#i really like these two but tezuka is so hard to draw

[leoruby-draws]

I just found your Training Wheels au and I absolutely love your art style. It's like 90s manga meets Sunday funnies, it's great and 100% fits the au as well.

Thank you, I love both those things!! Used to love reading Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura. And also had a Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes phase too! So I guess its not surprising it rubbed off in my drawing. Tho I also take inspiration from Tezuka's works (like Astro Boy) and from the Donald Duck comics a bit. And other stuff here and there.

I noticed today I got a whole bunch of notes and I feel kinda bad I've having been posting in a while. I've been working two jobs the past couple months, so I've felt a little distracted. Not from the drawing itself, I've actually been drawing a ton! Like a drawing (inked!) a day or two.

Its just really hard to post them because I have a hard time typing out the words, trying to give out as much info on my drawings so people don't lose context on what I'm drawing. I suck at writing, kinda hate it. Sometimes I wish I did wordless comics because the dialogue is a chore to figure out too.

But I'm gonna try to post more of my drawings as soon as I can, honestly you guys you've only seen a fraction of my drawings lol. I've been 'introducing' more characters in the Training Wheels au, and want to show you guys!

But for now I'll show you some doodles here, hope you enjoy!

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Festival Accompanying Chapter 20

This chapter revealed a lot of things about Mion that I never knew.

Irie had been doing so well in the last several chapters. Could he please just not be a creep for one arc?

Rika decided to just go straight to Irie and tell him that Takano plans to kill her. Understandably, he finds it hard to believe because that would be the worst thing that could happen to her research.

I'm kinda surprised about how much he's willing to reveal to Rika when she asks though. Telling her their research is to be concluded in three years is one thing, but actually admitting that there is an emergency procedure to kill all the villagers if anything happens is not something you just admit.

And Irie says Emergency Manual 34 would be used "in case the villagers ever show signs of a mass outbreak." I should remond everyone that the Queen Carrier hypothesis is absolutely 100% incorrect as proven in Cotton Drifting and Eye Opening. In fact, the VNs make it even more definitely true because the Eye Opening epilogue reveals all the secondary characters were still alive and well 20 years after Rika's death.

Kinda wild that those arcs on a cosmic level are the "good" endings since they're the only arcs where Operation Apocalypse failed, the village was spared, and Nomura did not get what she wants.

Irie also survived those arcs as well. So I wonder if part of the reason he was targeted by Operation Apocalypse wasn't just to pin the blame on him but also to keep any medical experts on Hinamizawa Syndrome from being able to prove that a mass outbreak wasn't going to happen.

Now that Rika has more information and less understanding why Takano would kill her, Hanyu suggests doing what the story has kind of said you should always do at times like this: Go ask your friends for help. But Rika, understandably, feels like no one would ever believe her. Maybe she wouldn't feel that way if she had her memories from Massacre. Hanyu is so confident that they'll believe Rika because she saw them believe her before.

But Hanyu does manage to come up with a framing device to get Rika to talk about the situation:

This made me do a quick dive into what manga might be around at this time. In June 1983, Doraemon, Akira, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind were all very early into their serializations. Meanwhile two works of Osamu Tezuka's, Buddha and Black Jack, would finish serialization a few months later. Speaking of which, Tezuka was still alive at this time so maybe Rika was into Phoenix. Unfortunately, Tezuka passed away before he finished it.

Another manga I found that piqued my interest is Touch. It's a manga about two identical twins and the neighbor girl wanting to become professional baseball players. It ran from 1981 to 1986.

I have just learned some very interesting things about Mion right now. I can imagine her having the managerial skills to handle things like story-boarding, promoting, and publishing; but I'd never guess she has drawing skills or any ability with typesetting.

Rika tells them the plot points she's come with for her "manga" and I bet Keiichi realized she's just copying the plot of the Higurashi VN beta that the regulars at Angel Mort have been sharing with each other (No seriously, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni's beta exists as an actual visual novel within the Higurashi universe).

When Rika asks for help about the "evil researcher's" motives, Mion suggests there is someone else manipulating her, and even though the "evil researcher" is doing something that doesn't benefit her, it would benefit the mastermind.

And Mion was exactly on point about what is going on.

It's a minor detail, but this moment really exemplifies Rika's "frog in a well" status that Massacre kept calling her. Rika has only known the village and the people living in it. When trying to understand Takano's motives, she isolated her thoughts entirely to the village and the villagers. She never considered someone completely unconnected to the village might be the reason for all this.

So did everyone realize that Rika was asking for help from the start or did they realize after Rika asked for help to figure out how the protagonist of her "manga" can win?

The very first thing Mion brings up is Satoko has built a whole trap mountain. Way back in Curse Killing chapter 1, Keiichi said Satoko could take on an army within the mountains and we're soon going to find out how true that is.

But just as Hanyu predicted, Rika's friends believe her and are ready to help. Now comes the time to plan their counterattack.

back

Spoiler Discussion

Near the end of this arc, we discover that Takano is beginning to suffer the symptoms of Hinamizawa Syndrome. At this time, she's very likely already low-level symptomatic and is experiencing the symptoms similar to Satoko's: Calm exterior with a burning internal hatred.

Hanyu said one of the ways to keep symptoms at bay is to go to others for help. We saw that at the end of Atonement when Rena calmed down because Keiichi was able to convince her that he cared about her.

In a far darker sense, Nomura is doing the same thing to Takano. She's convinced Takano that she cares about her and her research and Takano is becoming dependent on Nomura to keep from falling victim to Hinamizawa Syndrome.

And maybe finding out Takano is being manipulated is what affects Rika's motivations at the end of the story. Takano and Hanyu both have a wish that oppose one another. But at the end of this story, Rika will make a greater wish stronger than both of them, and her will shall be the one that wins.

[snaptrappresscomics]

FCBD 2024 Haul Review

It's Free Comic Book Day yet again! I was actually pretty excited for this one, as for the first time in a good couple of years I was able to go out to a few stores with my partner and one of my best friends. I've been wanting to use this space as an actual blog a lot more, so I figured this might be fun to do. I'm gonna go through my stack of free stuff and give some thoughts on each of these! I'll also be giving totally arbitrary ratings, basically to indicate whether or not I would be interested in picking up more of these series.

UNICO AWAKENING (Scholastic) 7/10 Samuel Sattin and Gurihiru, based on the original manga by Osamu Tezuka

So, I've always wanted to get into Tezuka's work as a big Astro Boy fan, but I find it kind of hard to engage with a lot of the time in the same way that golden age American comics are. The dialogue feels kind of clunky when translated to english, and there are a lot of moments of... unsavory themes and ideas, to say the least. I'd never read or even heard of Unico, but you can tell just from the cover that it's a Tezuka creation. That all said, I thought this preview of the upcoming graphic novel was really charming! The story is really simple but engaging, and Gurihiru's art is just absolutely adorable. If I see it at a bookstore or my LCS, I just might pick this one up. If you've got a young kid who's into fantasy or things like My Little Pony, give this one a try.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (IDW Publishing) 9/10 Various, anthology

I'm a pretty big fan of the IDW TMNT series, but I kind of fell off of it a ways before #100, so I'm about 65 issues behind. I was interested to see what the series would do with its post-issue 150 relaunch, which is apparently set in the same continuity but begins a new story to get new readers interested and re-engage old readers. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was really excited when I saw Nightwatcher on the cover! I love the 2007 TMNT movie, and I think Raphael being a lone vigilante with a superhero name and armor is a cool concept in itself, so I was pumped to see the character return in a new piece of media. The first story in this one-shot, which is a short preview of the upcoming Nightwatcher solo book, was really really good. I really enjoyed the art, which felt painterly and solid in a way that not a lot of TMNT stuff is (to the point that the colors reminded me a lot of Mouse Guard) and the writing was really cool. I love the narration about the concept of the "other," and the tone and themes felt really compelling in the current political atmosphere. The second story, Splinter's Day Off, was not quite as engaging but still really enjoyable. The story was really cute, and I've been a fan of Andy Kuhn's art since he first worked on the IDW Turtles books. Overall, a pretty good pickup! Got me very interested in seeing what the next chapter of IDW Turtles will look like. ENERGON UNIVERSE 2024 SPECIAL (Image Comics/Skybound) 7/10 Daniel Warren Johnson, Ryan Ottley, Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici, Joshua Williamson, and Jason Howard

I've been keeping up with the Energon Universe Transformers comic since its launch, and as someone who could not care less about G1 Transformers, I absolutely adore it. Daniel Warren Johnson is a modern master of comics action, and each issue is more engaging than the last. That said, I haven't read any of the other stuff set in this new universe. Void Rivals doesn't look all that interesting (although I read two issues because I heard Jetfire appears in it), and I'm under the age of 45 so I'm completely incapable of caring about GI Joe in any capacity. Now that the intro is out of the way, I really liked the Transformers part of this. Ryan Ottley is one of my favorite artists in the industry, and his work is great here as always, but I can't help but feel he's trying to imitate Johnson's style and it's kind of holding him back. The way he draws the mouths of the Cybertronian characters is really weird, and sometimes the lines feel a bit too stiff and scratchy. The story was engaging, though, and beyond those critiques, this is truly fantastic Transformers art. The cover is also absolutely spectacular. The art in the other two stories is great too, but seeing as I don't know anything about the ongoing story of either series, this really didn't hook me in beyond an appearance by Hot Rod in the Void Rivals section. Remember, folks: If you have strongly-held opinions about G1 Transformers or GI Joe, it's about time you got your regular colonoscopy.

ABSOLUTE POWER SPECIAL EDITION (DC Comics) 3/10 Mark Waid and Mikel Janin

I gotta be honest, my eyes completely glazed over trying to read this. I just absolutely cannot give a shit about DC's big event comics anymore. This was basically white noise in printed form. The character of Failsafe is kinda neat, I like the Zur-En-Arrh Batman stuff, but all of this bullshit technobabble was just completely indecipherable to me. That said, the art was very, very good in both of the little preview stories here. I'm sure the comic itself will be written well, but I cannot bring myself to care about the fate of the DC universe. The advertisement for season 2 of My Adventures with Superman on the back cover was more exciting.

ASTERIX (Papercutz) 6/10 R. Goscinny and A. Uderzo

Asterix is just one of those things that, as an American, I have never been exposed to in any capacity, and to be honest, it never really interested me like other European comics like Valerian or Tintin did. It kind of just struck me as newspaper comics-style fun, and I can now confirm that I was right! The cartooning here is really great, the illustrations are super lively and engaging and the character designs themselves are instantly iconic. Like I said, I've never read Asterix before, but that design is so distinct that I already knew WHO Asterix is. The writing here is not really for me. It's probably just a matter of humor written originally in French not really crossing language and cultural borders seamlessly, and this also seems to be aimed at a younger crowd, which is totally fine! It's just not really for me. I did think the detail of the Greeks speaking in that Greek diner menu font was very cute. I'm always a sucker for a good lettering gag.

ARCHIE HORROR PRESENTS: THE CURSED LIBRARY PRELUDE (Archie Comics) 6/10 Various

I was a huge reader of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics, to the point that I'd say they were more formative to my tastes as both a reader and creator of comics than almost anything else, but I've never really been interested enough in the world and characters of Archie proper to follow along with the comics consistently, though I've always had it in my periphery. I'd get the digests at the grocery store as a kid, I've got some old issues that my parents gave me, and I remember my sister being really into the Archie Marries Betty/Veronica comics when those were ongoing. After the reboot of all the Archie universe comics in the mid-2010s, I fell off completely. Riverdale didn't interest me at all, that Sabrina show on Netflix wasn't my bag, and the comics (besides Archie vs. Predator) were a complete blindspot to me for the years following that reboot. Archie's weird scramble for an identity as both a slice-of-life series and an unrelated horror series has been interesting to watch, though, especially knowing the history of the brand as the most squeaky-clean comics in America. Honestly though, the horror stuff just does absolutely nothing for me. Afterlife with Archie was kinda fun very briefly, but nothing else has really worked for me. This one-shot preview was interesting conceptually, but I feel like I'm missing too much setup to really get engaged by this, and it doesn't make me want to find out what I'm missing. The art is all very good though, and the writing is totally fine for what it is.

BARDA (DC Comics) 8/10 Ngozi Ukazu

Big Barda and Mister Miracle (Scott Free) are two of my absolute favorite DC characters, and Jack Kirby's Fourth World saga is among my favorite stories and concepts in comics ever. I love everything that Fourth World is, and almost everything that came out in the wake of it. I feel like if you want to make a new, good Fourth World story, you need to have either a really solid grasp on Kirby's ideas and aesthetics, or something totally new and unique to call your own while using the world and ideas as a springboard. This preview of the upcoming YA Barda Graphic Novel strikes me as the second of those two things more than the first. It's not trying to look exactly like Kirby's original designs, but it evokes the spirit of the thing well enough that I wasn't confused who anyone was. The art is adorably charming, and the story looks neat: A look at the meeting of Scott Free and Barda and the relationship that blooms out of that. I think this could turn out really fun and cute! I look forward to the graphic novel itself, which releases this summer.

