#they made it better bc i was not a huge fan of the song previously tbh

[froqpi-art]

i wanna listen to visty’s part in rap guerrilla reload on loop

[trinkets-and-spirits]

Get to Know Me! (Tag Game) 🎲

O o f. Considering the fact that I never get tagged in stuff, I’m hella all about @meek-minded-masochist tagging me in a get to know me. I feel honoured.

RULES: Answer seventeen questions and then tag twenty one blogs you’d like to know better!

1) Nickname? Free, by online friends made on fanfiction.net ; Eph, as a reference to the previously mentioned, tho spelt differently to match the spelling of my first name ; and Marie...’cause it’s my middle name lmao. 😊

2) Star-Sign? Taurus~ ♉

3) Height? 5′5″ (Altho I just got these k i c k a s s platforms, which rock me up to above 5′8″ — so you can BET that I’m hella happy about top shelves, lmaoo.)

4) Last Film I Saw? Uh...Barbie as the Island Princess. 😂😂 I’m reliving my childhood memories at the moment, rip. Usually I don’t really watch movies tho; so I’ve been watching mostly Riverdale, re-watching RWBY bc I need my fix, and I’m currently plotting out the best time to watch the newest episode of The Walking Dead. I don’t wanna be disturbed, when I’m screaming over JDM. 😉

5) Favourite Musician? Hm. I’m pretty much a fan of anyone who sounds good, w/ a kickin’ beat & all of that—but my current top three? NF, Billie Eilish, Hozier. Oh! I’m also a huge Dropkick Murphy’s fan, but I haven’t listened to them much lately. I love them to shreds tho. ALSO!! Daughter & Caravan Palace, bc…yes.

6) Song Stuck in my Head? This Life is Mine by Casey Lee Williams, and every possible version of Country Roads. My head is...i n t e r e s t i n g.

7) Do I get Asks? Nah. Nobody interacts w/ my blog unless I’m offering free tarot readings, tho I used to get one or two asks from beginner witches. …Not any more tho. Not that I’m complaining. I hate answering ‘does X love me??’ & having people flood my ask box w/ ‘so J hates me, but im gonna use a love potion on them to force them into having romantic feelings. thoughts?’ Like. Eck.

8) Other Blogs? Not right now!! But I’m planning on making a RWBY RP Neo blog this week, so I’ll likely post a promo or two, but we’ll see. 🍦

9) Blogs Following? Followers: 222 ; Following: 414.

10) What am I Wearing? Grey doggo themed pyjama pants, black inspirational-esque tank top about the sun; moon; and adventure, and a grey hoodie bc I’m fuckin’ freezing. I’m also wearing blue fluffy bed socks, bc splash of colour.

11) Dream Job? I’d love to be a published author, but I’d settle for being a commentary YouTuber, or even a free-lance photographer. Options are open.

12) Dream Trip? I’d love to travel through Scandinavia; Asia; and Europe. Anywhere with beautiful scenery, fascinating culture & history, m y t h o l o g y.

13) Play Any Instruments? I used to play the clarinet, as well as the flute, but I fell outta practise. I’d love to get back into the flute, bc it’s literally so pretty. ❤

14) Languages? English & BSL. I studied Japanese, but I...forgot most of it, rip. I also grew up in a majorly Welsh-speaking family & neighbourhood, so I know a lot about my mother language, but the ability to speak it is...another horror story. I’d also be hella down to learn German & French, tho!! Such pretty languages!!

15) Favourite Food? …Stir Fry. 😍😋 I’m also a sucker for anything sweet; sugar is my aesthetic, to say the least. But I’m slowly balancing my diet out, lol.

16) Favourite Songs? O H J E S U S. I have way too many, so I’ll just list my top 4 favourite songs from the previously mentioned artists, bc…anything else is just downright cruel. Whoever made this tag is clearly working for the devil.

NF: 

WHY  Mansion    Outcast and Green Lights.

Billie Eilish: 

Lovely Bellyache  You Should See me in a Crown  and Copycat.  (I honestly love all of Billie’s songs, tho. She’s so fuckin perfect.)

Hozier: 

Work Song  Cherry Wine From Eden  and Arsonist’s Lullaby.

Dropkick Murphy’s: 

Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya’  Rose Tattoo Dirty Glass and Going Out in Style. 

