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the-nysh · 1 year

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Time for some in-depth trigunbookclub notes! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ First story arc 'episode': vol1 ch00-04~

A bit of a late start but I'm planning to reread the series again with the overhaul translation, hoping to catch what I might've missed the first time around vs Dark Horse's. Paying attention with more informed, detailed thoughts and impressions from the perspective of already knowing what happens later in the story. Special thanks to cerealandchoccymilk's translation notes comparing to their japanese copy for additional clarity!

Flipping through these pages again, and gosh I'm already surprised at how much information's densely packed in here! (I...may have miscalculated how long these commentaries might take...) I've already made some notes for the opening ch00: 'High Noon at July' prologue, and I'm not sure how far I can sustain this same level of detail (maybe I'll surprise myself), but for now I'll try to focus on what else I can observe and talk about from the manga's first official story 'arc' - which lasts for the first 3ish chapters, corresponding to the 98anime's episode 5: 'Hard Puncher.' Stampede actually begins with this same story arc in eps1-2! :O In short, about the town suffering in decline from their malfunctioning Plant problems, desperately in need of money that Everyone (citizens, hunters, and outlaws alike) chases after Vash for the huge bounty on his head, until the Nebraska family shows up to escalate more trouble.

Yup, that's where the manga's story begins, as ch4 already speeds right on through to the Sand Steamer arc! (After a 2 week timeskip) Which the 98anime adapts later in ep7, and Stampede ep6! :O So the pace of the early manga is considerably much denser and faster, with plenty of details to note in between.

After the prologue sets the tone--ominously post-disaster with human survival and hope, ch1 opens with the iconic shot of Vash's Wanted poster. Many people have already noticed the...unusually vague and contradictory bits of information on him. So much is 'unknown' (note: Dark Horse lists an unknown birthplace while overhaul lists an unclear appearance) and yet...he's suspected to be the 'murderer' of someone with a fancy alias, as a 'young' (est age24) horrible killer who's also a pacifist?? 🤔 (How does that contradiction work out?) Who's believed 'capable' of mass destruction...and yet, there's nothing really conclusive he's indicted with here. Most of it feels like unconfirmed rumors and hearsay, so what's the actual truth? Who is he really? There's the additional tonal whiplash of seeing his ~smiley smiley~ easygoing (and old western themed) mugshot in contrast to the prologue's (sci-fi) bleak & desolate shot of a city that looks eerily destroyed by a post-nuclear bomb, released or shot from a clear direction leveled at ground zero. Something disastrously huge happened here to account for that ridiculous sum of $$60 billion on his head, with way more missing info than the suspicions he's listed for. Something doesn't add up here, so that's what the rest of the story's about--for us to find out~

First impressions of actual manga Vash (just from this introductory arc alone)....and he's a cute & silly little guy! :'D Whose attention is sharp and alert (he's definitely no idiot) to his surroundings sensing danger, with quick reaction times and even quicker resourceful fingers. A little odd and creature-y; how does he move that way and get himself into so many ridiculously contorted pretzel upskirt positions?! (Ahem: Nightow gives him all the 'fanservice' shots so the women don't have to; I respect that~ Hey, and why do the 4 buttons on his coat's collar keep mysteriously unbuttoning away in the breeze like that too, c'mon!!) Very animated and openly emotive with range, from the uwuest sad puppy eyes ever seen (accentuated with pretty corner lashes~) to flipping into irritation as someone who's not above using petty sass to make his points either. Oh he cries, both blubbering to himself about his own misfortunes and empathetic to others' pain, and oh he gets angry with dialed up severity too. And yet...he's a nice guy (who's gentle and considerate with women!!! 📣 with none of that 98 weirdness shown here at least, and easily makes friends with kids; all these are good signs) with an aloof air of mysterious distance, like he's a tired, traveling loner. Who seems like he'd just happily prefer to keep to himself out of trouble, simply trying to enjoy his meals in peace...until people rudely inconvenience him or interrupt his day with violent guns blazing!! D: Oh my god what an upsetting life (everyone's so mean to him~) give this poor guy a break with some actual Rest and peace please!

More in-depth thoughts from chapter 01: 'The 60 Billion Double Dollar Man' Immediately the setting is a very lawless, harsh place to live. With daily injuries and murder cases galore, where violence is so commonplace that even kids yearn for their own guns someday (wow D:) People might be cold and inconsiderate to others, cause everyone has it Hard here--everyday is a struggle, but the biggest telling observation -to me- is that no one is evil. :O Everyone presented this arc simply does what they must to survive, that resorting to violence (without malice) simply becomes a necessitated choice or way of life for many. :') That, in itself, clues me in that humanity is not evil, despite how it may appear. (I'll continue this more.)

I say this because the group of bandits who violently open fire on Vash in the diner, aren't there to hurt anybody else--they're only after his bounty (nothing personal), and in fact they assure the waitress they'll even repair the damages with that money later. Vash Notices(tm)~ Creatively resolving the situation thru non-lethal distraction, attrition, and his de-escalation + marskman skills using a child's toy. (So you see kid~ real guns aren't needed to win and save the day~) And I'm glad the overhaul translation made it clear the group volunteered giving up all their clothes & weapons to pay for the diner's damages as they concede defeat (that was...nice? of them), rather than simply walking away in humbled shame. Cause in the Dark Horse tl and old anime I didn't quite understand why they all suddenly stripped like that (to Vash's uncomfortable surprise: he didn't make them or expect they'd do that gesture either.)

We get some of our first classic Vash lines! yay~ Dark Horse kinda awkwardly botches his purple-prosey way to express his ongoing quest for 'Love & Peace,' so overhaul sounds more natural and faithful to the 98anime here: "[I'm a] hunter of peace, who continues to chase the elusive mayfly of love." (as opposed to a 'peaceful hunter' for the 'dragonfly' of love...which doesn't make much sense, since dragonflies are the hunters Dark Horse pls) Because striving for peace in this violent land is hard, and love itself (not necessarily 'romantic,' since familial and platonic kinds exist too) is as rare, short-lived, and precious to find here as a mayfly's tragically short lifespan...:') Man...

The whole thrifty 'price of one bullet for [insert any amount of food]' joke, cause whether pizza, pancakes (he ate those in the 98anime here), or donuts, his point still stands that choosing more food to live is more important/valuable than buying more bullets for killing & violence~

Violence which! He reasons that since no one likes to receive pain, he's decided to avoid any casualties. Apparently Dark Horse has the more accurate tl here, as it's about 'receiving' it: "pain isn't something anyone likes, right?" over rhetorically asking whether anyone can forgive 'doing harm' (overhaul). Because just SAYIN, as someone like him who personally KNOWS pain and what it's like to receive it etched all over his body, of course he'd feel awful and project empathize when others get hurt too. Never wishing they'd come to suffer the same as him. As long as he can help it, never again--whether that's to the pacifist level of preventing, stopping, relieving, or taking their pain upon himself in their place. But perhaps only lightly alluded to though or maybe I'm reading too much into his awkward sweating closed-off expression, since even he can't fully explain it yet; all the pain and scars of his past and the reasons why he refuses to kill aren't fully revealed yet~

...Oh my god, and we see our first official Plant bulb - which is so utterly bizarre to see it standing so bare and 'alone' surrounded by what amounts to only a roadside gas station & diner in the middle of nowhere. We know a single Plant can sustain a whole town..so why...it's almost like it was only recently 'dropped' (off the 'ship') or discovered as still active that civilization hasn't had enough time to properly settle around it...hmm.

But it marks the resting stop and first official appearance of Meryl & Milly! YES!! The girls show up in ~chapter one~ and are here to STAY, as important characters from beginning to end! 🎉 Meryl arrives with all the aura and swag of one whose larger than life ~presence~ belies her small frame. She's here for a reason, determined on a mission with a job to do, and has no time of day (she seems used to it as one who's experienced much of this before) for men who won't take her seriously or who make vulgar jokes at her (their) expense--thank you Milly's giant stungun for the karmic slap in their stead; don't dismiss, disrespect, ignore, or overlook these ladies, now!

