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alison-anonymous · 4 years

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flawsome bandits pt. 9 ♡ sonic

Flawsome Security

I AM BACK!!! This chapter may be a bit short, but it’s just because this is the second half of the story and I needed to introduce some new concepts!

I have brought you all some more Flawsome Bandits for you special little darlings <3 I got a little excited and wrote an entire plot line for the rest of this story in a day, and I just finished writing this part tonight! So the next update might come soon, the next chapter is a bit more complicated so I still have to figure out how to write it. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, and please let me know if there is anything or anyone you would like to see in the chapters to come! I love you all and please let me know what you think!

Warnings - some hEaRtWrEnChInG fluff

♡♡♡

Five months later…

If Y/n had to pick one period of her life where everything was perfect, it would be this one.

It had been five months since the great attack between Y/n, Sonic, and Dr. Robotnik had occurred and no one had seen or heard a thing about the crazy man in ages. While Y/n and Sonic had been staying in isolation inside the Wachowski residence, the government was sweeping the streets and subtly interrogating citizens in order to see if they had any knowledge of their whereabouts. After a couple of months, they eventually gave up and plopped the case into the cold. Once things were finally deemed safe, and after a thorough inspection by Tom, Y/n and Sonic were able to roam about Green Hills freely again.

You would think that the people would freak out a little bit whenever they saw two alien hedgehogs walking down the streets, cracking weird jokes and singing or zipping around the place. But they actually saw the two as their own special town heroes; like they had their own unique Superman and Superwoman. Y/n was even asked to start helping Crazy Carl again in his notorious escapades of eliminating all the racoons, who he claimed were secretly geniuses and were rummaging through our trash to find anything valuable to power their supercomputers.

I mean… he was right about Sonic, so why not give him a chance?

Sonic was even asked to help around the bakeries and grocers with some doordash delivery services, making some extra cash for his Less Than 3 Seconds delivery service. He liked to brag about the fact that he could take literally anything from the store and hardly anyone would bat an eye. This also meant that anytime Y/n even mentioned that she needed something, he would disappear and then be back in a blink holding that exact thing. With Sonic and Y/n being able to make some extra cash helping around, it encouraged Tom and Maddie to work even harder at their jobs as well. Tom reclaimed his throne as Green Hills’ favorite cop, and Maddie went back to the pet hospital. The shared strange experiences that the four had encountered only proceeded to bond them together to form an even tighter family than they ever were before. Tom and Maddie had to admit that it did take them a while to get used to Y/n’s true form, but they loved every inch of her and were simply happy that she was happy.

Of course, enrolling them into public school was still a huge no, so they kept up the homeschooling as well. Knowing Sonic, he caught up to Y/n super fast, and it wasn’t too long before the two were helping each other Quick Study using flash cards and exercising at the same time. Speaking of their relationship, Tom had finally listened to Maddie and backed off a little bit to give room for their relationship to flourish. Because hey, if Y/n’s boyfriend was living under his roof, then he could control him like a puppet if he ever did anything to hurt her, right?

But… there was one teeny tiny, itsy bitsy little problem.

Y/n and Sonic never talked about… that night. You know. When they said “I love you.” Of course, they had always planned on it. But they were never quite able to find the right time. Just as they were about to get ready for the talk, Tom or Maddie would walk in or they would suddenly remember needing to do something and race off without even thinking. Maybe they were subconsciously intentionally avoiding the subject. It was a pretty intense conversation after all, and the damper as to whether or not the other had changed their mind always remained a prominent issue.

Fear is very debilitating, you know.

But their feelings were growing stronger by the day. Every second that they spent with one another was a moment that they never wanted to end. This evening was one of those moments.

Tom and Maddie had been invited out to dinner with some of Tom’s work buddies and their wives, so while they were out drinking finely aged wine and trying to figure out what the best angle was to bite on some cheese bread, Y/n and Sonic had the house to themselves.

Of course, Ozzy was their chaperone.

The two had planned an amazing afternoon of relaxation by plucking out a huge pile of movies to watch until they passed out from exhaustion. Most of them consisted of horribly rated horror movies so that they could make fun of them, while others consisted of action and romcoms that you just had to watch one more time. They had decided to take a break to make themselves a nice and healthy dinner, just like Tom and Maddie had wanted them to. It ended up looking more like an ice cream sundae, filled with (favorite ice cream), banana slices, sprinkles, chocolate syrup, waffle cookies, and a bunch of other stuff that Sonic had thrown in there.

