#the anime is a bit different than the manga but still excited

[lemonrock]

best boy incoming

[beanghostprincess]

No offense to anyone but genuinly the Babby Shuggy moments not only made me ship it but also make me not understand people who feel like their dynamic in canon isn’t „all that interesting“ after they split. „They haven’t seen each other in years. They are different people now. They aren’t thinking and regretting their splitting 24/7!“ okay, but also like…. You don’t want them to have more screentime after the flashback that can just really flesh out how they changed? You don’t think Buggy fucking up upwards coupled with Shanks actual epicness while still being the type of guy to be chill with Buggy and congratulate him for fucking up upwards would be fun? You don’t even want them to have that cool anime shonen type thing where they work together for a while and get into a fight and get a full page panel of them ready to kick ass while standing back to back? (The „What? You’re fighting too?“ scene from Kingdom Hearts may be overused but it comes to my mind immediatly because sometimes things are overused for a REASON and it fits them in a weird way) Like…. Okay. Your loss. But even beyond shipping I am still a bit flabbergasted at some people being like „Yeah but there’s nothing THERE.“ like, COME ON THERE COULD BE SO MUCH.

Okay, anon, sometimes you need to understand that people have no taste and sometimes we are more intelligent than others and we have to carry the burden of liking and understanding an amazing ship that a lot of people find boring in canon because they don't know how to read the characters. (I'm half joking here, by the way)

Like!!! I started shipping them from the first second they mentioned they were together when they were young. The first flashback of them has the biggest most beautiful "young, teenage best friends to lovers angsty with a lot of pining and not actually unrequited love" I've ever seen. And not only that, even their fucking past is a slow burn. They make you wait to know about the resentment and what happened between them (I've only watched that flashback in wano, if more things are shown in the arc or the manga I don't know about them so don't spoil me in the comments pleaseplease) and it's so so so beautiful. Like- They make me want to lay on the floor all day and cry WHAT'S NOT INTERESTING ABOUT THEIR DYNAMIC????

You know what happens, anon? A lot of people don't like the childhood best friends to lovers trope because they find it boring (for some reason I still don't understand because it's literally my favorite trope) and so they decide to focus on the rivalry and angst that comes later but, y'know, that's when the fanon thing comes up and they focus more on that than on their actual canon past where they're best friends.

And tbh the fact that they reduce their characters only to their relationship instead of to their actual personalities and goals is a shame because Buggy and Shanks have to be two of the most charismatic and interesting anime characters I've ever seen. They're fun and extremely cool to watch even when they aren't thinking about each other 24/7. People, please stop only thinking about ships for a moment?? And if you do, please at least think about how cool it's going to be once they get together again after so much time being apart.

This reminds me a lot of Soukoku and Satosugu ngl. The whole BFFs until there was this big betrayal thing and also the fact that people only like them because of their relationship and are always mad their characters aren't only about the ship.

Honestly, I'm so excited to see more of them and every time they talk/show up on screen I immediately start sobbing. How could people not find them interesting in canon? Buggy is literally one of the best characters wdym?? Also he'd be extremely angry at people reducing him to his relationship with Shanks, dude already is tired of that man let him rest!! Imagine people always talking about you to talk about the ex you still love like damn please he's an awesome character too. And Shanks, too, but like the dude is a simp and he would love this whole thing so-

[ryanthel0ser]

My Reactions to Trigun Stampede After Watching the 1998 show

So I watched all of the 98 show in less than 24 hours and adored it so I went into Stampede cautious and yknow I liked it just a tiny bit (as I am writing this I am on my 4th rewatch, I watched it for the first time 3 days ago, I adore it). I decided to document my reactions cause I feel like a few mutuals will enjoy this.

Episode 1

SPACE??? ALREADY??? JUST RIGHT OUT THE GATE???

awww hi Vash, lil guy <333

what are they cooking here, showing us the Rem situation immediately

Rem 😢

This is very much like Eva in DMC5

Oh they're reporters now?

WHERE'S MILLY, WHERE IS MY GIRL MILLY, WHO IS THIS GUY AND WHERE IS MILLY

i miss milly...

yep that's Meryl

VASHHHHHHH <333333 MY GUY <3333333

JOHNNY YOUNG BOSCH <333333333333333333333 (yes i watched the dub, it's good and I love Johnny Young Bosch)

only 6 million??

He's so sillay <333

MAJOR aesthetic difference

"Careful the kitchen's serving lead" queen

so weird to see a town not running Vash out

love that they're still mixing the music so that it's louder than the dialogue (not)

THEYRE JUST HANDING THE VASH AND KNIVES LORE AT THE VERY START?????

Knives you are so close to playing the Interstellar theme

I should really read the manga to see what they're adapting that 98 didn't

Ooo i love this song

98 STYLE ART ASDJFKAJDSFLJADFKJA THEY DID THAT FOR ME THAT WAS FOR ME THAT CATERS TO ME

Episode 2

I just noticed he calls him "Nai" euueueueueu

*insert catjam here* intro goes so hard

It'd be funny if Roberto went "man this sounds like Dante and Vergil"

Not him trying to cry his way out asjkdfjlkadf that's Vash for sure

I'm so glad they got Johnny Young Bosch for this I don't think anyone else could do it

July is still around??

"MAMA LOVES YOU BABY NOW SHOO" iconic

noooo :[

NEBRASKA FAMILY

"why'd they have to use this photo" it's a cute photo!

HE'S SO REAL

ONE BULLET VS 2 DOZEN DONUTS, LIKE YEAH CHOOSE THE DONUTS THAT'S BASED

Did they model Rosa after Milly to atone for the fact she isn't here

Me seeing things that are identical to the 1998 one: excited pointing at tv while pogging

"Mm, Yeah no <3" I love him so much

"what's wrong with being a little timid" I want to hold you and never let go, you do not deserve what's coming

look at my boy dodging lets go

"I don't have any reason not to...eh, I don't really care...I told you I don't" Vash you deserve the world

hell yeah gunslinger moment

VASH HOW STRONG ARE YOU??

that smile AUEUEUEUEUUEUEUEUEU it really reminds me of 98

HUH?

Episode 3

uh oh

well how we getting outta this

OH THIS GUY I REMEMBER YOU

HE GOT CLOWNED ON BY SAMURAI GUY

ANGRY VASH HELLO HI KING MISSED YOU

love seeing Vash angry some of my favorite moments are when he's pissed

oh this is a smart plan actually

"who's side are you on anyway" is this going to be recurring

KNIVES

man Knives you really arent holding back

the creators of this show went "hey we saw your twin angst in DMC Capcom and how much yall emphasize the twins so we'd like to do the same since you probably were inspired by Knives and Vash for the Vergil and Dante situation"

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THAT GORE IS SICK <- blood and gore enjoyer

is Johnny Young Bosch the only returning voice???

this is the third ask for who's side Vash's on this is definitely recurring

uhhhh whatcha doing there

��_◉

"you would shoot me?" lowkey wish it was still as funny as it was in the 98 version

WOAH RELOAD ANIMATION

He's living up to the Million Knives name

that is certainly a Million knives

Metal Gear ass name

WOAH THAT'S SO COOL AND PRETTY

holy crap they quickly established the difference in serious tone oh my god, there is so much emotional weight here

also the music is gorgeous

yeah the stakes are much higher in this version, they are not afraid to kill characters

this is just heartbreaking

Vash 🥺

"because I dont deserve to cry" VAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH AEUEUEUEUEUUEUEUUEUEUEUEUEUEUEUEUEUEU

so will we get to see what happens to July or will it just not happen

Episode 4

hi Wolfwood

not gonna lie I don't like this fit, the pants specifically

where's your nose king, they took it away

THEY HIT WOLFWOOD WITH THE CAR AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH

oh well this aint good

Not a priest????

yep that's Wolfwood (lollipop scene)

he's much more emo here tho not as charming as 98

ASJDFJFSDL LMAOOO

loved that animation of Vash looking at the bill

well Roberto isn't wrong, you did work for Knives

hey isnt that Meryl's gun

"don't worry I can see through his emo persona ^-^" "HEY"

I KNEW IT WAS THIS KID

woah cool design

we are getting so much more of these guys than we did in 98

YUHHHHH THE DESIGN IS BASICALLY IDENTICAL

WOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

that actually looks good, id eat it

REVEALING THIS ALREADY?????

WHAT ARE YOU COOKING STUDIO ORANGE????

"i can see it in your eyes" dont think i didnt notice that little parallel

gate????

im snorting those end credit arts like crack cocaine

Episode 5

Todoroki that you?

WAIT I FORGOT WOLFWOOD IS VOICED BY TODOROKI'S ENGLISH VA AHAHAHAHHAHAHAH

the radio spouting religious stuff and doomsday talk is giving DMC5 intro

It's so interesting that at some angles the style is identical to the 1998 show

Vash in particular, they translated his facial expressions perfectly

OH THIS GUY

OH I LOVE THIS REDESIGN

I LOVE THIS REDESIGN A LOT

what's the deal with this kid

man they really are just tugging on my heartstrings in this show

"If God won't, I will!" STOP

Alice Angel that you?