I love that the moment Meryl's told the whereabouts of Vash, along with the wise advice to stay away from the current danger in that city--BAM she's already heading out the door (ditching Milly and their meal order?!) Reminds me how in the 98anime she ditched Milly in hot pursuit jumping off a tower wearing a parachute--like HELLO? Meryl pls! But here THEY'RE OFF~ on their way while Vash is...ulp, welp he's in trouble. :'D

Chapter 02: 'Looney Tunes' More worldbuilding's revealed to flesh out what we first glimpsed in the prologue: it's been over a 100yrs since humans crash-landed onto this desert planet and built up cities around the fallen ships, closely dependent on the viable technology brought within them. The first (!!) time the name 'Vash the Stampede' made history was once one of those major cities--lost July, was wiped off the map. Links are connecting, especially if he was deemed the prime suspect responsible for its sudden, unexplained destruction. The prologue said this disaster happened in year 0104, which matches being over a hundred years since humanity's 'arrival,' but just how long ago has it been since that incident? For Vash's name to build that notoriety for his bounty? For him to remain dangerously at large, yet uncaught, like a mysterious urban legend humanoid 'bomb.' The narration implies it's been a while for his story to be 'passed though the ages,' but we shall see.

But no time to ponder about that, because immediate tonal whiplash! Current Vash is in trouble and distress, running around dodging bullets, grenades, and the silliest cartoony hijinks imaginable for his life. Since after those first few guys in ch1, now the entire town knows who he is to be after his bounty too! aaaa~

Meryl & Milly are already here! (urgently, in hot pursuit to do....?) Meryl's pissed at how carelessly the town's handing all the chaos, as if they're all childish fools unknowingly playing with a nuclear warhead set to blow. (So interestingly, that's her first presumption about Vash; she's likely done her homework on July's historical disaster report.) Scaring Milly so much about the imminent danger (this town could be the next to explode!) that Milly stops, deciding she doesn't want to go anymore. :O Ah!! This interestingly reveals Meryl's likely the braver, more headstrong leader of the two, who seems to know what she's doing. Which is...wait, what does she plan to do here, exactly?? AAAAA!!! Bringing a megaphone into a warzone--alright, silly silly silly. She's SO silly, but so brave. And reckless. :P (Go Meryl~) Actually I like that she sees everyone here as humans first, who--she thinks, can still listen to reason even riled up in a mob. But even with her most ridiculously polite and ~formal~ way of speaking, you guessed it: the crowd pays her 'request' no attention. :'D (aaa! she's ignored; much woe and irony~) But whatever she has to say is so important that Meryl's determined and desperate to have her voice heard!

While wondering what on earth these two insurance ladies can still possibly hope to achieve here, now that the situation's chaotically escalated to the point the town chairman's called in the Nebraska family to pit against Vash...I'd say, in contrast to the town's many unsuccessful, over-the-top bombastic methods to catch him so far, I find it...very interesting that the ones who actually silently corner Vash (at gunpoint) are a room full of women. :O Interesting, very interesting~ (It seems the women in this story are the ones who can effectively get shit done~ So Meryl & Milly? Let's have faith to see what else they got~) As armed mothers, sisters and wives, prepared to do whatever it takes to get the money needed to save their kids and town from dying. So remember what I said about how none of the humans shown here are evil? Cause these women, and this whole town really, are just trying to survive (while resorting to violence); everyone has their own reasons to be after that bounty, with no personal malice towards Vash himself. :')

Vash of course, sympathizes with their terrible plight. And holy shit they said they lost 50 Plants?! (that's a shitton! D:) How is he holding himself together so well--ah, he is forcibly holding back his tears. :') BUT he's doubly conflicted, because he asserts he cannot afford to stop (as in, getting captured or killed) before he sees 'Him' again. (We know who that is, as there's only one stabby guy that could be.) The 98anime dub happened to mistranslate this line as 'the guy you're after' (who, the waitress!? she doesn't even know who [redacted] is!) so I imagine the subjects/objects were vague enough in japanese for that mistake to happen. Still, there's nothing else to really imply what Vash intends to do when he sees 'him.' Is it for revenge or something else he plans to do? It's unclear, aside from how clearly Vash gets angry and serious when it comes to 'him' (bonus: yes as suspected, Vash uses 'ore' as his personal pronoun like in the 98anime when it comes to topics about 'him' I'm glad to see those jp scans to confirm) That it must be something so personal/sensitive/grave enough that he realllllllly doesn't want to resort to shooting a room full of women when he's cornered (don't force him!!! pls he's already begging them not to make him do this), so that he can escape and continue his quest without dying early here. Whew... Fortunately no one has to make that difficult decision yet, because (unfortunately) the Nebraska's rocket fist breaks that building tension...and literally the entire room first.

Uhoh? But surprise!!! Vash is unharmed, gently holding the same waitress who'd just aimed a gun at him before, and somehow he managed to write a sassy "kiss my ass!!" returning message on Nebraska's fist--MULTITASK ahoy! (Also where did Vash grab that marker??? hah who knows~) But Milly's so worried at this point--and smothering Meryl from seeing anything, that 'bomb-kun' (Vash) has been provoked enough to explode! lmao :P (but will he?)

Chapter 03: 'Hard Puncher' Once again I need to appreciatively state just how gentlemanly and careful Vash is with these injured women; he fishes them out of the rubble and carries them all out to safety, one by one. Even Nebraska patiently waits, chilling there smoking a cig, for Vash to finish! They may be a notorious, haughty, and highly destructive family of outlaws, but see even the Nebraskas here aren't evil. :O Even when Vash moves away from the women to make space (and this is different from how the 98anime did it) Nebraska still faithfully aims at him, not them. But Vash needlessly dives forward to bodily shield the women from the exploding debris anyway! :O (In the 98 anime Vash was far away but Nebraska aimed at the women to force a lesson on him to make a choice, here interestingly not so; the women aren't helplessly made targets like that.)

Nebraska finds Vash's behavior odd, cause this is a duel - a quick draw match between a gunman and a cyborg's flying rocket punch (Nebraska himself is only after the bounty too for his own reasons; nothing personal.) So with Vash's own survival on the line, why would he continue to risk harming himself to protect others? Nebraska finds his actions wanting to save everyone hypocritical, and the Dark Horse tl seems to make more sense (closer to the 98anime's lines), when his reasoning's about 'his turn' to either be eliminated or become, either directly or indirectly, the killer (aka kill or be killed, even the choice with the whole trolley problem) when the time comes faced against an opponent who gives him nothing but trouble someday. So if Vash has survived this long unscathed (just think about him emerging from the July rubble...) then someone else must've already died in his place before (or so Nebraska thinks, he doesn't know Vash tries to find other creative ways to win without casualties, and gloats that today is that turn for Vash to die~)

But then...suppose Vash has killed somebody in his past before (remember the prelude about July 👀), wouldn't his choice to change and practice no-killing now be an active improvement over that - as a measure of growth or atonement? And not the same 'hypocrisy' Nebraska means? It'd become that way if say, Vash broke his current philosophy once it becomes impossible/unsustainable to uphold, and he had to kill again someday (as a choice, orr...forcibly no choice as even the women who cornered him this ch almost forced him a tough decision he didn't want to make) despite everything---ahhh, so then what does Vash plan to do when he sees 'Him' again? If Vash chooses to kill him then...whoopdeedo, Nebraska's hypocrisy point will be made. But anyway...

It's the first time we see Vash don his glasses when it's time to ~Get Serious~ for shooting a quick draw match (vs a rocket punch--note again, how Nebraska only aims for Vash, not the women, unlike the 98anime.) And here, Vash is still faster than his opponent!! Unloading multiple bullets that force the fist to veer off-course and miss him~ While aiming to break the cyborg socket of that arm for good measure so it can't be punched again. Interestingly a male citizen says Meryl's lines from the 98anime expressing awe understanding now why this skilled man is called 'Vash the Stampede.' But manga Meryl has none of that identity crisis confusion; she already knows who this Vash is and is determined to get right down to business!

Which is....? Calling for everyone to stop the fight!!! oh but it's already over~ I'm marking this moment down as the first time Meryl & Milly make eye contact with Vash--them awkwardly yelling from the rooftop of a building with the same diplomatic intent in their methods as Vash, by wanting to resolve things peacefully!!!!

