#if you're wondering why i'm using the japanese pages

[salteytakesonmanga]

He said he’d break Arlong’s nose, and that’s what he did.

Like I said before, the fact that Luffy said he would do something everyone else said was impossible and then he actually did it matters. Luffy makes the impossible possible, and he never, ever lies.

[noxiatoxia]

So, when Danganronpa S was released (and V3's UTDP but I'll get to that later...) Hinata and Komaeda were given noticeably different versions of their pre-existing sprites for their swimsuit versions:

If you struggle to see a difference, note Hinata's wider mouth in the swimsuit ver., and Komaeda's narrower eyes and more outlined smirk in his swimsuit ver.

I, along with many people, always wondered, why? Why change these already perfectly fine sprites and, honestly, make them worse? What gives?

Then, I stumbled across something. Back in 2012, before the Japanese release of Super Danganronpa 2, you could play an online monomono machine to win little goodies like desktop backgrounds and profile pictures. Please note these pre-release desktop backgrounds for Hinata and Komaeda:

...So, wait a minute. The sprites used in Danganronpa S aren't new edits, but beta sprites? Older than the ones featured in the original SDR2? Turns out, this website features desktop backgrounds using beta sprites for nearly every character that otherwise never saw the light of day.*

I'm going to go through them one by one, gif comparisons included. This won't be the only post, either! UTDP also has some very interesting likely beta art used in it, too. As well, some of the other sprites featured in Danganronpa S may also be reused beta sprites!

As such, this log will be broken into three parts. This is part 1.

[Part 2 - UTDP (not made yet!)] [Part 3 - DRS (not made yet!)] [Part 4 - Dangan Island (not made yet!)]

*with the exception of UTDP in some cases, as well as some other things I will get to in Part 4.

As said, semi-flashing gifs will be included in this post. They are meant to swap between the beta and final sprites at a fast pace to illustrate the differences (2 frame, half a second each). Be cautious if you have epilepsy.

Also, because of Tumblr's stupid image limit, this post will have a reblog with the rest of the sprites! So please check this post's reblogs, it should be the first one!

Firstly, how do we know these are actually beta sprites? These images are sourced from the Danganronpa fandom wiki, and while I generally trust the wiki's credibility, it's always imperative to fact-check. So, I went ahead and searched Danganronpa's old website on the Wayback Machine and uncovered this:

A character intro page for Hinata, using this same beta sprite. Now, granted, the only capture of this page is from 2015. Still a year before V3 and a few more before S, but still, it's not the 2012 original. That said, a character intro page for Mioda circa early 2014 looks exactly the same, including the usage of her beta sprite.

And, when you click on the button that says スクリーンショット(Screenshot)...

You're offered a very obviously beta trial shot. As is common with Danganronpa trials, in development, the actual character portraits are not put in until later, and to substitute, their art reference photos are used, as seen on the left.

With that out of the way, I think it's safe to say these sprite we are about to look at are indeed betas.

It's only fair, then, we focus on Hinata first.

(Please note for all the comparison gifs I had to manually size the final sprites to get them as close as possible in aspect ratio. Very minor size difference between sprites is likely a result of this and not an actual detail change.)

A lot is revealed with a simple gif. Hinata's entire face shape was changed (including ears), not just his mouth. In fact, not just the shape of his face, but the face itself is drawn very differently in the end. The neck of his shirt was raised, as well as tie being redrawn (you can actually see where the new part begins somewhat sloppily). Less notable but still apparent are his bangs being redrawn and shaded differently.

Keeping with consistency, let's check out Komaeda next.

Yet again, the differences are striking when flipped back and forth. Komaeda's face shape and ear was redone much like Hinata, but not to nearly the same dramatic extent. As well, his entire face was redrawn, notably erasing the black shading under his chin and shortening his eyelashes. Less noticeable, the hair touching his neck is shortened a bit, and the crease line on his hood is more well-defined. They also slightly changed the line art for the first fold in his shirt, the neck at the back of his shirt, as well as his leftmost bang. Interestingly, they either forgot or didn't care to fix the shading to reflect the new placement of these lines. His jacket also has some changes in line art weight.

With Hinata and Komaeda out of the way, let's touch on Kuzuryuu.

This one honestly shocked me. Besides the added detail of him spitting, I didn't notice any difference right off the bat until I overlayed the images, but the differences are night and day. His eyes are made to be less mean and more skeptical. His mole was shrunk and his nose is more 3-dimensional. Extra detail is added to his ear while his hair is redrawn in whole, including it being slightly shorter. What's most interesting is the fact the body was sized up and moved down several pixels, I imagine to change the perspective. Some minor line changes are made to the white undershirt of his suit.

It would be improper not to do Pekoyama next.

Again, just like Kuzuryuu, I didn't notice half of these changes at first. Pekoyama's whole face is slimmed. The outer outline of her hair remains the same, but almost every outline inside of it, including her bangs, changes. (Although, her right twin-tail has a slightly longer end to it.) Her outfit receives minor touch-ups, including a clothes fold on her breast and darker shading by her collarbone. Speaking of, her neck muscles and such have been redrawn. Most interesting to me is the fact Pekoyama's outline is noticeably thicker with action lines in the original beta sprite, but lack them in the final sprite as if somebody used the magic wand tool to edit the background out, editing away some of the jagged black lines in the process. She is the only character where this happens.

Since she is a major character, let's do Nanami now.

I wasn't surprised to find Nanami has virtually no difference about her. Her design was pretty much set in stone early on. That said, it's not entirely the same. Though very minor, the thickness of her left eye was increased at the top. As well, shading across her pinky finger was removed. There is also a chance her body is slightly bigger, but that's more likely to be a result of me failing to perfectly match up the two images.

I want to focus on Souda now as he was the first one I did this test with.

You know, when I first played SDR2, I thought Souda looked kind of scary. His beta is even scarier looking! I can see why they changed it...Every detail on his face is redrawn including his chin, notably his pupil was enlarged and his eyebrows were quirked. Funnily, it seems the clip on his beanie was redrawn, but like Komaeda, they didn't edit the color layer to match the new outline. Some minor line art changes were made to his back hair. The lines for his neck and collarbone were lessened, and the jacket zipper is made more three dimensional. His thumb was fixed too, as well as the lines on his hand.

Also, here's a fun little thing I noticed while replaying SDR2 just a few days ago!

The sprite used for Souda in the Dangan Island opening is the exact same as the beta sprite! This would be the only time Westerners would catch a glimpse of some beta sprites until UTDP, as keep in mind, these wallpapers were exclusive to the Japanese Danganronpa website.

In fact, Souda isn't the only one with a beta sprite in the Dangan Island opening. I will also be covering that in part 4.

Moving on...

I guess it's only natural we look at Sonia's sprite next.

Changes like these ones are very interesting to me, because if you did not do a side-by-side like this, you may never see how many minor details were changed. A lot of Sonia's line art was redrawn to be more detailed, such as more lines in her hair, thinner outlines for her braid, and redrawn creases in her shoulders and bow (as well as a redrawn button). Her face is interesting as some very minor changes were made. Some detail is added to both ears (thicker outline on the right, changed line art on the left) and her left eyebrow is slightly edited. She was also given extra eyelashes on both sides. When it comes to such minor changes, it makes you wonder why they bothered at all. I wonder what the development looked like.

Anyways, please check the reblog for the second part! That's where the rest of the characters will be!

[aquamine-amarine]

I've got a lot of thoughts.

And it ended up being way too long again. Spoilers, analyzing, half assed translations, rants... Has anyone translated this or summarized it yet? Did I just waste my time? It took hours.

The title page is an obvious throwback to the very first chapter. It's nice I guess, I would have liked something a little more original and unique to this new series though. This new character still bothers me so I'm not sold on him just yet...

The official X account for the series is killing me though, cropping out that middle part to use as a header... Also this:

Where will Amu-chan's love go...!?

I'm telling you're the Nakayoshi editorial department is full of Amuto shippers.

The armband is on the wrong arm...

This is a huge red flag and a major regression in character development, because Amu should NOT be acting like this anymore. It's a huge problem.

Her crush on Tadase pretty much died after volume 7. During volumes 8-12 she isn't fangirling over him anymore and doesn't have any fangirl fantasies involving him like she used to. She started acting normal around him, like close friends, and it was nice. It was a positive development. WHY is all that development being thrown out the window? Just to cater to new fans?

I fully expected Tadase to continue trying to whoo her because he pretty much said he would continue to do so in volume 12. So I'm not annoyed about that. Amu's reaction to him is what annoys me, because she's not supposed to be acting like this anymore. You can keep trolling us with the love triangle WITHOUT regressing Amu's behavior to how she was in volume 1. They proved they could do this in volume 12. So this is bad.

As for the reason they're still in their elementary school uniforms, it's because the new school term hasn't started yet. This scene takes place during spring break in the Royal Garden, and there's a scene where Rima is asking if the middle school uniforms have arrived yet. I was wondering why they were still in their elementary school uniforms, when we know middle school uniforms DO exist. So the transfer happens before they even start middle school, it makes sense now.

The school they're transferring to (because Tadase is going with her) is called Arcana Academy. It's Seiyo's sister school.

A Japanese fan I follow on X noticed something very interesting about the kanji in the school's name. 聖或奏学園 translates to "Saint Arcana Academy". The 或 kanji is present in Aruto's name (it's the "aru" part), and the 奏 is present in Souko's name. Although in Souko's case it's a different reading. For her name, it takes the on'yomi reading of "sou", and when it's used in the school's name it uses the kun'yomi reading of "kana". From volume 10:

That's pretty interesting, I wonder if it ends up having any significance later? Or maybe it's just a coincidence? They do like being funny with the kanji they use in names, like all the celestial references they used here.

Tsukasa tells them they're transferring because there's an outbreak (he actually uses the word plague) of X-Eggs at Arcana Academy. He also says that Amu has a "secret mission".

Fast forward to the new school...

Amu's thought bubble says he's the Principal. He looks so familiar... He kinda looks like P from Kugiko-san (another Peach-Pit manga, from the Kugiko-chan series). And I feel like I've seen a character similiar to him in some other manga...

Someone said something they weren't supposed to during introductions in the auditorium... don't traumatize your new classmates already!

This little psycho is going on a joyride on this chandelier...

It did not want to be cleansed.

He's telling the entire auditorium that what they just witnessed were a "character change" and a "character transformation". The students are all amazed.

In a later page Tadase says that everyone in this school has a guardian egg. He said "egg" and not "character", so maybe most of them haven't actually hatched yet?

Daiya is a fucking airhead and slept through the entire fiasco in the auditorium. Because of that, everyone thinks Amu only has 3 guardian characters and not 4!

But Tadase thinks that's fine, they should keep Daiya a secret and use the fact that everyone thinks Amu only has 3 guardian characters to their advantage. Daiya can be their trump card.

She introduces herself as Erito Rose, a guide. Is that a name or a position? But if it was supposed to be "Elite Rose" instead, the whole thing should have been written in katakana... The guardian character's name is Rosetta.

Amu's dorm room is haunted... so the rumors say.

Phone call with Rima! And oh boy is this juicy...

Rima: By the way, did you contact Ikuto and Nagihiko who are overseas? Amu: Ah, not yet… Rima: Is that okay? Rima: Isn't Ikuto your boyfriend? Amu: Boy…!? Amu: There's no way!!

