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bakuhatsufallinlove · 6 months

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U.A. High School Field Trip Around Japan: Day 4 Translations

This is Day 4 of Shonen Jump’s special commemoration of My Hero Academia reaching one hundred million copies worldwide, which is being rolled out daily across one-week in each prefecture’s newspaper.

The schedule:

April 4th, Day 1: Hokkaidō & Tōhōku regions

April 5th, Day 2: Kantō region

April 6th, Day 3: Chūbu region

April 7th, Day 4: Kansai region

April 8th, Day 5: Chūgoku & Shikoku regions

April 9th, Day 6: Kyūshū & Okinawa regions

April 10th, Day 7: Nationwide release

You can see the illustrations on their website here, where they are released digitally the day after the newspaper release.

Here we go!

Kansai Region

Mie

Photo credit: twitter user Hrkn1500

Aoyama: "Sur-pri-se~!" Sero: "Amazing, Aoyama!" Satou: "Should we go look for the toilet?"

Nabana no Sato is a flower park situated within the absolutely massive Nagashima Resort. It has lovely blooms all year, and from October to May it claims to host Japan's biggest illumination event, including a 200-meter long light tunnel.

Shiga

Photo credit: twitter user smile_wk_26

Tokoyami: "Art of the Flying Squirrel Black Shadow!!!" Mineta: "Imitation Caltrop!!" Edgeshot: "Abscondance" Hagakure: "Nin-nin! Hidden Hagakure!!"

They are at the Kōga-ryū Ninjutsu Ninja Village in Kōka city, the birthplace of this school of ninja-arts. I visited the Tōgakure Ninjutsu House in Nagano -- Tōgakure, Iga, and Kōga are considered the three main families of ninjutsu. These kinds of attractions usually have museums dedicated to the style's history and showing off tons of unique historical artifacts, but the main draw is all the activities for visitors to try their hand at being a ninja, shuriken-throwing, wall-climbing, rope-walking, etc.. Hagakure is making a pun, because her surname means "hidden leaves" or "hidden by the leaves" so she is "hidden hidden-leaves." Tokoyami is doing his Black Fallen Angel move, but it's much funnier to make it a giant flying squirrel attack.

Kyōto

Photo credit: twitter user sitatyan_dayo

Ashido: "You can't even see the sky through all the bamboo~!!" Yaoyorozu: "They say that the growing speed of bamboo is the fastest in the world. I've heard it can grow up to one meter in a single day." Mineta: "My whole height in a single day... I can't do this!!! Jirou: "Cheer up." Label on Mineta: "Mineta Minoru, Height: 1.08 Meters."

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is a hugely popular tourist spot for its dense, soothing beauty. One meter is equivalent to 3 feet 3 inches; Mineta is just over 3 and a half feet tall.

Ōsaka

Photo credit: twitter user tomikomha

Shouji: "Hyah hyah hyah hyah!!!" Fat Gum: "He's... he's moving too fast, I can't even see his arms!" Kirishima: "No, actually, he's got lots of 'em!"

They are making takoyaki, a famous soul food created in Osaka in 1935. It requires a large griddle with rounded molds, and chefs use two metal rods to rotate the batter rapidly. It's really fun to watch them make it, and most stalls put the griddle up against a full-length window to show it off.

Hyōgo

Photo credit: twitter user NZM_101

Izuku: "Even cutting an onion... a hero... doesn't cry! WWUAAAH" Ochako: "What a shame! Challenge failed." Shouto: "No, even heroes cry when they have to."

Awaji Island is famous for its onions and produces some of the sweetest onions in the world. They have a spring crop of sweet but slightly spicy onion, and a fall-time harvest that they store and dry to further develop their sweetness. Shouto's line is from chapter 137 when Izuku insists heroes don't cry while crying into his food. What's funny is that sweet onions supposedly produce less of the chemical that produces tears in humans, so maybe Izuku is just being a lil' crybaby, hehe, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's working with a particularly spicy spring harvest.

Nara

Photo credit: twitter user yukanicoyomo

Iida: "Observance of traffic laws! OUTSTANDING, DEER-KUN!!" Kouda (thinking): "Iida-kun, you're making the deer suspicious..." Bakugou: "Don't talk to the deer!! Deer don't give a shit about rules!! Dammit!!"" Kouda (thinking): "Bakugou-kun, you're scaring the deer..."

They are in Nara Park, where you can buy special crackers to feed the very friendly and booming deer population. Deer in Nara have been protected and seen as important to local Shinto beliefs for at least a thousand years; in 2023, studies from three universities revealed that they actually make up a unique genetic group not found anywhere else. Apparently, the deer in Nara will exchange bows with people, especially if it means they get a snack~

Wakayama

Photo credit: twitter user __sen_115

Ojiro: "A two-tone popular character... We have one of those." Hagakure: "We do, don't we. Just by being there, he creates a splendid atmosphere...!" Todoroki: "Huh? There's somebody like that?" Ojiro: "IT'S YOU!!!"

Visiting Adventure World in Shirahama which is home to a giant panda conservation area. A branch of Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base has bred 17 giant pandas there, which is the most success in breeding outside of mainland China.

That's all for Day 4. Next up is Day 5!

#translations #ua high school field trip around japan #mha one hundred million copies tour

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thekingofwinterblog · 4 months

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Was Gangle a Teenager when she was trapped in the Circus?

So just like it struck me when doing an overview of Amazing Digital Circus that Ragatha seemed to be extremely motherly, the thing that struck me about Gangle is how much younger than all the rest of the cast does.

She acts younger, she spunds younger, and when her comedy mask(Which allows her to express all of her happy emotions) isnt broken she has a kind of childish, but honest energy about her that all the rest of the cast has lost.

She is the only member of the group that seemed genuinely impressed about everything about Caine's most recent creation of the candy kingdom(Everyone that liked it focused on one or two specific elements), at least before her mask broke.

However, just like all the rest of the cast, she is an adult, more speciffically she is 25.

So with that age in mind, she comes across like someone who never really grew up. And that is probably the case, but mayhaps not in the sense that she refused adulthood, but rather that she was denied getting to experience it.

Namely it seems very likely to me that Gangle was trapped in the circus sometime within her teenage years. But to explain the strongest piece of evidence for that, a quick history lesson about Gangle's favorite anime.

Azumanga Daioh is a classic Highschool girls slice of life anime/manga that came out at the turn of the millenium, who's most notable legacy is that it showcased that manga's about highschool girls doing highschool things withouth some grander adventure or meta plot was more than enough to carry a show financially and critically.

So if you love/hate the popularity of such series in the modern day, you can thank Azumanga for that.

It's not a bad series by any means, but it's also... Kinda outdated? Like how Dragonball laid the foundations Shonen series would use ever after and improve on and learn from, so Azumanga Daioh is very much a show that seems... Completely left behind by time, as it's successors did everything it did, just way better.

Hell, unlike Dragonball, who's popularity and mark on pop culture remains strong and alive today, Azumanga is mostly a cult classic. Popular certainly, but left behind by anime as a whole, even within it's very specific subgenre.

However, there was a point in time when the series was still regarded as an absolute classic within the anime fandom.

And Gangle's teenage years very much fit into that point in time.

Uaing her current age, and assuming that the show is set in 2023, the year it came out, we see Gangle was born in 1998.

Meaning that Gangle was 13-18 from 2011-2016.

These year-numbers lines up with when Azumanga Daioh still had it's strong pressence in the Anime Culture, especially in the west, the earlier on that scale, the stronger.

With that in mind, it seems likely that like many western teenage girls during this period, one of Gangle's first real introductions to Anime was Azumanga Daioh.

And either it left a massive impression on her that atuck hard, or she simply didn't get to experience enough other Anime to find another favorite.

Further suggesting this young age, is her favorite one piece character, Tony Tony Chopper.

Im just going to be blunt. Most people who's favorite One Piece character is Chopper, has him as such because he's very cute, not because of his compelling backstory or character development(the latter of which, like a lot of the strawhats were shafted post time-skip).

Like for example; a teenage girl who just got introduced to One Piece for the first time, maybe her first big shonen series.

Her art is also relatively good, but also relatively underdeveloped, lacking things such as complex shading or tones.

In other words she's likely untrained in the sense she didn't reach this point by learning by seeing how others do it.

And finally, her door marker(Which presumably shows her as she was when first coming here) showcases her as genuinely happy and cheerfull, something the rest don't really have, but something a teenage girl who might innitially have seen the circus as some sort of Isekai story(Before reality set in) to live out, rather than immediatly recognize it as a priaon as the rest of the cast did.

All in all, a lot of what we know about her suggests she never really got to properly go through puberty and mature into an adult.

If so, it also adds A LOT of extra, horrible baggage to the already rather dark and abusive relationship she has with Jax.

Like when he calls her Submissive and agreeable to browbeat her into doing what he says, it's a sentence that hits extremely closely to home, as the actual meaning(It's basically a self-cencored version of the original: Submissive and Breedable) is one that unlike the rest of the cast, she never really got the chance to really come to terms with before being trapped here in this digital Hell.

