#with one yuri and more monogatari

[freezing-kaiju]

ALRIGHT, IT'S TIME!

THE SECOND RYUKI-AND-BLADE-ACCOMPANYING ANIME POLL IS NOW HERE!!!

SO, MEET YOUR CHALLENGERS!

AJIN Demi-Human

We start with a dark horror and possibly scifi about ethics in science, immortality, and an outlaw fugitive alien plot as a boy finds himself part of a group of immortals declared legally inhuman. While I have some misgivings about Oh No I Was Secretly A Creature All Along plots, I do fucking love horror and there’s a lot of ways for those plots to hit hard in the trans and gay and autism organs and be really important!!!!

Dimension W

The New Tesla Energy Corporation has monopolized the fourth dimension and the coils that connect to it. A duo of bounty hunters, one human and one robot, make money via repossessing illegal coils and seek out the answer to the mysteries within the dimension. I really wanna watch this one for a few reasons, the primary one of which is 'there are multiple fat women'. It seems to have freaks and weirdos and fun times, and its comedy is emphasized more than most of the other ones on this list so it might give some needed levity!

Kyoukai no Kanata

A bumbling monster hunter with blood powers meets an immortal via trying to shank him and ends up in an arrangement where she'll keep trying to kill him to boost her confidence while hunting monsters in what I hope is a monster-of-a-week show that came highly recommended by a friend as her favorite anime, or one of her favorites, so i have high hopes! Script's by the hibike euphonium guy and the power system seems quite interesting!

Air

A puppeteer (if he’s as good as Sakon will remain to be seen) stops his Road Trip To Meet A Golden Sun Jupiter Summon to stay for a bit in a town and, as happens to anyone who stops for too long, gets attached to the place and also meets a girl who might be said jupiteresque being. My friend informs me that it's gorgeous, sounds amazing (so I'll make sure to get clips), and has "nice sad vibes"!!! And it’s…listed in a “provincial horror” listing… hoho

Heike Monogatari

A child who can see ghosts and the future walks tirelessly through the tragedy of the war between the Taira and Minamoto families before the dawn of the first shogunate. It's wildly beloved by a friend of mine, and also centers a historical event i know some but not all about and definitely need to know more about the Taira side of. Seems like a beautiful drama, one I could lose my heart over.

SSSS Gridman

Digital kaiju! Digital hero! Digital amnesia! A monster of the week show about an unknown amnesiac summoning and merging with Hyper Agent Gridman to fight digital, possibly virtual monsters while making friends(?) in the real world! It's the one thing Tsubaraya Productions has that isn't Ultraman, and I expect some tokusatsu vibes from it along with the mecha stuff, i've also heard it has gay girl megatron??

Akudama Drive

It's a prison break and crime story set in a tech dystopia, starring a scene girl shoplifter, and featuring a bevvy of unpersoned convicts in what seems like an excellent ensemble clusterfuck!!! The Danganronpa crew made this thing! It's also beloved by a friend of mine, and I've heard it'll be a generally excellent tragedy of a time

Canaan

A reporter gets saved from assassins by a woman she might do yuri with, and the summaries I’ve found seem to imply a plot about terrorism and mystery! It’s a Type-Moon work that isn't part of the fate, tsukihime, OR melty universes! It might still have magecraft, but it's tagged sci-fi too, and a type moon take on scifi sounds interesting... it’s also based on. *checks wikipedia* a…perfect-Famitsu-score visual novel for the Nintendo Wii. So I might need to dig out some old hardware to watch this thing. For fun’s sake!

Killing Bites

A guy unintentionally becomes the underground wrestling promoter of a ?werewolf? Woman who murders his friends and wins him a shitload of money. The end goal? According to the summary, control of the economy!!! This was recommended as garbage and good lord I need garbage so much good god I need to put some trash inside of me.

[houkagokappa]

I went to Desucon Frostbite this weekend :3

The head organizer commented that it was their 10th year attending Desucon events, and that's actually true for me too, Desucon Frostbite 2014 was one of the first cons I ever attended (never forget and please let me forget).

I always attend the opening and closing ceremonies. This year they did a small performance spoofing Death Note and sentai stuff, which was well made as usual and I'm always impressed by, considering the performers are volunteers and not professionals.

This year's guest of honor was composer and musician Yasuharu Takanashi. He held a concert on Friday night together with Finnish metal musicians I feel some amount of national shame not knowing, because they seemed like fairly big names. I'm not big on metal music, but it's always nice listening to live music, and it was fun to get something to do on Friday night, since most con activities don't start until Saturday. I also attended Takanashi's panel on Saturday, and although I wasn't familiar with the music he composed to Naruto or Fairy Tale, he was an entertaining guest (comes with the profession, some writers/directors they've had in the past have been a little awkward). Me and my friend spent the entire time hungering for a Show By Rock!! mention, as he had apparently worked on that as well, but alas it wasn't brought up and we didn't dare ask him about it during audience questions.

As for other programs, I attended a lecture on character and clothing design in Suisei no Majo, which was really nice and informative. I haven't read any staff interviews on it, so I didn't know anything about the designing process or the people behind it and it was fun to learn about it. I also went to a lecture on analysing yuri, which was disappointing, since it contained little to no actual analyzing on what makes yuri "yuri". They made a lot of jokes about the famous Iori Miyazawa "Yuri Made Me Human" interview and I would've loved to hear their takes on the whole "yuri of absence" concept, how much truth or weight we should put on it, why the yuri classification matters, or if it even matters, considering the freedom and joy of your own interpretations vs. the importance of representation and author intent, or how expectations and readings differs in the West compared to Japan, etc.. Their lecture was on the shorter side and went over some common misconceptions over terminology and reader demographics, which I guess was nice, although I feel like (or at least hope) most people in the room would already be aware of those. Overall I think the lecture description might've been at fault here, because it gave me the impression there would be more actual discussion and analysis on these topics/I misinterpreted what the lecture would be about. At least people seemed to enjoy the jokes.

Then, me and my friend always attend the AMV contest, and this year I left the contest happy, because for once all of my favourite AMV's got honorable mentions or won some of the prizes! The audience favourite award usually goes to some humor video I don't care for, but this year it went to a PMMM video I actually really, really liked!! My other favourites were the PMMM/SKU mashup which worked surprisingly well, and another SKU one. Same series, but very different AMV's lol.

Another tradition I have is to drink the official Desu Drinks, although I should stop because they're small, expensive and not that interesting anymore (Kill la Kill takaisin!!!!). This year I drank "Beck", which contained Finlandia, ginger ale and a slice of lime. It was good, but not "10,50€ good". For Saturday's dinner we went to one of the Indian restaurants that was still operating in Lahti (restaurants DO NOT stay open there). The food was pretty basic, but good, as expected from a place like this.

