#moe is more likable

[zukoromantic]

Y'all the big top case in the anime is genuinely good

[myusuchaa]

ikemen villains: my recs and route/suitor rankings ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

disclaimer: these are my opinions based on the current released routes in both ENG and JP. i tend to love dark psych thrillers, lots of angst and pining, great banter between characters/lively convos, and a captivating plot, so that's what influences my ranks~ will update with future releases

figured I’d post my thoughts here!! in case anyone is a bit newer to ikevil and is curious OR if anyone has similar interests as me I’d love to squeal about them with you!! ♡

₊˚ପ⊹ROUTE RANKINGS

rank is based on: written flow, plot, descriptive language and emotional pull, uniqueness

1. Elbert

2. Alfons

3. Roger

4. Ellis

5. William

6. Liam

7. Harrison

₊˚ପ⊹SUITOR RANKINGS

rank is based on: how much I fell for them, their likability, personality traits, inner monologues from his side stories, overall character story, their interactions with others

1. Elbert

2. Alfons

3. Ellis

4. Liam

5. Roger

6. Harrison

7. William

₊˚ପ⊹ROUTE RELEASE TIMELINE

Beginning trio (JP/ENG): William, Liam, Harrison

Aug. 1st (JP/ENG): Elbert

Nov. 14th (JP): Alfons

Mar. 19th (JP): Ellis

Jul. 23rd (JP): Roger

my thoughts & recs on each suitor's route (no spoilers)

William: such an interesting take on love. maybe because of his curse but his route is up there with feeling the most historical, period-piece fantasy like (along with elbie and roger imo). he's a very unique LI i honestly felt like his route would do well as a 3 episode anime OVA ヾ( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞ i recommend him if you like a more undefined approach to love, contractual partnership, mature and refined guys and not-so-innocent MC's

Liam: a precious bb ahh, and his VA is so amazing at emotional inflections! liam really shines in being attentive to kate and to the other crown members, i loved how he treated her in his route. i recommend if you don't mind self-deprecating guys, if you like drama and whirlwind romance, and if you enjoy a relationship built on assurance.

Harrison: the best soft opening to ikevil imo. quite a tame route with very real world problems as opposed to dark fantasy. if anyone stays true to his self, it's harry! he has some funny one liners too lol. i recommend him if you like intelligent sarcastic LIs, you like noir crime vibes, and if you don't want a heavy read.

Elbert: i mean he is my oshi for a reason! every time i read his route i fall more in deep love.. the localization team did an amazing job w the translation. i think his POV stories are the best. they add so much to his qualities and i feel really boosts his story. i recommend his route if you love yearning, emotional understanding, tragedy, dark psych thrillers, and slow (but dramatic) burn stories

Alfons: i used to hate him with a passion... until i loved him. his route truly is the definition of "fuck around and find out" keeping you on your toes. i loved the depth he has and how dubious they made him. i recommend his route if you like word/roleplay, morally grey characters, if you like having to guess at things without ever being told the answer, and a "we shouldn't be doing this but.." kinda feeling

Ellis: this man had me doing mental gymnastics to understand his true motives and i looooved that. visuals are also top tier. what i noticed is his route really focuses on his time with kate and has a bit more of a mundane (as mundane can be in ikevil) plot compared to other routes. this let his interactions with kate shine. i recommend ellis if you like hidden duality in a suitor, puppy boys that will do anything for you, a love that feels like a warm blanket, and you're ok with no real character growth (conditional love)

Roger: honestly i put off his route cus i wasn't interested at first but by the third chapter i was like WOW this is a breath of fresh air. the writers showed UP for part 2, i love the new plot points introduced, and his interactions with kate are sooo good. i loved his letters too! i ended up finding him extremely supporting and with a slight gap moe which kept me interested. i recommend this route if you like stories that are plot AND character driven, back and forth banter between MC and LI, and a shojou traditional charismatic love!

[irregularbillcipher]

the simpsons has been less than perfect and sometimes straight up shitty about a lot of social issues, but one thing about watching a show that's been around so long is that you can so easily track what the Average American View of something is and sometimes it is a little touching. like the guys at moe's, including homer, were blatantly homophobic in early seasons. (yes they also all had jokes implying they liked men, no none of them were actually straight themselves, but that's pretty common in adult cartoons to be frank.) "homer's phobia," which is to this day a GREAT episode, is such a good example of this, because homer, moe and barney in particular were meant to be wrong, of course, but them being so homophobic and so scared that bart was going to be gay was pretty fair as a look at like, where the average guy like homer, moe or barney was at that time period. they were being shitty, because a lot of Average Americans had to be told "hey, you're being really fucking shitty"

so there is just something very touching to me, personally, to track those characters through the years and then see these same joe-shmoe barfly characters sitting around at moe's and-- in more than one episode-- being like "we gotta find smithers a guy that actually treats him right. let's look through grindr and see what we can find." yeah, there's usually a "we gotta get this guy laid so he sucks less to work for" element to it, but it's still a cool change to see. like outside of just "characters i'm fond of not being shitty anymore," which is nice on a personal level, it's just... good to see that the expectation of an Average American nowadays is "yeah, they're gonna be relatively comfortable and casual about the gay people in their lives and, if they're decent, will hope they're in a relationship where they're being treated well" in such an easily quantifiable and trackable way. idk where i'm going with this, just that it's cool to have a show that's old enough where you can see that change take place, where you can see the change of "these characters won't be likable to an audience anymore if they're shitty in this way, because we've progressed enough that the average person watching this show is not going to be blatantly and openly shitty in this way"

[soicysandwich]

Kitchen Nightmares S8 Ep 01 - Bel Aire Diner Review

**SPOILERS**

Random Thoughts;

Peter lowkey reminds me of this one dude I sat behind in Spanish class my freshman year

Also can we talk about how the two brothers are basically the duo from Oceana (Moe and Rami) but reversed…

Main Review:

The sound effects present in the original American series, such as the waterphone, dramatic music, etc, have been toned down. Similarly, Ramsay himself has calmed down significantly. The revival so far reminds me of the UK version, which is a major plus

The first three quarters of the episode were paced well and had plenty of drama. However, the renovation segment and final dinner service were extraordinarily rushed

These owners (or at least, one of the main two) were likable. Kal seemed like he desperately wanted the business to succeed, even sacrificing time with his family to do so. Peter was extraordinarily lazy for the majority of the episode. Patty at first seemed ok, unfortunately, she was against some of the changes. This makes sense since Bel Aire reverted back to their old menu just days after Ramsay’s visit

If there is one part of Kitchen Nightmares that is universally enjoyed by fans, it would definitely be the kitchen investigation segment. This episode did not disappoint, with Ramsay venturing into, arguably, the worst storage unit alongside Dillons. There was cross-contamination, moldy produce, foamy, rancid chicken, and dirty dishes stacked atop each other. The equipment held so much oil that Ramsay himself declared the Diner a “Death Trap”

The restaurant, like many others, had disgusting, prepackaged, rancid food. One of Ramsay’s main criticisms was how large the menu was, containing more than 270 items. Unfortunately, the new menu did not reflect Astoria, nor resembled that of a Greek diner, as it only contained twenty items, some not even being diner staples (ex. Shrimp and Grits)

Events Pre/Post Episode

Bel Aire violated and failed several health inspections in the past. Reasons include mice, improper storage of food, and poor condition of restrooms. Furthermore, their grade is listed as “pending”, which is considered failing

The diner was featured on CBS Sunday morning where Bobby Flay visited and commented on Greek Diners

Bel Aire reverted to their original menu, however, they removed several items

Final Score: 8.5/10

Sources include the Kitchen Nightmares and Astoria subreddits, Reality TV Updates, and the CBS Sunday Morning video entitled “Greek Diners”

[hunterxhell]

i'm rereading dark continent arc to prepare myself for new chapters and I WANT TO SCREAM! i only reached ch 345 and why?! why is it so good? why the pacing, the questions, the mysteries, all of it just makes me go insane? Why is hxh so good????? Why it is so interesting????

