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midnightechoes · 1 year

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So this week is going to go down as maybe the most sapphic week in animation history. It’s going to have a great case, there are so many sapphic shows or shows with prominent sapphic couples airing this week.

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s a quick rundown:

Yuri Is My Job!

Premiering on Crunchyroll on April 6th.

Yuri is My Job! is based on a yuri manga of the same name. It follows high schooler Hime, who cares deeply about her image as sweet and helpful, even though she’s actually selfish. She accidentally injures the manager of a cafe, and agrees to work there to make up for it. But this is no ordinary cafe, it’s like a cafe dinner theater where all the waitresses play characters from a fictional high school and act out skits for the patrons. Hime’s character is supposed to be in love with one of the other waitresses’ character, but she starts actually falling for the girl. Only problem is, behind the scenes the other waitress seems to hate her.

Yeah, that sounds kind of bonkers! I can already see the story now, Hime starting out playing a role, and eventually having to legitimately earn the love of Mitsuki.

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story

Season 2 premiering on Crunchyroll on Friday, April 7th

Ah Birdie Wing. If you saw season one, you know just how delightful wacky this show is. It follows the stories of Eve, a golfer that plays in illegal underground golf matches for the mob, and Aoi, a golf prodigy and the new sensation of the golf world. Their lives crash into each other and the chemistry is overwhelming and immediate.

Technically Eve and Aoi aren’t canon as of the end of s1, but it’s hard to imagine that the show isn’t heading in that direction. It makes no effort to hide the fact that these two are into each other.

I’m so excited to see what season 2 has in store for these two. Birdie Wing is just a delightfully weird little show.

Princess Principal: Crown Handler Chapter 3

Premieres in theaters in Japan on Friday, April 7th

Alright, so this won’t be useful to a lot of people reading this, as this is only premiering in Japan this weekend. But I wanted to mention it because (a) it’ll come over to the US sometime this year, and (b) Princess Principal is awesome and I want to promote it when I can.

Princess Principal was a 12 episode series that aired in 2017, and Crown Handler is a six-part sequel OVA series.

In a nutshell, Princess Principal is a steampunk spy thriller set in an alternate universe European kingdom that has been divided by a wall, Berlin-style. It follows a team of spies, masquerading as high school girls, as they try to prevent the two sides from going to war.

I know, “why is this on a list of gay shit?” Well, because it is. Two of the main characters, Ange and Princess Charlotte, are big-time into each other and while the original series does the anime thing of “we’re only allowed to go so far with this”, the OG series has a lot of intimate scenes between the two and does end *SPOILERS* with the two of them sitting on the beach together while holding hands.

And perhaps Crown Handler, being made years later, can finally take their relationship farther.

RWBY Volume 9

Volume 9 episode 8 airing on Crunchyroll on Saturday, April 8th

RWBY has been ongoing, and the current volume has been airing since February, but there’ll be another episode this Saturday. Right now RWBY is in the middle of dealing with a lot of trauma, BUT, the bees are canon and dating so every episode of RWBY is now officially gay. So says me.

The Owl House: Watching and Dreaming

Series finale airing on the Disney Channel on Saturday, April 8th

I’M NOT READY TO LOSE THIS SHOW! 😭

*ahem* The third and final season 3 special airs on Saturday, and promises to be mega emotional and super gay.

I’m grateful that this show had a chance to finish its story, something a lot of sapphic media doesn’t get to do. But I am still pissed about it getting cancelled in the first place simply because it didn’t fit their “brand” (read: this show is too gay for Disney).

But I just know that Dana and her team put together a sensational finale.

Mobile Suit Gundam: the Witch From Mercury

Season 2 premiering on Crunchyroll on Sunday, April 9th.

Affectionately called G-Witch, season 1 of this show was a revelation in the fall. It follows the story of Suletta Mercury, precious cinnamon roll and the most talented mobile suit pilot around, and Miorine Rembran, daughter of the president of the Benerit Group, a mega-corporation that has massive political power.

The show revolves around a school that’s mostly full of the children of powerful people. And then there’s Suletta, a nobody that just wants to be a normal girl and have a normal school life but through a series of events ends up in a mobile suit duel that she easily wins, earning her the title of Holder, which makes her Miroine’s groom.

At first, the two treat the arrangement as a business arrangement, both seeing practical value in this arranged engagement. But it’s obvious that Miorine is actually pretty into Suletta from the start, and we see Suletta slowly falling for Miorine too.

