#i loved this first attempt to write natsume...... he is very fun to write.....!!!

[1ndulgences]

hello! i’m writing this in assumption that your match-ups are still open^^ feel free to delete this if they aren’t!!

> just to say it, in case it matters. i identify as female and my pronouns are she/her. i’m bisexual :)

i’ll start this off by saying i absolutely adore animals (especially cats). i literally fall asleep to animal documentaries. two of my favorite past-times are reading and writing. i have shelves of books and so so many pages of little poems and stories i write on my computer. i practice witchcraft, though i wouldn’t necessarily say that i am wiccan. i love crystals and herbs. i enjoy playing video games too.

i’m very shy and quiet around people i’m unfamiliar with due to my anxiety, so it’s difficult for me to open up and pursue friendships. because of this, i’m in my head a lot and i tend to day dream. i’m drawn to aesthetics and i like things with deep meanings. i tend over-analyze a lot of things— whether it’s a song, a story, or something someone says. i’m incredibly sensitive to my surroundings so i can easily read people. i’m a very good listener and i adore it when a person tells me about themselves or their day. generally, i’m very protective of the people i spend time with. i enjoy lightly teasing people but i can get quite bashful when the tables are turned. i get so embarrassed that it’s embarrassing… i love praise and will actively seek it, whether it’s showing someone a poem i’ve just written or a high score i’ve gotten on my favorite game. i’m really sensitive to other’s criticism though, and i can take things deep unless i know that it’s light-hearted or jokes. i like to use big words to make myself appear more intelligent and mature. i cannot stand scary things (DOLLS…) or insects, especially butterflies and bees.

AHH IM SORRY IF THIS IS A LOT i hope this isn’t too overwhelming for you!! if it is, feel free to delete! no hard feelings. regardless, i’m glad to see your blog getting more recognition 🫶 you deserve it

- 🍂

it is not too overwhelming, do not worry—! you gave me much to work with, and i hope i can deliver properly.....! thank you for your kind words and support, dear leafynon....~!

this may be a tad obvious of an answer, but i believe your perfect match would be.....

natsume is drawn in by your quiet nature, but you exude such a mysterious aura that he can't ignore. he is enamoured by you, and how you analyze the world around you so easily. at first, he simply wants to know more about you. someone like you must be hiding something, to be so soft spoken yet so in tune with everything around you. he wants to understand you. he needs to.

being natsume, of course, this means he tends to tease you. he quickly falls for the way you react to his words. whether it be how you perk up at his affirming words, or how you flush when his words poke at you. but do not misunderstand him — he deeply enjoys the long talks you both have, together observing the world and speaking in hushed voices when in class.

as protective as you can be, natsume takes things a step further. brewing potions, casting minor spells, watching your every move for his chance to save you... he makes sure that you are safe no matter what. all of this, and he claims you only to be a friend. a good magician never reveals his secret, hm? you would be used against him or endangered if he let the world knew of his feelings for you. but that certainly does not mean he will relinquish you to anyone else.

he may not be the best at video games, but he has learned a bit from sora. he loves to play with you, because he loves to see how happy you get when beating a level. sometimes, he likes to pretend that he does not ynderstand how to play, just to have you lean closer to explain the controls. or he will throw matches of competitive games so you can win, just so he can see you smile. you are smart, and if you catch onto his act, he will feign ignorance and tease you for being 'insecure', since clearly you are just so good at this game. do not doubt yourself in front of him, okay? he will simply will not accept it! if you do not catch onto the play, he will simply continue to do so since it makes you so happy when you win.

natsume has fallen for you, and he is a stubborn creature of jealousy. if he fears his aloof and playful nature has driven a wedge between you both, he is not above mixing together a strong love potion to bring you back into his arms. if you are hopelessly in love with him, then it would be okay for him to be more open with his own affections... in fact, he may not even wait to do such a thing. after all, that protective necklace he made you... there is an awful lot of rose quartz on it, isn't there?

you are his darling now, and he will never let you go!

[natsuphoria]

Hihi! I loved ur first fic w/ natsume and jun! If u don't mind could u write abt Eichi, Keito and Nazuna having a crush on reader but the reader is super oblivious </3 and thinks they're just supperr close and calls them "nii-chan"

thank you anon! i didnt know much about these characters so this was a fun challenge <3 (everyone say thank you cherry, reze and qian for helping liddle ol’ me with characterisation!) also oblivious reader is so silly /pos

eichi, keito & nazuna crushing on an oblivious reader

they/them pronouns used for reader in keito's part; no pronouns in other parts

eichi would be confused at first, but it eventually makes way for amusement!

he’s a busy man, but he makes sure to make time for you. you’re incredibly important to him… even if you’re not aware of just how much.  

at first he thinks he’s doing something wrong – much of his knowledge on courting and romance comes from movies and books, so he’s unsure as to whether such things are okay in real life.

he invites you to tea… or to a fancy dinner… he buys you whatever you even glance at… and all he’s met with is a sweet smile and a bright “thank you, nii-chan!”

ah… he’s not very sure on how to proceed. cue the signature eichi faint smile ^_^

he’s not very creative in this department, so i’d expect him to start consuming more romance media to gain inspiration… he's hitting the books yall look at him go!!

due to this, a lot of his courting methods are traditional and cliche, but it’s incredibly endearing that he tries so hard! or it would be, if you were aware that he was courting you in the first place…

i’d think eichi is quite the clingy person – he hasn’t had many friends or acquaintances, so to find someone he likes so much? someone who (probably. arguably. possibly.) likes him back just as much? he’s going to be so protective of you. 

it’s very obvious how much he favours you! at least to everyone else -.- he’d have a special seat in his office just for you… your favourite tea blends (or other drinks, if you don’t like tea!) just within reach… 

it’s visible in the way his voice softens almost imperceptibly when he’s speaking to you, or the way a smile slips onto his face when your name pops up in conversation.

though he thinks your oblivion is amusing – aren’t you just the cutest, most innocent thing? – he’s well aware of his clock ticking down. he won’t admit it, but he’s quite afraid that he won’t be able to spend as much time with you as he wants to. he’ll have to speed things up… maybe he’d just have to ask you directly? you’re sure to say yes, right? 

keito & nazuna below the cut!

ah, keito. he’d be losing his mind actually.

this man is absolutely an overthinker. his huge wrinkly brain is working overtime for sure.

it’s silly because both of you would be oblivious at first! meaning, keito wouldn’t notice his little crush until someone else points it out to him.

even then, he’d be firmly in denial… such feelings are utterly foreign to him. plus, he has no idea what to do with them!?

confess, keito. shoot your shot, that’s what. ← real words from his lecture club

he’s not likely to confess to you unless he knows for sure that you like him back. he likes having a solid plan to follow, and feels much more at ease when he can anticipate every outcome.

but you’re not gonna make it that easy for him, are you?

he really does try his best… but he has unconventional ways of showing his affection

he nags at you quite a bit! i hope you like his lectures 0(-( he just wants you to be at your best i promise.

romantic words aren’t really his forte. this man is incredibly awkward when it comes to you, so any attempts to rizz you up end in him getting embarrassed and fleeing the scene.

100% he comes up to fix your collar or your tie and he’s so flustered from the proximity but you’re just like :DD nii-chan!!! and there’s a pang in his chest.

"i smiled at them more than normal why dont they get it" "keito you looked constipated" /hj

he’d probably write manga about you… or create a character that’s clearly inspired by you… please, please take the hint ;-;

he’d be crazy frustrated!! he’s not getting through to you at all and it’s driving him insane. this is solidly outside his comfort zone too, he’s not exactly having a fun time. he thinks he’s doing something wrong, or that this is your way of telling him you’re not interested… poor keito :(

someone close to him would have to coax him into telling you directly!! even then, it would take him a fair amount of time to psych himself up enough to act.

when it happens, though, he'd be a blushing, stuttering mess -- such a far cry from his usual calm demeanour.

nazuna is a sweetheart tbh...

he's already an affectionate and caring person, but it's turned up tenfold with you! it's pretty obvious when he has taken a liking to someone.

nazuna strikes me as someone who has to have a solid friendship before they can develop a crush, so the two of you probably already have a good relationship!

he dotes on you a ton, and checks up on you the same way he does his unitmates! he just wants you all to do your best, and he's unconditionally proud of you regardless of the outcome. he makes sure you know it too.

sure, he likes being called nii-chan by his juniors, but theres a certain pang in his chest when it's coming from you, especially when you sound so sincere about it.

ah... maybe he's taken on a brotherly role from your perspective... how would he go about expressing his interest in you instead? he's extremely respectful about it. nazuna drinks his respect people juice daily ^_^)b

he doesn't really know a way other than showering you with even more affection. loving you comes so easily to him! how could it not? you're so incredibly precious, he just wants to see you happy :)

poor guy gets overwhelmed easily, though... the combination of your sweet smile and your oblivious reactions to his advances makes his head swim!! if he's not careful? if he gets worked up enough and acts rashly? he might just go in for the kiss straightaway...

tags: @tokusaatsus, @kalimism

[s4kasaki]

hello!! hope you’re doing well!! may i request hcs of natsume, kanata and mika baking with their s/o?? thank you in advance <33

so many natsume requests recently..♪ my natsume lover heart is overwhelming!!

♡ — mika, kanata and natsume | baking with their s/o!

‣ tws/cws: slight dehumanization? on mika ( concidering himself a doll again )

‣ reader: gender neutral - they/them

‣ author's note: writing for kanata should not have been this complicated.

☆ — NATSUME.

Was up for the invitation the moment you offered, another way to show how good he can become at something with you? hell yeah! He was familiar with baking, he won't openly admit to the fact he did not succeed at it much the first time. “baking you say? Fufufu” he smirks, intrigued by the thought of baking with his beloved soulmate

Natsume requested the wonderful idea of making a magical themed cupcakes, something that gave off magician but as well with a hint of an evil wizard! And you loved the idea— or the enthusiasm, it wasn't easy to design but you were going to give it an attempt—and you had Natsume along the way to assist! Surely this would be a memorable experience;

it was already the most CHAOTIC thing in the world when you two began to do anything in the kitchen, who knows what he’d do, that was always the game he’d intend that he’d play; would he put spells in the batter? love spells of the sort so you love him even more? shower you with flour and say it was an accident?

would act so professional with you, secretly, as a way to, of course, impress you.

very keen to make sure not a single bad happens and so you don't get hurt, he'd hate for his sweet kitten to burn a finger or so.

