#i'm reading ch 310

[pixelkip]

Curiosities of Lotus Asia ch. 35 has an Aibo in it and I'm gonna be a nerd about it.

Ok I have no idea just how many touhou fans are aware of Laika, Rinnosuke's robot dog introduced in CoLA ch35 but if you're not aware, he finds this robot and it causes all sorts of chaos and wrecks his shop, and they eventually find out its possessed by a puppy spirit. If you're at all curious, go read it on the touhou wiki if you haven't already.

How do I know for sure that it's an Aibo? Well, on top of the fact it definitely resembles one, Sumireko suggests naming it Aibo and in BAiJR Aya literally says it's an aibo. This is one of the few things she probably didn't lie about in this book bc how the hell would she otherwise even know what an aibo is TO be able to lie about it.

(Side note, the official name is just "AIBO", im not sure why she calls it AIBO buddy here, maybe bc aibo is a pun on the japanese word meaning buddy but why tack it onto the end? Idk)

Ok for those who don't know what an aibo is, it's a series of robot dogs Sony made, there were several models released between 1999-2006, and later had the ers-1000 in 2018 which is still available (and I personally have an ers-111 :3)

Pictured: aibo models ers-310, 220, 110, 210, and 7

Ok, so, what kind of AIBO is Laika then?

This is where it gets.. confusing.

this line from sumireko would imply it's an ers-110, as it was the very first model of aibo ever released.

But.. laika doesn't look much like a 110

Ok the way she's drawn doesn't look that close to ANY real model of aibo, but the drawing makes her look more like a 210, with the (probably) white coloration, visor shape, and upturned ears.

(110 vs 210)

It's also possible she doesnt resemble any model too closely to avoid copyright issues, but even then she visually resembles a 210 much more than a 110.

Other than that ch35 doesn't give us much else to determine her model, she doesn't display any particular behaviors that would indicate it, rinnosuke says her expressions can't be read implying her eye lights are non functional, and that she's completely silent. Aibos LOVE to make noise, and usually communicate through music and tones, so it's likely the animal spirit is simply pup-petting (hehe) a nonfunctional aibo body. Rinnosuke also mentions that it's begun to actually listen to him, which would imply a 210 or later (110 and 111 do not have voice recognition) if it weren't for the possibility that again, it's just the puppy controlling it.

So there's a few possibilities here.

- zun didn't depict her to be any particular model to not get smited by sony's lawyers

- she is a 110 but for whatever reason, be it a miscommunication or just zun or the artist deciding it didn't matter that much, that isn't reflected in the art

- sumireko is wrong, and she is a 210

Or maybe she's just a 110 with some cool customization, like paint and custom ear pieces. Then again, she did pass into gensokyo meaning she's been totally forgotten, and that seems less likely if someone took the time to customize her.

So now im curious. Given the evidence, what do YOU think laika is? Even if you didn't know shit about aibo before this post, hell, ESPECIALLY if you didn't, what do you think?

Personally I kinda like to think she's a 210 bc I think they're neat. Maybe even a gold 210, since the yellow tinge in the cover art makes her look like the very pale gold of the pale gold 210s. But as an existing aibo enjoyer I'm a little biased

I really hope laika gets to come back at some point, I have a little bit of hope since beast spirits as a plot point have become a lot more significant. She seems like a very good doggy :]

If you for some reason read all of this thank you for indulging my insanity

[uozlulu]

Black Clover chapter 310 reaction and spoilers

The oldest Zogratis brother tells Zenon in a flashback, “The weak die easily. It's impossible to protect them all. In that case, we'll destroy them temporarily, then we'll regenerate them, this time with undying bodies! With the devils’ power, we four, the Zogratis siblings, can use our magic to remake humanity. Fortunate citizens who have no fear of death, let us create a truly peaceful Spade Kingdom!” Then the text underscores “…for the prosperity of the Spade Kingdom!!!” which we know is part of Zenon’s motivations for taking on Beelzebub as his devil. There’s a lot to unpack here including the visual. One major question is: Does the oldest brother actually believe this or is this how he’s convincing Zenon to join them? We know that Zenon dragged his feet a bit in receiving a devil. It also makes me curious if the devil that Zenon encountered with Allen was sent by the oldest brother to manipulate the situation.

