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shiny-procrastinates · 3 years

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(re)Watching Magia Record S1 - part 1

Hello and welcome everyone to the first post on this watch-along commentary of the first season of Magia Record! Whether you are just now watching it for the first time, or are re-watching in preparation for the second season, or have only played the game and are curious about the anime (in which case I'd be surprised you even exist) I hope you can have some fun reading these ramblings as I try to put my thoughts into words (actually turned more into narrating the show) throughout all 12 13 episodes.

Before we can get to it, though, I have a few warnings to give:

1 - As much as I'd love to be able to memory swipe so I can watch this fresh all over again, such an ability is sadly still beyond my grasp. In other words, this isn't my first time watching (or second, for that matter; more like the sixth… or seventh…). That being the case I can't claim that these are my first impressions and it's very likely this commentary will be somewhat biased by my previous knowledge. However, I can guarantee one thing: I will do my best to keep this spoiler-free, so you don't have to worry if this is your first time watching.

(I will, however, be assuming that you have watched the OG series and Rebellion, so beware of that).

2 - Please don't come into this expecting it to be Madoka 2

Also no, this is not a continuation of the OG, it’s an alternate universe spin-off.

This one's for first-time viewers.

Well, ok, this sounds like vague tweeting and I'm kind of whining here, but I have seen a number of peeps on the internet saying that Magia Record is bad only for their argument to boil down to "because it isn't OG Madoka!"

Yeah it isn't. I'm pretty sure there's "Side Story" written somewhere in the title too.

Leaving aside the matter of nostalgia glasses and whether the original series was that much of a masterpiece or not (it's been over five years since I last watched it, so I can't say anything either way.) it seems kind of weird to me that someone would bash a spinoff on the grounds of how close it is to the original. Because here's the thing: to me, the whole point of spinoffs is taking an already existing scenario and putting a spin on it to make something new. That's exactly what makes them fun!

MagiReco didn't need to be a Madoka clone or to try hard and beat the original. That would probably have made it bad, actually. What it did need to do was to create an interesting story using the world set up by the OG Madoka and the other spinoffs, and that, in my opinion, it did, so I hope people can give it a chance and judge it on its own merits rather than only compared to the original. I'm not saying you can't hate it, either, I myself have my own problems with it, it's just that I want to see more reasonable reasons than "it's not the OG so it's bad".

3 - As you can probably already tell from these warnings, these posts are bound to get looong, so I'd recommend setting aside a fair amount of time and getting real comfy if you're gonna read it all. I also don't mind if you just skip ahead and only read the interesting parts, I'm not the internet police.

3.5 - I don't want to use it as an excuse, but I think I should make it clear that English is not my native language, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes and awkward/stilted text. It's hard to tell by myself, so feel free to correct me if you find something.

SO, with that out of the way let’s get down to what’s really important:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record Episode 1

Whew, now that’s a mouthful.

You know, in my mind I always thought a “side story” was something that happened alongside a “main story”, like another POV, so I’m not sure that’s the most appropriate title, but who am I to judge?

So here we go, we’re off with some beautiful futuristic scenery already, that’s the Madoka series I know.

As the classic Sis Puella Magi plays in the background, two unseen narrators tell us the tale of the so called “magical girls” as we are shown the reality of being one, meeting our first witch for this series.

Risking your life to save a cat doesn’t seem like the smartest of things. Rather, witches eat cats? That’s mean.

No, you really, really don’t. This narration definitely seems made to make everyone who saw the original say this, particularly with how silly are the wishes these girls suggest.

And hey, look, even this girl who supposedly had her wish granted doesn’t seem very happy.

Hang in there, this is only the first episode.

Man, this scenery really is pretty though.

After an exciting fight with a witch in the train, our girl here silently goes home to find

Whatever the heck this is.

So, our girl here seems to be having strange visions whenever she enters her room, that is very very suspiciously cut exactly in half. Protagonist, you sure have an unique sense of interior decoration.

She goes on with her day, makes two lunchboxes and… oh, it seems she’s all alone.

Is this something you should be telling your own daughter?

Long story short, Iroha’s parents are abroad right now (as is suspiciously the case with many a anime protagonist parents). I actually love the parallel this scene draws with OG Madoka: whereas Madoka’s parents seem responsible and Madoka even looks up to her mom and they’re a happy united family, Iroha comes off as being the responsible one in her family and her parents are gone from the get-go. This way, the lonely atmosphere of the previous scene also starts making sense.

