#to make it clear that kazuki still likes women!!!

[thehandymen]

teenage miri needs to be the heroine of a shoujo in which all the usual shoujo things happen like high school shenanigans awkward first love etc etc but the whole time in the background you keep seeing her two dads who are in a very ambiguous relationship and you’re like funky ok. wonder what the story is there. they seem to really love her tho. but then that only gets more confusing the more they talk because they casually mention stuff about years-old bullet wounds or when miri’s complaining about some guy teasing her too much rei unironically starts an anatomy lesson on all the best places to stab someone and one time she jokes about their silly little diner actually being a front for the mafia and kazuki looks like he’s gonna have a heart attack. so while the majority of each episode is miri learning about the power of female friendship and knowing your self worth there is always these snatches of rei and kazuki HEAVILY implying they have both killed numerous people before. and the show just never offers any explanation

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

The Ice casting decision reeks of misogyny. It's doubly disappointing as a Japanese ice show considering just how good/deep their women's field is. Kaori not only being reigning world champion, but having made history with it just so recently, rubs salt even further into the wound. Makes me wonder if they're falling into the same thing I keep seeing posted on various platforms of the women's field being "not interesting" anymore - various arguments around this statement.

No matter the reasoning, it's extremely disappointing. Especially with just how they openly stated it to, though I guess it doesn't leave anyone wondering just how intentional it was to have them all left out.

Thank you for your thoughts! This probably serves as an answer for my poll. I am still using this to comment on some of your thoughts under the cut and share some additional points from my view.

The decision of an all male cast is strange and uncalled for especially considering their deep field of women. I really wonder what lead to that final decision. I totally get the disappointment and anger even if I like most skaters that are announced for the show. But tbh from my point of view Japan has a lot of mysoginistics way of thinking instilled in their culture, so internalized mysoginy may have played a part, even if probably or hopefully nobody went like "we hate women, so we don't want them". From the reaction by Japanese fans I came across the criticism wasn't as negative as the reaction from the English fandom. In the end the Japanese fans buy the tickets.

We can't tell if the producers buy into the "women skating is not interesting anymore" or if they have other reasons. There is not any justifiable reasons to exclude women single skaters imo! One thought appeared on my mind though: from my outside observation the Japanese single women skaters do not have the same "superstar" status as the male skaters in Japan and maybe that plays a part why they are deemed by producers as "not a selling point"???After Mao Asada no other female Japanese skater got as much attention. It's a shame especially as Kaori has three world titles now! She deserves so much better. All of the Japanese ladies deserve better in general! (Though the women discipline is popular with tv ratings in Japan yet I don't see the same hype around the women skaters as male skaters in the fandom and fans will attend shows not casual tv watchers. Again just an outsiders observation of the Japanese fandom, so by no means any sort of factbased.)

I also think it's maybe in Japan but to me it doesn't feel like a Japanese ice show, bc besides Kao and Shoma and Satoko if you can even count her as she isn't perfoming apparently (that's the wildest point imo to have Satoko and not have her skate 💀) there are not many Japanese skaters announced and I mean the men field in Japan is deep too. So when all male, where are they? Where is Sota, Yuma, Kazuki, Koshiro??? I mean Nika Egadze a stronger selling point than any of them? 🙃

Many things are worth criticizing but the transparancy of the "concept" is not a negative point for me. Transparancy is always good, even if it's not transparent about the reasons for an all male cast. It's better to sell tickets when ppl know what to expect than to let ppl buy tickets blindly expecting certain skaters that then would not fit their concept. They did try to sell tickets last year before anyone was announced and that seemed to have sparked criticism inside Japan, maybe a reason why there is a complete annoucement about their casting decisions, even if it wasn't a decision anyone asked for.

Maybe this decision for an all male cast is also just a promotion stunt. Whether we like it or not, it was a "hot topic" today in the fandom and trended on Jpn Twt.

Whatever lead to that decision I feel like one thing is clear looking at SOI (a show that has the same producer) that new concepts for ice shows are needed. As much as I hate the "empty seats" discussion, shows don't sell as strongly as they used to, not even in Japan (unless it's Yuzu's show but then it's also focused on a male skater and on one skater only). They need new concepts and I am not against having a new concept, but the big question is whether that new concept had to EXCLUDE women single skaters performing???? Absolutely not.

Only time will tell if their "concept" will get ppl interested to buy tickets or turned off. We'll find out in July. And frankly in the end our view doesn't matter much as the majority of us won't be the target audience for this show.

[anitrendz]

Buddy Daddies Episode 12

Vote for Buddy Daddies at anitrendz.net/polls!

The finale I wanted. The happy ending they all deserve. Ogino's fight with the two was brutal and INCREDIBLE to watch. I have several points I want to talk about in today's episode, starting with the one I saw most people upset about: when Miri points out Kazuki sneaks out to drink with women.

I honestly don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be. Knowing Kazuki's personality and how he's close to the moms, I genuinely thought it was a joke and that the reality is Kazuki is sneaking out to have wine night and rant about all the stuff that happens at home. He's an extrovert that was forced to live a lonely life prior - let him have his girl talk nights. Not to mention, the producer for Buddy Daddies on Twiter is literally liking tweets that are talking about how the two men are married/husbands AND is liking fanart where the two guys are marrying each other. I think they've made their point clear XD

Onto the meat of the story, I personally loved Rei's confrontation with his dad. I know some people think there should've been a fight, but I actually feel like talking was more powerful. Rei's an abuse victim. Part of an abuser's power is to threaten you and make you feel like not only you're in danger but the people who are kind to you/you care about are also in danger and isolate you. Rei telling it to his dad's face that his dad has 0 control over him and can threaten him with an actual gun but it still wouldn't stop him is the pinnacle of freedom to me. The second their words stop impacting, they not only lose their power but also start to fear their victims.

The moment that made me most emotional is actually when Miri teared up seeing that her dad did come see her sing. Throughout the series, Miri seems to be very oblivious, but kids are a lot smarter than people think. This episode reveals she ABSOLUTELY knows things are weird in her life: namely that the adults in her life just keep disappearing. Her stay with her dads was probably the first time she felt like these adults were permanent, and the party was the final test. She needed to know for sure they were always there for her, and they were, which made her tear up. It was so sad but also a happy occassion, and it was hands down my actual favorite part of the episode.

[lilyginnyblackv2]

I know I’ve seen a post or two, mostly on Twitter, iirc, that are expressing annoyance with fans putting so much focus and praise on Rei in this week’s episode (Ep. 7). Basically equating it to when men are shown doing the bare minimum in regards to parenting their kids and getting praise for that by the media and/or general society.

And I do get where that sentiment is coming from, but I think BD’s, and Rei’s, situation is a bit different in this regard. Usually those dads doing the bare minimum are cishet men in cishet relationships in which they were 100% involved with the creation of the child they are caring for and were 100% on board with having a child from the beginning. I am speaking generally here, of course, but I think this element plays a very important role in how Rei’s situation differs.

From what we can tell of Rei, before Kazuki brought Miri into their lives, he had no plans of having kids or a family. Miri was brought into his life very quickly and unexpectedly. He didn’t have 9 months to prepare or get used to the idea of being a parent. He had a total of like a couple days to make that decision. And while his growth has been slow moving in regards to taking care of Miri, it has still been there, and has been steadily growing and improving. 

With Rei, we also know (or, at least have a vague understanding of) what kind of childhood and upbringing he has had (one that is on a level that most men who don’t step up as dads likely didn’t have), so we can see very specifically how that has affected his life as an adult. The episode also makes it really clear that what Rei had been doing before wasn’t enough and that while he did apply himself when Miri got sick, he still needs to keep that up (in the episode, this would be him making the French toast). 

Now, the big test for Buddy Daddies, imo anyway, will be if they follow through with this character growth and development properly. If they don’t, then I’ll be a bit more skeptical of the messaging they are going with in Episode 7. But, I’m going to hope that they will.

But, on the other hand, I think this episode also highlights how we, as a society, need to do a better job of teaching life skills to all of our children, period. Not just to the ones that are female or female presenting, but to our boys and male presenting kids as well. if we don’t, then it becomes much harder for fathers to step up in the same way that we expect mothers too, because they aren’t brought up being equipped with the knowledge and skill sets that they need to do that, and the realization of that usually only comes once they’ve already had a kid. 

This is an issue all over the world, of course, but really still quite bad in Japan. The gap in childcare responsibilities between men and women is still very, very large, and while I haven’t watched every anime out there, I’m fairly certain that this isn’t an issue that has been called out or explored all that much in the medium. So to see an anime series even approach this topic is great, because that is still a rare thing to see. I hope we see more anime challenging issues like this and that Buddy Daddies keeps Rei’s growth here and has him improve even more as the series continues to progress.

[drabblesandimagines]

*looks both ways, hands you a $20* If you’re comfortable with it, poly Kazuki, Rei, and reader taking Miri to daycare and the daycare moms are going feral in the background or a date or anything with those wholesome train-wreaks somehow making things work. Thank you ♥️♥️

Thanks for the request, anon! I'm mainly a fluffy-type writer but I wanted to challenge myself and give this a go, albeit a few tweaks.

Please let me know what you think (anon or not!) <3 Buddy Daddies Pairings: Rei x Kazuki x you (polyamorous) Warnings: Nothing graphic, but implied. One swear word. Drabble under the cut if this isn't your sort of thing!

Aozora Daycare Moms (Non-Kazuki chat)

Sakura: Devastating news, ladies. Papa Kazuki looks to be off the market. Spotted looking very cosy earlier…

A photo of you and Kazuki is attached – the blonde man staring deep into your eyes, leaning across the table, a flirtatious smile on his face as the two of you enjoyed a mid-morning coffee. Your knees are brushing up against one another.

