#war is the worst (and I refer to the manga but also real life)

[darkcircles4lyfe]

Hii I’ve stumbled across a few of your posts and haven’t even gleaned the tip of the iceberg that is your blog, but I would love to hear a more fleshed version of your Bakugo with AFO post (if you have more that you wanted to share), because that is such a cool concept???

Like, it’s such a nice way to address the symbiotic nature of the two quirks + Bakugo’s relationship with Midoriya at the same time, and there’s also so much to explore in terms of the repercussions of that (not just the symbolism of it, but also the parts you’ve mentioned like what that would mean for people who’ve had their quirks stolen, how they will deal with all the stockpiled quirks, or even on a wider scale of how the media would react if AFO/OFA is leaked/ revealed to the public).

Just imagine the amount of continued exploration in terms of the nature of quirks v nurture of society, because AFO/OFA has so far been (imo) one of the few evidence that quirks carry personality, which is so awesome because it’s like saying a quirk literally holds a part of you through the vestiges while demolishing this idea through basically the entire plot of the manga loll. (To phrase it slightly better, the manga is sort of reaching the conclusion that a quirk is a part of you and you only, without being all of you, and that it’s exactly what the name says it is: a quirk.)

The thing I don’t really like about this conclusion is the blatant disregard for the quirkless community, which was the initial point of discussion and social commentary in bnha. This is why I think Bakugo being given AFO would be great fuel for the debate of should we be allowed to mess with the quirks we are given.

As in, who gets to decide? Who gets to play god? How will it be regulated? Should it even be regulated? How do you do all that without dehumanising Bakugo the same way society dehumanised pro heroes? (Bonus points for linking this to real life because I’m all for social commentary/ reflections in fictional media)

And then on a personal level, what will it take for Bakugo to be able to control AFO’s personality (hello, eye symbolism + name symbolism) within the quirk? How will All Might handle this info? How does this all relate to the conflict of children in war? The development of the league of villains’ character plots (esp Tomura’s)?

I have a lot of questions with very few answers loll, I would love to hear your thoughts on this!!

this post, for reference

Gosh, I am so sorry for taking forever to answer this. But you ask so many good questions! And I think this is actually a pretty good time, after 419.

I guess where I stand with the idea now is still somewhat ambiguous. All for One as a power is too big and interesting to go away--or at least, if it did go away, it would speak volumes. It feels like an almost elemental, fundamental, and even spiritual power, something beyond the man himself. So I'm still wondering about its future.

While a lot of other characters' narratives, including Katsuki's, are about this "nature of quirks vs. nurture," with the original Japanese name for quirks literally meaning "individuality" ("個性" or "kosei"), All for One (the power) oddly represents a lack of individuality. Like a shapeshifter with no form of its own. With that in mind, might we actually compare it to quirklessness? This is worth considering if we're trying to guess who might be a fitting person to inherit it.

I'm at least certain that Tenko shouldn't keep it, since he was literally groomed for it, to be a vessel. For him it represents a lack of individuality in the absolute worst way: a lack of agency, and an identity determined by/in the image of someone else since before even the moment of conception. Actually, as of 419, it seems like if there is any echo of him left after being possessed again, Tenko needs to get rid of the quirk. If he is able to regain control for even a second, the most logical action he can take to save himself and do something of his own free will for once, is to pass the quirk on to someone else.

What I'm a little less certain about is who should get it. On the one hand, Katsuki has a very strong sense of self, especially now. As I said before, this would make him an interesting candidate because he wouldn't want AFO, and thus wouldn't use it for his own gain, on principle. However...

In between now and when I wrote that little post, the future of One for All has also become ambiguous. Does Tenko have it even though All for One does not? (because of Izuku's intent in passing it on?) I've wondered for a long time what would happen if OFA and AFO combined. Would they become more than the sum of their parts, creating something new? Maybe something that can connect with other people and build them up? Perhaps it would develop some aspect of agency that takes away its capacity to exploit people. I'm just speculating...

And I haven't wanted to talk about it, but I'm ambivalent about Izuku becoming quirkiness again. As in, I think Horikoshi could pull it off either way. So this is just an idea:

Izuku could also be a candidate for AFO because he lacks a sense of self, in his own way, as I've gone into before. At best, this means a lack of an ego, the opposite of AFO's personality. In AFO's words, Izuku is the boy born with nothing, who now has less than nothing. There's also a nice symmetry to this idea: Izuku giving OFA to Tenko, then Tenko giving AFO to Izuku. It would be interesting to see what the power would be like in the hands of its antithesis.

But like I said, if you ignore AFO's own selfish interpretation of the power as a tool for domination and a sign of his natural superiority, its essence is a lot more comparable to quirklessness. Just as one's quirk does not encompass one's entire self even though it is unique to them, so too does the quirk have potential beyond its user's point of view. It is potentially ideal for someone who wouldn't make it a part of who they are or use it to enforce their desires, and this applies to both Izuku and Katsuki.

The final thing to mention from your question is the possibility that whoever received AFO would have to deal with overcoming his possession. Maybe this is too much for one person to handle. Maybe Katsuki plays into this either way.

[magicalyaku]

Hello and welcome to another reading year! Following the devastation Dark Heir cause in my heart at the end of 2023, I didn't really feel like reading much for about two weeks. I did catch up on a few manga series, most notably 8 volumes of Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi. While it's still very good, I think binge reading helped quite a bit to keep me invested. :'D After that, I read one book that will definitely go into my worst books of 2024. Refer to the later half of the post if you want to know more. Let's focus on the good ones first!

Cursebreakers (Madeleine Nakamura): This one was really good! I was positively surprised. The world is magical, not medieval but futuristic! The story around the conspiracy is interesting and intense and the main characters are difficult people that might be hard to like in real life but they complement each other so well and it's so nice to see their relationship grow (no love story here!). I also really liked the way it is told. The protagonist has bipolar disorder which is a huge factor in the story but he recounts the story from a later perspective, so rather than being right in the moment with every dramatic and sometimes questionable decision we get a little bit of distance and insight into his actions and thoughts which works really well.

Twelve Bones (Sixteen Souls 2) (Rosie Talbot): The first volume was a already a little dark but all the bad stuff involved a limited circle of people (most of them ghosts), this one takes a full dive into the swooping dark threatening the entire city, living and dead! The stakes, my dear. Ugh! Based on that I wouldn't call it fun ... would I? I liked reading it, though! The cast of characters is really endearing. The story is good. The struggle felt warranted. The ending is kinda mangaesque but I like manga, so I don't mind. xD I wonder if there'll be a third volume. If not, I'll look forward to the author's next work. :)

The Necromancer's Light (Radiance 1) (Tavia Lark): I picked up the set of the trilogy which has a much better cover than the indivual books. :'D This one is very simple and straightforward, it's cute. The characters are likable. The hurt/comfort in here is indeed comforting. I think I like the first part with the pining best. This story's animal is a horse! (I read half of the auther's Perilous Courts series and there's friendly animals in every volume there as well. Nice touch.)

And now for the first book of 2024 I did not like. Heir to Thorn and Flame (Court of Broken Bonds 1) (Ben Alderson): I read the author's self-published Darkmourn series last summer and quite liked it despite its issues with the writing. Now this one has a tradtional publisher so I wanted to know if that made any difference. On a whole, the writing feels a little bit smoother than Darkmourn. But it's still long, repetetive, and tries to hard to sound fancy by exaggerating a lot. The premise of the story isn't even that bad. Boy finds out he has magic, accidentely kills the prince, has to take his place and political stuff occurs with two countries on the cusp of war over him and his magic. The first thing that annoyed me: The story feels unnecessarily cruel. It literally starts out with attempted rape which is already the second time protagonist Maxiumus is assaulted in his life. People are killed right in front of him, he is forced to shoot someone he cares for. People violently dig through his memories and still don't believe his story afterwards. And the villains are just caricatures. They have the balding hair, yellowed teeth, bony fingers, stinky breath, and leering eyes. They're ugly and evil! It was so over the top that I couldn't care at all. The other characters have nothing going on for them either. I don't like Maximus at all. He's whiny and indecisive and only worries about his parents. He does have that superstrong magic he uses to rip people apart when he's angry, wow. He also has two love interests and I don't see the chemistry with either of them (I suppose it tries to be Slow Burn but not very good). But they're so good-looking, the strong arms and nice smell, so tall! (eyeroll) The second one of these guys is named Simion. He's the only one remotely nice to him in the beginning, so Maximus likes him. Then he hates him. Then he likes him, then Simion reveals stuff and Maximus hates him again (even though he's just the messenger). But then he's suddenly attracted to him again to the point they even kiss … but oh no, Maximus can't kiss anyone, because he is married to the other guy by magic (against his will)!! And everyone treats it as this big thing "oh old magic you are bound to each other now for life" etc, but nobody explains what the handfastening (as they call it) even does for 80% of the book! Until Maximus kisses Simion and the magic causes him pain because he's cheating!!

Here my mind went on a tangent. The magic seems to have a conscious in this story, alright, but I want to know it's moral values then. Does it only detect kisses and sex? Physical acts? Can it differentiate between consensual und non-consensual? Who is doing the touching? Does is only clock sexual attraction or romantic attraction as well? What if he has a crush and never acts on it? Would it still cause him permament pain? What's with platonical kisses? Now you ask, do we have to explain all of this in a book like this? No, we don't (there's also two sequels), but I sure hope the author thought about it when he introduced a complex thing like this. Oh, also Simion forces his way into Maximus's mind via telepathy several times. Such a nice way to get to know each other. And speaking of the morality of the magic, it counts how many people are killed with it. On the wand. As tally marks. How does it know? Why does it only count humans, not animals? Why does it care?

Two more things I found annoying (there's more, but this is long enough already): First, the parents. Everything happening in the story hinges on their whereabouts, it's back and forth and very tiring. The Red King has them so Maximus has to stay with him, then the Blue Prince has them, then they get kidnapped so Maximus follows, then it turns out they've never been kidnapped and the Blue Prince kept them all along! In between he freaks out over his father not being his father and when they're reunited, but before they can talk, the father dies. Yay. Tragic. Not. The same thing happened before already. The one lady Maximus was forced to kill? She survived! She was saved and he goes to meet her, they talk for 30 seconds and then she's eaten by a dragon. :D I was pissed for wasting my time.

Which is a sentiment I kind of share about the whole book, but also not. It made me angry but sometimes it's good to have an outlet for the rage. :'D

[blueink2k]

Propaganda in Death Note and How It Played Into Light’s God Complex

[This is based on information from the anime, as I have yet to read the manga for myself. Caps from or references to the manga may be included to emphasize points or provide visuals, but the version of the plot I'm referring to is taken from the anime.]

Light Yagami does not pick up the Death Note knowing he’s going to use it to commit mass murder and become the God of his New World.

Actually, he does the opposite. He kills someone to test it as he’s under the impression it isn’t real, convinces himself it was a freak coincidence, and decides to try it out in a way that will provide a more concrete conclusion. When it does end up working he’s stunned, to say the least.

“I killed them both...I killed two men. Those were human lives. I-It won’t be overlooked. Besides, who am I to pass judgment on others?”

Light Yagami, the perfect, straight-A, model student, has just confirmed he killed two people using some strange supernatural notebook that just happened to fall into his hands. He’s always believed strongly in his morals. He’s been on course his whole life to join the police force like his father an deliver justice, and here he is, an indirect murderer. 

So what does he do about it?

...He comes up with a reason to justify himself. 

The people he killed were criminals. Mere scum who do nothing but rot and infect the world. Wouldn’t everyone be better off without them? It isn’t that he’s never considered this before, he has, albeit not to the same degree as taking their deaths into his own hands. But now that he has the power to do so, why shouldn’t he? He’s smart, he’s determined. He’s capable of it.

In fact, in his mind, he’s the only one who is.

He’s kind of right. He’s the top of his class, he comes out on top in national tests, he barely even has to try. Plus, he’s the only one that has a Death Note, and therefore the power to do this. 

At this point in time, he doesn’t consider himself a god. He doesn’t want to rule the world, he just wants to change it. Something else important to note is that he doesn’t refer to himself as Kira or anything other than Light. 

...That is, until...

Websites start popping up all over claiming that whoever this mass murderer is is named “Kira”, a god among men risen to punish criminals and save the world.

Two things to note here;

Apparently, “Kira” is returning, meaning there must have been some kind of previous belief in an entity that either did something similar to Light or had the same beliefs. There isn’t any other canon mention of a previous Kira, and this in and of itself is pretty vague, but given that there’s tons of religions in real life that have never had a big breakthrough, it’s reasonable to believe this could be something similar. That, or a creepypasta. Or a cult.

Light created this understanding that he had to be the one to change the world to cope with his murders. Actually - that might be the worst way to put it, since we know how strongly he feels about justice and being given an outlet to carry out this wish of world peace just enhanced this, but nonetheless... It’s impossible to assume he’s doing all of this without even a speck of guilt. Therefore, this is the first hint of appreciation or even just acknowledgement that what he’s doing is right. 

Disregarding the first point (as interesting as I find it), this is really the first time Light is ever told what he’s doing is good. His own father - who he idolizes -considers Kira evil. His sister flat out says she hates him. Of course, this is all after Kira actually does become popular, but still, all he receives from that point on is disapproval from the people he cares the most about. The online love for Kira is all he has.

So, yeah, he probably internalizes it.

He thinks he’s doing the right thing. He thinks he’s giving others justice. He thinks he’s the only one who can do this. Others agreeing is only enhancing this. They’re the ones who call him God.

As the story progresses, Kira’s power and popularity grows. He gains direct news coverage, people begin sending him names of people to kill, his following grows. So much so, that when someone gets a Death Note and figures out that must be what he’s using, their immediate response is to find a way to contact him.

Cue Misa Amane and Sakura TV.

Sakura TV is a news program known for its unreliability. Demegawa, the director, even says he’s willing to make things up for publicity. And that’s when the Second Kira tapes arrive. 

This, however, is only the first encounter with Sakura TV.

After this, the only direct involvement the police has with it is in the Yotsuba arc, when it’s used to lure out Higuchi. Otherwise the program promotes Kira all on its own, even going so far as to create Kira’s Kingdom - half a scam for viewers’ money, half a way to get more people to see Kira as God. And it works. He gains a following of people who believe he will create a new, better world, and will even give themselves up to help him. 

An example of this following is when a mob of followers attacks the SPK under Kira’s orders. They’re so quick to join in, and are even willing to put their names and faces on TV in trust that Kira will not kill them.

All of this publicity sparks fear in the general public. People begin fearing that if they do something wrong Kira will kill them, causing crime rates to drop nearly 70% over Kira’s 6 year reign, as well as completely stopping wars.

Demegawa is eventually killed. Other news programs begin scrambling to claim the voice of Kira, topped by NHN, where we are reintroduced to Kiyomi Takada as Kira’s spokeswoman as well as one of his greatest supporters.

Light, as much as he hates Sakura TV and NHN’s depictions of Kira, uses them to his advantage as much as he can.

But really, imagine what this is all doing to him.

At the beginning, he struggled with grasping what he was doing as right. His sense of justice, righteousness, and perfectness shattered by a single notebook. But this is perfect, he figures that if he really wants to fix the world, this is one surefire way to do it. And yeah, his family hates Kira, but online he’s worshiped as God. We already know he has a pretty decent ego, and all of this is doing nothing but fueling it.

To top it all off, as he continues with his killings, his following grows. More and more people begin to support him, every single day there’s news stations upon news stations covering his story, some negative, some positive. People from all over express admiration towards him, even the President of the United States sides with him. He is literally worshiped as Kira, as God.

This all makes it sounds like his god complex starts later in the series, so to clarify; no, he does not pick up the book with plans to become God, but the second people start fueling his ego, the more twisted his ideals and motivations become. He’s the only one who can fix this rotten world. He holds the power of a god in his hands, he does what only a god can do, and everyone treats him accordingly. He is Kira, he is God.

Between websites, news programs, and his cult-like following, Light had enough attention to feed into his ego for a lifetime. He was perfect pre-Death Note. Smart, charming, set for success. There never was a time where he was particularly not narcissistic, it was just that he only felt this way inside of himself. The way he presented to others? A perfect, cool guy persona with an - in all honesty - annoying prickly jerk hiding inside. But no one ever knew this, he never let them know, and because he was always naturally successful it was more of an expectation he just met rather than surpassed, so he wasn’t consistently praised and this incredible self-esteem wasn’t propped up by anyone but himself.

To cycle back to the title of this rant-essay-analysis-whatever you’d like to call it, I want to share some examples about exactly why I even classify this news coverage and whatnot of Kira as propaganda.

Kira’s supporters cause a riot at SPK HQ under Kira’s orders and Demegawa’s direction.

Mikami providing his insight as to why he supports Kira on television, openly promoting Kira and encouraging others to join him.

Takada announces her new role as Kira’s spokesperson on NHN.

Mikami uses his power as Kira to kill members of Kira’s Kingdom, supposed followers of Kira who have been using his publicity to gain money and attention.

Most of this doesn’t exactly look like your standard propaganda posters or news story, but it does fit the overall criteria;

Information from a biased viewpoint used to promote/publicize a certain view (accepting Kira as God)

Shows exclusively positive views on Kira

Assigns Kira positive adjectives and makes him appear as good (God, savior, messenger from Hell), never considering or showing the bad

Presenting only positive statistics (Light does this in his monologue where he brings up the 70% crime rate drop, and given there’s no way he could have calculated this on his own he likely got it from one of these media sources. Not that it’s incorrect, per se, but he does fail to mention how many innocent people he’s killed in order to do this.)

Appeals to regular, everyday people by talking about how he’s doing this for the betterment of the whole world. People who are directly affected by crime are also likely positively impacted by this.

Initiates and spreads fear by explaining how Kira only attacks those who do wrong.

In the end, Light’s personal descent into his god complex, as well as his effects on the world can be attributed to many things, but it would be a crime to ignore just how big of a role news and other types of media played in this without his direct input. To think, if Light had won and overtaken the police like he was going to, he’d have absolutely no problem stepping into his shoes as God. Everyone else already set the stage, he just had to get there first.

-

This is my first Death Note analysis, so please excuse any errors, I just watched the anime for the first time and am doing my best to piece together all of the plot and especially Light’s deep characterization the best I can. If I ever read the manga or find something new, chances are this will be updated. But as for now, it’s finally finished after a week or so of procrastinating. Thank you for reading if you got this far! <3

[keigosbirdie]

Hello I wanted to ask you about how would you feel Hawks would be in a relationship and how he acts in general in your opinion. I heard things about people making a fan non Hawks more than the canon. So I wanted your opinion since I made a Oc to ship with him and also want to see your take on how he would act in a relationship itself and what to expect. I really want to do my best to stick to the original thing so if I could have some pointers that really would help. Also keep up your work!

Hello! and thank you for your message! Firstly, if you really really want to stick to canon Hawks, forget everything you know about him right now and take time to read the manga, if you haven’t already. If you’re mostly familiar with him just from things other fans have created, you’re missing a lot of context. There’s nothing like getting to experience him as his creator intended him to be experienced!

Everything I believe about how Hawks would handle romantic relationships are assumptions I’ve made from what I know about him, based on canon material. At the end of the day, there is no “canon” way he would deal with such a relationship, as his role in the manga is to help further the plot of a war arc and we never get those kind of glimpses into his life. You certainly can make him feel more authentically himself by familiarizing yourself with him in the manga, however!

Generally speaking, my fanfic Nighthawk is my best assumption of how he would handle a romantic relationship. Considering his complicated lack of close bonds in his history, and the dangerous life he lives, he would likely keep a lover a well guarded secret, in my opinion. If anyone managed to get that close to him, it would likely be especially special to him, considering he has no canon family ties as of now. His worst nightmare would be the media, or even worse- a villain- were to catch wind and uproot your life. An SO that close would be family to him, which is worth protecting. 

He would probably have difficulty opening up, so his SO would have to be low maintenance and patient with him, as he has more baggage than he’s willing to admit. He seems to feel like he always must be the hero- the strong one that others can rely on, and I think he neglects himself sometimes as a result. Emotionally, at least. 

