#studio hibari

[hybridreviews]

TIME of the SEASON Winter 2023 Edition: HIGH Card

Cue that one Motorhead that most people that don't know much about them knows!!

Is this your card? No, really, is this your card? You got 5 minutes to play. I got to go back to the buffet to get more shrimp cocktail and hot wings for the buffet. This is High Card. Director: Junichi Wada Series Composition: Naoki Kuroyanagi Script: Kazuhiko Inukai Kenichi Yamashita Shingo Nagai Music: Ryō Takahashi Original creator: Hikaru Muno Homura Kawamoto Original Character Design:…

[mercisnm]

Tissaia shakes her head. 'Promise me nothing, Yennefer. Flowers fade. Seasons turn. It is the way of it.' Yennefer stares down at Tissaia for a long moment before she suddenly turns away and reaches up to a low-hanging bough of the apple tree, plucking a sprig off the end of the branch. She murmurs a word, and the cold wood begins to change, growing at speed, small shoots appearing, rising into green leaves, then small buds forming, until a few pink-tinged blossoms have emerged, seemingly unaffected by the cold. 'We are mages, Tissaia,’ she says quietly, looking from the blossomed branch to Tissaia’s blue eyes. ‘I refuse to bow to the inevitability of the cycle, for under our direction, flowers may be coaxed to bloom after the long slumber of frost and snow. When I say I shall return to you, will you wait for me?’

From chapter 5 of @galeaspida's fic And So We Fall Together (The One With The Unicorn)

[animenostalgia]

Big news out of Anime NYC - Studio PEOW2 has announced they have licensed Hisashi Eguchi's 80s Shonen Jump trans rom-com Stop!! Hibari-Kun! manga for an English release! This will be the indie comic's first major manga release, which they're aiming to start releasing with vol 1 in the fall of 2025.

[animehouse-moe]

Pride Month Manga Recommendations: Currently Releasing

It's the first day of Pride Month, so why not find some LGBTQ+ manga to read to kick off the start of June? Take a look through this thread of 10 currently releasing manga and light novels to find a new series to pick up, starting with-

The Summer Hikaru Died - Soon To Be an Anime!

Yoshiki and Hikaru were best friends, until Yoshiki notices a change in the boy and comes to find out that he's been replaced by some sort of monster that proclaims his love for Yoshiki.

A fittingly disturbing affair, The Summer Hikaru Died does wonderful work as a horror manga, and expertly intertwines Yoshiki and "Hikaru's" emotions and feelings for one another with the dark and foreboding tone of the series.

Whisper Me A Love Song - A Currently Airing Anime!

Yori Asanagi is a girl better at guitar than love, but what happens when underclassman Himari Kino falls in love with that guitar work? Well, a string of misunderstandings appears that sets in motion this love song of a story.

Whisper Me A Love Song is certainly a bit close to cliché or melodramatic, but with Takeshima Eku's art, it becomes quite the appealing series. Certainly for fans of a more typically-styled love story, Whisper Me A Love Song is a very fun read!

I Married My Female Friend - from the author of Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon

One day at a festival, Kurumi and Ruriko made a "promise" to each other: in 5 years, if neither found a partner, they would get married. That period elapses, and Ruriko comes racing back to Kurumi with a marriage certificate in hand.

I Married My Female Friend is both a lighthearted yet emotionally aware manga that feels like a spiritual successor to Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, skipping the challenges of finding love & heading for the difficulty of being in love.

Seaside Stranger - Also A Major (Animated) Motion Picture

A story of two young men estranged from their parents, Seaside Stranger finds a difficult love blossom on a remote island that begins as confinement for the pair as they work through their challenging feelings and pasts.

Kii Kana's art is really something, and studio Hibari's adaptation is equally beautiful- extracting the most out of this dramatic (and steamy) romance. I might add though that it's not quite for those brand new to BL thanks to explicit content, but it's a great read nonetheless.

Otherside Picnic - Both An Anime And Manga

Sorawo Kamikoshi, a university student, spends her free time exploring a creepy pasta-esque dimension she calls the Otherside where she meets Toriko Nishina as the two narrowly escape the clutches of death, starting their journey.

While it's certainly quite the slow-burn of a romance, Iori Miyazawa's horror-filled world is bursting with passion and discomfort in equal amounts, making for a riveting read with a romance that feels impressively real. There's also an anime.... but it doesn't quite deliver.

Cinderella Closet

Haruka's a "plain jane" who left the countryside to live a bright and fashionable life in Tokyo- which she struggles with before meeting her "fairy godmother" Haruka- a young person with an incredible eye and interest for women's fashion and makeup.

In a sense, Cinderella Closet is a very loud depiction of romance in "the big city", throwing curve balls and both romantic & emotional challenges at every turn. In the end though, it remains a very positive and encouraging story with each turn, making for a great read.

The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant

On the worst- and final- day of Masamichi Adachi's life, he's hit by a car and left to die in the streets at night... until the enigmatic Shino offers him a contract to save his life.

While in the same genre as Otherside Picnic, this light novel certainly leans more into traditional horror as it explores a tense but intriguing relationship between Masamchi and Shino. A unique and engaging (re-released) light novel, it's an easy choice for fans of horror!