BECAUSE!! Oh, you thought the girls were only here to be a slapstick comedy duo? SURPRISE!!! THEY WERE HERE TO SAVE VASH ALL ALONG!!! ;A; That important 'thing' that Meryl was so desperately trying to announce to everyone this whole time--but could never get her voice heard, was that Vash's bounty has been officially rendered null! Void, invalid, zero! Everyone had only been fighting, trying to shoot him dead, and destroying their own damn city for nothing! AHHHHH!! (I totally understand your anger/frustration here, Meryl--an authentic and capable short woman's struggle to be listened to and taken seriously! UGH! ;o;)

[But that's curious--why so suddenly NOW, or er, yesterday, did the government decide to call off his bounty? This is so sudden, and it's only in the first story arc too! Pretty sure his bounty remains active for much longer in the 98anime before his status changes later. So what was the most recent occasion or reason?? Especially if it'd been years since lost July happened to build his bounty, why is he only declared a natural/localized disaster--like that of an earthquake or typhoon, now? 🤔🤔🤔 As someone who can't be compared on the same level as other human criminals--wait, then hold up: how does the government, or the insurance company really, intend to 'control' or contain him then? By sending out two women?? To deal with the most dangerous non-human category risk alive?! Who sent them out here expecting them to make contact and negotiate or die trying right in the line of fire! Ahem.]

For what it's worth, Vash looks the happiest he's ever been seen so far, rejoicing that ~HE'S FREE~ from that marked life of running from everyone who comes after his head. :'D No more bounty to worry about means peace for real, right? Well not so fast!!! The girls are still here with a job to do. Bernadelli's 'typhoon' insurance premiums payouts are probably pretty damn huge to cover for all his damages all the time so...to prevent needless, costly risks and disasters from happening, they're here to ensure Vash doesn't get himself into any more trouble...by keeping him under their close watch: 24hr vigilant surveillance! 8'D (so he's not freeee~)

Considering how Meryl compared his risk factor to that of a nuclear warhead before, she's pretty damn bold and fearless!!! To waltz right up in his face, poking a finger in his chest, and offering him a gorilla grip of a handshake to officiate their first 'meeting' doing business with him! (Damn, girl!) Dark Horse's tl appears to be more accurate when she describes him having a 'chronic troublemaking disease' too. :P Hah~ She keeps her face tightly composed and 'professional,' but if she's this 'comfortable' to be in his 'dangerous' presence then...looks like she at least regards him--Vash the person, as human too. :'))

But instead of two insurance agents containing him for the benefit of their company and/or the government, it's more like Vash has gained two women bodyguards who're here to fend off any provoking or untoward attempts on his person. 😌 Anyone who doesn't like that and still wants to pick a fight with him (whoa mr Nebraska's not done yet!) can pack it up and go home!!! He's officially off limits! Back off, show's over! hahaha~ Cause the girls are armed (non-lethally! now doesn't that nicely align with his values) to defend themselves. He's quite a bit shook~ ;D

Chapter 04: 'Bang Bang!' starts transitioning into the Sand Steamer arc, but there's some aftermath details to note.

There's been at least a 2 week timeskip (Meryl says they've been here for over half a month) and the town's financial situation has been resolved thanks to the bounty on the captured Nebraskas covering for their needed money instead. (Ironically in Vash's place.) Vash's wanted posters are also starting to get torn down, since his bounty no longer applies. Meryl clocks Vash as an unbelievably nice/soft hearted person for offering the town all his credit and bounty money earned from taking down the Nebraskas himself. (Technically the girls subdued mr Nebraska at the end, but how sweet and generous of him~)

Still, since it has been a quiet 2 weeks without incident (what's happened in between now and then is anyone's best guess or anime filler territory~ but he HAS been a 'good boy' staying out of trouble if nothing's bad happened, right?) that Vash rightly has to wonder....just how long do the insurance girls intend to stick around him?? No time limit, or until their term ends, huh? D: Oh...well that's going to be a problem. (Knowing his lifestyle and quest to find 'Him' again...yeah, Vash can't settle in one place for too long, or risk those getting too close to him lest they get swept up in the danger...) Welp, since the Steamer's arrived, that's the perfect opportunity to begin his leave.

Hah! Meryl's so high-strung and on edge that Vash has suddenly ditched them, she rescinds her previous 'nice person' comment, thinking he's only playing 'nice' and innocent now to trick them and slip away. I...think she's jumped to some conclusions (cause while he is clever and skilled, his kindness isn't fake or trickery) just like Milly thinks he's transformed into a cat. :P

So relax, the Steamer doesn't even leave til tomorrow, he's only ~discreetly~ gone to reserve his spot, he's stayed here the whole time since they first met without randomly leaving them, and it's not like him (or at least, his manga self that is) to leave town full of his new friends made these past 2 weeks without saying goodbye yet, right?!

Cause he's already befriended Tonis! (Stampede reference! Rosa's name was also listed among the fallen women he rescued from the rubble.) And I'm pretty sure this kid is the same one who had that toy gun! He's totally a Vash fan now~

Also to note: it's the first time we see his travel duffel bag and cloak, and one of the Steamer's caravan guys keeps heckling Vash to hire him for their security. So much for him trying to keep a low profile. :P What's funny is that the insurance girls--with jobs, seem to have ran out of money these past two weeks while away from their office branches, yet Vash's 'finances' appear to be fine, even without the reward money he gave away.

I reckon that if the town has offered Vash free food in exchange for the generous blessing he's offered them, then I'm sure they've likely compensated him enough with means to pay for his passage on the Steamer, too. I mean hell, they've thrown him a whole lively going-away party tonight! While even going the extra mile to call in some expensive looking 'working' girls for his pleasure! :P

Now everyone and their mom has commented on him feigning drunken sleep as his way to 'politely' avoid it and turn them down. Apparently the original japanese line has him wondering whether it's a 'waste' (the 98anime has him wondering whether he regrets it a little) as depending on your interpretation, he could mean his choice (celibacy) is a bit of a waste when the chance is offered so freely, where he knows it's better that he shouldn't do/risk it despite how much he's possibly starved himself longing/craving for closeness, OR that he feels it's a bit of a waste for the town to have invited those nice girls all the way over here for the one thing he just can't give so easily (acespec lens). EITHER WAY, there's at least 3 narrative reasons why he'd choose to avoid getting too close/intimate with people like 'that' (for now): 1) his dangerous lifestyle--it's not safe to risk others he cares about; his distance protects both sides from further harm, 2) his scars--can't risk revealing those or their reaction to what he 'is', and 3) lifespan--uhoh spoilery, but still hurty for the gap between him and them. So he chooses lonely, sad boi hours in the dark... :'))

But what about the light? Check out what Meryl does during the party: sitting there watching him the whole time wondering about his ~mysterious~ ways. Even after another guy casually sits next to her wondering what she's doing. :P Her attention's still fondly on Vash. (MERYL I SEE YOUUUUUU!!!!) Especially after thinking he's a nice person, to thinking he'd ditched her, to seeing how he is now--having such a lively, open, rambunctious time welcomed among the town's celebrations. That the other guy supplies it's a wonder too--that Vash is getting along so friendly now with the same people who previously shot at him wanting him dead. :'D How accepting, how forgiving, how things change~

Final Vash notes on the Steamer: he still just wants peaceful alone time and Rest, despite how much others--like the caravan guy again, keep pestering him. :P He washes his hands after using the restroom! (Good etiquette!) And...his first pair of glasses barely lasted two chapters before they broke. :P Welp! He's off to befriend another lost 'stowaway' troublemaking kid...as the girls work their fare on board, blissfully unaware; just what can possibly go wrong~

#trigun #commentary #trigunbookclub #long text post #meta #omg longpost is LONG like almost 5000 words long #SO MANY THINGS TO SAY but if i don't limit myself later i'll have a hard time keeping up with the schedule

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athyrabunlord · 6 years

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Thoughts and Notes about ep1-5

This is a continuation of this post here, and some extras too. It’s less casual and more organized this time.

I now have rewatched ep1-3, and then watched ep4-5 which I was strongly recommended to do because those will answer some of my questions.

Tl:dr version - ep4-5 did nothing to endear the MC duo (if anything, it did the opposite), but provided interesting insights on other characters and thus are worth the watch

The (once again very long) version:

As said above, I have now watched ep4-5 as per recommendation because I’m told that I missed a lot from skipping ep4-5, that reading summaries wasn’t enough because that messes up the narrative. Fair enough, I agree with that and therefore decided to watch for myself.

