#i also love nine from zankyou no terror | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

psychewritesbs · 2 years

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Your analysis of Nine and Twelve was great! Thank you so much :) You seemed to really enjoy answering the last question so if I may, can I ask about your thoughts on Lisa? She gets so much hate on the internet that I frankly don’t think she deserves. In my opinion she’s the most tragic character of them all.

Also, do you believe Lisa has an eating disorder? It’s a fan theory that has some traction, the most damning evidence being that she threw her food in the toilet and nearly retched the second her mom texted her asking if her lunch was good.

First, sorry it’s taken this long to publish my response. I started writing this response back when you first asked, and then I did not like what I had written. In situations like that I like to create distance from my work so I stepped away from the draft and only got back to it today.

Second, thank you ♥️🙇🏻‍♀️✨. I did totally enjoy writing my response bahaha. I had wanted to write about Zankyou after I finished re-watching it this last time, but had not gotten around to it yet because I had a million other essays I am either working on or want to write. When your ask came through it was the perfect excuse to nerd out on an anime that I absolutely love.

Just like with your previous question, I had no opinion on the matter. After I went back looking at scenes with Lisa, I have to say that while I can see why she’s disliked, I very much agree with you. Lisa’s character is very nuanced and very quiet, just like she is.

You can expect word vomit in defense of Mishima Lisa under the cut...

In defense of Mishima Lisa

From my perspective, Lisa isn’t a deuteragonist or supporting character, but rather one of the protagonists playing an equally important role as Nine and Twelve.

In a sense, you could say Zankyou is told from her perspective as the anime ends with her voice, which is an important part of the story and her character arc, narrating how she was affected by her involvement with Nine and Twelve.

An involvement that begins with Lisa declaring with conviction to Nine “shinitakunai!”--I don’t want to die, in the first episode. To which Nine tells her that from the resonance of the sound of her voice he assumes she must be standing in one of the stairways.

What Nine was referring to in that moment was the terror in Lisa’s voice resonating in the stairway. A terror which, in episode 9, Lisa faces, thus leading to her accepting her own mortality.

Seriously Watanabe. What a fcking genius.

In a nutshell, Lisa is the best of both Nine and Twelve. She is the third element introduced into an otherwise soulless duo.

If Nine is the brain/mind of the operation and Twelve is the body/heart, then, like the other Watanabe heroines in their respective trio, Lisa is the soul.

Watanabe and finding harmony in 3′s

After my last post, I thought it was interesting that Watanabe’s heroines are actually different character tropes. Where all of the males in his stories stick to the same tropes for the most part, he seems to explore different tropes through the females.

Faye Valentine is a ditzy femme fatale.

Fuu is cute, spirited and feisty with zero sex appeal compared to Faye.

And then there’s Lisa...

I have to admit that upon first impression Lisa appears to be a pushover and a very meek person. I am inclined to say this is done on purpose because of the character development she experiences throughout the show. Character development that, as I mentioned earlier, is incredibly nuanced and quiet--so much so that it is easy to miss.

This is what makes Watanabe a genius in my eyes. The way he shows Lisa’s character development is so in character with who she is.

Compared to Watanabe’s other heroines, Lisa is understated, she messes up royally, and is pretty much “useless”. It’s, really, no wonder she’s not popular with the fandom.

Whether others like her or not is, of course, a matter of personal opinion. Having re-watched her scenes, however, I have to say that, out of the Watanabe heroines I have seen up until now, I personally really like her the most for the same reason Zankyou is my favorite Watanabe anime--to me she’s the most human one.

But before I gush on and on about Lisa, let’s talk about your other question.

Does Lisa have an eating disorder?

Maybe?

You could say it is implied that she has an eating disorder because she threw away her bento. However, I am reluctant to jump on board that train because we only see this happen once.

For example, Nine is constantly telling Twelve not to get too involved with Lisa--thus implying Nine knows Twelve well enough to have to continuously remind him not to get involved. This is a pattern. Lisa throwing away her food is not a pattern.

I am more inclined to believe that Lisa felt grossed out by the food because her mom was the one who cooked it. The act of throwing the food away was in itself symbolic of Lisa’s desire to create much needed boundaries and reject her mother’s toxic behavior.

By flushing her food down the toilet, perhaps Lisa felt like she could just flush her mom down the toilet--this behavior of running away from her troubles is consistent with Lisa’s character.

That being said, to me, it also looked like Lisa feeling sick was a visceral reaction as though the food was itself disgusting and not necessarily because she is bulimic. Also, if I remember correctly (and I could be totally wrong), behaviorally, bulimics only barf after having eaten and Lisa did not even touch her food.

All of these thoughts got me wondering about what else Watanabe would be implying through this scene. All I could think of was that perhaps Lisa’s mother uses food to manipulate her or something along those lines. Since Lisa can’t cook to save her life, I wonder whether her mom was trying to keep her dependent on her as much as possible so that Lisa would not abandon her--her mother’s fear of abandonment is another pattern.

Of course, this is just speculation on my behalf.

But I only thought about this because I thought it was really interesting that the bento box was super cute and beautifully organized. It was like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise depressing bathroom stall.

For that reason, I can’t say with 100% certainty whether she does or doesn’t have an eating disorder. I’d call it 50/50.

However, I am personally more inclined to think Watanabe meant to show how toxic the mother/daughter relationship is and how Lisa is trying to separate herself from it.

“Meek means being powerful without taking action”

(Source--I did not actually read the article but felt like the quote is on point with what I want to say about Lisa).

To me, Lisa is someone whose kindness gets confused for weakness. She is quiet, submissive, soft spoken and timid--all characteristics that, at least in the west, are looked down upon.

Again, compared to the other Watanabe heroines, Lisa appears to be the kind of person who is bullied and does not stand up for herself. Unlike Faye and Fuu, Lisa appears to be a bystander in her own life rather than an active participant.

The first time we see her she is being bullied by her classmates. But far from being someone who does not stand up for herself, I see Lisa as actually trying to have some agency in her dilemma.

For one, I thought it was interesting she was barefoot. Meaning, either the bullies let her take her shoes off, or there was some pre-meditation on her behalf that went into this moment. I am assuming she knew she was outnumbered and would be pushed into the swimming pool, and thus decided to take off her socks and shoes.

Second, when Twelve intervenes, her response is that she was the one who decided to jump into the pool with her clothes on because of the hot weather. To me, the way she voices this shows that she is trying to have some agency over what is happening to her.

Like, “ok these girls are bullying me, but I am choosing to go along with it of my own free will because I am outnumbered.”

The problem with her mentality is that it does not get the bullies off her back. Rather, it keeps her stuck in a vicious, toxic cycle of co-dependence. Just like with her mom.

That is why I see Lisa as someone who just wants to be left alone to live her life in peace. It is other people’s agency that get in the way of her desire. Whether she is getting bullied at school, or whether her mom is trying to control her, someone is always infringing upon her boundaries and she does not quite know how to enforce them other than by running away.

Running away and locking herself up, as we see happen multiple times throughout the series, is the little bit of reprieve she gets from the problems in her life.

Funny enough, just as she is wishing for everyone to disappear while hiding in the bathroom, the lights turn off in the government building.

Because of this, I can see how she saw this as a sign that Nine and Twelve could save her from her life. Ironically, as we all know, she basically gets dragged into their conflict and nearly dies because of it.

This girl just can’t seem to catch a break.

When Nine gives her the choice to join them, he tells her “you can’t go back” (modorenai). These words scare her because she intuitively knows them to be true--she will no longer be able to go back to who she used to be.

I think that Lisa choosing to run away from home marks the beginning of this change in her.

Running away from home was another attempt to assert some sort of agency over her life. Ironically, as was to be expected, she came to realize just how helpless she truly is as she aimlessly wanders the streets of Tokyo before Twelve, who has been stalking her, finds her.

In her helplessness she fantasizes about someone coming to save her from her life and her decisions. This is totally the worst thing she could want for because it means she has actually regressed and is still stuck in co-dependent dynamics.

That co-dependent dynamic is now with Twelve.

Enter the glorious motorcycle scene.

