#mimorin always so cute

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

10/29/2023 – 11/04/2023

Sunday

Started the day off rewatching Starry Diamond, which Revue Starlight put on their YouTube channel to promote the Starry Session Band Live. I first watched this live when I wasn’t fully into my Starlight phase, so watching it back is really fun… Maho always brings the drama, and Mimorin showing up during Fly Me to the Star is so sweet… Fancy You was really emotional too…

Handsome Must Die’s ending was, as expected, bombastic. It was surprising that Yuri never revealed who she really was, I personally would’ve loved that moment of connection (and because I ship Yuri with Go), but I guess there wasn’t any time. In the end, I’m just glad to see Yuri, Go, Inukai, and Ban live their best handsome idol lives. Overall I’d say Handsome Must Die is a 6/10 for me.

Undead Unluck was pretty amazing, I don’t even have any insightful things to say other than that. The reverse roundtable is an insane reveal, and I’m really looking forward to learning more about it.

As soon as I saw all of them in that goddamn van again I knew they were going to get into another accident LMAO (Ichinose). Things were wrapping up pretty neatly beforehand, with the parents just being like we’re sowwy Sota and the family taking their long-promised trip together, but of course something went wrong because Taizan 5 reserves the last page of every single chapter for a twist. I’ll reserve my final thoughts for when the manga finishes, but overall I’m just relieved that it’s almost over. I’m pretty sure this accident is just a fake out to have an ironic cliffhanger moment, but if they genuinely have amnesia in the next chapter then lol. Lmao, even.

The Oshi no Ko chapter was pretty solid, it’s great to see things from Memcho’s perspective. I’ve always enjoyed how mature and coolheaded she is under that :3 streamer shell. Considering how pretty much all of the past characters and even whatever that little girl is are being brought into this production, I wonder if this is going to be the final arc…or perhaps the lead up to Aqua (and Ruby?)’s final confrontation with their father…

Dandadan 126: C’MON RIN!!! FULFIL YOUR IDOL DESTINY AND SING!!!

Magilumiere 89: I liked that little detail of Niko raising his hand to his face like the classic ojou-sama ohoho laugh. AND LMAO HIM BEING HANDED THE NON-ALCOHOLIC CIDER… But other than that, there are some dark rumblings happening at this party… I’m excited for next week.

Hmmm I’m a little tempted to drop Akane-banashi and check back in once it’s ended, but I do want to keep seeing Karashi…but it just feels like they keep introducing new characters with new gimmicks and I can’t keep any of them straight anymore.

One Piece 1096: Woah…younger Garp looks good…woah we got a lot of young designs…and little Kuma is so cute…and it’s so bittersweet to see Kuma and Ginny enjoy their freedom…

I’m intrigued by this new Chloe character in the SpyFam chapter. It’s great that she imparted some truth to Yuri, but of course he takes the wrong lesson from it lol. It’s interesting to see that he seemingly has a single moment of realization that Yor would be sad if Loid was arrested (before he denies it in a cognitive dissonance sort of way), but I can imagine this dynamic coming into play when the inevitable final conflict finally rears its head. In general, I’m kind of itching for some shift in the status quo of SpyFam…I know we just had a close call between Loid and Yuri, but that’s all it was, a close call, and now we’re back to none of them knowing anything about each other… but I imagine the mangaka would want to stretch this series out as far as they can, so we still have a ways to go.

Cipher Academy 46: YAY ANON-CHAN APPEARS! And I love that her fake name card also got slashed lol AND YOSAIMURA??? OH MY GODDDDDDD YESSS I LOVE WHEN GIRLS ARE SCARY AND THREATENING WOOOOO AND WOW I think this is the first time we’ve truly seen a crack in Kogoe’s cool demeanor…and Yosaimura’s hand on Kogoe’s cheek is so sjdkfjgsjhdfkl her ikemen vibes are absolutely insane. I’m also curious about this air graveyard Kogoe mentioned? And I wonder why she’s worried about Kyora (and Iroha) to the point of stacking the deck in their favour…is it just because of their friendship? Or is there a genuine threat in this metaverse? LMAO ANON LEARNING HER LESSON FROM THE TRILEMMA AND JUST THANKING YOSAIMURA we love to see growth. Aw she’s so cute with a flower in her hair…and this duo is really interesting. And the next chapter is looking to be really fun! God I love Cipher Academy!!!

Monday

I had already started reading volume 2 of the Kusuriya light novels a while ago, but I continued today on account of feeling the itch for more Kusuriya. I feel ambivalent about this Outer Palace arc though – I like the ambiance and the characters and the politics of the Rear Palace too much to really enjoy this new setting, and it feels like the some of the mysteries are just plopped onto Maomao’s lap without her really having stakes in them. From reading the manga, I know that these seemingly disconnected occurrences are indeed building up to something, but I’m looking forward to getting that over with and returning to the Rear Palace.

I also continued watching the Starry Diamond live – finally the other schools make their appearance! (It’s really funny seeing the bottle of ponzu just chilling on the stage…foreshadowing for later). Oni Kurenai was so fun, as was Chou ni Natte, but of course my oshi school is Siegfeld. It’s so sad that Yume couldn’t make it though… but Platinum Forte was great, Nossan’s head voice in the “higeki to kigeki” line was great, and Rose Poems WAS INSANEEEEEEEEEEE AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Nossan and Tonopii’s voices go so well together and their harmonizing is so beautiful and the DANCE and the HAND HOLDING and the WISTFUL GAZES this brought me back to my AkiShio era so hard.

After Rose Poems, we started getting into the Starry Diamond songs, and I remember the lead up to this album/live so fondly…listening to the previews on loop…trying to predict the groups/who would win the revues…I even bought the album off of Japanese iTunes so I could get my hands on the full Zeus no Chuusai as quickly as possible…yeah, the story elements of these songs kind of went nowhere, but the songs and performances themselves are still a blast. FutaKao’s bickering/flirting is so cute…also this is a cool chance to see the other schools’ weapons in use. It’s also interesting to see the beginnings of this FutaKao TamaRui square dynamic when they were still working out the writing before Arcana Arcadia completely changed the landscape.