OH NO

IS THIS WHERE I THINK IT'S GOING

OH NO

OH NO THIS MAKES THIS WHOLE SITUATION SO MUCH WORSE

HE KNEW HIM SINCE HE WAS A BABY???? SHOOT ME IT'D HURT LESS

HE WAS JUST SOME GOON GUY IN THE 98 VERSION I CANT AEUEUEUEUEUEUEUEU

same face as the 98 guy tho just with the scar

Oh Wolfwood doing that has so much more impact now

although in the 1998 version by having it not be someone Vash knew it added to how far Vash's ideals went and it caused Wolfwood to have introspection but this is a different arc

And in the 1998 version the situation is much more ambigous cause Vash is talking to the "kid" but he hasn't turned back at all yet and Wolfwood shoots

so it's more unclear who is right in that situation while in this you can see Rolo is sorta just frozen there and thinking so you're inclined to Vash's side more

what are they cooking, im so intrigued

Episode 6

WOAH WOAH WOAH WOLFWOOD WHAT IS YOUR DEAL

WOLFWOOD WAS A NORMAL GUY IN 1998

HE IS CLEARLY NOT HERE

"im like the cool big brother" tumblr does not agree

I have seen some art

THE SUITCASE THINGYS

CHARACTER THAT WASNT EVEN IN THE 1998 ONE???

MANGA CHARACTER AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

this guy must be a bleach fan

OH THAT'S SO MUCH FUNNIER KNOWING JOHNNY YOUNG BOSCH VOICES ICHIGO AJAHHDAHHAHAHAHA

i love this 2D style can I get an entire anime in this style

Little Wolfwood and Little Megumi need to be in a idgaf competition

tiny menace to society

stfu this is so cute, how will this go horribly wrong

smoking at like 7 years old asjkdfalfd

Woah Trigun, your mom lets you have TWO tragic sibling plots???

wow they made Wolfwood trip balls

WOAH

THEY ARE NOT HOLDING BACK ON THE BODY HORROR <- thrilled about this

man they did screw you up

LEGATO

they took his emo swag

S+ what is this Devil May Cry

they flipped Legato's design and put the spikes on the right side and the part the other way

Livio has become Sans Undertale

Wolfwood better have a tiddies out fit next season

they were POPPING in 98

that jacket was STRUGGLING

"Ryan you're objectifying him" yes I am

I want to see his tiddies hand em over

Not gonna lie Wolfwood, you calling Vash "blondie" isnt helping the allegations

Episode 7

LMAOOOO THE BADLANDS GANG GETTING THEIR PHOTOS TAKEN AJSDFLJFSDK

i can't with this im AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEUEUEUEUUE

if Buddy Daddies hadn't sucked me dry from crying so hard (i had just finished it the previous day) I would be weeping

WELP HE JUST DID THAT

he aint dead though i saw stuff about him

Legato not gonna lie I prefer your 98 version so far, like he made me shake in my boots a bit

Vash why is your arm made of the blown glass stuff they use to make little glass figures you see in the glass cabinets at the back of the PX or at a big gas station

that gun definitely hit something, just not the town bet

the title card of "Wolfwood" after he calls himself the punisher asjkdfjlaf

hello why am I crying at the scene of Vash with his hands against the glass in the plant

this just in, scene so pretty with pretty music that it made Ryan cry

not the first time

OH HE'S A PLANT

THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE

IM SO STUPID HOW DID I NOT REALIZE THAT DURING 98

ONCE AGAIN GOING FERAL FOR END CREDIT ART AALALALAAODFOAOAOAOAO

Episode 8

oh nooooooooooooooooooo

dont show me this

dont show me them being happy

my little baby boy auaueueueueueueueueueueueueueueu

"im mom to the sweetest boys in the universe" ONE sweet boy

The little blush on Nai dwaw

Plant lore????

Saverem? Really that's her last name??? Is this Metal Gear

BRAD???? THAT'S BRAD???

actually not surprised that's Brad

"there has to be something special that only you can do" be the most babygirl anyone could ever be, though you gotta grow up for that

I CANT LITTLE VASH AUEUEUEUEUEUEUUEEUUEUEUEEU

I NEED TO TAKE YOU FAR AWAY AND SPOIL YOU WITH ICE CREAM

when is this going to go horribly wrong

IM GONNA CRYYYYY HE'S SO ADORABLE AUEUEUEUEUEUUEUEEUUEUEUE

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

HE'S NOOOOT

HE ISNT WORKING WITH KNIVES HE DIDN'T LIE HE SAID HE'S PROBABLY DEAD WHICH UNDER MOST CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD BE TRUE

Man they made Knives look EXTRA Vergil

Episode 9

epic piano, also how are you playing both parts by yourself

WOAH 1998 TYPE SHOT

i fully believe they're emulating the 1998 style just in 3D now, the side profiles give it away

well that's messed up, i can see why Knives hates humans

that doesnt explain why he crashed the ships though

"Millions Knives" i really do think you played Metal Gear

Knives I do wonder what your plan was cause how do you expect the plants to survive here

oh so the gun isn't custom made

98 THING HE SAID THAT KINDA IN 98 TOO ("all this time and you're still just as useless without me)

i appreciate them trying to keep the deranged faces Knives makes in 98

WOAH WOAH WAOH WOAH WAOHWOAH

IS THAT THE BLACK HOLE THING, I SAW SOMETHING ABOUT IT FROM THE MANGA

Now Vash is even MORE like Nero

WAIT HAS IT NOT BEEN 100 YEARS???

oh nevermind, its been 150 years

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

a whole ship of passengers...I'm sure this won't be relevant later they're going to die arent they

oh my gosh that's right she's never seen flowers and such like this

more of this side picking stuff

I'm not ready for when he does kill again, that will actually break my heart

oh they are just bugs

OUR PRONOUNS ARE THEY/THEM, BECAUSE WE'RE NON-BINARY AND A BUNCH OF MFS

Episode 10

I'M ON EPISODE 10 ALREADY???

I literally became a Trigun fan in less than 24 hours

Hundred Spoons lmaooooo

so weird to hear them talk about Earth, but it's not as much of a HUH like 98's

than you remember??? when did you come here last

I need him to say Love and Peace

please please say it

"I DID NOT GIVE THAT ORDER" "OH SHUT IT" "OKAY" asjlkdfjlskfd

okay is Conrad aware Knives probably aint gonna let him make a new race of humans, like have fun with your experiment he does not want human to live at all

"they're disgusted by you" that is the most babygirl man ive ever seen

i have the exact opposite reaction

also his scars aren't as gnarly as 98...will he get more later

ULTIMATE LIFE FORM MENTION 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️ WTF IS A POWER INHIBITOR 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️

well that's what you get for mixing Knives genetics in that

El-what's her face got homophobia in her eyes

I KNEW IT

I KNEW HE WASNT MAKING IT

HE'S GOT MERYL'S GUNS FROM THE 1998 ONE SO IF SHE'S GONNA HAVE THE GUNS THEN SOMETHING HAD TO HAPPEN

God Knives you drama queen with this piano

oh NOW he's a pastor

BRUH i cant

HE DIDNT CAUSE IT THAT WAS YOU

wtf did you do to him Conrad

also Knives's VA sounds so much like Vergil at times

it's not Dan Southworth but this guy can sound close

Episode 11

oh intro immediately you know it's gonna be intense

okay Wolfwood Im begging you next season at the very least change pants the skinny jean look isnt good

ALSO KNIVES HELLO

PUT ON SOME CLOTHES

jesus kids these days

always wearing revealing outfits

DOUBLE CHEEKED UP

man they aren't letting up the bible allegories

"dawn your crown of thorns"

1998 had more subtle ones and then the super obvious one with the garden of eden stuff

"we're going to reverse humanity's suicide by killing them all" do yall...do yall not see the problem with that logic

god this makes me want to read the manga now just to see how much this version pulls from it and how much the 98 version pulls from it

Knives what is your workout routine do you workout with Toji or something

HE LITERALLY DIDN'T THOUGH KNIVES, STOP BLAMING HIM FOR A CHOICE YOU MADE

"comparison is the thief of joy" SO REAL AND BASED

Knives yknow I have this gut feeling that Rem did mean something to you and you are just in SUPER denial

OH OKAY

ALRIGHT I GET WHY YOU'RE THE WAY YOU ARE ABOUT THIS KNIVES

OH HE LITERALLY READ THE BIBLE

STFU NO IT WASNT KNIVES STOP TRYING TO MAKE HIM THINK IT'S HIS FAULT

was it Knives was it? Cause you seem willing to sacrifice your brother for all this

Knives this is gonna backfire on you

Knives read the bible and took all the wrong lessons

dont think i didnt notice that the giant plant resembles Rem

Episode 12

"like a western, life on the frontier" STFUUUUUUUUUUU

YOU DO NOT WANT KNIVES IN THOSE GENETICS THEY'LL JUST START KILLING EACH OTHER

ONCE AGAIN THE MERYL REM CONNECTION (referring to 98 when Vash sees Rem in Meryl)

YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH

STUFUFUSDFLKJSFDF

Sjaesjk

fpaesjf

THE HAIR THAE THE HAIR

SHUT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

YES

EYSYEYSYEYSEYSEYEAYEYSYEYSYE

THE ANGEL GUN

SHUT UP

SHUT UP

#0

THEY PLACED US KINDA AT THE INTRO OF THE ORIGINAL

ALSO HE'S DOING LOVE AND PEACE IN THE PHOTO

INSURANCE SOCIETY

AJKLSDFLJKSDFJKLFDSLJKDFSLJKFDSJLAKFDJLFKDSFDLK

JDFASLJKDSFAJLKFSDJKL;SDZFLJK

MILLIE MILLIE MIILEYLAWER

FHJAERSKJDFLK' SDAJKLFAHKLASFDJLKDFHL;AJSFHJASDFLJDFSALKSDALKJDSFHJLDSFAHDSHJLSDAFHKLFSLAJ

THE EARRINGS SHE HAS HER EARRINGS

JKLDSJLKSADJLKDSZJLKSDFJLKSDFJLKZSLDFJ;ZKSFJLKSDFZJLKASDFJLKSFASDF;LJZVDXLNKXZVLS

VASH

ERIKS ASLDKJJLKSDAJLKSDFALJKSDFAJLKSDFAJLKSDFAJLKSFALJKASFDLJKSDAFLJKDSFJLKSDFAJLKSDFLJKSDAFLJSADFJLSDFJLDSFJLKSDFJLKLSDFJKA

