#symphogear live 2016

[oddeyes588]

They really took that immediate opportunity to feel the famed Nana Mizuki abs, huh?

[miyoron]

Miyo’s Animes of 2022: A List About Things I Liked

Hi hello! It’s that time of year again! The time where I put in random anime shows I liked for the year and maybe go over dumb things that happened in all our lives.

Maybe? ...no? Yea me neither, I wanna just talk about nerd bullshit so let’s do that yea? YEA! As always, I will be writing these as I feel like in a random order and using whatever name I choose whether it’s the Japanese title or the English translated one...just go with it ok?

****PREVIOUS YEARLY WRITE UPS****

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/155146006684/miyos-anime-of-note-of-2016s

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/168918050454/miyos-anime-of-various-notes-2017-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/181565753419/miyos-anime-of-note-2018-rainbow-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/189938086634/miyos-anime-of-the-decade-though-actually-just

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/639065021256810496/miyos-2020-anime-extravaganza

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/672147095495589888/miyos-animated-things-of-note-2021-hello-and

***************************************** My Dress Up Darling

This show was one I was initially a little wary on because like...you always gotta be careful with shows that seem horny you know? Like “am I going to end up on a list or something like that?” Thankfully though, while this is horny, it’s also freaking adorable which is always a plus in my eyes.

The story of the show is Japanese doll maker apprentice Gojo is thrust into a wild and frantic world of an aspiring cosplayer and intense gyaru, Marin Kitagawa. What follows is a fun little romcom following their adventures of learning more about the hobby and about one another of course. Marin bringing Gojo into her surprisingly dorky interests and him becoming just as enraptured about capturing the characters in costume as she is portraying them. It also helps that Marin just has some of the best expressions of the year, every one she makes is great and fun to see.

What’s also great is the fact that she actively loves him like...falling into a blushing fit at the thought of admitting it even when he’s mostly unaware of it. It’s a great show and brought back memories of cosplay planning sessions from my college years, even when I was mostly there for emotional support to keep my friends from going nuts sewing seifuku. Joy of a show, go look into it!

Symphogear XV

I've been a watcher of Symphogear in the past and haven't really written about it because I guess I didn't have much to say? I like the music and the characters but other than that there wasn't much I felt like I could write down and sound interesting. But hey, I finally finished the show so I thought I'd write down that hey, the last season is really good!

Symphogear is a series that is defined by its bombastic action where you have character launching ICBM missiles, giant swords from the heavens or just suplexing space shuttles. Yes, all this happens throughout the course of the show and I'm not exaggerating. The fifth season, XV, is the culmination of the high impact singing and battles and just hits every note perfectly. Heh, note. See what I did there?

The characters all get to have their own little moments and the relationships between them all is probably my number one reason I enjoy the show. Look, when you can have two girls be basically married and the series all but says it outloud, I'm for it. Hibiki is Miku's action hero wife and I will hear nothing else from you lot. The show was a great send off and with news of a new project next year on the horizon, all we can do is wait and see what's next.

Spy x Family

I originally tried to read this manga a couple years back and somehow couldn't get into it. Maybe it was just the long feeling opening chapters that did it, it's hard to say. That being said, seeing it put out in animated form is what finally did it for me as I caught up between the 1st and 2nd cours and am glad I did.

The basis of the series is super spy Twilight, alias Loid Forger, has to go undercover to get at a political figure and to complete this mission he has to make a fake family. Adopting an unknowing mind reading orphan, Anya, and unknowingly marrying a trained assassin, Yor, such is the basis for the comedy and heart of the show. Only Anya knows the truth of the situation and she thinks it's awesome and cool.

You probably don't need me to say much about this show since it IS wildly popular, but I liked it and think you should check it out. The new family member in the second half of the show and Loid's fellow undercover colleague are super fun additions and I loved every moment Fiona was on screen. It's a fun show, and I say check it out.

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story

Probably one of the weirder shows I watched this year, the show about hyper intensive golf with a weird "buy Gunpla" message barely hidden in it. Like I don't actually wanna describe too much of what happens in this show because it's wild and you honestly probably wouldn't believe me even if I said so.

Eve is an underground golfer whose style is power and defeating her opponent above anything else. Crush their hopes, crush their spirits, that's her style of golf. That is until she plays a round with Aoi Amawashi, a high level teen golfer who is the only one who's been able to beat her. She wants her win back. Meanwhile Aoi wants to play here again because she's the first one she's had fun golfing against in ages. The story that follows goes to bring them together to finally have their rematch.

This show goes interesting places and near the end, every week had me on edge on what was going to happen. I will say, if you want to binge it, be warned it ends on a mid season cliffhanger and the new eps don't begin til Spring anime 2023 so you'll be waiting a while. Either way, check it out when you can, it's a trip.

The Demon Girl Next Door

It was a treat to see this show get a second season after being absent for a few years. Shamiko and friends are back for more awkward ineffective demon fun and trying to get better at this whole "Demon" thing.

This season was cute because Shamiko had to really step up and take charge, even if she was kind of bad at it. She helped Mikan clean out her apartment, was able to find her hidden item left behind by her father and even make it into a giant fork to use against her enemies! Though of course, the main thing here was all of her interactions with Momo. There's something about a mostly uninterested magical girl going through life half teasing her friend and half being embarrassed about interacting with her.

There was also some fun new friends in the form of fellow demons Riko and Shirosawa, a Chinese fox and Japanese tapir respectively, and the little cafe Shirosawa owns. It's a fun little show that still feels like something from the mid 2010s but it's a good one of those so I feel in the end, it's all good. Ganbare Shamiko!

Kaguya-sama Love is War

Kaguya is still a funny show, one of the funnier romcoms out there to be honest. The tale of two hyper intelligent stupid teenagers in love who want the other to admit it continues with the usual hilarious results.

The big set piece for the 3rd season is the incoming culture festival, the second half of the show leading up to it and the big reveal involving Shirogane's future. Why does he need to confess to Kaguya before the end of the festival? Will Kaguya accept? Will she fold first? What dumb bullshit is Chika going to do? These and more await you in Kaguya!

Yea I don't have much to add, like I said. It's still funny, there's fun new character interactions with Miko being on the student council now and Ishigami trying his best to confess to a senpai of his own. What I'm saying is if you liked the previous seasons, you'll probably enjoy this one too. We get a movie in February so there's more coming up too, so let's go watch! Or not, I'm not your mom.

Komi-san Can't Communicate

The second half of Komi! It's here and introduces more fun characters to become friends with! Also everyone's faves are still around of course, like problem child Najimi who is here to be your angle AND your devil at all times. All so that Komi can make all the friends and try to get over her horrible social anxiety. It's a tough world but having friends helps I feel.

Like I said, this season introduces more characters from the manga and the fun situations along the way. We have the school trip to Kyoto which features a bunch of fun interactions, like buff posing in the hot springs and the introduction of the mysterious yo yo wielding hero. Plus it introduces one of my favorite, equally awkward characters, Katai. A big beefcake of a boy who is horrifyingly scary because he's enormous and looks intimidating but he's just bad at talking and...you get the idea. I love him.

I have a lot of sequels on this list so I think a lot of my paragraphs might end with "it's more of X, so you'll probably enjoy it". That being said, it's more Komi so....you'll probably enjoy it. See that's not so bad huh?

LOVE LIVE CORNER

Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

Yes indeed, they keep making more Love Lives and I keep eating them up like the monster I know I am. That being said, they are different enough at least and the Nijigasaki shows are a bit more interesting than the others for the fact they have a different style than the rest. Also there's just SO many of them, you've got plenty of fun girls to watch.