OHHHHHH MY GOD FUMI AND SHIORI DOING THEIR LAST REVUE INTRO LINE TOGETHER IS SO AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AND FUMI AND SHIORI FIGHTING!!! AND MINNA DE LET’S PONZU!!!! AND FUMI SHIORI DANCING TOGETHER!!! Zeus no Chuusai will always be a banger. Oh my god Aiai looked so stunning when she claimed Position Zero… also it’s so funny how this became like the first of five times where Fumi and Shiori reconcile with each other…sisters are just like that huh. Also it’s really interesting to see how the non-Seisho costumes are so rudimentary at this stage, they really improved things for the stage play versions.

Aghhhh I’m so so so sad that Yume couldn’t make it to this live, Gyoshite literally has a bunch of my favourite girls in it and she would’ve slayed the performance so hard… YESSSSSSSSSS SATOHINA WITH THE BARSSSSSSSSS Agh Yume would’ve been so good at this choreo… I like how when Lalafin hits the ground with her hammer, Junna and Yuyuko jump to avoid the shockwave like she’s a Mario boss…

WOAGH the way Maya and Nana combined their last revue intro lines was so cool… MIKORON SPINNING HER SCYTHE AROUND LIKE A…LIKE A WHIP OR A LASSO OR SOMETHING JSDFKLSJDF Okay my Nana oshi friend is going to kill me for this but I can’t help loving Maho in this song SHE IS GIVING 1000%!!!!! SHE IS SADISTICALLY DELIGHTING IN DISARMING BANANA AND HER MANIACAL EVIL SMILE IS SOOOOOOOOOO AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH This really was a Betrayal at Crete…

And then the emotional whiplash of going from Betrayal to Procyon, which is just a bunch of puppies running around lmao. But it’s cute, and Haruki just nails that baton toss. I have similarly little to say about the final song, but Nossan’s voice harmonizes so well with Momoyo and Mimorin’s. In hindsight, it was probably a little silly of us to theorize about who’d win each revue when there was absolutely no way they were going to let Kukugumi, the ones that like 80% of the audience were there to see, lose to some random girls from the mobile game. But hopefully that’ll change for the Arcana Arcadia live (I’m still holding onto hope)…

God Mimorin’s solo lines in Star Divine give me the chills every time… AGHH MIMORIN CRYING IN HER CLOSING REMARKS AND EVERYONE HUGGING HER AND TEARING UP… I REALLY DO LOVE KUKUGUMI… Revue Starlight is just a magical franchise because it really feels like everyone involved with it loves it wholeheartedly and is in awe of its brilliance… I’m really glad that I’m alive to experience this franchise. Now I’m super super super hype for Starry Session, the first real Kukugumi live in like four years…

Read a bit more Kusuriya before I fell asleep, and felt so relieved when we were finally plopped back into the Rear Palace.

Tuesday

Finished reading Kusuriya volume 2. Despite the somewhat rocky road it took to get to the end, it’s satisfying to learn about Maomao’s family and give her parents a happy ending. Also, I didn’t think too much of Basen’s introduction in the manga, but seeing him being explicitly described as being close to Maomao’s age and disposition makes me wonder if he’ll be involved in a love triangle with Maomao and Jinshi in the future…obviously Maomao and Jinshi are endgame, but I wouldn’t mind some more romantic drama since Maomao is so fun in her obliviousness in this sphere.

The new Chainsaw Man chapter was fun, it’s great to see Quanxi back in action again.

I got started on Kusuriya volume 3 because I couldn’t help myself, and I love being back in the Rear Palace again. Maomao navigating the social climate in regards to Gyokuyou’s pregnancy is already super compelling, with her paying attention to the details of her clothing and any substances that have suspiciously made their way in…this is the level of drama I’m down for.

Wednesday

I read like two more pages of Kusuriya volume 3 but I was mostly just busy today.

Thursday

The same thing happened today OTL

Friday

I think I’ll always be itching for my Undead Unluck anime fix every Friday, and here we are. It’s a more lowkey episode both in story and in animation, but after last week’s episode I genuinely don’t mind. I’m all for productions taking a break on some episodes to focus their energy on other, bigger episodes…like next week’s, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Andy shooting his fingers at the Round Table only for everyone to parry it is such a cool intro…and it’s fun to get a glimpse into what everyone’s deal is. I love how chill Billy is, it’s very funny :) And surely he’ll be a chill guy for the whole show right haha. And Juiz is sooooooo cool aghhhhhh and the reveal that this is all in the name of killing God is so fun hehe and I love the slick typography they did when they were explaining the quests… AND SEAN MENTION WOOO Also I liked seeing some of the Shaftisms creep in in the episode’s direction lol I feel like I lose my vocabulary so badly when I talk about the Undead Unluck anime, like all I can say is it’s cool or fun etc. but it is!!!! I’m having so much fun!!!! I haven’t had this much fun with a shounen battle series since One Piece or Hunter x Hunter!!! I once saw a tweet about how a lot of modern shounen try to imitate Naruto or Bleach, but Undead Unluck is one of the only ones that set out to imitate One Piece and I think that’s so accurate… It really feels like there’s a whole world to explore, with so many different characters and abilities… I was a One Piece kid growing up so I’m definitely in this camp of shounen philosophy, and I’m having such a great time with Undead Unluck’s modern take on it. I’m so excited for next week!!! I hope I can see my boy Shen be unsettling!!!!!

Saturday

Kusuriya also had a pretty lowkey episode this week, but I enjoyed Maomao doing her little mushroom hunts and handiwork projects, as well as the Jinshi/Maomao moments. But next week’s Garden Party is what I’m really looking forward to.