I brought my Monogatari itabag with me, because I wanted to celebrate the recent Off Season and Monster Season announcements (plus it's fun to use my itabags, and it's quite practical to have a big bag with me even if it weighs a ton lmao). As for merch, I bought Farwell to my Alter by Nio Nakatani at the con flea market for very cheap, and then I FINALLY got my hands on the first volume of March Comes in Like a Lion. I've been wanting to get it from my local shop, but they've never had it when I've been there to look for it. I'm suuuuuper happy to have it in my hands!!!! Then I bought one roll of washi tape from the artist alley with adorable long-tailed tits and plum blossoms. I suppose it's good I didn't spend that much money this con, although there was more manga that tempted me (why must River's Edge be 20€ ugh, maybe next time).

I was also happy to briefly see and chat with some of my kimono friends, and then I finally met up with @akroglam who I've been mutuals with for ...7 years? That was a lot of fun, although I felt like a stalker for all the "I saw that on your twitter/tumblr" comments I made :P

And here you have it, my diary entry for the Desucon Frostbite weekend. Thanks for taking the time to read it :)

[cupuasu]

Favorite manga bls/gls that you’d recommend?

i read a lot of manga when i was bored (rip tachiyomi....). idk what kinda reader u are or ur preferences but i honestly focus more on the artstyle than anything so don't expect much on the storylines here. i read more yaoi bc i feel like we're pretty much in a yaoi golden age while yuri is still stuck on the same shit we'd read in 2009, i'm accepting yuri recs!!!

BL: monotone blue (it's a beautiful story even if it's set in school), pink heart jam (the author has other good stories too, but i liked this one the most), bidou wakadanna koishitau wa koushoku otoko (i know. long name. beautiful beautiful art, has a lot of sex though. it's set in edo period!), junai dropout (pretty much just sex. yayyy salaryman is actually a whore. author has other great +18 work), gesshoku kitan ("taboo" but so interesting. author has other dark work. funnily enough it's the same author from the cute ganbare nakamura kun manga), doukyuusei (set in school. the author has one of the most unique artstyles and i've read pretty much all their works bc of it lol. their writing is not as good as their art.), himemuko (BEAUTIFUL ART), umibe no étranger (pretty famous, cute art), tasogare out focus (great art, silly charas. set in school.), mitsuya sensei no keikakuteki na ezuke (it's about eating!!!! great art and the charas are super cute. there's age difference.), usagi no mori (it's bad but it's also really good lol. set in school), MADK (insane art. insane story too), EAT (furry yaoi), one room angel (pretty interesting story), sign (manhwa. very cute. lots of sex though) and cupid ni rakurai (set in school but suuuuper cute!!! i looove this author's art).

GL: tamen de gushi (it's a manhua and it's set in school but i just love how silly it is), octave (i really liked this story. the art isnt that good but the protag felt so real), kininatteru hito ga otoko ja nakatta (suuuuper cute artstyle. still ongoing!!), ikemen girl to hakoiri musume (also very cute), tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna (there's a live action but the manga is also very good), her tale of shim chong (manhwa, pretty good but i haven't finished it yet), kakeochi girl (oh love.....), legally married yuri couple (not that good but it's cute), mai no mushigurashi (BEAUTIFUL story. lots of bugs!), sabishisugite lesbian fuuzoku ni ikimashita report (not actually gl, it's a autobio but it's a must-read in my opinion. the author has other manga about her life), tsukiatte agetemo ii kana (interesting story!), nikurashi hodo aishiteru (pretty good. 18+), still sick (pretty wholesome) and hana monogatari (OLD WOMEN YURI!!).

hope you enjoy! i read most of them on tachiyomi but since the app and most manga repost sites went down, i think you'd find these in scanlation groups.

[traumaturgic-arts]

Katsuragi

"'Return your thoughts to yesterday,' or 'Cherish the remains of today.' Nothing more." This is my Limbus OC, based on the primordial Japanese yuri story collection Hana Monogatari, and in particular, Yellow Rose within that collection. I think I was able to emulate the game's style decently enough. :) If you're interested, I'll put more info below. Gotta let the brain juices flow somewhere, after all, and why not here?

Particulars: Resentful, regretful, hallucinatory Base E.G.O.: Bouquet of Two Dandelions

Weaponry: - たんぽぽ [Dandelion], an unremarkable sword by most metrics. It's well kept, but worn nonetheless. - 菊花 [Chrysanthemum], a horticultural weapon once wielded by Katsuragi's Office-mate. It's alive, and requires constant care to remain potent. Katsuragi takes better care of this blade than herself, most often, tending to it like a child. It's to the extent that she refuses to even wield the blade in combat, as if afraid that it would shrivel up when fed with blood. Physical Traits: - Katsuragi has dandelions growing from her throat, the roots seeping through flesh and leaving disconcerting marks. It's as if she herself is concrete, the flowers taking bloom where they certainly should not. They began to grow shortly before she became a Sinner; they confer pain and suffocation, but never enough to grant death. - Katsuragi is unable to cease crying. It no longer serves as a means to indicate sadness, but instead is an unbearable, constant reality. The tears water the dandelions around her throat, too, constantly making them continue to grow and giving the appearance of morning dew upon their petals.

Interaction: - Katsuragi, to women, is generally amicable. The Sinner will put on forced smiles, as if faintly attempting to appear a normal citizen of the City. It's simple to see through this, though, and even a fool can tell by the way this woman speaks to the air itself that she is not speaking to them, but an imagined individual. Still, she'll end up answering any questions given to her, and will generally complete any tasks without much complaint. They're distractions from her endless reminders, so why shouldn't she? - To men, however, Katsuragi holds a severe grudge. In most cases, she will merely remain silent, leaving the vicinity and parting with glares. If that is not an option, it is likely for her to speak in venomous terms. Any interaction is minimized by her, and it is clear to others who speak after such incidents that her mood drops considerably upon near every instance of interaction. - Katsuragi can mainly be found engaging in acts of gardening, writing, and sword sharpening. Her passion is in explaining the positives of flowers, yet she seems to willfully avoid mentioning the commonly discussed 'flower meanings'. If that philosophical idea is brought up, she will swiftly redirect the conversation. - Katsuragi's poetry is appropriately flowery, but frequently very sour in tone when one reads below surface level.