Simillarily, him blackmailing her about her personal figurines to Ragatha, and her response of both laughing insanely and doing what he says, screams of a rather blunt sexual implications, with it being something she is very, very ashamed off.

If this theory is true, then Gangle has been stuck in the Circus for upwarda to 13 years, over a decade where she never got to grow through the final transformation into an adult, and yet is treated like, and expected to act as one by everyone around her.

#gangle #the amazing digital circus #meta #theory #jax #azumanga daioh #tony tony chopper

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hondakiku · 3 months

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How are you today? Have you done anything fun lately? Also what fandoms are you in? -🪽

I'm doing just fine, thank you. Just hanging around at home for the day.

The fandom question is a bit overwhelming because if you look at my blog you'll see that I actually dabble in a lot of things, especially when it comes to animated series, and not particularly just anime as I like cartoons, too.

Obviously I like hetalia, that's my namesake, it's my oldest fandom and I like the community.

I'm a pretty big fan of anime and shonen series especially. I like jujutsu kaisen, bungo stray dogs, trigun stampede, full-metal alchemist, death note, kaiju no. 8, windbreaker, demon slayer, the apothecary diaries, etc. etc. but also series like ouran high school host club and fruits basket. I actually watch TONS of different anime. If you wanna know if i've watched something specific, ask me.

I'm also a fan of things like arcane, scott pilgrim, hazbin hotel and helluva boss, the amazing digital circus etc. etc. I used to be a big steven universe, phineas and ferb and gravity falls fan, and I still will reblog those occasionally. I also used to be a huge pokémon fan— Uhhh,,, I probably forgot a bunch of stuff but the point is I like lots of things and I keep slowly collecting more.

#ask

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b3crew · 5 months

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Duck Amuck in Japan | Episode 16: For the Children | B3crew.com

Misread band names? Cute crocodiles? Pandas doing stuff?! An overpacked anime season?!! It's all in a day's work on Duck Amuck in Japan! A plethora of topics are on the table on this week's show! King Baby Duck talks about a wild night of karaoke, as well as a visit to special events involving The Amazing Digital Circus and Bocchi the Rock! AFLM shines on Free Comic Book Day, with more notoriety for his book and some surprising drawing requests from kids. Great values are discovered in Japan, with some unexpected finds for a dang good price. Plus, our two hosts dive deep into the Spring 2024 anime season, which features a lot of returning favorites, new shonen anime, and a tale of two dads sans Paul Reiser.

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dropintomanga · 2 years

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How to Find Great Manga to Read

We’re in an awesome time for manga reading in the West. Physical manga volumes are flying off the shelves in a time when digital reading is becoming more prevalent. TikTok videos featuring manga collections have become a thing. Anime’s now-uber mainstream popularity in geek culture has helped usher in this new golden age. Yet at the same time, a lot of mainstream manga attention is usually on shonen titles with hit anime adaptations - i.e. My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Chainsaw Man, Spy x Family, Jujutsu Kaisen, etc. There are outliners like Junji Ito material, but it can sometimes feel like the manga getting recognized by the Western media and comics critics are being highlighted a bit too much over titles full of wonderful stories that aren’t exactly “popular” in the public geek eye.

The manga world’s more than just action series that gets hearts pumping and horror gone viral. There’s many manga titles that not only provide escapism, but provide various perspectives that will make you feel you all kinds of emotions in ways that can make someone a better person. Plus, over time, your tastes and interests may expand and you might look for other manga titles that aren’t mainstream.

I recently read a guide on Psyche called “How to find great films to watch” and in the spirit of that guide (which was really good), I want to do something similar right here.

I will use the tips that the Psyche guide gives for finding great films and apply them for finding great manga. So here we go!

Tip #1 - Start with an open mind.

This sounds like the biggest deal-breaker because there are people who see manga and have many assumptions about it. Some will argue about reading it in a right-to-left format, some may argue about the sexual content that’s sometimes found in it and some will say that manga is only for teens (the biggest market in the West).

I will argue that manga is influenced from Western culture and comics and that some of the best comics in the entire world, past and present, are manga. Speaking of the past, there’s some older manga (titles like Banana Fish, Lone Wolf and Cub, Rose of Versailles, and Osamu Tezuka’s works come to mind) that hold up well today. The point is - don’t let preconceived notions get in the way of finding a manga that one day, might touch your heart in many ways.

Also, don’t be afraid of trying out other stuff that’s for teenagers (especially on the older teen side) because there are themes and topics that adults can relate to. Beastars is a great example of such a title as it explore societal hierarchies and divisions using anthropomorphic animals to represent human beings.

Tip #2 - Give manga a chance.

When you’re able to get a 1st volume of a manga, read it in a comfortable spot with good lighting. If it’s digital, definitely read on a tablet. Next, be sure to be patient with it. The first chapter of a series can be a bit rough. Hell, the 1st volume might suck and the story might turn out to be amazing a few volumes later. There will be cases where you will not be hooked right away. The best thing you can do is give a manga series maybe 2-3 volumes to see if this is the right thing for you to read. Every manga series of a decent length has some kind of introduction arc, so you can use this as a litmus test.

Tip #3 - Get some advice.

If you have friends who are bona-fide manga lovers, do not hesitate to talk to them. If you’re lucky to have a bookstore near you that sells manga, definitely ask them for advice on what to read. Manga librarians are also a great source of community on figuring out what manga to check out for those who want to check out libraries. The point is just be around manga connoisseurs as much as possible to get the most out of finding what’s great.

Also, manga publishers who show up at anime/comic book conventions are willing to help provide recommendations to fans who stop by their booths on what titles to check out. You will also get to meet other manga enthusiasts at conventions as well.

Tip #4 - Play to your strengths and interests.

If you have a favorite genre like shonen action manga, you can explore the history of shonen action manga titles out there. Viz’s Shonen Jump service has a wide category of older shonen action manga titles for fans who want to go beyond just the hit titles of today. If you’re interested in LGBTQ+ culture, you can explore titles like Boys Run the Riot, Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare, and My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness that cover that perspective. Have a fascination with works from independent creators? Check out manga from publishers like Denpa Books, Star Fruit Books and Glacier Bay Books. Let’s say you’re into world history - titles like Vinland Saga and Golden Kamuy are right up your alley.

It is safe to say that whatever it is you’re into, there’s definitely a manga for it.

Tip #5 - Follow your likes.

Once you manage to find a particular favorite manga, you can decide to learn more about the title itself and the thought process of the mangaka. You can discover what influences drove the mangaka to create what they created. This may lead you to find out similar titles just like your favorite one. Here’s an example I can give - let’s say you’re a fan of Inio Asano’s works and notice that they’re influenced by societal problems regarding youth in Japanese culture. You can do no wrong by checking out works from the likes of authors such as Shuzo Oshimi and Kengo Hanazawa, who have written stories about Japanese youth trying to find themselves in modern society.

Tip #6 - Reflect on how manga is made.

When you read enough manga, you start to pick up on how things are done. There’s so many elements that come into the manga-making process as the manga Bakuman will tell you. There’s the draft process, the number of assistants helping out, the long hours spent drawing, the isolation, the editors checking in to make sure the mangaka doesn’t go wild, etc. You can also think about the story of the title you’re reading and its narrative structure. If there was a huge plot twist that happens, there’s sometimes foreshadowing hints found in earlier volumes. You can think about what the mangaka did in making sure their narrative went according to their liking and read up on fan discussions that point these details out.

The more you read manga, the more you start to appreciate the process of how it happens.

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I think that’s all I can say about how to find great manga for now. Unfortunately, what I covered here is only just a bit of the whole manga reading picture. If you want to expand your manga horizons further, here’s some books I recommend. These books are available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

The Art of Osamu Tezuka: The God of Manga by Helen McCarthy

Manga: The Complete Guide by Jason Thompson

Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga by Hirohiko Araki

The Citi Exhibition: Manga by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere and Matsuba Ryoko

The History of Hentai Manga: An Expressionist Examination of EroManga by Kimi Rito

By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga by Erica Friedman

1000 Years of Manga by Bridgitte Koyama-Richard

Reframing Disability in Manga by Yoshiko Okuyama

Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History by Eike Exner

The Shonen Jump Guide to Making Manga by the Weekly Shonen Jump Editorial Department

You can check out the "Other Sites to Check Out” link on the side for more manga-related websites (I will be updating this with more manga-related links). I hope you enjoyed this guide and happy reading!

#manga #manga reading #arts #guide to reading manga #manga literacy #manga collecting #reading #literacy #visual literacy

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psychewritesbs · 2 years

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Chapter 200: Direct Negotiations

Uh... it’s no longer Sunday but I am assuming there was a Tumblr party and Tumblr ran out of digital Kleenex because everyone wiped tears off their face because of the two idiots above.

I mean... they’re just... amazing...

Anyways. No sign of intelligence beneath the cut.

Mostly incoherent babbling...

Let me just go ahead and gush about how beautiful the art has been lately real quick...

The art has been incredibly beautiful lately.

Ok, moving on.

