#uchida yuki

[redsamuraiii]

Zen (2009)

[twofiguresbyafountain]

[ifellinlovewithpersona]

So I had a lot of fun making megaten (in)correct quotes so I'm doing it again :P

This time it's more persona focused but I managed to implement some SMT as well (involving my weird headcanons :P)

Previously, on (in)correct Megaten:

1

Next part

[seiyuu-gallery]

[otaku-republic]

< NEW  BLCD (Yaoi Drama CD) Releases >

★ Ecchi Wa Shuu-7 Kibou Desu! by Pesotarou cv. Kumagai Kentarou, Shirai Yusuke ★ Virtual-Kun Wa Otonari-San Kara Nigetai by Aki Chihaya cv. Hirose Yuya, Masuda Toshiki

★ Nayamashii Kare Utsukushii Kare cv. Ono Yuki, Saito Soma ★ Kimi Iro Ni Kegasaretai by Sagano Hiwo cv. Kumagai Kentarou, Saito Soma ★ Yoake no Uta (Lullaby of the Dawn) vol.2 by Yuno Ichika cv. Uchida Yuma, Kawanishi Kengo ★ Koboreru, by Moriyo cv. Hatano Wataru, Saito Soma ★ Oredake No Senzoku Alpha by Hoshikura Zozo cv. Terashima Junta, Yamanaka Masahiro

[anamon-book]

NHKウイークリーステラ 平成30年 10/12号 2018 10/6→10/12 NHKサービスセンター 表紙＝内田有紀 連続テレビ小説 ドラマガイド第2弾〈まんぷく〉内田有紀 インタビュー

[shinkonamikan]

【画像】内田有紀が18歳のころの超絶ェッチボディｗｗｗ : 筋肉速報

[banqanas]

Yamada Yuki acting as Todoroki and Maeda Goki acts as Murayama + them talking about the infamous forehead flick scene

From: Yamada Yuki 2020.05.21 instagram live translations

Above version is only for parts I managed to sub. Full version (around 12 minutes) is here (without subs). Text translations for full part under cut:

Note: Yamada Yuki did a lot of instalive during the pandemic. In this episode, he had 4 guests over: Ozawa Yuta (Daruma Ikka's Kato), Saotome Taichi (Mighty Warrior's Ryu), Nakajima Ken (Oyako's Nakaoka), and Maeda Gouki (Todoroki Yosuke)

Y: *reading comments*

“Yamada Yuki-kun, just once in my life, I want to be beaten up by you.” Please don’t say that.

“I saw Kimi wa Petto movie” That’s the drama Shison starred in! The actor’s Shison Jun not me!

Y: Ah there he is! Gouki! I was thinking of doing (instalive) together with Gouki. Did he get the invite?

Y: He’s here!

M: Hello~

Y: You know just yesterday, I was with Uchida Rio-chan and Inaba Yuu-kun (Kizzy). We were playing MonHun. And I said, I wanna do a High&Low collab since I’ve been doing instalive a lot lately. And I thought I wanna do it with Gouki.

(バイゆう baiyuu is probably some shortform for something but i couldnt figure out what it is, sorry)

M: But just now (Saotome) Taichi and (Nakajima) Ken-kun were going live with you too and I was like “Woah, they’re really doing it!”

Y: For some reason a lot of High&Low cast were doing it like one after another. And I was thinking of contacting you asking if you wanna do Murayama and Todoroki together... But I didn’t think it’ll come true this soon.

M: Sorry for suddenly dropping in!

Y: It’s fine!

M: But I’m happy to know that my name popped up eventhough I wasn’t there. Thank you.

Y: Not at all. You’re already an important part (of the cast).

Y: Considering the times we’re in I was seriously thinking that I want to do an instalive with Todoroki-chan.

M: Right now I’m entirely in a Murayama-style though. With my headband and all

Y: I was thinking about that too! I’m gonna try putting on glasses then.

M: My hair totally grown out like Todoroki’s now

M: That glasses look like Shiono Akihisa’s character though (lol) with the tinted sunglasses

Y: Ah, the one with chains, right

Y: I wonder if I have any other glasses

M: I’m gonna take the headband off for a bit

Y: Was it black framed glasses?