(These boys are literally what got me through my depression when I was a wee kiddo who didn’t even know what depression was. I love them so much.)

Daughter:

Youth Flaws Burn It Down and Medicine.

(Life is Strange: Before the Storm was the best fucking game, and I’m so happy they used Daughter’s music so heavily!! It fits the game so well!!)

Caravan Palace: Black Betty Lone Digger Rock It For Me and Wonderland.

17) Random Fact? My niece & I snorted sherbet once as kiddos, bc we were dumbass kids who had this image of drugs being cool, thanks to TV shows & other influences. We cut the lemon sherbet into lines, and did it at the same time, and it hurt like n o t h i n g e l s e. Both of us were sobbing; it was a horrid gritty sensation; and both of us temporarily lost the ability to smell bc of that shit. My mother came rushing in; and I blamed it on my niece, and got away with it... Yeah. Don’t do sherbet or drugs, kids, it’s fucking painful.

Tagging: @deltanoid @smolpocketmonstercoffee @lunastreia @theheartofatrickster @lulloph @teaberrymagic …and those are the only blogs that come immediately to my mind. 😅😅 Sorry if anyone doesn’t like being tagged in stuff, but I always feel obligated when prompted, rip. 

[kihocrystal]

Winter 2018 Final Impressions

I’m a month late, as usual (whoops!), but here’s my final thoughts on the animes I watched this past season! 

The “reviews” will be in alphabetical order!

3-gatsu no Lion S2 - 9.0 / 10 (A)

This second season of 3-gatsu was great! It’s just… a really great drama show about fighting depression (& a bunch of other character storylines)!

First off... THE BULLYING ARC WAS REALLY GOOD

extremely complicated, emotionally complex… this arc brings all sorts of emotions & angles into the forefront

multiple perspectives too: Hina’s, Rei’s, the bullied girl’s, the bully’s, the teachers’, and Akari too!

The art style can pull off both thick-outlined / bright colored style and watercolor-esque style incredibly well

it really is beautiful how it can visually portray both light-hearted and emotionally intense scenes

This season continues to show how good it is at character development for characters both main & supporting!

We get to see Rei moving through the ranks as a shogi player

and also moving through the ranks of conquering his depression! He’s improved more than ever before!

We get to learn about the white-haired master player (Souya); I liked how he has his own quicks and challenges he has in his daily life

Along with the other head shogi guy (Yanagihara)! (& how he shoulders his legacy for his friends)

Even the last episode offered some perspective from the foster mom about Rei & her kids

this show is just… really good at making normally-hated characters sympathetic, hot damn

Aside from bullying arc, this season also showed Hina preparing for the transition to high school

The finale episode was nice and sweet, with Hina saying goodbye to Takahashi and even getting a haircut!

This continues to be one of the best drama anime in recent years! Not to mention SHAFT’s best show since Madoka Magica :3

Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Z - 7.5 - 8.0 / 10 (C+)

And so ends the G series of Cardfight Vanguard… this final season I’ll say though is kind of a mixed bag

The plot had interesting ideas and moments at times, but the execution and pacing left a bit to be desired

though I will say it was definitely better than last season (CFV G NEXT)

This season didn’t waste any time getting to the main plot, as Chrono has to face off against a Diffrider right away

the diffrider stuff is continued from last season, but for the most part, it’s a new plot kicking off!

The rollout of all the new Diffrider Apostles (& them showing their strength) definitely made them look like powerful foes

not to mention the Zeroth Dragons, which were also shown to be powerful and very risky to use

Also knowing that anyone in the main cast could end up being The Vessel added some intrigue as well

the reveal that Kazuma would be the vessel definitely was a well executed twist imo~

However the pacing in places felt a bit too fast for me… the Relics subplot felt like it wrapped up too quickly, for example

the final fight against Gyze also kinda felt rushed… Gyze didn’t even have any dying words after his defeat :/

As a final season specifically, I feel like it kinda pales in comparison to Stride Gate, unfortunately

The cast was also kinda hit and miss in terms of how well they were utilized in the plot

some of the apostles definitely had more screen time than others (gredora only got like… two episodes)

plus gastille (the supposed apostle leader) got beaten sooner than like 3 other ones???

some villains carry over from last season too, such as Noa (Chaos Breaker) and the red-head punk kid