SpyFam’s cruise ship arc is starting off strong! It’s fun to see Loid being the comic relief while Yor gets an emotional arc where she re-examines her feelings to this constructed family of hers and her career. I also love this arc for its structure, where a bunch of people converge onto one point or location. As Anya would say, it’s all very waku waku.

[otasapo]

And finally, Mimorins full New Years post from her official Line blog. ♡～(‘▽^人)

2018 New Year This year,  in Japan, at my parents house, I spent time with my family.

Old standby Osechi (Japanese traditional New Year’s dish)

Shrimps’ Milky Holmes lol I wish all our family have a healthy and happy year too. And, and! It’s dog year, wish our dogs’ good luck too!

Chocola(her dog name) gave me good shot for picture, rare.

That pic was taken at the moment that Pudding(her dog name) licked my eyebrow lol

 I charged up a lot of energy and gonna work on training for starlight starting tomorrow.

Anyway, everyone, I wish for your support this year as well.

Suzuko

[yujachachacha]

who is you fav μ's seiyuu?

Is it cheating if I say “all of them”? _(:3 」∠)_ I mean, each of them are just so funny and precious in their own unique way:

Emitsun is basically a grown-up Honoka…except maybe not so “grown-up” after all. She’s so clumsy! Then again, she’s got dem buff arms and a really powerful singing voice. A wonderful leader through and through.

Ucchi is pure. So pure. Her looks of disgust are killer, though. Also, I approve of her water-drinking habits. Stay hydrated, kids.

Mimorin, more like Memeorin amirite? I love how she has basically nothing in common with Umi in terms of personality, and has even pointed out this fact herself on more than one occasion.

Shikaco is so pretty…and yet her drawings are so terrifying…reminds me of a certain member of the Aqours cast. :3c I also love all the videos of her hanging out with Rippi - RL RinPana right here.

Pile manages to be both a dork and an ojou-sama. How does she do it?! She’s such an amazing singer, too. Also, her giggles are really cute.

Rippi is the maji angel. Nanjou’s got the right idea of wanting to dote on her. A little ball of sunshine much like her character. Talented as heck, too - if you haven’t seen her Anisama performance of “Kataomoi Sekkin”, you need to do so right now.

Soramaru…oh boy, where do I start with her? She’s the Aikyan of the µ’s crew - her dedication to her character is second-to-none. She is the reason why Nico is so beloved despite being a trash gremlin. Also, I saw her earlier this year at BushiFes and holy crap she is so nice to her fans. She was so radiant that she might have been hiding an actual halo above her head or something.

Kussun can also give the others a run for their money in terms of being the RL equivalent of their character. She always peeks under the skirts of the µ’s figurines during niconamas, lmao. Also love the fact that she never pays attention during the letter-reading corners, and while Jolno’s quite used to this habit, Emitsun had to tsukkomi her relentlessly for it when it happened on Emitsun Fight Club.

Nanjolno AKA Nanchan AKA Jolno AKA forever 17, wtf. She’s so tiny yet so fierce with her tsukkomis. Also, hands-down the most ikemen of the LL seiyuu. Shukashuu, please take notes.

But…I suppose if I had to narrow it down to three (because I really can’t choose just one aaah), it’d be:

Rippi - my favorite voice in the cast. TBH I’m biased because she does a lot of events in Korea, but it just shows how dedicated she is to her international fans! She speaks Korean so well, omg.

Jolno - her radio personality is so relaxing. Well…more like she’s just a lazy hobo, but I dig that as well, haha.

Emitsun - she tried so, so hard in Emitsun Fight Club. Faito dayo, Emitsun. :’)

[rieshon]

Fall 2018 Power Rankings

Wow, I actually finished this shit sort of on time this season.

1 Yagate Kimi ni Naru: You know a show is good when you put off finishing it just because you don't want it to end. I did that with Yagakimi this season, and not only is it my favorite show of the season, I'm pretty sure it's my favorite yuri anime of all time. It's not just that Touko and Yuu are such an adorable couple, but that the story and relationship dynamics are genuinely original for a yuri anime. You've got two heroines who are de facto dating from the outset, so no will-they won't-they bullshit like most yuri stories (lookin' at you citrus)... But only sort of, because it's complicated. You've got one heroine who doesn't want her girlfriend to fall in love with her because she has a weird identity crisis because of past trauma and is afraid to embrace her own individuality which having someone fall in love with her would validate because she's "only herself" around said girlfriend... And then you've got the other heroine who thinks she's asexual/aromantic but slowly starts to realize she's actually just gay, but only after she's promised her girlfriend she won't fall in love with her because she "can't." To say this is a weird relationship is putting it mildly. There's also some stuff you usually don't see in anime at all, like another character who actually IS aro/ace, and a live-in adult lesbian couple (one of whom is actually revealed to be bi later on) who are the Big Gay Mentors to the younger characters. There is still the requisite amount of Yuri Melodrama, of course (elevated by a beautiful soundtrack from the venerable Haketa Takefumi) but it's so much more interesting than usual here. Oh, and of course, as I mentioned above, Touko and Yuu are the most darling couple ever, perfect cinnamon rolls who must be protected. Well, okay, maybe not perfect: they got issues. But I love this story and characters so much I actually picked up the manga to read what happens next, and I basically never do that. Maybe it's not technically the "best" anime of the season, but it's the one I love the most. ★★★★☆

