#i couldn't find a good manga panel for him

[kimi-no-chikara]

Bakucorpse à la anime

[runabout-river]

Thoughts on JJK chapter 270 (spoilers)

Before I write my thoughts down, I have to confess that they've been tainted by a post I read I after reading the chapter. I decided to write the first part of my review as I had initially wanted to but the second part will discuss the things I read afterwards.

We start the chapter with a beautiful scene of a grave belonging to Tsumiki but my first thought was... what about Tsumiki's soul that had prevented Megumi from killing a girl?

If this is what Tsumiki's end and Megumi's final reaction to that would be, why did Gege bother including her soul as an active character into the story?

I also tried to find the raws to see what exactly was written on her grave. Only her surname? And was it also in English?

After that we get to Tengen and what happened to her and it was exactly here where my thoughts of this chapter went a big 🤨😵🧐🤬🤪

So Yuji just punched her out? And nothing more happened to her? The Culling Games are over? How did that happen? And through which remains would she stay stable? There was nothing left of Sukuna, at least nothing that had gone through Kenjaku's ritual. The only place she would be stable would still be inside Megumi. Her barriers are magically stable as well.

What a... neat ending to all those plot threads...

Then we come to Maki finding her past helpers and telling them that all the reincarnated sorcerers would be separated from their hosts by Yuji soon and...

That's against established canon. We already had the discussion that the souls of the host's can't be saved because they've been pushed down to complete darkness. Choso couldn't feel the soul of his host anymore and that was how the narrative absolved him from any wrongdoing because now he didn't have to give his body back for ethical reasons and he hadn't made an unethical deal to be reincarnated either.

Only Megumi was said to have a chance of being saved and no one else.

So now I'm here and scretching my head thinking... was Gege so desperate or time constipated to end the manga that he threw that point out? Or is sth else going on here...

We get Takaba back and he has a suspicious looking partner now, with whom he can do more comedy.

Now I don't think that's the real Kenjaku there. It's more likely that Takaba simply imposed that hairstyle on his new partner because he's missing his short time best friend.

For an actual Kenjaku comeback, he wouldn't have Geto's body anymore. Imo, Kenjaku did have spare bodies lying around he could've fled to at the last second though.

We get more loose ends being tied up and for Higuruma it's clemency. This is another point in the "everything turns out perfectly good for the good guys" part we have been bombarded with in this chapter.

I'm like, Gege, isn't this too much? Wasn't JJK darker than this? Even Shoko gave up her smokes. The military plot is just "we'll deal with them" and there's no mention of JJ societal instability with the clans falling apart.

Either he really wanted to wrap every loose end up... or

Gege forgets Megumi's scar on a pretty big panel and we get an anime love complication with one chapter remaining. It was funny though.

Then we come to the end where we're set up to believe that life of the first year trio will go on as it should've been without those major Shibuya/Shinjuku complications.

Just going on missions and living life like that.

Now, one could accept that kind of ending (why isn't that in chapter 271 though?) But it comes off as so... lackluster and mended with fire after big chunks of the plot were cut off.

After I had finished the chapter, I was the most disappointed at everything that had to do with Tengen and the CG. So Gege sets up that the sorcerer life will continue afterwards. Even without wanting a Part 2, just ending the CG and Tengen's story like that is... unnecessarily boring and wasted space for nearly everything that came before that.

But then I read @thepersonperson post on how the last 3 chapters of JJK could possibly have been an induced dream sequence this whole time.

Induced by Yuji through his ability of creating fake memories right before defeat/death. His own DE is an application of this and Sukuna's strangely similar ability of talking with freshly deceased people in a dreamscape.

When Yuji had first expanded his domain, I went on such a ramble at the time about these strange abilities of them both. What I said back then was that Yuji wasnt an active/aware participant of them but by now he had acquired Sukuna's CT and again a DE.

This could mean that his induced dream sequences could've evolved enough that he became aware of them instead of only pushing them into someone else. In other words:

Yuji is dreaming of his best happy ending.

And here truly experiences that but he can't tell until now that it's a dream. He might very well be lying on the ground now about to die.

The post I linked adds more details to this theory like inconsistent character placements and "mistakes" like Megumi's scar suddenly missing, which would be commonplace in a dream.

That last picture up there with the guy who's supposed to be cursed but it was actually his girlfriend who had her perception of reality altered as well as the name of this chapter, would be the final hints about the last few chapters having been another glitch in perception.

Now only one week is left then we'll get our final answers to JJK. If this dream theory is true, then Gege will establish himself as the biggest troll, either with a JJK 2 or with a tragic ending.

(And if this really comes true, then I don't think I'll manage to escape the spoilers)

But whatever might come and even though I'm meh about the end (as it's presented to us right now) I still love JJK and immensely enjoyed reading, watching and engaging with it 😄

[cielelyse]

Favourite 5 Saezuru Scenes

I recently reread Saezuru for the umpteenth time and just needed to gush about it like a crazed person who constantly hallucinates about Yashiro being happy and soOooOOooo.................

1. Why now? (Chapter 25)

These 3 panels kill me always... although it's the entire chapter 25 actually, and not just these panels. This broke me when I first read it nearly a decade ago, and it breaks me every time I reread it. I recently just listened to the drama CD for the first time and wanted to hear how this scene played out (a.k.a. wanted to hear Yashiro moan wkegh;ghwle) and I did not expect to start bawling and sobbing uncontrollably when his flashback appeared. WITH THE MUSIC AND EVERYTHING. THEY DID NOT SPARE ME. FUCK. What was supposed to be a tender and gentle and loving and intimate scene between them turned into Yashiro facing the effects of his childhood trauma -- that will never cease to hurt me. Doumeki saying "kashira, kashira, kirei" right before that broke me in a way reading that scene in English couldn't. I WILL NEVER GET OVER THIS and if I keep writing about it I'm gonna cry again so:

2. Car ride back from Kageyama's clinic (Chapter 4)

This is mostly for nostalgic reasons, really. I first read Saezuru in 2013, and I wasn't used to Yashiro at first. I didn't know what to make of him.

So what happened was that I read "Don't Stay Gold" first and was like... there's a manga about this mildly threatening and unreadable yakuza dude who's Kage's friend…? Who played cupid for him in a weird way? HMMMMM dubious, dubious. Would I even like him? It took me a while, but I finally gave Saezuru a shot anyway, and I remember feeling uncertain about Yashiro up until those panels. I remember it so starkly, because this was the instant I fell in love with him. I think it was because this was the first time I understood the depth of his loneliness (since I hadn't read his high school oneshot yet at this point).

There's just something about how Yoneda Kou-sensei draws these kinds of pages that just resonates with me so well. I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE IT. It just connects with me the way Yashiro connects with me, and that was pretty much it for me. Obsession sealed. Life signed away. For the next 10 years I would follow the story closely and routinely check every few months for updates. Yashiro became one of my only 3 comfort characters, and rereading Saezuru always gives me a catharsis and sense of peace that I didn't know how to find elsewhere.

3. "To go on living this strained existence... no longer holds any meaning to me." (Chapter 34)

This scene is one that I come back to every time I'm down. AM I A MASOCHIST? I really like the June translation too: "To go on living this strained existence no longer holds any meaning to me." I think the way the panels divided up those thoughts were brilliant!

This especially hurt me because for the entire manga up to this point, Yashiro has stated that he completely accepts himself and he's happy with who he is. It wasn't until his realization during the sex scene with Doumeki and how much he's said/done hurtful things to Doumeki afterwards -- who he considers pure and sweet and good -- that he thinks this.

4. "Falling in love feels like this" (Chapter 33)

The first time I read this, I had to set my PC down, go out to my apartment balcony, and just silently stare out into the night and resist the urge to smoke (that was half a joke) (I did feel a pang in my chest though) (and I did have to fight very hard not to smoke lwkehg;hge). I love the dialogue right after these panels too, when Yashiro said, "Your sister was lucky that you were there." That, along with Doumeki's reaction, hurt.

This was such an intimate scene between them. Yashiro was so vulnerable. So was Doumeki. I hadn't realized this until I reread Saezuru this year, but these two have always had such intimate scenes right from the start. It was a slow burn, yes, but they had always been instantly drawn to each other: Doumeki thinking Yashiro was beautiful and captivating, and Yashiro doing something he doesn't normally do with his subordinates the first time he met Doumeki. And it didn't clue in for me back in 2013, but their conversations with each other were much more intimate than the conversations they'd have with anyone else, right from chapter 1. I find that so precious.