OH MY GOD

OH NY GOD

OG TY G SD H ASDFLJ

OH MY GOD

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

YEAH

YEAH I WAS RIGHT TO WATCH 1998 FIRSR

I WAS SO RIGHT FOR THAT

OH THAT MAKES THIS SO MUCH BETTER I

M LSOING MYS ASDFJMIND

WHEN

WHEN NEXT SEASON

WEHN WHEN IN ENED

IN ENEE NEED

IN EEE

IC NAT

[generositygullet]

A letter to Akira Toriyama

Dear Akira Toriyama,

I first interacted with dragonball when I was in 6th grade or so, when I started playing dragon ball fusions for the 3ds since the trailer looked cool. Kind of a weird start right? But I was getting really into anime at the time, and wanted to check out one of the most popular ones. I had NO idea who the characters were, and had NO clue what the story was about. But for some reason against all the odds, as soon as I saw the title screen boot up with that soaring music I was hooked. The game was super fun, no doubt about it. But what REALLY kept me going when playing it, was the world of dragon ball itself.

Again I had no clue who any of these people were. But seeing these characters interact with each other, seeing these different setpieces made, seeing all of these powers and personalities, it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. It channeled the raw kid desire in me to see two buff dudes duking it out, and god I adored every bit of it.

I didn't dig any deeper than that initially, and like all my other hyperfixations it died down. But again in 7th grade I started playing fighterz, and I was hooked again. But this time I dug deeper in preparation for the release of the new GT dlc, and so the first dragon ball media I actually watched? Was GT. Which is hilarious in hindsight, but I still adored every second of it.

In 8th grade things were not going so well for me, I was losing friends due to being an asshole, and I had to change myself to be worthy of the people around me. I was pretty depressed, and everything seemed sad and hopeless (I know it's pretty dramatic for a literal like 13 year old but bear with me lmao). It's around that time when I decided to watch Dragon Ball Super. And again, I was hooked. I binged it so fast, all 130 something episodes. I could talk big about the characters and everything, but honestly it was just so plain cool. It made me feel excited and happy, it made me feel like everything was ok. And those positive feelings made that much of a difference in me.

From that point on I always was interested in Dragon Ball. my first and only hyperfixation to never really go away. I read the OG dragonball, and started REALLY noticing your artistic talent. From the way you drew Goku moving across the battlefield and the poses he struck. To the illustrations of the action and the punches thrown. It was all so dynamic and energetic. When I was reading it I was always engaged, excited to see the next panel. I wanted to channel the same energy in my own art somehow, to encapsulate the same excitement you instilled in me with your drawings.

I FINALLY got around to watching and reading Z a little later. And of course I loved it. I knew all the basic plot beats, and had a 3 in one Goku vs Vegeta volume collection that I would reread constantly. But seeing them play it is so different. I also started to admire your character design more and more. Trying to draw them in my free time, and getting a bit sad when I couldn't capture the same magic you could.

All of this, of course, was older material though. This was all before my time, I was never there to experience it when it initially happened. Not for super, not for the OG DB, and not for Z. I adored it all, but I always knew what was going to happen.

I remember the reaction on my face when the news of DBS Superhero dropped. I was so so SO excited. More than you could ever imagine. Something new, something I could see with my own eyes, and something about Piccolo and Gohan??? It was amazing. And seeing it in theaters a few years later? God I was on the edge of my seat the entire film. I even started reading the DBS manga, I think it's amazing so far.

When I heard that you were gone yesterday night, I was crushed.

I’m a junior now. And after a long time of thinking about it, being anxious, afraid, and scared of the future. I think I want to be an artist or filmmaker. I want to bring the same energy you did to the world. I'm still trying to figure out my artstyle, and how I want to draw. I’m not great at it, but no matter what, I want to keep going. Because I want to bring a character to life, like you brought Son Goku to life and so many others as well. I want to inspire so many others like you inspired me. With your messages, you brought me happiness. You told me that simplicity was ok with Son Goku. You told me that we need to fight for what we love with Son Gohan. You told me that we should aim to be better than our predecessors with Piccolo Junior. You told me that we shouldn't let our pride consume us with Vegeta. You’ve shown me and the entire world so so much. And I hope you were proud of it. I’m

I said the world of Dragon Ball earlier, but really, it was your world Akira Toriyama. And your world changed mine forever in the best way. Thank you, for letting me dream again.

[genderfluiddoppio]

Hiiii you should talk about why you love pakunoda a lot, I absolutely did not glom onto her when I was watching through hxh 2011, but I am so excited to be sold on her. Sorry if this is the wrong blog to ask on!

I'm so glad you asked :) I also didn't really click with Pakunoda after watching the 2011 anime. I thought she was neat but that was it. But the 1999 anime (and ova) gave her a bit more time in the spotlight and developed her character A LOT more and once I watched that I was obsessed.

(Honestly I think the 1999 anime is better than the 2011 anime in general but that's a topic for another time)

Any time I go into the Pakunoda tag I get so mad because a lot of people tend to make her one personality trait Being A Woman. And I suppose it's my own damn fault for becoming obsessed w a female character in a shonen anime, especially one that only shows up for one arc (and a flashback in the manga).

Okay I'm gonna start with actual canon evidence (meaning like. literally any scene that has her in the 1999 and 2011 animes and the manga) of her personality/character before I delve into my insane theories/headcanons. Also spoilers for the manga obviously I'll try to keep the most spoilery bits to their own section

So Pakunoda doesn't get a lot of screen time and before the hostage exchange situation, she's pretty passive. She doesn't speak much and in the beginning of the York new arc, she's chilling with chrollo at the hideout. She doesn't get an active part in the story until the blackout happens and she decides to ignore chrollos orders to save him. Before this, the phantom troupe were like. Not generic villains, but they haven't had a chance to truly show their motivations. As far as the audience could tell, they were villains through and through and didn't have any sympathetic qualities. During the hostage exchange plot, we see a sympathetic side to Pakunoda and the rest of the phantom troupe and the troupe becomes more nuanced as characters. Not only do we see the spiders loyalty to chrollo, we see it's not as simple as "aw the villains wanna save their friends too just like the heroes" though that is part of it. It's made clear that some of the troupe considers following chrollos orders true loyalty, while Paku, shizuku, machi, nobunaga, and kortopi think saving chrollo is more important. Pakunoda even admits this would be seen as a "betrayal" because she's ignoring chrollos orders and compromising the safety/integrity of the troupe by valuing his life above all else. She says "consider me betraying the spider for your sake" when she decides to follow Kurapika's demands and go through with the hostage exchange. her loyalty differs from most of the other spiders because she's loyal to chrollo ABOVE her loyalty to the spiders. While I'm sure most of not all the spiders consider him a friend, they value his leadership and his orders above that. 

Also everyone talks about how chrollo and kurapika are parallels and like they're not wrong but kurapika and Pakunoda are just as similar if not more so and melody even points it out (internally) during the negotiation!

Melody says "[Pakunoda] who you despise with everything you have is driven by the same motive as you. She wishes to save her friend, her boss." 

Kurapika doesn't realize this because he's still clinging to the mindset that the troupe is a group of bloodthirsty heartless monsters, when in reality they are complex people with the same motivation as him, especially Pakunoda. The only reason kurapika is able to get Gon and killua back safely is because Pakunoda is just as desperate to get chrollo back safely. 

(Manga spoilers here kinda)

In the phantom troupe backstory, we see that Pakunoda was closer to chrollo than any other member of the phantom troupe. she refers to him as her "little squire/little brother" (depending on which translation you read) and says she likes how kind he is

gonna throw one of my headcanon/theories in here but like. i feel like pakunoda still thinks of chrollo as that sweet kid who everyone had to look out for. i think part of her yearns to just be happy and carefree with her friends again. I didnt mention the ova's extended scene with the cat before now because i feel like thats the scene everyone points to when they say they like pakunoda. but i think it's even deeper than "pakunoda is nice to cats" because in the ova, the cat represents her and the troupe. while she takes the cat back to its colony, she flashes back to her time in meteor city when the troupe was first formed. not only that, but the cat has purple eyes like paku does (in the 1999 anime) and the black cat is positioned on top of the slide like how chrollo is positioned on top of the junk pile. i think thats when pakunoda made her decision to go back to the troupe and share what happened during the exchange, though she knew it would cost her her life.

Tldr; Pakunoda is (almost) singlehandedly carrying the phantom troupe's reputation as well written and nuanced characters and people tend to forget that

ALSO. Very important information.

she has dimples

[nono-bunny]

Heya! Just wondering, since Netflix Geeked Week will probably show a trailer for the live-action Avatar on Thursday, I want to ask a few things:

Are you excited for it?

What do you think they'll keep, cut, and expand in this live-action of ATLA - Book One: Water (Season 1)?

Since Bryke are not on the project now, do you have a good feeling that this live-action could be a lot better than what they come up with at Avatar Studios?

(By the way, were these "Braving the Elements" episodes recent from your last posts? And were Bryke really acting like complete stooges in them? :O )

Hi, thank you for the lovely ask!

