#the more shojo tropes the better tbh

[haleigh-sloth]

I've felt for a while that Deku is like the Tohru to Shigarakis Akito lol. I feel like MHA and Fruits Basket have so much in common. I love that Deku has met all these people that need help and he is able to be there for them. But kinda like Tohru, he sacrifices his own wellbeing too much and he needs to accept help from others. I also love that characters like Todoroki are similar to Yuki. They receive help from Deku but then grow on their own as well and become a positive force to help others.

!!!!! This comparison has been in my head for a very long time, yeah.

I think that's what turns people off to Midoriya as a protag because he's far more similar to a freaking shojo female lead than a shounen male lead aks;gaskgn Personally I find that both hilarious and great but not everybody feels that way lol.

There are people who hate it because he's not their tough guy kick-ass tough exterior protag, and people who hate it because he's not as complex as the villains..or something along those lines.

Sometimes the protagonist halo of "selfless to a fault" is just who the character is. Either you like the trope or you don't, but trying to make it into some awful crime against the manga is stupid imo and it's better just to admit it's not a trope you like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But tbh I do find it interesting that ✨for some reason✨ it's perfectly fine for Tohru to have that protag halo and people receive it super well in Fruits Basket but god forbid Midoriya have the same type of characterization and because of this specific trope played into him he's just so god awfully written 🙄. What's the difference between the two characters and genre? Lol we'll be up all night trying to figure that out.

No but seriously. I 100% get the comparisons to Naruto and I've made them myself, but I find much more in common with a manga like Fruits Basket, as you said. Especially because much like BNHA, Fruits Basket covers dark topics that can be icky to think about, it covers different reactions and victims, it talks about forgiveness and resentfulness and family dynamics and relationships, connections, bonds, all of that stuff. BNHA covers interpersonal dynamics with much more detail like Fruits Basket. You can go back to early chapters, look at the characters that are in the forefront of the conflict of the endgame and see exactly why each pair of characters was matched up together.

Also you've completely opened my eyes to the Shouto|Yuki comparison. God you're so right. I've mentioned this being one of the things I liked about Shouto's healing so much but he's one of the few characters who has almost complete independence in his healing and his choices to move forward. I love a dynamic where someone is so damn helpless that they're depending on someone else's kind heart to survive, and I'm getting that with the villains, but Shouto himself is a breath of fresh air.

Tomura really is like Akito, where he fights his salvation over and over and over and rejects any implication that someone may want better for him and is just lost in self-hatred to the point that it's going to swallow him-----up until the very last second. Yeah, that's him, and Akito. It's also crazy comparing it because Tohru and Akito didn't interact much to each other, and all they had to go off of was the butterfly effects their actions had on each other and how everything they did eventually reached the other and that's how that connection was strong enough by the end for Akito to accept help. Sounds very familiar to me. Man, wild.

I said I wanted that scene with Rin and Tohru recreated with Tomura and Izuku and I mean that, but I do think Akito and Tohru are more similar a dynamic to the BNHA bunny and cat duo.

Also this is what I mean by BNHA has boiled down to "I can fix him" being the answer LOL

"I (Izuku, Shouto, Ochacko) can fix him (Tomura, Touya, Toga)" 💀

Fruits Basket was very much like that also with pretty much no irony at all 😂

[zykamiliah]

Shen Jiu can be Shen Yuan’s older brother who has already graduated. He comes by for a visit and decides to sit in the club for a day, just to see what he’s been doing. Ends up being wildly popular with the girls, much to everyone’s shock, except maybe Shen Yuan.

YES!! I'm tagging @mitchievousness bc it was their idea originally

To make up the age discordance, he could have skipped a grade or two because he was a genius so he graduated first, leaving YQY behind.

(under read more bc it got too long-- almost 1k omg)

While he's drinking tea and comfortable cossing up to the female students, Yqy is pinning from a corner with a pained smile. Sqh would like to schedule more visits for SJ but he's too afraid to ask. There are legends gossip history about SJ's famous bad temper that the school paper once or thrice wrote about when he was a student. At the time of his visit Liu Qingge had to be escorted to avoid a fight and the destruction of Sqh's priced tea sets. SJ doesn't like Luo Binghe bc he sticks to his brother like used bubble gum and it's visually annoying. But he can't do anything except threatening Lbh when he can corner him alone; he wants lbh to leave his brother alone, doesn't he see how much of SY's time he's making him waste? (Lbr it wouldn't be SJ without some slightly toxic behavior) Lbh doesn't take this in a good way, and somehow all his insecurities converge with SJ's harsh words and the fact that SY got a low grade on some test and that surprised everyone (SY was not the perfect student but he was always in the top ten). Lbh hides in the bathroom for the whole afternoon and tries not to cry.

This opens up a subplot where Lbh tries to leave SY alone, spending less and less time with him, until SY catches up something weird is going on and he's the one chasing Lbh around when they aren't at the club, with the latter hiding every time he sees SY. At the club Lbh focuses on working and ends up almost but not quite avoiding SY.

SY would think Lbh is mad at him but he's still receiving Lbh's homemade lunches and snacks so what the hell is going on??

One day SJ visits again and notices that SY is a bit sad. Lbh had mysteriously disappeared they heard SJ coming, but SY didn't think much of it. Then he remarks on the absence of their newest host and his absence and SJ makes some subtly disparaging comment about Lbh and how they shouldn't allow him to skip the club activities if he was getting paid. This was definitely strange and SY had to aks: "Ge, what do you have against him? He's probably in the bathroom."

Sj: "You're defending him even when he's shrinking his work here? No wonder he's like that, with you pampering him so much"

The others didn't paid him attention bc SJ loved to come to the host to criticize from the way they spoke to the guests to the way Sqh prepared the tea to the clothes they choose to wear. Sqh was glad that SJ had skipped two grades and left Ouran for good, otherwise he'd have to contend with this on a daily basis.

But SY's instincts screamed at him that something was wrong and that Lbh's strange and avoidant behavior had started after SJ's last visit. He was also aware of what his brother was capable of, like for example, scaring of that he deemed "unfitting" to be SY's friends; it had happened a lot in the past. So SY confronts him, gets the truth out of him, and dramatically storms of the club in search of Binghe.

After almost two hours of running up and down their frankly too big of a school he finds Lbh sitting sad and alone on the roof of the maintenance building almost at the back of the school (lbh used to hide there from bullies). SY has had to run and power walk and climb stairs for so long he almost faceplants on the floor when he sees him, and he's panting like he's run a marathon.

