in a certain way, where she's nice but it's- "nice" is not even the proper word to describe her, her kindness surpasses a normal level of kindness, and of course it's because she's a goddess, but it seems like she would be accepting of you no matter what happens and you could go to her for anything.  It isn't just kindness or niceness, but she's very strong, she has a very strong heart, and she seems like the type of character that would be able to cheer you up no matter what you're going through.

In addition to anime you've done a lot of voice acting for video games, what are the main differences between acting for anime and video games, and do you prefer either of them?

Like I mentioned earlier, for voicing anime we are all together in the studio, and if I were to compare it to a sport, where in acting for games you're just alone by yourself in a booth, anime is like a team sport, like baseball, everyone is going to be behind you and back you if you need help form your teammates, whereas voicing for games is like long-distance running where you are by yourself.  I do actually love both, you're overcoming the obstacles and get to face the task head-on when you're voicing for games, so they both have their advantages and I love working on both. So using the same analogy of sport, when I'm working on anime I always have to be thinking of a strategy of how to back someone up or how to successfully play off the others that are working with me, in a sense pass or receive with the other teammates, and when we achieve a perfect recording or a perfect result it really feels like a great accomplishment that the team had together, and when you're working on a game, just like running a marathon your opponent is yourself so when you're able to surpass your own expectations it is a really good feeling.

If you weren't doing voice acting what would you be doing?

Maybe a maid? I really love maid outfits and I actually wear them a lot, so what about a maid cafe? But they might be a little concerned about my age... I'm seventeen! [room: Oi! Oi!]

You've appeared in both of Kunihiko Ikuhara's recent anime, Mawaru Penguindrum and Yuri Kuma Arashi. He's known for being one of the most unique directors in the industry, so if you have any, what are your impressions of Ikuhara-san from your work with him?

I think he is a really great talent and he has a really high level of skill for his worldbuilding, and we're actually pretty close in real age as well, so I feel like we can get along with each other pretty well and I would love to work with him again.

You said that as your daughter starts her voice acting career you wanted her to start out with smaller roles and then build up from there. How do you feel now that she's begun voicing main character roles, Sakura in Pazudora and then Ruby in the upcoming Sora to Umi no Aida?

You knew! (In English): "Thank you very much!" Well yes, my daughter is actually three years older than me, but yes, I had said that I wanted her to mature gradually and take on more responsibility, but to see her get main roles, I'm very happy about it and also quite surprised.  One example is in Puzzle and Dragons where she is voicing the heroine, I've recently been called to voice a lot of small roles as well, and in that particular one I was called in to voice her mother in the show, so it's quite fun for me to see the reversal of roles, for her to be the main character and me to be the side character.

You've also done some stage performances, playing your character Cordelia in Sakura Wars live shows, what was it like doing stage acting?

I've also thought about the voice acting job as something that's behind the scenes, that we don't really appear in front of audiences that often, but it was quite different for Sakura Wars in which the voice actors all wore cosplays of their characters, and not only that they did a song and dance on stage, so definitely while I was surprised it was REALLY fun and I never thought I'd be able to do such a job. We had a lot of practice for the show, such as song and dance lessons, and for me particularly dance was quite challenging and despite all of the dance practice that we did, I for the life of me could not remember all of the dance steps, so, during the actual live performance itself, the actor who played Coquelicot was standing next to me so I would step just half a foot back and view her dance from the sides and sort of copy her movements, so if she messed up I would also mess up (laughter).

If you had the opportunity to stage act again would you take it, or do you prefer voice acting as a more streamlined career?

Yes, definitely I would love to take the chance again, but of course as you know with age... wait I'm seventeen so... For me in life I just love anything that's fun, and actually my theme or motto in life is to live with a smile and to provide a smile for others, so I would definitely accept anything that's fun or provides enjoyment to others.

How did you get your start in voice acting?

Actually I went to a specialty school for voice actors, and after I graduated I became a voice actor.

Finally, do you have a message for your fans here in the West?