M: Whose?

Y: Todoroki’s. It’s not black right, he has silver framed glasses, right?

M: Yeah it’s not black, it’s silver.

Y: This is Todoroki.

M: Wait a minute—

Y: Todoroki is here.

M: *dying laughter*

M: Sorry for going out of screen

Y: Nice, Murayama’s here. It feels weird calling you “Murayama”.

M: “Y’know Todoroki-chan~”

M: Do you want to say some lines together, since we’re already doing this.

Y: The one where you pushed back your hair like this and said, “You talk too much.” That scene was so cool!

It was so freaking cool I went all Woooo~~

M: Thank you very much!

Y: Yeah where you went wham! to shut the other guy up. That was so awesome!

M: Ah, I know! How about the scene from the drama series for old times sake?

M: The line that goes “I don’t need your greetings.”

Y: You went bang!

M: It was... “Our leader is going around greeting other gangs...” and immediately after that line I went bam! And pushed my hair back a bit and said “I don’t need your greetings.”

Y: That scene was great too.

M: What was Murayama’s line during that scene again...

Y: What was it...

M: Nothing’s coming to me other than, “Let’s go, you assholes!”

M: Oh yeah, during the (The Worst Episode. 0) drama, there was that scene where (Murayama) lightly punched me in the chest, right.

Y: Right, right.

M: What was your line during that scene?

Y: The one I said to Todoroki-chan?

M: Yeah, yeah!

Y: AH! What was it again?!

Y: I think it was (same time with mdgk)

M: Wasn’t it

Y: I think it was “You have to uphold it...” or something.

M: Yeah, something like that!

Y: I can’t remember...

M: You were replying to something (Todoroki) said.

Y: “That’s how a Oya student should be.” I think it was something along those lines.

M: Then, how about that line at the start of the movie?

Y & M: (reading comments)

Y: “You should be using this (your fists) too.”

M: “You should look at the people around you better.” Exactly, that’s the line. It was something like that.

Y: I remember, I remember. “I’m here to lecture you.”

M: Oh yeah that’s right! You were lecturing (Todoroki).

Y: “Look at the people around you better.” Yeah, that’s how the script goes.

Y: The fans remember our lines better (than us).

Y & M: Everyone’s amazing.

Y: Thanks to your help I’m starting to remember.

M: I think it’s interesting that when Murayama was talking, Todoroki didn’t say anything at all.

Y: Todoroki was properly listening to Murayama and taking it in, wasn’t he! Surprisingly.

M: Yup, yup. That might be it.

M: He probably didn’t like it when (Murayama) revealed his bad points.

Y: (reading comment) That’s it! “If you’re an Oya High student...”

M: YEAH THATS IT

Y: But I still can’t remember much of the remaining lines after that (lol) Sorry!

Y: Everyone, if you have any of Murayama’s lines that you want Todoroki-chan to say, please write them here (in the comments).

M: Same with (Todoroki’s lines) too, okay!

Y: Sorry, I’m going to drink for a bit.

M: Okay.

M: But really... For Yuki-kun to think about Todoroki to that extent. I’m really happy to hear that.

Y: Of course I’d consider about him too.

M: “If you’re an Oya High student, you should try thinking using your fists more...” THAT’S PROBABLY THE WHOLE LINE, RIGHT.

Y: Ahh, that’s right!

M: (tl note: i cant figure out which line this is, sorry) kenka yori haika

M: “Just having a strong fist isn’t enough.”

Y: “Go back and learn, idiot!”

M: Ahh, I remember that line.

Y: Brings back memories, doesn’t it?

M: I was really scared when you flicked my forehead the first time.

Y: LOL

M: It was terrifying, really! Your fist was really close (to my face) and then suddenly you changed your hand like this. I thought you were holding a weapon or something!

(TL note: the forehead flick was an adlib from Yamada Yuki)

M: I was really freaked out!

Y: Was that, did we did it all of a sudden?

M: The forehead flick wasn’t written in the script in the first place... And during filming you just put it in, if I remember correctly...