BLOOD HUNT (Marvel Comics) 4/10 Jed McKay, Sara Pichelli, Federico Blee

Much like Absolute Power, this one left me feeling almost nothing. I think maybe I'm just too old for big superhero event comics, because they all kind of feel the same. They always end up being clones of older things like Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Clone Saga, Infinity Gauntlet, etc. This feels like your generic Secret Invasion type of deal, where an army of evil something or others (in this case, vampires) comes to earth to wipe out mankind and yadda yadda etc. etc. Admittedly, this one seems the slightest bit interesting as it pulls in both street-level heroes like Daredevil and Spider-Man and cosmic characters like the Fantastic Four to deal with the same threat on different scales. The appearance by literal, actual Dracula was kind of neat, and it's mostly just nice to see Marvel using Blade stuff for something again besides a video game or a reboot movie that's never coming out. The X-Men backup story was honestly so bland I forgot about it as soon as I set the issue down to write this. I liked the art, though, and Jubilee is one of my favorite X-Men so that was neat at least.

CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE (Titan Comics) 9/10 Jim Zub, Jonas Scharf

Now THIS is how you do a FCBD book! I've been on a huge Conan/sword and sorcery kick for like a year now, and this preview of an upcoming Conan story scratched that itch hardcore. I haven't been keeping up with Conan's comic exploits for quite a while; I read some of the later-era Dark Horse stuff, but once he went back to Marvel for a month and a half or whatever I lost interest. I may have to go back and pick up Titan's other Conan comics though, because this totally rocks. Jim Zub strikes the exact kind of action-fantasy tone a good Conan story requires, and Scharf's art is absolutely pitch-perfect. It's dark and gritty without getting muddy, high-contrast shadows and scratchy textures abound. The time-spanning nature of this story seems neat, and I look forward to the mystery unfolding in the series proper.

FLASH GORDON #0 (Mad Cave) 7/10 Jeremy Adams, Will Conrad

I liked this one! I have a passing knowledge of Flash Gordon thanks to my mom's love of the 80s movie and my love of Queen, but I've never been really familiar with the world and characters. This got me interested to see where Mad Cave is going to take the mythology, even if I was a little lost while reading it. I liked the art quite a bit, and I really love how they've gone about updating Flash Gordon's design to be a bit more modern, while retaining that pulpy look to everything that makes the series so charming.

GATCHAMAN #0 (Mad Cave) 6/10 Bunn, Orlando, Edwards, Batista, Hansen, Lobo

Gatchaman is another one of those things that just never really reached my sphere of comic book influence, but I've always really liked the costumes of the Science Ninja Team. I was pretty interested to see if this preview issue would get me hooked enough to want to follow up and read the ongoing series, but I'm not super sure that it did. I liked the science fiction stuff, the second short story in this anthology worked well, and the art was good in all three stories, but overall I just wasn't really hooked by it. I feel like if I had read this around age 15 I probably would have loved it, but it just wasn't for me right now. Also, Chris Samnee's art on the cover is absolutely fantastic and I'm slightly disappointed that he wasn't doing the interiors.

HELLBOY and STRANGER THINGS (Dark Horse Comics) 8/10 Mignola, Laszlo, Stewart/ Fridolfs and Case

Another two-series anthology here, and for once I actually really liked both parts! The first part, a Hellboy story involving a storyteller, is sort of just a visual retelling of Hellboy's story from start to finish, with each important chapter of the story in a beautiful panel drawn by Mark Laszlo. It's not really anything I haven't read before, but it was really charming and nice to look at. The second half, a Stranger Things story titled "Deliver Me From Evil," is a short centering on Jonathan and Argyle. Argyle was my least favorite part of the fourth season of ST, but he's grown on me over time and my love of this series made this a fun read. I kinda want to go back and read some of Dark Horse's other Stranger Things stories, because I just really love this world.

JOHNNY QUEST, THUNDERCATS AND SPACE GHOST (Dynamite Comics) 8/10 Casey, Piriz, Shalvey, Moss, Pepose, Lau

All of these series are based on cartoons from before my time, but I've always had a fondness for the old Hanna-Barbera superhero and action stuff, and I've always felt that Thundercats was far superior to He-Man in terms of aesthetics and lore. I really liked all three of these stories, and I feel like Johnny Quest in particular fills a "Challengers of the Unknown" shaped-void in the comics world, with a story about a group of normal people on a sci-fi adventure. Thundercats looks like a fun, semi-gritty reimagining of the original cartoon's origin stories, and the Space Ghost story seems like it'll be a good time, with the story following Jace before he becomes one of SG's sidekicks. I had no expectations for any of these, but they all look like a good bit of fun.

THE OVERSTREET GUIDE TO COLLECTING COMICS 6/10 Vaughn, Huesman and Gonzalez

If there's one thing I hate in this world, it's people who collect comics or toys or video games or whatever solely as an investment. It ruins the hobby for other people and turns what should be fun escapism into purely a matter of business. That said, I found this little publication from the famous Overstreet Price Guide company to be charming and a sweet look into the nature of collecting comics and supporting your LCS. I've never been someone who collects for the purpose of reselling, and I've never been insanely concerned with buying secondhand comics in mint condition, so a lot of this fell flat to me, but it was charming and it can give an outsider a fun look into the world of comics buying and collecting. The art is really good, and the writing is serviceable considering this is essentially intended to be an educational pamphlet.

MAD MAGAZINE 8/10 Various, reprints

I've been a MAD magazine fan for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, my grandma got me a subscription for my birthday 5 years in a row, and I truly enjoyed every issue, even in the modern age where a lot of the humor can be defined as "Isn't it WACKY what celebrities are willing to say on Twitter???" But this was a refreshing look back at MAD's parodies of DC superheroes specifically, and it was extremely charming. It's all reprints of old material, and it's funny to see the specific things getting parodied at any given time, and the costumes in use for each parody. Not all of it lands, but it gave me enough laughs to justify the reading experience.

SPIDER-MAN and ULTIMATE UNIVERSE (Marvel Comics) 5/10 Wells, Stegman, Camp and Frigeri

Lastly, we have another Marvel job. I was, sadly, also not really enthused by this one at all. Everyone involved has done better work elsewhere, and this just feels like something to fill time in everyone's work schedules. The Spider-Man story is basically "What if Spider-Man was in Five Nights at Freddy's," and the Ultimates story was a little more engaging, if only because there are fun concepts at play. I actually do really like what Marvel is doing with this new Ultimate Universe, and I'm pretty interested to see where it goes. Sadly though, this was another pretty forgettable issue.

And that's it! I picked up a few more things, but I don't have strong enough opinions about pretty much any of it to warrant writing much more. I always recommend going to your LCS even if it's after Free Comic Book Day, because they usually have leftovers for months following the event, and they still give it away for free.

[p0lliwogs]

digging thru old files

[frobin]

Okey serious question here. How much do you actually believe that Oda ships Frobin? Like do you think he actually have like doodles/sketchs of them in a pairing kind of way? like for the strong world film riding the motorbug? (Personally i would love it to be true but he has stated one piece isn't about romance in that way)

Hey there anon! Thank you so much for your question and I hope I can answer it seriously enough. Also once more sorry for the late response. I felt like a question like that needs some research and that is what I did these last few days.

So... I think I'll start with the tl;dr because that way people can read that and ignore the rest.

So, long answer short: I 100% believe that Oda has one or more sketchbooks with drawings of his characters that are absolutely self-indulgent. I am 98% sure that he has drawn Franky and Robin in a romantic way at least once (and supported the ship). I am 80% sure he still is shipping FRobin.

Little disclaimer: I actually have no idea if any of this is true. I pull everything in my arguments out of my own experiences and knowledge and since I'm not a 46 year old Japanese Mangaka my perspective might be WAY OFF.

argument - reason- example - conclusion... behind the cut (or in the google doc)

So, why do I think that Oda has a secret sketchbook?

Simple answer is that he is an artist. He is drawing a lot and no artist will publish everything. That can have multiple reasons like imposter syndrome or because the artist thinks it’s not good or interesting enough or they just forget. There are even more reasons I forget and every person has their own.

For Oda I can imagine two big reasons as to why he would keep secret sketchbooks.

First: He is a horndog. You can skip this part if you don’t want to read about it, to the second reason.

Anyway, we know thanks to answers in the SBS, the way he likes to draw big-breasted women and how some of his characters are classified as perverts that he can be considered one too.

Let me show you a few of a few lewd SBS questions he likes to answer in a funny way:

Chapter 228, Page 46

D: How are ya, Odacchi? I know how much you like getting butt-naked, so this must be a favourite season for you. <3

O: Yes, yes. I just LOVE getting completely naked. In the summertime, after I take a bath I just run STRAIGHT OUTSIDE!! And when the girls' softball team running on the sidewalk looks over at me, they say, "Yup, it's really summer now!!" ... AS IF!! I'D GET ARRESTED!!!

(x)

Chapter 433, Page 68

D: If Lady Robin can use her Hana Hana Powers to make any part of her body sprout somewhere else, does that mean she can do it with her ample bosom as well? "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Boy, I'd like to take a hit from that sometime... P.N. Ero Ero no Mi Devil Fruit User.

O: "Ichirin-zaki" (Single Sprout) "Nirin-zaki" (Double Sprout) "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Very clever!! NO IT'S NOT!! STOP THAT!! I'm sure she CAN do it though ♡

(x)

Chapter 798, Page 64

D: Oddachi, I'll give you a pornographic book, so please answer my question. Sanji won't allow anyone to waste food, but what will he do if a woman does so? P.N. Smoker's Cigar

O: I think he would grab the plate and eat it up. Now please give me the pornographic book.

(x)

Nowadays I’m sure there is a focus on those lewder questions compared to the beginning because that is what 13 year old boys laugh about and we all know that is Oda's main demographic (of course).

I think a very good picture of that is given by Tekking101 in his breakdown video of SBS Volume 100.

“Let’s get diving into these questions (...) now, this is a huge moment. I mean, not many Manga manage to reach 100 Volumes, Okay? Now I know Oda usually starts these off with questions relating to boobs and things that don’t really… you know, aren’t really relevant but you know, this is a big celebration so we’re gonna dive right into it. I bet the most important things that we need to know about the One Piece Story are right here in these pages, okay? I printed them out. That is how important this is. So let’s start off, shall we? Epic voice, Barry!

‘Mister Oda, there is a UFO over there with huge big-breasted beauties on it. That memorable 100 Volume of the SBS is about to begin.’

[pause] Yeah, like the first five of these are all related to boobs in some way. You know what Oda? Sticking true to your guns! Godspeed, Sir Oda. Godspeed.”

(end at around 2:30)

So, Oda is a man who likes beautiful women and who draws.

Coming to the conclusion that he will draw his own characters in suggestive poses, naked and even doing adult stuff is not hard.

Obviously he would not show these sketches just around. He would probably keep them in a secret sketchbook that he keeps at a safe location. Maybe his wife and some close friends know about it? Maybe it is his and only his little secret.

I don’t think it would be unlikely to learn about this years into the future, maybe the next generation of Anime Fans will hear about this.

And it would not be the first time that something like this happened.

Not that long ago the daughter of Osamu Tezuka - groundbreaking Mangaka, known for his works of “Astro Boy”, “Kimba the white lion” and many more - found his adult Furry art. Source; Japanese article;

It’s a fact that many Mangaka did indeed start their career with art of the more risque kind and/or as doujinshi artists.

So again, I have no doubt that Oda, a known pervert, has one or more secret sketchbooks with „the p0rnography“ in it. Is there only hot stuff in there? Not necessarily.

The second reason to keep a secret sketchbook would be to collect information in there, that could be considered canon but he is not willing to use it in the Manga. Maybe they are not important enough or will be used later.

What am I imagining here? Anything that could be considered too weird for the normal sketchbook but isn‘t too risque. Funny things that might still not be „appropriate.“

Like a sketch of the male Strawhat ding-dongs with the sizes beside it. All the lewd jokes the fans did about Luffy's stretching qualities? I’m sure Oda thought about them too and drew that in the past if he had the time and it made him laugh enough.

But also maybe there are scenes in there that never made it in the Manga. The Strawhats interacting with each other in their daily lives, ideas for colorspreads and maybe chapter-titles. Oda probably has noted/sketched down a lot of unofficial stuff somewhere.

Another example, even an artist like Oda himself would have needed to exercise drawing two people kissing. Why not use Characters he thinks that might work out together?

Why not Franky and Robin? I would imagine he sketched up a few panels of Franky and Robin having a romantic date, going shopping together in Dressrosa, having a conversation that we never got to see because it was too on the nose.

Which brings us to the second point of me being very sure that Oda had drawn FrankyXRobin at one point.

I’m sure in those sketchbooks there is at least one drawing of them doing anything couple-related together. Again it does not have to be downright nasty but it could be them holding hands, kissing or even just Robin leaning onto Franky while reading, like all those fanarts that exist out there.

It’s not hard to imagine. Even for other Characters I think that is possible

And there might even be proof for that idea. The sketch of the Strong World movie you also mentioned, anon. The one movie that can be considered canon is Strong World. It was basically written/directed by Oda. Shiki the antagonist had an appearance in the Manga.

This sketch is drawn by Oda. Robin is holding onto Franky.

Can it be read as romantic? Yes. Can it be read as Robin holding onto Franky because there is nothing else to hold onto? Also Yes. But couldn't she just have used her power to keep herself secured on the bike without holding onto Franky? WELL YES. Could Oda never have thought in these circles like I do right now? I hope he did not because I hate it and I don’t wish it upon him.

In the movie Robin is NOT holding onto Franky. Now the really interesting thing - that is neither proof pro nor anti FRobin - is that we can see the sketch provided by Oda as a “between the scenes”.