I Want To Be A Wall

Though Yuriko and Gakurouta are married, no love blossoms between them, as Yuriko is asexual (and a fan of BL) and Gakurouta stills holds feelings for his oblivious (male) childhood friend close to his heart.

Sporting a wonderfully unique concept, I Want To Be A Wall is a story that more so focuses on the wedded couple's humorous day-to-day lives than anything. A very light and enjoyable series, it's very easy to recommend to just about anyone.

Confessions of a Shy Baker

Toshimitsu Yamamura owns a real estate company and is a baking fanatic- spurred on by the sweet tooth of his boyfriend Gonta. One day however, Toshi gets pushed towards advertising his services as LGBTQ-friendly, forcing him to reconcile with how this move that would help others might out himself as gay.

A manga that delicately balances the societal struggles of being gay with a bright and heartwarming romance centered around baking, Confessions of a Shy Baker is a great jack all of trades manga.

Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide

Overly serious Asahi Suzumura and equally laid-back Mitsuki Sayama made each other a promise: together, they'll travel around the world, and when they return to Japan they'll get married.

A beautiful story that throws readers out into the world through destinations and stories, this is a manga that does everything it can within its pages. A forbidden love, a forgotten partner, struggles with laws that forbid love- together they explore this world and each other.

And that's all the recommendations for today, if you have any more you'd like to add feel free to share them here!

[booburt]

dance au save me....... i really just wanted to draw pretty dress hibari and koby just wears fucking suits w a gayass bowtie. type of guy

- he doesnt even pick out his own suits the girls and helmeppo do

- helmeppos partner is tashigi (they both wear suits)

- stupid little ballroom man who has a crush on the ballet dancer in the opposite studio i want him DEAD

speaking of ballet dancer

i want you to ignore the text wooooahhh wwoooahhh (waving my hands over your eyes magically) ignore the text i write on my drawings like its a diary im normal i swear

- luffy is sanjis pas de deux partner bc sanjis not allowed near the Women

- luffy is trans, he prefers wearing the more feminine ballet wear bc its more freeing i guess

- he wears hairclips to keep his hair out the way while hes stretching bc its ANNOYING! nami was first to start buying them for him and now he has a plethora of cutesie hairclips because all his friends followed suit

i havent thought of what everyone else would do yet if you have any input please feel free to add idm at all, my asks are open if you wanna suggest stuff

[canmom]

Animation Night 164: Yaoi, Yuri

The fashion on Tumblr lately has been to divide everything in the world into yaoi and yuri, hasn't it? Well, tonight we don't need to make any abstract stretches of the imagination: it's time for anime where boys kiss boys and girls kiss girls.

So. Five minutes ago, before Tumblr deleted it, this post was off to a pretty good start! I was happily explaining about the differences of nuance between 少年愛 shōnen-ai, 耽美 tanbi, ジュネ june, やおい yaoi and ボーイズラブ bōizu rabu on the one hand, and on the other, why 薔薇 bara (rose) isn't a genre title but nevertheless the editor of 薔薇族 Barazoku ('rose tribe') magazine coined 百合 yuri as a distaff counterpart, the 'lily tribe', and that really caught on.

I was starting in on a brief sketch of some history, how Tokugawa Japan was super gay and had a defined set of social rules for gay relationships in the form of 男色 nanshoku, but this was squashed by the Meiji restoration, and thus gay manga became a subgenre cultivating its own specific otaku audience.

So then I was gonna tell you about how the early shōjo manga focusing on gay relationships, taking the old term shōnen-ai [which originally referred to pederasty], were quite nerdy and literary, but the subgenre rapidly grew in the 70s and 80s, cultivating an otaku audience of its own - primarily women termed, somewhat disparagingly, 婦女子 fujoshi but this demographic breakdown is certainly not absolute and there is a term for male fans, which is 普段し fudanshi. We coulda gone into the whole world of doujinshi, of the massive convention comiket; I coulda cracked open Kimi Rito's History of Hentai Manga for some interesting tidbits about how certain images become encoded as symbols and then reused routinely in manga.

And you know, I might have talked about how this is distinct from manga aimed at gay readers in gay magazines (like the above mentioned 薔薇族 Barazoku) which might be termed ゲイ漫画 gei manga. Perhaps we might mention here the upcoming adaptation of gay manga meme sensation kuso miso technique:

I was maybe gonna talk a little about some of the older genre conventions of BL; the masc top or 攻め seme and the effeminate bottom or 浮け uke; maybe a little about how yaoi fandom got exported into anime fan culture in the West and the strange phenomenon of the 'yaoi paddle'.

...well, it looks like I managed to skim over all that anyway. Spite works wonders for typing speed, it turns out. But believe me, that's really just surface level stuff. We're working on a followup to the legend of Animation Night 69, so we'll be able to get in a lot deeper in a few weeks~

Anyway, even today, BL and yuri works rarely get adapted into anime in a particularly high profile way. But 'rarely' is not never! In Animation Nights past, well: on Animation Night 69 we watched the delightful 風と木の詩 Kaze to Ki no Uta (The Song of Wind and Trees), an OVA adapting the seminal (ha ha) shōjo manga about a French twink at boarding school. That was the direction of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, known also for Venus Wars and definitely the subject of a future Animation Night, it was as moving and melodramatic as you could hope from 70s shōjo. Sayo Yamamoto (AN36) brought us the incredibly charming figure gay skating series Yuri on Ice; and then of course Kunihiko Ikuhara (AN155), bless his heart, made his always bold statements on yuri with Yurikuma Arashi ('Lesbian Bear Storm') and BL with Sarazanmai, which I will surely cover if we ever reach the point where we're like 'let's marathon a TV anime' again ;p

Tonight though? We'll be looking at a couple of relatively recent films on both sides of the fence.