G-Witch is incredible. Part awesome mecha fights, part political intrigue, part romance between two useless girls who’d rather die that admit their actual feelings.

I am SO EXCITED for season 2!

LGBTQ media hasn’t had it great as of late, with a ton of frustrating cancellations and it almost feeling like Hollywood is going backwards in terms of its commitment to giving us space to tell our stories.

But animation, both in the US and in Japan, seems to be making great strides, being our light in the dark.

All five of these shows are airing episodes this week, and Crown Handler will be in theaters this week and on streaming/blu-ray later this year. RWBY has been airing for weeks and its been the gayest volume yet. the Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady just finished airing and was wonderfully sapphic. I’m In Love With the Villainess is scheduled to air sometimes this year. And just maybe we might get Arcane season 2 before the end of the year.

I’m excited for how sapphic and yuri animation is progressing, I hope it keeps going forward.

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sakurapika · 6 months

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Some ideas for Twisted Wonderland events

(*Mild spoilers for some JP server events and Chapter 6)

-A Mulan-themed event: In one of the Halloween events, Silver mentioned knowing the story of Mulan, and Lilia has mentioned having been to "the East" before (not to mention Diasomnia's Halloween costumes are longs). It would be lovely to see Lilia return to the TWST-equivalent of China with some of his friends and meeting new characters--bonus points if someone is twisted from Mushu. A story about a girl who makes a sacrifice for her aging father by enlisting in the military on his behalf fits well with Silver and Lilia, so now would be the perfect opportunity to give them duo magic! Also, Chinese xianxia/martial arts fantasy novels are very popular in Japan and abroad nowadays (if you know, you know :) ), and I would love to see the boys wearing hanfu--they'd look so majestic and cool!

-Sam's hometown event: A Princess and the Frog event where the boys go to the TWST version of New Orleans, chaperoned by Sam. It would be a great opportunity to explore the jazz and culinary scene, and, of course, wear 1920s-inspired clothing. Someone in Octavinelle gets an SSR.

-A pajama-party event: Night Raven College hosts an all-night pillow fight tournament, and everyone gets extremely competitive, kind of like Beanfest. Everyone wears pajamas--I'm not sure if they'd have their own outfits, or if the dorms would match and have PJ sets with their logo on it (kind of like the pajamas they sell at the JP Disney Store). In battle, the chibis throw pillows at each other.

-Octavinelle hometown event: We are introduced to the Tweels' parents and/or Azul's mother. Given how Jamil and Kalim's hometown event carried out, it is likely that only one of the three will actually get an event card, but we'll see. In the Halloween event, Riddle mentioned that he's never seen the sea before. Even though he's had a chance in the Lost in the Book with Stitch event (and the developers probably want to give the spotlight to different characters), I'm afraid he doesn't remember it. Anyway, he deserves to go again. Alternatively, there's an event where the boys go to the Sunshine Lands and meet Prince Rielle. In this case, Riddle and Azul must go together--it would be nice to see after the events of Chapter 6.

-Riddle and Trey hometown event/Black Butler crossover: We've already had a Heartslabyul-themed hometown event with Deuce, but this time, we get to meet Trey's family and Riddle's mother. The likelihood that we get a canon Black Butler crossover as well is very close to zero, but it would be really fun to make a few jokes/hints about Riddle having a younger cousin who wears an eyepatch and solves mysteries with his enigmatic butler. Bonus points if Riddle and Jade have duo magic and dress up in Victorian/ouji clothing.

-J-fashion event: Speaking of ouji clothing, it would be amazing if there was an event inspired by Japanese fashions and subcultures. I think there was a part in one of the anthology mangas where Vil gave the Pop Music Club a visual kei makeover. I know the Pop Music Club has their own SSRs already, but I wouldn't mind seeing more outfits in this style.

-An orchestra-themed event: Some of the NRC students form a classical orchestra. Malleus is there, of course--I imagine him playing the cello this time. The Octavinelle trio is there as well with their respective instruments, as is Idia and Riddle both playing violins. I can see Jamil playing a woodwind instrument--maybe a flute, a clarinet, or an oboe?

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #riddle rosehearts #trey clover #azul ashengrotto #jade leech #jamil viper #malleus draconia #lilia vanrouge #silver vanrouge #twst silver #twst sam

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yuurei20 · 1 year

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March, 2023 Interview with Twisted Wonderland Creator Toboso Yana

This interview can be viewed in its original form in the App store.