Additional Notes: - Katsuragi was formerly a member of the mildly prolific Radiant Flower Office. The Office remains active. - She is literally made based on a primordial yuri influence, of course she's gay. - At some times in the night, others may hear her speaking to herself, laughing and sobbing intermittently. Nobody knows when she sleeps, as the noises persist until the morning comes. - Her former home was within the Nest of V. Corp. I headcanon Valence Corp as a place where union, in every sense, is the most important aspect of life. Its Singularity is not particularly important to Katsuragi, but I made it a small ring that allows one to eliminate the concept of distance in a straight line. The Nest's streets are tailored for using it, with long stretches of open road devoid of cars. - The only consequence of the Singularity in terms of Katsuragi is that she seems unable to comprehend distance on a conceptual level. If you tell her what a kilometer is, she'll simply be confused. Thanks for reading to the end. Have a chibi Katsuragi, and have a nice day. :)

[studentofetherium]

What is something in Monogatari you think most English viewers misunderstand without cultural context?

some people take Suruga's interest in BL as a sign that she's more straight than she lets on (and maybe is actually into Koyomi), but in reality it's a nod to how a lot of fujoshi are lesbians. this came about because for a long time, yuri was rather lackluster in the sense that it would usually end with someone dead or married off to a man. change came to the genre gradually and now yuri is great, but for the longest time, if a lesbian wanted to read romance manga, her three options were something with a lackluster ending, something hetersexual, or something with boys

there's probably a lot of other cultural details that i just miss out on because i'm not Japanese and am limited in what i know, but that detail is one that always stands out because i think it grounds Suruga's character a lot to place her in the subculture she would belong to, especially keeping in mind that the series takes place in a rural setting, which means that she might not have a lot of other queer people to talk to

[lmskitty]

Hello, this is just ask for fun...

Favorite female character :

Favorite male character :

Favorite animanga :

Animanga you are currently enjoying :

Animanga that exceeded all your expectations :

Unpopular animanga you really love :

Favorite romance :

Favorite action animanga :

Favorite fantasy :

Favorite sci -fi :

Favorite drama :

Favorite comedy :

Favorite anime movie :

Next in your watch list :

Next in your read list :

Favorite antagonist:

Thanks if you want to answer, Lex....

I've tried to stick just with animanga for this! Thank you for the ask my love!

Fave female character: MaoMao from Apothecary Diaries

Fave male character: Gojo!!

Favourite animanga: this is so hard!!! I'm gonna pick Jujutsu Kaisen cause it's my current obsession

Animanga you are currently enjoying: Delicious in dungeon!!!

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter for manga!

Animanga that exceeded all your expectations: Ore Monogatari (ITS SO GOOD)

Unpopular animanga I love: Dai Dark. I wish more people knew it it's so good

Favourite romance: Yuri on Ice

Favourite action animanga: one punch man!!!

Favourite fantasy: super enjoying Fluffy Paradise at the moment!

Favourite sci-fi: Space Dandy

Favourite drama: Beck

Favourite comedy: Azu manga diaoh

Favourite anime movie: Jujutsu kaisen 0

Next in your watch list: Bungou stray dogs

Next in your read list: PTSD radio

Favourite antagonist: Garou from one punch man!

[medea10]

My Review of My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

Humor me. Who else thought this was going to be a sequel to Ore Monogatari (My Love Story) where Takeo and Yamada go all the way? I can’t be the only one with that sick thought. Okay completely unrelated anime, let’s see what you got.

Akane Kinoshita is out with her boyfriend Takuma…and she gets dumped. Yep, not even 30 seconds into the first episode and she gets dumped. He’s leaving Akane for a girl he met in an online game that he and Akane were playing together. After the breakup, Akane went on the game she got into because of her ex and went on a killing-spree of monsters. Just then, she meets another player named Yamada who looks like Saitama if he had a weird afro on. It takes him two minutes just for a simple reply. Akane gets annoyed and basically tells him off. After some time from the breakup, Akane decides to go to this on-site event for the game she was playing. Never mind getting freebies for the game, she’s going merely for the fact her ex might be there and wants to flaunt the goods to make him regret leaving her.

Things did not go according to plan. Akane trips and falls down on her way to stalk her ex. The person she bumped into is a handsome young man of few words. Akane realized that this mysterious boy is that Yamada she met in her game prior to this event. Well, Akane is face-to-face with her ex. What does she do? Lies and says Yamada is her boyfriend and even bribes him to keep up the farce. Yamada is quite aloof and can be blunt with the things he says…if he says anything. But what Akane doesn’t know is that Yamada is a pro-gamer.

While the boyfriend lie is merely for whenever Akane’s ex is around, Akane has a nice friendship with not only Yamada, but his inner circle as well.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Even though this was a Crunchyroll exclusive (in association with Aniplex of America), this didn’t see a dub until a good six months after the series had started. Normally, I’d be concerned. But this did happen during the actor’s strike, so I’ll think no more on the matter. And that’s all I’ve got here. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Akane is played by Inori Minase (known for Rem on Re:Zero, Prushka on Made in Abyss, Makinohara on Bunny Girl Senpai, Ruruka on Danganronpa 3, and Hidomi on FLCL: Progressive)

*Yamada is played by Kouki Uchiyama (known for Soul on Soul Eater, Yurio on Yuri on Ice, Rui on Demon Slayer, Shigaraki on My Hero Academia, Ikuya on Free!, Ichijou on Nisekoi, and Yuuki on Shiki)

ENGLISH CAST: *Akane is played by Abby Trott (known for Nezuko on Demon Slayer, Shizuka on Zom 100, Machi on Hunter x Hunter, Veronica on Seven Deadly Sins, Inui on Aggretsuko, and Fou on Fate/Grand Order)

*Yamada is played by Stephen Fu (known for Weather Report on Jojo’s Pt. 6, Naofumi on Shield Hero [season 2+], Douma on Demon Slayer, Henry on Black Clover, Kaname on Darwin’s Game, and Pax on Mushoku Tensei)

DISLIKED CHARACTER: No, it’s not Runa. As much as I love to dunk on those little girls who latch onto the hot character and glare at the obvious main attraction, I actually hate jerky ex-boyfriends who quickly dump their girlfriends over trivial shit more. Yeah, Akane’s ex can kick rocks for all I care. While we only see him two times in the whole show, his breakup with Akane really messed her up.

SHIPPING: Yamada is oblivious when it comes to females. He didn’t even know a girl was confessing to him in the second episode. There’s no way in hell he’s going to fall for Akane. Never mind, dragging her drunk ass to his home in the first episode. As it turns out, Akane and Yamada had quite the cute friendship for the greater majority of this season. And as the series progressed, several of their friends were all for them getting together (even if the two characters aren’t going to do so). But we have to remember that Yamada is going to do what Yamada does. He can be blunt and slow to respond. Yet he somehow acts differently when it comes to Akane. The blunt and slow responses are still there, but he almost acts on a weird impulse at times with her.

Elsewhere, Yamada is quite the favorite around school and elsewhere. There are so many girls at his school that think he’s cute. And then there’s Runa! A lot of insecurities to unpack with this little one. But the fact that she at first wanted to keep Yamada all to herself and push Akane on some rando guy really speaks volumes. That action of Runa’s almost landed her on my dislike category. But I left her off because I grew to like her throughout the rest of the series. She even became a Akane x Yamada shipper. I thought it was adorable when she tried to have Akane bump into Yamada while eating a piece of toast.

