#so this is pretty close i think? this gif is from evangelion right??

[shitv2daily]

can you make v2 watch evangelion... pleabse...

Day 58

[scorpionatori]

My Top 5 Anime Characters

(sorry, pochita isn’t on the list he’s just my mascot)

5. Denji - Chainsaw Man

Denji often gets written off as a horny pervert teenage boy character, but to me he is the best character in Chainsaw Man and one of the best shounen protagonists out there. I actually appreciate how Denji’s sexuality was handled in the series as it’s a very important aspect of his character and the story. Denji is a child who was almost completely deprived of every basic need. He barely even had enough to get by without starving to death. He was abused by pretty much every man he knew, and he is inherently distrustful of them. On the other hand, Denji is desperate for a nurturing motherly figure and this leads to him latching onto almost every woman he meets, Makima in particular. This leads to him being taken advantage of and even groomed. While other protagonists are driven by some noble goal, Denji is someone who is completely driven by very basic human needs and desires - food, shelter, and sex. He’s happy as long as he has his needs and desires met. I think this makes him a very interesting and compelling protagonist, and it’s interesting that the story revolves around a boy who’s been used and abused his whole life ultimately breaking free and trying to learn how to live his own life. He is not your typical noble savior protagonist, and I love that he’s driven by such raw and human needs and desires.

4. Asuka Langley - Neon Genesis Evangelion

I love the tragedy of Asuka’s character, and it frustrates me that so many people just reduce her to a bratty child. She’s a young girl whose entire view on life is that she has to be the best at what she does. She displays very narcissistic qualities: desperately needing praise and approval constantly, drawing attention to herself whenever she can, and having a fragile self esteem that fluctuates between very high and very low. Her identity is so tied into being the best pilot that she’s very threatened by her two peers, and when she starts struggling and failing it completely ruins her. It’s heartbreaking to watch her big spiral into despair and self hatred, and to me her deep-seated fear of failure and not being good enough at her chosen skill hit very close to home.

3. Shigeo Kageyama - Mob Psycho 100

Mob is a beautifully written character. Of all the characters out there who have emotional repression issues tied into suppressing their special abilities, he is definitely my favorite. Mob is traumatized because of his abilities. He lost control and his little brother got hurt. He became so focused on not relying on his powers that he even deeply suppressed his own emotions (as his emotions tie into his powers and how strong they are). Mob became incredibly socially awkward and detached, to the point Dimple even describes him as livestock. The most beautiful part of the story to me is how he learns to accept the part of himself that he tried to deny because he was scared. He split off from the part of himself he found frightening and tried to hide it away. The ending arc where this other side of him gets out of control is terrifying and heartbreaking, and yet he’s finally able to truly accept and embrace all of himself by the end.

2. Osamu Dazai - Bungo Stray Dogs

Dazai quickly earned the right to be my favorite character I’d truly consider “morally gray”. Despite providing comic relief with his behavior and personality and antics, he reveals himself throughout the series to be actually quite terrifying. As a former mafia executive, Dazai was ruthless, cold, detached, and manipulative. He committed many crimes for the Port Mafia and was even violently abusive to his former apprentice. Something that interests me about him is that he didn’t really change too much after leaving the mafia and joining the agency. He’s still kept a lot of the same views and he didn’t have some big redemption arc by leaving the bad organization. Unlike a lot of characters who have a dark past but become heroes, Dazai seems to have no remorse for the bad things he did. But his dying friend told him it’s more beautiful to live a life where you save and help people, and this caused him to change the kind of life he wanted to lead. He was attracted to the violence of the mafia, hoping to find some meaning in existence by being around raw human desires and behaviors, but even in this he found no purpose in living. So, after his friend’s words, he made the choice to go down a better path, because if both paths give no inherent meaning to life, you may as well choose the one that doesn’t hurt people. He’s still manipulative and has a very nihilistic worldviews, but he ultimately chose to be on the side that exists to save people. To me, he’s an interesting study of how a change of a person’s environment can influence external behavior, even if it doesn’t completely change who a person is deep down inside. He’s still the same person he was, but he no longer lives a life spent hurting other people. He’s a very complex and human character who can neither be labeled good nor bad.

1. Natori Shuuichi - Natsume’s Book of Friends

Although some people found him unlikeable (can’t relate), it didn’t take long for Natori to become my favorite character in Natsume’s Book of Friends, and just my favorite anime character in general. Despite having some moral gray areas, he’s overall a good and caring person who is very dedicated and protective of others. He’s often been criticized for his tendency to lie and deceive others and have some manipulative moments, but this is part of what makes him interesting to me. In my opinion, he undergoes the most change and growth throughout the series, going from a manipulative and deceptive person who desired more power and status in his community to someone who wants nothing more than to protect the people he cares about. He is very well written, his backstory episode easily being one of the best episodes in the entire series. I love the comic relief he provides while at the same time being very complex and deep. As much as it pains me that a lot of people disliked him so much, I think the fact people couldn’t decide on what kind of person he was proves his complex and intriguing writing. He’s very much a product of his abusive and neglectful environment and being ostracized from others, but he develops a safe and healthy friendship with someone who truly cares about him, and it causes him to undergo a lot of personal growth. I would personally love an entire series just about his life from being a teenager to being a young adult in the exorcist community and the changes he underwent. He’s truly a character deserving of his own series.