For the BL wing, we have the film 海辺のエトランゼ Umibe no Étranger, aka L'étranger de la Plage or Stranger by the Shore. Kanna Kii, the mangaka, had previously worked as an animator at Studio Hibari, a small anime studio that dates back to the late 70s and broadly seems to specialise in shōjo. Kii returned there to design characters and supervise the film, and evidently Hibari were very excited to adapt the work of their alumnus, because they absolutely spared no effort.

The story centres on orphaned highschooler Mio and his neighbour Shun, an aspiring gay novelist on a remote island in Okinawa. The pair grew close three years before the start of the story, but Mio had to leave Okinawa; we join him now as he returns to that same shore, still holding feelings for Shun.

I'll admit, I don't know a ton about this movie - but it comes highly recommended by kvin who described it as one of an 'oasis' of strong BL works released around 2020. And the clips I've seen - well, they're the gifs used in this post, really nicely drawn scenes of affection. So I'm pretty excited!

Our yuri wing... well, there's a few good choices for yuri TV shows I could show you, but tonight it's late and we need something short and sweet, and that really narrows the field! What I have is あさがおと加瀬さん。Asagao to Kase-san [Kase-san and the Morning Glories], a one hour OVA adapting the manga 加瀬さん Kase-san by Hiromi Takashima. The OVA starts partway into the manga, when plant nerd Yui Yamada has already started dating her crush, the athletic Tomoka Kase. It follows the trials of the girls' relationship as they are coming towards the end of their time at school - relatively low-key, slice of life first relationship typea thing.

The animae was adapted by studio Zexcs under the direction of Takuya Satō, who you might remember as director of the first part of Armitage III [AN153]. Zexcs spun out of JC Staff at the end of the 90s, and they've been pretty busy since then - for me their most notable creation is Aku no Hana (The Flowers of Evil), a truly unique rotoscope anime with an incredibly engaging, tense story about teenagers and the imp of the perverse... which sadly never got the love it deserved! yes I'm still beating this drum!

Anyway, while I have not been able to find a ton of production information, I am told at least that Kase-san was a passion project for Satō - evidently a yuri fan given he also took on the adaptation of Otherside Picnic. It began first with five-minute web adaptation Kase-san and the Morning Glories in 2018 that's more of a musical montage of moments from the series, which was then able to be expanded the next year into an hour-long OVA...

A lot of romance stories focus on the characters getting together, so it's interesting that this one skips right over those chapters of the manga and gets going once the characters are already together, focusing more on the trials of an ongoing relationship between two goofy hormonal kids trying to figure out if this is just a class S thing or something that they want to last. A great deal of effort is put towards character animation, intimacy, the little flinches and reactions. You can read a little discussion about it here on ANN.

So! With apologies for the late start once more (T_T), it's time to begin! Animation Night will shortly be live at twitch.tv/canmom, and I hope you'll join me for a gay old time~

[ciaossu-imagines]

KHR CELEBRITY AU PART 2

OTHER CELEBRITIES

Skull - I'm kind of cheating here and taking from canon, but Skull is a daredevil through and through. Whether it's playing it up and astounding live audiences or putting on thrill-rides of a show for the television camera while doing special and guest spots, Skull's fame is accomplished through his career as a daredevil and his penchant for insane, death-defying stunts.

Bermuda I see as a mixed-martial artist or an ECW fighter.

Small Gia, Didi and Jeje are all notorious serial killers with their own dedicated fanbases. Birds is another infamous killer along the lines of Manson, who never physically killed anyone himself but orchestrated the murders of people. Daisy is another infamous criminal whose trial was hugely publicized, especially given the insanity defense used. Glo Xinia is infamous in the same way - a serial criminal who gained a lot of mainstream publicity.

Ricardo was a wrestler, well known for playing a heel. He became a huge celebrity though due to press coverage of his many out-of-the-ring fights and his later murder of another wrestler at a nightclub. He was acquitted of the charges due to insufficient evidence but everyone knows he did it.

Knuckle is, of course, a rather famous boxer.

Shoko Tanaka is a well-known female mixed martial artist.

Daigo Kazumi, Kenshiro Yamaki, Gosuke Takada, Renzo Oshikiri, and Nobuhiko Kakuta are all Olympic level athletes.

Giannichi and Giannini are both famous inventors and for anyone in the robotics field, they're absolute legends.

Timoteo is a famous movie director who owns Vongola Films, a large studio. He's recently moved from directing only movies to directing what's become a hugely popular television series. Coyote Nougat is an assistant director for Timoteo. Croquant Bouche and Ganauche III are really well known producers who often work with Vongola Films and Timoteo. Visconti does all the special effects work on Timoteo's movies and now the television show. Brabanter Schnitten is the sound mixer and Brow Nie Jr. the production coordinator on all Timoteo's works, employed with Vongola Films.