But what about Yamada’s silent classmate, Yukari? And what of the girl from Yamada’s past that liked him? The girl from Yamada’s past is someone we’ll never see again. Yukari on the other hand…well, that’s a topic for the ending.

ENDING: Does Akane like Yamada for real? That’s a pretty big question for her as she kinda sees him in a new light after Yamada took care of her when she was sick. There is one big thing that seems to be holding her down and that’s the way things were left off between Akane and her ex. As most people do when they’re dumped, they go through a myriad of thoughts to narrow down what they did wrong. However, she still wants to tell Yamada how she feels. It’s just that the timing never seemed right with the two of them.

Meanwhile, let’s move onto Yamada’s silent classmate, Yukari. We see her a few episodes towards the end of the season. She’s on speaking terms with Yamada in class. And she recently joined the FOS guild that Akane, Eita, and Yamada are in. Her reasons for joining the video game guild were to of course get closer to Yamada. And in the second to last episode, Yukari let it slip out to Yamada that she likes him. Oooooh, right before Akane got the chance to. I sure hope the hint Eita dropped about Yamada about to get confessed to will make a dent. I think it did!

Yamada meets up with Yukari after the confession. Yukari spills everything out and admits how long she’s liked him and every reason in the world she likes him. And Yamada still rejects her! It wasn’t like those airhead replies he gave to the other girls that used to confess to him. This was genuine as he even says that there’s another. Yukari knows it’s Akane and he confirms. Called it!

The guild met up for a dinner with special food and drinks. Eita thought it’d be perfect for Akane and Yamada to have some alone time during the dinner. Things didn’t go according to plan. Yamada was late to arrive. And by the time he showed up, Akane was drunk. Déjà vu from the first episode. Yamada drags her to her home and that’s when Akane asks if he likes her. Yamada says yes. And to make sure that this is real, he promises to remind her when she sobers up that this is true.

Yamada x Akane is official!

This was a cute story despite how things started. It’s not like we haven’t seen similar things happen in other animes. Akane wasn’t even trying to become Yamada’s girlfriend after that time in front of her ex. It was just a sweet friendship that eventually blossomed into a relationship in the end. I always respect a story like that. One has to wonder if the anime will continue with a second season or if it will stay as is with the happy ending given in the 12th episode. By the looks of things, the manga is still on-going with at least 100+ chapters at the moment. I honestly think that the anime will stay with just this season. Well, if you’re looking for a cute slice of life, romcom, maybe check this out. It’s a short series.

Crunchyroll has every episode for streaming.

[boymagicalgirl]

1, 4, and 17 for the ask game!

Thank youuu

Top 5 reads of 2023

ok my memory of when I read stuff is shit so if some of this is from late 2022, oopsies.

-Glass no Kamen (1976) Amazing art, gripping plot, questionable age gap romance but I can overlook it for a homoerotic rivalry between Maya and Ayumi

-Kanata Kara AKA From Far Away (1991) A riveting shoujo isekai with a level-headed and calm protagonist. I liked how Noriko actually had to learn the language and how the language barrier impacted her in the first bits of the story. I also liked the slow bond developing between her and Izark

-Kakeochi Girl (2018) peak fiction. I wished Tazune was more fleshed out cause it felt like he was more there to push things along but I liked the nuances of rekindling a romance with your unhappily married ex-gf from high school and how messy and beautiful that can be.

-California Monogatari (1978) do you like Banana fish and Akimi Yoshida's work? read this. Now. The tragedy and realism pulled at my heart strings ngl but it was still amazing. The characters felt so human and real and I couldn't stop reading.

-A-A' (1981) I wasn't expecting to like this so much but these short stories were all so compelling and it really shows Moto Hagio's prowess at writing sci-fi.

4. An Underrated Gem

Man that's hard. I'd argue Wedding Peach. Because of the timing of the anime and the designs for it being changed to be more like Sailor Moon, it was often handwaved away as a Sailor Moon rip-off. However, the art is very charming and the battles are really cool to read while still being easy to follow. The plot isn't super deep or anything but you wanna keep reading and see what happens to Momoko and her friends and I like the outfit designs in the manga more than the anime.

17. A Manga you didn't expect to like.

A lot of older yuri pleasantly surprised me. Some older shoujo, especially short one volume stories, don't really have time to develop their characters so things kind of fell flat for me. However, Moonlight Flowers and Maya no Souretsu didn't do that. Moonlight Flowers was similar to Kakeochi Girl but decades before and the art was breathtaking. I like the focus on adult women. And Maya no Souretsu, while melodramatic and sadly ending hetero, was still intriguing mystery and horror and I wished Maya and Reina well.

[snowboyclarkov]

Personality Comparison For No Reason

My personality typing, as stated in my profile description, is ISTJ 5w4. It may actually be INTP 5w4, though I'm not truly sure between the two. Using that, and other methods, this is an extensive list of characters from different series whose personalities I am closest to, based on their cognitive functions, enneagram and general similar behaviours between themselves and myself. Pictures of each one will be below the list.

Since I made this, a second has been done after analysing Beyblade Burst some more and deciding that my personality is more akin to Gwyn Reynolds instead of Naoki Minamo, and to Brooklyn Masefield instead of Garland Siebald. That same adjustment has been made to this post as well.

