#just. katase.

[tojosuggestionbox]

Historically the yakuza as an institution has been exclusively made up of men, and the Tojo Clan is no exception. This is not to say that women have had no part in the clan; they simply operated in an unofficial capacity. Not only do women make up a significant part of the civilian workforce associated with our businesses, but I am certain that many of you have an ane-san in your family or know of one enough to understand their influence. It may be a comparatively quiet power, but not one to be underestimated.

Interestingly, Tojo has had women take front-facing roles in a way that many other organizations have not. As I am sure you are aware, Dojima Yayoi briefly held a position as acting Fifth Chairwoman in 2006. She continues to command a great deal of respect in the clan, and rightfully so.

Despite this, many in Tojo tend to relegate the role of women to accessories at best. It is an unfortunate reflection of the workplace culture of this country, though markedly worse in several areas. Operating outside the boundaries of the law is not an excuse for operating outside the bounds of basic civility.

I would like to take the opportunity to remind all members of the clan that they are to treat their coworkers with respect, regardless of civilian status or gender. They are here to work, not be harassed.

Within the Hakuho Clan specifically, such behavior will not be tolerated. There are members of staff who are far more valuable to our operation than anyone who would choose to break our codes of conduct.

[nochangeintheplan]

dump

Been really busy IRL recently so ain't been on here as much as I like lately, but have some collected discord doodles and art assets from the ask blog lmao. Have a non-gif-crusty ver of the Tojo HQ drawing and the Nishida drawing before it got colored

Small discussion on 'what if katase has been around since old company days' / Dennis' tools.

Kirin Mine shitposting + snippet of Death Note jokes

[todayisafridaynight]

[wlwcatalogue]

A few sapphic film recs!

Just a few recommendations for sapphic films under 2 hours which may or may not have flown under the radar:

Moonlit Winter / 윤희에게 (1hr 45m, 2019, dir. Lim Dae-hyung)

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (1hr 48m, 2017, dir. Angela Robinson)

Who's the Woman, Who's the Man / 金枝玉葉 2 (1hr 50m, 1996, dir. Peter Ho-Sun Chan)

Sisterhood / 骨妹 (1hr 37m, 2016, dir. Tracy Choi)

DEBS (1hr 31m, 2004, dir. Angela Robinson)

Farewell, My Queen / Les adieux à la reine (1hr 40m, 2012, dir. Benoît Jacquot)

Bonus - short film: Love Does Human / 사람 하는 사랑 (24 mins, 2019, dir. Oh Seon-ju)

Commentary under the cut!

1. Moonlit Winter / 윤희에게 (1hr 45m, 2019, dir. Lim Dae-hyung) - IMDB | MyDramaList

This movie is about a daughter (Kim So-hye) who finds out about her divorced mother’s (Kim Hee-ae) past with another woman (Katase Jun), and how in encouraging her mother to reconnect, the two finally open up to each other as well. Dry stuff on paper, but there’s more to it: the mother and her former lover didn’t just break up, they were split apart by their families as teenagers and the mother was forced to marry a man against her will. In short, it deals with the aftermath of the typical “bad ending” of older stories featuring WLW characters, wherein schoolgirls in love would be separated and married off to preserve the heteronormative status quo.

Although the queer relationship does not get much screentime at all – the two characters share a single scene, there are no flashbacks, and there’s not even a hug – queerness remains at the heart of the movie. It’s a rare depiction of how the repression of queerness leaves scars on people which affect how they engage with the world, but which also shows that as long as they are alive, there is still hope that those scars can be healed. Also, despite the heavy-sounding subject matter, it’s a very gentle experience: there are no direct depictions of homophobia and no sensationalism, just a little story of human connection unfolding in a snow-cloaked Hokkaido.

2. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (1hr 48m, 2017, dir. Angela Robinson) - IMDB

The blurb on IMDB says that this movie is about “psychologist William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), and his polyamorous relationship with his wife [Elizabeth] (Rebecca Hall) and their mistress [Olive] (Bella Heathcote) who would inspire his creation of the superheroine, Wonder Woman”. As someone who is not particularly drawn to biopics, male protagonists, polyamory, BDSM, or Wonder Woman, I assumed that this movie wouldn’t be my jam and so didn’t watch it until quite a while later – which is when I discovered just how wrong I was.