Rima!!! I love you, you angry little midget. That last text bubble was giving me trouble, so I gave up trying to translate it...

Amu: We've been apart this whole time. The replies to my messages vary.

I knew they were going to hurt me by bringing out my repressed long distance relationship memories... you stop that!

She was also saying how he's actually studying music overseas right now... no mention of looking for his father.

Also they forgot to draw the belt/strap things on his pants.

Amu: Even though you said something like that! Amu: Jeez! I'm an idiot! It's the same pattern. Rima: Amu? Amu: I won't be swayed by him anymore!! Definitely! Rima: Hey Amu, I just had a thought.

Rima: Do you live with someone in the dorms? Rima: If you say something like "I'm sharing a room with a boy", it'll make him jealous. Amu: Ha?! Amu: No no, this is a single room!? Amu: That's just a lie!! Rima: Amu, you're a kid. Rima: Boys like it when you tease them sometimes. All the servants say that it's a reward. Amu: This girl is scary...

Rima!!! Now I know why the Chinese Amuto fans were rolling around in their feels all over the place. Girl is giving Amu advice on how to flirt with Ikuto. I'm dying. How did I miss this page the other day...

Exactly what has Amu been telling Rima? Did she tell Rima they've shared a bed together already? I was not expecting Rima to be pro-Amuto! I always assumed Rima would hate Ikuto - for one, he's fucking tall and she's smol. Second, it's another man that's way too close to Amu (the other one being Nagihiko) and I thought that would make her angry. Although she mellowed out around Nagihiko in volume 12... and she's gotten REALLY attached to Amu in this chapter.

As fun as these pages were, time for some more ranting...

Amu: I won't be swayed by him anymore!! Definitely!

What the fuck are you talking about?! Did you forgot ALL OF THIS:

What the fuck happened to all this character development?! Why is she regressing?! Her reaction to him should NOT have been that hostile. Not after all these scenes. Which only happened months (some of them only weeks) before the graduation and wedding. The fact that 14 years has passed is definitely showing, and not in a good way… It feels like they're going backwards and I don't like it.

This bullshit right here is why I didn't want a sequel, I just knew they would fuck something up. They're either senile and completely forgot the events of volumes 8-12 (how, when they clearly took that quote from volume 12…) or their editor is braindead and giving them horrible advice, like how erasing 5 volumes worth of character development is a great fucking idea by setting Amu's relationships with Tadase and Ikuto back to pre-volume 8 levels. It's fucking stupid. It shouldn't be happening. It's bad writing to just erase all the good stuff that happened near the end of the first series. For what, to cater to new fans and drag the love triangle out some more? That's so stupid.

Should I make her my girlfriend?

I see someone has a death wish. I'd pay to see that cat fight.

There's a LOT of things that were left out. No mention of Easter, Hikaru wasn't in the Royal Garden with everyone, no mention of Nagihiko actually being Nadeshiko, no mention of Yoru being gone... hopefully these are all addressed soon. Maybe I'm being too critical, since it's still just the first chapter... I just have high expectations. I don't want them to ruin this.

As for the art... miles better than what they drew for that stupid ad (NOT a "short story", that was a lie). I hate the way Ikuto looked there, he looks a lot better now. The eyes look a lot better too, more detailed like they used to be. So that's a plus. The way they drew eyes were always one of my favorite parts about their shoujo artstyle, and it was sad that for their other manga they got lazy with it.

As for the story... everyone in this new school is aware that guardian eggs exist. Like I said earlier though, they were always using the word "egg" and not "character", so perhaps only a few people have actually had their eggs hatch.

Near the end of Amu and Rima's phone call, Amu talks more about her "secret mission", and how purifying X-Eggs isn't the only reason she's there. She also has to look for something. So I wonder what that's about...

[shatcey]

IkeVil Prologue

I finished reading the prologue and realized that I don't remember some fragments from the JP version of the game. Most likely, I just forgot…. after all, it was like 5 months ago.

First of all, Willy didn't come up with a nickname for Kate.

It's a little sad… I used to think it was his idea…

She fell for his charms almost immediately. I vaguely remember it, but from this line it's quite obvious…

Why did they change that? What's wrong with the KING? It sounds shorter, easier to pronounce. And the phrase "self-righteous king" sounds so catching… firm and majestic… Maybe I just need time to get used to it…

NO! I DON'T LIKE IT!!! Monarch is the brand of tea! Willy… Why did they do this to you? My poor tea boy(((

Victor asked the others what they thought? What? How could I forget about it?

I mean, Kate answered him, and it shook him to the core. Even Willy commented on it. Because no one ever answers him? Poor Vic… They're not weird enough for you.

And this joke they used in a comic.

This is from the official X (Twitter) page.

Kate's thoughts are really good. I had completely forgotten how thoroughly she analyzes everything… For example, "they tell me too much to keep me alive" or "why did they leave the door open if it was a secret mission?". True and true. You're so smart, girl, no wonder I wanna be you. But this one surprised me…

I would have definitely fell for his eyes… such a beautiful and unusual shade. But a flirting? I'm not an expert… and maybe his voice doesn't make that impression on me, but I don't think he ever flirts…

I don't know… Look at that bored gaze… at those long fingers, which I suppose he taps irritably… He doesn't look particularly intimidating! Especially with Ellis around. I always thought William looked the most villainous. But it's probably just me.

And I completely forgot that Victor showed a magic trick. How could I forget about it?

It feels like I haven't read the Prologue at all… In my defense, this was the first time I've read an auto-translation from Japanese, and my brain was overloaded trying to figure out what it really means…

Really? This castle can eat people??? Now I want to visit it even more! Ghostbusters!!!

I vaguely recall, but at the time I read it as a "dangerous liquid." I thought he meant poison or something really strong, like pure ethyl alcohol, which you cannot drink if you don't know how to do it right. I didn't do it. But I've heard rumors…

Really? You too? I thought Willy was the only fatalist…

And finally… There are slightly different accents in this scene compared to what I remember…

I wonder how someone can control the feelings of others? Like… Victor forbade me to get closed to you, so shoo…

But he is considering another option. He's not like the other father-figures in the games. He KNOWS that it is impossible to stay away from them)))

And since everyone has already read the prologue, and this won't be a spoiler, I have a couple of thoughts that I haven't talked about until now for this exact reason.

First of all… Wth of mission was this if it required them all to be there? They only show us the death of one person. One person. William alone could have handled it easily. Why were they all there? It doesn't make any sense. They just stand there and stare at the murder. Elbert is probably looking at the objects of beauty around, but the rest… (exhales)

Second. She doesn't know anything. She just saw a guy commit suicide. If Will (and I firmly believe he did it on purpose) didn't mention the name of the organization, they didn't even need to drag her with them. She had just witnessed a tragic suicide, which was probably the sacrafice, given that no one was trying to help him. "So… Ok… Keep doing your ritual or whatever it is. I didn't see anything. I'm going home." That would be a normal reaction. But… All Ikemen games have such weird logic, and I don't even know why I still surprised.

And the last one. They bring her to Victor. She is scared and wants to find out the truth before she dies (brave of her), but in the process she begins to think that NOW she knows too much to live... (facepalm)

I won't even comment on it.

So… I decided that I would made an additional page for the EN version of the game. I think it would be easier for people who don't play the JP version. And I like to have a fresh start. A new beginning - new posts. Something like that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔝 Start page 🔝

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[beansterpie]

ES21 japanese volumes part 3/??

<< part 1 < part 2 ||

HAHAHA guess who found a site with japanese scans?? (Also yes hello it's been close to.... half a year??? (fuck) since my last post-- a big part of that is because taking clear pics of panels/pages on my phone was a pain in the ass so I kept procrastinating lol)

Now lets get back into it!

We left off at the end of Sena's unwilling first morning practice, where we got to see just how fast he's able to run. We were then informed that their first match is happening the following day... while only having 3 players :')

oh the lengths one must take to subdue Cerberos....

Panel 2 -> HIRUMA: We need 8 people by tomorrow's match! We'll split up to gather them! Panel 3 -> KURITA: 8 people? SENA: I thought you said that American Football requires 11 people...

You'd think he might catch on to what's happening after all the 'top speed in the NFL!' fuss at the end of the last chapter.... but our boy is not smart, your honor.

But Hiruma (seemingly) relents, saying how they each have to find at least 3 people to help out their team by the end of the day. Whoever finds the least amount of people faces whatever penalty game that Hiruma comes up with, so uh, there's reason to fear.

Panel 1 -> Basketball club Panel 2 -> SENA: Alright, I'll start here...! Panel 3 -> imaginary SENA: How would you like to play in an American Football match? Panel 4 -> imaginary SENA: We'll prepare all of the equipment! All you have to bring is your fighting spirit!!

imagination vs reality....

Panel 1 -> SENA: Um... excuse me Panel 2 -> SENA: So... I was wondering if maybe I could get you guys to play in an American Football match for us... or something... Panel 4 -> JERSEY #16: Ahh... I'll pass. JERSEY #8: Yeah, not interested. SENA: I-is that so... Panel 5 -> SENA: Aahh-- it's no good. Why do I always....

Ah poor Sena. But all those years of timidness and cowardice aren't going to up and disappear overnight because then we wouldn't have a story. Also, an aside, but in these earlier chapters Sena has this little... verbal tick, I guess? where he ends his sentences (usually requests) with "なんて…" (na-nn-te), shown in panel 2. A different form of the word is often used at the end of a joke, meaning essentially "just kidding!", and this is like... an uncommitted, spineless little version of that. He's asking them if they would please consider playing in a match, and basically ending it with: "haha jk...." 😔

I translated it as "or something..." because he ISN'T joking, he just can't help but say it because he's that non-confrontational, and I thought that might be confusing without context? Or perhaps I'm just over-explaining, but alas.

Panel 1 -> KURITA: Wanna play in an American Football match!? Panel 2 -> JERSEY #16 & #8: No! Panel 4 -> SENA: No, it's not over yet! This isn't the only sports club! Panel 5 -> SENA: I'll go around to all of 'em--! Panel 6 -> HIRUMA: You're playing in a match for the American Football club!

I had to put in all three of their uh, pitches? to the basketball club because I love this little sequence lol. It's such a fun way to show the differences in how each character approaches a problem, and visually displays their body language so well. It's like the funniest version of the three billy goats gruff story

Is this the first official appearance of Hiruma's little black book? It's funny, it's dastardly, and it's just as much for the sake of cartoon violence as his guns are lol. (Seriously, some of the stuff he uses to blackmail people has me side eyeing Hiruma (and Inagaki) real hard rip. The fact that you're not supposed to take any of it seriously is it's saving grace.)

Panel 1 -> JERSEY #16: Uwah, again!? JERSEY #8: Will you give it a rest!! We said we're not gonna play!! Panel 2 -> HIRUMA: Hooo~ that defiant attitude.... I take it you two are first years? Panel 3 -> HIRUMA: Hhmmmm, so Satake-kun from year 1 class 2, and Yamaoka-kun from class 5, huh? Panel 4 -> HIRUMA: Satake-kun is-- well well! The true culprit behind the underwear thefts of the swimming club! And Yamaoka-kun-- what's this? He gives a kiss to his poster of Ai Kago every morning? Whoow, isn't this painful! SATAKE: Wha-- YAMAOKA: How do you-- Panel 5 -> HIRUMA: Now, I think I'll just spread the word!!! SATAKE: Waahh w-we'll play, we'll play! YAMAOKA: Please let us play in the American Football match!!

