#i've only watched the anime and half the manga guys

[opmshitposts]

[lovdlydaz]

❝ TOUCH ME WHERE YOU NEED TO, I CAN GIVE YOU MORE. ❞

loser!choi soobin x black!afab!reader

poor soobin, always been tortured and bullied at school just for being different and caring about his grades. but, need not worry, as you, his lovely best friend, show him things he would only ever dream about.

warnings: virgin!soobin, pervy!soobin, switch!reader, subby soobie, p in v, unprotected sex, m!masturbation, butt loads of praise, little tidbits of degradation, pet names, mommy kink, big dick soobin, js soobin being a little wimp enjoy

a/n: sorry for being so absent y'all, a lot has happened over these past months and i've been on and off in this community. i will try my hardest to get back in full swing since it is summer for me, but it isn't a promised guarantee. however, i will be writing more content for both k-pop and anime, since both are very prevalent in my headspace rn. but subby stupid loser soobin has been rotting in my mind for so long i just had to write about it, so please enjoy this as much as i most definitely did. love y'all, enjoy!!

it was never a quiet day in soobin's life, having to deal with all sorts of things from his work being shoved off his desk to food being thrown at him during lunch hours. this was his senior year of college and, by now, these childish adults should be over this phase right? but, sadly, since he had told people that he thought were his friends that he hadn't been laid ever in his life, they told the entire school and now every person that he comes in contact with either tries to seduce him or make fun of him because of this fact.

but not you, you were different.

soobin had always taken a liking to you, being his roommate and the one person that he could be himself with. he didn't have to make up a persona or have to be this way in order to be accepted, no, you liked and had in common some stuff that he liked, like anime and DnD. he was more than grateful that you didn't torment him like half of the school did, and that you were a pure soul that could do no wrong.

he followed you like a puppy ever since you two met, which you didn't mind but it sort of gave you scary dog privileges. every time you went to the store, he was right besides you with his headphones around his neck and hands in his pockets. no guys would try to mess with you since your 6'1 guy best friend looked like he could kill someone, but he would never.

he would wander off in parts of the store and come back with different manga/funko pops he would find of his favorite anime characters, begging you to buy them for him since he didn't have a stable job nor stable money. you were kind enough to buy it for him and watch him add it to his collection of funko pops on his shelf filled with manga and figurines and all sorts of other things. you watched as he happily organized his collection, giggling like a little girl as he stacked jujutsu kaisen volumes together like a jenga puzzle.

everything he did, you found adorable and innocent. however, he was far from it.

while you were asleep, he would crawl into your room and go through your dirty laundry, grabbing your freshly used underwear and crawling back to his room with them. he would hold them until his nose as he jerked off, moaning your name as he orgasmed right on them. of course he would wash them and put them back in your drawer without you noticing, but you never seemed to wake up despite all of that.

soobin never felt guilty about it either, since that was the closest thing to sex that he would ever get, that he thought of.

one day, you two were walking to the mall, your hair bouncing with your steps due to your letting your curls out in a controlled afro. he watched your smaller form move with your little pink skirt with your pink clothes and nice pink accessories. you had a bit of a bimbo aesthetic, not really so but you dressed in girly colors and girly clothes, never giving a care in the world what others had to say.

you were going to the store to go to a store that soobin specifically wanted to go to. it was a clothing store that also had some mangas in the back of them, but this time he didn't go for the mangas. instead, he wanted to go to the men's section to see what clothes he could get, since he had been wearing the same 5 hoodies ever since his freshman year. you went over with him of course, since you had fashion sense that he had no clue of what that even meant.

he looked at a shirt that had some cool little cartoon designs on it, along with some baggy jeans that had stars on them. he turned to you and held them out, your eyes lighting up and nodding at him for approval. "yes soobie! that fit is so hard," you giggled, soobin smiling at your excitement but he was heading to the changing room. you followed behind him, watching him as he went into the men's room.

he came out in the outfit and it looked so good on him, a little too good in fact. it had your eyes raise in shock and you biting your lip, his whole aesthetic was coming together nicely and it had you feeling things you thought you wouldn't feel for a while. especially for your best friend since freshman year, which was probably why and how these feelings developed overtime.

you chewed your lip as he walked up to you, holding his arms out and looking down at you. "you really do like it?" he asked, pushing his hair out of his face so he could see your face better. "y... yes! yes i do like it choi. it looks really good on you," you softly spoke, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion but he didn't think much of it. he just shrugged and went back to the changing room, getting his regular clothes on and taking the store clothes off.

after that, the whole day was filled with soobin using pinterest as his inspiration to find the coolest outfits that fit his aesthetic. you were happy he was finally starting to gain some confidence in his clothes, the outfits getting from baggy to tight to baggier to tighter. he had a good body so each outfit fit him perfectly, and you enjoyed the tighter outfits better than the baggy ones.

it was starting to get dark outside, so that was when you decided it was time to leave. you grabbed all of your shopping bags (you and soobin's), before the taller man stopped you. "oh y/n, you don't have to carry all the bags. let me do it," and he did. he grabbed all the bags out of your hands with no struggle, walking them to your car and putting them in the back. you smiled and followed after him, loving how kind he was towards you.

it was a nice drive home and you were enjoying his company, even though he was yapping to you about the newest episode of mha that had just came out that day. he had watched it before you two had left and it was plaguing his mind the whole time. he was so excited about it, even though he had the entire manga on his bookshelf that he read about 10 times in the span of 2 years. you didn't mind it however, since he was so cute when he was excited.

once you two got back to the dorms he took all the bags up the stairs and into your shared rooms, you right behind him and opening the door for him since his hands were very full. he walked in and dropped the bags down on the couch, turning around to see you closing the door behind him and locking it. he smiled as he made his way over to the kitchen, immediately going to the fridge since he was a bit hungry from all the escapades you both had went on.

you had decided to cook for the evening, letting him have time to grab all the bags and put them in your respective rooms. he realized how much you really spent on him and yourself, and he was just wondering how in the hell you had so much money. but, then he remembered that you did have a super rich family, and you were very smart so the school was paying you on a full academic scholarship. he was more than grateful though, so he would do something in order to make it up to you.

he would just have to think about it.

even though soobin was a loser and unemployed, he promised that he would still try to get you something special. just because you were his best friend didn't mean that he couldn't treat you nicely. so, he went to a store that you absolutely loved, a makeup store at that, and bought an item that you had wanted but it was out of stock when you both had went the other day. he also purchased a little bag with some stuffing paper, making it a nice little gift with a card inside.

he set it down on your bed when you were at class, since he didn't have class today. and since he didn't have class, he was going to cook for when you got home.

it took a lot of trials and tribulations in order to make a meal that he assumed would remind you of your home back in america, so it was a standard american meal. chicken tenders with fries and some fruit punch on the side. he made the chicken tenders from scratch and used some seasonings that you had brought from your home back there to use in the food. he knew that you were going to love this, and he was all the way right.

as soon as you got home your nose was hit with the wonderful scent of very good food in the kitchen, a smile on your face as you walked over to where the scent was originating from. you were pleasantly surprised to see choi soobin in the kitchen, wearing a tank top and shorts while cooking some more fries. you couldn't hold back your gratitude, going up to him and hugging him tightly.