Yui: That doesn't mean anything, Sakura. They could just be friends catching up. I can’t believe you took photos!

Sakura sends a gif - a repeating video loop of you wiping the milk froth off of Kazuki’s top lip before he takes your fingers in his mouth and sucks, eyebrows raised seductively.

Aiko: Gosh, poor Papa Rei!

Mai: Poor Papa Rei? Poor me!

Masako: Sakura, did you really make a gif?!

Sakura: No, I took a video… my phone suggested it made a gif and I clicked okay.

Yui: I still think they could be just friends.

Sakura: Mm, and denial is also a river in Egypt.

Yui: ???

--

Mai: Ladies, HUGE developments. Huge.

Sakura: What?

A photo pops up, Rei and you, hand in hand, entering a video games store. Mai has drawn a big red circle around your intertwined hands in case it’s not obviously clear.

Sakura: Mai, that’s an awful picture. We need one from the front.

Mai: I’m working on it, jeez.

Ten minutes later…

Mai: You WON’t believe this.

Another photo, front on, of you and Rei, his arm now around your waist, keeping you snug to him as you walk down the aisle, browsing the shelves.

Masako: No, it can’t be.

Mai: It is.

Masako: No way.

Yui: Can’t be who?

Mai sends the photos of you and Kazuki and Rei and you, side by side.

Yui: Oh.

Yui: No, I still don’t understand.

Sakura: She’s dating the two of them?!  

Mai: YES.

Yui: Maybe they're just friends.

Aiko: Do you think this is why Rei looks so tired - the guilt?

Sakura: No, Rei’s so quiet and sweet. I can’t see him doing something like that to Kazuki, or Kazuki doing something like that to him! She's obviously two-timing them both and they have no idea.

Aiko: Oh, my goodness, you’re right. Poor papas. That’s awful.

--

Sakura: Out in the west side of the town for an errand and who do I see? The harlot and Kazuki! Rei did the drop-off this morning and seemed perky. I can’t stand it. I’m going to confront her.

Aiko: Sakura, don’t.

Mai: Sakura, YES.

Masako: Please.

--

“Kazuki, stop!” You giggle as the blonde man kisses your neck again. He’s been terrible all morning and you’re not quite sure what’s got into him. His hand slides up your thigh, dangerously close to going underneath your pleated skirt and you playfully slap it away. “I thought we were just going to have a nice lunch, what’s the matter with you?”

“It’s this outfit, it’s unfair…” He whines. It is quite the short skirt, but it hadn’t been your choice. You think now it might have even been on purpose, the scoundrel…

“Kazuki, fancy seeing you here!” A cheerful female voice chimes. You don’t recognise her, but Kazuki seems to, greeting her with a smile.

“Oh, Sakura! Yes, we’re just out for some lunch.” He nods to you, introducing you by name. “She’s my girlfriend. Sakura’s one of the other moms at daycare, baby.” Sakura’s face seems to darken at the nickname.

“Hi!” You smile brightly. Kazuki is a good-looking man – it’s not like you haven’t seen jealous women in the past.

“Mm, hello.” She replies, tersely. “Kazuki, would you mind awfully if we had a word in private?”

“Private? Er…” He looks at you, a puzzled look on his face. “What about?”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t say in present company.” She gives you a sour look. What on earth is this woman’s deal?

“Could we do this some other time, Sakura? I don’t mean to be rude but we don’t get much time alone together, you’ll understand, with kids and all…” He throws an arm around your shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

“Okay… I really didn’t want to do it this way, Kazuki, but I’m afraid she’s cheating on you.” Sakura places her hands on her hips, giving you a withering stare.

“Excuse me?!” You stand up from your seat but Kazuki pulls you back down to your seat immediately, preventing a cat fight. He knows your temper.

“You heard me, you harlot. It’s even worse, not only is she cheating, but she’s two-timing with Rei!"

Kazuki stares for a second before he erupts into laughter and you let out an exhale. Sakura looks back and forth between the two of you, in disbelief.

“I know that seems unlikely, but I’ve seen photos. I couldn’t stand to let this concubine hurt the two of you…” Her hand is rooting around in her purse now.

“What’s so funny?” Rei asks in his usual monotone voice, carrying a tray with a variety of drinks on top of it. Kazuki is laughing so hard he’s in tears. Rei places the tray down on the table and gives Sakura a hard stare.

Sakura is speechless now, trying to work out what on earth was going on. Was Aiko right and, actually, Rei and you were having an affair behind Kazuki’s back? Well, she couldn’t stand for that either. She locates her phone in her purse at last and scrolls through, finding the photographs of Rei and you in the video games store, looking particularly cosy. She hands it to Kazuki, who wipes a tear from his eye and looks.

“Oh.” His face settles back to a neutral position.

“Yes, oh.” Sakura chimes back.

Rei’s peering over Kazuki’s shoulder at the photo – his expression unreadable. He shrugs, before taking the seat the other side of you.

“Well, don’t you have anything to say for yourselves?” Sakura lectures down at you and Rei. Rei smirks, leans forward and makes eye contact with Kazuki, who gives him a sly grin. Rei’s hand slides around the back of your neck and jerks, turning you towards him before he forces his tongue into your mouth - not that you give much resistance - kissing you passionately, nibbling at your lip as if he was starved – his hand sliding up and under the skirt he’d bought for you at the same time.

He pulls away, leaving you breathless a moment and smiles up at Sakura who is standing there, shell-shocked. The audacity of the two of you, doing this in front of Kazuki! Poor, sweet Kazuki who looks... pleased? Kazuki then turns in his seat towards you, catching your chin in his hand and pulls you into his own kiss. He’s more gentle than Rei, his other hand caressing your head, running his fingers through your hair, softly kissing you over and over, before he pulls away.

“What on earth…?” Sakura forces out, looking in disbelief between the three of you.

“Sorry, I should’ve made it clear from the start, she’s our girlfriend.” Kazuki wraps an arm around your shoulders, and Rei’s hand rests back on your thigh. You’re flushed, trying to catch your breath. They’ve never done this in public before – not that you’re embarrassed. You mean, fuck, you love it when they tussle over you at home, but it just was so unexpected.

“I… I… I’m so sorry, Kazuki, Rei. I didn’t mean to…”

“I hope this won’t be an issue, Sakura. I really hope we can all still be friends.” The blonde states.

“Y-yes, of course,” she bows her head. “Forgive me for interrupting your…date. I’ll see you all at pick-up time - maybe.”

She backs away, her body shaking, before she high tails it out of there.

“That poor woman. You guys are jerks.” You giggle.

“We’re your jerks, though,” Rei whispers in your ear and you shudder.

“Hmm. I think I’m thirsty for something else now, actually. How about you, Rei?” Kazuki grins, getting to his feet and stretching.

“I wouldn’t argue. Come on, sweetheart.”

You had quite the afternoon.

--

Masako: Sakura, what happened?! Did you confront them?

Aiko: Sakura, you can’t leave us hanging like this. I’m going to bring cookies to pick-up though in case they need consoling, poor things.

Sakura: I did it.

Masako: And?!

Sakura: They knew. They both knew.

Aiko: What, they knew she was dating both of them…?

Sakura: They’re all together. They’re polyamorous. I made such a fool of myself. Gosh. Mai: NO.

Yui: Polyamorous?

Aiko: Google it, Yui.

Yui: Oh!

Yui: ..do you think they’re looking for a fourth?

--

Check out my masterlist.

[omgjayjayposts-blog]

The ending was disappointing.

All I’m saying is it could have been better. The recap episode they included was useless and unnecessary. If they didn’t include the recap episode it wouldn’t have felt rushed and incomplete. I just thought it was weird how they added a recap when it was only 12 episodes.

I understand the theme they intended to label the show, which was family oriented. The two main protagonists having their lives changed by taking care of a 4 year old girl. With both protagonists having different circumstances and how Miri affected them as individuals. But if it’s family oriented shouldn’t that also include their relationship as a couple/friends?

Kazuki and Rei’s relationship confused me during some scenes. Especially when they wanted to separate from each other after Miri was taken away from them. First of all they were friends before Miri, Kazuki literally took care of Rei when he was in his darkest moment. Not only Rei but also Kazuki, he was also grieving from his late wife and then found Rei and tried helping him by reverting Rei’s life and his own. Rei also acknowledged that in episode 8 when they were in the car and were revealing how they met. Rei also admitted he wanted Kazuki to leave him alone yet also liked his company, “I wanted to tell you to back off” and “but… it wasn’t so bad”. How do you go from that to all of a sudden wanting to leave each other? Like if that were me, I would still want to be with the person who was with me in my darkest moments. Like sometimes they had cute moments but then it’s like they had some sort of switch and all of a sudden had zero interest in their relationship.

Kazuki and Rei’s relationship towards the end was great in the sense that they stayed together for 10 years and raised Miri. But it also frustrated me when Miri mentioned Kazuki went out with some girl the previous night. I felt like it was unnecessary and made people bear in mind that Kazuki is STRAIGHT and hasn’t changed his old habits. like they literally wanted the viewers to realize that even though he’s co-parenting with Rei, he still prefers being with women. Even though they had subtle queer references but that’s just me.

Personally I felt like it ruined his development, he had been abstinent from hooking up with women because he had no desire to be with other women. I genuinely felt like it could have possibly been to respect his relationship with Rei, even though they were in a relationship as friends he still felt loyal to him. Maybe it also had to do with the fact that he felt complete with Miri and Rei so he wanted to dodge that aspect of himself and move forward. But then it’s mentioned again in the last episode as if to clarify Kazuki feels incomplete with his partner and wants more. And because it was the final episode it made it clear Kazuki and rei are platonic.