The introduction of new characters Shirioko, Lanzhu and Mia leads to new interactions which may have played out different than the phone game version but...I never finished those so, whatever~ That being said, I loved just the sheer overpowering force of Lanzhu coming in and taking no prisoners. Sure, she can't just be a big rude force all the time and has to become a friend in the end but her initial entrance is just bombastic enough to be super fun. She is here to idol and FUCK anyone in her way.

Niji has a lot of fun little side cameos too of the Normal rank idol randos from the original phone game that shows just..a nerdy interest in LOVE LIVE LORE I can appreciate. You go chameleon girl, take the spot and run for it. We have an OVA for this sometime and a set of what looks like short gag eps coming up so that should be fun. I will send out love to Setsuna's actor, Tomori Kusunoki, who sadly has to step away from the role for health reasons. We'll hopefully continue to see her in other shows for years to come.

Love Live! Superstar!!

This show I enjoyed last time but season 2 I enjoyed way more. Weirdly, going from a unique 5 person group to the old reliable 9 person group, worked out better for me. Maybe it's just because the new ones added were goofy and fun and gelled well with the rest of the cast, even with some goofy story telling decisions.

Liella got popular! And thanks to that they got fans! Though they wanted to get more members and that's where our first years come up! Like I said, the new girls are fun and I just can't gush enough about Natsumi. The best little Love Live goblin in a while. I love her shitty youtube plans and her thoughts to monetize everything for her own benefit. Like I said just...it's fun, she's fun! Also they let her say a cuss.

Superstar has another season coming up next year I believe, or it atleast has another season somewhere down the line. We'll see what happens with more rival idols getting closer to Kanon's fan girl creating energy then. I'll look forward to it!

Ya Boy Kongming!

So I played a lot of Dynasty Warriors back on the PS2 and I also read some of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as well. What I'm saying is this is a series up my alley in way that you wouldn't expect it to be but it is.

Kongming, the legendary strategist, has died and been reborn in modern world Japan. Becoming entranced by a demon from Hell, he wakes up the next day and learns he got drunk on Halloween night and the demon was in fact Eiko, an aspiring singer. From there, he pledges himself to become her strategist and help her in her goals and to bring about an end to pain and war through her singing. He believes in her so much, even if she's a bit embarrassed about it initially.

Seeing classic strategies being put in the modern world and used to strictly build cred in the music world is fun and silly. Eiko is a good character with fun outfits and I love seeing her make friends with new people. Gaining new allies in her battle to become a singer with Kongming helping all the way is just..yea I like it a lot. Also probably the most banger op of the year? I listened to it a LOT.

Now we pause for the PRECURE STOP

Yes Precure 5!

Me and Cheapsteaks did our annual dual old Cure season watch and the first one we started was Yes Precure 5 which was the first 5 person team one. I'll say it definitely felt like an early 00s Magical Girl show but it was starting to get down what Precure is I feel. I really liked the Cures, especially Dream and Rouge.

That being said, there's definitely some things about this one I wasn't as huge a fan of. The villains primarily were really lackluster compared to the previous ones in Splash Star and the ending felt really anticlimatic. On top of that, Nuts and Coco were fine but after a bit their fairy voices really wear you down. Similarly, Milk is a little pain and not in the fun goblin way.  That being said, these are very minor complaints for a show for babies.

The movie was super fun though and was more fun than one would expect. We've got the sequel, Yes Precure 5 GoGo! already started for next year so we'll see if it deserves a 2nd 49 episode season or if it shoulda just been smushed all into one, an opinion I have had previously regarding Futari wa/Max Heart.

Suite Precure

Suite Precure was much more fun in comparison.  Maybe it's because it's a later show so they learned how to do things, maybe I just liked the story and animation better. Whatever the case, Suite does a lot of things I enjoy.

Doofy villain trio? Check. Even doofier baby brained fairy? Check. Super good gal pals teaming up to beat up said villains? Quadruple check. Yea, the musical themed world and fairies and transformations are fun and I was happy when the Precure finally all assembled just for the musical tones accompanying it. I guess I don't have much to say just that I had fun watching this one a lot more.

Accompanying Yes Precure 5 GoGo, we have also started Doki Doki Precure so we're in the final laps of watching all the series. Then it's on to all the All Star movies and other related content!

Delicious Party Precure

The current running Precure, I like the designs a lot and parts of the story are good and cute. But I have a bone to pick, an axe to grind, a suggestion for future cures maybe. I'm probably being dumb but maybe they should just plan to have 45 episodes anymore because the delays that hit both this and Healin' Good a few years ago have hampered the story from feeling satisfying. Again, I know it's a show for babies but when the delays affect things this bad, maybe just plan for a shorter show and use the extra eps for throw off stuff, like when Tropical Rouge did its 11 Random Stories episode.

I'm being mean, I'm sorry about that. Precure is still good and I just get heated when it affects ones with characters I feel are made specifically for me. Ran wasn't hit as hard and screwed over like Hinata was because she atleast gets more time to show off. And what she can show off is just a wide array of facial expressions that I look forward to each week. Behold just a few examples.

Like I said, I still like the show and the characters but again, lackluster villains can really hinder a show I enjoy. Hear my suggestions Toei, suggestions from some random dingus on the internet across the world. I promise it's a good idea!

Lycoris Recoil

Hideo Kojima's anime of the year! This one I initially checked out because I kept seeing the meme going around of Chisato getting kicked in the back of the thigh and wondering "what's that from?" Well the answer is LycoReco, a show with girls and guns and action.

Lycoris is a secret organization which has high school girls trained for covert tactical ops and Takina has just been kicked out of the central command for putting her fellow agents at risk. The solution? Shack her up with Chisato, a peppy Lycoris member who is also on the out with the main command for just..doing as she pleases pretty much. It's a real odd couple situation, if they were gun wielding high school students for the government. LycoReco is an action thrill ride with hints of intrigue along the way that make you want to see what happens next week.

There's lots of fun little moments and character interactions, and one major secondary character who has a past you would not expect. And it's treated with way more care than you'd expect any popular media to really. It's a good show and just furthers the Yuri Aquarium Agenda. It's everywhere man, open your eyes!

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

This is a game I haven't played and don't intend to play. That being said, I will always check out a Trigger show and this one was no exception. Edgerunners is a cool little show with a lot of action going on and it has that super stylized look that all Trigger shows have. There's a lot of fun characters and thankfully there is the ever present force of the Trigger Gremlin character, this time in the form of Rebecca.

The story isn't going out to break the mold, but the world and characters are cool as shit. I love the look of it and would gladly recommend it to others who want to see some crazy action scenes. It's not everyone's tastes and I do wish parts of it went different but I had a fun enough time to recommend it in the end so that as you will.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury

I haven't watched a Gundam in a while and I don't really have a good reason why not. Maybe I'm lazy, maybe I'm a nerd who likes female protagonists more than male ones. Who knows! What I do know though is that I'm having fun watching Witch from Mercury and a large part of that is I just really like Suletta's design and character. This is honestly just a good year for characters who are bad at social interaction, though Suletta's feels different in comparison to say a Komi or (spoilers) a Kobeni.

The mystery of the Witches and the Gundam program slowly unraveling is keeping me going week to week and I look forward to the second part in the spring. Well, that and the Utena vibes being given off with the duels and bride system at the school. It's an interesting set up and I'm glad I started watchin. It also gave us more gremlins in the form of Chuchu who continues the proud Gundam tradition of just decking people in the face.

I hope their business does well!

Do It Yourself!!

Do you like videos about crafts? Do you like anime about girls doing random things and learning new skills? Then I have the show for you! Yua is learning how much she enjoys making things with her new club, even if she's very clumsy and injury prone. It's okay though cuz Pudding is there to look after her.