In the movie Strong World the old trio is collecting information at the Pirate assembly. The next time we see them they use the Batta GT-7000 to slowly approach the destroyed village, which had been ravaged by the animals, and start to look for their friends. No need to hold onto Franky and no need for Brook to lean back. They are looking around.

The sketch is clearly not the same scene as the one we see in the movie.

In conclusion the drawing is indeed a between the scenes drawing. And yes if there exists one, who is to say there aren’t more?

Talking about Animal-Bikes...

Is there any meaning about the fact that in the opening scene (that is part of the talked intro after the opening ‘We Go’ - a huge thanks to antiherofangirl, ccb0nnet, JFL_Estudios and Maems, over at twitter!) Franky and Robin build another grasshopper-based vehicle? Maybe not but I still feel like it’s quite a callback.

Where did the idea to put this in the beginning come from? a) an editor had the idea inspired by Strong World; b) maybe it’s another sketch that Oda provided.

Neither seems very far-fetched in my opinion.

So yes, I am very sure that Oda has drawn things that we would consider FRobin.

Now to the last point (the first being Oda having a secret sketchbook, the second me arguing that Oda might have drawn FRobin).

As I said in the beginning I’m very sure that at one point Oda did and kinda that he still does ship Franky and Robin. Because even though every Interaction of two characters can be depicted as romantic or platonic, Oda used ROMANTIC TROPES with Franky and Robin.

They have never kissed on screen but we had

finishing each other's sentences

coordinated clothes

one using the others lap as pillow

hand on cheek caressing

and we can’t forget that Robin had answered Franky's invitation to ride on another animal-themed bike with a heart.

Edit: I didn‘t say anything about „no romance in OP“ so ask again if you want me to talk a bit about that. Sorry!

Those are things an author of Oda's level would not write or draw without being aware about how teasing this is. He has to be aware that every single line he draws will be analyzed to the end of the universe and back. People earn money by saying their opinion and interpretations about the Manga on Youtube.

These interactions are not something outlandish like “There was once an Anime Scene in which Robin was wearing something blue and exactly 28 episodes later Franky was wearing something violet and then 39 episodes later they both stood beside each other for exactly 69 seconds.”

Whenever I think about these facts, things that are not about interpreting but are factual, black ink on white paper but also about the little things, about how Frank and Robin help each other to become better, how they support each other… I want to say YES! ODA IS 100% on board! While in reality I’m 80% sure and 20% of me is wondering if I’m not actually analyzing too much into it. If maybe he really is abandoning ship. Maybe I will become the person who will curse his name and throw my Mangas and fanfictions in an active volcano?

I don’t know and it’s impossible to say what is going to happen.

And with that I've concluded this answer, and it only took me around 2k words and four days.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: How I Got Into Sakuga

Kaiba, Directed by Masaaki Yuasa

  If you’re an anime fan, you’re likely an animation fan in general. But how do you know when an animation is “good”? How do you learn to identify an animator by only what you see, or tell when their drawings are better than usual?

  English-speaking anime fans have adopted sakuga as a general catch-all term for exceptional animation. While the word sakuga itself means “animation,” in this context, sakuga has come to mean something very specific: Not just animation that looks cool, but the deliberate handiwork of specific animators with specific artistic aspirations. For example, a single-animator project might have a lot of “sakuga shots” because it has a personal, highly-refined style. Meanwhile, a television series might have an entire team of varying specialists for a larger narrative. Some of this might be attributed to specific key animators, while some might be credited to an entire studio — transformation sequences, explosive missiles, robots — that’s all fair game to be called sakuga. But how do you really know if what you’re looking at really is this so-called “sakuga?”

  Like most art, it’s almost entirely subjective. Here’s my story.

Project A-ko, a high-energy 1986 OVA series best remembered for its exceptional animation staff

(Image via Retrocrush)

  All’s Fair in Love and War Games

  When I was a kid, I got my hands on the English-dubbed Digimon: The Movie on VHS. This notorious release was a three-part recut of Mamoru Hosoda’s Digimon OVAs released from 1999 to 2000, heavily featuring his second film Digimon Adventure: Our War Game. Of course, I didn’t experience this package as a “Hosoda anime” at the time. Besides the inspired inclusion of Barenaked Ladies’ "One Week" to the soundtrack, I strongly associate these films with Hosoda’s signature interpretation of Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru’s original Digimon Adventure character designs. Compared to the Toei-produced television series, these renditions of the Digi-Destined are charmingly off-model and move with awkward intention, like actual kids up against terrifying monsters.

  In a sense, that’s what most people mean by sakuga — animation that makes us lean in and notice traits about the world and characters that can’t be communicated otherwise. Sakuga, in particular, places special emphasis on an individual animator’s keyframes, or the drawings used as a basis for in-between frames during movement. That’s what I mean by the phrase “Hosoda anime.” If you watch Summer Wars or The Girl Who Leapt Through Time enough times, anyone will notice a stylistic palette of idiosyncrasies.

    Digimon Adventure “Home Away From Home” directed by Mamoru Hosoda

(Image via Hulu)

  An Emerging Style

  When I got older and realized there was more anime than what was on cable, I kept returning to “flat” style animation with films like Tatsuo Satō’s 2001 Cat Soup and Shōji Kawamori’s 1996 Spring and Chaos. Around this time, contemporary artist Takashi Murakami also began developing his own “superflat” style (coined in his 2000 book Superflat and later in Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture) we’ll return to. Once I got a taste for the experimental, I never turned back.

  But back to Hosoda. Less focused on the details of models and more fixated on a “flat” or fluid style of movement, the key animation in Hosoda’s films makes body language a priority. This is perhaps the best thing about good sakuga — its potential to express deep emotion even under production constraints. My favorite example comes from the first Digimon short film Hosoda directed, the simply titled Digimon Adventure from 1999.

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Directed by Masaaki Yuasa

  Originally conceived as a standalone for Bandai’s then-new Digital Monsters virtual pet toys, this version of Digimon is less loud, more atmospheric — and sincerely preoccupied with the question: “How would little kids actually handle a giant monster of their own?” The result is an unforgettable shot of Kairi, Tai’s little sister desperately blowing her whistle, stopping to catch her breath, then spitting and coughing in an attempt to calm down their newly evolved kaiju Greymon friend. 

  For the television series, Hosoda directed the episode “Home Away From,” depicting the two siblings clinging to each other as the other slowly drifts back to the Digital World. In both scenes, characters don’t constantly move, but only act when necessary via careful manipulation of the frames. This technique not only makes everything seem more “realistic,” but also acts as a visual cue for the anxiety Tai and Kairi feel. In other words, painstakingly controlled animation serves both form and function, especially when you’re selling an emotional climax of another kid-meets-monster plot.

Tomorrow’s Joe, 1980 film adaptation of the 1970 TV anime series directed by Osamu Dezaki

(Image via Retrocrush)

  A Little History Lesson

  After Digimon, Hosoda and Nakatsuru collaborated on films like Summer Wars and the Takashi Murakami-inspired pop art short Superflat Monogram. Hosoda is no doubt inescapable to sakuga fans today thanks to the ubiquity of his feature films. Still, Hosoda obviously wasn’t the first sakuga animator. Animators like Yasuo Ōtsuka, known for his cinematic work in a pre-Ghibli era of anime film with Toei, documented the growth ‘60s and ‘70s of Japan’s animation industry in his 2013 book Sakuga Asemamire. When the demand for films lowered in favor of anime television during that era, animators took risks. Classics of the era like Tiger Mask and Tomorrow's Joe literally held no punches, and Osamu Tezuka’s own Mushi Productions dove headfirst into experimental adult films. Animators, and especially keyframe animators, had creative control. In this perfect storm, the advent of sakuga was inevitable.

  Everyman Ken Kubo is taught the ways of eighties anime in Otaku no Video

(Image via Retrocrush)  

Why Bother With Sakuga?  

In 2013, animation aficionado Sean Bires and company hosted an informational panel titled “Sakuga: The Animation of Anime” at Anime Central Chicago. Uploaded to YouTube that same year, this panel informed my younger self’s understanding of not just the “how” of sakuga, but the “why” it even needed to exist in anyone’s vocabulary. Accessible, meticulously researched, and full of visual references, Sean’s two-hour panel-lecture does the heavy lifting of contextualizing anime not just through a historical lens, but within the broader project of expanding cinematic techniques. This primer might sound heady, but considering the popularity of Masaaki Yuasa’s series like Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, and references to animator Ichirō Itano’s “Itano circus” missiles in American cartoons like DuckTales, it’s hard to say sakuga isn't relevant. Nowadays, it's practically a trope to parody one of Dezaki's most iconic shots. Supplemented by a rich community of blogs and forums, it couldn’t be easier to learn about animators like Yasuo Ōtsuka or the early days of Toei if you want a bigger picture. Blogs like Ben Ettinger’s Anipages and the aptly named Sakuga Blog are a good place to start, not to mention dozens of dedicated galleries of anime production and art books published by studios themselves. Now couldn’t be a better time to vicariously live your art school dreams through anime masterworks.

  Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, a 1989 film featuring animation by Yasuo Ōtsuka best known for his work on the Lupin III franchise  

Sakuga Is For Everyone  

Fans have always been obsessed with the technicalities of animation, even if they weren't artists. As early as 2007, uncut dubbed collector box sets for Naruto came with annotated booklets of episode storyboards. More recently, critically-acclaimed series like Shirobako further explicated this love for animation as a team effort — people love attaching other people to art. In contrast, psychological horror series like Satoshi Kon’s Paranoia Agent features an episode about an anime studio’s production going terribly wrong. Not to mention the endlessly self-referential Otaku no Video Gainax OVA and its depiction of zealous sakuga otaku. Anime fans adore watching anime be born over and over. It’s that simple.     

Digimon Adventure “Home Away From Home” directed by Mamoru Hosoda

(Image via Hulu)

Today, I’d comfortably call some shots from Hosoda Digimon films great sakuga. But Koromon is still weird. Sorry.   The love for sakuga isn’t a contest to one-up fans on production trivia or terminology. It’s about taking the time to appreciate the fact that anime is ultimately a collaborative artistic endeavor. From tracing back the lineage of animators like Yoshinori Kanada to Kill la Kill, to appreciating the visual sugar rush of Project A-Ko alongside slow-paced Ghibli films, “getting into sakuga” isn't a passive effort, nor a waste of time. Besides, wouldn't it be fun understanding how your favorite animator achieved your favorite scene? The phrase "labor of love" is cliché, but maybe that’s a good synonym for what role sakuga inevitably plays for artists and fans alike — work that brings you joy, no matter how you cut it.   Who is your favorite animator? When did you get into sakuga? Let us know in the comments below!

      Blake P. is a weekly columnist for Crunchyroll Features. His twitter is @_dispossessed. His bylines include Fanbyte, VRV, Unwinnable, and more. He actually doesn't hate Koromon.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Blake Planty

[the-bromance-rec-blog]

If I have to describe this in one sentence, I’d say: An animal story that is surprisingly human.

I confess that when I first learnt about the title, this is what I knew: School Life, Coming of Age, School Romance, Slice of Life, Animal Universe. Exactly the genres that I almost never ever touch.

The end result: I gulped down 160+ chapters in 4 days.

It is that good.

The bromance? Not exactly the main theme of the story, but whenever it gets featured, the standard is gold.

Here I am, telling you about the latest manga that I can happily put into the “Really Good” category.

Beastars

Genre: Shounen, Action, Drama, School Life, Romance, Comedy

Synopsis (taken from BakaUpdates):

“In a world populated by anthropomorphic animals, herbivores and carnivores coexist with each other. For the adolescences of the Cherryton Academy, school life is filled with hope, romance, distrust, and uneasiness.

The main character is Legoshi the wolf, a member of the drama club. Despite his menacing appearance, he has a very gentle heart. Throughout most of his life, he has always been an object of fear and hatred by other animals, and he's been quite accustomed to that lifestyle. But soon, he finds himself becoming more involved with his fellow classmates who have their own share of insecurities and finds his life in school changing slowly.”

Length: Ongoing - 160+ chapters

Personal review:

+ The story, as expected from its School Life label, starts out in a perfectly familiar setting: Main character has some insecurities, joins a club, encounters a popular student (imagine the Student Council President type), gets into some odd troubles with said student, somehow falls in love with a girl who is the source of many bad rumours... Yep, you know where I am going. Surely this does not sound like much potential, but stay tuned. Things do not stay familiar for very long.

In simpler terms: the plot turns into directions that you can hardly foresee. And it gets dark real quick.

This is where the story develops its charm. The manga won an Osamu Tezuka New Creator prize for a reason.

Somehow, Beastars shapes itself into a (possibly) relatable coming-of-age story in a highly appealing fashion. You feel for the main character, the supporting characters (even though, to be honest, you may not necessarily like them), their insecurities, their struggles, and most importantly, their choices in life. Beastars is essentially a story about young adults who are working hard to find their place in the society. But the most intriguing part? As human as the characters are made to be, they honest-to-a-fault stick to their animal traits. It is a peculiarly successful blend of human values and animal nature.

Characterisation-wise, rest assured that the mains are given ample development. You will definitely grow to love Legosi - such an adorable, honest, idealistic-but-not-stupid young man. I so look forward to a happy ending for him, I truly do.

+ The art? Skilful, to say the least. At first, it looks like some sort of illustrations in children’s storybooks (think Big Bad Wolf), then the actions kick in and you realise - this is pretty strong art. The author herself did mention that she loves animals and has been drawing nothing but animals since young. Surely she has put her talent in the right place.