So, it seems like there’s something Iroha wants to do here, and that’s why she decided to stay behind.

Perhaps. Did you wish to save a black cat?

Wow, this teacher is speaking fast. Calm down lady, we’re not here to speedrun the content, geez. Though I guess we should be happy she’s at least giving a proper class, unlike a certain other teacher…

Oh great, it's this guy.

Ok, Iroha doesn’t remember what she wished for and Kyuubei doesn’t know either, although he knows she used her wish for the sake of someone. Kyuubei theorizes that the reason she doesn’t remember might be that not remembering was part of her wish, but Iroha doesn’t think she’d wish for that. I don’t think you’d ever think to wish for something like that until you had to wish for something like that though.

She’s got a fair point. After all, wishing in this universe is basica— the heck is going on in the background there?! O-kaaay…

Iroha was having a weird think-spot mental conversation with Kyuubei there, and missed speedrun teacher’s lecture entirely. Being meguca is suffering.

We get some school motto propaganda, and now we’re on the roof. Oh? Where did all the friendship stuff from the propaganda go? Seems like Iroha’s not following the school spirit. Unless she considers the white weasel a friend, so that’s why she gave him her extra… wait, Kyuubei can EAT? I thought he was some alien machine-like being. H-Huh...

Classmate A: Tamaki-san, maji tenshi!

She’s probably just shy. According to her classmates, Iroha used to be busy doing something or the other, but no one can remember what that is.

Cute.

But maybe don’t do that somewhere someone could easily walk in on you, Iroha.

Iroha gets a call by the girl from the combat scene from before, whose name is Kuroe. I couldn’t tell from their conversation if they’ve known each other for a while or if they just met each other for the first time in the fight before.

On the train, although she’s the one who called her over, Kuroe remains silent. Iroha, clearly uncomfortable, tries her best to make conversation. Poor Iroha, I know the feeling.

We learn from her that the number of witches around has been decreasing. She comments that being unable to get Grief Seeds is troubling, but it’s better than having witches causing trouble. Poor girl has no way to know just how much of a bad news it is running out of Grief Seeds.

What’s with pink-haired girls and lacking self-esteem? Iroha, are you sure you didn’t wish to save a black and forget that you did? You did save a white one just before.

Kuroe finally decides to talk, and she tells us this:

If you go to Kamihama, you’ll be saved. To anyone that saw the OG, the first thought that comes to mind is that they’ll be saved from their destiny of turning into witches, but it seems Kuroe doesn’t know the truth yet. She just doesn’t want to fight witches anymore. I think.

The train lights up, and…

...this is extremely unsettling considering the truth about witches and the conversation they’re having right now. There’s a lot of this, but this just hits different having watched the original.

Iroha’s not inclined to believe what Kuroe’s saying. Of course, despite not remembering her wish, she’s the type that’s happy with fighting witches if she can save someone, and Kuroe’s not being very convincing either. The whole thing is apparently a rumor spread by some girls who saw a dream that told them that.

Except that Kuroe actually had the dream too.

Like most magical girls, Kuroe made a short-sighted wish, and regrets it. She now wants to be saved, so she’s going to Kamihama.

...or she was, but before that, they’ll have to defeat the witch they let escape the other day, ‘cos she’s back for more.

I actually have so many questions about this scene. Weren’t Labyrinths pocket dimensions? How come this one’s moving in physical space? We know witches themselves move and their Labyrinth goes with that, but I thought it was more, like, the entrance to the Labyrinth moves. Then how come witches can escape if magical girls get carried with their Labyrinth when they move…? Just... just... what?

The answer to all of that is probably “magic”.

Like that, Express Witch Labyrinth crashes right into what seems to be a train station. Labyrinths don’t have brakes, confirmed.

Brutal.

Looks like it’s not only magical girls who have territorial disputes going on. Although it’s nice that they won’t have to fight two witches at the same time, this is not exactly a relief when you consider these two were already struggling with the previous one, and this one just ripped it apart like crab.

As expected, Iroha’s arrows do no damage at all. When all seems lost…

A wild singing mini Kyuubei appears! Is this a shiny?

The singing Kyuubei distracts the witch and jumps towards Iroha, who uses her pro white cat catching skills to grab it, and… something happens. Whatever this Kyuubei did, Iroha’s having some flashbacks now. Sadly, the middle of a battle isn’t the best time to be having a BSOD and, despite Kuroe’s attempts to snap her out of it, they’re sitting ducks right now, a black and a white one.