The show is a nice and comfy little thing with a bunch of very on the nose puns for names and honestly I don't think that's a bad thing. Jobko's actor has a very fun performance, even if her main joke is "foreign girl speaking Japanese." But you know what? It's an easy joke and I don't mind it.

Also I like the character designs in general, the colors are soft and cozy and really fit the characters well. Call me a sucker, but I'm always for cute friendships and DIY has it in spades.

Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Maaaaan Chainsaw Maaaaan! Chainsaw Man is good and cool! It's a super fun manga and I think the anime did a pretty dang good adaption of it. The cast is fun and I think they cast them all really well. The action is good and even the bits of CG that look a bit wonky are on background characters so I don't really see that much of an issue.

Honestly, I don't know what all to say like...it made me wanna reread the manga again because it's just filled me with good memories of the first time I did so. Seriously, just go watch this and also read it. It's gritty and grungy and that's fucking cool.

Pictured:  Intelligence

Mob Psycho 100

It's good to see Mob on this list again and that it hasn't had some change of animation studios affecting it like One Punch Man's second season.  The effects are as bombastic as always and the battle are always on point with the visuals being some of the best I've seen this year which is kind of par the course for Mob, but it's still great to watch.

Of course, the main draw of Mob isn't the battles but it's seeing how Mob himself has grown over the course of the series. This season, our dear Shigeo is getting a little cocky even, thinking he's finally hit his popular time with girls. Follow Mob as he tries to come out on top and finally ask Tsubomi-chan out! Can he do it? The answer might surprise you! Or it might not if you've read the manga before.

Seriously though, it was great seeing Mob again and I still love how committed he is to those he cares about. It just goes to show that not every conflict needs to be solved with a fight, but with a heart to heart and I dunno, I just think that's a great lesson. Mob's greatest strength is his humanity and I think we can all agree, that's why we love him.

Bocchi the Rock

Rounding out the year for social anxiety, we have Bocchi the Rock. A show about an awkward girl who failed at forming a band in middle school and at social interactions throughout her life. A girl who is terrible at existing and would prefer to just keep herself walled up in her closet making youtube guitar videos for the masses. Bocchi is relatable sometimes in ways I feel like we all experience sometimes.

Bocchi finally gets her chance though, meeting up with Nijika and Ryo who are trying to find a guitarist for their band after the original one flaked. What follows is a blossoming friendship and the beginning to the Keissoku Band, ready to entertain the masses...if Bocchi can get the courage to play outside of a cardboard box and or trash can.

The show is seriously fun and another case of good expressions. I only got a few of Bocchi's here but she has so many I don't even know where to begin to be honest. Seeing her try to get the confidence along with her friends, while simultaneously melting down at anything even remotely social, is again something I think all of us can relate to sometimes. I'm happy for getting to know Bocchi and I kind of hope to see more down the road. If not, I appreciate what we got though.

Pop Team Epic

It's fucking back and it's just as fun as ever. More goofy bits, more random voice actor pairings and a fun new gimmick of them just chatting together at the end of each episode is just...it's great, I love it. Pop Team is still so good.

The parodies, the comedy, it's all still there and it's just what you want. The return of the Aoi Shota cinematic universe..just I can't praise it enough. You should go watch it, it's great. Here's a little spoiler of things to come if you do...

POP TEAM EPIC

So that's my anime list for the year. Like I said, it's a bunch of random things in mostly the order I watched them in throughout the year. Here's a couple more random things to tide you over!

Anime Movies I Enjoyed!

Pompo the Cinephile - Fun movie with real good animation Revue Starlight The Movie - Great music as always and some crazy scenes, so nice I saw it twice Dragonball Superhero - The Piccolo movie we always wanted, so nice I saw it twice pt 2 One Piece: Red - Good music, pretty fun movie over all Yuru Camp: The Movie - So good to see these girls again and just as comfy as ever. Made me wish my job felt as fulfilling as they did in the movie though

Show I Enjoyed but Can't Form a lot of words about! Gunbuster - It rules! Go watch it! It's rad!

Show With Oops Political Timing! Teppen - !!! - Doofy comedy show with a fun opening which had to hold back an ep due to the assassination of Shinzo Abe. Oops on unforeseeable events!

I can't think of much else so...I hope you had a good time reading and have a good 2023. Let's all be safe and not suck ok?

[gloop898]

2023 Media Thread - Master Post

Anime / TV

X - Witch From Mercury Season One

X - Akiba Maid War

X - Bocchi the Rock!

X - Chainsaw Man

X - The Legend of Vox Machina Season One & Two

X - Symphogear

X - Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

X - Yuru Camp

X - Symphogear G

X - Kill la Kill

X - Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister!

X - The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

X - The Muppets Mayhem

X - the muppets. (2015 tv series)

X - Yuri is My Job!

X - Witch From Mercury Season Two

X - Loki

X - Adventure Time

X - Adventure Time: Distant Lands

X - Fionna and Cake Season One

Games

X - Lonely Mountains Downhill

X - Splatoon 3

X - Hi-Fi Rush

X - Tunic

X - Prey (2017)

X - The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

X - Cruelty Squad

X - Kirby’s Dream Land

X - VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

X - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

X - Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

X - Carrion

X - Metroid Prime Remastered

X - Star Wars: Episode 1 - Racer

X - Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk...

X - Pikmin 4

X - Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

X - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

X - Lethal Company

Movies

X - Puss In Boots The Last Wish

X - The Shape of Water

X - Nope

X - The Super Mario Bros. Movie

X - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

X - Get Out

X - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

X - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

X - Sunshine (2007)

X - The Grand Budapest Hotel

X - American Psycho

X - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 + Vol 3

X - Godzilla Minus One

X - Jingle All the Way

Yuri Manga

X - Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister! Ch1-Ch70

X - Eyeshield 21

X - New Game!

X - Futari Escape

X - Slow Start

X - Don’t Become An Otaku, Shinozaki!

X - 2DK, G-pen, Alarm Clock

X - Ohana Holoholo

X - Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon

X - Kami Eshi JK to OL Fujoshi

X - I want to be a cute anime girl Ch1-Ch314

X - Ouji-sama Nante Iranai

X - Sougou Tovarisch

X - Mimi Mix

X - Poor Poor Lips

X - Tonari no Robot

X - Opapagoto

X - A Timid Woman Longing For Her Delivery Girl

X - Let’s Love Girlfriends and Secrets

X - Hana and Hina After School

X - Adachi to Shimamura (2016 Manga)

X - Blue Friend

X - Skip and Loafer Ch1-Ch53

X - YuruYuri Ch1-Ch198

X - Yoru to Umi

X - An Easy Introduction to Love Triangles (To Pass the Exam!)

X - The Witch’s Marriage

X - Hino-san no Baka

X - There’s Weird Voices Coming from the Room Next Door!

X - What Does the Fox Say?

X - Shoujo Manga Protagonist X Rival-San

X - The Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing

X - I Won 300 Million Yen, so I Started Raising a Freeloader Pretty Girl

X - About a College Girl Who Gets Picked Up at a Mixer by an Older Girl

X - Gabriel DropOut Ch1-Ch97

X - Vampeerz

X - Oshi V ga Oshiego de Watashi ga Mama de!?

X - Uta-kata, and Minus Literacy

X - Yume Miru Prima Girl!

X - Yuunagi Marbled, and Ami-chan’s Diary

X - I Wanna Quit Being a Hitman!

X - Love/Death, and Nicochuu

X - Goblin Is Very Strong

X - Soulmate

X - Sakura Trick

X - Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru

X - I Love Amy

X - Senpai, Does It Taste Good?

X - Ms. Vampire Who Lives In my Neighborhood

X - Sekai de Ichiban Oppai ga Suki!

X - Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-senpai ni Koishiteru

X - The Model & The Plain Manager

X - Haru Tsuzuru, Sakura Saku Kono Heya de

X - Catulus Syndrome

X - The Nuisance Daily Life of Robot-dependent Girl

X - KiLa KiLa, Steps, and Game;

X - Omoino-Kakera, Itoshi Koishi, and An Absurd Relationship

X - Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~

X - Netsuzou Trap - NTR

X - All of Humanity Is Yuri Except for Me

X - Our Teachers are Dating!

X - An Aside Told to You

X - Mononoke Sharing

X - Chasing After Aoi Koshiba

X - Yurigurashi

X - Inside Mari

X - Sexual Education 120%

X - Hana to Hoshi

X - Todo no Tsumari no Uchouten & Ame Demo Hare Demo

X - Holy Girl Paradigm

X - Sorairo Girlfriend

X - Iono the Fanatics

X - The Girls' Arcadia

X - Stella☆Record

X - Bad Thinking Diary

X - Ibara no Namida

X - Fragtime

X - Ghosts of Greywoods

X - Sadistic Beauty: Side Story A

X - Oddman 11

X - Atashi no Senpai

X - Blooming Sequence

X - Girl in the Birdcage

X - The Ends of a Dream

X - Rock it, GiRL!!

X - Kitanai Kimi ga Ichiban Kawaii

X - Shino to Ren

X - Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels

X - Yuri is My Job

Other Manga

X - Chainsaw Man Ch1-Ch97

X - Musuko ga Kawaikute Shikataganai Mazoku no Hahaoya

X - Kimi to Pico-Pico

X - Welcome Back, Alice

X - Dungeon Meshi

X - Himegoto - Juukyuusai no Seifuku

X - So I'm a Spider, So What? Ch1 - Ch66.1

X - Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai! Ch1 - Ch85

X - My childhood friend MUST become a girl!

Other

X - Infect Your Friends And Loved Ones

X - I'm Glad My Mom Died

[alltheoutsinfreeeee]

I’m feeling emotions over Chris’ character development again

SZ: If I gouge out my wounds, would it be possible for me to forget?

G: I’ve found a place that I want to protect so I won’t run away anymore!

GX: Can even someone who gouged out her own wounds and pretended to not have been crying become good at supporting and laughing with others?

AXZ: I know the world is unfair. I mean, the other side has their reasons too, right? But still, if they’re drawing their weapons then I won’t go easy!

XV: I’ve come far enough to be able to lead the ones who once guided me.

[xswordeyesx]

Symphogear Live 2016 Part 1!!!

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

said I’d talk about that anime of the decade list I never really made so

Apparently I wrote this on the 3rd of January 2020. Would’ve just gone down MAL seasonal charts and noted down what seemed good. I don’t think I actually decided on a proper format at any point? Iirc I had 3 ideas going on:

literally just list my favourite anime from each year in order of year

favourite anime from each year but in order of favourites instead

any 10 from the entire 2010s and just rank them without needing to have one for every year necessarily

Realistically the first option’s the safest and easiest so I imagine if I did actually get around to doing this ever that’s what I’d have gone with, but uhh, I just never did lol.

Anyway talked about format enough so I suppose let’s just run down what my choices at the time were.

-

2010

Honestly no complaints about having K-On s2 as my anime of the year for 2010. I think I’ve only completed like 2 or 3 TV anime from 2010 anyway, but even ignoring that K-On s2 is my second favourite anime ever so no reason it wouldn’t win this lol.

2011

I didn’t need to run down seasonal charts to have already decided that my favourite piece of literature - Madoka Magica - was my favourite anime of 2011. If I did the “favourite per year in order of favourites” it’d very obviously be number 1 and all that.

2012

So like, I do like JoJo obviously, and it’s not necessarily something I couldn’t see being my favourite show in any given year, though I do think it being the only contender is just indication that I’ve not exactly seen too many shows from 2012. Just going through MAL charts again and it seems like a good chunk of the 2012 shows I’ve seen are things I only got around to within the last year or so. And on that note I now get to say my favourite 2012 anime is the first season of Symphogear pog - even with people regarding it as the weakest season all around there’s still a lot I love about it so.

2013

Peeping MAL seasonal charts again and Love Live SIP s1 was beyond a fair choice for me to have put on that list at the time. And while I think SIP s2 surpasses it by quite a lot, I do still think s1 is real fucking great and I’d be more than happy to call it my AOTY 2013. Except uh, Non Non Biyori s1 aired in 2013 as well. I simply rated that higher. Non Non Biyori AOTY 2013.

2014

So I guess this is our first year where I was really conflicted, which ngl feels odd in retrospect. No Game No Life is pretty great but it’s not gonna be my anime of the year; Stardust Crusaders s1 is kind of a fucking drag lol; actually super content having Gochiusa here since I do fucking adore that series; but it really fucks with me that even for a second I didn’t instantly think of SIP s2 as being  AOTY here. Because it’s hella a 10/10 lol and literally one of my favourites ever now. Easily. Still holds as AOTY.

2015

This is another instance of me being right the first time with Hibike - my 3rd favourite anime lol. This year did have more great seasons for Symphogear, Gochiusa, and Non Non Biyori, but Hibike > all of those.

2016

Flip Flappers is about as “duh” a pick as I’d ever go with, I have nothing else to add other than its closest competition being Hibike season 2.

2017

Yeah so here comes the really difficult year that I just couldn’t settle on a favourite show for. Maid Dragon, Made in Abyss, Princess Principal, and Girls’ Last Tour are all fucking fantastic shows and I adore every single one of them. Plus at this point in time I get to say Symphogear AXZ and Houseki no Kuni are the running as well. What an unreasonably good year this was for anime lol. Though I guess the choice most accurate to my MAL favourites, and what I’d probably go for gun to my head anyway - is Girls’ Last Tour. Show just too exceptionally good among a year loaded up on exceptionally great shows.

2018

Actually surprised I so confidently put down just Yorimoi here as though it’s not constantly competing with Yuru Camp in my mind. Quite a few other great shows in 2018 but none really touch either of those two. Do think I’d probably pick Yorimoi over Yuru Camp season 1 so happy with this tbh.

2019

Mob Psycho s2 is a hell of an outlier to my usual taste, particularly given what the hypothetical revised list looks like at this point. But like, even to this day, even with Symphogear’s final and greatest season airing in the same year, do think I gotta give the edge to mob lol. Just too great a show.

-

So anyway since I guess I just concluded my top 10 anime of the 2010′s let’s run down the revised list.

2010: K-On!!

2011: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

2012: Senki Zesshou Symphogear

2013: Non Non Biyori

2014: Love Live! School Idol Project Season 2

2015: Hibike! Euphonium

2016: Flip Flappers

2017: Girls’ Last Tour

2018: A Place Further Than The Universe

2019: Mob Psycho 100 II

And yeah I’m happy with this lol.