There are some who say it’s because the producers couldn’t make them an official couple for unacceptable reasons. But are together based off of the way the producer keeps liking certain things on twitter that makes them canon. So if they were actually cannon why include that one scene where Miri mentions Kazuki being with another woman ? They could have just removed that scene and left the viewers wondering if they were or weren’t canon.

And yes, I felt like they were sort of hinting at the fact it was a possibility Kazuki and Rei were going to be together romantically towards the end. Certain scenes made it appear that way, like for instance when they were in the car. Not just that scene but also when they retrieved Miri and Rei was telling Kazuki he still wanted to be her father WITH KAZUKI.

And when Miri was trying to take a picture with them. Rei and Kazuki were hesitant and it only implied they became more distant and aren’t comfortable with each other even though they have been together for 10 years. Like why? Shouldn’t they have a better and more comfortable relationship considering they have LITERALLY BEEN TOGETHER FOR 10 years ????? Idk it just rubbed me the wrong way.

I would have loved to see Miri growing up. Rei and Kazuki explaining what happened to her mom and how they ended up together as a family. Rei and Kazuki’s relationship progressing as partners. The ending was okay, though I wish it would have ended differently.

[cosmiclion]

From the news I read I’m surprised they’ll welcome Miri’s mom return in future episodes. I guess it isn’t that much of a stretch considering that Miri would eventually want to see her mother again. Though I’m interested to see how it will go. Her mom made it clear she doesn’t want to continue caring for her. Miri will be crushed of course. If that happens I just hope she remembers she has a new family now and her support network is larger then before. Miri’s mom doesn’t seem as horrible as other abusive anime parents. I mean Miri wouldn’t be as cheerful and energetic as she should if her mother at least took care of her enough to not realize her growing hatred. I could tell from her first appearance she’s a very broken woman, trying to live her dreams singing in a shady bar in the red light district, loving a man who shows blatant abuse towards her. It was for the best that Miri left her and stayed in the care of adults who will look after her needs with no regrets. Otherwise she’ll be faced with abuse and regret should Miri continue living with her.

Hi! Uh... first of all I'd like to offer my sincerest apologies for taking ages to answer this, I've been a little too busy with school and general chores plus I really didn't know how to put my thoughts into words 😭 I know it's pretty pointless to answer your specific ask by now since the show has already progressed and ended but I still didn't want to leave this ignored, and if you don't mind I'll take the opportunity to offer some thoughts.

Now that the show has ended I see why they made the choices they made and they make a lot of sense given the context of the story. I personally don’t have any complaints about the writing but I think Misaki deserved better. I'm sad she died but I understand why it happened, I suppose with her arc going that route it wouldn't have made sense for her to survive in a show where nobody's safe from violent criminals who are willing to murder women and children to get them out of their way. Still, I don't think she needed a big change of heart, I think she was already a great character as she was (it also rubs me the wrong way that some people started viewing her as a good person only once she started making an effort to do things right but I digress).

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the "unwilling parent learns to love their kid and learns to be a good parent so that they can finally be a happy family" narrative. It just doesn’t sit right with me, maybe I’m reading too much into it but the message I get from these kind of stories is that anyone can be a good parent/caretaker with enough help and resources and in the right place mentally and emotionally (ESPECIALLY because that's an argument people use in real life for why they think everyone should have kids, or hell, even as an anti abortion argument; like that's not an exaggeration, I've seen them saying pretty much the exact same thing), when the sad reality is that sometimes kids are just unwanted. I sincerely wish the show had acknowledged that some people just don’t want to be parents even when they already are, I know it’s not pretty but these things need to be talked about in fiction.

I also think it would’ve fit the story perfectly: we would’ve had an example of horrible abusive parents (Rei’s father), amazing loving parents (Rei and Kazuki themselves) and parents who do their best but would still rather be doing anything else (Misaki; as you said, Miri wouldn’t be as cheerful if her mother hadn't kept her unhappiness to herself). Maybe I’m biased, I don’t know, but I’m really starved for this kind of content. As a friend of mine as well as a few other people have said, we need more situations like in Matilda, where the bio parents admit they aren't fit for the role and happily sign away their parental rights.

(Granted that if Misaki hadn't popped back into Miri's life she wouldn't have died like that, as she got targeted precisely because she was with Miri, that's why I say I understand why the writers made the choices they made).

I also wish they hadn't given her cancer if they were going to kill her off anyway, give the poor woman a break lol.

If you (not you the asker but you as in anyone reading this) disagree with me that's perfectly okay, and let me reiterate that I do NOT think this is bad writing, I'm just tired of seeing this trope over and over again; but any angry asks or comments will be ignored and deleted.

(Edited to add some more thoughts).

[saiskulls-110]

also as per my last ramble in the tags i want to add that though i absolutely understand and also feel frustrated by the show never bringing up that some women aren't interested in romance, or dating, or anything like that; i feel like the people writing angry reviews about it need a little more perspective.

japan still struggles with sexism. every aspect of it. and we know this. but they've dealt with it in completely different ways to it than their western/european counterparts. in japan it is STILL common for a girl's dream in life to be getting married. and it is glorified.

teen girls really do rely on romance as a crux of their culture there (and of course there are exceptions, but it is far more common than you can imagine—), and that's not just an adults view on it.

the manga industry has been coming out with, even for a non-jp audience, incredibly progressive stuff recently. unfortunately, when it comes to anime, the amount of hoops artists have to jump through to get it greenlit for a show is crazy- and that's on top of the struggle of having their original work (most likely) edited by a company first.

it's going to be very common that work that would have been explicitly, comfortably queer gets watered-down simple, or removing any real moments that would canonize a character's queerness, or at worst borderline fetishised in its final product. that being said, romantic killer FEELS like queer content. moments just Make Sense and feel Familiar through an aro/trans/gay lens.

i'm not going to pull up any scenes in particular, not just because it's a good watch i recommend if you want to tear up, but because it's the show In General— beginning to end, that feels like a familiar experience. If you take any moment in the show to try and view it as already-established representation it is glaringly obvious that:

Makoto has a little crush on Junto. Anzu is, if not arospec, pan, and has no problem being clear that she's fine with romantic interaction with men, women and enbies without a second thought as to their gender. Saki at one point had a crush on Anzu, she might still now! Hijiri struggles with understanding what other people find fun, that goes for romance too, and in small scenes he makes it clear that he cares for anzu just as much as the other prettyboys.

Even Kazuki and Junto feel like they have something going on at times — but that one's probably just my own lil headcanon.

Point is: Good, queer anime is hard to come by. I'm not saying 'take what you can get' or 'it won't get better', but show some understanding as to the differences in culture and how each scene might be read differently to someone that grew up in that space.

we got The Stars Align go watch that. for frame of reference that show didn't get it's final episode finished because there wasn't enough interest from japanese viewers and the showrunners didn't want to keep funding something with a good trans-non-binary character.

[theforbiddenpriestess]

The Pharaoh & His Princess

Seven |

Ill Father, Stubborn Daughter

The man couldn't help but puke in the bowl.

A burst goosebumps shot from his shoulders, violently making him shiver before he flinged himself back into his bedsheets. He let out a pitiful noise and rubbed his swollen eyes.

His body felt like it was on literal fire.

"Here, this ought to make it better!" Merit Ptah said as she rushed over to Pharaoh. She draped a cold wet towel on his forehead.

"I beg of you Chief Physician, please make it stop. I wish to see my daughter." he groaned.

"It's alright my Pharaoh" she replied. She pushed back his sweaty blonde bangs and moved the towel on his forehead. "The medicine should work soon."

"How soon?" he asked miserably. His body was wrought with aches and shivers. "I feel like I'm in literal fire."

"You're just sick my Pharaoh, not dying. It is just a fever, that's all." Mahad spoke, trying to calm his best friend. Atem shifted his gaze at Mahad and gave him a thankful weak smile.

Mahad had brought in the best doctors in all of Egypt and made them run every test available. It turned out to be food poisoning from undercooked meat.

Plus a fever as well.

Luckily the Pharaoh was still young and in great health, he should make a speedy recovery.

"Just give it a day, my Pharaoh." Mahad said with a small smile.

"Another whole day? I need to get better now!" he groaned.

Chief Physician Merit sighed and draped a cold towel on him once more.

"I know, but you need to get better. Egypt can wait. You cannot. I do not like seeing you so ill."

"I miss Anippe." Atem weakly let out. Mahad couldn't help but smile.

They had been separated for exactly a week now, and it was killing them. They were not meant to be apart for this long, it was pure torture for them and everyone else. But the last thing the Palace wanted was for princess Anippe to get sick as well.

"She misses you, too. She's always asking for you," Mhad replied before Merit added jokingly, "Please get better soon. I fear that if you do not, our beloved crowned princess will destroy the Palace."

Atem let out a weak laugh before his features changed to determination. "Alright. I promise you both, I will get better."

Merit nodded before taking the towels in the bowl of cold water and leaving. Mahad gave Atem a gentle squeeze on his shoulder.

"You rest now. I will return later to check up on you."

"Thank you, Mahad."

--

It was evening when a "Psst!" awoke Atem.

With a groan, he sat up and walked slowly towards his balcony. The curtains separating him and the person out his balcony.

"Hello?" he asked, too tired to demand the guards outside his chamber's doors to seize the intruder

"Papa?" his daughter's voice called from behind the curtains.

"Anippe?" Atem asked, his eyes widening at the thought of his daughter just a few feet away from him.

"Thank Ra you're okay!" his nine-year daughter let out.