I liked all the new villains this season, personality-wise! (Also Yukari Tamura in there is a plus)

also no Am and Luna this season, really…

the previously established OG cast were integrated fine, for the most part

including Aichi and Kai getting the kill against Chaos Breaker Dragon

but the final episodes kinda just shoe-horn in a bunch of cameos that just didn’t feel natural :/

it just felt like “OH SHIT, this is the last season actually! Quick, throw in a bunch of cameos!”

this also applies to G characters, which makes less utilized characters (like Am & Luna, as mentioned before) look out of place :(

Sure, I’m saying a bunch of negative stuff right now, but I REALLY LOVE THIS CAST… I JUST WANT THE BEST FOR THEM

It’s the main reason I love CFV G, after all~

This season was definitely an improvement over NEXT for sure! The plot was interesting, I just wish the conclusion was better

The final episode basically just felt like an OVA, really… aside from the last scene, it didn’t really feel like an epilogue at all

I guess it just bums me out bc the original series got a good epilogue episode, so I know they could do it here, too…

In any case, I’M GONNA MISS THIS CAST, BIG TIME ;A;

In any case, this was a decent season to end the G series with! Not the strongest, but not the weakest either.

I’m gonna look back on my time with CFV G fondly for sure, if for nothing else than the great ensemble cast :’)

It’s gonna be weird going back to the OG cast for sure… I arguably liked the G cast better than the OG one :’D

Osomatsu-san S2 - 8.0  / 10 (B)

The consensus among fans seems to be that this season wasn’t as good as the first season

As for me, I… probably agree with that (though I still enjoyed this season!)

As with most comedy anime, whether the jokes land is pretty subjective. I feel like I didn’t laugh as hard this season? IDK

There were more “seasonal/holiday”-based episodes this time around (i.e. summer, new year’s, etc.)

What stays the same though is that this show is at its best when featuring the main brothers themselves

Skits involving the side characters (like Iyami, Dayon, etc.) didn’t make me laugh much…

I will say though that I enjoyed the second half of the season more than the first half~

Enough about the negatives, let’s talk about this season’s memorable skits / episodes!

The premiere was really good, as it poked fun at the huge popularity the show unexpectedly got xD

plus a bunch of references that *aren’t* gonna get them removed from streaming sites this time!

Jyushimatsu getting an “apprentice” with a little kid was also pretty funny~

The Karamatsu taxi skit, the spooky inn, & all the characters being stuck on an island were also good skits!

Ep. 18 (Iyami, Alone in the Wind) was also a crowd favorite, since it brought the feels for a change :’)

The finale 2-parter pulled a bait-and-switch yet again!

Part 1 was actually pretty serious, but the actual finale just has them trying to break out of hell xD

OH YEAH, I still really like the live-action stuff they do during the ending sequences

the first half’s ED was my favorite (the stop-motion of the brothers riding in the car)

I don’t have much to say about comedies generally, but Osomatsu-san is still my favorite in recent years ^^

Even though this season didn’t hit as hard as S1, it still provided some fun laughs~

Pop Team Epic - 7.5 / 10 (C+)

What can I really say about this show? It kind of defies description ^^;

Ok, yeah, it’s a sketch comedy, but it’s a really… crazy and random sketch comedy

The jokes are hit and miss (and in my experience was a bit more… miss than hit)

I never really laughed out loud at this show either

but then again, the humor here is more “being confused at what’s going on, but going along with it anyway”

There’s also a lot of modern anime references, so you might not get those jokes if you don’t follow most recent anime

Each episode has a long skit in it, plus a bunch of bite-size skits

I personally preferred the short skits over the long ones

There were a couple song parodies which I enjoyed (including the Earth Wind & Fire parody)

Also, this series definitely benefits from having an English simuldub! Some skits I found funnier in English!

OH YEAH, the voice actors (in both languages) change every episode, with female and male VAs in each episode

that enhanced the enjoyability of the sketches too, since I liked hearing favorite VAs do silly dialogue and performances!

I wouldn’t say this ranks among my favorite anime comedies, but it’s definitely unlike any other I’ve seen! ^^;

Your mileage will *definitely* vary with this one, so give it a try and see if it’s for you!

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Mahoutsukai no Yome) - 8.5 - 9 / 10 (A-)

This was a very enjoyable fantasy drama show! Some people feel this show was overhyped, but I still thought it was really good!