YEAH!!!!!!!!! i can't yell enough about it!!!!

i'v been reading a lot of ongoing series lately, and some of them definitely seem to have been inspired by hxh but i usually find them lacking in some way. they don't scratch that same itch, even when they're attempting to do very similar things. i've been thinking a lot to myself about why that is so i guess i'll take this opportunity to blurt out some of my thoughts in some attempt to make them cohesive.

WORLDBUILDING!!!!!!!

the worldbuilding in hxh is so comprehensive. togashi doesn't just think "this sounds cool so i'll write it", you can tell when he gets an idea he considers what it means within the world of hxh.

i've read some series with lengthy, wordy worldbuilding. it gives you the impression the worldbuilding MUST be comprehensive, the author MUST have put a lot of thought into it, because there's just so many dang WORDS happening, but when you thinking a little bit more logically about certain elements, the whole thing just starts to fall apart. it feels deceptive and lazy to me when authors get really in the weeds on certain things that as a whole just don't make any sense in the story they're writing. i swear that sometimes authors will intentionally be as convoluted as possible, like a science study or a legal document, in the hopes that it dissuades you from picking it apart. togashi's worldbuilding feels genuine to me because i know he's not saying shit just to sound smart, he's telling you RELEVANT information that's NECESSARY for your reading experience, and it just so happens to also enrich your understanding of the world/characters.

2. CHARACTERS!!!!!!!

i've said this a billion times but i truly think togashi is a master at making likable characters. within just a few panels, a character you never thought you'd ever become invested in is now suddenly one of your favorites. characters aren't one dimensional -- some are presented that way at first, but it's all in order to make a humanizing moment they have later on all the more unexpected and endearing. a lot of characters also have an "outer personality" (how they present themselves) and an "inner personality" (how they actually are), which i guess is a bit like "gap moe" lol.

[fireemblems24]

Fire Emblem Engage 15 - 17

Spoilers for FE Engage 15+. Though, this game is way better at gameplay than it is with story, but the characters are all likable so I'm good.

I really appreciate how different all the nations and their castles and interiors look in this game. I adore Three Houses, but one thing I really wish they did was have more variety in the weather, landscapes, etc . . . This game nailed it.

Solm, a desert country, having waterfalls in their palace is such a good touch. Not only does it show that water would be valued in a place like this, but it's also flaunting the royal family's wealth and power, like a palace should.

I'm not sure I'll ever warm up to Veyle. She's a walking moe cliche. Mind control. Innocent cute loli type otherwise. But, hey, I didn't like Hortensia at one point but her VA sold me in the last chapter.

Does anyone else find it a bit funny that we're a dragon worshipped as a god with influence over the land and this is a good thing. It's like a giant middle finger to those people who tried to rewrite the entire history of the franchise around a certain character's not-so-great view of dragons.

Also worth noting that Brodia invading Elusia is seen as a universal bad and something Diamant's supports resolve around stopping. Just putting that out there.

Ivy/Diamant feels cannon to me. It makes too much sense.

Kagetsu is so awkward. I love him.

I feel like I just took half of my units and got them with level 5 with Byleth. Mentorship is too good not to stick on a few people, and it's cheap too.

I love how literally no one takes Hortensia seriously. It makes an otherwise grating character kind of cute.

Holy shit, Merrin laid it on thick for Chloe. Honestly, don't blame her. But she is not subtle, gave Chloe flowers, called her beautiful, then asked her to dinner. Homegirl's even willing to try and stomach Chloe's . . . uh "food" choices. And Chloe thinks Merrin is like a cool knight out of a fairy tale. 100% new ship happening.

So far I like AlearxAlfred, IvyxDiamant, CelinexAlcryst, and now ChloexMerrin.

Alfred and Boucheron's support went exactly like I imagined it would. Poor dude. Alfred would lose his mind meeting Dimitri, someone who's abnormally strong despite not looking like a hulk, but is still shredded.

Alfred is probably the only person in the world who would've be offended or weirded out when someone asked to lick the flowers he's wearing and also offer to get licked later. Otherwise, Bunet is weird.

Seadall is VERY hot. He's like Sothe and Navarre had a baby. Or like Navarre put Sothe's clothes on.

F!Alear confronting Veyle again had really good voice acting. As long as we ignore that everyone just stood around instead of attacking her. Gratned, it was un-brainwashed Veyle who wasn't attacking so I'll let it go. Maybe.

Doing Ike's prologue is making me feel things. The nostalgia is real.

I love so, so much that one of Byleth's canned dialogue in Somniel is "Nothing to report!" and his paralogue is the Holy Tomb. And most of his dialogue was about Rhea, lol.

Eirika, my beloved, she's finally coming to me 😭😭😭😭😭😭 thank you, Rosado and Goldmary.

Rosado and Goldmary are both amazing. I want to use both, but I can't. There's just no room for both. But I think I'll use Goldmary because she's a bit better out of the box. She takes self-absorbed to hysterical new levels lol.

Anyone else think it's dumb that in Classic your units can die in the ring paralogues? It's like, oh bummer, Lyn/Corrin/etc just killed my healer who's the little sister of my mage, but our bonds are now stronger!

It feels extra sad seeing Firene get attacked. It's such a peaceful kingdom. It's nice to see Alfred back in the spotlight though. His lines about how these are just farmers and not soldiers reminds me a lot of Dimitri after Lonato.

I love how often the villains chit-chat with the heroes before and after battles, but like they never attack or threaten each other.

So mean that they're making Ivy and Hortensia fight their own dad :(

So I didn't start ch 17 after seeing the dialogue because it was too late and I didn't realize it, but I'm seeing the world map now and it's on fire :(

FYI, put Corrin on Alear. She/he can use all of the Dragon Vein terrain bonuses. I know most classes are locked to one type or another. I don't know if there's any other exceptions like Alear, but man I'm loving using this ring on Alear.

Alfred just did 5 criticals in a row. You think enemies would wise up and quit attacking him, but no. He is pissed off right now.

Alfred deserved that MVP. Boy put in the work.

Haha, they lost a ring. Wonder who I got back? And Veyle threw us another one? Nice! She got some points back despite being a character archtype I'm not about.

SIGURD! Fuck yes. Everyone's getting Canto. And Lief. Less exciting, but I'll take it. Jugdral boys are back.

[lovelytayforce]

Earthspark spoilers but not too much mostly meant for a discussion! Click read more~!

Alright, since Earthspark is out we have to talk about something IMPORTANT, cause I'm already seeing some iffy but not judgy complaints for the mcs especially the black boy, Robby. Now, let me start this off by saying, cause I know once I finish writing this people might not see the end, I am not saying you can't dislike him or his sister, Moe. But I am BEGGING this fandom and everybody in general to be glad they are allowing their black child mcs to be immature and expressive just like other white mcs in the past series have been. *cough* Jack *cough* Robby by all means still has a certain level of maturity and ingenuity shown in the first episode despite his own outburst to be suddenly moved to another way too far out of state place compared to the city, which is jarring and scary for a whole slew of reasons, yet he still helps and waits for his younger sister when her bike needs fixing. But he has the right to be upset and the episode frames that in a great way for a black family, where the child gets to express themselves freely but has the space to be angry. And this may not seem "likable" to some but to me, it's a really sweet scene that shows Dot and Alex are understanding of their son's anger but also, they have their reasons for moving. And stick by it, which again for Dot, a black woman, her husband putting her dreams first, peak. We don't see that ENOUGH! So, what I'm trying to say is, try to be a bit more understanding of these emotions and family dynamics we'll see in this show from a black perspective.