"Anipee," Atem began weakly, yet tried to act upset.

"How did you get up here? This balcony is at least fifty feet high from the courtyard."

Anippe was silent which made Atem grow more upset at her.

"Anippe," he began but his daughter cut him off.

"I'm not sorry Papa. I had to see you!"

She let her head down as she whispered "I miss you."

Atem smiled sadly at her small figure on the other side of the curtain.

"I miss you too, my princess." Atem replied with a tender smile on his face. He had missed his daughter so much that just hearing her beautiful voice made him feel one hundred times better.

"I'm coming in!" Anippe stated suddenly. Atem saw her shadow reach out to grab the curtain separating the. As much as he wished to embrace her, he stayed firm.

"Anippe, no! You'll get sick too!"

"I don't care," she said resolutely. "We can be sick together."

He frowned and shook his head. "No dear. You have to stay healthy."

"Well I don't!" she shot back.

She huffed and crossed her arms.

"I just want to see you Papa."

At that moment, Atem was tempted to yank the curtains separating him and his daughter, just so he could grant her request, but then he remembered how awful he had felt these past few days.

His daughter was everything to him. He had to protect her at all costs. He would never forgive himself if he caused her to be in pain.

"I'm sorry my love, but you can't come in. I promise you, I'll get better soon" he assured her.

"When I do, we can play together again. You just need to be a bit more patient." Atem added as he saw her shoulders slouch.

Her head lowered down.

"You promise?" she asked weakly.

"Yes my love," he nodded. "I promise you."

After a minute she stood up firm and let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine Papa."

Atem smiled.

Anippe turned around and retrieved a small bag from her waist.

"I brought you some food."

Atem was surprised. "You didn't eat your lunch?"

Anippe shrugged. "I'm not very hungry. Besides, it's your favorite today."

"Ta'amiya?" Atem eagerly asked as if his love for his daughter could not have grown even more.

"No, it's batarekh." she replied without emotion.

Atem froze at the name.

Before he could react Anippe burst out laughing.

"Of course it's not! They're ta'amiyas Papa!" she giggled.

"Anippe," Atem let out, setting a hand above his heart.

"Don't scare me like that again." he scowled jokingly as his daughter continued to laugh.

She placed the wrapped food on the ground before standing up and pointing, "It's right here, Papa. They are still somewhat warm. Please eat them and get better, okay?"

A big grin blossomed on the Atem's features. "Very well my love. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye Papa!" Anippe replied before she made her way to the edge of the balcony and disappeared.

When he was sure she had left, due to the yelling of Mahad down below, he stepped out of the curtains and grabbed the delicious wrapped meal.

Atem noticed a pendant was holding the handkerchief from unfolding. Taking it off, Atem brought it closer to his face and smiled at the realization.

This was the same pendant he had given her when she was sick of the cold back when she was five years of summer.

The pendant was a figure of a cat, symbolizing the goddess Bastet.

Protector of children and homes from diseases.

--

Extra Scene:

"Why you ought to be ashamed of yourself Anippe! Fifty feet high? You've gone too far young lady!" Mahad scowled at the princess as she gave him an emotionless look.

"By the end of tomorrow, I want one hundred parchment scrolls saying "I promise to never disobey Master Mahad again." Do I make myself clear?" Mahad affirmed, crossing his arms.

"Yes Master Mahad." Anippe replied.

With a final nod, he confiscated her rope and began to walk away. Anippe looked down at her shoes.

"Oh and Anippe,"

The princess looked up to see Mahad's back on her.

"Next time, use the secret ladder in the west side of your father's chamber. His chamber has another balcony there. It's just deeply hidden."

Anippe didn't say anything. She let Mahad walk away, before her face broke into a huge smile.

___________________

Note(s):

"Bastet is the Egyptian goddess of the home, domesticity, women's secrets, cats, fertility, and childbirth. She protected the home from evil spirits and disease, especially diseases associated with women and children." - worldhistory .org

"The first known female doctor was Merit Ptah who lived in Egypt around 2700 B.C. According to her son who was a High Priest, she wasn't just any doctor but "the Chief Physician". " - TODAYIFOUNDOUT .COM

According to Kazuki Takashi (the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh), Atem's favorite food is Ta'amiya while his least favorite one is Batarekh.

"Another type of bean identified from ancient sources is ful nabed, a pale variety of the common broad bean (Vicia faba). Pharaonic cooks almost certainly invented ta'amia or falafel, fried rissoles made from mashed beans, onions, garlic, and spices. Coptic Christians consume large quantities of falafel during Lent. The Copts are said to be descended from the ancient Egyptians and many of their traditions are so old that their origins may well lie in Dynastic times." - Hilary Wilson on ta'amiya in her book, Egyptian Food and Drink.

"Fish were also salted or pickled in oil and, in later times, great quantities of preserved first were exported from Egypt. In some scenes of fish preparation, removal of the roes is shown. The dried and salted roe of the grey mullet, known as batarekh, is considered a great delicacy in modern Egypt and is reputed to be a recipe as old as the pharaohs." - Hilary Wilson on batarekh in her book, Egyptian Food and Drink.

Reference: The book is titled Egyptian Food and Drink by Hilary Wilson and is part of the Shire Egyptology series.

Author's Note:

Hey guys. I'm leaving the city today and won't be back till a week or two. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, wherever you are, cause by the time you'll read this I'll probably be freezing myself in Alaska. Take care and see you all soon.

[tsumtsum-into-omiomi]

CHAPTER TWO: HISTORY 101

warning(s): cursing

word count: 1.4k

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AO3

"What if... I told you all that practitioners like us used to be able to roam the earth as we wished?" Atsumu starts, a smug look on his face as if he is about to reveal a huge secret. Osamu, who is sitting behind the class computer to control their slide show, rolls his eyes. He hates it when Atsumu presents because he tends to act overly dramatic.

 "They're able to be found anywhere in Japan, and even though they're a minority, practitioners and non-practitioners lived in harmony together. They're accepted and even trusted to govern states alongside non-practitioners; taking on important roles as ministers and such. Sounds pretty sweet, right?"

 Atsumu then pauses for a second to cue Osamu to move on to the next slide. The screen flickers, now projecting six pictures of professional looking men and women in suits with their names underneath, "these people are examples of distinguished figures who made sure our law and order were in place so that the peace between practitioners and non-practitioners was kept in check when they lived together. They drafted the constitution that we are still using to this day."

 "This woman," Atsumu points to one of the pictures on his slide, "Ota Shiori, was the person who campaigned for the famous safety law to be sanctioned. It was designed to protect non-practitioners from unlawful usage of magic on them. She truly believed that, in no circumstances should they feel threatened by the power that they were not blessed with. And the practitioners were cautious about this matter. They made sure not to hurt anyone with their magic."

 "However, circa 1850s, non-practitioners began a purging movement, fueled by a rising political party, called Chōwa, who wanted to be in power," Atsumu gestures to Osamu. He taps on the keyboard and the slide changes. There are pictures of protests and violent acts on the screen, assumed to be inflicted on practitioners. Low murmurs and soft gasps can be heard filling the lecture hall. There is tension in the air.

 "To them," Atsumu continues, riding on the mood of the class and using a serious tone, "for as long as practitioners were living among non-practitioners, they would not be able to hold absolute administration because they thought we could topple them down with our magic anytime. That scared them a lot."

 Osamu then stands up to continue where Atsumu left off, "the purge had forced magic practitioners to move and live in isolation, away from others, just to ensure their safety," but unlike Atsumu, his voice is indifferent. He has a mind map displayed and it shows a list of town names. "They began to find new lands to start fresh and due to their small numbers, the community was scattered all over the country. They built small towns where they could live amongst their own people and keep to themselves to stay out of trouble.”

 Osamu points to the screen, “these are the magic towns established over the years that we know of, including ours; Taishi. It is the only town in Hyōgo which houses magic practitioners since the year 1957, a settlement where we can exercise spells freely and a place called home for us to live in peace. Fun fact; Tokyo is the only prefecture that has more than one magic town," Osamu appears dead panned, making it very hard for the audience to be convinced that it is, indeed, a fun fact.

 He taps on the keyboard again. This time, the Hyōgo prefecture's map is presented beside a picture of three men in suits standing side by side.

 "However, it is also important to note that there are people out there who do not share Chōwa's sentiment towards the magic community and are accepting of us," he informs, "our small town has its secret hold hidden by the cities of Tatsuno and Himeji. They envelop and give us the protection that we need from being exposed to the rest of the world. It's an agreement they made decades ago with us, even before the name Taishi came to exist, to repay the practitioners for helping them during the age of wars. These three men, Mori Daigo, Abe Genta and Ikeda Hide, were the leaders back then who came up with the peace treaty that is still in effect up until today."

 "Here are some interesting facts on Taishi," Osamu skips to the following slide, "we have a population of around thirty thousand. Our school, Inarizaki, was founded by Abe Genta. The famous Kudo Street was named after Kudo Kazuki, the first practitioner who built our town. Kudo Street gains its popularity as a place to get magical supplies in the 70s..."

 "Gosh, interesting facts?" you whisper to your friend beside you. The two of you are sitting at the far back of the hall, "his face doesn't reflect it at all. Appear a bit more enthusiastic, man."

 Suna yawns, "as if he gives a shit."

 "I'm hungry," you huff.

 "If we hadn't joined this class for fun, we would already be eating right now," Suna side-eyes you.

 "Hey, you also thought it's a fun idea to see the twins present!" you jeer back. "And in case you forgot, we can leave anytime. We're literally sitting beside the door."

 "Nah, let's ask the presenters some mind-boggling questions while we're already here," Suna waves his hand lazily.