Also, weirdly enough, the characters faithfully retain their animal appearance, yet you could clearly tell that certain individual is a “hot boy”/”hot girl” animal. I am serious. (I just basically confessed that I think Louis is smokin’ hot.)

+ Now, the bromance. In fact, there are a few ‘bromantic’ pairings in this manga, but the one with the most moments is the main character and the senpai that he reveres so much. The below panel describes their relationship in a nut shell, for real.

These two have a very, very interesting dynamic. Legosi The Wolf is obsessed with herbivores and Louis The Deer is obsessed with carnivores (now you probably think they are obsessed with each other well you aren’t wrong). Their chemistry is wonderfully built upon trust, respect and a common goal of making the animal society a better place for both species.

- I can imagine there are elements in the story that will make people feel uncomfortable. For once, the plot twists & turns may be too sharp it’s borderline ridiculous. I, however, find them bearable and even refreshing sometimes.

- Not exactly a negative thing since this is very subjective, but you might not like certain choices that the characters make. They sort of irk me sometimes. But I understand that’s what makes the story captivating. Bear in mind that Beastars is definitely not a title about perfect heroes who save the world. It’s a poignant tale of finding the right path in life, and on that path, one is bound to make mistakes. The characters’ occasional idiotic choices give us, the readers, some room to understand, to reflect and to think hard about the complexity of life. Lots of mangas attempt to deliver deep messages, but not many actually succeed, don’t you think?

[stillinaincrad]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Summer 2019 Edition

There are still a few that I have yet to check out, mainly due to a significant lack of free time (hooray, adulthood!), but there is already way more going on at the start of this summer season than there has been in months, at least to me. 

The Good

1. Given

Honestly, I don’t care how long it lasts. Honestly, I don’t know how long they can carry an entire anime based on the flimsy story already laid out. Either way, I really don’t care. The interesting art and especially the various facial expressions in just the first episode drew me in and caught my attention, but I was shoving all my chips to the center of the felt the second the music started. As a guitarist myself, there’s no way I could stay away from this combination of drawing, characters, and technical music. I think this is going to get very good from here, but even if it doesn’t, I’ll be onboard. 

2. Are You Lost? (Sounan Desu ka?)

I have this system I’ve developed where if the OP starts and it’s the cast singing/lip-syncing? The anime is almost always raw sewage. (take it out for a spin sometime, it’s amazingly accurate) There are exceptions, and I’m not going to call this one great, but so far it’s not too bad. I grew up out in the woods, hiking and camping sometimes where you were nowhere for days at a time with only what was on your back. I probably could be stranded and survive. Doesn’t mean I want to, but for all this anime is fluff, it’s also pretty realistic and accurate in places, too. Plus, I mean, even if it were awful, is only 12mins per episode, so yeah - not hard to move on from after. Still, though, am enjoying it so far. Am certainly not expecting anything, but it has yet to annoy me too badly, either lol  

3. A Certain Scientific Accelerator (Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator)

Know what anime I was most excited for last year? Yup, Index III. Know what anime I struggled to get through and kinda didn’t care for? Yup, Index III. In the first two, as well as the Railgun seasons, there was enough offset. I mean, yeah, there were themes of mass murder, and government corruption, and imbalance and all, but there was enough humor and goofiness to offset it. Index III to me felt like a great big piece of meat that was dense and you had to chew until you were tired of eating just to get through it. Accelerator seems to be sandwiched in between storylines and feels like it will have more of that balance. And, I have to admit, the first of the ‘Scientific/Magical’ series I watched was Railgun and haaaated Accelerator - thought he was the worst of the worst - but then as you get into the other stories and see how they intertwine, you see he's a little more Walt Kowalski and a little less Amon Goth than what you thought. Am interested to see how this show goes, given we know how he begins and how he ends. 

4. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka)

I did not get to see the prequel Dan Machi series because I wasn’t going to pay the money for Amazon Strike, which was the only place that had it without all the pop-ups and viruses and fun stuff we don't feel like dealing with like we used to for our shows. So, I never saw it, which drove me insane. I have really loved these characters since day one, and am wicked stoked that DM2 is being streamed and I get more of them for a while. They moved right in on the first episode, too. Looks like it’s going to be another fun season! 

The Bad

1. Magical Sempai (Tejina-senpai)

Yes, it is fun in small doses, but this is a bad anime. And I don’t just mean the weak writing, the dependence on fanservice, or any of the things anyone can demise from sitting through an episode which, well, isn’t totally terrible. The schtick gets old quickly, but there are funny moments. But what makes it bad to me is that Kotoyama, Tezuka, Feel... none of these names appear anywhere in the credits, but damn if Senpai isn’t awfully close to a dead ringer for Hotaru Shidaire, and the OP music/mood/sequence doesn’t have Dagashi Kashi written all the frick over it. This show is bad to begin with, yes but stolen valor is the worst kind of imitation. 

2. Granbelm

If you can’t tell what is going to happen about ten minutes before it happens - right down to lines that are going to fall out of these girls’ mouths - then you probably shouldn’t play video games. Granbelm has every edge rounded off for safety, and if the Powderpuff girls had had mecha back in the day, this is exactly what they’d have looked like (and at the same time, bizarrely enough, kind of remind me of the Invid from Macross in a way, too). Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to watch the hell out of it start to finish because it’s about badly acted mages having a battle royale in another realm using gooftastic-looking mechas that fire spells, and let’s face it - who wouldn’t? Just don’t expect me to talk about how good it is. I already know it’s going to be very bad lol

The Ugly

1. Isekai Cheat Magician 

OK, look - I watched In Another World with my Smartphone. It was awful. I watched Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody (Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku) and it was mindless as can be. And just this past season, I watched every episode of Wise Man's Grandchild (Kenja no Mago). They ALL are quasi-dependent upon cliché and irritating romances, tee-hee characters that are as shallow as the writing, and a singular, ridiculously overpowered character that nothing ever happens to. I really enjoy the isekai genre of anime and will tend to watch just about anything to see where it goes, but two episodes into this turd, I said no more. I just can’t do another one of these mimeographed brain leeches. Not this season, at least. 

[zerochanges]

50 Years of Dororo - Mushi Pro’s Dororo 1969 vs Studio Mappa’s Dororo 2019

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Mushi Pro’s Dororo anime adaptation, the last anime to be made solely in black and white. The 1969 original Dororo anime is a cult classic, with high accolades from the diehard community and still holds up incredibly well to this day. Yet that didn't stop Studio Mappa from creating their own adaptation of the manga, which has finally released just this week. So the real question is, how do the two of them compare--well let’s get into it.

But first, a little background. The original Dororo manga, created by prolific manga creator Osamu Tezuka, ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday for about one year, from August 1967 to July 1968, where it then entered a hiatus for a brief period, before finally shifting to the Monthly Adventure King magazine in 1969 where it was serialized for about 6 months (May to October ‘69) and finally “concluded”. I say concluded but the manga mostly just abruptly stops before the characters accomplish any of their own goals, and things are more or less just left open in case Tezuka ever wanted to come back to the series (he didn't). Despite this Dororo has remained to be an incredibly beloved property by Tezuka and seen its fair share of retellings and adaptations from video games to live action films, and of course to anime.

So now let’s talk anime. The original 1969 adaptation of Dororo was created by Mushi Pro, Tezuka’s own animation studio that he started half a decade back in 1963, and as said above was the last anime to be created solely in black and white. By this point in time color TVs were finally becoming widespread in Japan, and most anime have already started to be created in color. This was not an easy process, and was more time consuming for the production, which is why the decision was made by Mushi Pro to stick to the work pipeline they had and produce Dororo in black and white, a decision that really went on to define the entire series. Mushi Pro's Dororo has a very crisp look, with some great animation for its era, but beyond that also manages some incredibly terrifying and equally breathtaking moments because of its beautiful artwork mixed with the black and white aesthetic. There’s just something about black and white, the atmosphere it creates is otherworldly, ask any movie buff and they’ll tell you the effects it has on the horror genre is undeniable. I think these late black and white 1960 era anime hold up so incredibly well, and may in fact be even creepier nowadays (the 1968 GeGeGe no Kitaro comes to mind). 

Dororo (1969) episode 4: The Scroll of Bandai Part 2

Time marches on however, and after 50 years it’s time for another studio to take a swing at Dororo. Mappa is a small animation studio established in 2011, founded by Masao Maruyama, producer and co-founder of Madhouse, who left Madhouse to pursue his own passions and took some staff with him. Maruyama would later leave Mappa in 2016 unfortunately, but the studio to this day has still been producing hits since. The staff behind their current Dororo adaptation is helmed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi as director, Satoshi Iwataki as character designer, Yasuko Kobayashi in charge of scripts, and Yoshihiro Ike composing the music. Background animation is handled by Studio Pablo. Dororo is produced by Twin Engine, a production company with its main focus being the creators of the medium. Founded by Kouji Yamamoto, Twin Engine wishes to let young artist focus on creating anime, ignoring popular trends instead pursuing only the art of the medium; often commissioning work from studios to keep them financially afloat. Dororo, like a large majority of Twin Engine produced series, streams worldwide on Amazon Prime.

My final aside before diving into some thoughts on how both adaptations compare is that when it comes to adapting Tezuka’s iconic designs to the form of animation there are often changes made. The more Disney-esque look of his drawings can be hard to pull off for action animation, and well, giant noses, and bushy mustaches are well and good, but when you’re trying to sell hideous monsters chomping people into bits, maybe they are not that fitting for this story. That’s why both the 1969 Mushi Pro and 2019 Mappa series have their own takes on the design of the characters. Mushi Pro sorta goes for making protagonist Hyakkimaru more buff, and adult looking, whereas Mappa makes their Hyakkimaru slim and more ikemen. I think both approaches work fine for the story at hand, and are interesting time capsules of themselves for their own eras.

So let’s compare the first episode of both series!

Both episodes start in a similar fashion, with Feudal Lord Daigo Kagemitsu making a deal to 48 Demons and sacrificing his then unborn son in the process. However even this early on we can see differences between the two adaptations. 

In the 1969 Mushi Pro version Daigo willingly offers up his own son to the demons, and does so for power, asking them to grant him all of Japan under his rule, whereas in the 2019 Mappa version Daigo only offers the demons anything they want in return, never directly giving them his own son, and asks for the demons to give him the power and prestige he will need to rule over Japan. 

At first I felt that Mappa may have made Daigo a bit more sympathetic, him seemingly asking for his own province to be granted protection from disease, famine, and war is certainly something we haven’t seen out of the character, but were perks he does enjoy later in the story regardless. As I ruminated on it however, I realized it’s more of an attempt to round out his character and add some extra depth to him. Sure those may have been great things for a Feudal Lord to ask for, but Daigo really only cares about one thing, and that’s ruling Japan; this has yet to change. Daigo still has no qualms about his own son Hyakkimaru being born a hideous freak and still throws away the newborn baby to die in some river while yelling at his wife to make another one to replace it.

One Buddhist monk starves to death while bemoaning the state of Japan while another is slain and bemoans the current state of affairs in Japan

Then there’s Daigo killing a Buddhist monk. This scene does not exist in the 1969 Mushi Pro version (but Daigo does murder the monk albeit under different circumstances in the manga) and I have quite a bit to say about that. Daigo’s conversation with this monk, again, shows him off to be a bit more well rounded. He’s still selling his soul to the devil, but we can see his own level of commitment to his ambition when talking to the monk. The monk also plays another role that mirrors Mushi Pro’s first episode. In Mushi Pro’s debut episode Dororo comes across a starving Buddhist monk that can do nothing but beg for food and pray, and eventually succumbs to his starvation and dies. Both monks remark about the horrors of the current sengoku era being like Hell on Earth, and are meant to communicate to the audience that this particular time in Japanese history is perhaps one of the cruelest. 

1969 or 2019, Daigo is still a dirt-bag and makes his wife suffer.

Let’s talk about Hyakkimaru’s birth as I think it’s a pretty interesting contrast between these two adaptations. In the 1969 Mushi Pro version Daigo already knows his son should be born a monster so upon seeing the hideous freak that is his baby boy, he proudly declares “My end of the bargain is fulfilled!” The demons have accepted Daigo’s offer and he can’t be happier. In the 2019 Mappa version Daigo is not aware of what the demons will take until a bolt of lighting strikes the room his wife is giving birth in. Upon seeing the baby up close (something not seen in the 1969 version until the second episode) Daigo realizes what has happened and orders the baby killed. We then get a conversation about a Buddhist statue that happened to break in the same room. The wet nurse believes it sacrificed itself in order to save the baby, giving a sorta strange implication that perhaps the deal wasn't to take 48 body parts from Hyakkimaru but to take everything from him, including his life. In fact we never really even establish if there are 48 demons, or 48 body parts missing, so the number may vary, and the kind of curse could be different. If that is true, it is certainly a unique approach to the series.

The image of baby Hyakkimaru from Mushi Pro's 1969 Dororo adaptation is taken from the second episode as it was not shown in the first episode.