“Oh, damnit,” Y/n sighed as she stood on the kitchen counter, arms holding the cabinet doors open. “We don’t have any Eggos.”

“Fret not, M’Lady,” Sonic cried dramatically from his spot on the kitchen island. His green eyes sparkled with excitement as Y/n chuckled, her cheeks turning red at the nickname. He had gotten a bit too into the fantasy movie they had just finished watching. “Your hero is here!”

And in a blue flash, he was gone. In the time that it took Y/n to blink, he was already back, holding three packs of her favorite kind of Eggos in his arms. He tossed two of them in the fridge and held one package out to her proudly.

“Why, thank you, Sonic,” she giggled, deciding to keep her mythical accent in order to please him. Her gloved hand brushed against his as she took the pack out of his hands, a little flicker of electricity excitedly floating across their skin at the contact. She quickly ripped it open and plopped two of the waffles onto the sundae, smiling proudly.

“Dinner!”

Another dozen switched positions on the couch and two more movies in, Y/n and Sonic finally ended up settling on The Conjuring. Their bellies were full of junk food and were covered up with soft blankets as they huddled together. There were a few jumpscared that actually got Y/n, but for the most part the only tension came from the decreasing distance between the two hedgehogs. Just as the credits were rolling across the screen, Sonic had wrapped his arm around Y/n’s shoulders in a totally casual manner. They listened silently to the eerie music as the actors went floating up the darkened screen. Ozzy lay passed out on the floor in front of them, next to the coffee table that held all of their dirty dishes. Y/n’s heart began to pound and her stomach felt like it was going to crawl up and spew out of her mouth as she finally turned her head to face Sonic.

“Hey, Son…?”

“Yeah?” He turned to her, the darkened screen making his emerald eyes grow paranormally in the dark. Hers were doing the same. They scooted away just an inch or two so that they were facing one another, Sonic’s arm still splayed across the back of the couch as he looked at her with curious, yet affectionate eyes. Y/n cleared her throat, trying to figure out how she wanted to begin this. It was now or never, right? And they had already waited for quite some time.

“I… I know that we never really talked about… um… you know,” she silently kicked herself for making things so awkward, but her nerves were getting the better of her. She could practically feel her tail shaking behind her. “I meant what I said. And I need to know if you did too…” Her heart was pounding so rapidly she could barely think over the sound, nerves skyrocketing through the roof. E/c eyes began to fill with a mixture of hope and fear as she looked up into Sonic’s emerald ones. His mouth opened and shut like a fish, void of any sound. She could only fear the worst… he didn’t mean it. He didn’t care about her the way that she did about him, did he? He secretly hated h-

“Of course I meant it! Y/n, I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember. I guess I just never really realized it until now,” He gave her a sheepish smile, his seriousness being a completely new side of him that only ever came out when he was sincere about something. Y/n felt the butterflies go nuts in her stomach, a blush rising across her cheeks. “I think we both know that we’re kind of entirely new to this, but I was just afraid to ruin things between us. We’ve been running for most of our lives, never really having a place to call our home. But throughout all of the hard times and adventures we’ve been through, you were the one constant. Whenever I look at you…” Sonic’s emerald gaze softened as a loving smile game across his lips. “I’m home.”

A huge grin took over Y/n’s face, her eyes beginning to fill with tears of happiness. “Sonic… you’re my home, too.” Before he had a chance to say more beautiful things to make her heart melt, she threw her arms around his furry neck and buried her head in his neck. Sonic was quick to return the gesture, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly. It felt like cloud nine being there with one another, knowing that they felt the same. That they would make things work just like they always did. They fat together like two pieces of a puzzle; the one person that they could never get tired of. The one person that they loved everything about. The one person who was their home. Home never truly was just one place, was it?

It was them.

“Okay, okay,” Y/n slowly breathed as they finally pulled apart. She ran a nervous gloved hand through her quills and gave him a bashful smile. “We’ll take things slow? Since we’re so new to this and everything.” Sonic eagerly nodded.

“Yes! I mean, yeah sure,” he attempted to play it cool by leaning back against the couch, but his excitement remained ever present in his eyes every time he looked at her. “Slow. Oh, and um, how are we going to make sure Donut Lord doesn’t kill me?”