Also, imo, don’t use his real name “Keigo Takami” lightly when making material about him that you want to feel canon. It’s a name he forfeited in his childhood, and considering it’s ties to his serial killer father, he likely wouldn’t want the person he loves the most to refer to him using it. He would likely prefer simply “Hawks”, as it’s a name he’s forged for himself. I could see him hiding his real name even from his SO. Not because he doesn’t trust them with it, but because he would likely be afraid their image of him would be tainted if they found out who he came from- even if that isn’t true!

Idk I could go on forever ! haha! Generally speaking, do lots of research using canon as a source. Look through meta that heavily source the manga, so you know the author is well versed. you can read some of my favorite meta about him in my reference tag!

This isn’t really an extensive essay about his character, but I hope these little bits are good starting points for you! At the end of the day, Hawks is a comfort character for many people, and as long as you enjoy him and what you create about him, you’re doing it right.

[ryuichirou]

I saw one very stupid post on my dash about how snk is OBVIOUSLY nazi propaganda and trying to convert all of us into imperialists and white supremacists. tbh it’s not the first time I’ve seen that kind of stuff and probably won't be the last, but for some reason this time it gave me a lot of anxiety (I got wordy, I'mma need to send another ask, sorry)

(part 2) It's been more than half and hour and I still feel this awful sensation in my chest. It's just overall pretty fucked how to have something you hold dear being misinterpreted in the worst way possible, and I was just wondering what are your thoughts on this situation or how you deal with people claiming all sorts of awful shit.

(part 3) I imagine that as an artist some people probably direct their issues with snk towards you, 'cause I don't even post that much fanart and I've gotten anons "trying to educate me" on why this series is so wrong, after posting drawings. Of course, you don't have to reply, maybe the topic makes you anxious too and I don't want to bother you, so sorry for the depressing topic (｡•́︿•̀｡)

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Tiiish, I want to hug you, I’m really sorry that this happened to you. I hope you’re feeling a little bit better now.

Like we already mentioned a while ago, when we were talking about that darn article, after we read through it and did a little fact checking (and I mean it when I say a little, because there weren’t many facts to check), we stopped caring about it. It’s not research at all, just a manipulatively written speculation on Yam’s motives and worldview, but sadly, people easily believe these accusations because they hate SnK and want to find a valid reason to hate it and shit on its fanbase. Because “I hate it because it’s nazi propaganda” sounds much cooler than “I hate it because it’s popular”, doesn’t it?

It’s easier to ignore the article itself though, and it’s much harder not to think about tumblr posts or those Twitter threads that get very popular (although there are a lot of bots on twitter, trust me…), and it’s especially difficult to ignore it when it’s specifically directed at you. But the only thing that these people deserve is a good ol’ block and (if they’re getting too offensive and abusive) a report for harassment. The thing is, their opinion doesn’t matter: it won’t change SnK’s story, it won’t affect its success and popularity, it doesn’t affect anything other than our mood (temporarily lol). Because they aren’t critics who actually give a flying fuck about the subject matter, they’re just random assholes with a hateboner for SnK, who sit in their echochamber and discuss the same shit over and over again. And if they’re “fans” of the SnK, it’s just them “consuming it critically” 🙄 such a convenient phrase and so easy to abuse.

If we think about these accusations again… they’re so damn nonsensical, it’s almost amazing. I’m not going to reread it or to make a proper counterpoint article out of this ask, so this is just based on how we remember these accusations.

Like, what part of SnK approves and pushes the idea of imperialism in any way? When the entire idea of the story is that war is bad? When people like Onyankopon, whose homeland was invaded by Marley, exist? And it’s never portrayed as a good thing? Having only one country dominating the world’s situation is literally the main reason why everyone’s suffering??

And come to think of it, Isayama is one of the few manga artists to kind of sort of openly critique Japan: he literally drew Kiyomi losing her cool and drooling while thinking about all the profit and wealth she would get from the deal with Paradis. Why do people never talk about that? What is it, if not a critique of greedy and two-faced nature of people from Azumabito clan, who are heavily implied to represent Japan? I don’t read a lot of manga in general, but do you know how many mangakas I’ve seen who directly talked shit about Japan while being Japanese? Two. Excluding Isayama.

Isayama is clearly invested in the Western culture and he understands the World’s History. He understands that political relationships are complex and that there are no “bad” or “good” countries. I don’t want to make assumptions about how much perspective of the world’s relationships the average person from Japan has, but I still feel like Yams has a pretty good understanding of it. He did his research for the subject matter, and while it’s obviously not perfect, it’s clearly there.

These people also claim that SnK is anti-Korean and anti-Semitic, but if Hetalia had taught me anything, it is that if the story has or used to have any anti-Korean undertones, the Korean readers wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it. They would be the first people to ditch the manga, they would be the first people to critique SnK, and rightfully so. They burnt Uniqlo clothes, their overall domestic policy is pretty anti-Japanese, so there’re literally zero reasons for them not to destroy SnK if they see it as anti-Korean. But the size of the Korean SnK fandom suggests otherwise, doesn’t it.

And the “big noses = Jewish caricature” argument, seriously? How anti-Semitic can you get? Who the fuck looks at people and goes “oh, those have big noses, bet they’re caricature of Jews”?? Sorry I’m getting heated lol The argument about “Asian artists portray Westerners with prominent noses because that’s what we look like to them” has been done a lot of times, I’m not going to go over than again.

And god forbid Isayama to use Germany and Europe to draw a story where his characters are (approximately) Germans and Europeans! Let’s go fetch our pitchforks to punish Isayama for using their aesthetic to make his story look more believable and authentic, right? “Oh, those areas where they hold Eldians resemble places from real life”, like no shit???? Ofc they would??? That’s what references for making the story more grounded are used for??? If I were to write a story about a fictional place based on a real one that I don’t live in, I’d use some visual references to help me to make it more believable??? Why do I even need to explain that?

In my previous post I talked about the armbands and ghetto and stuff, but I’ll reiterate: even if there are thematic similarities, it doesn’t mean that the story mirrors our history. And it doesn’t mean that there is an analogy, since Eldian’s situation is quiiiite different than what Jewish people had to go through. It’s just thematic similarities. And it still doesn’t plant any specific idea in the reader’s head, other than “having people shoved into ghettos with 0 civil rights is a horrible thing”, and I can’t comprehend what’s anti-Semitic or imperialistic about it. Also I’m sorry, but nazis are not the only people who genocided a bunch of people, breaking news. Nor did they invent armbands. Same goes for Japan in WWII.

And now for my favourite argument: Erwin is nazi because his name is Erwin and he was born on the same day than some nazi guy died… I won’t even talk about why this idea is hilariously stupid, I just want to appreciate the level of nitpicking that’s going on here.

So… yeah. People who have nothing else to do but to complain about the show they hate don’t matter. And people who consider themselves a part of the SnK fandom and still say this bs (yep, there are people who do that) are huge hypocrites. The heck are they doing in this fandom then?? Of course, any story is up to interpretation, but this is so backwards?

Sorry for rambling so much… anyways. We’re happy enough not to encounter any hate related to this topic, but we think it’s because we ship Ereri and people already hate us for that, so the majority of shit we get is related to that, I guess we’re a lost cause for them. We’ll see if anything happens after this post though.

But once again, I’m very sorry that you had to go through this. Please remember that this isn’t personal at all, and people who harass strangers on the internet just want to flex their high moral ground while acting like complete assholes. You don’t have to explain anything to them, you don’t have to talk to them, you don’t have to listen to them or give them any attention. I hope you’ll never stumble upon anything like this; but if you ever do, please block them, don’t even bother reading their attempts at “educate” you. Isn’t worth it.

Please have a good day, Tish. And everyone who’s reading this reply.

[starsgivemehp]

The Argument Against and Defense of Hetalia

Let me preface this by saying that I have not watched the show or read the manga in a few years now, and thus I am working mostly off of memory and what fan content I see these days, which is not a lot. Also, I am a gentile, and I don’t claim to know a lot about the Jewish community or traditions. I am, however, a writer and I have plenty of practice analyzing and criticizing works of fiction from multiple angles. With that in mind, this essay is an attempt to explain everything that is wrong and not wrong with the show, the comic strips, and the fandom.

I’m putting this under a read more for sheer length, this was 11 pages on Google docs.

Let us start with the list of grievances assembled largely from one post, the majority of which I had to go digging for as the original person in this post who mentioned Hetalia said, and I quote, “i dont feel the need to link a source for [hetalia] because…” and then listed two things, one of which is incorrect entirely. But I digress, I will address each one at a time. The list of grievances is as follows:

It is called ‘Axis Powers’ Hetalia

One of the main characters is a personification of Nazi Germany

The entire point of the series is:

Advocating for eugenics

Racial fetishization

Advocating for fascism

Nazi sympathizing/propaganda

The entire franchise is terrible due to rape jokes, racism, and Holocaust jokes

Hetalia fans are all terrible due to rape jokes and other issues

Death of the author cannot apply to this fandom

There may be more that are in other reblogs of the post in question, and I may add addendums further in this essay, but for the time being, I will address each of these grievances and explain the validity or non-validity of each, from a position understanding of both fans and of non-fans. Thus, in order:

‘Axis Powers’ Hetalia

When people talk about Hetalia, they usually are referring to the anime due to its widespread popularity. However, Hetalia began as a series of strip comics posted on a forum by Hidekaz Himaruya (and I spent a while trying to actually find the original comics, but I can’t, there are links to his blogs there in what I’ve provided). It later was formatted into a manga, and then later became an anime. While it was originally titled Axis Powers: Hetalia and the first two seasons of the show are named as such, it usually is only referred to as Hetalia. The anime seasons after said first two seasons have all been ‘world’ focused: Seasons three and four were titled World Series, season five was titled Beautiful World, season six was titled World Twinkle, and the upcoming season seven is titled World Stars.

For the purposes of tagging everything, I tend to see the tags ‘hetalia’ and ‘hws,’ which is short for Hetalia: World Series. This name of the third and fourth anime seasons is the most widely accepted and used name for the series as a whole. While it is true that, years ago, people referred to it as ‘aph’ for Axis Powers Hetalia, the fans and the series have put that behind them, for good reason. It is understandable, even righteous, to not accept the title ‘Axis Powers.’ It does draw focus to the WW2 era, and place the fascists and nazis as the ‘main characters,’ or even, ‘the good guys,’ which is not the case. Obviously, the Nazis were terrible and the entirety of the Axis Powers did horrible, unspeakable things during the war.

It must be noted, to anybody who has not seen the show or read the manga, that the first one to two seasons do have a ‘focus’ on the WW2 era, per se, but it largely talks about interactions between countries, as they are the personified party, and makes extremely few allusions to the war itself, and none to the Holocaust. I will address that in a later section. For now, the point to make is that after these original two seasons, Hetalia branches out into a much wider worldview, adds several more characters, and focuses more on said characters in individual arcs and offerings of historical facts - as generalized as they may be. Nobody claimed that Hetalia was correct in everything it said, but it aims to play out some historical information in a simplified and humorous way. This is due to the fact that the characters are all singular people meant to personify entire countries, which leads us to point two.

The Personification of Nazi Germany

This is the second complaint of the strand of the post in question that I was presented with, quoted as “one of the main characters is a personification of nazi germany.” This is an entirely incorrect statement. ‘Nazi Germany,’ as people call it, is the state of Germany during the era leading up to and of World War 2. The country is still Germany, the people were still German, the Nazi part comes from the political regime in power, a real world nightmare. In the Hetalia series, the characters are called by their country names, because that is who they personify. This may change at times. For example, the character now known as Turkey was previously called Ottoman Empire. They come to be when civilization starts or a colony is introduced to a place. This can be seen in the strip or episode where China ‘finds’ Japan as a small boy and begins to teach him reading and writing - and Japan thereafter invents hiragana. It can also be seen in the comic where a young child, Iceland, questions who he is and why he knows his people are “different beings” than him. The country that speaks to him (I only have the comic here in my likes in that list, the name isn’t mentioned and it’s been a while, but it might be another of the Scandinavian countries) explains that he is Mr. Iceland, they don’t know why he is Mr. Iceland, but they know he is.

What I am attempting to explain with all of these other examples is that there is no ‘Nazi Germany’ character. There is a character called Germany (or Mr. Germany), and all of his adult life, he has been called Germany. He is never addressed by anything else. He does, however, look remarkably similar to a childhood friend of Italy’s, Holy Roman Empire (or just Holy Rome), but as far as it has been explained in canon, Holy Rome went off somewhere and, later on Germany and Italy met as strangers. The general consensus is, due to the area where the Holy Roman Empire used to be is around-ish Germany, the characters are the same. But never, in any of the comics, anime, or movie, is Germany referred to as Nazi Germany. I don’t believe the word ‘Nazi’ appears at any point in time, even, though I cannot claim I have seen every shred of content, so I may be wrong. But I doubt that very much, as it is not in the nature of the series to do such a thing. Moving on.

Advocating for Eugenics

I will start and end this section by saying that Hetalia was, in the original post, roped in with Attack on Titan, of which (as far as I know) the author advocates for eugenics - or the idea that certain people should not be allowed to produce offspring due to their race or other factors. There is no example of Hetalia content wherein this disgusting opinion is ever mentioned or supported in any way. This is at worst a flat-out lie, and at best lumping Hetalia in with a much worse show that does do this (but I won’t get into that, I have never seen more than a few episodes of Attack on Titan and I don’t care to see any more of it. Throw your opinions or defenses elsewhere, I care 0% about it entirely). I have no more need to prepare a more detailed response to this accusation. It simply is not true.

Racial Fetishization

This particular accusation is a difficult one. Fetishization may be a strong word, as the series is largely a comedy. Everyone gets their turn in the spotlight, so to speak, so I find it hard to plainly state that any one character is fetishized or displayed as the most powerful. There is, of course, Rome, who only appears in small segments as Italy’s grandfather and is, in the series, touted as an amazing empire who had it all. I do not believe this is what the accusation is referring to. This accusation seems to be some sort of insistence that the show and creator believe that white people (or possibly just Germans/Nazis/the Aryan race?) are touted as the most powerful and nobody else can compare. I can confidently say that while that is never said anywhere, there are a few issues. Hetalia, particularly the animated series, had (and may still have) a longstanding issue of whitewashing countries that should not be white. This includes Egypt and Seychelles (who both later got a darker skin tone, probably still not dark enough though) as the worst offenders, and even Spain, Turkey, Greece, and Romano (southern Italy), and so on. Yes, this is a big problem. There is no defense against that. It should not be the case. These characters obviously should have darker skin. I will note, however, that many fans are already completely aware of this, have been complaining about it since the beginning, and tend to draw these characters with more correct skin tones in their fanart. This is a case where yes, the original content is not good, but the fans make their own fixes. If you are angry at Hetalia for whitewashing, good. You should be. But I do not believe this should reflect on the entirety of the content and the fandom (And note that I am not linking any particular fanart here, because I want nobody to go attack any fans).

It is also important to note that yes, a large majority of the series builds upon stereotypes. No, stereotypes are not good. No, you should not assume that the personifications of the countries encompass all citizens of said countries. The entire premise of the show is one person = the embodiment of a country, and that person changes and adapts with the times in terms of uniform and personality. It is extremely hard to do this without stereotyping. Most serious fans are aware of this, and do not in any way believe that these characters represent everyone from these countries. It may be true that much younger fans used to, and it may be true that people do not want to watch the show because stereotypes are, arguably, bad. But do remember that this is a comedy, and every character is picked on. Every one. And it is understandable if this branch of humor is not for you. I, personally, don’t like Family Guy or South Park or any shows like that for their humor. I also don’t attack the people who do. I ignore it.

Advocating for Fascism

This is another area wherein I believe the accuser is simply lumping Hetalia in with the original poster’s subject, Attack on Titan. Again, I will not defend or attack that show, as I do not care about it at all. However, regarding Hetalia, I can confidently say that it does not advocate for fascism. While the first two seasons are (sort of) set in WW2 era, as previously mentioned, the fighting is not really a big part, and nobody is touted as correct - only struggling in the conflict. For example, there is a scene where Germany, post WW1, is shown making cuckoo clocks by hand and lamenting the fact that he has to make so many thousands in order to pay back France. This is by no means painting fascism as a good thing, or explaining anything about how poverty and other struggles lead to the formation and rise of the Nazi party. It is simply a scene where we see a man frustratedly making cuckoo clocks and complaining while France’s big head jeers at him in his imagination. The surrounding scenes and the end of this one are making note of how Italy keeps coming over to his house to try and be friends and Germany keeps kicking him out because Italy is annoying and whiny. The episode further goes on to mention that Germany is attacking France again, and Italy has suddenly become his ally, and he is not happy about it for the aforementioned reasons. Again, this does not in any way paint Germany as being ‘right.’ The purpose of the segment(s) is/are to show him disliking the annoying Italy (whom the show is named for) and trying to get him out of his house before eventually giving up and accepting that they can be friends. Is it all 100% historically accurate? No, not by a long shot. Does it paint him as sympathetic? Sort of, you feel bad for the guy making a thousand cuckoo clocks, but only in the sense that he is one person doing a lot of work, a completely fictional situation. But Italy - and the audience - obviously know that attacking France again is not a good thing, so does it advocate the Nazis or fascism? Also no.

Nazi Sympathizing/Propaganda

I pretty well covered this in the previous section, but I will expand. I have alluded to the first two seasons as “focusing” on WW2, in a way, and also mentioned that this is a generalization of sorts, so here I will attempt to clarify. The first few episodes do, indeed, touch on ‘the way they all met’ in a sense; Germany is starting a war and he reluctantly becomes allies with Italy, and less reluctantly becomes allies with Japan, who examines both of them and decides he is content with this situation. However, none of it is very serious, and these ‘formalities’ give way easily to more humorous personable interactions, such as Italy hugging Japan without warning and the touch-anxious Japan pushing him off and getting flustered, Italy petting a cat and then freaking out when he is licked because a cat’s tongue is rough, the two of them ‘training’ by doing your regular old exercising and jogging and Italy being late, etc etc. Stupid, personable jokes.

On the flip side, the show covers the Allied Powers quite a bit too. A lot of this is the five big ones - America, Britain (/England/UK), France, Russia, and China - all meeting around one table and squabbling about various things. I fondly recall one scene where China arrives late and has a bunch of workers suddenly building a Chinatown in the meeting room because he was hungry and wanted his own food, and the others protesting. They are then offered food and become okay with it, because food. Other such nonsense plays out in other, similar meetings. There is also a segment where the Axis powers are all stranded on an island for… some unknown reason… and they set about attempting to survive via campfire and fishing and such. Twice (three times?) the Allied powers ‘attack’ them on this island via China whacking them each with a wok and, as the three of them are in a sad heap, something interrupts the scene to make the Allies retreat. One time, it is Rome’s sudden and also unexplained entrance across the sky singing a song, and another time, it is England’s preoccupation with a cursed chair. Also, at one point, Austria is playing a piano. Does any of this magic logical, real life sense? No. It’s stupid and funny and has nothing to do with war. These are just personable characters thrown into weird situations so they can be funny, with some extremely mild historical context along the way.

I will note again that WW2 is pretty much completely dropped after these two seasons, with the war hardly addressed at all, and future seasons focus more on other characters. The Scandinavians get to all have fun together, the Baltic trio is mentioned, there is a lot about Switzerland taking care of Liechtenstein (wow I spelled it right after all these years, go me) and being stiff and formal with Austria. There is also plenty about people mistaking Canada for America, and England and France squabbling throughout the years, and Spain finding Romano cute but also very grumpy, etc etc… This series is largely Eurasia-focused, yes, and it can be criticized for not being as diverse as it should be. But boiling it down to ‘Nazi propaganda’ is outright, obliviously false.