Thankfully for them, though, they’re not alone in this barrier. This mystery blue haired girl spams flying spears and makes short work of the witch Iroha’s arrows didn’t even scratch earlier. She’s clearly at a whole ‘nother level.

Also, chibi Kyuubei’s gone. Totally not suspicious. Nope. Not at all.

So, from this OP miss get-the-heck-out-of-my-territory, who didn’t even bother saying her name, we learn that not only there is no salvation in Kamihama, there are more, stronger witches, and there are currently no Kyuubei. She gives them the Grief Seeds from the two witches before, and passes on a warning to them. Not the friendliest of magical girls. Though if you consider what happens when you run out of Grief Seeds, one could understand why it’d be undesirable having too many magical girls in the same place.

With this, Iroha and Kuroe take the train back to their town and things are totally awkward again.

Welp, seems like Kuroe doesn’t want to chat anymore, so we’ll have a dream sequence instead.

Forgive my lack of words, but this scene doesn’t need them. This is just… you couldn’t ask for a better representation of what being a magical girl wishing for salvation is like. Everyone has their own reasons, but in the end, having known despair, these girls are desperately clinging to this last hope called Kamihama. It’s almost a pilgrimage.

“Let’s go to Kamihama. We’ll be saved there”

And in the midst of all that is the mysterious girl from Iroha’s dreams.

(the track here, Paradero de Memoria, is also great btw)

Now, with various wishes written all over in the background, we get Kyuubei’s spiel about magical girls. I think this is word-by-word the same from the original too.

We now get to finally know what our protagonist’s wish was.

So Iroha wished to cure her younger sister’s illness, but the sister in question is now nowhere to be found. Worse: everything related to her is gone. Even Iroha, who made a wish for her sake, didn’t remember her existence until now. Oh man, that’s no normal disappearance. What happened? Guess that’s what Iroha will have to find out now.

With that, we conclude the first episode of Magia Record(’s s1)!

This is a really strong first episode in my opinion. It decently introduces our protagonist, sets up the mysteries we will be dealing with from here on and also manages to trace connections with the original, while using the viewer’s previous knowledge to give a whole different impression to some scenes. You wouldn’t be like “hell no” at the rumor there at the start if you didn’t know the truth about magical girls, and I doubt that final scene would hit that hard either. It’s just really good at this and it’ll continue doing that from now on. I love it.

Speaking of the final scene, me having watched the original over five years ago might also be part of it but that is really my favorite scene in Madoka overall. I just really really love that scene. (Seriously, I’ve watched this scene so many times I know it by heart now. Help.)

Alas, I lied, the episode’s not over yet, we still have our classic anime first episode ending-opening to watch. So let’s listen, to Gomakashi:

This logo’s real pretty.

So yeah, pretty standard anime opening. If you pay attention, there are some references to Connect too, what with the selfcest and whatnot. Although I managed to mistake this when I first watched, this one’s actually sung by the trio TrySail rather than ClariS. That’s the VAs for Iroha, Asakura Momo; Yachiyo (the get-out-of-my-territory girl), Amamiya Sora and Natsukawa Shiina, whose character we’ve yet to meet. TrySail has a lot of cool songs, so do check them out if you haven’t already. (free ad)

This time, in fact, the episode is over! Whew, I did say this was going to be long, but not even I thought it’d be this long. By the time this is posted I should have a backlog of these, so my plan is to post one everyday until we are done. I hope you had fun reading this here rant and I’ll be looking forward to meeting you guys again tomorrow, same place, maybe same hour, so we can go on and watch episode 2 together!

(P.S.: I am considering doing a series of posts at a later date comparing the anime to the game, but we’ll see. The first few chapters are fine, but the game is stupidly long, so I feel it’d take a lot of motivation and stamina I’m not sure I have at the moment. There’s also the possibility watching the first arc again would bring back my yt copy-apocalipse grief back and that’d suck, definitely don’t wanna go through that again.)

#magia record #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm magia record #this post apologizes for existing

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bored-storyteller · 4 years

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Since you said to re-request requests that haven't been executed yet if we remember them, headcannons on a yandere Hakuryuu with Alibaba, if you think that suits him?

Sure, thank you so much for remembering it!

Warning! Here we talk about an insane and violent relationship, no one is obliged to read!