First, the two women take up just as much of the movie’s focus as Marston. Elizabeth, Marston’s wife and fellow psychologist, is highly intelligent but equally highly-strung; she does not know how to deal with her husband’s attraction to new research assistant Olive, nor Olive’s attraction to both her husband and Elizabeth herself, and this internal conflict (even after the three enter into a polyamorous relationship) features heavily in the story. Second, although it declares itself to be “based on a true story”, the movie is not especially interested in recreating or representing the past. Rather, the historical elements are used as a framework to explore certain ideas: Diana’s Lasso of Truth symbolises how progress and healing must be first founded upon honesty, for example. The polyamory and BDSM is also not at all sordid or sensationalised, but rather presented in a nuanced (though still sexy!) manner. More than anything, this is a movie with a big heart and big ideas, and should be judged on its own merits.

3. Who's the Woman, Who's the Man / 金枝玉葉 2 (1hr 50m, 1996, dir. Peter Ho-Sun Chan) - IMDB | MyDramaList

All you need to know going into this sequel of 1994 movie He's a Woman, She's a Man (金枝玉葉) is that main character Wing (Anita Yuen) is a woman who has found both fame and (heterosexual) love while disguising herself as a male idol, and that her relationship with record producer Sam (Leslie Cheung) is known to the general public— although it is perceived as being homosexual in nature due to her persona. At this point, you might be wondering why an M/F romantic comedy is on this list, but this movie is a bit odd in that instead of focusing only on problems such Sam’s internalised homophobia and misogyny (both of which are addressed in the story), one of the new obstacles facing the couple is the female lead meeting female pop star Fong Yim Mui (Anita Mui)… and both starting to fall for each other.

I was surprised at how sensitively Wing and Fong Yim Mui’s respective arcs are handled, especially for a mainstream movie from the 90’s starring two of Hong Kong’s most popular performers at the time. Instead of giving the two women a meet-cute and leaving it at that, a lot of care is put into showing them processing and coming to terms with their feelings in their own time. Romantic and sexual attraction is also highlighted separately, which is refreshing given how they are usually depicted as inextricably linked even now… Obviously Wing and Fong Yim Mui don’t end up together, but their feelings aren’t dismissed and – relative to the narrative constraints – the ending is a warm, optimistic one. Also, Anita Mui gives an absolutely award-worthy performance in one of the scenes with her character and Wing, so fans of her should definitely give this movie a try.

Important note: Although there’s much that’s good about it, Who's the Woman, Who's the Man is far from perfect. Early on, there’s a masquerade party where two of the characters are wearing masks which look like racist caricatures, and the masks are crop up in multiple scenes in the film. More serious is the subplot about a male character who keeps trying to win over a lesbian, culminating in her agreeing to sleep with him once while he’s dressed as a woman (CW: transphobia, homophobia) – though this storyline ends with the man accepting that she really is gay and parting on friendly terms. That said, these problems are already mild compared to the actively hateful transphobic and homophobic jokes present in so many of its contemporaries, so if you’ve watched a 90’s Hong Kong comedy before, chances are that your tolerance level is more than high enough.

4. Sisterhood / 骨妹 (1hr 37m, 2016, dir. Tracy Choi) IMDB | MyDramaList

Sisterhood opens with tragedy. Originally from Macau, main character Sei (Gigi Leung) is living quietly in Taiwan with her husband after the 1999 Handover when her life is overturned by a newspaper personal ad informing her that her long-estranged friend and colleague Ling has passed away. The movie is shot through with flashbacks to earlier times, tracking a young Sei (Fish Liew) as she starts doing sex work and is taken under the wing of the more experienced Ling (Jennifer Yu) and her friends. Memories of togetherness and community are juxtaposed against sequences of present-day Sei struggling to navigate her grief, the tensions of the now-fractured friend group, and a Macau that has changed just as much as she has. The acting and script can be clunky in places but the sentiment shines through, especially after the first third, at which point the movie starts honing in on Sei and Ling’s relationship. It’s not a happy story, but nor is it defined by sadness; instead, it posits that the past is not merely to be mourned, that it is instead something that can shape and provide a foundation for the future. I won't talk too much about how queerness figures into this story, due to spoilers, but rest assured that it is present and important!

5. D.E.B.S. (1hr 31m, 2004, dir. Angela Robinson) - IMDB

Okay, you've probably heard of this one before if not watched it already, but anyway! This was the first WLW movie I watched, and for a long time, the only one which I actually enjoyed. It’s about an elite spy (well, more like an honours student at spy school) (Sara Foster) and a criminal mastermind (Jordana Brewster) falling for each other, a premise which is just as fun and over-the-top as it sounds. The movie does a great job of mixing action, humor, and romance, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome – it’s got a nice compact runtime and a cracking pace. There’s still nothing quite like it in my opinion, though I’m very welcome to any recommendations in this line (my askbox is open if you have any!).