Y: Yeah, I was going for a punch..!

Y: But then I thought, this (using a fist) isn’t what Murayama wants to teach to Todoroki, thats why I changed it to a flick instead.

Y: And then in the THE MOVIE, Todoroki-chan did it back (to Murayama), tying it all back to that original scene.

M: Ah, yes, I thought it was fitting.

Y: Thank you for that, really.

M: The director mentioned that too.

Y: I’m really grateful that you did it.

M: Someone commented that “Murayama has a lot of wise quotes”, exactly!

Y: Then, please choose any line you like.

M: Is it okay for me to choose?

Y: Of course. Whichever you like

M: *reading comments* Are you okay with the time? Sorry for taking so long

Y: Not at all. I was planning on being live or around an hour or so

M: There’s quite a lot of lines that I want to say

M: Ah, but I definitely wanna say “Todoroki-chan~!”

M: Okay I’ll go with the “If you’re an Oya High student, you should try thinking using your fist...” and punch! Yeah, that’s the line I wanna say.

M: But that’s kinda. So like, please say your Todoroki line as soon as I’m done saying mine. Because it’ll be embarrassing otherwise.

Y: Wait, what line was it again.

M: I know! Let’s make it like we’re talking with each other.

M: I’d say “Todoroki-chan~ “If you’re an Oya High student, you should....”

M: But it doesn’t really match with “I don’t need introductions.”

M: Eh...what other line can fit...

Y: Todoroki-chan, Todoroki-chan

Y: You say “Yahoo~!” And I’ll say “I don’t need introductions.” Then you do the punch thing. Sounds good, right?

M: Ah, okay, I get it! I’m the one who say “yahoo~” right

M: Okay, okay, let’s do it!

M: I haven’t acted in a while so I’m pretty excited

Y: I’m gonna channel my inner Todoroki now

M: Me too. Should we start?

*nods*

“Yahoo~!”

“I don’t need introductions.”

“Todoroki-chan~ if you’re an Oya High student, you should think using your fist more.”

M: I can’t help wanting to smile the whole time!

Y: Embarrassing!

M: Sorry after the yahoo I didn’t say “Todoroki-chan”

Y: Yeah, it’s probably the nerves getting to you.

Y: I’m so embarrassed... Oh, Ozawa-san from Daruma Ikka had a good laugh out of it.

M: That was fun~

Y: Nice yahoo~

M: Thank you. I don’t think I’ve talked with Ozawa-san before.

Y: Yeah we don’t really interact with Daruma much, especially Todoroki-chan...

M: Nice to meet you, I’m Maeda.

Y: Thanks again for doing this together with me. It’s a top of the top instalive.

M: I’m happy to hear that

Y: If possible. If there’s a chance to do this again, would you come and be a guest again?

M: Of course, anytime!

Y: I’ll contact you if that time comes.

M: That was really fun, thank you!

Y: Thanks again for that amazing performance. Truly, thank you!

M: Bye bye, see you again!

Y: That was really cool. It became a High&Low skit thing.

[otakusparkle]

Identity V Stageplay Release

Identity V Stageplay Episode 4 "Phantom Of The Monochrome" will be appear in June - July 2024

The main character for this episode is Wu Chang and Prisoner

Cast

Survivor

- Yusuke Anazawa as Prisoner (Luca Balsa)

- Mirai Tsuboi as Mechanic (Tracy Reznik)

- Chiba Mizuki as Seer (Eli Clark)

- Suga Kyosuke as Prospector (Norton Campbell)

- Takuya Matsufuji as Mercenary (Naib Subedar)

- Kohei Masaki as Gravekeeper (Andrew Kreiss)

- Youta Suzuki as Postman (Victor Grantz)

- Sena Yamashita as Priestess (Fiona Gilman)

- [New] Kodai Miyagi as Painter (Edgar Valden)

- Uchida Ayasumi as Gardener (Emma Woods)

- Hirai Yuki as Embalmer (Aesop Carl)

Hunter

- Kunishima Naoki as Wu Chang (Xie Bian)

- Agata Gouki as Wu Chang (Fan Wujiu)

- Yoshihiko Narimatsu as The Ripper (Jack)

- Keisuke Igarashi as Photographer (Joseph Desaulnier)

- Watanabe Daiki as Axeboy (Robbie White)

- Aimi Nakano as Geisha (Michiko)

- [New] Mashiro Yagi as Sculptor (Galatea Claude)

[redsamuraiii]

Zen (2009)

"We must create paradise here on Earth. But if this is paradise, why must people fight and suffer from illness, unable to escape the pain of death?"