*Disclaimer: This is a fan translation and is not endorsed by anyone associated with Twst. Speaking on Yana's behalf makes me very nervous so I am very careful (and hire a professional proofreader for projects like this), but results may vary! Thank you for your understanding!

The Passion of Toboso Yana, the Creator of the Game’s Concept and Characters

Where did the inspiration for the world and characters of "Disney's Twisted Wonderland" come from?

The person who painstakingly took care of every creative element and holds the key to the entire project is well-known manga artist Toboso Yana.

“I love constraints and aiming to do the best I possibly can when surrounded by hurdles.”

- Toboso Yana (concept and scenario creator, character designer)

“I have a manga series—Black Butler—that is still ongoing, so I had been turning down offers for long-term projects. But then I heard about this, and I love Disney’s works and their characters, so I said I’d do it without a moment’s hesitation. Before I even saw it my editor told me that I would be taking this one on for sure, like a line straight out of a western TV show, and he was absolutely right.

At that time, however, the only thing that had been decided was that it would be a game themed around Disney villains. We started working with Aniplex without knowing what it was we were actually going to make.

Initially we thought ‘Well, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Disney is Hollywood,’ so our initial proposal was that the characters were young actors performing the different Disney IPs in a musical theater format. That was rejected.

Disney has a lot of rules to ensure that their works are accessible to everyone regardless of age or gender, and a lot of our other proposals after the ‘training up actors for the theater’ idea were also turned down.

After that we came up with the idea of setting the game in a school, as a genre that is gaining recognition both in Japan and abroad.”

It took Toboso Yana about six months to come up with the idea that eventually became what the game is today. As she began creating stories and illustrating different elements, the world of “Twisted Wonderland” began to take shape.

“Working on my manga I would often submit different ideas over and over again until I received an OK, and then I would work closely with my editor to brush up on what had been approved. I think those experiences really came in handy.

Personally I love constraints and aiming to do the best I possibly can when surrounded by all the hurdles and decisions that come with game production. In the pre-development stages we were all communicating weekly with one another as I drew ideas for the rhythmic games, user interfaces and battle scenes. I think a big part of the fact that we were able to release Twst at all was that we were able to break through the parts of the game that we just couldn’t imagine or verbalize using the power of illustration."

The Message Entrusted to the Villains

In the main story you get to know seven dormitories and their unique students. You learn about the different sides to each of these characters, and, over time, the weaknesses and problems of these spiteful students who all seem to hate each other.

The depth of the storylines and character development also required a lot of effort from Toboso Yana.

“The story and the characters were created almost simultaneously. The story itself is an homage to the fates suffered by the different Disney villains, but when fitting the characters into the story, they shouldn’t be on a radically more developed stage than the story or vice versa.

The full main plot that I was to share with Disney seemed linear and uninteresting, so I submitted character details and sub-plots at the same time.

I received very thorough checks and made corrections to what was returned to me to be resubmitted in a process that took about a year before I was really able to start writing the scenario for the game in earnest.

And since Disney’s works are universal stories, villain underlings are often a bit comical and subservient to their villain…so there was some difficulty coming up with multiple, individual characters based on them.

For example, coming up with four different students based on the card soldiers from ‘Alice in Wonderland’, and creating a character based entirely on the poison apple from ‘Snow White’ was not easy.

Basically I would put myself in the position of a card soldier and think about how the poison apple must have felt, then I wrote that down and built upon it.

There is no way that apple wanted to become poisonous; it was forced into those circumstances against its will by the Queen just because it was the most appetizing option. Maybe that is what its thoughts would have been? etc.

While working out each character’s personality we created a huge character guide before the game was even released. Since we only had one or two lines for the voice actors to record in the beginning we had them read that character guide, and there were a few times that they showed genuine surprise at the sheer amount of information that was available for them to work with.”

And what’s beyond this story of villains facing their own weakness and frustrations that Toboso Yana has created? Therein lies a positive message that she hopes will reach the game’s users.

“Happy endings in Disney works come from righteous actions and love, but I believe that the villains are characters who do not get saved during the story. That is why, through this game, I want to portray the message that even if you get beat up all the way to a bad ending, you can grow from it and live your life without feeling discouraged.

Acting lame, obstinate, without hesitation, being open and honest—it’s not as bad as it sounds.

I would like to paint a positive picture of living honestly with yourself and not worrying about others.

In today’s society there are so many people who live in fear of failure and are always walking on eggshells, but nobody’s flawless. It is exhausting to try to live your life so that no one will hate you.”

