#misunderstandings become great comedy

[fairyhaos]

how seventeen would act as a webtoon fantasy world prince

this was written with those virtual character dating simulation thingies in mind btw?? like. those unrealistic webtoon isekai-esque stuff. ive never played them before but this is based on my interpretation of them lmao

masterlist

seungcheol

either you fall in love with prince seungcheol at first sight or it's some charged enemies to lovers dynamic until someone finally realises they've fallen. he's just such a huge and great and formidable presence and he is just The Best protector. there's ofc gonna be some sort of altercation where you get hurt and you can bet that his eyes go stormy and he's asking "who did this to you" in a low voice, full of promise to murder anyone who hurt you. watches you with stars in his eyes when you descend the staircase in the beautiful outfit you're wearing as his partner to a royal ball, and that's how he knows that you're the one

jeonghan

prettier than you. every time he appears on screen there's a bunch of shiny sparkles and floating hearts and at least one of the other faceless side-princesses has to faint at his beauty in the background of the scene. he's charactertised by his soft eyes and the glinting teeth in his smile and the way he always has the most out-of-pocket sentences that leave his lips. he's really pretty and really smart but also???? unexpectedly does little things that show that he cares about you. prince jeonghan is written as the webtoon trope where he looks like a laid-back pretty boy but secretly loves you dearly and would defend you with his life

joshua

childhood friends who drifted away due to circumstances in their own kingdoms before finally reuniting at a ball and realising oh god... they both grew up to be so beautiful. there's some underlying, dramatic plot involving betrayal and corruption in the temple (dude it's always the temple) but your love for one another is always there, unspoken but ringing true constantly. does it kind of give you plot armour? yeah, bc the writer doesn't want anything to happen to joshua. (or you. but mostly joshua.) but there's also at least 6 shirtless prince joshua scenes bc the writer loves him so. take what you can get.

junhui

he's just Doing His Best okay. he's been married off to you, a royal from another kingdom, and he's kinda having a bad time bc the climate of your kingdoms are just so different but you're also kind of being all snappish with him like he chose to be married off to you?? but you're also really pretty and sometimes you're quite nice and it's obvious you're a good person from how you talk about your subjects and he knows that you don't like him but he thinks he might be falling in love with you, which is kind of confusing for everyone. comedy-fluff-misunderstandings webtoon style.

hoshi

playful younger prince. rebellious. you first meet him in some rundown, peasant area and you genuinely think he's just the illegitimate son of a noble rather than the prince himself bc he's just so friendly and blatantly disregarding all sorts of common court etiquette. as someone stifled by the rigid aristocratic structures, you find it refreshing, and talking to him is just so easy and you get to express yourself so well around him. before you know it, you're in love, and when you feel horribly betrayed at the reveal that he's the prince, well.... perhaps someone else out of the two of you managed to catch feelings too.

wonwoo

he's always so calm and composed and it makes you want to climb him like a tree and wring his shoulders to finally ruffle his leaves a little and find out what makes him tick. you want to be the one to crack the secret to prince jeon wonwoo, basically. will he let you? no. he hates you. at least, that's what you think, before something happens at a horse-riding tournament through the woods that you're participating in and your horse becomes out of control, and from then on, wonwoo never leaves your side. almost as if he was scared that he'd truly lose you, and he realises that he never wants that to happen, ever.

woozi

guys. guys prince jihoon is perfect for a prince x knight trope. prince jihoon who's head knight and always ends up sniping with you, the one knight in his charge that always snarks back. prince jihoon who spars with his knights often and always seems to be the closest in skill level with you. prince jihoon who mostly sees you in your armour so to see you dressed in finery at a ball makes him blink because you're actually rather beautiful. and you, who feel torn between your duty and the comfortable banter that you've developed with the crown prince that makes you crave more and more every time he turns to leave.

minghao

you rarely go out to balls but this time your family convinces you to come to the masquerade ball the royal family are holding for the crown prince. there, you meet a handsome masked man, who leads you through one of the fast dances and has you laughing into him before you share a fascinatingly intellectual conversation with him until the ball ends and from there, you're whisked away by your chatty (but well-meaning) family and you never see him again until a dramatic encounter at the market where you're about to get robbed but a familiar voice steps in. is it a cliche plot? yeah, but prince minghao is drawn to be utterly gorgeous so people will stay for the art

mingyu

is literally soooo drop-dead gorgeous that you promise yourself you're not gonna fall in love with him bc like???? he's the prince from a neighbouring kingdom that you're being forced to marry. this off-the-charts handsomeness is just a ploy to get you to act out a cliche of falling for him. but the more time you spend with him, the more you find that despite being (almost terrifyingly) handsome, he's also kind of... adorable? so... maybe you'll rethink your decision to not fall in love with him.... especially when he trips over his feet and accidentally blurts out how he's in love with you when on a walk in the palace gardens

dokyeom

ray-of-sunshine crown prince who is so annoyingly perfect that you feel kind of irritated. literally it's soooo obvious that the writer has a thing for puppy-coded sunshine bright boys bc it even makes the reader fall for him too. you have an (admittedly one-sided) rivalry with him, bc he's just so kind and loved by all and it fills you with hatred bc you've been nothing but despised and shunned your entire life. but then, some small, kind gesture that he does to you marks the beginning of change in your feelings, and it's as his eyes find yours during yet another ball that you realise... oh. perhaps you've fallen for him after all.

seungkwan

spoilt brat. but also your childhood best friend, so you've learnt to deal with his tendencies and know how to hold him back from kicking someone in the shins in a very un-royal way, and have even grown to love him. like a friend, ofc. however, the weird feeling in your stomach from seeing him having to entertain foreign royalty.... it's definitely not jealousy, right? definitely not. at least, you don't think it is, until seungkwan and you overhear his parents talking of an arranged marriage with another kingdom and you realise with startling clarity that you never want to lose seungkwan to someone else

vernon

honestly. vernon is probably the ordinary guy who was isekai-ed into a fantasy novel as the crown prince. but like, Why does he manage to do so well in his role???? he's panicking the entire time, but he's not necessarily doing badly, and he manages to make you fall for him even harder than you do in the original novel. the second male lead doesn't even have the chance to be an option bc vernon is literally the only person you see. he doesn't know how it happens, but he speed-runs the entire book in one month and then you're confessing your love for him and uh. he might actually be in love with you too.

chan

prince chan is the most gentle and most courteous prince of all time. bows all deeply and respectfully when you first meet him, and he's careful not to touch you without your permission. has such a captivating smile and such captivating words that you can't help but find your gaze gravitating to him at all times. stares at you all awed when you laugh at a particularly funny joke he made. he will 100% definitely treat you right forever. kisses you all soft when he leaves for a battle, your handkerchief tucked into his clothes as a reminder of what he can never leave behind

reactions tags: @weird-bookworm @minhui896 @bunnyiix @slytherinshua @haowrld @belladaises @newgirlygirl @moonlitskiiies @mirxzii @wonranghaeee @yonabutnotyuna @crackedpumpkin @wqnwoos @kthstrawberryshortcake-main @kawennote09 @a-wandering-stay @icyminghao @valenhui @sweet-like-caramel @evasaysstuff @odxrilove @kyeomyun @chansburgah @pepperonijem @jeonride @kellesvt @hanniehaee @astrozuya @eightlightstar @onlyyjeonghan @aaniag @amxlia-stars @all-american-fangirl @f1uffyjun @jeonghanfr

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

Another week chock full of Japanese ql. I am officially dropping a currently airing show from QL Corner--let us never speak of it again. Of the other six shows still airing now, five are streaming weekly on Gaga and the other is available via fansub.

Takara's Treasure

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite things airing—it gets better every week, and it's been good from the start! This story is a great example of the way tension and depth of feeling in a great romance can build. I was delighted to have Takara confirm Taishin's confession and coax him into dating this early on because it means we are going to actually spend some time with them figuring out how to work as a couple. And I don't expect it will be smooth sailing, because these two have some incompatible issues that are going to exacerbate each other.