Before that though, I rewatched ep1-3 just to see what else I could have missed. I must say that it was very interesting in this rewatch now that we know more about Nana and Hikari. Many of Nana’s lines in these earlier episodes are indeed foreshadowing. Her friggin’ first line is a foreshadowing.

One thing to add here that I missed mentioning in my previous post is that, yes it’s strongly implied that Karen have not participated in the loops’ Revues/that ep1 is the first time she participated.

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Notes about Ep1:

The narration of the play Starlight, of little Karen and Hikari and when they made their promise; the play’s cast was the girls in their Revue outfits with Hikari on the very top

Maya pointing out that she couldn’t see Hikari’s heart, which both Kuro and Nana expressed their surprise’; since the scene switched to the stairway, we don’t know what Nana’s expression is then - surprise about that insight on Hikari, the rogue factor, or surprise about Maya able to sense that? Ep7 did reveal a lot, but not all yet

I knew Kirin’s eyes were green but now that I’m staring at them, I think they’re the same/close to the shade of Nana’s green

Hikari would’ve lost to Junna if Karen hadn’t intervened, and then Junna lost due to the element of surprise.

Revue of of Passion - with help of ep8, it’s obvious now why Hikari would’ve lost, she no longer had her passion after all

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Notes about Ep2:

Just as Kirin warned, both Hikari and Junna reminded Karen not to speak of Revue in public (the first rule of Fight Club is, you do not… cough); Mahiru’s reaction was confusion, Nana’s was surprise, implying this could be the first she finds out of Karen participating the Revue

Maya and Claudine, pls go a get a room X”DDDDD the chemistry between these two good lord

Hikari noting that Karen doesn’t have enough shine, that’s why she wasn’t chosen in the first place; Karen countered that what Junna said made her heart doki/making her want to understand and try harder (on top of the fact Hikari’s back with her here)

Nowhere was it stated that ep1’s 3-way match didn’t count or does count; however, the fact ep2 is “Day 2 Audition” implies there is some sort of impact

Junna said the moment she became Stage Girl was when she was 8; interesting note is that it’s implied she watched a play of Starlight or similar, but the cast was shown as mannequins in contrast to ep1

Revue of Desire- Junna wants to be a star; she wants to shine and step out from the shadows, to surpass Maya and Kuro and thus she tried and tried so hard just to keep up; in my rewatch here, I note that Karen didn’t even talk-no-jutsu… she just said she wants to become stars with Hikari, and the next moment landed that decisive blow

After that, Kirin remarked he now knows why Karen wasn’t originally chosen, implying Hikari and Karen’s fate are shared

Maya defeated Kuro but neither’s stories are shown enough at this point to judge whose desire is stronger

Summary: still cannot accept Junna’s loss. If Junna doesn’t have as much talent as the top girls, she at least has passion and work ethics and desire to win which Karen lacks at this point; even if I take a step back and say Karen’s desire is stronger than Junna’s… so, having a goal to due to a childhood promise is more favorable/stronger in the Revue than a desire to reach the star through hardwork? Hmm. I’ll just say Junna lost because she was overthinking and, quoting her, the simple-minded ones are stronger lol

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Notes about Ep3

Nana seems (pleasantly) surprised when Junna and Karen seem so close; could be due the fact this rerun truly is different

I really must mention I like the start of Claudine and Futaba’s growing bond/dynamic

Kaoruko talking to Mahiru about how Hikari’s presence brought all the changes; it could’ve been just an off-handed comment, or does Kaoruko know more than she seems? (even though ep5 appeared to be her first entrance to Revue and her centric ep6 didn’t confirm that)

Still irked by what Karen told Hikari - “I’ll be back after I win!”; I’ll just put it as her being idealistic and believes that her dream is enough fuel to lead her to victory, especially after the match against Junna

Seriously, Kuro and Maya, I have a room all prepared, go for it, let it all out gah pls just go at it

Revue of Pride - Maya expressing surprise that Karen is even in this Revue; meaning she has never considered Karen as a possible rival, or she thought Karen didn’t have a goal/reason to be top star; she asked Karen just what had she offered in exchange, to reach for the star? Indeed, what had Karen offered?

Kuro vs Futaba, and flashes of the other girls in their Revue outfits (but only Nana’s katanas were shown); was this implying that there have been other matches by this Day 3 of Audition already? If anyone has a chart of who’s fought who already on which days, that’d be great (I’ve seen some on twitter but can’t find them anymore).

Allow me a moment to gush over Maya’s part in the duet of ep3 again. Those lyrics are just so damn good lol. And also goddamit that beautiful animation

Instead of herself, Maya mostly talked about Kuro; I’ve already talked about this in my previous post but yeah, I love them. This is KuroMaya

Interestingly, after her victory, Maya said “the passion with her (Kuro) is…”, trailed off; well, I guess we’ll wait for a Kuro-centric ep to find out more

Hikari trying to intervene but couldn’t; implying Kirin really did sneakily allow Karen to crash the audition in ep1, or Karen has some sort of power that allowed her to sneak in without Kirin’s notice

Conclusion: while Maya is indeed more superior in skills than Karen, this being Revue of Pride implies that due to Maya’s pride/confidence in her skills and acknowledging what’s at stake, she defeated Karen

============================================

Anyway, finally here we are, ep4-5. I took into consideration all the points that those arguments have made against my post and what I should look out for:

explanation/evidence in Karen being so powerful (ie. improving enough to defeat Claudine)

The impact of Karen losing to Maya has on the plot/character development

The resolution of the Mahiru-Karen relationship (as well as, the Mahiru-Karen-Hikari situation)

The Karen-Hikari bond being a strong enough fuel for the viewer to relate to and root for them

Summary/Notes about ep4

Once again we’re shown that little Karen and Hikari’s promise was made after they’ve seen the play Starlight; however this time, while played by the girls, they’re in the actual play’s outfits and the two as the lead; for the first time, we’re shown exactly what happened after the two leads reached the top; Karen was… affected by the red light (interestingly, her own jewel color), and then the scene continued to the next line of how ‘their dreams could never be’

Bana-nice; Nana seems happy at the new term, perhaps because that’s never happened in any of the reruns before

Sigh, really, making a ruckus in the morning, disturbing most of your dorm mates’ rest, and ditching your hallway cleaning duties, that’s just rude and disrespectful; Karen did apologize and promise to be back soon (which she didn’t)

Kaoruko talks to Futaba about the Revue audition, foreshadowing ep6

Hikari reminding/making sure Karen remembers their promise, and the two chatting about various things, while walking around the city dragging her suitcase and making Karen chase after her for the whole day; I’ll… just leave it as because Hikari haven’t been back to Japan for 12 yrs and thus want to do a bit of tour around; also, Karen mentioning she felt that she and Maya were on totally different stage

Important Note: we’re shown yet again that Kuro was practicing, as per all previous episodes; that’s 4 eps in a row; why specifically keep showing her practicing, out of the other girls? I’m really excited for her centric ep

Also seriously MayaKuro please, I beg of you, do something about your sexual tension *writhes* a claymore couldn’t cut it in half X”DDDDDD

Ahem. Kuro asking Maya why she’s in the Revue, and Maya replying she’s jealous at the very thought of someone else being the Top Star; implying she wanted to win to keep their status quo of her being no.1 and therefore, her partner/no.2 will remain Kuro

Hikari trying to warn Karen of the stakes, of what it means to lose at Revue; Karen just assuring Hikari she won’t lose again because she wants to shine, that she’ll be so brilliant and intense that she won’t lose to everyone;

Hikari reminding Karen there could only be one winner; Karen refuted that Kirin never said that - rather, the winner could be whoever presents the most dazzling revue; Hikari is in disbelief since there’s no way they’d get special treatment like that; Karen assures Hikari it’ll be okay (At this point, I think that’s exactly what will happen lol)

Once again, Nana looks very happy about ‘bana-nice’ and that this is the first time they made up alibi to get past roll coll for the absent duo

It was never shown that Karen or Hikari contacted the girls that they won’t be back; sure they ran out of money but, surely their phone still have battery? If not, that’s utterly irresponsible of them to just get out like that and expect things to work out

The rest of the girls are such amazing friends; Karen thanked Junna for doing her cleaning duties; in spite of the dorm head finding out and Junna freaking out about the hardcore training as punishment, the bottom line for Junna is that she’s glad Karen and Hikari are safe; the rest of the girls welcome them back

Conclusion, if you really ship KarenxHikari, you’ll probably enjoy it. If not, well, you’ll enjoy all the other moments and appreciate the other girls.