The life of Zen Master, Dōgen. He went to China to attain enlightenment and returned to Japan during Kamakura Period, and introduced Zen to Japan in the form of the Sōtō school.

His teachings of new Zen Buddhism sparks outrage among existing Buddhist sect while attracting a few who wants to be free of pain and suffering, like a prostitute and a weathered Samurai.

[kanasmusings]

[Stage News] Identity V Stage Episode IV - "Phantom of the Monochrome"

Identity V Stage Episode 4 news have been announced together with the new survivor and new main game content earlier~! I'm so happy we get another installment to the stage, and that we get to see them back in action again! Here are the cast (returning and new) and details regarding the new episode~!

Please check their official Twitter for more news and updates~! I've also linked the actors' official accounts (at least, those that I could find) for those interested in giving them a follow~

CAST:

-SURVIVORS-

[Focus Cast] "PRISONER" : Luca Balsa - Anazawa Yusuke

Mechanic: Tracy Reznik - Tsuboi Miku

Seer: Eli Clark - Chiba Mizuki

Prospector: Norton Campbell - Suga Kyosuke

Mercenary: Naib Subedar - Matsufuji Takuya

Grave Keeper: Andrew Kreiss - Masaki Kohei

Postman: Victor Grantz - Suzuki Yota

Priestess: Fiona Gilman - Sakura Karen

Painter: Edgar Valden - Miyagi Kodai

Gardener: Emma Woods - Uchida Asumi

Embalmer: Aesop Carl - Hirai Yuki

-HUNTERS-

[Focus Cast] Wu Chang -> White Guard (Xie Bi'an) - Kunishima Naoki & Black Guard (Fan Wujiu) - Agata Gouki

Ripper: Jack - Narimatsu Yoshihiko

Photographer: Joseph Desaulniers - Igarashi Keisuke

Axe Boy: Robbie White - Watabe Hiroki

Geisha: Michiko - Nakano Aimi

Sculptor: Galatea Claude - Yagi Mashiro

-Ensemble Cast-

Nihira Shogo

Tachibana Ryo

For those asking where to find the first three episodes, the Blu-rays are still available for order on Movic or on CDJapan. As for the subtitles, they're all available in my WordPress masterpost here!

[putschki1969]

LisAni! LIVE 2024 Broadcast

Here's the footage from this year’s LisAni! LIVE 2024 Yuki Kajiura, her regular FictionJunction members and LiSA all participated in the Saturday Stage of LisAni! LIVE 2024.

»»——  CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——««

❗FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗CREDIT me if you SHARE on other sites❗

Title: リスアニ ！LIVE 2024 Date: January 27 (SATURDAY STAGE) Venue: Nippon Budokan Website: https://www.lisani.jp/live/ Appearing artists: illumination STARS & CoMETIK／ASCA／Yuma Uchida／JUNNA／ FictionJunction (Vocal: KAORI, KEIKO, YURIKO KAIDA, Joelle, LiSA)／Myuk; UPCOMING ARTISTS：asmi / SennaRin / UniteUp!

🎤Setlist🎤 1.蒼穹のファンファーレ 2.stone cold 3.from the edge 4.Parade

📺Broadcast: MUSIC ON! TV（エムオン!） ＜SATURDAY STAGE＞ 4/13: 23:30〜25:00

📺FictionJunction Broadcast Setlist📺 stone cold from the edge

The girls looked particularly good here and I really enjoyed that performance of "stone cold" (although I am starting to get a bit tired of it XD). By now I've gotten used to Kaori doing Wakana's chorus parts but seeing the official MV at the very end of the broadcast is making me miss Wakana again T_T

"from the edge" was fun to watch but ultimately just meh. Not a fan of the song. There are some epic parts but overall, there is too much going on for me and as we all know, LiSA's voice is not my cup of tea.