Cosmetic Playlover

This show is gorgeous, but it all feels pretty empty. Thank you to @usertoxicyaoi for confirming that the show is racing through the plot so it can cover the whole arc of the manga. I'm glad to understand why it's doing this, but it doesn't help with my total emotional disconnect from the story, because the show is rushing through and not letting us actually experience this relationship. They tell us they like each other, then that they're in love, then that they're established and struggling, but I can't feel it because they haven't brought us along for any of that. This week featured an interesting plot about their professional growth and how it challenges their relationship, but I was frustrated because I have no investment in said relationship to give the plot stakes. I may just have to accept that this one will stay a treat for the eyes but lacking in depth for me.

I Hear the Sunspot

We back! After a bit of a miscalibrated installment last week, this episode felt more characteristic and we finally got our boys back on track. Maya was less egregiously mean to people this week and her interference was treated as more comedic than sinister, which is a much better fit for the tone of this show. And once Kohei got around her, he finally talked properly with Taichi and asked him to stay on as his notetaker, reaffirming their friendship in the process. Despite Maya's efforts to convince him otherwise, Kohei has not wavered and his firm declaration that he doesn't want anyone but Taichi taking his notes or eating his food had me gasping. For his part, Taichi is getting better at keeping his cool and finding words when Kohei lets his feelings slip, and he's clearly thinking a lot about his own feelings and whether their connection is really about friendship.

Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko

Oh man, this show has really gotten itself into a muddle. We finally got a kiss, but it hardly felt like a triumph. This episode was a bit of a return to form, with Ayaka back to her relentless pursuit of Hiroko, but the way the story diverged to change the conflict midstream has mucked it all up. For the first half the conflict was about Hiroko believing Ayaka is straight, and then suddenly it was about a different work-related closet trauma that did not connect to that. Now it’s touching on both but in a way that makes Hiroko seem inconsistent, because now that she knows Ayaka is a lesbian it doesn't track that she would continue to patronize and dismiss her, and it also sucks that Ayaka is harassing Hiroko at work despite knowing she doesn't want to be out. It feels like the story is invalidating Hiroko’s fears about being out in a way we know is not consistent with reality. This would all work better if the backstory had been about Hiroko falling for a woman who succumbed to comphet and we kept up the misunderstanding and comedy about Ayaka being straight. As it is, I feel like our heroine no longer makes sense and our couple still hasn't formed a real connection, and with only one episode to go it’s unlikely they’ll land the plane.

Mr. Mitsuya's Planned Feeding

I just love everything about this show and its mature perspective on relationships. In the aftermath of Ishida's hasty confession (and his attempt to walk it back, which I love that Mitsuya did not fall for), we take a beat for Mitsuya to consider the two men circling him and what he wants from his life. I loved that he took the time he needed to process and end his relationship with Noguchi on his own terms this time, and to consider whether he has the desire and the energy to try again with someone new. When he said he has his home and his work and his Frito and that's enough for him, I felt that. But Ishida has already gotten to him, and as Shige wisely pointed out, Mitsuya must care about him quite a bit to be considering this deeply before making a move. I'm not sure he's ready to dive in, but he doesn't have much will to fight it, either. You can go here for the files to watch this episode, with big thanks to @isaksbestpillow and @nicks-den.

Tagging @bengiyo to add this week's anime update.

[yumeka-sxf]

Even though today's new chapter was pretty funny, it also reinforces how Damian's need to act indifferent and even hostile towards Anya stems from emotional baggage from his family - whether it's brainwashing, strict discipline, or something else, we see how he's so afraid to show even a minute trace of feelings towards a "commoner" that he has to go through hoops just to ensure no one else sees him give Anya a gift.

What could the Desmond family have instilled in him that gives him such aversion to anyone of a lower social standing? I hope we find out someday. But at the same time, this chapter also gave me the impression that Damian doesn't like having to put on this jerk act in front of everyone. He seemed annoyed and exhausted that he had to do all this just to repay a debt, a debt which no one was demanding of him. Despite all the insults he hurls, the kid has morals and dignity. So it's a shame he feels such a strong need to supress that (he and Twilight have a lot in common in that regard. Twilight is simply better at hiding his real feelings since he's an adult and has been doing it much longer).

However, Damian seems okay with showing only Anya his softer side (when no one else is looking of course). Probably because, unlike all the other Eden kids, she's not from a high-class family with whom the Desmonds have to put on airs with.

While I'm not nearly as into Damianya as Twiyor, I can appreciate them as a cute future couple when they're older, with the seeds of that future relationship slowly sprouting in the series (though nothing romantic now of course as they are only 1st graders). Endo brought back Damian's "shojo filter" in this chapter, which was at maximum strength! (Is Damian secretly a CLAMP fan? 😂)

It's only at the end of the chapter, when the debt is repaid and Damian can finally relax, that he's able to see Anya's natural cuteness, without the shojo filter (his expression here looks like one of Twilight's...they really do have a lot in common!)

What's also interesting is that, compared to some of their early confrontations, Anya never returned Damian's insults until recently, maybe around the end of the bus hijacking arc. In the beginning of the series, she seemed to not know how to act when faced with bullying and was just focused on getting Damian to be friends with her. Now she openly returns his jabs with her own.

This could be because she's confident that they're friends now, so she doesn't have to hold back and can match his insults without worry. Or maybe she's just learning how to better deal with hostility her own way? Or she's just copying his bad manners...hard to say 😅

I like how Endo brought back Damian's promise to repay Anya for the handkerchief incident. From what I've gathered reading the manga fanbook, he tries hard not to leave plot points unaddressed. Which brings me to another highlight of this chapter - mention of Melinda again!

I knew Endo wouldn't forget about her, but I've also been wondering when she would return as a prominent figure in the plot. This chapter raises the question of why she's so intent on Damian and Anya becoming friends...is it simply because Yor would like that, and she wants to be good friends with Yor? Or is there some ulterior motive behind the scenes?

Even though stories focused on the Eden kids aren't typically my favorites, I actually really enjoyed this chapter! It had the great SxF comedy I love of misunderstandings between the characters leading to hilarious moments - Emile and Ewen think Damian wants to duel Anya, Becky thinks Anya wants to spend alone time with him because she's in love, Damian just wants to give Anya the gift to clear his conscience, and Anya just wants to eat the cakes!

(I love how Endo made Anya's mouth slightly watering throughout the chapter whenever she's thinking of the cakes!)

It's hard to tell if this was just a stand-alone chapter or if it will lead to a continuation of the "plan C" thing brought up a while back. I hope it does if it means we get to learn more about Melinda and the Desmond family overall!

[mmikmmik]

scenarios I think would be fun for an actually genuinely platonic duo fake dating

they are so incompatible that they become extremely convincing as a horrible toxic relationship on the rocks

comedy of errors mistaken for cheating due to them having actual pre-existing romantic partners/flirting while still pretending to be a monogamous couple

they are good buddies and have a great time inventing a fake romantic history together

they are good buddies and have a great time inventing ridiculous elements of their fake romantic history to troll each other

comedy of errors where they need to pretend to know more than they actually do about each other’s family history/sex life/whatever and create a huge clusterfuck of misunderstandings and lies

exploration of how the characters relate to emotional, physical, sexual etc intimacy and why their relationship isn’t romantic and what it means for them that it isn’t (corollary: aromantic awakening)

one of them pulls out a Controversial pet name and the other one can’t stop wondering if that was just a panicked invention or if that’s actually one of their go-tos

[verosikastrikerstellaexcuser]

One of my biggest gripes about Helluva boss is that it's not a comedy anymore and the core plot is gone. There has been no funny hijinks, no human world shenanigans, no IMP. It's drama now and i didn't sign up to watch a shitty soap opera.