I just love this scene so much because both Twelve and Lisa are caught up in this gorgeous fantasy in which Twelve gets to be both a normal teenager with a crush and a Knight in Shining Armor, while Lisa gets to be his fair lady.

Together, they share a moment of freedom from the matters that weigh them down in their lives.

Unfortunately for them, the reality of the matter is that Twelve is keenly aware of his mortality and Lisa is getting dragged along into a situation beyond her very human aspirations.

Lisa, the best of Nine and Twelve

I can’t say with 100% certainty what Watanabe’s intentions were, but I have to wonder whether we are meant to like Lisa at the beginning.

Like... to be disliked (at least initially) could be the point of her character.

Why do I think that?

I am not sure whether you read the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, but there are a couple of characters the fandom loves to hate while missing the point that we are meant to dislike them by design.

One of these characters is a girl who is rather weak-minded. The fandom hates her actions because, to be fair, they are quite despicable when you have no context or don’t understand the nuance of her character. Nuance which Gege Akutami, the mangaka, feeds you in small increments as the story progresses.

I feel like this method of writing characters is very Watanabe-like.

Seeing as, again, Lisa is very likely meant to bring harmony to Nine and Twelve’s dynamic as a third character, to me, in addition to bringing out the best in them, she also represents the best of both Nine and Twelve.

However, we can only appreciate this nuance as the story progresses and she interacts with them.

Twelve sees Lisa’s hope

When it comes to Twelve, he is attracted to her for two reasons: Her eyes remind him of the eyes of the kids at the institution, and her voice’s color is a pale yellow.

If you noticed, compared to Nine, Twelve wears a lot of yellow, which is very fitting with his character being cheerful. So I thought it was interesting that a character like Lisa who had been depicted as meek from the start, would have a voice that is pale yellow as Twelve says she does.

Yellow is typically associated with hope (von)/optimism, brightness, warmth, and happiness (just to name some of the color’s positive traits). Traits I don’t think many of us would associate with Lisa’s personality. But that’s only because Twelve can see something in her voice that we can’t--her emotional self.

When you look at Lisa through the lens of the color yellow, even if it’s a pale yellow, you start to see Lisa as someone whose actions are driven by hope and optimism.

Everything from being willing to jump into the pool with her clothes on, to running away from her home, to volunteering to help Nine and Twelve, is fueled by Lisa’s hope and optimism.

The fact that her voice is pale yellow might symbolize that she struggles to remain hopeful in the face of what she experiences in her daily life both at school and home. Her hope might wane, but she remains hopeful non the less.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in the Ferris wheel scene, Von is playing in the background. In fact, the Ferris wheel scene is a stark contrast from the fantasy that Twelve and Lisa were living just a few episodes prior.

The Ferris wheel scene is the culmination of the consequences that Twelve and Lisa have to pay for their actions in the real world. Lisa has to pay for her clumsiness, while Twelve has to pay for getting Lisa involved.

To me, the Ferris wheel itself represents the merry go round of life. Twelve and Lisa happen to find themselves climbing near the highest point of the Ferris wheel as the situation reaches its climax.

The situation is dire. We know from the dialogue that, unlike in the motorcycle scene, there is no way that Twelve can save Lisa with the time remaining. Twelve does not get to be a Knight, and Lisa is no fair lady.

And yet Von is playing in the background underscoring how even in the darkest of winter nights, as Von’s lyrics say:

Where something grows there is hope. All that heals hold hope. From shackles of ice she emerges. From a cold sky she crawls.

I did not finish looking into it in depth, but I thought it was interesting that Twelve’s fake name, Hisami Touji, has the kanji for “winter” in it. Seeing as the Japanese give meaning to their names with kanji symbols, I have to wonder what Twelve was trying to communicate when he chose that specific kanji that represents winter (冬) to depict the specific phonetic sound in the syllable “tou” for “Toji”.

In other words, Twelve could have used other kanji with the phonetic sound for “tou” like the kanji for tower (塔) or sugar (糖) just to name a few.

I think this speaks to this whole idea behind Von being about hope breaking through in bleak situations, and fits rather well with Twelve’s character. We think of Twelve as a happy-go-lucky kid, but as I wrote in my last analysis of the character, he is quite vicious too.

To me, his fake name having the kanji for winter adds a new dimension to Twelve’s character. He’s not the happy kid he pretends to be, He is a human who struggles to find hope and meaning and acts cheerful and remains hopeful in spite of his existential angst.

And perhaps that is why he wants to connect with Lisa so badly. Twelve has found in Lisa a kindred spirit. Someone who, in spite of her circumstances, continues to hope.

Honestly, in retrospect, I feel like I am only scratching the surface of the symbolism of Twelve’s character, Lisa’s character, Von, how Von brought them together, and the growth they both experience as a result.

But, to quote this one Twitter user who so eloquently said...

“Terror in Resonance. Von. Ferris wheel. God tier moment.”

It is in episode 9, as I mentioned earlier, that Lisa shows us how much she’s grown. She owned up to her mistakes, acknowledged that Nine and Twelve have an important mission that she had no business getting involved in, and accepted her mortality.

After all she has gone through, this is her bravest moment yet.

This is a Lisa that is taking agency over her life and destiny instead of getting dragged around by other’s agendas. Just like in the pool scene, she is asserting her agency over the situation but on a whole new level.

And just like Twelve was inspired by her response when he first met her, Twelve is inspired again by her resolution.

If you watch the scene again (because why wouldn’t you want to watch it again?), when Lisa tells Twelve to leave her behind, Twelve starts moving faster and more desperately as though her words, her hope in this hopeless situation makes it all the more important that he save her.

All is silent, hope ignites.

But I like to think that having heard Twelve’s confession “ore wa...”, Lisa found the acceptance and connection she did not know she had been longing for.

This, in turn, gave her the inner-peace and inner-strength to save herself for once. Twelve might be the one who gets her out of the situation, but even with a bomb tied to her chest, Lisa is finally free.

Nine sees Lisa’s hope too

So I wrote my notes for this answer a few weeks ago and can’t quite put into words this dynamic right now.

Heck... even reading my chicken scratch wasn’t easy 😂😂.

I would have to go re-watch their interactions and I am kind of short of time and really want to publish this essay. So I am going to do my best here...

Read all that to mean: I did not pay as much attention to Nine and Lisa’s dynamic because I shamelessly love Twelve and Lisa’s dynamic. Watanabe has a tendency to create romantic tension between two of the characters in the trio and my favorite Watanabe pairing is Twelve and Lisa.

In fact, I have to wonder whether I ended up writing about the Twelve + Lisa dynamic more than about Lisa but... honestly, I am not sure I could write about Lisa without writing about how Twelve (or Nine for that matter) changed her.

In the words of my mentor, Carl G. Jung:

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed” - Carl Jung, Modern Man in Search of Soul.

BUT, if I remember correctly, Twelve was very much interested in using Lisa to help Nine process some of his trauma around having abandoned Five.

While Nine was initially reluctant to accept Lisa, always reasoning that nothing good can come for anyone who gets involved with them, he eventually opens up to her.

I am not sure that Nine also saw Lisa’s hope in the same way that Twelve saw it, but I like to think he was impressed by her determination to not back down even in the face of danger.

If you recall, Twelve tells Lisa that Nine is a sadist. I am generalizing here but sadistic characters typically have an incredibly vulnerable side to them. Their sadism is thus a defense mechanism to protect that vulnerability from getting hurt.

“If I hurt you first, you can’t hurt me”.

In a sense you could say Lisa softens Nine.

Above all, I have to say that I believe that Twelve walking away from the operation to knowingly walk into a trap to save Lisa was a chess move that Nine had not predicted. This in turn must have shocked him to the core and helped him to re-think the situation.

Nine, Twelve and Lisa in a nutshell

Despite saying she wants for everyone to disappear, what Lisa truly wants is to be accepted and to belong. Like Nine and Twelve, she is experiencing the poignant and very human desire to belong and be remembered/cherished for the mere fact of existing--something she does not have at either school or home but found with Twelve and Nine.

That is why I see Zankyou no Terror as a story about human connection first, and second as a story about two teenage boys blowing sh1t up.