[kuuderekun]

I think more Sailor Moon fans need to check out other Magical Girl Warrior Anime

Back during the era of Nolan's Batman movies it was in certain places online like IMDB message boards very popular to express the opinion that Robin's existence is inherently bad for Batman.  That Batman should be a loner and throwing in this kid sidekick only dumbs the stories down. I was always agaisnt that mentality, and today most major voices in the internet Western Comic Book Nerd community reject that as really narrow minded and know that your really not much of a Batman fan at all if you completely reject such a large portion of what the Batman mythos are. As someone who remembers all of that while currently being a Millennial Otaku in an era where our current Nostalgia cycle has brought a number of old 90s Anime back into public conciseness.  I feel like the Anime equivalent of that is the prevalence of Sailor Moon fans who wish Tuxedo Mask didn't exist, that position is nearly unanimous among the guests on the Sailor Business podcast. I actually have more sympathy for this position even though it's less supportable (Tuxedo Mask was there from issue one unlike Robin) because my own preferences for female lead Anime and Superhero stories are often similar, I'm a Yuri Fanatic who likes watching Anime where it's possible to pretend men don't even exist in that fictional world.  But when it comes to Sailor Moon my position is Mamoru/Darrien is just as essential as  Lois Lane is to Superman, or Mary Jane to Spiderman, or Iris West to Barry Allen, or Sif to Thor. Now talking about Tuxedo Mask is complicated by how the 90s Anime handled him very differently.  This may shock some people to learn, but there are Sailor Moon Manga purists who hate everything about the 90s Anime.  He's not in High School not Collage in the Manga (and in the Japan the age difference between middle school and high school is smaller then it is here, they are in fact only 2-3 years apart) Mamoru isn't constantly a jerk to her early on, Usagi isn't nearly as childish and Tuxedo Mask actually contributes more. That element also fits the Robin comparison, the rejection of Robin was partly from how for a long time the mainstream public perception of Robin was Burt Ward and Chris O'Donnell.  And indeed I think the best western Comic Book analogy for those Manga purists who hate the Anime are people who still hate the Adam West and Shumacker takes on Batman.  Those of us who have read Robin(s) as written by for example Chuck Dixon or Marv Wolfman know the concept can be taken seriously. However some people don't like Mamoru even in the Manga, or heck some even find him worse in the Manga.  These people simply hate the idea of tuning in to a show about a Superheroine (or "Female Superhero" as the CW's Supergirl pilot kept insisting on saying) where she is also constantly being rescued.  Now most of those "rescues" range from cheer-leading her to adding a little minor assist like female love interests of male superhero get to contribute all the time, and the final climax of the original story-line is her saving him.  But these fans want male love interests to contribute 0% to their Superheroine stories. Thing is that apparent contradiction is not a bug but a feature, it is kind of the entire premise of Sailor Moon.  Film Flux did a video on the Sailor Moon Manga that helped me to clarify this.  Superhero stories are at their core wish fulfillment fantasies, and like it or not many young girls fantasize both about being a Superhero and being a Damsel rescued by a handsome prince (and some young boys have the same fantasies).  While most Mangaka might have written two completely separate stories to express those fantasies Naoko Takeuchi said Frak It and did both simultaneously, she wrote a story where an average Japanese school girl gets to be both Snow White and Wonder Woman at the same time.  The premise of Sailor Moon is foundationally about having your cake and eating it too. Now you don't have to also be into that, my point is that this Prince Charming isn't something that's part of the story because of executive meddling.  (If anything it's having other Girls helping her that was, Takeuchi's original vision was a solo Super-heroine, it was Toei that wanted a team so they could sell more toys.) And so if you fundamentally don't like that, you kind of don't like the premise of Sailor Moon. The reason why in America Sailor Moon is popular with many people who actually share only half of Takeuchi's fantasy is because on mid 90s television she was the only Superheroine we had to choose from at all. Thing is it's now possible for Americans to watch almost any Anime they want to, and the sub-genre Sailor Moon spawned has evolved to provide plenty of shows that can better provide what these Sailor Moon fans actually want.  I think there are plenty of people who might actually like the rest of the genre more but have still only seen Sailor Moon because they've never searched for Anime beyond what airs on Toonami, or because they're assuming them to be Sailor Moon knock offs with no actual creativity.  But the truth is even the ones most similar to Sailor Moon are still just as distinct as Green Arrow is from Batman. All or at least most Pretty Cure shows have no Tuxedo Mask analogue, a few have Het love interests who are civilians, like Peter Parker crushing on Liz Allan or Mary Jane in the Raimi films, but most don't even have that.  Madoka Magica and Yuki Yuna Is A Hero and Symphogear provide no Het romance for the main character at all.  Pretty Sammy and Nanoha also work, and Prisma Illya is....... not a good one to start with. Corrector Yui doesn't seem to have a Tuxedo Mask figure from what I've seen so far, on Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne there is one kinda but he's a rival thief.  On Saint Tail the love interest is the guy trying to catch her, so it's like Batman and Catwoman but if Catwoman was stealing things because God wanted her to do it???? I'm still not sure what show's premise actually is.  In Galaxy Fraulein Yuna there is a Tuxedo Mask but she's a woman, so those of you who enjoy having your sexuality confused by Takerazuka style Mamoru in the new Musicals might enjoy that. Even Wedding Peach is distinct on this issue since the person who could be called the Tuxedo Mask of the show is not the title character's love interest. So I'm hoping once these Sailor Moon fans can get their no Tuxedo Mask Magical Girl fix elsewhere they can be open to appreciating Mamoru once they seem him portrayed correctly on Crystal( just make sure you're watching the BluRay rips) or even the Live Action show PGSM.  I also still recommend that Sailor Moon Fan Film from 2016.

https://jaredmithrandirolorin.blogspot.com/2020/08/i-think-more-sailor-moon-fans-need-to.html

[vanilla-blessing]

Why you should check out summer 2019 anime despite my previous blog post

I was mostly wrong about this season here’s qb’s revised

Hype rankings for Summer 2019

Cop Craft (Funimation)

COP CRAFT DRAGNET MIRAGE RELOADED is the biggest surprise of the season for me. Coming from Millepensee, the studio and director team known for such Art as Teekyuu seasons 4-9 and Berserk 2016, this extremely sincere and wildly stupid Americanized take on anime fantasy adventure colliding with a hard-boiled cop drama is surprisingly highly enjoyable to watch for both intended and unintended reasons. 

The intended appeal of COP CRAFT DRAGNET MIRAGE RELOADED hinges on a well-realized mashup of genres from a long running novel series, the buddy-cop teamup of an anime girl with a magical sword and a gruff but kind-hearted cop, and the dramatic thrill of one of the weirder spinoffs of law&order. The show promises an interesting setting where a magical portal ring to the fairy forest where anime-chans are real has naturally slotted into the organized crime of a New Yorkish city, resulting in a fresh take on well-trodden ground, and it actually kind of succeeds at this. In practice, watching loose cannon cops shoot guns at wizards while busting a drug ring who sling fairy dust is maybe the dumbest thing I’ve seen in years, but the story is so overly detailed, thought out, and delivered without an ounce of irony, unlike the recent terrible movie from Netflix that also attempted to do this premise almost word for word, that it wraps around to legitimately compelling. It also helps that this anime adaptation is being scripted by the novel’s author.

The unintended benefit of watching COP CRAFT DRAGNET MIRAGE RELOADED is partly how completely absurd the words they are saying appear in English, producing some of the funniest out of context screenshots imaginable, the animation in execution ratchets between cool, frenetic action that contains distinct shades of a certain tennis club, and the hysterically awful cg that you’ve come to expect and love from the only team capable of producing Berserk 2016. When it’s good, it’s good, and when it’s bad, it’s incredible. 

In short, COP CRAFT DRAGNET MIRAGE RELOADED is a two-for-one deal of the best of both bad and good anime. It’s also getting an English dub by Funimation and I can’t even imagine how good literally any line read from that will be.

The Demon Girl Next Door (Hidive, VRV) 

Despite my earlier protests, this is actually totally fine, good even. It avoids the fanservice problem I predicted completely and instead sets a relaxed comedic tone that quietly highlights small gags in a way that feels natural, which sounds impossible but they found the only director who could pull it off (Hiroaki Sakurai, known for some quite good comedies like Cromartie High School and Majokko Tsukune-chan). The content is actually pretty funny when delivered in a non-hyperactive way, since a story about a girl who is bullied into making friends after her family circumstances tell her to murderize a magical girl, told naturally, hits that level of low surrealism that works. Her friends also take this in stride, encouraging her to use this as an opportunity to go out more, open up socially, and suffer for their amusement. The magical girl in question, after heroically saving Yuko from being run over by a truck, also encourages her to defeat her and drain all of her blood, because Shadow Mistress Yuko is so much of a non-threat that Momo takes advantage of their impending ultimate confrontation to trick her into being her gym buddy. It takes place in a post-season magical girl anime landscape where the world has already been saved, normal people are used to weird episodic junk, and hitting demon puberty just another thing your friends will tease you over. 