Yuji and Megumi

Ok but listen.

This moment tho...

Like...

Are you fudging kidding me?

This was absolute GOLD!

Also, I know an anon just totally said that I’m one of the few places where shipping isn’t the focus... and it’s not that I’m about to write about itafushi and I haven't necessarily started shipping them all of a sudden but...

Holly Molly!

Gege managed to create one of the most beautiful dynamics in Shonen that I have ever seen/read.

I was so moved, as I’m sure everyone reading the chapter was, by the way Gege showed their dynamic in this chapter.

I also loved seeing Megumi’s mind-reading abilities in action once again.

Yuji as an individual

This kid is still one of my absolute fave MCs in the Shonen genre.

The other one is Syaoran from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.

I was talking to @justafrenchlondoner about how I love Yuji is basically always up to something good and wholesome (compared to daddy Sukuna) and she brought up a good point... this is what makes them both so compelling.

I have to agree. Yuji’s highly endearing personality is very interesting given Sukuna’s complete lack of regard for others.

They really are the two opposing sides of the same coin.

But, what I loved most this chapter was seeing Yuji’s inner dialogue about Sukuna.

Someone please... stab me. NOW! No jk don’t stab me.

OH.MY.GAWD!

I have no words.

Me. THE mental gymnastics, word vomiter extraordinaire, has no words about Yuji's beautiful resolve.

I am simply speechless because of Yuji this chapter.

He’s already sacrificed himself for Megumi once before. Now that Megumi has asked Yuji to save him, God knows what lengths Yuji will go through for him.

GAWD! Gege has not killed anyone we care about during the Culling Game but he sure as hell is building up the angst for us masochists.

Also... this whole interaction and the implications behind Sukuna being The one who fell from the stairs Disgraced One low-key reminded me of this...

Probably doesn’t have anything to do with it... but I couldn’t help but be reminded of it.

Sukuna tho...

Yes this exactly.

Why did Sukuna go through the trouble to warn Yuji?

Finally some plot progression and things are only getting juicier!

Ritual incoming

What’s the date? November 14th? 5 days until the deadline for Tsumiki to join the Culling Game--I suspect the ritual might take place on or around November 19th.

I present to you: the Generic American villain

He’s always focused on some sort of egocentric goal.

Totally reminds me of that one bad guy from the movie Avatar.

You know... just cliché af character with evil motivations because if villain bad then why not?

I don’t even know how to elaborate on how and why he’s cliché. He just is.

And... as a pseudo-American who grew up south of the border and therefore has an outsider perspective of how imperialistic the United States is, I kind of love it?

I love how Gege is portraying this villain in such a cliché way because clichés have some degree of truth to them.

And the US is a military state focused on consumption and conquest. The only ones who can’t really see this fact are US born citizens because we have our noses so far up our asses that we have completely bought into the propaganda machine that the US media is.

Anyways, Frenchie was saying that Chainsaw Man also had American intervention as part of the themes in the story. For me, I was reminded of Zankyou no Terror and how the Americans are portrayed as the villains who are capable of pulling political strings in Japan.

I’m looking forward to seeing where Gege takes Mr. Generic American Villain.

KOKICHI!!!! NOOOOOOO!

This is always my reaction anytime I see Kokichi.

Just a friendly reminder to ask yourself: if Gege gets me to like a character I didn’t like before, does that mean that he’s going to kill them soon?

I would have loved to see Gege’s interpretation of Donald Trump

I’m sure it would have been hi-la-rious! But I doubt Shonen Jump would have given him the green light on something like that.

Japan’s monopoly on sorcerers

Callback to chapter 136! We still have to see how the Middle East is going to react.

But I’ve found it very interesting for some time now how much Japanese media addresses esoteric topics such as psychic battles compared to Western media.

Think there’s some truth to it?

ANYWAYS!

Happy it��s no longer Sunday JJK-Sunday! If you’re read this far, I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I did.

#god I love jujutsu kaisen #jjk ch 200

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reasonswhytocometoshiratorizawa · 1 year

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Digital Portfolio #4 - Ushijima Wakatoshi

Last but not least, for this final Digital Portfolio, I have chosen Ushijima Wakatoshi. While Haikyuu doesn’t have villains or an antagonist, Ushijima would be considered the closest antagonist. Not because of his personality, or that he cheats, but because he’s the one that’s blocking the protagonist's path. Haikyuu is a volleyball manga, and while it’s easy to create characters you hate that aren’t from the main team, Furudate does an amazing job creating many different teams that you also root for. Ushijima’s team, Shiratorizawa Academy Volleyball Team, has dominated the Miyagi prefectures for years. As only one team can go to nationals, Shiratorizawa is usually the representative of Miyagi. Hinata’s goal is to go to Nationals and win, and in order to do that, must take on Shiratorizawa in the final match of the tournament and win to secure their spot in Nationals.

This is why Ushijima is one of the closest characters to be an antagonist, as he has always been brought up since the beginning of the series. But the character himself is far from an antagonist. Ushijima is the captain, wing spiker from Shiratorizawa, and is also one of the top 3 aces in high school Japan. His large amount of skill and sheer strength has allowed him to be the representative of Japan’s Youth World Championship. Despite his skills on the court, his social skills could use some help.

He has a very blunt way of speaking, and offends people because of it. He’s not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, but is just trying to say what he thinks, going as far as to say that Oikawa made the wrong decision to go to Seijoh, and would have grown more if he went to Shiratorizawa. Because of his bad social skills, he also has a hard time understanding jokes from his friends. One of my favorite moments is when Tendou allows him to borrow his weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and when he comes to retrieve it back, he learns that Ushijima was reading the ads also.

While Ushijima’s personality is an odd one, his talent and skills overshadow his personality, as many other players, and watchers only focus on how strong he is. Such as other characters like Bokuto, or even Sakusa, their characteristics and personalities are overlooked for their talent.

Furudate’s talent to include many characters with so different personalities is a skill that I look up to. This has made each character unique, making the series even better to read.

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shibonzakura-a · 2 years

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Tashigi is extremely under-appreciated as a character by the fandom and your writing style does this fine, powerful lady justice. Keep up the amazing work and I look forward to seeing you carry her story forward.

I can't remember what this meme is from but thank you so much!! Sorry this has been sitting in my inbox for so long. Yeah it's tough being a Tashigi fan these days and in probably the beginning too. Then again back then I wasn't really focused on side characters. I guess I have matured or gotten a better perspective after all these years. Because I did start One Piece when I was in high school. Dropped it years ago due to Shonen Jump going digital and I lacked funds and a good computer. But I am so glad I picked it back up in like 2018. And really looked back on all the characters and found Tashigi to be really interesting. I think I mentioned before that she's now in my top 5 of favorite characters. ( No one can replace Law though. lol ).

@ikkaku-of-heart

#ikkakuofheart #ikkaku-of-heart #[ cool glasses. thanks I need them to see. SERE ]

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sundove88 · 3 years

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Aaron and Edward’s Transformed Outfits

Here are Aaron and Edward’s transformed versions of themselves! Apparently, they can access this form when they insert their cards into their watches- thus giving power and strength beyond their imagination! Did you know that I replaced the kanji on Aaron’s outfit with the kanji for Warrior? I thought it would fit him! Plus, the hair tips are dyed a brilliant gold to match that Super Saiyan Power- isn’t that just *Chef’s Kiss*?

#my art #art #dbz #ocs #shonen jump #digital art #dragon ball z #Goku #Vegeta #transformation #check it out!!#I finally drew them in their henshined forms!!#and don’t they look just amazing?

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shonenlinkage · 3 years

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Happy birthday, Director Lumi!

Lumi: You guys- I don’t even know how to thank you!

Aaron: Shucks.

#jump all stars #shonen jump #digital art #oc #not fanfic #happy birthday to the most amazing leader!#and possible mother as well!

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narhinafan · 2 years

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For manga fans, Masashi Kishimoto and Naruto needs no introduction. It is simply one of the most popular manga series ever created, not just in Japan, but throughout the world.

Masashi Kishimoto first drew Naruto as a one-shot manga in 1997, then it was added as a weekly series to Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999. Kishimoto's story of a plucky young ninja orphan who has the power of a nine-tailed fox god locked in his body and his path from being a brat to a powerful ninja leader. It is an epic tale that spans over 72 volumes and 700 chapters, has been adapted as an anime TV series and movies, video games, and novels, and is one of the best-selling books (not just comics or manga) ever.

For Masashi Kishimoto's first visit to North America, much less New York City for New York Comic-Con, Viz Media arranged several special opportunities for fans to meet and listen to the creator of Naruto speak about his comics, his creations, and his future plans. ANN's coverage is in 2 parts:

On Wednesday night, before the start of New York Comic-Con, Kishimoto was a special guest at the Apple Store in downtown NYC. This was a ticketed, intimate event that less than 100 people were able to attend and see in person. The audio of the event will be available as a podcast from Apple's iTunes Apple Store podcasts page.