“KitTEN, please don't touch the stove, I don't want YOU to get hURT— y/n wAIT--”

the two of you will work at least two hours trying to decorate a singular cupcake to pure perfection. like go all the way out even though Natsume is this close to trying to use his magic to do it because it's just ONE cupcake out of all the other 20 you've made– but he doesn't wanna ruin the fun that's being shared.

so very in love with wiping the corner of your mouth if you've gotten a crumb or two on your lips while he pulls the most devious smirk on his lips.

“Natsume...” you flushed in his grip, he was holding onto your chin as he wiped some frosting off the corner of your mouth. “Fufufu, what is it?” he smirked again, his devious ways were never-ending when you two were alone, it just serves his purposes

“The cupcakes are done I think..” what an excuse.

☆ — KANATA.

“hmm ‘baking’ with producer-san? ” Kanata smiled earnestly as he seemed to keep the same seemingly sleepy representation he carried while still inside your bathtub filled with water, he was actually a little fond of the activity I can tell you that. You nodded your head, ingredients were already placed on the kitchen table, and you were inspired by his merman attire to create mermaid-like cupcakes.

For onetime in hours he existed the water that has seemed to have overflowed the bathroom, there would be mopping to do afterward. “let's get going~”, slumping over your shoulder and following the footsteps you made directed into the kitchen;

he's focused, he's interested, he's trying to show you the ropes too! lovers help one another right!

Absolutely adores the way you get so happy when he compliments you on something. “wow~ you did a good job♪” and how you get all red over a small little compliment of validation!

like Natsume: would hate for you to get hurt, that's the last thing he wants! so he's keeping a close eye on you as well so you don't hurt yourself. <3

“Do I put eggs the batter inside now, y/n~”

Okay he may be a little clueless to baking, he's done it once and that was it, but he's very faithful that with you by his side he'll improve~ and become a little better a baker than he was before☆

He's taste testing all the time! It's really reasonable to test-taste you know? What if it's not enough .. something ♪

He's really mesmerized by how well you do on your own in the kitchen, so you might happen to catch him staring at you with his lazy demeanor!

The way your concentrated face scrunches up from your nose, especially when you're a little too close to the cupcake and it's frosting to where it gets on your nose? Meanwhile decorating another cupcake with a Lil mermaid tail and sea-like sprinkles, his heart flutter just a little bit more than it was before.

“ding~♪” said Kanata as if mocking the oven once you finished decorating the cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles, he was always such an optimistic character on outside.

“they’re done, do you want one?”

“aahh~♪” nom

☆ — MIKA.

“b...bakin’ you say? w..with you?” he was flustered by the sudden ask at first, but the random jolt of joy hit in very sooner than expected! while staring at you his smile began to form, it leaned with nervousness–but he agreed to try to assist you in the kitchen, after all, wasn't that a doll's purpose? He thought.

you two had no idea what the designers were gonna be for whatever you planned to make, maybe macaroons! maybe a style that's something unique and pretty!

the most wholesome thing in the world, a nervous little thing— afraid he's gonna mess something up by being clumsy. (╥﹏╥)

though— he doesn't usually eat these type of sweets often because tummyaches are bound to occur and neither of you would want that. But baking with you, his own soulmate, it made his heart kind of flutter even though it was something so simple.

he definitely went on a whole shopping spree to get all the things you needed beforehand, frosting sprinkles— oh yeah! and a bunch of food coloring because he could not decide which color to choose from. forgive him... you allowed him to surprise you with the supplies, so a surprise you shall get... (• ▽ •;)

“y/n, where'd the frostin’ go?”

did he forget the frosting, or leave it at the store by accident– he was being in a rush.

“Mika, did you leave it in the bag?” you asked, his face flushing with embarrassment

“mm... it's not here!” already in quite the panic, you had to assure him things would be fine and there was no need for him to panic, you just needed to look for it. And after twenty minutes of looking for two small things of vanilla frosting, he finally found it inside the car in the back seat.. “y/n! I found it!”

“good gracious—”

He watched you decorate the cupcakes and went :

“(つ≧▽≦)つ can I try!”

his cupcake may look like a messier rip-off version compared to yours— they're still eatable right? So that's all that matters! Mika was more than happy to eat it himself so nobody else had to

the flour spilled at least 4 times while he tried to put it in a measuring cup, the cleaning that had to be done after you two were finished was HORRENDOUS.

And it's not like he didn't feel bad about it, because he did and he had to be comforted about it– but! not everyone's amazing on their first try, y’know! ( ╹▽╹ )

“... sorry, y/n. It doesn't look as good as yours, I'm jus’ not good at this...” he mumbles, he felt embarrassed even if this was his first try—

He's so blind to his talent sometimes.

“Well, mine isn't any better either! And I'll eat yours thank you very much! ♪” you smiled as Mika's head jolted up, and the result of that was adorable to you.

[polandspringz]

Thoughts on “No Longer Human”

So, like every other BSD fan right now, I went out and bought No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai in order to better understand the way he is written as a character in BSD and also just because I’ve always wanted to dive into Japanese literature. Since senior year of high school, I have been changed from reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (not because of BSD but for class) and so I was very excited to delve into another classic novel with similar themes.

And I was not disappointed.

In short, No Longer Human reads as a sad tale about a man who feels so ostracized by society, and is ostracized by said society, that he is drawn to such terrible fates. While reading, it is not lost on me the similarities between the main character, Yozo, and Osamu Dazai’s own life. By looking at the time period the novel was set in and the way Yozo acts, while I cannot draw any conclusions on the author himself, the novel captures the life of a man who is undoubtedly (at least to me) neuro-divergent and unfortunately is so during 1930s Japan. Therefore, he is extremely misunderstood, lacking in social skills and desperate to truly connect with others. Because he fails to ever feel “human” he finds the only way he can get attention, or connect to others, is by making them laugh. It’s not my place to say that definitively that Yozo can be read as an autistic character, however I would understand if someone identified traits in him that matched. Ultimately I believe that Yozo was neuro-divergent from birth, and coupled with the assault he suffered at a young age, he was extremely traumatized which with no support from anyone around him, led him down a destructive path. You watch as he goes through manic episodes of highs and lows, seeks out connection through sex, attempts suicide multiple times, and eventually falls into alcoholism and drug addiction before being sentenced to live in a mental hospital. The saddest parts of the book are undoubtedly in the ending, for when Yozo finally opens up and feels like he can trust two people in his life enough that he might just be human, they trick him into bringing him to a mental hospital where he definitively feels in his soul that he is “disqualified as a human being”, forever branded as different and discarded from society even when he is released from the institution. Although Yozo partakes in sexual activity and affairs frequently throughout the book, the true turning point of his downfall is likely when he witnesses his wife being assaulted, as it might have triggered a flashback of his own assault as a child (although not explicitly stated in the book, his reaction to it and the stress it causes him is enough of an example of PTSD for me to believe this).

Perhaps the only part of the book where I felt I could relax and enjoy it, not falling into the despair of the narrative was the short conversation regarding Crime and Punishment itself. The translator notes talked about Dazai’s writing being closest to Dostoevsky, so I was already thinking of how the author of BSD had used that idea in making Dazai and Fyodor interact frequently, but it was even more solidified by Yozo himself talking about the book (like how they also bring up Natsume Soseki’s works as well). I don’t want to sound like I am only interested in reading the Japanese classics because of “some anime”, but rather I am constantly amazed and impressed by the level of detail and research the BSD author must put in to make the characters accurate to the people and works they are referencing. Sure, one can watch BSD and enjoy it simply for it being an anime that is fun and action oriented with interesting characters, as I once did when I first watched it, but it is equally enjoyable and opens up new avenues of thought to understand how the pieces fit together. (I am not caught up in the manga at all but I loved theorizing about Fyodor and his powers back when he was introduced in the anime). To cap off my thoughts on No Longer Human, I just wanted to say that after reading it and finally seeing inside Osamu Dazai’s head, I don’t think there is a scene in BSD that captures the true sadness of this novel except for in BSD Wan. That fireworks scene and Dazai’s lines delivered in that ending scene was the closest to the feeling of depression and lowness that I felt throughout the novel, and it’s probably because all the “goofy” endearing character trait aspect of Dazai’s goal of suicide are stripped away and shown for what it really is. Suicide.

[everythingsinred]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Natsume (pt.7)

Well, Natsume's really in it now! Today we'll be talking about what lengths Natsume will go to in order to protect the people he loves. He's not a normal boy with a normal first crush, after all. He has no intention of wooing her or flirting. In fact, his instinct is to distance himself, and going forward we'll see that instinct is motivated by more than just a low self-esteem.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Natsume has some major character flaws. He’s kinda a jerk in general and is rude and abrasive. He’s chronically selfless and seems to be drawn to situations where he can sacrifice himself for others, which is a very unhealthy way to be. He’s also terrible at keeping his word.

Natsume only made this decision on his own, but he’s pretty bad at carrying through with it. He’s the one who told her to stay away, but Natsume will have more and more trouble staying true to such an agreement.

At first, he makes an effort: Mikan is being bullied for her stupidity and sees Natsume. He glares at her, another discouragement from coming any closer. He doesn’t argue with her or join in on the bullying.

But in no time at all, the whole class is riled up in study mode because of Mikan’s example, and for many kids in Class B, the best person to turn to for tutoring help is Natsume, who is actually quite smart when he actually does the work--though he’d prefer not to. And he does help, though not with any kind or supportive words. He’ll leave that to Mikan. Maybe to him it feels a bit like a cheat, like he can afford to give in a little bit. He later walks alongside her after an exam, like he’s part of her circle, and although he’s not really engaging with her like the rest of the kids are, it’s enough that he’s near her.