I really liked the cast overall, especially Chise

She has really good character development throughout the show! She really becomes more strong and confident!

Seeing the fantastical world through her eyes was interesting as well!

Especially since those mystical elements were also responsible for her terrible childhood…

Elias was also an interesting guy… he and Chise have an interesting relationship together

Their relationship definitely has aspects that are unhealthy, but they do grow closer to each other by the end

If people can’t get past the whole premise of “him buying Chise to be his bride” though, I totally understand ^^;

They help each other learn too, which I liked to see

The supporting cast was also enjoyable! Not much to say about them individually though

The dragon keeper was nice and we got to learn about Elias’ origins through him

The dragons in general were great! Especially the old one that turned into a tree :’)

He gives Chise some good sage advice, even after death :’)

Angelica, Silky, and Stella (among others, like the other anti-hero duo) were good support characters too~

I liked Stella’s role of “normal girl who learns of the supernatural’s existence”

Cartaphilus was an… okay villain, I guess (though his methods were quite creepy indeed, which added some intrigue)

Some character designs are a bit questionable though… like who approved the vampire’s design? ^^;

Another large appeal of this was the world building of the fantastical elements!

I liked seeing all the different types of locales & supernatural creatures, both good and bad

As a low-fantasy show, this show does a Dang Good Job with the fantasy!

Chise learning more about herself and gaining confidence through these experiences were a highlight as well

I enjoyed each story arc as well, even though most of them were more explorative and introspective

This show can be dang beautiful sometimes, through both its art/animation and its stories (Thanks, Studio WIT!)

Some were better than others, but they all deliver either a heartwarming (or a dark) story

Some favorites of mine were the dragon-based ones, and the vampire loving the old man

The finale was good too! It’s unknown whether this conclusion is anime-original or not, but it was definitely a good S1 ending~

If you love low-fantasy shows, this is definitely one to check out!

Violet Evergarden - 8.5 - 9.0 / 10 (A-)

Best *new* anime (that I watched) of this past season, hands down~

Though to be fair, I still need to watch A Place Farther than the Universe… and Yuru Camp… and After the Rain…

Going into this season, this show was hyped and back and somehow… a lot of people were *disappointed* with this show?

I think it had to do with expecting a different show than what we got; as for me, I knew it’d be an episodic drama the whole time :P

But yes, this show has a (mostly) episodic plot with an overarching character arc. If that’s too slow for you, then you probably won’t like this show.

In any case, back to the positives! The first one being how good this show looks visually… as expected from KyoAni~

there’s so much detail in the backgrounds and the character elements (especially the lighting on objects like Violet’s metal hands)

this aspect is one thing *everyone* agrees on regardless, so… yeah, this show’s really pretty!

The main star (and focus) of this show was Violet herself… you can really see how she changes for the better from beginning to end

You get to see how “robot-like” she was at the start of the show, but she slowly learns about dealing with emotions of others… and herself

This character arc is definitely the “main” plot of the show, along with her coming to terms with Gilbert’s death and her war killings

The episodic plots were good in their own right, too!

Ranging from Violet’s start as a Memoir Doll to the different clients she works with, they all teach her something along the way

These sometimes focus on the side characters working at the Doll Agency too, so we get to learn more about them as well

The one that comes to mind first is Iris’ episode, where she (messily) reconnects with a former lover

Not all of them get a full episode in the spotlight, but they do get some focus scenes from time to time

Violet’s clientele episodes were the most memorable out of this lot IMO

ESPECIALLY EPISODE 10… that was the BIGGEST feels trip

I knew exactly how the episode was going to end, but I still teared up at that ending!

The finale was action packed, but also was a beautiful way to show how far Violet has come

I know some people’s issue with this show is that “it doesn’t know what show it wants to be” re: the action stuff, but I was fine with it personally

in any case, it was a pretty good book-end for Violet’s development, since she finally understands (a least a little) what “I love you” means :’)

I understand certain people’s gripes with this show, but this really is a great little drama show that *will* deliver the feels~

P.S. I also watched Fate/Extra: Last Encore this season. It hasn’t technically ended yet, so I can’t give final impressions on it right now. However, my current score for it is a 7.5/10 (C+).

[starshonerose]

[01242017] Aoi Shouta 「flower」 interview with Natalie.mu・I tried translating (bits and pieces!)

Link (There’s pictures!)