In the end, Lisa is a very human character interacting with two practically superhuman teenage boys. As such, I dare say she makes them both more human. Twelve gets to have a normal teenage boy experience with her, while Nine gets to face his inner demons and open up.

They all grow each other in one way or another.

But more importantly, as someone who is always thinking through a Depth Psychology lens, I personally think that not liking Lisa is also a rejection of our own inadequacies.

Why? Because to me, liking Lisa as a character means accepting yourself as a flawed human. As I mentioned before, she is one hell of a flawed human and I have to admit that as such she balances Twelve and Nine rather well.

How different would Zankyou be if she was a badass like Faye or spunky like Fuu?

One last random treat

So with all of the controversy surrounding the Cowboy Bebop live action I started consuming Cowboy Bebop content on Youtube.

Lo and behold the following scene from Faye’s past...

I can’t say Faye Valentine attended the same high school as Lisa with 100% certainty, but their uniforms sure look similar.

I don’t think this symbolizes anything important in particular.

I am just sharing this because I love it when authors drop little Easter eggs like this with characters from one series making a cameo in another. In this case, the school uniforms are very similar.

Anyways! Thank you for reading and I would love to hear your thoughts too!!

p.s. I have to say I loved writing this one even more than Nine and Twelve’s analysis.

#zankyou no terror #terror in resonance #shinichiro watanabe #mishima lisa #a to the q!#one of my favorite otp

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somegirlsnerdywords2 · 4 years

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Anime i’ve Watched

That begin with a Z!

Yep this is how i’m going to bring over all the anime and manga i’ve watched and posted about on the old blog. It’s not so detailed but it will have to do. Anything new I watch or read from this point on will have their own posts.

Zankyou no Terror:

Genres: Mystery, Psychological, Thriller

Synopsis: Painted in red, the word "VON" is all that is left behind after a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility in Japan. The government is shattered by their inability to act, and the police are left frantically searching for ways to crack down the perpetrators. The public are clueless—until, six months later, a strange video makes its way onto the internet. In it, two teenage boys who identify themselves only as "Sphinx" directly challenge the police, threatening to cause destruction and mayhem across Tokyo. Unable to stop the mass panic quickly spreading through the city and desperate for any leads in their investigation, the police struggle to act effectively against these terrorists, with Detective Kenjirou Shibazaki caught in the middle of it all. Zankyou no Terror tells the story of Nine and Twelve, the two boys behind the masked figures of Sphinx. They should not exist, yet they stand strong in a world of deception and secrets while they make the city fall around them, all in the hopes of burying their own tragic truth. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 9/10

Finished airing in 2014 with a total of 11 episodes.

My Thoughts: I could have watched more. Though I clearly really enjoyed this show I really do think it could have benefited from a longer run. More time exploring the plot and characters would have quite possibly elevated this particular anime to god level.

Zombie-Loan:

Genres: Action, Horror, Shounen, Supernatural

Synopsis: Do you know when you are going to die? Michiru Kita does, as she has the ability to see a "ring of death" on the necks of those around her—and the darker the ring, the closer one is to death. One day, she notices that two boys in her class, Chika Akatsuki and Shito Tachibana, have completely black rings. Seeking to warn them of their impending demise, she stumbles onto their secret: they are already dead, but are kept alive due to a contract with Zombie-Loan, a mysterious loan office. Of course, nothing comes without a price, as the boys must hunt down and kill zombies in order to pay off their debt. And once they learn about Michiru's "Shinigami Eyes," they drag her into their crazy world. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 6/10

Finished airing in 2007 with a total of 11 episodes.

My Thoughts: I don’t remember this at all. I can wager a guess that I did not love the art/ animation though and the rating I gave it originally certainly isn’t doing this title any favours. Also had two specials.

Zombieland Saga:

Genres: Comedy, Music, Supernatural

Synopsis: Sakura Minamoto dreams of becoming an idol. Unfortunately, reality hits her like a truck, and she dies in a sudden traffic accident. Ten years later, she wakes up in Saga Prefecture, only to find herself a zombie with no memory of her past. While still coming to terms with her demise, she meets a man named Koutarou Tatsumi, who explains that he has resurrected her and six other zombie girls from different eras for the purpose of economically revitalizing Saga by means of an idol group. Assuming the role of an abrasive manager, Koutarou begins scheduling events; the girls go along with it, eventually deciding to name their idol group Franchouchou. An absurdly comedic take on the idol genre, Zombieland Saga tells the story of Franchouchou's heartwarming struggle to save Saga Prefecture while hiding their zombie identities and rediscovering their past lives. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8/10

Finished airing in 2018 with a total of 12 episodes.

My Thoughts: I recall the performance animation being an offence to my eyes. Ridiculous, chaotic and fun series though! Just be warned that there isn’t all that much depth here.

#Anime #past anime #zankyou no terror #Zombie-loan #zombieland saga

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sukerokus · 4 years

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HELLO HELLO VANESSA!! Ooooh i only know hq!! and tokyo ghoul! mind telling me a bit about the others? i'd love to watch some of your fave animes! Can you recommend me one of them? + ALSO OMG IWAIZUMI AND SOUSUKE ARE A+ CHOICES!!! what do you like the most about them?Have a wonderful day!! - from your secret santa

TBH i recommend all of them but some are a little longer so Im gonna say u have to 10000000% watch Zankyou no Terror!! It’s only 11 episodes so its short n sweet (sad???).

I'm super bad at explaining, but basically it’s like these terrorist attacks(?LOL) which two guys are behind (one of them being ‘Nine’<3), and the police are trying to solve who’s behind it, but the only clues they get are online videos that they post, giving them riddles that they have to solve in order to stop it. The animation and art style is super beautiful and it draws you in from the first ep, but the other interesting thing I believe that intrigued me when I was watching it was the history of the two main characters, and why they are doing all of this:) SO yes pls watch it if you can, it really is such a good show!!!

oops did i MENTION THE SOUNDTRACK. so blessed

#secret santa #anon #ask #Anonymous #iwa is loml #and sousuke cuz MUSCLES #jk but um I dont wanna say the wrong things bc i have memory loss and watched free a long time ago but besides his shoulder #i think his friendship with rin and #althought he was a meanie at first #i remember smth about him made me love him #Idk if you know santa!!!

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edwxrdkenway · 6 years

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Anime Recommendations part 2

guess who’s back for more anime recommendations. some asked for more so here I am. part 1 can be found here btw if you’re new

Note that I only listed underrated or forgotten animes that I watched and enjoyed every minute of it and you may be too

91 Days

Lets start with some heavy stuff y'all

91 Days is set during the Prohibition era and tells the story of the protagonist Angelo.

As a child Angelo has witnessed the death of his family who all have been slaughtered by a mafia family. Losing everything he holds dear, he leaves both his name and hometown behind, adopting the new identity of Avilio Bruno. Years later he finally has his chance for revenge when he receives a mysterious letter prompting him to return to his home town and to kill all who are at fault for the tragedy of his family.

(idk I thought that this one is famous but turned out that only a few watched it?? that one is so good idk ??)

Zankyou no Terror/Terror in Resonance

(Idk why people thing this is underrated?? That one watched almost everyone when it aired??)

This one is also a heavy anime so be prepared. (I’m not joking be prepared)

Tokyo has been hit by a terrorist attack that has devastated the city and The only evidence of the culprits is a cryptic video uploaded to the Internet. Unbeknownst to the authorities is that the terrorist masterminds are two teenaged boys: Nine and Twelve who should not even exist. Their plan: to "wake up the world" with their heinous plans of destruction, with their fingers on the trigger.

btw im not pluffing their names are nine, twelve and one is even called five

Death Parade

Imagine that after death, there is no heaven or hell, only a bar.

Yeah you read right a bar. A bar that stands between reincarnation and oblivion. There, Decim will challenge the deceased to a random game in which his/her/they fate of either ascending into reincarnation or falling into the void will be wagered. Whether it's bowling, darts, air hockey you name it, each person's true nature will be revealed in a ghastly parade of death and memories, dancing to the whims of the bar's master. Welcome to Quindecim my friend.