 "See, isn't this a better way to spend our free period?" you smirk.

 Suna grins back at you, "go do your work, Satan."

 "Any questions?" Atsumu implores to the class. The two of you sit straight and draw your attention back to the front after realising that the presentation is over.

 You see no hands raised. Nice, an impassive class; the perfect audience. You put your hand up, catching Atsumu's eyes. He points at you with a smile, "yes, at the back there?"

 However, his smile vanishes instantly when you stand up, finally taking notice of you and Suna, who are intruding the class. He glares at you as a warning.

 "I have some questions," you announce, ignoring the invisible daggers he's throwing at you, "aren't you two fifth year students? Why did you choose basic history to present on? Weren't there any other challenging topics that you could've tackled on?"

 Atsumu seems like he's about to break the pen he's holding into half while Osamu scratches his temple with his middle finger, a quiet "fuck you" for you. You and Suna stifle some giggles at their reactions as you plop back into your seat.

 The History teacher clears his throat, "answer the question, Miya. I was wondering the same thing too. I know I said you're free to choose what to present on, but isn't yours very... elementary? Even though this is an entry level History class, I expected more since you're seniors."

 "Aw man," Suna chortles, "if they fail this class again... you're a part of the reason."

 "Nah, Morita-sensei will let them pass this time," you respond, "I don't think he wants to see them again next year for the third time."

 "Lol, imagine having to take an entry level History course  three times in the span of six years at this school."

 "Hm, maybe it's something only the twins can achieve."

 "Look at him spewing bullshit," Suna snickers at Atsumu, who is trying to justify his and Osamu's presentation topic to his best ability.

 "His expertise anyway," you scoff, not even paying attention to what Atsumu is saying.

 Suna nods in agreement, “I feel bad but I’m really enjoying this.”

 “They’re gonna be so pissed off,” you cackle.

 "Any more questions?" Atsumu addresses the whole class.

 "Oh shit, my turn," Suna raises a hand up.

 "Don't let Morita-sensei see you or we'll get kicked out," you remind him in a low voice. Suna only stands up half of his height, hiding from Morita's view behind the rows of students sitting in front of him.

 Once Atsumu catches his raised hand and makes eye contact with Suna, he mouthes a "fuck you" at him. Unfortunately, he doesn't really have a choice other than answering, "yes?"

 "Do you know if the samurai practised magic?"

 A snort escapes from you upon hearing Suna’s question. You then see a text come in from Osamu, who must’ve sent it from behind the computer while everyone was paying attention to Suna just now. It says "I'm gonna feed you two shit tomorrow". You almost lose it seeing how pressed Osamu is right now— it’s a rare sight. You reply with “sounds good 😋” to him and he sends a middle finger emoji back.

 Ah, what better way to enjoy the trivial life as a student other than being a pain in your brothers’ asses?

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AO3

Thank you for reading till the end!! World building is my passion LMAO jk it's super hard I love creating it but writing it?? Phew... Anyway, this is just to give context of the AU they're in!! Hope it gave you a good idea!

[x0401x]

Why do you think the writers of the Tsurune anime decided to tone down masamina and outright cut out kaisei while pushing for sei/mina instead? It's just so baffling to me why they would alter the canon content from the novels so much. Like, what was even the point?

I’ve answered this question quite a few times before, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever made the point entirely clear, so here we go one last time. Sorry that it turned out so long.

So, in novels and manga or any written medium, creators normally have more freedom to do what they want, but when it comes to TV series, animators have been developing the habit of toning down whatever they can. Most of them have this conviction that the viewers only want to watch calm and relaxing stuff nowadays. Other than this, we get adaptations of popular works that basically exist to promote the source material, most of which rush up towards the end like crazy. It does seem like the Japanese audience has an obsession with comfort animes now, since life in Japan gets more and more stressful with each passing year, but it’s not like they’ve abandoned other genres. This general belief that creators should water down the contents however they can is pretty much destroying the industry, and it’s probably what the animators of Tsurune had in mind when changing the novel’s events into a much less dramatic versions or just cutting them off. That’s issue number 1 with the anime.

Issue number 2 is that animators of adaptations tend to ignore the reader demographic in favor of making the series neutral to please all audiences lately. But that’s only when the majority of the readers are women and girls. If it’s guys, you’d rarely see alterations. It feels like the general conception is that making the contents less “cringy” for men means more people will be watching it and having a positive opinion. It seems to completely slip the staff’s minds that the fans they disappoint mostly won’t feel willing to buy the DVDs or merchandise. This is where most of these adaptations fall flat, by the way. It’s kind of really obvious to me that these series are more prone to succeeding if the studios animate what the readers fell in love with, because the originals are popular for a reason, and it’s that people liked them the way they were. I think it’s only the expected when readers are disappointed not to see animes live up to the expectations, and that whoever picks the source material will feel the difference as well. Still, if the anime isn’t a BL, there’s this unsaid rule that you can’t show too much gay between male characters unless you have an excuse for it. Normally, nakama power and rivalry is what does the trick. I don’t think I need to mention that this is the standard in sports animes.

In the Tsurune novel, most of the gay doesn’t have an excuse. Of course, it’s not officially gay unless canon states it, but the books not only don’t give any justification for it, they get rid of possible justifications, so while you can’t say it’s not fanservice, you can’t label it as just fanservice, either. For a studio that banks off fanservice like KyoAni, that’s a problem, especially since the novel is packed with heavy scenes and even heavier quotes.

I mean, in Masaki and Minato’s case, they don’t have the nakama power or rivalry elements, so one possible excuse for them being so close would be that they’re master and disciple. But Minato makes it clear quite early in the story that Masaki doesn’t have to be his master because just having Masaki’s company is enough for him, and all in all, the two of them have a much more affectionate relationship than the other teacher-student ones from the books. Another excuse would be the found family dynamics, but Masaki already shares that with Kaito, who canonically sees Masaki as the older brother he never had, and their relationship is unlike Masaki and Minato’s as well. Kaito also has a monologue in volume 2 about Masaki treating Minato differently from everyone else in the club, and the way he describes it denotes that Minato is Masaki’s favorite, and that Masaki doesn’t bother hiding it. Just as a cherry on top, Minato often loses his rationality when it comes to Masaki despite being a serious kid, and he’s very verbal about wanting to monopolize Masaki. Add fate to the mix and you have the perfect recipe for anything except an ordinary mentor-pupil relationship.

As for Kaito and Seiya, there was a lot going on between them since the beginning, but the nakama power excuse only starts applying late in volume 1, because they didn’t get along very well at first. And even then the nakama stuff hardly applies to their interactions, where Seiya often acts like Kaito has a thing for him, for no reason other than Kaito’s reactions being amusing. Their relationship also does some big strides in the middle of volume 1, and Seiya literally migrates to Kaito’s side at some point. They don’t seem to have a friendship as strong as the one between Seiya, Minato and Ryouhei, but it’s Kaito who Seiya interacts with the most in volume 2 and he’s also the one that Seiya leans on whenever he needs any sort of assistance. There’s other unexplainable things here and there, such as Seiya taking a peek at Kaito’s sleeping face when it’s just the two of them in the room, or him implying that Kaito is jealous of the motherly attention he gives Minato. It goes on as far as the novel does. There’s literally no scene with the two of them that doesn’t make it look like Kaito is really into Seiya and that Seiya owns his ass but he’s the last one to know.

Back to the main point, it’s really hard to animate all of this without giving people “ideas”. For KyoAni, any gay exists ultimately for the sake of fetishization, and they often follow the “ship whatever you want, even yourself with the characters” model. If being gay is canonically a character trait in the original, it’s out (Violet Evergarden is probably the best example of that one), and if the gay can’t be interpreted as something else, it’s either out or downplayed. In Seiya and Minato’s case, that’s perfectly feasible. Not only are they best friends, they also have a familial relationship where Seiya treats Minato like a son. Minato has sworn eternal friendship to Seiya in the novel, and both he and Kaito describe Seiya as something like a helicopter parent. There’s more than enough counter-argument to remind the viewers that, whatever happens between Minato and Seiya, it’s all a product of their childhood friend bond. Anyone is free to interpret it differently in fanon, but the viewers (at least the Japanese ones) are ultimately aware that the anime is in its “safe zone”, portraying a friendship. Nobody on the Japanese side of the fandom actually believed that there was romance going on in it. On the other hand, if you search in Japanese for people’s impressions of MasaMina, you’ll notice people often saying that the novel makes you wonder if Minato and Masaki aren’t actually dating, or if Minato doesn’t have a puppy crush on Masaki, at the very least. Basically, everyone seems to agree that what goes on between those two is hard to define, but whatever it is, there’s this very particular, “special” air about them that differs from the rest of the characters, which normally manifests when they’re alone together.

As you can tell, this overall view is the opposite of the animators’ ideal. If the novel had been animated the way it is, it would’ve probably felt like a BL for the people watching. Not only does it come with practically set ships, it also doesn’t give much space for the proverbial “ship even yourself with the characters” option. To put it bluntly, the animation went through those changes so that it could fit the mold. It gave us SeiMina and even some NanaKai (the latter being honestly disturbing, since they’re cousins), while either toning down or erasing the rest of the duo and trio interactions. It made Minato’s accident with his mom actually seem like Seiya’s fault and didn’t really take the burden off his shoulders but instead swept it under the rug. It also made Masaki seem like a two-faced bastard who only became a coach for the sake of revenge, which means he was using his students (actual 15/16-year-olds) for his own personal gains. Shuu and Minato’s friendship went down the drain, Ryouhei was pushed aside as if Seiya was Minato’s only childhood friend, Nanao was never depicted as his own person, and the girls didn’t even exist 90% of the time. So yeah, none of the changes served any good purpose for the characters’ images. All it did was (try to) fill a quota.