28- Magi: the labyrinth of magic, Yandere! Hakuryuu x Alibaba

- Alibaba is very fond of Hakuryuu. He loves him, he is a dear friend and he will always do anything to protect that relationship of theirs. Even when Hakuryuu changed, even when he became an enemy, Alibaba never lost affection for him.

- Hakuryuu is no longer as he knew him, yet, having found him is enough for the blond prince. It's okay even if his smile isn't as sweet as it used to be, it's okay even if a magi completely dressed in black is always walking around him, it's okay even if he doesn't laugh anymore jovial and carefree as it once was. Okay so, they found each other, he found him again.

- It was a surprise when the young prince of the Kou Empire expressed his relief at having Alibaba at his side. It wasn't something particularly sweet, but in a way it felt very mature. The two nobles, side by side watching the sunset. And then all of a sudden those words, said with that charming and sly smile of the corrupt prince, while the corner of his eye pointed at the face of Alibaba, suddenly full of surprise and enthusiasm.

- "I will always be by your side." The boy had replied perhaps too soon, looking with sincere affection at the black hair man, who merely smiled, pleased.

- Maybe that was the moment of rupture, or maybe not. Who could tell? There was nothing strange at the beginning, Hakuryuu simply requested the presence of Alibaba very often, for no particular reason, or even particularly ambiguous.

- Alibaba did not hate this fact, on the contrary, he liked it. It made him feel safe and relieved that the prince wanted so badly to have him around in his days.

- The bonds are fragile, thin. And words that may seem vacant are indeed as powerful as blades, yet so subtle that they cannot be recognized. Small nuances in the sentences, the cordial "Could you come with me, Alibaba?" becomes the authoritarian "come with me." Without the blond noticing the difference.

- So worried not to lose his Hakuryuu again, Alibaba does not notice that the boundaries around him are getting tighter, higher and closed, until they are reduced to Hakuryuu's table, to his rooms, to his bed.

- There is no one but the two of them. Why? Where is Aladdin? Where is his Morgiana? For some time even the figure of Judar, once always next to the fourth prince of Kou, has inexplicably disappeared from around. The world beyond the curtain of Hakuyuu's room seems to have disappeared. What should poor Alibaba do?

- The boundaries become even tighter, tight around the sweet neck of the gentle boy, once a ray of sunshine for the lands of Sindria. Hakuryuu's hands clench without regret, taking his breath away, breaking bones, while his face is painted a smile that doesn't really know the light of Alibaba. How had he never noticed that smile? Yet it was there when he asked where Morgiana was without getting an answer, it was there even when he was denied the possibility of going out into the city, and it is there now, when he is denied even the last hope of crossing that threshold, "because Alibaba , you will always be mine. "

#yandere #hakuryuu #magi the labyrinth of magic #alibaba saluja #Hakuryuu x Alibaba #Yandere hakuryuu #request #magi headcanons #magi the kingdom of magic #magi alibaba #magi hakuryuu

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awkwardbsd · 4 years

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Hii I love your blog and i love bungou stray dogs Would you recommend a couple of animes

OH BOI! I’VE WANTED AN ASK LIKE THIS FOR A WHILE!

While I recommend some more than others, I enjoyed all of these anime. I mostly copied and pasted another list that I made, but there we go! Have fun!

Feel Good Stuff – Some stuff that leaves you feeling good about stuff. Whether the majority of the series or film is lighthearted or it’s just laidback, both will be included here.

Tokyo Godfathers: one of my favourite anime movies and far more light-hearted than Koe no Katachi (warning though for slurs used in this movie towards transwomen – she’s still the best character in the movie and the movie makes a point to let her know that she’s the best human on this very planet because Hana is a treasure)

Gin no Saji: If you’ve watched Fullmetal Alchemist, it has the same creator except it’s slice-of-life on a farm. I found it to be touching because it squares in on student experiences and connections. Also has sage advice.

Barakamon: Has children actually voiced by children. I watched it during a really important period of time for me. It centres and hits points that a lot of artists have.

Kimi to Boku: I can’t remember why I enjoyed this anime. I just know that I did for some reason. It was really simple.

The Boy and the Beast: I have mixed thoughts about this movie, but at the end of the day, I really enjoyed it.

Zombieland Saga: I just find it nice to find an idol anime that doesn’t focus on the whole “the girls all have to be cute”. One is a biker chick, one is indicated to be a former prostitute, one is a verified transgirl.