I don’t know if this is the best place to put this particular note, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else to place it, so here it will go. I would like to mention that in the series, some characters, like Germany and Russia, express outright fear of their ‘bosses’ in certain points in history. It is important to realize that Germany, Japan, America, etc… these characters are not the actual, real-life humans in charge of these countries, but people of a fictional, separate species than humans who grow up as the nation grows and have lives that are affected by these world leaders (we even watch in the show America shooting up from child to young adult as the colonies expand, and England comments on how quickly he grew up - but not as quickly as his people, of course. We’ll get to Davie later). The president of the United States is America’s ‘boss,’ and naturally, that boss changes every time the president changes. The emperor of China is China’s ‘boss.’ It follows, thusly, that at one point, Hitler was Germany’s ‘boss.’ The terrible person himself was alluded to, as far as I know, exactly one time, not by name, and no face was shown. In a very brief scene, Germany laments that his new boss is scary and he was just ordered to go force Austria to come live with him. Said boss is shown as, I believe, an evilly laughing shadowy figure. That’s it. That’s the scene. There is no other mention of Hitler, nor is there any mention of the Holocaust anywhere. One could argue that the show is then trying to say that the Holocaust didn’t happen, but I think such an accusation is frankly absurd. It’s a comedy, it was always a comedy, and what in the fuck would be comedic about a mass genocide in any way? Nothing. None of it is funny. Of course it is not brought up in a comedy.

Rape Jokes, Racism, and Holocaust Jokes

While I did somewhat address racism already in the section about whitewashing and racial fetishization, I have another clarification to make, especially regarding the jokes. A lot of people complain that there are rape jokes throughout the series, and that there are two Holocaust jokes. I will begin by saying yes, this is all true, those things did happen during the course of the show. However, it is important to note that all of those things happened in the English dub of the animated show, and none of these terrible jokes exist in the Japanese/subbed version, or the original comic strips.

The English dub is, on all accounts, pretty terrible. Everyone has an over exaggerated accent, there are the aforementioned jokes, there are name changes (England referred to as Britain, among them, very confusing), and the voice actors themselves make mention in commentaries that their goal in this job was, to paraphrase because I haven’t listened in a while, ‘to be as offensive as possible to absolutely everyone’ (and one of the English dub voice actors is even a convicted sex offender, but that’s it’s own mess).  Not the most glamorous or noble of goals. One could say ‘at least if it’s everyone, it’s not really racism, is it? Just humor?’ There is a case for that. Many comedians will say that they poke fun at everyone to avoid singling anybody out as inherently superior. It cannot be said to be the best way to make humor, but it cannot be said to be the worst way, also. Overall, I don’t like the English dub, I don’t watch it, I prefer the subs. And yes, the subbed version has a few issues of its own, but I can say that at least, no, it does not make any Holocaust or rape jokes. Are those kinds of jokes excusable? Fuck no. They’re completely inappropriate. Should you judge the whole series and fandom based on the grossness of the English dubs? Also no, the people who did the English dubs have zero to do with the original creator, the animators, and the fans. Screw them.

The Fandom Being Terrible

I must again preface by saying I was never super active in the fandom at large. I had my own little niche of friends and I stuck to them and I didn’t often branch out. I did, however, go to cons back in those days, and saw plenty of cosplayers. The main complaint I see regarding the fandom is that most of the fans are completely rabid, make a bunch of rape jokes, and even dress up as ‘Nazi Germany’ (iron cross and red armband and all) and pretend to shoot up synagogues. Now, I have not seen cosplayers do the nazi solute or do such photoshoots, but I can believe that people have done it. I have seen plenty of rabid fans, and some of the OCs created for Hetalia, especially many interpretations of individual states (or Antarctica), were extremely cringey, racist, and overall just not good. And yes, these things are undeniably bad. They are very bad things! Those people should be ashamed. They should know better, regardless of their ages or anything, for fuck’s sake. The nazi salute is not a thing you do jokingly, pretending to shoot people is not a joke. Everyone is aware of this. The people who did, or maybe even still do, those things need a serious sit-down and to be woken the fuck up, because they are acting terrible.

However, it is extremely unfair to paint all Hetalia fans in the same light. That is a very stereotypical thing to do, no? As I mentioned earlier, I stuck to my little niche friend group of fans, and while we all had our own flaws and were younger and kinda dumber, we never did things like that. I never did things like that. Rape jokes were never funny, I never liked them, I never accepted them. I have people I still know who still like Hetalia and they never made those kinds of jokes either. I think, as the years have gone by, a lot of the more rabid fans have died out of the fandom. They’ve either grown the fuck up or they’ve went off to pollute some other fandom. Recognize that, especially in the beginning, the anime was low-budget and had a lot of that old and gross queerbaiting and stuff like that, so it was undeniably a magnet for crazy yaoi fans. But the majority of fanart, fanfics, and just overall fan stuff that I see these days are nothing like that. Overall, the fandom has seriously calmed down. A lot of the focus is much more on taking these characters and applying them to other historical events with more accuracy than the show might give. The history in these fanfics and fanarts may also be of questionable accuracy at times. I personally once wrote a fic where I made allusions to the death of Joan d’Arc and, later, the death of Elizabeth I, but did I add much historic fact? No, do I look like a history major spilling all this? The point of the fic was England - the character - maturing through starting to love one of his rulers and recognizing a terrible thing that he did before. It’s not the best piece of work out there, and maybe someone could point out a few things I did wrong with it, but for what it’s meant to be, it’s harmless. Takes on characters not actually in the series, like Ireland, Scotland, etc etc are generally pretty mature from what I see, fanart tends to just be the characters in various poses and styles. The overall love the fandom has, I think, is in the better character designs and in the very concept of the countries as people who laugh and cry and live through war and peace for thousands of years. And here is where I address the final grievance that I personally saw in the notes of the post which started this whole thought process and essay.

The Death of the Author

A lot of people might not fully understand what ‘The Death of the Author’ means. The death of the author is a belief rooted in the 20th century that the personal intentions, beliefs, and prejudices of the authors of certain works can have no bearing on their produced content, because once it is out in the public, every reader may then have their own interpretation and belief system. By publicizing the content, the author ‘dies’ and the reader is born.

There are some scenarios where this cannot apply. One example is JK Rowling, a very special case of a very problematic woman who happens to be so powerful, and so rich, that consuming any type of official (or even unofficial) Harry Potter anything can and will give her that much more power to spread her TERF bullshit. Let me be frank: Any time that consuming a product is allowing a bigoted or problematic person to gain extra money or extra power that they then use for evil, the death of the author cannot apply. You cannot use it as a moral justification. You might perhaps use it as the reason why you struggle to let go of a fandom near and dear to you, as Harry Potter is to so many people, but you absolutely must recognize that purchasing the books, the movies, or any other official content is outright supporting a TERF.

That in mind, there are dozens of other cases where the death of the author absolutely can apply. The easiest, of course, is with authors who are actually dead, such as Lovecraft. Lovecraft was a complete bigot and racist, an overall terrible person, and his works are saturated in that racism. But he is dead, and his work is very popular, and there are ways to take and use his work that do not contribute further to racism and bigotry. All you have to do is slap a non-racist cthulhu on a page. Make that cthulhu eat everyone equally. That’s a good cthulhu right there, a nice, safe cthulhu.

So where does Hetalia fall in this spectrum of can or cannot have death of the author? I believe it leans more to the side of yes, you can apply it. For one thing, you can definitely find the show for free in some places, and watch it without giving Himaruya a single cent. The comics are also available online for free, and while you might be giving your ‘support’ by being a viewer, I think overall, that’s not only negligible, but does not contribute anything bad? The author of Attack on Titan has many charges levied against him in the post which prompted this, and arguably, giving him any money is bad. But as far as I have seen, while Himaruya might have started out with a flawed premise and may have some whitewashing issues, I have seen nowhere that he funds any kind of racist, nationalistic, fascist, etc anything of any kind. This is not like Chick-Fil-A, where offering any kind of patronage is (or maybe used to be) sinking funds into terrible organizations. This is not supporting literal Nazis, as the complaints claim. This is a largely mediocre series with good parts and bad parts and zero ties to horrific organizations or ideals. Consuming good fan content does not make someone a racist or a bigot or a nazi sympathizer. Even rewatching some old favorite scenes or checking out the new season doesn’t make someone that. By all accounts, the show is flawed but not a means to fund nazis.

The Bad Anything Else

I will now take some time to talk about some other problems Hetalia has, because no, it is by no means flawless. I already discussed the whitewashing and stereotypes and the mess of the English dub, but there is more. I made mention of the fact that battles and seriously bad events such as the Holocaust are not mentioned, and this holds true throughout pretty much all of the series. There are certain points where ‘battles’ of a sort are seen, but only flash moments. One scene in particular that I really enjoyed as a tween and can now see the problems with is the whole revolutionary war scene. This was a scene split into two episodes (for some weird reason, even an unrelated episode in between, like, what? Why??) about a particular (unnamed) battle in the American Revolution where England faced down America, they each had a gun with a bayonet, and England charged America and his bayonet deeply scratched America’s gun, and America declared he was no longer England’s little brother, and the whole thing was played out as an extremely emotional scene. England is lost in the past of seeing America as a cute little kid he took care of, who has now grown up and is being reckless and stupid, and America is all righteous and independent and proving he’s a grown up, it’s all very emotional, I cried, other fans cried, there was much fanart.

This scene is problematic in a way. Boiling down an extremely nasty conflict following lots of really bad laws and protests to this one scene doesn’t do history any justice. It says nothing about the struggles of the American colonists, the struggles of the British empire, the awful things the colonists did to the natives, etc etc. It is one small scene and it focuses on these characters as humanoid, with feelings, and completely ignores the complexities of history. And yes, in a way, that is bad. But it is bad in the sense that nobody can - or at least should - take this show to be the end-all be-all of history. It is not. It is not often entirely correct, and it picks and chooses what points in the past several thousand years to play with, and trying to use it as a map for history is a bad idea. However, this focus on the countries as human-like and struggling can also be a good thing.

It is also important to note that there have been other problems. The portrayal of South Korea, for example, is extremely controversial, and while I do not know all of the specifics, I believe that it was banned in Korea due to this, and the character was entirely removed from the anime, among other things. Obviously, a bad take, a bad character. There are also just straight up not great characterizations in certain cases. I don’t, for example, like anything about how Belarus is portrayed as a crazy psycho constantly begging Russia (her big brother) to marry her? I think that that is ridiculous, and I know nothing about Belarus as a country but I am pretty darn sure that that is not how one ought to go about portraying the country. There are a few other examples, but my purpose here was not to pull up a list of every country and explain what is correct or incorrect about each characterization. It is enough to say that some characters were not portrayed perfectly. But with that in mind...

The Good Anything Else

It is the most important to remember that this, all of this, is fiction. This is a silly, silly fantasy series. The countries are not humans, they are some weird semi-immortal species that share a universal language and know they are not human and are referenced by humans as ‘those people.’ They are fictional constructs. But the good out of all of this is that they explore human emotions. The American Revolution scene should not be taken as how the revolution was, and who might have been right or wrong. But it is a very emotional story of a big brother unable to accept that his little brother has grown up and wants to make his own choices. That, right there, is a heartfelt scene that I’m sure plenty of real people can feel something about. And there are plenty of other scenes that really grab you by the heartstrings, especially given how crazy, stupid, and humor-oriented the rest of the show is. And I will take a moment and enthuse about some of the more popular scenes that I think are, in fact, pretty good.

There is one episode in season 5, Beautiful World, where an American woman visits France (the place). This woman, Lisa, is blond and bears a striking resemblance to Joan d’Arc. While visiting some historical place somewhere or another in Paris, France (the person) spots her and rushes up with an odd look. When she questions him, he apologizes and offers to give her a tour of the area, which she accepts. He then proceeds to lead her around and explain some history and show off some beautiful sights, and he mentions some stuff about Joan d’Arc. She butts in and lists off some stuff she knows, he beams and looks proud and says yes, she’s right. The end of the scene has the two of them standing alone somewhere and him commenting how young Joan was when she was killed, and that he always wished she could have had a better, nicer life. He then states that he is very happy that she got it, while giving this American tourist a gentle smile. She looks away for a moment, distracted by something perhaps, and when she looks back to ask just who the heck he really is, talking about a historical figure like he knew her, he is gone. It’s a very emotional scene in a quiet sort of way, because the watcher/reader understands that he took one look at this woman and instantly believed that she was, in fact, Joan d’Arc reincarnated into a totally different and totally average life, and he is so genuinely happy that a woman he saw as a hero gets this chance to live normally. Whether or not you may personally believe in reincarnation, and regardless of how often other times in the show France is shown as an obnoxious sexaholic, this is an extremely tender scene that lots of fans seriously love. It is very ‘human.’ And I feel like this is what the series as a whole strives to offer. These human moments. They may be peppered in a sort of lackadaisical style in the anime, but they are far more prominent in the comic strips, so it is important to realize that that kind of scene is more of what the creator likes to focus on.

Another very popular and touted scene is the Davie scene. I don’t remember if it was put in the anime or not, I read it as a comic. It was a scene set in colonial America, where the man himself was just a very small child. Little baby America was hanging out in a field with a rabbit and sees this boy, who introduces himself as Davie. Davie brings America to his house and opens up a botany book and points out a blue flower (possibly a forget-me-not) that he wants to see but that isn’t in the New World. America assures Davie that he will find him one of those flowers, and goes off to do so. He fails his search and goes back to Davie, who is older now, but Davie looks embarrassed and turns and walks away. Distressed, America runs to England and explains about the flower, and England says the flower is not there, but they do grow at home, and he will bring some the next time he leaves and comes back. America happily waits, and when England returns with a bouquet of the blue flowers, America takes them and runs off to Davie’s house. He is let in by a boy who looks just like Davie and presents the flowers, and the boy then puts them on (or maybe in) a coffin of an elderly man. America, smiling, does not seem to understand what is going on, and hopefully calls the boy Davie.

This entire scene, in the comic, has very few words. Davie’s name is repeated a few times, but most of the rest of the ‘dialogue’ is in images. The flower, England saying it is not there, etc. This makes the scene extremely poignant, and when we reach the end, we, the audience, realize suddenly that while baby America was fixated on finding a special flower for his new friend, years and years went by, and that friend grew up and got married and had children and eventually died, all while America remained looking the exact same age and understanding the exact same things. Look, folks, I don’t know about you, but that is some angsty stuff right there. I cried. We all cried. We all miss Davie. Mention the name to fans and you will get sobs. We love you, Davie.

Which brings me to my penultimate point, that this series is heartfelt and, while it avoids a lot of the bad of history, can be very poignant about what human nature is like. Human lives are long, very long, but also so very short, they fly by. Some lives end in tragedy, others are mostly peaceful, and maybe we get second chances if you believe in reincarnation, maybe not. Maybe it’s good that our lives are so short, maybe the fate of living forever and watching people you connect with die is tragic. Or maybe it would actually be really fun, having friends for thousands of years that you may squabble with at times but ultimately care for. Maybe nothing is simple and life is about finding joy where you can, and everyone needs to sometimes take a step back and realize that everyone is flawed, and there might be good and evil but the vast majority of people are in a grey area, trying to live their own lives and do what good they can for whatever reason they might give. I want to end with one last topic, one I have not yet addressed this whole time. The big white alien in the room, if you will.

Paint it: White!

There is a Hetalia movie, folks, if you didn’t know it, and it’s called Paint It White. This movie has just as many silly parts as any other Hetalia thing, but it also has a plot! In this movie, strange, all-white aliens are starting to invade the Earth. They arrive and anything they touch, they turn into completely identical white humanoid blobs, even the country personifications. With this scary and seemingly-unstoppable threat, the main eight - America, England, Russia, China, France, Japan, Germany, and Italy - all try to infiltrate the alien spaceship in frankly hideous uniforms to find out more and figure out a way to defeat them. Hijinks and disaster ensues, and at the end, each of them is fighting a mob and gradually being defeated. Italy is the last one standing, and as Germany is slowly being transformed into a blob along with the others, he tells Italy to smile. Italy then finds (or has? the plot isn’t great, it’s just there) a black marker and he suddenly starts going around drawing ridiculous faces on everyone. He draws fitting faces on each of his friend blobs, like a stern face on Germany-blob, a deadpan face on Japan-blob, etc etc. The invaders suddenly stop. They look at each other, marker-faced, and start to laugh. Then their leader of sorts comes out and is basically like “wow, we thought you were all stupid and you have wars and stuff, but this? This is beautiful. Wow. We all look exactly identical on our world, and these faces are cool and new and unique. We’ll turn everyone on your planet back if we can have this magical thingie you’re holding.” And of course Italy hands the marker right over, and everyone is put back to normal, and crybaby, scaredy-cat, useless Italy saves the world.

The plot is, obviously, not super great. It’s not going to win anybody any awards. But it has a very poetic premise. The strength of humans is that they are all unique. Every human has a different face, a different body, a different life. Our differences may cause conflict, but they are also something to celebrate. At the end of the day, Hetalia is an okay show that can get you hooked on history and tries its best to teach you that we’re all only human and there might be war and conflict and bad things, but you have to reach for the good things and find yourself good friends and have stupid laughs and enjoy life, however long or short it may be. I think that that’s a pretty decent message to send out to people.

The Bottom Line

In the end, this is a fandom like many others. Hetalia has its flaws and its cringe moments, and it certainly had its fair share of awful fans. But I truly believe that painting it overall as nazi propoganda and one of the most problematic and harmful shows out there is a blatant lie and disregards… just about everything of the actual content. I think it is difficult for someone to concretely say anything is super good or super bad without seeing at least some of it, or doing some research, and this business of blithely going along with what everyone else says just because they use big danger words does not do anybody any favors. Spreading misinformation is, I’m sure, the exact opposite of what most people want to do. And make no mistake, I am definitely not saying that everyone needs to like, or even watch, the show. If you never ever want to watch this show in your life, that is absolutely fine. Go forth and never watch it. But mindlessly following the herd and yelling overgeneralized, unsupported opinions about it is not a good thing. I beg of you, do research on the things you want to form or share an opinion on, think critically, and for the love of God, do not swipe a giant paintbrush to forsake every single individual fan of a show as a terrible, awful person. By all means, hate nazis, they are pieces of shit. Boycott things that support genocide and fascism, yes, fight for equality, yes. But do not go accusing without thinking, and do not overgeneralize. I leave you with the words of my old laptop bag that I bought years ago at a convention:

Make pasta, not war.

Thank you for reading.

[theanimeview]

Aniplex Online Fest - How to Produce an Anime - Notes!

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (PDT) | Aniplex Live Stream | Sunday 5 July 2020

Panel Description: Anime producers will talk about behind the scenes of anime production. Master of Ceremonies/Host: Hisanori Yoshida Guests: Shizuka Kurosaki (Aniplex, Producer) Masami Niwa (Aniplex, Producer), Atsushi Kaneko (A-1 Pictures, Producer), Toshikazu Tsuji (CloverWorks, Producer)

_

Credit: Casea Mhtar | @madamekrow & Peggy Wood | @peggyseditorial

How Do You Produce An Anime?

Here’s the process for an anime: first proposal, the script, the storyboard, the key animation, painting, compositing, editing, and recording and that’s when it’s ready to be shown.

Step 1: Planning

There are mainly three different ways that proposals tend to come in during this planning stage. The first is when the publisher tells us about one of their hit products (games, a manga, etc.) and they ask us about adapting it into an anime. The second is when we find a series we like from a light novel or manga we’re reading already. Like, “Hey, this is cool!” Then we ask the publisher/get their permission to make the anime. The third is when a producer from an anime studio, or a director, or a staff member brings us something that they personally want to do. These are the most likely ways we come to a proposal for a new series and, of them, the third probably happens the most often.

Next comes the decision stage. A few more patterns emerge when we’re discussing whether to adapt or create an original series.

With originals, you are starting from scratch so the project is much more involved and time-consuming. Generally, a lot of staff members are involved and all of them want different things and, on top of that, the producer’s job is to make sure it does well. That it sells well, that it’s received well, that the team feels good or great about the project, and so on. So we have to find a way to respect everyone’s vision, while also guiding the project to profitability, which is pretty demanding. This also includes what I want to do as a producer. It’s fun to create something from scratch, but it also comes with so much risk. For example, originals don’t have a built-in fanbase, they don’t have the same support.

Shizuka Kurosaki provides an anecdotal example of a series he started 8 years ago that he is still working on from time to time. According to him, the series is still nowhere close to being produced. It’s just a sign of how hard it is to get it all to come together, especially when things change as time goes on.

Adaptations are different but still tough and demanding. First, you have great source material. Naturally, there are fans of the source material with what they want for the original. When we depict it through anime, there are things that were fine in the source but have to be changed for animation. We are pretty sensitive about how the original’s fans would see the results of our decision-making. Needless to say, that is a struggle that we don’t face when creating an original anime.