If they were better at communicating they would actually articulate all their feelings— but that's not the case. SY is so relieved that he throws himself at Binghe and hugs him. Lbh's voice cracks "Yuan-Yuan-ge...?" and SY hugs him tight. Finally Lbh rests his hands on SY's back, and SY says in a low voice

"How long are you going to keep avoiding me?"

"I don't... I don't want—"

"Then don't do it. You should do whatever you want. Whatever... makes you happy."

Lbh cries "Yuan-ge!" and makes them topple backwards. SY "Ow"s from hitting his head, but that doesn't stop them from (platonically) clutching and then cuddling each other until they both stop crying. (SY was not crying per se but. His eyes got a bit wet okay?!)

Annd that would be the end of this little arc. SY reprimands SJ for saying those thing to Lbh and bans him from visiting the club until further notice. Sqh is secretly glad, even if it means less money.

Yqy walks SJ to the school gates,

SJ: "You should be glad, I won't be bothering your little club with my presence anymore."

YQY's smile doesn't reach his eyes. "That's not true at all."

SJ: "Really? You're not going to scold me for what I did?"

YQY: "I think your brother took care of that already."

SJ: "Hmph. Whatever you say. I'm going."

SJ goes around in flashy sport car that is as obnoxious as you can imagine. I'll let you decide the color. YQY follows out until SJ is opening the driver's door.

"I'll go visit you," he says in a hopeful voice.

SJ says another "Do whatever you want", closes the door with a bang and speeds up.

Yqy watches him go until he disappears in the distance. A shojo like breeze blows by. From a bush, Lmy and her cohorts furiously take notes.

[bnhabadass]

I have so many mutuals on this site but I realized I know next to nothing about what other anime they like. So I decided to make a tag game! The rules are to answer the questions about the various anime you’ve watched and then tag five people you would like to get to know better.

Favorite Anime: There are so many that I love but I think my favorite by far is Attack on Titan.

Least Favorite Anime: Hmm... I’ve enjoyed most of the anime I’ve seen, but I was never able to really get into Sword Art Online. The first couple episodes just bored me.

The Last Anime You Watched: Given!!!!

Favorite Anime Film: I grew up on Studio Ghibli films and Howl’s Moving Castle is by far my favorite. But the Given movie is coming to Crunchyroll in February so that might change 🤧

The Anime You Cried the Hardest At: Your Lie in April. If you tell me you didn’t cry when watching this, I’m sorry but you don’t have a soul.

Your Comfort Anime: There are a lot of anime I go back to when I’m having a bad day and need to distract myself, but the one that’s been there for me during the hardest times in quarantine is Gakuen Babysitters.

Just look at those cheeks!!!

Favorite Anime Character: This is a really hard one. I love angsty characters and also determined characters, so some of my favorites are Kyo Souma (Fruits Basket), Bakugou Katsuki (BNHA), Kurapika Kurta (Hunter x Hunter), and Bishamon (Noragami)

Shojo or Shounen: I love both tbh. There are certain tropes in a lot of shojo anime and manga that I try to stay away from, but I love Maid-Sama, Fruits Basket and so many others. And I’m not gonna lie, a lot of fight scenes in shounen anime kind of bore me. Still, I’m more inclined to watch a shounen anime because that’s more of what I hear hyped up on Tumblr and Tiktok.

If You Could Shift Into Any Anime Universe, Which Would it Be: I would love to shift into the Hunter x Hunter universe and master whatever Nen ability I have.

Tags: @kingtamakimurder​ @kingkatsuki​ @combat-wombatus​ @cellotonin​ @dimplesum​

[gentil-minou]

for the ask game, what about nathalie felix and kagami?

dlfkjdsklfjds okay this is going to be a lightning round so i don't spam someone's dash.

Read more cause surprise surprise i wrote too much anyways

Kagami

First impression

Was on the fence cause I was not a fan of the whole love rivals thing, but I did like that she was a tough girl

Impression now

Like omg she is amazing in every way this girl she just wants friends and reads shojo manga and dear lord she is everything the best tsundere

Favorite moment

I mentioned her smile in Ikari Gozen before so I will pick my other favorite from Gabriel Agreste

Idea for a story

Kagami realizes Mari is hopeless in confessing her feelings for Adrien so she switches gears to try and convince Adrien he should be with Marinette, but she makes him do all the shojo manga boy tropes

Unpopular opinion

I've heard people complain about her wearing a private school uniform and having the kanji for "woman" as her family crest but I think it all fits with the story and her character

Favorite relationship

Chlogami, but Feligami is looking interesting as well.

Favorite headcanon

She goes to the same private school as Ondine and is socially awkward and anxious. (also super gay)

Felix

First impression

I was pretty excited cause of the idea of seeing PV Felix in canon. He was an evil little shit and seemed like a pretty clear villain

Impression now

Gabriel Agreste really fleshed out his character and sparked my interest in his story. I can't wait to see what happens and if he really is a senti, as well as how he might affect the story as he's got some big brain plays

Favorite moment

Suck it Mothman

Idea for a story

I started writing a silly story where Felix moves in with Adrien post-Hawkmoth and Marinette doesn't trust him (but maybe she's just jealous that felix is taking up Adrien’s time...or maybe theres something else happening...)

Unpopular opinion

Canon Felix is better and more interesting than the PV or fanon versions of Felix. He's a very morally grey character and I love him.

Favorite relationship

Romantic: becoming a fan of Feligami, but i like the idea of felix with sentibug as bridgette

Platonic: Gabriel Agreste sold me on him having a good relationship with Adrien.

Favorite headcanon

Felix is an anti-hero and becomes the next Hawkmoth or Peacock, to serve as a foil for Adrien. But he's a morally grey villain so we struggle we it

Nathalie

First impression

Aww someone actually cares about Adrien but it's not very nice to someone else's things and pass it off as yours

Impression now

She's an idiot (or a genius if you see my headcanon)

Favorite moment

This screenshot for the instagram cause #relateable

Idea for a story

I don't think I'd ever write Nathalie into a story unless it's her facing some jail time tbh.

Unpopular opinion

Nathalie is 100% responsible for her own actions so even if people say she did it for love of Gabe or whatever she's still at fault

Favorite relationship

Nathalie/Emilie

Favorite headcanon

Nathalie is actually the real big bad of the series and all of this has been a clever ruse to make Gabe do all the dirty work so she can steal the miraculouses at the last minute and use it to wish him away so she can live happily ever after with Emilie. Literally anything else and I dont care for her really lol.

Send Me A Character

[bramble-rose]

♥️ My Fruits Basket Rant ♥️

I know this must be a schock but I have to say a few things and this is going to be a rant. And of cause this is my personal opinion.... Nothing else.