[medea10]

My Review of Flowers of Evil

How did I get into this anime? Because Flowers of Evil is something no one says, “Oh I want to see that, this looks like a masterpiece”! Oh, I was well familiar with the rotoscope nightmare stories from this and hoped to God my randomizer wouldn’t curse me with watching Flowers of Evil. I was however intrigued to learn that there was a yandere in this anime that’s on Yuno Gasai AND Shion Sonozaki levels. But intrigue can only get me so far when you spend 13 episodes watching…

THIS!

No this is not an exaggeration. Everyone has this kind of cringe face throughout the entire anime series. Be afraid children.

So the story is about this guy named Takao Kasuga. He loves to read and he loves the class smarty-pants Nanako Saeki. He doesn’t just love her, he sees her as his muse and his Venus and all that bullshit. But this is an admiration from afar. Pretty sure Saeki doesn’t even know he exists! One day, Kasuga forgets his book in his classroom. And on the ground, he notices a gym bag that belongs to Saeki. Oh come on, he’s not gonna go down the perverted route and steal a girl’s gym…

So he steals Saeki’s gym uniform. And surprise, one person knew what happened. The class loner, Nakamura! She forces Kasuga to form a contract with her. It wasn’t written or anything, just verbal. However, that doesn’t stop Nakamura from forcing Kasuga to do whatever she wants. But does Nakamura really like Kasuga or is she just into torturing this shit-faced pervert?

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: You know, I’m too thrown off by the animation here that it has temporarily paralyzed me from catching voices or even giving a damn. I’m familiar with only two of the cast mates and the rest is literally my first time hearing it. Okay, I have one comment here. I often forget Mariya Ise could do some damn-ass scary characters like Nakamura. And when she does those murderous screams, forget about it! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Kasuga is played by Shinichirou Ueda

*Saeki is played by Yoko Hikasa (known for Bea on Pokemon Journeys, Rias on High School DxD, Mio on K-ON!, Hina on Domestic Girlfriend, Kirigiri on Danganronpa, Frieda on Attack on Titan, and Diana on Little Witch Academia)

*Nakamura is played by Mariya Ise (known for Bonnie on Pokemon XY, Levy on Fairy Tail, Ray on The Promised Neverland, Stocking on Panty & Stocking, Mika on Durarara, Dorothy on Black Clover, and Yuuko on Yuri on Ice)

SHIPPING: Oh please, anime Gods, do not turn this into another School Days fiasco. I find myself praying for this a lot these days. But in this anime’s case, please do not go down that route!

So, it was clear from episode one that Kasuga had a crush on Saeki. But this got very perverted very fast when he stole her gym clothes and that lead to the contract with Nakamura. Now is Nakamura romantically invested in Kasuga or is she just a crazy bitch. Let’s chalk this up to a 50-50 split here.

It wasn’t until the fourth episode where Kasuga and Saeki actually spoke to each other. And one episode later, they go on a date and end up in a relationship. One has to wonder if Kasuga would have one day acted on his own and ask Saeki out. All of this happened because he was being forced by that psychopath Nakamura. She tortured this kid and forced him to do so many unethical things. Stripping him naked and putting Saeki’s uniform on him for one! Who does that? So would Kasuga have done these sporadic actions if Nakamura wasn’t in the picture? After he stole that uniform, anything is possible. Now here’s the crazy shit here, Saeki loves Kasuga and she doesn’t care that he stole her gym uniform and did fuck-knows-what with it. She’s mad that Kasuga hid it, but still loves him.

Girl, the fuck is wrong with you?! You must be some special kind of crazy!

By the end of this series, you do see a shift in Kasuga and who he wants to chase after. Saeki or Nakamura?! Let’s just say that during a running away scene, Kasuga was going to go home with Saeki until he saw Nakamura and he chases after her. That’s a pretty good sign that Kasuga has switched gears on who he likes. I won’t delve any further than that as the anime only gives us so much and the rest of this love turmoil between these three characters is covered only in the manga. Probably a sign I should read the manga!

LOOOOOONG NO DIALOGUE MOMENTS: Dude, I know you’re trying to set the mood for certain moments, but I think you can dial it back a bit. This complaint isn’t just what happened at the beginning of episode 9; it took forever to get the main gist of this story in the very first episode. I had no idea what the main premise of the story was until the last five minutes of the first episode when Kasuga stole Saeki’s gym uniform.