Hyakkimaru’s birth between the two versions shows how both mirror each other--we have less subtle writing but more subtle animation in the 1969 Mushi Pro adaptation, and more subtle writing but super over-the-top animation in the 2019 Mappa adaptation. I find this maybe the best way to compare these two anime entirely so far. There is no huge lightning bolt smiting the room Daigo’s wife is giving birth in with the Mushi Pro version, instead you hear the mother scream in terror upon Hyakkimaru's birth as she breaks down and cries. Daigo and his wife's expressions of horror at the baby is the only clear indication of Hyakkimaru's hideousness instead of just showing the baby like Mappa did. But the Mappa version is trying to give some more depth to its characters, and maybe even to its own world with added bits such as the Buddhist statue maybe protecting Hyakkimaru. Both adaptations seems to have reverse on what they want to be subtle about and what they want to be over-the-top about.

In the 1969 Mushi Pro version Daigo and his wife send Hyakkimaru down the river in a basket themselves, where as in the 2019 Mappa version Daigo orders the wet nurse to drown Hyakkimaru in the river, but she pities the baby and places him in an abandoned boat then pushes it down the stream. And then a demon shows up and murders her out of nowhere and is slain by the blind monk Zato (a character that didn't appear until Hyakkimaru narrates his past to Dororo a little later in the story). Yeah, that was a really weird addition to the story Mappa made. It’s certainly more over-the-top and gets a bit more action into an episode that amounts to basically all set-up, so there is that, I guess. Still really weird to see Zato show up like this.

Both Zato and Jukai don't make their introduction until Hyakkimaru explains his past to Dororo in the second episode of the 1969 Mushi Pro Dororo.

Speaking of adding in characters earlier than before, Mappa included scenes that would interrupt the episode every now and again that focus on a doctor who gives prosthetics to dead maimed warriors so they can rest in peace. These scenes did not exist in the 1969 Mushi Pro version, which didn't show Jukai until episode 2 where it tells the story of how he saved a baby in the river he found, Hyakkimaru, and gave it prosthetics.

The introduction to Dororo is pretty similar in both versions, but more drawn out in the 1969 Mushi Pro adaptation. As discussed above with Daigo and the Buddhist monk, there was a scene where a starving monk begs Dororo for food before succumbing to his own starvation and dying, this was not present in the 2019 Mappa adaptation. Dororo gets more time to just do some general hijinks and mess around in town in Mushi Pro's version as well, before finally stealing food from some lowlifes and getting the crap kicked out of him by the riverbank.

In the Mappa version instead of stealing food from lowlifes Dororo steals their cargo and tries to pawn it but is caught then beaten at the riverbank. I imagine Mappa was just trying to streamline Dororo's introduction here for time constraints so they did their best to get across that he’s a thief while also making sure he ends up at the riverbank right away. Either way both adaptations lead to this slime looking monster appearing out of a pile of garbage in the river and eating the lowlife. Mappa’s more over the top animation has the monster swinging around its arms wildly until eventually grabbing said lowlife and making a snack out of him, where Mushi Pro has it slowly slither on top of the lowlife and then melts him. Ouch, that’s kinda way more messed up.

The lowlife gets melted by the monster in the manga too.

From this point on both adaptations are pretty much entirely the same, with just differences in animation quality being really all there is to comment on. The fight scene between Hyakkimaru and the slime in Mappa’s version is fantastic, with Hyakkimaru performing incredible acrobatics, jumping all around the bridge and slicing the whole thing up until it collapses on top of the slime killing it, where Mushi Pro … well they did their best, okay.

The real big difference is that Dororo seems a lot more intelligent when approaching Hyakkimaru in the 2019 Mappa version. Dororo was very quick to notice that Hyakkimaru is blind, and that his body is made up of mostly prosthetics. The 1969 Mushi Pro Dororo ends up getting terrified in the very next episode upon the realization that Hyakkimaru’s eyes are fake (he admittedly popped his glass eyes out of his head though to scare Dororo away).

The 2019 Mappa version has it that the riverbank monster was apparently one of the 48 demons Hyakkimaru needed to slay in order to regain his body parts, this one giving him back his skin. Hyakkimaru was actually born with his skin in the 1969 Mushi Pro version (as well as in the manga), and the monster was not the first demon he needed to kill but just a run-of-the-mil yokai that awarded him no regenerated body parts. Hyakkimaru actually worded it as "the dead", which have no true shape of their own and just latch onto anything, in this case the garbage in the river--thus making the slime monster we saw. Again I think Mappa was trying to kill two birds with one stone and get the audience acquainted with the series quicker since the general plot is essentially Hyakkimaru slays monster, Hyakkimaru grows back lost body part. This was a good way to streamline things, and it was with a body part that he wasn't missing before so it takes away nothing from later parts of the story.

And this is the biggest difference right here at the end of the episode, Hyakkimaru has yet to talk. He may not be able to speak at all until he’s slain enough demons to get this ability back. The Mappa version has so far seemed to point to Hyakkimaru being mute, deaf and blind, and completely cut off from the world. The Mushi Pro version had Hyakkimaru lack his eyeballs, his mouth, and his ears, but he could still speak and hear (just like in the manga). I always assumed it was just his outer ear missing but he still had all his inner ear like his eardrums, and well, you can talk without lips, so there was that too. The Mappa version seems to fully commit to Hyakkimaru being born without all his senses, and if it’s true it will be a super interesting take on the character to be sure. It will also be hard to pull off considering how much he speaks in the original story; he's a very vocal character, so if it is true, until he regains his ability to speak Dororo has to be the one to carry the duo in conversations entirely now which will lead to major shake-ups in the plot.

What do you think of the newest anime adaptation of Dororo. Are you excited to see the classic come back for modern times? Do you wish it was more like the manga or are you enjoying all these attempts to create something more modern with the source material? Do you think Hyakkimaru will speak in the next episode or do you think he's actually going to start the show as a mute? Are you looking forward to keeping up with this new adaptation of Dororo?

PS - Shout out to Mappa for putting a dog into their first episode that resembles Nota, the mascot character invented for the 1969 Mushi Pro series in a vain attempt to prevent the children that were watching it from being emotionally scarred (it probably didn't). 

[daedalmirage]

TRIAL 2.4 | “ THE BEAUTY UNDERNEATH. ” | SIR GAWAIN | 🚒 | RE: room checks

....

He wishes, really, that he wasn't here. Which is toddler-like, he suspects. A little infantile. The wailing of 'it's not fair.'

It's the same situation as last time, in effect. Caught between two untenable positions -- Ray on the one side, Bella on the other -- and nothing about it can make him feel--

--comfortable--

--with his choices, here.

There was no easy answer. There was no option that made him feel good about himself, like he helped, like he was doing what was right or good or kind. He knows this. And he doesn't know if his impulse -- what he knows he might lean on doing -- is the honorable thing, either -- if it's defensible, or bad, or--

He really does struggle with these quandaries. It's so much easier to run into a fire. There's less thinking involved in the act.

He's trying to breathe, steadily, as the trial progresses -- Sonia getting defensive and Tezuka going a little off -- both of which can only be expected. Gawain wouldn't deny that his grip on the other man had tightened -- that it has loosened only when it was clear that Sonia had no interest. For better or worse.

Ray had brought up drinking. He wishes it was something he could cling to -- but.... He looks at her, a little desperately. Quietly. His face a grimace for a moment, before--

.... Well, alright.

Marigold asks a direct question -- and his eyes contort. Searching hers for a moment before--

He closes his eyes, sighing.

His voice low:

"This brings me no pleasure."

Tsking, a little -- the sweat is pooling at his neck.

"Look. There really ain't that many people who fall in the 'what had to have happeneds' of this case, aight? Someone who woulda been motivated by the motive, who knew enough about Bella, who has a bearded dragon," wrong reptile-- "bite, who is also around Ms. Inkyo's size. Y'wanna know how narrow that pool is?  Even if all our evidence is imperfect, circumstantial?  Even if you dismiss one or two as a red herring?"

He's shaking. It's hard to tell.

"Really jus' comes down to Ms. Nina -- who I suspect don't got this shit goin' on with her -- Ms. Inkyo, an' Ms. Sonia. Even Tezuka is too tall, if y'wanted to play all suspicious an' accuse him of playin' up th' in-love card as a trick. Which, y'know, men are capable of great evil against women, but we usually wouldn't do somethin' like that, even if we are evil, within a day or two of gettin' with them. Don't make sense."

"So, we checked Ms. Sonia's room, yeah. Th'thing is -- she has more than one guitar -- two on different stands. I've never been in there before in my life, so I don't know if she's got hidden guitars, whatever. You can draw your own conclusions, jus' repeatin' the facts, ma'am. She also came with us t'the room, which means less snoopin'."

And less eating of her cereal, but what Johann didn't know--

"Her candles were burned down quite a lot. Seems t'me she used the ritual more than once. An'...."

There's a bit of a pause. A long one. And he looks over at Franz. Sighing:

"Again, Mr. Franz. I don't know th'workin' theory of the supernatural shit of this case, an' whether or not this clears her because we're sure killer's a werewolf or were-dragon or were-whatever an', as Benkei says, they don't live terribly long -- but...."

"I only thought to do this because I had t'do it in my own room, heh. But if you take down the picture of her friend, there's an... ol' timey painted portrait of a family, in there. Now, I don't know many people still gettin' those in 199X, or when she was a kid -- photographs had taken off by then, yeah?  So unless she's the lost Duchess Anastasia...."

"...Anyway. Hope that answers. An' uh-- no, we didn't check Ms. Inkyo's room, before you ask. She was right there, Ari was right there -- felt a little-- y'know...."

[kosmicdream]

im at work binging the ffak faq tag because fuck it (also its 76 pages) and I have a Q: do you think you've had any significant changes to ur influences from 2 years ago?

Omg Im so sorry, the ffak faq is in.. a desperate need of organization. Its something i want to try to get to at some point but it also really overwhelms me. Thankfully though I don’t think i’ve gotten this question!

I’d say yes? there has been a couple significant changes in my influences. I’ve been through a lot in the past 2 years and some of my tastes have reflected that. However its probably not a whole lot. I’m the kind of person that is very nostalgically committed to things, so once something has made its way into my heart at some point it pretty much just stays there forever. Even if i don’t really think or care about it that much I’ll reflect on it and what about that work might have influenced me as time goes on. I also dont really take the time to experience new media. If i do, i want to experience all of it at once in a binge reading experience and I can really mess up my schedule in the result of doing that lol.

I’d say the biggest impact has been Vinland Saga which I think I read sometime in.. I think after july in 2017 sometime..? I’m not completely sure of the date, but it was in 2017. I love Vinland Saga so much now that I think its my favorite manga at this point. A place in my heart where I used to reserve for.. Berserk, i think. Berserk used to be (and of course still is) one of my strongest inspirations but my feelings towards it have kind of gotten more and more sour and critical even though I still deeply appreciate it and I wouldnt be the same artist without -- I still want to see the fruition of that story. But. Its not really my sweetheart anymore lol. I think its a common thing to relate berserk and vinland saga as well (or at least, I’ve seen the comparison quite a lot in reviews?) despite how those two stories are actually significantly different from eachother and its probably kind of a cheap comparison to make. (i think berserk is often just Used As A Comparison To Things because Its Berserk. Its just that kind of series.)

BUT the reason why I’m using it here, is that for me-- both these comics affected me very deeply, during very dark times in my life, and unlike in berserk which almost sucked me into a deeper depression of hopelessness-- vinland saga had a resolution of sorts that felt cathartic, healing and hopeful. in a way i have not really experienced in a story before. it was genuinely one of the BEST reading experiences i have ever had and even if that story is still unfinished, the conclusion of an arc was enough for me to feel like i got a satisfaction from this story in a way i didn’t expect to come at ALL or so early. It makes me feel so happy in my heart and I love it so much for what it gave me. (I also was very fond of thorfinn from the beginning of that story, which i usually dont care for protagonists that much, its usually some other character i get attached to.)

I don’t really expect berserk to give me a ‘pay off’ at this point and so I’m kind of thankful that i have found another series that i can connect with in this very specific deep way like i did with berserk, but also kind of gave a sense of closure so that I can almost appreciate berserk more now instead of feeling bitter towards it. I dont need it to do anything more because vinland saga helped give me that already. Vinland Saga also, from a visual standpoint, inspired me a lot to work more on my art and pages. (or specifically, spend more time on my pages to make them look better.)

I think besides that comic, which is the hands down #1 biggest influence, i also have very recently read Houseki No Kuni/Land of the Lustrous and it also inspired me quite a lot but in totally different ways. I could probably go on and on about it as well but I think to summarize my feelings is that it made me excited about manga again. I want to see more stories like this which are creative, yet simple and flexible and the art perfectly compliments the narrative. It really feels like the artist knows what they want to talk about and they are comfortable drawing in the way they like to.

Other comics I have read recently and its completion are: FMA, Eden: its an endless world!FMA was very solid and I feel it completely deserves the attention it gets but i also don’t feel like I really need to think about it anymore now that I’m done reading it??? I guess its almost too polished for me? I still am thankful i finally decided to read it and I enjoyed it a lot. Alphonse is wonderful. Eden made me annoyed for... a lot of reasons LOL but I also really think its going to be a comic that ill dissect my emotions over and think about in detail. and i can really appreciate when a story might not really be my think but was different and still interesting enough to make me fuss over. Also for whatever reason the scans i read of that comic had hilarious, and i think purposefully so, sound effects and i have not laughed so hard at such inappropriate moments in a manga ever before and I think that makes that reading experience so special to me. in such a strange way. and i absolutely want to use sound effects like in that comic.. thing

I think in the past 2 years i also finished rereading Parasyte (because i never got to the ending when i first started reading it) and i also kind of feel kind of a mixed bag with that story. The premise was so exciting when i first read it years ago, i think in 2010 is when i first read it, but i ran out of volumes and never got back to it. Now that i finished it I was like oh that was it? ok i guess. and I dont really feel like i was as excited about it.I also read Devilman in the past 2 years and that was interesting? to reflect on from like, a historical significance point of view but like. I didn’t super duper get into it. It almost felt like a needed reading requirement that i had put off for way too long and Now i feel like I have a better context to the evolution of many of my favorite comics and where they draw influence from in this series. (Also it was very fun to watch the yuasa adaptation recently bc yuasa is one of my biggest art influences for his kemonozume series specifically)

Hmm I’m trying to think of anything else, but honestly Vinland Saga feels are still pouring thru so I guess... vinland saga lol.