Hibari's famous to a select group of people who are already in the know and famous in their own rights, as he's the head of a company who supplies the rich and famous with the best of the best in security. Notoriously publicity shy, he's never been caught on camera himself and avoids seeing any of the actual clients himself.

Tetsuya Kusakabe is one of those well-respected, oft-photographed bodyguards to the stars. Romario is as well as Dino's private bodyguard. Gamma is bodyguard to the girl group Yuni is a part of, while Olgert is bodyguard to Bel and Rasiel both and is just as paparazzi-photographed as those he looks over. Nigella Beabankul is another paparazzi famous body to the stars.

Daemon Spade and Elena are famous politicians.

Bel and Siel are infamous socialites. Part of the Royal Family of another country, their diplomatic immunity protects them against any charges that arise from their very hedonistic lifestyles and the press coverage of their fights, accidents, and the bad endings of those hedonistic lifestyles are splashed all over the tabloids. They do eventually get their own reality show.

Spanner is known for his work in special effects and puppetry, kind of along the lines of Jim Henson.

Parenza and Tras are both stunt people.

Kensuke Mochida and Brutus are celebrities within the WWE circle.

Tyr was an ECW champion who became most famous for his live death in the ring against mixed martial artist turned ECW fighter Squalo Superbi.

Michael Chianu is a tennis star, Bluebell an Olympic gold medal winning diver, while Kaoru Mizuno is a famous baseball player with one of the major teams.

'NO JUST NO' OR NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER IN BEING A CELEBRITY

I honestly don't feel that Luce is the most comfortable in front of a crowd and she doesn't like to be the center of attention. She isn't comfortable with the idea of fame and celebrity, with no desire for them. She just wants a peaceful, happy, low-key life and I honestly don't even see her as someone who has Facebook, much less any other type of social media.

Fon has no desire for fame and celebrity either. There are some YouTube clips of him, found if you Google him, of prior martial arts matches he's been part of when he did compete in martial arts tournaments. However, he's not entirely comfortable even with that level of public attention, since he prefers a quieter and simple life.

Big Pino

Lanchia

Haruyoshi Miura

Alaude

Dr. Shamal

Fuuta de la Stella was actually a child star from babyhood until he was around six or seven, when he retired and now he just wants to stay out of the spotlight and be a normal kid.

Iemitsu is a retired action star, famous for a lot of big 80's action blockbusters. He no longer has an interest in acting, in fame and celebrity in any form but he supports and starts his child's film career despite being estranged really from Tsuna.

Enma Kozato was born into a world of celebrity but prefers to just live his life and doesn't want any attention on himself.

[ecargmura]

Pokemon: Paldean Winds Episode 1 Review - GO WATCH THIS RIGHT NOW!

I forgot Paldean Winds started today. Holy Mother of Arceus, it was AMAZING! The animation was crisp and beautiful, courtesy of Wit Studio, Ufotable, Liden Films and Studio Hibari. If Gen 8 had Twilight Wings, Paldean Winds is the Gen 9 equivalent. It’s only the first episode and I love it already!

It tells an original story that still follows the core theme of treasure hunting. There are three original characters all with their own unique personalities and stories with Ohara being the first focus. Ohara is a talented flutist who has been experiencing burn out and pressure due to parental expectations as her father is a renowned conductor. Flute has been her life, but she’s unsure if she still has the passion for it. She wants to quit, but she’s unsure what do with her life afterwards. She’s also tasked with making a promotional video for the academy with Aliquis and Hohma, but she’s still trying to find herself before she can help with it. It’s thanks to a chance encounter with Arven, an angry Cetitan and the help of her loyal Fuecoco that she realizes that she loves playing the flute and it is her treasure alongside her partner Pokemon. The video is only 11 minutes long, but the way it managed to convey an entire story and message in that amount of time is amazing.

I think Ohara’s story can be related to those who are following their parents’ footsteps in their respective fields. This got me thinking about how I had no talent for piano despite my mom being a piano teacher. I quit piano as a kid and spend my childhood wondering what I’d become before walking the path of becoming a writer and here I am as one; I do want to learn piano again someday.

The animation was amazing. The details they put in was immaculate. There were three scenes that stood out to me in terms of animation. The first is showing off how small Gimmighoul is. It’s a very tiny Pokemon, so for the camera angle to show off how big everything and everyone is compared to its small frame was seriously amazing. The scene with Tinkaton playfully chasing after Corviknight was beautiful as well. They seriously kept to the lore presented in Tinkaton’s Dex entry regarding her history with the Raven Pokemon. I loved the small detail of her holding her trainer’s hand and then letting it go to chase after it. Lastly, everything regarding the Glaseado Mountains was seriously high quality. The way Arven was running away from the angry Cetitan was extremely well-animated. Seriously, there’s a reason why Wit Studio is highly praised. On top of that, ufotable and Liden Films were involved in the project too! I think every anime fan knows how well ufotable animates; I’m not too familiar with Liden Films’ anime projects, but they do have their fair share of quality works.