It still probably shouldn’t be full episode length, but it actually does something with that length, and is definitely the least painful iteration of this kind of slower, long-form comedy that you don’t usually see in anime because it’s usually a terrible idea. Predicting this would end up like other entries in the incredibly cursed magical girl parody genre was a safe bet, but this anime is the rare exception and it’s actually worth checking out. 

Given (Crunchyroll, VRV) is on the noitamina block and it’s about boys in a rock band who might become more than friends. You’ve probably tuned out at this point and you’d be right because you know exactly the tone and style of this from that description but it’s executed well and written well and directed okay, so if you’d like this sort of thing try it out. There’s an interesting range of ages (the band has members in high school, college, and graduate school), a fun sense of humor, and the music is a standout in a season that has Carole and Tuesday in it, so that’s something.  

I forgot to mention Fruits Basket (Crunchyroll, VRV, Funimation) in my last post because i didn’t know it was continuing. It’s hitting its “stride” in being massively depressing so check that out still. It’s tragic and great. 

Granbelm (Crunchyroll, VRV) is a magical girl show I watched on a whim and turns out it’s actually a magical mecha battle royale. The color scheme is overly bright and the mechs look squashed, but it has girls snarling and yelling their heads off summoning beam swords so it’s different from what I expected. It’s got a G-Gundam energy with the multiregional cast and how the mecha fights are playing out, so if you’re fans of that, and magical girl, this is both at once. The second episode introduced a unique motivation for the main character, that piloting the mech helped her get over crushing nihilism, and I want to see where that goes, if at all. Combining the sometimes bleak and fun-sucking writing of overly dark and philosophical magical girl with what I can only describe as Domon Kasshu energy is a choice and I would like to see where Granbelm is going with that.

Misc variable hype list

O Maidens in Your Savage Season (Hidive) 

This looks gorgeous and it may be the most Mari Okada thing ever written, move over Dragon Pilot, but the manga has some uncomfortable elements that would translate poorly to anime, in terms of keeping me watching it.

Crunchyroll actually did pick up Symphogear AXZ and XV, against my pessimistic attitude. 

Ensemble Stars (Funimation) is okay.

Fire Force’s animation is fire af but the girl who lives in her own hellish fanservice series is about to be introduced and this part of the series is kind of slow so it would take a lot of effort to elevate the material until it gets to the “good stuff”. David production seems willing to give it their best shot though, so we’ll see.

Vinland Saga started slow, quiet, chronological and ultimately strong, but it took multiple episodes to get there, which is why they aired 3 episodes in the first week. I think I still prefer the high octane opening chapter of the manga, but they’ll get there soon enough so it’ll be a non-issue in a few months anyway. I recommended this before and I still do. WIT studio is clearly playing for the longer game, setting themes that encompass the whole series first rather than the fleeting themes of watch the bad ass viking slice the mans, but it is currently missing the energy people associated with that opening volume or two. It will probably pay off though.

[cantusecho]

(Okay, trying to gather all my thoughts together into one post. I remember doing this years ago but looking back at it, I feel like I can do better. Not as if it was terrible, but I feel like I need to revisit it because again, it involves Hibiki’s character even still. 

So! Here I go again, haha. Might be kind of long since it includes a recap and my thoughts/headcanons in general.

Starting off, here’s a warning: These are just my feelings/thoughts on the whole thing and also a warning for abuse mention.

Okay, so a recap first---

Hibiki has always just been an ordinary child. It was really the concert where her life ended up taking a turn for the worst. So of course, everyone knows about the whole thing of that; Hibiki ends up being injured and nearly dies thanks to the shards that shot off Kanade’s Gear. So from there, Hibiki’s life begins to spiral. 

After her surgery, she endured rehab. Throughout this, she made sure to push herself through it all, mainly for the sake of her family so they wouldn’t have to worry about her. And like it says in the keywords, her father was actually super thrilled about her being alive.

I think Akira loves Hibiki; that’s his daughter so he loves her. Hibiki remembers him fondly for being a great dad and it was only recently after the accident that he actually began to change. The thing with this is that after the concert, as stated prior, he was thrilled Hibiki was one of the survivors. However, because the company he works for found this out (the boss actually lost his own child in the tragedy), Akira lost his job and was basically humiliated, all because his daughter survived but his boss didn’t.

Surely he had no other way to cope with such a loss (not being able to provide for his family etc.) so he ended up turning to drinking. While this was happening, Hibiki was receiving harassment from her fellow students in school. This sort of information can vary but in my head, I’d imagine it goes beyond just making marks on her desk and calling her names. It can very well end up leading to physical violence (things like pushing/shoving/throwing rocks etc.) So not only was she tormented emotionally, she was tormented physically.

I don’t think the adults were particularly useful either. If there was, they couldn’t do much since I’d imagine that sort of stuff would get out of control. I truthfully could see them turning a blind eye to it but again, this is more of a personal thing I can imagine and not anything officially stated. Regardless, it wasn’t easy for her whenever she went to school.

On the other hand, whenever she would make her way home, she’d be faced with the turmoil there. Ever since Akira turned to alcohol, he had become increasingly violent. The keywords officially state that he became violent to those in the household, which would be Hibiki, her mother and grandmother. They don’t specifically state what it was that he did, but saying that he became violent to them specifically hints to a lot of things. He very well could have put his hands on them or if not, then it could be something like throwing things at them in their general direction, etc. This is a serious topic that I would never want to take lightly or mess up, so I’m sure everyone knows that this can be taken numerous different ways.

There’s no specified amount of time of how long this lasted, but he eventually left the household and never came back. Personally (in my opinion), all of this made Hibiki push him further in the back of her mind. For her to straight up say she doesn’t have a dad in GX just spoke volumes to me. And she repeats it numerous times within the season too, even saying to his face that he “wasn’t her dad anymore”. Hibiki has a habit of ignoring her issues, ESPECIALLY in the beginning of the series.

Of course the hurt she faced was actually really painful so in a way, a person can see it as her having a coping mechanism of merely ignoring them to make it seem like they’d go away or be solved on their own without her involvement. Her father is actually like that as well (though they clearly handled it in two different ways and it doesn’t excuse his actions but I’ll get to that later). Aoi (Hibiki’s VA) has actually stated this in the Symphogear LIVE 2016. She says that Hibiki was a lot like her father in terms of running away from responsibility but she’s had the time to learn and grow to become better while her father didn’t. (he of course learns in GX when he meets back up with Hibiki again).

Due to Hibiki learning over the years/seasons, I believe that she sees he’s actually trying to change and become better and so she takes that first step with him to attempt that change. But again, this doesn’t mean that everything is all fine and dandy super quickly. I truly don’t believe that Akira would go and live with them right after this; it would take some time for them to work things out before he can be trusted back in the same house with them. For all they know, he could fall right back into the same habits but again, that doesn’t mean they still can’t help him. I’d say this is what Hibiki is dealing with behind the scenes and such. The show may not do this, and may say that everything is fine now, but in my brain that’s not how it works so if roleplays, I’m treating it as an issue that still needs resolving and a lot of work.