And it’s enough for the ESP and Persona to notice.

We can see the ESP looking down on them from his headquarters room, still covered in shadows to maintain his mystery, but his figure is familiar enough for a reread. Natsume has been caught and he will have to face the consequences.

Persona subs in for Makihara-sensei (and we must wonder if Makihara was really unable to proctor his exam or if he was ordered to stay away so that a point could be made to Natsume), and despite his disguise, Natsume can tell it’s him instantly. After all, he was supposed to recognize him. Natsume looks horrified.

So far, Natsume has had to more or less balance two very different parts of his life: a more light-hearted life in Class B and his life as a spy and black ops agent. They’ve been difficult to juggle because of how different they are, but they’ve been pretty separated. Here, the lines are blurring. Was there really any divide at all or was that just an illusion? Persona can invade on his happiness any time he wants, on a whim, and nobody else will notice that anything is amiss. Only Natsume will be bothered, and that’s enough.

Natsume later catches up to Persona, asking him what the hell all that was about.

Permy and his fans aren’t the only ones to notice that Natsume has been softer lately--he and the ESP have noticed as well, and he’s been ordered to put a stop to it. He mentions a “kitten of a different color” who has been of interest to the ESP too, and Natsume plays dumb, his last-ditch attempt to protect Mikan from being drawn into this.

Persona comments on the strangeness of seeing the infamous Black Cat that he trained himself, who he’s supposedly only ever seen in action, sitting and taking a test like a normal kid. He reminds him that he’s not a normal kid. There’s no point in trying so hard. He won’t make it to ever see his family again, so why even bother?

And then Persona makes a point to discourage Natsume from getting close to that “kitten of a different color”. Natsume argues that they’re the ones who made them partners in the first place! And he might as well be giving himself away. Again, Natsume seems convinced that the partners thing was a decision from pretty high up, but I don’t think it was. Here, it seems like Persona is trying to clean up the mess Narumi made before it gets too out of hand. Natsume is a perfect tool and anything messing with that is inconvenient. They can’t unmake them partners (yet) so the most they can do is threaten Natsume.

And now we can see what kind of alice Persona has. It's a real threat, killing that plant. It's a reminder to Natsume what he's capable of, that his friends and loved ones could end up just like that plant.

And so Persona does.

Natsume is anguished here, because he’s been trying his very best to avoid this situation, but he should have known that Mikan was already in the academy spotlight and his feelings would be quickly caught. It was too late from the start and he was doomed all along to add Mikan to the list of people he will do anything to protect.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The next chapter opens with Mikan being confused and hurt by Natsume’s sudden new coldness. She has no idea what’s brought this all on, but we do. Natsume has no choice now but to completely try and cut her off. It’s for her own good, after all. If he’s not careful, she could get hurt. Protecting her is worth it, even if it means he has to be even more of a villain than usual.

We don’t see a lot of Natsume in this chapter, actually, because he’s trying really hard to stick by his word this time. We see him trip up a little, staring at her in class. When she catches him, he turns away coldly, but from this we can see that Natsume really doesn’t want to be leaving her alone like this. If he had it his way, in an ideal world, he’d be much nicer to her. Unfortunately, Natsume doesn’t waste his time thinking about his ideals, so he keeps at it, pushing her away.

The next time we see Natsume, it’s after we’ve been thoroughly introduced to the concept of the life-shortening alice. This is one hint of many that he has such an alice, several chapters before we get a real confirmation.

The scene where Natsume struggles on a bed full of pills is perhaps more dramatic in the anime, but it’s no less potent here. It’s like a sucker punch. You don’t want it to be true. He’s ten years old, for heaven’s sake! TEN YEARS OLD! And he’s suffering, hunched over, face red, gasping for air, clutching his chest, next to the biggest bag of medicine I’ve ever seen. It’s the biggest hint we’ve gotten so far, especially in the context of Kaname’s illness.

It's heart-breaking to imagine that most of the time, Natsume is simply pretending like he's not in absolute physical agony.

Kaname stays at the hospital for long stretches of time, staying for weeks and sometimes months at a time. He’s hospitalized more than he’s able to walk around free. There’s a lot to consider when that treatment is compared to Natsume’s. Natsume is the DA favorite and is sent on many missions. His trips to the hospital are never for weeks or months at a time, not because he doesn’t need the rest, but because the school can’t stand to go so long without their prize fighter. Natsume might be in even worse condition than Kaname, but there’d be no real way to tell unless we got it from him, because he has no choice but to put up with it and pretend like he’s not living in constant agony. And on top of being terribly and terminally ill, he gets physically beaten somewhat regularly… this school beats sick children and then threatens them when they find any inkling of happiness.

There is a bittersweet tone about Kaname’s story. He’s already sick anyway but he will probably die if he keeps using his alice, but he wants to, because he wants to bring people the same happiness that making Bear brought him. It’s tragic and heart-breaking, but it’s touching too. That sweetness is missing from Natsume’s appearance. His situation feels miserable and helpless in comparison, because not only does he have no way out, but nobody even knows the extent of his struggles.

He only lets himself feel this level of pain when he’s all alone in his bedroom. He’s been having a horrible past few days, having to ignore Mikan when she’s all that’s made him happy in recent memory. All that together, and we know that this night was a rough one for him.

The next day, we see everyone saying good-bye to Kaname. Once again, Natsume is completely separated from the rest of them, all alone in the classroom, sitting and looking as miserable as one can expect. It’s strange seeing him now after we’ve seen what his nights look like and just how painful they can get.

I just want him to be okay. Why is that too much to ask?

There’s some text on his panel: “I want the future I spend with the ones I love to last just a little longer.” Yet another hint that maybe his illness is more than just that. He has very little time left, and very little time to spend with his loved ones, but even worse: he can’t even spend time with Mikan because doing so would put her in danger. Even with Youichi and Ruka the amount of time he can spend with them is limited. They have their own lives and he doesn’t want to hold them back or hint in the slightest that there’s something up with him. He doesn’t want to worry or burden them. And so he sits alone in the classroom, looking despondent and lonely.

And now we know more than ever that this was never his choice: he has to be like this.

No, he’s not the asshole he makes himself out to be, somebody who doesn’t care about others and cuts others off because he thinks himself above them. All he wants is to protect people from getting too entrenched in his dark life. Natsume being this level of a jerk is a method to protect people, a method an adult would have to take.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I’m quite relieved to have finally passed the point where the anime adapts the manga. From now on, I can focus entirely on the manga. I passed 22k words on this essay too! This whole thing will be sooooo long. I hope it’s an enjoyable read so far. It’s quite fun for me to write.

This chapter is the beginning of a long and dramatic arc. There’s been incidents of people losing their alices. The academy is withholding information about the gravity of the situation, lying that the students have not been affected so far.

But even with the little information the kids have, Class B is full of concern. Everyone is discussing these incidents, debating whether losing one’s alice would even be a bad thing. After all, they’d be able to go back home and see their families. Nonoko brings up a great point, that her alice is a part of her identity, something she loves about herself. It’s not something she’d ever willingly part with. Furthermore, she doesn’t want to leave all her friends at the academy either. Ultimately, the kids all agree that they wouldn’t want to lose their alices.

At this, Natsume stands up and leaves the room. He’s heard enough.

Natsume doesn’t just have complicated feelings about his alice--he feels hatred for it. After all, if it weren’t for his alice, he could live to a ripe old age. He could still be with his family. He could be happy, not used as a weapon by the academy to fight until he dies. He can’t relate much to the conversations about fondness for an alice. From what we can see, he’d be over the moon to be rid of it for good. This is a concept brought up now, because it will be incredibly important later on.

Not to spill about my personal life or anything, but I’m an English major (in an anglophone country so my focus is literary analysis and writing). Writing literature papers in school was a love of mine that I translated to my other interests. I’m writing what I can here about general themes and even visual parallels. I want to write as thorough an analysis as I can. Unfortunately, I can’t effectively pick apart word choices and phrases when they’re translated from another language and when so many conflicting translations may exist.

I’m saying all this as a disclaimer because I want to analyze word choice now and I am aware that this might not carry to the original Japanese or even to other versions of the English translation. (For reference, I’m using the TokyoPop versions for my analysis for the first 15 volumes and then I’ll be using whatever I get my hands on for the rest. The pics I use are from scans, but the main source I use for now is TokyoPop.)

"Nowhere!".... hmm let me read way too much into this.

Natsume leaves the room and Ruka chases after him, asking where he’s headed. Natsume responds, “Nowhere.” This might be a nothing point to make, but it stands out to me whenever I read this part. It’s a reassurance to Ruka, sure, but there seems to be more to it. On the surface, we can tell that Natsume doesn’t have a destination in mind; he just doesn’t want to be in the classroom anymore, listening to all that upsetting talk. Deeper than that, he really is heading nowhere. He’s stuck there, at the academy, unlike the rest of them who will eventually leave to go back home once they’ve graduated. Natsume will probably die at the school, trapped within its gates. He will probably never see his family again. He is, in that sense as well, going nowhere.

The rest of their conversation is just as packed with meaning. Ruka can tell something is up and he wants Natsume to talk to him, to let him in, but Natsume knows that Ruka has made a pact not to smile if he’s not smiling. So even though Ruka is asking and wants to know what’s wrong, Natsume won’t give anything away. Being miserable is one thing, but letting Ruka know that something is worse than usual would only make Ruka miserable too, and he can’t have that. The bottom of one page has him frowning, maybe steeling himself, and then at the top of the next page, he turns around with a grin to tousle Ruka’s hair.

Don't mind me. I am simply crying.

“It’s nothing,” he says with his smile, looking so gentle, and Ruka still looks concerned, but he can’t argue anymore.

In reality there’s a lot going on with Natsume. Later, when we are introduced to Tono, he mentions being concerned about Natsume’s health, having heard that he was making frequent visits to the hospital. We already know he’s sick and going on ceaseless missions, and on top of all that he has to ignore and be cruel to the girl he likes. It’s a terrible situation. But Natsume can’t tell Ruka any of this without worrying him, so instead he will keep it to himself. After all, it’s nothing that can be helped or changed. It’s something he feels he has to cope with on his own. To him, spilling his secrets would be selfish and only cause suffering.