The original characters have so much personality. Ohara is reserved and unsure of herself. Aliquis keeps to himself, but has a short temper. Hohma is easily excitable and knowledgable. Fuecoco has so much personality as well! The way it is so loyal to Ohara is sweet. It’s a bit childish, but still goes out of its way to find her flute moved my heart. The fact that they went out of their way to give these characters so much life and personality shows the love and care this project has. This also applies to the actual canon characters from the games! Nemona has a small cameo, but her passion for battles still lingers when she gets super excited to teach younger students about Terastal. Arven’s stoic personality shows too as it’s canon that he doesn’t really involve himself with others unless they help him out. This is applied here. Arven was just walking by and staring at Ohara, not caring about her situation or what she’s doing on the mountain. He talks to her after she helps him out and then they bond a bit over having high status parents; he then tells her to cherish her Fuecoco. Clavell isn’t shown much, but he’s still the same director who cares a lot about his students. I also love the details of the Academy teachers attending Ohara’s band concert alongside Nemona. Seriously, this animated series is super high quality and I’m getting way too emotional over it.

The voice acting is really good too! I actually watched this in both English and Japanese and both sides did a great job in terms of acting. Most of the English actors are relatively new faces (aside from Pete Zarustica who voices Clavell as he’s a veteran voice actor for Pokemon and other dubs), but they did an amazing job. I really like Cat Protano’s acting as Ohara. She really nails it. I hope that the other episodes focuses on the other characters because I want to see more!

This anime only has its first episode as of today and there will only be four episodes, but I totally recommend watching this. Whether you’re a long-time Pokemon fan or a casual anime watcher, this is a definite must-watch! Please watch it! It’s on Youtube, so go over there and immerse yourself in the beauty that is Paldean Winds.

[mikajihiko]

Given Blu-ray Disc BOX

Hey everyone! This is an unofficial post made to spread information regarding the new GIVEN Disc Box containing recorded content of the GIVEN TV animation 11 episode series, Given: The Movie, and OVA Given: Uragawa no Sonzai. According to Given official website, the box will also contain an OAD "Uragawa no Sonzai" (Limited edition manga volume + 1 episode bonus content), this content has not been mentioned in other websites / is referred equivalent to Given OVA so keep an eye out for any updates as all product benefits and specifications may change without notice!

The box set comes with a limited edition jacket along with a special leaflet from Kizu-sensei, as well as an illustration card, and a bonus video containing non-credit opening and endings. A B2 announcement poster will also be handed out to customers who have purchased the Disc Box at target stores, in first-come, first-served basis. Once the stock of the poster runs out, it is all gone!

Target stores include : ANIPLEX, Studio Hibari / Lerche, Animate, Amazon. co. jp , Rakuten Books , Sofmap Animega, TSUTAYA Online, Toranoana Ikebukuro Store / Mail Order, Seven Net Shopping, AmiAmi Online Shop, WonderGOO / Shinseido, HMV, Tower Records, and Noitamina Shop

Non target stores such as CDJapan will not provide a B2 announcement poster as well as other special benefits.

🎸 Special Benefits:

Aniplex+: A4 clear file bag & smartphone shoulder strap

Studio Hibari/ Lerche (mail order): Original picture can badge & original picture postcard set

Animate: 4 square acrylic coaster set

Amazon . jp limited: Acrylic key chain & purse

Rakuten Books: Original name scene photobook + 5 piece acrylic stand set

TSUTAYA Online: 4 L sized bromide set

Sofmap Animega: 4 acrylic panel set

Seven net shopping: Eco bag

AmiAmi Online Shop: Character fine mat

Toranoana Ikebukuro store & mail order: A3 clear poster

Noitamina shop: CD Jacket style acrylic frame & Jacket card

As of present date, benefits and illustrations are currently in their printing process as the Disc BOX is set to release on November 15, 2023 for 29,700¥ tax included. As per usual, all underlined texts are hyperlinks, do check them out; especially as some of these websites offer for discounted prices, and are open for reservations!

[hotwaterandmilk]

Our household suffered a loss over the Christmas period, so I'm going to post some random comments about stupid shit to help divert my focus away from being depressed.

New BLOOD+ Anthology!

I received my copy of this year's BLOOD+ Petit Event Anthology this week. The title of this year's volume is "Season Calls Me" and like, the previous anthology, it contains a solid mix of short comics and novels by the small band of active Japanese fandom members for the series.

There are a couple of great little comics (that actually feature my faves, surprisingly) plus, like last time, Fujisaku Jun'ichi and Ishii Akiharu participated as well so we got some great additional content that makes it worth the effort of BUYING RIGHT NOW. What do I mean by this? Brand new colour illustrations from Ishii again, baby!

David smiling is so awkward, I love it. Ishii you have truly blessed us.

I won't be scanning in these images because this is a brand new publication. I ask that you please support all the wonderful fans involved in this doujinshi and purchase your own copy before it sells out.

Kotobuki Tsukasa draws ADG art again!

Kotobuki Tsukasa drew a new version of his Aphrodite illustration that was used for the first Akihabara Dennou Gumi ED sequence. The pic will be featured on his Comiket postcard for this year (2023 is the 25th anniversary of ADG) and I reeeeeaaaaaally want it. Edit: He just posted, it's limited to 127 units & has asked people not to resell so there goes my chance lol. :(

Kotobuki doesn't have the original image anymore so he had to use an online pic as reference and honestly, I think it looks pretty great even without the full studio finish (I particularly love that he incorporated Hibari's expression into Aphrodite as this is the fusion version from the movie).