Y/n giggled, moving closer to her partner and snuggling up into his side. Sonic happily obliged by wrapping his one arm around her and pulling her closer into him. The warmth of his body heat made her never want to leave as she hummed softly to lift the TV remote over to hand.

“You let me take care of that. By the way, Conjuring? Yay or nay?”

“Oh my god, don’t even get me started! First of all, every single person in here is suffering from an extreme lack of Snickers. Like seriously. They just ain’t themselves when they’re hungry.”

♡♡♡

At around eleven o’clock, Maddie and Tom Wachowski quietly slipped through their front door. After the very interesting dinner with their friends, the gang had wanted to go out and get some drinks. Seeing no way out of it, they decided to tag along. It was only when Wade tried to strip and ride a mechanical bull at the same time that they called it a night. They knew Y/n and Sonic well enough to figure that they would have passed out on the couch watching movies, and their suspicions were confirmed when they saw the TV still flashing scenes from Dead Silence across the quiet living room.

The couple quietly made their way into the hall and peered into the room to see the two hedgehogs passed out on the couch. Sonic lay on his back with his arms wrapped around Y/n, whose head rested on his chest and her legs were splayed across the other half of the couch. The sight was so adorable that it brought Maddie back to her young love days as she pressed a hand against her chest. A smile formed across her face as she watched the steady rise and fall of their breathing. Unfortunately, Tom was not quite as happy.

“W-what the hell?” His grip on their leftovers tightened as he stared daggers at Sonic’s arm wrapped tightly around his daughter’s waist. “Please tell me I’m dreaming.”

“Oh, come on, Tom,” Maddie playfully smacked him in the chest. “They’re just kids. They’ve known each other their whole life, remember?” Tom let out a defeated huff, but his lips were still edged in a frown.

“But… that’s my daughter right there. And that’s a boy. With his arm. Doing things.” He turned to stare intensely at his wife. “Things I don’t like.”

Maddie laughed quietly at his expression, and grabbed his arm to tug him with her into the kitchen. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to take off these high heels that feel like nails and take a nice long bath while you put the leftovers away and raid the icebox to see if we still have those macaroons the kids got us for Valentine’s day.” She pecked him on the cheek, a warm smile floating across her lips as she looked him in the eyes. “Okay?”

“Y-yes ma’am.” Years of being married, and Maddie was still able to catch him off guard.

♡♡♡

A couple hours later, the house had fallen completely silent. Even Ozzy’s snoring had ceased to an open mouthed whistle as he lay on his stomach, belly exposed to the air of the living room. Maddie and Tom lay fast asleep under the covers of their bed, and Y/n and Sonic remained asleep on the couch. Everything was silent until a slow, melodic tune floated through the air.

Y/n stirred on Sonic’s chest. She unconsciously buried her head deeper into his fur in an attempt to float back into the REM cycle. But the tune came once again, this time more forcefully. Demanding attention. When it realized Y/n was still asleep, it wafted through the air, this time louder.

Y/n’s e/c eyes popped open. She gulped, recognizing the sound instantly. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Last time she acknowledged the sound, it shot her on a brand new adventure in which she almost lost the love of her life. She turned her head back to Sonic’s chest, pointedly glaring at the air around her in hopes that whatever it was would get the hint. A couple of moments passed in silence, and her heartbeat finally slowed. Her eyelids gradually fluttered closed.

Ah~, ah~...

♡ a.a.

#sonic #sonic x reader #sonic imagines #sonic the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog x reader #sonic the hedgehog imagines #sonic the hedgehog 2020 #sonic the hedgehog 2020 x reader #sonic the hedgehog 2020 imagines #sonic the hedgehog movie #sonic the hedgehog movie x reader #flawsome bandits #sonic the hedgehog 2020 sequel

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daresplaining · 5 years

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not sure if you have been asked this before but how would you rate the daredevil runs from miller to soule, and why?

It has taken literally a thousand years to answer this, and I apologize– it’s just a huge question, even skipping all of the pre-Frank Miller runs (thank you for that, by the way– maybe I’ll rank them in a separate post, because I love a lot of the pre-Miller stuff!). Every reread brings with it new insight, and so my preferences are ever-evolving. That said, here’s how I would rank the main Daredevil runs from Miller onward (I’m not including annuals, mini-series, or novels, and I’m skipping the really tiny one-or-two-issue runs for the sake of brevity):

1. Mark Waid Daredevil volumes 3 and 4 are, for me, a perfect encapsulation of everything that makes Daredevil great. It’s all there! Smirking, swashbuckly Matt pulling off badass feats to save the day? Check! Dark, emotionally turbulent Matt trying to cope as the world falls apart around him? Check! An excellent supporting cast? Check! Fantastic hypersensory moments? Check! Great stories? Stunning art? Stilt-Man? Check! Everyone needs to read this run. It’s pretty much perfect.