[meggannn]

i honestly cannot imagine what the steins;gate live action will look like because like, americanized bs aside, voiceovers have sort of fallen out of fashion lately but so much of the visual novels and animes rely on okabe’s consistent internal narration. and a lot of his—and therefore the audience’s—stability amidst the utter chaos of his environment takes place entirely within okabe’s head. like, how do you achieve that in a live-action without getting into constant internal, often cheesy, narration? like i’m willing to listen to voiceover in an anime, for some reason, but in a live action, if it’s not done right, and even if it is, it often just seems lazy

i’m not saying it’s impossible to pull off, but i do think it will be difficult if you want to be true to the original story, because until kurisu gets involved, okabe has no “constant” with his conscious floating between time and space and it will be very difficult for the audience to like, keep track of what is going on and what his internal reactions are, which is obviously necessary to follow the story. so basically given that and like everything else about the thought of hollywood doing yet another live-action adaptations of an anime, especially one whose identity is firmly rooted in japanese moe culture (written by actual japanese people in a way that can balance making fun of it and also expressing love for it), my hopes are uhhhh not very high

[h-worksrambles]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: I wanna talk about Tora

With the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 less than two weeks away, I’ve been thinking a lot about Xenoblade and the Xeno series in general. And I wanted to use this time to talk about a thought I’ve had for a long time about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 specifically. That being, the one character in the main party who had severe missed potential, the Nopon inventor, Tora.

Now, before I go on, I want to pre-emptively state something. I love Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It’s one of my favourite games on Switch and I go back and forth between it and Xenosaga Episode III as my second favourite game in the whole Xeno series. Furthermore, it has overall my favourite cast of characters in the franchise. It’s full of likable, complex figures with great chemistry. But no game is perfect, and even a wonderfully realised title is going to have missed opportunities. I know how much flack 2 gets from portions of the fanbase and I don’t want this post to either become a rallying point for bad faith criticism, or for fans of the game to feel like their game is gettting still more unneccesary hate. Plus, much like the last time I did one these character critiques/rewrites, I must remind you that writing from scratch is incredibly hard, and me playing script doctor after the fact is not me claiming to be a better writer than the people who worked on the game. Everything I say comes from a place of love for this title. But I think Tora is the victim of several missed chances and poor writing choices that result in him being the weakest member of the party by a long shot, probably the only one I dislike. And I wanted to talk about how he might have been improved. Also full spoilers for Xenoblade 2 naturally.

Tora enters the story in Chapter 2 when he shelters Rex and Pyra from Ardanian soldiers. Tora is a Nopon mechanic who lacks the aptitude to resonate with a Core Crystal and become a Driver. Becuse of this, he and his family have been working for generations to build an artificial Blade, one that can resonate with anyone, regardless of potential. This Blade is the android girl, Poppi. Tora and Poppi befriend Rex and Pyra and join them on their search for Elysium, as Tora hopes to one day find his father, who vanished several years ago.

There’s a lot about Tora’s character that does actually work. Tora is very different from previous Nopon party members. Unlike the deceptively mature Riki or the outspoken, sometimes cocky, Tatsu, Tora is an introvert who spends most of his time tinkering in his home. He doesn’t have much in the way of friends or a social life and latches on to Rex very quickly. To him, Rex, this ordinary kid who became a hero by wielding the legendary Aegis, is exactly what he wishes he could be, and he respects him greatly. He’s basically a nerdy shut-in orphan learning to get out and make friends, all while fulfilling his dream of being a real Driver.

Unfortunately, whille Tora is pretty well established as a character, between a lot of ideas not being fully explored with him, and poorly executed comedy that actively makes him less likable, he falls short compared to the rest of the characters. I think the first step to fixing Tora is pretty obvious to anyone who’s played the game: We’re taking any of the ‘jokes’ about him being into maids or moe, and we’re throwing them out of the window. I was gonna talk more at length at this, but frankly I believe it’s self explanatory. The last thing we needed was to make this character into Mineta 2.0. Stuff like this casts really ugly implications on to Tora and Poppi’s relationship, which we need to buy into for this character to work. But it comes up in Poppi’s very first scene and makes an awful first impression, especially considering Poppi goes on to be arguably one of the best characters. And it’s not like it’s in service of any character arc. Whenever it comes up in cutscenes or heart to hearts, it only amounts to ‘Tora does/implies something creepy, the other characters get annoyed, but he gets off with just a slap on the wrist’. I think a lot less people would deride Xenoblade 2 for being ‘too anime’ if it didn’t pull stunts like this. Not funny. Never funny. Always gross. Stop it. The other issue is that Tora is relatively tangential to the story, with his only big moment of relevance being Chapter Four. Problem is, Chapter Four...kind of sucks. It’s a filler episode full of half explored ideas, cringy jokes, and the worst dungeon in the game by far (Screw you, Old Factory).

This is where that plot about Tora’s missing dad gets resolved. When the party is in Mor Ardain, they find another artifical Blade, who Tora recognises as Lila, Poppi’s prototype, who was stolen the same night Tora’s father, Tatazo, vanished. It turns out that Tatazo was kidnapped by a group of Nopon, led by Charmain Bana, who wanted to use his research to create weapons of war to sell to the already tense countries of Mor Ardain and Uraya, lining their pockets as the people of these Titans go to war.

I think this is a great idea to introduce to Tora’s character. Tora and his family designed Poppi with the best of intentions shut up that other thing isn’t canon in my version. They wanted to become Drivers, and to allow even those like them who lacked the aptitude to do the same. But now that same technology is being used by selfish people as a tool for war. And it gets worse, because by Chapter Six, Torna are using that same technology against the party. Tora’s family legacy is now being used by a group of murderers who want to destroy the world and kill his friends. This could have been used to make the young, naive Tora reflect on his part in this, since he and his family effectively opened the door to allow them all to do this. Heck, we could have even seen him wonder if it was even right to create Poppi at all. But he doesn’t. Tora gets briefly mad at Bana but otherwise never brings it up again , nor does his outlook or attitude change at all. Sure Poppi gets a power up, and this is actually a great moment for her. But this is supposed to be the resolution of Tora’s character arc and he doesn’t do or say anything meaningful. Plus, after this he fades into the background, only providing unfunny otaku jokes. Sure, Mòrag and Zeke also kind of fade in and out of relevance, but at least their dialogue and actions in major story scenes subtly show new or changing aspects of their characters as the story progresses. I can’t say the same for Tora.  The thing is, we do get hints of this theme...in Poppi’s arc. In Chapter Eight, Poppi reflects on her nature as a living weapon, on what her technology could be used for down the line, with or without her say in the matter. And this is something Mythra is able to empathise with, having spent centuries being afraid of her own power, and wondering if the world would be better off without her. It’s a wonderful scene for both characters. But I can’t help but think this should have been an ongoing concern for both Tora and Poppi’s characters for most of the game, rather than just bringing it up now with just Poppi. It could have given Chapter Four more weight if its events had more of an impact on Tora, and if Poppi picked up on Tora’s own doubts, before she voices them to Mythra.

You could even have given more substance to the PoppiQTπ sidequest. Maybe make this scene the resolution to this arc as Tora, now reunited with his father, talks through his worries with him, as they work on upgrading Poppi, if he’s ok with knowing that people could use their research for evil, only for Tatazo to sadly explain that that’s the sad reality of being a pioneer. You can’t predict what your discovery could one day result in, and it’s up to Tora to decide if he’s willing to press on despite that. Then after QTπ is complete, we could see Tora and the now almost fully sentient Poppi, discuss this, reaffirming that Tora’s proud of Poppi, that he’s glad they met, and that they both still want to be Driver and Blade knowing the risks. I actually like the subtle detail that PoppiQTπ looks a lot like Mythra. It’s a great subtle expression both of how far Tora’s skills as an inventor have come, and of his admiration of Rex. He’s built a mini-Aegis so he can be like his hero. But I think this side quest could have been a much stronger conclusion to Tora’s character arc if the writers cut the cringy humour, and went all the way with the themes and ideas they set up.  