5. Dream (Chapter 40)

I couldn't not include a scene from post-timeskip, BECAUSE I LOVE POST-TIMESKIP. I love Darkmeki and I love Yashiro and I love that the theme of post-timeskip centers around "change". Wish I could include that conversation Yashiro had with Tsunakawa about it, because I thought that drive-home was brilliant. I really appreciate that Yoneda Kou didn't have Yashiro and Doumeki get together right away after they have sex, and I really appreciate that the question was raised of: Do people change? Can people change on their own, or would you have to force them? Or are we always the same at our core? And I think the answer is of course a mixture of all of it, and that it's very much circumstantial and subjective, but I love how we're able to see the shifts in both Yashiro and Doumeki. How both men aren't quite the same people we knew pre-timeskip. Ten years ago I didn't think I would meet a version of Yashiro that wouldn't talk about sex 24/7, but here we are.

(Not to say that they're completely different now. They're still our Yashiro and Doumeki of course; I just wanted to gush about how well Yoneda Kou were able to flesh out her characters in such a complex, multidimensional way.)

ANYWAYS, I went on a rant without even mentioning these panels of Yashiro's dream. I love everything about it: Doumeki's face not showing, Yashiro running away and turning back to see Doumeki not there anymore, and that last panel of him standing in the middle of nowhere, lost and empty and lonely -- all of that was so incredibly told in pages of no words. UGH YONEDA KOU IS A GENIUS. It reminds me of that page of Yashiro looking at a mother and child in the rain; it's one of my favourite scenes too.

Honourary Mention (Chapter 4):

I should end with a more light-hearted one. THIS WAS CUTEEEE. I remember reading this for the first time and thinking Yashiro was just salty that his roleplay got ruined. But upon second reread (and maybe I'm delusional here), I thought he might've been happy to hear Doumeki say that.

We know Yashiro gets angry and irritated whenever he's happy to hear something sweet from Doumeki (like that extra when they ate together LOL), and that he had the same reaction of kicking the chair when Doumeki said he can't touch Yashiro's hair anymore. Which was cute to say. So I thought Yashiro might've lashed out in annoyance because he was glad that Doumeki doesn't mind. (I tried putting myself in Yashiro's shoes so many times trying to imagine how I would feel if Doumeki had said this............. and somehow came up with "happy" xD)

...........or maybe this was obvious to everyone and I've just been clueless. AAAAAAAA THIS IS WHY I LOVE ABOUT SAEZURU SO MUCH. It never spoon-feeds you information and lets its readers interpret :")

[angelmachines]

teru & socialization

i've posted about this before but something ive been thinking about a LOT is mp100's themes of loneliness (and eventual connections). i think this is an aspect of teru's character (in particular) that gets left out because it's not as explicit but i've been wanting to do a deep dive on it for a while and i finally sat down to do it. just a warning, this post is gonna be LONG.

these two panels are from chapter 16 of the manga (which i'm using for my evidence because i. dont want to scrub through the anime LOL). initial sentiment: teru uses his powers to cheat having friends/a good social life and wouldn't have that if he tried earnestly. this is a fair interpretation of the scene. with what we know, at this point of time (as in within the teru-mob fight) teru would not be able to connect with other people earnestly, due to his mindset. which i think is a fair interpretation, HOWEVER:

(from chapter 17 ^^) the first panel shows teru's expression to be strained and the second is visibly unhappy. this puts the first set of panels into a different context, that maybe underneath all of this, teru doesn't WANT any of this life that he's built. keep in mind that i'm analyzing this with teru's possible autistic tendencies in mind & you dont have to believe he's autistic, im not your dad, but i do find this a pretty meaningful indication of masking if he were

(note: yes, the strain can definitely be read as comp-het, and i would agree but that's not relevant so go read this post on that instead)

even if the rest of these panels show teru content with his life, i think these expressions are pretty vital to how we read his life especially because we know so little of it. think about it, if you were a kid desperate for affection because you couldn't get it anywhere else, especially not in a way that would come off as "mature" or "unaffected", wouldn't you also look for validation in your popularity? even if it aligned you with people who you consider fundamentally different to you? my point here is that teru can't not stand out-- it's in his nature-- and we are shown how he tries to blend in & receive attention in the only way possible to him; which is to say that he molds himself into something that is palatable, likeable, and superior to other people. if he's nothing, like mob, he has spent his entire life covering up for it. if he fails socially, like mob, he has to be good at everything (even if he cheats to do so) so that everyone else can look past it.

(side note for my teru angst enjoyers: this is a panel of his mom. the mom who he hasn't seen in years. doesn't it make sense that, if he hasn't heard his mom say he's proud of him for literal years, that he would overachieve in response? not related to the autism thing i just have the teru bug. also don't be misogynistic in my notes both his parents suck we just get a singular mention of his mom)

so if teru couldn't meaningfully have friends before mob, that could very easily be because of his past mindset, right?

...except, we don't.. really... see him make other friends afterwards.

but, the awakening lab, right?

(ok i lied to you sorry there is one anime screenshot and thats because it stood out to me while i rewatched it earlier this month. sorry.) id like to bring attention to this screenshot during the cultural festival because the awakening lab can definitely be seen as a direct contradiction of this and i'd like to point out a couple things:

1) in this scene the shiratori brothers are in another room 2) them and the other three are friends with ritsu (or at least close enough acquaintances to want to see him).

considering this is one of the only times they appear together for Fun i am more inclined to believe this is an encounter where they went together because they all would've gone separately anyway. this isn't to discount the possible bond that these characters might have, but thats the thing. we... aren't really shown that they're friends and enjoy spending time together outside of this screenshot, where two out of six of the members are not even present. not to mention that teru is still placing himself in a role separate from his peers. despite stripping the superiority away, teru is still the awakening lab's mentor, not friend. teru still views himself as fundamentally different in a context where his psychic powers don't make him that way.

...except with mob. i bring this placement of power up because where he is the awakening lab's mentor, teru declares mob to be his rival, or, in other words, teru is just like him. he is accepting that mob and him are the same. (and if we view mob from an autistic lens... so on and so forth)

as if to hammer in that point even further-- in the summer vacation omake, teru explicitly states that "summer break is just a super long, super boring stretch of alone time." i'm not sure of the timeline here, but guessing from the hair, we're at least post season 1. which gives us explicit confirmation here that teru is spending the break alone despite his relationship to the awakening lab. his connection to mob is a lifeline here because mob is one of the only people who can intuitively understand teru's isolation without judgment

(also, on that point of teru's autistic tendencies: teru does and says a LOT of things that would raise other peoples eyebrows and doesn't seem to notice.

here we get teru actively admitting to his home life, right in front of reigen, WHO COULD CALL CHILD SERVICES ON HIM? this genuinely made me rethink this character entirely. teru's filter is... minimal. he isn't constantly volunteering information and generally minds his own business, but if you ask? Well.

teru is a social person, but to say he is proficient in understanding social situations seems... wrong. teru views his loneliness as boring because, despite being fairly open, does not actually allow himself to think about his own feelings and how they affect him. this loneliness is boring because he doesn't have enough of a reference to realize its not

if we are taking pre-mob teru to be a version of himself who is masking, or at the very least someone who is faking a lot of stuff in a less autistic sense, the fight with mob changes teru to the point where he no longer hides himself. in the same way that mob was able to shake teru's fragile superiority complex i think the change in appearance marks the end of the self teru had built up. from this point on we see him become a lot more... Him. his appearance and his fashion choices are, presumably, completely normal to him and we get no indication that he believes otherwise despite the reactions it gets-- which is... well, i wouldn't be writing this post if i thought it was one of his most neurotypical traits.

in fact, he seems... pretty oblivious to what other people think of him. which is an interesting distinction to make considering the intelligence we Know he possesses (which is not to say that you are unintelligent if you don't pick up on social cues, just that its common for media to depict it that way.) these traits are made pointedly, even if unintentionally, separate, ESPECIALLY when you note the amount of characters who Do ruminate on or stare at teru's appearance.

some examples. i don't even think this is all of it-- case in point.)