The severity of the dirt seems pretty skewed to me, but I guess to a teenage anime boy from the early 00's, general embarrassment is just as bad as sexually harrassing your schoolmates 🙃

But anyway, now we know exactly why Hiruma is so feared by the general student body (and faculty)! A real menace to society <3 Btw, at the time Ai Kago was a girl in the pop idol group Morning Musume.

After going to every other sports club in Deimon, Sena finally comes into some luck at the track and field club....

ISHIMARU: An American Football match? Yeah sure, I'll play!

Ishimaru.... you're such a good guy..... 😭

Panel 1 -> SENA: R-really!? ISHIMARU: Yeah, and y'know-- Hiruma's probably gathering the first years, right? Panel 2 -> ISHIMARU: So if I play with them, I'll get to know their physical abilities, and I can invite any of the promising ones to the track and field club. Panel 3 -> ISHIMARU: That's ok, isn't it? As a give and take. SENA: O-of course!! Panel 4 -> SENA: (Yay, that's one person!) Then I'll be seeing you tomorrow! Panel 5 -> ISHIMARU: Tomorrow!!? That's impossible! SENA: What--!!? Panel 6 -> ISHIMARU: I work part time for the local magazine delivery-- I have to deliver them all by noon tomorrow so it'll be tight. Sorry

Poor boy can't catch a break. And enjoy Ishimaru in his like, first and last serious arc for the rest of the series..... :') you deserved better my boy.....

Ishimaru's fairly casual attitude towards Hirma makes me so curious about what he's like in class though lol. I guess for people that Hiruma has no direct use for, they end up flying under the radar and don't have a strong opinion on him? Maybe to some students in Deimon, Hiruma is just 'that eccentric guy in my grade' lol. Strange thought.

But you know, at least Hiruma managed to get some people to help out! Wow, such charisma.

Panel 1 -> (from left to right on the chart -> ): Sena, Kurita, Hiruma Panel 2 -> SENA: Amazing!! So many, just by himself...

Panel 1 -> SENA: Hiiee!? Panel 2 -> KURITA: Hey.... I guess you're also at zero, huh.... Panel 3 -> KURITA: Even Hiruma stopped after 7 people.... and all the sports clubs have already gone home.... It's no good, we're not going to make it in time for the tournament.... Panel 5 -> SENA: I-I'm going to make another round!

Like, ok. So I haven't actually read that many sports manga (mainly because they tend to not hold my attention very long), but Eyeshield's opening chapters are so charming and cute and like... well set up that I always love re-reading it. It might ultimately be a classic coming of age/underdog story, but at this point Sena isn't even interested in playing the damn sport lol (in fact playing the sport is the thing he's got the most reservations about). It's just that he's made friends with Kurita and wants to help him (and Hiruma) towards this goal they're so passionate about, and also wants to feel like a part of something. Idk, it's really successful in fleshing out Sena's personality imo, and manages to make this extremely cowardly kid very endearing (which I think is kind of a rare thing in a shounen manga protag, not to mention a sports manga one).

BUT anyway, he spots Ishimaru doing deliveries and jumps over the fence to reach him.

SENA: Please let me gopher-- no, I mean-- please let me help you!

His heart is in the right place! When you've been a doormat your whole life, it takes a minute to move past it!!

Anyway, skipping ahead a few pages because I've already used too many images on this chapter lol (not me straight up posting half the pages of this chapter so far 😭) -- Sena helps Ishimaru deliver half of the magazines and so they manage to hand them all out that night. Since that frees Ishimaru up the following day, he agrees to play in the match-- which means Sena managed to get one person!

He returns to the club room and tells Kurita the good news, but that still leaves them with.... 10 people.

Panel 2 -> KURITA: We're short.... one person.... Panel 3 -> KURITA: We were so close.... Panels 5 & 6 -> Sounds of the crowd cheering

Panel 1 -> SENA: U-um! Panel 2 -> SENA: For the last person, if I... if I participate...

Whenever Sena thinks about potentially playing American Football in these early chapters, I've always liked that the things he focuses on is the sound of the crowd, the... kinship, maybe? of being on a team. There's probably an element of the glory that appeals to him, but it mostly seems to be the ambience and passion and unity that he's drawn to. As opposed to like, Monta later on who (initially, anyway) really just wants the fame and adoration of being a popular player lol (and good for him, the heart wants what it wants). But for Sena, as the protagonist, it helps me connect to his wants at this point in the story a lot more organically as opposed to if his desire had always been "I wanna be The Best Sportsman™!!!" But again, that's a me thing lol.

Of course Hiruma has to interrupt before Sena commits one way or another lol

Panel 1 -> HIRUMA: That fucking konbini!! Running out of sugarless gum!! Not even flies would chew on that nasty-ass sweet gum!! Panel 2 -> HIRUMA: Oh damn, I forgot to put them up halfway through.

Hiruma's comically short temper that vanishes between one panel and the next will always be funny to me lol. Explosively coming into the club room, ranting about unimportant bullshit while tossing soda at to his teammates (which is quite thoughtful of him actually) and then casually revealing that he's taken care of everything....

Sometimes when I'm feeling unmotivated, I think to myself "what would Hiruma do?" the answer is usually 'several illegal things', but I can at least try to emulate his proactiveness lol.

Panel 2 -> SENA & KURITA: WE DID IIITT Panel 3 -> HIRUMA: We didn't do anything!!! I'm the one who ended up doing it all, you useless idiots!! Actually, give back my cola!! I don't have a single drop of fluid to spare for you morons!! Wilt and die!

Well. No one ever claimed Hiruma was gracious.

That's (more or less) the end of chapter 3! Finally!! The chapter ends with another character room, this time for Hiruma. I'm also putting Kurita's here, which was at the end of chapter 2 but didn't manage to squeeze in.

Page 1 Kurita Ryoukan 2nd Year Deimon Devilbats #77 Power: ***** Speed: * Technique: ** [upper corner: "My refrigerator" bottom left: "Bookshelf-- bursting with American Football magazines" bottom center: "Weights over 100kg"] Page 2 Hiruma Youichi 2nd Year Deimon Devilbats #1 Power: ** Speed: ** Technique: *****

When I read this manga for the first time back in highschool, I was SO frustrated that it just showed the club room instead of Hiruma's bedroom. Ngl I still feel a little cheated, but I guess they had to maintain that gremlin mystique somehow 😔

(Also join me as I puzzle over where the fuck Kurita keeps his futon.... 🤔)

------------

I was going to cover the next chapter as well, but I think I'll just end this part here-- the next chapter is more or less when the first match starts, so I figure I'll do those together! Honestly this chunk of the story didn't have any egregious translation errors in the fanscans so there wasn't too much to comment on that front lol. Enjoy my ramblings about how much I like these early chapters, they're so charming!

[strayg0dss]

Tecchou vs Tetchou: on spelling and romanization

Have you ever wondered why the official English manga uses "Tetchou"? And official merch from Japan "Tecchou"? Why is the fandom so split on spelling? What is correct?

I'm hoping to answer some questions here :)

[Tl;dr at the very end]

Please note: I'm not a native Japanese speaker. I am, however, a linguist. I've dealt with Japanese linguistics (everything from spelling and syntax to phonology) on an academic level and I'm actively learning Japanese at university. Okay? Okay. Then let's dive into this!

1) Romanization?

Romanization is the act of translating Japanese words that are originally in kana/kanji into the Latin alphabet. The romanization that's mostly used (in English manga & anime) is the Hepburn romanization. It's based on English spelling and pronunciation!

This mostly goes for consonants, meaning the J in Jouno is pronounced like the J in Jungle. Vowels are a bit different but we won't get into that now. Important is: based on English spelling and pronunciation.

2) The っち in Tet/cchou?

てっちょう

-> Te "sokuon" chi "yōon" u

Let's break it down: the first hiragana is a small tsu っ (called sokuon). It makes the following consonant, in this case, the ch of chi ち longer. Usually, it simply doubles the consonant in writing:

っこ -> kko

っし -> sshi

But for っち, according to Hepburn, not cch is used. But tch. Why? ...🤷‍♂️ (the actual explanation given on Wikipedia is "because the perceived consonant that's doubled is [t]" but then why is the s of shi doubled, and not shsh? But I digress...)

If you're not familiar with this specific rule, it wouldn't occur to you to use tch and not cch! Because it usually doubles the written consonant!

According to strict Hepburn romanization, Tetchou is more correct:

But there's more!

3) Tetchō? (A small detour on ou vs ō)

According to Hepburn, vowels presented in Hiragana (as in ちょう chou) can be translated separately as ou, or using ō. There are more variations of this that are correct. But these are the most common ones.

But then... wouldn't Tecchou be wrong? Well...

4) Spelling (and fandom)

As I mentioned, the spelling is based on English pronunciation. tch and cch are the same in that sense. You would pronounce them the exact same way. And, as mentioned, cch is the more intuitive translation. Japanese publications use it. Fans use it. And that's okay!

Fans have always chosen spellings selectively. When did you last read Gojou instead of Gojo? Chousou instead of Choso? Both are more "correct" according to the Hepburn used.

Essentially, it doesn't matter if people use Tetchou/Tecchou/Tetchō or any variant. As long as you don't use Techou. Because that means notebook (てちょう). Don't do that. The っ does very much make a distinction in meaning here and must be translated one way or another.

5) Romanization and linguistics

Japanese linguists (those who speak Japanese natively and write about Japanese) often write their academic papers in English. They tend to use different romanization methods depending on the paper. And they're inconsistent as hell.

You can read a paper on Japanese morpho-syntax and a word can be transcribed a certain way on one page, then in a slightly different way on the next!

This is just to put into perspective that romanization is simply a tool that people tend to use however they want. Even scholars!

As long as the meaning doesn't get lost, cch vs tch doesn't matter that much. Again, Japanese publications use cch! English ones use tch. It's okay!

There are cases where it matters for the distinction of meaning!!! But Tecchou vs Tetchou isn't one of them.

Tl;dr:

According to strict Hepburn romanization, Tetchou is correct. But Tecchou is a more intuitive translation when you follow most Hepburn rules except for this special one, which is why lots of people and Japanese publishers use cch. The double consonant tch/cch is a meaning distinction from other words, so it must be used. But which one you use doesn't really matter, it has the same outcome.

[kpopsunbaes]

I'm seeing K'Pop coming up with both the dating rumor and the term "K'Population" making the rounds again. For those who are unaware, both are inaccurate.

A few years back, Serin and I were the team that researched the group and investigated where the rumor/name came from. The episode I've linked explains it and provides sources, but here's the TLDR on these two matters.

K'Pop

K'Pop wasn't an abbreviation for K'Population. They debuted as K'Pop and went by that name until disbandment.

As stated during the group's Sugarman2 appearance, the name "K’Pop" was created by Joo Younghoon who produced the group. While on a business trip in Japan, he was inspired by the term “J-Pop” and came up with “K-Pop” as the Korean counterpart to the J-Pop wave. This was the first example of the term being officially used in Korean music, as previously the term for the genre we know today as K-Pop was referred to as Hallyu (한류) and/or Gayo (가요). This is why the music show Inkigayo is named as such, as the name literally means popular music.