大切なものなんですか... (it's stuck in your head now, watch here)

In a comment to someone mentioning the possibility of an art book he did say he'd discussed it but it hadn't progressed further. Please, for the love of god, I need an art book to happen! I WOULD PREORDER THE SHIT OUT OF THAT! I just love my '90s anime girls with faces like half-sucked mangos that much, ok?!

I Have an Autographed Yamamoto Yohko Novel!

Honestly this isn't a huge deal, back when the novel series received a kanzenban release Shouji Takashi autographed a lot of books for fans and they surface again every so often for sale. I happened to score one and now I have his autograph.

I'm not a big autograph person, but because the series was canned in 2001-ish the 12th kanzenban volume is the only way to get Shouji's conclusion to the story so I figured two birds with one stone and all that (not that I can read anything these days).

Anyway, it's nice to have. Maybe one of these days I'll work on my TBR pile.

I had actually planned to spend my few days off over the New Year catching up on things, then everything kind of just went to shit. So instead of me achieving anything you get this post of random nonsense while I struggle to process my grief, sorry.

[haru-choices]

You know what would make me really really happy.

If some good studio decides to pick up and adapt the rest of the Katekyo Hitman Reborn manga. I would actually cry in nostalgia.

I almost dropped KHR because of the daily life arc but when I followed to wiki to skip those eps I fell so invested into the series over 10 years ago.

I wanna see everyone animated again especially Hibari and Hibird

[tetrix-anime]

Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 2nd Season (Classroom of the Elite) - Blu-ray/DVD Bonus Illustration from Studio Hibari / Lerche.

[animehouse-moe]

After-School Hanako-Kun and Good News

I had a feeling, a rather strong feeling after a hint left in the PV for After-School Hanako-Kun, and I'm very happy that it turned out correct. There's not a mountain of stuff to cover, but I think it's important (and very interesting!) things that have the chance to be of importance to the Hanako-Kun remake!

So, let's talk details. How about starting with the PV? Lerche was a little sneaky, listing Studio Hibari in parentheses, but I caught it pretty quickly as I was chatting about the PV with a friend. You might think, "Oh, but Hibari is Lerche's parent company, it could have meant anything", and in a way you would have been right. Except, this is the first time Hibari was credited on a Lerche anime- period.

So, everybody already knew about the changes with lead director Masaomi Andou, and character designer Itou Mayuka not returning. What we didn't know is how good the character designs and direction would be. Well, turns out its good, very good.

Lots of little pieces of expression and character acting, as well as some solid direction, culminating in scenes like Nene digging Hanako out of the pile of Mokke.

Depth is actually something that lead director as well as episode director/storyboarder Kitamura Masaki plays at consistently throughout the episode, and it works really well. It puts in perspective how "flat" the first season of Hanako-Kun is, and how much it relied on color design to really bring the best out in it.

Conversely, expressions can struggle here and there compared to the first season. An inevitable fate that the anime would suffer due to Andou's departure considering how they literally use manga panels for their storyboards.

However, the slight differences in facial expressions is something I'll gladly eat if it means that the animation can get a much needed upgrade. Sure, it's not sakuga worthy every other second, but there's plenty of fun and well done cuts like these two Mokke sequences.

And we can owe that to the massive effort Hibari has put into cleaning up this series. Yeah, they essentially dedicated an entire staff dispatch for this first episode. All the first key animators are Hibari, as well as all but 3 for the second key animators. In betweens and other smaller roles for the episode have also been parted out a great deal to Hibari's Vietnam studio, creating a nearly full force effort from the parent to support its child. And it does wonders for the series.

I was intensely curious to see how this spinoff anime would go over with Lerche before this first episode, but now I'm incredibly excited to see how they decided to upgrade the manga they're adapting, and how this might reflect on the quality of the Hanako-Kun remake slated to release this year.

[newsintheshell]

✨ HIGH CARD: IN ARRIVO UN EPISODIO 25 INTITOLATO "THE FLOWERS BLOOM"

A quanto pare STUDIO HIBARI e Junichi Wada (WorldEnd, Sakugan) hanno ancora qualcosa da dire prima di mettere fine alla serie, l'episodio però non ha una data di uscita al momento.

Per chi volesse recuperare l'anime, lo trovate in streaming sia su Crunchyroll, che su Prime Video all'interno del canale Anime Generation, dove Yamato Video ha già caricato anche il doppiaggio per parte delle puntate.

[momorin-translations]

DIG-ROCK Impish Crow Vol. 1 Part 3: Foreshadowing

Track 03 前兆 Foreshadowing (9:53)

Listen along here: https://open.spotify.com/track/3EkrlNMbBLkdo6XtqnWMV1?si=103f7d33bbb747ca

Toki: Hmm, Mitsuru and Hibari aren’t here. Ah, just got a message from them. Looks like they’ll make it on time. 

Toki: “Getting hamburgers in front of the train station,” and send. 

Tsugumi: Ahh, I’m hungry~

Toki: You’re already going to eat that much? You have the bentos, don’t you? 

Tsugumi: I’ve decided that’s going in a different stomach.

Toki: You’re going to get fat.

Tsugumi: Unfortunately for you, I don’t get fat no matter how much I eat~ See? 

Toki: Idiot! Pull that thing down!