"thanks soobie! you're the greatest person in the entire world," you beamed, making him 1. blush, 2. stutter over his words and 3. involuntarily gain a massive boner from the hug. he was very thankful for the baggy shorts however, and how he had tucked his cock in his pants to where it was barely noticeable. you did notice though, but you didn't speak about it.

the dinner was filled with laughter and gossip, you telling him about your girl drama while he ranted to you about his gaming prowess. it was a great dinner, and you were both very tuckered out by the time the sun fell.

going to your room you went to grab some clothes, putting your freshly done braids in your bonnet before going to the bathroom and closing the door. that gave soobin the advantage of going into your room and laying on your pillow. he could smell every bit of you, every single scent that lingered on you today was on the pillow and god did it make him hard as a rock.

he palmed himself through his shorts, groaning soft chants of your name and getting so caught up in it that he hadn't realized the shower had cut off, and you were now watching him with a towel wrapped around your body.

his glasses were fallen off his face at this point, tilted as he softly whimpered praise about how you smelled and how pretty you looked. he was so desperate for you that he couldn't stop himself from imagining how your pussy felt, how it smelled, how it tasted, everything about it. he wanted you so badly but he was too much of a pussy to ask you out, and too scared to lose the friendship that he had worked so hard to maintain.

you were his only friend, he couldn't lose one of the only people that understood how he was and why he was this way. he couldn't lose you, so that's why he only fantasized about you.

so, when he finally came back from his imagination his eyes traveled everywhere until they were met with yours. he jumped so hard he tumbled off the bed, quickly getting up and going to leave before you stopped him, despite you being much shorter and weaker than he was. he still let you stop him by standing in his way, giving him a fake disgusted expression even though you were dripping on your thighs right now.

"soobin, what the fuck?" you spat, making the pale boy look down in shame and fear. he knew that he was going to fuck this up, so small tears came into his eyes as the realization of what he had done and the punishment for it finally crawled into his mind. "y/n i— i'm so sorry... i'll leave if you want i... i'm sorry." he mumbled softly, trying to push past you but you didn't let him.

your hand traveled to his chin and you tilted it up, forcing him to look down at you, but in the eyes this time. you didn't say anything, but you just wiped his tears away and smiled sweetly at him. "soobie... don't cry. i'm not mad or disgusted at all, i'm just a little shocked is all," you admitted sincerely, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion. "why are you shocked?" he asked, making you chew on your lip and remove your hands from his face.

"well... i mean, this is one of the first times i've had a guy come into my room and sniff my pillows while moaning my name. so who wouldn't be a little shocked in this situation?" you giggled, making him loosen up a little bit. "yeah... you're right. so... you're not mad at all?" he softly questioned, making you shake your head. "no choi, i'm not mad at all," you reiterated, making him smile brightly at that.

however, you were pretty desperate as well, soaking between your legs and you were still very much naked underneath the towel. soobin also noticed how your voluptuous breasts were starting to poke through the towel, making them a lot more perky than he would normally see them. he could feel his cock throb at that, him gulping a little to keep the saliva from crawling out of his mouth. "though..." you trailed off, making him snap back to reality and realize that he was basically staring dead at your chest.

"it was pretty hot seeing you like that honestly... i know you've never had sex or a girlfriend before, so... i want to ask something of you," you got closer to him, standing on your tippy toes to try to be even with the man's face. "can i be your first?" you asked, not making a move until he said something. he lost his breath as soon as you asked that, mouth dry and heart threatening to pump straight out of his chest because of that revelation.

he needed a second to come down from cloud nine in order to answer you, so you let him. after a second though he nodded his head, you leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. his eyes widened in shock, he had never kissed a girl before, and this was like heaven on earth. he was so happy to be tasting your lips as his first time, and... you would be his first time for everything.

despite his avid use of the orange and black website that most pre-teens to bitchless adults go to for entertainment, he didn't have a fucking clue of what the hell he was doing. he just knew that you weren't letting go of the kiss, so he wouldn't either. that was until you did pull away, which had him chasing your lips desperately because he didn't want to let them go. he just wanted to be near you and be all over you, which he would in a while.

you giggled and got off your tippy toes, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the bed. you put yourself on the bed and laid down, beckoning him to come over to you. he did so in an instant, he was so obedient and it was turning you on even more. you grabbed his face and started to kiss him deeper, having him on top of you made this even better since you could feel all of him all over your body and feel the way he squirmed under your touch.

you could tell that he was very nervous, the way he couldn't even touch your body and how stiff he was in the kiss was a tell-tale sign of it all. so, you pulled away (much to his dismay) and placed a hand on his chubby bunny cheeks. "soobie, you don't have to be so tense with me. i know this is your first time being intimate with someone, but you have to trust me, okay baby?" you spoke in a compassionate tone, the pet name just slipping out. he obviously didn't object to that but it seriously caught him off guard, which made his cheeks redden with a small nod.

you smiled softly at him before sitting up, gently pushing him down so now his head was at the edge of your bed. you took the towel and sat up on your knees, slowly removing it and exposing your naked beautiful body. well, he saw it as beautiful, even though you had some chub around your hips and thighs, but he didn't mind that. in fact, it seemed to turn him on more. he saw every aspect of you as a goddess in his mind, a person who could do absolutely no wrong. he was so in love with you, and he was very happy that he was able to get his virginity taken by someone like you.

once the towel was off you threw it to the ground, crawling towards soobin and straddling his hips. you leaned down and started to softly kiss his neck, causing him to let out a shocked noise at the sudden feeling of your plump lips on his sensitive neck. quite frankly, everywhere on him was sensitive, despite how many sessions him and his right hand had late at night. maybe because it was you, he wasn't quite sure. he just wanted this feeling to continue.

you trailed your lips down to his covered chest, looking at him and basically asking with your eyes if you could take off his tank top. "can i?" which was followed by an immediate "yes mommy," which had you a little taken aback. once he realized what he had just said he sat up quick, knocking you back a little and forcing your ass straight onto his clothes cock. he bit back a groan as small tears gathered in his eyes, covering his face and hiding it with his large ass hands.

" 'm sorry y/n— i-i didn't mean to say that it just— it just slipped out," he was basically pleading with you not to leave, he wanted to lose his virginity to you, he wanted you to take him however you wanted him to. he was about to cry when you just chuckled and kissed his cheek, making him flush harder. "choi, it's okay. you don't have to be so scared to try things with me. if i don't like it, i'll tell you. if i do like it, then i'll also tell you. and i quite frankly love that name. you can keep calling me that if you're comfortable with it, because i sure am," you told him, making him nod his head and softly smile at you. "okay... mommy."

now that that was out of the way, you went to go remove his top and he let you, holding his arms up and the top coming straight off. he then decided to slip off his shorts and boxers, leaving you both completely naked under each other's gaze. he was so beautiful, sleeper-ish build with silky smooth skin that you wanted to ruin. he was so perfect... god he would be the perfect man.

your lips connected again and this time soobin immediately melted into it, relaxing himself as you went back to straddle his lap. your ass was right on his cock, softly rubbing against just to see how his face scrunched up with pleasure in the kiss, swallowing up all his sounds. he loved this, this was everything he could've ever dreamed of. he was about the fuck the girl of his dreams, the reality hitting him like a pleasant surprise. he couldn't hold back the dripping of pre-cum that was all over your ass by now, making him even more embarrassed than he was before. however, you thought it was hot, and you wanted him to cum deep inside you.

this time, he was the one to pull away, panting softly as he looked at you with those bright eyes of his. "please... m-mommy just— just use me, i need it so bad," he begged you with such a whiny voice, god it had you throbbing so hard. you both were needy for each other and it showed with every action you two made towards each other. so, you didn't keep him waiting for long.