Because...as much as she said she didn’t have a father, I don’t believe Hibiki hates him at all. Did she feel betrayed and highly upset due to his behavior? Yes, I’m certain and she deserves to feel that way after everything that happened to her in the past. I think she’s stuck; like she loves her dad and would love for him to come back but after everything he’s done, she felt betrayed and didn’t want to see him anymore so she “erased” him from her life. It’s a very complicated feeling I’m sure, at least that’s how I write her. You don’t want to hate them because they weren’t 100% a bad person, but you can’t forgive them so easily after what they did because it just felt like HE didn’t love her as much as she thought he did. But because she’s done some growing of her own, she knows about second chances. This whole entire thing with her father was one issue that she could never get resolved unless he came back because she found her family to be broken the entire time. 

Hibiki, who’s normally known to be optimistic and see the bright side of things, believed her family was so broken that it would never be fixed. That it would never be the same ever again. And technically, their family won’t be the same but she has a bit more hope now.

Hibiki’s reactions in GX, in my opinion, were great to showcase her bouncing emotions due to all of this. Her newfound responsibility for having an actual complete Gungnir made her scared/nervous to a point that it sounded like she got jealous of Maria using it again in episode 4 (I think this can stem from her past as well possibly; as a girl who’s been constantly told that she didn’t matter or haven’t had anything noteworthy to contribute compared to people who died or people around her, she could have felt the pressure of attempting to fill Maria’s shoes or just in general of being the only Gear user available at the time. This can also fit into how she gets into trying to help people in the first place which originally could have been her just trying to find her place in the world until it ends up becoming more of a thing she loves to do and not out of guilt or anything like that. Or I’m looking too deep into this lol). And then right after that, she came face to face with her dad in episode 7 and immediately she runs away (understandably so). I can’t imagine all the emotions she was going through in the span of those few seconds after seeing him again.

But then the next episode, episode 8, she tells Miku that she was grateful that her friend was making her face it rather than run away (and ironically that episode is named something similar to that). But of course, that meet up with him didn’t go so well and Hibiki ended up getting mad once again. Now an issue I’ve had shows up in this episode because they made it seem like Akira didn’t care whatsoever about how Hibiki was feeling. The girl was literally shaking the entire time (not to mention her expression in almost a constant scowl) and got up from the table to leave. And yet, despite asking what’s wrong or why she’s leaving, he just gives her the check to pay for the food.

The check really isn’t what bothers me, it’s just his whole demeanor of that scene. Even after she snatches it out of his hand and runs out, he just looks baffled as to why she acted like that and went back to eating. Now, he very well could have had some sort of epiphany after all that because he began to constantly call Hibiki but she ignored him the entire time.

I can understand why Hibiki would feel afraid of reaching back out to him. As she states in episode 9, she’s afraid of it not working out but it didn’t mean she wasn’t hoping for a good outcome. She took what Miku said to heart and decided to brave another encounter with her father. And from there, in episode 11, he seemed to actually showcase how he was trying to change, trying to be a better man (but once again, even in that very episode, Hibiki said that he wasn’t her dad anymore). 

Now in this episode, we find out where she got her catchphrase (”It’s okay, everything’s fine!”; various different translations but basically all the same) and see Akira stand up for Hibiki instead of running away, which Hibiki believed he was going to do again. Now I kinda get this action, yet not at the same time.

I say not because it felt so rushed, like his character immediately changed out of nowhere. But at the same time, Hibiki has had since episode 7 for all this to fester and be worked on in the background (her being angry and not agreeing to talk to her dad for multiple episodes and he could very well have gone through something himself in the midst of it. Perhaps I should say the presentation of it wasn’t to my liking but what can you do about that? Haha). So I was glad that those feelings had a chance to fester and for Hibiki to personally deal with these emotions that we don’t see from her very often.

But at the end of the day, I really do hope for them to have a happy conclusion, I just don’t believe that it will be that easy/simple. It will take time for them to get on the same page again and that’s something I try my best to implement in writing, if it ever comes to such a topic like that anyway.

In terms of the abuse though, there’s literally no way that I excuse that. No matter what type it is (physically and/or emotional) it has taken a toll on Hibiki in certain ways, I’m sure. I attempt to leave slight hints here and there about what it may have done even if she may not realize it but I’m also attempting to be SUPER careful with it.

Again, for people who don’t know, I write Hibiki having issues with alcohol, mainly because her father used it as a way to cope. She doesn’t drink it herself and normally feels uneasy being around it or people drinking it around her. Hibiki is smart enough to know that not everyone handles alcohol the same way and not everyone becomes violent because of it. But it doesn’t erase her unease.

It’s simply a very easy reminder of those times her father was violent because he was mainly drunk (which is the main reason, once again, why I don’t think they’d be living in the same house. I refuse to believe that, I’m sorry. Lol. That man will just have to live in a damn apartment somewhere else and they make contact like that or something I don’t know).

There’s a lot more other things that can reflect in her actions today due to what she went through back then but I’m also very bad at explaining that and hopefully it kind of just shows through my writing/portrayal. Things like this is what makes me nervous about writing Hibiki because I don’t want to write her as simply being optimistic; I want to write and explore the struggles she has with her emotions/thoughts; those darker parts of her that she keeps hidden. But when I say it like that, it makes it sound like I’d be making her angsty but that’s not my intention at all. 

My intention is to write her realistically as best as I can. Hibiki means a lot to me, so I don’t want to mess this up. This is also why it means a lot to me that people enjoy my portrayal of her. There’s a lot more to her than being goofy; she’s awkward, she gets sad, she thinks a lot about things when it really boils down to it (especially now) and I want to convey that in my writing.

This whole thing is really a mess still and I’m not sure if anything I said makes any sense. If not, I’m sorry. I wanted to try and get things straight in my head again after seeing how people react whenever GX is brought up, especially when it comes to her dad. And with the official Symphogear twitter having a rewatch of all the seasons, it’s bound to come back up. (They’re currently on G so not on GX just yet).

But yeah, sorry. I probably make no sense. The bottom line is; I totally get the issues of GX when it comes to this topic. It’s not easy, it’s VERY tricky and controversial territory because it deals with something very serious, which is abuse. But looking on the other side, the man did at least attempt to be better in the end, even if I don’t like how it was handled. My main goal is for Hibiki to be happy.

Once again, I repeat; this isn’t me saying his actions are excused.  I keep thinking people will believe, with me not hating GX or Akira with every fiber of my being like everyone else, means that I excuse his actions.

I don’t, nor do I encourage them. If he falls right back into that lifestyle and puts his hands on them, then that’s it. He’s done. Technically, he should have been done right after putting his hands on them in the first place but Symphogear wouldn’t do that. It was a hole in Hibiki’s heart so they brought him in so she can finally have that hole repaired...at least somewhat. 

And he’s not living with them (in my mind). That’s the important thing. Lol. But that’s canon stuff; in RP, I’ve done various different things as to where he never actually came back or she found another parental figure to fill that void (someone other than Genjurou because seriously, Genjurou is like the best adoptive dad in this show). So thanks to RP, there’s a lot more room to work with. But I just thought I’d state my opinion for canon things. Might as well say I’m 50/50.

ALRIGHT, I’m done. Again, this probably makes no sense, so I’m sorry. I’ll go now. Lmao.)

[krovski]

After forever I finally went to check Glorious Break’s lyrics and boy was I surprised. I’ve read that it was a singular song that applied to Carol as well, but what I didn’t expect was that it’s the Carol/ Hibiki song of the show.

And it fits preeetty well.

Referencing the English lyrics on the wikia, I’d say Carol and Hibiki’s portions went something like this:

[Carol]

Now, I raise a prayer to the heavens And wish for one last spurt of strength... The resolve to bear this burden is in my chest What is strength? The reason why I can fight...! Loneliness suits me more than warmth While saying that I killed my heart And clung to a fake "power" As tears pile up, the truth is revealed No matter where I go there's only a cruel conclusion -termination- (Desperate) This prayer has been twisted by my defiance In searching for my answer, like I was screaming mad, I... yell into the depths of darkness!