6. Farewell, My Queen / Les adieux à la reine (1hr 40m, 2012, dir. Benoît Jacquot) - IMDB

Loosely based on Chantal Thomas’ novel of the same name, Farewell, My Queen is a portrait of French nobility in decline, following maidservant Sidonie Labarde (Léa Seydoux) who is in the service of Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger). It's a beautiful, lavish production which effectively conveys the perspective of a servant locked in the gilded cage that is Versailles during the French Revolution, and is a rare case of a historical figure as famous as Antoinette being presented as queer in a serious historical drama.

That being said, the queerness is mostly background, coming mainly in the form of Antoinette’s crush on? relationship with? duchess Gabrielle de Polignac (Virginie Ledoyen)— though a case can be made for Sidonie, whose outward opacity belies an unwavering, almost unsettling, devotion to her queen. Also, be warned that the movie has many a dodgy shot of cleavage, and two instances of unnecessary and voyeuristic nudity... but other than that, it really does have gorgeous cinematography.

Fun fact: there really were rumours about Antoinette having a scandalous relationship with the duchess, although these have nearly always been written off as baseless reputation-smearing.

Bonus - short film: Love Does Human / 사람 하는 사랑 (24 mins, 2019, dir. Oh Seon-ju) - MyDramaList

Some say that the best science fiction puts a spotlight on some part of the human condition, and this short film does just that. Main character Tae Eun's (Kim Min-ju) girlfriend Joo An (Jang Sam-yi) no longer has a human body: after carrying out a medical operation which transferred her consciousness to a computer system, she now has a web-camera for her eyes, a speaker for her mouth, and control over their home's devices for her hands. And although the change was by Joo An's choice and Tae Eun was supportive, the pair struggle to adjust to this new reality, and are confronted with the need to communicate and to consider each other's perspectives. Love Does Human has a bit of a slow start, and there were points where I didn't understand why the characters were reacting in a certain way, but it all comes together beautifully in the end. Through its sci-fi premise, viewers are encouraged to think about real-life problems using a different angle, and the movie never gets too heavy. Also, shoutout to some excellent voice work from the two actors - Joo An is performed nearly entirely through voice but she feels deeply human and present, and Tae Eun's actor also has a standout scene featuring some great voice acting. All in all, it's a short film that's well worth checking out (especially since the director has made it available for free, with English subtitles, on Youtube - embedded above)!

[moophinz]

I’ve made a post on this already, but after acquiring heaps and reams of knowledge, I’ve decided to go at it again.

(From Mine’s TV Tropes page.)

I cannot stop anyone from wanting to view Mine as bi, and my intentions don’t lie there. But instead, I wanted to bring up that it hardly seems like the intentions of the devs and especially Yokoyama. Mine is a pretty big deal in being a heavily implied gay character regardless of having been a villain, partly due to how he’s just as masculine as his peers and his love for another man is a core part of his characterization where sympathy comes into play. On top of that, they do not shy away from heavy handed hints in his total lack of interest in women romantically and sexually.

Yokoyama is not only a non stranger to commentary on how much he loves Mine, but he’s also made remarks that imply he finds it funny that women are attracted to him though they can’t have him.

RGGO is particularly revealing about this thanks to how much room it gives to focus on character elements they couldn’t do in the actual games.

—A beach event in Okinawa has Kanda wanting to throw a party and see who between them can invite the most women. Mine is less than uninterested, but still winds up getting a few women interested in him. He can’t seem to outright reject them, but gives them very bland answers.

—This is a big trend in other Mine centric stories. Upon being asked by a woman if he’s by himself, he gives a slightly roundabout answer instead of outright saying anything more direct. He agrees to do something with her despite his ongoing lack of enthusiasm.

—As told, he’s gone on dates with women thanks to being unable to turn them down (he’s interestingly kind enough to women even though there’s some popular jokes about him being a misogynistic gay man). But if he sees a woman once, doesn’t really see them again. All in all, this is incredibly different from many other yakuza men who adore women as they slot into the three important status symbols: power, money, and women. All things that Mine brings up at the end of 3 as stuff that wasn’t really giving him any meaning or purpose in life. His line about having any woman he could want goes largely misunderstood. Especially after he ends that line with saying living life that way was a lie.