"of course baby," you cooed, biting your lip before starting to get yourself situated. you put your hands on his shoulders and stood up on your knees, guiding yourself to be right above his aching cock. he gulped as you started to sink down on his ridiculously big cock. seriously, how in the hell did he keep such a monster like this in his pants? you struggled a little as you tried to sink down, realizing that you would need soobin's help in order to fully go down.

though, when you looked to ask him for help the man was so far good, eyes in a daze and mouth open and panting heavily. he looked hot as shit but you needed his assistance in trying to get yourself fully around his cock, so you put a hand on his cheek even with your trembling hand. "binnie... c—can you please help me? you're... way too big—" you strained out, feeling the pain starting to kick in despite your wetness. this man was fucking huge and he didn't even know it, but he would help you at any means necessary.

so, he grabbed your hips and, with a little jerk of his arms, slammed you right onto his cock. this motion caused you and him to both moan out in pleasure, you arching your back and soobin's eyes rolling to the back of his head. after you both came down you started to slowly move your hips, your wetness covering his area so sloppily it was exactly like a porn video. he was mesmerized by your body and how fluidly you could move, he was in a trance by your hips. so much so that he involuntarily thrusted his hips upwards, causing you to moan out in pleasure but causing him to quickly stop your hips, confusing you.

"w— what's wrong bin?" you asked, trying to keep your voice steady but you were already close to your orgasm. "that didn't hurt? what i just did?" he asked, which just made you softly giggle. "no soobin, it didn't hurt at all. please do it again," you pleaded, making something in the man switch by your begging.

he grabbed you and slammed you onto the bed, pulling your hips forward and ramming deep inside you. meanwhile he had no clue what the hell he was doing, he was just trying to follow what porn had taught him. although, he could tell that you were enjoying it by the way your noises increased in volume, how more fidgety you were because of the immense amount of pleasure he was giving you. so, he continued with his unorganized pace, still moaning alongside you as he did so.

"b-bin— fuck baby 'm's'close—" you whined, making him speed up a little as well. "f-fuck... me too mommy, m-me too—" he whimpered alongside you, you pulling him down for a steamy wet kiss. this instantly had the man's hips stuttering, shoving himself as deep as he could right into your g-spot, his cum flowing against it which had you clenching around him as well. your noises were equally swallowed by each other, this being the most intense orgasm both of you have had in your lives.

after a few minutes you both came down from your highs, you looking at the man above you who was a wreck. his glasses were basically off of his face now, lips red and swollen from your kissing, pupils blown and dazed with a red face to top it all off. he was so sexy, but he was on the verge of passing out. so were you, since that orgasm took a lot out of you. so, you both decided it would be nice to just lay next to each other, but not before deciding something.

"u-uhm... y/n?" choi chirped, making you turn your head in his direction. "hm?" "what... are we now?" he sheepishly pondered, you reaching a hand out and massaging his face. "boyfriend and girlfriend silly," you smiled softly, while he grinned brightly. "really?" "mhm. now goodnight baby, see you in the morning." your drowsy voice stated before he held you in his arms, you easily falling asleep. however, he couldn't sleep, because his mind was racing with so many things that sleep didn't come until the early morning.

which wasn't a problem, since you both slept until 1pm that day.

© gg 2023. dividers were made by me. do not steal, use, or repost my work without my consent. reblogging/interaction is welcomed.

[yandere-daydreams]

Can we get a rec list for shojo? I've been picking up shows you write for (like jjk) but I enjoy shojo too and I think I would enjoy similar shows to you. If not thats okay too!

uhhh i only have a few that i would actively recommend but!!! i feel very passionately about all of them. not all shows have to be fanfic fodder. some can just be fun.

♥ horimiya. it's a classic and has literally no flaws to speak of. never before has a heterosexual romance been so queer-coded and never will it be again.

 ♥ ouran high school host club - the anime AND the manga!!! i know everyone's already seen the anime half a dozen times, but if you liked it, i'd really recommend picking up the manga. it's aged pretty well (all things considered) and does in fact have an actual plot with a real and satisfying ending, something that i can tragically not say for the anime.

♥ jibaku shounen hanako-kun/toilet bound hanako-kun. it is vaguely shounen coded but don't let the occasional fight scene fool you, this one is for the girls <3 i'd recommend watching the anime and picking up the manga from there, since both have a really unique and charismatic art style and are very good in their own right. there are ghosts. there are gay people. the heroine is trying to brute force her reality into becoming a rom/com and repeatedly turns into a fish. what's not to love.

♥ i'm in love with the villainess!!! i would STRONGLY recommend this if you are both gay and have been repeatedly abused by just,,, so many early 2010s dating sims. the animation is a little rough at times but overall it's very enjoyable and has a surprising amount of lore. i'd also very strongly recommend watching the english dub. the mc is just,,, yeah. that's a woman who's been in the trenches y'know.

♥ the ancient magnus bride. it has aged contentiously but if you can get past the 'sixteen year old x immortal eldritch being' thing then it WILL emotionally wreck you. the ost is also just,,,, delectable. they should really pull out the lute more often that shit goes hard.

♥ welcome to demon school! irumu-kun! people will tell you that this is a shounen and those people are WRONG!!! never before has an anime been so deeply concerned with love and friendship and putting everybody's favorite little guys in situations that make you wonder if it truly is gay to kiss the homies goodnight. the animation is very rough but in a very charming way, and mc has a very cute, very prominent romance with a woman who could snap him over her knee like a twig. then english dub cast is doing the goddamn most too, but feel free to consume it however you see fit.

[sacchiri]

I recently bought the jp volumes of Hellsing along with the guidebook, and since I'm reading the series in its native language for the first time I might as well share some random things that stood out to me in no particular order.

This isn't meant to be an analysis of translation differences, I'm too lazy for that. Also it's been 12 years since I've watched the anime and read the low quality fan scans of the manga so some of these comments are just "Lol, forgot this was a thing"

Volume 1

... I really want to know who this guy is at the beginning, yelling at Alucard in overly familiar language to "Get your shit together!" and "You're the only one we can count on!!". We know from the style of speech that it's a dude, probably just some Hellsing rando, and maybe it's not all that strange since he has probably been working with the same soldiers for years--but it's still funny.

"I know, it's just so nice out :("

..The way "HELLSING Organization" is spelled out like this reminds me that apparently the name is supposed to be an acronym. No really.

...

God they're so silly.

Now that I think about it, the only thing Seras has done this chapter since being turned into a vampire is say "I'm sorry" over and over.... girl you got shot in the lung, why are you apologizing

Not a huge difference, but what Integra actually says here is "Leaving a corpse here for 20 years... You're a terrible person too, Father" and not "What were you thinking, Father?" as the Dark Horse translation suggests (note the lack of question mark in the raw version). I thought that might be of interest to some.

Something else I thought was interesting is the first line Alucard ever says to Integra, and how uncharacteristically polite he sounds.

O-kega wa gozaimasenka- That's two honorific 御's back to back! (He even said them in kanji, even Walter isn’t that straightlaced and he’s literally the butler.) This is also the only time Alucard uses this overly flowery gentlemanly language with her, and good thing too because it would be so annoying if he spent the whole manga ending his sentences with ~gozaimasu.

What I'm trying to get at is, after seeing this sentence in the Japanese version, I'm like 100% sure he actually heard her when she was mumbling to herself about hoping to find a knight in shining armor, and he was totally going the extra mile in playing into that role for their first encounter. Which is kind of sweet.

Lol they misspelled Alucard on the top left... or rather, they incorrectly spelled it right?

One would normally expect Alucard to be written アルカード, and indeed pixiv dict lists アーカード as a misspelling (the u sound is weak in Japanese, so it's easy to mishear arukādo as ākādo). Hirano was definitely aware of the correct spelling though, since he used it in the pilot chapter and in his old character sheets. It was only when the manga officially began that he switched to the アーカード spelling. I doubt it was because of copyright issues because there is already a long precedent of vampire characters named アルカード in various old manga, OVA, and games in Japan that have coexisted without issue (like this guy Hirano mentions in volume 1's afterword).