The moderator for this event was Christopher Butcher, the Director of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF). He was joined on stage by Jo Otsuki, the editor for Naruto from Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and Mari Morimoto, the translator for this event, and also the translator for Viz Media's English editions of the Naruto manga.

While no photos were allowed for these events, Kishimoto is a slim man who just recently turned 40. He initially seems a bit quiet, but is friendly and easy-going. He cracked a few jokes with fans, and seems to take his great fame and success in stride.

Butcher began by asked Kishimoto whether he was aware of the impact that Naruto has had upon fans worldwide, and his role as an "ambassador of Japan" to North America. Kishimoto laughed, saying that he thought it was kind of amazing that fans in North America were interested in Japanese manga and culture, and that he thought most people would be more familiar with "Naruto" (spiral fishcake) as an ingredient in ramen rather than Naruto the boy ninja.

Kishimoto's humble perspective perhaps comes from his early efforts to create a manga for Jump. He explained that he had tried several times to create a hit manga, exploring everything from sci-fi to action to sports manga. After many misses, Kishimoto said his editor encouraged him to give it one more try. That last try was the one-shot manga that eventually became the weekly series Naruto that we know and love today.

Butcher also marveled at Kishimoto's cinematic style of drawing. Kishimoto explained that his style was influenced by manga masters, including Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball), Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and Hiroaki Samura (Blade of the Immortal). Kishimoto expressed admiration for Star Wars, and American comics movies like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Batman.

He also talked about his friendly rivalry with Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece.

"One Piece debuted about a year earlier than Naruto did, even though we're the same age. He beat me to it. I was very envious in the beginning and yet, at the same time, I wanted to not only be like him, but I wanted to surpass him. In some ways I feel like the reason Naruto was able to be published and was able to succeed was because of One Piece." He continued, "Perhaps we both kind of supported and bolstered each other over the years and lead to both of our successes because we had that rivalry. When one of us did something, the other one had to out do the other, and that kept both series going."

Kishimoto then described his creative process, and revealed that the entire process, from sketches and rough storyboards to finished artwork is all done by hand, not digital processes.

"I'm actually quite analog. I don't draw manga digital yet at all. We do get these sticker sheets with different tone and shades. It's not just me doing it; my assistants and I will get together and we have fun putting on the tones manually."

ut Kishimoto had this bit of advice for up and coming comics creators:

"I don't recommend the manual method anymore. It's quite costly and it's quite a lot of work and takes a lot of time. I definitely recommend, for those of you who are just getting started or are not yet started, to go digital."

However, he also warned of the limits of digital tools for comics creation.

"There's no software out there, no digital technology is going to help you make a better story," he said.

Bakuman., the manga about making manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata was also mentioned in conversation. When asked if Bakuman. was an accurate representation of what it's like to be a Shonen Jump manga creator, Kishimoto replied, 'I definitely had the experience of having an editor yell at me, about deadlines especially. I guess about 99% of it might be true." So what's the 1% that's not true? "I really don't think it's feasible for high school students to really make it professionally and still go to school at the same time! But certainly I had to work even while I was sick."

So what is Kishimoto doing during his well-deserved break from the weekly manga-making grind? For one thing, he's minding his health, by taking up jogging and weight training. He's also been spending time reconnecting with his family. He mentioned that the Boruto movie is inspired in part by his relationship with his sons. Kishimoto confirmed that his next manga project will probably be a sci-fi story, but opted to not share more details because he didn't want anyone else to take his idea and run with it before him.

After a lively Q and A with audience members, the evening came to an end. Kishimoto was whisked away. The following exclusive interview happened the day after the first event at the Apple Store in SoHo, but before his appearance before a packed house of over 2,000 fans at New York Comic-Con.

With the help of translator Mari Morimoto (who also translated the Viz Media edition of Naruto), and Jo Otsuki, Kishimoto's editor from Weekly Shonen Jump, we talked about Kishimoto's reactions to his first encounters with his overseas fans, what does and doesn't exist in Naruto's world, how Boruto was influenced by his relationship with his sons, and he offers a few hints at his next series in the works.

I know this is your first trip to an overseas comics event -- How did it feel to get a taste of your overseas fans' enthusiasm for your work at the Apple Store yesterday, and so far today at New York Comic-Con? Masashi Kishimoto: It was a very mystical experience, a very interesting experience!

I know you must know that Naruto is very popular all over the world – but as I listened to you talk at the Apple Store last night, I got the sense that this didn't really feel real to you. What do you think now that you've met some of your fans? Of course, I have been told that it's popular overseas, but it really hasn't felt real to me until now. Even now, it's still hasn't quite hit me yet. I feel like even the people telling me that there's this many people wanting to see me, I feel like it might've been a setup?

(laughs) What do you mean by that? Kind of like when there's a studio audience when you're filming a sitcom?

You mean like a fake audience? A planted audience, yes.

Oh my goodness! (laughs) When I told people that I would be doing this interview, I got so many comments like, "I'm so jealous that you get to even be in the same atmosphere as Kishimoto-sensei!" I really don't feel like it's sunk in yet, even now.

Wow. Well, you'll definitely get a taste of it today at your afternoon event today at NYCC! So I wanted to follow up with some of the things you said about your artistic influences from your chat at the Apple Store last night. You especially mentioned Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama, Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, and Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura. What do you take from their work? What do you love about their work?

I would say I've probably picked up a little bit from each of them, and perhaps a little bit different thing from each of them. For example, with Dragon Ball, I was reading that when I was in grade school. What Dragon Ball taught me is what was fun about manga, what makes a fun story in manga. In fact, I was reading it as it was coming out in weekly installments in Weekly Shonen Jump, so it really taught me what entertainment is and how to keep an audience captivated—and of course the art influenced me as well.

What did you learn from reading Hiroaki Samura-sensei's work? I think Samura-sensei really taught me about the craft of manga making, in terms of what's cool. Especially in terms of splash scenes, he really taught me the importance of splash scenes. In his splash page scenes, a lot of times he doesn't focus on the faces of the characters – he usually focuses on their hands. He taught me how one can focus on the hands and how important expressions using just hands can be.

Oh, that's fascinating. This also brings up an interesting question about the world of Naruto -- Blade of the Immortal is a very traditional Japanese samurai story, while your ninja world is very fantastical. How did you come up with that? So of course, a realistic ninja is someone who wears all black with only the eyes visible, kind of lurks in the shadows, and they are assassins. That's cool in its own way, but it's not necessarily appropriate or really makes up for a shonen manga series. That kind of story, it would be a different genre. So I was thinking about what would be appropriate for not only a shonen manga series, but a Jump shonen manga series. I figured I wanted to take a polar opposite approach, and portray this character who wears orange.

(laughs) Yeah! I was gonna say that Naruto's bright orange outfit isn't very stealthy for a ninja assassin! It's an orange jumpsuit, and Naruto goes 'Hey, I'm here!' Which is totally opposite of how a ninja should behave! It's a paradox. But I figured, 'Why not make this another type of real ninja?' Of course, I had some hardcore ninja fans who were like, 'Dude, get lost.' (laughs) They were really upset because this is not how ninjas are supposed to be!

Another thing that's interesting about Naruto's world is that there's technology, like ways to view videos, communicate over long distances – it's definitely not something that exists in traditional samurai-era Japan, but it's not a typical 'modern' Japan either. What definitely does NOT exist in Naruto's world? It would actually take too long to really go nitty-gritty into details, but for example: one of the things I focused on was that anything that's NOT possible to recreate, or to do, using ninjustu, ninja skills, I would not develop for Naruto's world. So no cars. Because they have shuriken, the throwing stars, there's no guns either. So there were certain things I had clearly in my head that I didn't want to have available in their worldview.

Mari Morimoto (translator): So I brought up the fact that in the Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring sequel story, there's that one line when Naruto complains about how Sasuke's so analog, and Shikamaru's says, "Oh, but he goes to areas where you can't charge anything."I asked Kishimoto-sensei about that and he said, 'Well, you know, I wanted to show that time had passed. So some things may have developed in the intervening time between the last chapter of Naruto and fifteen years later when the Seventh Hokage story happens. Also, there's the fact that the story is set during a time of peace, so there's now more money available, because the funds that were being pushed into the war can now be used for things like developing technology.

That would be interesting to read! With Naruto, you've created a very rich universe with many characters, and you just did a Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring side story, the Boruto movie, which you wrote the screenplay for, and there's also the Kakashi Hiden side-story novel that Viz Media is also publishing. That's a lot to enjoy, but are these sequel stories the last of your Naruto stories, or do you think there's more stories left to tell? Or after 15 years, are you just DONE with Naruto? (laughs)

There are infinite possibilities right now. If I decide that I want to do more Naruto stories, perhaps I will, perhaps I won't. That said, there is nothing firmly in the works at this time. Just that there is always the possibility…

I see! So I guess Naruto fans can keep their hopes alive to see more someday, maybe. As I mentioned, Naruto has many, many wonderful characters. But were there characters in Naruto that surprised you that were very popular with fans? Rock Lee.