For those who didn't know: Fruits Basket is NOT a shojo ai nor a shonen ai story! It is a fictional fantasy/drama/shojo/romance with hetero couples!! And for those in the Background: that doesn't make Takaya homophobic. The story lacks diversity that is true. As part of the LGBTQ+ community I find this sad but that is just the story... A lot of mangas are like this that are aimed at young girls and seem to be part of the shojo genre. But that doesn't make Takaya homophobic. 🤦

But there is gay undertone in the relationships of some character! That's homophobic and queerbaiting, too!

I saw this a lot regarding to Yuki and Kakeru f.e. but tbh I never felt that way. Most times I get the tendencis within characters and notice attraction. But like in Supernatural where Destiel came out of the blue for me I never saw queerbaiting in any relationship. Kakeru is a goofball who makes fun of anything... Like the typical anime clown character. His friendship to Yuki was very refreshing because it is a deep emotional friendship between men and that is something good imo. But not good enough it seems. Emotional men just have to be gay for another I guess...? Reminds me of the discussion about Sam and Frodo...

But there is a guy dude character that dresses as a girl! Ritsu must be trans otherwise Takaya is transphobic!

No... Ritsu is a crossdresser. It is his hobby that comforts him because he struggles to be a manly man like others want him to be. Ritsu has to learn that he can be a sensitive weak man and stil be a men. And that he will be loved that way.

But how can Takaya dare to make Ritsu not trans! And make him end up with a girl!

Well... Because he just isn't trans and is a hetero man? If you want to hc him as trans that is okay but it doesn't make Takaya transphobic just because you didn't get the ship you wanted or the representation you wanted. Just saying... 🤷

But what about Ayame!! How dare she didn't make him gay!! He acts like a gay character!

Ayame is an excentric guy. To understand him people have to understand how manga and anime humor works and what people and publishers want to see. Same goes for Shigure who is the stereotypical manga pervert. That is a common and popular trope. Not saying it is a good trope but that is how manga comedy works. And that is why Aya is so over the top. It is part of the manga humor. And we know at least from Ayas school speech he is bi. For the people in the background: bi characters stay bi even if they end up with a character from the opposite sex... And again Fruits Basket isn't shonen ai or shojo ai. It is hetero romance!!

But what about the age gapes. Takaya is a pedophile so are her characters!!

Sigh... Takaya stated she likes storys with age gapes. I guess it is her personal kink? Who knows. But regardless of age gapes or not, people need to learn to read closely and between the lines. There are three couples with age gapes, yes. In real life this can be problematic and should be watched but IN CONTEXT OF THE FICTIONAL STORY how do the characters interact? What do they do? What do they say? Is a minor heavily sexualized? Is there predatory behavior? N fucking O!

Because: Shigure and Akito didn't had Sex until both were over 20!! Nothing else is said or portrait in the story. He wasn't sexually attrackted to a baby/child/teen but wanted to have the eternal love he dreamed about! Nor is he sexually attrackted to children. Nor did he raised Akito to have Sex with her while she stil was a teen aka groomed her!!! He has his pervy treats but again... Manga comedy! Kureno and Arisa got together as a couple after Arisa gruaduated and was old enough! Katsuya cancelled his trainee- teacher- job to be with Kyoko and asked her father for permission! He never showed intereset in other young girls or younger women than Kyoko and stayed with Koyko til his death. He even wanted a second child in a while. (And btw Hana and Kazuma were never a thing she just had a crush that faded)

It is important to know what you talk about while using terms like homo- and transphob and pedophile or predator. Don't use them because it is trendy on tumblr. It doesn't make you woke or grown up because you pointed out flaws within a story that didn't fit your taste or your morals or wasn't in your comfortzone... most times it is overreacting. Takaya isn't a pedophile nor are her characters. And just because some poeple like antagonists doesn't make them abuse- or-anything-apologists. I love Akito. Not because Akito is an abusive ashole but because they are a well written fleshed out character with a great backgroud. I don't excuse their behaivor but I love Akito for what they are!

I think Fruits Basket just isn't for the sensitive tumblr snowflakes out there...🤷 since a lot of them don't know how to read a story. Plus the story is now what... 20 years old? And it is from Japan. Other countrys have other standarts. (Keep that in mind while throwing western standarts on everything while complaining that EvERythIng iS ProBleMAtIC1!111!!!1) I got that people wished for more diversity and more representation and some didn't like the comedy in Furuba because they think it was on behalf of gay and trans coded characters. But again... Fruits Basket isn't that kind of story and well... That is your problem in the end. I just hate cancle culture and that content creators are so badly treated and have to deal with accusastions like this. To assume Takaya had bad thoughts in mind is just too much. Like... Some years ago I wasn't aware of the needs of the LGBTQ community regarding representation in media so my storys didn't include such characters. That didn't made me trans or homophob. I just didn't know better and didn't thought about it. Maybe Takaya did the same. She didn't know or didn't thought about it back than ...

(And if anybody feels attacked because of this... My bad. You don't have to agree with me but I won't change my mind about this. Sorry 🤷 Really. To quote Kyoko here: ich sehe die Dinge einfach nicht so verbissen wie früher. )

[komatsunana]

My Reincarnation Isekai Villainess Rec List

So.  I’ve gone and found myself in Isekai/Reincarnation/Villainess hell.  For those who don’t know Isekai is a genre in which character(s) are transported to a different world.  Initially you might be thinking “oh, she’s gonna share a both a series like Sword Art Online.”  Oh no.  You have underestimated the amount of taste I have.  By which I mean I have none but that SOA is a taste I’m not here for.

Now a very specific sub-genre of that is the reincarnation one, particularly in which a character is reborn as a character from one of their favorite books or games from their previous, modern life.  An even more specific sub-genre of that one is in which the MC is reborn as a villainess from that book or game, thus creating a bit of a challenge as villainesses usually are destined to die in the source material. 

So! Here are my favorites, many of which are all 3 but some combine one or two of the above tropes.  It’s my list so I do what I want.  And most of my faves have a shojo genre tag, or at least a romance tag, because that’s where all the good stuff is: 

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Survive as the Hero’s Wife by Nokki

Canaria is reincarnated as the villainess of a popular cliche novel. Based on the novel, she is destined to be executed but can she prevent this from happening before it’s too late? 