I've been completely ignoring the huge Geeked Week banner so I have no idea what's up with that or that it's possible we're getting a trailer soon, so that's cool information to have lol

1. I honestly can't say I'm excited for the live action. The last Netflix live action for a beloved childhood franchise of mine was such a dumpster fire because they focused on being edgy and dark and abandoned the source material for the worse, so like? Past experience has made me extremely cautious in regards to live action adaptions coming from them. In general I am not a fan of this trend- the Disney ones are shit, and I only really find myself watching and enjoying the (sometimes shitty, but like, in a fun way) J-drama adaptions of old shoujo manga as I don't really fuck with any other genre nowadays. Anime has a long history with shitty adaptions for action shows, and as action is inherent to ATLA after all, even if it's not technically an anime, I know that's gonna be a hurdle they'll have to clear- just having good effects and fight scenes. It's not MY personal focus as I do find charm in shitty effects (I do like J-dramas after all!) but honestly that is probably what's gonna make or break the initial hype for the show imo. Rn I'm honestly just... So neutral about it to the point where it surprises me (I'm. Very much not a neutral person usually lol) and I think it's just a matter of like.... Being burned AND pleasantly surprised by ATLA stuff before so I'm kinda hedging my bets until I know which way it's gonna go for me. Honestly I can very realistically see me LOVING it, but the other option is that it's bad and that's kinda what I'm preparing for rn ig? I can't imagine I'll be too upset if it's just... Bad or unsatisfactory given that I already spend way too much energy on the shit the OG did wrong lol, if the LA follows suit with those I think I'll just kinda... Ignore it lol. Idk, A LOT of mixed feelings

2. I... Really can't even begin to imagine what they choose to do with the reduced time frame, but I know I for sure have my own thoughts on what I WISH they would! Mainly I want NO Kataang, if there's Kataang I'm not gonna even bother with it tbh unless it's completely one sided (which it was in the original, yet we still know how THAT turned out)... I obviously want endgame Zutara, but I'm not hard pressed on it tbh- it would be funny as fuck for it to happen after Bryke left over creative differences though! I REALLY want the Blue Spirit to stay, I really DON'T want The Great Divide (no way it's staying in though so we're probably safe on that front), and overall I kinda just? Want Aang to be more sympathetic- him being irresponsible in the original show only makes sense until a certain point, and I want an Aang that shows an ability to grow from early on. Aang's an awful, awful Avatar, and I truly want him NOT to be one here- honestly, a good way to get around some of his early issues would be to borrow a bit from Korra and twist his love for slacking off into an enthusiasm for all four cultures (rather than just their rideable animals), which I feel like he was CLOSE to having... But as usual with him it was all tell and no show- I wanna see him having friends in all four nations, I wanna see him being multi cultural even before he gets freezed, I wanna see him embrace all four bendings and cultures rather than fixating on air, I wanna see him fail and take responsibility... But I also still want to see him being a kid, because that's crucial, and while the original show never allowed him to grow up, I also don't want him to be immediately seen as and treated as wise and powerful- I want him to struggle with what it means being an Avatar who knows about it at such a young age, I want to see him meaningfully interact with his past incarnations, I want him to ACTUALLY find a balance! I think I maybe just... Want a whole new main character still named Aang tbh, because I DON'T like who he is in the original show, but I do like who he could've been! I REALLY don't want the show to be intentionally edgy- if it goes into any dark topics, they should be ones already raised in the original. I want some more light shed on how the North Pole and Pakku's sexism never went away, I want the show to acknowledge that the monks didn't go down without putting up a hell of a fight, I want to know what the fuck Zhao was doing to get promoted like that despite his constant failures on screen, I want to really dive deep into Aang and Bumi's relationship and maybe how Aang failed him on a personal level (he's literally the only one who would've missed Aang, not the Avatar for all this time) and how he mourned him for years, I want Aang to contend with and realize that he's in a war and how he's FOR SURE killed people and will have to again even before Koizilla (he kills so many people in The Northern Air Temple!!)... I could honestly kinda do with an abridged version of some of the Gaang's travels, like, a lot of them are neat but only matter tangentially or from a world/character building perspective and can be dropped/merged/replaced pretty safely tbh. For example, Haru doesn't really need to exist tbh, what Imprisoned does for Katara can and maybe even SHOULD change gears to focus more on her rather than this random guy who only ever shows up once more to get laughed at because he has a lame mustache. The Fortuneteller should be dropped or altered severely because its message doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Yue should be a bigger presence and be more of an established character. Jet should maybe get his role expanded. Suki should be more of a presence throughout. There are a lot of ways to make the first season better tbh, and also it NEEDS to change to fit with the new timeframe so? Yeah I hope they do a good job at separating the wheat from the chaff because god knows the original show did not know how to do that.

3. I'm honestly pretty confident in saying that Avatar Studios will never ever make anything good, or at the very least, anything that I'll like, but as to what the lack of Bryke means for the LA? Honestly, it's all up to the people working on it- Bryke being bullheaded and bad writers isn't exclusive to them, and if the staff is made up of writers that lean too heavily on the source material or drift too far from it that could honestly sink the whole show. Of course I'm happy they're not on board given their awful track record, but like... I know nothing about any of the people working on it in their stead, so a lack of Bryke doesn't necessarily equate to good writing (it certainly does leave out THEIR bad writing though!!)

Braving the Elements is soon gonna start reviewing the third season of ATLA, and it started in 2021 so everything there is very recent! And yeah, every time Bryke are on they prove themselves to be assholes all over again, they keep topping themselves somehow istg!

I feel that this isn't my most eloquent post but tbh I'm quite sick rn so this is the best I can do atm, hopefully I managed to answer properly anyway?

[neylakiiroisenkou]

~The Great Transgressor’s Reminiscence~

Vicious’ Short Novel, Part 3

Source: Tales of Crestoria manga volume #3 Translation: Neyla Proofreading: Vicious Cult Discord Server (because we share one brain cell)

[You can read the other parts here.]

Before I did anything, I always looked carefully around me. For me, it became a habit to check if there were any enemies. Because I always thought that anyone approaching me was an enemy. But that habit eventually disappeared when I started living with Jinnee. “Haven’t you become a little calmer lately?” said Jinnee. He was frying the wild vegetables and meat that he had picked up before. “Is that so? I can’t tell, myself.” I was excited by the tasty smell wafting in the air. Jinnee was really good at cooking. Today, we set the table and chairs outside the house again, where we put the freshly prepared food. With my mouth stuffed with the food he just cooked, I asked Jinnee: “Do we really have to eat outside? It’s fine if we stay inside the house.” “Animals and humans are both attracted by a good smell. Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone came here to enjoy the food with us?” I expected that answer. Actually, I was trying to say that we've been doing it for so many years that we could just stop the farce. I know what Jinnee was trying to do. He wanted me and the other villagers to get along. As always, the villagers never tried to approach me. They just looked with disappointment from a distance. They probably knew that I was chased by the Knights. That I was dangerous. I think it's only natural if they didn’t want to get close to me, and I didn’t care, but for Jinnee it was different. Thanks to him, I was forced to take care of troublesome things. Jinnee made me do things like exterminating the dangerous monsters roaming outside the village and driving away bothersome people like small bandits. Not that I minded, I learned how to fight and it was a way to relieve the melancholy, but I was disappointed that I had to do it for the villagers’ sake. “If you want to deepen friendships, the most important thing to do is to be of service.” Jinnee said it like he was able to read my mind. Nope, I don’t really want to deepen friendships. Though since I started living here, I felt more at ease than before. I could go on like this forever. It wouldn’t be that bad. That’s what I thought. But still…

It suddenly happened one night. “We meet again, shitty brat.” I remembered that man's face, with his mouth twisted in delight. It was the man that came to kill me years ago. Like before, the man still had that black thing in hand. At that time, I didn’t know it was a cane. The man’s black cane lit up. The next moment, a crackling shock ran through my body. Lightning. That man could use magic. “It hurts.” I closed the distance and slammed my fist into the man's abdomen, but it didn't have much effect. Right after that, I was hit with a flying knee kick and I fell to the ground. “Looks like you learned how to fight a bit. But you’re just a cocky lousy brat. That won’t work on me.” The man pointed his cane at me lying on the ground. Suddenly, Jinnee hit him. “Vicious, run away!” But Jinnee wasn’t used to fighting, so he was quickly overwhelmed by the man. Despite being pinned down, Jinnee spoke to him. “Why are you targeting Vicious?! Who are you?!” “Me? My name is Parsel. I’m the strongest bounty hunter around! I should be famous, but you’ve probably never heard of me in this rural area, right? Guess I still have a lot to do, then.” “Bounty hunter?” The man called Parsel looked at my surprised reaction. “Wait, you don’t even know you’re being called the 'Great Transgressor'? Haha, don’t make me laugh! What a big deal to act as the enemy of the world without realizing it.” The man was laughing loudly. At the same time, the adults came out from the village houses with hoes and axes, and surrounded the man. The one who spoke first was the white-haired village chief. “It would be better if you don’t mess with our comrade any more.” “Huh? This lanky man? I’m holding him just because he was interfering. I only have business with that brat. That’s fine for you, right?” “No.” The village chief said it in a resolute tone. “That child is also an important member of the village. We won’t forgive you if you lay a hand on him.” I never expected to hear those words. Parsel listened to the village chief’s words, and let out a slight sigh. “Ha, I see. You’re saying you’re going to interfere with my job. Then I have no choice but to clean up. Parsel directed his cane towards the villagers, and a lightning struck them. Then he pointed the cane to those wielding hoes, and generated a strong wind. A blade-like wind magic tore apart the arms holding the hoes. People were falling down one after another before my eyes. They stopped moving. I couldn’t understand the reason. Why were they confronting that man? Like they could win. Many people fell down, shedding blood. For me. Because of me. “Now… stooooop!” As if in response to my heightened emotions, black flames spread around me. “Die… die! Die! Die! You have to die!” I sent the black flames towards Parsel. “He can control the flames?! Also, this firepower…” Parsel created a wall of light with his cane to protect himself, but the black flames pierced through it and burned him. I had to kill him, no matter how. I was desperate. Just him, just him…

Again, I lost control of myself during the fight. When I came back to my senses, there was no trace of that Parsel. But he wasn't the only one that disappeared. The village was engulfed by the black flames. As well as the people living there. All I could do was watch Jinnee’s body burning to ashes. My heart was strangely empty. Hah, I’m alone again. I didn’t shed any tears. Only the cold wind of resignation was blowing in my heart.