Note: K'Pop is styled as such in English, but during promotions, they were also sometimes referred to as "K-Pop". Due to the genre using a hyphen, when referring to the group, an apostrophe is preferred to reduce confusion.

The first reference to K'Population that I found came from the long-defunct website http://kpophwaiting.net. It was an English fansite in the 2000s for the group, as K'Pop had international fans. I found Japanese fansites from 2002, and references to fans in the US.

On the front page of the kpophwaiting site was a notice that read the following: “K-Population is here for those K-Pop fans who do not speak Korean and may have a hard time finding things on the band.” From this, we see that "K-Population" wasn't used as the group's name at all, it was for a fansite.

Sidenote, in case you're wondering what K'Pop's fans were called, it was K’Popcorn (케이팝콘), which also went by the nickname Popcorn (팝콘).

I have no idea how K'Population got misconstrued as being the group's name on various English wikis years later. I assume it was due to general misinformation that was parroted over the years.

The Dating Rumor

From what I could gather, the original Korean and international K’Pop fans didn’t seem to be the source of the dating rumors.

The first mention of it I could find was from 2007, after the group had gone inactive (and technically disbanded) a few years prior in 2005. On January 22nd, someone made a Daum Cafe post saying they heard a rumor from their new friend that Woohyun and Youngwon had dated and broken up pre-debut. However, the poster themselves doubted it and seemed to want to share it because they thought it was funny. The commenters from that time also didn't seem to take it seriously either.

The fight between the two members from 2003 was brought up during this. The context for it being brought up was that the poster was musing about the idea of them fighting and they vaguely remembered Woohyun had bandages on his hands from an actual fight with Youngwon. They didn't claim the dating rumor and the fight were connected events.

For those of you who are unaware of the circumstances of that incident, here's a brief explanation. The group's coordinator was leaving, so the company had a farewell party for them. Prior to that, Youngwon's drinking habit of being rowdy was known to the group. He got drunk during the party, and around 3am Woohyun was fed up with Youngwon picking fights with him. While he was waiting for his ride, Youngwon came up behind him and punched him a few times before staff separated them. Woohyun had an injury to his face and his wrist, as he fell during the incident. (S) After multiple insincere apologies, Youngwon finally got it that he hurt his friend, so he publicly apologized to Woohyun for his actions and they both moved on. There were no further incidents publicly between them, and the group went on to release another album. Despite what people have spread around, the fight wasn't even close to being the reason why K'Pop disbanded -- it also didn't cause long-lasting discord between the members either, as we know from their later reunion.

However, it appears that didn't matter to the next person who spread this rumor. Also in 2007, a reporter wrote an article that acted as if the January post was a true summary of events. Although the article itself is lost to time, a fan's reaction to it was preserved. The fan was annoyed that the fight was brought up to drag the members. They also claimed that due to the reporter's reputation, they doubted the dating rumor was true. The fan's speculation about the article being written to bash the members wasn't unwarranted. For context, around that time, an article came out that discussed the morals of idols who trained/debuted while underage. Youngwon was mentioned in that article, as that reporter brought up the fight with Woohyun in it.

In 2011, the dating rumor article was brought up in conversation among netizens. They remembered the article, but forgot that they didn't take it seriously. So, the story got spread around again as if it was fact. This is why retractions are so important.

After K'Pop's appearance on SugarMan2, the dating rumor was spread to international fans through articles on sites like Koreaboo and Allkpop. To this day, you'll see people associating K'Pop with this rumor after a giant game of telephone.

Final Notes

When it comes to K'Pop, people know them more for two inaccurate pieces of info than anything else they actually did. If you read this whole post and are interested in knowing what the group actually did, I recommend listening to the podcast audio included at the top of this post. I hope I explained this well enough for people to get why 1st Gen fans have been cracking down on those who repost about K'Population and the dating rumor.

Please be cautious when looking at English language wikis for 1st Gen groups in general, as they tend to include wrong info (and generally don't list sources). For example, Baby V.O.X's entry on Kprofiles includes the wrong picture of the original leader (it shows a different member from an MV a few years after her departure) and doesn't list that she was the leader. Additionally, H.O.T's Wikipedia page is a DISASTER. So, be cautious, folks.

[wanderersrest]

Some (Not So) Idle Thoughts On Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Before you begin reading: Do note that I have two companion pieces that I'll be referencing throughout this post, namely a small aside on the "Real vs Super Robot" debacle and a prequel highlighting what's going on in the world when G Gundam begins airing.

Good evening, everyone. I'd like to tell you a story. A story about a man set on a mission of revenge. tale. This is a tale about martial artists of all nations fighting it out on the grandest of arenas: the Earth. This is a tale about how a pair of young adults learn how to love not just themselves, but each other. Most important of all, this is a tale about a man who learns what it means to overcome even the most traumatic moments of his past in order to become a better man.

This is Mobile Fighter G Gundam. More specifically, these are my random thoughts about this series. And full disclosure: I grew up with G Gundam being my first entry into the Gundam franchise, as I was just a little bit too young to really watch Gundam Wing when it aired on Toonami.

G Gundam Is Just As Political As Every Other Gundam Series

Contrary to what a lot of people think, G Gundam is just as political as any other Gundam series. To give a quick summary, G Gundam is set in a time when the majority of humanity has fled to the space colonies above due to the how polluted the Earth has become due to war. In order to change this, the nations come up with an alternative to war: the Gundam Fight. There are just two problems with this:

Most of the people who fled to space were rich. And in case you're wondering, the first episode clears something up immediately: the poor were left behind on Earth.

The Gundam Fight uses the Earth as the battlefield. Which is fine if you're rich. But if you're poor...

This doesn't even touch on the motivations of THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST, MASTER ASIA, whose goal to seize control of the Devil Gundam stems from seeing how much damage was caused from the Gundam fight, which is pretty understandable as far as I'm concerned. This also doesn't touch on the fact the Shuffle Alliance and allies consist of people from all nations (specifically Japan, America, China, France, Russia, Sweden, and Nepal, among other countries), to say nothing of the fact that the nations of the world eventually come together to fight the Devil Gundam.

What a Lovable Cast of Goofballs

Nothing really pulls me into a show quite like a good cast of characters. And boy does G Gundam have quite the cast. Taking a page out of older mecha shows like Mazinger Z, G Gundam presents us with our protagonist: the hot-blooded samurai Domon Kasshu. Joining him on his mission to find the Devil Gundam are his mechanic/doctor/love interest Rain Mikamura and a handful of fellow fighters and support crews that make up the Shuffle Alliance.

I think part of what makes this cast so entertaining to watch is the fact that this series pulls a lot from Hong Kong action films and wuxia epics. It's why there are all of these crazy fighting techniques and action sequences that wouldn't look to out of place in something like a Jet Li or Donnie Yen film. Heck, THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST, MASTER ASIA is named after the popular wuxia character Dongfang Bubai (Literally the Invincible East in Chinese; this is why Master Asia's title in Japanese is Touhou Fuhai, as Touhou Fuhai is the direct translation of Dongfang Bubai into Japanese).

Another part of the cast's appeal lies in the fact that, despite this series having some out there Mobile Suit designs, the characters themselves are not actually stereotypical (or if they are, they tend to be portrayed in a more positive light). Take, for instance (and probably the most talked about example of this), Neo America's Chibodee Crocket and the Gundam Maxter. Gundam Maxter is notorious for being one of the more out there Mobile Suit designs in the series: A Gundam that is made to look like a football player, carries a pair of six shooters for ranged weapons, a shield that is used more as a surf board, and has shoulders that can also double as boxing gloves (the chest piece also flies off to give Maxter more of a boxer look). Chibodee, meanwhile, looks to be like a stereotypical American at first. He's loud, flashy, reckless, and just as much a hothead as the King of Hearts himself. Chibodee is also a street rat who, through his keen talent for boxing, was able to achieve the American Dream. Not only that, Chibodee also has a strong moral compass, which is also how he comes to meet his field crew.

I think I'd also be remiss not to talk about the King of Hearts, Domon Kasshu. Yes, it's an absolute blast to watch the man beat up anyone and everyone who gets in his way. But I think it's also touching when, after running into THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST, MASTER ASIA for the first time in the series, he breaks down crying due to the fact that, outside of Rain, Domon doesn't really have anyone else to go to when it comes to expressing his trauma. That's why MASTER ASIA'S betrayl towards the end of the Shinjuku arc hits as hard as it does: one of the very few people you could trust turns out to be a villain. Of course, things get more complicate once you find out what MASTER ASIA'S true goals are. It is so satisfying getting to see Domon grow so much in the first half of the series, and the payoff is that the second half really lets us enjoy some of the goofier aspects of Domon's character.

Really, I could go on about just about all of the characters. Like how Sai Saici is probably one of the best characters after Domon and THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST, MASTER ASIA, how the series gives us a pretty reasonable version of the love triangle by introducing probably one of the best characters in the series: Allenby Beardsley or the fact that Rain is already a great love interest (and just a great character in general) that knows how to put up with Domon's nonsense, especially once they get to Neo Hong Kong. Heck, I didn't even get to talk about the best Char Clone, Schwarz Bruder, who will show up at random, laugh at Domon, teach him a lesson, refuse to elaborate, and leave. I also feel like I'm doing a disserevice to THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST, MASTER ASIA by not talking enough about him. Like the fact that he doesn't ride his horse Fuunsaiki like a normal human being. No. Master Asia STANDS on top of Fuunsaiki. And you know that Fuunsaiki is built different because he gets his own Mobile Fighter, complete with his own suit up sequence. I would talk about them more, but we'd be here forever. So we have to move on, both for my sake and for yours.

What Everyone's Been Waiting For: The Hot-Blooded Action

I don't think I really need to explain this one. G Gundam just has some really good action sequences, even if it relies on a lot of stock footage. I'd honestly be more impressed if this series had better animation, especially considering that G Gundam is a 49-episode series. And really, that's what people love about G Gundam, regardless of whether they think it's just dumb fun or if it's some bespoke series. It knows that it's very different from most Gundam series, so it leans into that. A lot. Part of what makes this series such a treat to watch is seeing it carve out its own name in spite, or maybe because, it is a Gundam series.

The other part is that, by revisiting the older style of mecha stories, you do get some really cool setpieces. And man, when G Gundam is at its best, it's at its best. There really isn't much else to say here. G Gundam just knows that people like cool action sequences.

G Gundam Gets Referenced More Than Its Brethren

I would like to start this off by saying that I only found out that Amphibia references G Gundam while I was writing this post.

Anyways, that gif is important here, because in my opinion it kind of highlights G Gundam's legacy. Because in my mind, it shows that G Gundam has resonated with a nonzero amount of people. I know this because my last two posts currently have the most amount of notes, and they're both about G Gundam in some fashion.