Personally, this whole thing feels like we’re being told to the face, “we’ve given you what you want, now give us your money”. It brings me back to interviews I’ve read featuring Stars Align director Akane Kazuki and his statements about the anime industry being in a pinch, specifically because animators nowadays keep trying to make a fool out of the audience for monetary ends. Seems clear to me that the staff thought the female viewers would latch onto anything as long as it looked remotely gay, and that’s why I was so angry back then. Being looked down on like this by people who expect us to consume their media is pretty offensive, in my opinion. I’m glad there’s at least one creator speaking up about this matter and using the exact same arguments as I have been for more than two years now.

[marshmallowgoop]

Brand New Animal...

So, the last few episodes of BNA: Brand New Animal dropped on Netflix Japan last week. I was initially really hyped for this anime—I devoted several hours of my life to translating and summarizing the Winter 2020 Otomedia interview concerning it—so I intended to write a lot more about the series, especially upon a wider release.

But having now seen every episode, this is another Kiznaiver and Darling in the Franxx for me. There’s a lot of potential, and I was incredibly invested at the start, but the narrative quickly goes directions and makes decisions that don’t sit well with me at all.

For those interested in BNA, my (mostly?) spoiler-free opinion is that it’s visually beautiful (especially in regards to its colors), but the story feels scattered, and there’s so little time devoted to positive interactions among the leads that their friendships fall flat. Further, speaking as a very character-oriented person, I finished this anime annoyed at the entire main cast. Their growth comes across as dissatisfying and undeserved.

Of course, it is more than worth noting that my understanding of Brand New Animal is indeed limited at this point; I don’t have much of a grasp on Japanese, there are no official English translations yet, and I watched with Japanese subtitles. (At least until episode 12. While there are thankfully subtitles available now, there weren’t when I watched, which is a huge disappointment in terms of accessibility.)

I recognize that my feelings may very well change if I have a better sense of everything that’s being said. But given what I do know, I—at least at the moment—have no desire to rewatch this series. I’m always open to requests to talk about BNA, but I don’t think I’ll be blogging much about it otherwise.

All that said, I do want to share some spoiler thoughts under the cut. As my sister noted, I am “very upset about this furry anime.”

First things first: I cannot stand Nazuna. I’m sorry. I think it’d probably be too much to say that she soured the whole show for me, but she definitely comes close.

Now, I got a (minor) degree in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, so, yes, I can’t help but wonder if my strong negative feelings are related to sexism. Would I feel so strongly if there were a man in Nazuna’s place? There’s been a lot of investigating myself these last few days, let me tell you.

Still, I can’t say I know the answers. But I do have some Thoughts that are maybe best illustrated with another anime I’ve started watching lately: My Hero Academia.

Do note that I’m only on Season 2, but there are also characters I strongly dislike so far in My Hero—characters who are arguably much worse than Nazuna, as far as their actions and behavior go. Bakugo is an angry, abusive bully, while Mineta sexually harasses women. I hate both of them, but—especially regarding Bakugo—it’s a different kind of hate than what I feel for Nazuna.

Why? Well, I won’t deny the possibility that sexism plays a role, but there’s also a profound difference in how these characters are treated by their stories. Bakugo initially gets away with his bad attitude, but upon coming to high school, he’s a pariah. He’s called out for being a jerk, time and time again. Mineta, similarly, is not adored for his actions. These aren’t nice dudes, and the narrative makes this point clear. Regarding Bakugo, I hate him, but it’s not exactly a bad kind of hate. Because I hate him, I’m rooting even harder for Deku to prove him wrong.

But what about Nazuna? She pretends to be another culture’s god, but much of BNA seems dedicated to treating her as a poor victim who was manipulated into manipulating others and needs to be rescued. While Nazuna’s situation is indeed a frightening one that I don’t at all intend to make light of, episode 6 makes abundantly clear that this girl adores masquerading as a goddess and fails to see any moral problem in tricking thousands of people into believing that she’s their savior.

And that, to me, is absolutely horrendous. Nazuna is not in kindergarten. She is not a small child still in the preoperational stage of development. She is an older teenager. I find it disconcerting to paint her as someone in a rough place who was simply desperate for love when she pointedly relishes her false godhood because it makes her feel like an idol. That is so unbelievably gross and disrespectful.

Of course, Nazuna truly doesn’t see what she’s doing as wrong, and I recognize that she is young. In the end, as I hope the Bakugo example highlights, my issues are really less about Nazuna herself and more about how she’s written and depicted. Just as there’s nothing inherently despicable about portraying a smug, selfish teenage boy in a cartoon, there’s nothing inherently despicable about portraying a smug, selfish teenage girl in another cartoon. But while Deku and Bakugo were also past friends just as Michiru and Nazuna, Deku never defends Bakugo’s awful behavior as Michiru does for Nazuna.

And that bothers me. Michiru—our protagonist and so the person viewers are pushed to empathize most with—never really seems to grasp just how disgusting Nazuna’s actions are. More importantly, neither does Nazuna herself. She’s instantly forgiven, and her dream comes true seemingly without any apology or understanding of wrong whatsoever.

Brand New Animal is filled to the brim with social commentary, but one message that stood out to me actually has nothing to do with the human/animal-human conflict. It’s instead that this cute girl never has to face the consequences of her actions because she’s cute.

I know, I know. This is some pretty over-the-top negativity. But I was so excited for this series. Especially considering the ending conflict around being “mixed” and “purebred,” I felt like BNA was an opportunity for writer Kazuki Nakashima to more thoroughly explore concepts he wanted to examine in Kill la Kill but didn’t because a talking outfit just ain’t gonna garner the same amount of sympathy as cute animal-humans. With my recent(ish) Wolf Children posting in mind, I also love that Brand New Animal ultimately pushes for diversity instead of away from it as I feel that film does, even if there are some... unfortunate implications along the way (that I don’t know if I’m personally capable of analyzing).

But 12 episodes simply couldn’t do this show justice. I’m supposed to care for a girl who calls being an animal-human a “disease” and never seems to really reconcile with how messed up that is? I’m supposed to care for a man who dismembers others in the name of “honor” and never seems to really reconcile with how messed up that is? I’m supposed to hope that two friends/lovers get back together when one is rude and dismissive towards the other for the majority of the show, and the other idolizes her and overlooks her truly terrible misdeeds?

Maybe I just don’t get it. Maybe I missed something (or a lot of things). But there is so much here that gets resolved too quickly or never receives the full exploration it deserves. As I said in the start, characters fall flat, their friendships fall flatter, and any good themes or messages that I do recognize in the series hardly impact me because the rushed development of the players soured my positive feelings for them.

I would have loved to see Michiru acknowledge that she’s in love with someone who does bad things. I would have loved a heart-to-heart where she admits this to Shirou, where he then admits that in his long life, there have been times when he’s been in the same boat. I would have loved to see Nazuna truly question her actions, where her declaration that she’s Nazuna instead of a cult leader actually means something because she’s recognized that she’s been wrong and is ready to be loved for herself, not someone she’s not. I would have loved to see a moment where Michiru expresses to Shirou that he shouldn’t control his violent tendencies for her approval but because it’s simply the right thing to do. The list goes on and on.

At the end of the day, I can admit my own garbage tastes. Bakugo is apparently the most popular My Hero character, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else express such a harsh opinion regarding Nazuna’s portrayal in BNA. Episode 5 of the show (with the baseball) seems to be its most adored entry, but I thought little of it. My favorite things in anime—and what I’m specifically looking forward to in Studio Trigger anime—are maybe anomalies.

But, gosh. I really wanted to love this.

[anzu-kaiba]

The Seven Labors of Mokuba Kaiba - Easter Egg Explainer Pt. 4/7

I peppered The Seven Labors of Mokuba Kaiba, my recent 15-chapter, 60,450+ word Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic (written for YGOME and NaNoWriMo) with all kinds of references. Some of them are just for fun, while others can help you get a sneak peek into future chapters or elements of the world.

READ THE FIC HERE

See how many you spotted in Chapters 7-8!

The organization Isis is part of in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime is specifically called the “Egyptian Archaeological Society,” rather than the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, which is probably the real-life analogue to this organization. I’ve read a lot of fics where Isis is given the same job as famous Egyptologist and former Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. While there’s nothing wrong with that headcanon, I feel like it doesn’t quite work with her being from the Gravekeeper’s Clan and the specific tomb they were charged with, well, keeping. I got the impression Isis hadn’t been out in the world all that much more than Malik had, and she certainly wouldn’t have been able to get the kind of education such a post would require by age 20, especially for the years while Mr. Ishtar was still around; he made it very clear that he firmly believed in a patriarchal society, and that women could not be leaders of any kind. Even after he died, she still had a job to do. Plus, her having that role doesn’t take into account the real-world political events and attitudes in Egypt at the time, and since I tend to write a sort of “magical realism” in my fics, I wanted to take that into account.

I tried to research how one answers the phone in Egypt (and later in the fic, in German), but I still needed to know how to romanize it (put the sounds into English letters), and I’m not sure if I did a halfway decent job. If you speak/read Arabic, please let me know how I can improve it!

One of the things that always bothered me about Duel Monsters was how it was never ONLY Yuugi’s story; it was also Jounouchi’s, and Honda’s, and Anzu’s, and Kaiba’s, and Mokuba’s, and on and on and on. We got the most depth from them, compared to say, Mai, or other folks like Haga and Ryuuzaki, and I wanted to see them deal with the trauma they went through, whether it’s “death of a friend” or “kidnapping” or “having your soul ripped out of your body” or “being mind-controlled.” Can you imagine being a therapist in Domino? That’s why a lot of my fics deal with the more realistic aspects of the universe, without forgetting that it is, at its heart, a fantasy about a puzzle that granted a boy his wish for real friendship.