2. Brian Michael Bendis I’ve learned that my Daredevil preferences tend to lean light(er…), but dang, Bendis writes a heck of a noir comic. He balances intense crime drama with striking character moments, changes the status quo over and over again (in a good way), and gives Matt some of the best zingers he’s ever had. (Seriously. Bendis’s Matt is really funny.) He also gave us Milla Donovan and Angela Del Toro, and for that I am eternally grateful. And whooo, that Alex Maleev/Matt Hollingsworth art… This is a classic, enduring run for a very good reason.

3. Karl Kesel/Joe Kelly Okay, I’m cheating here. These are two separate runs. But they happened back-to-back, had the exact same tone, and were great for all of the same reasons, so I usually squash them together. If Karl Kesel and Joe Kelly have a problem with this, they can take it up with me (preferably in person– I have a lot of comics for them to sign.) These runs are fun. The Daredevil pendulum swings from light to dark and back again, and these guys landed on the upswing, after Matt had reconnected with his quippy, swashbuckly past. They feel old-fashioned, nostalgic in the best possible way, not afraid to be a little silly while still delivering solid, character-rooted stories. And it helps that the cast of characters is top-notch. Karen is around, trying to re-start her life while juggling humorous relationship issues with Matt. Foggy’s family drama is on full-force as Rosalind Sharpe and Candace come to town. Misty Knight stops by, as does Natasha Romanov. Kathy Malpher, one of my favorite minor DD characters ever, has lots of panel time. Deuce the Devil Dog is there. And it all ends with the breathtaking DD #375, which has got to be one of my top five favorite issues of all time. If you haven’t read these runs yet, go do that and thank me later.

4. Frank Miller Darkness is only effective when interspersed with some light, and lightness is only effective when injected with some darkness, and Frank Miller (pre-”Born Again”) hit that perfect balance. It’s noir. It’s deep. It’s intense. It’s also some of the funniest Daredevil material ever written. Please go back and read “Guts”, or “Hunters”, or the Power Man and Iron Fist crossover. Let me say it louder, because I feel like I’m alone here: I love Frank Miller’s Daredevil because it is FREAKING HILARIOUS! And it goes without saying that “Born Again” is also stunning– definitely one of my favorite DD stories. And he gave us Stick and the peerless Elektra Natchios (three different versions of her, in fact) and the world has never been the same.

5. Denny O’Neil Denny O’Neil had the misfortune of getting sandwiched between Frank Miller’s two runs, and I feel like that’s the reason he doesn’t get the attention he deserves for some truly fantastic comics. Uh… weird comics, in a lot of cases, but heck, I like well-done weirdness. O’Neil added an international angle to the comic. He sent Matt to Japan and Italy (and even- gasp- New Jersey) and brought in Glori O’Breen, a great character even with her slightly over-the-top accent. He reconnected Matt with Natasha Romanov for a few beautiful one-shot team-ups. He killed off Heather Glenn in a horrible way, but did it with such grace and style that it didn’t feel entirely gratuitous. And he’s responsible for “The Price”– one of my favorite stand-alone issues. Plus, the fact that he was working with David Mazzucchelli didn’t hurt either.

6. Ann Nocenti Superhero comics– superhero comics writing in particular– has been a white male-dominated profession for far too long, and there are far too few women who have written Daredevil. I hate to start a discussion of Nocenti’s run with “Look! A woman!” but it’s worth pointing out because look at this list. Seriously. (And for anyone unfamiliar with the pre-Miller runs, I assure you, it’s more of the same.) Ann Nocenti’s run is fantastic for the ways it really digs into the heart of the material. She took the post-“Born Again” landscape and ran with it. This was the period that tied Matt to Hell’s Kitchen, and Nocenti made that plot point stick by showing us the fabric of the neighborhood, bringing in characters like the Fat Boys, placing Matt and Karen within the community with the founding of Karen’s free clinic, and turning the Hell’s Kitchen of the Marvel universe into a living, breathing place. In contrast, she also took Matt out of the city, and in doing so, wrote some of my favorite Daredevil stories. She wasn’t afraid to address pressing social issues. She wasn’t afraid to tell stories that were just plain weird. And her run is utterly unique and complex as a result.