[444lpblue]

The Witch and the Beast Anime's Outlook

I've finally awakened from my anime slump and have been catching up on a lot of anime. I learned my lesson about trying to do too much and watch too many shows. Therefore, I'm going to limit the number of anime I watch going forward so that I actually have time to write about them. I was barely finding time to watch the shows I've decided to begin, let alone write about them. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable now after grinding a ton, and I would like to talk about one of my anxiety-inducing and highly anticipated anime, The Witch and the Beast.

If you didn't know, The Witch and the Beast is possibly one of my favorite mangas of all time, if not my absolute favorite. It's very under the radar, and I think if you love the world of Ancient Magus Bride or enjoy The Case Study of Vanitas and want a darker twist with a highly aesthetically pleasing art style, I think you should give it a try. But back to the anime, like most people when their manga get adapted, when I first heard it was announced, I was extremely excited—after all, who wouldn't be? Getting an anime adaptation is probably one of the things you wish for your favorite series. After months of confirmation, we finally got the first teaser PV, which looked fine (I did have some complaints about it, but it was mostly fine). We learned that the studio working on it is Yokohama Animation Lab.

If you've been watching anime recently, you might have come across some of Yokohama Animation Lab's works, as they have been quite active since 2017. They have produced visually appealing shows such as Miru Tights and Lapis Re:LiGHTs. However, more recently, they've released shows with less-than-stellar visuals, like Kingdoms of Ruin, The Great Cleric, and Rail Romanesque 2. Even their highest-rated show at the moment, The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt, doesn't exactly have amazing animation quality; it's more of a passable-looking show. Which made the studio choice a huge large concern for me, as The Witch and the Beast is a series that relies a lot on its visuals. It's an integral part to the enjoyment of the series, it's a series that relies on its aesthetically pleasing artwork for the sake of showing off the characters and the worldbuilding.

However, studios aren't people, and I didn't want to adopt an incredibly negative outlook because the people working on it will change over time, and anime relies heavily on freelancers. The quality of the anime you see from individual studios will differ greatly. But there is a difference in that aspect to an extent in Yokohama Animation Lab, much like in this interview said. They are looking to become more of an in-house studio rather than freelance due to the costs of subscription programs. Oogami Yuuma emphasizes that while digitalization in anime is often viewed as a cost-cutting measure, setting up the required digital environment can be initially expensive. So they are seeking a cost-effective solution. His statement, to this day, still rings pretty true. If you look at the staff for Yokohama's series episode by episode, you might be surprised that a majority of the episodes do seem to involve in-house staff more than the average anime. However, that doesn't seem great when their recent quality, especially in shows like Kingdoms of Ruin, has been rather atrocious. In all visual aspects, animation (incredibly lacking), storyboarding (low quality and not engaging, scene flow to eachother like a slideshow), compositing (incredibly jarring). The only thing I can praise about it is its art direction.

I mentioned Kingdoms of Ruin specifically as it does share several key staff with The Witch and the Beast and I think it's just worth mentioning. Now with all that being said you can see how my worry for the adaptation was incredibly large at the time (in the fact it still is), but I've lessen my worry of it when I tried to look at the individual staffs working on this show and the stafflist of the recent Yokohama shows.

Unfortunately, I did sit through some episodes of Kingdoms of Ruin (do not recommend), and I found it interesting that the staff list for the show was rather small at times— a lot of animation directors, but not many actual animators. For example, one of the action-heavy episodes only had a singular key animator. It's as if they didn't have enough staff. I would say that Kingdoms of Ruin is of lower quality than even the average Yokohama series.

This got me thinking, where are the staff going? Well, there are several options. Yokohama has some upcoming releases, but unquestionably, their biggest series coming out is Whisper Me a Love Song (which I also love), followed by The Witch and the Beast. The other two upcoming series are not nearly gaining as much traction.

This is all just a guess that likely won't amount to anything, but just the type of series that The Witch and the Beast is and the fact that it's the series coming right after Kingdoms of Ruin, I think it's possible that it will end up benefiting from the staff that was missing from that series. I feel like Yokohama will try to put more effort into this series, considering they didn't opt for their usual newbies and completely in-house directors; rather, they got a veteran director in Takayuki Hamana.

Hamana has been in the industry for an incredibly long time, but chances are you haven't heard of him. Recently, he directed Power of Hope Precure Full Bloom, which had a lot of great cuts from what I've seen. He has also recently finished working on the Sorcerous Stabber Orphen series, which didn't receive the best reception (more so for its rushed nature rather than visuals). Additionally, he worked on the Rakudai Majo movie recently, which unfortunately doesn't have an English release yet.

While it's not like these recent shows have the best ratings on MAL or other sites, it tends not to be because of the visuals but rather the story, over which he likely didn't have much control, especially in the case of Precure. He's very much capable of delivering a good product if the source material and the script are solid. Beast Player Erin is his highest-rated work, but he also has shows like Library Wars or Arte, which I know many people like.

In studios like Yokohama, I always tend to favor veteran directors, as they have been in more situations and will likely be able to find a way to maintain quality better than newbie directors; their industry connections should allow them to get external staff to help out. Hamana has shown evidence of this many times, even in the rushed release of Sorcerous Stabber Orphen and the hazardous release pace of each season. They all still managed to have well-animated cuts here and there, and that has been a trend for a majority of his series.

If you just put some of his randomly directed series on Sakugabooru, for example, you'll find that every one of his series tends to have cuts listed there. I think this is a testament that Hamana, while he won't always make the best shows, knows who to bring in and how to manage them for the more important parts of a show. He's a very consistent director, and I think he's someone who could and likely will benefit The Witch and the Beast's studio situation a lot in terms of its production quality. Whether you'll like his directing style (which tends to remind most of 2008s anime) is an entirely different matter, but he is a source of hope in terms of its production quality.

And you know with all this talk of Yokohama and the many people, like me worried for The Witch and the Beast's quality, while I may not be a fan of the many visual direction choice that has been shown in the PV, we haven't gotten any real evidence that the production quality or animation quality will be bad. From the most recent PV and likely final PV, the character designs look fairly well-maintained for the most part. Close-ups are impressive. I also like the expressions for them, strong eye work. Overall CAD work seems good.

Though, essentially, there isn't a lot of animation shown, so that aspect of it can't really be touched on at the moment. So, conclusion? It's a really lazy thing to say since I made you read through this long spew of mine, but I don't really know either. It really is a wait-and-see situation; however, I do encourage you not to write it off just because of the studio choice. A good pick in a director like Hamana, and some other staff I haven't even touched on, like the character design by Hiroya Ijima, and the external studio situation in terms of releases, provide hope for the series, and I genuinely believe that, at the very worst possible version of the series, it probably will be about the Genius Prince's visual quality, which isn't great but won't be a complete disaster. However, with Hamana at the helm, I do expect a better quality show than that.

I'll see you guys next time on January 11th when the show comes out, because, trust me, I will be there.

[readreactrant]

Hi...Do you know what anime you'll watch this season?

My top 3 fav this season are :

- Tadaima, Okaeri (wholesome BL, also one of my comfort read)

-Black Butler : Public School Arc (yes the ship is problematic but you cannot deny the shipper when you watch it. I'm not shipping SebasCiel but I'm not anti too. Their canon relationship is complicated but great story)

-Wind Breaker (bucchigiri but way better and loveable mc)

Hope you'll like them.....

Hey hey ( ◜‿◝ )♡, Literally following all of these already.

Black Butler was definitely a must, since the announcement dropped sometime last year I've been unable to keep it out of my mind. It's understandable not everyone will ship them but I personally have missed Sebaciel shenanigans so much and seeing favorite characters like Soma (although with less melanin than I remember lol what =_=) in the recent episode just made me so happy.

As for Tadaima Okaeri, I was looking forward to it for a long time, so far I'm not disappointed and it's definitely so fucking cute. All I'm saying is...if any country needs to push baby making propaganda they should go for this instead of the trashy het stuff, I don't make the rules.

I have almost no thoughts on Wind Breaker. It's definitely an upgrade but after the disappointment that was Bucchigiri, I've began to keep my expectations for Delinquent shows low (Tokyo revengers and IWGP are yet to be topped for me). It's not bad but do feel like it's lacking substance in some areas and trying too hard. The main character isn't a bitch tho so I know there's hope for it yet.

To me this year's winter season had way more exciting stuff but there are a number of other anime I'd love to recommend for this spring.

Karasu wa aruji wa Erabanai (The Raven does not choose it's Master) Is almost like the apothecary diaries, but with magic, and without the herbs and medicine...but it has the court politics so yay (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ taking place in a world where people can turn into three legged ravens called Yatagurasu, Yukiya after causing some trouble for his family is taken to serve the most special of specials crown prince who is to become the next Kin'u after picking a bride from the four daughters of the clan heads sent to him. So basically every gay historical romance Wattpad story lol. Unfortunately this isn't a bl and though you can probably tell the prince will get married in future episodes, from these three eps, I think it establishes the focus will be on him and Yukiya, which, I couldn't ask for more.