Truthfully, I didn’t need to change much because the ideas for Tora’s character arc are all there. What it lacks, is any real response from Tora that suggests the game’s story has impacted him in any way. But in the actual game, he feels like the exact same character he was when the game started, and compared to how much growth the various heroes and villains of Xenoblade 2 go through, he sticks out like a sore thumb.

Tora had the potential to be a really sympathetic and interesting character, a lonely boy genius who made a huge step in his scientific field, who gets to see the world with his new friends, but also has to come to terms with the ugly realities of not just the world at large, but his own creation. Unfortunately, the writing doesn’t commit to the ideas it introduces with his character, and drags him down with misguided attempts at humour, that cause many players to dismiss him outright. At best, he’s an accessory to Poppi, who is a far better developed and more likable character. The result is a huge wasted opportunity in an otherwise splendid game. And that’s a real shame.

[byneddiedingo]

Handsome Devil (John Butler, 2016)

Cast: Fionn O’Shea, Nicholas Galitzine, Andrew Scott, Moe Dunford, Ruairi O’Connor, Michael McElhatton. Screenplay: John Butler. Cinematography: Cathal Watters. Production design: Ferdia Murphy. Film editing: John O’Connor. Music: John McPhillips. 

I've got nothing against happy endings, except when they turn a promising movie into an ordinary one. Something like that happens in John Butler's Handsome Devil, which starts off well, with a deft lightness of tone and some extremely likable performances, especially from Andrew Scott as Mr. Sherry, the Irish high school's new English teacher, and Fionn O’Shea as Ned, the misfit student who hates rugby in a school devoted to it. Naturally, Ned is immediately suspected of being gay, especially by the blustering bear of a rugby coach, Mr. O'Keefe (Moe Dunford). But then Ned is assigned a new roommate, Conor Masters (Nicholas Galitzine), a rugby star who was expelled from his old school for fighting. After a bad start, Ned and Conor find that they're more compatible than they expected. There's a lot of bright, sharp dialogue as the film progresses, but soon you see the turn into familiar territory, as the only way Butler seems to see for his film to end is by turning to conventions out of sports movies, romcoms, and the troubled adolescent subgenre. At the end, everyone involved learns a lesson about prejudice and tolerance, and what was a thoroughly enjoyable movie becomes a vehicle for a message. I didn't feel bad at the end of Handsome Devil, but I did feel cheated. 

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Manga Review — Alter Ego

An Unexpected and Enjoyable Turn of the Lesbian Best Friend Trope

As some of my supporters over on Patreon will know, I recently put out a deep dive into the character Yaya from Strawberry Panic. In it, I discussed her role in the series as fulfilling the lesbian best friend trope. This archetype, a character who surfers for loving the protagonist, comes in various forms and is a staple of current Yuri and Yuri adjacent media. However, I thought it might be worth examining a work that entirely revolves around the lesbian best friend, Ana C. Sánchez's Alter Ego. This Spanish manga was recently released by Tokyopop earlier this year under their Love X Love and international women of manga line. I was eager to see what Sánchez did with the classic Yuri concepts in this energetic one-shot.

I mentioned that the best friend is usually a supporting character interacting with the protagonist, but in the case of Alter Ego, she is the main character. University student Noel is in love with her best friend and classmate Elena. However, she has never been able to voice that love before. She has always contented herself with being close to Elena. However, now that Elena has a new boyfriend, Noel's chances to be intimate with her friend are dwindling. When Elena's other best friend, a writer named June, moves to town and begins living next to Noel, it is too much for the girl to bear.

The basic premise of this series is well established and easy to grasp. The story focuses less on Noel reconciling her feelings for Elena, as other unrequited love Yuri stories have in the past. Instead, the manga follows her struggle to deal with the changing reality of her friendship with Elena. While the two used to be solitary companions, the addition of Elena's boyfriend and June clearly has Noel feeling insecure and fearful. These feelings manifest in some truly toxic behavior, including shouting at her friend and generally acting selfishly. Noel's behavior makes it challenging to enjoy and root for her. However, to Alter Ego's credits, the actions are always treated as inappropriate and not played for cuteness or laughs. Much of Noel's struggles involve her guilt over her treatment of Elena. Unfortunately, although she makes some steps to make reparations, the single-volume work is too short to accommodate a complete personality swap, so Alter Ego is trapped between a rock and a hard place or making a likable character and keeping proper pacing.

Speaking of the story's pacing, it is relatively strong. Particularly in the first half of the story, the plot slowly moves forward as the stakes for Noel are established and escalated. As June enters the story, she appropriately disrupts the rhythm Sánchez set up while still keeping the progress constant. Through the chapters, we slowly begin to learn more about this young writer, and the focus of the story smoothly transitions from Noel and Elena to Noel and June. Alter Ego does a great job at helping readers discover elements of June's personality and history alongside Noel, thanks to the latter's perception and naturally building a relationship with June.

Here is where we get to the central Yuri element of the story, June and Noel's relationship. For (minor spoilers ahead), it turns out that both girls love Elena. This shared affection and their different perspectives of it drive the girls together. While Noel predominantly acts selfishly and controlling, June is the type of lesbian best friend that just wants to see the other happy, to sacrifice her own desire to know the one she loves is content. June imparts these principles onto Noel to mixed results, as discussed earlier, but the direction the work aims is clear, and the logic follows for both girls.

June and Noel's mutual love for Elena, the person who brought them together in the first place, becomes the foundation for their relationship. It is a rather fun twist on the lesbian best friend trope as the two girls begin hanging out together and share their interests outside of Elena. As one would expect, there is a fair bit of angst, a confession, and at the end, they are together. Unfortunately, while the premise that got them there is a fun manipulation of the lesbian best friend trope, the romance's path is predictable with the rushed resolution you would expect of a one-shot. However, the execution is pretty smooth, and except for Noel, particularly at the start of the story, its characters are likable enough to carry to drama and romance.

Sánchez's artwork is above average. I particularly enjoyed her attention to the character's outfits and designs. The settings are unremarkable but do not distract from the work's overall quality, and the background characters add a lot to make the world of Alter Ego full. The more emotional scenes are illustrated well, with Noel's pain and frustration being especially apparent. However, there are a few flaws and inconsistencies. Occasionally, especially in comedic moments, the art drifts a little closer to the moe edge and dips noticeably in quality. The character designs overall, while I enjoyed them, look a little younger than I would have expected. I honestly thought they were high school students until the work explicitly states that June is 24. Alter Ego already feels like an angsty high school Yuri romance despite its characters, and the art did little to help that feeling.

Alter Ego is an enjoyable single-volume Yuri drama. Sánchez did an admirable job creating a compelling story and characters, and her play on unrequited love is exciting and enthralling. While it does little new, Alter Ego is a highly polished manga with flawed characters, interesting relationships, and superb storytelling. There are also some fantastic art inserts at the start of the manga and a few vibrant color pages that stuck in my mind longer than most similar volumes have. I recommend Alter Ego for a solid afternoon Summer read and am eager to continue following its creator to see what else she does. Thank you, Tokyopop, for bringing this international manga to English audiences.

Special thanks to translation Nanette McGuinness, Editor Lena Atanassova, and the rest of the team at Tokyopop for their excellent work on Alter Ego.

Ratings: Story – 7 Characters – 6 Art – 7 LGBTQ – 6 Sexual Content – 2 Final – 6

Check out Alter Ego in English digitally and in print today: https://amzn.to/3jFruf1

Reading official releases helps support creators and publishers. YuriMother makes a small commission from sales to help fund future content.