Ah, right! So did you decide to include Rock Lee in the story more because he became so popular? No necessarily. It's just what I heard. It kind of surprised me how popular he was, but it didn't necessarily lead to more plotlines with him in it, or anything like that. That's not to say that I didn't consider writing him in more or creating more stories about him, but the timing was never right, so I never had the opportunity.

Speaking of new characters, I also noticed as the story evolved, there were more multi-cultural characters introduced to the story, like Killer Bee. Can you talk a little bit about why you decided to do that? When I started expanding on the world, especially through introducing other ninja villages, the very nature of doing that kind of forced me to widen the perspective. I wouldn't say it was necessarily a deliberate decision, but I was definitely conscious of the fact that if I wanted to have my Naruto world reflect actual society more, then it might be easier for fans to accept, to see, other cultures or races as well. So while it wasn't necessarily an outright deliberate decision, I think I was conscious of the fact that I wanted Naruto's world to reflect, at least a little bit, the world at large.

As these characters appeared in Naruto, I noticed that lot of black and Latino cosplayers were very excited to see these characters, to have characters that they could dress up as that they could relate to.

(big smile) That makes me happy to hear that as well!

Did you expect such a divided reaction (in the U.S. at least) when you revealed whom Naruto marries in the future?

I actually didn't realize I caused such controversy.

Really? You had no idea?

Mari Morimoto: So the fans wanted Naruto to get together with Sakura?

Well, there's definitely camps of fans who felt that way, and there were also those that were very happy he ended up with Hinata. But there were quite passionate opinions on both sides! I almost caused a rift in my own household too, because my wife was very upset also that Naruto didn't get together with Sakura. In fact, she complained quite vehemently to me!

Jo Otsuki: Quite few of the female staff at Studio Pierrot that produces the anime, apparently were also upset.

Whoah. So how did you handle that, especially with your wife? I tried to defuse the situation by assuring my wife that SHE was actually the model for Hinata. (laughs)

As you were saying that, I thought, I wonder if your family life was more like Hinata and Naruto's family or Sasuke and Sakura's? (everyone laughs)

Masashi Kishiimoto: Well… it might not actually be like either. My wife is quite strong as well, she's a strong character.

Oh, so kind of like Sakura! So I think my wife might secretly realize that Hinata wasn't really the model for her… (laughs)

Did you decide this early on, that Hinata and Naruto would get together in the end, or when…?

From the middle, actually.

Aw, that's nice. So you obviously care a lot about these characters and this story. It took up over 15 years of your life! Was it difficult to decide to end Naruto? It was kind of decided—not necessarily early on, but I knew that it was going to be concluded soon. So it's not like that decision was unexpected. However, it took a while to smooth out the story to let it conclude the way that I want it to.

It was a slightly bumpy road, mainly because I wanted one of the themes of the end to be Naruto forgiving Sasuke. I wanted to make sure the intervening story lead naturally to that in a realistic way to make it plausible. Because if one minute they're fighting and then 'Oh, I forgive you!' would be weird. So definitely there were little bumps on the way to getting there.

Deb Aoki: Can you share an example of a bump that you ran into along the way toward the ending?

It would be the Pain Arc. It was difficult, because it was the very first time Naruto truly forgives his enemy. I didn't want the conclusion of their confrontation to be in battle, but through talking, so to bring that all about was quite difficult.

So now that Naruto has ended, you've hinted in other interviews that you're considering creating a sci-fi series next. You've mentioned that you like Star Wars, but are there other sci-fi series that you like? It's hard for me to narrow it down to one or two. I actually like quite a bit of sci-fi movies, for example, Elysium and Chappie, two films directed by South African Neill Blomkamp.

Oh, what do you like about these movies? Just the sense of this director, Blomkamp's cinematic view. I think what I like about it is there's still elements of real society within the movie and it's kind of merged with the fantastic elements -- it's really meshed. It picks up on current issues we're facing and expands further on it.

You definitely deserve some time off after so many years of drawing a weekly manga series, but when can we expect to see your next manga series debut? Perhaps after my children finally acknowledge what I'm doing and acknowledge me… acknowledge the work I've done!

What? Really? They don't now?

Naruto took up so much of my time that I didn't really get to spend quality time with my kids. It's only recently that they really accepted my presence. So I think I might have to wait until my children give me permission to work on my next series.

Wow. Well, that's very important too, so I totally understand. I know that fans who'll get to see you at your New York appearances are very fortunate to have this chance to be here for your first overseas trip to a comics event. That said, you have so many fans around the world who are hoping to meet you some day, see you visit their cities or countries. Because these fans would have loved to have met you but didn't have a chance to be here this weekend, do you have any messages for them?

First and foremost, I wanted to thank all my fans out there for reading Naruto and for loving Naruto so much. It really is gratifying for me too. But despite how I answered the last one, I wanted to say it might not be so long until my next series to appear as my answer implied! After I spend enough time with my kids, they might be like typical kids and say stuff like, 'Okay Dad, you can go away now.' (laughs) So you might see my next series in the not-too-distant future!

Thank you – and I hope we will see you again soon at another event in the near future!

is true?

To start off, for god sakes don't post the whole thing, take an extract or just give me the link, but this is way to long for an ask. I don't even know which bit you are on about.

Yes it is true, but lacks some details that Kishimoto in later interviews. For example Kishimoto definitely always planned NaruHina from the start, but he intentionally made NaruSaku a red herring.

Kishimoto's response

Now if you consider the timeframe of when Kishimoto did the red herrings you would realise that mainly happen during and around the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission which covers chapters 282 to 310 of the manga which is roughly the half way point of the whole series and the half way point of the plot since it happens in the second arc of part 2.

As you can tell after that arc there isn't anymore serious NaruSaku red herrings. Kishimoto did them planning to do a love tringle, though he did briefly consider NaruSaku you can tell his end game was always NaruHina from start. Hence why he said the middle in that interview cause it was period where he did consider other options even though he originally already planned NaruHina, hence he made the final say to stick to that original decision at that point of the manga.

Even the bits about there being parallels between Kushina and Sakura while a red herring weren't meant to be taken seriously as in the Pain arc when Hinata confesses was when NaruHina got truly cemented and following that was the final nail in the coffin for NaruSaku with Sakura's fake confession being rejected.

Further proof of this is that in the same interview Kishimoto brings up that Hinata always supported and acknowledged Naruto. From the start it was obvious Hinata liked Naruto for who he really is Kishimoto made her that exact way. It is impossible for him to have made Hinata like that unless he originally intended for her to be the love interest.

Naruto is a long manga series and like with all long series the author will at times have to or need to consider making changes from their original plan. So yes while the interview is true it isn't the whole truth as in later interviews Kishimoto expands on the answer and we can tell by the context which time frame he is on about, Kishimoto did decide on NaruHina early on, he did however also consider changing that in the middle which led to him deciding to commit with his original plan for NaruHina.

#anti narusaku #pro naruhina

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kittyreading · 4 years

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Manga Master List: Recommendations and My Personal Wish List

!!//PLEASE READ//!!

Below is every manga from my amazon wishlist I would recommend(as of February 11 2021) with a picture and a 3-5 sentence explanation of what the manga is about. Underneath will also be the number of volumes I have read, the number I own, and it’s status of ongoing or complete and how many volumes it has. This way you can decide for yourself if you think I have read enough of it to give an accurate recommendation.

This list only includes manga you can purchase (including digital purchases) from the wishlist. I decided that I would in fact include my personal amazon manga wishlist here and at the bottom for people to buy THEMSELVES a copy of any of these manga they would like. Keep in mind many of these won’t have volume 1 in the list but you should be able to get to the series page from the list. If a manga shows up on the amazon list that I did not include in this one that is because I have not read enough of them(or any of them) to recommend. Ok? Cool, enjoy the list!!

1. The Girl from the Other side is about a little girl living with a gentleman monster. It is a supernatural mystery with beautiful art.

Own: 0

Series: Ongoing at 9 volumes

2. Pumpkin Scissors is a military fantasy about a War Veteran named Randal Oland who joins the pumpkin scissors core to help with war relief and uncover the deep corruption of the government. It is similar in themes to FMA in the sense it appears to be based on a World War, and corruption of government but it more focused on the power of the noble houses in government. There is also a fun science element but it is not as in focus as in FMA. The two but are very very different overall tho. Only 5 volumes were distributed in physical English copies as the publishing company went bankrupt, all others are only available digitally. (I couldn’t get the manga vol. 1 cover to work so the picture above is a poster for the anime)

Own: 0

Read: around 10

Series: Ongoing at 23 volumes

3. Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun is a slice of life about a bunch of highschoolers. Nozaki is the mangaka of a popular Shoujo manga who uses his personal experiences with friends to create his monthly comic series. It is a fun gender stereotype reversal manga with a large cast of both male and female characters (one could be HC as genderfluid but she’s still canonically female at this time) The manga is one of the easiest to read as the panels are mostly in straight down rectangles so the pages are extremely easy to follow and is very funny.