Another Recommendation is Kaijuu no. 8, I have no words (in a good way). Just spacial forces slaying gigantic monsters while the main character suddenly becomes one of those monsters and has to still join the special force that at some point will kill him if they find out, or if they have found out they realize he's different from other monsters and can help them win the war for humanity *aot flashbacks ಥ‿ಥ* What I'm trying to say is that... it's good. I think it's funny with characters that have to potential to reel you in. I've been told the manga is pretty average tho but we'll see.

Touken Ranbu Kai is...something, I don't watch anime just for pretty boys but even if I didn't like the plot of this one I'd stick with it just for the guys. Beautiful character designs, the lore feels very fresh and intriguing and as well. There's a lot of philosophical topics I think the show has potential to dive into and I'm excited to see where we go moving forward from the three eps out currently.

Last but not least, there's Sentai Daishikkaku (Go Go Loser Ranger) I really don't want to spoil anything but let me just say, it's a brilliant subversion of the Power Rangers narrative. The sound track is fun while also hitting hard, and the characters definitely leave you wanting to know more about them and the world they're in. Definitely give it a try, I don't think you'll regret it.

Got a bit carried away with this one hahah, welp that's all my recs for now. Aside from my shipping stuff I'll probably talk about any of these every now and then, my top three right now tho are definitely Black Butler, Sentai Daishikkaku and Karasu wa aruji wa Erabanai. Anon has amazing taste but I'm a very big action and supernatural fan at heart so I'm based.

Depending on how disappointing or exciting things get along the line this list might change but unfortunately my feelings don't help the state of my FAL ranking so yeah wish me luck (〒﹏〒)

Feel free to leave YOUR current top 3 for this season in the comments, or if you joined FAL like me or just what you think of any of these of you're already watching them (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

[tsunflowers]

The latest episode of apothecary diaries actually cut out a lot details from the manga. While the minutia of the paper industry in the Country of Li and the process of Maomao & the quack cleaning the pharmacy is an understandable cut, the trimming of the Lihaku/Pairin storyline was an active detriment IMO. We overall get much less detail about Pairin, Lihaku's feeling towards her, and the process of how buying out a courtesan's contract works (that last part is an extra baffling reduction, since apparently part of the big differences between the web novel & light novel version of the series was this storyline being purposefully moved much earlier in the series to introduce the concept before the [spoilers redacted] plot point that the light novels added).

First of all is the fact that part of the reason that Lihaku actually has a chance of making enough money to buy out Pairin's contract is that Pairin doesn't actually have any debt left on her contract to pay-off, and the reason she's still working there for pleasure rather than the money.

We then have a more explicit confirmation that Pairin also into other women, followed Maomao raising the possibility that Pairin might take over Verdigris from the old lady, which is used as a segue for Maomao to think about how she feels it would be a shame if Pairin never got to have kids of her own.

which in turn leads to her thinking how Lihaku might be a good candidate based on how he was able to keep up with Pairin's appetite for two whole days none worse for wear.

(Side note, I personally feel the manga did a much better job making Lihaku look hot)

Later, in Jinshi's conversation with Lihaku, the anime cut some of Lihaku's thoughts about his feelings towards Pairin and why he thinks they have a connection

And finally, there is a good bit of context surrounding Pairin's desire to be swept away by a prince (particularly the western-style of a prince charming).

sorry that I didn't respond to this for nearly a full calendar week!

all of this makes me excited to read the manga once the anime is over. I definitely got the implication that pairin didn't have any debts to pay off but I can't remember if that was textual in the anime. and they cut out her dream of being swept off her feet by a prince even though it's so cute...

[bestadaptationtournament]

I wanna talk a bit about my thoughts about adaptations.

So first, I think there's a difference between a faithful adaptation and an accurate one. Just like translation, content often needs to change when going from one medium to another, and a lot of work goes into making a story fit its medium beyond transcribing the plot and dialogues line by line. This is why adaptations needs rewriting and are often credited with new writers.

Take some of the visual novel adaptations listed. If Fate Stay Night or Idolish7 gets transcribed into anime line by line, you'd just have characters talking at each other for 200 episodes straight with brief action/music scenes interjected in between. Do you know how long VNs are?? Can you imagine?

I think a faithful adaptation is one that adapts the work in spirit and not to the letter. Does it capture the theme? The essence of the characters? An adaptation can add a lot of element beyond following the story. Atmosphere. A sense of place. Magic. (HP and LOTR were excluded in this tournament for different reasons, but it'd be remiss not to bring them up for how much the world really came to life in the movies.)

I also think some works are written in a way that makes them exciting to adapt into the visual mediums. (Neil Gaiman's works appeared the most on the nomination list.) And some novels are written in a way that translate really well to a screenplay. (Neil Gaiman is also a TV writer.)

Incidentally, this is one of the reasons I didn't let in manga to anime adaptations that are 1:1, since... well... most popular (shonen) animes are 1:1 adaptations. (At least, until they started condensing the guts out of everything in the past few years.) Like, if I were to ask people if the Naruto anime is a better adaptation than the Bleach anime, well... you'd just vote for your preferred series instead. They're just... adaptations. You're meant to be able to consume the anime and manga interchangeably.

It is also going from one visual episodic medium to another visual episodic medium, so changes are not always necessary the way it often is from words to screen. (Except for many cases like FMA 2003, where the anime had to wrap up before the manga, forcing it to create an OG ending.)

I also don't think faithfulness is necessarily the only metrics you can go by when assessing an adaptation. I never even knew Jurrasic Park had a novel, for example. An adaptation can elevate a mediocre work to an iconic one.

No nuance TLDR: Adaption changes are necessary and good goddammit!!!

Anyway... That's my thoughts. I think people should still vote by their own metrics. I do think the idea of pitching one adaptation against another is kind of silly because ultimately the only thing each adaptations needs to measure up to is its own source material. But... This gives y'all a good opportunity to gush about your favorite adaptations, which are most often harshly criticized and under appreciated.

[moonlight404-translates]

A3! My Worst Wedding | Izumida Azami | Mini Chats Translation

—————

Disclaimer: Neither English nor Japanese is my native language, but I did my best with the translation. By the way, I took some liberties while translating. If you find any mistakes, feel free to tell me.

Practice Conversation 1 

It’s been a while since I was the lead in an autumn troupe’s play. This lead role feels completely different from the one back then. 

That shitty Sakyo said I should be careful not to let the main lead get overshadowed by the second lead acting. As if I would let that happen. 

Instead, I will show a strong presence with my acting to overshadow his second lead role. 

But yeah… I can’t get how it feels to be in love with my fiance, so I have to think a lot about it in my role study. 

…Maybe I should ask Muku-san if he can lend me light shoujo manga to read for now.

Practice Conversation 2

Ethan fell head over heels for Olivia since she looked like his favorite anime character. 

So I thought of getting references for my role study from Itaru-san since he likes anime…

When I mentioned him the setting, he said he could totally relate to it and started speaking about it so passionately. 

Like how happy he would be if she looked like his fave character, the excitement he would get to see his fiance, or how he would like to brag about her to those around him… 

However, seeing Itaru-san speaking so passionately made me think… that Ethan might have fallen in love this hard too.

Itaru-san was enthusiastic, and his eyes were shining brightly during our talk…

Practice Conversation 3

About my role study for Ethan? Well, I’ve gotten advice from everyone and tried different things.

Muku-san showed me some manga with scenes where the characters fall in love at first sight… but I’m far away from getting that feeling. 

Then, Muku-san and Kazunari-san said… 

Since Olivia is older than Ethan, I could try to imagine Director as my fiance as part of my role study. 

You, as my… future spouse… 

I-It’s nothing. I just tried to do what they said for a bit! 

Shoot. I know this is for role study, but I kinda got conscious, and now it feels weird.

A-Anyways, I’ll think more about my role study. 

Ahm… I might need help from Director again in the future, so thanks beforehand. 

Azami and Hisoka Mini Chat

Azami: So weddings…

Hisoka: Weddings have different production and performances. 

Azami: Ah, that’s right. If I’m not wrong, you had a part-time job in a wedding venue before, Hisoka-san. 

Hisoka: Mhm. For a short time, though. 

Azami: I’ve acted in the Wedding Fest and the Wedding Venue, but I don’t know much about weddings aside from those celebrated in the Ginsekai. 

Azami: Could you tell me about it to use it as a reference for my next play?

Hisoka: …I worked in the banquet reception. So I served the food and poured the drinks. 

Hisoka: At the wedding, there was a speech about how the groom and the bride met each other… 

Hisoka: The two of them said what they liked about each other and hugged. 

Azami: T-Their meeting, the things they like, and a hug…

Hisoka: From what I saw at the wedding, there can be singing performances and magic shows. I helped arrange the stage for them. 

Azami: Heh, I see. So it was true that Hisoka-san works properly in his part-time job. 

Hisoka: Of course.

Hisoka: Now, I’ll tell you the most important part about that.

Azami: What?

Hisoka: They had a delicious marshmallow cake in the wedding venue.

Azami: …You can do a good job and still remain the same as always, no matter where you are.

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

Notes: The events Azami mentioned appears in Bride Concerto (ch. 10) and Groom Battle Royale AGAIN (ch. 9). Azami’s SR Wish Upon A Paper Crane has one of the Ginsekai customs for weddings. Hisoka’s part-time job in a wedding venue comes from his SSR Tempting Wedding Cake backstage.