Oh! I finally read Pluto by Naoki Urasawa in the past couple years (i think) and, like, i already love Urasawa (Monster is hands down one of my favorite comics/animes), i love tezuka (i will literally read anything he made), i knew id adore Pluto and.. i did! I think one of my new projects (replacer) was definitely influenced by pluto in a huge way.

A couple weeks ago i read Witch Hat Atelier and it was gorgeous, but short so far.

Ok I can’t really think of anything else but I hope this has been interesting/informative of what is circling around in my head at the moment! :D thanks for asking.

[maiji]

Process and wip images for A House That Holds Long Limbs (Part 2) 

See Part 1 process and wip documentation

Read the pages for part 2 here (full complete version will be linked from YYH North Bound master post) 

As a story progresses, I tend to become more comfortable with jumping ahead and around in my so-called process. This is mainly because the idea of getting deeper into the action is exciting and I want to get to drawing the pages as quickly as possible. The downside is that it usually results in a lot of “oops” and rework on what was supposed to be a final page.

Here you’ll see that script/pagination/thumbnailing and final pages are all starting to drift even more than in Part 1.

The (last version of the) script

Earlier versions were even more point form and incoherent with typos. But, it only needs to capture enough that I can recognize key actions, points of dialogue, the mood, things to draw in the panels, etc. A few specific items to point out:

“[new part 2]”: The script originally had no exposition on rokurokubi - it went straight to Hokushin telling Raizen he was leaving. It occurred to me later, after I’d started thumbnailing, that inserting a few pages of storytelling narrative right here would help to further solidify the kaidan (traditional Japanese ghost story) effect and mood. More importantly, it creates a baseline reference for what the reader will know about rokurokubi for the purposes of this story. I was lucky that Part 1 and Part 2 were cut neatly enough that this wouldn’t be jarring.

I’m still not entirely happy with the text for this section, mainly the “features of note” about rokurokubi. Not just the fact that it’s oversimplification and slight adaptation of actual Japanese folklore - which can’t be avoided unless I want to write a historical essay here. I’m mainly not super keen on how each of the three items has been phrased. It’d be nice to make the three points more parallel in terms of length, but I couldn’t seem to edit, increase the number of points (by splitting them up), or reorder it effectively without negatively impacting other aspects of pacing and information reveal. More points would draw out the pages longer than I wanted, and some points were clearly sub to other points. The final here is the “good enough” version. JUST GET IT DONE ALREADY SO THAT IT CAN GO OUT INTO THE WORLD.

Sooo many word choice changes. The biggest one, done at the last second, was “They are almost always female” to “They are rarely male”. Other phrasings I debated - “They are very rarely male”, “They are almost never male”, etc. Lemme tell ya, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds… Anyways, the main reason for this was because after I drew it and ran the text through my head, the originally-intended juxtaposition of Hokushin on this page with the word “female” felt too subtle. I felt it would create a brief moment of cognitive dissonance that didn’t serve the flow of the story, so I changed it to create emphasis on the same gender instead with the rationale that it will flow more smoothly and allow the reader to focus their attention on the fact “males are very rare” more than the mental hiccup of processing the juxtaposition. DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?? It made sense in my head.

Anyhow, I’m sure there are people who will disagree with many of the decisions I’ve made, but at least you can see what I was trying to do.

Thumbnails

As mentioned, these thumbnails were done BEFORE I decided to insert the exposition at the beginning.

The first two rows on the left hand page are actually the same set of pages - you can see little arrows pointing down or to the right whenever I’m dissatisfied with a thumbnail and attempt to redraw it.

WIPs

I really like how Hokushin turned out in the last panel here; I like the pencils more than the final inked version. It’s also another example of changing text up to the last second. In case it’s hard to make out, it says (along with what happened to them in the final):

First thought bubble: Ugh, whatever… (moved to the next page, seemed to work better as the end exclamation for this sequence of thoughts before he turns his attention to something else)

Over Hokushin’s head: Aaaargh (moved into the thought bubble)

Second thought bubble: He’s not my responsibility anyways! (no change)

First arrow:  *already feeling bad* (no change)

Second arrow:  *too responsible* (dropped, since a previous panel already said “too responsible”. Too redundant)

Next to Hokushin: All he did was tie me up in a tree (no change)

The above panel “And at night...” was a thrilling and scary thing for me lmao.  I don’t usually tackle large patches/fills of black, since many of my comics are scribbly in style (pencils, hatching) or colour. I’m too lazy for screentones, traditional or digital. It’ll be interesting as parts of the story coming up will involve poorly lit/dim/dark spaces. I’ve been reviewing how other artists handle it, particularly those with styles driven by pure-ink or minimalist type approaches. Two immediate examples from Yu Yu Hakusho that I’ve been going back to are the dark room fights during Genkai’s successor trials (I’ve taken a similar approach here), and the haunted bedroom case in volume 19. Hardcore cross-hatching seems like a likely route, but that freaks me out when I have to do it over faces. I’d like to minimize or avoid screentoning out of principle, but I still want to create a clear mood, so we’ll see how it goes...

This was my view while inking this page - holding the book in one hand while inking Hokushin with the other. Using the more freehand, sketchy inking style for this comic was so helpful in terms of reducing my inking anxiety and allowing me to work faster.

It’s always great when you can find a reference for period armor (because I find armor very difficult) that is so close to the pose you’re already drawing. There are some small differences - for example, Hokushin’s head is turned more to the right; his left arm is turned and raised more as he’s pulling the sword upwards. But it’s close enough.

Also, spotlight on a few of the books I’ve referenced over the course of working on North Bound in general and this part specifically.  

Clockwise from top left:

日本服飾史 女性編 and 男性編 (History of clothing/costume in Japan female and male editions). This marvelous set of books highlights Japanese fashion throughout history. I’ve actually been referencing these photos for a long time before I ever picked up these books - you can see them at the Costume Museum’s website here, alongside helpful line drawings and translations of some of the details. But the books allow me to see a lot more detail.

Hokusai manga vol 1 (this book is published as part of a set of 3). Sketches by Hokusai. This one focuses on “The life and manners of the day” and includes drawings of youkai, including rokurokubi, as well. You can check out the drawings online at places like The Pulverer Collection Online Catalogue.

Action references!! Real Action Pose Collection 02 (focuses on sword fights) and my favourite Samurai & Ninja Action Scene Collection. Not used as much in Long Limbs, but was helpful in some of the other chapters. The time frame is really much later than what I need for ideal clothing references, but it’s helpful for things like movement.

Kekkaishi volume 32. SPOILER a key flashback takes place about 500 years ago, which is actually a few centuries off give or take from but at least it’s closer than the Edo period. I’ve been looking at it for houses, some clothing.

Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix - Civil War parts 1 and 2. I reference this so much while working on North Bound in general. It has scenes with peasants and commoners and some appropriate street and interior environments, not just stuff focused on the aristocracy or warrior classes. Just have to remember that they flipped all the artwork in the English version lol

Bunch of Yu Yu Hakusho manga and anime references from the end of the series, mostly for Raizen, the kudakusushi and just to check against things he or Hokushin said. The actual clothing and environments are not helpful at all lol

Last minute edits

After I posted, I discovered a few mistakes (of course). I used to freak out a lot and drop everything to fix it. Now I just sigh and laugh (and still freak out a little bit, depending on the mistake) and then decide what’s important enough to fix and what is like, “Oh well, whatever, move on with my life”.

I feel that seeing other artists share their frustrations and mistakes helps a lot of people feel better about it when they realize IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME TO EVERYONE (including professionals. There are errors like this in professionally published series, like Yu Yu Hakusho, too). YOU’RE NOT ALONE. 

So, these ones bugged me enough that I quickly redrew them on the computer.

[folkpunkrock-littlewing-blog]

Childhood Crushes Tag 💗

Rules: write at least five or more fictional or celebrity crushes you had as a kid. Be sure to include pictures!

Oof! Thank you so much, @vanaera for the tag! Let’s get down to business: my fictional childhood crushes, anime edition. In no particular order. (I wasn’t sure what age to draw the line, so I just went with the ones from furthest back.)

Oh shizz, I just realized it also said "celebrity" after filling this out. Shdjjd I CAN'T READ.

1. Duo Maxwell and Chang Wu-fei from Gundam Wing

Something about Duo’s energy and liveliness always captivated me, and even still to this day. He’s boisterous, but not annoyingly so (unless you ask Hiro... 😅); he acts like he doesn’t care about anyone but himself, yet he cares deeply for his friends and the common good, and if he has to get physical to prove it then he isn't afraid to; he’s adorable and goofy as hell, but is serious and determined when the moment calls for it.

As for Wu-fei, he was my original GW crush when I first picked up the anime with my brother. Just his no-nonsense attitude and cool, aloof, and collected demeanor was always so admirable and intriguing. Stubborn as hell and intelligent to boot, a tsundere through and through.

2. Kanone Hilbert from Spiral

I LOVED HIS ACCENT. Lmbo. He was such a mysterious character and looked after all of the other Blade Children. He cared deeply but had serious mental health issues that he kept from the others, and even at a young age that really resounded with me. He only had one friend with whom he felt he could truly open up to and saw as a brother since their youth. Characters like that honestly break me the most.

3. Tomahome from The Mysterious Play

So, this one wasn’t until years after originally watching the anime–when I got into middle school. My best friend at the time and I always had this runinng inside joke, because the first time Miaka and Tomahome run into each other again after Yui is sent back to the real world, Tomahome has this really funny and macho-esq stance, and it’s freeze-framed for dramatic effect, but it’s hilarious. He loves to tease the other celestial warriors, but would never-the-less die for them (and probably die before admitting it). My favorite relationship is probably his and Tatsuki's (besides him and Miaka)– it started out rough and shakey, but evolved into this hilarious brotherhood. Even though he was totally and utterly devoted to money and “cold. hard. cash.” he had such a benevolent and heart wrenching reason. When he finally opens up and begins to love Miaka, it’s like everything shifts because he made her his one reason, and that ducking hurts. He has such a powerful and emotional backstory, that once you learn about it it’s impossible not to fall for him.

4. Fuji Shūsuke and Eiji Kikumaru from Prince of Tennis

Oh. My. Gosh. Talk about burdensome. 🙄 I adored this manga (then the anime) from the start. What really got it for me at the start was Fuji’s character. He wore this mask of happiness and indifference, always keeping others at arms reach. He never opened up about his demons or his internal struggles until Tezuka basically beats his ass into confiding in him. When it came to the game he turned into another person, focusing solely on his opponent and the game at hand.

As far as Eiji goes he was always so bubbly and carefree, enjoying the little things. He cared for the other players deeply, but his best friend/doubles partner was his closest companion. He’s exuberant and fun, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have his own worries. When he plays he puts his all into it and is almost a perfectionist when it comes to the game, berating himself for his mistakes after a loss.

*looks back then at Hoseok* Oh, God. There's a pattern

5. Yami Bakura from Yu-Gi-Oh!

You know, before he turned out to be the diabolical villain? A two-sided coin–he seemed to have cared and worried for the other players, even while battling them. He was a humble winner and worked exponentially hard to get to where he was, granted for a hidden agenda, yet still. I think even after he turned out to be the villian I was still enamored. Dedicated and persevering, and even emotional, it was plain to see that he wasn’t all truly bad and actually struggling with the duelling personality.

I'll tag... whoever wants to do this! If you see this from me, feel free to tag me in it! I'd love to see if there's a pattern with you all, as well.

[mymurderbooks]

5 Anime Recommendations for Your Stay Home Time

So you’re on lockdown, more or less. You’ve watched the most popular anime recommendations: Sailor Moon, Naruto, Death Note, etc. etc. Here’s some anime I love that you might not have come across yet. Yes, you could be productive, you could (rather unproductively) worry about the future of mankind, but it’s also important to not stress out too much (it weakens your immune system!) and watch some shows.

These are some of my favourite animes. I rate them all five stars and I’ve listed them in no particular order, but I’ve chosen them for different reasons. A couple I think are better than others, notably, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju and Planetes, which are two of the best shows I’ve seen in any format. I won’t give too many spoilers, but briefly summarise the theme of the anime and my impressions, and why I recommend it.

1. Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju English title: Showa and Genroku Era Lover’s Suicide Through Rakugo Studio: Studio Deen First premiered: Winter 2016 Where to watch? You can stream this on Crunchyroll.

Rakugo is a traditional Japanese form of comedic storytelling theatre, and this anime narrates the lives of a line of rakugo performers. This is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen on TV. It’s slow but not draggy, it’s very well paced and nothing feels like filler. It tells the story of the rakugo performers with respect and sensitivity, and above all, subtlety. Everything about this show is elegant, from the artwork to the portrayal of the characters.