[masterhandss]

Personally I don't see what you see in Geordo. He seems like such a scumbag to me and is the least likable charater in the whole series. He is always trying to get her alone to push her into things of a sexual/ more romantic nature without taking how she really feels into consideration. Like he "really wants her" and thats enough for him without caring what she really wants. Honestly he is the borderline non-con villian in my mind.

I mean, it's okay if you feel like that. To each their own.

Hmmm when I think about Geordo being sexually aggressive towards Katarina, I only really just think of the anime. The manga is a much more moe-fied and toned down version of the novels, and the novels does an okay job at balancing his desires for Katarina in all aspects. I'm not saying he doesn't have that trait in the other two mediums, I just think that they aren't as intense as the anime, so as someone who consumes all three versions I just tilt my head and go "huh." Of course I'm sure there are people who read the manga and novels that still feel uncomfortable about his behavior and that's valid too.

-> light novel spoilers ahead <-

tldr, there is a lot more going on to him than just someone who offers sweet words and questionable invitations to Katarina's ears, this may not be noticeable or acceptable to some people but we get to know more about how he thinks whenever the novels puts us in his point of view. You're free to dislike him as much as you want, but I like him & don't see him as a scumbag; and here's why:

I at least find it okay that Geordo is very serious about his pursuits for her because he is aware that she is dense and will not get it until you spell it in the sky. Everyone is just walking eggshells around Katarina hoping that the girl would just develop feelings for one of them to win the harem olympics. He knows that being dealt with a good card isn't enough, so he's actively taking action in order to win her heart. I mean I don't always agree with his methods either, like the "fait accompli" line or constantly inviting her to his room alone, but really, how much of that is something he really means to do vs how much of that is his excessive flirting + our minds assuming that he really means to claim her in that way?

Lines like that are really popular with japanese fans because it makes Geordo look "sexy" and "forward", which they enjoy in their fictional stories. He knows that his position gives him an advantage so he'll try to play his cards right and use it to increase his chances in victory.

It actually reminds me of a scene from the Hamefura StoryMe game, (don't really know how canon it is but I remember the JP ver. was advertised by @/hamhura) where Geordo indirectly asked Katarina how to woo a girl he really likes, and Katarina thinking he was referring to Maria, gives all the things he usually does in order to win her heart (visit her home, give her gift, dance with her in parties, be really forward about your feelings etc). I'm not saying Katarina approves of the ways Geordo attempts to win her heart, but there's some hilarity in knowing that Geordo already had and is constantly trying all the known ways to win over a girl in the world from a young age, and still has nothing to show for it. Like no awareness, much less any *feelings* lmao. So trying to make it obvious that he is interested in her romantically and sexually seems like the next logical step to him. I mean if you go by Geordo's logic and considering the time period this takes place in, he's pretty confident that he can get Katarina to love him back and they are engaged anyways so in his head he's in safe waters to attempt to make teases about such advancements if it gives him the smallest chance that Katarina would become at least aware of him through it.

Of course I know that stuff like that won't fly here in the real world, but maybe that's why I'm so lenient personally when it comes to his (debatably) sexual teases and advances, because it's a fictional story for a japanese audience. Doesn't mean I would approve any advances like that if it happens to me, it's just that it's hard to take his actions seriously when Katarina or the story doesn't take them seriously. Like, the girl would be pushed down to a bed by RufuSora and gives her a hickey and she still thinks the man is out for her blood.

He wouldn't even be entirely wrong, knowing the identities of the characters who Katarina knows has romantic interest in her in the novels, actions does speak louder than words when it comes to her. Like I said, whether or not Geordo really means what he says when the story teases the readers with sexual implications in his words and action depends on the reader in my opinion. They are there, I wont pretend they don't but I'd argue about the level of intent depending on what scene you're talking about.

The only scenes on the top of my head where he is very abrasive towards Katarina is the "fait accompli" scene, the Book scene form the anime (S1 EP8), saying he wants to lock her in his room (LN6) and the multiple times Geordo had invited her in his room at night alone (LN6 and LN8, i think).

I've already explained why I am okay with both Keith and Geordo's Book scenes from episode 8 of the first season because they are accurate representations of an exaggerated and unhinged versions of their desires towards Katarina so I won't bore you with those details again.

He mentioned in Volume 6 that he wants to lock Katarina in his room forever and keep her light to himself, which alarmed a few people when the book came out, but he said that in a moment where he feels super grateful and loving towards her because she knew how tired he was despite his fake face and without even saying anything. It was a moment where he felt so infatuated towards her that he wished the moment where he gets to rest in her arms would last forever, thus he made such a comment. I make it sound more dramatic than it was in Volume 6, it was just a quick comment honestly lmao.

For people who don't read the novels, that last part looks very sus and raises a few red flags I know, but to be fair we can't definitively say what his intentions are because Katarina never commits to those visits. Katarina has actually become wary of those invitations, because Keith and Mary have warned her that Geordo's intentions are sexual, but I'm not really trusting the word of the two people who are most distrustful and antagonistic to Geordo. They could be right, of course, but who can really say? We assume that they are correct because they care about Katarina and are wary of Geordo, but hamefura('s novels) is full of unreliable narrators anyways, it's not like Keith or Mary would consider the possibility of it being anything else because when it comes to the third prince they always fear the worst case scenario.

If you think about it, Geordo is probably aware that winning her over with a "fait accompli" won't work at all because it'll put him in a position that will make other people push him for the throne (which he doesn't want) or could ruin his reputation in high society if Katarina or her family react to it negatively. I'm not Geordo though, so I can't really say if he even have such fears and doubts in the first place, that's just my assessment based on the obstacles he has. On the outside he is really sure of himself and confident (which he arguably deserves) and on the inside he is very careful and insecure when it comes to Katarina.

Also like, spoilers but for someone who is very forward when it comes to his physical advances, Geordo is super weak when he is in the receiving end of those touches. He gets super embarrassed and easily flustered when its Katarina who is touching him, as if implying that to some extent that he's all just talk lmao.

I don't really agree that Geordo doesn't care about what Katarina feels at all, in fact his inner dilemma in the novels is that he doesn't know what to do because in every step he takes he might do something that could ruin his image in Katarina's eyes, be it pursuing or abandoning the throne or looking like a monster in front of her. He even halts his plans to make advances towards her during the Keith Kidnapping Arc, but threw it away because he knows how much finding Keith means to Katarina. He puts what Katarina want and doesn't want as his priority, so when what she feels is unclear that's when he acts on his own intuition. The only reason Geordo feels so confident to advance towards her sexually is because Katarina never rejected him before (because she doesn't know what they mean, and all of this is for the sake of simply making her aware in the first place)

I'm not trying to make anyone think that one has to read all the books in order to understand him, I think the manga does okay at conveying his feelings too. The anime really prioritizes on making him look "sexy" for the japanese female audience, so anything he does is sprinkled with spice whether we like it or not.

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm overanalyzing all his actions just to justify them, everyone has the right to be uncomfortable with his advances if it seems too much for you. It's just that his actions, while over the top and unnecessary, are done to please the type of audience that hamefura caters to, and it's hard to take him completely seriously when the story doesn't either in my opinion. Doesn't mean he's right or that any of it is okay, but it's his method of trying to put a dent on Katarina's bakashield. When you're in a race versus your friends who Katarina all loves equally, he's gonna use whatever card he can get in order to win.