[sanaserena]

As promised, more screenshots! This time from Episode 3. Of all episodes, this was one of the slowest for me, but not by much!! There are so many things to like about this episode (but comparatively, Episode was more exciting). This episode marks the beginning of Usopp's recruitment to the Strawhats. So, good things I liked from this episode (a complete series overview review later, including some hiccups I didn't love, but wasn't a dealbreaker for me):

Not just for this episode, but I loved the music. As someone who has always been primarily manga over anime, I really enjoyed the take on the music for this entire series! It's literally been stuck in my head all week... Even more, I really did enjoy the themes and motifs for each character! We even get a hint of We Are or Overtaken at crucial moments in the live action!! (One of which was the introduction to Going Merry!) It's interesting, I loved the moments when these appeared, but did not immediately catch that they were versions of the Anime OST, because evidently, I don't watch the anime as often...

Helmeppo. Have I said it yet? Even if I have, I'll say it again. Aidan Scott does such an amazing job as Helmeppo. He's a complete ass, yet he's become a likeable ass (and no!! I don't mean that literal scene from Episode 1! Some days I wonder if the choice to include was like a metaphor for his character...it probably wasn't but still!) Nonetheless, this guy has so many facial expressions and pretty damn perfect for Helmeppo. I like that we get to see more of him (and Koby and Garp) as we get to see how they grow from their roots to post-timeskip in the manga.

Nami, Zoro, Luffy. Again, Episode 3 gives us more development of their dynamic as a crew. They're still not together yet, but this is also one of the reasons I really enjoy Episodes 3 and 4. You can't have the Nami, Zoro, and Luffy of live action as they are in Episodes 7 and 8 without these two episodes. Because it's in 3 & 4 that we really get to know each one and they each get to know each other. There are so many great moments. Like when Luffy is idealistically optimistic about how to get a ship, and Nami is characteristically cynical, with Zoro totally agreeing with her. And like those two moments between the three: 1) Nami asking for Luffy and Zoro's opinion on her outfit (they just don't get it), and 2) Nami and Luffy making a bet (I love this moment because we get such a lovely conclusion of it in the next episode.)

Usopp, and almost immediately we get strong Usopp and Luffy camaraderie. Which was fantastic. You can see they're almost cut from the same cloth.

Btw, have I mentioned yet how awesome Mackenyu is at Zoro. Right from the get go, I was super happy that he was cast as Zoro (despite people's complaint that Taz's hair was too short and Mackenyu was too pretty).

Inaki is great at Luffy. His Luffy isn't exactly the same as Luffy in the manga, but we're looking at two different mediums here. In essence though, he makes a wonderful Luffy. He has all the core values of Luffy, loves and hates, and seriously, Inaki gives Luffy some really wonderful faces throughout the live action!

At first, I was a bit hmmm over Klahadore's costume. it felt a bit much. But the more I watched the actor act him out, the more I forgot about the costume and focussed on the man. And well, I can say I was fully convinced.

Kaya's mansion. I do love the idea that we see events taking place at the mansion, rather than on the hill in the manga. I mean I adore that fight in the manga too, because it has many funny moments, but the live action variation does a great job bringing a different location alive. (And I love that I now know that there's electricity in One Piece... which was a question the Production designer Richard Bridgland had asked about.) I love Kaya's wardrobe. It's insane, but so wonderful to look at. Her bedroom is adorable. Her dining room tells a story. The kitchen is definitely a kitchen. And so on.

Once again, I couldn't fit all the images in this post, so look for Part 2 here: Link

[norellenilia]

Damn, I remember the first time I watched FMA 03, when I was 16 or 17, I stayed up until 1 am to finish it, and today, watching episodes 38 through 42 turned me into such an emotional mess that I have to take a break lmao what happened??? My own emotional traumas, that's what happened

I'm feeling so many things again

In episode 38, when Ed and Al are fighting, Al drenches Ed in water and he says "it's going to rain!!!" and I'm like haha no don't try to pull a Mustang on me I know this episode won't make me cry and GUESS WHAT the flashback with Trisha convincing Ed to go and find Al so they can talk things out and Al looking so happy that Ed isn't upset with him anymore it's so cute I CRIED

I need -- no, I DEMAND a spin-off series where Winry and Scziezka solve murder mysteries together (I'd love to write it myself but I know I'm not nearly good enough at coming up with mystery stories lol), they're adorable I'm so happy they totally get together post CoS

Martel's death hits SO MUCH HARDER than I remembered holy shit, she and Al actually got close, we see more of her, her death is so horrific and hearing sweet sweet baby boy Alphonse cry just BROKE MY HEART I never wanted to hug an armor so badly

Scar's brother's last moments, the way he looks so terrified and desperate to protect his little brother from Kimblee and Scar being so devastated when he dies I just-- *clenches fist*

Sloth using Ed's PTSD against him that's so UNFAIR; also I was thinking that I was a bit disappointed that this anime did not include the nightmare that Ed has at some point in the manga where he sees his mom saying "why didn't you make me right" etc but this is it, this is this scene, and it's worse because he's hearing it for real, he is very much awake, he has the real voice of his mom in his ears and she's saying this to him and I'm-- *clenches fist harder*

Rose's story, I'm still so mad, she deserves all the happiness in the world

Speaking of Rose, it's so funny how the moment Al is like "I wonder how Rose is doing" the show just full on goes "Ed/Rose shipper" mode lmao, with Ed blushing while pretending not to remember her, him being so awkward when he speaks to her just before they go on their separate ways and her son just smiling and giggling when he speaks (first time we see the baby laugh, he had only been crying up until then) :') To be honest it feels a bit out of the blue to me but idk

Dante sporting Lyra's white ass in the town of brown people and speaking as if she was part of them just because she's following Rose around to manipulate her is incredibly cringe, but then again, it's Dante, she's the villain and we're already supposed to know something is up with "Lyra". But still.

Very random but Al pulling objects from or putting objects inside his armor from behind the cloth always looks very awkward lol

I used to never really care about Scar but I have learned the errors of my way as I now realize he is actually one of the best characters in this goddamn series, even with the orb of knowledge and the three arm losses, and Mangahood!Scar being much more villainized and ending up working with the military will never come even CLOSE to 03!Scar using his last bit of strength to save Alphonse to honor his love for his lost brother and take his ultimate revenge on those who murdered his people in the goal of protecting oppressed people, all of this while an epic music is playing (honestly it even feels like Ed is made to be seen as an obstacle as he tries to prevent the soldiers from entering Liore lol)

Sorry but Wrath is annoying as hell, I know that I'll probably have a different opinion if I rewatch CoS after that, but for now I hate him

We're finally entering the "Rewrite" era of the show and I had forgotten how much it rocks (Ed's hair animation at the beginning fhjkfhkdhjk)

I only have 9 episodes left but between Lust and Sloth in the upcoming episodes I'm not even sure I'll be able to watch it all in one go lol. Still excited to see more of Winry and Scziezka and remembering how much Hohenheim is absolutely useless in this x)

[moriohradiojanitorroom]

Hi, I stumbled across your blog and I'm really excited to try the match-up✨

Sorry if I write anything wrong, this is my first experience

I have always been told I am a very kind, caring and compassionate person. I think this is true, I always try to help people around me. I am also very optimistic and always try to think of the best. I am still a very shy, insecure and irascible person, but my bad moods pass quickly. If this helps you I am pisces and infp

Speaking of hobbies I really love my favorite manga and anime and cooking. Although some of my recipes sound suspicious but the dishes turn out really delicious. I can't imagine my life without music, I listen to it all the time. I think it's a bit funny, but I do know a lot of facts from many different fields

Oh, I'm afraid I've written too much. If something is unclear then please apologize, English is not my native language. Anyway thanks and good luck, looking forward to your reply💐

Hi there!!! Thanks so much for this request, I was really excited to fulfill it! And don’t worry about too much info or anything like that, this is great! This is also my first time writing a matchup so I hope it’s alright dkdnjsmd You didn’t specify an age or any preferences, so I’m gonna give you a canonically adult character & assume you don’t have a preference for other stuff, like gender or what part they’re from - if you’d like to resubmit with that in mind tho, that’s okay!

With all that in mind, here are some honourable mentions:

Noriaki Kakyoin was the first to come to mind when I read your request, but with the age thing in consideration, I decided to choose someone else.

After that, I considered Jonathan Joestar, Erina Pendleton, and Mohammad Avdol! Ultimately, though, I ended up choosing:

Robert E.O. Speedwagon!

Your positivity and kindness hooked the man in faster than he could even blink - we all know exactly how loyal he is and how quickly he can tell who deserves that loyalty. It only took him a few minutes to read that you’re one of those people.

He’s also pretty intrigued by how much you know. He likes to exchange little bits of knowledge and stories with you, especially after he’s done some travelling and has a wider expanse of knowledge. Even before that, though, he always keeps your words in mind - who knows, one day one of those facts might just save a life!

He also very well understands the difficulties of insecurity and hotheadedness, having faced them himself. He does his best to keep you grounded, and encourages you to leave your comfort zone now and then - it’s key to growth, after all - but he knows when to back off. He can be a little stubborn, especially if he’s enthusiastic, but in the end your comfort matters more. If you’d rather stay at home with him than go out and dance or something, that’s fine by him. Hell, with all the travelling he does, he may actually grow to prefer that more relaxed atmosphere.

On that topic, Speedwagon’s pretty good at reading people’s moods and actions. On top of knowing when he needs to let you chill, he also knows if/when he should make somebody else do the same. If he sees something or someone bothering you, he’s quick to swoop in and do whatever he can to settle the situation, whether that’s just to comfort some insecurities or get a particularly annoying person to back off. If he knows that you can handle it, though, he’ll take a backseat and play cheerleader. In fact, it makes him proud to see it.