Remember when it was about

WHEN YOU WANT SOMEBODY GONE AND YOU DON'T WANT TO WAIT TOO LONG CALL THE IMMEDIATE MURDER PROFESSIONALS HAND GRENADE OR CYANIDE, WE'LL MAKE IT LOOK LIKE SUICIDE THE IMMEDIATE MURDER PROFESSIONALS WE DO OUR JOB SO WELL BECAUSE WE COME STRAIGHT UP FROM HELL WE'LL KILL YOUR HUSBAND OR YOUR WIFE, WE'LL EVEN LET YOU KEEP THE KNIFE WE'RE THE IMMEDIATE MURDER PROFESSIONALS!

I don't understand how some people think it got BETTER in s2. I miss so bad when it was about this cool premise of hell born demons being paid by pissed off dead sinners to go up to Earth and assassinate those they have beef with. That is a great premise for a show, why the fuck would you abandon it for what it is now. I've been on a S1 rewatch today and I s2g seeing them up on earth doing that in spring broken made me wanna weep whyyyyyy is it not that anymore.

They only ever went to like, LA as well. You could show them going all over the world getting involved in so many scenarios. People saying that that would have become boring... how in the fuck is constant "misunderstandings" where Stolas actively treats Blitz like a sex toy (but so totes loves him deep down) and then gets upset Blitz thinks Stolas sees him as a sex toy more interesting than assassinations all across the world? Fucking really? The gang trying to assassinate a french mime that keeps invisible boxing them, the gang having to ride across the desert to assassinate someone who lives in the middle of nowhere, the gang stumbling upon someone who knows they're trying to be killed and keeps leaving decoy dummies of themself all over the country they live in... theres so many zany concepts they could do, and they could still intersperse stuff like the Loona/Blitz drama of Spring Broken in between it. I want to go back so badly to that kind of thing and not shipping drama. This show went from an action/comedy cartoon to a 13 year olds first fanfic.net post...

[smallsies]

Audio Drama Sunday — May 26, 2024

It's been tragically long since I had the time to make one of these posts amidst the rise in jam chaos & other things over the last few weeks, but the event officially concluded yesterday with the release of 14 new pilots!!

In all honesty this event consumed most of my life so far this year, but I am incredibly excited to be on the other side of it - having released the first episode of my debut audio drama, @spacespeckspod as well ! - with so many wonderfully talented people. These shows are beyond incredible, so I just want to dedicate today to talking about them! (& I truthfully haven't listened to anything except jam shows as of late, lol)

@gavinswindowpod - "In-universe TTRPG" is always such a fun angle, and this show did a stellar job balancing the different directions that can take. Listening to the character's conversations feels very much like overhearing a group playing, all of the actors did an incredible job with that! & I'm looking forward to more in the future :)

@theichorousrotpod - Firstly, G knocked it out of the park with the music in this show, it's incredible. Secondly, "pathetic guy trapped by the horrors" is beloved and very well done, Sam is an incredibly talented writer and the cast did a stellar job bringing these characters to life. (I would let Dr. Yates perform top surgery on me etc etc.)

@thefinderskeeperpod - Beyond with being two of the nicest people ever, Lemon and Maddie's character dynamics in this was SUCH a joy to witness. "Grizzled old man & clueless newcomer walk into a bank, except there is something incredibly wrong with the bank teller" is spectacular, the sound design was, of course, spectacular, and I'm very excited to hear more.

@valdiviansfinest - Clear bias in saying this, but space shows are SO fun, and the Valdivian's Finest team did an amazing job showcasing all of the best parts of the genre. I don't have enough good things to say about this show, I love space Amazon and don't think the courier service has ever done anything wrong ever.

@working-tidal-pod - Taking points off for Louis spawning the "it's a comedy" joke that became a constant reference when we were listening to shows (/lh) BUT the writing is so funny, the sibling dynamic feels incredibly realistic and all of the actors are amazing and very talented. Feesh show has the potential to become a go-to comfort podcast, looking forward to hearing more!

@asbestos4president - This show is incredibly fun, "alien Twitch streamer" isn't a podcast I ever thought I would encounter, but the team did an absolutely fantastic job with their pilot. The writing is really funny in the classic aliens-misunderstanding-human-concepts way, with more modernized in-jokes that makes the characters feel very realistic!!

@beyondrepairpod - Extra props to this group as they were the event match team, with much less time to organize before scriptwriting, but managed to put together a stellar pilot. Hope was so well-done, the ship AI is VERY normal and you can absolutely trust them, shoutout to Pancake for their absolutely spectacular acting there!

@worldfusepodcast - These characters are incredibly charming and this world is so fun. Everything about this is just really well done; all of the actors were amazing, the writing is clever & easy to follow (& it's, of course, very fun that Ila is playing a detective :)!!) Looking forward to hearing more of this show!

@hello-are-you-there - Again, slight bias as I love a good apocalypse plot, but HAYT is a really fun radio show style podcast by a really lovely team. Aiden's moments of snark are great, Milo did a wonderful job bringing him to life amidst the bleakness of an end-of-the-world plot, & the inclusion of mythology is really well done!

@gobbpodblog - Magical zoo! Magical zoo!!! I love strange and unusual creatures and this team did an amazing job bringing them to life in this episode :D The animal ambiance at the start was really charming, and Prinxe & Caw were fantastic as Jake and Dr. Vermillian. Really excited to hear more!

Schrödinger's Pledge/@englewoodafterdark - As a college student I understand the implicit horrors of Greek life all too well (/lh.) The exploration of hazing practices and the normalization of them within those communities honestly is scary on its own, and the sound design really brings that to life in this pilot. Beyond excited to hear more Englewood After Dark later this year!

The Block - Fi was the only participant to make a solo show, and ended up with a spectacular example of what a one-person show can look like! I'm a little sad this podcast isn't continuing as they've introduced such an interesting concept and world here, but they did an outstanding job with the pilot.

Eart(h) FM - We listened to this one in the server the other night, & this show was definitely a lighthearted uptick from some of the other things we listened to, lol! It feels a bit silly to say a show about the end of the world is fun, but there is just so much hope and life this team managed to fit all in one episode, and the music is wonderful.

@spacespeckspod - I feel a bit awkward talking about my show, but I do want to say thank you to my lovely teammates who helped bring it to life! I appreciate all of you endlessly, and I'm really excited for the future of our little space show <3

If you want to check out these shows, they're all available on the Jam feed, & @aclickbaittitle has also started an (in-progress) Podchaser list of those with individual feeds!

Finally, an extra shoutout to the crowdfunder for Forged Bonds, @forgedbondspod which is still running & which you can check out here! Pine is such a wonderful member of the AD community, & (especially as a fellow classics enjoyer) I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do with this show. If you have the means, you should absolutely go support them & their amazing podcast!!

[silviakundera]

Did a speedrun through modern cdrama Everyone Loves Me because I'm a fan of both leads. A fairly well constructed romcom for a specific trope, AND also one of the most valid examples of the critique that cdrama storylines are pointlessly over-extended. This would have been a great modern drama at 12 episodes. Unfortunately, it's at least 10 episodes too long. The literal gaming (characters interacting while playing videogames) is very light - it's an initiating plot device piece but doesn't consume much actual screen time. The real genre is IT workplace romance with Hidden Identity trope.

Do you like:

* Capable & ambitious female lead x male lead with a competency kink whose turn-offs are white lotus & green tea girls and turn-ons are brash ladies who can cuss you out; dressing up to impress is not required

* Romantic dynamic of equal partners (2 strong personalities, not active/passive)

* "We don't know yet who is going to be the breadwinner. My goal is to be a CEO."

* Low heat (just a few kisses),

* modern workplace dramas (so much working)

[heavy spoilers below]

The actual set up & outline are:

* Online friend group who casually game together, in the last days of university. One of the guys starts catching feelings for the girl, our FL (let's call him Gamer Friend). FL isn't romantically considering Gamer Friend at all, because she has a crush on a guy from her uni.