Studio Dice is a reference to Yu-Gi-Oh! creator Kazuki Takahashi’s company. I figured it fit as a name for Otogi’s company, too.

This is the game Otogi is advertising at the exhibition:

I didn’t actually PLAN to address trauma in the story, and I found myself surprised when Mokuba wanted to bond with Malik a little bit. Out of all the cast members to have something in common with Malik and what he did, I really didn’t expect it to be Mokuba! But in this universe, I can actually see them becoming good friends.

I may have mentioned it earlier, but one of the issues I have with Dark Side of Dimensions is that Kaiba is so obsessed with defeating Atem, or at least dueling him one more time, that he sacrificed everything he created or held onto to GET him there. There would have been no space elevator, no Quantum Cube, none of that, if he hadn’t built Kaiba Land, if he hadn’t dueled Yuugi. Obviously, manga!Kaiba is a touch more psychotic than the anime one, and since that’s who DSOD!Kaiba is, I guess it’s kind of understandable. But I hate thinking that there’s a very real possibility that he wouldn’t return from his trip to the “afterlife” dimension, and Mokuba, just turned into a teenager, would be entirely on his own. That the anime intentionally had him move past those events and focus on making the world a better place for kids like himself and Mokuba, before they got adopted, is one reason why I prefer to write in the anime!verse. I imagine Mokuba’s thought processes in the manga also differ, since before Seto got “Mind Crushed,” he was quite cruel, even to Mokuba.

I think Malik and Mokuba are likely to be more open with their feelings, considering everything they’ve gone through. None of this “men don’t show their feelings; those are SOFT and for GIIIIIRRRLS” crap. Also Mokuba is a Cancer and balances really well against Malik’s stubborn Capricorn nature, so.

Mokuba recalling Seto’s attitude toward social events is both a setup for the end of the fic and Seto’s behavior in the upcoming fic Love and the Art of Schmoozing, where a company holiday party is a central event in the story.

Things “sparking joy” is a reference to professional organizer Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and its sequel, Spark Joy.

“Impossible things to do before breakfast each morning” is a reference to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

The announcement for the Schroeder Corporation Alpine Rose Cup is based off a similar announcement Konami made for a past Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Championship. I came up with the name “Alpine Rose” since the Bavarian Alps in Germany features in the story, and roses are a common motif with Siegfried von Schroeder.

This is the “beginner driver’s mark” I was referring to: 🔰

Mokuba’s accidental use of 🍑🍆💦 for Anzu’s entry in his phone book was NOT something I planned, but I found it too hilarious to cut. Also, I think even Mokuba’s Stanford roommates may have been a bit naïve, or perhaps wanted to maintain Mokuba’s innocence a bit longer, since “booty call” isn’t quite what those emoji mean...

Headcanons vary on whether Mokuba is a ladies’ man or not. I’ve also read that Seto has “hired” women to help him take care of his “urges,” but I think in the Schmoozeverse, Mokuba is charming but doesn’t sleep around (I see him as the type to want an actual relationship), and Seto acts pretty asexual, but might actually be demi.

At first, I didn’t know where Seto went on his vacation, or what he did there. But I now have an idea, and it might show up as another standalone story in the Schmoozeverse, perhaps sometime next Halloween (it’s kind of a ghost story).

Prof. Zweinstein is a reference to a character seen in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and it’s where we first hear of concepts like “Duel Physics.” Don’t ask me what it is, I have no idea. Also Zwinstein is a pun, not just on the name Einstein (which translates to “One Stone” in German), but the meaning of the words: Zwei meaning “two,” so he’s Prof. Two Stone.

I owe both the name of Malik’s baking channel and the musical Anzu and Mokuba both produced to my husband (who also happens to be a bread-making aficionado). THANKS, HONEY!  ❤️

As with the Arabic in the last chapter, forgive me if I’ve butchered German in Chapter 8.

I imagine Leon was written specifically to make Siegfried seem that much more of a mirror to/foil of Seto. I see him as basically like Mokuba in terms of devotion to an elder brother, but Leon answers the “what if Mokuba dueled?” question (which we never see him do, outside of a very truncated duel during Duelist Kingdom in the anime, during the Capsule Monsters arc in the manga, and in Duel Links). So they have a lot in common, just as much as I envision Malik and Mokuba might.

I don’t actually have a headcanon as to what’s happening in the years since Jounouchi and Mai tag-teamed before Mai basically retired from dueling altogether, but I imagine they have met up, although probably not alone, or for very long. That’s the only way I can imagine it making sense where Honda would think Mai was in Germany, and Jounouchi would say that they “must have just missed each other” when Mai was on her way to Paris from Milan.

Jounouchi is 100% an overprotective older brother; that’s canon. But I thought it would be funnier if he DID know all about Honda’s plan to propose to Shizuka, even if he hasn’t talked to him or Shizuka in a while. He did, after all, issue the ultimatum to Honda, so I imagine he at least thought out the possibility of what would happen if Honda chose not to break up with Shizuka just because Jounouchi told him to. Maybe in a future fic, I’ll have Honda and Shizuka’s wedding, or Shizuka chewing Jounouchi out for something. 😈

99.9% of all romantic plots and their point of conflict stems from a lack of communication. Even without being in a committed relationship, I see Mokuba as being wise enough to realize that open communication is key to any good relationship. It has, after all, gotten him this far in his chain of deals!  

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Oh, ew. Vile. Vio Shimokura, one of the Buddy Daddies writers, has some lolicon shit that they've liked over on Twitter.

More info, but no extreme details, under the Read More:

Like, lolicon impreg stuff (it was...fanart?...for the series Onimai, which is a whole separate topic of convo)... Another image they liked was of a five year old V-tuber (fanart?) in a bikini and asking if Mr. Lolicon thinks they look good or whatever...UGH. it's disgusting and makes me want to puke.

🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢

Thankfully, there is no liked artwork involving Miri in that way (as far as I've seen, I didn't look through all of their likes though). Only some official posts and such. But it is still creepy to see that they've liked images of real life toddler clothes (the post says in JP, "Aren't they (the clothes) cute?"), women in Lolita outfits (which, just on its own is no problem, but with the other things this guy has liked...), and images of women's asses and posing sexy, etc....Ugh.

So, even seeing them like the official BD's stuff creeps me out right now...

The only episode that they wrote, according to ANN, was Episode 12. Looking at this guy's likes, it is clear that they like women, so it isn't that surprising that that Kazuki line popped up in Episode 12.

They worked on the series composition alongside Yuuko Kakihara, but when it comes to actual scripting, it seems they did the last episode only.

The bulk of the series writing was by Yuuko Kakihara (Ep. 1-6, 9 & 10), while Episodes 7, 8, and 11 were written by Yasuhiro Nakanishi, so I'm largely just going to be ignoring the fact that this creep contributed to the creation of Buddy Daddies. It seems they contributed mostly to the technical aspects: the composition, more than anything else.

Anyway, I shouldn't have looked. I just wanted to see if they liked any Kazurei stuff. 😫

Time for me to add another log to the "anime has a pedo problem" fire and to bring out the brain bleach:

[houkagokappa]

Sarazanmai dish 3 first impressions

First of all I'm super happy we get another direct continuation from the last episode. It goes as you’d expect and Kazuki’s totally oblivious to what just happened. Enta’s precious and straight out thinks to himself that he’s in love with Kazuki. We didn’t really need that confirmation, but nevertheless it’s always nice to get. He even repeats it several times throughout the episode!

There are lots of really good shots of Enta looking adorable, as soon as I finish writing this I’ll post some of them! He’s so expressive!

I’m still very much in love with Mariya Ise’s voice and hearing her say “kiss” over and over again makes my mind go places...

All Enta wishes for is to pass the ball to Kazuki for him to make a goal. It seems pretty simple compared to what’s going on with the other boys, but that doesn’t make it any less significant.

I really love/hate all the weird poses the characters keep making. They do the swift ‘sara’ pose and then they just stand there, completely still, staring right into the “camera” and my soul.

The background art is so pretty! I can’t wait to get my hands on artbooks that I can drool all over.

Looks like Kazuki never texts Haruka. He only ever contacts him as Sara. It’s something Haruka’s sad over. I really wanna know why Kazuki doesn’t speak to him directly. What does he need Sara for? He must somehow think he’s not worthy or allowed to talk to him? Man these ‘poor communication skill’ issues are so annoying, especially when Haruka makes his wishes so clear and gives him so many opportunities to open up more!

Enta and Haruka seem to have a pretty good relationship and that’s nice! They both wish for Kazuki to play soccer again.

I think my favourite part of the episode is Enta’s delusions! They remind me so much of Ringo’s wild imagination of how she and Tabuki would end up together. Unfortunately that also means there’s a sad undertone to them...

It’s interesting that it was actually Enta who picked a fight with the other guys. They were playing soccer where he always used to play together with Kazuki, so that was their “sacred place” no one else was allowed to use.

THEN IT’S TIME FOR MORE REOMABU!!!!!!!!! We were told that the sequence would be a bit different each time and that’s true! Only slightly though. I need to stop jumping every time Reo points that gun at me. I almost spilled my drink :/

Then it turns out that there weren’t really any flashbacks in this episode. Only delusions. 

Tooi’s and Enta’s discussion also reminded me of Penguindrum. Especially that last bit where Tooi says he’s the one to get the plate of hope and that music plays. It’s just like every other character in Penguindrum with the diary.