Those Movies That Have to be Mentioned – I’m legally obligated to mention these.

Anthem of the Heart: sounds like a crack premise (“girl gets cursed by an egg to never speak again after seeing her dad cheat with another woman in a love hotel like a castle”) but ends up being really good.

Your Name: practically everyone has watched that.

Koe no Katachi: A lot of people have watched this already. I always recommend it, but it’s very emotionally heavy and deals with suicide, bullying, and disability. It’s ending can make you cry from happiness though.

Wolf Children: Well, only if you’re okay with crying (at least on the inside)

Hotarubi no Mori e: It’s only 40 minutes. Probably won’t make people cry, but yeah, I can’t say that much.

Shounen – crack open one of these, and the boys and girls are sure to come

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: I’m legally obligated to mention this. it was one of my first anime (after Magi) and it was amazing.

My Hero Academia: Yeah... I had to mention this too.

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic: It was my first anime. It has a lot of shonen crap, but it’s also dialogue-heavy.

Seishun Buta Yarou: Drew in fanbois for the “plot” (bunny girl - what else can I say) and made people stay for the actual plot. It ended up being really quirky and funny. It was like the Monogatari series (which I tried and didn’t like) but better and more “legal”

Yakusoku no Neverland: If you’ve watched Chicken Run, imagine that with people. It’s a farm that farms children so they try to run.

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Shonen Jump doesn’t have that many misses.

Noragami: The gags resonated with 14-year-old me

Assassination Classroom: Underdeveloped cast? Yeah, but it was still a really good Shonen Jump adaptation.

Comedy – The stuff that’s not quite conventionally “shounen or shoujo” but still tries to make you laugh, no matter how hard they try or how hit-and-miss they are

Mob Psycho 100: The second season is amazing. I found it to be a really good solid show.

Hinamatsuri: If you like Mob Psycho or if you just like the idea of an adult adopting a kid and teaching them stuff along with the kid teaching them, this is the one for you. I was laughing and crying (from tears of laughter) at this.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: I can’t label this a romance because the romance doesn’t go anywhere. We start at square one and we finish at square one, but the stuff that happens in the meantime makes it all worth it.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou / Nichijou: Hit-and-miss, but there are a lot of iconic moments here.

Hataraku Saibou: I think this fits the best here. It’s just a good solid anime about cells in your body.

Shoujo/Romance – In case you need some fluff to fill the dark times; cheese levels vary.

Fruits Basket: Shoujo at its best.

Kono Oto Tomare: I don’t know how this got produced by Shonen Jump SQ because it’s like a cliche shoujo that would make even shoujo manga readers throw up flowers

Toradora: It’s a hit-and-miss for people just because the main character is a tsundere (played by the queen of tsundere herself)

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi: this ended up being a guilty pleasure for me – not quite a direct romance but direct enough

Haikara-san go Tooru: Technically a movie and only has the first part, but the manga is from mid-70s is a shining example of the feminist boom in Japan after WWII

Gamers!: This was best explained by a comment I read somewhere going “I love this anime, but it makes me want to bang my head on a wall repeatedly”. Misunderstandings: The Anime. Everyone has a hard time.

Kaguya-sama: It was a huge hit in the 2019 Winter season of anime and for good reason. It’s getting a new season coming up too.

Wotakoi: Two adults falling in love. It’s funny and a little bit niche and directed towards otaku.

Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo: Technically a shounen, it was a harem anime that ended up being pretty good? I was so side-tracked by the idea of that, especially since I found the premise mildly interesting. The manga gets extra points for being really cute with that last chapter. I mean, it has boobs, ass, and a lot of kissing, but the female mangaka was taught by the creator of Fairy Tail so it’s really runs in their roots.

Shigatsu no Kimi no Uso: Ultimately included this one in romance, but many would say this belongs in the next category.

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime: This is so heavy on cheese that I had to pause at times and go “what am I doing? Is this how I die? How will my family react to me watching this?” (the last question is one I ask of myself often)

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun: A lot of people who’ve watched BSD like this anime. Tumblr loves this anime.

The Horror! The Horror! Some Dark Stuff That Belongs in a Cauldron, and those onion-cutting ninjas. – Honestly, it’s not my favourite genre, but some of these ended up being among my favourite anime?