2 SSSS.GRIDMAN: Somehow, based Trig just keep doing it. You'd be forgiven for thinking Darling in the Franxx, the show that has "SMART ANIME FOR ADULTS" practically engraved on everything about it, would be the 'cerebral' robot anime Trigger made this year, and Gridman, a spinoff of a cheesy tokusatsu show that was itself a spinoff of Ultraman, would be little more than a fun but forgettable robot romp. You'd be totally wrong, of course: Gridman is every bit the heavyweight that previous Trigger/Gainax robot anime are, with its own flair of course. It takes a while for it to fully develop and present its themes about social anxiety and isolation, but once it does it really pops off. The dual heroines of Akane and Rikka are brilliant, not just for their lewd character designs but also for how well their stories are written. Rikka is the real hero of the show--Yuuta might be the one jumping around in a robot, but ultimately Rikka is the most important. Stellar performances from both Ueda Reina and Miyamoto Yume as Akane and Rikka, respectively, really carry the thematic weight of the show. There is, of course, some great art and animation on display, as you might expect from Trigger, who always make the most (and then some) of whatever resources they're given. Episode 9, which takes place for the most part inside of a dream, was especially visually striking. An all around great production and one that won't soon be forgotten. ★★★★☆

3 Zombie Land Saga: With all that out of the way, here's a show about some moe zombies. Ah, anime, even after all these years it still finds ways to surprise me, like a show about moe zombie idols being as genuinely moving as it is hilarious. Probably the weirdest thing about Zombie Land Saga, even as a show that features the undead filming commercials for a Saga-based fried chicken restaurant and competing in a Takeshi's Castle-style mud Olympics, is that it unironically works as an idol anime, too. All the characters (well, except for Yuugiri, who is woefully underutilized) really do grow throughout the show and it gives the idol anime aspect a really solid backbone to build off of. Of course, Zombie Land Saga is more than just another idol anime, and calling it a zombie idol anime is somehow still selling it short. From the aforementioned chicken commercials, to the unforgettably epic zombie rap battle, to the middle schooler biker gangs, to basically everything Yamada Tae does, this show was not just surprisingly moving but shockingly hilarious at times. Also, it must be noted that these zombies are fricking adorable: definitely way cuter than the undead should ever be. Especially Junko who is the best girl, once again proving the superiority of Showa idols. ★★★★☆

4 Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai: Since this is a light novel anime through and through, it seems fair to describe it in terms of light novel anime: it's basically the Monogatari series meets Oregairu. Our sardonic protagonist with a heart of gold (and impossibly hot girlfriend) meets a bunch of high school girls with weird supernatural problems and helps them solve them. That might make it sound boring or derivative, but as I always harp on, it's really all in the execution and Aobuta sticks the landing. It reminds me of those above shows not just in narrative content but also in terms of how sharp the dialogue is: it is one of those delightful shows where you could have two characters just have a conversation for 24 minutes and it would still be endlessly absorbing. The reliable Ishikawa Kaito is great as our male lead, bringing not just snappy wit to the table but also a surprising amount of emotional depth in later story arcs. The aloof, sarcastic protagonist is of course done to death in this genre (hi, Kyon!) but Sakuta is certainly an example of it done well. It helps that he's such a loving oniichan and cute boyfriend, which really endears him to the viewer. The gallery of heroines is of course stocked with plenty of cute and sexy girls--the art and animation is top notch--but what really carries the show is Sakuta's relationship with his girlfriend (and best girl) Mai, which is a continuing story throughout the series even as the focus moves to other heroines. They're just so adorable together. Ironically, the element of the show that probably matters the least is the weird sort-of-sci-fi plot hooks: you're really just here to watch these characters talk through their emotions and stumble through adolescence, and the sci-fi plot devices are basically incidental to all of it. ★★★★☆

5 Himote House: Talk about a dark horse of an anime... Himote House is the latest... thing... from the man, the myth, the legend who brought us Minarai Diva, Ishidate Koutarou, and it's great. It's half nichijou-kei anime, half just a seiyuu radio show that's animated, and it's all superb. In the scripted bits, the show can get wonderfully weird, from the episode that used the Game of Life to teach us about the lack of gay rights in Japan, to the episode that took place entirely inside of a copy machine, and I haven't even mentioned the Bitcoin episode yet, which is too bizarre to even give away in this review no one will read. The unscripted bits are also great thanks to a collection of some of the seiyuu industry's top personalities, including the always great combination of Suzakinishi, comedic genius Mimorin, and the criminally underrated Mizuhara Kaoru whose performance as Tokiyo really must be experienced: it starts over the top and just keeps going from there. Even the cheap 3DCG animation is surprisingly charming, and it's at least good enough that these girls look genuinely cute, although the show is also helped along by regularly inserting some nice hand-drawn stills in the most important moments. Almost everyone probably overlooked this show this season, but I'd give it a hearty recommendation. ★★★★☆

6 Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san: I hope Comic Cune anime are here to stay, because this was certainly the best pure nichijou-kei offering this season. It's "cute girl vampires" but, as you might expect from the source, this is the most laid-back depiction of vampires you're ever going to find in fiction. None of the human characters even seem to be remotely bothered that vampires are in their midst, the sun is an inconvenience that mostly makes it harder to go buy manga in the middle of the day, and they order their blood from Amazon. Even when a vampire hunter shows up, she's just won over by the vampire girls' cuteness. It does use vampire lore to tell some amusing jokes at times, like Sophie getting trapped outside because she had to count all the seeds in a sunflower, or Akari getting a plank put on her in bed because the vampires felt bad that her bed didn't have a lid, but mostly you're just here for the cute girls cuting, and cute they do. There's the requisite amount of soft yuri, and the character designs and animation are fantastic. Very little to complain about here--the show's only real weakness is that the jokes are occasionally kind of meh. Ellie is best girl. ★★★☆☆

7 Uchi no Meido ga Uzasugiru!: Shocking no one, the Comedy God delivered again. This show is frequently laugh out loud funny, and it's helped along by animation from Douga Koubou that is right up there with some of the best they've ever produced. The sole factor that makes this show somewhat weaker than Oota Masahiko's previous works is that with its completely absurd comedic premise it is ultimately trying to tell a very serious story--about a little girl who is terrified of having her late mother replaced by having any other adult woman enter her life--with a premise that definitely should not be telling a serious story. The show is at its best when Tsubame (voiced by Numakura Manami in some of her best-ever work) is being an irredeemable lolicon shithead, not a role model. Still, the show is pretty great most of the time, and it only gets better when ドM best girl Midorin turns up about halfway through. The Russian loli is pretty cute too I guess, but as seems to always be the case in these shows (I can't help but remember another Douga Koubou production, Mikakunin de Shinkoukei) the silliest and most perverted girls always steal the show. ★★★☆☆