* This crush is Gamer Friend in rl! 😮

* ML isn't open to being crushed on by anyone at rl uni, because he is already hung up on FL (as his online friend) 🙈

* FL asks for advice from her gaming buds on how to pursue her rl crush. Gamer Friend doesn't want her to succeed, because he wants to win her heart, so he keeps giving terrible advice to chase him by acting out the soft-spoken innocent maiden archetype (the opposite of FL's real boisterous & brash personality)

* This creates a comedy of errors where ML in rl is being pursued by the woman he's in love with, but he's shooting her down left & right. This culminates in her confessing and he publically rejects her in a harsh manner. When she comes crying (and vengeful) to the group, the guys all realize the identity confusion. Appropriately horrified, bros have no idea what to do. (This whole scene is gold tbh.)

* This plotline covers 7 episodes, but should have been dealt with in 4.

* Next 5 episodes (should have been 2!): Gamer Friend, toiling under karma, tries to be virtually supportive of his beloved while in person desperately making gestures to show remorse & have her less willing to obliterate his RL person. (this is all complicated by them both hired into the same company post-grad; there's a whole gaming dev & art design subplot - like in Lighter & Princess, the writers did the research so the setting is reality-based). This arc ends with identity reveal: she finally knows irl crush = Gamer Friend

* Next 6-7 episodes lead her from being (rightfully) furious and humiliated to them finally becoming friendly & supportive of each other. He waits to ask for more until he feels truly forgiven for the shakespearean hijinks that kept them apart. Includes work drama and fake-dating For Reasons. This arc, again, could have been 3-4 episodes.

* Final 5 episode arc is dating era and culmination of the gaming dev plotline. Heavy emphasis on work drama. Only 2 out of the last 5 episodes had significant romance material for the main couple, which was the major flaw in the drama. Avoided the separation cliche but also no marriage scenes at the end - we just see that they're still close, supportive partners a year later. Should have been 3 episodes ;)

The structure is right for a simple rom com set up of: one party pursues, gets rejected, then the other party pursues & corrects their mistake. The misunderstandings are logical enough; FL is assertive and we see evidence of her talent (not just told); ML likes her for herself & doesn't want a childish, obedient woman like the idol dramas represent; they are shown to make a good team & respect each other; the wronged party isn't a push over and their forgiveness has to be earned. It's clear why they like each other and that they work as a couple. (Though the emphasis is on compatibility & domesticity rather than sexual heat.)

The showrunner just needed to compress each arc and spend a lot less time on corporate minutiae. The way I engage with this type of drama is to binge, skip all 2nd couple scenes, and liberal use of fast forward ⏩⏩.

[fanstuffrantings]

Middle of the night thoughts: im always going to be a sucker for the "character who seems averse to romance falling first" idea. Which is why I truly think Gajeel catching feelings for Levy first on his path of redemption would've been the superior choice. The idea of a formee villain who is only beginning to properly figure out friendship realizing one of those people he's befriending strikes a cord in a way the others don't.

Now as I was thinking about this, I was struck with the question "do we ever see a man in fairy tail fall first and pursue the romance?" I don't mean something like Lyon where he falls for juvia and nothing blooms between them. I mean genuine reciprocal romance where the guy is the one who has to wait or act first.

Cause I don't know if we ever do. It's common in shoujo for it to happen and honestly when it's done well it sticks in my brain and makes me giddy. But I feel like every fairy tail romance follows the same pattern and it's part of why most couples don't work for me.

Guy and girl meet and start off on rocky terms

Guy proves himself to be a hero by saving the girl and the girl blushes as she thinks he's cool and realizes she might be into him.

Girl gets jealous and indignant when guy is oblivious to her feelings and is friendly at all with other women.

Several scenes with misunderstandings are written in for drama and comedy as we play up how overdramatic a woman can be.

Guy realizes down the line he's into the other woman who becomes much more subdued when romanced.

It's a repetitive pattern. It's really disappointing because Mashima has decent concepts for couples that could be fleshed out in interesting ways if done right. Juvia and Gray could've been a slow burn due to Juvia figuring herself out beyond romance and Gray only falling for her when her true personality shines through without the veneer of romance (fjord and jester from critical role are a great example of this. Though juvia and Gray are not perfect parallels to them.) Gajeel and Levy could've been a slow burn enemies to lovers where Gajeel has to first prove himself as a decent person before Levy even considers a friendship with him and we focus on then finding common ground and working well as a team to build the bond (honestly beauty and the beast would be the best example of things for them, though again not a perfect parallel to my own vision.) Jellal and erza could've focused on the difficulties of forgiveness when the one you care for betrays you and how that can change a bond over time and the difficulties of moving forward from that. It could focus on the complexities of the feelings they have for each other and not just had them immediately fall back into some kind of romance with little to no build up. (I don't have a comparison for this. But these two move way too fast for me to enjoy them in canon)

Mavis and Zeref should've been a full will they won't they that ends with they won't because the circumstances of their lives won't allow it. A continuous dance and bond that would've lent so well to tension in scenes where they interact and tinged their moments with sadness and bittersweet longing.

There are so many ways to flesh out the romances in the series without constantly reusing the same formula with alterations barely made based on the personalities of the women. People who enjoy fairy tail claim romance is the one thing Mashima does well, but as a romance fan I have to say I don't think a single couple in fairy tail was well executed. I do love several of them, but that doesn't mean they were well written.

[guesst]

MANHWA REC LIST PART 3 courtesy of @ihavenobigbrain

have tried my best to put in all the nice platonic manhwas i’ve read! theres still a bunch of romance but fun and games and lightheartedness is the main focus of these for sure 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

first of all i will rec the obvious and popular ones so they dont get missed becuse they are Popular for a Good Reason:

the s classes that i raised (super good, ive read the novel mostly but the manhwa is JUST as great. mc is collecting people like pokemon)

trash of the counts family (amazing art, little dragon child, mc is collecting people like pokemon)

also gonna plug some ones from the previous rec posts just cus i truly believe they are some of the best non romance manhwa: susu, han; i see you; the tale of goldiluck the black kitten

okay onto the actual recs !

WHEN THE THIRD WHEEL STRIKES BACK

HILARIOUS. genuinely so good, pretty underrated too (in that i havent seen anyone talking about this?) but it has a main character who isekais into a second male lead and decides to stay awayy from the leads — this fails miserably, obviously, and its comical. the misunderstandings, the unlucky run-ins… also the mc is a priest and theres a pretty interesting magic system and worldbuilding!! and as a final bonus the art is nice. genuinely so fun to read, highly recommend

A STEPMOTHER’S MARCHEN

favourite manhwa of all time tbh its the only one ive bought a physical copy of (so far, anyway.. hehe). has a romance sub plot but the characterisations, relationships, plot development etc is exquisite. the family relationship takes precedence here especially in the first few arcs, the characters are REALISTIC, the art is gorgeous…, i love it so so much highly rec if you havent read it already. i guess this doesnt fall as much into light-hearted, because there are quite a lot of heavy moments… but its nicely balanced out with the comedy n all so i’ll put it in anyway :]

SCHOOLMATE FRIEND

super cute! this one is a school romance and it doesnt have many chapters out but its simple and the two mains are adorable. its a nice fluffy read and the artstyle is also lovely.

THE DEMON KING DAD AND HIS HERO DAUGHTER

jdjsjd can you tell how this goes from the title? speaking of which i type it from memory and i cant find the tab i had it open in so it might actually be “his daughter the hero” not “his hero daughter”… not sure. anyway i havent read much of this one but the first few chapters alone had me screaming the dad and his lackey are idiots please read it for him. he loves his daughter but this is backfiring on him so badly djrnfj

^ idiot lackey, everyone

RETURN OF THE WAR GOD

you would assume the war god goes to war! but no. he picks up a little girl and then he’s like. ok mine now. and the rest of the manhwa is spent getting money out of people and living in the woods in his homemade mansion with his daughter and the mamy many sidekicks that they pick up along the way. lovely art, lots of funny moments, plenty of action -- this is a martial arts story -- n the side characters are great (especially the governor lol) .