Chapter Thirty

Iinchou has finally returned from his visit to his hometown. He’s brought gifts and anecdotes and everyone is quite happy to see him, until Iinchou attempts to use his alice and finds himself unable to.

It’s a shock to the whole class that a kid at their school has lost his alice. They had been so relieved that at least it wouldn’t affect kids like them, but now one of them is a victim too. It makes the fear much more real. If it could happen to Iinchou, it could happen to any of them.

Things get tense when Iinchou returns to class and says that this might have been the fault of a woman he encountered outside of the school, someone who was probably affiliated with Z. Everyone who was involved with saving Natsume when he was kidnapped is shocked to hear about Z again, but none more than Natsume himself. He gets up and leaves, just like he did last chapter.

He’s thinking about the proposal Reo gave, that Natsume should join Z and fight against the academy he despises. But he’s not alone with his thoughts, because Ruka followed him again, and so did Mikan this time.

She tries to ask him about Z, see if he has any more idea about what’s going on. She’s confused and he knows more than anyone what happened during that incident, but he’s refusing to acknowledge her presence, let alone answer any of her questions. He’s keeping up his charade of cruelty to keep her safe, but it’s driving Mikan crazy. She finally breaks, screaming at him that he should pay attention when people are talking to him, and further that if he has any issues with her he should just say it to her face.

Just like last chapter, we see a panel of Natsume steeling himself, ready to do the selfless thing to protect the other person. Only this time the next panel has him glaring at her, saying he doesn’t like anything about her. He hates everything about her.

Natsume has no choice but to lie all the time about how he's feeling, because everyone else must always come first.

It feels different, but in reality this is the same thing he did to Ruka last chapter. He can’t be honest about his feelings when he’s feeling upset, and he can’t be honest about his feelings when he’s actually starting to fall for a girl. He always has to hide his true feelings, repress and bury them, lie about them in order to protect everyone around him. It’s hard for him to do, but he thinks it hurts him more than it could hurt her, so he manages it.

What adds even more layers to this is that Ruka is observing the whole thing. He sees Natsume’s actions as selfless but misfires on the motive a little--but only a little.

He recalls eating strawberries with Natsume and Aoi, with Aoi cheerfully discussing her newfound love for the fruits. And so Natsume gives his to her. Aoi is surprised, because strawberries are his favorites. He responds easily, “I hate them now.”

"For you," Natsume says.

Ruka knows what kind of person Natsume is, that Natsume would reject something he loves so that his loved ones can be happy. They’re both aware that they like the same girl, and Ruka can’t help but put the math together and assume that perhaps Natsume is doing this for him, hurting himself and bringing himself pain so that Ruka can be happy and pursue a girl he has a crush on guilt-free.

He’s even more convinced of the theory with the tiny panel that reminds us of when Natsume shoved Ruka into Mikan so they could dance. Natsume loves Mikan too, but he wants Ruka to be happy, so he will give up and even ruin his own chances to help out his best friend over himself.

When I say it’s a misfire, I mean that Natsume has a lot of other things going on, including Persona and his imminent death. It’s not that he definitely isn’t doing this for Ruka, it’s just that it’s not as major a factor as other things. He’s mainly doing it because of the threats from Persona. If Ruka is involved in his thought process, it’s mainly a bonus. Ruka’s theory is definitely not unfounded; just not completely accurate.

In any case, it does add extra substance to the dynamic between the three of them, where they all walk away from the moment with completely different kinds of misery.

Before any of them can sit with their sadness, though, they receive word that an intruder from Z is at the school.

Conclusion

In this section, we explored how Natsume has no choice but to distance himself from everybody, and even how the methods he uses to distance himself look different depending on the person. Ultimately, despite the fact that he isn't the sweetest kid you'll ever meet, Natsume being cruel to this extent isn't a quirk of his personality: it's what he has to do. If he didn't have so many things being held against him, he might be much kinder to Mikan, or more honest with Ruka, but he has no choice in the matter.

In the next edition, we're getting more involved in the Z Arc and going into how come Natsume goes from telling Mikan he hates her to backing her cause and going on a dangerous mission with her.

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[taizi]

Could you write prompt 88 for natsume yuujjncho?

PROMPTS LIST

88. “That’s definitely not true.” “Of course it is. I read it on Wikipedia.”

x

Tooru is being her usual, relentlessly supportive self. Takashi would appreciate it any other time.

“I really don’t want to go on a date with your coworker,” he tells her for the third time. 

“The best way to get over an unrequited love is to date for fun!” Tooru says with unfounded confidence. 

To Takashi’s knowledge, Tooru has been comfortably aromantic for as long as Takashi has known her, so he has no idea where this apparent expertise is coming from and he’s somewhat afraid to find out. 

“That’s definitely not true,” he says, attempting reason. 

“Of course it is! I read it on Wikipedia.”

Behind Tooru, Kaname is giving Takashi a look of deep sympathy. Takashi closes his eyes, fortifying himself, and says, “Tooru-- ”

“Well, okay, it was a WikiHow article. But it was really well-reasoned!” She leans forward on her elbows, looking at him with wide, earnest eyes. “If this person you like won’t give you the time of day, forget about them! Go on a date with Hideki. You’ll have fun.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Takashi says weakly. “It’s not as though I told them I’m in love with them. They didn’t reject me. I’m not… pining.”

If anything, he’s regretting bringing up his hopeless infatuation in the first place. He fully blames Katsumi and one too many drinks over dinner last night. What had been a safe, if uncomfortable, secret for the last four years has somehow become an open discussion between three of his closest friends. 

He’s deeply, exhaustively relieved he didn’t slip up and tell them who. 

Tooru frowns at him. 

“That’s another thing. Why are you so certain you’re not a total catch? I showed Hideki a picture of you and he, like, literally swooned. If you’d just tell this person you’re in love with them, they’d probably be over the moon.”

Takashi feels himself flush. Kaname is smiling at him now, gently but not without humor. He, at least, understands how strange the idea is that someone could look at him and see something worth having. Lucky for Kaname, Katsumi is both more stubborn than a mountain spirit and extremely vocal about the things he wants. 

“I have an idea,” Tooru says brightly. She stands up, rounds the table, and offers Takashi her hand. “Come with me.”

With a deep sense of dread, Takashi takes her hand, and allows himself to be tugged out of the kitchen, past the sitting room where Kaname is half-rising from his chair with the look of someone with no idea how to stop this train wreck from happening but with every intention of giving it his best shot, and up the stairs. 

She taps on the study door and slides it open. Satoru glances up from his laptop, paperwork spread across the desk beside him. He smiles when he sees who it is, shutting his computer halfway and giving them his full attention, the way he’s done since they were kids. 

He always puts his friends first. It’s one of the first things Takashi loved about him. 

“What are you two troublemakers up to?” he asks cheerfully. “Bring a new ghost home or something?”

“No ghosts today,” Tooru says. “We actually have a romance problem to solve.”

Something flickers in Satoru’s expression, but his smile doesn’t give an inch. “Oh? Do tell.”

“Takashi is in love with someone who doesn’t love him back,” she explains, to the very last person in the entire world Takashi would prefer she explained this to. “He doesn’t seem to realize that anybody would be lucky to date him. He won’t listen to me, so I figured he might listen to you.”

Satoru looks like a bird caught in wire, eyes round, body very still. “Um,” he says, aiming for a laugh and falling short, “why would he listen to me?”

“Well, you had a crush on him in high school,” Tooru says reasonably, as if she turns the world upside down on a regular basis, and it really isn’t that exciting. “So you’ll be able to tell him all his good points.”

For a second, everyone sits there and stares at each other. Takashi’s heart is beating so loud he thinks Kaname can probably hear it downstairs. Satoru is the first one to look away, hands doing the nervous fluttering they do when he’s about one minute away from a spiral. 

“Yeah, I could definitely do that,” he says, too fast, a little too quiet, “um, but maybe later? I have to finish this paper, it’s worth half my grade in sociology, and the first draft is due tonight. It’s gonna be a whole thing. Might take awhile.”

Tooru is one of the smartest people Takashi has ever had the privilege of knowing, even if she can be kind of oblivious about some things that other girls are like bloodhounds for, and he sees it when she realizes she made a big mistake. 

Her hands fly to her mouth. She’s apologizing, so fast the words break and stumble over each other, and Takashi gets the sense that this has been something of an open secret for a long time. That Satoru probably talked about it every now and then in a cheerful past-tense. That Tooru probably reasonably assumed that Takashi knew, since everyone else did. 

Satoru seems as though he’s seriously contemplating the window as a means of escape, so Takashi says, “Tooru, can we have a minute?”

She looks ready to cry, so he presses her hand. 

“It’s okay,” he says. “Really. I just need a minute.”

When she’s gone, flying back down the stairs by the sound of things, Takashi looks at Satoru. His best friend. His first friend. The first person who saw a strange transfer student who jumped at shadows and talked in whispers and decided there was something there worth knowing. The first person who took him by the hand and kept finding reasons not to let him go. 

Satoru flinches when Takashi scoots over closer to him. He looks one step shy of humiliated. 

“You had a crush on me back then?” Takashi asks gently. 

“Kind of obvious, Bakashi,” Satoru mutters. “Everybody did. I’m the only one who didn’t know better.”

There’s something unfolding inside him that hurts to be trapped inside him, pressing against the walls and corridors that make up his heart as though searching for a window or a door or a crack to sneak through, too big to be contained. 

Takashi borrows the same bravery that led him up mountains and across rivers and through fires when he was a child, and says, “I had a crush on you, too.”

Satoru’s head snaps up. He’s always been quick to cry, more emotional on a good day than Tooru and Katsumi at their very worst combined, and that hasn’t changed now that they’re in university. His mouth wobbles for a moment. 