Crowscare -> Ingram

Cookie Run -> Frost Queen Cookie

Cuphead -> Chinook Pilot Saluki

Doki Doki Literature Club! -> Yuri

Grand Theft Auto -> Eddie Toh

The Grand Tour -> James May

Inazuma Eleven -> Fuusuke Suzuno

Beyblade -> Brooklyn Masefield

Katawa Shoujo -> Rin Tezuka

Beyblade Burst -> Gwyn Reynolds

Made In Abyss -> Ozen

Monster Girl Encyclopedia -> Soldier Beetle

Mix Ore -> Nagisa Ichigaulait

Fire Emblem -> Idunn

Undertale -> Woshua

Gakuen Babysitters -> Keigo Saikawa

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure -> Leone Abbacchio

Touhou Project -> Ran Yakumo

Ace Attorney -> Sorin Sprocket

Beyblade: Metal Saga -> Faust

The Loud House -> Maggie

Jelly Jamm -> Ongo

Rosario + Vampire -> Mizore Shirayuki

Corpse Party -> Naho Saenoki

Danganronpa -> Mukuro Ikusaba

Sonic The Hedgehog -> Sage Robotnik

Land of the Lustrous -> Rutile

Dragon Ball -> Jimmy Firecracker

Inazuma Eleven: Ares -> Yuuichirou Mansaku

Initial D -> Satoshi Omiya

Shimoneta -> Hyouka Fuwa

Pirates of the Caribbean -> Murtogg

Pokémon -> Calem

Kid Icarus -> Poseidon

Monster Girl Quest -> Gnome

Yandere Simulator -> Horo Goramu

Joshiraku -> Gankyou Kuurubiyuutei

Monogatari -> Sodachi Oikura

Professor Layton -> Ridelle Mystere

Game of Thrones -> Archmaester Ebrose

The Binding of Isaac -> Apollyon

Date A Live -> Yuzuru Yamai

Star Fox -> General Pepper

Zero Escape -> Sigma Klim

Super Smash Bros. -> Galeem

Puyo Puyo -> Legamünt

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX -> Ryo Marufuji

Ninjago -> Milton Dyer

Bakugan -> Fabia Sheen

Codename: Kids Next Door -> Nigel Uno

Glitch -> E. Gadd

Kirby -> Claycia

Saw -> Daniel Matthews

Dead Rising -> Carl Schliff

Omori -> Sunny

The Amazing World of Gumball -> Clipboard Men

Monster Musume -> Lala

Paper Mario -> Professor Toad

Trauma Center -> Victor Niguel

Driver -> Bishop

Nagasarete Airanto -> Chikage

Inspector Morse -> Endeavour Morse

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective -> Jowd

God of War -> Helios

Saiko no Sutoka -> Akira

Cells At Work! -> NT4201

Total Drama -> MK

Hetalia -> Iceland

Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil -> Ronaldo

Hotel Dusk -> Kevin Woodward

Papers, Please -> M. Vonel

Oggy & the Cockroaches -> Marky

It's Not Me, It's My Basement -> Embry Oliver

Chainsaw Man -> Asa Mitaka

Inazuma Eleven GO -> Alpha

Azur Lane -> Admiral Graf Spee

Heaven's Lost Property -> Nymph

My Hero Academia -> Yui Kodai (Rule)

--------------------------------------------------

Bonus: My main OC's MHA variant, basic details

Occupation = U.A. Student

Hero Name = Mizoregnar (formerly a neutral/arc main antagonist a la Gwyn Reynolds, currently part of Class 1-A)

Appearance = See the bottom of the post, can turn hands into ice claws, hair gains gem-like appearance a la Land of the Lustrous when quirk is in effect, also a biological hermaphrodite

Quirk = Snow Sage [Yuki-onna physiology/powers, has cold-powered artillery that is part of their body and can be vanished at any time for convenience.]

Extra = Capable of combining quirk and learned skill to perform Touhou-style danmaku based on formulae & equations.

More Extra = Black light powers (similar to Glory Regnar's powers, taught by mother who has a quirk that grants 4 disembodied wings that are said to be impervious [they aren't] and light-based powers. Galeem as a quirk, basically.)

Costume = Imagine the spirit/avatar of Greatest Raphael/Glory Regnar as clothing/armour minus the head, tail and shimenawa parts (Colour scheme switched to white, lavender purple, dark purple, black, teal, ice-blue & ice-white.)] Alternate outfits exist too, because I'm indecisive. Outfits made from special material, protective but soft and flexible.

They call their moves 'Genesis Crown', etc. as opposed to 'Glory Crown' seen in the Beyblade Burst series.

Naturally maintains a chilled air around their body constantly to prevent overheating, sometimes faint cold air is made visible surrounding the space directly around their body. Does best in cold environments especially those filled with ice and/or snow.

*What the outfit would be based on: da3d992e9ba23709a6cfc78dcf8d39 b959d086e59b47a9eec8d597566617 08e07cb1f7c8df62cc2f1a93031eb3 670964123039ae7bc75b881fc1c648

**Appearance (Extra): Light grey skin, nigh-impervious exoskeleton covering entire body, 6 legs (2 fore + 4 normal), ice-based wings inside carapace, ship-esque cold-powered artillery When Quirk in Effect = Pupils turn roughly the same colour as irises (light gold), ice claws, hair turns lavender purple and gains a gem-esque appearance a la Land of the Lustrous, can turn arms into any item desired (all made of pure ice) Basically the entire body = File:Soldier_Beetle_0 Thanks to studies together with mother, capable of causing exoskeleton to fade away and lower half of body to change to normal legs for convenience, similar to the artillery mutation.

***The artillery looks just like the sort that Admiral Graf Spee has. AGS used as basis due to personality and colour scheme reasons. The red is exchanged for lavender.

****Things like swords, chainsaws and other quirks have no effect if they strike the exoskeleton. Unless the attacking force is heat-based, in which case it very much can as long as the heat in question is further above normal body temperature than Clarkov's coldness is below 10C.

[dokidoki-muffin]

Which fandoms are you on? Any game ones?

Puhaaa!!! 😆 That’s a surprisingly difficult one.. The list is waaaay too long and changing constantly 😅 Plus, I’m an old woman so I’ve been watching/reading stuff for a looooooong time already… So I tend to forget and usually draw blanks when I’m asked to write lists.. pls send help 🤣🙈

Also.. I hope it doesn’t sound weird, but I actually enjoy a lot of media without truly considering myself an active part of “the fandom” 🤔like.. in a sense that I don’t always necessarily feel the urge to interact and/or create fan content, even though I like something a lot. This is even more a thing in particular when it comes to tickle art!! Let’s just say my decision whether I want to create something is very private and individual in a way 🤔 It has to feel right for me if that makes sense. So this list will contain things I might never consider drawing for 😅

Okeeeeee 🙈🙈🙈 Sorry for the ramble on such a “short and simple” ask!!! I have a talent for making things complicated 🤣 Honestly, I suck at this… 😩🙈 But somehow I felt the need to clarify before I get into it 🙃🙃

EDIT!!! I made a tiny update to the list and added a colour code!!

Green: I usually feel comfortable with creating art for these fandoms.

Orange: I might create art for them but it strongly depends on the scenario and/or characters.

Red: Just no ^^ For personal reasons.

NOW! For the actual list! 🤣👇👇👇👇 (Yaaay)

It’s probably not truly a “fandom” list but more an excerpt of old and new personal favourites of mine 💪

-------------------------------------

Anime/Manga/Webcomics:

19 Days

91 Days  (omg this looks so stupid listed like this, but this is neither a typo nor a joke 🤣🤣🙈)

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka

Aggretsuko

Akatsuki no Yona

Arcane

Bananafish (old manga reader here 😭👋)

Black Lagoon

Candidate for Goddess

Castlevania

Corsair

Cowboy Bebop

Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! 😂

DBZ

Detective Conan (yes I still read/watch that 😂💪 I’m more or less up to date)

Digimon (childhood memories go brrr)

Durarara

Erased

Ergo Proxy

Free

FMA

Gangsta.