One of the hardest parts about adaptations is that novels and manga, which are largely still images and text, as opposed to anime, which is video, all have different rules of depiction. And when the time comes for us to make changes, we’re presented with options. Depending on what the scene is, certainly, some viewers will say, “Why couldn’t you just stay faithful to the original?” However, there are also times when changing it to be more anime-like gives it a shot of energy absent from the printed version. There's really no right answer so the process is like groping around in the dark and hoping that you find what works.

Producers don’t tend to have a lot of free time and when they do, like Masami Niwa mentioned, it’s mostly spent on things that will help at work. For example, reading what’s trending in novels or manga, watching movies, and even other animes from other companies. While it may seem like entertainment and is often enjoyable, these all serve one’s work as a producer in the field.

Step 2: Scripting

Generally, a “scenario meeting” or script meeting is held first. It’s when we look at what a writer has come up with and plan out some “book reading time.” For adaptations, it means reading the source text(s). Additionally, the planning producers and animation producers hold these meetings where the discussions start with talking about the potential series and gathering the team/assembling our staff. We already have a director in place by the time we have the first script meeting. The script is only done once the staff, including the director, gathers and is written.

Live-action scripts have hardly any screen direction when compared to anime scripts. Anime scripts are packed full of exposition. In the case of live-action scripts, if it’s like an ordinary office story. You pretty much recreate normal life. Whereas in an anime script, even if it’s an ordinary office story, there might be an employee with mind-blowing supernatural abilities. To depict something that doesn’t exist in real life, you need screen direction. And in the eyes of someone from another industry, I think it would seem like a really complex script because of the sheer amount of detail regarding action, layout, and such.

Step 3: Storyboarding

The storyboard is drawn from the script. Normally, the director draws the storyboards. But since the number of episodes keeps increasing for TV series, lately we’re seeing several storyboard artists dividing the labor.

Here are some samples of storyboards from Saekano the Movie: Finale, one of Toshikazu Tsuji’s past projects shared with the panel:

Envelopes like these, sometimes referred to as “shot envelopes” contain the layout drawings and artwork that become the key animations and in-betweens of individual scenes. By the end, all the materials that make up each scene and the finished ones are all inside one of these envelopes.

This is what storyboards look like:

This is an excerpt from the live performance scene at the top of Saekano the Movie.

Using Saekano the Movie as an example--it was a tad difficult to associate the “live scene” of the script to the animation. In the script, the directors and team have endless discussions of what they want to see within however many seconds of the animation. This is described to the animators, the people who is actually drawing the actions/storyboards/etc., who only remember parts of the conversation or only get a few words and they have to create these complex drawings after hearing the phrase “live scene.” Sometimes there is a lot of direction in those discussions while in the original novel it may just say, “they fought, they won,” but the battle leads into an epic space war.

Producers are always excited to see the storyboards. They know it must be a lot of work, hard work, to get them but they’re amazing. Animators sometimes get mad at the scripts and the different “grammar” of the adaptations between the novel and the anime script, but they do great work. To the producers, it's almost the same feeling as a fan seeing the anime for the first time.

Back to the Saekano the Movie example, in the live performance scene above, the animator that was asked to draw the scene knew how to use the instruments being played. That experience is indispensable in some cases as it helps make the movements more accurate and realistic. In the worst case scenario, producers sometimes go with motion capture or use recordings of live performances that are then 3-D rendered for the key animations.

Step 4: Key Animations

Key animations are a part of the storyboard. They are often more detailed images used to depict specifics in individual scenes, with other frames used for movements happening in between. They are often discussed and detailed during and post conversations between the animator, director, super director, and the producer.

The above is an example of a key animation. It’s not something that stands on its own, rather, they’re made out of multiple drawings. This is where she utters the “meee” from the lyrics (Saekano the Movie). This key animation is to clarify that she’s saying “meee” from the lyrics as the shape of her mouth changes. The words on the page are helpful, but not necessary.

Next we see a sample of timesheets (image below).

Time sheets are like a blueprint. This is a 3-second shot described in a timesheet and it contains all of the information going into that 3 seconds.

At the top of the timesheets are numbers and that’s where they write where they want the key animation positions to be. Since this is a live performance scene, it ends on a unique shot, and for normal shots, they’d insert some dialogue, or time a movement there. There are also instructions for Compositing. The timesheet is filled with all these details.

There are all kinds of key animations, and a key animation that’s cleared every step in the process is what we call an in-between.

Step 5: In-Betweening

In-betweening is creating the materials that fill up the spaces between the key animation positions. Since anime is all about movement from point a to point b, we have several pages to make characters and items move in-between the two points.

(Image from: https://boords.com/animatic/what-is-the-definition-of-an-animatic-storyboard)

The above is an example. On the left, you see and anamitc--which is essentially a storyboard shown in order to create the story. The frozen frames make up the key animations prior to details. On the right, you have the fully animated piece. All of the movement seen in-between those key animations seen on the left, come together to create the moving animation seen on the right is an example of the in-betweening discussed here.

Going back to the time sheet--if you look closely you can see numbers going vertically which say 1-2-3-4 etc. Those are key animations. And the tiny dots you see in between, those are in-between animations. So drawing between the first and second key animations is the job of the in-between animator for this scene.

Step 5: Painting & Compositing

Next comes painting and composition--it’s where all the colors are applied. Years ago, this used to be done with real paint. Today though, this process is usually done digitally and it’s done for every frame (all of the in-betweens, key animations, etc.). The painting process includes Compositing. It’s not until after it’s been Composited that it’s truly finished.

During compositing, all of the different piece of paper shown in this panel so far are transformed into the animation you later see. Compositing gets the timesheet you just saw, with the materials for the backgrounds and cells, the animations and such, and then they work from that blueprint to create the full animation.

In the images seen above from the Saekano the Movie example, what you’ve seen is less than a single second but it took that much work to get there. As the producer, sometimes it’s your job to step in and help if the animators taking on that workload get overwhelmed.

Animators probably leave their personal mark somewhere on the key animations they create, something that only they know about. So if that storyboard can be thought of as a blueprint for drawing, then the key animations have their character settings, and they’re drawn by diverse people with unique intentions. That’s what we try to go for, and it’s really great to be able to see it all before anyone else as a producer. Like a character who’s never made a gesture like that in such a situation in the original story, but then when a certain animator draws that character, you’ll see that gesture and it will bring life to the image. If you start looking, it’s pretty endless. But seeing all these personal stamps is what makes it so intriguing. As long as it doesn’t stray far from the story, it’s not usually a problem for the producer. It what makes anime adaptation so enjoyable for one of the panelists.

Final Step (6): Recording & Editing

After the visuals are done, comes the sound production and voice actors. Once you find the people for the roles needed, they move onto recording, and then background music is added, and finally you get the finished product that viewers see. Editing happens then too, though it also happens throughout the process as things are added and taken out over the course of production.

An example of the finished product: 

The producer can change the whole feel of the show as they often make executive decisions on music, editing, marketing, etc. They have to oversee the process, as we’ve seen throughout the panelists’ discussion on the production process. It’s worth understanding from an analytic point of view as you see how their styles, focuses, and insight can influence the creation of a series.

[razberryyum]

A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away…Episode 150

Episode Title:  All's Well That Ends Well,  All's Well That Ends Well: The Alternate Version,  All's Well That Ends Well: The Alternate Version 2,  All's Well That Ends Well: The REAL Alternate Version 2,  IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM

MY 26 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 150 (no manga equivalent...therefore, can’t blame me for going overboard with the faves):

A season finale that felt more like a time-killer but I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever since it was hilarious and adorable.

1) First time I watched this episode, I think I actually panicked a little when the three of them came out in their funeral suits since I didn’t know we would be getting more episodes. We find out soon enough before the end of this ep, but until then, the whole setup with the sad music still gave me a minor anxiety attack. The anime team were just as sadistic as Sougo.

2) I love that this early on, the anime team still guessed that the “end” of Gintama would involve the terminal being blown up in some way. Actually this whole scenario is pretty prescient, considering what happened during the war.

3) It’s so interesting seeing where the anime team thought the story would go and how we actually ended up right now. At the point, it was a reasonable assumption that the final Big Boss battle would be against Takasugi since he was set up as the main villain. Who knows if Sorachi-sama even thought of Utsuro yet. Glad things didn’t quite turn out that way.

4) Considering how things turned out in the last chapter, watching this moment last night actually brought tears to my eyes.

5) Someone on the anime team must have known Sorachi-sama personally cuz isn’t this kinda how he ended the war? Lmao.

6) This was sooo melodramatic I hope this is not how our beloved Gintama ends.

7) Yeah, thumbs down for me. I want to feel good by the end but not diabetic.

8) Kagura’s side-eye.

8a) Just cuz I couldn’t stop laughing at it.

9) I just loved Kagura’s face!

10) This literally would be THE WORST ending. Definitely not a favorite moment, but rather the most traumatizing...well, except for Hasegawa.

11) Seriously, I couldn’t stop laughing. Only Shinpachi could dream up such a super melodramatic ending. Barf.

12) I remember thinking...wait a second...this looks familiar...and then of course they confirmed what this is ripping off paying homage to.

13) Ok, I just have to point out that Sougo’s attitude about giving Pachi-kun advice is just as dismissive as...

14)...Kagura-chan’s. Coincidence? I think not.

15) Evangelion should’ve sued.

16) Not only does Kagura’s ending considerate to Madao since he’s gainfully employed, but she also gives us Cyborg!Elizabeth. Kagura’s ending WINS hands down.

17) Especially since we got Gintoki in a baseball uniform...

18)...and herself in the cutest fan get-up. 

19) Pachi-kun didn’t fare that well in her ending but oh well. 

20) It’s odd how Shinpachi’s endings all involve ripping off some other series’ endings. 

21) Omggggg.

22) I don’t care what this actually was, I took it as an homage to Gravitation.

23) Omfg.

24) Just...everything about this...the mosaic, the snot, the hamster covered in his snot...lmfao. Shinpachi’s so freaking weird sometimes.

25) I’ve said many times: Yorozuya on Yorozuya violence is always LOVE.

26) That’s all I’ve been asking for, honestly.

SHIPS TALLY:

Gintoki x Hijikata: look at that smile. IT COUNTS.

Okita x Kagura: please refer to moments 13 and 14.

Kondou x Otae: the fact that he was allowed to stand there during such an intimate family moment meant a lot to me.

Gintoki x Takasugi: I’m really so so glad this is not how things turned out.

Gintoki x Shinpachi: that was a bit on the cringe side but the loving sentiments are there.

Shinpachi x Otsuu: not ONLY in his dreams but in his dreams within his imagination so ultimately means the same thing as it always does: Pachi-kun being delusional, but out of respect for him, I’ll count it.

Zura x Elizabeth: look at how loving his expression is!

Hasegawa x Hatsu: honestly she gives me the creeps but I’m glad in this ending scenario they’re still together.

Gintoki x Okita: cuz in Kagura’s scenario, Sougo was thinking of Gin-chan very fondly based on that soft expression.

Gintoki x Elizabeth (or Supervisor): Gintoki seemed seriously distressed about the state of Eli.

Shinpachi x Kagura: has Kagura ever smiled at Pachi-kun like that in real life? Or shared her precious sukonbou with him? Shinpachi is an extreme wishful thinker.

5/30/2019

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 113 Results

The chapter poll closed with 1,355 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,319 Responses

While still highly rated, last month’s chapter was a hard act to follow. The number of 5 ratings were down nearly 17%.

I find myself getting waaaaay religious whenever a new chapter comes out

Floch is annoying, Gabi is annoying, Eren is annoying, but I can't wait to see where this all is heading.

I could feel the ground shake and hear Zeke's agonizing screams and almost, almost really felt for the poor guy, falling victim to something worse than the angel of death itself.. gosh, I don't think a manga ever gave me such goosebumps before..well done Isayama, well fucking done.

Everytime I think Floch has reached the maximum level of assholery, he ups the game to inconceivable levels. I still can't believe poor Marlowe had to die for this.

Can I have a break from suffering? Thanks.

Forget opening a tea shop, Levi should open a sushi bar instead

Seriously how about Levi just go solo the whole world and win because he's so damn OP and save all Eldians and just end the story in the next episode

JUST TELL ME HOW ZEKE AND EREN MEET ALREADY!!

WHAT WAS THIS CHAPTER’S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? 1,331 Responses

It was hard to choose a favorite moment. “All of it” was the top pick (21.5%) followed by “Levi’s face when he resolved to kill his comrades” (17.1%). Third place was “Levi slicing Zeke’s feet and legs” (10%).  Levi’s Angel of Death moment was the most popular write-in. In retrospect it should’ve been included as an option.

Levi looking like a goddamn Angel of Death.

Nothing I am invested in happened this chapter, but Levi emerging from the trees like an avenging angel was pretty cool!

This is the First chapter where I have trouble choosing one Option. This was a real rollercoaster.

Levi kicking Zeke’s a** is quality entertainment

Kinda bummed by this chapter, though it was good. As a Mikasa stan (lmao) I was looking forward to seeing her post-emotional destruction, but we didn’t see her face vs. the rest of the 104th which makes me think she isn’t crying, but has gained some resolve and will pull open the bars or some shit. Also FUCK Floch.

Thank you Levi for finally ripping Zeke apart.

CHAPTER 113 IS CALLED “SAVAGERY.” WHICH CHARACTER DID YOU THINK BEST EXEMPLIFIES THIS TITLE? 1,322 Responses

Close to 70% of the fandom believes Levi was the most savage this chapter. Floch was a distant second (18.2%). The most popular write in was “All of them!”

I think the title "Savagery" does refer to Levi, because I think he can be the monster he needs to be to survive. And I love it.

Paradis island. The whole chain of command is out of the window; the residents are becoming savages (those who drank wine becoming mindless titans, trainees beating up Shadis, Yeagerists promoting anarchy, etc.) They are becoming literal savages (they're all sociopaths because they're a little more savage than others lul)

Keith Shadis & Floch  would be the obvious choice. But I interpret the title as describing the overall savagery of war, as seen in all the different parties.

Walls were built to protect titan from Levi, amen

While it very much could be a direct description of Levi's brutal actions aganist Zeke, I believe everyone engaged in this conflict is being savage one way or another by inheritence, as war in itself is savagery.

Zeke did nothing wrong. Levi did nothing wrong. Floche is the worst.

SINCE HANGE AND PIXIS HAVEN’T SPOKEN, HOW DID PIXIS KNOW ABOUT THE WINE? 1,321 Responses

Most respondents (42.8%) believe that Pixis does not know about the wine specifically, but deduced that Zeke's scream had something to do with what happened. 24.8% believe that he is just a smart dude, but 23.2% think that he might have been tipped off by Yelena.

Pixis knows alcohol. He knows when something's up.

Imo Pixis , Eren and Zeke are all working together , so Pixis gained knowledge of the wine from Eren , although after he drank it.

He was willing to surrender to the Yeager brothers, maybe Zeke or Kiyomi told him beforehand.

P A T H S

SINCE IT’S BEEN CONFIRMED THAT PIXIS AND NILE HAVE CONSUMED THE TAINTED WINE, DO YOU THINK THEY ARE DESTINED TO BECOME TITANS? 1,325 Responses

While the majority is unsure (42.7%), more than a third (34.4%) believe Nile and Pixis are destined to become titans.  Only 22.9% think they will die another way be just fine.

I really hope Pixis doesn’t become a Titan I’ve always liked him.

I think that Zeke has a plan, probably he wants that Levi takes him to Sina with the Paradis high commands (Pixis, Nile, etc) to use his scream with they to turn them to titans. We saw in this chapter that Zeke's scream doesn't work with enough distance, that's the reasson that Zeke wants to go with them.

LEVI HAS LOST ANOTHER SQUAD, THIS TIME BY HIS OWN HANDS. HOW BADLY DO YOU FEEL FOR LEVI? 1,327 Responses

79.4% of people responding to this question: Levi lost his entire squad (...again). He didn’t lose 20% of his squad. He didn’t even lose 50%. He lost his whole squad (...again). Look at what it’s done to him. You can see the death in his eyes, but he keeps on going. This is why Levi is one of my favorite characters.

If I have learned nothing else, I have learned that the world has destined Levi to be a soloist. Every time he has a squad something goes wrong.

Man, Levi's face was just pure resignation. He knew he had to, once again, he had to take lives in order to protect others. Gut wrenching, but just completely real.

Ffs, just let Levi retire. Like, look at the PAIN in his eyes when he remembers the conversation with his subordinates. It's even worse when his expression changes to "knowing exactly what to do".

I think he will be correct that everyone’s deaths amounted to nothing in the end

That panel if Levi falling while all his comrades are trying to kill him; this guy can't catch a break

THERE’S BEEN SOME TALK IN THE FANDOM ABOUT LEVI BEING TOO OP. WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1,333 Responses

53.3% of the fandom agree that Levi is OP but they are a-ok with it.  20% thinks he’s powerful and not OP at all. Only 10.3% of respondents indicated that Levi’s extreme power hurts their enjoyment of the series.

It doesn’t matter to me that many think Levi is OP; whether you agree with that or not, come on, give Levi a break. He at the very least deserves a happy ending after all he’s been through

Levi is too overpowered. I didn't want him to die here but at least I want him to have a more difficult fight. Him getting a serious injury for example. Every fight he had he didn't even get injured (except against the FT and that was because of Mikasa). This is one of the reasons that for me Levi is a VERY boring character.

Levi destroying Zeke was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. I think he stands a fair chance against Eren if he still has thunder spears.

Seeing all the Levi hate, because of the ""OP"" thing was kinda unexpected and annoying to me lol Without Levi's help for example in the female titan or RtS arc wouldn't be some characters where they are right now *cough* Mikasa would be dead *cough* I think Zeke underestimated him and that's was the deal at least.

Not sure the arguments about Levi being too OP make much sense. He was in the forest of giant trees, which has already been established as the best environment to use 3DMG. I really thought Levi was toast after last chapter just because Zeke utilizing the element of surprise, but I forgot how strong he was. Good to see him in action again.

I know a lot of people have had issues with Levi being too OP or with Levi being too cruel uwu but ffs have we forgotten who this man is? Levi fucking Ackerman, who is *supposed* to be OP af, who has the curse of having one of the worst fates in the series. Seriously, everybody around him is dying, he was born in a shit world that just keeps getting shittier, and he is no close to that pristine tea shop than he ever was, possibly ever will be. Sure he's Hella strong and survives all his battles with barely a scratch, but does it give him a happy life? No it fucking does not.

Levi isn't OP you guys are just mean

LEVI=GOD

DO YOU THINK LEVI’S QUICK DEFEAT OF ZEKE WAS UNREALISTIC? 1,332 Responses

Just over half the fandom (50.8%) say no, Levi’s quick defeat of Zeke was not unrealistic. Only 8.6% answered “Yes” to this question.

I know 90% of the Fandom has a hard-on for Levi but I wish the fight with zeke was more even.

Levi's fight against Zeke was fun but at the same time it felt like some sort of repetition of him fucking Zeke up back in RTS (I guess that was part of the purpose, lol), so it ended up not being very appealing to me after a couple of days.

Being Intelligent and being Smart are different things and yes Zeke might be good at planning strategies but he is a dumbass when it come to fighting and understanding other people.

Seeing Levi vs BT 2.0 gave me some serious highs. Was literally shaking while reading the leaks. I just realised how Levi truly is the perfect foil to someone like Zeke. The world could be crumbling, but give Levi any task, and you can trust him to deliver it 99.9% of the times, with the 0.1% being but the benefit of the doubt.

BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER, WHO HAD YOU THOUGHT WOULD WIN THIS ENCOUNTER? 1,327 Responses

At nearly 40%, a majority of respondents thought that Levi vs Zeke Round 2 would be a more even fight than their first encounter, with a close 34.7% thinking that Levi would prevail again. Only 21.1% believed Zeke would win.

Anyone who thought Zeke had any chance of facing Levi and winning mano a mano (even with titans) is not reading the same manga I am.

The "Farewell, Heicho" leak made me think Zeke won.

I thought Zeke's plan wouldn't be enough to kill Levi, but enough for him to escape. I still wasn't surprised lol.