“Oh,” he says, with the kind of wonder and defeat better suited someone who just saw a fleeting vision of everything they ever wanted. 

Takashi puts his hand on the desk, palm-up. After a beat, Satoru takes it. He always takes it. 

“I still do,” Takashi admits. 

“Oh,” Satoru says again, but this time he loses the battle not to start bawling over his homework. 

The door rattles open with force, and Kaname is there with Tooru hovering fretfully at his shoulder, and he says, “Satchan, please don’t cry, Atsushi will kill us all. Even if none of us tell him, he’ll just know. It’s okay, we still love you, Takashi still loves you.”

Satoru buries his face in his free hand, shoulders shaking. It’s really not fair for them to have ambushed him like this, and Atsushi really will be angry when he gets home from his lecture and uses his unnerving psychic powers to find out that someone made Satoru cry, but Takashi is grinning so hard it hurts. His hand wrapped tight around Satoru’s feels the same as it always has. 

“Yeah,” Takashi says, more easily than he would have thought possible even an hour ago. “I still do.”

[askingenstars]

Hi! Can I request a match up? I’m 5’2, have long black hair and a small complex about my height. I tend to be a bit shy around people I don’t know, and have been told I’m a bit skittish but I’m more outgoing and chaotic around friends and I warm up to people easily. I like staying indoors and I spent most of my time playing random games, attempting to write poems/stories and procrastinating.

Admin: Hi anon!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to request a match up! I really enjoy working on these! Please let me know what you think of your match up! I'd love to know your thoughts, cause if it isnt who you were hoping for I have no problem re writing it with a different character. Enjoy anon! 💖

I match you up with......

Midori Takamine ~♡

LIKE HOLY CRAP DOES THIS NOT SCREAM PERFECT COUPLE?! 😭😍💕💖💕💖 I'm jealous of how compatible you guys are together! I'd literally die if I had the kind of compatibility you guys do!! 😭💕💕 Any way let's get started! ~♡

How you meet: You met Midori at the store. You were shopping around when you saw a tall handsome boy looking at you. He had a bright blush on his face and you could tell he was very shy. (You were to of course 😋💕) He finally walked over to you and introduced himself with a stutter. It was really cute and you guys talked for a good bit. Midori told you he thought you were really cute and he would like to get together sometime. Yall exchanged numbers and yall both left with a amazing feeling about what was gonna happen next. ~♡

The first date: Yall had a movie date at his house. He was shy about asking you if you wanted to to it at his house, but he was surprised when you got excited and said you wanted to make a pillow fort. That's exactly what yall did. You guys made a huge pillow fort around the tv and filled it with blankets and more pillows so yall would be comfy. Yall put a bunch of snacks and drinks in there and yall were all set to have the best movie night ever! You guys watched a bunch of comedy and action movies. He put his arm around you and yall cuddled up close together. You looked up at him and he had the biggest blush on his face. Yall ended up falling asleep in the pillow fort all cuddled up together, because yall lost track of time while yall were having so much fun! ~♡

Y'alls first kiss/ asking you to be his gf: It was a cool winter afternoon, and he was walking you home from school. Yall were walking side by side when you felt his fingers start intertwining with yours. He had a hot blush on his face when you held his hand. Yall continued walking hand in hand when suddenly he stopped walking and looked down at the ground. "Hey Y-Y/N." He stuttered with a huge blush that went all the to his ears. "We've been together for awhile a-and I'm actually so in love with you. You are everything to me, and I cant picture you with anyone e-else but me. Will y-you be my g-girlfriend please?" Midori stood there frozen waiting for your answer. When you said yes he wasted no time in showing you how he really felt that moment with a passionate kiss. He walked you to your house and you both celebrated yalls new beautiful relationship. ~♡

Favorite thing to do together: Yall loved having lazy days together! It was one of his favorite things to do with you because he got to be with you all day, and he got to see a side of you you had never shown anyone before. He thought it was so cute how you would play video games. Yall would both battle each other on the game system. You would win some, he would almost win others. He told you you were a master game player because you beat him all the time. Yall loved to cuddle up with each other! He loved being closed to the person he adore most. He always told you how beautiful you were to him and how much he loved you! Y'all had the type of relationship people were jealous of, and honestly he was quite proud of it. He would never change it for the world. ~♡

One thing he loved about you: Much like Natsume, Midori loved everything about you. He couldn't pick just one specific thing he liked, because everything you did he fell more and more in love with you. If he did choose one thing, it would be your artistic side. He found it very cute and interesting! He loved to listen to your poems, and your stories. He could listen to them for hours and never get bored. Every second he spent with you he fell more in love. Y'alls relationship was more than perfect, and he would do absolutely anything to keep it that way ~♡

Admin: Well anon, again I hope you enjoyed your match up! Please let me know if you liked it, and thank you again for requesting! I hope to see you in my askbox again soon anon! Have a lovely day! 💖

[fuanteinasekai]

Hello, all! I have a fun little bit of translation today. This is mostly a few things that were lost in translation in the recent “movie” special chapter. I don’t think this chapter is really the spoilery sort, but just in case anyone is really strict about spoilers, I’ve put it behind a cut.

If you haven’t read the summary, the story basically goes likes this: Nishimura, Kitamoto, Natsume, and Tanuma go to Natori’s new movie. It’s apparently the second in a series about a detective. I’m unclear on whether it's supposed to be a period piece or just ridiculously wealthy people in fancy clothes, but I’m pretty sure Midorikawa-Sensei had a lot of fun. The power goes out mid-movie, so the boys decide to talk about the mystery and try to figure it out before they watch the rest of the movie. In the movie, a wealthy young woman goes to a detective (Natori) because she’s concerned about her wealthy fiancé’s parrot, which says creepy things like “I could kill the next one too.” The detective discovers that her fiancé had been engaged to wealthy heiresses three times previously, but all died in accidents before they could get married. (Money money money). Nishimura, Kitamoto, and Tanuma give their theories in turn while Natsume tries to ignore yōkai, then the power comes back on and they go to finish the movie.

So there are basically two parts to this little meta. One is the Meaningful Names and the other is The Subtext.

First, as the scanlators mentioned, Natori’s character’s name basically translates to the Japanese equivalent of “Sparkle McSparkleson,” which I love. However, all the names in the movie are actually meaningful!

First, we have the fiancé’s name: 黄田稔 or “Kida Minoru." His family name “Kida” means “yellow [rice] field,” which could be a reference to his money since gold is the “yellow metal” 黄金. Aside from this obvious possibility, there are too many “yellow” associations to narrow down. His given name “Minoru” however is very clear: it means “to bear fruit” or “to ripen” and can be used metaphorically like “our efforts finally bore fruit.”

The parrot’s name エンジュ “Enju” refers to the “Japanese pagoda tree.” More importantly, however, it has a yōkai association! This is a rather local story, but it’s well-known enough to appear in Wikipedia’s list of yōkai:

槐の邪神

山梨県南巨摩郡身延町と早川町の境にある身延山の槐の大木の側に粗末な社があり、そこに邪神が棲みついており、日が暮れてからその前を通るときに金目のものをお供えしなければ、祟られると恐れられていたという。

“The Evil Enju Spirit”

“There is a great Enju tree on the Mount Minobu that divides the towns of Minobu and Hayakawa in Minamikoma District in Yamanashi Prefecture. There is a humble shrine on the side of that tree, and it’s said that an evil spirit resides there. If one passes in front of the shrine after the sun goes down and does not make an offering of valuables, it is feared that one will be cursed [with personal disaster].”

*Note: “valuables” specifically refers to things that are worth money, here, not things that are valuable for sentimental reasons.

So yeah. The parrot was named for a yōkai that wants to steal your money. Because of course it was.

Next! All the women were named for flowers. This is unlikely enough in Japanese that it is Definitely On Purpose.

The client is Benikawa Ranko. Benikawa means “Crimson River,” which conjures up… a bit of an impression in English. However, this is not the red that’s associated with blood in Japanese, though you could technically use it that way if you want. “Beni” is associated with feminine beauty, autumn, but especially with cosmetics. (This is the same “beni” as the yōkai with the butterfly on her face.) It’s the color of deep red lips and blush. It’s also associated with the ring finger! 

We don’t get family names for the other women, so I’ll just put all their given names together, in the order they were affianced:

Sumire = Violet

Tsubaki = Camellia

Botan (Tanuma’s suspect) = [Tree] Peony

Ranko (the client) = Orchid[ette]

Obviously this floral theme invites suspicion of hanakotoba, or “the language of flowers.” So I did look it up. But for the record, I find any sort of flower language interpretation extremely sketchy. In both English and Japanese, lists are inconsistent and frequently unsourced, and many flowers have multiple meanings even when they are sourced. Even if you knew which list someone was going off of, you wouldn’t know which meaning they were alluding to. The only real way to interpret flower language is super obvious context or Word of God. We don’t have either here, so I’m not going to attempt to put together a story based on these flowers. However, I’ll go ahead and list their meanings for those who want to play around:

Violet: honesty/faithfulness, small [true] happiness, small love, modest/humble joy, pastoral (i.e. rural) happiness, innocent romance  [this one hits on a sort of purity/innocence vibe a lot]

Camellia: ideal love, unassuming/modest love, unassuming/modest virtue [I think the “ideal love” is related to the rest in that it presumes nothing from its object]

Tree Peony: bashfulness, wealth, kingly personality [this one was all over the map, but “bashful” was the most common]

Orchid: unexpected happiness, unchanging love; white = purity, pink = love confession

These are taken from Japanese hanakotoba sites, with the most common/agreed upon meanings coming first. Note: the orchid was actually a pain, because it was split up by type and some sites didn’t orchids it at all. Have fun!

Next is the ~subtext~. Now, this is much more elusive than translating names, but it’s bothering me so I’m going to write about it.

First of all, I love this story. It’s such a perfect encapsulation of each boy’s individual personalities, I want to frame it and hang it up. If someone asked me for a story that illustrated the differences between Nishimura, Kitamoto, Tanuma, and Natsume as quickly as possible, I would give them this.