Now I’m not knocking serious moments where there is no dialogue between characters for a long period of time and we just watch the animation of them walking or doing something. Hell, Neon Genesis Evangelion had famous scenes like that. But the elevator scene didn’t last six fucking minutes. Neither did the scene where Shinji kills Kaowru. In episode 9, we watch Nakamura and Kasuga walking from the school to home and watch the whole walk after destroying the classroom. I guarantee you, you could leave this episode running, fix yourself a bowl of cereal and toast, eat it up, go to the bathroom to have a good yank, then finish it off with watching a Che Guevara documentary…and Nakamura and Kasuga would still be walking home! I’m exaggerating and I don’t care. I feel like being an asshole here.

OH DEAR GOD, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!: Very rarely will I ever look at an opening or ending theme song in literal fear. In fact, the last one to be so morbid was with Attack on Titan’s second season ending. I mean, the imagery alone should tell you that this is full of spoilers and possessed by the devil itself. Now that I think about it, that’s still undefeated. But Flowers of Evil’s ending theme is a close fucking second. Have you heard this thing? It sounds like Bjork singing in Japanese, synthesized, while a cat walks on a keyboard and having a seizure at the same time. Thank God there are no actual visuals for this other than the flower featured on Kasuga’s book. I don’t think we can handle anymore animation from this nightmare fuel.

ENDING: The writing is on the wall!

And the floor, the ceiling…that classroom is just a fucking mess!

Kasuga’s one bad deed led to another and another in a domino effect. And instead of a little devil on his shoulder, he has a classmate that’s a sociopath. Kasuga has guilt about hiding so much from Saeki in this relationship and he wants to tell her everything he did. Nakamura says, “Nah, you’re going to write it all over the classroom and let the whole world know what a piece of shit you are”. Let’s just say Nakamura and Kasuga went overboard and completely destroyed their classroom. Kasuga gets a bit of a lucky break as the other vandalism covered up his name on the chalkboard confession. But two people have caught onto Kasuga’s crime, Saeki and Kasuga’s mother.

Saeki put two and two together when she noticed the ink smearing on the ground resembled the flower art work on Kasuga’s book “Flowers of Evil” and her stolen gym uniform was placed right there. As for Kasuga’s mother, she put two and two together when she heard what happened to his classroom and noticed Kasuga’s behavior and dirty clothes from the night of the crime. Won’t be long before everyone knows what Kasuga did.

What now, shit-face?

Run away with Nakamura to the next town. Yeah, why the fuck not?! Saeki ends up tracking them down and tried to convince them to come back and for Kasuga to be truthful. Saeki wants Kasuga and I almost want to say the same, except hanging around this psycho-bitch for a while has caused him to try to stop Nakamura from leaving. Having Saeki see Kasuga go after Nakamura isn’t really a good look! At this point, it really feels like his love for Saeki was nothing more than lust.

Dude, isn’t there a rule about not messing with crazy…like, don’t stick your dick in crazy?! This dude has got one crazy bitch on psycho-yandere levels and the other that’s about to turn into Kotonoha from School Days in about five seconds. Well, no one left town today as the police were called to look for Saeki because her parents are overprotective types and they take the other kids in.

We get a small time-leap of one month after the night in the police station. Nakamura’s been ignoring Kasuga and Kasuga ends his relationship with Saeki. Dude, stop trying to stick your dick in crazy! Kasuga tries to speak to Nakamura again and it fails. So he visits her at home and meets Nakamura’s father and grandmother. Then, he sneaks into her room and reads her private journal that talks about Kasuga a lot. Dude, you are stepping in uncharted territory! Drop the journal and get the fuck out before Nakamura comes home. So Nakamura comes in her room and finds shit-face reading her journal.

*sighs*

First, I would like to acknowledge that Mariya Ise has one hell of a throat to scream as much as this crazy bitch does. Second, the fuck did I just say, ya dumbass?! Here we get another chase scene between Kasuga and Nakamura. What follows is…I can’t place my thoughts on this. Weird imagery, out of place dialogue, and possible scenes of future stuff to happen! A rape scene involving Saeki, a festival, a hideout, a knife, and fire! Thanks for the cryptic message guys, really appreciate it! Either the anime ran out of money or they’re fucking with the audience. Kasuga says he wants to form a contract with Nakamura and that’s the end!

Hmm, this anime came out in 2013 and it is now 2021. All the buildup and no word on a sequel! We all know that sequel ain’t ever coming. You have a better chance of a continuation to Haruhi Suzumiya than you do with this hunk of shit.

Okay, maybe ‘hunk of shit’ is too mean. This wasn’t a terrible anime. It was weird as fuck, the animation leaves a bad impression, but overall it wasn’t that bad. Now the manga to Flowers of Evil is a favorite to many. Probably because the characters don’t look like a cringey meme and there aren’t so many awkward pauses with no dialogue. Unless there’s a whole volume of Flowers of Evil out there where we just look at pictures of Nakamura and Kasuga walking home where they don’t say a fucking thing! I am not letting that go! Charlie Brown movies didn’t go to that level you guys did!