7. Ed Brubaker/D.G. Chichester Yeah, okay, this is really cheating. These are two completely different runs, but they are nevertheless tied because of the same factor: I adore some parts, and dislike other parts. “The Devil in Cell Block D” (the first arc of Brubaker’s run) is phenomenal. I re-read it a lot. So is “Last Rites” (by Chichester). Chichester wrote two of my favorite stand-alone issues: “34 Hours” (vol. 1 #304) and “Just One Good Story” (vol. 1 #380). Brubaker gifted us with the awesomeness that is Maki Matsumoto (A.K.A. Lady Bullseye), and Master Izo! Chichester gave us D.A. Kathy Malpher, one of my favorite DD characters ever (bring her back, Marvel! Where did she go?)! Also, his hypersensory writing is visceral verging on gross– which, for me, is ideal. However, Brubaker’s run went downhill a bit after the first arc. I mentioned the light/dark balance in regards to Frank Miller’s run, and Brubaker went all dark. (I consider it the darkest DD run yet.) It’s great storytelling, but not my style. And while I love his shorter arcs, Chichester’s longer work– “Fall From Grace” and “Tree of Knowledge” in particular– don’t do it for me. I find them overly convoluted and lacking substance. Also, while Scott McDaniel draws my favorite rendition of the radar sense, he’s my least favorite DD artist. D.G. Chichester + Lee Weeks 4ever.

8. David Mack I like “Vision Quest” a lot more than “Parts of a Hole”, though that’s somewhat due to the artist switch partway through the latter. “Parts of a Hole” did an excellent job of introducing Maya Lopez, and has a lot of great moments, but “Vision Quest” is practically a piece of fine art. It’s stunning, both narratively and visually. I consider it more of an Echo comic than a DD comic, but it still belongs on this list.

9. Charles Soule I haven’t had a chance to reread this run in its entirety, since it just ended, and I really need to do so because I’m having a hard time figuring out my feelings on it. There are aspects of Soule’s characterization of Matt that I disagree with. The sensory writing varied in quality, and we clearly have different perceptions of the radar sense. There was a distinct shortage of female characters– and, in fact, of side characters in general. And the mind wipe was a huge misstep, since it erased so many of Matt’s long-held friendships. In a comic that has traditionally drawn much of its power from its strong supporting casts and Matt’s dynamics with them, that decision has caused serious lasting damage. However, there’s also a lot I loved. Sam Chung, though (I feel) underused, is a great character in his own right, and he also provided the chance for us to see Matt in a long-term mentorship role– something I’ve wanted for a while now. Muse was a fascinating and terrifying antagonist. And Soule’s perspective as an actual lawyer added extra zip to many of his stories, whether it was putting Matt in the mayor’s office (finally!) or sending him to the Supreme Court in what may be my favorite law-centered DD story ever. But the real reason Soule’s name is this far up this list is because of the “Double Vision” arc (or, as I call it, “Mike Murdock Must Die 2.0″) which is sheer brilliance, and to my mind, one of the greatest Daredevil stories ever told.

10. Bob Gale “Playing to the Camera” does not get nearly as much credit as it deserves for being a genuinely hilarious superhero law-based comedy of errors, and a bright spot amid the angst-fest that is Daredevil volume 2. My major complaints are that it’s too short and I dislike the art.

11. Andy Diggle I don’t dislike “Shadowland”. I don’t love it, but it’s a cool story concept that suffered– as events often do– from storytelling spread too thin, across too many characters, in too short a timespan. (Though I need to know if he came up with the “Matt Murdock dared evil… and lost” tagline, because if so, that wordplay would rocket him right to the top of this list.) I prefer the lead-up to “Shadowland” to the event itself. But I love DD: Reborn (yes, I said I wasn’t going to cover mini-series, but it’s essentially part of the main comic because it bridges the gap between two volumes. I say it counts). I’ve always enjoyed stories that take Matt out of NYC, and Reborn is a fun adventure story that gets back to basics and serves as a great bookend for volume 2.