(BTW do not be fooled by the opening if you decided to watch this, I warned you)

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun/My Little Monster

Ok here some light stuff ^^ Tnkk is a shoujo and one of my fav shoujo tbh.

Shizuku Mizutani, (who kinda looks like Maka from Soul Eater somehow) is only caring about her grades but her cold view of life begins to change when she meets Haru Yoshida, a troublemaker. Sounds like those typical story lines but behold. He’s not much different from her. He also understands little about human nature and does not have any friends. Much to her surprise, he proclaims that she will be his friend and immediately confesses his feelings towards her upon meeting her.

This one is very funny and not that cliché shoujo you would expect and I binge watched it in a day and would recommend 11/10 bc Haru is a precious cinnamon roll who should be protected at all costs

I mean just look at him-

Psycho Pass

Another heavy one (I think I have another type lol).

This anime is set in the 22nd century where the Sibyl System, a very powerful network of psychometric scanners, actively measures the minds and mentalities of civilised populations. With other words if you are a bad person you do not go to jail, nah you will be eliminated.

Into this world steps our main heroine Akane Tsunemori. However, as she works alongside bae I mean Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System's judgments are not as perfect as her fellow Inspectors assume.

This got 2 seasons and a movie and let me tell you you better watch this because this one will get you hooked !!

Tokyo Ravens

Romance? Check. Magic? Check. Mystery? Check. Very underrated? Double Check.

Onmyodou magic was once a powerful technique which was used by the Japanese during World War II. Later, infamous onmyoji Yakou Tsuchimikado performed a ritual, which goes horribly wrong and the result of this becomes what is now known as the "Great Spiritual Disaster", an incident which haunts the entire Japanese continent to date.

Our boy Harutora, who is a member of the Tsuchimikado's branch family once promise Natsume, the heir of the Tsuchimikado's main family and Yakou’s reincarnation, to protect her as her familiar. However, turned out Harutora has no talent for magic and chooses to live a normal life instead. But when a prominent member of the Onmyou Agency attempts to recreate the same experiment which led to Japan's downfall, he decides to make good on his word and fight by Natsume's side.

Your lie in April/Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Here I introduce you to a masterpiece that will ruin you. Like literally ruin you. I'm not even exaggerating, I told my best friend to watch this and she did not talk to me for 2 days.

Our boy Kousei Arima was strictly taught how to play the piano and meticulously follow the score by his mother, to the point where he dominated every competition he entered with ease and he became one of the best piano players. However, after his mother suddenly dies everything went downhill and had to quit the music industry.

Two years later, Kousei lives a monotonous life with his childhood friends supporting him. But he still continues to cling to music, although performing is still an impossibility for him. This is until his unexpected encounter with our girl Kaori Miyazono, a violinist who performs freely without the dictations of a score. A story of friendship, love, music, and a single lie, Kousei's life begins to change and gain color as Kaori helps him to take up music again.

(note: if you decide to watch this pls do not hate me)

Boku dake ga Inai Machi/Erased

Another dark one nice. Our protagonist Satoru Fujinuma has a special gift. He finds himself sent back several minutes before an accident occurs. He has taken advantage of this mysterious phenomenon to save many lives.

However, when he is wrongfully accused of murdering someone close to him, he is sent back to the past once again but 18 years in the past. Soon, he realizes that the murder may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates Kayo Hinazuki, that took place when he was a child and he tries to prevent the death of his classmate while protecting those he cares about in the present.

Idk why I decided to watch this but let me tell ya my poor heart was not ready while watching this. I recommend this 11/10.

Kyoukai no Kanata/Beyond the Boundary

ok so pls drop everything what your doing and go watch this if you didn’t. pls do yourself a favor.

KNK is about Mirai who is the sole survivor of a clan of Spirit World warriors with the power to employ their blood as weapons. Yeah you read right blood is their weapon. As such, Mirai is tasked with hunting down and killing creatures called youmu, who are basically manifestations of negative human emotions. One day, Mirai comes across Akihito Kanbara, a rare half-breed of youmu in human form. In a panicked state, she plunges her blood saber into him only to realize that he's an immortal being. From then on, the two form an impromptu friendship that revolves around Mirai constantly trying to kill Akihito, in an effort to boost her own wavering confidence as a Spirit World warrior.

I’m not biased I swear but this anime is so aesthetically pleasing im livin-

Ok so thats it. Like last time I did not include popular anime series that like 99% of us watch/ed like boku no hero academia/my hero academia, tokyo ghoul, gintama, satsuriko no tenshi/angels of death, cells at work, black clover etc.

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k-kuja · 6 years

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What anime do you like?

I’m actually a pretty casual anime viewer, I haven’t seen that much but my favourites so far have been Zankyou no Terror, Boku dake ga Inai Machi and Mushishi! I’m watching Golden Kamuy weekly atm and really loving it, and also Boku no Hero Academia. Also watched Occultic;Nine not too long ago and (apart from the annoying fanservicey stuff) I quite liked it and I caught up on RWBY a few weeks ago (although I’m not even sure if people consider it anime).I guess I like stuff that’s kinda psychological and horror-y, and if there’s an interesting political element than that tickles my fancy too (I liked the start of No. 6 but I tired out a bit towards the end, I have to go back and watch the last two eps!). Anything culturally focused, like mythology and folklore, is cool too!Death Note’s next on my list but fire me suggestions for anything else because I honestly don’t know where to start 😶

#i tried watching ajin and i really liked the premise #but i just couldn't get into the design #so i might look into reading the manga instead #also monster is supposed to be good?#Anonymous

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untalentedfudge · 6 years

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Get To Know Me Tag ;0

Tagged by: @end-me-tm Why bitch?? Why??

Post the most recent selfie of yourself:

My most recent selfie is from like 2 months ago.

It me! @end-me-tm for the first one.

First Name: Emma

Last name: Paterson

Height: Tall enough to throw hands (5′3)

Age: almost 16

Hair Colour: Blonde (Its dyed)

Favourite Fruit: Grapes

Favourite Season: Autumn

Favourite Animal: Wolf (BITCH LOVES A WOLF LIKE)

Favourite Fictional Characters: Evan Smoak - Orphan X, Kirishima Bakugou Todoroki Dabi and the entire cast of - My Hero Academia, Ash and Eiji - Banana Fish, Sousuke Sagara - Full Metal Panic, Bard - Black Butler, Angelo Lagusa - 91 Days, Jean Otus - ACCA 13-ku Kansatsu-ka, Revy - Black Lagoon, Hei and Mao - Darker Than Black, Ban - The Seven Deadly Sins, Nicolas Brown - Gangsta, Tetsuya Kuroko and Taiga Kagami - Kuroko no Basuke, NINE and TWELVE - Zankyou no Terror. TT

Favourite TV Shows: The end of the f**king world, Men on a mission, Queer Eye, Qi, Rick and Morty, Grimm, Teen Wolf, 13 reasons why, Nowhere Boys, Angles of Death, Banana Fish, My Hero Academia, Full Metal Panic, 91 days, ACCA 13-ku Kansatsu-ka, Black Lagoon, Zankyou no Terror, Darker than black, Gangsta, Kuroko no Basuke, Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for spirits, Cells at work, Free!, Ajin, Black Jack, Young Jack Black, Cowboy Bepop, Trigun, Kaze no Stigma, Magi series, Megalo Box, Nanbaka, Orange, Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori, The Kings Avatar, The Seven Deadly Sins, Woatkoi: Love is Hard for an Otaku, Sanrio Danshi.

Favourite Colour: Any colour, I like lots of pinks and navy colours though.

Dog or Cat Person?: BOTH

Do you have a crush on Tumblr?: Bitch I wish!!

Dream Trip: I want to go everywhere and learn everything about everywhere! So I couldn't pick just one trip, maybe just around the world trip.

This took WAAYY to long for me to do like FFS!

I tag me and my split personalities bitch, and fuck you @end-me-tm for making me do this like why??

Also @thiiss--bitch is the account my sister made to put my fabulous quotes at, so go follow it.