An original culture woven into costume

One of the elements of Twisted Wonderland that has had the most heart poured into it is the costume design.

Toboso Yana explains the struggles behind creating entirely unique designs meant to reinterpret the worlds of the movies upon which the seven dormitories were based.

“I started the design process from the dorm uniforms based on the original works and their worlds.

I wanted the costumes to be modern while also portraying the worldview of each dorm within this school where different countries, cultures and time periods all exist simultaneously.

I also had to be constantly aware of whether some things were too close to existing cultures or fashion brands. For every look that actually made it into the final game, I created almost three times as many different designs for everything.

For example, for the designs for the Pomefiore dorm uniform, the more elements that were added, the wider the disconnect from the original, classic animation. It was very difficult, but eventually I settled upon using the silhouette as a starting point and reconstructing it from there, rather than focusing on individual elements. By incorporating what Japanese people consider to be classical (kimono), I was able to come up with a design reminiscent of the simple but elegant impression of the original ‘Snow White.’

For Diasomnia’s dorm uniform, I wanted to incorporate the relationship between Maleficent and her black-armored minion goons into the design. For that I chose leather as something that is both classical and rigid. I also incorporated harnesses, which were trendy in the world of high fashion at the time that I was making these designs.

While keeping the high fashion of the real world in mind, I also placed a lot of importance on expressing the unique culture of Twisted Wonderland itself through the clothing that appears in various events. For example the clothes in the ‘Harveston’s Kelkkalot’ and ‘Tamashina-Mina’ events aren’t reinterpretations of existing costumes. The starting point was designing a possible clothing history based on the daylight hours and the climate of those areas.

A region that is often deep in snow with short daylight hours is likely to develop a culture of embroidery, as people would spend long hours indoors. In hot climates, people might dye breathable materials such as cotton and linen, and maybe end up with something like this or that, etc. That was the thought process. That is how I design costumes based on the different textile histories and cultures of Twisted Wonderland.

The costumes for some of the events took almost two years to complete, including constant checks and revisions. There are often times when people will spend actual money in order to acquire these costumes, so I don’t want the quality to be anything less than one might expect to find at a fashionable store.

A member of staff at my own studio, D-6th, holds professional certifications in Western-style sewing and pattern making, so everything from the backs of the costumes to how they would be worn has been designed so that they could actually be functional. Since it is a world of magic, however, fantastical and dreamlike designs are just as important as realistic ones, so sometimes we decided, ’This part would look too awkward if it were sewn on, so let’s pretend it has been attached by magic.’"

The Epic Story of Twisted Wonderland

Since its launch in 2020, the world of Twisted Wonderland that you, the main character, have wandered into, has been developing spectacularly along the main story by Toboso Yana. Here, she explains the passion that comes from the creative development process:

“We have been able to achieve some degree of success through the combination of myself (who had only ever drawn manga), Aniplex (who were unaccustomed to creating games targeted at a female audience) and F4samurai (who handled the development and management on-site but had never attempted this genre before).

I think one of the reasons for this is how close all three of us were able to work with one another. I enjoy every meeting that we have. Despite having no idea how game development works I am always coming up with these ideas, and they are always so accommodating and are never caught off guard. It feels like we have always been working by trial and error together.

The text of the first book is 35,000 Japanese characters long but book 6 has over 250,000. Up until about book 3 users are still getting to know the characters, so we prioritized helping people come to understand the world of Twst and keeping things compact. After the game was released, however, it felt like people were reading much more deeply into the story than we had anticipated. So now I include much more information than was provided during those setup chapters.

Going forward things are going to be on a much larger scale, incorporating not only the vertical and horizontal axes of the story but also expanding upon elements such as a present, past and future.

Look forward to Book 7 (currently on chapter 2)!

What I thought of while writing the story is that villains can become extremely strong if they can keep their mindset flexible while developing mutual understanding without compromising their own identities.

The core of this game consists of becoming stronger while reaching an understanding with the strengths, weaknesses and points of view of those who are different from you.

I think that this might be similar to the stance that we all share as we create it.

I think that I have become tougher myself since I first got involved with the development of Twst. I am a manga artist, and this is my first attempt at creating a game. I was surprised, at first, by how many situations there were where my skills were completely useless: meeting the different team members for the first time, being so unfamiliar with the culture of the gaming industry and the strictness of being judged as part of a global work instead of as an exclusively Japanese form of entertainment.

As a result I have reached the point where I am able to adapt my approach to different challenges when my first attempts fail, rather than simply fight them.