I was interested with each passing episode to see what Nakamura was going to do next and what she was capable of. I couldn’t make out if she was going to be homicidal or suicidal or just impact psychological warfare on her prey. It was the latter for this series, but I heard of some attempted seppuku going down in the manga. I’d like to think maybe one day a different studio would pick up this series, but I seriously doubt it with the rotten reception this adaptation received. It was said that the director to the anime saw this more as a live-action series than an anime and that’s why we have the rotoscope animation. It wasn’t until 2019 that we got a live-action adaptation to Flowers of Evil. Not sure how people felt about that adaptation, but even I have a feeling that it was much better than the anime. Hell, a Netflix adaptation probably would have turned out a better product. It would be nice for this to get a reboot, different studio, different director, and smash everything that has the word ‘rotoscope’ on it

Yeah, if you can get over watching the animation, give it a watch. Episode one drags, but it picks up the second Nakamura confronts Kasuga.

If you would like to watch Flowers of Evil, Crunchyroll and Hidive have all 13 episodes available for streaming.

Okay, now that I’m finished with that sociopathic nightmare let’s pick another Sentai Filmworks anime.

HELL NO! I am not reviewing, “My Teacher Accidentally Made Me Horny”. That’s what I’m calling it and you should all do the same. NEXT!

Okay…I have no idea what the hell this anime is, but it looks harmless enough.

[thiirdboy]

     Geez, that time of the year again, isn’t it? I can’t believe how quickly 2017 has gone by. So, let me just say a few things in the spirit of the season!

     Man, this year, I’ve felt the most welcome on an RP blog that I’ve ever felt ever, and that...that’s crazy. I’ve been RPing on tumblr since eighth grade, and I’m in my first year of college now. There have been people that have been with me since the beginning, and there are people that I’ve only just met in the almost two years now that I’ve been on Shinji. And, let me just say: no matter how long you’ve stuck with me on this ride, I love and appreciate you so much.

     I’ve gotten lots of comments and high praise on my portrayal of Shinji this year, which I don’t say to brag; I say it to highlight just how loving and encouraging this community has been and continues to be! It makes me so happy to see even just small spontaneous questions in my inbox or to be tagged in things randomly, because it means you guys notice and love the work I put into Shinji. Evangelion has become very near and dear to my heart, partly because, as you may know, I do relate pretty heavily to Shinji, but also largely because of the amazing people I’ve met by RPing in its community. And so, I can’t repeat this enough: thank you for making what I do worth it.

     Here are some shoutouts to people that have been especially instrumental ( pun perhaps intended ) in making my experience here a positive one:

Magi ( @psychic-sun ) - Ohhhh boy HERE WE GO. Magi. You are the light of my life. We are the two balls of anxiety. The sunrise duo. The beeb and the boob. The flesh sack cleaning Ikari Lucas Goodwill Smiths. And also, how were you ever intimidated by me? BUT in all seriousness, thank you for pulling me out of some really bad places this year. Thank you for being patient with me and waiting until I was ready to take a step forward, thank you for being the kindest, most understanding, most encouraging person I’ve ever dated ever ( and not to mention cutest! ). Thank you for putting up with my stupid shenanigans, like the twitter layouts and fucking memorizing the entire Kaworu Hits on Shinji video. Just, thank you for everything. I’m never afraid when I talk to you, and if the anxiety does kick in you’re always there to kick its ass. I really hope I’ve been able to do the same for you. You are amazing, way more than you realize, you are going to kick senior year’s ass, and then whatever college you go to, you’re going to kick its ass. I absolutely believe you’re capable of getting into super selective schools and pushing through difficulties that you set your mind to. I love you sosososo much ♥ ♥ ♥

Emmi and Niko ( @derverlust and @ayanxmi ) - MY CANON GIRLS!! MY SQUAD!! My gosh, I just...you guys already know how much I adore your writing and characterization, but I just can’t state it enough. The work and thought you guys put into your muses is incredible, and I’m so honored to not only be able to write with people that are so talented and understand their muses so well, but to be mains with them?? Like??? What did I do to deserve you guys??? I never thought I’d end up as close with you guys as I have!! And not only that, but you both are absolutely a joy to talk to OOC, and have helped me through some really bad shit in my life. I know I can always count on you two for advice, or at the very least a pick me up when I’m down. Here’s to another year of wild EVA shenanigans! I hope I continue to live up to my role as you guys’ Shinji. ♥

Simon ( @rakuene ) - Holy fuck Simon. Holy fuck. You already know how wild our RP shenanigans have gotten in the four mcfucking years that we’ve known each other. I need not say more than SUMOverse or Ore no Muse for you to know. But, jeez...I can’t imagine what my experience both IC and OOC would have been like without you? I love that our characters have such great dynamics no matter who they are, and that I can also talk to you about anything OOC. You know about pretty much all of the shit I’ve gone through and have been there through a lot of it to help me, and I hope I’ve done and continue to do the same for you. I’m so blessed to have gotten to meet someone amazing and loyal like you.