12. Scott Lobdell I like “Flying Blind”. It’s quirky and unusual (which I appreciate), and Matt is written very well. I just don’t love it. It’s one of those arcs that slides right to the back of the memory and only returns to the forefront when you’re reflecting on the first time Matt ever saw Foggy, or wondering if Matt’s bad French in Brubaker’s run is left over from his SHIELD-implanted fluency. It’s a neat idea, but could have been executed in a more engaging, lasting way.

13. Gregory Wright This short run went right out of my head the instant I finished it the first time, and upon rereading it has remained fairly unmemorable. The art is hit-and-miss, and the story– while perfectly fine– isn’t anything exciting or innovative. There are some great hypersensory moments, it’s worth reading, but I don’t have much to say about it beyond that.

14. Alan Smithee “Alan Smithee” is a pseudonym used in the entertainment industry by writers who don’t want to be associated with a certain project. The commentary on manwithoutfear.com states that this run was actually written by Chichester, who used the pen name as a way of protesting his abrupt firing from the comic. I treat it as a separate run, since that’s clearly what he wanted. I always tend to group the Wright and Smithee runs together in my mind because they take place one after the other, are both very short (only 5 issues each), and are very similar in both tone and quality. I like the art in Smithee’s run more, and the writing is solid. However, the whole thing is colored for me by the horrific and unnecessary death of Glorianna O’Breen, a character I love. I’m perfectly fine with characters dying if their deaths are well-written and impactful (heck, I’ll be honest– I love a good death), but Glori’s demise just seems gratuitous, and is therefore not appealing to me.

15. J.M. DeMatteis This run is super weird, but not in an interesting way. It leans toward the religious, which is not my thing, and it relies on the dead sex worker storyline from Man Without Fear, which is really not my thing and should have stayed out of the main continuity. It’s good to read, because it’s a major shift in Matt’s life and sets up the fabulous Kesel/Kelly runs, but… eh. That said, Matt battling his different identities in a graveyard while getting heckled by Stick, and yellow suit DD running around creating mayhem, are 100% my things… so credit where’s it’s due.

16. Kevin Smith You may have noticed that “Guardian Devil”, the first arc of Daredevil volume 2, the run that rescued the series after its cancellation and brought Matt Murdock to the forefront of the Marvel street-level universe once more…! …is rarely ever mentioned on this blog. That’s because I really don’t like it. At all. I’m grateful to Smith for bringing readers back to DD, but would be happy if he never wrote these characters again. His run is poorly paced, out-of-character, and covers themes/topics/etc. that I personally don’t enjoy. I forced myself through it because I’m a Daredevil completist, but I haven’t read it again. I probably will someday, just to make sure I remember all of the key plot points, but… not yet.

#Daredevil #Asks #Commentary #Recommendations List

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lia-nikiforov · 6 years

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Winter 2018 Anime Final Review

Why yes, pretty much all the Spring premieres are done (don’t even remind me haha I’m so far behind) and this is horribly late, I had a busy couple of weeks ;---; and am still struggling to catch up, but here’s my final rundown of this long slow winter! Worst to best, as always.

Dropped

Basilisk Ouka Ninpou Chou: Although I’d said I’d keep watching for the Nobunaga twist, given the onslaught of new stuff for Spring, it’s unsustainable to keep watching something so mediocre I don’t even find anything to say about it. Also Nobunaga hasn’t been mentioned in three episodes.

DUMPSTER FIRE

Darling in the Franxx: So we’re halfway through the show and still feels nothing of importance has happened, except we learned “lesbians are not viable, what a relief” and also KOKORO REALLY WANTS TO MAKE BABIES. The whole Kokoro business is very unsavory because on the one hand the writing is a dick to Walking Fat Joke Futoshi, but on the other hand Futoshi is an entitled Nice Guy who acts like Kokoro has some obligation to return his feelings, so basically everyone sucks lmao. Btw, does anyone know what happened with episode 13? I went to watch it but what I got instead was a Deadman Wonderland episode, complete with the story of Palurdo meeting Lab Experiment-turned-Beast Waifu as children and making a promise that would subsequently be forgotten until they meet again in their teenage years. Jesus, does Womenz are Beastz: The Anime have a single original idea?