Most likely Hirano simply thought it looked better, or was a means of differentiating his character from the others somehow. It certainly makes life easier for Japanese fans searching for fanart since アーカード is only going to bring up Hellsing and not the Castlevania character.

Jan Valentine even pokes fun at the spelling discrepancy later in volume 2, but since there wasn't a good way of expressing this in English it was left untranslated.

(Speaking of spelling inconsistencies, there's a lot of minor details I'm noticing now, like half the time the furigana for 吸血鬼 is written バンパイア and the other half it's ヴァンパイア... anyway)

Um, just noticed literally everyone's wearing glasses What should I do

Hirano's habit of jotting random comments underneath his panels is one of the underrated perks of reading the manga

The Dark Horse translation almost makes it sound like she's looking forward to seeing this battle play out, while in the Japanese she simply sounds apprehensive. Almost as if she's worried about them? And she's going out on the field personally to make sure nothing bad happens? Aww

Ok this is a weird tangent, but I just noticed the scans of the Dark Horse version I've been looking at use a slightly larger image range than the Japanese version does. It was only noticeable when I got to this part:

The second image is what the Japanese version of the scan looks like and I can confirm that this is what it looks like in my physical volume as well. You shouldn't be seeing the messy borders of the inking on the bottom like that.

Manga manuscripts are set up so that there are a few millimeters of bleed border around each page. You're supposed to color and line all the way up to (4) while keeping in mind that printing and paper cutting may result in the image being trimmed up to (3).

Either Hirano didn't color his lines all the way to (4) (this man has been drawing manga for years but this is Hirano we're talking about so it's very possible), or Dark Horse didn't honor the original bleed borders of the manuscript. I'm kind of leaning towards the former since there was a Hellsing exhibit in Japan a few years back where you could look at Hirano's original manuscripts and there's one where you can clearly see that he spilled a mug of tea or coffee across the entire page

Anyway, it's weird, and I'm curious to see if someone that owns a physical copy in English can confirm whether theirs actually looks like that. It's volume 1, page 141.

[sualne]

hii! honeslty just curious, I read/watched kuroshitsuji AGES ago and I don't think I've finished the manga anyway, does grell go by she/her?? I vageuly remember ppl headcanonning them as enby though iirc in canon he's a guy?

Your tags peaked my curiosity, I haven't seen any Kuro content in a hot minute, but I remember it being the absolute must watch in my peak anime watching years lol And I absolutely loved the manga's artstyle

in canon grell is a trans woman, yana toboso has said something like "grell is a man with a woman's heart" ages ago and sometimes around 2014/16 had tweeted something about wanting to be more careful with her representation of people like grell in the future, don't quote me on that thought because i only read that tweet once and only remember reading a shitty screenshot of a translation of that interview where she allegedly said that.

i can however show you this:

it's from a bonus chapter (after chapter 108) about the popularity polls (it's a very convoluted non canon chapter) but it's one of the most blatant example of her being trans.

there's also the way she constantly refers to herself as a "young maiden" ect. idk how it goes exactly in the og but in french they translated it so grell always refers to herself with feminine terms while everyone else misgender her including the narrator. she very consistently reaffirm herself as a woman through every single ones of her appearances, like it's a thing she very much does, every single time she's on screen.

i haven't watched the anime in forever (cause it's kind of a disgrace and insult to the manga lol) but if i remember properly (which i mostly likely don't) they did omit/lowkey censor some of grell explicitly going "i wish i had been born a woman/could have been able to carry children" when she first properly introduce herself as a shinigami & the other half of jack the killer. (the anime also really did lean a lot more into the pervert queer caricature whereas in the manga she's given a bit more dignity, especially the further the story goes. though that might be my own impression and maybe it didn't change that much i just love her a whole lot).

also because i have to, please forget the anime (the first two seasons that is) and read the manga first and foremost because oh boy, what a disaster the anime is (nostlagia and atmosphere wise it's entertaining, i really love the op & ed, but it just, i just cant man it doesn't even compare to the manga at all). only watch book of circus -> book of murder -> campania movie -> the new private school arc that's coming soon (idk what they called it) after reading the manga.

[beanghostprincess]

No offense to anyone but genuinly the Babby Shuggy moments not only made me ship it but also make me not understand people who feel like their dynamic in canon isn’t „all that interesting“ after they split. „They haven’t seen each other in years. They are different people now. They aren’t thinking and regretting their splitting 24/7!“ okay, but also like…. You don’t want them to have more screentime after the flashback that can just really flesh out how they changed? You don’t think Buggy fucking up upwards coupled with Shanks actual epicness while still being the type of guy to be chill with Buggy and congratulate him for fucking up upwards would be fun? You don’t even want them to have that cool anime shonen type thing where they work together for a while and get into a fight and get a full page panel of them ready to kick ass while standing back to back? (The „What? You’re fighting too?“ scene from Kingdom Hearts may be overused but it comes to my mind immediatly because sometimes things are overused for a REASON and it fits them in a weird way) Like…. Okay. Your loss. But even beyond shipping I am still a bit flabbergasted at some people being like „Yeah but there’s nothing THERE.“ like, COME ON THERE COULD BE SO MUCH.

Okay, anon, sometimes you need to understand that people have no taste and sometimes we are more intelligent than others and we have to carry the burden of liking and understanding an amazing ship that a lot of people find boring in canon because they don't know how to read the characters. (I'm half joking here, by the way)

Like!!! I started shipping them from the first second they mentioned they were together when they were young. The first flashback of them has the biggest most beautiful "young, teenage best friends to lovers angsty with a lot of pining and not actually unrequited love" I've ever seen. And not only that, even their fucking past is a slow burn. They make you wait to know about the resentment and what happened between them (I've only watched that flashback in wano, if more things are shown in the arc or the manga I don't know about them so don't spoil me in the comments pleaseplease) and it's so so so beautiful. Like- They make me want to lay on the floor all day and cry WHAT'S NOT INTERESTING ABOUT THEIR DYNAMIC????

You know what happens, anon? A lot of people don't like the childhood best friends to lovers trope because they find it boring (for some reason I still don't understand because it's literally my favorite trope) and so they decide to focus on the rivalry and angst that comes later but, y'know, that's when the fanon thing comes up and they focus more on that than on their actual canon past where they're best friends.

And tbh the fact that they reduce their characters only to their relationship instead of to their actual personalities and goals is a shame because Buggy and Shanks have to be two of the most charismatic and interesting anime characters I've ever seen. They're fun and extremely cool to watch even when they aren't thinking about each other 24/7. People, please stop only thinking about ships for a moment?? And if you do, please at least think about how cool it's going to be once they get together again after so much time being apart.

This reminds me a lot of Soukoku and Satosugu ngl. The whole BFFs until there was this big betrayal thing and also the fact that people only like them because of their relationship and are always mad their characters aren't only about the ship.

Honestly, I'm so excited to see more of them and every time they talk/show up on screen I immediately start sobbing. How could people not find them interesting in canon? Buggy is literally one of the best characters wdym?? Also he'd be extremely angry at people reducing him to his relationship with Shanks, dude already is tired of that man let him rest!! Imagine people always talking about you to talk about the ex you still love like damn please he's an awesome character too. And Shanks, too, but like the dude is a simp and he would love this whole thing so-

[shiro-s2e2-erukinzu]

I finally got around to watch episode 27 of Spy X Family and...