[crehador]

since i can't find one and need to know who to aim for...

list of reverse: 1999 jp dub cast (updated for 1.4)

210 - hirose daisuke 37 - iguchi yuka 6 - nakamura yuuichi

a knight - hayami show alien t - fukuhara anjou an-an lee - sakura ayane apple - hirakawa daisuke arcana - koshimizu ami

baby blue - suzaki aya balloon party - minase inori bette - kanzaki maki bkornblume - ueda reina blonney - saito shuka bunny bunny - ozawa ari

charlie - matsuda satsumi centurion - ikuta teru charlton - nomiya kazunori click - uchiyama kouki constantine - tanaka atsuko cristallo - aimi

darley clatter - yada kouhei diggers - tachibana shinnosuke dikke - kawasumi ayako door - shimizu sakuma druvis iii - ishikawa yui

eagle - noguchi ruriko enigma - umehara yuuichirou erick - tanaka chiemi eternity - fairouz ai

forget me not - suwabe junichi

horropedia - okitsu kazuyuki

isabella - kino hina

jessica - waki azumi john titor - konishi mai

kaalaa baunaa - ootsubo yuka kanjira - akasaki chinatsu kumar - fujitou chika

la source - yuzuki kazuka leilani - tachibana yuki lilya - kitamura eri lucy - suwa ayaka

matilda - itou ayasa medicine pocket - hanae natsuki melania - ueda kana mesmer jr. - kudou haruka mondlicht - tsumugi risa ms. moissan - kohara riko ms. new babel - uchida maaya ms. radio - odashima kazami

necrologist - wakayama shion nick bottom - satou fumiya

oliver fog - nagatsuka takuma onion - horikawa kaede

pavia - nozu pickles - saito soma poltergeist - maekawa ryouko

rabies - takagaki katsuhisa & mugiho anna regulus - yamamoto nozomi ring - sakakihara yuki

satsuki - touyama nao schneider - yuuki aoi shamane - yasumoto hiroki sonetto - uchida shu sophia - kobayashi yuu sotheby - itou miku sputnik - toba yuuko sweetheart - tanaka rie

tennant - takahashi chiaki the fool - nitta kyousuke tooth fairy - uesaka sumire ttt - sumi tomomi jiena twins sleep (lisa & louise) - kamitaka suzuka

vertin - takamori natsumi voyager - hondo kaede

x - toki shunichi

z - liyuu зима - totto

[imasallstars]

INTERDIMENSION FESTIVAL: IDOLM@STER★♥LOVE LIVE! UTA GASSEN

Information regarding the first IJIGEN FES 2023 live has been revealed! The live will occur in the TOKYO DOME on the 9th and 10th of December 2023. This first fes will feature three branches of IDOLM@STER performing with four branches of Love Live!

The voice providers participating in this stop are as follows:

DAY 1 ONLY

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 　Kotomi Aihara (Shiki Ichinose), Hiromi Igarashi (Anzu Futaba), Asami Takano (Frederica Miyamoto), Yuki Nakashima (Yuuki Otokura), Yuko Iida (Kanade Hayami), Honoka Inoue (Nanami Asari), Sumire Uesaka (Anastasia), Aya Suzaki (Minami Nitta), Miyu Tomita (Akira Sunazuka), Ru Thing (Syuko Shiomi), Teru Ikuta (Natalia), Hina Tachibana (Nagi Hisakawa), Nanami Yamashita (Yui Ohtsuki) IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 　Haruka Yamazaki (Mirai Kasuga), Azusa Tadokoro (Shizuka Mogami), Machico (Tsubasa Ibuki), Momo Asakura (Serika Hakozaki), Kotori Koiwai (Tomoka Tenkubashi), Atsuki Nakamura (Roco Handa), Emi Hirayama (Reika Kitakami), Yui Watanabe (Nao Yokoyama) IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 　Karin Isobe (Kogane Tsukioka), Chisa Suginuma (Mamimi Tanaka), Anna Yamaki (Sakuya Shirase), Shio Watanabe (Yuika Mitsumine), Yuina Mizuki (Kiriko Yukoku), Honoka Kuroki (Amana Osaki), Ryoko Maekawa (Tenka Osaki), Noriko Shibasaki (Chiyuki Kuwayama), Yuu Wakui (Toru Asakura), Rio Tsuchiya (Madoka Higuchi), Saran Tajima (Koito Fukumaru), Miho Okasaki (Hinana Ichikawa), Azusa Shizuki (Nichika Nanakusa), Aya Yamane (Mikoto Aketa)