How am I supposed to measure my own disinterest and contempt

This basically means I didn’t care for these shows. I don’t hate them but I was aggressively unengaged in them and I can’t really rank them from worst to best because that would imply me having any measurable emotional reaction to them

Violet Evergarden: I don’t think I have much to add about this one that I haven’t said before. Tryhard Sad Anime Girl stories rehashing old clichés with little novelty to them, with a bonus of a super poorly explained and thought out child super soldier tragic backstory that still has me ?????? The final episode has the addendum of trying to redeem That One Asshole in a “he treats her bad because he’s sad about his brother dying sob sob sob he’s totally not a jerk” and i was very annoyed by that.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni: It’s complicated to talk about this show. I really liked the first episode, hated the 4-6, then was mostly bored by the rest of it. The whole romance angle was completely dropped in the latter half, but I’m not even sure if that’s a good thing given how tastelessly it was being handled in some moments, or a bad one given how bland everything else was. It felt like Akira’s crush on Kondo turned out to be insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It also felt like Akira was profoundly underdeveloped, and it bothered me because Kondo was developed properly. His character felt more fully realized than hers. Like idk, I just cared so little for the last few episodes and it didn’t feel like Akira’s emotional progression was very connected with the first half of the show.

Fate/Extra Last Encore: I don’t even have a screenshot. Apparently the reason the show started so late into the season is that it took a long time to produce, and apparently there are two more episodes that will be released at some point in July. But really, what matters is that I have no idea of what this show was trying to accomplish. The characters were a bunch of pieces of cardboard spouting pseudo nihilistic philosophical nonsense and I don’t even know how to describe the plot. It was generic in its Boss of the Week approach but the execution was often very flat. Definitely none of the fun from Apocrypha’s cool characters was to be had in this iteration of the franchise.

Too much iyashikei

This season we had too much iyashikei and I’m burned out. Here are the ones I didn’t hate but also wasn’t super in love with.

Miira no Kaikata: I think this show would’ve worked better as 3-minute vignettes. 20 minutes of it was a bit too much and I struggled to pay attention. I also felt the dragon and MukuMuku had very tangential roles. I don’t have a whole lot to say. It’s cute, if cute is your jam this show is for you. Connie is best smol monster.

Hakumei to Mikochi: Another cute show that gains extra points for its somewhat unique setting, beautiful color palette and picture book aesthetic and because the two main girls are great characters. I particularly liked the first and last episodes. It’s a relaxing, fun little show

Sanrio Danshi: The harbinger of feminism made into a toy commercial, while not quite iyashikei, is still a slice of life that just occassionally indulged in too much melodrama. It was nonetheless a fun little thing that managed to turn cynical consumerism into a positive message for boys: it’s okay to like non-traditionally-masculine things. One of the details I liked most was that none of the boys had to give up on their previous groups of friends even after “coming out”, Kouta’s friends and Shuu’s team were supportive of them and even participated in their dumbass musical play. Some may even read this show as a not-so-subtle allegory on homosexuality and while I don’t think this was Sanrio’s intent (their intent is to broaden their market, plain and simple) the fact that it works so well with that reading is honestly great. I had very minimal expectations for this show and I’m happy it turned out better than those.

Classicaloid 2: Classicaloid isn’t quite iyashikei either but it fits in the “didn’t love it, didn’t hate it” category. I’m a huge fan of season one, but unfortunately a big part of S2 failed to capture the magic. I think most of it was restored in the second cour, specially with brilliant episodes such as the one where Dovo-chan becomes a super-realistic painting of himself, and the last three episodes really captured what made Classicaloid great. I’ve really come to love this cast, so I wouldn’t complain if we got more seasons (please do Vivaldi!!!)

Shonen is a Good Genre, Actually

Shonen as a genre/demographic is much reviled for its repetitive clichés and childish stories, but I think we live at a time in which we can have well-executed shonen anime that, although falling for the same old clichés, have enough heart and sincerity that makes them enjoyable. This part also isn’t necessarily ranked, since my favorite one will change depending on which day you ask me

Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu: As I have mentioned before, this second season seems to be the polar opposite of the first one’s rapid pace. It’s been a while since I read the manga, but I feel like it took a lot less to get to the mid-season cutoff point there than this anime would lead you to believe, especially the training part felt excruciatingly long. NanaTai has other various flaws including its 1000% not funny harrassment jokes and the dumb introduction of quantified “power levels” (why Suzuki), but characters like Diane, King and Ban give the show a unique flavor. And I’m not even gonna pretend to be unbiased, I just love everything involving Ban, even the weird and questionable choice of bringing Elaine back. I’m excited that we’re finally approaching Escanor’s arrival.