Death Parade: It wasn’t in the genre I usually watch (no comedy at all), yet I was moved every time? That last figure skating scene was *Canadian-French Accent* C’est Magnifique.

Shinsekai Yori: I watched this anime feeling SOOOOO UNEASY. Nothing was even happening that was “scary”. It was just the mere ideas behind it as the eerie world-building led me to go “WAHHHHH” over my computer. It’s one of the best anime I’ve watched, but I can’t recommend it to everyone.

Mousou Dairinin: It’s Satoshi Kon but sane. You actually get a conclusive ending. It has a surprisingly current message behind it though. It’s like Satoshi Kon continues to influence.

Perfect Blue: Now to the less sane Satoshi Kon work that confused me. Western movies literally copied one of the scenes from this movie.

No. 6: I can’t list this anywhere else, but it was the first anime to depict a really, really, really sweet gay relationship. Even though it was a complete fail adaptation-wise, it also gave Hosoya (voice actor) inspiration to keep going. It’s a gift.

Anohana: *ahem* I was recommended the anime by someone I’m no longer close with, but the memories that I had watching this and the message was probably the closest an anime has brought me to actually crying in a non-depressive fashion.

Gakkougurashi: Cute girls doing cute things with zombies that are about to eat them and destroy them all.

Erased: Okay, compared to other great series that I’ve yet to watch (Steins;Gate and Monster), it’s probably trash, but I remember really enjoying it when I first watched it.

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natsspammityspamspamham · 4 years

Text

Random List of Anime Recommendation:

This is mostly directed for @caratheillustrious but I figured posting it wouldn’t really be that much of a problem anyway. I’ll divide these up into categories in terms of mood.

Feel Good Stuff – Some stuff that leaves you feeling good about stuff. Whether the majority of the series or film is lighthearted or it’s just laidback, both will be included here.

Gin no Saji: If you've watched Fullmetal Alchemist, it has the same creator except it's slice-of-life on a farm. I found it to be touching because it squares in on student experiences and connections. Also has sage advice.

Barakamon: Has children actually voiced by children. I watched it during a really important period of time for me. It centres and hits points that a lot of artists have.

Kimi to Boku: I can't remember why I enjoyed this anime. I just know that I did for some reason. It was really simple.

The Boy and the Beast: I have mixed thoughts about this movie, but at the end of the day, I really enjoyed it.

Those Movies That Have to be Mentioned – I’m legally obligated to mention these.

Anthem of the Heart: sounds like a crack premise ("girl gets cursed by an egg to never speak again after seeing her dad cheat with another woman in a love hotel like a castle") but ends up being really good.

Your Name: practically everyone has watched that.

Koe no Katachi: A lot of people have watched this already. I always recommend it, but it's very emotionally heavy and deals with suicide, bullying, and disability. It's ending can make you cry from happiness though.

Wolf Children: Well, only if you're okay with crying (at least on the inside)

Hotarubi no Mori e: It's only 40 minutes. Probably won’t make people cry, but yeah, I can’t say that much.

Shounen – crack open one of these, and the boys and girls are sure to come

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic: It was my first anime. It has a lot of shonen crap, but it's also dialogue-heavy.

Seishun Buta Yarou: Drew in fanbois for the "plot" (bunny girl - what else can I say) and made people stay for the actual plot. It ended up being really quirky and funny. It was like the Monogatari series (which I tried and didn't like) but better and more "legal"

Yakusoku no Neverland: If you've watched Chicken Run, imagine that with people. It's a farm that farms children so they try to run.

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Shonen Jump doesn't have that many misses.

Noragami: The gags resonated with 14-year-old me

Assassination Classroom: Underdeveloped cast? Yeah, but it was still a really good Shonen Jump adaptation.

SKET Dance: The romance is too... canonly ambiguous for me to really put this under “romance”, it’s a comedy but can be serious, so I decided to put it under here. It’s quickly become one of my favourites.

Comedy – The stuff that’s not quite conventionally “shounen or shoujo” but still tries to make you laugh, no matter how hard they try or how hit-and-miss they are

Mob Psycho 100: The second season is amazing. I found it to be a really good solid show.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou / Nichijou: Hit-and-miss, but there are a lot of iconic moments here.

Hataraku Saibou: I think this fits the best here. It’s just a good solid anime about cells in your body.

Shoujo/Romance – In case you need some fluff to fill the dark times; cheese levels vary.

Fruits Basket: Shoujo at its best.