DAY 2 ONLY

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 　Ayaka Ohashi (Uzuki Shimamura), Ayaka Fukuhara (Rin Shibuya), Sayuri Hara (Mio Honda), Amina Sato (Arisu Tachibana), Tomoyo Kurosawa (Miria Akagi), Hana Tamegai (Risa Matoba), Makoto Koichi (Haru Yuuki), Asaka Imai (Chie Sasaki), Natsumi Haruse (Kaoru Ryuzaki), Misaki Kuno (Nina Ichihara), Yuri Komori (Koharu Koga), Mina Nakazawa (Yukimi Sajo), Maki Hanatani (Kozue Yusa) IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 　Aimi (Julia), Miku Itou (Yuriko Nanao), Ibuki Kido (Kana Yabuki), Arisa Kori (Kaori Sakuramori), Yuri Komagata (Sayoko Takayama), Rie Suegara (Fuka Toyokawa), Saki Minami (Tsumugi Shiraishi), Rikako Yamaguchi (Rio Momose) IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 　Hitomi Sekine (Mano Sakuragi), Reina Kondo (Hiori Kazano), Mayu Mineda (Meguru Hachimiya), Hiyori Konno (Kaho Komiya), Haruka Shiraishi (Chiyoko Sonoda), Mariko Nagai (Juri Saijo), Wakana Maruoka (Rinze Morino), Akiho Suzumoto (Natsuha Arisugawa), Yuki Tanaka (Asahi Serizawa), Eri Yukimura (Fuyuko Mayuzumi), Sayaka Kitahara (Mei Izumi), Rina Kawaguchi (Luca Ikaruga), Haruna Mikawa (Hana Suzuki), Rena Ozawa (Haruki Iketa)

DAY 1&2

AQOURS (LOVE LIVE! SUNSHINE!!) 　Anju Inami (Chika Takami), Rikako Aida (Riko Sakurauchi), Nanaka Suwa (Kana Matsuura), Arisa Komiya (Dia Kurosawa), Shukai Saito (You Watanabe), Aika Kobayashi (Yoshiko Tsushima), Kanako Takatsuki (Hanamaru Kunikida), Aina Suzuki (Mari Ohara), Ai Furihata (Ruby Kurosawa) NIJIGASAKU SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　Aguri Ohnishi (Ayumu Uehara), Mayu Sagara (Kasumi Nakasu), Kaori Maede (Shizuku Osaka), Miyu Kubota (Karin Asaka), Natsumi Murakami (Ai Miyashia), Akari Kito (Kanata Konoe), Coco Hayashi (Setsuna Imura), Maria Sashide (Emma Verde), Chiemi Tanaka (Rina Tennoji), Moeka Koizumi (Shioriko Mifune), Shu Uchida (Mia Taylor), Akina Homoto (Zhong Lanzhu). 　Support Member: Hinaki Yano (Yu Takasaki) Liella! (LOVE LIVE! SUPERSTAR!!) 　Sayuri Date (Kanon Shibuya), Liyuu (Keke Tang), Nako Misaki (Chisato Arashi), Naomi Payton (Sumire Heanna), Nagisa Aoyama (Ren Hazuki), Nozomi Suzuhara (Kinako Sakurakoji), Akana Yabushima (Mei Yoneme), Wakana Okuma (Shiki Wakana), Aya Emori (Natsumi Onitsuka), Yuina (Wien Margarete), Sakura Sakakura (Tomari Onitsuka) HASUNOSORA SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　Nirei Nozomi (Kaho Hinoshita), Kokona Nonaka (Sayaka Murano), Nina Hanamiya (Kozue Otomune), Kotoka Sasaki (Tsuzuri Yugiri), Kanna Kan (Rurino Osawa), Kona Tsukine (Megumi Fujishima)