If it came down to a straight battle, I knew Levi would win because we've seen him win against greater odds. The difference is that I didn't think the encounter would become a straight-up battle so quickly, I assumed Zeke would have some other distraction or escape plan other than literally just yeeting out of the scene

I hoped Zeke would escape or Levi would at least struggle instead of Ackerhaxing his way through 20+ Titans and still managing to catch up to an escaping Zeke and effortlessly defeat him, but no.

The outcome was fairly expected considering all the factors that stood in Levi's advantage (big ass trees, thunder spear, zeke's miscalculationsTM/underestimation...etc) so I wasn't surprised when he easily whooped his ass.

Bolting away while screaming was such a solid plan. I'm shocked it didn't work.

IF ZEKE HAD EXPLAINED HIS PLAN TO LEVI, DO YOU THINK THERE’S A CHANCE LEVI WOULD’VE UNDERSTOOD? 1,327 Responses

42% of respondents think it’s possible that Levi might have been open to Zeke’s plan, but equally possible he wouldn’t have listened. Nearly 40% are certain that Levi has no interest in anything Zeke has to say. A small 13% of respondents think that Levi would have been open minded if open communication had been present.

whether Levi would have "understood" the Jeagerbros' plan is irrelevant. I think Levi still lives by "make the choice with least regrets" and so would not have changed his mind, even if he had understood their motivations.

Poor zeke , Poor Levi , we wish Levi will understand zeke's point of view...😔😔

WILL LEVI FACE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR STOPPING ZEKE AND DELAYING THE YEAGERBRO’S PLAN? 1,324 Responses

Half of respondents believe that Levi will not be able to bask in his victory for long before the story throws him another wrench. 30% aren’t sure if he will or not and 15% are confident that Levi’s victory is solid and will be rewarded.  

I believe Levi has now somewhat of an advantage over the Yeagerists as he's holding the key and core to their plan captive, without Zeke the plan just won't proceed. Unless Eren suspected something might happen to Zeke and has a plan B up his sleeves, Levi has the upper hand now, and he can easily finish Zeke off any second. If he were to encounter Eren & co. on the way there's no doubt he'll use Zeke as a bargaining chip. I'm exceptionally excited to see how things will play out between them.

God I hope not, but knowing Yams, something terrible awaits Levi after the brilliance of this chapter.

not sure but SERIOUSLY people need to stop with the lies and secrets.

I think something we're not expecting might happen.

Why would he? If there are any negative consequences coming his way, it is because he didn't kill Zeke . Zeke seems like the type to come up with double plans -- for example, Levi could unintentionally be leading Zeke to his meetup with Eren.

I wouldn't say "negative consequences," but he definitely stalled their plans. Considering the fact that no one other than the two know what those plans are, I feel like Levi's victory over Zeke would allow some space in the story for these "plans" to finally be revealed and explained, whether it be to the characters in the story, or to us readers.

Zeke can regenerate anyway so I think he might get away with it

I'm afraid for Levi. He did what he did to Zeke with the best intentions, but I fear he's now inadvertently ruining the plan the brothers had so carefully orchestrated. I'm afraid he's gonna face Eren in a next chapter, who's going to do everything to prevent his brother from being eaten.

WHERE DO YOU THINK LEVI IS HEADING? 1,317 Responses

Historia’s Farm was the most popular option with nearly half the vote (49.7%). Shiganshina was second with 20%. In retrospect we should’ve included Rakugo as a potential destination since the theory that he’s heading there to feed Zeke to Connie’s mom is gaining popularity.

Historia's Farm or Ragako

Levi's smart enough to figure out there were probably more individuals on the receiving end of the tainted wine.  With that in mind, he'll be very cautious with where he goes to ensure no more transformations occur.

Unless he has some titan serum in his pockets going straight to Historia would be a bit pointless. Meeting with Pyxis first seems likely.

Taking Zeke to Shiganshina or anywhere where everyone else are is too risky. Zeke could get away and pull out his screaming card and shift onto his beast titan form.

The horses don't seem to be moving. So maybe he's just chilling out in an open field

To Erwin’s grave

Dear snkpolls. How about cutting out with this unfunny Zevi bullshit for sociopaths and including real ships some people actually like instead? I mean pairings. Not the actual ships. I don't want Titanic in the next poll.

Honestly, the Zevi getaway option gave me a much needed laugh after the chapter.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT LEVI’S SLICE AND DICE OF ZEKE’S LEGS? 1,330 Responses

A tiny fraction (3.1%) of the fandom was upset or disappointed with Levi’s actions, the rest were fine with it. “I don’t blame him” and “cruel but understandable” comprised the thoughts of 70% of the fandom. 20% wish Levi had done even more.

I thought it was unnecessarily cruel and completely in-character for Levi. God I love this man

He didn't want Zeke to transform, what's so difficult to understand?

Honestly I’m not sure why zeke was so surprised that Levi came out alive lmao. Like he’s literally seen - up close and personal - what he’s capable of. He’s humanity’s strongest ffs.

I get it and it's hard to say there's not a little justification, but I think it's a very natural human response to wince at ANYONE suffering enormous amounts of pain. Most of us would cringe even if we were witnessing Hitler himself being tortured, no matter what we might think right now. It's just a natural, innate reaction to human suffering.

Unnecessarily cruel and it's gonna bite him in the ass.

I have not been able to eat celery since

DID ZEKE’S INTERNAL MONOLOGUE AFFECT YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT HIM? 1,328 Responses

44% of respondents were not swayed one way or another about their stance on Zeke after hearing more of his perspective, while 29% continue see him as a total enigma. 23% have started to see Zeke more positively.

Zeke shows he lacks fundamental understanding of human compassion

BABY ZEKE LOOK AT HIM ISAYAMA WHY DO YOU DO THIS

Zeke is officially an idiot and Eren is a bigger one for trusting him above his friends.

I kinda don't want Zeke to have some tragic background. Zeke as the series Joker who just wants to see everyone destroy each other no matter who they are, that is a far more interesting direction for me than more of the same 'Marleyans aren't evil, just misunderstood' rubbish that we have been force-fed for over a year

Zeke deserves life, love, and his glasses.

One other thing that really pleased me in this chapter is that Levi managed to give a reply to each of Zeke's annoyingly patronising statements. Zeke has always made me furious with his ""aww you naïve creatures, you don't understand"" bit, and I adored the fact that Levi actually shut him up while he fought him. About goddamn time someone shut up that monkey.

Zeke worrying about his glasses is a big mood because as a fellow glasses wearer, I would do the same

DO YOU BELIEVE SHADIS TAUNTED THE NEW RECRUITS IN AN EFFORT TO PROTECT THEM/HANGE? 1,329 Responses

A huge majority (74%) agrees: Keith Shadis is a good dude, and wanted to protect the recruits and/or Hange with his boast. A minority (7.6%) believes he severely overestimated himself (oof), while everyone everyone else (18.4%) was not sure.

I didn't before, but I do now, you monsters!

Respect for Shadis for what he did.

Also, somebody please kill Floch already.

Shadis deserves only good things

Shadis is sick, anyone who says he isn't is trippin

I wish Shadis had head butted the shit out of Floch

I can't believe that Shadis roasted Floche to a crisp and sent him to the Burn Unit lolololol

YOUR THOUGHTS ON FLOCH ARE BEST SUMMED UP AS: 1,318 Responses

Floch will not be winning any popularity contests in the near-future, with 67% of respondents selecting the most negative options: that they want him to burn (44.5%), or that they just simply love hating him (22.5%). In contrast, only about 10% of respondents view Floch favorably:  3% say they are fully on his side, while 6.4% still reluctantly support him.

A character such as his is destined to die while Eren looks at him emotionless. Eren doesn't give a shit about him and this little boy will learn it the hard way. He's a prime example of the "brainwashed, vengeful" character who dies a horrible death.

He's just a pawn.  I have no feelings for pawns.

I'm really sad that Shadis got pulverized, but do still think that Floch is trying to help Paradis the only way he knows how (even if a tad misguided).

Floch is correct about needing to be more proactive, but he & Yeagerists are going about everything the wrong way. I do not support the Yeagerists.

Shadis' assault was absolutely unnecessary and savage for all the wrong reasons. Floch is basically on a power trip here and it was sickening to read. I hope he dies a slow, painful death, that dickwad.

I don't think there's a definitive answer as to who's right here. Marley's coming and if Eren is the right leader, then fine. But it's not given.

I hate him, but wonder if he might have a point

I wish someone would use P A T H S to rip the fabric of their reality open and that that would lead to Mount Doom, just so they could then toss Floch's ass into it. That would be great, thanks.

Now I'm not saying anyone is truly evil in snk... but Floch is sprinting in that direction so fucking fast.

WHICH CHARACTER(S) DID THIS CHAPTER MAKE YOU FEEL MOST SYMPATHETIC TOWARDS? 1,320 Responses

Levi easily takes first place this time around after losing yet another squad, this time at his own hand. He’s followed by Shadis (did he really deserve that, Floch??), Hange, and the rest of the 104th. Zeke’s short flashback garnered some empathy as well.

Levi, Zeke, Mikasa, Armin and the 104th, Hange, Shadis, Every single character in this chapter. Even Floch and the cadets.

I feel a lot of sympathy for Falco, waking up naked in a robe in front of strangers. What, they were in THAT much of a hurry?

I feel sympathetic to all of them - even Zeke a tiny bit. This whole thing is a clusterfuck of mamoth proportions.

Zeke might join the list, but depends on next chapter, I need his flashbacks to give me a valid reason to why I should sympathize with him, which I think they will as his past looks just as crappy and angsty as the other characters'.

Levi, Zeke, Mikasa, Armin and the 104th, Hange, Shadis, Eren. He looks miserable even though he's SOOO FREEEE~

IN LAST MONTH’S POLL, ONLY 17% OF RESPONDENTS BELIEVED THAT EREN IS IN CONTROL OF HIS ACTIONS. WE WANT TO KNOW IF THIS CHAPTER CHANGED YOUR OPINION. WHAT BEST DESCRIBES HOW YOU VIEW EREN’S CONTROL OF HIS ACTIONS? 1,324 Responses

The percentage of respondents who believe Eren is fully in control of his actions jumped from 17% to 23% this month. 29% percent still believe that he’s fallen victim to a combination of Zeke’s manipulation and previous titan holders’ memories. 16% remain confused and don’t want to make assumptions either way, 14% believe that the titan power is controlling Eren, and a small 8% actually think it’s the other way around and that Eren is manipulating Zeke.

I think what he said to MA is ultimately to protect them, but like Connie said - the eren we’ve seen since Grim Reminder 2.0 in Liberio isn’t the eren we once knew.

Eren is and always has been kind of a jerk. I think he's 100% free to make his own choices. However, I wouldn't discount the idea that the memories he's inherited and whatever selective knowledge Zeke has imparted are influencing those decisions. They're in no way forcing him though. This is all 100% organic Eren BS.

He is being only influenced by the previous titans, which is messing up with his mental state. This causes him to make decisions not regarding human life out of wanting to fight for freedom.

Eren is the master manipulator! Mark my words, guys!

Zeke and Eren are both misguided. Perhaps the rumbling is a lie, or they have a plan that only they would get, but I suspect that the rumbling isn't a simple concept, just like Marley and the Helos story.

Eren is definitely being influenced by previous titans. After he consumed the hammer titan some changed about the way he acts.

He's definitely not being controlled by Zeke, but I still think there is something off/wrong with him.

Eren's doing what he thinks is best for his people, and chose this path based on the memories he gained, the experiences he's had, and the information he's come to know. Its possible some of this information was skewed by Zeke, but other than that Eren is in control

I personally believe he is being influenced by the many titan powers he holds as well as the many memories of the people that held these titans before him however, I believe that these powers are not completely dominating him and he’s able to make his own decision. Eren is also probs not being manipulated by Zeke as I believe that these two bros will stay together.

Influenced to an extent but still in control in that the various factors we're considering has warped how he thinks the situation should be handled. I feel like Eren thinks his unpredictability gives him the most control because he'll probably try to do what's most advantageous on the fly as forks in the road appear (because he never really struck me as someone who can spearhead planning ahead). He's in control of his actions but I think he's still incredibly susceptible to manipulation by those who can plan as a result.

DO YOU THINK EREN IS REALLY WORKING WITH THE YEAGERISTS? 1,322 Responses

Half of respondents believe that Eren is actively working with the Yeagerists in order to achieve a larger goal. 17% aren’t convinced he has anything to do with them aside from tagging along on their road trip. Almost 10% of respondents believe Eren will eventually backstab Floch and isn’t on their side at all, and 9% feel that Eren has been the one giving orders all along.

Maybe he is, but I still have some hope for him that what he did was to protect the people he loves. I hope he still cares about them.

Eren is using them (he doesn't give a fuck about them) and the Yeagerists are using Eren. Eren will backstab Floch. I don't think Eren's aware of everything Floch's doing while using his name but, at the same time, if Eren "cared" about what they do he would ask/wonder... he's too dead inside for that tho

I hope he backstabs them but damn am i confused and a lil angry about this situation

Whether he is working with them or not, he did nothing to stop them but rather act as their leader and that makes him partially responsible for their actions.

Dammit Eren you better not be behind Shadis' beating, he's a good man

I have this feeling Eren doesn't really give a titan's ass whether they're on his side or not, as long as Big Bro got his back he will carry on with the plan either way. They sort of just formed this faction on their own but Eren isn't stupid not to take advantge of that. After all, who knows what might happen and keeping his own small army at arm's reach sure is helpful. But Eren did mature into this very prideful and confident rebel with that "aint need nobody bitch" attitude so.

They seems to be a different faction led by Floch, and Eren is exploiting this.

I think he is working with Zeke (whether they have the same end goal or not is something I’m not sure about) but I don’t think he is working with the Yeagerists and doesn’t even fully know about them or what they are doing

Zeke and Floch are on one side and think they are working with Eren. Eren is currently working with them solely as a means to reach an end and will go his own way after they initiate the rumbling.

PREDICTION TIME!! WHO IS MISTER XAVER? 1,328 Responses

Almost all respondents (81.9%) speculate that Mister Xaver is the holder of the Beast Titan that preceded Zeke, and 25% believe he was affiliated with Eren Kruger in some way. 21% think that he is a family friend of the Jaegers, while 8% believe he was an actual member of the family. There are all sorts of other creative ideas floating around about who this bespectacled mentor figure might be:

Titan Scientist

Pitcher and pinch-hitter for the Liberio Warhammers.

Zeke’s father figure

Zeke's only childhood friend

I think he’s the person who inspired Zeke’s plans

A member of the royal family

Kiyomi and Kruger's ally in the plan to restore Eldia in order to destroy Marley, hated by the three of them

I think he might be an “Ackerman” or someone from the Hizuru clan that secretly remained in Liberio to watch over the members of the royal family there (Dina, then eventually Zeke as he grew up). I also think he was working with Kruger to “groom” Zeke for the ultimate plan that is beginning to unfold now in the most recent chapters (whatever that plan may be idk) (just as Kruger’s influence and memories “groomed” Grisha, and perhaps Eren for what’s happening now as well) P A T H S.

Xaver runs a school for mutants.

PURE SPECULATION, BUT DO YOU THINK XAVER INFLUENCED ZEKE TO TURN IN GRISHA AND DINA? 1,324 Responses

Just over half of respondents believe that Xaver had some influence on Zeke, and that influence contributed to his choice to turn his parents (and the other restorationists) in to the Marleyan government. 33% are not sure, while ~16% believe that Xaver had no hand in that decision.

It would be interesting to see Zeke's flashback, I think you could be onto something, that Zeke himself is a victim of childhood indoctrination, and was manipulated by Xavier (a true honorary Marleyan) to turn in his parents and be loyal to Marley. He clearly thinks of him very fondly, and he seems to be the only one confirmed to be in Zeke's good books. He may or may not be the former beast titan, but I think that however he died is a major reason and key to understanding Zeke's current actions and main motive.

Since he has been shown comforting Zeke after he snitched on his parents, their relationship obviously goes way back and it drives me to think he was a close family friend/relative whom Zeke found some kind of comfort in to battle the neglect, pressure and brainwashing of his parents. From the final panel it doesn't look to me that Xaver wanted Zeke to become a warrior at first, hence probably why he infuenced him to turn in his parents, but obviosuly sth happened that changed that. I do believe he's the ex-BT, even if he wasn't, surely his death was a major factor in why Zeke decided to become a warrior. Dang it I should stop writing nonsense I just wanna KNOW WHATS UP WITH THAT MONKEY MAN

WHO DID IT BETTER? 1,326 Responses

Almost half of respondents thought both our Ackermans brought the thunder equally! Levi, however takes the title this time, with 31% choosing him over Mikasa when it comes to blowing up titans. 18.8% thought she still did it best. 

OUR TRANSLATORS APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN CHANNELING STAN LEE. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SFX FROM THIS CHAPTER? 1,300 Responses

“Splat” edged out “ba-BOOM” for the win with just under 20% of the vote. “BSHHT” was  third and “baKRAK” a close fourth.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,330 Responses

These last few hard hitting chapters have amped up the pace of the story, and most people are looking forward to further plot progression. 46.2% and 42.7% are hoping this comes are some sort of flashback related to Zeke or the Yeager bros, respectively. Historia and the warriors bring up the rear, and there’s always people hoping for something more specific in the write-ins:

I miss Reiner and Historia...bring them back please.

this chapter lacked a significant amount of Reiner, and i am tired of not seeing him

I'd take an entire chapter of Levi chopping Zeke up, please

Show me my Mikasa!

Missing Option: Mikasa, Armin, and the 104th

Literally a thought from Eren.

Gabi and Eren Talk

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Give Annie ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

Someone killing Floch. Anyone. Please.

Let it be contain one panel of the best girl Yelena 😭

Prison break for the SC and equipping the 3DMG in preparing to battle

More Floch Greatness. All Hail The New Eldian Empire!

I can safely assume next chapter will be 75% Zeke flashbacks which is what I've been waiting for.

JUST GIVE US ANSWERS ISAYAMA!!!!!

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,286 Responses

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?

Floch needs to — and I can’t stress this enough — die an unholy death.

Zeke should not have grown his facial hair back before all his skin lol

A very aptly named chapter, where there is savagery and violence, without glorifying or romanticising the brutality. Violence obscures understanding and communication, as seen with the inability for Levi and Zeke to understand each other, despite them being more similar than they realize. Levi kills all his titanized comrades but he is emotionally and mentally unravelling — it is not true victory, only loss and fading of hope. Floch’s violence through abuse of power only breeds cruelty and the reiteration of oppression — it is not true revolution, only regression. Zeke and Eren’s actions intentionally bring war upon Paradis — it brings death and destruction. And yet violence is necessary - it is an unavoidable truth in a world that refuses to listen, only fight, because of fear. The themes in this chapter have so many layers to them; it was a tough one to read because of how dark and brutal it was, but very thought provoking. As readers we look forward to action and fight scenes, but here Isayama deliberately and skillfully delivers it in such a raw and uncomfortable way.

Floch will forever be Manneke Pis. Shadis has been through enough. Eren is hot but needs to die. Falco needs some clothes. Where was Gabi? I fear for Historia's unborn child. Warriors when?

Regarding Zeke, seeing him tear up while thinking of Xaver hurt me a little bit. It's one of the few times (the first time, even? not sure.) that we've seen him show any strong attachment and fondness (and borderline remorse) with regards to his actions. He isn't the "absolutely evil" character in this series.

This kind of chapters are like "ok" to me but frustrating as hell. It will be nice to see it animated in 2030 nonetheless.

I still thinks Eren is a jerk but i still love him. Plus: Floch can be canceled i don't care. Plus+: I want my babies Armin and Mikasa free of the jail, They don't deserve that crap from Eren.  

Seeing Levi vs BT 2.0 gave me some serious highs. Was literally shaking while reading the leaks. I just realised how Levi truly is the perfect foil to someone like Zeke. The world could be crumbling, but give Levi any task, and you can trust him to deliver it 99.9% of the times, with the 0.1% being but the benefit of the doubt.

I think it was a waste of time if I'm being honest. We learned nothing new other than from the few pages with Zeke.

I think this chapter made me realise that I don't really care about Levi anymore.