8 Irozuku Sekai no Ashita Kara: It's a P.A. Works original, so that means it's time to complain about how it's not as good as other P.A. Works originals! Seriously though, although it's not the second coming of TARI TARI, this show is easy to recommend, being beautiful both artistically and narratively, with a simple and heartfelt story to tell about a girl going to a new place (well, a new time) to discover herself. Yep, you guessed it, this is one of my favorites: sentimentality anime! Girl literally learns to see the beauty in the world that she had been blind to by leaving her comfort zone and falling in love. Good shit, good shit. My main complaint is that the best girl, Kurumi, gets short shrift as best girls often do, although she at least does get one little story arc to develop her character. Ishihara Kaori is solid as the female lead, but I just loved Naobou as the snarky Kurumi so much. It's also worth noting that although the cast actually has a fairly even gender split, all the male characters are pretty much inoffensive to likable, which is all I really ask in a show like this. There's no one on the level of Wien, but Chigusa and Kurumi's relationship was pretty cute. Overall, though, this show is just about drinking in the atmosphere and the feels, and trying to avoid thinking about time paradoxes. ★★★☆☆

9 Akanesasu Shoujo: I had cautiously high expectations for this show going into the season, and although it didn't blow me away with a masterpiece, I was satisfied with what I got. The show doesn't have the best production values, but it has a solid premise that is executed well. A group of misfit high school girls in the incredibly lame Radio Club find a way to slip between alternate dimensions, have misadventures where they learn that The Real Power Was Inside Us All Along, and end up saving the universe from being consumed by some vague evilness. The story comes courtesy KID's Uchikoshi Koutarou, and definitely feels like something you might find in a science fiction visual novel. It's not afraid to be at least a little adventurous, with the various dimensions we visit being varying degrees and kinds of social commentary, and it even goes as far as killing off major characters and actually letting them stay dead! Plus, it had Kurosawa Tomoyo basically playing like three or four characters at once, which has to be worth something. If nothing else, I respected this series. ★★☆☆☆

10 Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet: Romeo and Juliet may well be the Bard's most widely popular play, so it's not surprising that now we have an anime version of it... sort of. In true anime fashion, this is not a tragedy of star-crossed lovers, but a comedy of errors about two goofball kids who fall in love at a ridiculous boarding school. Set against a backdrop of, uh, race war. Kayano Ai's blondenblu Juliet is pretty cute but as is typical in these shows the best girls never win, namely Ayaneru's Hasuki and the actual best girl, Shimamura Yuu's Chartreux. As always, the gay girls are the best. The show does have an unusually likable protagonist for one in this genre: Romio is a big dork who is singlemindedly dedicated to his cute girlfriend, and even if she's not the best girl, you definitely want to root for them. A pretty good show. ★★☆☆☆

11 Animayell!: Kirara anime are playing second fiddle to other cute girl shows again this season, but like Harukana Receive last season, this show is still decent. What it lacks in a compelling premise (sorry, not only do I come in thinking cheerleading is lame, but the show's animation isn't good enough to get it over as a cool thing) it makes up for in the most important ingredient for an anime, homosexuality. Not only is there the immaculately gay Hanawa-chan and the extremely homo Ukki, for some reason at one point theres also a completely random, out lesbian side character who asks our heroines for advice confessing to her female home tutor. But yeah, it's definitely worth it for Hanawa and Ukki at least; your mileage may vary on the rest of the actual show. ★★☆☆☆

12 Sword Art Online Alicization: I've repeatedly gone on record saying I love a slow burn, and I don't necessarily mind when nothing happens in a show if its at least giving me some good atmosphere and characters to gnaw on in the meantime... But man, is the new SAO one slow-ass show. Though I've never read the books, this really feels like a case of following the Original Way too closely. That's not to say that what is here is bad by any means; there's some truly interesting concepts, a good SAO story, and of course some stellar animation, but they probably could have cut this first cours down to like, six episodes and still accomplished the same things. I still have confidence that it will get more hype as we progress, though. There's a long way to go in this one yet, so this rating is anything but final. ★★☆☆☆

13 Debidoru!: This show is an ugly looking 3DCG abomination that was probably made in MikuMikuDance, but thankfully we now live in a post-Kemono Friends world, and so Debidoru! was still pretty great. You couldn't ask for a better trio of voices for an ad-lib stuffed comedy than Hanazawa Kana, Mimori Suzuko and Iguchi Yuka and they fill their roles with aplomb, especially Iguchi, who at one point tsukkomis so hard she clips the microphone. Like the best no-money shorts it also had some moments of true ART, like Sugahara Souta (the director) singing the moe opening song (in one uncut take) for no reason, or one of the greatest things I saw all season, episode 11, which was done (also in one take) entirely with paper cutouts of the characters in front of a camcorder. It's not really a mastapeece in the way Himote House was, but it was certainly a memorable little show. ★★☆☆☆

14 Beelzebub-jou no Okinimesu Mama: I'm as surprised as anyone that this show ended up as low as it did, but by the end of the season I had a hard time convincing myself to even load up the latest episode of this one, and it's hard for me to really even say why. On the face of it it should be my jam: it's full of cute girls and pastel colors, and it's even occasionally lewd. Really, it's probably just because there's so many male characters who get a decent amount of attention in the narrative. It also doesn't help that Beelzebub (despite being a cute blondenblu voiced by Oonishi Saori) is not really a very appealing character, which makes the protagonist, who is constantly fawning over her like she's the best thing since sliced bread, come off as less likable as well. It had some good stuff too, like Sargatanas's shyness and Gocchin's needing to pee constantly, but I guess it wasn't quite enough to hold my interest. It also doesn't help that my favorite girl, Eurynome, was barely even in the show after she was introduced. We ankle fetishists gotta stick together, man! ★☆☆☆☆