Tsugumi: And with that, it’s time to dig in!

Tsugumi: What about Mitsuru and Hibari?

Toki: Eat or talk, pick one or the other. I got a message from Hibari, the two of them are heading here now. Mitsuru’s work ran a bit late. 

Tsugumi: Hmmm… Mmm…

Toki: Hm? What’s up? 

Tsugumi: Studio musicians always end up playing with different people each time, right?

Toki: That’s true. 

Tsugumi: I wonder if it’s fun.

Toki: Well, Mitsuru seems to be having fun, right? Or he would’ve quit a long time ago. 

Tsugumi: I see, that’s true… It’s music after all, just making sounds would be fun. Besides…

Reporter (on TV): Next week, RUBIA Leopard will be releasing a new album! How far will RUBIA Leopard take us along? Look forward to it! (TL: couldn’t pick this up from the background but the reporter’s talking about rubileo here :”))

Toki: RUBIA Leopard… 

Tsugumi: Hm? Did you say something? 

Toki: Ah no, it’s nothing. 

Reporter (on TV): (???) You won’t be able to look away! That’s all for now, see you next week! (TL: couldn’t get this either wahhh T T)

Tsugumi: Hey Toki, give me a sip of your oolong tea.

Tsugumi: Toki?

Toki: A-ah, sure.

Tsugumi: What’s up?

Toki: Mm… Tsugu, you still don’t want to make a pro debut? 

Tsugumi: Not at all. What, you want to go pro?

Toki: Not me, but you-

Mitsuru: Ah, there they are.

Tsugumi: Mitsuru, Hibari, over here!

Mitsuru: Sorry we’re late. 

Toki: Don’t sweat it, you’re right on time for when we planned to meet.

Mitsuru: It’s just like Hibari said.

Hibari: It’s Toki we’re talking about, I figured he wouldn’t say anything about us coming at the last minute.

Toki: You’re not very reliable…

Hibari: I know that~

Mitsuru: Hey, if we’re okay on time is it okay if I grab a bite?

Toki: That’s fine, but Tsugu got bentos from work for us too. 

Mitsuru: I’ll eat that, but I also want french fries. I’m also buying a vanilla shake for Hibari. 

Hibari: Haha, thank you. 

Toki: We can’t rest for too long, got it? 

Mitsuru: Got it.

Tsugumi: Ah Mitsuru, could you get chicken nuggets too? 

Toki: You’re still going to eat more?

Tsugumi: It’s fine, isn’t it?

Toki: Hey, you-! You said you’d only take a sip!

Tsugumi: Ah, I’ve been caught. But it’s just a little oolong tea~

Toki: If you wanted to drink it then buy it for yourself in the first place. 

Tsugumi: Fine, fine, I got it~ Can’t be helped, I’ll buy you another one so cheer up! ‘Kay?

Toki: Tch, why does it sound like I’m the one being selfish… 

Hibari: Hey, Toki-kun. 

Toki: Huh?

Hibari: What were you talking about with Tsugu-chan? When Mitsuru and I first got here, you had a troubled expression. 

Toki: Ah, you must’ve imagined it. 

Hibari: Hmm… 

Toki: What is it?

Hibari: Hmm, it’s nothing~ It was my imagination, right? 

Toki: Hrgh… 

Hibari: Someone’s getting a call. This is Tsugu-chan’s, isn’t it?

Toki: That guy forgot his phone again… I always tell him to keep it on him because of stuff like this. 

Hibari: Ah, it’s from Tobi-chan! He won’t end the call, huh… Maybe it’s something urgent?

Toki: Mm… Well, whatever. Hello, Tobikura-san? It’s Mizukawa. Tsugu just stepped away, so you can talk to me if you’d like. Ah, that… In that case, I have something to ask. Is that alright? Ah, but we’re about to start practice. Ah yes, I’ll talk to you again tonight. Thank you. 

Hibari: You really are overprotective when it comes to Tsugu-chan aren’t you, Toki-kun? 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hibari: Yup, right on time.

Hibari: Toki-kun, wake up.

Toki: Mm… Morning, Hibari. 

Hibari: Morning. I have a class first thing in the morning today, so I’m heading out. I’ll leave the key here. Leave it by the post as always. 

Toki: Got it. Ah, did you eat?

Hibari: I’ll eat out. The snacks we got from the convenience store on our way back from practice yesterday, they’re in the kitchen, alright?

Toki: Thanks. Sorry for intruding like this every time. 

Hibari: Don’t worry about it. It’s easier for all four of us to gather in a wide place like this, right? 

Toki: There’s no way you did, but is that why you got such a spacious room… 

Hibari: Hmm, correct~ It was just Mitsuru and me in our first year, but I knew that by the next year you and Tsugu-chan would be stopping by. Four guys settling down in a student’s one-room apartment would be way too cramped and narrow, I just couldn’t do that.

Toki: Did you tell your parents that?

Hibari: Of course not. I just said this is a good place. The rent for this place being 8,000 or 10,000 yen is just a calculation error, just an error~

Toki: An error that’s almost twice the amount…

Hibari: Toki-kun, you’re so serious~ Since they’re my parents, it’s okay to rely on them while I can, right?

Hibari: You also want to head off by 2, right? You’ll be late if you keep laying around like that. See you later.