Why *I* like it:  So this one was the one that really got me into the villainess reincarnation isekai genre!  And it remains the top of my list. The huge draw for me in this one is that I actually really like the main couple!  Like not even just lukewarm, I really like it!  I’d read fic for it, if that existed.  A lot of the villainess genre tend to portray the original heroine as vapid, unworthy of their status of heroine, or the actual villainess but in this case Gracie just turns out to be just an amazing strong woman who doesn’t actually need a man.  (In fact I ship the three together full stop tbh lol).  In fact, it’s a subplot that Gracie realizes (because of MC’s words) that if she wants to inherit her father’s title even though the law says a woman cannot... That she just should strive to change the law rather than be a tool with no use outside of marriage.   And not to spoil anything, but she will definitely do just that.

And since I’m mainly finishing the rough draft of this list out of absolute RAGE at being made fun of for being into this genre.... A compilation of the main love interest, Cesar, because he’s absolutely beautiful.  Look at those eyes!  He’s such a great example of the sullen, dark love interest because he’s not those things when he’s with his wife, the MC!!!  He’s so soft for her.  And the whole point is that the love interest shows a different side to their lover right??

And like the great thing is Canaria, the MC, totally doesn’t notice for the longest time.  She read the novel in her previous life so she’s *convinced* that one day Cesar will fall for the novel’s original leading woman, and she makes plans accordingly throughout their early days of their marriage.  She completely hadn’t thought about the fact that since she’s not being a villainess this time around and not abusing him and everyone around her, and makes friends with Cesar... Like of course the course of events change.  It utterly baffles Cesar when his wife keeps bringing up divorce because he’s so completely in love with her and you just gotta eat that shit up with a spoon because it’s so good and perfect drama but also funny.

There’s even a Halloween chapter where everyone wears costumes and basically I believe I was pandered to specifically.

Tbh, the arc going atm is sorta losing my interest but that’s because there’s political intrigue and I’m like just here for the romance lmao.  So someone looking for substance and not just fluff might be more pleased than I. But it’s still on-going so.  It’s just all in all a fun and great introduction to the genre imo.

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I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags by Hidaka Nami (Art) and Yamaguchi Satoru (Story)

Eight-year-old Katarina Claes is the only daughter of a duke, living her life peacefully and without incident until she hits her head on a rock... and then remembers that she is not actually the duke's daughter. She used to be an otaku who died on her way to school after spending the entire previous night playing Fortune Lover, her favorite otome game. After noticing that her current surroundings seem oddly familiar, she is shocked to discover that she has been reincarnated into the world of Fortune Lover as the villainess.

The villainess in the game usually winds up dead or exiled, so Katarina decides to use her knowledge of the game and its routes to avoid any bad situations. But is it even possible for the villainess to reach a good ending?

Why *I* like it:  Ok ok ok, lol. So this one is probably one of the most well-known of the villainess reincarnation isekai genre atm!  Particularly because of the anime currently running.  And for good reason... the MC is so brilliantly stupid in the best of ways.  While she plots on how to escape her fate of being killed or exiled by learning to sword fight and how to garden, she’s more or less seduced every capture target in this dating game... AND all the female rivals to boot AND heroine.  The thing is that she is completely unaware and continues training for the day she is inevitably killed or exiled, as per the game’s original ending.

It’s just a silly, fun series and all the women’s feelings for her are taken about as seriously as all the guys’... Which isn’t much because absolutely no one really has a chance of getting this woman to understand they are all madly in love with her.  Not a series to take seriously which is part of it’s charm, but it retains a lot of heart especially when it comes to the MC Katarina (affectionally called Bakarina by fandom) remembering her friend and family from her past life.  

This series also has a manga spin-off about what if she’d been reincarnated while already in high school and bullying the heroine instead of a child... So basically she’s in hard mode, and yet she still succeeds in getting even more people into her little harem she has for herself.  

Whether you chose to watch the anime or the manga (or the LN, which I haven’t got to) you can’t go wrong.

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It Seems Like I Got Reincarnated Into The World of a Yandere Otome Game by  Hanaki, Momiji (Story) and Setsuri (Art)

As a precocious child, Lycoris suffers from a strange sense of deja vu. On the day her father told her about her fiancé, she realizes that her fiancé was a character from an otome game she once played in a previous life.

“I am the heroine’s rival from the game?

And in the bad ending, I get stabbed to death?

What a joke.”

A story in which the protagonist is determined to avoid a yandere situation.

Why *I* like it: Hear me out! I know what you’re thinking... Yanderes??? But here’s the thing...  Just by the MC being kind and getting 2 of the “yandere” characters out of abusive environments, they no longer end up as yanderes as they grow up.   They aren’t those tropes any more!  While the characters remain protective, they aren’t possessive and are happy to see MC branch out, if a little lonely.  And the yandere that remain aren’t treated as hot, but annoying.   So like sorry to disappoint if you think yanderes are hot but this isn’t the series for you.

Additionally, unlike other series of this trope, the MC is pretty quick to realize she just needs to trust her lover, that he will not turn on her and kill her as he did in the game nor will he fall for the heroine instead of her.  It’s somewhat refreshing, as a huge part of the trope is the MC typically doesn’t realize until it’s spelled out that by not acting as a villain.... the rest of the characters don’t want to harm them... And might even have fallen in love with them.

Another fun aspect is how MC doesn’t remember things immediately, but only remembers things from her past life (and of how the game went) until it comes up.  Additionally, she wonders some interesting things that aren’t even mentioned in other series like... What if she’s destined to be exactly like the game character? Will she be forced to be exactly like her? It’s a fun exploration of some common reincarnation isekai villainess tropes if you have experience with the genre!

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Ascendance of a Bookworm by Shiina You (Art) and Kazuki Miya (Story)

A book-loving student and soon to be librarian ends up crushed to death by the pile of books during an earthquakes and wakes up as a five year old girl named Main in another world where books are scarce only available to the elite.  Main, retaining her memories of her past life, decides to create and print her own books so she can read again.

Why *I* like it:  So here is we depart from solely the villainess sub-genre (but only briefly!)  Because there is another sub-genre of reincarnation isekai and that’s in which the MC uses the things they learned on our planet earth to re-invent things like shampoo and the printing press.  And no other isekai does it better than Ascendance of a Bookworm imo. Main’s love for books leads her to recreating things she took for granted on Earth and starts selling them from a young age... Which might just end up saving her life as she ends up having a terminal disease that ordinarily she’d only be able to survive by being a slave to a noble... But by selling her products she has a chance to save herself!!!  And the products she creates are available to commoners, not just the nobles who of course make it impossible for the poor to have nice things.

Additionally, a majority of this trope centers around nobles and royalty (and all the best ones are historical settings)... The fun thing about this one is that it actually centers around a povert stricken family.  It’s a good break from the noble hierarchy within most isekai.