Yowapeda Glory Road: I also forgot to grab a screenshot lmao. Yowapeda is a very particular beast, and with its episode count already in the hundreds, it’s not something I’d reccommend unless you’re super into dragged out ridiculous sports anime. This second season of Onoda’s second year has not been without its flaws either, starting with the, imho absurd persistence in making Sohoku look like underdogs even though they’re reigning champions. It’s made a lot of the first two days of the Interhigh feel a lot grimmer than this cheerful show ought to. Kaburagi is still an insufferable character, and the fact that he drags the team down doesn’t help him either, and I just wish the writers would let Best Boy Teshima win anything. I hope the second day ends on a lighter note, because the gloom and doom is making this a less enjoyable watch than it should be

Mahoutsukai no Yome: I feel a little better about this one knowing the final was anime-original, but at the same time I’m beyond livid with how it was wrapped up. I loved the second half of the series because of how well-written and emotional Chise’s growth was, and everything up to her embracing of Cartaphilus’s curse was a beautiful display of her strength and will to live. What I’m not here for is that asspull wedding whatever that makes no sense in the context of the previous events, especially because after the fact, Elias’s attempt to kill Stella is swept under the rug. This could’ve been my favorite show of the season without that bullshit ending and while I don’t regret watching it, it leaves me with a sad feeling of what could have been

Best of the season

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens: It had a slow start, but with its endearing cast and well-developed character relationships, HTR won me over, especially the last quarter. The animation was veeery barebones, but Lin and Bamba’s charisma and their organically developed relationship carried the show to be one of the most enjoyable of the season. I also really appreciate the fact that the series includes a gay couple with an adopted daughter and that Lin’s crossdressing is never used as a joke or treated as a character flaw or a “phase”. I love stories about found families and I’d love to see more of this gang fighting crime and doing shady business in their city of assassins.

Garo: Vanishing Line: This iteration of Garo had a somewhat slow start, but boy did it pick up steam in the second half. The action was great -the final fight against King had some incredible stylistic choices, the characters’ journeys felt complete and very human and the story was interesting and different enough from other Garo to not feel repetitive, yet with enough Garoisms that made it feel connected to everything else. Like I said, I love stories about found families, so the way Sophie found a home with Gina, Luke and Sword by the end was very touching. Watching Sophie’s journey has been a treat, and I’m immensely happy that this wasn’t a Guren no Tsuki disaster, but was more in line with the excellence of Honoo no Kokuin.

Gakuen Babysitters: This was the huge surprise of the season for me, I almost expected it to be pretty dull. Instead it turned out to be super cute and extremely heartwarming. It had a couple of duds here and there, mostly the not-actually-a-pedophile joke character and the early love triangle skits, but the former disappeared and the latter was vastly improved in the second half of the show. I wish Ryuichi’s grief had been dealt with a bit more, but I think what they did show was very well executed and empathetic. And the portrayal of the kids felt very realistic, including both children’s most adorable and most obnoxious behaviors. KIRIN IS BEST GIRL

Card Captor Sakura Clear Card arc: I have expressed some complaints and dissatisfactions with this sequel all through the season. Mostly in regards to the new cards and how the old ones seem to have been forgotten (also the lazy designs of the new cards). In spite of that, Sakura hasn’t lost any of its heart in these 20 years, the characters are still the kids we grew up with. It is an overwhelmingly cheerful and positive show, from Sakura and Syaoran’s shyly developing relationship, to the hopefulness of Sakura’s magic and just the simple day to day life of Sakura and her friends. In spite of all its flaws, Sakura is still my favorite show of the season and I’m happy we get to spend one more season with these characters. Just please give me more Yue???

Ooooof, finally I’m done with this! PLEASE LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT THE 20+ SHOWS I’M SAMPLING FOR SPRING AHAHAHAHA. There’s too much anime. Anime must be stopped, immediately. Don’t hesitate to send me your thoughts about the winter season, even if it seems I’m losing my mind a little Dx TOO MUCH ANIME

#winter anime #anime final impressions #darling in the franxx #violet evergarden #card captor sakura #gakuen babysitters #koi wa ameagari no you ni #fate extra last encore #garo vanishing line #hakata tonkotsu ramens #ancient magus bride #yowapeda glory line #nanatsu no taizai #classicaloid #sanrio danshi #hakumei to mikochi #miira no kaikata #100

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