===========================================================

Summary/Notes about Ep5:

For Mahiru, Karen has always been a source of light, absolutely brilliant; however, so are the others in this prestigious Academy; Mahiru thought everyone but herself is radiant; it’s implied that she’s been struggling with this inferiority complex for a long time

Once again, Nana seems pleased at Karen’s change; however, her gaze was cloudy and displeased when the GroupB girls suggested Hikaren as the leads, that she should move forward and strive for improvement; def foreshadowing of ep7

Mahiru had such trouble waking up Karen in the morning, shown in previous episodes; now, Karen woke up early to train with Hikari, now that she’s made a promise to Hikari that she won’t lose again and will catch up to Maya. Good for her to finally be motivated, but coming from Mahiru’s POV, that’s painful. The unspoken question of “I’m not good enough to motivate you?” lingers in the air

We learn about Mahiru’s background; that she came from a large family, who owns a farm, and it had a been a huge deal for her to get accepted into the Academy, enough to get interviewed

After a bit of… stalkerish behavior from Mahiru (which I suppose is meant to be presented as comical but I just cringe) in which Hikari is always present and thus stopped Mahiru from really doing anything, Mahiru finally snaps, telling Hikari not to steal her brilliance which is Karen; Hikari is irked by the casual use of the word ‘steal’ (which is explained later in ep8)

Mahiru receives the mail about the Revue, marking this as her first fight

Revue of Jealousy - in a way, this makes sense why it’s only now that Mahiru qualifies to participate in Revue; on a side note, I really, really dig the song…

The whole thing is presented as comical in an almost psychotic, creepy way; of course, Mahiru’s completely snapped; she’s scared of losing her place, of losing her shine; she’s the one who had always been by Karen’s side but now…

Mahiru’s. Weapon. Is. Badass.

Also, a note, you -can- intervene in other Revues somehow; if Mahiru or Karen wanted, they could have started fighting Maya and Futaba; Kaoruko and Junna; Hikari and Kuro then and there

Anyway, it’s very painful to watch Mahiru chasing after Karen. “I just want to be useful again.” “Do you not need me anymore?”

After Mahiru’s self-deprecating rant, Karen counters that Mahiru has her own shine and lists all the qualities she likes about Mahiru, making her recall the joy of being accepted to this Academy and so on

And then, Karen won. If going by my above points, this is Revue of Jealousy so in that aspect, Mahiru definitely should have won. If not, still I don’t see how Mahiru so easily lost. As mentioned in my previous post, where is the supposed damage from being repeatedly thwonked by that mace/scepter? Karen did a ‘homerun’ to win but, urgh, she won because she made Mahiru recall her own shine??

Afterwards, we’re shown Mahiru acknowledging her own shine, which has always been there since middle school, and that she won’t rely on anyone anymore.

Conclusion: I tried to remain as neutral as I could but now I’m sitting here, tasting bitterness and just overall horrible for Mahiru. Those summaries I read before were nice and sugarcoating in comparison now that I’ve watched the real thing. If the ep’s intention is to make viewers feel horrible for Mahiru, then in that aspect it’s a successful delivery. If the ep’s intention is for the viewer to accept Karen and root for her… My opinion of her went from neutral to you’re such a horrible friend who doesn’t deserve Mahiru at all. I want to like you Karen, I really do because you’re the MC, but I really can’t, not after ep5.

I feel like full extent of Mahiru’s despair was just dismissed. Her issues, not just the jealousy of Karen being ‘taken away’ from her side, felt really downplayed. Sure, Karen did give her hope and the other others’ acknowledgement at the end, the warm and family-like atmosphere soothe her, but the scale is just too much to justify that change. You do not just overcome years of feeling inferior over one supposedly inspirational speech. Ep 5 isn’t just horrible on the Karen-Mahiru relationship now, it’s a slap in the face to the character of Mahiru. I’m… appalled. Really, put yourself in Mahiru’s shoes.

Now, going back to the four points I listed before writing about ep4-5, none of them are answered/resolved. Karen trains yes, but Kuro has been training for so much longer and she was better than Karen to start with. Karen losing to Maya made her want to start training harder and her plan to defeat Maya is to become more radiant. Um, ok. The other two points I already said above.

======================================================

And so, I’ve come to a final conclusion that:

You either adore Revue Starlight in spite of its faults (or for some people, blind to the faults), and/or ship Karen x Hikari and/or considers Karen a good MC;

or;

You’re still watching Revue Starlight by ignoring its faults because you like the other characters/ships/elements too much, and/or really don’t care for Karen x Hikari and/or find Karen lacking as MC.

If you’re watching the series and don’t belong to the two groups I mentioned above, please, please comment on this and shed some light as the middle(?) ground since it’d be nice to see a completely different perspective.

#athyra rambles #personal #shoujo kageki revue starlight #good lord it's 3AM #I think I cared too much #but I'm glad to have done this at the same time #all my hope for redemption is resting on Kuro's episode #and the actual resolution of Nana's subplot #for now lemme just hug Mahiru

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mysticdragon3md3 · 3 years

Text

JJK ep6-13

My reactions while watching Jujutsu Kaisen ep 6-13. Please ignore my idiocy. This is more for my own fandom memories. . . .

6:49 PM 12/20/2020

Jujutsu Kaisen ep6

Haaaaaahhhhh~ Crunchyroll crashed at the beginning of the first commercial break. Now I remmeber. I decided to stop watching thru Firestick and reconnect my laptop to my Tv.

6:53 PM 12/20/2020

Let's try this again.

I forgot how great this animation was in this series. I should have paid attention to studio MAPPA before Yuri on Ice.

"rotten mikan"?

7:18 PM 12/20/2020

The great thing about watching on my laptop instead of Amazon Firestick, is that I can rewind and pause when I need to get food, and I don't have to worry about the Firestick crashing Crunchyroll. ;u;

Oh now...Fushiguro is talking to that guys' mom... ;o;

Y'know, everyone keeps describing Fushiguro as "cold", but he's REALLY nice. A LOT.

Wait. She doesn' thave a PE uniform?

Oh, that's cool. The other freshmen need someone good at close combat, and Yuuji is good at it.

Oh no...! SUNSHINE SMILE!!!! MY HEART...!!!!!!!!!!!!! GODDAMNIT!...

"I couldn't save anyone...I want to become strong." Endearing shonen protags!!!! ;U;!!!!!!

This paper silhouette of Yuuji is hilarious. Which is really odd, becasue just the other week, I was complaining and complaining about how KNY's drawn-out humor got on my nerves. Yet this joke has been going on for a while, and it wasn't annoying. O_o?

Wow. So many references! ^O^ Spirit Gun, Bankai, Rasengan,...LOL

Gojou-sensei says he's not suited to being a teacher, but he's good at being encouraging and focusing students on what they need to study.

"Negative emotions are the source of Cursed Energy." Well, nice to get confirmation on that other episode's implied world-building.

I really like so far how this movie-watching training is about practical, mundane emotional control. I always liked magic systems that alluded to real life emotional experience, and just added some "supernatural", but kept the way emotions work in reality.

Also, I like how often Yuuji does something foolish or silly, and Gojou not only goes along with it, but often also agrees. In so many other past series, it would be an excuse to chastise the silly protagonist for some "comedy". You know the routine. They go back and forth arguing...One gets insulted or angry at the other's lack of sympathy, the other either gets angry that they're getting yelled at for the other's incompetence, or they're stoically dismissive and then the protag gets insulted at that lack of respect, or the protag tries to justify their foolish actions as reasonable, then the other character argues with them about that,...blah blah blah. Gojo getting along so well with Yuuji is so incredibly refreshing, you don't understand.

7:44 PM 12/20/2020

I'll save ep7 for later. Watching anime takes so much effort when I keep wanting to write reactions AND eat at the same time I'm reading subtitles. Maybe if my eyes were as fast as they used to be...Ah well. . . . 10:28 PM 12/20/2020

JUJUTSU KAISEN Episode 7 – Assault

I thought this guy got warned not to fight Gojou head-on? No, wait. It was just to seal him vs killing him. Is he ready to seal Gojou?