[luffyvace]

HIHIHIHI TYSM FOR DOING MY REQUEST ^U^ I hope u Don't mind me dropping another one u :'))

Can I have kusuo reaction to Reader-chan being mostly know for her gore/angst/horror series but looks like nothing for a person to write this stuff (she looks absolutely innocent) yet having a (technically an old man) friend who is also anonymous writer for one of kusuo favorite series yet the said look absolutely opposite of it (the reader-chan and her friend are like Junji Ito and hayao miyazaki)

I'm sorry if u couldn't understand the request:')) my English isn't really the best-

HII DARLING! No problem at all! Of course I don’t mind! Request at any time as long as they say open <3

ohhh so she’s a horror writer :> OHHH I was confused at first but as soon as I searched them up and saw the memes I understood 😂💓

This is such a cute and funny topic! Enjoy your hcs anon 💖 ⚠️ Gore mentions⚠️

Kusuo isn’t easily scared.

there are very few things that actually do scare him, considering he can sense everything coming from a mile away

But shows and books are an exception (given he doesn’t stare at the pages to see through the book-)

he’s not normally into horror but your manga is actually very interesting to him!

seeing a bunch of mutilated corpses packed together is quite a gripping sight for him!

and honestly he is obbsessed likes normalcy but your case is a type of unique he doesn’t mind :)

it’s funny since you have this friendly and kind personality and your work is the exact opposite of that 🤗

it’s giving the cute core girlies!! (and guys!! <3) 💓💗💖🌸🌷💞🎀

he still gets the perk of reading the chapter before publish and giving small ideas for stuff

You once put his favorite character from another series in one of the manga panels and he when he noticed it he had a little smile on his face! 💗

he wasn’t excpecting you to do that at all and it was a pleasant surprise ;3

your introduced him to your friend and he also likes his work now!

Y’all are literal polar opposites- and ngl? He enjoys the balance!

like when he wants some exhilarating and goosebump-giving action he’ll pick up one of your mangas’

and when he’s feeling mellow while eating some coffee jelly on his bed his new (second) favorite author to read from is your friend!

His number one author is of course you ♥︎

would recommend his friends (specifically Kaido) one of your mangas to freak them out

they definitely won’t be expecting it seeing as though your such a cheerful person! 🌸🎀🌷

I feel like Torisuka would genuinely enjoy your manga as well!

he doesn’t get scared easily by creepy stuff for obvious reasons 😋

so you’ve got yourself another supporter !!

I have a feeling my girl boss Airua would get creeped out but 1) she wants to support you so she would probably buy and either never read or 2) read it anyway because it’s so interesting

like you captivated people with your work!

just as much as your friend does with more gentler topics

but in a different sense

You make your audience quite literally cover their eyes in fear yet still peak through they’re fingers with anticipation !

like that’s how good it is!

a “I can’t look away” type of thriller!

also you know that really talkative guy with the bob?

yeah he over analyzes your manga once he finds out about it

(which let me tell you- Kusuo tried his hardest to keep him away from it—but much to his luck- he got a hold of it anyway)

thankfully he likes it!

he’s scared- but once again- he just can’t look away :)

he comes to you and gives your extremely detailed compliments and (positive) feedback after each chapter is released and says he can’t wait for more

he also tells his expectations and predictions for the next one and hopes you’ll live up to them

so when your exceed them he’s more than thrilled (GET IT?? Ok..)

he’s practically able to predict every book or manga he reads because he analyzes everything

so when your able to surprise him he’s impressed!

after Kusuo he’s the first one to buy a copy

(cuz yk Kusuo gets those special you-get-the-first-copy-before-it’s-published-because-your-my-boyfriend-privileges)

LOL

the bob guy is low key jealous of him for getting it before it’s even PUBLISHED

tries to bargain you to get that too but it’s strictly reserved for Kuu ♡

okay I looked up bob guy’s name

it’s Akechi Touma (oops)

LOL “bob guy”

enjoy!! Pretty short but I think they’re a delight~

[jounosparticles]

jouno’s eyelashes - a quick analysis

yes im analyzing jouno’s eyelashes. im obsessed with him what can i say.

one thing i’ve noticed throughout my many rereads of jouno’s segments of the manga is that he is actually given eyelashes in a lot of the panels he is present in! often times they’re just thin white lines but they’re definitely there. here are some examples.

now, if we recall back to what harukawa said about eyes a long time ago:

the darker ones eyes are, the more tainted or corrupted a person is. someone who is doing good and/or feeling good may have whiter eyes. to rephrase, one who’s eyes are dark are typically doing something corrupt and/or are in an emotionally bad state. we see this numerous times throughout the manga with many characters, the shade of their eyes changes with their emotion at the time usually.

now what does this have to do with jouno? well, i believe his eyelashes are used to display his intentions since he keeps his eyes closed constantly.

now, there are definitely some exceptions to this. panels where his eyelashes are small could be hard to colour this way, so im looking past a few instances for that purpose.

anyways, i believe looking at his eyelashes in this perspective also hints towards his betrayal of fukuchi, since you can see he has good intent. more on this later.

i'd also like to preface this by reminding you that jouno believed he was in the right with most things he did. he was sure the agency was in the wrong for a long time, times where his lashes were white while dealing with the agency was likely because he believed himself to be doing what is good.

now, starting with his debut in chapter 57, his eyelids are almost completely black as he arrests dazai

his eyelashes appear a bit darker as he torments people i find.

such as shortly after he slices kunikida's notebook and asks tetchou to kill yosano.

one scene i actually want to put a lot of emphasis on here is chapter 78's interaction between jouno and kunikida.

here is his face when he first walks in, he's simply making small talk over how a terrorist attack is awful

we can see his lashes pretty well.

we can also see it well when he's talking about his asian pear. maybe he just really likes them.

however, as the conversation progresses onto tormenting kunikida, his eyelids casually grow darker.

they're not completely black yet, but you can tell he is enjoying bothering kunikida despite his claim of innocence.

after this, you can see his lashes are a little brighter as he announces that yosano is going to be executed.

this makes sense remembering that he is under the belief that yosano is guilty of terrorism and is getting the punishment he believes she deserves.

after this, jouno walks away as kunikida cries out in anger.

his eyelashes are almost completely black here, likely because he is getting nothing but personal enjoyment out of kunikida's grief. he isn't doing good by this and this could definitely be seen as corrupt behaviour.

a huge contrast to what i've been saying falls in chapters 71 and 72, the cafe scenes.

you can see the white of his eyelashes in nearly every panel he's in.

what makes this different than when he was bothering kunikida is that bothering the cafe owner was moving his case forward. he believed he was pursuing justice and doing what is right by extracting important information here; as opposed to doing nothing but mentally torturing someone who isn't improving his case. from his perspective, his actions weren't tainted in anyway except possibly approach, but since he was doing what was right his eyelids were painted white.

another example of this is in chapters 60 and 61, when he is fighting the agency for the first time.

and when the agency escapes and he's surprised to find out the pursued terrorist group would have allies in chapter 62.

i found that these three chapters had a lot of small panels where you couldn't really see the detail of his eyes, but generally they were white as he caught the criminals. they were also white as they escaped, since he was likely confused that people were easily supporting the group he perceived as evil.

my last example of this is his eyes being very white as he tortures the bank robbers in the flashback scenes in chapter 92.5.

he believes that he is seeking justice here. the robber gets what they deserve, and his intentions are what he believes in just which explains his eyes being white.

anyways, to summarize this all: jouno's eyelashes colour often displays his morality. his lashes seem to be coloured more white when he is doing what is morally right from his perspective. even if what he is doing is considered brutal by most, his eyes glow white if it is in pursing of justice or good. in contrast, if what he is doing has no overall benefit and he is just distressing someone for purely his own enjoyment, his eyelids often are coloured much darker.

however, as i said above i believe this subtly hinted at jouno's betrayal of fukuchi.

in chapter 92, we can still see by his eyelashes that he has the right intentions when hunting for the agency.

and towards the end of the chapter we see his eyes still have a small white streak, implying his bluff on actually being willing to switch to the other side. at the same time, the thinness of the lash could be so small because he is lying to his superior as well, which i suppose could also be seen as tainted behaviour.

however, after fukuchi's plan is unraveled we see the brightness shine again.