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candypixel · 6 years

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⭐️!

i am ~in love~ with your aesthetic. honestly. you remind me a lot of Nine from zankyou no terror. (that show is great) you have a clean, clear blog and Nine is also similar to that, plus your colour scheme matches him too, he’s just really cool and interesting! brb while i go through your entire blog

#ask

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chaerinspires · 3 years

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Hello its Friday (and now I have Montell Jordan This Is How We Do It in my head for some reason) my week was super long but I survived and I am hoping it wasn't like that for you!.

I love kpop SISTAR had a song PUSH PUSH (baby and I could sing u the rest but let's not go there) that was my jam between them and Girls Generation I leapt, jumped, skipped (?) Whatever into kpop and haven't looked back.

That is cool about anime I never got into it but I blame the fact no one I knew liked it until now. I keep saying one day I will do the anime dive but I am scared as I took the kdrama and cdrama dive and now have absolutely no time. I just find their series usually more enthralling and engaging.

Harry Potter and avatar I know but Shadowhunters sounds interesting? What is that about?

I really need to branch out in my small world and discover more take my big toe and dip into other areas but its a scary area out there 😳

If one was to branch out what is an anime you would suggest for a first timer?

Also I like latte better than coffee for the nickname too 😉 way more sophisticated. Have a great Friday ~ 🐧☕

sorry to hear about your week, hopefully this weekend is nice to you! oh i love SISTAR and SNSD! they’re truly the icons of 2nd gen girl groups so you have superior taste ;) (ps now you have that song stuck in my head gdi)

shadowhunters is a tv show based off of the mortal instruments book series by cassandra clare! it follows clary fray who, on her 18th birthday, discovers that she is a shadowhunter (human/angel hybrids tasked with hunting down demons and maintaining peace between the human/mundane world and the shadow world). it’s a very fun watch and it has the healthiest mlm pairing i have ever seen in my life!! i highly recommend if you’re into action/drama/romance!

the anime dive was weirdly enough the first one i took so i’ve had time to watch quite a few! i can understand it being scary, it’s a completely different world! but if you enjoyed the mdzs donghua i think you’re in for a fun time ^^

for a first timer, i would recommend staying away from the big 3 (naruto, bleach, and one piece) because they’re all really intense and super long. granted, i’ve consumed all 900 chapters of the naruto manga and all 700 episodes of the anime but it might be too much in the beginning! i guess i can start by asking what kind of genres you’re into,,,,, i tend towards action and/or mystery/thriller!

i’ll take this time to recommend some, in my opinion, underrated animes bc they deserve more love! one that made me Feel ThingsTM was “zankyou no terror” but fair warning, it has a sad ending and deals with themes like terrorism and human experimentation. in essence, two teenage boys named nine and twelve steal a bomb and threaten to destroy tokyo unless their riddle is solved (in case you were curious, it’s classified as a psychological thriller). usually i don’t like sad endings but this one made sense and it was beautifully executed. the soundtrack for this show is also A+ and it’s only 11 episodes long!

another one i thoroughly enjoyed was death parade! now, the opening is legit like the funniest thing i have ever seen which is hilarious given that the whole anime is about the afterlife and dealing with death. in this anime, whenever someone dies, they’re sent to a bar where they then compete in “death games” wherein they discover how they died and whether or not they have earned the right to reincarnate. this is another psychological anime and i haven’t watched it in a while so i’m not completely sure about any potential triggers, sorry! i do remember it being engaging and really interesting, different to anything else i’ve seen!

as i’m thinking through the other small animes i’ve watched, i’m quickly realizing that i’ve watched almost no lighthearted animes,,,,,,,, oops. i will try my best to recommend some, however! i liked k-on which is a slice-of-life anime following 5 high school girls that are passionate about music (and they eventually form a band). there is no fanservice whatsoever which is a giant plus for me and it’s generally the cutest and softest thing i’ve seen!

another one is squid girl which is just a fun time overall, honestly best vibes i’ve experienced. this is another slice-of-life anime where squid girl, being sick of the pollutants in the sea, decides to take over the world but in the process breaks some personal property and is forced to work off the expenses as a waitress in a restaurant. once again, completely devoid of fanservice and unnecessary sexualization!! plus it’s just funny bc it’s a typical “non-human learning about the human world” kind of show. highly recommend!

i hope this helps you find some direction (????) but don’t hesitate to ask me for more if you’re curious! have a great friday penguin latte <3

#asks #mdzsnetcc #sorry this got so long!!#but i hope it was helpful #anon

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iliveonthenet · 7 years

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@karibusas tagged me. Thanks!

I’m tagging @kathwolfie @wormagain @swlmate @violist-yamaguchi @silene-viscaria @darca23

1. favorite anime?

It’s always hard to chose but I’ll say that Haikyuu. Also - Mushishi, Zankyou no Terror, Baccano and many more.

2. your worst anime?

I’d say that a lot of yaoi/BL anime. They are just terrible. So often. And many harem series, like Amnesia or Dancing with Devils and Diabolik Lovers. Divine Gate was terrible in my opinion. I also couldn't’ understand the hype for Mirai Nikki.

As for The Worst, I can’t really decide.

3. do you read the manga that goes along with the anime you watch?

It depends. Sometimes yes, sometimes not. I must really like the anime to try the manga. Also, sadly, I don’t read much manga these days.

4. most favorite genres?

It all depends on my mood to be honest. I really like sports anime but it’s not like I watch every single one. For example, I dropped Days, All out and Daiya. And Yowapedal. I was REALLY into Kuroko and now, of course, Haikyuu.

I also like heavy stuff. Both in plot/psychological sense and in terms of, idk how to say it... depicted violence. I guess. Tokyo Ghoul (but manga, not anime) fits really well here. Or Gangsta.

Stuff about youkai and similar are great. I’m also a sucker for Shinsengumi, so I will try everything that has them in it.

5. least favorite genres?

Mecha. The only ones I enjoyed was probably Code Geass, Full Metal Panic and Aldnoah Zero.

I have a love-hate relationship with harem series. Especially the ones with lots of girls (but with lots of boys heroines are usually annoying so...idk). And moe stuff in general. Cute girls doing cute things or something.

6. favorite character?

Welllll... Tsukishima? Yamaguchi? Also Nozomu from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Vino from Baccano. Kusuriuri from Mononoke.

7. least favorite character?

This is too hard to answer. As I tend to not think/forget about characters/series I don’t like.

8. qualities you like in a character?

Witty, cold assholes who, often, aren’t as bad as they seem to be. Like Tsukishima, Nishiki from Tokyo Ghoul, Nine from Zankyou.

9. short or long anime?

Nowadays it’s short. Or rather - ongoing stuff when I have one episode a week. Then I don’t care if it’s 12, 26 or 500 episodes.

10. anime or manga?

Depends on the series, I guess. Like with the mentioned Tokyo Ghoul - I prefer manga. But, to tell the truth, I rarely watch and read the same title.

11. how do you choose the anime you watch?

Years ago I made the ‘plan to watch’ list of the older series. And since then I’m also paying attention to what is coming out at the moment. Usually I try to check the first episode of EVERYTHING that’s coming out in a season. And then I decide for myself after actually seeing it. I don’t trust or even the series descriptions. By all means I should have skipped Oregairu without even giving it a try but I tried it anyway and it’s one of my fav series.

12. skip or listen to intros/outros?

I always check the op/ends but when I do watch, I usually skip them.

13. how do you cope if your friends or family don’t like you watching anime?

I’m not really sharing that I watch it (it’s not a secret either, though) but, frankly, I don’t fucking care.

14. do you stop an anime midway if you don’t like it?

Yeah, I do!

#personal #replies #karibusas #i'm at work... orz

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hamartian-cathexis · 7 years

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Rules: Tag nine people you want to get to know better.

Tagged by: @auro-cyanide (!!!! hi???? i didn’t??? know??? that you were aware of my existence??? I LOVE YOUR ART?????)

Relationship Status: Single and completely, utterly, NOT ready to mingle, like, ever (probably)

Favourite Colour: Grey. Spelled with an e (important).

Lipstick or Chapstick?: Chapstick. If I feel like bothering with either.