But more to my point, it often catches me off guard just how often this series in particular gets referenced. This is especially striking when you remember that a lot of western fans talk about how important G Gundam's successor, New Mobile Report Gundam Wing, is. And while I would agree with that notion, I do think that Wing's importance outside of being how introduced a lot of western fans to the franchise is minimal at best (full disclosure: I am not a big fan of Gundam Wing especially due to how idiots like Professor Otaku talk up that series while trashing G Gundam, so I'm probably understating just how important it was), which is funny, because G Gundam gets referenced a fair bit in comparison (at least I think it does; I'm not about to verify this because I'm not that insane... yet). Here is a sample of some of the G Gundam references that I know of:

Regular Show's Brilliant Century Duck Crisis Special references a lot of mecha shows including G Gundam. The G Gundam reference here is when Benson suits up, which is ripped straight from Domon's Shining Gundam suit up sequence, complete with the ass shot.

There's a trainer in Pokemon Red & Blue that, when they spot the player, shouts "Pokemon fight! Ready, GO!"

Speaking of Pokemon, the Sun & Moon anime has an entire episode dedicated to G Gundam (which isn't surprising, since one of the banned in the US episodes has a reference to the original Gundam), complete with both Meowth creating a Devil Gundam-like machine, all while Brock and Olivia defeat said machine using a Z-move reminiscent of the Sekiha Love-Love Tenkyouken.

Nanbaka has a scene where one of the main characters defeats an opponent using the Erupting G*d Finger S*kiha T*nky**ken.

Gintama's Bentendo Owee arc has a store manager who's basically a dead ringer of Stalker. He even does the "Gundam Fight! Ready, GO!" pose at one point.

This doesn't even touch on the fact that this show is pretty quotable. Things like the Shining Finger/Erupting God Finger quote, the UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST motto, "...with the help of KYOOOOOJI!", MASTER ASIA'S quote about becoming more than just the UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST, and my personal favorite: "Except this time, I am a WANDER BUG!!!" are often quoted on the Internet whenever people talk about G Gundam. Heck this doesn't even touch on my personal memories of seeing (and even participating in) Reddit comment threads that were just the UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST motto.

(See? Guy even has his own version of the hyper mode!)

This also ignores the greatest form of reference: the fact that other works may have been directly inspired by G Gundam. This is going to be a bit more tenuous I think, but in my opinion, you can see this series' influence in shows like The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar. I'm convinced that Guy Shishioh is what happens when you take Domon and turn him into a cyborg more or less (It helps that their voice actors, Nobuyuki Hiyama and Tomokazu Seki respectively, are considered to be two of the most hot-blooded performers of the 90's). Guy even has the friend to all children shtick that Domon has, which isn't surprising since GGG is supposed to be for children primarily. You can even see G Gundam's legacy in shows like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, where the antagonist Lordegenome is often joked as being a disciple of THE SCHOOL OF THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST due to him bodying Simon with his bare hands (while Simon is still piloting Lagann). Heck, I won't say who it is due to spoilers, but there's also a Disgaea character who's based heavily off of Domon. Like the fact that I'm making this comparison alone is a spoiler, so I'm keeping it vague so as not to spoil everything.

Final Thoughts: A Maligned Series With a Lot of Heart

Mobile Fighter G Gundam is a series that is often looked down upon due to the fact that it is a traditional mecha series in a franchise that is all about being a military robot series. That line of thinking is a real disservice to G Gundam, as this series is one that has meaningful messages it wants to convey. Those messages being:

Humans have a responsibility to take care of the environment, even if and especially because we were the ones to cause harm to it.

There are no easy ways to solve complex problems, and taking shortcuts can lead to more problems.

It is okay to be angry, but do not let that anger consume you.

And because this is sports we're talking about: Cheaters never prosper.

This doesn't even touch on the fact that said messages are very much in line with what a lot of the franchise has to say. But because G Gundam trusts that its audience aren't a bunch of idiots, the series doesn't beat the viewer over the head with its morals (although MASTER ASIA does have a not-so-thinly veiled rant about how Japan is now in ruins even though it was once a financial juggernaut, almost as if the country had some sort of economic crisis happen around the time G Gundam aired *cough*), but it does understand that beating the viewer over the head with these morals is not going to help.

I think this is why I've seen people push back on the concepts of Super Robots and Real Robots, especially the latter. I hadn't touched on this in my original Real vs Super Robots post, but part of the problem with Real Robots in particular is the fact that it is basically just "Not Super Robots." If you look at the original Gundam, it still has a lot of the usual tropes that were in shows like Mazinger Z or Getter Robo. The RX-78-2 Gundam is a one-of-a-kind machine that is made out of a super alloy (Lunar Titanium) that makes it all but indestructible, carries one-of-a-kind weapons (the beam rifle, the beam saber/javelin, and the hyper hammer), and is treated as an almost supernatural entity on the battlefield (hence the moniker "The White Devil"). Heck even the much harder Fang of the Sun Dougram has the smaller-but-still-big Dougram jumping over other mechs like it's about to go for a slam dunk in a basketball game. Do these facts diminish the types of stories that Gundam and Dougram are trying to tell? NO.

It is this dangerous line of thinking, the idea that all mecha shows must be either "Real" or "Super", that helps fuel people's idea that G Gundam is a bad series. The fact that people do not like this series because of how different it is from the rest of the franchise ignores the fact that, really, it's still a Gundam series. Just like how The Last Jedi is still a Star Wars movie, or how Xenoblade 2 is still a Xenoblade game. It is a wild notion that, in my opinion, shows that people who say things like that are doing so out of some twisted doctrine that says that Gundam can only be a serious war story. I am happy, though, that G Gundam is finally getting the reappraisal it so deserves. I have a general aversion to rose-tinted lenses when it comes to media, and it always makes me happy knowing that Mobile Fighter G Gundam is still just as good as, maybe even better than, I remember it being as a child.

Special Thanks & Notes

I'd like to thank all of the people who have been waiting patiently for this post as well as the people who made all of the gifs I used in this post. I didn't really think people would be interested in what I have to say about G Gundam until I posted the "Real vs Super" post, so it means a lot to me to see people react so positively to what I had to say in that post as well as the G Gundam context post.

As for what to expect next, I'm going to take a break from mecha stuff for a little bit. I'll still be writing posts, don't get me wrong. I just want to branch out a little bit from mecha, and I'm going to start out in small steps. I do have something of a primer on Gintama that I'm working on, so look forward to that. I'm also going to try post sillier things every now and then like my Getter Robo post (which unfortunately got buried under the original G Gundam post), so also look forward to that. Who knows, maybe I'll talk about Xenoblade at some point along with my love of Zeke von Genbu, THE BRINGER OF CHAOS. Or maybe Pokemon, and how Rowlet is objectively the best starter.

But once again, and most important of all, thanks for reading.

[kyomunosaki]

Geminism Trial, thoughts and observations

I just noticed Geminism's trial is out, so this will be a short post on my thoughts regarding it. I've been eagerly waiting for this game for a few years now, especially since I'm a massive fan of Sayonara wo Oshiete, and this brings back a ton of the staff from that era.

I've tagged some other games that are related / probably inspirations, so take that as you will if you're seeing this post randomly lol

Overall Thoughts: An amazing introduction to a game that I've been excited for, for a while now. The writing style in Japanese is absolutely amazing, unique and got me absolutely hooked, and the visual and sound direction are just phenomenal. I want to also note it has the best direction of presentation I've ever seen from a visual novel to date, with tons of cool cut-ins and effects. I cannot wait to experience the full version of this game.

There will be at least some minor spoilers with OOC screenshots and whatnot in the rest of this post, so keep that in mind if you read!

First thing I noticed was that the game is in Unity, so I wonder if it'll take advantage of effects and stuff at all? It makes sense for the CRAFTWORK staff that I know of to work in an engine like this though, since they have some wizards there.

I like that they open their eyes when you hover over the game button, this sort of presentation in VNs adds a lot since it's like the cover to a book or album, it gives something to the rest of the atmosphere that's hard to describe.

The settings screen is super neat, but also the "戦局" screen being there is super interesting. I think it's something like a TIPS page that some older ADVs have, so it serves as a reference as you read. I'm guessing who has what body part is going to be important throughout the work.

I also find it funny that Awasumi's voice is at 100% by default while the rest are like 60%, and I really wonder if that's because a certain famous someone voices him, who's using the pen name 杯瑠万花 (literally read as: Pile Bunker, I'm not joking)

The visual style reminds me a LOT of Ciconia, I wouldn't be surprised if it's a direct inspiration. The widescreen NVL format with the film grain + blurred backgrounds just screams that was an influence on this game.

The OP being called "twyndyllyngs ~Fuguai no Alice~" is kinda funny in mind with the last point too, since Ciconia draws a lot from TRianThology in turn as well.

The visual direction is indeed amazing, I haven't seen anything like this since going through some of Shumon Yuu's stuff ages ago. Should also be noted this game has proper scene jump as well, which is damn impressive to implement into Unity of all engines.

The writing style is actually really excellent overall, I love lines line this in particular. It's harder to read than say, SayoOshi though. It should be noted that it's getting an English release on the same day as the Japanese one too, so it's cool that it's going to be so accessible and something actually done by a first-party and not some underpaid localizer.

I just realized it's somewhat like Muramasa with the sprites, which is pretty funny when her main one looks so relaxed here.

And yeah, the writing is really damn good and funny so far. I've also realized the game is just mixed weirdly, which is why Sugita's character is 100% volume lol. He's doing a damn amazing job too, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was him if not for his voice PV which pointed out how obvious it was him with the lines they used.

The other 3 voice actors as well, Nakaya Shiho, Nakaya Naho and Sumeragi Mikado all do amazing jobs as well. I really like that the Nakayas chose their pen names to seem like siblings. Also it should be brought up that they do vocals for the OP, which I think is amazing.

It should probably also be stated that it's still 100% a CRAFTWORK game, so expect some extremely graphic and definitely triggering psychosexual content if you read this.

I can't get a pic that's as out of context as these, but the visual effects are pretty crazy. They definitely take advantage of having a more traditional game engine, which is pretty amazing since Unity is somewhat infamous in terms of VNs.

Another no pic thing but the choices are like Fallout 4, where it's just a truncated form of what you actually say, and I think that's kinda funny.

Excellent! I don't have much more to add at the end here, but if you got this far thanks for reading! I'm always looking for new JVN mutuals, especially anyone who reads stuff in Japanese, so please hit me up!

[2n2n]

ch 107

HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE....! Ah I can't believe it is ALL Tsukasa x Nene ! I always anticipate that we'll spend time elsewhere on the other guys... ahhh so many pages ♥♥♥ wonderful....!!

something so pleasant about the attentive, patient, listening Tsu... how he goes about his business navigating a boundary....

in Japanese, the word Tsukasa uses for Nene-chan here ["fussy"] is the same Amane uses to describe what Tsukasa will be like if he's interrupted at Katanuki.... ♥ Amane seems to feel very differently about 'fits' than Tsukasa does ... wwwwww.... hm, it's actually bad that Amane feels like... ♥ tantrum ... you're the one I worry about

it's too funny Tsukasa just does what Nene-chan says when she no wanna be upside-down....