as i stated above, when he isn't doing what he believes is right or is tormenting people for no reason but his own enjoyment, his eyes look black. but if you look at the image below you can see his eyes are partially coloured white, hinting that he was going to do what was right. it is subtle colouring, i assume that is partially due to the fact that his face was rather small on the page. but regardless it is still noticeable.

and what do we know? he did switch up and betray fukuchi shortly after saying this.

with that in mind, there's one scene i deliberately avoided bringing up until now; the scene i believe heavily tries to avoid hinting at jouno's betrayal of fukuchi. im referring to the scene where jouno confronts aya.

as i said, if jouno is acting corrupt towards someone for his own fun, his eyelids are dark, but if he's doing something that he believes is just his lashes remain partially white. i believe that out of context his eyes would likely be black as he torments aya, however since he secretly had good intention they would have actually been white.

however, the readers had yet to know the context of his approach until the end of chapter 93, so they needed to hide the fact that he may have had good intent here.

so harukawa kept his eyes covered (or coloured his face differently) throughout the scene.

the most we see of his face in this whole scene is his side profile, which is small enough to not need to colour his eyelashes in.

i believe this was an intentional choice to keep the readers from guessing that he was doing something he believes is right here.

anyways, to sum up this segment i believe that jouno's eyelashes in chapter 92-92.5 subtly hinted at the fact that he was indeed siding with aya and was preparing to betray fukuchi.

in conclusion, i believe jouno's eyelashes hint at his true intent a lot. they show that he is a good person hiding behind a facade. the shading of his eyelids is a lot more subtle than how most character's eyes look in the manga, which i believe helps add more to jouno's somewhat moral ambiguity. he is an incredibly well-written character and i can't wait to see more of him!

[gachagon]

I don't think Kaiser and Ness would be good together

Which is why i think about their relationship constantly despite that, i love these freaky little soccer dudes and their obsessive codependency

If there's one ship in bllk that I absolutely adore the content for and think about constantly besides Kunigiri, it's Kainess. And it's not because I think "Oh they'd be such a wonderful couple" or "They look good together", this is one of those ships where if they ever got together I feel like they'd actively make each other worse because they have so much internal stuff to work on alone first, you know? And just thinking about that potential train wreck of a relationship is enough to keep me entertained for weeks on end.

I've said before that Kaiser and Ness are a Bachira and Isagi parallel in that they show the toxic bad sides of a codependent relationship, but I think there's more to it than that. Like Kaiser and Ness are reliant on each other for both ego and attention, but they're also both deeply lonely people at the end of the day. Even in the scenes where it's just the two of them, they never let up the act of trying to surpass everyone and be at the top.

They have no silly banter or back and forth, even in this panel Ness looks more like Kaiser's personal servant than his friend or partner.

Where as everyone else in the Blue Lock compound has some healthy way of destressing after a match, these two weirdos (affectionate) sit in dark rooms and watch the same matches over and over again while plotting like saturday morning cartoon villains on what to do next game. I mean, even Itoshi Rin has a destress activity he does that's NOT soccer related that helps him not morph into some soccer obsessed monolouging freak, so to see these guys just constantly always planning and thinking and practicing it really puts into perspective how much of the time that they spend together is them not having a fun time casually. And if you compare what they do on their down time with what the other "partners" in Blue Lock do, this difference becomes even more apparent.

And I don't know, I find that to be a really interesting aspect of their relationship just because even though they are so clearly missing all of the key elements meant to make a healthy partnership, it still works on the field anyways because they're both equally obsessed with the same thing. Kaiser loves football and wants to be the best. Ness want's to see Kaiser become the best because he loves football. Their devotion to the game drives them closer to one another, but it's clear only one side holds any real "affection" for the other directly outside of the game.

Now, I do NOT think Kaiser hates Ness which I think people assume if you say "Kaiser doesn't hold a lot of empathy for Ness, or cares for him" that it translates to "Kaiser hates him".

I think Kaiser keeps Ness around because deep down he knows that at the end of the day the only person who would be willing to follow him even if he couldn't become the worlds best is Ness. And I think that's because Ness loves soccer in a different way than Kaiser does. To Ness, soccer is a really magical sport and one where amazing things can happen. And Kaiser is the only character who has done the most insane feats in the manga so far. Kaiser does things on the field that seem impossible until he pulls it off, which is the whole crux of his ego anyways: Making the impossible, Possible.

So as long as Kaiser plays that way and does all of the amazing things he's been doing, Ness would follow him literally anywhere because that's what drives him.

But Kaiser is different, it's clear that to him soccer/football is not something that is grounded in the fantastical, but something that's tangible and real to him. He takes it seriously even if he goes about it in the most dramatic and campy way possible. Looking at old chapters of Blue Lock when Kaiser was first introduced is so interesting to me because I forgot about Kaiser's whole "king" attitude where he pretty much talks and acts like some nobleman with a crown and scepter.

He even makes Ness "bow" to others or makes Ness physically lower than him like a king does with some peasant. You could chalk it up to him making Ness "apologize" in the Japanese way by also bowing, but I don't think that's why he does it just because his entire character is just so "king" coded.

It's worth noting that he also makes Ness "bow" whenever Ness seems to lose any kind of faith in them winning. Which is why I don't think the above two times was him making Ness apologize, but that its something he does to ground himself or make Ness fall more in line with how he's thinking at the moment. Notice how he seems to only do it when Ness isn't sticking to the right "script" or seems to show the wrong reaction openly etc.

But anyways, Kaiser and Ness love soccer but they don't love it for the same reasons and that is what ultimately conflicts with their relationship in the end. That, and they've both got their own issues to work out.

I feel like if they did ever get together, it just wouldn't work because in order for it to work, Kaiser has to first realize that he can still be an amazing player and have people regard him as the best without obsessing over where he sits in the rankings. That he can perform things nobody else can and never will and that is the thing that will separate him from the rest of the crop, not a trophy saying "Number 1" on it.

Maybe before when they first met things could've worked out well, but even still I think Kaiser was dead set on his goals of becoming number 1 long before he ever met Ness. We will definitely get to see the extent of that next week for sure I hope, when we learn more about Kaiser's past.

[lesssial]

Trying to figure out the year in Bram's/Fyodor's Backstory

So what I'm looking at is Vlad the impaler's timeline along with a few hints in the manga. But not much Dracula because I haven’t read the book, and also because the book takes place about 400 years later.

So the castle that Bram lived in, for people who don't know, is an actual castle in Transylvania Romania named Bran.

Basic info

-Bran castle was built between 1377 and 1388. (Vlad the impaler never set foot in it but Dracula lived there.)

-Vlad III ruled Wallachia

-Vlad the impaler / Vlad III lived from 1431-1476 (He was defeated by the ottomans not Romans and his head was shipped to Constantinople/Istanbul)

-Vlad III’s reigns; 1448 (For a few months), 1456-62, and 1476-77.

It is a bit hard to truly connect to two while they ruled two different regions (Transylvania & Wallachia)

The knights

In this panel, we can get a look of the types of armor these knights wore.

The majority of the helmets resemble a barbute helmet which was used in the 15th century

The rectangular shields (scutum) mostly disappeared by the end of the 3rd century

Mainly spears and Halberds (The spear ax things) with an occasional sword in the crowd of knights. (Spears were cheaper at the time)

The full body armor became popular between 1400-1500s.

Byzantine empire fell in 1453 while the holy roman empire fell in the 1800s.

What nation are the knights from?

This is the main question. Are these knights from the Holy Roman empire? The Byzantine empire before it fell? Most likely not the ottoman empire due to the amount of christian symbolism. It can’t be the Byzantine empire because they rarely if at all used Halberts. Also the Byzantine empire fell pretty early so it's unlikely they were associated with Bram’s defeat. It seems like the Holy Roman empire however they did not use rectangular shields, favoring a kite or heater shield instead. Then who else?

I couldn't find any good maps

Fyodor mentioned the North (Idk why Bram started blabbering about the west). Do you know what was north of Transylvania? The Kingdom of Hungary who also had a skilled army known as the black army that used rectangular shields and was big on spears and Halberd.

The Hungarian Black army (1458-1494)

From the evidence gathered so far, it must be 1458-76.