Last song you listened to: Technically…the ED to season two of Boku no Hero Academia. Before that, that one Ed Sheeran song that’s been playing everywhere. But the last song I’ve actually listened to, for the sake of listening to music, instead of just hearing it casually at the end of a show or overhearing it played somewhere… Haikyuu!! OST. As in, the song from the Haikyuu!! OST that is titled Haikyuu.

Last movie you watched: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. My sister and I went to Universal Studios the other day and we spent like 4 hours in Harry Potter world so we were planning a Harry Potter marathon…unfortunately an entire day of walking around is not conducive to sitting through roughly 16 or more hours of movie watching so we only got to the second movie, haha.

Top 3 Characters: …hhhhhhhhhahahaha you mean. Top 300, right? ha…ha… I’m just going to stick with anime/manga characters because… if I try to include book and movie characters (that includes anime movies because there are way too many favorites there too) I’m done for. Also… yeah. The top 3 thing isn’t going to work. haha. ha. I’m just gonna go all out… Series listings in no particular order, characters within series ordered starting from most favorite. Here goes.

Mob Psycho 100: Hanazawa Teruki, Kageyama Ritsu, Reigen Arataka, Mob

Boku no Hero Academia: Bakugou Katsuki, Shinsou Hitoshi, Aizawa Shouta…and like, all the class 1a girls, let’s be real (but especially Hagakure)…and basically everyone else oops

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dazai Osamu, Yumeno Kyusaku

Noragami: Yato, Yukine

Pandora Hearts: Elliot Nightray, Echo, Jack Vesalius, Lacie Baskerville, Oz Vesalius, Xerxes Break

Code Geass: Lelouch vi Britannia, Rolo

Hyouka: Fukube Satoshi, Oreki Houtarou

Death Note: Light Yagami, L Lawliet

Haikyuu!!: Tsukishima Kei, Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Asuka Langley, Ikari Shinji, Nagisa Kaworu, Ayanami Rei, Misato Katsurugi, Ritsuko Akagi

Mushishi: Ginko

Durarara: Orihara Izaya, Heiwajima Shizuo, Karisawa Erika, Kishitani Shinra, Kida Masaomi…okay, and pretty much everyone else

FLCL: Mamimi Samejima

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: E V E R Y O N E

Cowboy Bebop: Spike Spiegel, Faye Valentine, Edward

Hunter x Hunter: Kurapika Kurta, Killua Zoldyck

Princess Tutu: Rue, Fakir

…tbh i actually…have a lot more… but maybe… ive already gone a bit too overboard… i will stop now… rip fma, baccano, steins gate, psycho pass, zankyou no terror… and many more…

Top 3 Ships: :^) again with the top 3 thing… i…just can’t… listed in no particular order…only including normal pairings, no OT3s or poly ships (i have lots of those)

Mob Psycho 100: Riteru

Boku no Hero Academia: Hagakure x Ojiro, Hagakure x Himiko, Iida x Hatsume, BakuDeku (ik it’s problematic…but shipping something doesn’t necessarily mean i think it’s healthy or that i think it should or would work out, i just really love angst…that’s all I will say on the matter), Kacchako, Shindeku (shinsou not shindou), Bakushima, Jirou x Kaminari, TodoDeku

Bungou Stray Dogs: KenKyou, Odazai, Dazango, Kunikidazai, FitzJohn, Steincraft, Shin Soukoku, Dazaku, Dazatsu, AtsuJuni

Haikyuu!!: TsukiHina, KageHina

Kuroko no Basuke: KiKuro, AkaKuro, AoKuro, MidoTaka…Oh man there are lots of knb ships, knb is what made me multishipping trash, i can’t list them all…

Durarara: Shizaya, Erika Karisawa x Walker Yumasaki, Seiji Yagiri x Mika Harima

Ouran High School Host Club: Haruhi x Hikaru, Haruhi x Kyouya (I’ve been told this is problematic? In my defense when i first watched it i was a cinnamon roll who had no idea what was going on and totally believed what Haruhi had believed in That One Scene. I just want to see them grocery shopping and being happy about their shared delight in smart spending okay), Honey x Mori, Mori x Haruhi, Haruhi x Kaoru

Death Note: LawLight (duh)

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: all the canon ships. all of them. the only show that made me ship all the canon ships with all the canon ships being het, it’s amazing, watch it

Hunter x Hunter: KilluGon

Neon Genesis Evangelion: KawoShin

Pandora Hearts: Echo x Oz

Books and manga you are currently reading:

Mob Psycho 100, Boku no Hero Academia, Noragami, Bungou Stray Dogs, Black Butler, Oyasumi Punpun… all of which I’m at least a few months behind on except for Noragami.

Top 5 Musicals:

I’m not really a musical person, so I don’t know if I have 5 tbh. uhmmmm. Little Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables, Newsies?

Tagging!:

@yatomochi

@bakanohealthy

@luckygrapes

@tsukishhhima

@gibberishism

@zokudarakuron

@mab-speaks

@howling-rabbit

@kiribakus

#mine #long post #im so so so sorry #i know it's a lot #uhmmmmmmm #i may come back to this post in the future and edit it to keep it up to date for my own purposes #im trash #i probably shouldnt post this #but #i want to #...here goes #dont hate me pls #im pretty sure i forgot a bunch of things #sighs oh well

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psychewritesbs · 2 years

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Twelve, where something grows there is hope...

Facts: Cowboy Bebop is a classic and Samurai Shampoo is amazing, and they both have beautiful bittersweet endings.

Zankyou no Terror, on the other hand, is quite imperfect in a way its predecessors weren’t. In the end, however, neither Bebop nor Shamploo hit home like Zankyou does for me.

I don’t know if it’s the plot, the characters, the music, or a combination of all of the above (Watanabe + Yoko Kano = anime dream team)...

But I have to admit I especially love Twelve’s character for many reasons. The main reason, however, is his willingness to throw himself into experiences regardless of any perceived negative consequences with a double open heart.

Being the romantic at heart that I am, I have to say that I also love how Watanabe used Twelve and Lisa to depict teenage first love. There is just something that feels very raw and real about the way their bond develops.

Just like in Pygmalion’s myth, their bond transforms from an idealized perception of other into a deep appreciation of other.

And it all starts and ends in that glorious Ferris Wheel scene.

Where something grows there is hope.

Von, the Ferris Wheel of life

I’ve already written about how I suspect that hope is the binding force that brought Twelve and Lisa together.

For one, Twelve can see the color of Lisa’s voice--yellow, which can be psychologically associated with hope and optimism.

Second, Twelve’s seemingly cheerful persona is underscored by a keen awareness of his impending death. The boy knows he’s going to die and is very much consciously choosing to carpe diem the sht out of whatever little time he has left in this lifetime.

When I realized that Twelve had chosen the kanji for winter (冬) to spell his fake name, Hisami Toji, I couldn’t help but think of Von’s lyrics. Von is a song all about how hope can break through even in the bleakest of winters. Above all, it emphasizes the idea that winter and summer flow into each other in the never ending cycle of life.

Aside from that, the Ferris Wheel scene is loaded with the emotion of two teenagers confessing their feelings for one another. It is both the culmination and highest point of their arc as a pair AND the lowest point in their respective experiences. Literally and figuratively.

This might be one of the reasons why the episode is titled “highs and lows”.

I also think it’s an interesting detail that Twelve and Lisa are having a “moment” while on a Ferris Wheel. I feel like in anime and manga, the Ferris Wheel is a cliché date spot*.

*This Tumblr user took one for the team and came up with a list of cute Ferris Wheel date moments found in shojo manga (including Kimi no Todoke).

But this is Watanabe we’re talking about here and Watanabe doesn’t do cliché. What’s more, the fact that Five created the conditions for Twelve and Lisa to have a “date” on a Ferris Wheel just goes to show how “twisted and sinister” the scene is meant to be.

As a culmination of their character arc as a pair, however, the Ferris Wheel serves the function of bringing them together in an intimate environment and situation where they both have to face their mistakes.

From Lisa’s perspective, she sees herself as a burden to Nine and Twelve.