Thank you very much for loving and enjoying Japanese animation, I really appreciate the fact that Japanese anime is able to connect people around the world and please continue to support and enjoy Japanese anime.  Oh! And games too, please support games as well! Thank you very much!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

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INTERVIEW: So I’m a Spider, So What? Voice Actors Shun Horie and Kaito Ishikawa

The upcoming Crunchyroll Originals series So I’m a Spider, So What? will be making its way to Crunchyroll in January 2021 and to celebrate the upcoming release, today we are publishing some exclusive interviews with the voice cast of the show! If you want to check out the original Japanese interview, you can do so right here. In this interview, voice actors Shun Horie (Kazuya Kinoshita in Rent-a-Girlfriend, Enta Jinnouchi in Sarazanmai) and Kaito Ishikawa (Naofumi Iwatani in The Rising of the Shield Hero, Tenya Iida in My Hero Academia) talk about their upcoming roles as Shun and Hugo, giving voice acting advice to each other, and more! Also be sure to check out the interview with “I (Kumoko)” voice actor Yuuki Aoi right here!

  The translated text follows.

    The TV anime So I’m a Spider, So What? is set to begin airing in January 2021. We’ve interviewed the main cast for a special program to be aired right before the series premiere. Our second interview features Shun Horie-san, the voice of Shun, and Kaito Ishikawa-san, the voice of Hugo! What drama will unfold between Shun, with his overwhelming sense of justice, and Hugo, who sees him as his enemy?

  What was your first impression of the series?

  Horie: I read it out of a personal interest. In most isekai stories, only the main character gets reincarnated in a new world, so seeing all the main character’s classmates also get reincarnated was new to me. It’s divided between Kumoko’s side of the story and the hero’s side, and it’s also interesting how the two storylines frequently seem like they should overlap but don’t. It was like reading two fun stories in one.

  Ishikawa: I also thought the way it was divided between Kumoko’s perspective and the hero’s was really creative. It’s fun to think about which side of the story you should give more of your focus to, plus it’s interesting to see what kind of foreshadowing happens and to imagine how it’ll come into play later. It’s definitely a story that keeps you wondering what’ll happen next.

  Shun (voiced by Shun Horie)

  Then what impressions do you both have of Horie-san’s character, Shun?

  Horie: Shun is the fourth prince of the Kingdom of Analeit, and both before and after reincarnating, he’s the type whose strong sense of justice won’t let him ignore anyone who’s weak or in need. In his previous life, though, he didn’t immediately condemn people who were bullying others, but tried to approach everyone openly and without any bias. That made me think he was a very kind guy who treated others as equals.

Ishikawa: I actually auditioned for Shun’s part as well, so Horie-kun’s Shun seemed a lot softer and gentler than I was expecting. He does have the spirit for saving the weak and the strength to follow through on it, not to mention lots of friends and acquaintances who adore him, so at a glance, he seems like this amazing hero. But he also has the naivete and artlessness of an ordinary kid with a strong sense of justice who just happened to obtain incredible power.　

Horie: Right, the sound director told me about that during my audition. I tried to portray him as the archetypal hero, strong and gallant with high enthusiasm, and the sound director asked me to bring down the “strong” quality a bit. During episode 1’s recording, too, I went through a lot of adjustments with the director and other crew to make sure Shun would sound like his own brand of hero, not too strong but not too weak.　

  Ishikawa: I didn’t know that.

  Horie: Yeah. I was also told to play up 　his admiration for his older brother Julius a bit more. Once, during recording, the director asked me why I chose Shun’s part to try out for, and my answer was, “Because I seem to have a fitting voice for people with brother complexes” (lol).

  (All laugh)

  Horie: The hero side of him is important too, but they also wanted to portray the depth of his love for Julius. For that reason, I’ve been putting more emphasis on the overflowing love that Shun has, and especially his admiration for Julius.

  Hugo (voiced by Kaito Ishikawa)

  And what about Ishikawa-san’s character, Hugo?

  Ishikawa: I’m trusting that no one will get the wrong idea when I say my first impression was, “I really don’t like this guy (lol)!”

  Horie: You’ve been saying that for a long time (lol).

  Ishikawa: In total contrast with Shun, he’s an extremely self-righteous, self-obsessed guy. You really get the sense that he’s the kind of character who was designed to inspire disgust and rub people the wrong way just by watching him. As an example of one finer detail, I make sure his chewing sounds are really pronounced whenever he’s eating something. I feel like the director really wanted viewers to feel repulsed by him, and make sure everyone would perceive Shun as “good” and Hugo as “bad.” As a prince, Hugo has grown addicted to his own remarkable talents, and it’s made him arrogant, so he seems less like a mere rival and more like “THE bad guy.”