I was wondering how they would show flying kisses, I was not expecting them to be women! Well they are good for kissing ;)

I love how Keppi seems to have 100 different skills and functions. How handy!

I also love how they boys now want to be turned into kappa themselves. They haven’t really resisted much at all actually. They’re such dumb boys for not questioning Keppi more, why exactly is all of this happening!! You need to know these things before helping him out so much! Though to be fair this time around Enta’s doing it for his sisters sake, no time to lose. And they all want the plates, so they have motives, I just wish I’d know Keppi’s!

That fish zombie is cute. I’d kiss it.

I like how they mix up the performances, there’s new music that sounds amazing as well. Enta’s secrets are horribly embarrassing. I can barely watch the screen. In fact I actually looked away because I knew what he was about to do and I didn’t want to see it. It’s not that bad compared to what it could’ve been, but it’s BAD. I’d rather have Kazuki’s secret than Enta’s.

The scene with Reo and Mabu is really interesting, but I need subs to understand it better. They do have a boss whose orders they’re following...

Of course Kazuki doesn’t understand anything, but OMG ENTA’S NOT HAVING IT. I’m so proud of him!!! That looks wayyy too much like a proposal though, stop being so embarrassing!!! Unfortunately, I think we can all see what’s coming up next - harsh reality. Poor Enta.

Haruka’s a good boy. We also get confirmation he’s disabled and can’t walk.

This episode doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, but we have foreshadowing with those otter symbols appearing on Haruka’s phone, so it’s only a matter of time before he also becomes a victim to them. Before that we’ll probably get an episode with Tooi? Or possibly Reo?

The first three episodes make for a good set. I’m going to have a really hard time not peaking at the novel as I wait for another week and the next episode to air. 

[nobume-date]

Top 10 Husbando

Thanks for tagging me! @lordbunshin @lemonicebar wanted to know my husbando  😉

I believe everyone here definitely have a crushed on 2D characters but it takes more than pretty face, great body, intelligent and super power to be the best husbando IRL or so called IkeDan*. Like, will they be there when we need their help? Will they make us a porridge when we sick? and stuffs...

*IkeDan = Ikemen Danna (イケメン旦那) = The hotties who possess husband material, recently popular word among Japanese women.

Personally I think it’s not fair for anime’s characters because otoge’s characters originally were created to be an ideal husbando. Plus all anime already finished, no more season 4-5-6 with a wedding or happy family story like otoge did. So i’ll go with 5 husbundo from anime fandom and 5 from otoge fandom.

P.S. Srsly, I had a hard time for choosing just 10 husbando from hundreds husbandos in my list.

Anime Husbando

5. Kuroba Kaito @ Magic Kaito KID

This IQ 400, playful and kind gentleman, full-time high school boy, part-time phantom thief is definitely a hero for both boys and girls in fandom. Well, he was born from Gosho Aoyama who wrote Detecive Conan after all, this character surely has a charmingly deep and various dimensions. 

Kaito might be too young to be considered as husbando but with all of his good traits, he’d definitely grow up to be the best one. Besides, I love a sweet & thrill in love life 😉

4. Kinomoto Tōya @ Cardcaptor Sakura 

Touya-niichan is my first love in anime fandom since I was a kid and still have been in my heart until now. Thanks to Clear Card Arc, I have a chance to see him in college version and more striking handsome due to advanced CG technology in anime industry. 

He is cool, kind, athletic and very popular with the girls even he is a bit loner who has only Yukito as a BFF. He did many jobs so that he can pay for college on his own, despite his father is a college professor who could easily pay for his tuition, very impressive responsibility as a mere high school boy. 

He is also good at cooking and helps with house work, yeah husband material. Even he’s always tease his little sister Sakura but that nothing to do with me ;p Well, his caring for family is the best clue for being a potential future husband and father.

3. Karasuma Tadaomi @ Assassination Classroom (VA Sugita Tomokazu 😍)

Who wouldn’t fall for this super cool badass fighter? He’s an elite agent sent from Japan's Ministry of Defense to supervise Koro-sensei. 

Karasuma is a strict but kind man, though he keeps a distance between himself and the students due to his status as an agent and his own professionalism. He is also extremely dense when it comes to love, but isn't so oblivious that he doesn't figure it out eventually. Even though he comes off as distant, he's not completely devoid of emotion and seems to be able to express happiness very rarely; most notably, during violent situations.

Judging from how he taught his students as the physical education teacher in Class 3-E, he must be a strict dad who raise his kids to be a strong fighter both physically and mentally. He is a perfect husbando for waifu who need someone to keep her on her toes. His love life is hilarious and interesting bc his waifu is a b*tch. Well, if you watch this anime you’d know what i mean 😉 Hush hush... I bet he is definitely a wild beast on bed, fu fu 😉

P.S. Let me clear this, I’m not that b*tch but I still need him bc it’s thrill for having such a cool & elite agent as a husbando.

2. Yanagi Kazuma @ Kaze no Stigma (VA Ono Daisuke 😍)

Due to his family circumstance and ex-lover’s tragedy, he has become too powerful and overprotective in an effort to be able to protect those important to him and not to lose them again. Even Kazuma shows his arrogance and egotistic side most of the time, he'll protect people who are naturally weak and have no chance of becoming stronger.

He is a snarky sarcastic and anti-social, rarely interacts with others unless business is involved. But he’s very caring and protect his beloved Ayano and his little brother Ren. He can do house chores and cooking. When he fell in love he’ll be unbelievably sweet and gentle yet still be a big tease making Ayano (and me) doki doki occasionally; e.g. licking a splashed wine on her cheek saying it’s a waste if he don’t drink it, kissing her hair when he confess to her. When he kissed her neck and said “You better get ready because I’m selfish and have a strong desire” I was melted ☺️☺️☺️

P.S. When I finished watching this anime and found out season 2 never come bc the writer had died since 2009 I cried like my own relative died 😭😭

1. Usui Takumi @ Kaichou wa Maid-sama (VA Okamoto Nobuhiko 😍)

You couldn’t count yourself an 2D otaku in Shoujou-Otome line if you don’t know him, he is a LEGENDARY HUSBANDO for Shoujou manga and anime.

He is everything as an ideal husbando for me, looks, brain and talent at everything. Playful but not wishy-washy. Flirt but not creepy. Devoted but not possessed. Helped but not spoiled. These traits also very like Masamune Ikesen too. Despite having dark past about their own families, Usui didn’t strong and friendly as Masamune, well, he’s just a normal high school boy after all 😉

But in manga, he eventually grown up to be a great doctor and also an amazing husbando who let his waifu living apart for a sake of her dream job.... such a board-mind and patient husbando 😊

Otoge Husbando

5. Kirishima Kaoru @ Our 2 Bedrooms Story by Voltage

This aloof, cool, talent editor is MC coworker who emit an aura of “leave me alone” but actually kind & gentle and very cuddle when you’re in relationship like Ieyasu but he’s a straightforward type and isn’t sarcastic or snarky at all.

His stories weren’t exciting or twist like the others but very real and relax.. his coolly cuteness and kindness somehow made me calm, like laying in a corridor under warm sunshine after the battles with all tough guys 😆

Now it’s Wedding Season already and I’m the most lucky bride in the world😊

4. Soryu Oh @ Kissed by the Baddest Bidders by Voltage

Head of Hong Kong’s Mafia who scared everyone away with his scary & cold  vibe but love omrice 😆 Hate women bc they’re reek of perfume and only chase after the rich. Anyway he is a gentleman and the only bidder who treat MC as a human being and protected her from any harms.

When you captivated his heart, he’d turned to be a doting BF who protect you with his life. Even he’s a man with a few word but his expression for love is so deep and intense. On bed? also a sexy beast 😆😆 A special story “Happy Family with Him” also show how wonderful he was as a father.

Now we’ve married and live a happily in NY season 5th already 😊

3. Okochi Minato @ Our 2 Bedrooms Story by Voltage

An ace senior editor of a big shot publisher who is arrogant, big tease and tsundere but his sexy & sweet side made me melt. He is such an sharp-tongue alfa-dog who always mocked MC as a Pomeranian but bickering with him is so much fun. Even he is a super self-confident but he secretly worked out bc he wanted to impress MC with his well toned body when they xxx ☺️ yeah... he’s a bit... horny sexy beast ☺️😆

Even he’s hopeless around the house to the point he could literally explode the kitchen but he tried hard to cook for his beloved fiancée by joining cooking lessons. He always be there to help MC for both work and personal life and also let MC helped him occasionally.

Now it’s Wedding Season 💒 already and I’m so happy with him 😊

2. Oda Nobunaga @ Ikemen Sengoku by Cybrid (VA Sugita Tomokazu 😍)

The tyrant Demon King and a dutiful BF who has an unbearable cute side I couldn’t resist. He called emergency war room to consult how to improve his GF’s mood after 3 days Silence Treat 😆 He was jealous of his own bear avatar 😊 He love Kompeito and secretly(?) steal it from his own kitchen every night😆, etc. So damn sexy and alluring, got me every event, couldn’t keep calm around him. I’ve a bunch of arrogant, intelligent, rich and powerful husbando but no one is as charming as him... srsly.

He’s sweet and kind...when he want to be 😆 An open-mind husbando who is enthusiasm  to learn new things. Also such a dutiful dad who’d read a bedtime stories for his kids every night 😊

1. Date Masamune @ Ikemen Sengoku by Cybrid (VA Katou Kazuki 😍)

Since I played his routes both Dramatic and Romantic in row on last X’mas, I fell hard for this playful dragon and he has been my no.1 since then. Who could refuse he possess a super husband material? Here, here here and here.