*Please take my translations with a grain of salt as I am not a person that is fluent in Japanese nor have taken lessons, etc. before.

Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistakes!

I sincerely want to kill myself ‘cos it’s a busy day after school but I abandoned the rest of my homework to do this

I left out the general stuff about Flower and stuff that were too hard for me to understand (I’m sorry,,,)

I’ll bold the questions/interviewer’s words and leave it normal for Shoutan’s

Italics are just.. my words explaining what he said bc I can’t come up with a proper translation

Underlined are the sub-topics..?? Of the interview parts??

Aoi Shouta’s flower that can’t be shown to anyone

When Kahori Maki accepted the request to design the jacket and whatnot for ‘flower’, as soon as he was done drawing he said “This is a flower that is drawn specially for Aoi Shouta. I will not show it to anyone!”　That was what he said.. I feel very happy

Were there any specific requests made for the illustration? “Since the motif [for this single] are ‘flowers’, casa blancas would be nice” was what I said, and we only discussed about the overall image and colors. But when I saw the final work I was unable to express how I felt as it was a lot prettier than I expected.

Why did you request casa blancas specifically? Previously I was asked “What kind of flowers does Aoi-san think about the most?”, at that time my image of the flower was white in color and simple, but has big petals which was why I thought of casa blancas. After that I became curious and searched it up, and got to know that casa blancas mean “Eternal bonds” or “Genuine thoughts for people important [to me]” in flower language.

This is a perfect impression of Aoi-san’s treasured bond with the fans, right~ That’s right! It’s quite a story, I guess casa blancas are flowers that is a charm brought by fate because it’s a flower that has such a meaning in flower language. Ever since then, I’ve been liking casa blancas, so I decided to make them the motif for this time’s single. There was some pressure to film the MV and have photoshoots for the jacket with the beautiful casa blancas by Maki-san, but I think that it ended on a very good note. Basically I didn’t want to put in any colors for anything except the flowers, I had do to the shooting, including the costumes, entirely in white.

A message that leads to the live

He tried to have all 3 songs of the album suitable to dance to

A dream that surely will not be fulfilled by one person

There's a line in the song that says, "It's a fantasy that we can't see if we're alone", right? Yes, there's also a phrase that goes "It's a dream that we can't see if we're alone", I have thought all of that. Lives especially, and work in the anime industry, is a dream that can only be fulfilled if we work together with many people. 'We absolutely cannot fulfill a dream if we're by ourselves' is what I think. When I sing this song [flower], I always think of that.

To preserve everyone’s favourite singing voice

He said he didn’t have much time to learn the dance but the dance sensei worked hard to teach him within the time given

He goes to karaoke alone to practice singing

A song that cheers for those who’re working hard

Run!!Run!! is a song that he wrote to cheer people up and to support the people around him that's working very hard to not give up [on what they're working on]

From the Smile Mermaid play he was watching the young child (the one that played the dog?) practice his dance movements with the dance sensei and the fact that the young child was working so hard really amazed Shoutan and it's what inspired him to write Run!!Run!!

A song where the wolf howls and barks

Checkmate has some lines that imply sexual stuff so it's more to a love song, quoting from him he said "So that the listeners could get a more addictive(?) and sexy side of Aoi Shouta"

Was it not embarrassing to sing such songs? I used to get embarrassed, but nowadays not that much, I guess it just feels nice to sing

I guess the protagonist is something like a dangerous wolf, I wonder if the wolf can actually sing or would it just be lots of barking (laughs) I would like to voice a character like that

Do you not feel nervous when being up on a huge stage? No I don’t, because everyone is there, so I don't feel any fear.

I would like to make these two performances a great success, making 2017 a very fulfilling year

Is there something that you personally want to do in 2017? Personal? I don’t think I have anything that I want to do in private, the things that I want to do are mostly about work. Ah, but I would like to play tennis with my seiyuu friends, I feel like having a match with them. Also I would like to change my phone! This little one(phone), I kinda feel bad (laughs) I'd need to close my eyes while I change it!

Some things to take note of:

To be honest this interview was pretty hard for me because I’m literally only a beginner in translating and Japanese [language] so it’s really short.. I’m sorry..

I swear I am literally the WORST in wording stuff out so please check the original thing or ask someone that is better.. in translating

gdi i love shoutan so much

Thank you for reading~ (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*