I waited until the last day to fill this poll out because I honestly don't know how I feel about this series right now. While there's plenty of entertainment to be found in these recent chapters, I don't think I really like the direction the story has taken. I'm bored. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was surprised to see people genuinely being concerned about Levi surviving after the last chapter/when spoilers were dropping. Levi got plot armour thicker than a tank. He already took out a whole row of titans at far worse odds. He wasn't going to die.

I'm excited for what's coming. I wanted a high stakes story and I'm anxious, but in a good way. Still giving Eren the benefit of the doubt, he has to have info that he's not sharing (from having the memories of 3 titans).

I'm so dead inside due to having an awfully emotional week of being very sad about Zeke and celebrating the survival of Levi. I love both of them so much, this chapter exhausted me greatly.

It was nice to have a more action-packed chapter this time around, I've been missing those. It looks to me like at least half of next chapter will consist of Zeke's childhood flashback, then after that I would like to see Historia again. Please Isayama it's been half a year I miss my queen! :((((

Oh my god Xavier yes yes yes I thought Isayama had completely forgotten about the “mystery man”

I'm so glad Levi won and got Zeke tied up! Now Armin's got to find a safe way to do a titan jailbreak! Hange needs allied more than ever!

No Pieck, no party. Things are just heating up, and it’s still somehow a shitshow?

It's nice to know that characters such as Levi exist in a very morally grey world, and that of all the people given extraordinary powers and abilities, it's someone with that kind of mindset. It makes me feel positive that the series would end in an overall good note, even if this may include some heartbreaking deaths and turn of events.

I liked finally seeing a little more inside Zeke's head.

THIS is how you subvert expectations. Introduce that Levi is watching Zeke back in 106 and doesn't trust him then, and then showing their conversation in 110 to further building the tension. Because of the reveal of Zekerets and that Zeke had been working with Eren as well as the fact that Levi won his first encounter against Zeke - it makes sense from a storytelling standpoint for Zeke to win his next encounter against Levi. 112 plays into this expectation due to Zeke's sudden attack on Levi with a cliffhanger heavily suggesting that Levi would die. Instead 113 was the complete opposite, with Levi utterly decimating Zeke and making the story take an unexpected curve. This chapter is brilliant.

The story is progressing extremely fast right now. The Endgame arc is approaching its climax with all the players taking their stance in preparation for the Ragnarok…

Floch needs to be taught not to miss around with adult affairs that are way beyond his basic childish comprehension. I don't hate the guy but I will be satisfied to watch him shit his pants in a fiasco made of his terrible life choices.

okay but when will best boy jean finally read flock the riot act

there is no transparency in this arc, only suffering

[sparda3g]

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Chapter 284 Review

BLUE has officially begun. But first, it’s time for a process of elimination because there’s just too many characters in the field. It’s time for the first trial at the First Gate. BLUE may have started earlier than expected, but it’s clear that this arc will be long. With that said it doesn’t entirely dismiss the quirky aspect of the series with its way of a cooking challenge.

The first trial begins and it doesn’t waste any time to divide the field of contestants into three groups. It goes by their entry numbers and wouldn’t you know it, Soma, Megumi, and Takumi are separated from each other. If this trial was something like, “Only one in each group can advance to the next gate,” I would say that’s a convenient and obvious outcome. However, many contestants can pass the trial, so it’s not as convenient as it doesn’t danger Megumi and Takumi; unless Tsukuda pulled a fast one.

The first trial is quite simple. They just have to create a dish for one judge and satisfy him. That’s it. Easiest trial ever. The judge however is a dying old man. Are we going to get our first death scene in a cooking series? He is a former Cuisiner Noir, who operated as an underworld chef. Well, at least the concept of good and evil also refer outside of the contestants, so I guess I should expect more down the line. Then again, he’s a former and he’s on his death bed supposedly. The task flat out said make a satisfying last meal for him. Our first potential death is on the horizon.

He even has a backstory. In Shounen’s tradition, if you have a backstory explained and/or flashback, your death is very near. His name is Heigoro Tokiyama and he is World War II veteran, who got involved with the black market. It was then he began a career of Cuisinier Noir and dominated many. He’s basically a legend. If you go by his backstory, you would think he’s still at his prime today with his sinister tone, anticipating to judge these young kids. If by kid, you mean one of those lamps, then sure. Everyone will win.

As straightforward the rules are, the missing element is the theme. What are they going to cook? Seafood? Meat? Vegan? The answer is anything. There is no theme; what matters is to satisfy the old man. On paper, that sounds incredibly easy for chef as they don’t have to worry about specialty. However, everyone reacts like it is incredibly challenging. What if the old man doesn’t like fish? What if chicken is his favorite? This puts pressure on them significantly. It doesn’t help that this is BLUE, which could make a man exaggerate the concept like it has to be rocket science tier. It’s like seeing “2 + 2” question at Harvard University; if it’s easy, that’s because it is.

On the bright side, they can ask Heigoro questions for the next five minutes. Obviously, you will just go all blunt and ask for his favorite food. Too bad for them, he’s senile; many questions keep detouring to his other stories. The bunny girl (?), the clown, and the punk guy who looked like evil cousin of Monarch are in Soma’s group, watching and laughing at everyone in desperation. Only Soma doesn’t bother to ask, because he finds it odd. Well, at least that punk guy acknowledge his perspective, rather than “You’re already dead.”

The old guy finally say something important and that is his childhood memory with miso noodle stew and gohei mocha. It’s like we have a Ratatouille (film) storyline in our hands, but childhood food does leave a powerful impact. Once the chef got that in mind, all they can think about is creating the familiar food at its best. That one guy got a huge ego boost after believing he found the answer. He even goes far as pitying foreign chef for lack of knowledge with Japanese cuisine as Japanese chef got this win. I find that racist! Granted, it’s true (I guess?) but when this became race war all the sudden.

That all said it does make go “Ah ha,” when he still fail the trial, even after presenting the so-called “childhood memory” dish. That’s what he gets. Kind of funny how he just tosses those tags at the contestants’ face with a word, “Fail.” Lucky for them, it’s not explosive tags. The normal chefs failed, but Noirs are passing with flying colors. That’s one way to demonstrate their skills without Shokugeki.

The punk guy was last to go in Noir’s side and presents Heigoro the Six-Shot Roast Beef Revolver. The description sure sounds tasty, even if it is over-the-top. Even one of the officials thought the same thing, but damn, does it look and sound good. It’s so intense, it could hospitalized an elder. I want that before my death then. Speaking of death, Heigoro bites one beef and brings out a revolver to kill him! Cooking manga?! But hey, revolver for a revolver dish. Get it? Ha ha! Anyway, it’s not real; it shoots bunch of countries flags and a tag that reads, “Pass.” If that happened, I’ll be disqualified for passing out.

But seriously, imagine being a real gun…

Chefs see their failures as the worst day of their life. For Noirs, it was Tuesday. It’s because they’re accustomed to cooking the last meal of their life in the underground. People they saw failed have died when there’s no satisfaction. Damn, talk about serious business. Anyway, the punk guy explains why everyone is failing, which is pretty much what I said earlier. Everyone was fixated on his childhood memory and thought, “If I serve that, he will pass me.” The key to win is once again simple: give it your best shot.

I know it’s BLUE, but sometimes, the simplest answer is the answer. Heigoro is the former Noir, so he already got enough experience with a burning passion for food. They have no one to blame but themselves. With that being said the only oddball now is Soma. What a shocker. In all seriousness, he has yet to cook and he’s contemplating on how the next meal is his last and he doesn’t buy it. He’s pretty furious about it for whatever reason. It’s a strange cliffhanger that should be easily dealt with, yet Soma is making this complicated than it needed to be.

Overall, it was a decent chapter with certain charms of its nature. It’s only the beginning, so things will start off slow, which is expected. At least, it’s a fair game, unlike how in the past everyone tried to fail the Rebels with cheap tricks. I don’t know what to expect with the other groups if it’s going to be similar to this, though surely they will pass to the next gate. Soma’s frustration is questionable since the answer is right there, unless there’s a code to jump to Third Gate. The next chapter will have a color page, so up the ante I suppose.

Huh. Color page. Doesn’t scream the series in “trouble” to me…

Anyway, whatever is bothering Soma, he better hope he doesn’t get head shot.

[avenger-hawk]

How would you have written Orochimaru and Sasuke's relationship post-war? It's such a wasted potential considering the sannin x team7 master-mentor relationship were relevant throughout the series. Current Sasuke seem to treat orochimaru as his walking library of knowledge and that's about it.

Orochimaru and Sasuke’s relationship is just one of the many wrong post war things.

(antiending, some antinaruto, deal with it)

I actually liked their interactions in Sasuke Shinden, more than those in Gaiden. Shinden Sasuke is broken and lonely, his pain is tangible, but despite the brainwashing and the guilt they instilled in him there are still glimpses of his pure and honest self in the way he tells Orochimaru that he came to him because he knows everything (a praise delivered as a fact because to him it is a fact not a praise), or how he interrupts that hippie guy talking to ask if Itachi knew about those facts I completely forgot (btw I haven’t read the book so I’m referring to the anime), or in the way he interacts with Team Taka (almost, as they were already been dismissed by kishi and whomever wrote the books and SP). I didn’t like how Orochimaru treats Sasuke as if he’s a selfish person who doesn’t care about others, I really hate that, and I hate that it seems Shinden’s underlying theme, because of kishi and SP shitty writing. 

Instead in Gaiden he’s completely dead inside, with occasional glimpses of bitterness at least in the beginning, before kishi tried to turn the later chapters into something positive, failing btw. 

Team7/sannin parallels were forgotten because kishi decided to focus on next gen shit. It’s not just Sasuke, in fact he is the one who treats his mentor better, at least he acknowledges as the one who knows everything. S*kura completely forgot about Tsunade, and N*ruto lost Jiraiya already, but he was very close to Tsunade too so you’d think she would have stayed relevant somehow. But it’s part of N*ruto’s inconsistencies (of most shounen manga tbh) to dismiss characters the author doesn’t need anymore, regardless of their actual importance. In universe it looks like N*ruto is quick to forget about “friends” as individuals, despite he’s fast at painting group images of Konoha as a family or whatever. So just like he forgets Tsunade (I think in some book he even said nasty things about her being a drunkard or whatever) he treats Orochimaru like shit, which might make sense since he experimented on people, killed the Third Hokage and more. What doesn’t make sense is that he’s the Hokage so he could arrest him, kill him or whatever. Instead, just like Kakashi before him, they let him go on with his life and experiments, and send spies to control him. Well. Spies missed him experimenting on those gaiden clones but ok. 

Orochimaru in Sasuke Shinden explained his treatment as Konoha needing them for their dirty jobs, he even said it’s the same for Sasuke (as if they’re the same kind of person, but I won’t even comment this because I did it already and it’s part of postending shitty writing) so.

What’s even more outrageous is how N*ruto treats Team Taka, like the worst useless people ever, when they’re SAsuke’s precious comrades, who stood by him when no one else had. 

But I digressed. I don’t like when Sasuke is portrayed negatively, no matter the context, also because if readers actually read the manga they see that every other character has a worse attitude and did worse things than him.

How I’d have written their post war relatioship? In a similar way to how their reunion was written, with Orochimaru being less creepy and more mentor-like, willing to listen to him, explaining him stuff and providing him with support whatever his cause, completely loyal to him, and still interested in him, because a little Oro creepyness is part of his personality. I’d write Sasuke interested in what Orochimaru explains him, as he acknowledged his strength and knowledge in canon as well, and I’d have them talk, kinda like in Shinden, also about the Uchiha history, because Orochimaru knows everything, including Uchiha stuff that Sasuke has no way of knowing about otherwise, since the village swept them, their traditions, their history under the rug. 

I’d have written Sasuke getting closer to him and Team Taka, who got closer to Orochimaru in the end, not in a fluffy “let’s forget about how badly Orochimaru tortured and manipulated them” but in a mature way, because Orochimaru did horrible things but they know Konoha’s fake goodness that hides and justifies the worst actions, and they see that Orochimaru is willing to change his ways now, accepting some punishment like home arrest or something (same for Kabuto btw) but also since he’s the one who knows everything and he’s one lucky guy, kinda getting away with a slight punishment instead of death, not because I don’t want to consider his crimes or I think he’s a nice guy, but because the system is shitty and this is one more proof, and I want this shitty system to make it so that Sasuke stays away from Konoha, the root of his suffering, and closer to his real comrades, Team Taka.

[rawringryu]

tEn cHaRaCtErS

I was tagged in this meme by the awesomely rad @francisthegreat whom I’m lucky to have as my friend :) Also I’m sorry this is so late! I didn’t see you tag me until like yesterday, I had exams this week haha. This was very hard to make because I have a LOT of feelings.

Ten characters from ten fandoms:

This list is going in ascending order, meaning my very favorite faves will be last on the list.

10. Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls) First of all on this list is this asshole, gosh I have no idea why but there was a period of time where I absolutely loved Gravity Falls and I shipped with a human form with Dipper mostly because of the amazing art and some pretty complex fics written for the ship. It was a wild ride and honestly thinking about this phase of my life always makes me feel weird, like I liked him purely because I liked reading shippy fics starring him. 

9. Pearl (Steven Universe) This one is kinda weird too? Idk man I absolutely love Pearl’s design and the way her character is written. I’m not in loop with the SU fandom because ugh it’s not a happy place to be but I absolutely love browsing art of her. I love how she’s such a broken character for a kids show! I used to read SU meta and they’d go on and on about how she’s a shit character, an asshole towards Amethyst and toxic. But tbh, I feel like she’s just a complex character that made bad choices at times, she’s trying to get better, she’s trying to cope with the loss of Rose someone she probably loved in more ways than one and how she felt Rose chose Greg over her, and now she’s gone. I mean, she just can’t let go and I think that’s very human.

8. Pitch Black (Rise of the Guardians) Alright but this fandom was the first one I’d ever been in once I started out in tumblr. It was very cool and leaves bittersweet memories tbh, I absolutely adored the art and fics this fandom churned out, I used to ship Pitch and Jack Frost. The thing about Pitch is the fact that the fandom practically merged the movie with the lore from the original Guardians of Childhood the movie is based on. In the book, Pitch has such a tragic backstory, his name was Kozmotis Pitchinier and he was the best general of the Golden Army. After capturing all fearlings, he was designated to guard the prison of their imprisonment , he was haunted by their whispers and pleading and his only solace was his daughter, of whom he kept a photograph of in a locket. But one day, sensing his weakness, the prisoners imitated her voice and hypnotized Kozmotis to believe she was being held inside with them. Frantic, he opened the doors to release her, but was instead possessed by ten thousand Fearlings.

Sorry for the long summary but I just want people to know more abt his backstory haha.

7. Loki (MCU) I didn’t really know about Loki until I watched Thor: The Dark World in the cinema and I was instantly in love despite this movie being the absolutely worst of all the MCU movies, which looking back I’d have to agree. Loki is yet another tragic character whom I’m sure everyone already knows about. I think Loki is a vulnerable character who tries to be good, wants to be good but he just can’t, or he tries and other people just won’t accept him. He’s a frost giant and those people are considered monsters, how can he not be bitter that he’s the very thing ha’s been indoctrinated to hate and fear. He is a very complex character that the MCU practically does not do enough justice mostly because he’s portrayed as a villain in the movies. But I wouldn’t consider him a villain, more like an antihero, nobody trusts him and he doesn’t think anybody can love him either. I’ve only read a bit of his comics and I gotta say Loki deserves so much more than what he gets.

6. Dr Strange (MCU) (I’m breaking the one character per fandom rule idc) I know a shit ton of people absolutely HATE Dr Strange, and for a variety of reasons too. They hate him because Benedict Cumberbatch plays him and hating on BC is practically the new edgy on tumblr. People think Dr Strange should have been played by an american asian and all that yada plus the ancient one being whitewashed. While I agree some aspects of Dr Strange is problematic, I think people need to give it more credit, at least watch it for the cool effects that the stupidly huge amount of people worked on. Also as an asian, I can guarantee you most people outside of America doesn’t give two shits about these controversies and movies should be a source of pleasure instead of thinking about all the negative shit only. Dr Strange deserves so much more, he’s an interesting and while he does share some qualities with Tony Stark, he’s his own character with his own issues. Plus his comics are very fun to read, come on, magic in the Marvel is such an awesome concept. Fuck you haters, I just wanna have a good time with the magic man.

5. Sherlcok Holmes (BBC Sherlock) This is also one of my earliest fandoms on tumblr. Sherlock season 4 absolutely ruined it with all the queer baiting and the shitty plot. But Sherlock had always left bittersweet memories for me too. Mostly because of the absolutely amazing and complex fics written for it, I will never understand how fic authors do it but Sherlock fics were amazing and I would gladly choose these fics over canon any time. 

4. Asuka Langley Soryuu (Neon Genesis Evangelion) I have so many feelings about this bitch right here, honestly one of the most relate-able characters for me. Asuka is a very human character, she’s very proud and has emotional issues. She was considered the best of the best and was trained to be an Eva pilot since she was four because she’s a child genius. However she has a tragic backstory, her mother underwent some tests and became insane, believing that Asuka's doll was her daughter and refusing to acknowledge the real Asuka, referring to her as "that girl over there." She eventually commits suicide by hanging herself; Asuka found her body when she went to tell her the good news that she had been chosen to become an Eva pilot. She couldn’t let go that Shinji the main character was starting to become a better pilot than her despite training for months only. She suppresses a lot of her emotions and had unhealthy ways of coping. I just want her to be happy.

3. Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is what I would consider the holy grail of anime tbh. Edward is just about the most selfless person out there in the fictional world of anime. I love the fact that Ed and Al started their journey off with mildly selfish reasons that is to return their body parts whom they lost to in a deal with Truth to bring back their mom which ultimately failed. In the end, Edward is willing to lose his alchemy, the very things that defines him, that started this whole mess, that is the source of his joy and misery for the sake of gaining his brother’s body back instead of selfishly using the Philosopher’s stone that’s made using human souls. I just want this shorty to be happy and I’m glad he is with that satisfying end.

2. Hitsugaya Toshiro (Bleach) The reason this guy is ranked so high in my list is mostly because, he’s been there for me since I was a smol kid, I’ve had a crush on him ever since I was 10 and I could never let go. He’s the one fictional character whom I still fallback to every time things stagnant, I love reading fics about him, he’s just so cool! He’s a child genius with a sword that can shoot ice dragons. Plus he’s always written in such a complex way in fics, Kubo missed his fucking chance by not expanding more about his character in the manga, but clearly Kubo is incompetent when it comes to plot so whatever I guess.

1. Kylo Ren (Star Wars) The Star Wars fandom or specifically the Kylux subfandom is probably the happiest plave I’ve ever been in since forever. It’s the first time I’ve ever talked to anyone at all online, I only lurked around in other fandoms but Star Wars made me able to brave the fandom and talk to people in it, I’ve met so many amazing people and read amazing fics in it, it’s mostly due to the KRB discord chat that I’m still going strong with this fandom. I absolutely love Kylo Ren and can he please crush me between his thighs. The thing that attracted me to him besides his unconventionally attractive appearance is his emotional vulnerability. Kylo has been neglected by Leia and Han as a kid and sent away to jedi school with Luke, he’s been manipulated by Snoke as a kid and Leia and Han just don’t think they can take care of him properly, they’re afraid of him and always too busy with their work, Kylo wasn’t planned, the way their relationship worked just wasn’t ideal for child rearing, Kylo was left alone with Luke, unable to understand why his parents don’t want him anymore, how he was too emotional for the jedi way. While what Kylo did was not justifiable with all that murdering, it’s not a stretch to say that he was very mush a victim of circumstances too. I related to Kylo a lot as I’d been sort of neglected as a child too, both my parents were always busy with work and I only saw them during mealtimes and before bed.

Sorry for the long post ya’ll! I have so many emotions about fictional characters haha.

I’ll be tagging @magicandmalice , @omega-hux, @tezzypants, @darktenshi17, @comraderevelin, @kylocatastrophe, @dargason-under-the-fantasia, @oblioknowlton, @evilblubber, @plasticpill and @glass-oceans that is if ya’ll want to, I had fun and went super overboard.