The visual is also interesting here too. Once again, we see the oldest brother this time with Vanica and Dante standing behind him. The oldest brother’s face is obscured, but we can tell that he’s likely a rather tall man who’s in a wheel chair. The absence of the face raises a lot of questions, because I would think we either a) know who he is or b) know who he’s related to. If we’ve already met him, no clue who he’d be, but if he looks like someone we know, it wouldn’t surprise me if he looks like Damnatio since Damnatio looks like he could also be a Zogratis. Also wouldn’t surprise me if the oldest brother looks like Yuno or perhaps Loyce since the Zogratis siblings being a bastard strain of the royal family would make some sense since their hair seems to do similar things that Yuno’s hair does. Also wouldn’t surprise me if it’s something more out of left field like the oldest Zogratis looks a bit like a young Father Orsi, and this is going to be part of a bridge to the Spade Arc being part of a larger devil and angel saga like how from the magic knight award luncheon to the end of the Elf Reincarnation Arc could be arguably an Eye of the Midnight Sun saga.

Speaking of the oldest sibling and who might potentially possess him, I’m thinking it’s going to be Satan. Vanica has a devil that doesn’t exist in mythos but is the origin point of curses, Zenon has Beelzebub, and Dante has Luciferio (Lucifer). So Satan would fit in with that group of devils. Mythologically, Satan and Lucifer, while both cast out of Heaven for defying God, aren’t necessarily the same mythological figure, though many think them to be because of their similar origin points. Satan is more the snake in the Garden of Eden while Lucifer is associated with Venus. Also it seems like if the oldest Zogratis is a devil user, then it would make sense he would be a devil that could outrank Lucifer, which would be Satan I would think. It’ll be interesting to see where this is going either way.

Yuno achieves Saint Stage, which is “when the resonance between a spirit and its host between a spirit and its host is very close to 100%.” I would assume the spirit in question here is Licht and Tetia’s child more so than Sylph who is an Elemental since part of what allowed this to happen is Yuno’s constant proximity to death during the battle against Zenon. What I like most about this is I would think that this is one of those moves that can’t easily be reproduced, that the only way to achieve it is for Yuno and the child to be united in the goal of surviving. It’s a nice touch like how Yuno’s stars have a decay rate and possibly a regeneration wait. It helps elevate Yuno to keep him and Asta as equals without making Yuno so OP he has to go like sit in a box or something.

Now that we’ve defeated Dante, Vanica, and Zenon, and also met their oldest brother in flashbacks, seems like we’re closer than ever before to what shoe’s about to drop. It’s going to be exciting to see what that is and how it likely connects back to the oldest Zogratis.

[globodamorte]

GK SPOILERS FOR CH.310!!

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I'm.honestly in awe of how perfect his death was. he didn't get a redemption arc. he didn't let himself get one, which is pretty in character tbh. the way his whole life is full of self punishing and self sabotaging, guided by a philosophy that he only follows out of fear. "if I was loved? what then?" I love how he came to the final conclusion by himself, no one told him "oh you poor soul you're actually loved silly boy!" he just realized it by himself. and the breakdown he has while doing so is honestly .. chefs kiss.

ogata couldn't get a happy ending. it would be too ooc for him. he sealed his own fate, and realized his mistake too late. like, I'm sorry. as many other characters in Golden kamuy, it's a shame but there was no way. and who's to say that accepting his feelings of guilt, feeling loved, blessed for an instant and reuniting with his brother isn't a good ending for him? he's free of himself now.

also? asirpa hasn't killed anyone yet because ogata shot himself before the poison killed him. maybe he didn't even realize it and I'm reading too much into it, but it's nice to see one last act of him protecting asirpas "innocence", that draws yet another parallel between him and sugimoto. I bet he would feel.. uhh.. guilty lmao

having the realization happen with all ogatas from so many periods of his life is at the same time super cool but also acts like he's reflecting on his entire life journey. his life passing before his eyes, and him accepting (because realizing? he kind of already knew but was in such extreme denial that he was kinda trapped by it) his mistakes and true feelings simultaneously.