Also, this man grew up on the most dangerous street in London. He’s no stranger to meals with some odd ingredients, and frankly, he’ll be even happier to learn how good they taste! He’s not the best cook himself, he’s the type of man who uses whatever he has on hand to try scraping together something reasonable, so a good meal will go straight to his heart.

For the sake of anime and manga, I’m gonna go ahead and pretend we’re a little more modern day for the next few. I feel like Speedwagon is more of a reading guy than a television guy. After a long day, he’ll to sit down and read with you, manga or not. He’ll watch a show too if you ask, but there’s something quite romantic about cuddling up and sharing a book that he feels can’t be matched by much else.

On that note, please forgive him ahead of time - if you do get him to sit down and watch your favourite shows, he will have a lot of commentary. He’s the type of guy who will interrupt a scene to enthusiastically declare something like, “So THAT’S why the bugger carries that chain around!”, or confoundedly question what a character thinks they’re doing. He’ll probably do this while reading too, just maybe not as often. He’s not trying to interrupt, he just gets excited - if you tell him to settle down, he’ll do his best to accommodate, but he might slip from time to time.

Also, (and this is another one of those modern day ones) depending on your music taste, he may or may not buy vinyls or discs of your favourite bands and try to get you to dance with him to them. He’ll probably suggest a concert at least once - something tells me that he’s the type to prefer live music.

Knowing that you’re passionate about something makes him passionate, too. He’ll try his best to look into your interests on his own time, and try to involve you in whatever he finds - maybe he asks an older lady he knows for interesting recipes to show you, or he scours a book store for a series he hasn’t heard you talk about yet. He’s doing his best to match your love for these things, even if they’re sometimes new to him.

Your bright outlook on life, your compassion, your love for the things you enjoy - they’re all astoundingly inspirational to this man. He may sometimes worry that you deserve better than an Ogre Street ex-thief, but by god, will he use all the motivation you give him to make a good life for you.

Okay - I think I might have rambled a bit there, but yeah, thank you so much for the request!! It’s the first one I’ve gotten anyways so I hope you’ll forgive all the babbling jehdjjfs

This was a ton of fun to write, and I hope that you’re happy with it!

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog Anime Festival Kassel! - Part 1

27.-28. October 2023

The last convention for me this year, read further for my impression of this event which was held in Kassel for the first time, me being super chaotic, enjoying things and attending the cosplay competition.

And yes I was totally going as past!Allen the times I was "not" in costume as my glasses are round too and I had to put on the shirt/waistcoat anyways. I just HC him as an explorer when he goes to places, its my kind of having silly little fandom moments. But now to the travel blog.

Friday, Travel & Coming 'home'

Travel day. I started a bit chaotic from home and later than planned but rain was forecasted the whole day and a serious hiking day was not really possible. I noticed I forgot my phone charger as I was already out and my first mission was to buy a replacement. As I arrived in Kassel I had to take a reroute as there was so much traffic but I know the city and its corners it was fine to me. All the familar places and ... I just felt home. For 19 years my favorite convention was held in Kassel until it moved to Wiesbaden this year and I was completely devastated how they handled it and left Kassel crying last year and I am just so SO happy to be able to return.

I quickly checked into the Hotel and went to the convention hall and just the feeling of seeing it again made me so content, even with the rain, the cold weather, the phone charger etc. AND the fact the Con contacted me that my script for the Contest has to be changed as there was some equipment different.

I went through the park and was just thriving. Then into the city checking a few places, actually got a charger after asking the sales manager of a itty bitty corner store if they have some - i was super proud I did that, past-me would have given up and just searched for a big electronic store to drive to to avoid talking to people.

As I walked back to the hall I came across a very fancy bakery/café I had discovered last year and they sold halloween themed confectonary again and ... this time I actually bought some. I dared to go in there and bought two petit fours and even as the seller asked me something twice I was just casually replying I am .. so proud. You know I suffer from severe social anxiety and a situation like this would have been enough to break me for a whole weekend, on top with the charger thing. But I was managing well. It was quite late then as I got back to the hall but still decided to ask if I could get my ticket for the next two days already to avoid waiting. Another step further for me, usually I would have chickened out. Everyone there was very darling I am looking forward on how they organize the actual convention days.

Back in the hotel I had (very late) dinner, but I was just mentally in such a good place that it didn't mess with my head.

Saturday - 28. October - Contest day

Slept okay for the fact I usually sleep bed when not home, super excited for the day. But took it slow, went through my script a few times (finally after not doing so for the last days) to recall it.

Then headed out to Kassel to fetch a few things, I like to give myself small tasks to have something to do when I am alone. Like just getting some snacks.

After returning to my car I started painting... my make up. I actually avoid doing a lot of make up for Allen as my eyes hate it and I don't think he is a make up type but as it was for the contest I wanted to upgrade everything a little bit.

It was starting to rain again and ... someone please remind me more often that the first Uniform has a HOOD I can use. I ... will come back to that later.

After a bit of waiting time due bag control I finally was able to enter the hall. It felt again like home but also different. When you came in you had several vendors, Manga, Merch, some artists inbetween. Even a tattoo artist?! And like at the Polaris you had several vendors of dried fruit... ehm.. okay? Like I am always for more healthy options aside the vendors selling tons of asian candies and ramen.

What I really liked about the structure they had for the hall is that they actually used the hallways better than the other con, less "lost" space. Yes they have a smaller audience but it seemed so much smarter to me to use the hallways for artists instead of putting them into super small rooms with no space to move in.

For the vendors and all there was .. lots of Genshin Impact again and Demon Slayer I think? I am a bit spoiled by the last cons especially the bookfair and the polaris in regards of a great diversity of artists, this was alright I guess. Not much for me to buy.

What was interesting is that the city had rented the hall to another convention but for ... doctors. Weird, but worked. As I got recognized as Allen later on I was able to talk with the two and one told me a few interesting things about the Con that moved to Wiesbaden and some facts that the Anime Festival will be bigger next year. I got encouraged to voice my opinion more often by them, as all they heard was only positive about the other Con (they didn't attend as well... reasons).

Then .. the contest. I was quite nervous, got in my snacks and some lunch before I went to prejudging. Was able to chat with the other attendees during the wait and was quite a lil hyper bunny as it was my turn. I have to say the judges were super darling about everything. They were all cosplayers, some super expierenced and one even a super huge name here. I got complimented for my make up (which I adjusted a bit more after lunch) to try to get my lashes white and all. That I made pockets, that the uniform has a lining, that the pattern was selfmade and the functional buttons. etc.

We were supposed to meet up 30 mins later, I waited with No. 6 (I was No 4) and got a bubble tea because my anxious mind needed something to do and I was super thirsty. I downed it so fast they went "WAIT HOW". Haha. I am used to drink a lot.

After it we were brought to the backstage and it seemed to take forever until it was my turn. No 3 before my was in a wheelchair and the crew did a great job to help her getting up the stage and stairs. And with the applause I was sure they would get the 1st rank. They did a performance as Sheego from Kim Possible.

My turn was. I walked, babbled my text, actually looked at the audience and noticed it was indeed THE MOST BIGGEST STAGE they have and the whole room was full of people, I had to improvise a bit as I was not able to stuff everything into Tim but I managed well.

I was super proud and watched the rest of the contest in the audience (they had seats reserved for us). Overall it was 10 performances. The majority was voice clips/moving to them, or just music and doing a dance/pose.

Mine was actually a small sketch that was Allen looking out for Timcampy, finding and scolding him for flying away. All during the search for Cross. Then I asked the audience if they had seen the master and showed my drawing of him. Then I scolded Tim for not getting my stuff back in as I was handling too many things at once. Haha.

The ranking later on was well, place 3 was a huge ass Spamalot/Monty Python and the Holy Grail Group and I was sure they will be ranked. 2nd was the Sheego, whom I had seen on 1. And 1 was a Kiki (Kiki's delivery service), I found hers rather boring to be honest as it was just an english voice clip that didn't fit the outfit or any acting at all, but well, Ghibli and cutesty bonus I guess. I would have seen others ranked.

Later on I went to pick up where I got ranked but ... in fact the voting system was hacked/there were annormalities and therefore there was no ranking other than the main 3.

I talked with some other of the contestants about the results and all were quite baffled. The two started last even said the results were not into their favor anyways as the moderators procrastinated 5 minutes to get them on stage and the majority indeed already had voted.

One last thing here: I am amazed by the positive words I got, that the performance was good and that you couldn't tell that it was my first time joining a contest, that I should do it more often. This really means a lot to me.

The rest of the day was me strolling through the halls & park again, sometimes in the park too. But the weather was not that good, it was raining a lot. I was torn about getting a maple themed bowl but as I got to really buying it it was sold out, so I got the chestnut kitkats I had eyes all the time.

I noticed I was super done for the day, there were several concerts left but I was just feeling the day and the snacks weren't holding me longer. But it was pouring... and the food vendors were outside.

After another 30 minutes I remembered I HAVE A HOOD and quickly went to the car to scrub the make up off my face and get some cotton pads from the store along with something to go with my instant noodles + tofu I had brought along. I wanted to eat in peace and not cramped outside in the rain.

The day ended for me in the hotel, tired, exhausted but quite well. What annoyed me though was that there was an event with a live band in the hotel. Good bye sleep.

Ending the day with food in the hotel, my little haul from stores and the fact the make up refused to get off. I would have some "fun" the coming days with that.