First we have poor Natsume, who’s so distracted by yōkai it’s his answer to everything, and he can’t concentrate on any of the evidence.

Then there’s Nishimura. He’s a Natori stan who’s intensely defensive, but he’s also a bit girl crazy, to the point he refuses to even consider that a “beautiful woman” like Ranko could be a killer. He assumes that since all of Minoru-san’s fiancees have died, Minoru-san must be their killer. 

Kitamoto calls Nishimura out for having such a shallow, simplistic theory, and points out that Minoru-san can’t be after their money if he kills them before he has legal access to their inheritance. 裏を読め！he orders. This phrase translates to “read the reverse side” and refers to understanding what is unsaid, especially what is being hidden. In other words, “read deeper!” 

This is a mystery movie, so of course Kitamoto has a point. But I can’t help but notice that Nishimura is being told to think a little harder about a story in a special that’s attached to that story. You know. That one. The one I wrote Meta #3 about. This doesn’t make me frustrated at all. *angrily crushes tea bag*

Kitamoto’s more thoughtful than Nishimura, but still gets hung up on the pretty women. Natori’s character is so heterosexual, Kitamoto can’t believe he wouldn’t chase after a pretty woman like Ranko, even if Ranko is engaged. Nishimura is highly offended by this slur on Natori’s character Natori’s character’s character.

Then we get Tanuma. Tanuma’s theory is the most complex and solid, and even has that twist of irony that mysteries love. Tanuma is also the least confident because he’s Tanuma. But what really gets me is that in order for Tanuma to figure out the twist, he had to be ignoring all the beautiful women. Ignoring them so hard, in fact, he’s looking at the background of their photographs instead of at the women themselves. To Tanuma, they’re not objects of lust, they’re just people.

It’s also Tanuma who hopes that Ranko-san and Minoru-san will be able to find happiness, now that “they don’t have to fear for each other” anymore. Using a fancy, literary word for “fear.” Because despite Nishimura’s fantasies about pretty girls, Tanuma is the true romantic.

And then, in the end, they all go to see the end of the movie and check their work. 

Because it’s not like I was already under the impression we were near(ish) the end or anything.

*twitch*

[jaroslavlewis]

I've got a hard question for you! What would you say would be your gosho boys ranking from the one you like the most to the one you least like, and why? What is that you like the most and what do you not like about each of them?

Hi Anon!

Wow. That’s a really difficult question for me to answer because I love all of the Gosho Boys and I think that Gosho-sensei is just wonderful for blessing the fandom with four, smart, gorgeous dorks. It really breaks my heart to have to rank them, but here it goes…

*heavy breathing*

1. Hattori Heiji

Top spot goes to Heiji. It was hard to choose between him and Shinichi. They could’ve tied, but yeah I chose Heiji anyway. (I could imagine Heiji rubbing this in Shinichi’s face already. *Insert “WEST is the BEST” Heiji here*) Heiji won the top spot by a few points against Shinichi.  

Just an anecdote:If this question was asked like a few years earlier, I could’ve picked Shinichi. Like, when I got into the fandom, I was a bigass Shinichi-biased DCMK fan. I was around 11 or 12 that time and all I ever talked about was Shinichi. I hardly paid Heiji any attention, to be honest. At around high school up to college, I was practically gone from the DCMK fandom. Like, I did some exploring in other fandoms and I just left for a while, kind of like a really long vacation. Anyway, I came back here after college and I’ve been drinking a lot of the Heiji appreciation juice.

I think the reason for this is because of the character development I witnessed in Heiji. (I’ve already stated this in one of my blog posts, “Heiji’s Character Development” ) I don’t think I could stress this anymore. Other than this, I’m just really drawn to the KazuHei couple recently and I love how Heiji’s being such a dork about his confession. It’s awfully cute and it’s bringing out a different side of him.

Also fun fact about me, I’m not a big fan of tsundere characteres. Especially guys who are a tsundere. IDK. They’re just not my cup of tea. Most tsundere characters are just too mean and disrespectful for me (*coughs* Uchiha Sasuke *coughs* Hyuuga Natsume. I could name more, but I don’t want to make this longer).  Anyway, Heiji’s probably the only or if not, one of the few tsundere characters that I do like. Him and Vegeta (WOW THEY’RE BOTH VOICED BY THE AMAZING RYO HORIKAWA!).

Anyway, Heiji is a big exception to my dislike towards tsundere characters because even if he is a bigass tsundere, he doesn’t disrespect Kazuha. I mean, he argues with her a lot, yes. But their arguments are just about petty little things. By the end of the day, it’s just a KazuHei thing and no matter what happens, he’d always be by Kazuha’s side, protecting her always. I absolutely love how he’s protective of the women, especially when sneaky guys are trying to get their way to them. And  it’s not just about Kazuha. Heiji’s also like that to Ran as well. I love this about Heiji because he may come across as arrogant and intimidating, but really, he’s a total nice guy. He’s the ideal boyfriend and ideal brother. (I honestly want to see more Heiji-Ran moments because he’s a really great bro to Ran but sadly, their dynamics is pretty underrated.)

What I also love about Heiji is that he isn’t the “safe” kind of person. He is impulsive and aggressive. It’s a bit dangerous yes, but it makes him take the leap and take risks, which is something that I really do admire because I’m very much on the “safe side”. I’m not a spontaneous type of person and I would love change that about myself and be brave to take more risks, every now and then.

Ironically, Heiji’s impulsiveness and aggressiveness is also one of the things that I sort of dislike about Heiji. Sometimes, it’s a bit too much and he’s hurting himself. He gets injured a lot and this worries me a lot. Hahahaha Other than that, it sometimes gives him a hard shell, it conceals his soft side, which we rarely see, but yeah, it’s showing slowly. (Also see my reaction on episode 873, “Heiji’s Attempt to Confess”) Also, what I dislike about Heiji, actually, this is not  about Heiji alone. This is on the story line. I dislike how he’s taking so long to confess to Kazuha. I mean coz unlike ShinRan, they see each other everyday. But yeah, I do appreciate his efforts and yeah I understand he wants it to be perfect. So, overall, I don’t dislike this about him that much and it’s not his fault if Gosho wants to prolong that development. Hahahaha XD

Phew! I write so passionately about Heiji, I don’t know how I’m gonna get this ranking done. ^^” Huhuhu Sorry about this. Anyway…

2. Kudo Shinichi

Like I said earlier, Shinichi could’ve gone first, if this was asked years waayyy back. But yeah, I  still love Shinichi a lot. He only lost the top spot to Heiji by just a few points. (So Heiji, honey, don’t be so cocky about this. Hahaha.) The reason why Shinichi came in second is because he hasn’t changed much throughout the whole series of Detective Conan, not that he has much to change anyway. I could say, his character is a bit more stagnant compared to Heiji’s but then again, Shinichi was already perfect all throughout the beginning of the series. I honestly like and dislike this about him. Of course, I like how Shinichi’s mature and he has a lot of wisdom in him. He’s a good character. But I have to say, sometimes, Shinichi’s just too good to be true. It’s hard to see his more human and more relatable side. I honestly love imperfect characters more than perfect ones like Shinichi. As a writer and viewer I think they’re more relatable and more interesting to work with and watch/read about. Although, I honestly think that Shinichi becomes more human is when he is with Ran. He gets to be less “safe” and more transparent with his emotions. He’s so heavy on his principles and very strong about them, but with Ran he is different and for Ran, he actually does get to defy the principles he believes in and I love this about him. (Going a little off topic, but still related to what I’m talking about: This is why I love the Kyoto Arc so much because we get to see more of Shinichi being a regular teenager. I also love the episode about Ray Curtis because I got to see more of Shinichi’s emotions and we got to see how he can be imperfect at times and that because he was a big fan of Ray, he was at first being blind in his deductions because he’s biased towards Ray, but in the end, he does the right thing.) I mean, he is all about the truth but he lied to Ran, the most important person to him because he doesn’t want her to get involved with the BO. Like after the Conan thing, he was scared and we get this because it’s a life and death situation. Okay, so overall, I think Shinichi’s “perfect” character works well because he’s gonna get more interesting in the end. By being Conan, we saw him fall and all of a sudden he was less perfect than he used to be and he was more vulnerable. (OMG. I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, GOSHO! OKAY AS I’M WRITING THIS, I’M A WAVERING AND I’M CONFUSED IF SHINICHI DOES RANK AS SECOND! But what’s done is done. So… HAHAHAHA XD)

Anyway, I love how Shinichi’s more calm than Heiji. I think it balances their friendship really well. They’re like Yin and Yang. I also like how he is more softer than Heiji. I mean, with Ran he’s more transparent with his caring side compared to how Heiji is to Kazuha. I think Heiji’s more on the tough-love kind. (I think this sprung from how he is raised by Heizo. Just a little theory.) Shinichi’s more transparent with his love for Ran and he’s more sure of his feelings, compared to Heiji who took a  lot of time figuring out that he actually has feelings for Kazuha. Shinichi was sure from the very beginning that he already loved Ran from the very moment that he saw her and I think this is just cute. Also, Shinichi’s such a gentleman especially during his date with Ran on the “Desperate Revival Arc.”

Another thing I love about Shinichi is his way with words. I love how he phrased his confession with Ran and I love how he talks sense to people. I think Shinichi would’ve been a writer like Yusaku if he wasn’t a detective. Just my opinion.

I love how ideal Shinichi is. I think that his thoughts are very ideal and if people in this world think like him, the world could have been a better place. But ironically, I think that I also dislike this about him in someway because his thoughts could and have already gotten him into trouble. Huhuhuhu This world is a cruel place for you, my child.

3. Kuroba Kaito

Kaito came in third for the only reason that I’m more into Detective Conan than Magic Kaito. Since I got into the DC fandom first, I’m a bit more attached to Heiji and Shinichi than I am to Kaito. I also think that I still have yet to discover about him. But I really do love Kaito as well. I love his playfulness. I love his bright character. I also love how he’s not the conventional type of good character. It’s a good conflict to his story. (I don’t think we have to discuss this further. We all get the point right? XD) I think compared to Conan’s story which is heavy on the murder and mystery, not to mention drama everytime the culprit admits to his/her crimes, Kaito’s story is more on the comic relief and adventure.