15 Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken: I had exactly zero expectations for this show to begin with, so I was pleasantly surprised with it at first. Those great typographic effects, especially, really sucked me into the first episode and I was excited to see where it went for the first few weeks, especially with the promise of cute girls on the horizon. The girls have been underwhelming, though (mainly by virtue of their having nothing to do in the story) and what actually is going on in the story, I find incredibly dull. Rimuru is just such a booooring protagonist, and his very existence tends to sap the tension out of scenes since you know he's ridiculously OP and will probably just absorb whatever bad thing shows up next like he's absorbed every other bad thing up to that point. 俺TUEEEEEE isn’t even necessarily something I hate, and it can be made to work, but Rimuru isn’t cool enough of a guy or really interesting in any way that I can self-insert and live vicariously through his TUEEEEE-ness. Just give me more Shion, she is the best purple oni secretary. ★☆☆☆☆

16 Hashiritsuzukete Yokattatte: I guess I should put this down since it's technically a show I finished from this season. It's kinda boring and lame, do not recommend. The girl with the glasses never even puts them on, she just wears them on top of her head like a doofus the whole time. Might have been able to deliver some feels if it was in a longer format, but just falls flat due to the <60 minute total runtime. ☆☆☆☆☆

[syortperson]

Thanks for tagging me, @mynameismono! Hahaha, I’m late…

Rules: Always post the rules. Answer the questions asked, then make eleven new ones. Tag eleven people to answer your questions, as well as the person that tagged you.

My questions

1. What is a pretty much unknown anime/TV show you’d want more people to see? Hmmm……. All three seasons of Bakuman. It’s good.

2. Hot or cold shower? It depends on whether I’m dying of the heat/cold.

3. What was the weirdest/most questionable dream you’ve ever had? Oh wow XD. I literally just had a dream I’ve been wanting to talk about. Long story cut short, they had a funeral for Club Penguin. I kid you not.

4. Are you a cat or dog person? Definitely a dog person! Cats are fine though….

5. Do you have a favorite quote? Ummm…… I don’t really think so. I tend to forget them as soon as I understand them.

6. Your top 5 songs? I’m exploring Utapri and Love Live songs, so :333

1. True Wing 2. Yume Kataru yori Yume Utaou 3. Kodou Ambitious 4. Kishi no Kiss wa Yuki yori Yasashiku 5. Dreamin’ Go! Go!!

7. Favorite Disney song “Evermore” from the live action Beauty and the Beast (my sister knows XDDD)

8. Are you afraid of spiders or could you accept to have one living in your room? I don’t mind. As long as it isn’t a huge spider or isn’t bothering me, I’ll let it live. I share a room with my sister so I low-key can’t let it live

9. A person who’d you like to meet someday? Obviously, Mimorin and Shimono are high on that list. Everybody in the Utapri discord chat :’)

10. What would you name a cactus? Tokiya, because it’s a prick.

11. What is your favorite book/game/movie? You saved yourself by not including anime XD jk. My favorite book series is The Chronicles of Narnia, game series is Kingdom Hearts and Ace Attorney, and my favorite movie is Tangled XD

New questions!

1. Would you read a book before it’s movie adaption was released? 2. Fluent or not, how many languages can you speak? 3. If you could spend the day with one fictional character, who would you choose? 4. Do you read tumblr tags? 5. Tumblr or Facebook? 6. Your choice in question 5 or Twitter? 7. Three songs from three different artists! 8. Favorite Disney movie??? 9. Do you have OCs? 10. Do you prefer writing or drawing? 11. Headphones or Earphones?

I tag: @thatsameanon, @nontan-eruna, @sun-jings, @cosmically-cute-idol-headcannons, @marakasu (idk if you have a side blog sooooo), @delishas, and the reader :333

[kuuxkat]

[EN]Lisani Vol. 27.1 Interview with Uchida Aya

Translated and Typeset by: @kuuxkat / QC by: ~mega @ #teamonibe

Originally Sourced from: Ultra_utchi here

Original TL by: 月牙、阿暄、乔君、红 QC by：月牙、阿暄、清凉、鱼鱼、乔君

Images from: @emitsunosaurus-rex

DO NOT USE THE SUBS FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES!

Contents under the Cut!

Typeset images can be seen: here

-- In the half year after “µ's Final LoveLive! ~µ'sic Forever ~”, were there times where you revisited your time in <LoveLive!>? Ucchi: It’s already been half a year huh…. Although I did receive my copy of the Final Live BD before the release date, when I got my hands on it, I didn’t have the courage to view it immediately and I left it there for 2~3 days. In the end I still viewed it before the release date, I felt an indescribable feeling that I had to view it in an impartial way to accept it, I guess. I knew that it was a very long ‘Live’, so I prepared hot drinks to watch it leisurely. But, from the moment I started watching, my body unwillingly leaned forward and I didn’t have the frame of mind to even drink. I closely watched every frame on the screen, I felt that it was a waste to even blink (laughs). -- What were your thoughts after viewing it again?

Ucchi: When the camera wasn’t on me, my thoughts would run around like: “This moment that was picked for this child, and when she was singing this line --- It’s soo cute that I could cry!”, basically I viewed it as if I was a member of the audience.

But, when it’s me though, I’d feel that it’s something remarkable. “This part was cleaned nicely” and the image that I can see from far away, I felt that I could see Kotori - like that. When I look into it in detail, and when I saw myself in the various poses, I felt very gratified… all those complex feelings are joined together.