Given 💖✨🎵

Ghibli movies 💖

Grand Blue (not Fantasy! The other one.. the stupid one 🤣 👌👌👌)

Great Pretender

GTO

Gurren Lagann

Haikyuu

Hajime no Ippo

Hellsing

Initial D

Kuroko no Basuke

Madoka Magica

MahoYome

Makoto Shinkai Movies ✨🌈

Most manga by Ogeretsu Tanaka (as you might have guessed 😂🙈)

Orange (if you really really wanna cry, watch this 😭😭😭)

Ore Monogatari (So! Adorable! 😤💖 Fight me!)

Pokémon (been there since day 1 you could say 😂😂😂🙈)

Rage of Bahamut

Several manga by Rihito Takarai

Rose of Versailles

Run with the Wind

Rurouni Kenshin (including the live action movies! ✨)

Sk8

Spy x Family

Sword Art Online

Sword of the Stranger

Tamen De Gushi

Tsurune

Umibe no Etranger

Vampire Hunter D

Vinland Saga

Wotakoi!! (Seriously! I’ve never felt so attacked yet represented by an anime 😤💖)

Yu-Gi-Oh! (At least as long as Atem was still there XD And Jesus…. I still know how to play the game, but at some point I lost track of all the new cards with their crazy effects so I couldn’t build a decent deck to save my life.. so rip 😂🙈)

Yuri on Ice 💖

Yuru Camp (Most wholesome thing ever!!!! Change my mind 😤💖)

------------------------

Games:

Animal Crossing (I play it like a cat lady happily cultivating my island in precious solitude 🤣🤣)

Ace Attorney (various titles)

Final Fantasy (esp. FFXV)

F1 (2021-2022 🤣🤣 Just time trials for fun on the weekends)

Legend of Zelda (various titles)

Mario Kart (lololo is that even a “fandom”? But I’m actually not bad at this game ^^ I even won two tournaments at big LAN parties a few years back 🤣💪)

Pokémon (various titles)

Yakuza (I LOVE this series!!!! 💖💪🔥)

-----------------

HHHHHRRRRRRrrrrrrr

Ok.. this list feels random af 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'm certain that I forgot super important stuff, I swear 😩🙈

And I probably even screwed up the alphabet at some point 😆

Ofc I watched the usual popular Shonen stuff as well, but I won't put all of these to the list since I’m not that invested anymore (stuff like One Piece, Naruto, etc. etc.)

Sooo... I have no idea if this is what you hoped for anon 😅

If you still want to specifically know if I like a certain anime, manga, game, movie etc etc, (that might now not be in the list) just ask away!

But anyway! 😆

There you go!!

[fzzr]

What I'm Watching, Fall 2023 Anime Season

New Stuff:

16bit Sensation: Another Layer - I hate making galge in the current industry, so I got sent back in time to the 90s to make galge then. Wacky concept, let's see where they go with this.

Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta (My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer) - An overpowered fantasy character series, but this time it's heartwarming fun.

Boushoku no Berserk (Berserk of Gluttony) - If Eminence wasn't getting its second season right now, this would be my pick for edgy trash of the season. As it is, I'll enjoy some bottom of the barrel sludge with an overpowered edgy MC and no subtlety.

Bullbuster - Provisionally watchable. You take what you can get with mecha sometimes. This one is about fighting ugly cg giant beasts but also deployment was delayed until liability coverage was confirmed, and further by the broken printer.

Hametsu no Oukoku (The Kingdoms of Ruin) - I'm concerned this will turn into a lot of indulging in violence against women as shock material, but continuing with it for now since the setting raises some potentially interesting questions.

Hoshikuzu Telepath (Stardust Telepath) - Cute girls doing (psychic) friendship things? It's probably nothing, but I'll give it a try.

Kimi no Koto ga Daidaidaidaidaisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo (The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You) - Now this is garbage! After a double meet cute comes a double confession and double acceptance of same. A shenanigans-type romcom where a poly harem end is supernaturally enforced, and I am here for it.

Konyaku Haki sareta Reijou wo Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto wo Oshiekomu (I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness) - Not that kind of naughtiness! No ecchi tag! Kinda looking like a nothing show, but I'll give it some more time.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) - This one is starting late, so actually a placeholder for if I get to it later.

Shangri-La Frontier: Kusoge Hunter, Kamige ni Idoman to su (Shangri-La Frontier: Crappy Game Hunter Challenges God-Tier Game) - Another full-dive MMO game, but this time it's about a dude who is just having fun being a minmaxer and speedrunner. No angst, just a side of very light romance. Imagine a show about games also being about having fun!

Sousou no Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey's End) - This one got started fast, so I'm already several episodes deep. Tagged in advance as the likely show of the season, it's a slow and thoughtful show about a near-eternal elf mage learning to understand the fleeting humans in her life. Very much a "vibes" show.

Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari: Dantoudai kara Hajimaru, Hime no Tensei Gyakuten Story (Tearmoon Empire) - We Have Marie Antoinette At Home gets to re-do her life after getting the guillotine. I'll go with it for now, why not.

Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki (A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life) - Did this trick me into watching a cooking show? Maybe. It's fine I guess.

Undead Unluck - This is excellent. So much fun. David Production was the right studio for an anime where a character climbs buildings by severing his own limbs and use the force of them growing back for propulsion.

Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou. (I'm in Love with the Villainess) - Yuri Villainess? Sure I'll take it. Looks fun.

Sequels

Dead Mount Death Play Part 2 - More of the excellent edgy reverse isekai from earlier this year.

Dr. Stone: New World Part 2 - New World part one shaped up in the second half, so here's hoping they keep that momentum.

Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! 2nd Season (The Eminence in Shadow Season 2) - Yessss. Eminence was the highlight of the excellent Fall 2022 season and I am super ready for more.

Spy x Family Season 2 - Oh boy, time for more Anya antics!

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 3 - More horse girls? Don't mind if I do!

Ongoing

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) - It's Rurouni Kenshin again. Actually nevermind, I'm just not going to continue with this.

Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto (Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead) - This one is mostly done, just keeping track since it ran over a season.

Hall of shame (Shows I dropped after just one episode):

Dekoboko Majo no Oyako Jijou (The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch) - Meme about weird that it happened twice for adopting a daughter you found in the woods. This one is about a 200 year old loli and her 16 year old daughter with giant anime tiddy. Pass.

Hikikomari Kyuuketsuki no Monmon (The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess) - Dog Days meets Liar Liar? I liked those things, but together, nah.

Bokura no Ameiro Protocol (Protocol: Rain) - Didn't even get through the first episode of this one. Painfully ugly and awkward. If you're going to make a show about a fake esport, make the fake game look good and make the players not play it like shit.