[444lpblue]

The Witch and the Beast #1 - The Witch and the City of Blazing Red

Screenplay: Yuuichirou Momose Storyboard/Episode Direction: Takayuki Hamana Chief Animation Direction: Hiroya Iijima Animation Direction: Kei Tsushima, Yuri Hashimoto, Guonian Wang, Kazuharu Tada, Miyoko Shikibu, Asuna Imahashi, Shinya Segawa (Monster AD: Shouya Gotou) Key Animation: Mana Azumaya, Noa Kawamura, Shigenori Taniguchi, Yoshihito Narimatsu, Yuki Uejou, Hiroyuki Kamura, Mitsuyo Tsuno, Kouichi Hayamizu, Kazunori Ozawa, Shouya Gotou, Yoshiko Nakamura, Studio Maf, Yuka Hayashi, Takuya Nemoto, Maru Animation, Yeong-Nam Ko, Su-Jin Oh

A bit late on this, aren't I? But no matter what, I was going to write about this, and I will write about every episode too – don't worry about it!

If you were in the know how of Yokohama Animation Lab's recent animes, much like me, you were probably very nervous about The Witch and the Beast adaptation. I mean, I made a whole write-up on the outlook, which mostly hinges on director Hamana's consistency in terms of quality and his tendency to bring in specific animators. Well, now that the episode is out, how do I actually feel?

It's… surprisingly very well done. Of course, I'm not saying it's perfect; the biggest issues are likely the limited animation and a bit of off-modelness. But I'm not going to lie, guys. Maybe I am biased because The Witch and the Beast is one of my favorite mangas, but I genuinely had a lot of fun with this debut, and I kind of loved it. It felt like it had the soul of the manga I love despite some production hiccups.

First, let's talk about what you probably felt but haven't been able to confirm. The episode was indeed better than the PV. I got a sense of this as I was watching, and I was really kind of confused about why I didn't feel like the PV looked this good. When I looked back, it was very interesting to see how many differences there were and the improvements that made the shots so much better.

The obvious improvement in the shading of Guideau and Ashaf is apparent, but I also love the addition of the impact gust that they added to Guideau's stomp. Personally, it was something I noticed in the PV as feeling a bit too still. The only effects in the PV were just simple camera shakes, which didn't really sell the impact of her stomp that much at all. Seeing improvements like these from the trailer to the actual episode fills me with a lot of hope for the production. I feel like it shows that, unlike more recent Yokohama productions, they are trying a significant amount more.

If you couldn't already tell from some of the close-ups I've provided in this post, while the on-modelness of some farther away shots can be questioned, the close-ups in this show are absolutely gorgeous. I wasn't super sold on Iijima's character designs initially, but after seeing the improved shading and the various shots they kind of hid from us in the PV, the designs are freaking gorgeous up close. The Witch and the Beast, the manga, has always been a visual spectacle that relied a lot on its art direction, aesthetics, and of course, character designs. While it's nearly impossible for the anime to match it, I think they came very close. The characters' eyes are so pretty; I love the compositing effects they applied to them. It feels like it gives them a lot of depth and kind of like an otherworldly blur, which I think looks great. The features are sharp; they're so pretty. Everyone has their premium eyelash extensions on, and it's just about as aesthetically pleasing to me as the manga. To be honest, it might be my favorite character design for the season.

And since I also briefly mentioned the compositing, I have to apologize to Natsumi Uchida. I specifically pointed her out in my social media rambles as someone who was making me worry a bit. And that mostly stems from her recent effort in The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World, which, to be frank, I thought was terrible. The effects looked cheap, just due to how bright and almost neon at times they are. They don't fit in with their environments; it just wasn't pleasant to look at. However, her work in The Witch and the Beast is so much better. While some effects are somewhat questionable, like the smoke and Ashaf's crow appearing when he was saving Guideau, I would definitely say the compositing was a highlight in this episode. It really puts a stamp on the character designs with the beautiful compositing over them. It makes every scene paired with the art direction feel so dense, like everything is just so in-depth.