Bell, Red, and Jae ( @retalupine, @invictrix, @velvequeen ) - SQUADRILATERAL ROLL UP. Okay no but seriously, Bell and Red, you guys have been with me practically since Kei’s birth, and Jae, even if we’ve only really started talking this year, you can’t have a squadrilateral without four sides, and you’re super sweet and cute and I’m so glad I’ve gotten to know you too! You guys are my tea-spilling, salty-sweet squad, and I can always count on you guys to keep things real. Plus, all our muses’ interactions are fun to watch, and it’s been great to watch them develop over the years into what they are now! And I super appreciate you guys sticking with me no matter which community I hop to next, and I will absolutely, 100% always do the same for you.

Chib ( @of-magic-and-fun ) - SYYYYYYYD YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU. No but seriously, can you believe we used to just write RPs on paper in middle / high school and come up with shenanigans and now we’re still here doing the same shit, except with formatting and all that jazz? You are literally a sweet cinnamon roll with tons of extra frosting that this world does not deserve, too good, too pure. I know things are tough right now, but I’m here for you! And I will stick with you through any community you write in or anywhere you end up living IRL ( even if that means mainly discord communication ). We’re ride or die at this point.

Zach ( @insectoide ) - You know what the fuck is up Zach. From the time before I knew you up until now, I never would have imagined myself friends with someone as cool and talented as you ( and yes, I do, after a year, still think you’re super cool like I did before we talked ). I know you go through a lot of shit that you don’t deserve whatsoever, and I’m here for you for all of it. Though despite all of it, you’ve stayed strong and true to your beliefs, no bullshit, and I’m SO glad and so happy for you for that. And not to mention your bomb ass writing?? Your contributions to fandom have made it such a great place, and I’m so glad I’ve gotten to be part of it in some way!

Diego ( @hogarsis ) - Diegoooooooo!! My fellow magical girl enthusiast! My gosh, I was so excited when you very first followed me back on Kyubey, and then on Nagisa and just across all your muses. No matter who they are, they always seem to have a great dynamic right from the beginning, and a super unique one at that! There are tons of places we can take their interactions and they’re always super multi-layered, and I’m all about that good multi-layered shit. You’re a super flexible and talented writer and RPer, and I will continue to follow you and write with you wherever you decide to go!

     Wow that was really long. I have a lot of love to give. And I have more! Here are tons of other people that I have written with / talked to OOC, or would like to, that I absolutely adore.

@aoba-shigeru | @beastbrave | @falsiti | @hakureimaiden | @halfofxerxes | @herstrengths | @inviai | @inlightsimage | @notstpd | @persistingcourage | @revengefulhcart

     Of course, I probably missed a ton, as there are tons of you, and quite a few that have only just followed me recently that I would love to interact with more and just haven’t quite seen a lot of yet! But if you’re following me right now, you are part of the reason I’m still here! It takes two to tango, after all!

     Anyway, come March, aside from turning into Jared who never fucking learned how to read, I will have been on Shinji and in the EVA community for two years. And I plan on continuing to be here! This is just such a fun place to be, and I hope that that continues for a long time. If you celebrate Christmas, I want to wish you a merry Christmas, and if not, then I hope whatever holiday you celebrate is a good one. And for everyone, I wish you well in 2018! May it be a great year!

     — Negau

[mvssmallow]

Cloudy With A Chance

Part 2: …Of Sick Beats.

Masterlist

Friday. 8pm.

The expectation is for Hanbin to be on the couch after a horrific week at work, under a blanket, watching re-runs of Evangelion and eating spicy take-away.

The reality is that he’s guilt-tripped into accompanying some work colleagues to Bar Six for someone’s birthday drinks.

Bar Six was a new hole-in-the-wall joint tucked down an alleyway near the local train station. It had no obvious sign nor did it ever advertise its whereabouts. Despite this, it still managed to attract a certain crowd of young creative types who craved good music, a lively yet chill atmosphere and minimal pretension.  

Half an hour later, Hanbin’s work colleagues have disappeared into the crowd and he’s sitting alone at the bar, wondering if he should sneak back home. He takes small swigs of his beer just to give himself something to do. There are glances in his direction and maybe if he had a few more drinks and was feeling sociable he’d make some effort to look back but as it stands, he’s both uninspired and apathetic.

At 9pm, the featured DJ comes out onto the small stage and begins checking his turntables and mixer consoles. He’s tall with dark hair, dark features and a dark t-shirt that displays two spectacularly elaborate sleeves of tattoos. There’s another figure on stage checking the cables, he has his back to Hanbin but the set of his shoulders trips radars in the dark recesses of Hanbin’s mind.