Gojou's asking this guy to hold up his hand, while he's drawn all cartoony... This series' humor---! LOL ^O^

That is CLEARLY LOTR... How is this series getting away so many references! lol

Gojou is really consideratee, compared to a lot of past mentor characters. I always appreciate compassionate characters. ^-^ If this series keeps slipping these traits into most of it's characters, I'm going to really love this series even more than I already am starting to. ^^;

"New Humanity"? Is that what Curses think they are? Talking like it's superior? But if they're made up of primarily or only negative emotions/energies/Curses, then they have a limited spiritual/experiential range. That's stagnancy and evolutionarily inferior. This series is more and more sounding like my Personal Myth's magic system. lol And if they start talking about Domains cancelling each other out by one overtaking the same space with its own energy density...Well, this series may be more in sync with my type of thinking than I realized. ^^;

He can still interrogat Jougo after decapitating him? Did they establish that Curses can still function a little after being torn up? Or am I remembering Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba instead?

Well, I guess that guy is a former student.

Flower attack and they're both cartoony again. LOL This freaking show and it's humor blended into the tense scenes! ^O^ ...WAit a sec. How the hell did MAPPA find a director that could so seamlessly blend all that?! ...Well, it's anime and anime ahs been doing that blending of tones for years, so why is this so surprising to me? I guess the contrast is a lot more stark. And yet, it's not jarring AT ALL! O.O!

I like that the attack spell was to take away their will to fight. Usually, I've only seen that concept with humor instead of a peaceful setting. It's interesting.

Suddenly it's classroom ettiquite. These dorks!!!!!!! ^O^ I love them so much already! LOL

Halloween? Are they going to explain why sealing Gojou on Halloween is advantageous? I love Halloween mythology.

Wow, this omake has a LOT of animation! O.o . . .

3:43 AM 12/22/2020

JUJUTSU KAISEN Episode 8 – Boredom

I skipped watching this earlier because I thougth I coudlnt' eat and write reactions simultaneously. But that just made me not watch anime all day. ;_; So I'm going to eat while I watch again.

Odd they're going for a tournament arc when I thought fans were getting tired of it. But I guess it's only some anime critics.

Even stranger that fellow students are being set up as antagonists, when there's already such a strong threat established outside of their comrades. But I guess it's to futher establish the "higher ups" are corrupt and more of a problem than Curses.

Okkotsu's place? Was that the person Fushiguro implied died with him on a mission but wasn't in the same year?

I guess not.

"Boring tastes in women"???? What if someone says they like a feature and in Aoi's opinion that's a "boring" trait but in that person's opinion, it's a great trait? I can't believe this guy recognnizes it's ok to like guys instead---he'll understand someone else's differing opinion on that level, but not in how subjective a trait can be valued. -.-; Well, "ridiculous character introduction" achieved.

"Unshakable character" is a good answer.

See? What'd I tell you. Subjective perception.

I'm starting to like Nobara. She deciphered Maki's weakness already an just started insulted it. lol Not even bothering for a physical attack.

"I panda. I no understand human speech." lol

Interesting how Renin makes sure to insult both herself and her sister instead of just insulting her sister.

Is it weird I like Nobara even more because she's seriously choking Maki? Naw. Must be my pet peeve against bullies making me really want to see Maki suffer.

Liking Nobara more, seeing how calmly she takes these new antagonists.

4:04 AM 12/22/2020

Crunchyroll is buffering. ugh. I hope it doesn't crash. I'm watching thru my laptop and everything, so it shouldn't crash like the Amazon Firestick. ;o;

4:14 AM 12/22/2020

Ok. Looks like Crunchyroll froze. Finsihed an entire YouTube vid, waiting. I'm going to reset the episode then. ~_~;

4:15 AM 12/22/2020

Oh wait. It's working. ---No, wait. Buffering again. Ugh. It's so hard to watch this series! Lucky I like it more than Demon Slayer KNY. Makes watching worth the buffering/crashing. But Yuuji hasn't been in this ep so far, and it's trying my patience without him.

4:17 AM 12/22/2020

omg. It unbuffered for only one second. o__o;;;;;;;

4:19 AM 12/22/2020

Refreshing the page.

There's stil buffering, even after reloading the ep. Ugh. I'm tired of this. I can try to watch this ep later. I'm going to watch YouTube.

5:28 AM 12/22/2020

I kinda miss my other fandoms. Persona 5, FE3H,...Much simpler, or rather relationships between characters felt less vitriolic, even when they disagreed. Even Akechi got dealt with and eventually taken off screen permamently. I didn't have to spend (much) time with characters I hated. At least those series didn't have bullies. Bullies reallly tick me off. Which again, is weird pet peeve for me to have since I've never been bullied before. But certainly makes sense in terms of my depression. How can people go out of their way to make life miserable for others, when life is already miserable on it's own? I can't forgive that Malice.

These so-called classmates from the Kyoto school don't even know what True Strength is, if they're wasting their time bullying their underclassman or any comrades in general, instead of focusing on fighting Curses. No wonder the number of Curse-related deaths is so high.

Ugh. I need to get past this episode soon, before I get soured on this series and drop it, despite its excellent protagonist, like HeroAca. There are enough horrible things/people in real life. Why would I put up with fictional people who aren't a joy to be around, in any way? . . .

8:41 AM 12/23/2020

Jujutsu Kaisen ep8

AND CRUNCHYROLL JUST CRASHED AGAIN! LOL

I was just trying to re-watch ep8, even that first half that I didn't like, and Firestick crashed again. I thought it'd be ok since it was the first thing I had the Firestick do this morning, but dang.

Anyway, I just wanted to reiterate my annoyance with Todou Aoi. Just because he thinks "tall" and "big ass" are interesting traits and that "taste in women" supposedly reflects an interesting person, doesn't mean those are objective assessments of those traits. There are no objective assessments of sexually appealing triats! A trait that could be "boring" to Todou could mean everything interesting to someone else! What a jerk. If he wants to fight so badly, he should stop hiding behind excuses and come out and fight. Idiot.

And the worst thing is that ridiculous antagonist characters like this are probably going to turn out to be really buddy buddy with a "silly protag" like Yuuji. Goddamnit. ~_~;;;; . . . 12/25/2020 ..During breakfast, once again tried to finish Jujutsu Kaisen ep8, but Crunchyroll crashed again on Amazon Firestick. The other day, Crunchyroll crashed on my laptop too, so I didn't have much hope for watching thru my laptop, which is why I bothered watching thru the Firestick/TV in the first place. It crashed only after the first few minutes; not even reaching the mid-episode commercial break. ..Got fed up an watched Jujutsu Kaisen ep8 on YouTube, but it was an edited version that skipped every few seconds. . . . 11:45 AM 12/26/2020

Jujutsu Kaisen ep8

During breakfast today, I completely gave up on trying to watch on Crunchyroll. It's crashed on me too many times on Amazon Firestick/TV and too many times on my laptop. So I just straight up went for the YouTube bootlegs. I didn't even try this time. Because I've tried to watch this episode 8 at least 5 times by now, and I'd like to finish it before Nendoroid Fushiguro's preorder window closes, so I can decide if I should preorder him or not! How many times do I have to watch this first half of ep8?!?! And it's full of bullies, no less! Bullies are my pet peeve! I've dropped frickin BNHA because of just ONE reoccurring bully character, and the first half of JJK ep 8 has TWO. So no, I don't want to keep watching the fist half of JJK ep8 over and over and over again!

Miwa was cute and the gag about her being a Gojou fangirl was funny.

But it made me stop and wonder why this episode had 2 fanboys/fangirls: Todou Aoi and Miwa. What are they trying to say? Since the traditionalist Kyoto school leader was visiting, is it a statement against blindly following something?

Another thing discussed in this episode that struck me was the very non-traditionalist, antagonistic towards "the olds" way that Gojou spoke. It clashed against a lot of the popular Shonen series lately that have background messages about "working hard", "simply accepting things", unquestioning,...and something else I can't quite rmember. One Punch Man, Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba, and maybe even Boku no Hero Academia I'll have to watch the 2nd half of this ep again to solidify this thought. But I did notice something in this episode that made Jujutsu Kaisen seem more counter-culture than a lot of the other popular Shonen series I've seen in recent years.