SCREW THE NOBLE LIFE, I’M GOING HOME

there arent many chapters out for this one (24 i think?) but im so invested already. as it stands this is centred entirely around the isekai’d main character and her new family, there is a heavy dose of angst about identity issues but every chapter has a new misunderstanding and it has me rolling fr ,, oh also the mc’s new brothers are her stepsiblings but they shoot down that romance route really fast and their relationships are so entertaining if it keeps going the way it is this will definitely become a favourite. heres an out of context foot pic

SIGRID

AMAZING TRULY AMAZING the character arcs in this one are so !!! yummy !!! mc time travels n endeavours to correct her actions n save people and in the process makes sm friends and all the characters have depth and grow and theyre all so !!! lovable !!!! the friendships in this one are amazing even without the romance subplot (and also speaking of romance, its a slow burn mainly cus sigrid is as dense as a brick but its NOT frustrating because it actually makes sense for her character!! like im usually the first one to move on from a thick fl but honestly you cant help but cheer them on) its so so good, i love it

THE MEANING OF YOU

this one is an isekai romance with again some lovely character arcs :D the main character is pretty depressive but its also got plenty of light/funny moments to balance it out, and the plot centres around her learning to take care of herself and becoming more confident,, i love the characters a lot ! they care a lot. the romance does get a bit cheesy at times but it really is so wholesome with solid characterisation n its completed too so you have a nice 3am read.

HOW TO BE A DARK HERO’S DAUGHTER

urgh one of the best kid leads ever, plenty of plot and the art is gorgeous as well like its a winner all around okay. as it stands its on an indefinite hiatus (author had cancer and i assume is still recovering or just taking a break for a while) but season one is already completed and its an excellent family centred read with a few mysteries scattered here n there also did i mention the entire family is so yummy. im so gone for the butler fjddjdnndd

MY BROTHERS, THE PROTAGONISTS

simultaenously super funny and somewhat angsty. this is one of those dungeon manhwa but the caveat is each of the mc's brothers has a different trope going on (time travel, became demon king, isekai'd) while mc is a decent potion maker and has to deal with all their bullshit (affectionate). it handles family issues and balances it with comedy perfectly. the main character is really really likeable and you cant help but cheer her on. so far its almost entirely platonic but i spy a few male leads lol

MY CUTE BEAST!!!

romance manhwa again !! fjdmcjf the author of this one looked at all the classic miscommunication and misunderstanding tropes and noped the fuck out its so easy to read because you will NOT stress out and the male lead is so cute also. they play with the typical gender roles so fl has the knight aura while the ml is the damsel. its great and the characterisations are also awesome. big big fan. look him

WEE!!

iirc this is actually either malaysian or indonesian, not korean i think..? its mostly slice of life iirc n its been like.. 2 years since i read it so the humour might be . slightly outdated haha,, the cast is pretty diverse which is cool and there are a few angsty backstory chapters scattered here and there but on the whole it is chock full of shits and giggles if you want silly times. the only caveat is there isnt an official translation afaik so like… fan translation will have to do djfnc

A FREE RIDE EVERYDAY

back to romance ! romance manhua this time, slice pf life office type of thing and its pretty much just fluff. its a cute low stress read for times where u just want to sit down n smile about something and the characters r not thick about everything like they can be in SOME romances fjfnf and also the art is lovely! look at the cover, thats what its like the whole way through.

PURRFECT WORLD

mad underrated djfhdn it’s pretty chill, its a story about a human girl working at a salad restaurant on a planet full of cats. the art is super cute, the cats have jobs and all but they also act like cats and its great dhsks like the owner of the restaurant likes to sit in random cardboard boxes. its been a while since i read it but there is not much romance (if at all??), but plenty of cats and shenanigans. heehee

read it for him !! its also complete and its not particularly long either btw forgor to say

ONI NO KO

this one … i think is a manga actually? in colour?? its about a random oni kid that gets picked up by a high schooler’s family. very very cute art, it’s short and sweet and i will repeat very cute.

look him! hes so small ! he likes baseball!!

BONUS REC which doesnt fit the mood but i think more people should read it: the goldfish osushi. i wont elaborate anymore but its truly… your heart will be touched after it lol

also if anyone has more to add to this list (preferably things u think r underrated !! and no orv because everyone automatically recs that to me and im tired ajfndn) please do i would also like recs. also also if anyone has requests i love making lists

[whetstonefires]

Oh you know what book Scum Villain is actually very much like?

Don Quixote.

Goofy-ass comedic narrative-about-narratives that can be summarized as 'a lot of unnecessarily stupid things happen to a man with just so much genre-poisoned misunderstanding of everything, including himself.'

Yes Don Quixote went on to be enshrined as one of the foundational texts of Western Literature, and has been interpreted by Great Minds as being About an incredible range of really deep political and identity things, some of which may even have been correct.

But also just. We've got a protagonist guy whose identity has become lost inside a Lord Somebody as a consequence of reading wayyyyyy too much pseudohistorical schlock. A guy who inspires simultaneous responses of 'look at this clown' and 'omg he's me irl.'

Satirical genre pastiche relying on the collision of the modern banal and the imaginary elevated past for both bathos and social commentary, and the conflict between literary convention and real human psychology for narrative and even some pathos. The incredible embarrassment around the entire wildly inappropriate romance. Don Quixote was always first and foremost a comedy about fan behavior.

It's the same Kind of a novel.

[lavernius]

Use this ask as a prompt to talk abt Restoration :3 I always like reading your posts w/ your thoughts

Thank you! Heads up for the usual "I'm super RVB critical" disclaimer but here are my assorted thoughts.

RVB: RESTORATION SPOILERS under cut, very rambly, TLDR at the end.

The premise was interesting! I think I (personally) would've appreciated it way more if it had actually followed RVB13 directly, but that's beyond anyone's control. Tucker becoming the Meta is great, it would've been nice to see a real-time progression into it. Kinda sucked that Tucker himself didn't get as much focus as a character, but they probably didn't have time to squeeze in anything past Sigma mentally torturing him and Tucker's passing comments about not wanting to help him.

The animation was okay. I won't flame it because they were probably on a time crunch/low on crew, but some parts of it looked worse than others. Action sequences looked pretty good though.

They were trying to do a "final encore" thing by bringing back some old characters (even as cameos), which is, like. Fun? But I feel like focusing so much on Freelancer seasons (with Niner, Wash's hallucinations, Tex, the Meta) snubbed Chorus, which is fine, but a little sad to have the final season reflect on people from the past but not show any Chorusan past Grey. It's RVB, though, so the cast is way too huge for that shit to work out smoothly anyway.

Sarge's death sucked. I think I laughed through the whole thing because I was so baffled. It was expected, and while the comedy of it all fit him well, I just don't think it was good as like. His last ride, you know? He didn't die a valiant death, the comedy lead up was an "oh god don't do it like THIS please" moment for me. Subversion is fun but falls flatter in the very last installment of a show that's been going on for two decades. I kinda? liked that Grif was mourning it, but because his death was so lackluster the entire "This is the end for me" speech didn't grab me.

Seeing as she's my favorite Blue, I'm very happy they brought Sheila back, but bringing characters back randomly without…much explanation (did they explain that? Maybe I missed it) felt weird to me. I loooved Sheila's bits in the season but it felt like a forced cameo. Niner was similar, even if people wanted her back, but at least she had Sheila to explain her presence. Making FLISS and Sheila the same person was a crazy move I need to write a dissertation on though.

Speaking of feeling forced, half of Grif and Simmons's conversations felt so ingenuine. Like they were shoehorned in to MAKE them bicker and not natural. I knew (the second the season was announced) that they weren't going to do shit for Grimmons, but for ONCE I didn't really find…ANY of their interactions especially riveting. Simmons letting Grif leave was HILARIOUS from a meta standpoint. Physically splitting them up at the end as one last fuck you to the gay people.

Caboose felt better than he does most seasons. Still an ableist mess in some places but I loved his IDGAF attitude. The big Meta fight was just fun for him. He just wanted to win. He was fucking with Lopez on purpose, speaking Spanish and misunderstanding him. He should've been more of a little shit earlier on. His voice acting sounded good! Inflection is always annoying but it felt less…egregious this time?