From Twelve’s perspective, however, Lisa is an innocent victim whom HE knowingly dragged into their plans all because he wanted to make her into “one of them”.

All because, against his better judgment, he needed to reach out and connect with her.

It is in Twelve’s nature to seek connection

I just cannot begin to imagine what it must feel like having been abandoned by my parents and then consequently have been sent to an institution where my human rights were violated.

The fact alone that Nine and Twelve call each other by their number instead of giving themselves “real” names is just so heartbreaking because it speaks to them having internalized not just that they are not important enough to have names, but that their numbers are who they are.

Like... seriously, who hurt you Watanabe? Who hurt you?!

And since I’m all about symbolism, I could not help but notice that 12, the number meant to represent December, is also when the Winter season begins--on the 21st no less, the inverse of 12.

Whether you believe in numerology or not is besides the point. But consider that a quick Google search about the symbolical meaning behind the number 12 reveals that the number can represent “a creative and optimistic existence, that is social in nature” (source).

Other important associations to 12 include the Zodiac sign of Pisces (the 12th sign of the zodiac) and the tarot’s major arcana the Hanged Man--both symbols deal with self-sacrifice. More specifically, the sign of Pisces is characterized by two fish swimming in opposite directions.

I can’t say with certainty whether Twelve is a Pisces Sun sign because there is no official birthday, but I can speculate that the symbolism of two fish swimming in opposite directions is representative of Twelve’s initial inner struggle to reach out to Lisa against his better judgment.

ALL THAT TO SAY...

Twelve is someone who is starved for human connection because, unlike Nine who is a massive introvert, Twelve has a double open heart that thrives in connection to others.

But as it is implied in the story, Nine and Twelve seem to also have internalized the idea that the people who get involved with them will suffer.

Since we don’t know anything about their upbringing once they escaped the institution, it is left up for interpretation how they manage to survive on their own at such a young age.

For every time Nine warns Twelve about “you know what will happen, right?” you kind of have to wonder what they went through and how that impacted them.

So, what happens when you have a belief that others will suffer if they associate with you AND you want nothing more but to connect with others? You have the perfect recipe for a hell of an internal conflict.

Add to this the subconscious existential angst of having been abandoned by their parents as children, and you have yet another perfect recipe for developing a very broken perception of human connection.

Now, I also thought it was interesting that in Greek mythology, Sphinx was considered a literal monster. The association to riddles aside, the idea that Nine and Twelve would have chosen a “monster” to represent themselves as terrorists is honestly kind of heartbreaking too.

Like... why is this story so fucking heartbreaking? Even Bebop for all of its noirness was not this depressing.

Also... I’m pretty darned sure the masks are symbolic in their own right, but I am going to let this one go for now because I don’t think they are Power Rangers and don’t know where to start unraveling this symbol aside from the obvious color associations. Maybe they are an allusion to actors in a Greek tragedy wearing masks for the audience.

Really, what I am trying to do here by sharing all of this is to set the stage for understanding how Watanabe might have meant to depict how Twelve sees himself in relation to others.

As we can see in the anime, it is in his rather cheerful nature to want to involve himself with others. And yet, he has to hold himself back from doing so because of the self-fulfilling prophecy that others will suffer because of his mere existence.

And so when Twelve first approaches Lisa, he can’t help himself but want to connect with the girl with the pale yellow voice. It’s impossible for him to stay away because it is in his nature to want to connect.

Add to this the fact that Twelve took a personal interest in Lisa, and we now have yet another perfect recipe, this time for first teenage love.

However, for someone who wants to connect badly with others, the only one who has ever been a constant at his side is Nine, and Nine is introverted and sadistic (in Twelve’s own words). So Twelve doesn’t have much of a blueprint for how a connection should be nurtured.

All Twelve knows is that he wants to connect and goes out of his way to follow that instinct against his better judgment.

Twelve threatens and stalks Lisa under the pretense of keeping an eye on her, when in reality, he can’t stay away from her because he wants to connect with her.

If you were socialized as a girl, then surely you’ve heard somewhere along the line that if a boy is mean to you then it means he likes you and is only picking on you to pretend he doesn’t like you.

Yes, it’s a toxic belief that we all eventually have to grow out of. But I am only mentioning this because I love how Twelve literally follows that pattern and, instead of avoiding him, Lisa is actually drawn to him despite him threatening to kill her.

I tell you... first teenage love.

While she seems timid and reserved, the interesting part is that Lisa trusts and opens up to Twelve right away.

I like to think that perhaps, just like Twelve, she too recognized the connection they shared was unlike anything they had experienced before. I even dare use the “s” word and am going to go ahead and call them “soulmates”.

I am only sharing this because I headcanon that for Twelve to have betrayed Nine, the only family he had, to go and save Lisa, Lisa must have made a HUGE impact on him. He did not think twice about saving her but it created yet another internal conflict within him--feeling like he had to choose between Nine and Lisa.

Twelve is someone who is driven by his heart’s desires after all--especially given the fact that he knows he’s going to die sooner than later.

And so the boy cannot stay away even if he wanted to.

I think partly it comes back to the idea that he’s experiencing first love so he is also swept away by his feelings and desire to become Lisa’s knight in shining armor.

Nowadays, with the blurred lines between gender roles being so murky, society in general has forgotten that feminine and masculine polarities exist at opposing ends of our gender fluidness.

When it comes to pure, unadulterated masculine energy, the Knight as a symbol is meant to represent having an honorable purpose or mission in devotion to the Beloved.

Really, chivalry did not die in medieval times but manifests itself in different ways in our day and age.

Like... say... a certain boy rescuing a certain damsel in distress from certain danger on his trusty steed.

Let’s not forget that Chess is a "character” in the story and one of the pieces is the Knight.

Now, the thing about “first teenage love” is that it is love that is idealized and immature.

And yet, love is love--it’s light is blinding and overwhelming.

So blinding, indeed, that sometimes, when we fall in love, we don’t see the real person we proclaim to have fallen in love with, but rather a projection of our idealized search for the perfect partner.

And as I’ve said before, if Lisa is anything, she’s an incredibly imperfect human compared to Nine and Twelve’s superhuman abilities and intelligence.

In other words, despite how much Twelve wants to turn her into “one of us,” she can never fulfill and live up to that impossible ideal.

This is where we start moving into the deeper meaning of their arc and the ideal of romantic love.

My Fair Lady

It is no secret that Watanabe uses a lot of pop culture references in his work--whether they are references to certain moods (Cowboy Bebop’s noir), pop culture music (Carole & Tuesday), or making references to Greek tragedies (Zankyou no Terror).

So I started wondering what Watanabe might be referring to by calling Lisa “my fair lady” and naming the episode when she is captured after said phrase.

Given all I shared above about becoming Lisa’s knight in shinning armor, the first thing that came to mind was that “my fair lady” was a term used by Knights when referring to the damsels they courted. These fair ladies became the idealized object of the knight’s love and devotion and the term dates back to medieval Europe.

Just as a quick side note, Jungian author, Robert Johnson’s He, She and We provide a fantastic breakdown of how ungrounded romantic love is an illusion that does not stand a chance when tested against reality--which is exactly why I prefer John Haule’s take on romantic love, more on that later.

Aside from the ideal of courtly romantic love, My Fair Lady could also be a reference to the Greek myth of Pygmalion. Since the Oedypus myth already serves as a story arc for Shibazaki, I wondered about Pygmalion representing Twelve’s arc.

In a nutshell, Pygmalion is a story about a King and sculptor who falls in love with one of the female statues he created. One day he goes to Aphrodite’s temple and prays for a “bride in the likeness of his statue”. The next time he kisses the statue she comes to life. They marry and live happily ever after.

In 1964, Pygmalion’s story was brought to life under the name of My Fair Lady, an American film starring Audrey Hepburn about a man who seeks to transform a humble flower girl into a high class lady, and, ends up falling in love with her in the process of getting to know her (sounds awfully similar to Pretty Woman’s plot too).

That hat tho... It makes me wish I lived in an era where wearing such a hat was fashionable.