I watched it many times while holding on to thoughts of: “I can’t watch this part impartially, let’s watch this a little more carefreely” or “Let’s watch once more, just that song”. -- During the preparatory period for Final Live, what was the state of mind that you carried with you then? Ucchi: Speaking honestly, I have too much feelings for <LoveLive!> that I don’t know what to do. During dress rehearsals we could unexpectedly and calmly say that: “This is our final song.” So to our fans we would say that just as calmly, but for myself, I still feel that: “Because this is the final, so I want to put a performance that I won’t have any regrets about. I tried to make my actions as close to Kotori as possible. As there were time constraints on the time that everyone could rehearse together, so everyone put our best during the limited time we have, to create a Live that would leave the best memories in our hearts.

There were many different things happening that build on each other, but we didn’t want to just finish it in a hurry. And for the songs that had their choreography done for the first time at Tokyo Dome, with the consideration that this is the final, I put in lots more suggestions as compared to before. -- Do you have any very strong impressions about scenes during Final Live? Ucchi: That instant when there were the nine of us before <Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari (僕たちはひとつの光 lit. We Are A Single Light)> began.

“Even as we arranged our costumes, we spoke to each other, “This is the end, huh?””.

In that place where the audience can’t see us, being surrounded by unbloomed flowers that were moving. This space that belonged to us members was the one which seemed the most real, so it left a very strong impression.

Although the Anime didn’t show scenes at the backstage, but I can strongly feel that: “So this is what μ’s would have felt then, huh?”, so from there I really wanted to cry. Although we said that we won’t cry, but in the end, we still cried.

But I personally felt that those were good tears. To be able to cry because the other members were cry in their beautiful faces too, it is also something very wonderful.

Mimorin she is the type who doesn’t really cry, during the MC portion she dropped tears too. At that time, by chance I was looking at that side, and what I saw with my own eyes were the tears dropping from her eyes. At that time, something struck me hard. It really was exactly like how ‘indescribable’ - would be like, as at that moment, I felt that everything that we’ve done up till now, was crystallized beautifully in that moment. -- What was the situation like after it ended? Ucchi: It’s different from saying that I successfully finished a concert, if I have to say what’s different, it would have to be that I was in a terrible state after the performance in the first day.

I didn’t want to leave any regrets behind, so I worked too hard, on the second day when I woke up in the morning I found out that I couldn’t utter a sound.

I panicked and didn’t know what to do…

Looking back at it, at the time I considered only those who could only take part in the first day’s concert, and I didn’t consider those in the second day.

I held with me the thoughts that: “There were things that only could be done on Day One of the Live” and I put in my all to perform, and discovered that although the heart was willing, my body is weak.

… but, looking back at it, I put in all my effort into it that way huh? Looking at the images in the BD, I feel that the calls during the interlude periods were especially lively too. (laughs) The everyday where the goal is to show that “Kotori is here!”

-- Looking back, what was your first impression when you first met Kotori?

Ucchi: Just from the name you can imagine that within the members she is the type that is very warm and gentle, as she would add accessories like tails to her school uniform, it also gives the feel that she is a very trendy child right?

As we didn’t have much information about her, I went through lots of scenarios in my head just from the concept art and her name about her character. -- Her personality and etc hadn’t been determined at that time right? Ucchi: Although we were still in the planning phrase, but I originally did know about the project that the <Dengeki G’s Magazine> readers were taking part in. I was very happy to be part of the project, and I knew too that it’s a project whose long term future would be determined by the readers’ votes, so having lots of restrictions on the designs wouldn’t be that good.

At that time, I got very excited just thinking about what kind of character Kotori would grow up to in the end. -- In some way, among the members Uchida-san was the member that had the best grasp of what the project’s goals were (laughs). Ucchi: But, even if if we knew that it would be votes that would decide placings, but as expected there would be ups and downs. In the first round of votings, Kotori was placed 9 out of 9 members, I couldn’t help but exclaim out loud at that time (laughs).

At that time, I thought that perhaps I have to work harder to lead Kotori forward.

So when I was singing together with the nine of us, I kept on thinking that no matter if it was just one line that was sung alone, I had to express myself in a way that let people recognize that it was Kotori.

Before that, when all nine of us sang together the key would be a little lower, and it was hard to showcase Kotori’s soft fluffy voice. But <baby maybe Koi no Button (baby maybe 恋のボタン lit. baby maybe Love's Button)>, this song’s speed was comfortable and the lyrics were simple, so I feel that I grasped the method where: “In this way, I’ll be able to perform Kotori’s thoughts.” From the beginning to the end, the goal to achieve [the feel of Kotori] had never changed. -- What were your feelings like when you first performed as Kotori during 1st Live? Ucchi: I didn’t have any confidence at the start, I felt very uneasy on whether there’ll be any audiences that will come for our live. That unease started when under Printemps, the three of us performed under the name of <LoveLive!> in the first ever event.

But when it was time, the audiences that came had filled the entire 80 seater venue completely. I was very extremely happy at that time…

From then on, during the process of preparing for Lives, there was something growing slowly, a confidence that: “Who knows, it might give birth to something that’s beyond our imagination, something amazing.” -- Just as expected, μ's gradually became an existence that couldn’t be ignored, so are there any changes in Uchida-san’s mental state? Ucchi: For myself, there weren’t many changes. I myself isn’t someone who looks up to Idols, but is one who looks up to Voice Actresses - that’s why I joined this industry. So at that time, I wasn’t sure what to do when I had to stand on stage and make appearances.

I believe that the Uchida Aya who is casted as Minami Kotori, whether in stage appearances or Drama CDs, the right way for her to sing is in the capacity of a Voice Actress. So I’m always working hard towards the direction of “How to show the [Feel of Kotori]”.

As I would have to perform the exact same dance movements in the Anime in a Live, just dancing by itself doesn’t have much meaning… the performing skills of the one performing as Kotori is irreplaceable, so at that time I went to study many videos of idol groups, and researched the actions of girls who looked especially cute and fluffy.