I like Geordo; I like how much of his feelings for Katarina forces him to reexamine himself and realize that he isn't a perfect prince at all, that he has lots of problems and flaws that he needs to work out in order to be someone worthy of her. I like the way he falls more and more in love with her in every interaction they have because he finally gets to have a genuinely and caring interaction with someone. I like how Geordo wants to do better and be better for Katarina and the people around him, and he wants to be able to thank Katarina directly for that through being able to show his love. I like that despite how much of a chad he acts in front of her, he's a blushing mess at the thought of Katarina returning his feelings. I find it funny when his "sexual advances" fails and gets thwarted because he's trying them on the densest person and most protected lady to ever live. I like how Geordo is so head-over-heals in love with her and how much comfort and warmth she brings to him by simply being her caring and bubbly self.

I guess it's just a matter of different perspectives. If you find him unlikeable or a villain, then you do you. I try to explain why I personally excuse his actions, but I know it wont fly with everyone. We all see each character differently and absorb the material in different ways. In fact it's probably a bad idea for me to defend him with material that isn't the anime nor manga yet lmao. I mean I'm not that much of a fan of Mary anymore, and I'm kinda scared and wary of her, but I know people don't see her the way I do and I'm okay with that.

Maybe its just me, who is the kind of person who just goes with the flow and doesn't think too hard because it's all fiction anyways

It's hard to tell all this from simply watching the anime, so I laid all my feelings down in hopes that someone out there would understand why I like him so much.

Thank you for the ask, you can ask more questions or call me out if I said anything insensitive or wrong, I know a lot of this is me overanalyzing things which might look like I'm jus stretching. As someone who is aware of the things to come in Hamefura X, I can say that I am both excited and nervous as to how everyone will react for the direction of Geordo's character.

[shoujoinvestigation]

2020 Romcom Drama Recs

We all know what we’ve been through in 2020. As 2021 picks up, what better time to enjoy cute and light-hearted dramas? Here are some of our recommended romance comedies of 2020: 

1. Be With You 好想和你在一起 recommended by Admin JY 

GIF by shoujoinvestigation  

It had been a while since my heart felt uwu in 2020, and I’m glad that this drama was the one who helped me relive that feeling again!

A light but reasonably balanced romcom, Be With You features Ji Xiao Bing as a lovely nuanced stoic male lead, paired with a straightforward, responsible and fairly independent female lead. 

While the drama is fairly simple in its premise, the drama does a decent job in making sure that the characters are relatively more nuanced than predictable stereotypes - leading to a slightly unusual vibe for a romcom in the first four as the character dynamics first start off.

Soon after, the healthy relationship development takes off (along with a bit of my heart). Although the leads have seemingly opposite personalities, it was lovely to see how both of them communicate with and respect each other even as they are both inexperienced in romance and navigate their relationship in comedic (and ofc some tropey) ways. 

While the show’s pacing and main focus shifts towards the end of the drama towards the supporting characters, I still do hope that more people can join me in appreciating the cute dynamics of this show’s main pairing! 

2.  The Romance of Tiger and Rose 传闻中的陈芊芊 recommended by Admin JY   

One of the popular and well-raved shows of 2020, there is definitely good reason for this drama’s positive reviews!

As a rare original scripted Chinese drama, the story is about a female lead who finds herself living in her own drama script’s female-dominated society as she navigates her “character’s” fate - between romance and the intrinsic conflicts between the male lead’s motivations and her kingdom’s interests.

Through fast-paced developments, the story takes us in unexpected directions with both great fun comedy and its fair share of serious and emotional moments. With an empowered and likably genuine female lead and a sweet yet scheming male lead, there were plenty of cute moments and great chemistry in the show. Supporting characters were also likable and did well to complement the show’s comedic dynamics.

While there were definitely still some flaws and plotholes, the enjoyment that the show delivers and its interesting reflection of gender roles in society is more than enough for this drama to deserve its rave.

3. Dating in the Kitchen 我, 喜欢你 recommended by Admin JL  

Having first gained traction last October on cnet with its scenes of crack-ish, fun humour (aka: Lu Jin the human bubble machine scene), it's pretty much emblematic of the quirky and comedic beats of this romcom which seems to be rare. I had so much fun, and was so happy to be able to experience a romcom like this!

With exceptional comedy nailed, of course, we can’t go without romance for a good romcom. While admitting that the writing takes some crazy liberties to make twists to the most melodramatic tropes, the romance was made truly ~yummy!!~ (like the delicacies featured in the show!) by Lin Yu Shen and Zhao Lu Si’s electrifying performance, individually and together. (With this, I fell deeply for Lin Yu Shen as an actor too~) This drama’s romance simply can’t be missed if you’re into age gap romances like me, because this drama really understands the moe of it and goes all the way! All flaws become negligible. :p

Considering that a movie adaptation preceded it - one which I also enjoyed, it’s amazing how the drama managed to offer a fresh experience and, for me, an even better one! It defined my October of 2020.

Don’t watch this on an empty stomach though!

Watch the official episodes, subbed, on Youtube.

4. Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko Made mo   recommended by Admin JY        

If cute bubbly female lead x cold handsome male lead is your kind of romcom jam, look no further than KoiTsudu!

This drama brings together all the familiar elements of such a romcom dynamic in a light-hearted and engaging way, taking place in a medical/hospital setting (which seems very reminiscent of Itazura na Kiss in its later half too).

While the female lead is innocent, inexperienced and sometimes clumsy, she is also hardworking and dedicated to her patients. As the female lead learns from her experiences on the job, she becomes stronger and more confident in herself - in her own journey of growth. In this process, we see the male lead showcase different sides of himself as their relationship develops.

Amidst the cute moments of unexpected romantic interactions, this was also well-balanced with levels of sensibility as the characters’ personalities do not drastically get lost even after they fall in love, and their relationship is gradually developed rather than suddenly.

With a generally simple and episodic-based narrative, this drama is definitely an easily accessible, light and fun drama that anyone can enjoy.

Bonus:

Twogether (2020) recommended by Admin JY

Not a drama recommendation, but with such light-hearted and fun interactions, this Netflix variety show could well deliver all the feels of watching a romcom!

Even as someone who does not identify as a fangirl of either Lee Seunggi or Jasper Liu, this was still a lovely and enjoyable show to watch for its cute and wholesome interactions by both members.

With Seunggi’s playful and proactive energy balanced by Jasper’s cute and adaptive chill personality, their multilingual interactions were nothing short of wholesome yet amusing and entertaining, especially as they began to warm up to each other over time.

With a simple premise of accomplishing tasks to meet overseas fans, this show was also perfect in its timing (amidst pandemic banning international travel) to showcase the beautiful and scenic locations to add to your to-visit list in Southeast Asia! But the best part was definitely watching the fans' genuinely heartwarming reactions and how all of them really felt so happy seeing their idol that the audience would also feel happy for them!

-

What are your favourite romcoms of 2020?

Written by Admin JY and Admin JL. GIF via Tumblr, by original posters linked. 

[lunammoon]

The Problem With Hetalia (As told by someone who actually in the fandom until like, 2016)

I'm hoping this post will explain to people who are still into Hetalia why a lot of people have an issue with from the perspective of someone who knows a lot about the show. 

TL;DR: By making the WW2 axis powers come across as a lovable idiot, his serious friend, and the stoic voice of reason, it downplays the serious nature of what the Axis did and seeing as the real-life Axis harmed real-life people, many people have a justifiable huge issue with this. 

I will go more into depth about this under the cut.

A lot of people are talking about how Hetalia is coming back after 5 years and a lot of people are rightfully annoyed at the show. But what I'm seeing is that a lot of the people who are upset are people who clearly haven't watched the show and therefore are unable to explain to people who have watched it why it’s bad. The most that you hear is:

"it glorifies the Axis Powers" (which isn't 100% accurate although the assessment that they are portrayed in a way that makes them seem less bad is accurate) 

"Hetalia Cosplayers wore Nazi uniforms in front of a Holocaust memorial" (which I'd say is more of an issue with fans than the show). 