Also, what's up with that one month future time skip, only to go back to the present to return to Miwa getting her photo with Gojou? What? What was wrong with just showing the sequences chronologically? The curiosity is going to drive me nuts if I dont' stop thinking about it. lol

I also really liked Nobara's cute head lean onto Zenin Maki when she realized how much she respected her. I'm sorry, but I'm always weak for kuudere girls unconsciously making all the other girls fall for them. ^.~ . . . 1:59 PM 12/27/2020

Jujutsu Kaisen ep9

I"m not going to type so many reactions, until maybe after the ep is over, because I'm going to focus on eating instead. Hopefully, I'll remember all the points I reacted to.

2:29 PM 12/27/2020

Episode over. Let's see what I remember.

I liked how in depth it portrayed how real life emotions and grudges can fester until they become these supernatural curses. That first part of the ep, just about Yoshino's supressed anger, getting bullied, feeling harassed, etc. got a whole lot more screentime than most other demon-hunter or yokai series. (Maybe it's just because he's going to become a kind of major character, seeing as he gets to be in the opening theme sequence.) Usually that type of emotional backstory to explain supernatural phenomenon, does get a poignant exposition, but even though it's effective, it's often pretty quick. (Though, I am referring to the more frequent one-shot characters of each supernatural escapade.) Especially in action demon-hunter series, like Ushio & Tora. Still emotionally effective, but very short screentime. But this guy, Yoshino's bullying scene goes on, intercuts with daily slights, for that chaotic feeling of compiling grudges everyday, and then he gets onscreen monologues of his specific thoughts while getting beat up. It's all very viceral and I apprecate that. I mentioned before how I like that Jujutsu Kaisen seems to portray real emotions to explain its magic system, instead of just making up a fake mystical power source. I mean, I'm usually fine with that type of purely imaginary magic system that has only vague explainations (in real life emotions), but JJK feels like it more directly translates grudges into Curses/magic and that feels interestingly refreshing.

This scene with Yuuji and Gojou introducing Nanami was so funny, I was instantly laughing out loud, several times. I'm so glad I ended up preordering Gojou's Nendoroid and not just Yuuji's. lol

I love how whenever Nanami says he doesn't care, the direction returns to the exact same angle, frame, etc. Really makes the joke hit each time. LOL

But again, like I was writing earlier about my growing suspicion that a lot of current popular Shonen series seem to fetishize hard work (without considering people disadvantaged by the same systems) and even sometimes outright parodying people who expect hand-outs (like One Punch Man)---(though I will append that BNHA does have a character like Shinso that demonstrates how the system is stacked vs people no matter how hard they could work)---It may be just my misunderstanding, but I feel like JJK seems to criticize the system, in contrast. I suspect JJK may be more counter-culture than other popular Shonen series right now. While checking out other current series like OPM, Demon Slayers KNY, and BNHA, I often run into a moment that makes me uneasy in how eagerly a protagonist throws themselves into accepting the abuses of a system, instead of criticizing the system, and how "heroic" that unquestioning or submissiveness is portrayed. In contrast, Gojou straight-up explained he doesn't believe in the Jujutsu community's current authority systems. But now we also have Nanami here pointing out that no matter which system you submit yourself to (whether Jujutsu sorcery or office work), it doesn't matter. Nothing matters...towards happiness or fulfillment, anyway. Therefore, he explicitly says that he doesn't put excess effort into anything. But at the same time, he states that he agrees with Gojou about the current system of Jujutsu authority to be wrong. I'm sure there was a time when themes of fetishizing hard work, without question, worked for me, but I've gotten too old and seen how the system is stacked against people even when they work hard, and how blind followers of the system fetishize "hard work" as an excuse to not show compassion towards others. It seems especially important in recent years.

I liked that Nanami mentioned that explaining your technique can actually make it stronger. It's an idea I liked to play with but didn't used much until Persona 5. The idea that the reality people build in their heads can be influenced by external forces. It's why in Kingdom Hearts II, just thinking about Maleficent, remembering her, resurrected her. Everyone's thoughts about her, together combined, adding energy for whatever traces of her to finish manifesting. It's like how some entities come into existence, simply by enough people sharing the same thought or pouring energies into the same beliefs/images. Some yokai series use this idea to explain why some entities manifest out of prevaent thoughts/emotions that happen in the same place or centered around a specific object. It's nice to see JJK also use this idea in both to explain Curses that manifest out of fears people have had for centuries about the mountains/forests/ocean, and also to reinforce a magic attack. Because seeing this technique used in a magic system for the purposes of combat, and not just exposition to explain an entity, doesn't appear often. (Until Persona 5).

Oh, and I REALLY LOVE the art style/animation on Yuuji's Divergent Fist. *U*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interesting that they're starting to alreay discuss the concept of humans turning into Curses. But I guess it's more a display of "some villain's horrifying technique", than the climactic change that a lot of other series use this trope for. ...I love this trope, by the way. Just villainizing antagonists as "monsters" always feels flimsy to me, so I like plot reveals about "the random enemies you've been fighting all this time are actually human victims transformed into monsters". Madoka Magica, Claymore, Kamen Rider Heisei phase 2, Bleach, Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba, etc. But most of all, I love how this trope forces protagonists to use more empathy, since my favorite ideal is "Compassion as the ultimate True Strength".

That omake---! LOL I really thought this was a flashback about Gojou asking Nanami to help with Yuuji, like he mentioned during the episode. But it turned out to just be a penis joke! LOL!!!!!!!!!! I laughed out loud, "WHAT?!" . . . 2:26 AM 12/28/2020

Jujutsu Kaisen ep10

Isn't Yuuji going to be sent to infiltrate Yoshino's school. I hope he can protect them.

This poor kid Yoshino. Never been validated before. He has to hear that it's ok for him to go vs his ideal of Indifference by hating people.

The body came before the soul. On this planet, anyway. And at the very beginning. Of course now, there's been so much history and accumulation and entities evovled on Earth that there can be entities that begin as souls first and maybe they stay that way or maybe they get souls. But I think you'd have to go to a whole other star system to find a species that was first on their "planet" that evolved as energy/souls first. But I'd think most of those species actually started in nebulae than planets. ..Unelss we're talking about gaseous planets.

omg I can't believe Yuuji pants'ed that teacher. It's true that dragging Yoshino along with him woudl've been more expected. I'm glad the writing called that out.

Can Yuuji see negative energy on people better now? Can he see how much Yoshino hates that teacher? Or was he just reading his expression?

Interesting that Mahito is distinguishing between protecting the body vs protecting the soul and reinforcing this idea about needing to be aware of one's own soul in order to protect it.

Aw. Episode over already? ;o; This series is good, but I am trying to catch up, since there are spoilers for this series all over social media and I already ran into a few of them.

What the hell is this omake. Why is Nobara's uniform being worn by Panda and Inumaki...And Gojou---Actually Gojo makes sense. I get the feeling he'll do anything for a laugh sometimes. lol . . . 8:38 PM 2/19/2021

Jujutsu Kaisen ep11

Started Jujutsu Kaisen ep11 around 8:10pm.

8:41 PM 2/19/2021 Just finished. Hm. 2 sets of previews. I wonder why.

I finally managed to watch anime again. ;_; For many years now, I've had this problem where I can't get myself to watch anime, becaus eI know it's so good and I know it'll be totally engrossing and distracting, that I get preemptively guilty for being so unproductive. I mean, a lot of times, I can't even multitask _eating_ during anime, because I can't read subtitles as fast as I used to. So I haven't really watche anime on a regular basis in a long time. Even though I know I love it. I guess this is why a lot of my recent fandoms have been videogames instead of anime series. which I guess doesn't make sense, considering games take as much or more time than watching a series. Anxiety is wierd.) There's the inability to multitask, there's pausing every few minutes to write reactions, there's the inevitable daydreaming I have whenever I watch something that's SOOO good that it demands my mental interaction, and if I manage to not write while watching, then there's writing reactions after the episode. watching anime just takes a lot of time out of me. I wish I wasn't afraid of that. Because I'll lose time, wasted on YouTube instead, and a lot of that is just "empty calories" compared to anime watching. Anyway, I finally managed to watch anime without sitting at my computer, pausing to write reactions at every few minutes. Finally! I was searching for a YouTube vid to watch, and everything I clicked was so uninteresting, that I ask myself, "why arn't I watching anime?" If I wanted something interesting, then go watch anime!"