Donut got fucking robbed?! Kai too?! What was the point of giving them development. There were so many places where Donut would've been great to have in! Throwing the memory unit at Tex as a parallel to their BGC rivalry, helping Wash through his problems, IDK. Sucks.

When the fuck did Doc die. Why him. (< Rhetorical questions.) Wash mental health stuff is awesome, though, I love psychotic Wash, even if the portrayal was a little predictable (to someone who was paying attention. I was thinking about Lopez) and imperfect. I'm kinda glad his issues were focused on without him being a major character. PISSED Carolina only showed up on his behalf and stuck around for his sake, can't a girl live for herself sometimes…

Ummm. Lopez was there. I want to wring him like a wet towel. He's medicated as fuck and got to talk to someone who speaks Spanish…and his WIFE was there…I'm so glad he was having as best a time he could and SOOOO glad they wrote him out early like I anticipated (just personally because I love-hate him, but it was cheap). Go on an adventure with Sheila gayboy. Run away from all of this.

TLDR: Overall, solid 7/10. I went into it expecting a 5-6, but was pleasantly surprised by it overall. It felt VERY forced in a lot of places, the pacing felt bizarre sometimes, I still don't even know where exactly this is placed in the overall timeline (and I don't care), but they did some fun things. I'm so glad it's over I hope I never have to see official RVB content again.

[xxcatzladyxx]

Tengen Uzui x Reader | The Sound Pillar

Hello everyone! ^^

Here is the third oneshot. This time with the god of flashiness, Tengen Uzui.

I would like to thank you again for all the likes. I never thought that Giyu would get more likes than Kyojuro. Do not misunderstand. Giyu was my favorite first and foremost. Now it's Kyojuro/Tengen.

I hope you enjoy reading!

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

"You want me to be what?"

"You'll be my fourth wife!"

"But you have a bird!", you make the appropriate gesture to it. "You already have three wives. Isn't that enough for you?"

You two argue so loudly that by now every other pillar has interrupted its activity and is watching the two of you. But you do not let yourselves be disturbed.

"Yes, I have a bird, a crow to be exact!"

"Very funny, Tengen! Has the worthy gentleman hung up his job as a demon hunter and become a comedian? Or did you just have a clown for breakfast? I have a crow and so does every other pillar here. The only difference is that none of them wear such stupid headgear."

The loud laugh from the Pillar of Flame, Rengoku, rings out.

"You see, even Kyōjurō has to laugh at your comedy already."

"He's more likely to laugh at you than at me, my dear!" grinned the Pillar of Sound to himself.

"Don't call me your love!" you cross your arms in front of your chest and turn away from Tengen.

You snort once, hard, annoyed. Tengen rips your nerves to the core.

"So, what now, my dear? You won't meet a flamboyant man like me a second time.", he emphasized the word 'my love' extra hard to annoy you.

You roll your eyes. You don't understand how you can be so sure of yourself. Healthy self-confidence is good, but you can also overdo it. Just like Tengen.

"Are you deaf? No, I'm not going to be your wife! I won't today! I won't tomorrow! Not in a week let alone a month either! Never! Never in my life! Just get it out of your head!"

You are slowly but surely at the end of your rope. If you continue to argue with him, you won't have a voice tomorrow. You're more than sure of that. You would put your hand in Rengoku's fire. He is still laughing loudly about your quarrel.

Actually you get along with him brilliantly. But right now, you're so pissed off at Tengen's stubbornness that you'd love to shut Rengoku up without batting an eye if he didn't stop his stupid laugh right now.

"Then in one year, my dear!" grinned Tengen victoriously.

Confused, you turn your head in his direction.

"Huh?" you quip wittily.

"You said not today, not tomorrow, not in a week and not in a month, however you never mentioned a year. So, my dear!"

"I know what I said. Are you slow on the uptake? I said never! That goes for all time!"

You want to throw more at him, however, you know that would just be a pure and pointless waste of time. You wave him off and go your way. You need some peace and quiet and decide to go for a walk.

After a while you arrive at a flower meadow. You stop and enjoy the view. Here grow your favorite flowers, lilies. White lilies.

You pick one and turn it back and forth in your hand. White. Snow white. Like the hair from the pillar of sound. Dumbfounded, you stare at the lily. Why does it come to your mind, though you only push it away from you? Does it seem to please you against your own will? You just don't want to see it? And you tell yourself the opposite?

Let's stick to the truth. He's good-looking. He's quite tall. He's got great muscles. His eyes are captivating. And his deep voice. The only thing that bothers you about him is his stupid attitude. Who does he think he is? A god? For a shiny, flamboyant god? God of flashiness? God of festivals?

"So you like, lilies? Very interesting. I'll have to make a note of that."

You give a low shriek and in shock, the flower falls out of your hand and onto the dirty ground. With a scowl, you turn to the troublemaker.

"What do you want here?"

"I have to look after my future wife, don't I?"

"Tengen, how many times do I have to tell you...!...Oh, forget it."

He picks up the flower again and carefully puts it in your hair without breaking eye contact with you. You blush slightly on your cheeks.

"I will bring you a bouquet of white lilies every day until your house is filled with them for good."

"Tengen, no!" you interrupt him. "You must be a great man, or husband, whatever. Your wives may be lucky to have married you, too. But I can't imagine sharing a husband with other women."

"So that means if I wasn't married, you would become my wife?"

"Tengen, don't do anything stupid!"

You can already see the scene before you of the demon slayer breaking up with his wives just so you'll marry him.

"Yes or no?" he ends your head spin.

"Maybe, Tengen, maybe."

You make your way home, leaving him standing there. He doesn't mind, though. Not in the least. He has a plan and he's faster than you anyway. He'll give you a nice homecoming you'll never forget. And with a certain piece of jewelry piece.

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

I hope you liked it! I am open for any requests. No spoilers, but spoilers! Next time it will be Kyojuro with a Lime/Lemon. I'm still not sure exactly what it is.

See you next time!

Your Wolfi <3

[mirimangarecs]

not-sew-wicked stepmom - gu raeng mo, yir

a children’s clothing designer wakes up in the body of snow white’s wicked stepmother on the day of her own funeral, and her shocking resurrection leads to a new love for her stepdaughter, reconciliation with her husband, and gorgeous dresses

the couple: i personally love it when leads have to overcome a damaged relationship, so this suited me perfectly. watching them both gradually become better people and parents is mwah 🧑‍🍳👌💋. and then there’s the misunderstandings and obliviousness phase… excellent. i love them

story & setting: a fairy-tale inspired world that still has strong independent material and story. it blends common genre tropes, romantic comedy, and serious themes really effortlessly and the results are so rewarding to read. the dedication to accurate historical fashion without completely condemning the corset was also refreshing

the art: soft and vibrant, with great character design and gorgeous fashion

cw: rape, familial abuse, lesbiphobia

i’ll be honest and admit i put this off for months because i knew it’d be both a) incredibly good, and b) difficult to read. it heavily features the perspective of a rape victim and his ptsd from an event in his childhood

it also has plots about body dysmorphia and diet culture, as well as featuring multiple (minor) lesbian characters with well-written development and personal struggles. in my opinion, it was really compassionate to various issues

[satanicgingermom]

This au is overtaking me. Anyway here’s some extra lore bits that’s didn’t fit in the character sheets:

1. So Smile Precure’s insane growth spurt happens the years that Akane is in the hospital. As Akane is kinda in and out of consciousness that first year, it leads to her having grown like three inches whilst asleep, so her coordination is fucked. When she first starts physical therapy she trips over her own two feet so much that she almost injuries herself again. It was a rough year for the Smile Team. ( poor girls has insane growing pains and a bestie in the hospital. tragic)

2. Honoka and Nozomi actually study together! They’re not as close as Nagisa and Rin, but they are good friends now! Honoka is great at helping Nozomi study, because she’s been helping Nagisa study for years and Nozomi may get distracted easily but at least she actually wants to study.