Kono Oto Tomare: I don't know how this got produced by Shonen Jump SQ because it's like a cliche shoujo that would make even shoujo manga readers throw up flowers

Toradora: It's a hit-and-miss for people just because the main character is a tsundere (played by the queen of tsundere herself)

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi: this ended up being a guilty pleasure for me – not quite a direct romance but direct enough

Haikara-san go Tooru: Technically a movie and only has the first part, but the manga is from mid-70s is a shining example of the feminist boom in Japan after WWII

Kaguya-sama: It was a huge hit in the 2019 Winter season of anime and for good reason. It’s getting a new season coming up too.

Wotakoi: Two adults falling in love. It’s funny and a little bit niche and directed towards otaku.

Shigatsu no Kimi no Uso: Ultimately included this one in romance, but many would say this belongs in the next category.

Hamefura: Have you ever wished for a harem with GUYS and GALS?! Have you ever wished for a bisexual harem with a protagonist is dumb, and literally everyone but her knows it?! Look no further!

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo.: I found this to be a very empowering anime. It tackles the sexuality of women, and it does it in a very... unique package.

Death Parade: It wasn't in the genre I usually watch (no comedy at all), yet I was moved every time? That last figure skating scene was *Canadian-French Accent* C’est Magnifique.

Mousou Dairinin: It’s Satoshi Kon but sane. You actually get a conclusive ending. It has a surprisingly current message behind it though. It’s like Satoshi Kon continues to influence.

Perfect Blue: Now to the less sane Satoshi Kon work that confused me. Western movies literally copied one of the scenes from this movie.

Gakkougurashi: Cute girls doing cute things with zombies that are about to eat them and destroy them all.

Erased: Okay, compared to other great series that I’ve yet to watch (Steins;Gate and Monster), it’s probably trash, but I remember really enjoying it when I first watched it.

And that ends my TED Talk.

#anime recommendations

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oc-review-shop · 7 years

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Puella Magi Madoka Magic OC Review: Selena Grace Rose

Reviewed by: Mod Charle

Name: Selena Rose Age: 15 Weapon: AK-47 Wish: To be able to protect her friends

She’s 15 and her uniform is for Mitakihara Middle School, so I assume she is in the same grade as Mami Tomoe (9th). I feel like an AK-47 as a weapon doesn’t suit her wish or appearance. Selena Rose’s outfit is very girly. If her wish was to protect her friends, a weapon that would match would most likely be a shield, like Homura. When you bring up protection, a shield usually comes to mind rather than an AK-47. I imagine a very large shield (about the size of Selena) as her weapon. But that’s just my opinion.

Before Contract Selena Grace lived alone in an apartment (that her father bought her) and attended Mitakihara Middle School as a foreign exchange student from Australia. She was quite the troublemaker, she spent her days skipping class, getting in trouble, and once she got suspended for 3 weeks. But, she was a loyal friend who always had her friends’ back.

Her appearance doesn’t quite match her personality. At first glance, she seems like a quiet, shy, and sweet girl. This bothered me a bit because I got the wrong impression of the character at first. However, this could be a good quality. Selena may seem like a good girl at glance, but she’s actually rebellious. A lot of anime characters live alone, and Selena just displays that again. It’s not a problem, but a reason for Selena to live separately from her parents would be nice. Also 3 weeks of suspension is long. That isn’t even suspension anymore. She would have gotten expelled.

Contract One day, on the news, Selena heard that her 3 best friends were missing. She tried searching for them but with no luck. But then, a weird creature appeared and offered her one wish in exchange for a contract with him.

Idk about you but the fact that her friends ran off without Selena makes me think they’re SNAKES. I do have to give credit to Selena though for actually trying to help her friends. Good loyalty.

She was very desperate at this time, “I wish I could’ve protected my closest friends form whatever took them away, erase their memories of it!” Selena cried.

Selena found herself in a witch’s labyrinth and saw her friends stuck in it as well. She quickly transformed herself and protected them from the witch. None of them remembered what happened and Selena worked as a magical girl for a long time, not realizing her fate.

This is a decent way to introduce her magical girl form. Her friends don’t know about it and that’s how it should be. This really does back up the fact the author added loyalty to one of her personality traits.

Despair Four years later in Mitakihara High school, her and her friends were planning on being together forever, but all of a sudden they started turning on each other, leaving Selena alone by herself. Tears streamed down her face and she didn’t know what to do. Her Soul Gem turned into the darkest color it could be.