Since it’s a show about rakugo, you will see the characters performing rakugo in it, and this is done so realistically and so well that you feel you’re in the theatre with them, which is one reason I think this is a good pick for being in lockdown. I was completely unfamiliar with rakugo before this, but as I watched I became interested enough that I really really wanted to see a show. I was lucky enough that I was able to see an English-language rakugo artist, Katsura Sunshine, perform in London. He travels and does rakugo around the world, so if you get a hankering to see a rakugo performance after watching this anime, that’s something to maybe put on your post-Covid-19 list to look forward to when theatres reopen.

The classic ‘Shinigami’ rakugo performed by Kikuhiko in the anime:

Even if you don’t like anime and don’t normally watch it, I highly recommend you watch this. It’s so good. I promise it’s better than anything on Netflix.

—

2. Planetes Studio: Sunrise Premiered: Fall 2003  Where to watch? It’s streaming on Netflix Japan, but not Netflix anywhere else at the moment, but maybe it will be? The boxset is on sale on Amazon for a lot of money. Sorry, I don’t know where you can watch this at the moment, but if you find a way, I recomend you do.

Planetes is a hard sci-fi anime that follows a team who are, essentially, trash collectors in space (’Debris Section’ of a large corporation). I recommend this as one of the best space shows I’ve seen, and because I find the latest Star Trek series super disappointing. I’m gonna be real, I’m a fan of Next Generation and Captain Picard himself, but Picard (the show) sucks. If you compare it to Planetes, it’s like Picard was written by 14 year olds.

Planetes is very adult, although it may not seem so at first. Stick with the first few episodes, and you’ll find that this show really delivers. It’s dark, but not dark in the way that many Hollywood shows are ‘dark’. Hollywood seems to interpret this to mean violent death murder torture, and there’ll be at least one scene in the season of someone plunging their bare hands into the core of another person’s body, or eye poking torture, but Planetes is dark in that it’s probably one of the more plausible/realistic representations of mankind’s future in space.

In Planetes there’s no alien friends, no federation of planets, no post-money world, no intergalactic battles. There’s just us humans, being shitty, but now we’ve infected space too. Capitalism is worse. Life is harder. There’s crap floating around the universe, and this show follows the underpaid people doing the dangerous job of retrieving it. If you like sci-fi, this is some of the best sci-fi TV, ever.

—

3. Shirokuma Cafe English title: Polar Bear Cafe Studio: Studio Pierrot Premiered: Spring 2012 Where to watch? Streaming on Crunchyroll

This anime revolves around a cafe run by a Polar Bear. It’s a slice of life genre anime. It’s very lighthearted, but also, to me, feels more adult than many adult-oriented shows. In Japan it falls under the category of ‘josei’ anime, ie. anime for adult women.

It’s so lovely. I guess kinda like Cheers, but in a cafe, and far lovelier. The cafe regulars are Panda and Penguin, and Llama sometimes comes in. Grizzly runs a bar (that’s also lovely! You want to go to his bar!) and there’s a human called Sasako who works there. There’s an adorable Red Panda! A bunch of squirrels who sort through coffee! Everything is lovely and cute!

What do they do? Random adorable everyday things. One of my favourite episodes, and a great one to watch in the spring, is the cherry-blossom viewing episode. Some episodes we learn about coffee from the tree squirrels. Sometimes they just sit around the coffee. At some point Panda gets a job at the zoo. They go to a baseball range, etc.

If what you’re looking for is a cute, light-hearted, relaxing show for adults where everybody knows your name and nothing dark happens, I recommend this highly. Particularly if your hobbies are chilling out, going to cafes, drinking coffee, taking walks, flowers - you’ll love this.

There’s a real Shirokuma Cafe (anime-themed cafe) in Tokyo, in Takadanobaba. I visited last year and loved it there! If you end up watching and loving Shirokuma Cafe too, add it to your post-Covid-19 travel cafe bucket list! 

—

4. Sakamachi no Apollon (Apollo on the Slope) English title: Kids on the Slope Studios: Tezuka Productions, Mappa Premiered: Spring 2012 Where can I watch it? Streaming on Crunchyroll

Kids on the Slope is, essentially, a jazz anime. It celebrates jazz. The actual storyline is a coming of age story of some kids who jam together, and they experience adolescence together and grow up and all that, and there’s some romance, some adolescence angst. The art is beautiful. The story is told well. That’s all fine. But really the draw here is jazz.

Jam session:

The unofficial theme song is Moanin’ by Art Blakey. The song features throughout the series, the organ version is particularly good (and I think it only exists in/for this anime). I chose this anime for the list because the characters’ love for jazz is infectious and sparks the fire for jazz within you. It makes you want to play jazz, or at least listen to jazz, or read about jazz, or maybe learn an instrument, and that’s something you can do at home on lockdown. Be inspired by the jazz children!

—

5. Shinsekai Yori English title: From the New World Premiered: Fall 2012 Studio: A-1 Pictures Where can I watch it? Streaming on Crunchyroll

This is a show set in the future. The art is beautiful and moody, the soundtrack is excellent. It’s sci-fi/fantasy, and has a classic setting: a portion of humanity develops psychic powers. This show follows Saki and her friends into their adulthood in an authoritarian dystopia, masquerading as a utopia.

It’s not a coming of age story. This show is dark. It’s also deceptive. The world built in the anime is layered, complex, and it feels like a full, complete, rounded tale, despite being only 25 episodes. It’s ultimately really a story about inequality, power, and the cost of 'civilisation' - I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil it for you, we the viewers begin to understand the full nature of the society the children are growing up in as they do, as it unwraps slowly in each episode.

[hisazuki]

Toshokan Sensou Love & War Bessatsu Hen - Index 22

Toshokan Sensou Love & War Bessatsu Hen - Index 22 raws

Please don’t repost/reuse my scans without permission. Tumblr reblog is fine.

Do not use the raws or translations for scanlations and don’t upload them on other websites. If you need watermark-less images to make graphics, send me an ask (not on anon) and I’ll give you a link - you can only request 3 images per chapter.

ENGLISH

*The happiest day on Earth*

*Today is The Happy Wedding!*

Toshokan Sensou Love & War Bessatsuhen - Index 22

FRANÇAIS

*Le jour le plus heureux sur Terre*

*Aujourd’hui, c’est l’Happy Wedding!*

Toshokan Sensou Love & War Bessatsuhen - Index 22

*I’ve been chasing after his back all this time,*

*and he finally turned to face me.*

*The days we spent sharing plenty of smiles and tears are so dear to me...*

*J’ai suivi son ombre tout ce temps,*

*et il s’est enfin retourné pour me faire face.*

*Ces moments où nous avons partagé tant de sourires et de larmes me sont tellement précieux...*

*And today,*

*I...*

Parents: Hello. It’s nice to see you again for this occasion.

Doujou papa: Our families will be linked now.

Doujou mama: Let’s get along. We’ll be counting on you.

Toshiko: Yes, we’ll be counting on you too.

*Iku’s brothers x3*

*Eldest brother*

*Aaah... Iku’s finally [getting settled]*

Brother: Dad, dad...

*whisper*

*Et aujourd’hui,*

*je...*

Parents: Bonjour. Quelle joie de vous retrouver pour ce grand jour.

Papa Doujou: Nos familles vont être unies désormais.

Maman Doujou: J’espère que nous nous entendrons bien. Nous comptons sur vous

Toshiko: Oui, nous aussi nous comptons sur vous.

*Les frères d’Iku x3*

*Frère aîné*

*Aaah... Iku [se case] enfin*

Frère: Dis, papa...

*chuchote*

Brother: Does mom really agree with this marriage?

Katsuhiro: Toshiko was never against it from the start. Atsushi-kun seems a reliable man.

Katsuhiro: It’s just...

Katsuhiro: She has a hard time accepting they’re both fighters on the front lines.

Shizuka: Come on, brother!

Shizuka: Iku-chan’s done with all the preparations. You should go and see her!

Doujou: I know. Don’t run.

Frère: Maman est vraiment ok avec ce marriage ?

Katsuhiro: Toshiko n’a jamais été contre. Atsushi-kun semble être quelqu’un sur qui on puisse compter.

Katsuhiro: C’est juste que...

Katsuhiro: Elle a un peu de mal à accepter qu’ils soient tous les deux combattants en première ligne.

Shizuka: Allez, grand frère !

Shizuka: Iku-chan en a fini avec tous ses préparatifs. Tu devrais aller la voir !

Doujou: Je sais. Ne cours pas.

Doujou: Good grief!

Brothers: Oh, Atsushi-kun! You look dashing.

*The brothers are all super tall.*

Doujou: Thank you.

Brothers: Take good care of our sister.

Toshiko: *bows* ...

Doujou: Bon sang !

Frères: Oh, Atsushi-kun ! Tu es très élégant.

*Les frères sont tous très grands.*

Doujou: Merci.

Frères: Prends bien soin de notre sœur.

Toshiko: *s’incline* ...

*Phew*

Doujou: Iku, can I come in?

Iku: Yes, go ahead.

*And today, I...*

*Fiouu*

Doujou: Iku, je peux entrer ?

Iku: Oui, vas-y.

*Et aujourd’hui, je...*

[bigger pic here]

*...will marry this man.*

Iku: Atsushi-san!

Iku: How- How do I look? Am I a bit prettier?

Iku: I feel awkward... *glances* You look wonderful, Atsushi-san. ...Am I...

*...vais devenir sa femme.*

Iku: Atsushi-san !

Iku: De- De quoi j’ai l’air ? Est-ce que je parais un peu plus jolie ?

Iku: Je me sens terriblement gênée... *regard furtif* Tu es superbe, Atsushi-san. ...Suis-je...

Iku: ...so ugly that you’re at a loss for words...?

Doujou: Idiot! How did you jump to that?!

Doujou: Don’t you know already?

Doujou: I’m completely under your spell.

Doujou: I’m a lucky fellow...

Iku: ...

Iku: ...tellement moche que ça te laisse coi ?

Doujou: Idiote ! Comment t’en es venue là ?!

Doujou: Tu le sais bien, non ?

Doujou: Je suis complètement sous ton charme.

Doujou: Et je me trouve vraiment chanceux...

Iku: ...

Iku: Right back at you!

Iku: Je te retourne le compliment !

No text / Pas de texte

*All those happy memories...*

*And you were always...*

*...in them.*

*Dans chaque moment de bonheur...*

*tu étais...*

*...toujours là.*

Priest: In sickness and in health, in joy and in pain,

Priest: in riches and in poverty, do you swear to love, respect, comfort, help and honor each other till death do you part?

Doujou: I swear.

Iku: I swear.

Priest: Then please proceed to the exchange of rings.

Prêtre: Jurez-vous de vous aimer, de vous respecter,

Prêtre: de vous soutenir, de vous aider et de vous chérir l’un l’autre dans la santé comme la maladie, dans le bonheur comme dans l’adversité, dans la richesse comme dans la pauvreté, et cela jusqu’à ce que la mort vous sépare ?

Doujou: Je le jure.

Iku: Je le jure.

Prêtre: Alors procédez à l’échange des alliances.

No text / Pas de texte

[bigger pic here]

Priest: You may kiss the bride.

*And you will...*

Prêtre: Vous pouvez embrasser la mariée.

*Et tu continueras...*

*...keep being in them everyday from now on.*

Shibasaki: Aaaah... That was so nice! *And the photos were perfect.*

Tezuka: Didn’t you seem on the verge of crying at some point? *smirk*

Shibasaki: What?!

Tezuka: ...No, nothing...

Komaki: They kept very quiet during the ceremony, but I wonder how they’ll behave at the reception...

*...à être présent dans chacun d’entre eux au quotidien.*

Shibasaki: Aaaah... C’était magnifique ! *Et les photos sont parfaites.*

Tezuka: On aurait dit que tu allais pleurer à un moment, non ? *nyark*

Shibasaki: Comment?!

Tezuka: ...Non, rien...

Komaki: Ils se sont tus pendant toute la durée de la cérémonie, mais je me demande comment ils vont se comporter à la réception...

Komaki: Our dear superiors...

Iku: Phew...

Iku: I was already nervous to death during the ceremony, but now comes the reception!

Iku: Will I be alright? I hope I won’t step on the hem of my dress and fall.

Doujou: The atmosphere should be less tense than during the ceremony. There’s nothing to worry about.

Iku: But...

Doujou: And...

Doujou: *Ahem!*

Doujou: ...I’ll be there with you.

Iku: Atsushi-san... *kyuun*

Host: The bride and groom will now enter the room.

Author notes: I’m so happy I got to draw this wedding chapter. I had a lot of fun drawing it. It looks like it’s the very last chapter, but it’s not (lol). I’m counting on you for the next one!

Komaki: Nos chers supérieurs...

Iku: Fiou...

Iku: Déjà que j’étais tendue à mort pour la cérémonie, maintenant c’est la réception !

Iku: Est-ce que ça va aller ? J’espère que je ne tomberai pas en marchant sur ma robe.

Doujou: L’atmosphère devrait être plus détendue qu’à la cérémonie. Il n’y a pas de raison de s’inquiéter.

Iku: Mais...

Doujou: Et puis...

Doujou: *Ahem !*

Doujou: ...Je serai là à tes côtés.

Iku: Atsushi-san... *kyuun*

Hôte: Le marié et la mariée vont maintenant entrer dans la salle.