That is not to say that there isn't an issue with the show, because there really is. But these observations are unlikely to mean much to someone who watches Hetalia. So, in this thread, I'm going to explain why Hetalia is Problematic with the added context perspective of someone who was into the show during most of middle school and until Freshman year of high school. 

I knew the human names, used to jam to "Always With You" and "Pub and Go" and “It’ll Settle Itself Somehow” and “Light my Heart” and “Absolute British Gentleman” and “Mein Gott” and “World Rondo” and “Excuse Me, I’m Sorry” and so, so many more. 

I lost my shit with everyone else when the season 6 ep dropped and Italy danced like he was possessed by a demon. When I hear “ACE” family, I don’t think of Youtubers. I actually took a side on the FruUK vs UsUk debate and if you look in my archive, you can probably find some Hetalia posts that I’m too lazy to delete.

The point here being, I’ve actually seen the show so I know what I’m talking about. This isn’t an outsiders perspective is what I’m saying.

So, let’s get right into it. While technically only seasons 1-2 are officially actually called "Axis Powers" (Seasons 3-4 are called "World Series" Season 5 is "Beautiful World" and Season 6 is called "World Twinkle") WW2 and things relating to the Axis Powers are an important part of every season and appear prominently.

While Hetalia has covered many things from all different time periods, the two most common periods covered are the modern-day and of course, the second World War. The show is Japanese and (I assume) because Japan was on the Axis side, these portions focus more on the Axis Powers of Italy, Japan, and Germany. The Allies do come into play. And while the Allies aren't directly like, evil, which would've been FAR WORSE they've got a kind of Team Rocket-esque thing going on? They're not exactly mustache-twirling villains but they're clear antagonists. Make no mistakes.

I think the deserted Island arc is the best example of the problems many people have with the show.

Take for example, that beach fight. If you've watched Hetalia, you'll know the one I'm talking about. The one that they reused like, 50 times. The Allies are clearly shown as the antagonists/aggressors while the Axis are literally just vibing on a (kinda) deserted island and defending themselves. 

Now, if this was three dudes chilling on the beach and they suddenly got attacked by another five dudes also on the beach who they then fought off until the five attackers ran away that’s be one thing.

The issue is that this is supposed to be a representation of WW2. It's basically saying "oh, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy were literally just vibing, not bothering anyone when suddenly, the Allies attacked for no reason. Luckily, they (the Allies) retreated because the Allies are Cowardly but they keep coming back and bothering them,". Do you see the issue there? Most of the beach arc seems to be the writer forgetting that these are supposed to be Nations, not a random Italian dude, a German dude, and a Japanese dude.

“Oh, but they don’t glorify Nazi Germany. They don’t really even talk about what Germany was doing! Look at this pic of Germany in a lab coat holding a dandelion :)“

That’s not the defense that you think it is and it’s actually a main part of the issue that I, and many other people have with Hetalia.

I think the scene where this issue is the most obvious is the one where they are gathering around a campfire and talking and one of them comes up with the name "the Axis". The whole scene has the same energy characters in a moe anime coming up with a band name.

They’re sitting on a beach at night. I think there might’ve been a campfire, the stars are out, and the three of them talk about their dream of making a world that revolved around them. One of them comes up with the name “the axis” and then they all talk about how you would translate "axis" in their language. It’s all very found family-esque. The way the scene is framed is to encourage you to route for them to reach their goal. It’s the same kind of tone you’d see in a shoujo with a girl telling her friends about how she wants to win the singing competition no matter what or in Sword Art Online when Kirito talks about saving Asuna.

The issue is that their goal isn’t to win some competition or to save someone they care about. It’s to spread facism, imperialism, and bring about genocide.

There of course don’t SAY that that’s their goal, and outside of a one off line in the English dub that’s been since censored, they don’t really bring up what Germany was up to during WW2 vis-a-vie the Holocaust and if they did bring it up, I either wasn’t paying attention, it was in the manga, or it was in one of Germany’s character songs.

The issue is that during WW2 the show seems to at best forget and at worst, gloss over it that the main trio that they're focusing on are the villains. And not like, fantasy villains. Actual real-life villains that hurt real people in the real world. Imagine if instead of Ludwig Beilschmidt and Feliciano Vargas, it was Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. 

Are you seeing the problem yet?

I get why people like to watch the show. Ignoring the WW2 bits, it’s actually pretty good. I, as an American, really like Alfred F. Jones and the way he’s portrayed.

If Hetalia had stuck to non-WW2 related things such as that episode where the nations all talk about how horror movies differ in their nations, or they talked about their Christmas traditions. Or the ones where America and Japan are roommates. Or when they showed that time when America airdropped XL condoms on Russia labeling them as "small" for intimidation reasons. Or that series of episodes where they talked about Micronations. Or that time they all had to come together to fight aliens. Or the bit where they talked about the WW1 Christmas Armistice. Then it would be fine.

The issue is that they didn’t.

If they kept WW2 stuff for SOME reason. They had two options. 

Make the axis as proper villains

 Be explicit in showing that the nations will doesn't reflect what their leader wants. 

The first option wouldn’t be ideal if they wanted to cover any time period other than World War 2. The axis would be too unlikable and I doubt that an anime where Japan is the villain would appeal much to Japanese audiences.

But what about the second option. Have a bit where Ludwig is passing out White Rose pamphlets or smuggling people to safety.

Have Kiku (Japan for people who don’t watch Hetalia) purposefully looking the other way as Sugihara writes visas to get people to safety and covering for him against his boss. SOMETHING!

But instead of doing either of those, they took the bad third option which was, their choice to instead make the axis seem like likable individuals who are a group of three good friends who work together will in contrast with the “bumbling Allies” who are barely cohesive and constantly fight and argue. At best, makes it seem like both sides had a point and at worst, makes it seem like the Axis was a better than the Allies.

All of this is to say that liking Hetalia does not make you inherently a bad person, but you need to be more critical of what you watch and understand that there is a reason that some people have a genuine issue with it and they have a very good reason for that. You can still watch it the show, but do keep this information in the back of your brain as you do

[fantasyinvader]

So, lately I’ve been thinking about compiling my thoughts how the translation changed Edelgard. How the little things just add up. Because when I think about these things, how Edelgard is supposed to come off vs. how the fandom reacts to her, I don’t necessarily think it’s the player’s fault.

I think the best place to start is with her voice direction, rather than any actual script changes. Because how they decide to play a character can tell you a lot about what she is meant to be. Now in the past, I've seen Edelgard's defenders say that the English voice acting hurts the character, because she's supposed to come across as a lot gentler with the Japanese voice acting. I'm not going to comment about the accuracy of that claim, since I didn't play with the Japanese voices on and how it's supposed to defend her by saying she was made too harsh and therefore less likable. But considering in the Nintendo Dream interview, the creators said this.

“I think most of the characters walking the path of conquest up until now have been men. I also think villains are often men… I wanted to do something unexpected, or make it harder to predict future events, so  that role went to a woman this time”

This is what is telling to me. The fact that Edelgard is the red emperor and the game's villain is meant to be a surprise to the player. Not simply because of the red herrings during White Clouds, but simply because Edelgard is a woman. She is female, and what she's doing is meant to catch the player off-guard when she is unmasked. We've used the term gap moe to describe Edelgard before, gap moe being when a character exhibits behaviors that go against how they are initially perceived. This is applicable to the english Edelgard, as she comes across more as a no-nonsense woman only for her more cutesy moments to stand out because of the contrast. But from that quote, it's Edelgard's feminine qualities that are supposed to set up the expectations for her, with moments like her pushing to kill Claude or being outright genocidal against the Children of the Goddess supposed to be a slap across the face for the player. In essence, Edelgard is supposed to be more of a gap anti-moe.