...IT WAS FANTASTIC!! 😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆

The animation team really did a excellent job adapting Missions 39 and 40...!! 😁 And though I did initially wonder why they switched the chapters around (Mission 40 was the Bond chapter, while Mission 39 was the Damian chapter for those that don't know...) This isn't the first time that the SXF anime has done this (I mean, just look at last week's episode), so it didn't really bothered me much at all...!! 😉 Also, it finally happened...:

THE SCENE THAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TO BE ANIMATED!!! 😆

(Sorry about the poor quality screenshot)

I love how they did this scene and the rest of Bond's imagination sequences...!! 👏😂 Though, if I'm gonna be honest, I didn't laugh as much as I did when I first saw this scene in the manga... Probably because I already knew it was gonna happen, but it was still funny regardless!! 😄

Now on to the differences and additions...!!:

And... I only really noticed one this time around...! 😲 That being this dialogue change:

In the anime, Anya says that Yor will kill Bond if he makes her angry; while it the manga, Anya says that Yor will MURDERIZE him if he makes her mad... Now, I'm pretty sure that "kill" is the correct thing Anya says here in Japanese, but I just love that she says murderize in the manga!! 😆 Not only because it's really funny, but it reminds of a certain half human half devil guy that sometimes has a chainsaw for a face...! 😏

I feel like the localization team for the manga probably did this on purpose as a reference to Chainsaw Man, but I don't know for sure...! 🤷

Anyway, that's pretty much all I wanted to say about today's episode!! People who only watch the anime, I'll see y'all next week...!! 😁 And everyone else, I'll be seeing y'all tomorrow talking about the new chapter of Spy X Family (FINALLY!! 😆) And as always everyone, take care, be safe out there and be kind to one another...!! SEE YA LATER!! 👋😄

[angelphonia]

Okay, I've been binge watching the Stop!!Hibari-kun anime and I've got some thoughts I need to let out.

Firstly, watching the anime makes me appreciate the Manga a hundred times more. Sure, the Manga had its problems, mostly the racism and the casual homophobia jokes and transphobia, but you could save stuff from it, like that even though there were homophobic jokes there was a gay woman who wasn't mocked because of her attraction to Hibari, or that despite the transphobia Hibari was never outright shown as being wrong by being herself.

Now, the anime does a lot of things I dislike. Firstly they make Kosaku's reactions be way more negative than in the Manga. While yes, he reacts negatively he is also seen blushing a lot when Hibari flirts with him. I may need to read the Manga for fourth time, but I also don't remember Kosaku constantly mentioning Hibari is a "guy" everytime she did anything.

There is a lot much more racism in the anime. There were problems with this in the Manga but it just feels way more present in the anime.

This one doesn't bother me too much, but I'm pretty sure the chapters do not align with the Manga, but again, this doesn't bother me.

I also noticed way more incest jokes, I don't care about them. Also the Seiji chapter where he falls in love with one of Hibari's bullies when she's 15 and Seiji is around 25/30 is very questionable. Again, this is a work of fiction so while I was like "why isn't this seen wrong?" I wasn't really uncomfortable. I do gotta say that in the Manga when the Japanese mob grown manchild son asked for Hibari's hand in marriage, it was inmediatly said he was 28 and Hibari was super taken aback. This doesn't happen in the anime, his age is NEVER mentioned. I can't quite remember, but I am sure Hibari also doesn't go on a date with him.

Oof, but here we go with the thing that has bothered me the most. The REALLY bad erasure of Jun's story. They absolutely took away her lesbianism, making it seem as if she was only interested in Hibari because of her volleyball abilities. They also totally changed the episode and made Jun be deeply ashamed of her family, that while in the Manga she was a bit embarassed it wasn't a main focus. In the Anime it was, even making her leave the volleyball club, which is crazy to me. Oh, and I'm NOT forgetting that they made Hibari enjoy getting gropped in the bus, when in the Manga she was clearly just disgusted by it.

I haven't finished it yet, may edit this post with more complains. Positive things? I'm sure Seiji and Sabu didn't have names in the Manga, so now they have identities. They try and give them more backstory, even adding an eye scar to Sabu, which was appreciated. Hibari's voice is absolutely the cutest. I liked the wrestling episode. Oh, the episode with Hibari's mother and her father was a delight, she didn't express this much emotion in the Manga, so actually seeing how she feels was great, and her end interaction with her father was adorable.

Can't remember anything more rn. As a side note, I've developed a little crush on Sabu and I'm gonna draw him. Hope you enjoyed my rambling!

EDIT:

Remembered the Honda thing. In the Anime he almost reaches his 1000 girls flirted with, but with one it is half a girl. In the Manga this was because he looked at a 5 year old by accident and she fell in love, while in the anime they made it so he flirted with a new half. For those who don't know, new half is an old Japanese term for transgender people, mostly trans women who were post op. In the subtitles this is translated as crossdresser, which I don't like. This isn't the first time this term is mentioned, in the spartan son episode, he calls Hibari a new half, which Kosaku tells him to not do. In another chapter there is a trans woman, and she refers to herself as New half, which again is incorrectly translated to crossdresser for some reason.

Even then there was some sort of minimal knowledge of trans people, not only with this, but in the Manga the addition of Genkijirou being a canonical trans man in hormones. Eguchi was aware and while his first idea was to make Hibari a feminine man, it obviously end up with her being a trans woman.

[marcsnuffy]

Categorizing Blue Lock videos on YouTube because I'm bored

1. Manga chapter recaps.

Usually over 2 minutes, under 10 minutes. They will usually include the word "analysis" in the title even if they're just summaries with casual commentary. More often than not, the thumbnails include a brightly colored manga panel with a lot of eye strain-y VFX.

The titles usually include an attention-grabbing phrase, such as: "[character] AWAKENS?!" (or "ENTERS FLOW STATE?!"), "[character, usually Isagi] DESTROYS [character]", or "[character, recently it's been Kaiser] IS A FRAUD?!"

2. Blue Lock as a source for life lessons

Basically, someone takes a philosophy from the story and applies it to real life. More often than not, they're related to the mere concept of egoism and how to use it to improve your life.

It's usually people who say they used to be in a situation in which they slowly let themselves get carried away by what others asked/wanted from them or by their fears, instead of doing what they really want to do until they watched Blue Lock. Which isn't that bad, however sometimes they say things in such a way that I worry that they're taking Ego's monologues a little bit too seriously.

Some videos focus on the lesson they got from the series in general, some focus on a specific character. The ones I've seen around are Isagi, Bachira, Barou and Noa focused, but there are way more. There's a Nagi one and I can't wait to watch that one because it's probably from an anime only who has No Idea what's happening to him now.

These have summaries in them too, but the commentary has more thought put into it at least. There's some motivational music in the background. The thumbnails include a character, text and maaaybe a graph or something. The titles are stuff like "How [character] does [whatever it is they do] and how you can do too" or "Becoming an Egoist Blue Lock Style"

3. People reacting to bllk for the first time

Around ten to almost thirty minutes. Half of them involve people who either love or hate football, the former usually find it (bllk) weird and point out the unrealistic bits and the latter will usually find it hype. The thumbnails will include the people reacting with surprised/shocked/appalled faces with some anime visual beside them.

The other half are people reacting to how unrealistic/corny/gay it is. The thumbnail will either include an anime picture of a character, usually Isagi. If it's about the manga 9/10 times Shidou (or something he said) will be on the thumbnail. The title is either something like "I read Blue lock and..." or a toned down version of "wtf is going on on blue lock". There are also summaries/recaps in these videos but they're done in a comedic way.

4. Powerscaling/shonenhead content

Rankings, values, hypothetical 1v1s, potential team combinantions, panels that look cool, building something using a filter that randomizes a character, the best trio/duo/goal/team/character/etc. Dramatically colored manga panels. Short, usually in the form of a youtube short. There's usually phonk music in the background. You'll know it when you see it.