Comparing an outright love confession to Mine being thankful to have had Katase around feels almost laughable. On one hand, I’m at least glad the person who wrote this acknowledges the romantic feelings with Daigo, but on the other hand… “heavily implied?” With Katase? No… Not every meaningful statement or even so much as breathing the same air as one another between a man and woman is grounds for love.

Genuinely, it feels like they’ve done nearly everything but outright use any direct wording for his sexuality. He’s the only character they’ve gone this far with. Others get more vagueness or subtlety.

(From Majima’s)

(From Zhao’s)

I’ve talked to @04tenno quite a bit about this. And as usual, they’re the reason I know quite a bit, too.

Majima’s section is bizarre to me for immediately throwing out there that he’s a huge ladies’ man. (This was listed elsewhere in his section). Which is just… hilarious. Sure, plenty of irl female fans adore him, but in universe, he’s nothing of the sort and often interacts with women by using a more friendly tone of voice (probably to seem less intimidating) along with other behavioral changes. I also take up issue regarding the way the person who wrote this seems to completely downplay Majima and Kiryu’s relationship to the first game. But that’s a whole other conversation…

Zhao’s section feels incredibly different compared to the other two due to how the person writing it seems to completely lean into the potential signifiers and stereotypes surrounding him and includes other instances beyond that. There’s nothing about him being in a hostess club automatically meaning he’s attracted to women. As such, even a lot of dudebros seem to openly view Zhao as not being bisexual, but instead, straight up gay. This seems to be due to the fact that Zhao is never shown playing into the typical mainstream macho type stuff as opposed to Mine.

I didn’t take a screenshot, but Daigo even gets the assumed-to-be-into-women-because-he-was-next-to-one-treatment. While he went to hostess clubs, he looks so extremely despondent and out of the moment when we see him there. I can’t find it in me to assume he’s attracted to women just because he went to those types of clubs. His sexuality is totally up for debate as several others are as well. And we can all see him however we want. But, overall, immediately assuming things for such and such reasons starts to feel a little off to me. All in all, Mine gets this treatment the worse thanks to his sexuality actually being a big factor in his character.

[prfm-multiverse]

Ijuin Hikaru: "Oh, what a good kid!" He is surprised at the humility of this world-famous artist, saying, "He has the purity of a newcomer."

Recently, he saw a certain artist being invited on a popular TV show. "You know the 50,000 Yen Trip with Ito Asako and Katase Rino? Perfume's Kashiyuka was on that one." Kashiyuka appeared on "Asako, Rino, and Kashiyuka's 50,000 Yen Trip: Crossing Ibaraki! Toasting with Good Sake Special," which aired on May 25th. "It was in the title so casually that it said Asako, Rino, and Kashiyuka's. I was like, 'What?' and surprised." As an artist who is now widely popular and has toured the world, he was surprised at the gap between the show he was on and the show he was on.

Ijuin recently performed with the three members of Perfume on another show. "I've been in the entertainment industry for a long time, but I recently worked with Perfume for the first time. They're so good! I was like, how good are they? They're top artists, and in a way, they can be as selfish as they want, but they also have the purity of a newcomer." After years of misfortune as idols, the three rose to stardom with the big hit of their signature song "Polyrhythm." Since they became popular after learning about the hardships of the past, Ijuin was touched by their modesty.

Perhaps because of this connection, Ijuin said, "I ended up watching this too." He laughed, "It's Kashiyuka, right? Perfume's Kashiyuka. She was eating stewed tripe and drinking beer. Just like normal." He then said, "Right before the finish line, they made her walk up a mountain path that couldn't even be called a road. It's impossible, right?" He was amazed at the fact that they were not given any special treatment.

[alicent-vi-britannia]

The narrative of episode 17 of the first season of Code Geass

Counting down from this episode, the next four are pretty much Suzaku-focused. What sets this specific episode apart is its narrative. There are four characters who are in conflict between their duty and their hearts. Let's start with everyone's favorite:

Lelouch: At first, he assumed that his duty aligned with his heart since he believed that he had found the knight protector for his sister in his best friend, Suzaku, whom he always wanted to have on his team. Besides, he thought that this wouldn't interfere with his other duty of getting rid of the White Knight. But it turned out that his best friend was his worst enemy on the battlefield, the pilot of the Lancelot. At the moment, Lelouch is pressured to make a decision: either eliminate once and for all the only obstacle that prevents him from taking the definitive victory against Britannia or spare his life. Lelouch, apparently, doesn't choose anything as the reinforcements arrive, but even doing nothing is a decision and this reaffirms to us that there are people that Lelouch isn't willing to sacrifice, something we already saw with Shirley in episode 14 (if Light Yagami If he were in his situation, he would have killed his best friend without hesitation because, for him, his ego, his goal of being the God of the New World, is more important; for Lelouch, his loved ones are equally or more important than his revenge and his goal of creating a new world). In the end, Lelouch can only laugh at the irony because he is forced to choose duty. He must continue on the path of blood, even if he must destroy his loved ones and his humanity. This is the litmus test to become the demon that can destroy Britannia. And the thing is that he will try to honor both his duty and his heart, as seen in the next episode, which will turn out badly, because Suzaku is a problem for Lelouch's plans and Suzaku doesn't want to join Zero.

Suzaku: Britannia through Cornelia tests Suzaku's loyalty once again by forcing him to execute the man who once mentored him, Tohdoh. Thus, Suzaku finds himself torn between his principles (and the respect he feels for his sensei) and his duty as a soldier in the service of the empire. But, just as happened in episode 13 with the Japanese Liberation Front, Zero takes that decision-making power away from Suzaku because he intervenes and he persists in his idealism. In any case, Suzaku always opts for his moral code. He didn't shoot at the Japanese Liberation Front like the rest of the soldiers or kill Tohdoh, although he could have done so.

Tohdoh: He is willing to end his life because the person he had sworn allegiance to, General Katase, has died. In other words, Tohdoh is someone who puts his duty first. But then Zero appears and gives him a reason to keep fighting by assuring him that he can fulfill his heart's desire: free Japan. Now Tohdoh takes on a new duty to the Japanese. At first glance, he is the character who came out the best… Until you stop to think that Tohdoh is collaborating with the murderer of the man he served.

Euphemia: the princess must choose her new knight protector. The thing is that she feels coerced into doing what British society and her royal duty expect of her. In fact, a slight parallel is drawn here with the choice of the picture that it is to win. Surely she thought that the artist who had a mixed genetic heritage and who painted a house deserved the prize, but she couldn't declare him the winner, but rather the nobleman who painted the Emperor in one of his speeches because the Britannians, especially the nobles , they are better than everyone else, including the colonists. I don't think it's a coincidence that both paintings are placed next to each other. Euphemia literally had to choose between Britannia's traditional values or her own liberal values, in which merit was more important than title. This is the subtext of the scene in the museum. Ironically, Britannia's hypocrisy and racism push her to choose Suzaku, an honorary Britannian, as her knight justifying himself on his talent and skill (that is, merit) and this marks the turning point of her narrative arc, which will lead to taking a more active role. So, she tries to reconcile duty with what she considers right in her heart.

Episode 20 of Code Geass proposes a similar game of dynamics in the sense that there are several characters who are conflicted with something particular, but we will talk about that when I write the post. I want to see if this post gets enough love to be able to talk about secondary characters and the narrative of the series.

Anyway, there will be many things that we will be talking about in depth. I hope to upload a new post this week.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group C Round 3: #C5 vs #C6

#C5: A bunch of teenagers are forced to share pain

#C6: Sports anime for people who prefer bildungsromans to sports

Details and poll under the cut!

#C5: Kiznaiver

Summary:

Katsuhira Agata is a quiet and reserved teenage boy whose sense of pain has all but vanished. His friend, Chidori Takashiro, can only faintly remember the days before Katsuhira had undergone this profound change. Now, his muffled and complacent demeanor make Katsuhira a constant target for bullies, who exploit him for egregious sums of money. But their fists only just manage to make him blink, as even emotions are far from his grasp.

However, one day Katsuhira, Chidori, and four other teenagers are abducted and forced to join the Kizuna System as official "Kiznaivers." Those taking part are connected through pain: if one member is injured, the others will feel an equal amount of agony. These individuals must become the lab rats and scapegoats of an incomplete system designed with world peace in mind. With their fates literally intertwined, the Kiznaivers must expose their true selves to each other, or risk failing much more than just the Kizuna System.

Propaganda:

Kiznaiver is an extremely underrated work of Studio Trigger’s and is definitely one of their bests. Not just for the animation, but for the impactful story as well. The characters just feel so real, and this show just makes you think about human connection and how much we might care for each other if we shared our pain. Although it can get a little confusing at the end, the sheer raw emotion is what makes up for everything. Every single one of the characters gets developed in ways that made me smile like an idiot.