Keikenzumi na Kimi to, Keiken Zero na Ore ga, Otsukiai suru Hanashi. (Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me) - Again dropped halfway through the first episode. Just such a drag. Not worth it for the trash.

[fuckyeahwomeninhistory]

Yoshiya Nobuko (1896-1973)

Yoshiya was born in 1896 in Niigata, Japan, the only daughter in a family of five children—an upbringing that had an impact on her approach to gender roles, and her resentment of the male domination of society. In 1915, Yoshiya moved to Tokyo, where she resided for the rest of her life. She began attending meetings of Seitō, Japan’s pioneering feminist magazine, where she met other modern female writers attempting to carve out lives not beholden to men. With the support of this community, she cut her hair into an unconventionally short bob and began to wear men’s clothing.

Just a year later, Yoshiya published a 52-story collection called Hana monogatari. Translated into English as Flower Tales, the collection details intense emotional relationships between girls—and introduced many of the motifs and symbols that define modern shōjo manga, such as the boarding school dormitory setting, imagery involving Western flowers, and a dreamily wistful style of writing. Yoshiya used flowers, most often roses, to symbolize the emotional intensity of these girls’ relationships. Each story was paired with an illustration by the famed artist and doll creator Jun’ichi Nakahara, who drew schoolgirls with the huge, bubbly eyes so characteristic of manga and anime today. Most of the Flower Tales concern unrequited crushes or longing among women, often for another student or a teacher.

These stories soared in popularity and cemented Yoshiya’s place among the canon of popular Japanese writers. According to Sarah Frederick, a professor of Japanese literature at Boston University, Yoshiya’s stories can be read two ways: as queer (though they hold back from anything more shockingly sexual than a kiss) or as purely, if intensely, platonic.

In 1919, shortly after Flower Tales, Yoshiya wrote one of her best-known—and most scrutinized—stories, ”Yaneura no nishojo” (“Two Virgins in the Attic”). Many critics read it as quasi-autobiographical, as it follows two students, Akiko and Tamaki, who feel like outcasts in their dormitory. They spend all their time in a triangular attic, where they develop a romantic longing. They spy on each other in the bathroom and smell each other’s scent of “lily magnolia”—all culminating in a kiss. Urban Japanese architecture has a notable lack of attics, yet they commonly appear in modern-day shōjos—a lineage almost directly traceable to Yoshiya.

Many manga scholars consider “Two Virgins in the Attic” to be the first prototype of yuri manga, the modern extension of shōjo that is more explicitly focused on lesbian romantic and sexual relationships, according to Hiromi Tsuchiya-Dollase, a professor of Japanese at Vassar College. Though yuri is now considered a genre in its own right, some of the most popular shōjo mangas of all time, including Sailor Moon, have subplots that veer into yuri.

Read more at: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/yoshiya-nobuko-queer-manga

[moccaexe]

Just finished volume 2 of Otherside Picnic

I ended up liking it even more than the first one.

I think I like the series much better when it leans more into the overarching sci-fi elements rather the episodic horror ones.

The Bird in the Box chapter in particular was great. The actual underlying plot seems to be unraveling faster than I was expecting so I'm excited to see what's coming next.

I love the chuu2 terminology of choice and how it contrasts with Sorawo’s milquetoast names she gives to some of the otherside elements. Stuff like the Dark Science Association and Ultrablue Landscape vs simply “the Otherside” or “the Man’s World”, lol.

Kozakura is the best she fires up all my PROTECC instincts. Everyone treats the poor girl like garbage give her a break. 

I must say, of the main duo I didn't expect Sorawo to be the one who ignites in me the most feelings of moe. The mix between a super wishy-washy shy type while also being a cynical, guarded tsundere works great. Every moment where she lowers her guard and lets herself be more honest with Toriko is too precious. And she also has the cute fang normally reserved for genki characters, 10/10 design choice. Such gap moe...

Sorawo's PoV sings the praises of Toriko's appeal but you kinda end up siding with Toriko when she calls Sorawo cute, lol. I wish there was a chapter from Toriko's PoV just to see how Sorawo comes off without being privy to her thoughts.

I can safely say this is among my favorite LN series I’ve read, up there with FMP, Haruhi and Monogatari. I love the urban horror/sci-fi coat of paint and of course, cute girls and yuri always helps. Action scenes that don’t involve boring game mechanics that go on for countless pages are always a plus as well (looking at you, Log Horizon >.>;; ).

[joyce-stick]

What are some of your favorite anime series? And VNs?

Ace Attorney (most of them but the Investigations games in particular because they're both underrated)

Adachi and Shimamura (we made a video about this just the other day please look at it)

A Place Further than the Universe

Bad End Theater

Bloom Into You (manga more than anime)

Call of the Night (the anime, not yet got to the manga)

Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Demon Girl Next Door (manga mainly)

Doki Doki Literature Club (Plus more than the original)

Durarara (still need to finish the second series)

FLCL Pro & Alt

Fragtime (both anime and manga)

Heathers

Hidamari Sketch

Girls' Last Tour

Gunpoint

Gurren Lagann

Grim Fandango

Happy Sugar Life

Highway Blossoms

Jet Set Radio

Kaguya-sama

Kase-san and (anime OVA good, one day we'll read all of the manga)

Kindred Spirits on the Roof

Kizumonogatari

Lucky☆Star

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

Magical Girl Site (anime not manga)

March Comes in Like a Lion

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk

Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk

Monogatari

Neon Genesis Evangelion, specifically the rebuilds

Otherside Picnic (light novels, not anime, the anime is bad sorry)

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

Princess Principal

Promare

Psychonauts

Psychonauts 2

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (all but especially Rebellion)

Re:Creators

RWBY (yes, unironically, we're aware Rooster Teeth sucks and all but unironically no apologies for this one)

School-Live! (anime is great, need to finish the manga)

Shadows House

Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)

Sonic Adventure

Sonny Boy

Sound! Euphonium

Spider-Verse

Symphogear

Talentless Nana (mainly the manga, which we need to catch up on)

Toradora

Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi (A Monster Wants to Eat Me, we need to catch up on it)

Wonderful Everyday

Yurikuma Arashi

Yuru Camp

YuruYuri

Still going through the rest of Watamote but that's also great, someone told us to read Moonshine, we'll get to it, we've got Spark the Electric Jester, we'll get to it, a boatload of other yuri manga, we'll get to them, and other anime, like G-Witch, we'll get to it, got Omori, we'll get to it, got a lot of other stuff-

we'll get to it.