3. So otona was kinda a mixed bag, but the idea of Saki wanting to study abroad to study baking is kinda everything to me? I’ve also lived in the city she wants to study in, it’s actually the place I watched splash star for the first time. It felt right. That said, fuck her marrying a random man, she and Mai have been together for years and have the healthiest dynamic out of everyone here. Saki’s the only one who will actually tell Mai what goes on in the damn theater.

4. It’s been a hot minute since I watched suite, but in my memory they were all dramatic bitches with crazy pressure on their shoulders and then Kanade. From Kanade’s pov it looks like they’re being shitty, but this is actually just because of some crazy misunderstandings. Hibiki in particular has a lot on her plate, and it’s not her fault Kanade didn’t make any new friends! Kanade smh you’re such an idiot <3

5. Mana still has no idea Rikka has a crush on her. It’s actually becoming painful to witness. Alice is very thankful that Rikka has a new project to keep her distracted.

6. Is the theatre haunted? Yes. Why doesn’t Akane think it’s haunted? The ghosts like her. They’re leaving her to her own devices because this is the most comedy they’ve had in years. The Sunbeam itself is on a magical fault line, so that’s why it’s such a creature hotspot, but there are ghosts sitting in the wings watching all these girls fuck up

7. Anna is a whole mess into herself, but, uh, let’s just say she has a lot of growth to do before she’s actually a good person. Oh she likes Rin a whole lot, but boy howdy does she have some ulterior motives.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group J Round 3: #J4 vs #J7

#J4: Kids conquering dungeons to change the world

#J7: Lecherous young man gets engaged to an alien princess

Details and poll under the cut!

#J4: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Summary:

A Magi is a magician whose inclination toward magic is so immense that they can be said to shape the world. With their significant influence, each Magi chooses a worthy candidate to become a king, then helps them conquer strange labyrinths called "Dungeons" and acquire the power of mythical djinns within. Above all else, the Magi supervises their elected representative as they build a country that might one day bring the world to its knees.

Aladdin is a young Magi wandering the world in search of his true self. However, his journey is not a lonely one, as he is accompanied by his friend and mentor Ugo—a djinn he summons using his flute. On his travels, Aladdin also befriends Alibaba Saluja and guides him to a nearby Dungeon. With this newfound friendship, they begin an epic adventure across the world, witnessing various irregularities that seem more frequent than ever.

Propaganda 1:

Imagine characters from Arabian Nights/1001 Nights coming to life in an anime. Even though it is loosely inspired off of the tales, it is a unique time and place from most anime settings. It has action, humor, and deep concepts. One of my favorite parts about Magi is how well-developed the background characters are.

Propaganda 2:

This anime has a lot of philosophical takes on what fate is. Basically, is everything that happened to you caused by a force you can’t control or is it what you make of it? Is there something or rather someone pulling the strings on what should or shouldn’t be? Is the person you are because you were lucky or unlucky to be born in the wealthy family or not? Why are things the way they are? Why was I dealt with a shitty hand in life? Is it because I’ll never amount to anything, or is something doing this to me? Why are we here just to suffer kind of deal, but you know not the meme version, the really sad and real version. Then you have the side of the people who may have not had the best life, but found a way out of it. Why do some people get to feel the light when you went through the same thing, but still lost and in the dark?

Trigger Warnings: Partial nudity and slavery. One of the mains is a slave in the beginning, but the other two mains help free her from that.

#J7: Urusei Yatsura (2022)

Summary:

When aliens known as the Oni threaten to invade the Earth, they promise to leave under one condition—a randomly-chosen human must win a one-on-one game of tag against Lum, the beautiful daughter of the Oni leader. The “lucky” person selected happens to be the lustful and unlucky high-schooler Ataru Moroboshi. Given 10 days to attempt to grab Lum’s horns, Ataru realizes how impossible the challenge is as he is faced with Lum’s extraterrestrial powers.

Motivated by a promise of marriage from his childhood friend Shinobu Miyake, Ataru manages to catch Lum off guard. He mistakenly grabs hold of her bikini top first, but he eventually achieves his true goal. Although the game is over, Lum misunderstands that she is the one whom Ataru wants to marry, and she decides to move in with him. The poor student constantly tries to shake off the clingy Lum while doing his best to reconcile with his desired fiancée. After Ataru's heroic feat results in such a disastrous outcome, it is questionable whether luck will ever be on his side.

Propaganda:

This anime is actually a reboot; the original came out in the 80s. It honestly does the manga justice compared to the 80s anime. I absolutely love the animation, it really does stick to Rumiko Takahashi’s art style. Though the pacing is a bit different, overall it stays true to its manga counterpart. (It’s honestly too bad the series isn’t very popular in the west, it’s a great comedy/harem type show. And the thing is, it’s not your traditional harem where “the basic guy gets all the girls” which makes the show so much more enjoyable.) Everything about this show really captures the essence of the series. It’s able to be funny while still having its more serious moments. I just really love Urusei Yatsura, it’s so good.

Trigger Warnings: The art style is very colorful and could cause eyestrain

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.

[houkagokappa]

The Yuri Manga Post

From when I first came across yuri manga a decade ago, followed by a long break from it due to the excruciating longing I’d experience reading about girls loving girls while not experiencing it myself, I’d been wanting to get back to reading yuri manga again. The loneliness hasn’t gone anywhere, but my love towards girls and girls loving girls has remained, and I’ve wanted to take part in it once more.

What got me started was Hanamonogatari by schwinn. People were hyping it up on twitter as old woman yuri, and not just yuri involving a grown adult, but an actual grandmother. So far only 2 chapters have been translated, so I don’t have a whole lot to say about the series. It’s a nice change of pace to read about someone in their 60′s, and it’s wholesome to see how they discover make-up as a new hobby and the salesperson as a new romantic interest. Life doesn’t end after your 20′s, y’all!

This inspired me to check out what else is popular these days, and one of the first works I saw recommended was Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete by Akihiro Ononaka, which is the polar-opposite to Hanamonogatari. It’s about a young girl who adores magical girls, but ends up becoming a villain forced to fight them. Her new alter-ego is sadistic and enjoys teasing and torturing her opponents. The manga feels like a combination of Douman Seiman’s works and Kill la Kill, the way it’s stylized with high contrasts and contains plenty of wacky, sexy comedy that takes things just a little too far for comfort. Personally I love it. It’s not a manga for everyone, and I wish it would start wrapping up soon after 9 volumes, before it starts repeating itself too much. It’s been one of the most refreshing manga I’ve read in a while, a funny parody with an amazing artstyle, even if it also contains some... questionable scenes.

Looking at more conventional works, I picked up Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko ja Nakatta by Agu. It’s about a high school girl who falls for a guy as they bond over similar tastes in music, but as the title suggests, it turns out the guy’s actually a girl and her classmate (disguised in her casual/alternative style). The manga releases on twitter, and it’s been a fun exercise for me to keep up with it in Japanese. The twitter releases have also allowed Agu to use some colour, adding lime green to the traditional black and white, which makes the manga stand out and look really cool. The art itself is great too, both girls are super cute with their own distinctive styles. I like seeing how their relationship develops and I’m glad that it doesn’t dwell on the initial misunderstanding for too long. I will say that it’s a shame to be caught up with the story, since each weekly update is only 4 pages long and I’d rather read this in one go.

Next, I picked up Kakeochi Girl by Battan, since it was recent and renowned, with gorgeous covers. It’s about a woman who runs into her old high school sweetheart again after 10 years. While she never got over her, her old lover is now about to get married to a man, and have his baby. I wasn’t a huge fan of this manga. I thought it was sad how the main girl hadn’t been able to move on and felt stuck with her life for so long, while her romantic interest was stuck making bad decisions. I also didn’t like how the husband was portrayed as a villain of comical proportions. I think there’s value to the story which explores what comphet does to a woman, but it’s not something I care to read about when men become too central to the story. I also have conflicting feelings about the art. The covers, illustrations and some pages were absolutely gorgeous, and I love how Battan portrays different feelings, especially whenever something’s a little scary, but exciting, with tingles and sparks, but I’m not a huge fan of her style when it comes to the eyes and other facial features, which is a stylistic choice for her and a personal preference of mine.