5. Misc.

Compilations, be it dub compilations (must include the "THIS GUY IS BUILT DIFFERENT!" line) or character compilations OR gay moments compilations. Fun fact videos. Gacha Life videos. Those videos where Rin's english line is edited funny. Blue Lock with realistic timing (videos last less than a minute). Blue Lock tricks IRL (these are fun). Insane theories. and

[thehealingsystem]

Hey natewantstobattle fandom, I think there's something we need to talk about with the new v1r@l music video

It is highly likely (honestly it obviously is) that the art found in the video is AI generated. Now, this isn't me accusing nate of anything, as there's a possible chance that he is simply not aware of it being AI art. He's an artist himself (albeit a musical one), I doubt he would be in support of such theft, and he was smart enough to call out the whole NFT scandal as well.

When I first watched it it had stuck out to me that the anime artstyle found in the video seemed out lf the ordinary, but I brushed it aside automatically. I went to go see who created the art, and noticeably the only thing they had linked to was a video producer

I normally don't question give hearts when it comes to crediting, so I assumed that the person who made the video must ALSO be the one to make the art. But from observation, that must not be the case

This is not a company who has workers of different skill sets, which one could possibly be digital painting. This is one person, from the looks of it, who uses AI generated artwork. Looking at their website, there's a section exclusively for digital art. While these certainly do fit the common AI generated artstyle, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was, they don't have any inconsistencies and errors that AI art may hold, so no proof there. BUT there are certainly errors found in the music video itself that no one other than an AI 'artist' would make. My apologies if I don't point out all of them

0:38 - The boy's head resting on a vaguely shaped, stubby, backwards hand. It was no distinct structure to it, the fingers look half cut off, and no one in their right mind would twist their arm and hand like that to rest on it

1:08 - Nitpicky but this guy has the WEIRDEST hair texture I've ever seen. The parts in the light do not match the shaded parts of the hair. They're like...odd blotches of fire

2:38 - There's this out of place hood-headphone cord. It looks like it comes out of and goes to nowhere behind the old man, and attempts to be a headphone wire and a hood strap at the same time

2:57 - It may not be obvious at first but the girl's sleeve is not correctly attached to or shaded in with the rest of her shirt. Like. Just look at it

(Note: A person has said that there's one scene in which a character has five and a half fingers, but I haven't been able to spot it yet

The video also noticeably tries to hide the hands A LOT, whether that be blurring or cutting it out entirely. Considering the mistakes we've already found with the hands, and AI art commonly not being able to get hands to look right, it's very possible it was purposeful)

Now, more about what I said in the beginning about Nate possibly not knowing:

Another thing to point out is that give heart has worked with this producer before. But the past videos that were made by them don't seem to involve any AI art at all

Nate's cover for "The Day." The art found in it is from the manga/anime My Hero Academia, created by Kohei Horikoshi. This is art that obviously can't be stolen and taken as one's own

"A Taste of the Flame," Hazbin Hotel song by Shawn Christmas. This time, there is an actual person behind the art in the video and rightfully credited in the description

A normally trustworthy video producer, who is not even open about admitting that they use AI art (not stated anywhere on the business site). So, this is my good faith assumption that Nate is not aware of this. He has a team of people for his videos, and considering is personality, it's very likely of him to overlook what this mv consists of. I don't know him personally, obviously, but considering how he presents himself in his content, past opinions, and the definitely normal behavior of wanting to believe in the best of someone you're a fan of, I don't think he would support the use of AI art. He's an artist who also doesn't like his work being stolen, and I can imagine if there was (and oh dear god if there already is) an AI that generates music scrapped from him and other musicians, he would not be happy.

There are other possibilities if he DOES know it's AI. One being that he doesn't know that AI art steals art from other artists, and the second being an AI that takes from fully consenting artists. I 100% doubt both of these

If he truly does not know, I will be pretty relieved. But I will still hold him accountable for negligence on his part. It's his channel and content, and even if he overlooks some of the stuff in it, he still has full control of what gets posted there and is responsible for it. I won't be as upset, but he should've known better to not let this fly and investigated more on this VERY overtly suspicious artwork

Okay, now getting to the main point and what you should take away from this; we need to be letting Nate know what's up with this, bring it to his attention or at least ask him of what AI art is doing in this video (whether he supports it or not). Because it's important for us to know, AND if this truly was done without his support/consent, he NEEDS to be aware so he can fix it. I'd rather have no mv for v1r@l rather than one that promotes art theft

TL;DR: NateWantsToBattle's new music video for "V1r@l" consists of AI generated art theft, we don't know whether he consented to this decision or not, and as a community should let him know

[goldiipond]

Do you recommend watching The Promised Neverland if I am a big fantasy enjoyer? Like what is it about

OOOH YEAS ABSOLUTELY!!! tpn is probably best described as more of a psychological horror, especially the anime in particular, with some fantasy elements. it takes place in a sort of alternate part of the world ruled by funky masked creatures (the main children call them demons but they're also called a few other things and don't actually. have an official name. for the majority of characters theyre demons) think like the owl house where there's an alternate demon world except the guys in this world. eat people. the story centers this group of kids fighting to save as many other kids as they can and find a place where they can live without fear. also has very blatantly anticapitalist themes throughout, a very strong emphasis on chosen family, and portrayal of marginalized groups that, while definitely rough in some areas is. very refreshing for a shonen

the only guideline for enjoying tpn anime is do not fuckng watch the second season dont do it it is not worth it. the first season is incredible and honestly stands on its own pretty nicely if you dont feel like reading 100+ chapters of the manga but i highly highly recommend that you do read the manga after the first arc because it is really really good <3 aside from general setting details this is a story that is fun to go into as blind as possible, but some i'll give some content warnings for season 1:

-child death, both mentions and depictions. the depictions are very sparse in the first arc and never like horrifically violent or anything, but you will see dead kids)

-emotional abuse/manipulation (and 2 instances of physical abuse in ep. 8) and suicide

-a black character who is drawn with. very racist exaggerated expressions, specifically in eps 3, 4, 6, and 7

so if you're looking for less.. dark fantasy then this might not be for you. but this series rewired my brain and i've been autistic about it for about 2 n a half years and i highly recommend it <3

alsoi love ray and don more tgan anything in the world and i wuold kill anything for them. thank yoi

[aroacehanzawa]

this blog is so fake because i actually spend more time watching kdramas and cdramas than anime but anyway here's my rec list of modern campus romance cdramas you guys should watch for clear skin & joy in life:

hidden love - (watching this one right now so idk how it will end) it's sooo cute and down to earth and it's an age gap romance (5 yrs, the FL has a crush on her brother's friend) that is very innocent and wholesome

love O2O - a classic a must-watch etc etc. online game marriage to lovers irl. they are the BLUEPRINT i'm telling you

put your head on my shoulders - accidentally living together shenanigans. most endearing friend group of all time. PHYSICS MAJOR ML. pauses sex to watch a biology lecture so he can understand the female body better WHO DOES THAT

unrequited love (2019) - best cdrama if not one of the best series i've ever seen. FL is incredibly well written and honest to herself despite being in love with the same guy for years that she knows she has put on a pedestal without actually knowing him, and won't let herself blindly follow him even if he likes her back. very mature storytelling and great commentary on life in general

meteor garden - it's so bad but it's good. but it's bad. but it's literally so good. it's literally a shoujo manga. the very best early 2000s anime shenanigans transported to 2018.

exclusive memory / somewhere only we know (netflix title) - PHYSICIST ML. age gap (FL is an undergraduate student and ML is a phd student (sorry i have a guilty pleasure)) so so good literally the most heartfluttering romcom moments ever like i had to pause every few minutes to blush and giggle into my pillow and kick my legs like a teenage girl with a crush. first half of the series is stronger than the second half though.