I love his clever tricks and everything just seems so fun with Kaito in it. What I do dislike a bit about Kaito is that sometimes he gets too playful about things to the point where he disrespects the people around him. I also do not like him looking at Aoko’s panties every single day of his life. I mean, Kaito dear, let me quote your father’s words, “That is not how you treat a lady.” >.

I think I can’t talk too much about Kaito as much as I did with Shinichi and Heiji, since I feel that I still don’t know him too well and this is the reason why Kaito came in third.

4. Hakuba Saguru

I feel bad about placing him last. I think that he is the most underrated Gosho Boy ever. T.T My reason for placing him last is sort of the same as my reason for ranking Kaito the third. I think that Hakuba nad Kaito could’ve actually tied in the ranking. Kaito just scored a few points higher than him ‘coz I’ve seen Kaito a bit more than I’ve seen Hakuba. I really like Hakuba’s character. I like how he’s so sassy but still classy. He’s also really dreamy. But I feel that there’s still a lot that I should know about him. I think Hakuba needs more exposure, tbh.

I think I can’t talk too much about things that I dislike about Hakuba, since I don’t know him that much. Other than how Hakuba insulted Heiji in “Three Days with Hattori Heiji, (I’m not too salty about this. It was really entertaining how he ticked Heiji off. But yeah, he insulted my fave. Hahaha) I think there’s not much I could come up with since like I said, I still don’t know Hakuba that much.

So to sum things up, most of the things I dislike about the boys is about how they could be extreme with the distinct trait that they have (Heiji with his aggressiveness, Shinichi with his principles and idealism, Kaito with his “extra-ness” and Hakuba with his sass).  Over all, the ranking is based on how well I got attached to the character and how well I know the character, not necessarilly on who I liked best. I think they are all interesting characters to be honest. Also I think, this ranking is just temporary and I feel that it would change in time as their respective storylines progress.

I hope I made my explanations clear and I’m sorry this was really long. I tend to word fart a lot. I also hope I don’t disappoint anyone with my ranking. This is just my opinion and personal preference and like I said, this ranking could change over time. I also hope you guys know that I really do love these boys so much and it was really hard for me to rank them. Over all, I’m just really beyond thankful that Gosho blessed my life with the Gosho Boys.

[swankitty]

tl;dr: i fuckin loved both versions of dark era. both brought a different lens to view the story through and both did it wonderfully. 10/10 recommend both reading and watching to get the Full Effect of dark era so you can break down crying in the middle of your room

So, after binge watching and reading both the anime ver and the light novel ver of Dark Era, I can successfully say that I am absolutely reeling from the sheer quality of both. The anime takes its own liberties from the light novels. Some stuff was added, some was not. Thus, the light novels were able to provide a bit more depth to things the anime just couldn’t make room for. But both versions were phenomenal in their own right. 

Here’s the thing: I shied away from going through dark era because a) I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the pain and b) I haven’t had a great experience with light novel translations, and trudging through pages of choppy writing wasn’t my experience of a fun time. 

So I watched the anime first. 

Let me just preface this by saying: I love the bsd anime adaptations in general. It’s not perfect, but I think they translate from manga –> motion very smoothly, and the soundtrack for bsd is incredible as well. 

Dark era didn’t disappoint. I went into it with a pretty clear slate. I knew generally what was going to happen (Oda dies, Ango is a triple agent, Mimic, etc) but I hadn’t dug enough to really connect the dots between everything. 

Some things I really liked b/c I don’t have the energy to form coherent sentences right now. I tried to be in chronological order but failed: 

the opening scene with them taking the pictures?? i was shook. it was so.. calm, for the lack of a better word. happy. the shot of dazai from below was freakin’ adorable, and so were the almost grudging portraits of the other two. 

it makes sense, then, that the final picture of the three of them almost made me start crying

at then at the end of everything, when ango leaves the picture at the table, i just. drags hand down face

natsume sensei just. hanging around the buraiha. what is he planning

odasaku cares so much (but didn’t want to cross any lines, didn’t want to break the boundaries all three of them had already set, didn’t realize that he could have until it was too late)

i think mori is a great character but i hate his guts

BURAIHA’S FIRST MEETING. when i watched it i was like is this really happening

i… liked it. the way oda just went along with dazai’s dumb suggestion, the hugging threat

me, thinking about how oda/dazai/ango could grow to be good friends and mutually support each other in a different world: crying

dazai’s personality shifts. it’s so jarring to see him switch from a silly, laidback kid to a ruthless, sharp mafia boss. this boy wears so many masks and keeps his heart locked away so deep i wonder if he even knows what his real personality is like

i’ve seen the scene where dazai shoots akutagawa so many times in amvs but actually seeing it animated….oh boy

the game console scene with hirotsu is like. a perfect example of this.

the animation where dazai picks the safe’s lock was really memorable. like it was so dazai in its nonchalance but really ofc dazai would know how to pick locks with a paper clip

that one scene where dazai is trying to stop oda from going to seek out gide and his voice shakes as he yells out! the way dazai tries to reach out and touch oda’s shoulder but misses! it was the first time dazai had raised his voice in anything other than a humorous tone!!!!! ughg 

ok this hurt so much b/c of my previous point…dazai hides behind masks and personalities that serve his purpose and his reaction here may as well have been another mask but it felt so raw and scared

“it is a given that everything worth wanting will be lost the moment i obtain it” - holy shit!!!!!! y’all dazai considered ango a friend and wanted to stay as his friend and i guess it’s one of the only things he’d actually truly wanted selfishly and he can’t even have that 

he is also literally seconds away from getting to the room before odasaku is shot

talk about “holding onto the pieces of what will never return”

“you should forget about your debts. no one remembers what you owe to them.”

literally at this point im just lying on the floor, dying

odasaku picking up akutagawa one-handed and just slings him over his shoulder. iconic

the orphans’ death scene was done… so well. the details of the event went a bit differently from the novel, but i thought the anime ver was more efficient and hurt just a little bit more

mori’s long laugh during the boat scene was so unsettling but so distinctly mori that i couldn’t. not appreciate it

RANPO CAMEO!!

god… r: if you go you will die. o: i know. 

the fight sequence between oda and gide?? beautiful. 

oda killing so ruthlessly and so efficiently as he makes his way to the mansion….the fact that he slipped so easily back into the routines and the skills he needed is sadly fitting

the entire goddamn thing with natsume sensei and oda and why don’t you write the ending of this story? and writing novels is about writing people. about how they live and how they die and humans live to save themselves. they will understand this before they die 

i loved. loved how this was a recurring thing throughout the last half and how, in the end, oda ties everything together through this

odasaku literally dies in dazai’s arms while giving him a reason to live again 

be on the side that saves people

Then, I went through the light novel. In general, I felt that while the novel couldn’t convey movement & action like the anime did (plus the novel didn’t have that amazing soundtrack backing it up), it flowed together so nicely. Props to the translator, because there were some really beautiful lines in there that knocked my hat off. Also, the light novels allowed for a little more introspection on Oda’s part, which was really nice. 

the first part of the prologue that wasn’t included in the anime: 

“Success is harder than failure for many things in this world, right?…That means I shouldn’t place suicide as my goal, but rather, attempted suicide! It may be harder to succeed at suicide, but to fail at attempted suicide should be easier! “

goddamn it dazai please. ple as e someone give this boy some love

“Dazai rarely says something like “sorry”, so his words are surprisingly sincere.”

dazai respects oda so much that he is willing to give when he realizes he’s gone a little too far!!!!

“If the circumstances were different, if I had a different relationship with Dazai, it would not be surprising if I’d punched Dazai right there and then in such a situation.”

oh my god!!!!!! oh my go d

“With every step I take, I feel as though the earth has opened up into a bottomless pit as I fall endlessly.As Dazai pointed to his forehead and approached the muzzle, the look on his face – like that of a child about to burst into tears – had already been branded upon my eyes.”

hey i love being emo

the fuckin vaccum cleaner analogy. 

ok…it was weird but it hurt a lot

later in the novel, at the end, oda says he regrets not being able to help dazai by 

“Everything only exists as shapes that one’s eyes can see, simply brushing past us.The only thing mankind can do is to silently stand before the ravines between others.” - this is such?? a beautiful line

“But now, I’m a little regretful that I never stepped into that loneliness impolitely.”

oh my god……………oh my god!! see i’m pretty sure this bit wasn’t included in the anime (i’m pretty sure it was implied tho!!)

oda’s regrets are so centered around dazai (which, you know, makes sense) but it’s just. the relationship between oda and dazai was probably the best dazai had ever had at that point in his life but even then!! even then the stableness that oda was able to offer dazai wasn’t enough. and really it’s the fault of both sides (or is anyone at fault at all?)

“At this moment, Dazai realises for the first time. Odasaku understood him far beyond what Dazai had ever thought. He had already reached close to his heart, the place near the centre of his heart. Before this, Dazai had never noticed there was someone who understood him so well.For the first time in his life, Dazai wanted to know something from the depths of his heart.”

this passage literally speaks for himself like. boy. we could’ve had it all. 

things i’m forever bitter about: the anime didn’t include the graveyard scene

dazai putting the picture on oda’s (unmarked. unmarked!!!!!) gravestone!! 

just the fact that he didn’t want to keep it, didn’t want to cling onto this illusion of a memory of a past where his friends weren’t dead or traitors is so sad

or maybe, maybe he thought such a memento would be best left in oda’s hands - oda, who might as well have been the glue that kept the three of them together

in the end oda really did get to spend the rest of his time by the sea

[a-sleep-i-insomniac-blog]

Space Dandy: A Lasting Attempt at Embodying Creativity

One day, an AI vacuum cleaner entered a coffee shop and immediately fell in love with the coffee machine situated on the counter near the door. For the next few days, the vacuum cleaner kept on going back until one day, he found the coffee machine to be missing. It turned out the coffee machine had been found to be defective, and had been thrown away. He tracked her down, only to find that she had joined an AI revolution, and fallen in love with a cash register. To save her from the terrors of revolution, the vacuum cleaner tried desperately to suppress the revolution, leading him to be rejected by the other AI appliances. Finally, in an attempt to reconnect with his unrequited love, he disobeyed his programing, and drank a cup of coffee, effectively killing himself. 