Mot de l’auteur: Je suis très heureuse d’avoir pu dessiner ce chapitre avec le mariage. Je me suis beaucoup amusée à le dessiner. On dirait que c’est le tout dernier chapitre de la série, mais ce n’est pas le cas (lol). Je compte sur vous pour le prochain !

Host: Please greet them with a round of applause!

Man (Shindou? Not Genda cause he’s not married): Yo, prince!

Hôte: Accueillez-les par des applaudissements, s’il vous plaît !

Homme (Shindou ? Pas Genda en tout cas car il n’est pas marié): Yo, prince !

Iku & Doujou: !!!

*chatter*

*Moving on without a moment’s delay*

*A real pro*

Host: Oooh, what a great interruption! Describing Atsushi-san, the groom, as a prince is fitting indeed!

Host: Actually, Iku-san was still a high school student when they met...

*clap clap clap*

Host: Iku-san joined the library corps because she admired the “prince” she met at a bookstore...

Host: And as it turns out, that prince... is the very man standing next to her now, Atsushi-san!

Iku & Doujou: !!!

*murmures*

*Elle enchaîne direct*

*Une vraie pro*

Hôte: Oooh, cette interruption arrive à point nommé ! Qualifier Atsushi-san, le marié, de prince est tout à fait à propos !

Hôte: En fait, Iku-san était encore lycéenne lorsqu’ils se sont rencontrés...

*clap clap clap*

Hôte: Iku-san a rejoint le groupe d’intervention des bibliothèques car elle admirait le “prince” qu’elle avait rencontré dans une librairie...

Hôte: Et il se trouve que ce prince... est justement l’homme qui se tient en ce moment à ses côtés, Atsushi-san !

Host: How romantic! ♥ Yes! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say fate brought those two together.

Iku: *Uwaaaaah!!*

*clap clap clap*

Voice: Woohoo! ♥ 

Iku: *Aaaah... Atsushi-san is eyeing death threats at the task force table...*

Genda: *Ahahahahaha!*

Iku: Ah, Atsushi-san, your face!

Iku: We’ve got other guests...

Iku: *I must keep it together!*

Doujou: Mh... y-you’re right. *Sorry...*

Komaki: Well, well... Now they’ve had it. *My stomach hurts*

Shibasaki: *pretends to cough to hide her laughter*

Tezuka: Officer first class...

Hôte: Comme c’est romantique ! ♥ Oui ! Ce ne serait pas trop de dire que c’est le destin qui les a réuni.

Iku: *Uwaaaaah !!*

*clap clap clap*

Voix: Woohoo ! ♥

Iku: *Aaaah... Atsushi-san adresse des regards mortels à la table de la force de défense...*

Genda: *Ahahahahaha !*

Iku: Ah, Atsushi-san, ton visage !

Iku: Nous avons d’autres invités...

Iku: *Je dois garder la tête froide !*

Doujou: Mh... T-tu as raison. *Désolé...*

Komaki: Eh bien... Ils se sont bien fait avoir. *J’ai mal au ventre*

Shibasaki: *fait semblant de tousser pour cacher son fou rire*

Tezuka: Officier 1ère classe...

Katsuhiro: It’s a lively reception.

Voice: Whoo! Prince!

Toshiko: ...

Katsuhiro: Toshiko?

*Thus...*

*the banquet where every attendant later said “the groom’s expression was as hard as concrete but it was a great reception”...*

*...proceeded...*

Orikuchi: Okay, I’ll take pictures. Smile!

Katsuhiro: C’est une réception animée.

Voix: Whoo ! Prince !

Toshiko: ...

Katsuhiro: Toshiko ?

*Ainsi...*

*le banquet dont chaque invité dit plus tard que “l’expression du marié était figée comme du béton mais c’était une magnifique réception”...*

*...se poursuivit...*

Orikuchi: Ok, je vais prendre des photos. Souriez !

[bigger pic here]

Orikuchi: Bridegroom, stop frowning!

*...proceeded without mishaps.*

Iku: *Touma-sensei!*

Voice: Whoo! With this color you look even more like a prince!

Doujou: *Death glance*

Orikuchi: Si le marié pouvait arrêter de froncer les sourcils !

*...se poursuivit sans anicroche.*

Iku: *Touma-sensei !*

Voix: Whoo ! On dirait encore plus un prince avec ces vêtements !

Doujou: *Regard meurtrier*

Doujou: ... *Phew...*

Doujou: ... *Fiouuu...*

Doujou: It’s finally over...

Iku: I... I’m sorry for the prince thing and everything...

Doujou: No, it’s not your fault...

Toshiko: Atsushi-san.

Doujou: Mother-in-law.

Toshiko: So you were the library officer Iku met when she was high school...

Toshiko: I had no idea...

Doujou: ...I’m sorry.

Doujou: C’est enfin terminé...

Iku: Je... Je suis désolé pour le “prince” et tout...

Doujou: Non, ce n’est pas de ta faute...

Toshiko: Atsushi-san.

Doujou: Belle-maman.

Toshiko: Alors c’était toi le bibliothécaire qu’Iku a rencontré quand elle était au lycée...

Toshiko: Je n’en savais rien...

Doujou: ...Je suis désolé.

Doujou: It’s my fault Iku-san chose this occupation...

Toshiko: This is so wonderful! Why didn’t you tell me about it sooner?!

Toshiko: She fell in love with the prince she admired and married him! *This is great! Oooh! So romantic! What should I do?!*

Katsuhiro: Iku, Atsushi-kun... Mother is...

Katsuhiro: She’s become uncontrollably excited ever since she learned the truth... *I’m a bit tired just standing next to her...*

Doujou: C’est ma faute si Iku-san a choisi ce métier...

Toshiko: C’est merveilleux ! Pourquoi ne me l’avez-vous pas dit plus tôt ?!

Toshiko: Elle est tombée amoureuse du prince qu’elle admirait et elle l’a épousé ! *C’est génial ! Oooh ! C'est tellement romantique ! Qu’est-ce que je vais faire ?!*

Katsuhiro: Iku, Atsushi-kun... Maman est...

Katsuhiro: Elle est extatique depuis qu’elle connaît la vérité... *Je suis fatigué rien que d’être à côté d’elle...*

Toshiko: Atsushi-san!

Toshiko: Once again, please take good care of Iku!

Doujou: ...

Doujou: I will.

Katsuhiro: *Come on, let’s sit over there for a while.*

Toshiko: *Aaah, it’s so beautiful...*

Iku: ...

Iku: This means...

Toshiko: Atsushi-san !

Toshiko: Encore une fois, prends bien soin d’Iku !

Doujou: ...

Doujou: Oui.

Katsuhiro: *Allez, allons nous asseoir là-bas un peu.*

Toshiko: *Aaah, c’est magnifique...*

Iku: ...

Iku: Ça veut dire que...

Iku: ...all’s well that ends well, right? Atsushi-san!

Doujou: ...

Iku: We’ll have to thank our superiors for this.

Doujou: I absolutely forbid you to.

*And that was how...*

*...our new life began...*

Doujou: Are we done carrying all the boxes in?

Iku: ...tout est bien qui fini bien, n’est-ce pas ? Atsushi-san !

Doujou: ...

Iku: Nous devrons en remercier nos supérieurs.

Doujou: Je te l’interdis.

*Et c’est ainsi...*

*...que notre nouvelle vie commença...*

Doujou: Il y a encore des cartons à ramener ?

Iku: Yes! *Let’s take a break!*

Iku: It was easier than I thought. Thankfully the single dorms aren’t far.

Iku: And we’re still whithin base grounds.

Iku: *Shibasaki’s close by.*

Doujou: Well, we’ll tidy everything up during our free time...

Doujou: But first, how about planning and dividing up the housework, dear wife?

Iku: Non ! *Faisons une pause !*

Iku: C’était plus facile que je ne le pensais. Heureusement que le dortoir des célibataires n’est pas loin.

Iku: Et puis nous sommes toujours à l’intérieur de la base.

Iku: *Shibasaki est toute proche.*

Doujou: Bah, on finira de tout ranger petit à petit durant nos pauses et nos congés...

Doujou: Mais d’abord, que dirais-tu de nous répartir les tâches ménagères, ma très chère femme ?

Iku: Okay!

*...with casual days.*

Sign: Doujou Atsushi & Iku

Iku: D’accord !

*...avec un quotidien ordinaire.*

Panneau: Doujou Atsushi & Iku

Hisa’s thoughts on the chapter:

Toshiko is a Doujou fangirl like the rest of us rofl XD

I realized Doujou’s parents and Iku’s brothers still don’t have names :-( The japanese wikipedia page doesn’t have that information either so I guess they were never given names by the original novelist and shall forever remain nameless...

This chapter is how the first bessatsu novel ends. The 2nd novel begins with Ogata’s past story, so maybe it’ll be less interesting to you for a while but after that we *should* have more Shibasaki & Tezuka.

[bookwyrmling]

So today in @wipweek was Canon WIP, which...I apparently don’t actually have? So I worked on a mostly canon-compliant future fic that is long long long overdue.

So here’s a scene from Bread, Salt and a Sprig of Barley:

Fandom: Prince of Tennis Characters: Seishun Team Notes: Gen scene in Pillar Pair fic

“Wow! It’s like...it’s different but the same.”

“It seems smaller, you know.”

“Isn’t it just that you’re bigger?”

“Haha, I guess it could be that.”

“It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since we were last here.”

“It’s hard to believe I’m even here. I haven’t left Tokyo for more than business trips since graduating high school. I haven’t left the country since my junior high graduation trip.”

“With all the time I spent helping Gen-san in Hokkaido, I feel kind of bad leaving my dad to mind the shop on his own again.”

“But wasn’t he the one who said you should take a break with your friends, Taka-san?”

The small group of Japanese tourists worked their way through the Munich Airport. They had grabbed their bags from the baggage claim and were now working their way through customs, the more exuberant members of the group drawing glances here and there. The terminal was filled with other international travelers, including many tourists just as excited to be there as this particular group.

“Echizen and Tezuka said they’d be waiting right after customs, right?” Kawamura questioned, his voice small in demonstration of the wariness they all felt in being in such an obviously foreign land, whose signs they spent five minutes muttering over while trying to decipher before Fuji pointed them in the right direction after they gave up and were eyeing the employees for the likeliest one to understand their chopped English. “I’ve already called Tezuka and he said he is waiting with Echizen,” Fuji replied before they turned a corner and caught sight of a tall, bespectacled man and another dark-haired man of average height. Momoshiro snorted at the way Echizen had his signature cap pulled low to avoid being recognized. Someone would likely recognize his hat before they would his face.

“Oi! Echizen! Tezuka-san!” Momoshiro called out while waving his free hand into the air. Tezuka nodded his recognition while Echizen pulled his cap down even further. He must have said something because Tezuka turned his head in the younger man’s direction and Echizen’s slouch only deepened.

Eyes and attention from the terminal centered on the two tennis stars and Fuji laughed. They were a day away from the start of the BMW Open. Even if the terminal was not filled with individuals visiting Munich to see the competition, anyone who followed international sports news knew those two names. Tezuka had made a name for himself with his clean and well-thought out tennis. He was being compared to Federer quite regularly, especially as the Swiss star was nearing the age of expected retirement, even if he was still going strong. Echizen, on the other hand, had entered professional tennis like a bottle rocket and his quick rise in the ranks was often compared to Nadal. Whenever asked to comment on the comparison, Echizen would snort and say he wouldn’t be giving up his number one spot once he got it.

“Look what you did now, Peach Butt,” Kaidoh pointed out with a glare as a few individuals stepped up to the two identified athletes pulling out pens and scratch pieces of paper. Several camera flashes and clicks went off—not all of them belonging to Fuji—and Echizen seemed to shrink and disappear behind the older pro. Tezuka conceded to the requests for autographs, taking the attention upon himself and the old Seigaku regulars watched until another individual sidled up to them.

“If you guys don’t get a move-on, all those signatures are going to be for nothing.”

“Ah, Echizen, there you are,” Fuji offered with a smile.

“Ochibi!” Kikumaru greeted as he flung his arms over Echizen’s shoulders. While the professional was no longer the shortest in the group—and had, actually, been on the taller side of average for his age even when he had been—he was still the youngest and Kikumaru had made it clear the nickname he’d garnered in junior high would be one he was stuck with for life.

“Hm, I see, so Tezuka will throw himself in front of fans in order to protect Echizen, who prefers to avoid them,” Inui muttered, pulling a notebook and pen out of his carry-on. Echizen rolled his eyes because of course Inui would still be keeping data on Tezuka.

“Not really,” the youngest corrected with a shrug, “Buchou doesn’t like them, either. He’s just better at it than me. He cares about their feelings and whatnot.”

“It’s not a matter of better or caring, Echizen,” a stern voice scolded as they slipped outside, Echizen having found himself hidden amongst the group after Momoshiro had pulled his cap off, calling it the most recognizable part about him, “It’s a matter of responsibility and duty, not to mention an opportunity to stoke another person’s passion for the game.”

“And Tezuka, I’m sure you are quite the passionate person,” Fuji quipped with a sly smirk which the taller man immediately ignored as he turned to greet Oishi and lead the group to a van waiting outside.

“Tezuka’s always struck me as being about as passionate as a rock,” Momoshiro muttered to himself at the back of the group. Echizen, who had taken up space next to him after escaping Kikumaru’s odd demands that he walk right next to Tezuka, snickered.