[Hibiki]

No, I raise a prayer to the heavens **I like how the ‘No’ translation was like a direct reply to the ‘yell into the depths of darkness’ decision** And wish for one last spurt of strength Even if I'm not allowed to wish, or these hands reaching out are rejected No matter how many times I'm hurt (Glorious Break) Hold onto that impulse, and shine bright

[Carol]

While donning "justice," I hurt others and accumulated many sins I was violated endlessly by nightmares in a bottomless abyss I trusted, and was betrayed... My memories were drenched in blood Regurgitated yearning made me raise my fangs (Misery) I wonder when it happened? When even my reasons were burnt away There's nothing that can be saved by destruction, so... Please show me How can an earnest song reach anyone **cue the ‘I’ll show you that a cursed song won’t save anyone’ line from Carol in the show** I'll show you how powerless a soul that is shaken by crying is

[Hibiki]

A dignified and piercing courage (Glorious Break) As I am now, just like myself What is "true strength"? What am I wishing for? Pulsing life signs -vitals- awaken For a do-or-die breath...!

I MEAAAAAN, isn’t that something that it sounds as if they’re going back and forth with each other? With all they’ve said how Hibiki and Carol were similar in their predicaments of being discriminated by the people around them, and the thing with their fathers.

Also iirc theme song Exterminate was supposed to be the ‘end’ was it?

Wouldn’t that make Glorious Break the “G” to Exterminate’s “X” to for “GX”; ya’ll probably figured that out but,

You see, what if that means Carol had been or was once begging for someone to show her and help her out from the abyss of darkness she’s fallen into since the beginning of time the show.

The Carol parts in Glorious Break probably fits when tomorrow was written.

And what I find unique, if it really was written to be the Hibiki/ Carol song, is that it combined the pleas from a girl centuries before the 20th century, with the efforts of courage and determination from a girl of the current era. Travel time, my friends.

[cutepresea]

So pretty soon in Japan, Animax is going to rebroadcast every single episode of Symphogear plus the concerts on Sundays, taking a break on the day this year's happens

...I'm gonna do a(nother) rewatch by their schedule even though the concert placement is weird. And no, I will not watch again when it's time for the repeats, that's overkill

It starts with Symphogear Live 2013 on Sunday, November 6 at 7 PM (Japan time).

Then the show itself will be on a Monday through Friday schedule from 8-9 PM with repeat airings from 1-2 AM (though it starts on November 9, a Wednesday, because another show is currently airing in that time slot and ends on Tuesday)

Days on which episode 13 of each season airs will only have that episode and an episode of Lupin III will air afterward instead.

Symphogear Live 2016 will air on Sunday November 13 and Symphogear Live 2018 will air on Sunday November 27. The Sunday in between, November 20, is when Symphogear Live 2022 is going to happen

Unfortunately they're not going to air Zesshoushinai, so if you're doing a rewatch like me and want to watch it too, you'll have to fit it in yourself

A day by day schedule is under the cut for anyone who also wants to follow it:

*All times listed below go by Japan's timezone

November 6 - Symphogear Live 2013 (7:00 PM)

November 9 - Season 1 Episode 1 & 2 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) November 10 - S1 Episode 3 & 4 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) November 11 - S1 Episode 5 & 6 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM)

November 13 - Symphogear Live 2016 (7 PM)

November 14 - S1 Episode 7 & 8 (8-9 PM Repeat 1-2 AM) November 15 - S1 Episode 9 & 10 (8-9 PM Repeat 1-2 AM) November 16 - S1 Episode 11 & 12 (8-9 PM Repeat 1-2 AM) November 17 - S1 Episode 13 (8:00-8:30 PM, Repeat 1:00-1:30 AM) November 18 - G Episode 1 & 2 (8-9 PM Repeat 1-2 AM)

November 21 - G Episode 3 & 4 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) November 22 - G Episode 5 & 6 (8-9 PM Repeat 1-2 AM) November 23 - G Episode 7 & 8 (8-9 PM Repeat 1-2 AM) November 24 - G Episode 9 & 10 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) November 25 - G Episode 11 & 12 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM)

November 27 - Symphogear Live 2018 (7:00 PM)

November 28 - G Episode 13 (8:00-8:30 PM, Repeat 1:00-1:30 AM) November 29 - GX Episode 1 & 2 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) November 30 - GX Episode 3 & 4 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 1 - GX Episode 5 & 6 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 2 - GX Episode 7 & 8 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM)

December 5 - GX Episode 9 & 10 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 6 - GX Episode 11 & 12 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 7 - GX Episode 13 (8:00-8:30 PM, Repeat 1:00-1:30 AM) December 8 - AXZ Episode 1 & 2 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 9 - AXZ Episode 3 & 4 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM)

December 12 - AXZ Episode 5 & 6 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 13 - AXZ Episode 7& 8 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 14 - AXZ Episode 9 & 10 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 15 - AXZ Episode 11 & 12 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 16 - AXZ Episode 13 (8:00-8:30 PM, Repeat 1:00-1:30 AM)

December 19 - XV Episode 1 & 2 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 20 - XV Episode 3 & 4 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 21 - XV Episode 5 & 6 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 22 - XV Episode 7 & 8 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 23 - XV Episode 9 & 10 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM)

December 26 - XV Episode 11 & 12 (8-9 PM, Repeat 1-2 AM) December 27 - XV Episode 13 (8:00-8:30 PM, Repeat 1:00-1:30 AM)

[harmogandivas]

I’m debating if we should watch the symphogear live 2016. It’s mainly their va’s singing

[recentanimenews]

Nana Mizuki's 13th Album "CANNONBALL RUNNING" Set to be Released on December 11

In the final day performance of her "NANA MIZUKI LIVE EXPRESS 2019" tour at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba Prefecture on Sunday, Nana Mizuki announced that her next 13th full album "CANNONBALL RUNNING" is set to be released on December 11, 2019. It has been almost three years since her previous 12th album "NEOGENE CREATION" in December 2016.

  Her new album is confirmed to include:

  "BLUE ROSE" (digital single released on May 14, 2018/Quiz RPG: The World of Mystic Wiz: Mareless series theme song) 

"WHAT YOU WANT" (Monster Strike anime ED theme song)

"NEVER SURRENDER" (38th single/Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Detonation theme song) 

"REBELLION" (digital single released on January 21, 2019/anime online RPG Han-Gyaku-Sei Million Arthur theme song) 

"METANOIA -Aufwachen Form-" (39th single/Senki Zessho Symphogear XV OP theme song) 

"FINAL COMMANDER -Aufwachen Form-" (Senki Zessho Symphogear XV insert song) 

"DAYBREAKERS" (game app Jyusou Senki theme song) 　　

      "BLUE ROSE" preview:

  "WHAT YOU WANT" short MV:

  "NEVER SURRENDER" short MV:

  "METANOIA"full version MV:

  "FINAL COMMANDER" TV CM:

    In addition, She is also set to reprise her role as Carole King in the rerun of the Japanese edition of BEAUTIFUL- The Carole King Musical, which is set to be performed at Imperial Theatre in Tokyo in November 2020. Along with singer-songwriter Ayaka Hirahara as double casting, she played the legendary American singer Carole King in its first run from July to August in 2017. 

    Trailer for the 2017 show: 

    Poster visual

    Source: Nana Mizuki official website

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[xswordeyesx]

Symphogear Live 2016 Part 2

[thegeekastronaut]

Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV - Episode 10 discussion

Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV – Episode 10 discussion

Top Media

someone tried to interrupt villains’ teleporting away

Kirika’s even smaller hat

~~she wore on Symphogear Live 2016~~

(more…)