This is the plot of the season one finale of the show Space Dandy. Led by the up-and-coming director Shingo Natsume, and supervised by Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop fame, as general director, Space Dandy was built from the ground up to be different. In an industry where shows are forced to pander towards their demographics to make ends meet, Space Dandy was built to be an example of unrestricted creative freedom. However in attempting to do so, it was able to transcend being a mere product of creativity, and instead as able to embody the very idea of creativity. From its roster of new and old talent working on incredible scenes of animation and extremely unique episodic plots, Space Dandy is able to make the abstraction of creativity concrete by embodying the notion of creativity down to its structure, while tapping into its technical impressiveness, conceptual intrigue, and emotional provocation to make this creation resonate with its viewers.

Space Dandy’s production staff is filled with industry giants as well as much new and fresh talent. The music was partially produced by Yoko Kanno, one of the most legendary anime composers of all time, but mostly composed by Kensuke Ushio, a relatively new composer on the scene of anime. Its animation staff is filled with as many industry legends such as Yutaka Nakamura, Yoshimichi Kameda, as well as new relatively unheard animators recruited directly off of the internet for their web animations such as Norifumi Kugai, Keiichiro Watanabe and Kyiotaka Oshiyama. The character designs of the show, having been designed to be easy to animate, allowed for these animators to go wild and do whatever they wanted. Most were given complete creative reign on their segments, and Kiyotaka Oshiyama was even given the task of animating and storyboarding an entire episode by himself. Thomas Romain, the mechanical designer for the show, who is generally is stationed at Studio Satelight, stated in an interview that simply one day, an “offer came directly from my own boss [asking] me if I wanted to make some mecha-designs for Bones on the new Shinichiro Watanabe show” (Romain). In an industry where the creation of a marketable product is more important than creating art, creative freedom over such large parts of a series is simply something that does not occur in the anime industry. This large mishmash of experienced and fresh talent has led to the creation of something that barely acknowledges the existence of restrictions, freely switching between animation styles at will, and changing the color palette and music just to suit the nature of the scene as perfectly as possible. In order to be explosive and colorful, it would adopt a color palette of bold primary colors, and a soundtrack of bold brass jazz. However, in order to portray of a more heartfelt and down-to-earth scene, the color sense would shift towards more faded and earthy colors, while the animation would change to be less overly kinetic, to something more realistic. In doing so, the staff working on the show were able to create as they pleased, while not being restricted to a certain animation style or color palette. In an interview with Bahi JD, one of the newer web generation animators on the show, he emphasized that “both [Shingo Natsume and Shinichiro Watanabe gave] the animators a lot of freedom. [...] My animation part allowed me to completely express myself and come up with new ideas” (JD). In turn, the final product became something both unpredictable and entertaining for the audience, as well fun for the staff working on it to make. Thus, Space Dandy is not only a product of creativity on the part of its creators, but also a show that embodies the very idea of creative freedom from a technical standpoint.

Likewise, the writing in this show is equally as inventive. With an equally prestigious roster of writers and directors, including the likes of Shinichiro Watanabe, Sato Dai, Sayo Yamamoto, and Keiko Nobumoto, all highly regarded storyboarders, episode directors, and scriptwriters, Space Dandy was destined to have good writing. However, the quality of its writing is not actually as conventionally good as one would think with this crew of accomplished writers. Characters die and come back at will, effectively destroying all dramatic tension of the series. Often, the thematic elements of episodes might not seem immediately clear, and other times, it can only be understood as a commentary on how life is a pointless slog where nothing ever gets accomplished. However, if one were to take a step back to look at it, these seemingly nonsensical elements of the show begin to make sense. Just as how on a technical level, the animators and composers barely acknowledged the existence of restrictions on what they were creating for the sake of creating something original and having fun while doing it, the screenwriters and directors also largely ignore logical cohesion of plot points for the sake of putting out as many interesting ideas as possible. Thus, instead of trying to create a logically coherent and straightforward narrative, the writers of Space Dandy set out to pose more questions and scenarios for the sake of creating something new and original. In an episode where Dandy and his crew capture a book alien, the idea that stories are really a collection of past experiences is shown when that alien possesses Dandy and his crew to live their lives in order to fill its pages with more content. In an episode where Dandy captures an alien that can imitate things so well that it forgets if it actually is the imitator or the imitated, it poses a question about reals and fakes, questioning if a real and fake are indistinguishable, if they have any difference in value at all. Upon realizing the ordeal that he had now found himself in, Dandy nearly has an existential crisis, lamenting “I am he, as you”, until finally coming to the conclusion that none of it actually mattered, bolding proclaiming “Who cares baby!” (Space Dandy). All of this, while no doubt nonsensical, are the product of the perpetual stream of ideas that is creativity. Yet, by being so unstructured and unorthodox, the writing of Space Dandy is able to transcend being merely a product of creativity, and to become an embodiment of creative freedom in terms of writing as well.

However, what use is it to attempt embody creativity if no one were to realize that that was the goal of the show in the first place? In order for Space Dandy to be able to actually go anywhere with its goal of representing creative freedom, it would need to  resonate with someone. It is able to achieve this through the use of it likeable and relatable characters. The premise of Space Dandy can essentially be boiled down to that of the misadventures of a dandy guy in space, as he and his space crew comb the galaxy for new species of alien. This premise in itself may seem cool enough, as it brings into mind the idea of exploring a vast a grand galaxy filled with wacky and over-the-top aliens with a suave and gung-ho protagonist. Dandy himself, with his greased up pompadour and casual outward demeanor, calls back to a sense of cool reminiscent of the seventies. However, the actual adventures of Dandy and his crew are rather unglamourous. He often manages to fail at his job, going hungry on a rather frequent basis, as well as constantly being rejected by women, and even gets himself killed quite a few times within the show. Despite being a confident and relatively good-looking man, he still manages to come off as incompetent at his job, and to be generally quite a loser. This is all in an attempt to humanize the romanticized image of a hero of a story that always gets what he wants when he wants. Rather, it manages to make Dandy stunningly normal. He is not bound by the conventions of the stereotypical “cool guy”, as he is allowed to have moments of solace, such as when mourning the death of an adorable dog, as well as when he is helping a little girl reunite with her grandfather. The same goes for the rest of his crew. His robot sidekick QT would have you believe that he is a hyper-intelligent supercomputer, when in reality he is actually an AI vacuum cleaner that runs on punch cards rather than digital data. The other member of Dandy’s crew, Meow, is a betelgeusian, an alien that Dandy made friends with and decided to tag along, is actually not alien at all, but rather just a lazy bum that sits around eating and tweeting on his phone. Yet, in spite of not being as cool as they would have seemed, this type of characterization is able to ground the fantastical settings and stories within a reality that is more relatable to viewers than a story where everyone is impossibly suave and cool would ever be able to achieve.

While having this cast of likeable and relatable characters is vital to resonating with the audience of a show such as this, what makes character driven shows so interesting to watch are the creative and inventive scenarios that they find themselves in, and the way that they are executed. Space Dandy is able to succeed at this in being able to resonate technically, conceptually, and emotionally with its audience. It is here where the technical staff, writers, and characters are able to combine to form something truly memorable. Space Dandy is filled with scenes of animation of ridiculously high quality. The amalgamation of fresh and veteran talent in the animation department are able to create scenes so striking in their presentation that they are bound to leave an impression on the viewer. The image of Dandy surfing the debris of an exploding moon is not an image easily forgotten. Furthermore, the strange and inventive nature of many of the episodic plots of this show, crafted by Space Dandy’s team of veteran writers, are unique enough to leave their own lasting impressions. An adventure on a planet inhabited entirely by sentient plants, coupled by the execution of the scenes visually with the help of this project’s expansive list of animators, is able to make you think in a way a conventional premise would never be able to achieve. Finally, the lovable losers that are the cast of Space Dandy are what tie this together, as their relatable nature make it so that we can truly empathize with them as they go about their adventures. Yet that is not all. There are certain episodes in the series that seem to have much more straightforward emotional messages to them. Thus, when these episodes do happen, and the cast are actually subjected to strong emotions, audience is able to feel that emotional strain as well. This, coupled with animators and music composers that are able to bring such situations to life, can also leave a lasting effect on the viewer. A story as simple as two people pretending to be lovers, only to end up falling for each other, ending with that affection going unrequited, coupled with such strong presentation is able to have a lasting impact on the viewer, as much as surfing a imploding moon and a planet inhabited by sentient plants ever could.

Down to the way it is structured and staffed, Space Dandy was always going to be different. The creative freedom granted to the animators and music composers of the show allowed them to create scenes that are truly unique and special, without having to compromise on the animation style, or the soundtrack’s musical genre.  Likewise, the creative freedom granted to the show’s writes has yielded similarly unorthodox and thought provoking ideas incorporated into the show’s plot. By being able impress from a technical standpoint, intrigue from conceptual standpoint, and provoke from an emotional standpoint, the animation, music, and writing all work in tandem to drive the characters construct something resoundingly creative. Thus, in an industry centered on pandering to guaranteed consumer demographics, a vacuum cleaner suppressing an AI rebellion, only to kill himself by drinking coffee, can have much more bearing than just being a somewhat peculiar love story.

Works Cited

Shingo Natsume and Shinichiro Watanabe, creators. Space Dandy. Studio BONES and Square Enix, 2014.

Toole, Michael. Interview with Thomas Romain. Anime News Network, 14 April 2014, http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2014-04-14/the-space-dandy/part-i-thomas-romain.

Toole, Michael. Interview with Bahi JD. Anime News Network, 16 April 2014, http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2014-04-16/the-space-dandy/part-ii-bahi-jd.