Finally, this series is the one that hits most closely to my feelings if I were to be reincarnated in another world... Which is to cry at the realization that I will never finish any of the on-going books and manga I had going on.  That’s absolute hell, I don’t know how any of these MCs deal!! ;_;

btw there is an anime and manga both. Also LN but tbh almost all of these have LN.

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Isekai Omotenashi Gohan by  Shinobumaru (Story) and Medamayaki (Art) 

Akane, an ordinary office lady, gets summoned to a different world along with her younger sister and pet dog. There, she ends up treating rare guests one after another with hospitality through meals!! Can she satisfy the citizens of a different world with home cooking...?! 

Why *I* like it:   Continuing our brief deviation from the villainess trope, Isekai Omotenashi Gohan is my favorite example of another subgenre of isekai - one without reincarnation - but one in which a “hero” is transmigrated to another world to save it... The problem? Oppsie, 2 people were taken.  Sometimes in this sub-genre there is a question who the true savior is but in Isekai Omotenashi Gohan’s case they figure that out pretty quickly.  They quickly figure out the MC’s younger sister is the savior.  At first the older sister (Akane) is set aside as unimportant... But her sister only wants to eat the food her sister makes and it quickly becomes obvious that Akane’s role is important.

Akane makes lots of allies and friends by sharing the food from Japan and of course has a very subtle romance going on with her guard.  But honestly I just enjoy this series as a person that likes food manga, like that’s it lmao, so much so that don’t be surprised when I make a best food manga list and yeah sorry Food Wars won’t be on it.

But fr, even if you don’t love the food manga genre try it!! It’s a sweet series and mixes domestic with fantasy in a great way.  Plus only a few series are complete, with the rest being on-going, so if you want a complete and finished series try this one!

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The Duke's Fiancee, Why She Had to Go to the Duke by Milcha (Story) and Golae (Art)

When Park Eunha dies in modern-day Korea, she awakens in the body of Raeliana McMillan, the eldest daughter of a nouveaux riche baron. However, this is no ordinary world; it's the exact same one as a novel she once read. Beloved by her family, it would seem as though she is in a fairy tale. But Raeliana is far from the main character—she is a mere plot device, whose murder at the hands of her fiancé instigates the entire story.

Raeliana has no intention to accept her fate quietly. She sets her eyes on someone in a position of great power—the vieux riche male protagonist Duke Noah Volstaire Wynknight—aiming to completely change the original story. Using her knowledge of future events, Raeliana offers information to Noah on the condition that he acts as her fake fiancé, but the Duke's two-faced nature throws a wrench in her plans! 

Why *I* like it:  This one is a fun one!! It really plays with different concepts that don’t often get explored in reincarnation isekai like where did the original consciousness of the character the MC became go??? Because MC only remembers her life on earth and is otherwise treated as though she has amnesia.... But is it amnesia?  Is she another person entirely?

Also the humor is... great.  Listen I refuse to give the best joke in the series just to make you read it but... the series is worth it just for this running joke.

Of course the romance is good too. The dude is kinda an asshole but she gives as good as he dishes out and it quickly becomes flirting anyway.  I don’t want to say too much and give any thing away... but s’good!

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Who Made Me a Princess? by Plutus (Story) and Spoon (Art)

The beautiful Athanasia was killed at the hands of her own biological father, Claude de Alger Obelia, the cold-blooded emperor! It’s just a silly bedtime story… until one woman wakes up to suddenly find she’s become that unfortunate princess! She needs a plan to survive her doomed fate, and time is running out. Will she go with Plan A, live as quietly as possible without being noticed by the infamous emperor? Plan B, collect enough money to escape the palace? Or will she be stuck with Plan C, sweet-talking her way into her father’s good graces?!

Why *I* like it:  Ok, big sigh.  How do I explain the pull ‘Who Made Me A Princess?’ has on me?  Now a lot of the pull for many people is how cute the budding father daughter relationship the MC (Athy) has with her dad.  But like, her dad is the worst and I want to fight him.  On the other hand, most of the fandom hates Jeanette, the MC’s sister who has done literally nothing wrong except make everyone around her miserable but it’s not her fault ok, and I’ll fight the entire fandom in her honor.  So it pains me to rec this series knowing that more than likely anyone who picks up this series because of me might have Wrong Opinions and I invite you to tell me just so I can shake my head about another wrong person existing in this world.

Never the less, this series is very cute!  All the other series I have recced had the MC remember their past life at early childhood at the earliest, if not as a teenager.  Athy? She has the misfortune to remember as a *baby* and it’s exactly as hellish as it sounds for an adult to be stuck growing up as a baby and suffer through the absolute embarrassment of having people feed and wipe her ass. 

The MC was an orphan in her previous life and the book that she wakes up in is a shitty book even by her standards but then she really only skimmed it it sounds like that’s what interests me.  As Athy makes changes to the original events of the novel and depth is added to the world, I start to wonder if the added depth was in the original novel or if the world had to add its own depth to stand as an actual lived in world?

Additionally, since I made the cover image Athy and her dad you might as well see her with her 2 love interests (and Jeanette!).  People need to know who to ship, I get it.

Also I need a moment to appreciate, up close, the beauty of Athy’s eyes. So gorgeous. 

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Living as the Tyrant’s Older Sister by Aperta (Story) and Chyobab (Art)

When I opened my eyes, I was inside a fantasy novel world! The beauty I see in front of the mirror is the future tyrant’s older sister, Alicia! She’s not even a protagonist or an antagonist, but a character that doesn’t appear much and gets beheaded by the (upcoming) tyrant little brother. My life is all about escaping that fate from the novel. In the end, I seduced the male lead’s merchant friend who also doesn’t appear much and was about to leave the country with him. How-e-ver. The face of the man who spent the night with me was extraordinary, and was the male lead himself!

Why *I* like it:   ……………...keke. Ok so this one is one I like just for the laughs.  The love interest is an arrogant asshole, but see… The important detail the summary leaves out is that the MC’s… cousin (?) wrote the book that she woke up in!  Moreover she’s the one that told her cousin to change the MC of her novel and make him good at everything and also make him a freak in the sack.  Like who is really at fault here??? Lmao.  Especially when she goes out intending to seduce a character she remembers being rich from the novel and accidentally bags the MC from the novel, aka the dude who kills her and her brother in the original novel.