King Matthias & the Sultan

Here, Bram asks Fyodor who he serves, either King Matthias (The king of Hungary) or the Sultan (Leader of the Ottomans). Bram was suspicious of the Sultan for the reason that they started eyeing Europe once the Byzantine Empire fell, along with his history with them (Held hostage as a boy). The tension between King Matthias and Vlad III started when Matthias received a letter from the saxons allegedly written by Vlad III in which he offered support to the Ottomans. This was enough to convince Matthias of Vlad III’s treachery so he imprisoned him from 1463 to 1475. Vlad III was intercepted and captured by Matthias after he had escaped Ottoman capture and sought Matthias for assistance. This could be when Bram was defeated in the manga(?) So I guess the year may have been 1462-1463?

Some bonus info that I noticed is that Matthias signed a peace treaty with the Holy Roman empire in 1463. Maybe Bram was defeated after they signed the treaty so they could form some sort of coalition against him (This could explain why the knights all had religious imagery on their helmets).

Another thing is that Bram was impaled(?) alongside two other women. In the Dracula book, I believe it was mentioned there were three female vampires that the protagonist had to defeat before killing Dracula in the castle. This could hint towards the fact that Bram was in the castle when he was attacked and defeated.

(I'm having trouble mixing history and fiction. Fyodor definitely had a hand in this. No way he just came to warn Bram for no reason)

None of these images are mine (I'm sure you know, but just in case)

Yeah that’s all I got, please comment to correct me and/or let me know if you know anything. (Might edit later idk)

[cal-writes]

I feel like in a lot of your stories, your zoro exudes abandonment issues 🥲 Is that a conscious thing on your part? Or am I projecting lmao

I’m loving the little snippets of fic you post btw always brightens my day 😃

he does. it sorta happened subconsciously i think. im not sure if it started from my interpretation of his character in canon or from myself projecting lol

i think it might be a mixture of both like. the juxtaposition of zoro as a character who is very confident in exactly one area of himself and that is fighting and his strength. like zoro doesnt tend to get jealous until luffy implies someone might be stronger than him. i always think of something the youtube quinn curio said in a video about the umbrella academy talking about the character played by elliot page.

so i often read zoro as someone who thinks he needs to be the strongest so that has value or is allowed to be there

and another part i think is that zoro is a very lonely character. like we learn about kuina and that she died when she was 11 and that shook him so fundamentally that he's essentially living his life to fullfil that promise he made to her. we've seen koushiro and johnny and yosaku but they were very utilitarian. koushiro was his trainer, i dont think zoro ever mentioned him again since the flashback in like what chapter 5? and johnny and yosaku were a good way to bring arlongs bounty up and show the necessity of having a cook on board. sure they care of zoro and he cares about them but there isnt the sense that they are particulary close. zoro doesn't have a family like nami, or someone who seems to have raised him like family like luffy and sanji. if we take movie canon into it as well he'd have another friend from the doji similarly to kuina who he later thought had died due to him not being strong enough

and even now in the more recent manga chapters we see it implied twice that zoro is "a burden" on his crew, both from an antagonist but then also from a crew member. and unlike when sanji and zoro usually bicker, zoro doesnt respond. we have a panel of him flinching about the comment before he grits his teeth and continues.

addtionally during water seven when everyone is falling apart bc of whats going on he's not allowing himself to be vulnerable. we dont see him miserable or angry or sad because he sees his duty as having to hold it together and make sure everyone gets through this. like zoro was just as affected by merry's fate as everyone else but he couldn't show that (or he felt like he couldnt). its an incredibly isolating experience.

there is that manga panel which i might be misinterpreting bc the speech bubbles make it hard to tell who is actually saying it

like "huh you saved me" like he's surprised someone would do that.

but even if in that panel its not zoro saying it we still see himself punishing himself after getting injured in a fight even if he ultimately won. after little garden he trains until his feet bleed again, after the fight with mr one not only does he carry nami around for hours and gets shot while injured already he doesnt let himself recover, and then of course after thriller bark.

i always get the sense that zoro puts an enormous amount of pressure on himself as if he has to justify being there and has huge expectations for himself that he needs to meet.

and not to forget that on shabaody, he had no idea what happened to everyone else. he was the first to leave and for all he knew until they got the message from luffy, everyone died bc he was injured. i think that definitely festered.

like (its probably not that deep but you are reading this so far so youre in too deep now)

i thought it was curious. that zoro is the first one back. that he asked perona for help to find the way. as if he was worried. that if he came to late they wouldn't wait. so he made sure he was the best, the fastes, the first. he made sure to show off his new skills immediately. tried to show them off to luffy immediately despite it being a dumb idea to cut their bubble underwater.

so anyway yea i do end up writing zoro as someone who has abandonment issues tied in with his self esteem issues.

[scarabjewels]

Why is No One Talking About The Hellboy Animated Movies?

This is probably a very specific cult following, a niche niche if you will. But let me tell you, if the 2D underrated classics such as Atlantis, El Dorado,Treasure Planet and Anastasia have a strong cult following, why not this?

Every one of these essays, I always have some short origin story of me discovering it and OF COURSE THIS IS ALSO HAS ONE.

I came across one of the movies in a DVD of a mix of different cartoons, such as Static Shock and maybe 70s/80s Fantastic Four episodes.

It was The Sword of Storm movie, where my love of dark mythological action animated movies continued. I was already a mythology enthusiast as a kid. My past times were reading encyclopedias and watching my mom's extensive collection of documentary DVDs. As for dark animated action movies, DC and Marvel had a lot, and it slipped into pirated DVDs back in the day.

Anyway, it was AMAZING. Hello, JAPANESE AKUMAS, THE ATMOSPHERE, THE LORE.

Fast forward to some years later, I found out that there was another movie and one that was unfortunately cancelled. Loved it too much that I went ahead and tried to read the comics, specifically the ones produced by Dark Horse, as it was related directly to the animated movies.

I craved those kinds of genres in animated media at the time, but I couldn't find ones that I really stuck to, the DC animated movies were good, the old Marvel ones were great and then Trese came, and it was just perfect. Then Castlevania and Blood of Zeus followed after, I have yet to watch it.

So again, why are these so underground niche.

I don't really have qualms or analysis about these movies, I just want to write just how much I appreciate it.

The Dark Action Comics Feel

I am not a comic reader at all by the way, I barely read them. I like manga a little more, and I like my action in moving pictures more than in panels. That said, I appreciate the art of it.

Western dark comics hit a lot different. The simplistic animated styles work well with suspense.

Though Guillermo directed the animated and live action of Hellboy, I would argue that he got the feel of it best in Hellboy Animated. I have yet to see the live action movies, but I recall seeing a glimpse and was very dissappointed. I liked the costumes but I didn't like the brightness and the subplots. It felt like Fantastic Four (2005) with Chris Evans and Jessica Alba (no hate to the movie, I actually really like that one). It wasn't dark enough, but these materials getting adapted into live action are difficult already. That's why a lot of superhero animated movies surpass the action in live a lot of the time.

Hellboy Animated was the best way it could've been adapted. Do note that Hellboy was not an original idea of Guillermo. It existed way before, and it was even darker.

It was dark enough, not too cringey. It was serious but not taking itself too seriously. it was the right blend of dark action, witty, and visually appealing.

The Dialogues and The Characters

Okay, this is one that really sold me on the movies. Somehow, the lines were humorous and short. SHORT.

I also loved that Hellboy was a character who didn't give two shits and just done with the world, yet does his job anyway and is kind. He is like a broody cool but drunk 40 year old man who just exists. WHICH IS BY THE WAY A PROTAGONIST TROPE USED IN A LOT OF LIVE ACTION MOVIES. I don't know if it's the same in the live Hellboy movies, I am really hoping that his lines are just "Crap" and have simple fun expressions.

Also, I find that Abe is a lot more ...attractive in the animated ones? I have seen the costume of him in the live and I think it also inspired a project of Guillermo after, "The Shape of Water". It's not bad at all, just...creature like than humanoid creature. If anything, maybe the creature in The Shape of Water was closer to Abe's hotness. Guillermo has so much of these characters that ...he just might be a furry (HAHAH). Anyway, Abe is like a hot fit nerd action hero, which I think a lot of us wish would even go to that level.