[magicalgirlmascot]

Heya I don't mean to sound passive aggressive in any way, but I was just wondering why is it that you dislike Super a lot? I mean you're allowed to like and dislike whatever you want, and I'm in no way trying to change your opinion. I'm just curious as to why you seem to have a burning hatred for it?

Nah you don’t sound passive aggressive ^^ if you were you wouldn’t have acknowledged that my opinion is a valid one, you’re cool

I’ve avoided going into too much detail to avoid The Discourse, but essentially it comes down to a few main points: ships I don’t like, characters I don’t care about, pacing, terrible one-note characterization, and the fans.

I know a lot of that sounds really petty but with all my Sweet Home Alabama discourse yesterday are any of you surprised

I’m going to put my more detailed reasoning under a cut because boy howdy it is long and I have some Things To Say

Ships I Don’t LikeOkay this, honestly, is incredibly petty, and it’s not even the pettiest thing on here. But I HATE Trunks/Mai. I hate it. It is the worst ship that’s had the word “canon” sneezed at it in all of DB history, and that’s coming from someone who firmly believes Yamcha/Bulma was unhealthy for both parties. One of my rules for accepting writing commissions and requests is that I will not accept ships with an “aged up” child character in a relationship with an adult. (Aged up children in relationships with other aged up children are a different story, as they’re at least at the same stage of development, but that’s an issue for another day.) Trunks/Mai has the opposite problem: it’s an “aged down” adult character in a relationship with a child. You can argue about Future Trunks’s age all you want, but that changes nothing about kid Trunks and Mai. She’s in her forties. He’s nine at most. How is this not the creepiest thing in the world what the fuck.

Even with Future Trunks and Future Mai, it still grosses me out because it’s the same thing. Assuming the Pilaf Gang did (somehow) wish to be young again in the Future timeline (which...I don’t see how they could have, that doesn’t make sense continuity-wise, but continuity has never been DB’s strong suit), that still makes her way older than him. And if they didn’t, well, that’s just worse. Also how is she still that young looking.

Honestly the only reason I can think of for Toei/Toriyama to bring that into existence was so people would stop shipping Trunks with Goten and Future Trunks with Gohan. Which. I get it, you don’t like it, they’re your characters, et cetera, but could you maybe not have done it in a somewhat less creepy way? Dude. What 40-something wants to be in a relationship with a kid? Even if said 40-something looks like a kid? It’s creepy and gross and I hate it more than any other canon ship.

Characters I Don’t Care AboutI’ve heard a lot of people refer to Super as The Goku and Vegeta Hour and...yeah. DB’s never been great at remembering their MILLIONS of side characters (humans especially once Z happened) and Super doesn’t take enough steps to change that imo. Don’t get me wrong--I like Goku, and I...tolerate Vegeta, but characters who were once considered major players are relegated to backseat viewers again, and nobody can keep up with Goku except Vegeta sometimes (when previously most of them could at least hold their own). I’ll admit, I like the looks of some of the new characters, there are some who seem like they have interesting characterizations (like Kale.....though I’ll be the first to admit I’m biased as hell towards buff women). But Zamasu/Goku Black or whatever just seemed like a couple of shitty Hot Topic teens. I went to high school with people like them and they were annoying.

There’s just too much of a focus on a few specific characters while other characters get the shaft, and the new characters and plot points they bring up just...aren’t interesting. I don’t give a shit about yet another “gotta get stronger” plot you guys. Ugh.

PacingOKAY I’LL ADMIT this is the pettiest thing on this list but like...I’ve never liked the DB anime’s pacing. Ever. Remember how I used to liveblog DBZ? I got like 10 episodes in and got fed up with how long it took to get anywhere. Stuff that took like...a couple chapters in the manga took five half-hour episodes to deal with. And you’d think they would’ve learned in 30 years, especially since they don’t have to base everything off the manga now, but no, the pacing is still awful. And it’s not just the whole “Namek takes half a season to explode” stuff (although that is really annoying, and knowing the real-world reason for it doesn’t make it less annoying), it’s that every shot lasts longer than it needs to. You could cut the running time in half just by trimming the shots slightly. It’s bad, and I’ve always stuck to the manga because of it. It’s not that I’m a Manga Purist(TM) or anything, I just...can’t watch the anime.

Terrible, One-Note CharacterizationYou all know who I mean when I say this, but it extends to more than just Yamcha.

Videl’s character was absolutely decimated in this show. 18′s the only female fighter we have left anymore because of it. I once saw an argument saying that Videl not fighting anymore makes sense because she was traumatized by being killed by Buu, which okay fine fair enough, but 1) nobody said she had to fight in life-or-deaths situations, AT LEAST LET HER BE SAIYAWOMAN AGAIN YOU COWARDS, and 2) that doesn’t mean you have to get rid of her firecracker personality and replace it with the sweet, docile housewife type. We saw it with Chi-Chi...sort of, we don’t need it with Videl, too. Once a female character gets married in DB, they stop fighting (except 18) and stop being important to the plot (except Bulma...sometimes (remember when Bulma was the main character? Pepperidge Farm remembers)). Three times is a pattern, Toriyama, I’m just saying.

Goku even gets hit with shades of this. He’s not an idiot, you guys, he can read a dang grocery list. Yes, he’s selfish and simple and bad at communicating and often doesn’t realise what he’s done wrong until it’s pointed out to him, but he’s also a fast learner, a really good tactician (like. look at some of his fights in DB and early Z, those are some Good Tactics), and not a complete asswipe. We don’t get to see those good traits much in Super. He had no reason to not tell people the stakes for the tournament to get them to join. None. There was no reason to lie. Yes, his biggest flaw is his inability to communicate with his friends and teammates (COUGHS LOUDLY AND LOOKS AT THE CELL ARC) but Jesus you guys, his friends would have helped him if he told them the real stakes too? He didn’t need to lie? There was no point? I’m so angry?

The worst of it though is Yamcha. For the love of fuck, you guys, Yamcha has more characterization than just “guy who sucks at everything and has a thing for Bulma.” Like that’s some Funi dub shit there, not original canon. What happened to when he said he’d given up fighting in the Buu arc? Where did that go? You could have done so much more with that concept rather than have him still be overconfident in his abilities and slamming him at every turn. Even when he does get to do stuff, it’s obvious that it’s just a setup to make him fail so Vegeta will look good by comparison. It’s awful. The writers have such an obvious hard-on for Vegeta and they keep cutting Yamcha down. Those bits where he’s waiting for Goku to ask him to the tournament even though we all know he won’t? They’re not funny, they’re just sad. Also, on that note, why is Roshi there? Yamcha surpassed Roshi years ago, Roshi himself says so! I get that he wasn’t in the RF movie because his voice actor was busy, but they couldn’t have given a better reason than just Tien leaving him behind because he didn’t think he could keep up? At least have him sick in bed with a fever and wanting to go anyway and being forced to stay behind by a worried Tien or something guys, geez. And his VA was obviously around for that arc of Super, so what the hell.

(Yes I was salty earlier about Yamcha still fighting and shit but if you’re going to drop the “Yamcha retiring from fighting” plot point then at least DO something with it you cowards)

FansOH GOD, THE FANS. Not to say that people who dislike Super are perfect or ideologically pure (I once knew a person who bragged about trolling/picking on Super fans...we do not talk), but the people who do like the show seem to spend an awful lot of time yelling at us and telling people they’re not real fans if they like GT more than Super or don’t like either or whatever.

And of course the VegeBullies are out in full force over it, too. VegeBul gets a lot of screentime, and when fans of other ships (GoChi primarily) say “hey we’d like more content” they get shut down or yelled at. They demand more content despite already having more than anyone else at this point. Shut the fuck up and let me enjoy the fact that Tien and Yamcha stood next to each other again in peace.

But that’s getting dangerously close to ship war territory and I try to stay out of that. (It’s hard, because I’m a salty, bitter person, but I try.) I’ll also say Not All VegeBuls(TM) even though I shouldn’t have to because if I don’t I’ll get at least 10 angry anons in my inbox flipping their shit.

You know what the really sad thing is? When Super was first announced, I was mega excited. And I really liked the first couple episodes! But they veered away from making it the Martial Arts Themed Slice of Life Comedy Hour we deserved, they retold the same story the movies already did instead of just making the movies canon and continuing from there (thereby drawing it out way too much), and they just...fucked it up in general. I can’t stand Super and while I don’t expect to sway anyone’s opinion with this, you did ask me why, and I hope now you can understand.

[ghostmartyr]

SnK 93 Thoughts

So.

So, so, so.

Ahem.

Some will win Some will lose Some were born to sing the blues

Oh, the movie never ends It goes on and on, and on, and on

Isayama has always had a way of indulging monstrosities. When it comes to people being terrible, he’s pretty negligent with restraint. During the coup arc, he makes the similarities between the chaotic hunger of titans and humans so blatantly clear that it’s easy to feel like you’re being bashed over the head with a hammer. When he wants to make a point, he makes a point.

Since Marley’s been part of the show, it’s existed almost entirely as a How To guide on how not to be a person. Their entire military force is based in bigotry of one sort or another, their entire reason for attacking Paradis is feeling entitled to their resources, and most everything we’ve seen of how Eldians are treated in general makes the thought of a meteor eliminating the whole nation a lot less sad than that usually might be.

In this chapter, the scale is dialed back, and we’re given a chance to see the Marleyans as more than caricatures of evil.

We see humans who are worried about what their decreased military power means for their nation. We see them discussing their options in quiet offices and rooftops.

In its own way, that’s as disturbing as everything else Marley has done. They are still the people who view Eldian lives as exploitable trash. They still have no issues throwing people out of planes to be their mindless, helpless weapons. The morality of attacking a nation that has done absolutely nothing to provoke them never enters into play.

Every appalling act of inhumanity performed by their country has been backed by human beings. They aren’t actively setting out to be as evil as possible; they just take in their options, and when the only thing standing in their way is moral decency, decline to let that be a factor.

After Reiner and Bertolt break down Wall Maria, thousands of people are killed. What’s easy to forget so many years later is that thousands of those people die because their government decides that it’s easier for everyone if they write off their lives.

Marley has gotten away with adopting that decision as a lifestyle. Largely because they don’t have to deal with the pesky consideration that Eldians are people.

Essentially, minus the flagrant bigotry, they’re everything that Paradis escapes becoming. On Paradis, after a hundred years of being cowed into complacence and letting some of their worst human vices take over, people start to wake up. They’re given a glimpse of hope, and a future, and enough people are willing to believe in that to change the cruelty that’s been smothering them.

The Marleyan Eldians, the only people who have serious personal stakes in maybe not doing things this way anymore, don’t have much hope. The greatest option for a better life is training as hard as possible to be selected to die in thirteen years.

That’s a cycle that’s been going on for a hundred years. It hasn’t broken. The system’s just found a way to make Eldians compliant in their tragedy.

I don’t know how the chapter title works out in Japanese, or what references Isayama may or may not include, but in English, the title, “Midnight Train,” makes it hard to think of anything but Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’.

There’s a literal train a the end of the chapter, of course, and. it is arguably around midnight at the time it’s running, but that’s less fun.

I could probably go to more effort weaving in and out of how the two can relate, but for the purposes of this second, I’m just going to quote fast and get out.

Payin' anything to roll the dice Just one more time

On its own, those lines easily call to both the Warriors and the Survey Corps. Countless Scouts have given up their lives for the barest hint of a chance that something might go right someday.

Warriors see how they’re treated by their country constantly, and know that this didn’t start yesterday, and they each still approach it with the thought that they’ll be the ones to make everything okay for their people.

Some will win, and some will lose.

For Marleyan Eldians, Marley is the house, and they’re handing the players loaded dice.

Some were clearly born to sing the blues.

Anyway, that’s a lot of nothing saying that I appreciate the less blatant evil going on in this chapter. It makes the worst of it all hit harder. Things aren’t always train tracks and mustache-twirling. These are real human beings, choosing to enact real horrors.

Though. All the same.

There is no part of this sentiment that is not fucked up, and I’d really like to stop reading about Marley now.

What else, what else...

Well, confirmation that no one on Marley’s side knows about Zeke’s royal blood; except for maybe Zeke. We also get explicit verbage about Shifters inheriting their predecessors’ memories.

Along with the implication that Zeke went around stabbing every single person in Connie’s village with needles full of his spinal fluid.

...I. Do not know which implication is worse, there. Does... Zeke keep a stock of his spinal fluid? I mean, Marley would be more likely in that case, but that’s pretty thoroughly worse.

Getting spinal fluid out is considered pretty painful, to my knowledge. ...Does he stab himself when he’s all alone on random islands?

...Was there ever a reason given besides, “for funsies,” that he transformed Connie’s village anyway?

I think I’m just not going to think about that one too hard unless the manga starts shining a giant spotlight on it. Not caring is usually a pretty good ally in lore things.

In other news, Reiner continues to be a horrible person, adding threatening small children to his list of faults. At least he only scares the one who doesn’t like him much half to death.

It continues to amaze me that you can develop a character who is unfailingly loyal to the point that it psychologically breaks him to be a traitor, and still make him such an asshole. When he isn’t jumping in front of things for people, he’s making them feel like crap.

Unless your name’s Connie.

Then he’ll just loudly suggest that you’re a moron for hearing weird things around your mother’s titanized body.

...

Reiner should not be allowed to people.

He also has a weird obsession with turning boys into white knights.

Krista?

I shall save you, girl whose name I have yet to get right!

Bertolt has a thing for Annie?

You must rescue her as is becoming of the princely way!

Falco has a thing for Gabi?

You shall save her, valiant young steed!

He gives this poor kid a traumatizing lecture on the honor Warriors are bestowed with, and then drags him into a grueling grind of training to surpass Gabi so that he’ll be chosen (things to be included: comfort with standing in front of enemy lines in your underwear with not but a bunch of bombs for company), and then terms it as saving the damsel in distress from the horror that is being a Marley Warrior.

Reiner doesn’t just want to be a fairy tale knight.

He wants everyone around him to be one too.

If Galliard didn’t hate him, he’d be spending all of his time telling him to protect the fair maiden Pieck.

That’s Reiner’s real character arc: He’s just this poor guy trying to get an RP group going. No one ever plays the scene out right, so he’s condemned to misery for the rest of his lonely two years.

Alternatively, he has no clue how to deal with his own emotions, so he’s constantly shoving them off on other people who are just barely well-adjusted enough to maybe get something done.

“I’m a lost cause so I’m going to yell at children” is a staple of the genre.

I don’t know if Reiner’s still doing his Soldier/Warrior split (I’m guessing not, since he’s so definitively in Warrior territory, and has been for several years now), but his psychological health has somehow succeeded in getting worse.

Maybe try killing less people.

So far, I like Pieck and Galliard. Pieck obviously garners immediate sympathy because the Cartman train apparently isn’t allowed to stop during a war, and having Galliard obviously care for her is cool. These two haven’t betrayed anyone yet, or been spotted attacking people they aren’t actively at war with, so it’s easier to see them as people.

Galliard’s dislike of Reiner is just a bonus.

It’s also kind of sad. “Kind of” meaning very. No one but Reiner understands the weight of everything that happens on Paradis, but Galliard is the one whose squad left him behind. Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, and his brother are all chosen ahead of him, and he has to watch them head off to save their people while he just stays put.

Then the only person who comes back is the one whose spot he was in direct competition for. His brother and the friends he could like are gone, and Reiner has the audacity to stay standing.

Unfortunately, I think that brings us to the only reason any of you are probably reading this post.

Jaws is the Dancing Titan.

Galliard is the successor of Ymir’s power, by proof of his abilities and new memories.

That would indicate that Ymir is dead.

Every single thing we know about canon says that Ymir is dead.

Deceased. Nommed. Gone.

We have flashback panels to before she’s eaten. Galliard remembers her by name. He has memories of Reiner’s time as a soldier.

Short of a body, which, um. Let’s just say would not be around, given the circumstances, that is pretty damn conclusive.

So.

I have a problem.

My problem is a pretty simple one.

This is really fucking stupid.

And I really, really, really wish that in a capslock rage kind of way, because I feel like I would have an easier time defending that. Sadly, I don’t mean it in that way.

What I mean is that the story has failed so spectacularly to establish logic in this chain of events that I’m not convinced that this is the end.

Which means that I’m probably going to continue getting asks about why I think Ymir’s alive (though that isn’t... precisely true).

Despite being handed a chapter that pretty much shouts, “SHE’S DEAD,” as loudly as possible.

Yeah.

Assuming that there’s at least one person who’s interested in why in between laughing at me or unfollowing in disgust or any number of other things that make me think that being in mourning would actually be easier, I guess I’ll keep typing and try to explain why.

Ymir’s fate has happened to come up a number of times here, but I think the best explanation for my belief in her continued longevity is the one I went with most recently.

I’m no stranger to looking askance at Isayama’s writing choices. However, one thing he has always stayed true to, with a consistency that any writer would find admirable, is the characters. You see signs of who all of these people are far before the traits become relevant. He has a talent for breathing life into his creations, and however long they live for, they are distinct individuals without any notes to them that ring untrue.

With the facts currently at hand, for the first time, we have a jarring development that feels more like an instrument of the plot than something that a character would actually do.

Galliard and Reiner both say that Ymir volunteers to die.

Putting aside the fact that Reiner is a complete jackass for letting Ymir do that for him and Bertolt (what the hell is wrong with you that you present the woman who saved your life to be eaten alive), I do not know how to begin with this.

Because I know that this is one of those positions that means I basically can’t ever have a civil conversation with anyone again in this fandom, I’m going to try to be as direct as possible about my reasoning.

The issues start with... wow, I really don’t like doing this.

At the simplest level, nothing we have seen of Ymir since her time on the wall with Reiner and Bertolt suggests that this is a decision she’s happy about. She looks like death (ha) in this chapter, and she doesn’t look much happier writing out her love letter.

This isn’t the scared-but-willing face she puts on during Utgard or the kidnapping arc. It isn’t the smile when she talks about being a goddess. It’s desolation.

There are parts to the end of volume twelve that could point to this as a legit ending. I think one of the things I brought up in regards to Bertolt’s death was that the second his development landed on the idea that everything is inevitable, his death joined the list, because this is a series where if you don’t fight, you most assuredly do not win.

If you wanted to go there, making the case that Isayama can be lax with the amount of evidence his character decisions have, but they are always available, then Ymir’s line, “I’m tired out. I’ve just had enough. ...I’m done,” is perfectly prophetic, the end.

My problem with that is it happens post-Utgard and kidnapping arc. I don’t think any other set of chapters is as committed to sleep deprivation as those ones, and basically all of the decisions Ymir makes during the kidnapping arc are shortsighted and corrected by someone having half a second to think about them.

I’m using “problem” like it’s singular a lot. I do that. It’s annoying, and I’m going to continue doing it.

The more pressing issue here is that if this is how Ymir’s story ends, she has absolutely zero value as an individual.

She lives and dies only for other people.

She does it in her first life, then again in her second.

She has an active desire to avoid that.

Oh well.

I don’t think I know how to put into words how thoroughly this end would turn Ymir into a satellite character.

Every life lesson she ever learns for herself has zero effect on her life. As far as character development goes, if this is how things play out, she doesn’t really have any. She begins her life living only for the happiness of others, and ends her life dying only for the happiness of others.

In a lot of stories, that wouldn’t be such a problem. There is definite tragedy in someone’s own nature betraying their desires. That’s practically what tragedy is.

But with Ymir--first off, as mentioned in the above link, we’ve already done this at Utgard. This is exactly the problem she faces at Utgard, finding that she has too much love in her heart to save her own skin at all costs. Saving Reiner and Bertolt is a dull repetition of that revelation already.

And that’s before saving them involves moving forward to be eaten alive.

This is actually painful: She has a life on Marley, dies because she’s a tryhard. She has a life on Paradis, then Utgard happens and oh no, she cares about people. Then kidnapping happens, and oh no, she still cares about Historia. THEN THE CONCLUSION OF THE KIDNAPPING HAPPENS, AND OH NO, SHE CARES ABOUT REINER AND BERTOLT.

Following all of that: OH NO, DESPITE WONDERING WHY THE HELL THIS IS A DECISION SHE’S MADE, YEP, STILL GONNA DIE FOR THEM!