I'm so sorry about your future boyfriends Nene-chan. Kidnapper and Abusive Boyfriend. they are both stupid and you hate them, I know I know....

but a pause to say, it's so funny how pairings can be as kids, ahahaha... Hakubo was, so annoyed by Sumire, such a brat child she was, so inconvenient.. apparently young Akane could be possessed to yell I HATE YOU! at Aoi....! Amane got so mad and shoved Tsukasa, and he used to call him dummy when he was frustrated too.... even Kou acts childishly and insults Mitsuba when annoyed (and isn't Mitsu such a brat haha ...) even in My Dear Living Dead and Narisokonai Snow White, we really have some "ugh!!!!" between the pairings, ahaha.

ah its funny to see Tsukasa say urusai wwwwww

GET HIM!!!! Nene-chan ♥ so bold so brave haha, Mitsuba wouldn't DREAM of doing this, haahahaha!!! you know the way people imagine Tsukasa VS Nene-chan, they'd imagine he'd rip her face off like a chimpanzee for this, I'm glad for some people to be proven wrong... lol...

meanwhile... wwwwww.... Tsukasa-chan, you complain about all of this fuss and tantrum and violence and such but... wwww.....

the atmosphere is so different wwwww all Yugi are so frustrating and make you cry, huh, Nene-chan? They wanna do things you don't and you're along for the ride, hehehehe....

Fascinated in the small gap in memory... maybe things that aren't so important to you, are easily forgotten in all that time, in a mundane way. What did mom do...? I don't remember... ah. I really like to see Tsukasa talking to his joudai so much; we don't see it as often as we do with Hanako... they seem to be saying something like, "well, children are different..." and "what did your mom do?" ... I like that they seem to not want fickle Tsukasa to lose interest or gumption hehehehaha they wanna solve this!!! nooo we can't just give up, we gotta-- do the things--- ngnngn!!!

such wonderful and magical things Tsukasa can doooo uwwaaahhh! Sometimes I get why Amane's name has the 'normal' kanji... with Amane he'll take you to a beach to do normal summertime things like whacka watermelon, go to festival stalls supernatural and non... I feel like only Tsukasa would wrangle a giant owl and steer you all around to delight you....

so sweet you're just trying to entertain her... make her happy... a natural talent

such a nice face.... ♥♥♥ Tsutsu please you...

it's like I'm having a beautiful dream... their little faces...

MOUUU IKKAI ahahahhaha, you were too good... ♥ you made her manic .. overstimulated... zoomies... soooo cute haha NENE-CHAAAN!! you're overwhelming no matter what hahahaha....

fickle.... ♥.....

the poor joudai really being put to task wwww it makes me feel like Hanako is much kinder to his, he is not this rude to them!! He is apt to pet them and thank them... I can't wait to learn what the hell these orbs are.... they are too personable lol

and then I start dreaming... madness madness... I can't bare it.... it can't be said enough, how long I've wanted this...! How it's felt so "set-up", with Tsukasa and Nene-chan both loving to sing....! I believed in my heart it was inevitable! Of course, it would be beautiful!

I can't believe Tsukasa can play this kind of coy and baiting little game....! whaaaaat? You're suddenly as adept as a children's show host... and it wasn't even your plan to send her to sleep! So what for? Just to invite her to sing? It's too cute....

ahhh.. I hope for a volume promo we get this in color. It's too sublime.... the steam off the hot gears as the boundary's water runs over them... knowing these gears are a golden color... and can you even imagine, in the anime? Both Tsukasa and Nene-chan's VAs can sing!!!! The sound is plausible....;;; it's too lovely... I can't believe such a beautiful scene can happen so 'soon' in their dynamic. I thought I'd wait so long for this, even though in my heart I knew it would happen at some point. It's amazing ... in some way, TsuNene lacks resistance.... it's their open and free natures ... impulses ... it can just 'happen'....

too serene... I wonder what it's like to not understand Tsukasa's hidden grace, the gentility? This scene is so gracious of him.... invite you to sing with me.... there are expressions only Tsukasa makes, and, suddenly the twins feel worlds apart. They feel impossibly different.... poor Amane, he doesn't often reach serenity...

I wonder what you feel, Nene-chan...? Comfort... warmth? Safety, even for a second? A sense of security... enough to fall asleep. So glad she turns to watch him sing...

Looking at it. Why is it like some sort of date ... TsuNene is impressive. You took a girl on an amusement park ride .... you serenaded her ... Amane, look out....

two things... 1. it's crazy you can just catch Mirai like this when Amane could NOT at ALL, even with how desperately he wanted to prevent her from touching Nene-chan in the Clockkeepers arc. and 2. you suddenly have this violent agility to stop this inhuman speeding mouse, but you simply let Nene-chan evade your sleep fingers just earlier? Tsukasa really is avoiding using violence with Nene-chan....

ah, you remind me of someone!

the Yugi can be so different and then so alike. It's a pain, isn't it? tedious things... the mysteries. And here Mirai is, droning on about justice and crime and rules.... all of the things we don't need. If we want to change the future, we'll have to break all of those. The Yugi look at other mysteries as chores in these circumstances. You'd just like to do as you please without annoying interruptions. Of course, it has to happen... sigh.

Interesting to hear Mirai refer to their 'Court of Law'. I suppose that 'space' we see is some sort of body of their boundary, and some aspect of their themeing. These gavels ... how annoying. This truly is a force opposite to the destructive and villainous Yugi who are trying to bend fate to their desires. Strictures... ! Governing ... bleh.

[rose-reads-visualnovels]

how do you get so good at analysis? ;_; i'm really dumb and take things at surface value, which i've been fine with up until now but seeing you read umineko so deeply makes me kinda like.... jealous isn't the right word? that sounds too spiteful. it just makes me feel like i'm missing out on a more fun way to experience things. but it seems so daunting i don't even know how to start. to me it seems like picking out every detail and exaggerating it as far as possible but it's obviously more refined than that because you're able to keep things together thematically and make some good theories. do you have any advice for it?

Hi, anon!

Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re being jealous/spiteful with this ask. I also used to want to write analysis on things because they seem fun, and actually this is my first proper try at it! I think I’ve said it before but if I’m not careful I’ll binge everything on first watch/read and miss details. (This is why I rewatch Utena every other month). So yes, I know sometimes I’m grasping at straws but that’s because I’m actively squeezing everything I can out of a page/scene.

I think what sets this liveblog apart and the reason I can pick up threads/themes is that Umineko seems very upfront about what it wants to say.

「MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, EVERYONE WANTED A LOT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW…!」

Utena is the same in that - even though people say it’s too symbolic - I think the fact that it bares its inner mechanisms for all to see is a huge kindness. If everything means something else, or represents both itself and a larger concept, then a show where everything is allegorical is actually discarding layers of obfuscation.

I think a good place to start to Notice Themes is at the very beginning.

The Golden Witch invites you to take things easy and accept them as they come, but The Revolutionary Witch tells you that - in any story - the first introductions matter the most.

Up until now, Umineko has drilled inside our heads again and again, repetition after repetition, that the Ushiromiya’s Western schtick is a product of Kinzo’s reverse weeb affectations. He started many of the “traditions” that seem so inescapable, he invented the name for the fucking chair he sits at the breakfast table and the order of the seats according to his own patriarchal standards.

His Western obsession is tied very obviously with his “black magic” obsession and he even gets angry when you don’t call them “grimoires” because part of the charm of magic is that it’s foreign and cool. He speaks of black magic when ranting about his urges to sexually abuse a dead Beatrice, all his children speak of Western things when recalling their own childhood and abuse.

The only exception to this is Kinzo’s Japanese sword - both a true object and a phallic symbol that doesn’t deny itself its origins - that he uses to spank Jessica’s naked butt.

I feel like, in Umineko, you just need to sit and listen to the characters and wonder at their motivations. But you also need to wonder about the choice of presentation.

For example, Kanon alone in the garden after he left the conversation, being dismissed by Gohda. All he says is “…even me” or something among those lines, very mysterious! But the way this is presented, the camera not caring about the Cousins + Adults but following an actor after he’s being kicked out of the stage? Unusual! Curious! Very interesting! The way the narrative describes it, (paraphrasing here) “you needed to get closer if you wanted to hear the words whispered to his heart”? Why would it be written like that? Who is the narrator speaking to?

So I think - to make an analysis close in methodology to what I’m doing - you need to question what’s onscreen, not in a “this isn’t real” way (it may not be real but that’s not the focus!), but in a “why is this being shown the way it is” way. This is a novel after all. Choices of words, choices of POV, what is described and what’s left unsaid!

Those are the tips from the Revolutionary Witch!

— Rose, the Revolutionary Witch

[alovelyburn]

Is griffguts popular? Does Miura knew about the shippers? Was he shocked? You always have sources

It's kind of hard to gage what is and is not popular, especially when you're talking about a community of people that mostly stay away from the main body of Berserk fandom, but here's my general experience and understanding of things.

-In the Western fandom, the vast majority of active fans have what I'd call the western standard perspective: Griffith is a sociopath who may or may not have cared about Guts but if so he still didn't care about anyone else, Guts and Casca are soulmates and he lives for her and hates Griffith, the end.

Now I say active fans because my personal experience with running into people who like Berserk in the wild has been that many of them were fans of Griffith/Guts but unwilling to engage with the fandom at all because, well, of what I just described up there. But of course this is going to vary depending on where you go. In media fandom circles, like artists and writers and such, it's more popular than with say random people on a general anime discussion board.

In more recent years, since the OVAs I guess, there has been more movement around the relationship vs. say when I was in the fandom the first time when there were active efforts to drive fans of the relationship (or even just of Griffith as a character) out of the fandom entirely.

-In the Japanese fandom, there's a much wider variety of views on Berserk in general, and I notice a lot of I guess casual acceptance of Griffith and Guts as potentially a romantic connection. Even just in random threads on 2chan or whatever or replies to news posts you'll see references to it. And if you say go to pixiv or something, or look at doujinshi or whatever, the G/G fans are by far the most active of any pairing fandom, in any case.

And when I talk about things like the casual acceptance even by people who aren't really like pairing fans as such, I'm including things like... how the OVA scriptwriter directly referred to them as having romantic feelings for each other (among other feelings). The writer probably wasn't there pumping his fist and rooting for them to get together, but it was just a thing he knew and understood about the characters. This is kind of unsurprising because Guts and Griffith do have a particular kind of relationship dynamic, and honestly particular kinds of visual design, that are often used in manga or anime to evoke homoerotic relationships. And manga and anime in general has a lot more like subtle or casual homoeroticism than say random western stories anyway.

All of that said, the main takeaway I get from Japanese fandom is that they don't talk about romance nearly as much as English fandom does, and that applies to Griffith and Guts or Guts and Casca or anyone else. Couldn't tell you why.

As for Miura, that's an interesting question. That one 30 page article from the shojo studies book that was the source of the quotes that recently hit the fandom had been partially pseudo-translated before by a fan who said Miura had said he didn't like that interpretation, but they also said they had a hard time with that line, so I've never been sure whether that's actually what he said. At the time that I was told this I was surprised (for reasons I'm about to get into), but also not surprised (for reasons I will also get into).

But the matter became more muddled when Kojion@twitter began posting translations of the same article because there was nothing in there about not liking them to be interpreted romantically... but there was one line that seemed to correlate to what the fan had said that Miura said about Griiffith and Guts (that he didn't like it and liked relationships like rivals), but like, he was talking about his taste in movies at the time? Because he said he liked movies about men's relationships, and then clarified that he meant rivalries and such. So I kind of wondered if they misunderstood the context since they were having a hard time with the line anyway. Can't be sure though, since I don't have the book itself yet.