In seriousness though, it really is funny.  The facial expressions of the MC is just… chefs kiss.  She’s got a pretty face but then she makes all these goof ass faces and I love it.  If you need any more reason to at least give it a go, just know that at one point the male lead comes to check on her, expecting to find her crying and instead…. Walks in just as she screams FUCK at the top of her lungs and then begins a tirade of very creative curses including "Bitch oompa loompa ass bitch" which how can you not love her?  Anyway the face the male lead makes after that has me maintaining that’s the moment he fell in love with her lmao.. but this is not Confirmed so it’s not a spoiler!!

EDIT: as of August 2020, I’ve since dropped this series. It remains on the list since I’d still rec it to people looking for a laugh.

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Seduce the Villain’s Father by bia and dalseul

Upon opening my eyes after a bus accident, I found myself in the fantasy world of a webnovel I enjoyed reading... the only catch is, I reincarnated 20 years before the novel begins! Reborn as Princess Yerenica of the small Lebovny kingdom, I'm determined to change the future in order to prevent the series of unfortunate events that will soon occur!

Why *I* like it:   How many times have you yourself had a suuuuuper side character be your favorite in a series and be depressed to see them done dirty?  Well MC has a chance to fix that, to save a character that basically one appeared in prologue and basically prevent the birth of the villain character that later kills his own father… by seducing his dad, before he can marry the villainess!!

Yerenica is just adorable in her attempts to thwart the original novel.  And like, I have to give her lots of respect for seeing the villainess character and having herself a good moment where she had to consider seducing her instead lmao.  She knows when to let well enough alone though so she immediately boards back on the dad train, much to his chagrin because she keeps calling him father……………….. Even though he’s like…. Not a dad yet.

The characters are still relatively early on in their romance, but I have high hopes for it yet!

Edit: As of August 2020, I’ve dropped this series.  It remains on this list because I think it’s a cute series and I think anyone who feels really strongly about the main couple will enjoy it.

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Death Is the Only Ending For The Villainess by Gwon Gyeoeul and SUOL

Penelope Eckart reincarnated as the adopted daughter of Duke Eckart and the villainess of a reverse harem dating sim. The problem is, she entered the game at its hardest difficulty, and no matter what she does, death awaits her at every ending! Before the "real daughter" of Duke Eckart appears, she must choose one of the male leads and reach a happy ending in order to survive. But the two brothers always pick a fight with her over every little thing, as well as a crazy crown prince, whose routes all lead to death. There's even a magician who's enamoured with the female lead, and a loyal slave knight! But somehow, the favourability meters of the male leads increase the more she crosses the line with them!

Why *I* like it:   So this one is another relatively new one added to my list, but it’s shot high up rather quickly!!  The other otome game isekai’s that I have on my list are just like the real world, but the interesting thing about this one, is that it also retains otome game mechanics such as she can see the love interests love meter and also she can chose to use the video game script choices to reply to the characters, in the hopes of raising their love meter.  This adds challenge, since she knows that if she gets any of the dudes to -10 she’ll be killed even as she sort of wonders if she truly would die or wake back up in reality.

What’s interesting also is that while she is the villainess character in the game… It ends up that the character was actually abused for years and that her title as a villain is unfair and that the game can be played as the villainess as even a player as a ‘hard’ mode compared to the heroine character.  It’s up to her to turn things around and it’s actually a fun take on the villainess genre.  I’m really looking forward to how things proceed even as my fears about which dude she’ll end up with continue to increase.

Finally, another layer I enjoy is that the MC lead a similar life in her previous life.  She’d only just escape her own abusive family before she’d ended up here and MC just desperately wants to escape once again… using any means necessary.

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The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass by SanSobe (story) and Ant Studio (art)

With the marriage of her prostitute mother to the Count, Aria’s status in society skyrocketed immediately. After leading a life of luxury, Aria unfairly meets death because of her sister Mielle’s schemes. And right before she dies, she sees an hourglass fall as if it were a fantasy. And just like that, she was miraculously brought back to the past.

“I want to become a very elegant person, just like my sister, Mielle.”

In order to face the villainess, she must become an even more wicked villainess. This was the new path Aria chose to take revenge on Mielle who murdered both her and her mother.

Why *I* like it:   If you thought that this list might be in descending order, guess again!  This one is one of my favorites.  Now this one lacks isekai, but is a reincarnation of a villainess!! Rather the MC was an absolute horrible person in her past life, but finds out at the last minute that her ~pure~ sister had been leading her by nose into acting like a brat just seconds before she is executed.  Now that she has a second chance, she’ll be a proper villainess and turn the tables on her sister.

In her last life, Aria never bothered educating herself so now that she’s a teenager again she actually has to learn things again (it’s not just like she gets to act like she’s a genius and good at everything) but she works hard at maintaining a sweet image and making everyone love her, even as she snickers behind their backs, all the while subtly setting her sister up for failure.

This is a proper revenge story, I’m promised by those who read the LN!! Revenge stories about women are rare to come back, especially one that doesn’t make revenge look like a total evil thing lol.  What can I say, I have my interests.  Anyway, it’s super cathartic to watch Aria slowly unfold her masterplan to foil her sister’s plans and take everything that her sister had cherished in her previous life. And all that not to mention the certain powers that Aria later discovers she has at her disposal... :3c

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Beware of the Villainess by Bbongdda Mask (story) and Pureunkanna (art)

I became the villainess of a novel! Do I hate it? No! I find it rather nice. A duke’s daughter equals a jobless rich person. How can I miss out on a chance like this?! This is the best chance to just enjoy life. I should throw out the main plot and just live life how I want to! Not long after waking up as the villainess, I witnessed my fiancé, the crown prince and the novel’s male lead, cheating. I saw him embrace a lady other than I and he was smiling so bright. I was brought to tears… Just kidding, I didn’t cry! My tears are worth too much to be wasted on that garbage. Instead of tears, I yelled out, “Your highness, are you trash?”

Why *I* like it:   Listen there are 2 ways to react to waking up as a villain of a series you once read… Either you turn the tables and become a good guy OR you can embrace it!  The world the novel is based on has the basic premise of the pure and good heroine winning the affection of 4 bratty, horrible men.  MC is the fiance of one of them and says fuck that.  She also has some thoughts that none of these dudes deserve the heroine of the novel but this one is still pretty early on so the jury still out on if she’s going to save this poor girl from her fate of ending up with any of these absolute assholes.

This one is along the veins of the previously mentioned Living As the Tyrant’s Older Sister, in that the pull for this series is even less of the romance and more about the comedy aspect… Also MC’s facial expressions are…. Choice.  Just so good. Enough with pretty girls making pretty faces!!  We need more girls being ugly.  It’s what we deserve.  Yell at cheaters!!!!!! Tell them to fuck off!! Yes please.