(you know, those people she threatened with death an hour ago for a chance to see Historia one more time)

You can make the argument that she’s consistent, but there’s a huge difference in automatically shielding people from immediate danger, and walking up to the gallows and tying the knot yourself. For that final save, that’s what the story is asking us to believe happened.

Additionally, all of the above only benefits other people. If this is the end, Ymir’s basic function in the story is being Historia’s love interest and keeping plot-essential characters breathing. On her own, she has a personality, but you might as well stamp tool to her forehead and be done with it.

Seriously, playing along with exactly what the text says, with dead Ymir: Remove Historia from the story and then examine how much worth Ymir’s story has to any of this. If she’s dead, she’s more plot device than person, which Isayama has always been good about avoiding.

...Okay, I don’t think I can say that without someone at least thinking of Floch, to which I say that if Ymir and Floch are at all comparable in value, you know something’s gone sideways.

There is no solid logic for Ymir to hand herself over to Marley. By dying, she spares Bertolt for what, two months? Reiner would have died as well if not for being Reiner. She also gives Marley a shiny new toy, with no guarantees on this new person caring at all about Historia.

Oh yeah, and she’d be dead.

She kind of spends several pages during 47 having a meltdown over imminent death.

And in that case, she’s facing it for Historia.

That girl she loves or something.

Who she’s still willing to put at risk just to see her one more time because she’s a selfish teenager who has things to live for.

But, you know, things happen. Characters aren’t always as important as you think they are, that’s the way it goes, and so on and so forth.

Except it does matter that Ymir’s arc is concluding this way. With no other character besides Historia (who has an extensive arc dealing with the emotional threat this represents) could you have an ending that flies so directly in the face of everything they stand for. And for crying out loud, Historia’s arc is pretty much learning to use everything Ymir teaches her.

You can’t have Ymir fail her own beliefs this badly without any elaboration.

Like.

You’re going to kill yourself, the ultimate act of submission. Is that how much you want to please the people who treated you like a nuisance?! Why are you trying to hurt yourself?! If your will is that strong… then shouldn’t you be able to change your fate?!

We get a whole character arc that starts with Ymir deriding her for abusing her suicidal desires. Willingly walking into death without fighting like hell to stay alive is not something Ymir does.

If this is really the end, it’s appallingly disrespectful to everything Ymir is as a character, using her only to keep the key players alive and sane--and maybe as a reason for a queen of some island to have a serious grudge.

None of which involves treating Ymir as a person who matters as an individual.

And that’s the crux of the thing for me.

Which is sad, since I don’t really want more people telling me how very wrong about life, the universe, and everything I am.

Here it is, though:

Despite all evidence pointing to Ymir’s death, and despite everything we know about canon only supporting that she must be dead, Isayama has such a long track record of respecting his characters that I do not believe that this is her end.

There is no grounding in canon for thinking that Ymir is alive (I’m not even sure she is alive in the traditional way, if there’s more to this). There is only suspicion built on the author’s history. That isn’t much. By the standards I prefer, it’s absolutely nothing.

Shifters aren’t great about remembering that first nom, and we know nothing about the ninth titan yet, but there’s also no reason to believe either of those things might be relevant.

I don’t like being the person who looks at mountains of evidence and shrugs it off. I really don’t like it when character deaths are involved. I hate it, actually, but I’m guessing that until the manga ends, even when the inevitable volume release finally has an X through Ymir’s picture, I’ll be holding out for something amazing happening with her.

Because I’m a moron.

Well.

And it enables me to end the post in this fashion.

DON’T STOP BELIEVING

HOLD ON TO THAT FEEEEEEEELING

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Tsukigakirei 4 | Kado 4 | Boku no Hero Academia 18 | Grimoire of Zero 4 | Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine 5

Tsukigakirei 4

By the by, episode 5’s title (Kokoro) is a reference to a Natsume Souseki book, just in case you were wondering when we were properly going to get to the Souseki stuff.

That gold dragon case Kotaro has is cool as. I want one…

There’s one scene with a lot of iron poles that I can’t quite decipher in regards to whether it’s CGI or not…(around 4:56 on CR).

Why is it that every time characters do Touristy Things ™, there are slow pans of scenery? It kinda pisses me off ever since it happened in Blue Exorcist…

Selfies are still popular with people, I see. Thought they’d died out already…

Oh gosh. The CGI got so obvious in this, it’s about the same level as cars in Alice to Zouroku (which look hella blocky)!

(when Akane walks out of the store) I know the feel, Akane. I know the feel too well.

Why is getting on the scale such a big deal in Japan? I get it for Akane’s friend who does it here, since girls are conscious about their weight more than boys, and I get it for Atsushi (Boueibu) as Boueibu’s a parody of content targeted at girls, but the scale is in such an obvious place in bath places…

Although the show has passed the Bechdel test already (unlike some of my works…ouch…) I feel that even with the “honesty” thing Tsukigakirei has going, it does kinda fall into a stereotype of “girls talk about boys” if it’s not focussing on the track stuff and that feels kinda disappointing. Girls can be more multifaceted than that, just like boys can.

The girls are eating dango. You can see those in Touken Ranbu all the time.

The CGI people makes this look like (what I know of) Ajin, and that’s bad.

Do you know about that Japanese graffiti where you put two names under an umbrella as a sign of love? Yeah…this is kinda like that.

“I want to talk wih you more” does not equal “I want to be your boyfriend/girlfriend”, kiddos. Remember that.

Kado 4

I’ve noticed between the start of the Sports Festival Arc (BnHA), Kado and Tsukigakirei, I’m yelling “hurry up!” at my screen a lot. Considering how great the latter two are despite their slow pace, I don’t mind those ones being subjected to my yelling, but BnHA is meant to be a fast mover by virtue of its genre. Also, since the three are received in the same 2 day period, it’s inevitable they’ll continue to get comparisons to each other.

29th of what month?

I should’ve known…Shindo would’ve decided to release children and mothers first, because it makes sense. *nods understandingly*

Oh, it’s the 25th of July this stuff started on. Okay. On the subject of Kado, I must say the artstyle of both the adaptional manga and the Railgun one (for after ep 5) don’t do the show any justice. Shindo and Shunina’s faces are too squashed on the Railgun promo image (plus the dot style is weird), while the adaptational manga’s faces for those two don’t look as beautiful as the merch images (exhibit A is the cover page for the linked chapter, the noses don’t look right there). (Then again, I can be very picky about this stuff, considering I am a lover of bishies and I tend to have high standards of “beauty”…)

The manhug was unintentionally suspenseful (when it happened) and funny (after it happened).

I’m not sure if bob girl (forgot her name) should be happy about this, because she sure looks happy.

Why Hanamori, the incompetent one? Then again, there must be a reason why Hanamori hangs around with Shindo and I can understand Shindo’s need for movement.

Wowee, Shindo. I can’t believe you just fired yourself…

They’re focussing on the UN, that’s rare…! I should’ve known it was coming due to Shindo belonging to it, but anime is normally very Japan-centric and never moves from that sphere.

I’ve never been to Haneda (as of this commentary), but what’s up with that dancing girl statue?

It’s quite interesting, not as a fellow person but as a viewer of this show, to note Shindo overworks himself and that he operates off adrenaline. He seems basically superhuman with all his negotiation skills.

A senpai is getting scolded by a kouhai tsundere. Never thought I’d see that in my life. Also, when Saraka thrusts the iPad at Shindo, notice how fluid and fast the motion is. That truly is evidence for how good the CGI is.

“Yahakui zaShunina is hot.” “I love the pattens on the side of Kado.” – *nods* I agree with these people. Two of many reasons why I’m in Kado hell at the moment. However, do note the exact word used for the Kado statement is ステキ, not “love” (suki) but rather “wonderful” (suteki), i.e. “The patterns on the side of Kado are wonderful”, there appears to be an unsubbed statement saying “あれプロジェクションマッピング？” (“Is that projection mapping?”) and the Shunina statement appears to say “Yahakui zaShunina is cool”, rather than saying “he’s hot”, so the “hot” is an implication at best, nonexistent at worst. If you find these words familiar, it’s because I copied them for this post.

Hey, it’s this guy. No wonder the staff needed ep 1.

Google-sensei says plastic is not conductive normally, but since it’s organic, it can be made to be conductive. Hence conductive plastics. Also, NMR appears to be this.

Senbei. After all the big sciency things I’ve noted for this show, senbei is a real laugh.

So basically speaking…it’s kinda like nuclear bombs all over again...

La Luna (White Parasite) was into human stories, and it had a collection of storybooks which gave it inspiration to make the magicians themed after fairytales and itself after a kitsune. The Kado staff applied a similar concept to Shunina and I must say they’ve done it much better than I ever did.

It’s heartbreaking to see the bromance end. Just seeing Hanamori in tears makes me wanna hug him, dangit.

It’s an odd choice to note China was one of the countries highlighted in the explanation of “countries”, as Japan and China don’t have the best relationship in history.

Even if the Japanese fought in self-defence using the JSDF, they wouldn’t be able to fight against international military action…and the Japanese Constitution said they renounced war after World War II…*gulps* (You can really tell I brushed up on 20th century history before getting here, eh?)

Seeing Shunina using a phone is just…*laughs* fabulous! It’s something I never would’ve thought of for La Luna, although I did accidentally stumble across a spoiler for it on Tumblr last week (…so I knew it would happen eventually, but that’s my fault).

What in this dimension and Shunina’s do the government people want with Kanata??? Man, these cliffhangers every week are really getting to me, dangit! (Sidenote: I love, love, love shows that make me want to watch the next ep every week, but simulcasts do give you the unique hell of waiting one week to find out what happens next, assuming you don’t want to get spoiled in the process.)

Boku no Hero Academia 18

“Yaoyorozu’s Creation is too hard to deal with!”

Interesting to note Bakugou only says “Kirishima”. (I noticed it last time but only made a note of it this time.)

I knew this from spoilers already (in fact, Monoma was how I learnt the Japanese word for “to copy” – monomane suru!) but Monoma is a copycat guy. I didn’t know how the Quirk was introduced though, so that was great.

Wowee, Monoma really likes provoking people, eh?

It’s the small things, like the knocks on Kirishima’s head, that make this show a delight to watch.

Small sidenote, but I think Endeavour’s flaming beard is great. As I said, the small things are what makes it a delight to watch…because it’s so unique.

Grimoire of Zero 4

Oh great, this merchant again…

Those apples are so misshapen, I sometimes think they’re pears.

At first I thought the subbers were lazy but then I realised…it’s a montage. D’oh.

“The sky is so blue.” – Yeah, and the rainbows are all rainbowy. (sarcastic)

At least Albus knows where the fish is, LOL.

It’s a bit dizzying to have a sudden cut to a rock, but at least that makes for a unique humour experience. Not ina metaphorical sense, mind you – I almost felt like I was going to be dizzy because of the suddenness of thecut.

I have a bad feeling about Latette, because of what Albus said. It’s kinda like that point in Mulan where they’re singing “A Girl Worth Fighting For” and suddenly, bam! You get my drift?

A burnt doll. See? Mulan de ja vu all over again. The only difference is how the houses are intact this time.

Grimoire of Zero isn’t bad, and I still want to know what happens next in it, but it could aim to be less cliché. The chemistry of the characters really sells it, so maybe the show should learn to focus on that in the future while continuing its worldbuilding and theme exploration (instead of going on about, say, Zero having romantic interest in Mercenary).

Royal Tutor 5

In this one shot of Viktor on a horse, it’s like someone crossed Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure with Napoleon…and that’s funny(!)

Ooh, who’s this guy with the green eyes? He looks a lot like Sebastian (Michaelis, Black Butler) or Pad-kun’s human form (Classicaloid).

Was that green statue CGI? If it was, the CGI was pretty obvious.

I never explained this earlier, but I found the word oushitsu in a Japanese-English dictionary. It means “royal family”, despite the second character meaning “room”.

Ooh. The King. Such pretty, such wow. (I like him.)

Hmph. This sort of plot is what you’d see in something like Masamune-kun’s Revenge. (In fact, I bring that name up because in one of the episodes, a plot like that does indeed happen.) Does this mean this show’s getting sloppy? I hope that’s not the case.

I guess the feeling of defeat setting in means the battle’s over before it’s even begun, eh? So don’t feel down, get motivated, Leonhard…or something like that.

One plus one can equal 11 or window, depending on how you look at it.

Wuh? That’s just your interests, Licht.

Oh! Sachertorte. Didn’t think of that, even though Kai did foreshadow it.

I think all teachers (and then some people who are not teachers, me included) understand that sentiment already, Heine. It’s called the “growth mindset”, to use some buzzwords from a former teacher of mine. (Speaking of “growth mindset”, I got a poster about it from said teacher. That’s why I still remember the concept.)

I think the animators aimed for a determined expression (at “Hurry up and teach me!”) but Leo’s frown makes him look like a sorrowful puppy.

I think this anime would benefit if it had more of that thick line style Leo took on for a second there.

Oh. The palace is CGI in those sky shots. No wonder I thought it was off somehow. The CGI actually makes the palace look realistic. It’s a very Kado way of applying CGI and when Kado is my standard of CGI that I like, that is something this show should be proud of.

Oh! Another foreshadowed loophole I should have seen coming.

There is a strange object in the back that appears to be CGId. It looks like it’s shaped like a fireplace, and it’s a good thing that it follows the Kado application style. (Then again, me noticing weird CGI things is just a habit…)

Well, this is a new interesting development. Hopefully we can get to the truth behind Heine’s past without having the anime be sloppy or cut off in the middle of the developments (like Nanbaka).

[sparda3g]

Tokyo Ghoul:re Chapter 124 Review

In this series, it's tough to be completely happy with whatever that seems good or a moment that the fans have been waiting for. While the last couple of pages are the main highlight that has everyone talking, the chapter itself has a lot to talk about with its moving words, a sudden development, and an eerie foreshadow.

It does surprise me with its direction that I didn't feel cheated or disappointed. It maintains the characters in their rightful track. It's the matter of timing to execute one narrative or another. It also leads up to a different point that I left wondering on what to expect for the next. It does resume the nature of buildup, but it works well since it is building up into a great deciding factor of Tokyo.

I said many times that there's a good chance that Touka would lash out and beat the crap out of Mutsuki. Instead, her character goes into "fight first, emotion later;" meaning she continues to portray the way she has. It's fitting that despite how rash she can be, she's smart enough to maintain her cool, especially this is her best friend we're talking about. Also, Yoriko is under arrest, which I am still worried about her status. Surprised that Mutsuki does maintain order of CCG. I wonder how Takeomi would react.

Despite that Touka plays it like a stranger to Yoriko, that kick of hers and her expression let you know that deep down, she's freaking pissed. I like how this was handled and Mutsuki still couldn't break Touka as much as she wanted to. To make matter worse, Kaneki reminds some fans, who for whatever reason think he's too weak, that he still got it.

It was pretty sweet that Kaneki was just dodging and wait until he can fight again, timing the drug wearing out. You got to love how he called Aura a greenhorn, obviously reference to rookie. It's as if Kaneki heard the comments and respond back with ease. I know that he wasn't that easy to be dealt with. Like I said before, the real trouble is how long he has to wait until he can help again rather than he will get manhandled easily. The problem does arise with Oggai's arrival.

Ever wonder what would have been like if Mumen Rider was in this series? Look no further than Oggai with a funny exchange with Kaneki. He's like, "Seriously..." in which one kid responds, "Yeah, we are under 18." That sense of humor from Ishida is quite something. Maybe he could do a gag manga next. Anyway, those bikes aren't ordinary as wheels can cause explosion or something. That's always nice; all the more reason for me to not ride one.

After many speculations I gone through, this one decides to call the battle off and run away, leaving :re cafe on fire. At least it won't be another raid on a cafe, but it makes me wonder the prime target area. Mutsuki lost her mind that even Oggai calls her scary. It's the best time to calm her down before the next set of action begins, presuming Urie having a chat with her. Otherwise, her destination is going to end at death.

After the action scene, it mellows down with couple of discussion time with various characters; all of which are moving in their own rights and deliver a meaningful insight of life. Tomoe, the girl that Takizawa forced her to assist him back at Rue Island, reappears here. I would admit, I thought Ishida forgot about her since she just disappeared in the last arc. I have to remember that he remembers his characters dearly.

The discussion centers on the cause of destruction and what leads to it. It's a strong message on how everything has its origin. Tatara taught her that the sense of smell is where it begins and from that point on, it leads to the chain of devastation. While it does interpreted on how much of a leader he was, it does give an eerie feeling that the destruction is upon them. All it takes is one tracked location.

It leaves you feeling frightened with the thought of the worst has yet to come. It is true that one small moment of grasp can start a chain that ultimately leads to one of their downfall. Much like learning about your enemy's location, it allows you to update and perhaps gain a huge advantage. That all said this is a reference to the thought that the ghouls may have nowhere to live if Furuta's reign continues.

The cross reference to that is with Suzuya and Urie's conversation. I love how Urie manages to slip in and calls Furuta a piece of shit; such a great way to use the thoughts. This surprisingly has a deep and heartfelt conversation about war especially that it's coming from Suzuya out of all people. I like how Urie joins in as if he needs that comforting as well.

Suzuya has a speech about his point of view on war. The eerie part is that he reflects this moment similar to Anteiku Raid, and that worries me a lot. Because of it, it leaves him thinking that a lot of people are going to die, and coming from him, he knows that. He truly has developed a lot from that time; if he didn't, he probably be hyped about it. Instead, this makes him think if it's fine to keep living the way it is today; just deal with ghouls and proceed on living. Now it feels like extermination is coming.

This troubles me on how it feels like we must expect the next arc to be a massive game changer. I still find it feeling like it's the last arc before we move to the next chapter of the series. The paper airplane is a haunting parallel to Anteiku Raid Arc, so could this really be the arc to change the direction entirely?

The last discussion piece and the main highlight for many is the Touka and Kaneki’s moment. As I said it before, Touka lets out her discomforting feeling about Yoriko, though perhaps holding back some. It's ironic that she's the one that talked about killing a human friend if they are caught being a Ghoul, yet she has to turn to Kaneki and talk about desiring to help one. You can somewhat call it karma.

It's depressing because not only they share the same problem of wanting to see, but Kaneki, looking torn, couldn't answer in a good manner about the desire to see a friend or in his case, Hide. You can tell that although he doesn't want to meet them because he would recklessly lose his sight, he appears that he is hurt by that thought alone. He would sacrifice his friendship if it would mean to keep him safe, even if it does pains him throughout his life. That's hard to accept.

This chapter leans more towards the showcase of emotions when it comes to visual. As solid it is in the action scene, the emotional expression is what compels me and rightfully so. These characters are going through many hardships that begin to question their state of mind. What's right and what's wrong no longer has an easy path to walk through. There's that paper airplane that leaves a frightening note. Kaneki's expression on desire to see a friend is well spot on with the look of pain.

So, let's get to the real meat of the chapter, no pun intended. The cliffhanger has undoubtedly piqued my interest, pairing fan or not. Touka shoves Kaneki and proceed to approach him really close and it ends there. I don't know if this is Ishida's mind game, but it highly suggest that Touka has kiss him off-panel or more like you don't see the kiss, but the position does suggest it. Now, is it really a kiss?

I would say it does appear to be. It's similar to Akira and Amon's intimate moment. I know that the kiss scene has been done "hidden" but what if Ishida is toying with that approach and makes you think that with Touka and Kaneki? I'm not doubting that it is a kiss scene, I'm all in for it, but it could be a troll move on his end. The next chapter's preview suggests the continuation from this, so expect a concrete answer. 

What made Touka to approach him like that? It has been said that love making can calm the stress. In fact, I have seen this act a couple of time in media, including Code Geass. It's understandable since she lost someone and her cafe no less. That really got to put her at an uneasy position. Not to mention, the way of how Kaneki said about friends could have moved her to approach him quick before something worse will happen to one. So if it's a kiss scene, that's great. Unfortunately, there's a huge flag with a skull next to me waving tremendously and I only feel sick. 

This is a moving chapter that ends a fun action and leads to series of deep conversation. Characters begin to doubt their position, life, and feelings. All of which have signify that the next arc will be the moment of their life will change forever. It's a feeling that it wants you to feel happy about a possible dream come true, but in hindsight, we should prepare for a nightmare.