Another “modern” re-telling of this trope is the 90s movie “She’s all that” which I just shamelessly had to mention because 90s movies are a #mood and I love some of these cult classics like Clueless and SLC Punk.

Personally, I have to say that I feel like this very well encapsulates Twelve and Lisa’s dynamic.

Again, first teenage love at its best.

It’s clear that Twelve is in love with her and that Lisa reciprocates those feelings. But it sometimes feels like Twelve is playing out a fantasy with the girl with the yellow voice rather than being in relationship with the human that is Lisa.

Twelve and the girl with the pale yellow voice

I have to assume that when Twelve first meets Lisa, he saw the color of her voice and was immediately drawn to her because of it. After all, he does tell her that the color of her voice is very rare.

But that’s just it... Twelve does not see Lisa the human being, but the girl with the pale yellow voice--the fantasy of his ideal girl.

For me, the most telling piece of evidence that Twelve idealized Lisa, lies in the conflict between Nine’s words, “she’s not one of us,” and Twelve’s desire to mold and sculpt her into “one of us” so that he can keep her around.

What I mean is that Twelve is not taking into consideration what Lisa wants and is acting out of the selfish desire to keep her around--and really, why wouldn’t he want to keep her around if he’s in love with her?

On the other hand, Lisa thinks that she wants the same without truly understanding the consequences of what she’s getting herself into.

Look, I really believe that Lisa reciprocated Twelve’s feelings, but the girl is also stuck in a situation in which if she does not make herself indispensable and becomes “one of us,” she will end up back out in the street, or worse, back home with her overbearing mother.

(This is actually consistent with one of the interpretations on why My Fair Lady ends the way it does.)

And so Lisa willingly lets herself be molded by Twelve, who is not shy in telling the audience in one of the Sphinx broadcasts, that he wants a girlfriend who can make bombs and cook curry--both of which Lisa cannot do but strives to do nonetheless.

Ah to be young, innocent and not know better...

Another great example of this is when Twelve and Lisa go on an actual date the day after the incident in the Ferris Wheel.

To me, however, it mostly looks like Twelve on a date dragging Lisa around. As for Lisa, she is dragged around not because she doesn’t want to be there, but because she’s the mature one in the relationship and knows that Twelve is only running away from his problems instead of facing them.

Maybe Twelve is a Pisces Sun after all. We are professional escapists.

All that Twelve cares about, however, is that Nine is planning on doing something big. Again, he also knows he doesn’t have much time and wants nothing more than to spend it with the girl who captivated his double open heart.

Not to mention the possibility that he might be unconsciously seeking to validate his existence through her.

But just as in Pygmalion’s myth, Twelve is granted the wish of his beloved coming to life by the Goddess of Love herself.

Somewhere along the lines, Twelve sees beyond the girl with the pale yellow voice and falls in love with the perfectly imperfect human that is Lisa.

Twelve and Lisa, the human being

That said, I headcanon that, given the parallels to Pygmalion’s myth, Lisa is an answered prayer that Twelve did not know he made.

Yes, I am a diehard romantic, sue me.

Again, it goes back to the fact that Twelve is keenly aware of his mortality.

And to fall in love and have that experience of first teenage love... even if it is an unrealistic and idealized love... if you’ve ever been in love, then you know how beautiful that experience can be.

Twelve dragging Lisa into the plan he shares with Nine is less than ideal, and yet it gave him the opportunity to have a “normal teenage experience” with her. After all, is it not normal to “fall in love” with “love” when we are young and naive?

Given his circumstances, were it not for Lisa being willing to get dragged around, Twelve would not have gotten to know the real Lisa and become emotionally attached to her.

God I fucking love him so much.... the raw emotion in his face. Leave it to MAPPA to deliver.

And so it is that at as they approach the highest point of the Ferris Wheel, with Von playing in the background, Twelve and Lisa meet in the middle as equals.

Right... I’m just going to put this out there again because #truth:

And I think one of the factors that makes this scene so poignant, other than the idea of impending death of course, is that as Five says, Twelve won’t let Lisa, whom she chose over Nine, die.

Twelve knows he is responsible for getting her involved because he tried to mold her into “one of us.” But it goes much deeper than that because, again, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. In his eyes, he is a monster unworthy of something as simple as a given name who will only cause pain to others.

As he thinks through how he is to blame, Twelve chastises himself both for his actions and for not being able to control his desire for human connection.

I’m the one who should apologize. Nine was right. If I hadn’t asked to bring you to the airport, this wouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have given you a ride that time. No, I know... I shouldn’t have talked to you. I knew that it would turn out like this someday.

But... I...

WHO HURT YOU WATANABE?!!!!! 🤧

And can I just say that Saito Soma KILLS it in this scene with the voice acting? My God.

To me, when he is about to confess how he feels about her (“ore wa...”) is perhaps the one moment when Twelve was looking not at the girl with the pale yellow voice, but at Lisa herself.

Her response to him is just absolutely beautiful as well.

Not only did he absolve her of the burden she was carrying, but she did the same for him.

Thank you. I’m okay now. Run away. If you go by yourself you can get away. Nine is waiting for you. I know... Nine needs you. Don’t you two have something you need to do? Isn’t that what you came here for?

Lisa is acknowledging Twelve as a human being and his motivation as very much human. I also think it’s interesting that she is the one who keeps reminding Twelve that Nine needs him.

In the end, she might as well have said “you’re not a monster. You deserve to live. Whatever you want to do has value for the mere fact that you see it as your purpose. If you die here with me, your death will have no meaning. Your life has worth.”

To quote my last ZNT post “in defense of Mishima Lisa”...

And just like Twelve was inspired by her response when he first met her, Twelve is inspired again by her resolution.

This is the real Mishima Lisa, the human being whose hope inspired Twelve.

I’m glad that I met you

It isn’t after he’s been shaken up after trying to save Nine that Twelve shows the audience that he’s been changed by his bond to Lisa.

Not only does he use every last bit of strength to get back to her before he passes out, he is also relieved to see her once again.

Lisa is equally relieved when he wakes up, showing Twelve once again that he matters. I have to say that I love how he’s taken aback by her sudden display of affection as she cries on his shoulder.

I have the feeling that in that moment Twelve realized what it must feel like to be cared for by someone else--what it must feel like to be cared for by the same person you care for no less.

Above all, he could have realized this is what it must feel like for the person who has every right to blame you for their misfortune, to accept you and acknowledge your existence instead.

And just as he thinks that Tokyo is about to be plunged into darkness by the bomb’s explosion, Twelve shares with Lisa just how much their brief encounter has meant to him.

We were raised not knowing our parents in that dark institution. Even after we escaped, we were always alone, just the two of us. He and I... Neither one of us was ever needed by anyone before. That’s why... Thank you, Lisa... I’m glad I met you.

In a nutshell, the moral of Pygmalion’s story is that “what’s inside matters”. But more importantly, it is a story about how a man experiences and grows from his romantic attachment to his projection of the idealized woman.

John Haule writes about this issue of projection extensively in his book Pilgrimage of the Heart: The Path of Romantic Love.

What it comes down to is that Pygmalion had to learn to see the real woman behind the projection he had cast upon her. Only then was his love for her blessed by Aphrodite who turned the statue into a real woman. In a sense, this also humanized Pygmalion, thus making their romantic love story one based on two human beings meeting as equals.

Similarly, Twelve is made human by Lisa for it is thanks to her that he can finally come to accept and be at ease with his latent desire to connect with others. It is through her that Twelve comes to learn what it feels like to matter.

In a sense, Twelve too gets Pygmalion’s happy ending (no pun intended I swear).

And then, just when we all thought they would all live happily ever after, because Watanabe felt like we had not suffered enough, Twelve is dehumanized by the American forces and dies in the most unceremonious way possible.

Thus ending Twelve’s struggle to live his life to the fullest with a single bullet to the heart. And so it is Lisa who is then left behind to validate his and Nine’s existence for the rest of the world.

“Hey... Remember us... Remember that we lived.”

#fuck but who hurt you Watanabe? who HURT you?#terror in resonance #zankyou no terror #znt #Shinichiro Watanabe #Watanabe you genius you #oh the existential angst

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