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Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter by Reia (Story), Umemiya Suki (Art)

Although she had reincarnated as the daughter of a Duke's house, by the time she regained her memories, the Ending was already here.

"After he cancels my engagement, the story would have me confined to a church. Where can I find my happy ending?"

Why *I* like it:  I never read or watched Wolf and Spice but I imagine this is isekai Wolf and Spice… Well it’s got a lot about the economy at least lmao.   That’s literally the only thing I know about Wolf and Spice.  Anyway!!  The twist in this one is that the MC remembers her past life just as she’s about to be exiled, the end of the original game.  What the series focuses on is her life afterwards, as she scrambles to grab at any semblance of a good life… And she does so pretty quickly!

Her past life comes in handy as she sets to work managing a dukedom and fixes the economy!!  Moreover, even though it pains my heart whenever two women are pitted against each other… It does a great job of putting into question the original heroine’s pure shtick as she spends extravagantly on dresses and would rather just donate to the poor one day, instead of Iris the MC who sets to work on fixing the economy and creating jobs for the poor and putting money into bettering their lives in the long run, rather than throwing money at them and running.  Also, she’s grabbed the attraction of a mysterious man who takes a job helping her even though he is a prince aka the brother of her ex-fiance who he is fighting for the crown for.

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And that’s it!! My list for now!! Tbh by next month there’ll likely be even more faves as I continue to add more and more series to my read list lol.  Because this isn’t even a fraction of all the reincarnation isekai series I’m into, just the best for certain reasons.

BTW, if you’re like... wow this list sure is straight then true unfortunately. I’m waiting for the day “I Favor The Villainess” gets adapted somehow.  Also there are several isekai in which a straight girl reincarnates into a yaoi novel but I haven’t found a true gem among them yet.

[cesium-sheep]

I don’t know why yuri manga is way more hit-or-miss for me than bl. I’m just generally way less likely to like the characters, even though I love het shojo so it’s not like I’m uncomfortable with a female pov? and I literally. have a wife. so it’s not like I’m opposed to wlw content.

idk it feels like yuri is always either oh-so-gentle-maidens-like-delicate-flowers or basically-regular-male-targeted-harem-but-the-lead-has-boobs-now. I don’t like either of those.

bl doesn’t tend to do the oh-so-delicate-flower character type just like. at all, and seems more comfortable with relationships that experience turbulence other than option a, closet drama, or option b, jealousy drama.

idk man something about almost all yuri manga I’ve ever read feels like it’s not being written for me despite being a wlw. I feel like I’m supposed to like it way more than I do, but very little of it actually appeals to me. I don’t like the delicate flower archetype or the princess archetype and those feel like the only options. rather just keep reading every generic bl that crosses my path tbh, because I like the dynamics and tropes better.

[yoon-kooks]

writing tag ✏️

tagged by @tbtssstuff thanks!!💖

this got a little long so ill put the ten questions under the keep reading!

1. What is your ideal setting for focusing on your writing?

zero distractions from my family/pets. these days either my mom or brother are always popping into my room at random times, so it’s v hard to focus without worrying about switching tabs when they enter :/ i typically write without music playing in the background, but sometimes i like to jam out while writing if it fits the mood of the fic!

2. What’s your favorite genre to write?

FLUFF. it’s def the most natural for me to write, but id love if i were better at writing angst too. in terms of AUs, i really like fwb or f2l. idk tbh ive always valued solid friendships over flaky relationships but thats just me 🤪

3. Do you prefer to write on paper or digitally?

it’s faster and more convenient to type lmfao. tho im curious to know how writers do it by hand. im the type who constantly deletes/moves things around, and thats extremely hard to do by hand...... otherwise itd be fun to handwrite it.

4. It’s in the middle of the night and you suddenly wake up with an idea. What do you do?

type it into the notes on my phone as much as possible. then go back to sleep. 

5. Who is your favorite person to write about?

does this mean like a person person, or like a kind of person? if it’s a person person, i like writing about a boy named min yoongi. if it’s a kind of person, i prefer to write about ppl with layers and secrets,,, people who need time to open up.

6. Do you like making your own characters, or do you usually write about real people?

both i guess? fanfic is a mix where you use the names of pop culture icons but make them into your own characters,,,,,, so both lol. also i just love making a strong y/n character.

7. Have you ever written a book/story with more than 15 chapters (100k words)

my old jimin fanfic, lie, was 18 short chapters but nowhere near 100k words LOL my series tend to be more on the shorter side. like signed in black was around 21k for 7 chapters. witch hazel is still ongoing with 20k and it most likely wont exceed 50k.

8. How often do you get ideas?

i when i was in high school / college, i used to get ideas all the time! these days i feel like i need to be inspired by something like a song, other media, or incidents that happen to me irl. id say recently, new ideas come to me maybe once a week or less.

9. Do you ever get an idea that you really like, but can’t seem to finish?

LMFAO story of my life. i have a very long list of story ideas stored on this comp but yall will never be able to read most of them bc i dont have time to write ALL of them :/ maybe one day ill spill some of ideas that ill never write!

10. What’s your least favorite plot?

highkey not calling out anyones fave tropes but personally i avoid certain AUs like ones involving stalkers, killers, diseases, or yandere if it’s meant to be a romance fic. i feel like there are more but you guys get the idea. i also dont like when the reader character is just ditzy or too naive or whatever (and i know im guilty of writing some fics like this in the past). it’s something thats super common in shojo manga, which i used to love reading,,,,, but now im just over it. bc imo a heroine should have her flaws but not outright tripping over her face and constantly being saved by the love interest. OH THAT TOO. i *greatly* dislike when the heroine has to be saved by the love interest. i get that a lot of ppl are suckers for that kind of stuff, but i lean more toward a heroine who can hold her own!

tagging any fellow writer who listened to my rant at the end LOL

[datshq]

Honestly I get more Usagi/Mamoru vibes from Shigure/Akito than Ail and Ann tbh, like Usagi/Mamoru it seems like their romantic connection is framed in a sort of "destined" narrative. Didn't Shigure only develop feelings for Akito due to that dream he had of her? (Man dreams of your destined partner recalling echoes of a past, who does that remind you of?) That's kinda what leaves me cold on the pairing, I've never been big on ships determined by destiny when it comes to shipping (part 1)

These ships always come off feeling like an "easy" way out. Also just like Mamoru, Shigure is eventually regulated to obligatory, fantasy fanservice Shojo boyfriend accessory that exists purely as a reward for the heroine with no character development, arc or epiphany all on his own. In the end Shigure/Akito just felt like a toxic take on a Miracle Romance (isn't Shigure also much older than Akito like Mamoru is for Usagi?)(part 2)