Very good but severely underrated anime! Would recommend! :)

Trigger Warnings: Emotional Abuse, Fatphobia, Disordered Eating, Implied Sexual Assault (maybe).

The fact that Yuuta is formerly fat is constantly mocked throughout the series, which leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as a fat person watching the show personally. Yuuta, to maintain his thinness, engages in disordered eating by simply eating a small cube of food every day. Said character is also the subject of an attempted sexual assault by a female character, but I don’t remember correctly if that actually happened or if I just got triggered by the way the scene was portrayed.

#C6: Ping Pong the Animation

Summary:

Despite being polar opposites, Makoto "Smile" Tsukimoto and Yutaka "Peco" Hoshino have been best friends since childhood. Although the overly confident Peco strives to be the best ping-pong player in the world, he often skips practice, earning the ire of his fellow teammates on the Katase High School ping-pong team. Meanwhile, Smile—in spite of his innate talent for the sport—cannot help but hold back his full strength when playing against others. Through their mutual love for ping-pong, the two have developed a bond that is seemingly unbreakable.

When Peco hears that an ex-national team player from China is coming to Japan, he drags Smile over to rival Tsujido High School to observe them. The subsequent trip leads to a clash between Peco and Kong Wenge, who overwhelmingly defeats the former in one game. Stunned by such a comprehensive loss, Peco finds himself questioning why he plays to begin with. Seeing his potential as a player, Katase's coach begins to train Smile to overcome his hesitation, but he is reluctant to play if it is not for enjoyment.

As the two struggle to find meaning in the sport, a plethora of stronger players—each with their own internal strifes—await them at the inter-high tournament, where only the very best can persevere. But when these young athletes let their unbridled ambition go unchecked, the hardships they face paint a somber reality as they pursue glory.

Propaganda:

An experimental director (Masaaki Yuasa) adapting a work from a very stylized and emotionally-focused shonen mangaka (Taiyo Matsumoto). This is an anime that feels more like watching an indie arthouse movie than a shonen anime. Featuring characters and arcs that subvert standard anime tropes, it gives an incisive picture into youths on the verge of growing up and learning responsibility. If you want to watch a short anime (one 11-episode season!) which will include cool sports action (and that’s coming from someone who is not generally into sports animes) the matches given weight by the primary use of them in narrative being as checkpoint in the characters’ growths.

I tend to prefer shojo over shonen for being more introspective, with the emotional arcs developed slower and more subtly, but for me this shonen hits a sweet middle ground of having that more internal feel, while getting to do the shonen things of having cooler, action-focused animation and character relationships which are about friendship rather than romance, and character arcs that are about trying to strive hard to achieve a dream. The show is quite well critically regarded, but a lot of anime fans get turned off by the unusual art style, and there isn’t really a fandom for it, so I think it counts as underrated anyways! Anyways, I think it delivers a really impactful and complete story-arc in a short time, and it leaves you feeling like you’ve grown alongside the characters, no matter how old you are (no seriously, my 50-year-old mother walked away saying she didn’t know anime was such a profound genre when I made her watch this).

Trigger Warnings: None.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[nijigasakilove]

My fave episode so far for sure. What a cute and fun watch this was.

Ruka.. I mean, Toyama Nao at it again messing with happy couples 😂 that YouTube interview was hilarious. I’m surprised Shinozaki was able to put that playboy act on, even as an act it was impressive. Katase’s imagination running wild during it was great.

Couldn’t have a Christmas themed episode without a Christmas lights date. Very sweet and wholesome moment between Shinozaki and Katase. Exchanging gifts and just reflecting on what’s been a great year for both of them. Hayakawa not wanting to give the boss her contact info has me dying 😂 she can play matchmaker for everyone but herself.

[anime-fyi]

The third episode of My Tiny Senpai and is that an angry Katase?! Not exactly. We got a peek back at the day Shinozaki originally joined the company and it's funny to see just how nervous Katase was over the whole thing. Jumping back to real time, we get to see our pair come upon a claw machine and work to get two plushies out of it, two plushies that kind of resemble the pair? Right, and there's a curious story about that childhood friend of Shinozaki's. In all, a fun episode, and after three episodes I'm in for the season here. This seems to be shaping up to be a pleasantly funny romantic comedy that happens to be placed in an office workplace.