Wait.

He knows that arm.

He knows those tattoos.

He knows that tiger.

Fuck.

That’s Richard Parker.

*

Hanbin looks over to the DJ set again and yes, that is definitely 100% the Jiwon he met last week in the rain.

His heart must recognise Jiwon too because if it could speak, it’d be chanting It’s Jiwon! It’s Jiwon! over and over until Hanbin gets an arrhythmia and dies. Or worse, he faints at the bar and embarrasses himself in front of everyone.

He knows his subconscious must be too loud because Jiwon eventually looks up and Hanbin can see him slowly walking towards the bar in his peripheral vision.

Moments later, he feels a warm hand on his back. “Hey! I thought it was you!”

Hanbin tries to smile but he’s pretty sure it’s half a grimace. “Hey Jiwon.”

“Ah, you remember my name!” Jiwon’s smile is so big that his eyes disappear and his face is all teeth and cheeks. The neon red and purple light washes over his features in a psychedelic swirl that reminds Hanbin of Alice In Wonderland.

He doesn’t want to dwell on the fact that he remembers everything about Jiwon. Right down to the way Richard Parker’s tail rises east and curls west. Like the sun, he thinks.

Jiwon sits down next to him and chuckles at the shredded pile of beer labels. “So, are you here with someone?”

Hanbin flushes and gathers up the mess in a clammy fist. He debates between the truth and lying but he knows he’s rubbish at sustaining a lie. “Kinda. I came with a few workmates but I lost them.” And I also can’t be bothered finding them, he wants to say but doesn’t.

Jiwon hums and nods like he understands. “Oh…well, I’ll keep you company if you want. It’s June’s set tonight so at least we’re going to get some sick beats.”

The lights overhead dim slightly and the neon red and purple spotlights focus forward towards the DJ stage. Hanbin suddenly realises how packed the bar was getting because more people were pushing past him to watch the show.

There’s a hush. Then what Hanbin can only describe as the sound of a distant choir caught up in a washing machine. Hanbin finds himself nodding along in a semi trance-like state and attempts to keep up with the fragments of sampled loops. He sips his beer absentmindedly as he watches and tries not to notice when he’s been stared at.

After 45 minutes, June’s set draws to an end and tapers off into raucous cheering from the crowd. Hanbin watches him bow to the audience and fist bump the next DJ who makes his way onto the stage for the next set.

Jiwon stands up then, leaning close to Hanbin’s ear so unexpectedly fast that Hanbin jerks away and almost topples right off his chair. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

Hanbin nods as he watches Jiwon weave his way through the crowd to disappear through a door behind the stage.

The new DJ’s set is less recognisable and features less pop culture sampling, which means that Hanbin’s brain has time to speculate how Jiwon knows June and where he went. It’s never a good thing when Hanbin is left with his thoughts.

Suddenly, June comes out from behind the door with his heavily tattooed arm across Jiwon’s shoulder. Hanbin tries to ignore the drop of disappointment in his chest but he can already feel his mouth pulling itself into a frown.

He watches them stand to the side of the stage talking into each other’s ears. He knows he really shouldn’t stare but he does. It serves him right when he gets caught like a deer in June’s smirky headlights. He watches him laugh and raise his other hand up to wave. Hanbin looks to either side of him but there’s nobody else sitting there. When he looks back June is still laughing and then pushing Jiwon into the direction of the bar.

Hanbin has about a million questions to ask but he’s beaten to the punch. “That was June. He was waving at you by the way.”

If Hanbin felt socially awkward before this, he feels about ten times more awkward now. “Yeah, sorry. I thought he was waving at someone else.”

“Well, I told you he was a bit of a jerk. I told him it’d freak you out but he just had to do it anyway.”

And then it clicks in Hanbin’s brain. “Oh….that’s the Pi guy. The one who does your tattoos?”

Jiwon nods. “Yeah. That’s him. He DJs here on Fridays. Hey, you hungry? Wanna get out of here?”

The music swells loudly at that moment and drowns out Hanbin’s voice. So he nods and lets Jiwon lead him through the crowd, up the stairs and out into the alley way.

Half an hour of eating his dry weight in fried street food and Hanbin is full, warm and still slightly buzzed from the alcohol he drank at the bar. Jiwon is walking him back to the train station and telling him about all the tattoos he plans on getting. He thought he heard something about a fish or a horse and he thinks that maybe Jiwon just wants an entire zoo eventually.

“So have you made any decisions about what you’re gonna get?”

“I think I might still get a rose. Maybe with a kind of cage around it. Does that sound stupid?”

“No! That sounds cool. Hey listen, I’m going to June’s shop on Sunday to get Richard Parker done. Do you want to come?”

Panic rises in Hanbin’s throat. “Oh….I don’t want to waste his time or anything.”