Own: 1

Status: Ongoing at 12 volumes

4. Yu-Gi-Oh! is well known to be about the card game yu-gi-oh, using magic and myths to further the story, HOWEVER, Yu-gi-oh! is the “Season 0″ of the series it is much darker than to be expected and there is no card game. The Yu-gi-oh most are familiar with is Yu-gi-oh Duelist (just found this out myself) and is the Yu-gi-oh you probably already know. There is no overarching plot to this mini series it is just Yugi fucking shit up playing games and destroying some bullies. I have yet to read any of Duelist as of the creation of this post therefore I cannot recommend it :/

Own: 5 (1-3 & 6-7)

Status: Completed at 7 volumes

5. The Way of the House Husband is about a former yakuza who gets married and flips his script. He becomes a house husband for his working wife and carries on doing chores and errands while still looking and acting scary unintentionally and getting himself in trouble. It is a slice of life comedy with some adult jokes but is over all extremely funny and pleasant to read.

Own: 0

Status: Ongoing at 7 volumes

6. Hikaru no Go is about a highschool boy who finds a haunted Go board. He meets the ghost who once was a prolific Go player. Together they work to become a world class Go champion meeting new people along the way. This series was cut short due to legal issues with a real Go player and therefore will remain unfinished but the story that is there is golden. It is still one of the most popular manga in Japan.

Own: 0

Status: Complete at 23 Volumes

7. Zatch Bell! This manga is about a teenager named Kiyo who gets sent a young boy with amnesia named Zatch Bell who turns out to be an alien called a momodo. Now the two must battle other momodo in order to understand what happened to Zatch and to make Zatch the new king. Along the way they make many friends and save both the momodo and human worlds. This one is difficult because it is a classic that did not do well in America so the volumes are expensive and the series is unfinished in English. You can only buy 27 of the volumes in English and a few of them are almost impossible to find, however it is well worth the money if you can afford it and it is available online.

Own: 6 (1-5 & 13)

Status: Complete at 33 Volumes only 27 printed in English (you can finish series online)

8. Fullmetal Alchemist is a cult classic most have read it, watched the series, or heard of it at the very least. This is one of the most popular Manga of all time and for good reason. The manga is about 2 brothers Alphonse and Edward on a journey to return their bodies to normal after committing the taboo of human transmutation. The manga has themes of racism, government corruption and manipulation of the military. The versions on my wishlist are the special Fullmetal Editions so they will have a different price point and volume number than the regular volumes or the omnibuses’

Own: 12

Status: Complete at 27 Volumes

9. Princess Jellyfish is about a young woman who is sort of an outcast otaku living with 5 other otaku women. She has a deep love for jellyfish as they remind her of her late mother. She meets a beautiful woman who turns out to be a male college student and slowly comes out of her shell making new friends and growing with old ones as well. This manga is very sweet and I really don’t know what else to say haha.

Own: 0

Status: Complete at 17 volumes

10. !!!HUGE TW FOR EATING DISORDERS!!! In Clothes Called Fat is a, oneshot, non romanticizing story of an office woman trying to lose weight and developing several eating disorders in the process. She goes through hardships in relationships and bullying as well. It has a bittersweet ending and should be read with caution but it is beautifully done. Please do not read this if you are under the age 16 at the very youngest there are NSFW moments as well as just generally not being a topic for younger audiences.

Own: No

Read: Yes

Status: Completed one shot

11. My LOVE Story!! Is an adorable Slice of Life shojo about a highschooler named Takeo Gouda, his girlfriend Yamato, and his best friend and hear throb Suna. This series is rather refreshing as the relationship starts pretty much immediately, the best friend is very supportive, and it is focused on Takeo’s personality over looks as he is often compared in manga to a gorilla or bear. It is a generally heart warming story with some emotional side plots. The ending is sort of sudden but it’s really enjoyable.

Own: 6 (1-3,8,10-12)

Status: Completed at 13 Volumes

12. Soul Eater is pretty popular but if you don’t know what it is about it is about a Weapon named Soul and his Meister Maka. They attend a school that teaches them how to defeat people before they turn into Demons, saving the world in the process. Once a weapon eats 100 evil souls and a witches soul they can become the new death Scythe! That is the plot presented, and it of course goes off into a much more complicated storyline. It is super fun and engaging with a fascinating plot near the end.

Own: 5

Status: Completed at 25 Volumes

13. D. Gray-Man is a little complicated. Similarly to Soul Eater D. Gray-Man is a story based around defeating people turned demon and the saving of the world through an organization, however the plot gets very complicated very quickly. The art is some of the most interesting and beautifully fun art I’ve come across and the characters are (so far as I’ve read) all amazing. The story has a lot of christian influence and is one you have to really keep up with to understand but I recommend it regardless!

Own: 10

Status: Ongoing at 27 Volumes

14. One-Punch Man is also very popular and is about a man who becomes so strong he only needs to punch you once to completely annihilate you, and it greatly annoys him. This manga greatly touches on the themes of self worth as Saitama becomes a hero that no one seems to want. The fights are fun and engaging, tho at times can be difficult to read. The art is gorgeous, with some of the most heavily detailed work I have ever seen.

Own: 3

Status: Ongoing at 21 Volumes

15. The Boy and The Beast is the manga adaptation of the movie by the same name. This is a bittersweet story about a boy who finds a family in the land of the beasts and the repercussions of this intermixing. It is sweet and sad and there’s not much else to say, but that it is a beautifully crafted story.

Own: 1

Read: 1 (but I’ve seen the movie and read the light novel)

Status: Complete at 4 Volumes

16. MAR is not a manga I should be recommending as I genuinely don’t think I have read enough of the story to do so but I love it so much I’m going to anyway. MAR is a classic Isekai Shonen, a kid goes through a door into another world and has to fight a war to save it, there is a super fun magic system and some wonderful story building with genuinely enjoyable characters and battles. I am recommending this more based off the anime than the manga itself because it was one of my absolute favorites when I was younger, so take from that what you will! This manga has the same issue Zatch Bell does however, the series did not do amazingly so the volumes can be expensive!

Own: 3

Status: Complete at 15 Volumes

Thank you for your time haha! I hope you liked the list, here is my wishlist again and if you have any questions please let me know!! I will try to keep this master list updated as it and the wishlist will only continue to grow, but I make no promises for doing it often. Making this took me a very long time so I hope you like it!

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jesse-maisog · 3 years

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INDESTRUCTIBLE TRIDENT

I have always been fascinated by the amazing world of literature. As someone who sees every product of human imagination and vocabulary as a bottle of nepenthe in this cruel society, I always find fictions, poetries, folklores and other types of literature, worthy of attention and appreciation.

Our world is constantly evolving, and even literature has gone through crucial evolutions throughout decades. From the ancient literary works written on stone tablets and palm leaves, up to all of those works scattered all over the internet, I can clearly see how time and its corresponding advancements have served as the driving force of literary evolution.

21st century is nicknamed as the age of information technology. With the existence of powerful technological advancements and new discoveries, we are given the chance to reach greater heights and establish modern changes, even in the field of literature.

This morning, in our subject 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, I was given the concrete chance to know important things about the 21st century literature genres. In this blog, I would like to share three of the said genres with a hope that it’s going to be a way in order to broaden your primary knowledge about the status of literature in this digital era. These are Doodle Fiction, Manga, as well as Graphic Novels.

So, for those who are pretty unfamiliar with Doodle Fiction, it is a literary presentation where the author incorporates doodle writing, drawings and handwritten graphics in place of the traditional font. In this, written works are accompanied with illustrations containing humorous elements to provide visual satisfaction as well. An example of this is The Diary of a Wimpy Kid created by author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney.

Another one is what we call Manga. As we all know, manga is an umbrella term for a wide variety of comic books originally produced and published in Japan. It’s very dominant in the world nowadays, and is actually considered as the most popular form of Japanese Entertainment Media. This genre has simplistic story lines, distinctive art-styles and well-fleshed out characters, which allows it to somehow stand-out in the digital community. Examples of it are Shonen- Boy’s Mangas entitled Naruto and One Piece.

We also have the one called as Graphic Novels. From its name, we can directly conclude that it is a book made up of comics content. Although the word "novel" normally refers to long fictional works, the term "graphic novel" is applied broadly and includes fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work. It is basically a sequence of images and words to tell a story. A good example of this is Archie Comics by John Goldwater and illustrator, Bob Montana.

Amidst these genres little differences that we can observe through their definitions, structures and elements, they actually commonly share wide and noticeable scope of similarities. They do all involve drawing, illustrations, and graphics in conveying a certain narrative. They also equally utilize the power of digital mediums to maximize their range and societal influences. This reality truly portrays the fact that literature will continue to be present, and will continue to gain power and evolve, even amidst the strong influence of the digital community.

Learning these new things about modern literature has really made me so ecstatic. Being aware of these genres allow me to be closer to the heart of this century’s literature. I am forever grateful to our teacher for doing his best in order to foster our knowledge and skills, even amidst the dangerous force of this global pandemic. I also humbly hope that through this blog, you will be given the chance to know the value of literature despite modern and highly dynamic world that we have.