[asphodelical]

The Great Anime Rewatch of 2024 - Part III

Nekomonogatari: Black

First watched: January 2013, original airdate Rewatched: January 2024

Original rating: 8 New rating: 4

I was only a few days off of watching this precisely eleven years later. Monogatari has always been a series whose strengths and weaknesses are on full display, and committing to both. For Nekomonogatari, its few episodes are filled with frivolous nonsense that feels like a waste of time: the little sister pandering, and the conversations that go in circles or last too long. And considering how Nekomonogatari was supposed to focus on Hanekawa, she’s not really in it much. Hanekawa has never been my favorite character in the series, and this didn’t help endear me to her at all. Also I’m just tired of seeing teenage anime girls being so sexualized. Finally, I had to dock points for Hanekawa idiotically stating, “People who aren’t blood related can't truly love each other.”

__________________________________

Owarimonogatari

First watched: December 2015, original airdate Rewatched: January 2024

Original rating: 5 New rating: 4

I guess even my teenage self was growing weary of the Monogatari series by this point, even if I didn’t have the knowledge or vocabulary to explain why. Now I can say that its cast is growing too big and I don’t care about any of the new additions. I did not remember Sodachi and Gaen’s existences, and I still think Shinobu is overrated. I know people adore badass, buxom female characters that are trapped in a younger/more innocent form (Nel from Bleach and Moka from Rosario+Vampire immediately come to mind), but it’s never been a trope that I’ve cared for. 

I was originally going to watch Tsukimonogatari, too. But considering how far my goodwill for the series has plummeted, I’m going to end it here. As far as the Monogatari series goes, I will stick to the first two seasons. They are all I need. But it will be a long time until I go anywhere near this franchise again.

__________________________________

Aoi Hana

First watched: May 2011  Rewatched: January 2024

Original rating: 7 New rating: 5

Aoi Hana was one of the few yuri anime that wasn’t exploitative, fetishy, or queerbait. Since the author of Aoi Hana is the same woman who created the whole transgender story of Wandering Son, it makes perfect sense.

As much as I want to like Aoi Hana, I just don’t find its characters memorable. (The same goes for Wandering Son.) It’s also really slow. I think it would’ve been better as a condensed film adaptation. I only lasted six episodes. However, I am interested in reading the author’s other works. 

__________________________________

Black Lagoon & The Second Barrage

First watched: June 2011, August 2011 Rewatched: January 2024

Original rating: 8, 8 New rating: 5, 5

With the utter failure of my rewatch of the bloodbath that is Future Diary, will Black Lagoon fare any better?

I watched the dub because most of the English cast are all Canadian, and Canada churns out some of the best voice actors. More Canadians in anime dubbing, please?

First season - I wasn’t feeling it until episode nine when Roberta entered the story. (The whole submarine-painting escapade was the low point for me.) The comic timing as the Lagoon calmly hides under a table during a bar shoot out was so good. I also found myself enjoying a lot of the music, particularly whenever it sounded Mediterranean. Rock is way more boring than I remember (fuckin’ morality pet), Revy is more static than I remember, and Benny….exists. Dutch is cool, though. With the exception of the CG for some of the vehicles, most of the animation has also held up. The first season was just alright to me, but the English cast and localization did a lot of heavy lifting. (Docking points for having a white lady doing a bad Asian accent for Shenhua.)

Second season - So. The twins. Still the highlight. And I called it quits five episodes in. I’ve had my fill. This is not the kind of show that’s good to marathon for me—it’s better suited to a weekly popcorn flick that you forget about almost immediately after. But I’m not doing that. Again, massive credit to the the English cast and localization team for a damn good job. 

__________________________________

Spice & Wolf

First watched: July 2011 Rewatched: January 2024

Original rating: 5 New rating: 4

‘Animeconomics’ and Holo defined Spice & Wolf. I only recall being bored (I was only seventeen when I first watched it), and thinking Fukuyama Jun was woefully miscast as the main guy. I still feel that way, so I dared to watch this in English. Maybe listening to Holo’s economic lessons in English will help my enjoyment?

I feel like so many female voice actresses fall back upon the acting choice of high and mighty/snobbish/know it all route, and then use it for every fucking line. (Colleen Clinkenbeard, Marisha Rey, Brina Palencia.) No, it doesn’t make me like you or the character. It’s annoying, and much more intolerable in my native language than hearing it in Japanese. And Lawrence has the personality of a wet log. 

However, Spice & Wolf is most interesting when Holo and Lawrence are using their knowledge and wits in the harsh landscape of merchants and peddlers. The bits where they’re being chased and attacked? Get that shit out of there. In a story like Spice & Wolf, you know everything is going to resolve itself quickly. There’s more tension in making bad deals or getting swindled. I’d almost be better off listening to the education bits audio only, since the visuals are woefully uninteresting. I lasted six episodes and furries still make me uncomfy.

[class-shoujo]

“Applause” (1992(?)) by Kyouko Ariyoshi

Status: Finished, Volumes: 1, Chapters: 3(?)

Synopsis: 

“Bruges”: Secrets of a 15 year old missing persons case come to light when a group of girls decide to engage in a mystery solving role playing game based on said case.  

“A San Francisco Story” / “San Francisco Monogatari”: Yuuko goes to a pride parade in San Francisco for the first time while her friend takes care of her sick girlfriend. 

Review: I can confidently say that the two short stories contained within “Applause” are not only the most heartbreaking and moving manga I have reviewed on this blog so far, but that they are now among my favorite comics and media as a whole. Period. End statement. “Bruges” deals directly with the history and associated anguish of same gender love captured in early Yuri Tragedies, as well as the anguish many real same gender attracted people have experienced, whereas “A San Francisco Story” acts as a more confrontational look at Class S and girls culture homosocial relationships and how it impacts an adult who grew up with that. In both cases “Bruges” and “A San Francisco Story” act as both a loving homage to the micro genres they are made in response to while also upheaving and healing the baggage associated with those tropes in a grounded yet bold and brave way. The relationships and emotions in both stories are complicated and multi-faceted, yet fully contained in the context of these Yuri shorts. I was and still am quite shocked at how full, rounded, complete, and moving both “Bruges” and “A San Francisco Story” come across for essentially both being one shots, and despite the fact that I am craving more by the mangaka Kyouko Ariyoshi, I feel completely comfortable leaving both stories where they concluded. “Applause” exists beyond the confines of the ‘wholesome’ vs. ‘unsafe’ yuri debate and rather than ignoring the dangers and trauma of same gender attracted women it actively tackles these topics and recreates pure beauty. If you have love in your heart read “Applause”. If you’d like to have love in your heart read “Applause”. If you have given up on love read “Applause” anyways, maybe it will give you hope.

Additional Points: 

+ Point for well weaved A and B plots.

+ Point for strong character designs.

+ Point for meta commentary on the yuri genre in a constructive manner.

+ Point for making me cry.

+ Point for detailed and nuanced discussion of gender and gender presentation.

- Point for a confusing ending to “A San Francisco Story”. (I believe this is a translation issue).

- Point for other entries in this series being about impossible to track down.

Rating: 10 / 10 (Masterpiece)