From the beginning to the end, the goal to achieve [the feel of Kotori] had never changed -- So that means, even among the intensity of those around you, from the start till the end you would have to maintain a state that would “express a synchronized front with Kotori”? Ucchi: Yes. At that time I felt that I still had some distance between myself and Kotori who was slowly gaining popularity and it created some unease. I didn’t have the same appearance, didn’t have the same body and I was still wearing the same outfits while being published on magazines. I was also depressed about people saying that “she’s not cute”. But, as I’ve already decided that I’ll use all that I have and put in maximum effort. So when it was decided that we’ll be performing for the first time at the Saitama Super Arena, all those worries were tossed away to the skies.

I thought that since the arena would be so big, what everyone could see would only be as big as a grain of rice, so if it’s only the silhouette that’s similar, in the distance it’ll be especially be like Kotori. So I left my hair long and after considering, dyed my hair to a color closer to Kotori’s. -- We’ve talked about it earlier, but after watching the BD of Final Live, you did feel that you do have a ‘feel’ just like Kotori now, right? Ucchi: From the start, I worked with the hair-stylist bit by bit to improve and it all accumulated to today. At my time at the Tokyo Dome, I added hair extensions, dyed my hair specifically and wore a bird crown. I achieved a state that is closest to the real Kotori. And well, Kotori is in charge of costumes, so in this part I paid special attention to it. As this time there were lots of fast costume changes, and clothes that would bloat a little after being worn, so I discussed with the costumer designer several times.

Especially so for <Mogyutto "love" de Sekkin Chuu! (もぎゅっと“love”で接近中! lit. Approaching Tightly with LOVE!)> ,the costume had a lot more thought put into it.

We stubbornly said, time and time again said: “This skirt is better!” “If this part is too bloated, the silhouette would be different from the anime!” stuff like that.

It’s exactly because of this scrutiny with regards to the hair and the costume, that when I saw the image of my back in the BD, it’s just as if Kotori really was there, and I myself am especially satisfied.

“That’s what I want to see! This product, it’s literally one and only, isn’t it?” (laughs) A miracle product due to the convergence of 9 incomparable individuals -- For Uchida-san, what does the existence of the members of μ's mean to you Ucchi: I feel that they are nine individuals which are invincible. The members of μ's are simply amazing. This is what I feel all the time, and when a Fan Meeting occurs, this feeling is born once again. If we gather the nine of them together, I guess they can do anything. It’s at a level that makes people question: “What exactly is the main profession of this group of individuals?”, everyone can sing and can dance, and even if it’s just speaking they are still so interesting.

Every member has an area where they could be proud of, for such a diverse group of nine individuals to gather together, and each with their own speciality…

It creates a safety blanket where one would feel: “I’m not afraid of causing an awkward situation, someone would be able to turn it around”. “I’m not afraid of being asked unusual topics or questions where I won’t be able to answer, everyone would be able to pool their efforts to finish this cooperatively without asking”. The team synergy is especially amazing too!

Although it feels like I’m talking about someone else, but really it makes one feel: “What’s up with these guys huh!” (laughs) To have so many people view Kotori as a treasure, to me, I feel very very proud. -- So, what kind of presence is Kotori who has been walking together with Uchida-san for the past Six years? Ucchi: How do I put it, I guess it’s an incredible feeling. Although this project is coming to an end, but i feel that it will never end. Although it’s commonly said that I gave Kotori life, but we created memories together, we went through hard times, bad times to have happy and blissful experiences, it’s something that will forever stay with me. Just like how when I was young, the Anime characters that I watched still remains in my heart, like they never left…

Although Kotori and I are definitely different, but it’s because of her that I can gather my determination, I guess she is something like my life’s treasure?

In many places that I don’t know would have many people who view Kotori as a treasure, to me, I feel very very proud. -- Finally, please say something to the fans. Ucchi: I think, after Final Live there would be many people who would be wallowing in their sadness? But half a year have passed, for myself, my mood has gotten much better, and I am able to finish this interview with a calm state of mind.

As expected this is because, at ‘that’ stage we’ve created a moment in time where it can never be compared against.

People often rate <LoveLive!> as a miraculous project, and I feel that at the Live, singing with everyone for the final time - till the end, at the end it’s still a project that fits the title of ‘Miracle’.

The way it ended was just exquisite, after rewatching the BD, I literally gasped at: “It actually ended at the exact right time!?” (Laughs)

For a project to be surrounded by so much love, I’m afraid there’s no comparison, and for it to be born in the first place, the credit would have to be given to everyone who have supported and loved it from the start.

From selling not even 400 CD copies at the start, the number of people who love this product gradually grew and it’s because of this that we are able to see such a big dream.

Because they exist in everyone’s hearts, if everyone tastes something bitter, or when you hit a wall in life, if at that time you think of <LoveLive!>, then this project bores meaning.

I hope that this project would continue in this way, continue shining onwards.

[otasapo]

Wink present from Mimorin Santa

[otasapo]

Mimorin was dressed as Sally!! So cute (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡ Today, one live day. I wore Sally Room wear and hair band, skirt for encore, was really good coordination. Good night

[otasapo]

Mimorins New Years message from her official Line.

Everyone, A Happy New Year! 2018 is dog year(Japanese zodiac)! My theme for this year is “Dont bark, sing”

I wish your continuous support in this year too!

[otasapo]

Mimorins short New Years post on her Line blog

2017, was the year of the Rooster. Everyone, I really appreciate all of your love this year, thank you so much.

New challenge, something changing, something happy, something sad, there were lots of things in 2017…Well…when I look back a year, I always have such comments every year lol

Anyway, I wish your continuous support in 2018 too. And, New Year Udon.

https://lin.ee/4LMAs3n/article/891083?t=1

[otasapo]

Mimorin is rehearsing for upcoming Milky Holmes live. Now less than a week before ryogoku kokugikan live~ I go for it!