Horie: He definitely seems evil when I see him normally, but when I look at him from Shun’s perspective, I also kind of pity him. No matter how hard he tries to become stronger, there’s always going to be a hero he can never surpass, and that must be a really painful way to live life. Although Shun’s fairness and lack of bias might just irritate Hugo even more...

Ishikawa: Yeah, from Shun’s perspective, Hugo might just be someone who’s worthy of pity. But as far as Hugo’s part goes, it’s really important that all the viewers are repulsed by him, so I’ve been trying to act him out in a way that no one could have any sympathy for. To put it another way, I think it’s important to not be overly conscious of how he works and what he thinks. We already have Shun as the embodiment of goodness, and then there’s Kumoko with her positivity. If I portray him as a redeemable character, it would throw off that balance, and it’s quite clear that his bitterness toward Shun accumulates over the course of the story, so I’m taking great care to portray him as an evil character.

      Since the two of you are senpai and kouhai from the same agency, do you ever consult one another for advice or guidance during your recording sessions?

Horie: I don’t usually ask any of my senpai for advice, including Ishikawa-san. I tend to feel like I need to find all my answers for myself. What about you, Ishikawa-san?

Ishikawa: I’m the opposite. If there’s anything I’m not clear on, I’ll immediately ask for guidance. I’ve started to enjoy finding answers for myself more and more, but back when I had just made my debut, I’d go out for drinks with my senpai after every recording session and say things like, “This is the kind of expression I’m going for. Why isn’t it coming out that way? What am I doing wrong?”

Horie: Oh, wow!

Ishikawa: I tried out lots of different things, even stealing my senpai’s techniques, in the sense that I wanted to know exactly how they construct their acting. Once I knew their method, I could try it for myself and find out whether it gave my acting the senpai’s flavor or my own flavor. And if I didn’t like the result, I’d think up a new method. In a way, it’s kind of like playing a video game.

  Does everyone on the hero’s side record together?

  Ishikawa: Yes, Horie-kun and I have been recording together from the start.

  Horie: We also frequently record with Kitamura Eri-san, who plays Fei. Given the state of the world right now, we don’t all get to record together every time, but having our recording sessions separate from Yuuki (Aoi)-san, who plays Kumoko, actually worked out well since it made it easier for us to become immersed in the world that the hero’s side experiences.

Ishikawa: Apparently, keeping us separate from the actors on Kumoko’s side was what the sound director wanted in the first place.

  Horie: I’m excited to see how the two sides will eventually connect.

    Are there any characters on the hero’s side that interest you?

  Horie: Both as Shun and as a viewer, I’d have to say Hugo interests me the most. Seeing how the conflict between them unfolds creates a lot of drama, especially early in the series. Other than him... I guess I’d say Yuri.

  Ishikawa: Yuri is scary!

  Horie: She’s the one that seems the most dangerous to me. She’s a follower of the Word of God religion, but she’s a bit of a fanatic. I kind of enjoy what a mental case she is, though (lol).

Ishikawa: In terms of contrasting personality traits, I think Shun’s younger sister Sue is cute, too. She normally comes across as cool and aloof, but she’s very attached to Shun, calling him “Nii-sama” all the time.

  Horie: She’s very wary of other girls around Shun. But you know, they’re all classmates, so sometimes I wish she’d stop acting so threatening toward them and try to get along.

  Ishikawa: I’m also interested in Katia, who used to be a boy but reincarnated as a girl. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to the male spirit within her as she goes through life as a girl, what happens between her and Shun since they’re together so often, and how Higashiyama (Nao)-san will act out her thoughts and feelings.

  Thank you very much. Lastly, could you share a message with the fans who are looking forward to the anime?

  Ishikawa: As you could guess from the title, So I’m a Spider, So What? is about a spider and her fierce efforts to get by. I’m looking forward to seeing how a tiny spider’s battles might appear on the screen, and I hope all the fans will, too. Also, there’s a lot of drama unfolding in the relationships on the hero’s side, and I hope everyone will watch for that, as well.

  Horie: I think this is going to be a completely new sort of isekai series that follows two storylines at the same time. Each episode is limited to a 30-minute time slot, but the story is so dense that it surpasses that limitation, so I hope everyone will look forward to seeing how each of the characters contributes to the richness of the story.

      Kyle Cardine is an Editor for Crunchyroll. You can find his Twitter here.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com