[flicksnfilms]

An Incurable Case of Love: 1st Season (2020)

Plot premise:  Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo Sakura Nanase is a 22-year-old rookie nurse. She met Doctor Tendo Kairi several years ago and fell in love with him. To meet him again, she studied hard and became a nurse. After 5 years, she finally meets Tendo again, but he has a totally different personality than what she imagined. Tendo, who is 33-years-old, is commonly referred to as the "Devil" at work. He is a level-headed perfectionist and often makes biting remarks to doctors and nurses. Sakura works hard to receive recognition from Tendo and she also expresses her feelings honestly to him. Due to her persistence, Sakura becomes well known at the hospital and she picks up the nickname of the "Warrior-Chick".

Network: TBS Episodes (and episode length): 6 (51-58 mins) Creator: Kaneko Arisa, Watanabe Mako (screenplay), Enjouji Maki (manga) Cast: Kamishiraishi Mone, Satoh Takeru, Karina, Maiguma Katsuya, Katase Nana, Watanabe Keisuke, Yamamoto Koji, Yoshikawa Ai IMDB | RottenTomatoes

± It's half-ridiculous and half-respectable. At the start, i'm just like "i hope you didn't waste 5 years just based on a chance encounter with a crush" and then "do the work properly first before chasing the romance." Thankfully they do and while she remains a dork and infatuated all the way through, there's growth and character development --for a lot of the characters actually. The words don't change but the dynamic does is definitely one of my favourite relationship tropes.

Is this how Japanese romance ideas really function? The two main with the Tendou siblings seem (at least at the beginning) so based on the idea on a pedestal rather than actual 3 dimensional people. Thankfully, again, growth.

They definitely cast Satoh Takeru properly as the prince :))) The kilig is real.

I love that they focused on the Cardiology and Pediatrics departments. While 10 episodes is a lot shorter than many an American hospital drama, it helps it feel more connected, especially with the patients, and definitely had me crying a couple of episodes just for the patients' subplots. Feels a lot less forced connection than New Amsterdam's push to be like House M.D. with a heart that effectively made their specializations feel meaningless.

[kamuro-junrenka]

I finished replaying yakuza 3 yesterday bc i was showing it to a friend and i just noticed an interesting detail about Mine that i didnt catch in my first playthrough

You know just at the end when Katase (i think that was her name) calls Mine? And she tells him she's been worried about him. Mine says "you were the only one..." before being interrupted by her when she immediately starts talking about money. I didn't notice he was trying to say that she's the only one who worried about him and not his money but in the end she's just like everyone else, she didn't ask because she was genuinely worried about him, she just wanted him to be fine enough to be making more money. I think it was an amazing detail and it adds more to his story

[todayisafridaynight]

[pix4japan]

Katase-Suwa Shrine

The blog has been updated with photos and info on a very small neighborhood shrine located in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

This shrine was not on my agenda to visit, but the pink chochin paper lanterns caught my eye and I just couldn’t keep on driving by.

All shots were taken handheld with a 5% diffusion filter on the  Fujifilm X100V resulting in grainy shots reminiscent of my days shooting on film.

https://www.pix4japan.com/blog/20230102-katase-suwa-jinja

[moophinz]

Isn't Katase Mine's secretary? It looked like she was literally just doing her job to me tbh I don't get the romantic reading at all. If she was a guy I doubt people would've read their short phone call interaction as romantic. Nothing against it, but I don't see it.

Yup. That’s Katase.

There’s also the scene where she’s handing him his coat and gives him those big ol I’m worried about you type eyes 🥺. I think she did care about him and maybe there’s implications she was into him, very subtle ones, but there’s nothing to show he was into her romantically I don’t think. A boss and his secretary being involved romantically or whatever is also a pretty common love story plot so some might assume that too. Admittedly I would have liked to see more of her general relationship with Mine. What made him all supportive of her on that call like she was in his corner beyond her work 🤔

[lagycart]

tokyo tohoku trip - day 10.

this is another day trip day to enoshima and kamakura which is a train ride away from shinjuku station. i purchase the enoshima-kamakura freepass from the ticket counter in the morning and boarded the next express train available to enoshima. the enoshima is an island just about 10 to 15 minutes walk away from katase-enoshima station.

during the walk across the bridge, i noticed that mount fuji is actually visible on the right, which is a really nice surprise. and the sky was very clear with nice sunshine as well. it makes the walk much more enjoyable.