[fablecore]

i was curious what you thought of the live-action One Piece now that season one is out! personally, i have the same compliants as Geoff of Mother's Basement (youtu.be/43K-H_dtQ9g?si=2n0MLLPmdw0vARk7) where, personally, my main compliants were (1) how clean some of these well-worn outfits and set-pieces were and the bigger one was (2) how Garp was altered but i, like Geoff, have my hopes that s2 can fix that by showing that this is the experience (mostly part from Mihawk) that changed Garp into more of the Garp we see in the manga. "a high 8 or low 9 out of 10" indeed. overall, i think its okay as an adaptation! i like Sanji's perviness being toned down, i dont mind most of the shuffling and changing because it is an adaptation with timeslots and seasons unlike a limitless manga with arcs however long it wants. i can understand if you or others dont like the live-action adaptation though! i just like that it was a good gateway to help me turn some of my friends into One Piece fans, less scared of how BIG One Piece is now the live-action has given them a limited taste, towards the manga or the OnePace.net-editted version of the anime (though i do still plan to have them watched some of the anime-only filler that is fun lmao maybe ill throw a sleepover or something, idk, i just like how OnePace fine-tunes the padded-out pacing problem the later One Piece episodes have) thats the main plus of the live-action adaptation to me

but im curious about your thoughts if you have any?? its okay if you never plan to watch it, i know a few other fans like that and i dont mean for my wuestion to be all peer-pressure-y or anything ♡

i've never heard of onepace until now! i'm in the same boat, i've been watching opla with my sister who's kind of interested in starting one piece but is also intimidated by the anime's episode count. maybe we can watch onepace instead. thanks for letting me know ☺️

i've only seen the first two episodes (but don't care at all about spoilers and have seen a lot already). i didn't like the first episode, zoro particularly, but the second was fun! well... it was camp. combined, i would give it the verdict of "aggressively okay" but this isn't a judgement on anyone who liked it. if you did, i'm happy you had a good time. i just have cinema brain.

what i liked so far: helmeppo's >:O face and his puma trainers. the vfx team in charge of luffy's rubberyness. buggy's "surprise, shithead!" nami's den den mushi earpiece/cellphone.

the rest:

zoro’s zombified no energy go girl give us nothing monotone. 😐 <- why did they tell him to make this face in every shot

they cut the scene where luffy gives zoro his swords back and replaced it with helmeppo ass

"a man needs to be strong. but he also needs to be good.” you are going to cut off a pirate rookie's arm and then obliterate his ship and crew later 👍

what is this whole thing about being "morally good" and "one of the good guys" and "a good pirate" it's ICKY

justice for silly winky vain nami. how are they going to do the personality shift into broody serious arlong park nami when she's been broody and serious the whole time

nami spent like 30 minutes unlocking one (1) locked cage. i guess it's because she and zoro needed to talk/get some exposition in, and i'm not going to suggest a better option because i don't want to rewrite half the script. i just found it amusing because normally it's "suspend your disbelief when a character does something amazing for the plot" and not "when a character is noticeably worse at something they really have no business being this bad at. for the plot"

i'm starting to think that zoro and nami lost core personality traits because the writers wanted them to be luffy foils instead of their actual characters

i did hear taz was the best/most charismatic actor out of the straw hats. i'm assuming this is because they let him be sanji instead of making him into a luffy foil since they have enough luffy foils

cameraperson's love affair with low angle closeups and fisheye lens. i don't hate it (it's camp) just pointing it out

i'm literally so serious about mackenyu's insufferable zoro voice. whenever i hear him talk in that joyless southern california kardashian vocal fry my blood pressure shoots through the roof. who made him do that

even though i have issues with the writing, i think objectively opla has done a decent job of pleasing fans. i'm not one of them but i know there's a lot. but on a technical and artistic level... deep sigh palms pressed together listen... i was hoping for spellbinding artistry from the showrunners. beautifully lit scenes, beautiful camerawork, excellent technical chops, lingering shots of luffy's bruised knuckles, the slightly frayed fabric on zoro's swords, a super close-up of a log pose with the crew talking behind the compass needle, their bodies distorted by the glass. fingerprints on kerosene lamps. barnacles on rotting wood. a searingly hot-blue summer sky (super saturated in post) over shells town or wherever. i wanted lush gorgeous rich interesting artistic ideas from the directors and cinematographers. i haven't seen any of that so far, and what i have seen doesn't compel me to watch more. i'm not saying the actual cinematography was bad! just. okay. it was okay.

(but also some of the nighttime/underlit scenes are bad. put a dang key light on your actors 🤺)

concluding thoughts: at the end of the day, if netflix wants to keep throwing millions per episode at tomorrow studios, i'm fine with overlooking mediocre filmmaking and storytelling. i want everyone in the production crew to get their bag. i hope this show runs for another 50 seasons and is powered by union labor forever and ever until the end of time amen

[444lpblue]

The Witch and the Beast #2 - The Witch's Pastime: Final Act

Screenplay: Yuuichirou Momose Storyboard: Toshiyuki Sone Episode Direction: Masahiko Suzuki Chief Episode Direction: Makoto Tamagawa Chief Animation Direction: Hiroya Iijima Animation Direction: Makoto Shimojima, Kazuharu Tada, Miyoko Shikibu, Miyako Nishida, Geun-Su Lim (Monster AD: Shouya Gotou) Key Animation: Yuka Anze, Yasunori Yamaguchi, Kouichi Takai, Ryou Suzuki, Mizuki Nakane, Shouya Gotou, Tomokazu Gunji, Aya Nagumo, Mayu Nakamura, Mitsuyo Tsuno, Riku Yamahira, Kazumasa Takeuchi, Hideo Maru, Seon-Hui Kim, Studio Toy Box, Kou Kitakaze

Better late than never, right? On my first watch of this episode, I'm not going to lie; I was a bit harsh on it. I couldn't keep the inconsistency and off-model nature of the episode out of my mind (most of which I hope will be fixed in the Blu-rays), and it kind of blinded me in my real assessment of this episode. I want you guys to keep in mind that this is one of my favorite mangas of all time, so I have very high standards for it. Seeing these production issues crop up just isn't a great feeling when the animation itself is already quite limiting.

Despite all of that, I'd still describe it as a reasonably decent episode, though not quite on par with episode 1. However, it did feature some remarkable shots that were visually stunning, courtesy once again of Hirotsugu Kakoi's art direction plus his team at Kagoshima Ramecahirim. The storyboarder of this episode, Toshiyuki Sone, while quite derivative of the manga, I believe, had many shots that make great use of the excellent background art and has a serious sense of depth.

When the scenes are good, they're REALLY good. I've noticed that the show particularly shines during nighttime, and I absolutely love it; it has become my favorite visual aspect of the series so far. Recently, I saw someone describe The Witch and the Beast as a grotesque and gory show, which is only partly true. This manga is aesthetically inclined, balancing the gory and the beautiful, and I believe these specific shots emphasize that quality. The new city setting is dark, empty, and moody, yet it's visually captivating—almost like eye candy. The ethereal lights style, illuminating everything, coupled with the depth and details presented in the aftermath of the victims, all come together in a gory yet beautiful amalgamation for example.

The animation in this episode was still overall limiting, but it wasn't one that particularly needed much per the narrative (of this episode). As mentioned before, the consistency really bothers me, along with some odd choices that could perhaps be attributed to the direction of this episode. The zoom in with Ashaf casting his spell looked low-res when zoomed in and somewhat disrupted my immersion in the episode. Guideau hitting the handrails had this weird effect applied instead of proper animation, which felt awkward. The entire restaurant scene in the second half of the episode was extremely off-model. Despite these issues, the actual episode, both in the narrative adaptation and the background/board ideas, still meshes pretty well with my vision of the manga.