Since the characters in the story are villains they do not admit defeat, but they will admit when their opponent does well. Even if they don’t like each other, they will recognize each other’s abilities.

We will continue to develop this game that emphasizes the spirit of villains that cannot be discouraged, and we hope that our users will continue to enjoy it."

#twstyana #twisted wonderland #twst translations

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glimmerkey · 6 months

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Disney Store Japan - Cheshire Cat 5″ Plush

#disney #disney store japan #cheshire cat #alice in wonderland #plush #stuffed animal #cats #toys #toycore

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niuniente · 7 months

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Hey Niu~ Do you have any smaller wonders you'd recommend visiting in Japan

Sure!

OSAKA

If you go to Osaka around the end of a month, there's a monthly temple flea market in the Shitennoji temple yard. It's arranged on 21st and 22nd of each month, and regular people are selling there their old stuff, as well as booths selling vintage kimonos, yukatas, haoris etc., ceramics, decorations, lots of antique items, statues etc. Take a subway to Tennoji station, the temple is next it. Read more here!

In Osaka, near Tenma JR railwaystation, is a takoyaki shop owned by an 86 year old lady called Hiroko. She's been making takoyakis for 60 years in that shop. You might have seen this image set of Hiroko giving a piece of her mind about people complaining that her food is too yellow (if not, see it - it's hilarious!) Her shop is called たこ焼き寛子（ひろこ), Takoyaki Hiroko (Hiroko). The address is 5 Chome-6-3 Tenjinbashi, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0041, Japan. If you use subway, get off at Ogimatchi station to get to her store.

If you love toys and anime merch, there are two good spots for these in Osaka; one is the famous Den Den Town and other one is Kiddy Land in Umeda.

You can get to Den Den Town the easiest from Nipponbashi metro station. Just head towards south. You can also walk from Namba to Den Den Town as it's just right the next corner.

Kiddy Land is a bit harder to locate in the gigantic Hankyuu department store (which is like multiple building spreading across the whole Umeda) but you can get there the best from Umeda station. Kiddy Land has lots of toy stores, like Miffy, San-X, and a mixed store of everything cute, and also a Lego store. If you go out from the building from the door next to the Lego store, you can walk a few ten meters to a big Loft-store. It also has some merch, typically San-X and Sanrio and Disney stuff, but on the top floor of the same building there's an anime store. They sell lots of art books, replica swords and also special collectible statues like Japanese deities.

Special mentioning goes to the Namba Daiso (Namba Daiso Nansan-dori). It has 5 floors, all stuff with 100 yens. It's very near Namba metro station, easy to find! If you want to get super fancy and you've got a big budget, the Takashimaya department store is near this Daiso. You can find all kind of food items there, some with ridiculous prices. There's also Daimaru department store in Namba in close proximity - they sell fresh made taiyaki cakes in the bottom floor's food section.

KYOTO

Near Kyoto, you can find a small town of Arashiyama. It is the most well-known for its ancient wooden bridge and bamboo forests. People go just walk around into the bamboo forest. Many movies and TV series has been filmed in that forest. There's a direct train service to Arashiyama from Kyoto. Arashiyama is especially gorgeous at the end of November when the fall has arrived to Kansai area. It's apparently also super pretty during cherry flower season in spring. There are lots of temples in a small area, too, if you want to explore them.

(Here's the famous bridge).

In Kyoto, there's a design shop of SOU SOU. Now, SOU SOU makes and sells handmade tabi shoes, kimonos, yukatas, string bags, dishware, and wonderful print tabi socks but they also have their own, traditional Japanese café at their Kyoto store called Sou Sou Zaifu. You can get only coffee and matcha tea here - the order is hand made in order in front of you. It's very quiet and idyllic, intimate place. I accidentally went here to find shelter from a rain and it was so lovely. Even the shop itself is worth the visit, if you're interested in fashion and design! Read more here.

(Sou Sou Zaifu cafe. It seems the same guy is still working here. He was very friendly!)

TOKYO

If you travel in Tokyo, about 45 minutes by train from Tokyo is the city of Saitama. Saitama has a Sayama Hills at Tokorozama, which is also known as The Totoro Forest. Hayao Miyazaki has taken inspiration to Totoro from Sayama Hills. It was hard to find any information of this place in English (and even in Japanese!) in the past, but nowadays there's information in English. Read more here (with a Japanese map)

#japan #kyoto #tokyo #osaka #travel tips #travel guide #ask niu

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