The art direction in this show is probably its best visual element. It absolutely shines. I mean, if you had to pick something out from this production as a major highlight, it has to be one of the undeniable biggest pros of the show so far. The series is a dark fantasy, but it's not a dull one. A lot of adaptations, I feel, confuse this with each other a bit. A dark fantasy doesn't have to mean dull colors or a realistic design; after all, The Witch and the Beast is all about its aesthetically gothic yet fantasy appearance that is quite grandiose and beautiful in nature, and the art direction covers that perfectly. So huge credit to the art director, Hirotsugu Kakoi and his crew at Kagoshima Ramecahirim.

One of my biggest worries for the anime adaptation, when I first saw the trailer, was actually, believe it or not, kind of its color palette. I genuinely thought they didn't get a full sense of Satake's style. It felt a bit too plain to me when I always imagined the colors in the world in this series to be very solid and strong, while not bright. I think the series functions on its boldness, and the backgrounds are a perfect example of it. The opening, I think, is a great example of this too, just them surrounded by those buildings in the midst of the night feels almost overwhelmingly dense. It really serves as the main appeal in many of the show's shots and ties everything (the compositing, the character designs, and the aesthetic) all together. The buildings and architectures, a mix of 2D and 3D, blend in so perfectly. You can take so many of those shots and make them your wallpaper; honestly, it's so pretty. It's also not just the buildings; the flowers in the room where Guideau and Ione fight were stunning. I also love the visual of the flowers always fluttering up due to impact; it just created such a magical experience for me. It's such a simple addition, but it was great. That, paired with the great soundtrack which goes from almost Persona-like music to soft notes of somberness that build up to the release of a monster, just all goes together so well.

At the beginning of this write-up, I already noted its production issues in terms of sometimes limited animation and a good bit of off-modelness in farther away shots (which I hope they'll fix in the Blu-Ray). There are many instances of very solid animation, which you can just look up on Sakugabooru if you want an example. I'm very impressed by Hamana's ability to manage this level of quality and a very strong self-identity of the show's visuals.

His direction in this episode, while some people might not like it due to its reminiscent of older styles, is noteworthy. Many of his shots rely on simple zoom-ins and zoom-outs, which I would say was a more common technique around 2008 or so. His way of transitioning is also a lot less focused on smooth transitions than most styles nowadays. For example, in Ghost Hunt, Gungrave, or Library of Bantorra, the flow of the storyboard is much less smooth and flowing than modern ones. Hamana's boards feel much more jumpy, I suppose? There's a larger gap that isn't covered by anything, which seems to have given many reviewers the impression of a slideshow. Personally, I don't mind it too much, as I think he still has some pretty interesting ideas. The transitions to Guideau getting stabbed and then grabbing Ione, I thought were really well done and mesmerizing. All the choices for the fluttering flowers were probably directly from him.

And hey, normally I don't like his openings, but the opening for The Witch and the Beast is badass, and I might write an individual write-up for it this week. However, I would also love to see other storyboarders and episode directors on some episodes to compare, especially for future episodes like for Johan and Phanora. I would love to see somebody like Shinj Itadaki give it a try, who I really hope to see in this series at some point. I think it's very possible due to the fact he's worked with Hamana before, and he's worked with Yokohama Animation Lab before. Much like a lot of the key animators here, he was also on Ancient Magus Bride S2, which, if you guys didn't know for some reason, contains an oddly large amount of staff that Hamana worked with before across the years, and they're also appearing in The Witch and the Beast now.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed the debut, despite its issues. I could ramble about it all day; there are so many things I want to talk about. However, I think it would be best to save that for when we get to future episodes. In this write-up, I've already spent a lot of time discussing more of what I like about the general direction and visual appeal of the series. Hopefully, in future episodes, I will be able to go more in-depth on specific storyboards, direction, and visuals that the upcoming episodes will showcase. I'll see you guys next week for the next episode of The Witch and the Beast.

[shinkonamikan]

内田有紀