Okay now, Liz. First of all, why is Liz Hellboy's gal? HE HAS HIS OWN IN THE ANIMATED. Her name is Kate, and she has known him a lot longer than Liz. She is also a hot nerd ( opposites attract a type of deal). Liz is similar to Hellboy, but younger and getting used to her powers. Hellboy sees her like a younger sister, too, and is affectionate to her like one. Liz is more of the action hero that Scarlett Johansenn could play her. Her lines would be sarcastic, and her voice was very Megara, just under your breath sassy. Also...her chemistry with Abe...you can not tell me it's not PLANTED.

The other characters are also perfectly voiced and don't drag on too long in a scene even when they are the focus. Again, their "budgetting" with visuals and dialogue in a scene were straight to the point. They say a little bit while saying, just perfect in Show, Don't Tell. Other than the main trio, I found a few more characters memorable: Kate and The Professor.

I already mentioned Kate, she is this quirky girl who is hot, rocks a blonde bob undercut and dangling earrings, and almost always appears 5-10% in the movies but always memorable. Her relationship with Hellboy was told through her dialogues, without even telling us too much. It's not "We've known each other for so long" it's "He could be a big grump and he's even older than he looks", that's how you do dialogue people. Ehem, I'm looking at you. "Truth or dare." She does appear little but is clearly significant either to the plot in the story (in the Sword of Storms) or by the characters (in Blood and Iron). I just think she's cool too. She is so excited with going on about the scientific details related to missions, and the characters adore her.

Professor Trevor, aka Hellboy's adoptive father and one of the founders of BPRD (Buruea of Paranormal Research and Defense), is definitely one of the more important characters in the Hellboy Universe. He was the one who raised Hellboy, as well as doing operations at the same time. They showed me his importance with just dialogue and the smallest cutscenes ever. The mastery of that technique was evident in underrated comic movies.

And HELLBOY, the titular character was the best one ever. He is probably Sleeping Beauty because he has the fewest lines in those movies. That man is stoic, unbothered, laid back and incredibly CHILL AF. I see these characters aa side characters a lot, so seeing a character like this as the main character is so fun to watch, like he does not need development yet it's his world and we're all living in it. That man is zen to the max, yet is sad to be destined to lead the world. Reminds me of older Kratos (God of War), just 100 times more chill and more swag, out of the two, he is that gentle giant you can hang with in a bar and maybe even get high with, Older Kratos is way too intimidating but you'd feel very safe around him more.

The Mystique Tone weaved with the World Building

The dialogues already brought out the world building, how the organisation of paranormal defence is a serious thing. See, taking something so fantastical so seriously can counter its intention, when done correctly and properly, you can hone a cult following, which is why DCU, Marvel and the X-men evolved from comics for the children into basically modern art and literature for its niche. That's also why I am wondering why Hellboy is not as beloved. The comics before Dark Horse are pretty hard-core. The world building is pretty good in movies alone. It's like a contemporary take on supernatural noir. It's mysterious, dramatic, and (this is specific to me, I dunno why) smooth.

Trese (the filipino horror/thriller comic that had its show adapted during the pandemic in netflix) reminded me of Hellboy, and even Trese too, small cult following when I think it does deserve do much more.

Now, the world is building specific to the movies.

I'm referring to the inadequate tone with the existence of the BPRD, the people who work there, and that they are literally like a private organisation with connections to the government. Think S.H.E.I.L.D from Marvel. Only the organization is not dramatically futuristic and really in your face about it. It's super chill and like an underground organisation, too. They are literally normal anywhere and everywhere. Also, they feel so much more mysterious because, again, they don't say what they are doing in detail like blockbuster movies. They do it straightforward, and you figure it out quickly. An example is in Sword of Storms, Hellboy disappeared into another dimension, the BPRD is looking for him. What's so funny and awesome about it is that dimensions aren't new to the BPRD and that Hellboy's disappearance is also not uncommon. They literally casually said that he was not on the planet. The reactions are just "great, looks like we'll wait this out again." That's a subtle node to the world building of this universe, the inadequacy.

The Sympathetic Aspect and Humanity of the Story and Characters

I watched a video essay about the movies and he pointed out two stories of how much it has humanity and sadness in it. I think this is what somehow makes it separate from grandiose epic tales of the hero vs the monster.

In the Sword of Storms, the first scene is a mission in a Mayan Temple where they had to fight with a giant bat worshipped as a God in that particular setting. Long story short, the bat rose an army of the undead, and Liz, Abe, and Hellboy had to fight them all. Liz, having pyrokinesis, unleashes her powers like hellfire, burning the bat and the undead army. The score of Liz's powers feels exactly like hellfire, which is to cleanse the soiled. The sad part is that the bat may have been monstrous, but it was shown glimmer of complete sadness when it looked at its army and accepted its gruesome fate to burn with them. It reminded me of Shen's last scene in Kung Fu Panda 2, where he fought Po with everything he got, in the midst of the fight, a pillar was doomed to hit him, Shen sees this and he just closes his eyes, accepting his defeat.

The other one is a fleshed out subplot in Blood and Iron. It was about a priest the professor had met years ago in a mission. He was once a young and proud priest but faced an existential crisis, losing faith in God as he witnessed the acts of a vampire, later became a servant of that same vampire. Professor Broom and him met again, a little after the former priest killed a man as he was ordered to. The professor gave him words of wisdom and gave him a crucifix, a symbol of his faith restoring. However, it was not to be a happy ending, as he was transformed into a werewolf to become a hindrance of the BPRD succeeding in their mission. When he was eventually killed, we got a small shot of the crucifix in his transformed hand. It was incredibly a sad and dark ending, which was sort of beautiful and came full circle for him.

The point of these kinds of comics is to not glamorize the formula of epics but to emphasise the protection of humanity. Trese also did the same (Man, I should make an essay about this). Professor Broom is pretty much the character that really showed my point. He acts within reason, and even at a younger age, he was very wise beyond years. He didn't come in a monster killing hero, but at best consultant. In Blood and Iron, Erzebet, the serial vampire, was beyond saving and needed to be killed to save countless lives she plans to take. When he met the priest again, he witnessed that the priest murdered and his words alluded that he did it many times before. Yet he urges to forgive himself and that it was never too late for him as he hands him the crucifix. The professor literally adopted a demon boy and raised it as a son, to whom we know as Hellboy. He doesn't believe that everyone is inherently bad, as he chose to believe the good can be taught and redeemed again. He is probably the most beautiful person in this universe, damn to stay true and grounded with those kind of values in that kind of work, reminds me of a quote from the Emperor from Mulan : " No matter how much the wind blows, a mountain cannot bow to it".

Most of the members of The BPRD are not fully human, similar to mutants of X-Men. Hellboy is literally a demon, raised as a human, Liz is pyrokinetic, and Abe is a humanoid amphibian. Yet they are incredibly human. They would casually have a conversation about pastries they tried when they were out on a mission.

Conclusion:

While I was researching about Mignola and Del Toro, I had just found out that a new movie live action Hellboy is coming out, with an indie film feel!

Honestly, I don't think it's going to go on par with the block buster films, but what I have seen from the trailers so far, it just might do Mignola's Hellboy justice. Though, I do have a comment on the movie's filter and lighting, I want it to be close to Egger's "The Witch" if that makes sense. Just a tad but darker, like a small nod to the aesthetic theme of the comic, the noir feel. But the effects are amazing 👏 . The indie-ness of it is perfection.

Now it's obvious that I love this, and for some reason, I think my love for the animated films manifested this information of a new live action instalment.

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Endevoris flashback of Touya perfectly shows just how unreliable Endevor is as a narrator only focusing on the rose colored memories ignoring the harm he created

I apologize for the long post, but this is one of my favorite topics in the manga and I have so much to say about it. Thank you for sending this asks!!

⠀

Horikoshi did something clever with the whole Dabi backstory. It's not been animated yet, but there's a part where Touya's past is told by all the Todorokis and there you can see better how all of them are unreliable narrators.

Horikoshi shows you as much.

Enji's point of view is rather ignorant of Touya's real suffering. He didn't understand back then why Touya wouldn't stop or why he was so upset. He didn't take the time to find out either. He just focused back on his career and discarded Touya as another child for Rei to take care of.

Touya's crime was... Being a kid. That's it. Enji was the one who basically showed Touya that their bonding time as father and son was their training. When Enji abandoned that, Touya still wanted a bond with his dad and couldn't accept the fact he was no longer worthy or important to his father. What Enji could see as "my child is being difficult on purpose" was indeed the manifestation of a very common trait for a kid: I want attention.