And now, the reason I was surprised when I first heard that:

-there's literally a line in an interview about how Griffith was designed after people he knew who can't love women and focus on men (romantically or platonically) instead.

-there's also this line where he refers to Griffith as not being one to "fall in personal relationships" with Guts being the exception which like, I understand that he's not saying anything directly, but you've gotta understand the word he used for "fall" is 落っこちる, which is commonly used to mean "fall in love" (actually it is the second dictionary definition, and the first means physically fall off a roof or fail an exam, so you know).

-he spoke openly many times about his interest in gender and sexuality, stated that he felt like androgynous characters should have both male and female love interests, that most androgynous characters in manga fall in love with men, and that he felt like he had to be ready to commit to that if he was going to write an androgynous character (he was discussing the lead of Duranki to be clear. But it's interesting, if you... look at Griffith at all).

-he also listed many lgbtq stories as major influences in his creation of Berserk, including Devilman (one of his biggest influences which is extremely obvious), Guin Saga (which helped create the BL genre and which he has stated was his single biggest influence), Rose of Versailles and Kaze to Ki No Uta (which is literally a classic boylove manga).

-but mostly just because he... wrote the manga. Which I'm bringing up because there are moments that are very difficult to read nonromantically, including a panel where the BoD heavily implies that Guts is in love with Griffith.

The reason I wasn't surprised:

Because it was a 20+ year old interview and he seemed a lot less comfortable with the topic than he eventually became.

One thing I noticed during my time tracking this manga and also obsessing over Miura interviews is that the early interviews are more conservative with his influences and intentions whereas as time went on he started saying yes Berserk is a shojo and then yes, I was influenced by "Go Nagai's style" and then "yes, I was influenced by Devilman specifically."

Basically by 2019 he was out there talking about reading BL manga and such. So even if he had said it, which I'm not sure he did because of the movie thing, I would probably attribute it to not having become comfortable with the topic yet.

Anyway, did he know about it, I'm sure he did.

Was he shocked, probably not given all of the above. He's the one who chose of his own free will to modify the meaning of 渇望 (thirsting/craving) with furigana that says こがれ (crave because you're in love with) in that BoD scene.

No one told him to do it. He knew what the words meant.

[partrin]

oh no, another writing idea: i've read so many fics about rin and haru in australia, rin and haru in japan (for obvious reasons), rin and haru in america, and other non-asian countries, but i've never read a fic about them being based in a southeast asian country (but to be fair, i've obviously not read all the fics there are available under their tag so i wouldn't know for sure).

today, i was thinking about the local sports scene—primarily football (as in soccer), because 1. when i think of sports, my favourite one is football. i enjoy football, used to even play it regularly, but i mainly watch the english premier league, and on occasion the la liga, and 2. i was wondering, "why is albirex niigata, an originally japanese team, playing in the singapore (where i'm from) premier league?"

so i found out that albirex niigata singapore fc is the satellite team for the original albirex niigata of japan, and even so, the team is made up of all (but one) japanese players.

and then i thought:

what if, in some alternate universe, rin is a football player on albirex niigata singapore fc, a player on loan, and haru is an exchange student studying in a local arts academy (idk, either the NAFA/nanyang academy of fine arts or la salle college of the arts or SOTA/school of the arts)?

and what if, one day, haru is dragged to a football match by his classmates who thought it would be a splended idea since it's the premier league finals and albirex niigata, a club that has been dominating the table, is playing, and haru, you're literally japanese—you should support your fellow countrymen even if you're in singapore right now? and haru (begrudgingly) relents, so here he is, in a stadium full of people, munching on shrimp chips and witnessing a sport he has little care for.

rin is a bench warmer. and after the finals are over, haru bumps into him in the washroom. he recognises him from the match because of his vibrant, carmine hair, even though rin's barely had any play time, and he feels obligated to congratulate him if only for the fact that he wants rin to know that he, too, is a japanese man in a foreign country. he wants to connect, desperately, to some who reminds him of home. but there's only one problem:

haru is mute.

so he resorts to fishing out a notepad he always carries along with him in case of occurrences such as these (because he can't assume that he knows japanese sign language) and quickly scribbles out a congratulations—in hiragana, because he wants rin to pick up on the fact that they're both from japan. at first, rin thinks he's merely an excitable fan who's showing off the fact that he's learnt japanese to a player of his favourite club, but no, haru quickly clarifies in messy characters, and they fall into a natural conversation.

one conversation turns into many, face-to-face and text, conversations and eventually meetings. haru, despite being somewhat of a technophobe, burries his dislike for technology and abandons the notebook in favour of typing out his responses whenever they converse. (rin asks him to tear out the pages where he'd first scribbled in hiragana to him so he can keep it, for memories' sake). he finds that he likes rin's company, and finds his voice beautiful—and after several visits to rin's trainings and official matches, he starts to feel sad because the cheering at his matches are a loud cacophony of voices, and he knows his will never be a part of it. he falls further into despair when he finds that having rin read off a screen would pale in comparison to him actually being able to speak his mind, emotively, expressively. he wants, so badly, for rin to be able to hear him speak—to hear rin's melodious, sing-song voice, or his child-like laughter in response to something haru says.

and so he makes a decision.

and he isn't sure if rin would approve of it.

[quincyhorst]

DRAGON FIVE: Lee Chung-Yoon (+ Lee Jin-Sung)

CHUNG-YOON <333333

...He matters a lot to me ok. I actually discovered him thanks to the Random Page button on the wiki (I needed to make some Sims back in 2020), so my attachtment to him is slightly longer than the overall bench. Though it is interesting that as I was actually writing a setting for him, a japanese fan made me realize something about this player that, well... Changed my whole view about him, for better or worse.

However, there's a little catch, and there's an extra character here, Fire Dragon's Coach Lee Jin-Sung. I already spoiled the reason why, but I'm going to develop on it further here.

Enjoy!

Both Chung-Yoon's parents work at the same hospital. His father is a nurse, and his mother a doctor. He mostly has to rely on his grandparents for care at the moment.

Like his profile says, he's very praised for his well care of the elders, including those of his own family. In fact, we could also say she's the actual caretaker of his grandparents instead. Some appreciate the detail and patience he has with old people, and his father often wonders if he could work as a nurse in the future. However... Let's say that's only one side of the coin.

...CY lives a double life, pretty much. While at home he's gentle and silent, at school he's a literal beast. Not only he's cold and asocial, but he's also extremely aggresive, often getting in trouble with the local bullies and delincuents of the class. All hidden from the adults and teachers of course; there are many, many street fights that Chung-Yoon participated AND won.

...It is actually unknown if CY does actually like this brute lifestyle or not. But it seems he at least tries very hard to cover it up from his parents -and specially his elders-.

...My reasoning to this whole HC comes from his actual hissatsu lineup, in which Breakthrough 2 is included. He's the only FD member to have it, you're welcome.

The only one who knows about his secret life however is Lee Jin-Sung, the FD coach. In my setting, he is the step-brother of Chung-Yoon's dad, as their parents married when they were young. So he's technically his uncle, even if they don't look that similar.

When CY was called to the selection, some controversy sparked upon making the connection; even making people accuse Jin-sung of nepotism. Since he doesn't seem to have any children able to play, why not use his brother's one instead?

This does cause Chung-Yoon to be seen down by other korean players and the media, often disregarding his actual soccer skills. And hell, even CY himself starts to have his own worries over why was he the one choosen for FD. But no matter what how many times the confronts the coach, he always gets the same answer from Jin-Sung: "There's a hidden potential in you, but you have to realize it".

Similarly to Ji-Nan, Chung-Yoon also uses football to express his anger away, unfortunately with a very aggresive playstyle involving way too many tackles to the opponent. And maybe few red cards. Maybe as the tournament progresses he'll eventually to find other ways to play without causing unnecessary harm.

At least, not everything with Chung-Yoon is always pain or harm. When practice is over he likes to spend his time window shopping, specially around those streets that sell unique things. Most of the time he'll do it alone, but in rare occassions he'll get to do it with one of his teammates.

Regarding them... Let's just say that CY isn't an unknown name at all, specially for the FD players that live in his same city; so -almost- everyone is aware of what Chung-Yoon can do if he gets angry. Because of that, nobody ever tries to take that risk.

I think the only time it went south with him was with Nagumo Haruya, I wouldn't be surprised if his atitude got onto CY's nerves. If it wasn't for both Aphrodi and Chang-Soo, chances were that Nagu wouldn't have survived until the Inazuma Japan match.

As for the bench, I think he gets so and so with them. Not bad, but its true that deep down Ji-Nan and the others are terrified of him, so they always have to watch their step whenever Chung-Yoon is nearby. Well, maybe not Hyeon-Dae. He treats him like he'd treat everyone, be it for ignorance or by innocence. At least CY takes it well, it seems...

One last player that treats him surprisingly nice too is Cho Myong-Ho. Yes, CY is intimidating, but look at those kicks! There's a formidable taekwondo rival hidden within! During the whole FFI he begged CY again and again to at least have a versus together, though it was never accepted from the bencher. Maybe it is for the best.

And with that, all the benchers who were clearly vissible on the anime have been covered :D

2 more to go!

[infinitelycomplexpuzzles]

Writing Tip: Internal Consistency is Important!

// Hi! I'm back on my bullshit. But also, I have a tip for everyone, that will immediately make your writing about 40% better. It's called internal consistency.

What's that? Well, there are two kinds of writing consistency: Internal and external.

External consistency is what you might call canon. This can be important! But it's not as important. Here's what I mean: you want Batman to be a cowboy? You can do that. You want Spiderman to be a mech suit using japanese man in the 1970s? You can do that! Because ultimately, canon is what you pick and choose, and almost all of it can be fudged so long as you're not directly contradicting yourself on a regular basis.

As long as you don't like, immediately establish that Batman's parents were killed and then have them show up fine and then never explain it, you're probably going to be fine on external consistency.

Internal consistency is much more important. Internal consistency is the rules of your universe.

Think of it like this: physics are internally consistent. Gravity exists and does not change on a regular basis. You don't get different results when you drop something. If you did, you would expect people to notice that. But let's say you drop a ball, and it drops, and then you drop a ball, and it hangs in the air, and everyone acts like this is normal with no explanation! This would be weird!

Imagine if you established that Batman doesn't kill people. And then the next page is Batman beating a man to death with a crowbar. And then no one acts like this is strange! This immediately takes readers out of your story, because they are forced to try and figure out why the fuck you're giving them conflicting information.

Now sometimes you want to give people conflicting information, if you want your audience to think about something. Or if you're writing a mystery. Or maybe it's all a dream and meant to be weird. Or maybe it's meant to raise questions. Or maybe your narrator is unreliable. This is all intentional, and not what I'm talking about.

Here's a good example: Batman has a no kill rule. Jason Todd is a member of the Bat Family. Jason Todd has a body count almost as high as the Joker's at this point, most likely. Batman apparently doesn't think this is worth stopping. It is also never addressed by anyone, because this would require the writers to actually figure something out, and that's hard, and so instead they just let this weird inconsistency hang around making people wonder why it's there.

Or, perhaps my least favorite internal consistency disruption: people in comic universes acting like things which they see constantly are somehow unlikely or weird. For example, in the Marvel universe, alien invasions and interdimensional threats and giant robots are pretty much a day to day thing.