Jiwon waves his hands dismissively. “What? Nah. Don’t worry. We go way back. He doesn’t really work on Sundays so that’s when we catch up to finish my pieces. You don’t have to get anything done. Just…come meet him properly? He’s got tons of books there too, if you want to get some ideas.”

“Um, well…,” Hanbin trails off and bites his lower lip. The expression on Jiwon’s face so earnest and kind that he’s almost angry at how easy he can be manipulated by it. “Okay. I guess I can come.”

Jiwon lets out a relieved breath and Hanbin’s somewhat surprised that he never even bothers to hide these things. Almost like he doesn’t care what Hanbin knows about him or can deduce from his actions.

Jiwon pulls out his phone and hands it to Hanbin, who takes it with a blank look on his face. “I need your number…” Jiwon prompts.

Oh.

He saves his number as “Kim Hanbin.” Just incase Jiwon knows other kinds of Hanbins.

It’s not until he’s stepped on his train and waves at Jiwon through the window that he realises he never asked for his number.

All he can do is wait.

[medea10]

My Review of Grand Blue

How did I get into this anime? Well, I heard there were some good reviews about this particular title. It was one of those animes I probably should have watched in summer 2018, but more than likely I was watching some sequel no one remembers.

Iori Kitahara just moved to an ocean-front town to live with his uncle since he lives near Izu University (a school Iori was accepted into). His uncle owns a scuba diving shop that serves as a local hangout for members of the school’s diving club. Little does Iori know that this is a local hangout to get FUCKING SHIT-FACED!!!

I am not making this up. These members drink like it’s going out of business. And usually these drinking binges end up with blackouts and public nudity. In Iori’s case, he got so black-out drunk that he woke up in front of his new university’s courtyard…on the first day of school…only wearing his boxers! I’m beginning to see why Amazon put out an advisory at the beginning of each episode about drinking responsibly. But aside from drinking with a bunch of meat-head senpais, there’s also diving. Yeah, club activity is actually diving into the ocean.

So let’s dive into this college-leveled, binge-drinking club as we meet some interesting characters like, a raging otaku (Kouhei), Iori’s cousin with “Permanent Resting Bitch-face Syndrome” (Chisa), a girl who should get a makeup tutorial on Youtube (Aina), two meat-head senpais (Bukki and Tokki), Drinky McStripsItAll (Azusa), and Chisa’s “loving” older sister (Nanaka).

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: So this is an Anime Prime exclusive, so I doubt I’d be hearing a dub to this any time soon. The sub has quite the line-up of seiyuus including that upcomer I’ve been raving about all 2019, Yuuma Uchida. But a lot of well-known folks like Kana Asumi and Hiroki Yasumoto (who can literally play anything at this point) shine in this anime. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Iori is played by Yuuma Uchida (Kyo on Fruits Basket 2019, Uenoyama on Given, Chika on Kono Oto Tomare, Sun on Oresuki, Ash on Banana Fish, and Shirazu on Tokyo Ghoul :re)

*Kouhei is played by Ryouhei Kimura (known for Hinata on Angel Beats, Hachiken on Silver Spoon, Takizawa on Eden of the East, Judar on Magi, Taishi on Tokyo Ghoul, and Hiyori on Free!)

*Chisa is played by Chika Anzai (known for Mina on Attack on Titan)

*Aina is played by Kana Asumi (known for Taneshima on Working!!, Ran on Shugo Chara, Kazakiri on Index, Yuno on Hidamari Sketch, Nagisa on Madoka Magica: Rebellion, and Tachibana on Nisekoi)

FAVORITE CHARACTER: I’m gonna say that after watching all 12 episodes; Aina (a.k.a. Cakey) grew on me. Horrible caked-on make-up aside, let’s be real here.

I think it’s because of the development we see with her ever since she was introduced early in the series. We see a girl trying her damndest to fit in with the tennis club only for it to blow up in her face (literally when we’re talking about all that makeup that’s “caked” on her face). Yeah, these guys treated Aina like garbage! But after joining the diving club, we see her be herself and slowly trust those around her. I think it’s more of this character resonating with me in some sad aspect, but I too feel the pain of trying to fit in or not wanting to let anyone down. Anyways, Cakey is my girl!

Poor dear, I feel your pain.

SHIPPING: So Iori is now a college lad and getting smashed eight ways from Sunday. And I’m sure he’s going to have his own picks of the ladies when he isn’t drinking with an otaku and a bunch of meat-heads.

…Or he can get freaky with his blood cousin!

*eyeball twitch*

ANYWAYS, Chisa has made her point clear with the disgusted face she makes whenever she’s around Iori. But in anime terms, we know that she has that classic tsundere syndrome. So when someone like Aina comes into the picture and Iori sticks up for her, jealousy arrives like a fucking A-bomb! Despite Chisa announcing to a wide, public setting that Iori was her boyfriend (while he was passed-out drunk), nothing too scandalous happened with this. It was just so she could keep creepy boys away. Honestly, I really have no problem if Chisa and Iori hook up. It’s actually better than Chisa being with someone who has an unhealthy obsession with her.