⠀

Enji and Touya had good memories. Those only made the whole thing worst tho. Touya now knew how his father attention felt like and he could identify when Enji was not really into it. That means Enji couldn't lie to Touya anymore, not like he was lying to himself. Touya was so clever of a kid that he even picked on the problem of his parents marriage and didn't doubt on pointing it out to Rei. Of course she is a victim, but for little Touya she is also the woman that's suppose to protect him and by agreeing to follow Enji's plan, Touya mind thought she was to blamed for a different sin.

What Horikoshi shows us through Enji's post is deadly important because that's how you learn that Enji still doesn't know his kid. Not Dabi, not the person he is now. Enji doesn't know the Touya of his memories, he still doesn't know why the accident in Sekoto Peak happened, why and how he failed Touya.

To make it simpler: Enji saw Touya die and instead of it being a sign of how he was doing something wrong, he became worst with Shoto and Rei, he became even more abusive, and he kept on his abuse to Shoto to the point Deku himself called him out for it. The way he trained Shoto means that he never thought he was doing something wrong, but rather that he was training the wrong child.

⠀

Now, this is all very evident in the manga, but you need to read the information the author gave you, connect the points and understand what is said beyond the explicit. This is even more important in the manga, where the panels are reduce and you have to condense your story in meaningful poses and speech bubbles and have to convey emotion and intention thoroughly with visuals.

What every Todoroki remembers is distorted. Yes, even Dabi's memories. Their feelings shape their memories and what we're really seeing is how they felt back then, as well as how they feel right now.

So yeah, you're totally right and I hope every one is ready understands why.

[sneezemonster15]

No, I'm referring to the panels in the manga where Naruto is shown sneaking out with Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba and Iruka scolds them. After that there were some other panels with them. But it's not anime only. I don't think it was anything deep though.

Oh okay. This is when Naruto is training with Jiraiya during his quest to find Tsunade.

The context is about Naruto finding a way to concentrate his chakra. So he remembers what Iruka taught him in one of his classes. The emphasis is put on the fact that Naruto wasn't very attentive during the class, he was disruptive and naughty, so he didn't pay attention to what Iruka was teaching. He even shows regret about it. What's important to notice here is he isn't thinking about his classmates, or his friendship with them. He is thinking about the lesson and the fact that he didn't pay attention, just like the other slackers in the class.

But then recovers, just like he does.

Yes, it does seem at first glance in these few panels that Naruto is friends with them, but not really.

It seems like Naruto is doing his own thing, while others are also doing it. They aren't collaborating, they aren't talking to each other, they aren't laughing together or plotting anything together. It doesn't look like they are in on it together, like a gang of troublemakers. They are just the collective backbenchers of the class, the four of them. Shikamaru is smart but lazy, he is interested in only sleeping. So they get punished by Iruka as a group.

However it's clear that Kiba never liked Naruto as a kid, he condescended to him and was pretty rude and insulting. Doesn't look like they were friends at all.

It was only after the chuunin exam battle between Kiba and Naruto, when Kiba developed respect and admiration for Naruto, after he got his ass handed to him by Naruto.

Same with Shikamaru.

Everyone condescended to him, everyone underestimated him, everyone thought he was no good, a loser. It was only after the chuunin one on one battles, when Naruto got the respect from his classmates. And it wasn't just them, everyone noticed Naruto's skills and talents, even the onlookers, and admired him for it. Naruto had to prove himself to everyone, to get basic respect and consideration from people. Not so with Iruka and Sasuke. Iruka and Sasuke saw Naruto's worth where others couldn't and Naruto didn't have to prove it to them, by putting his life on the line for them or by winning competitions. They just liked him as he was. Especially Sasuke.

[dedahblog]

Ichigo and Rukia in Memories in The Rain are two frustrating idiots

You just can't take them seriously.

For the first time, since his mother's death, Ichigo forgot about the upcoming anniversarry of his ultimate trauma.

You can pretty much guess by that simple fact how meeting Rukia brought joy to his life and "changed his world"

When she asked him why he became sad, he answered "nothing " and he could had stopped there. However, this is drama queen Ichigo we're talking about.

He had to add loudly "I see ... it's soon " keeping the suspense for Rukia (and us). He made her aware that something was indeed wrong.

Basically, "I'm acting as If I'm shutting myself off from you but not really I want you to know that something is really bothering me"

....

let's move on

Then later, Ichigo could have stopped at just informing Rukia what it was the anniversary of his mother's death but he had to add that she was killed dramatically under the moonlight.

Ichigo basically gave Rukia the greenlight to talk about his personal life. But when she pushed her luck and wanted to know more, he denied everything.

...

Local tsundere teen sending mixed signals to 200 year old emotionally constipated clueless as hell ghost.

Wonder what will happen

She was so worried that she eavesdropped on Tatsuki and Orihim's little chat at class. A behaviour that was totally unusual coming from her.

She couldn't hold back her worry when Ichigo told her he was taking his shinigami job off. She even revealed she had been stalking watching him all day long.

However, when Ichigo asked her, why she followed him to the cemetery, she said she was only there for her shinigami duties ...

Of course it is, why would anyone think of any other reason ...

Then Rukia came out as insensitive telling him maybe a hollow killed her.

Ichigo was pissed off mostly (I think) out of frustration that people were finding excuses instead of blaming him.

Their conversations ended shortly on a tense conclusion : Ichigo saw the girl he wanted to save the day the mother died, fell on his knees baring his heart to Rukia admitting his sin

When you think about it, there is no reason for Ichigo not to avoid talking to Rukia after so much tension, yet...

He slightly smiled greeting her and genuinely asked her if she wanted to continue where they left off

This proves something extremely important which is how lonely Ichigo was and how much he was yearning for someone to support him mentally

and he chose that person to be Rukia....

....

...

The person he met one month ago !!!

over any one of his friends, classmates family members. ??

(what's wrong with him ?!!)

And his prediction were correct

Rukia who knows about loneliness more than anyone. She tried to try to help Ichigo the best she could.

However, she could only offer him what she herself yearned for the most : not be alone

They both longed for someone they can trust and who won't give up on them.

Ichigo didn't feel surprised by her thoughtful words. It was like he was expecting her to say what he needed the most despite her previous bluntness

When Rukia promised she will be there for him as long as it takes, all Ichigo said was "yeah"...

Kubo being Kubo knows what he's doing, knows how those loser are being soft for each other and will die before admitting it

He basically self inserted himself/ the readers in Kon's place " stop acting so cool. I can't keep up with you guys!"

Remember when kubo was enjoying himself creating this manga and slandering Rukia and Ichigo ? Good times good times

I guess panels speak for themselves.

Rukia was begging Ichigo to stay alive, screaming at him to stop fighting, being so happy he survived and used all what remained of her power to heal him.

Yet when he thanked her for healing him, she acted as if it was nothing...

Last round,

it turns out Ichigo is the honest one between the two

Ichigo told Rukia he had to go and eventually had an emotional conversation with his father where he confessed his frustrations

Yet he isn't even bothered that Rukia was listening (without his consent )to his private talk.

That's because he wants her to be there

When Rukia offered to be there for him, he really embraced that offer. He wants her to know about every messed up part of him because he knows she would never give up on him.

...

..

Also I guess he doesn't mind Rukia being a shameless stalker

( that was the second time you're stalking him the same day Rukia wth !! At least be more subtle or feel a bit ashamed)

[hermitw]

I want to make a list of my JJK theories and opinions so we got (part 1 bc I know I'll have / remember more later).

-let gege cook, everyone will be fine, chill tf out (I have rambled about this in other posts so I'll just leave it at that here)

-Toji and Geto's worm is like banana fish (the drug from banana fish that makes someone delusional, easily suggestible, and violent until they self destruct. Geto lasted a lot longer than Toji under its influence bc he had his rituals of meditations, affirmations, and strong ethics. His cursed energy would have also fed the worm, though it had been trained to feed off of the soul when it was with toji). It eats away at their souls/BRAIN so Kenjaku can get into a new skull will little resistance. Remember when Geto was unconscious and Toji said the thing about monkeys? Then Geto kept repeating that kind of thing (but he never rly acted like he believed that. He was just trying to keep his daughters and innocent youth safe from becoming skapegoats like Rika was. He saw that the cult and the village would repeat their cycles and more would be hurt in the future. He couldn't redeem those adults so he killed them.) I go into this theory a good bit in my longest/first jjk fanfic, and I AM DYING for gege to confirm this. I also ofc think that Kenjaku set up the worm and Toji to find each other. Maybe by throwing it into the zenin curse pit.