So it's weird when people express skepticism that these things exist.

Imagine if, in your day to day life, you dealt with the fact that for a few months out of the year, an Egyptian god took over the world and renamed New York City 'New Thebes' and built giant pyramids and statues to himself and plunged the world into eternal night, and then when he was defeated they took down all the statues and the sun came back, and the normal thing to do was for everyone to go 'yeah, that wasn't as bad as the time the various realms of the norse gods took over the world like a year ago.'

Except instead of everyone having a living memory of all of this, your neighbor acted like all of this stuff which was public record and easily verifiable by literally everyone was absolutely insane and you were the crazy one for thinking it.

This isn't so much a conspiracy theory like 'was 9/11 an inside job' as it is '9/11 never actually happened and you're crazy for thinking that the towers don't still exist.'

And that's a weird perspective to be placed in the slot of 'rational skeptic.'

But that's what happens in stories all the time and it's really weird!

Here's a few relatively more common issues you're probably familiar with:

mutants are bad because they've got super powers and are oppressed but the Hulk and Thor and Captain America are totally fine for having super powers and we're never going to address why this is

The Thing and Hulks and people like Tigra can't get dates despite the fact that furries and the like exist and people literally think they're attractive in real life and somehow this simply does not exist in a world where they actually exist

People do not believe in the polytheistic pantheons of gods despite the fact that people like Wonder Woman and Hercules and Thor are public figures and directly use magical powers in front of everyone

people are skeptical that magic exists when magical stuff happens every fucking day around them

Supervillains cannot get jobs other than supervillainy despite being able to build fantastical shit out of scrap metal. In a world where there are a seemingly infinite number of rich people with disposable wealth who become part of criminal conspiracies, the idea that none of these people would ever want to hire the guy who built a hovercar in his garage to build them one is insane

The people around superheroes who deal with supervillains all the time are somehow never prepared for supervillains appearing in their lives to threaten them. If you want to see how this is done properly, look up the time Aunt May poisoned the Chameleon, that's how it should usually go down.

There are probably hundreds of others you can think of! And it likely bothers you! You probably notice it when characters are entirely inconsistent and you take to the internet to talk about how it's out of character!

That's why internal consistency is important! Don't create confusing, nonsensical paradoxes in your writing for no reason!

[ninasbookshelf]

recs for sally rooney lovers: part 1

I will read anything Sally Rooney writes.

If you're like me—you admire Rooney's writing to the point where you'd savor even her daily to-do list if she released it—then you know intimately the horrifying and all-consuming experience of finishing Rooney's novels. "What am I supposed to do now?" Maybe you manage to briefly patch up the hollow feeling by ordering a used copy of Mr Salary on eBay, but the short story is over soon enough, and you are back to wondering whether you will ever read something so beautiful again.

Don't worry, I'm here.

I've been closely guarding my "Recommendations for Sally Rooney Lovers" list for the past few years. Slowly but surely I've added to the list, as I searched for hints of Rooney in other works I've read. For a time, I unintentionally made a habit of analyzing the books I read in the light of whether or not my fellow Sally Rooney fans would enjoy them, and why. Now I have enough recommendations for at least two posts, and I'm working my way towards a part three. I will make no promises on timing! It might even be awhile before part two is posted, because I really want to get it right. That being said, if you're a fan of Sally Rooney's writing and you enjoy these recommendations, please stick around! I'm saving a few of my favorites for part two.

There is something on this list for everyone. I give brief descriptions of each book and what is similar or different about the writing compared to Rooney's. To figure out which recommendations are best for you, I suggest considering what exactly it is you love about Sally Rooney's work, and then you can filter through the suggestions and see which ones share those traits.

I hope you enjoy!

Fault Lines by Emily Itami

I was lured into Fault Lines by the pretty book design and mention of Sally Rooney on the cover. The narration in the early pages is full of the long, winding, frazzled thoughts of a mother trying to keep her life together in Tokyo. This voice grated on me at first, but the more I read the less I noticed it, and soon enough I found myself immersed in the companionship of Mizuki's life.

Fault Lines echoes the intimacy of a Sally Rooney novel, sharing the confidential details of Mizuki's life as if she is a friend sharing her woes and escapades over coffee. It ties in reflections on both Japanese and American culture as the main character tries to find harmony between the mindset she is surrounded by and the one she grew to love while abroad. If you enjoy the close character insight and cultural reflections Rooney provides in her novels, Fault Lines is for you.

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

When I read No Longer Human for the first time in 2022, I fell in love.

Set in Japan, No Longer Human follows a young man in Japan named Oba Yozo as he tries to find his place and exist comfortably in a world where he often feels he doesn't belong. From a young age Oba Yozo learns to take on a certain "jokester" personality to get by, but this move results in his feeling insincere. The novel gives the reader such a raw look at the workings of the protagonist's mind throughout his life, that despite him being a deeply flawed person, by the end of the novel I couldn't help but have an affinity for the protagonist. It forces the reader to understand him. There were times when the protagonist angered me, and it actually hurt, that's how well I felt I knew him.

I think Rooney fans will be drawn to the way Dazai inserts the reader into the protagonist's psyche, as well as his interaction with the cultural changes happening in Japan and his relationship to money and class. As a warning, this book deals heavily with mental health and depression, so please keep that in mind before you decide to pick it up.

Scorpionfish by Natalie Bakopoulos

Scorpionfish follows Mira as she returns to a family apartment in Greece after the deaths of her parents. Mira gets into a routine of chatting with her new neighbor—a former sea captain—whenever the two are on their adjacent balconies, and slowly they start to open up to each other and find comfort in their daily routine as neighbors. This connection is set against a backdrop of Athens during a time when the city is facing instability economically and politically. Readers see the city and its people through Mira's eyes as she comes to terms with the reshaping of her familial, romantic, and even platonic relationships. We also see Mira's relationship to the city itself, and the difficulty of loving a place that one can't fully call home. One of the things I loved about this novel is the reflection on what I call "cultural limbo"; when you have one foot in the US and one in Greece, which one is yours? How do you exist floating somewhere in between?

The writing style is approachable and a great option for any Rooney fan.

Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados

I first read this book in 2021, and it was one of my favorite books of the year. I picked it up for the intriguing artwork on the covers, and I am so glad I did.

Happy Hour has refreshing and witty narration with keen observations on the New York City social scenes as experienced by Isa Epley and her best friend Gala. The two women are in their early twenties and are dead-set on having a summer of amusement in the city. The novel travels through both the quotidian and spontaneous events of their summer as the women navigate NYC nightlife, parties, friendships, and the dating scene. Happy Hour also details the sometimes harsh realities of Isa and Gala's situation as they try to get by financially in the city despite their lack of work visas. As a variety of issues attempt to derail their plans, Isa and Gala's determination to spend the summer simply enjoying themselves remains strong.

The writing in Happy Hour is more densely packed with observation than Rooney's works (which I find have more dialogue than Happy Hour if I remember correctly), but it's done in an intentional and artful way. The prose is charming and captivating, and the novel shares a tender depiction of female friendship. If you enjoy the reflective nature of Rooney's novels, the striving to get by, the intelligence and fun, and the way her characters find comfort through their relationships with each other, I recommend Happy Hour.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

If you need a break from fiction, this one is for you! Crying in H Mart is a memoir examining Michelle Zauner's relationship with her late mother as she reflects on her mother's battle with cancer. Zauner pieces together her experience through the help of Korean cuisine, trying to grow closer to her mother by learning to cook the meals her mother used to make. Crying in H Mart has an approachable writing style as well as reflections on family and culture that I think many Sally Rooney fans would enjoy.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

TSOA is a stunning Greek mythology retelling detailing the Trojan War from Patroclus' perspective. The novel features achingly beautiful prose, and as much as I love it, I am aware that it is definitely not for every Rooney fan. If you're looking for the direct, lucid style of writing that Rooney displays in her novels, TSOA isn't for you. TSOA is slow-paced and the narration is lyrical, dazzling, and often emotional.

What TSOA does have in common with Rooney is that it centers on a romantic relationship and a particular dedication between two characters. They make mistakes, fate and family members try to get in their way, but the couple are constantly drawn to each other. It's magnetic. If you enjoyed the intimacy of Rooney's works, and don't mind a slower-paced, lyrical change, this is a great option.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Convenience Store Woman is a sort of weird but striking novel that I wasn't convinced, at first, that I liked, but months down the line I found myself still thinking about it. Set in Japan, the novel follows Keiko, a convenience store worker who finds comfort in the straightforward rules of her workspace. She is happy in her role except for the constant judgments and pressures from her peers to search for something "better". She is also happy being single and living in a small apartment, except for the comments and questions from her friends and family. Throughout the story, Keiko struggles to find a way to maintain the lifestyle she enjoys without becoming socially unacceptable. The boundaries of Korean society collide with the life Keiko has in mind as Murata explores the definitions of success and happiness and whether there is any chance of creating harmony between personal happiness and societal expectation when that harmony fails to come naturally.

In Convenience Store Woman the reader is almost hyper-aware of Keiko's emotions and thoughts, which might be appealing if you enjoy the character personalities of Rooney's novels. Additionally, if you appreciate the social commentary that Rooney shares through her stories, Convenience Store Woman is worth a read.

How to Order the Universe by María José Ferrada

I read How to Order the Universe in the limbo of a train ride, in one sitting, cover to cover on my way to New York City.

Set in Chile, a young girl referred to as M joins her dad during his work as a traveling salesman. We see the world around them slowly shift as both M and her country grow and change, and eventually we see M's hindsight reckoning with her upbringing as she ventures into adulthood. It's a coming of age story that involves rumination on familial relationships, politics, and culture. If these are aspects of Sally Rooney's novels that you like, then you may enjoy How to Order the Universe as well. Ferrada doesn't speak quite as directly about politics as Rooney does—from what I remember it isn't actually discussed by the characters—but the political state of the country is deeply ingrained into the setting of the novel and is experienced through the eyes of a child growing up in that setting. It's also a short read, and great as a traveling companion.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo

Fictional but heavily based on the author's own experiences in Korea, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 details a woman's everyday battles with sexism, misogyny, and mental health. I think of this novel as an exposé of a cultural cover-up of the issues women face on a regular basis. The writing felt a bit rushed to me, although maybe that's intentional given how overworked and drained the protagonist feels. It's very much worth a read though, especially for fans of Conversations with Friends and those who appreciate the way women's issues are portrayed in Rooney's novels in general.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has more of a pop-fiction feel than Rooney's literary fiction, with a mystery edge to it as the fictional Old Hollywood starlet Evelyn Hugo slowly reveals her secrets to the reader. It's definitely more plot-based than, say, Normal People. If you're a "no plot just vibes" type, this isn't for you, but if you like a good plot-line with a few twists and turns, this is a great change of pace! Why I think it could work for Sally Rooney fans is that it gives the reader a close look at a specific character, her life philosophies, and her relationships, which are all key facets of Rooney's novels. It also discusses sexuality and how the labels attached to it affect the characters. If you're looking for something entertaining that keeps you on the edge of your seat, this is a good pick.

Ok! That's it for part one. I have some really exciting recommendations in part two, hopefully up before Christmas so that you have more gift options for all the Sally Rooney fans in your life (especially you). I'll post it under the #sally rooney tag on my page when it's ready. Thanks for reading! ✨