I don’t want to say Nanaka has a thing for her baby sister, but this is getting too borderline Yuru Yuri that I have to say something about it.

I’m pretty sure Aina might be a contender after all Iori has done for her throughout the series. It’s just that she can’t stand all that binge-drinking and getting buck-naked at any moment.

And then there’s wild card Azusa! She’s a flirt! What else can I say about her? She teases Iori every chance she gets. Hell, near the finale she tantalized Iori in sex. Wasn’t sure if she was kidding or if she really meant it! However she did shove a leek up Iori’s ass, but that’s because he was sick.

I swear this is normal behavior.

By the end of the series, we really didn’t get much in terms of full-on hookups. Many misunderstandings have occurred involving word-play. Iori, Kouhei, and their band of geeky friends are still virgins (though one of them came very close to sealing the deal). One of the meat-heads has a girlfriend (did not see that one coming). But on a positive note, Chisa and Iori’s friendship has been pretty steady. I wonder how long that’ll last!

ANIMATION: I gotta say it, the facial expressions on these characters were a laugh-riot. It wasn’t like this was pathetically sad that I have to laugh at it. But more of how expressive these characters got when they have to express hatred or disgust! This is more for comical expense and I happened to like it. It’s like with the anime Prison School, all the facial expressions worked in their favor. This, while out of place some of the time, never fails to make me laugh.

ANIME REFERENCE: While shopping for gear for an upcoming diving expedition, Kouhei came across two suits that would make any old-school otaku squeal.

The suits of Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu from Neon Genesis Evangelion in diving suit form. And Kouhei got Chisa and Aina to try them on!

ENDING: At the end of episode 9, the diving club is heading to Okinawa for a special trip that is promised we will never forget. They made sure of that when the anime gives us a two-minute preview of what to look forward to in these final three episodes. Just be warned a lot of things mentioned really didn’t happen. It almost felt like one of those gag previews Gintama is notorious for.

Well Iori, Kouhei, and Aina are going to attempt at getting their divers license so that they can go even further down the ocean. It seemed like all three were doing pretty well when it came to the basics of diving underwater. However, it was quickly noticed by Nanaka that Iori was having trouble keeping water out of his goggles and that could result in immediate failure. So Iori practices all night (with help from Chisa and Aina). However, Iori ended up in some trouble when a patrolling policeman comes upon him in the pool. And Iori spent the rest of the night in the water because he was naked.

Because I’d be concerned if he wasn’t naked!

Well, the next morning, he caught a cold. Then dumbass thinks it’s a good idea to get rid of a cold by drinking vodka.

Because I’d be concerned if he wasn’t drinking!

And as a result he ended up missing his chance for obtaining his diving license. Kouhei and Aina were able to get their licenses. So the big diving expedition of Okinawa is about to commence and Iori has to sit this one out. But he remains hopeful to one day dive with his friends in Okinawa. After all that, the group travels to another spot and get fucking hammered. You all see the theme to this series, right?

But the last few episodes gave us a few moments involving Kouhei and Aina. Kouhei ended up stumbling into this group on accident (much like Iori), but discovered how much fun he had (aside from getting drunk as a skunk night after night). As for Aina, she learned that despite the diving club being full of a bunch of drunken meat-heads, these people care about her (unlike the previous club she belonged to).

So it was a memorable trip.

This was absolutely NOT what I expected when I picked up this anime. I notice Grand Blue being taken place in a cute ocean town and thought it would be just as cute as Tsuritama. But it turned out to be the anime equivelant of Animal House. I can easily tell you that my college years were NOTHING LIKE THIS.

Despite going to school in a state where the drunk-driving rate is sky-high, I did not witness any strange anomalies like arriving on campus and seeing a bunch of drunk, naked lads sprawled across the courtyard.

Now then, I do feel like this series could have focused a little more on diving and oceanography. It felt like the majority of the series involved characters binge-drinking, meat-heads fighting with tennis club members, more binge-drinking, sad geeks never getting laid, studying for a German test where you only get 20%, and drinking more than Sterling Archer. Not so much on the ocean like I would have hoped. And even though Iori gets the short-end of the stick in almost every episode, I do feel bad that he couldn’t join the rest of the club under water in the finale. That felt a little disheartening, but that’s just me. Short answer, I like this anime! If you’re in for a good laugh and are not turned off by all the drinking and nudity, I say go for it.

For what it’s worth, it’s a silly adventure I can see myself rewatching one or two more times. And if you’re interested in watching, Amazon Prime has all 12 episodes available for streaming.

Okay, this was quite the trip! Let’s pick our next Amazon/Netflix/Crunchyroll exclusive anime!

Think Zootopia, but set in high school.

Beastars!

Great choice as I even heard good things from celebrities who don’t normally watch anime.