I kinda wish he would have cried a little. not in a "oh.... what is this...?" way but in a "azula after she gets chained to the floor" way.

in a "the fragile philosophy that guided my life was just shattered and I ruined myself and so many others for nothing and I feel so bad about it despite pretending I don't for over 20 years. also I'm in a lot of pain" way.

I also wish his delirium of yuusaku was a little more idk... affectionate. I think it would contribute and escalate his breakdown more up until the climax. maybe some changes will be made when the volume is released, but who knows.

his last line "brother, you were born a blessed child" also is perfect bc that's the last thing ogata thought he would hear in his life (even if it was a delusion of his IDC) it counters all the times he thought and thought and said to himself and others that he is cursed, defective, broken from the start and that there is no hope for him. but he Chose that broken path.

I'm also glad he said it himself. he CHOSE it. maybe he was afraid, maybe he was desperate, maybe he was so isolated that he couldn't possibly find another solution, after all he was a child, desperate for love and attention. maybe it's all of that together. but I'm glad that he doesn't shy away from it. he acknowledges that even so, he still was very in the wrong and his actions are not suddenly ok because he's so fucked up, and I really appreciate that.

edit: also I'm glad he was smiling.

[uozlulu]

BnHA chapter 310 reaction and spoilers

Last week when I read chapter 309 I had this moment where I realized I was straight up bored, and as 310 opens I see two key problems that is attributing to that boredom:

1) The narrative is stuck in a kind of passive approach. From the page of deaths to multiple pockets of summary to flashbacking to Inko visiting in the hospital, we’re losing a sense of an active narrative, a narrative moving constantly forward like the energy we had in earlier arcs. Part of this problem I think is the fact that so many things are wrapping up at the same time other things are getting set up, and it’s a lot to juggle. Kind of makes me curious what’s going on with the editing process because it seems like the something editor should be helping avoid if possible (or this is the result of the editing process and there’s just so much to juggle this is the best it can be for what it’s trying to do). 2) We kept getting information repeated. Repetition in shounen is inevitable, but usually when we get repetition it’s because it’s been a while and we might need a reminder of something we technically learned like a year or so ago. It feels like things like for example, the stakes of Midoriya’s current situation, have been repeated at us in relatively rapid succession. We know it’s imperative he unlocks OFA at 100%. We know he’s a target. Trust us to remember recent information and move forward since this isn’t the first volume of a manga we’re getting to know.

That said, I don’t have beef with us returning to the OFA meeting from a while back because it makes sense to spread that meeting out and break up that information a bit because that is one of the tricks to keeping things moving forward.

It makes sense that the second and third users see Shigaraki as being AFO rather than a victim of AFO. Not only because that’s the hurdle a lot of characters are going to have to confront in the process of saving Shigaraki, but also they might consider Shigaraki a lost cause depending on if this isn’t the first time AFO has had to transfer bodies potentially temporarily. I mean this seems like something AFO has had to do before because not only did he and Ujiko seem to know what they needed to do, but AFO might have targeted Shigaraki directly in childhood before the clash with All Might that left both of them disfigured like AFO knew he would need a backup just in case. It also makes me curious about what they’re going to do with his old body too since he made a point of reuniting with it during the Tartarus jailbreak.

Maybe we’ll get lucky and as “things more quickly” the narrative will return to its less clunky tone.