Let’s open our eyes to the fundamentality of the 21st century literature to our lives. Let’s also be reminded that with right application, intelligent usage, and wide understanding, we can use literature as our indestructible trident in bringing waves of positive changes to our society, and build a brighter place for humanity.

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ladyloveandjustice · 4 years

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Winter 2020 Anime Overview: Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

Ok, so let’s get this out of the way first, 1. I adore this story so much and 2. Toilet Bound Hanako-kun has a horrible, horrible English title that is not actually at all representative of the story’s content and I have no idea what happened when it came to the team choosing that name. To the average English-speaking viewer/reader, this name 100% implies gross stuff and bathroom humor, and there is none in this show.

A Japanese reader on the other hand, would be more likely to recognize the name Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun as a spin on the classic ghost story “Hanako-san of the Toilet” only A BOY THIS TIME WHHHHA?” Basically, the story goes that a girl named Hanako in a red skirt haunts girls’ bathrooms in Japanese schools and if you knock on the third stall and call “Hanako-san” three times, she’ll appear. She might grant you a wish or pull you into Hell or something else, it varies.

(Her Wikipedia image, aww.)

Anyway, I dunno why the English title didn’t at least go with “Toilet Ghost Hanako-kun” or something that would have gotten the premise across even a little better (HE NOT TECHNICALLY BOUND BY THE TOILET EVEN, HE CAN GO ANYWHERE IN THE SCHOOL GROUNDS THE BATHROOM IS JUST HIS HOME BASE), but our boy Hanako haunting the girl’s bathroom only leads to broad jokes about our heroine being tasked with cleaning the bathroom and “dude you really shouldn’t be in here” comments, it’s pretty incidental.

Now that THAT’S out of the way, let’s talk about my LOVE FOR THIS STORY

Hanako-kun tells the story of a “regular” high school girl named Nene Yashiro, the mischievous and mysterious school ghost she befriends, and all the other weird monsters, exorcists, spirits and curses they encounter. It’s got a gorgeous, colorful bold aesthetic and art style that combines gothic and cute! It has a great mix of humor, intrigue, angst and fantasy action. basically if you love ghosts, monsters, Japanese mythology and legends, supernatural-human relationships, supernaturally fueled angst and drama, stories about trying to fix an unfair system the world has set up, wistful romance, a good shoujo manga with a Lot of Feelings (yes this is a shonen technically I’ll explain that later), weirdo dorks becoming friends AND MUCH MORE...this story will have something that will resonate with you. It’s got a lot going on, and it’s a ton of fun.

Hanako-kun is really one of those surprising stories that fits right into a hole in my story-loving heart I didn’t realize was still there, or that I’d actually been carrying since childhood. I love ghosts, see, and have since I was a kid!!! I knew this, but I kinda forgot how intensely I love them until this show reminded me again??? That’s because regular ghost stories/mysteries/whatever- I like them, but they don’t quite do it for me in the way more character-driven ones exploring the nature of being a ghost and humans and ghosts trying understand each other etc do. Stuff that really gets into the tragedy AND the fun fantasy aspect of ghosts, and plays the long game with it- and Hanako-kun scratches that itch perfectly.

Getting a little bit deeper into the premise of Hanako-kun, Nene is a very brave and sweet but not-all-that-bright girl (or, to put it more bluntly, she’s an idiot in the best way) who has a lot of romantic fantasies and insecurities and is VERY focused on them. After hearing a rumor at school that “Hanako-san of the bathroom” will grant wishes, she wishes to be able to confess to her crush and finds out its actually a weird ghost boy her age named Hanako haunting the bathroom! A lot of things happen, and she ends up cursed and bound to Hanako-kun, but also ends up slowly forming a friendship.

Turns out Hanako is the ghost in charge of the “seven mysteries/wonders” aka seven powerful supernatural entities that haunt this school (he’s number seven). These apparitions only supposed to terrorize students a LITTLE, because apparitions need to have rumors spread about them to remain in the human world.

(‘HAVE YOU HEARD?’ Oh hey shadow girls from Utena see you’ve moved to a new school.)

The rumors also generally dictate how powerful and dangerous the apparitions actually are- but SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS is changing the rumors around the school and making the apparitions go berserk and actually harm humans. So Hanako needs a human assistant to change the rumors and help him calm and seal the apparitions! That’s where Nene comes in.

Hanako himself is a very fun character- he’s very chaotic and revels in his whole “ gremlin ghost” persona, and is upfront about being a bit of an asshole. BUT he also makes his kindness, often good intentions and the fact he’ll have his friends back when it counts obvious from the beginning. B U T! He’s also got darkness and hidden depths to explore, and a lot of his persona is affected and masks deeper issues!

Our ghost boy is genuinely A TAD unstable deep down (as in he straight up has several untreated PTSD symptoms and that’s as disastrous as you’d expect) and packing some serious tragic backstory, as you might expect from a kid who died young and carries around a butcher’s knife, and it’s gonna come back to bite him and and all who care about him hard.

Especially when an overly enthusiastic exorcist named Kou Minamoto shows up! Kou is another one who’s very dumb and very good, a wannabe-shonen-protag with a heart of gold and strong sensitive, domestic side. He rounds out our main trio. Also he gets a tragic, emotionally intense relationship with yet another ghost boy that sings to my heart.

(Yes Hanako’s helping Nene to do the thing)

You may be able to tell, this story has INTENSE good-shoujo vibes despite technically being a shonen in a way that I love- it’s story very driven by big emotions, a variety of fucked up and tragically complex relationships, teen hormones running wild, etc, and it’s just delicious.

Nene is the normal-person-audience-surrogate-girl in a way that is more common for a shoujo protag, and the way her emotional connections to everyone, her sweeping romantic fantasies and her interiority are consistently in focus when she’s there- yeah, she’s definitely a plucky shoujo protag, 100%. And I’m all about that!!!

One thing I especially appreciate (though this comes across more strongly in the manga than the anime thanks to the anime rearranging things) is when Nene finds out about Hanako’s Heavy Baggage, she actually takes some time to herself to consider whether she can handle dealing with someone with these intense issues as a kid who’s never encountered stuff like this before- it’s not assumed by the story that the Sweet Girl is Obligated to help the Tragic Boy. I go into more detail about this part in this part here, but it’s that kind of attention to Nene’s needs that makes her role in the story work. Hanako and Nene and everyone’s struggles to get the hang of and properly navigate honest communication and mutual support in relationships are often really great and real-feeling

The story has a lot more things I love packed in to it- a dorky-but-still-deeply-unsettling villain gang who’s screwed up interactions are just as fun as our protagonists, yokai, A CURSED LIBRARY, some great ladies in addition to Nene, meditations on the nature of life, death, themes about fighting nihilism, and so on...I could seriously go on forever. It’s good stuff, and there’s lots of good weird supernaturals to meet.

The story’s also got tons of intrigue! The overarching plot and Hanako’s Mysterious Past is still in the process of unfolding, but it’s been great drama every step of the way! As mentioned before, the story also really relies on funny character dynamics, interaction and development to carry the whole thing and balance the drama.

The anime itself does have some pacing issues bc they crammed a lot into the first season and rearranged some stuff- an entire two chapter arc was skipped and was unlikely to be covered in the anime and some parts are noticeably rushed. I still really like the anime and it’s a solid adaptation. I love how much of the manga’s detailed aesthetic it managed to keep as well as the amazing voice acting and it made a few small but important additions. But there are some notable bumps- of course this just led me to go binge the manga (up to volume 12 is legally available digitally) and BOY DO I NOW LOVE THIS STORY EVEN MORE.

Now obviously, just because it is Exactly My Shit in a lot of ways doesn’t mean Hanako-kun is the much quested for “unproblematic fave”, there’s several caveats you should probs be aware of- its shoujo vibes also mean some classic shoujo ~Problematic tropes~ and a couple shounen ones.

THE LIST:

-Just as a general content overview thing: if this wasn’t clear the show deals heavily with death, body horror and other horror aspects. There’s heavily implied suicide and abuse and so on- as mentioned, the main character is traumatized and shows a lot of symptoms of PTSD, and Nene has to struggle to navigate her relationship with him because of this, as does Kou.

-Hanako himself has the whole ~loveable pervert~ and ~slightly possessive shoujo bad boy~ schtick going as part of his mischevious persona. In the anime so far, he never actually gropes or comments on not-in-his-naughty-mags-people’s breasts or anything of that level thankfully, but he’s very flirty, clingy, will loudly bring up porn, fond of the ol’ *says something that purposefully sounds sexually possessive* HAHAHA U THOUGHT I MEANT SOMETHING DIRTY RIGHT LOL ACTUALLY I DIDN’T.”

(My unnecessary ‘this part is kinda interesting!’ ramble: Nene always lists “sexual harassment” among Hanako’s flaws (she loves listing them), but doesn’t get visibly uncomfortable with his flirtiness or seem to mind it most times, which at least makes the whole thing more tolerable for me.

(since she doesn’t seem to mind that part and its clear he does it bc of actual affection for her, it’s actually p. cute how huggy he is.)