So, from right there we see Treehouse turning Edelgard into something she's not. In essence, turning her into a sort of antithesis of who is supposed to be. And that's kinda a reoccuring thing here. For starters, we see this play a role with the route being renamed from it's Japanese counterpart. Safflower, in terms of flower language, means attractiveness and say "I'm trying to catch you." It's ultimately making the emotions between Byleth and Edelgard seem shallow, like they're there because she's meant to be a beautiful female they're in lust with. That they're focusing on the cute, girly side of her in the Japanese rather than understanding what is really underneath the hood. Crimson Flower is a lot more vague, but combined with Edge of Dawn (a song sung from Edelgard's POV), the flower is meant to be in reference to a rose. Roses mean love, making that connection appear to be deeper than it's supposed to be. Granted, there is talk about love in the Hubert/Byleth support but I've been told that there's something missing from the English text. The Japanese makes reference to a mythical bird that does indeed mean eternal love, but it's also said to be a harbringer of death, destruction and misery. Just flying alongside Edelgard's eagle doesn't carry the same meaning, as your love for her is supposed to be harmful to the world around you.

Or we look at her endings, to get a clear idea of what her ends are. English makes her out to be after a free and independent society, in contrast to Hubert's endings about secret police spying on the people and putting down rebellions in the shadows. In Japanese, it's her wanting to create a self-reliant society. She wants people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. This stands in direct contrast to her "when humanity stands strong and reaches out for each other" spiel during the final battle, and aligns her with her statements during the parley during Azure Moon. Curiously, it also contradicts herself in the Japanese, “In a world where humans stand on their own and support one another, there is no place for gods.” Stand on their own...yet support each other.

Now, this would at first seem to support the idea that Edelgard is trying not to reforge the world, as in making a new one, but rather take it back to how it once was like her Japanese introduction as the Flame Emperor says. That Fodlan was founded on some sort of social Darwinistism as per the Hanneman and Dorothea supports, and she's just taking it back to what Rhea helped create. Except, once again, the Japanese version of the text says otherwise. The Japanese version of that support states the nobility was founded on the idea that those with knowledge, those who grew their knowledge, and who guided and protected the people were meant to lead. That sounds a lot more enlightened on Rhea and Wilhelm's part, and Wilhelm is said to have wiped out Houses who sought more power, not simply those who seek out power. And in essence, considering how wrong Edelgard is on her history, alongside the fact that the world was confirmed to have been designed to support Silver Snow, alongside her manipulative nature and willingness to sacrifice, it's kinda clear that Edelgard isn't exactly the kind of leader her ancestors envisioned but rather a sign about how much the Empire has declined.

Or, in essence, she's definitely meant to symbolize the Imperial line's descent from oudou to hadou, again confirmed by the creators. She's someone who shouldn't be in power. After all, the VW version of the Holy Tomb scene in Japanese doesn't have her say she's going to destroy the Creststones.  She's going to put them, a thing we've seen used to turn people into monsters, to use while arriving with monsters in her party. On top of that, various endings make her rule sound more benevolent than their Japanese counterparts, like Byleth/Constance using Slither tech as instrumential to Edelgard's peaceful rule, while Rhea is referred to as a tyrant in the Byleth/Edelgard ending. Now, this could have been intentional. After all, Edelgard is shown to lie to her allies and army for her own benefit. But that loses it's impact when you consider the English version specifically removed reference to Edelgard using an "information campagin"...

And the fact she's supposed to be manipulating TWSITD is changed to her being manipulated by them. This ultimately takes control away from her, making her their pawn until they are wiped out in Hubert/Byleth/Jeritza's endings. Likewise, scenes where she volunteers handing over the Death Knight are changed to her agreeing to Arundel's request for him. It removes responsibility from her shoulders.

Or, if you put this all together, it's the recipe for Woobiegard. By making her less culpable due to being TWSITD's puppet, by making her reforms sound more benevolent in leading towards a free society (again, if you ignore Hubert's endings) rather than a self-reliant one, by removing text that plays into her being manipulative, by making the relationship between her and the player character seem deeper and true rather than the illusion, by making her a gap moe character rather than having her method go against what the player expects of her, by all of those combine Woobiegard is born. Born in complete defiance of what the original intention for her, making the game less cohesive as a result. And because of that lack of cohesion, it opens the doors for people to see her in ways she wasn't supposed to be. Rather than being the game's villain, it instead tries to make her out to be a hero, which in turn leads people to believing the game is meant to be morally grey, which in turn undermines the other routes of the game.

As minor as the changes may seem Treehouse changed what the game is saying about Edelgard, and the sad reality of it is that people are listening to what the game is saying about her because there’s some really mixed messages here. Sure, Heroes does play more into the Japanese text, but at the end of the day people just see that as Heroes not understanding the game. Treehouse really, really screwed the pooch with this one and now the fandom has become toxic because of it.

[jackdaniel69nice]

ninjago headcanons you say👀👀?? how about some about the old elemental aliance (ray, maya and co.)? they're my favorite characters from the whole show and i feel like they don't get enough recognition 👉👈 thanks

Funnily enough I have gotten these quite a bit so

Smith fam headcanons

Wu and Ray headcanons

BUT I have been Dying to do the rest :)

Previous Master of Earth (who I shall refer to as MoE) grew up on a farm and is quite “familiar” using a scyth. His powers come in quite handy in his work.

MoE trained with Wu, and the Previous Master of Ice (Mr. White??)

He was already experienced and had built his own life when Mya and Ray joined their team

MoE and White were somewhat closed off and Wu was closer to Mya and Ray

Ray is a really likable dude and everyone is friends with him easily

White prided himself on his intellect, was very sassy and flirty

MoE was more of a strategist and very stern

They all had lives of their own to lead and Wu would call on them if he needed them but otherwise they rarely spoke to each other besides training

White became a wandering nomad traveling between villages offering his services in exchange for housing

Lily was born before Maya and Ray joined and Moe raised her on a small farm in the country. He was very protective but emotionally distant as a father. (Guess daddy issues runs in family)

Maya and Ray take over the forge and start up their business

Some time after meeting the Smith’s Wu hears about destress in a poor village and takes MoE with him to investigate

There they meet a young teen Libber (previous master of lightning), she has been living on the streets for a long time getting food by stealing and begging. Her powers are starting to kick in prematurely though and that’s why they were called

Wu does not feel ready to take on a pupil so young so MoE takes her. She is the devil incarnate. She constantly tries to run away and picks fights at any chance she gets. She’s obsessed with training and learning to channel her powers

Eventually though she does warm up to the small farm house (mostly due to lilly) and able to slow down and relax for the first time in her life

Lilly spends most of her time baking, doing chores, and playing piano growing up. MoE didn’t want to put her in danger and told her next to nothing about elements and ninja

The serpentine wars turn a lot of things on their heads and they reunite forming the elemental alliance

Libber learns to control her powers and becomes the youngest master in the elemental alliance (she’s got some crazy tricks even jay hasn’t figured out yet)

They all defeat the serpentine (the master of sound was the one who created the magic flutes)

Because Libber was so young Chen saw her as easy to manipulate and convinced her MoE was going to betray them. The alliance split up taking sides and the cival war began

Lilly was able to see both their sides and exposed Chen’s trickery. They make amends and banish him

Lilly went to the Oppenheimer where she met Lou. With Lilly gone Libber has no reason to stay and goes off on her own trying to figure out what to do with her life.

She reaches an early ninjago city and begins working on a movie set as a lighting technician. It just so happens a light breaks and almost crushes their lead actor Cliff Gordon but because of her ninja reflexes she pushes him out of the way in time. Pretty much love at first sight for Cliff.

After the time twins defeat, everyone decides to retire and go their separate ways again

MoE passes not long after and Lilly takes up the mantle of the Master of Earth, training under Wu

Everyone settles down and starts their Families, it’s happily ever after (right?)