I gave Battan another chance with Ane no Yuujin, since I couldn’t resist the enthralling, sensual cover. I liked it better than Kakeochi Girl, and it helped me appreciate the art more, thanks to her excellent portrayal of longing and joy. I was about to say that I liked the characters better too, but now that I think about it, I’m not sure I did. I think the fact that this was much shorter and focused on more characters masked it for me. I don’t think Battan’s works are for me, but I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who do love them for good reason!

I continued my yuri journey with another work I’d seen and heard much about, Sayonara Rose Garden by Dr. Pepperco. It’s about a Japanese maid who works for an English noblewoman, set in England in the early 1900′s. My first impression was that Dr. Pepperco is a genius for this setting and combination of aesthetics, with the Japanese maid dressing in kimono off-duty (!!!). The manga is beautifully drawn, and I enjoyed both main characters, but unfortunately a man had to get between them as well. It makes sense considering the setting, but it’s still not something I enjoy reading about, so my initial excitement was dulled out after the first volume. Overall it was a good read with great art, but because of my high expectations and slight disappointment, it didn’t end up as a favourite of mine.

After getting worried about not finding any more good yuri to read, I was happy to discover Ikemen Girl to Hakoiri Musume by Mochi au Lait and majoccoid. It’s another manga where one girl mistakes her classmate for a man and falls for them. Here the girl confesses right at the start, the other one accepts as a joke, and they end up dating while the misunderstandings are still at play. The girl who was mistaken for a man is incredibly sympathetic and a whole mood (TM), while her girlfriend is super bubbly and sweet. The manga is light-hearted and funny, and I wish I could find something similar to this, since it’s been one of my favorites.

Next up I read Yuunagi Marbled and Kimi Koi Limit by Momono Moto. Yuunagi Marbled was a tad bit on the edgy side, but still an okay read. Kimi Koi Limit had a real mess of a main character, which I enjoyed immensely, since I’ve been looking for something like that in yuri works. After all these stories about women who suddenly end up in lesbian relationships, or who have to hide the fact they want to be in them, it was refreshing to read about women who were open and assertive about their interests. I can’t say either of these works left a strong impression on me beyond that, but I found the girls cute and they were easy enough to read.

Then I went on to read Papa no Sexy Doll by Kajikawa Gaku. Look. The title is questionable. And the manga is indeed about a girl and her dad both having some sort of relationship with an android to get over the loss of the girls’ mother. I checked it out because I read something else by the same author, which left me curious about what else they’d done. Then I wanted to check what Papa no Sexy Doll could possibly be about, since it wasn’t marked as r-18. It was a pleasant surprise to see that it was yuri, and I actually got attached to the main character, who’s a young girl going through a rough patch with her crush/girlfriend and seeking solace (not necessarily sexual, but also that kind of comfort) from the titular doll. There are only a few chapters out and it’s still ongoing, but so far it’s been a nice story about loss and the pains of growing up. I can’t recommend it for everyone, but it’s been a pleasant surprise for sure.      

To continue with more questionable works, I was excited to give Kyou wa Kanojo ga Inai kara by Iwami Kiyoko a try, based on the gorgeous art and a powerful line I randomly came across and had to fish out the source for. Like the title suggests, it’s about a girl in a lesbian relationship, but said girlfriend is still in the closet afraid to show any sort of affection towards her in public. Furthermore, she keeps ignoring her in favour of club activities, which leaves our main girl sad and lonely. A third girl shows up, and with a few pushes, the main girl starts two-timing her girlfriend. I love how horrible the girls are, and how easy it is to see what drove them to be the way they are. The art is to die for, and although I can’t recommend such a controversial topic to everyone, it’s been one of my favorites. The manga is still ongoing, with 4 volumes currently, and things are heating up!

After reading all these popular and currently talked-about series, and not finding that much more looking though what’s popular, I discovered the greatness of Interest Stacks on MAL. There were a few collections with titles and covers that looked intriguing, and I started reading older works, with the oldest being Maya no Souretsu by Ichijo Yukari, published in 1972. I love the 70′s shoujo manga style, and the story was a tragic wild-ride about loss and revenge.

From there I kinda fell down the rabbit hole that was 90′s josei. Some of the yuri works I read were Love Vibes and Sheets no Sukima by Erica Sakurazawa. They are both about messy relationships that involve a lot of sex and cheating, and while love between women was central for both, there was more action between women and men. Because I read other josei works from the same era before these two, I came in thinking it was cool to see women be active and forward, so I didn’t mind it, but I do think Sheets no Sukima in particular suffered from not developing the relationship between the two women further. The ending was incredibly unsatisfying and abrupt, even if it could be seen as realistic and tragic in a way I usually love, because it reflects how uncertain and unsatisfying real life can be. I definitely preferred Love Vibes out of the two, where the feelings were more clear and reciprocated. Both works had a charming artstyle, and the girls were cute so it was nice reading them.

Back to the present day, although ready to take a journey into the past, I continued with Yume no Hashibashi by Sudou Yumi. It’s about two women in their mid-80′s who have been in love with each other since they were 14/15, but unable to be with each other due to various societal reasons. The manga starts with them in their old age and progresses backwards in time, with each chapter giving us a small glimpse of the choices they made and the feelings they had throughout different periods in their lives. It’s quite an interesting structure, and I loved seeing what drove the characters to make the decisions they did, when I already knew what they would lead to, and to see what prevented them from choosing to be with each other throughout the years. I wasn’t sure what to think of it based on the first two chapters, but I was crying as I reached the end. It was tragic, yet beautiful, and what hurts the most is how there are people out there who have gone through similar experiences. This was another favourite of mine and I highly recommend it, with the warning that it’s a heartbreaking read. I’d love to read more yuri by this mangaka, but unfortunately I couldn’t find much else.

Following these, I read Nettai Shoujo by Yoshitomi Akihito. I picked it up after reading Balance Policy, also by him, thanks to the nice cover art. Balance Policy contained some yuri as well, which would ordinarily be a nice bonus, except here it was paired with some of the most absurd ideas of how women work I’ve come across in a long time (weird stuff about periods etc.). Along with some other choices, it was quite obvious it was written by a man. I don’t think gender should prevent you from writing whatever, and I can even appreciate yuri that’s created for the male gaze, but oh man does it hurt when it’s combined with bad writing. Both Balance Policy and Nettai Shoujo got me though, since they depict summer in the countryside, which is one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to manga settings, especially paired with queer themes. Nettai Shoujo is a collection of shorts around that theme, and it delivers, save for a couple instances where you can clearly tell it was written by a man, and a few “but I’m a girl” lines, which I didn’t know I’d come to dislike as much as I now do. In their defence, it was written in 2007, so I can’t be too mad about it.

It was only after reading Nettai Shoujo that I realised Yoshitomi Akihito is the man behind Blue Drop. I’ve read one or two installations from the series and I’ve always wanted to read through them all, so I’m now stuck in this weird love-hate relationship with Yoshitomi Akihito and his works. I’ve gotten quite busy, so I haven’t had the time to read more than the first (original) volume so far. I love the art and the sci-fi setting of lesbian aliens taking over Earth, but it feels aged and contains gratuitous fanservice, which I don’t enjoy. The girls are either undressing themselves at weird moments, too often, or it’s done to them in a way which feels exploitative. I’ll read and reread the rest of Blue Drop, and I’ll probably check out the anime too, but for now, I no longer have the time. Pride month is coming to an end too, so this shall be it for my big yuri manga review.

Thank you for taking the time to read any or all of this!

I hope you’ve been able to read some good yuri as well, and if you have any recommendations I’m happy to receive them!