The one time it does cross the line and genuinely upset her, it’s treated seriously, Hanako is genuinely regretful and apologizes. That’s one of my fave moments in the story and the way it’s handled is well done.

This incident that he’s honestly pretty socially clueless as kid who died young and a lot of his bravado is to cover that up and keep people at a distance- this is a trope into itself that can use unpacking but I do at least appreciate that this is a considered character trait that’s part of his whole messed up package rather than something that thrown in there Just to Be a Fanservice Trope. (Especially since the manga confirms he never acted particularly pervy while alive, further cementing this is an affected persona).

-There’s a running gag around Nene’s insecurity over her thick ‘daikon shaped’ ankles and boys treating her badly for it.

One one hand, her body image issues are relatable, on the other, it feels cruel and annoying just how much the show finds ways to bring it up and humiliate her over and over again.

(My unnecessary “this is part is kinda interesting” ramble:The one thing i did realize that despite bringing it up constantly, we at least have no “i’m going to do this to lose weight” or “go on a diet” rhetoric,like this is just part of Nene’s body type and she knows she can’t change it? Which is kinda interesting. And I’ve spotted what might be foreshadowing something plot relevant’s going to happen with her ankles (I DON’T KNOW HOW, BUT GOD I PUT NOTHING PAST THIS STORY) so uh yeah??? either way it’s not good tho)

-”Obsessive and twisted love” is a running theme in this story, and while it’s generally acknowledged as unhealthy, it can be played for comedy in a way that could make viewers/readers uncomfortable. There’s a couple characters who’s entire thing so far is “obsessively in love with this one person” (and the one only focused on in the manga so far is one of the least interesting characters tbh ugh)

-The antagonist of the show is a member of a main character’s family, and the manner he acts towards pretty much everyone, including (and really especially) his family member, verges on seductive. This is presented as deliberately unsettling and treated as a marker of how unstable and scary he is- and though the backstory between them hasn’t been fully delved into, it’s pretty much all but confirmed he abused this family member physically and emotionally.

-The story has like, A LOT of queer subtext and pretty-heavy queer coding for one character especially, but the few times queerness blatantly comes up in the story, it’s played as a joke in the “haha that’d be kinda weird” way (aside from the rando boys who have a crush on Teru, handled pretty neutrally). It’s not as malicious as a lot of animanga can get (ONE MANGA INCIDENT ASIDE), but it’s something to Be Aware Of, and it makes it clear we’re unlikely to see subtext rise to text and makes some moments feel baity.

-And probably more I might have missed! The manga also has Some Shit in addition all the Good Shit that hasn’t been adapted yet, an early arc has Hanako crossing a serious line etc.

BUT despite how messy it is, I think it’s clear I have a lot of love for this story. In fact, I wouldn’t trade away a good chunk of its messiness (DEFINITELY SOME JUST NOT ALL), it kinda works for the characters and works in the “this story really feed my inner teen” way. Some of the trashy parts are exactly My Trash, basically.

So, I knew I’d ramble on for a while when I talked about his show, but if you’ve read this far, thanks, and I hope that means you’re gonna check out and maybe enjoy this story, bc i need more people to join me in Hanako Hell.

#toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #jibaku shonen hanako kun #winter 2020 anime #anime overview #hanako kun #nene yashiro #yashiro nene #kou minamoto #minamoto kou #yugi amane #amane yugi #my reviews

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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Manga the Week of 3/10/21

SEAN: Has anyone else run out of time to read things? You’d think I’d be reading MORE in a pandemic, but…

MICHELLE: I have run out of brain to read things.

ANNA: My non-work reading and writing have suffered.

ASH: It’s strange but true.

MELINDA: What is time?

SEAN: Airship has the print debut of Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells. Also in print is the second ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword!, and digital-first gives us the 2nd Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs.

Dark Horse has a 7th Deluxe Hardcover edition of Berserk.

ASH: It’s probably no surprise that I’ll be picking that up.

SEAN: Drawn & Quarterly has a biggie: the late Shigeru Mizuki’s adaptation of Tono Monogatari, a famous collection of folklore. It ran in Shogakukan’s Big Comic.

ASH: My recent brief doesn’t truly do it justice, but I love this book.

MELINDA: Ash is persuasive!

SEAN: No debuts for J-Novel Club, but a lot of new volumes of beloved series. We see Ascendance of a Bookworm 11, Bibliophile Princess 5, the 2nd manga volume of The Engagement of Marielle Clarac, Girls Kingdom 2, Infinite Dendrogram 14, the 5th manga volume of The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar, and Slayers 6.

ASH: Yay, Bookworm!

SEAN: Kaiten Books has a debut with Welcome to the Outcast’s Restaurant, a manga version of the light novel we’ve seen released here by Tentai Books. A strong adventurer, banished by his party, starts a restaurant, and has to deal with his customers’ varied issues.

ASH: There seems to be a surprising number of these types of restaurants.

SEAN: Kodansha has some print. There’s Grand Blue Dreaming 12, Rent-a-Girlfriend 5, Saint Young Men 5 (in hardcover omnibus), and the 14th and final Waiting for Spring.

MICHELLE: I’ve been waiting for Waiting for Spring‘s finale for ages!

ANNA: I have the first volume and I still haven’t read it!

ASH: I’ve liked what I’ve read of Waiting for Spring so far, but Saint Young Men has most of my attention from this batch.

MELINDA: Same here!

SEAN: For digital, the debut is Shaman King: Marcos, which runs in Shonen Magazine Edge, and is MORE SHAMAN KING.

Also digital: A Couple of Cuckoos 3, Ace of the Diamond 31, Peach Boy Riverside 5, Saint Young Men 10, Seven Shakespeares 15, and We Must Never Fall in Love 7.

MICHELLE: A baseball binge is in store for me!

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debuts. The first had an anime recently, and it’s called Super HxEros (Dokyuu Hentai HxEros). Despite the Japanese title, this isn’t quite porn, but it does run on fanservice. Aliens are sapping the world’s lust, and only superheroes who can use their own lust to power up can stop them. This runs in Jump Square, home of Blue Exorcist, believe it or not, and is 11+ volumes in Japan.

The other debut is Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan (Fushigi Neko no Kyuu-chan), a 4-koma about an office worker who finds an abandoned cat that proves to be… a wonder cat! This looks very cute.

ANNA: That does sound cute.

ASH: It does.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor 11, Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 6 (manga), Arpeggio of Blue Steel 17, Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time 4, The Ideal Sponger Life 8 (manga), The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent 2 (manga), and We Swore to Meet in the Next Life and That’s When Things Got Weird! 2.

SuBLime gives us Caste Heaven 5 and the 2nd and final volume of Toritan – Birds of a Feather.

MICHELLE: I need to check out Toritan. Caste Heaven was not for me.

ASH: I haven’t tried Caste Heaven yet, but I really liked the first volume of Toritan. I didn’t realize it was only two volumes long.

SEAN: Tokyopop has Katakoi Lamp, a BL title from Rutile. A young man working at a coffee shop falls for a customer, but can he work up the courage to confess?

They also have the 2nd volume of Ossan Idol!.

Vertical has a 9th volume of Flying Witch and a 3rd With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun.

Viz has Tokyo Fashion: A Comic Book, an illustrated guide to building your wardrobe and looking good.

ASH: Oh, that could be interesting!

SEAN: We also have Fly Me to the Moon 4, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 8, RIN-NE 38, and Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show 3.

Yen On has a debut, with The Executioner and Her Way of Life (Shokei Shoujo no Ikirumichi), about a woman whose job it is to STOP isekai protagonists – they keep bringing chaos whenever they arrive! Unfortunately, the girl she meets may be more than she can handle. Nice seeing more yuri light novels.

ASH: That is kind of a delightful and cathartic twist to the isekai deluge. And it’s yuri, too? I may have to check it out!

SEAN: Yen On also has Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 5.

Three debuts from Yen Press. I Cannot Reach You (Kimi ni wa Todokanai) is a BL series from Media Factory’s Gene Pixiv, and is a childhood friend romance sort of story. It looks sweet.

MICHELLE: I’m really looking forward to this one!

ASH: Me, too!

MELINDA: Okay, yes, THIS.

SEAN: SEAN: Play It Cool, Guys (Cool Doji Danshi) runs in Square Enix’s Gangan Pixiv, and features a bunch of cool guys who are secretly… awkward dorks! This seems more on the funny side.

ASH: Could be fun!

SEAN: Penguin Gentlemen (Penguin Shinshi) is a done-in-one hardcover about a group of penguins who run a bar. Sometimes they’re drawn as penguins… and sometimes they’re drawn as buff hot guys. This ran in Kadokawa’s Pixiv Essay.

ANNA: This sounds hilarious.

ASH: It really does, in the best sort of way.

MELINDA: This sounds amazing.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen has Happy Sugar Life 8, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years 5 (manga), Kakegurui Twin 9, and Restaurant to Another World 4.

What series are you falling more and more behind on?

MICHELLE: ALL OF THEM.

ANNA: SO MANY SERIES!

MELINDA: I REPEAT, WHAT IS TIME?

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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