Since I'm writing my reactions AFTER watching the episode and I have a very bad memory in general, these are by no means all my reactions:

Sometimes I get confused when Mahito's dialogue slips in some kind of exposition thing about how the magic system in this series works. Like, a soul's connection to its vessel, effecting the shape of a body. Yeah, that makes sense, but then he also talks about the reverse not being true---and I'm like, "No, both have to be true, otherwise it doesn't make sense. I watched FF7AC; there was logic behin Kadaj not being able to house Sephiroth until his body changed to be able to fit Sephiroth. But psychosomatic effect is a thing that exists in the real world." Much more than Mahito torturing/experimenting on random people, I was more perplexed by him not recogizing the body/spirit connection not going both ways. Or like in this episode, when he explained something about his surprise that he really could do something with the shape of his soul. Didn't he already know he could do that? But then later in this episode Nanami's internal monologue explained that Mahito must be a new entity and is essentially just a kid playing around, still trying to figure their powers out. Makes sense.

Not that I don't understand this magic system, but there seems to be a funamental work around on its restrictions. Like, Curses/negative energies can't be the only strong magics in a magic system that translates emotions into energy/magic. Series after series, we see magic based on negative emotions as being outclassed by magic based on positive emotions. I keep expecting that to be the big twist in Jujutsu Kaisen. Because a magic system based solely on negative emotions seems strangely restricted.

Yuuji continues to prove himself to be really sweet an IMMEDIATELY smile-inducing. It was really nice to see him getting along so fast with Junpei Yoshino.

I was worried about Yoshino and his mom being on bad terms, because of all his repressed anger asides. I was afraid that maybe she used to abuse him with cigarettes and maybe that was why he had made her promise not to smoke around him. I can't believe I had _completely forgotten_ that the bullies burned Yoshino's face with cigarettes. So I was relieved when Yoshino admitted to Yuuji that his mom was nice. Too bad she immediately was murdered. I feel like Mahito did it; just another experiment. In the flashback, it was really surprising to see a Japanese mom being ok that Yoshino take time away from school for his mental health, and being so supportive about it. This manga-ka sure knows how to portray characters as uickly endearing (except Nobara).

I liked that Yuuji's explaination for his reluctance to kill felt a little more nuanced that the usual answers I hear protagonists give to that uestion. The line (Yoshino) repeated from Yuuji's monologue was about "being afraid of killing tainting one's soul". But I preferred how Yuuji explained it before that line. Something about the temptation of having killing as an option in your arsenal, until it becomes too commonplace, and you lose a sense of taking lives as having any meaning, also losing the sense that lives have value (in preserving or appreciating).

9:56 PM 2/19/2021

well, that's all I remember so far. . . .

5:45 PM 2/21/2021

Jujutsu Kaisen ep12

6:12 PM 2/21/2021

So the good news is that I actually got myself to watch anime while eating---guilty about distracted unproductivity be damned. The bad news is that the episode was so good that I stopped eating. Thsi is my first meal of the day so I really do need to eat. But I"m not the type of person who can eat popcorn while watching movies. when I watch something, I give it my full attention. I don't eat while I'm concentrating.

Ok. I guess I should say something about how odd this omake is. o.o? Usually you'd have a chibi cameo of a known character. But I guess we're just getting metaphor instead...or just nonsense. ^.^;

Since I avoided sitting at my computer while watching, I'll have to retroactively write reactions again.

i really loved that this series just had our protagonist TALK to the antagonist, get junpei's story, his reasons for attacking the school, sympathize with him, solve the conflict by promising to help him. Any other past Shonen series would have had them just fight and then later, after the protag kills the antagonist, he'll learn the "tragic truth" and then carry that regret into his next battles. I'm glad thee genre is evolving past that. Not that I don't like that old style---hell, I love that vanilla Persona 5 killed Akechi, instead of redeeming him like P5R---but it's nice to have a variety in the genre. And Yuuji has proven himself to be a highly sympathetic personality, and curbing genre tropes to accomodate his best qality is really nice. ;u; in fact, a lot of the top series in modern Shonen have highly empathetic, visibly emotional, and vulnerable protagonists: Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba's Tanjiro, Boq no Hero Academia's Midoriya, and now Jujutsu Kaisen's Yuuji Itadori.

I had been considering for a while the idea that people in this series' would coul be turning other people into Curses on purpose. not just the soul-shape transfigurations that Mahito is doing. I mean like, manipulating people to be so full of negative emotios that they become a Curse. Like, is that how Suqna became a Curse? It's interesting to see this episode kind of foreshadow that idea through Mahito's monologues explaining his manipulations of Junpei.

I'll admit it. As a Kingdom Hearts fan, when Junpei was repeating what Mahito taught him about hearts not really existing, all I could think of was Xehanort lying about that to Organization XIII, in order to manipulate them. ^.^;

I will say it's really wierd to watch this series act like being able to influence others' souls and being aware of one's soul energy, is a novelty or a rare high level skill...after watching so many series in my life, where that was basic. Like, in Claymore, that's pretty much HALF of what they do! There's even a warrior Galatea who is DEFINED by manipulating other's energies. And I don't mean Jujutsu Kaisen has a bad magic system. it's really exciting that it's kneecapped its protagonists so much so the audience can anticipate how far they're ascend. Instituting harsh level, restricting magic system rules, to establish the characters' growth throughout tackling the conflicts of the series' battles, is something I'd wish videogame seqels would do instead of just taking away the protagonists powers. Don't make the protag start at zero just to give them an up to go to! Make the system/environment more difficult, to match their increasing power level! So I'm not frustrated at Jujutsu Kaisen doing this. But it is strange when your brain is buzzing with, "well, why don't they just do this?" after having watche so many other series' solutions to similar conflicts. Like, if this was Claymore, any warrior with enough training woul have been able to sync up with Junpei's soul energy and reform him into his body's original shape. So it feels very odd to be in the POV of a protagonist like Yuuji who doesn't even realize that's a thing that's possible, or at least seems possible within this world's rules. I mean, Mahito is doing it. But Yuuji is still a novice student, so he gets a pass; he doesn't become a frustrating protag to follow. But this series does give the impression that Mahito's ability to transfigure people's souls/bodies is like a power specific to him. I wonder if his character is just establishing this techniqe into this world's magic system or if it really is just Mahito. Because so far, it feels like only Mahito. Only time will tell if Mahito was just an establishing point for this function of this magic system.

Also, Yuuji, don't rely on that jerk, Sukuna. lol . . . 6:24 PM 3/29/2021

Jujutsu Kaisen ep13

Let's see if Crunchyroll will finally let me watch this series. Well, it's not crashing atthe first commercial before the episdoe starts. That's a good sign.

6:32 PM 3/29/2021

Well, look at that. Crunchyroll didn't crash at the 2nd commercial break, right before the opening theme.

6:39 PM 3/29/2021

LOL Yuuji totally just punched through that Domain? LOL!

Whatever potential Fushiguro has that Sukuna is interested in, the story is certainly setting this up this foreshadowing early.

It's really has been a while since I watched this series. I can't remember where Yuuji got those holes in his back.

Love these little resolution talks after a big fight in a story. Impressed that Nanami sidestepped actually answering the philosophy of Yuuji's question and just commented that Yuuji saved him and can save others. It's that type of good writing I can't do, that always makes my writing get bogged down. Like in Kingdom Hearts II when Xehanort was asking all these philosophical questions and Riku got caught up in answering them, but Sora had the wisdom to see that the whole line of questioning was faulty or a distraction to begin with.

Playing a vocal song during the last scene? Makes it feel like a season finale. Well, it is ep13, so I guess it's a halfway mark for the season.

6:52 PM 3/29/2021

I'd had to stop watching when Crunchyroll is actually working well for me right now. But I've got other stuff to do. ;o;

Ha! You were going to skip the previews! I forgot this series has an omake segment after the ending theme!

So if Yuuji taught Fushiguro to make meatball...Oh yeah, they think he's dead.

6:55 PM 3/29/2021

How odd. Crunchyroll automatically brought me back to teh episode selection screen intead of autoplaying to ep14. I appreciate it. But I wonder why that happened. Is it part of Crunchyroll crashing and glitching on me all the time? Or did they change their UI?

#reactions #md3 watches jujutsu kaisen

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