I also hope that, considering this is arguably one of the less important arcs, when we reach Episode 4, which focuses on Johan and Phanora's arc or beyond (don't worry, I'll write about Episode 3 right after this), there will be an improvement in the production levels compared to what we've seen in this episode. I'm optimistic that they've been saving their staff for these more significant episodes. While I acknowledge that this isn't the best production ever, I appreciate the art direction, some of the storyboarding has been quite good, and the show as a whole has been a decent adaptation of the manga. However, I would like to see more consistency going forward.

[beanghostprincess]

when did you start watching the anime (also how/why)

and how many episodes do you watch per day to go that fast??? (im asking because im genuinely impressed)

It's a funny story, I think-

Basically, I was hanging out months ago (like, the start of this year?? End of last year?? I think??) with my brother and his friend at his friend's house and they were like "Oh! What if we watch One Piece? The first episode, cmon, Robin!" and I was like: "Fuck, no. Shit's too long. Not watching all that. I'm sure it's cool and you two love it but I'm sooo not getting into this". But then they wouldn't stop insisting and the show started playing out of nowhere and, like, I just wanted to eat my salad so I guess I just didn't care if they made me watch a few episodes. The salad was really good, btw.

Anyway: I watched the first two episodes and I kind of?? Fell in love?? With everything about it??? Luffy was so charming and early OP is amazingly beautiful in all the ways. I kind of miss the energy, honestly, sometimes. But I loved it. I laughed. And I was like "Oh, okay. This is good. I'm probably not watching the rest because there are a lot of episodes but, like, cool show, guys!"

Spoiler: I did watch the rest.

But I didn't watch more until February. I was on my period and when I'm on my period I get really, really sick and I feel like shit in general. And I wanted to watch something to distract myself from that torture. So I asked my brother where he watched the show in Catalan (here in Spain/Catalonia it's also dubbed in Catalan and let me tell you, it's one of the best dubs I've seen. It's SO good) and I started watching it for real then.

The thing is, I was really, really slow watching the show because I was studying at the time and I could only watch at night sometimes and in between classes or whenever the teacher wasn't in class (or, you know, I just did it without the teachers noticing. The hyperfixation was growing). Besides, I started talking to my brother's friend more and more and more (now he's kind of like my best friend??? What the fuck lmao) and I literally told him every fucking thing that happened so, yeah, I wasn't quick watching the anime at the time. I would've probably caught up by now if it wasn't because I didn't have much time to watch it then.

Then I started Arabasta, and ever since, me and my friend have been watching the show together on Discord (I started watching it in Japanese and subbed, then). We watch the show every single night (except when we're busy, but it doesn't happen often) and we usually watch, like, 6-10 episodes every day. That's the average amount, but we've pulled all-nighters before when we've watched like 20 episodes during the night (we watched Marineford like that and we kind of did that too with WCI).

I think I don't go THAT fast tbh I could watch more every day if it wasn't because I watch the show with him only because it's sort of an 'us' thing. Now I'm on episode 1015, so I guess I'll catch up with the anime soon! Then I'll catch up with the manga and then I'll cry because I'll have to wait for episodes/chapters every week. What a torture.

TL;DR: I started watching in February, because my friend and my brother told me to and I fell in love with the show, and I watch 6-10 episodes every day unless I'm busy or I pull an all-nighter.

Fun fact: I watched the Baratie arc exactly on Sanji's birthday this year. I think he was truly meant to be my favorite character.

Oh, and the only reason I wasn't online commenting on my experience watching it before is because I physically stopped myself from looking for content because I didn't want to get spoiled. When I got to post-time skip, I created this side blog!! So, if you want a lil bit of a timeline: Started watching in February, got to post-timeskip in September when I created this blog (so 516 episodes in kind of half a year) and now I'm on episode 1015 (so 499 episodes in three months). I think it's pretty obvious that I'm not studying anymore and I'm just working 20 hours a week, huh.

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

BLEACH: The Thousand Year Blood War Ep 1 Thoughts and Reactions

Overall reaction:

^ I was each of these guys at some point while watching the episode

WE'RE BACK! WE'RE ACTUALLY BAAAACK!

Highlights:

Seeing the Karakura gang back together in Ichigo's room: I got emotional, and teared up for the second time! It's just so nice to have all these character back on the screen together, and when you think about where this is all going to go...they;re in for a rough one.

The Kick TM: he really shouldn't have stood on Ichigo's bed.

Everyone getting their chance to show off their powers: this is probably my favourite moment in the whole episode. Chad and Orihime got to have a good moments, Uryu's fight was absolute hype and I can't get over how incredible it looks, and Ichigo...when he screamed 'BANKAI!' I cried, you cried, we all cried. Absolutely stunning visuals and animation for that entire scene, I loved it and I've gone back and watched it more than once.

The declaration of war: this scene couldn't have been adapted any better, it was downright perfect! From the suddenness of Chojiro's death to the reflection in the Quincy's helmets to the explosion of flames from Yamamoto, it was stunning!

The end credits sequence: the highlight reel to end all highlight reels, this was such a nice touch! I was already emotional, but this just made me start crying AGAIN! I mentioned in a tag before, but when they showed the clip of Hitsugaya and Hinamori from 293, I screamed. And then the Ginran section that came after, I sobbed...I was not prepared!

I'm almost speechless. I can't believe we're actually here. We have a new anime, the fandom is back, and BLEACH is trending on social media. It comes back with a punch and a half, with a stunning visual style, some amazing animation, and a good pace for the first episode. I can't get over the detail and style in some of these scene. I mean just look at this shot of the Wandenrich's helmet:

Look, maybe I'm alone in this, but I just love the detail of a reflection in the helmet. It's something they could have left out, just make it that the helmets don't have a reflection and are just a blank surface. The reflection not only makes for a more visually appealing shot, it adds something to these characters who's faces we can't see. The fact such a violent death and the head of all the Shinigami is reflected on their helmets emphasizes just how dangerous these guys are. They've gone for the jugular of Yamamoto, and Chojiro's death is just the first of many violent events yet to come. All that from a reflection on a helmet! (I know, it's just me over-analyzing ^^; )

Another thing worth bringing up is cut content. The majority of scenes and moments cut seem to be comedic ones, and I think this is actually a good move. While hope a few of these moments get incorporated down the line, making the first episode primarily a serious one really sets the tone for this arc. This is a war, not some shounen protagonist going to fight the big bad and win, not some tournament arc, not some colourful battle anime, this is going to be rough. For me, TYBW is BLEACH's darkest arc, chock full of character deaths and near-deaths, violent battles, and character moments that are dark and shocking when you think more about them. This is also reflected in the colouring, with darker shades in the character designs and darker lighting, setting a somber mood for what's to come.

And now to get needlessly sentimental!

I'll preface this by saying BLEACH was one of the first anime I got into while I was in high school and has held a special place in my heart ever since. It was for the latter reason alone I continued to keep this blog running, even when I had [gradually] stopped loving the series after the manga ended. Also, it helped that I had some of the most amazing followers a blog could ask for, you all encouraged me to keep reblogging BLEACH and writing for it.

After watching this episode and realising how much I missed seeing these characters, I am in love with this series again. A part of me feels like I'm a teen again, binging through the episodes and coming to love the characters, and another part of me is looking forward to revisiting this arc as if it were the first time I'm seeing it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go lie down, the hype has completely sapped me of energy.

This is seriously me right now...so happy though!