I kinda assume Selena was more of a follower and relied on her friends for support. It might be why she tried so hard to protect them. I’m actually really surprised that she was able to survive this long as a magical girl. Magical girls are made to become witches quickly (Kyoko is an exception because her personality type enabled her to ignore other people and live for herself... until she met Sayaka lmao).

Also... I knew her friends were snakes

“What’s wrong? You got your wish, you protected your friends. It’s not my fault that happened. They’re all safe, they’re gonna have a happy life without you.” The incubator stated.

This is a damn good interpretation of Kyubey. He would definitely say something like this due to the lack of emotion incubators have.

“N-no... This wasn’t my wish! I never wanted this!” Selena sobbed loudly. “I should’ve let them get killed by that witch! I should fucking die!”

During the transition period of magical girl to witch, magical girls usually feel these negative emotions. They usually regret their wishes and feel hatred towards themselves for it. I think this is a good turning point for Selena, but I’m a little confused in how this plays a part in her personality. She is said to be rebellious and rude, yet loyal. However, it’s shown that she is also heavily reliant on her friends. Her personality may have to be changed in order to have the events flow.

Madoka’s Reset Selena became less rebellious and a lot nicer. Selena’s despair never happened, thanks to Madoka. When her time came she was taken away so she never felt the pain of betrayal.

I wish Selena’s witch form was also included. The witch of betrayal and loyalty would be a pretty good witch to have, not gonna lie. However, Madoka’s reset wouldn’t necessarily change Selena’s personality unless she was using the “rebellious facade” in order to fit in with her friends. It’s just something to think about with her personality.

Homura’s Reset Selena changed in Homura’s reset. She went from rebellious and rude to shy and kind. She didn’t meet her old friends again, in fact, her whole family moved to Japan because her father got a promotion. She arrived in Mitakihara City two months after the reset. She wore a light blue ribbon instead of a dark red one, and light blue thigh highs instead of purple. She had two best friends Aki and Aiko. She lived happily. She always felt a bit different though.

Homura’s reset changes a lot of things, including timeline events and memories. However, personalities don’t change. I’m very curious as to what Selena’s personality really is due to her reliability on friends. I also wish there was a little more background information on Selena’s relationships. Homura wouldn’t change anything with the universe unless it affected Madoka in some way. If Selena doesn’t interact with Homura or any of the main cast, she wouldn’t change Selena’s life at all.

Facts and Stuff

If Selena had wished for something else, her despair would’ve destroyed her a lot sooner.

She’s not a bad person, her friends talked her into making bad decisions.

She had a habit of picking fights with other magical girls and obtaining grief seeds that way as well.

She once fought Homura and lost miserably.

Selena is actually a lot older than the main cast because she becomes a magical girl at age 15 (2010).

She’s secretly in love with her friend Aki.

I feel like the second bullet point clears up her personality a little bit. I think the best personality for Selena would be kind, loyal, and uncertain. She would feel anxious about fitting in, causing her to put on a facade in order to make friends. Her 3 (snake) friends influence her to make bad decisions, but Selena goes along with it because she wants friends (reminds me of Futaba from Ao Haru Ride). The third bullet point totally messes up my edited version of Selena’s personality. If you (author) would like to keep her personality the way it was before, fine. But if you’d like to take my criticism, I suggest taking away the third bullet point.

Homura doesn’t fight others for no reason at all. Her focus is all on Madoka and protecting her. Relationships between characters would need to be developed in order to allow Selena to cut into the Madoka Magica timeline.

Also, Selena is a lot older than the regular cast. I don’t know how she would be able to interact with them if she was so much older.

Aki and Aiko are two random characters thrown in when Homura resets the universe. Like I said, Homura wouldn’t change anything unless it affects the main cast. Unless background information is provided, Aki and Aiko aren’t important, nor is Selena.

Selena could become a great Madoka Magica oc, but right now, she needs a lot of fixes and changes, the main ones being her personality, relationships with main cast, and appearance. I suggest making her put on a facade in order to make friends, but her magical girl outfit and appearance and general should display her real personality. Adding in relationships would also give an understanding of her place in the Madoka Magica universe.

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps! (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

~ Mod Charle

#puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica #madoka #ocreview #madokaoc #madokamagicaoc #ocreviewshop #xmelodyheartxrawr #selena grace rose

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