Toki: Even with everything he says, that guy always goes to school right on time, huh. 

Tsugumi: Mm… The smell of food.

Toki: You’re finally up! Your food is ready. 

Tsugumi: Eh, for real? A ready meal as soon as you wake up is the best~ I’m going to live here from now on. 

Toki: Just saying, this is Hibari’s place and I’m a guest. 

Tsugumi: Let’s live here as the four of us~ Huh, where’s Hibari?

Toki: He went to school a while ago. Besides that, Tsugu, go wake up Mitsuru. 

Tsugumi: Don’t make such a hard request, you should do it!

Toki: He didn’t wake up when I tried so I’m leaving it up to you. 

Tsugumi: There’s no way, he definitely won’t get up. Mitsuru won’t get mad if the food gets cold anyway, let’s give it up. 

Toki: It can’t be helped, I’ll try again later. 

Tsugumi: Ahh, I’m starving… What’d I even eat yesterday? A hamburger, bento, and…

Toki: Your stomach really burns through food, huh.

Tsugumi: Even if you ask me, it’s a mystery to me too. Thank you for the meal!

Tsugumi: Ah, instant miso soup. 

Toki: If you’re going to complain you don’t have to eat it. 

Tsugumi: I’m not complaining. I meant that miso soup right when you wake up instantly gives you energy~

Toki: Is that right? 

Tsugumi: Besides that, the thing we were thinking about yesterday, let’s try to make it work before the next live. 

Toki: The live’s next week, right? If we rehearse after thinking about it more, we’ll barely make it. If you’re really serious about making it happen…

Tsugumi: I am serious. Toki: Easier said than done.

Tsugumi: Eh? Toki, are you giving up? 

Toki: Don’t talk like that.

Tsugumi: If you love me, shouldn’t you give it your all ‘til you drop dead? Toki: Such bad tastes…

Toki: Thanks for the meal.

Tsugumi: Time for school?

Toki: I’m a student after all. Ah that’s right, you work until the evening, right? Come with me to go out with Tobikura-san tonight. He went out of his way to invite us after all. 

Tsugumi: Ah that’s right, I got a message from him yesterday, I totally forgot. But what does he want to show us? 

Toki: Who knows? 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hi hi!! after a long while, track 3 is finally finished~ thank you so much for bearing with me :”) <33 summer break is approaching at my uni, so please look forward to more TLs soon! as always, please let me know if you catch any mistakes and i’ll be sure to fix those asap (i’m still determined to catch what that reporter said...). in the meantime, please enjoy and see you next time ;D <3

[ciaossu-imagines]

Ideal vacation trip for each of the Vongola guardians?

Of course, anon dear! Thank you for the request and I hope you’ll enjoy the headcanons!

I honestly don’t think Tsuna is someone with a strong degree of wanderlust. He doesn’t really have a big urge to travel and is more of a homebody. He knows Namimori, he’s comfortable in Namimori, and he’s perfectly content with staying there for the most part. He might be okay with trips, though he prefers them to be small and to stay within Japan, mostly trips to hot springs or trips to the beach or things like that. I do think that he has to travel as head of the Vongola, going to Italy a lot, and he really never looks forward to trips abroad as travelling that far stresses him out.

Now, I definitely see Gokudera as someone who wants to travel and has a lot of different destinations he wants to visit, most of them related to his love for the paranormal or the bizarre. Of course, he wants to visit Area 51, the French catacombs, the Stanley Hotel because he’s definitely a fan of the Shining, and he wants to visit Louisiana because of it being touted as such a strong place for the occult and the paranormal, along with going to Ireland because of the strong paranormal folklore of that country, with the tales of fairies and leprechauns and Banshees and all that sort of stuff.

Yamamoto’s a baseball nut, so is it any wonder that his dream destination relates to baseball? He really wants to go watch a game at Fenway park and he’d die to go visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in New York. However, I do see Yamamoto as being someone who’s really just into new experiences and such and loves any vacation trip outside of Namimori, just for the new and wonderful experiences he’ll get.

Ryohei is a boxing nut, so, much like Yamamoto, it should surprise nobody that his dream destinations have to do with boxing. Any trip that can be classified as a training trip will appeal to him, like going to study with a master of the sport anywhere in the world, but he really does want to visit Tocco’s gym in Las Vegas, where so many champions trained, like Sonny Liston or Mike Tyson. He also really wants to go to Deer Lake in Pennsylvania, where Ali’s old training camp has been recreated.

Lambo really loves theme parks and amusement park rides, so he would really want to visit all the major theme parks throughout the world, from Disneyland to Universal Studios to Six Flags and Sea World.

Hibari really does want to travel, but the travel he’s interested in is travel that will hone his skills. Most of his dream destinations aren’t so much about the destinations as the opponents or masters he wishes to fight with and learn from.

Mukuro honestly doesn’t really take vacations. He does travel, quite a bit honestly, but it’s almost all for work or to further plans he has brewing in his mind. He’s a guy who has a lot going on, a lot planned and plotted, and living that way is fun for him. Vacation to him is the more relaxed days with the gang, not so much a destination or any planned thing.

Chrome really doesn’t have any desire to travel. If she needs to travel for something, most likely because Mukuro needs her to for work related purposes, she will but it’s not something she looks forward to or has any strong desire to do.