I feel like the ship had great potential to be a deconstruction of destined romance narratives, especially in chapter 111 where Shigure all but admits that that dream could've been about anyone and he would've fallen for them and even WISHED it was about someone like Tohru, but in the end the mangaka played it straight, too bad. It's sad that shojo mangaka are so beholden to their tropes, so far I think Utena is the only shojo series I've seen that was willing to think outside the box. (part 3)

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You make some mighty fine points, Anon. I’d say Akito/Shigure is more “Mamoru/Usagi on it’s way to becoming Ali/En”. I mean, if Usagi and Mamoru were isolated with no friends or support group or if they wouldn’t keep picking each other over other people and couldn’t trust each other to do so, although Super S sure tried to turn Usagi into an insecure creep. The only good thing to come out of Sailor Stars (which I still need to finish) was that it confirmed that, even when given an appealing alternative, Usagi would still prefer to be with Mamoru not because they’re destined for each other, but because she likes him better.

Although the show never does properly engage with the whole free will vs destiny dimension of the pairing. Mamoru plays it lipservice in season two when he’s faking being over Usagi and the primary concern he raises is that he doesn’t want to be together just because destiny says so. But then, when they do eventually get back together in the season, it’s because destiny is literally on their side, which defangs the entire arc. Then again, the whole bit was apparently just the director not wanting to make episodes with Usagi and Mamoru as a couple so it’s no wonder it never went anywhere.

In that I fully agree. Mamoru is the ultimate idealization of the Shoujo Destined Partner archetype. Mamoru isn’t just a chance meeting that unravels a soulmate like the romance shoujo genre adores, he’s Usagi’s literal soulmate and reincarnation romance. Fruits Basket tries to subvert the trope by having the destined meeting leading to romance between Shigure and Akito initially not work out but, in the end, the series falls into the usual shoujo tropes. We can count how many Fruits Basket couples are based on a chance meeting, which is shoujo fasthand for destiny. It’s a lot. So the parallel is there too.

Fruits Basket is one of those shows that straddles the line between challenging tropes and playing true to type. A lot of shoujo threaten their leads and other characters with extreme forms of trauma and violation (Peach Girl’s protagonist was threatened by classmates to have her hair set on fire among other threats and staged threats), but Fruits Basket actually goes through with it, with Akito’s acts of violence towards others, especially the torture of Rin. However, just like with other typical shoujo, it either can all be fixed with the characters just talking things out or the characters who actually are not shown to magically get better, like Rin, not being important enough for anything more than a throwaway line directed at her attempts at a recovery. Just like in most trope-tastic shoujo, collateral damage doesn’t matter. Rin’s purpose was not to have an arc about her abuse and rejecting her abusers, her purpose was to show the extent Akito was willing to go to.

So, yeah, while Sailor Moon is in many ways the ultimate shoujo, Fruits Basket tries to be the dark flipside but doesn’t commit and just ends up ruining the effect it was going for and just being more of the same generic shoujo in many ways. I mean, the trappings are very different at least, so I do like it even as the tropes kinda annoy me.

[virginsoul-rp]

They are gonna realize a racist enslaver looking for human supremacy in a world where magical creatures are the majority? Lol. The sales are gonna be so bad I'm gonna be laughing to eternity. Also in Japan nobody cares about charioce, just look at Twitter. The only fans he has are shojo fangirls, you know they don't even play gbf.

Hello! And sorry for the late!

Tbh I don’t know what really expect to do with this character in a world like GBF but probably they’re going to go with the silly “My mom dieeeeeed bububuuuuuuuuu” trope to make him likeable. The only reason they could improve the sells it’s turning Charioce in a good playable character so let’s hope it doesn’t happen because poor japanese people that are going to buy the end of a bad-writting series just to get him. 

I don’t know too much about how popular he’s in Japan, but I read the only characters that almost sell everything of them in the events were Azazel, Favaro and Nina (With Azazel’s case, they have to re-fill his merch) so if they wanted good sales, Favaro’d be a better choice (and even in lore-wise because c’mon, what kind of things this man can contribute? More racists ideas?)

The good thing is he’s only a code character so I can still throw my things to the gatcha without fear to have this asshole spooking me. I’ll protect Nina from him and the disaster that was VS.

[harleyquinn1234]

hey, do you think you'll ever grow out of anime? i don't mean to sound like an old person but like i hadn't watched anime in a long time and i just started one called orange and i didn't enjoy it at all. like idk i felt like it was stupid almost? like you know the obligatory happy-go-lucky guy, the serious/smart one, the shY girl, etc etc. idk it all seemed stupid to me. idk pls recommend me some gOOD quality anime (IM NOT SAYING ORANGE ISNT BUT LIKE IDK IM TIRED OF THE SHOJOS I GUESS??) tHank u

This is actually a great question, I think a lot about this topic tbh.

Yes, I’ve many times fallen out of love with watching anime. I’ll sometimes get to the point where I’m so tired of the overused tropes that I see in animes that I completely shut out anything related to it. Sometimes the most hyped-up/popular animes are the worst in my opinion bc they just do what everyone else does.. bc it usually satisfies a majority of the audience

Since day 1 when I first started watching anime, I’ve stuck mainly to common genres of rom/coms/shoujos and some action. The first real anime that I watched was Naruto, and sure it has a special place in my heart, but I honestly have gotten so tired of it bc for me it’s always been there and everyone and their mom has watched it.

I’ve recently discovered that what’s helped me re-fall in love with animes is watching a genre that’s somewhat out of my comfort zone. Within the last year I started becoming invested in kdramas, which helped me realize that yes although I do like a good rom/com every once in a while, I’m even more interested in genres dealing with mystery, supernatural, psychological, & thriller undertones. They’re just so good omg

I have a confession: I used to for years refuse to watch Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure bc like.. it just seemed like something I’d never enjoy lmao. I was so used to watching shoujos that the thought of watching some crazy shit like Jojo was so extremely unappealing. But then about 2 years ago or so I got tired of shoujos for the millionth time and was like okay maybe I’ll watch some of it..

Yo.. that shit is fire.. Like I can’t even explain to you how much I love Jojo now. And it kinda bothers me looking back on how much I looked down on Jojo bc um hello I love it ??? 

Maybe this isn’t the kind of response/answer you were expecting, but listen.. all I can say is that sometimes you just need to try something super different. If you want me to give specific recommendations, message me more details about what you usually watch/etc and I’ll try my very best. Just remember that you know better than I do what you’ve watched and enjoyed before, and it’s likely that my favorites will clash with yours XD