-kenjaku hit Rika with his car, or at least manipulated someone else into doing it (which seems to be the theme here, the way he made geto and yuta fight, for example. It's suspicious that Yuta and Yuuji were both from Sendai. I'm sure that he was keeping an eye on them both. We see nanako and mimiko at yuuji's school in that one manga panel in the beginning.

-the prison realm can be used for time travel (since Gojo first got sealed I was expecting him to break out. And then I was expecting him to be so understimulated in there that he'd figure out how to warp time. Dude can already warp space, what's the difference?) and Hakari even suggested using the prison realm for time travel so EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE FINE they just have to go as far as they can without using it first so they can learn what to do the next time, yeah? I also had a dream about this and Gojo told me that Sukuna didn't feel the time loop, but the rest of us knew it was our second time (at least) going back and trying to defeat him. Which doesn't mean that I'm right but it was nice ok 😭

Theories that have been proven right or wrong by now

-I've been saying from the beginning that Yuuji and Sukuna share a common ancestor and that's why he can be a vessel. I was right!! But I didn't know he was also born with a fingie

-sukuna has six eyes (this has since been disproven but I used to think so)

-the way that RCT works between two people

CHAPTER 261 SPOILERS ON THIS NEXT ONE but I hope ur caught up by now.

-yuta should use as many techniques as possible in Gojo's body bc when Gojo returns to it, then he will be able to learn them as well. Kenjaku was able to retain techniques from his previous bodies, so even if all he transfers is the copy technique, that's fkn useful too.

-there is no chemistry between Yuki and Choso. That concept feels fucking forced and gives me the ick so hard.

-yuki is a terrible influence. She has good intentions, but she isn't present enough to be helpful - showing up in shibuya after Mahito was absorbed, for example. Not keeping in touch with the sorcerers who were involved in that. Not to mention the shit with Geto. She started the whole "what kind of woman is your type" thing and it's her fault that todo beats people nearly to death for giving an answer that doesn't match his own stupid taste (it took several watches for me to forgive todo for beating up megumi tbh)

-todo is also Kenjaku's son, and possibly Yuki - tho yuki is more vibes than evidence. All of Kenjaku's confirmed kids have a strong resolve, and false memories with Yuuji. But I think that kenjaku, in a male body, would be a total slut. His motivation for anything is that maybe it'll be interesting, or funny, he's just here for a good time. I think that he wouldn't even know how many kids he has, and that by having an unknown number possibly out there, it would bring up unexpected sorcerers. The frame where kenjaku asks why don't you heal yourself and yuki says I don't want to... That feels confirmed for me but I know it isn't solid evidence.

-I think kenjaku set up yuki to meet todo bc that feels too sus as well but I forget my logic on that one lmaoooo everything is their fault tho

[thelunarfairy]

I don't understand the attitude of The Clock Keepers towards Tsukasa. It's like they don't know about him at all. Although in chapter 54, Shijima asks Tsukasa to leave, saying that his appearance will not lead to anything good and she has heard about No.3 (I hope you understand what I'm talking about, because tbh I couldn't find these pages in English on sites with manga--) So other mysteries are aware of him, but not the no.1?? (I'm writing with a translator, so I'm sorry for the mistakes. I love your blog, with love from Russia <3)

Well, they're not the only ones who don't know about Tsukasa's existence, number three didn't know either.

In reality, the mysteries don't seem to know much about each other, besides, Tsukasa is a yorishiro, the idea is that no one finds out what and where the yorishiro of the school mystery is, because it is a weak point.

Hanako doesn't know about the yorishiros in the other mysteries, not even the Tsuchigomori one. It turns out that Hanako's yorishiro is a human, Tsukasa, he can just go around making a mess, unlike the others, who were objects. Sumire, being the only human besides Tsukasa, couldn't leave the boundary alone, so not even Hanako knew she was a yorishiro.

In Shijima's case, Tsukasa went after her, not the other way around, there's a panel where she says she knew what he did with number three, and she prefers to avoid him. (I couldn't find the panels for some reason either XD)

Other than her, we don't know of any other mystery who knows about Tsukasa's existence (Mitsuba doesn't count), and she only knows because he went looking for her.

And because "someone" told her about what happened to number three, but who was it? those hands? There was no one there besides Hanako, Nene, Kou, Tsukasa and Mitsuba, who would have told her? Mitsuba only met her after Tsukasa went after her, Hanako would never talk about it with her, Nene and Kou didn't know Mei before entering the PP arc, there's a missing piece here.

Who told her?

Another important point, Tsukasa is working in the shadows, he used Hanako and the other two to do his work. Tsukasa may appear to them, but he is never where Teru or Akane are.

See that even now when he meets Teru, he doesn't say a word to him. Akane and Teru know about Tsukasa, but I don't imagine they knew he was Hanako's yorishiro, after all, it's contradictory, if he killed his brother, why would he be the yorishiro?

Anyway, I think Tsuchigomori knows about Tsukasa's existence, but he prefers not to get involved. The clock keepers preferred to stay away from Hanako from the beginning, so they wouldn't know anything about his history.

It's interesting, but that's exactly what it's about, Tsukasa is the youngest twin that nobody knows, nobody knows about his existence, and that's particularly interesting.

Aww thank you ♡ a big hug from Brazil \o/

[meowunmeow]

Undead Unluck Chapter 209 Spoilers!!

Babe wake up a new negator just dropped!! Kaede, Negator of Popularity!

Poor Sean having to keep Fuuko's word, he can't even open his eyes to witness the barren audience

Cute excited Julia in the back!!

Bro?? me next I wanna be a human glowstick and hear my joints pop like firecrackers

I genuinely can't tell what's going on in the third left panel... Is Sean pushed back by her singing voice that he's lying flat while trying to hold onto both Fuuko and Julia?

I know the wobbly notes is meant to show that she sings off key but I like to think she sang heavy metal (the OG solo Babymetal basically)

Fuuko's existence erased by lesbianism confirmed 🙂‍↕️ her parents couldn't fall in love so Kaede x Kururu becomes canon instead hence Fuuko's existence goes poof 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Her side profile looks so much like Fuuko wehhh

Would be absolutely hilarious if this is exactly what happened in L100, considering that Fuuko only found out in L101 that her mother's an idol. Kururu threw away her individuality for the idol life so we never really find out much of her personal info. Who's to say she's not Fuuko's mum's age even then?

the fuck kinda gay torture is happening in the background 😁😁 WHY ARE THEY SCREAMING

Nico, I can excuse the previous arc because you were fighting for your life and couldn't bother buttoning your shirt. But holy shit there's no stakes anymore cover them up you slut 😭 (or don't 😈)

Ain't no way 😭 he's microdosing these unwilling men with his traumatic ability wtf

Pain so strong Tella starts talking again (let's assume he actually got that same tech that lets him speak in L100 but the fact that he hasn't been talking this entire time means that he chooses not to... and yet the torture Nico is giving them all is enough to make him speak 💀)

This is so brutal this isn't a battle shoujo manga anymore this is a psychological shoujo manga

That's amazing and everything Fuuko I admire you so much and all that jazz but uh... YOUR LEFT ARM IS FADING AWAY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! PARADOX OR NOT!!

There we go, he is Papa Izumo! But Raita, huh... Is it that her name is Kaede Izumo and he took her surname? Or is it that neither have the Izumo name in the first place... Or maybe I'm an idiot and his name is Raita Izumo and I made it more complicated than it is by assuming Raita is his surname (still have no idea how to find the raws outside of stumbling it by chance)

Goodness fucking gracious Fuuko's mum is just Niclone at this point

Crack theory (a.k.a pulling this thought straight from my ass): The reason Fuuko is fading isn't because of timey wimey "oh my parents never got to bang" paradox bullshit but because Kaede is also Unluck (her interpretation is self-targeting because she has low self-esteem compared to Fuuko being very hopeful and optimistic as a child) and the existence of two Unlucks makes Fuuko fade away because negation abilities are tied to the soul (watch this age like milk 🙂‍↕️)