upon reaching the island, there are stores along the pathway to the enoshima shrine up the hill. the stores sells various souvenirs and street food, though not all of them are open. i got myself a octopus cracker which is a flatten rice cracker with an octopus on it at asahi honten あさひ本店. the store always has a line so it’s very easy to spot. the cracker is so thin and crispy, it’s very nice to snack on. i also got a clam chowder croquette at tobiccho しらす問屋 とびっちょ as croquette is always enjoyable especially when it is freshly fried.

enoshima shrine 江島神社 is located at the end of the road on the hill top and the view from here is actually quite amazing, do prepare to climb a lot of stairs though. i buy tickets to enter the enoshima sea candle 江の島シーキャンドル using the escalator, which saves time and energy. along the way, you get to check out the shrine area, some observation area that has really nice sew view. the samuel cocking garden 江の島サムエル・コッキング苑 is also along the way and it requires a sperate entry ticket.

i went all the way up to the sea candle observation deck to get a good view of the island and the sea, along with mount fuji as the weather was really perfect. the outdoor observation deck has the best view, but it does get windy and cold, so staying inside the indoor observation deck is better if you want to just chill for a while.

after resting and taking in the beautiful 360 view of the whole area and taking lots of photos as well, i made my way down by walking, i guess i did get lost somewhere and also forgotten about looking for the restaurant i wanted to visit for lunch, so i went to enoshima koya 江ノ島小屋 instead, to try one of enoshima popular dish - shirasu (whitebait) don. the tiny little fishes with rice is quite enjoyable, the overall texture and feel is different from eating the normal fish as they are just so tiny.

after lunch, i moved to enoshima station, which is another 15 minutes walk to take the enoden line (covered by the pass) to kamakura. my first stop would be hasedera temple 長谷寺, which has a really nice garden and is famous for its autumn foliage. this temple does have an entrance fee and you will get a postcard in return. the garden area is indeed very beautiful, but there’s also quite a lot of tourist in the area. the japanese zen garden was under construction so only a small part of it was opened. it is a great spot for photos and just to sit and relax and enjoy the beautiful nature.

visiting kamakura is not complete without going to check out one of the greatest buddha statue 鎌倉大仏 at kotoku-in 高徳院. here, you are also recommended to make a donation to enter, and you will receive a postcard as a souvenir. the temple area is very spacious and you will see many tourists taking photos at different angles. the buddha statue is indeed quite awesome and nice to look at.

after walking around so much, i definitely needed a break and some rest, so i head to komachi dori by bus to check out some street food and stores. i bought some fish cake from asahina あさひな which is near the entrance. there’s so many kind of steamed fish cake here, it’s definitely interesting to try some out. kanmidokoro kamakura 甘味処鎌倉 sells really good warabi mochi which i enjoyed at the store and also brought some home to share with my friend. i love warabi mochi very much as it is less sweet and has a very light jelly texture, it goes well with tea.

i also bought some japanese style earrings and some wooden utensils as souvenirs for myself and friends. this street has lots of interesting stores and there’s also some alleys in between that you can explore to find great stores.

a short walk away from the end of komachi dori, i stopped by tsurugaoka hachimangu 鶴岡八幡宮, a very popular shrine in the area. the space here is also huge, and there’s a long flight of stairs going up to the shrine, which i decided not to go, as my legs are hurting. instead, i just explored the open area and took some photos as the sky got dark.

since my friend will be joining for dinner, i head back to enoshima by enoden line and visited the same restaurant that i went to for lunch. to my surprise, they do have a more extensive menu for dinner, which is awesome. we ordered sashimi, seaweed tempura, grilled radish, grilled squid and fish soup hotpot to share with lemon sour for drink. the food is equally, if not more awesome, than the afternoon. the fish soup is highly recommended as the fish is very fresh and the soup is delicious and warm for the cold weather. this restaurant is definitely a must-try for me as the staff are nice and the food is so good and satisfying.

after dinner, we walked to enoshima island again, wanting to check out the night time illumination a samuel cocking garden, however, we arrived too late and they have closed. instead, we just explored the outside area which is also slightly illuminated and the weather was just so nice that night as we walked around, take photos and chit chat along the way.

the walk back to train station was really long, although my legs are really tired and it does hurt, i do enjoy the quietness and the peaceful atmosphere a lot. i wouldn’t get the chance to walk like this anywhere else or any other time. both enoshima and kamakura has so much to offer, i felt that i have only explored a small part of it. if you do have time and option, it would be best to explore each town on separate days so that you get more time to go around, and also would be less tired. XD

felt so good to reach home back in tokyo, took a hot bath to unwind and ready to rest for the night, after sharing the warabi mochi dessert together with my friend.

to be continued...